In the past week, two very important elections took place in the world. One was in the Middle East, where Hamas was elected to a majority in the Palestinian territories. The other was much less visible, but equally - if not more - important to the U.S.

Canada, our frigid northern neighbor, recently re-elected its 308-member Parliament, which in turn selects a new prime minister. Because of the nature of the selection process, Canadians generally vote according to party affiliation, since the plurality party determines the prime minister. [Read article]

Every year, nearly $1 million of student money is funneled to the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, and $85,000 of it is earmarked for the 500 clubs and organizations recognized by the university.

According to ASUA Executive Vice President Erin Hertzog, that money is carefully allocated according to strict guidelines. Before a club is legally eligible to receive any funding, it must complete a multi-part recognition process mandated by the state. [Read article]

Treatment of senators too cursory

This year's Associated Students of the University of Arizona senate has been the most productive, positive and motivated group of people I have ever had the opportunity of working with. With regards to Thursday's column, "What have your senators been doing for you?" there are several points I take issue with. I do not believe there is any way you can determine a letter grade for a semester's worth of work after talking to someone for only a few minutes. People who are a part of ASUA, or at least semifamiliar with the organization, know the sheer absurdness of the "grades" received by certain very deserving senators. For example, Ryan Erickson started working on CatsRIDDE last year as a senate aide and has continued his work with the program this year as a senator; any assertion that he has been "riding the coattails" of other senators is just not true. Instead of criticizing the senators, you should be thanking them for their selflessness and determination through this trying year in ASUA. [Read article]