Arizona
Southern Arizona leaders weigh in on SCOTUS affirmative action decision
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — While Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action won’t change the way Arizona’s public universities conduct the application process, the decision will impact high schoolers in Arizona who are applying for universities out of state.
KGUN 9’s Heidi Alagha spoke to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne after today’s ruling. He say’s he support’s the high court’s decision to overturn the precedent that’s been in place decades.
Horne called the decision long overdue, citing Proposition 107 an Arizona ballot measure from 2010—which voters passed to effectively ban the consideration of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in any application or employment selection process.
The new Supreme Court ruling addressed cases brought against Harvard and the University of North Carolina by activist group Students for Fair Admissions. Ultimately the court found affirmative action practices in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Both universities, however, say race is only one of several factors admissions offices take into account.
According to Horne, the impact the ruling will have will be simply to bring the focus back to education:
“I’ve been working really hard to improve academics in the schools and to get rid of distractions from academics. I want students to be taught bell-to-bell, the academics.
If the students study and are judged on their individual basis, they should be able to get into a good college. They have to study. They can’t get in just because of what race they were born into. They have to get it because they study, and deserve it.
Southern Arizona’s two Congressional representatives also shared their views, matching their respective party lines:
“The result of this case can be directly tied to individuals who have bankrolled multiple lawsuits to dismantle the Voting Rights Act. Race has never been a defining feature in admissions, and affirmative action has only ever given higher education institutions the opportunity to holistically consider students’ backgrounds, their contributions and how they will enhance the college experience.
The far-right Supreme Court’s decision to gut affirmative action is devastating and inconsistent with previous court findings that have found race-based admissions policies can be implemented in a legal and constitutional manner. It threatens the progress we’ve made to provide equal access, opportunity and diverse learning environments for all students.
As we move forward, it’s critical that we in Congress act to build and support an education system that demands equity in admissions, achieves student body diversity, dispels stereotypes, and ensures a high-quality and accessible education for all.”
~Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-07)
RELATED TEAM COVERAGE: Biden, politicians condemn SCOTUS ruling on affirmative action
“We are now looking at an education system without affirmative action for the first time in 40 years.
I believe we can have a system free from discrimination while promoting diversity as we emphasize merit-based qualifications.”
~Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-06)
RELATED TEAM COVERAGE: UArizona: No impact from Affirmative Action ruling
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Arizona
Evacuation orders lifted for some Arizona residents forced from their homes days ago by a wildfire
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Evacuation orders in Arizona have been lifted for some residents of northeast Scottsdale, days after they were forced from their homes by a wildfire, authorities said Sunday.
The Boulder View Fire was 19% contained Sunday after charring nearly 6 square miles (15 square kilometers) on the cusp of the Boulder Heights subdivision since Thursday.
About 60 homes were evacuated Friday. No injuries have been reported and no structures have been damaged.
Authorities said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. It began about 5 miles (8 kilometers) outside northern Scottsdale on the edge of the Tonto National Forest.
Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management officials said evacuations were lowered from “GO” to “SET” status Saturday evening for some displaced residents preparing to return home.
Scottsdale officials have notified homeowners that the north part of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, including all trails, will be closed until further notice. They called that a precautionary move and said there was no immediate threat to the preserve.
Tiffany Davila, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, said nearly 270 firefighters were battling the wildfire in triple-digit heat on Sunday.
She said there was a chance of thunderstorms in the fire area Sunday evening and that could make firefighting efforts more complicated due to gusty winds and lightning strikes.
Arizona
Trio of former Arizona men’s basketball players hoping to lead home countries into Paris Olympics
Steve Kerr is the head coach of Team USA’s men’s basketball team for the 2024 Summer Olympics next month in Paris, and he won’t be the only UA alum vying for gold in the sport.
Ex-Wildcats Josh Green (Australia) and Dusan Ristic (Serbia) are competing for spots with their countries’ respective national teams, who have already qualified for the Olympics, while three other former UA standouts are set to compete with their home nations in qualifying tournaments this week.
Deandre Ayton is trying to lead Bahamas to its first Olympics, while Nico Mannion (Italy) and Azuolas Tubelis (Lithuania) are looking to get their countries their 14th and eighth Olympic bid, respectively.
Ayton, the former No. 1 NBA Draft pick who was Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the year in 2018 with the Wildcats, is coming off his sixth NBA season and first with the Portland Trail Blazers. Bahamas is playing in the qualifying tourney in Valencia, Spain, facing Poland on Wednesday and Finland on Thursday in group play.
Mannion, a 2nd-round pick of Golden State in 2020, appeared in 30 games with the Warriors as a rookie after his one season at the UA. The 23-year-old then went overseas, playing for Virtus Bologna in the Italian League for two seasons before spending 2023-24 with teams in Spain and Italy.
Italy was fifth in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and has won silver twice, in Athens (2004) and Moscow (1980). It is playing in the qualifying tourney in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where it will face Bahrain on Tuesday and Puerto Rico on Thursday.
Tubelis, who played for the Wildcats from 2020-23, just completed his first professional season by being named MVP of the Lithuanian Basketball League with Neptunas Klaipeda. Lithuania is looking to get back to the Olympics for the first time since 2016 in Brazil, where it placed seventh.
Lithuania, which is in the Puerto Rico qualifying tourney and faces Mexico on Tuesday and Ivory Coast on Wednesday, won three consecutive bronze medals in 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney).
The winner of each of four qualifying tournaments will join the eight teams already assured a spot in Paris for the Olympic competition.
Green is one of 22 players on Australia’s Olympic training roster, which will be cut down in the next few weeks. He was part of the squad in Tokyo that won bronze, which qualified Green for the UA’s Ring of Honor.
A 1st-round pick of the Dallas Mavericks in 2021, Green started 33 games this past season with Dallas and played in all 22 games during the Mavs’ run to the NBA Finals.
Ristic, who is one of 16 players fighting for a spot on the Serbian National team, has played the past six seasons in Europe since winning a school-record 118 games with Arizona from 2014-18. This past season he split time between a pair of Spanish pro clubs, and recently got married.
Serbia, in the Olympics for only the second time, took silver in 2016.
Few teams have experienced the turnover among its receivers as the Cardinals. In the last two years, they’ve parted ways with DeAndre Hopkins, Zach Ertz, Brown and Moore. There are more questions than answers as to how the pecking order will play out behind Harrison.
Harrison is likely to land at the back end of the WR1 fantasy picks in a 12-team league – anyone who gets him as a WR2 will be lighting up a draft night victory cigar. He’s that good.
As for the rest of this crew? The incumbent No. 1 receiver coming in is tight end Trey McBride. In the eight games Murray played when he came back last season, he completed 53 passes to McBride. He became Arizona’s version of Travis Kelce and, when a tight end has been a team’s leading receiver, that has historically been problematic for wide receivers other than the lead dog.
Wilson is worthy of WR5/No. 6 consideration, because he’s clearly the WR2 option in an offense with a dynamic quarterback. Wilson will be taken late enough that he won’t be counted on as a must-start but instead a role player with upside to grow. Dortch is merely a deep best-ball flier because of his history with Murray.
Jones and Pascal don’t have any fantasy value, barring injuries to those in front of them.
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