Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

Commentary

COMMENTARY

Police chief: Is wild partying worth it?

About two weeks ago, I wrote a column about some of the life and death scenarios that I observed while out on patrol during the weekend of Welcome Week, ("East Lansing police Chief shares startling Welcome Week stories," SN 9/1). One of those incidents involved an unprovoked assault when a person was hit in the head with a bottle in the 200 block of Bailey Street.

COMMENTARY

Inquired views

Hearings to consider Judge John Roberts for the position of chief justice of the United States are underway and both Democrats and Republicans are arguing about the selection. The nominee's background and experience will be evaluated by an 18-member Senate Judiciary Committee before a decision is reached, but what interviewers should be focusing on is his views on certain issues. As a renowned conservative, Roberts is largely backed by Republicans who are hoping he will be an asset within the court and lead it away from overruling congressional decisions.

COMMENTARY

Group's column shows ignorance

Direct Action's column, ("Direct Action members criticize State News for misrepresentation," SN 9/9) in response to being portrayed as terrorists by The State News successfully made them sound less like terrorists and more like the local flagship of "progressive" ignorance, which, believe it or not, is not a better public relations strategy.

COMMENTARY

Say what?

We still can't figure out what she's saying. MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon announced a "major change" in MSU's mission at the Sesquicentennial Academic Convocation Thursday: The university will strive to become the top-ranking, land-grant institution in the entire nation by 2012 under her new "Boldness by Design" initiative. Sounds like a Bob Vila show to us. Achieving a top rank will include expanding the university's global networking to areas in China and South America, creating another residential college, increasing the National Institutes of Health research past $100 million and increasing MSU's involvement in local and government communities. Becoming No.

COMMENTARY

Piece of peace

Both Palestinian and Israeli leaders are now one step closer toward peace in the long run. The Israeli flag was lowered Sunday, completing an entire Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip after almost 40 years of occupation. But it's only a start to ending the deep-rooted conflict. The withdrawal began on Aug.

COMMENTARY

Activist group does promote violence

I am writing in response to the article you ran titled "Local terrorist activity suspected," (SN 8/30). I found it absolutely comical that members of the group Direct Action took offense to speculation by law enforcement that they were involved in terrorist activities.

COMMENTARY

Enforcement zones 'a gift' from police

The editorial on seat-belt enforcement zones, "Traffic Trap" (SN 9/7), seems to be a pretty ungrateful response to a gift from the police department. These enforcement zones couldn't be further from "traps." The dates of the zones have been released ahead of time, and last time I checked, they even put up signs to let you know you're entering the zones.

COMMENTARY

Tragic mistake

As the pumps continue to drain New Orleans, authorities are finding what lies beneath the murky Louisiana waters. We can't imagine what it's like down there - our homes are intact and our lives are scarely altered by this extreme tragedy. The volunteers, citizens and journalists who are presently in the area are the only people who know the reality of this event because they see it. They're living it. When politicians and public figures, such as former first lady Barbara Bush at the Astrodome in Houston, say things such as "So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them," it shows the disconnect between leaders and the people they represent. Bodies lie in the streets of New Orleans.

COMMENTARY

Iraqi war misguided, exit strategy needed

Cody Zoppa's letter "Sheehan's stand bold, impractical" (SN 9/1) touches on the issues America should have been debating long ago. Now that most of us can see how politically and morally wrong the Iraq invasion was, the next question is "what is the exit strategy?" I would advise Zoppa not to fall for the establishment's excuses against an early withdrawal.

COMMENTARY

Resident angered by tragedy response

I just wish to express my outrage toward the blatant self-absorption and lack of humanity by the majority of the students on this campus regarding the tragedy happening to the poor people of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast. On the afternoon of Aug.

COMMENTARY

1,000 words

Journalists can not let the First Amendment be disregarded again. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's request not to take photos of dead hurricane victims cripples journalists' duty to accurately document what is happening in the affected areas.

COMMENTARY

Band member wants MSU fans' respect

MSU student section, show some respect for yourselves, for others and for your university. The band is not trying to stop the "one, two, three, first down bitch" chant because we want to ruin your fun.