11 20 13

Page 1

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2013 VOLUME 120 ISSUE 61 Serving The University of Alabama since 1894

CULTURE | HOBBIES

Throwing it back Classic pastime becomes full-time hobby, talent for University students By Alexandra Ellsworth | Staff Reporter Liam Adkison stands up from his table in Starbucks to demonstrate what “mounting” is. The girls sitting at the table next to him turn and stare as Adkison moves his yo-yo through the air, catching it on the string at brief intervals. Like a magician, he moves his hands and fingers in controlled, quick motions, intertwining them with the string and sending the yo-yo soaring across the space in front of him. This is not the first time Adkison has received attention for his hobby. He remembers going to Little Caesar’s in high school and putting on an impromptu show with his best friend, Brian Martinez. One of them pulled out a yo-yo, and it was not long before they accumulated a small audience and got their pizza on the house. “One time we actually put out a hat and made $20, just for throwing yo-yos,” Adkison said. The freshman, majoring in international studies and German, does not leave his dorm without his yo-yo. As he steps into the elevator at Ridgecrest West, anyone waiting on the first floor can hear him coming. That hissing sound they hear is not a result of the elevator. When Adkison walks out, he sees strange looks on the faces of students, and the looks do not stop there. He walks across the Quad, and people stop to look, mesmerized by the combination of tricks he does and the hypnotic movement of the yo-yo. “It’s funny because some people will just kind of glance over, and then SEE YO-YO PAGE 6

VIDEO | YO-YO Scan the QR code to the right to view the video on students and yo-yos.

CW | Austin CW Aus ustin ust titin Bi B Bigoney igo gone gon ney ney Freshman Liam Adkison attracts admiration and confusion as he shows off his yo-yo skills to fellow University of Alabama students around campus, inside his dorm and across the Quad.

NEWS | HUMAN RIGHTS

TODAYON CAMPUS Interest session WHAT: RA/FA Interest Session WHEN: Noon WHERE: Large Living Room Riverside Community Center

Former miner condemns Drummond Birmingham-based company at center of rights violations By Caroline Gazzara | Staff Reporter

Campus exhibit WHAT: Exhibition, Film Commemorate Landmark Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking WHEN: 4:30 p.m. WHERE: 205 Gorgas Library

Anibal Perez, a former employee of Drummond Company, was beaten in the streets of Santa Marta, Columbia, for speaking out against the Birminghambased company in November 2010. Perez said it was the worst day of his life and the first time he feared for his survival. “I remember the day,” Perez said. “It was the first time in my life that I experienced true fear.” CEO Garry Neil Drummond and his international coal company have been at

It was the first time in my life that I experienced true fear. — Anibal Perez

the center of the ongoing Shepherd Bend mine controversy affecting Birmingham. In 2007, the University submitted a request for proposals “to lease certain surface, mineral rights and fee simple lands to surface mine coal,” on University-owned land just 800 feet from the Birmingham Water

Works Board’s intake, which spurred concern among residents. Although the Drummond Company did not bid on the request for proposal, they did pursue permits from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and in 2010 from the Alabama Surface Mining Commission to mine in the area under the name Shepherd Bend, LLC, according to AL.com. Garry Neil Drummond hasn’t just been causing concern in Alabama. The CEO has been under fire outside of the United States for violating environmental and human safety, such as in Perez’s case. Perez spoke via a translator Tuesday SEE DRUMMOND PAGE 6

Presentation competition

Thursday Clear 64º/45º

Chance of Rain 68º/54º

CONTACT

10 9 9

Ple a

INSIDE

Sports Puzzles Classifieds

Wednesday

recycle th i se

per • Ple a

2 4 7

tomorrow

pa

Briefs Opinions Culture

today

s

today’s paper

SEE PATE PAGE 6

per •

McFarland Mall, opened in February 1969 as Alabama’s second-oldest enclosed mall, was once a landmark development and one of the city’s highest traffic areas. Now, the mall is all but abandoned and has fallen into disrepair. Local real estate developer Stan Pate plans to redevelop the mall, located at the corner of McFarland Boulevard and Skyland Boulevard, through a project

and spending millions of dollars to build another new plaza like Legacy Park does not make sense. “I felt like [Legacy Park] was maybe poorly planned,” Weaver said. “We have a lot of areas of town that need attention such as University Mall, and we still have stores in Midtown that haven’t been occupied yet.” Developers push to build new areas so they will get huge rebates, and they cannot get them by utilizing spaces already available, Weaver said. “It seems like the city’s getting a lot of

pa

WHAT: Sonic Frontiers Presents: Judy Dunaway WHEN: 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Recital Hall Moody Music Building

By Sarah Elizabeth Tooker | Contributing Writer

called Encore, calling for most existing infrastructure to be demolished. Pate will come in front of the City Council to ask for an incentive package similar to the proposed Shoppes at Legacy Park development. The developers of the Legacy Park project requested a total of $18 million in tax rebates over the course of 25 years in turn for bringing a site that will boast six anchor stores, including Bed Bath & Beyond and World Market, behind the Krispy Kreme on McFarland Boulevard. Some citizens, such as Amanda Weaver, who has lived in the area for 32 years, feel current retail spaces are underutilized

s

Music performance

Pate Holdings to tear down second-oldest enclosed mall

WEATHER

WHAT: Study Abroad Interest Night: Faculty-led Programs WHEN: 7 p.m. WHERE: First-floor classroom Ridgecrest South

Shopping center to replace McFarland Mall

recycle thi

Study abroad

NEWS | BUSINESS

se

WHAT: Three Minute Thesis Final Competition WHEN: 6 p.m. WHERE: Lecture Hall Russell Hall

email

editor@cw.ua.edu

website cw.ua.edu


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
11 20 13 by The Crimson White - Issuu