A UA student was in critical condition last night after being hit by a car driven by another UA student yesterday afternoon.

Sharlene M. Willingham, a family studies and human development senior, was crossing North Campbell Avenue, between East Second Street and East Third Street, when she was struck by a 1996 Audi driven by 23-year-old Benjamin Reesing, a UA student and McKale Center employee. [Read article]

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first temporary artificial heart, developed by a UA professor, yesterday.

Designed by Dr. Jack G. Copeland, a surgery professor, the CardioWest Total Artificial Heart is the first artificial organ to be approved by the FDA.

"It's a lifesaver," said Copeland, who is the co-director of the Sarver Heart Center at the UA College of Medicine. "It saves people's lives." [Read article]

Two men have been charged with the murder of Dr. David Brian Stidham, the 37-year-old pediatric ophthalmologist and UA College of Medicine clinical instructor found stabbed to death earlier this month. One of the men is Stidham's former medical partner.

Stidham was found dead Oct. 5 in the parking lot of North First Medical Plaza on the 4700 block of North First Avenue. He was stabbed 17 times. [Read article]

ASUA senators and representatives from UA colleges will present a plan to administration Thursday on how students can retain commencement traditions while still behaving appropriately, an agreement ASUA senators and administrators came to when the university-wide December commencement was reinstated.

"We need to come up with a plan that will be effective," said Alistair Chapman, Associated Students of the University of Arizona president. "We need to give them as much feedback as possible." [Read article]

Thirty people showed up to Gallagher Theater to see U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., speak about the importance of student involvement in politics, yesterday.

Despite the small crowd, Kolbe smiled and said, "I like talking to small groups on an informal basis."

Kolbe emphasized the importance of students registering to vote, and actually going to the polls on election day.

Voters between 18 and 24 have the lowest voter turnout rate, a historic trend that is in need of improvement, Kolbe said. [Read article]

Three Arizona non-profit organizations received federal funding yesterday to institute programs to combat youth drug abuse, said U.S. Drug Czar John P. Walters in a press conference downtown at the Tucson Indian Center yesterday.

Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control policy, said the grants will fund programs for junior high school and high school students, specifically American Indians and Latinos. [Read article]

Upcoming ASUA project could align college and high school students

ASUA senators discussed a program Friday in which UA students would assist high school students to create a community service project for their high school or surrounding community.

"Our goal is to provide as many opportunities to explore venues to help their community," said Joseph Fu, an Associated Students of the University of Arizona senator who is helping to develop the program. [Read article]

Things you always never wanted to know