Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Serving the University of Alabama since 1894 Vol. 116, Issue 97

1414

Softball goes 4-1 over Softball goes 4-1 over weekendweekend

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P.O. Box 870170 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Newsroom: 348-6144 | Fax: 348-4116 | Advertising: 348-7845 | Classifi eds: 348-7355

Letters, op-eds: letters@cw.ua.edu Press releases, announcements: news@cw.ua.edu

Briefs ........................2

Opinions ...................4

Arts & Entertainment 10

WEATHER todayINSIDE today’s paperPuzzles .................... 13

Classifieds ............... 13

Sports ..................... 14

Partly cloudy

47º/29ºThursday 56º/27ºClear

By Amanda SamsStaff Writer

After CrimsonRide bus driv-ers went on strike Monday to fight for more benefits, high-er wages and maintenance repairs on their buses, a num-ber of drivers went back to work Tuesday.

Ryan McGuire, a junior, said he was excited to see one of his favorite bus drivers, Yorlando Hurl, back on her normal route. The two greeted each other excitedly and began to catch up on current events. In the course of five minutes, another student boarded the bus and exclaimed, “Oh you’re back

today. I missed you.” Some students seem to have a greater appreciation for all of the bus drivers after a day on foot, and some riders even seemed concerned with the outcome of the strike against First Transit. While drivers don’t have any new information on the effec-tiveness of their strike, Hurl said she is optimistic that First Transit is willing to “go back to the bargaining table.” Drivers met with First

Transit officials Tuesday to discuss the dispute. In May 2009, the drivers voted to union-ize under the Amalgamated Transit Union, but First Transit has stalled contract negotiations, union officials said in February, which led to the strike. CrimsonRide bus drivers are not UA employees. They work under contract with First Transit, a transportation

UA CrimsonRide back in serviceA Crimson-Ride bus be-hind GorgasLibrary.

CW | Rachel Hill

See STRIKE, page 2

By Brittney KnoxStaff Reporter

When the magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile on Saturday, the University did not have any students there at the time of the earthquake, said Ben Weaver, overseas student academic adviser at Capstone International. “We have two to three stu-dents that are studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay, which are geographically located on the other side of South America,” he said. Weaver said considering they were far from the epicen-ter of the earthquake, students said they did not even feel the

Study abroad students not harmed by Chilean quakeInternational aid supporting rescue efforts after disaster

By Brittney KnoxStaff Reporter

Months ago, anoyone could drive around some Alabama highways and see flashing lights advertising bingo, but now those lights have been dimmed in areas across the state. State Sen. Hank Erwin, a Republican can-didate for lieutenant governor, spoke on cam-pus about the issue Monday. Erwin said he was opposed to gambling — and many times it comes in the form of bingo. “On Tuesday, the Senate will prepare for an ‘Armageddon’ of the Republicans standing for the rule of law versus the Democrats fightingfor the people’s right to vote,” Erwin said. Erwin said the game of bingo is not illegal, but when the slot machine is attached to the game it makes it a different case. While the Democrats support a statewide vote, Erwin said he opposes that for two main reasons. “The advertising campaign is designed to manipulate the people because it shows all the people who have lost their jobs,” he said. He said they also have not received a large plea in Montgomery from people saying that they want to vote on the issue. “The desire to vote is not coming from the

Erwin speaks on gambling

SGA campaign chalking dominates campus sidewalks

By Jennie KushnerStaff Reporter

Ap p l i c a t i o n s f o r Community Service Center student directors are due today by 5 p.m. Applications for assistant student director are due by March 26 at 5 p.m. Students looking to apply should show that they are passionate about service and engaging others students in service, said CSC Director Wahnee Sherman. She said there are seven student direc-tor positions available, and one to two assistant student directors who will work with the student directors in each of those areas. “Students can help to make a difference in the University community and the Tuscaloosa community by being involved in the

CSC,” Sherman said. “They can take something they are passionate about and engage other students in meaningful service.” Seven positions for student director include acts, youth and education, hunger and

Service center applications available now

CW |John Michael SimpsonSophomore Jessica Webb, who is majoring in elementary education, helps David Simpson, who is running for Arts and Sciences Senate, chalk for his campaign. Campaigning for SGA offi ces began Sunday. Elections will be online on March 9.

• The Community Service Center is accepting applica-tions for student directors.• Applications are due March 26 at 5 p.m.

FAST FACTS

See CSC, page 6

See ERWIN, page 2

APSecretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks with Chile's President-elect Sebastian Pinera, left, at an airport news conference in Santiago, Chile, on Tuesday.

tremors in the ground. “Another student said that he was not aware of the earth-

quake until a few days later,” he said. “We were pleased to know that no student had

been physically affected by

See CHILE, page 9

SPORTSA&ETelepath to perform Telepath to perform

tonighttonight1010

Offi cials plan limited bus service until contract agreement

2 Wednesday, March 3, 2010 NEWS The Crimson White

The Crimson White is the community newspaper of The University of Alabama. The Crimson White is an editorially free newspaper produced by students. The University of Alabama cannot influence editorial decisions and editorial opin-ions are those of the editorial board and do not represent the official opinions of the University. Advertising offices of The Crimson White are on the first floor, Student Publications Building, 923 University Blvd. The advertising mailing address is P.O. Box 2389, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2389. The Crimson White (USPS 138020) is published four times weekly when classes are in session during Fall and Spring Semester except for the Monday after Spring Break and the Monday after Thanksgiving, and once a week when school is in session for the summer. Marked calendar provided. The Crimson White is provided for free up to three issues. Any other papers are $1.00. The subscription rate for The Crimson White is $125 per year. Checks should be made payable to The University of Alabama and sent to: The Crimson White Subscription Department, P.O. Box 2389, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2389. The Crimson White is entered as periodical postage at Tuscaloosa, AL 35401. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Crimson White, P.O. Box 2389, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-2389. All material contained herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise, is Copyright © 2010 by The Crimson White and protected under the “Work Made for Hire” and “Periodical Publication” categories of the U.S. copyright laws. Material herein may not be reprinted without the expressed, written permission of The Crimson White.

ADVERTISING

EDITORIAL

• Drew Gunn, Advertising Manager 348-8995 cwbizmanager@sa.ua.edu• Dana Andrzejewski, Territory Manager 348-8044• Christy Gullett, National Advertising Rep & Assistant Manager 348-2598• Allison Payne, Account Executive (McFarland and Skyland boulevards) 348-8742• Ross Lowe, Account Executive (Northport & Downtown Tuscaloosa) 348-8054• Andrew Pair, Account Executive (UA Campus) 348-2670• Hallett Ogburn, Account Executive (15th Street) 348-6876• Rebecca Tiarsmith, Account Executive (The strip and downtown)• Mason Morris & Chase Addington, New Media Account Executives 348-8045• Emily Frost, Classifieds Coordinator 348-7355• Emily Ross, Creative Services 348-8042

• Amanda Peterson, editor-in-chief • Alan Blinder, manag-ing editor • Avery Dame, metro/state editor • Drew Taylor, admin affairs editor • Lindsey Shelton, student life editor • Jonathan Reed, opinions editor • Steven Nalley, arts & entertainment editor • Jason Galloway, sports editor • Spencer White, assistant sports editor • Brandee Easter, design editor • Emily Johnson, assistant design editor • Jerrod Seaton, photo editor • Katie Bennett, assistant photo editor• Sharon Nichols, chief copy editor • Aaron Gertler, graphics editor

• Andrew Richardson, web editor

NEWS in briefCAMPUS | Jazz ensemble, standards combo to perform chamber concert The UA School of Music presents the Alabama Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Standards Combo in concert on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Moody music building concert hall. UA Director of Jazz Studies Chris Kozak is the director. The program will include pieces by Kenny Wheeler, including “Smatter,” “5 for Six” and “Onmo.” The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call 348-7111.

