WEDNESDAY APRIL 23, 2014 VOLUME 120 ISSUE 120 Serving The University of Alabama since 1894
CW File Destruction in the Forest Lake neighborhood is an unfamiliar sight for students new to Tuscaloosa but is a lasting memory for those who endured the city’s natural disaster.
CULTURE | TORNADO
NEWS | TORNADO
Graduating seniors remember City sees continued reconstruction, Tuscaloosa tornado, aftermath recovery 3 years after deadly storm Last class to witness April 27 storm reflects on experiences By Tara Massouleh | Staff Reporter Rachel Ahrnsen sent her mom one message on Wednesday, April 27, 2011: “Hey, there’s another tornado warning, if I die, I love you.” This was the message Ahrnsen sent her mom on the day the lives of 53 people in Tuscaloosa, including six University of Alabama students, were claimed. This was the message Ahrnsen sent her mom on the day an EF4 tornado terrorized Tuscaloosa. This was the message Ahrnsen sent her mom on the day Tuscaloosa changed forever. “I wasn’t taking it seriously because there
had been so many tornado watches and warnings for the past two weeks,” Ahrnsen said. “But by the time it was over, I was taking it very seriously.” Ahrnsen, a senior majoring in journalism, is part of the last UA graduating class that will have experienced the tornado. She said she vividly remembers the communal fear that struck campus as she sat in a Riverside dorm that Wednesday. “Everyone was scared, some more than others,” she said. “One of my friends I was with almost cut off the circulation on my arm, she was grabbing so tight. I remember some people went outside, and the tornado was so big they thought it was right on top of us. They ran back in, and I will never forget SEE REFLECTION PAGE 8
TODAYON CAMPUS Campus exhibit WHAT: Healing the Wounded Heart Exhibit WHEN: All Day WHERE: Law Center Lobby
New buildings, developments replacing previous properties By Samuel Yang | Staff Reporter There are still places you can go to see the destruction of the tornado that tore through the heart of Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2011. But as the three-year anniversary of the tornado approaches, it has become easier to mark the tornado’s path in terms of recovery and renewal, rather than ruin. John McConnell, director of planning and development services for the city of Tuscaloosa, said development in the wake of the storm has ranged from important, if subtle, realignments of previously dangerous intersections to the long-term planning of the CityWalk.
WHAT: E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Symposium WHEN: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. WHERE: The Zone, Bryant-Denny Stadium
Student recital WHAT: Tuba Studio Recital WHEN: 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Moody Music Building
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NEWS | JULIA TUTWILER
Prison practices betray Tutwiler legacy Reformer called for better prison conditions, education By Taylor Manning | Staff Reporter
Symposium
“Probably the best word to describe it is opportunity,” he said. “Opportunities that didn’t exist prior to the storm.” Tuesday saw the grand opening of the Richard A. Curry Environmental Sciences Building. McConnell said the storm allowed the department to “expand, refine and modernize their operations.” He also said the construction of a new and improved Alberta fire station and the upcoming Alberta School of Performing Arts were examples of infrastructure projects that did not exist prior to the tornado. “I’m very proud of the projects that have been unveiled and the projects that are underway, and I think that in the coming decades, when my children are getting older and becoming adults, they will look back and
The University of Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Hall received its namesake from the proponent of educational, prison and women’s rights reform, but another building off a busy Wetumpka highway carries her name as well: the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. Julia Tutwiler was a renowned innovator of Alabama’s educational system in her lifetime. But she is not remembered just for her impact on education. She became known as the “Angel of the Stockade” while advocating for humane prison conditions throughout Alabama.
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Today, however, the prison that carries her name has some of the worst conditions for a correctional facility in the entire state. Throughout a long career of teaching, activism and educational leadership, Tutwiler was closely involved with the founding of the institutions that became the University of Montevallo and the University of West Alabama. “She had a personality that was somewhat interesting,” said Marcia Synnott, professor of history at the University of South Carolina. “She was called ‘Miss Jule,’ and the students liked her, but she did have her quirks. She could be somewhat demanding, she was considered impulsive and had strong moral convictions.” The Tuscaloosa native also had deep SEE TUTWILER PAGE 3
Photo Courtesy of Hoole Special Collections Library Julia Tutwiler
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CAMPUSBRIEFS
Wednesday April 23, 2014
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Kim Jacob named Honda finalist Alabama senior gymnast Kim Jacob is one of four finalists for the Honda Award for gymnastics. The award is given annually to the nation’s top gymnast.
SCENEON CAMPUS
Compiled by Kelly Ward
Softball shuts out Southern Miss No. 7 Alabama softball defeated Southern Miss 12-0 in the Crimson Tide’s last nonconference game of the season on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide (40-8, 15-3 SEC) returns to Tuscaloosa to host No. 18 Georgia (38-9, 11-7 SEC) starting Thursday. Compiled by Kelly Ward
SCOPE accepting applications Scholars for Community Outreach, Partnership and Engagement is currently accepting applications for the SCOPE Research Associates and Fellows. Through SCOPE, students can have the opportunity to participate in research projects under their scholar mentors, who are either graduate students or members of the faculty or community. “Being a SCOPE fellow has allowed me to connect with other students across disciplines who are also interested in engaged scholarship,” Anna-Margaret Yarbrough, a SCOPE Fellow, said. “The SCOPE fellows program has provided me the support I need to pursue my research interests.” Undergraduate students are able to apply to become Associates, while graduate students would be labeled Fellows upon acceptance into the program. “As a Research Associate member of SCOPE, I have had the opportunity to engage with and become knowledgeable to the dynamic research efforts of other fellow undergraduate and graduate students,” said Jessika Banks, a SCOPE Research Associate and a sophomore majoring in health care management. “Another benefit of involvement in SCOPE is the direct interaction I receive with community members, which assists in better developing my sense of surrounding in the health and educational needs of Alabama.” SCOPE is open to any undergraduate or graduate student from any discipline or department who is currently enrolled in courses. Compiled by Mark Hammontree
P.O. Box 870170 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Newsroom: 348-6144 | Fax: 348-8036 Advertising: 348-7845 Classifieds: 348-7355
CW | Anna Waters Sophomore Lauren Gilmer views the artwork of senior Asher Elbein in Smith Hall for the opening of Elbein’s “Old Bones, Old Stories” exhibit Tuesday evening.
TODAY WHAT: Healing the Wounded Heart Exhibit WHEN: All day WHERE: Lobby Law Center WHAT: Denim Day WHEN: All Day WHERE: All Campus WHAT: Teal Ribbon Campaign WHEN: All Day WHERE: South Lawn Office Building
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
WHAT: E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Symposium WHEN: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. WHERE: The Zone, BryantDenny Stadium
WHAT: Writing Better Reports and Presentations WHEN: 10:30-11:30 a.m. WHERE: 54 Rose Administration WHAT: International Coffee Hour WHEN: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. WHERE: 121 B.B. Comer
WHAT: Free Speech and Hearing Screening WHEN: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. WHERE: Old Capstone Medical Center
WHAT: Convocation WHEN: Noon WHERE: Moody Music Building
WHAT: Katherine Bradford: The Golden Age of Exploration WHEN: 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. WHERE: 103 Garland Hall
WHAT: First Friends End of Year Event WHEN: 5-7 p.m. WHERE: Manderson Landing
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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 © 2014 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.
Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the case. The The U.S. Supreme Court case centers on Proposal 2, has upheld a ban on using called the Michigan Civil Rights race in admissions to Initiative. Michigan’s public universities. The appeals court said the The court was divided on the state ban on affirmative action case, which overturns a U.S. violated the equal protection 6th Circuit Court of Appeals clause of the U.S. Constitution decision. by making it more difficult for a The opinion, written by minority student to get a Justice Anthony Kennedy, university to adopt a racesays the case is not about race conscious admissions policy admissions policies, but about than for a white student to get whether voters in a state can a university to adopt an choose to prohibit admissions policy that consideration of racial considers family and alumni preferences. connections. The ballot “The plurality opinion initiative was pushed by stresses that the case is not Jennifer Gratz, who was about the constitutionality or denied admission to the the merits of race-conscious University of Michigan and admission policies in higher sued, and by Ward Connerly, a education. Rather, the question former University of California concerns whether, and in what regent who backed a similar manner, voters in a state may voter initiative in that state. choose to prohibit Michigan voters approved consideration of such racial the ban, 58 percent to 42 preferences,” Kennedy wrote. percent. More than 10 years “Where states have prohibited ago, U-M was involved in a race-conscious admissions landmark Supreme Court policies, universities have ruling governing race and responded by experimenting universities in two companion ‘with a wide variety of lawsuits, one filed by Gratz alternative approaches.’ The and others over undergraduate decision by Michigan voters admissions policies. The high reflects the ongoing national court upheld the U-M Law dialogue about such practices.” School’s use of race as a Chief Justice John Roberts, consideration in admissions, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice as long as there were no Stephen Breyer and Justice quotas attached, but threw out Clarence Thomas all filed the undergraduate admissions concurring opinions. Justice system that awarded extra Sonia Sotomayor filed a points to African-American, dissenting opinion joined by Hispanic and American Indian Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. students. From MCT Campus
“The term ‘public records’ shall include all written, typed or printed books, papers, letters, documents and maps made or received in pursuance of law by the public officers of the state, counties, municipalities and other subdivisions of government in the transactions of public business and shall also include any record authorized to be made by any law of this state belonging or pertaining to any court of record or any other public record authorized by law or any paper, pleading, exhibit or other writing filed with, in or by any such court, office or officer.” From statute 41.13.1 of the Code of Alabama
WHAT WE REQUESTED: List of applicants considered for vice chancellor of government relations, email correspondence between Judy Bonner and Robert Witt correlated to ‘vice chancellor for government relations’ and ‘Jo Bonner’ between April 1 and July 31, 2013. WHO REQUESTED IT: Lauren Ferguson FROM WHOM WE REQUESTED IT: Kellee Reinhart, vice chancellor for System Relations WHEN WE REQUESTED IT: Feb. 10, 2014 STATUS: March 5, 2014, response from Reinhart: “There are no public records that are responsive to your request. I can confirm that Congressman Bonner was interviewed on May 3, 2013.” WHAT WE REQUESTED: Documents pertaining to the murder investigation of Paula Lee Ellis, including the names of investigating officers; incident reports; police reports; correspondence regarding the investigation between UAPD and the Tuscaloosa Police Department, Northport Police Department, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation; any correspondence regarding the conveyance of evidence and any photographs related to the investigation. WHO REQUESTED IT: Lauren Ferguson FROM WHOM WE REQUESTED IT: UA Media Relations on behalf of UAPD WHEN WE REQUESTED IT: March 18, 2014 STATUS: April 14, 2014 response from Deborah Lane: “UA has reviewed your March 18 request regarding the murder investigation of Paula Lee Ellis. We have no documents that are responsive to your request.”
