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MONDAY, JUNE 3 – SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2013

BEST BETS

PUBLIC EVENTS PLANNED TO COMMEMORATE 50^TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAND IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE DOOR – Fifty years after the first two African-American students enrolled at The University of Alabama following then Gov. George Wallace’s unsuccessful “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door,” UA will commemorate that historic day and celebrate 50 years of progress with two public events – a program featuring speakers and musical performances on June 11 and an interfaith prayer breakfast on June 7. On Tuesday, June 11, UA will host “Through the Doors: Courage. Change. Progress.” The event will begin with a 5:30 p.m. reception in the Malone-Hood Plaza followed by the 6 p.m. program in Foster Auditorium. Designed to recognize and honor the courage and dedication of Vivian Malone and James Hood, the two African-American students who enrolled at UA on June 11, 1963 and recognize UA’s ongoing commitment to change over the past 50 years and its commitment to continued progress in the future, the program will include presentations by current UA students and alumni as well as musical performances. The public is also invited to an interfaith prayer breakfast at 7:30 a.m., Friday, June 7 in Sellers Auditorium of UA’s Bryant Conference Center. The program will celebrate the role of the faith community in the civil rights movement. While the breakfast is free, those planning to attend are asked to register at http://uaferguson.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=576940 by June 3. For more information, visit http://uanews.ua.edu/2013/05/ua-to-commemorate-50th-anniversary-of-the-stand-in-the-schoolhouse-door/. Print/online media contacts: Cathy Andreen, candreen@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8322; Chris Bryant, cbryant@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8323. Broadcast media contacts: Shane Dorrill, sdorrill@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8319; Bill McDaniel, bmcdaniel@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8327.

EVENT LOOKS AT DIVERSITY IN MEDICINE – The public is invited to learn how the face of medicine has changed over the years at a symposium hosted by UA’s College of Community Health Sciences. The event, “Through These Doors: Changing the Face of Medicine,” will be from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, at the University Church of Christ, 1200 Julia Tutwiler Drive. There is no cost to attend the event; however, an RSVP is requested to the following link events@cchs.ua.edu. The symposium includes an afternoon segment with lunch, two panel sessions and a keynote address, and an evening segment with a Trailblazers recognition ceremony, dinner and a talk and a mentoring opportunity for students. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu, or Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, 205/348-5148 or ppayne-foster@cchs.ua.edu

CIVIL RIGHTS PHOTOS EXHIBIT OPENS AT BRYANT CONFERENCE CENTER – More than 20 photographs depicting the civil rights movement, including many never publicly viewed before, will be displayed June 3-14 at UA’s Bryant Conference Center. The free exhibit, compiled from the archives of The Birmingham News, is sponsored by the UA College of Continuing Studies, The Birmingham News and AL.com. The exhibit will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact: Tiffany Blount, College of Continuing Studies, 205/348-8590 or tblount@ccs.ua.edu

UA RESEARCHERS AGAIN STUDYING TORNADO DAMAGE – The University of Alabama is the lead on a research grant to study the damage left by the tornado that struck Moore, Okla., on May 20. Hit by strong tornadoes before, the recent tragic tornado provides an important research opportunity to document any advancement in building practice of wood-frame homes in tornado prone areas. Researchers from several different institutions traveled to Moore at the end of May to inspect the damage as part of the National Science Foundation Rapid Response Grant for Exploratory Research. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA media relations, 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu; or Dr. Andrew Graettinger, associate professor in civil, construction and environmental engineering, at 205/348-1707 or andrewg@eng.ua.edu.

CAMPS AND ACTIVITIES

School’s out for the summer, but camps and educational opportunities for children, teens and even their teachers are definitely in at UA:

MATERIALS CAMP FOR SCIENCE TEACHERS – Schools may have recently dismissed for summer break, but about two dozen middle and high-school teachers from across Alabama and Georgia find themselves back in classrooms and science laboratories this week. The teachers are learning interactive ways to instruct their students in the physical sciences by becoming students again. They are participants in UA’s ASM Materials Camp from June 3-June 7. The camp is co-hosted by Drs. Martin Bakker, associate professor of chemistry, and Greg Thompson, professor in the department of metallurgical and materials engineering. The camp, held in UA’s Shelby Hall rooms 2104 and 2106, is designed to show teachers science experiments they can recreate in their own classrooms using common materials found at local home improvement stores. For more information, including times when the more visually interesting experiments are scheduled, contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323 or cbryant@ur.ua.edu.  

STUDENTS STUDY NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE AT SUMMER DAY CAMP – The University of Alabama’s Moundville Archaeological Park is once again offering its Indian Summer Day Camp to children ages 9 through 13 this week (June 3-7) and July 29-Aug. 2. The week-long program combines fun, hands-on activities with tours and other educational learning opportunities in topics ranging from archaeology and basic Native American food to ways of weaving, flintknapping and pottery making. Camp participants will complete a variety of art projects, go on nature hikes where they will learn how to identify useful plants, visit a Native American garden, play different Native American games, try their hand at throwing an atlatl and rabbit sticks, and visit with an archaeologist while he shows them how to analyze artifacts. Contact: Kim Eaton, media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.

