Colleges shouldn't offer four-year degree

Community colleges serve a purpose, and that is to help people work their way into a four-year university or to help them acquire a certification program that will allow them to pursue a career of their choice. Allowing these community colleges to grant a bachelor's degree is completely ludicrous. Like Mr. Gray said in his opinion piece, "four-year PCC grads won't be students who would have gone to the UA." In other words, the education they would receive at a community college such as Pima would not be on a par with the education received at a four-year school like the UA. Tell me, Mr. Gray, would you feel comfortable with someone with a sub-par degree one day caring for you in a hospital or caring for your children at their school? I certainly would not. Minimum standards for bachelor's degrees exist because a certain amount of proficiency is necessary in order to be considered an expert in that field. Compromising these standards is of benefit to no one.

Badreddin Edris
general biology freshman

Article unfair to disabled people

Friday's article "Adams stars one more time in McKale" is an example of irresponsible journalism and a paternalistic view toward a historically marginalized group: the disabled. The quote by freshman basketball player Jawann McClellan in regard to his

participation at Lame for a Game has many people upset. He stated, "I have a lot of respect for people who are unfortunate and who are in wheelchairs. It seemed like we brightened their day just by them being out here and competing with us." This statement reinforces negative stereotypes about disability; it expresses a patronizing attitude toward people with disabilities with overt arrogance and disrespect. It implies that people with disabilities don't exist on an equal plane as the rest of the world; it implies that they are childlike and not to be taken seriously. The fact that the Wildcat printed this statement shows that this ignorance is shared by the media. "It seemed like we brightened their day." Who is Jawann kidding? Lame for a Game wasn't an event put on by the Make a Wish Foundation. The wheelchair basketball team didn't just come from the children's hospital. All of the competitors from Thursday's game are legitimate student-athletes: They practice four days a week, weight train on off-days, travel nationally and internationally to tournaments, and receive athletic scholarships to play at the UA. Lame for a Game is an annual event designed to raise funds for the adaptive athletic program which gives these athletes a chance to compete; it is not a charity game put on to brighten the days of the unfortunate. If it is perceived that Lame for a Game reinforces Jawann's sentiments, then I can guarantee that no player from the wheelchair basketball team would ever want to play in this game again.

Gabe Nyrkkanen
special education and rehabilitation senior

Iraq elections don't prove anything

Quick to pat himself on the back, Jeff Beran tosses history and critical observation aside. He claims the "answer to whether President Bush was right has been answered." Indeed it has. As he may recall, we were led to war under the pretense that we were all in grave danger. Turned out he was wrong, glad we're on the same page here. Pretending the invasion was about "liberation" all along is a clear case of either cognitive dissonance or illiteracy.

As for "democracy" prevailing, here we have a nation that has been invaded, its people butchered, its cities burned, and then the aggressor orders the nation to hold an election under its rules. Further, these rules create a "caucus" that conveniently circumvents direct democracy, since it's much easier to lobby/bribe/threaten a caucus than the people at large. This is hardly this portrait of a flowers-and-candy democracy. Then again, when instituted by an ostensibly "democratic" nation in which more than $2 billion is spent annually to "lobby" (read: bribe) the government, and where industries often write the legislation that's meant to regulate them, should we expect any better?

Christopher Haney
environmental science graduate student

Library different than most buildings

Did anyone ever wonder why all the buildings on the UA campus are made of red brick? The red brick actually serves to unify our campus. However, if people actually look up at the library under their big sunglasses they will notice that the library is not made out of red brick. The library was built out of concrete instead so that it could market itself to the Tucson community as a public library. Yes, Dan Parmelee, it is a public library. So no matter how much we complain about it, the homeless are sanctioned by Tucson and the UA to make the library their rent-free home, air conditioning included. However, the library is only open to the public up until a certain time. So I have a solution for everyone involved in this situation. Let the homeless use all the literary materials they want until it closes to the public. Then all the students who are disgusted by the bums can frequent the library in peace, granted that the library security be more stringent on checking for CatCards at such times. Now can we please lay this bums-with-big-sunglasses issue to rest?

Jessica Wertz
family studies and human development sophomore

Column shows wrong attitude

Dillon's article is dirty reading that gets compassionate conservatives excited everywhere. Dillon peddles his support and advocacy for limiting the rights of others, here free speech and freedom of press, a favorite pose for many Republicans. It is even scarier to know that he is making some sort of attempt at practicing law. The last thing the world needs is another Christian conservative moral crusader, a John Ashcroft lackey to infringe on the constitutional rights of others. In his haste, does Dillon realize that he is in fact part of the malignant media he is attempting to malign?

