Forensics team places 5th in national tournament
Crimson White – April 17
The University of Alabama Forensics Team placed fifth in the nation last week for the first time since 2006. The speech team traveled to Hutchinson, Kan., April 6 — 8 to compete in the American Forensics Association National Individual Event Tournament where they individually spoke 12 times in the quarterfinals, six times in semis and four times in the final round. “If one person hadn’t competed, we might not have gotten that rank,” Katerina Pena, a junior and member of the team, said. “Every single person contributed.” The University’s team beat out the sixth-place team by just a point and a half, a margin that could be skewed by one person ranking higher or lower in a preliminary round.
Engineering majors to compete in aircraft contest
Crimson White – April 17
A team of University of Alabama aerospace engineering majors will compete in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Student Design/Build/Fly competition Friday through Sunday. The aircraft contest, which will be held in Tucson, Ariz., requires teams to design, fabricate and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft that best meets three missions. “Mission one is empty flight,” Tyler Brooker, a senior majoring in aerospace engineering and team member, said. “You complete as many laps as you possibly can in a certain time limit. Mission two includes flying as many rockets as you are willing to in the internal load. Mission three involves external and internal loads. There are four or five separate rockets we have to use, different sizes and weights. We have to be able to keep the balance of the plane equal, so we’ll have an asymmetric loading on the wings.” The top three winners will earn cash prizes up to $25,000. The first-place winner will receive an opportunity to present their design at an AIAA conference, and the team with the best report score will win a $100 prize from the Design Engineering Technical Committee.
UA Greek relief builds new homes for Tuscaloosa tornado recovery
FOX 6 (Birmingham) – April 16
In this morning’s recovery in Alabama update, a group of college students are continuing efforts to help survivors of the April 27, 2011 tornadoes. The University of Alabama Greek relief group served more than 52,000 hot meals to tornado victims and rescue crews immediately following the storm. The group also collected $210,000 dollars in donations. With unspent donations still available, the organization has now decided to give thousands of dollars to Habitat for Humanity in Tuscaloosa.
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – April 16
What drives mass killers…UA professor cited
MSNBC – April 16
A University of Alabama professor believes the Boston bombings are a result of one person. Dr. Adam Lankford specializes in Homeland Security and terrorism. He says he thinks one person is to blame based on the proximity and number of explosions.
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – April 16
Library marks 50th anniversary of King’s famed letter from jail
Tuscaloosa News – April 17
(Photo Cutline) Laurie Bonnici, assistant professor of library and information studies at the University of Alabama, reads the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from a Birmingham jail at the Tuscaloosa Public Library on Tuesday. The library is celebrating the 50th anniversary of King’s letter and its impact on society.
Sustainability Day pushes ‘going green’
Crimson White – April 17
Thursday, the Business Honors Program is hosting Sustainability Day at the Capstone. This is a day filled with on-campus events designed to shed light on all of the sustainable practices on campus. “The goal of Sustainability Day is to show students how easy it is to be environmentally friendly at UA even if the environment isn’t something you’re super passionate about,” Caroline Murray, president of the Business Honors Program sustainability committee, said. “We want to provide students useful information on what they can do to reduce UA’s impact and how to do it.” During the day, members of the sustainability committee will hand out free items and information about sustainable practices.