For them, it is the opposite of peer pressure.

Several have families to support, while others are retired. Some feel invisible in their regular classes.

They are the older, non-traditional student population of UA, and like their younger counterparts, they seek ways to fit in, some more successfully than others.

"We are not part of the pack," said Lee Bishop, a 36-year-old psychology freshman. "Even in the best of situations, there is a large gap in basic behavior and understanding that makes it difficult to connect beyond brief chats about your mutual class or teacher. I feel lost in a sea of people I cannot connect with because of my age." [Read article]

Meredith Larrabee excelled in high school. She was a National Merit Scholar, a regional science fair winner, a member of National Honor Society, and a leader of almost every science club on campus.

To ensure Larrabee, a chemistry freshman, attended the UA, administrators offered her over $8,000 in scholarships.

In an attempt to be competitive for top students like Larrabee, administrators have to offer more money. [Read article]

The University of Arizona Police Department is seeking reaccreditation next week. And in the upcoming days, UAPD will also be seeking out members of the UA community to participate in a public hearing about the reaccreditation.

The hearing, Monday in Room 205 of the Swede Johnson building, 1111 N. Cherry Ave., is a mandatory step the department must take to be reaccredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. It is also an opportunity for the community to voice its thoughts about UAPD. [Read article]

As deans across campus work to submit detailed proposals for program changes under President Pete Likins' Focused Excellence plan, some of the people most directly affected by the proposed changes remain optimistic.

The heads of two departments considered for elimination or merging say their deans seem supportive of plans to keep those departments open.

George Gutsche, head of the Russian and Slavic studies department, which is slated for a possible merger, said Humanities College Dean Charles Tatum has supported leaving the department intact. Gutsche said that throughout the college, committees have found problems with the merger proposal. [Read article]

A barbeque on the mall this afternoon closes the weeklong celebration of Graduate Appreciation Week.

For the fifth straight year at UA, the program has been acknowledging graduate students and their accomplishments.

The week provides an opportunity to highlight the roles graduate students play at the university, said Gary Pivo, dean of the graduate college.

Pete Morris, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council, said it is important to recognize that two very distinct communities exist on campus ÷ graduates and undergraduates. Morris noted that this week student government general elections and Graduate Appreciation Week overlapped. [Read article]

Prank Calling

Rebekah Steiner, education major

WILDCAT: So this is a totally random call. Lucky you. Where do you live?

STEIMER: I actually live in a sorority house.

WILDCAT: Really, which one?

STEIMER: Alpha Epsilon Phi.

WILDCAT: So, what are you doing tonight?

STEIMER: I just got back from work and now we're watching ER.

WILDCAT: Do you think that all that doctor mumbo-jumbo that goes on on ER is accurate? [Read article]

Things you've always never wanted to know

· You need 42 coffee beans to make one shot of espresso.

· "King Kong" was Adolf Hitler's favorite movie.

· The SkyDome's Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto, Ontario, is the home of the largest electric guitar in North America.

· By age 65, an average American has watched the equivalent of nine years of uninterrupted television screening, viewing more than 20 thousand commercials each year. [Read article]

Quotes this week from campus and the world

"When I go to my special places of power, in the heart of Mother Earth, and I ask for guidance, the message I get is: to make ecstatic energy available to the people."

Solar Culture founder and owner Steven Eye,
describing the force that brought him to Tucson.

"Now I've been permitted to dream a higher dream."

Peter Likins,
in reference to the accessibility and understanding of this year's regents after the Board voted to extend his contract for three more years. [Read article]