COMMENTARY
Spare changes
The East Lansing City Council’s suggestion to raise evening parking prices throughout the city is only a temporary situation to a larger problem.
COMMENTARY
MEAP matters
It looks like the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP, tests have one less problem. The Michigan Department of Treasury, which oversees the program, learned from its mistake last year, when officials released the names of 71 schools being investigated for cheating on the state’s standardized tests.
COMMENTARY
Drunken disorder
Michigan legislators recently passed a bill to eliminate the excuse “I was drunk” as a possible legal excuse for a crime.
COMMENTARY
Coach concerns
Minority recruitment efforts for faculty and students have been highly publicized in recent years, but another area of university life hasn’t seen as much press, racial inequality in athletics. A symposium organized by MSU athletics director Clarence Underwood at Kellogg Center this week aimed to begin to correct that.
COMMENTARY
Belted Bibles
The superintendent of Wayland Union Schools near Grand Rapids recently had a tough decision to make: Turn way the Gideons International’s efforts to give out free Bibles in school or face a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. Fortunately for the U.S.
COMMENTARY
Bronzed beauty
After more than a decade of absence, former MSU President John A. Hannah will soon be seen on campus again. Plans are underway for a bronze statue of the university’s 12th president, a welcome addition to the place so heavily marked by Hannah.
COMMENTARY
Changing lanes
East Lansing city officials are right to take a closer look at transportation concerns along East Grand River Avenue.
COMMENTARY
Dollar dilemma
The East Lansing School District is facing a dilemma. It must find a way to make up a $3.5 million budget deficit. But to help do so, school officials could choose to close Spartan Village Elementary, acclaimed for its diverse student population.
COMMENTARY
Parking, please
On our campus, parking has been a hotly debated issue for as long as most people can remember. And while it may be too much to hope for a light at the end of this long tunnel, part of MSU’s 2020 Vision plans for campus development tackle part of the parking problem, even as parking spots are lost for added green space. The proposed creation of a 1,300 space parking lot where the Michigan State Police headquarters is located on Harrison Avenue would be a huge benefit to student commuters and visitors to the university.
COMMENTARY
Nix the annex
Annexation is a problem many townships face as cities grow, creeping over their boundaries and absorbing the revenue that bordering land can provide - and it’s not about to end soon. East Lansing could soon annex 1,056 acres of land along Chandler Road in Bath Township after two students filed petitions in Clinton County for the annexation. The students are residents of Melrose Communities, 16789 Chandler Road, and say they worry the township’s emergency personnel can’t support their complex. So they want East Lansing to take over the land, further expanding the city’s north border. The students have some legitimate concerns regarding safety - it is possible that Bath Township fire and police officials might not be able to reach the area as quickly as East Lansing providers, or that they simply might not have the resources to cover the very edge of the township.
COMMENTARY
Positive Action
The ruling in favor of the University of Michigan’s law school, declaring their use of race as an admissions factor legal, is a benefit to both current and prospective students and should be upheld. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled 5-4 to reverse a lower court decision stating that race itself cannot be taken into account when examining collegiate candidates. Most people do not consider themselves to be racist, so they might refuse to give race much consideration or believe that it would be necessary when choosing from a pool of possible students.
COMMENTARY
Union Conclusion
After a year of negotiations, Graduate Employees Union and university officials reached agreement on a three-year contract with increased health care and wage benefits for MSU’s graduate employees. We hope this deal provides needed relief to MSU’s teaching assistants, and also helps make this university more competitive in the hunt for the best graduate students. Under terms of the contract, graduate employees will receive a 3.5 percent wage increase retroactive to the beginning of the year, in addition to a 2 percent increase for 2002-03 and 2003-04 academic years, and a 3 percent increase in 2004-05. Like the thousands of undergraduate students at MSU, graduate employees rely on these wages and benefits to help them pay for their educations and support their families.
COMMENTARY
Tuition Trouble
The MSU Board of Trustees’ 8.5 percent tuition hike for the 2002-03 school year is a regrettable measure to have to take.
COMMENTARY
Unanswered
The passing of a new policy bill within the Residence Halls Association allowing the removal of executive board members in cases of gross negligence will not prove effective in dealing with the shortcomings of the organization.RHA has already had a history of irresponsibility, and although attempting to fix those problems is commendable, more effort is needed.
COMMENTARY
Unprofessional
After a postponement last week, the internal vice chairperson position on ASMSU’s Academic Assembly was filled Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Taking charge
One reported incident of child sexual abuse now could mean immediate dismissal for priests in the Catholic Church. On Wednesday, American cardinals met with Pope John Paul II in Vatican City to discuss the creation of a “one-strike-you’re-out” policy for future sex abuse cases.
COMMENTARY
Attend class
Members of the Graduate Employees Union have every right to speak out and protest in support of better benefits.
COMMENTARY
Tasteless wear
Despite what MSU students may have learned in recent weeks about creating and wearing offensive T-shirts, it seems officials at Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. clothing stores are in need of the same lesson. The New Albany, Ohio-based company distributed four T-shirt designs related to Asian culture for $24.50.
COMMENTARY
Time to change
Lawmakers should seize the opportunity to protect Michigan schoolchildren from countless amounts of unwanted solicitation by protecting public school’s student directories from Freedom of Information Act requests. And while they’re at it, the Legislature should look to update Michigan’s “sunshine laws,” which protect citizens’ right to access information and take part in their government.
COMMENTARY
Homeowner aid
A new bill could enable more families to purchase homes and come closer to achieving the American dream. The bill, called the American Dream Down Payment Fund, is being co-sponsored by U.S.