President welcomes Alabama to White House for third time
USA Today – April 16
Like the annual Easter Egg Roll, trips to the White House by the University of Alabama football team are getting to be regular spring occasions. Alabama made its third visit here in four years Monday as national titlist in the Bowl Championship Series. From his podium overlooking the south lawn, President Barack Obama addressed Coach Nick Saban and his players. It was ‘Bama and Obama one more time. “Roll Tide!” Obama said with the team behind him on the curved steps and a balcony. “It’s a pleasure to welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide to the White House – again. “I want to congratulate them on winning their 15th national championship and their third in four years. They are starting to learn their way around the White House. I was thinking about just having some cots for them here, they’re here so often, except we couldn’t find any big enough.”
Al.com – April 15
TideSports.com – April 15
Whitehouse.gov – April 16
Florence Times Daily – April 15
Gadsden Times – April 15
Crimson White – April 15
WHNT 19 (Huntsville) – April 15
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – April 15
ABC 7 (New York City) – April 15
CBS Sports – April 15
WTVM-Columbus (Ga.) – April 15
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 15
WCVB-ABC (Boston) – April 15
WJLA-ABC (Washington, DC) – April 15
KARE-NBC (Minneapolis) – April 15
… and numerous other media outlets.
Alabama students show designs from recycled material in T-Time Fashion Show
Al.com – April 16
Students from the University of Alabama’s College of Human Environmental Sciences Apparel and Design program are being asked to think a little more creatively for the T-Time Fashion Show on Tuesday. The show features designs ranging from clothing made of recycled or nontraditional materials to deconstructed T-shirts. The only requirements for the clothing are that they have to cover the body and be wearable. “Last year, we even had a student that made pants out of newspaper, and they were really cute,” said Paula Robinson, T-Time Fashion Show coordinator and instructor in apparel and design said in a recent release. “This show gives the students a platform to just be creative and have fun, as well as an opportunity to showcase their work. I love seeing what they come up with.” The show, beginning at 7 p.m., will feature work from students that are sophomores, juniors or seniors.
UA Greek Relief builds 2 homes for April 27 families
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – April 16
A volunteer organization powered by University of Alabama students is continuing to help families devastated by the April 27 tornadoes. UA Greek Relief has raised money to help build two Habitat for Humanity homes in the Tuscaloosa area. The organization was founded after April 27 as a means to give back and rebuild. Following the tornadoes, the group served over 52,000 hot meals to survivors and relief workers, distributed thousands of relief supplies and raised over $210,000 to help the community rebuild. The funds used to build the two Habitat homes are the last monies raised by UA Greek Relief after the storms. To learn more about the group, please visit uagreekrelief.com.
Greek Week raises $100,000 for local organizations
Crimson White – April 16
Tuesday at the Profiles in Service and Leadership Banquet, representatives from the Greek Week planning committee will present grants totaling $100,000 to 30 nonprofit organizations from the Tuscaloosa area and west Alabama at 6:30 p.m. in the Ferguson Center Ballroom. The money for the grants was raised during the activities of Greek Week, a week of competitions and events between organizations from the four greek councils at the University of Alabama, the Interfraternity Council, the Alabama Panhellenic Association, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, and the United Greek Council. The organizations that will be awarded the grants were chosen from an application process that included providing detailed plans of how the funds will be used. Some of the organizations that will receive funds include Tuscaloosa’s One Place, READ Alabama, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, among many others.
Senior places 1st in interior design competition
Crimson White – April 16
When Melita Hudson first came to The University of Alabama, she had no idea she would eventually become an award-winning interior designer. “I actually started out school as a biology and chemistry major,” Hudson said. “I wasn’t really happy with that so I changed over to business. Then I saw the interior design program so I took a class just to see, and I ended up really loving it and switching over to interior design.” Hudson, now a senior majoring in interior design, recently interned with Davis Architects where she had the opportunity to contribute to the design of coach Nick Saban’s beach house … Hudson’s design for a high-end coffee shop landed her with a first place ribbon in retail restaurant design in the International Interior Design Student Design Competition.
Governor’s Race: 2010’s dark horse now race front-runner
Sand Mountain Reporter – April 15
Gov. Robert Bentley has gone from the dark horse candidate in 2010 to the front-runner for 2014, with several top Republicans saying they won’t challenge him…“Four years ago, he was the underdog. No one thought he could be elected. Now people think he can’t lose,” said William Stewart, retired chairman of the political science department at the University of Alabama…Stewart said Bentley has been successful with a hands-off approach to the Legislature. “They pretty much get their way most of the time. He’s not standing over them with a whip,” he said.
Pell Grant Changes will Slow Black Graduation Rate
Black Voices News – April 16
In an effort to maintain the maximum grant of $5,550 per academic year, Congress opted to eliminate four qualifications for the program, making an estimated 145,000 students suddenly ineligible for funds. In addition, students are no longer eligible to receive their Pell Grants during the summer semester … Schools across the Deep South have also experienced a decline in enrollment this year, which the University of Alabama Education Policy Center attributes to the eliminations made to the Pell Grant program. In three of the most uneducated and impoverished states in the nation—Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi—just under 250,000 students were awarded Pell Grants to attend public colleges and universities in the 2010-2011 school year. Two-thirds of the full time community college students in the states are Pell recipients. According to the report, enrollment decreased at 47 of the 62 two-year colleges in those states during the 2012-2013 academic year, something the authors of the report attribute to the changes made to the Pell Grant program. “The Deep South states clearly rely on public higher education to educate their citizenry beyond high school,” the report reads. “By definition, this means that Pell Grants are vital to enhancing college degree completion in the Deep South, for it is the community colleges where economically disadvantaged students begin higher education.”
