UA to build new performing arts center
Charlotte Observer – April 13
The new $60 million performing arts center to be constructed by the University of Alabama on the Bryce Hospital grounds is planned as a state-of-the-art venue for the Department of Theatre and Dance. The UA board of trustees approved the scope and preliminary budget for the project earlier this month. The 109,017-square-foot center will connect to the historic main Bryce Hospital building via a new lobby. The project will require the demolition of the north wing of the main hospital building. The center will feature a 350-seat drama theater, a 450-seat dance theater, a 250-seat studio theater and associated support spaces, such as a scenery shop and rehearsal hall, according to the preliminary plan. The center is part of the UA’s campus master plan for the historic hospital grounds, which includes new academic and residential buildings and recreational facilities. UA purchased the Bryce property from the state in 2010, paying nearly $77 million for the 168 acres on the northeast side of campus and agreeing to pay another $10 million for environmental cleanup and historic preservation.
Northwest Georgia News – April 13
University of Alabama honors College of Human Environmental Sciences dean with portrait recognizing years of service
Tuscaloosa News – April 14
A portrait unveiling ceremony honoring Milla Boschung, dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences, was held April 9 at the University Club off Queen City Avenue. The portrait, which will hang in the Alumni Room of Doster Hall, honors the dean’s service to the University of Alabama. “I was just so honored to have my portrait painted,” Boschung said. “I follow so many wonderful deans.” UA President Judy Bonner, introduced Boschung. Jo Bonner, vice chancellor for government relations and economic development at the University of Alabama System, spoke first at the April 9 ceremony. “It was a celebration, but it certainly should have been a celebration of all the faculty and staff and students and all of their accomplishments,” Boschung said. “The dean does so much for our college. Much more than the average student would realize,” said Angelique Dean, a senior majoring in hospitality management. “To see her hard work and dedication to HES be honored with a portrait is very special to us all.”
‘Bogus and Unconscionably High Fees’: How Tax Preparers Are Preying on Low-Income People
The Nation – April 14
The estimated $300 billion in anticipated tax refunds this year is irresistible to predatory preparers targeting the poor. Stephen Black, director of the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at the University of Alabama, appeared on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry to discuss this “wild west” of an industry that leeches money from impoverished communities. Families expecting the earned income tax credit, in need of help with tax preparation but without access to the certified CPAs that do taxes for the wealthy, turn instead to shady pop-up operations that sprout during tax season. “The average single mother working at Walmart making $19,000 a year, raising two kids, goes into one of these places,” says Black, “and will come out $300” poorer.
University of Alabama student documentaries to premiere tonight at Bama Theatre
Al.com – April 14
The University of Alabama’s eighth annual Documenting Justice screening is set for Tuesday night, where six non-film majors will debut their short works on issues of justice and injustice in the state. The Documenting Justice course spans two semesters at UA, with 12 undergraduate and graduate students pairing up to produce a documentary on the subject of their choice. Students learn the ins-and-outs of filmmaking during the fall semester, including production techniques and documentary theory. The spring semester is dedicated to fleshing out the documentaries with interviews, research and field work.
Alabama Nominees For McWhorter Post-Graduate Scholarships
SECDigitalNetwork.com – April 14
Golfer Cory Whitsett and gymnast Kim Jacob have been nominated for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship by the University of Alabama. The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship has been presented by the Southeastern Conference since 1986 to the league’s top male and female scholar-athletes. The Southeastern Conference will name the 2014 recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship on May 6.
Jury recommends life sentence for Anniston man in 1999 murder
Anniston Star – April 14
A Calhoun County jury recommended Monday that Torrance Perin Vincent spend the rest of his life in prison. The same jury had on Thursday found Vincent, 38, guilty of two counts of capital murder for the shooting death of Prince Damian Wright, 20, on Dec. 15, 1999, during a robbery. After more than an hour of deliberation Monday, jurors voted 7-5 to recommend Vincent serve a life sentence without parole. Circuit Judge Debra Jones will decide the sentence later … Joanne Terrell, an instructor of social work at the University of Alabama who has worked in the mitigation of more than 100 death penalty cases, told the court Monday that her assessment of Vincent’s life showed dramatic changes after his first child was born in 2002. Terrell testified that Vincent had no history of serious criminal behavior before or after the shooting, and he’s not had a violent outburst while in jail awaiting trial. “I could tell that he raised those children well,” Terrell said, adding that he and his children have a close bond. “I think that for their continued success in life, that attachment is crucial.”
