The best that money can buy

True, the inner workings of student government are somewhat mundane, but it seems like everyone's got an opinion about the Associated Students of the University of Arizona Senate's latest expenditure: a $1,200 trip to Denver for a leadership conference. Apparently, the very students who so confidently touted their leadership skills in last year's senate campaigns now need $1,200 to, well, brush up on their leadership skills. "We need the best leadership that we can afford," stated one senator, apparently unaware that most students had elected the senate on the outlandish premise that they might already have such skills and that leadership is generally not a quality that can be bought or sold with a pricey trip to the Mile-High City. For this apparent lack of vision, the ASUA Senate gets a Fail.

A swiftly tilting planet

After a Mr. Greek pageant that eventually degenerated into a male strip show last year, the UA greek community deservedly came under heavy fire from those who contended that philanthropy is generally not thought to include copious amounts of kegs, cleavage and carousal. Under the leadership of Greek Council co-Presidents Erin Cohen and Michael Katzman, though, greeks this year have sponsored a number of successful philanthropies that did much to help Hurricane Katrina victims and other charities without the kind of debauchery that cheapened the very notion of helping the less fortunate. For this change of heart, the UA greek community gets a Pass.

One step forward, two steps back

After it publicized itself for months as a university that has worked to increase and retain diversity, it was revealed on Sept. 16 that the UA apparently hasn't increased or retained diversity. According to the recently released Diversity Action Plan Progress Report, the UA posted nominal gains in student diversity and even slipped somewhat in the number of Hispanic professors teaching at the university. Much as the administration might hope, this hasn't been lost on UA students. (One particularly observant student even noted that "there aren't a lot of black people on campus.") For this shortcoming, the UA's Diversity Action Plan gets a Fail.

Big names worth the budget

Though the UA has been plagued in recent years by lackluster entertainment programming, the arrival of scruffy funny guy Vince Vaughn and soulful crooner Jason Mraz on the UA campus has had students abuzz. Thankfully, obscure talents and atrocious attendance numbers have been replaced with big names and a flood of student enthusiasm. For this much-needed development, the unsung heroes of this recent tide of events (ASUA Special Events Director Ryan Patterson and Centennial Hall) get a most grateful Pass.

Opinions Board

Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Caitlin Hall, Ryan Johnson, Damion LeeNatali, Aaron Mackey, Mike Morefield and Tim Runestad.