11.17.08

SPORTS Mercer takes 10 down the Tide

Monday, November 17, 2008

Serving the University of Alabama since 1894

Vol. 115, Issue 58

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

FOOTBALL | ALABAMA 32, MISSISSIPPI STATE 7

Witt talks University’s future

Arenas’ punt return sparks win

By Karissa Bursch Staff Reporter

At the institutional presentation at the UA System Board of Trustees meeting Friday, UA President Robert Witt outlined what the future holds for the University in light of recent changes in the economy.

Witt said although the economic environment is poor, the University still has to focus on making progress and looking to the future.

“Our primary focus must remain on continued progress, of maintaining our momentum,” Witt said. “My goal is for this board to leave

as convinced as we are that we should continue this progress.”

Witt said at this point in the history of the University, enrollment is key. Hopes for enrollment include higher enrollment rates as well as a higher quality of students who enroll.

Ways of increasing enrollment include intensifying recruitment in other states.

Non-resident tuition brought in by the increase of out-ofstate students will generate a strong revenue stream for the University, Witt said.

Almost half of incoming

See TRUSTEES, page 2

New College continues to expand

By Danielle Drago Senior Staff Reporter If class offerings in songwriting, fly-fishing and mythical planets are any indication, New College is unlike any other college on campus. The 37-year old institution has been a creative cornerstone of campus, fulfilling its motto by inspiring “New Ways of Thinking” while producing change within the University.

“New College has always productively tried to push the envelope,” said James Hall, dean of New College.

The creation of New College was spurred by change sought by students and faculty on campus. An Experimental College was opened in 1968, which allowed students to focus on certain hobbies that interested them. This college, coupled with a Carnegie Foundation report that argued high-education had become

UA weather

TODAY

too cookie-cutter, created the environment that allowed New College to form.

When New College opened its doors in 1971 the campus was in a state of transition; It was wrestling with integration and looking for new ways to transform itself.

“New College had more content than [the experimental college],” Hall said. “It wasn’t just hobbies, it was academic things that students wanted to learn about but were not able to do so on this campus.”

However, not much has changed in the core beliefs of the College, Hall said.

“There’s a pretty passionate belief that a key component of a student’s educational experience has to be a student thinking about their educational experience,” he said.

Amidst the expansion of

See EXPANSION, page 2

INSIDE Today’s paper

Opinions: Turn your ideas into reality ...............4

Clear

63º/34º

Lifestyles: Theatre dept. presents ʻRecklessʼ ...5 School of music presents Huxford Symphony ..5

Tuesday

52º/29º

Stem cell research is promising ................6

Wednesday

59º/38º

Sports: Volleyball takes down Arkansas ........6

Clear Clear

Womenʼs basketball wins season opener ....... 12

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

CW | Drew Hoover Javier Arenas takes off down the sideline, returning a punt 80 yards for a touchdown. The return broke David Palmerʼs record for the most punt-return touchdowns in Alabama history.

By Greg Ostendorf Assistant Sports Editor

their frustration from last year’s Louisiana-Monroe loss on. Then, it was LSU, who Alabama had The redemption tour contin- not beaten since 2002.

Saturday, it was Sylvester ued Saturday when Alabama beat Mississippi State for the Croom and his Bulldogs, who had knocked off Alabama the first time since 2005.

First, it was Arkansas State on last two years.

“It seems like every week whom the Crimson Tide took out

there’s a different angle,” quarterback John Parker Wilson said. “We just wanted to come out and play our game. We were able to score early, maintain that and finish the game out.”

In the first half, it looked reminiscent to the last two times Mississippi State and Alabama

met. The Tide offense struggled and had to rely on defense and special teams to keep them in it.

After their opening drive stalled, Alabama pinned the Bulldogs at their own one yard line. The defense forced

See TIDE, page 8

A first ‘tide’ for everything Couple heads to first UA football game.

By Danielle Drago Senior Staff Reporter As Bob and Debbie Dudley stepped through the gates of Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, it was not only the first time they had seen the famous Crimson Tide in person; it marked the first college football game they had ever attended.

“We’ve never been to anything like this.

It is unbelievable,” Bob said before the game commenced.

The Dudleys became interested in attending an Alabama football game after their friends, with whom they share a house in Florida, Steve and Pam Kulback, talked with them about Alabama football.

“They became fascinated that my son and my husband both played football for Alabama,” Pam Kulback said.

Steve Kulback played on the 1973 championship team, and their son played during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

“They have been trying to get us to go for two years,” Bob Dudley said. “And this summer we finally set a date for this weekend.”

Little did the Dudleys know they would be watching the No. 1 team in the nation.

“It’s pretty incredible how good they are,” Bob said.

The Kulbacks were floored when the Dudleys said that they had never been to a college football game.

“I said, you’re kidding right?” Pam said.

CW | UA Media Relations From left: Debbie and Bob Dudley, attending their very first football game, stand with their friends Pam and Steve Kulback.

Although they are college educated, the Dudleys didn’t place football high on their list of priorities.

“We didn’t have the time or the money when we were in college to do those kinds of things,” Debbie said.

Bob attended the University of Kansas

Medical School, which was almost an hour away from the UK campus and stadium.

“In our day, they were terrible. There was no real reason to get into it,” he said.

Now, the Dudleys, who own a

See GAME, page 2

Blackburn Institute to discuss achievement gap

By Danielle Drago Senior Staff Reporter Across the U.S., an achievement gap has formed among different races and classes.

The Blackburn Institute will be discussing the nature of this issue Tuesday when they sponsor a National Issues Forum at 7 p.m. in the Ferguson Center Ballroom.

“The achievement gap is in regards to education, and basically, it talks about how students who are in lower income situations don’t have the same opportunities as other students,” said Ben Foster, Blackburn Institute Community Education Leader.

“The gap is just getting bigger; it’s growing exponentially,” he said.

Brandi Lamon, director of External Affairs and Development for the College of Engineering will be moderating the forum.

All UA students are invited to attend the event and voice their opinions.

Although Foster said the issue touches to the University only to some extent, he said he hopes those fortunate enough to come from a good education background will come to learn about the achievement gap and about students who may not have been able to make it to a university.

Foster said the forum will hopefully make people more aware of the achievement gap.

The idea of a National Issues Forum is that people can get together locally to discuss common issues that are important to them. They aim to host a productive deliberation about public policy issues and foster an ongoing public dialogue, which is important in a democratic system.

“We believe that deliberative discussion is a great way to bring issues out into the open. You can bring a stronger awareness to the issue and you can get people talking. By discussing the issue, you are forced to look at it head-on,”

Foster said.

The Blackburn Institute was founded in 1995 to develop a group of ethical leaders on campus. John L. Blackburn, the institute’s namesake, wanted the group to focus on the needs of an entire community and embrace differences among individuals.

The Blackburn Institute has focused this year specifically on education in Alabama.

“We’re hoping to spark a conversation that starts to get people thinking about ways to solve the issues surrounding the achievement gap and start talking about issues that we think will have a big impact on Alabama,” Foster said.

