In Brief: COVID-19 commemoration, Pac-12 basketball awards, recent articles on The Conversation

Ceremony to reflect on two years of COVID

Twenty-eight hundred white flags – one for every 10 Arizonans who died due to COVID-19 – will be displayed on the University of Arizona Mall as part of a commemoration marking two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Day of Memory, Healing and Hope – Reflecting on COVID-19" will take place March 23.

The event, hosted by the University Religious Council, will consist of two ceremonies – one at 9 a.m. and one at 1 p.m. University President Robert C. Robbins will speak at the morning ceremony; Liesl Folks, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, will speak in the afternoon. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided.

"It is meant to be a day for remembering what has been lost since the pandemic began, a time of healing for those who have suffered a loss, and a message of hope for all of us as we move forward," said Lynn Hourani, president of the University Religious Council and ethnographic researcher at the Southwest Folklife Alliance. "We can come together in prayer and music to help us heal from the tragedy of the past two solemn years, and we hope that this memorial will help the University community because grieving together brings healing."

The program will include music, reflections, stories and refreshments. Students, staff, faculty and community members are invited to write memorial messages on the white flags.

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Arizona men's basketball nearly sweeps top Pac-12 awards

When the Pac-12 Conference released the men's basketball honors for the 2021-22 season on Tuesday, it was no surprise that the Arizona Wildcats took most of the top honors.

Of the six major awards the conference hands out, Arizona won five, including head coach Tommy Lloyd being named Coach of the Year and sophomore Bennedict Mathurin being named Player of the Year.

Lloyd, who is in his first season as a head coach, is the third Arizona coach to be named Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Lute Olson won seven times and Sean Miller won three times.

Another milestone: This year's team is the first team in Pac-12 history to win 18 conference games in a season. Their overall record was 28-3.

Mathurin, who hails from Montreal, is the ninth Arizona player to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year.

The Pac-12 men's basketball tournament runs March 9-12. Arizona plays its first game Thursday.

Arizona's 2022 Pac-12 Awards:

• Tommy Lloyd: Coach of the Year
• Bennedict Mathurin: Player of the Year, First Team All-Pac-12 Team (also one of 15 finalists on the ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, which is given to the most outstanding college basketball player in the country)
• Christian Koloko: Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, First Team All-Pac-12 Team, All-Defensive Team
• Pelle Larsson: Sixth Man of the Year
• Azuolas Tubelis: First Team All-Pac-12 Team
• Dalen Terry: Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 Team, All-Defensive Team

In the Pac-12 women's basketball awards, announced last week, three student-athletes were honored.

• Cate Reese: All-Pac-12 Team (selected for a third time)
• Sam Thomas: Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 Team and All-Defensive Team
• Helena Pueyo: Honorable Mention All-Defensive Team

Read more about the men's awards and women's awards on the Arizona Athletics website.

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Check out the articles published on The Conversation last month

Each month, faculty members and researchers from across the University share their expertise on The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news source committed to communicating the work of scholars. The Conversation makes all of its articles available at no charge to any news organization that wants to republish them. In addition, The Associated Press distributes The Conversation articles to newsrooms across the United States.

To recognize University of Arizona scholars who are contributing to The Conversation's goal of informing public debate "with knowledge-based journalism that is responsible, ethical and supported by evidence," the Office of University Communications regularly posts links to the articles that have been published on The Conversation.

Below, please find the articles published in February.

Feb. 2, 2022
Legalizing recreational pot may have spurred economic activity in the first 4 states to do so
Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon all experienced big increases in both deposits and lending shortly after legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

James D. Brushwood
Senior Lecturer, Dhaliwal-Reidy School of Accountancy

Feb. 7, 2022
5 strategies employers can use to address workplace mental health issues
Two years of pandemic have put a severe strain on the mental health of America's workers. Employers with a plan in place will be best equipped to help them cope.

Patricia L. Haynes
Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion Sciences

Feb. 11, 2022
Your sense of privacy evolved over millennia – that puts you at risk today but could improve technology tomorrow
You have a finely honed sense of privacy in the physical world. But the sights and sounds you encounter online don't help you detect risks and can even lull you into a false sense of security.

Laura Brandimarte
Assistant Professor, Department of Management Information Systems

Feb. 14, 2022
Technology is revolutionizing how intelligence is gathered and analyzed – and opening a window onto Russian military activity around Ukraine
National security professionals and armchair sleuths alike are taking advantage of vast amounts of publicly available information and software tools to monitor geopolitical events around the world.

Craig Nazareth
Assistant Professor of Practice, College of Applied Science and Technology

Feb 15, 2022
What drives sea level rise? US report warns of 1-foot rise within three decades and more frequent flooding
A sea level scientist explains the two main ways climate change is threatening the coasts.

Jianjun Yin
Associate Professor, Department of Geosciences

See articles published this year on The Conversation:

• January 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• July 2021
• No articles published in June
• May 2021
• March & April 2021

Interested in submitting an article? Go to the sign up link on The Conversation website to create a username and password. Do a keyword search to see what has been written on the topic you have in mind. Fill out the online pitch form. (If you or one of your faculty members would like to talk through an idea before submitting a pitch, send an email to conversation@arizona.edu.)