Another semester has come to pass, and it was certainly filled with news. We would be remiss if we did not review it all. But don’t worry, there will be no test at the end of this review — we’ll leave that for the big, bad professors.
August/September:
There were some big stories during the first weeks of school. The Pat Tillman Veteran Center opened, which is aimed at helping veterans transition from being a member of the military to being a student at ASU. Atomic Comics, a longtime Valley store, closed and left many comic enthusiasts with almost nowhere to turn. The Sun Devils football team kicked off the season with several victories. After warming up against knock-over opponent UC Davis, ASU beat both Mizzou and USC leaving many sports pundits with high hopes for Sun Devil football. Comedian Daniel Tosh also brought his show, Tosh.0, to ASU to film an episode. Let’s just say it didn’t improve our national image. The Arizona Board of Regents also considered stricter scholarships as a result of tough economic times.
October:
At the beginning of October, a crowd welcomed Jimmy Eat World home at the Fall Frenzy Concert, which also featured Blink 182. Enrollment for the Lake Havasu campus, part of the Colleges@ASU program, began. After securing the funding in September, the University announced the campus was on track to open in the fall of 2012. ASU football started with success in the new Pac-12 with wins over Oregon State, Utah and Colorado. Police caught a serial-iPhone robber who stole multiple iPhones from students. It was a hard month for the ASU swim team — an alumnus drowned in an incident that involved alcohol, and a car hit a current male swimmer. Activists in the Valley started an Occupy Phoenix movement, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Four Peaks also announced it would open another brewery, with this one concentrated on production, in southern Tempe.
November/December:
In November, the cost of Occupy Phoenix protests frustrated Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCicio, who mentioned charging protestors a fee. Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain also came to the Valley to denounce sexual allegations an ASU alumna, along with several other women, brought against him. State Senate President Russell Pearce was recalled in a historic election. The city announced plans to restore the Tempe landmark Hayden Flour Mill. The football team ran out of steam and wracked up four embarrassing losses against UCLA, WSU, UA and Cal, and the University ended up relieving coach Dennis Erickson of his duties. Students brought forward concerns that they were not safe in the dorms anymore. University Housing got rid of front desks in Palo Verde East, Palo Verde West and San Pablo at the start of the school year, and it was reported that transients began sneaking into the dorm’s common rooms. Tempe mayoral candidate Michael Monti and Tempe City Councilman hopeful Dick Foreman presented a plan to institute a swimming beach at Tempe Town Lake.
It was an eventful four months, and we can only hope the next semester is just as newsworthy.
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