Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Serving the University of Alabama since 1894
Vol. 115, Issue 73
The Associated Press
President Obama takes the stage Students, professors react to inauguration By Danielle Drago Senior Staff Reporter Time stood still in the Ferguson Center and the ground floor of Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library as students and professors witnessed Barack Obama taking his oath of office as the 44th president of the United States Tuesday. Despite work to be done and classes to attend, hushed crowds started gathering an hour before Obama was to take his oath. “I came to [the bottom floor of Gorgas] around 9 a.m. and slowly people began to trickle in. We turned the TV up as loud as it could go and everyone remained really silent,” said Molly MacPherson, a junior majoring in public relations. The crowd gathered around Java City’s television,
Steele done at Bama By Greg Ostendorf Sports Editor Ronald Steele’s basketball career at Alabama has finally come to an end. Steele showed signs of brilliance early on, but injuries plagued him throughout his career and ultimately led to the end. Head coach Mark Gottfried announced Tuesday night that Steele has elected to forego his senior season. Steele, who missed all of last season recovering from surgeries in both knees, came back and averaged 12.9 points and 3.7 assists this season. The senior point guard missed the last two games due to plantar fasciitis, an injury to the foot.
See STEELE, page 3
UA weather
TODAY
preventing the sale of coffee. “We’re really sorry that we can’t serve coffee with this many people, but this is important,” said one Java City employee. The significance of the event was not lost on students. “It was such a majestic inauguration. I was so excited to see all of the crowds and cross sections of society coming together to support [Obama],” MacPherson said. “I think it was a great testament to democracy and to the tradition of policy,” said B.J. Hollars, president of UA Students for Obama. The inauguration was subject to a lot of anticipation and hype, which some thought was unfeasible to match. “I suppose it was probably
Thursday
59º/41º
Friday
65º/43º
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Chance of rain
WASHINGTON D.C. | They watched him rise from the Illinois State Senate to the Presidency, helping him along the way with their time and votes, and on Tuesday, nearly two million Americans stood in the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Among the millions who converged on the grassy two-mile stretch between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial were large numbers of young people, including thousands of students, most of whom had voted in their first election a mere two months ago. Obama, who achieved incredible popularity during his
Sig Ep sanctions undisclosable University: Federal law prohibits release of details
CW | Marion R Walding Cars drive by the former Sigma Phi Epsilon house on Monday afternoon. By Brett Bralley News Editor
investigation, including individual sanctions of those involved. UA spokeswoman Deborah After the hazing incident Lane said federal laws limit with the Sigma Phi Epsilon the information the University fraternity that resulted in its can provide about any sturemoval from campus, UA offi- dent or incident. Lane said cials said the investigation was individual members of the closed and would not release chapter who were involved in information regarding the the incident were referred to
INSIDE Opinions: Obamaʼs speech powerful ......4 Inauguration photos ...5 Lifestyles: ʻMy Bloody Valentine 3-Dʼ review.6 Sports: Emery vital to Tide tennis ...............7 Softball spring practice.8
P.O. Box 870170 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Newsroom: 348-6144 | Fax: 348-4116 | Advertising: 348-7845 | Classifieds: 348-7355 Letters, op-eds: letters@cw.ua.edu Press releases, announcements: news@cw.ua.edu
Judicial Affairs. “Students who are found to be in a violation of the student code of conduct are subject to sanctions up to and including probation and expulsion,” Lane said. Tim Hebson, dean of students, said even the release of a list of individual sanctions with all personally identifiable information removed would not be permitted. He said other students on campus who know those involved would be able to identify them through the released information. “The people involved that were the victims obviously are here in school, and they know the ones who did it to them,” Hebson said. “There’s just no way we can do that.” The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as FERPA, protects the privacy of student education records, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site. Because Judicial Affairs
See SANCTIONS, page 2
nearly two-year campaign, owes a great deal of his success to young voters. According to exit polls, Obama won among 66 percent of the voters between the ages of 18 and 29. There has been speculation that his popularity and nearrock star status could be a detriment to the president’s effectiveness. Many have opined since the election that the large popular drive to get Obama in office had led to higher hopes than could possibly be achieved. John Miller, a senior at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., disagrees. “I think that’s going to work in his favor. It worked for Kennedy, and this is even
See OBAMA, page 2
UA grading notation changed Additions to comply with financial aid requirements By Karissa Bursch Staff Reporter New grading notations have been implemented at the University to be within federal compliance with financial aid, according to a memo from the University. The grading notations include DO for dropped out and NA for never attended, according to the memo. Michael George, the university registrar, said DO denotes the student attended
at least one or more of the meeting times but attendance eventually stopped. Along with DO the faculty member will indicate the last recorded date of attendance or, if that information is unavailable, the approximate date when attendance stopped. NA denotes that the student never attended any meeting times for the course, George said.
See NOTATION, page 2
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS | PART FOUR OF FOUR
Finding the right fit
Today’s paper
Moundville accepting new volunteers..........3
49º/25º
By Martha Gravlee Contributing Writer
See REACTION, page 2
Keim to speak tonight..3
Clear
Inauguration draws younger crowd, students have high hopes for Obama
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of a four-part series examining several common new year’s resolutions and tips on keeping them. By Dave Folk News Editor Some students resolve to cut out the trans-fats for the new year, others resolve to slim down and even more try to cut out that bad habit. For those of you who don’t seek a change of lifestyle with the new year, you may be looking to break out of your proverbial shell, a change that can benefit multiple facets of one’s life. Dwight Lewis, an instructor of the University’s Academic Potential courses, thinks getting involved on campus and making yourself more socially available can actually help with
your grades, as well as fitting in. “I personally support the claim that campus involvement increases the student likelihood of performing better in school. I support this claim through the reading of research and direct and vicarious experiences,” Lewis said. “The social bonds (advice about courses, teachers, notes, study groups, etc.), and sense of ownership (of the university and its tradition) that one gains from campus involvement generally motivates an individual to perform their best in all facets of a student while enrolled in college.” SGA president Cason Kirby, who has been involved through the SGA all of his college career, said he thinks that getting involved can lend students a sense of attachment to their respective college.
“I think it is incredibly important for students to take ownership of our University,” Kirby said. “Getting involved in student government is a great way to make a difference, but it is also an opportunity to meet new people, work on diverse projects and truly expand your horizons.” Not only can joining a new group enhance your life, looking back some campus leaders say it drastically changed it. “[Without the Crimson White] I suspect I’d be sitting in a dark corner somewhere playing some video game, weeping tears of loneliness into my Frosted Flakes,” said Crimson White Editor-in-Chief Corey Craft. “In all seriousness, it makes you feel that you’re a part of something that an average student, who goes to and fro their classes, might not be privy to.” Kirby said he thinks that not
only are organizations looking for students to get involved, but the more students that do improve the organization itself. “We in student government are continually needing new ideas, new energy and new people to keep our administration effective and fighting for our student body. We welcome any student, regardless of age or interest, to take an active role and join us in making our campus better for all,” he said. By joining that group you may have “not found the time for” before, students can set themselves up not only for a new group of friends, but also for a potential career as increased involvement tends to better a student’s resume. “While you might not think it’s important, it does reflect well upon you later, or so I am told,” Craft said.