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.

Lauren Ahles
prepharmacy freshman

Errors in ASUA club funding process unfortunate

I was very disappointed to open up the Wildcat on Tuesday and read about the problems that acting Student Body President Erin Hertzog and the rest of ASUA are having recognizing the legitimacy of clubs on campus. When I requested funds for the Stocks, Securities and Investments Club in my capacity as club treasurer, the club as a whole and I were largely disappointed to hear that ASUA granted us only $150, less than our original request. I am appalled that Hertzog seems to be totally indifferent to the fact that ASUA is making errors costing legitimate clubs thousands of dollars. Even more upsetting is the fact that clubs generating the most assistance from ASUA are friends of Hertzog and other former ASUA leaders. If this is the attitude Hertzog is showing as executive vice president of ASUA, I am very fearful of the state of ASUA with her as acting president.

Mitchell Penner
business management junior

Older students discriminated by many groups on campus

The first semester I returned to the UA, I applied for a position as a resident assistant. I was refused a position as an RA on the grounds that I was too old and lacked leadership potential, even though I had owned my own company for over 20 years. I filed a formal letter of protest with both the university and affirmative action. Both told me "there wasn't enough evidence."

Last semester, I was told by a graduate student that old people are just not as intelligent as young people, and shouldn't expect a passing grade.

This semester, even though they admitted that I was "overqualified" (i.e. unquestionably the applicant with the most "hands-on experience," which was the stated primary qualification), the university refused me employment on the grounds that old people are not as "trainable" as young people.

How much evidence is enough?

James Jordan
media arts senior

Wildcat's 'yellow journalism' seen plainly in 'Progressive Day' coverage

Never in the 18 years or so that I have been on campus have I seen your paper sink as low as it did Tuesday. The clear implication of your front-page story on the ASUA-sponsored Progressive Day was that the whole affair was sponsored by the communists. Clearly, this is not the case, and while the story was worthy of print, associating it with a picture of the general UA Mall activities (Democratic Party logo, front and center) is despicable. There were dozens of stories that could have been written about the various groups that were present, but you chose to print disinformation instead.

For example, Jeff Latas, a Democratic candidate for Kolbe's 8th Congressional District, was present. Latas is a decorated fighter pilot who retired from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. His wife served in the Air Force. His son served in Iraq in the U.S. Army. Do you want to paint him with that brush? You should be ashamed, and you should apologize profusely to him and every other person who was present.

Most of your readership is probably not old enough to remember Joe McCarthy or the "Red Scare" techniques that were used in the '50s, '60s and '70s, but this would be an opportune time for your staff to find out about "yellow journalism" and to stop practicing it.

Robin Polt
chemistry professor

Anti-Bush rally a 'Herculean effort'

As I sat before my television Tuesday night preparing to watch President Bush's State of the Union address, my heart and mind were colluded with mixed emotions of anxiety and anticipation. What was the speech going to be about? Would Bush even have the temerity to deliver it? As he took the podium, I found myself in a state of shock and disbelief. Had he not heard? Was he not aware? Apparently President Bush had somehow overlooked the near-riotous rally held on the UA campus earlier that day.

For those who were unable to see this historic event firsthand, one could only equate it in scope and importance to a similar rally held Aug. 28, 1963, near the Lincoln Memorial by Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists. Fortunately, I was able to experience part of the protest with my own eyes and ears. I was captivated by the breadth of knowledge each of the day's orators seemed to possess. One pundit held me spellbound with his assertion that, "We must not let the streets be ruled by

Democratics or Republicans." I was under the assumption that "democratic" is an adjective. Since I was unwilling to question such a Newtonian intellect, I needed to refer to a dictionary to confirm my suspicions. I would personally suggest that we do not allow a Republicanosaurus or a Democrodactyl to rule the streets, either.

The air was saturated with an electric tension as the protest spilled over to the local ROTC building. Here, as police enveloped the building, a tenacious sit-in continued on for an entire half hour. For those unable to comprehend a time period this substantial, it can be equated to the time it takes to watch a network television program. I may also add that this computation includes time devoted to commercials. No one can truly understand the Herculean effort put forth during this struggle. Then, to the mercy and relief of all involved, the protest dispersed as the euphoric effects of THC began to recede from the minds of the rabid protesters. The crowd disseminated to local coffee shops to continue the Bush debate and hold a 30-minute open forum on the greatness of trees. Once President Bush hears about this protest, his conscience will force him to resign.

Michael Neish
chemistry senior

Protesters demonstrated lack of respect with ROTC sit-in

I have the greatest respect and admiration for those who try to change the world using their voices. It is rare for someone to speak out against what they think is wrong. Most of us tend to just talk about it with our friends and we never do anything to change it. In our country we have the privilege to be able to freely protest and voice our opinions. The most important people in my life are either in the military, were in the military or are working on being officers for the military.

My heroes are those who serve and defend this country because they are the people who are defending this nation because that is their passion and what they believe in. Military personnel are like the rest of the population, and not all of them voted for Bush. However, even though they might not agree with Bush and his politics, they still have the desire to fight for freedom and democracy and, if by doing that they must serve under a president they don't necessarily agree with, they will still serve because this country still needs to be defended no matter who is elected into office.

My roommate was a part of the sit-in at the ROTC building yesterday, and I think it was wrong and disrespectful to march into that building chanting anti-Bush sentiments. If my roommate and her party wanted answers to their questions concerning why those individuals chose to be in the military, they could have walked in without chanting and asked to speak with someone about some questions they have concerning the military.

Without a negative atmosphere, any one of those people in that building would have answered any respectable questions they had. But because my roommate and her party walked in chanting, they were met with guarded hostility because they disrespected what those individuals (ROTC and military personnel) believe in. If you were to reverse the situation and, while at their anti-Bush rally, a group of military personnel and advocates of Bush appeared, they would have been met with the same if not worse hostility and negative sentiments.

The point I am trying to make is everyone is entitled to his or her opinions and more power to anyone who is willing to fight for what he or she believes in. However, while protesting and marching for your cause is acceptable and legal, marching into a place your opposition inhabits is not only rude and disrespectful but it is inappropriate.

Brittany Mason
pre-physical education freshman

Evolution, intelligent design debate needed

Kudos to Michael Huston for yesterday's column, "An intelligent discourse in intelligent design." It was an intriguing piece that showed how groups from both sides of the issue have "hijacked" the theory for their own agendas. While it may be too early in the design's conception for it to be mandated in public schools (as was attempted in the Dover, Pa., case), we still have to ask questions about competing theories as well. The Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a plaintiff in the Dover case, is taking its head of steam from the recent victory and setting its sights on Ohio, where the Department of Education has curriculum in place titled "Critical Analysis of Evolution." This course does not specifically mention intelligent design or any other alternative theory and teaches students to analyze and ask questions. This apparently is unacceptable to the Americans United group, which is gathering Ohio Board of Education records and threatening litigation. While both evolution and intelligent design have their strengths and weaknesses, that is fine because they are both theories. If either one was beyond questioning, it would be known as a scientific law. While evolution may be more accepted at this point in time, it certainly should not be considered a law and should be scrutinized just as carefully as intelligent design, or any other theory for that matter.

Ryan Tabis
fourth-year pharmacy student

Gov. should be impeached

Gov. Janet Napolitano is ripping off Arizona. She is causing Arizona $500,000 per day in fines because she refuses to get an English language education program, which is desperately needed. If a program is not running soon, the fines will reach $2 million per day. Arizona cannot afford Napolitano; she should be impeached.

Alex Hoogasian
political science senior