UA should be proud of Ch‡vez building name

I applaud President Likins for naming the Economics building after UFW leader CŽsar Ch‡vez. Ch‡vez is more than a historical figure ÷ his impact on UA students is immeasurable. Look around. Minorities, women and first-generation students today are seeking to improve their lives and their communities through higher education. Along the way they were motivated by heroes ÷ namely Ch‡vez, who had a way of inspiring us all with his humility, intellect, resolve and profound compassion. His tireless drive to improve human rights, civil rights and environmental protection transcended his work with impoverished and unprotected agricultural workers. As a society we have all gained from his ideals. [Read article]

On a philosophical level, it seems appropriate to offer benefits to same-sex partners of UA employees, but until Arizona offers some form of recognition to these unions, it would be neither fair nor practical.

Several groups around campus have breathed new life into a campaign to offer these benefits, which are identical to those offered to the spouses of heterosexual UA employees. Besides basic health and dental coverage, these benefits include a 50 percent tuition reduction for same-sex partners. [Read article]

Music pirating hurts everyone

Pirating: Say it out loud. Was ever such a comprehensive analogy so cleverly bound? There is, after all, no symbol so apt to sum up the modern day KaZaA-goer.

On the one hand, music downloaders are thieves, plain and simple. And we can all agree that filching the product of someone else's effort is wrong ÷ at least in the abstract. [Read article]

It's probably hard to imagine that at a public university, professors could be told where they could and could not order their classes' textbooks. If they chose to defy orders, they'd have to work on a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, as if they were at risk of losing their jobs or having their departments' funding cut entirely. Where could such an outrage possibly be permitted?

The answer is · at the University of Arizona. [Read article]