Playing it safe
Amid perennial concerns about school safety on our campus and at colleges nationwide, rapid-response messaging systems have become the school safety solution du jour. And unlike most reactive ideas implemented after a disaster, establishing reliable lines of communication is a sound safety policy that anticipates future needs. This Monday, the UA unveiled UA Alert, a messaging system that allows university officials to notify students, faculty, and family members via text message during emergencies on campus. Information and communication are essential during campuswide crises, and UA Alert is a great new tool to keep the public informed. But here’s the catch: Students have to register for the service online, and the new system won’t be useful unless you sign up. So be prepared – log on and opt in, just in case. For developing a useful new safety tool, the people who brought us UA Alert get a well-deserved Pass.
A flying shame
Loudmouthed bullies have managed to squeeze the immigration debate into the unlikeliest of places. This week, they managed to cram border controversy into the work of a nonprofit museum that educates about the Sonoran Desert – the unique region that stretches across southern Arizona and into Sonora, Mexico. After receiving escalating complaints about a Mexican flag flying next to the Stars and Stripes, the board of trustees of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum gave into political pressure and voted to remove both flags this week – despite the fact that they have flown over the museum since 1954 as a symbol of the organization’s work on both sides of the border. The Sonoran Desert is a natural treasure that happens to spread across a man-made border, and for years, the Desert Museum has been a valuable ambassador for a fascinating desert ecosystem. Although removing both flags was a sensible solution for a museum fed up with insensitive complaints, the blowhards that forced them to remove a symbol of goodwill deserve a resounding Fail.
Justice rendered?
“”Extraordinary rendition”” sounds like the kind of compliment one might give to a peculiar oboe solo. But the phrase – our lovable government’s favorite euphemism for kidnapping and torture – is one of the most shameful policies of the War on Terror. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen who was mistakenly abducted by the CIA, flown to a squalid prison in Afghanistan, and beaten and interrogated for months before being released in the Albanian wilderness when the intelligence agency recognized its mistake. Justice deserves to be served for Mr. Masri’s extralegal detention, but the Justices don’t see the same way – they cited the importance of keeping state secrets covered up as their reason for denying the appeal. But the full extent of our disgraceful rendition practices deserves to be exposed. For standing in the way of justice, the Justices deserve a Fail.
Courage from cowardly Dems
Earlier this week, the Opinions Board was set to fail the “”spineless Congressional Democrats”” expected to muster too few votes to reject the White House’s most recent wiretapping demands in fear of appearing soft on terror. To our surprise, this Wednesday the House refused to extend the broad wiretapping authority asked for by the President, and instead inserted provisions granting more authority to federal judges to oversee the conduct of our nation’s eavesdropping spooks. Democrats deserve kudos for showing traces of courage, but until they finally stand up for the beliefs they were elected on instead of cowering in fear of the political consequences of principled action, they get an Incomplete.
OpInIoNs BoArD
Editorials are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Allison Dumka, Justyn Dillingham, Allison Hornick, Sarah Keeler, Connor Mendenhall and Jeremiah Simmons.
