TO CLIPS INDEX Clips
for March 3, 2009
Editorial: Brewer poised to help the state move forward
The Arizona Republic 3/3/09
The moment of truth has arrived for Gov. Jan Brewer,
only weeks into her new job. We will know shortly how
the Republican leader will deal with one of the worst fiscal
crises in Arizona history. If early indications tell us true, she
may finally be grabbing the moment by the collar. Brewer is
scheduled to address a joint meeting of the state Legislature
on Wednesday evening. There she will make her case for
resolving the $3.5 billion (and counting) deficit facing
Arizona government for fiscal 2010. That could include ballot
measures to temporarily raise state sales or property tax and
to change rules that prevent lawmakers from adjusting funding
attached to programs approved and protected by public vote.
Hostility likely at ASU West budget forum
The Arizona Republic 3/3/09
Arizona State University President Michael Crow is likely
to face years of pent-up hostility when he comes to the
ASU West campus Wednesday for a public forum on
recent cuts. Distrust of Crow - his motives and his
proposals - runs deep through a region that West Valley
leaders claim is treated by ASU as second-best, next to
the high-profile Polytechnic campus in the East Valley.
"We have always felt that President Crow treats the West
campus as the redheaded stepchild," said state Sen.
Linda Gray, R-Phoenix. "His favorites are the downtown
(Phoenix) and Tempe campuses. President Crow says,
'One University in Many Places,' yet the West campus
seems to be the one that gives up programs."
Ariz. teens leaning left, survey says
The Arizona Republic 3/3/09
In a state that gave America its 2008 Republican
presidential candidate and regularly elects
conservative policy makers, a snapshot survey
of 950 Arizona teenagers indicates that they are
leaning decidedly left. Among the results of a
survey released today: 75 percent support giving
illegal immigrants a chance to become citizens,
72 percent believe global warming is long-term
and human-caused, and 65 percent say women
have a right to choose abortion. Greater legal
restrictions on gun ownership get a nod from 56
percent. Although nearly half report that religion
plays an important role in their lives, half also
agree religious faith isn't necessary to live a
moral life and nearly 60 percent say religion
should not play a large role in public policy.
Forum on ASU West
The Arizona Republic 3/3/09
The Arizona Republic, in conjunction with Westmarc,
will host a public forum on the future of Arizona State
University's West campus at 7 p.m. Wednesday in
the LaSala A ballroom at ASU West, near the south-
eastern corner of 48th Avenue and Thunderbird Road.
Michael Ryan, vice president and general manager of
The Republic's community newspapers, will moderate
a question-and-answer session with ASU President
Michael Crow.
Read their lips: No new taxes
The Arizona Republic 3/3/09
Gov. Jan Brewer won't address a rare joint session
of the Legislature until Wednesday evening, but
Senate Republicans already are drawing a line in
the sand: No new taxes. "Absolutely not," said state
Sen. Pamela Gorman, R-Anthem, when asked
whether she and her legislative colleagues were
open to talk of a temporary tax increase. Gorman
said the Senate GOP caucus is in "direct opposition"
to the idea, which the Governor's Office has been
considering as a means to bridge the state's fiscal
mess.
Guest Opinion: J.
Robert Hendricks: UA College
of Education aims to fill school needs
Arizona Daily Star 3/3/09
Amid the jeers and cheers regarding the elimination
of undergraduate secondary teacher preparation at
the University of Arizona College of Education, I am
compelled to explain our rationale. After all, given
the teacher shortages, why would the college make
this decision? These actions will ultimately result in
the UA producing more teachers in the subject areas
that Arizona school districts need most. We have
made a strategic commitment to restructure our
secondary program and only offer teacher preparation
to candidates with an undergraduate degree in an
academic concentration. Certainly drastic budget
issues were a driving force for this decision, as
would be expected.
