Gamma Gamma Goodbye
Beauty may be only skin deep, but the Delta Zeta sorority made headlines over the weekend for cutting much deeper. Ostensibly worried that the DePauw University chapter of Delta Zeta (described by other DePauw students as “”socially awkward””) was tarnishing the Delta Zeta image, national officers swept into town, interviewed the women and then dismissed 23 they felt were “”insufficiently committed.”” Delta Zeta denied any wrongdoing, but the writing was on the wall – all 23 were either overweight or ethnic minorities. Let’s face it – greek students are often painted with a broad brush, but they’ll never dispel the many negative stereotypes if their national offices are so willfully vain. This might be an isolated incident, but other greek chapters would do well to denounce Delta Zeta as the rotten apple that it is.
Life in the FAST lane
Anyone who’s been stuck in Phoenix traffic might be frustrated enough to be lured by Tempe Vice Mayor Hut Hutson’s proposal to widen Interstate 10 to 24 lanes on the way into downtown Phoenix. But what Hutson doesn’t realize is that more lanes will only result in more traffic, which is exactly why the state Legislature should pass a smart proposal from state Sen. Pamela Gorman, R-Anthem. Gorman, by most accounts a conservative legislator, had the good sense to introduce Senate Bill 1635, which would require the Arizona Department of Transportation to consider converting certain lanes into freeway acceleration and sensible transportation (FAST) lanes. The idea is in a germinal stage, but versions of FAST lanes have been used in California, Colorado and Minnesota, where drivers use wireless transmitters to automatically pay a toll to drive in less congested lanes. Gorman’s bill passed out of committee, but it’s hit a snag. Legislators should consider passing her bill through (maybe even while they’re stuck in traffic).
Frankly, Starbucks, we don’t give a damn
The coffee world was ablaze this weekend as bloggers and newspapers alike reported on an inflammatory (and presumably confidential) intra-office memo sent by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz. Schultz, long heralded as a business visionary for successfully marketing his ubiquitous Starbucks brand, complained in the memo that the coffee chain’s relentless expansion had come at the expense of the Starbucks “”experience”” that had initially won loyal customers. Well, die-hard coffee fans might lament the appearance of automatic espresso machines and drive-through windows, but the idea of a Starbucks “”experience”” would seem sort of a foreign concept to most casual customers. Besides, expressing a desire to keep the aura of an independent coffeehouse while simultaneously expanding from 13,000 to 40,000 stores is a contradiction in terms. Schultz’s cri de coeur might be romantic, but Starbucks should stick to what it does best – efficiently serving ridiculously overpriced coffee to caffeine junkies.
Playing peek-a-boo
Civil liberties advocates have been up in arms about a new X-ray machine at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. The machine, which is in a testing phase, can see through clothes to find carefully concealed weapons, but some have raised concerns that it amounts to a “”virtual strip search,”” even though the software blurs out certain, er, anatomical features. Nevertheless, the new machine is a good idea as an alternative to a pat-down, which many fliers might see as more intrusive than a mere X-ray image. Phoenix should keep its new X-ray machines, and in the interest of security, it would behoove the Transportation Security Administration to install the machines in airports across the nation.
Opinions Board
Editorials are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Justyn Dillingham, Allison Hornick, Damion LeeNatali, Stan Molever, Nicole Santa Cruz and Matt Stone.
