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Archive for the ‘Desert Lamp’ Category

Time for ASA to walk the walk

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

From its use last year of student fee money to campaign for Proposition 204, to its current cry for help as the state legislature prepares to rescind its power, the Arizona Students’ Association has claimed to be the defender of student rights statewide, acting on behalf of all, with the support of all.

The group’s mission is to be “the one unified voice to advocate” on behalf of 140,000 students across the state, Zachary Brooks, president of the UA’s Graduate and Professional ...

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USSC puts Arizona’s voter ID law on trial

Monday, March 18th, 2013

The Supreme Court will evaluate this week the constitutionality of an anti-immigrant measure put forth by Arizona that requires all voters to prove their citizenship in order to vote in national elections. But while the Justices, activists and reporters will focus on how the law affects immigrants, a different minority will probably go ignored: the transgender community.

I am republishing here an article that I wrote a little over a year ago for the Daily Wildcat. It discusses the potential imp...

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Who’s suing who and where do I come in? The ASA vs. ABOR drama explained

Monday, February 18th, 2013

As reported statewide, the Arizona Students’ Association filed a federal lawsuit against the Arizona Board of Regents lask week, accusing the Board of violating students’ First Amendment right to free speech.

You might be asking what ASA, ABOR, the First Amendment and your wallet have to do with each other. The answer is: It’s a long story. Here’s what you need to know to make sense of it all:

What is the Arizona Board of Regents? 

ABOR is a group of 12 individuals, including two studen...

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Three questions an engaged campus participant should be able to answer

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

(Editor’s note: Though I just started cross-posting my writing elsewhere here, the following piece not only relies heavily on the research and ethos of this site, but also serves as a simple argument for why the discussions housed here are important. It’s directed at high school students, but if you care about being an aware member of any campus community, it’s relevant to you, too. A longer version was originally published by Prefessional U as part of their Student Journalism ...

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Raising high school dropout age is not the answer

Monday, February 20th, 2012

During his State of the Union Address, President Obama strongly urged every state not to allow students to drop out of high school before the age of 18. The president alleges that because Americans with higher levels of education have a lower unemployment rate, requiring students to stay in school will offer a cure to high levels of unemployment.

This is a neat thesis by the President’s administration, but the equation is not nearly so concise. Even if students are required by law to stay in s...

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ASUA to approve resolution condemning your rights, concealed carry on campus

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

As they have publicized nowhere, the ASUA Senate will vote today on a resolution condemning bills in the Arizona legislature that will disallow private citizens from exercising their right to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. This is a long and storied sage with ASUA — read this site’s reports on the matter from 2009, 2010, and 2011, just as a selection.

The resolution (here as a pdf with today’s meeting agenda) is hardly different than resolutions other ASUA Senates...

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Dr. Ann Weaver Hart: The UA’s new president?

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

The UA's new president As was announced yesterday afternoon, the Arizona Board of Regents has presented what they’re calling a presidential “candidate” for the position vacated by Robert Shelton last July. In a very different process than how the past few presidents have been selected, the Board announced Ann Weaver Hart, current president of Temple University, as their first choice for UA President. According to the press release, “Hart will visit the UA campus on Feb. 13 to meet with students...

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ASUA Election Candidates 2012

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

For the fourth time here in the Lamp‘s long memory, it’s ASUA Election season. The (controversial) Elections Commission sent out the names of the candidates[pdf] to the press last night.  The candidates are:

President:

Katy Murray

Chad Travis

Leo Yamaguchi

Executive Vice-President:

Kevin Elliot

Krystina Nguyen

JW Phillips

 Administrative Vice-President

Dani Dobrusin

Paige Sager

Ryan Weaver

 Senate:

Taylor Ashton

Jake Barman

Logan Bilby

Alex Chang

Genesis Chapa

Justin Evans

Bryc...

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Not a tuition increase: The mechanics of the Kavanaugh payment plan

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

An item you could pay for with your Kavanagh fee

For all the ado that’s been status-ed, tweeted, and publicly palavered over the proposed “Kavanaugh fee” in the last few days, an important detail is overlooked: HB 2675 does not once propose to increase tuition by one single penny, as even the Wildcat concedes in passing:

Although the proposed legislation would not raise tuition…

So what would actually happen? Ignore for now the “5-percenters” with full academi...

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HB 2675: Just because college is free for you doesn’t mean it actually costs nothing

Monday, January 30th, 2012

A lunch free of charge means a lunch free of cost, right?

Here are a couple breaking news items for your Monday: The state of Arizona is broke. College is expensive. If you keep making an investment that doesn’t yield a solid return on that investment, you should probably reconsider whether it’s a good investment.

Alarming everyone with a Facebook this weekend was an article from the East Valley Tribune bearing the headline, “HB 2675 may up college costs by $2K for many in Ariz...

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