I was disappointed to read that the MSU student accused of rape had been found not guilty ("Student found not guilty in rape trial" SN 4/8). This verdict seems to send the message that being drunk and/or high means that a person is not responsible for his own behavior, including criminal acts.
Boo! Those pesky kids and their going to the bar all the time! Why, I ought to do something about it.
I would like to know how many of the pro-tear-gas students and graduates actually saw what happened after the game on Saturday.
I've been saying it for years: The No Child Left Behind Act is hurting our schools, not helping them.
This year's undergraduate commencement speaker promises to be a lot more inspirational and less political. At the request of MSU President Lou Anna K.
After reading the editorials submitted by both students and alumni reprimanding those who chose to congregate after our loss on April 2, I am compelled to publicize the fear lurking in their arguments. The probability that one could anticipate an aggressive police response to a gathering that one attends without violent intentions is irrelevant.
It is impossible to make a case for driving drunk. Being inebriated and operating a motor vehicle are two rights you have that are mutually exclusive. You've probably heard all of the valid reasons not to drink and drive before: Alcohol impairs coordination, information processing ability, eye movement and steering ability, among other things. At the risk of sounding like an overbearing and graphic "Blood on the Highway"-esque driver's education film here, any decision to drive drunk is a bad one.
I am writing in regard to the article "Faculty must take steps to better accommodate inquiring students" (SN 3/21). Darrell Hughes states that the MSU faculty members and their abilities were presented to him in a highly positive way before attending school.
In light of the recent discussions of excessively aggressive cops and free-spirited, celebrating students, I believe that both parties are to blame for East Lansing's bad reputation. For the university and city to clean up their acts, the general attitude needs to change.
An A-? "Women's team's season solid overall" (SN 4/8) You guys over at The State News must have had the hardest professors.
On-campus residents can expect to part with even more money on top of their rising tuition bill next year. On Friday, the MSU Board of Trustees approved a 5.25 percent increase to residence hall room and board rates and University Apartments rates.
I have read many of the opinion letters published over the past several days in The State News that decry the response of the East Lansing Police Department on April 2-3. The simple fact that all of this boils down to is that East Lansing has earned the reputation that the students and citizens will riot after big games.
What is so different from this year's Final Four loss compared to the Final Four loss of 2001? And why isn't that loss covered in any of the statistics concerning damage, amount of people, riot gear, etc.? It is impossible to compare police and student actions of this year's loss to that of the 2000 NCAA Championship.
I was not in East Lansing for the "peaceful gathering" on April 2, but I saw it on the news.
For journalists, integrity is essential. In a field where the sole interest is reporting the truth, one must have the public's trust that what is being written is what really happened.
I believe I have the solution to the issue of "soft" cops that Tom Marshall wrote in about "'Soft' police officers overreacted to crowd" (SN 4/7). If the East Lansing Police Department is itching for some action, then a cop exchange program might help solve the problem.
It seems to me that the police were asking for students to congregate in the streets by erecting barricades throughout East Lansing.
After having read several stories about the actions taken by the East Lansing police, not all of which came from The State News, I have to make a comment.
As I ventured forth onto Grand River Avenue from my home on Stoddard Street following the basketball game on April 2, I knew that something terrible must have been happening.
The events of last Saturday exhibit a deeply disturbing blatant abuse of police power, but perhaps the worst part of the whole thing is the East Lansing City Council's lack of understanding of students' viewpoints.