Tuesday, December 30, 2025

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Editorials

COMMENTARY

New downloading option

More legal options for popular illegal activities can't be a bad thing. This isn't about underage drinking or common illegal substances, it's about another, perhaps safer, form of entertainment. Amazon.com Inc. is conversing with several Hollywood studios about creating an online service for consumers to download and copy television shows and movies. The possibility of Amazon.com entering the business of digital downloads puts it up against a serious rival, Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes.

COMMENTARY

Fowl predictions

What happens if the H5N1 strain of the Avian (bird) flu, comes to America? Will we be able to control it?

COMMENTARY

Taxing workaholics

Workaholics beware; an economist at the University of Michigan thinks taxing you might make you work less. Joel Slemrod, a professor of business economics and public policy at U-M, along with another researcher at the University of Texas in Austin, found that people who are highly educated and earn a high salary can become addicted to their work. This can lead to a myriad of health-related problems, like stress and high blood pressure.

COMMENTARY

Teaching others to think

Although MSU students spent last week tanning or lounging over spring break, a Denver high school teacher had a different kind of hiatus from school.

COMMENTARY

Talking it out

This isn't just about cartoons anymore. They have sparked something much bigger. Across the world, people are protesting caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Islam forbids any material depiction of Muhammad. Since their original publishing in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the cartoons have been republished in other places — recently by SpartanEdge.com here on campus. The State News has chosen not to reprint the cartoons. Several protests have appeared on college campuses in this country, including the University of California and right here at MSU.

COMMENTARY

Remember boring AOP?

For many incoming freshmen, MSU's Academic Orientation Program isn't at the top of the list of fun things to do during summer vacation. Yet, freshmen are required to attend the program whether they'd like to or not. The program is held to help ease the transition to life at MSU by introducing new students to the campus and providing lectures about student life. But the Freshmen Class Council is hoping to make this transition even easier by renovating the program. The council has created a bill that details how to make the program more effective at preparing students for college life.

COMMENTARY

Paying the price

No one likes getting parking tickets. That sense of dread when you see the white paper flapping on the windshield.

COMMENTARY

No smoking area

The number of places smokers can go on campus is shrinking. The Residence Halls Association, or RHA, passed a bill last week recommending that University Housing take away a student's option to smoke in the dorms.

COMMENTARY

It won't work

For the administration of President Bush, diversion seems to be a favorite tactic. And finding out who leaked news of Bush's eavesdropping program is more important to the administration than finding out if it's legal or not. Officials in Bush's administration have denied the call of several Democrats in the House of Representatives who want a special council.

COMMENTARY

Keeping the party going

Even a devastating hurricane couldn't stop Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. Nearly six months ago, Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and displaced many of its residents.

COMMENTARY

Alcohol, no chaperones

No one knows what will happen this April, but a big, supervised party isn't going to prevent anything. With a number of incidents in the past few years, MSU has acquired a reputation as a "riot" school.

COMMENTARY

Seek whole story

Abortion is one of those topics that people can't seem to stop talking about. Letters about it regularly fill the Opinion Page of The State News, and people are highly polarized on both sides of the issue.

COMMENTARY

No exception

The First Amendment suffered a major blow last week when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a college censorship case.

COMMENTARY

Primarily low turnout

It isn't really shocking that few MSU students voted in Tuesday's special Senate primary. Out of the more than 6,110 registered voters on campus, only 35 voted in nearby residence halls for the primary of the special election, which will be held to fill the Senate seat vacated by Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. The importance of voting has been drilled into our minds.

COMMENTARY

Talking about sex

Let's admit it, talking about sex can make us uncomfortable. From the often painfully awkward conversations with parents about where babies come from to the class most of us had in high school, talking openly about sex can make us squeamish. Despite living in a more explicit society, in which we hear about sex everyday from television and music, sex is still a taboo topic — something many people, unfortunately, can't seem to talk about. If there ever was an opportune time to talk about sex, Healthy Sexuality Week, which started Monday, would be it.

COMMENTARY

State of our MSU future

ASMSU, the undergraduate student government, has stepped up. The State of the Student Address on Tuesday night laid out ASMSU's future goals for MSU and students — including program proposals, projects and lobbying activities.

COMMENTARY

Keep eyes open

At least we know where our socks are going when we find one missing from the dryer. Laundry, among other items including cell phones and laptop computers, is among the $20,000 worth of personal property that has been stolen on campus since the spring semester began. MSU police Sgt.

COMMENTARY

Big Easy summer

Not all students spend their summers at the beach or working full-time jobs. A group of MSU students will travel to New Orleans for about four weeks to work with summer school programs.

COMMENTARY

Up in their face

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon is putting much-needed pressure on Michigan legislators to make funding for higher education a priority — especially for MSU. Simon met with members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday to argue for more funding for MSU and other universities.