New policies are irrational reactions to the war

Perhaps if the U.S. State Department's terrorism rating wasn't at orange, the English department would be concluding its annual 24-hour reading marathon today. And if the war against Iraq had never begun, the Arizona State Legislature would probably not be wasting tax dollars volleying a ridiculous measure that requires UA employees to pledge they are not terrorists.

The wars against terrorism and Iraq are not reason to lock down the campus, nor force UA employees to give a Boy Scout honor promising not to be terrorists.

Those are two examples of a university and state gone paranoid.

Up in Phoenix, the state should be more worried about how it plans on funding the universities in coming years or how it will secure our border with Mexico to keep terrorists out, rather than worrying whether UA might be hiring potential terrorists.

State leaders must put a stop to the measure that would require UA employees to declare in an oath that they will not use weapons of mass destruction or act like terrorists. The measure is appallingly ludicrous and a waste of time.

Such an oath is useless. If an employee did engage in terrorist activities, breaking the oath would not be a consequence for

termination. Rather, it would be the pounding criminal sanctions.

Our Legislature often twiddles its thumbs at important issues while irrationally spending time on others. But, it should also be worrisome that our own Dean of Students Office is so afraid of overnight protests to the war that they had to create a blanket rule that all outdoor campus events must end by 10:30 p.m. The nation being on so-called "high alert" does not justify shutting down campus at bedtime. The policy is not intended to evacuate students from the Mall arena due to the threat of chemical or biological terror, but rather to censor activities that might be "problematic."

It is unfortunate that the reading marathon and the 24-hour info-center had to become victims of this paranoia.

Both the war against terrorism and Iraq are important to the safety and future of Americans. But locking down the campus and forcing UA employees to give a Boy Scout honor promising not to be terrorists are irrational ways to deal with trying, uncertain times.

Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Daniel Scarpinato, Jessica Lee, Shane Bacon, Jose Ceja, Jennifer Duffy, Brett Fera, Caitlin Hall, Jessica Suarez and Kendrick Wilson.