COMMENTARY
'Clean Car Challenge' exciting promise for U.S.
How would you like to earn $300 million? It won’t be easy but the reward is well worth the work.
COMMENTARY
Public service careers as important as others
Almost everyone desires to make this world a better place. Choosing a career in public service is one of the best methods to go about making that dream a reality.
COMMENTARY
Deposits on water bottles make Mich. greener
Ten cents might not seem like a lot of money, but for 32 years the dime has been encouraging people to return their aluminum cans and plastic bottles to the grocery store rather than tossing them into the trash.
COMMENTARY
Wage increase struggles teach valuable lesson
It looks to be a trend in our country right now — the more we struggle to keep our heads above water, the more we seem to be drowning.
COMMENTARY
Discrimination at Obama rally disappointing
It seemed like the idea of telling people where they are allowed to sit ended with the bus boycott but sadly, that might not be the case.
COMMENTARY
Banning laptops punishes responsible students
Laptops are a student’s best friend but for some professors, they’ve become their worst enemy. MSU professors are divided on the issue of how to deal with students using laptops during class.
COMMENTARY
Proposal too complex, too extreme for Mich.
Excuse me — do you want to reduce the salaries of Michigan lawmakers and force them to disclose personal financial information? Well, just sign here and we’ll make it happen.
COMMENTARY
Bill would benefit homeowners facing eviction
During this harsh economic period, it wouldn’t be surprising to know that some families have fallen on hard times. Every day, families are losing their homes to bank repossession.
COMMENTARY
New graduation rate may draw in minorities
In the midst of another tuition increase, it’s nice to receive some good news regarding MSU. Although MSU’s minority enrollment rates were slightly down in 2007, the minority graduation rate is the highest it’s been in the past 10 years, according to a report presented to the MSU Board of Trustees on Friday.
COMMENTARY
Board should think about impact of increase
Powerless — that is how most students feel when they see that the cost of tuition is constantly rising and it seems nothing can be done about it. If tuition keeps climbing at the rate it’s going, it won’t be long before students look elsewhere to pursue a higher education.
COMMENTARY
Parking permit increase unneeded, unjustified
Up — that seems to be the direction the price of everything is going. As if inflated gas prices aren’t enough, when faculty, students and staff buy their parking permits next year, they’ll be paying 19 percent more than what they paid this year.
COMMENTARY
Storing medical records online seems dangerous
It can be a hassle trying to transfer your medical records from one doctor to another but Microsoft Corp. and Kaiser Permanente, a health care organization based in California that provides insurance and other services, have partnered to create what they hope will be the future filing cabinet of medical records.
COMMENTARY
Phone polls skew number of student voters
Polls are supposed to give people a glimpse of what the future holds. They are a common sight on news programs and in newspapers. There’s even one at the top of this page. But, like politicians, polls can lie — mainly because an unbiased random sample can almost never be produced.
COMMENTARY
Higher standards don't create better students
Making students take the same classes with the same requirements should mean everyone gets the same education. But is that really possible? Four years of math and English and three years of science and social studies are some of the requirements that make Michigan’s standards for high school graduation among the toughest in the country.
COMMENTARY
Time for Obama to focus on bid for White House
In 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified to give black men the right to vote. It wasn’t until 1970 that literacy tests were banned allowing blacks to fully exercise their right to vote. Now, nearly four decades later, history has been made once again.
COMMENTARY
Gay marriage ban in Calif. unjustified, unlikely
It’s not surprising that nearly three weeks after the California Supreme Court overturned the voter-approved ban on gay marriage, people are already working to revoke the ruling. A coalition of religious and conservative activists have collected 1.1 million signatures to get an initiative barring gay marriage on the Nov. 4 ballot.
COMMENTARY
Help still needed for Katrina victims
Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, some of its victims are still dealing with the problems the storm blew in.
COMMENTARY
Short work weeks might be more costly than gas
The rising cost of gas is not only forcing people to veer away from the norm but making businesses look for new ways to help employees cut back. Some businesses are offering their employees the option of a four-day work week to cut back on commuting and energy costs.
COMMENTARY
McClellan's book allows inside look at administration
Whatever happened to the idea of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil?” Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has released a tell-all book that could mean the demise of President George W. Bush and his administration.
COMMENTARY
Bill leaves too many questions unanswered
There are so many problems facing the United States that it’s hard to say which is more important. Last Thursday, a version of the bipartisan Supplemental Appropriations Bill passed in the Senate that includes funding for the new GI Bill, support for fair trade and money toward alternative energy research.