WELCOME TO DEATH VALLEY Alabama prepares for a hostile environment SPORTS PAGE 12
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Serving the University of Alabama since 1894
CULTURE | TICKET PRICES
Vol. 119, Issue 47
NEWS | IMMIGRATION
Fees pay 3rd Immigrant asks, ‘Is this Alabama?’ party costs, raise prices This Alabama?” The website features four videos of different Alabamian perspectives increasing diversity in of HB-56, the immigration By Melissa Brown News Editor America in a talk centered bill that Vargas called the around undocumented “strictest in the country.” Jennifer Greer, the chair Pulitzer Prize-winning immigrants Monday night. journalist-activist and Vargas, a current colum- of the University’s journalundocumented immi- nist for TIME.com, shared ism department, said bringgrant Jose Antonio his background story and ing Vargas to speak to stuVargas asked University discussed his documen- dents was a way to show of Alabama students how tary work in the state, an students what roles jourthey plan to respond to online venture titled “Is nalists can fill beyond just
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist speaks on mindsets of average Alabamaians
Buying online, with credit card often cause of higher ticket costs By Becky Robinson Staff Reporter Students who have been to their fair share of concerts know the actual price of a cheap $20 ticket can rise quickly because of charges and fees. Ticket companies and venues often add any number of fees to the ticket’s original price. While these fees may be annoying and often confusing to ticket buyers, each serves a purpose. Wendy Riggs, the director of arts and entertainment for the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, said the original price of a ticket depends on a variety of factors. “[Price] depends on the artist guarantee, the number of tickets available and the agreement between the artist management and the promoter,” Riggs said. “It’s math – how much an artist contracts for divided by number of seats in a venue.” After a ticket is bought either online or in person, companies add fees to cover its cost. Riggs said fee types differ between companies. TicketMaster, an online and mobile ticket service, charges a convenience fee. Even though event-goers can now print tickets online or store them on smart phones, a company uses that fee to keep its website running. “The infrastructure of a ticketing company and the convenience charge of this service is what they are paying for,” Riggs said of at-home printing. Additionally, credit card companies receive a portion of ticket sales when a customer uses their credit card to purchase a ticket online. When ticket companies such as Ticketmaster or Stubhub charge high fees, they often include perks for the customer such as guaranteeing the ticket’s authenticity or fast shipment. Charlotte Lawson, a senior majoring in political science and criminal justice, said she often goes to sporting events and concerts and has to pay a variety of fees. “Ticketmaster usually charges their convenience fees for buying the tickets early, but those aren’t usually horrendously expensive,” Lawson said. “Stubhub, on the other hand, is pretty pricey when buying expensive tickets, but all of their guarantees make the cost worth it.” Patricia Pratt, box office manager of the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, said despite the many fees associated with tickets, the venue rarely sees much profit. “Most venues make their money on concessions,” Pratt said. “Venue fees are necessary for a company such as the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater to continue providing services.” Similarly, Riggs said most of the money made from ticket sales and fees goes to the artist or the ticket company.
informing the public. “One of the roles of journalism is to make sure we bring people from a variety of perspectives into to talk about issues like this [immigration,]” Greer said. Vargas was born and raised in the Philippines until he moved to live with his maternal grandparents in California at age 12. He was unaware of his undocumented status until he was
15, when he went to the DMV to apply for a driving permit and learned that his green card was fake. “I didn’t understand why my grandparents and my mother didn’t tell me what the situation was,” Vargas said. “If I hadn’t discovered journalism a year after, I’m frankly not sure what I would have done.”
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NEWS | COPPER TOP SHOOTING
High-profile case, low-profile problem By Chandler Wright | Staff Reporter
Nathan Van Wilkins, who was arrested for allegedly opening fire into Copper Top on July 17, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His case could spotlight the strain on Alabama’s mental health system.
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Nathan Van Wilkins
CW | Shannon Auvil
The Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility in Tuscaloosa treats patients after they receive a not guilty verdict for reason of insanity.
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high-profile local case could soon put a spotlight on the strains on Alabama’s mental health facilities due to state budget cuts. Nathan Van Wilkins, the man arrested for injuring 18 people when he allegedly opened fire into The Copper Top bar on July 17, pleaded not guilty on Aug. 17 to 68 counts in connection to the shooting, according to a report from al.com. Wilkins has pleaded not guilty by reason of
insanity, according to al.com. If he were to win his case with this defense, though, state cuts could affect or even delay the treatment the court would order him to receive. Although a well-known defense in criminal law, the insanity plea is rare, according to Joseph Colquitt, the Beasley Professor of Law at The University of Alabama School of Law. Beasley cited an eight-state study that found the plea is used less than one
percent of the time in the cases reviewed. “At that rate, only two or three cases in a thousand would be expected to result in an insanity verdict,” Colquitt said. “Moreover, a substantial majority, 75 percent or more, of insanity acquittals result from an agreement by the prosecution and the defense on the validity of the defense rather than as a result of a jury verdict from contested evidence.”
Despite the low rate of cases, John Toppins, director of psychology services at the Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility in Tuscaloosa, said patients often experience delays getting admitted even after a court order, because of the limited number of beds available. The Taylor Hardin Facility treats patients after they receive a not guilty verdict for reason of insanity. SEE MENTAL HEALTH PAGE 2
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NEWS | GUEST LECTURER
‘Forrest Gump’ author returns to UA, compares writing to football University of Alabama alumni, Winston Groom speaks on writing his famous book By Judah Martin Contributing Writer “Forrest Gump” Author Winston Groom’s life of writing has proven to be very much like a box of chocolates, though he pointed out that phrase is actually only from the movie adaptation of the book. “I got so many boxes of chocolate after the movie came out,” Groom said. “It’s a good thing I like chocolates.” After working as a reporter for the Washington Star and er • Plea s
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publishing 17 books of various genres, Groom returned to his University of Alabama alma mater on Monday to speak to students in the Ferguson Center. “The first thing I learned at UA was winning,” Groom said. “It is a tradition here.” Groom said the idea for “Forrest Gump” began with a story his father told him. “In the neighborhood, there was a young man who, by the vernacular of the day, was retarded,” Groom said. “The
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kids teased him, and they threw rocks and sticks at him. Then one day his mother bought him a piano and people started to hear this beautiful music coming from the home. The kid had learned to play the piano.” It is a phenomenon called idiot savant syndrome, in which a mentally disabled person displays pockets of brilliance. Groom said he returned home after hearing the story and began writing notes. By midnight he’d written the first chapter of what would become “Forrest Gump.’ “It was almost miraculous
for a writer,” Groom said. “That sort of thing just never happens. As I started writing, I was feeling less and less in charge of this book.” Groom said there are at least eight qualities that writing and UA football have in common. The first quality is leadership. “As a writer, you are the commanding general,” Groom said. “It is your job to make sure that everything you do is as perfect as you can get it. You own it.” The remaining qualities are adaptability, dedication, risk, humility, persistence, failure and redemption.
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“These old reporters, if you look in their desks, you’ll find two things,” Groom said. “A pack of either Lucky Strikes or Marlboros and an unfinished manuscript for a novel. I didn’t want that to be me. That’s the risk.” English instructor Carl Miller incorporated Forrest Gump into a class he taught called “The history of literature in college football,” in the summer of 2011. He later discovered that Groom had plans to attend the 2012 Homecoming Parade and contacted him to speak at the University.
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