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Wikimedia Commons Federal investigations have uncovered allegations of abuse in Alabama’s largest women’s prison, Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women.
Prison controversy threatens Tutwiler’s legacy of reform TUTWILER FROM PAGE 1
family ties to The University of Alabama. Her father, Henry Tutwiler, accepted the position of the University’s chair of ancient languages in 1831. He later married Julia Ashe, daughter of the university steward Pascal Ashe. Her uncle, Carlos G. Smith, also served as a former UA president. Today, the prison that carries the famous reformer’s name faces allegations of “unabated” staff-on-inmate sexual abuse and harassment, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice. “Julia Tutwiler would be rolling over in her grave to think of what has happened in a space that bears her name,” said John Archibald, a columnist for The Birmingham News. “She really did a lot to help change and reshape Alabama’s prison system. So when this happens now, you can’t help but look at the irony.” In a 36-page letter to Gov. Robert Bentley earlier this year, the DOJ summarized the results of an April 2013 investigation of the prison, declaring conditions to be unconstitutional. According to the DOJ’s findings, instances of sexual misconduct by prison employees include rape, sodomy, fondling, voyeurism, sexually explicit verbal abuse and other offenses.
“For nearly two decades, Tutwiler has had a sordid history of sexual abuse and harassment of prisoners that has included rape and pregnancies,” the letter stated. The document also notified officials that the DOJ would be expanding its investigation of the prison. Despite having known since at least 1995 of sexual abuse and harassment risks to prisoners, Alabama Department of Corrections and Tutwiler officials “failed to take reasonable steps to protect the women in their custody,” the report continued. A number of legislative and institutional changes have since been implemented, including a $24 million increase in funding for ADOC for the 2014 fiscal year. ADOC Public Information Officer Kristi Gates said the money was used to install cameras within the prison, to hire additional corrections officers and to pay for renovations at the Wetumpka Women’s Facility that will expand and house more inmates from Tutwiler. Archibald said the culture of the ADOC itself must change first for there to be any lasting improvement. The vast majority of past charges against prison staff were pleaded down to misdemeanors, which speaks to an institution that looks the other way, he said. Paul Pruitt Jr., a special collections librarian at the UA Bounds Law Library, said Julia Tutwiler would be sad and disgusted if reports of sexual misconduct proved true, but not
necessarily surprised. He said Tutwiler, who campaigned for the separation of male and female prisoners, likely knew of similar abuses during her lifetime. “Tuscaloosa was the site of her first big public reformist action,” Pruitt said. “She discovered the jail in Tuscaloosa was unheated, it was poorly looked at, and the prisoners were suffering from colds, poor food and general neglect.” With assistance from the Tuscaloosa Benevolence Society women’s group, Tutwiler launched her first prison reform mission. She energized the movement and called for a survey of all Alabama jails that indicated similarly poor conditions throughout the state, Pruitt said. Backed by group members, she pushed a bill through the legislature that required better treatment for prisoners, including heating and free clean water for county jails. Tutwiler sought to end the state’s convict lease system and advocated for the separation of adult and youthful offenders. She also established schools for prisoners, many of whom were illiterate, Pruitt said. Present day reform efforts involve the state’s 2014-15 General Fund Budget, which will allow the Governor’s Office to create an ombudsman position to address concerns of female inmates in the system, Gates said. The ADOC also hired The Moss Group, a national consulting firm that specializes in criminal justice management and sexual
Photo Courtesy of Hoole Special Collections Library
safety in confinement. “The Moss Group has worked in all 50 states and is known for being progressive when it comes to sexual safety responses,” Gates said. “The group will help ADOC further the reforms listed in DOJ directives and our own recommendations and help ADOC enforce the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act.” The Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit watchdog for the criminal justice system, issued a press release in May 2012 stating it had filed a complaint to the DOJ citing widespread sexual abuse at the prison. Following this complaint, ADOC Commissioner Kim Thomas requested an audit from the DOJ’s National Institute of Corrections branch in June 2012, Gates said. In January 2013, Thomas implemented a directive of 58 recommendations at Tutwiler, examples of which included adding panel doors in bathroom areas to enhance inmate privacy and discontinuing the process of strip searches of inmates returning to the facility, Gates said. Pruitt, who described Tutwiler as the ultimate pragmatist, said her push for reform was frequently an uphill battle. “What happens when an institution that is reformist in nature falls off in that reformism?” he said. “If you are a reformer, what you have to do is get back in there. You have to argue the same points, persuade them if you can, shame them if you must. It never stops.”
p.4 John Brinkerhoff | Editor letters@cw.ua.edu
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
COLUMN | SENIOR FAREWELL
Holding on to hope amongst the chaos By John Brinkerhoff | Opinion Editor
CW | Austin Bigoney Year in review: Snow day
COLUMN | SENIOR FAREWELL
An optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty By Jimmy Taylor | SGA President When I first sat down to write this article, a thousand different ideas ran through my head. This was my final opportunity to voice my opinion on a plethora of things that I have seen as major issues or stories. I debated on addressing issues ranging from media outlets’ misrepresentation of issues to issues of angry Auburn fans. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are more important things to be recognized than just the negative issues or events that I have encountered in my four years at Alabama. I want to leave this university highlighting and appreciating many of this campus’ positive qualities that make it such a wonderful place to acquire so much more than just an education. Looking back on my time at The University of Alabama, I have always been a positive person. I have not been optimistic for four years because I thought that’s what was best for the student body. I have been positive for four years because that is who I am. If I had written an article critiquing the people or events that have discouraged or slighted me, I would have been no different than those I see as the largest threat to the progress of this university. By constantly focusing on the worst parts of our university and our state with no action, we move nowhere, and forget to properly acknowledge and value the numerous brave, kind and
Jimmy Taylor generous actions of people on this campus. I have watched administrators buy a hungry student lunch and offer them assistance so they can support themselves. I have seen a group of students lean on each other after one of their closest friends tragically passed away. I have comforted grieving mothers of students who were taken far before their time, who only wanted for their child’s death to serve as a lesson to others. This university is not perfect, and neither is this state, but in my four years on this campus, I have witnessed countless actions that make me certain they are both heading in the right direction. The University of Alabama can no longer be paraded around as a sign of Southern
ignorance; the world has grown too small for that. It is now a microcosm of people from all 50 states and countless nations. The issues that face this University are issues that everyone faces. We have been given an outstanding opportunity to face these issues, address them and emerge as stronger and brighter. It is the sorority presidents that received piles of undeserved hate mail, when all they tried to do was stand up to their alumni. It is the minority students, who had the courage and maturity to join these sororities after being turned away initially, and it is the administrators, who made it possible for all of us to move forward as a University, that embody the reasons why this University is the best place in the world to spend the most important four years of your life. The opportunity to surround yourself with such outstanding people in extraordinary circumstances is invaluable. I implore all of you to seize that opportunity. Do not shy away from conflict or controversial issues. Put yourself in the middle of these issues, and see what is really happening, rather than trusting the slanted view someone else may feed you. I guarantee you will be the better for it. Because “the pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity but, the optimist see the opportunity in every difficulty.” Jimmy Taylor was the president of the Student Government Association.
COLUMN | SENIOR FAREWELL
It’s not you, it’s me By Elizabeth Lowder | Community Manager Sorry, University of Alabama, but I think we should really go our separate ways. I’ve decided to take my life in a different direction, I can’t keep getting degrees here. I think three is kinda pushing it. The past six of seven years have been incredible, and I wouldn’t trade my time here for anything. When I arrived on campus in 2007, you were probably more excited about some older guy named Nick Saban coming in, but I like to think you liked me at least a little bit back then. I had my first Natural Light with you, my first botched Scantron test, and when I was all out of Dining Dollars, you still supported me through a rogue stash of Bama Cash. We had four solid years together, pulling all-nighters over advertising campaigns and bee-bopping at the fraternity houses. Sometimes, I didn’t know why you would put me in such a difficult major, I guess you were just pushing my buttons. Perhaps things got a little comfortable and stagnant, so we temporarily parted ways in 2011 after graduation from undergrad. I needed a change, so I moved to North Carolina. I thought about you every
Elizabeth Lowder day, and became envious of everyone back in Tuscaloosa, getting to nom on Quick Grill and Bento Boxes. Just like any ex-girlfriend with lingering feelings, I made a valiant attempt to win you back through graduate school. You decided to spice up the relationship a little bit, by providing me with the opportunity to work at The Crimson White. A whole new side of campus, a new group of friends and irreplaceable memories. Last August with a Master’s degree
EDITORIAL BOARD Mazie Bryant editor-in-chief Lauren Ferguson managing editor Katherine Owen production editor
Anna Waters visuals editor Christopher Edmunds chief copy editor John Brinkerhoff opinion editor
in hand in advertising and PR, I knew I couldn’t leave you. You kept me close through a master’s program in journalism. The feelings were too strong, and I just couldn’t leave you again. But that feeling is starting to dwindle away, as I’ve received an internship offer somewhere else, which will most likely lead to a job offer. I’m always going to have feelings for you, and I’m going to come back for a few one-night stands in the fall, probably after a night of copious drinking watching the Tide roll in Bryant-Denny Stadium – so just prepare yourself. I’m not afraid to be that girl, because I know what we had here was special. In coping with the breakup, you’ll find me binge-eating Summer Snow and sipping on yellowhammers at the Joe, relishing the last few days of this relationship. University of Alabama, I will always care about you, no matter how many miles are between us. I hope you make another girl just as happy as you’ve made me. Elizabeth Lowder was the community manager of The Crimson White.
