BRAVO to the Arizona Board of Regents for looking into the soaring prices of textbooks (see story, page 1). No student should have to spend $900 - the ASU average - on textbooks each year. Student government has traditionally pioneered solutions to this problem with little success - it's time to bring out the big guns.
BOO to Proposition 206, a measure that would ban smoking in all indoor public places - except bars. By passing this initiative, voters would scale back Tempe's already-existing ban and permit smoke to once again linger throughout properly ventilated pubs at the owner's discretion. Tobacco firm RJ Reynolds is backing the bill, and a company spokesman said bars should be a ban exception because they are adult-only venues. We say that's bunk. Nobody should be forced to breathe in smokers' toxic secondhand smoke just because they want to visit their friendly neighborhood bar. And so …
BRAVO to Proposition 201, the other smoking ban on the November ballot. This measure would ban smoking in all indoor public places statewide, maintain Tempe's current policy and allow other cities and counties to pass stricter measures. Unlike with proposition 206, a tobacco firm doesn't back this measure. Instead, organizations like the American Cancer Society in Arizona and American Lung Association are throwing in their support, and so are we.
BOO to the privatization of public restrooms on Mill Avenue. We understand that store owners don't want their restrooms dirtied by the constant flow of those who gotta go, but we're begging them to make the occasional exception.
BRAVO to the Food and Drug Administration for finally passing morning-after pill Plan B (see story, page 5). With over-the-counter access to the pill, women won't have to jump through the traditional hoops to get a prescription for the drug, which is most effective 72 hours after sex. As for the argument that offering the pill sans prescription will lead to increased promiscuity, so be it. We're not saying the pill should be a green light for irresponsible behavior, but it's not our place to tell consenting adults how to live their lives.
BOO to Dirk Koetter and his mishandling of the starting quarterback sitch. Whether he chose the right guy for job is not the issue; it's how the ASU coach doubled back on his decision - naming Sam Keller the starter last Friday after an 18-practice evaluation, then changing his mind in less than 24 hours to go with Rudy Carpenter. Good luck to Keller in Nebraska. We can't blame him for leaving.
