UA students to take part in Hovercraft competition
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – March 13
A group of Alabama students are heading to Auburn Saturday to compete in a unique competition. Students from the University of Alabama aerospace engineering program are taking part in a hovercraft competition. The hovercraft was built entirely by students in the engineering department.
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – March 13
Auburn wins hovercraft challenge against UA
OANow – March 15
Thomas Wills will be the first to tell you that driving a hovercraft can be terrifying. A hovercraft, which can weigh between 300 and 600 pounds, derives speed solely from engine powered fans and momentum, causing the vehicle to essentially float along a frictionless surface at speeds as fast as 55 mph. … However, such a fear didn’t stop Wills and other Auburn engineering students from racing a handmade hovercraft against engineering students from the University of Alabama during the second annual University Hoverbowl Challenge, which was held Saturday near the Auburn Research Park … Alex Few, captain of the Alabama team and a senior majoring in aerospace engineering, said that like Auburn seniors, many people on his team worked on their hovercraft in order to put their skills to work. “This is one of the best things that I could’ve possibly done to get the experience in how to design, fabricate and test something that is our own,” Few said. “It’s an incredible education experience and it’s also an incredible amount of fun.”
Journalism professor to receive an award in New York
Crimson White – March 17
Meredith Cummings, a journalism professor and director of scholastic media at The University of Alabama, will receive the James Fredrick Paschal Award in New York City on March 21. The James Fredrick Paschal Award is a national award given by the Columbia Scholastic Press Advisers Association each year. The award honors press association officials whose work distinguishes them within the field. “When I found out that I was just nominated for this award, I was absolutely stunned,” Cummings said. “The Alabama Scholastic Press Association went through a rough time before I got involved, and it’s been so awesome to take something that was basically on life support and resuscitate it.”
Here’s a way to volunteer right now that both helps people and has a political impact
Daily KOS – March 16
What should we do now? That’s a question politically active folks are constantly asking themselves (not to mention arguing over with one another). Should we focus on the next election(s), so that we can hopefully get better laws enacted, laws that reflect our beliefs on how best to help people? Should we focus on more direct action, volunteering for service organizations that are already helping people? Of course, there’s no single right choice, and it doesn’t have to be either/or. On that point, a pretty amazing group of college student volunteers in Alabama (and they aren’t the only ones) has embarked on a mission that addresses both at the same time. This group is called Bama Covered, and they are helping people enroll in health insurance plans through the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Many people simply haven’t gotten over to an exchange to sign up. Others, once they head over to that exchange, need help navigating their way through it. That’s where people like Marlan Golden come in. A student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Golden has been helping the kitchen and cleaning staff who work on campus to get covered.
Why African-Americans are moving back to the South
Christian Science Monitor – March 16
When Charlie Cox told his friends he was leaving Chicago, no one tried to talk him out of it. After 35 years at General Motors, he was ready to retire. Ready to trade the cold and the crime and the frenetic pace of life for the rivers and fields of his youth. He had grown up in rural West Point, Miss., and he had moved north with his family when he was 9 years old, but somehow his heart had never quite followed. His spirit yearned for the South, and, as the years passed, the memories of his childhood burned brighter until he couldn’t stand it any longer … The South has a way of resonating with people, says John Giggie, associate professor of history and director of graduate studies at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. For African-Americans, many of whom have maintained their Southern ties through family reunions and church homecomings, it is not so much a homeland to which they are returning as it is a heartland they never left. It doesn’t surprise Dr. Giggie to hear of people like Mr. Cox, who doesn’t live on the 25-acre homestead his family owns but still pays the property taxes and cuts the grass. On weekends, he can be found there hunting, fishing, or just walking in the fields, enjoying the silence. “Owning land is a key component of Southern identity,” Giggie says. “Southerners with money invested in slaves and land, and those with land were the ones who came away with the greatest political clout. There’s always been that promise you bequeath to your loved ones. For those able to procure it, land became a prized possession.”
Debates to thrive long after Common Core bills likely die
Decatur Daily – March 17
Bills to drop the educational standards known as Common Core are likely dead for this legislative session. The debate about the national standards, however, likely will live on in this election year, especially for Republicans. “It could make some difference in primary elections,” said William Stewart, retired chairman of political science at the University of Alabama. “I think it could make it difficult for Republicans who have gone on record of supporting Common Core. “It’s a shame that an issue related to quality education has to become so politicized and people take positions based on ideology, rather than education.”
