COMMENTARY
Lowering energy on campus easier in theory
Here are some steps for decreasing your tuition bill: Turn off your lights, shut down your computers and take shorter showers.
COMMENTARY
IBM programming center shows faith in MSU
It’s easy to be pessimistic during these hard economic times. However, a new attitude is long overdue.
COMMENTARY
Invocation choice reflects bipartisan reach
President-elect Barack Obama will become this nation’s first minority president Tuesday. But not everybody’s voice is being heard, and it’s time for that to change. It’s time to truly become a nation of one.
COMMENTARY
MSU research can improve Detroit schools
There are no tuition costs for a new form of MSU education. Detroit K-12 students will be getting an early MSU education through a new grant program, but regulations and thorough planning are necessary to ensure time and money are not wasted.
COMMENTARY
Electric car may not be enough to save Big Three
Start your engines, Detroit, but don’t forget to plug in your car overnight. The Big Three auto companies unveiled several electric concept cars at the 2009 North American International Auto Show as the car manufacturers attempt to keep their collective heads above water.
COMMENTARY
Advertising has no place in classroom, on exams
You’re sitting down to take a final and stressed out of your mind as you receive the test booklet. You flip it open and staring right at you is an ad announcing that this exam is brought to you by Company X.
COMMENTARY
Racist reactions to Obama's election ignorant
One of the more unfortunate side effects of the election of Barack Obama as president has been a rise in prejudice hate crimes across the nation. These incidents have ranged from the expected name-calling to nooses being hung to a store in Michigan flying a flag upside down — the international signal for distress — the day after Obama was elected.
COMMENTARY
Recession news not a cause for serious concern
The National Bureau of Economic Research made official Monday what many have known to be a fact for a while: The U.S. is in a recession. No duh, right? What many people fail to grasp is that the nature of a recession is such that it can’t be determined that we’re in one until we’re well into one. Thus, the announcement.
COMMENTARY
New financial aid fund aims to keep students at MSU
MSU is keen to the economic troubles students and their families are facing, but it must be aware that such woes have a long life span.
COMMENTARY
This year's Black Friday behavior out of control
It’s time to reconsider “Shop ‘til you drop.” On Black Friday — the day retailers often see their bottom lines climb out from the negative — shoppers often congregate outside their bastions of retail religion for hours upon hours in the late-fall cold. They leave their Thanksgiving dinners early or skip them altogether.
COMMENTARY
Clinton a wise choice for secretary of state
It may not be official, but the worlds of news and politics are all abuzz with word that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will soon be announced as President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for the position of secretary of state.
COMMENTARY
Race-based groups deserve student tax funds
The concept of race is one that has haunted this nation from its very birth. The U.S. has taken tentative step after step forward, trying to reach that mythical future Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke about — a world in which everyone was color-blind, and race no longer mattered.
COMMENTARY
Obama's economic plans reveal priorities
That didn’t take long. President-elect Barack Obama is still two months away from taking office, yet he’s already begun announcing his plans for how to fix the U.S.‘s moribund economy. Observers shouldn’t be fooled into thinking he’s found the magic bullet for all that ails the nation, however. Often overlooked in his various economic plans is the fact that his promise to create 2.5 million new jobs over his first two years is a gross estimate, and not a net projection.
COMMENTARY
Financial problems to impact generations to come
What’s the proper reaction to watching your future get mortgaged away by other people? That’s a question likely troubling the vast majority of MSU students as we watch billion after billion be sent off to failing companies — with more than a trillion dollars already spent and no clear sign that things are improving.
COMMENTARY
Online addresses might reach broader audience
In his campaign for president, President-elect Barack Obama broke many barriers in terms of utilizing modern technology for politicians. Thus, it’s fitting that he’s begun breaking barriers for presidents — even before he takes office.
COMMENTARY
MSU president's salary reasonable by comparison
It’s easy to jump to conclusions when you hear the higher-ups of any institution are getting raises in these times of economic turmoil. Visions of the “golden parachutes” and $100,000 spa retreats for CEOs of failing companies might come to mind because the news has been plagued with such stories in the wake of the Wall Street bailout.
COMMENTARY
Vocational school could be alternative to college
As the economy sours and student loan lenders become increasingly shy about handing out money, it’s not shocking that more and more are turning to alternate paths to ensure their futures. One such path is that of vocational training.
COMMENTARY
Police response to gun report well excecuted
It’s one of a college student’s worst fears: A madman comes to class with a gun and opens fire. Although the fear likely has been around for years, the Virginia Tech shootings made it seem all too possible. No longer was the image of a crazed classmate going on a rampage confined to the realm of the imagination.
COMMENTARY
Good samaritan bill needs support from police
Everyone has had one or two of those nights when someone they’re with gets too drunk and the question comes up: “Should we get help?”
COMMENTARY
Unannounced raids harm America's image in war
When the war on terror began shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it was clear from the start that it would be a completely different war than those the nation had fought before. The fact that a terrorist group has no geographic borders or official representatives has forced the U.S. to completely re-examine how it fights, and develop a whole new set of rules for battle.