Mr. President:
Football or basketball?
Columnist Andrew Shephard apologizes to Bush for harsh words.
With an up-and-coming basketball squad and the No. 17 football team in the nation, we question who dominates the UA SPORTS, 6
PERSPECTIVES, 4
ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
tuesday, october ,
tucson, arizona
dailywildcat.com
Cancer Center supports soldiers By Lucy Valencia ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT More than 30 volunteers have donated and helped to collect DVDs, CDs, audio books and video games in an effort put on by members of the Arizona Cancer Center. “Adopt a U.S. Soldier” is a nonprofit organization that aims to
send letters and care packages to deployed soldiers. Mary Ann Brady, the program coordinator at the Arizona Cancer Center, took on the task of localizing the project and is focusing on the 700 servicemen and women of Task Force Gambler, a taskforce in southeastern Afghanistan. “(Brady) first took the idea to the director of the Cancer Center
who said that if she undertook this project they’d support her and back her all the way,” said Cindy Ryan, assistant to the director of the Arizona Cancer Center. “My nephew is in the Marines and I know he’s always extremely gratified to receive these type of care packages that arrive from home, so I was eager to be able to help out too.”
“It sounded like a more hands-on type of program where you know you’re helping out real people rather than a faceless donation where you don’t know where your money is going,” said Mitzi Miranda, an accountant at the Arizona Cancer Center and one of the volunteers working with Brady. “You know what you’re doing is helping out
a soldier in need.” Miranda heard about the program after an email sent by Director Dave Alberts to 400 staff and faculty members on the Cancer Center’s listserv. Rather than mandating everyone to help, the email encouraged people to get involved and resulted in 29 volunteers signing up soon after. SOLDIERS, page 3
UA dept celebrates 100th ECE honors centennial with lecture series as outreach effort By Lívia Fialho ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT The UA’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department is turning 100 years old. To celebrate, the ECE prepared a special schedule in honor of the achievements of what was the first department of its kind in the Southwest. But the past is only a means to look into the future. According to Jerzy Rosenblit, head of the department, they want to bring awareness of its work to students who are undecided by reaching out to the community. “Engineering clearly is a rigorous study of the underlying physical and mathematical principles, but there’s a tremendous opportunity for people to pursue their personal passions,” Rosenblit said. “We have people here who want to pursue music, who want to work in biomedical areas, folks that now think perhaps we could, as engineers, get engaged in policy making to impact the environment.” As part of centennial events, the department is bringing in professionals who have succeeded in different areas of the field to participate in their Centennial Distinguished Lecture series. Inventor Saul Griffith kicked off the lecture series last week with a presentation on the environment. A presentation of rovers, devices deemed to be the next generation of planetary exploration, was conducted on the UA Mall on Oct. 4. “We, as a community, have something to be incredibly proud of. The fact that, right ECE, page 3
Hallie Bolonkin/Arizona Daily Wildcat
A quilt decorated with inspirational phrases including “Love Yourself” and “Gay is Beautiful” is displayed on UA Mall during the National Coming Out Day LGBTQ Resource Fair on Monday. The event included booths set up along the Mall offering resources including campus clubs, HIV/AIDS support and leadership training.
Pride Alliance: ‘That’s So Gay’
Coming Out Week aimed at ending abuse, fixing vocabulary By Brenna Goth ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Programs for this year’s UA Coming Out Week address recent harassment of the LGBTQ community. The 12 days of events come after national attention has been called to the bullying of gay teenagers. Several teenagers committed suicide over the past month after being harassed, including Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi, after his roommate broadcasted Clementi having sex with another man on the internet. Coming Out Week incorporates a variety of events geared toward the UA. Pride in the Desert and drag bingo celebrate individuality and pride in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community. “We do have some events that are a little more somber,” said
sociology senior Jai Smith, co-director of ASUA Pride Alliance. Event organizers added a speakout and candlelight vigil in response to the recent suicides, as “a call to action for those who won’t stand for this type of bullying,” Smith said. The suicides have heightened awareness of an ongoing problem, according to Smith. “It’s important to note that this bullying is not new, but definitely something that has gained a lot more media attention,” Smith said. “The fact of the matter is that this is our lives we’re talking about.” Martie van der Voort, mental health clinician for Campus Health Service, runs a weekly support group where LGBTQ students can share their stories of harassment. “That figured prominently in our discussion this week. A lot of this is going on here,” van der Voort said. “We’re talking about it. It’s big. We’re tapping into a lot of grief in
the queer community.” History junior Kristen Godfrey attended the Coming Out Day resource fair on the UA Mall Monday. She said several students yelled the word “faggot” during the football game on Saturday. “Everyone uses it,” Godfrey said. “We actually had to tell a stranger, ‘Dude. That’s a bad word. Stop saying that.’” Van der Voort has personally experienced this discrimination. “I’ve certainly had people drive by and yell ‘dyke’ at me,” van der Voort said. Coming Out Week aims to educate the public about these issues. “There are some events that are specifically to reach those who might not have any idea what the LGBTQ community looks like or that it is very diverse,” Smith said. The resource fair provided information from campus and community organizations. Signs displayed
statistics about harassment and messages from the Pride Alliance’s “That’s So Gay” campaign. The campaign “brings awareness to the phrase ‘That’s so gay,’ to people who use it and may not know what it means,” said psychology senior Derek Knocke, intern for ASUA Pride Alliance. Coming Out Day also featured an open discussion during which people could share personal coming out stories. “LGBTQ (people) and straight allies all have stories about the fight we fight,” said Patty Putman, intern for ASUA Pride Alliance and a senior studying English. Van der Voort said allies are important to ending discrimination. “The allies are showing up — non-gays supportive of the queer community,” van der Voort said. “That to me is where real revolution lies. That’s actually a wonderful example of coming out.”
Chad Travis
EVERYONE HAS A STORY Bringing ‘Saxappeal’ to senate By Abigail Richardson ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
Valentina Martinelli/Arizona Daily Wildcat
ASUA Sen. Chad Travis, a pre-business sophomore, talks about the influence the saxophone has had on his life. Travis used the slogan “Chad Travis puts the sax in ASUA” for his campaign.
COMING WEDNESDAY
Sexy costumes ...
“Everyone Has a Story” is a weekly segment in the Arizona Daily Wildcat that aims to tell the story of an interesting person on the UA campus. This week, the Daily Wildcat interviewed Chad Travis, an Associated Students of the University of Arizona senator. “Saxappeal in the Senate” was the slogan Travis used during ASUA Senate elections.
that aren’t. Wildlife takes a look at a few of the most ridiculous Halloween costumes.
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“I just wanted to have fun with the campaign,” Travis said. “Saxophone has always been a huge part of my life.” During the eight years that Travis has played the saxophone, he has had many memorable moments — some of them embarrassing. “I was playing in the Wind Symphony with the U of A, here, and it was my first concert,” he said. “There is a big intense moment
“The Vampire or He Loved in Vein” show at the Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd., 6:30 p.m.
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where the entire band plays the same lines together. There is a rest, and then they play a note. They rest and play a note. Well, somehow, I miscounted the rests so I came in on the rest when the entire band was silent. I played as loud as I could play and it was so embarrassing. I remember sitting there thinking it was my first college concert and I just messed up as badly as you can possibly mess up in a band setting.”
Tech N9ne performs live at the Rialto Theatre, 7 p.m., 318 E. Congress St.
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TRAVIS, page 5