Chalk drawing a no-no on UA campus

If you have young children who enjoy drawing with chalk, keep them away from the UA campus. They may get arrested for “”criminal damage and disturbing an educational institution.””

At least that was the case for graduate student Jacob Miller, who was arrested on campus Thursday for drawing pictures and messages in chalk all over campus as part of the Arizona for Education rally.

Maintenance was able to wash away most of the drawings before the start of the rally, yet Miller was charged on two counts of class one misdemeanor, each carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail and $2,500, plus possible restitution charges for the cleanup, University of Arizona Police Department spokesman Juan Alvarez told the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

We understand that maintenance had to clean the chalk, but Miller suffered extreme consequences for his innocuous actions. His punishment strikes us as selective, and we’re troubled that the UA would have a kind of selection on punishments.

Where was UAPD when Francis the Poet wrote his musings all over campus? Why would the UA choose enforcement for certain situations but not others?

It seems that the UA based Miller’s punishment on his act, which was in protest of the UA’s budget cuts and the Transformation, leading us to conclude that the UA is more likely to penalize someone solely on the basis of dissent.

For issuing unfair, selective punishment, the UA gets a fail.

President Shelton, Provost Hay explain budget cut decision making in guest column

“”Across-the-board cuts would have assured a future of mediocrity and simply would have been the wrong choice,”” Provost Hay and President Shelton wrote in their guest column in Thursday’s Arizona Daily Star.

In the article, Hay and Shelton listed the “”three key principles”” they use to determine their budget decisions. The third principle is based upon the question, “”Which units will most likely have a positive economic impact on the state, with an emphasis on job creation and growth?”” Does this mean the UA will cut programs that don’t necessarily lend themselves to job growth? Of course it’s important for the UA to do everything within its power to stimulate the economy, but there will always be programs that emphasize personal fulfillment and creativity before job growth, and they shouldn’t be viewed as the obvious cuts.

After laying out the 19 different groups they’ve listened to and taken into consideration regarding the budget crisis, Hay and Shelton seem to be taking a stab at those in cloaked opposition and the UA Defender blog in one short paragraph, “”Now more than ever is the time for the people of Arizona to make their voices heard — not in the dark corners of anonymous blogs, but loudly and clearly and publicly in the corridors of our state Capitol.””

Cheers to Hay and Shelton for starting another form of discussion with the public. The Wildcat welcomes a public announcement from them as well, but for coming across as unnecessarily snarky and defensive in a Daily Star guest column, they get an incomplete.

Students, faculty engage in peaceful rally

It was good to see students and faculty joining together in peaceful protest. Miller gets a pass for getting the attention of UA officials and sparking awareness about the issue, even though he is suffering disproportionate consequences for his actions.

The professors who may have put their jobs on the line to speak out against the UA Transformation and budget cuts get a pass for standing up for their beliefs and for the greater good of the UA.

Actress Mackenzie Phillips details molestation from celebrity father in memoir

In her new book “”High on Arrival,”” actress and singer Mackenzie Phillips confesses what most would consider one of the most horrifying secrets imaginable: “”I slept with my dad.””

“”On the eve of my wedding, my father showed up, determined to stop it. I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything too. Eventually I passed out on Dad’s bed … I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father.””

What first started out as an act of molestation gradually became a consensual sexual relationship. The two finally ended their sexual relations when 29-year-old Phillips became pregnant and was unsure if the baby belonged to her father or her then-boyfriend.

Phillips is the daughter of the late John Phillips, founder and lead singer of The Mamas and the Papas.

Even though some of Mackenzie Phillips’ sisters are denying the allegations, with Bijou Phillips going so far as to say, “”The man that raised me would never be capable of doing such things,”” Mackenzie has still opened up a dialogue on a very uncomfortable, taboo subject that affects families all over the world. Phillips told the “”Today Show”” that her “”universal”” story has reached out to other incest victims who are finally gaining the courage to talk about what happened to them.

Though some have questioned the credibility of Phillips’ memory, which may be inaccurate due to drug abuse, we give her a pass for breaking her silence and giving incest victims some solidarity.

— Editorials are determined by the Daily Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Alex Dalenberg, Justyn Dillingham, Laura Donovan, Heather Price-Wright, Dan Sotelo and Anna Swenson.