Lessons at lunchtime: Chinese UA students sample barbecue courtesy of speaker
Tuscaloosa News – March 3
“Carrie” Quijia Zhang wanted to hear what noted investment writer and commentator Jim Rogers had to say when he spoke at the University of Alabama this week. But the junior finance and accounting major got more than advice. She ended up with a cash dividend, of sorts. Rogers, who grew up in Demopolis, encouraged students during his speech at Ferguson Center on Wednesday to travel and learn about other cultures to better understand the world and their own country. When Zhang asked the last question during the question-and-answer period that followed, she prefaced her query by telling Rogers he was well-known in her native China. Rogers commended her for studying at UA, saying her education went beyond the classroom and included experiencing such things as Tuscaloosa and Dreamland. When Zhang told him she didn’t know what Dreamland was, Rogers reached for his wallet, called her to the stage and gave her $50 and directions to go eat at his favorite barbecue restaurant.
New book recounts Titanic connection
Tuscaloosa News – March 5, 2012
As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches, Samford University professor Julie Williams offers a personal look at one family’s survival in her new book, “A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells’ Story of Survival.” Williams will discuss her book Wednesday at the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library at the University of Alabama. Williams’ great-uncle, Albert, and his wife, Sylvia, along with their 10-month-old son Alden, were returning home to the United States aboard the Titanic after serving as Presbyterian missionaries in Siam.
College news
Tuscaloosa News – March 4
William A. Ulmer has been awarded the 2012 Eugene Current-Garcia Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Literary Scholar, which recognizes Alabamians who have distinguished themselves as men or women of letters, specifically in scholarly reflection and writing on literary topics. . . . A team of three UA students won a regional computer programming contest, finishing ahead of 21 other teams from six universities. Two other UA teams, each with three students, also performed well at the annual Deloitte Consulting’s Hattiesburg Invitational Programming Competition, said Jeff Gray, associate professor of computer science and a co-coach for the teams. The nine students are computer science majors.
Before games, religious questions: In Texas, Islamic schools face tough road to participation
New York Times – March 4
With 500 students, increasing academic prestige and an established soccer team, Iman Academy SW, an Islamic school in Houston, was seeking membership in 2010 to the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, a group that organizes competition among more than 200 schools in the state. In addition to an application form, Iman Academy SW was given a questionnaire. The private-schools association, known by the acronym Tapps, was established in the 1970s to coordinate sports among Christian schools. . . . Iman Academy SW did fill out the application and questionnaire and was denied membership. It did not challenge the association’s decision…Paul Horwitz, a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, said such conflicts involving youth sports and religion were not unique to Texas. “I think we can sympathize with people trying to satisfy the largest number of people,” Horwitz said. “But the nation itself is becoming more religiously diverse. That doesn’t mean these groups necessarily are not interested in interacting with society at large. We may have thought of them as part of an insulated community, but they’re not. “The more group leagues are growing, the more they’re going to have to cope with religious diversity more often and in more complicated ways.”
Surge of anti-abortion legislation hits Capitol
Decatur Daily – March 5
The number of anti-abortion bills awaiting consideration in the state Legislature continues to grow. Depending on who you talk to, there could be a dozen or more bills filed before the session ends in May…Just because bills are being sponsored, it doesn’t mean they’ll pass, said Bill Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama. “Alabama is the most conservative state in the nation, but there are some things that even Alabamians feel are going too far,” Stewart said.
Impact of state anti-abortion laws hard to gauge
Associated Press – March 4
When lawmakers take aim at abortion, they draw on an ever-growing arsenal of restrictions and mandates imposed on women, doctors and clinics. But do these measures reduce abortions? It’s a question with no simple answer. Abortion providers and abortion-rights advocates say many of the laws — those requiring ultrasounds, waiting periods and specific types of counseling — are burdensome and demeaning but rarely dissuade women who want the procedure. . . . Michael New, a political science professor at the University of Alabama, estimates that bans on use of Medicaid funds have reduced the incidence of abortion by about 8 or 9 percent. The impact of the informed consent laws — including waiting periods and mandatory counseling — is less pronounced, New says.
Immigrants could take up slack for aging Alabama
Anniston Star – March 4
Alabama has a real immigrant problem, says Yanyi Djamba. The problem is that there aren’t enough immigrants. “If anything, we need more of them,” said Djamba, director of the Center for Demographic Research at Auburn University at Montgomery. “In Alabama — especially in Alabama — if we look at the population of people who are over 65, it’s going to increase dramatically. At some point, we will face a shortage of skills and workers.” . . . Carolyn Trent, who does population predictions for the Center for Economic and Business Research at the University of Alabama, said the center will likely be a couple of months behind schedule in issuing new official numbers. “I’d like to get in touch with schools and other agencies to see how much the immigration law affected their numbers,” she said. “Making projections this year has been tricky.” . . . For many Alabamians, a small, homegrown population may be just the ticket. “People here are very place-oriented,” said Bobby Wilson, a geographer at the University of Alabama. But that same approach can pose a challenge for economic growth.
UA student photo contest: What do you love most?
AL.com – March 5
College students loves their smartphones. College students who use their smartphones to take a photo of something else they love could win a gift card from al.com. If you’re enrolled at the University of Alabama, we want you to participate in al.com’s “What I Love Most” photo contest. Use any camera app to snap a photo of whatever it is that you love most — your girlfriend, your dog, your dinner, your beer. If you love it, we want to see it.
‘The Things They Carried’ focus of annual Gadsden Reads book project
Gadsden Times – March 5
Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” is work of fiction, a collection of short stories about members of an Army platoon during the Vietnam War. However, according to the Gadsden Reads Committee, which chose it as the book for this year’s community reading project, it actually is a literary work about all veterans and all wars. Three months of lectures, discussions, movies and concerts covering the book, the Vietnam War and its impact on veterans and the era’s popular culture will kick off this week. First up will be an appearance by Phil Beidler at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Meadows Learning Resource Center, the library at Gadsden State Community College’s Wallace Drive campus. Beidler has been a professor at the University of Alabama for 37 years. He is a Vietnam veteran and the author of two books about the literature of the Vietnam War.