Trustees approve UA campus improvements
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 8
Millions of dollars in construction projects and improvements at the University of Alabama now have the green light. Trustees have approved nearly $2 million in improvements to the Shelby Quad. The upgrades will include new, energy efficient lighting, a sidewalk for pedestrians, and a million-dollar fountain.
Construction of Champions Plaza begins
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Feb. 8
Construction of “Champions Plaza” is underway. It honors University of Alabama teams and coaches that have won conference and national championships. The nearly $3 million project sits between Sewell Thomas baseball field and Coleman Coliseum. It’s named in honor of gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson who has won six national titles.
UA’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs to send items to Wounded Warriors
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 10
The University of Alabama is reaching out to help wounded soldiers at Walter Reed in Washington D.C. Many UA departments helped donate items to soldiers and their families. UA is also donating a signed “Bama” flag which has dozens of signatures thanking the soldiers for their service. This is the first time the Campus Veterans office has done this.
Baltimore-born terrorism expert explores ‘The Myth of Martyrdom’
Baltimore Sun – Feb. 9
Adam Lankford thinks there’s an oft-repeated misconception about suicide attackers that isn’t merely wrong. It’s potentially deadly. Lankford is the Baltimore-born terrorism expert who has just published a book titled “The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers.” The book, parts of which were written in Baltimore, deflates common assumptions about the psychology of those who claim they murder strangers to advance political goals. “The myth is that suicide terrorists are making a sacrifice for a cause they believe in,” says Lankford, 33, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Alabama. “In the future, more desperate people might be willing to commit acts of terrorism because the myth makes them appear more heroic than they actually are. I’m saying we can close that loophole simply by describing accurately what their behavior is.”
MSNBC (Live interview) – Feb. 8
UA economists forecast moderate GDP growth, improving job gains for 2013
Al.com – Feb. 8
Output gains could be substantially higher for manufacturers of motor vehicles and parts and other transportation equipment. Businesses in financial activities, administrative and waste management, ambulatory healthcare services, as well as food services and drinking places, could also see above average output gains in 2013. The pace of job growth is expected to pick up modestly from the 11,300 jobs added in 2012. About 15,000 to 20,000 jobs could be added in 2013, largely in services, primary and fabricated metals, and transportation equipment manufacturing. However, the unemployment rate will remain around its current seasonally-adjusted level of 7.8 percent as individuals enter or reenter the labor force. (The Center for Business and Economic Research at The University of Alabama was created in 1930, and since that time has engaged in research programs to promote economic development in the state and provide economic and demographic forecasting, data, and analysis. Forecasts are a product of the Center’s Alabama Econometric Model.)
Never mind New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parades, Mobile’s party was first
Reuters – Feb. 8
When it comes to Mardi Gras, New Orleans gets all the attention — and most of the tourists. But people in Mobile, Alabama, where the U.S. tradition of pre-Lenten parades got its start, said they are too busy enjoying their own raucous Carnival season to worry that they celebrate in the shadow of their fellow Gulf Coast city… Mobile has about 60 Carnival organizations now, and a little more than half of them participate in parades, said Judi Gulledge, executive director of the Mobile Carnival Association. Spending for the weeks-long Carnival season totals about $408 million, according to a 2005 University of Alabama study.
Phillyburbs.com – Feb. 8
Drivers Split on Possible Speed Limit Increase
CBS 8 (Montgomery) – Feb. 8
There is a bill that is gaining traction in the Mississippi State House to raise the speed limit on interstates from 70 to 75. Officials believe Alabama could be next in line to do the same…According to research from the Center for Advanced Public Safety at the University of Alabama, if you are involved in a crash, every 10 miles per hour increase in speed doubles your chances of fatal injury.
GUEST COLUMNIST: Constitution’s foundation based in religion
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 11
A few weeks ago, I was listening to Bill O’Reilly on the Fox Channel, who was in a dispute with one of his guests on the nature of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The guest basically contended there was no religious expression, thought or words in either document, and it was a secular expression of the natural rights of man. O’Reilly, usually a pretty good student of history, said simply that his opponent was wrong and did not know how deeply Christianity ran through the documents in question. O’Reilly needed to connect the dots, by which I mean relate the expressions in the Declaration and the Constitution to basic Christian doctrine on the natural rights of all men, found in the Bible, explained by the brilliance of St. Thomas Aquinas, imbibed by John Locke and Thomas Jefferson and expressed with clarity in the Declaration and the Constitution. (Larry Clayton is a professor of history at the University of Alabama.)
