Affirmative action not the answer to education

Brett Berry's Tuesday article addresses a number of fundamental flaws and benefits in the affirmative action system. However, in his effort to show every side, he missed the most important one: Finding success in life is strongly influenced by a person's upbringing. What's the difference between a Hispanic who doesn't make it through school and one who does, sans affirmative action? There may certainly be an intellectual difference, but as we often see in life, we can overcome any difficulties with the right (and fair) help. The big difference is in the way the parents affect a child's desire to succeed. Hispanic, African-American or American Indian parents who simply don't care will raise a child who will also not care and will most likely not be successful and become another statistic that supports affirmative action. Parents who do care will push a child to succeed no matter what obstacles lie in the child's path. Why is it that no one ever mentions Indians or Asians as a large part of affirmative action? It's because most Indian and Asian parents tend to push their children to succeed, no matter what. Sure, they were never oppressed by whites in America's past, but American Indians and African- Americans use history, and the government, as a crutch instead of using it as motivation. [Read article]

Though the stoned-out-of-my-mind mug shot that runs alongside my column suggests otherwise, I do get asked out on the occasional date, which only goes to show you that personality can make up for a lot of things.

Though I like the idea of someone liking me back, I have to agree with many others out there who hate the whole dating process.

My discontent can be attributed to movies, especially those featuring the ever-debonair Cary Grant, where conversation is turned into a verbal tennis match. [Read article]

This time it counts. This time is for real. On Wednesday and Thursday, the student body will get to choose who will represent it next year in student government. From the undergraduate senate to the student body president, it will decide what direction the Associated Students of the University of Arizona takes. Want ASUA to represent you better? Well, this is your time to choose who will take the reigns; the only problem is that the pool of candidates this year is not the most unique bunch, and similarities among their platforms make it hard to pick the right ones. [Read article]

What does the president of ASUA do? That's a question that is asked quite a bit by many of the thousands of students on campus.

It is safe to assume that most students outside of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona don't know what ASUA is or what the president does.

First, let me say that the president's role is not strictly defined, and the composition of ASUA is not strictly defined, either. Different presidents over the years have handled their responsibilities in very different ways. My way may not have been the best way, but I will tell you how I have handled things. The student body president is the figurehead and representative of the student body, and the chief executive officer of ASUA. The primary responsibility of the president is in overseeing the student government, which has three branches: the cabinet, the executive vice presidential branch and the administrative vice presidential branch. [Read article]

The best in last week's editorials from college campuses across the nation

University of Nebraska

After a former female placekicker for Colorado said she was raped by a teammate in 2000, coach Gary Barnett said she, "was not only a girl, she was terrible." He was placed on paid leave Feb. 18 for the comment and assistant coach Brian Cabral was named interim head coach Tuesday.

Though we do not think these activities are the norm across in Division I schools, the allegations against the Colorado football program should raise a red flag to the NCAA and other universities. [Read article]