2

PAGE Monday

TODAY • UA School of Music presents the Huxford Symphony Orchestra – 7:30 p.m., Moody Music Building Concert Hall

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

• UP presents Movies at the Ferg: “The Dark Knight” – 7:30 p.m., Ferguson Theater

• UA School of Music presents a guest recital by Nicole Esposito, flute, and Alan Huckleberry, piano – 5:30 p.m., Moody Music Building Recital Hall

• UA School of Music presents University Singers – 7:30 p.m., Moody Music Building Concert Hall

• UA Department of Theatre and Dance presents “Reckless” – 7:30 p.m., Allen Bales Theatre, runs through Sunday

• Men’s basketball vs. Florida A&M – 8 p.m., Coleman Coliseum

November 17, 2008

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Send announcements and campus news to cwnews@sa.ua.edu Two students and a football player were involved in an altercation on Jefferson Avenue and 4th Street Thursday evening, UA spokeswoman Cathy Andreen said.

The incident occurred between Bryant Hall and the Chi Phi fraternity house, which currently holds Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.

One of the students had minor injuries but did not seek medical attention, and no charges have been filed according to Andreen.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “Because this is our laboratory space, we’re allowed to fail, to take risks, to challenge ourselves, to challenge our concepts of effective directing.”

— Guy Fauchon, a graduate student in directing and director of “Reckless,” the latest production of the UA Department of Theatre and Dance

BIRTHDAYS November 16 Wesley Helton, senior, telecommunications and film We want to list your birthday here. Send your name, birthdate, year and major to cwnews@sa.ua.edu. Put “birthday” in the subject line. And look for birthday greetings from us on your special day.

THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY 1800: Following a ten-year stay in Philadelphia, the Senate of the Sixth Congress met for the first time in the Capitol Building.

Work on the Capitol had begun in 1793, but materials and labor proved to be more expensive than anticipated. Facing major funding shortfalls, the building’s commissioners in 1796 decided to construct only the Senate wing. Although some third-floor rooms remained incomplete by moving day, the wing was substantially ready to receive the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and district courts.

Source: history.com

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EXPANSION Continued from page 1

the University, New College has remained a small and personal place for students to pursue education.

“We attract a fair number of students now who are interested in making their time at Alabama feel more intimate, more personal and more manageable. So we get as many students that are interested in having staff and faculty that they know will help guide them through their education,” Hall said.

New College encompasses 10 faculty members, who have joint appointments with New College as well as other departments on campus.

The faculty members are all passionate about what they teach, Hall said.

“It’s my dream job. Faculty are encouraged, just as students are, to pursue their diverse interests and find connections among them,” said Marysia Galbraith, a faculty member of New College for 10 years.

“The faculty is hugely varied and can cover most students’ interests. Where New College really shines is in the staff, though: they really make the paperwork and headaches disappear,” said Blake Harnage, a senior in New College.

Among the massive amounts of experimental-type colleges that were started across the country, New College is one of the few that remain.

Hall said he credits this success to the University faculty and alumni. “[They] have produced a quality product. Other experimental programs were less attentive to longevity. It has made it easy for the institution to make financial commitments to keep up an institution like this going,” Hall said.

Students who choose New College come from a variety of backgrounds, Hall said.

“Despite the public perception, or the campus perception that this is operated as a kind of hippie enclave over the years, I think the truth is that it has been microcosmic of the campus as a whole,” Hall said.

Though their interests may be diverse, New College students have one thing in common: They have to learn how to operate without a safety net, Hall said.

“There’s no checklist.

Therefore, the ideal New College student is self-directed,” he said.

Galbraith placed an emphasis on students who could not easily fit into a major on campus.

Due to its appeal to students, New College is currently operating at a historical high of 200 students.

Hall said although he thinks the student interest is great, there may be a student cap set soon.

“We’re thinking about a top number of 250. If we got much beyond that, it would be hard to maintain the sense of intimacy and closeness,” he said.

To accommodate the

expanding college, New College will be leaving its residence in Carmichael Hall and moving across the quad to Lloyd Hall next year.

Although the College makes good use of the space in Carmichael, Galbraith said moving to Lloyd Hall is a necessary change.

“We definitely need it. There will be more space for NC guest speakers, events and social gatherings. We’re growing and have no more room to fit everyone and everything in Carmichael. Since this is an undergraduate program, it also makes sense for us to be in the building dedicated to undergraduate classrooms,” she said.

Although New College, until now, has not physically moved, it has been moving ideas throughout campus for its entire history. Many ideas, such as women’s studies, African-American studies and the Avanti program were conceived within the confines of Carmichael Hall.

“We have introduced new programs over the years when we’ve noticed a need for something that the university does not yet offer,” Galbraith said.

The ideals of New College still remain strong after 37 years.

“One of the reasons it has thrived and survived in an otherwise conservative educational environment is because people to have a place to go to be themselves and pursue things that are important to them,” Hall said.

“If you’re just here to get a degree, [New College] is not for you. But if you’ve ever found yourself sitting in class, wondering why on earth you’re taking it when you could be learning something interesting, New College offers that opportunity,” Harnage said.

TRUSTEES Continued from page 1

freshman in fall 2008 were outof-state. However, Witt said, he did know that “our primary responsibility is to the state of Alabama.”

The University is getting closer to its goal of 28,000 students enrolled, which was supposed to be reached in 2010, Witt said In fall 2002 the total number of applicants was about 7,000 students. This number doubled for the applicant class for fall 2007 and increased by about another 30 percent in fall 2008, according to the presentation.

Witt cited the success of online courses and the salary of faculty and staff, which are some of the highest paying salaries for universities in the southeast, according to the presentation.

“After the economic crisis we don’t have a higher priority but to raise the staff’s salary,” Witt said.

In reference to the economic crisis, Witt said despite so much progress in other areas, development will be down this year. One factor that will help is “enthu-

GAME

Continued from page 1

pharmaceutical company and split their time between Florida and Chicago, made their way to Tuscaloosa to see the game, where they got a taste of Alabama football traditions by visiting the Bryant Museum.

“We knew Alabama had traditions, but we had no clue how seriously everyone followed them and how big football is here,” Bob said.

Debbie said she thought the film in the Bryant Museum was particularly interesting.

“Bryant talked about how it was okay that they had a loss, and said it was a stepping stone and that they had class to get them through it.

He said if they don’t have class then nothing else mattered,” Debbie said.

The Dudleys attended the pre-game tailgate at the President’s Mansion, but they walked around the Quad earlier to soak in the full Alabama tradition.

“The thing that impresses me are the numbers of people that set up generators and have televisions and are watching other games. It’s incredible,” Bob said.

The Kulbacks attend every Alabama game and hope their friends will feel a part of the tradition.

“My husband’s best friends are still the players he played football with. It’s not just a part of our tradition, it is a part of our family,” Pam said.

Pam said they are well on their way to becoming fullfledged Crimson Tide fans.

“On the car ride here, Bob actually said ‘Roll Tide’,” Pam said. “That’s pretty good.”

siasm, confidence and pride of the people of the University of Alabama.”

Witt said the future holds expanding, not laying off, any faculty or staff, but it involves facing a reduction of state funds and another tuition increase.

