Palatable persuasion
While their compatriots have chosen to express their stance on animal rights through paint-splashing and flour-bombing fur-clad models or with displays of nauseatingly graphic photography, the UA Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals tried a different tact on Wednesday. More than 200 members of the campus community were treated to meat-free fare cooked by members of SETA and given away on the UA Mall. Sampling faux-meat and no-meat snacks, students learned they wouldn’t have to sacrifice edibility for ethics if they chose a meat-free lifestyle. Not only do you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but you prove a point much more easily with outsider-friendly methods of persuasion than bellicose publicity stunts. For realizing that, and for their display of culinary prowess, the Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals get a pass.
Give us a break (part two)
After many consecutive weeks without a day off, we couldn’t be happier that Spring Break, a chance to put schoolwork aside and just enjoy life, is finally upon us. Unfortunately, some teachers still feel it necessary to violently tear that oh-so-valuable peace of mind away from their students by insisting on giving major exams the first day back. After a week off, students really could benefit from a single class day to refocus academically before being expected to perform on a test, and most teachers could probably push exams back. For forcing students to study on their only real break of the semester, teachers who give tests on Monday get a Fail.
Get ready for your close-up, Mars
Today, an unmanned spacecraft equipped with a high-resolution camera designed by a team of UA scientists is going to enter the atmosphere of Mars. As the craft makes a gradual approach toward Martian terrain, the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera will send back approximately 10,000 images to Tucson for processing. Studying these photos, our scientists will be able to see features of the extraterrestrial landscape that measure as small as 40 inches. For their work in giving earth-dwellers the closest look we’ve ever had of Mars, as well as adding to the UA’s reputation as an astronomy powerhouse, the HiRISE team earns a pass.
It’s not easy being smart
Academic excellence abounds at the UA, and usually that achievement is rewarded. That’s why the Arizona Daily Wildcat was disheartened to learn last week that a bright bunch of UA students from KAMP Student Radio would be denied the opportunity to compete in College Bowl national trivia contest for which it had qualified by winning the regional competition.
Because the University Activities Board and the student union said their budgets were too tight to fund the trip, there was no way the team was going to be able to go – until the Marshall Foundation gladly contributed the necessary money. The gift will help these students show the rest of the country the outstanding intelligence present on campus.
For not funding the trip and demonstrating some awful priorities in terms of valuing academic success, UAB and the student union get a fail. For stepping up and recognizing the importance of collegiate achievement, the Marshall Foundation gets a much-deserved pass.
Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Nina Conrad, Lori Foley, Caitlin Hall, Michael Huston, Ryan Johnson, Aaron Mackey and Tim Runestad.
