Voters don't know complex MCRI details

Much of the recent discussion about affirmative action leads me to believe that a number of people who will be voting on the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI, don't fully understand the situation. Supporters of the MCRI start with the claim that preferential treatment based on color is racist. Opponents respond by pointing out that the beneficiaries of affirmative action are at an economic disadvantage, and that affirmative action helps to make up for that. Supporters then claim that poverty is colorblind and that schools should use geography rather than race to address this problem. This is where I think that supporters of the MCRI don't fully understand the situation.

A hard work of art

Shirali Patel's voice booms throughout the northeast upper level of Brody Hall. "Stop looking at the floor," the physiology sophomore yells.

Innovations: Freedom of the press

Name: Assistant Professor Eric Freedman Department: Journalism Title of research project: After the Tulip Revolution, Press Freedoms, Constraints and Competition in Kyrgyzstan Date of research: Freedman has been researching journalism-related topics involving Central Asia since 2002 after he returned from teaching in Uzbekistan. Basics of the project: Freedman is looking at how the press environment has changed in Kyrgyzstan after the Tulip Revolution in March 2005, during which the president of the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan was overthrown. Freedman will be studying press coverage and press freedom as some of the topics for the project. Since the Tulip Revolution, the government in Kyrgyzstan has become more democratic, he said.

Mac's Bar campaigns against discrimination by hosting 'Rock vs. Racism' event

To counteract the Nazi rally on Saturday, Mac's Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., has turned its Friday night entertainment into a "Rock vs.

Universal state health-care plan promoted at rally

Erin Ruth sat among the crowd at "The Power of Prevention, A Prescription for a Healthier Tomorrow" health-care rally in front of the Capitol Building Wednesday afternoon, holding a sign reading "46 million uninsured." Ruth, a second-year medical student at MSU and president of the MSU chapter of the American Medical Student Association, or AMSA, said the number of Americans who are medically uninsured is exponentially increasing. "We've never seen a rise so rapidly at any point in the last 100 years," she said. Sponsored by the MSU College of Human Medicine Chapter of the American Medical Student Association, the rally addressed the possibility of having universal health care in Michigan. Sen.

Police briefs 04/20/06

SN should cover much ignored women's sport

Shame on you, State News. Shame on you for not shining any light on one of the best varsity teams on campus and in the country. The MSU women's rowing team is currently ranked 7th in the nation, and after another winning weekend will probably move up again.

American culture conditioning people to pop their large wastelines

Pop. Did you hear that? Pop. Pop. What the heck is that sound? Never mind that perpetual "pop" you might be hearing all across America.

E.L. police report 3 prowlers in April

There have been three reported cases of prowlers in East Lansing neighborhoods in the past three weeks, police said. A 20-year-old Tecumseh man was arrested for prowling and disorderly conduct when caught opening the screen to a basement window at a house on Michigan Avenue at 5:30 a.m.

SN style: Japanese influence

It's no secret that Japanese culture is infiltrating what we think is trendy. We have sushi restaurants springing up everywhere, and the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" won multiple Oscar awards. So it should be no surprise that Japanese design is influencing fashion designers around the world.

'Talent' innovative comedy

With his second feature-length film "Talent," student filmmaker Nathaniel Nose proves he's got it.

Student filmmaker discusses new movie, script challenges

MSU theater senior Nathaniel Nose has been making movies since he was 16 years old. His first feature-length film, "Unruly Nights," premiered in Lansing in October 2004.

WEB EXTRA: Residence Life still seeks male resident mentors

Department of Residence Life officials are looking for more male applicants to serve in resident mentor positions.

Violence unneeded to counterprotest Nazis

In respect to whether Nazis should have the right to hold a rally at the Capitol this Saturday, I completely agree that they do. Nazis have the constitutional right to assemble and spew their hate speech. However, simply ignoring them, as some have proposed, and hoping they will go away is absolutely the wrong approach. That kind of apathetic response is what occurred in 1930s Germany. These racist thugs were ignored then and look what happened. The Lansing community needs to stop this ideology of racial annihilation from spreading by speaking out against it. Not by choosing to put it out of sight and out of mind.

Other hazards exist besides broken meter

To add to the long list of MSU parking gripes — where is our ticket money going? In "Showdown at the meter" (SN 2/28), we are told the money from parking tickets stays in the department and is used for repairs, maintenance, etc; however, the Shaw Ramp is in need of some attention. As a business student who lives off campus, I drive to class quite often and mostly park in the Shaw Ramp.

Happenings

MUSIC TONIGHT: Natives of the New Dawn and Woodward are performing in Lansing at Mac's Bar, 2700 E.

MSU must be harsher on racism on campus

I am writing this letter in regard to the unfortunate problems this university has been facing with diversity.

'Splendor' shouldn't be forgotten

Films adapted from comic books and graphic novels have become more mainstream in the last few years.

Musical chairs

ASMSU has been given the power to choose student representatives for academic committees. Now MSU's undergraduate student government needs to make sure they're using that power to increase student involvement on those committees. The MSU Board of Trustees approved the measure on April 13 to let ASMSU choose representatives to the committees, which are part of the Academic Governance system, instead of faculty.

The mind of a modern Nazi

Downtown Lansing abounds with politicians, and Bill White could be any one of them as he sits in a Beaner's Gourmet Coffee around the corner from the Capitol, dressed in a suit and tie, sipping a tall mocha topped with a swirl of whipped cream. But White isn't a mainstream politician.