Decision not to proceed with childcare facility disappointing

It is disappointing to see that UA has made a decision not to proceed with establishing a childcare center for children of students, staff and faculty (Sept. 6, "Long awaited childcare facility will not launch"). UA is the only Pacific 10 Conference school without childcare on campus or an education program devoted to early childhood education.

President Peter Likins has made a wise decision in calling for UA to become a more elite research institution, and an excellent initial step in meeting that goal would be tightening admissions standards for freshmen.

As it is, in-state high school graduates are automatically accepted to the university with a 3.0 GPA and granted provisional admission with a 2.5 GPA. While these standards seem reasonable for a state university, once UA's low freshman retention rates and four-year graduation rates are taken into account, it becomes apparent that not all the students offered admission are actually able to succeed at university-level work.

Happy tax day!

Now, I know you're thinking, "Someone take the paint thinner away from Tylor. April 15 is eight months away!" Listen and rejoice: Tax day is the only holiday you can observe all 365 days of the year, and there are no set agendas like with, say, Christmas (i.e. presents, guilt, alcoholism and ritual poultry sacrifice). Tax day is whatever you make of it!

But the best part of tax day is the feeling of altruism (comparative to that of how a carcass feels toward vultures) during the work day when you're cheerfully thinking, "Unkie Sam, you might largely ignore me if I'm lucky, but even so, I'm going to give you 40 percent of what I earn so you can fund hoop barns (whatever those are, but they do get our money) or pay for the maintenance of Jimmy Carter, which is probably pretty high since he's been shooting his mouth off so much lately. I know you'll use it to wipe your ever-expanding bureaucratic buttocks, but since you know what's best, I'll gladly pay ÷ so as not to end up fleeing IRS hounds through snake-laden areas." While some party poopers might refer to coerced working for another as "slavery," or taking money that doesn't belong to you as "theft," just remember, you elect these people, whether you want them lording over you or not, and that makes these things OK!