Gadsden Times – Feb. 11
Harmonie Universalle to perform at UA’s ‘Winter Harmonies’ concert
Al.com – Feb. 8
The University of Alabama School of Music is bringing its “Winter Harmonies” concert to Canterbury Episcopal Chapel on Monday at 7 p.m. The concert will have guest artists Harmonie Universelle, an ensemble that works to bring back music of the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries. They perform using techniques used in those time periods as well as those original instruments. “Winter Harmonies” will feature Francisca Vanherle (soprano), Catherine Bull (baroque and flute), Gail Ann Schroeder (viola-da-gamba), Daniel Pyle (harpsichord) and UA early music and strings instructor Gesa Kordes (baroque violin). The ensemble began performing together in 1983 while in Amsterdam.
UA graduate students host a Night at the Museum
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 8
A night at the museum is tomorrow night … happening at Smith Hall on the UA campus. For more information, call 205/535-2780.
UA’s creative campus to put on Druid City Arts Festival
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 8
The Druid City Arts Festival is Saturday, April 6 at Government Plaza. The fun starts at 11 a.m. You can learn more online at DCAF.ua.edu. Or, call 205/391-9200.
Alpha Psi Omega selling Valentine-O-Grams for a cause
Crimson White – Feb. 11
For the third year, The University of Alabama’s theater honor society Alpha Psi Omega is providing its Valentine-O-Gram service from Feb. 6 to Feb. 20. Those interested can pay $10 for the performers of APO to deliver a gesture completely tailored to the client’s request. Satisfaction is guaranteed or the client gets their 10 dollars back, no questions asked. The funds raised from the Valentine-O-Grams will benefit The West Alabama AIDS Outreach nonprofit organization. Patrick Croce, a senior majoring in Spanish and theatre, is helping to organize the Valentine-O-Grams. “You pay $10, and you’ll get one of us [APO members] to go anywhere on campus to sing any song you want, recite any kind of poem you want, or do something silly for any person or group of people you want,” Croce said. “It’s all up to what you want.” This year APO aims to increase their client satisfaction by venturing off-campus as well, for a higher fee for travel expenses. Prices will be adjusted based on how far the client’s preferred location is, Croce explained.
Bama Dining accommodates students with allergies
Crimson White – Feb. 11
For many students living on campus, dining halls are a staple, and a quick, easy meal between dorm life and classrooms. For some students, though, food allergies can cause dining hall experiences to be anything but ordinary. In a recent study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that 15 million people in the United States currently have a food allergy, and the frequency continues to increase. With food allergies ranging from fish, gluten or trace amounts of nut oil, both the dining hall workers and students have to be on guard to avoid rushed trips to the hospital. Corinne Jenkins, a freshman majoring in economics, is familiar with the complications of food allergies. This year, Jenkins, who is allergic to nuts, has been rushed to DCH Regional Medical Center twice after exposure while eating. Neither incident was related to Bama Dining … For students whose allergies include a broader range of foods, Bama Dining offers services to help avoid unwanted allergen encounters. “The University of Alabama Dining Services is committed to accommodating the dietary needs of students,” Kelsey Faust, a Bama Dining representative said. “Our residential director, Ed Robertson, regularly meets with students who identify themselves as having food allergies, gluten intolerances or special dietary needs. He reviews food allergies and preferences with students and develops individualized food plans for them.”
‘Eating Alabama:’ Independent film follows couple trying to eat locally, seasonally
Kingsport Times News (Tenn.) – Feb. 9
In search of a simpler life, a young couple returns home to Alabama where they set out to eat the way their grandparents did — locally and seasonally. But as they navigate the agro-industrial gastronomical complex, they soon realize that nearly everything about the food system has changed since farmers once populated their family histories. A thoughtful and often funny essay on community, the South and sustainability, “Eating Alabama” is a story about why food matters. East Tennessee State University’s Mary B. Martin School of the Arts will present “Eating Alabama,” with a guest appearance by director/producer Andrew Beck Grace, at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 11 in ETSU’s Martha Street Culp Auditorium as part of the South Arts Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. The documentary received the Best Alabama Film at the Sidewalk Film Festival 2012 and Winner Top Grit at 2012 Indie Grits … Grace is a documentary filmmaker and native Alabamian. He’s a past fellow at the CPB/PBS Producers Academy and directs the “Documenting Justice” program at the University of Alabama.
UA associate dean drops more than 100 pounds
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 8
Millie Jackson, an associate dean at the University of Alabama, said just two and half years ago, climbing the stairs at Gorgas Library was a challenge for her. Now Jackson is beating all odds on her road to building a healthier life…she has lost a total of 150 pounds since May of 2010.