Letters to the editor

Confederate History Month justified

I would like to make comment to Luke Money’s article in today’s Wildcat. First of all, I am not trying to belittle slavery in any means. I agree that it was an atrocious part of our history and that we have moved away from it somewhat. Yes there is still racism today and it’s not a good thing. I think, however, he misses the point of Confederate History Month. The point is not to celebrate all the ‘backward-thinking states clinging to the last vestiges of white supremacy.’  The point isn’t to omit slavery as a part of our history. The point is to remind people that those who fought and died on BOTH sides of the war gave their lives for a cause they believed in, whether or not we agree with that cause today.

Virginia especially was a conflicted state. It was on the border between the Union and the Confederacy. The capital of the Confederacy was in Richmond. Families were torn apart, not only by battles being fought in their backyard, but by ideologies on slavery. The state was so torn that West Virginia was formed as a Northern state. The state did not enjoy a peaceful return to normalcy as Luke Money states. He has misinterpreted his quotation on Gov. McDonnell. McDonnell’s statement portrayed that when the war was over, the Confederate soldiers rejoined the Union peacefully and did not try to continue the fighting. This is not the same as saying that life in the South was peaceful for the soldiers, but not for former slaves.

There are too many closed minded people who automatically look at anyone on the Confederate side as evil. Most of the country views the South as a bunch of rednecks with guns and Confederate flags. This simply is not true and I commend Governor McDonnell for trying to change this stereotype. Anyone who remembers 5th grade history should remember that the Civil War was about states’ rights and whether individual states or the Federal government should make the decision on slavery and other issues in the U.S. Whether Money agrees with anything the Confederacy stood for, the fact of the matter is that he should not jump to “”shortsighted, misguided”” conclusions without understanding the goals of Confederate History Month.

Vroom for improvement

There are people in this world who try to take advantage of a situation to better themselves, even if they don’t deserve it. Toyota has done testing and has not been able to find any flaws in their vehicles. Regardless, people are going to try to take advantage of Toyota financially to better themselves. People are filing lawsuits against Toyota for accidents that they could be at fault for. It is important that we are skeptical of sensational news reports and wait for all the evidence.

— John Peterson

Pre-business undergraduate

Satirific

Financial crises are no time to come up with ad hoc solutions. Sure we’re worried about our futures, but we must make an actual plan for the future, instead of blind action. In other words, thinking goes a long way in successful endeavors.

When our lawmakers don’t think very hard, we end up with a solution like this: the Mythic Corporation’s initiative to buy the Arizona government. I quote the Tucson Weekly as saying the Legislature “”appears prepared to turn over nearly every aspect of government to the Mythic Corporation.”” Have our lawmakers actually watched movies where corporations own the government? That’s mostly a joke, but when CEO Rex Swift boasted to a conservative audience that, “”Government can’t make the decisions we make, because they are bound by too many regulations that limit the imagination of the bureaucracy,”” I have to question the intentions of his company. Generalities suggest that there is something to hide. Do they actually want to help, or do they just want to take everything over when the United States is extremely weak?

What does a corporate takeover of government mean? Doesn’t a privately owned government just scream power abuse? Why would a corporation that wants to take over the Arizona government hide in the dark, behind closed doors-with their conservative allies? What do they have to hide? Really, I could ask questions all day, but I invite you to answer them for yourselves. Do some research. Write down an informed opinion and get it published. Students, Daily Wildcat, citizens of the United States; I’m talking to you. The Mythic Corporation will not slow down, and they will publish their version of the news in their own media, so you better catch up before we all have to wear a uniform with a corporate logo to bed.

Sincerely and with concern, Another Paranoid News Junkie,

— Gregory James Gonzales

Philosophy and Pre-journalism undergraduate

Scone? Sc-don’t.

Just wanted to drop a line that I just discovered the nutrition information page for the student unions’ food. It is purposefully hidden among their web pages and then navigating to the actual information is difficult at best.

Then, when you start to poke around at the things you normally eat, you find out that innocent blueberry scone you have a couple times of week for breakfast is the WORST offender on the list at 972 calories with 50 grams of fat.

This is hardly a healthy environment for our students and staff who often eat two or three meals a day here. I have worked here 10 years and if I knew this information sooner, I would have stopped eating here a lot sooner. This knowledge getting out is going to translate into lost dollars for the University at a critical time especially considering the financial crisis we are in currently.

To see the nutrition information you have to click on a location, then click on the apple, then you can select an item to view. Even the web page is deceptive. If they weren’t trying to hide it, wouldn’t it be more prominently displayed on their FRONT PAGE and much more intuitive to use?

I think if parents knew this is what their kids had access to they would be outraged. Even the healthy spots, like Core (which doesn’t list the information for the actual ingredients) don’t appear to be very healthy for you.

It would really be a good idea to raise the awareness among the students, staff and parents to the unhealthy food that is available to us on campus. If enough people are concerned maybe the student unions can be convinced to seriously overhaul their food.

— Shanley Yates

Executive Assistant, External Relations Office

Prop it up

I applaud the Daily Wildcat for noting that the passage of the Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act, or SAFRA, is the first in a series of steps to address the rising cost of education at our public universities. A part of the Health Care and Reconciliation Act, SAFRA will ensure students loans work for students and families, not as subsidies for big banks, as well as provide millions of dollars in Pell Grants to college students.

I am especially proud that I was one of 34 representatives from the Arizona Students’ Association (ASA) that attended a national lobby day in Washington D.C. over spring break to successfully lobby for the bill. That capped intense lobbying efforts at each of Arizona’s universities which led to five of Arizona’s eight House delegation members to vote for the bill, which ultimately passed with a four-vote margin.

But, as stated by the Daily Wildcat, more needs to be done. That is why ASA is now working to pass Proposition 100, the temporary one-cent increase in Arizona’s sales tax meant to protect education, public safety, and health care. To appear on the May 18th Special Election ballot in Arizona, ASA is encouraging students to register to vote and to request a vote-by-mail because if Proposition 100 does not pass, another $107 million will be cut from the university’s budget and tuition could increase another $1,000 this year!

To continue to make higher education in Arizona more affordable and accessible, I encourage all students to vote Yes on 100!

Sincerely,

— Sean Assad

Political science and history junior