University of Alabama Offers Free Books to Schools
Associated Press – Feb. 10
The University of Alabama is continuing a book initiative to help out schools and communities in need. The Selma Times-Journal reports the Book Bonanza will provide over $12,000 of book donations for school libraries throughout Alabama’s Black Belt region that are struggling financially. In addition, one other school from an economically disadvantaged area will receive books.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Feb. 10
WRBL-CBS (Columbus, Georgia) – Feb. 10
WTVM-ABC (Columbus, Georgia) – Feb. 11
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 11
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 11
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 11
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Feb. 10
West Plains Daily Quill (Missouri) – Feb. 10
Bristol Herald Courier (Virginia) – Feb. 10
Modesto Bee (California) – Feb. 10
Bradenton Herald (Florida) – Feb. 10
Idaho Statesman – Feb. 10
Merced Sun-Star (California) – Feb. 10
The Olympian (Washington) – Feb. 10
Bellingham Herald (Washington) – Feb. 10
Washington Times – Feb. 10
Kentucky.com – Feb. 10
Fresno Bee (California) – Feb. 10
Biloxi Sun Herald (Mississippi) – Feb. 10
Kansas City Star (Missouri) – Feb. 10
Island Packet (South Carolina) – Feb. 10
Anticipation runs high for trailblazing ‘Black Panther’ film
Ohio.com – Feb. 9
Ask any fan of the comic book character Black Panther, who made his cinematic debut in Captain America: Civil War, how they feel about the Feb. 16 release of a film devoted solely to that character, and familiar words likely tumble forward … Stacy Morgan, an associate professor who lectures on and researches popular culture at the University of Alabama, said in terms of diversity in casting and storytelling, Hollywood still lags, disappointingly. Therefore, he’s not surprised by the enthusiasm the film is generating among blacks.
Researchers Discuss How To Prevent Mass Shootings
90.5 WESA (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) – Feb. 9
At Friday’s symposium “Responsible Reporting of Gun Violence” at the University of Pittsburgh, researchers discussed how to prevent mass shootings. Russell Palarea, an operational psychologist who works in Bethesda, Maryland, works to thwart intentional and targeted acts of violence. He said that it’s a myth that people snap and then commit mass violence. Some people carry out mass shootings not due to a grievance, but because they crave attention. Criminologist Adam Lankford of the University of Alabama said these murderers know media coverage of them will be negative and they still find it validating.
UA, Naval Observatory partnership to improve precise timing education
Alabama News Center – Feb. 10
The University of Alabama has partnered with the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) to train UA students in precise timing and time interval technology, which is used in highly precise atomic clocks on which the military, financial sector, GPS satellites and power grids rely.
It might surprise you who else holds tobacco stock
Al.com – Feb. 12
Earlier this month, Dt. Brenda Fletcher, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation’s health watchdog, resigned after the muckraking publication Politico reported that she had purchased shares in a tobacco company shortly after taking over the reins at the CDC in July. (By Alan Blum, MD, professor and Gerald Leon Wallace, MD, Endowed Chair in Family Medicine Director, The University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, Department of Family Medicine University of Alabama School of Medicine)
‘Like we descended from Hitler’: Coming to terms with a slave-trading past
Fredricksburg.com (Virginia) – Feb. 11
The family secret lurked in the background as the cousins grew up in Maine, Maryland and Tennessee. Something about the Southern ancestors, back in the Civil War days, that most of the adults wouldn’t talk about, although those who married into the family would occasionally give hints … They were also some of the richest men in the United States, said Joshua Rothman, a University of Alabama historian who is writing a book about Franklin and Armfield. At the time of his death in 1846, Franklin owned more than 600 slaves and was worth the equivalent of $40 million in today’s currency.
Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer (Kentucky) – Feb. 11
UA starts Music and Memory Program at Capstone Village
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 9
Sixteen residents of Capstone Village at the University of Alabama participate in Music & Memory. This nonprofit organization helps those with Alzheimer’s and dementia to listen to music that will help them improve their quality of life. They use technology such as iPods and bluetooth players. And soon, waterproof speakers will be added to the shower and bath areas. Sarah Loper says, when a person listens to their favorite song, it helps bring back memories and emotions from their past.
Kiss goodbye to the romance of the roaring log fire
The Irish Times (Ireland) – Feb. 10
New building regulations introduced in 2014 have effectively banned the open fire from newly built homes in an attempt to comply with European Union energy performance and building directives, which aim to have zero-energy buildings by 2020 … According to a study by anthropologist Christopher Lynn of The University of Alabama, published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology, the love of the hearth is deeply ingrained in the human psyche and born out of evolution.
