COMMENTARY

Grievance heard

Getting proper pay is important to many teaching assistants who might be paying their way through college and supporting families.

COMMENTARY

Meter madness

MSU parking officials are making sure your pockets jingle a bit louder this semester. About 40 percent of the university's 1,100 metered spaces increased hourly rates from $1.25 to $1.50 on July 1. In the middle of a budget crunch, every nickel and dime can help, but the wrong drivers are being penalized in this price hike.

COMMENTARY

Drinking a cup of joe more important than 'U' might think

Do you remember the Van Halen music video for the song, "Right Now?" It had facts and figures about real-world situations.

COMMENTARY

Republican Party members take power to new extremes

Two weeks ago, a friend was conversing with me about politics. Although notably enraged at current political affairs, he was still thinking coherently and after an expletive or two, he commented, "Andrew, those Republicans are using the government to destroy the government."At first, I was just glad to hear him talk about something new (he had previously been carefully and unsuccessfully explaining the reasons why I needed to apologize publicly for supporting the military intervention in Iraq). However, my friend is indeed correct: Recently the Republicans in office, using unprecedented tactics in unforeseen ways, have specifically undermined our traditional democratic processes - manipulating the power afforded to them by these same democratic processes.

COMMENTARY

Doctrine not for lawmakers

A few weeks ago, the Vatican issued a new proclamation on gay marriage. Shockingly, it turns out they are against it.

COMMENTARY

Republican Party members take power to new extremes

Two weeks ago, a friend was conversing with me about politics. Although notably enraged at current political affairs, he was still thinking coherently and after an expletive or two, he commented, "Andrew, those Republicans are using the government to destroy the government."At first, I was just glad to hear him talk about something new (he had previously been carefully and unsuccessfully explaining the reasons why I needed to apologize publicly for supporting the military intervention in Iraq). However, my friend is indeed correct: Recently the Republicans in office, using unprecedented tactics in unforeseen ways, have specifically undermined our traditional democratic processes - manipulating the power afforded to them by these same democratic processes.

COMMENTARY

Too much trash

Importing of trash from Canada into Michigan needs to stop. While legislators have become creative as to where they get their funding, especially when the state is facing difficult budget constraints, the people of Michigan need to tell them they have gone too far. The statewide campaign to stop the importation of Canada's trash into Michigan gained support last week as legislators in Lansing discussed the trash treaty and encouraged residents to sign petitions against foreign trash imports.

COMMENTARY

Respecting university means 'U' cleans up

As a long-time area resident and MSU alumna, welcome back students, faculty and staff. The beginning of fall semester is always one of high energy, new beginnings, new friends and new experiences.

COMMENTARY

Right guideline

Hail, hail to the University of Michigan for continuing to maintain diversity on its campus. On Thursday, U-M announced its new undergraduate admissions policy, which eliminates the controversial point system and emphasizes essay writing.

COMMENTARY

Legislators wrong to dabble in curriculum

Politicians who can't even balance a budget on time should not be involving themselves in the curriculum of the state's universities.

COMMENTARY

Point Counter Point: Mayoral race crucial for captal city (part 2)

Michigan's capital city is at a crossroads. Former Mayor David Hollister left Lansing City Hall after more than a decade in office to join the Gov.

COMMENTARY

Funding for fire

Many take peace of mind for granted because there are always people around to protect us. We have police officers guarding our streets, doctors to make us well and firefighters to prevent destruction.

COMMENTARY

QB or not to be

He's baaaaaack. It's widely known that Jeff Smoker has returned to his position as starting quarterback for MSU's football team.

COMMENTARY

Point Counter Point: Mayoral race crucial for capital city (part 1)

When a friend of mine mentioned that I should come down to the Mayor Tony Benavides campaign headquarters, I nearly laughed at him.

COMMENTARY

Launching dreams

Apparently Houston has a problem. In a 248-page report compiled after the fall of the Columbia space shuttle last February, investigators said that without major changes to NASA's safety procedures, another accident could occur.

COMMENTARY

Role models absent on small screen

"Five gay men, out to make over the world - one straight guy at time. "They are the Fab Five: An elite team of gay men dedicated to extolling the simple virtues of style, taste and class.

COMMENTARY

United Way OK

One bad apple spoils the bunch, says the adage. But in this case, the apple can simply be thrown out.

COMMENTARY

Lawmaker: Keep your hands off my university's curriculum

By now, many students at MSU and throughout Michigan's 15 publicly funded universities have heard or read about your proposed bill to permit the state Legislature to refuse funding for any specific university classes deemed "inappropriate." Among the classes that you cite are nine at this university, including History 420: History of Sexuality since the 18th Century and Psychology 310: Human Sexuality. This May, barring any unforeseen mishaps, I will graduate with a dual degree in chemistry and political science, with a small course-load of economics on the side.

COMMENTARY

Mass destruction deals with people, not high-tech weapons

I saw an interesting cartoon the other day that had a soldier facing a large group of angry Iraqis. Both he and the group were armed, and the soldier was saying to himself, "Well, I've found the weapons of mass destruction!" It really got me thinking about our single-minded focus on large-scale bombs and biological devices.

COMMENTARY

Blackout allowed for self-reflection

Excuse the pun, but being in the dark helped shed light on some very important issues for me. While officials on both sides of the border were scratching their heads over the Great Blackout of 2003 and playing the blame game, my roommates and I were busy playing the find-a-new-house-because-ours-burned-down game.