College has been chaotic. Over the last four years, I have studied four completely unrelated fields and engaged in pursuits unconnected to any of them. As with most other students, I grew, learned, made friends and enemies, had John Brinkerhoff countless absurd experiences and came to understand more about myself. And yet, when I look through this chaos, two events that bookended my freshman year stick out far above the rest. The first occurred after I received a fraternity bid following a party shortly after after arriving on campus. Once the excitement within the house died down, an inebriated active put his arm around me and said, “So John, I have to ask, what do you think about niggers?” The question, so casually posed to me, ended my attempts at joining a Greek organization that year and slammed me with a reality present at this university to which I wasn’t exposed in a Birmingham suburb high school: Racism is socially popular among many students, and segregation is common within the University’s influential Greek organizations. This reality would loom over my college experience. I witnessed a University administration that consistently followed the path of least resistance by pawning off the responsibility of this massive problem on students, arguing that change should be “student-led” and encouraging “dialogue” that was devoid of action. I witnessed a student body that was unable to gain the traction for change, as discussions tended to repeat themselves without progress in a group that replaces itself every four years. I witnessed an influential system of alumni sack a University president who attempted to pursue change in the system, revealing to me why caring administrators with the best interest of students at heart remained inactive in the face of injustice. Finally, I witnessed a national media storm that forced the administration to take action, at an extreme cost to the reputation of the University and every single student who attends it. Neither the cycle of complacency or the painful ending lent me much hope for the future of my state. Student leaders in a position to advocate for change, be it Greek councils or the SGA, were nowhere to be found, even months after integration. Privately, many were opposed to the very idea of integration. The problems at the Capstone are real, and the path forward is full of yes-men, cowards and bigots. It is easy to become depressed within this environment. Many of my friends have. Still, I was fortunate enough to have a second experience at the end of my freshman year that gave me hope: the University community’s response to the April 27, 2011, tornado. It was during one of the most trying times for the state that I saw students unite across all lines to empower their community and produce genuinely awesome results. Thousands of meals were made, tens of thousands of man-hours were dedicated to cleaning up debris, and leaders emerged from non-traditional places. Further, structures for ensuring that future generations of students could build on that service were established, guaranteeing that the transient nature of the student body would not inhibit progress. As the news cameras faded away and the compassionate energy that drove nationwide assistance turned elsewhere, it was still common to see students out in Holt, Alberta and other affected communities. This response fueled a sense of hope throughout my college experience. It gave me hope that the same talent in this generation who responded to the tornado will stay in Alabama, that even when the traditional sources of power in this state refuse to take action, others will rise to the challenge. It gave me hope that in spite of its faults, my state will persevere, as it always has. Although I could never have predicted the path that my chaotic college career has taken me, I am extremely glad for it. Its challenges have strengthened my resolve, developed me into a fighter and compelled me to enter public service. I am extremely grateful for the professors, administrators and peers who called me a friend and mentee, the opportunities for service I have experienced as a student and the realistic perspective this campus has given me about my state. Most importantly, however, I am indebted to The University of Alabama for giving me hope in my state’s future. Thank you.
It was during one of the most trying times for the state that I saw students unite across all lines to empower their community and produce genuinely awesome results.
John Brinkerhoff was the opinion editor of The Crimson White and the director of finance for the SOURCE Board of Governors.
WE WELCOME YOUR OPINIONS Letters to the editor must contain fewer 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. The Crimson White reserves the right to edit all guest columns and letters to the editor.
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
COLUMN | SENIOR FAREWELL
COLUMN | SENIOR FAREWELL
Blunt advice from a salmon Stop painting by the number By Asher Elbein | Progressive Potluck Organizer
By David Phelps | Tide Talks and UnlockED President
Over the past few weeks, the opinion pages of The Crimson White have been filled with a curious seasonal phenomenon. Like the migration of the salmon, a procession of senior columns has arrived to leap up the tumbling falls of reader indifference, hoping that some of their ideas will survive and breed. As one of the last columnists arriving at the party, though, I’ll leave the personal anecdotes and weighty pondering to those who are better suited for it. Here, instead, is some fairly blunt advice. You can take it or leave it, (he said, a salmon flailing against the rocks) but I hope it helps somebody. First, the University is constantly trying to screw you financially. You are going to get gouged at least a little bit, no matter what you do, but there are some precautions you can take. Avoid the SupeStore like the plague. Nearly everything it has can be obtained for cheaper somewhere else. Its proximity and convenience are a siren song that, like Odysseus in search of textbooks, you must resist. If you have a car, get out into the larger community. Tuscaloosa is filled with small restaurants that will give you a lot of food for a little money (Hello, City Cafe! Hello, Waysider!) and if you learn a few basic recipes, you can cook fairly cheaply in an apartment or dorm kitchen. Get your money’s worth. Take advantage of any campus opportunities that interest you, and do so sooner rather than later. If you want to take a class, go and talk to the relevant people face to face. Don’t send somebody an email and expect them to get back to you. Likewise, not talking to professors is the biggest mistake that underclassmen make. The faculty is willing to work with you if you demonstrate even a cursory amount of effort, but they will not do the work for you. If you need help, you need to ask for it. That being said, you are here to get an education. If you wander into class halfdrunk, never take notes and expect to get a good grade, than you are wasting both your money and everybody’s time. College is a fun place. We all know that. But exercise a little bit of self control and save your partying for the weekend.
Mom, I have a weird confession to make. I enjoyed being sick as a child. It wasn’t the physical pain or emotional exhaustion that I found pleasurable. It wasn’t missing school or rewatching the same three episodes of “I Love Lucy.” It certainly wasn’t the puking or diarrhea (reference bodily functions in farewell column? Check!). My source of joy in the midst of sickness was simple: getting a paint-by-number kit. When sick enough to get prescriptions at a pharmacy, I would be given the chance to pick one of the countless frolicking puppy paint-by-number scenes. As the safety net of my college experience quickly fades, I am reflecting on the sickly afternoons I spent with skinny plastic brushes, clear paint canisters and a loose outline of a frolicking puppy. Perhaps I found so much joy in the paintby-number process because it was mindless. Grab brush. Dip brush into yellow paint. Stroke brush on number matching yellow. Rinse brush. Eat Pop-Tart. Repeat. After just a few hours, I would feel like a brilliant artist. Then the puking would begin again. I often caught myself over the last few years painting people by number. In this process, every potential involvement, passion or affiliation on campus is assigned a certain number. Upon meeting someone, I would grab my mental brush, dip it into their corresponding paints and color their personhood with my perceptions. This metaphorical painting by number, however, is just as mindless as and much more disgusting than the art I did as a vomiting child. Students on this campus are not flat pieces of pre-drawn pictures waiting for external perception of their identities to be painted over them. Such perpetual coloring of people undermines our understanding of others and overlooks our unifying God-given value as humans. Instead of canvases, perhaps family rooms are a more accurate metaphor for people. It takes time to discover the different doors and windows through which we invite others into our reality. Instead
Asher Elbein To those who wish to make change on campus, consider this: You have been granted the golden opportunity of an administration that is both slow to act and afraid of controversy. The only reason that they maintain stupid policies like grounds use is that nobody calls them on it. However, that lack of responsiveness makes it easy to run rings around them if you think creatively. So mess with them. Think a few moves ahead, play to the cameras and be ready for them to slip up. The exertion of both effort and a little bit of deviousness works wonders. Finally, be a little weird. It makes you interesting in a way that someone desperately trying to fit in simply isn’t. You aren’t in high school anymore. The only cliques judging you are the ones that you voluntarily join, and if that life no longer works for you, then you can always leave. The old cliché about college being a time for selfreinvention is true. Take advantage of it. And with that, I’m out. Thanks to everybody who read the column, and thanks to everybody who laughed at my stupid jokes. It’s been fun getting riled up and spitting mad with you guys, and I’m going to miss it. So, to paraphrase a journalist I can never hope to match – goodnight, everyone. And good luck. Asher Elbein was the organizer of the Progressive Potluck.
David Phelps
of the muddied chaos of different paints being mixed together, we can dive into difficult conversations like multicolor bulbs illuminating new spaces for growth. Progress will not come when we just wash our brushes of unwanted paint, so we must embrace conflict while sitting together on couches. Like all people, family rooms are designed to hold more than one person, but too often we hide in corners paralyzed by the fear of vulnerability. We must collectively reject this lie and recognize everyones desires to be accepted and valued within a community. We are not flat papers waiting to be painted by perceptions. We are multi-dimensional spaces longing to be illuminated. Empathy, maybe the most powerful of human skills, must be practiced to be permanent. More simply, let’s stop looking at the ground when we pass each other and take the risk of eye contact and a smile. I have been incredibly blessed with life-defining opportunities throughout my college experience to pursue bold ideas with passionate teams. But, in the end, ideas are not revolutionary. People are. I challenge myself and this campus to throw away the brushes and find more lightbulbs. David Phelps was the founding president of Tide Talks and UnlockED.
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Wednesday, April 23,2014
Traveling stressful for students far from home By Rachel Brown | Staff Reporter For most students, the end of final exams means at least a few weeks of relaxation before summer jobs and internships start. But for Sirui Shao, the end of final exams is only a small step in the process of getting home for the summer. She must first complete 20 or more hours of traveling to get to her home in the Heilonjiang province of China. The process of getting home for students like Shao, a junior majoring in finance, can sometimes be just as stressful as the week of finals. Out-of-state students are forced to choose between driving long hours with all of their belongings or finding a place to store their things for the summer months. This will be Shao’s first time home in a year. She is only able to travel home once a year because the cost of a flight to China can range anywhere from $1200 to $2220. Because she travels home so infrequently, Shao will only bring what she needs for the three months she is home for the summer. “I live off campus, so I have my own apartment, and so I just leave my stuff in my apartment,” she said. Flying home is the preference of many students who live more than 12 hours away by car. The Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International
MCT Campus Out-of-state students can face costly travel expenses when heading home for the summer. Airport services more passengers during the month of May, after schools gets out, than any other month of the year. There is a marked increase of approximately 30,000 more passengers in May than in April or June, according to Birmingham International Airport monthly passenger report. Abigail Ratliff, a freshman majoring in
marketing, is a native of Washington and the choice to fly was an easy one. Ratliff’s home is over 2,500 miles away, and driving would take close to 45 hours. This is Ratliff’s first trip home for the summer and she said she is unsure what she will do with all of her things when she leaves because most things were bought when she arrived last fall.
