W L
wednesday, august ,
Gallery juxtaposition
Two exhibits provide clashing views of America, leave room for rumination
How much does your professor make? See our complete database of UA employees’ salaries online at dailywildcat.com
DW OPINIONS
Rest in praise
Do we love the King of Pop more in death than in life?
Arizona Daily Wildcat
dailywildcat.com
The student voice of the University of Arizona since 1899
Google Delayed Discovery delays discovery switch stalled on campus By Tim McDonnell ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
By Michelle Monroe ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT The UA is going Google; it’s just having some trouble loading the page. Students’ e-mail was on schedule to be fully migrated to Google by Aug. 1 but has been delayed due to contract signings, according to Michele Norin, the UA’s chief information officer for University Information Technology Services . UA officials signed a contract with Google two weeks ago, which is now being reviewed by Google’s lawyers. It should be signed within a few days, said Tom Rees, associate director of UITS frontline services and student computing . The contract is expected to go through in its current form because of its close similarity to a contract already in place at Northern Arizona University, Rees said. He added,“It just takes a long time to get things done.” The Daily Wildcat reported in June that the UA was in the negotiation process for a $150,000 contract with Google, which would be the least expensive option for an e-mail server over alternatives such as Microsoft Exchange. The delay comes not from reworking the contract or running into problems, but rather from the administration misjudging how long the negotiation process would take, said Derek Masseth, senior director for infrastructure services at UITS. Once both parties sign the contract, it’s uncertain how the student migration will take place. It is anticipated that there will be a significant number of students who want to migrate immediately, so the UA is focusing on a voluntary rather than a mandatory transition, Rees said. “There will be a sign-up with firstcome, first-serve,” Rees said. “Doing it the voluntary way gives the students much more control as well as makes it easier on us.” The migration system, which will facilitate the student sign-up process, is expected to be up and running within the next few months. The ultimate GOOGLE, page A6
The launch of the space shuttle Discovery has been delayed by NASA officials, forcing a hold on a UA-led project that could lead to advancements in materials engineering. The project, developed in cooperation with NASA, the European Space Agency and Cleveland State University, hopes to answer questions about the solidification process of alloy metals. Researchers hope to gather data about microstructures that could strengthen metals used to make jet engines. UA researchers, led by material
science and engineering professor and co-principal investigator David Poirier, were in Cape Canaveral, Fla., this week for the expected launch. Material science and engineering professor and co-principal investigator Robert Erdmann said the delay poses no problem to the experiment, which has been in the works for more than a decade. “It’s obviously disappointing because a shuttle launch at night is supposed to be a spectacular thing,” he said. “But all it does is set us back.” The experiment would require astronauts in space to melt down alloy metals in a specialized furnace, then solidify them in a mold.
Investigators back on Earth would later analyze these metals for their structural stability. On Earth, gravity and other factors often force metals to solidify irregularly, Erdmann said. But in space, he said, the lack of gravity allows molds to solidify at a uniform rate, lending the snowflake-like microstructures in the metal more stability. “We say hot air rises. Well, hot metal rises too,” he said. “In space, you still have hot metal, but it won’t know which way to go.” According to Associated Press reports, the launch was called off due DISCOVERY, page A6
Swine flu virus reaches UA
UA Campus Health gives five easy points for avoiding the flu: 1. Wash your hands often to stop the spread of germs. 2. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth since germs are often spread this way. 3. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. 4. Stay home if you are sick. 5. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze to prevent others from getting sick. Campus Health will be setting up flu shot clinics The clinics will be: Sept. 28 Outside Harvill 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Female student reportedly diagnosed with H1N1
Sept. 28
Front of Physics-Atmospheric Sciences 2-6 p.m.
