UA Preview

MONDAY, FEB. 27 – SUNDAY, MARCH 5  

BEST BETS

GRISHAM, SCHOLARS, DISCUSSING MORAL SIGNIFICANCE OF HARPER LEE’S WORK – Author John Grisham will give a presentation at 12:30 p.m. March 3 at the UA School of Law, as part of a symposium on the legacy “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The nation’s foremost experts on the intersection of law and literature will also discuss the moral significance of Harper Lee’s work. The conference will explore the life and legacy of Lee, how literature can influence social change and how lawyers practice law in an unjust society. The symposium, sponsored by the Alabama Law Review, will be held 8:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. in the Bedsole Moot Court Room, room 140. For more details, contact Monique Fields, manager of communications, UA School of Law, 205/348-5195 or mfields@law.ua.edu.

STARTUP WEEKEND – The fourth Startup Weekend Tuscaloosa, a program that encourages entrepreneurial thinking among UA students and the Tuscaloosa community, will be Friday, March 3, to Sunday, March 5, at the South Engineering Research Center on campus. During the event, participants in the area gather to pitch ideas for startup firms and work with experienced coaches to validate their business models. Anyone in the community who believes he or she has product ideas or who is interested in developing new products is invited to attend. More information about Startup Weekend Tuscaloosa can be found at tuscaloosa.up.co/events. Registration is also available through the event website. Cost to attend the event for non-students is $65 and $35 for students. Food and drinks are included in the price. For details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-3782.

NEW CLASS UNCOVERS HISTORY OF LYNCHINGS IN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY – In the fall of 1933, Dennis Cross, a 50-year-old black man who was paralyzed from the waist down, was accused of sexually assaulting a white woman in Tuscaloosa. Though his need for assistance in dressing himself and getting around town shed doubt on the accusation, he was arrested for the alleged crime. But his case would never go to trial. After bailing out of the Tuscaloosa County Jail, a mob of white men dressed as police officers came to his house on Sept. 24 and dragged him from his home, shooting him more than 20 times. Cross’s lynching was the last of 10 documented lynchings of black men in the Tuscaloosa County area since 1884. As part of a new history class called “Southern Memory: Lynching in the South,” which was started at UA this fall by Dr. John Giggie,15 students have spent the semester learning about the history and stated rationale of lynching. On March 6 at 4:45 p.m., the first historical marker to memorialize the lives of the men will be erected in front of the old Tuscaloosa Jail on the corner of Sixth Street and 28th Avenue. Following the unveiling, a short program commemorating the importance of the marker will begin at 5:30 p.m. at First African Baptist Church, 2621 Stillman Blvd. For more information, contact Jamon Smith, UA media relations, at jamon.smith@ua.edu, or 205/348-4956.

GOOGLE NEWS LAB LECTURES, WORKSHOPS — UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences will host Google News Lab Reese Phifer Hall March 1 for instructional presentations and hands-on laboratory training. This event is in tandem with C&IS’ Media Day March 2, and it is sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists. Instruction includes topics related to Google Maps, Google Trends, Google Fusion, Graphics from Google, Photosphere and YouTube Live. Lectures are at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in room 216 while labs are at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. in rooms 112 and 338, respectively. For more information, contact Rand Nelson, james.nelson@ua.edu, 205/348-6416.

POLITICAL IDENTITY MORE COMPLEX THAN TRADITIONAL LABELS – One’s political identity at both ends of the continuum is shaped by geographic location, which can affect individual policy positions and influence just how liberal or conservative someone actually is, according to Dr. Alexa Tullett, UA associate professor of psychology. In a recent study published in PLOS-One, Tullett found that liberals who live in “red” states tend to lean further right on policy issues than liberals in a “blue” state, like California. Tullett surveyed 1,269 people from over 480 counties nationwide, in addition to using data from the American National Election Studies. “Anytime pollsters or scientists use somebody’s political identity as a proxy for their political views, there’s some information they’re missing,” Tullett said. “That identity is associated with different policy positions in a really red state vs. a really blue state. Also, because our country is so dichotomous in the way we treat political identity, people may exaggerate the differences between themselves and others by thinking that political categories tell you everything about people’s views on specific issues.” For more information, contact Tullett at 205/348-8648 or atullett@bama.ua.edu, or David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825 or david.c.miller@ua.edu.

TRI DELTA DONATION HELPS ESTABLISH FUND FOR STUDENTS IN NEEDA new fund for UA students facing need was recently established through the donation of a UA sorority chapter. The Tide Together Student Support Fund provides assistance to UA students in need or crisis who are identified through the University’s Office of Student Care and Well-Being. Funds may be used to purchase food, personal hygiene items, lodging, transportation, gift cards, groceries and other essentials for a student in need. It started when the executive board of the Delta Mu chapter of Delta Delta Delta set its chapter goals for the year. Contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323 or chris.bryant@ua.edu.

EVENTS

TAKE A JOURNEY IN SCIENCE  – UA’s Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering is hosting its fourth annual Take a Journey in Science program, which features lightning talks from University experts about high-interest topics in science and nursing. The goal of the program is to acquaint UA students, faculty staff and the Tuscaloosa-area community with innovative and emerging research in science, engineering and nursing. The next event in the series is “Castles Made of Sand: Sand Transport and Why it Matters” by Dr. Douglas Sherman Feb. 28. The final event is “Why do Males Exist? Can Hermaphroditic Fish Provide Us With Insight” by Dr. Ryan Earley on March 7. Both events start at 2 p.m. and end at 2:15 p.m. They will be held at Rodgers Library. For more information, contact Jamon Smith, UA media relations, 205/348-4956, or jamon.smith@ua.edu.