Series of Black History Month events begin at University of Alabama’s law school
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 7
During Black History Month, the nation pauses to reflect on the contributions made by African Americans. Tuesday afternoon, a group of law students at the University of Alabama marked the occasion with an event called “Challenges in Education from Preschool to Graduate School”. The students participated in a roundtable at the university’s law school with a professor discussing issues that face people of color today.
Bumble bees are changing, and this UA professor asks why
Al.com – Feb. 8
When reporting on Dr. Jeffrey Lozier, the University of Alabama’s bumble bee expert, it’s best to get the No. 1 myth out of the way up front. No, it’s not a miracle that bumble bees can fly, Lozier said last week. Yes, some people think it is because they look like black and yellow tanks with tiny wings. “They’re not fixed-wing aircraft,” Lozier observed. “They’re quite good at it,” he said of bumble bee flight. They can even do acrobatics. Yes, they “do have challenges” flying, but they have “lots of ways to deal with them.”
Does Immigration Lead To A Rise In Crime? Study Doesn’t Back Up Anti-Immigrant Claims
International Business Times – Feb. 7
President Donald Trump has long used security and safety as reasons to tighten immigration laws and border security. However a new report cast serious doubt to claims saying a rise in immigrants leads to a rise in crime. If fact, it might do the exact opposite. According to Scientific American, Robert Adelmen of the University of Buffalo and Lesley Reid of the University of Alabama recently analyzed crime and census data in 200 metropolis’ from 1970-2010 to discover if increased immigration led to more crime.
Antebellum Slave Tax has Lingering Effect in Alabama
Diverse – Feb. 7
In the late spring or early summer of 1822, a man named Bolling Hall made a list of all his property before taking it to the Autauga County assessor and paying his taxes. On the left side of a piece of parchment, Hall listed hundreds of acres of land he’d acquired since leaving Georgia four years before. He would pay between $2 and $8 an acre on it. He listed a gold watch, as well as a coach, which he valued at $250. The state would collect about $2.50 on it … “The slave tax in a weird way was a stabilizer,” said Susan Pace Hamill, a University of Alabama professor and expert on state taxation. “It was a bad stabilizer — the whole system of slavery was a bad stabilizer. A shameful stabilizer.”
UA Facility aids pre-K-12 special needs students
Crimson White – Feb. 7
Hidden in the boughs off of Veterans’ Memorial Parkway, the Brewer Porch Children’s Center rests on an unassuming 60-acre plot of land. Within its walls, children from all over the state live and learn, working with professionals to overcome behavioral and learning dysfunction. “Our mission is to provide educational and behavioral health services to children across the state of Alabama in need,” said Rick Gray, who has been the executive director of the center for two years.
Alabama Wind Ensemble concert inspires future students
Crimson White – Feb. 8
On Saturday, Feb. 4, the Alabama Wind Ensemble held a concert for the 32nd Annual Honor Band Festival, an event that honors the achievements of exceptional high school music students. Conductor Randall Coleman, the associate director of bands and an associate professor of music, led the concert. The concert featured flute soloist Diane Schultz, a professor of flute. Shultz is recognized internationally for her talent. She performed “Movement I of Concerto for Flute and Wind Orchestra.” The performance also featured guest conductor Eugene Migliaro Corporon from the University of North Texas, who conducted the piece, “La Procession du Rocio.” Corporon’s prestige followed him to Tuscaloosa. First-year graduate student and trumpet player Joey Glaeser referred to him as the “Tom Brady of Wind Conducting.” “Watching him work with the high school students who attended our honor band event was inspirational and helped to reaffirm my dedication to what I’m doing,” Glaeser said.
Contemporary Art Scholar to Speak at UA
Crimson White – Feb. 8
From Feb. 9-10, the University’s Department of Art and Art History will sponsor two lectures by contemporary art curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi as a part of the department’s Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecture Series. Educated at Georgia State University and at the University of London, Al-Khudhairi has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, South Korea, the U.S., the U.K. and her home country of Iraq. She specializes in modern and contemporary art of the Middle East. Al-Khudhairi has worked for the High Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and currently serves as the Birmingham Museum of Art’s curator of modern and contemporary art.
Commentary: Sexual assault ‘survivors who are out there, including myself, need you’
Iowa State Daily – Feb. 8
I became an advocate for sexual assault education and prevention in a rather unconventional way. For the last decade of my life, once or twice a year, I’ve stepped foot onstage in pretty gowns and twirled batons and answered questions in front of hundreds of people. You guessed it: pageant queen. I used to love performing the most, and don’t get me wrong, it still is the greatest, most exhilarating thing I’ve done in this lifetime. But now my passions have shifted; my favorite part is the reason why I compete. (Maggie Gehlsen, Miss Iowa Pageant contestant and student at The University of Alabama)
Business owners are optimistic about 2017
Dothan Eagle – Feb. 7
Atlanta Bread Company owner Matt Howell summed up the thoughts of many business owners who beat the rain Tuesday to showcase their products and services at the Dothan Civic Center. “Business is good. It’s better. I don’t really know for sure why. For some reason, I think people just feel better about spending money,” Howell said … That appears to be supported by a quarterly business confidence survey conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. According to the most recent survey, businesses were more confident about economic growth at the national and state level than they were in the last quarter of 2016.
Gemini Explores Fading Active Galactic Nuclei ID’d by Galaxy Zoo
LatestTechnology.space – Feb. 8
William C. Keel (University of Alabama) and his collaborators used Hα narrowband filters on a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in and with multi-object spectroscopy with a Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) integral-field section (IFU) on a Gemini North telescope on Maunakea to observe a set of vanishing active galactic nuclei (AGN). These vanishing AGN, identified in a Galaxy Zoo project, seem to have gifted a poignant rebate in resplendence within 20,000 years or reduction formed on this research.
AMUG announce 2017 recipients of student and teacher scholarships
TCT Magazine – Feb. 8
The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has today announced this year’s recipients of its Guy E. Bourdeau and Randy Stevens Scholarships. Claire Belson, a chemical engineering student at the University of Alabama has received the Bourdeau Scholarship, awarded annually to one college student for additive manufacturing education and professional development.
Money News – Feb. 8
“Emperor” Brims, Mary Musgrove and Chief William McIntosh
Historical Marker Database – Feb. 8
Coweta was the home of many influential Creek leaders, including three individuals who figured prominently in the history of the Creek people; “Emperor” Brims, Mary Musgrove, Chief William McIntosh … Erected 2015 by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission, WestRock, The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.