03.21.13 The Crimosn White by The Crimson White

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Serving the University of Alabama since 1894

Vol. 119, Issue 108

END OF AN ERA

“

I cannot adequately express what the University means to me. It has been a part of my life for more than 50 years, and I feel honored to have served the Crimson Tide as a player, coach and administrator.

“

— Mal Moore

By Marquavius Burnett | Sports Editor

ymnastics head coach Sarah Patterson expected a medical update when she was called to an athletic department meeting about the status of Mal Moore Wednesday afternoon. She raced to the meeting, fearing the worst, but instead received news that would end an era dating back to the late 1970s. Moore was stepping down from his position as athletic director, a position he’s held since November 1999. Patterson, who joined the University in 1978, is one of the few people at the University who remembers Mal Moore the football coach. “I always laughed because there was a time where I said to Mal ‘the only thing we know is that you’re not going anywhere and I’m not going anywhere.’ So today, when I was told that, it’s sad in your heart for Mal,” Patterson said. “All I wish is for him and his family is that he recovers and steps back into a role where he will be very beneficial to the University.” Patterson and Moore connected on a personal level during the 1990s when Moore’s wife Charlotte developed Alzheimer’s disease and lived in the same nursing home as Patterson’s father. “Mal has helped me in a lot of ways,” Patterson said. “He’s the one that drove me to the nursing home when my dad was ill. When I would go visit my dad, I would go see Charlotte because Mal was gone coaching.” SEE MOORE PAGE 6

er • Plea s

er • Plea

Courtesy of the Bryant Museum

ecycle this p

INSIDE today’s paper

Briefs ........................2

Sports ..................... 14

Opinions ...................3

Puzzles....................23

Culture .................... 19

Classifieds .............. 23

WEATHER today

Chance of rain

57º/41º

Friday 55º/52º Chance of T-storms

cl e recy this p se

GO ON THE

ONLINE

ON THE CALENDAR TODAY

FRIDAY

What: Spanish Movie Night: “Todo sobre mi madre”

VISIT US ONLINE AT CW.UA.EDU

Presentation

Where: 120 Lloyd Hall

Where: 205 Gorgas Library

When: 6:30 p.m.

When: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

What: Building a Sustainable Future

What: Active Shooter

Where: 205 Gorgas Library When: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

What: Convocation featuring Army National Guard Band

Where: Moody Music Building Concert Hall

SATURDAY What: Suds of the South Where: Wilhagen’s When: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. What: Saturday in the Park Where: Moundville Archaelogical Park

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

When: Noon to 1 p.m. What: Men’s Basketball NIT

What: Live Team Trivia

Page 2• Thursday, March 21, 2013

Where: Wilhagen’s

What: ACT presents ‘Spamalot’

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Bama Theatre

Submit your events to

P.O. Box 870170 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Newsroom: 348-6144 | Fax: 348-8036 Advertising: 348-7845 Classiﬁeds: 348-7355

Round 2 v. Stanford

Where: Coleman Coliseum When: 11 a.m.

When: 7:30 p.m.

calendar@cw.ua.edu

EDITORIAL Will Tucker editor-in-chief editor@cw.ua.edu Ashley Chaffin managing editor Stephen Dethrage production editor Mackenzie Brown visuals editor Melissa Brown online editor

ON THE MENU BURKE

LAKESIDE LUNCH Sausage Pizza Fried Rice Handmade Eggrolls Made-to-Order Pasta Bar Fresh Garden Bar (Vegetarian)

DINNER Burrito Station Deli Station Vegetarian Lo Mein Pasta Salad Vegetable Stir-fry (Vegetarian)

LUNCH Steak Baked Potato Spiced Peach Cobbler Cream of Mushroom Soup Cheese Pizza (Vegetarian)

FRESH FOOD DINNER

BBQ Ribs Peas & Carrots Fried Okra West Indies Pineapple Salad Spiced Peach Cobbler (Vegetarian)

Adrienne Burch Chandler Wright assistant news editors newsdesk@cw.ua.edu Lauren Ferguson culture editor Marquavius Burnett sports editor John Brinkerhoff opinion editor Ashanka Kumari chief copy editor Shannon Auvil photo editor Anna Waters lead designer Whitney Hendrix lead graphic designer Alex Clark community manager

ADVERTISING Will DeShazo 348-8995 Advertising Manager cwadmanager@gmail.com Tori Hall Territory Manager 348-2598 Classified Manager 348-7355 Coleman Richards Special Projects Manager osmspecialprojects@gmail.com Natalie Selman 348-8042 Creative Services Manager Robert Clark 348-8742 Emily Diab 348-8054 Chloe Ledet 348-6153 Keenan Madden 348-2670 Camille Dishongh 348-6875 Will Whitlock 348-8735 Amy Metzler osmspecialprojects3@gmail.com Jake Morrow osmspecialprojects2@gmail.com The Crimson White is the community newspaper of The University of Alabama. The Crimson White is an editorially free newspaper produced by students. The University of Alabama cannot influence editorial decisions and editorial opinions are those of the editorial board and do not represent the official opinions of the University. Advertising offices of The Crimson White are in room 1014, Student Media Building, 414 Campus Drive East. The advertising mailing address is P.O. Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. The Crimson White (USPS 138020) is published four times weekly when classes are in session during Fall and Spring Semester except for the Monday after Spring Break and the Monday after Thanksgiving, and once a week when school is in session for the summer. Marked calendar provided. The Crimson White is provided for free up to three issues. Any other papers are $1.00. The subscription rate for The Crimson White is $125 per year. Checks should be made payable to The University of Alabama and sent to: The Crimson White Subscription Department, P.O. Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. The Crimson White is entered as periodical postage at Tuscaloosa, AL 35401. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Crimson White, P.O. Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. All material contained herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise, is Copyright © 2013 by The Crimson White and protected under the “Work Made for Hire” and “Periodical Publication” categories of the U.S. copyright laws. Material herein may not be reprinted without the expressed, written permission of The Crimson White.

LUNCH Home-style Fried Chicken Potatoes Au Gratin Black-Eyed Peas Fresh Vegetable Linguine Alfredo Chunky Potato Soup (Vegetarian)

Bryant named next editor-in-chief of The Crimson White By Adrienne Burch Assistant News Editor Mazie Bryant, a junior majoring in journalism from Montgomery, Ala., was named the next editor-inchief of The Crimson White for the 2013-2014 school year Wednesday afternoon by The University of Alabama Media Planning Board. “I am very excited and feel honored to be chosen,” Bryant said. “I look forward to improving the paper, working on our weaknesses and building up our strengths.” Chris Roberts, head of the Media Planning Board, said this year’s decision was tough.

skills, and we couldn’t have gone wrong with any choice,” Roberts said. “Mazie brought more news experience, which gave her the advantage.” Bryant began writing for The Crimson White news desk as a contributing writer in September 2011 before moving up to staff and senior staff reporter positions. Bryant served as news editor of The Crimson White for summer 2012 and assistant news editor in fall 2012. In her tenure at the news desk, she reported on gun CW | Mackenzie Brown violence, Tuscaloosa city Mazie Bryant government, mental illness and numerous other topics “We had three terrific can- relating to students and the didates with a great deal of University.

Bryant is currently studying abroad for the spring semester at Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland, while she continues to contribute columns to The Crimson White’s Opinions Page. She will intern this summer with Vanity Fair magazine in New York City. She is also a member of Chi Omega sorority. Roberts said Bryant will build on the success The Crimson White has seen over the past three years under former Editor-in-Chief Victor Luckerson and current Editor-in-Chief Will Tucker. “She will be able to reach a diverse student body and appeal to what they need to know,” he said.

In her proposal submitted to the board, Bryant said there are three distinct aspects of the publication that need to be focused on: print, online and social media. “Improving these wellestablished mediums and perfecting personnel roles within our organization will sustain our commitment in the community,” she said. Bryant said she is looking forward to finding a staff of dedicated people to run next year’s publication. “I think over the past year our staff has done an excellent job,” Bryant said. “We have run a great news organization, and I am excited about moving it forward even more.”

men’s basketball team. —University of Southern Mississippi in 2013, two former tennis coaches were cited for offering impermissible benefits, including $5,000 — and in the case of one student, a car — as well as academic misconduct, including paying one student-athlete to write papers for another. Meanwhile, the University of Kentucky refused a request by the school newspaper’s editor for correspondence between the university and its athletics staff, and between the university and the NCAA about the athletic status of freshman basketball player Nerlens Noel. The NCAA later ruled that Noel was eligible. The state attorney general’s office asked for the same information but was turned down, as well. Nonetheless, the office ruled in December that the university was right to deny the newspaper the material. “The overuse of FERPA, in ways that the sponsors never intended, to conceal information that’s just inconvenient or embarrassing, is really an epidemic,” said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, a journalism advocacy group that is not allowed to lobby. LoMonte said Congress should overhaul the privacy law and make clear that only “core academic and disciplinary records” are protected. And with the penalty for violating FERPA — withdrawal of federal funds — so extreme, schools overreact

for fear of being put out of business, he said. Higher education lawyers say the law doesn’t need to be fixed. “Only rarely does it restrict us from communicating about our students when we need to do so, and hardly ever does it compel communication about our students,” Steven McDonald, general counsel at the Rhode Island School of Design, wrote in the Chronicle of Higher Education. “It gives us considerable discretion to do what we, in our own best judgment, think should be done.” Alexandra Sollberger, a spokeswoman for the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said that it would continue to monitor the application of FERPA but that the issue was not on its immediate agenda. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a former member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a former state attorney general, said that “a new look may be worth doing” because he hears from school administrators, parents and others that they’re troubled about the law. Asked last fall about the North Carolina scandal, Rep. David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat and a former Duke University professor whose district includes UNC, said, “I think this situation has reached the point where we need to ask ourselves, is there a federal legislative approach that could be helpful?”

ON THE RADAR

Congress takes a pass – so far – on college sports scandals MCT Campus WASHINGTON — Several groups have been tapping on the door of Congress lately with a request for oversight into the often opaque, bigmoney world of college sports. But the door seems shut tight.There’s been no shortage of front-page scandals involving blue-chip collegiate athletic programs, from the Penn State child sex abuse tragedy to the University of Miami booster-gate episode, where an avid fan lavished players with cash, women and other benefits. But it’s a 16-year academic fraud case at the University of North Carolina that has crystallized concerns that a federal academic records privacy law has been used by schools as a tool to keep certain records from the public that critics believe should be kept open. “There is not a culture of transparency,” said James Sears Bryant, an attorney who was involved in a campus privacy issue related to sexual assault complaints at Oklahoma State University Sometimes the law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, known as FERPA, has been used to keep even police and state officials in the dark. At Oklahoma State, Bryant said school officials mistakenly told reporters that the law prevented them from reporting sexual assault complaints to the police. FERPA was intended to

protect student privacy, primarily grades. But educational institutions have used it to keep other kinds of records secret — including disciplinary actions after sexual assault reports, parking tickets that would show what kind of cars student-athletes are driving, and other non-educational information. North Carolina, one of the top public universities in the country that also boasts one of the premier college basketball programs, was the scene of one of the worst-ever academic scandals at an American university. The school, known as a “public Ivy,” quietly placed hundreds of students — many of them athletes — in lecture-style classes in the African studies department, which never met, and which only required of them a term paper at the end, which likely wasn’t read. The fraud began to unravel in August 2011, when McClatchy Newspapers’ The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., obtained the transcript of a football star showing a B-plus in an upper-level class before he had even begun his first full semester as a freshman. Since then, university officials have acknowledged that there have been more than 200 bogus classes in the department. A recent independent investigation found that the more than 450 unauthorized grade changes in the classes were spread among both students and student-athletes in a manner consistent with the

class enrollments. “This was not an athletic scandal,” former North Carolina Gov. Jim Martin, who headed the investigation, told the school’s board of trustees. “It was an academic scandal, which is worse.” Journalism groups say even general information, such as what classes attract large numbers of student-athletes and who teaches them, is kept secret. The Drake Group, an association of professors, has published articles seeking broad reforms in line with its mission, “to defend academic integrity in higher education from the corrosive aspects of commercialized college sports.” But there are no plans for hearings on Capitol Hill. And there’s no powerful group lobbying Congress to pay attention. “It’s like pushing a wet noodle,” said Drake member Frank Splitt, a retired electrical engineering professor, who has pressed lawmakers and published numerous articles on the need for college sports reform. “Nobody’s responding in Congress.” North Carolina’s academic fraud problem was not unique. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, which is monitoring the case, has waded into others, including: —Florida State University in 2006 and 2007, cases of cheating on tests and papers involving football, men’s basketball and other sports. —Georgia Southern University in 2010, academic fraud involving a former coach and two players on the

NEWS OPINION CULTURE SPORTS

OPINIONS

Page 3 Editor | John Brinkerhoff letters@cw.ua.edu Thursday, March 21, 2013

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

It’s time to recognize pervasive problem of HIV/AIDS in this country’s women March 10 was National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The reason we need an entire day recognizing women and girls affected by the disease is because about one in four Americans living with HIV today are women. That’s 25 percent. And women of all ages, races and ethnicities are at risk for an HIV infection. The risks become even higher when women are unaware of HIV or how to prevent it. Sadly, this may be the reason why women have such a high rate of infection – the dialogue about safe sex practices and HIV prevention is sorely lacking in many areas, especially among young women. In Alabama, classroom sexual education is not required to

be medically accurate (whenever it’s actually given, which often isn’t the case). Perhaps this is one reason why Alabama ranked 22 out of 50 in 2008 for cumulative reported AIDS cases? That’s not as high as it could be, but it’s also not as low as it could be. And shouldn’t the nationally reported AIDS cases of 1.1 million Americans be significantly lower? Shouldn’t the disease have claimed fewer lives than the 550,000 it already has claimed? If Americans, and especially women, do not gain access to information about safe sex practices and HIV prevention when they are young, it is unlikely that they will get it when they are older. This

vicious cycle continues, only because knowledge of safe sex practices is not given to youth and adults. This is only one of the reasons why young people should have the right to comprehensive, medically accurate and non-homophobic or sexist information about sex, sexuality and healthy relationships. Without comprehensive sex education, two young people every hour are infected with HIV in the United States. In addition, traditionally underrepresented populations such as people of color, low-income people, LGBTQ people, immigrants, etc. are at the highest risk for negative consequences from a lack of accurate information about sex

and sexuality. For example, women of color have high rates of some sexually transmitted infections, which can make these women more likely to be infected with HIV. HIV diagnoses in AfricanAmerican women are nearly 15 times higher than in white women, while HIV diagnoses in Hispanic and Latina women are four times higher than in white women. In Alabama, 62.6 percent of individuals affected by HIV are African-Americans, compared to the 35 percent who are white. The Real Education for Healthy Youth Act, a piece of federal legislation sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee and Senator Frank Lautenberg, will set national standards for sexual

health education young people in the U.S. need and deserve. One of the great things about the act is that it prohibits federal funds from being used for programs that deliberately withhold life-saving information about HIV. Federal funding would be provided to institutions teaching comprehensive sexual health education to adolescents and college students. Priority in funding would be given to communities with high rates of health disparities in unintended pregnancy, STIs and dating violence and sexual assault, as well as institutions of higher education that serve a large number of students of color and Pell Grant recipients. In addition to grants for

educating young people, funding would be directed to preservice and in-service teacher training for K-12 sex educators to increase effective teaching of comprehensive sexual health education. All of these measures refer to Obama’s pledge in his State of the Union address to institute and encourage policies and practices that would lead to an “AIDS-free generation.” Beyond simply recognizing National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we need to ensure that society is moving forward to create a healthier society.