“So I haven’t quite figured out what to do with everything yet,” she said. “But I may just end up stashing it at one of my friend’s that lives locally’s house or something.” Other students with long trips home opt to drive in order to bring their possessions with them. Lauren Nilsen, a senior majoring in English, said she plans to pack up her Ford Fusion and make 12-and-a-half-hour trip back to her home near Annapolis, Md. “I just load it all up,” she said. “In the front and the back seat, it’s everywhere.” Because the drive is so long, Nilsen only drives home at the beginning of each summer. Other students have the benefit of living only a few hours from Tuscaloosa. With rising gas prices and expensive airfare, getting home can be half the challenge with the end of school. Amtrak offers inexpensive train tickets for students who live in surrounding states and are searching for alternative ways to get home on a budget. A non-stop ticket to New Orleans, La., can be purchased for only $47. Storage units exist throughout Tuscaloosa that students can rent for the summer months to avoid moving their belongings home with them. According to the American Self Storage website, storage units can range in price from $55 for a small unit to $330 for a large unit capable of storing furniture.
Accounting students gain experience via internship By Emily Sturgeon | Contributing Writer Seniors Marina Roberts and Daniel Hubbard spent their days this spring learning about accounting – but not in class. Roberts could often be found researching international tax policies, but she did it at a desk in Houston at the offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers, not a desk in Bruno Library. Hubbard was auditing clients of Sellers, Richardson, Holman, & West, LLP in Birmingham, far from the classrooms of Alston Hall. Although they never saw a single class assignment, both Roberts and Hubbard have class credit for the spring term thanks to the Spring Internship Program in the Culverhouse School of Accountancy. This program offers a special opportunity to accounting students to be matched to firms for a spring internship and receive not only experience to put on a resume, but three hours of academic credit. “I think they’re probably the most valuable experience that a student can have,” said Mary
Stone, faculty advisor for the program. “They really give the student an opportunity to determine whether they’re likely to be successful in a career in accounting.” Roberts and Hubbard are two of 118 students that accepted spring internships through the program in locations across the country, as well as in Beijing and London. The program simulates a real-life job experience. The accountancy school gathered 44 firms to participate in an on-campus interview process in the fall. Firms selected candidates from the student applicants to hold formal interviews. After the internship period is completed, most students take the Certified Public Accountant Exam and attend one year of graduate school. “You can study accounting and you can do well in tests and do well in the classroom, but when you get out and you actually are doing the work that accountants do under the pressure that is part of public accounting, there are some people that don’t like it as much as they thought, and then they still have time to look elsewhere,”
Stone said. “They’re not in a situation where they actually work full-time for a firm, and then discover that they don’t like it.” Interns return as much better students because they recognize the relevance of the topics covered in class and are able to see them in context after having used them in actual jobs, Stone said. “They absolutely are going to expect you to work like any other employee in the firm, and they hold you to that standard,” Roberts said. “I learned so much during my internship, not just in terms of experience, not just in terms of knowing what it’s like to be there, although that was extremely helpful to me, but in terms of the technical knowledge that I was picking up during the job about tax accounting.” Both Hubbard and Roberts will return to work in full-time positions at the firms where they interned, a common occurrence for students that participate in the program, Stone said. “I think students get exposure to what it’s like to be a professional accountant, but [it] also gives
the firms an opportunity to experience what our students are able to do,” she said. The program assists students by getting them in contact with different firms, which Hubbard said was the most important role of the University. “The whole recruiting process is set up for you. They tell you every single thing to do. I was never confused on what I should be doing, and I never was nervous that I wasn’t going to get an internship after doing all those things,” she said. The accountancy school hosts job socials such as “Meet the Firms” and invites students to socials to foster interaction between the students and firms. “The accounting department was just phenomenal in terms of how they worked with me and how they helped me,” Roberts said. “Admittedly it took reaching out to them, it took asking for help, but I met with professors who were willing to bend over backwards in order to help me work through the questions I had about my career [and] help me figure out where it was that I wanted to go.”
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Last class to witness April 27 tornado firsthand graduating REFLECTION FROM PAGE 1
CW File Security personnel at bars like Gallettes mostly provide oversight and deterrence.
Door men provide security, safety at parties, other events By Samantha Eastburn | Contributing Writer Nightly gatherings in Tuscaloosa’s bars, weekly Greek events and parties comprise much of The University of Alabama’s offerings for entertainment and social events for students. Besides the common elements of alcohol and college students, security and bouncers are present at almost any event and are tasked with the job of maintaining order and safety. “Your job is to prevent the problem, not necessarily to intermediate after a problem has occurred,” Anthony Reinoehl, a former bouncer for Gallettes, said. “You need to be physically capable of being able to intermediate if an issue does occur between two individuals.” Reinoehl said “bouncer” is really a misnomer for the role most bar security providers play. “They’re not really called bouncers anymore. They’re called door guys,” Reinoehl said. “A bouncer is a physical title; it’s not really what you do anymore. Your job is to prevent issues versus having to break it up.” Adam Mesewicz is an employee for Freeland Security and Associates, which specializes in security guard services for events and parties. Mesewicz said the requirements for working in security are more stringent than people think. “In order to work security in the state of Alabama you are required to become licensed by the ASRB, Alabama Security Regulatory Board,” Mesewicz said. “This requires eight hours of training and a background check. The training is mostly in the classroom and focuses
on crowd control and safety.” Mesewicz said different events call for different types of security. “For example, at fraternity parties our main goal is to ensure safety while at the same time allowing everyone at the event to have a good time,” Mesewicz said. “We do this by checking IDs at the gate and making sure everyone at the party is supposed to be there. “We also monitor the parties for dangerous objects, like glass bottles, and handle any other issues our contacts, usually the fraternity presidents, want us to deal with.” Reinhoehl said the door men at Gallettes went through on-site training at the bar, but were not required to do any physical training. He said mental preparedness was the most important aspect of the job. “It’s important to watch out for people and make sure they don’t drink too much. If they are falling asleep, then they need to leave, if they are stumbling or falling over, then it comes on you to make the decision,” he said. Mike Yates, a former employee of Harry’s Bar, said he spent two years ensuring others’ safety at the bar. Yates said the job was as much about maintaining an image of authority as it was about actively diffusing issues. “You walk around and make your presence known,” Yates said. “You need to make sure everyone there saw you so they know they can’t get away with anything. If they know a bouncer is present, it is a deterrent for fighting or causing a problem.”
how terrified they sounded.” Amber Smith, a senior majoring in history, was trapped in the basement of the Gorgas stairwell when the tornado came through. She describes the incident as a “family affair,” as both her older sister and twin sister were attending the University that year. Smith said she still marvels at the fact that she ended up with both cell and Internet service in Gorgas and was lucky to be able to contact all members of her family during the tornado. “If I, like so many others, couldn’t have known immediately that my family was OK, I have literally no idea what I would have done or how I would have coped,” she said. Following the tornado, most students immediately left school and headed home. Ahrnsen, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native, stayed in her dorm for three days after the tornado, where she said she lived in a state of confusion among piles of trash left by students in their rush to get home, constantly wondering if the water was safe to drink. With cell phone lines down and WiFi out of commission, students relied on word of mouth to try to understand the severity of the situation. Ahrnsen chose to volunteer after the tornado, an experience she described as being a huge turning point in her life both as a student and as a member of the Tuscaloosa community. “The destruction was indescribable,” she said. “The only thing I could compare it to is war movies. Walking through miles of debris is a lifechanging experience.” Like Ahrnsen, Smith described Tuscaloosa after the tornado as being in a state of utter shock. With no precedent or protocol on how to deal with a catastrophe of this magnitude, many students and Tuscalooosans felt paralyzed to take action, especially when so many questions about what had happened were left largely unanswered. “As a born-and-raised tornado-alley Alabama girl, I’ve known tornadoes all my life, but this destruction, this emptiness was impossible to understand,” Smith said. “We were frontpage news around the world, but people reading those papers almost always knew more than we did.” The tornado opened Ahrnsen and many other students’ eyes to seeing the city of Tuscaloosa in a way they never had before. Tuscaloosa became more than just a place to attend classes on weekdays and a place to watch football games on weekends. Tuscaloosa became home. “Before, Tuscaloosa had just been a place where my college happened to be located,” Ahrnsen said. “But after volunteering in the rubble and meeting the people, my perspective changed. The people of Tuscaloosa are amazing. They were selfless, gracious and so kind during what was, for many of them, the worst experience of their life. I wanted to be part of that community.” Three years later, Ahrnsen has reached her
City sees economic renewal years after tornado destruction RECOVERY FROM PAGE 1
be very thankful that the city leaders and the community took the steps to take advantage of the opportunities that that incredibly tragic event presented,” McConnell said. Another opportunity that presented itself after the storm has been the potential for publicprivate partnerships, and McConnell said while the projects currently underway stem from the recovery plan originally developed in the aftermath of the storm, changes and revisions continue to be made. “Many of those things are continually being refined and reshaped,” he said. Andrew Graettinger, a professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, continues to research ways to refine and reshape building construction standards to improve safety. His research has taken him and the other members of his research team from the Tuscaloosa tornado’s recovery area into Joplin, Mo., and Moore, Okla. “In each case, we are looking at how to improve building strength to reduce economic loss and, more importantly, [make] sure that people are safe if a tornado hits,” Graettinger said. “Observations we made in the field after tornadoes are showing engineers and contractors where the weakest parts of the structure are.” He said one strong recommendation is the inclusion of safe rooms in the rebuilding process. “Small adjustments in how we build will make buildings stronger and people safer, which makes our community better prepared for the next tornado,” Graettinger said. Out on the street, areas of Tuscaloosa that seemed emptied and devastated after the storm are filling back up with stores, restaurants and housing. Brendan Moore, director of economic development for the city, said the McFarland/15th Street corridor especially is receiving heavy interest from developers and businesses. “Tuscaloosa is on the map, which is fantastic,” Moore said. Shortly after the storm, several businesses like Hokkaido and Krispy Kreme returned quickly. The city is now in a second wave of development, he said, as it anticipates the debut of the Shoppes at Legacy Park and the arrival of businesses like a combination Dunkin’ Donuts/ Little Caesar’s. “I would say the next 12 to 18 months are very pivotal,” he said. Moore said a location of Strange Brew Coffeehouse, based out of Starkville, Miss., and a PDQ location, a casual, quick-dining
goal to become part of the Tuscaloosa community, a journey she might never have taken if it weren’t for the tornado. She said she now knows just as many community members as students and is proud of it. Ahrnsen said being in Tuscaloosa for the tornado also altered her personal philosophy significantly. “I saw firsthand how everything you’ve worked for, everything you love, can be swept away in an instant,” she said. “It has made me much less concerned with material things, because I know how easily things can be utterly destroyed.” Physically, Tuscaloosa may be nearly restored to its former glory. Businesses and student housing are spreading like wildfire on every square foot of land formerly destroyed by the tornado. But mentally and emotionally, the city is still healing. Despite the fact that the class of 2014 marks the last group of students at the University who were present for the April 27, 2011, tornado, students and residents of Tuscaloosa will continue to be affected by the tornado for years to come. Virginia Wesson, a sophomore majoring in economics, was still attending high school in Birmingham when the tornado struck Tuscaloosa. She remembers her older brother, then a student at the University, coming back to Birmingham with his roommates, shaken up from the experience. “They were showing us pictures of the destruction and how the whole city was black and how dead it all seemed afterwards,” she said. “I know that memory is still holding on with them today.” Wesson said she cannot imagine Tuscaloosa being any different than it is today, but it is important for the city to commemorate the anniversary of the tornado each year in order to celebrate how far the city and its people have come in just three years. “[The tornado] is a really big part of the community as it is now,” she said. “Tuscaloosa changed a lot after the tornado, so to not recognize it would be kind of a dishonor to what the city looks like now and how strong our community has become because of it. However, for the graduating class of 2014, the tornado holds more meaning than it has for any other graduating class, both past and future. As freshmen during the time of the tornado, the class in many ways has signified a parallel to the tornado, growing and developing as young adults just as Tuscaloosa grows and develops as a city recovering from tragedy. ““T-Town Never Down’ is definitely a thing, at least for my graduating generation,” Smith said. “We are a proud people now, because in that moment we became aware of our strength.” As she prepares to finally graduate from The University of Alabama and move on to a new adventure, the memory of April 27, 2011, is still fresh in Ahrnsen’s mind. “If you live in Tuscaloosa, you are affected by April 27, whether you know it or not,” Ahrnsen said. “Even though it was three years ago, I know I still have nightmares sometimes. Living through that is not something you forget, or that should be forgotten. It has made me try to live each day like April 27 was the next.”