The Board approved a resolution approved by the Financial Committee to request to restore the 11.5 percent reduction of state allocated funds, according to a resolution approved in the Finance Committee meeting.

For the fiscal year of 2009 the University had to received a $23 million cut in state appropriation funds.

“We have a strategy and a plan, and they are going to remain strong,” Witt said. “We know we can’t ignore or escape the economic environment but we’re not going to let that slow down our progress.”

The Board also approved resolutions approved by separate committees at its meetings Thursday and Friday, including a resolution that outlined the estimated cost and the design and scope of work of the expansion of the south end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The stadium would seat over 101,000, according to the design described in the resolution. It would look similar to the expansion of the north end zone.

Another item the board approved is the execution of a new lease agreement at The Bluff at Waterworks Landing apartments by the University.

Also a resolution approved the continuation of renovation at Lloyd Hall, which is a project scheduled to be finished by August 2009.

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NEWS

Monday, November 17, 2008

3

Engineering prof. receives LEED accreditation

By Amy Castleberry Contributing Writer Pauline Johnson, an associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and faculty member of Civil Environmental Engineering since 1995, was honored with accreditation in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design through the Green Building

Certification Institute, according to a UA News release.

“I got LEED accredited professional status by taking the LEED Accreditation exam,” said Johnson. “I was delighted to have passed.”

According to the LEED professional accreditation Web site, the LEED certification program is recognized nationally for promotion and integration of the green

movement, especially in sustainable green building and awards performance in five key areas.

These areas include sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

“The University has shown leadership in the state and region in moving toward sustainable practices with

materials management and energy initiatives on campus,” Johnson said. “We are excited about the opportunity to integrate green building issues with research and learning through projects with the office of construction administration and other UA sites.”

According to the UA News release, the University became an institutional member of the U.S. Green Building Council.

With two LEED accredited professors at the University including Joe Brown, an assistant professor in New College who was accredited in December 2007, Johnson said she thinks the University will soon be moving towards becoming a green campus.

“Dr. Joe Brown and I are collaborating with Tim Leopard, assistant vice president for design and construction at

UA, on graduate research in green building and the feasibility of LEED Green Building Certification accreditation for upcoming buildings at UA,” Johnson said.

With chapters across the United States, more than 43,000 individuals have received LEED accreditation since the Professional Accreditation program was launched in 2001.

Shuttle Endeavour links with space station

By Marcia Dunn Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. | Space shuttle Endeavour linked with the international space station on Sunday, kicking off a huge home makeover that will allow twice as many astronauts to live up there beginning next year.

Commander Christopher Ferguson guided the shuttle to a smooth docking as the two spacecraft soared 212 miles above India. His ship’s radar worked just fine, despite earlier trouble with the antenna.

“Can’t wait to open the hatch, guys, and welcome you aboard,” said the space station’s skipper, Mike Fincke.

His crewmate, Gregory

Chamitoff, was especially excited to see Endeavour. He’s been living on the space station for almost six months, and the shuttle is his ride home.

“Wow,” Chamitoff exclaimed.

“You look beautiful ... I am smiling from ear to ear.”

Earlier in the afternoon, before Endeavour began its final approach from eight miles out, Fincke and his crew captured striking video of it and the moon, which was also prominent in many of the launch-night photos.

“International space station is, indeed, ready for an extreme home makeover,” Fincke told his shuttle friends. He noted, “It’s a big day here today.”

Once Endeavour closed to within several hundred feet,

Ferguson guided it through a 360-degree backflip so Fincke and another space station resident could take zoom-in photos of all its thermal shielding. The digital images — as many as 300 — will help NASA determine whether Endeavour sustained any damage during liftoff Friday night.

At least two pieces of debris have been spotted so far in launch pictures.

Mission Control radioed up congratulations minutes after the docking.

“The team down here on the Planet Earth wanted to compliment you on a well-done, very nicely done rendezvous and docking,” Mission Control said.

The first priority for the 10 astronauts, once united, was a

crew member swap.

Astronaut Sandra Magnus was moving into the space station for a 3½-month stay, replacing Chamitoff.

Besides Magnus, Endeavour was delivering thousands of pounds of home improvement gear: an extra bathroom, kitchenette and exercise machine, two more sleeping compartments, and a fancy new recycling system for converting urine and condensation into drinking water.

NASA cannot double the size of the space station crew — currently at three — until all the new equipment is installed, checked out and working properly. The goal is to have six people living permanently on the orbiting outpost by June.

Judge throws out double-dipping policy

By Bob Johnson Associated Press

MONTGOMERY | A Montgomery County judge has thrown out a State Board of Education policy that would have banned Alabama legislators from also working in the two-year college system.

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick ruled Friday afternoon that the board’s decision to ban the policy known as “double dipping”

violated a state law. That law requires state agencies to hold public hearings on policy changes and to have those changes approved by a legislative panel called the Legislative Council.

Two-year colleges Chancellor Bradley Byrne said the ruling would immediately be appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court.

“We’ve known all along this case would end up in the Alabama Supreme Court. All we wanted was to get a final ruling from the judge so we could get

it to the Supreme Court,” Byrne said in a telephone interview Friday night.

Under the board’s policy, twoyear college employees would have been prohibited from serving in the Legislature after the 2010 elections. Hardwick also threw out a board policy that would have forced lawmakers to use vacation time to attend legislative meetings before 2010.

The board enacted the policy after a federal and state investigation uncovered corruption in

the two-year college system, including a guilty plea by former Chancellor Roy Johnson.

The lawsuit was filed by attorneys for the Alabama Education Association on behalf of state Rep. Blaine Galliher, R-Gadsden, and several other legislators who work in the two-year system. Galliher, the director of training for business and industry for Gadsden State Community College, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday.

Most of the new stuff is inside a giant cylinder that Endeavour’s astronauts will attach to the space station on Monday.

Endeavour and its crew will spend almost two weeks at the space station, a little longer

than usual. Four spacewalks will be carried out beginning Tuesday, primarily to clean and lubricate a solar wing-rotating joint that broke down more than a year ago. It’s clogged with metal shavings from grinding parts.

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OPINIONS

Monday, November 17, 2008

Paul Thompson • Editor

4

paul.thompson@cw.ua.edu

OUR VIEW

Your ideas can become reality

MCT CAMPUS

The Republican party of Palin Now that the election is over, let’s look forward. No, not to Barack Obama’s agenda or to the ever-increasing economic problems or even to the immediate tasks-at-hand of the House and Senate and President Bush. Let’s look at the fun stuff: the politics.

Right now, the Republican Party is a more fascinating case than the Democratic Party. They have just been rejected in both elected branches of federal government on a grand scale. John McCain, an image of the party’s past, not its future, has been defeated. The “Old Guard” (the likes of McCain, Ted Stevens, John Warner, the Doles and the Bushes) is now being forced out the door. The ol’ GOP establishment will be replaced, but the ever-intriguing question of “With who?” remains.

A battle royal is being fought for control of the Grand Old Party. Last week, the Republican Governors Association held their annual meeting in Miami. Looking at the list of attendees was like looking at a list (I predict) of the movers and shakers of Republican politics for the next couple decades. Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Perry, Charlie Crist, Mark Sanford, and yes, Sarah Palin were all there.

