UA In the News — Oct. 27

Halloween and child development: Does trick-or-treating help our kids learn to socialize?
AL.com – Oct. 27
Plenty of parents understand the value Halloween can bring to their children’s lives, though it actually goes a little further than padding their annual collection of candy. Parent-child activities associated with the holiday incorporate core developmental exercises for children, plus the season help nurture important social skills during the school year, according to one psychology professor at the University of Alabama. Ansley Gilpin, UA associate professor of psychology and lead researcher at UA’s “Knowledge in Development Lab,” says that parents should seize the opportunity to be creative, get outside and spend time with their children. The developmental benefits might surprise you. “Halloween is age-scalable, too,” Gilpin said, according to UA News. “A baby is happy to go out and see things, touch a pumpkin, crumble leaves in their hands – it’s an enriching experience. For toddlers, they get to taste things they haven’t eaten before, experience a new art project, get to dress up and pretend.

Alabama sorority dedicates homecoming to raising $17k for suicide prevention
University Herald – Oct. 25
A sorority group from the University of Alabama has decided to forego their longstanding homecoming tradition this year. They will be raising money to help prevent suicide in college instead. USA Today College reported that University of Alabama’s Kappa Alpha Theta chapter usually saves about $2,500 from its budget to create a “pomp” or a decoration made from tissue paper every year. This décor is set to be displayed on campus during the week-long celebration of homecoming. This tradition is also popular at other large state universities such as the University of Missouri and Oklahoma State.
 
Alabama Birding Trail is at its fall peak for a fowl peek
Alabama News Center – Oct. 27
Now that it actually feels like fall in Alabama, the birds that have spent summer breeding in the northern U.S., Canada and beyond are headed over the Southeast to their winter homes … Birdwatching is an economic driver for Alabama that has created a significant, cost-effective impact for the state over the past decade, attracting visitors from across the country. The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development, Alabama Tourism Department, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Birmingham Audubon Society, Alabama Ornithological Society and federal partners like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Forest Service have partnered to develop the eight birding trails of Alabama. Each region has well-known sites used by many birders and visitors as they enjoy the natural surroundings.

UA Adapted Athletics holds red carpet premiere of “This is How We Roll”
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 25
There’s no question, Alabama’s Adapted Athletics program is one of the best in the country. Tonight the program celebrated the debut of a documentary series that folllowed the teams in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The red carpet premiere of “This is How We Roll” showed two episodes at the Bama Theatre. Both the men’s and women’s teams begin their season on October 29.
Tuscaloosa News (gallery) – Oct. 26

SLU nursing students assisted after flood by Alabama nurses
Baton Rouge Advocate (La.) – Oct. 26
Morgan Mincey’s home in Denham Springs — like so many others in the Livingston Parish area — was hit hard by the August floods. A junior in nursing at Southeastern Louisiana University, Mincey said her family had never anticipated a flood of this nature, especially since they did not live in a flood zone. “We definitely were not prepared for a flood; then water started flowing into our house,” she said. “The cost to rebuild, purchase home furnishings and replacing personal items is overwhelming. We are rebuilding and trying to put our lives back together.” Mincey is one of two SLU nursing students who received a $500 disaster fund scholarship donated by the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in Tuscaloosa. The funds were raised through contributions of UA faculty and staff, its alumni association, and the Association of Student Nurses.
 
Video shows traffic stop tips
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 26
A new video posted on social media Wednesday addresses how law enforcement officers want members of the public to behave during traffic stops. “We hear this question a lot,” Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy said Wednesday. “All of the agencies decided to come together and do one video. Hopefully, this will eliminate confusion and get the same information out there.” The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Tuscaloosa, Northport and University of Alabama police departments collaborated to make the nearly four-minute video that depicts different situations and step-by-step instructions about being pulled over.
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Oct. 26
ABC 10 (Albany, Ga.) – Oct. 26
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 25
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Oct. 25
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Oct. 25
 
Tuscaloosa Fire Department to partner with UA’s CAPS to create an app to help volunteer firefighters
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 25
Fire departments here in Alabama need your help to make it quicker and easier for them to file their fire reports. Firefighters are required to submit reports about all fires they respond to, but Alabama’s volunteer firefighters say sometimes there’s just not enough time to get all of that paperwork filed. Tuscaloosa Fire Chief Alan Martin says a phone app could help volunteer fire departments get their paperwork started while they’re still on the scene. “What we’re going to do is partner with The University of Alabama Center for Public Safety and develop a phone app that would allow volunteer fire departments to more easily enter that data for us.”
 
Into their own hands: Students vital in discussions on sexual assault
The Daily Mississippian (Oxford, Miss.) – Oct. 27
Another in the myriad of resources available to sexual assault survivors has emerged over the past year, one led by the most common victims: students. Whereas the Violence Prevention Office is made up of Lindsey Bartlett Mosvick and one graduate assistant, and the Title IX office has one coordinator, Honey Ussery, Rebels Against Sexual Assault has drawn more than 350 students who now receive their emails, according to President Sydney Green. RASA began as a suggestion at a recurring event on campus, the showing of the 2015 CNN documentary, “The Hunting Ground.” … After RASA held “It’s On Us” week in solidarity with the University of Alabama last year, she fell in love with the program and its focus on bystander intervention, a prevention method Romary holds close to her heart.