Alabama woman only person to be hit by meteorite: UA to mark 60th anniversary
Al.com – Nov. 27
There’s only one documented case of a meteorite hitting a person, and it happened in the east Alabama town of Sylacauga. The University of Alabama is marking the 60th anniversary of that odd occurrence at the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa. A special exhibit about the space rock that hit Ann Hodges on Nov. 30, 1954, will be open throughout the Thanksgiving holiday in the campus museum. Hodges was napping on her couch when a meteorite the size of a softball crashed through the roof and struck her in the left hip, causing a large bruise. Hodges donated the meteorite to the museum two years later, and it’s still on display. Museum outreach coordinator Allie Sorlie says the rock is a unique part of Alabama history.
Decatur Daily – Nov. 27
Slate.com – Nov. 27
Examiner – Nov. 30
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Nov. 27
CBS 5 (Mobile) – Nov. 27
WHNT 19 (Huntsville) – Nov. 30
Kim Bissell named director of undergrad research at University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 30
The University of Alabama has named College of Communication and Information Sciences’ professor Kim Bissell director of UA’s undergraduate research. Bissell is the associate dean for research in the college and director of the Institute for Communication & Information Research. Bissell will begin her role as director today. Her new responsibilities include supervising the Emerging Scholars Program, in addition to new research initiatives with undergraduate students, according to a release from UA. The Emerging Scholars program, established in 2009 to attract freshmen to research, has been directed by Ann Webb, who is retiring, according to the release.
Sumter County firm donates lab equipment to University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 30
The operator of a landfill in Sumter County has donated lab equipment worth about $40,000 to the University of Alabama department of geological sciences. Chemical Waste Management-Emelle donated an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer, which will provide analysis of trace elements in natural water samples, according to a release from UA. The spectrometer, to be housed in the Geochemistry Analytical Facility, will be available to members of the UA community and external users. The device will be the second spectrometer for the analytical lab. The donation was made in honor of Rona J. Donahoe, a professor of environmental geochemistry in the department of geological sciences and director of UA’s Geochemistry Analytical Laboratory, and Samuel Addy, director and research economist of UA’s Center for Business and Economic Research and associate dean for research and outreach in the Culverhouse College of Commerce.
New cutting device can revolutionize the way you diet
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 27
Thousands of Americans are trying to lose weight. A scientist at the University of Alabama has created a device that could revolutionize the way people eat and ultimately become a powerful weight loss tool. The Automatic Ingestion Monitor, or AIM for short, is like the fitness band for eating. “We can monitor food intake without any input from the user,” Dr. Edward Sazonov explained. He is the scientist who helped develop the food intake tracker. A prototype will eventually be able to accurately track everything a person is eating. “Nothing like this exists,” Sazonov added. He says there’s a big difference between the device and some of the popular apps people use to track their meals. “Any other fancy device you have to participate and that is where inaccuracies can happen. They can be intentional or unintentional,” he said. This is how AIM makes tracking food intake almost effortless: a sensor placed near the jaw signals the camera when the user is eating. “As you look down, the camera will be following your eyesight and capture the image of whatever your eating,” he said.
More dedicated funding needed to continue pre-K expansion in Anniston
Anniston Star – Nov. 27
Kaydence Colson quietly sat in Kimberly Ireland’s lap Monday morning, writing her name on a sheet of paper with an orange marker. The 4-year-old didn’t have dotted lines to help her, but she wrote the letters across the page as her teacher had shown her. “By kindergarten, she’ll be able to write her name easily,” Ireland said. Colson is one of Ireland’s 18 pre-kindergarten students at Randolph Park Elementary School in Anniston. The school system added two pre-K classes to Randolph Park for the first time this year thanks to a $230,000 state grant. … Sara McDaniel, assistant professor and program coordinator for the early childhood and special education program at the University of Alabama, said there has been a large push in the last decade by the federal government and many states for support of pre-K programs. McDaniel said research has consistently shown that high-quality, pre-K classes help children better develop the basic learning and social skills they need to succeed. “Research has shown that children who have stronger social emotional skills achieve at a higher rate and graduate from high school at a slightly better rate than children who didn’t go to pre-K.” McDaniel said.
Elonis vs. United States: Facebook case to test law, boundaries of online communication
Al.com – Nov. 28
Fired from his job, separated from his wife and two children and eventually forced to move in with his parents, Anthony Elonis’ life was stripped to its cold concrete foundation. Even before he was dismissed from his job of more than 10 years, Elonis was given to crying fits over the breakup of his marriage that were so intense, the supervisor at the Allentown, Pa., amusement park where he worked could do nothing but send the 27-year-old home. “All I wanted,” as Elonis would later write, “was a wife and family to call my own.” Elonis, struggling without the warm comforts of a familiar life, soon sought a place where he could deal with his festering misery. What he found was a forum that offered him unquestioned control and complete authority to shape his image and interactions with others — a place where he could say whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted to say it. Angry and frustratingly alone, Elonis found his refuge in Facebook … “This strikes me as a tough case,” said Matthew D. Bunker, a professor and media law expert in the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences. “Obviously, in a First Amendment sense, we want to protect expressive works. We want to protect art. We want to protect literature. Many of these things have violent themes and might be misconstrued at times to be threatening toward someone.”
University of Alabama lecturer Andrew Grace to discuss documentary films
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 30
A University of Alabama lecturer will use his upcoming film about the aftermath of the 2011 tornado to discuss interactive documentaries at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival. Andrew Grace will co-lead a session on interactive documentary filmmaking at the annual event. Grace, a lecturer in the telecommunication and film department, will discuss projects by his production company, Moon Winx Films, in the Digital Domain session titled “Tool-Kit for Crafting an Interactive Documentary,” scheduled for March 17-21.
Circle K International hosts luminary event
Crimson White – Dec. 1
Students in Circle K international work to be a luminary, or light, for organizations they feel deserve awareness. Circle K will hold their annual luminary event Sunday on the Quad. They will light up the night with candles on the Quad in an effort to get everyone in the Christmas spirit and raise illiteracy awareness. The event starts at sunset and will last until the candles burn out. They hold the luminary event every year the Sunday before finals to raise awareness for Reading is Fundamental. Cathy Gafford from Reading is Fundamental will speak at the event. “I know the event has been going on forever,” said Stephanie Fox, a sophomore majoring in elementary education and the chairperson for Circle K. “My dad was a member of Circle K, and he did it when he was here.” Over the past few years, Circle K has wanted to raise funds in addition to awareness. Luminary bags were sold for students to decorate before the event. The club asked for donations from alumni and local businesses. A used book dealer from Dothan donated more than 700 books. They plan to read to children and give out the books they collected.
Two websites name NSU nursing program in top 50
Beauregard Daily News (La.) – Nov. 28
Northwestern State University’s online Bachelor of Science in Nursing program has been ranked among the top 50 in the country by two higher education websites. The program was ranked 24th in the U.S. by CollegeChoice.net. The RN to BSN program received the “Students before Profits Award” from the website nonprofitcollegesonline.com and ranked as the 41st most affordable program in the country among non-profit public and private institutions … The “Students Before Profits” rankings were created to recognize colleges and universities with online programs committed to putting the interest of students first. Also listed among the top 50 ranked institutions in the country were the University of Alabama, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Louisville.
Our staggering Ebola failure: How America’s obsession with “at-risk” populations totally misses the point
Salon.com – Nov. 29
It’s Oct. 14, 2014, and I’m standing in a hotel conference room in Providence, Rhode Island. The room is filled with immunologists, microbiologists, virologists — people who study the things that make us sick, and what happens to us when we get sick. And most of them are more worried about flu than Ebola. Dr. Annie De Groot, convener of the 8th Annual Vaccine Renaissance Conference — also director of the University of Rhode Island’s Institute for Immunology and Informatics, and founder and scientific director of the GAIA Vaccine Foundation (an NGO working toward HIV prevention in Mali) — can’t wait to go back to West Africa. She just has to convince her family. Eliza Squibb, GAIA’s executive director, nods in assent. Both women look wistful, and a little pissed off. The United States of America is two days into the diagnosis of Nina Pham, the nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for Thomas Eric Duncan in a Dallas hospital. When I woke up yesterday morning, Pham’s diagnosis was being subjected to incantation by newscasters on all the cable news channels: Do we know if Ebola is airborne? Do you support the closing of U.S. borders? Will this issue be used politically in the upcoming elections? What went wrong? (Hali Felt is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Alabama. She’s currently working on a book about immunology and the boundaries of self.)