Johnna Dominguez is a graduate student studying anthropology.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Reﬂection on our Civil Right’s past should inform future decisions on LGBTQ issues As The University of Alabama celebrates its 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the school, many events and celebrations regarding civil rights concerns have surfaced. While we must celebrate the steps taken, we must also look at the state of civil rights on our campus, in this state, and in the country in general. As I look at the University’s stated focus on diversity, I must also look at the Supreme Court’s upcoming hearings on California’s “Prop 8” and the “constitutionality” of the federal Defense of Marriage Act on March 26 and 27. As these cases approach, our university should watch and reflect on the importance of var-

ious civil rights issues affecting us, including marriage equality. As a student, teacher and member of the LGBTQ community, I value that it is imperative for us as an educational community to be concerned about the Court’s decisions. As a UA student, it is crucial for me to pursue greater truths and to interrogate the facets of our society at large. As a UA teacher, my goal is to promote a classroom that focuses on individual ideals as well as building community. As an American, I have been taught in school to believe in and value justice and equality. As a Southerner, I have seen laws that explicitly discriminate against LGBTQ individuals, further cement-

ing and exacerbating the realities of these inequalities in our towns. As part of being LGBTQ, I have a personal stake in the fact that while I may complete graduate coursework, educate students and pay taxes, I am not viewed or treated as fully equal in this country. Part of The University of Alabama’s mission statement reads: “To advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of the State through quality programs of teaching, research, and service.” As a teacher, student, American citizen, southerner and LGBTQ individual, I will be tuning into these cases, as it is part of my mission in life to invest in improving the social condition

of this campus, state, region and country. Clearly this concept is evident in the University’s mission statement as well. We must be concerned about the results of these cases because, as members of a higher education community, it is our duty to provide safe environments for all on campus and to quest for social justice. The rulings on these cases affect more than the possibility for marriage equality. Currently LGBTQ individuals face a fight of second-class citizenship in the United States. At the top of this notion is the privilege of being able to marry the person whom a person loves. The ability to have a legal marriage allows for people to share health insurance, tax

benefits and parental rights. With legal marriage creating so many legal privileges, the denial of marriage to individuals presents an image that LGBTQ individuals are not equal in this country. This notion of inequality affects more than just LGBTQ citizens; it affects the image of the country on the whole. The promotion of inequality directly contradicts the often-mentioned American sentiments for equality and justice. If we as a country continue to exacerbate the second-class citizenship of LGBTQ individuals, we continue to avoid ameliorating this crisis of inequality. The consequences have been far too tragic. Such is why the Supreme Court’s rulings

on these cases matter so much for us as a learning community that quests for advancing the social condition of people. It is why the rulings of Windsor v. United States and Hollingsworth v. Perry are so important, and it is why the Court must fight against discrimination and promote full equality. As a member of the UA community, as someone who values the improvement of our social condition, and as someone who celebrates the civil rights that have been achieved, I believe that our educational community should be concerned and demand equality for all people. Collyn Warner is a graduate student studying English.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

In response to Brad Erthal’s column ‘Liberty means birth control coverage’ Mr. Erthal’s article in Tuesday’s issue is mistaken in his representation of Catholicism. He presents many errors in his column, all of which I cannot address. I will, however, address the following: First, the church has not changed nor can she change her “view” on the lamentable fate of unborn children. If she had, and unborn children were allowed into heaven, then abortions would not only be okay; they would be commendable, as one would be sending a soul into paradise without ever having to worry or suffer in this life. Secondly, Mr. Erthal

reaffirms his incorrect statement that Catholics are bigoted because we rightly condemn homosexual acts. I believe that this is where Mr. Erthal falls into an all-too-common mistake. True Catholics love God, and because we love God we must try to love all people as God loves them. This means if we see anything that hinders people from enjoying the love of God, then we must try our best to help them see the obstruction that they are putting in the way of their path to heaven and, as homosexuality is one of these obstructions as God himself shows in Leviticus 18:22 and

St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, then we, as Catholics, cannot condone it. Last of all I would like to say that as a Catholic, I was greatly offended by the coulmn, but I do not wish the death of the author as he has accused, nor do I wish for him to construe that I am calling him foolish. He is only misinformed. I hope that he may see the truth and come into the loving arms of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Honor and glory to the Sacred Heart Of Jesus!

James Keller is a sophomore majoring in history.

Page 4 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

VETERANS AFFAIRS

University should pick up ﬁnancial slack for veterans By Davis Vaughn Staff Columnist

MCT Campus

ACADEMICS

Despite contrary claims, college must focus on learning By Tarif Haque Staff Columnist There was something seductive about his philosophy. He told me he didn’t care much for a formal education, that his time could be better spent elsewhere, that he was here to get in and get out. This was a National Merit Scholar speaking, telling me of his newfound existence – one that involved achieving only the necessary academic standards. “If I pass my classes and still have my scholarship, I’m cool.” To him, academic excellence was a thing of the past, a 4.0 a naïve ideal we pursued in high school. “I’m never going to use all this anyway,” he said as he surfed Reddit in class next to me. I glanced at the cat meme on his laptop and pondered when that would come in handy in his future career. The irony of it all made we want to write it down immediately. The attitude some of my most intelligent friends have taken towards education disheartens me. I regularly hear the most convincing arguments made for academic apathy. These conversations typically end with the question: “Why do you care so much about school anyway?” I’ve always thought the answer

Tarif Haque

was obvious. This is a university. More than anything else, we are here to educate ourselves. The bizarre part of it is that I have to remind myself of this. What has college done to my peers to so utterly convince them that trying in school no longer matters? “The system is broken, dude,” another one said to me yesterday. He graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class, came in with a full-ride scholarship, and there he sat, listing his grievances with the four-year degree. “I’m content with mediocre grades if I can work on more personal projects.” For many of my friends, a university education distances them from their goals and interests. The hotshot programmer who’s been programming since grade school sits in the back of class, bored by the theoretical material. The student who makes a video game

each month loathes the software engineering class required by our major. The pre-med student finds most her biology classes “useless memorization” and yet scored a 36 on her MCAT. Has academia deluded us into believing that what we are learning is actually useful? Is it time to blame the game and not the player? Not just yet. Granted, the situation is tragic. It’s true that I cannot pinpoint exactly how I will use the collection of courses required of me to graduate in my future occupation, but this is far from an excuse to stop giving my best. The four-year degree isn’t a one-size-fits-all package. A bachelor’s degree is about breadth, not depth. You mold with it with your own hands. It is worth what you put into it. Doing well in school is important if you want to teach one day, do research or go on to graduate school. But on the contrary, there’s no denying that we will learn things we don’t “need” and will likely never use again. Some of us will continue to stare at the ceiling on countless occasions in lectures. Many of us will leave and never look back. I have my utmost sympathy for these souls. In my time here, I’ve seen the brightest people become zombies in class. This

is what a forced education can do to some. I’ve always been a proponent of “active” learning – that we cannot expect to be taught, but rather we must teach ourselves – but to cynics, those who question the validity of the formal education process as a whole, my words mean nothing. “These trivial assignments inhibit creativity,” they say, and with that, they cease to care altogether. In these four years, we will do many things that feel more like labor than education. I’ve taken several classes that felt as such. But for God’s sake, try a little. Take something away from every experience no matter how frivolous it feels. I know that it may feel like the things you are learning are insignificant, but give it time. Learning is retrospective. If I have not yet made my point clear, let me. Appreciating education takes patience. We will not be able to immediately pinpoint the benefit of many things we are learning. The most practical approach to this is not apathy. Take away as much as you can, and leave the rest to faith. Tarif Haque is a sophomore majoring in computer science. His column runs biweekly on Thursdays.

SEXUAL ASSAULT

Youth have to hold UA accountable for sexual assaults By Nathan James Senior Staff Columnist We’ve all heard the statistics, as much as we might wish we hadn’t: 20 percent of women will be sexually assaulted during their time at college. Only about five percent of sexual assaults will be reported to police. Statistically, college women are safer off campus than on. And The University of Alabama, to its discredit, has had 30 percent more sexual assaults occur on campus than any other university in the state. Recently, the CW has taken it upon itself to raise awareness of this issue. But there has been one tremendous gap in its coverage. Why has no one talked about alcohol’s role in sexual misconduct on campus? Study after study has found that over 50 percent of sexual assaults on college campuses involve alcohol. In the majority of cases, both the victim and the perpetrator were intoxicated, but the perpetrator was more likely to be drunk than the victim.

Nathan James

Consider this information in light of the fact that nearly one in 50 UA students is arrested for alcohol-related offenses before they graduate. Suddenly, the University’s problem with sexual assault begins to make more sense. However, the connection between alcohol and sexual assault also means that we’re unlikely to reduce sexual assault on campus anytime soon. Sadly, more people on this campus are incentivized to protect drinking than to protect women. Individual students aren’t going to cut back on their drinking,

EDITORIAL BOARD Will Tucker Editor-in-Chief Ashley Chaffin Managing Editor Stephen Dethrage Production Editor Mackenzie Brown Visuals Editor

Melissa Brown Online Editor Alex Clark Community Manager Ashanka Kumari Chief Copy Editor John Brinkerhoff Opinions Editor

because no one ever expects that they’re going to commit a sexual crime. That’s the problem with alcohol on campus; people set out to have a good time, and by the time they end up in a situation they can’t handle, they’re too far gone to know. The greek system isn’t going to stand up, because it thrives on a culture of alcoholism. Without it, greeks wouldn’t be able to attract new recruits or retain their existing membership. And frankly, this year’s hazing scandal implies that the greek system doesn’t care much about its members to begin with. Finally, the University isn’t going to do anything, because it stands to profit by ignoring the issue. Raising awareness of sexual assault on campus would be terrible PR for the administrators who are supposed to safeguard the University’s reputation, so university officials will continue to handle these incidents quietly and efficiently as they always have. And targeting alcohol would break the University’s

unspoken contract with the greek system: namely, that greeks are absolved of any personal or collective accountability as long as they keep bringing in freshmen recruits and the accompanying tuition dollars. So where does that leave us? Anyone who seriously cares about sexual assault at The University of Alabama has two options. We can either accept that alcoholism, and related sexual assault, will remain commonplace and deftly hidden. Or we can push administrators to aggressively fight alcoholism, hold the greek system responsible for its members, and handle sexual assault charges in less secretive venues. These things will only happen when the backlash from the student body demands it. I strongly doubt that anything will change. But I’m not above hoping. Nathan James is a sophomore majoring in public relations. His column runs weekly on Thursdays.

Imagine giving the ultimate sacrifice of fighting for your country. Imagine the years of training, the mixed emotions of deployment and the eerie sounds of the battlefield. Imagine the pain of fallen brothers and sisters, the burden of killing and the cultural shock upon returning home. For some of you, this is your story. You sacrificed your life to serve this country. Your blood, sweat and tears fell to a nation who has largely criticized why you were even fighting in the first place. Regardless of the merits of Davis Vaughn the war, you did your duty – a duty that I appreciate greatly. Unfortunately, the 2011 national debt standoff in Congress greatly jeopardized the future of our veterans. To summarize briefly: Republicans refused to increase the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts, and Democrats refused to cut without increases in revenue. A deal could not be struck. So the two parties agreed to increase the ceiling, kicking the can down the road a few more months, but with one contingency: $2 trillion had to be cut over 10 years if a solution could not be reached by the beginning of 2013 (which was pushed back again to March 1, 2013). These spending cuts, commonly known as “sequestration,” resulted in cuts to defense spending and other military programs. For some of our peers at the Capstone, these spending cuts have taken a toll on how they can finance their educations. The Marines, Army, Coast Guard and Air Force said that due to these cuts, they would not longer allow individuals to apply for their tuition assistance programs, which gave soldiers as much as $4,500 annually to pursue a college diploma. Army officials said 201,000 soldiers used the program in fiscal year 2012, showing just how many veterans face decreased education funding. The popular response from many news sources has been that despite the unfortunate financial decisions, these veterans should just jump on the “student loan train.” This response is truly appalling and does not even address the real issue at hand. This University is in a strong position to stand up for the injustices done to our veterans. We feature one of the best veteran and military affairs offices in the country. The individuals who work in this office help pair veterans with scholarships, work opportunities, transitional programs and with acclimating to new social groups. The University should According to the freeze the tuition rates Office of Veteran and for veterans at the 2012Military Affairs, we 2013 academic year. have over 500 veterans on our campus today. Yet there is currently no clear solution to help subsidize the lost income from the tuition assistance programs. In order to show full support for these 500 plus students, the University should freeze the tuition rates for veterans at the 2012-2013 academic year. Since I enrolled in the fall of 2010, tuition has been raised from $3,950 to $4,600 per semester. While I understand the cost of attendance has increased due to budget cuts from the state and federal government, we should not expect our veterans to face not only lost funding but also yearly increases of hundreds of dollars. Additionally, Senator Richard Durbin from Illinois recently authored the Veterans Education Equity Act of 2013, which would allow all veterans to receive in-state tuition. This piece of legislation is currently sitting in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. On behalf of our fellow students who are veterans, The University of Alabama should come out in full support of this important bill, as it has the potential to rectify the lost funding our veterans are facing. As students, we do have the power to enact change. I urge you to contact your local congressional representative and encourage them to sign on in support of the bill. Each veteran on this campus is a hero. Your humility, sacrifice and courage are to be lauded. Whether you are for or against the war is irrelevant. We can all come together and agree that this University and community have the privilege to help assist our veterans, both socially and financially.

“

Davis Vaughn is a junior majoring in communication studies and political science. His column runs biweekly on Tuesdays.

WE WELCOME YOUR OPINIONS

TWEET AT US

Letters to the editor must be less than 300 words and guest columns less than 800. Send submissions to letters@cw.ua.edu. Submissions must include the author’s name, year, major and daytime phone number. Phone numbers are for verification and will not be published. Students should also include their year in school and major.

@TheCrimsonWhite The Crimson White reserves the right to edit all guest columns and letters to the editor.

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 5

POLITICS

Future GOP: Breaking molds, ﬁnding common ground, embracing diversity By Regan Williams Staff Columnists It was a tough time to be a Republican last election cycle. With the Grand Old Party losing races that should have been won and losing the presidency, for many it seemed like the end was ever nearer for the Republican Party. Though it may seem like the end of the Republican Party, it is actually just the beginning of a new Republican Party. If Republicans want a shot at the presidency in the future, then they must adapt and change their style of play. The first thing that the Republican Party must do is change the candidate mold they have been cast into for most of the past century. This mold is of

Regan Williams

course the old, rich, white male. The party needs to start with younger and more energetic candidates. They need to pursue candidates like Marco Rubio and Rand Paul if they want to stand a chance in 2016. These candidates will be competing against a well-oiled machine of the Democratic Party. Given

that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic candidate, this need is even stronger. Paul Ryan was a great start to this cause and the change was seen, with the Republican Party getting more young voters than they had in the last two elections. But again, it was just a start. The GOP needs a face-lift and it must start now if it ever wants to get its feet off the ground. The Republican Party also must be more willing to negotiate with the Democrats. Though I usually side with the Republican Party, I still scratch my head at times when they refuse to sacrifice any little issue that is placed in front of them. Working together is how we started this country. If we want to continue this country,

“

The ﬁrst thing that the Republican Party must do is change the candidate mold they have been cast into for most of the past century.

we must work together and not against one another. We need leaders from both parties being less like selfish toddlers and more like the adults we elected to serve our best interest. This is also crucial because the Republican Party has gotten a bad rap for not being willing to work with others. If the Republican Party is willing to sacrifice a little more, then the public may be more favorable to them in the polls, thus leading to a more

successful election. Finally, the Republican Party needs to work harder to shed this idea that the Republican Party is racist. I am about to make a statement that might shock many readers: The Republican Party is not full of racists who do not care about others. Boom! I said it. The cat is out of the bag. Still, the Republicans have done a terrible job of not painting themselves as racist. Now, this does not mean that the

Republican Party should start electing people of other races just because of their skin color. What this means is that they need to reach out more to leaders of different communities than they have traditionally. If they do this, then they might start to make some headroom in the next election. If the Republican Party wants to be more successful, they have to change; it is just the way it is. The Republican Party must become younger and fight off the terrible stereotypes by working with new people if they want to be successful.

Regan Williams is a junior majoring in political science and communication studies. His column runs biweekly on Thursdays.

{ON THE TWITTERVERSE } IN RESPONSE TO:

Athletic Director Mal Moore steps down “To put into perspective just how long Mal Moore has been involved with UA Athletics..We have 15 titles, He’s been involved with 10 of them.” —@TedSnow

“I would like to thank Coach Mal Moore for the profound impact he had on every student-athlete at University of Alabama. Great man and leader” –@GVMcElroy

“Mal Moore steps down as AD but will take spot next to Paul Bryant on Alabama’s version of Mount Rushmore.” –@ﬁnebaum

AV E T U S C A L O O S A . C O M

INTRODUCING

THE AVENUE at Tuscaloosa, student housing with a modern twist. The AVENUE include fully furnished and unfurnished options with free cable and high-speed internet service. Visit avetuscaloosa.com, call 205.344.6172 or email leasing@avetuscaloosa.com to find our more information.

Welcome to serious fun.

AV E T U S C A L O O S A . C O M 2 1 0 7 U N I V E R S I T Y B LV D .

serious fun.

NOW LEASING 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom residences for FALL 2013. Residence Features: Extra large bedrooms ◆ Hardwood-style floors Stainless steel appliances ◆ Guest bathrooms Custom brand name furniture ◆ and much more

Page 6 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

END OF

Photo courtesy of the Bryant Museum

“

He’s one of the most important people in Alabama history. It goes coach Bryant then Mal Moore. He’s done so much for the University and his legacy is impeccable.

