HC traditions molded over time
Crimson White – Oct. 31
…Homecoming’s traditions took root in the 1940s and ’50s when it was overwhelmingly greek sponsored. Fraternities hosted open house parties before and after games, while sororities sponsored teas for alumni and sold mums to raise funds for homecoming…The homecoming parades have grown from 34 floats in 1948, but they follow the same procedures and the same basic route. Choreography contests date to the early 1940s, as do “Paint the Town Red” contests. A major component of each Homecoming Week is the homecoming concert, a chance for the University to showcase a major entertainment act. A variety of big name performers have come to campus, including Elvis in 1971 and Cheech & Chong in 1973…
Annual Homecoming Step Show to take place tonight
Crimson White – Oct. 31
Tonight, several greek organizations and the Riptide Dance team will take over the Student Recreation Center’s south gym for The National Pan-Hellenic Council’s Homecoming Step Show…
Homecoming game shown in the Ferg
Crimson White – Oct. 31
Students without tickets may have a tough time watching the game Saturday, as Saturday’s match up between the Crimson Tide and Arkansas State will only be aired on pay-per-view. Those who don’t feel like ordering the game at home can go to the Ferguson Center for “Football in the Ferg.”…the SGA is encouraging Housing and Residential Communities to provide pay-per-view showings in the dorm lobbies…
Rowdy
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 31
…It’s the Homecoming concert for the University of Alabama, and it makes a lot of sense for this family tradition to include Randall Hank Williams Jr…’University Programs is very well focused on trying to provide the value for the students, alumni, faculty and people that live in and around Tuscaloosa. It’s a Homecoming concert, so they were looking to book something that would be exciting.’…
Mercedes offers buyouts to Vance plant employees
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 31
…Sam Addy, director of the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research, said the workers who take the buyout may not find comparable jobs in Tuscaloosa, but that auto manufacturing plants in Alabama and other parts of the Southeast may be able to absorb them. As evidence, he cited Alabama’s September unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, which is still below the 6.1 percent national average.
“Those who have worked in the industry for a while have the experience and work ethic that would make it easy to translate into other jobs and positions,” Addy said. “The only issue would be what these jobs pay relative to Mercedes.” Addy also mentioned rumors circulating throughout the state that Mercedes or Hyundai, located in Montgomery, could add new models to the lines already being produced. The Honda plant in Lincoln already has announced plans for a new model, he said. If that happens, it would also lessen the effect that the buyouts and other potential work-force reductions around the state could have on the Alabama economy. He also pointed to the relatively young age of Alabama’s automobile plants, making them easier to update and retrofit to produce newer models than older automobile plants. “That’s why,” Addy said, “we see a lot of hope in our industry.”…
Gas price slide offers consumers bright spot
Birmingham News – Oct. 31
…Crude prices have been sinking due to the global economic crisis that has caused folks to drive less and led investors to bet on a further drop in energy demand, said Peter Clark, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Alabama who follows petroleum markets. The OPEC oil-producing countries last week voted to cut oil production by 1.5 million barrels a day, hoping to boost oil prices. Clark said as long as cheaper pump costs don’t spark a sharp demand in driving, prices could remain low. Whether prices fall below $2 again is hard to predict, he said. “I saw on television the other day that a station in Indiana was selling regular for $1.95,” Clark said Thursday. “Gasoline prices are all local. If we had aggressive marketers like Costco all over the place, it would drive down prices at stations close to them.”
GOP may be losing hold on the South
Dothan Eagle – Oct. 31
…Conversely, Republicans are doing better in states like Alabama that haven’t changed in demographics as dramatically, said Stephen Borelli, an associate professor of political science at the University of Alabama…
Eufaula Tribune – Oct. 31
Enterprise Ledger – Oct. 31
Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal – Oct. 31
Education briefs
Birmingham News – Oct. 31
A University of Alabama sophomore from Alabaster has won the 2008 Alabama Philosophical Society’s annual undergraduate essay contest. Jonathan Cobb won with his essay “Natural Evil and the Butterfly Effect,” which examines the possibility that man’s immoral or evil actions can indirectly cause natural disasters…
Residence hall hosts second annual haunted house
Crimson White – Oct. 31
…Sommerville Hall hosted its second annual haunted house on Oct. 29 and 30 in the basement of the building. Admission to the event was either a $2 donation or a canned food item, both of which would be donated to the Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger food drive…
WVUA, Tuscaloosa – Oct. 30