UA Business Students to offer training for veterans
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Feb. 10
More help for veterans making the often tough transition from the military back into civilian life. Priority soldier is partnering with the University of Alabama’s business school to give veterans the tools they need to find jobs. That program will offer training on computers, software, resume writing and interviewing.
Creative Campus accepting submissions for Hidden Histories
Crimson White – Feb. 11
Creative Campus is currently seeking submissions for Hidden Histories, an event to experience and celebrate stories of African-American history at The University of Alabama. The deadline to sign up is Feb. 13. The event involves an interactive scavenger hunt that brings participants’ attention to campus histories. The final performance will take place Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. in Maxwell Hall. The show will be a speakeasy event with a 1920s theme. Flapper-style costumes are encouraged but not required.
Flu wave strikes Alabama schools
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 10
A flu season that health officials call the worst since 2009 has led to a series of temporary school closures in the state, primarily in north Alabama. While the Tuscaloosa city and county systems haven’t had to take the drastic step of closing schools, administrators say there’s no doubt the flu has taken a heavy toll on classroom instruction … Marshall said he has seen more flu cases in smaller children, but teachers have also been affected. He credited tutors and volunteers from the University of Alabama in helping ease the workload placed on school staff because of the flu.
Patison earns bachelor degree from University of Alabama
Corsicana Daily Sun (Texas) – Feb. 9
Patison earns bachelor degree from University of Alabama. Dana Armstrong Patison of Frost earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Sciences Degree from The University of Alabama. UA awarded some 2,077 degrees during winter commencement Dec. 16.
Winchester Star (Virginia) – Feb. 10
Christian County Headliner (Ozark, Missouri) – Feb. 11
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Georgia) – Feb. 10
Chinese New Year celebration held at UA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 10
Tonight marks the Chinese New Year, and even Alabama is getting in the new year spirit. The Ferguson Student Center hosted a Chinese New Year party. There was singing, dancing and more for all to enjoy. The event brought a lot of people together all to celebrate Chinese culture.
Dean’s List for Feb. 10
The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania) – Feb. 9
The following student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy has been named to the Dean’s High Honor List: Yannis Koukounas of Mechanicsburg … The following students from the University of Alabama have been named to the Dean’s List: Tyler Sassano of Camp Hill, Dalton Asper of Mechanicsburg, Navy Sheaffer of Mechanicsburg
Freestone County Times (Texas) – Feb. 9
Jackson Progress-Argus (Georgia) – Feb. 9
Lexington Dispatch (North Carolina) – Feb. 9
Roanoke.com (Virginia) – Feb. 9
Daily Journal (Franklin, Indiana) – Feb. 9
Herald Times Online (Bloomington, Indiana) – Feb. 10
Tewksbury Today (Massachusetts) – Feb. 10
Commercial Dispatch (Mississippi) – Feb. 10
GoDanRiver.com (Danville, Virginia) – Feb. 11
Daily Times (Maryville, Tennessee) – Feb. 11
Dalton Daily Citizen-News (Georgia) – Feb. 11
Bozeman Daily Chronicle (Montana) – Feb. 11
North Platte Telegraph (Nebraska) – Feb. 11
Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pennsylvania) – Feb. 11
Herald Bulletin (Anderson, Indiana) – Feb. 11
Holland Sentinel (Michigan) – Feb. 11
UA hosts Alabama Scholastic Press Association Annual State Convention
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 9
Hundreds of middle and high-schoolers visited the University of Alabama campus today for the Alabama Scholastic Press Association’s annual state convention. Students participated in on-sight competitions in news writing, broadcast, literary magazine, and yearbook. Some came over here to the DMC to try their hand at anchoring.
UA Jewish Hillel Center expanding due to increase in Jewish students
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 9
The Jewish Hillel center at the University of Alabama broke ground to their expansion of the center this past week. The Bloom Hillel director, Lisa Besnoy, said it’s because more Jewish students are accepting their admission to the University of Alabama. Within the past 5 years the University of Alabama enrollment numbers have grown and that includes the Jewish population, to the point now that their Jewish center has to expand by 50 percent.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 11
Orchestra, opera team up for Valentine’s show
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 12
As symbols of love, diamonds display facets. Like life, they derive from carbon, trapped under extreme heat and pressure, but once stabilized — metastabilized, in fact — to equilibrium, they’re among the toughest substances in the world … John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” also being performed in Monday night’s collaboration between the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra and the University of Alabama Opera Theatre.
Journalist discusses covering hate crimes, white supremacy
Crimson White – Feb. 11
Ken Schwencke, a journalist and news applications developer for ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom founded in 2007, gave a presentation to about 65 people entitled “Covering Hate in a Divided Nation” on Feb. 8. “It’s the first major collaborative event of Communication and Information Sciences organizations,” said Christina Ausley, president of Society of Professional Journalists.