10. Fraternities disciplined

Sigma Chi lost its university recognition late last month after an investigation reportedly revealed fraternity members had forced pledges to perform calisthenics, clean, paint and repair the fraternity house and eat cans of beans even after they vomited. Three pledges were also forced to sit inside a walk-in freezer for an undisclosed period of time.

In March, Sigma Alpha Epsilon temporarily lost its university recognition after pledges damaged a float belonging to another fraternity while Sigma Alpha Epsilon was on probation for hazing violations, including paddling.

On Jan. 31, Delta Tau Delta was placed on probation through next spring for making pledges clean the house, do push-ups and eat ravioli covered in syrup.

Also in January, Pi Kappa Alpha lost its UA recognition for hazing, alcohol and other conduct violations. The fraternity appealed the university's decision and had their term reduced until Jan 2005.

CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat

9. News of war interrupts break

When students were out of class for spring break, President Bush ordered the start of a U.S. war against Iraq, enacting initial strikes to disarm the country and kill Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

For students who traveled outside the U.S. during the break, that meant stricter security measures at checkpoints.

Those who stayed in town could see a visible outcry against the war displayed on "A" Mountain, as the "A" was painted black. There were also protests on and around campus both in support of and against the war.

8. Student Union Memorial Center Opens

Administrators officially dedicated the largest student union in the nation without an attached hotel, in the heart of the UA campus, Feb.17.

At 405,000 square feet and nearly 9.3 acres, the Student Union is double the size of the original union.

It's not just a union, it's a small city, said Dan Adams, director of UA student unions.

The new union features over a dozen eateries, an art gallery, a theater, a hair salon, a tv lounge, a bank, a post office, a new u-mart.

James Allen Selby

7. Rape suspect Selby arrested

James Allen Selby, the man charged with four rapes near campus last year, was arrested Sept. 24 after he tried to check into a veteran's hospital in Colorado.

Hospital officials reportedly recognized Selby from police photographs that were released earlier in September.

Selby was wanted in three states other than Arizona in connection with 15 sex crimes committed over a four-year period.

DAVID HARDEN/Arizona Daily Wildcat

6. Head coach John Mackovic apologizes

Head football coach John Mackovic apologized at a press conference Nov. 13 for his inappropriate conduct, after a series of comments he directed at his team led a large contingent of players to meet with President Pete Likins.

At the conference, Mackovic's voice cracked with emotion as he said, "I have failed to live up to my own standards."

While many local media outlets reported that the mid-week timing of the press conference might be a sign Mackovic was going to resign, he did not.

Despite his contrition, Mackovic said he would not change his coaching style.

"I'm a hard-nosed coach," he said. "I don't apologize for that."

5. Focused Excellence plan revealed, sparks controversy

In response to the regents' decision to implement Changing Directions, Likins announced last fall plans to narrow UA's mission, eliminating some programs that weren't central to its continued improvement. That way, state funds could be channeled toward fewer programs, allowing more of them to succeed.

After weeks of meetings with other top administrators, Likins and Provost George Davis announced in January about 50 proposals for cutting, merging and restructuring programs across UA.

Among the most controversial: eliminating the School of Information Resources and Library Sciences and merging the department of German studies with the department of Russian and Slavic studies.

Starting last month, Likins and Davis modified some of those plans, deciding to spare the library school, but still merge the German and Russian departments.

KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

4. Basketball team loses to Kansas in Elite Eight

Beating a team twice in one season is difficult, especially if that team is a team like Kansas and both games are away from home.

After embarrassing the Jayhawks in Lawrence in January by erasing a 20-plus point deficit and winning easily, the Wildcats again found themselves trailing, this time in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in Anehiem, Calif.

Though UA came back over and over again from multiple double digit holes, in the end senior Jason Gardner's 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim, and the Wildcats fell halfway through their goal to bring home Arizona's second NCAA basketball title.

CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat

3. Basketball ticket riot prompts ticket policy change

Basketball ticket sales were delayed in October after a riot team of police officers broke up a crowd of over 2,000 people trying to get men's basketball tickets.

Originally, the ticket office planned to start giving out line vouchers 7 a.m., but security guards entered the ticket office at 5 a.m. to hand out vouchers, leaving no crowd control.

Within 20 minutes the crowd began pushing and toppling police barriers and tape, even after officers carrying "less-lethal" shotguns approached the crowd.

Several people walked away with minor injuries.

Six months later the Associated Students of the University of Arizona released plans for the Zona Zoo Sports Pass.

The $35 pass will grant holders membership into the Zona Zoo, which would in turn allow for free entrance into home football, volleyball, women's basketball, softball and baseball games.

In addition, Zona Zoo members will have automatic entry into two lottery rounds for men's basketball tickets.

"We tried to engineer a way to avoid what happened with the tickets this year," said former student government President Doug Hartz.

2. Tuition, financial aid increase

The Arizona Board of Regents last year voted for a $96 tuition hike causing President Pete Likins to worry that a trend of small tuition hikes could cripple the state's universities, which had suffered from more than a decade of funding shortages.

But in August, the regents started changing their minds. People who had staunchly opposed large tuition hikes said they'd support one this year, assuming it was coupled with a financial aid increase too. In March, a $1,000 tuition hike passed the regents unanimously, and the board also increased the amount of tuition allowed to be set aside for financial aid. Of the $34 million UA will make from the tuition hike, about $21 million will go to aid.

Regents decided to allow all state universities to diversify their missions, meaning the UA will become a more research-centered institution.

SAUL LOEB/Arizona Daily Wildcat

1. Nursing shootings shake campus

On Oct. 28, 2002, a nursing student allegedly distraught over failing grades methodically killed three of his professors and then himself.

Robert Stewart Flores Jr., then a third-semester nursing student, entered the second-floor office of Robin Rogers, 50, an assistant professor of nursing, and shot her multiple times, killing her.

Flores, 41, then moved up to the fourth floor, where a class was 40 minutes into an exam. Gena Johnson, a fourth-semester nursing student, said that he looked calm and "clean-shaven," with his backpack slung over his shoulder and the gun in his hand aimed at the second victim, Cheryl McGaffic, another assistant professor of nursing.

The professor, who had been sitting in a desk near the front of the classroom, stood up and began to panic, Johnson said. Flores then called out, "Cheryl McGaffic, I'm going to give you a lesson in spirituality."

He shot her twice in the chest from about five feet away. After she fell, he straddled her body and fired another round in her chest. McGaffic was 44.

Since then, the UA has enacted an emergency action plan for students, faculty and staff who believe they are in danger.