Wednesday, September 25, 2024

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

MSU makes money off students' laziness

Related to the purchase of new parking enforcement vehicles, "6 new trucks purchased for parking enforcement" (SN 3/24): I admit, it is pretty silly for MSU to buy vehicles after five years — trucks nonetheless.

COMMENTARY

Michigan's random weather happens; stop complaining, move on

Weather, as a topic of conversation, is like a childhood blanket — comforting and dependable. Just when you fear you might not have anything to say, good ol' weather is right there to catch you before you fall. Some superfluous comment about the weather is bound to pop out of your mouth if you accidentally make eye contact with a stranger in an elevator.

COMMENTARY

More than dinner

The members of the MSU Board of Trustees should chew their food and bite their tongues — or start inviting the public to their $800 dinners. Board members often meet at Cowles House the night before their monthly public meeting to enjoy an expensive dinner and drinks.

COMMENTARY

Bring us your masses

There are millions of illegal immigrants in America. And if currently debated legislation is passed in the Senate, they could be on their way to becoming citizens.

COMMENTARY

Kalamazoo Promise buzz brought to light

I recently read Gabrielle Russon's column "Kalamazoo schools serve as prime example for others to follow" (SN 3/24). I was thrilled that she brought this wonderful idea to the attention of everyone not from the west side of the state or who missed it in the Detroit and Lansing papers. When I first heard about it I thought it was probably one of the coolest things I'd ever heard. However, I think she missed one of the main points in the story.

COMMENTARY

MRULE conference powerful, informative

I am writing to commend the Multi-Racial Unity Living Experience, or MRULE, for the AIDS conference, called "No Place to Hide: Student Activism and the Fight Against the Global AIDS Pandemic" which it put on this weekend. I attended the conference and was amazed at the amount of time and effort that they had put into it in order to make it a success for the hundreds of people who attended.

COMMENTARY

Campus taking action against intolerance

This is in response to "Cutting tensions" (SN 3/23). Racism, discrimination and harassment are horrible things, and I fully agree that there are a great deal of people who should be educated. However, with more than 45,000 students and visitors on campus of all ages, races, genders and backgrounds, to say that there are many people who are racist or intolerant is too general. Contrary to popular belief, East Lansing is an explosion of culture to what seems about 75 percent of campus. I came from Flint, which I estimate is 60-70 percent black.

COMMENTARY

Lame duck attempt

You might have seen a person running around campus in a duck costume last week. But did you know why? The random duck sporting an ASMSU T-shirt was meant to promote the 2006 student elections for both the undergraduate student government and the Residence Halls Association.

COMMENTARY

Columnist's patriotic fervor usual rhetoric

As a man formerly enlisted in Vietnam, I have to conclude that only an officer, or future officer, could come up with such egregious nonsense as Kathleen Polesnak's column, "Why I will go to war for this country" (SN 3/15). Air Force ROTC member Polesnak seems to feel that the military is all about bonhomie, brass buttons and singing the "Up in the Air, Junior Birdman" folk song. Of course, none of this is about her, even though she uses the personal pronoun "I" some three dozen times.

COMMENTARY

Affirmative action can be improved

I am glad Stacey Mattson took time to reassert every misconception of affirmative action in her letter, "State shouldn't judge people on differences" (SN 3/27), if for no other reason than to prove just how wrong opponents to affirmative action are.

COMMENTARY

Sidwood wrong place for editorial cartoon

Apparently, Mike Ramsey is now getting two editorial comics a day. I have liked his Sidwood comics all year and thought it was cool The State News was running some original comics from a student that are the same style as the popular syndicated comics.

COMMENTARY

The price of education

More than 1,500 teachers in the Detroit Public Schools protested in a way that would show their unhappiness with the school district Wednesday.

COMMENTARY

Keep on truckin'

You've probably seen them around campus by now. Instead of green Dodge Dakotas that made everyone scramble to put more change in the meters, there are six brand-new, shiny, extended-cab Dodge Dakotas to help parking enforcers get around. The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety Parking Services has upgraded its 2002 vehicles to the newest 2006 models. Given that $2 million of the department's funding is from parking tickets, it might appear to many students that their misfortune paid for those new vehicles. Due to constant low-speed driving and the increased amount of seat wear from parking enforcers getting in and out of the vehicles, parking officials said the upgrade was needed. But the necessity depends on how you look at it. For students who drive and park on campus, the lack of legal and cheap areas to park is made worse by parking enforcers who are sometimes pitiless and "just doing their job." In "Showdown at the meter" (SN 2/28), it's clear that parking enforcers are not popular and sometimes the target of drivers' anger (spitting, yelling and lifting a vehicle while the enforcer was still inside). It would seem that anyone who has ever paid a ticket would have a stake in how it was spent.

COMMENTARY

Clean up your mess

We know the land beneath Brookfield Plaza is polluted. We don't know if it's ever going to be cleaned up. The ground underneath the concrete, located at the east end of East Lansing off Grand River Avenue, has been contaminated by two gas stations and two former dry cleaners. Underground contaminants have made the site one of the most contaminated in Ingham County. State environment officials from the Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, are aware of the contamination, but three out of the four contaminated Brookfield sites still haven't been cleaned up to meet state standards. That leaves us with contaminated land and seemingly no idea as to if, or when, it will all get cleaned. Although the owner of Brookfield Plaza realizes the pollution is a problem, he isn't responsible for cleaning it up.

COMMENTARY

Taking the law in hand

On the surface, it looks like a nice gesture toward East Lansing residents from city officials and police. But it brings into question the very nature of law enforcement. The City Council approved Tuesday an amendment to East Lansing law that allows individuals to refuse breath analysis tests, or Breathalyzers, without fear of a fine or ticket.

COMMENTARY

State shouldn't judge people on differences

In Bryan Victor's letter "Affirmative action helps fight racism" (SN 3/24), he claims that the state does have the right to treat people differently based on race. I would like to call everyone's attention back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 where it states the principle of equality "without regard to their race, color, religion, or national origin." I wonder, how is it that minorities will ever overcome the separation between themselves and the majority if they are continually labeled, separated and treated differently? A study done by Heilman, Block, and Lucas (1992, study 2) shows that women and other minorities were perceived as less competent when affirmative action was a component in the selection process than when it was not. If we really wanted to help those at a disadvantage at getting into college, we would implement a socioeconomic "affirmative action" so that those who have the most trouble at qualifying for college (worse schools, unable to participate in extra curricula, work full time as well as attend high school) would be helped regardless of race, color or ethnicity. Stacey Mattson preveterinary freshman