Petition for your right to party
Politics are usually viewed through a two-party prism, but in Arizona, the number of parties just jumped to four. The Green Party of Arizona was officially recognized by the state after the Secretary of State verified that the Greens had collected the requisite number of citizen signatures last week. The Green Party joins the already recognized Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties. While the opinions board may not agree with the wackier parts of the Green Party platform, it is refreshing to see an increasing number of options on the ballot. As this year’s presidential election has highlighted, within each of these “”big-tent”” parties are a multitude of factions, many of whom are often at odds with one another. Providing more outlets for voters, through parties that more accurately express their views, will help many avoid voting against their consciences in the name of feasibility. Any victory against the entrenched political dichotomy, no matter how slight, is worth commending.
Cornucopias of constraint
Private universities are becoming increasingly aware of the Pandora’s boxes hidden at the bottom of their endowment treasure chests. The New York Times reported yesterday that restricted donations, like gifts intended for one specific department, can become increasingly constraining if the funds are multiplied as a result of investing – like a $2 million gift to Princeton’s Hellenic studies department that multiplied into $33 million that could only be used for Greek courses, Greek study abroad opportunities and pitas. There’s nothing wrong with a souvlaki surplus, but this conflict highlights the dangers of the increasing importance of private donors to universities, especially when over-invested alumni want to attach strings to their contributions. While it’s too bad that similar donations are less frequent at the UA, it’s fortunate that the university isn’t as tied to the whims of its wealthy graduates. Though private universities are overall extremely lucky to receive endowments, these complications serve as a tiny bit of schadenfreude for those attending government-funded institutions.
Put on your red shoes and … stop?
Fighting for the right to dance, a la “”Footloose,”” may seem a bit anachronistic in a world of Lil Jon and Flo Rida. Yet this weekend, the “”dance warriors”” struck again. The United States Park Police, the federal agency responsible for protecting U.S. parks and national monuments, broke up a group of 20 dancers who celebrated the birthday of Thomas Jefferson by dancing quietly in front of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial to the music in their iPod headphones (as libertarian pranksters are wont). While the silent nature of the dance was done in order to avoid any potential disturbances, the police nevertheless ended up arresting one of the silent dancers. This comes as Arizona’s own Pinal County continues to maintain a ban on dancing. Yet it’s useful to remember that rights we take for granted, from dancing to habeus corpus, are constantly under siege. It is fitting, then, that it is Thomas Jefferson who is attributed with the important lesson of this story: “”The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.””
