Great job on Transgender Awareness Week!
From Nov. 12-20, Transgender Awareness Week was happening, hosted by the university’s Social Justice Leadership Center (SJLC) and Wingspan’s Southern Arizona Gender Alliance. I attended many of these events and was impressed and moved by the variety of events, the professionalism, talent and knowledge exhibited by presenters and attendees, and the collegial participation of the community as a whole. There was something for everyone, and I want to particularly thank Jennifer Hoefle (SJLC) for organizing the week, and all the Wingspan, university and community members who made it possible. Mayor Walkup’s proclamation of the week is one indication that Tucson is continuing to develop itself into a community that welcomes diversity and the richness of our community. Transgender Awareness Week was a fun and informative celebration of that richness.
-Martie van der Voort
mental health clinician
Counseling and Psychological Services
Who’s really to blame for bike theft?
Jason Kuhn’s letter yesterday (“”Imagine no bike theft … “”) shows how personal responsibility is really shown here at this university. The University of Arizona Police Department rarely breaks up parties more than one block from campus, and the “”Ghetto Bird”” is operated by the city of Tucson, not the university. But the bigger issue raised is the theft. I know it sucks to have a bike or parts off your bike stolen. The majority of the time however, the bike’s owner could have taken more vigorous steps to prevent losing their form of transportation. UAPD has GIVEN AWAY free U-locks to students. If students took more proactive measures to protect their bikes, bike theft would go down. Get a U-lock and lock up every easily removable part of your bike. Anyone can be pissed off when someone jacks their shit, but with proper steps, that should never be an issue for any of us.
-Karl Goranowski
general manager
Kamp Student Radio
history senior
‘Suck it up’ for family and friends
Yes, plane tickets are expensive. Yes, airports are busy and lines are long, both of which make people cranky. Yes, it would make our lives a little bit easier if Thanksgiving break was a week long. But, it isn’t, it hasn’t been, and I highly doubt that the university will change the entire semester schedule because of the high prices students (or their parents) have to shell out for airline tickets or because a week off would be so much more fun than two days off. So, how to deal with this? My suggestion: Suck it up. Thanksgiving has always been the busiest time of the year for travel, and we pay for that with our time and our money. Buy tickets ahead of time, look for good deals, get to the airport ahead of time and tune out the whiny people who always find something to complain about. Also, just think about the facts that 1) winter break is just around the corner and 2) we should be grateful for any time we can spend with family and friends – no matter the cost.
-Erika Korowin
history graduate student
