Also in Editorials

• Change in campus gun law shouldn't pose danger

  Updated 06/22/2009 7:07pm

  A conflict between state law and public university power might lead to an increase in the presence of guns on MSU’s campus. The MSU Board of Trustees voted Friday to allow concealed weapons on campus, assuming the owner has the proper permits. Any person with a concealed weapons permit might bring a gun on campus, but not into any buildings, such as the dorms.

• Convicted prisoners deserve right to DNA testing

  Updated 06/21/2009 7:24pm

  A wrongly convicted criminal serving time might not get access to all the evidence he or she needs thanks to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. The court decided Thursday that access to DNA testing for convicted prisoners isn’t a constitutional right, despite at least 232 cases having been overturned by DNA evidence in the U.S.

• News special deal between Obama, ABC suspicious

  Updated 06/17/2009 7:10pm

  President Barack Obama will be presenting an hour-long special on health care reform with ABC News on Wednesday, but health care is not what’s being debated on this show. ABC has exclusive rights to broadcast the town-hall-style program, which will consist of the president answering questions from ABC’s prescreened audience.

• English as official language worth considering

  Updated 06/16/2009 9:26pm

  The country that was built upon immigration might only need to use one language if a recent movement gathers enough support. Nashville, Tenn., has become the focal point of the debate to unify U.S. speakers and make English the official language of the country after a proposal appeared on the city’s ballot in January. If passed, the measure would require all city business to be conducted only in English, which would make Nashville the biggest city in the country to do so.

• Same-sex marriage push paves way for future

  Updated 06/15/2009 7:06pm

  In the wake of another Michigan Pride Festival, a chance to celebrate and educate people about Michigan’s gay population, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some have begun talking about overturning the ban on same-sex marriages voters passed in the state in 2004.

• Corrections reform bill must be enacted wisely

  Updated 06/14/2009 7:18pm

  When should economics influence the criminal justice system? It’s a question that Michigan finds itself tackling after the state House passed a bill to revise the state’s current policy regarding criminal eligibility for community corrections programs.

• GM boycott over bailout accomplishes nothing

  Updated 06/10/2009 7:06pm

  Government intervention has been a touchy subject in political circles since the economy went sour. Financial bailouts, billions of dollars in stimulus money and the government’s assistance to auto giants General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have upset many Republicans.

• Privilege shouldn't affect admissions process

  Updated 06/09/2009 7:09pm

  It’s one of the many unfair aspects of life, but the people with the best connections tend to get the best treatment. The University of Illinois is no different. The university has suspended its controversial Category I admissions process in wake of a Chicago Tribune report that the school gave preferential treatment to applicants with more clout.

• Lansing punch-card program shows promise

  Updated 06/08/2009 7:02pm

  Mayor Virg Bernero and the city of Lansing are doing their best to welcome young professionals to the city by starting a promotion that should help them get to meet potential employers.

• Bringing Gitmo prisoners to Mich. makes sense

  Updated 06/07/2009 7:01pm

  More than 200 of the most dangerous people in the world could be moving to Michigan, possibly for the rest of their lives. U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, sent a letter to President Barack Obama offering to house the detainees from Guantanamo Bay in Manistique, Mich. If Obama were to approve the site, the prisoners would move into a prison that has been closed since 2007, far from any major cities in the state.

• Alcohol providers deserve blame in death

  Updated 06/03/2009 7:08pm

  A lawsuit stemming from a 2005 car crash could bring a measure of liability to people who provide alcohol to minors. In March 2005, five people, including two who were MSU students at the time, were involved in supplying alcohol to Alexander Hamil, a 19-year-old Marshall, Mich., resident.

• Unionization will lead to a better education, MSU

  Updated 06/02/2009 7:15pm

  MSU’s nontenured faculty likely will start the process of unionizing after approving a new proposal. Faculty members voted Friday to pursue the possibility of unionizing in hopes of bringing more job security to faculty members without tenure. MSU has smartly supported their potential to unionize, even though it could end up costing the university money.

• Public deserves to know Sotomayor's positions

  Updated 06/01/2009 7:16pm

  While there is still a lot to be decided in Washington, D.C., the U.S. could be on the verge of appointing its first Hispanic justice to the Supreme Court. President Barack Obama nominated New York appellate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace outgoing Justice David Souter, which could finally bring change to a court that sorely lacks diversity.

• Abu Ghraib photos need to be released

  Updated 05/31/2009 7:15pm

  President Barack Obama’s administration is trying to improve the image of the United States on the international stage, but are still paying for the mistakes of the previous president.

• Calif. court ruling unfortunate, correct

  Updated 05/27/2009 7:16pm

  Protesters are lining up in Lansing and other cities around the country — all for a proposal from California’s state elections last November. Proposition 8, which passed in the election, outlawed same-sex marriage throughout the state and later became subject to a state Supreme Court review.

• Republicans must look to core values

  Updated 05/29/2009 1:50pm

  The Republican Party has received flack from the media and the left for being too “conservative,” while on the other hand there are those who are considered “conservative” stating that the party is becoming too moderate.

• University has right to shut down student group

  Updated 05/26/2009 7:14pm

  It might seem like a contradiction that there could be Democrat student groups at Jerry Falwell’s Christian Liberty University. Well, there were. The private university recently shut down its only liberal student organization, the College Democrats.

• Credit card act works to protect students

  Updated 05/25/2009 7:06pm

  President Barack Obama signed a bill Friday that is going to change the way the credit card industry treats young people. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, or CARD Act, is a bill introduced by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., that will bring protection to students seeking their first credit card, among others.