SCOPE
TUESDAY 02.02.16
Volume 49| Issue 32 p. 13
OSCARS SO WHITE
Does diversity matter in Hollywood?
Dear Kaleidoscope Readers, Howdy folks. In this issue, our first of February, we’re running an article that may upset some people, but one that felt important to me. Black history month brings with it the stories of the African-American community’s constant struggle for equality. This year, people of color saw a lack of representation in the nominations for the major acting categories and best picture which does not seem to reflect the tastes of the moviegoing audience given the social media reaction. As an African-American, I think it’s important for us to question the systems that we have in place and see if they cannot be improved. This issue shows that the mission of many civil rights leaders to have AfricanAmerican issues brought into the light is still alive and well. We spoke to Nadia Richardson, Ph.D. about her organization No More Martyrs, and how it seeks to help people struggling with mental health issues find resources through the church. Richardson, a UAB alumna, has started the program right in our backyard. Cheryl Dawley, UAB grad student, is working on a dig at Red Mountain Park. The park recently unearthed the site of an all-black mining town named Smythe, and has taken steps to preserve the cultural artifacts of the area. Red Mountain Park should serve for many as a bleak reminder of Birmingham’s past, and bringing it back from where it lay is a great way to continue the discussion. This week, the UAB College Democrats offer their retort to the issue of free tuition for all through their president, Robert Mardis III. The column runs on the opinions page. Next week, Elizabeth Earwood returns to tackle another issue. It’s a leap year, which means there’s an extra day at the end of the month, so be sure and spend it wisely. Have fun!
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Letter to the Editor: Black Student Speaks There’s a lot that comes along with being a black man. Our history in America is one of abuse, inhumanity and discrimination; and many theorize that hasn’t changed much. Today, black and brown people everywhere are subjected to racism and discrimination in the forms of underfunding, mass incarceration, stop and frisk, and police brutality/murders, with an ongoing list that would be far too long. There are way too many elements negatively affecting life as a black man, and one place where they hit hardest: higher education.
Colleges and universities are like the NFL for black folks; we’re told we’re not likely to even make it there, and if we do, we’ll have a 5-year career and go into debt. However, countless examples of the opposite show up on social media almost daily. Black people, especially men, are getting educated at higher rates than ever before. The old stigma that there are more black men in prison than there are enrolled in college is completely false now. So why do we still feel negativity on our campus greens, in our dining and residence halls? The short answer: layers. This issue has layers. Fraternities and sororities across the nation have been caught in scandals over use of the n-word and refusal to admit black students. This happened last year. Police brutality has been the central focus of the media for over a year now, and those cases include college campuses and college students. Along with those incidents came an uprising of white supremacists, threatening the lives of black people throughout the southern United States. This may make you ask, “What do we do? Where do we go from here?”. That’s the interesting part—I don’t know. Being black doesn’t come with a guidebook, but the fight for equality isn’t over, and we must continue to fight. -Greg Williams UAB Student
Aura Artist Spotlight: Nick Terell
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ick Terrell, also known as DJ Nick Slay, is a former UAB football player who studied communications management. In his spare time, Terrell used to create beats and write freestyle rap lyrics. Today, he is a student of Jacksonville State University as well as a successful DJ in Atlanta, Georgia. When asked how his time at UAB influenced and helped him, he said, “Well, as a person, UAB made me desire to pursue the degree of communications management because it taught me how to be open with all people. During my two years at UAB, it became a stamp on my life and on my heart that I would forever bleed green and gold. I went on to play college football for Jacksonville State University after the [UAB football] program was ended in 2014... [While at Jacksonville] I received a paid internship with CJ Carter Inc. as a celebrity PR agent and DJ!” It seems that UAB was a vital stepping stone in Terrell’s pathway to becoming the successful and influential artist that he is today. -Charli Tyree
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NEWS
Finding food and shelter for homeless UAB students
a case by case basis, and if there is a student with a need we house them until we can find a more permanent solution,” Johnson said. Many colleges and universities around the United ollege is a place States are closed during holiday breaks or require where many students to pay a fee if they stay on campus during students find a new that time. This can create difficulties for students home but this is not that have nowhere else to stay. always the case. UAB is an exception, with housing and staff In 2013, 58,000 available 24/7, 365 days a year, which is the reason students identified why UAB does not have as many problems with as homeless on the meeting the needs of homeless students as other Free Application universities, according to Johnson. for Student Aid, In his short time with UAB Housing, Johnson better known as has already successfully paired two students with FAFSA. Family’s temporary accommodations when they expressed a financial troubles need for them. and increasing “I think we do a really good job here at UAB tuition prices identifying those students and trying to help them,” are two of many he said. reasons students Being available for students in need has may find themselves been gratifying, according to Riley. “Having the homeless. During knowledge that I’m committing my life to helping the day, homeless people that are in difficult or distressing situations, students are often helping them navigate their specific circumstances indistinguishable and find hope through what can be a very hopeless from their fellow One of the pantries that stores canned foods for students in need. Photo by Brandon Varner situation, I find that to be extremely rewarding,” students, by night Riley said. sustained solely by donations. One of the initiatives they may be living in the organization has conducted over the past year was shelters or even spending the night in Sterne. working with UAB Dining The Jimmie Hale Mission, a local Christian, non-profit to give students the chance that provides shelter for the homeless, provides annual to donate meals from their statistics on homelessness in Birmingham. Nine percent meal plan to their peers of individuals who stayed at the Jimmie Hale Mission in need. Students donated across the country ranged from ages 18 to 25, and 28 over 200 meals through the percent had some college education, like UAB students. initiative. The Office of Student Advocacy, Rights and Conduct Under the SARC’s is UAB’s primary department tasked with aiding these guidance, UAB also has two students. The picture of homelessness among UAB students that food pantries for students in need: in Denman Hall and Leslie Riley, a case manager with SARC, has seen “couch in the Hill Student Center. surfing, or staying temporarily with friends or family, These two pantries are in which felt nomadic almost.” place to meet the needs She has seen students that have stayed in shelters and of students who are food others that have stayed temporarily on campus due to insecure, even when they lacking proper houses. are away from on-campus During peak semesters, the SARC can have as many as dining. 