“

— Richard Todd

Players, coaches remember Moore’s 47 years with Tide MOORE FROM PAGE 1 Charlotte’s condition worsened, ultimately forcing Mal to move into an administrative role to be closer to her, Patterson said. “The situation was difficult, but he handled it like a trooper because that’s who he is,” said Jack Smalley Jr., who played linebacker at the University from 1974-77. “He was a great husband and a wonderful person. He always had a smile on his face. The situation was a lot worse than he ever let on, but he gave his heart and soul to Charlotte.” Patterson noted Moore’s ability to fundraise and joked about her skills of spending the money he brought in. She called Moore the most gracious man and said there was no one with more love for the University. “For us, look at our facilities,” Patterson said. “We had a donor give us two checks of $50,000 and the rest of it comes from funds that Mal has raised over the years. I look at the recession and we were a team that was adding 10,000 seats to our stadium. Without the success of the football program, it wouldn’t be possible, but I give him credit for finding coach Saban. To me, his athletic director career will be marked by the national championships he’s won and the hire of Nick Saban.” That’s when the narrative on Moore was rewritten. The Saban hire pushed all of Alabama’s previous struggles

under Moore to the back burner as the Tide churned out winning seasons and, eventually, national championships. “When we made the announcement that we were making a change, I said that we were going to hire a proven coach that had won championships,” Moore said during a December 2012 interview. “I didn’t think we could try out a coach. I felt it was a very crucial hire for Alabama at that time in our history.” Former players react to Moore’s decision Smalley said Moore saved the University from a dark place when he took over. “He unified the athletic department when he came back,” Smalley said. “At that time, it seemed like we were going in five different directions and no one could figure it out. Everyone had a different idea of what should have been done. Mal looked around, did his homework, set a goal and got things on the same page. Now, everyone wants to have the best athletic department possible, and a large part of the success these last few years has to go to Mal.” Before he was a national-championship-winning athletic director, he was a national-championship-winning coach. Moore started as a graduate assistant in 1964 and worked his way up to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 1975, all under Paul “Bear” Bryant. Smalley said Moore was a brilliant offensive mind during his time on the sideline.

Earned his masters from UA with a degree in secondary education

Played backup quarterback for Paul “Bear” Bryant

1958

1962

1961

Quarterbacks coach under Bryant

1971

1964

Football national championship

1965

1963 Graduated from UA with a degree in sociology

1970

Defensive backs coach under Bryant Football National Championship

1974

1973

Football National Championship

1975

coach. He was a hands-on coach. Coach Bryant was like the CEO and Mal was the manager there with us every day.” Todd said Moore’s contributions to the University are historic. “He’s one of the most important people in Alabama history,” Todd said. “It goes coach Bryant then Mal Moore. He’s done so much for the University and his legacy is impeccable.” Patterson echoed those sentiments and said she is thankful for Moore’s contributions to her success. Under Moore’s direction, she has won three of her six national championships and has continued to build the gymnastics program into a national juggernaut. She credits Moore’s open door policy as the key to their successful relationship. “He listens to people,” Patterson said. “You don’t always agree with the decision your boss makes, but I always felt there was an open door for me to share my feelings and for that I’m appreciative. It’s difficult for me to think that I’m going to have another boss.” Despite his age and administrative position, Moore made it a priority to get to know the athletes he came in contact with, said former Crimson Tide standout Damion Square. “He always interacted with us,” Square said. “When I would see him in the parking lot leaving the facility, he would always take the time and ask me how my day was or ask me how my knee was doing. I’m one of many players he had to deal with at the University, and for him to know my personal problems and struggles with the injuries just lets you know what type of guy he was.”

Football national championship

Served as a graduate assistant under Bryant Football national championship

“Mal was the architect of our offense. Coach [Paul “Bear”] Bryant came up with the idea to run the wishbone, but Coach Moore mastered and perfected it,” Smalley said. “Mal was the type of guy who even if he didn’t know what you were talking about, he could figure it out, implement it and it would be polished to a ‘T’ when he got back to you.” Smalley said Moore had a knack for getting things done and even used unconventional ways to get his points across. He recalled a day during practice in which Moore’s offense struggled against the defense. “We were at practice one day and we’re wearing these oversized suits to keep us from getting killed. They were supposed to protect us, but they made us look like huge blocking dummies. We were going against the first team offense and they were running a little dive play and just couldn’t get it right; we stuffed them like 15 times. He had coach Bryant watching him from the tower. So Mal walks over to the defense and says ‘Look, each one of you is going to get blocked on this play. We can’t stay out here much longer.’ Sure enough, we were all blocked and it was like the Red Sea parted when the offense scored. Coach Bryant picked up his megaphone and said, ‘Good job offense, Attaboy Mal.’” Richard Todd, who played quarterback under Moore from 1972-1976, said Moore was a “player’s coach” and a class act on the field. “He wasn’t one of those coaches that yelled or cursed at players. He was always classy and was a hell of a

1979 Football national championship

Football national championship St. Louis/Pheonix Cardinals assistant coach

1986

1978

1982 Quarterback/offensive coordinator under Bryant

1986

Notre Dame running back/assistant coach

1989

1990

1992 1994

Assistant athletic director

1993

Alabama quarterback coach/ assistant coach under Gene Stallings

1999

1996 Gymnastics national championship

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 7

ERA

Photo courtesy of the Bryant Museum

WINS AGAINST AUBURN 1/15/2000 GYMNASTICS 1/30/2000 GYMNASTICS 2/20/2000 BASEBALL 2/22/2000 MEN’S BASKETBALL 3/31/2000 SOFTBALL 3/31/2000 SOFTBALL 4/01/2000 SOFTBALL 4/01/2000 SOFTBALL 5/05/2000 BASEBALL 5/07/2000 BASEBALL 10/27/2000 VOLLEYBALL 10/30/2000 VOLLEYBALL 1/11/2001 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 1/12/2001 GYMNASTICS 1/27/2001 MEN’S BASKETBALL 2/09/2001 GYMNASTICS 2/11/2001 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 2/25/2001 WOMEN’S TENNIS 3/01/2001 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 4/15/2001 MEN’S TENNIS 4/18/2001 SOFTBALL 4/18/2001 SOFTBALL 4/19/2001 SOFTBALL 10/19/2001 VOLLEYBALL 11/17/2001 FOOTBALL 1/24/2002 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 2/10/2002 GYMNASTICS 2/10/2002 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 2/27/2002 MEN’S BASKETBALL 3/01/2002 GYMNASTICS 4/13/2002 MEN’S TENNIS

4/26/2002 BASEBALL 4/27/2002 BASEBALL 4/28/2002 BASEBALL 5/11/2002 SOFTBALL 6/01/2002 BASEBALL 10/22/2002 VOLLEYBALL 11/13/2002 VOLLEYBALL 2/15/2003 MEN’S BASKETBALL 2/27/2003 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 3/01/2003 GYMNASTICS 3/21/2003 GYMNASTICS 4/02/2003 SOFTBALL 4/02/2003 SOFTBALL 4/03/2003 SOFTBALL 4/05/2003 BASEBALL 4/13/2003 WOMEN’S TENNIS 5/08/2003 SOFTBALL 5/23/2003 BASEBALL 5/24/2003 BASEBALL 10/15/2003 VOLLEYBALL 1/17/2004 MEN’S BASKETBALL 2/06/2004 GYMNASTICS 2/24/2004 MEN’S BASKETBALL 4/15/2004 WOMEN’S TENNIS 4/18/2004 BASEBALL 4/21/2004 SOFTBALL 5/13/2004 SOFTBALL 9/22/2004 VOLLEYBALL 11/10/2004 VOLLEYBALL 1/26/2005 MEN’S BASKETBALL 2/04/2005 GYMNASTICS

3/02/2005 MEN’S BASKETBALL 3/22/2005 SOFTBALL 3/23/2005 SOFTBALL 4/16/2005 MEN’S TENNIS 4/16/2005 WOMEN’S TENNIS 5/13/2005 SOFTBALL 5/21/2005 BASEBALL 5/22/2005 BASEBALL 9/21/2005 VOLLEYBALL 10/19/2005 VOLLEYBALL 10/28/2005 WOMEN’S SOCCER 1/08/2006 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 1/11/2006 MEN’S BASKETBALL 1/27/2006 GYMNASTICS 3/01/2006 MEN’S BASKETBALL 3/17/2006 GYMNASTICS 4/15/2006 MEN’S TENNIS 4/15/2006 WOMEN’S TENNIS 4/20/2006 MEN’S TENNIS 4/26/2006 SOFTBALL 4/28/2006 BASEBALL 4/30/2006 BASEBALL 10/27/2006 VOLLEYBALL 1/26/2007 GYMNASTICS 3/16/2007 GYMNASTICS 4/06/2007 SOFTBALL 4/06/2007 SOFTBALL 4/07/2007 SOFTBALL 4/14/2007 MEN’S TENNIS 4/22/2007 BASEBALL 10/12/2007 VOLLEYBALL

11/04/2007 VOLLEYBALL 1/18/2008 GYMNASTICS 1/26/2008 MEN’S BASKETBALL 3/21/2008 GYMNASTICS 4/12/2008 MEN’S TENNIS 4/12/2008 SOFTBALL 4/12/2008 SOFTBALL 4/13/2008 SOFTBALL 4/26/2008 BASEBALL 4/27/2008 BASEBALL 9/26/2008 VOLLEYBALL 11/02/2008 VOLLEYBALL 11/29/2008 FOOTBALL 1/09/2009 GYMNASTICS 2/27/2009 GYMNASTICS 4/18/2009 MEN’S TENNIS 4/18/2009 WOMEN’S TENNIS 4/23/2009 WOMEN’S TENNIS 4/25/2009 SOFTBALL 4/25/2009 SOFTBALL 4/26/2009 SOFTBALL 5/16/2009 BASEBALL 9/20/2009 VOLLEYBALL 11/27/2009 FOOTBALL 1/08/2010 GYMNASTICS 2/07/2010 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 3/06/2010 MEN’S BASKETBALL 4/02/2010 BASEBALL 4/02/2010 SOFTBALL 4/03/2010 BASEBALL 4/03/2010 SOFTBALL

4/03/2010 SOFTBALL 4/17/2010 WOMEN’S TENNIS 5/26/2010 BASEBALL 10/09/2010 MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING 1/22/2011 MEN’S BASKETBALL 2/11/2011 GYMNASTICS 2/17/2011 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 2/23/2011 MEN’S BASKETBALL 3/16/2011 SOFTBALL 3/16/2011 SOFTBALL 4/16/2011 WOMEN’S TENNIS 5/15/2011 BASEBALL 10/28/2011 WOMEN’S SOCCER 11/26/2011 FOOTBALL 1/27/2012 GYMNASTICS 2/07/2012 MEN’S BASKETBALL 2/29/2012 MEN’S BASKETBALL 3/16/2012 MEN’S TENNIS 3/27/2012 SOFTBALL 3/27/2012 SOFTBALL 4/06/2012 BASEBALL 4/07/2012 BASEBALL 4/08/2012 BASEBALL 4/14/2012 WOMEN’S TENNIS 11/18/2012 VOLLEYBALL 11/24/2012 FOOTBALL 1/24/2013 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 2/15/2013 GYMNASTICS 2/26/2013 MEN’S BASKETBALL 3/15/2013 WOMEN’S TENNIS

47 | national championships 16

| years of service to Alabama

155

| victories against Auburn

Saban: ‘He sets the table, has served us so well’ By Charlie Potter Staff Reporter University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban has deep ties to Mal Moore, who stepped down from his position as athletics director Wednesday. Moore hired Saban and has overseen numerous football facilities upgrades including the addition of seating in the south end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium and a new state-of-the-art weight room. “He is somebody that I have a tremendous amount of respect for,” Saban said. “First of all, for giving

us the opportunity to come to The University of Alabama, the great job that he did in selling us on this university and what could be done here. “He certainly deserves a tremendous amount of credit for any success that we have had because of the way he sets the table and has served us so well.” Saban said Moore’s influence on athletics and the University campus has made developed it into a first-class program. “I think most things that you would stand here and look around and see, he has had some hand in making all

the athletic facilities what they are, and I think first class in so many ways,” Saban said. “But more than that, he’s a class gentleman, probably as fine as you’re ever going to meet, and has certainly been a great friend.” The athletic department plans to name Moore’s successor, “as quickly as possible.” Saban said he does not have a part in deciding who will fill the void Moore has left. “That’s not my decision,” Saban said. “We have really, really good people here. Chancellors, presidents, other people in the athletic department, people on the board, who I

have every faith, trust and confidence will make an outstanding decision as to what’s best for The University of Alabama. My part of it will be to do everything I can to make it work with whoever that individual is. “I’m not going to call the chancellor and ask him what call to make on third down.” But Saban said he is happy for what Moore has accomplished and wishes him the best. “I’m happy for him,” Saban said. “I’ll be most happy for him if he can get healthy and be around here with us. But I’m going to miss him.”

1999-March 20, 2013: Athletic Director 2009 Football national championship Moore’s wife, Charlotte Davis Moore, passes away after a battle with Alzheimer’s Moore receives raise and contract extension through 2014.

Rhoads Stadium opened $2.2 million

2000

$47 million north end zone expansion in Bryant-Denny Stadium

Outdoor tennis stadium

Renovation to track and field stadium

2004

2002 Launched Crimson Tradition fund, an effort to raise money for facilities upgrades Gymnastics national championship Mic Potter hired as men’s golf coach

2005 Mic Potter hired as women’s golf coach Women’s rowing added

Rhoads stadium expansion

2009

2006

2007 Nick Saban hired Athletic facility named in Moore’s honor

Indoor tennis facility opened Gymnastics national championship Women’s golf national championship

$65.8 million south end zone expansion in Bryant-Denny Stadium

Alabama soccer complex hosts first game

2011 Football national championship

2010

Softball national championship Moore named top athletic director by National Football Foundation Sarah Patterson Champions Plaza announced

2012

2011 Foster Auditorium expanded to host women’s basketball and volleyball teams Gymnastics national championship

2013 2012 Football national championship $9 million weight room opened

Renovation to track and field stadium CW | Whitney Hendrix and Ashley Thomas

Page 8 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Alabama geologist’s research continues to beneﬁt state By Anna Waters Lead Designer Two men, a horse-drawn buggy, a handful of 19th-century tools and an incomplete map were all former state geologist Eugene Allen Smith needed to save Alabama from economic collapse. Smith, a University of Alabama graduate and geological pioneer, saw opportunity in Alabama’s diverse geography that superseded its failing postCivil War agricultural market. His solution: a map that would single-handedly rebuild the state using its own natural resources. After securing the state geologist position in 1873, Smtih began constructing his comprehensive survey of Alabama’s rocky foundation in order to produce a geological map of the state’s raw materials – a map that would open the door for the rapid industrialization of Alabama. “In using this map, a lot of

men and women were able to find and utilize the state’s natural resources,” naturalist Todd Hester said. “Iron ore, coal and limestone are the three main components of iron production, and after that, steel production. In using that geologic map, we were able to export those natural resources to become one of the leading steel-producing states in the U.S.” Hester works for the Alabama Museum of Natural History, the on-campus museum Smith founded to house the relics he collected on his summerlong expeditions. The museum resides with the department of geological sciences inside the appropriately named Smith Hall. “His research also led to the big oil and gas booms that we’ve seen in the late 19th or early 20th centuries,” Hester said. “He is one of the main reasons why Alabama is so successful, geologically speaking.” Hester said about 70 percent

of the Alabama Museum of Natural History’s collection is from Smith’s survey. “From an academic perspective, for anyone studying the geologic sciences, our collection has unparalleled opportunity for research for students,” Hester said. “We have researchers from all over the world come study the mosasaurs we have in our collection, for example, or the invertebrates, like shells.” Smith, who taught at the University before and after it was burned down during the Civil War, always had an affinity for educating others, Hester said. He said he enjoyed taking students out for field research and showing visitors around the museum. In that spirit, the museum leads several educational programs that allow middle school and high school students the opportunity to learn about the geological sciences through

in-class workshops, field trips and expeditions. “All of what we collect in the field goes back to our museum for curation,” Hester said. “A researcher may come in 30 years from now, and the student who found that one bone, his name will always be associated with that artifact. I think that outreach is really vital to the University community.” Geology professor Fred Andrus said Smith embodied what is now expected of top UA professors. “He was a beloved teacher influencing many student lives,” Andrus said. “He was also an active research scientist who assembled the most coherent and complete understanding of the geology of this region in his day. Teaching, research and service are the fundamental expectations of faculty now and Smith performed them all in exemplary fashion.”

CW File

Eugene Smith’s 19th-century buggy is displayed in Smith Hall. Although more than 80 years have passed since Smith’s death, his influence is still apparent throughout the University, as well as Alabama as a whole. “He really did a lot from a historical standpoint, from

a natural science standpoint and from an economic standpoint,” Hester said. “I think it’s a shame that more people don’t know about who he is and what he did. We are here because of him, really.”

