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Illustration by Josh Hagler
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The perspectives desk of the Arizona Daily Wildcat has produced the Issue of the Week in hopes to address issues facing the university, the community and the nation. However, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent developments have demanded our attention.
The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon mark a defining moment in U.S. history. The nation's decision to retaliate against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist organization, which brought war to the nation of Afghanistan, also deserves the focus and the attention of the media and the nation. However, while spending so much time and column inches covering terrorism, the Arizona Daily Wildcat has let some issues slip between the cracks.
Although the war in Afghanistan, the pursuit of homeland security and the civil rights problems that have resulted from them may be the most important issues at present, to ignore issues that are unconnected would be a terrible mistake. Issues buried, such as campaign finance reform, the Gary Condit scandal, immigration policies and the dilapidated state of the U.S. educational system are topics that must not be forgotten.
When McCain broke his word
The Patients' Bill of Rights (PBOR) saga is one of several big stories gone by the wayside since the events that occurred two and a half months ago. For the time being, the McCain-Kennedy bill, which would give patients the right to sue their HMOs over alleged malpractice, has been buried under stacks of Sept. 11 paperwork.
But that's not a bad thing. It's a good thing.
This bill would be step one in the joint Democrat/McCain effort to implement a nationalized health care system. And it would come at the expense of job security.
Several months ago, there was a vote in the Senate as to whether small businesses - businesses with 100 employees or fewer - could be held liable along with HMOs in the lawsuit process in the proposed bill.
The argument against this is that small businesses would be less inclined to provide health care services to their employees if they could be sued as a result of a medical lawsuit by one of its workers. As a result, more Americans would be without health care coverage, at which time the Democrats would jump in and say, "Never fear! Socialized medicine is here!"
Prior to the vote in the Senate, Sen. McCain vowed on his Web site to vote against this portion of the bill. But when voting day arrived, he changed his mind. The measure passed.
Once this PBOR ball gets rolling again, it is unclear as to whether President Bush will veto the bill. But the bill in its current form is harmful to the average American, largely in part to McCain breaking his word.
Shane Dale is a political science sophomore. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
God may be bad for your health
An important scholarly issue has gone unnoticed all semester.
As finals roll around, more students are turning to God, praying for a bit of almighty power to help raise their next test score. Many think that pure evil has control of their current grade, and if there is a God, she/he will prove her/his existence by making them ace their last exam.
But, toying around with philosophical questions is bad for the health of the grade-worrier or class-ditcher.
Kenneth I. Pargament and colleagues from Duke University published a study in an August issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine reporting that weighing such religious struggles actually adds emotional stress, anxiety and depression. The basis of his study was to follow and question 596 older patients from 1996 to 1997.
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Illustration by Josh Hagler
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He reported that sick patients who said they "felt alienated from or unloved by God and attributed their illness to the devil" had a 19 percent to 28 percent increase in their risk of dying. These conclusions were found even after considering the patients' mental heath, demographic status and relative health.
Such a religious struggle might possibly affect human health by significantly weakening the immune system. The researches wrote, "To our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to identify religious variables that increase the risk of mortality."
Basically, what this study suggests is that struggling with religious ideologies during finals week could severely reduce chances of recovering from the last midterm, by God.
Good luck, relax and amen.
Jessica Lee is an environmental science junior. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
We can't forfeit finance reform
Can you believe Dead Day is a week from today? The entire semester has slipped away from us so quickly. In fact, all over the nation there is this kind of phenomenon or sentiment of lost time. It's a yucky feeling, especially when we know what we've missed. There were lots of plans and goals destroyed or delayed because of Sept 11; among them is reform.
This should have been the autumn of reform because of a little bill officially known as the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill. John McCain, Arizona's own very hip and witty, despite his age, senator had teamed up with Russ Feingold, Wisconsin's diamond-in-the-rough senator to create a real bill offering real change you could sink your teeth into.
That's right, ladies and gentlemen , two senators - in Congress - actually working on something.
McCain campaigned for the 2000 election (circus) on reform, and he won primaries doing it. Let's all close our eyes and picture what life could be like now if he had won the 2000 Republican Nomination.
Ahhhh. Sorry, back to reality.
When John lost, he vowed to see the bill through, and it charged ahead and passed the Senate. Then it stalled. Then Tom Daschle became Senate majority leader and vowed to deliver it himself to the House. Then it stalled. And then Sept 11 came like a black hole and swallowed it up.
Where is it now? Where did it go? Have we forfeited reform for this war? John! Our fortunate son! Please run and find it, and push it through the House. There are those of us who have been waiting since 1997 to see its completion.
Laura Winsky is a senior majoring in Spanish and political science. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
A few crumbs that make life a little better
I had to go through a lot of different issues before I could narrow it down to the most important of the overlooked, and making a decision was not easy. My criteria were simple. I wanted to affect the people: the hungry masses salivating for a crumb of information that could make their lives just a little bit better and a little more livable. No easy task, I know, but after much internal debate, I think I have a winner.
Apparently, despite much rumor and controversy, Emmanuel Lewis is still alive! That's right, Emmanuel Lewis, the little scamp who charmed his way into our hearts on TV's "Webster" is still alive and well. And to top it all off, he's a child-star success story, a rarity in these days.
Why, just last summer he found his very own record label - Emmanuel Lewis Entertainment - and he also has a number of television and film projects in the works. Our little boy has become a man, a little man with very big dreams.
I finally discovered the truth about Manny - that's what his friends call him - after seeing him on a child-star episode of "The Weakest Link."
And what a delightful little show that is, huh? What, with the questions and the British lady. And that's another good issue. Why aren't more people talking about "The Weakest Link?"
That British lady is a hoot. She's all smarmy and British and stuff. She just cracks me up. And the way she says weakest all fast and then link all normal. It just never gets old. Weakest Link! Weakest Link! Weakest Link! Hoot!
Zack Armstrong is a creative writing senior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
Have you noticed the landscaping around campus this semester? Notice something off? How come the administration pays so much attention to the needs of future students and pays no mind to the rest of us who have been here first?
I only enjoyed the entirety of the old UA Mall for one week of my freshman year. That was before there was a fence surrounding the now-known complex, we have come to love and use oh ever-so-often, or the Integrated Learning Center. (Hope you can taste the sarcasm.) Some of the sophomores and freshmen don't even know what campus has looked like without construction.
There is the uproar about the inconvenience and hassle of walking around these irritating construction areas, but what about the aesthetic appeal of the university?
My gripe with the construction doesn't concern the nuisance aspect as much as the lack of charm.
There are some improvements. The grassy area around the Administration building as well as the part of the Mall on the opposite side of Cherry Avenue have been blocked off to grow grass so that it looks pretty decent now.
But that whole area of the Mall in front of the student union is a mess! Yes, I admit, there is a lot more traffic in that area compared to the rest of campus, but doesn't that mean that this area should get special attention? Can't the university do something to make the area that most of the students pass by daily more attractive?
So my appeal to the university is this: You guys are doing a great job to make our campus better, but don't only think about the prospective students who will come here three or four years later - think about those of us studying here now.
Mariam Durrani is a systems engineering junior. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
