Wednesday, April 29, 2026

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COMMENTARY

Smith is deserving of Breslin statue

After reading the article about Steve Smith ("Former 'U' star chairs project," SN 7/21) and his contributions to our university, it made me think about a previous article I have read this year in The State News.

NEWS

Fire dept. looks to state for aid

State lawmakers and East Lansing city officials are working together to solve the seemingly annual problem of fire department funding. While some city officials say the two East Lansing fire stations, one of which is located on campus, are "managing" the almost-yearly reductions in fire protection funding from the state, it is a cause of concern for others. In addition to providing fire rescue to the city, the 52-member fire department is responsible for protecting campus, including high rise residence halls and large venues such as the Wharton Center and Breslin Center. Fairly small communities such as East Lansing struggle to purchase the costly equipment to protect the universities within their borders, East Lansing fire Chief Randall Talifarro said. Since the 1970s, a portion of East Lansing's Fire Department budget has come from the state in the form of fire protection grants, which fund cities that house state-owned buildings like universities. But the state has never fully funded the grant program for East Lansing, City Manager Ted Staton said. "In the fire service, we're keeping things held together with bailing wire and glue," he said. State-owned buildings, such as those on campus, can't be taxed, but in the past fire protection funding came from state grants.

NEWS

College rankings altered

U.S. News & World Report has decided to change the way it assesses what schools are among the best in the nation. The magazine, which annually ranks universities such as MSU, has plans to combine its rankings of Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools, as well as delete the the yield ratings factor, or the ratio of enrolled students to admitted students.

COMMENTARY

Silly sentence

The nuns who broke into a Colorado missile silo and poured their blood onto the silo, covering a 300-kiloton high-alert nuclear missile, could face six to nine years in prison.

COMMENTARY

Time to expose president's lies about war in Iraq is now

It seems as if another president is guilty of lying to the American people - except this time, American lives were involved. In the months leading up to the war with Iraq, President Bush sold the American people on the idea that Iraq posed "an imminent threat to the security of our country" and that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and was ready to use them.

FOOTBALL

Football coach believes underestimated Spartans still pose threat

Chicago - In his new role as MSU's football ambassador, John L. Smith greeted a congregation of Big Ten officials Wednesday, acknowledging that many believe the program to be one of the conference's weakest members. "I know a lot of people aren't expecting too much from us," he told dozens of reporters at the annual Big Ten football kick off in the Windy City.

NEWS

Former Spartan wins PGA tourney

A recent MSU graduate became the first woman ever to win the Detroit Newspapers Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions on Wednesday. Stacy Snider, 23, won in her second tournament since turning pro last week, posting a one-under 71 in the final round of the tournament at the Monument Course at Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne Falls.

NEWS

News brief

'U' student, alumnus qualify to represent U.S. as members of trampoline gymnastics team Josh Vance jumped through another hoop in his effort be a participant in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Vance, a second year MSU osteopathic medical student, qualified for the trampoline gymnastics National Team along with teammate and longtime synchronized trampoline partner Keith Douglas, a 1998 MSU graduate. Both men will represent the United States at the Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships in Germany during October. Vance said the week at the U.S.

SPORTS

Lugnuts win in last inning

Lansing - The Lansing Lugnuts stole the game from the Fort Wayne Wizards on Wednesday by sacrificing their way to a 3-2 win at Oldsmobile Park. After plating only one run on five hits through eight innings, the Lugnuts (15-18) went back to the basics.

MSU

News briefs

Alumnus donates life sciences fellowship A fellowship will be available for students in the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management starting in 2004. The James M.

NEWS

Student abducted, sexually assaulted

A 19-year-old female MSU student was sexually assaulted Sunday morning while walking to her car on the 300 block of Division Street.This attack comes after two attempted abductions in Okemos and Williamston Township last week.At midnight, the student was walking from a friend's house to her vehicle when she was approached by a man holding a gun, East Lansing police Capt.

COMMENTARY

Applying for student visa hard enough

I want to protest about the unduly optimistic editorial "Worth the Wait" (SN 7/21), written by someone who obviously has no knowledge whatsoever of the frustrations faced by international students because of the ever-lengthy process that they face when applying for a visa to enter the United States.

COMMENTARY

Columnist wrong to twist Bible meanings

Nice twist by John Bice in his column "Back to Bible ideals aren't consistent with rest of Good Book" (SN 7/17). While it is true many conservative Christians are very hypocritical, the simplicity with which he addresses things can get out of hand. If you want to attack the Republicans, point out their selfish fiscal policy or something feasible.

COMMENTARY

Manuscripts not be taken out of context

I would like to add to the column by John Bice, where he related some passages from the Bible, "Back to Bible ideals aren't consistent with rest of Good Book" (SN 7/17). I think it's important to clarify that, from the Christian perspective, Jesus ushered in what is known as the "New Covenant," as predicted by the prophet Jeremiah (31:31). Bice noted another reference related to this topic, in which Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17). Regarding the camel going through the "eye of a needle" (Matthew 19:24), this "eye of a needle" was commonly known in the time of Jesus as a small opening in the city wall beside the main gate which could be used for people to pass at night when the main gate was shut, even though they had to crouch down some due to its small size.

NEWS

Jackson plans to open 2 Michigan branches of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

Lansing - Civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson was at the state Capitol on Tuesday to address some of the issues plaguing Michigan's inner cities and unveil plans to build a chapter of his advocacy group in Lansing. Jackson spoke about working within the state's budget to improve education, increase employment rates, and reform the prison systems in some of the state's poorest cities. "All schools should have swimming pools," Jackson said.

NEWS

Farmers' delight

Working a small knife by and forth, Howard Cain carefully crafts a wood harness for an ox. The shavings of the wood fall into his lap with every cut, as the 1951 MSU graduate explains his latest creation. Welcome to MSU's Ag Expo, where faculty, farmers and even alumni take time to show off their craft and learn from others.

MICHIGAN

Candidate plays it low key

Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles profiling Lansing's six candidates for mayor. Lansing mayoral candidate Gerald Rowley doesn't have large lawn placards for his supporters to display.