UA In the News: Feb. 9

Co-chairs of UA’s subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion meet with the media
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Feb. 8
WBRC spoke with three co-chairs of a University of Alabama (UA) Subcommittee on diversity and inclusion. George Daniels, Norm Baldwin and Elle Shaaban-Magana are part of a much larger group coming up with recommendations for a new five-year plan at the university. UA President Stuart Bell formed the group in October of 2015. This subgroup of the larger group is looking at ways the university could be more open and inclusive to students of all races, religions, nationalities and sexual orientations.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 8
WTOC (Savannah, Ga.) –Feb. 8

UA diversity panel to meet this week
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 8
A subcommittee on diversity an inclusion for the University of Alabama’s strategic planning council plans to have its first meeting on Wednesday as it beings work on crafting recommendations for a new strategic plan, which is expected to be unveiled in April. The Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion is led by co-chairs George Daniels, assistant dean in UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences, Norman Baldwin, a professor of political science, and Elle Shaaban-Magaña, director of the Women and Gender Resource Center. The subcommittee includes so far 23 members and four alternates. The group plans to add at least two more members, according to Daniels.

University of Alabama rally aims to register more voters
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 8
With the March 1 primary getting closer, efforts to register people to vote are increasing. On Monday, a rally and voter registration drive on the University of Alabama campus aimed to attract young people into the political process. “Our goal (was) to get more students to vote today, regardless of political leaning because it is important that people express their voice,” said Dwyer Freeman, president of Southern Poverty Law Center on Campus. The rally, held at the Ferguson Center Plaza, was co-sponsored by the SPLC on Campus and the American Association of University Women. A news release from SPLC on Campus, an off-shoot of the Montgomery-based SPLC, said similar events are planed on college campuses across the country. The event at UA was the groups’ first.
Tuscaloosa News (gallery) – Feb. 8
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 8
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Feb. 8
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 8
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 8

Jeb Bush and majority of Republican voters actually agree on immigration, George Will says
Pundifact – Feb. 7
As Jeb Bush readies his push to win the Republican nomination, one of the charges he has to fend off is that he lacks conservative zeal. The issue popped up June 14, 2015, on Fox News Sunday, when a viewer suggested in a note to the show that Bush seems like more of a Democrat than a Republican … However, George Hawley, a political scientist at the University of Alabama, cautions that the Pew survey also shows a complicated set of attitudes. “A majority of Republicans also felt that giving people who came to the United States illegally a way to gain legal status is like rewarding them for doing something wrong,” Hawley said. “Further, 42 percent of Republicans felt legal immigration should be decreased, compared to 21 percent who think it should be increased. Also, far more Republicans view immigrants as a burden, 63 percent, than view them as an asset for the country, 27 percent.”
41 KSHB (Kansas City, Mo.) – Feb. 8

A meteorite may have killed an Indian man – how does it tie to Alabama?
Al.com – Feb. 8
Officials in India’s Tamil Nadu state are trying to determine if a man was killed last week by a meteorite – the first incidence of such a thing happening in nearly 200 years. If true, the case shares a connection to Alabama, where a Sylacauga woman survived her brush with cosmic debris. Authorities in the southern Indian state say a blast on Friday at Bharathidasan Engineering College left a crater in the ground and blew out glass windows in nearby buildings. A bus driver who was standing close to the site died and number of others were injured An Alabama woman narrowly avoided the same fate. On Nov. 30, 1954, Ann Hodges was struck by a meteorite in Sylacauga. The now-famous “Hodges Meteorite” weighs about 8½ pounds and is on permanent display at the Alabama Museum of Natural History at the University of Alabama.

So you got the job—now keep it! A guide to getting hired after your internship
Progressions – Feb. 8
Courtney Moats did what public relations students dream of doing: she was hired full-time for a company after completing that company’s internship program. She is now an assistant manager for Chevrolet Communications, following her time as a Chevrolet Communications intern. If you’re looking to snag an open position after the internship of your dreams, Courtney has five tips to help you succeed. (Bethany Corne is the publications committee leader for the University of Alabama PRSSA Chapter and a digital strategist at the Capstone Agency. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at bcorne@crimson.ua.edu.)

Bay Minette’s Eleogo selected for All-State Consort Orchestra
Al.com – Feb. 8
Isabella Eleogo of Bay Minette was selected by audition to be a member of the 2016 Alabama All-State Consort Orchestra. The Baldwin County High School freshman is a violin student of Kim Shannon with Fairhope Music. She has been taking private lessons for just under two years. She also sits first chair in the local student group, Eastern Shore Chamber Strings under the direction of Shannon … Isabella is the daughter of Chat and Edgar Eleogo of Bay Minette. She and the other students selected for the All-State Orchestra will participate in rehearsals prior to the public performance. The concert will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Moody Music Hall on the campus of the University of Alabama.