Student rewarded with scholarship for LGBTQ activism on campus By Mark Hammontree Contributing Writer The 2013 Elliot Jackson Jones Memorial Scholarship was recently awarded to Kaylyn Johnson, a junior majoring in English and American studies, for her efforts to advance diversity and acceptance at The University of Alabama. The monetary scholarship was presented by the scholarship board of Capstone Alliance, the University’s official organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered faculty and staff and their supporters. “The scholarship is focused around student activism about LGBT and allied topics,” Jessi Hitchens, president-elect of Capstone Alliance, said. “We look at the work a student has done to create positive change and promote social justice

on campus.” Johnson submitted an application and essay to be considered for the scholarship. Hitchens said Johnson’s application stood out among the others because of the way she related her experiences. “Kaylyn went above and beyond the qualifications,” Hitchens said. “What really stood out was the articulate and smart way that she showed how she has grown and changed while at the University.” Johnson has served for the past two years as the political chair for Spectrum, the campus group for LGBTQ students and allies. She is also an active member of the 49, the out-of-state student group where she serves as administrator for foUndAtion, a mentoring program designed to increase retention of out-of-state students. When she is not devoting her

time to Spectrum or class, she also volunteers at the Children’s Hands-On Museum with Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. Johnson also maintains a 4.0 GPA and is a National Merit Scholar. Johnson has participated in many events and programs during her time at the University, but she says the Trans* Day of Remembrance candlelight vigils that she has organized the past two years stands out as some of her proudest moments. “These events seem to really bring the community together, and I love how many people get involved with them by reading a piece or just attending,” Johnson said. “Most importantly, I feel these events help raise awareness regarding the difficulties and discrimination trans* individuals face.” It is experiences like these that made Johnson the clear

choice for the scholarship, Hitchins said. “I have seen Kaylyn in action, and I’ve seen how she has grown and matured and has brought a good deal of change to this campus because of that,” Hitchins said. “She wants to take her knowledge beyond the campus and that’s why she is going to Washington, D.C., this summer, to make a difference there.” Noah Cannon, president of Spectrum, said Johnson is an inimitable force on this campus. “I’ve been lucky to witness her passion for advancing the LGBTQ+ community and her knowledge of the nuances of sexuality and gender,” Cannon said. “Elliot Jackson Jones was a trailblazer on this campus who lit a path 30 years ago that many have followed. His commitment to the LGBTQ+ community has led to Spectrum

existing continuously for three decades to facilitate the activism of people like Kaylyn.” The scholarship commemorates Elliot Jackson Jones, the founder and first president of the first gay-straight alliance at the University in January 1983, the group that later became Spectrum. Jones was a life-long activist for a variety of causes. When he passed away in 1993, Capstone Alliance instituted the scholarship to honor his legacy. The scholarship was designed to recognize those who, like Elliot, raise and spread support for gay, lesbian, bisexuaal and transgender issues. In 2012-13, Spectrum celebrated its 30th anniversary, making it the longest continuous gay-straight alliance among all southeastern colleges and universities. Johnson will use the schol-

arship to help offset some of her costs when she interns in Washington, D.C., this summer with an advocacy organization focused on gender and sexuality activism. After she graduates, Johnson said she plans to pursue a doctorate and one day become a college professor. “Most people, including UA students, simply need to realize that they cannot relate to everyone and their struggles,” Johnson said. “Instead of trying to pretend that we can, we must listen to and respect the experiences of people with identities we do not share. In order to be the best allies we can be, regardless of which community we are focusing on being an ally to in that moment, we must listen to what that community says they want and need us to do and act accordingly.”

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 9

UA grads starting families, careers in and out of state By Sarah Elizabeth Tooker Staff Reporter This year’s fall freshman class marked the first group to be composed of more than 50 percent out-of-state students. Some claim this out-of-state recruitment will bring geographical diversity to Alabama and eventually help the state, but only if these students decide to stay post-graduation. Calvin Brown, director of alumni affairs, said just as we recruit the best and brightest students, we also want as many of these students as possible to make Alabama their home after college. “In order for the state to grow economically and culturally, it is important that we offer these bright young people the kind of job opportunities that will encourage them to consider Alabama after graduation,” Brown said. Despite the recent out-of-state draw, Brown said the University remains keenly focused on instate students. “No academically qualified instate student who applies to The University of Alabama is denied admission,” he said. “I firmly believe that UA is fulfilling its mission as the Capstone of education in the state and serving the in-state students. The fact that we are able to do this and recruit top notch out-of-state students is a testament to our academic reputation nationally.” Philip Westbrook, director of the Blackburn Institute, a group that strives to improve the quality of life in Alabama, said it is good for UA graduates to stay in the state to increase the educational level of the citizenry and workforce. “Economically, it makes sense and positions the state to be more competitive in recruiting business and industry,” Westbrook said. “Overall, it also adds to the quality of life by having a better educated populace to serve as leaders in Alabama communities, both in government and civic organizations.” Westbrook explained his organization consists of a network of people who are passionate about

“

No academically qualiﬁed in-state student who applies to The University of Alabama is denied admission. — Calvin Brown

the state of Alabama. “Our goal is to educate our members on the unique history, people and places in Alabama and hope that they develop a strong desire to stay in the state and make a difference,” he said. “Even those who do not reside here can make a difference through serving as representatives of the state.” Westbrook said out-of-state students only enhance the diversity of our student population and bring different backgrounds and perspectives to the classroom and campus. “Many of them will develop strong connections within the state and choose to live here after graduation,” he said. “Even if out-of-state students don’t stay in Alabama after graduation, they leave with an understanding of our state and can help change the image of the state.” One Texas native, Paige Niewerth, who graduated in May 2011 and now works in Atlanta, Ga., said she was not opposed to staying in Alabama but ultimately was ready to live in a new city and experience a new place. “I felt Atlanta had the most ideal career opportunities for me,” Niewerth said. “Atlanta has professional sports teams and, geographically, is convenient to so many other places.” Niewerth said the University should encourage students to step out of their comfort zones and be independent. “After graduation is the time to try new things,” she said. “We have a huge alumni presence here in Atlanta, and I have friends all over the country that have found their Alabama niche outside of the state.” Another student originally from California, Brett Jaillet, who graduated in 2009, chose to make Alabama her home

post-graduation when two of her three sisters joined her on campus. “Because my family came here, I was definitely more inclined to stay after graduating,” Jaillet said. “Plus, in my field, which is journalism, local connections helped me find a job, and of course my then boyfriend, now husband lives and works in Alabama, too – perfect.” Jaillet said she encourages graduates who think the state is a right fit for them to stay and enjoy a non-student life for a little while. “I have really enjoyed giving back to the community that helped educate me and make me who I am,” she said. “Alabama has become my home, and I enjoy working, living and being a part of a wonderful state.” Jordan Tullidge, a student from the state who graduated in 2012, said with both her and her husband’s families living in Tuscaloosa, she would love to stay somewhere near home but is excited about the possibility of living in another state. “Being a recent graduate of The University of Alabama, I am so proud to be affiliated as an alum with such a prestigious school,” Tullidge said. “As I do see it as important to retain alumni in the state, I also know how important it is to have connections with many other states.” Tullidge said by having alumni and people who know and understand how great our school is in other states, the University maintains a strong recruiting base. Tullidge explained her family travels to a restaurant in New York called The Ainsworth every Labor Day, which is the first Alabama football game. “The Ainsworth is a restaurant where Alabama fans from all over New York go to watch the games and ‘Rammer Jammer’ is yelled so loud it is just like being in Bryant-Denny,” she said. “Experiencing a game with other alumni in a state so far away is an awesome experience and definitely proves how important having graduates in other states can be.”

Documenting Justice a chance to expose problems in Alabama By Mark Hammontree Staff Reporter About seven years ago, Stephen Black, the director for the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama, approached professor Andrew Grace in the telecommunication and film department about creating a new type of class for any UA student interested in making a difference. Black and Grace created the interdisciplinary course Documenting Justice to allow non-film majors an opportunity to explore and document social issues in Alabama. “Stephen Black, who runs the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility saw a similar class at UAB and thought that documentary would be a really good way to engage students in critical thinking and ethical citizenship,” Grace said. “It’s done that for the last seven years.” The year-long class progresses from the initial teachings about the techniques and methods of documentary filmmaking during the first semester, to the creation of completely student directed, filmed and produced documentaries during the second semester. Students work in pairs to create a story and the finished products are shown at a public screening in the spring. The class is not designed for only those students who already have the technical knowledge of filmmaking, but rather those students who are used to pulling together knowledge from a variety of fields. “I think that it’s designed for students who are interested in storytelling and social justice, and maybe, hopefully, even a little bit interested in

documentary film, but may have found that majors in creative writing or anthropology or New College are a better fit for their career goals,” Grace said. “The students that get the most out of the class are the ones who are already embarking on interdisciplinary studies, students studying the humanities. I think those are the students who are often naturally best equipped for documentary. Documentary is really an interdisciplinary medium.” Many students who are drawn to the class are interested in exploring some of the issues that are facing the state. Documenting Justice gives them the opportunity to pursue their passions in a meaningful way. Junior Madalyn Vaughn is currently taking Documenting Justice. “This experience has far exceeded any expectations I had for the course. I have gained a skill set and ability to see a project evolve over a year-long experience,” Vaughn said. “It has given me the ability to find a subject that I am passionate about and convey its importance to other people.” DJ Jackson, a junior majoring in history, took the class last year and said it helped him realize that being an engaged citizen in your community is incredibly important. “Ultimately, the experience taught me that everyone has a story that contributes to who they are as a person and that if you take the time to listen to other people, you will find a lot more common ground than you ever imagined,” Jackson said. About four years ago, Grace also began offering students the opportunity to participate in an international version of the

class for those students who are spending time studying abroad. “Ideally, students who take the international section would have already taken the regular class first,” Grace said. “All of our international students are going abroad for their own course of study, but many combine their interest in going abroad with their interest in filmmaking.” In addition to the public screenings at the end of the spring semester, the films have also been shown every year at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham. Grace said student films have won several awards including two Best Alabama Films and Best Student Film. However, for both Grace and the students, the true value of the course is not in critical acclaim or festival success. “We’ve made 49 films in Documenting Justice over the last seven years. I have the privilege to watch the students put in the amount of work into these films,” Grace said. “What is most memorable to me, year after year, is watching students engage with these communities that they otherwise would have no opportunity or reason to engage with and realizing that there’s not really that much difference between them.” Jackson said the course is the most demanding course he has taken at the University, but also the most impactful. Students who are interested in applying for this course can do so even after the priority date, March 22, has passed. Interested students can go to documentingjustice.org to find an application. The current Documenting Justice classes will screen their films at the Bama Theatre on April 23.

Page 10 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

UA alumnus, ESPN host speaks on campus By Ellen Coogan Contributing Writer In 1994, Mike Hill sent out 75 audition tapes across the nation. He got four calls back. Of those four calls, he got one interview. Hill has now worked for ESPN for nine years, and stressed the importance of perseverance in his keynote address at The University of Alabama’s first annual Sports Communication Symposium. Hill appears on Sports Center and NFL Live, as well as hosting his ESPN radio show, Hill and Schlereth. Hill said he is always himself on camera, but that he has more liberty on his radio show. “On the radio, that’s my name,” Hill said. “That’s my personality.” Hill grew up in Bessemer, Ala., and served for six years in the Air Force after graduating high school. He worked for the National Security Agency, briefing the president and other high-level staff while he went to school and also

juggled an internship with Fox News. Hill’s balancing act was difficult, but it paid off. “If you want it bad enough, you will find the time,” Hill said. Still, the demands of his job took a toll on his personal life. “I was married to my job. I couldn’t find a balance,” Hill said. “I had to sacrifice spending time with my friends. It’s tough, but you can do it.” His journey to ESPN was not easy. “I’ve gone through a lot of personal failures. There’s long hours and a lot of time on the road,” Hill said. “I’ve had six jobs in broadcasting – I’ve had two wives. It takes a lot out of you.” Hill spoke about dealing with profiling in broadcasting. He said it is often the case a job goes to someone less qualified because they are “the flavor of the month.” Along his path, Hill has dealt with accusations that he has benefited from that phenomenon.

Hill said one particularly difficult boss once told him he only got the job because he was black. Hill said his response was, “My skin may be black, but my skills got me this job.” Andrew Billings, telecommunication and film professor, gave the introduction for Hill’s speech and said they had planned the event months in advance, as is necessary when dealing with ESPN. “Getting Mike to come was mainly funneled through Stacy Jones [director of student development], his cousin,” Billings said. “Today has been a solid turnout. The students in attendance were a mix of journalism and broadcasting majors and sports enthusiasts. In the latter c a t e g o r y, Jeffrey Higginbotham, a sophomore majoring in business, said he watches a lot of SportsCenter and sports shows, so he pays a lot of attention to the details of sports broadcasting.

“ H e ’s energetic,” Higginbotham said. “He likes to move around a lot.” At one point in the talk, Hill ran to the opposite side of the room to demonstrate just how far outside the box students need to think. “I always knew he was high energy, but he had even more energy than I expected, but there were those quiet moments, too. That really said a lot,” Billings said. Other students enjoyed the talk for its candor. “I thought he was really honest and really candid,” Tori Traver, a senior majoring in public relations, said. “He didn’t live up to stereotypes and was very realistic.” Through his personal anecdotes and advice, Hill taught about sports media as well as life. “I think students will take away the theme of perseverance. The future is there for those who take it, they just need to be proactive,” CW | Alaina Clark Mike Hill from ESPN talks to students about sports communication. Billings said.

Students, faculty discourage spring break bingeing By Morgan Taylor Contributing Writer For some college students, spring break is about closing the textbooks and relaxing, while for others it can mean drinking all night. Binge drinking is not a foreign concept to spring breakers, but the deaths of 1,835 college students caused by alcohol-related injuries may be. According to statistics from the National Institute On Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, four out of five college students drink alcohol and about half of college students who drink admit to binge drinking.

“It’s a term that captures a particular behavior – drinking in a short amount of time, and frequently,” said Delynne Wilcox, assistant director of health planning and prevention at The University of Alabama. The definition of binge drinking differs from male to female, and even varies within genders, depending on other factors such as weight, but according the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, binge drinking is defined as either a male consuming five or more drinks, or a female consuming four or more drinks, within an hour.

“The body is a fine-tuned engine with a lot of warning signals, but we think we can circumvent them, and that’s when people get into trouble,” Wilcox said. Vomiting is a good sign you are at risk of alcohol poisoning, and while you may feel fine for a short amount of time after throwing up, the alcohol is still logged in your bloodstream, and the consequences of continuing to drink may lead you to the hospital. “For some students, spring break isn’t just about binge drinking,” Wilcox said. “It is about being and staying drunk the whole week.” Binge drinking is no new

epidemic. According to results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 40 percent of people 18 to 25 participated in binge drinking within a month, and past surveys from as early as the 1980s show similar rates for people that age. Students who have lost loved ones to alcohol-related incidents, such as junior Adelaide Kattman, fear what people might do behind the wheel this spring break. “Drinking and driving is a terrible thing to do – it’s just such a quick simple decision that changes lives,” Kattman said, mourning the loss of friend and former UA

student, Dwight “Doc” Reel who passed in February to an alcohol-related accident. “People think alcohol will ultimately give you a fun time and good memories, but most of the time alcohol won’t paint you that pretty picture,” Wilcox said. Wilcox suggests, as a general rule of thumb, you should have one sober person for every three people who are drunk in the group. “I want to stress what sober means,” Wilcox said. “It doesn’t mean they are drinking less, it means they are not drinking.” “People need to realize, even I didn’t think about it

that much until I was personally affected, and then it’s too late,” Kattman said. As a rough estimate, two drinks per hour will allow your body to process alcohol. Even if you feel “fine,” it takes time for our body’s defense mechanisms to react to the poisonous toxins from the alcohol; even while you are passed out your blood alcohol content will continue to rise, Wilcox said. “So, if you take your friend back to the hotel, someone needs to stay with them or they could stop breathing and no one would know,” Wilcox said. “That’s how people die from alcohol poisoning.”

Contact your Special Projects Rep to place an ad

Take your advertising where the crowd is...

Get S ocial.

p d Re ! A r n u t yo ormatio c a t Con ore inf for m

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 11

Campus convenience, comforts of home Live in the newest gated development on campus, complete with a private pool and courtyard! Walk to class!

Only 4 4-bedroom townhouse s remaining for

Call 205-345-0564 FALL 2013 rockpointrental.com 513 13th Street Follow our progress on Facebook!

