University of Alabama defeats Auburn in Beat Hunger food drive
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 26
The University of Alabama met its goal of collecting more than 300,000 pounds of nonperishable food and beat Auburn University in the annual contest between the rivals to collect donations for their respective regional food banks ahead of the Iron Bowl. “I am really excited and proud of what we accomplished this year,” said senior Abbie Bunn, the executive team leader for the drive at UA. Alabama collected 300,049 pounds during the five-week competition. Auburn collected 198,041 pounds. The results were announced Tuesday during an official weigh-in ceremony for the competing Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger and Beat Bama food drives. The annual drive collects nonperishable food and monetary donations for the Food Bank of East Alabama in Auburn and the West Alabama Food Bank in Northport. The total announced at the West Alabama Food Bank includes the equivalent weight of food that will be purchased with monetary donations, according to Courtney Thomas, director of UA’s Center for Sustainable Service and Volunteerism, which coordinates the drive at Alabama.
AL.com – Nov. 26
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 26
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 26
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Nov. 26
Editorial: Alabama leads SEC in graduation rates
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 26
Alabama leads the Southeastern Conference in its graduation rate for athletes, according to figures released this week by the NCAA. Seven sports — men’s golf, men’s swimming and diving, women’s golf, softball, soccer, women’s tennis and volleyball — achieved perfect scores of 100. Football, basketball and track and field all finished second in the SEC. Alabama’s overall graduation success rate was measured at 91, while the average rate for NCAA Division I student-athletes was 82. The university community and fans of these young men and women should cheer this as loud, or louder, than a 90yard touchdown completion against Auburn. It should pull asmany“highfives”asadeepthree-pointeratthebuzzerto beat Kentucky. It should receive as many “Roll Tides!” as a Sugar Bowl tailgate.
Iron Bowl rivals, cancer-fighting freshmen will be side-by-side at Auburn-Alabama game
AL.com – Nov. 26
Corbyn Wile, 19, of Enterprise, is Bama through and through. The University of Alabama freshman has three sisters who went there before her. Kayla Perry, 19, is Auburn, orange and blue. The Auburn University freshman from Birmingham knew at age 13 this school was for her. They’re on opposite sides when the two schools meet Saturday in the classic Iron Bowl football game. But they are fast friends. They stand united against one thing: Cancer. Both have it. Perry has neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer rare in people Kayla’s age. Her doctor told her a chance for a cure is low, so start thinking about what to do with the time left. Wile has rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancerous tumor of the muscles, and a prognosis not much different than Perry’s. The students met on Facebook, introduced by Kayla’s mom, Christen Perry. Then they met in person, kind of unexpectedly, when they both were waiting to see a doctor at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.
Thanksgiving travel growth
WAAY-ABC (Huntsville) – Nov. 25
According to AAA, 40 million motorists will be traveling this week. More cars on the road means more danger with a higher risk for crashes. . . . According to the University of Alabama’s center for public safety, there could be at least 2,500 crashes this week on Alabama roads. Triple a says five years ago, thanksgiving crashes killed 83 people on road in Alabama.
Restrictions on teen driving need strengthening
Montgomery Advertiser – Nov. 26
In the first nine months of this year, there have been 20 teenage drivers and a total of 36 teenagers die in car crashes in Alabama. In 2013, 44 teenage drivers and a total of 68 teenagers died in vehicle crashes. Despite Alabama having a Graduated Driver License law — which sets restrictions for teenagers who sit behind the wheel at age 16 — it is not strong enough and should be strengthened by postponing a teen’s license until the age of 17, said David Brown, a research associate with the Center for Advanced Public Safety at the University of Alabama. The NHSTA study went through September. On Sunday, four more Alabama teenagers died in traffic accidents.
Why marijuana banking laws are such a joke
Wall Street Cheat Sheet – Nov. 26
Marijuana policy reform has been a steady baseline in the cacophony of U.S. politics over the past few years. This November, as voters rotated Republicans into a controlling share of the Senate, they also ended marijuana prohibition in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington D.C., the latest victories in the crusade to legalize pot. Including this win, four states as well as D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana and 23 states as well as D.C. have recognized legitimate medical uses for cannabis. . . . The result has been what some consider de-facto legalization in states that decide to violate the federal ban. In a 2014 article (Banks, Marijuana, and Federalism), Julie Anderson Hill, an associate professor of law at the University of Alabama School of Law, noted that “many are willing to declare that, at least for practical purposes, the marijuana federalism battle has been won by the states.”
Paul Bryant Jr. shares about his father
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Nov. 25
With so much attention on football this weekend, we had the opportunity to sit down with a man who has a unique perspective on the Crimson Tide’s program and traditions. Paul Bryant Jr. is still playing a major role at the University of Alabama. Still ahead, hear what he has to say about the past, present, and future of alabama football. With a record-breaking 323 wins and 5 national championships at the University of Alabama, Paul “Bear” Bryant is a football legend. Even in the middle of another national championship era in Tuscaloosa, Bryant’s name is still synonymous with the program. WIAT 42 news reporter Leigh Garner got a rare opportunity to sit down with someone who has a lot of insight about the Alabama football tradition. Leigh? . . . Earlier on in the football season, I sat down with Paul Bryant Jr. We talked about the 19-64 national championship team, the Saban era and, of course, the Bear and the game that made him a legend. . . . Tthis year, it’s the 50-year anniversary of his 1964 national championship team. “Gee it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. 50 years! That’s right. . . . I was in school with them. These were all my buddies.” Paul Bryant Jr. is a fixture at the University of Alabama. He’s been on the Board of Trustees since 2000, and he’s chairman of the Crimson Tide Foundation. But perhaps above all else, he’ll tell you, he’s a fan. “This was a great team and a special team. But all in that period, when Alabama was going to the top and staying there, that was all special years, and I was real pleased to grow up with it when that was happening.”
Mexican students study American culture
Florence Times Daily – Nov. 26
Nineteen students and professors from central Mexico are wrapping up a month-long stay in Florence this week, where they’ve been students of American culture at the University of North Alabama. The group was among the first to participate in the 100,000 Projecta Program offered by the Mexican government. It enables students from Mexican universities to travel to the U.S. and be immersed in the culture. This year’s program placed students at universities across the country including Marshall University, University of Colorado, West Virginia, University of Alabama and UNA. During a four-year period, 100,000 Mexican college students will study in the United States. The group has lived on the UNA campus the past month and has participated in the American Language and Culture Program. This is the first time the program has been offered in the United States.