UA TO HOST CREATIVE WRITING CAMP FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS – The University of Alabama will sponsor the summer 2013 Creative Writing Camp for local high school students – rising freshmen through graduating seniors – June 3-14. The camp will meet from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday in 301 Morgan Hall on the UA campus. No previous creative writing experience is required. The instructors will be published writers who are graduate students in UA’s Master of Fine Arts program. They will lead a two-week exploration of creative writing under the direction of Robin Behn, professor of English. Students will experiment with different forms of writing, including fiction, nonfiction and poetry, give a public reading and create their own publication. Tuition is free and free parking is also available. To register, send an e-mail with the student’s name, address, phone number, e-mail address, school and grade level to Ashley Chambers, camp director, at uacreativewritingclub@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.bama.ua.edu/~cwc/ or contact Chambers.

RURAL HEALTH SCHOLARS PROGRAM ENCOURAGES HIGH SCHOOLERS – Twenty-five rising high school seniors from rural communities across the state are learning what it takes to be a physician in a rural area during the UA College of Community Health Sciences Rural Health Scholars Program. The five-week camp, which began May 26 and runs through June 27, features seminars, college courses, field trips to rural clinics and hospitals, tours of various facilities and more. The program’s goal is to inspire students with an interest in medical school to pursue that dream and then return to their communities to practice. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.

GIFTED STUDENTS TO TAKE PART IN UNIQUE WORKSHOPS – UA’s annual Summer Enrichment Workshop begins Monday, June 10 at Matthews Elementary with 160 children who’ve recently completed grades K-8 – mostly from Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa County – taking part in a wide array of classes aimed to enhance critical thinking and problem solving skills. Students will dissect insects, recreate the causes of the Titanic disaster, record and predict weather patterns, and take part in dozens of other classes for an hour and 45 minutes each day until June 28. “We teach the mechanics of critical thought,” said Dr. Kevin Besnoy, assistant director of SEW and assistant professor of gifted education. “The kids all have high intellectual capabilities, but we teach them how to be critical consumers of information. We prepare them for the future by teaching them to come up with novel solutions, then disseminate that info as to how they suggest solving those problems.” For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.

MIDDLE SCHOOLERS LEARN IMPORTANCE OF MONEY AT CAMP CASH – Middle school students will see just how much money matters during UA’s Camp Cash June 10-14. Hosted by UA’s College of Human Environmental Sciences, the one-week camp explores a variety of topics, including financial goal setting, budgeting, credit use, investing, insurance, wealth accumulation and career planning. In addition to interactive activities and games, students will tour different areas of campus such as Bryant Denny Stadium, the Supe Store and RBC Bank. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu, or Jan Brakefield, 205/348-8722 or jbrakefi@ches.ua.edu

CURRENT COMMENT

UA PROFESSOR SAYS JUVENILES SHOULD HAVE OPTION FOR PAROLE – As legislators and legal officials in the state struggle with the sentencing of a 17-year-old boy convicted of capital murder, a University of Alabama psychology professor says policy-makers should consider adhering to the recent Supreme Court ruling that states a life sentence without parole is unconstitutional for juveniles. Earlier this year, the Alabama House of Representatives failed to pass a state Senate-approved bill that allows for the possibility for parole after 40 years; Alabama judges are now in limbo. Dr. Randy Salekin, who performs interventions with youths in detention centers and for the Department of Youth Services (DYS), wants to see the sentence of “life without parole” to be replaced with “life with the option for parole”. Salekin says, “This allows whoever is making the decision to recognize developmental maturity differences in children and to sentence youth with those considerations in mind. This would not mean that there would have to be an elimination of consequences but rather that the consequences would further consider the differences in brain development and maturity that are evident between adolescents and adults.” Salekin also said that under the current system an adolescent who commits a crime at 15 could remain in prison through adulthood and well into their seventies or eighties even though they have experienced considerable brain development that has altered their decision making and emotion regulation capabilities. Contact: David Miller, UA media relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.  

EVENTS

SUMMERTIDE THEATRE – SummerTide Theatre, the professional summer theatre of UA, will present “Jubilee – Songs of and about Alabama” from Friday, May 31, through Friday, June 28, at the George C. Meyer Performing Arts Center, 2022 W. Second Street in Gulf Shores. The production marks the 10th anniversary of the SummerTide theatre program. Paying homage to the musical heritage of Alabama, “Jubilee” compiles songs ranging from blues and country to rock and gospel. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Tickets are available at SummerTide.org or by calling the UA box office at 205/348-3400. Tickets prices are $20 for adults and $15 for children younger than 12.