Physical violence during debate uncalled for

The anti-Bush rally debate Thursday was replaced with physical violence. Some poor sucker who just wanted to have conservative views represented during a protest at a public university ended up on the business end of a fist. Liberals must realize if they want to be seen as a viable force they will actually have to come up with some talking points rather than just chanting F* Bush and assaulting those who think differently than they do. Many conservatives are accused of being closed-minded, but at least we respect the law.

Alex Hoogasian
political science senior

Attack during debate was unprovoked

Early Thursday afternoon, a few students and I were helping a man named Wayne Boettcher on the UA Mall in a counter-protest against Refuse and Resist’s demonstration. We were extremely peaceful in holding our two signs out of the way of Refuse and Resist’s gathering. Many of the anti-Bush protesters tried to have peaceful discussions with us about our signs, but one man came over and immediately starting throwing obscenities at our group, got in the face of one student and yelled at him – and then proceeded to physically assault Wayne by violently shoving him.

The protester then tried to flee the scene but, luckily, the University of Arizona Police Department showed up in time to take down the story and proceed with pressing charges. This is a great example of the supposedly peace-loving individuals being extremely hypocritical and showing their irrationality. Freedom of speech is our most fundamental right as free citizens, and it is extremely hypocritical for someone who claims to be championing such rights to attack a person who is merely exercising that very right. In reality, we, as the people who were there supporting the spread of freedom over oppression worldwide, are the true defenders of democracy. If you don’t like our president, you have the right to express such a view, but no one has the right to attack someone for doing so.

Blake Rebling
political science and economics junior
UA College Republicans President

Law school advice questionable

While I sincerely appreciate Jon Riches’ warning Thursday about how law school and the legal profession is such a scary Leviathan, I fail to understand how this third-year law student feels it is his duty to warn us prospective law students that “”it might be time to reevaluate our motives.””

I agree that many people attend law school because they feel it is simply a logical and profitable career move after completing undergraduate studies. However, to make such vast generalizations like “”Most people have no real idea why they are (in law school)”” is an unfair categorization of prospective as well as current law students.

I may not think to myself, “”latent tort, baby,”” every time I see a puddle in the supermarket, but does that mean I am neither ambitious enough nor aptly qualified for law school? I think not. In fact, I would be vastly surprised if even a practicing attorney thinks such things while shopping for groceries.

The purpose of this letter is not to attack the columnist for issuing a warning to students about possessing the right motivations or avoiding grandiose notions about what law school and the legal profession are all about. I respect his concern. I also agree that such measures should be taken to become informed prior to dedicating oneself to such a demanding profession. However, contrary to his advice, I do expect to learn how to practice law once in law school classes, I will not ignore my grades because the grading system is supposedly “”the most arbitrary that you will ever encounter”” and, no, I am not dedicating myself to a life of service to the legal profession just because I “”watch too many episodes of ‘Law and Order.'””

Jennifer Phillips
political science and Spanish sophomore

Protesters should drop 9/11 conspiracy theories, focus on real tragedies

As someone who participated in and a few times organized anti-war protests on the UA campus, I have a plea to make to today’s anti-Bush protesters on the Mall: Stop promoting 9/11 conspiracy theories (like “”the WTC crash was caused by a bomb””).

From a technical point of view, they are ridiculous: See the Popular Mechanics study that debunks them. Ask yourselves why every civil engineer of any note dismisses them. And pay no attention to the odd physicist or mathematician who claims he can “”prove a bomb brought the WTC down.”” … Any physicist or mathematician who claims he can rigorously “”prove”” anything about the World Trade Center should be laughed at; ask any of the physics or math professors at the UA.

The Bush administration has engaged in many reprehensible conspiracies, from basing a war – one that killed hundreds of thousands of people, on lies – to hiding torture and secret prisons. Each of these conspiracies (much simpler to organize than a “”9/11 conspiracy””) is today no secret; anyone who bothers to look can find out about them. Yet the outrage is minuscule. A president who kills thousands of people based on lies, orders the use of torture, imprisons people without trial, allows a city like New Orleans to be devastated through sheer negligence and made trillions of your dollars disappear is protested at the UA by only 100 people. Not 30,000, not 1 million, but 100. This is what scares me – not ridiculous conspiracies that just make the protesters (and their vitally important causes) look like a bunch of loons.

G. Torrieri
UA alumnus

Transfer students face many problems

This isÿin response to Damion LeeNatali’s Friday column, “”UA to transfers: You’re on your own.”” First of all, bravo on writing a realisticÿarticle regarding the UA atmosphere. I am a transfer student from Central Arizona Collegeÿwho received my associate of arts degree before becoming a student at the UA. I received an academic scholarship that gave me the luxury of choosing from the three state universities, and I’m starting to doubt my choice. I have not personallyÿbeen subjected to aÿ””superiority complex”” from UA students, but I have had extreme difficulties with the transition when it comes to adviser, professor and class availabilities.ÿOne fact thatÿshould be pointed out is that before I was able to register for any classes, I was required to take (andÿhad to pay for) a transfer orientation,ÿwhich I found to be a complete waste of time and money! Until readingÿthis article, I wasn’t even aware that a “”transfer strategy”” class existed.ÿ

Theÿmain issue I have encountered is the lacking availability of advisers, both mentally and physically.ÿ Is it not their job to advise students of every caliber,ÿschedule and background, regardless of their goals?ÿ If so, then why are there specific advising times and why do manyÿseem to have Fridays off? Shouldn’tÿan “”open-door policy”” be just that – an open door during more than just typical banking hours?

While trying not to generalize too much, the community college atmosphere has a higher percentage of students who areÿ25 and over in age and when encountering advisory staff and even professors themselves, I am often treated as if I am just another 18-year-oldÿwith mommy and daddy’s deep pockets with no previous “”real world”” experience. I am not; I have to clip coupons,ÿchoose which days I attend class and park at marathon distances due toÿhighÿtravel costsÿcoupled with the crippling fact that I put my adult life on hold to obtain a college degree.ÿ

The community college atmosphere is, at least, less intimidating because there aren’t 100ÿother students to compete with for answers toÿquestions. In large lectureÿclassesÿquestions are not openly frowned upon and many questionsÿreceive the general “”I haveÿoffice hours”” approach, leaving students both bewildered and belittled.ÿÿ

Also, community colleges,ÿwith seemingly lower budgets, offer moreÿclassÿavailability in a particular subject. The UA, in many instances, offers only one class time, leaving some of us withÿtime gapsÿbetween classes that equalÿhours, not minutes.ÿNote:ÿWhere are the online classes? I am completely awareÿof the fact thatÿthere areÿoften thousands of students within a particular college, but two advisers to handle that load is not only impersonal, but ridiculous.ÿMaybe this university should stop trying to pool its resources to make it more ethnically diverse and focus more on theÿalready diverseÿstudent population;ÿalready diverse in ethnicity, incomeÿlevel,ÿeducational goals and age levels. After all, whether it’s parental income, personal income, scholarships, loans or grants – no students equals no income.

Jason Taylor
political science junior