Bobcats, ASUA sponsor week of mall events

Talented leapfroggers and jousters were rewarded with prizes like new computers yesterday in one of many events celebrating Homecoming week.

A mock-triathlon and inflatable carnival events were held on the UA Mall from noon to 1 p.m. Event winners received prizes like Xboxes, PlayStation 2 systems and computers, funded with sponsoring help of the UA Bobcats senior honorary and the Associated Students of the University of Arizona.

ASUA President Cade Bernsen, who took a few tries at completing a bungee-cord course, said the student government decided to help sponsor the events because they felt the activities would help get students excited about Homecoming.

“Homecoming is a time of celebration and this gets clubs and organizations out,” said Bernsen, a political science senior.

The triathlon consisted of a short lap of two-legged racing, leapfrogging and wheelbarrowing around a section of the Mall in teams of two. Freshman Class Council member Charles Wollin said he was excited to participate in the event as part of the Club Olympics.

“I love triathlons, they just make me go as a person,” said Wollin, a theatre arts freshman. “This is a different type of triathlon but I’m ready to try it.”

Nazorio Kone, a finance senior, and Peter Kim, pre-architecture freshman, completed the race in 35 seconds and won the Triathlon. Both received video game systems as their prize.

Jousting tournament winners included Homecoming king nominee and education senior Jon Jensen and Aerospace Booster Club member Katie Barrera.

Barrera, who won an eMachines computer, said she participated in the event because she knew she had a natural talent for it.

“I win at church camp every summer,” said Barrera, a communication sophomore.

Bobcats President Blake Buchanan said he estimated about 100 people a day came to watch or participate in the events.

“We’re having a great time,” said Buchanan, a journalism senior.

Buchanan encouraged all students to attend or participate in the rest of the events taking place on the Mall today and tomorrow. Tomorrow’s feature event is a mud tug-of-war.

“If you’re going to show up to one thing, you’ve got to show up to that,” Buchanan said.

All events start at noon and end at 1 p.m.

— By Ariel Serafin

Busy TPD means delayed assault information

Official information about students who were assaulted at a Halloween party Tuesday morning will be delayed because of busyness in the police department, an officer said.

The public records request for the police report that documented the incident is going to take time to process, said Lisa Peasley, Tucson Police Department public information officer.

“Because it’s an aggravated assault, it has to be approved,” Peasley said.

Once the information on the case is pulled, it will be sent to the police sergeant in charge of aggravated assaults for approval, Peasley said.

“Depending on what her situation is, it could be a few days,” she said.

The sergeant in charge of aggravated assault was working on a shooting case this morning, but the information about the assaulted students should be available by the end of the week, Peasley said.

Requests for information are filed at TPD as they are received. As of 4 p.m. yesterday, there were three other public information requests ahead of the aggravated assault information, Peasley said.

— By Nick Smith