Fall break should be students' decision since they pay tuition

I want to comment on Friday's editorial "Chin up, Doug." In this editorial the Wildcat opinions board proposes a pat on the back to ASUA President Doug Hartz for a good try and poor judgment on tuition and the fall break idea. I would like to comment on the fall break idea.

I think that President Hartz's idea is warranted and a good one. As a senior, I know that come Thanksgiving weekend people take off as many days as possible so they can fly home. Some even take the whole week off and some teachers cancel class the Wednesday before knowing students won't show up. I'm sure President Hartz has done his research and noticed that many of the other institutions across the country have a fall break for Thanksgiving weekend for the same reasons that some teachers cancel on the Wednesday before. So what if the teachers said they didn't think it was a good idea? I say if the students really want the break and feel like cramming three days into the semester somewhere in their learning, then why not have the fall break?

It is our education which we are paying for and I believe that it is out decision if we want a fall break, not the teachers'. So to the opinions board, I don't know why you wouldn't want to have a week off for Thanksgiving weekend, but President Hartz's idea for a fall break was not from left field. It is one that has been practiced, passed and successful in other institutions. So maybe you should do some research of your own before you make a judgment on certain ideas that are warranted as good ones.

Shannon McDonald
veterinary sciences senior

Citizen photographer crossed the line while covering protest

I cannot believe that a photographer for the Tucson Citizen was arrested for trespassing when students protested at the administration building last Wednesday. I understand that the police officers were doing their job; I have nothing against them. What upsets me is what he did ÷ or didn't do. Why would a journalist not leave the area when police asked? I understand the students not leaving the area because they were protesting, but a journalist should not think she or he has special privilege when it comes to gathering the news. It said Gary Gaynor was asked by officers to leave. Why would he not leave? Was it because he wanted to get pictures? That is no excuse for not obeying police officers. Just because a journalist wanted to get a story does not mean he had the right to intrude on policework.

Alex Chihak
journalism sophomore

ÎHippie protester wannabies' need crash course in activism

My eyes swelled up with water as I read the news Thursday. I cried and cried, another student activism protest debacle! Why is it Tucson just can't protest worth a dime? Every time there is an issue worth protesting, our slacker hippy protester people go and screw the whole thing up. Earlier in the year, students would stage hunger strikes lasting a day? Hell, I can go without lunch. So when I saw that after only four hours of our fellow student activists so skillfully chaining themselves inside the administration building then rapidly being arrested, my heart really went out to them. "Gosh, they really could use some training on the theory of protest," I thought to myself. So here is my plan: let's save our pennies and nickels and fly every damn hippie protester wannabe to Berkeley, California so they can get a taste of the real hardcore, smelly, jobless, no-good protesters. We could even give them credit for all those classes they missed in protest by attending this massive hippie protester crash course.

Hopefully someone will give them the protester's manual and they can return back to Arizona with some genuine protester ability, none of this half-ass quit after the four hours stuff!

John Patrick Mizell
astronomy and physics sophomore

Flesch was wrong to criticize World Trade Center site plan

In regard to Erik Flesch's Thursday column, personally I think that Daniel Libeskind's design is genius. His design has combined the past, the present, and the future. For remembering the past, a park, 30 feet below street level, has been designed where the "footprints" of the original twin towers will be preserved, and, where there eventually will be a memorial and possible museum. In addition, the park will have grass symbolizing life, nature and re-growth. In addition, a brilliant idea of Libeskind's is to have an unobstructed beam of light shine on the site every 9/11 from precisely 8:46 ET to 10:28 ET.

For the continuing of business at the site, Libeskind's design has allowed for millions of square feet of office space in many smaller sized skyscrapers. This will accommodate the present (when it is built), and future business needs of America.

Finally, the 1776-foot spiral tower and modern designed buildings symbolize the future. That we as Americans, while remember the past and honoring the dead, must not remain in the past, but must surge forward and acknowledge the future.

Libeskind's design has nicely accommodated to everybody's needs in my opinion. It has honored the dead, allowed for business to continue at the site, and in addition the spiral and modern buildings symbolize America looking into the future.

It is also nice to see that America has taken a more humanistic approach to replacing what was once there, instead of a capitalistic approach; a site that was specifically designed for production, production, production.

Donald Jackson
undecided freshman