Letters to the editor

Perhaps this provides insight to what kinds of people are prone to addiction. Factors like high-stress environments (college), past abuse, emotional disorders, genetics and character traits all contribute to addiction.

I, for example, am a caffeine junkie. I consume about 300-700 mg of caffeine a day. I know all of the detrimental effects, but I do it because I’ve reasoned myself into the addiction. My rationale is usually, “”I won’t be able to function as well later,”” so I naturally just grab the nearest NOS or coffee and go on my way. From what I’ve studied, the fact that I rationalized myself into it shows that I have an addictive personality. If you want an idea of what might qualify you as an addict to anything, take a look at the work of Dr. Garry Corgiat, who made a list of what indicates addiction.

Considering that this study was conducted using college students, I think it’s safe to say that these results should be expected. What do college students do? Many drink and use drugs, of course. A lot of them are also obsessive about appearance. In other words, “”Students who showed addictive tendencies to indoor tanning also showed a greater use of alcohol and marijuana,”” should be obvious. If you can become addicted to activities like tanning, you probably have other addictions, among other issues.

Let’s stop throwing the “”addiction”” word around and get to the bottom of this. What’s the actual cause of addiction? What type of person is prone to addiction? At what point does an addiction cause a problem? How … excuse me, I need to go get some coffee.

— Gregory Gonzales

Philosophy and journalism undergraduate

Did you know The Cellar charges an extra $0.25 for a to-go container? When I found this out, I was slightly annoyed, until I found out what my to-go box was made out of. It was not the expected styrofoam container but instead a more expensive, compost-ready container. They charged extra to try to compensate for the higher price. I was thrilled when I found out the reasoning behind it all because it shows that somewhere on campus does buy more Eco-friendly products that can compost in the landfills, instead of taking up unnecessary space because it cannot biodegrade. Regular styrofoam is not biodegradable, it is photodegradable, which means that in order for it to break down, it needs direct sunlight. Styrofoam in landfills gets buried and is not exposed to the sun, so it just sits there taking up space. However, compost-ready containers are biodegradable, so therefore would not take up space in landfills and would be for the environment.

How often do you eat out of a to-go container on campus? Think about how much styrofoam you alone are contributing to landfills every week. You could easily make the switch from styrofoam to reusable eating ware.  The majority of the restaurants on campus are still buying regular styrofoam because it is cheaper than the compost-ready containers. However, this switch from regular styrofoam to compost-ready containers could reduce the amount of trash in our overflowing landfills, promote the idea of using reusable eating ware over to-go containers and would be better for the environment. In my opinion, all of the restaurants on campus should take the initiative to switch from regular styrofoam containers, to the preferred compost-ready containers. This would mean that there would have to be an extra cost to help compensate, but that could also motivate people to eat their food at the restaurant, on a plate, rather than getting it in a to-go container and then probably ending up eating there anyways. The main point is that styrofoam does not have to be used in such huge quantities, and we should switch to compost-ready containers anyways.

— Jessica Kuczora

Nutritional sciences undergraduate

Tuition increase of about 20 percent? As an undergraduate student at the UA, I know that many students have low- to middle-class families who have used countless scholarships and loans just to go to the UA (according to my survey taken by numerous UA students). Why then is the UA insisting on increasing tuition for such simple things like organic foods and an improved gym when most students go to the UA for the affordable tuition? It seems as though the UA is making tuition whatever they want it to be instead of making it something that should represent the student body. So, whether or not you believe that tuition is based on your academics or whatever else you believe it is going to, we need to make it go toward the students’ needs and not toward the university’s “”needs.”” So get off your butt and do something about this! We need to stick together as a student body and make the UA tuition represent us, the students, again. Start by looking up what the tuition increase is next year (this can be found at arizona.edu). Everyone needs to learn about what they are getting into next year. Then tell your friends and family what you find. Next, start going to important meetings like the annual Arizona Board of Regents tuition hearing where students can voice their opinions about tuition and fees to the Board of Regents and UA’s President Robert Shelton. Hopefully the 2011-12 school year will be the first year the increase trend will stop and tuition represents the student body again!

— Paige Chance

Professors have the ability to control what happens in the classroom along with the outcome of your grades. But how would you, the student, feel about them having the control of the safety inside the classroom. As read in past articles in this newspaper, the Arizona Senate proposed bill 1011, stating that professors will be allowed to carry concealed licensed weapons on campus. An uproar of opinions has come about from this proposal. Dr. Bryan Russell, who teaches at the University of Kansas and was interviewed on The O’Reilly Factor, believes, “”it should be the right of victims to have a fighting chance (in gun related situations on campus).”” However, I believe that we the students should have the biggest say in this controversy. This bill should not be passed.

How would you feel if an incident like Virginia Tech took place on the campus of UA? But instead of a student attacking the school, it was a professor. I do not want to downgrade professor’s responsibility and trust, but I feel that it is hard to trust a majority of individuals with weapons especially on college campus. Anything could strike an attack in a classroom, and why put that control in the hands of professors? If this bill were to be passed, it would hurt the safety of the campus. So make your opinion heard throughout the UA. Just the thought of knowing that there is a gun in a room of 20-plus students is threatening thought. If the senate is worried about the safety on campus, then why not get professional, trained police officers to roam around the buildings of these campuses? To have these “”liaison”” officers in the buildings, not just on call. Because the majority of the time they arrive too late to a severe accident.

Why can’t professors just stay within their job description and not put them out of their box and possibly in an uncomfortable position. The safety of campus is not the responsibility of the professors; it is time for the police officers to step it up and to do what they are paid for.

— Andrea Lawson

Pre-business undergraduate

Imagine walking into a gun shop and purchasing a handgun for your 21st birthday. The clerk does not ask for your license, nor require you to purchase any special permit. You simply walk in with money and walk out with a glock.

As of Monday, April 5, 2010, the new Arizona Firearms Freedom Act (AFFA) has made this dream a reality. Backed by Gov. Jan Brewer, citizens within the state of Arizona can legally purchase a firearm, no questions asked, starting Oct. 1, 2010.

“”How does this affect me?”” you may ask.

While the AFFA grants citizens “”the right to bear arms,”” it does not encourage new gun owners to become gun savvy. In addition, according to the Southern Medical Journal, firearms cause the death or injury of a civilian “”12 times more often”” than an attacker.

As an undergraduate student at the UA, I feel that someone not responsible enough to go through gun safety training should not be allowed to carry guns on campus. We need to prevent lawmakers from allowing unstable and untrained individuals from bringing guns onto campus. If you too want to voice your opinion and keep our university safe, send a letter to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer:

The Honorable Jan Brewer

Governor of Arizona

1700 West Washington

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Animal science undergraduate