Southern Arizona is known for its dry, barren desert. What would it be like to live among the scorpions, tarantulas and coyotes? The University of Arizona Extended University, in cooperation with the Tohono Chul Park, is presenting a six-week course, taught by the park's Mark Barmann, to show relationships between land, plants, animals and people in the desert. The class begins today at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave., Palo Verde Room, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The class costs $95. For more information and registration, contact 621-7724.

For 24 hours, students and members of the community will camp out on the Mall in remembrance of Holocaust victims. From noon today to 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, anyone is welcome to stop by and join the memorial by reading aloud the names of more than 22,000 victims. Interactive programs and a Holocaust display will be on hand for the entire 24 hours. For more information, contact Hal Ossman at 621-6561, e-mail him at ossman@u.arizona.edu or visit the Web site at http://www.uahillel.org.

The weekly writing workshop is back to teach you how to better communicate through words on paper. Every Monday at 5 p.m., Kendra Gaines of the Writing Skills Improvement Program will be in the Modern Languages building, Room 310, to tackle the most common and difficult tasks of writing. Today, Gaines will lecture and teach about connecting your paragraphs with effective and smooth transitions. For more information, contact Donna Rabuck at 621-5849.

Have you had it up to your neck with crime, violence and improper behavior on television? If you are fed up with all the horrific acts of senseless crime, grab $13 and head down to Marroney Theatre at 7:30 p.m. to catch prostitutes, pimps and pushers in action live at the Arizona Repertory Theatre's rendition of "The Threepenny Opera." The musical, constructed by Bertolt Brecht with the help of composer Kurt Weill, is based on John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" and tells the tale of a larcenous hero. For more information, contact the Fine Arts Box Office at 621-1162 or visit the Web site at http://www.arts.arizona.edu/theatre.

If the play and the writing workshop just aren't your scene, go to Crowder Hall in the Fine Arts Complex at 7:30 p.m. to hear double bass Patrick Neher perform. The concert costs $10 for the general public, $8 for UA employees and seniors and $4 for students with a valid identification card. For more information, contact the Fine Arts Box Office at 621-1162 or visit the Web site at http://www.arts.arizona.edu/music.