Hirsute helping
Members of the UA campus community were given the opportunity to make an atypical charitable donation on Tuesday: their own hair. The donations will be used to make wigs for financially disadvantaged children suffering long-term medical hair loss through the national charity Locks of Love. Those who donated their hair came out of the deal with free haircuts provided through Great Clips and the Hillel Center, but they definitely got something more important, too: the knowledge they had helped kids in need. For bringing together the campus community behind an important, but easily overlooked cause, the Locks of Love hair drive gets a pass.
Research across the border
The UA received a $1.75 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to fund a new Binational Center for Environmental Science and Toxicology in partnership with 10 Mexican universities. It’s great to see the UA taking advantage of its strategic location near the U.S.-Mexico border region. The heavy industrialization along the border has caused massive environmental damage, and scientists in Mexico and the U.S. have a lot to learn from each other as initiatives are created to clean up the area. For taking concrete steps to clean up the border region and to facilitate research interchange with our Southern neighbor, this grant gets a pass.
Skipping school for a cause
It remains to be seen what sort of impact, if any, this week’s protests of proposed immigration legislation around the country will have on the controversial immigration issue as lawmakers attempt to create a functioning solution. But even if the law doesn’t end up agreeing with their position, the high school students who walked out of class this week became active participants in our democratic government, something you just can’t learn about in history class. Protesting can be ineffective at times and downright foolish at others, and the Wildcat certainly doesn’t condone those students who became unruly or refused to obey police instructions, but the majority of students who participated in this week’s walkouts practiced the great American tradition of civil disobedience. For stepping out and insisting their voices be heard, these students get a pass.
Diving right in like pros
In a rare off-year for the men’s basketball team, UA athletics fans have had to look elsewhere to sate their cravings for stellar performances. Luckily, the men’s and women’s swim and dive teams have given us something to root for. Despite a multitude of fresh faces, the teams tackled their NCAA tournaments like veterans, earning second- and third-place finishes, respectively. On top of that, the Cats garnered a bevy of individual medals, including two first-place awards for junior Whitney Myers and one for senior Lyndon Ferns. We can’t wait for next year’s meets. For giving UA athletics fans something to cheer about, the swim and dive teams earn an emphatic pass.
Opinions Board
Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Nina Conrad, Lori Foley, Caitlin Hall, Michael Huston, Ryan Johnson, Aaron Mackey and Tim Runestad.
