ARIZONA SUMMER
Hot spot for hot pot Student-run restaurant cooks up a unique, authentic Chinese culinary experience.
WILD CAT TUCSON, ARIZONA
August 8-21, 2011
MONSOON, page 6
dailywildcat.com
Migrating south
Phoenix Summer Send-Off event prepares students to head to Tucson website, send-off events have been held around the country for 20 years, including in Phoenix. Brian Segal, a 1979 alumnus, came PHOENIX — The last time there were to the event to show his support for so many Wildcats together in Sun Devil the Alumni Association and also for territory was when the UA men’s bashis son, Jacob, who will be an engiketball team made it to the Elite Eight. neering freshman. More than 1,400 incoming freshmen, “We wanted to get him fired up,” friends and family showed up on July Brian Segal said about his son. “It 31 for the 2011 Phoenix Summer Send(school) is right around the corner.” Off at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort to get For Jacob Segal, the choice to go to immersed in all things red and blue. the UA was pretty simple. The Pride of Arizona marching band “If he wanted us to pay for it, he was played the fight song, which nearly going to Tucson,” Brian Segal joked. “If drowned out the crowd’s chants of, “U he wanted to pay for it, he could have of A … U of A.” gone anywhere.” Incoming students could get inforThe Wildcat lineage runs deep in the mation about a Zona Zoo sports pass, Segal family. Both of Jacob Segal’s parstock up on UA gear and mingle with ents and his fraternal grandparents atother future Wildcats. Those who were tended the UA. awarded the Wildcat Mac Scholarship While some viewed going to the UA were also able to pick up their as a given, others weighed their opMacBooks or iPads, which was part of tions before choosing Arizona. the scholarship package. The scholarSierra Kneller and Anna Rajnisz, ship is awarded based on academic friends from Desert Ridge High achievement, as well as other factors Matt Lewis/Arizona Summer Wildcat School in Mesa, will be freshmen decided on by the selection committee. Wilma Wildcat poses with two incoming freshmen at the 2011 UA Phoenix Summer Send-Off. More than 1,400 incoming freshmen this fall. They chose the UA because Summer send-offs, and other similar attended the event along with their families. of their interest in the College of events, serve as a way for future stuMedicine. dents to get to know their new school He added that many Phoenician students choose the UA Kneller will major in biology, while Rajnisz will study biobetter. It also presents an opportunity to meet some of their because it is an opportunity for them to grow away from chemistry. Both said they liked the high ranking of the colpeers before classes start on Aug. 22. home, but still be close enough should they need the support lege and also the Tucson weather. Both considered Arizona’s Mark Strickling, regional director of the UA Alumni of friends and family. other public universities and Kneller even looked at a few Association’s Phoenix office, said the event has grown Kathy Riester, assistant dean of students , added that each year from about 500 students at the first send-off four the university also has many quality programs and schools in California, but ultimately decided Tucson was their best bet. years ago. support functions outside the classroom. There are 24 Kneller said she came to the send-off because she He described the event as “stellar and exhilarating.” cities around the country where the UA Parents and wanted to get involved. Both girls expressed a desire for “People are telling me ‘I’m pleased that my son or daugh- Family Association hosts send-off events, which are free school to start, adding that they had a countdown until ter is going to the U of A,’” Strickling said. of charge. According to the UA Alumni Association’s the beginning of classes.
By Matt Lewis ARIZONA SUMMER WILDCAT
UA tops in state per-student funding By Eliza Molk ARIZONA SUMMER WILDCAT The UA has historically received thousands of more dollars from the state general fund per full-time equivalent (FTE) than the other Arizona universities, a disparity that could be another reason for an ongoing debate to switch to a performance-based funding model for higher education. Performance-based funding is part of a national trend that would link state funding with gains in certain performance areas. These areas, called “metrics,” include things such as enrollment, graduation rates and research spending. The state Legislature required the Arizona Board of Regents to create metrics for growth and productivity as well as annual targets for each metric through 2020. In fiscal year 2008, the UA received $4,599 more than Arizona State University and $3,917 more than Northern Arizona University in funding per FTE. In fiscal year 2011, the UA received $3,480 more than ASU and $3,046 more than NAU in funding per FTE. The funding is despite the fact that the UA has increased its enrollment the least out of the three universities since 2008, by about 6 percent, while ASU has increased by about 9 percent and NAU by about 16 percent, according to a report by the board of regents. The UA’s per-FTE funding has been higher for a variety of reasons. This includes having the only medical school of FUNDING, page 2
Muslims promote tolerance through Ramadan fasting By Amer Taleb ARIZONA SUMMER WILDCAT Muslims on campus have begun observing Ramadan, the Islamic holy month ordaining they refrain from eating or drinking during daylight. Fasting began on Aug. 1. The start of fasting changes every year because Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar. Muslims worldwide recognize Ramadan, which according to Islam is when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago. Muslims fast to appreciate what they have and gain sympathy for those who have less. “We’re hungry for a month. Millions of people feel that way for the entire year,” said Jamil Anouti, president of the Islamic Center of Tucson. Back in the 1960s, UA students looking to expand their prayer area out of the Student Union eventually led to the formation and construction of the center at 901 E. First St., in 1990. Anouti said the center is the vital and only steppingstone for all UA Muslim students and faculty, hailing from at least 20 different countries and
Amer Taleb/Arizona Summer Wildcat
Dozens of worshipers file out of the Islamic Center of Tucson following their weekly “jummuah,” or Friday prayer, which Muslims observe worldwide every week. About 600 people on average attend services.
numbering in the hundreds. Along with providing them with a religious and social community during the year, the center offers them a place to break their fast and pray during their sacred month. “A large portion of the student body are going without food or water for about 15 hours a day for an entire month,” Anouti said. He said at least one resident assistant
sends his hungry students from the residence halls to the center for iftar, the evening meal Muslims use to break their fast. The center makes a point of reaching out to non-Muslims as well. In the past, teachers have offered extra credit to students who attend the iftar. Sa’ad Ansari, an Islamic Center of RAMADAN, page 2