Rise in U.S. Traffic Deaths Reported for a Second Year
New York Times – Feb. 15
After years of steady progress making highways safer, auto-safety advocates are voicing alarm over a surge in traffic fatalities and fears that the deadly trend is strengthening. Last year, traffic deaths increased 6 percent to 40,200, according to preliminary estimates released on Wednesday by the National Safety Council, a nonprofit organization that works closely with federal safety agencies. In Alabama, for example, steady budget cuts have resulted in a decline in the number of troopers patrolling the state’s 103,000 miles of highways. David Brown, a research associate at the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety, studied the state’s 2016 traffic fatality reports and found an increase in fatalities involving high-speed crashes. “Total crashes were up less than 5 percent but fatalities were up 25 percent,” he said in an interview.
The Alabamafication of America
Harvard Political Review – Feb. 15
The 2016 presidential election looked, more than anything else, like an Alabama election. Donald Trump’s relentless appeals to populist conservative ideas echo decades-long trends in the South. The current worries about Trump’s irresponsible governing style are similar to concerns Alabama commentators have been expressing about their often-demagogic leaders since before the 1940s. To understand the Trump administration, in which Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions will likely serve as attorney general, we should look to Alabama, and the reasons why the state government is teetering toward collapse. . . . Moore’s flagrant disregard for court rulings is not unique in Alabama. According to Richard Fording, professor of political science at the University of Alabama, “Moore follows a tradition of defiance” to federal authority that has thrived in Alabama since the Civil War, reaching a climax when Wallace barred the doors to the University of Alabama after the Brown v. Board of Education case. Alabamians elected Moore back into office even after he was removed from the bench for ethics violations because, as Fording told the HPR, “it is politically profitable to get kicked out of office in this state.”
UA to host discussion of teen violence, social media
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 14
The University of Alabama on Thursday will host a community discussion about teen violence and social media. Desmond Patton, assistant professor of social work at Columbia University, will lead “Teen Talk and Tweeting with Dr. Patton” from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday in the Rast Room of the Bryant Conference Center, 240 Paul W. Bryant Drive at UA. Patton has studied the links between social media and offline community violence, particularly in young black people who live in urban areas. Patton has discussed his research in academic and social work settings, and his work has been featured in such national news outlets as NPR and USA Today.
UA student makes miraculous recovery
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Feb. 14
A University of Alabama college student’s decision to slide in the mud left him paralyzed, but what happened next he is calling a miracle. Dylan Gada says his neck injury gave him a new lease on life. Gada made a decision on a rainy Saturday in November over a year ago, just before the Bama-LSU game to follow his friends in making a slip-n-slide out of the mud on the Quad.
Construction underway on innovative Adapted Athletics Facility
Crimson White – Feb. 14
Although the official ground-breaking ceremony for the new $10 million UA Adopted Athletics Facility is not scheduled to take place until Feb. 23, preliminary construction has already started on the new cutting-edge facility. The two-story building is being constructed along the south end of the UA Rec Center, to the east of the building’s main entrance. The entrance to the UA Rec Center parking lot closest to the south side of the building has been blocked off due to the construction.
Is law against texting and driving really working?
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – Feb. 14
These cities don’t break out numbers just based on distracted driving as the cause, but the Center for Advanced Public Safety at The University of Alabama does. Here’s what they found. You can see the number of distracted driving accidents actually dropped sightly in the first full calendar year after the ban, but it’s jumped every year since. But State stat keepers warn that these numbers are really telling us how big the problem is.
Researchers say immigration does not influence upticks in crime rate
North County Public Radio – Feb. 14
Amidst the debate about immigration in the U.S., a recently-published report prepared by several research partners, including one from the University at Buffalo, challenges the claims the immigrant are driving the crime rate higher. Researchers gathered and studied federal records from a four-decade span … Adelman’s partners include colleagues from the University of Alabama, Kennesaw State, Georgia State and an independent scholar.
Audio Boom – Feb. 14
YubaNet – Feb. 14
UA students revive Hepburn classic
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 14
Imagine marrying out of raging passion, then divorcing out of tempestuous anger. Fast-forward two years and you’re getting ready for a second big day. Your ex-husband shows up, out of the blue, with an attractive stranger. Now you find yourself torn between three men: What do you do? That’s what Philadelphia socialite Tracy Lord must deal with the weekend of her second wedding, in the University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance presentation of Phillip Barry’s comedy “The Philadelphia Story.”
Community briefs: Athletic ball donation drive benefits Power Cross
Statesville.com (North Carolina) – Feb. 14
Several local students recently received academic honors at the University of Alabama for the fall semester. Connor Fasel of Statesville and Rachel Cochrane of Mooresville were named to the president’s list. Caroline Watt of Statesville; Vincent Arriviello, Megan Moloney and Caten Murphy, all of Mooresville; and Me-Shell Looney of Troutman were named to the dean’s list.
Honors: University of Alabama academic achievement list
The Source (Clinton Township, Michigan) – Feb. 15
Several local students were named to the dean’s list or president’s list for the fall 2016 semester at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. To be eligible for the dean’s list, students must have an academic record of 3.5 or higher. Students named to the dean’s list are Travis Cole, Tristan Lupinski, Trevor Macks, Evan Phillips, Colleen McCarthy and Erika Schemmel, all of Shelby Township; Stephanie Baranski of Sterling Heights; and Madeline Mattice, Palmer Mattice, Samantha Schmelzer and Emily Langford, all of Washington Township.
Herald Mail Media (Hagerstown, Maryland) – Feb. 15
Students recognized for academic achievement
Rocky Mount Telegram (North Carolina) – Feb. 15
Several local students recently have been honored for scholastic achievements. The following students have been recognized: William Hardy Brewer of Rocky Mount graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor’s degree in management … Mackenzie Elisabeth Boone Nashville was named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2016 semester at the University of Alabama.
People for Feb. 15, 2017
Concord Monitor (New Hampshire) – Feb. 15
Bow – Nicholas Lulka was named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Faith in Tuscaloosa: Christianity
Crimson White – Feb. 14
Most students walk through the Quad plugged into their cell phones, music blaring. Miller Fitts represents many Christians who walk through the Quad with Jesus on their mind and an overwhelming urge to spread His word to all the students at The University of Alabama. For Christians on campus, their religion not only guides their actions but also the relationships they form with other people, too.
Long lasting love
WCTV-CBS (Tallahassee, Florida) – Feb. 14
We caught up with one couple that has been together for 54 years. They shared with us their secret on why their love has lasted so long. The couple met going to school at The University of Alabama.