restaurant, are in the pipeline as well. As public infrastructure projects begin to merge with private development, students can expect to notice an upcoming third wave of development, Moore said. He said redevelopment in the recovery area will have a ripple effect that will impact the whole city. “I think the community will see positive changes,” he said. “It will take some time to put the pieces together. We have active projects in all parts of the city, which is really, really exciting. That tells me we’re doing something right in the city of Tuscaloosa.” On the academic side, UA professors are already beginning to piece together trends from before and after the tornado. John Lochman, Doddridge Saxon Chair of Clinical Psychology, had an existing set of wide-ranging data concerning the psychology of children in the area from before the tornado. After the storm, he secured funding to compare, contrast and study the changes in those same children. “The rationale for seeking funding to follow these children over time really comes because there is very, very little literature on children’s changes before and after major traumas,” Lochman said. “Almost all of [existing studies about major trauma] examine children’s behavior after the event, so it’s unclear how much the event changed that.” Having large amounts of data from before the storm allowed Lochman and a nationwide team funded by a $1.9 million grant to dig into psychological trends of storm survivors and children living through a storm and recovery. An initial observation they have made is that in the first 90 days following the tornado, the children in the study were actually less likely to have issues with depression or behavioral problems. “These at-risk children right after the tornado, according to what we heard, were receiving much more support,” he said. “The immediate after-effects of the tornado, other than the tornado itself, produced some things for the group as a whole that were helpful.” As the anniversary of the tornado approaches, Lochman said he encourages teachers and parents to watch for signs of long-term trauma in children and seek counseling if necessary. He said he predicts that some of the children who experienced community support might have returned to problematic behavior, but also expects signs that the psychological legacy of the tornado might have turned in a hopeful direction. “What we anticipate is that some of the kids might have started a positive spiral in their behavior,” Lochman said. “And their emotional functioning [might really have] continued to improve.”
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
UA students honored nationally By Katie Shepherd | Contributing Writer
Photo Courtesy of Lynda Truong Eight UA students received prestigious scholarships and awards this year for research.
Each year, students from universities across the country are selected to receive various prestigious scholarship awards. This year, from The University of Alabama eight students were chosen for three of these awards. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hollings Scholarship was awarded to five UA students among 106 total awards nationally. The scholarship provides recipients with $8,000 a year for full-time study during their junior and senior years, said Gary Sloan, coordinator of prestigious scholarships and awards. It also awards students with $6,500 for a 10-week internship at NOAA or an NOAAapproved facility for the summer between their junior and senior years. “UA ranked fourth in the nation behind the University of Miami, the University of Oklahoma and the University of South Carolina for these awards,” Sloan said. Among those awarded were Joseph Green, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering; Nicole Kernahan,
a sophomore majoring in marine science and biology; Thomas Ludwig, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering; Zoe Nichols, a sophomore majoring in marine science and biology; and Leigh Terry, a sophomore majoring in business administration. “I think this award’s greatest impact on my life is yet to come through my summer internship experience with NOAA,” Terry said. “But it has definitely already influenced my thinking as to how I can integrate NOAA’s mission of fostering environmental stewards into my career goals.” Kernahan echoed Terry’s sentiment. “This award has been one of the most fantastic things to happen to me ever,” she said. “It will affect both my life as a student and in my career path.” The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship is awarded to about 300 students each year who plan to focus their careers on research in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering. This scholarship, which provides $7,500 in scholarship funds, was awarded to two UA students this year. These students are Brian Goodell, a
junior majoring in chemical engineering, and Lynda Truong, a junior majoring in chemistry. “The Goldwater Scholarship has reaffirmed my commitment to pursue a career based on scientific research,” Goodell said. “This is also a recognition that will help me to get into graduate programs when the time comes for me to apply.” The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is an award given to juniors who are committed to public service leadership. Out of the 59 awarded this year, Jason Arterburn, a junior majoring in mathematics and interdisciplinary studies, was the only UA student to receive the award. Recipients of this award are given up to $30,000 for graduate study. Arterburn, who is currently studying in Harbin, China, said he was excited to have received the award. “I am humbled to be invited into such a distinguished community,” he said. “It is absolutely a testament to my family, friends and mentors, and the impact they have had on me.”
Relay for Life to raise money for cancer awareness By Maddison McCullough | Contributing Writer This Friday, The University of Alabama will host its annual Relay For Life fundraiser for The American Cancer Society. Teams will camp out at the Sam Bailey Track and Field Stadium and take turns walking or running the track. “We’re hoping to see a big turnout because this is something that affects everyone,” Laura Lantrip, Relay For Life executive director, said. “Relay gives people the chance to fight back against a disease that affects so many.” Relay For Life is a worldwide fundraiser to raise money for cancer research through The American Cancer Society. This year, the Tuscaloosa Relay For Life event organizers are aiming to raise $100,000. According to the official UA Relay For Life donation page, 48 teams and 650 participants have already raised more than $40,000 as of Tuesday night. Many groups on campus will par-
ticipate in the walk, such as Greek organizations, and the Honors College Assembly. The Athletic Training Students’ Association has raised more than $5,000 and currently sits as the number one team. This year’s theme, “I Relay For,” reminds participants about the reasons why people come together to raise money. For Caroline Lee, a freshman majoring in pre-physical therapy, the primary reason she got involved is personal. “I am participating in Relay for Life for many reasons,” she said. “I started participating in Relay for Life back in my hometown about two years ago. The main reason I participated was because in my junior year of high school, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Living with someone who is dealing with cancer is pretty stressful.” Lee said she was motivated to stay involved with Relay for Life even after
her dad’s recovery. “Ever since my parents told me about my dad’s cancer, I have been making myself become more and more involved with cancer awareness clubs, specifically, Relay for Life,” she said. “You never realize how many people know someone who has been affected by cancer until you attend a Relay for Life event.” Brooke Garner, a freshman majoring in restaurant and hotel management, is walking with her sorority Kappa Delta. She said she’s walking not only for her little sister who suffered from neurofibromatosis, but also for the larger community that is affected by cancer. “A lot of people are affected by cancer and not just families and friends of victims,” Garner said. “Nurses, doctors and caregivers give their lives to cancer victims, and by doing Relay for Life, I gain the satisfaction of helping them feel appreciated. It’s overwhelming to see other college students fighting for the same cause.”
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p.10 Abbey Crain | Editor culture@cw.ua.edu
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
By Alexandra Ellsworth | Staff Reporter With graduation approaching, the pressure for seniors to land jobs is growing every day. The Huffington Post reported in May 2013 that only 27 percent of graduates acquire jobs related to their majors. According to Forbes, in that same month, only 16 percent of graduating seniors polled by Accenture said they had a job waiting for them upon graduation. Statistics like these are not exactly comforting for graduating seniors trying to balance their social lives with final exams, interviews and job applications. The class of 2014 can be slightly more optimistic than the previous two years according to a survey conducted by The National Association of Colleges and Employers. The survey estimates that employers will hire approximately 8 percent more new college graduates in this year than they did in 2012-2013. “That’s good news for the approximately 1.6 million students who will be entering the workforce with a Bachelor’s degree this spring,” said Business Insider’s Lydia Dallett in an online article. The job search can still be a nerve-racking experience. For many seniors, it may be the first time they do not have a plan laid out for what’s next. “This is the first time for me that school is ending, and I don’t know what I am doing next,” Jillian Jacobson, a graduate student in higher education, said. “I knew after high school that I was going to college, and even after college I knew what my next step was, but now that I am graduating from graduate school, I really don’t know what’s next.” Jacobson, who is currently an intern with the Career Center, is applying for jobs across the country in higher education, but has yet to accept any positions. Mary Kathryn Patterson, a senior majoring in
public relations, has not been able to find a job in her target location either. “I am nervous because I am planning to move to Nashville without a plan really,” she said. “I don’t have a job yet, and I am not sure when I will get one.” Patterson and Jacobson are just two of the many soon-to-be graduates who are stressing over the future. Tiffany Goodin, program manager for student services in the Career Center, said at this point in the semester, she starts to see more and more seniors become anxious about the job search. “It can sometimes, not always, it depends on each organization’s timeline, take several months to secure a position,” Goodin said. “I try to tell students to have realistic expectations and encourage them to do all they can to expedite the process: network, follow up, set short term goals for conducting the job search, among other things.” The Career Center recommends that graduating seniors who are searching for jobs follow the same tips they would recommend to anyone searching for a job at any point in life: network (both in person and online), search for and apply to job postings, and be sure to have an upto-date resume free of typos. Jacobson said she sees networking as the most important factor in a job search. “Getting to know people who are at the company you want to apply at is really helpful,” she said. “Also, talking to people who are already professionals to see if they have any advice for applying to jobs in their field can be very beneficial.” Talking to professors is another way that students can network for the job market. “At least one professor has been really great at helping me with the job search, and the Career Center, where I work, has been helpful as well,” Jacobson said.
