UA students donate meals to nonprofit
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 24
Just inside the door at Hargrove United Methodist Church, the University of Alabama students and staff were greeted with hugs Wednesday as they delivered aluminum trays of hot food for the East Tuscaloosa Community Soup Bowl’s annual Thanksgiving meal. “It helps our program. It helps our organization tremendously by doing the Thanksgiving meal each year,” said Charlie Simmons, director of East Tuscaloosa Community Soup Bowl. “It’s a good financial blessing for us.” The students brought pans of baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, fresh dinner rolls and pie prepared by Bama Dining at Lakeside Dining Hall. Wednesday was the fourth year the students provided the food for the meal through Swipe Way Hunger, a student-run drive that supports the soup bowl with donations from students’ dining accounts. “I just like the direct impact of it,” said Claire Sielaff, one of the student directors of the program.
Crimson White – Nov. 22
Beat Auburn Beat Hunger collects over 150K pounds of food
Crimson White – Nov. 28
As the annual Iron Bowl came to a close, so did Alabama’s annual six-week program Beat Auburn Beat Hunger. In a competition of collecting more canned foods than Auburn, the program at the University raised over 150,322 pounds of food by the end. Beat Auburn Beat Hunger collects cans or donations for the West Alabama Food Bank, which covers five different counties in the Tuscaloosa area. The canned foods are for underprivileged kids who do not always have meals on the weekends or even during the week. Beat Auburn Beat Hunger at the University of Alabama covered the west half of the state, and Auburn covered the east half for about a month and a half. Although the food is mainly for kids and their families, older people below the poverty line also benefit form the program. Beat Auburn Beat Hunger provides meals and time as it gives opportunity to people who are in need.
Three more to interview for provost
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 26
Interim University of Alabama Provost Kevin Whitaker is scheduled to give a public presentation on Monday as part of the campus visits for finalists in the search for a new chief academic officer. Whitaker, the second of four finalists to present, will discuss his vision for the role of executive vice president and provost at UA from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in room 1012 of North Lawn Hall. Following the presentation, there will be an hourlong reception. The university has relied on interim provosts since 2012. Whitaker was tapped in July 2015 to serve as the current interim provost.
Decatur Daily – Nov. 26
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 26 & Nov. 27
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Nov. 26
Tulsa World – Nov. 26
Herald Dispatch (Huntington, WV) – Nov. 26
WLTZ (Columbus, Ga.) – Nov. 26
Doll collection displayed in UA exhibit
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 26
A collection of dolls and accessories will be on display at the the University of Alabama’s Gorgas House Museum through Dec. 23. “We chose the doll collection because not only do many children receive toys at Christmas, but the dolls are also colorful and festive and help add to the atmosphere of our holiday decorations,” said Lydia Joffray, director of Gorgas House Museum. “I hope people can take away an appreciation for dolls in the past as well as an appreciation for the differences and likenesses of dolls from other cultures.”
Alabama News Center – Nov. 28
A pachyderm puppet: UA theater department creates life-size ‘elephant’
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 24
For years, Crimson Tide fans wished for a live elephant on campus, in and around game days, because, well, elephants are cool. But the practical requirements of humanely feeding, housing and keeping-from-going-berserking a 12-foot tall, 15,000 pound pachyderm have made visits from Big Al’s big cousins a long-shot prospect. Then the University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance techies applied themselves to the job this semester, and brought forth Titus, in the size and semblance of an African bull elephant, but bearing a considerable weight advantage, at roughly 14,920 pounds less. And Titus’s four handlers work for enjoyment, if not peanuts.
COLLEGE NEWS: November 27
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 27
University of Alabama: Ian Brown, professor and chair of the department of anthropology at the University of Alabama, was recently elected to The Society of Antiquaries of London, the oldest and most prestigious association for antiquarian studies in the world.
