Free health clinic serves West End; operated by University of Alabama students
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 29
A new free health clinic operated by University of Alabama students aims to help people with chronic health problems in Tuscaloosa’s West End. The West End Health Project started about a month ago at the McDonald Hughes Center, said Michael Moore, student director of the clinic. The clinic provides free blood pressure checks, blood glucose checks, height and weight screenings and nutritional information, Moore said. The clinic, which is open from 1-5 p.m. on Wednesdays, is manned by UA pre-med students who are part of a medicine and community” class. The class places the students in medically-underserved communities, like West End and rural communities in the Black Belt. “We’ve got the best of the best students here, and they are where they are supposed to be and committed to what they are doing,” said Dr. Pam Foster, an associate professor with UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, who is also volunteering with the clinic.
University of Alabama to host talk by renowned physicist
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 30
An internationally known physicist is scheduled to give a free public talk at the University of Alabama on Wednesday. Mildred Dresselhaus, a professor emerita at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present a colloquium titled “Graphene for Enhancement of Raman Effect” at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday in room 227 of Gallalee Hall. Graphene is a form of carbon that is one atom thick and arranged in a hexagonal lattice. Dresselhaus is known for her research in the thermal transport of naonstructures and the study of phonons and electronic-phonons. The colloquium is sponsored by UA’s department of physics and astronomy.
UA athletics lead SEC in graduation rate
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Oct. 29
Coach Saban does, however, care about his players and their academic success. His team has an 80 percent graduation success rate while the University of Alabama athletics, as a whole, leads the SEC.
Blake Sims encourages Tuscaloosa students to stay in school
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Oct. 29
University of Alabama Quarterback Blake Sims spent part of his off-week at a Tuscaloosa City school. Sims visited Eastwood Middle School on Wednesday and spoke to seventh graders about making good choices, the importance of staying in school and hard work. The teacher who invited Sims felt many students could relate to Sims’ story of perseverance. “This will probably be the only time they will have this opportunity to get this close up and personal with a University of Alabama, not only a football player, but the starting quarterback. So I feel like this was a first for them as well as a significant moment for them,” Tiffany Bishop said. Bishop also says they’ve been stressing school attendance this week and encouraged students to show up to school so they would not miss Sims’ visit.
Tuscaloosa News (gallery) – Oct. 29
Al.com (gallery) – Oct. 29
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 29
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Oct. 29
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Oct. 29
2014′s Most and Least Politically Engaged States
WalletHub.com – Oct. 29
Civic participation is a key ingredient of a well-functioning democracy, and voter turnout is one measure of the public’s trust in government. But with a growing lack of political engagement from its citizens, the United States of America might soon rename itself the United States of Apathy. Most recently, 15 of the first 25 statewide primary elections this year reported record-low voter turnouts. Overall, only 14.8 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots compared with 18.3 percent in 2010. This downward trend has continued since the 1960s, similar to the trend in presidential elections. And among democratic nations that track turnout at the polls, the U.S. usually ranks near the bottom … George Hawley, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Alabama: Why are some states more politically engaged than others? Competitive elections tend to drive up turnout, though some states consistently experience higher levels of political participation regardless of the specific context. Demographic differences between states explains some of this variation. Latinos, for example, tend to have lower turnout rates than non-Hispanic whites. The highly educated are more likely to vote than the less educated. Different states and regions also have different political cultures; these cultural differences can result in different average levels of political participation.
Congrats to … Lacie Lacks
Anniston Star – Oct. 29
Lacie Lacks of Alexandria High School was recently accepted into the University of Alabama UA Early College Program. UA Early College students are high school students from across the United States who earn college credit online and are eligible for the UA Summer Residential/Honors Ready Experience. The students may earn up to 30 hours of college credit from the University of Alabama and still enter UA eligible for freshmen scholarships.