If you’ve seen me on campus, attempting to walk around on crutches, I know what you want to ask. I’ll go ahead and give you the answer to save you the trouble: I got hit by a car. I understand that you, as Americans, have been raised to be fascinated by unusual things and injuries, and that a girl walking around campus on crutches satisfies both of those fascinations.
Think globally, act locally! Some of us are fighting global warming by doing without a car entirely and using Capital Area Transportation Authority to get around. It’s not that difficult or time-consuming once you get used to it.
This is in response to the letter Redistribution not a good policy for class grades, U.S economy (SN 10/28). As a voter, before you simply label Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal on tax reform as a “redistribution plan” and compare it to a plan that would give slacker students inflated GPAs, it is important to understand what exactly his tax policy would entail.
For the past eight years, the United States has suffered under policies that have rewarded the few while hurting the many. Americans have watched as the deficit soared, the economy partially collapsed and the world’s view of us soured. It’s time for a change. That change is what Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has pledged to bring to the White House, and it’s time to give him a chance to do exactly that.
How do I begin to refute the assertions Katelyn Thompson made in her letter Farming industry practices support health of animals (SN 10/24)? Never before have I been directly confronted with such an illogical argument that literally made me speechless. There is not one truthful statement in the entire letter.
I wonder how many students would be interested in grade “redistribution.” Suppose every 4.0 grade in a class was converted to a 3.0 grade so as to redistribute one grade point to students failing the course, in order to allow those students to pass or be given to students who have grades they deserved — but grades that are lower than what those students want. Does that seem fair?
Odds are that on Nov. 5 the American political landscape will be dramatically changed — at least for the short term. Although it can’t be guaranteed that we’ll know for certain who our next president will be — thank you, 2000 presidential election, for that uncertainty — any result will have major ramifications in the political sphere.
Red Bull “gives you wings.” Who wouldn’t enjoy a pair of flapping wings to help you get around campus? Well, a side effect of those wings could be anxiety, insomnia, tremors and a rapid heart rate as a result of the caffeine in energy drinks. These effects, also known as caffeine intoxication, have led to a petition for the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the amount of caffeine in energy drinks.
In Zack Colman’s report on gay rights (Gay rights not high on candidates 2008 agenda, SN 10/27), it is rather queerious that the only thing that seems to be of importance in the struggle for gay rights is marriage.
Baylor University is trying to win a popularity contest. Baylor, which is located in Waco, Texas, recently offered credit or money to its admitted freshmen as incentive to retake the SAT. The school offered $300 in campus bookstore credit for simply retaking the test and $1,000 in scholarship aid for those who raised their score by at least 50 points.
If you are going to write an editorial on the endowment fund and on the stock market (Endowment losses are cause for serious concern SN 10/22), could you at least have someone who has a decent knowledge of finances, the stock market and proper investment strategy write it?
In my time as a columnist for this paper, I have written on a number of occasions about stem cell research, largely focused on embryonic stem cell research and the need for a revision of Michigan’s severe and archaic laws that restrict it. I also have looked at the issue on a national level, such as when I wrote about standing on the Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C., with 150 diabetic children singing “Promise to Remember Me” on the day before President Bush vetoed the bipartisan Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act for a second time.
The most recent of Ian Brown’s comics is very disappointing to me. It states that the No. 2 reason University of Michigan stinks is because “they have to work too hard.” The drawing is of a guy with glasses reading from a tall stack of books in Ann Arbor juxtaposed with an East Lansing scene of someone napping midday.
We pride ourselves on being an educated society, yet people allow themselves to make ignorant statements. Referring to the letter Corporate practices corrupt, harm Mich. livestock industry (SN 10/20), the management practices utilized by agricultural producers are intended to be safe, efficient and more than adequate for livestock.
Vic Loomis should be ashamed of himself. Upon opening my State News on Oct. 16, I encountered a guest column from East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis (Future city plans hurt by petitions, SN 10/16). I was curious as to what he had to say considering there is seldom a column from figures held in such high esteem as a mayor. As I began reading, however, I became incensed at selfish rhetoric spewing from his pen. Loomis condemns the ballot initiative process students have started to cease the City Center II project.
Michigan has a dropout problem. Every year, 20,000 high school students choose to turn their backs on education. The number, while high, wasn’t as alarming in the past simply because the industrialization of the state meant there were numerous high-paying jobs available to those without a high school diploma. For some communities, dropping out became a way of life.
In your editorial Endowment losses are cause for serious concern (SN 10/22), you suggest MSU’s investment portfolio should not hold stocks and consist only of bonds and other “safe” investments. This strategy fails to understand the fact that, over the long term, stocks have consistently provided higher returns than fixed-income investments like bonds and CDs.
I was wearing jeans, heels and a long-sleeved shirt at the time when a new acquaintance scanned me up and down and said, “I normally think women who wear heels and jeans look like prostitutes, but you managed to pull it off.” Go me. I passed her “Are you a slut?” test. Apparently, all women have one.
I recently read Jacob Carpenter and Abby Lubbers’ article MSU athlete injured after weekend fight (SN 10/22) and Joe Rexrode’s article “Police probe E. Lansing fight” in the Lansing State Journal. I was compelled to respond to both articles because three years ago, on Oct. 21, 2005, my 21-year-old cousin died from one punch.
In response to Selling cells (SN 10/8), I agree that stem cell research can be very beneficial to people with certain diseases and injuries and that we should try our hardest to find cures, but when research shows that adult stem cells work better than embryonic stem cells, why can’t they be used instead? Embryonic stem cell research is a highly controversial moral issue, while adult stem cells can be harvested harmlessly.