Gulf Shores proposes development of innovative academic campus
GulfCoastNewsToday.com – April 15
Mayor Robert Craft and members of the City Council have announced that they are strategically exploring the development of an innovative academic campus on city-owned property at the corner of County Road 8 and the Baldwin Beach Express. According to Craft, this vision is the result of a strategic planning project that began in the fall of 2012. “This planning process reaffirmed that high-quality education is and always will be a top priority for us,” said Craft. “We are committed to supporting the development of this campus, to improving the standards of education for our children and to providing unprecedented educational opportunities for families in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.” … Statement by Dean Milla Boschung, The University of Alabama College of Human Environmental Sciences: “The University of Alabama has long enjoyed a special relationship with the people of South Baldwin County. For the past decade, our theater students have entertained thousands of visitors to the Alabama Gulf Coast with our outstanding Summer Tide performances. And for even longer, our faculty in Restaurant and Hospitality Management have collaborated with Falkner State‘s Culinary Arts program, supporting the booming South Alabama tourism industry.
Students take to Tinder for relationships, dating
Crimson White – April 15
Tess Severin, a University of Alabama sophomore from Illinois majoring in finance, is an active member of Alpha Kappa Psi. Rhys Butler, her boyfriend, is a junior studying telecommunication and film who speaks with a Southern accent. The two met having no mutual friends on Facebook or similar backgrounds, and yet they’re going on their fourth month of dating. Severin and Butler met officially on Tinder, a relationship app that matches information from one’s Facebook profile with GPS so people can find others of the same age within a certain mile radius. After seeing the profile and profile picture of a user in the area, the viewer can swipe left to see other pictures or right to “like” the profile. If both parties swipe right, the two are matched and can start messaging each other … The main benefit of an app like Tinder is its immediacy and lack of pressure associated with walking up to someone in a bar setting. Christopher Lynn, a biological anthropologist who teaches an anthropology of sex course at the University, said he predicts apps like Tinder, and its LGBTQ equivalent Grindr, will only multiply and become more advanced. “Both dating apps and online dating have the advantage of not seeing the people you’re interacting with, which gives people, I think, the opportunity to both be bolder and more manipulative in ways they might be reticent to do face-to-face, for better and worse,” Lynn said.
UA students spend, save tax returns (print edition only)
Crimson White – April 15
With tax season coming to a close, students may find themselves with extra cash burning in their pockets. While most part-time jobs might not produce a high return on taxes, students could be faced with a decision on their tax returns: spend or save? Jan Brakefield, a professor in the department of consumer sciences, said she recommends students save what they get back from their taxes. “Don’t blow it,” she said. “It’s going to be different depending on each situation, but if a student doesn’t already have an emergency set up, I recommend they get one.”
Sonic Frontiers ends with Dawn of Midi performance
Crimson White – April 15
Dawn of Midi will play in Alabama for the first time Thursday as The Sonic Frontiers’ last concert of the year in the new performing arts building, Bryant-Jordan Hall – formerly the old chapel by Bryce Hospital. Dawn of Midi is an acoustic band with a stand-up bass, piano and drums. The name “midi” comes from “musical instrument digital interface.” The band’s bassist, Aakaash Israni, said the name was almost a joke, as they don’t use anything digital but create an electronic sound from acoustic instruments. “When you see us, it seems to look like a different thing than it sounds like,” Israni said. “A lot of people see the stand-up bass, the piano and drums and think of jazz. The music we play is very rhythmic and repetitive, the way percussion or electronic music may sound.” The band members said they played tennis together before music. They met in 2006 and became friends during graduate school at Cal Art in Los Angeles, Calif. They were all interested in music and began improvising together. Israni said their music is almost hypnotic and not only puts the audience in a trance, but themselves as well.