But before I go any further

Ian Sams I want to issue a stern warning to that party, one that has been echoed by conservative columnists even: Do not give in to anti-intellectual, populist, smear-based politics; or, don’t become the Party of Palin.

The kind of politics we saw from Sarah Palin over the past several months is one of exclusivity, closed-mindedness and complete disinterest in realities of the world. Please, spare the entire country from potentially having Sarah Palin as a major party nominee.

Rather, go with your guns.

Go with a talented, young and incredibly intelligent firebrand of conservatism like Bobby Jindal. Or try a proven

and popular governor with a wealth of experience like Charlie Crist. Give Americans a decent choice in four years, not an insult to their intelligence.

Now, for the Democrats.

Our new president-elect is putting together a team.

Apparently, he’s thinking way, way outside the box in appointing his cabinet officials by taking a page out of Lincoln’s playbook and entertaining the thought of his former rivals as chief political surrogates. Last week, he talked to two former primary opponents, Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton, about the Secretary of State post.

He’s already all but promised that a Republican would serve in the cabinet. (Rumors abound that it will be Robert Gates, President Bush’s current Secretary of Defense, or Chuck Hagel, a former Senator from Nebraska.)

Sure, he’s brought in some former Clintonites to be on his staff. But why let good talent from a good presidential administration go to waste?

What’s interesting, and definitely unseen over the past eight years, is that Obama is looking to folks who have disagreed with him politically to serve as his closest advisers. Hey, he’s even meeting with John McCain this morning to chat it up. Something

tells me they’ll move past Bill Ayers and Joe the Plumber in this conversation. Could we see a cabinet that includes both Hillary Clinton and John McCain? I doubt it, but who knows?

Look, the bottom line is even though the election is over, this is an exciting time for politics.

We’re witnessing the lowest valley for the Republicans, a valley where there’s nowhere to go but back up. We’re watching a new president do things we haven’t seen in potentially 150 years. It’s a fun time to be engaged, and I hope we all stay engaged.

This election got us to pay attention at least for a couple weeks. I hope our attention can be kept for the next few years. I mean, we’ve got a mayor’s race in 2009, a governor’s race in 2010, and maybe a big-time Senate race in 2010, too.

Let’s not let our interest in politics die just because our last presidential race is over.

Let’s stay tuned in, so next time it won’t be so hard to get up to speed.

Politics isn’t just a nasty game; it’s watching history play out before our very eyes.

I don’t know about y’all, but that’s enough for me.

Ian Sams is a sophomore majoring in political science.

Bailout not necessarily socialism

By Aaron Gertler

I touted myself as a liberal for a long time, mostly on social issues. Meaning as long as you don’t infringe upon the God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness or the Bill of Rights of another person I don’t care what you do or who you do. Smoke pot, drink, use sex toys, have gay sex, whatever. As long as it’s consensual I don’t see why I or anyone else should care.

That being said, I’ve found my political lean on many issues is all over the board.

I’m against government bailouts for big business because I want the higher-ups to take personal responsibility and not take gambles that end with job loss and red numbers yet ultimately mean little because “Big Brother” will make sure CEOs and stock holders stay safe at the end of the day...

I’ve always respected the

Israeli practice of two year required military service after high school. Call me a liar, say I wouldn’t do it, but if the chips are down I’ll defend this country because it’s what a real American would do, and seeing as I have family members that live in Israel and went through this process and told me it was a maturing and lifecementing experience, I say let’s do it. We’ll never have to worry about a draft, we’ll still have career soldiers and we’ll do a lot for the youth of this country.

I don’t support the PATRIOT Act because it infringes on numerous rights of mine, and yet the Republicans support it and it influences more government control.

That’s where all this started. The line between what’s Democratic and what’s liberal and what’s Republican and what’s conservative has become fuzzy. Conservatives

claim they want less government control on people’s lives, they want freedom, yet they only really want that for select few; if you’re gay, poor or even black they don’t really care what you want. Likewise, liberals claim they want freedoms for all yet still preach on a platform of a more controlling government.

It makes no sense. Seventy percent of this nation is moderate, yet we let the 15 percent of extreme leftists and the 15 percent extreme rightists make the decisions. Why do we keep letting special interests groups control this country? Why can we not have gay marriage and no government bailouts? Why can we not keep the death penalty and support more state funding for education?

There is a medium ladies and gentleman. The idea that I must give up some of my ideals because I must be all-or-none in our current system is ludi-

crous. I refuse to be the product of a system that only lets a few speak for many. What happened to, “All men are created equal”? What happened to a government of the people, by the people, for the people?

When did we lose our way and let a select few determine what was best for the rest of us?

With that in mind, I am officially repealing my support for the Democratic Party and am no longer giving in to extreme bipartisanism. I implore you to do the same, to stop letting the “Religious Right” or the ACLU influence politics when they don’t make up the majority. Stand up for what is American for the majority, and let’s reclaim Democracy from the hands of those who are trying to destroy it.

Welcome to the Centrist Party.

Aaron Gertler is a junior majoring in graphic design.

Recently, The Crimson White and the Student Government Association implemented a new program designed to bring your suggestions into fruition.

In order to do that, you can — and should — submit your ideas via the links on MyBama, the SGA Web site or The CW Web site.

Suggestions will be reviewed at the end of the month by a group of student leaders, and one will be written about in an edition of The CW as the “idea to action.”

The author of the idea will then be given the opportunity to co-chair an SGA task force that will address the issue.

The CW editorial board welcomes this addition that will replace the red

suggestion boxes. By increasing publicity and notoriety of suggestions, we — along with the SGA — hope to affect some real change on campus. This is our best effort to reach out to you, the students. Help us create something great with this program. We hope this partnership will be beneficial for the rest of the campus.

We are proud to partner with the SGA on this initiative. We echo Cason Kirby in his Nov. 14 letter that students are the best resource we have on campus. You have great ideas, so help us help you bring them to light.

Our View is the consensus of The Crimson White’s editorial board.

The New World

Callie Corley The election of Illinois Sen. Barak Obama as president of the United States marks a great point in American history.

Forty-five years after Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial about a world free of racial prejudice, Obama’s election indicates the realization of that dream, or at least a major step in the right direction.

Whether or not you agree with Obama’s platform, you can’t ignore how his presidency positively affects the nation.

Thirteen percent of those casting votes in the 2008 election identified themselves as first-time voters, according to a Gallup Poll. These firsttime voters favored Obama over Sen. John McCain 73 to 26 percent, CNN analyst Gary Langer reported.

In October, National Public Radio interviewed students at a Manufacturing Training Alliance course in St. Louis about politics and the economy.

Roosevelt Roberts, 25, had never voted before Nov. 4, 2008.

“I refused to vote, cause I actually didn’t think that my vote would count, but [Obama’s candidacy] changed it all,” he said.

The course instructor, Ed Welch, told NPR’s Melissa Block about a text message he received, reminding him of the importance of voting.

“Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama is running so our children can fly.”

