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ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
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State of UA: Budget looks bleak
Speech focuses on fiscal problems, Legislature slashing higher ed funding By Luke Money ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
Ernie Somoza/Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA President Robert Shelton gives his annual State of the University address in the Student Union Memorial Center’s Grand Ballroom on Thursday. His speech highlighted the university’s budget and plans for the future.
For UA President Robert Shelton, repeatedly talking about the condition of the state budget makes him feel like Bill Murray’s character from “Groundhog Day,” constantly reliving past experiences. “I can’t talk about what is going on at the U of A without addressing the budget,” Shelton said during his State of the University address on Thursday, “and what I am going to say this year about the budget is pretty much what I said last year, and the year before that, and I think the year before that.” Shelton also offered a film comparison for some Arizona legislators during his speech in the Student Union Memorial Center Grand Ballroom. “When you listen to these guys, it’s like ‘Groundhog Day’ meets ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’” Shelton said. “I keep repeating myself, and they keep slashing people with knives.” He cited the challenges of
maintaining a budget in the face of more than $100 million in reductions in state appropriations to the university over the last four years. “The facts on our budget are clear and unambiguous,” Shelton said, “yet we have key legislators who have stated publicly, with straight faces I might add, that we have been untouched and spared any significant cuts and that this year they are really going to have to slash us.” Shelton particularly criticized legislators for not recognizing higher education spending as an investment rather than a cost. He said legislators do not realize how they might affect the state’s future “when they try to lay waste to the single greatest engine of economic mobility that has ever been created.” “That’s what public higher education in this country is,” Shelton said. Emily Fritze, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, praised ADDRESS, page 3
Powering down ‘power hours’
tucson, arizona
UA green grades average
Overall mark for sustainability remains stagnant By Rebecca Rillos ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Sustainability grades are in, and the UA earned a “B.” The College Sustainability Report Card 2011 released by GreenReportCard.org last week rated the UA as only “B” material. The efforts of the UA and 321 other colleges to expand energy efficiency were graded in nine categories and averaged on a traditional 4.0 scale. “I think it is a fair assessment but it is not reflecting our current efforts toward sustainability,” said Joe Abraham, sustainability coordinator of Student Affairs . Abraham said that although the report is labeled 2011, the information it was based on is from the 200910 academic year. Since then, the UA has added numerous efforts to increase its energy efficiency and savings, including the opening of the Office of Sustainability last month. “Before the formation of the Office of Sustainability, so many people were doing things around campus that were very disjointed so it was difficult to organize the REPORT, page 3
Photo illustration by Gordon Bates and Erich Healy/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Some bars around campus ban birthday binge-drinking tradition By Brenna Goth ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT The 21st birthdays of some students come with a related rite of passage: a power hour. The celebration of the ability to legally drink starts at midnight and continues until bars close at 2 a.m. “You go out with all your friends,” said Brandy Ronstadt, a bartender at the Auld Dubliner. “It’s kind of like your christening into bar life.” Power hour gained national attention in 2004 when Jason Reinhardt, a Minnesota college student, died from alcohol poisoning after his birthday night. The practice continues to be popular but has limitations at many bars. Students going out for power hour often visit multiple bars and drink at all of them. “They don’t really think about moderation,” Ronstadt said. “Their friends all want to buy them their favorite shot or what they think will get them the drunkest. It’s not usually in their control.” The combination of a seemingly unlimited access to alcohol and the spirit of celebration can put students
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at risk for excessive drinking. “I think that for a birthday party, there is the celebratory thing,” said Lynn Reyes, alcohol and drug prevention specialist for Campus Health Service. “The environment is part of the factors that encourage us to drink more than what we might otherwise.” Bars that frequently entertain 21 year olds try to look out for those who may overdo their first night out. Maria Campas, a bartender at the Buffet and Crock Pot, said people celebrate their 21st birthdays at the bar nightly and are each given a free 24-oz beer. “Most likely they (drink their beer), ring the bell and then regulars will buy them drinks,” Campas said. “They come out of here pretty drunk, but we make sure they have a designated driver.” Ronstadt said power hours often lead to intervention from bar staff. “I would say more often than not,” she said. “We’ve definitely had to cut off a lot of newly 21 year olds.” Some students turn their power hour into a game encouraging binge drinking. “You take 21 shots in your first
Five Finger Death Punch performs live at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., 8 p.m.
hour,” said pre-physiology sophomore Miranda McDonald. “I know people for sure who’ve tried. I don’t know if they’ve succeeded.” Many bars do not allow the practice, so students barhop throughout the night. “I’ve seen a lot of people who have little lists of where they’ve taken shots,” Ronstadt said. “I can’t say I’ve seen anyone make the 21.” Chemicalengineeringsophomore Robert Cook said he skipped his own power hour but has watched friends try the 21-shot challenge. “I didn’t really try to stop them,” Cook said. “They didn’t really get sick because their tolerance is so high. Eventually, they don’t even make it through it. They stop.” The threat of excessive drinking has caused some bars to refuse service to 21-year-olds until 8 a.m. on their birthday. “We don’t do what university students call ‘power hour,’” said Bill Nugent, owner of The Shanty. “We can’t serve them that night.” Nugent said the bar was advised by its insurance company to start service the following day. Bartenders run the risk of overserving people who have been
drinking at other bars or parties. “You have no way of tracking how much they’ve consumed,” Nugent said. Not all students partake in power hour for their 21st birthdays. “I think you’re expected to go out a get a little wasted on that day,” said pre-pharmacy junior Kelsey Armstrong, who added she does not drink. Armstrong said she is going to Las Vegas when she turns 21 this year. “I just think it’s something fun,” Armstrong said. “There are other things to do.”
IF YOU GO The following bars serve people at midnight on their 21st birthdays: The Auld Dubliner Gentle Ben’s Brewing Co. The Surly Wench Pub The Buffet and Crock Pot
Arizona Percussion Group performs its annual fall concert at 7:30 p.m., UA Crowder Hall, Speedway Boulevard and Park Avenue.
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GOP wants one-term Obama MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON — Republicans intensified their confrontation with the White House on Thursday as the party’s Senate leader defended his controversial assertion that a top GOP priority is to make Barack Obama a oneterm president. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the Republicans’ steadfast resistance to Obama contributed to Tuesday’s electoral romp and that defeating the president in 2012 remains a leading priority. McConnell’s comments, before a conservative Washington think tank, came as congressional leaders and the White House continued adjusting to historic shifts in political power in Washington. McConnell vowed to attack the administration’s health care overhaul in coming months and to pursue other top GOP goals. Obama invited congressional leaders to dinner Nov. 18 at the White House in one sign of postelection bipartisanship. The president faces a RepublicanOBAMA, page 3
Diwali: The Festival of Lights, Hindu new year celebration, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. at Govinda’s Natural Foods Buffet and Boutique, 711 E. Blacklidge Drive.
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