CAMPUS | Womenʼs Resource Center to host LUNAFEST LUNAFEST, which celebrates its ninth anniversary this year as the only national touring festival of films by, for and about women, will take place in Tuscaloosa for the fourth time on March 9 at 6:30 p.m., at the historic Bama Theatre. LUNAFEST provides a national platform for emerging women filmmakers to share their stories and will serve as the University’s signature event for Women’s History Month.At 6:30 p.m. a silent auction fundraiser and reception will precede the film viewing. Kobe Japanese Steakhouse will provide sushi and Publix will provide desserts along with a performance by Sparrow & the Ghost. The film viewing will begin at 7 p.m. Winners of the silent auction will be announced during intermission.

CAMPUS | Homecoming committee applications due March 5 The SGA Homecoming office is now looking for new committee members to begin planning for next semester. If selected, each committee member will work under an Associate Director to organize an event during Homecoming Week. Applications are available in the SGA office, and they are due to the SGA office by March 5 at 4:45 p.m. Applications can also be sent to ekfloyd@crimson.ua.edu.

CAMPUS | Accepting applications for student art exhibition Enter artwork in the Undergraduate Student Juried Exhibition. This undergraduate competitive exhibition is for all UA students. The juror is Clive King. First prize is $300, second is $200 and third is $100. Submission dates are March 8 and 9 in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery. Entry fee is $5 per submission. The exhibition opens on March 23 and runs through April 2 in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery. Application forms are available in 103 Garland Hall. For more information contact Lowell Baker (lowellbaker@gmail.com).

CAMPUS | Positions available with SOURCE Looking to get real world experience in your field? The SOURCE Board of Governors is currently accepting applica-tions for the 2010-11 directors’ positions. These paid positions all work with programming and assistance for more than 300 student organizations on campus. Students of all levels are encouraged to apply and applications are due March 5 at 4:45 to 355 Ferguson. For more information and applications please go to thesouce.ua.edu. For questions, contact Alex Karagas at 248-6114 or karag001@sa.ua.edu.

WEDNESDAY• Connect the Dots Conference: Grand Hotel, Point Clear, 5 p.m.

CAMPUS this week

Send announcements and campus news to cwnews@sa.ua.edu

For more events, see calendars on Arts & Entertainment and Sports.

By William J. TuckerStaff Reporter

When students vote next week in the SGA elections, no name will appear on the ballot for the vice president of finan-cial affairs. Edward Patton, who cur-rently serves as treasurer for SGA, represented the post at Sunday night’s executive can-didate debate. Though Patton is not an official candidate, to successfully win office, he must win with a write-in campaign. Kathleen Cramer, senior associate vice president of stu-dent affairs, said Patton might meet the obstacles to his write-in campaign. “I think he’ll have to have the voters informed about his platform,” she said, adding that he’ll also have to get out the vote. Cramer said it was her understanding that Patton did not meet the deadline to apply

No candidate offi cially running for fi nancial affairs

as a candi-date. According to SGA o f f i c i a l s , due to a computer and tim-ing error, P a t t o n ’ s a p p l i c a -tion never

reached the advisers. “I sent the application from my computer in the SGA office, through Outlook, last Thursday afternoon,” Patton said. “The ‘write a message’ option only came up, and I was in a rush to get to my finance class. It didn’t go through until after I’d come back from my class.” Regardless of what hap-pened to his application, Patton said it would not derail his cam-paign. Patton said that no one discouraged him from running without having completed the application.

As of now, he is the only candidate running at all for the vice president of financial affairs position. Thereare challenges to being a write-in candidate. “When you think of write in candidates, you think more of Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, and Nick Saban — not real candi-dates,” Patton said. If elected, he said he wants to put financial deals online. “We’ll give the budget to the executive secretary, and we’ll switch the Financial Affairs Committee allotments from paper to online,” Patton said. Patton said he considers the online adaptation and its suc-cessful implementation, among his key issues, as the “biggest one.” “Improving financial trans-parency of all the offices, from external to academic to the office of the president and hold-ing them liable. That’s what putting the budget online will

do,” he said. The vice president for finan-cial affairs deals directly with the financial matters of the University. Proposing and implementing policies regard-ing tuition, student loans, scholarships, work-study pro-grams, improvements to build-ings and roads, and the allo-cation of SGA funds all fit in this category. In addition, the officer serves as chairperson of the Senate Financial Affairs Committee and nominates the treasurer. As far as the vice president for financial affairs’ job next year, Patton said he doesn’t see “any glaring challenges. It’s more a day-to-day job, with awarding the funding to differ-ent organizations.” That leaves the challenges, then, in his write-in campaign. “Fortunately, I was able to go to the [first SGA] debate, and obviously, I need to get enough votes,” he said.

Edward Patton

STRIKEContinued from page 1

people. It is coming from desper-ate gamblers who want gam-bling deemed legal,” he said. Erwin said many of the alleged economic benefits of gambling are a scam, saying that for every $1 that gambling makes, $3 go out of the state. “If you take one slot machine and leave it there for the day, it can make about $150, so imagine if you have 6,000 on your prop-erty,” he said. Erwin said this issue should be important to students and graduates because it will be the compelling issue of the time. UA College Republicans hosted the event. Jeff Elrod, a freshman majoring in political science, said he stays up-to-date on issues and has developed his own opinion about the matter. “I have worked with Erwin since August, so in hearing him speak it has helped to strength my views,” he said. Elrod said he decided to sup-port Erwin because he wanted to elect someone who would bring back the type of government the people deserve. “Alabama has been ranked the fourth most corrupt state in the nation, and I wanted to sup-port someone who would change the way things have been in the past,” he said. Jesse Ochocki, a senior major-ing in political science said he has been working on Erwin’s campaign since August and has learned a lot about the issue of gambling as well as politics. “I didn’t know that the slot machine was a component that made the bingo halls illegal,” he said. Ochocki said the marketing campaigns for gambling that portray the angle of the job loss does not show the real issues. “In my time spent with Erwin I have gained a lot of experience, and learned a lot about how poli-tics works,” he said.

