| OCR Text |
Show The Daily Utah Chronicle Thursday, January 16, 2003 THE CHRONICLE'S y last time the U team lost a home meet, Francis Ford "Apocalypse Now" Coppola's was just "MASH" hitting theaters, was the most popular show on television and Jimmy Carter was the president of the United States. The year was 1979, and the Red Rocks' loss in a home dual meet on Feb. 20 to Clarion State Fullertors would be and their last in the next 170 straight meets, a string of 23 years. The streak was the longest active home winning streak in any college sport until last d weekend, when an Ute squad fell to the No. 1 team in the country, UCLA. The Utes lost to a Bruin team that three had four Olympians, NCAA champions from 2002 and a team that had won two of the last three national championships. Though the Utes had three gymnasts out of the Cal-Sta- te injury-deplete- ng 1999 all-arou- nd E W ;v e Years Clf JL1JLC3.JL TW1 The I cham- pion Theresa Kulikowski, freshman Crystal Gihnore and Donunlqae D'Oiivt Lra up an' ejxeHert Jfl?ht. Th?:r 196.750 score FMisHt r (ig meet pushed the team up a spot to No. 3 in the latest national polls. After the loss, the Utes were not poor sports. The Utes talked about how they were glad that the streak was ended by a pro-gia- m of such high quality as UCLA. Also, the Utes came back out on the floor after the loss and signed posters as part of Autograph Night, Since 1979, the Utes have won national 10 c -- tULl championships, LETTER This weekend, the Utes host ar tty yt TO THE Editor: In light of the ongoing Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on campus, attention has been drawn to the case that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear regarding the constitutionality of affirmative action on college campuses. The Bush administration has filed a friend of the court brief in support of the position that Affirmative Action policies, which give minority students an advantage in admissions and scholarship opportunities based on their j races, is unconstitutional. I find several things severely problematic with this position. Most opponents of Affirmative Action cite the evils of "reverse discrimination." I believe that this concept in and of itself is utterly oxymoronic. The dominant group in any society can not cry "discrimination" just because of the simple fact that they are the dominant group. Even though a white student may not gain acceptance in one institution, his or her chances for - so-call- ed Unsigned editorials refltct the majority opinion of Tht Daily UUh Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based en vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect Material defamatory to an Individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual entation will be edited or win net be published. ori- f ion. V I x U' EDITOR Color Blindness Is not Enough staff. 23-ye- y THE MJWtJ2S'Ty never missed an NCAA Super Six qualifying round and have, established themselves as one of the top programs year-i- n and The streak Is a testayear-ou- t. ment to the hard work and skill of coach Greg Marsden and his rival Brigham Young University, a team Utah has beaten in 63 of 70 meetings. Who knows? Maybe it's only the beginning of a new streak. Perhaps a long time from now U students will be sitting around scratching their heads zt the likes cf "The Lord cf the r tun acceptance in another school arc still the same. A minority student may not have the same options. The very fact that one is white (and in this spirit, male, upper class and heterosexual) confers certain advantages to such an individual that a minority person docs not have. Most people critical of affirmative action policies orientation, to use a phrase that adopt a "color-blind- " in her recent address at the used Evelyn color-blind orientation glosses over dynamUnion. This ics of racial inequality that still exist in contemporary American society. By ignoring racial inequalities in society by just saying that "racial discrimination no longer occurs," we arc not solving anything. Affirmative Action is still necessary when the makeup of power relations between groups in contemporary American society is so starkly unequal. Hu-DcH- PATRICK LAGUA Senior, Political Science and Gender Studies Scho oi Won chev idvocuies Need Math Lesson 1 " DANIEL THATCHER frjf A'U - ,, a Chronicle Opinion Columnist first glance. Sen. D. Chris Buttars', Jordan, Senate Bill 34, which tuition tax credits for parents who opt to send their children to private schools, provides a long awaited solution to Utah's education woes: It reduces class size in public schools, gives parents more choice in their children's educations and, according to statements made by Buttars, it would raise revenue per child in public schools while saving tax payers "a ton of money." Does it sound too magically delicious to swallow? It should, because SB34 will harm the quality of education across the state. Tuition tax credits, as they have been proposed in Utah, offer a $2,132 income tax credit to families with children in public schools. Families with children already in private schools would not be eligible for the credit, unless their annua! income is less than $30,000. The $2,132 amount is a little less than half the cost to educate one pupil in the public school system, At around $4475. According to Buttars, when a family opts for a tuition tax credit to place its child in a private school, not only b class size reduced in the public schools, but the remaining $2,343 left over from the initial $4,475 needed to educate that TJ child will be left with the school to be divvied up amongst other students. That money is normally given to schools as grants. Buttars says "third-grad- e math" can show that fewer students with almost as much money means more money per student Unfortunately, the math is not so simple. First of all, Buttars' bill contains no provision mandating that the money he says would be left over after a student goes to a private school would actually stay in the public system Buttars claims the state Legislature would continue funding the grants the leftover money at the same level, even if there are fewer students in the public system. But if there are fewer students in the system, there is no guarantee that the momentary needs of politics won't cause legislators to take the left over money and send it somewhere else, like law enforcement or human services. If the winds of political expediency turn against schools, Buttars' plan will leave them high and dry. Yes, under Buttars' plan there will be fewer students in public schools, but there will also be a lot less money. a computer lab. Also, the school has to pay just as many teachers, because the loss of only one student won't appreciably change class sizes. Maybe the school will save a small amount on paper, but that's it. Basically, the school will have the same costs with about $5,000 less to cover them. Brilliant! Proponents of tuition tax credits argue that even if the numbers don't stack up, the credits are worthwhile because they enable parents to have greater choice. They fear the approach of the public school system. "one-sizc-fits-a- Does it sound too magically delicious to swallow? don't have to look far to see the fallacy in this logic. First of all, most private schools in Utah won't suit students' needs. Most private schools in the state are either parochial or are catered toward disadvantaged or youth. What's more is that more private schooling might mean more segregation. Public schools must open their doors without regard to race, status. But private gender or schools reserve the right to deny students on any basis they view reasonable. Also, Buttars' plan is redundant Under guidelines provided by President Bush's No Child Left Behind legislation, parents with children attending failing schools have the option to remove their children and place them in a public school You "at-ris- Unfortunately, schools will be getting less money, but their costs will effectively remain the same. That's because, according to legislative fiscal analyst Mike Kjar, only a handful of students 1 percent are expected to leave under Buttars' plan. Let's think about it If a school loses one stuhow much dent out of, say, 100 save school that when will the student money leaves? The school still has to turn on the lights, maintain the building, hire a principal and set up third-grader- s, CHRONICLE OPINION EDITOR JOHN UOrtLCY socio-econom- k" ic LETTERSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU of their "choice." As for Buttars' claim that tax payers will save "a ton of money" if SB34 passes, the Utah Public Education Coalition reported that "Tuition tax credits could cost Utahns $29 million a year in lost revenue to public schools" within 10 years. Oddly, Buttars himself has much to gain financially if his legislation passes. Buttars is the Executive Director of Utah Boys Ranch, a nonprofit private school for boys with serious behavior problems. On the campus of Utah Boys Ranch is Westridgc Academy, also a private school. What's the cost of tuition for Westridgc? Three thousand dollars per month for Utah residentsonly slightly more than students would receive as a tuition tax credit under Buttars plan. Strange. Adding to the oddness of the situation, The Salt Lake Tribune's Roily and Wells reported on Oct. 9 that a number of schools in the Jordan School District sent home fliers with students advertising Buttars' annual fund raiser for Utah Boys Ranch. A representative at the ranch' claimed that a district official authorized the distribution of the flier. However, according to the two reporters, nobody in the district remembered giving such approval. What is Buttars' motivation for passing the bill? Does he really have the public good in mind? What Senate Bill 34 really needs is a swift kick in the Buttars. Daniel welcomes feedback at dthatcherchronicle.utah.edu. Send letters to the editor to lctterschronicle.utahxdu. S31-639- 7 |
