Pioneers of integration to speak at Ferg
Crimson White – Oct. 28
Autherine Lucy Foster, James Hood and Vivian Malone Jones took steps toward desegregation in 1956 and 1963 by being the first black students to enroll at the University. Foster, Hood and a family member of the late Jones will participate in a panel discussion as a part of the dedication of the Foster Auditorium Clock Tower, according to an emailed statement by Nicole Bohannon, executive vice president of the Student Government Association. “It is absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to hear from a panel of people who made such an impact on our campus in such a big way,” Bohannon said. “We owe so much to the courage of these former students, and I hope as many students as possible will take advantage of their visit.”…The discussion will be held Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 9 a.m. in the Ferguson Center Ballroom. Breakfast will be served by the Ferguson Center after the discussion, Bohannon said. Panelists will answer questions regarding the integration of the University of Alabama. Dr. E. Culpepper Clark, former dean of the College of Communication and Informational Sciences at the University and author of the book “The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation’s Last Stand at The University of Alabama,” will be moderating the event…The dedication of the Autherine Lucy Foster Clock Tower will take place outside the Foster Auditorium at 1 p.m. on Nov. 3. This event is also open to students, Bohannon said…
Students participate in scientific research
Crimson White – Oct. 28
… “My research has historically focused on social experience, and Mark and his team have taken our earlier data on lizards and transformed those into a series of new hypotheses, which they are currently testing,” he said. “My initial role was to develop the conceptual basis for the experiment. Now, I assist the students in the development of tools, experimental design, data analysis, presentations and writing manuscripts.” Joining in collaboration are undergraduate students Josh Aquino, Matt Honkanen, Martin Johnson, Joseph Murphree and Jonathan Wilson…
McElroy named to academic honor
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 28
University of Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy is one of 16 college football players named to the 2010 National Scholar-Athlete Class on Thursday. The class is chosen by the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame…McElroy, in his second year as the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback, has already earned an undergraduate degree and is a Rhodes Scholar applicant. McElroy was selected from a pool of 121 semifinalists. Mississippi State offensive tackle Derek Sherrod was the only other Southeastern Conference player to earn the honor. As a finalist, McElroy will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, and one finalist will be the recipient of the 21st William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation.
UA Study of School Bus Seatbelts Says Cost Outweighs Benefits
WKRG (Mobile) – Oct. 27
WRBL (Columbus, Ga.) – Oct. 27
The University of Alabama has been looking into whether lap/shoulder belts should be installed on school buses. Researchers found that to do that for every school bus in the state, it would cost up to a whopping $38 million! They also discovered that students are six to eight times safer riding to school in a bus than riding in their parent’s car.
Student voter interest lower than 2008
Crimson White – Oct. 28
…next week’s voting will most likely be nothing like 2008 in terms of voting numbers, said Bill Stewart, professor emeritus of political science and former chair of the department of political science at the University of Alabama. “President Obama, then Sen. Obama, considerably [roused] young people in 2008, but neither he, nor any other politician, has [roused] young people this year,” Stewart said. “Statistics published [Wednesday] show the number of Alabama voters has gone up only slightly recently.” Stewart attributed the slight increase not to increased voter interest, but to more young people reaching voting age. Student Government Association President James Fowler encouraged students to vote in the upcoming election. “As citizens, it is our civic responsibility to voice our opinions and choose who will best represent not only us, but the whole state,” Fowler said in an e-mailed statement. “As an SGA, we hope we have helped educate all students through our voter registration drive and gubernatorial debate. Please become engaged in the issues surrounding our state, make an educate choice and vote on Nov. 2.”…
Birmingham works on details following vote for ballpark funding
Birmingham News – Oct. 28
…Arthur Allaway, a University of Alabama professor of marketing whose specialties include new product development, regional growth and consumer choice, predicted the downtown stadium would draw the crowds needed for spinoff development. “With these downtown stadiums you get some wonderful growth around them that caters to the fan, and they bring some people down there that for any other reason would not come downtown,” he said. “They start liking downtown.” Allaway, a baseball fan, said he’d make the hour-long drive from Tuscaloosa to enjoy a downtown game. “This will bring some really interesting opportunities,” he said. “It’s a good idea. If you’re going to poach, you might as well poach something fun.”
Alabama zombie expert Sean Hoade fleshes out truths of the undead
Birmingham News – Oct. 28
Tuscaloosa resident and author Sean Hoade is an internationally renowned zombie expert…In summer 2007, Hoade began teaching his class “Zombies! The Living Dead in Literature, Film and Culture” at the University of Alabama, in which, as part of the final exam, students dress themselves as zombies and stalk an unsuspecting campus.
Top 10 Brain-Eating Zombie Movies
Birmingham News – Oct. 28
…We sought out the opinion of international zombie expert and University of Alabama instructor Sean Hoade, who says that, first, a great zombie movie must have a tangible moral center. “In ‘Dawn of the Dead,’ as in most superior zombie flicks, this center lies with the human characters as they try to help one another, whether by saving them or by executing the infected as requested,” Hoade said…
UA holds candlelight vigil for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 27
To raise awareness about domestic violence, UA staff, students, and community members met on the steps of Denny Chimes for a candlelight vigil. The event included several guest speakers, a poem, a song, and a candle-lighting ceremony to draw attention to this cause.
Moral Forum participants debate offshore drilling
Crimson White – Oct. 28
Juniors Mark Penner and Forrest Williams won Tuesday night’s James P. Hayes, Jr. Moral Forum debate concerning offshore oil drilling in Morgan Auditorium. Stephen Black, director of the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility and instructor of the course, said the class provokes thoughtful dialogue in an effort to have students transcend their prejudices on a particular topic…Moral Forum is a class that requires weeks of preparation on a selected topic that has philosophical and political implications for students to investigate…Both sides received $2,000 per person in scholarship money for reaching the final round. Moral Forum was able to give $12,000 worth of scholarship money to its participants this year, Black said…