UA student to meet with president Monday
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 26
Tuscaloosan Tyler Merriweather, who was named the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Southeast Youth of the Year last fall, has been invited to meet with President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday afternoon. He and other Boys & Girls Clubs regional youth of the year winners are expected to discuss issues affecting young people, including education and job access. Merriwether is a student at the University of Alabama, majoring in accounting. He graduated from Holt High School, where he was senior class president and had a 3.9 grade point average. He has been active in the local Boys & Girls Club, first as a youth and later working as a mentor with the boys and girls in the program.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Jan. 25
UA named as Tillman Military Scholars program partner
Al.com – Jan. 25
The University of Alabama is one of three universities recently named as a partner in support of the Tillman Military Scholars program. The Pat Tillman Foundation, formed by family and friends of the late U.S. Army Ranger and professional football player, established the educational scholarship program for service members and their spouses in 2008. UA, George Washington University and the University of Washington are joining the Tillman Military Scholars program as university partners in the 2013-2014 academic year, according to UA. The program currently has 16 universities involved. “We are honored to be chosen as a Tillman Military Scholar University Partner,” said David Blair, director of veteran and military affairs at UA, in a news release.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 25
Project brings together University of Alabama students, veterans
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 27
A group of interior design students from the University of Alabama sat around a table Thursday playing games with veterans who live at the Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s new skilled nursing care cottage. But for the students, playing games with the veterans, handing out popcorn and singing carols to them during the holidays is just a small part of the group’s partnership with the Tuscaloosa VA. The students are using the experience to learn about the veterans’ special needs and what they may require in the interior design of senior centers, nursing homes and hospital environments. “It was so beneficial for me to come and see them and spend time with (the veterans) when designing,” said Kayla Pendly, a UA junior majoring in interior design. As part of the partnership, the design students worked with VA interior designers to learn about the design process and come up with their own designs for the interior of the new skilled nursing care cottage, which opened in the fall.
Gadsden Times– Jan. 27
EDITORIAL: Brighter outlook: State’s economy remains a mixed bag of success, disappointment
Anniston Star – Jan. 24
Alabama’s economy is improving and the future looks good. Just how good is the question. In the last three months of 2012, Alabama’s economy was a top-5 performer nationally. According to the coincident index compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Alabama did well when it combined total jobs, unemployment, total wages and hours working in manufacturing. But when the bank looked at the entire year, the state ranked only 30th, though that was not as bad as it could have been…During the year, the state’s economy added jobs much slower than the rest of the nation. Still, this improvement coming at the end of 2012 points to potential growth in 2013 and even more growth in 2014. This was the conclusion reached recently by Samuel Addy, director of the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER). Addy, speaking at CBER’s Economic Outlook Conference, predicted slow improvement, but improvement nevertheless. The brightest spot Addy noted was Alabama’s auto industry, which set production records last year. Wages in that sector of the economy are nearly twice what the average worker makes, and because of overtime, he added, “a lot of workers are making … in the six figures.
Hook, line and sinker:’Catfishing’ dupes the unwitting on social media
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Jan. 27
First there was fishing, dropping a hook in the water in hopes of catching dinner. Then came “phishing,” where online hackers steal a victim’s account numbers, passwords, etc. to loot their checking accounts and run up credit card bills. Now there’s “catfishing,” where some miscreant pursues deceptive online romances using fictitious identities…Why would anyone do such a thing? According to the Miami Herald story by reporter David Ovalle, it could be a case of “Munchausen by Internet,” a cyberworld variation of Munchausen disorder, in which people create illnesses to garner attention. The ease and anonymity of the digital age has made it a growing trend, according to Marc Feldman, a University of Alabama psychiatrist who coined the phrase. Ms. Choi’s case, he told the Herald, is unusual because the deception lasted so long and escalated into targeting young girls. “The real motive is attention and sympathy and the power over others,” Dr. Feldman said. “It does sound sadistic and predatory.”
UA’s Every Move Counts co-sponsoring chess doc screening at Bama Theatre
Al.com – Jan. 28
The University of Alabama Every Move Counts chess in education initiative will co-sponsor, with The Arts and Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa, the screening of the acclaimed documentary “Brooklyn Castle” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29, at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa. “Brooklyn Castle,” the third in the Bama Art House winter film series, tells the stories of five chess-team members at an inner-city junior high school as it faces the challenges of public school budget cuts and the country’s financial crisis. Every Move Counts is an initiative of the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility. Through the program, honors students enrolled in a service-learning course explore the academic and social benefits of chess for children while teaching the game in public schools. UA notes that educational research shows chess improves critical-thinking, problem-solving and concentration skills as well as math, reading and English scores.
UA Rec Center to host ‘T-Town Pull Down’ rock climbing competition Feb. 2
Al.com – Jan. 28
The University of Alabama’s Outdoor Recreation department will host its annual T-Town Pull Down climbing competition on Feb. 2. The event is a sanctioned Collegiate Climbing Series Event and will feature climbers from all over the Southeast to compete. T-Town Pull Down will have two sessions with 25 climbers each, but there may be a third session depending on the amount of interest they receive. The first session will be from 10:30 a.m. untll 12:30 p.m., and the second session will be from 1-3 p.m. with finals beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Many empty calories come from sodas
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 28
Sodas and the amount of sugar in them have once again come under fire. Large companies such as Coca-Cola claim that sodas are not the main reasons that Americans’ waistlines are expanding. However, many nutritional experts say reducing sodas can help fight obesity. WVUA’s Marilyn Vaughn has more… “What most people don’t realize is that sodas or sugar sweetened beverages are actually the highest consumption of sugar in the typical American diet. University of Alabama nutritionist Sheena Gregg says sodas sneak empty calories into your diet that provide no nutritional value to your body. “Because they’re not really benefiting the body at all, there’s not any kind of vitamin or mineral content, any kind of fat or protein or carbohydrate the body can use. It’s just pure sugar.”
Honors initiative offers law school admission without LSAT
Crimson White – Jan. 28
Undergraduate seniors who are residents of Alabama and excel academically in the Honors College can apply to the UA Law-Honors Admissions Program and receive admittance into the UA School of Law without taking a Law School Admission Test. Kenneth Randall, School of Law dean, said the program is in its fourth year of a five-year variance from the American Bar Association and has approximately 30-plus applicants each year.
American Lunch serves up food for free
Crimson White – Jan. 28
For some people in Tuscaloosa, there really is a free lunch. That’s the promise of the American Lunch truck, a nonprofit food truck sponsored by downtown Tuscaloosa restaurants Chuck’s Fish and FIVE that provides free lunch to those in need in Tuscaloosa. Chatham Morgan, whose father, Charles Morgan, owns FIVE and Chuck’s Fish, had the idea for American Lunch in a UA course called Leadership Development through Community Service taught by Caring Days Adult Day Care founder Ellen Potts. In thinking of a hypothetical charity for the class, Morgan realized that a problem that kept people in need from going to soup kitchens was a lack of available transportation. Morgan saw the rising popularity of food trucks as a solution to this problem, which eventually led to the realization of the American Lunch truck.