200 students that it is assisting with homelessness, food Student Housing and insecurity, mental health concerns and other types of Resident Life plays a crucial “significant stressors.” The case managers that help meet the needs of the students in these groups have seen a rise role in conjunction with SARC to ensure that all in cases lacking housing and food. Riley believes that if students are provided students are struggling to obtain either food or shelter, proper housing. Brian O’Neal they are usually having difficulties meeting other need Johnson, the Director of as well. Residence Life, has worked “You may not guess it, but there may be someone at UAB since the beginning in your class that is sitting next to you that is going of this semester and has through this crisis, so it’s about sensitivity and having already heard of and knowledge,” Riley said. Donor to Diner, a student-led organization on campus, personally encountered homeless students. has been active in advocacy and volunteering. Donor to “It’s important to Diner has partnered with the SARC to raise awareness note that this is very about food insecurity and has played a pivotal role in individualized. We work on collecting supplies for the campus pantries, which is
Pierce Newman Staff Writer pnewman1@uab.edu
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Explaining Terror: French author lectures on the nature of violent extremism Mark Linn Staff Writer quiaego@uab.edu
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ho are the radicals in Syria? Why do they become extremists? French author Julien Suaudeau spoke about these issues in his lecture, “Who are the Jihadists in Syria,” at the Husley Recital Hall on Jan. 30. “If we want to understand why they end up perpetrating this ruthless, senseless, cruel acts of violence in Syria, in Iraq or in France and in other European countries, we need to be willing to suspend our judgments of what they were to begin with before they turned into these monsters,” Suaudeau said. The lecture was sponsored by the UAB departments of English, Sociology and Philosophy as well as the Alliance Française of Birmingham, an organization that “aims at developing cultural exchanges between the United States and France, and at promoting the study of French while fostering friendship between Julien Suaudeua discussed the basic demographics of extremists during his lecture. French and American people” knowledge, it becomes very difficult to “de-radicalize” according to their website. someone. “I’m asking readers, as a writer, to love my “What we know—the little we know—is that characters. But I want them to be able to understand most Jidahists, what they have in common is a petty them before they pass judgment on them,” Suaudeau criminal background,” Suaudeau said. “Small time said. “I think this empathy that fiction provides gangsters who made the wrong turn somewhere in because that monster, the one in the book is not for their lives.” real. The empathy that we can have for a fictitious Suaudeau believes that French youth are not character is the way to go to try to understand the primarily turned to radicalism in mosques, because guys in the real world who become executioners.” extremists know to be under heavy surveillance by Suaudeau began his career as a consultant for French intelligence, or even online. Rather, according the French Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan. In 2014, he to Suaudeau, the majority are radicalized in prisons. published his first novel, “Dawa,” which tells the story Older extremists in the prison population are of a radical Islamic terrorist plot in Paris, nine months mixed in with young offenders, and prisons often prior to the attack on the French satirical magazine become the birthplace of the type of radicalism that “Charlie Hebdo.” Suaudeau described. In Aug. 2015, Suaudeau published “Le Français” One of the questions Suaudeau posed was the (The Frenchman), which tells the story of a French demographic makeup of the self-described Jihadists youth who becomes an executioner for the selfin Syria. He cited the work of the Paris-based described Islamic State in Syria. think tank Le Centre de Prévention contre les One of the main themes of Suaudeau’s lecture was Dérives Sectaires (The Prevention Centre Against exploring what turns people to violent extremism. Sectarianism), which conducted a study in 2014 based Poverty is a commonly cited factor, as well as on information provided by 160 families of youth who alienation from broader society. had traveled to Syria to join Islamic extremist groups. “Of course there is the specific history of France Of those families interviewed, the largest portion, 48 with its former colonies,” Suaudeau said. “Especially percent, were secular households. The next biggest Algeria which the French army violated, for lack of group came from Catholic households with 28 a better word, ruthlessly during their colonial war percent, while Muslim households made up only 18 during the 50’s and 60’s until the country was given percent. The majority of those who travel to Syria are its independence.” young – most men under the age of 30, and women But, according to Suaudeau, none of these factors averaging even younger. individually explain what could cause someone to embrace violence and extremism. And without that
Photo by Angela Hollowell
Another common trait attributed to violent extremists by Suaudeau is a feeling of emptiness and a lack of attachment to their communities; they believe that their life is meaningless. “There is a slow, a very slow and very invisible accumulation of unremarkable defeats. The sort of defeats that everyone in this audience goes through in their own lives. But you fall and you pick yourself up and you move on,” Suaudeau said. “Except for the population that we’re talking about tonight, the sum of those defeats, those challenges at one point become overwhelming and unbearable. But when does that happen? And why? We have no clue.” “Radicalization,” the author said, is a common buzzword, but no one can seem to explain why radicalization occurs. Without being able to explain what causes the shift, there can be no easy way to “deradicalize” those who have turned to violence. To Suaudeau, his literature and discussions are his means of fighting against the narrative of violent extremism. “In my opinion, one of my definitions of terrorism is someone who imposes his reality on the rest of us,” Suaudeau said after the lecture. “I think the utility, the usefulness and the meaning of literature in that respect is to provide a different point of view so that we can keep making sense of the world around us.” Suaudeau is currently in contact with U.S. publishers about the possibility of having his novel “Dawa” translated into English. He has also been approached by a streaming platform to translate “Le Francaise.”
