University of Alabama’s theater and dance freshmen set to perform in weekend showcase
Al.com – Jan. 23
The newest members of the University of Alabama’s theater and dance department will show off their skills in a Freshman Showcase this weekend, Jan. 24-25. The fifth annual showcase, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Allen Bales Theater, is designed to show off the skills students have learned in their first year at the Capstone. “The experience has been marvelous,” Daniel Hulsizer, a freshman musical theater student, said in a UA press release. “It’s amazing to show and perform what our awesome professors have helped us achieve. UA theatre and dance is a family that I’m very thankful to be a part of.” The showcase will feature musical numbers and dramatic scenes.
Unlocked UA to host Alabama charter schools forum
Crimson White – Jan. 23
Unlocked UA, a student organization working to educate students on campus about the complexities of the issue of equitable education, is hosting an Alabama Charter School Forum Jan. 27. “The name ‘Unlocked’ has many different meanings, but perhaps the most central is our belief in unlocking equitable educational opportunities for all students. The doors to a high-quality school are too often locked for children in underserved communities,” David Phelps, president of Unlocked UA, said. “Our members have a wide range of views on almost every educational issue, so we are committed to informing, inspiring and mobilizing a truly diverse community of advocates.” The Alabama Charter School Forum is intended to educate students and the community on a topic seated deeply in recent educational reform. “The goal of hosting the forum is to help the University of Alabama community join the conversation about charter schools in an informed way. Some students don’t know what charter schools are. Many students don’t know that charter schools are illegal in Alabama. I would argue that most students don’t know why,” Justin Heck, director of marketing of Unlocked UA, said.
Tuscaloosa department seeking grants for recycling services, awareness
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 21
The city’s Environmental Services Department is seeking a series of grants to improve awareness and service options for recycling. Shane Daugherty, director of the Environmental Services Department, told the City Council’s Public Projects Committee that the department is submitting a joint grant application to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to fund a glass pulverizer. The city’s Environmental Services Department is teaming with the University of Alabama, the Tuscaloosa County Commission and the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority on a $349,208 grant through ADEM’s Recycling Fund Grant. The city is asking for $225,620, of which $110,000 would purchase the pulverizer. If approved, the purchase would allow city residents to take glass products to certain drop-off locations for recycling.
Science Sunday to host 3-D printing
Crimson White – Jan. 23
Smith Hall will host its first Science Sunday of the year this weekend, featuring events such as 3-D printing demonstrations, arts and crafts and a lecture by Dana Ehret, curator of paleontology for the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The University of Alabama’s engineering department will demonstrate 3-D printing of fossils and showcase new prints at the event. Jamey Grimes, an art professor at the University who assists the engineering department with the 3-D printing projects, said the process of 3-D printing is practical in the field of paleontology. “We are helping develop exposure and public interest to new technology and to the things that are in the museum, but rather than just building toys, there is real, practical application in the field of paleontology that this kind of technology applies to,” Grimes said. The Hodges Meteorite, a popular specimen at Smith Hall, has been scanned and printed in preparation for the Science Sunday event. “We have a really nice scan of the Hodges Meteorite that is famous for hitting a woman in Sylacauga, Ala.,” Grimes said. “Not a lot of people get to play with meteorites. Maybe now they can.”
Interrupted Sleep Affects Your Genes
She Knows – Jan. 22
Night owls beware — a new study finds that sleeping during the day can really mess with your bod. Scientists at the University of Surrey’s Sleep Research Center in the U.K. evaluated people’s bodies when they interrupted their sleep at regular intervals during a three-day span. They found that daytime sleeping interfered with participants’ genes, and staying up late was linked to gene disruption and other health problems. … Another recent study reported by Reuters found that a consistent schedule is linked to better sleep. “For example, people reported better sleep quality and fewer awakenings at night when they were consistent in the time they first went outside,” study Natalie Dautovich, a researcher at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.
UA Cheerleaders Place in National Competition
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 23
The University of Alabama’s football team isn’t the only team with a winning season this year. The UA cheerleading squads and Big Al took home some hardware over the weekend. The Universal Cheerleading Association National Cheerleading Championship was held in Orlando, Florida over the weekend. UA sent two squads along with Big Al. All three gained top 5 rankings in the nation.
Scoreinc.com Releases One of Training Program to Help Credit Repair Companies Build Relationships Directly with Realtors and Home Builders and Manufactured Home Dealers
Digital Journal – Jan. 22
According to Joel S. Pate, president and CEO of Scoreinc.com, “Realtors are the actual source of most referrals to credit repair companies, not loan originators. Thus, as the Qualified Mortgage Rule changes many facets of the mortgage industry effective date of January 10, 2014, CRO’s must learn to build relationships directly with Realtors and builders to overcome the likely prohibition that some lenders will impose on their LO’s of allowing their loan originators to refer the Realtors and homebuilders credit turn down customers, that are Not Yet Ready to Purchase™ a home, to a credit repair professional as recently demonstrated by a August 2013 notice from the nation’s largest mortgage servicer.” At a recent event held by the University of Alabama’s Center for Real Estate continuing education event held in Tuscaloosa Alabama by the Tuscaloosa Association of Realtors: “While it doesn’t appear to be the intent of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus QM to limit consumers access to the services of professional credit repair operators inadvertently it seems like they have as lenders correctly or incorrectly process the QM through their compliance departments.”
Virtually Strategy Magazine – Jan. 22