Patterson said building relationships with her professors is one thing she wished she would have done more. “A lot of people may think that you don’t need to get to know your professors, but if you keep up with them, they can be a great resource for the job search,” she said. “It’s okay to reach out to them and ask for suggestions or find possible connections.” Matt Reid, the management assistant for Enterprise Holdings, Inc., and a UA alum, said he believes the job search is made more difficult by students’ expectations. Sometimes people have to be willing to accept a less than ideal job, he said. “My tip would be apply to as many places as possible and be humble enough to take a job with a company that you may not like so that you can at least get some experience,” he said. Goodin said it is a good idea for students to look past their majors for job opportunities. “When you consider your skills, interests, personality, etc., it typically opens up a whole new set of options for you to consider, rather than limiting yourself based solely on major,” she said. “I recently met with a student whose major is psychology, but she is more interested in the music industry. We started looking at jobs listed for music festivals and related sites, and she became much more excited than when we looked at jobs she thought she had to pursue based on her major and the preconceived thoughts she had about it. The college major is a factor to consider while in the job search, but it is only one of many factors.” Learning how to manage time and be persistent with follow-ups can be a crucial aspect of job hunting, Goodin said. She said it is not only okay for students to contact employers directly, but it can even set an applicant apart and help build a relationship with a potential employer.
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JobStats
Career Center offers advice for senior job search
1.6 million
number of students who will be entering the workforce with a Bachelor’s degree this spring
16%
of graduating seniors said they had a job waiting for them upon graduation
employers will hire approximately
8%
more new college graduates this year than they did in 2012-2013
27%
of graduates acquire jobs related to their majors
CW | Belle Newby “I do not think it’s too forward to contact businesses directly, and I think it will make you stand out if you do.” Goodin said. “Try to be prepared for what you want to say and have a resume on hand, ready to offer them. Some companies refer candidates directly to their website, others recruit via LinkedIn, and others do a combo or something different, like CrimsonCareers, indeed.com, etc.” Instead of focusing all of their job searches through one particular channel, graduates should look at various sites and application processes, Goodin said. “LinkedIn and face-to-face networking is a great way to not only find positions, but also know which websites or other avenues to keep an eye on for that particular organization,” she said. Some job search websites like
Monster and indeed.com, will require more initiation to follow up with applications. “They are perfectly fine places to look for positions, but they are not very reactive in nature,” Goodin said. “If you’ll notice, usually when you apply for a job via Monster you do not have a way to follow up on your application, and sometimes you aren’t even sure which company is posting the position.” For a more proactive approach, Goodin recommends networking or CrimsonCareers, the Career Center’s job search database for students and alumni. The Career Center is still available to meet individually with a student if there are specific questions related to his or her particular search. To contact the Career Center and schedule an appointment, call 348-5848.
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
University Mall to celebrate art, culture of Japan By Drew Pendleton | Contributing Writer
Photo Courtesy of Paratus Film Team The student-led film “Paratus 14:50” documents the U.S. Coast Guard’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Student film to feature Coast Guard By Deanne Winslett | Assistant Culture Editor Eight years ago, Hurricane Katrina swept through the South, leaving widespread damage across multiple states. Responding to the chaos was the United States Coast Guard, which led operations to rescue and retrieve people affected by the storm. Kaitlin Smith, a senior majoring in telecommunication and film, said she has always felt connected to the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the Coast Guard. Her family is originally from New Orleans, La., an area that was really impacted by the hurricane. She volunteered during the aftermath alongside her father, a member of the Coast Guard. “I went down to New Orleans back in August of 2006, and I saw the damage, and it was really heartbreaking for me because I have such a personal connection to the city,” Smith said. “After extensive research throughout the years, and learning the Coast Guard’s response, it finally hit me that this story really needs to be told to the public.” As part of her independent study project, Smith is producing a documentary film highlighting the Coast Guard’s response to Hurricane Katrina titled “Paratus 14:50.” “I want to tell the stories of these men and women who honestly risked their lives so that they could save others who lost their own belongings in the storm so that they could save others,” she said. “A lot of the personnel down there did lose their homes. A lot of the personnel stayed and rode out the storm in the facilities so that they could immediately carry
out their operations. They weren’t restricted by the government. They did exactly what they had to do at the time being, and that was to save lives. And I think when you have someone with that attitude, someone who’s that brave, I think they need to be recognized.” For the project, Smith recruited the help of her friend Hunter Barcroft, a senior majoring in telecommunication and film who she brought on as the film’s director. Barrett said he wanted to participate in the documentary because of its depth. “I realized how big of a story that it really was, and the magnitude of it,” he said. “I had never done anything remotely this big in my life. It’s a once in a lifetime kind of thing.” The film name is a combination of the Coast Guard motto and the exact time they initially responded to the hurricane. “Paratus” comes from the Coast Guard motto “Semper Paratus,” meaning “always ready.” The “14:50” in military time is 2:50 p.m., which was when the Coast Guard made its first rescue after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. Smith contacted the Coast Guard Hollywood Liaison Office to request access to facilities and personnel. Smith and her team were given complete access to all Coast Guard offices and personnel. When filming begins in May, the “Paratus 14:50” team will travel to various locations across the country filming and interviewing for the project. Some places they will film include Mobile, Ala.; New Orleans, La.; Gulfport, Miss.; Washington, D.C.; Astoria and North Bend; Ore.; Sitka, Ark.; and Clearwater, Fla.
“The locations were chosen because of who I want to interview. In my research throughout the years, I chose the personnel who had the best impact, who did well for the Coast Guard,” Smith said. “We actually chose these commanding officers in charge of those facilities, those air stations during Hurricane Katrina as well as rescue swimmers from around the nation who came down to help out during Katrina, who had significant rescues.” Production costs for the student-run film are largely funded by donations. All donations go toward the completion and distribution of the film. Private donations are being accepted, and an account has been established on Indiegogo, an international crowd-funding website for films and other arts. The film’s production team is set to begin filming “Paratus 14:50” on May 7, with the Coast Guard at the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala. The film is scheduled to be completed by summer 2015, and the team plans to debut the final version on August 29, 2015 – a date that marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the 60th anniversary of Air Station New Orleans and the 100th anniversary of the United States Coast Guard formation. “We’d like to honor those who were affected by Katrina, those who were lost, those who survived, and those first responders who risked their lives for everything, so that people could be saved,” Smith said. For more information on the film and to follow its progress, visit the Paratus Film page on Facebook or follow @Paratus_Film on Twitter.
The Capstone International program at The University of Alabama will bring a Japanese holiday to Tuscaloosa with the Matsuri in the Mall celebration Saturday at University Mall. The event will celebrate “ohanami,” the season where cherry trees begin to blossom and their blossoms detach. According to the Capstone International website, “ohanami” symbolizes the paradoxically fleeting yet enduring nature of life. The University’s own cherry trees, located at the corner of University Boulevard and Stadium Drive, bring this theme to the UA campus. The Sakura Festival, which includes Matsuri in the Mall, is themed “yakudo,” meaning “vibrant.” Kathryn Perez, international education coordinator for Capstone International, said Matsuri in the Mall will be an opportunity for the Tuscaloosa community to learn more about Japanese culture. “Sakura reaches out to both the campus and the community to share Japan’s unique and extraordinary culture,” Perez said. Festivities will include authentic Japanese music, calligraphy, origami and traditional dances. This year, the event will include a scavenger hunt, with rewards ranging from restaurant gift cards to a $250 travel voucher. An art exhibit sponsored by the Tuscaloosa Sister Cities Commission will be on display as part of the festival, showcasing art made by K-12 students from both Tuscaloosa and its sister city, Narashimo, Japan. The exhibit will be open Wednesday through Sunday. Perez said the Masturi in the Mall event exhibits the growing relationship between the University and Japan. “UA has several long-standing relationships with Japanese universities. We both receive students from and send students to these universities on a regular basis,” Perez said. “However, we want all of our students, including those who are not able to participate in study abroad, to have the opportunity to learn more about various cultures around the world and to build their intercultural competencies and knowledge.” The annual Matsuri in the Mall celebration will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Univeristy Mall on McFarland Boulevard. Admission is free, and all are invited to attend.
