Archive for April 1st, 2010

Online Extra: Downtown Campus to go men-only

By David Mendez

Next year, the Pima Community College Downtown Campus is set to become a boys’ club.

According to a classified memo from the PCC Downtown administrative office, plans have been set in motion to establish an all-male campus starting next spring.

First signs of the transition are scheduled to appear within the next few days.

The change in admissions policy for Downtown Campus appears to be in reaction to figures published earlier this year regarding the slipping enrollment rate among males at PCC, particularly for Hispanic men.

The memo obtained by Aztec Press staffers is light on detail, mostly providing an outline for the transition. Still, there were a few specific ideas mentioned, outlined below:

Beginning in Summer 2010, bathrooms will be redesigned and expanded. Women’s restrooms shall be renovated to include urinals, and new signs will be purchased for the doors.

Men’s restrooms shall be left mostly untouched, although a suggestion in the memo mentioned the possibility, pending budget restrictions, of installing televisions along the walls and TVs over the urinals like the ESPN Zone or Buffalo Wild Wings. The sets will be tuned to ESPN.

The central dining area is also designated for renovation. The memo suggests completely redecorating, preferring “something like a steakhouse, or a fine cigar shop,” with faux wood paneling and flat-screen televisions with satellite TV.

The cafe itself appears to be headed for redesign with a “sports-bar” feel, possibly going so far as to serve alcohol.

In the margins, “Buffalo Wild Wings?” appears to be written in pencil, suggesting that the school is interested in at least following the Buffalo Wild Wings model, if not attempting to bring in a franchise outright.

The report notes that Downtown Campus was selected because PCC’s construction and automotive programs are offered there.

Notes in the margins support the idea, reading “girls shouldn’t be holden [sic] tools anyway. They’ll hurt themselves.”

To date, the Aztec Press has been unable to obtain explicit confirmation on the memo or the ideas outlined within.

Check back on AztecPressOnline.com for more details in coming weeks.

Online Extra: Pima basketball teams sweep UA basketball teams

By James Kelley
Photo by Daniel Gaona

The Pima Community College basketball teams capped their landmark season on March 31, as the Aztecs extended the University of Arizona basketball teams’ misery.

The Pima men’s team beat the UA men and the PCC women beat the Arizona ladies in a charity game held to benefit victims of the Arizona state budget cuts. A $10 donation can be made by texting the word “ARIZONA” to 90999.

The doubleheader, even though the games started at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to accommodate the UA’s “experienced” fans, set a state record for a attendance for a charity game with 1,533.

The Aztec men built an early lead and cruised to a 98-87 win over the Wildcats. The loss is especially disappointing for the UA as they pushed for the game after not getting invited to the Not Invited Tournament or NIT.

“Hey, it could be worse, we could have lost to Jacksonville, at home, as a No. 1 seed,” said UA men’s head coach Sean Miller, referencing Arizona State’s embarrassing NIT loss. “I mean seriously, who even knew they had a team or a University?”

Aztec sophomore forward Travares Peterson scored a game-high 23 points, while Pima sophomore guards Warren Baker and Jeremy Harden scored 20 and 19 points, respectively.

“It’s a great win for Pima and it showed Tucson basketball didn’t go anywhere this year,” Peterson said.

Wildcat freshman forward Derrick Williams scored 20 to go with 12 rebounds, but was only 4-16 from the free throw stripe. Senior guard Nic Wise scored 17 points and dished 11 assists.

Arizona pulled to within six points with 5:34 to go, but then UA junior forward Jamelle Horne mistakenly dunked on the wrong basket, the Pacific-10 referees erroneously gave Pima the ball and then Miller received a technical foul. That series of plays ended the game quicker than the Kansas City Royals are out of contention.

Horne was not made available for comment after the game, instead the UA sent out freshman walk on Max Wiepking.

“Horney has the worst luck,” Wiepking said. “First he had that foul last year against UAB, repeated it at USC, then he picked Kansas to go all the way and now this.”

The women’s game lacked excitement as Pima cruised to a 56-41 win, even without injured star sophomore Abyee Maracigan. In fact, the Aztecs played much of the game with only four players to make the game more even.

PCC sophomore center Tia Morrison had a game-high 31 points and 19 rebounds. Pima sophomore and freshman guards Nene Villalobos and Patricia Ramos scored 12 points each.

“It was a good win for us,” Morrison said. “It was awesome to be out there with the girls one last time before the home crowd and you always want to win, whether it is South Central Arizona or Arizona Arizona.”

UA freshman guard Davellyn Whyte led the Wildcats in scoring with 23 points and UA junior forward Ify Ibekwe added 20.

“It was a great win for Pima, it shows we are the Real Deal,” said Pima women’s head coach Todd Holthaus. “The girls went out there and gave it their all and we came out on top.”

Online Extra: Rapper Jay-Z set to host concert in Pima gym

By Daniel Gaona
Photo by Matthew Henry

Last April, Jay-Z performed in Tucson at the Arizona Stadium. Almost exactly a year later, he is returning to Southern Arizona.

“I saw the life out there last year and I just had to come back,” Shawn Corey Carter said in a phone interview with the Aztec Press. “Once I see a fan base like that, I know I have to go back.”

This time, he will host his concert at the Aztec Gymnasium on the Pima Community College West Campus.

The Brooklyn-born star will make his Tucson return on April 31 at 7:30 p.m. Due to the size of the building, tickets are expected to go quickly.

PCC officials said the facility is limited to about 1,000 people, which will be strictly enforced because of fire codes.

Carter said he is looking forward to the more intimate set-up.

“I like performing in the smaller venues because it gives me a chance to get to know the crowd,” the rapper said. “It is amazing performing at places like Madison Square Garden in front of thousands of diehard fans but it is also great to mix things up a little.”