Roll Eagle and War Tide: all in the name of ending childhood cancer
Auburn Plainsman – Nov. 27
An Auburn student and an Alabama student are pitting their universities against each other, but not on the gridiron. Kayla Perry, freshman in nursing at Auburn University, and Corbyn Wile, sophomore in environmental sciences at the University of Alabama, are starting a competition between Auburn and Alabama fans to see which fan base can raise the most money for finding a cure for childhood cancer. Wile said the competition will be launched next week. There will be a place on Perry’s website, OHOH.org, where fans can donate and claim whether they are an Auburn or Alabama fan. Results from the competition will be announced Dec. 7. Although the competition is based off of rivalry, Perry and Wile said they are hopeful fans will see the big picture. “It shows everyone that there’s more out there than football, and we can all come together for a common cause,” Wile said.
More than 3,000 meals prepared for Sylacauga community Thanksgiving dinner
Anniston Star – Nov. 27
Reaching the World Bible Church held its 12th annual Sylacauga community Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, preparing more than 3,000 meals. … Sylacauga native Jordan Smith, home for Thanksgiving break from the University of Alabama, has volunteered with the community meal since she was 9. “Being involved with it from the very beginning, I’ve really just seen how it has grown, and I’ve gotten to experience the joy that other people feel when they get that meal because a lot of people — I didn’t realize as a child how many people went without on Thanksgiving,” Smith said. “Being able to see how many people are in need and being able to fill that need in the community has been an overwhelming joy to me, and it’s something I really look forward to every year.”
College students giving thanks and giving back
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Nov. 27
Thanks to the generosity of volunteers, Chappy’s Deli distributed over 825 thanksgiving meals to people in need Thursday. Two college students were so inspired by their community service, touching the lives of elderly and homeless individuals in Montgomery wasn’t enough. They took it a step further and improved their college community as well. … “Honestly, it makes me feel warm inside but that’s how my whole family is we have been raised, ever since we were little to give back to the community,” said volunteer, Abigail Greenberg. For the past 8 years, the Greenberg’s have been giving thanks by giving back to the community. “Just seeing everybody and seeing how excited how everybody gets so excited about it and understanding the impact that you make for the people that are getting to eat this food,” said Branden. But the University of Alabama students thought beyond the needs of the river region this Thanksgiving and created their own community service fraternity called Alpha Mu Omega. “We served 260 people in Tuscaloosa area at the homeless shelter there and really we did the exact same thing there that we’re doing here today,” said Branden.
ESPN College GameDay behind the scenes: Take a look at Joe Namath, Nick Saban, others on set
Al.com – Nov. 29 (gallery)
Where else other than Tuscaloosa and the Iron Bowl would ESPN want to end its regular season with “College GameDay” on Saturday? The college football pregame show staple hit the University of Alabama for the second time in three weeks, after they came for the Crimson Tide’s showdown with then-top-ranked Mississippi State. But Alabama-Auburn is a different story, so ESPN stepped up its picker game in Tuscaloosa by bringing back Tide legend Joe Namath to finish the show with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Lee Corso.
Winter guard to compete
Crimson White – Dec. 1
When they’re not spinning their flags and dancing across Bryant-Denny’s field on football Saturdays, the women of the Million Dollar Band Color Guard are preparing for their competitive winter season, known as winter guard. Alta Marea, which means “high tide” in Italian, is The University of Alabama’s winter guard and was formed in 2006. Katie Estep, a senior majoring in advertising and president of Alta Marea, first saw the group when she was at a high school competition in Georgia. Estep said seeing the girls perform and seeing how much fun they had was a big part of her decision choosing which college to attend. “When it came down to selecting what college I wanted to attend, I was conflicted between The University of Georgia and The University of Alabama,” she said. “I auditioned and made the Million Dollar Band Color Guard in 2011, and then that winter I was selected to be a part of the Alta Marea Winter Guard.” Alta Marea differs from the color guard because they do not perform with the Million Dollar Band during the winter season. They perform indoors with the same equipment as is used during the fall season but with more intricate choreography that adheres to a theme. Last season’s show was “Hot Legs,” in which Alta Marea showcased a Latin routine involving fast spinning and dancing.