The dust has settled. And although some of the folks intimately involved in the planning of the proposed activity fee that failed earlier this month are quick to assign blame, there's no denying that ASUA made some large mistakes in the execution of its very special election.

Those foul-ups, namely a rushed and arguably biased election, came just more than a month after some hiccups in the election of the student body president. In that process, Elections Commissioner Dan Suh and some former Associated Students of the University of Arizona presidents got all hot and bothered over a little statement candidate Josh Shapiro made. In speaking up, the ex-presidents and an opinioned Suh sealed the election for heir to the throne, Alistair Chapman. [Read article]

Imagine this: John Mayer, one of the hippest, most talented guys in the music industry, right here on the UA campus, singing for thousands of adoring Wildcat fans.

Plus, you don't even need to buy a ticket. A $30 "voluntary" fee has already been added onto your tuition for the year and paid through your bursar's account.

Sounds great, right? Sure it does.

And since it sounds so great, there is no point in arguing against the positive results that a student "activity fee" added to the cost of tuition, which might lure Mayer or Bill Clinton to sing or speak for UA students, could bring to campus. [Read article]

It's over. Time is up. The School of Planning will be eliminated despite cries from its leaders, students and renowned planners and development officials all over the state.

Most knew it would happen last semester, but as it lay on the cutting board, the school's supporters crossed their fingers, said their prayers and held out hope that administrators would side with them and keep the budget cut sword far away from Planning. [Read article]

Two years ago, student lobbyists pounded it hard to regents and administrators. "No tuition increase!" they exclaimed. That was nothing new. After all, students had rejected tuition increases for years.

But the context in which the tuition debate of 2002 was set was a bit more complicated - Sept. 11 and failing state and national economies resulted in major budget cuts to the university.

In April of that year, the students who fought for what they label a "zero percent tuition increase" were smeared by UA administrators after regents rejected President Peter Likins' relatively steep increase proposal and upped the cost by less than $100 to appease him. Administrators claimed that regents, under the influence of aggressive student lobbying, had damaged the university by denying the funds it needed to flourish. [Read article]

All those Republicans are right: Gay marriage should be illegal. But why stop there? Straight marriage should be illegal, too.

It makes sense, really.

As our country debates this marriage business, part of the confusion seems to be that some people think the legal, secular form of marriage that is performed by the state is somehow religious.

See, right-wingers are right when they say that "marriage" (the word, anyway) has its roots in religion. To most, it is still more about religion than about state. Of course, no one is proposing that the Catholic Church allow same-sex marriage. After all, when the government made it easy for couples to divorce, the pope didn't follow suit. [Read article]

"Communication" is a word politicians love to throw around, whether on the national stage or right here on campus.

"We need to communicate more," they say, with voters, students, each other, whomever.

Close examination of UATV's coverage of yesterday's Associated Students of the University of Arizona presidential debate will clue you into exactly how many times the word "communication" was used, but there is no debate about it: All the candidates are in favor of communicating more with students. [Read article]

Drink up!

A push to liberalize Arizona's overly strict 1 a.m. last call for alcohol is brewing up in Phoenix.

Yup, finally something out of the typically dim-witted Arizona state Legislature worth celebrating with a nice stiff drink.

For those who aren't avid club hoppers, current law requires bars in the state to stop serving at 1 a.m. and kick all their customers out on the street by 1:15 a.m. [Read article]

The Wildcat's not the only publication on campus these days.

There's a new magazine penetrating the UA. It's called Campus Magazine, and it's getting everyone's feathers all ruffled up.

You can think of it as a kind of Seventeen or Cosmo for the UA. Obviously targeted toward women, the magazine features beauty tips, electronic reviews and some relatively helpful and interesting features. [Read article]

Earlier this month, a 21-year-old Tucsonan was found unconscious behind a popular bar on Fourth Avenue, and investigators are still trying to piece the situation together.

The episode made the news because Fourth Avenue is the centerpiece of college nightlife in town ÷ and someone found unconscious in an alley behind a bar is certainly news.

But more than likely, the possible attack was deemed important because the young man, Mark Fontes, was found behind a gay bar and was openly gay himself. [Read article]

Alumni Plaza disrupts grassy center of campus for benefit of few

In Spring 2001, Lynne Tronsdal, assistant vice president for student retention (at the time she was dean of the university college), gave a convincing argument while guiding me on a tour of the not-yet-completed Integrated Learning Center, about why students shouldn't be upset about the grassy Mall making way for construction projects. [Read article]

The holidays are here, and gift-givers still have a few weeks to find a present for that special someone. Two thousand and three was full of winners and losers. So, December is the time for some to cash in on what's owed to them and others to show some kindness to their fellow men in spite of their mistakes.

Below are a list of the deserving and some gifts that might be appropriate this season. [Read article]

As America stands at a turning point, so does the UA.

Gay Americans are demanding more rights, and in some cases, they're getting them.

