UA to mark 50th anniversary of ‘Stand in the Schoolhouse Door’
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 13
Nearly 50 years have passed since the first black students enrolled at the University of Alabama after Gov. George Wallace’s infamous “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” The university will recognize the Civil Rights milestone with a year of events highlighting the school’s progress during the last half-century and looking ahead to the future. Programs, seminars, speakers and other events will focus on the theme of “Through the Doors.” Arthur Dunning, a professor and senior research fellow at UA and his wife, Professor Karen Baynes Dunning, are co-chairs of the 50th Anniversary Committee. Arthur Dunning, one of the first black students to enroll at the school, spoke at a press conference held in the lobby of Foster Auditorium this morning.
Al.com – Feb. 13
Gadsden Times – Feb. 13
Crimson White – Feb. 13
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Feb. 13
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Feb. 13
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 13
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Feb. 13
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 13
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 13
Celebrating Black History: The plight of the silent foot soldier
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 14
For generations, if you wanted to enroll at the University of Alabama, there was a big factor, other than grades you also had to be white. But, that all changed 50 years ago this summer, when two students made history, at the university. Many people know the story of Vivian Malone and James Hood. But, many may not know about the people who were behind them, helping, motivating them, to stay the course and make their mark on history. Tonight, Kalisha Whitman introduces you to one of those “silent foot soldiers” of the civil rights movement.
UA students team with area schools to ‘HALT’ bullying
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 13
Five University of Alabama public relations students are teaming with Tuscaloosa City Schools in efforts to stop bullying in local middle schools. The students are working closely with the Tuscaloosa City School’s anti-bullying campaign HALT, or Harassment Awareness Learning Together, to enhance the campaign’s message and appeal to students. The students, Kelsey Balzli, Benjie Ladrillono, Jacquie McMahon, Haley Flanagan and Julia Gardial, are competing in the national Bateman Case Study Competition hosted by the Public Relations Student Society of America. The UA Bateman Team faces more than 75 national collegiate teams as each works to create and implement the best anti-bullying campaign. The UA team will visit TCS middle schools throughout February to help HALT coordinators in all six schools facilitate games, activities and initiatives to increase bullying awareness. “Since this is our first year of implementation, we are always looking for avenues to enhance our HALT program to make it more effective in our schools,” said Vickie Brown, director of student services for Tuscaloosa City Schools. “This group of University of Alabama students is passionate about helping find solutions to the issues of bullying, and we are confident it will impact our HALT program in a positive way.”
Smithsonian exhibit coming to UA
Birmingham Business Journal – Feb. 13
The Smithsonian Institute has chosen the University of Alabama as one of two locations for its traveling exhibit “Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964.” According to al.com, the exhibit will be on display from Feb. 16 to April 28 in the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library. The bilingual exhibit, which shares the story of the largest guest worker program in U.S. history, is being hosted by the university’s department of American Studies.
Pianist dedicates Valentine’s concert to wife
Crimson White – Feb. 14
University of Alabama piano professor Noel Engebretson will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with one of his greatest loves: classical music. Engebretson will be paying tribute to the holiday with a piano recital Thursday night at Moody Music Hall. “St. Valentines Day is the day of love,” Engebretson said. “And I can think of no better medium to convey the passions, the beauty and the eternal joy of true love than music.” Engebretson said the concert is also dedicated to his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife. “This concert is for her,” he said. Engebretson has played piano professionally since his early 20s, often performing for the University.
Pell Grant changes drop enrollment in Mississippi community colleges
Charlotte Observer (N.C.) – Feb. 13
Fourteen of Mississippi’s 15 community colleges reported enrollment declines in the fall of 2012 compared with a year ago, and much of the reason is due to changes last year in eligibility requirements for Pell grants, according to a new study released on Tuesday…The study, by Stephen Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama, also estimated that 8,680 community college students in Mississippi will lose their Pell grant eligibility “in the next several semesters” because they will have met a new limit of 12 semesters of full-time enrollment. “This study has important implications for other southern states because most of them do not have much in the way of state-funded need-based student aid programs, and Pell is often the only need-based student aid available,” Katsinas said.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer – Feb. 13
Another View: How’s that right-to-work opposition working out for NH?
New Hampshire Union Leader – Feb. 14
A right-to-work law is back in the news in New Hampshire. The Democrat-led House of Representatives defeated it Wednesday. The Democrats asserted that citizens with the right to choose whether to pay union dues or fees for employment only have a right to a lower standard of living and lower wages; that the very idea of a right to work is driven by radical ideology. Clever? Yes. Correct? You decide … In a June 12, 2012, article about 22,000 people applying for about 900 new jobs at an Alabama Hyundai plant, it was noted that the average salary at Alabama’s three auto assembly plants “tops $54,400, according to data from the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama,” which contrasted with the “overall annual average wage in Alabama (which) is $34,600.”