Although the seeds of equality were planted years ago, we, as a country, could

have done more to nurture their growth.

However, in the wake of Obama’s victory, the United States has finally become a county that not only talks the talk but now also walks the walk. And we’re walking hand in hand — blacks, whites and citizens of all colors and nationalities.

The hope which brought Obama and his supporters to this point will keep them dedicated to the positive change his administration proposes.

His presidency also brings America back to a notion that it seemingly forgot eight years ago. Obama, a former professor of constitutional law and current U.S. senator, represents the intellectual best our nation has to offer.

Current President George Bush stumbled into the White House on the “myth of the Everyman” and suddenly every underachieving American saw in his president a drinking buddy rather than a strong political leader.

Obama’s victory also brings a new international face for America.

Reymer Klüver, in Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung, wrote that “the election of Barack Obama was an act of liberation, indeed, of cleansing, for America.”

To be such strong supporters of human rights, the United States was seen as nothing less then hypocritical in the 1960s, when newspapers around the world published images of black children being arrested and sprayed with water hoses in Birmingham, or of Freedom Riders, both black and white, being beaten at the bus station in my hometown of Montgomery and at other locations across the south.

“For just one hour, one day, we will not be prudent or skeptical,” said France’s Libération. “Try to believe that for the first time in a long time, the New World deserves its name.”

Finally, we’re proving to the world that our generation shouldn’t be judged for the sins of our fathers.

Callie Corley is a senior majoring in political science and journalism. Her column runs on Mondays.

WE WELCOME YOUR OPINIONS Editorial Board

Corey Craft Editor Phil Owen Managing Editor Matt Ferguson Chief Copy Editor

James Jaillet Production Editor Breckan Duckworth Design Editor Paul Thompson Opinions Editor

Letters to the editor must be less than 200 words and guest columns less than 500. Send submissions to cwopinions@gmail.com. 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. For more information, call 348-6144. The CW reserves the right to edit all submissions.

Monday, November 17, 2008

LIFESTYLES Ryan Mazer • Editor

5

ryan.mazer@cw.ua.edu

Allen Bales gets “Reckless” UA theatre students put on unconventional Christmas tale

By Steven Nalley Contributing Writer

CW | Drew Hoover The cast of “Reckless,” directed by Guy Fauchon, practice in The Allen Bales Theatre. From left to right: Glenn Halcomb, Wade Mowles, Jacqueline Wheeler and Sadie Magadanz.

The lead character of the UA theatre and dance department’s upcoming play, “Reckless,” encounters six different doctors throughout her journey, all six played by the same actress.

Eryn Davis, a junior majoring in musical theatre, is one of several actors and actresses portraying more than one character in the play. She said each of the doctors she plays come from different walks of life, so she made a point of portraying each doctor differently.

“It’s a very complex play, and it’s something that you can enjoy on the surface just watching it, or you can get more into the script and you can see all of these little correlations between the people,” Davis said. “It’s kind of like a bittersweet Christmas story;

it’s more modern day than ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ ” Davis’ roles are just a few of the complexities in the script and production of “Reckless,” showing from Tuesday through Sunday at the Allen Bales Theatre. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Guy Fauchon, a graduate student in the theatre department’s directing program, said he wanted to direct the play as soon as a faculty member gave it to him to read more than a year ago. He said the idea of a dark comedy with high emotional resonance attracted him, and it fit both the department’s talent pool and the experimental purpose of Allen Bales Theatre.

“Because this is our laboratory space, we’re allowed to fail, to take risks, to challenge ourselves, to challenge our concepts of effective directing,” Fauchon said. “We can also play around with different modes of directing, different theories of directing if we want to.”

Written by Craig Lucas, who won a Tony award for cowriting “Light in the Piazza,”

What: UA department of theatre and dance presents “Reckless”

When: 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday through Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Allen Bales Theatre

“Reckless” spans 14 years in the life of Rachel, a suburban housewife and mother.

“Let’s just say her husband gives her a very unusual Christmas present that forces her to leave the house and begin a journey of self-discovery,” Fauchon said. “It’s quite episodic, and it’s filmic in its style where there’s very fast scene changes and a lot of different scenes.”

A 1995 film adaptation of “Reckless” featured Mia Farrow as Rachel, but Fauchon said he has never seen the movie. He said he had a clear idea of how to produce the play as he was

See RECKLESS, page 6

Huxford presents Russian masterpieces

By Jessica Cheek Contributing Writer

What: UA School of

Tonight, the Huxford Symphony Orchestra, the University’s only student orchestral ensemble, will present its third concert of the season at the Moody Music Building Concert Hall after eight weeks of intense preparation. Admission is free and the concert will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The evening’s program consists of two well-known pieces by Russian composers: “Pictures at an Exhibition”

by Modest Mussorgsky and “Scheherazade” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

The concert will feature violin soloist Gosia Leska, a DMA candidate in the school of music, during “Scheherazade.” Demondrae Thurman, assistant professor of tuba and euphonium, will be tonight’s guest conductor.

Katie Andrzejewski, a graduate student majoring in cello performance, serves as the Huxford librarian and graduate assistant to orchestra director Carlton McCreery.

She encourages students to step away from their computers and iPods to experience the power of a live performance.

“Performance art is something that is not as greatly appreciated as it used to be.

As performers we are always competing with the Internet, iTunes and YouTube; all elements that have caused concert attendance to dwindle,”

Music presents the Huxford Symphony Orchestra

When: Tonight at 7:30 Where: Moody Music Building Concert Hall

John Dowd, a freshman majoring in music performance and education, and Laura Walters, a junior practice for the performance for the Huxford Symphony Orchestra tonight at 7:30. she said. “It seems that the mentality of people my age is, ‘Why should I attend a concert when I can just watch it on YouTube?’ But there is

something about physically being at a performance that does not translate through the Internet.”

“Pictures at an Exhibition”

was originally written for solo piano, but Huxford will perform an arrangement for orchestra by Maurice Ravel. Mussorsky composed

of his paintings. Andrzejewski said that “Pictures at an Exhibition” is a “musical tour” of his art collection.

“Scheherazade,” published in 1888, is based on the book “One Thousand and One Nights.” Each of the four movements was inspired by a story from The Arabian Nights and contains elements of Russian Imperialism and the East, Andrzejewski said.

“Between both of the pieces we’ll be performing tonight, I think there will definitely be something that everyone will enjoy,” Andrzejewski said. “Classical music is an extremely broad category of music. There is a wide variety of classical music and there is definitely something out there for everyone.”

The Huxford musicians began CW| Norman Huynh to prepare for the concert in majoring in music education, September immediately after their last performance, rehearsing for two hours every the piece in the 1870s in Monday and Wednesday. The honor of his friend Viktor orchestra is presenting five Hartmann. Hartmann was concerts this season and will an artist, and Mussorsky’s inspiration came from several see HUXFORD, page 6

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LIFESTYLES

The Crimson White

Stem cell research has a bright future Research into stem cells — undifferentiated cells with the ability to differentiate into many types of specialized cells — has long been a subject of cultural and political wrangling. However, medical breakthroughs in research of HIV — the precursor to AIDS which affects more than one million people in the U.S. — as well as myriads of promising degenerative disease research, advance the cause of their beneficent utilization.