Jay-Z’s most recent release was Blueprint 3 in September 2009. It was the No. 1 album in its first two weeks after being released.

But Jay said those won’t be the only tracks he puts on for Pima fans.

“I want to go from beginning to end,” he said. “Nothing gets left behind. But of course I can’t play every song I’ve ever made.”

He also said it is likely he would bring some special guests on stage with him.

“Don’t be surprised if I’m not the only rapper up there during the concert,” he added.

Some comments hinted that he expects Young Jeezy and Kanye West to appear with him and possibly even female artists Rihanna and Alicia Keys. He also joked there will be no “T-Paining” referring to his song “Death of Auto-Tune.”

Ticket prices have not yet been set or released. The date for tickets to go on sale is still undetermined as well.

Pima’s concert director, Joe Kerr, said “a lot” of tickets will be given out in contests.

“This is the first time an event like this will be held here and we want to make everything of it,” Kerr said. “If people want tickets, then they better get in line.”

More updates will be posted on AztecPressOnline.com as they become available.

Online Extra: Study shows breasts have biological purpose

By Steve Choice

It turns out that men may need the birds and the bees explained to them with a little more clarity.

The results of a major study released last week have confirmed a long-held suspicion in the field of reproductive health.

The majority of American males have little or no idea that women’s breasts serve a biological function.

The Florida study was conducted at the University of Miami, Howard H. McCollum School of Health Sciences, and involved more than 1,000 subjects. National telephone interviews supplemented the data gathered live, adding another 1,500 men to the pool of respondents.

The results were striking, and just slightly depressing.

A full 63 percent of participants queried reported they did not believe women’s breasts served any function besides an aesthetic one.

Another 21 percent characterized themselves in the study as “kind of aware,” meaning they had an incompletely formed notion of the part breasts play in the feeding of newborns.

The primary biological purpose for women’s mammary glands is to produce milk for infants, and to provide babies a point of access for their source of sustenance in the early months of life.

“What this research tells me is that males in this country are in dire need of better education in the areas of biology and sexual reproduction,” said Geoffrey Manning, professor emeritus at the University of Miami School of Medicine, who spearheaded the project.

“It also lends more insight into why I was so much better than my peers in my school days,” the dignified-looking academic added. “No wonder they laugh at us in Europe.”

The medical team carrying out the study partnered with a group of sociologists, whose main role was to interpret the data.

“In one sense, this does come as somewhat of a surprise,” said Maritza Sanchez, head of Miami’s sociology department.

“I have always known that men were basically transfixed by breasts, but I didn’t realize the severity or breadth of the problem,” the native of Barranquilla, Colombia, added.

“It’s like these guys have been walking around in some blissful breast-induced fog all of their lives, refusing to try and learn the basics about women. We’re still trying to fully understand what these results are telling us.”

Sanchez, herself a very shapely woman, has been combating male ignorance all her life.

“Oh, yes,” she sighed. “I thought it would be different when I came to this country during my university days. But men are the same everywhere.”

Sanchez said she learned that sad truth while dating American men.

“I could talk all night long about my academic achievements or my views on life,” she said. “But then I saw their eyes glaze over. It’s like there’s just one word in their minds.”

Manning hopes the groundbreaking study will be the first step in bringing men to a better understanding of the female secondary sexual characteristic.

“I’d like to see breasts demystified for the average male,” Manning said. “And I just pray to God that my daughters never marry any of these people.”

Online Extra: Vice presidential candidate to be reality TV star

By Debbie Hadley

Sarah Palin is close to finalizing a deal to be paid $1 million an episode for a new reality miniseries to be aired by Discovery Communications, sources say.

The show will focus on the former vice presidential candidate taking viewers on a scenic tour of Alaskan trout streams and showing bear traps that she personally set up in multiple forested locations.

The aim is for the show to be a contender against Discovery’s like-minded miniseries, “Life” and “Planet Earth.”

Palin is reportedly also willing to give viewers a look into her home life.

Cameras will follow her around her hometown, Wasilla, while she readjusts her Bumpit and makes speeches in front of staged Tea Party members with penned notes on the palm of her hand.

It’s unknown how the show will be received by the general media, but when Vice President Joe Biden got wind of the news, he was overheard saying, “Big f-ing deal.”

Online Extra: Man-Ram: ‘I wanted to be a girl!’

By Eric Townsend

LOS ANGELES- Baseball star Manny Ramirez revealed today that he wants a sex change.

The multi-million dollar hitting machine sat out for more than 50 games last year due to his suspension after failing Major League Baseball’s strict drug testing.

The 12-time All-Star was caught taking a women’s fertility drug that was prescribed to him by his personal physician.

Original reports had insisted that Ramirez was coming off his last steroid cycle, and was using the drugs to essentially cover up his enhanced testosterone levels.

Ramirez has persistently claimed that the reports are false.

“I was never taking steroids,” Ramirez said. “That’s why I was confused I was being suspended from the league.”

Ramirez, nicknamed “Man-Ram,” met with his personal physician in 2008.

“Manny came to me with a sense of urgency” the physician said. “He genuinely expressed his growing disinterest in baseball, and urged me to make him a woman. I warned him about the severity of a gender-altering operation, and I insisted there was a much safer alternative.”

After months of speculation, Ramirez finally revealed the truth.

“I was afraid to let everyone know at first, I didn’t know how people would react,” Ramirez said. “I knowingly took those drugs, because I wanted to be a girl!”

As Ramirez’s contract with the Dodgers is set to expire after this season, it is likely the future hall of famer and possible first female major leaguer will not re-sign in an attempt to pursue his current aspirations.