Feared. Hated. Rarely ignored.

Yeah, right. If I could kiss my own ass, I certainly wouldn't do it in public. Okay, maybe a small kiss.

My friend, Kyle, said that since I had been her for six years, and have picked up a lot of info and gossip in those times, I should just rip into everyone I had problems with and divulge all the gossip I know.

No, I don't think so. I want to graduate and I am afraid of being severely beaten or killed.

Now, I realize that upon leaving the University of Arizona, however, I could write about my involvement in the two 'larger' student organizations on campus, the Associated Students of the University of Arizona (ASUA) and the Arizona Daily Wildcat. While neither would like to admit it, both are very similar, with the same goals to serve students, the same in-fighting, and the same types of cliques.

The first similarity for the two organizations is that they both have an adviser. I could say a lot about them, but I'm friends with one of them, and for the other, my Mom always said that if you had nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Let's start at the top and look at the ASUA president and the Wildcat editor in chief. These people are the ones who need to answer to the university community, which is never happy. Stress is the name of the game when you are in charge, as is trying to keep the peace in your organization. Also, both the editor in chief and the president care about the university, trying to shape policy and public opinion, either through lobbying the administration (ASUA) or through staff editorials (Wildcat).

The offices of ASUA president and Wildcat editor in chief are highly coveted positions, with people jockeying for them all year. In ASUA, however, the strategies and conniving to become president begin the day after inauguration. At the newspaper, fortunately, the back-stabbing and games do not begin until the second semester. There's nothing more fun to watch than friends turning against each other and the beginning of the blood-flow.

The next level in ASUA is composed of the two vice presidents; for the Wildcat, it consists of the five editors. If the president or editor died, someone has to take over. It seems to me that each area has the geniuses and the total dim-wits. They are usually the successor to the thrones, looking to kill all the competition that exists. Hell, the editors and vice presidents might as well be little Stalins.

The final levels are the Senate (including their aides) and the reporters. Each area is broken off into cliques, hardly working to help out anyone else. Of course, there are times when all areas get together, but that is usually under the false pretense of camaraderie and for the better good. There is a desire to do good for the university, but the greater desire is to see one's name in print, either as a Senator or a reporter. At least at the paper, the editor keeps the reporters' egos in check; ASUA has no such safeguards.

People might say that I am being petty; this year there were even accusations that I had personal vendettas against certain people. Of course, no one had the bolas to say that to my face, but rather would have friends talk to others about the non-issue. The facts are, however, that I am one of the few people who has a deep inside experience of ASUA and the Wildcat. Even before I began working at the paper, I was the press contact for an ASUA senator and vice president.

If only ASUA realized that the newspaper is here at the university to serve students, there would be less of an adversarial position on their part.

Jeremy Pepper is a graduating philosophy senior. The UA has changed a lot since his freshman year in 1990, but, oh well. One final thought: since he has been at the UA for six years, does he now get tenure?

By Jeremy Pepper (columnist)
Arizona Daily Wildcat
May 1, 1997