Union budget off by $3 million; jobs, hours cut

A year ago, student union administrators threw a weeklong celebration in honor of the grand opening of the Student Union Memorial Center.

The student union's tagline, "The biggest student union in the nation without a hotel attached," touted the grandeur of the recently completed $60 million renovation and expansion enterprise.

According to a newsletter for student union employees, student union administrators entered this fiscal year, which began July 2003, "with excitement and expectations that we were entering the best fiscal year in student union history." [Read article]

By the time Rodrigo Ordonez had transferred to the UA from Panama, balancing work and school was already the norm for him.

Working full time in the Student Union Memorial Center, Ordonez, an electrical engineering senior, helped his parents, who operate a pig farm in Panama, pay for tuition.

Now, because business in the student union is expected to fall $3 million short of expectations for this year, Ordonez has lost his job along with three other full-time employees. [Read article]

Classes cannot be closed to minors without prior consent of administration

Departments will no longer be allowed to close off classes to students minoring in their fields without consent from the central administration, officials announced yesterday.

However, departments that have already prevented minors from enrolling in classes will have until Dec. 31 to comply with the ruling.

The new policy stems from the fact that students who have declared minors in several departments have been unable to enroll for fall classes within those departments. [Read article]

UA astronomers will soon be able to gaze deep into space atop Mount Graham, 150 miles northeast of Tucson.

A large, finely polished piece of glass was carefully installed into the large binocular telescope (LBT) March 16. After receiving a thin aluminum coating, it will become the first of two mirrors in the LBT.

The two 4.8-meter mirrors will make the telescope the most powerful in the world, UA officials said. The LBT project began in 1985. [Read article]

Program gives a new outlook on 'hooking up'

A new reality dating show called "Tucson for 2" is redefining the term "cheap date."

The show gives students a chance at love, and local Tucson businesses advertisements in exchange for free dinner, bowling and car rental services for their dates.

Producer Chris de Barros, who directs, writes and edits the show, came up with the idea to prove to people that there are things to do in Tucson. [Read article]

In two weeks, members of the UA Hillel Foundation and the Arizona Israel Alliance will create a human Israeli flag on the UA Mall to promote Israel and peace in the Middle East.

The event, titled "Israel is real: The flag comes to life," is part of a week of activities for an Israeli leadership seminar, said Heather Lobenstein, Hillel special events coordinator.

Lobenstein said the flag formation, which will take place April 28, has never happened on any college campus. [Read article]

Professor is visiting from India, where they use the metric system and aren't into the Beatles

Wildcat: Hi, my name's Nathan and you're on the spot. Are you a professor here?

Ramasesha: Visiting professor.

Wildcat: I was going to say that, or you're giving a new name to "nontraditional student." Never mind. So this weekend, I gave myself a really bad haircut and - I don't know if it's bad - I just wanted to ask your opinion. On a scale of one to five, with five being really good, how would you rate my hair? [Read article]

Things you always never wanted to know

April 3, 1981: Bringing down the house

Minsky's, Phi Kappa Psi fraternity's annual Spring Fling attraction, collapsed at 2:30 p.m. Thursday as workers were putting the finishing touches on the booth. Four fraternity members and one female assistant were inside ... the structure, but no one was hurt, according to fraternity member Pat J. Duffy. [Read article]