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NEWS
UAB graduate fights to deliver salvation from mental illness to the religious health works the same way,” Richardson said. “The pastors and church leadership must be trained first to dismantle stigma associated with mental health illness.” o More Martyrs, a local mental health Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based awareness campaign and organization, training program consisting of an eight-hour recently received a $25,000 grant from instruction that teaches individuals how to UAB at the Community Health Innovation identify symptoms, assess situations and come up Awards to fund its Mosaic Mental Health with an action plan to direct those with mental Awareness Project. health concerns to the appropriate resources and Kaleidoscope spoke to Nadia Richardson, services. Ph.D., the founder of No More Martyrs. Mental Health First Aid is highly supported by Richardson, who has a background in the White House and also funded by Congress. diversity education, became involved in mental While it normally comes with a fee of that can health awareness as a graduate student when range from $25 to $60, the organization will use she was doing research for her dissertation on the grant’s funds to make the training program the experiences of black female students with free for the first year. mental health concerns. Richardson plans to start by training the pastors “The things I learned from the research, and church leaders in Mental Health First Aid and the need for understanding diversity and before reaching out to train members of the mental health in different ways really launched congregation and community. Her goal is to train my interest in mental health awareness 2,000 individuals before January 2017. and incorporating disability, especially The monthly on-site support groups will begin mental health disabilities in conversations,” once the first aid training for the church leaders is Richardson said. “We need to have these completed. The support groups are set to provide conversations, and have them on a regular information, resources and support for those with basis in order to dismantle stigma.” mental health concerns or those who have a loved She started working towards mental health one with mental health concerns. The attendees awareness from that point onwards, but the can share experiences and get advice. launch of No More Martyrs took place when While the support group does not prescribe Karen Washington passed away from suicide. medication or provide therapy, it directs those in Washington was the founder of For Brown need of those services. The support groups will Girls, a movement against discrimination, be conducted by licensed professionals and peer racism and insecurity, and, according to support specialists. A peer support specialist is Richardson, had a strong following. “someone who lives with a mental health concern “When she passed away, it caught people and uses his or her own experience to give off guard because she was beautiful, educated support to others,” according to Richardson. and motivated. She had everything going for “We want to use the support groups to let her,” Richardson said. “I started to see a lot of people know that you are not alone, and that Nadia Richardson, Ph.D, the founder of No More Martyrs. Photo from the No More Martyrs’ website. conversations about it, especially online. The you’re capable, you’re beautiful, and you’re going conversations went on for a while, and Karen was on You don’t need to be a martyr and to get through this,” Richardson said. “A lot of times, the news for a couple of weeks, and then she wasn’t.” people just want to talk to someone, and support is keep all those mental health issues In response, Richardson started No More Martyrs to first step to get to a place where they can get services inside of you. — Richardson “start conversations, and have ongoing conversations” and resources.” about mental health issues and awareness. Richardson also shared the long term goals for the The organization has already collaborated with four “I read an article where someone said, ‘Karen will project. Once the grant is complete, she hopes to have churches, including the St. John AME Church located always be remembered as a martyr,’” Richardson said. “interracial, cross-cultural participation” in order to in the Civil Rights District near 16th Street Baptist “But the thing is that we don’t need them anymore. have “that conversation” with all the communities and Church, Worship Center Christian Church, Greater You don’t need to be a martyr and keep all those churches. Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and Sixth Avenue mental health issues inside of you.” Richardson also had a message for UAB students. Baptist Church. The St. John AME Church is the No More Martyrs started a year ago as an online “I want UAB students to know that they have so primary church involved with the project, as well as community intended to provide support for African much power to become a Mental Health advocate,” the No More Martyrs’ community partner. American women with mental health issues. It Richardson said. “A lot of times, people think there According to Richardson, many individuals with currently has roughly 3,000 supporters on Facebook, it nothing I can do, but making yourself aware, and mental health issues, especially women, use church as Twitter and Instagram. The organization provides free a support system. educating yourself on what mental health is and what online webinars to provide mental health support. is looks like and what it means to be a support system, “In my study, women I interviewed said, ‘my pastor They hope to start a new blog and eventually become you can impact someone’s life in a positive way.” told me to pray harder, or to be a better Christian,’” a nation-wide campaign with chapters around the She encouraged all students to get involved with Richardson said. country. Active Minds at UAB, a student-led organization However, Richardson strongly believes that pastors The grant from UAB will be used to fund The Mosaic and other church members have to first be trained dedicated to raising mental health awareness among Mental Health Project. The project will provide college students. to give support and advice to those suffering with monthly mental health awareness training, called “You don’t have to be a licensed professional to be mental health concerns. Mental Health First Aid, through a collaboration with an advocate,” Richardson said. “All you have to do is be “There should be no shame in utilizing other six churches in the Birmingham area. It will also host supportive, and be an empathetic human being.” services. For example, if you have diabetes, you’ll still monthly on-site support for church and community go pray but you’ll also continue treatment. Mental members. Janvi Jani Staff Writer janvinj@uab.edu
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Men’s basketball stumbles at WKU, comes back to defeat Marshall Chris Cokley guards the ball from Hilltoppers forward, Anton Waters.
Tamara Imam Copy Editor copyed@insideuab.com
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he Blazers’ long-standing winning streak came to an end on Thursday, Jan. 28. The team stumbled 69-62 against conference opponent Western Kentucky University in Diddle Arena. Prior to Thursday night’s loss to the Hilltoppers, the Blazers led the NCAA in longest winning streak with 14 straight wins. UAB had not lost a game since its 82-77 overtime loss to Virginia Tech on Nov. 28. The Blazers trailed the Hilltoppers, who held the lead the entire game, by as many as 14 points in the first half. Although UAB came back to successfully cut the deficit in the second half, the Blazers failed to take the lead. “The guys were certainly very, very upset,” Head Coach Jerod Haase said in an interview with UABsports.com. “There was a lot of emotion on their part. At the same time, it’s not something we’re going to dwell on. In a very, very, very short amount of time, we’ve got to get back on the court
again. Bottom line is we have not played a complete game, maybe the entire season. Once we do play a complete game, we’re going to be in a good spot.” Although the loss to WKU marked the end of the overall winning streak, the Blazers’ still hold a school record 21 game winning streak in Bartow. Junior Ryan Kailey does not believe that Thursday’s loss will be detrimental to fan and student support. “So the loss to WKU I think won’t have any big impact on student support: if it did I would really be ashamed of our students. You’ve gotta be a fan through the wins and the losses,” Kailey said. “Also, our streak in Bartow/Birmingham is still alive so that’s something to be proud of. These guys are just plain fun to watch and I love it when Bartow is packed with students.” After Thursday’s game, the team traveled to Huntington, West Virginia where they beat Marshall University Thundering Herd 81-78 in the Cam Henderson Center on Saturday, Jan. 30. Junior guard Dirk Williams led the Blazers with 16 points.
Photo from UABsports.com
Following Saturday’s win, Kailey remains optimistic about UAB’s prospects for a bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, where the Blazers upset No. 3 Iowa State to make it to the Round of 32 last year. “I don’t know a ton about how the bidding works for the NCAA Tournament, but I’m sure that loss didn’t help us. However, I still feel really good about our chances in the C-USA tournament with it being in the Ham again this year. If we can pull out another win in that tournament, I like our chances of going to the big dance,“ Kailey said. “Overall, I’m trying to take Thomas Smallwood’s words to heart. He told the team—‘Well, yeah, we just won 14 games in a row. We’re 14-1 over the last 15 games. We’re pretty darn good. Stop acting like the end of the world is here.’ I think that’s a good attitude for all of the Blazer fans to have.” The Blazers (18-4, 8-1) return to Bartow Arena on Thursday, Feb. 4 to face the Florida International University Panthers (11-11, 5-4) at 6 p.m. Robert Brown goes for a layup during the first half.
