UA Student News for May 6, 2011

May 6, 2011 Written by Cresandra Smothers 12 min read
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INFORMATION ON GIVING/VOLUNTEERING

The University of Alabama Athletics Department announced today that it is contributing $1 million to the UA Acts of Kindness Fund established by the University to assist students, faculty and staff who were impacted by the April 27 tornado. To read more about the donation, click here.

For more information about the fund, visit http://financialaffairs.ua.edu/benfund/. To apply for assistance, go to UA Acts of Kindness Application for Financial Assistance.

UA employees who want to use payroll deduction to contribute to the fund can click here to access the new UA Acts of Kindness Fund Payroll Deduction Authorization Form. Contributions also are accepted online here: http://bit.ly/uaactsofkindness.

Starting Saturday, May 7, all volunteers working in the recovery areas must be credentialed. Credentialing will occur at the McAbee Center, 3801 Loop Road, Tuscaloosa. Hours are Saturday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday through Friday: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Volunteer groups can go through an accelerated volunteer approval process by emailing volunteer@givetuscaloosa.com at least 24 hours in advance of their arrival. All individuals must register through the volunteer reception center. For more information, please visit http://www.givetuscaloosa.com/.

The UA Community Service Center has a number of volunteer opportunities available (listed below). For more information, please contact Barbara Grimes at (205) 348-2865 or bgrimes@sa.ua.edu.

Friday, May 6

  • City of Tuscaloosa volunteer hotline call center: Friday, May 6, through Tuesday, May 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Shifts are 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
  • Assisting with FEMA Registration:  The Tuscaloosa Public Library needs help assisting tornado victims with filing their FEMA information. Kathy Bailey, assistant director for public services, is coordinating the volunteer schedule and can be reached at (205) 345-5820. 
  • Data input for Tuscaloosa Volunteer Reception Center:  needs help entering information for everyone who has filled out volunteer registration forms since April 28. Volunteers need to bring a laptop computer that has Excel on it in order to help.  Report to the center at St. Mathias on Skyland Boulevard between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, May 6, to help. 
  • Tuscaloosa’s One Place, 867 Redmont Drive, Tuscaloosa: sort items for distribution and assist with other activities for the Alberta community. For more information, please call (205) 462-1000.
  • Community Service Center: Compassion Coalition needs volunteers to make phone calls this week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • City of Tuscaloosa new warehouse for donations, 2505 Greensboro Ave.: Volunteers with credentials are needed to help with deliveries each day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
  • Assist with laundry service at Christ Church: Volunteers are needed to wash, dry and fold clothes. Pick up and return of the bags to the church is ideal, but arrangements can be made to deliver bags to your house. Drivers needed to pick up and deliver laundry from the shelters. Contact Nita at 758-4252 or ncaldwell@christchurch.
  • Give Blood:  The Red Cross is holding a blood drive at the Belk Men’s Store at University Mall from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, May 7

  • Holt High School: help move one of the distribution sites from one location to another Saturday, May 7, starting at 9 a.m. For more information, call 553-5360.

Ongoing volunteer sign-up and service locations

  • Temporary Emergency Services, 15th Street: sort and distribute donations, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
  • Toomers for Tuscaloosa/Five Points Baptist Church (old Food Max building), 5510 McFarland Blvd. near Taco Casa, Northport: sort donated items for delivery to Temporary Emergency Services
  • Rosedale Baptist Church, 2424 28th Street, Tuscaloosa: needs volunteers from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
  • Samaritan’s Purse at First Baptist Church downtown: volunteer orientations each day at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.  You need to go to one of the orientations in order to be placed.
  • Alabama Disability Advocacy Network support hotline for Tuscaloosa:  (attention nursing, social work and community health majors) Shifts are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For information about College of Education relief efforts, click here.

WHERE TO FIND ASSISTANCE

Storm Relief Notification — The website bcbsal.com is now updated with information for members who are affected by the recent storms. The link is accessed through the scrolling banner on the home page. It provides information on the following emergency policies:

  • Access to prescription drugs
  • Waiver of prior approval (precertifications)
  • ID cards
  • Emergency procedure CSD number

The website will be updated on a regular basis as more information and emergency plans become available.

