SN, cartoonist show extremely poor taste

Mike Ramsey's cartoon which appeared on Veterans Day (SN 11/11) was in extreme poor taste and an insult to America's veterans of prior wars as well as our men and women in uniform who are risking their lives every day preserving our way of life. Ramsey and The State News undoubtedly enjoy the freedoms that those same soldiers provide every day they spend in harm's way. Perhaps on a day when the nation remembers the sacrifices that our heroes have made to make us free, The State News should show some class, put aside their extreme radical political agenda and show some gratitude.

Weekend movie reviews: 'Rich' tanks, 'Derailed' thrills, 'Zathura' inspires

"Get Rich or Die Tryin'" 50 Cent strives to be the next Tupac Shakur, but is two quarters short of the same free-style wisdom. "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" is entertaining, inasmuch as it embraces violence, nudity, and foul language, but is in no way original. The stimulant for the film is stolen bluntly from Eminem's "8 Mile." 50 Cent plays the role of Marcus, which is not quite autobiographical, but for all intents and purposes is — just as Eminem's role as Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr., which is not quite autobiographical, but is. However, 50 Cent's acting performance is believable just for the reason that he's virtually playing himself.

Players, coaches: We haven't quit

Minneapolis, Minn. — The sun was shining brightly over East Lansing during the month of September for the MSU football team. The team started out 4-0 and was riding high after an overtime victory at Notre Dame followed by a 61-point effort at Illinois. Then, something happened.

Police briefs 11/14/05

Line drawn in Eden, same in government

Ken Osborne's column, "True Christian beliefs don't include denying rights to anyone" (SN 11/09) touched on some very valid points.

MSU honors distinguished alumni

As a graduate student at MSU, Linda Nelson lived in the Paolucci Building for six weeks at a time. Nelson studied home management, a program that is extinct today, and lived in the building as an instructor with other female students as part of the program. "It was really lots of fun," she said.

Voicing dissent

A vote of 5-4 is hardly a clear consensus. Only one vote prompted the independent commission, created to review the April 2-3 disturbances, not to place blame in its final report. Instead, the commission provided a list of recommendations intended to prevent these types of events from occurring in the future. It seems like something is missing. If the commission can't determine who acted inappropriately that night, how can it determine the best way to prevent it from happening again? One member of the commission, Beth Alexander, has come forward and said she disagrees with the decision not to place blame. In her personal statement, which is attached to the report, Alexander wrote "Forgiveness of perceived wrongs often cannot occur until there has been acknowledgment and ownership of errors." Alexander is exactly right.

E.L. pushing students away, should be careful

As an alumni of MSU, I am becoming less and less motivated to return to East Lansing to visit my favorite college campus. There have been several changes during the last five years that are driving away both potential students and alumni.

Lack of respect in SN not surprising

Leave it to The State News to not include anything regarding Veteran's Day in newspaper besides a horrible cartoon (SN 11/11) accusing and degrading our currently-serving military personnel. The day is to acknowledge and pay respects to U.S.

Fan learns the hard way: Never count out Pistons

I made one of the biggest mistakes as a Detroit Pistons fan last week. I went to sleep on the Pistons.

Covering up, veiling doesn't protect women

In response to Matt Cook's "Clothes contribute to reasons to rape" (SN 10/27). The core of your argument has some validity.

Global cultures showcased at festival

Lan Truong was on a mission Sunday at Global Festival 2005 in the Union. The supply chain management junior was so busy having her "passport" signed by representatives from the more than 25 campus international groups that she had to get a second one.

SN careless with facts, mixes up festival origin

I would like The State News to try fact checking before publishing insensitive articles like "Event celebrates Diwali" (SN 11/07). Diwali is a Hindu festival, and addressing it repeatedly as purely an Indian festival without mentioning its Hindu origin marginalizes the non-Hindus of India and the non-Indian Hindus. The most blatantly insulting comment is the declaration that it worships the "Indian goddess of wealth." This would be as ignorant and demeaning as claiming that in December, the "American God of presents" is worshipped.

WEB ONLY: Spartans sweep conference foe at home

The MSU women's volleyball team (12-14 overall, 5-11 Big Ten) easily defeated Indiana (9-19, 2-14 Big Ten) for the second time this season, sweeping them 3-0 at Jension Field House on Saturday. It was the Spartans' first Big Ten sweep at home this season. After jumping out to an early 11-9 lead in the first set, the Spartans' offense caught fire, hitting at a .286 clip to give them the 1-0 advantage.

Tift Merritt to visit Wharton Tuesday night

Singer/songwriter Tift Merritt doesn't consider herself a country artist; however, she was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Country Album in February and her music is most often described by critics as country.

No one knows more about rape than victims; read their points of view

"When I think about rape, I think someone's going to jump out of the bushes or put something in your drink," she said.

Exhibition finales produce more question marks than exclamation points

Despite a second-half surge by a pesky Grand Valley State team, the MSU women's basketball team prevail in the final minutes of its exhibition game Sunday, 84-77. MSU went into halftime with a 12-point lead, 50-38, but the Lakers went on a 10-2 run to start the second half.

Police's inability to pay isn't students' fault

In response to "Students shouldn't pay for overtime" (SN 11/3), I also believe it is wrong for the city to make the students pay for the police officers' overtime pay.

Dropped passes, missed tackles still factors

Minneapolis, Minn. — Old demons continue to haunt MSU. Once again, drops by MSU's receivers and poor tackling by the MSU defense contributed heavily to the team's 41-18 loss to Minnesota on Saturday. Sophomore wide receiver Terry Love dropped the ball on two consecutive plays — one a deep bomb that would've put MSU inside the red zone, the next, a bubble screen. "The drops today were a nightmare," Love said.

Team had a shot, bad coaching took it away

This letter is in response to Chris Meagher's letter "Writer needs to give team, coach chance" (SN 11/03). Meagher, State did win against a good team.