Monday, September 30, 2024

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Editorials

COMMENTARY

Ballot blues

How long must a piece of policy be enforced before it becomes a sedentary chunk of the status quo? Is there a statute of limitations on the pulse of popular American forethought?

COMMENTARY

Fiscal fixes

Just like contestants on the popular television show "Extreme Makeover," Snyder-Phillips Hall will receive its own facelift in 2005. While re-guts, nips and tucks for residence halls are an important part of making them more attractive to prospective students, MSU officials should remember that in the midst of a budget crisis, fiscal responsibility is extremely important when renovating. We don't need another Shaw Hall equipped with whirlpools and state-of-the-art dorm furniture.

COMMENTARY

Voting ease

Voter apathy, thy name is college student. In the 2000 general election, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that of the nearly 24 million United States citizens age 18-to 24, only about 8.6 million registered and cast a ballot four years ago this November.

COMMENTARY

Sugar bust

As if the budget crisis did not hurt public schools enough, a new bill proposed by a Michigan legislator is aimed at getting rid of yet another source of much needed cash - pop vending machines. The bill, introduced by Sen.

COMMENTARY

Travel stops

Fingerprints and photos are taken upon entering any local or state jail facility, but now, thanks to the U.S.

COMMENTARY

Slot support

Adding slot machines to area horse race tracks could mean more money for agriculture and higher education, and more money in a time of low funds is always good. Legislation was recently proposed to create racinos, which add video, telephone and Internet wagering to Michigan horse racetracks and also could provide higher education some much-needed extra cash. In declaring his immediate support of pro-racino state legislation as a means of possibly generating university revenue, MSU President M.

COMMENTARY

No excuses

In their heyday, the Los Angeles - now Oakland - Raiders had the notoriety as the dirtiest football team in the league.

COMMENTARY

Fair trial

When America woke up on Dec. 14, a shaggy face crawled from a hole in the ground dominating the airwaves and our attention. Fugitive Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was now neutralized and the ideological culmination of the second Gulf War seemed apparent. When he was captured, he wanted to bargain.

COMMENTARY

Winners & Losers

A lot went down in 2003, from Operation Iraqi Freedom to our own university president heading off to Baghdad to rebuild the country's economy.

COMMENTARY

Kyoto cop out

Industrialized nations would be smart to dust off their spectacles and realize the problem of global warming is looming much closer than it might seem. The United States and Russia, two of the world's biggest producers of greenhouse gas emissions, have rejected the accord aimed at putting an end to global warming.

COMMENTARY

Trimming budgets

Just hope that MSU President M. Peter McPherson doesn't start sitting down with University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Gov.

COMMENTARY

Patience required

High school seniors and toddlers have one thing in common - they both are waiting for the most important part of the year.

COMMENTARY

Awarenesss

While finding a cure for AIDS might not be just around the corner, education and awareness of the disease could put the world leaps ahead on the path to its eradication. Area organizations joined others around the globe Monday in commemorating World AIDS Day.

COMMENTARY

Candidate central

It's just a trickle now, but prepare for a flood. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, a Democratic presidential candidate, will visit Hannah Community Center on Thursday to speak and answer questions. He will be the first of many presidential candidates to visit the area as caucuses and primaries approach. Make it a point to get out and see these candidates, hear their platforms, ask questions and understand the issues. Then, although it's been said many times before, get out and vote in the spring and definitely in November for the general election.

COMMENTARY

Fresh breath

Guilty until proven innocent is not the way the law should be run - and thanks to a Bay City judge, another case of such injustice has been overturned. Last week, a federal judge struck down a Bay City ordinance that required people younger than 21 to take a Breathalyzer test on demand or pay a $100 fine.

COMMENTARY

Good call

John Smith is no longer any old name on campus. It conjures images of cowboy boots, a little "magic" and a prestigious football team, and now it marks the Big Ten Coach of the Year.Head coach John L.

COMMENTARY

Precaution

They're not scanning students' retinas or asking for thumbprints - yet. MSU officials announced Monday that they would be testing a keyless-entry system in Emmons Hall next fall.

COMMENTARY

No judicial action

The last thing we at The State News want to do is continually acknowledge the "Wolverines Pack Fudge" slogan that has offended so many people. The logo of cartoon animals participating in crude sex acts rightfully offended many members of the university community, especially those who identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender or allies. The concept is ignorant and abhorrent, but the students involved should not be punished by the Department of Student Life. The T-shirts, their makers and the fliers advertising them were publicly decried by the Alliance of Lesbian, Bi, Gay and Transgender Students, the Residence Halls Association and ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government. Each organization called for public condemnation of the shirt by university officials. That immediate and harsh condemnation was enough for this situation; a line must be drawn before general speech, however horrible, becomes criminal. There was no specific threat made or perceived from the logo to any specific person and, therefore, the shirt is no basis for prosecution. As we said before, there should be criticism from all areas of MSU, to make sure the creators realize their actions were tasteless and will not be tolerated at this university. That has happened, and no further action should be taken.

COMMENTARY

One assembly

ASMSU is by no means the U.S. Congress. Although some members of MSU's undergraduate student government believe this, it should not deter representatives from restructuring the organization into a single assembly.