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PCC, UA form partnership to keep tuition low

By Laura Halverson

Pima Community College and the University of Arizona are working together to help students earn their degrees at a more affordable rate.

PCC and UA South have been working collaboratively since 2002. Joint admissions, which allow students to be admitted to both schools simultaneously, began in 2006.

Now, UA has developed a model that will lead 10,000 new students to low-cost programs in the next 10 years. One key aspect of the plan is to keep costs down by using community college facilities and faculty members.

“Clearly, Arizona must do all it can to increase the number of students earning bachelor’s degrees,” PCC spokeswoman Rachelle Howell said. “The partnership between UA South and PCC is an invaluable resource for southern Arizonans seeking better lives through more education.”

UA South already has an office located at PCC’s East Campus. The university also works with PCC’s Southeast Education Center and coordinates course offerings at the UA Technology Park.

UA South offers a bachelor of arts in political science, history and English; a bachelor of applied science in supervision; and a bachelor of science in elementary education, network administration and family studies/human development.

UA’s new tiered tuition system is based on three core principles: lower and more predictable tuition, matching state support and minimal capital investment.

Using the three principles, UA and PCC have come up with a list of choices for getting a degree. Administrators call these options “pathways.”

Students can start a bachelor’s degree at a community college such as PCC and then transfer to UA when they complete their general education courses.

Under the PCC-UA joint admissions plan, students become part of both college communities simultaneously. When taking a PCC class, students pay PCC tuition; when taking a UA class, they pay UA tuition.

The new agreements will let students receive financial aid if they’re taking a full load of classes from the two schools. In previous years, students taking part time credits at PCC and part time credits at UA were ineligible for financial aid at either school.

Howell said students should contact the financial aid office at PCC or UA as early in the process as possible to discuss eligibility and ensure that financial aid application deadlines are met.

PCC and UA are also working to smooth transfer options.

For example, a student who completes general education courses at PCC may need just one more semester of biology before transferring to UA. The two schools hope the new partnership will mean the student can complete the course at PCC for a lower tuition rate.

Survey shows few students use protection for oral sex

Story and photo by Mike Hawkins

Spring, a time of renewal and freshness when we are all excused our amorous proclivities. While Valentine’s Day may have added fuel to the fires of carnal creativity and consumption, those feelings haven’t evaporated in the desert heat. Love, or more accurately sex, is in the air.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m just trying to keep it real. So it’s on that note that I’d like to pose a question. Do you know where your sex partner’s mouth has been? Don’t be so sure.

I recently surveyed more than 100 Pima Community College students about how often they use protection when they engage in oral sex. I admittedly am not a scientist, nor do I have any science degrees, so this wasn’t a scientific survey.

The most important question about the survey, however, concerns the answer. And the answer was nearly always the same, both in substance and in speed of delivery: 71 percent of respondents said they never use a condom or dental dam when they have oral sex.

Ariadna Mencias

There was virtually no difference in response between males and females. All of us seem fine with the idea of our mouths being petri dishes.

Reactions to the survey results have been subdued, with only a few people surprised.

Katherine Patterson, a junior electrical engineering major who attends Desert Vista and Downtown campuses, wasn’t stunned at all. “It’s hard for me to say anything, just because I know I’m guilty,” she said. “At the same time, it’s scary, it’s something we need to be aware of.”

I’m not trying to ruin your raunchy relations, I swear. My only hope is to expose you to the reality that you’re not the only one who’s been out there having a good time enjoying the proper use of a tongue.

We know about sexually transmitted infections, so why is it few of us seem to care enough to protect ourselves?

“They might think that they know the other person,” said Alexandra Samarron, a physiology major at three Pima campuses. “They trust in each other so much they just let it go, you know? They don’t believe anything is gonna happen.”

Ishwara Thomas, a veteran Human Sexuality instructor at West Campus, expressed her opinion on the question. “Most people don’t think oral sex is as problematic in terms of diseases,” Thomas said. “People forget that the mouth can get or carry diseases.”

Who among us wants to have some pus-dripping, swollen “fever blister” prominently displayed on our lips for the world to see? Which one of you wants to explain to some hot new guy or gal that the rash eating away at your finger is really herpes? I would bet none of us.

The obvious suggestion is to use condoms and dental dams for oral sex. Thomas has a less obvious one. “Everybody should take Human Sexuality!”

PCC opposes bill allowing armed faculty

 By D.J. Ochoa

Pima Community College officials oppose a state proposal that would allow college faculty members to carry guns on campus.

Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, introduced a bill that would let faculty members who have concealed weapon permits bring their weapons onto community college and university campuses.

State-issued concealed weapon permits require a background check. Permit holders must show they know how to handle a firearm and have some training on when deadly force can be used.

“It’s a long-time goal of mine to make sure there are no defense-free zones where criminals know they can go into an establishment and there’ll be no law-abiding citizens there that can legally protect themselves,” Harper said.

The veteran legislator said his proposal would protect college students and employees.

However, PCC administrators doubt that armed faculty members would mean a safer campus.

“It seems to me that the likelihood of having a deranged person walk into a specific classroom and pull out a gun and aim it at a faculty member or other people is quite low,” Chancellor Roy Flores told Capitol News Media.

PCC Department of Public Safety Chief Stella Bay said the bill would not increase safety in any way.

“PCC has opposed similar legislation in the past and opposes this bill,” she said via e-mail. “It is the view of PCC that a weapons-free college is the safest environment for students and employees.”

Bay firmly believes that any threatening situation that occurs on school grounds should be handled by PCC’s Department of Public Safety.

“PCC Department of Public Safety personnel are trained in the use of firearms and are dedicated to ensuring safety at college facilities,” she said. “They should be the only people allowed to carry weapons at college facilities.”

PCC ENROLLMENT BOOMING

Photo by Gabi Pina

Pima Community College students register for classes at West Campus. College officials say enrollment, which normally dips slightly in the spring semester, has increased by double digits this year.