Much has been said and written in this publication and others about the mediocre state of the UA Student Union, listing a litany of problems ranging from asbestos in the ceiling to less-than-ideal management.

But only now do we find out that the Union's problems could have been avoided Ä most of them, anyway.

One of the chief complaints about the Union is its inability to compete with local businesses, which offer food and other services to the UA students who flock to them in droves.

But Mike Low, interim director of the Union, says now that he has drafted proposals that, if implemented, would have added a travel agency, a hair salon, a bank and an expanded copy center to the Union.

Low says he drafted the proposals because Arizona State University already added those businesses, which in part have made the ASU Union a positive, vibrant place of business.

But each of Low's proposals was denied at some point in the process, leaving the UA Union to get by with a minimum of services. Low's proposals have apparently become nothing more than dreams on paper.

UA President Manuel Pacheco has told the Arizona Board of Regents that the health of the UA Union is one of his top priorities, and he and other administrators have expressed concern about the limping business right next to the Administration Building on campus.

But it is one thing to talk about goals and hopes for the Union, yet another to do absolutely nothing about the place.

If the Union was in fact one of Pacheco's top priorities, you can damn well bet there would be a travel agency with cash registers clicking away in there, right next to the hair salon with students and faculty lined up outside the door and into the hall, waiting for a haircut.

It is unfair to Low to have his hands tied by the powers that be. It is also unfair for Pacheco and other top administrators to say how sorry they are that the Union is in poor shape, and then use none of their power to do anything about it.

It is called hypocrisy, and it is nothing new to this university.

If the UA administration is truly interested in the state of the Union, it needs to cut out the rhetoric and show some progress. Throwing words at the problem won't solve anything. Read Next Article