Pass

A monument of significance:

On Sunday, the official dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will take place. The recently completed monument stretches over 4 acres and is the first monument on the National Mall to depict and honor a black man. While our history books have always been there to inform and remind us of the great achievements of MLK, his face and overall presence have been needed in our nation’s capital. His monument is right where it belongs, in the very heart of the country and near the very grounds where his inspiring “I Have a Dream” speech took place. King fought the racial injustices of the past with undeniable courage and dedication, and for that purpose he takes his rightful spot among the men enshrined in Washington, D.C. All those involved in the construction of such a historic memorial have passed with flying colors.

Fail

Sex offender gets 5 instead of 10:

Aaron Montoya, a former Tucson charter school teacher, was sentenced to five years in prison for having sex multiple times with a 14-year-old female student. Although state prosecutors tried to get Judge Jose Robles to sentence Montoya to 10 years in prison with lifetime probation, Robles was swayed by the public defense of Montoya. For letting Montoya get away with half the time because he somehow has the support of the community and of his former wife, the judge and the justice system get a fail. The only moral to be learned here is that if you just confess to doing something horrible, maybe even an average attorney can help you get away with lower punishment.

Incomplete

TUSD Indecision 2011:

Tucson Unified School District’s Governing Board has wavered back and forth on whether or not to remove President Mark Stegeman. The first attempt died quickly after a motion to remove him wasn’t seconded. Now the board seems to be moving forward with plans on this second try. While some members agreed that there were problems Stegeman wasn’t addressing, they mostly thought he was doing the best he could do in the situation. Many on the board are still hesitant to bring the matter up, and some like Stegeman himself won’t raise the topic at all in meetings. For not pulling the trigger the first time and turning a continuous blind eye to the fact that Stegeman neither commands nor receives any respect from the community at large, the entire TUSD Governing Board earns an incomplete.

— Editorials are determined by the Daily Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Kristina Bui , Storm Byrd, Nicole Dimtsios, and Steven Kwan. They can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.