The annual kickoff concert CatFest rocked the UA last night after 1,000 students showed to see Rufio and other bands, doubling last year's attendance.

The event, organized by the University Activities Board and the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, featured punk bands Rufio, The Spill Canvas and Your Name in Lights.

The Student Union Memorial Center Grand Ballroom was crowded with standing students who simply listened, or, for the more enthusiastic fans, danced, crowd-surfed or shouted the cheer "Ru-fi-ooooo!" [Read article]

An 800-pound air conditioning unit that burned out Wednesday kept the student union about 8 degrees hotter the last two days, a problem that should be fixed by the end of today.

One of the six 100-horsepower motors on the roof of the Student Union Memorial Center stopped working around noon Wednesday, affecting parts of the food court, the Cactus Grill and other areas for the last two days, said Dave Parker, associate director of Facilities Management and operations of the student union. [Read article]

Students may have to pay a $20 student union fee next year if regents approve the proposal.

Proposed by the UA Dining Services, the fee would be an alternative to the mandatory meal plan suggested at the end of last semester.

If approved, the fee will expand services, cover maintenance costs, and finance the debt and bonds the Student Union Memorial Center was constructed with, among other intentions, said Dan Adams, director of the Arizona Student Unions, in an e-mail. [Read article]

SafeRide is expanding its services this semester by offering students traveling on Sundays a ride home from Tucson International Airport.

SafeRide, one of the 15 programs of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, is student-run and provides free transportation Sunday through Friday to students, faculty and UA guests.

Starting Sunday, students can sign up online to be picked up at the airport free of charge, said Josh Wright, SafeRide director. [Read article]

A student entrepreneur has created a shelf for dorm students who get stuck with the top bunk and are running out of space.

Finance and entrepreneurship senior Stephen Tanenbaum is selling Bunkpal, a shelf designed to fit on the top bunk bed in dorms.

The shelf is 20 inches wide and 10 inches long and is designed to hold alarm clocks, textbooks, cell phones, drinking glasses and lamps, Tanenbaum said. [Read article]

"Mars Mania" is coming tomorrow to celebrate the UA's extensive involvement in Mars exploration.

The event is scheduled to include a star party, a 3-D planetarium show and speeches by UA scientists.

Professor Alfred S. McEwen, the principal investigator for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, will be speaking in the Manuel T. Pacheco Integrated Learning Center, Room 120 at 6:30 p.m. HiRISE is a hi-resolution camera and telescope that launched for Mars on Aug. 12 as part of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. [Read article]

New sorority members say they are looking forward to a semester of making new friends, philanthropy events and sorority activities.

After receiving her bid on Tuesday night from Kappa Alpha Theta, Kristin Seifert ran to the house and was warmly greeted by the active sisters, where they enjoyed carnival-type activities, dinner and introductions, said Seifert, a communication sophomore.

So far, Seifert said, she and her pledge class have been "induced into the sorority," and have gotten to know each other by introducing themselves and sharing stories from recruitment. [Read article]

The Tucson Police Department will begin using electronic citations through a cooperative effort with the Tucson City Court in hopes of freeing up overworked city clerks.

Students who are pulled over for a traffic violation may receive a printed ticket instead of the hand-written kind.

The E-citation pilot project is being implemented all over Tucson by TPD motorcycle police. Officers will be able to issue citations from a handheld device similar to a personal digital assistant, according to a press release. [Read article]

Between the poster sales, booths and screaming preachers on the UA Mall are hundreds of clubs looking to get students connected to campus.

"We're just out here trying to let people know we exist and get students interested in joining," said Jordan Jacobs, a member of the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers club, one of the 500 active campus organizations and clubs.

Formula SAE came to the Mall fully equipped with their own miniature Formula One racer that Jacobs, a business sophomore, and the rest of the club designed and built. [Read article]

The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health received a $1.8 million grant to fund enhancements for a new training program that will expand course options and give students an inside look at other ethnicities.

The grant is from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, a division of the Health Resources and Services Administration, and will fund a new program aimed at reducing health disparities in mothers and their children, according to a press release. [Read article]

Frat rat chats scat

Wildcat: So my name's Kris and you're on the spot. Like, how's it going? What's your name?

Saul: It goes good!

Wildcat: So what's your name?

Saul: John.

Wildcat: What are you studying?

Saul: Marketing.

Wildcat: What's your year?

Saul: Ehhhh, kind of a junior?

Wildcat: Yeah?

Saul: Sort of. [Read article]

Things you've always never wanted to know