Students have a civic responsibility to vote

American college students typically have a poor turnout rate at the polls. According to Dana Crudo's article about Tuesday's elections, UA students are no exception. However, the excuses for not voting given by interviewed students are sadly apathetic.

Let's review. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died in combat to preserve your right to vote. Countless women sacrificed their families and their reputations to earn women the right to vote about 90 years ago. Black suffrage started sometime in the middle of the century, thanks to the sweat and tears of many Americans. Also, a whole bunch of college students in the 1960s worked hard to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. It's a shame that today's college students don't seem as interested. Perhaps the issues were too parochial for you, or you're not from Tucson and/or don't plan to stay here after graduation, and you therefore don't really care who the mayor is. Maybe you didn't study the issues and didn't want to cast uninformed votes. Fine; admit it, and prepare yourself better next time. Next year's elections should interest you more. If you didn't know about the elections, try looking around a bit more, reading the papers or listening to the news every so often. The town is peppered with election signs and election day is always the first Tuesday in November. It's hard to miss. Record the date in your PDA or cell phone calendar with a reminder, so you know to vote next year. As for the unregistered students: Do not delay - go to the post office today, get an application and register! You really have no excuse. Various college organizations have been on the UA Mall for many weeks trying to get you to register. Do it now, before you forget again. [Read article]

With Homecoming approaching, it's time to get into the spirit of things. One can always tell when this weekend is drawing near by the changes around campus. Construction is hidden beneath large sheets, flowers bloom where no one imagined they'd been planted and the groundskeepers begin trimming the grass, futilely sweeping the streets and mopping the walkways. We know the annual visits from public and generous alumni must be quickly approaching; the UA would never usher in this second Eden for its students. [Read article]

Editor's note: This is the third in a three-part series examining the progress of Focused Excellence.

Within the next few months, we are likely to see President Peter Likins call for another major tuition hike.

Though he hasn't released a number, Likins has indicated that it will amount to at least $260, and could be much more depending on the tuition rates at comparable public universities around the country. [Read article]