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Poli sci department lacking in diversity By Hank Dean Stephenson ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT The American political system is built on checks and balances. Our founding fathers knew that in order to keep the system fair and balanced, no one person or political party could hold all the power. But at the UA, the scales aren’t so balanced. The Arizona Daily Wildcat searched the County Recorder’s voting record database for the UA’s current political science professors and found no registered Republicans . Of 14 UA professors teaching
INSIDE FAJITAS AND FOOTBALL UA’s Hispanic Alumni Association kicks the year off with a pre-game party featuring local food and musicians. Organizers say the event is meant to draw attention to the Hispanic community on campus.
political science classes this semester, nine are Democrats, two have no designated political party and three aren’t registered to vote. Former Tucson Mayor and longtime public servant Tom Volgy said the department used to employ a few Republicans, including a Republican Pima County Supervisor. “But we never ask,” he said. “So we probably don’t know.” Volgy said his guess is that, by nature, Democrats are more interested in government, and would want to teach it, whereas Republicans want less government and aren’t as interested in teaching the subject.
But Mike Cole , chairman of the Pima County Young Republicans , said the numbers are proof of the university’s liberal bias. “The students are getting indoctrinated by their liberal professors,” Cole said. Cole said he believes the university should change its policies, including adding a professor’s political affiliation to the course schedule so students will know beforehand if their professor is a liberal or conservative. Though he doesn’t support hiring on the basis of political affiliation, Cole said he would like the univer-
sity to try to balance the number of Democrats and Republicans by making a conscious effort to hire conservatives as some of the older professors retire. A mandate to balance the political science department isn’t like a Republican professor affirmative action plan, he said. “It’s just fair.” “They have a college Republican club and a college Democrat club,” he said. “I think they need to be fair here by having professors from both parties, at least, and they’re not.” Pat Willerton , a political science
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The students are getting indoctrinated by their liberal professors.
”
— Mike Cole Chairman, Pima County Young Republicans
POLI SCI, page 7
Can’t we all just get along?
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FIGHT THE FLU Campus organizations team up to provide care packages to bedridden students stuck sick far from mamma and a bowl of chicken noodle soup.
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Across the nation HEALTH CARE REFORM Washington legislators wrangle over the question of whether illegal immigrants should receive benefits under a proposed national healthcare plan.
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Around the world TERRORIST GROUP BREAKS GROUND Officials in Pakistan say a local al-Qaida-allied terrorist group has begun construction on a massive new base that could be a military training camp or a cattle farm, depending on whom you ask.
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Pedestrians, cyclists spar for space on campus thoroughfares By Yael Schusterman ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Campus police intend to crack down on cyclists who don’t obey traffic rules to make the UA campus safer for cyclists and pedestrians alike. Campus officials say many cyclists are not aware that they are required to follow the same traffic laws as automobiles, which has lead to an increase in bicycle-related traffic accidents reported this year. From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2008, five bicycle-related accidents were reported, according to University of Arizona Police Department documents. Already this year, that number has doubled, and UAPD officials added that many bicycle accidents go unreported. UAPD officer Kelsey Kubik said the main issue behind those large numbers is that cyclists on campus tend to ignore traffic laws. Mike Christy/Arizona Daily Wildcat “(Cyclists) think that just beThe UA Mall turns into a swarm of bike and pedestrian traffic during the morning and afternoon class rush. The traffic cause they aren’t in a motor vehicle, is proving to be a cause of concern for many as the safety of students has come into question.
they don’t have to obey all the signs and traffic lights,”Kubik said. Bethany Wilson, a UAPD crime prevention official, attributed the problem to the huge number of bicycles on campus, which she estimated to be between 10,000 and 11,000 on a normal day. Wilson said she has received dozens of phone calls from concerned students and community members saying that cyclists on campus are not following the “rules of the road.” She added that UAPD has programs in the works to both educate the cycling public on traffic laws and crack down on violators. On Sept.23,UAPD plans to begin a four-day bike safety campaign in partnership with Parking and Transportation Services. “We are going to really start enforcing the law,” Wilson said. She added that starting soon, cyclists who violate traffic laws BIKES, page 6
National health care Student entrepreneurs debate strikes UA tout off-campus meal plan By Angel Allen ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT As the national health care reform debate rages, the same passion seen in Washington D.C. legislators is also becoming apparent in UA students and faculty on both ends of the political spectrum. Health insurance does not come cheap, and although some students and experts disagree over the exact means needed to provide expanded coverage, most agree that it is a necessary end. Philosophy senior Chris Campas, who described himself as politically active, said he supports a plan — known as the single-payer system — where one institution would be the nation’s sole provider of health insurance. The impetus for reform, he said, needs to come from students.
“Single-payer, single-payer, single-payer,” he said. “I’m disappointed in the president for not standing behind this more. Young people need to start demanding this. We’re young, we should have access. We pay for Medicare, it’s time we start receiving it.” In a March 2008 report, the American College Health Association called for a standard that would make enrollment in a health care plan a prerequisite for enrollment in college. Unlike a growing number of public universities who have decided to adopt this standard, the UA requires only international students to have health care. Students do not need insurance in order to access services at Campus Health Services, although the HEALTH, page 3
By Michelle Cohen ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT A new meal plan, created by two UA students, allows students to use a card to make purchases off campus. Pre-business sophomore Adam Richman and public administration senior Thomas Rosen , who met as members of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, started the program, currently called ZonaBucks. The ZonaBucks card is accepted at more than 30 businesses off campus, including restaurants, grocery stores and drugstores, and can be used to purchase everything from toiletries to alcohol. An online system tracks individual spending, but there is no way to see itemized receipts from purchases. The program currently has about 1,000 users. Richman said the idea came about
in March after the pair heard friends complaining about the limited meal options they had on campus. “There’s all these places on University (Boulevard) students couldn’t go because their money was trapped on their CatCard,” he said. “They needed a flexible way to go out in Tucson to local restaurants rather than being confined on campus.” The students had contemplated starting other businesses, such as a restaurant near campus, before they came up with the idea of ZonaBucks. “We were sitting in the car bouncing ideas off of each other and said there’s a real need for this,” Richman said. “Finally the right light Ahslee Salamon/Arizona Daily Wildcat bulb went off.” Adam Richman, CEO of ZonaBucks and pre-busiIt cost them more than $50,000 to ness sophomore, and Thomas Rosen, ZonaBucks start the company, which came from president and public administration senior, show off the ZonaBucks card outside of Safeway on
MEAL PLAN, page 12 Campbell Avenue and Broadway Boulevard.