General education courses provide the foundation of a solid university education. They expose students to different areas of study, let them learn with others who may be outside their major, and eventually produce well-rounded graduates. At least, if they’re run the way they should be. There are many problems with gen ed courses at the UA – ranging from vast disparities in terms of difficulty to class overcrowding. Frustrating as these problems are, it’s encouraging to see the Faculty Senate’s efforts to address such issues – they’ve established a Committee of 11 that will examine our current gen ed program and make recommendations for changes. For giving hope that necessary improvements will be made in the future, the Faculty Senate’s plan gets a pass.
Indian frybread, German chocolate, Swedish meatballs, baklava and rose lemonade, oh my! Besides the fact that Tucson Meet Yourself and the Wildcat World Fair are excellent places to enjoy ethnic cuisine, they’re also great ways for Tucsonans and the UA community to connect and celebrate the diverse population right in our own backyard. Each of the two events held in the past week offered opportunities to watch live performances of various cultural specialties, from dance to song. At a time when xenophobia seems to be growing in popularity, it’s great to see this sort of celebration of diversity. Tucson Meet Yourself and Wildcat World Fair each receive a pass.
In one of the most ironic attempts to dupe the system in a while, reports surfaced yesterday that Arizona state Treasurer David Petersen is expected to resign over accusations that he illegally used state resources for personal financial gain through his CharacterFirst! youth program. If the accusations are true, Petersen apparently should have read some of the lessons from the character education program he tried to push around the state. He is accused of inappropriate use of funds as well as failing to report profits from the CharacterFirst! Program. For not walking his own talk, our state treasurer gets a fail.
Unless you’ve been locked in the library’s computing commons studying for midterms all week, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve finally hit the gloriously mild weather of a Tucson fall. Suddenly, taking a walk seems like a great idea – and you can make it all the way across campus without getting drenched in sweat. So, brush off those cleats or take out that Frisbee and take advantage of the outdoors – because right now, our amazing weather gives us bragging rights over the entire country. For giving us yet another reason to be glad we go to this school, Tucson’s fall weather gets a pass.
