Shelton: Cheer with class
In my first football season as president of the UA, I am learning a thing or two about Wildcat football – including what great fans UA students are. After the 24-20 victory over 8th-ranked California at our Homecoming game, exuberant fans leapt from the bleachers, stormed the football field and – well, they simply celebrated.
They spent a few minutes savoring that victory on the football field, reveled with football players and then exited the stadium. Our fans didn’t start fights, tear down goal posts or give police any trouble. For that I am grateful and tremendously proud.
Now, how about a repeat performance when we play ASU on Saturday?
This game always brings out the loudest cheers and the strongest emotions of the football season, but the way to really stand out as Wildcats is to root for our team with class.
I’ll see you at the game Saturday, where we’ll all cheer on the football players as they bear down and beat the Sun Devils!
Robert N. Shelton
UA president
Students’ absence at football game disappointing
To all students: It’s a shame to watch Arizona games from afar on TV whenever we can get to see them – and see so many empty seats! There was a time when this was unthinkable. I wish current students would do a better job of upholding the winning tradition at Arizona because there are UA alumni across the country who are watching. We can’t be there – but you can. I was disgusted to see so many empty seats at the Cal game. And it was Homecoming! And I just read that the NAU basketball game wasn’t a sellout? That’s ridiculous. Lute is a living legend and we’re more stacked than we’ve been in years. Buy a ticket! Of course the football team is struggling to get back on top, but you’re the 12th man – they need to hear your support! It gets old defending the UA when you live in Big 12 country, and I have so many friends from SEC schools too, who love to pick on Pac 10 sports. Can you show up and show some pride? Whatever it was that you were doing during UA’s win over Cal, I hope it was important. But if it wasn’t a wedding or a funeral – you should be ashamed. Bear down!
Jeff Johnson
UA alumnus
Confusion over ASUA resolution must be resolved
While there are varying and equally valid opinions on the failed ASUA resolution concerning gender-neutral bathrooms and safety issues, without a regard to accuracy, the resolution was incorrectly represented and paraphrased on the front page of Thursday’s Arizona Daily Wildcat. In an attempt for fairness and editing integrity, it is important to look at text from the actual resolution: “”The Associated Students of the University of Arizona supports the continued construction and designation of a reasonable amount of clearly marked bathrooms as gender neutral to serve individuals uncomfortable with using gender specific restrooms and individuals with issues not related to gender identity such as parents and attendants/caregivers.””
Although potentially flawed, this is not a resolution that would simply deny gender-neutral bathrooms for transgender individuals out of hand or distinguish and limit bathroom use on campus to two clearly defined sexes, as implied in the article. This, in a way, did in fact support the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office’s “”aim to ensure convenient accommodations for all people who feel uncomfortable or unsafe using the existing gender-specific restrooms, regardless of their reasons.”” The purpose of writing was not to open the debate anew, as it was closed in the senate with a 5-3-2 vote, but instead to acknowledge the misrepresentation. Thank you.
Lauren E. Conway
ASUA senator, political science sophomore
Float discrimination silly
This is in response to Wednesday’s letter by James Deeds claiming that the current Homecoming float-judging system is unfair. He made an analogy that likened the engineering fraternity, Theta Tau, to the Wildcat basketball team playing in a middle school tournament, which, while no doubt flattering, is not quite accurate. Let’s do a little comparison. Last year, ASUA approved almost $800 to fund their homecoming float. Theta Tau’s budget works with nowhere near this amount – try about a quarter of it. We scrap together what we can and reuse most of the material year after year.
The largest fraternity/sorority tandem float has 300 or 400 people who could potentially work on it; we have around 50. Further, it is not as if there is a machine shop in our backyard or professional engineers who come and advise us on float schematics. Realistically, we have no more access to tools, equipment or labor than any other campus club or greek float. Finally, we have nowhere near a monopoly of engineers. Theta Tau is composed of less than 2 percent of the total engineering population on campus.
Putting us into a separate category as he proposed is not necessary. There are already three categories: “”most spirited,”” “”most entertaining”” and “”overall.”” Greek floats aren’t placed in a separate category for the most spirited or most entertaining awards even though they regularly win and have sorority girls who are more numerous, more peppy and much, much cuter than our guys could dream of being. It is ridiculous to rope a group off from competing merely because it is successful.
Homecoming is about camaraderie, spirit and bringing alumni and friends back to campus for a weekend, not about trying to make 50 categories for a float competition. I’m sure that as a fine arts major, you are surrounded by people with huge amounts of creativity and talent. The judges would love to crown a different float to get some fresh blood into the game; put your creative energy into building a float that can win instead of attacking the system. In the mean time, Theta Tau will be celebrating the seven-peat.
Garrett Mitchell
aerospace engineering senior
