Jewish students reunited with friends

Jewish UA students who traveled to Israel over winter break were temporarily reunited this week with four Israeli soldiers they befriended while visiting the country.

When the UA Hillel Foundation sent 40 students to Israel over the winter, the students met and befriended eight Israeli soldiers who were partnered with them by the Parallel Lives Project. [Read article]

The UA entered a partnership with a university in Tucson's "Sister City" Almaty yesterday, further solidifying the relationship between the two cities established in 1989.

President Peter Likins signed an International Memorandum of Agreement with Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, a move that will promote an exchange of faculty, students and research collaborations.

Al-Farabi, located in central Asia, will join the list of more than 260 universities worldwide that the UA has partnerships with, including institutions in countries such as Italy, China, Argentina, Tanzania and Egypt. [Read article]

Undecided Davis talks issues over breakfast

Administrators are not voicing their support for a mandatory meal plan until more discussions take place, Provost George Davis said yesterday during a breakfast with 10 students.

Davis said most administrators are not taking a stance on the issue because they have only received one presentation on the possibility of a meal plan.

While administrators understand the Student Union Memorial Center's financial situation, Davis said they are also interested in what the students have to say. [Read article]

Students and faculty looking to buy a car this weekend won't have to look any farther than the UA Mall.

Watson Chevrolet and O'Rielly Chevrolet, in cooperation with the UA athletics department, will be selling 200 new cars on the east side of campus today and tomorrow.

"It's a one-stop shopping place if you're looking for a Chevrolet and an opportunity to get a good deal on a car," said Joe Watson, new car sales manager at Watson Chevrolet. "It's a good time to buy a vehicle because incentives are the highest they've been all year." [Read article]

The men held nothing back when they competed for the title of Mr. Greek in Alpha Phi's spring philanthropy for cardiac care organizations.

The Alpha Phi sorority's third annual Mr. Greek competition drew in about 500 people, most of which were greeks, to support their friends and fraternity brothers for the title and bragging rights as the winner of the men's pageant.

The men did everything it took to get high scores from the judges, which was made up of one representative from 11 sororities. [Read article]

To raise health awareness, some UA colleges are hosting a free health expo tomorrow for women.

The third annual Women's Health Expo will take place tomorrow from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in McClelland Hall, 1130 E. Helen St., and is hosted by the Academy of Student Pharmacists from the UA College of Medicine and the UA National center of Excellence in Women's Health, a press release stated.

The free event is sponsored by University Medical Center, Safeway and the radio station 92.9 FM, and targets women in the community who are less fortunate as well as women who might be at risk for diseases, said Bee Quah, expo co-coordinator. [Read article]

Local schools could be to blame for a rising trend in childhood obesity, a problem resulting from contracts held with companies that produce unhealthy food and beverages.

The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health held their annual Partners in Public Health luncheon and conference titled "Our Children's Health, Our Children's Schools: A Call to Action" yesterday at the Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch and Resort, 5601 N. Hacienda Del Sol. [Read article]

Napolitano vetoes medical workers' 'rights of conscience' bill

PHOENIX - Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have allowed medical professionals to refuse to participate in the prescription or distribution of RU-486, the so-called "morning-after" pill.

Napolitano said in a letter to the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives that the bill targets women. [Read article]

"Fees are a touchy subject."
- Erin Hertzog, ASUA senator and executive vice president-elect, on the possibility of instituting a small student fee to help fund for adaptive athlete programs

"It's easier to learn oceanography when you're actually in the ocean. ... I loved sloshing around in the mud."
- Lily Shevitz, media arts sophomore, on traveling on an oceanography field trip last weekend to Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico [Read article]