Senate Bill 1474, if passed, will allow anyone over the age of 21 to carry a concealed weapon with a permit on any university or college campus in Arizona. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)

Students with permits are one step closer to being allowed to bring concealed guns on campus after the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 1474 on Monday.

SB 1474 would prohibit universities or college officials from enforcing campus gun rules if the person bringing the concealed weapon on campus is at least 21 years old and has a permit.

The bill, sponsored by Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, gives universities or community college officials the ability to restrict or prohibit concealed guns in buildings and allows these institutions to create secure storage facilities.

Gould said the bill would make faculty and students feel protected.

“You have a natural right to defend yourself, and that natural right is recognized by the U.S. and Arizona constitutions,” Gould said.

If the bill passes, he would encourage faculty members and students to carry weapons on campus to protect themselves, Gould said.

In 2011, Brewer vetoed House Bill 2001, a similar campus gun bill sponsored by Sen. Jack W. Harper, R-Surprise. HB 2001 did not require a permit to carry concealed, as SB 1474 does.

Gould said the sponsors rewrote the bill to accommodate Brewer’s concerns on the bill’s clarity.

ASU President Michael Crow released a statement Jan. 31 opposing the bill.

“To permit guns on campus is a misguided attempt to increase school safety without a shred of evidence to support the assumption that schools are safer if students are armed,” Crow said.

Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) Vice Chair Bob McLendon opposes the bill.

“What if everyone you see on campus … has a potential gun in their backpack?” said McLendon. “What kind of atmosphere is that going to be on campus?”

McLendon said he feels a responsibility for the safety for everyone on university campuses.

“People have the right to bear arms, but students should not have that right on a college campus because they do not have the proper training to handle a gun like a police officer does,” McLendon said.

Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, an ASU alumna and congressional candidate, said she opposed the 2011 bill and opposes the bill this year.

“I don’t even want to think about students or faculty carrying weapons,” she said.

Officers would not be able to differentiate between an actual shooter and someone trying to protect themselves with their own gun, Sinema said.

“It decreases security, and police can’t tell between good guys and bad guys,” Sinema said.

McLendon said ABOR would discuss the bill during the Feb. 16 and 17 meetings on the Tempe campus.

Reach the reporter at thaniab@asu.edu

Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.

ASU president Michael Crow addresses issues brought up by students on the Downtown campus Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Jenn Allen)

ASU President Michael Crow addressed student concerns on rising tuition and guns on campus Thursday on the Downtown campus.

The Student Forum with President Crow, organized by the Undergraduate Student Government Downtown, allowed students to ask Crow questions via text message or email. The event was televised for all other ASU campuses.

The tuition proposal submitted by ASU to the Arizona Board of Regents will be the lowest in ten cycles, only reflective of the inflation, Crow said.

“We are not asking (for a) tuition increase to make any new investments and enterprises, or to hire thousands of new staff or faculty,” Crow said.

Individual financial circumstances are also very important, and students should always inform the Financial Aid Office of any changes in their situation to get the assistance needed, Crow said.

“We made the conscious decision — and students should recognize this — that your faculty and your staff for the fourth year will go yet again without a salary adjustment,” he said.

The goal is to reduce administrative cost while still maintaining the academic level of success, Crow said.

Criminal justice junior Isaiah Ben felt satisfied with Crow’s answers regarding tuition costs.

“My concerns are the funding ASU provides to people with less resources,” he said. “I think my questions were answered.”

Crow also discussed the new academic calendar, which began this semester.

“It will allow students to complete their degree in a more timely fashion, which will go a long way to lowering a student’s actual cost to complete their degree,” he said.

When asked about proposed Arizona House Bill 2675, Crow said the University is against it but believes students should provide some of their own funding.

HB 2675 would require all public Arizona university full-time students to contribute at least $2,000 of their annual tuition without funding from a university or university affiliate.

“We oppose that bill as it is written and as it is constructed, but we support the concept of students and families investing in their education,” Crow said.

However, ASU is not changing its commitment to financial aid and will always be driven by fair access to the institution. The strategy is to work on an individual basis as much as possible, Crow said.

