Honors College looking to expand Education Outreach
Crimson White – Nov. 20
Education Outreach will begin expanding in the spring semester in an effort to get more UA Honors College students involved in Tuscaloosa area schools. The purpose of Education Outreach is to take Honors College students and have them mentor and guide preschool, elementary and middle school students in Tuscaloosa, but getting the wanted number of volunteers has been difficult to obtain. “Our biggest focus right now is getting more students that we’re reaching because we do pull from Honors College volunteers, so it has been difficult in the past to get the numbers we want,” said Ann Varnedoe, executive director of Education Outreach and a junior majoring in psychology and African American studies. “But, we’re finally at a good place with the amount of staff we have and amount of support we have from the Honors College to reach as many students as possible in Tuscaloosa.”
How Dr. Ben Carson can win Alabama’s GOP presidential nomination
Al.com – Nov. 19
Dr. Ben Carson hopes his low-key approach, appeal to Christian evangelical voters and outsider status can propel him to the GOP nomination next year, while picking up a big win during the March 1, 2016, Alabama primary. To do so, Carson is going to have to stand out among a crowded field of conservatives vying for the GOP nomination, political insiders say. “Dr. Carson needs to get much better known in Alabama than he is at the present time,” said William Stewart, a professor emeritus of political sciences at the University of Alabama. “His values mesh very well with those of the sizable evangelical constituency within the Alabama Republican Party. I would rate Dr. Carson’s chances in Alabama as good.”
Washington Times – Nov. 19
Alabama hosts third annual 3MT competition
Crimson White – Nov. 19
The University of Alabama hosted its third annual Three Minute Thesis competition this Wednesday at 6 p.m. The competition requires participants to create a pitch explaining their thesis research in three minutes and using one slide. “Our main goals are to help our students become marketable, and for them to master the skill of pitches and elevated speeches,” said David Franko, associate provost and dean of the graduate school. The first place prize went to Anjana Venkatesan, whose research compared the rate of carbon dioxide sequestered to the rate of methane emitted in the Everglades. Venkatesan explained this can lead to global warming predictability.
Feminist Caucus holds pad and tampon donation drive for women’s prison
Crimson White – Nov. 19
AFC is holding a donation drive collecting pads and tampons for the inmates of Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. The drive, which began at the beginning of November, continues until the first week of December with collection bins placed in various locations around campus. “We’re spending the month of November taking donations of unopen boxes of women’s hygiene products that we’re gonna donate to Tutwiler Women’s Prison,” said Cassidy Ellis, a graduate student studying communication studies and president of UAFC. “That’s something that doesn’t get talked a lot about on our campus – or really in general – in the media.”
Smoke-free campus needs heavy consideration
The Florala (Florence) – Nov. 19
The Student Government Association is currently working with the Department of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment to discuss results of a survey asking students to give their opinion on our smoking policy and a possible smoke-free campus. Based on these results, SGA will decide whether or not to create a smoke-free campus resolution … There are 1,130 smoke-free college campuses in the U.S., according to the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. Over 24 college campuses (including community colleges) in Alabama are smoke-free, according to the organization. This includes local Northwest-Shoals Community College campuses and Calhoun Community College campuses. The University of Alabama, a more prominent state university, made the decision to go smoke-free Jan. 1.