Thursday, September 26, 2024

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Hockey team finally gets SN coverage

Finally! I've been a Spartans hockey season ticket holder this year and have really enjoyed watching this team fight through injuries at the beginning of the season and battle many tough opponents all season long. When I knew it had won the CCHA Championship and was going to advance to the NCAA Tournament, I looked for some front-page coverage in The State News.

COMMENTARY

Better methods exist for parking enforcers

After reading Holly Klaft's article, "6 new trucks purchased for parking enforcement" (SN 3/24), and the department's attempts to justify the need for new 2006 Dodge Dakotas, I can't say that I feel its budget is being well spent. I find the reasons listed in the article to be somewhat ridiculous — the low speeds' effect on the engine and "seats inside the trucks begin to wear down" hardly seem like good reasons to replace five-year-old vehicles.

COMMENTARY

Recent arrest shows Islam's intolerance

I find it ironic that riots have just concluded in Afghanistan concerning the Prophet Muhammad cartoons and the West's apparent "intolerance" of Islam, only to have an Afghani Christian, Abdul Rahman, arrested there for converting from Islam to Christianity. Even if the possibility of him facing the death penalty did not exist, such an egregious violation of one's human rights would still be appalling.

COMMENTARY

Accusations of misinformation in previous column lack merit, fact

Some readers seemed distressed by my column on the well-established negative correlation between scientific education and belief in God, "Evolutionary theory, science needed to vaccinate irrational beliefs" (SN 2/16). Regrettably, fact checking was not their forte. In "Bice misinterprets studies in his column" (SN 3/17), Charlie Mack claimed that I mischaracterized a study by Rice University sociologist Elaine Ecklund when I wrote "Natural science faculty were less likely to believe in God than social scientists." Although this was a small point in my column, Mack argued that professors weren't asked direct questions on belief in God, but two questions regarding levels of "truth" in religions. However, Rice University's Office of News and Media Relations described the study as having 36 questions on religious beliefs and spiritual practices and, "Nearly 38 percent of natural scientists surveyed said they did not believe in God, but only 31 percent of the social scientists gave that response." I also contacted Ecklund by phone; she kindly confirmed that the study did, indeed, have direct questions on belief in God. Rudy Bernard's recent column, "Scientists don't need to dismiss religion to be credible, accurate" (SN 3/14), also deserves a response. Bernard wrote, "Even the group with the highest level of unbelief (biologists) still has a majority with belief." That's completely false. A majority of scientists surveyed were either atheist or agnostic.

COMMENTARY

Affirmative action helps fight racism

In his letter, "Columnist promotes different racism form" (SN 3/22), Steve Sutton asserts that the state does not have the "right" to treat people differently based on race. This is simply not true. For nearly 30 years the U.S.

COMMENTARY

Again, speak up

We all pay too much for college. Every year we have to give up more money because university officials tell us they are getting less funding from the Michigan Legislature. The truth is, everyone from students to lawmakers to the leaders of this university have a hand in how much we have to pay.

COMMENTARY

Domination by chain restaurants expected

I recently read Vanessa Notman's column, "Unique feel of small downtown spots replaced with corporations" (SN 3/23), regarding the takeover of downtown East Lansing hangouts by franchises and corporate restaurants, and I must say, this was to be expected. I agree, nothing is more kitschy than an urban space that is overrun by turnkey operations serving bland food and an even more bland atmosphere. However, because we are in a democratic-capitalist society, the dollar votes for and dictates what stays and what goes.

COMMENTARY

Choosing your priority

Missing class because of a religious holiday should never result in unexcused absences. And ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, is working on changing MSU's Religious Observance Policy. Our student government wants the university to form a more specific Religious Observance Policy while taking into consideration students who participate in religious holidays that require absences and missed assignments. It's about time.

COMMENTARY

Kalamazoo schools serve as prime example for others to follow

I'm from Kalamazoo — the land where the Broncos rule and Tim Hortons simply doesn't exist. It also is the home of The Kalamazoo Promise that leaves a small dent in improving the state's education system. The Kalamazoo Promise is a revolutionary idea that lifts children from the Kalamazoo Public Schools and gives free college tuition to the students in the notoriously bad school district. Money is not just thrown into the hands of a few overachievers or a lucky group of students.

COMMENTARY

Policy will not make residence halls safer

I would like to thank the university for their new policy regarding overnight guests. Not only does it sound like a delightful hassle for students to surrender their ID and retrieve it the next morning, but it is an unfair and meaningless policy. For no logical reason, the university assumes all students will be tempted to "behave inappropriately" unless they surrender their IDs to the night receptionist.

COMMENTARY

Policy bad idea when considering reality

As a night receptionist in Case and Wonders halls, I was outraged to read about a major policy change on the front page of The State News, "Dorms to require guests to leave IDs" (SN 3/16). This is not a good idea, for the following reasons: • It will cost significantly more money for the university to staff enough people to deal with the extra work this will cause. • Guests are going to be unwilling to leave their IDs with night receptionists and will therefore use the side doors more often, causing us to not have any record of them being in the building. • Night receptionists should not be held responsible for IDs.

COMMENTARY

SN section devoted to Iraq well-balanced

For once, The State News got it right. I must applaud all who contributed to the content printed in the "Faces & Places" section entitled "Windows into war" (SN 3/15). I think it is fair to say that we, the readers, finally got input from all sides of this issue with very little to no spin on the reporting.

COMMENTARY

Do you know about it?

Spreading awareness about events and circumstances around the world is the first step in eliciting change. And that's exactly what members of Spartans Taking Action Now: Darfur, or STAND, did on Monday.

COMMENTARY

Cutting tensions

It's been more than 50 years since the civil rights movement began, but it's clear discrimination still exists. Even at MSU. Racial and homophobic messages were written on dry-erase boards in north and south campus areas. In the Hubbard Hall cafeteria, a white student was overheard making racial comments to a group of black students. Members of the Department of Residence Life met with different residence halls last week in an effort to educate students about these incidents and about MSU's anti-harassment policy.

COMMENTARY

Saving it for later

All that planning and we'll have to keep waiting to try it out. MSU and East Lansing police were ready this year for a riot, disturbance or other shenanigans that could have taken place during the men's basketball season.