The Arizona Daily Wildcat puts the issues to the test. Do they make the grade?

We look forward to our free parking spaces
Congratulations to Morgan Abraham, who was announced as the winner in ASUA’s special senatorial election at the end of last week.

We spend a lot of time dissecting the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, questioning its effectiveness and the amount of money it pours into concerts. The platform that Abraham ran on didn’t escape our notice either.

Free parking at the Student Recreation Center wasn’t really at the top of(or anywhere on) our list of concerns facing UA students and we’re still not sure moving Spring Fling back to campus is a feasible option considering its size and attendance.

But we are willing to admit that being a student leader — one truly representative of the more than 30,000 undergraduates on campus — requires ambition and motivation. For now, Abraham and ASUA get an incomplete. We’ll keep watching to see what happens next.

Finger-pointing in ASA a slow-motion implosion
Speaking of student leadership, how about that Arizona Students’ Association? After the resignation of five ASA directors — all from Arizona State University campuses — and an investigative report by the Goldwater Institute, current and former members of ASA appear to be caught up in a lot of finger-pointing.

UA student leaders, namely ASUA President Katy Murray, have repeatedly stood by the nonprofit organization, despite the allegations leveled against it. ASA has been accused of violating its bylaws and of improper spending. Former ASA members from ASU have said they’ve been threatened with legal action.

With the elections fast approaching, now is hardly the time for an organization dedicated to advocating for higher education to implode. We’re pretty sure that someone will just look for somewhere else to dump the blame, but even so, ASA gets a fail.
An organization that claims to represent students to the state Legislature can’t afford to engage in a battle of “he said, she said.”

Limiting access creates hurdles for journalists
Ithaca College issued a new media policy last month, which routes all student journalists’ requests for interviews with administrators through the college’s media relations office.

Now, instead of going directly to the source, Ithaca’s students will have to ask media relations to facilitate an interview. According to Dave Maley, associate director of media relations, in an interview with the school’s student newspaper, the new requirements were not written to limit media access.

Instead, Maley says, the policy will better make sure the sources are the most appropriate to the article and the interviews will be better facilitated.

This last claim cements a fail for Ithaca College’s new policy. To varying degrees, though we do not abide by any particular policy regarding how to submit interview requests, Wildcat staff members have also sometimes had to jump through bureaucratic hoops to get to administrators.

While such a policy is by no means a limitation on free speech, it does limit access. The constant dependence on a middle man only slows down the delivery of information.

— Editorials are determined by the Arizona Daily Wildcat editorial board and written by one of its members. They are Bethany Barnes, Kristina Bui, Jason Krell and Alex Williams. They can be rea
ched at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu or on Twitter via @WildcatOpinions.