Alternatives exist to Ratemyprofessors.com

While Ratemyprofessors.com may offer some guidance to students exploring their options, a better choice is to check out the official Teacher-Course Evaluation (TCE) results, available at aer.arizona.edu/asua.

While TCE results won’t tell you how hot an instructor is, what they do offer — student feedback on teacher effectiveness, student assessments of the usefulness of course materials and assignments — is ultimately a lot more valuable.

– Mika Galilee-Belfer advising specialist for the Center for Exploratory Students/Colleges of Letters, Arts, and Science

Fans must exhibit better behavior

I would like to echo the sentiment that athletic director Greg Byrne expressed in his weekly e-mail on fan behavior at the Iowa game. There is no question that Saturday was a great day for our football team and the university.  While the vast majority of UA fans were civil and respectful to our visitors, there were a few glaring exceptions in attendance whose behavior reflected poorly on who we are as a university. To this end, let’s all play our part to let those people know that their behavior is not what being a fan or member of the UA community is about. Verbal abuse is unacceptable, plain and simple — no matter the time or place.

Like Arizona Athletics, our office here at the Campus Health Service is working to create an environment where UA students and staff feel comfortable stepping up and speaking out on these issues. We all have a stake in this, and fortunately, we all have a say in deciding what we stand for as a community.

Bear down, Wildcats!  But don’t forget to step up, too.

– David Salafsky director, Health Promotion & Preventive Services Campus Health Service

‘Letters from Mal’ a breath of fresh air

I just want to write a quick note in appreciation of (Mallory Hawkins’) articles in the Daily Wildcat. I have read (two of the) most recent ones, about girls at the Student Recreation Center and advice to guys trying to pick girls up.

It’s nice to know that there are, in fact, people on this campus that aren’t bros or trashy, bronzed sorority girls. My roommate and I were just discussing how different this campus is from one in, say the Midwest. It’s not just a stereotype; our campus is factually 75 percent bro.

The article about working out at the Rec really caught my attention. Just the other day, I was on the elliptical in between one girl on her iPhone and another holding a book in two hands while “”working out.”” It is for this reason that I often choose to run outside. Too many times I have walked around the Rec Center feeling inferior because I am drenched in sweat instead of walking around with my bleach-blond hair down, sporting a ridiculous array of clothing that should never be worn to work out in. Anyway, thank you for the taste of reality, please keep them coming!

Haley Snodgrass undergraduate, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences