This student made a great call when he turned down every Ivy League school for the University of Alabama
Business Insider Indonesia – May 22
When choosing which college to attend next year, high school senior Ronald Nelson made what some people might see as a controversial decision. He turned down every school in the Ivy League and decided to attend the University of Alabama. Nelson also rejected offers from Stanford, Johns Hopkins, New York University, Vanderbilt, and Washington University in St. Louis, he told Business Insider. The Memphis, Tennessee-area student said he decided to pass on these big names in favor of UA for two big reasons: He got a full ride from Alabama and got into its selective honors program. By comparison, he received only partial tuition from the Ivy League schools based on his family’s “demonstrated need” — determined by factors such as a family’s income, assets, and size. He would have to take on debt in order to afford the school. “I talked to my parents, and they told me, ‘It won’t be easy, but we could make this happen.’ I wasn’t sure if I wanted them to spend that money now or wait until later, when I’ll be using it for a graduate degree,” he said.
Advertising: Most people feel alienated when viewing ultra-thin models
Science Daily – May 21
Here’s the skinny: Not all women will buy products because the models in the advertisements are thin, according to a new study of a diverse group of 239 women by a Baylor University marketing professor. In fact, marketers and advertisers who default to the “thin ideal” — the belief that thinner is better — could be alienating up to 70 percent of their audience, said James Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business. Roberts co-authored the report, “Does Thin Always Sell? The Moderating Role of Thin Ideal Internalization on Advertising Effectiveness,” with his daughter, Chloe’ Roberts, a freshman at the University of Alabama. The study is published by the Atlantic Marketing Journal. “The current ‘thin sells’ fixation is a gross oversimplification of how women respond to advertising,” the study said, adding that previous research has shown that only 5 percent of women could possibly achieve the body size depicted in typical advertisements.
Phys.org – May 21
Science Codex – May 21
Science Newsline – May 21
AL Department of Mental Health awards $3.2M to start Project LAUNCH
WDAM 7 (Moselle, Miss.) – May 21
The Alabama Department of Mental Health awarded $3.2 million dollar grant over the next five years to start Project LAUNCH. LAUNCH stands for Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health. That was a the focus of a two-day event wrapping up at the Bryant Conference Center on the University of Alabama campus Thursday. Nearly 300 people attended. Money from the grant helps pay for assessments on children to determine what their needs are in terms of mental and emotional development and if there are local agencies already in place in the Tuscaloosa area that can them and their families. The project hopes to help children 8 years old and younger. “We know and we understand that if we can start identifying those social and emotional needs and building up that child’s self esteem they’re going to be able to be better prepared for school. They’re going to be better prepared for learning,” said April Kendrick, Director of Child Development Resources at the University of Alabama.
Fox (Birmingham) – May 21
WHNT-CBS (Huntsville) – May 21
You Can Vote for the 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction
Slaw (Canada) – May 21
Members of the public have until Friday, June 5 at 11:59 p.m. to vote online for the winner of the 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. The prize, which is sponsored by ABA Journal and the University of Alabama School of Law, is intended to recognize a work of fiction that best exemplifies the role of lawyers in society. The three finalists this year are: My Sister’s Grave, by Robert Dugoni; Terminal City, by Linda Fairstein; The Secret of Magic, by Deborah Johnson.
Library of Congress – May 21