ASUA SENATOR LISTENS THROUGH FACEBOOK
GRIFFEY STRIKING OUT ON HIS OWN SPORTS - 9
NEWS - 2
WHAT’S IN THE DAILY WILDCAT’S LIBRARY
ARTS - 5
ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Printing the news, sounding the alarm, and raising hell since 1899
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2013
ASUA elections process debated
DAILYWILDCAT.COM
VOLUME 106 • ISSUE 114
Man’s best friend
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BRITTNY MEJIA Arizona Daily Wildcat
In student government elections, campaign regulation isn’t always a black and white issue. Since campaigning began in February, the Associated Students of the University of Arizona Elections Commission has received complaints regarding a mass text sent offering alcohol in exchange for campaign support, campaign materials and candidates campaigning inside the UA Main Library. Less than a week ago, the Arizona Daily Wildcat received an anonymous email regarding a series of Facebook messages between a current senator, a senate candidate and other students about “library hopping.” Elections Commissioner Leo Oppenheimer confirmed that allegations of inappropriate campaigning had been levied against several candidates, including presidential candidate Morgan Abraham. “Library hopping” refers to candidates or campaign team members walking around the library and telling students about candidates and their platforms. Students would then be directed to the ASUA website, where they could access the online ballot, said Elena Gold, an ASUA Senate candidate and a participant in the Facebook messages. “It did occur,” Gold said. “There’s no reason to hide that, because it is not against the elections code. The allegations were brought to the elections commission and they ruled in my favor that it’s not outlined in the elections code that that’s against policy at all.”
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QUOTE TO NOTE
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We’re not in the habit of folding to figures who try to wield an authority they do not have over our coverage.”
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KYLE WASSON/ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
RHIANNON MILLER, A UA PSYCHOLOGY FRESHMAN, and her veteran therapy dog, Elvis, are trainers in the Operation Wolfhound project. The operation pairs a vet in need with a Russian wolfhound trained to help veterans suffering from Post-Tramautic Stress Disorder.
UA student’s Operation Wolfhound places psychiatric service dogs with veterans at no cost right away and he will start nudging me and helping me.” At the age of 16, Rhiannon Miller, now a UA Amy Mendel joined the U.S. Army in 2001 and psychology freshman, developed Operation was part of the vanguard that invaded Iraq in 2003. Wolfhound to help veterans suffering from PTSD She is now living in northern Vermont and was restore peace in their everyday lives. Rhiannon came up with the idea at a time recently awarded her Combat Action Badge. After returning home as a disabled veteran, Mendel when there was a lot of media coverage about the struggled to adjust to everyday life while coping troops returning from Iraq and the psychiatric challenges that they were with Post-Tramautic Stress facing. Rhiannon was inspired Disorder. by her parents, both longtime “I could not leave my house If other sufferers of PTSD, to create a by myself,” Mendel said. “If I organizations pop program that could help. were to go grocery shopping, up and they can start Now Rhiannon, her mother, even with somebody, I had helping fulfill this her father and three others train to wait until it was 11 at night the service dogs for veterans in when there weren’t too many need, then I’ll be Wolfhound. people out. I had terrible social ecstatic. I want to be Operation Since its start in 2008, the anxiety problems and I’d get part of this for the program has placed more than very lonely and depressed. I 60 dogs with people in need had a fear of almost everything.” rest of my life. from Hawaii to New York. Then a dog changed her life. — Rhiannon Miller, psychology “The best part has been In April 2011, Mendel freshman hearing the difference it makes saw a story about Operation in the veterans’ lives,” Rhiannon Wolfhound, a service that said. “One of my favorite stories places psychiatric service dogs is about a Vietnam veteran who had been in his with veterans at no cost. Mendel received Storm, a 2-year-old Russian house for basically the last 30 years. He would wolfhound, or borzoi, and instantly began to have his groceries delivered and he hadn’t met his neighbors. Within about three weeks of his service notice her life changing for the better. “Almost immediately after I got him, I was able dog being placed with him, he [befriended] his to go places,” Mendel said. “I still have some of neighbors, he started to do his own shopping and those problems, but it isn’t nearly as bad. And if VETERANS, 2 I start getting some of those issues, Storm knows SHELBY THOMAS Arizona Daily Wildcat
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Orange, CA Mango, FL Strawberry, AR
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MORGAN ABRAHAM, an ASUA presidential candidate, has had campaign complaints filed against him with ASUA.
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SUNNY
Tactics questioned
Despite the commission’s decision not to penalize candidates, ASUA did announce that there will be no campaigning or solicitation of votes in any UA library or computer lab during the general elections, effective immediately. The announcement was made in an email sent through the ASUA listserv on Tuesday morning. “All of our decisions that we make are intended to make the election as fair as possible, but in a system where you can vote from wherever you want, it’s really difficult to do
OPINIONS — 4
feeling lucky? flavor of the month
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Streetcar budget to increase RACHEL MCCLUSKEY Arizona Daily Wildcat
Management for the Tucson Modern Streetcar and the city of Tucson will be working on changes to the runtime schedule for the SunLink streetcar and a proposed increase in the budget for the project over the next few weeks. The streetcar is now under the management of RATP Dev McDonald Transit, or RDMT, which was awarded the contract in December and officially began operations in January. Originally, the project was predicted to cost $197 million; now, however, that number is expected to rise, according to project manager Shellie Ginn. “The very preliminary costs that were submitted earlier last year have changed, and it looks like they are going to be more than we had originally anticipated,” Ginn said. “But we don’t have final numbers yet.” RDMT Tucson general manager Steve Bethel explained that the mayor and Tucson City Council are reviewing the budget this week, and they will need to take some time to mull over the newly proposed budget. Ginn said that the schedule will probably not be finalized until April because the hours of operation are not as critical right now as some other items, such as the budget. “We’re watching the Portland cars,
STREETCAR, 2