Wednesday, April 15, 2026

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Opinion | 1000

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COMMENTARY

Professor: journalists shouldn't parrot inane comments, nonsense

One of the essential duties of a journalist is to expose the truth. Simply parroting what administrators or faculty say is not enough, especially when the words themselves are inane. Case in point: “Merit-based raises could be limited for 2010-11” (SN 4/14) includes the recently minted administrative doublespeak “ … zero percent increase …” promulgated by some fool in the employ of MSU.

COMMENTARY

Life after college won't be so gloomy

You probably have many anxiety-ridden questions circling in your mind if you’re a graduating senior. Where am I going? How will I get there? Am I seriously graduating from college already?

COMMENTARY

MSU should strive to maintain competitive salaries

Some students might question this move to increase the budget of any university department when program cuts are being made and tuition is on the rise, but with careful consideration of many contributing factors, they should be relieved of any worry.

COMMENTARY

US, Russia must limit nuclear weapons

I do think the U.S. and Russia should have a small but substantial stockpile to keep each other and the world in check, but more than 3,000 each is a tad overkill. But I suppose this isn’t Hollywood, and Superman can’t just toss all the nuclear missiles into the sun all at once.

COMMENTARY

City Center II funding should remain legal, transparent

Transparency with the public about what could happen and being up front with the numbers involved with projects also would be preferred. The city has a plan in place and should provide residents with regular reports on how it is doing in paying back the debt from the bonds.

COMMENTARY

FCC should fight for net neutrality

The open nature of the Internet has allowed it to become the most important development in collective human knowledge since the invention of the printing press. The Internet has changed how we consume content and allowed ideas to spread much faster than any point earlier in human history. A ruling by a federal appeals court significantly could change the way in which the Internet works in the future.

COMMENTARY

MSU needs support to switch to renewable energy

The T.B. Simon Power Plant burns 250,000 tons of coal each year, providing heat and electricity to the university. However, the plant produces harmful greenhouse gases — much to the dismay of many on-campus student groups and other local environmentalists. There has been a flurry of protests and campaigns to raise awareness of this fact and convince the university to switch to alternative, less harmful energy sources.

COMMENTARY

Unpaid internships unfair to students

As a journalism major living in Michigan, I know how difficult it can be in today’s economy to find not only a job, but also a suitable internship beforehand — especially an internship that doesn’t involve just going on coffee runs for the staff or taking out the trash in exchange for college credit.

COMMENTARY

Race to the Top not best way to help schools

Race to the Top is a contest for money based on which states can best formulate a plan to conform to the federal government’s wishes. But the federal government doesn’t necessarily know what’s best for children’s education, and asking states to change in exchange for money rather than for what might be in the best interest of students is not right.

COMMENTARY

Outsourcing TAs hinders learning

A few universities are now outsourcing grading in a shallow attempt to provide a supposedly more thorough evaluation for students. Recently, the University of Houston has fallen into this educational debacle. With a lack of TAs in classrooms, the institution has resorted to e-mailing students’ homework to India, where their work is graded by a team of professional reviewers, educated to give a sophisticated analysis of a paper.

COMMENTARY

New smoking ban will benefit Michigan citizens

Beginning May 1, Michigan will become the 38th state to ban smoking from all workplaces, restaurants and bars. Exceptions include gambling floors of casinos, cigar bars, tobacco specialty stores, home offices and motor vehicles. This bill is a milestone in recognizing the importance of minimizing exposure to secondhand smoke for everyone.

COMMENTARY

Paddling punishment amounts to child abuse

A teen in Alabama recently was suspended for having too “skimpy” of a prom dress. Initially, this seems like a typical story and a common occurrence in the springtime when eager high school students cast away their pants and coats for shorter, more season-savvy choices. Yet the striking thing in this story is the punishment offered for the crime.

COMMENTARY

iPad has potential to change way we live

The iPad is one of the coolest things I’ve looked at and played with in the past couple of years. The new Apple gadget is so much fun to toy with, it makes me want to run out and buy one. But the iPad has to be one of the most useless new pieces of technology in a long time.

COMMENTARY

Government should crack down on unpaid internships

As the numbers of unpaid internships have grown, so have the concerns about whether employers are abiding by labor laws. The future of those internships rests on the need for new legal limitations on what is right and wrong in the unpaid workplace.

COMMENTARY

Get beyond rhetoric, take back government

As I approach the final month of my undergraduate career at MSU, like so many others, I am reminded of the things since my freshman year. The experiences I have gone through will no doubt impact the rest of my life — whether positive or negative.