Academics on the open ocean
Crimson White – Aug. 27
The idea of going to school on a massive cruise liner while visiting foreign nations around the world was the fantastical premise of Disney’s “The Suite Life on Deck.” But exactly such an experience is a reality for students participating in the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea program. This fall, seven University of Alabama students set sail on a study abroad experience that will take them to 16 countries around the world in 108 days. Mallory McCarty, a communications intern for Semester at Sea, said the students left Saturday for their academic adventure. Students will be earning course credit while exploring the Atlantic Ocean on their floating campus, the MV Explorer. “This fall, UA students will make up one of the top most represented universities aboard the MV Explorer and will be joining a shipboard community of 627 students from different universities around the world,” McCarty said. Semester at Sea’s website describes the MV Explorer as a “modern and safe passenger ship that circumnavigates the globe twice a year and explores a world region each summer.” It boasts a 9,000 volume library, wireless internet and a student union, among other common land-based amenities.
New kinesiology class offers horseback riding to beginners
Crimson White – Aug. 27
Heather McCall is bringing horseback riding to the masses with her new kinesiology horseback riding class. In Kinesiology 102 students will be taught all about horse biology, proper horse care and how to ride at a beginner level. “The class is going to be run as a beginner introductory class, so regardless of if anyone has any riding experience everyone will be treated the same on a beginner level,” said McCall, the University of Alabama equestrian coach. Students in McCall’s class will ride the same horses she uses with the equestrian team. The $600 course fee includes all necessary equipment and horse rental for the entire semester. Colleen Geary, a clinical instructor for the department of kinesiology and basic physical education coordinator, said the 15-week course is well worth the extra course fee. “I hope the students take away from this class not only that [horseback riding] is a good way to stay physically active, but it’s a great way to learn about horses and get to ride for the first time,” Geary said.
Al’s Pals adds schools to program, moves into Ferg
Crimson White – Aug. 27
The Al’s Pals program in the Center for Sustainable Service and Volunteerism is sporting a brand new look – and not just their new office space in the Ferguson Center. The youth mentorship program has expanded to two new sites this year: Central Elementary School and Maxwell Elementary School. These changes, however, have been in production for months, Al’s Pals Coordinator Star Bloom said. “You have to have a long-term plan and process. We started back, probably, in February deciding what our goals were, because we have a student here for every grade and every site,”
Bloom said. The Al’s Pals team will also be returning to Northington Elementary School and McKenzie Court Community Center. Other significant modifications have been made within the actual curriculum taught to students through the help of mentors, said Anna Margaret Yarbrough, a graduate assistant at Al’s Pals. “We have revamped the curriculum to be theme-based and project-based learning,” Yarbrough said. “We’re starting with ancient civilizations, so our theme would be ancient Greek culture. And so the enrichment activities, the math, the science and the reading are all going to be part of that theme. Students can really learn and just take that theme and apply it to different subjects.”
Senior creates program to help fund first generation students
Crimson White – Aug. 27 (Print edition only)
When Aaron Brazelton, a senior majoring in secondary education, thinks about his extra-curricular activities, he thinks beyond his resident hall – all the way to the Serbian border … But outside the dorm, Brazelton began a partnership with Patrick Crowley, a senior majoring in economics, finance and mathematics, to start a low-income, high-achievement student group on campus. The two of them are working with the Honors College, and Brazelton said they are striving to connect with the First Generation Program, a University program that provides funding for first generation college students.