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Yik Yak app encourages bullying with anonymity By Reed O’Mara | Staff Reporter When Franki Wangen looks down at her phone, she’s not surprised to see a text from a friend telling her she’s been mentioned again on a Yik Yak post. She looks at a guy at a neighboring table and wonders if he’s the one who posted it. Wangen, a freshman in New College studying linguistic anthropology, has been mentioned on Yik Yak more than eight times. Yik Yak is a mobile app where people can post 200-word messages anonymously, which can be viewed by the 500 closest users. Yik Yak co-founder Brooks Buffington told the International Business Times in a March 12 article that the app was intended to be a “virtual bulletin board” for college students. For Wangen, the app has done less to inform her about events than it has attempted to diminish her confidence in her blue and pink hair. “The anonymity really dehumanizes people. The people who are writing these things about other people, they’re not thinking about these other people, [who are in] in sororities or fraternities that they hate for whatever reason, as people,” Wangen said. Wangen discovered the personal attacks soon after she downloaded the app in March. The app now has around 240,000 users according to a March 7 article in USA Today. The app has been controversial because, despite rules dictating users must be 17 years of age as well as to “not bully or specifically target other yakkers,” the app has become a platform for just that in many instances. In Chicago, the app has been blocked completely because of threats to student safety in middle and high schools, according to an article from the Huffington Post in early March. According to a March 7 Chicago Tribune article, Lake Forest High School was one of the first Chicago schools to try to curtail the bullying circulating on Yik Yak. They began by having parents delete the app from students’ phones. Eventually the school prevented its Wi-Fi accessibility, but as some students had data plans, it wasn’t until Yik Yak got involved and actually removed the app from Chicago completely that it ceased to be an issue. Since then, the founders of Yik Yak have worked with Google Maps to begin a plan on how to remove the app from school zones around the country called “geo-fences,” because, as they have said before, the app is meant for college students, according to a March 26 Huffington Post article. As far as legal issues caused by the app, most law institutions have not defined the bounds of what separates an anonymous comment and a genuine threat. Bradley Okdie, 2011 UA alum who now is an assistant professor at the Ohio State University at Newark, has done research in social psychology pertaining to technology. “The law has not caught up to technology such as Yik Yak, and lawmakers are scrambling to understand the legal issues of anonymous online commenting services like it,” Bradley said. “That said, psychological research on bullying and social exclusion suggests that each may have long term pervasive consequences.” Philip Gable, an assistant professor at The University of Alabama in the department of psychology, cites the anonymity of Yik Yak as the root of the issues it has caused. “When people aren’t responsible for their own actions, it allows people to do things that are socially unacceptable,” Gable said. “What would normally evoke shame from other people or cause one to feel guilty, anonymity allows one to act – speak in this case – without personal social shaming.” On the night of Thursday, April 10, Wangen
witnessed the power of anonymity from her smartphone firsthand. Posts containing racist jargon about a group of mainly black students standing outside of the Ridgecrest South Residence Hall resulted in the University being removed from Yik Yak’s “peek” feature shortly after, which would allow other colleges to view Yaks in Tuscaloosa. The University did not respond when asked for comment in time for print. While Yik Yak monitors some of the language on the app, students have found ways around the spellcheck by replacing letters in a word, “naggers” being the most common replacement. “People started sending yaks, tons of yaks, really offensive things, racist slurs talking about ‘the monkeys in the courtyard’ and so Alabama Yik Yak got taken off the ‘peek’ feature of the app so that other schools can’t look on,” Wangen said. Zachary Nola, account executive for Yik Yak, said the “peeking” feature of Yik Yak is going to increase the schools on the list, but did not say whether the University being removed from the feature was specifically related to the incident on April 10. “Yik Yak’s ‘peeking’ feature is based on the app’s popularity on select campuses and growth within specific regions, but the list of schools varies in any given week as the company builds out the feature,” Nola said. The Student Leadership Council of Student Affairs, a group of student leaders representing diverse student organizations who discuss campus topics, identify initiatives and form broad-based partnerships seeking to benefit the campus community, published an editorial in The Crimson White on April 16 regarding the use of Yik Yak on the UA campus. Adam Sterritt, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, said the SLC has had meetings discussing ways to combat the negative effects of Yik Yak at the University and in other institutions. “Our campus student leaders were especially concerned about the anonymity involved, which gives users a perceived lack of accountability and can lead to instances of cruelty and bullying amongst our students,” Sterritt said. “Bullying of any type, including cyberbullying, is a violation of our Student Code of Conduct. All members of a community must be involved in creating the culture. In addition to efforts by administration, students must hold each other accountable as peers and ensure that we are all working towards creating a positive learning environment.” Brian Kraus, a senior majoring in physics and president of The Mallet Assembly, helped draft the SLC’s editorial. He said, aside from anonymity, a problem with Yik Yak arises when bystanders who haven’t downloaded the app are brought into play. “It’s not a good picture in the end,” Kraus said. “People just bounce off of each other. One person can say one thing that’s going too far, and someone else sees that and that it got some votes and says something worse.” For Kraus, the answer to Yik Yak bullying needs to include personal responsibility and action by the University. “I think it’s a poisonous thing to have around because you can’t get any depth, and since it’s anonymous and no one has any weight behind their actions, anything that people say can’t be given any weight either,” Kraus said. “The University should make people aware that they are accountable for what they post. There’s a lot of legal shadowy areas as far as what’s considered a threat or harassment and what’s considered anonymous posting online that I think people need to be a more educated about in general.”
It’s not a good picture in the end.
Photos Courtesy of Lee Busby Students can take clay classes in glazing and Raku, a 500-year-old Japanese clay technique.
Kentuck offers clay courses By Laura Testino | Contributing Writer Kentuck Art Center invites students and other members of the Tuscaloosa community to dive into the arts this summer with Clay Days, a series of classes exploring clay as a medium for artistic expression. The classes focus on various techniques and can be enjoyed by beginning and professional artists alike. Janie Plaxco, Clay Co-op president at Kentuck Art Center, said she hopes the community embraces the idea of working with clay rather than being intimidated by it. She said there are lessons applicable for those with all levels of clay experience, starting at age 6. “You can do a lot of different things with [clay], whether it’s sculpting or building or throwing, and so you can pretty easily have a product that is extremely appealing to you,” she said. Daniel Livingston, a Kentuck demonstrating artist of more than 20 years and Kentuck instructor of two years, will be teaching classes in glazing and Raku, a 500-year-old Japanese technique. Livingston said he expects to see various community members in his classes. He plans to individualize the instruction for each student’s level. His beginning-level students can expect to create pinch pots. More advanced students will have the opportunity to try their hands at creating sculptural works or working on the wheel. Lee Busby will instruct an introductory
sculpting course focusing on the features of the head, face and neck. Busby began sculpting around four years ago and developed an interest in the natural nuances of the face. “Clay, to me, is fun. It’ll do what you tell it to do. You just have to know how to tell it. If you don’t like it, you can mash it up and do it again,” he said. “My advice would be to just jump right on in.” The Clay Days summer courses vary in length, depending on the subject. Busby encourages members of the community to abandon any fears associated with art and enroll in a class. “Nobody’s down here judging. If you know a little, you can pick it up there, or even if you know nothing, it’s just a fun couple of days,” he said. Hayes Dobbins has been an instructor at Kentuck for three years and teaches a handbuilding clay course for younger children. “I teach [the students] how to do a mug,” she said. “I teach them how to do a little bowl. We make a mask, and we can do a superhero mask or a Mardi Gras mask. I kind of let them direct the creative part once we get through the basics.” Dobbins said clay appeals to her because it is forgiving and fairly easily manipulated. She said she has enjoyed observing the ways her students work with clay to create various final products. Registration for Clay Days courses begins Tuesday.
— Brian Kraus
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p.13 Charlie Potter | Editor sports@cw.ua.edu
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
BASEBALL
ROWING
Rowing team travels to last race Alabama baseball
struggles midweek
By Kayla Montgomery | Contributing Writer For the final race before Conference USA Championships, the Alabama rowing team will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to compete in the Dale England Cup on Friday. At the regatta, the team will face opponents from Indiana University, Notre Dame and Rhode Island. The Crimson Tide will enter the match coming off what coach Larry Davis called a positive showing in the Knecht Cup Regatta on April 12, where the team had two top-10 finishes. Alabama’s novice eight finished ninth overall in the Knecht Cup regatta, coming in third in the Petite Final. The second varsity eight boat also finished third in the Petite Final and ninth overall. Also, the first varsity eight finished 12th overall, with the first varsity four coming in 15th overall. “Team-wise, we had a much better performance,” Davis said. “It’s not where we want to be yet, but we are certainly making good progress.” He also said the showing in the Knecht Cup will set the tone for the race this weekend, where Alabama will face stiff competition. “We wanted to set the tone for what we want to accomplish,” Davis said. “We’re going to see some very good teams this weekend, based on their speed earlier this year.” Junior captain Logan O’Neil said the race prepared the team because of the
3 locatio ns:
By Elliott Propes | Contributing Writer
UA Athletics The Alabama rowing team prepares for its final race before championships. changing weather conditions. “We got a chance to see a lot of fast teams there, so that’s one thing that will really help us,” he said. “Additionally, Saturday was calm, but Sunday, the wind picked up, and that really helped us prepare for the race in Indiana.” As the Crimson Tide approaches Conference USA Championships, O’Neil said the team has been working on specific changes in an attempt to improve its speed. “We’re just making some really finetuned technical changes,” he said. “We’ve been working toward those a lot this past week. What’s really exciting is that we’re all very focused and motivated toward making whatever changes and doing whatever we can to make the boats move faster.”
In addition to these changes, Davis said the team has been working on mental changes throughout the entire season. “We want to get that confidence that we can row with everyone,” he said. “If we put our best race on the water, we can compete. We want to continue that through this weekend and through conference championships.” Following the conclusion of its spring season, the team is looking forward to the opening of the new rowing facility at Manderson Landing, which will open later this summer. “I think we already have a great amount of pride in our team, but the new facilities are going to boost that even more,” O’Neil said. “To have a presence on campus is going to be really exciting for us.”
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The No. 8 Alabama baseball team was upset by Southern Miss 6-3 Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide dropped to 28-13 with the loss. “Well, I thought just overall it was a poor performance by us. I thought our energy level was low tonight,” coach Mitch Gaspard said. Southern Miss struck first in the game. In the top of the fourth inning, junior Mason Robbins had a two-out RBI single. In the sixth, Robbins hit an RBI single to make it 2-0. The Golden Eagles added two more runs in the sixth to take a 4-0 lead. The Crimson Tide had its leadoff man reach base the first five innings and outhit the Golden Eagles 9-8. “You can’t turn the switch on in the middle part of the game or the late part of the game,” Gaspard said. “You have to come out, pitch one of the game and set the tempo and set how you want to play the game, and we certainly did not do that tonight.” Alabama finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth
FOOTBALL
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inning. Junior Ben Moore had a one-out double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Sophomore Kyle Overstreet brought Moore in with a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-1. After a two-run blast in the eighth, Robbins finished 4-4 with four RBIs. “We set a bad tone on the mound,” Gaspard said. “We stayed behind in the count too often. They finally took advantage of [that] in the sixth inning, and Robbins had a heck of a night for them,” Gaspard said. In the ninth, Alabama started to make a rally. Sophomore Chance Vincent started the inning with a leadoff double. Sophomore Mikey White then drove him in with an RBI single with one out to make it 6-2. With two outs, Moore tripled to right field and scored White for Alabama’s last run in the 6-3 loss. “Tonight, too little too late,” Moore said. The Crimson Tide, now in first place in the SEC, will return to conference play Friday for a weekend series with No.11 South Carolina.
