COMMENTARY

LETTER: Why you probably didn’t hear about the largest climate rally in history

Sam Corden

September 23, 2014

This past Sunday bore witness to a noble cause that received very little U.S. media coverage: The People’s Climate March. All across the globe, citizens marched arm-in-arm with banners and chants referencing a cleaner tomorrow in hopes of reaching our world’s most influential policymakers, calling for less talk and more action. As the world continues to change at an alarming rate, the global march preceded the U.N. Climate Summit, scheduled for September 23. The only problem is, not enough of us heard.

COMMENTARY

Signs in dining halls would make locating friends easier

Kevin Lange

September 23, 2014

In a dining hall as big as Brody Square, you can lose track of your friends. But maybe we can change that.

COMMENTARY

Academic success is a point of pride for MSU student athletes

Kevin Lange

September 23, 2014

College students determine success in different ways. For some, it’s evolving from apprehensiveness to feeling comfortable in new social settings. For others, it’s eclipsing athletic aspirations. For most at MSU, success ultimately means balancing personal goals with the constant demand of academics.

COMMENTARY

Connect with people, not screens

Lauren Owings

September 23, 2014

The effect technology has on MSU students and how they interact with one another concerns me. I first noticed the impact during my freshman year, when nearly everyone in my hallway shut their doors and turned on their TVs.

COMMENTARY

Upcoming Board of Trustees election gives opportunity for student input

Cameron Macko

September 21, 2014

According to the preamble of the bylaws of the MSU Board of Trustees, MSU has a “legal responsibility to provide a liberal and practical education for the agricultural and industrial classes and all others, to prepare them for the various pursuits and professions of life.”

COMMENTARY

Women carry weight of assaults, violence

Lauren Owings

September 18, 2014

Being a student at MSU comes with a lot of stipulations. You have the responsibility of making connections with professors, acing exams, and creating a plan for the future. As a female student, you have additional worries.

COMMENTARY

MSU needs to take action, combat sexual assault and violence

Editorial Board

September 18, 2014

A mistake is pulling a door that should be pushed or driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Even greater errors of judgment can fit under that category. But assaulting someone is never a mistake. 

COMMENTARY

LETTER: ACLU of Michigan

ACLU of Michigan

September 17, 2014

Students have a right to vote, but it is a right that is under attack in many places in the United States.

COMMENTARY

Leave E.L. and take a walk on the capital side

Jacob Sailor

September 16, 2014

Students, look to the west where Grand River Avenue fades into Michigan Avenue. Focus your eyes beyond that fine border known as the Frandor Shopping Center. You can see your state Capitol standing tall and proud in the distance and all around it is a whole city to explore.

COMMENTARY

LGBT community still waiting for statewide protections

Colin Wiebrecht

September 15, 2014

March 7, 1972: East Lansing passes the country’s first non-discrimination ordinance that includes sexual orientation. 

COMMENTARY

Get to know the people who share your floor

Cameron Macko

September 15, 2014

I have a confession. Besides my roommate, I haven’t made much of an effort to get to know many of the people in my residence hall. With classes so far away from my room in East Neighborhood (also known as the edge of the galaxy) and my workplace, I often leave early in the morning and don’t get back until after 11 p.m. That makes it hard for me to participate in many of the activities my RA plans.

COMMENTARY

Break down language barriers with time and attention

Merinda Valley

September 14, 2014

“Are ya goin’ to the meetin’ er whaa?”Strung together in quick succession and wrapped in an authentic up-north drawl, the question was nearly incomprehensible on first listen.When I heard it, I just stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared at my teacher, who’d said it. I tried to process, doing a little Yooper-to-English translation in my head.It took me a second, but I got it.

COMMENTARY

College experience is not one size fits all

Cameron Macko

September 14, 2014

When a person thinks of what an average college experience is like, a number of stereotypes quickly pop up. For example, they might think of a frat party with excessive amounts of drinking. Or maybe they’ll think of a nerdy kid constantly in the library with his head buried in a pile of textbooks. Neither of those hypothetical college students are doing anything wrong. The truth, however, is a combination of both extremes and everything in between.

COMMENTARY

MSU emergency alert system shocked, but should comfort

Merinda Valley

September 11, 2014

Emergency alerts sent out by MSU police after a stabbing on Michigan Ave. Sunday, Sept. 7 weren't well-received. But they should offer some sense of security.

COMMENTARY

Religious persecution a foreign concept to many Americans

Cameron Macko

September 11, 2014

The reports from areas under the dominion of the Islamic State have been shocking, to say the least, especially for any of the religious minorities facing persecution. Iraq’s largest Christian city, Qaraqosh, recently fell to ISIS militants, and if their occupation of the city of Mosul tells us anything it’s that the entire situation is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

COMMENTARY

Conquering college — and mental health

Jacob Sailor

September 10, 2014

Research from the National Alliance on Mental Illness shows that the stigma surrounding mental health is the main reason college students don’t address potential disorders.

COMMENTARY

Obama sees declining approval rating, younger voters turning away

Cameron Macko

September 10, 2014

Last week, President Obama’s approval rating reached its lowest point. In a Gallup survey, only 38 percent of respondents said they approve of how he is handling his job. And during Obama’s presidency, his approval rating sunk to that mark seven times.

COMMENTARY

Complete ban on smoking would be too extreme

Cameron Macko

September 9, 2014

Apparently, the last great vice of college students in America isn’t drinking, drugs, partying too hard, sleeping around or eating too much unhealthy food in cafeterias — it’s smoking.

COMMENTARY

Letter: ASMSU urges Terri Lynn Land to debate on campus

KC Perlberg

September 8, 2014

When we are young, we are painted a bright and idealistic picture of our democracy. We’re told of how members of communities, states and our country come together to discuss issues and select representatives.

COMMENTARY

Land and Peters should debate at MSU, engage young voters

Editorial Board

September 8, 2014

We hold the power of our democracy on a sheet of paper. We make our choices and then drop them into a ballot box. And we are affected, knowingly or not, by the results.