While most Americans seem more comfortable than ever watching gays make fun of themselves on television and in movies, many have yet to warm up to extending them all the rights that heterosexuals enjoy.

Including the UA.

Just months ago, Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano issued an executive order that bars state job discrimination based on sexual orientation. [Read article]

In case you had not yet realized all the wonderful advantages of making the UA more "diverse," here's a new one: It will cut down on binge drinking.

Yup, just when you thought you'd heard it all, white males are to blame for yet another so-called social epidemic.

That's according to a study by the College of Alcohol Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Henry Wechsler, the chief principal investigator of the study, said the research does not suggest that universities should change policies on admissions, but does recommend that colleges look at the benefits of a more diverse campus. [Read article]

Cash is king. So, in a supposed effort to keep administrators' salaries competitive with those at peer institutions, the Arizona Board of Regents - with the blessing of President Pete Likins and the money of state taxpayers - approved sizable salary increases for this small but resilient crowd of about a dozen.

Collectively the increase adds up to very little in the large scheme of things.

Still, the raises take effect in the midst of program cuts, oversized classes and faculty "brain drain." [Read article]

We're not in New York, Chicago or San Francisco.

This is Tucson. People come here to hike the mountains, ride horseback and find unlimited elbowroom. The desert southwest's charm is vested in the sprawling, horizontal nature of our lifestyle.

So it might seem strange that just a mile or two from campus, our city officials, with a helping hand from the UA, are in the midst of trying to turn downtown Tucson into a metropolitan fortress through a sophisticated plan called Rio Nuevo. [Read article]

About two years ago, Frank Farias, director of the UA Bookstores, was guiding me on a behind-the-scenes tour of the yet-unfinished student union bookstore. I was a reporter at the time and working on a story about the store's incredible expansion.

As we were walking along the front sidewalk, a middle-aged woman walked up to Frank.

"Are you the university president?" she asked him.

"No, maâam," he replied. [Read article]

In just about a month, Speedway may finally have a shot at living up to its name.

After years of ignoring a disastrous situation, city officials have given the green light to installing a left turn arrow at the intersection of North Park Avenue and East Speedway Boulevard.

And hopefully, the addition will signal a host of improvements for campus area roads.

Right now, the question is, "What the hell took so long?" [Read article]

Tucson needs help, and now. Locals have stuck their noses up at expanding roads and highways, while at the same time opting out of public transportation development. The result has been devastating: rush hour is longer and sprawl has sprawled further.

But there is hope. Tucson can still make or break its transportation policy. And our fine city can do so in large part because the UA has a recognized program for urban and city planning with a highly accomplished faculty. [Read article]

Greeks at the UA have suffered from a reputation of being a bunch of phony kids for way too long. Level-headed, logically thinking people know that stereotype is fallacious.

But if campus bureaucrats, charged with regulating this community's behavior thanks to an overzealous state law, continue to twist greek leaders' arms, the stereotype of being "phony" will only resonate more with the non-greek populace. [Read article]

Right-of-center intellectuals would argue that so-called liberals have monopolized higher education.

While there is probably validity to that claim, one might gather the opposite should he or she listen to the radical left that is desperately attempting to permeate campus.

Thursday night, the leading leftist political action groups on campus had a chance to voice some of their top concerns at a forum titled Airing UA's Dirty Laundry. Now, they were mostly preaching to the choir. The audience was no doubt made up mostly of members of their organizations. [Read article]

It seems like everyone has "gay" on the brain this year. Bravo, NBC, the Canadian Parliament, our Supreme Court — this society is suddenly gay-obsessed.

In the middle of all of this, newfound gays, faced with an erroneous American stereotype, could feel intimidated by the obsession.

This week the frenzy hits campus. It's Coming Out Week, a chance for those on the edge of realizing their sexual identity to leave the closet behind either personally or publicly. [Read article]

In his writings, the apostle Paul teaches us, "The love of money is the root of all evil." The phrase is now a common one in our 21st century language.

Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission sought to challenge that old notion by announcing major changes in current media ownership regulations. The changes would have allowed corporations to buy up more outlets, opening the road for a more concentrated ownership of media. [Read article]

When you think about it, in a post-9/11 world, parents would have to be crazy to allow their child, supervised or not, to run around town collecting candy. Are the new neighbors down the street really Raytheon employees transferred here from Los Angeles or are they undercover al-Qaeda agents looking to murder small children with poisoned Butterfingers?

After all, all Americans must be alert, and Halloween should be no exception. [Read article]

One of the most notable events in American history happened 40 years ago this month. However, for those of us in our 20s, Nov. 22 will slip by without much thought.

The sudden assassination of the legendary president John F. Kennedy on a sunny day in Dallas rocked the country - or as some might argue, the world. It's forgettable for college students, as our only understanding of it is from high school textbooks, and our vision of the Kennedy legacy is limited to gossip in People and US magazines. Nevertheless, the assassination is embedded in the minds of the generations before us. [Read article]