Sunday, April 12, 2026

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

MCRI returns

In only 10 months, people in Michigan will vote on what has become one of the biggest social issues in the state.

COMMENTARY

Other flawed leaders have holidays, too

I disagree with David Garlock's letter, "Historical man not worth vast attention" (SN 1/19). Although the points he made have been brought up before (such as Ralph Abernathy's "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down"), one man's sins are not cause to rid this country of a day in his honor that stands for service to one's neighbor and standing up for justice.

COMMENTARY

Message important despite King's errors

Perhaps I can enlighten Mr. David Garlock, "Historical man not worth vast attention" (SN 1/19), a little as to why some of us celebrate an individual like Martin Luther King Jr. First, we must remember that individuals in history, regardless of how mammoth they have become as a legend were all imperfect human beings.

COMMENTARY

Rightest Canada, eh?

Tim Hortons, a rightist prime minister and bears! Oh my! Social conservative Stephen Harper won the Canadian national election Monday, but is this something that should send shivers down liberal Americans' spines? Probably not. The Conservative Party took the most seats but did not win the outright majority in the House of Commons, so the checks and balances in Canada's political system will still be in place to prevent any drastic change. But more importantly, it's Canada. Although Harper does promise to increase military spending, Canada has never been viewed as a global aggressor.

COMMENTARY

Stating their rights

Most of us entered life with help from the nimble and licensed hands of medical professionals. Oregon voters believe that medical assistance for patients who desire suicide should be available as well, despite attempts by the federal government to outlaw the practice. And it should be the voters' choice, not the federal government's. The state approved the Death with Dignity Act in 1994 and affirmed it in 1997.

COMMENTARY

Capitol idea

For a long time, the State News editorial board has said that ASMSU needs to find a good way to get students' opinions on issues and get them involved. In fact, in "Unresolved issues," (SN 1/9), we said getting students involved with college funding and getting them to show up when their presence is needed was going to be a tough goal.

COMMENTARY

Man's work revered, not sins in his past

I read David Garlock's letter, "Historical man not worth vast attention" (SN 1/19), with a distinct sense of déjà vu. Nothing he had to say was anything I hadn't heard before, usually from some "conservative" pundit with nothing else to write about when Martin Luther King Jr.

COMMENTARY

Letter disregards historical context

Let me start by pointing out that I am a politically moderate, white male. Just about the only point of David Garlock's piece, "Historical man not worth vast attention" (SN 01/19), that I agree with is his assertion that we should not give our leaders a free pass. However, if he took a closer look, I think he would find that many of our founding fathers had similar character flaws to those he ascribes to Martin Luther King Jr. None of the things he accuses King of are actually crimes: That is where we draw the line — since he asked. We are too quick to forget that our historical leaders were human, the same as the rest of us.

COMMENTARY

Small price to pay

Anytime a faction of the university announces a proposal to raise student taxes our frugality kicks into autopilot.

COMMENTARY

Interpretation

Some members of the MSU Board of Trustees said the board is not doing anything wrong by having closed work sessions the night before its monthly meetings. But the justifications they provided for closing those sessions left us with more questions than answers. The board holds closed work sessions the day before their formal meeting, in which the two committees talk about the issues on the agenda.

COMMENTARY

Student: King had flaws, so does writer

In response to David Garlock's letter, "Historical man not worth vast attention" (1/19), I've got to say, we need to give this guy the official "Republican Medal of Honor." He's judgmental of human flaws, speaks around condemnations without citing a single fact, opposes not only reform but also civil liberties themselves and harbors a paranoid delusion of government overstepping its mandate to protect the populous.

COMMENTARY

Letter wrong to bash supporters of King Jr.

Every year, there always seems to be someone that disagrees with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and thinks everyone in the country should not honor it, but this, by far, is the most hateful response I have seen. I am sorry that David Garlock ("Historical man not worth vast attention" SN 1/19) had to miss one day of mail and had to take a day off work (although there were plenty of people who did work on that day), but that is how you chose to celebrate the holiday.

COMMENTARY

Horrible profs don't deserve higher pay

From what I read of "Professor salaries rank 5th in Big Ten," (SN 1/19), it sounded like the staff is complaining about being ranked fifth and having an average salary of about $111,000. Now, I understand that MSU has to be comparative, if not better, than some schools to attract good professors and keep the ones we have. But if the salary is going to be higher, then better screening of new professors and better examinations of current professors needs to be put in place. For the most part, I have had average to great professors during my three years at MSU.

COMMENTARY

Major leagues

Another MSU student is stepping up to the challenge and running for a government office. Law student John Knowles announced his candidacy for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives in the 69th District, which includes East Lansing and Williamston.

COMMENTARY

Concept of 'soul,' free will product of mind, manipulated easily

The history of thought on free will and the human mind has tended toward supernatural explanations. It's been suggested, for example, that humans are mystically endowed with an intangible and incorporeal soul, immune to physical laws. Compared with animals, some believe that humans are a fundamentally different type of being.

COMMENTARY

High-five for ASMSU

Oh, ASMSU. You've captivated us with your latest bill. MSU's undergraduate student government has passed a bill in support of two extra days off during fall semester — a fall break.

COMMENTARY

Impact one of best, despite SN column

I was browsing through the pages of The State News when I came across the column, "Local radio needs diversity" (SN 1/12), about diversifying local radio in Lansing. I read through the column and noticed that much of it was devoted to bashing MSU's very own Impact 88.9-FM — which has been the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and Broadcast Music Inc. college radio station of the year for the last five of the past six years.