Wildcat's ASUA coverage ignores the human factor

I am a little concerned that all the people at the Arizona Daily Wildcat have time to do is to bash ASUA. I am referring to the article of Tuesday, Feb. 4. I believe the article was titled "Leadership?" Your synopsis of the article was that the ASUA members could not "work together in the interest of students." Further in the article you went on to say that Mindy McCollum gets a stipend of $3,500.00 a year to fulfill her job requirement of Vice President of Programs and Services, but yet she couldn't make a meeting because of sorority rush.

I think that you are neglecting to point out the fact that we are all just humans. I can almost bet Rhonda Wilson, Mindy McCollum, and other members of ASUA spend so much time of their week trying to make the University of Arizona a better place for the students. You also neglect to realize that the members of ASUA are real people and most importantly students. They are here to get an education, which is their first priority. While Mindy McCollum did not make the meeting for the CCC because of sorority rush, you also need to realize that these people have other responsibilities. I don't think that you can harp on someone because they have other responsibilities to think of.

As far as the remark on Mindy McCollum's stipend, I can only imagine that she is not getting enough money. The countless hours that she will probably spend over this year would probably amount to less than minimum wage on an hourly level. She is one of the countless people that the students should thank because of this great university that we are at. It is easy to blame people or gripe because things aren't the way they want them to be, but when are we going to thank the people who make things happen at this university?

I think you should all find better things to complain about other than whether or not someone can make it to a meeting or whether or not members of ASUA can get along. Do you get along with everyone at the Arizona Daily Wildcat?

By John E. Spannagel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 11, 1997