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www.dailycampus.com
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Daily Campus Editorial Board
John Kennedy, Editor-in-Chief Taylor Trudon, Commentary Editor Cindy Luo, Associate Commentary Editor Michelle Anjirbag, Weekly Columnist Arragon Perrone, Weekly Columnist Jesse Rifkin, Weekly Columnist
» EDITORIAL
Involvement Fair offers limitless choices
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oday from 2 to 7 p.m., the Student Union will host the Spring 2011 Involvement Fair. This is an excellent opportunity to discover any of the more than 400 officially-recognized student organizations on campus. From fraternities and sororities to music and other performance groups, from special interest organizations to the Society for Medieval Arts and Combat, many groups will be represented at the fair (not to mention The Daily Campus itself). With so many options available, surely something will catch your eye. In fact, the Department of Student Activities lists 17 categories under which activities may fall. These include academic, club sports, cultural, environmental, exercise/fitness, Greek fraternities/sororities, media, military, performing/visual arts, political, programming, religious, residence hall councils, service, social justice and technology. Still, many students do not feel the need to attend such an event, believing it is not worth their while since they are already “set in their ways” midway through the academic year. However, far from being an exemplary attitude, this mindset only serves to hinder enjoyment, growth and social opportunities. The time is always right to join a new club or organization. It is never too late in the year to discover something new. In fact, many people find that halfway through the school year is the optimal time to register, coming without the traditional chaos that is associated with the first few weeks in September. Perhaps a more glaring problem is students who do not belong to any extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately, there does seem to be an unfortunately high number who fall into this category. These people fail to recognize how many extraordinary opportunities UConn offers through its student organizations. Seemingly, there are almost no interests or activities that are not accommodated through some such organization. However, if all else fails, it is a relatively easy process to create a new club yourself and obtain funding from the USG. For all these reasons and more, the twice-a-year Involvement Fair remains the best way to uncover opportunities on campus that have previously remained unknown. The student body here is active and engaged, and that will surely be on display. So even if you have classes or other commitments scheduled for that day, take a few minutes to stop by on Wednesday. You may be surprised at what you find. The Daily Campus editorial is the official opinion of the newspaper and its editorial board. Commentary columns express opinions held solely by the author and do not in any way reflect the official opinion of The Daily Campus.
Marquette...silenced by Lamb. Jeremy Lamb is nasty. Give him your laptop. I cant decide what my favorite ‘80s TV show is...either LAMBchops or Who’s SHAboss. I probably account for half of the two-day total of 32,000 views on the Caroline Doty trick shot video. Whenever a guy holds a door for me, I fall in love for a few seconds. It’s the greatest feeling in the world. Keep it up guys at UConn, this girl loves it. Didn’t get the delay I hoped for, but I got my early dismissal when the ceiling started leaking and the tiles started falling down on us in math. My only good memory of MSB since I decided to be an actuarial science major. Calhoun to Burton: “NOT A DIME BACK!” This just in: Burton to donate $3 million refund to Spring Weekend. Harry Potter wouldn’t have been able to apparate to and from class. Everyone knows you can’t apparate on Hogwarts grounds. It’s freaking happy feet outside! I’m watching the basketball game and not the State of the Union. Does this mean I’m a better UConn student than American? Only at UConn can you make a drinking game out of a State of the Union address.
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Conn. politicians should look to bring back tolls
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onnecticut is in grim financial shape. The state currently faces a $7.6 billion budget deficit that, according to Governor Dan Malloy, is “probably…the largest, per capita, deficit of any of the 50 states.” Even worse, there is little political consensus over what options to choose. In the past, when deficits By Arragon Perrone were manageable, state politicians Weekly Columnist would simply raise the cigarette tax and hope for the best. But only multiple, creative (and inconvenient) solutions will solve the budget crisis. In the words of Tom Hardy, “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.” But instead of a grenade launcher, the state should consider another possibility: bringing back the tolls. The state operated tolls prior to 1983, when a horrible accident at the Stratford toll plaza killed seven people. After the incident, and largely in response to the public outcry, all toll booths were removed. Unfortunately, getting rid of the tolls discarded a major revenue stream. In recent years, politicians have targeted cigarette smokers and property owners to periodically fill deficits. But with a budget deficit as large as the current one, such solutions are no longer feasible. Transportation chairman Antonio Guerrera estimates that a $5 toll along the state’s borders would generate $600 million annually and $18 billion over 25 to 30 years. Border tolls would be enough. Prior to 1983, tolls existed in places such as the Putnam Bridge between Wethersfield and Glastonbury, which – if rebuilt – would cause massive traffic delays. But tolls along interstates 85, 91 and 84, as well as the Merritt Parkway and Route 6, would go a long way without disrupting already-crowded conditions within the state. Unlike the 1980s, the state has the option of
using an electronic toll system. Before, drivers only had the option to use coins. Now, a completely electronic method is not only feasible but practical. Drivers can use an E-Z pass to go right on through. Drivers without an E-Z pass can simply be billed through the mail. Such technological developments greatly diminish the risk of an accident similar to the devastating one in Stratford.