This Kid Got into All the Ivies, but He’s Going to the University of Alabama
Teen Vogue – Nov. 28
Ronald Nelson received admission to all of the Ivy Leagues, a newsworthy accomplishment in and of itself, though Ronald is making headlines, because he’s decided to attend the University of Alabama. In addition to rejecting offers from all eight Ivies, Ronald turned down letters of admission from such schools as Stanford, New York University, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, and Washington University in St. Louis. Instead, he will be going to the University of Alabama, where he’s been given a full ride and admission into the honors program. “It took a lot of soul searching for me to push that first ‘accept’ button for Alabama,” Ronald told reporters. “Of course there’s a bit of uncertainty.”
Alabama Senior Day Surprise
WPSD-NBC (Paducah, Ken.) – Nov. 27
During Saturday’s Iron Bowl all of the seniors on The University of Alabama’s football team were honored during the game. It is a special event for any college football player, but to was even more special for walk-on running back Lawrence Erekosima. He was surprised by his mother who travels all the way for Kuwait to be on hand to honor her son. She is a 12 year Army Veteran who is currently stationed in Kuwait. She received special permission to travel back to Alabama for that occasion.
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 27
Montgomery Advertiser – Nov. 27
Washington Post – Nov. 27
Crimson White –Nov. 28
Dothan Eagle – Nov. 27
The difference between ‘alt-right’ and ‘neo-Nazi’, explained
USA Today – Nov. 23
If you’ve even been following the news a little bit over the past few weeks, you should have encountered the term alternative right, or alt-right for short. But what about these other terms that are resurfacing in the wake of the election? What’s white nationalism, and how does it differ from white supremacy? Is the alt-right and neo-Nazi movement mutually exclusive, or one in the same? … “The alt-right is a loose movement, predominantly online, and largely anonymous,” George Hawley, a political scientist at the University of Alabama, said. “There is diversity of opinion among people that describe themselves as part of the alt-right, but most of the people who are energetically pushing the movement can be described as white nationalist.”
15th Anniversary: Johnny “Mike” Spann, first American killed in Afghanistan
Legal Insurrection – Nov. 25
The first time we wrote about Johnny Micheal “Mike” Spann was in early May 2011, in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden … A day before Veterans Day, Gail Spann and her husband, Johnny Spann, saw the finished bronze for the first time in Houser Hall at the University of Alabama. “When I walk in today and saw it in its finished state, I didn’t know what else to say other than I was proud of him,” Johnny Spann said. The bust, which was cast at a foundry on the UA campus, was commissioned by the Alabama Marines Foundation. It was sculpted by Tuscaloosa-based artist Caleb O’Connor and retired Marine Col. Lee Busby.
UA and Auburn Black Alumni Associations get together for supply drive
WBRC-Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 25 & 26
It may be a big rivalry this week, but the University of Alabama and Auburn University Black Alumni Associations got together for a donation and supply drive. All proceeds go to Children’s Village, which provides care for neglected and abused children ages 6 through 17.
Stephen Bannon is not a white supremacist, and the media helps racists by saying he is
Rare – Nov. 23
The media is really confusing the hell out of everyone right now. So many pundits keep saying Donald Trump’s Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon is a white nationalist or white supremacist. On television, this rhetoric is interspersed with a video of less than 200 white guys cheering a racist speaker, with a few even doing Nazi salutes … George Hawley is a political science professor at the University of Alabama who is currently writing a book on the alt-right. In an interview with the Washington Post, he makes an important distinction between the movement and figures like Bannon that so many seem to be missing. Hawley describes the alt-right as “a predominantly an online phenomenon, and amorphous and somewhat diverse in terms of what the people who associate with the movement want, but really the core of the alt-right is white nationalism — or, at least, white identity politics.”
Thankful for More Solar in Alabama
CleanEnergy.org – Nov. 27
While the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has been retiring old coal plants or investing in expensive pollution controls to keep other coal plants operational, it has primarily focused on replacing any lost generation capacity with its preferred version of “clean energy” – nuclear and natural gas … In June 2015, the University of Alabama released a study that estimated the River Bend project would result in significant economic benefits to the region in the form of $52 million in local taxes, $468,000 in sales taxes, $51.5 million in property taxes and $145.8 million in output (including $84.8 million contribution to GDP). Recently, company officials have said that the local school system will receive $9 million in taxes over the 20-year life of the PPA.
The alt-right is starting to feel ‘bamboozled’ by Trump
The Villages Sun Times – Nov. 26
His campaign released a statement yesterday saying that Trump “continued to denounce racism of any kind and he was elected because he will be a leader for every American”. Segal referred to Trump’s weekend tweets criticizing the cast of the Broadway show “Hamilton” when Vice President-elect Mike Pence attended … The alt-right is composed mainly of white male millennials with a college education, according to according to George Hawley, a political scientist at the University of Alabama, who is writing a book about the alt-right movement. Now that should concern everyone if you look at the headlines of the stories that Brietbart published because they are all stories that are anti-women, anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-black, anti-immigrant, anti-affirmative action.
Viewpoint: We should learn to laugh at clowns again
USA Today – Nov. 25
If you step into my father’s closet, behind the button-down shirts and striped ties, you’ll find a ratty old suit with oversized shoes, a bowler hat covered with stickers and a daisy sticking out of the top, and a bag filled with balloons, magic tricks and makeup. If you step into my apartment, behind the mountain of unwashed laundry and unread textbooks, you’ll find a unicycle, a set of juggling pins and yet another bowler hat/makeup bag. If you step out onto the street dressed as a clown, you’ll find children screaming as their moms shuffle them away…and these days, you might get stabbed. (This story written by Luke Haynes originally appeared in The Crimson White, the student newspaper of the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa.)
Trump insists Bannon has no allegiance to alt-right
Celeb Café – Nov. 26
“Certainly not after Richard Spencer saying ‘Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!’ and people in the audience doing the nazi salute”, one post read. The alt-right is composed mainly of white male millennials with a college education, according to according to George Hawley, a political scientist at the University of Alabama, who is writing a book about the alt-right movement. As Donald Trump continues to assemble an incoming White House administration that includes men who have been repeatedly described as “White nationalists” and “racists”, one of his most disliked appointees is speaking out to say he welcomes the backlash with open arms.
Take precautions for leftovers
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 23
Thanksgiving Day means lots and lots of food. For most families there are plenty of leftovers to last a few days. University of Alabama Dietitian Sheena Gregg says certain precautions need to be taken before enjoying those leftovers.
Two Brothers – One goes to Auburn, the other to UA
WTVM-ABC (Columbus, Ga.) – Nov. 25
Blake and Jack Fabiani are your typical brothers. They argue over things from video games to who gets the last slice of pizza. But in the last few months, the brothers have had something new to argue about; football. The two brothers now attend rival schools. Blake is a senior at Auburn University and Jack is a freshman at the University of Alabama. So this sibling rivalry has upgraded to the Iron Bowl. However, the story of these two brothers goes far beyond that of a football field.
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – Nov. 25
University fashion students compete in Student Design League contest
Auburn Plainsman – Nov. 23
The Student Design League was created at Auburn in Aug. 2015 as a partnership between the Department of Consumer and Design Sciences in the University’s College of Human Sciences and Robin Ruth, a leading fashion brand for travelers and tourists. The voting period on this year’s designs began Nov. 14 and ended Nov. 20. The winner will be announced Dec. 1. The five other schools participating in the contest include Florida State University, University of Alabama, University of Arkansas, University of Tennessee and West Virginia University. Each school has five entries.
Bama alums travel 6,381 miles for Iron Bowl
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Nov. 25
Since the Iron Bowl is an in-state rivalry, most fans don’t have to travel too far to get to the game. For one group of friends, however; getting to Tuscaloosa would mean traveling for 38 straight hours. They call themselves the Cyprus Alumni Association. “There was a time in the late 90’s when about 20 people from Cyprus were going to school in Alabama,” said Stavros Michaelides, a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama. This group of friends became die-hard Alabama fans during their time at the Capstone. So much so that they’ve continued the tradition of gathering for games and tailgating in Cyprus.