November 28, 2017 Kscope

UAB’S OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER

VOLUME 58, ISSUE 12

CUTTING UP WITH BARBER SHOPS Barber shops stand through history and serve an essential role as gathering spots for the community. Read more on Page 5.

The

Kaleidoscope CELEBRATING OUR

50th YEAR OF PUBLICATION

#THERETURN

LET’S GO BOWLING

PHOTOS BY AUSTIN SIMPSON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Bahamas-bound Blazers continue to make history Will Harris Assistant Sports Editor

I

n June 2015, UAB football head coach Bill Clark knew he had to build a new team after the announcement of the program’s revival.

“We’re going to do this right,” Clark said. “If we’re going to come back, we have to do this the right way.”

He did it the right way, as #THERETURN saw UAB win the most football games in a season in the school’s history and its second ever bowl invitation for the Bahamas Bowl.

UAB Athletics announced the Blazer’s bowl bid Sunday at the men’s basketball game versus Mississippi College in Bartow Arena.

The Blazer’s will face the Ohio Bobcats on Dec. 22, 2017, for a possible record-setting ninth win.

“I told the players they are going to look back one day and say, ‘Wow, look what we accomplished.’” Clark said.

One team entered winless, the other looking for their best

season ever. UAB took on the UTEP Miners in the final regular season game of the year at Legion Field.

The game was also Senior Day for the senior class playing their final home game. For senior linebacker Tevin Crews, who stuck around since 2014, it has been well worth the wait.

“

I told the players they are going to look back one day and say, ‘Wow, look what we accomplished.’”

—Bill Clark

“The first day I saw Coach Clark after he said the program was coming back, he specifically told me ‘I’m going to need you to come back and lead this program,’” Crews said. “We said that we were going to make the most of this and lead to the best of our ability.”

UTEP entered with a record of 0-11, while the Blazers looked to go for their eighth win of the season. Eight wins would pass the UAB Division-1 FBS wins record of seven set back in 2004.

On UAB’s first drive, the Blazers were held on third-andlong and were forced to settle for a 40-yard field goal from Nick Vogel to take a 3-0 lead.

See FOOTBALL, Page 6

ALABAMA POLITICS

Moore scandal affects opinions Conservatives breathe new questions into campaign Bella Tylicki Community Reporter Moore

Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Alabama’s

vacant U.S. Senate seat, faces a heap of sexual assault and harassment allegations in the midst of a pivotal campaign season. Will his

apparent offenses change the minds of the country’s most loyal conservative voters?

At least eight women

have accused the former Alabama Chief Justice of sexual misconduct.

The first, and youngest, Leigh Corfman, came

See MOORE, Page 6

READ MORE Read about Kaleidoscope Opinion Columnist’s perspective of Roy Moore and the media. Page 2

OPINIONS Fall 2017 Editorial Board Chandler Jones Editor-in-Chief chanj1@uab.edu

Wallace Golding Managing Editor wsgoldin@uab.edu

Sufia Alam Campus Editor sufia@uab.edu

Kristina Balciunaite Life & Style Editor kribal@uab.edu

Lakyn Shepard Photo Editor layshep@uab.edu

Connor Gentry Sports Editor zcgentry@uab.edu

Will Harris Asst. Sports Editor willhrrs@uab.edu

Page 2 November 28, 2017

ALABAMA POLITICS

Questioning media, politicans conundrum of who to believe demonstrates the problem of unchecked skepticism.

On Nov. 9, The WashingA healthy skepticism is ton Post published an article one discarded as supporting detailing allegations of sexual evidence arises. Dawson, upon assault by Alabama Senate reading Post’s article, was candidate Roy Moore. convinced that Moore’s These claims remain unmultiple accusers were substantiated, but in a unlikely to be lying. His time when “fake news” skepticism allowed him abounds, they present time to form his own an opportunity to disconclusions, but he was cuss the trustworthiness willing to accept new of the media. evidence.

Greene “I’m going to wait Unhealthy skepand see if the allegations ticism involves conare true,” said Alex Dawson, tinuing to dismiss mounting senior biology major, upon evidence. Moore being banned first learning of the story. Mr. from the Gadsden mall does Dawson shows what healthy not by itself prove him a skepticism looks like. rapist, but it seems suspect Everyone should consider in light of other accusations. if their sources are believable.

Still, Moore’s supporters Trusting any accusation that remain unconvinced of the emerges could result in witch veracity of the claims. hunts.

Moore’s supporters show But how skeptical should the problem with unchecked one be? How many accusaskepticism. While important tions against Moore must in reaching unbiased concluarise before supporting him sions, excessive disbelief leads becomes unreasonable? The to confirmation bias. Continu-

Elliott Greene Opinion Columnist

ing to give Moore the benefit of the doubt requires dismissing multiple independent lines of evidence.

Moore has accused the media of spreading “fake news” and claiming all of his accusers are vying for attention, while journalists are distorting the facts to lend credence.

Questioning the validity of accusations should always be encouraged, but dismissing all accusations outright requires willful ignorance.

To accept Moore’s claim, dozens of independent witnesses would all need to concoct the same lie as part of a grand conspiracy to bring down Moore’s campaign.

Comparatively, believing the accusers requires accepting that Moore lied.

Trusting the accusers outright would be foolish, but the amount of evidence against Moore now requires an exceptional explanation to dismiss. These events are a lesson in critical thinking.

We can never truly know if

the accusations are true, but dismissing them would be erroneous.

If you plan to vote for Roy Moore, you have to accept the possibility he committed statutory rape. His word serves as his only defense against the word of over 30 women.

To vote for him, you need to believe in his character.

But again, here, we need to be skeptical. What character does Roy Moore have?

He’s “someone who can openly make homophobic, racist and uninformed comments,” according to Zeenat Islam, senior in health care management.

Therein lays the problem.

Roy Moore asks us to take him at his word and to be skeptical of dozens of women and journalists. We have to trust Roy Moore’s character, but the only character he has shown led to his removal from office. Twice.

Elliott Greene can be reached at elliottg@uab.edu.

Marie Sutton Advisor masutton@uab.edu

Patrick Johnson Production Manager plj3@uab.edu

ILLUSTRATION BY LEISHA CHAMBERS/ILLUSTRATOR

HAPPY BUDGETING

Why should you care about the economy Stephanie Yates Financial Columnist

Letters to the Editor can be submitted to Chandler Jones, Editor-in-Chief, at chanj1@uab.edu.

The Kaleidoscope functions as a memeber of UAB Student Media in association with UABTV, BlazeRadio and Aura.

Website: UAB.edu/kscope Twitter @UABkscope Facebook facebook.com/uabkscope/ Instagram instagram.com/ uabkscope/ The Kaleidoscope is produced in the office of UAB Student Media.

Suite 130 Hill Student Center 1400 University Blvd.

Birmingham, 35233 (205) 934-3354

Let’s broaden the focus and think about the economy as a whole. You are not an Econ major? Well, we can learn a few things from the Econ majors when it comes to understanding how the world around us affects our investment portfolio. You can do an outstanding job of researching a company’s past, present and future, but that company does not operate in a vacuum, so to speak.

Firms operate within a given industry and other companies operating in that same industry compete with them for customers, employees and other resources. Firms also operate within a local, regional, national and global economy.

There are specific factors called “economic indicators” that give indications of the future direction of a given economy. In addition, history tells us that when these indicators move in a certain direction, we can expect a specific ripple effect.

Here are a few economic indicators that affect you as an

investor: • Gross domestic product is the total amount of goods and services produced in a given country’s borders. The healthier a country is, economically speaking, the higher its gross domestic product.

In addition, an economically healthy country will have a stable or growing GDP while a struggling country might see its GDP shrink. The World Bank reports that in 2016, the countries with the highest GDP are the United States, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. Healthy and growing businesses drive a healthy and growing economy.

Investors then purchase the stock of these growing businesses. Those stock purchases drive stock prices up resulting in an increase in investment portfolio values.

• Unemployment also signals the strength of an economy. Economically strong countries boast of low unemployment rates. Unemployment and GDP are closely related. As more people with jobs leads to higher economic output. Therefore, when unemployment is low, output is

high making businesses more profitable and stock prices rise.

• Price Indexes measure the changes in common consumer goods and commodities used by firms to produce goods.

Effectively, these indexes measure inflation, which is a rise in prices that is unrelated to changes in technology. Higher prices make it difficult for both consumers and businesses to spend and invest. This can result in lower production, lower investment and lower stock prices.

• Retail Sales measure the ‘pulse’ of an economy. When consumers are comfortable with the economy and its future, they tend to spend more but when times are tight, or people are worried about the future, they spend less. Therefore, retail sales is a measure of consumer confidence. Healthy economies are marked by high levels of consumer confidence. When consumer spending is high, there is a greater demand for goods and services. This drives up GDP and drives down unemployment but may cause an increase in prices as businesses

take advantage of the high demand. Still, a high level of retail sales is good for businesses and therefore triggers higher stock prices.

Keep an eye on the economy so that you can gauge whether it is strong, weak, growing or shrinking. Then, determine how the firms in which you invest react to the various economic cycles.

Some firms produce goods and services that are in demand regardless of the nature of the current economy. However, others like producers of luxury goods do not fare well when consumers are cutting back on their expenditures in a shrinking economy. Still other businesses thrive in bad times.

When you understand the economy and how different firms react to economic cycles, you will have a much better understanding of how economic news will affect your portfolio!

If you have specific questions about managing your money, please send your questions to us at RIFE@uab. edu. You just might see your question answered in the next edition of the Kaleidoscope! Happy budgeting!

CAMPUS

Page 3 November 28, 2017

BENEVOLENT FUND

STUDENT FEEDBACK

Critiquing the professor Daily emails for IDEA appear Sufia Alam Campus Editor

As the end of the semester approaches, the IDEA Course Evaluations survey will slowly begin to appear in each student’s inbox. With one reminder email a day for a week, a student taking 15 to 17 credit hours may receive up to 25 emails total urging the student to complete the survey.

The IDEA Course Evaluations survey gives students an opportunity to provide constructive feedback on the courses they have taken for the semester. Through these evaluations, professors have the opportunity to analyze what students valued and did not appreciate for the course.

“I personally take written feedback quite seriously and have changed the structure of assignments that I give

based on constructive feedback,” said Dale Dickinson, Ph.D. and associate professor of public health.

Although IDEA surveys have been used as a method for professors to receive feedback on their class, it is not the only resource available for students.

“Some other feedback is informal, program directors, chairs and deans often discuss courses and instruction when talking to students,” said Gregg Janowski, professor and associate provost for Assessment and Accreditation.

“The Ruffalo Noel-Levitz student satisfaction survey has questions about instruction, but that data is not instructoror course-specific.”

Although feedback is stressed by professors to learn more about the student’s experience for the semester, some students have expressed their irritation of receiving multiple emails a day to complete the survey.

“I’ve been completing the survey for four years now and I really just don’t see the point,” said Graham Richardson, senior in psychology.

“Even if we all completely destroy a professor because they were horrible that semester, nothing ever changes.”

However, according to Janowski, IDEA Course Evaluations do directly affect professors.

“In units with large

teaching responsibilities, it is generally part of annual evaluations, salary adjustments and tenure or promotion,” Janowski said. “In my past roles and in my home department, faculty who have done consistently poorly have been counseled on improvement strategies. “ Positive consequences are also given to professors who have consistently scored with positive feedback on their surveys.

“Faculty who do consistently well on IDEA as well as other measures of teaching are considered for the internal teaching awards, such as the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching,” Janowski said.

Other professors have also said the reason that they push surveys so consistently is because of the importance of feedback.

“For courses that score low numerically, I have had to meet with my chair and associate dean to review possible reasons why the low scores, and, discuss what I will do to improve the course,” said Dickinson.

Although completing surveys may seem tedious and time consuming to students, completing the survey has proven to benefit both teachers and professor.

Sufia Alam can be reached at sufia@uab.edu

PHOTO BY DAWSON MILES/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Christopher Minnix teaches students freshman writing and advanced composition after receiving feedback through the IDEA survey.

Innovation for the future School unveils building, new programs in 2018 Brittiany Guimond Campus Reporter “The way we and our students see it in the College of Business, is that Birmingham is our classroom,” said Eric Jack, dean of College of Business.

“UAB’s business college is set apart due to our location in a metropolitan area of the state. Every business is an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge.”

For this reason, internships are required for business students to encourage them to take advantage of the opportunities surrounding them in their own community.

“Students come to our college for different reasons, but ultimately stay for the competitive skillset that is provided to them in our programs,” Jack said.

Numbers are growing for the College of Business. With a record year of involvement, the school has a total of over 3,300 students enrolled and over $11 million dollars in funds from alumni supporters going toward the college’s new building to be completed next summer.

“Not to sound cliché, but this will be a game changer,” said Karen Kennedy, senior associate dean of the College of Business. “It’s one of the most exciting things happening right now for us. The building will be the center for not only classes, but also resources such as a career services center as well as innovation labs and team meeting rooms for students to practice business presentations and pitches.”

The building was designed completely with business students in mind and created its layout based on input from alum and student involvement, according to Kennedy.

In addition to new infrastructure, the college is adding new majors and programs, most significantly a major in human resource management and a minor in entrepreneurship.

One program that has recently began is the new undergraduate financial education class which partners with Regions Banking institute and offers basic financial literacy skills to prepare students for life after college, as well as in the community by offering it to schools grades K-12.

“We have been listening to input from the work force to prepare our graduate students to enter it and have been adding programs accordingly,” Kennedy said.

There are also research and extra-curricular opportunities which the business college offers, not only to its own students, but the UAB student population at large. A couple of these are the Blazer Innovation challenge in partnership with Iberia Banking.

This challenge gives

students an opportunity to pitch business ideas and, in return, reward the top qualifiers with rewards as large as $5,000 to foster their idea.

By incorporating these competitions and academic additions to the college, students are engaged to learn in different ways, not just in classroom settings.

Brittany Guimond can be reached at bguimond@ uab.edu.

Students Viral Patel, left, freshman in finance, and Alex Clark, right, freshman in marketing, prepare to utilize all their skill sets in their future years spent at the Collat School of Business.

PHOTO BY LAKYN SHEPARD/PHOTO EDITOR

Campus pantry open to all Blazers Chandler Jones Editor-in-Chief Editor’s Note: A previous edition to this story ran on Page 3 of the October 24th edition of the UAB Kaleidoscope. This story includes clarifications and additional information to that piece.

“It’s hard to focus on your studies when you’re hungry,” Lisa Higginbotham, Benevolent Fund Program Manager said.

Higginbotham lets that drive her work with Blazer Kitchen, the hunger, food-insecurity relief project leg of UAB’s Benevolent Fund. The pantry provides healthy goods to all UAB faculty, staff and students for no cost. Anyone with a valid UAB ID can use the Kitchen. More so, there are no necessary qualifications or criteria to use the pantry.

Higginbotham said that per the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, 26 percent of Alabamians who access food banks are making a choice between food and education.

Blazer Kitchen offers the kind of food that participants can take back to their homes and cook for themselves.

“It’s the partnerships that make Blazer Kitchen possible,” said Tiffany Colburn, AmeriCorps VISTA with the Office of Service Learning and Undergraduate Research.

The Kitchen began as an idea shared by Student Affairs, the UAB Benevolent Fund and nurses with UAB Hospital who were worried for patients access to food.

“With best practices and models, the Benevolent Fund made a leap of faith to help the whole of UAB,” Higginbotham said.

14 months after that initial idea, a world has sprouted around the Blazer Kitchen. A service learning course is piloting a study on usage of the Kitchen to collect data on food insecurity around campus.

“It’s not a them, it’s an us problem,” Higginbotham said. “All a student needs to do is ask for help.”

Furthermore, it serves an opportunity for students to receive first-hand experience of the inner workings of a nonprofit while learning about emergency and temporary qualifications for services ranging from food insecurity to food stamps.

Food Distribution is open Mondays from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. and Thursdays from 3 p.m.- 6 p.m. at the Medical Towers, Suite 100 located at 1717 11 Ave. S. For more information or volunteer opportunities, please visit http://www. uab.edu/benfund/blazer-kitchen.

Chandler Jones can be reached at chanj1@uab.edu and on Twitter @chanjone7.

SPORTS

Page 4 November 28, 2017

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Paradise lost

Blazers participate in Thanksgiving tournament, leave with empty plate Connor Gentry Sports Editor The UAB men’s basketball team traveled to the Cayman Islands to participate in the Cayman Island Classic. The other seven teams that participated in the tournament were the University of Cincinnati, University of Iowa, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Wyoming, University of Buffalo, South Dakota State University and Richmond University.

The Blazers drew the Richmond Spiders for their firstround match-up.

Richmond got out to an early 7-0 lead behind hot shooting by the Spiders. The Blazers missed their first four shots and committed a turnover in the first three minutes of the game.

Richmond led by as many as 18 points during the first half, but the Blazers were able to cut the lead down to 16 points after a steal and dunk by Zack Bryant. The Spiders led 36 to 20 at halftime.

“Give them credit,” said UAB head coach Robert Ehsan.

“They came out of the gates really well, made some tough shots early, really got going.

Offensively, we just really struggled. We shot 4-of-23 from outside the 3-point stripe. A lot of them were good looks, I thought. Because of our lack of offensive productivity, we were unable to get scores, and that gave them confidence.”

UAB’s cold shooting continued for the first two and a half minutes of the second half until William ‘HaHa’ Lee made a jumper for the Blazers’ first field goal of the second half.

Both teams traded baskets and turnovers, but the Spiders held the lead for the rest of the game. The Blazers made a run to cut the lead to as few as six points, but it would not be enough to overcome the deficit.

“We came out in the second half really fired up, Ehsan said. “The frustrating thing was, in the first two minutes, Nick Norton gets a wide-open

PHOTO BY LAKYN SHEPARD/ PHOTO EDITOR UAB freshman Zack Bryant drives towards the basket during the Blazers’ 90-53 win over Mississippi College. Bryant was named to the Cayman Island Classic All-tournament team.

three-pointer, Nate Darling gets a wide-open trey and neither goes down. If one of those goes down, maybe we build on it.”

Both teams scored quickly with the game being tied 5-5 in the first minute and 12 seconds.

Both teams continued to trade baskets until the Bulls were able to take a 19-11 lead.

The Blazers put together a scoring run that allowed them to take a 44-37 lead into halftime.

“I thought we got better from yesterday to today, that was one of the big focuses,” Eh-

san said. “We had some points of emphasis from yesterday. I thought the intensity to start, sharing the basketball, not taking quick shots, especially early in the game, was better.”

The Blazers struck first in the second half on a layup by Norton to push the lead to nine points, but the Bulls went on a 15-4 scoring run to retake the lead. Buffalo pushed to lead to as many as 12 points, but the Blazers stormed back to take a 70-68 lead.

Both teams tried to take control, but the game ended in

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Showdowns out West Lady Blazers play in holiday tournament Sarah Oetken Sports Reporter The UAB women’s basketball team headed to San Francisco to participate in the Hilton Concord Classic.

In the first game, the Blazers battled back in the dying minutes of a heated battle against Indiana University, but could not overcome the double-digit deficit as the Blazers fell 71-63.

Down 59-44 with 6:18 to play, the Blazers closed the gap to 67-61 within two minutes remaining. However, the Hoosiers were able to hold off the Blazers.

“We knew coming into the game that Indiana’s two biggest strengths were their transition offense and their offensive rebounding,” said head coach Randy Norton. “We got hurt a couple of times in transition and we gave up too many offensive rebounds.

Other than that, I thought our girls really battled. We hung in there and gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game.

It was definitely a game that we can build off.”

Deanna Kuzmanic had a career-high 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, 6-for-7 from three-point land and five rebounds. Rachel Childress was able to finish the game with 13 points as well as matching Kuzmanic’s five rebounds. Meanwhile, Miyah Barnes finished with 11 points and a team-leading six assists.

In the second game of the tournament the Blazers took on the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos.

The Blazers made a point to control the glass, outrebounding the Gauchos 37-29. The Blazers also outscored UCSB 32-20 in the paint, which played a huge role in the success on both ends of the floor.

“I thought UC-Santa Barbara came out with a lot of fight and energy,” Norton said. “We challenged our team to go above and beyond their

energy, and I thought our girls really responded. We were able to wear them down. It was a great team win.”

Kuzmanic broke her career high for scoring in her second-straight game with 24 points. Her efforts allowed her to be named to the All-Tournament team.

The Blazers put on an offensive clinic to close out the game, outscoring UCSB 19-6 in the final period for a 67-54 victory.

“This trip was outstanding, from being able to experience San Francisco to the two games that we played,” Norton said. “I watched the Indiana game on tape and I felt like that was a game that we could have won. But learning from that game really helped us out. It was just a great overall experience.”

UAB continues its road trip next weekend when they travel to take on Appalachian State Dec. 1 and High Point Dec. 3. Both games are scheduled to tip at noon.

Sarah Oetken can be reached at sarahoak@uab.edu.

an 82-82 tie.

The Blazers and Bulls squared off in overtime, but the Bulls would not be denied. UAB scored nine points in overtime, but the Bulls scored 14 to win the game 96-91.

“We took five 3-pointers in overtime,” Ehsan said. “Instead of trying to go inside, which is what the game plan was, we took some errant 3-pointers at the wrong time in overtime. I though the shot selection was better overall in the earlier parts of the game.”

Lee fouled out after only having 11 minutes of play time.

UAB played in the seventh-place consolation game against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes took a quick 5-0 lead, but the Blazers responded by cutting the lead to 7-4.

Both teams traded baskets while looking to make a run until the Blazers took a 26-21 lead.

The Blazers were able to push their lead to eight points, but the Hawkeyes responded with a run of their own to take a 49-37 lead at halftime.

“It’s been a trend, unfortunately, that we’ve going to have to discuss and fix,” Ehsan said.

“There have been points where we’ve been up close to double digits and then go down double digits. Not to make excuses, but I thought fatigue, and Nick Norton going out, was a factor at the end. I thought [Cokley] played as hard as he could.”

The Hawkeyes were able to extend their lead to as many as 13 points during the second half, but the Blazers would not give up. UAB tied the game at 60 points each, but it would not be enough.

Iowa held on to win 95-85.

The Blazers left the Cayman Islands without a victory.

The Blazers will face longtime rival Memphis Thursday, Nov. 30, for the annual Bartow Classic.

Connor Gentry can be reached at zcgentry@uab.edu and on Twitter at @Kscope_sports.

FROM THE DESK OF: ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Return ends in paradise, program’s 2nd bowl game Will Harris Asst. Sports Editor

stuck it out at Legion Field.

This season has exceeded my expectations and gives me The two years of rebuildhope for the program with the young talent we have. ing and hard work for this This is a great ending to season have finally paid the season, but there is still off. The Blazers are headed work to be done. This to football in parais only the second bowl dise. After a victory game for UAB ever. on Saturday over UAB played in the 2004 UTEP, UAB secured Hawaii Bowl against the a school-record eight Hawaii Warriors, but wins and finished the lost 59-40. regular season 8-4.

I am confident that On Sunday afternoon, Harris coach Clark and his the team announced staff will have a good game that it accepted an invitation plan for Ohio. This is the last to the Bahamas Bowl. This is game of the year, so there the fourth year of the Bahacan’t be any regrets. It’s time mas Bowl and it will feature to add to the trophy case.

UAB and the Ohio University Coach Clark and the players Bobcats. need to pull out all the stops I, along with many other and bring home a victory for fans, am a little disappointed everyone that fought so hard that the Blazers are not playto get this program back. It’s ing in a closer bowl, but for time to end The Return in the players, coaches, staff and dedicated fans it is truly a per- style. fect gift for them to celebrate Will Harris can be reached at a great season. As a UAB fan willhrrs@uab.edu and on growing up, I went through Twitter @Kscope_sports. some low seasons but always

LIFE & STYLE DOWNTOWN BARBER SHOPS

Page 5 November 28, 2017

TRACK TAKES

The subtle notes in Big K.R.I.T’s new album Alex Jones General manager of BlazeRadio

F PHOTO BY AUSTIN SIMPSON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Charles Hicks works at Talk of the Town in downtown Birmingham, a barber shop where 500 voters were registered during Obama’s election.

Homes of history Iconic businesses connect community Emily Baucum Life & Style Reporter Located in Birmingham are four walls filled with more genuine history than a textbook.

From the outside they may seem like an average storefront or a bi-weekly chore, but, to others, they are considered home.

While the city has put plenty of money into conserving historical civil rights sites, the community has worked hard to maintain a few pieces of history that they hold close to their hearts, the neighborhood barber shops.

The barber shops downtown, near 4th Avenue, have held many stories throughout the decades and welcome new guests with open arms. This area is surrounded by many historical sites, which pull tourists in and was deemed famous during segregation.

The 16th Street Baptist Church, the Civil Rights Museum, Kelly Ingram Park and the path of the Foot Soldiers are just a few examples.

“This is where a lot of people like my grandfather and my dad had to come when they were young,” said Charles Hicks, barber at Talk of the Town. “They couldn’t go up town to Second Avenue or the Pizitz because it was segregated. This area here is the birth of the civil rights.”

Most barber shops sit idle and mind their own, but the employees at Talk of the Town contributed their best effort to make a difference in the country, aside from really good haircuts. Since opening in 1978, Hicks’ favorite memory while working at Talk of the Town was when he and the owner, Mister Jones, registered 500 voters during Barack Obama’s election.

“That night, when he won the nomination, I was there at the victory party,” Hicks said. “It felt good to know that I had helped out in some kind of way. Of all the years I have been down here, that is really the best that I could say I’m proud of.”

Alike Talk of the Town, Etheridge Brothers Barber, a barber shop right around the corner on 3rd Avenue, yearns to provide a safe, comfortable atmosphere for their customers.

They hold true the same values since they opened in 1970. They are about manhood, in that everyone employed is a gentleman. They do not believe in disrespect, do not show profanity and they do not degrade women.

“We want them to have a nice environment, an environment where you can bring your wife, your daughter, your son or whoever you want,” said Willie Etheridge, the owner of Etheridge Brothers Barber.

“Ladies can come in and feel comfortable.”

Every customer is different, with brand new experiences and stories to tell. One of Hicks’ customers, who

frequents Talk of the Town often, once shared that his wife lost one of her eyes on her way to the 16th Street Church when it was bombed. Not only that, but her sister was one of the four girls who lost their lives due to this travesty.

“Her husband comes in here every Saturday to get his haircut, and she sometimes comes in here with him,” Hicks said. “She is a living testimony about what happened because she was there in the church when it happened. Meeting people in here, you can learn the history about what happened way back during that time from people that were there and went through it.”

These barber shops all came into existence because one man practiced a trade long enough to perfect it and deem it profitable. He would eventually work toward a larger goal that would benefit the community and provide a service for those around him.

K.Stone Da Barber, a barber from Etheridge Brothers Barber, gives the most important life lesson he learned growing up. One he followed and would eventually lead him to being a successful barber.

“I would tell any collegiate student, it’s always good to get your bachelors, and what not in college, but, on the safe side, get yourself a trade,” Da Barber said.

Emily Baucum can be reached at emilybau@uab.edu.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

A student’s guide to caffeine Using lattes in your favor during finals without losing your health Kristina Balciunaite Life & Style Editor Staying up late to study for exams is a harsh reality of most students, especially before finals. Caffeine is a popular addition to the typical student’s toolkit.

However, to get the best out of the caffeine and ensure that it does not impact our health in a negative way it is important to be aware of its properties and qualities.

According to Tara Harman, licensed dietitian and the Program Manager of the UAB Department of Nutrition Sciences, coffee can be a part of a healthy diet, but in itself it is not an essential nutrient that the body requires.

Coffee and tea are the main sources of caffeine. The coffee bean plant tends to contain the highest amounts of caffeine, which is also why it is so popular. It boosts energy levels and contains antioxidants, which maintain the health of cells and thus keep the body vibrant.

“The downside of coffee drinks is that people tend to include less healthful ingredi-

ents along with it,” Harman said. “Though they [herbal teas] contain less caffeine than coffee beans, they contain more healthful antioxidants and are less likely to be consumed with an abundance of processed sugars, syrups and heavy cream like coffee.”

Rudy Fowler, barista at The Red Cat Coffee House also warns against over using add-ins in caffeine drinks, as the sugar rush and caffeine alertness are an overwhelming dynamic for some. She also advised to consume coffee accordingly with your tolerance, but pointed out that exceeding six cups could be harmful. The roasting level is also a factor.

“Light roast surprisingly has more caffeine, which makes it better for the mornings,” Fowler said. “Later in the night I’d stick to dark roast.”

Sam Hancock, barista at Octane at Uptown, suggests an iced, flavored latte as a suitable beverage for latenight study sessions, as the milk and syrup dilutes the taste of coffee. This will keep the mind alert, without

LEISHA CHAMBERS/ILLUSTRATOR

impairing the ability to fall asleep.

“More times than not coffee is a flavor thing,” Hancock said. “The flavor will trick the body to think that you’re drinking a milkshake. Milk helps against jitters because it absorbs the caffeine.”

According to Hancock, although the amount of caffeine in a double espresso shot is equivalent to a cup of coffee, the body absorption rate will differ since it relies on the consumption speed. Both will keep you alert for about three hours, but since the espresso shots are consumed quicker, their effect will be faster and more intense as compared to

brewed coffee. The caffeine “crash,” however, is more severe with espresso, since its consumption is so quick.

According to Harman, exceeding three small sized (8 oz) cups of coffee could cause adverse side effects such as headaches, body aches, insomnia, nervousness, irritability, rapid heartbeat and restlessness.

“If you’re using the benefits of caffeine to study for an exam or complete challenging task, this is the last thing you want,” Harman said. “A little bit goes a long way when it comes to staying awake and focused on the task at hand.”

Kristina Balciunaite can be reached at kribal@uab.edu.

or my track takes this week, I’m going to go with an album that was released a few weeks ago, but no one is talking about.

“4Eva Is a Mighty Long Time” by Big K.R.I.T. may be one of the most underrated albums of 2017.

Big K.R.I.T has been one of the most slept on rappers in the game since he came onto the scene, and this album just proves his greatness and that he belongs in the conversation with a lot of rappers who get more radio play.

The Mississippi Native’s junior album is 22 songs split into 2 Jones volumes, and each volume gives a peek into the difference between Big K.R.I.T, his stage name, and Justin Scott, his birth name. The intro to the first volume, which is called Big K.R.I.T., is a conversation between him and Scott, which leads into the hard sounds of the beat and his unbelievable lyrical ability to make one of the best tracks of 2017.

The first volume is essentially the epitome of southern rapping, with bass booming through your headphones or speakers, and his lyrics mesmerizing any listener with songs such as Confetti, Subenstein (My Sub IV) and Big Bank. In this volume, however, he also brings back the smooth 90’s samples with 1999 featuring Lloyd.

The first volume also features guest verses and vocals from southern legends such as T.I., Bun B and CeeLo Green. The transition into the Justin Scott volume is extremely smooth, and it gives insight on who Big K.R.I.T.’s creator is as a human being, the things in the world he holds dear to his heart, and his soulful style as well. Gospel influenced song Keep the Devil Off is one of the bangers of the album, and a song you could probably play in praise and worship at church.

The song Mixed Messages also gives an insight into Scott’s mind as well and why he enjoys singing as much as he does rapping.

The second volume includes features from Bilal, Jill Scott and Kenneth Whalum.This album is one of the top 5 projects I’ve listened to this year.

I believe that K.R.I.T. proved why he is such a force in the rap game and that he can elevate his game after the critically acclaimed Cadillactica album.

The brilliantly picked samples and the strategic track placement shows that he knows what he’s doing.

His production, his flow, his lyrical ability and his energy prove that he should be on the list for best southern rappers and that he should be known as a King Remembered in Time.

Alex Jones (DJ Swole) is the general manager of BlazeRadio and cohost of the DJ & Swole Show which airs every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Page 6

The Kaleidoscope

Football

Moore

On the ensuing UTEP drive, the Miners were held on third down but went for it on fourth down. UTEP quarterback Zack Greenlee faked a handoff and passed to his wide-open tight end Josh Weeks for a 41-yard gain. Two plays later Greenlee connected with Weeks for a touchdown pass to put the Miners up 7-3.

UAB’s struggle to end drives carried into the second quarter as Erdely’s third down pass attempt to Collin Lisa was dropped in the end zone. Vogel added another field goal to cut the UTEP lead to 7-6.

Just as UTEP started to have the momentum, UAB’s Broderick Thomas intercepted Greenlee’s pass and set up UAB at the UTEP 30-yard line.

Three plays later, Erdely passed to Lisa over the middle on a 30-yard touchdown pass. The Blazers went for the two-point conversion and got it on a run by Spencer Brown. UAB took the 14-7 lead that stuck until halftime.

In the third quarter, UAB’s offense spread the field with passes to Xavier Ubosi, Jonathan Haden and Hayden Pittman. The Blazers finished their second drive of the half on an Erdely 11-yard third down run for a touchdown. UAB took the 21-7 lead halfway through the third quarter.

UAB’s next drive started with good field position thanks to Andre Wilson’s 36-yard punt return down to the UTEP 23-yard line. The Blazers were forced to third down again, but Erdely converted with an 11-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Logan Scott to give UAB a commanding 28-7 lead.

UAB and UTEP remained at a stalemate for the remainder of the second half with several three-and-outs. UAB ran out the clock and won by a final of 28-7. With the win, UAB remained perfect at home this year with a 6-0 record at Legion Field. The win also gave UAB their best conference record ever at 6-2 and gave UAB the overall best record in school history at the NCAA Division-1 level.

UAB 8-4, 6-2 in conference, will attend

forward in early November, publishing her accusations in The Washington Post.

According to Corfman, at the time of the assault, she and Moore were on a consensual date, but he touched her and guided her to touch him in ways she did not consent to. Corfman was only 14 years old when the alleged assault occurred. Moore was 32.

Three other women commented for the Post’s pilot article on Moore’s behavior. Aside from Corfman’s account, Moore’s advances did not go beyond kissing.

Another of the initial accusers, Gloria Thacker Deason, revealed that Moore had served her alcohol during one of their rendezvouses. At the time, the legal drinking age in Alabama was 19. She was only 18.

After the four initial allegations went public, at least four more victims came forward.

Moore denied all accusations and even insinuated that they are a calculated political stunt, blaming the National Democratic Party and The Washington Post for attempting to blaspheme him. Campaign reports reveal that none of the accusers have donated to Moore’s opponents in the primary or general elections.

Although denying all accounts of harassment and assault, Moore has admitted to pursuing young women over the

From Page 1

From Page 1

Will Harris can be reached at willhrrs@uab.edu and on Twitter @Kscope_sports.

Alex Jones, General of BlazeRadio, contributed to this article.

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age of 16, the legal age of consent in Alabama.

Like in most cases involving sexual misconduct, evidence against Moore is mostly “he said/she said” testimony. These allegations are corroborated and plentiful, and, although Moore’s campaign has responded with nothing but denial, they may have a critical impact on the upcoming election.

Moore is an unrelenting conservative, and some of the more moderate right-wingers could potentially revoke their support for him because of the controversy.

Blake Cunningham, senior in criminal justice and president of the UAB College Republicans, has planned to abstain from the election since before the allegations arose against Moore. Cunningham abstained from the Republican primary, too, because he said Luther Strange is corrupt and Moore “use[s] a personal belief system to disregard the freedoms of the individual.”

Moore has been removed from the bench of the Alabama Supreme Court twice. First, he initiated the display of, and refused to remove, a monument of the 10 Commandments in the Alabama Judicial Building. Most recently, he disregarded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage and encouraged judges across the state to uphold the ban.

Cunningham said that Moore’s supporters can be sectioned into three categories.

November 28, 2017 Nonbelievers deny the allegations and have become defensive on behalf of Moore, because “they do not trust the media to accurately report the story,” said Cunningham.

They think it is fake news.

To him, supporters’ distrust of the media is valid and well-founded.

However, he said he thinks the outlets’ apparent bias does not necessarily mean the victims’ accounts are false.

“I have no reason to not believe the accusers,” he said.

The believers, another category, support the victims and are scrambling to organize a write-in campaign, according to Cunningham.

Those left in the middle simply need more evidence to make an informed vote this December.

Though Cunningham will not be voicing his opinion in the form of a vote, he proposed that “there needs to be a sense of common decency restored to American politics where we can all agree that bad people should not be in charge of this country.

There is a serious problem when neither party has the ability to call out horrible people in their own party for the sake of winning elections.”

Cunningham said his opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the UAB College Republicans.

Kristina Thoenes, UAB student and self-proclaimed Republican, said that her vote

will reflect what she feels is best for the state, not her party affiliation.

However, her decision to vote for Democratic candidate Doug Jones is not purely a result of the recent controversy.

Thoenes is a fan of Moore, but she will not vote for him because he too strongly supports Trump’s “not so great ideas” about health care and the environment and is “far too politically charged to represent Alabama well in Congress.”

She fears other members of Congress will write off Moore as a religious extremist, and she worries that he will end up representing Trump’s agenda instead of the interests of Alabama.

Olivia Hendrick, sophomore in political science, said the allegations will likely take support away from Moore. However, she said, “[t]he question is whether or not they will then turn around and vote for Doug Jones.”

Because Moore’s fans are “staunch conservatives,” she said, “[t]hey are more likely to not vote at all than to vote for a Democrat.”

According to Hendrick, it is the “establishment Republicans” that will potentially transfer their votes to Jones.

Will Moore survive these allegations? The mystery will be solved Dec. 12 when the general election commences.

Bella Tylicki can be reached at btylicki@uab.edu and on Twitter @_belty_.