COMMENTARY

YAF should be disbanded after most recent event

While I was not in attendance of Young Americans for Freedom's most recent provocative event, I have read many articles and listened to a few testimonials that have led me to come to the conclusion that MSU needs to disband this dangerous hate organization. I have heard the freedom of speech argument applied to this group, and I definitely would have agreed with them up until the words "work" and "soap" were knowingly used to infuriate many in the audience, therefore causing imminent lawless action.

COMMENTARY

Lot 89 unsafe, should be guarded more carefully

How many cars must be damaged and how many things must be stolen until something is done about Lot 89? I will never park my car there again after having both my windows broken, my CD player stolen and my trunk no longer locks.

COMMENTARY

Ownership of powerful weapons unnecessary

The shooting crisis at Virginia Tech University has once again sparked the debate over gun control.

COMMENTARY

Goals in Iraq should've come sooner

Last Thursday, the House approved a plan to finance the Iraq war through midsummer. Hours before the plan was approved, President Bush made his first concession.

COMMENTARY

Unequal portrayal

As the 2008 presidential election approaches, political stories are dominating the news. This election stands apart from those in the past with a truly diverse group of candidates.

COMMENTARY

Protesters' conduct was out of line, disgusting

This is to those involved in the Chris Simcox event. Before I begin, I want to make it clear who is saying this.

COMMENTARY

Government needs to raise revenue

Since January, we have heard almost weekly about Michigan's budget deficit and the ways our government is trying to fix it. The state is facing a roughly combined $2.5 billion deficit.

COMMENTARY

Conflicting emotions

It's the end of the semester. It is almost over. Just a week left of finals or a few projects to wrap up. Many of us will be running out of here.

COMMENTARY

Arrests racially biased, university is 'complicit'

I am outraged by the way protesters were treated during a speech by Chris Simcox, founder of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, on April 19.

COMMENTARY

Redevelopments should not drive students away

Recent statements by The Pierce Company president Fred Pierce in "Company's mock-up gets mixed reactions" (SN 4/18), indicate that Pierce does not understand the area of East Lansing his company seeks to redevelop, and confirms concerns that East Lansing will move students out of the prime student rental location in East Lansing.

COMMENTARY

Nondisruptive students forced to leave event

As a student in attendance of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps lecture, I feel obliged to inform the student body of the atrocious violation of students' rights, overt exhibition of racial profiling and unnecessarily excessive use of police force that occurred.

COMMENTARY

SN coverage of event left out Simcox speech

The stories on the April 19 speech of Minuteman President Chris Simcox, "YAF-sponsored event draws 5 arrests" (SN 4/20), and "Students express anger, concern over conduct of administrators, police with YAF-sponsored event" (SN 4/20), focused on disruptions by protesters.

COMMENTARY

Mentally ill should not possess guns

When it comes to issues like gun control and carrying firearms, it's safest to take a moderate standpoint with room for compromise. General statements like "no one should carry a gun" and "everyone should carry a gun" lack both balance and reason.

COMMENTARY

Broken news outlets

The phrase "Breaking news" doesn't even have meaning anymore. It's like the boy who cried wolf. It seems like every time I turn on the news, it says "Breaking news" across the bottom of the screen.

COMMENTARY

Speakers incited crowd, didn't follow MSU rules

While reading the article titled "YAF-sponsored event draws 5 arrests" (SN 4/20), I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows progressively higher as I read farther down the page.

COMMENTARY

Giving citizens guns will not solve shooting issues

Since I am an owner of several different firearms and am an avid sportswoman, I firmly believe in my privilege to own and use them.

COMMENTARY

Art funding freezes sadly necessary

As Gov. Jennifer Granholm is stopped at every turn in her efforts to fight Michigan's budget deficit, it seems any program receiving state funds is fair game. Next up on the chopping block? The arts. On April 18, 200 people showed up at the Capitol Building in Lansing to protest Granholm's executive directive to freeze $7.5 million in grants promised to arts and cultural organizations.

COMMENTARY

Key cards for dorms not effective security system

While I commend Meredith Leake for wanting to make the campus safer, her suggestions for building access are a little too impractical, "MSU administration must take preventive action" (SN 4/18). At several other schools, dorms are simply just that: dorms.

COMMENTARY

Vocal transitions

Whether it was Don Imus' slur of "nappy-headed hos" or former Sen. George Allen's reference to an Indian man as a "macaca," a slip of the tongue in recent times has never been more controversial.

COMMENTARY

Protesters at Simcox event hypocrites

The group of protesters at The Minuteman Project speech April 19 amazes me, along with its response to what police did. First, the protesters who tried to shut down Chris Simcox's speech are hypocrites.