ERWINContinued from page 1

THURSDAY• Diversity and the Communication of Information Symposium: Bidgood 34, 9 a.m.

company. The University pays First Transit $55 an hour per

driver, and each driver receives only $9.50 of that amount. While Hurl said that while she had hoped a different course of action could have per-suaded First Transit to take the bus drivers seriously, she was supportive of the strike. Hurl said the bus drivers deserve proper compensation for their professionalism and work ethic. “I can’t speak for everyone, of course, but most of the driv-ers try to be courteous and pro-fessional and give good quality service to get students where they need to go,” Hurl said. “Most of us are concerned with getting students to class as effi-ciently and safely as we can.” Bus driver Darvi Beale par-ticipated in Monday’s strike, along with an estimated 80 percent of the staff, and said he seemed confident that the results would be favorable. “We not getting satisfaction

as it is today,” Beale said. He said he hopes to attain a fair contract with benefits and hopes that First Transit will agree to compensate the driv-ers for the essential focus and discipline it takes to drive a motor vehicle safely. However, he mentioned that if a favor-able compromise cannot be reached, he may be looking for additional work. Beale said the current pay of the Crimson Ride drivers is poor in comparison to the sal-ary of other drivers in the coun-try and really does not match up at all. “It’s embarrassing,” Beale said. “My family has had to cut back on everything — traveling, shopping, and any unnecessary spending.” Because Beale’s wife is unable to work due to illness, he said all of the bills are falling on his shoulders. “We’re already going

through the recession. And now? Demolition,” he said. In addition, Beale said he trusts that the management team, along with First Transit, will reach a solution that is fair. Beale said he doesn’t want a battle between First Transit and the CrimsonRide drivers, because he said that it doesn’t make sense. “We are all supposed to be playing for the same team,” Beale emphasized. In the meantime, both Hurl and Beale reiterated how muchstudent support means to their cause. They said they appreci-ate all of the concern and care about their well-being and are simply hoping for the best pos-sible outcome. Due to ongoing negotiations, the University has temporar-ily cut their services with the CrimsonRide and will only be operating five buses until the drivers union and First Transitreach an agreement. The rest ofthis week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the CrimsonRide buses will only be operating the Coleman/Quad Express route and the Blue Express Route. From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., the buses will operate its regular routes on Perimeter North, Perimeter South and Crimson.

The Crimson White NEWS Wednesday, March 3, 2010 3

By Patty VaughanSenior Staff Reporter

Sixteen always has been a difficult age, but for Blaise Finnegan, passing his driving test was only the beginning. Now a UA freshman major-ing in mechanical engineer-ing, Blaise and his sister, Madeline Finnegan, who is a freshman at Huntsville High School, were both diagnosed with Fanconi anemia and aplastic anemia, which are diseases of the bone marrow and blood that can often lead to acute myeloid leukemia. Blaise found out when he was 16 years old and two months after his sister was diagnosed. “She started feeling sick, so she went to the doctor,” Blaise said. “They took a blood count, and they found out that she had the disease. When I got tested, I also found out that I had it too.” Blaise said he used to play soccer in high school, but he had to eventually quit his junior year. The doctors told him and his sister that they could not be a part of any physical sports because they bruise so easily. Even though he is unable to take part in aggressive sports, he is able to partake in other activities at the University. Blaise is a member of Pi Kappa Phi, which recently teamed up with Chi Omega to put on a bone marrow registry drive in

Freshman faces rare bone marrow disease

honor of Blaise and his sister. Along with his member-ship in a fraternity, Blaise is a member of Crossing Points, which is collaboration between the UA’s special edu-cation and multiple abilities department in the College of Education and the Tuscaloosa City and County School Systems, according to their Web site. “[Even] with the limitations, I have gotten to be part of the Make-a-Wish foundation and got to go to UFC 101 back in August in Philadelphia to be front row at the fight and meet everyone there so there is also a plus,” Blaise said. Phillip Dean, a sophomore majoring in finance and a member of Pi Kappa Phi, said he has enjoyed getting to know Blaise and his situation. “It has been a very inspir-ing situation meeting and get-ting to know Blaise,” Dean said. “When I heard we had an incoming freshman who had been having chemotherapy, I was immediately concerned and worried. After meeting Blaise a few times, I got to know him and more comfortable with his condition. I think of him as any other brother, now.” Blaise said his family con-nection has only gotten stron-ger with time while he and his sister continue to fight the disease that they both have. “I feel that our relationship together has definitely gotten

closer because we have some-thing in common that not a lot of brother and sisters have to go through the same illness together,” Blaise said. “We joke around about the topic sometimes with too.” While both of his parents are carriers, no one in his immediate family matches he or his sister for a bone mar-row transplant. “My blood count is gradual-ly getting lower,” Blaise said. “We don’t need a transplant right now, but they check our blood count every month, and if it gets to a certain time then that’s when we need to do it.

It might not be for another year, or it might be just a few months. But they say usually within the next year or two.” After the success of the bone marrow registry drive, Dean said he and his frater-nity brothers would like to do anything to help Blaise’s fam-ily. “It is hard to imagine such a happy, healthy looking kid is actually slowly dying on the inside,” Dean said. “Blaise is a great young man. He is a wonderful addition to our fra-ternity and we will forever do what we can to help him and his family.”

Submitted photoBlaise Finnegan and his sister Madeline both have rare forms of anemia.

By Phillip RawlsThe Associated Press

M O NT G O M E RY — Proponents of electronic bingo mustered enough votes Tuesday to put their bills on the Alabama Senate’s work agenda, but they’ll have to wait to see if they have enough votes to pass the legislation. The Senate voted 19-16 to place two bingo bills on the agenda for this week. Then the lawmakers adjourned until Wednesday morning. That’s when the Senate will face cru-cial procedural votes that will require proponents to collect 21 votes if they want to keep their bills moving through the Legislature. A proponent, Senate Rules Committee Chairman Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, said the pro-cedural votes weren’t taken Wednesday because negotia-tions are ongoing. “There are still two or three major issues we are trying to work out with members to have the 21 votes we need,” Barron said. “I firmly believe that if we address every concern we will build the kind of voting coalition needed to pass this bill,” said Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, who is sponsor-ing the bingo legislation. The electronic bingo issue has dominated the 2010 legis-lative session since it began

APState Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, talks with reporters in the foyer of the Alabama Senate Chamber in Montgom-ery on Tuesday, about two electronic two bingo bills he is sponsoring.

Alabama Senate puts electronic bingo on agenda

Jan. 12, but Tuesday was the first vote on the floor for either the House or the Senate. The vote came as the Legislature began the second half of its session. Proponents must get their bills moving through the Legislature soon, or face the prospect of them dying like the bingo legis-lation did last year. One of the bills would allow three closed casinos, VictoryLand in Shorter, Country Crossing in Dothan, and White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County, to reopen without the fear of raids by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

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OPIN

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S

Wednesday, March 3, 2010Editor • Jonathan Reed

letters@cw.ua.eduPage 4

WE WELCOME YOUR OPINIONSLetters to the editor must be less than 300 words and guest columns less than 800. Send submissions to letters@cw.ua.edu. Submissions must include the author’s name, year, major and day-time phone number. Phone numbers are for verification and will not be published. Students should also include their year in school and major. For more information, call 348-6144. The CW reserves the right to edit all submissions.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Amanda Peterson EditorAlan Blinder Managing Editor

Jonathan Reed Opinions Editor

“[The bus] was really packed, but it wasnʼt

that bad to me.”

