Poor, rural and addicted: Drugs drive surge in white women in prison
Al.com – Aug. 23
Monica Graves, 30, had Friday morning off, and a laundry list of things to do before her daughter’s 16th birthday party on Saturday. She needed trash bags to black out the windows at the party venue in Sumiton, decorations her daughter had requested. She also wanted to buy a gift for the girl – a small cross on a necklace … Graves found many women like herself inside the prison: poor, rural and addicted. Many, like her, also had children back at home. About 75 percent of women in prison in Alabama are the primary caretakers of children, compared to just 4 percent of the men, according to Jennifer Kenney, criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama. “Women really are the fastest-growing prison population,” Kenney said. “And the primary driver is the war on drugs.”
UA begins fall semester Wednesday
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 23
Wednesday begins the start of the fall semester at The University of Alabama. Official enrollment numbers are not available until after the start of school. However, UA has experienced steady enrollment growth for more than the past decade. Fall 2016 enrollment reached an all-time high of 37,665 students. Of those students, 53 percent were from out of state.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 23
WDFX-Fox (Dothan) – Aug. 23
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 23
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Aug. 23
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Aug. 23
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – Aug. 23
WTOC 11 (Savannah, Georgia) – Aug. 23
UA receives NSF Grant to explore new ways to use renewable energy
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – Aug. 23
The University of Alabama is also putting a focus on renewable energy this year thanks to some new funding. A $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation is funding a new seven-week course at the Capstone that explores new ways of using renewable energy.
Questions for Alabama students as classes begin Wednesday
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 23
Wednesday marks the beginning of fall semester at the University of Alabama. Here’s a quick quiz, with answers, as students head back to class: How many students are enrolled? UA won’t have a precise number until later in the semester, but last year’s enrollment was 37,665 undergraduate, professional, and graduate students. Odds are that this year’s number will exceed the 2016 number.
To aid utilities, researchers seek ancient floods near Tennessee River
Phys.org – Aug. 23
With funding from energy utilities, a team of researchers at The University of Alabama are collaborating with peers across the Southeast to understand the frequency and possible size of floods along the Tennessee River that pre-date reliable weather and streamflow records. With a better understanding of floods from the past 10,000 years, utilities can better prepare for historic natural disasters that could threaten dams and nuclear plants in and around the Tennessee River, said Dr. Lisa Davis, UA associate professor of geography, who leads the research team on this project.
See University of Alabama students hit campus during hot first day of fall semester
Al.com – Aug. 23
The University of Alabama began its fall 2017 semester on Wednesday, as students hit campus for the first day of classes. We sauntered across the Capstone to catch a glimpse of what the hot August day looked like for them.
World-renowned writer to speak in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 23
World-renowned writer Margaret Atwood will return to Tuscaloosa at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 for a reading at the Bama Theatre. Admission is free, as part of the University of Alabama’s Visiting Writers Series, through the College of Arts and Sciences. One of Atwood’s best-known novels is “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which was in progress when she served a residency as honorary chair of UA’s master of fine arts creative writing program in 1985.
Social Media Awareness event held
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 23
First United Methodist Church held an event today to raise awareness about the dangers of social media for children and teens. University of Alabama professor Randall Ruffaker spoke to parents about several ways they can protect their children from the hazards of the Internet.
Re-elected Mayor Sandy Stimpson pledges to bridge racial divide in Alabama’s fourth-largest city
Al.com – Aug. 23
Sandy Stimpson pledged to “unite” Alabama’s fourth-largest city after winning re-election as mayor on Tuesday, but an analysis of voting returns shows Mobile remains deeply divided politically … “I think that polarization at the local level is a microcosm of national gridlock,” said William Stewart, a professor emeritus of political sciences at the University of Alabama and a longtime observer of Alabama politics. “Black and white interests seem to be moving further apart rather than closer together.”
VOTERS SENT CLEAR MESSAGE TO MAYOR, COUNCIL PRESIDENT
Birmingham Times – Aug. 23
Birmingham voters on Tuesday sent a signal that while they want to keep most of the city council members who currently occupy seats behind the dais, they’re less sure about the council president or the mayor … Turnout mattered “both in the sense of low turnout but also in the sense of who turned out,” said University of Alabama political science professor Dr. Allen Linken.
APSU history graduate student Katelynn DiStefano takes part in archeology dig in Peru
Clarksville Online (Tennessee) – Aug. 23
Archeology may not be a career Austin Peay State University history graduate student Katelynn DiStefano is pursuing academically, but that did not stop the graduate assistant in the University’s Department of History and Philosophy from spending part of her summer searching for mummies along the northern coast of Peru … DiStefano joined University of Alabama Ph.D. student Jenna Hurtubise, along with a small group of students and archeologists, in traveling to the South American country, where they continued Hurtubise’s work in excavating and analyzing the history of the Casma, an underexplored ancient Peruvian culture.
University of Alabama Students launching balloon during solar eclipse
Gears of Biz – Aug. 23
The latex balloons, which are roughly 9 feet (2.7 m) tall when filled with helium, will be equipped with high-definition video cameras, still cameras and computers. The event is especially significant for a group of University of Alabama students.
Health Matters: Integrative Medicine
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 23
Amongst the many methods that are available today to healthcare providers, there’s a group of strategies called Integrative Medicine. These are often approaches that come from other parts of the world that can be very helpful. Particularly when they are addressing emotional problems, stress or old trauma. One of our experts from University Medical Center, Dr. Nancy Reuben is quite an expert in this. Let’s hear what she has to say about a technique called tapping.
First Friday event has new website
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 23
A new website focuses on First Friday, downtown Tuscaloosa’s monthly arts and entertainment event … First Friday participants encourage patrons to visit other galleries and businesses within walking distance on the Art Walk. Galleries on the Art Walk include the Arts Council and the University of Alabama Galleries at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, The Paul R. Jones Gallery of Art, Harrison Galleries, O’Connor Art Studios and Grace Aberdean Habitat Alchemy.
My view from the other side of Trump’s wall
Al.com – Aug. 23
After 26 years of traveling internationally, I know unequivocally that travel engenders flexibility, adaptability, resiliency, and empathy inside of those who visit other places and meet other people. (By B. Joyce Stallworth, Ph.D., who retired from the University of Alabama in 2016. Until then, she served as the associate provost for special projects and as a professor of English education.)