By John Kromko
Arizona Daily Wildcat
January 14, 1998

Voting down union 'scam' right decision

To the Editor:

Congratulations to the U A students who voted against the Student Union financing scam. The conocept that students should finance expansion of the Union is a relic from the time that students actualy controlled the building.

The administration worked mightily through the regents and the courts to seize that control in the late 1960s. Now there is no more reason for students to pay for the Union than for any other building. Why should students tax themselves to buy a building for the state? Should the faculty and staff pay for their office buildings?

The administration has tried the same trick a number of times over the years and whenever it was successful the students ended up with absolutely nothing but higher tuition.

I recall, in the early 60s, the students enthusiastically voted to tax themselves to expand the football stadium, which was quite overcrowded because of rapidly increasing enrollment. The money was used to build the west side of the stadium (the part below the sky boxes) but when the project was finished, the students weren't allowed to sit in the new seats.

As for the fire code arguments, it was an ongoin scandal throughout the '60s and early 70s that many of the dorms didn't meet the fire code. The university simply didn't care. The construction of many new buildings had much higher priority than student safety. You can be sure that if the University cared about the Union not meeting the fire code, repairs would be made right away.

President Likins is going to hire an architecht to draw a pretty picture of the improved Union to help convince you to increase your tuition. Tell him to stick the picture in his ear.

He can improve the Union any time he feels like it; he has uncounted millions in the indirect cost recovery slush fund.

John Kromko
Former State Representative
Former ASUA Senator