— Joe King, junior, mechanical

engineering

“It really didnʼt be-cause I donʼt ride the

bus.”

— Emily Buckner, junior, nursing

“It didnʼt really”

— Mykel Williams, sophomore, pre-pharmacy

“I had to walk all day, so that wasnʼt fun. It made me late

for class.”

— Olivia Robinson,freshman, secondary

education

“It didnʼt really affect me at all. I mean, I never ride the bus. I gave up on the buses

freshman year.”

— Brett Blackburn,sophomore, civil

engineering

YOUR VIEW { }

Find new company

OUR VIEW

In short: If First Tran-sit cannot come to terms with drivers on a new contract, UA should considerfi nding another company to run its buses.

{

By Josh Veazey

Franklin Roosevelt has always been the undisputed ninth-grade answer to how this country escaped the Great Depression and how it has maintained economic stability since. However, consider-ing our country’s current position in the most devastating crisis since the 1930s, examining what F.D.R. did wrong may be more helpful. In 1934, Roosevelt met with John Maynard Keynes, the British economist whom many consider to be the father of modern macro-economics. Roosevelt had already taken unprecedented steps to use public money to create jobs, put government in control of energy systems and subsidize farming. Keynes, however, insisted that Roosevelt do more. Keynes’ nascent idea, not yet accepted by many mainstream economists, was that in a reces-sion, government must run a defi-cit to keep people employed, create demand, and prevent social misery. This was directly contrary to the two-century-old assumption that supply creates its own demand, and that the free market would eventually bring any system into equilibrium. If the government did not work to ensure that people spent and invested more than they hoarded, businesses would con-tinue to cut back, and the depres-sion would deepen as no one made a profit. Roosevelt criticized Hebert Hoover during the election for run-ning a deficit during a recession, and he rejected most of Keynes’ advice. (Apparently, their exchange left Keynes very unimpressed with the venerated leader. Roosevelt complained about Keynes’ “rigma-role of figures,” and Keynes said that he had expected the leader of the free world to be “more literate,

economically speaking.”) Roosevelt held back, and the depression deepened. Finally, in 1938, he announced that the gov-ernment would spend money it didn’t have to make “additions to the purchasing power of the nation.” The national debt climbed to unprecedented percentages of GDP, the country almost doubled its productivity as it braced for war, and unemployment dropped from 17 percent to just over 1 per-cent in five years. A year ago, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, its epic attempt to create and save demand. By every reputable measurement, it has worked considerably. I.H.S. Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’sEconomy.com have all estimated that the bill has added at least 1.6 million jobs so far, and that its ultimate impact will be around 2.5 million. The Congressional Budget Office considers these estimates to be conservative. Critics complain that this is little bang from a bill that added $787 billion in debt to a nation recently bruised from TARP. But consider two things. First, most economists agree that to maximize effectiveness, the money spent should have been around $1.3 trillion. The bill was initially near that, but was then scrutinized and shaved down by Republican naysayers who never intended to vote for it in the first place. Second, less than half of the money has been spent. Among the programs that haven’t reached full stride are programs that will build and rebuild infrastructure, a long-overdue necessity that played an essential part in helping us survive the Depression. This week, Congress faces two

important steps in the march back to the black. The first is renew-al of unemployment benefits. Expenditures of the working class and the poor are a huge part of the demand equation, because they are people who, when given money, can’t afford to hold onto it. It gets injected right back into the econo-my through grocery shopping, gas and essential items. The worst aspect of our reces-sion is that it affected those with less education and prospects in staggering disproportion. A Northeastern University study shows that the bottom tax bracket of society is at 50 percent unem-ployment. The one right above them is at 37 percent. The second, and more contro-versial, step is the “jobs bill.” It’s the second stimulus bill. I know it sounds counterintuitive to go even further in government interven-tion when we have the world’s larg-est private sector working for us. But, as New York Times columnist Peter Goodman points out, the three industries that usually pull us out of a recession – automo-biles, homebuilding, and banking – aren’t leading the way this time. Big banking is in fact essentially returning to the same games of derivatives and crappy-mortgage-camouflaging that helped cause the crisis. Public debt is no small problem. And government can’t ultimately take us completely out of a reces-sion and into the front of an upcom-ing industrial race with China. But doing nothing means years of stag-nant GDP, which also contributes to debt, and at this point, just like in 1938, there’s no silver medal for doing this half-ass.

Josh Veazey is a senior majoring in telecommunication and film. His column runs on Wednesdays.

By Michael Wofsey

A recent Crimson White editorial suggested that the U.S. needs more nuclear power since coal and oil are bad choices. Why do the shortcomings of coal and oil mean that we have to replace them with some-thing worse? It’s like suggesting we install pet tigers to kill rats. Over half of the power used in our country is to heat, cool and move air and water. We could reduce this by using low-tech solutions like fiberglass insu-lation and passive solar heating, cooling and water heaters. This would be a lower-cost alternative to nuclear power with similar results. It’s cheaper to close the window than turn up the heat. Coal, oil and nuclear are all antiquated power sources. Unlike nuclear, coal and oil are understood, with an existing, profitable infrastructure. We should stick with them while we develop the next generation of low-entropy power: solar, wind, wave and geother-mal. The energy industry claims that solar will never be able to power our society, but the sun deposits about 50 kilowatts of power on an average home roof, and we’ve seen thin-film technology (similar to the kind used to make solar panels) deliver cheap flat-screen televisions. Should we believe that we are incapable of harnessing solar energy when many of us have seen boats and cabins fully run by solar panels? We should not even consider nuclear power as the “environmentally correct” choice until we acknowl-edge that nuclear waste from the 1970s is still sitting in drums and open ponds. The editorial claims that nuclear materials from power plants would not be a good target for terror-ists because terrorists could “just steal some of our already made nuclear warheads sitting around from the Cold War.” This statement is pure nonsense, as the U.S. Military protects nuclear warheads, while nuclear waste is often only lightly guarded. This waste, potentially exploited in ‘dirty-bombs,’ is a gen-uine threat. We cannot encourage rogue nations to end their nuclear ambitions while we hypocritically add nuclear power capacity. The better option is for us to end our use of nuclear power and focus on low-entropy power. There is talk of recycling nuclear waste as a pan-acea to the problems, but current methods convert tons of spent fuel into concentrated sources that are potentially easier to steal. Nuclear power seems like a clean power source as long as you ignore the radioactive waste it generates. Accidents like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island seem relatively rare because nuclear power is still relatively rare. Accidents happen and well-designed machines malfunction. Do supporters of nuclear power believe that more nuclear plants in the U.S. will not increase our chances of a catastrophic accident? Is the U.S. willing to allow other countries like China and Japan to beat us in the industrial develop-ment of solar power? Will we instead invest in anti-quated, problem-plagued power sources like nucle-ar? The obvious alternative is to go solar and build a future for our children without potential nuclear disasters.

