Memorial for Polk tonight in McKale Center

UA women's basketball player Shawntinice Polk died of cardiac arrest Monday morning after a blood clot traveled from one of her legs to her lungs, a county medical examiner said.

Polk collapsed in McKale Center after mentioning she was feeling ill and was taken to University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, said UA athletics director Jim Livengood. [Read article]

A celebration marking the end of a billion-dollar fundraising effort has been canceled because of the death of UA women's basketball center Shawntinice Polk.

The fundraising effort, "Campaign Arizona," which was the first in the state to raise more than $1 billion, began July 1, 1997, and ended in June, said Rodney Campbell, director of communication at the University of Arizona Foundation.

The effort exceeded its billion-dollar goal, and although the count of the donations is not complete, the final amount could be as large as $1.2 billion, according to a press release. [Read article]

UA men's rugby team looking for players

The Arizona's men's club rugby team is holding open tryouts for its lock position at tomorrow's practice.

Arizona head coach Dave Sitton said that any UA student 6-foot-3 or taller is invited to try to join the Ruggers' 85-person roster. The team begins its season the weekend of Oct. 21 with road games against Texas and Baylor.

The lock position, which is similar to the tackle in American football, has not been filled because the team lacks athletes who are big enough, he said. [Read article]

Women who attended a free self-defense class last night learned that actions as simple as keeping their heads held high and listening to their gut instincts could save them from being the victim of a violent attack.

Tina Tarin, violence prevention specialist at the OASIS Program for Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence and instructor of the self-defense courses, said she thinks the most important aspect of the classes is making women more confident and aware of attacks. [Read article]

A radical shift in the way the UA has attracted new students since 2002 has created what President Peter Likins called "a real transformation" in the student body.

According to enrollment data released last week, the freshman class is the largest it has ever been, with 5,794 students.

The class of 2009 has several distinctions from previous classes. It has the highest average SAT scores in the history of the UA, with an average score of 1122, up four points from last year's freshman class, records show. [Read article]

From the exotic Amazon River basin to the majestic Grand Canyon, their mission is to bring a variety of desert communities to life for Tucsonans and viewers all over the country.

Now, Tom Kleespie and Dan Duncan each have an Emmy for their work on "The Desert Speaks," a weekly half-hour series broadcast on KUAT-TV, Channel 6.

Members of the National Television Academy Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter, comprised of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and parts of California and Wyoming, awarded the men with the golden statuettes. [Read article]

The Graduate and Professional Student Council's travel grant program may be an answer to bridging the gap in a shrinking pie of funding for graduate student travel.

This year, GPSC will be awarding more than $50,000 in travel grants to students who are attending or presenting research at academic or professional conferences, said GPSC President Elaine Ulrich.

The grants have a maximum value of $500. [Read article]

Wildcat: Hi, I'm Cassie and this is Claire, and you're on the spot. So if you were a stripper, to what song would you dance?

Scott: Let me think about this. ... Hmm. ... "You Light Up My Life."

Wildcat: Uhh ... are you serious? That's a little slow. I guess you're the intimate type. How seriously do you take expiration dates?

Scott: Depends on what it is. If it's milk, I'll take it seriously. If it's other stuff ... meh, not as much. [Read article]

Things you've always never wanted to know