Redesign
The UA’s official website got a facelift on Wednesday morning. The launch of the new arizona.edu coincides with the launch of a new advertising campaign for the UA. The new brand positioning for the UA, under the tag line “Bigger Questions. Better Answers. Bear Down.,” will appear in the coming weeks on campus banners, bus wraps and radio ads, among other places. The UA is also looking for feedback from the community on the new site, and anyone can provide comments and concerns through a blue feedback tab on the right side of the new home page.
Asteroid mission
The NASA-approved OSIRIS-REx mission can now begin construction on the spacecraft. The UA-led asteroid sample return mission passed NASA’s Mission Critical Design Review last week, meaning its system design was approved by an independent review board. The project can now begin preparing for its planned launch in the fall of 2016.
OSIRIS-REx is planned to collect samples from the asteroid Bennu in 2018. It will spend a year studying the asteroid, then return to Earth in 2023, when scientists will be able to study the samples from the asteroid.
Recall dropped
A veterans group announced on Wednesday that it would drop its recall effort against Arizona Sen. Kimberly Lee (R-District 20) over a medical marijuana study. The Arizona Veterans Assistance Committee launched a recall against Lee because she blocked consideration for a study by Dr. Sue Sisley, a UA researcher, that would look at the effects of medical marijuana in treating post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. The veterans group said it was filing papers with the secretary of state to end the recall after negotiating a compromise with Lee and her attorney.
Changing Tables
The UA has added changing tables to every bathroom in the Student Union Memorial Center with the help of a partnership between the Arizona Student Unions and UA Life & Work Connections. The changing tables were installed in 20 of the student union’s bathrooms, including men’s, women’s and family restrooms. The student union previously only had changing tables in the two women’s bathrooms on the lower level.
Film Festival
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Film Festival will take place this Friday at 6 p.m. in Gallagher Theater. The film festival will feature the work of students from the department who have made films using the language skills they acquired in their classes. The films will be subtitled in English. Admission is free, and free food and a reception will follow the films.
