Sunday, April 26, 2026

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COMMENTARY

Taxes necessary to run government

This is in response to the editorial "Helpful hikes," (SN 1/28). Calling for "no new taxes" doesn't help state government, it only keeps revenue from services. When an economy goes into a recession, tax revenues fall.

MSU

Student finds racial slurs written on door

When psychology senior Ebony White left for church Sunday morning, she was met by racial slurs on her door.White, a racial ethnic student aide in Hubbard Hall, noticed several words written on her door at about 9 a.m., including racially insensitive language and the letters "nga.""I was shocked because when you wake up you don't expect to see something like this," she said.

MSU

'U' officials hope lab will receive state funds

One day after President George W. Bush called for extra funding in bioterrorism research, state and university officials are trying to get a laboratory at MSU the cash it needs to operate.In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Bush said he had nearly doubled homeland security funding for areas including bioterrorism research.The changes will take effect in the 2004 fiscal year."Knowledge gained from bioterrorism research will improve public health," Bush said.

SPORTS

Spartans aim for seventh straight home win

Like with any great rivalry, emotions are running high for both MSU and Michigan today as they prepare for tonight's showdown.The Spartans will attempt to defend their six-game home winning streak against the Wolverines, with the tipoff set at 8 p.m.

COMMENTARY

State of fear

Usually, American presidents use their annual State of the Union address as a report card for the government.

NEWS

Bush talks of health care in Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids - The day after delivering his State of the Union address, President Bush arrived in Michigan and began touting his vision for the nation. Bush's speech to the audience at DeVos Hall in Grand Rapids on Wednesday rehashed many of the issues he outlined hours earlier to the entire nation: compassion, homeland security, tax cuts and his case against Saddam Hussein. Speaking in front of a backdrop emblazoned with the phrase "Strengthening Medicare," Bush also repeated his plans to add $400 billion to the federal health care insurance program for those with disabilities and those over 65. "A better America is one in which our health care system will work," he said.

NEWS

'Buddies' provide hard-time help

Lansing - An afternoon spent baking oatmeal cookies brought 56-year-old Rosemary Coscarelli together with her buddy.The first time they met, her 30-something buddy - who she was paired with through the Lansing Area AIDS Network - said he was going to the network's food pantry for oatmeal cookies.Weeks later, when they met again, Coscarelli, a Lansing resident, asked if he found those cookies.

MSU

ASMSU may give $75,000 for Sparty

Sparty's quest for a new home won't come cheaply, but help may be on the way in the form of $75,000 from MSU's undergraduate student government.Plans to recast "The Spartan," MSU's iconic statue near Demonstration Hall, could cost about $500,000, according to University Development.The current statue, known as Sparty and touted by MSU as the world's largest free-standing ceramic statue, would be placed in a new position in a building on campus, which has not been announced.A new bronze Sparty would be placed at the south end of Kalamazoo Street and Red Cedar Road intersection about 50 feet back from its current spot.MSU's undergraduate student government will vote Thursday on whether to donate $75,000 to cover the projected cost for the project."Large gifts of this nature have occurred in the past," said Matt Weingarden, ASMSU's Student Assembly chairperson.The donation would be taken out of a fund the organization uses for large-scale projects, he said.

SPORTS

Tailback, defensive back commit

MSU's football staff has added two more skill position players to its recruiting class.Tailback Kris Bush, from Louisiana's John Curtis Christian High School, and defensive back Delton Ashburn Jr., from Virginia's Fork Union Military Academy, have both verbally committed to MSU.Bush, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder, ran for 1,200 yards and 20 touchdowns last season.

MSU

Madison professor receives award for dissertation

James Madison College Professor Bryan Ritchie was awarded the Distinguished Dissertation Award by the Council of Graduate Schools. Ritchie's dissertation, titled "The Political Economy of Technical Intellectual Capital Formation in Southeast Asia," focused on the importance of integrating technology into the political economies of countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

COMMENTARY

The '80s might be over, but 'good old days' are to come

The world has gone to pot. I used to think only my grandparents spoke about "the good old days," but now I find my memory winding back to the 1980s more and more. Those were "the good old days." Those were the days when the biggest decision I had to make was where to hide when the whole block was declared "in bounds" for a game of hide-and-seek. Those were the days when summers lasted a year and the chill of winter was tamed with a sufficient hill and a sled.

BASKETBALL

Spartan defense deflates Hoosier star

For the second time in as many games, the MSU basketball team locked in to the opponents' leading scorer and shut him down.But unlike Sunday's loss to U-M, the Spartans' (11-8 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) defense on Indiana guard Bracey Wright proved to be crucial and, arguably, the difference in Tuesday night's 61-54 victory over the Hoosiers at Breslin Center.Against the Wolverines, MSU held U-M's leading scorer LaVell Blanchard to only two points.Wright, who had missed Indiana's last four games and hadn't seen any action since Jan.