I spent two hours at the gym Wednesday. I didn't want to spend two hours there. In fact, I never want to spend two hours at the gym; I don't like to work out that long. And I didn't work out that long on Wednesday. Of those two hours, about 30 minutes were spent waiting in the Student Recreation Center's weight room line, which was roped off like a Scottsdale club and guarded by students who make post office employees seem excited to be at work. The rest of the time I was waiting for a machine, squeezing in a set or waiting for my own machine after a sleeveless, sweaty once-a-weeker slithered in there when I went to grab a drink of water. [Read article]

In recognition of the extreme importance of continued excellence at the UA and the necessity of addressing the growing cost of education in this state, the Arizona Daily Wildcat demands that the next president adhere to the following agenda:

Graduate students sooner

In the coming semesters, there must be a concerted effort to push students through the UA faster. In short, this means either adding more faculty members across the board to address class shortages or abandoning the university's low student-to-teacher ratio. [Read article]

Homeless 'problem' misconstrued

I am writing in response to Mike Morefield's column regarding Tucson's homeless population. He is correct in classifying this situation as a serious problem. The homeless people who litter this city's streets and parks do need help. More needs to be done to fix this situation and Morefield's column was an excellent step in making this fact evident. However, treating this problem and its solutions as a "moral obligation" - referring to the homeless people themselves - is not the right way to look at the situation. Terms of morality should be reserved for considering how it will benefit people who do not choose to selfishly remain poverty-stricken and homeless. The ones who have been "dealt the wrong cards" have usually been playing with a hand laced with rampant drug addiction and recurring violations of the law. Ridiculous displays of abandoning personal responsibility for a crack pipe do not deserve the positive face Morefield's statistics indicated: If 69 percent of them want to be more than panhandlers, then why do they spend countless wasted hours on street corners doing something they could easily avoid? What deserves positive attention are the benefits productive members of society will receive once appropriate steps to solve this problem are taken. [Read article]