Tuesday, July 7, 2026

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

SN careless with facts, mixes up festival origin

I would like The State News to try fact checking before publishing insensitive articles like "Event celebrates Diwali" (SN 11/07). Diwali is a Hindu festival, and addressing it repeatedly as purely an Indian festival without mentioning its Hindu origin marginalizes the non-Hindus of India and the non-Indian Hindus. The most blatantly insulting comment is the declaration that it worships the "Indian goddess of wealth." This would be as ignorant and demeaning as claiming that in December, the "American God of presents" is worshipped.

COMMENTARY

Lack of respect in SN not surprising

Leave it to The State News to not include anything regarding Veteran's Day in newspaper besides a horrible cartoon (SN 11/11) accusing and degrading our currently-serving military personnel. The day is to acknowledge and pay respects to U.S.

COMMENTARY

E.L. pushing students away, should be careful

As an alumni of MSU, I am becoming less and less motivated to return to East Lansing to visit my favorite college campus. There have been several changes during the last five years that are driving away both potential students and alumni.

COMMENTARY

Voicing dissent

A vote of 5-4 is hardly a clear consensus. Only one vote prompted the independent commission, created to review the April 2-3 disturbances, not to place blame in its final report. Instead, the commission provided a list of recommendations intended to prevent these types of events from occurring in the future. It seems like something is missing. If the commission can't determine who acted inappropriately that night, how can it determine the best way to prevent it from happening again? One member of the commission, Beth Alexander, has come forward and said she disagrees with the decision not to place blame. In her personal statement, which is attached to the report, Alexander wrote "Forgiveness of perceived wrongs often cannot occur until there has been acknowledgment and ownership of errors." Alexander is exactly right.

COMMENTARY

SN, cartoonist show extremely poor taste

Mike Ramsey's cartoon which appeared on Veterans Day (SN 11/11) was in extreme poor taste and an insult to America's veterans of prior wars as well as our men and women in uniform who are risking their lives every day preserving our way of life. Ramsey and The State News undoubtedly enjoy the freedoms that those same soldiers provide every day they spend in harm's way. Perhaps on a day when the nation remembers the sacrifices that our heroes have made to make us free, The State News should show some class, put aside their extreme radical political agenda and show some gratitude.

COMMENTARY

Bye, design

Evolution. It's a widely accepted scientific theory, based on scientific facts. Intelligent design.

COMMENTARY

More than once

"We must never forget." Many people understand the Holocaust needs to be remembered, but it goes beyond one day of memorial.

COMMENTARY

Restrictions crush Spartan enthusiasm

The restrictions on student tickets and tailgating have squashed Spartan spirit. I feel bad for the current students who are unable to enjoy the tailgates and football games the way alumni did in the past. I have been to two games, University of Michigan and Northwestern, and the atmosphere on Saturdays is just not the same. The new restrictions on tailgating for students are just excuses for the university to make money, not to protect the health of students.

COMMENTARY

Off topics

It's unconscionable. Only 14 percent of registered voters showed up to the polls. That's it. Compared to the national average for voter turnout, it's absolutely deplorable. Yes, this is an off-year and not a large presidential election.

COMMENTARY

SEJ member fails to cite examples

Tommy Simon's letter "Group's efforts very effective worldwide" (SN 11/03) demonstrates his inability to pay attention to detail and the gullibility of an ineffective group, the Students for Economic Justice, or SEJ. Mr. Simon writes, "To correct his largest error, as a member of SEJ, I guarantee you that MSU has joined the Worker Rights Consortium, or WRC (see for yourself www.workersrights.org)." I suggest Mr. Simon re-read my letter.

COMMENTARY

Unbelievable

Out of 27,321 registered voters, only 3,805 voted. That equals about 14 percent voter turnout. If this were a test grade, it would be graded a 0.0. In a country founded on democracy, it would be nice if more than 14 percent of the community took part.