Earthquake simulator to be constructed at UA
Associated Press – Feb. 16
There aren’t very many rooms in the world that can successfully reproduce the devastating effects of an earthquake. But come May 1, a laboratory on the University of Alabama campus may be able to do just that. Work is under way to outfit the laboratory within UA’s South Engineering Research Center with what is called a shake table to subject building design codes and materials to nature’s wrath in a controlled environment. “In essence, the table is a large piece of steel that moves back and fort h and represents the motion of the earth. This particular table is designed to be used to collapse structures,” said John van de Lindt, professor and endowed chair of UA’s civil construction and environmental engineering program.
Children enjoy parade in Mardi Gras style with their Al’s Pals mentors
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 16
The McKenzie Court Community Center hosted a Mardi Gras parade Wednesday afternoon organized by a cavalcade of students in kindergarten through sixth grade, along with their mentors from the Al’s Pals program. Al’s Pals is an after-school mentoring program sponsored by the University of Alabama, said Star Bloom, the program director. The program was created by Bloom in January 2011. Through its work with the university’s Community Service Center, it now has about 300 student volunteers, Bloom said.
AL.com – Feb. 15
Correspondent, filmmaker T.R. Reid to speak on health care at UA
AL.com – Feb. 15
Documentary filmmaker and correspondent T.R. Reid Will speak at the University of Alabama on Feb. 27 about disparities in health care. Reid will lecture at 7 p.m. in room 127 of the Biology Building on UA campus. His visit is a part of the 40th anniversary of New College, and it is co-sponsored by the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. The lecture is free and open to the public.
UA rewards students who park on campus correctly with $100 scholarships
AL.com – Feb. 15
For many, parking is a burden on theUniversity of Alabama campus. But following UA’s parking rules and regulations now has an added benefit. UA announced that five students have been rewarded $100 scholarships for parking correctly. Jonathan Foster, Hans Heinert, Bradford Thompson, Crisman Traywick and Myra Vickery are the first recipients of the Positive Parking Incentive scholarships, co-sponsored by the UA department of transportation services and the Student Government Association Judicial Board. The program was established last summer to encourage students to park correctly on campus.
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 15
Birmingham Fashion Week features students
Crimson White – Feb. 16
The second annual Birmingham Fashion Week kicked off on Thursday, Feb. 8 and ended with a grand finale Saturday night, Feb. 12. The show took place in downtown Birmingham at The Pepper Place. Featured designers Christopher Collins, Lauren Leonard and Jeff Garner debuted pieces from their new collections. Emerging designers from The University of Alabama campus, including Mandi Faulk, Lindsay Cornelson, Shannon Warren, Kelsey Carnes and more were featured. “After many months of preparation, to see my designs come to life on the runway is another level of amazing,” said Kelly Druce, a junior majoring in textile design who also had the opportunity to showcase her designs in the BFW fashion show Friday night.
Pi Beta Phi wins $2,000 for literacy philanthropy
Crimson White – Feb. 16
Pi Beta Phi sorority won $2,000 for their literacy philanthropy, First Book, after participating in a Belk department store contest called Belk Sorority Challenge. The contest took place on Oct. 20, 2011, and the winner was recently announced. To participate, girls visited Belk and voted for their own sorority. The sorority with the most votes at the end of the event won a $2,000 donation to a charity of their choice.
Power of pink
Crimson White – Feb. 16
The Alabama gymnastics team is usually only concerned with two colors: crimson and white. This week, though, they’re all about pink. No. 6 Alabama will host the No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks for the Tide’s annual Power of Pink meet on Friday night in Coleman Coliseum. The Power of Pink meets are designed to raise awareness for breast cancer. “It’s not just a great SEC matchup between No. 5 and No. 6,” Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson said. “It’s for a greater cause. For our athletes to be involved in something like that, it sets a standard for what they want to do later on in their lives.” As part of Power of Pink week on campus, Denny Chimes, the Ferguson Center Plaza’s fountain, the Student Rec Center and the exterior of Coleman Coliseum will be glowing pink all week. The gymnasts and coaches will also be taking part in various pink activities of their own, including sporting pink leotards for the meet.
Bentley focuses on jobs, education in address
Crimson White – Feb. 16
Wayne Urban, associate director of the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama, said the plan Gov. Robert Bentley presented in last week’s State of the State speech for education policy might not be what the state needs. The plan includes protection of certain programs, more local control, increased parent choice and the creation of charter schools, whose absence many cited as the cause of Alabama’s finish in last place for the federal Race to the Top program. “The chance of the legislation passing is quite good,” Urban said. “The chances of its improving the educational outlook of Alabama are significantly lower than the chances of its passing. . . . Professor Richard C. Fording, chair of the political science department at the University of Alabama, said Bentley’s focus on jobs in his address makes sense because of the success his administration has found in that field. “There does seem to be agreement that the numbers that he’s talking about are accurate,” Fording said. “There does seem to be agreement that he’s been successful in that field.” Bentley and Fording agree that the reasons for this success lie in Alabama’s focus on attracting business, despite stiff competition from other states.
Alabama immigration law could cost state $2.3 billion annually
Las Vegas Sun – Feb. 16
Alabama immigration law could prove costly: University of Alabama economist Samuel Addy conducted a cost-benefit analysis of Alabama’s tough immigration law passed last year and found the state stands to lose $2.3 billion annually. In the report released in January, Addy weighs expected savings from the law (e.g. reduction in services for illegal immigrants) against predicted losses to the economy (e.g. reduction in demand from loss of undocumented workforce). He estimates that between 40,000 and 80,000 workers would flee the state because of the new laws, including a provision that makes it unlawful to enter into any business transaction with someone without a legal status, and the result would be the loss of 70,000-140,000 jobs and a minimum reduction in Alabama annual GDP of $2.3 billion.
Hackers target Alabama websites in protest of bill
Crimson White – Feb. 16
The redacted names and confidential information of 500 Alabama residents were posted online last weekend by a group of hacker activists known as Anonymous. Anonymous leaked the stolen information, including social security numbers, addresses and phone numbers. “This confidential information should not have been on the World Wide Web,” said Eugene Syriani, an assistant professor of computer science. “Hackers will usually impersonate someone’s computer, but they don’t have to physically use that person’s computer.”
Tuscaloosa’s first food truck serves up Southern Creole for a late-night clientele
AL.com – Feb. 16
For University of Alabama students hit with a late-night food craving that McDonald’s or Taco Bell just isn’t going to satisfy, Brothers Street Eats, Tuscaloosa’s first mobile food truck, is serving up a Southern Creole menu into the wee hours several evenings each week. Owners Jordon Warren and Craig Williams, UA graduates with a combined 15 years of restaurant management experience, decided to join the mobile food unit ranks after observing how popular the food truck industry is in bigger cities. The two purchased their bright yellow trailer in April 2011, just before April 27’s storms. Warren and Williams served people in Alberta for several days following the disaster.