Photo illustration by Rita Lichamei/Arizona Daily Wildcat
By Angel Allen and Hank Stephenson ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT The first case of a UA student contracting the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, was confirmed over the weekend, but university officials made no formal announcement about the matter. The unidentified female fell ill last week, according to UA spokesman Johnny Cruz , who has been communicating with Campus Health about the case. Cruz said he doesn’t know if the student lives or works on campus, but said her case was mild to moderate in severity, and she has since made a full recovery. The university has a contingency plan for an outbreak of the virus,
Marta Lavandier/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Space Shuttle Discovery is seen on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Tuesday Aug. 25.
and promotes ways to prevent getting the flu via fliers and posters on campus. Online updates about flu outbreaks are also sent out on UANews . “We can certainly say it’s circling nationwide and we should expect more cases here,” Cruz said. The case of H1N1 adds to the 25 confirmed cases of influenza on campus in roughly the last two weeks , Cruz said. All the cases were mild to moderate in severity with no hospitalizations. That number is higher than average for this time of year, according to Harry McDermott, the director of Campus Health Service . Rapid flu testing revealed the majority of students that tested positive for the flu have Type A, or the common flu. It takes specialized
testing to determine if anybody seen recently at Campus Health has the H1N1 virus. Students who are severely ill or have other potentially complicated medical problems like asthma are being treated with Tamiflu , McDermott said. “We are strongly recommending that anyone who develops flu-like symptoms should isolate themselves as soon as possible in their home or room and contact the Campus Health Service by phone if they feel that they need to be seen by a doctor,” he said. These precautions reflect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations to reduce the chance of exposing others to flu. FLU, page A3
Sept. 29
Arizona Health Sciences Center during clinic hours
Sept. 30
Tent on the Mall 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Oct. 1
West side of Old Main 10:45 a.m.-2 p.m.
Oct. 2
Front of the ILC 8:45 a.m.-1 p.m.
Oct. 2
Front of Bio Sciences East 2-4:15 p.m.
Oct. 3
Front of Bear Down Gymnasium 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Shelton stresses growth, accountability
Q&A
Faculty must find ways to engage expanding student body
Although the budget crunch has dominated recent headlines, the UA is too large and complex an institution to boil down to a single issue. In the second part of a two-part series, President Robert Shelton sat down with news editor Tim McDonnell to touch on a few other issues affecting the campus.
Q: I’d like to ask you about technology in the classroom. In recent semesters we’ve seen an increase in usage of Webbased resources like D2L, especially in lower-tier courses. Given that these technologies are still relatively in their infancy, how can you assure students that the education that they’re receiving is of the same quality as they would be receiving in more traditional settings? Roxana Vasquez/Arizona Daily Wildcat A: The bottom line on all of this, in UA President Robert Shelton spoke to the University in his address about the terms of quality of education, depends future of the University of Arizona, Thursday afternoon, November 13, 2008.
on the individual. It’s about whether the individual standing in front of the class has designed quality web-based lectures, or graphics, or videos. It’s also about how available that person is and how committed that person is to the educational process. For example, we’re going to have lectures in Centennial Hall. There was a little brouhaha about that. When I was in college the most popular class was human sexuality and it was held in the auditorium with 800 people. The lectures were brilliant and the way the group was broken up into discussion sections worked. There are some people that you can put in front of a class of 1,000 and they will mesmerize you. Some people you can put in front of a class of 10 and they’re a disaster. You have to make sure you get folks sorted out. Some people can do brilliant work teaching graduate classes and they aren’t
as good at introductory classes and the other way around. What I would like to see is our faculty, and they’re very engaged in our administration infrastructure, push more towards these options for students. Students embrace it rapidly. Students seemingly have no problem absorbing 20 things at once. You’ve got to gear it to the audience, and I know we can do even more. How convenient would it be for a student if you can’t make a class, for example if you sleep late, or you’ve double-booked like Hermione Granger, to be able to get the lectures online. It’s not the same, but at least you have a backup. There’s so much more we can do with this high-tech online option. Q: Last year you explained to the Faculty Senate the need for the UA to produce more bachelor’s degrees, and this SHELTON, page A3 Sponsored by UA Career Services
-
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26 th , 2009 fr om 10 AM to 2 PM • STUDENT UNION MEMORIAL CENTER, NORTH BALLROOM (2nd level)