University childcare more important than spell check

I am writing in response to Dan Cassino's commentary "Crybabies," which was printed in Thursday's Daily Wildcat. Cassino began his examination of the issue of a university-backed childcare facility by confessing that "How a carefully considered opinion could support this is beyond me."

No kidding. Despite the fact that I feel cheapened by responding to such shallow drivel as Cassino's article, the issue is nonetheless an important one, and I would like to present another viewpoint.

First I will sum up what I take to be the gist of Mr. Cassino's commentary, that people with children who would nonetheless like the opportunity to attend a university are a bunch of stupid lazy mooches that don't deserve it and ought to be collectively kicked to the curb where they belong. This viewpoint is, like Cassino's commentary, ridiculously simplistic. The Daily Wildcat does students a service by providing a forum in which both sides of an important issue can be presented. In order to do this forum justice, I will pretend that Cassino adequately presented his side of the issue so that I can respond to it.

It is not an uncommon opinion that people with additional needs beyond those of an "ordinary" student, especially if they are responsible for incurring those needs, ought to be responsible for meeting them. One might even go so far as to say that students with children have been irresponsible and do not therefore deserve any special consideration or access to special services.

A childcare facility would require significant financial backing that perhaps should not be provided by tuition dollars or ASUA funds. I take these to be the most reasonable objections against a university child care facility and I will try to answer each of them.

The traditional notion of a student is changing and rightly so. Educational opportunity should not be limited to single young adults ages 18-24. The University of Arizona ought to continue to recognize the diversity of its students' backgrounds and try to reasonably provide for all of their needs.

The university has a recreation center, escort services, wheelchair accessible buildings, legal services, free concerts, computer labs with spell checkers (for Daily Wildcat writers) and a host of other costly services and facilities that benefit some, but not all students. Many UA students have children. They pay tuition. Is it too much to ask that the university do something to help meet their particular needs? I think not.

As for their alleged irresponsibility, it's not as if the people that would benefit from a university childcare facility are a legion of crack whores looking for somebody to bear their responsibility. One might even take their interest in pursuing their education as a sign that these students are indeed concerned with bettering themselves and providing for their children. That they can even begin to manage an education and a child at once is probably indicative of a level of responsibility far beyond that of most students. There are young couples, older students, single mothers and maybe even a few single fathers among us. Perhaps having a child was indeed a mistake for some of these parents, perhaps not. In any case we shouldn't categorically slam the door of opportunity on them, which is exactly what refusing to help accommodate their needs could do. Find a single mother and ask her whether childcare is prohibitively expensive. It is. It is sad that we do not accept responsibility as a society for the care and rearing of children and that a single mother, for example, is faced with the awesome burden of caring for a child in an adversarial world that hates her and her kind.

Despite the fearful cries of Dan Cassino, student parents are not going to soak up all of our tuition dollars while hapless traditional students get the shaft. The university can and should offer students some affordable childcare options.

The bottom line is always the hardest. Where do we get the money? I don't pretend to know exactly, but I can offer some humble suggestions. Take it out of Johnny Cochran's pocket. I cannot imagine who could be disappointed if he failed to speak here this semester and that would give us $15K for openers.

Hey, maybe we could get a new Union for $55 million instead of $60 million; there's a nice chunk of change. We might even (gasp) tack $10 onto tuition for a few years. My point here is that the university can come up with the cash for anything that is important enough. I hope that we can spare student parents an undeserved, judgmental wrath by addressing the important need for affordable childcare at the university.

T.J. Finn
Philosophy senior