Fail
Arizona State University’s uniform redesign had a Chicago cop worried about gang activity. Sgt. Kenneth Epich believed ASU’s Nike-designed new logo, a gold trident instead of a dumb cartoon drawing of Sparky the sun devil, would lead to an adoption of the team’s athletic gear by a “”large, violent, mostly Hispanic Chicago street gang”” called Satan’s Disciples.
According to Epich, Satan’s Disciples use a similar logo to ASU’s pitchfork, and will encourage the gang to start wearing ASU’s athletic gear. Maybe Epich should really be grateful. If they were all running around in maroon and gold, gang members would be easier to identify as people with horrible taste. Or maybe Epich should just be less paranoid. Here’s a fail for when rationality fails.
Pass
The drama of Tucson Unified School District’s ethnic studies program continued on Tuesday night when ethnic studies supporters stormed into a meeting of the TUSD Governing Board and chained themselves to chairs. The board planned to consider a proposal that some Mexican-American studies courses no longer fulfill curriculum requirements. TUSD security officials attempted, but could not remove protesters. Tucson Police Department officers were asked to remain outside as long as the protesters remained peaceful. The protest continued, even after the board meeting was canceled.
Regardless of your position on TUSD’s ethnic studies classes, the protest at the board meeting was organized by a coalition of ethnic studies students who deserve to be commended. It’s easy to whine about how apathetic kids are. The protesters for ethnic studies took a firm stance on a divisive issue, and they deserve a pass for taking action.
Fail
Massachusetts lawmakers are pushing to have a state-funded sex education website, Maria Talks (mariatalks.com), shut down. “”This is a blatant agenda by the liberal part of our society to introduce children to sex and give them the opportunity to have an abortion without their parents’ involvement,”” said state Rep. Colleen Garry in the Boston Herald. Maria Talks also uses “”inappropriate and crude language to describe sexual acts,”” according to state Rep. Marc Lombardo. The language includes “”digital sex”” for fingering and hand jobs, and “”clit”” for “”clitoris.””
Surprisingly, the goal of most liberals is not to corrupt the virgin ears of teens so that they want to have secret abortions. Maria Talks and similar efforts are attempts to teach teens about sex comprehensively and in a way they can relate to. Sex education isn’t comfortable for anyone, but that doesn’t make it something we should all avoid. For doing the legal equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and humming loudly to avoid confronting important issues, a fail to Massachusetts lawmakers.
Fail
President Barack Obama released his long-form birth certificate on Wednesday. “”The President believed the distraction over his birth certificate wasn’t good for the country,”” according to a statement from the White House. People who aren’t conned by Donald Trump would be inclined to agree, or even be disappointed that Obama felt compelled to dignify the “”birther”” movement and its followers.
But those birthers are persistent. Andy Martin, self-proclaimed “”king of birthers”” and Chicago-based activist, is now also demanding the release of Obama’s “”admission files and transcripts”” from college. Martin has also suggested that Obama’s Kenyan father still makes it difficult to call him a natural-born citizen. Martin’s remarks, and similar uproar from the craziest of the crazies, earn the birther movement a fail for never knowing when to quit.
Pass
A survey by the Arizona Department of Education, on Arizona principals, found that UA-educated teachers repeatedly meet or exceed standards in their first year of teaching. Teachers who graduated from the UA performed better than the state average in ratings based on things like competency, knowledge and implementation of theory-based strategies.
Considering the state of Arizona’s public education system, thank goodness we can be grateful for the UA’s education students. For turning out reliable, well-prepared future teachers, a pass goes to the College of Education.
— Editorials are determined by the Daily Wildcat editorial board and written by one of its members. They are Kristina Bui, Ken Contrata, Michelle A. Monroe and Heather Price-Wright. They can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
