Editor:
IÕm afraid that Sarah Garrecht, in her column ÒAcademics, not athleticsÓ (Nov. 30) is comparing apples with oranges. When her dear friend Margie set off for the library to study she was not denied access to the library because of parking on game day, but because the library was closed the day after Thanksgiving. But even if it had been open, where does the idea come from, that if one cannot park in the shadow of a building, one is denied access? We have to stop thinking that parking is a God-given right. Where is the harm in walking a couple of blocks, perhaps to clear oneÕs mind and enjoy the fall scenery prior to a hard session of research or studying?
Also, how does charging football and basketball fans to park, the majority of whom only come to the campus on game days, ÒlavishÓ attention on UA athletics? Would you prefer that they all be allowed to park for free? Paid parking on game days generates thousands of dollars for this university that does not go to the UA Athletics Department. The Athletics Department people have to buy parking permits just like you and I.
The question has to be asked, if the Athletics Department was closed today, would it bring back the journalism department? I believe everyone knows the answerÑ of course not! We, as members of the university community, have to stop looking for scapegoats. The Nazis said it was Jews who caused the economic problems in Germany in the 1930s, and just last month California said it is the illegal immigrants that are causing the problems today in that state. There are major economic problems at the University of Arizona today too, but itÕs not due to the Athletic DepartmentÑ it canÕt be the journalism departmentÕs scapegoat. We need to work on the problems, not look for someone to blame.
Candace S. Maynard
History Senior