First Black Man In Decades Wins SGA Presidency At The University Of Alabama
Total Frat Move – March 11
The University of Alabama has elected its first black student government president since 1976. Elliot Spillers defeated Stephen Keller, who currently sits as vice president of student affairs, on Tuesday and received more than 8,500 of the estimated 15,000 total votes. This was both the highest election turnout and margin of victory since 2009. Spillers contributes a large part in the success of his campaign to Greek organizations. He recruited significant support in the sorority community, and fraternities played a pivotal role — Alpha Tau Omega flew a giant Spiller banner from its house on campus. With all the racial tension that’s received national attention lately, it’s hard to remember the significant progress this country has made over the years. Great to see a story like this to remind us just how far we’ve come.
New Orleans Times-Picayune – March 11
Madame Noir – March 11
WTVA (Tupelo, Miss.) – March 11
Franklin Daily Journal (Ind.) – March 11
CBS 3 (Springfield, Mass.) – March 11
Huffington Post – March 11
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – March 11
WHNT-CBS (Huntsville) – March 11
WAFF-NBC (Huntsville) – March 11
WCPO-ABC (Cincinnati, Ohio) – March 11
WTVA-NBC (Columbus, Miss.) – March 11
WAFB-CBS (Baton Rouge, La.) – March 11
SGA election makes UA history
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – March 11
University of Alabama students made history in this week’s SGA presidential election. Elliot Spillers was voted as the first African American SGA president in almost four decades and the first to run independently since 1985. “This is a win for the university and one that everyone has taken part in,” Spillers said. “I knew from my freshman year, I wanted to make a difference on this campus. I knew coming here would be difficult which is why I chose the University of Alabama because it would be a challenge for me and I love a challenge.” After losing in two previous SGA elections, Spillers told ABC 33/40 he believes it is his values of integrity and faith that have helped him gain supporters. “Its channeling those people to care enough about making a difference on this campus to go against the grain and to stand confident and courageous in this mission,” Spillers said.
First black UA SGA President is ‘proud’ student body elected second black SGA President
ABC 9 (Columbus, Ga.) – March 11
For the first time in 39 years students at the Capstone have elected a black Student Government Association (SGA) President. Elliot Spillers was congratulated by his fellow University of Alabama students after Tuesday’s big win. “I hope as SGA president I can rise to the occasion. I will rise to the occasion,” Spillers said. In 1976, Cleo Thomas made history at the University of Alabama becoming the first black SGA President. “I’m very proud of Elliot Spillers and the student body of the University of Alabama because it reflects on both of them. It reflects institutionally, community values and inspiration,” Thomas said. Thomas was able to beat the Greek Machine which usually puts sorority and fraternity-backed candidates in all SGA offices. Thomas believes Spillers was able to motivate the independent vote. Thomas also shared advice on how Spillers should run his presidency.
Anniston’s Thomas gets successor as black student president at UA
Anniston Star – March 11
University of Alabama students on Tuesday elected the school’s second African-American student government president, nearly 40 year after the first, Anniston lawyer Cleo Thomas Jr. The election results were encouraging news for many Alabamians who want the university to move past racial issues that have dominated the university’s image for decades. The real question for Alabama is whether it will be decades before the campus sees another black student president, said Thomas’ son, Cleophus Thomas III. When the younger Thomas heard the news of Eliot Spillers’ win Tuesday, he said, he was overjoyed and called his father. “There is no success without succession,” he remembered the senior Thomas saying on the phone. Cleo Thomas Jr. declined comment to The Star on Wednesday, according to a staff member at his law office.
Have a business idea? University of Alabama holding second Startup Weekend
Tuscaloosa News – March 11
The University of Alabama will hold its second Startup Weekend for would-be entrepreneurs on March 27-29. The event is open to college students and area residents. Participants will form teams during the three-day event to bring their business ideas to life. “This is a great opportunity for students or anyone in the community who has ever thought about starting their own business to come and present their ideas and get the help they might need to move forward,” said J. Michael Hardin, dean of UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce. “I am always telling students: ‘Need a job? Create one.’ And Startup Weekend is just the type event to spark that entrepreneurial spirit.” The 54-hour event will bring together those with technical backgrounds and business backgrounds to help entrepreneurs find merit to move ideas forward. From the initial pitch to the final presentation to a panel of judges, teams will design and develop business models in a risk-free environment where everyone is expected to dive in.
Where do they rank? Alabama’s best graduate schools
Birmingham Business Journal – March 11
The job market is becoming increasingly competitive and seeing more students continue education at the graduate level. But which universities topped the rankings for the best schools in individual fields? U.S. News and World Report recently released its rankings of the best graduate schools, and several Alabama institutions made the cut in the different categories. Nursing stood out the most among Alabama universities, with four master’s programs around the state finishing on the list. UAB topped schools in Alabama for nursing graduate programs, ranking 13th overall. The best graduate business school in the state by ranking was the Manderson Graduate School of Business at the University of Alabama, finishing 58th overall. The University of Alabama also finished the best in the state for master’s programs in law, ranking 22nd. Samford’s Cumberland School of Law also made the list, ranking 149th.
UA students traveling to Nicaragua
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 11
A group of University of Alabama students will spend their Spring Break working to serve the community in Managua, Nicaragua. And their project won’t last for just a week. It will last for at least five years. The University of Alabama has committed to a compact with other universities, to rotate travel to Managua, and work on long-term, sustainable projects with lasting impact on the community. Courtney Chapman Thomas, Director of UA’s Center for Sustainable Service & Volunteerism, says the idea is to make sure you’re meeting the true needs of the community you are serving. “Go in, to do community needs assessments, based on what that community in Managua said they needed, and then us commit, as institutions of higher ed, to fulfilling that mission,” Thomas said of how the compact works. UA student and trip coordinator Taylor Wood said even though the goal is to help others, the students still gain plenty from the experience.
