Ah, this is it – the weekend we’ve been waiting for. It’s a chance to revel in what makes the UA great: the traditions, the spirit, the people. Homecoming’s triple threat combination of sports, massive parties and out-of-town visitors leaves nothing wanting. It’s one of the only times all year when campus is the single coolest place to be. From waking up at the crack of dawn to get our tailgate on, to shouting the words to “”Bear Down, Arizona,”” to jangling our keys at every kickoff, we’ll make John “”Button”” Salmon proud this weekend. So, welcome back, returning alumni! Thanks for being here to make this weekend the best of the semester. And for reminding us how proud we are to be Wildcats, Homecoming gets a pass.

This week was a political bonanza, with shake-ups from the highest offices to the lowest. In addition to seeing a new host of representatives elected to Capitol Hill, these midterm elections also gave some Arizona voters a chance to see what they’re made of, and it hasn’t been pretty. Arizona’s enthusiastic “”yes”” votes on propositions 300 and 103 have demonstrated an alarming unawareness of the reality of the illegal immigration situation our country faces. It’s a mistake to think that a “”yes”” vote on these initiatives – which deny Arizona’s undocumented residents access to in-state tuition and formalize our mistrust of other languages by canonizing English as the official language of the state, respectively – will have any real impact on solving our country’s illegal immigration problems. Real solutions will be holistic and thought-through, not symbolic acts that hurt real people. For the distressing shortsightedness and misunderstanding it represents, the passage of these two propositions gets a fail.

A visitor to the campus area Sunday would have had a difficult time not noticing two massive processions in the area, each doing something great for the community. The sixth annual CATwalk, a fundraising walk in honor of basketball head coach Lute Olson’s late wife Bobbi, drew nearly 2,000 participants whose efforts raised $82,000 for the treatment and research of women’s cancers. The amount raised this year eclipses the combined total funds raised during the past five years. The walkers were a sight to see; most were clad in CATwalk T-shirts, but some groups chose attire representing their various affiliations. Later in the day, another walk of thousands began: the 16th annual All Souls Procession. This observance of DÇða de los Muertos is intended to be a remembrance of those who have died and a celebration of Tucson’s vibrant Mexican culture. Participants clad in papier-mǽchǸ masks and face-paint skulls, the women’s hair dotted with fresh flowers, walked along with the sound of bongos played by marching drummers. For bringing spirit and unity to Tucson, the participants of CATwalk and the All Souls Procession get a pass.

Maybe there’s something in the water, or it’s been all the publicity from ASUA; maybe it’s just an overwhelming sense of frustration or a desire to keep on course. Whatever the cause, youth voters cast ballots in record numbers in Tuesday’s midterm elections, in what statisticians are suggesting could be a 20-year high. Even at the UA, the number of students who used the Associated Students of the University of Arizona’s voting shuttles increased nearly 20 times over last year. The shuttles had to stay open an extra hour to accommodate a truly impressive response from a group so frequently labeled as apathetic. For being civically engaged citizens, the voting students at the UA get a proud pass.