UA team adds precision
to DNA forensics
Arizona Daily Star 3/3/09
A strand of hair or a piece of skin can help prove
someone was at the scene of a crime — but UA
researchers are moving way beyond that. The
scientists say their research could provide law-
enforcement agencies with a physical description
of a suspect who is still at large, using DNA
samples recovered at a scene. After looking at the
hair, skin and eye color of about 1,000 University
of Arizona students, then comparing the readings
to the students' genetic makeup, the researchers
have been able to find a way to predict what people
will look like, in terms of eye, skin and hair color.
"There are cases when a blood or semen sample
is left at a crime scene and there are no witnesses,"
said Murray Brilliant, a University of Arizona professor
at the Steele Children's Research Center. "This can
help in an investigative way."
UA
assistant professor awarded grant to study
the way rivers flow
Tucson Citizen 3/3/09
A University of Arizona assistant professor has been
awarded a five-year grant to study the way rivers are
shaped and why. Jennifer Duan, an assistant
professor of civil engineering and engineering
mechanics, was awarded $415,560 by the National
Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career
Development Program last fall. She hopes her
research will provide scientists with the tools needed
for river restoration and flood control. Also, by knowing
how rivers meander, civil engineers can design better
bridges over rivers and riverbeds such as the Rillito.
To do so, Duan plans to create her own artificial river
as a curvy structure rather than the pre-existing
straight prototypes. Experimental data has not been
recorded on artificial winding river channels, she
said.
Supervisors oppose closure of ASU Social work
program in southern Arizona
Tucson Citizen 3/3/09
A plan to close the only university-level social services
study program in southern Arizona because of state
budget cuts was unanimously opposed Tuesday by
the Pima County Board of Supervisors. The board
voted 5-0 to oppose a plan by Arizona State University
officials to axe the program, which offers the only
bachelor's and master's degree courses in social
work in this part of the state. The school was started
in 1978 and serves about 200 students a year who
do field work at social service agencies around
southern Arizona. Over 1,000 have graduated since
the satellite program here was started, Mark Clark ,
president and CEO of CODAC Behavioral Health
Services in Tucson, told supervisors. State law
prohibits the state's other universities - the University
of Arizona here and Northern Arizona University in
Flagstaff - from offering duplicate programs.
Editorial: Negatively
optimistic
ASU Web Devil 3/3/09
Nationally, the unemployment rate has hit 7.6 percent,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January
report, and key financial institutions are bleeding
money. Statewide, the budget deficit reached more
than $1 billion this year and is expected to grow more
in the next fiscal year. The foreclosure rate is also
troubling, as Arizona has the third highest rate in the
nation. ....But while all of these problems torment the
general population on a daily basis, the majority of ASU
students have pushed through the semester with
regularity. Classes have not been canceled or wiped
out entirely, the buildings remain lit and air conditioned,
a significant amount of faculty have not lost their jobs,
no extra money has been extracted from student
pockets and the goofy little things college is all about
(term papers, debauchery, in-class Sudoku) are no
less a part of the daily routine. Around campus, it is
mostly business as usual. By this token, University
administrators have done a remarkable job sheltering
students from the larger financial crisis occurring all
around them. There has been no drastic uptick in
people dropping out of the school, and the academic
operations of ASU have been touched as little as
possible.
Smaller online classes
may be way of the future
ASU Web Devil 3/3/09
Smaller online classes that encourage student inter-
action may be the way of the future, experts said.
James Klein, a psychology in education professor,
said he believes active learning among students in
online lectures will make a significant difference in
online and hybrid classes. With ASU aiming to
eventually enroll 100,000 students in online courses,
Klein said his research focuses on the most effective
way to teach students online. “If you really want to
impact learning and performance, you’ve got to get
students actively involved,” Klein said. To look further
into the way online classes work, Klein chaired a
study by Christy Alarcon, an instructional designer
at the W. P. Carey School, in which students enrolled
in a class were prompted to interact with one another.
Alarcon’s study was an element of her dissertation,
which was part of an award-winning paper in 2008.
