COMMENTARY

ACT, SAT don't offer best picture of students

Imagine not spending money and time preparing for the ACT or SAT. Some colleges are beginning to focus less on a student’s performance on the two major standardized tests. A panel of college admissions officials is suggesting universities move away from the ACT and SAT scores and focus on other things such as high school grade-point average, extracurricular activities and classes taken while in high school.

COMMENTARY

Everyday details now spark debate

I drink fair trade coffee and drive a fuel-efficient car. I get a thrill out of recycling and I listen to bands you haven’t even heard of yet. I admit that global warming and social inequalities are things that keep me up late into the night and I’ve often considered career changes that would allow me to work for a greater good.

COMMENTARY

Focus on economy first, then renewable energy

In recent weeks, the U.S. economy has suffered a heart attack. And as with any heart attack, time is needed to heal. Yet Michigan legislators are still arguing over how high a percentage of electricity should come from renewable energy sources, otherwise known as the renewable portfolio standard, or RPS.

COMMENTARY

Politicians of past cared more about inspiration than votes

Politics has gone away from the days when it meant something. It has gone away from the days when politicians spoke about the truth, about the issues and about what they believe in.

COMMENTARY

Rogers' Law could affect students

Are you ready to vote? Don’t worry. This isn’t part of the mountain of editorials and columns begging you to go out and register to vote — although you should be registered, and those exhortations are coming.

COMMENTARY

Taking campus crime seriously important for all

Don’t cry wolf. It’s a cliché one would think doesn’t bear repeating to college students — young adults responsible for their own homework, rent, meals and general survival. But it appears lately that’s not the case. In a week’s time, two recent reports made to MSU police have been found to be false.

COMMENTARY

Michigan Daily slights U-M's satellite campuses in editorial

In the reprinted summary of The Michigan Daily’s editorial about University of Michigan satellite campuses (“Revamping satellite campuses necessary for U-M’s growth” SN 9/17), the paraphrased description “used mostly as trade schools for the auto industry” outrageously diminishes the quality of those institutions.

COMMENTARY

Criticizing drinking habits of students solves nothing

In response to Pavan Vangipuram’s Alcohol use in E.L. warrants serious consideration (SN 9/22), I’ve been reading the same judgmental columns in The State News about anyone who drinks alcohol since I was a freshman. But every writer seems to miss something crucial: It is pointless to try to change someone else’s behavior by shaming and criticizing them.

COMMENTARY

Disregard 'lies' on magazine covers

You’re in line at the checkout in CVS Pharmacy and notice the magazine rack stocked with this month’s latest. Marie Claire and Shape stare back at you, rife with regurgitated headlines and a carefully sculpted, pouty female prepared to disclose the trials and lamentations of fame. “Sculpted?” you think. Yeah, right. The pen tool in Photoshop can work wonders.

COMMENTARY

Calling Salvation Army 'gross' offends those who shop there

I picked up The State News for the first time Sept. 12. I optimistically skim through the paper and excitingly start with my first article Retro hippie chick fashions cheap, feminine wardrobe (SN 9/12). Fashion always has been a passion of mine; little did I know I’d be offended after reading the article.

COMMENTARY

Alcohol use in E.L. warrants serious consideration

To walk down one of our residential avenues on a Friday night is a sobering experience. Not for any lack of alcohol imbibed — that, at least, is open and apparent — but for the insights it offers into human behavior. A casual stroll on a weekend evening will reveal spectacles that would be horrifying if their constant presence had not already desensitized us.

COMMENTARY

Bridge Card can assist struggling students

There’s no shame in asking for help. If you’re struggling through a math class, you can hire a tutor. Lost on a road trip? Pull over and ask someone at a gas station for directions. But what happens when you find yourself having to decide between paying the rent and buying groceries?

COMMENTARY

Bedouins share same plight as most Arabs living in Israel

I have to applaud the recent article MSU student helps build mosque in Israel (SN 9/10). It exposes MSU students to the plight and daily discrimination that the bedouin Arabs (among other Arab groups) in Israel face.

COMMENTARY

Learn about Mich. government now

At the beginning of the school year, I find myself reflecting on my experience as an undergraduate student at MSU from 2001 to 2005. Though I am now a graduate student at MSU, I take my classes in the Detroit area, where I work full-time, and seldom find myself in East Lansing.

COMMENTARY

E.L. thieves should consider impact on families, children

An open letter to the persons who stole my 10-year-old son’s bike after last week’s football game:

COMMENTARY

Background checks help improve campus safety

Just as the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 have shaped the way people view the high school experience, so, unfortunately, have the Virginia Tech shootings affected people’s perception of universities.

COMMENTARY

All facts about candidates must be presented to be fair

As a fifth-year senior acquiring a second bachelor’s degree, I can no longer tolerate the liberal monarchy that runs rampant on the Red Cedar. To those disbelievers, simply gaze over to the political cartoon and you will understand.

COMMENTARY

Black community still questions the impact of Obama's nomination

Just a few months ago, both black and white people were questioning Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s “blackness.” That is to say, black people wanted to know if he was going to help black people and white people wanted to know if he was going to help black people exclusively.

COMMENTARY

Stop dreading end of the world

Last week, much of the world was on its feet worrying that the human race was going to get sucked up by black holes created by the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC. The next day, billions of people woke up relieved we were still here.

COMMENTARY

Obama's health care plan could draw in student votes

Being a current student, and having watched friends and older sisters look for jobs after graduating, I understand that there is often a substantial amount of time between earning a degree and finding a career.