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – March 11
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 11
Alabama justices: Until high court rules, we’re in charge
Toledo News Now – March 11
The Alabama Supreme Court has made itself an outlier in the judicial march legalizing same-sex marriages in the United States, drawing rebukes from gay rights advocates and evoking comparisons to Alabama’s defiance of federal authorities during the civil rights movement. The court set up a showdown with a Mobile, Alabama, federal judge this week when it ordered officials in the state to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses pending a U.S. Supreme Court decision later this year on whether gays and lesbians have a fundamental right to marry. The Alabama ruling contradicts U.S. District Judge Callie “Ginny” Granade, who declared in January that Alabama’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution … University of Alabama law professor Ronald Krotoszynski said the Alabama justices are technically correct in asserting their authority in the case. The U.S. Constitution actually doesn’t say whether state courts must adhere to federal court rulings. It simply created U.S. Supreme Court and authorized Congress to create other federal courts as necessary.
Student group raises $1,100 for charity through event
Crimson White – March 12
The Grandeur Gentlemen’s Coterie’s mission is to strive to inspire and influence their peers, according to their organizational profile, by teaching their members to be the “prototype and proper representation of a young man at The University of Alabama.” The organization held its first Annual Gentlemen’s Ball in January at the Cypress Inn Pavilion, with Judy Bonner in attendance. They partnered with the Mortar Board Honor Society in hosting the event. The group raised $1,100 for the Exceptional Foundation from the Annual Gentlemen’s Ball. James Kemp, a senior majoring in finance and president of the Grandeur Gentlemen’s Coterie, said the foundation is located in Homewood, where it caters to special needs children and adults around the
Birmingham area.
Science fiction classic ‘Forbidden Planet’ getting free screening at Bama Theatre in Tuscaloosa tonight
Al.com – March 10
The 1956 science fiction classic “Forbidden Planet” will screen at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa tonight at 7:30 p.m. The screening, sponsored by the University of Alabama’s Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies as part of its Shakespeare in Film series, is free and open to the public. The film, directed by Fred M. Wilcox, follows a starship crew who investigates the silence of a planet’s colony only to find two survivors and a deadly secret that one of them has. It stars Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly and Robby the Robot The reason it fits into a Shakespeare in Film series is because the characters and setting often find themselves compared to the play “The Tempest,” analyzed in this essay on the Improbable Fictions blog focusing on the series.
Corolla to return after cancellation
Crimson White – March 12
The University of Alabama announced Monday it would publish a 2014-2015 edition of the Corolla yearbook for students, employees, alumni and parents, according to an email sent from UA News just before 10 a.m. “Using a traditional format with tech-savvy innovations, the Corolla’s content will focus on preserving the broader Alabama experience and offer students an opportunity to be in the book in ways that capture their own individual experiences on campus during the year,” the email read. The email stated the yearbook would cover events from the Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 semesters, with distribution in July 2015. In the past, the Corolla was a student-run publication managed by the Office of Student Media. Deborah Lane, associate vice president of media relations, said in an emailed statement Monday management of the Corolla has shifted.
The 2015 #Fight4AFuture Gun Violence Prevention Summit: 120 Young People, 3 Days, 1 Future
GenProgress.org – March 11
“No more talking, just time to do/Hope leads to action, change starts with you” rapped artist FM Supreme at the second annual #Fight4AFuture Gun Violence Prevention Summit, held this past weekend in Chicago, IL. Despite hailing from 27 different states and representing 66 high schools and colleges, the summit brought together 120 young people with one common goal: to fight for a future free from gun violence … After two full days of training and organizing sessions, it was time for attendees to synthesize all they had learned and create their own campaigns to bring back to their communities. Carlos Montez Chaverst Jr., a student at the University of Alabama, decided to create a youth task force dedicated to raising awareness about gun violence. Since the summit ended on Sunday, he’s already spoken with the Birmingham police chief about his idea and they’re meeting Friday to begin implementing it.
Students vie for roles during Bama on Broadway
Crimson White – March 12
Jacob Valleroy’s first taste of acting came when he was 7 years old and performing in plays for his church. It wasn’t until middle school that he seriously pursued acting, participating in theater throughout high school and into college. As part of Bama on Broadway, Valleroy, a senior majoring in musical theatre, and 29 other University seniors will head to New York City to showcase their talents to agents and casting directors next week.Bama on Broadway was created 12 years ago by Raphael Crystal, a musical theatre professor at the University. There will be two shows Monday and Tuesday, in which each student performs twice – any combination of scenes, songs or monologues – with hopes of catching an agent or casting director’s attention.
Suzuki adjusts to life in Alabama
Crimson White – March 12
Shiori Suzuki, a senior majoring in English education, traveled over 6,700 miles from her hometown of Chiba, Japan, to attend The University of Alabama. Chiba is roughly an hour away from Tokyo, Japan, where she departed for a 15-hour flight to Birmingham, Alabama. When Suzuki first began classes, she said she found them hard to understand, but with the help of her classmates, she acclimated well and now helps American students study Japanese. Q: Why did you come to America and choose UA? A: Basically, America and Japan have a good relationship politically and economically, which is why I chose America over places like Great Britain or Australia. I chose UA because I came as a student from Chiba University for a short, month-long study abroad program, and I really liked the people, especially the people at this university. UA and Chiba University have had a strong relationship for a very long time.