Lopez Îa keeper' for TUSD Board

Kendrick Wilson's attempt to make endorsements for the Tucson Unified School District Board in his Oct. 31 column "Time to clean up the TUSD Board" did a disservice to the UA community and voters ÷ not because Wilson jumps on a bandwagon to attack me, but because the piece was so full of errors.

Those mistakes began in Wilson's first sentence, "TUSD Governing Board does not directly affect UA students." It most certainly does. TUSD schools produce many of Wilson's classmates. TUSD produces many of the UA Îs athletes. TUSD employs many UA graduates. Many of them continue their education at the UA. And I have cast many a vote for a UA grad. The TUSD Board determines spending for the second largest school system in Arizona and thus is responsible for the property and sales taxes Wilson's professors, UA families, and indeed Wilson himself, pay. In relation to what we've done with our money, Wilson makes another mistake. At a meeting on the TUSD budget this summer, I moved for immediate raises for teachers and staff. The motion was shot down.

Wilson inaccurately portrays the situation over funding for Hispanic studies. I joined with Hispanic parents in 1997, a year before I was elected, to force the TUSD Board to implement a full-fledged Hispanic studies program. I discovered TUSD was raiding Hispanic studies accounts. I alerted the community. We came together this summer to pressure a still-stubborn majority on the TUSD Board to stop such diversions. On my motion, funding was unanimously approved to $500,000.

At that same meeting, I was alarmed, as hundreds of other Mexican-American parents, students and community leaders that an armed security guard stood between the board members and audience. This was an unprecedented affront that had never happened before during the almost four years I had been in office. You bet I told the guard to take a walk. The guard admitted he was directed by the governing board office to place himself there. Wilson has no documentation to support his bologna story. That's because it had nothing to do with superintendent candidates. I brought sandwiches for a working lunch with Superintendent Stan Paz because we didn't need to dine out on the taxpayers' dime. I also did it with Paz's full knowledge ÷ as a fond remembrance of old days when, as poor children, he and I took bologna sandwiches to school.

Finally, Wilson falsely claims that I am solely responsible for whatever spirited debate there is in the democracy that is TUSD. Wilson's ignorance betrays him. Wilson admits he relies on the Arizona Daily Star's yellow journalism for a good part of his information. A lazy journalist requires better sources. Wilson has never called me to get the facts. Wilson should be held accountable for his fabrications.

I have fought for parents, teachers and students and will continue to advocate for them. Voters should re-elect me because I am hard working, straightforward and don't get involved in secret deals and misspending. Vote Rosalie Lopez for TUSD Governing Board on Nov. 5th. The cartoon is a keeper.

Rosalie Lopez
TUSD Board Member

Liberals need to realize gun

I knew it wouldn't be long for the Second Amendment-bashing left to put their spin on the tragedy that took place at the College of Nursing. Poor Nick Ray (Oct. 28, "Argument for gun control on campus buoyed by shooting") argues that more liberal gun ownership laws need to be passed. Secondly, he uses the tiresome prediction that now shootings will continue because we won't pass more hippy legislation. He foolishly believes that the government can protect us if it passes more gun restrictive laws.

Sorry to have to enlighten him, but the government has already messed up airport security by federalizing it! The answer cannot always be government expansion; it can barely manage what it has in the present. Countries banning the use of guns have seen an increase in crime.

Crimes like robbery and theft have risen 50 percent in Britain. Australia suffers from the same problems. What Ray wants is guns outlawed and our Constitutional freedoms destroyed.

He falls into the Clinton/Reno mindset of the Second Amendment, believing that it only applies to the government's organized militia (e.g. military). This is such a fallacy! Our founding fathers created the Second Amendment to allow citizens to protect themselves from intruders and a tyrannical government. The Second Amendment is there to protect us if the First Amendment is not being upheld. Furthermore, what about knives, axes, shovels, and ice picks?

They are used to kill every year, yet liberals to not demonize them as they do guns. Merely attacking guns is the simpleton's approach to crime prevention. At least Ray understands the National Rifle Association position that guns don't kill people, people kill people. He is far ahead of liberals on Capitol Hill and morons in Hollywood like Michael Moore.

Liberals need to be very careful when trying to rid the Constitution of items they don't particularly like. Stripping another group's rights away will only ensure that your rights will be in jeopardy: Gun rights today and protesting tomorrow. Don't believe leftists when they say that all they want to do is restrict gun use. They used those lies in Britain and Australia and gun ownership went from a freedom, to a privilege, and finally to becoming illegal.

Stop blaming guns for criminal behavior and start focusing on societal breakdown. Get rid of all the ridiculous gun laws; all these laws do are penalize the good citizens and never prevent the bad or psychologically sick from committing murder.

Charles A. Peterson
history junior

Right to publish Flores' letter

I am thankful to live in a country where the press is still able to publish what they think is newsworthy. I think the recent decision by the Arizona Daily Star to publish Robert Flores' letter was a good one. Despite my huge skepticism of trusting the words of a murderer, I have to admit that I have a stronger understanding for what was involved, having had the chance to read it through.

What's really at hand here is that a man, who at one point was a contributing member of society, could no longer handle the pressures of life. Unable to see that help was available, he implemented his cowardly solution.

How someone goes from serving their country to embarking on a career in the medical field (whose sole purpose is to help others), to needlessly killing three people is beyond me. But there are definitely some dots that we should try to connect as a society, to prevent similar violence in the future.

The obvious question that comes out of all this to me is: Are there better ways for us to get those who are in serious mental distress connected with available support services? Certainly not an easy one to consider right now, but it just might be the most rewarding one to find the answer to, as it could prevent future tragedies from occurring.

John Clinebell
support systems analyst, SALT Center

Wrong to publish Flores' letter

I was somewhat chagrined and dismayed by the decision of the Arizona Daily Star to publish the unilateral life story of Robert Stewart Flores. Unfortunately, background checks and tougher gun control legislation would not have stopped this narcissistic, whining killer. Indeed, Flores apparently possessed a concealed carry weapons permit issued by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. There should be no sympathy for Flores and his heinous acts of cold-blooded murder. Personally, I could care less about his childhood or military service.

Unfortunately, Cheryl M. McGaffic, Barbara S.Monroe, and Robin E.Rogers had no opportunity to write their biographies prior to their untimely deaths in the College of Nursing. We should be learning more about the teaching, community and humanitarian endeavors of these dedicated nurses who sacrificed their lives for the profession they so dearly loved. The UA community needs time to grieve this horrendous act. It is my understanding that while we were having a gerontology meeting at the Aging Center, there was a copycat threat to the Main Library. Could this copycat threat have been prompted by the publication of Flores's sickening, whining and narcissistic letter? Hopefully, the Tucson Police Department and the University of Arizona Police Department will be successful in tracing the copycat e-mail and prosecuting the perpetrator to the full extent of the law. The university and community cannot tolerate this type of heinous and murderous activity, including, but not limited to, threats thereof.

Malcolm Little g
raduate gerontology program