This just in: Drunken driving illegal!

For one reason or another, the University of Arizona Police Department has been hard-pressed to convince students that underage drinking is not merely generally discouraged but is also downright illegal. Armed with bolstered funds and a statewide task force, though, Arizona police have been able to crack down on one particularly insidious outgrowth of alcohol consumption - drunken driving. In fact, UAPD reported an almost 400-percent increase in the number of drunken driving arrests in the last year. For tackling this dangerous (and often tragic) malady, the UAPD gets a Pass.

The UA's horticultural horror

Responding to concerns that replacing the once scenic and fragrant flowerbeds on the UA Mall with asphalt was a misstep, campus planners chose this week to remind students that things can always get worse. Many students found themselves longingly reminiscing about the (brief) halcyon days of tar-filled planters when confronted with their replacement: Astroturf. Inappropriate for landscaping outside of a miniature golf course or the 1970s, the faux grass is an affront to the eyes and to the soul. This tacky hairpiece on the head of the Mall isn't doing anyone any favors. For making our campus look like part of "The Brady Bunch" set, Astroturf gets a Fail.

A slam dunk for students

From the wandering eye of Kobe Bryant to Dennis Rodman's downright unwillingness to stop being weird, professional basketball players have taken a bad rap of late. But thanks to Arizona's own Phoenix Suns, the proceeds of tomorrow night's intrasquad exhibition game will be donated to the UA Wildcat General Scholarship Fund. For showcasing their philanthropic side, and for proving that not all NBA players are adulterers or cross-dressers with an affinity for supermodels, the Suns get a much-deserved Pass.

Giving back to the one

who gave so much

News that ever-cheerful basketball great Shawntinice Polk had passed away hit the UA hard and fast last week, but the gestures of comfort (and gratitude) extended to Polk's family were enough to make any Wildcat proud. For the thousands who attended her memorial service, for those who donated to the Shawntinice S. Polk women's basketball scholarship and for the administrators who so graciously agreed to pay for her funeral, the UA community's outpouring of solace gets a Pass.

Opinions Board

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