New TV deal robbed out-of-towners of Versus television channel

I am an alumnus who lives in Southern California. Thanks to the university’s latest TV deal, I can’t watch any of the games being aired on Versus, thanks to that channel’s contract dispute with DirecTV. DirecTV has approximately 18 million subscribers, and I am sure a large number of Wildcat fans are DirecTV customers. I know that many football fans are DirecTV customers, because that network broadcasts the NFL Sunday Ticket package.

The lack of exposure in Southern California and other major football states cannot be helping the Wildcats’ program, and is decreasing the potential notoriety gained by recent success. Consider that much of this season ­— the Wildcats’ best season in a decade — won’t be aired on many of the TV sets in the top recruiting areas in the nation (DirecTV also has football-loving customers in Florida and Texas). I understand the university has no hand in the contract dispute, but the contract dispute appears to be hurting the university in a significant way.

When Fox Sports AZ has broadcast games this year, on at least one occasion that network broadcast the ASU game live and put the Wildcats on tape delay. This meant that any potential Pac-10 recruits who were watching during prime time football probably watched the Sun Devils.

Please put my Wildcats back on the air. Doing so will make the fans happy, and it will benefit the school’s bottom line by maximizing upon the program’s long-awaited success.

Alumnus

VETS Office and committed employees are valuable on campus

This letter is in response to Friday’s “”VETS Office”” news report. The VETS office does indeed serve a useful purpose for helping our vets integrate into the student population, but that is only half of the story.

That assistance cannot exist without the commitment of those who work in the Veterans Services. Maralynn Bernstein is the woman who makes those monthly checks happen and insures the vets are progressing in their degree programs and ultimately graduation.

The VETS office would not have a vet staff if Maralynn had not taken on the responsibility to supervise, hire and keep them in compliance with federal student worker regulations. Maralynn is not just the primary Veteran Certifying official, she helps countless vets sort through the regulations, policies and procedures associated with the GI Bill and the regulations policies and procedures associated with attending the UA.

I sincerely hope that you will do a focus piece on the staff that make it possible for our vets to earn their degrees and pay their bills with a minimal amount of bureaucratic stress, resulting in the maximum amount of academic success.

Staff, academic advisor

Abolish class on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, like many Thanksgivings, will be a hassle for out of state college students and students that are going out of Tucson for the holiday, especially for those that want to get the maximum amount of time with their families before returning to the university.

Regardless of the destination or the people that they choose to spend their holiday with, having last day of class or teachers cancelling class on Tuesday and Wednesday would be a better way of allowing people to get home in an efficient amount of time without gaining road rage or an attitude as some students will be transported through bus, train, or airplane.

Veterinary Science Freshman