UA students film zombie comedy
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Dec. 4
The zombie apocalypse – it’s been a popular concept for books, television, and movies for years. But now, the zombie rage has reached the University of Alabama. CBS 42’s Leigh Garner sinks her teeth in. “Welcome to the super skate. Or we should say, the make-shift dispatch of an apocalyptic world, where, “this sort of rag-tag, a-team group of people…they’ve got a government establishment, they’ve got jobs. And we like to think of them like storm chasers, but instead of storms it’s zombies”. This is Zom-Com. “It’s a comedy. So you’re coming to see the light side of the zombie apocalypse that hasn’t necessarily been featured before.” Two University of Alabama classes are in the middle of a 10-day shoot to create a television pilot.
US rural community colleges hit by economic upturn
Times Higher Education (London) – Dec. 5
US rural community colleges face a battle to survive in the face of declining state funding and falling enrolment, an expert has warned. J. Noah Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Association of Community College Trustees, told Times Higher Education in a podcast interview that the “huge increase” in community college enrolment during the recession had ceased, leaving many institutions at risk of closure… His warning comes after a survey of state community college directors by the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa’s Education Policy Center found that although many expect “modest percentage increases in state appropriations” next year, declining enrolment would mean “less overall tuition income”.
Tiny Budget, Big Payoff
Inside Higher Ed – Dec. 4
Alabama’s community college transfer office has helped hundreds of thousands of students save money by making sure their credits move with them to a four-year institution. But the office is on life support, with an annual budget that has been slashed to just $375,000. Two employees and a part-time assistant run the website, which is powered by hardware and software that is more than a decade old. “It can go down,” said Mark Heinrich, chancellor of the Alabama Community College System. “We’re holding our breath until it can be updated.”…STARS is important both to Alabama and to the nation, said Stephen G. Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama. That’s because the system is a good model for how to improve transfer in the 23 or so states without consolidated, statewide governing boards. In those states, voluntary cooperation is essential. “Alabama was an early adopter,” Katsinas said in an email. “This model deserves national attention.”
UA professor says there is significant value in airing 911 tapes from Newtown shootings
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Dec. 4
Authorities in Connecticut release 9-1-1 tapes from the Sandy Hook School shooting. Parents of the young victims did not want the tapes released; Fox6 has decided not to air them. So, why are these tapes important? And why would anyone want them released? Fox6 news reporter Erika Gonzalez joins us with some answers, Erika? I talked with a media ethics expert who says not only do news outlets have the right to publish and air 9-1-1 tapes, but there is also significant value in doing so. In this particular case, University of Alabama assistant professor Chris Roberts says it could help with accountability.
during holidays, santa has the only safe road
Insurance News Net – Dec. 4
Unless you’re expecting a gift certificate from an auto-body shop for Christmas, turn off the radio, shut down your phone and focus on driving. Your fellow drivers are stressed out and evil-minded in this joyous holiday season. Almost a third of drivers say they become more aggressive on the road when holiday stress takes hold. According to new studies, traffic accidents spike during the final days leading up to Christmas as frenzied shoppers add their urgency to the daily commute. “The pressure of the holiday, the pressure of having to find something and running all over to find it and all of those things would tend to distract” drivers, said David Brown, a University of Alabama professor who has studied holiday traffic. “Their mind is on other things, and the next thing you know they’re pulling out in front of somebody.”
Crimson White – Dec. 5
Hilaritas to be performed at UA School of Music
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Dec. 4 (Live Interview)
The joy of the season – The University of Alabama School of Music channels that theme every year with its Christmas Extravaganza, “Hilaritas.” Joining us now is UA School of Music associate professor of voice and director of opera theater Paul Houghtaling to tell us more. You can catch Hilaritas Friday night at 7:30 p.m. or Sunday at 3 p.m.. The program is at the University of Alabama Moody Music Building in the concert hall.
Sarah Moody Gallery to exhibit inkjet prints
Crimson White – Dec. 5
While The University of Alabama may be known for its many traditions, this winter the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art is experimenting with a nontraditional exhibit. Until Jan. 17, the gallery is showing a collection of prints from American Abstract Artists, celebrating the group’s 75th anniversary. The exhibit is on loan from the Ewing Gallery at the University of Tennessee. “It’s something different, and it’s really unique to the individual artists,” Vicki Rial, exhibitions coordinator at the Sarah Moody Gallery, said. The portfolio is comprised entirely of inkjet prints, a relatively new method of making an artistic print. Some of the artists started their pieces in a more traditional medium, like oil painting on canvas, and then took a photograph of their work to submit digitally. Others created their piece on a computer. The exhibit explores the differences in media and where printmaking may go in the future.