A policy concerning guns on campus was also discussed during the forum.

Crow said safety would not increase by the presence of guns on campus and if a bill were to pass, the University would have to take a step back and figure out a new strategy to maintain safety.

Political science and sociology junior Clare Irvine was also in attendance. She wishes there had been more time to discuss the issues and to have follow-up questions.

“I’ve always been very involved on campus, I even got out of class early to come out here,” she said. “It was a great experience to be able to interact with president Crow and to see such a great variety of students represented.”

Reach the reporter at dpbaltaz@asu.edu

Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.

The House Transportation Committee passed House Bill 2211, which will allow bicyclists 16 and older to treat a stop sign as a yield sign. The bill still needs to be passed by two other committees before reaching the House. (Photo by Adrian Juarez)

State lawmakers are pushing a bipartisan effort that would make Arizona the second state to let bicyclists yield at stop signs.

If the measure garners enough support, Arizona House Bill 2211 would join Idaho in allowing bicyclists 16 and older to yield at stop signs rather than come to a complete stop.

Bicyclists will still have to stop if there are any cars at the intersection.

Cyclist Ryan James said the bill would reduce the amount of fines bicyclists receive.

“It would make yielding legal, which is what a large percentage of cyclists do when no cars are present anyhow,” James said.

Other student cyclists said the bill would only work in some cases.

Sustainability major Amra Mallick, president of the Arizona State Cycling Community, said cyclists and vehicles should obey the same rules while on the road because cyclists have a vested interest in their own safety.

Kinesiology junior and Arizona State Cycling Community secretary Anil Patel said the bill wouldn’t make riding safer.

“More bike-vehicle accidents would probably happen,” Patel said. “This kind of thing would probably only work at small, 4-way-stop intersections.”

According to the bill, if a car and a bike were involved in an accident, it will automatically be presumed that, unless proven otherwise, the bicyclist failed “to yield the right-of-way.”

The House Transportation Committee approved the bill on Jan. 26.

The House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee must still approve the bill before it reaches the full House.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Daniel Patterson, D-Tucson, served on the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee in 2009.

Patterson sponsored House Bill 2479 and House Bill 2130 after he was elected. Both bills attempted to grant cyclists the ability to yield at stop signs.

Patterson, an avid biker, said it’s important to protect both cyclists and drivers in order to improve public safety.

There were 1,900 bike-related crashes in Arizona in 2010, according to an Arizona Department of Transportation report.

Nearly 1,600 of those accidents involved injuries and 19 involved deaths.

Patel said bike-related transportation on campus would improve if the House approves the bill.

“It would make travel on the surface streets that loop into campus a bit faster and somewhat safer for bikers,” Patel said.

Reach the reporter at aklee8@asu.edu

Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.

Rep. Richard Miranda, D-Phoenix, proposed an official holiday for Latinos, which was debated among representatives, and ended with a statement by Rep. Cecil Ash, R-Mesa.

Ash said he was fully supportive of Miranda’s proposed Latino holiday and added that the white population was projected to become a minority in 2050.

“I just want (the Latino community) to assure me that when we do become in the minority, you’ll have a day for us,” Ash said.

The statement was followed by audible laughter from the representatives in the chamber, many of whom later said they perceived the statement as a joke rather than a serious proposal.

Ash said the heated discussion of Miranda’s proposal between Republicans and Democrats created a “hostile” situation that he did not appreciate on the floor, leading him to attempt to lighten the mood.

“I made that comment to kind of diffuse what I thought was a little bit of a tense situation,” Ash said. “I anticipated that what I was going to say might get some chuckles.”

Ash’s comment was broadcasted by Arizona’s CBS 5, and then picked up by news outlets such as The Huffington Post and Fox Nation’s blog sections. Ash said these outlets made it seem like his statement was sincere, when it was meant as a joke.

“(CBS 5) started out by connecting me with Jan Brewer’s rudeness to the president and with (Senate Bill) 1070 and other embarrassments for the state,” Ash said.

Ash said his joke was not intended as a precursor to actually proposing a holiday for white people.

