A quick look at the Daily Wildcat’s top five stories published this week.
1. UA student starts Second Amendment club to educate about firearm safety
— By Stephanie Casanova
A UA student is working on starting a non-partisan Second Amendment club.
The club’s mission is to create a positive attitude toward firearms and educate people on how to properly use them, according to Cale Lyford, an economics freshman who created the club.
“It almost doesn’t matter if you like guns or not,” Lyford said, “it’s just a matter of, you know, learning about them, knowing how to handle them safely — and if the entire public was educated on how to handle firearms properly and safely, then there’d be a lot less accidents.”
2. UA Foundation seeks funding for Old Main renovations
— By Micah Montiel
Although Old Main is already under construction, the project has yet to reach its $13.5 million funding goal.
In January 2013, Sundt Construction Inc. began renovations for the building which was estimated to be finished April 2014. The renovations were initially for the roof, stairs and porches after the second floor flooded in February 2012, but became a more extensive preservation project as construction went on.
“Its not a matter of if it’s reached, but more a matter of when it’s reached,” said Peter Dourlein, assistant vice president of UA Planning, Design and Construction. “Old Main will be restored. The university will make sure of that.”
3. Long-term government shutdown could cause serious problems for UA
— By Alison Dorf
Although the government shutdown has little effect on universities, reports say it might have more serious implications for financial aid or research agencies if it were to last longer than one week.
More than 14 million students receive federal student aid in the form of grants and loans at more than 6,600 schools through Pell Grants and Direct Student Loan programs, according to an online contingency plan published by the U.S. Department of Education.
“For the most part, the current fall semester, everything [financial aid] has already been processed,” said Beth Acree, UA registrar and interim director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. “We sort of passed the critical time with the beginning of the fall semester, so that’s kind of in our favor.”
4. ASUA, GPSC members at odds following proposal confusion
— By Brittny Mejia
Student government members are at odds following confusion over a proposal to change ASUA bylaws.
At the ASUA meeting on Wednesday, GPSC members said they wanted their organization recognized as the sole advocate for graduate and professional students.
“They made their decision. We predicted they would do something like this,” said Zachary Brooks, GPSC president, “For now, we’re just going to move forward … the whole effort tonight was to be a real partner and be seen as a partner, but we don’t feel like we’re partners.”
5. Cherry Avenue Parking Garage all clear after reports of alleged gunman
— By Daily Wildcat
The Cherry Avenue Parking Garage near McKale Stadium is now open. University of Arizona Police Department officers cleared the area after reports of an alleged gunman.
Officers secured the area and conducted a search of the garage, but were unable to locate the subject.
“We want people to call if they see anything out of the ordinary or suspicious,” said Joe Bermudez, crime prevention officer for UAPD, “so that we can go and check it out.”
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