Alarcon said she observed two classes of students
who took the same computer-literacy course. One
class was taught through Blackboard, and one was
taught face to face. Alarcon said she looked at inter-
action cues in the online setting versus the face-to-
face setting.
Program fees possible due
to cuts, Crow says
ASU Web Devil 3/3/09
The University could increase program fees
and implement temporary additional charges
to compensate for $90 million in lost revenue
caused by cuts in state funding, ASU President
Michael Crow said. “If we don’t raise program
fees in those schools, we’ll have to decrease
enrollment,” Crow said in a meeting with The
State Press editorial board on Monday. “The
cost of having the students is too high [without
additional funding].” Program fee increases would
affect the schools of journalism, engineering and
nursing, among others, Crow said. The University
is also considering adding a temporary surcharge
to tuition across the board, which would expire
when funding to the University is restored. Crow
did not give specific numbers for the fee increases,
but said the temporary surcharge would likely be
relieved by the tax credit given to families with
children in college under the recently
passed federal stimulus package.
Editorial: ensuring a freedom-free campus
UA Daily Wildcat 3/3/09
At ten minutes before 11 yesterday morning, we
received an email with the subject "UA Statement
on Drug Free Schools and Campuses," explaining
the university's drug policies and what they intend
to do to people who violate them. It's put in nice,
neutral language and dressed up with thoughtful
reminders about "health risks," but the content is
basically indistinguishable from that of a
threatening letter. We have to wonder what the
University of Arizona Police Department would do
if we were to forward them the email and explain
that it made us feel harassed. Receiving such a
missive tends to make one feel mildly defensive:
what did I do? you wonder - not unreasonably, for
such emails seem tailored to be read only by the
guilty.
Faculty looks at likely layoff policy
UA Daily Wildcat 3/3/09
The Faculty Senate voted Monday to oppose the pass-
age of changes to the Arizona Board of Regents policies
involving the possible release of faculty, without more
time for significant study. The Arizona Board of Regents
is currently considering a request that could allow
administrators' contracts to be terminated within 90
days if universities are presented with severe budget
constraints. J.C Mutchler, associate professor of history
and member of the Faculty Senate, spoke at the meeting
last night regarding Arizona State University's request to
the Regents for an exception to the contracts of school
administrators. "ASU is asking for an exception as
administrators sign their new contracts. There will be
a clause in there for a 90 day lay off notice if there are
budget constraints in the coming year," he said. "Which
I think we can probably count on having."
Rally to seek school support
UA Daily Wildcat 3/3/09
The Arizona Education Association, in conjunction with
the Arizona Students Association, will be organizing
one of the largest mobilizations of education supporters
ever seen in this state to combat the severe budget cuts.
On March 4, AEA plans for parents, students, teachers,
and education support professionals to form a crowd
and descend upon the Arizona State Capitol starting
at 4 p.m. "We have a significantly larger crowd, we are
expecting about 10,000 people," said John Hartsell, a
public relations consultant of AEA. "It's going to be a
big event." Deemed the 'March4Schools Rally', it was
called into action because of budget decisions made
by Republican lawmakers.
Students get a crash course in economics
USA TODAY 3/3/09
Struggling college students are having an even more
difficult time because of the financial downturn. Some
opt to wait in food-pantry lines. Others have stopped
drinking soda, using their cars or eating out. "I have
noticed all around that prices have gone up. Rent,
food and basic utilities … it is a lot harder to survive,"
says Natalie Romero, 24, a student at Metropolitan
State College in Denver, which opened a food bank
on campus in September. "We have been seeing in
the past year that many of our students are in need
of the basic necessities," says Johanna Maes,
assistant dean of student life. The Community
College of Denver has offered a food bank to students
for more than 10 years, but in the past year there been
a significant increase in its use, says Jerry Mason,
director of student life: "We are actually having trouble
keeping up." The student government has doubled its
annual funding from $3,000 to $6,000 to help with the
increased demand, he says.