513 Rock Point

Page 12 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Engineering students prepare for robotics competition By Ashanka Kumari Chief Copy Editor A team of eight UA electrical engineering seniors will compete at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers SoutheastCon April 5-6 in Jacksonville, Fla. The team, known as “The A Team,” was formed from students in the ECE 492/494 course that volunteered for this particular project, said Kenneth Ricks, associate professor for electrical and computer engineering and faculty advisor for the team. The course is a twosemester series often referred to as “senior design.” “The students’ goal is to design, fabricate, test and oper-

ate a robot that is capable of meeting all of the requirements for the 2013 SoutheastCon Hardware Competition that is part of the IEEE SoutheastCon Regional conference,” Ricks said. Ricks said the rules for the competition change each year. “For this year, the robot must be able to sort cargo according to size and color,” Ricks said. “There are 14 total cargo blocks, and the robot has 5 minutes to correctly sort as many blocks as possible. Points are allocated for each cargo block correctly placed in its corresponding delivery zone. “The robot is completely autonomous meaning that once the start button has been

pressed, there is no operator control. The robot must sense its environment on its own, perform all of its own movements and make its own decisions.” Sarah Betzig, a member of the team, said she and team members broke the robot down into subsystems – detection, navigation, chassis, power, motors, coding, gripper and unloading – and delegated each subsystem to two team members, a primary, or leader, and a secondary, or supporter. Betzig is the primary for the color detection subsystem and secondary for the navigation subsystem. “Depending on how far along the project is, some subsystems need more time put into

them than others,” Betzig said. “Right now, we are focusing on system integration and smoothing out our software algorithm. However, all team members spend time in the lab daily to support the other members and continue working on the robot.” Along with Betzig, team members include seniors Charles McVay, Boyang Li, Jordan Miller, Corey Dean, Matthew O’Brien, Kaylan Champion and Alexander Bradshaw. Miller, primary focal for the power system and secondary focal for the gripper subsystem, said the structure of the robot was brainstormed by the team during the proposal process. “The goals more oriented to the class include creating a

Submitted

Corey Dean, left, and Matthew O’Brien, right, test their robot in preparation for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers SoutheastCon.

proposal, two design reviews, completed everything except a final presentation and a final the final presentation and demo,” Miller said. “We have demo.”

Student-run online delivery system caters to campus community By Jessica Smith Contributing Writer Crimson2Go, an online delivery service where you can order food from more than 20 restaurants, caters to University of Alabama students for $2.99. It was an idea born at Gainesville State College in Athens, Ga., by owner Ben Lapish, who visited Tuscaloosa and instantly fell in love with the town, students and championship athletic programs. “I came to Tuscaloosa visiting in college and noticed all the great food here in town,” Lapish said.

Advertise in the

DAY

Magazine

Magazine 2013 Contact your ad rep to place an ad

Lapish initially started working for Bulldawg Food, where he met his business partner Kevin Johnson. Once Johnson and Lapish decided Tuscaloosa was the place to open their new business, Lapish sent out an email to a few of his friends in Tuscaloosa. “I began searching for a name for my company and emailed a few friends in T-town with my choice,” Lapish said. “They responded with a unanimous yes to Crimson2Go.” Crimson2Go began delivering last summer with just four employees. Since that time, they have grown to about 20

drivers and a full-office staff. “We started with one driver, myself, Kevin and his brother Erik,” Lapish said. Crimson2Go delivers for 20 restaurants, with delivery times ranging from 30-40 minutes during the week and 40-50 minutes on the weekends. However, Lapish said their delivery times are much faster compared to a lot of other services in town, and they are a one-stop shop for all delivery needs. “We deliver Chinese, Southwest, Mexican, Italian, fast casual (Zoe’s Kitchen), meat and threes and even Co l d st o n e Cr e a m e r y, ”

Lapish said. Lapish said their delivery charge is not much more than the typical delivery service, and with that little extra charge you get much more. Langley Clements, a sophomore majoring in public relations and restaurant and hospitality management, said it’s nice to be able to get delivery from a variety of different restaurants, but the delivery charge could be a little lower. “It’s nice to be able to order and have food delivered from places that don’t normally deliver,” Clements said, “but it’s also kind of expensive.”

Anna Locklier, a junior majoring in business administration, said she never heard of the service but loved the idea of it. “I wouldn’t mind paying a little extra to have my food delivered to my door,” Locklier said. “I order delivery pizza a lot, but I would love to have Moe’s delivered.” Lapish said business has been booming, and students seem to like the idea. He said Crimson2Go brings “a good bit” of business to the restaurants that work with them, but they are not taking from their instore business.

Lapish doesn’t see competition from pizza companies and their delivery options, even though some of them are cheaper than Crimson2Go. “When you want delivery, you only want delivery,” Lapish said. “But not pizza every day!” Crimson2Go accepts cash, credit card and Crimson2Go gift certificates. They don’t allow orders to be cancelled once they have been placed, and patrons cannot order from multiple restaurants on the same order. For more information visit their website, www.crimson2go.com, or call (205) 469-9229.

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 13

Researcher compiles survey of Alabama fossil record By Anna Waters Lead Designer Once half-covered in oceanic predators, Alabama’s terrain has proven conducive to the harvest of more than just cash crops. Since the dawn of civilization, Alabamians have sowed and tilled in a hotbed of Cretaceous fossils. University of Alabama paleontology researcher Ikijiri Takehito has compiled a comprehensive survey of what remains of these prehistoric creatures, as well as their land-faring counterparts. Takehito’s paper identifies 8,275 specimens and 92 species of vertebrate fossils found in Alabama’s upper cretaceous rock, a significant contribution to the science of paleontology. “Quite a bit, about 12 percent, of the surface of Alabama is covered by cretaceous rock and young to ancient dinosaurs,” Takehito said. “During the [cretaceous period], a good part of Alabama was under the ocean, so we have a combination of both

land and marine fossils.” of Alabama. He said one of the aims of the “The ocean you would least study, which he co-authored with like to be diving in would be the Jun Ebersole, is to act as a refer- cretaceous ocean, because of the ence material for more research. sheer profusion of things that “This information should help could eat you,” Asher Elbein, give us what rock we should a UA junior who illustrated look for, what county we should the cover art for Takehito’s go to,” Takehito paper, said. said. “If we want In order to to find where a begin his survey, During the [cretaceous peridinosaur is, this Takehito requestod], a good part of Alabama paper will help.” ed a complete was under the ocean, so we Alberto Pérezrecord of specihave a combination of both Huerta, an assismens from each land and marine fossils. tant geology museum that professor at the housed Alabama — Ikijiri Takehito University, said fossils. Alabama’s terOnce Takehito rain is especially gathered the conductive to finding fossils. data, he broke it down and orga“We have very good expo- nized it according to the taxonosure in the central part of the my of the specimen, the year the state, not much vegetation and fossil was collected, the geologirocks that wear away with rain- cal unit it was from and the area fall,” Pérez-Huerta said. “This in which it was found. According allows the fossils to be exposed to his findings, more than 70 percontinually.” cent of all recorded vertebrate During the Cretaceous Period, fossils were from Dallas and ravenous marine lizards, mon- Greene counties. Takehito said strous sharks and colossal sea Dallas County is a geological turtles dominated the oceans catchall for cretaceous fossils.

“

“We could just find fossils on the surface,” he said. “We didn’t have to dig. We just had to hike and cut down trees. We have most vertebrate specimen fossils from that area, called Harrell Station.” In fact, Takehito said he plans to take one of his paleontology classes to Harrell Station this summer for a fossil excavation. “We’ll still find a lot of fossils,” he said. “It’s a really good trip, not only for research, but for education for students and kids. Occasionally we’ll find an interesting specimen that hasn’t been identified yet.” Takehito said he hopes to find more dinosaur fossils and more fossils from the later cretaceous period, closer to the extinction. He said he thinks they are there and that people just need to spend more time digging. “We have a lot of fossils in this area, you know,” Takehito said. “They’re everywhere. Just take a couple of hours to look, and you’ll probably find one. We are very important to reptile evolution.”

Submitted

Under threat of lawsuit by local chain restaurant changes name By John Burleson Contributing Writer Burger U changed its name to Tuscaloosa Burger after receiving a legal notice from the owners of the popular Wings U restaurant. The new restaurant underwent the change in name after a vigorous campaign on both social media sites and on the ground to promote the new website. Dan Robinson, a Louisiana native who moved to Tuscaloosa to start his new business, explained his views on the legalities. “We were sent a legal notice, but we are pretty sure that we had a strong case and good legal ground to stand on. I mean the letter U is pretty much, in my opinion, public domain,”

Robinson said. “You look at universities, colleges and high schools across the country – and restaurants, too – and tons of them use the letter U in a similar way that we were.” Alan Durham, an expert on intellectual property with The University of Alabama Law School, added insight on the legalities of the case in an emailed statement. “I presume that the owners of Wings U have a trademark claim in mind – technically it would be a service mark because the restaurant is considered a service rather than a good, but the principle is the same,” Durham said. “They would argue that the name Burger U is so confusingly similar that consumers would believe the restaurants to be related.”

Robinson also spoke about how he came to the decision to change the name instead of fighting the lawsuit in court, and the cost of the overall name change. “I understand that there could be some confusion with the name, that we could be associated with Wings U. We definitely did not want that, and I know that they did not want that either, so I definitely understand why they might have been upset,” Robinson said. “I’m an individual who moved from Louisiana to here to start this business.” Robinson said he looked at a number of places, such as College Station, to start his restaurant before he ultimately decided on Tuscaloosa. “My lawyer told me that I

s r e ? n h g c i s u de to e

ic h p gra

th e v a

Apply for The Crimson White Creative Services Manager and Assistant Manager positions! Hone your skills while gaining valuable experience. Applications available at the Office of Student Media.

Deadline to apply Wednesday, April 3rd by 5pm For more information, contact cwcreativemanager@gmail.com

could be spending upwards of $75,000 in court, and I ultimately do not have that kind of money to throw around,” he said. Durham explained that the court’s decision could be a tossup between the two companies. “Courts apply a host of factors in deciding whether such confusion is likely – including the distinctiveness of the trademark in question (e.g., is it an invented term or a commonlyused descriptive one), the similarity of the marks, the similarity of the goods, and whether there is evidence that confusion has already occurred,” he said. “I wouldn’t speculate on how it might come out.” Robinson expressed how stressful the experience had been since they had received

the notice, but that it had cost him less in the long run to change the name and stay out of court. “You know, we lost a little momentum, having to change the name, and I had to put up a new sign and have new t-shirts made. So in total I have probably spent $15,000 to get everything changed over. So, in all, a lot less than what I would have spent in court,” Robinson said. “It has been stressful. I am here every day, I have been training people, training cooks with my recipes and running the business and it has been very stressful having to do all of this on top of changing the name.” Robinson said he has been to city hall, the county and the ABC Board to get the name changed on all of his licenses.

“We had even trademarked the name in other states in case we decided to expand into other places,” he said. “It has just been very stressful.” Ramey Edwards, a University of Alabama alumnus who received her bachelor’s degree in journalism last year, said the name change had taken her by surprise but had not changed her opinion of the restaurant. “I did hear that they had changed their name and it threw me off a little bit when I went to eat,” Edwards said. “Still, it was really good and the name change will not stop me from going back. I enjoyed it.” Bob Baumhower, the CEO of Aloha Hospitality International, which runs Wings U, did not respond with comments by press time.

Page 14 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

SOFTBALL

Tide sends Panthers home after 9-1 victory By Kelly Ward Contributing Writer The Alabama softball team routed Georgia State 9-1 in five innings. Lauren Sewell improved to 6-0 after pitching five innings and allowing two hits. The win was Alabama’s third against the Georgia State Panthers. Last season, the Panthers kept the Tide to one run in a 5-1 win. “Well, probably based on the score that’s the way it was [last year’s loss to Georgia State], but I think tonight we were definitely ready to play,” head coach Patrick Murphy said. “Lauren [Sewell] hadn’t pitched in a long time, and you worry about whether she’s going to be sharp or not, and Jordan Patterson told me yesterday that she had the best bullpen that she ever had.” After Georgia State scored its only run off a squeeze in the top of the first, the Tide was unable to answer in the

bottom of the first. The Tide answered big in the bottom of the second when Andrea Hawkins hit in Danielle Richard. Then Kayla Braud hit a three-run home run to score Danae Hays and Hawkins to make it 4-1 Alabama. In the bottom of the third, Sewell hit a three-run shot with no outs to extend the lead to 7-1. Alabama chased Georgia State pitcher Katie Worley out of the game. The Crimson Tide added two runs to its lead in the bottom of the fourth to seal the game 9-1. Kaila Hunt hit in Braud, and in the next at bat Jackie Traina hit in Haylie McCleney for the final run of the game. “Everyone got on base. All nine that started got on base at least once. I don’t think that’s happened all year long,” Murphy said. “There were a couple of spots where we had first and second with no outs and had a pop up. That’s

an opportunity for a huge inning, and we’ll get better at that.” The three-run home run was Sewell’s first home run of the season. “Yeah, I love pitching, but when you’re in the lineup, and you know that you can contribute hitting-wise, I think it’s a lot of fun,” Sewell said. Sewell’s home run was one of two three run shots last night. The Tide had thirteen hits on the night with twentyfour at bats. “Well, I watched the batters before me. My first at bat, I grounded out to second… I was seeing the ball really well tonight, just trying to battle,” Sewell said. “She was throwing a lot of strikes so I was waiting for her to make a mistake and took advantage of her mistake.” The Tide improved to 27-3 and will host a three-game series with Auburn this weekend at Rhoads Stadium. The Alabama softball team defeated the Georgia state Panthers 9-1.

CW | Alaina Clark

BASEBALL

Production at plate leads UA to close win over JSU By Kevin Connell Staff Reporter

When a team gets hot at the plate, it’s often difficult for the other team to put an end to it. That’s the case for Alabama, who for the fifth game in a row recorded double-digit hits in a 6-5 victory over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide (13-9, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) rallied from an early 4-2 deficit, scoring three runs in the

bottom of the third inning to take a 5-4 lead that it would not let up the rest of the way. The Tide is now on its first three-game winning streak since February and has won five of its last six games. “Every time they scored, we had the ability to answer in the front part of the game and had good offensive pressure throughout,” Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said. “Really that was the story of the game; once we got the lead there the bullpen did a nice job to hold the game

right there toward the end.” Sophomore right-hander Jake Hubbard (1-0) was credited with the win, allowing three hits and one run with three strikeouts and a walk in 2 1/3 innings after coming in as relief for sophomore starter Taylor Guilbeau. Hubbard was forced to shut down early after feeling “discomfort in his elbow” in the fifth inning. “Right now, we’ll know tomorrow [on the injury], but we’re hoping for just an elbow strain,” Gaspard said. “Mechanically, we’ve changed

some things with him. Sometimes that can cause irritation, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed right now with him.” Junior first baseman Austen Smith and freshman second baseman Kyle Overstreet knocked in the first two runs of the third inning with back-to-back doubles down the first-base line. Freshman center fielder Georgie Salem provided the third run of the inning with an RBI single also to right field. Smith led the way for the

Tide for the second straight game after batting 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and one run scored. In Tuesday night’s 15-7 win over Samford, Smith was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a home run. “In the box, I’ve just kind of relaxed a little bit, slowed everything down,” Smith said. As a team, the Tide now has 69 hits and 55 runs scored in its last five games alone. “We’re getting started pretty early, getting a good rhythm,” senior catcher Brett Booth said. “I think once you

get started, it’s kind of contagious, everyone keeps hitting throughout the game.” Freshman right-hander Ray Castillo was credited with his second save of the season after coming on to close it out for Alabama in the ninth. The Tide will next play this weekend when it travels to Athens, Ga. to face the Georgia Bulldogs (8-12, 0-3 SEC) in its first SEC road series of the season. First pitches are set for Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 15

FOOTBALL

Crimson Tide suits up for ﬁrst full-contact practice

CW | Austin Bigoney

Left: Tight End Kurt Freitag catches a pass Wednesday afternoon. Right: Defensive backs Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Nick Perry take turns defending each other at practice. By Zac Al-Khateeb Staff Reporter The University of Alabama football team had its first practice in full pads Wednesday, the team’s third overall of the spring. Head coach Nick Saban said he was pleased with the way his team has been progressing. “After watching everyone running around in shirts and helmets, they look a little quicker, a little faster,” Saban said. “They get the pads on, and it’s just something that the players have to get used to. But I thought the effort was good. The attention to detail has been good.” Despite the team’s effort and focus, some of the play-

ers said putting on pads for the first time was somewhat difficult. Sophomore tackle Cyrus Kouandjio said it took some time to get used to being dressed out fully again. “At first, I’m saying to myself, ‘Man, I just got out of season. I’m tired,’” Kouandjio said. “But once you get on the field, start getting on warming up, start feeling yourself again, you feel good.” Senior cornerback Deion Belue shared the same sentiments as Kouandjio, but said he was glad to be back in pads and able to hit people again. “Today, it felt like we just got off the field, and now we’re back on the field full contact again,” Belue said.

“But it was fun. It was fun being the first day. It was a great day for us outside to put the pads on.” Players getting used to new coaches The team has to adjust to more than just the usual round of new players this spring. With the departure of five coaches in the offseason, the team has also been using the spring to get to know their new coaches. Still, some of the players have said they see no difference in the demeanor between their former coaches and their replacements. Junior safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix said new secondary coach Greg Brown has already made

his presence felt among the defensive backs. He said he sees no difference between Brown and former secondary coach Jeremy Pruitt. “None at all,” Clinton-Dix said. “Coach Brown is a great coach. Him and coach Pruitt both get on you when you do something wrong. You just got to stick to it.” Kouandjio said he hasn’t had enough time to tell if he sees any differences between former offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and his current replacement, Mario Cristobal. Much like ClintonDix, Kouandjio said he sees numerous similarities between his former and current coach. “They’re both good coaches,” Kouandjio said. “Both

really technical coaches. They’re really down with the little things. They both push you. They’re really high energy coaches.” Indeed, that is part of the reason Saban said he hired on Cristobal. “He’s done a really good job teaching them,” Saban said. “He’s got good energy and enthusiasm. He brings some good ideas. That’s always welcome with new coaches. … Everything about this, as far from a transition standpoint, has been positive.”

line, which lost three linemen to the NFL Draft in April. With that said, Saban and his players said they feel the new offensive line is coming together nicely, and all the players have improved steadily since practice began. Saban said he has taken advantage of this to try people out at different positions. “We move around,” Saban said. “They play guard one day and tackle the next. We’re finding out what they can do.” Kouandjio said he feels Offensive line continuing to confident the offensive line experiment will be fine come fall. One of the positions which “The sky’s the limit for us,” has the most talent to replace Kouandjio said. “The sky’s this spring is the offensive the limit.”

COLUMN

NCAA tournament kicks off March Madness, provides interesting matchups By Bryan Bergman It’s that time of year again: March Madness. 68 teams have their tickets punched for the NCAA tournament, and now the only thing left to do is go dancing. The round of 64 tips off Thursday, and if you don’t have time to watch all 32 games, you should make sure to tune in for these especially intriguing ones. The 7-10 matchup in the Midwest puts together two polar opposite teams. Creighton, winner of the MVC, has one of the best offenses

around. Led by forward Doug McDermott, whose 23.1 points per game is second in the country, the Blue Jays’ starting five all have tournament experience. Creighton also leads the nation in shooting percentage, 3-pointers and is 24th in scoring. They go up against Cincinnati, a punishing defensive team that struggled to find the basket in Big East play. After winning their first 12 games while averaging 79.8 points, the offense disappeared, and they finished 197th in scoring and 305th in shooting. The defense stayed

constant, as they rank 24th in scoring defense and eighth in rebounding. Look for PG Cashmere Wright to control this game and lead the Bearcats to an upset. The South’s 5-12 game pits VCU against MAC champions Akron. Shaka Smart’s Rams made a memorable Final Four run in 2011, and four of their starters were on that team. The Rams have the best turnover margin in the country, which is bad news for an Akron team ranked 207th in turnovers per game. They can also score. Led by Treveon

BE NATURAL. $

10 Test Drive 00

Every Bed*- All Week $10 Any Regular Spray Tan $10 *Enjoy one session each – Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond for $10 or any Regular Spray Tan for $10. Valid for new customers only, one time only. Sunbed sessions must be used within 7 days of date of purchase. Beds vary by location—substitutions may apply. Regular membership rules apply. Sunless session must be used at the time of purchase. Must present coupon to receive offer. Offers cannot be combined with any other coupon or offer. See salon for details. All rights reserved. Offer expires 3/31/13.

1130 University Blvd., Ste. B-7 Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 205-345-8912

PBTI-35670.10

Graham and Juvonte Reddic, their 78 points per game is 11th in the nation. Don’t count out the Zips, though. Seven-foot senior Zeke Marshall creates serious matchup problems for VCU, which typically plays a four-guard lineup that averages 6-feet 5-inches. If Akron can defend the three, and freshman PG Carmelo Betancourt can fill in for the suspended Alex Abreu, they have a chance to win this game. The West brings us a 6-11 matchup between Arizona and Belmont. The Wildcats started the season 20-2, beating Florida and Miami, but ended on a 5-5 run. They can score, but their three best scorers all shoot under 45 percent. They struggle on defense, especially against the three, where they rank 276th. This bodes

well for a senior-laden Bruins team led by Ian Clark, one of the top offensive guards in the country. Unusually for a smallconference team, Belmont has the size to stand with Arizona, but they lack a true center to matchup with 7-footer Kaleb Tarczewski. Belmont struggles to grab rebounds, so they need to make their shots count. They’ve been able to do this so far, as they shoot 49.4 percent, fourth in the country. If the Bruins can limit their turnovers, they have a good chance in this game. The 6-11 game between Butler and Patriot League champions Bucknell is an interesting one. The Bulldogs defeated Indiana, Gonzaga and UNC this season, led by guard Rotnei Clarke’s outstanding 3-point shooting. Butler will

need a big game from senior center Andrew Smith, who goes up against one of the best players you’ve never heard of, Mike Muscala. Muscala averages 11.2 rebounds, fourth in the country, in addition to 19 points per game. The Bison protect the ball well, committing the second-fewest turnovers per game in the nation. They also play stingy defense, holding opponents under 38 percent shooting. These are all good signs for Bucknell, but to pull off the upset, they need production, especially 3-point shooting, from their backcourt, Cameron Ayers and Bryson Johnson. These should be some of the best games of another interesting tournament, so make sure to tune in this weekend.

Page 16 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

TRACK AND FIELD

Track and ﬁeld team to kick off outdoor season By Kelly Ward Contributing Writer The Alabama track and field team will host seven schools this Friday and Saturday for the Alabama Relays. This meet marks the start of the outdoor season, and is in Tuscaloosa since an Oct. 13 cross country meet. “You’re always more comfortable [at home]. You always have that home field advantage. You usually get better performances,” head coach Dan Waters

said. “The kids are excited. Their friends and family are in the stands. It just becomes a great atmosphere for the athlete.” Two weekends ago, five athletes earned All-American accolades, the most for Alabama since six athletes in 2001. “Those are obviously some of the core athletes on our team. We’d like them to continue to keep improving and setting a little higher bar for themselves,” Waters said. “Hopefully, that atmosphere and that culture can trickle down to everyone else on

the team, and everyone continues to raise their efforts and personal bests and have just a little better marks.” The start of the outdoor season is the start of an entirely new season, with additional events and different records than the indoor season. The javelin, the discus, the hammer throw, the 400m hurdles and the 10,000m are some of the additional events that are contested during the outdoor season. Only two weekends separated the indoor and outdoor seasons. Between the

two, the track and field team is in nearly constant competition for five months. On its own, the outdoor season spans almost three months, with only one weekend without a meet. “A lot of things are quite different from the indoor season to the outdoor season as we kind of get started. The outdoor season is a slow buildup as well because it is a very long season. This [meet] kind of just kicks it off. We’ll be competing from this point all the way to mid-June,” Waters said. “It

COLUMN

definitely takes the right amount of energy and the right amount of focus, and honestly we’re still working on a lot of technical stuff.” The team is very young. The majority is made up of freshmen and sophomores who are still getting used to the two seasons back-to-back. Along with the two seasons back-to-back, the team has two meets on the weekends surrounding spring break. Waters said he does not have a problem motivating the team. “The sport of track itself really

motivates the athletes because you see little improvements every single time you compete, so a long jumper may only get 3 or 4 inches of improvement from one meet to the next. That starts adding up like, ‘Hey I got a little bit better this week. I got a personal best in the discus,’ or whatever might happen,” Waters said. “It’s a self-motivating thing where the performances drive the ambition for them. Of course, our athletes are incredibly dedicated, as they are in any sport.”

BASKETBALL

NIT game about more than basketball Grant looking for consistency in By Charlie Potter The Alabama men’s basketball team took care of Northeastern in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide defeated the Huskies 62-43. No. 1 seed Alabama (21-12, 12-6 SEC) will advance to the second round of the NIT and play host to No. 4 Stanford (18-14, 9-9 Pac-12) at Coleman Coliseum Saturday. Although this is an intriguing matchup on the hardwood, I can’t help but salivate at the thought of these two teams meeting on the gridiron. Obviously, the Tide finished the 2012 football season as national champions. Alabama destroyed No. 1 Notre Dame 42-14 in Miami, Fla., to claim the University’s 15th championship. But if the future playoff system was in place for the 2012 season, could the Tide and Cardinal have faced off in the championship contest? Alabama (13-1, 7-1 SEC) was

the clear-cut favorite for the No. 2 slot in the championship game, and many would argue that Oregon would have filled the No. 3 slot. But the rest of the field was wide open. Stanford (12-2, 8-1 Pac-12) had a strong claim for deserving a shot at a national title, but others would argue that a second Southeastern Conference team was more deserving, especially with the body of work that Florida, Georgia and Texas A&M boasted during the season. Nevertheless, a meeting between the Tide and Cardinal would be fun to watch. Stanford is the one team outside the Southeast that plays the SEC’s style of football. It’s known for its running game and hard-nosed defense, and it has established itself as one of the elite college football programs in the country. In fact, Alabama fans owe a lot to the Cardinal. It was Stanford that defeated Oregon

last season to allow the Tide to slip back into the driver’s seat for a championship game bid. But if the two teams met in Tuscaloosa, Palo Alto or a neutral site, Nick Saban and company would not be quick to thank the Cardinal for its blessing in disguise. If they did meet, I think it would be a close game early, or at least until the beginning of the second half. Stanford has a disciplined defense that knows how to stop the run. Last season, the Cardinal allowed its opponents to score an average of 17.2 points per game, which was the 11th best total in the nation. Alabama was first by only giving up 10.9 points per game. I’m not saying that this contest would be a monumental defensive slug-fest like the Tide is used to seeing from LSU, but it has got to be more exciting than Alabama’s other nonconference games against Michigan and Notre Dame.

GYMNASTICS

Tide heads to conference championship By Marquavius Burnett Sports Editor The Alabama gymnastics team will travel to Little Rock, Ark., for the 2013 SEC Championships Friday. The conference championships provide the Crimson Tide a chance to perform in a hostile environment before nationals. “The SEC is the toughest conference in the nation in my opinion,” senior Ashley Sledge said. “You definitely want the bragging rights, so we’re preparing very heavily for this meet.” With the addition of Missouri to SEC gymnastics, this year’s championships will host eight teams and for the first time will be broken into two sessions. The top four teams by Regional Qualifying Score (Florida, Alabama, Georgia, LSU) will

meet against Oklahoma,” head coach Sarah Patterson said. “She continues to improve week-by-week and she has certainly given us a boost as we head into the championship season.” Beers enjoyed a career night against the Sooners, winning the vault with a career-best 9.95 and the floor exercise with a career-best 9.9. Her 9.95 on the vault led the Tide to a seasonbest 49.525 on the vault. She also made her collegiate debut on the uneven bars, scoring a 9.825, helping the Tide to a season-best 49.425 team mark. Lauren Beers Named SEC “She just has totally transFreshman of the Week formed into the gymnast that After winning two indi- she is capable of being,” Sledge vidual titles against then No. said. “We challenged the fresh1 Oklahoma, Lauren Beers men to step up, especially after was named SEC Freshman Marissa got hurt, and she has Gymnast of the Week. totally rose to the occasion and “Lauren had a tremendous I couldn’t be prouder.”

compete in the evening session while Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri will compete in the afternoon session. Alabama will start on the uneven bars as the second seeded team in the evening session. Alabama has won seven SEC Championships and has posted 23 top-2 finishes, including second place in 2012 with a score of 196.775. Alabama and Florida have traded the SEC title in recent years, with the Tide winning in 2009 and 2011 and the Gators in 2010 and 2012.

MEN’S GOLF

Tide golf team preps for Linger Longer Invitational By Nick Sellers Contributing Writer The No. 2 Alabama men’s golf team will play the team’s third tournament in as many weeks the Linger Longer Invitational this weekend. The tournament will take place at the Reynolds Landing Golf Club in Greensboro, Ga. With the golfers’ latest win at the Schenkel Invitational last weekend, Alabama has won two of its last three tournaments. Sophomore Justin Thomas set a school record with his individual tournament victory, bringing his career total to six. Thomas surpassed UA grad and current PGA golfer Steve Lowery. Juniors Bobby Wyatt and Cory Whitsett have also posted strong results this spring, achieving top-10 finishes in two of the squad’s three 2013 tournaments. Despite the team’s successes, head coach Jay Seawell said the team must strive to remain consistent. “What we need is to continue to do well and maintain our approach,” Seawell said. “We can only control ourselves and

what we do. You can’t become too result-minded and lose focus on the shot you have.” The tournament pits the men’s team against No. 7 Georgia Tech and Southeastern Conference rival Georgia, who is currently No. 10. The field also includes top-25 teams Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Alabama won the last two Linger Longer Invitational tournaments and finished runner-up in 2010. Whitsett in particular has seen great success, finishing first individually in 2011 and tying for the top spot last year. He said he doesn’t feel any added pressure, though. “Coach has just been trying to reinforce everything,” Whitsett said. “The quick turnaround from last weekend has been difficult, but as a team we just have to figure out how to do it.” Wyatt acknowledged the tough stretch of courses Bama has played lately, but stressed that it’s nothing the team hasn’t seen before. “We’re doing just fine,” Wyatt said. “Coming home, we just really have to maintain what we had going last week. This one is just your same typical Southern

golf course.” As the season rolls on, coach Seawell said he’s been pleased so far with the team’s competitiveness and drive, adding that the talent and consistency has yielded success so far this spring. Thomas agreed that the team is in a good spot, but warned of potential pitfalls for the team’s psyche. “The biggest thing right now is probably attitude,” Thomas said. “Positive attitudes are what can help us compete against the top teams, against Cal or Texas.” Wyatt also stressed the need for a positive mindset, adding that the temperament of one golfer can benefit the team as a whole. “We just try to help each other and feed off each other’s energy,” he said. “We’re a team first, and we’re going to try to win as a team.” The men’s golf team gets a brief reprieve after Linger Longer before heading to the Aggie Invitational the weekend after spring break. SEC Championships follow two weeks later.

NIT matchup against Stanford By Charlie Potter Staff Reporter The top-seeded Alabama men’s basketball team will play host to Stanford in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum. The No. 4 seed Cardinal defeated No. 5 Stephen F. Austin 58-57 late Tuesday night to advance to the second round. Stanford (18-14, 9-9 Pac-12) escaped the first round after the Lumberjacks’ Desmond Haymon missed a last-second shot. Dwight Powell recorded a double-double with 12 points and 15 points to lead the Cardinal in its win. Stanford has won three of its last four games coming into the second round contest of the NIT. Alabama (21-12, 12-6 SEC) took care of No. 8 Northeastern 62-43 on Tuesday to stay alive in its quest to get back to New York. The Tide is also the winners of three of its last four contests.

But head coach Anthony Grant said he wants to see more consistency out of his team. This season, the Tide has been known to break out on impressive offensive runs and build leads in games only to see those leads dissolve when the shooting goes cold. Tuesday night was no different. “As a team, we’ve got to get beyond that,” Grant said. “That’s the maturity that I’m looking for as a coach, and my expectation for our guys is to understand that. Let’s get the maturity. Let’s stop letting that happen. Let’s stop allowing that to happen. Obviously, you can’t always control what another team does, but let’s not do it to ourselves.” Northeastern cut Alabama’s lead to one point in the second half after the Tide had led for majority of the game. Junior guard Trevor Releford said he and his teammates weren’t pleased with the team’s drought in scoring and came together during a timeout to talk things over.

“We just came together as a team and said, ‘We’ve got to make plays,’” Releford said. “‘We’ve got to step up. We’ve got to defend. We’ve got to stop them too. We can’t keep trading baskets. Let’s play.’” After that meeting, Alabama responded and went on a 22-0 run and took back control of the game until the final buzzer. The game against Stanford will tip off at 11 a.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

IF YOU GO... • What: National Invitation Tournament, Alabama v. Stanford • When: Saturday, 11 a.m. • Where: Coleman Coliseum

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 17

MEN’S WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL

Wheelchair basketball team wins national title After 7 years together, team joins ranks of other Crimson Tide champions following March 9 victory By Charlie Potter Staff Reporter At Alabama, championships are as traditional as Denny Chimes and ‘Yea Alabama,’ and one team recently joined in on the winning tradition with its first championship. The men’s wheelchair basketball team defeated TexasArlington 71-52 Saturday, March 9, claiming its first national championship in the program’s seven-year history. Head coach Miles Thompson said winning was a relief after all that was put into the program. “It’s a justification of all the hard work,” Thompson said. “It quantifies things. But mostly it’s a deep smile for these

“

It’s invaluable. Not only did we win, but we built it from nothing. It’s not like a team that’s been here around for 30 years. We built this in seven years. — Jared Arambula

boys and this team and knowing that they bought into all the extra work and the extra layers that we added to the brand, to the product.” Senior Mark Booth scored 18 points and shot 50 percent (4-of-8) from the 3-point line in the championship game. He said it took some time for the reality of winning a

championship to sink in. “It felt great,” Booth said. “I didn’t even know what to feel for a little while because this is my fifth year, and we were not very good my first couple of years. We’ve slowly been getting better. I was sitting there getting my shirt, hat and medal, and I just couldn’t believe it that we won. It was great.” Booth and fellow senior Jared Arambula were captains on the 2012-2013 team, and both have watched this team evolve into the proud machine it is today. Arambula averaged more than 22.25 points and 7.87 rebounds per game this season. In the championship match, he posted 21 points,

nine rebounds and 12 assists. He said this team’s success and progression of the product on the court will be a tool to draw recruits to the Capstone. “It’s invaluable,” Arambula said. “Not only did we win, but we built it from nothing. It’s not like a team that’s been here around for 30 years. We built this in seven years.” Thompson said Booth and Arambula catapulted the program when they arrived on campus. It was their hard work and determination that allowed the Crimson Tide to compete with the other elite teams. “Jared and Mark, five years ago, changed the program,” Thompson said. “They’re both fifth-year seniors, both vastly

different young men. But they can both play. Their role in changing the culture here was winning games.” The face-lift to the culture of wheelchair basketball at Alabama has made it appealing to top recruits around the country and around the world. Thompson said the team’s success has allowed it to compete in the international recruiting battle. But one problem he has faced with recruiting is the lack of a facility to show off to potential players. “We need our own place. We need our own home,” Thompson said. The men’s team practices at the University Recreation Center every day at 5:45 a.m.