“It was more or less to imply that someday we’re going to be in the minority, so we should treat minorities with respect,” Ash said.

ASU journalism ethics professor Tim McGuire said in controversial situations where people claim they were “just joking,” reporters should apply proper skepticism.

However, if first-hand witnesses indicate they believed it was a joke, a journalism ethics problem could exist if media outlets make the comment appear to be serious.

“If in fact the reporters who saw the incident ignored the fact that the chamber was laughing, that’s a terrible thing, and they should have told readers,” McGuire said. “They should have been very clear about that, that everybody in the chamber regarded it as a joke.”

Rep. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, and Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, were both present when Ash’s comment was made and agreed they had perceived it as a joke.

“The room was a little tense, and Rep. Ash, who is fairly level-headed, tried to break the mood,” Gallego said. “We knew that it was in jest and that it was not at all intended to insult the Hispanic community.”

Ash said the media’s portrayal of issues such as his joke could sometimes be skewed to meet an agenda or dramatized.

“The general public is in some ways led by the media and tends to look at issues as black and white, all or nothing,” Ash said. “Many issues are not that easily defined.”

Reach the reporter at dgrobmei@asu.edu

Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.

• A 26-year-old Tempe man was arrested Wednesday near Lemon Street and Rural Road on suspicion of marijuana possession and false reporting to law enforcement, according to a police report. Police found the man possessing marijuana during a traffic stop, police reported. The man ran from police after the marijuana was found, but police stopped him after a few hundred feet, according to the report. The man originally gave police an identification card that was not his, according to the report. Police discovered the man had multiple outstanding felony warrants as well as a suspended license connected with his real ID, police reported. Charges were then added for false reporting, according to the report. The man said he purchased the marijuana for $260, police reported.The man was arrested, transported and booked into Tempe City Jail.

• A 38-year-old transient woman was arrested Wednesday at the 600 block of South Mill Avenue on suspicion of disorderly conduct and dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia possession, according to a police report.Witnesses told police the woman was yelling and cursing loudly while sitting on a bus bench in front of several families and businesses, police reported.While police were speaking with the woman, she yelled that she lived in a free country and continued to curse, according to the report.Police searched the woman and discovered a metal pipe with marijuana residue, police reported.The woman was arrested, transported and booked into Tempe City Jail, according to the report.

  Police found a small baggie of methamphetamines in her right sock during a secondary search at Tempe City Jail, police reported.

  The woman was released pending dangerous drug charges, according to the report.

Reports compiled by Kharli Mandeville. Reach the reporter at kmmandev@asu.edu
Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.

Occupy protesters gathered on Hayden Lawn Wednesday night to protest House Bill 2675, which would require students with need-based scholarships to contribute at least $2,000 per year for tuition. (Photo by Beth Easterbrook and Jenn Allen)

A week after it began, the Occupy Tempe/ASU movement is still largely composed of the group’s original activists — not students.

About 30 people gathered on Hayden Lawn Wednesday evening to protest Arizona House Bill 2675.

The bill would require ASU, NAU and UA students to pay $2,000 of their tuition out-of-pocket starting fall 2012. Some students who receive scholarships based on academic merit or athletics through a national program will be exempt.

Physics and math sophomore Derek Nasir was one of the few students present.

Nasir said the bill could affect many of his friends.

“People are trying to milk students for whatever they’re worth,” he said. “If we don’t voice our opinions, no one will.”

Nasir has been part of the Occupy Phoenix movement since it began in October. He said the lack of student involvement in both movements seems odd because that demographic drove similar protests on the West coast.

He said he has talked up the movement to everyone he meets, to the point where his friends are sick of him.

“(Most students) seem more interested in studying or just goofing around,” Nasir said. “They’re not really thinking or understanding the issues.”

Philosophy sophomore Cameron Zatz-Krecker, who did not participate in the protest but watched from Hayden Lawn, said he thought more students should be there.

“This bill is discriminatory against poor and minorities,” Zatz-Krecker said. “It may not be deliberate racism, but it will make ASU more exclusive to people whose families have a lot of money.”

Many present were there to observe before joining in, while others chanted slogans and brandished signs decrying the notion of profit-based education.