Connor Beckley
alumnus

John Paul II had many flaws

As Catholics worldwide end their obligatory mourning for Pope John Paul II, the rest of the world is left to question his "legacy" and his influence on the future of the Catholic faith.

There is no doubt that a man in this position should be an advocate of peace. Is this surprising enough to credit it as a legacy? If there is a pope in place who does not make headway in matters of human peace, he is most certainly not doing his job.

The responsibility of a modern pope also includes the forward thinking necessary to ensure the survival of his faith for future generations. In that sense, this pope was remarkably unsuccessful. He has brought new people into his church, yet he has left them with a failing system.

He ignored the crumbling internal structure of its leaders and the largest, most repulsive church

sexual abuse scandals and instead left them to fester, complicate and alienate future generations from having a clear sense of belief in Catholic teachings of morality. His dictation of Catholic policy on matters of women's rights, AIDS and homosexuality further removed Catholicism from adapting to modern times.

John Paul II was in many cases a failed leader, unable to guide the policies of the church into the modern age while ignoring one of its most damaging internal problems. Hopefully someday, history will reflect these facts.

Marc Viscardi
journalism and creative writing senior

Political cartoon distorts Bush's role

In response to the cartoon, "How the West Bank was Won" in yesterday's paper:

To clarify history, George W. Bush wasn't the president in 1967 when Israel had to defend itself against Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. I suggest you educate yourself on a topic before blindly putting something so completely absurd in the Wildcat. If you want, Kesher (the Reform Jewish Student Group) will be on the Mall today to call on countries around the world to teach and prepare children for peace. How can we continue hope for peace if people like you continue to promote hatred toward Israel?

Drew Alyeshmerni
Judaic studies sophomore

Important to not blame liberals

In response to Jeff Beran's "Iraqi election proves liberals wrong," I'd just like to say that I'm a liberal, and if you'd like to hear me bitch about the next thing, then here it is: Instead of every Republican I know talking shit about every liberal I know (and vice versa), why don't we all shut the hell up and work together to fix the country we all live together in?

I'm definitely not Republican, and I definitely don't support the Bush administration, but I'm also willing to have an intelligent conversation with people who share different viewpoints than me as long as they're willing to open their ears and listen. I'm so sick of hearing everyone bitch about the other party. We might as well just put up walls around certain states in this country, burn the Bill of Rights and condemn liberals to living in half the states and Republicans in the other. If we all would work together without screaming at each other, then maybe something productive would actually get done to benefit the people of America for once. Otherwise we'll just continue our attempts at "helping" every other country while our own economy goes up in flames.

Larissa Scordato
art history senior

An open letter to 'Hot Sauce'

These are great times for you, and as you ponder your decision on whether to stay or go, let me be the voice of 30,000-plus fans who love you, and would love to see you suit up one more year for the Wildcats.

1) Remember your freshman year? Jason, Luke and Ricky, how much they meant for you, and for the team in general? This is your year to lead by example. Show the young players what it means to be part of something this special, this special meaning Arizona basketball.

2) You are almost guaranteed to make the "SportsCenter" top 10 every Thursday and Saturday night. Now, not to say that won't be the case on the next level (Hello, Andre Iguodala), but throwing it down on little college kids seems so much more powerful.

3) Your stock value. Newsflash. European players are becoming a dime a dozen, and are losing quality. So are high school players. The draft is going to be filled with more NBA-ready players who can play defense and are athletic. Teams don't want the next Darko Milicic, they want the next Emeka Okafor.

4) Tucson weather. Andre's in Philly. RJ is in New Jersey. Why would you want to have to deal with cold weather, you're an L.A. kid. Live the Tucson weather one more season.

5) Lute. Four words. Hall of Fame Coach.

6) Josh Pastner. No one in the NBA is quite like this guy. Live him, love him and use his mind for another season. The kid knows basketball. He helped RJ so much his last year at the university, and could do the same for you.

7) Thursday nights after the game. We all know what Salim and Channing do after the games and where they go. Have some fun. It's college. Being 21, in college, and being a recognizable superstar is a healthy combo. Take full advantage of it for one last season.

8) The lovely ladies.

9) Los Betos.

10) Going to class sure beats paying taxes!

Geoff Zahler
alumnus