That is the only time the players have the basketball courts to themselves. But Booth said he doesn’t see a building being planned for wheelchair basketball in the University’s future. “I think it obviously would be nice, but it seems like something that’s not going to happen,” Booth said. “We’ve been here, we just won a championship, the girls have won three championships and we’re still both relegated to the Rec, practicing at o’ dark thirty.” The players are fine with a small arena, just as long as it has a court and two goals. “It would be nice to be able to go into a gym and shoot whenever you want,” Arambula said.

MEN’S TENNIS

Men’s tennis team credits Husack for transformation By Andrew Clare Contributing Writer Last year, the Alabama men’s tennis team won only 10 matches in its entire season. This year, though, the Crimson Tide has managed to win 12 already, and many credit the turnaround for Alabama to its new head coach, George Husack. Husack was named the new head coach of the Tide on June 13, 2012. Before taking the reins at Alabama, Husack was an assistant coach for three years at Southern California, the defending, four-time national champions. In 2012, Husack was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Assistant Coach of the Year. Husack said it has been a

“The main difference, which has been really exciting for me, is kind of doing my own thing,” Husack said. “The last five years I was fortunate to learn from some good head coaches and am taking that experience and plugging it into the program here.” Senior Jarryd Botha said — Jarryd Botha Husack has done a good job coaching the team this year. good experience coaching in his “Coach Husack has changed first year in the Southeastern the culture here,” Botha said. Conference. “He has held us to a much high“The game has been the er standard, and it has shown in same in my last 18 years of our results this season. I think coaching, but it has been good we can only move forward with down here,” Husack said. his guidance.” Husack said his plan is to use There are quite a few differthe lessons learned from suc- ences between last year’s team cesses in his assistant coach- and this year’s team, including ing position and replicate them the type of play. Alabama. Botha said the main dif-

“

Coach Husack has changed the culture here. He has held us to a much higher standard, and it has shown in our results this season. I think we can only move forward with his guidance.

ference with having Husack as coach is everyone is more focused on becoming a better team. “This year we are focused more on improving every single practice,” Botha said. “We are focused on, once again, the things we can control, and we don’t worry on the things we can’t control. We are focused on the expectations so we can

try to become a better unit and have great results.” Husack said there are a few differences between coaching in Alabama and coaching in California, but the main difference is the weather. “Certainly playing indoors here is much different for me,” Husack said. “There is not an indoor facility in all of Southern California. But play-

ing indoors allows us never to miss practice.” Despite having a nice indoor tennis facility, Husack wants the Tide to play outside as often as it can because it will help the team prepare for its ultimate goal. “We want to play outdoors as much as possible,” Husack said. “Our national championship is played outside, and we

WOMEN’S ROWING

Alabama looks to improve in upcoming regattas in Clemson By Caroline Gazzara Staff Reporter The Crimson Tide rowing team will travel to Clemson, S.C., this weekend to compete against Clemson and Marist. Alabama recently came off an eventful weekend in Oak Ridge, Tenn., earning six wins. This will be the second event of the spring season for the Tide. Previously, Alabama won five races at the Louisville Invitational Regatta. The Tide also won one race against Duke and current national champion Virginia, two of the toughest teams in the nation. Coach Larry Davis said the experience Alabama gained against Virginia and Duke will hopefully give the team a foothold against Clemson. “We have a really great group of girls,” Davis said. “Even though they are young, they really want to go out and compete. They aren’t intimidated, and they weren’t intimidated against the national champions. That’s how we’re going to pick up the kind of race-savvy determination and

“

We have a really great group of girls. Even though they are young, they really want to go out and compete. They aren’t intimidated, and they weren’t intimidated against the national champions. — Larry Davis

toughness that we need.” Davis said that though it is apparent that other teams have a week or two more of practice under their belt, Alabama is still a competitive team. “We’ve showed that we are learning based on this time, but we aren’t quite there,” Davis said. “I don’t want to push the team too fast to where we effectively skip over some development that we really need that will give us the speed that we need at the end of the season.” Alabama has been focusing on improving its racing speeds as well as working on a cleaner execution. Even with the lack of time between races, Davis said his team is ready to compete with Clemson and Marist.

Although it is still unknown whether Marist will compete in the race, Davis said he felt confident that Alabama would do well against them. As a regular competitor at the NCAAs, Clemson poses a challenge to the Tide. “Clemson has competed in the NCAAs over the past several years, and I would expect them to compete again this year,” Davis said. “They’re going to be similar to what we saw out of Virginia and Duke. We’re going to have to pick up some boat speed if we want to compete against them.” Expectations are high for Alabama. Davis said that he wanted his team to really compete against Clemson and to not be psyched out against the Tigers’ capabilities in order to have a good race.

Page 18 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

NEWS OPINION CULTURE SPORTS

CULTURE

Page 19 Editor | Lauren Ferguson culture@cw.ua.edu Thursday, March 21, 2013

COLUMN | TELEVISION

Never a dull moment as ‘House of Cards’ explores corrupt politics By Colby Leopard “House of Cards,” Netflix’s first self-distributed original TV show, made its entire first season available to subscribers for instant streaming last month on Feb. 1. A political drama based loosely on the British novel and subsequent British television series of the same title, it follows the life of Frank Underwood, majority whip in the House of Representatives, in his quest to become president by any means necessary. Netflix hired veteran director David Fincher (“Fight Club,” “The Social Network”) as executive producer and Kevin Spacey (“American Beauty”) to play Underwood, the show’s protagonist, anchoring their pilot adventure in television production. Naturally, Fincher and Spacey brought an immediate credibility to the show because of their ability to bring both vitality and intrigue to the screen. The duo, however, also saw “House of Cards” as an opportunity to explore a new realm of cinematography, television – a medium that allowed them more time to develop darker, more complex characters, themes and plots. Aided by a long list of relatively unknown but incredibly talented actors and actresses, Fincher and Spacey constructed the show’s develop-

ment to mirror its name, building each character and plot twist just like a house of cards. However slowly information and details are revealed to the viewer, the show never has a dull moment, exploring the nuances of a corrupt government, a corrupt politician and the intricacies of the mind of an evil genius. Further mimicking the nature of a house of cards, every move Frank Underwood takes towards becoming president is more delicate and precarious than the last. One of the more interesting themes explored in “House of Cards” is that of political collateral or debt, illustrated primarily through Underwood’s relationship with Rep. Peter Russo, a cocaine addict and alcoholic. Underwood strategically covers up Russo’s arrest for drunk driving in exchange for his undying loyalty and support. Russo’s character is coincidentally played by Corey Stoll, who recently played Ernest Hemingway in Woody Allen’s film “Midnight in Paris.” The similarities between Stoll’s adaptation of both Hemingway and Russo are striking. Both men struggle with addiction: Hemingway with alcohol, Russo with sex, cocaine and alcohol. Furthermore, both men have ambiguous allegiances to the U.S. government. For Russo, this is illustrated through his willingness

to throw his district under the bus to save his reputation and personal career aspirations in Washington, D.C. Hemingway, on the other hand, was under surveillance by the FBI during his tenure in Havana, Cuba, and is known to have been in contact with the Castro regime and to have illegally smuggled Cuban literature out of the country for publication. Another intriguing theme throughout “House of Cards” is the blurred nature of marriage, relationships and agreements. Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara), a reporter for The Washington Herald, blackmails Underwood in the series premiere with an unflattering photo and leverages him to agree to a mutually beneficial and confidential exchange of information. Essentially, Zoe will print scandalous stories on Underwood’s enemies to undermine their authority and credibility, meanwhile advancing her career as a political journalist. Zoe and Underwood’s relationship, however, becomes blurred when they start an affair, ultimately leading to a power struggle that jeopardizes both of their careers. Their relationship undergoes further complications when it is revealed that Underwood’s wife, Claire, has been aware of and seemingly okay with the affair as long as it expedites their quest to

Spring Break Library Hours Gorgas, Bruno, McLure and Rodgers

March 23-24 Closed March 25-29 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. March 30 Closed March 31 Gorgas 3:00 p.m. -2:00 a.m. Bruno 3:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. McLure and Rodgers 3:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Hoole Library closed March 23- March 31

Electronic Resources available 24 hours/ 7 days a week, on or off campus www.lib.ua.edu Need help? Ask a Librarian ask.lib.ua.edu Email askalibrarian@ua.edu Call 205.348.6047 Text 205.377.09.20 Tweet @GorgasLib

the White House. Do not think for a second that the complexities of “House of Cards” are limited to the themes of corruption, abuse and sexuality, as each episode sheds new light on Frank Underwood’s mis-

sion to become president. The first season of the show explores themes of homosexuality, murder, mercy and much more. As intricately woven together as an actual house of cards, the first season is available to view

in its entirety on Netflix right now. My only suggestion is that you allot yourself enough time to watch it straight through, because after you watch the first episode, you won’t leave your couch until the last.

ACT to perform Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot,’ showings start Friday By Kristen Feyt Contributing Writer The Actor’s Charitable Theatre will be performing its production of Monty Python’s “Spamalot” Friday, March 22, at the Bama Theatre. Founded in 2008, The ACT is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide an educational quality of theatre to the Tuscaloosa community. The Actor’s Charitable Theatre donates all revenue acquired from their performances to different charitable organizations. “We started off as a theater group that donated a portion back to charity,” Joey Lays, the artistic director of “Spamalot” as well as the founder of The ACT, said. “Our eventual goal would be to make our own home with an educational outreach section to our theater and then just producing new and fresh works of theater.” “Spamalot” is a musical comedy whose slogan states that it is, “lovingly ripped off from the motion picture ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail.’” The musical retells the quest that King Author and his Knights of the Round Table embark on

to find the Holy Grail. The original Broadway production of “Spamalot” won three Tony Awards in 2005, including the award for Best Musical of the 2004-2005 season. The ACT chose the comedic show because it carries a large fan base composed of people who are familiar with the Monty Python film as well as the stage production. “’Spamalot’ is just sort of an actor’s show,” Johnathon Lyons, the director and musical director of the production, said. “It’s going to be something that is very recognizable to people that are in the theater scene, and it has a cult following with the movie, ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail.’” The production is well known for its characters’ comedic timing as well as the ludicrous situations that King Author and his Knights of the Round Table are subjected to throughout the various scenes of the musical. The main goal of “Spamalot” is to entertain the audience by engaging them in the constant humor of the show. “It’s just to entertain in the base need of entertainment,” Lyons said. “Some people say that they have trouble getting

the humor of the show. I tell those people that have that trouble that there’s no point at all except to make people laugh.” The actors of the show have been rehearsing since the end of January and have made it a goal to stay true to some of the original elements from the movie while still putting some of their own personalities into their characters. The actors strive to positively affect the audience in a way that they will feel changed by the musical once they leave the theater. “This is the kind of show that I don’t care how bad of a mood you may be in or how bad things may be in your life, if you come and you see this show, you are going to enjoy yourself,” Danny Salter, who plays King Arthur in the show, said. “You are going to laugh, not just a little. You are going to hurt yourself laughing. The music is so beautiful; you can’t help but leave the theater in a much better mood and having a better outlook on life afterwards.” The play will be showing Friday, March 22, through Monday, March 25. Tickets can be purchased online at theactonline.com or at the Bama Theatre.

Page 20 | Thursday, March 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Travel writer ‘jet hiking’ her way across country By Becky Robinson Staff Reporter Since July 2012, travel writer Amber Nolan has been hitchhiking across America. But the 28-year-old travel writer isn’t sticking her thumb out on highways. She’s using small planes. Nolan, who recently stopped in Tuscaloosa, said the idea of “jet hiking” came when she spoke with a local pilot about her desire to see the country. “The [general aviation] community is really, really tight knit and they’re wonderful people that enjoy sharing their passion of aviation with other people,” Nolan said. “The first flight was from Rochester, N.Y., to Nashville.” From Nashville, Tenn., Nolan traveled through most of the western United States and the southern states. She said she frequents air shows, airports

Submitted

Amber Nolan ﬁnds her way to Mississippi traveling aboard a small plane. and online forums to find pilots willing to giver her a lift. “It’s a lot of just getting the word out to people and networking,” Nolan said. “I kind of go where pilots are going, I don’t really have any set schedule.” Marcus Burge was one pilot who helped Nolan in her

journey, giving her a ride from Columbus, Miss., to Tuscaloosa. “I found out about Amber’s Jet Hiking adventure through her website, jethiking.com, after a friend sent me an email telling me to check it out,” Burge said. “I found out she was in Dallas and contacted her, letting her

know to contact me when she was looking for a ride to or from Mississippi.” Burge and Nolan met at the Dreams of Wings event in Columbus, Miss., and made the half-hour trip to Tuscaloosa in a Cessna 152. Nolan said during her stay in the city, she visited local restaurants, went disc golfing and took a trip to Moundville, Ala. While traveling cross-country in general aviation planes is adventurous, it doesn’t come without its trials. “I actually went through all my money,” Nolan said. “Twice. I do freelance writing along the way to fund it, but it’s barely enough to get to the next stop.” When she is low on cash, Nolan said she takes jobs at restaurants and hostels or goes back to her home in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to work in shipyards.

Erin Seidemann, a pilot from New Orleans, La., also gave Nolan a ride in her journey. “My friend works at an airport in nearby Gonzales, Louisiana, and Amber had been dropped off there seeking a ride to New Orleans,” Seidemann said. “I was hopelessly intrigued by my friend’s short description of what Amber was doing, so I got her contact info and sent her an email offering to let her stay at my house while in New Orleans and to see if she needed a ride to her next stop.” When Nolan arrived in New Orleans, she stayed at Seidemann’s house, something she does frequently. Nolan said she uses a website called couchsurfers.com to find people to host her. “I feel a lot safer doing this in a plane than in a car,” Nolan said. “I can look them up ahead of time, talk to them and friend

them on Facebook,” Nolan’s trip has also brought positive attention to the struggling general aviation industry. “This segment of aviation is not widely covered by news media outlets, except in the event of tragic accidents,” Burge said. “There are so many positive things happening in general aviation, such as Angel Flights, Pilots N Paws and Operation P.R.O.P.” Seidemann said she was glad to see that Nolan was bringing more attention to female pilots, which is a “huge cause” for her. Nolan doesn’t know when her trip is going to end, but she does have plans for when it does. “The more and more I’m doing this, the more I’m enjoying it and I plan on getting my [pilot’s] license when I finish the project,” Nolan said. “I’m learning as I go a lot, it’s just not official.”

