The U.S. Department of State recently issued a warning that travel to Mexico is unstable because of violence related to drug trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The University of Arizona Police Department sent out a campus alert last week to inform students and faculty about new dangers of traveling south of the border.

Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesman, said violence in Mexico has increased because criminal organizations are fighting for drug trafficking control. [Read article]

Yesterday kicked off the second annual Residence Life "Recyclemania" contest taking place in all campus residence halls.

Recyclemania is a 10-week nationwide competition to see which residence hall can recycle the most material. Recyclable materials include cans, bottles, paper and cardboard.

The number of universities involved this year has skyrocketed nationwide. Last year, there were 17 universities across the country involved in Recyclemania, and this year nearly 40 schools are competing. [Read article]

Retail majors run UA apparel shop in mall

A unique collaboration between the UofA Bookstore and two campus groups has taken the form of a clothing store in the Tucson Mall, aimed to give students a valuable experience in retailing and management.

The "A Store" has been open since late November and is managed and staffed by UA students.

The store has been a collaboration of the UA chapter of Students in Free Enterprise, the Center for Retailing and Consumer Sciences and the bookstore. [Read article]

Plans for a new telescope are underway at the Steward Observatory, which will allow astronomers to see objects in space 10 times better than the Hubble Space Telescope.

A consortium of observatories and their academic partners have signed an agreement with the observatory to produce the first of seven 8.4 meter mirrors required to form the next generation of telescopes, the Giant Magellan Telescope. [Read article]

Three college graduates agreed teaching in low-income areas with the Teach for America program has been the most intense and rewarding experience they ever had.

The two UA alumni and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus encouraged students to join the organization at last night's meeting in the Student Union Memorial Center.

Teach for America is a program open to college graduates of all majors who make a two-year commitment to teaching in low-income areas all over the country. [Read article]

Mining engineering is in great demand, and not many UA students are taking advantage of it.

Last year alone, five students graduated from the department of mining and geological engineering.

However, with starting salaries averaging at about $55,000 and reaching as high as $80,000 immediately after graduation, Mary Poulton, department head and professor of mining and geological engineering, believes that is all about to change. [Read article]

After running an estimated $700,000 deficit since 2003, UApresents is projected to break even in two years if the program merges with the UA's theater arts program, said President Peter Likins.

Likins said UApresents, which operates as an auxiliary entertainment enterprise, could join the UA's College of Fine Arts after it gets back in the black by the 2007 fiscal year.

However, the program's deficit is expected to grow worse this year, reaching $846,800 in debt after losing an additional $225,000 in ticket sales last semester from the musical "Hairspray." [Read article]

It's back and better than ever!

Freshman can't tell if Michael Jackson is black or white but thinks he's guilty nonetheless

Wildcat: My name is Kylee and you're on the spot. I know you're not black, but do you have any plans for Black History Month?

Castiglione: No.

Wildcat: Why not?

Castiglione: I don't know. I just haven't planned anything. [Read article]

Things you always never wanted to know