Last week, the Arizona Board of Regents finally named a successor for President Peter Likins. Robert Shelton, executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, will take over in July.

While Likins and his administration have emphasized that they should not be regarded as lame ducks, the eye of the university has already begun to turn to the incoming president. Shelton will have a clean slate come July but will soon have to face the current administration's problems. [Read article]

Tenure: More than lazy profs getting paid
By Shurid Sen

At a time in which it is rhetorically chic to speak of the virtues of freedom, it is both perplexing and hypocritical that the institution of tenure, one that protects academic freedom, is in question. There exists a perception that tenure is nothing more than an invitation for a professor to play "Minesweeper" at his or her desk all day. However, relegating the idea of tenure as a tool to help lazy professors pay their bills is a gross oversimplification. [Read article]

Wildcat wrong to report Pima Hall residents hostile to new RAs

This is in response to Tuesday's front-page article about the dismissal of Pima Residence Hall's resident assistants and the arrival of a new staff. This story included misinformation, and as a friend of a Pima resident, I feel it was inappropriate to be added to the paper. To begin with, the reporter included an incident where Pima residents, "in response to the new RAs' arrival," filled a hallway with hundreds of water balloons and popped them, which caused flooding. This is completely incorrect. An incident did occur in which residents filled a hallway with balloons, but they were not water balloons. The RAs asked the residents to pop them, and they did so, and there was no flooding. It was not an enraged protest, as the reporter makes it seem, but more of a practical joke. The reporter also wrote, "There have already been some confrontations between residents and new staff." I find this line absolutely ridiculous. Of course there has been confrontation; it is an RA's job to be confrontational to ensure his or her residents adhere to residence hall guidelines. This is an RA's job, and confrontation should be expected. Perhaps most upsetting about this article is that the reporter interviewed only two Pima residents, both of which are very negative about the arrival of the new hall staff. I am certain that the views of these two students do not reflect the feelings of the rest of Pima's residents. The remarks made are very pessimistic, and I can only imagine how the new RAs must feel hearing that "the hall doesn't have the same connection with our new RAs and staff," as quoted from one of the residents. I have always been a fan of the Arizona Daily Wildcat and an avid reader; however, I found this story to be very disappointing. It is simply bad journalism, and I wonder how many other stories are similarly written. [Read article]