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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

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    Enough with the free markets!

    I’m tired of the free market meme that keeps appearing in Wildcat columns. Last week Connor Mendenhall plugged them, and yesterday Taylor Kessinger wrote that any serious future presidential candidates should emulate Reagan’s commitment to free market principles. How many countries does it take to prove wrong this idea that free markets are the only way to run an economy? Western Europe and Japan have conclusively demonstrated over the last 50 years that countries that place a large emphasis on social welfare policies can achieve comparable economic performance to more free market economies while spreading the benefits more widely. The former sure sounds better than the latter to me.

    -Matt Styer
    interdisciplinary studies senior

    ASUA appropriations article ‘inaccurate’

    I find it unfortunate that Shain Bergan wrote such an inaccurate article (“”Altered bylaw limits funded,”” Tuesday) regarding ASUA’s actions concerning the funding of religious events. While not knowing the Appropriations Board’s correct name is probably inexcusable in itself, it is not the most important critique that I have for the article – although it apparently is representative of his “”fact-finding”” prowess.

    Here are a couple of key mistakes:

    First, ASUA will not refuse money to any political or religious groups, and will not engage in evaluating how “”extreme”” they are, as the first line of the article claims. At issue are the events for which those organizations apply for money: ASUA will not use taxpayers’ and tuition dollars to fund events that are proselytizing – recruiting people to join one’s faith – or that aren’t open to the entire university community. The event in question failed both of those criteria, and therefore was not funded. That being said, Priority College Ministry is eligible to apply for funding in the future for any other event ð- as all other religious organizations are – and any event that meets those criteria could very well be funded.

    Second, the second line of the article claims that the bylaw change was by the Office of the General Counsel, which is not only wildly inaccurate but impossible, because the Office of the General Counsel cannot change ASUA’s bylaws. ASUA – as a department of the university – consulted the Office of the General Counsel, which advised ASUA to review and revise the guidelines. As a result of that advice, ASUA made the bylaw changes to more accurately reflect what can and cannot be funded by the student government.

    The fact of the matter is this: ASUA is dedicated to providing equal opportunities to all campus organizations for funding, as long as what they’re asking ASUA to fund isn’t something that government is prohibited to fund. Government should not be funding any religion or its overtly religious events. Priority College Ministry’s event was described by them as a “”catalytic worship experience meant to unite Christian students … to challenge them to grow deeper in their faith with Jesus Christ intentionally living missonal lives,”” and their stated objectives were to “”promote interest in Jesus Christ.”” This is a valuable event in itself with good intentions, but certainly not open to other faiths, and absolutely not something that taxpayers’ and students’ dollars should go toward.

    -Sen. Dustin Cox
    Associated Students of the University of Arizona

    Parking policies ‘an injustice’

    I am writing regarding the disgusting parking and transportation enterprise that exists at our great school. I am a Zone 1 permit holder and drove around for more than 30 minutes this morning in search of parking – and as usual, parking was nowhere to be found. Parking and Transportation Services can be thanked for overselling Zone 1 permits in order to make their money.

    I believe it is an injustice to the students of the university, and something must be done to stop them, as I see the problem growing worse every year, and conveniently their rates keep climbing. I would really like to see a story on this in the Wildcat, and I hope someone can reveal the injustice this parking and transportation enterprise has committed against students. It would be a shame for a great school’s reputation to be dragged in the dirt because of parking and transportation. My opinion of this school is mediocre at best thanks to my experiences with parking and transportation.

    -Norman Retes
    veterinary sciences senior

    Police put revenue first

    Police do over-prioritize the busting of parties and underage drinkers.

    Underage drinking might be against the law, but so is downloading mp3s on LimeWire.

    Look how easy it is to bust students for participating in … well … student-like activity. Perhaps the UAPD shouldn’t have signed up for a job on a college campus in the first place. But you and I are both forgetting something – handing out MIPs and red tags brings in a lot more money for the city and/or campus than the prosecution of car thieves.

    Just think of this as another way to capitalize on the huge population increase during the school year.

    -Kareem Hassounah
    communication senior

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