The night of April 2-3 has been a frequent topic for The State News Editorial Board. For nearly eight months, we have been discussing the disturbances and the independent commission formed to investigate them.
I would like to commend Mike Ramsey for exercising his First Amendment rights in his comic on Veterans Day (SN 11/11). I strongly disagree with the readers who want to contest his position at The State News.
I'd like to applaud The State News for printing the editorial "Identity right" (SN 11/16) on gender identity. Gender identity is as intrinsic and personal as anything else that we use to define ourselves to ourselves, and as such should be protected with the same safeguards as any other identifying characteristic. Yet presently at MSU, discrimination against transgender students in housing, employment and other areas of student life is permitted.
In response to students picking up a tab for police, remember thousands of people pouring into the streets in 1999, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage? Remember the Munn field riot?
This uproar about Mike Ramsey's cartoon (SN 11/11) isn't that much of a surprise to me.
Kudos to Josh McFarland for his recent letter: "Students are here permanently also" (SN 11/9). Indeed, The State News bares some responsibility as it continually distinguishes between "resident" and "student" in articles where the distinction is not important to understanding the story.
In response to Sophia DiPietro's letter, "Dairy industry not truthful of cruelty" (SN 11/08), regarding the dairy industry, I'm sorry she doesn't see the humor in the latest "got milk" advertisement.
When I read The State News' front-page article on the new residential college, "Living, learning collide in new college option" (SN 11/15), I thought I was reading a James Madison College brochure for prospective students.
Thanksgiving means a lot to many, many people. It's one of those days in the year reserved for people to gather with family, friends and loved ones, no matter how they celebrate. However, it doesn't have to be a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting. A feast, ski trip or movie at the local cinema all suffice.
For some, it's just a long weekend and some days off from school. For others, it's a time to spend with family.
It's the day after tomorrow. The "spree." The "big dance." Marathon runners would find it familiar. During the early morning, alarms around the country will break the stillness of the hour.
I was deeply disappointed and surprised by James Vondale's letter, "Council, students will benefit without Sharp" (SN 11/18) regarding former Councilmember Bill Sharp.
Attention students against Mike Ramsey: You are protesting a cartoon! Calm down — it's a cartoon, nothing else.
I read The State News online every day from my base in Iraq. My name is Matt Rawlins and I am a 1998 MSU graduate and a captain in the Army. I am weeks away from completing my second tour in Iraq, my first tour having been during the invasion in March of 2003.
Apparently, I've been outed. Karl Olson in "Republicans should practice preaching" (SN 11/7) has exposed me as a chicken hawk, a yellow elephant, a gutless College Republican who supports the war in Iraq but is not serving in it.
It can be seen as a changing of the guard. After 12 years of service to East Lansing as a member of the City Council, Bill Sharp lost his bid for reelection earlier this month. For more than a decade Sharp has shaped policies that have affected thousands of MSU students as they have studied, lived and worked in the city. His experience and dedication to the city cannot be questioned.
I am writing in response to the many letters about Mike Ramsey's Veterans Day cartoon. Recently, Jared Parko wrote in "Cartoon too harsh, inappropriate for day" (SN 11/16), "Please keep the paper comical and leave veteran soldiers out of your anti-war agenda." Political cartoons are intended to do more than simply entertain readers.
The "Your right" (SN 11/15) editorial regarding the Nov.
Yes, freedom of speech is great. Yes, it is a fundamental liberty. Blah blah blah. We already know this. There are a few problems with trying to protect Mike Ramsey's filth under these noble arguments though. First, The State News Editorial Board seems to argue that Ramsey is some great example of the freedom America allows to people with dissenting opinions — and therefore he is a protector of our liberties by pushing the envelope of free speech.
I was completely appalled when I read the "Oh, that war" (SN 11/08) editorial. How is a newspaper that puts in the sometimes nine-plus pages of football coverage going to blame the media for people's ignorance? If The State News thinks the media should cover Afghanistan instead of "whatever is happening most recently," then The State News should start with itself. Don't you think the enormous pullout football section and meager, often absent, Nation & World page might contribute to the skewed ignorance of college students? It boggles me how a college that has one of the top five international relations programs in the country cannot put out a newspaper that promotes international awareness. How about daily government headlines to keep students informed or at least a consistent Nation & World page?