The pitfalls of parking

Sure, it's nice to see that construction on the corner of East University Boulevard and North Park Avenue has finally begun, but the loss of parking spots along the north side of the street has brought a bigger issue to the forefront: The ridiculous parking situation on University Boulevard. As evidenced by the hundreds of fender-benders and unaccounted-for scrapes, scratches and dents along the sides of students' cars, driving around campus has become something of a contact sport (all of which makes the back-in parking along University Boulevard dangerously amusing). For a group of students who spent the better part of an hour attempting to take down concrete-anchored goalposts, one would think that backward motion is a pursuit best left to the professionals. For this lack of foresight, the University Boulevard parking situation gets a Fail.

Turning the tide

With election results from across the nation pouring in on Tuesday, the numbers don't augur well for the rattled Republicans. GOP candidates lost hotly contested gubernatorial bouts in Virginia and New Jersey, and here in the Old Pueblo, Democrats trounced Republicans Fred Ronstadt and Kathleen Dunbar in Tucson City Council elections. For UA students, the results couldn't be better; Dunbar was especially unpopular among students who live off campus for her heavy-handed approach to cracking down on underage drinking. Winston Churchill's incisive reasoning - "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - is often used to console electoral losers, but for returning Democrats to power, Tucson voters get a Pass.

Criminal Cats: disrespecting our illustrious alumni

It's no matter of hyperbole to say that the list of notable UA alumni is as long as it is impressive. Every now and then, though, some UA graduate apparently seems to think it's appropriate to lead the California Highway Patrol on an alcohol-fueled car chase, only to resist arrest until it's revealed that there's crystal methamphetamine in his truck. Or at least that seems to be the case with former UA standout defensive back Daryl Lewis, who was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. For tarnishing the image of an otherwise admirable list of UA alumni, and for ostensibly thinking that fleeing from California police could result in anything other than an O.J.-esque fall from grace, Lewis gets a Fail.

On the upswing

After a year that saw the likes of Michael Moore and Ann Coulter grace the UA campus, those responsible for landing guest speakers had some rather large shoes to fill. Granted, there have been some missteps - the prospect of seeing Pedro and Kip from "Napoleon Dynamite" was more than a little underwhelming - but things seem to be looking up. Provost George Davis was successful in bringing former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, a former editor from The New York Times, who gave a lecture on Tuesday, and even Associated Students of the University of Arizona Special Events Coordinator Ryan Patterson scored a hit in securing a gig with The Format. For bringing home the bigwigs, these event coordinators get a Pass.

Opinions Board

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