Vote 'no' on Prop. 400

I am writing to applaud Kendrick Wilson and Laura Winsky's April 18 commentary, "A not-so-comprehensive transportation plan." Voting 'yes' on Prop. 400 will only perpetuate an already bad situation.

We are all paying for Tucson's refusal to approve mass transportation with long waits at red lights and slow trips across the city. The problem with Prop. 400 is that it reflects the narrow viewpoint of the city and county on transportation. They believe that the transportation exists to move cars. Wrong! Transportation exists to move people, and cars are merely one way that this can be accomplished.

The longer Tucson waits to act against traffic, the harder and more expensive it will be to create a working transportation system. We can duplicate the countless failures of cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix, which rely on highways and roads, or we can join the cities like Portland and San Diego, which have successfully implemented light-rail systems. Tucsonans for Sensible Transportation has put together a comprehensive transportation plan using light rail that can be seen at www.tucsonlightrail.org.

If you are not convinced to vote 'no' on Prop. 400, please visit www.savetucson.org to see just how harmful it is to Tucson's transportation future. A vote for 'no' will force the city government to re-evaluate their half-thought-out plans.

Ladd Keith
media arts junior

Leftist universities do not deserve more funding

On April 16, Caitlin Hall Arizona Daily Wildcat for proof of this. On any given day you can read a column on the evils of America and its racist war against Muslim freedom fighters, or Arizona's racist and unjust use of the death penalty, or a passionate defense of communist ideology, and so on and so on ad naseum. A short walk across the campus and one is likely to see about a half dozen students wearing T-shirts with the likeness of communist butcher Che Guevara on them.

Tucson has a large number of servicemen and their families in it. We also have a large number of retired veterans. Some of these families have to use food stamps to get by because our servicemen get paid so little. Some of the vets live on fixed incomes. Do you really expect these people to pay more in taxes after seeing constant protests against the war on terrorism that occur on this campus? Do you expect them to feel bad that a loony hate monger like Prof. Julian Kunnie won't be getting a pay raise after he called them all racist murders? Should veterans who spent their college years suffering in Vietnam pay more money to support this modern-day hippie sleaze? Should the families of murder victims pay more taxes so that UA students have more free time to save the lives of murders on death row?

Unfortunately, funding our institutions of higher learning will continue to be a bitter battle and true education will suffer until administrators grow the guts to stop leftist wackos from turning our colleges and universities into their private little Marxist re-education camps. Don't hold your breath.

Gavin Murphy
history senior

Dr. Todd an excellent faculty fellow, teacher

It is a very sad day when a person of the caliber of Dr. James Todd is told to do research or leave the University of Arizona. Dr. Todd was my Faculty Fellow in Yuma Hall from 1996-1997 and is one of the nicest, most considerate people I know.

He was always available to talk to any of his political science students or the students in the dorm, and gave invaluable advice about school.

Above this, he was the best about talking with young college students about life. He was happy to talk about the most important issues students might be facing; whether it is difficulty in school or problems with family or friends. He did what a lot of the faculty and administration at the University of Arizona did not: he listened.

Without Dr. Todd, my college career would have been a lot different and a lot worse. It is rare these days to come across an individual with as much dedication to his students as Dr. Todd has. I came to him with my worst problems, and he helped me through them. I also had a great time just chatting with him on hikes that he organized for his students. Dr. Todd already makes less money than those "teachers" who do copious amounts of research. Is that not enough for this university? He is an outstanding teacher and an outstanding mentor, something this university desperately needs. They should be paying him twice whatever he makes now, not telling him to leave.

I had enough professors at the University of Arizona that did not really care about their students on a personal level to make me appreciate what Dr. Todd does. Shame on the university for not realizing what Dr. Todd does for his students and how he makes the university a much better place. Perhaps Dr. Todd should teach a class entitled "Dirty Politics: Research before Education at UA."

Chris Suffecool
UA alumnus

No exceptions for Dr. Todd

First, I do not know Dr. Todd nor have I been in any of his classes. Second, contrary to Rudolph Randa's April 19 letter to the editor, ASU does not have a faculty of "babysitters and bumblers." This issue of publishing exists there, too, as it does in all research-level teaching institutions. This is not about Dr. Todd's teaching skills. Finally, if he were only publishing and not teaching, UA would be making the same threat.

This issue is about signing a contract and an agreement made between UA and Dr. Todd. It is about the job description that Dr. Todd clearly had before him before he signed on to UA. He had the intellectual freedom to make another career choice for himself.

He entered into an agreement. It appears that he did not fully live up to that agreement. I seriously doubt that this point was raised to him only weeks ago.

I did my BA/master's work at UA. I decided my doctoral program and future career based upon what I wanted to do in history and what career options in history that I did NOT care to do. Graduate students and Ph.D.s routinely look into themselves to answer these questions. I will probably never teach at a Research I university where publishing is a required element in the contract.

I prefer the classroom. We each must make that self-assessment based upon our interests and attributes.

We cannot enter into contracts expecting that we will not be held accountable for all of the elements of the contract, even if we are faithfully fulfilling some parts of it, as it appears Dr. Todd has done by serving as a capable educator in the classroom.

In the media arts, history and information resources and library science departments, I have seen how profs juggle their duties.

The "percentages" rarely apply. Maintaining a faculty known by their teaching skills AND their publications is an integral part of a research institution. One without the other is simply not possible.

Educators can elect this career option or not. They can also pursue meaningful careers in other places. How do we hope to instill integrity, commitment and personal responsibility in students, if as role models, educators and mentors we expect special treatment or exceptions to be made for us?

Judy Comer-Schultz
UA alumna