FOLES EXCITED FOR PHILLY OPPORTUNITY
SPORTS — B1
HISTORY SHOULD BE SET IN STONE
PERSPECTIVES — A4
CATCHING THEIR BIG BREAK
ARTS & LIFE — A10
DAILY WILDCAT
Wednesday, May ,
DAILYWILDCAT.COM
SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA SINCE 1899
2011 sees increase in dorm crime UAPD reports 49 percent more incidents over 2010, blames new halls for rise By Michelle A. Monroe DAILY WILDCAT
Crime in residence halls has increased by 49 percent from last year, according to a data analysis of campus police records. There were 574 crime incidents at residence halls in 2011. In 2010 there were 386 incidents. Most of the more violent crimes,
such as physical and sexual assaults, occured in larger dorms or non-traditional area housing such as Babcock Residence Hall and Sky View Apartments, according to the data. A review of the police data shows trends of crimes occurring in student halls that should raise concern among students and staff. Coronado Residence Hall was a hot spot for criminal activity up until it was closed for renovations in summer 2011. It had the most crime on campus with 81, 106 and 108 criminal incidents in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively.
In September 2010, for instance, two groups of men, some of them UA students, were involved in a vicious fight right in front of the hall. Andrew Gooding, a 19-year-old student at the time, was arrested after throwing a rock the size of softball at a fellow student, sending him to the hospital. “Yeah, I’ve definitely heard about Coronado’s reputation, it was a big party scene,” said Amanda Bruno, an anthropology freshman. University of Arizona Police Department officers are often called because resident assistants deem
residents or their visitors to be dangerous. “It’s usually the RAs because they’re the ones making the rounds in residence halls,” said Jose Bermudez, crime prevention officer for UAPD. “If they feel a person is belligerent, and if they ask them to leave and they won’t, then we encourage them to call 911.” Before 2011, only four residence halls on campus regularly reported more than 20 crimes a year. But in 2011, 10 residence halls reported 20 or more crimes, according to the analysis. Police say the increase in crime is
BRIGHT BY DESIGN
not unexpected, as two new residence halls have opened. Also, over the past three years the freshman class has increased by about 300 students each year, according to data from the UA Office of Institutional Research and Planning Support. Since Coronado’s closure, ArizonaSonora Residence Hall has had 82 crime incidents in 2011, about a 67 percent increase in crimes from last year, according to the data. ArizonaSonora is also the leader in minor in possessions, its most common crime,
CRIME, 7
Federal student loans to change By Brittny Mejia DAILY WILDCAT
GORDON BATES / DAILY WILDCAT
Engineering students Giancarlo Guevara, Abdula Al-Hail and Michael Lesnewski sand a part of the bicycle they built for Engineering Design Day. The annual event, held on Tuesday, attracted more than 50 projects designed by engineering students.
DESIGN DAY, 3
Huppenthal: Universities should ban ethnic studies By Yara Askar DAILY WILDCAT
The law that banned ethnic studies courses in the Tucson Unified School District may extend to universities if an Arizona policymaker can successfully push the initiative. John Huppenthal, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, told Fox News Latino that he wants to suspend Mexican American studies in Arizona universities because these courses teach students to resent Anglo-Saxons. Huppenthal helped pass Arizona’s House Bill 2281, which banned courses in public schools that promoted racial resentment, overthrow of the U.S. government or catered to specific ethnic groups. If schools that provided these courses did not comply, they would lose 10 percent, or about $14 million, of their public funding. “The 10 percent is far more beneficial to the district as a whole than that program is for such a small, specialized group,” said Zoey Kotzambasis, vice president of the UA’s College Republicans and a political science freshman, a supporter of the ban.
ALEX KULPINSKI / DAILY WILDCAT
Gabriel Schivone speaks in the Cesar E. Chavez building on Tuesday about the history of ethnic studies in the Tucson Unified School District.
To eliminate a program at the UA, certain procedures and steps must be followed. First, the department’s dean must write a resolution to explain the reason for elimination, which must then be approved by the Faculty Senate and the Office of the Provost. Once approved, the
elimination resolution is presented to the Arizona Board of Regents, which makes the final decision. Although the bill impacted public schools in Tucson, people from around the state are advocating against it. Carlos Ovando, professor of transborder studies at Arizona State University, said he is “outraged” with Huppenthal’s actions. A university should be a marketplace for diverse ideas as well as a place where ethnic history contributes to American history, he said. “If you look at the history of the United States, it becomes part of the Mexican history and Americans should be informed of how the U.S. was shaped,” he said. While Huppenthal successfully dismantled the courses from public schools, Ovando said, he will have a much harder time doing so at universities due to student opposition. Antonio Estrada, head of the UA’s Mexican American Studies department, said banning these courses at the university level would harm academic freedom. “I believe it would be an uphill battle for Huppenthal or anyone on
ETHNIC STUDIES, 2
ASUA officials sworn in
Major changes to federal student loans and aid may cause undergraduates to make adjustments to their loan choices, but will have the greatest impact on graduate and professional students. UA students graduating in the fall will not be able to use a 2012-2013 Federal Direct Loan to pay for summer expenses. In addition, students no longer can use fall federal aid to pay prior charges greater than $200, according to Bryan Scott, assistant director for student financial aid. Furthermore, the 2011-2012 Federal Direct Loans must be accepted and disbursed before June 30 if students wish to receive loan discounts, according to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid website. Graduate and professional students, however, will become ineligible to receive federal direct subsidized loans. Although the annual loan limit remains unchanged, these students will only be able to receive direct unsubsidized loans. Direct subsidized loans do not
LOANS, 2
HI
Outgoing reps pass on symbolic items to incoming members
91 55
By Stewart McClintic
LOW
DAILY WILDCAT
UA community members congratulated the newly elected ASUA officials at an inauguration ceremony on Tuesday. The Associated Students of the University of Arizona president, executive vice president, administrative vice president and senate for the 2012-2013 school year were sworn into office in front of family, friends and administrators. Each member of the outgoing executive board gave the new board members tokens that represented their new positions, many while holding back tears. Brett Ponton, outgoing ASUA administrative vice president, gave Paige Sager a “Bear Down” claw to “fight off whatever challenges may come next year.” He also gave her a frame in the shape of an “A”
INAUGURATION, 2
University, Miss. Leader, Canada Promise City, Iowa
87 / 65 47 / 34 81 / 64
WORTH
NOTING This day in history
>> 1994: Nelson Mandela was victorious in South Africa’s first multiracial election. ‘Like‘ us on Facebook facebook.com/dailywildcat
Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/dailywildcat
Circle us on Google+ gplus.to/dailywildcat