Michael Wofsey is a graduate student in physics.

It took a day of strikes to get First Transit to finally accept the fact that drivers were serious about demands for higher pay and better benefits. It shouldn’t have even taken a strike in the first place. Workers have recently spent plenty of time trying toget the company to come to the bargaining table, andthe threats of a strike became a reality Monday. It wasnot spontaneous: First Transit was well aware thatdrivers would strike if not recognized, and it ignoredthem anyway. The reduced bus service on Mondaywasn’t the fault of the workers and it wasn’t entirelythe University’s fault. It all could have been avoided ifFirst Transit had merely sat down with workers. The strike only lasted one day. Once First Transitrealized that workers were willing to fight, theyoffered to talk. They didn’t have to make concessions to avoid thisstrike. They didn’t have to pay drivers $15 an hour. Allthey had to do was listen, but they refused. When First Transit refused to listen, students paidfor it. Not only did an abbreviated bus system meanmore people had to walk everywhere, the Universityneeded to use its vans and personnel to assist.Students are paying the salaries of those UA employ-ees who drove those vans, and that is in excess of whatstudents were already paying for First Transit. The fact that the entire strike could have been avoid-ed by the simple courtesy of talking to workers showsthat First Transit is not putting much emphasis theinterests of its workers or UA students. First Transit’sfirst priority is to run an effective bus system aroundthe University of Alabama, and allowing workers tostrike and cripple service is not the way to fulfill thatresponsibility. When workers complain, the companyshould not give them the cold shoulder. It should pullout a chair at the bargaining table. If First Transit is going to put power ahead of itsresponsibility, UA offiicials should find a company torun the transit system that will put enough emphasison doing its job that it will at least sit down and listento workers before letting a strike cripple the system.They don’t have to give in to workers’ demands. Theyjust have to hear them.

Our View is the consensus of The Crimson White’s edi-torial board.

Case for second stimulus

Solar power a better option than nuclear

By Tray Smith

The youngest member of the Alabama State Senate, 29 year-old Marc Keahey, has undertaken a great task. Early in February, he introduced the Alabama Bingo Control Act, which would let voters decide whether or not to legalize electronic bingo in the state. Keahey is working with Sen. Roger Bedford, who has proposed similar legislation, to get a compro-mise version of their two bills to the floor of the Senate for a vote. Then the bill must be approved by the statehouse before finally going to the voters in November. Only after a majority of the state’s electorate votes to approve the plan will it become law. Keahey says he may never play the games his referendum would legalize. His goal is to simply allow the people to have a say on the issue. In a Democracy such as ours, his is not a radical notion — except in Montgomery, where Republicans fear a gambling amendment on the ballot will increase Democratic voter turnout in elections this November. Theirs are the usual objections: gambling does not offer a sustain-able source of revenue for the state, causes social problems that cost taxpayer dollars, hurts communi-ties, and is morally wrong. “A lot of people who oppose gam-bling,” Keahey retorts, “tell me they support my bill because they want to be able to vote on the issue.” He continues, “It doesn’t matter wheth-er you are for or against gambling.

This is about letting the people decide.” To Republicans, though, it does matter. Polls show the voters of the state support legalizing some gam-bling activities, and if put on the bal-lot, such a referendum would likely win easily. The bills Bedford and Keahey have put forward for public refer-endum would legalize only elec-tronic bingo machines, the devices that have caused such controversy around the state over the past year. At issue is whether the machines, which are connected together in rapid-style bingo games, are slot machines, which are illegal, or games of bingo, which aren’t. Other forms of gambling, such as card tables, would remain prohibited. Keahey’s bill would also regulate and tax gambling businesses. It would establish eight “points of des-tination,” including six gambling facilities currently under operation and two more to be determined by a commission. Each gambling devel-oper would be forced to spend at least $100 million to construct their enterprise, with at least $50 million going to non-gambling facilities like hotels and restaurants. No more than eight gambling facilities could be opened statewide. Operators would have to pay a 28 percent tax on their revenue, and vendors would have to pay a 20 per-cent tax on the money they collect from the machines they provide to bingo halls. Currently, no gambling taxes are levied on any of the profits made by electronic bingo, and the state gets

no revenue as a result. If passed by voters, Keahey’s bill would not turn Alabama into a casi-no Mecca on the scale of Las Vegas, or even Mississippi. However, because Alabamians already cross state lines to gamble in droves, it would keep more of their money, and the jobs and taxes that come with it, instate. Seeing as the state already deals with the social cost of gaming, allowing it to reap the financial benefits seems like a sen-sible solution. Not to Governor Bob Riley, who last year created the task force that has pushed gambling legislation to the forefront of the legislative agen-da in Montgomery. For the past year, that task force has raided bingo halls around the state. Currently, a number of them remained closed, and thousands of people remain out of work. In this effort, the Governor and his allies in the legislature appear out of step with Republicans nation-wide. In Mississippi, for instance, Governor Haley Barbour has not disrupted the lucrative gambling operations on the coasts of his state. In Florida, Governor Charlie Crist reached an agreement with the Seminoles to allow a casino on their reservation. Yet, the Governor remains deter-mined. So in this period of high unemployment and proration, the number one issue in Alabama is B-I-N-G-O!

Tray Smith is a freshman major-ing in economics. His column runs biweekly on Wednesdays.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Let voters decide on Bingo

HOW DID THE CRIMSON RIDE DRIVERS’ STRIKE AFFECT YOU?

By Drew TaylorAdministrative Affairs Editor

There are millions of Americans who suffer from some form of pain, whether it is joint, head, or other pains. However, Robin Rogers, a profes-sor in the chemistry department at the University, has worked with a team for the past two years in developing a liquid-based aspirin. Rogers said the solution has boundless potential for pain man-agement, including its own applica-tion. “This might allow this drug to be delivered more effectively through the skin than ingested orally through the stomach,” Rogers said. Starting in 2007, Rogers and a small team of post-doctoral and graduate students began collabo-ration with Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has held dual appointments there since then, returning to the United States in August 2009. Unlike most drugs, which are composed of crystal salts, the new pharmaceutical is composed pri-marily of liquid salts, also known as ionic liquids. “We put the proposition to the scientific community that there was no need for the salt to be solid,” Rogers said. “We’ve been arguing that there are unique, therapeutic benefits to having a pharmaceuti-cal in the form of a liquid salt at room temperature.” Rogers said he has been involved in the field of ionic fluids for near-ly 15 years, and that one specific aspect of the field is how it is quick-ly attracting professionals from various fields. “My role has been to better understand these systems and to look where they might find inter-esting application,” Rogers said. Rogers said because the aspi-rin is liquid-based, innumerable opportunities abound for it, such as a gel, cream or patch.