COLUMN | FOOD

Fisherman’s Corner brings upscale, ﬁne dining experience to beach getaway By Christopher Chase Edmunds Spring break is just around the corner, and whether you’re partying hard in Gulf Shores, Ala., or keeping it classy in Panama City, Fla., you’re going to need a quality restaurant to round out your much-needed vacation. During my last trip to Orange Beach, Ala., I stumbled across a local secret that desperately needs to be exposed. This isn’t your typical fried fish and cheap drinks kind of place. Be sure to pack at least one nice outfit and check out my one and only spring break recommendation, Fisherman’s Corner. Situated under a highway bridge on the Perdido side of the intercoastal waterway is a quaint little beach house, complete with a wrap-around porch, corrugated tin roof and a sign that reads, “Fisherman’s

Corner.” In past lives, this humble structure served as a home, as well as a bait ‘n tackle shop, and it shows. At first glance, fine dining is the last thing to come to mind. In fact, walking in the front door, it felt more like I was about to have a family dinner with aunts and uncles whose names I don’t remember. My expectations were blown away. I counted only 20 tables, complete with white tablecloths and folded napkins, situated in what would have been the living room of the house. I was seated and greeted immediately by a waiter who was, above all, honest. He pointed to an adjacent room that lacked doors and explained that the kitchen was just a converted hallway, so a wait should be expected. Luckily, I was dining during the offseason, so the

place was nearly empty. The waiter gave me a specials menu that was handwritten on a notepad. It turns out that the chef’s specials change daily, depending on what the local fishermen catch that day. I spoke to one of the three rotating head chefs, and he said that it’s a culinary test that benefits the customer more than anyone else. The dynamic environment invokes creativity, while the limitations of a small kitchen ensure quality. There is no room for storage at Fisherman’s Corner, so the seafood is fresh, and every sauce is made to-order with each dish, rather than being ladled out of a vat. Armed with this knowledge, I ordered the crawfish étouffée, a staple item featuring the art of the sauce, and the blackened grouper, a chef’s special for

that particular day. I was given the option to order my étouffée “spicy,” and as a devout Cajun, I seized the opportunity. The dish boasted near-perfect ratios in all aspects. The relationship between spice and flavor was complex and balanced. It was a thick, filling entrée served in generous portions, so I made the most of my leftovers. The blackened grouper special did not disappoint, and it proved how effective the Fisherman’s Corner system could be. The fish might as well have jumped out of the sea and onto my plate. As much as I liked the entrees, however, they were not what had me licking my lips for weeks to come. My original plan to order the crab cake appetizer was struck down. (It was implied that I should have arrived earlier if I wanted the incredibly

popular crab cakes.) I ordered the fried green tomatoes as a backup, and I wasn’t expecting much. I was sorely mistaken. What I received was a tower of thick, juicy tomato slices, fried golden brown and stacked three-high, separated by slabs of half-melted mozzarella. This architectural masterpiece rested on a foundation of pooled roux, a thick and creamy sauce that featured crawfish tails and peppers of all kinds. This appetizer epitomized Fisherman’s Corner, a place where the usual staples of southern, Cajun and beach menus are upgraded to the highest caliber of art, precision, and above all, quality. So if you’re currently preparing for the most memorable spring break to date, don’t be afraid to keep it classy and enjoy a fine dinner at Fisherman’s Corner.

THE LAST BITE • Expect to spend: $30 per person • What to wear: Business casual • Where to go: 13486 Perdido Key Dr Pensacola, Fla., 32507 • What to order: Fried Green Tomatoes appetizer • Leftovers: Make reservations or arrive early. Seating is limited.

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 21

Page 22 | Thursday, March, 21, 2013

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Bat infestation prompts temporary relocation Hundreds of myotis bats, common to the area and federally protected, living in Kentuck Art Center By Deanne Winslett Staff Reporter The Kentuck Art Center has had some unwelcome visitors recently, who have now overstayed their welcome. A bat infestation has made itself at home at the art center, which will now relocate temporarily. The bats were discovered when employees were opening up the shop. They noticed the bats flying around and decided to leave the shop closed while they investigated the problem. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had two bats fly into our gallery shop about a week and a half ago,â&#x20AC;? Kentuck executive director Shweta Gamble said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So we did not open the shop. We called a wildlife expert to come check it out.â&#x20AC;? Upon examination from an exterminator, it was determined that Kentuck is deal-

ing with an infestation of little brown myotis bats. These bats are common to the area and are relatively small in size, with a wingspan of 6-7 inches. They are not currently sure of how many bats are contributing to the infestation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From looking at the situation, it could be hundreds,â&#x20AC;? Gamble said. In order to deal with the problem, Kentuck has enlisted the help of Bama Exterminating, Inc. Because little brown myotis bats are one of the many federally protected bat species, it is unlawful to harm them or even to harass them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Normally an exterminator has to do some type of something to make it uncomfortable for them to be there,â&#x20AC;? Wildlife Law Enforcement lieutenant Todd Draper said.

Bama Exterminating is working to address the infestation by establishing small tubes throughout that allow for the bats to enter through the tube but not to go back and forth through it. This allows them to travel outward through the tube but prevents them from coming back in. Then the process of removing the guano and other harmful parasites bats leave behind will begin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Because of the bat guano, which is toxic, we are having to rip out the ceilings and kind of gut the building to clean it up,â&#x20AC;? Gamble said. The Kentuck Art Center is an old building and has been in need of renovations for a while. While this is not what they had in mind, the bats are fast-forwarding that process. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an old historic building, so it has a lot of things

that need repair,â&#x20AC;? Gamble said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There were renovations that needed to come anyway.â&#x20AC;? One of the challenges facing this project is the upcoming breeding season. These bats breed in the spring, and the babies cannot be removed from the mothers. Baby bats have to be left until they reach maturity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The issue was the fact that their breeding season starts in the spring, and they are protected so you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t harass them. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do anything,â&#x20AC;? Gamble said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have to hurry and do it.â&#x20AC;? As of now, Kentuck is working to manage the problem. They are moving their office and shop into the nearby Georgine Clarke Building. They are continuing with their CW | Alaina Clark regularly scheduled events. Exterminators must ďŹ nd a humane way to make bats â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;uncomfortableâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are still trying to to get them to move out of Kentuckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facilities. figure that out,â&#x20AC;? Gamble said.

University of Alabama ďŹ elds adaptive sports teams Special equipment allows University to offer wheelchair options such as basketball, golf and tennis By Hannah Widener Contributing Writer While most students are sleeping, or maybe even pulling all-nighters, there are a select few who choose to start their mornings at 5:45 a.m. Each week you can find the men of the wheelchair basketball team breaking a sweat at the UA Rec Center before the sun has hit Denny Chimes. Jared Arambula, a senior majoring in elementary education, is in his fifth year playing with the team, and this is his seventeenth straight season playing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We went from worst to first,â&#x20AC;? Arambula said.

Moreover, the equipment that Arambula and his teammates use on a daily basis is the same equipment other students and athletes use at the Rec Center, only modified. Jereme Wilroy, a graduate student studying exercise science, helps train the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wheelchair basketball team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I basically just create their workout for them because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been working with them for five years,â&#x20AC;? Wilroy said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your basic workouts that everybody would do; the only difference is adapting them. For example, with a pushup all you have to do is pull the bench up to put your knees up there then do pushups.â&#x20AC;?

Although wheelchair basketball remains one of the most popular adaptive sports, the University has others sports including adaptive tennis, adaptive golf and adaptive rowing. The adaptive golf program, while fairly new, has started practicing three times a week. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got three interested right now. We are just getting started, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to raise some money so we can go to a golf tournament,â&#x20AC;? Ford Burttram, coach of the adaptive golf team, said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;During training we just use regular clubs; we have an outdoor chair thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a specialty chair,â&#x20AC;? Burttram said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got big tires on the back,

tires on the front, and a brake system that drives a stake into the ground.â&#x20AC;? For Mackenzie Soldan, a junior majoring in advertising, playing one sport is not enough. Soldan plays both adaptive tennis and basketball and brought home two gold medals from the Parapan American games in Guadalajara, Mexico, in November 2011. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My training regimen usually involves some weightlifting two or three times a week, working on different muscle groups and ending with core,â&#x20AC;? Soldan said. She competed in the London 2012 Paralympic games, and she is currently preparing for the Rio De Janero 2016 Paralympics

games. â&#x20AC;&#x153;After struggling through all my matches, I finally won, which also gave me direct entry into the Paralympics,â&#x20AC;? Soldan said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think that moment really changed my perception of what I was capable of. I always have wanted to succeed in my sports, like anyone else, and winning those golds gave me a taste of that awesome experience, and from then on I have been striving to get another chance at that feeling.â&#x20AC;? Soldan said London was a huge learning experience for her, and she was able to experience a bigger and more dynamic atmosphere than she was

used to. Now, all thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s left is to decide whether she will turn her focus on playing basketball or tennis and put all her effort into one or the other for the preparation for the next Paralympics. The common thread for these athletes is not the wheelchair, but rather what they know it takes to be a great athlete. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I really believe defines a good athlete is their perseverance and fight,â&#x20AC;? Soldan said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think that is what separates the good from the best. The person who will push themselves to their very limit and then see if they can go even further is going to be a champion.â&#x20AC;?

-2,1 7+(

&/8%

ZZZ ZKLFKZLFK FRP

#ZKLFKZLFK

%RXOHYDUG /RIWV

8QLYHUVLW\ %OYG

:KLFK :LFK

9,%(

NEWS

OPINION

CULTURE

SPORTS

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Page 23

MARKETPLACE

How to place a classified: For classified line ads visit www.cw.ua.edu and click on the classifieds tab. For classified display

ads call (205) 348-7355 or email cwclassmgr@gmail.com for a free consultation. The Crimson White is published four days a week (M, T, W, TH). Each classified line ad must run for a minimum of four days and include no less than 16 words.

HOUSING LOFTS TUSCALOOSA AND NORTHPORT 2 bedroom, 1 bath. $1150-$900-$750. Roofdeck 205 657 3900-205 752 9020 LEASING FOR FALL 16 Beverly Heights off University Blvd. & only minutes from campus. 3 bdrms, 2 bths. 2 yrs. old. $1500. 205-792-1793. Available August 1st. 3 BEDRM HOUSE, 10 min from campus, Claymont Subdiv., wood Àoors, $1050/mo, 535-4573. CAMPUS EFFICIENCY APTS. beside Publix. $425/mo. water included. No pets. 1 year lease and security deposit required. Call (205)752-1277 CAMPUS 3 BLOCKS away, 1 bedroom apartment, Hackberry Place $450/mo water & garbage included. Lease and deposit required. No pets. Fall 2013 Call (205)752-1277 ONE BEDRM APT near stadium in older home; some utilities, screen porch, w/d, xtras, $725/mo, 535-4573 BRAND NEW LUXURY APTS 1 & 2 Bedrooms. Downtown across from Innisfree Pub. ~5 blocks from campus. Visit www.tiderentals.com for more information. (205)752-1277

JOBS EARN $1000-$3200 A month to drive our brand new cars with ads. www.FreeCarPay. com STUDENTS NEEDED for the Crimson Tide Hospitality Team. Hiring responsible UA students to assist in Skybox/Club op-

JOBS erations at all home football games. Email HospitalityOf¿ce@ia.ua.edu for an application and more info. SOUTHERN FOODSERVICE Looking for catering servers and captains for upcoming April catering events and 2013 Football Season at Bryant Denny Stadium. $10 hourly. Resumes: SFMBDS105@gmail.com TELLER- Part time position with large credit union in Tuscaloosa. Great for less experienced candidates. Work Monday, Friday and one other weekday. Email resume to: Jobs1@apcocu.org Need female roommate for May through Fall semester! Townhouse by VA on Loop Rd, 15 min from campus. Master bedroom w/bath available. Spacious and clean. Rent/utilities will not exceed $500/mo! Please call/txt Becca (573)9790448. Get out of jail fast! Payment plans available. Freedom Bail Bonds 205-764-4025 2001 CAVALIER 16X80 BY OWNER 2BR/2BA with covered front-rear decks-all appliances-80% furnished. Available June-Lot rent $150 mo. 1 mile from Shelton & 5 miles UA Price $15,000 Call Mike (205)281-2946

RATES

Best Commercial Rates:

4-8 days is $.50 per word. 9 plus days is $.35 per word.

Student/Faculty Rates:

$.35 per word. You must register with a Crimson Mail address to get this rate. If you enter your ad under student rate without a Crimson Mail address your charge will be adjusted to regular price.

DEADLINES: Classified line ad deadline is the previous business day by 4:00 p.m.

HOROSCOPES Today’s Birthday (03/21/13). Communications flow vigorously until summer, with social and business opportunities. Apply that energy to improving your home after that, and invite others to share the benefits. Family holds your focus this year, including financial aspects like insurance, joint resources or an inheritance. Together you get further. To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is a 9 -- For the next four weeks, pay close attention to opportunities to achieve old objectives. Discipline is absolutely required, and the results are satisfying. Follow your heart, and play by the rules. Taurus (April 20-May 20) -- Today is a 7 -- Allow yourself more quiet time this month. Finish old jobs, and organize something. Completing a project takes less energy than constantly ignoring it. Solitude inspires you; bring along a sketchbook. Gemini (May 21-June 20) -- Today is a 9 -- Take advantage of your newly gained popularity to grow teamwork. You’re getting hotter and you’re lucky in love. Act responsibly. Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Today is a 7 -- Nothing can stop you when you’re on fire. You can get farther than you ever thought possible, now and all month. Consider new career choices and options. Stay true, and keep your word. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Make sure you know what you want. Don’t rush a decision. Cut down on unproductive activities, unless they’re about resting. There’s no need to spend to impress others. Think it over, and choose. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- For the next month, you’re especially

STINK-FREE SPRING SPECIAL: Come back to a clean home. $50/ apartment, $100/ house. Any size, any condition. March 17-30 only. www.JustCleanTuscaloosa.com. 205331-0422.

great at managing money efficiently. Share advice. Friends are there for you. Decrease activities that could cause emotional stress. Communications flow with ease; launch when ready. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Partnerships grow stronger in the days ahead. Tie up any loose ends, and review the process for maximum efficiency. Work carefully, or learn something the hard way. But you’ll learn. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is a 9 -- There’s more work coming in this month, and the pace is heating up. Travel and education tempt for the next few days, but keep focus on work priorities. Philosophical conversations after hours could get very interesting. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is an 8 -- Your energy level and attractiveness are high this month. You’re lucky in love, and relationships flourish. Play and get creative; it’s when you’re having fun that the genius ideas arise. Savor some cultural entertainment from respected artists. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is an 8 -- Give home and family more attention. Domestic chores take precedence, and your time makes a difference. Strengthen partnerships with conversation, ambiance and shared deliciousness. Build something cool together. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today is a 9 -- You have a passion for learning nowadays. Press forward with enthusiasm into a new study topic, while managing routine tasks. Balance work with exercise and time outside, along with healthy food. Pace it. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is a 9 -- You could make a lot of money. You’re focused and active, and your work speaks for itself. Keep it organized. Enjoy time off, too, as games get really fun.

$48.99

Leasing NOW & Falll 1, 2, & 3 Bedrooms Minutes from Campus & Malls

*Monitored

Security System

*Gas Logs/Fireplaces *Tanning Beds

Sudoku

“When other jewelers say no Tom says yes”

Fitness Center; 2 Resort Pools

Onsite Management 3201

Hargrove Road East

205-554-1977

palisadesapthomes.com

2300 McFarland Blvd. East (205) 758-2213

Take your advertising where the crowd is...

Get S ocial.

ep Ad R n! r u o ct yo formati a t n Co ore in for m

Changing Seasons TANNING: Minutes Special 300 Minute Package $33.00

Eye Brow Waxing $12.00 Contact your Special Projects Rep to place an ad

Foil Special/10 Foils- $25.00

Be a part of the beginning of another winning season.

Eye Lashes $25.00 Color $55.00 507 Hargove Rd. E.

758.6119 West Alabama Psychiatric

A-Day 2013 advertising available now. Contact your ad rep for more information.

Bring this coupon & receive

$50 OFF of suboxone your ðUVW YLVLW

4804 Alabama HWY 69 Northport, AL 35473 (205) 330-7700

THE

SCENE

HUNSTVILLE BOTANICAL GARDENS Huntsville Botanical Gardens feature a variety of spaces including a toy railway garden, a bonsai display, a dogwood trail and, in addition to many others, a “Garden of Hope” created and maintained by cancer patients as part of therapeutic treatment. Hours vary depending on season and day of week. Admission is free for members, $12 for adults and $8 for children.

CULTURE

Page 24 . Thursday, March 21, 2013 Lauren Ferguson Culture Editor Katherine Owen Assistant Culture Editor

BIRMINGHAM BOTANICAL GARDENS Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens are home to 67.5 acres of gardens, pathways, sculptures and more than 12,000 different plants. The gardens also boast the largest public horticulture library in the U.S. The gardens are open dawn to dusk daily and admission is free.

TUSCALOOSA ARBORETUM The arboretum features walking trails through native woodland sections, ornamental plants, a wildflower garden, a children’s garden and an experimental garden. It is sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences at The University of Alabama for botanical education and appreciation. The arboretum is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset and closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is free.

THE BLOUNT CULTURAL PARK IN MONTGOMERY This park houses the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, 77 acres of ponds, statuary, walking trails, an amphitheatre and a dog park is soon to come. The park closes at sundown with exceptions for theatre and museum functions.

BELLINGRATH GARDENS AND HOME This 65 acre garden estate is in full bloom year round with a Christmas lights display during the holiday season. The Bellingrath home, built in 1935, is 10,500 square feet and has been labeled “English Renaissance” style by the architect. Visitors can also take a 45-minute cruise along the Fowl River aboard the Southern Belle March - November. The price of admissions packages ranges from $12 - $28. The Gardens and Home are open year-round from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With temperatures rising and spring in the air, students are starting to venture into the great outdoors again. For students looking to explore beyond the Quad, The Scene took a look this week at some parks and gardens in Alabama that offer acres of outdoor adventure. Photo Illustration by Austin Bigoney and Daniel Roth