Group Therapy for Victims — Managed Health Care Administration (MHCA), which provides the network service for both EPS/EPL and Blue Choice Behavioral Health (EPF), has begun efforts to offer group therapy services for victims of the recent storms. These services will be provided in the central and northern part of the state to include Tuscaloosa. Below is the location and phone number of the office in Tuscaloosa offering these group therapy sessions to members who have EPS/EPL and Blue Choice Behavioral Health benefits.  

Tuscaloosa
Alabama Psychiatric Services
825 Rice Mine Road North
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35406
(205) 391-3099

Human Resources — The HR Service Center serves as a central point of contact for employees who have lost insurance cards, flexible spending account cards, recently filled medical prescriptions, glasses or contacts or who need information about insurance, obtaining a loan, or other human resources services. If you need help with any of these items, or you have any other benefits or payroll questions or concerns, contact the HR Service Center, located in G-69 Rose Administration Building, at (205) 348-7732 or hrsvctr@ua.edu. More detailed information also can be found at http://bama.ua.edu/~hr/benefits/DepartmentofHumanResources-DisasterRecovery.html.

Legal — The UA School of Law Clinics, in conjunction with the Alabama State Bar’s Volunteer Lawyers Program and the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association is offering free legal services for those affected by the recent tornado. The Legal Assistance Project will provide free legal services both on-site at local area aid centers and at the law clinic programs office at the UA School of Law.  Law students and attorneys will be available on weekdays at the law school from 9 a.m. to noon and at local response centers from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.  The Project will provide these services at Leland Shopping Center in Alberta City, at SOMA Church in Holt and at the Belk Activity Center at Bowers Park. For more information or to make an appointment at the clinic, please call (205) 348-4960. Walk-ins are welcome at all locations.

Housing — Students, faculty and staff who have housing needs may find information on properties with vacant apartments or houses at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Housing-for-Tornado-Victims/222338101113122?sk=wall.

Counseling — Whether you were directly or indirectly impacted, the stress associated with the April 27 storm can be overwhelming. If you or a member of your family needs help coping with the situation and want to speak with someone, the University’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to you. EAP can also meet collectively with employee groups. The EAP counseling services are confidential and are provided at no charge by licensed professional staff trained to work with individuals and families. The services are provided through the DCH Employee Assistance Program. Should you or a member of your family need assistance, please contact:

UA Employee Assistance Program
DCH Health System
201 Towncenter Blvd.
Tuscaloosa, AL 35406
Phone: (205) 759-7890
Toll-free: (866) 840-0750
Fax: (205) 759-7893
www.dchsystem.com/eap

Temporary Emergency Counseling Services, a coordinated effort of UA mental health professionals, is available to provide crisis counseling and mental health services to those affected by the recent tornado.  These services are provided by volunteers at no charge for the following time period: May 3–6 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and May 9–13 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Volunteers will answer and refer calls to the appropriate location. For more information, please call (205) 348-7960 or visit http://psychology.ua.edu.  

Members of the UA community need to be aware of the signs of traumatic stress in people who witnessed the tornado and its aftermath, as well as those who were concerned for people who were directly involved, and as a result were frightened for their safety. For more information about signs of traumatic stress, go to http://www.counseling.ua.edu/traumahelp.cfm.  

The UA Counseling Center is offering a free tornado support group for students at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays until further notice. For more information, contact the Counseling Center at (205) 348-3863.

The Counseling Lab at Graves Hall will be offering free disaster/crisis counseling and will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday–Friday. For more information, please call (205) 348-1193 or send an email to kcarmich@bamaed.ua.edu.

ROAD CLOSURES/PAVING PROJECTS/PARKING

A number of road closures were scheduled and announced prior to the end of the spring semester to facilitate construction and paving projects. Please be reminded of the closures listed below. To view a map of some of the affected areas, click here:

  • Hackberry Lane — A section of Hackberry Lane will be closed to traffic on Monday, May 9, for utility work and reopen on Aug. 12. The section that will be closed is the portion from the intersection of Hackberry Lane and University Boulevard up to the intersection of Hackberry Lane and Margaret Drive. Parking access for Smith Hall, Gallalee Hall, Nott Hall and the Psychology Clinic at Gordon Hall will be affected. Click here for complete information.
  • Shelby Lane — Shelby Lane will close Monday, May 9, to pedestrian and vehicular traffic and remain closed through mid-2013 because of construction of the fourth phase of the Science and Engineering Complex. H.M. Comer Hall’s east parking lot will also permanently close at this time. Pedestrians are encouraged to use the bridge that crosses Hackberry Lane at Seventh Avenue to the Riverside Residential Community or the sidewalks on Hackberry Lane that wrap to the east of Shelby Hall toward the Campus Drive Parking Deck. Users of the Bevill Hall loading dock will still have access to the lower loading dock on the north side of the building. Contact Ben Henson, project manager, at 348-6831 or via email at bhenson@fa.ua.edu with any concerns.

To accommodate the installation of the new East Quad Central Energy Plant, the following road closures will occur:

  • Sixth Avenue from University Boulevard to just south of Osband Hall — This area will be closed beginning May 10. Without weather delays, this road should reopen May 30. Sixth Avenue from Osband Hall south will become one way south bound until Sixth Avenue is reopened.
  • Parking Area north of Martha Parham Hall — The parking spaces between Martha Parham and Osband halls will be changed to facilitate one-way traffic east bound.
  • Colonial Drive from University Boulevard South to Paul W. Bryant Drive — Beginning May 10, Colonial Drive from University Boulevard to Paul W. Bryant Drive will be closed. Without weather delays, this road should reopen July 1.
  • Magnolia Drive west of the Chi Omega House — Beginning May 10, Magnolia Drive will be closed just west of the Chi Omega house. Without weather delays, this road should reopen by July 15.

Several paving projects will affect some campus areas in the coming weeks. All paving and maintenance schedules are tentative and subject to delay or extension depending on weather and/or unforeseen circumstances.

  • May 9-13, the southern side of Fourth Street between Second Avenue and University Medical Center and the Law School East surface lot will be closed for paving.
  • The Campus Drive Deck will be closed to apply weather coating and for annual deck maintenance May 9–June 6. Crimson Ride offices will remain during the project.

As a result of disaster recovery efforts, the Coleman Coliseum and North East Campus parking lots will be closed to commuters May 9-27. Students are asked to avoid these parking areas to enable relief workers to complete their tasks. Crimson Ride will not service Coleman Coliseum during this time period but will maintain normal service to the Campus Drive stop near the UA Student Recreation Center swimming pool. During this time, students with an active commuter permit may park in any commuter parking zone: North, West or Southeast. Parking deck access will still be based on your current permit zone designation.

ACADEMIC SCHEDULE

Interim session, summer sessions, orientation and the fall semester will begin as scheduled. All academic and support services are fully operational.

CAMPUS SERVICES

UA library patrons can renew books and materials online, rather than taking them to the library. Patrons should not be receiving due date notices or fine/fee notices at this time.

Gorgas Library will be open on Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, May 8, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Normal hours for all libraries will resume on Monday, May 9, and the hours set for interim will be followed May 9-27. For more information, please visit http://www.lib.ua.edu/hours_interim.htm. 

Bama Dining hours for this week are as follows:  Lakeside Dining is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. as usual. Starbucks in Ferguson Center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Subway in Ferguson Center is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as of Tuesday, May 3.

All University Supply Store locations have resumed normal operations. Ferguson and Tutwiler SUPe Store locations are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, May 6, and are closed Saturday. The Law School SUPe Store location is open Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Bryant Museum SUPe Store location is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, May 6, through Sunday, May 8. Students can print a buyback quote and mail their books back to the SUPe Store. Textbook buybacks will need to be received by May 16. Rental textbooks will need to be received by June 3. More information is posted on the SUPe Store website at http://www.universitysupplystore.com.  

Students, faculty and staff who were injured in the April 27 storms or who are helping with the cleanup efforts are encouraged to update their tetanus immunizations. For more information, please call (205) 348-6262 for the Student Health Center or (205) 348-4696 for the Faculty-Staff Clinic.

GENERAL INFORMATION

UA employees may receive requests from local, state and federal agencies and contractors for relief assistance. Please tell these agencies and contractors to call (205) 348-1500.

To avoid high traffic volume, people coming into Tuscaloosa should take I-20/59 to I-359 to University Boulevard to reach the UA campus.