ASU shows bad judgment in cost-saving measures

The Arizona Republic recently reported, “”Arizona State University is preparing to lay off 200 or more faculty associates and dramatically boost some class sizes beginning this spring as it braces for more state budget cuts.”” In fact, it seems that some lecture-based courses may see enrollment jump from a measly 300 students to 1000 or more. This is a terrible solution, however, for it compromises student learning and degrades the quality of a college education. Why not just broadcast the lectures on YouTube? That might actually be a more effective strategy than tripling class sizes.

Moreover, how can ASU justify tuition hikes when students are clearly getting less and less for their money? These drastic measures may actually backfire if they drive enrollment down at ASU, which translates into fewer tuition dollars and ultimately the same initial problem. While the UA has yet to follow suit, I’m concerned that these layoffs will prove contagious. But for now, let’s be thankful that we’re not Sun Devils, for we still have a fighting chance at an education.

– Justin Huggins is a senior majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology.

Fill ‘er up: Tucson’s gas prices lowest in state

Arizona slipped into cardiac arrest when gas prices slid below the $3 mark recently, especially since we’ve been so accustomed to pump numbers slowly climbing. Is this good news, or are we to remain, as a doctor might say, cautiously optimistic?

According to Michelle Donati, a spokeswoman for AAA Arizona, low demand could continue to plunge gas prices to as low as $2 by the year’s end, she said in an Arizona Daily Star article Friday. Tucson has the lowest fuel prices in the state, with the average at $2.753 Thursday, according to the Star. Looks like it’s time to fill up the Humvee, drop the kids off at the sitter and take that big road trip you’ve been putting off.

– Matt Wavrin is a media arts senior.

‘Twilight’ does not encourage abusive relationships

Now that the election is finally over, lighter topics may be discussed. A light read will allow you to briefly forget about the economic crisis or the new president if you’re disappointed with the winner. Stephanie Meyer’s “”Twilight”” series is an easy read composed of simple writing, but many argue that her themes are inappropriate and send a negative message to the intended teenage girl audience. The first novel is about a high school girl who falls in love with Edward, a hostile yet stunning vampire.

Recent Daily Wildcat contributors and critics have opined that “”Twilight”” promotes abusive relationships due to Edward’s obsessive, violent nature as a magical creature, but he’s a character of fantasy that no girl is in danger of ever encountering. No woman should ever put up with verbal or physical abuse from a man, even if she loves him, but this story does not glorify mistreatment. Claiming “”Twilight”” will negatively influence young girls is as absurd as the belief that the “”Harry Potter”” series is really about demonic worship. At least younger people are reading again, even if the novels they select are plagued with adverbs and adjectives.

– Laura Donovan is a creative writing junior.

McCain campaign reaches demagogic lows

“”McCain has made himself a monster of hate and lies,”” wrote Greil Marcus on Salon.com Monday. It sounded like hyperbole until you turned on the cable news channels on the race’s penultimate day and beheld Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin both picking on, of all things, San Francisco. “”There must be something about San Francisco,”” sneered Palin in Ohio on Monday, suggesting that Sen. Barack Obama only revealed his true agenda to his fellow Bolsheviks in the nation’s gay capital.

In reality, the interview Palin referred to -ÿin which Obama says he’ll use hard tactics against the coal industry to stop it from polluting the environment – has been available since January. Rep. Barney Frank, one of Congress’s few openly gay members, also met Palin’s scorn for allegedly wanting to put the defense budget “”on the chopping block.”” In other words, he’s a wimp. McCain has made history, all right, but not in the way he promised. He has run the single ugliest, most divisive campaign of our lifetime.

– Justyn Dillingham is the opinions editor of the Daily Wildcat.