Rick Bragg gives ‘Last Lecture’ at UA
Tuscaloosa News – April 24
It’s a writer’s duty to help man prevail, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author Rick Bragg told a couple hundred attendees in a packed room at the University of Alabama’s “Last Lecture” event Monday night. Bragg, who has spent a career covering death, destruction and man-made disasters around the world, said he feels its his role to teach students to bring injustice and cruelty to light, to teach students to write about “life’s victims.” “There is good in this world, and that’s worth fighting for,” he said. During Bragg’s lecture, “So People Won’t Forget,” he talked about his experiences covering horrific events from the federal building bombing in Oklahoma City to riots in Islamabad, Pakistan, where the anger at the West “just boiled and seethed.” Bragg, who teaches literary journalism and magazine writing at UA, said that he doesn’t have the ability of a legislator or the power of a surgeon to change the world, but he uses the skills and gifts he has to tell stories. “You make this world better by telling them effectively, thoughtfully, maybe even beautifully,” he said.
The Crimson White – April 24
WVUA – April 23
UA to host tornado research symposium Friday to commemorate April 27 storms
Al.com – April 23
The University of Alabama will host a tornado research symposium Friday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak in the state. Presentations at the symposium, set to be held at 205 Smith Hall on the UA campus at 1 p.m., will cover a range of topics related to lessons learned from the storms. “This brief symposium is a chance for academics and professionals working in several interdisciplinary fields to collaborate for the common purpose of communicating findings and discussing recommendations for the future,” Jason Senkbeil, assistant professor of geography, said in a news release. “The presentations fuse physical and social science together so people can understand the uniqueness of the April 27 outbreak and how to improve tornado preparedness in the future.” Faculty members from UA, Auburn University and Mississippi State University will speak at the event, which is being presented by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences and its Alabama Museum of Natural History Wes Wyatt, a meteorologist for Fox 6 News in Birmingham, will present “April’s Fury: Summary of TV Weather Coverage.”
Former Alabama player and administrator Clem Gryska dies at 84
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 24
Long-time University of Alabama coach and athletics administrator Clem Gryska passed away on Monday after brief illness. “It’s so sad to hear the news,” said UA Director of Athletics Mal Moore, who coached with Gryska at Alabama for many years. “Clem was a lot of fun to be around. He gave everybody support. He and (former UA assistant coach) Dude Hennessey were very close. It was always fun to gather in Clem’s office and reminisce and laugh. He will be missed by every player that joined the team in those days.” A native of Steubenville, Ohio, Gryska was a football player at Alabama from 1945-48, earning varsity letters in 1947-48. He was a freshman on the 1945 team that defeated Southern California in the Rose Bowl by a score of 34-14. Originally a T formation quarterback in high school, Gryska was recruited to Alabama by head coach Frank Thomas and finished the final two seasons of his playing career as an end under head coach Harold “Red” Drew. Having lost most of his right hand in a childhood accident, Gryska did not qualify for military service in World War II and joined the Crimson Tide in 1945 after originally signing to play at Northwestern University. That began an association with Crimson Tide athletics that would span much of the remainder of Gryska’s life. After graduation from Alabama, Gryska served as an assistant football coach at Huntsville (Ala.) High School for two seasons (1949-50) before becoming head football coach at Emma Sansom High School in Gadsden, Ala., from 1951-53. Gryska then returned to Huntsville High School as head football coach from 1954-60 before joining head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s staff at Alabama in 1960.
Al.com – April 24
ABC 33/40 – April 23
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 23
Holt teens learn to use their voice
The Crimson White – April 24
When Dr. Jeff Parker was added to an email list for the Holt Community Partnership three years ago, he figured it was just purely by accident. Now, he realizes it was destined to happen. The mission of the nonprofit organization to provoke a positive identity of the Holt community struck Parker, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Alabama. He decided to attend one of the community forums and was impressed by the active leaders who were personally invested in revitalizing the image of the town. Ever since, Holt has had Parker’s heart. After the storms of last April, Parker, who worked as a search and rescue volunteer in Holt, noticed that many teenagers in the community were serving the recovery needs of their community. However, a week later, they no longer had a role in the recovery efforts. “There was no place for the teenagers in the community discussions after the tornado,” he said. “There were no teen perspectives being represented. I found this completely ironic. These teenagers who were being ignored were soon going to be the adults within the community.” Parker teaches a psychology seminar class at UA which fosters positive youth development and focuses on the young adults of Holt. After these post-disaster observations, he realized his class had the opportunity to give the youth a voice in the process of recovery.
CVA to host inaugural Veterans Banquet at Hotel Capstone
The Crimson White – April 24
The University of Alabama Campus Veterans Association celebrates the veterans of Tuscaloosa and the University at its first-annual Veteran’s Banquet on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Hotel Capstone Ballroom. Although the event is open to all who wish to attend, the banquet is intended to honor the accomplishments of Tuscaloosa’s veterans and their dependents. The event will also pay homage to some of the faculty who contributed to the Veteran’s Association. The veteran’s banquet, which has been in the planning process for about two months, is possible because of a partnership among the Campus Veteran’s Association, the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs and the Student Government Association. Activities at the banquet will include a presentation of awards and a group of speakers. The CVA will present the Mark Forester Memorial award to an outstanding veteran in honor of Forester, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. An award will also be given to the dependent child or spouse of a veteran as well as to an outstanding faculty member. “We have quite a few dependents of veterans on campus,” Jordan Carpenter, president of the Campus Veterans Association, explained. “We want to give these awards to celebrate the accomplishments of our community and to recognize the faculty who support us. In the future, we would probably like to highlight faculty who are veterans as well.”