Monday, January 12, 2026

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Opinion | 1000

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COMMENTARY

Good move

Having a united database system to link the efforts of the Ingham County law agencies and prosecutors, the FBI and the U.S.

COMMENTARY

ASMSU correct to fund speakers visit

The State News editorial on David Horowitz (“Why him?” SN 2/19) said, “MSU’s undergraduate student government should better define its criteria for footing the bills that help bring public speakers to campus.” The fact is, ASMSU does have a clear set policy for allocating funds to bring speakers to the university.

COMMENTARY

SN opposition to speaker unjust

The opposition of The State News to ASMSU’s funding of a campus appearance by David Horowitz is surprising given the paper’s supposed commitment to free speech and campus discussion (“Why him?,” SN 2/19). Horowitz is a controversial conservative speaker and not everyone will agree with his positions on affirmative action and reparations.

COMMENTARY

Sober decision

Committing criminal behavior while under the influence always is inexcusable. Those responsible enough to drink should own up to their actions and not expect a slap on the wrist in court. This is why state representatives were correct in supporting the “under the influence” bill sponsored by Rep.

COMMENTARY

Ignorance helps breed stereotypes

I am writing in regards to the letter “Stereotype contains factual information” (SN 2/11). This letter makes the statement that “media and popular culture make fun of minority or subculture groups’ behavior all the time.

COMMENTARY

Affirmative action is social necessity

This letter is in response to the letter “Affirmative action overlooks factors ” (SN 2/18). It is obvious everyone is not going to agree on the topic of affirmative action and probably never will.

COMMENTARY

Tryout

Athletics officials should give serious consideration to the women’s ice hockey club’s request for varsity status. This year’s petition marks the third time since the club was formed in 1995 that the team has attempted to become varsity. There are 69 schools in NCAA divisions I to III that host varsity women’s hockey teams.

COMMENTARY

Horowitz views important to hear

I was surprised to see that The State News opposes funding David Horowitz’s appearance at MSU (“Why him?,” SN 2/19). Let me start by passing the credibility litmus test.

COMMENTARY

Soda companies target children unfairly

As our government has mandated us all to remain on the super-duper double-triple highest state of terrorist alert, you may be wondering why I expect you to give a puny issue like the sale of soda in schools your full attention. As we’re constantly being reminded, the war on terror is not a single operation; it is a sustained campaign.

COMMENTARY

Task force left door open for problems

In response to “Task force proposes guidelines” (SN 2/18), perhaps the most harmful recommendation of the task force was the first one listed in the article: To define a “reasonable cause” standard for situations in which a police officer would have to administer a breath analysis test or to stop a student.

COMMENTARY

Why him?

MSU’s undergraduate student government should better define its criteria for footing the bills that help bring public speakers to campus. On Thursday, representatives from ASMSU’s Student Assembly engaged in more than an hour of heated debate concerning whether to allocate money to bring ultra-conservative extremist David Horowitz to campus in March to speak about his experiences with student activism. In the end, it was agreed the organization would allot $2,948 for Horowitz’s appearance at MSU. The University of California at Berkeley graduate’s extreme anti-affirmative actions and anti-reparation view have often been the centerpiece of many heated debates. Last year, controversy arose after an ad that ran in numerous university newspapers outlining “Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Slavery is a Bad Idea - and Racist Too,” to promote Horowitz’s book “The Death of the Civil Rights Movement.” The State News refused to run that advertisement. Much of the ASMSU debate centered around whether Horowitz’s appearance would be something that could benefit the university as a whole. An earlier decision by the group not to support a Black Student Celebratory, an event to honor select black graduates, was used as precedent for the argument against Horowitz. ASMSU did not fund that event because it was not open to all students. Horowitz’s appearance will be brought through the Young Americans for Freedom, a student activist group, whose event will be open to all students. Despite the openness of the speech, Horowitz’s views do not appeal to a larger mass of individuals.

COMMENTARY

Not enough

While the Task Force on Student-Police Relations made a number of worthy recommendations in its final report, the group missed the chance to comment on a critical point. They failed to address the incident which led to the task force’s formation in the first place - the infiltration of an undercover officer into the student group United Students Against Sweatshops, now Students for Economic Justice.

COMMENTARY

Federal skies

Although crackdowns on aviation security have made travel noticeably safer since Sept. 11, it should ease all wary flyers’ minds to know the federal government is now in charge of protecting the skies via the nation’s airport terminals. The U.S.

COMMENTARY

SN failed to cover womens hoops

During a weekend when women in sports were honored, your paper decidedly left out highlights of one of the best women’s basketball games ever played on this campus.