In one case, a 42-year-old patient treated at Berlin’s

Charité Medical University is the subject of a treatment study of possibly remarkable proportions — he has been “functionally cured” of AIDS. The patient, who is also leukemic, was transplanted blood stem cells replacing his bone marrow cells that primarily served as a treatment for that condition. However, the cells transplanted were from a donor with a fairly uncommon mutation that blocks attachment of HIV to a receptor molecule that is a key passageway for infection. Physicians instructed the patient to halt usage of his standard AIDS treatment during blood

ribozyme. One patient who has chosen to publicize his treatment remained virus-free for nearly a year, with no antiretroviral (standard HIV) drug treatment. At one point following the procedure, levels of HIV slipped into the detectable range, only to move back a month later into unidentifiable levels, a possible sign that his immune system is successfully beating back the disease.

In Parkinson’s research, scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm are studying ways to induce stem cells to develop into dopaminergic (DA) neurons, brain cells that are depleted in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

When including two proteins in stem cell cultures, a significant

amount of DA neurons were produced, a propitious sign of rolling back a disease that affects around three out of over 100 people over 65.

Scientists at Harvard University have succeeded in creating stem cells by “turning back the clock,” a method that induces a patient’s skin cells to return to embryonic stem cells, which allows researchers to avoid ethical entanglements that pervade the issue and avoid immune rejection issues that have sometimes impeded successful stem cell transplants.

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern interested in rolling back muscular dystrophy have produced muscle cells from embryonic stem cells in mice, and they continue

to attempt to purify the method of guiding stem cells down the pathway of differentiation into muscle cells.

If successful with human embryonic stem cells, the method could be used to develop healthy muscle in the thousands of patients that suffer from various forms of muscular dystrophy. While embryonic stem cell research faces ethical hurdles, new methods of stem cell usage allow us to avoid the embroilments that traditionally mire the issue. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), stem cell transplants and fortification of patients’ own stem cells are highly auspicious research areas that are, with little debate, likely the future of saving lives in America.

instead on character development and relationships, yet he said one of the biggest challenges was technical. Allen Bales is a thrust stage the audience surrounds on three sides, as opposed to a proscenium arch stage the audience sees from only one side, and several scenes feature TV broadcasts.

“On a proscenium arch setting, you could certainly have the television, but you would just have to turn it upstage so the audience never sees the television screen,” Fauchon said. “In a thrust space, no matter where we put the television, an audience member is going to see the television screen.”

With the help of assistant director and filmmaker Nick

Mahone, Fauchon filmed all the TV footage used in the play, using two DVD decks to simulate changing channels.

Jacqueline Wheeler, a senior majoring in theatre who plays Rachel, said the play challenged her as well. She said it was the largest challenge of her theatrical career, because Rachel was the first central character she had portrayed.

“She never leaves the stage except for one time, and that’s for only two seconds,” Wheeler said. “It’s an actress’s dream role because she gets to play so many different aspects of life and emotions.”

Wheeler said Rachel’s enormous arc, in which she sheds all vestiges of her dream world, also attracted her to the role.

“She has never really been exposed to much until she’s forced to be; that happens within the first scene,” Wheeler said. “The rest of it is her journey learning and experiencing all different types of people, all different types of situations.”

Wheeler said her favorite scenes were the ending, which wraps up Rachel’s arc, and any scene in which Rachel sees a doctor. However, Davis, who plays each of those doctors, has a different favorite scene, a high-energy game show contrasted against the rest of the dark comedy.

“Everybody’s going to love it, because it’s a really wellwritten scene,” Davis said. “I think it’s worth seeing just for that one scene.”

Andrzejewski finds the process rewarding.

“Professor Carlton McCreery continued from page 5 pushes us constantly to do our best. Rehearsals can be participate in the Alabama All- tough and mentally taxing, but ultimately the final prodState Orchestra in February.

Despite the work that goes uct is extremely rewarding. into creating a performance, Just because we are a student

ensemble does not mean that we cannot perform at a professional level,” she said.

The Huxford Symphony Orchestra is open to all undergraduate and graduate students by audition. Most of the participants are music majors, but the ensemble includes

students of a wide range of skill levels, and any interested student is encouraged to audition, A n d r z e j e ws k i said.

Information about the audition procedure is available on the School of Music’s Web site.

transfusions following his transplant. While it was expected that HIV would reappear in his bloodstream following the physically depletive preparation of the immune system before the transplant, it never did.

Two years later, the patient has no detectable levels of HIV in his body and is presently in recovery from the leukemia treatment.

Another experimental treatment in San Francisco shows promising signs of success.

In a stem cell harvesting-andreturn procedure, stem cells are removed from the body by filtering from the blood, and returned carrying an anti-HIV ribozyme (an RNA enzyme) that produces white blood cells carrying the HIV-fighting

RECKLESS continued from page 5

reading it, and he didn’t want other versions to influence his work.

“If I started sourcing other productions, two things could have happened,” Fauchon said. “I could have seen other productions that did the same thing with it, and I would feel that I’m just copying, or I could have seen other productions that did great things that I hadn’t thought of, that we couldn’t necessarily do here because we’re on a very low budget.”

Th e limited budget led Fauchon to use a minimalist set, focusing

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The Crimson White

SPORTS

Falcons handed first home loss The Associated Press ATLANTA | Jay Cutler threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Graham with 5½ minutes remaining, handing the Falcons their first loss of the season at home.

Michael Turner scored on a 28-yard run to put Atlanta ahead 20-17 with just under 11 minutes left, but the Broncos (6-4) pulled out their second straight road victory. Atlanta (6-4) had won its first four games at the Georgia Dome and four of five overall.

The Broncos played without star cornerback Champ Bailey and all three of their projected starters at linebacker. Spencer Larsen started at both middle linebacker and fullback, the first player in team history to pull off that double.

He also opened the game on special teams.

The Denver defense loaded up on the line and held Turner to 81 yards on 25 carries. Rookie QB Ryan finally AP | John Bazemore showed his age, throwing his first interception at home, and Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler (6) looks for an open receiver as teammate Peyton his final bid at rallying the Hillis (22) blocks Atlanta Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking.

Falcons slipped through the Ryan completed 20 of 33 pass- five receptions for 102 yards — season. But he couldn’t pull in hands of top receiver Roddy es for 250 yards, and White had his fifth 100-yard game of the the one that really mattered.

White in the end zone.

BLOWOUT Continued from page 10

“You like to get seven on those not two, but it’s great to block one,” Saban said.

The punt return team accounted for those 16 points, half the Tide’s total, and the field unit picked up nine more.

Leigh Tiffin was perfect on the night, connecting on three field goals from distances of 35, 34 and 35 yards.

The junior rebounded from a rough outing against LSU last week, where he missed a 42 yarder and had a 29yard potential game winner blocked in the waning seconds of regulation. Saban said he wasn’t surprised that Tiffin

LOSS

Continued from page 10

beyond the arc before missing the final shot.

