Education comes from balance
To the editor,
At a recent Committee of Eleven meeting, during discussion of orienting new faculty and the disorienting experience for new students of arriving at "The Large University", a member asked, "What shall we read?" For me, this question provoked thoughts about the philosophy of education and the value of the university in an electronic age. As we consider the question of developing the "virtual university," we should remember Aristotle, "Those who educate (students) well are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well." Students honor their teachers most when they seek to learn from them how to live. The greatest human act is to teach another how to live well. As a former chemistry professor at Emory College, Dr. Leon Mandel, was fond of saying to me and countless other young students, "education is the acquisition of knowledge for the purpose of creative living." In your creative pursuit of knowledge, I would advise you, especially those among you who wish to live well, to seek out those professors who are known to you, your classmates and to other faculty as the best teachers. Recognizing the practical need to pursue a major, find time in your busy schedule, every term, to experience something totally new, at least one class totally out of your major or future professional field. When I think back on my college years, who I learned from was much more important than what I learned. Who I am now has been determined by who motivated me to be creative and inquisitive and by who taught me how to live well.
T.H. White once said that he became an historian because his best teacher was an expert in Asian Studies. Joseph Campbell taught, "follow your bliss". Boethius said in "The Consolation of Philosophy" that we exist to find "true happiness". My best teachers were in chemistry and the neurosciences. I have become a neurosurgeon. Along the way, I also had to study biology, mathematics and physics. These are fine disciplines, and I recommend them to anyone - even if you do not intend to pursue a scientific career. For balance, however, my "bliss" also came from professors of art history, ancient and medieval Europe, literature and religion. Your experience will no doubt be different in many ways, but there remains the need for a balanced life. To live well, you must have balance between your physical, academic and spiritual lives. In whatever fields of study you pursue, find teachers who will, as the philosophers said, help you to "bring up from within" (Plato) knowledge which the soul has learned before birth and has then forgotten (Boethius). What lies deep within you to be discovered? Have the courage, creative mind and will to pursue the full dimension of human experience that our university offers. What shall you read? Will you learn to live well?
The decision is yours. The result may be true happiness. Best wishes.
Martin E. Weinand, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
College of Medicine
Math tutoring needed
To the editor,
Shame on you, U of A. I was having an excellent first day of school until about 3:20pm. I was sitting in my vector calculus class (Calc 3) only to discover that the Math Tutoring lab had been closed indefinitely for various reasons. I am appalled and greatly disappointed, as are hundreds of other math students. I have spent many hours there doing homework and receiving assistance with previous calculus classes. I don't know how many U of A officials ever had to take calculus or higher classes, but it is not an exactly easy subject. Tutors are neither plentiful nor cheap. Perhaps U of A officials don't care about graduation rates or students. I was told that the teachers would have to dedicate more time to students to compensate for the lost help from the tutoring lab. Is this really fair? We all know that teachers are already very busy and have a hard enough time finding time to help students. Instead of maybe spending a little money on it's own students, (crazy I know), U of A officials decide the better solution is to throw more students in already oversized class rooms, not hire anymore teachers and close the tutoring lab??? Come on U of A, wake up.
Joseph Reed
Electrical engineering sophomore
Staff deserves thanks
To the editor,
I would like to offer my gratitude to the many people who helped pull off the Sister Hazel concert Friday night. With the cooperation of the UAB staff, ASUA, University Police, the band and, most importantly, the students who came to see the show, we were able to have Sister Hazel do an acoustic ensemble in the Arizona Ballroom when the weather outside surely wanted to end it all.
Robert Szelewski
Operations Manager for the Student Union
Sociology senior
ASUA more than visible activities
To the editor,
Activities like CATFEST, the Student INPUT committee and other programs show that ASUA is moving in a new and better direction. Last year the whole goal to get more people involved was a success, and also more people ran in the elections, showing there has been an increase in student interest. ASUA is not just about club funding, Spring Fling, and the Escort Service (which are the only parts of ASUA visible to U of A Students).
Many students don't know the importance of ASUA and its impact on the UA Administration, City of Tucson and the national government. Many members of ASUA had an oppotunity to meet presidential candidates: Bush, Mc Cain, and, well, even Tipper Gore came to Tucson last year. Dozens of state legislators come to Tucson as well and discuss important issues like tuition, overcrowding in dorms, etc.
What ASUA is doing is great! However they are only 13 elected officials and 50 or so appointed staff members. They need help. No it's not money, quotes in the Wildcat, or anything, but you the students. I feel ASUA is going to have a great year, but it can be even better if individuals like you get involved with ASUA.
All it takes is a small visit right above the bookstore on campus or a small phone call 621-ASUA. I promise all students: all thirty or forty thousand of you, there is something in ASUA for you to get involved.
Especially the freshmen students should look into the FACES program in ASUA. The rest of you, can get involved as Senate Aides, Escort Service Drivers or join the International Student Association. Basically there is something for everybody.
Ahmad Saad Nasim
General business Senior
Remain thankful for college
To the editor,
As usual, the first week's worth of opinions and commentaries are chock-full of bitching and griping about how inadequate or inconvenient the services at the UA are. People are complaining about the long lines and bad food at lunch time, the dwindling size of the Student Union and even the lack of certain fashion outlets in the area, but they don't appreciate what facilities there are! Take me for example. Last summer I was forced to take a leave of absence because of my depleted college fund. I even had to move back in with my parents (like that wasn't bad enough). The worst part is that I won't be back until the Fall of 2001. Trust me, right now I would give anything to be standing in line for a greasy box of french fries at McDonald's, elbowing my way through the bookstore only to find the last "Advanced Chemistry 240 for Idiots" taken, or even sleeping in an over-heated dorm room with a roomate who snores! All this, I would gladly endure if I could just get back to the UA. Trust me folks, it's really not that bad when you consider that you too could still be mowing the lawn and shuttling your little sister around town as am I! If you really want a quick lunch, then eat at Carl's Junior on Park Avenue. If you want a late night snack, get a bunch of night-owls together and trek down to the Star-Mart on Broadway for some Taco Bell! And if you're really getting sick of waiting for your textbooks to come into the bookstore on the offchance you might obtain a copy before everyone else does, then order them 'next-day air' on the internet! Enjoy it while you can, 'cause it only gets worse from here...
Jacob Lauser
Tucsonan
