Mascotness! New Times Ranks Phoenix Sports Teams’ Costumed Characters

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…

We’re No. 6! Sierra Club Names ASU One of Nation’s Greenest Universities

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…

Tempe Will Reimburse Residents Who Build Tiny Libraries

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…

88-Year-Old Phoenix Great-Grandmother Graduates from College

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…

PayPal Offers New Tuition Assistance Program at ASU

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:…

ASU Autism Professor Promotes Anti-Vaccine Film Despite Doctors’ Protests

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…

Phoenix Among Lowest Large U.S. Metro Areas for College Graduates

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,…

Board of Regents Raises Tuition at Arizona State University

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…

Prescott College Students Fund Scholarships for Undocumented Peers

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…

Arizona State University Student Club Battles Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

“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…

Uber, Lyft Could Replace Car Ownership — Even in Phoenix

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…

ASU President Michael Crow Proposes Tuition Increase

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…

New Website Helps ASU Students Find Easiest Classes

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,…

Arizona Minority Students Still Struggle With Educational Achievement

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…

ASU Student Launches Dating Website for Bernie Sanders Fans

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…