The Alabama fans hit the exits in a hurry as the Mercer players cleared the bench and stormed onto the court.

While Green did make a costly, late-game mistake, Alabama probably wouldn’t have even been in the game without his earlier play.

Green finished with a double-double with 12 rebounds and 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He collected the most boards for a Tide team that was out-rebounded 56-38 in the game, a major stumbling block

returned to form so quickly.

“It’s almost like your golf swing,” Saban said. “With my golf swing, I don’t know why it goes where it goes. A lot of guys do. [Tiffin] knows when he doesn’t kick it right.

I think that’s why he can come back and not stay in slumps.

It doesn’t get him psychologically, because technically he fixes what he does.”

The punting team, which Saban called the “most important” team, pinned the Bulldogs back deep several times. Punter P.J. Fitzgerald dropped three of his five punts inside the 20-yard line, two of those inside the five. Safety Rashad Johnson downed punts at the one- and two-yard lines.

“I think the guys that do play [special teams], they do

a fantastic job,” Saban said. “I mean, Rashad, do you think that’s a side-job? The way he plays gunner, downing the ball inside the two-yard line twice. Several tackles as soon as they catch the ball.”

When the Bulldogs decided to return a couple punts, the coverage was suffocating.

State returned just two punts for a combined one yard.

“I think special teams, probably as much as any game this year, had a tremendous impact on field position in this game,” Saban said.

“Our intensity on special teams is a real key for us. And I think it’s because those guys go about it that way that they set the tone and provide leadership for other guys that may think special teams is not that important.”

in the loss, Gottfried said.

“I thought our kids played really hard,” he said. “The effort was there, but our execution, in a lot of areas was not, most importantly rebounding was not. You give up 24 offensive rebounds, you get outrebounded 56-38, you’re going to put yourself in a hole.”

Another instance of getting outworked around the goal, Alabama allowed Mercer to score 40 points in the paint.

Many of those came on fast breaks after a Tide press broke down.

Like Green and Gottfried, Steele tried to take responsibility for the loss despite putting the team on his back in the second half. On a night when Brandon Hollinger, Senario

Hillman and Gee combined to go 4-25, the guard shouldered much of the scoring load. He finished with 25 points on 7-of15 shooting, with 20 of those points coming after halftime.

“I felt the game slipping away,” he said. “I knew I had to get going. It’s disappointing; we just didn’t make enough plays. I take responsibility for that.”

Steele and Green combined to score all but seven of the Tide’s 36 second-half points.

Mercer (2-0) is making a recent habit of knocking off tough non-conference teams on the road. The Bears, made up of many of the same players, beat then-No. 18 USC 96-81 to open the season last year.

Monday, November 17, 2008

7

Titans rally to stay undefeated The Associated Press JACKSONVILLE, Fla. | Kerry Collins threw three touchdown passes, Albert Haynesworth dominated defensively again and the Titans improved to 10-0.

Tennessee overcame a 14-3 halftime deficit, got solid play from third-string cornerback Chris Carr and extended its franchise-record winning streak in the regular season to 13. The Titans also won their seventh consecutive regular-season road game.

The Jaguars (4-6) lost for the fourth time in six games, fell six games behind AFC South leader Tennessee and probably ended any chance they had of returning to the postseason.

Collins was at his best when the team needed him most, directing consecutive touchdown drives in the third quarter that turned an 11-point deficit into a threepoint lead. He sealed the vic-

AP | Phil Coale Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson runs for first-quarter yardage against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

tory with a perfect 38-yard TD pass to Justin Gage with 3:57 remaining. Collins and Gage also hooked up for a 56yard score in the third period — the only third-down conversation of the day for the Titans. They finished 1-of-12 on third down.

SPORTS

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

VOLLEYBALL

Hudson wins in debut

Tide stays hot with third straight win

The Alabama women’s basketball team overcame a late rally to collect a 64-55 victory in the season opener to give head coach Wendell Hudson a victory in his first game as head coach.

“It feels great,” Hudson said about winning his debut. “Get that one out of the way.”

Sophomore Katie Hancock turned in a double-double performance, logging 12 points along with 11 rebounds in the win.

Alyson Butler led all scorers with 13 points for the Tide, including a trio of three-pointers. Her biggest trey came near the end of the game to ice the win for Alabama.

“We expect Alyson to step up and hit the three-point shot,” Hudson said. “She’s not afraid to

TIDE

Continued from page 1 a three-and-out, and the Tide came after the punt, blocking it out of the end zone for a safety.

“They actually lost their snapper somewhere along the way,” head coach Nick Saban said.

“We said if we get field position that we’re going to go after the first kick. That snap was a little bit high, and it probably affected them getting it off. We’d like to get seven on those, not two, but it was great to block one.”

take that shot.”

The Tide surged to a 14-point halftime lead on the heels of a 14-2 scoring run at the end of the first half. After intermission, the team struggled with shooting, hitting under 30 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half.

“We weren’t hitting our shots at all,” Butler said.

Hudson said he didn’t believe the team was taking bad shots, but that it was just a simple lack of execution.

“I thought we just missed the shots,” Hudson said. “I was pleased with the shots we were getting, even if we weren’t making them.”

Centenary took advantage of the Tide’s shooting woes, pulling the score to 54-51 with just over five minutes to go in the second half. The Ladies refused

to go away, staying within four points until Butler made a crucial three-pointer with 1:12 left in regulation to put the Tide up by seven, effectively securing the win. “[Hudson] had told me the time before, he was like ‘you just missed an open look,’ ” Butler said. “ ‘So you better take the next shot if your open’. He just makes me feel comfortable.”

Hudson attributed the late Centenary rally to a combination of shooting woes and a bit of a mental letdown on the part of the team.

“We were up, thought the game was in pretty good shape, and sometimes when you’re not used to finishing in the game… you start thinking that it’s going to be easy,” Hudson said. “You’ve got to learn how to win.”

Hudson saw the game as a

good learning experience and a chance to see how the team could handle a little adversity early in the year.

“This time of the year, this game was probably better than if it was a 30-point game,” Hudson said. “This team needed to maybe have a little bit more adversity and to come back and find out that they could win.”

The victory is the first for the Tide since January, when Alabama defeated South Carolina in their conference opener. The streak spanned 14 games and had carried all the way to this year.

“We do everything different,” Butler said. “Anything that was like what we did last year, we changed it.”

Alabama will be back at home Tuesday night when they face Samford at 6 p.m.

A field goal made it 5-0 Alabama at the end of the first quarter, but Mississippi State responded early in the second when quarterback Tyson Lee connected with Jamayel Smith on a 31-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs the lead.

With nothing going offensively, the Tide needed a big play, and for the second time in the game, the special teams provided it.

Punting from their own end zone again, the Bulldogs got this one away, but Javier Arenas caught it off the bounce and ran it back 46 yards to the three

yard line.

The long return helped set up a one-yard quarterback sneak

by Wilson to give Alabama a 12-7 lead going into the half. The touchdown was the first offensive score against Mississippi State since 2004.

“In the first half, we didn’t play especially well,” Saban said. “We made some mental errors on defense that were very costly in terms of their scoring drive. We didn’t sustain drives and move the ball effectively at all.”

