COMMENTARY
Students must speak up for future of East Lansing
Don’t like that big ugly building across from Rick’s American Cafe? Now is the time to speak up.
COMMENTARY
Greek life: new beginnings after Rush weeks
And even though I had to sell myself, I knew going greek would be a great choice because of all the future possibilities: volunteer work, community service, social networking and, most important for me, finding a brotherhood.
COMMENTARY
MSU worse off without party school reputation
MSU must signal to the rest of the country that this is a place where students can receive a world class education while having a bit of fun as well.
COMMENTARY
Transitional housing too common at MSU
For another year in a row, MSU has taken in too many students than it can house, resulting in the crowded, cramped transitional housing that is affecting so many students. Last year, hundreds of students were affected by a shortage of on-campus housing. As of last week, 545 are packed in dorms meant for only two people.
COMMENTARY
Spartan coaches deserve respect, not demeaning chants from students
I want Terry, too, but I want him to be ready for four years of starting at MSU, not burnt out or injured to please some discontented fans.
COMMENTARY
Domestic partnership registry would do more harm than good
The East Lansing City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to recognize same-sex couples via a domestic partnership registry on Oct. 15. The registry, proposed by Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett in August, is a largely symbolic measure and would not impact benefits given to same-sex couples. Although creating such a registry might have a positive impact on acceptance and the recognition felt by same-sex couples, the benefits of having the list are dwarfed by the potential negative repercussions.
COMMENTARY
Under ASMSU, student voice Achilles' heel
A new independent union called MSU Students United is advocating on the behalf of student demands to organize petitions and contest policies. Is it possible that this student group will be the new face of our student government in the future?
COMMENTARY
Lonely on campus? You're not alone
There are so many clichés about college being a “big adventure” or a “new chapter in your life.” I will admit that to some extent, those clichés are very true. I mean, who doesn’t love a new adventure? But no adventure would be any fun without someone to go through it with you. That’s why having friends is important.
COMMENTARY
Congested sidewalks demand courtesy
Thousands of 20-pound metal bicycles barreling down the streets of Farm Lane and Auditorium Road around noon is an unnerving sight to see while walking to class. It’s absurd how fast some bikes zoom their way through crowded sidewalks. But with an enrollment of more than 40,000 students, everyone has to commute to class somehow — and in the warmer seasons, bikes seem to cause the most problems.
COMMENTARY
Compared to other cities, CATA buses not so bad
Before I lived on the East Coast, I hated hopping on a sweltering bus with dozens of other sweaty students as much as anyone.
COMMENTARY
No excuse not to call 911 to report assault
No one ever expects to be sexually assaulted or to have someone they love be sexually assaulted. Sometimes, it’s easier to dismiss the headlines in the paper as far-removed stories than it is to accept them as reality. But after 26-year-old Oswald Scott Wilder, of Vernon, Mich., confessed to committing four sexual assaults this summer in East Lansing, the MSU community can’t afford to ignore reality.
COMMENTARY
Attendance policies shouldn't be necessary
In reality, it’s your choice if you want to skip. If you want to miss and lose out on attendance points that’s your $430-a credit hour tuition going to down the drain.
COMMENTARY
Fear of police, lack of awareness weakens medical amnesty
Under Michigan’s medical amnesty law, if a student or others need some kind of medical attention, they will not receive legal punishment. Yet mistrust in police, lack of awareness of legal protections and potential medical bills might thwart the effectiveness of the law.
COMMENTARY
Sanity, health more important than staying ahead in school
About to sacrifice your personal hygiene and skip a shower so you can read the last hundred pages of “Othello”? My advice: don’t.
COMMENTARY
More myth, less truth to Freshman 15
College brings a feast of new experiences. Freedom from parental supervision, an enormous social environment and the excitement of scholarly advancement are aspects of college living that freshman will gorge themselves on. And if myth prevails, freshmen also will gorge themselves with carbohydrate-rich cafeteria food, alcohol and the ever-essential, late-night study fuel: junk food.
COMMENTARY
Despite roommates, landlords, don’t rush for housing
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being rushed. I enjoy being busy, but on my own accord. My family likes to call this “turtle speed.” While I’d like to disagree, sometimes slow and steady does win the race, such as shopping for a house to live in next year.
COMMENTARY
Bicycle safety story misses the point
A recent State News article about bike/car/pedestrian conflict on campus (Students, drivers have tough time sharing roads on campus, 9/19) is in need of some clarification aimed at saving lives. As an experienced, commuting cyclist (30 years), my common sense says that riding on the sidewalk (when there is no bike lane) is safer than on the road, and that intersections are dangerous in general.
COMMENTARY
Professors should strive for objectivity
In the wake of the Penn controversy (which I’m sure every SN reader is quite familiar with by now), I can’t help but being appalled by the public reaction it has spurred. Make no mistake, I am not at all surprised by that amount of attention it has received. For some reason, which I don’t completely understand, political views in this country are held as an almost sacred creed and any slight towards a particular viewpoint is seen as a personal attack. I am appalled, however, because it took an anti-republican rant and the resulting media torrent to finally bring attention to the real issue here: the lack of objectivity in pedagogy at this university.
COMMENTARY
TA payment dispute resolution needed
On Sept. 17, the Graduate Employees Union (GEU) filed for arbitration against MSU on the behalf of about 330 teaching assistant’s (TA’s) who believe they were shorted a sum of $66,000. The GEU stated that the TA’s had been inadequately paid for their time working between May 13 and May 15 of this year.
COMMENTARY
I’m from Ann Arbor, but I hope we can still be friends
It’s an odd pairing, East Lansing and I. If this were the Wild West and I strolled into town, it wouldn’t take long for a cowboy to walk up to me while chomping on a piece of straw and mutter something like “us folk don’t take too kindly to your type ‘round these parts.”