UA will host personal safety forum for the public Thursday
Tuscaloosa News – April 16
The University of Alabama will play host to a forum on personal safety from 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday at the Bryant Conference Center, 240 Paul W. Bryant Drive. Forum topics will include emergency preparedness, crime prevention and safety awareness in the community and in the home. “We are inviting members of the sponsoring groups and the general public to learn more about how to be vigilant at home and in the community in order to reduce the risk of crime,” said Sharon Shelton, one of the forum’s organizers. The forum is sponsored by the University of Alabama Retirees Association and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Alabama. “This program was developed in memory of the late Kate Ragsdale, a member of both groups. Her death gave us a sense of loss, and we all felt more vulnerable afterwards. Kate was a person who was always giving and dedicated to those causes that touched her heart,” Shelton said.
Student organization host prom for Oak Hill School
Crimson White – April 16
The University of Alabama Student Council for Exceptional Children is hosting Oak Hill School’s first prom Thursday, April 18 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oak Hill School is a secondary school in Tuscaloosa City Schools for students with disabilities. The SCEC already held a dress drive in order to provide dresses and makeup for all of the girls in the school. Volunteers are still needed to come and dance with the participants, help setup, decorate for the event and clean up afterward. The SCEC is a chapter of a national organization of the same name that is dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with exceptionalities. Blake Huynh, a junior majoring in collaborative special education and president of the UA chapter of the SCEC, said the SCEC exists to advocate for those with exceptionalities. “Our organization is all about being exceptional advocates for those with exceptionalities,” Huynh said. “SCEC’s goal is to enhance the lives of persons with exceptionalities in Tuscaloosa and Alabama. The SCEC achieves this goal by volunteering at Special Populations events, Oak Hill School, Tuscaloosa PARA therapeutic department and CrossingPoints.”
Event to honor UA, Black Belt connection
Crimson White – April 16
The University of Alabama Honors College will host an event celebrating the University’s dedication to engaging with the Black Belt region of Alabama. “Promise and Possibility: An Evening Celebrating the Future of the Black Belt,” is one of many events hosted to celebrate work throughout the Black Belt and connect students, faculty and staff…“‘Promise and Possibility’ is a chance for us to bring individuals across campus together with community members to celebrate the various creative and collaborative initiatives in the Black Belt, as well as to encourage new opportunities for engagement,” Wellon Bridgers, an honors college staff member, said…The event will take place April 18 in Russell Hall Auditorium beginning with informal student poster presentations from 5-5:30 p.m., followed by panel discussion until 6:30 p.m.
Show choir to perform one-night-only show Tuesday
Crimson White – April 16
The University of Alabama Resonance Show Choir, a performance-based music ensemble, will perform its spring show at the Bama Theatre Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m…“The crowd can expect to see a nonstop, high-energy show from start to finish performed by students from all majors and backgrounds,” Gavin Dover, a junior majoring in choral music education, said. “This show is a roller coaster of emotions with huge dance breaks, flashing lights and pretty costumes.” Dover opens the show with the “Live in Living Color” from the musical “Catch Me if You Can.”
MBA class takes Russ Elrod to Istanbul
Arab Tribune – April 15
Not too many people are back in college at age 39. Fewer still have a class that calls for a business trip to the Republic of Turkey. Russ Elrod falls into both categories. Elrod takes his final class today, wrapping up two years in The University of Alabama Executive Masters of Business Administration. He’ll graduate May 3. The trip to Turkey was a requirement of his international business class. “We went there thinking, ‘Why go to Turkey on a business trip?'” Elrod says. “We left there thinking, ‘Why would you go anywhere else on a business trip?’ It is a totally business-minded nation.” Elrod is co-owner of Arab Cartage, his family’s business. Earning an MBA was not a job requirement; it was a personal desire. “I’ve spent the past 15 years learning the logistics,” he says. “I wanted to learn the finer points of business in general. There are a lot of opportunities in the supply chain management arena, and this was a good opportunity to learn more about that.”
Mobile Yoga brings exercise outside studio
Crimson White – April 16
Now students don’t have to go to the gym or a studio to do yoga – yoga will come to them. A University of Alabama sophomore has created a Mobile Yoga class where she will bring the class to a location of choice. Delona Camp, a sophomore majoring in dance and geology, said Mobile Yoga is for groups of people, organizations, social groups or even a big group of friends. Mobile Yoga is an opportunity for groups of 10-15 people with any level of yoga experience who are interested in practicing yoga or for those who already have a passion for yoga. “I want to bring unique, personalized yoga sessions to students on campus in hopes of helping them find stress relief and a sense of inner peace despite how stressful and demanding being a fulltime students can be,” Camp said.