“I believe the commercial oppor-tunities will come from some unique aspect of the liquid salt form that you simply can’t get any other way,” Rogers said. Dan Daly, director of the Alabama Institute for Manufacturing Excellence at the University, part-ners with Rogers in a UA-based company called 525PM, which deals specifically with pain man-agement. Specifically, Daly is con-fident that this liquid aspirin, as well as other products put out by the company, have immense poten-tial. “We think the technology is extremely exciting and has lots of attributes,” Daly said. However, Daly said the product needs one thing most is a company that can stand behind it in support. “What we’re hoping to do is find a pharmaceuticals or drug com-mercialization partner that would join together with us in these vari-ous stages of testing,” Daly said. Due to the various phases of testing and research, the process of becoming funded and commer-

cially viable can take between twoto three years. “When you start something likethis from a fundamental discovery,it’s a long hard process,” Rogerssaid. “It can pay off in the end, butto be entrepreneurial takes a lot ofeffort.” Daly maintained that though theprocess toward becoming commer-cial is long and grueling, he stillbelieves the liquid aspirin productcan make the rounds and reallybecome interesting to potentialinvestors. “One exciting aspect is that it canoffer a pharmaceutical company abrand new novel compound with 20years of patentability,” Daly said. Daly said there will be meetingwith potential investors known asAIME Day, where various pharma-ceutical companies will be meetingwith investors, pitching presenta-tions and networking. AIME Daywill take place April 5. With everything happening soquickly, Daly remains confident. “I think we’ll have several suc-cess stories,” Daly said.

The Crimson White NEWS Wednesday, March 3, 2010 5

COVERING CAMPUS HEALTH, WELLNESS AND NUTRITION

By JoLee Seaborn

Have you ever heard the phrase, “You’re not an alcoholic until you graduate?” That sums up the way a lot of college students think about drink-ing. When people are in college, many think they are immune to the damage that alcohol, and lots of other drugs and risky behaviors can cause their bodies. Students blame the freshman 15 on the dining halls and being away from the meals that Mom made. They completely ignore the 15 calo-rie-loaded alcoholic beverages they’re having every weekend. I’ve heard girls talk about calorie-free alcoholic drinks that they drink to keep from gaining weight. There is no such thing. If a drink has alcohol, it has calories. Most people don’t realize how many calories alcohol actually has. Fat, the most calorie-dense nutrient, has nine calories per gram while carbohydrates have four calories per gram. Alcohol follows pretty closely behind fat with seven calories per gram. One shot of whiskey has almost 150 calories and that’s before it’s mixed with Coke. A five-ounce glass of wine has about 130 calories. The calories in alcoholic beverages add up very quickly, and people tend to lose count of the calories, as well as the number of drinks they have had, as they drink more. Drinking too much alcohol causes more damage to your body than just your waistline. Heavy alcohol intake will lead to liver damage. As the liver is damaged, fat begins to build up on it causing fatty liver or hepatic steatosis. Fatty liver is reversible if the heavy drinking stops. If heavy drinking continues, however, liver cells will begin to die and scar tis-sue will build up on the liver. Buildup

of scar tissue on the liver causes irre-versible hardening, or cirrhosis, of the liver. One alcoholic drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men may decrease your chances of developing cardiovascular disease. That doesn’t mean that if you don’t drink all week and have seven drinks on Friday night you can still decrease your chances of getting heart disease. It doesn’t work that way. Exceeding the recommended num-ber of drinks even by just one may cause damage to your liver. It also increases your chances of developing almost every type of cancer. One standard drink can be a 12-ounce beer, a five-ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits or liquor. Having more than one a day for women and two drinks a day for men is considered heavy drinking. The recommended number of drinks per day for mean and women is dif-ferent because of the average woman weighs less than the average man. Another reason is that women pro-duce less of the enzyme alcohol dehy-drogenase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down alcohol in your body, than men do. Because women produce less of this enzyme than men, women cannot break down alcohol as quickly as men. Alcohol builds up in women’s bodies and affects them more strongly. The average college student drinks about 1.5 drinks a week. Students who engage in binge drinking, drink-ing four or more drinks in a row for women or five drinks in a row for men, consume about 14.5 drinks a week. Being a college student won’t pro-tect you from the damage that exces-sive alcohol intake causes your body.

JoLee Seaborn is a senior majoring in nutrition. Her nutrition column runs on Wednesday.

COLUMN

Alcoholism: More effects than you think

UA professor helps develop liquid aspirin

Aspirin: A wonder drugA new study found that people with a genetic predisposition to colon cancer can reduce their risk of getting the disease by taking aspirin daily, adding cancer prevention to the list of ills aspirin treats.

A long history

FDA-approved uses Sales

© 2009 MCT

Ancient Greeks used willow bark, which contains a substance similar to acetylsalicylic acid, to relieve pain

In 1897, chemist at Bayer processes acetyl-salicylic acid

aspirin launched

In 1914, new way to make aspirin found after war disrupts trade

Used to ease fever, aches from flu

Bayer’s patent runs out; aspirin becomes generic drug

California doctor notices that men who take aspirin avoid heart attacks

Kid’s chewable aspirin first sold; later, kids told not to take aspirin to avoid Reyes’ Syndrome

Apollo astro-nauts take aspirin to the moon

Scientists discover how aspirin works; get Nobel prize in 1982

attack, stroke; prevent recurrent episodes

account for about one-fifth of U.S. over-the-counter drug sales

$2.4 billion

FDA proposes aspirin use to treat heart attack, stroke

used to prevent heart attack

Aspirin found to lower risk of dementia, some cancers

1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

Source: Bayer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Healthcare Products Association Graphic: Pat Carr

Avoid aspirin if you have ...

blood thinners

All graphics from mctcampus.com

NS0

3029626

6 Wednesday, March 3, 2010 NEWS The Crimson White

By Katy TurnbullStaff Writer

The UA Office for Academic Affairs has created the Capstone Inspiring Educator Award to recognize Alabama high school teachers who helped to equip and to motivate current UA students to achieve their academic goals. “We want our students to have the opportunity to look back over their careers before they came to the University of Alabama and look for teachers that may have encouraged them along the way and helped them achieve their goals in coming to a major university and being successful,” said Janet Griffith, assistant provost in the Office

for Academic Affairs. Students graduating from the University in May 2010 can nominate a high school teacher who positively influenced their lives, and although the award is currently only open to Alabama high school teachers, in coming years UA plans to expand the award to allow students to nom-inate teachers from any state, according to Griffith. Griffith said the University has been looking into creating such an award for quite some time and hopes student partici-pation will be high. “We have learned from look-ing at other programs, that this type of recognition is not as widespread for high school teachers as we would like it

to be,” Griffith said. “In some cases they are kind of unsung heroes and we wanted to take this opportunity to recognize them for that reason as well.” Students who wish to nomi-nate a teacher must fill out an application, which graduating students have or will receive via their University of Alabama e-mail, and submit a 250-word essay about why that student believes his or her teacher should be recognized as an out-standing educator. Griffith said that the essay topic was intentionally left vague to provide all students the opportunity to nominate all types of high school teach-ers for all kinds of reasons. The deadline to submit applications

is March 29. In early April, a committee of UA students, faculty, staff and other high school teach-ers will evaluate submissions and announce the winners. The selected teachers will then receive a plaque and be hon-ored at UA commencement activities May 8, 2010 where they will be able to reunite and interact with the students who nominated them. Callie Koepsel, a UA senior from Mountain Brook major-ing in international business, said she thought the Capstone Inspiring Educator Award offered a great opportunity for students to reflect on how far they have come and recognize those who helped them along

New award honors high school teachers

the way. “After you are on your own for four years in college, you sometimes don’t remember that it took a lot of help and a lot patience from a lot of other people to get you here,” Koepsel said. “Of course, you always remember to thank your parents and your family,

but teachers also have a lot to do with your growing up and the shaping of who you are today. I think graduation is the perfect time to recognize the teachers who did put in that extra time and effort to really make an impact on someone’s life, and they definitely deserveto be honored for it.”

