Better borders

With Arizona’s current debate on border security and whether or not you agree with it, we all must think about the rules and laws of other countries for crossing over illegally. If you cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years hard labor. If you cross the Iranian border illegally you are detained indefinitely. If you cross the Afghan border illegally you get shot. If you cross the Saudi Arabian border illegally you will be jailed. If you cross the Chinese border illegally you may be never heard of again. If you cross the Venezuelan border illegally you will be branded a spy and your fate will be sealed. If you cross the Cuban border illegally you will be thrown into political prison to rot. These punishments are obviously way too harsh, but are people seriously mad that all law enforcement wants to do is see your passport? When you cross the American border illegally you get the right to carry your country’s flag while you protest that you don’t get enough respect.

Public management and policy undergraduate

Error

Your article, “”Divestment Gains Momentum,”” (May 3) contains an error: “”last year Hampshire College became the first college to completely divest itself financially from companies with ties in Israel and Palestine.””

Hampshire College moved holdings last year from a fund after a socially responsible investing review, conducted by an outside reviewer, KLD Research & Analytics. KLD’s review vetted companies for several possible red flags, including employment discrimination, environmental abuse, military weapons manufacturing, unsafe workplace settings and dealings with Burma or Sudan.

— Elaine Thomas,

Director of Communications, Hampshire College

More protests! More protests!

On April 23, Arizona passed legislation which enables Arizona police officers to stop any car (containng a person) whom they suspect of being an illegal immigrant, based on racial appearance. Cities all around America are being host to large groups of angry protestors that find the law determinant in improving equality in America. In Los Angeles, the downtown area is filled by thousands of protestors, along with Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City. In Phoenix, a crowd composed of only a thousand protesters through the city streets. On the campus of UA, there are even fewer protestors, besides the regular protesting that is spotted near “”the hill.”” I am baffled by the fact that UA students show little motive for the law. Primarily, I’d want to see the student body as the most involved party considering their future role in leading America. So, how does the public improve and learn from this? Well, it’s actually quite simple, Americans feel that racial issues in America are resolved and will continue to take care of themselves. When in fact, America has come a long way since the slavery era, but still, racism is everywhere.

For all you sports fanatics, in 2006, Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts defeated Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears, which marked the first ever Super bowl game that two African American coaches played each other. Does this game mark progress in racial profiling? Surprisingly, the answer is yes and no. It does in part mark progress; it is now a reality that two black coaches, who each play dictator for their respective teams, can face each other on a national stage. In retrospect, the fact that the media invests so much emphasis on the two black coaches meeting conveys to the public that America has only seen the first spec to improving racial equality in the United States. In all, I think that the UA could institutionalize current events a lot more among their student body. It is surprising to me that students don’t show an eagerness to involve themselves in political occurrences, especially ones like the immigration act that takes place an hour away at the border. The April 23 act serves as a reality check to college students around the nation, it is our purgative to influence our country’s decisions in order to improve racial standing in America.

Undergraduate

Opioids abound

No matter what any student says, alcohol and marijuana abuse is a huge problem at the UA, but the problems don’t stop there. What about the use of illegal opioid drugs? Do you even know what an opioid drug is? I can guarantee that you have seen one on campus or at least heard of one while attending the UA.

An opioid drug works by binding both opioid receptors and the gastrointestinal tract. By binding both these receptors together it creates a pain tolerance as well as a decreased reaction to pain, which can be very beneficial to people in pain. However if abused by someone who is not prescribed, the result is getting high and becoming very addicted to that specific high. Abusing opioid drugs can also have serious fatal consequences for people who abuse the drug often or drink alcohol on the drug. Just a few opioid drugs I have seen abused on campus are oxycodone (OxyContin) and alprazolam (Xanax).

Along with what I have seen while being on campus, a recent study at the University of Michigan showed that 12 percent of college students admitted to a lifetime use. An additional 7 percent also admitted to taking opioid drugs illegally within the past year. The study also revealed that that one in every four colleges had a prevalence of 10 percent or higher for the past year. Although these numbers don’t seem colossal, when compared to the undergraduate population at the UA these numbers become very real.

So the real question becomes what is the school doing to prevent these types of numbers for students? The answer is nothing. That is correct, the school currently makes no effort to show the dangers of opioid drugs and doesn’t even have a shade class if a student is caught abusing. The reason given from the school is that “”We don’t have the resources to provide intensive outpatient or inpatient services, so opioid dependent cases are referred out to the community or to the students insurance provider.””

This is where UA needs to make a change. UA needs to implement some sort of SHADE class that would be mandatory for students who are caught abusing opioid drugs so that there is some sort of consequence. There also needs to be posters around campus, just as there are for alcohol and marijuana so that kids with no background on the subject know the serious consequences of abusing opioid drugs. If these ideas were implemented into the UA campus health prevention program there would be tremendous benefits for both the students as well as the school.

First off, the school would benefit financially. SHADE class, which is mandatory for students caught abusing alcohol or marijuana, costs $100 dollars to attend. So imagine, even if the UA abuse rate for opioid drugs was lower than the national average, the school would still be making a significant amount of money. Although they would lose some money creating posters and flyers, they would be turning more income in the end.

As for the students there would be a class that is mandatory to attend where they could receive knowledge on the serious problems associated with the drug, as well as being made accountable for their actions. The $100 dollar fine is something every student wants to stay away from and I believe if there was a class implemented then every student who abuses an opioid drug would second-guess their actions.

So the question becomes even with the high and growing abuse rate, will the school make a stand or will it sit back and watch?

— Wynne Holden

Pre-business undergraduate