First, I want to introduce myself. I am Penney Aiken, a criminal justice junior here at MSU, but, more importantly, I am the office manager for the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, known to many as MIPA. Although I work for this organization, everything I am about to say is my opinion and I am not attempting to give an opinion for the organization.
Kudos to The State News for the editorial "Way too easy" (SN 12/2) about Raye Grill's embezzlement from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.
It's the most wonderful, er, stressful time of the year for college students. Finals week is always a time of revelation for us — we realize how much easier life would be if we hadn't been using our textbooks as coasters all year. But don't let the rigors of it all turn you into a Scrooge.
FarmHouse Fraternity members, when faced with having their home destroyed in the planned East Village redevelopment, did something surprising. The East Village Master Plan is aimed at transforming the area into more apartments and businesses.
I am a Penn State alumnus and middle school counselor living near Raleigh, N.C. I visited MSU for the Penn State-MSU football game.
After reading Mayor Mark Meadows' statement on the April 2-3 disturbances, one thing seems obvious: Meadows would rather play politics than do his job. He defends his lack of a conclusion into the matter by laying out all definitions of the word "blame." According to him, the disturbances were everyone's fault and no one's fault. Meadows blames the students for throwing rocks at officers.
Amazing. Amazing and wonderful and incredible! In the midst of plant closings and terrible economic news, the Coalition of Labor Organizations at MSU has done it again.
This letter is in response to recent attacks against affirmative action and groups who support the anti-affirmative action legislation called MCRI, or Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.
What is going on in Michigan? A study done by the FBI of 2004 crime statistics found Michigan ranked as the third worst in the country in hate crimes, despite the fact Michigan ranks only 6th in total population. Michigan was behind California and New Jersey. We didn't see this one coming. Here we are in the Midwest, a place many people think of as full of people who are tolerant.
I am a Penn State junior, and drove eight hours with my friends to support our team in East Lansing during the MSU-Penn State game.
I am disgusted by all of the suggestions that ousted Lions coach Steve Mariucci would somehow be the answer to our football woes. One of the reasons Mariucci got fired from his NFL job was his inability to develop young talent.
Ryan Townsend's letter, "Only two genders, demands are bogus" (SN 12/2) regarding gender identity and Y chromosomes shows that he is ignorant of both the social construction of gender and the biological reality of sex differentiation. First of all, "gender" is a societally determined set of physical and behavioral characteristics.
Regardless of Mr. Ryan Townsend's claim in "Only two genders, demands are bogus" (SN 12/2), that he holds no hatred or contempt for the transgender community in his response to "Identity right" (SN 11/16), his comments would suggest otherwise, or at the very least, ignorance and intolerance. His belief that "God created two genders: male and female" and that "There are no genders outside of these and there are no gray areas in between" is yet another example of how some people use religion to create divides between themselves and people who are different.
What am I doing here? I don't know if it's the lack of sleep, pressure of exams or coffee.
Affirmative action has always been controversial, with many advocates on both sides. And next fall, with the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative on the ballot, the issue is once again brought to the forefront. If passed, the initiative would make it unconstitutional to have hiring or university admissions preferences based on gender or race — effectively ending the practice of race-based affirmative action in Michigan. When it comes down to it, this will affect college enrollment and hiring in the state.
Give him a fair chance. People who are calling for head coach John L. Smith to be fired need to slow down.
I am appalled at the shoddy and irresponsible journalism printed as an editorial, "Way too easy" (SN 12/02), calling for Raye Grill, my friend, to be jailed. Who benefits by sending her to jail?
I disagree with Ryan Townsend's statement in his letter "Only two genders, demands are bogus" (SN 12/02), that there are only two genders. Townsend mistakenly conflates sex and gender as the same thing, which they are not.
I applaud your analysis, "Way too easy" (SN 12/2), that white-collar crime typically results in significantly less jail or prison time for offenders.
One of the toughest transitions I've had to make is from the life of a high school student to that of a college student.