It would be hard for a UA student to be politically ignorant this election year.

Concerted efforts by Associated Students of the University of Arizona, several student political groups and at least one independent non-partisan group gave students ample opportunity to register to vote and to learn about local and national politics this year.

ASUA President Alistair Chapman said he took a different approach from previous years, saying the table on the UA Mall registering students to vote was unnecessary this year. He said efforts by College Republicans and Young Democrats to register students to vote overlapped ASUA efforts to register voters. [Read article]

Thanks to a federal law protecting the privacy of university students, concerned parents may have a hard time keeping tabs on their children's academic progress.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, enacted in 1974, gives financially independent students, not their parents, the right to access their personal information. If a student is claimed as a dependent on their parent's tax form, parents can file an affidavit to access their children's academic and financial records. [Read article]

Matthew and Stephanie Rukasin don't have to worry about telling their parents about family weekend, or finding people to go to UA football and basketball games with. They are the fourth generation of a true Wildcat family.

The Rukasin family history started at the UA with a great-grandfather who was a professor, followed by his children, their children and one more generation after that.

Kay Rukasin, Matthew and Stephanie's mother, graduated from the UA in 1969 with a bachelor's degree and later earned a master's degree in elementary education. Kay Rukasin said she has been proud to follow in her parents' footsteps by attending the UA, and seeing her children do the same. [Read article]

Band honoraries help plan Family Weekend

This weekend, parents of band members will be on the field, getting a one-on-one lesson from their sons and daughters.

Kappa Kappa Psi, the band's honorary fraternity, and Tau Beta Sigma, its honorary sorority, have helped plan events for Family Weekend, including a luncheon and a rehearsal where parents will learn how to march in a band.

Emily Parcell, a music senior and president of Tau Beta Sigma, said the band rehearsal will be right before Saturday's football game. Along with teaching parents how to march, they may also get a chance to learn how to play instruments, Parcell said. [Read article]

UA Babycats and Hand in Hand preschool have begun collaborating in an effort to assist the 8,000 children of UA-affiliated parents who are in need of adequate childcare, said Tiffany Burns, 32, a political science freshman, mother and undergraduate vice president of UA Babycats.

With the UA being the only Pacific 10 Conference school without university-provided daycare, more than half of the children cared for at Hand in Hand belong to UA families, Burns said. [Read article]

Students who live on campus are scrambling to clean their rooms and some residence halls have scheduled events to welcome families to campus this weekend.

Taryn Polich, a communications freshman, said she is not taking any chances and is going to clean her dorm room until it is spotless.

"I'm a big neat freak but I know my mom is worse, so I have to be extremely careful," Polich said. "I'm also cleaning all my linens because I know my mom will check." [Read article]

Keeping safe on campus is a major concern for students and their parents, and the UA has a variety of safety programs and outlets to keep students out of harm's way.

SafeRide car escort service, emergency blue lights, the OASIS Center for sexual assault victims and the University of Arizona Police Department are all available to promote the safety of the campus community.

UAPD is the UA's campus police department and the officers patrol campus 24 hours a day by car or bike to ensure the safety of campus residents, commuters, visitors, parents and staff. [Read article]

The northern part of the Alumni Plaza next to the Administration building will open to the public today, after five years of planning and nearly a year of construction.

The rest of the 108,000 square-foot Alumni Plaza will be officially opened and dedicated Oct. 29, corresponding to the Arizona Alumni Association's Homecoming, "The Bash at Alumni Plaza."

Funded entirely by alumni and private donors, the Alumni Plaza, which cost $5 million, will be presented as a gift to the student body from UA alumni. [Read article]

Students trying to pass their classes and needing help with class material when tests come around can utilize many tutoring services around campus.

Stacey Hartman, assistant director of the University Learning Center, said University Tutoring Services are available to all undergraduate students who pay a $25 semester fee.

Hartman said UTS accommodates most 100 and 200 level courses.

UTS tutors are available at Old Main Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. [Read article]

For the first time in UA history, minority students make up more than 25 percent of the total student population, according to fall 2004 enrollment data.

Hispanics make up the largest minority group at the school, with 5,024 students, or 13 percent of the total student population.

Overall enrollment at the UA held steady for fall 2004, falling 151 students shy of last year's record number of students, according to data from the Office of Enrollment Research. [Read article]

With the addition of a new building and two new restaurants, the face of East University Boulevard will look very different after a series of changes over the next several months.

When the Marshall Foundation, which leases most of the businesses on East University Boulevard and some sections of North Park Avenue, surveyed UA students about which features they like in coffee shops, many said they would like to patron a coffee shop with more space, said Jane McCollum, general manager of the Marshall Foundation. [Read article]

UA museums to check out with your parents

Student nudists aren't the only exhibitionists on campus. Museums also create a great venue to see naked people, among other entertaining sights.

Whether you're into photography, historical artifacts or really funky contemporary art, the UA campus has several museums on campus to fit all your mind-expanding needs. Plus, admission is free for all museums. [Read article]

Family weekend is about doing things that you really don't want to do, but have to.

You'd rather spend a Saturday afternoon watching the "I Love the '80s" marathon for the 12th time as you feel your frontal lobe start to slowly erode. Instead, you're at the Sonoran Desert Museum or on your way to the pie place on Mount Lemmon. And your mom won't stop talking about how beautiful everything is. [Read article]

Bumper sticker: "My kid and my money go to the UA."

Reality check: Your kid goes to the UA. Your money often goes somewhere else.

Happy Family Weekend. For once, students will be the top dogs in their families as they demonstrate knowledge of Tucson and the campus. They might introduce their new roommates, take their parents to restaurants or even bring out some books from under their bed and pretend they've been reading them. [Read article]

Everyone under the stars wants to make movies. Only a few people have the creativity, passion and true grit to actually do it.

In May, graduating seniors from the Media Arts program will be showcasing their own 10-minute short films as part of their senior thesis. From start to finish, the films are conceived and birthed by the students.

Right now, most of the films are in pre-production and will begin filming in December. [Read article]