Sunday, December 21, 2025

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

If U.S. is preparing to enter war, it also should plan for its exit

As anyone who knows me will attest, I hate defending any policy or strategy proposed by President Bush. If he is campaigning on television, explaining to a crowd how much he appreciates the warm welcome and the delicious local cooking, my first impulse is usually to throw any nearby inanimate object at the television set, vociferously arguing that he is not really being warmly received and the local cooking is, in fact, horrible. When I do agree with our president, I like to do so quietly, pouting to myself in the solitude of my room and assuring myself President Bush graciously decided to agree with me, not the other way around. And with the U.N.

COMMENTARY

'U' should keep smoking options

I have to totally disagree with the editorial about continuing to allow students to "choose" to smoke in their room ("Let them smoke" SN 11/13). Currently fires, candles, incense and basically anything that burns is banned from private residence hall rooms for safety reasons.

COMMENTARY

Education efforts

A delay in the Academic Governance system's endeavor to see gender identity included in MSU's anti-discrimination policy demonstrates the need for education and understanding of gender identity issues.

COMMENTARY

Residents deserve smoking options

In response to the article about banning smoking in the dorm rooms ("'U' debates hall smoking regulations," SN 11/12), I'd like to express my extreme displeasure for that choice.

COMMENTARY

D.C. story doesn't portray real life

Regarding the Nov. 13 article on Washington, D.C., "Under the Scope," I'd just like to say bravo to The State News for so excellently capturing what a day in the life of the average resident of the Washington-Metro Area is like.

COMMENTARY

Quiet times

It seems that if city leaders could have their way, all of East Lansing would be like a scene out of the "Twilight Zone" or "Pleasantville" - eerily quiet and nuclear. On Tuesday, city officials presented the East Lansing City Council with several plans to reduce noise violations, highlighted by ideas of a Responsible Landlord Council and quiet zones in the city.

COMMENTARY

Welcome to E.L., please don't disturb

Shhhhh. You must be very quiet. You are in East Lansing now. This is a noise-free zone. City council is thinking (or is it napping?) and mustn't be disturbed. True, we live in momentous times.

COMMENTARY

Columnist correct about hunger issue

I want to applaud Shawn Wozniak for his honest and unexpected column about the pervasiveness of hunger in the world ("Hunger not just time between meals," SN 11/12). While socialization of food and arguments of natural selection are complex and tangled issues, there is one simple fact everyone needs to know: There is enough food to feed everyone in the world, yet an astonishing number of people go days or weeks without proper nutrition. Why? There are several reasons - consumer culture, our agricultural and political systems - but knowing all of the reasons is impossible, and you don't need to in order to do something about it.

COMMENTARY

Review missed point of Moore's 'Bowling'

Casey McNenly's review of Michael Moore's latest film, "Bowling For Columbine," was much appreciated, and his glowing rating of the film does justice to this great movie and should be seen as encouragement for everyone to go see it while it is in the theater.

COMMENTARY

'U' should give Moss fair chance

In response to the letter to the editor "Moss shouldn't have been OK'd for return" (SN 11/11), I ask when do we as human beings decide to show someone mercy? If junior quarterback Jeff Smoker was kicked off the team permanently, this whole campus would have his back.

COMMENTARY

Dishonesty Inc.

Mark Twain once said, "Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it." Though spoken more than 100 years ago, this statement bears great relevance today in the age of corporate scandals, including at Enron Corp.

COMMENTARY

Let them smoke

Smokers beware - your days of smoking in your own room might be numbered. MSU is on track to be the last remaining Big Ten university to designate rooms in its residence halls by smoking preference.

COMMENTARY

World news isn't given enough play

The events of the last week have been shocking to say the least, but one would hardly know it by reading The State News. A Republican president has been joined by a Republican Congress, which has major implications for foreign policy, welfare and retirement benefits, the environment, labor relations, the judicial system and much, much more. It is disheartening to open The State News and find there is no coverage of the U.N.

COMMENTARY

Building support

If two campus groups have their way, MSU administrators will help breathe life into their ideas and campus could be a lot greener in the future. But these groups have different hopes.

COMMENTARY

Backward leader

Elected officials, whether they are Republican, Democrat or from a third party, should work with the future in mind rather than the past; they should try to unite rather than divide.

COMMENTARY

Hunger not just time between meals

Are you hungry? Are you really hungry? No, perhaps you don't understand. Are you really hungry, in the true sense of the word? I'm not talking about the pangs you might have right now because you haven't eaten in the last few hours.