UA In the News — July 28

Rise School graduation ceremony on Thursday
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – July 27
The Rise School on the University of Alabama campus is celebrating a milestone. While most children prepare for a new school year, the Rise School is getting ready for graduation. It’s a day some nay-sayers said would never come for a hardworking group of students. The Rise School serves children with disabilities. Students range in age from 8 weeks to 5 years old. The graduation ceremony is Thursday night at 6 p.m. at the Gene Stallings Center in Tuscaloosa.
Tuscaloosa News (gallery) – July 27
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – July 27
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – July 27

UA Grounds Crew at Work on the Quad
Tuscaloosa News – July 28 (gallery)
Workpeople prepare the Quad for the fall semester.

Face of Defense: Husband, Wife Earn Marine Corps Commissions
Foreign Affairs – July 27
Love was the last thing Reagan and Rebecca (Horwath) Reynolds expected to find when they embarked on their journey to become U.S. Marine Corps officers.  Yet roughly four years later, standing in the University Club here as a married couple, Reagan and Rebecca took the Officer’s Oath in front of loved ones July 15, 2016, at the University of Alabama.

Heroes are adults in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Tuscaloosa News – July 28
Harry Potter has been part of Britney Porter’s life since she was 6 when her older brother Brantley gave her the debut “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” to read on a road trip. Porter was hooked. She set a schedule: Every year she would read a new Potter book. In first grade she read the first, in second grade the second and so on, up until fifth grade. That year she read both the fifth and sixth books so she could read the seventh and final novel upon its release. “The beginning books are smaller, but as they get bigger, as Harry grows older, the material becomes more difficult and even darker, in parts of it,” said Porter, a sophomore majoring in psychology at the University of Alabama. “When children are young, they get interested in the simple adventures, there are some sad things, but then as they grow older and they have harder things to deal with – setbacks and losses – the sadness that older people can often relate to.” Jyasi Davis, a UA sophomore majoring in computer science, plans to pick up the new book, but admits he’s nervous about the it. “They ended the Harry Potter story well and they did leave it open to be expanded upon and for people to do new things with it, but at the same time, I feel the Harry Potter story was so original that if they do anything else to it, they’d end up messing it up,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to pick up from a really good story.”

Academic Minute: New Portrait of Slavery
Inside Higher Ed – July 27
Today on the Academic Minute, Joshua Rothman, professor in the Department of History at the University of Alabama, discusses how ads placed for the return of runaway slaves give us a more complete picture of our past. Learn more about the Academic Minute here.

Mouser Electronics Applauds Winners of Texas Instruments Innovation Challenge Design Contest
WBRB (Louisville, Ken.) – July 27
Mouser Electronics, Inc. is pleased to congratulate the winners of the Texas Instruments Innovation Challenge North America Design Contest, including the team from Texas A&M University that took top honors. Mouser is the exclusive sponsor of the contest, which encourages engineering students to invent real-world solutions by submitting design projects that use TI technology … Matthew Bries and Nagaraj Hegde of the University of Alabama took third place with SmartStep, a device that uses a TI Bluetooth® low energy CC2540 wireless microcontroller to monitor a person’s activity through the insoles of their shoes.
Business Wire – July 27
 
U of Alabama Community Music School Summer Camp Focuses on Stringed Instruments
Hispanic Outlook Magazine – July 27
Elaina Blankenship drew a bow across the strings of her violin, sounding out the notes of the “Star Wars” theme song. She has been playing the violin for seven years, but she said there is always more to learn. Elaina, 11, is one of 17 students participating this week in the University of Alabama Community Music School summer strings camp at the Alberta School of Performing Arts. The one-week camp consists of 10 middle school students and seven high school students who act as their mentors. At the end of the week on Friday, the camp will conclude with a concert held in the Alberta school’s auditorium. The children’s theater camp will also perform “Alice in Wonderland Junior.”
Athens News Courier – July 27
Florence Times Daily – July 27
 
Women needed for UA research study
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – July 27
Women ages 55 through 69 are needed for a research study to evaluate the taste, texture and other sensory characteristics of different watermelon-flavored beverages. Women without any food allergies qualify to participate. The study will be held at Doster Hall at The University of Alabama. The process will take approximately a half-hour to complete on August 1, 2 or 3. For more information, you can call toll-free 1-844-348-7057. Dr. Amy Ellis says, “Watermelon, in particular, is a really fascinating food. There are several ingredients, natural components of watermelon that actually may have positive effects on blood pressure and blood vessel function.”

State’s economy is “sluggish” according to UA study
NBC 48 (Huntsville, Ala.) – July 27
Alabama’s economy is sluggish compared to last year, according to a University of Alabama study. UA says this year the state’s economy is slated to grow by 1.9%. That’s down from 2.4% growth in 2015. Experts hope the second half of this year will see more growth.
Alabama Public Radio – July 27
 
Morrow joins suit against Bentley
Florence Times Daily – July 27
A Democratic lawmaker from northwest Alabama has joined Republican state Auditor Jim Ziegler in a lawsuit aimed at stopping the governor from spending BP settlement money on a controversial luxury hotel and conference center at Gulf State Park. Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow, D-Red Bay, said he believes Gov. Robert Bentley is spending the oil spill reparation money in violation of the state constitution …  Bill Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama, said the suit may be flawed. “When we have federal grant money, the governor has the authority, in many instances, to appropriate money as he or she sees fit,” he said. “When money comes in from private companies, I think the same rule holds.”

The beauty of being abroad
The Diamondback – July 27
Driving in from Iceland’s Keiflavik International Airport, I looked at the scenery and wondered if this is what Mars looks like. Treeless landscapes, glacier and mountain vistas, broad lava filled plateaus. You could film a Syfy movie here, and many have. (Matt Carden is a quantitative economics major at the University of Alabama. He can be reached at mncarden@crimson.ua.edu.)