• The University will honor selected high school teachers at commencement.

• Nominations for the award are due by March 29.

FAST FACTS

By Bob JohnsonThe Associated Press

MONTGOMERY — Republican Gov. Bob Riley has joined with a House Democrat to ask the Alabama Senate to take up a campaign reform bill that has been stalled in a Senate com-mittee for more than a month. Riley had a news conference Tuesday with Democratic Rep. Jeff McLaughlin of Guntersville to urge the Senate Economic Expansion and Trade Committee to vote on McLaughlin’s bill. The leg-islation would ban the trans-fer of campaign contributions from one political action com-

mittee to another. McLaughlin said that trans-ferring money from one PAC to another is often a way of hiding campaign contribu-tions and makes it difficult for voters to track who is financ-ing a candidate’s campaign. “The people of Alabama want to end the shell game of money laundering campaign contributions,” McLaughlin said. Since being first elected in a special election in 2001, McLaughlin, a Harvard-educated lawyer, has made the PAC-to-PAC ban a major legislative goal. Riley has also made the ban a goal and has

frequently mentioned it in his annual “state-of-the-state speeches.” The House passed the bill 101-0 in the opening days of the session but it’s been stalled in the Senate Economic Affairs Committee since then. The bill has passed the House almost every year since McLaughlin was first elected to the House in 2001. Most years it has died in the Senate without coming up for a vote. Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, the acting chairman of the Senate Economic Expansion and Trade Committee, said he plans to schedule a hearing for

McLaughlin’s bill, but he said he has not sensed a lot of pub-lic interest in the issue. “I’ve had almost no feed-back from citizens on that bill,” Sanders said. McLaughlin said it’s frus-trating to him the bill has not passed, because legislative leaders from both parties have endorsed the idea. “On the campaign trail they say they are for it. No one has come up to me and said ‘I real-ly want to kill your bill,’” he said. If the ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers passes, it would not take effect until after the 2010 elections.

By Errin HainesThe Associated Press

ATLANTA — Four months after Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter was elected presi-dent of the civil rights group he co-founded, the organiza-tion is in a tailspin and she is silent on why she hasn’t taken the helm. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference has been fractured by infighting and a federal investigation. Agents recently raided the Ohio chapter’s headquarters and the home of the SCLC’s national chairman, who faces accusations of financial mis-management. In Georgia, Fulton County prosecutors have also launched a formal investigation into the Atlanta-based organization’s financial affairs. Through it all, the Rev. Bernice King — who was elected SCLC president Oct. 29 — has said nothing. She has yet to take over, and the inter-im president she is replacing has already left. With no one to speak on the group’s behalf, observers say the long-declining SCLC is weaker than ever. “J. Edgar Hoover is in his grave, shouting and celebrat-ing,” said Tyrone Brooks, a

Bernice King silent as SCLC faces uncertain future Rev. Bernice King, talks dur-ing an inter-view in Atlanta.Months after the daughter of Americaʼs most revered civil rights icon was elected to lead the group he co-founded, the organization is in a tumultuous tailspin and she is keeping her silence.

AP

Georgia state representative and longtime SCLC member, invoking the name of the FBI director who kept tabs on the SCLC for years. “The organiza-tion he tried to destroy is now being destroyed by the very people who claim to love it and love the legacy of Dr. King.” Amid the turmoil, the man-agement functions continue to limp along. The executive board mem-bers met last week at the SCLC’s Dayton, Ohio, branch office and reiterated their support for the organization’s embattled chairman and trea-surer. A compliance officer and an acting administrator are man-aging the day-to-day opera-tions. Three longtime SCLC board members have been appointed to sign checks for the time being. SCLC activists still demon-strate, speak and use lawsuits to confront racism in soci-ety. However, the SCLC, once the driving force behind the peaceful disobedience of the

civil rights movement, gradu-ally gave way to other orga-nizations and faded from the headlines in the decades since the death of its most famous founder. Those loyal to King and his vision have continued to keep the SCLC going — if only because they could not bear to lose the last symbolic tie to the civil rights patri-arch. To some observers, the youngest King would do well to keep her distance from the SCLC’s current woes. “No new president should come in with this kind of mess,” said the Rev. Timothy McDonald, a friend of the King family who worked for the SCLC under its longest-serving president, the Rev. Joseph Lowery. “It is in her best interest to lay low until some of this can get cleaned up. Then she can come in with a clean slate,” said McDonald, now pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta. Bernice King, an ordained

minister, is the second child of Martin and Coretta Scott King to take on a leadership role in SCLC. Her brother, Martin Luther King III, was president from 1998 to 2003 and remains a member of its the board of directors. Bernice King’s spokeswom-an, De’Leice Drane, said King was not available for com-ment. Voicemails left on the phones of each King sibling this week were not returned. Their father helped found the SCLC on Valentine’s Day in 1957, and was its leader until his assassination in 1968. When Bernice King was elected SCLC president in

October, she said she could not assume office before the spring because of prior engagements and commit-ments. “I stand before you as a daugh-ter of the civil rights movement calling forth the daughters and sons of the next generation of social change,” King said on the day she was elected at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her father preached from 1960 until his death.

“J. Edgar Hoover is in his grave, shouting and celebrating. The organization he tried to destroy is now being destroyed by the very people who claim

to love it and love the legacy of Dr. King.”

— Tyrone Brooks

{ }

Governor urges action on PAC-to-PAC ban

homelessness, civic engage-ment and outreach, volunteer/freshman outreach, special projects, alternative break, public relations and market-ing. Requirements for student director include attending bi-weekly CSC staff meetings, spending 85 percent of time on personal projects and 15 per-cent supporting student direc-tors’ and office initiatives, said CSC intern Alison Leach, a graduate student studying higher education. Student directors also receive $150 per month. Leach said they are required to work 10 hours, and assistant

CSCContinued from page 1

student directors are required to work five hours. “We are really looking for anyone and everyone, we want someone who wants to give back to the UA community,” Leach said. “We have many focus groups for students to get involved.” Leach said ideally the CSC is looking for students with public speaking and organiza-tional skills, all qualities that will improve with the position. Leach said criteria to apply include at least a 2.5 GPA with good academic standing. Students also must complete an application that includes several essay questions and undergo an interview process. All positions last for one year. “I first applied at the CSC because I wanted something

that included leadership skills and volunteer opportunities,” said Charlotte Brown, a sopho-more majoring in marketing and Hunger and Homeless Week coordinator. “Working here has helped me iden-tify my passions in life, and it allows me to implement my ideas that I have in order to make a positive impact on the community.” “I hope that students who care about the community and want to help make our com-munity stronger and make an impact here will want to be part of the CSC staff for next year,” Sherman said. “We want to have strong leaders who are passionate about service be part of this outstanding team.” “Working with the CSC is applicable to any field and it’s

valuable experience for stu-dents because it helps develop as a person and it builds lead-ership skills,” Leach said. “The main thing is we want to make sure students have a place where they can give back and really show the UA community what we can do for them.” Travis Mozingo, a senior majoring in marketing and CSC student assistant, said after three years of working at the CSC, he has had a positive experience. “You always know what’s going in the community and know of all the volunteer opportunities,” he said. “It’s so easy to talk a walk down to the river to help clean up and it gives you a positive feel-ing knowing that you helped someone out.”

