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Illustraion by Cody Angell
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By Wildcat Perspectives
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday May 8, 2002
Students at the University of Arizona will always look back to the tumultuous 2001-2002 school year and wonder if things would have been different. Whether it be on a global, national, state, city or university level, we have been blindsided by tough and emotional subjects. Reflecting, what do you think was the biggest issue of the year?
Thank your lucky stars
A word to all you graduating seniors out there: Be thankful you got out when you did.
The issue of greatest import to this campus that has emerged in the last year isnāt terrorism, war or recession. Though they may have made a profound impression on us, most of us wonāt be drastically affected by them in the long run.
Not like weāll be affected by the budget cuts.
It may seem like a moot issue for those of you leaving our school once and for all, but if you have sisters, brothers, sons or daughters, it is not. The UA is slowly shutting down ÷ its colleges are closing, its departments are severing undergraduate commitments, and its professors are flocking to other schools. As honors and elective classes are eliminated, our education is gradually being reduced to a string of enormous, though cost-effective, GenEd courses.
The heart of this issue is that our state ÷ or at least our state Legislature ÷ does not care about education. Students are being made to bear the brunt of a statewide shortage through drastic cuts in the UA, ASU and NAU budgets. Thereās really no way to explain how dire the situation has become, because up until now weāve seen very little of the effects of the cuts. But there is certainly more bad news on the way, as new and returning students will realize in the fall.
If youāre done, though, kudos. Itās comforting to know at least one more class will graduate with a diploma that means something.
Caitlin Hall is a biochemistry and philosophy freshman.
Arctic oil drilling
Sept. 11 was clearly the issue of the school year that had the biggest impact on our society, and changed us the most. Nonetheless, an issue that is very close to my heart that did not garner as much news coverage was the prospect of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Miraculously, the environmentalists managed to keep oil companies from marauding this national treasure, at least for now. It was a victory that many said could not be achieved with President Bush in the White House.
The precedent of Senate Democrats and moderate Republicans standing up to oil companies and auto manufacturers could lead to future environmental victories. Preventing more Alaskan oil from entering into our stockpile of available fossil fuels could lead to a call for more energy conservation.
Cheneyās energy plan would have set an ungodly precedent calling for less energy conservation and more of nearly every environmentally disastrous source of energy. Energy conservation and exploring new energy sources are the only ways we can become less dependent on the Middle East economically.
Now that the environmentalists have scored this incredible victory, letās hope the administration isnāt using this as a distraction from the rest of its anti-environmental policies.
Kendrick Wilson is a political science freshman.
Brilliant move by the Board
On April 26, the Arizona Board of Regents made the smartest political move this state has seen in a long time.
By raising tuition for in-state university students by 3.9 percent ÷ roughly the rate of inflation ÷ and hiking tuition for nonresidents by 7.25 percent, the board accomplished three things. One, they refused to increase the burden on Arizonans who would otherwise be left to compensate for our stateās budget deficit. Two, they realized that because out-of-staters pay over three times more than in-staters, a greater tuition increase for nonresidents was the common sense thing to do, especially considering that out-of-state tuition will still be substantially less than the national average. Third, and most importantly, it told the state Legislature that Arizonaās universities arenāt expendable simply because theyāre not immune to budget cuts.
Because of a stupid state law that says the Legislature canāt touch funding that was passed by voters, 50 percent of the state budget must remain uncut (that figure rises to nearly 80 percent if you throw in K-12 education spending, which is a source of debate right now). Because state universities are left vulnerable, their funds continue to be constantly and unfairly tapped by the Legislature.
By raising in-state tuition by only $96 next year, the Regents sent a definitive message: no more.
Shane Dale is a political science junior.
In the dark
And the biggest issue of the year is · we may never know.
As usual, the world is an unsettled place. Countries are fighting, people within countries are fighting, and countries within countries are fighting. Arms, diplomats and slave-labor T-shirts go back and forth in every which direction, and everyone has something to say (except for people who get killed if they open their mouths).
Meanwhile, here we are in Tucson, watching it all happen on the idiot box. And we are very entertained. All we know are the appearances of deeper issues. All we do is react.
Whatās happening in the world? The sky is falling. And on campus? The skyās falling and weāre building giant structures to keep it afloat.
I took a literature course in which we discussed the impossibility of seeing the world clearly and whole at the same time. I also learned about this in physics ÷ it must be one of those universal problems. Itās our problem. Itās why we identify issues, delve into them and draw pleasant-sounding but incomplete solutions. Itās why we see the world and oversimplify.
It keeps us from accepting the fact that this is exactly how the world has to be right now, and thereās not always someone to blame. Despite our opinions.
Daniel Cucher is a creative writing senior.
Battle of the Boojums compromise
The elliptically shaped cactus garden in the heart of campus set the stage for controversy this school year. The Joseph Wood Krutch garden is the last remnant of a larger garden that once spanned from the west side of Old Main down the Mall.
In November, the Alumni Association, flanked by Hargreaves Associates, announced plans for the new ćAlumni Plazaä that included the proposal to relocate the cactus garden.
The experts agreed: The three tall boojum trees, brought from the Baja decades ago, would likely not survive the transplant.
At first, it seemed that those in opposition faced only deaf ears. Concerned members of UA and Tucson spoke out to save the garden named after the prominent local nature writer. Before winter break, the decision makers seemed set on moving the garden.
In January, activists organized a peaceful protest on the UA Mall, gathering petition signatures and educating the public. Floods of letters appeared in the Wildcat in support of protecting the cactus garden.
Amid the passions on both sides, the boojum storm parted and a compromise was established. The Alumni Plaza would be built incorporating the Krutch garden.
The Battle of the Boojums set an example of what happens when the campus planning process circumvents public input and participation. Now that the muddy waters have cleared, the community and the Alumni Association can shake hands and work together to create a kick-ass Alumni Plaza.
Jessica Lee is an environmental science junior.
Sept. 11 without a doubt changed us
Itās agreed. The most significant global, national and local event would have to be the catastrophic events of Sept. 11. Everything that we knew and depended on was all of a sudden ÷ uncertain.
The safety bubble that we thought we lived in popped.
It is impossible to explain all the different ways Sept. 11 has affected us. But one consequence the media has for the most part overlooked is the unjust and sudden rise in hate crimes against Muslim-Americans.
Even on our campus, there were cases of racial mistreatment toward Muslims and Middle-Easterners. One student was taunted as he walked toward McClelland Hall on Sept. 11. Someone called him a ćsand n÷÷rä and told him to leave America.
But these acts werenāt reported because many students were afraid to come out and say anything. They didnāt want to bring any more attacks on themselves. All over the country, Muslim-Americans were scared to go to school, work, anywhere they might face racial and religious harassment.
The fear they face is not unique ÷ hate crimes have plagued our nation every time there is a catastrophe.
So has Sept. 11 changed us? Yes.
But it is also up to us to take a situation and make it positive. The events of Sept. 11 have opened our safety net, but we have to realize that education is the key to conquering cultural ignorance. Sept. 11 was the bastard child of ignorance, and we have to make sure that child doesnāt reproduce here in America.
Mariam Durrani is a systems engineering junior.
