PHOENIX ÷ President Pete Likins riled members of the House Committee on Appropriations yesterday by calling legislators' proposed cuts to the university bad policy and saying they amounted to a tax increase for students.

He used some of the strongest language toward the Legislature about the budget in his more than five years as president, leading some lawmakers to respond that they aren't out to harm the universities per se, as the state looks for places to cut $1.3 billion. [Read article]

Suggested increase of $900 for in-state and $1,450 for out-of-state much larger than in past years

Student lobbyists proposed a $900 increase in resident undergraduate tuition and a $1,450 increase for non-resident undergraduates yesterday.

While the numbers are far higher than their proposals in past years, the $900 hike for in-state students is $100 less than President Pete Likins proposed last week. However, the lobbyists' proposal calls for an out-of-state increase $200 higher than Likins proposed. [Read article]

Bill could require men getting a license to register for the draft

Going to the Motor Vehicle Division to get a driver license could soon entail more than just parallel parking.

A proposal still in the state House yesterday afternoon would automatically register males for the Selective Service System when they pick up a new license or identification card.

The proposal, which is similar to laws used in 26 other states, is designed to raise the sagging numbers of 18-year-olds in Arizona who haven't yet registered, said Victor Schwanbeck, head of Selective Service for Arizona. [Read article]

David Conrad's life became clear to him a few years ago as he sat at a picnic table and listened to a pregnant woman, who was smoking a crack pipe, complain about her children being taken from her.

He now works to give babies who were born under these conditions or who have other medical problems, extra attention.

After his experience in the park, Conrad, 49, found his way to the neo-natal intensive care unit at University Medical Center, where he has served for four and a half years in the hospital's Cuddler program. [Read article]

Increase may use money to boost faculty retention

More than $6 million that would come largely from a potential tuition hike might go toward increasing salaries across the university, especially in the form of merit-based bonuses for faculty and staff.

Administrators are considering a plan that would use funds from a tuition increase and other sources to help reverse a trend that has seen the UA lose hundreds of faculty members to higher-paying universities, said Vice Provost Elizabeth Ervin. [Read article]

ÎCubbies' work closely with ASUA representatives

After a semester of mostly "settling in" and adapting to college life, UA's first Freshman Class Council is busy fund raising, performing philanthropic activities and painting fire hydrants.

In addition to spearheading a fire hydrant-painting contest to raise money for UA clubs, the "cubbies'," as FCC director J.P. Benedict calls them, purpose is to help coordinate various parts of Spring Fling and the Arizona Students Association's lobbying efforts. [Read article]

New UA student lives in Coronado, hates fire alarms and thinks guys are a bunch of stinky pigs

WILDCAT: So, this is your first year at UA ÷ do you like it so far?

HANAWALT: I love U of A.

WILDCAT: Where do you live?

HANAWALT: Coronado.

WILDCAT: Nice. I lived in Scoronado too.

HANAWALT: It's terrible. Fire alarms every night.

WILDCAT: I know. You get to the point to where you just want to pull them yourself early in the night to just get it over with. [Read article]

· Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other simultaneously.

· More personal telephone calls are made on Mother's Day in the United States than on any other day in any other country.

· The first porn movie was the 1908 French film "Al'Ecu d'or oula Bonne Auberge."

· The names of all the continents end with the letter with which they begin. [Read article]

Dating disasters

Oregon Daily Emerald
University of Oregon

People generally hope for the best as they head out on a date, but sometimes an evening meant for romance turns into a disaster story.

University of Oregon junior Joey Albert will never forget his dating disasters. A few years ago, Albert said he took a date to a Portland Trailblazers game at the Rose Garden. Those familiar with the arena know there is a large fountain in the courtyard that periodically spurts different water formations up from the ground, drenching anyone walking across it. [Read article]