UA students document April 27, 2011 for future generations
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 24
For many Alabamians, it may be hard to believe it has been nearly three years since the storms of April 27, 2011. But this year’s class of seniors at The University of Alabama is the last class of undergraduates who were students when the storm hit. One group of young journalists at UA says they are surprised at the lack of knowledge some underclassmen have of April 27, and they wanted to do something to preserve the history. That led to “91 Minutes in April,” a special feature of College of Communication and Information Sciences’ news Web site, Dateline Alabama. “We’re just hoping to inform people about what happened, and just kind of be a reminder that this community came together after that day,” Alex Rice, UA student and Dateline Alabama journalist, said. “The incoming students, they see some of the damage, and they see the reconstruction, but they don’t remember how it was originally.” The site is set to go live on Sunday, April 27. The journalists describe it an interactive site with video, audio, mapping and personal stories of April 27, 2011 and the three years since then. They say through their research, they believe the deadly storms took 91 minutes to move across Alabama, which led to the site’s name.
UA students help rebrand the image of Alberta City
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – April 24
Sunday is the third anniversary of the April 27th tornado disaster in our area. A group of college students is hoping to help one community’s image. Students from the University of Alabama are helping re-brand the image of the tornado-damaged Alberta City area in Tuscaloosa. The students are part of a telecommunication and film class. They’re creating social media accounts to let people know about the tornado recovery process. “We want people to know that we’re bringing back some of that past glory, and we want people to see that past glory as well as you know what can come in the future.” You can see the slideshow of the re-branding project on our website, alabamas13.com.
Phelps receives prestigious award at University of Alabama
Cabot Star-Herald (Ark.) – April 24 (Subscription required)
Former Cabot High School student David Phelps, a senior at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, recently received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award at the 2014 Premier Awards, the top individual honors for scholarship, leadership and service at Alabama. The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award recognizes excellence of character and service to humanity. The award honors one man and one woman of the graduating class and one non-student who has been helpful to and associated with the University. Phelps, a senior civil engineering major, began the Tide Talks program to help student speakers spread ideas through the campus community … David Phelps has accepted a two-year position with Teach For America after his May 2014 graduation and will be teaching middle school math in Brooklyn, N.J., beginning this summer.
See University of Alabama students cram and chill on the Quad during dead week on campus
Al.com – April 24
University of Alabama students crammed on the Quad and other parts of campus during Dead Week, this the week before final exams of the spring semester, on Thursday, April 14. Take a look at what the Capstone’s campus looks like during dead week 2014. Mainly, you’ll find young folks sprawled out on the grass, especially when it’s a nice and sunny day like Thursday. People either read on the grass, catch a snooze, walk the dog, throw the football or engage in whatever activity helps to relieve stress or blow off a little steam heading into finals week. And just to jog the memories of any students who might need it, below is what the UA academic calendar has in store over the next week or so.
ASU pushes for new system for accepting credit students earn in military training
State Press (Tempe, Ariz.) – April 24
Electrical engineering junior Michael Calderon had been in the Air Force for four years when he returned to Arizona and enrolled at ASU. While in the military, Calderon had received 34 possible university credits, but ASU counted only two physical education credits toward his degree. Calderon said ASU’s restrictive policy for accepting credit gained in technical training makes it difficult for some military students and veterans … While in the Air Force, Calderon worked as the aeronautical load master, a job which required nine months of technical training where he learned to calculate an aircraft’s weight and balance moments, to fix electronic malfunctions on aircraft and to handle in-flight maintenance … These nine months of training and subsequent years of applying his education taught him the basics of many topics, but now at ASU he has to retake classes he already learned … “Had they accepted some of these credits, I probably could have gotten away with one less semester of schooling at ASU because not everything, like the weapons training, transfers, but the electrical and hydraulic, all that stuff left me wondering what they were looking for in qualifications,” he said … Other universities, such as the University of Alabama, are also working on changing how they award credit to military students and veterans to make their university more military-friendly, said David Blair, director of the University of Alabama Office of Veteran’s and Military Affairs.