Friday, September 20, 2024

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

By the numbers

After the election of 2000, Chad and his dimples were the most talked about subject for months - they did everything from tie up the Florida legal system to hold off the results of the presidential election. But because of Chad, the nation saw firsthand what kind of problems were inherent in our voting system. It was a hassle for everybody, since everyone wanted to know the identity of our president, whether it be then-Vice President Al Gore or then-Texas Gov.

COMMENTARY

Taping necessary with riot history

It is amazing how the way a phrase is turned can influence perception. In your editorial regarding police videotaping of student activities (“Candid cameras,” SN 11/9), you call what happened in the Cedar Village area after the National Championship win a “celebration.” What an interesting term for a riot.

COMMENTARY

Thank veterans

Nov. 11 is a date too often overlooked as just another day on the calendar. But this year, for many, the greatest significance of Nov.

COMMENTARY

Council candidates miss student issues

Now that the city council election has passed, and only about 2 percent of student voters found their way to the polls, everyone has again started to say students complain but don’t do a thing about it. As a student who ran for city council in August, I feel it is important to point out that this election brought no issue to the students that created interest to vote.

COMMENTARY

Veteran dad gives new perspective

With the recent attacks on our home front, more than ever a uniform represents honor and unity. But to me, it reminds me of my father. My dad was pulled out of rural Frankford, W.Va., to serve in Vietnam.

COMMENTARY

Save turkeys from death this holiday

This Thanksgiving many students will be enjoying a day without classes by sitting down to a meal with their family and friends - a meal with a main course that involves cruelty. Some factory farmers cram tens of thousands of turkeys into warehouses where disease, smothering and other health problems are an everyday part of life.

COMMENTARY

Izzo paid too much during tough times

In response to the massive pay Tom Izzo receives, I must say it has a very poor and ironic timing (“In Izzo we trust” SN 11/9). I have no doubt Izzo is a great coach, but the multiple pay raises and “undisclosed gifts” he receives are crazy, not to mention his base salary.

COMMENTARY

Historic future

MSU trustees were faced with two broad proposals Friday for the future of campus’s 70-year-old West Circle dorms - renovate them or tear them down.Although a plan for the residence halls’ future is, at the earliest, months off, the buildings are becoming more costly to operate - and could cost even more to bring up to code.

COMMENTARY

Spartans manage traditional loss

The MSU football team might have lost the Old Brass Spittoon, but it managed to keep another tradition alive - losing after a big win. Every year the Spartans seem to give us glimpses of how good they can be, only to falter in a game that, at least on paper, they should dominate.

COMMENTARY

Hardest work not always class

In her dorm room, Jessica Facundo has a spiral notebook of index cards, the kind that students use when studying for history exams or conjugating verbs for a language class.

COMMENTARY

World needs caped crusaders to save roast beef, but ditch the tights

Ours is one of the few societies that idolizes large men and slinky women in tights for heroes. Folks with outlandish monikers like “Man of Steel Man” and “The Amazing Spatula” (Scraping evil from the streets!) wage battles with even more outlandish folks who might introduce themselves as “The Sinister Dr. Steve” or the nefarious “Crabula.” Comic books have often been a source of heroic displays for children - and even adults - as their favorite characters clash on newsprint, in titanic struggles that sometimes hold the fate of mankind in the balance.

COMMENTARY

In Izzo we trust

Msu officials were wise to take measures to keep one of the athletics department’s most valuable assets - men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo.Izzo’s new seven-year rollover contract is no small chunk of change.

COMMENTARY

SN should cover more race issues

I totally disagree with the letter by Mike O’Bryan in response to the Meridian Mall case receiving too much play (“Meridian Mall case gets too much play,” SN 11/7). At a time when racial profiling is at its prime, coverage of this case was not only needed, but it should have been greater.

COMMENTARY

Candid cameras

Provide all the excuses you want, having MSU police wander through tailgates armed with video cameras is not a good idea.Despite reassurances from MSU police, students caught on tape during football Saturdays - or at any other event - have to wonder if police officers are out to get them.Officials say the tapes are used to analyze the ways different groups act while tailgating, and to document arrests and large groups to protect individuals and officers from later court action.And while it can protect officers during a questionable arrest - having a visual record always helps should a disagreement surface - the ability to record at will has the potential to be abused.Most students are unaware of the reasons why MSU police videotaped at past tailgates.