I was “unimpressed,” as The State News would say, with the article “Students upset over RHA trip” (SN 2/5). First of all, it needs to get its facts straight, especially concerning the apology.
The flyers that appeared on campus promoting the movie “Kung Pow: Enter the Fist,” a kung-fu movie parody, were grossly inappropriate for a campus with such a diverse background. The flier, which was spotted at the Wonders Hall front desk Jan.
If some state health officials and lawmakers have their way, students in Michigan’s elementary, middle and high schools won’t be able to purchase soda pop from hallway vending machines. This possibility could rank among the most ridiculous legislation considered at the state Capitol this decade. Health officials rallied Wednesday to support a bill that would prohibit the sale of soda pop in Michigan elementary and middle schools and would limit its sale in high schools.
It was a routine Tuesday morning. My stereo alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. to wake me up for my 8 a.m.
Gov. John Engler’s latest appointment to the MSU Board of Trustees has brought with it speculation about the lame-duck chief executive’s future political aspirations. Within two years, Engler has bypassed the electoral process and changed the partisan powers on the MSU board from a 5-3 Democrat majority to a 5-3 GOP majority - a tilt that benefits his own party affiliation. Engler has said he tries to keep politics out of decisions which will affect the universities. “I’d look for the best person,” he told The State News prior to Tuesday’s appointment of Republican Randall Pittman to a trustee seat.
The Enron Corp. scandal is dominating print and broadcast news, and every day, developments in the matter are announced with ever more shocked voices, in ever more ominous tones. But the Enron scandal, like most ongoing news, is a little bit like “Rex Morgan, M.D.” or “Judge Parker” or any of the serious comics nobody reads.
In response to Mike Sanregret’s statement, “an ideal culture would reject abortion both in popular sentiment and in law,” we could follow that an ideal culture would not have instances of violence against women either (“Abortion fueled by casual sex culture,” SN 2/5). Our reality may not be ideal, but the practice of safe abortions is as essential as the freedom of speech.
The recent policy released by the American Academy of Pediatrics concerning the parental abilities of same-sex couples only affirms common sense knowledge - it requires two supportive and loving parents to raise a child. The policy, released Monday by the Illinois-based organization, focuses on legally protecting the parental rights of gay parents whose partners have children and for couples who wish to adopt a child.
That Shaun Reed disagrees with U.S. Rep. Nick Smith’s bill to make military service mandatory comes as little surprise (“Duty to country is served every day,” SN 2/6). I don’t agree with it either, but for quite different reasons than Reed put forth.
“When does it become OK to ignore our Constitution?” (“Detainees deserve basic human rights,” SN 2/5) It always becomes OK to ignore the Constitution when the Constitution has no rules set forth for the treatment of prisoners of war.
In response to “Detainees deserve humane treatment” (SN 2/6), all I can say is Mara Wolke should be utterly ashamed of herself.
Kudos to MSU athletics officials for doing the footwork required to honor more than 300 female athletes with long-overdue varsity letters. After nearly a year of searching via e-mail, word of mouth, print advertisements and a special university Web page, athletics officials have found hundreds of Spartan women who played at MSU before 1980. Female athletes from as far back as the 1930s were found and will be honored Saturday during halftime at the women’s basketball game against Illinois and at a special ceremony Sunday at Kellogg Center. Although not all of the athletes tracked down will be in attendance, more than 200 will be on hand to receive their individualized plaques with the trademark Spartan “S” in the middle. MSU began recognizing women varsity athletic participants in 1975 - three years after the gender equity legislation Title IX was enacted.
This has been a tough year for The State News editorial cartoon department. They lost a very talented and very astute artist last year and had to find someone to fill his shoes.
The recent article, \"“Groups discuss gender identity,” (SN 2/1) seems to me to give the impression the protection of gender identity expression is primarily a student issue.
I don’t agree with U.S. Rep. Nick Smith’s bill at all (“Bill introduced in Washington could make service mandatory,” SN 2/4). To force young Americans to serve their country in the form of military service is not a democratic policy.
Now that Super Bowl XXXVI has come and gone, the sports world can turn its attention to the Winter Olympic Games. With that, the world spotlight pivots to focus on Salt Lake City - the Mormon Mecca of the United States. I make that reference because it seems I have yet to see an Olympic preview about the host city in which its dominant religious influence isn’t mentioned. Through this second point, I have found the inspiration to write this column.
It’s disgusting the author of “Cuba detainees are being treated fairly” (SN 2/4) believes the al-Qaida and Taliban captives don’t deserve civil rights because they aren’t human.
The rumblings between state legislators and governors to crack down on the availability of public records to hinder terrorist actions is not the correct solution. Governors and state legislators are worried terrorists could use information from public documents and meetings to attack the United States. Michigan is one of eight states seriously considering restricting access to government documents and meetings. Some issues being considered for restrictive measures include water supplies and sewer systems, ongoing criminal investigations, evacuation plans and bioterrorism response assessments. The Michigan Senate introduced a bill in December that would restrict public records and security plans from Freedom of Information Act requests. Lawmakers across the country are in favor of local governments meeting secretly to discuss terrorist prevention plans for water, sewer and electric utilities.
When does it become OK to ignore our Constitution just because others have done it? Michael Ratkovich would have us believe that any time is perfectly acceptable (“Cuba detainees are being treated fairly,” SN 2/4). Apparently, because those being held at Camp X-Ray in Cuba did something deplorable and reprehensible, this gives us permission to do the same.
A bill introduced in Washington that would force all young men to serve in the military has good intentions, but is a bad idea. U.S.