COMMENTARY

Your actions can be tracked with technology

Jessica Meyers

April 12, 2001

Are they all watching you?If you are one of those paranoid types - who thinks that if people are laughing when you enter a room, it is you who is the brunt of their joke - then stop reading.Put down the paper and crawl back under the rock you use for shelter from the spooky world.We, as independent college students, are particularly cautious when giving out personal information, but the simple fact is if someone was determined enough to gather information on us, they probably could do it relatively easily.Credit card receipts can track anything purchased with the plastic.

COMMENTARY

Cartoon projects wrong message

This past weekend I attended a dinner hosted by the MSU Air Force ROTC. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, spoke to us about the 24 Americans who were being detained by the Chinese government.

COMMENTARY

Many missed point of column

This is in response to TJ Dickinson (“Alcohol ban won’t change ‘U’,” SN 4/4) and Brian Selewski (“Prohibition won’t help improve ‘U’,” SN 4/5), who each vehemently refuted Craig Gunn’s column “Alcohol can cause many nasty side effects” (SN 4/2). Without a doubt, both these students missed the actual point of Gunn’s column, which was that MSU does not need prohibition or drastic measures in order to control alcohol.

COMMENTARY

NBA bound

If college athletes have a good chance at success in the professional arena, they should take the opportunity to advance their careers, even if that means leaving college without a degree. Jason Richardson announced Tuesday he would enter the NBA Draft.

COMMENTARY

Tow away

People who illegally park in spaces reserved for those with disabilities deserve to be subjected to higher fines and have their vehicles towed. The All University Traffic Committee released a report recently proposing an increase in the fine for parking in an accessible/handicap spot.

COMMENTARY

Substance-free world is a dream

Craig Gunn’s column in favor of bringing back prohibition doesn’t belong in any serious newspaper, and that includes The State News (“Alcohol can cause many nasty side effects,” SN 4/2). However, his whimsical ideas about an alcohol-free utopia have a place - next to the Harry Potter books.

COMMENTARY

Union will only help university

I am writing this letter to express my disappointment over the current anti-union tactics of the MSU administration regarding the unionization effort of teaching assistants and graduate assistants. I have been a faculty member at MSU for 37 years and served as chair of the history department for four years.

COMMENTARY

Riot shouldnt be treated as joke

I’m responding to Tim Kochenderfer’s column (“You’re to blame for loss of championship game,” SN 4/9). I know his column was meant to be humorous, but I find no humor in the March 27-28, 1999, riot.

COMMENTARY

Union will provide academic freedom

As a MSU alumnus, with a law degree from the Detroit College of Law (while still based in Detroit), and as a union employee (UFCW Local 876 Legislative Director) with more than 20 years experience in labor relations, I feel compelled to write on the issue of graduate assistants voting on unionization this month. First, while a good dean at James Madison College of MSU while I was an undergraduate student there, MSU’s Robert Banks certainly seemed paternalistic in his comments in a State News story on the upcoming vote (“Graduate union seeks to collectively bargain,” SN 3/26). Banks said MSU would monitor the election process - well dean, the Michigan Employment Relations Commission does that just fine.

COMMENTARY

Everyone should be covered by civil rights law

Kathryn Garvale

April 11, 2001

About 80 percent of Americans believe people cannot be legally discriminated against based on sexual or affectional orientation in the workplace.

COMMENTARY

Columnists return is refreshing, funny

Thank you so much for bringing Tim Kochenderfer back for an opinion column (“You’re to blame for loss of championship game,” SN 4/9). His stupid humor was always refreshing for someone who had to be up at 8 a.m.

COMMENTARY

Students wont benefit from new City Center

Michonne L. Omo

April 10, 2001

Every fairly large college town is basically the same – the bars, the student ghetto, the unusually high amount of coffee shops, the street.East Lansing and Columbus, Ohio, home of The Ohio State University, are two examples.

COMMENTARY

Officials arent telling truth

I’d like to comment on the official justifications of an undercover police officer investigating a student activist group last spring. One justification offered for this action was that group members participated in violent protests against the World Trade Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

COMMENTARY

Substances help society function

This letter is in response to “Alcohol can cause many nasty side effects” (SN 4/2). In his column, Craig Gunn has described a utopian society, which by its nature and the laws of thermodynamics (order-producing systems produce disorder), is inherently flawed.

COMMENTARY

Driving with cell phone is not safe

Your editorial “Cell phone legislation completely unnecessary” (SN 3/26) addresses the hazards of cell phone use while driving.

COMMENTARY

Confidential

A new law requiring doctors to report the names of domestic abusers is not a good idea. The law requires doctors to report the names, if known, of abusers or face misdemeanor charges.

COMMENTARY

Affirmative action wont solve education issues

A lot of blacks lived in my suburban Detroit area, and I interacted with them all the time. They were like everyone else - and they were part of my culture.

COMMENTARY

Sprinkle U

Legislation proposed in the state House that would require sprinkler systems to be installed in residence halls should be passed. State Rep.

COMMENTARY

Youre to blame for loss of championship game

So far in my life I’ve had two major disappointments. The first came when publishers rejected a pop-up book for children I had created called “Watch your eyes!” The second came this past weekend. Having spent a year out of MSU with my degree, I was hoping to see our Spartans win another NCAA Championship.

COMMENTARY

U should think before speaking

Rachel Wright

April 6, 2001

Everyone enjoys laughter.It boosts self-esteem, and gives you the feeling people are listening to what you say.