Shakespeare makes mark on University
Crimson White – Dec. 5
Improbable Fictions, a University of Alabama Shakespeare production group of theatre students, English department teachers and graduate students, is bringing some of Shakespeare’s most famous work to Tuscaloosa. The group will present a revised, script-in-hand version of “Henry IV,” parts one and two, Friday at 8 p.m. at the Tuscaloosa Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center. The play is being directed by Natalie Hopper, an English graduate teaching assistant who revised and cut the script. She said the focus for this particular play is Prince Hal’s tense political and heartfelt familial relationship with his father, King Henry IV.
Jackson completing master’s as community health scholar
St. Augustine.com (Fla.) – Dec. 4
Dorothy Jackson of St. Augustine is completing her master’s degree as a University of Alabama Rural Community Health Scholar (RCHS) at the UA College of Community Health Sciences, a branch of the University of Alabama School of Medicine. The RCHS program is part of UA’s Rural Health Leaders Pipeline, which serves Alabama by producing physicians and other health care professionals who can become leaders in developing healthy rural communities. Jackson, the youngest daughter of John L. Jackson Sr. and Mary Davis, was drum major of her middle school band and a member of the concert band, jazz band, chorus, women’s choir, chamber choir and show choir at St. Augustine High School’s Center for the Arts.
Anxiety, stress can disrupt sleep
Crimson White – Dec. 5
As finals week approaches and Gorgas Library opens its doors for 24 hours a day, students begin cramming for cumulative tests and comprehensive exams. Sleep, for many, becomes a thing of the past. In a student’s attempt to balance work, school and a social life, sleep is often the first thing that is given up, causing some students to function on only three to four hours a night. But lack of sleep and late nights can actually be caused by or be the cause of common sleep disorders. Justin Thomas, a Ph. D. student at The University of Alabama, is studying the effects of sleep on college students. He has conducted extensive research using surveys and screenings to learn more about college sleep patterns.
Caffeine common among students
Crimson White – Dec. 5
The long lines at Starbucks in the Ferguson Center are indicative of the obsessive nature caffeine can bring. Cathy Andreen, director of media relations, said about 50,000 coffee drinks are sold from Bama Dining each month, and 47,000 soft drinks and energy drinks are sold each month at various locations on campus including Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks and other venues that sell coffee beverages. Lori Greene, an instructor in the human nutrition and hospitality management department, said coffee is the most popular stimulant in the United States. Greene said an average of two cups of coffee a day is fine, but after a certain amount, coffee can lead to irregular heart beats and dehydration. As for the positive aspects of coffee, Greene said it can help you mentally focus better. She said coffee does not provide you with more energy but acts as a stimulant and that getting enough sleep and eating regular meals are the best ways to maintain enough energy.
Schedule revised for Wheeler Anniversary Celebration Dec. 7
Hartselle Enquirer – Dec. 5
Due to colder weather conditions predicted for the weekend, organizers of the 75th Anniversary Celebration at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge announce a revised schedule of events for indoor activities and have cancelled all outdoor events. Set for December 7, the birthday celebration is planned to commemorate the establishment of the Refuge and to highlight the refuges’ history and success as a natural resource management demonstration project. Hosted by the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge Association, the celebration gets underway at 9 a.m. with a showing of “Historic Haven,” the 1966 film produced by the University of Alabama Center for Public Television on the history and mission of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.
Student keeps wolf dogs as pets
Crimson White – Dec. 5
While some students have golden retrievers or labradors as college pets, senior Payton Scott has taken a slightly different route. Scott, a biology major, owns two wolf dogs and has worked with them his whole life. Though there is a larger wolf dog community in south Florida, Scott currently works at a sanctuary in Birmingham called High Rock Wolf Dog Rescue. “Wolf dogs are very different from normal dogs, like not even close at all,” Scott said. Wolf dogs are split into three categories by their percentage of wolf content. Scott’s dogs are near the middle of the spectrum: Keya is upper-mid content at around 85 percent wolf, and Zion is around 75 percent, but at the sanctuary, Scott works with some wolf dogs in the 98-99 percent wolf category.