Journalism department overcrowding keeps students out of required courses

Ten journalism students have to push back their plans to graduate in May because the department is unable to offer enough classes to accommodate its increasing enrollment.

The number of journalism students has doubled since 2000, while the faculty number has gone down, said Paul Johnson, journalism academic adviser. [Read article]

Years of state budget cuts have pushed UA faculty salaries to the middle of the road in comparison with other Pac-10 schools, making retention and recruitment difficult, officials said.

One of the major reasons for low salaries at the UA is the loss of state appropriated dollars for faculty retention and salaries, said Juan Garcia, vice provost for academic affairs.

As the salaries decrease, the faculty retention and education at the university also dwindles, Garcia said. [Read article]

The FBI released a crime report last week that labeled the UA as the No. 1 campus for property theft, but a UA official said the report is misleading.

Paul Allvin, associate vice president of communications, said the UA doesn't actually have the highest property theft of any university, but it looks that way because the ranking was based off schools volunteering information.

"Only about 500 universities volunteer for the FBI crime report," Allvin said, but there are more than 6,000 universities nationwide. [Read article]

Freedom of speech was exercised on campus yesterday as a self-proclaimed Christian apologist yelled interpretations of the Bible and got into screaming matches with students who said otherwise.

Cliffe Knechtle, a representative from the Give Me An Answer ministry, stood on the UA Mall to answer questions about the Bible and defend the faith of the Baptist church, said members of the Refuge and Priority College Ministry who brought him to campus. [Read article]

The Graduate and Professional Student Council passed a resolution last week asking Arizona's Congressional delegation to increase funding to support the reduction of transmittable diseases in other countries.

The resolution asks Congress for increased support in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by allocating additional funds for the education and prevention of the diseases, said Elaine Ulrich, GPSC president. [Read article]

Of all property crimes at the UA, bike theft is one of the most rampant crimes on campus, although the number of reported stolen bikes has declined since last year.

Bike thefts make up about a third of the property crimes on campus. Last year there were 1,275 property crimes reported, and 417 of those were bike thefts, according to University of Arizona Police Department reports.

But there are signs that the number of bike thefts will be lower this year than years past, said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesman. [Read article]

Gallery focuses on border

The UA Union Gallery is displaying artwork regarding border issues from 10 artists nationwide until Nov. 10.

The Western Humanities Alliance's 24th Annual Conference will have "Borders" on exhibit. Each artist has a unique perspective to share based on his or her own experiences with borders.

This nontraditional exhibit incorporates installation art, video shorts, propaganda and abstraction to encapsulate the range of perceptions and issues that surround the concept of borders. [Read article]

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