I am upset and disappointed by The State News' decision to run ads placed by campustruth.org. Campustruth.org is a group which purports to tell the "truth" and acknowledges in its ads that there are "two sides" to every story.
In a collapsing economy that's leaving no federal, state or city agency untouched in its unpredictable path, one campus organization was able to keep its budget within just $35 of the previous year's. That organization is... ASMSU? MSU's undergraduate student government that loves to try to jack up our taxes by $3 to provide us with "free" 50-cent blue books has suddenly reached a plateau of financial stability in a shaky economic climate.
It's one thing when a mom-and-pop store goes down on Grand River Avenue, but when titans like Big Boy are falling dead, some questions are raised. The Big Boy at 101 E.
I would like to commend Michael Perez for his column, "Running ads could incite violence, perpetuate discrimination" (SN 3/10). The State News is irresponsible for running ads which reinforce false stereotypes about Arabs.
I strongly support Michael Perez's criticisms of your publication of campustruth.org's advertisement in the same issue, in which Israeli and Palestinian responses to the Sept.
I was offended by the last column by Farhan Bhatti ("Jihad needs to be clarified to U.S.
This is a response to Magan Butler-Coleman's letter ("Nonminorities are not racism victims," SN 2/27). It is interesting to hear that the vice president of the Akers Hall Black Caucus would have such a narrow-minded opinion.
I have noticed a few campustruth.org (or as I'll say, skewed campus truth) ads placed in the paper, one of which paints Palestinians as lunatics who glorify destruction while Israelis are illustrated as peace-loving victims of Palestinian brutality.
Last semester, around the time of National Transgender Awareness Day, which is on Nov. 20 each year, I decided to write a column about all the transgender lives lost over the years.
I feel an intense need to respond to Magan Butler-Coleman's letter "Nonminorities are not racism victims" (SN 2/27). I am a white student, coming from an almost all-white town in northern Michigan.
During the course of human events, moments arise in which political leaders are forced to make choices that have the potential to alter world history forever.
A few spurs were jostled when a horse at the Michigan Horse Council's Horse Expo 2003 got out of control and went on a rampage, injuring two people.
This letter is written in response to "Nonminorities are not racism victims" (SN 2/27). I would like to ask Magan Butler-Coleman to open her eyes and take a minute to actually see what the "real world" forces everyone to deal with every day. I cannot decide if your statement "because it is impossible for minorities to be the dominant race, 'black people and other minorities' cannot be racist" was made out of ignorance or arrogance. I'll never forget the numerous statements I heard from my former African-American suitemate such as, "All white girls dress as sluts" or "All you white people don't know." And, according to the dictionary, racism is, "a prejudice based on race." If those prejudiced statements aren't racist, what is racism? Gabrielle Weldon mechanical engineering junior
There have recently been a number of articles in The State News, as well as letters in this section, denouncing greek life at MSU.
According to The State News Code of Advertising Acceptability, The State News will not intentionally publish advertisements "attacking or criticizing directly or by implication, any race, sex, creed, religion, organization, institution, business or profession without firm justification and foundation." Thus, one might reasonably conclude the right to freedom of speech, at least in this context, is subject to some acceptable standard by which racist, sexist or any other considerably offensive piece of advertising can be decided against and censored.
I have an idea for Breslin Center next year and I believe this idea should be considered very seriously: The band should move into the upper level in the corner.
In response to "Nonminorities are not racism victims" (SN 2/27), I wanted to ask Magan Butler-Coleman to accurately consult a dictionary before she publishes the definition of anything. Racism is defined as "the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others" by Webster's dictionary.
As federal investigators try to convict an MSU researcher for the alleged disappearance of a pig bacteria, the reputation of the university is getting dragged through the mud. "It's a tragedy," said Bob Huggett, vice president for research and graduate studies at MSU.
If Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposed plan to balance the state budget reflects the priorities of Michigan residents as she says, then a rocky future lies ahead for the state's universities. Granholm announced Thursday a 6.5-percent cut to higher education funding as part of a plan to overcome a predicted $1.7-billion shortfall.
Why is it that so much time is devoted to a mannequin? Ideally, one would imagine the consensus would be, "Thank goodness this wasn't an incident of racial intimidation, now we can get on with life." Instead, there was an incredibly poorly worded article with the "It was a white mannequin, we don't need to care anymore" tone which seems only too calculated, as if with intent to draw on a reverse-discrimination debate by so blatantly implying that color was a factor.