“It is time for Connecticut’s politicians to consider other ways to raise revenue...” Opponents of the toll argue that rebuilding them would be a costly endeavor that does not address the main cause of the state’s deficit – out-of-control spending – and would only hurt commuters. On the first count, constructing eight tolls – which the current legislation calls for – would cost money. However, once the initial investment is made, tolls would end the state’s perpetual and devastating reliance on federal funding to improve its highways. Tolls would indeed inconvenience commuters in comparison to the current system, but the state was in between New York and Boston long before the tolls were removed. If commuters could survive then, when Hartford was the “insurance capital of the world” and Connecticut’s major cities were booming with industry, they can survive now. Some opponents have argued that commuters and travelers would bypass the state altogether. Such a complaint is absurd. Connecticut is in the middle of New York and Boston. Unless commuters decide to drive across the Long Island Sound on their way to work, there is little chance they would choose a different path. Also, tolls have been implemented successfully in other states, without turning away
visitors or workers. Vacationers have used the Massachusetts Turnpike to get to Cape Cod and points north for years. In Dallas, Highway 190 efficiently carries drivers through one of the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas. Any tolls that are built should remain privately-owned and operated. In Chicago, Mayor Richard Daly brought the city $1.8 billion by selling off toll roads. Making tolls public would lead to increased state spending, which would only increase the deficit. Gov. Malloy has expressed the possibility of privatizing Bradley Airport. It would make little sense for him to argue for state-run tolls. Tolls are only one solution to solving Connecticut’s economic problems. And there are many problems indeed. Over the past few decades, the vast majority of Connecticut citizens (those that do not live in Fairfield County) have suffered great economic loss. They have faced perennially higher taxes, skyrocketing energy and food prices, declining job opportunities and most strikingly, a dramatic loss of industry in almost every city – Waterbury (the “brass capital of the world”), Manchester (“the silk city”), New Britain (the “hardware city”), Willimantic (the “thread city”), New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford. A politician who rejects reinstating tolls but applauds higher taxes is historically illiterate. It is time for Connecticut’s politicians to consider other ways to raise revenue in this state. Citizens cannot afford to see their taxes increased once again. Tolls are a good solution, but they cannot be the only solution. Hopefully, over the next few months, state politicians will step up to the plate, tighten their fiscal belts and make the tough but necessary choices that will bring this state into a brighter future.
Weekly columnist Arragon Perrone is a 6th-semester political science and English double major. He can be reached at Arragon.Perrone@UConn.edu.
Age limits on salvia alternative to prohibition
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here is a new “Reefer Madness” sweeping the nation, and no, I’m not talking about Four Loko. The new boogeyman is Salvia divinorum, usually just referred to as salvia. It is a psychoactive drug, meaning it produces hallucinatory effects, usually lasting about 30 minutes. Yet, unlike LSD or other hallucinogens, it is completely natural, as it is simBy Sam Tracy ply a plant Staff Columnist native to Mexico and does not require any chemical processes prior to smoking it (the most common method of consumption). You may be familiar with it from seeing it used on Tosh.0, in the countless videos on YouTube, or most notably, in the leaked video of Miley Cyrus doing it with her friends. What may seem crazy to some people is that it is completely legal. That’s right, you can grow as much salvia as you want without hiding it and you can consume it without fear of arrest–even in public. Predictably, this has caused some people in Connecticut and the rest of the country to call for its prohibition, and many other states have already completely banned the plant. Of course, proponents of the ban say that they want salvia to be
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illegal in order to protect the children. It’s very true that most parents would not want their kids to be able to just go to a convenience store and buy a mind-altering substance. However, the side-effects of an outright ban would be worse than the effects of the drug itself. A much more sensible drug policy would be to impose age limits and other regulations on the sale of salvia, rather than completely banning it.
“The most sensible solution to the issue is to impose age restrictions...” First of all, salvia is not the dangerous drug that some claim it is. Overdosing is arguably the worst possible outcome of using any drug. However, in 2003, Dr. Mark Mowry of the University of Nebraska did a study in which he gave large amounts of salvinorin A (the psychoactive chemical in salvia) to lab rats to test its effects. His conclusion? That, “the toxicity of salvinorin A is relatively low, even at doses many times that of what humans are exposed to.” Translation: you can’t over-
dose on salvia. Addiction is probably the second-worst thing that can happen from the use of a drug. So, is salvia addictive? The short answer is no. A 2005 study by Yong Zhang in the journal “Psychopharmacology” demonstrated that salvia use does not activate chemical reactions in the brain that typically lead to addiction, such as increasing dopamine levels. The researchers concluded that it was not a very addictive drug. While salvia cannot cause overdose or addiction, it is still a psychoactive drug. Surely something must be done about it, as I am sure everyone can agree that it should not be sold to children. However, banning the substance would just cause the well-known problems of prohibition. Its sale would be relegated to the black market, and drug dealers would take over its growth and distribution. It’s possible that salvia sold on the street could be laced with other drugs, and people buying salvia may be pressured by their dealers into trying harder drugs such as cocaine or heroin. Also, the state would lose out on the tax revenues from the sale of salvia, and would instead need to spend money enforcing its prohibition. As we have seen with marijuana, making something illegal
does not necessarily make it go away. The 1996 study, “Trends in the Incidence of Drug Use in the United States” by R. Johnson, shows that only 0.4 percent of adolescents had tried marijuana in 1930, right before it was banned. Today, about 42.3% of 12th graders have tried marijuana. While there are many factors involved, it is obvious that prohibition does not guarantee that use will stop, or even go down at all. The most sensible solution to the issue is to impose age restrictions on the sale of salvia. In California and Maine, you must be 18 to purchase salvia, and in Maryland, you must be 21. This makes it much more difficult for young people to obtain the drug. For example, in a survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, a majority of high schoolers said it was easier to buy marijuana than beer or cigarettes. This is because drug dealers don’t card, while store owners do. Imposing age limits, rather than banning salvia altogether, would cut down on adolescent use while not causing all of the problems associated with prohibition.
Staff Columnist Sam Tracy is a 4th-semester political science major. He can be reached at Samuel.Tracy@UConn.edu
“E very R epublican in C ongress voted to repeal the health care it legislation . T hey admitted it was symbolic , but it does enable R epublicans to brag in campaign ads next year that they voted to let poor people die .” – B ill M aher