University of Alabama students help restore historic landmark in Marion
CBS 8 (Montgomery) – May 21
Students from the University of Alabama are helping to restore a historic landmark in Perry County. The students are renovating a portion of one of the buildings at the Lincoln Normal School in Marion. Lincoln was one of the first institutions established to educate African Americans after the Civil War. Students and staff from U-A have been in Perry County working on more than a dozen community service projects over the past two weeks. “I really like to see tangible efforts in my work, like to be able to see a room that, you know, is just completely falling apart, and dusty, and moldy, and then two or three days later it’ll look completely brand new,” said UA student and Project Coordinator Ben Burkeen. The Lincoln Normal School was a forerunner to Alabama State University in Montgomery.
Can anything be done to tornado-proof a house?
NPR – May 22
Linda Wertheimer talks to Professor Andrew Graettinger of the University of Alabama about what can be to strengthen buildings and save lives when tornadoes strike. He was part of a study that looked at the structural impact of the 2011 tornadoes that ripped through Joplin, Mo., and Tuscaloosa, Ala.
WMAN 98.3 (Ohio) – May 21
103.7 CKY (Ohio) – May 21
100.3 The Edge (Arkansas) – May 21
WOR-AM (New York, NY) – May 21
Design Build Source – May 21
Oklahoma tornado PTSD: How survivors are coping
Huffington Post – May 21
As Patricia McGregor looked at images of the aftermath in Moore, Okla., she was reminded of the men and women she treated after a deadly tornado ripped through her hometown of Joplin, Mo., in 2011. The licensed psychologist with a private practice in Joplin scrambled to keep up with a “flood” of requests for mental services and counseling in the weeks and months following the tornado. At first, she saw people with acute symptoms of fear, anxiety and grief. But two years later, one of the first questions she asks patients with intense anxiety or panic attacks, marital or relationship problems, or new depression is how badly their lives were affected by the tornado … Jim Hamilton, a professor of psychology at the University of Alabama, is studying the psychological effects of the deadly 2011 tornado in Tuscaloosa on undergraduate students there. His research, which is ongoing, supports what he called a more “tempered view” on the prevalence of PTSD. It appears to have affected about 4 to 8 percent of the students, he said, adding that for the most part, students were sheltered in their dorms about a quarter of a mile from where the tornado hit. They were nonetheless subject to the “abject terror” of being in the tornado’s predicted path, he said.
OPINION: Dear friends in Oklahoma: Hope will find you
Christian Science Monitor – May 21
Dear friends in the Oklahoma community of Moore: Here in Tuscaloosa, Ala., our hearts are breaking for you. We have an idea of what you are going through, as we continue to recover from the mile-wide tornado that took 53 lives and destroyed much of our city on April 27, 2011 … Like Tuscaloosa, Moore lost major infrastructure and schools. And, like what Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox told me yesterday, “The sober reality of what is in front of them is massive.” But, he added, it can be done. We have proof. Our tornado, like yours, struck in the late afternoon on a work day. It reached winds of nearly 200 mph. More than 5,000 structures were destroyed in our city. People flocked to help. The city, Mayor Maddox admits, was not prepared for the massive influx of volunteers. Organizing volunteers is a huge undertaking. Coordination is key. It’s a good problem to have, but logistically difficult and not to be underestimated…Meredith Cummings is a professor of journalism at the University of Alabama.
Sessions takes on Senate immigration gang, vows to ‘expose’ flawed bill
CNN.com – May 21
What’s wrong with the “Gang of Eight” comprehensive immigration reform bill? Jeff Sessions has a lot of answers to that question, but he starts by pointing to a picture of a modest white house built in the early 1930s in Hybart, Alabama. “I grew up in rural Alabama, in a poor area of the state,” the three-term Republican noted during a recent interview in his Washington office. “We didn’t have central heat, but we got by. And people (still) do.” … While the Republican Party may be divided over immigration reform, analysts are not surprised by Sessions’ role as leader of the Senate opposition. “Given the politics of Alabama, it doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Richard Fording, chairman of the University of Alabama’s political science department. “Politics here dictates you oppose whatever the president supports.” Fording noted Alabama’s passage in 2011 of one of the strictest laws in the country designed to crack down on undocumented immigration. Among other things, the law requires police who make lawful traffic stops or arrests to try to determine the immigration status of anyone they suspect might be in the country illegally.
Applications sought for young entrepreneurs
Tuscaloosa News – May 21
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is accepting applications through May 31 from middle and high school students interested in entrepreneurship and in developing their own company or social movement. YEA! is sponsored locally by the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. Students in the program will meet on the UA campus on Mondays from 4 to 7 p.m. from September through May. Up to 24 students will be accepted into the 2013-2014 class. This is the second year the program is being offered. In YEA!, students will brainstorm business ideas, decide if they want to work by themselves or as a team, learn to write a business plan, pitch their plan to investors for funding and launch their own business or social movement.
High school graduations: Second commencement for Saraland High School (photos)
Al.com – May 22
Saraland High School held its commencement ceremony for 133 seniors on Tuesday, May 21, at Spartan Stadium. Mark Nelson, assistant provost and vice president of student affairs at the University of Alabama, gave the keynote address. The valedictorian was Ashton Jewel Gossett and the salutatorian was Taylor Renee Kelly. It was the second graduating class for the Saraland school system, which formed in 2008. The class earned $4.2 million in scholarships.
Veterans group will hold annual Memorial Day program Monday
Tuscaloosa News – May 22
The Veterans Memorial Park Association will hold its annual Memorial Day program Monday morning at Veterans Memorial Park…The guest speaker will be Duane A. Lamb, a retired Air Force colonel. Lamb retired in 2007 after 30 years of active duty and moved back to his hometown of Tuscaloosa. He now is assistant vice president of facilities and grounds at the University of Alabama.