EDITORIAL: Joab Thomas’ tenures will long impact University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – March 5
Some faculty and administrators work at a university. Others give their lives to it and become part of its lore. Their passing is mourned like a family member’s death, but their institutional presence will never be entirely purged. So it is with University of Alabama President Emeritus Joab L. Thomas, who died Monday at age 81. He served UA as a professor, assistant dean, vice president and president, and always it seemed he served each position at the very time when his influence was needed most. Along the way, he led two other great institutions, North Carolina State and Penn State universities. All three benefited greatly from his service. … Thomas was born in Holt, and it is no accident that his life ended a short distance from where it began. Despite his Harvard pedigree, he was, as Cathy Randall said in remarks at the time of his induction into the Student Affairs Hall of Fame, “an Alabamian through and through.”
Former UA President Roger Sayers Remembers Dr. Joab Thomas
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 4
Many are remembering former University of Alabama president Joab Thomas. Thomas died in Tuscaloosa yesterday at age 81. He was president at the University of Alabama from 1981 to 1988. Another ex-Alabama president, Dr. Roger Sayers, tells us the university is still reaping the benefits of Thomas’ leadership. Sayers believes Thomas expanded research opportunities and economic development at The Capstone. A memorial service for Thomas is set for Thursday at 10 a.m. at Tuscaloosa’s Christ Episcopal Church.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 4
Million Dollar Band Marches in Mardi Gras Parade
WPMI-NBC (Mobile) – March 4
It may not be football season just yet but the University of Alabama’s Million Dollar Band was in the Port City today to celebrate Fat Tuesday … The Million Dollar Band wowed the crowd this morning with some of their favorite cheers … just going to be getting the crowd pumped up with “Yay Alabama” and just doing our basic cheers. Their busses rolled into mobile around 10:30 this morning and it was straight to practice.
WALA-Fox (Mobile) – March 4
WJTC (Mobile) – March 4
WKRG-CBS (Mobile) – March 4
Student-teacher sex: Are more female teachers being charged?
Al.com – March 4
A Mobile math teacher is convicted of having sex with a teenager. A fifth-grade teacher is implicated in Pell City. A foreign language teacher is charged in Tuscaloosa. A Sheffield Junior High School teacher, in a car, having sex, with a 15-year-old. All of the accused are women. In fact, about one-third of the cases of possibly inappropriate relationships investigated by Alabama education officials in 2013 involved women. … Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Alabama, said she isn’t aware of any increase in the number of female teachers accused of sexual relationships with underage students. “I think we need to remember there is a double standard in society,” she said. “A male teacher arrested for having a sexual relationship with an underage (female) student may not be as ‘newsworthy’ compared to the female teacher having a sexual relationship with an underage (male) student.” The apparent influx, Seigfried-Spellar said, might stem from the fact that victims are now more willing to report the crimes. “In other words, these types of sexual relationships between female teachers and underage students may have always existed, but went unreported,” she said.
Discerning Diverse Voices presents research
Crimson White – March 5
The College of Communication and Information Sciences is hosting its fifth annual symposium on diversity, Discerning Diverse Voices, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday in 205 Gorgas Library. The event showcases research projects done on a variety of topics pertaining to diversity. Some of the topics covered include socioeconomic status, race and sexual orientation. “Diversity is always a part of the conversation whether we make it explicit or not,” said Adam Sharples, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of communication studies. While diversity serves as the symposium’s focus, faculty members said the research aspect of the event is equally important. Robin Boylorn, an assistant professor in the department of communication, said she thinks research like what is presented at the symposium is important for our society. “People have been taught to believe that it is impolite or wrong to talk about difference, so when we encounter it in our lives, it is shrouded in silence and shame and seen as taboo,” Boylorn said. This year, the symposium has received more submissions than any previous year.
Series to discuss politics, Greek life
Crimson White – March 5
The Women’s Resource Center and the department of gender and race studies will continue their monthly Brown Bag Lecture Series Wednesday afternoon in Garland 203 with presentations from two political science doctoral candidates. Laura Merrifield Sojka will be presenting a lecture titled “Petticoat Politics: The Life and Legacy of Lurleen Wallace,” and Lindsey Smith will present “Sororities and Subordination: Narratives of Critiques.” Sojka said her talk will highlight the political career of Lurleen Wallace. “The reason I got interested in this and started doing all this research is, you know, we have Lurleen Wallace Boulevard and Lake Lurleen, and you think, ‘Gosh, they named a ton of things after the First Lady, when it turns out she was actually our state’s only female governor,’” Sojka said. “I think it’s very interesting because Alabama isn’t necessarily a bastion of feminist progressivism, yet we had a female governor before any other state in the South, excluding Texas.”
Creative Campus debuts video game exhibit
Crimson White – March 5
Imagine climbing inside your favorite video games and seeing their inner mechanisms come to life. This is what Creative Campus is showcasing with The Artcade, an interactive exhibit on display in the Rec Student Activity Center on Thursday. “The goal of The Artcade is to change students’ perspectives on video games,” said Lauren Balut, a junior majoring in computer engineering and math, who is leading the project. “To replace bad stereotypes with an appreciation for the artistic process of the games’ creation.” The concept of an interactive video game-based exhibit is a first for Creative Campus and The University of Alabama. Participants will be able to interact with speed-runs of award winning games, as well as artistic and musical behind-the-scenes features. “It’s going to be a three level exhibit comprised of music, gameplay, graphics and narrative,” said Thomas Key, a sophomore majoring in food and nutrition. He is assisting Balut with the ArtCade. “You can play games and learn about their artistic value.”
Female a cappella group creates legacy
Crimson White – March 5
Before “Pitch Perfect” and its onslaught of cup song covers swept the nation, there were the AcaBellas, an all-women a cappella group at The University of Alabama. The AcaBellas held its first auditions in Sept. 2012, just one month before “Pitch Perfect” came out in theaters, effectively taking over popular culture. Caitlin Roberts, co-director of the AcaBellas and a sophomore majoring in history and journalism, said although it gets old to have people constantly comparing the AcaBellas to the movie’s Barden Bellas, she is glad a cappella groups are finally getting recognition. “A cappella groups were kind of underrated before that movie came out,” she said. “So it kind of made the way for a cappella to make it to the mainstream.”
The loneliest number? Students discuss perks, downfalls of one-bedroom residence
Crimson White – March 4
Zyda Culpepper-Baldwin lives in a building with 965 other girls, but every night she comes home to a space of her own. More than content with her arrangements, Culpepper-Baldwin is part of a growing number of college students who live alone. While most people would think a single room could get lonely or boring, Culpepper-Baldwin, a sophomore majoring in vocal performance, said she sees it as a sanctuary. “It’s just nice, sometimes you just need that space besides just one room where you can be alone,” she said. … Her situation is very uncommon. Alicia Browne, director of Housing Administration, said of the 7,800 bed spaces on campus, there are only 60 one-bedroom suites between the Lakeside and Riverside communities and 10 to 15 single rooms scattered throughout the other residence halls, such as Tutwiler, where Culpepper-Baldwin is a resident advisor.
NEW: First Black RISD Graduate to be Featured at Newport Art Museum
GoLocalProv.com – March 4
The Newport Art Museum will host a talk examining artist Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, the first black graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design next Thursday, March 13th at 6:00PM. Amalia Amaki, a professor of Modern Contemporary Art at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and foremost Prophet scholar, will lead the discussion.