Sports team mascots are more than warm bodies inside furry costumes. They’re athletic, outgoing, comedic, and highly competitive characters who do things like leap through flaming hoops, allow strange children to pull their tails, and shoot stuff out of cannons. Their over-the-top aesthetic and stunts form the basis for comedy…
The 2,700 revelers who attended Arizona State University’s most recent staff barbecue cast aside more than 580 pounds of soda bottles, plastic cutlery, leftover food, and other assorted trash. But less than .03 percent of that, or what Mick Dalrymple, ASU’s director of sustainability practices, describes as “about half a bag,” was actually…
As Arizona aspires to become a leader in the nation’s tech industry, a new school in Phoenix is set to help students from low-income families gain the skills they’ll need to take advantage of an emerging industry. The Phoenix Coding Academy is focused on computer coding and technology. Located just…
Beginning September 5, Tempe will offer a rebate of up to $300 to residents who build and stock tiny libraries on their property. Mini libraries, most of which are registered with the nonprofit group Little Free Library, are publicly accessible containers of books that are available for anyone to borrow…
The only way Mesa residents will see their police department receive a sorely needed infusion of cash is to approve a sales tax in November that will also fund an Arizona State University campus in downtown Mesa. Mesa leaders and ASU president Michael Crow hope that by putting both the public-safety…
The Arizona Board of Regents has approved an Arizona State University plan to lease land for a 20-story, senior-housing project on a high-profile site in downtown Tempe. “Mirabella” is the latest plan for another mini-skyscraper in the college town east of Phoenix, which has seen a construction boom in recent…
A glowing orange fireball streaked across the night sky, brightening the Arizona landscape for a few fleeting seconds just before dawn on June 2. A week after the historic sighting — which was captured on everything from home surveillance videos to NASA apparatus to police dash cams — scientists and collectors are scrambling to secure…
Clad in a blue cap and gown, Mariam Cheshire stood before the residents of her Phoenix senior living facility to talk about earning her college degree at the age of 88. “This took me 71 years,” she says, addressing the crowd of seniors gathered in the cafeteria for a celebration. “It…
As summer gears up, no doubt, thousands of Arizona State University students are hunting for jobs hoping to bank a bit of cash to help offset next year’s tuition bill. The Cincinnati-based nonprofit Education at Work, in partnership with ASU and the online payment company PayPal, has a better idea:…
Online petitioners are demanding that a local Catholic school teacher be removed from the classroom for what they call “racist and sexist hate speech.” The petition, which has garnered more than 2,500 signatures (and counting) over the past couple of days, alleges that an instructor at Phoenix’s Xavier College Preparatory,…
Twelve Arizona college students were suckered out a total of $118,000 two years ago in an elaborate scam involving alleged con artists posing as potential employers. The real losers, though, seem to be the four men who were arrested this morning by special agents of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office…
An Arizona State University autism researcher is encouraging parents to see a controversial film alleging a connection between the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the neurological disorder — despite widespread consensus that the premise is scientifically flawed. James Adams, director of ASU’s Autism/Asperger’s Research Program initially posted an advertisement…
More than one-quarter of working-age Arizona residents attended college but didn’t finish, a new report states. The percentage of Arizona residents between the ages of 25 and 64 who went to college but didn’t complete their degree is nearly 26 percent. That’s higher than the national average of 21.5 percent,…
The Arizona Board of Regents voted to raise tuition and fees at Arizona State University. International and out-of-state undergraduate students will pay $1,000 more, bringing their annual bills up to $26,470. In-state undergraduate students will pay $10,640, which is a $200 increase over last year. Arizona Board of Regents Chair…
Students at Prescott College have agreed enthusiastically to help fund their undocumented peers’ higher educations. The majority of students attending the private school signed a petition in support of paying a $30 student fee to go into the newly created Freedom Education Fund, which will award full-ride scholarships to undocumented…
“Allahu Akbar,” called the imam at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe. “God is the greatest.” In unison, several dozen men raised both hands up to their ears, palms facing toward Mecca, the birthplace of Islam. “Audhu billahi min ashshayta nirrajeem,” he said. “I seek God’s shelter from Satan, the…
At 19, Arizona State University student Daniella Rudoy has never had a driver’s license, much less owned a car. Living in student housing on the school’s Phoenix campus, she says she doesn’t need one. “If I do need to get around, it’s easier for me to use Uber … For…
Arizona State University president Michael Crow has proposed a $200 increase in undergraduate tuition for resident students and a $1,000 hike for non-resident students. Under Crow’s tuition plan, which must be approved by the state Board of Regents, students also would be required to pay a $270 surcharge to compensate…
Ryan Miller was a strong math student in high school. So when it came time to pick electives for his economics degree at Arizona State University, he felt pretty confident signing up for physics. It was hard. He got a bad grade. He wishes someone had warned him. So he,…
Latinos, blacks, Native American, and other minority students still struggle to achieve academic success in Arizona, a situation that limits their future work potential, a new state report shows. White students are doing better, but also face problems in a state with a below-average median income, higher-than-average poverty rate, and…
So you’re “feeling the Bern”? Now, thanks to a new dating website that connects fans of presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, you can also find love. Arizona State University political science major Colten Caudle created the website, called Berniesingles.com, to make sure, he writes, “the 1% aren’t the only ones getting…
A bill decried by critics as another assault on public education is advancing in the Arizona Legislature. It would allow every Arizona public school student to attend a private school at the expense of taxpayers. Currently, only a limited number of students can attend private schools using state money through…
