Sun Tran plagued with unreliable routes
I’m writing in regards to the article “”Make Sun Tran sexy”” (Thursday). While I feel that the author has a point in saying more people should take public transportation such as Sun Tran, the author failed to comment on one very important drawback of the Sun Tran – its unreliability. There have been many times where I would get to the bus stop at the proper time only to have the bus not show up when it was supposed to. This has also happened to people I know on numerous occasions. If public transportation is to grow in both routes and in number of passengers, they are going to have to become a reliable business. Until then, people are going to take their cars because they know their car is in their driveway and will be there for them on time – something that can’t be said for Sun Tran.
Jason Dittmann
physics sophomore
Column ‘very insightful’
Oftentimes topics that we should talk about never get brought up, so when I read “”The sound of settling”” in the Wildcat this afternoon (Friday) I was a bit surprised. College is often a time of internal growth and self focus, but I always appreciate being brought back to the real world, especially when the topic is so important. This article was beautifully written and very insightful, thank you for it.
Liz Oxford
academic advisor
department of ecology and evolutionary biology
Gen ed system needs restructuring
Sitting in my section portion of Trad 101, Middle Eastern Humanities, the first week of school, I quickly realized that there was a problem with the general education system at the University of Arizona. The TA of my section had asked the question to all of us, “”Why are you taking this class?”” I sat there as one-by-one all 25 students and myself answered, “”For my Gen ed requirement.”” Not a single person said they were taking the class for personal enjoyment or any other reasons. This was the first time I wondered what I was doing in a certain class, but certainly not the last. Constantly when I’m bored in class, I think to myself, what am I doing in here? I always come up with the answer, because I have to, even though I’ll probably never need to know this information again. For those coming into college undeclared, these classes are supposed to help you decide what majors you might want to pursue. For me all they’ve done is confirm my dislike for the certain subjects. My proposed solution to the gðen ed problem is that the UA should scrap the current TRAD, INDV NATS format. This format limits the amount of different areas first-year undeclared students can explore. The university should offer a more diverse collection of classes that gives undeclared students a more broad scope of possible majors. The reason I propose this change is because I feel that my first year academically here at the UA has been a waste of time. Am I wrong to believe that my time could be spent better elsewhere than writing songs and creating languages? I can say with complete confidence that these assignments will never be of any use to me again. I feel that I’m no closer to choosing a major now than I was when school started.
Ari Frank
undeclared freshman
Guns on campus needed for self-defense
Again, and again and again! Illinois firearm regulations prohibit legal citizens from defending themselves while letting law-breaking criminals run the show. When will the madness end? I implore you to support SB 1214, allowing law-abiding and capable concealed-carry of weapons permit holders to defend themselves and others if need be on school grounds. This is getting ridiculous!
To the argument that “”students”” should not be carrying weapons, I say that current laws prohibit those under 21 from carrying a handgun or even applying for a CCW permit. Since all K-12 students and most college undergraduates are under 21 anyway, this argument is null. I am a former U.S. Marine and am trained in the tactical and sporting use of firearms but am currently disallowed from carrying on the UA campus, where I work, by draconian gun laws.
“”Gun free”” campuses don’t work! Please don’t let petty semantics leave us in danger any longer, as this has happened to us in the past. We DO NOT want it to happen here again. Thank you for your consideration.
Phillip Davis
biology junior