Editorial: Thumbs up, Thumbs down


Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Upside surprises for both basketball teams

With UA basketball having gotten a reputation for being "choke artists," as one ESPN.com story opined, it's great to see that both teams have been an upside surprise in the NCAA tournaments.

The men's basketball team, despite one poor half, has routinely dominated both opponents, and the women's team advanced to the second round even considering last night's setback and the idea that it wasn't even supposed to make it to the tournament.

It's especially hard to imagine the men's team being labeled as underachievers, with this being Lute Olson's 11th Sweet 16. But with expectations of an annual championship, it's reality for the team.

Taco Bell gets protestors to stop for a penny

It was all over a penny?

Over the last three years, residents of Palm Shadows and early evening bargoers at Dirtbag's had come to know Fridays as Taco Bell Protest Days, with a small but vocal group converging upon Campbell and Speedway to protest low wages for tomato growers in Florida.

In either an honest attempt to raise wages or an admittance of defeat, Taco Bell last week raised the price it pays for tomatoes by one cent per pound.

Instead of their usual protests, the former protestors ate tacos and gorditas, feeling that they had made a major change.

Three years, 156 weekends, dozens of people: They probably could have made more money patrolling the streets for loose copper Lincolns. And we're guessing that there are other causes more worthy than tomato growers in Florida. But for now, let them eat their Chalupas.

Beard stretches definition of "commuter" student

It was great of Amanda Beard to help out with the CEO fashion show earlier this month. However, we took note of her explanation for why she was there.

"I was in town so I thought I would help out," Beard, ESPN.com's hottest female athlete, said afterwards.

Um, wait a minute. Shouldn't Beard, a retailing and consumer sciences junior, be, like, in class?

We understand athletes and Maxim models aren't to held to high academic standards, but she makes us wonder: if retailing and consumer sciences is really so easy that you can be out of town most of the time, what are the other students in the major doing all day?

OPINIONS BOARD: Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Evan Caravelli, Brett Fera, Caitlin Hall, Ryan Johnson, and Jesse Lewis.