OPINION: Russia’s bid to expose users highlights law enforcement’s tricky relationship with Tor
Network World – Aug. 25
On Friday, Russia’s Ministry of the Interior (MVD) awarded a contract for $110,000 to an unnamed Russian contractor with top security clearance to uncloak Russian users of the surveillance-evading Tor browser. This is the Russia’s Federal Security Service’s (FSB) response to the surge of Russian Tor users from 80,000 to 200,000 due to the restrictions by the Russian government on free use of the internet, such as the new law that requires all Russian bloggers to register. The NSA and the FSB want to puncture Tor anonymty and expose the identities of the people using it because the Tor browser erases identifying browser fingerprints. … Diana Dolliver, a Ph.D at the University of Alabama Criminal Justice Department who is working on a funded study on the Tor network and law enforcement, confirmed that although many in law enforcement are trying to de-anonymize Tor, many others rely on its anonymity to conduct their own investigations.
Blood drive being held at University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 26
The West Alabama chapter of the American Red Cross is holding a back-to-school blood drive from noon to 5 p.m. today, Wednesday and Thursday at 751 Campus Drive on the University of Alabama campus. Donors with types O negative, B negative and A negative blood are especially needed, but the Red Cross has an urgent need for blood donors of all types to give before the Labor Day holiday. To learn more or to make an appointment to donate blood, visit http://www.redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-27677.
New dance professor brings diverse styles to UA
Crimson White – Aug. 27
On the third floor of Clark Hall,
surrounded by towering windows overlooking Gorgas Library and the Woods Quad, you are likely to find Lawrence Jackson, the newest addition to The University of Alabama’s dance program. Jackson, a Jackson, Mississippi, native, is starting his first semester as a professor in the department of theatre and dance. Though his specialty is in jazz, he is able to bring a blend of modern, contemporary and classical styles to his choreography and classes. Jackson said he was drawn to teach at the University because of the diversity, both cultural and technical, within the dance program. He said having a well-rounded, balanced repertoire of skills is vital for dance students. “Having experience with ballet, modern and jazz equally is hugely important for dancers as they pursue professional careers,” he said. Sarah Barry, an associate professor in the department of theatre and dance, said Jackson’s expansive repertoire of skills and styles is exactly what inspired the department to hire him. “Our program emphasizes multiple styles and a well-rounded experience,” Barry said. “We needed someone who could teach jazz, but we also needed someone who was familiar with the classical jazz and also could teach more
contemporary styles.”
DREAM Alabama works with local middle schools
Crimson White – Aug. 27 (Print edition only)
In middle school, students arrive at a “cliff” in their education trajectory where they either choose to achieve or to lose interest in learning, said Robert Pendley, a senior majoring in political science and economics and the executive director of educational outreach for the Honors College … Honors College students have the opportunity to serve as role models to middle school students in the Tuscaloosa community through the after-school program Developing Realistic Expectations and Motivation Alabama.
Graduate tear-gassed in Ferguson, Missouri
Crimson White – Aug. 27
When Alan Blinder, a 2011 UA graduate now working at the Atlanta bureau of The New York Times, first met Jennifer Greer, then chair of the journalism department, he was a pre-med student. “I’m supposed to be at my chemistry lab right now but I’m not there,” he told her. “I have credentials for the presidential debate at Ole Miss.” Blinder, who walked into the journalism office as a freshman in the fall of 2008, had volunteered to be the stringer for a political blogger in Atlanta. Of his own accord, he contacted the White House Press Office and procured his own press credentials. “It just kind of blew me away,” said Greer, now associate provost for administration. “My advice to him was, if that’s the kind of person you are, that you’re going to go out and get your own press credentials … you don’t belong in pre-med, you belong in journalism.” Blinder covered the presidential debate and since then has worked for the Associated Press, The Washington Examiner, and currently works as a reporter for the Atlanta bureau for The New York Times … When riots broke out in Ferguson, Missouri, over the shooting of Michael Brown, Blinder had his feet on the ground, among the riots, searching for the story. Tensions reached a boiling point while Blinder was present, and he was tear gassed along with the rioters. “There’s a drive to get the story, to understand,” Blinder said of working amidst the tension in Ferguson. “In this particular instance, you had a series of violent confrontations between the police and demonstrators in the middle of suburban St. Louis. This is not a story that is a world away.”