University of Alabama honors social work professionals
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 28
The former director of the Alabama Department of Youth Services and one of the leaders of the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program were honored as part of the induction of the 2016 class into the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame at the University of Alabama. James Dupree Jr., a former executive director of Alabama Department of Youth Services, Gayle Lees Sandlin, former director of social work for the Alabama Department of Public Health, and the late Charlotte Smitherman Hamner, program supervisor for social work in psychiatry at the Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center, were recognized during a luncheon on Oct. 14. The hall of fame was founded by the Social Work Society at UA’s School of Social Work to recognize the accomplishments of some of the state’s most distinguished leaders in the field of social work.
THE PORT RAIL: Will the real Moses stand up, please?
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 29
Those of us with a few years behind us know that Moses was of course Charlton Heston. Spartacus, the Roman slave, was not Russell Crowe but Kirk Douglas. And the movie Exodus starred a youngish guy named Paul Newman, who was Jewish. The girls loved Newman since he was a good-looking dude. The older girls reading this column will know what I mean. I mention some of the above because I teach history and often allude to figures from the past. However, my allusions to anything more than 15 or 20 years ago in a class of university or college students stands little chance of being understood. (Larry Clayton is a retired University of Alabama history professor. Readers can email him at larryclayton7@gmail.com.)
COLLEGE NEWS: October 30
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 30
University of Alabama: Meredith C. Cummings of ASPA-University of Alabama has been awarded a Master Journalism Educator status from the Journalism Education Association. Cummings will be honored on Nov. 12 at the fall JEA/NSPA national convention in Indianapolis, Ind. Journalism certification recognizes teachers who meet national standards of preparation to teach high school journalism classes and advise student media. The MJE status is JEA’s highest level of certification. There are currently 179 Master Journalism Educators.
Wheelchair tennis a love game for many
Houston Chronicle (Texas) – Oct. 30
One evening back in 2001, Jose Arriaga was driving back from a soccer game with his buddies, about to have people over for barbecue. They got into a wreck on their way home that left five of the seven riders dead. Arriaga survived but was paralyzed from the chest down, at age 20. Recovery was long and painful. As he got stronger, Arriaga started trying other sports – baseball, rugby, hockey. Tennis, though, was the one that stuck. “It’s like therapy,” says Arriaga, who has sparkling eyes and a quick smile. “The more I practice and practice, I found that I had the spirit to do tennis. Now I can do nothing without tennis.” … Taking Houston’s wheelchair tennis game to the next level, however, won’t happen on its own. The largest collegiate programs are at the University of Alabama and the University of Arizona. Fielding a competitive college team would require more resources than the UH program currently has at its disposal.
Haunting at the Museum
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 28
A good ghost story is always good on Halloween, and you can hear some of the very best at the Alabama Museum of Natural History on the University of Alabama campus, Saturday, October 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. Haunting at the Museum is free. You can enjoy guided candlelit ghost walks around the quad, children’s activities, a a scavenger hunt and of course, those ghost stories.
Why Don’t Galaxies Just Pass Through Each Other Instead Of Colliding?
Forbes – Oct. 30
When two galaxies collide they eventually coalesce to form a single (larger) galaxy. By far most of the mass of a galaxy is Dark Matter which feels no friction and suffers not from collisions. Why then do not the dark matter components of the galaxies simply pass through each other and continue going? To suggest that the movement of these dark components is simply governed by the behavior of the visible portions seem to be like the tail wagging the dog … NGC 6621/2 (VV 247, Arp 81) is a strongly interacting pair of galaxies, seen about 100 million years after their closest approach. It consists of NGC 6621 (to the left) and NGC 6622 (to the right). NGC 6621 is the larger of the two, and is a very disturbed spiral galaxy. The encounter has pulled a long tail out of NGC 6621 that has now wrapped behind its body. Image credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and W. Keel (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa).
You Have to See Inside This $13 Million Dollar Sorority House
True Viral News – Oct. 29
Hey, remember your Freshman year dorm and how the walls were caked with an undefinable funk and how you you had to share a mini-fridge with three strangers and how your entire floor smelled of farts? Well, keep all that in mind and check out the brand-new $13 million Phi Mu sorority house at the University of Alabama and just cry and cry forever. It’s a mansion that would be at home in Scream Queens and I’ll never live some place so nice in my entire life. BRB, going to cry into my ramen if I can get my microwave to work.
5K will raise money for charities
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 28
A week of celebrating veterans in Tuscaloosa will kick off with the inaugural Tuscaloosa Run for Veterans 5K. The event, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama’s Veterans Affairs Committee, will be held on Nov. 5 at Government Plaza downtown. Registration begins at 7 a.m. and is $25, which includes a T-shirt. The 5K begins at 8 a.m. For more information, email Alex Bynum at akbynum@sa.ua.edu. “Our event is designed to raise money to support local (veterans) charities,” including Tuscaloosa Veterans Memorial Park, the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Homeless Shelter and the University of Alabama/Shelton State Community College Emergency Relief Fund that provides assistance to student veterans in dire financial need, said Al Spencer, chamber vice president of economic development and public policy.
Celebs, Alums Featured In New Crimson Tide Campaign
Media Post – Oct. 28
University of Alabama’s (UA) football team is currently the top team in the country and the University is using this visibility to launch its first national advertising campaign. Developed with RSQ, the “Where Legends Are Made” brings back established alumni both in front and behind the camera.
Voters in south Alabama to decide if golf carts are street legal
AL.com – Oct. 31
But golf carts have found a legion of new fans among senior citizens, who appreciate their convenience and easy handling, and prefer to take them on errands and short trips rather than cars. Alabama is expected to see an explosive growth of its senior citizen population through 2040, according to a 2015 study by the University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research. Baldwin County is projected to see its senior citizen population balloon 157.3 percent from 2010-40, which would make it the fifth-fastest county in the state for growth for seniors.