Possibility of Bush visit combines both ceremonies

Commencement will take place in a single ceremony at Arizona Stadium this year, the first time since the 1970s that the UA will hold graduation outside.

The event is normally split into two ceremonies in McKale Center, but was moved outside and consolidated in anticipation of a possible speech by President Bush.

Though officials still call a Bush acceptance unlikely, they moved the ceremony outside so that if he does attend, all the graduates will be able to hear his speech. [Read article]

Put story here when done!!! [Read article]

Desert landscaping could encroach on campus grass if a UA professor gets his way.

Michael Rosenzweig, an ecology and evolutionary biology professor, said the UA campus could become a more appetizing habitat for the local bird population if officials were to trade the grass for mesquite trees.

"It is unimaginable what this campus could be like," said Rosenzweig. "(The current landscape) was unbelievably badly done." [Read article]

Lev Raphael is the gay son of two Jewish Holocaust survivors, and he wants to bring more attention to the persecution of homosexuals in the Holocaust.

Raphael spoke to students and community members last night in the Catalina Room of the Student Union Memorial Center, focusing on the experience of gays and lesbians in the Holocaust.

His talk also previewed a traveling exhibit from the Holocaust Museum showcasing gays in the Holocaust. The exhibit will hit Tucson in mid-April. [Read article]

The ASUA Senate approved the Appropriations Board consent agenda for $4,400 at last night's senate meeting.

The Soil, Water and Environmental Science Club requested $1,425 but received $1,000 to attend the National Soil Judging Contest in Normal, Ill., April 17-23.

During the competition, contestants will examine the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil.

Members of the Phi Alpha Delta Mock Trial team received the $1,000 they requested to attend the National Mock Trial Championship in St. Petersburg, Fla., March 5-7. [Read article]

PHOENIX ÷ A law that would have made universities accept woodworking or high school auto shop credits in lieu of fine arts credits required for undergraduate admission was voted down yesterday.

The bill failed by a 6-6 vote despite arguments from people who said technical vocational classes better prepared students for careers in engineering and other fields.

Rep. Olivia Cajero Bedford, D-Tucson, the bill's sponsor, said it was unfair to force students into taking an arts class when their interests might fall in more technical fields. [Read article]

Junior works at a desk, says she's a sexy brunette and claims to have some big psychic powers

Wildcat: (Calling from Cochise Residence Hall's courtesy phone, located outside the building)

Iriye: Cochise front desk. This is Heather. How can I help you?

Wildcat: Hello, Heather. This is Nathan and I work for the Arizona Daily Wildcat. We do these spontaneous interviews and I was wondering if you'd be game. [Read article]

Things You Always Never Wanted To Know

QUESTION: I walk by the Hopi Lodge on my way to class every single day. A couple of weeks ago, a fence rental company was setting up these odd, rectangular fence sections that seem to have no point except to block parking.

÷ Carl R. Nissly, optical sciences and engineering junior

ANSWER:

On East Fourth Street and North Vine Avenue, at the east end of Hopi Residence Hall, lies the conundrum in question. [Read article]