UA athletes have a sweet deal, need responsibility

While I do not condone taking advantage of the student-athletes, as they do contribute to the well being of the university, I cannot agree with Dan Norwood's remarks in his Wednesday letter to the Wildcat.

Each player receives $880 a month? Sounds good to me. Let's look at it another way. How about instead of saying that the student-athlete plays for the university, that they represent the university. And in representing the university, he or she is generously rewarded with monies toward an education that do not need to be repaid (unlike so many of us that have never-ending student loans to pay off). Not only do they receive this gift, they also receive training and tutoring and basically have the university system at their fingertips. And on top of all of this, they are also allowed to show and develop their skills on a platform that could lead to a professional career worth millions of dollars. To me it doesn't seem as if they are under-paid, but in the case of Fox, extremely ungrateful. [Read article]

According to the Dean of Students Office, "'Disruptive behavior' means conduct that materially and substantially interferes with or obstructs the teaching or learning process in the context of a classroom or educational setting."

That sounds reasonable, and the disruptive behavior policy passed by the faculty senate last week - based on faculty and student surveys - appropriately includes cell phone usage, arriving late to class or leaving early, eating, reading the newspaper and packing up early. [Read article]

It sounded too good to be true earlier this year when student body President J.P. Benedict said he was on the verge of releasing a tuition proposal for next year.

That statement, which Benedict later recanted, came in September, about six months before the Arizona Board of Regents sets tuition, in March.

September would have been too early to release a proposal, but Benedict's latest decision to put off releasing a plan until February is disheartening. Though that's the normal time for students to unveil their proposal, it's too late if the students want their proposal to be seen as a serious possibility. [Read article]