Editor:

As a student at the UA, I am a little shocked that a local businessman is going to petition the Arizona Board of Regents to reinstate Joseph Blair to the basketball team.

It seems that everyone should have the equal opportunity to have such support; maybe the "businessman" could put in a good word for everyone else with his petition.

I feel bad for Blair; we've all made mistakes. It seems through his press releases, and the coach's comments, that they are dealing with it in the manner that the university allows. He has every right to do that, just as I would in his case. But if we allow the local public to dictate how the regents make the rules (or bend them), then every class will look like the lower sections of McKale, every student will bring his or her grandparents (in red sweaters) to class to make sure they get a good grade.

Let Blair go through the normal course of action. If he succeeds, good for him and the rest of the team. If he doesn't, oh well, at least he tried, but then again, maybe he could have tried a little bit harder in class so he wouldn't have to go through this.

Scott Balay
geophysics senior