Holley opens student art exhibit with concert
Crimson White – March 17
The applause brought Lonnie Holley back for an encore, but a young girl took his place as Holley invited her up to his red keyboard. Sitting in his stool, the child gave the audience a shy smile. Holley talked to her, asking her to play for the audience. She pressed one key. Holley kept encouraging her. Three more notes came from her fingers in spaced out intervals. Holley threw his hands in the air and joked he was leaving the show to her before taking back his seat. “That’s it, I’m out,” Holley said. “She’s taking my place.” Holley, an internationally acclaimed visualartist and musician, performed Thursday night in the Paul R. Jones Gallery as a part of the Sonic Frontiers concert series.
Delta Sigma Phi holds fundraiser for Humane Society of West Alabama
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 15
Students at the University of Alabama give back to the community, and, this time, homeless animals were the ones benefiting. Friday, the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity held its “Dog Days” fundraiser. A $5 dollar donation got you refreshments and live music. The money raised goes to benefit the Humane Society of West Alabama. Trent Tiffin: “It is important. We want to get our name out there and do as much as we can to give back to the community. And we feel special doing that.”
ECOVIEWS: Joab Thomas made plants fascinating
Aiken Standard (S.C.) – March 16
Joab Thomas, who died on March 3 at the age of 81, was an excellent botanist whose advice was worth listening to. He once told me that my newspaper columns on ecology had too few plant examples compared to animals. That’s because, on the whole, animals tend to be action figures whereas plants are mostly inert unless the wind is blowing. But intriguing plants do exist, and I dedicate this column to Joab. Plants kill and eat millions of animals every year. In addition to having a wide diversity of insects on the menu, carnivorous plants eat other animals, including small birds, frogs, and mammals. Plants that capture and digest animals occur in many parts of the world, and several kinds can be found in North America. Pitcher plants, in which insects fall into a highly effective pitfall trap, are among the best known. In some, the column, or “pitcher,” is only a few inches high, but it can be almost 3 feet tall in the yellow trumpet pitcher plants. With downward-pointing hairs around the lip of the column and digestive liquor at the bottom of the flask, pitcher plants mean certain death for many insects. The bug that makes a misstep over the edge of the tube will soon become part of the plant world, as it is digested and absorbed … He was an amazing individual. Having been president of the University of Alabama and later at Penn State, he became best known to many as the only person to have been the boss of both Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno. In contrast, he was known to me and many colleagues as an outstanding botany teacher who could actually make people realize that plants are exciting
Pickens-Salley Symposium slated Tuesday
Aiken Standard (S.C.) – March 17
The Pickens-Salley Symposium on Southern Women will be held at the Etherredge Center at USC Aiken on Tuesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. This event was created to honor the contributions of Southern women and is named after the women who once lived in the Pickens-Salley House now located on campus – Lucy Pickens and Eulalie Salley. The featured guest at the Symposium will be Dr. Kari Frederickson, a University of Alabama Department of History chair and author of “Cold Water Dixie: Militarization and Modernization in the American South.” Frederickson will discuss the impact of the Savannah River Site developments on women’s lives in the area.
UA launches electronic file sharing system
Crimson White – March 17
When it comes to college projects, it seems the piles of emails, materials and rough drafts can be endless. It can be hard to keep track of all these communications and documents separately, so The University of Alabama is introducing a new service to help faculty, staff and students keep track of their work. The University is launching a free service known as UA Box, which will allow teams working on projects to digitize and centralize the documents they wish to share. All content will be in one place that can be accessed from computers or mobile devices. Scott Montgomery, deputy CIO for UA Box, said the service will provide secure document storage managed by the Office of Information Technology and the Center for Instructional Technology … Montgomery said UA Box will allow students to edit the same documents without having to manage multiple copies while providing a more flexible, secure option than email. Researchers will be able to share files with collaborators at both the University and other locations.
UA Digital Media Center (Gallery)
Tuscaloosa News – March 14
Guests tour Alabama Public Radio studios inside the new Digital Media Center at the University of Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium Thursday, Mar. 13, 2014.
Campus club provides place to practice, learn skill of juggling
Crimson white – March 17
Ingram Crosson has devoted the last 15 years of his life to juggling. The president of the Crimson Jugglers, an organization on The University of Alabama campus, he teaches others the art of juggling. During his time juggling, Crosson, a senior majoring in Spanish, has learned to juggle knives, fire and even shoes. “Shoes are a little bit difficult,” Crosson said. “I’ve had people who’ve given me random objects like a shoe, an apple and an eraser. Pens are probably the hardest. They’re not heavy enough to fling around.” Only about five members of the Crimson Jugglers’ 15 members had prior juggling experience before joining the group. Many are new to juggling and learn through practice. “Most people hadn’t had any experience,” Crosson said. “I could teach you the basics in about 30-45 minutes, and if you practice for a couple hours, you could get the basics down.”