The Tide got the spark they needed right away in the second half, and once again, Arenas was the catalyst.

Linebacker Rolando McClain sacked Lee on third down to force the Bulldogs to punt, and they kicked it right to Arenas, who took it 80 yards down the sideline untouched on his way to the end zone.

“My guys out there blocking for me, it was all them,” Arenas said. “There was a just huge wall there, and I didn’t have to break any tackles. I just hit the wall and took it up the sideline.

I wish I could congratulate each and every one of them after the touchdown, but all the credit is due to them.”

With the return, Arenas broke the Alabama record for career punt returns for touchdowns with five, passing David Palmer on the all-time list.

Alabama began to control the game after Arenas’ punt return.

The offense moved the ball much better and controlled the clock.

Even though they had to settle for two field goals, they kept the Bulldogs’ offense off the field.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Tide finally put the game away when freshman Mark Ingram punched it in from a yard out to capture a 32-7 lead. Ingram led the team with 78 yards on the ground.

“It was just another step to help us realize that we’re capable,” Arenas said. “The win instilled more faith in us.”

Saban said the game is a good transition to the bye-week.

“I look at our team physically, emotionally and mentally and think that this is a good time for us to get a little rest,” Saban said.

“It will give them some time to heal up.”

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By Will Barry Senior Sports Reporter The Alabama volleyball team won their third match in a row Sunday as they defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks by scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-14 and 25-17. Alabama (15-11, 8-9) has now won five of their last six matches.

The Crimson Tide came out strong against Arkansas in the first set, but after the Razorbacks won set two, head coach Judy Green said she wrote one word on the board in the locker room — defense.

“We make a commitment to play defense, we’re going to take this match, and they did,” Green said.

“I told them I wasn’t going to say that word to them one more time today. It was the only time I was going to mention it, and they were going to get it done and they did.”

The third and fourth sets were all Alabama as the Tide rolled to a 3-1 victory and another SEC West win.

Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Meuth led the Tide with a career-tying 16 kills in the match.

“I was just trying to minimize errors, and [I] got good sets so I was just trying to make the best of them,” Meuth said.

Meuth had a .483 attack percentage and used her positioning on the court to her advantage.

“Ever since we put Alyssa over at the right side she’s found a home over there,” Green said. “The ball that we set her is faster. She has

a tendency to be a little bit earlier in her approach and she’s just dynamite over there.”

Meuth was just one of three Alabama players with double-digit kills as senior Lindsey Buteyn had 12 kills and junior Brooks Webster added a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs.

The Tide struggled with serving in the match, having just two service aces to eight service errors, but Green knows those mistakes can be corrected at practice “In my opinion it’s tossing,” Green said. “How you toss yourself a ball makes you successful on the service line. We just didn’t seem to have quite as much confidence on the service line today. But it’s really just a matter of a technique it’s not a matter of a mentality.”

The win came after Alabama swept Ole Miss 3-0 on Friday night. The Tide will hit the road next weekend where they will face South Carolina and No. 12 Florida.

“I think we need to get better at blocking and defense,” Green said. “The two teams that we’re going to play next are both very good offensive volleyball teams. We’re going to have to have a little bit more strategy about what we’re doing.”

The Tide will look to continue their ball distribution and get everyone involved, giving them more scoring opportunities.

“When you have three kids with double-figure kills it’s going to be hard to beat,” Green said.

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Ryan Wright • Editor

10

ryan.wright@cw.ua.edu

FOOTBALL

Special team spurs Bulldog blowout

By Ryan Wright Sports Editor

There goes the misconception that special teams don’t matter much.

Alabama used the kicking units, several of them, to accrue most of the 32 points it used to knock off Mississippi State Saturday and improve its unblemished record to 110.

Javier Arenas’ big play kick returns, which seemed to be on a short leave of absence, resurfaced in a big way. The junior had two long punt returns of 46 and 80 yards that directly resulted in points.

With the Crimson Tide trailing 7-5 in the second quarter, Arenas returned a punt 46 yards to the Mississippi State 2-yard line to set up Alabama’s first offensive touchdown

against the Bulldogs since 2004. Quarterback John Parker Wilson punched it in two plays later to give the Tide a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Mississippi State received the ball to open the second half and the Tide defense forced another Bulldog punt.

This time Arenas took care of it all.

Behind a perfectly executed wall return, Arenas hit the edge and sprinted 80 yards for the touchdown to put Alabama up 19-7.

“That was one of those picture-perfect returns that you always kind of look for,” head coach Nick Saban said. “It’s one of the prettiest things in football, and that was a good one.”

The punt return team scored a couple more points early on, without the ball ever reaching

Arenas’ hands.

Alabama got on the board first after the defense forced a quick three-and-out on the Bulldog’s opening possession of the game. Backed deep into its own territory, Mississippi State’s punter was forced to kick out the end zone.

Saban said the team noticed during pre-game warm-ups that State’s long snapper did not dress. So the staff decided if field position was in the Tide’s favor, they would go after the first punt.

The snap was high.

Cornerback Kareem Jackson bailed on the gunner, took to the air and extended to block the kick. The ball bounced out of the back of the end zone for a safety, giving Alabama an CW |Drew Hoover unusual 2-0 lead.

Defensive back Kareem Jackson (3) jumps to block a Mississippi State punt from the end zone in the first quarter. The ball was knocked out of the back of the end zone for a sefety, making the See BLOWOUT, page 7 score 2-0.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tide upset in season opener Point guard Ronald Steele attempts a shot against Mercer Sunday night.

The Tide lost 72-69.

By Ryan Wright Sports Editor After blowing out exhibition opponents by an average of 50 points, the Alabama basketball team faced quite a different scenario to open the season Sunday night.

Despite a second-half surge from senior point guard Ronald Steele, the Crimson Tide ended up on the wrong side of a Gardner Webb-Kentuckylike upset against Mercer, who topped Alabama 72-69 in a game that went down to the final seconds.

“First and foremost, this sits squarely on my shoulders,”

UA Athletics | Kent Gidley

head coach Mark Gottfried said. “It’s my responsibility to have our team playing better.

We have a lot of things to work on. I take full responsibility.

Alabama took a 69-68 lead with 33 seconds remaining off an Alonzo Gee mid-range jumper. Mercer’s James Florence then drove the length of the court, jumped up to attempt a layup and dished it to forward Calvin Henry for an easy bucket in the paint to reclaim the lead, 70-69.

Florence stole freshman JaMychal Green’s full court inbounds pass to Gee and made two free throws after he was immediately fouled.

“He was wide open, I guess I didn’t throw it high or long enough,” Green said of his errant pass. “I take the blame for the loss.”

Down 72-69 with just seconds remaining, Steele got a fairly open look at a 3-pointer that bounced off the front of the rim. Gee grabbed the rebound but couldn’t get the ball back to Steele before time expired.

“It wasn’t the ideal play, but I got a good look,” Steele said.

“That’s a shot I feel like I could make. We just made too many mistakes early in the game.”

Steele was 5-of-10 from

See LOSS, page 7

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