Sunday, December 7, 2025

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Easy, board

Safety should be paramount for school administrators these days, but like anything else, they need to use discretion and common sense in most cases.The case-in-point is Jeremy Hix, who just finished his junior year at Holt High School.

COMMENTARY

Morals should be governed with laws

I am writing in response to Andrew Banyai’s column regarding abortion (“Latest administrative action provokes anger,” SN 7/9). I must strongly disagree with Mr. Banyai’s implied contention that our laws and government should be morally neutral.

COMMENTARY

Student was wrong to blame location

I am ashamed to hear a member of my fraternity (especially a former president) make comments like “we were unfairly treated because of our location” (“Sigma Chi’s future in limbo,” SN 7/5). I am a Sigma Chi and a 1993 MSU graduate who can’t understand what the heck is happening at 729 E.

COMMENTARY

Past its prime

After seven years of the tuition guarantee, the state Legislature has forced university officials to consider hiking tuition as much as 10 percent for students.

COMMENTARY

Employment policy upsets graduate

How many of you undergraduate students plan on giving to MSU upon graduation? You will be getting phone calls shortly after you receive your diploma, asking for donations for various funds to support the university.

COMMENTARY

Good thing

After weeks of increasingly heated debate that has threatened to obscure the real issue at hand, President Bush is close to making a decision on whether the government should pay for research on stem cells extracted from human embryos. Stem cells are found in embryos and some adult tissues and can develop into brain cells, liver cells, heart cells and other parts of the body. Embryonic stem cells have generated great excitement among scientists because they are believed to have the potential to grow into any cell or tissue in the body, and consequently may be able to repair and replace damaged tissues and organs. Although it is possible to extract stem cells from adult tissue, embryonic cells have unlimited ability to proliferate and form new tissue in the laboratory, making them superior for research use. While advocates of federal spending for such research say the promise of new treatments or cures for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes is more than enough to justify government support; the Roman Catholic Church, anti-abortion activists and many conservatives object to using stem cells extracted from embryos, even those from fertility clinics that might otherwise be discarded. Despite the opposition, the White House is reportedly leaning toward support of a plan that would permit government-funded research to use discarded embryos created during infertility treatments. This plan would be similar to the one already put in place by former President Bill Clinton that allows federal funds to support research on stem cells created during fertility treatments. Although this is a no-win situation for the Bush administration, it will please the most people and placate the most interests by adopting some form of this idea. While the Catholic Church can be said to represent the views of a significant percentage of the American people, the majority of Americans do not prescribe to its conservative ideology. Anti-abortion activists are also found on the extreme side of the political spectrum, and it has been shown in many public opinion polls that most people do not agree with their views on abortion. Likewise, the opinions of overly conservative politicians are not always in sync with those of the general populace, as evidenced by the focus on the moderate voter prevalent in last year’s presidential election. In fact, some of Capitol Hill’s most right-wing voices have spoken in support of stem cell research - including South Carolina Sen.

COMMENTARY

Older generation ponders new technology

I felt really old the other day. I’m sure it had nothing to do with attending my friend’s bachelor party the night before, but more with a conversation I had with a few friends about old-school comedians, and buying comedy albums (yup, vinyl records). I was telling the story about the first album I ever bought, at a drug store near my home in 1982, which was Steve Martin’s “Let’s Get Small.” One of the tracks was called “Smoking,” and the big joke was “Mind if I smoke?

COMMENTARY

First steps

The Red Cedar River is about to get a face-lift and it’s a good thing too, because it’s been getting pretty ugly lately. Last fall, researchers found unusually high levels of E.

COMMENTARY

Slow down

We’re all getting pretty ticked off by drivers on cell phones, but new legislation in New York doesn’t consider the many implications of banning phone calls while driving. The state Assembly passed a bill Monday prohibiting drivers from holding a cell phone to their ears.

COMMENTARY

Bush is pushing questionable facts

It is extremely disappointing that President Bush, supposedly representing all Americans, calls on “science” only to support his particular views, while claiming a future world view superior to that in Europe where informed critics are raising questions.