Autistic Student Thrives at Claremont McKenna College
My News LA – May 17
Bruno Youn’s mother remembers her reaction when she discovered her son had autism, when he was 3. “I could not cope with the idea,” Josette Thompson, a Seal Beach physician, told the Los Angeles Times. Never talk. Never have a job. Never get married. You lose all those dreams for your child at once. I couldn’t go there.” …Among those without intellectual disabilities, only about half pursue college, with most attending community colleges and having difficulty transferring to four-year universities, said Susan White, a University of Alabama psychology professor who specializes in studying autism.
MSN.com – May 18
University of Alabama to build new Tutwiler Hall for first-year women
The McMorrow Reports – May 17
The University of Alabama’s Board of Trustees approved the designs for the new Tutwiler Hall. The residence hall will provide a unique living experience for first-year female students at the Capstone. “The new Tutwiler Hall will be a great addition to our campus,” said Dr. Steven Hood, associate vice president of student life at UA. “Anchoring the south side of campus, the 1,284-bed facility will provide students with a safe and secure housing option with everything they will need to be successful UA students.”
Locals vie for 2019 Miss Mississippi title
Meridian Star – May 17
Meridian’s Holly Brand and Philadelphia residents Anna Bowen, Macken’z Smith and Abby Claire Stokes are 45 Mississippi women vying for this year’s overall title of Miss Mississippi … Holly Brand, Miss Belle of the Bayou – Platform: Bridging the Gap Between the Police and the Policed; Talent: Vocal; College: The University of Alabama.
The media barely covers mosques set on fire
New Britain Herald – May 19
Less than a month after the inauguration of President Donald Trump and just a few hours after the first Muslim ban was issued, a mosque in Victoria, Texas, was set on fire – to be followed by several mosque arsons over the ensuing years … According to researchers at Georgia State University and the University of Alabama, terrorist attacks by Muslims receive an average of 357 percent more media coverage than those by other groups. And their places of worship are even more meaningless than their lives.
The Salt Lake Tribune – May 19
Appomattox exhibit focuses on experiences of newly freed slaves
The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Virginia) – May 18
A simple silhouette, belonging to a former slave named Fannie Berry, is among the recurring motifs in The American Civil War Museum at Appomattox’s latest exhibit, “Enacting Freedom: Black Virginians in the Age of Emancipation.” … The exhibition opened in April during commemoration activities for Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender in Appomattox, and a related lecture, given by the University of Alabama’s Hilary Green about African-American education after the Civil War, will be held at the museum Thursday.
State, local unemployment continued falling in April
Anniston Star – May 17
The unemployment rate in Calhoun Country dropped to 4 percent in April, down from 4.2 percent in the same time last year, according to a report released Friday by the Alabama Department of Labor … Ahmad Ijaz, the executive director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama said if the economy remains the way it is now, he expects the statewide unemployment rate could drop as low as 3.5 percent by the end of the year.
This Forsyth County mother-son duo earned their business degrees together
The Forsyth County News – May 17
Lisa and Russell Hewitt could feel other students staring at them as they sat in class. “People were looking at us like, ‘does that guy have his mom with him?’” Lisa said. Yes, he sure did … On May 4, both Lisa and Russell received their undergraduate business degrees from Alabama. Russell took the traditional four-year route immediately after high school. Lisa began courses in 2017 after leaving college to start her working career in 1987.
LEND A HAND: Class brings leaders together to help community
Tuscaloosa News – May 18
Forty-three members of the 2018-19 class of Leadership Tuscaloosa, a nine-month leadership development program, graduated at a ceremony held May 9 at the Cypress Inn Pavilion … Class members for 2018-19 are: Shannon Biddlecome, Broadway Pizza; Terri Boman, the University of Alabama.
Tropical storm to category 5: Hurricane Michael shows storms can strengthen with deadly speed
Florida Today – May 17
Warning: All four of the deadly Category 5 hurricanes to ever strike the continental U.S. were merely tropical storms three days from landfall, swirling offshore at sea … Laura Myers is a senior research scientist at the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety. Though Michael intensified rapidly, she said the culture of Florida’s Panhandle lulled residents into a false sense of security.
Cordova educator earns Excellence in Teaching Award
Daily Mountain Eagle – May 18
One Cordova High School teacher has been recognized for making a difference in the lives of children. Cordova High science instructor Nicholas Sourvelis received an Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Alabama’s Office of Research on Teaching in the Disciplines. The award recognizes Alabama teachers in preschool through 12th grade who foster “excellence in their classes,” according to the University of Alabama’s website.
Joyce Vance comments on anti-abortion laws – Live interview
MSNBC (National) – May 18
Joining us now, the vice president for reproductive rights and health at the National Women’s Law Center. And former U.S. Attorney and professor at the University of Alabama School of Law … reading your article, Joyce, in the Washington Post, and you’re saying what many are saying.
York College students bring home to Queens its first-ever prize-winning trophy from NASA Robotics Competition
QNS – May 17
Though they didn’t advance to the qualifying round in the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, the York College Astrobotics Program in Jamaica brought home their first-ever trophy for the “smallest and most efficient bot.” … Members of the York College Astrobotic Research and Design Program traveled to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for the Robotic Mining Challenge held May 6-10.
Local students prove video gaming is a sport
Rocket City Now – May 18
Grissom High Schoolers are proving that video gaming is a sport. Two teams from Grissom High School placed first and second in the state’s first ever Esports finals … The University of Alabama and Auburn University both have Esports clubs, and students can get scholarships for competing.