ASU alumna Shasta Payne said she might participate in future Occupy Tempe/ASU events. She said the organizers should work on connecting more with students and think about setting up tables in addition to staging demonstrations on Hayden Lawn.

She was also highly opposed to HB 2675.

“Just because you didn’t get a 4.0 in high school doesn’t mean you won’t be a good student,” Payne said.

However, she may not be able to return. During the event, representatives from the Memorial Union Meetings and Events Services came to inform protesters they could continue the rally in progress but could not return to Hayden Lawn next week unless a student organization or department sponsored them.

The event remained fairly calm, to the point where some students were not aware a protest was occurring.

Sustainability junior Nich Weller was eating dinner with a friend on the other side of the Lighthouse.

“Honestly, we were just sitting here and weren’t entirely sure what they were doing,” Weller said. “We thought they might just be hanging out or maybe part of the Anarchy club meeting.”

Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu

Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.

Kevin Reid, Joanna 23, Michael 23, Kristy Theilen, and Kristie Lyn, left to right, are part of the cast of First Friday Night Live. The group used to perform in The Firehouse Galley until it received a permit violation regarding the stage in the back of the venue. (Photo by Jenn Allen)

The Firehouse Gallery received a structural permit violation in December last year regarding the stage performance groups use to perform First Friday Night Live, a sketch-comedy show based off of Saturday Night Live.

Since opening in 2000 on 1st and Roosevelt streets, The Firehouse Gallery began using the stage August 2010 for its performance of the show every First Friday night.

First Friday Night Live director and ASU alumnus Michael 23, who legally changed his last name to a number, said the group felt the initial complaint about the stage came out of the blue.

“We do many events and things have been getting pretty awesome,” he said.  “When things get really awesome, people from outside step in and try to interfere. That happened with us.”

The group does not know who filed the initial complaint to the city about the stage structure in the back of the gallery, he said.

“The fact that a random person can call a complaint on you and basically turn your whole life around — and you will never know who your accuser was — it’s just a really sort of bad way of doing things,” he said. “It’s totally disruptive.”

He said the incredibly high cost of restructuring the stage to comply with city code, as well as renovation requirements to turn the outside storage building into a café to complement performances, stifles the community’s development.

If the venue had initially applied for the permit, he said the construction costs would have run anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000.

“Imagine if something like (the) Firehouse when it was first getting started was supposed to come up with $50,000 to make a performance platform for the community,” he said. “It’s outright censorship.”

The performance group has relocated to Bragg’s Pie Factory on Grand and 13th avenues because the group can no longer perform their shows at The Firehouse Gallery.

The relocation has been difficult to execute, 23 said.

“It’s going to be really challenging,” he said. “We basically have to make our show mobile, so we acquired a large trailer and are kind of building a circus version of our show.”

First Friday Night Live assistant producer Kristy Theilen said she believes the city wants to profit off of development in downtown Phoenix.

“I don’t think that … people who want to profit off of development in downtown Phoenix want there to be any sense of community,” she said. “Especially a group of people who are empowering themselves to create something that is mind blowing.”

Non-permitted construction investigator for Phoenix, Bob Gawry, is one of two investigators working in his department. He said since the Phoenix created the sub-department of Planning and Development Services for the city of Phoenix in 2000, more than 5,000 permit complaints have been filed and he does not choose to single out any one business for violations.

“The codes are written in order to protect safety issues,” Gawry said. “They’re written to protect those that live there and to protect the public.”

He said before any business chooses to build such a structure, they are required to check with their department and local jurisdiction.

“We don’t segregate or go after certain people or certain companies,” he said. “When a complaint is called in we observe and see what has to be done and see whether it requires a permit or if unsafe conditions exist.”

Despite the complications, 23 said he is proud The Firehouse Gallery was able to have the stage for eight years.

“I feel like if we can keep going, we can get dozens and dozens of years out of this and it can be kind of a generational school of comedy and performance,” he said. “It’s a real, amazing static that we’re creating in downtown Phoenix.”

Reach the reporter at kmmandev@asu.edu
Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.