College students are rarely afforded a better opportunity to look ridiculous than when they are all simultaneously attempting to impress and attract one another in a small, enclosed space. Parties would be an excellent example, but the frequent presence of alcohol usually renders us neither impressive nor attractive.

On the other hand, the Student Recreation Center, seemingly one of the few places on campus where drinking is not fervently encouraged, provides the perfect venue to observe college at its silliest. It has all of the prerequisites: loud, jarring music, plenty of mirrors and an abundance of revealing sports bras that do much to suggest a different kind of “sport” altogether (common sense would dictate that flirtation is a pastime best enjoyed when you look and smell good, but simple logic is apparently a luxury to be dispensed with at the Rec Center). [Read article]

Last week, the Tucson Unified School District sank to the level of desperation. Facing a $4 million budget deficit, the district asked its teachers to work for free. A memo circulated to employees explaining that unless they responded by giving up at least a day’s wages, some of their peers might be laid off. Your money or your job: tough choice.

Of course, the situation is not entirely TUSD’s fault. While general election voters approved a $235 million bond package to help the district build and repair schools, they refused to allow the district to override its maintenance and operations budget. At the same time, student enrollment numbers are lower than expected. Fewer students in the classroom mean fewer dollars from the state. However, no matter what the cause, this is just one more example of our society’s inability to keep its promises to public school teachers. [Read article]

Don’t jump to conclusions about campus movers

I was troubled by the front-page story on Wednesday’s Arizona Daily Wildcat on alleged theft and drug use by employees of Interspace Moving and Storage. Crews from this firm worked for me for more than six weeks this past summer in moving the herbarium from Shantz to Herring Hall. Mr. Wardlow was part of this crew, at least at the beginning of the move. I was surprised by Mr. Wardlow’s allegations because I saw absolutely no evidence of theft or drug use in any of the Interspace employees I dealt with. In contrast, I found them to be competent, conscientious and very hard working. [Read article]