9.3.13

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THE DAILY WILDCAT Printing the news, sounding the alarm, and raising hell since 1899

DAILYWILDCAT.COM

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

ODDS & ENDS - 2

VOLUME 107 • ISSUE 6

Eller, PAAW combat pet homelessness

ODDS & ENDS MAKES ITS RETURN

SHANNON HIGGINS

The Daily Wildcat The Eller College of Management will be working with Pima Alliance for Animal Welfare and supporting organizations in conducting a study on the number of stray pets in Tucson. The Petfinder Foundation awarded PAAW a $1,250 grant for the study. The study aims to find ways to reduce the number of animals entering shelters.

SPORTS - 7

Supporting organizations include Pima Animal Care Center and the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. The study will use existing data from different organizations while collecting new data as well. PAAW expects to have complete results on Dec. 3. “It’s a great experience for students in Eller,” said Cynthia Gilliland , professor of practice in the Eller College department of management and organizations, “because through a non-profit consulting class, they can develop real world consulting skills

that will apply in the for-profit world and the nonprofit world while at the same [time] making a positive difference today in Tucson.” Maya Shovestull , a marketing senior, said she was excited to hear about Eller College’s involvement with the study. “I think that Eller has been really present in trying to improve the Tucson community,” Shovestull said. “I think a lot of the time we get really hung up on human problems, but I think animal homelessness

PUMP UP THE JAM

SOCCER HAS BEST START SINCE 2008

Wildcats are off to a good start with a 35-0 win against NAU

HOMELESS PETS, 3

UA alumni release parking app pilot OLIVIA MOUNTZ

The Daily Wildcat

ARTS & LIFE - 10

MUSIC SCHOOL GEARS UP FOR PERFORMANCES

DAILYWILDCAT.COM

FOOTBALL SEASON OPENER VIDEO TYLER BESH/THE DAILY WILDCAT

UA MASCOT, WILBUR, pumps up the crowd at the UA football team’s season opener against NAU on Friday. The Wildcats beat NAU 35-0.

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Student loan rates face fluctuations next year

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WEATHER HI

101 SUNNY 75 LOW

Labor, Mexico 85/55 Day, Ark. 87/57 Over, United Kingdom 75/49

QUOTE TO NOTE

While I will also miss Bookend, the increased revenue Starbucks and other chains will bring to the university justifies the change. Sentimentality isn’t any way to run a business.” OPINIONS — 4

Fewer UA students are seeking funding for college this year despite Congress’ decision for student loan rates to remain low. Next year, loan amounts will be determined by the rate the Department of the Treasury borrows at. The year-to-date total of students at the UA receiving that type of funding, as of Aug. 24, is down by more than 1,100 recipients, or $11.45 million less than last year, according to a report provided by Elizabeth Acree, UA registrar and interim director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. The average debt of a UA student is below the national average, according to Rebekah Salcedo, senior associate director of the financial aid office. More than 56 percent of undergraduate students and 59 percent of graduate students leave the Arizona university system with debt. Undergraduate students average more than $22,000 of debt and graduate students leave with an average of more than $47,000 of debt. “[The average debt students have leaving college] influenced my decision on where I would get [aid] from,” said Phillip Noel, a physics freshman. “I wouldn’t be able to afford school without it.” The current interest rate for unsubsidized student loans, 3.9 percent, took effect retroactively, replacing the default rate, 6.8 percent, which was in place for part of July. The 3.9 percent rate will remain in place for the 20132014 academic year. After 2014, the rate will be based on the financial market

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TYLER BESH

STUDENT LOAN RATES will be based on what rate the U.S. Department of the Treasury borrows at next year.

and be capped at 8.25 percent for undergraduate students, 9.5 percent for graduate students and 10.5 percent for PLUS loans. “One piece of this that kept legislators for quite some time over the summer was whether or not there would be a cap,” Acree said. “Some people preferred that protection be in there.” Putting a cap on interest rates would limit the amount of debt that thousands of students have when they leave the UA, according to Acree. At the UA, 34,179 students were offered some type of financial aid, grant or scholarship during the 2012 fiscal year, totaling more than $583 million. In recent years, Congress

enacted lower emergency rates due to a poor economy and lack of funding. “Because the economy was doing so poorly, students were needing to be in school,” Acree said. “Tuition was rising because states were cutting back on funding.” To replace that reduced rate next year, Congress put a plan in place that adds 0.93 percent for subsidized Stafford loans, 2.93 percent for unsubsidized Stafford loans and 3.93 percent for unsubsidized PLUS loans to the 10-year Treasury Note interest rate. The average interest rate for the 10-year note was 2.78 percent

LOANS, 3

UA alumni have created an app to help make paying for metered parking easier. Thomas Maguire, Ross Shanken and Austin Weiss recently launched Park Genius, a parking application that allows people to pay for a parking meter on their phone rather than having to use coins. The trio were students in the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program when they conceptualized the app. “We came up with the idea of the parking app because we were constantly having to think of the time that was left on our meter,” said Macguire, co-founder and chief financial officer of Park Genius. “If we were in a restaurant on University [Boulevard], we’d always have to get up and put more coins in … it was just frustrating, inconvenient and seemed unnecessary.” In order to use the app, the user enters the number of their parking space, chooses the amount of time they need and presses “park” on their smartphone. Park Genius is a free application available for download on any web-enabled Android, or iOS smartphone device, or as a web app. Parking lots where Park Genius can be used are located: outside the Student Recreation Center on Seventh Street, outside McClelland Hall on Helen Street, on University Boulevard between Park Avenue and Euclid Avenue, on Alameda Street between Main Avenue and Sixth Avenue and on Scott Avenue between Pennington Street and Broadway Boulevard. Some UA students said they’ve also experienced frustration with parking meters. “I’ve spent over $200 on nonsense tickets at the meters because class got out late or I needed to stay and talk to a teacher,” said Keegan Baker, a political science junior. For a 35 cent convenience fee, Park Genius will notify the user when the meter is running low and give the option to add more time. “I wish there were more all around campus,” said Allison Kettell, a psychology sophomore. “If these existed last year, my roommate would probably be $300 richer.” Last year, Kettell and her roommate took turns moving the car they shared in and out of the 20-minute parking zones due to construction that caused a lack of parking in the garages around campus. Kettell said she was happy to hear about the new meter payment option. “They seem easy and stress-free,” Kettell said. “No running back and forth to the car in case you need more time.” After what Maguire described as a “long and intensive process with the approval of the City of Tucson,” a formal agreement has recently been met. The founders of the app signed a three-month pilot with the city on Aug. 5. If the pilot is successful, the

APPLICATION, 3

I’ve spent over $200 on nonsense tickets at the meters because class got out late or I needed to stay and talk to a teacher.

— Keegan Baker, political science junior


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