COMMENTARY
All the stuff nobody told me years ago, and other related tidbits
The end of the summer is approaching, and with it, the end of an era. It’s time for some of us to leave.
COMMENTARY
Actor remembered as positive person
As some of us know, last Monday the character of Timmy died on an episode of “Passions,” a popular soap opera.
COMMENTARY
Return from study abroad helps to appreciate American conveniences
And I’m back. After spending five weeks in the United Kingdom, I’m writing this column while flying over Northern Canada, waiting for the last three hours to pass on my direct flight from London to Detroit.
COMMENTARY
Religious motto not bad for Michigan
I was shocked to see the “Forced worship” editorial in The State News on Wednesday, August 7, 2002.
COMMENTARY
Seperate room
Beginning this week, some workers in Ingham County will get a breath of fresh air as a countywide ban on smoking in break-rooms used by smokers and nonsmokers alike takes effect.
COMMENTARY
Saving Sparty
Ceramics experts have given Sparty an ominous diagnosis - he only has eight years to live if his lifestyle doesn’t change soon. But help is on the way for MSU’s terra-cotta icon, believed to be the world’s tallest free-standing ceramic statue.
COMMENTARY
Students apathetic for good reasons
I followed with some interest the recent columns by Drew Harmon, “Time to let go of hopes for better things, let apathetic do as they please,” (SN 8/7), and Rishi Kundi, “Loss of faith in public encouragement doesn’t bode well,” (SN 8/8). The question of student apathy generally focuses around causes, or “why don’t those idiots care about what’s going on?” I would suggest that there are two reasons: Many students have the incorrect perception that local and state politics don’t affect them much, and the correct perception that they can’t do much about it anyway. For the effects of local politics, consider that many local initiatives (such as the Capital Area Transportation Authority question of last Tuesday’s vote) affect property taxes, which directly affect rent.
COMMENTARY
Loss of faith in public encouragement doesnt bode well
On this page yesterday was a column written by my editor, Drew Harmon (“Time to let go of hopes for better things, let apathetic do as they please,” SN 8/7), in which he announced his surrender to the apathy that has devoured this university, this city and this country. The piece was well-written, funny and engaging, and Drew’s point couldn’t have been clearer.
COMMENTARY
Delayed count
As election officials continued to count votes into Wednesday afternoon from the day before’s primary, some criticized state measures that require ballots thrown out in past elections to be examined more closely. Detroit election officials said a state-mandated program that identifies flawed ballots slowed down the counting of absentee ballots.
COMMENTARY
State gambling less fun than casino style
I’m no stranger to the near-illicit thrill that is giving money away to already-rich establishments - I mean, gambling.
COMMENTARY
Planning ahead
The consequences of Gov. John Engler’s vetoes of more than $850 million in state payments to local governments is started to be driven home. East Lansing city officials began looking hard at the numbers this week, and started talking about how they can make up for $4.6 million in lost state-aid.
COMMENTARY
Time to let go of hopes for better things, let apathetic do as they please
Everyone has that certain roommate. The one who doesn’t clean the bathroom, ever. The one who eats your food and drinks your beer.
COMMENTARY
No place to go
It is disappointing to see the hip-hop theme night at Old Town’s Spiral Video Dance Bar end because of the ludicrous lack of judgment of a single person that early Thursday morning.
COMMENTARY
Posthumus risky for all of Michigan
I work at the Capitol in Lansing. I watched in pain as Gov. John Engler vetoed revenue sharing July 25.
COMMENTARY
Forced Worship
Instead of being a unifier, God stands to divide the United States, at least when it comes to the national motto and the recent Michigan legislation encouraging its placement in state government buildings.
COMMENTARY
Huge salaries ridiculous, should be earned
As I sat in my office contemplating the conditions of the world and our country, thinking about the disasters occurring in the Middle East, children kidnapped from across the United States, terror continuously on our minds; I chanced to hear a radio commentator speaking of the horrible possibility of another professional baseball strike.
COMMENTARY
Bad medicine
A new study shows the top three programs used to educate and prevent school-age children from using drugs - Drug Abuse Resistance Education; Here’s Looking at You, 2000; and McGruff’s Drug Prevention and Child Protection - are either ineffective or haven’t been sufficiently tested.
COMMENTARY
Talking heads on television lousy substitute for actual information
As a dope-fiend for information, I often find my eyes bleeding and my ears aching while desperately seeking grains of worthwhile information from all of the cable news channels.
COMMENTARY
Hitting the poles
The time has come again. The candidates have campaigned, the issues have been debated. All that remains is for voters to make their decision. But with Tuesday’s election only being a primary, it may seem as though an individual vote does not matter.
COMMENTARY
Hippies, med students and the hip: time to finish list of campus groups
As promised, this week I have composed a second and final part to my “Field Guide to Spartan Cliques.” The first part, published in these pages two weeks ago, stirred up a veritable hornet’s nest of indignant feedback, provided that those hornets are all dead and the nest is in the trash - in other words, nobody wrote me a damn thing.