Photo from UABsports.com
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Oscars So WHite This year, nominations for The Oscars were released without a single person of color nominated in any of the major acting categories. For the second year in a row, the lack of diversity in the academy’s choices has drawn ire from the viewing public. Media consumers are concerned that voting academies for major awards are still placing more importance on the achievements of white entertainers at the expense of entertainers of color. But to properly frame the deeper issue of why this is a problem for many, it may be helpful to gain a deeper understanding of whiteness.
Who is White and Why Does it Matter? In order to understand what Americans think of when it comes to white culture, it may be necessary to define whiteness. Whiteness as a concept is not as old as it may seem to
a 21st-century audience. According to Nell Irvin Painter, professor of history at Princeton University and author of “The History of White People,” the white “race” didn’t congeal until shortly after the second world war. “In the mid- to late-19th century, the existence of several white races was widely assumed: notably, the superior Saxons and the inferior Celts,” Painter said in an op-ed for the New York Times. “Each race — and they were called races — had its characteristic racial temperament.’Temperament’ has been and still is a crucial facet of racial classification since its 18th-century Linnaean origins. Color has always only been one part of it.” Painter stated that the Irish famine of the 1840’s led to an influx of the Celts into other countries, where they were still met with prejudice. The immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans into western Europe changed that, as the Irish were elevated into “the superior realm of Northern Europeans.” As the first world war came and went and “Saxon” fell out of favor as a term due to its Germanic trappings, and shortly after, the racial landscape changed once again. “By the 1940’s anthropologists announced that they had a new classification: white, Asian and black were the only real races. Each was unitary — no sub-races existed within each group,” Painter said. “There was one Negroid race, one Mongoloid race, one Caucasoid race. Everyone considered white was the same as everyone else considered white. No Saxons. No Celts. No Southern Italians. No Eastern European Hebrews. This classification — however tattered — lives on, with mild alterations, even today.” The world and its views on race have changed since the 1940’s, as evidenced by UAB’s integrated campus. Though many people that would be considered “white” today celebrate their own heritage and customs that were carried over from Europe into the New World, there is still a white monolith that serves to block out people of color from entering spaces of employment, artistic recognition and social appreciation. In most cases, these spaces have been marketed to be the pinnacle of appreciation in one’s field, and so people of all races strive to find their place in the crowd.
Frozen Out The Oscars are not the only arts and entertainment honor that people of color watch closely. Though the Grammys are set up to be much more representative of the wide racial diversity of the music-listening public, they still have their blind spots. The Album of the Year nominations have categorically left hip hop off the podium for most of its tenure, with exceptions in 1999 for Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” and 2004 for Outkast’s “Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below.” The tastes of the voting academy may not align with hip hop, a historically African-American artform, but they do tend to represent non-white artists with its highest honor. Though the Grammys tend to keep an open ear regardless of color, whites have seen their nominations rise in traditionally African-American dominated categories. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “The Heist” beat out Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid,
9 m.A.A.d city” for Best Hip Hop Album in 2013, and made public Macklemore’s attempts to apologize to Lamar over the snub. Though this event could possibly be an outlier in the general mission of the Grammy nominations, it could serve as a possible indication of the voting priorities of major arts and science academies. Dereef Jamison, Ph.D., a professor of African-American Studies at UAB, believes that the current awards climate does not represent the pop culture climate. “With all the snubs, you would think people wouldn’t get snubbed because at the core of American pop culture is African-American culture. Almost to the extent to where you can’t even mention African-American culture without people just saying ‘oh that’s just American culture’,” Jamison said. “It’s like the face of it. Then when it’s time for these awards, people are snubbed and you don’t see it represented like that.” African-American culture has been one of the focuses of American entertainment for a long time. American culture’s representation of trends from the AfricanAmerican community can lead to confusion in the short run, and cultural appropriation in the long run. Cultural appropriation is the absorption of fascinating or entertaining aspects of a culture other than one’s own without a respect for the unique conditions, and oftentimes suffering, that brought about that aspect. For an example, Cam Newton’s “dabbing” in the end zone became a hot-button issue that drew both ire and admiration from fans of the NFL. One concerned mother even asserted in an open letter to Newton on the Charlotte Observer’s website that the gesture was so inappropriate that she urged her daughter to look away and watch the cheerleaders instead. Dabbing originated amongst the friend group of Atlanta trap-rappers Migos. Migos, who usually rap about selling crack cocaine and other trap activities, are far removed from the world of Ellen DeGeneres who has dabbed alongside presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s dab, when contextualized through another moment in her campaign provides a picture of cultural appropriation. In a speech on July 23, 2015, Clinton stated that she believes “for a lot of well-meaning, open-minded white people the sight of a young black man in a hoodie still evokes a twinge of fear.” Dabbing is good enough for church meetings and Instagram posts, but people that look like the creators of the dance may still scare a lot of “well-meaning, open-minded white people.” “One thing is like Greg Tate, who talks about ‘everything but the burden,’ and this white cultural
Social media launched the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag in response to this years nomina-
appropriation of African-American culture. So this idea where you can appropriate the culture, but I can have everything but the burden,” Jamison said. “[They] can indulge and live vicariously through these experiences, party, even have this cultural catharsis. Almost like during the Harlem Renaissance, folks come in to Harlem to experience this, but [they] don’t have to deal with the reality that produced that experience. On that level, I see it as people loving black culture but not black people.”
What Can We Do? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have upset a lot of people by leaving people of color out of the conversation for Best Picture. Jada Pinkett Smith put out a video calling for a boycott from people of color until the academy reflected the movie-going audience with their nominations. Hollywood, with a few notable exceptions, was built by white Americans for white Americans to serve white American tastes in entertainment at the time. Though the representation of minorities on screen has changed quite a bit since the Academy began in 1927, the makeup of the academy has mostly stayed an old boys club. In 2013, the LA Times found that the voting academy for the Oscars at the time was 93 percent white, 76 percent male and had a median age of 63 years. These demographics on the 6,028 voters seem to suggest that the lack of diversity at the time, which the academy has attempted to remedy, is to blame for the lack of diversity that people see reflected on the marquee of nominations. “Like if we really understood racism. Part of it is this knee-jerk reaction to say: “Oh you left me out.” Based on my understanding of racism and how African-Americans are viewed, it would make sense to me that [they didn’t],” Jamison said. “Not that you accept that, but you understand that that can happen. I get coming at them and doing those things, but at the end of the day it’s not for you.” With people that may not have the best interests of an increasingly diverse population in mind, people can expect the snubs to continue, as the academy is reinforcing a system of artistic white bias through no fault of their own. Through recent invitations to people of color that the academy sent out, they have demonstrated a commitment to rectifying their color blindness. However, even if the new invitations are accepted and the academy becomes more diverse,
it may be a while until each race’s art sees an equal representation of its best work at the top of the totem pole. “With African American studies, one of the first things they talk about with it as a discipline is that AfricanAmericans are worthy of study. It seems real basic, right? But when you think of academia and African people being marginalized and outside, then it’s the idea that they’re not worthy of study they’re just ‘those people.’ Because study means you have some contribution,” Jamison said. “If we transition that to hip hop or AfricanAmerican culture and art in general, is it worthy of study? And I think part of that might tie into what we’re talking about with the academy and all those things. Is it worthy of critical acclaim and recognition? Because at the end of the day maybe there’s this belief that it’s just black folks acting, black folks singing.” To extend the point beyond African-Americans to all non-whites, the art produced by non-whites seems to have to demonstrate deeper and more demonstrable worth and experience to be deemed worthy of recognition. Films like “Selma” and “12 Years A Slave,” which had significant African-American involvement behind the screen as well as on-camera, have started to receive attention recently, while “Do The Right Thing” did not receive a nomination. Those two movies that received Oscar attention differ in that they are based off of true historical experience as opposed to being relatively fictional. The system is working to change, but only at the demand of the public which keeps them accountable. For now, the system is in fact reflecting its constituency in that they are voting for movies that older white men can appreciate. Content creators have the right to be upset about exclusion from the accepted top of the pyramid, but also have the option to reject a system which was initially built without them in mind. “Wade Noble says ‘power is the ability to define reality and have others accept that definition as if it were their own.’ You’re defining this reality, and others are responding as if it were their own. So I see it in the context of African-American art and culture that we have to define our own reality,” Jamison said. “But if we’ve defined our own realities; our own stories, our own perspectives, then tell that. But at the same time, why would you expect someone to validate your experience? Are we looking to these awards for them to validate that we’ve done good work? When we define our own reality, we do that for ourselves. When you’re producing, who are we producing it for?”
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Opinion: I’m in a sorority, but... Ally Middleton Opinions Writer allym95@uab.edu I’m in a sorority, but some of my closest friends aren’t associated with fraternities and sororities at all. In fact, my sorority and other chapters are actually the opposite. We have a strong policy against hazing, we celebrate our extreme diversity and we place a huge emphasis on grades. As Vice President of Scholarship for my sorority, I witness first-hand the effort the members of my chapter make toward keeping their grades up. Fraternities and sororities have strict GPA requirements, and we all work together to promote the academic success of each member. We celebrate achievements and provide resources for those who are struggling. Similarly, we aren’t all of Greek descent. According to a story in the Highlander News, it has recently become controversial that we are utilizing “Greek appropriation” by referring to ourselves as Greek. Despite this, these organizations have done enough good in the past year to counteract the belief that we mean any disrespect by using Greek letters and Greek-style houses. In fact, 2015 was an awesome year for chapters all across the country, and a recent article from “Total Sorority Move” highlights 15 of the top chapters who are constantly knocking down the stereotypes.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016
OPINIONS
For example, several chapters have started stepping that all our organizations are founded on values and forward to fight against sexual assault by partnering principles that were intended to make their members with the It’s On Us campaign, where students can better than who they were before they got their take a pledge to do their part in preventing campus letters. assaults. In Sigma Kappa, we strive to live our values out loud In other parts of the country, chapters were making everyday, and my favorite has always been personal strides to improve their communities and help those growth. Through my time in the sorority, even though around them to the best of their abilities. Iota Phi it hasn’t even been a year, I can see myself developing Theta bought land and built a home for a homeless into a stronger, more independent, more passionate family in their area. Kappa Alpha Theta collected over individual, and I can thank my sisters for helping me 200 prom dresses for teenage girls in foster care. My realize the potential in myself. The author’s sorority attempts to change perceptions of student organizations. Sigma Kappa sisters in Arizona Photo courtesy of Ally Middleton raised over $13,000 for a sister who was diagnosed with cancer, and the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at UCLA made it their mission to help a little girl with cancer by bringing gifts and visiting the girl as much as possible as well as by raising around $27,000 to help the family with hospital expenses. There will always be people who party too hard and forget to take off their letters while doing so. There will always be people who only rushed thinking it would grant them popularity, and there will always be questionable recruitment videos, but those few bad apples don’t change the fact
Blazing blue: A Democratic view on plans for free tuition Robert Mardis Contributing Writer rm3@uab.edu o maintain a prosperous society, you must first educate its people. In this country, where too many people simply forgo higher education because of the financial burden it presents, how long do we expect our society to thrive? It is imperative that we open the doors of higher education to as many individuals as possible. The 2016 Democratic and Republican presidential candidates differ greatly in their proposals to tackle this problem. I have to agree with Sen. Sanders’ and Secretary Clinton’s solutions of eliminating the exorbitant price of college tuition. You may no longer be paying with money, but you will, however, be paying with your time and effort. When we boost the morale of our people, we boost productivity. Republicans only see it as giving handouts, but they cannot see the future gains this will yield. Republicans see a government that is separate from the people monopolizing education. We see a government of the people, for the people and by the people. My republican counterpart stated that “in the 2014 fiscal year, UAB students received $1.5 billion from the federal government in the form of loans, grants and work study,” as if this is not a good long-term investment. It amazes me that spending billions on education is always a problem, but it is never a big deal to waste billions on war. Instead of our government helping its people by providing tuition assistance programs, Republicans suggest magically driving down college tuition through competition. Who is competing? With the
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sky-high cost of tuition not enough people will get in the game to force this competition. As I have previously stated, many people are not enrolling due to the current cost. How do Republicans expect to convince people to enroll, at the same price today that it was yesterday, in hopes of creating some kind of competition? This will not work, because most people like to see that something is actually working, before they just jump in and take you at your word that it is going to work. I love Senators Cruz’s proposal of tying loan repayments to each graduate’s income where those who make more pay more, and those who make less pay less. I loved it even more when President Obama signed the “income-based repayment plan” into law back in 2010. I agree with Senator Cruz that everyone does not need a college degree, because we do have job training provided by trade schools. However, I would like to see him tell his own children that. As always, there is a conservative think tank recommending the government stop guaranteeing loans to promote competition, which will lead to the falling of prices. And that if students pay their own tuition it will force universities “to offer competitive or reasonable prices.” Call me crazy, but here in America where we believe the country was built with the highest of morals, more Americans should be able to afford postsecondary education. My counterpart is right when she ask the question. “Who is going to pay for this?” Taxing the top one percent of the country to gain funding is a great place to start. No one thinks twice of a wealthy family taking home millions a year and only paying their work force the bare minimum. If the
top one percent paid wages equal to the work being done, most people could afford to set aside a college fund for their children, and we would not even be having this debate. When it is all said and done, college tuition has to become more affordable. Ask the leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump or history which party has the greater track record of creating a stronger economy and they both will say the Democrats. So you just have to believe us on this one too. We can make public university tuition free.
Correction:
Photo courtesy of Robert Mardis
In last week’s issue, Kscope stated that there would were engraved pavers on sale at the HSC that were taken from the HUC. The pavers have no connection to the Hill University Center, and we at Kscope apologize for the mixup. -Brandon Varner, Editor in Chief, UAB Kscope
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Red Planet Reviews: “Night School”
Jared Chesnut Staff Writer redc@uab.edu t’s been upwards of four years since Alan Palomo’s Neon Indian released its last album, “Era Extraña,” a fun, warm slice of electro-pop goodness that dealt with matters of the heart and featured arcade blues. Since then, it’s been a journey that has included stolen equipment and tracks, treks across Mexico and TED talks about great film producers, composers and their influences on his work as an “auteur.” Along the way, the groundwork for “Vega Intl. Night School” was being laid, and at the tail end of 2015, the project finally broke through to see the light of day. Turns out the album is every bit as quirky and cool as the trek that preceded it. The best way to sum up “Vega Intl. Night School” would be to imagine some alternate Earth where the nightclubs litter the streets like Starbucks on every corner, the sidewalks filled with cheap suits and dresses, cheaper perfume and grimy dark alleys. Think Five Points without that awesome cookie shop. You cross the city limits as the opener “Hit Parade” begins stuttering forward towards a “Homework”era Daft Punk existence, however brief, before transitioning into first single “Annie,” which sounds like it stepped right out of Miami Vice by way of Diplo. This is followed by the distorted 80’s hip-hop beat of “Street Level,” feeling every bit at home as the pastel jackets and Trans-Ams rolling down the avenue. “Smut” ends up feeling like a change of scene, that quick cut to another locale that slows things down a bit. That’s immediately taken to the other end by “Bozo” and “The Glitzy Hive,” injecting a bit of energy with some proper electro with a Hall & Oates twist to it. That’s carried through to “Dear Skorpio Magazine,”
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cheesy guitar solos marking interludes before the track fades out and things really start to get fun. The middle of the album is without question the highlight of the show, a trilogy full of wholesale glitz and glamour that’s near impossible not to tap a toe or bop your head to, starting with the single “Slumlord,” a disco-infused tale that feels as seedy and dangerous as that corner bar without a sign, and every bit as fun, “as long as you’ve got the money.” It’s as funky as anything this side of George Clinton’s mothership and might just be the coolest “shut up and dance” song of 2015. We’re interrupted by a French radio broadcast before returning to regularly scheduled programming with some edits to the script: “Slumlord’s Release.” The previously muted but inviting beat and 80’s synths grow grimy and dark, the chants grow louder and everything builds before coming back down for “Techno Clique,” which goes full-on club with a thumping bass behind ethereal lyrics and the ebb and flow of a synthesizer. After that bit of a thrill ride, “Baby’s Eyes” seeks to get us back on point, evoking some of the old Cannon action films of the 80’s. You could picture this in the background as a Bronson or Stallone-esque figure stands in the darkness glowering, his gaze set in the distance as he vows revenge for some wrong (perhaps they closed down his gym). It suckers you in with more Wild Stallyns guitar before “C’est La Vie (say the casualties!)” throws you for a loop. Suddenly you’ve been transported to Thomas Dolby’s underground laboratory, vision impaired by mad science. More static kicks in, then “61 Cygni Ave.” cuts in, a sound that feels as distant and alien as the star system the song is named for. Finally, “News From the Sun (live bootleg)” is the ending credits to send it all home,
Weekly Wellness: Oil Pulling Jared Jones Staff Writer jrdjns@uab.edu veryone has their morning routine, from brewing a strong cup of coffee to getting a workout in – if you can get up and pound the pavement at 6 a.m., more power to you. However, lately there’s been buzz around an ancient Ayurvedic technique called “oil pulling” or “gundusha,”a form of holistic medicine originated in India.
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Photo from Dau Dua on flickr (creative commons)
The practice of swishing oil – most people use sesame or coconut – in your mouth for 20 minutes is not new. However, it has caught on in the United States in the past few
years based on anecdotal evidence that it makes a difference in your oral and overall health. According to bloggers “Wellness Mama” and “Fashionista,” the benefits outweigh the unsightly time spent gargling oil. They believe the oil extracts plaque and bacteria, leading to stronger teeth and a whiter smile. The bloggers claim that these benefits aren’t just topical: oil pulling can cure headaches, hangovers and sinus issues. The philosophy is interesting, but these claims are unfounded. According to the WebMD article “Should you try oil pulling?” there is not enough evidence to support that oil pulling is the wonder-cure people believe it to be. But don’t let that discourage you. The same article states that oil pulling does in fact help the mouth: coconut oil (which is the preferred oil to use) contains anti-bacterial properties that zap bad breath and gingivitis germs. It also contains a lot of vitamins and minerals – most notably vitamin A and E to help out the immune system – that are good for your body. So I tried it for a month. And I loved it. At first it was daunting, carving 20 minutes out of my morning routine to sit and swish seemed impossible. But as time went on, it felt rhythmic, even therapeutic. And when the 20 minutes was up, I spit the oil in the trash. Tip: coconut oil solidifies at room temperature, so don’t spit out in the sink. Afterward, my mouth felt
Neon Indian’s album “Night School”
Image from Wikimedia Commons
with Palomo doing a “Prince minus a few octaves” impression with chunky bass and tinny snare ambling along behind as the album slowly plays its way out. On its own merits, “Vega Intl. Night School” may well be one of the most complete albums of the past year and before. Short of its ending, there really doesn’t seem to be a weak song front to back, and there’s such a variation in style and feel that you never really get lulled into a pattern of complacency. It stands as such a shift from Neon Indian’s previous work while feeling so much more ambitious, almost as if, for all the grease and grime the new album picked up, it was still aiming for the stars. If nothing else, “Vega Intl. Night School” deserves a sequel to see if Palomo can surpass even that lofty goal. the cleanest it has ever felt. I can’t attest to the extraneous claims that it cures headaches or sinus issues, but I can easily say my breath was pleasant throughout the day – even after wolfing down garlic fries for lunch. Oil pulling became something I looked forward to, which is not something I thought I would say. Admittedly, 20 minutes is a long time, but if it helped me feel cleaner and healthier, as a clean mouth is an integral part of overall health, it was a duty I owed to myself. It’s important to still follow through with your other oral hygiene practices: don’t stop flossing and brushing. While oil pulling is known to kill bad bacteria, it’s a compliment, not a replacement to your conventional, tried-and-true hygiene habits. I’ve enjoyed the process of oil pulling so much that I have extended my month-long trial period to a practice I include in my daily routine. It’s an easy and simple addition to my oral health habits that I can do while doing other things (so long as they don’t involve talking). It’s so painfully simple that anyone can get started: you take a tablespoon of oil and swish it around in your mouth for 20 minutes. And you spit it out. That’s it. Although the bolstered claims that oil pulling is a godsend for your health haven’t been backed up by scientific data, it’s certainly not a bad idea to try oil pulling.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016
Cheap Eats: Wasabi Juan’s
Tessa Case Staff Writer tessmc@uab.edu t isn’t often that you hear the words “sushi” and “burrito” in the same sentence, and even less often that you hear of a mound of sushi-grade Ahi tuna on top of Doritos. This is, however, exactly what you’ll find at Wasabi Juan’s, the focus of this week’s cheap eats. Wasabi Juan’s is a “Mexinese” restaurant that aims to make sushi more fun and approachable, according to their website. Located in the heart of Avondale, this unique eatery invites you in with fun, bright colors and a balance between organic wooden tables and exposed brick, and contrasting sheet metal accents with bright, Mexican-style lights and lanterns. They serve a variety of sushi burritos, tacos, appetizers and sides, all at affordable prices ranging from $3 to the most expensive dish, which tops off at $11. As soon as the front door is opened, the staff greets you with a unique and personal welcome. Typically the owner is present, but even when she is not it is evident that everyone working there is exactly where they want to be. Any questions about the menu, which is conveniently written on a huge section of wall, are answered with ease, and any order modifications or requests are carried out to the best of their abilities. A fan favorite, as well as my personal favorite, falls under the appetizer category: 4:20 nachos. This dish easily becomes a meal, so long as you aren’t sharing, and is a strange combination of flavors that surprisingly work. This dish is a heaping mound of spicy Ahi tuna and avocado atop Doritos, drizzled with chili mayonnaise and eel sauce and garnished with toasted, black sesame seeds. The best part? It only costs $7. The 4:20 nachos are a wonderfully balanced dish. The spicy tuna has just enough kick not to be overpowered by the familiar flavor of Doritos, the eel sauce adds a perfect hint of sweetness and the chili mayonnaise and avocado add a perfect fat element that completes the dish and kicks your palate awake. If you’re feeling like treating yourself, you can also add a side of edamame or a bowl of miso soup for only $3. This cheap meal can only be made more perfect by the ingenuity of the food, the welcoming environment and the fact that Wasabi Juan’s is a Birmingham-native restaurant. Wasabi Juan’s definitely accomplishes its goal of making sushi approachable, and I highly recommend it to connoisseurs and newbies alike. The quality is fantastic, and the unique style bid all to come and have a bite. Wasabi Juan’s is located at 4120 3rd Avenue South. Check out the menu at wasabijuan.com/menu.html.
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Photo by Tessa Case
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Myers Briggs horoscopes: Fake futures for you and your friends Casey Marley Managing Editor managing@insideuab.com
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ello Kaleidoscope Readers, in your time at UAB and preparing for the professional world, you may have been asked to take a MyersBriggs Personality Test, a scientific approach to understanding what makes you tick by sorting you (and everyone else) into one of 16 distinct personality types. With this popularity of selfawareness and how prevalent it is in the workplace, we’ve decided to launch a monthly column that gives each of the 16 personality types a look into themselves and into their future for the upcoming month by using non-astrological pseudoscience. This week, we are offering quasi-insight into the intuitive and thinkingbased personalities. Before reading this column, please take a Myers-Briggs Personality Test and then find your type below to read a totally imagined glance at what is to come for you.
INTJ
Hello, curious INTJ. This month, your aptitude for mastering a variety of new skills will come into play.
Beware of becoming too arrogant, though, as you impress others with your abilities-- forced to work in groups, you may find non-INTJ’s frustrated with your new abilities and pride in your accomplishments. Even though you hate discussing emotions, be prepared in the month of love to step outside of your comfort zone: an unexpected introduction to an INFP or INFJ may cause you to start applying logic to the fuzzy world of feelings.
ENTJ The new year brings new people and new opportunities into your life, ENTJ. More than usual, you will find a specific role for each of these new relationships. Plan carefully, as some of these new faces are bound to stick around in your life for the long term. Encountering free time? Use your love of social events and organization to support your favorite college team. Gather your crew and cheer on the Blazers at the next home game.
INTP
ENTP
Dreamy INTP, watch what you say this month. Your disdain for small talk makes sense to you, but as you interact with more social types, your fleeting behavior may come across as rude. However, as the new year progresses, your love of trying new things paired with your rebellious nature means an adventure is in the works. Plan a solo-hike to a new location for a rush of inspiration or a analytical breakthrough.
You know that rules are just guidelines, ENTP. Use your knack for finding loopholes for your personal improvement this month, whether discovering the shortcuts across campus or how to stretch your meal plan to its full potential. Bored at your job in this new semester? Who’s making you stay, ENTP? Take your independent spirit to new heights and start your own money-making endeavours.
Graphic by Casey Marley
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016
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UAB graduate leads teams to excavate Birmingham’s past
Sarah Faulkner News Editor news@insideuab.com
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Birmingham’s iron industry led to its rapid growth after the civil war, and several workers were needed to keep up the pace of production.
AB archaeology students are currently excavating sites not too far from home. Around a 15-minute drive from UAB’s campus, Red Mountain Park is the site of a century-old, all-black mining town called Smythe that is now the attention of seasoned and amateur archaeologists alike. Cheryl Dawley, a current UAB graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in archaeology, was an undergraduate when the site was discovered. “I first came to Red Mountain Park as a volunteer field crew worker in 2009,” Dawley said. “I was working under the guidance of Dr. Jack Bergstresser who had been hired to investigate an area where the Park wished to create a man-made lake. Historic maps showed the footprint of an old Woodward Iron Company mining community called Smythe. The cultural and historical significance of the site was immediately realized and the plans for a lake were scrapped. What we thought would be a quick recovery effort turned into a dedicated industrial archaeology park.” Before this point, Dawley had never heard of industrial archaeology. However, the find at Red Mountain Park drove her to study it. “When I began learning about the history of the red ore mining communities, I realized what a tremendous story it was and how important these miners actually were to the birth and rapid growth of Birmingham,” Dawley said. “Birmingham was built on the backs of these workers, sometimes at a terrible price. I believe the story itself is what fired my passion for industrial archaeology.” After volunteering at the site, Dawley went on to work at Red Mountain Park as part of the its Archaeology Department. Since 2010, Dawley has been the sole employee of the department, serving as the Director of Archaeology and as one of the driving forces behind the excavation of the site. “Since [2010], we have uncovered other culturally and historically significant areas in the park that need management. I knew I needed help,” Dawley said. “As a former student, I also knew from personal experience that there were very few opportunities to get hands-on archaeological field training locally. There were no local field opportunities offered through UAB when I was working on my bachelor’s degree, and as a mother and wife I found it difficult to take three months away from
my family to go to Mexico or Egypt. So in 2011, I reached out to UAB’s Anthropology Department. We worked out a co-operative program that would allow UAB’s archaeology courses to hold a portion of their classes at Red Mountain Park receiving excavation training.” In order to both train archaeology students and to aid in the investigation of Smythe, UAB has been conducting field schools in spring at the Red Mountain Park site under the guidance of both Lauren Downs, Ph.D., and Dawley. According to Dawley, students from UAB and other local schools have assisted with excavating activities such as digging, surveying and conducting walk-overs. “I personally love working with UAB’s Anthropology Department,” Dawley said. “I am extremely grateful to its faculty members and students for helping Red Mountain Park to put together this valuable co-operative and I hope that it will continue well into the future. The students have proved to be a real asset and it is a joy seeing their passion for this important field of study.” Not only UAB students have aided in the dig. The park allows any community member the opportunity to get involved in discovering a fragment of their city’s heritage. “We have even had Boy Scouts come out to get their archaeology badges here! It has turned into a great opportunity, not just for myself, but for the community in general,” Dawley said. “Our goal is to preserve the undisturbed industrial areas here at Red Mountain Park, utilizing them as a dedicated archaeology field training site for aspiring archaeologists.”
The site
As of now, five of the 52 structural sites have been excavated. The process has been “slow but fruitful,” according to Dawley. The teams have discovered three sites as well as structural foundations that hint at more. When Dawley researched the site, she found that there was a high rate of turnover at the camps, with only one person who stayed in the town for more than a ten-year period. Some men made their homes in Smythe and brought along their families. “The material we have gotten out of Smythe really serves to illustrate what life was like in the mining camps.
Photo by Brandon Varner
Bullet casings, medicine bottles, broken and burned ceramics... even children’s toys tell the story of the harsh conditions these miners and their families faced in the late 19th century communities,” Dawley said. “The most exciting thing that we found was a piece of ‘clacker’ which was used as company money. My own daughter found this on her first dig! I had brought her to assist me with the excavation and she just bent over and picked it up out of my unit. Needless to say, she was hooked! She’s been on several digs with me since then.” “As these areas are excavated and cleared, we plan to reconstruct small portions of these industrial communities and facilities so visitors will be able to experience a bit of what life was like on the mountain.”
Getting involved
Students at UAB that take Archaeology of Alabama and the Greater Southeast are given the chance to be a part of the excavation effort. “It is an introductory course with a small field component. If you like that then you can sign up for the ANTH 411 [Advanced Field Archaeology] which is the summer field school. I do occasionally organize volunteer digs outside of the field school, but I give first dibs to students who have had field experience,” Dawley said. “Also, our volunteer pool for archaeology seems to be snowballing and it may be difficult to get in on one of these digs.” Those who would like to volunteer rather than sign up for a class are encouraged to contact Dawley through the Red Mountain park website (www.redmountainpark. org) and send an email with “Archaeology Volunteer” in the subject line and their phone number, name and email address in the body. When volunteer spaces become available, Dawley will send information about the excavation.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Dawley
WHAT’S UP
TUESDAY|02.02 February Ukulele Jam
Seeds Coffee Co. 7 p.m. The Birmingham Ukulele Society hosts a Ukulele jam once per month. Players of all levels are invited to this laid-back event. This month will feature love songs to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Admission is free.
Blazer Sportsline
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Iron City 6 p.m. Coach Jerod Haase will be featured on FM 100.5, which will be broadcast live from The Grille at Iron City, to talk about Blazer basketball. Admission is free.
WEDNESDAY|02.03 UAB Signing Day
Iron City 6 p.m. UAB Football Coach Bill Clark will announce the new recruiting class. The doors will open for a Mix and Mingle with UAB football fans from 5- 6 p.m., followed by a Meet and Greet with Bill Clark until 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.
THURSDAY|02.04 UAB Men’s Basketball vs. FIU
Bartow Arena 6 p.m. The Blazers will take on the Panthers of Florida International University at home.
John Morton Lecture in Photography
Birmingham Museum of Art 7- 8 p.m.
SATURDAY|02.06
Philanthropist and art collector John Morton will lecture on Leslie Hewit’s “Still Life.” Hewitt studied Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the Yale University School of Art and at New York University. Admission is free.
UAB Men’s Basketball vs. Florida Atlantic Bartow Arena 7 p.m. The men’s basketball team will play Florida Atlantic University at home.
FRIDAY|02.05 Diana Ross
BJCC 8 p.m. American singer-songwriter and former lead singer of The Supremes Diana Ross will perform at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Tickets start at $65.
Aaron Carter
Workplay 8 p.m. Pop artist Aaron Carter will perform at Workplay. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.
SUNDAY|02.07 UAB Tennis vs. Jacksonville State Lakeshore Tennis Center 1 p.m. UAB’s Tennis team will face off in matches against Jacksonville State University.
Birmingham’s Official Super Bowl Party
Iron City 2 p.m. Iron City will host a viewing of the Super Bowl with buffet-style appetizers, drink specials and giveaways. The doors open at 2 p.m. for the tailgate before the game. Admission is free.
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