Many reasons to enjoy, celebrate athletics

I would like to respond to Rebecca Lane’s shameful letter in Monday’s paper condemning UA sports fans (“”Re-evaluating sports and ‘school spirit'””). I find it hypocritical that she claims sports and school spirit are “”homogenizing personality and thought.”” Did it ever occur to you, Lane, that some people may genuinely like sports and enjoy attending games? Think of it as a big club, where people with common interests gather every week to cheer on our teams because we love them and we love the sport. If you do not like it, then don’t go. You misinterpreted Jeff Johnson’s letter as an attack on you because you do not like sports and do not care to partake in school spirit. That’s fine; no one is condemning you for that as you are condemning us for participating in something that we do indeed enjoy.

Johnson was simply aggravated at other students who are fans who just did not care enough to be there. He was referring to other Zona Zoo ticket holders, who bought the tickets and do not show up to support our teams. I doubt people like Lane even purchased a Zona Zoo pass, and therefore they are not even a part of this argument. I believe Lane was also indicating that such fans were “”mindless”” and basically accusing us of jumping on the bandwagon and following the herd or whatnot, which is a complete fallacy, not to mention pretty generalizing, which is exactly what she was complaining about in her letter.

I would also like to know how she thinks tearing down school spirit is a good thing, and why is school spirit so negative? If she does not want to support our school and our sports teams, that’s fine, but there is nothing wrong with the vast majority of us who do. Taking all of her words and especially her tasteless closing statement (“”I will offer my own vitriolic and short-sighted admonition to UA fans, students and alumni alike: Take sports and shove them up your ass.””) into consideration, I would suggest future writings to have a little more class and a little less hatred for something that is good for school revenue and student morale and is overall a majorly popular weekend event.

Bethany Fourmy
pre-med junior

ASU game ticketing policy poorly handled

Whichever “”brainchild”” in the athletics department decided it would be a good idea to open the Zona Zoo section to non-students for Saturday’s UA-Arizona State University football game should either resign or be fired. How does any rational person think that letting parents, children and ASU fans into a raucous student section is even remotely a good idea? The ASU fans were causing problems left and right (including a huge brawl in section 6 during the first quarter), and the non-student UA fans were either kicking students out of “”reserved”” seats or clogging up the student section and refusing to leave.

There were thousands of students left looking for tickets to the game, and the ones who were able to get tickets were only allowed to buy one for themselves, as if anyone wants to go to a football game and sit alone. I’m not even going to get started on the UA basketball ticket situation this year. So, whoever is in charge of making ticketing decisions, do us all a favor and find a new job.

Jeff Beran
engineering management senior

Check resources for blood donor eligibility rules

First, I would like to thank Brenda Verdugo Gonzalez for being a blood donor in Mexico and for attempting to donate blood here earlier this month (as referenced in Monday’s letter to the editor, “”Blood drive rules should be clarified beforehand””). Whether or not she actually donated blood, she did a good deed by showing up, as did everyone who tried. I would also like to apologize to her if she felt it was a waste of her time. I hope that she conveyed her concerns to one of the staff members or took the time to fill out one of the comment cards so the next drive will be a better experience for everyone. The blood drive was a volunteer effort, from the donors to the organizers, and I encourage anyone who might have ideas to consider joining the effort.

With that said, I would be remiss if I did not correct her gross overstatement on donor eligibility. You may still be eligible to donate blood if you are a nonresident or if you travel outside the U.S., it all depends on where. You can get more information by calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE, and someone will be able to tell you if your travels/country of origin affect your eligibility. You can also find some of this information at www.givelife.org under the “”Being a Donor”” tab. All the educational material is important, as are all the blood tests. Some of the medications listed in those materials can harm or kill unborn babies. Other information concerns what will happen to a donor if he/she tests positive for HIV/AIDS. Whether it is the first question or the last question that defers you, the integrity of the blood supply is the utmost concern for the Red Cross. However, if no one ever tried, there would be no blood supply.

Finally, the Red Cross and I thank all the members of the UA community who came out for the blood drive. Together, we were able to collect over 300 units of blood, which could save 900 lives. However, there is always a need, so we’ll be back in the spring!

Anne Murdaugh
physics graduate student
GPSC vice president blood drive event coordinator

Tucson, UA community generosity cause for thanks

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving: Nov. 15, – amidst the rush to complete assignments, pack, study for tests, pay credit card bills, beat the “”general public”” in the purchase of football tickets and all the other items that fill our schedules in the days prior to Thanksgiving recess – I and the other members of Mortar Board senior honorary, sent out a plea for help, and the response far exceeded my expectations.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, at least 50 local families were going to be denied suitable meals for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. But this year, the UA and Tucson community remembered that Thanksgiving weekend is much more than the needed break it provides from classes. Together, in less than one week, we were able to collect more than $1,000, compile 72 turkey dinners and provide families of the Flowing Wells School District additional food items and grocery store gift cards. Years from now, I am not going to recall the score of the UA vs. ASU game nor the fact that I got a parking ticket on Thanksgiving eve, but I will remember the spirit of this campus and the kindness that was shown.

So thank you to everyone who contributed, with special recognition to the Residence Hall Association (specifically Apache-Santa Cruz, Babcock, Coronado, Hopi Graham-Greenlee, Maricopa, Yavapai and Yuma residence halls), Sylvia Jo Miles and the media arts department, Norma Ayon and the Fine Arts Office, the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, the Arizona Collegiate Leadership Conference Desk in the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, Kandice Kartchner and the Alpha Beta Chi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society at Pima Community College, and the numerous individual donors and supporting businesses whom I did not mention. You truly gave me, and many others, something to be thankful for.

Shannon Kolder
fine arts studies senior