Carson Tinker’s new book, “A Season to Remember,” wasn’t easy for him to write, going back through the afternoon of April 27, 2011, and how that EF-4 tornado ripped through his house and livelihood. But it was necessary for the readers, he said. “It was definitely hard,” Tinker said. “It was something at first I didn’t know if I really wanted to do or not, but then I realized it was an opportunity to help people. Going back through everything and reliving some of the stuff was definitely hard, but it was something I knew I had to put in there.” The book – which was co-written by Tommy Ford and features a foreword by Nick Saban, his coach at Alabama from 2008-12 – focuses not only on the tornado outbreak but his rise from those circumstances. Fifty-three people were killed by the tornado in Tuscaloosa. One of them was Ashley Harrison, Tinker’s girlfriend. He himself was thrown 75 yards into a field, which was open save for the crude debris strewn about by the storm’s violent winds. Tinker said that sometime in the 2011 season, the idea was presented to him about putting his experience on paper. “It was kind of an opportunity that just presented itself,” he said. “Before we finished the 2011 season, I didn’t even know if I wanted to write it. I never thought I’d be an author or anything like that. I just realized it was an opportunity for me to help people. I felt God had given me a platform to do that, so I really wanted to take advantage of it.” Tinker said it took him around six months to
nail down the idea for the book, which carries a different theme for each chapter. It then took around a year and a half of weekly meetings between him and Ford to complete. “Tommy did a great job of taking these pretty much random thoughts and putting them together and making them make sense,” Tinker said. As per the title, the book is about more than just Tinker’s loss and hardships suffered that April. It also extensively covers the Crimson Tide’s 2011 championship season, a season that earned Tinker an athletic scholarship for his senior year. “I wanted people to realize the darkest hour of my life and how God used that for good,” he said. “It was hard to write that, but at the same time it was kind of therapeutic to go back, because I thought I had learned everything, but when I went back through and talked about all the stuff I had learned, it was really therapeutic to reflect on everything.” Since the book was released, Tinker has done the rounds on sports media and even made an appearance in Tuscaloosa during A-Day weekend to sign copies before and after the game. “People are tweeting at me now, speaking up to me saying that it really helped them with what they were going through. I just think that being able to help people with what they have going on is really cool, and that’s the reason I wanted to write the book so it’s really neat,” Tinker said. His new teammates in Jacksonville, Fla., where he plays for the NFL’s Jaguars, are due 50 copies too, he said. “My mantra since the tornado has been that people ask for blessings, but I want to be a blessing,” he said.
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
SOFTBALL
Senior pitcher respected on and off field By Kelly Ward | Assistant Sports Editor Jaclyn Traina’s pitching talents are almost unheard of. Not many experienced pitchers can win a softball team a national championship. Traina, now a senior, did so as a sophomore. In 2012, she went 42-3 with a 1.87 ERA. Thirty-seven of her 43 starts were complete games, and she pitched seven shutouts. She was named the MVP of the Women’s College World Series and earned first-team NFCA All-American, Capital One Academic All-District, SEC Pitcher of the Year, SEC Tournament MVP and USA Softball Top 10 Player of the Year finalist accolades. “She’s shown that you can win a national championship as a pitcher and still be a servant-leader and a very unselfish teammate, and that usually doesn’t go together, especially in that position,” coach Patrick Murphy said. “She hasn’t been a prima donna. She’s been very, very team-oriented. I mean, she’s just been a breath of fresh air, and I think everybody would say that about her too. They love playing behind her. She never points a finger. ... She’s a rare breed.” The team-oriented attitude existed before the 2012 National Championship. Fellow senior Ryan Iamurri has played with Traina since tee ball. They’ve grown up together on and off the field. Iamurri said she has seen her friend develop into the player she is today. When they played in high school, Traina wasn’t the team’s No. 1 pitcher. “Her biggest strength as a pitcher is that she was consistent, like in the mind and on the field, so for her to carry that throughout, that’s what’s made her the best,” Iamurri said. “That’s what’s made her as good as she is, is because she’s consistent in her mind and on the field, so that’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed growing up is just how emotionally mature and mentally strong she is on the field.” If Traina is one thing, she is consistent. In each of her four seasons, she has more than 130 strikeouts. Her career ERA is under 2.0. She’s pitched 781 innings in her career with 899 strikeouts and 308 walks. When she came to Alabama as a freshman, Traina said she didn’t think about her future. “I had confidence in myself, so I was going to do whatever the team needed, but
CW | Shelby Akin Jaclyn Traina has recorded 899 strikeouts as a member of the Alabama softball team. I wouldn’t get as much as I did or have if it wasn’t for the girls behind me, you know, the rest of my teammates,” Traina said. When she and junior Leslie Jury are practicing, Traina makes the experience fun, Jury said. Part of bullpen practice involves pitching around counterfeit batters. It’s not good when they hit the batters, but Jury said Traina encourages her to not let that bother her. “Jac’s just like, ‘Get in there with them. Don’t be afraid to get it in there,’ and she just makes bullpens fun and light, and that’s just a great testament to who she is and [how she is] every day,” she said. “She makes working with her in the bullpen fun. It’s never a drain to be with Jackie.” Traina plays for her teammates even when they are new to the team.
Senior catcher Molly Fichtner transferred from the University of Texas-San Antonio after her sophomore year. She said she wasn’t sure what to expect catching someone of Traina’s caliber. “It’s never fun to go to a new catcher as a pitcher if you’re used to one catcher. You like to stick with what you know,” Fichtner said. “But when I came in, she was very, very open and welcoming, and I think that made my transition that much easier.” This selflessness is part of the legacy that Traina said she wants to leave behind. Winning a national championship was great, she said, but the relationships she formed with her other teammates are a highlight for her. It’s important to Traina that people remember her as a team player. “Probably that I played for my
teammates,” Traina said about her legacy. “I didn’t necessarily play for the game, I played for my teammates because they’re what makes this special for me.” The 2012 National Championship was all about the team’s theme, “Finish It,” for the six seniors on the team. She pitched every game in Oklahoma City. When Alabama played Oklahoma, the loss in the first game was Traina’s first loss in nearly a month. “At that point, she’s throwing every single game,” Iamurri said. “And at that point, your run is fully on your mental capacity, your mental strength, and of course she’s tired, she’s hurting, but if you look at the big picture, which is winning a national championship for those six seniors that year, it’s like nothing hurts. Nothing in your body hurts. You forget about it, and she was able to put all that aside and just win.” The 5-4 win over Oklahoma in 2012 that clinched the program’s first national title was Traina’s 42nd win that year. She owns the Alabama record for most wins in a single season and led the nation in wins that year. Her presence in the circle is something for the younger pitchers on the team to emulate. “Jackie’s always been so dominant, so it’s been great to learn and gain some experiences from such a dominant power pitcher,” Jury said. “She never shows any emotion. She’s always attacking the batter. She’s developed a name for herself, and batters fear her, so it’s great to get to watch that because it instills in me the character that I want to have as a pitcher.” Traina’s success wasn’t guaranteed. Recruiting a pitcher is almost as hard as recruiting a quarterback, Murphy said. Personality, perseverance and relentlessness are all factors. “You’ve got to have the talent, obviously, but if you don’t have the head and the heart, you’re not going to last very long, because when there’s a circle drawn around you, and that’s the position that you play, you’d better have a lot of heart,” Murphy said. Traina, he said, has the heart. “I thought we were going to get a good one, but obviously you never know until they get on campus, and she just really blossomed,” Murphy said. “[She’s] one of those rare kids that come along maybe once or twice in a coach’s lifetime.”
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HOROSCOPES Today’s Birthday (04/23/14). Mercury enters Taurus today, encouraging calm reflection. Stop and consider what you really want this year. Learning comes easier, and communications builds partnership, collaboration and community. Research, travel and explore over springtime. Physical efforts (exercise, digging in the dirt, building and crafting) reap rewards. Creativity inspires home improvements after August. Career and finances thrive with organization. Infuse your world with love. 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 5 -- It’s all about action today (with a Grand Cross in cardinal signs), but the one who initiates loses. Test before pushing ahead. It could get tense. Watch your step! Mercury enters Taurus, beginning a phase of pruning, trimming and adjusting. Clear out old branches for new growth. Taurus (April 20-May 20) -- Today is a 5 -- Keep communications grounded in facts this month, with Mercury in Taurus. Postpone travel, risk and expense today... it could get explosive. Take it slow to avoid waste and accidents. Complete old projects, and stay flexible with changes. Support your networks and it comes back to you. Gemini (May 21-June 20) -- Today is a 5 -- Keep your communications stable, consistent and solid this month. Provide support at home and work. Grab a good deal quickly. Stay out of arguments, controversy and upset. Recite a prayer or mantra to cool a tense moment. Avoid risky business or expensive propositions. Quiet study time soothes. Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Today is a 5 -- Community and group efforts thrive by weaving together resources, talents and support structures over the next month, with Mercury in Taurus. Avoid distractions and upset today... tempers could flare. Keep to practical facts. Work on existing projects, and launch new ones later. Slow and steady does it. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is a 5 -- Your communications skill advances your career this month, with Mercury in Taurus. Avoid debate, risk or spending today, and maintain momentum to complete a project. Plans change. Stand firmly for your commitments, with flexible scheduling. Think fast with surprises, but keep actions measured rather than impulsive. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is a
5 -- Gardening and outdoor activities satisfy this month, with Mercury in Taurus. Fall in love with a fascinating subject. Negotiate turns and maneuvers carefully. The way forward may seem blocked, and shortcuts dangerous. Take it slow, flexible and gentle. Provide peace and calm. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is a 5 -- Base financial decisions on fact rather than fantasy this month. Update plans and budgets with conservative figures. A conflict with regulations or authority could arise, impeding the action. Others may lose their cool... keep yours. Favor private over public. Let love guide your actions. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is a 5 -- Someone has a hair-trigger temper... avoid setting them off. Private actions go farther, with less friction. Dance with changes as they arise, without impulsive reactions. Mull over consequences first. Reassure one who needs support. Stick close to home and clean up. Play peaceful music and serve tea. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is a 5 -- Breakdowns and obstacles slow things. Get multiple bids for major repairs. Take extra care with kitchen utensils. With Mercury in Taurus, edit your communications this month for solid impact. Plan, prepare and research before presenting. Private actions close to home on existing projects get farther. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is a 5 -- It’s easier to express your love for a month with Mercury in Taurus. Plant seeds hidden in messages. Proceed with caution today, despite chaos. Old beliefs get challenged, obstacles arise and thwarted intentions distract. Avoid upset by working quietly. Don’t get singed in all the fires. Hunker down. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today is a 5 -- With Mercury in Taurus for a month, have your home express what you love. Resist the temptation to over-spend. Reschedule travel and new project launches. Work quietly to complete a job, to minimize conflict. Rest and recharge, while assimilating new changes. Take it easy. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is a 5 -- Consider the impact of your words before speaking, with Mercury in Taurus for a month. Ground arguments in fact. Avoid conflict today by keeping a low profile. Slow the pace, and anticipate resistance. Use discretion. Stay off the roads. Use extra care with tools.
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014