A group of UA lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their allies took a nine-hour vow of silence yesterday in quiet protest for the oppression they have suffered throughout their lives.

Students gathered on the grassy area in front of the fountain near Old Main in preparation to break their silence yesterday afternoon, and as the clock struck 5, screams erupted from the crowd.

The intensity drew applause then laughter from the crowd as the students spoke their first words of the day. [Read article]

The president of the Sigma Pi fraternity said yesterday the rape accusations the University of Arizona Police Department are investigating did not involve any members of the organization, even though it allegedly happened at the fraternity house.

"On behalf of the entire fraternity, I would like to state that the individual(s) involved in this alleged accusation are neither members of the fraternity nor of the greek community," said Joe DiVita, president of Sigma Pi, in the chapter's official statement in an e-mail. [Read article]

The clanging, smashing and banging of metal near the Alumni Plaza yesterday seemed to startle some people, but what was more surprising was the sound came from the UA quadriplegic rugby team.

The quad rugby exhibition game, organized as part of the Disability Resource Center's awareness series "Disability Reframed," was the first game the team played for the UA public, said Bryan Barten, a disability specialist who also plays on the team. [Read article]

PHOENIX - Legislators are continuing to debate a statewide hot topic involving what some say is the clash of two rights: the right to bear arms and the right to public safety and welfare, as these issues come together in a proposal to allow guns in bars.

A bill at the state Legislature would change the law, which states that only peace officers or the owner of the establishment can have a gun on the property, to allow citizens with a concealed weapons permit to bring their firearms into bars. [Read article]

If you walked through the UA mall yesterday, you probably noticed a sea of neon-colored flags planted in the lawn, lending what initially felt like a cheerful ambience to the heart of the university.

At closer look, however, the signs revealed something more: Each one represented 10,000 human lives lost in the Holocaust.

The field of flags was a small part of the Hillel Foundation-sponsored 24-hour 13th annual Holocaust Vigil, which began at 10 a.m. yesterday and ends at 10 a.m. today. [Read article]

More than 300 students and faculty became organ donors this week at the University of Arizona Students for Organ Donation table on the UA Mall, meaning a potential of 2,400 lives can be saved.

UAOD is a young club on campus that became officially recognized in 2004, according to their Web site.

"The purpose (of the club) is to endorse, educate and encourage donation," said Amina Shonka, president of UAOD. "We are here to educate those unaware of the issue and dispel any myths." [Read article]

The UA's participation in a population genetics undertaking was announced yesterday, giving people around the world an opportunity to trace their ancestry to the dawn of mankind.

The Genographic Project is a collaboration of National Geographic and IBM, which have contracted UA scientists at Arizona Research Laboratories to screen hundreds of thousands of public DNA samples, said Matt Kaplan, the project coordinator. [Read article]

Comments made by NASA chief nominee Michael Griffin have UA astronomers hopeful that the ailing Hubble Space Telescope may be saved, if he is confirmed as NASA chief.

Griffin told senators Tuesday at his confirmation hearing that he would reconsider a decision by his predecessor to prohibit a manned mission to repair Hubble, citing safety concerns for the crew.

Former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe said that in light of the Columbia disaster, NASA had to ascribe to higher levels of safety for all future missions. [Read article]

Things you always never wanted to know