Respect needed for alumni contributions

I say shame on the Daily Wildcat staff for Monday's appalling editorial titled "Donate to faculty salaries, too." Within the article, staff members wrote, "Donors have long demonstrated an interest in funding new construction projects, and in many cases it's probably because they get to see their names on the buildings." This statement has no room inside of our school newspaper. You ungrateful individuals should learn to respect the generous hands that feed this university, not bite them. [Read article]

The UA is in dire straits. Funds for faculty salaries have fallen far below the norm - $50 million behind the national average - and if history is any indication, the state Legislature will likely respond to the crisis by slashing funding further. Meanwhile, a hugely successful billion-dollar fundraising campaign - Campaign Arizona - has generated little money that can go to faculty salaries and another proposed tuition hike will probably find most of its revenues diverted into financial aid. We asked our columnists: What does the UA need to do now to keep top faculty members from heading to greener pastures? [Read article]

While alumni swarmed the University of Arizona campus this weekend, enjoying the football game and Homecoming parade, many current UA students were working hard in order to pay for their education. How many of those alumni, I wondered, would have graduated, had they not benefited from financial aid? How many were left behind because they were short on cash, but just missed the cutoff for financial support? [Read article]