Two GOP governors say they will not expand Medicaid
USA Today – Feb. 13
Two Republican governors said Wednesday they will not back expanding their states’ Medicaid programs as allowed under the 2010 health care law, saying the extra costs would burden their states…Though states could reap a large return from expanded Medicaid benefits, the extra costs are a challenge, said Michael Morrissey, a University of Alabama health care economist. A recent study by Morrissey found that Medicaid expansion in Alabama would generate almost $20 billion in new income from 2014 to 2020 and $1.7 billion in extra taxes to local government. That assumed that 60% of the uninsured would get insurance. To get those benefits, Alabama taxpayers would have to come up with $771 million in new revenue to pay to administer the expansion, he said.
Morton to receive Lifetime Achievement Award
Talladega Daily Home – Feb. 14
Margaret Morton, executive director of Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement, has been selected as a Woman of Distinction by the North-Central Alabama Girl Scouts … Morton will be presented the 2013 Frances E. Couch Lifetime Achievement Award at a luncheon next month…Morton is currently president of the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers and is on the Board of Advisors for education at the University of Alabama.
Jacobs to speak at NAASR on ‘Lemkin and Armenian Genocide’
Armenian Weekly – Feb. 14
On Tues., Feb. 19, Prof. Steven L. Jacobs, Aaron Aronov Chair of Judaic Studies at the University of Alabama, will give a lecture entitled “Raphael Lemkin and the Armenian Genocide,” at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont…Steven Leonard Jacobs, one of the foremost authorities on the life and work of Raphael Lemkin, will provide a detailed critical overview and discussion of the importance of the Armenian case in the development of Lemkin’s thinking and conception of the term “genocide” and its formulation as an international crime.
Group to give away thousands of trees
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 14
More than 3,800 tree seedlings will be given away in this year’s annual tree giveaway by the city of Tuscaloosa’s Tree Commission. The commission, together with the Alabama Power Service Organization and the Druid City Canopy Coalition, will have several varieties available…The giveaway is planned for 8 a.m. Feb. 23 at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum, 1901 Jack Warner Parkway…the coalition has been growing some donated trees in a dedicated nursery at the University of Alabama’s Arboretum off Loop Road and that these trees can be picked up by appointment.
E-Verify: Bad for both businesses and employees
Crain’s (Chicago) – Feb. 14
According to a 2012 analysis from the University of Alabama, that state saw its GDP drop by at least $2.3 billion when between 40,000 and 80,000 workers fled the state en masse after elected officials strongly pushed E-Verify and other anti-immigration measures.
Love is in the web: how online dating is evolving with social media
Crimson White – Feb. 14
Like many other college students, Charlotte Lawson is in a long-distance relationship. However, she didn’t meet her boyfriend in high school or at a bar. Lawson met him online. Lawson, a senior majoring in criminal justice and political science, met her boyfriend of nearly a year through an online Alabama football forum he moderated…Lee Keyes, the executive director of the UA Counseling Center, said online dating could be a helpful tool for shy people when used correctly. “For people who have a lot of anxiety about meeting others, it can be a way of introducing themselves and having things known about them before they have a face-to-face encounter,” Keyes said. However, Keyes stressed the importance of maintaining the ability to build personal relationships and cautioned against the pitfalls of online dating. “You don’t start out with a wide-open book on your life. You start with a pretty fundamental profile, and you allow people you’ve established contact with to earn your trust over time,” Keyes said. “[Online dating] should never replace human contact. That would be one of the unwise uses of that medium.”
People more attached to tech than relationships
Crimson White – Feb. 14
This Valentine’s Day, some people may be finding comfort in something colder than the arms of their significant other. According to a recent survey by Logitech, 43 percent of the 2,000 single adults surveyed said they would be equally upset by a broken iPhone or iPad and a relationship break up. Laurie Bonnici, assistant professor for the School of Library and Information Studies, said she believes today’s younger generation is more than attached to their technology, and it is something essential to their lives. “You don’t think of them as devices for you guys. They are more like an extension of your being,” Bonnici said. “It’s like your second right hand.” She said if technology was taken away from this generation, it would be more like a disability. Young people would not know how to communicate with friends or find their way around town. “Technology is relied on,” Bonnici said. “This generation counts on it.”
HCA lecture covers equality
Crimson White – Feb. 14
In an HCA Talk titled, “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” a communication studies professor said marriage equality is a major modern social justice issue that will be studied in the future. Professor Meredith Bagley said there is a groundswell of interest and momentum around the issue. “That is important to pay attention to and is valuable to engage in the struggles of your age. Most of us have to rely on our parents to talk about the civil rights activism or feminist activism,” Bagley said. “We missed out on that, but we’re alive and kicking right now and there are activism, social engagement, and leadership opportunities. People could be studying us in 50 years.”