March 16, 2018 / Modified mar 23, 2018 11:29 a.m.

University Threat Response; 'Soft Targets'; Pac-12 Reform

Also, remembering the life of the late Henry Koffler, former UA president.

This week, students in Tucson and across the country walked out of class to mark one month since the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. These demonstrations honored the 17 lives lost in Parkland and the student-led push for stricter gun laws.

Arizona 360 reflected on the active shooting that took place at the University of 16 years ago, when a disgruntled student gunned down three instructors at the College of Nursing before killing himself.

UA Police Chief Brian Seastone joined the department nearly 40 years ago. He told Lorraine Rivera how the department's response to similar threats has evolved since then.


Much of the dialogue around shootings concerns protecting “soft targets,” a term that commonly refers to schools and churches. In Southern Arizona, two groups are using different approaches to help prepare and prevent the worst at these types of locations.

Mike Wright owns the insurance agency Landmark Protection. In response to the shooting at a church in Sutherland Spring, Texas last year, the company created a workshop that advises congregations how to form security teams to deter violence in churches.

Educators in Southern Arizona are also learning how to administer first aid in the event of an active shooter. At Tanque Verde Elementary School, teachers learned tourniquet training through the nonprofit ICSAVE, which stands for Integrated Community Solutions to Active Events.

"Our utmost concern is student and staff safety," Principal Kim Hubbard said. "As we watch events that happened across our country, we just want to make sure we are as prepared as we can possibly be.”

ICSAVE is staffed with volunteer first responders who want to provide the free training to all teachers in Pima County within the year.


Mexico’s presidential election this year is considered one of the most important and closest races in modern history. For the first time, its citizens living abroad can register to vote without having to return to Mexico. Nancy Montoya reports on the country's Election Commission's push to Mexican citizens living in Arizona to register and vote.

David Maciel, a Mexican Film professor at UCLA, has been asked by the Mexican government to travel the U.S. to promote this new initiative. Maciel explained the urgency of this election and the impact it will have here in Arizona.


In the midst of an ongoing probe into illegal recruiting allegations, the madness of March brings up the discussion of change within the Pac-12. Arizona 360 turned to Ricardo Valerdi, director of the University of Arizona Eller Sports Management Program, to discuss what steps the conference is taking to address potential misconduct.


This week, the University of Arizona lost one of its innovators. Former UA President Henry Koffler died at the age of 95. Koffler was the first UA alumnus to become president and is credited with leading the UA through a period of significant growth during his tenure. Former UA Provost George Davis took time to reflect on his friendship with Koffler and the legacy he left behind.

Arizona 360
Arizona 360 airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on PBS 6 and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on PBS 6 PLUS. See more from Arizona 360.
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona