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Letters to the Editor

Conspiracy theory

To the editor,

I enjoyed the staff shots piece in Friday's paper. I think some of these articles are related, however. Have you noticed that scarcity of Twinkies coincides with the cut in production of petroleum oil? There's also a correlation between the number of tornadoes and the number of trailer parks. I think connections like these need to be investigated.

Kirk Sibley

MIS alumna

Class of '99

Too many students unqualified

To the editor,

A recent Wildcat editorial bewailed the low graduation rate at the UA and advocated spending more money for more and better advising.

This is a shortsighted approach. For too many students, the best piece of advice is one that they will never hear from an advisor: "You are entirely unqualified for higher education. Get out."

As the editorial delicately phrased it, the UA's admission standards are "liberal." The grim truth is that our alma mater will accept anything with opposable thumbs. It is for this reason that so many students here at Wildcat High can barely read, write, add and subtract.

Attempting to inflict higher education on such semiliterates is expensive and futile. The university squanders its resources attempting to teach remedial English to people who can't distinguish between "its" and "it's" and high-school algebra to students who couldn't add single-digit numbers while wearing mittens. The advisors on whom the Wildcat would spend additional money cannot remedy these deep defects; they can only cause more waste by persuading such students not to quit.

If we're serious about upping the graduation rate and lowering the per-student cost, we need to begin with admissions standards. If we eliminated the worst half of the incoming students, we could substantially lower tuition and still spend more per person than we do now. Money presently dissipated on remedial education could be used for college-level courses. Instructors unconstrained by the needs of third-rate students could teach more material in less time, allowing students to graduate earlier with a stronger education.

It is cruel to hold out false hope to students who are manifestly unqualified for college; and it is perverse to persuade them to stay longer and use up more of our limited funds. By excluding or quickly eliminating such students, the UA can improve its dismal graduation rates and reduce tuition for those who remain.

William Flack

Undeclared sophomore

Parking plan shows incompetence

To the editor,

In the March 24 Wildcat, there appeared an article discussing the plans for a 6th Street parking garage. In the article, Patrick Kass, director of the University of Arizona Parking and Transportation Department, was reported as saying that although the total cost of the project has not yet been determined, the bill will eventually be picked up by students and faculty. This type of irresponsible fiscal policy is just the reason that students are always battling with the university on tuition hikes. Apparently, students and faculty are viewed by the university as financial mercenaries with bottomless pockets. The prevailing view in the upper decision-making echelons seems to be that no matter what the university decides to do, the students and faculty can always be forced to pay for it. It won't matter if the expenditures are vastly unnecessary or run ridiculously over budget. As long as it's someone else's money they're spending, apparently, there is no accountability process. It's about time that we, the students and faculty, force Patrick Kass and everyone in a financial decision-making position to make decisions that are responsible and beneficial not just to the university as a building, but to the university as a community.

Zachary Neal

Philosophy junior