Living in co-op exposes students to diverse beliefs, backgrounds

My roommate has a crush on his classmate. He's been trying to convince her to stop by our house for weeks now.

Play addresses violence

In the 11 years that "The Vagina Monologues" has been a sensation, its focus has never changed — to educate audiences on violence against women. "Women are often taught to think that words relating to the vagina are offense and they shouldn't say them out loud," said Julia Dillard, the play's co-director.

WEB EXTRA: Recycling available to apartment complexes

The curbside recycling program allows some residents to do their part in protecting the environment — if the East Lansing City Council approves a new ordinance, more people could be eligible for the service. Apartment buildings with more than four units are not able to receive the curbside service.

Senate birth-control bill draws support

The Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan called on state legislators Tuesday at the Capitol Building to join them in fighting the country's problems with unintended pregnancies. The "Prevention First" initiative was established to expand access to birth control and accurate sex education on both national and statewide levels, said Sarah Scranton, executive director for Planned Parenthood affiliates of Michigan. "Improving access to preventative health care, supporting healthy families, should be a shared statewide goal that we all can agree upon," Scranton said.

God loves every person regardless of sexuality

In his letter "Marriage defined in Bible as man, woman" (SN 2/12), Zach Garris picks and chooses which part of the Bible to use for his view of marriage. First off, God didn't write the Bible — various men who were "inspired by the holy spirit" wrote different passages during a 1,500-year period.

Program keeps E.L. kids active

Ashley Harmon seemed confident of a win Wednesday night. As the fifth-grader's team sat back, the opponents wildly threw balled pieces of paper into a trash can. "I think we're going to win," Harmon said.

Undergrad research

In the last month, Seth Morton has been play-testing a massive multiplayer game online. He tests the functionality, reports bugs and even makes suggestions for changes. For about 10 hours a week, the undergraduate student is an integral part of the development of "Ink," a game designed to improve players' writing skills. Morton is a research assistant to David Sheridan, director of the MSU Writing Center.

Park plans to open for public review

The future of East Lansing's parks is up for residents' review. After months of preparation, the Community Park, Recreation, Open Space & Greenway Plan is available to the public.

Police briefs 02/15/07

Roses are red: Most popular flower revealed

Roses have been around for 35 million years. They emerged in the 20th century as a gift-giving object for St.

Family game day helps children, local charity

The first annual Family Fun Game Day and Card Tournament will be held Sunday at the Holiday Inn West Conference and Convention Center.

Long-distance love

Tiffany Cramer was the high school salutatorian. Lucas Burns was the class clown. Tiffany was a blonde with a fair complexion.

Argument is insulting to atheists, has no validity

I would like to respond to Matt Cowan's bizarre and insulting letter "Christianity doesn't need column to incite reaction" (SN 2/7), in which he relates Christianity and atheism to two bars of metal. In Cowan's misguided argument, he claims the atheistic bar looks shiny on the outside, but only because it is a piece of lead covered in gold paint.

Road project to finish in late 2007

Meridian Township — Sarah Christensen cuts through Birch Row Drive when traveling to the grocery store from her apartment, north of East Lake Lansing Road. But massive construction of Birch Row Drive and its adjoining streets, beginning last year has extended Christensen's would-be two minute commute to the store. "It just seemed like it took way too long to pave a silly road," the human resource management junior said.

McCallie praises senior Lucas-Perry, freshman DeHaan

Senior guard Victoria Lucas-Perry is averaging nearly eight rebounds per game over the last four games.

Freshman gymnast earns 1st perfect score in MSU history

When certain athletes make the transition from adolescence to college success, it can sometimes go straight to their heads. Not for freshman gymnast Rochelle Robinson. After a flawless 10.0 performance on the vault during Saturday's Fox Run Invitational in New Hampshire, Robinson got right back to her normal routine while practicing with the rest of her Spartans teammates. "I just basically take each week one at a time," Robinson.

Great Issues promoted progressive discussions

I am writing in to criticize both ASMSU and The State News for their inaccuracies in evaluating Great Issues. First of all, I was at the ASMSU meeting, and the climate in the room was one that heavily favored Great Issues, while The State News decided to run a story that made it seem as though there were an equal amount of supporters on both sides in "ASMSU cuts Great Issues program" (SN 2/12). Secondly, the State News Opinion Page said, "If anything should have happened to Great Issues, it should have been reprimanded and restructured so the group could live up to its potential of sparking debate among the student population by giving a stage to unusual viewpoints." Uh, have any of you been to Great Issues events?

New master's program to teach game design

When Brian Winn was 11 years old, his father bought him an Apple II computer — but he refused to buy him any video games for it. What his father did buy was design software.

Urbanization of small cities will help solve growing global crises

The issues facing our world continue to grow larger. From dependence on Middle Eastern oil to the horrible state economy to environmental threats — these don't seem like issues most of us can personally address in a small Mid-Michigan city. Sure, we can do our part by dropping a pop can in the recycling bin, but impacting global issues seems far out of reach. When I opened The State News on Tuesday, however, a few dots began to connect.

Valentine's Day festivities categorize holiday just for couples

Candy hearts, flowers, chocolates, candles … yes, Valentine's Day — well, someone's, not mine. Time for let's-decorate-every-store-window-and-wear-red day.