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The Crimson White NEWS Wednesday, March 3, 2010 7

By Hannah MaskStaff Reporter

The University’s New College partnered with the David Mathews Center for Civic Life to host a conference designed to teach democratic ways to deal with everyday life situa-tions. Connect the Dots will last today through Saturday in Point Clear and is open to all students, teachers and other faculty members, according to a UA news release. The conference will feature workshops such as “Preserving Free Speech and Civil Discourse on Campus: Student Rights and Responsibilities,” “Organizing Public Deliberation Programs” and “Sustained Dialogue,” according to the news release.

Lane McLelland, internship coordinator for the Mathews Center for Civic Life, said the workshops will benefit stu-dents who wish to encourage broader public participation in on-campus and local com-munity issues, but students who attend the conference are not required to attend every workshop. Instead, they may choose to attend the workshops they think will be most helpful to their personal endeavors. “All of these workshops are designed to be interactive skill development experiences in working with the public, on campus and off, to increase capacity for sustainable action on challenging community problems,” she said.

“The conference goal is to provide a forum for students learning about how to embed democratic practices in their everyday work and lives. These practices include public dia-logue, deliberation, problem solving and action.” Leaders for the work-shops will include members from groups such as the Policy Consensus Initiative, the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation. “These [leaders] are among the most well-known research-ers and practitioners in the field,” McLelland said. “Having their support has allowed us to offer this first gathering of stu-dent skill-building workshops

with those who are doing some of the most effective work in communities across the nation.” Though the conference is available to anyone who wish-es to attend, McLelland said it is more specifically geared toward students. “No one has ever offered this particular opportunity for stu-dents interested in deliberative democracy efforts to gather, network and learn from each other,” she said. Since school is in ses-sion three of the four days of Connect the Dots, it will be left up to individual professors to determine whether a student who misses class to attend the conference will be penalized. But McLelland said professors

New College conference teaches Democracy• Connect the Dots Conference

• The conference includes workshops that will focus on democracy and orga-nizing public discussions.

FAST FACTS

are encouraged to take into account the valuable informa-tion students will be receiving by attending. Some registration scholar-ships will be provided as there is a $150 registration fee, which McLelland said was greatly reduced for students. “The hotel accommodations have also been greatly dis-

counted to make lodging at the conference more affordable forstudents,” she said. For more information about Connect the Dots, call 348-2642 or e-mail info@mathews-center.org. The conference schedule and details about registration can be accessed at mathewscenter.org/2010_stu-dent_conference.

CW | Rachel HillFrom left, Ben Baxter, Wesley Vaughn, Ian Sams, Michael Niezgoda, Crystalline Jones and Michael Barnes discuss issues that have happened during President Barack Obamaʼs term at a forum hosted by Phit Beta Sigma and Collegiate Politicians.

Panel discusses issue in Obama’s first year

By Michael WarrenThe Associated Press

CONCEPCION, Chile — Chile’s president defended herself Tuesday against charges of government incompetence in a disaster that not only shat-tered lives and property but challenged the nation’s very identity. A society built on pride in its wealth and orderliness found itself suddenly facing gangs of rioters, a wounded economy and a shaken sense of civic responsibility. A government that sent 15 tons of food and medicine, a search and rescue team and 20 doctors to Haiti after the earthquake there found itself seeking emergen-cy aid from other countries. In Lota, a former coal mining town of 30,000 along the heav-ily damaged coast, Mayor Jorge Venegas said Tuesday that a “psychosis” had taken hold. A gas station went up in flames, gunfire rattled through the night and residents guard-ed streets against roaming bands of looters, he told Radio Bio Bio. He said 2,000 homes had been destroyed, thousands were living in the streets and people were wielding guns, iron bars and long sticks to protect their possessions. “It’s urgent that the army reach our city,” Venegas plead-ed. “It’s a collective hysteria,” said Francisco Santa Cruz,

APA soldier stands next to a fi refi ghter truck in Concepcion, Chile, Monday. The government sent soldiers to Concepcion and or-dered a nighttime curfew to quell looting after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday.

Post-quake chaos, looting wounds Chile’s pride

20, an aid worker caring for 56 families in a camp for the newly homeless in San Pedro, across the Bio Bio River from Concepcion, the biggest city in the quake zone. Like Venegas in Lota, Santa Cruz said he heard gunfire throughout the night.

“They used to call us (Chileans) the jaguars of South America,” he said, using Chilean slang for proud and strong. “But now we know that we’re not even close to that.” President Michelle Bachelet was on the defensive against a storm of claims that the government’s response to the disaster was a failure. La Tercera, an influential daily, said the looting and vio-lence showed “incomprehen-sible weakness and slowness” by authorities. El Mercurio, a conservative publication many consider Chile’s paper of record, called on President-elect Sebastian Pinera, who takes office March 11, to “restore hope” to Chile. The government on Monday imposed an 8 p.m-to-noon cur-few and sent 14,000 troops to Concepcion and surrounding areas to stop widespread loot-ing — after virtually every market in the city had been sacked. On Tuesday the curfewwas extended to begin at 6 p.m.

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8 Wednesday, March 3, 2010 NEWS The Crimson White

By Amanda BayhiStaff Reporter

The University renewed agreements with Microsoft and Adobe for professional programs at a reduced price. Christina Frantom, direc-tor of public relations for the Office of Information Technology, said UA faculty and staff members have access to the Microsoft and Adobe programs for business purpos-es. According to the Microsoft Campus Agreement Program Guide, institutions can enroll in a Student Option, which would allow students to use the programs in the agree-ment.

However, the UA Help Desk Web site states that UA does not offer either of the profes-sional programs for student use. “Students may purchase Microsoft products from the University SUPe Store,” Frantom said. Then UA Help Desk Web site also stated that the Microsoft programs include Microsoft Office, Microsoft operat-ing system upgrades, Visual Studio, SharePoint Designer, Core Client Access License Suite, and SQL Server CAL. The agreement with Adobe only offers Adobe Acrobat Pro. According to Microsoft.com, Visual Studio is a program that helps build applications

UA renews agreements with software companiesfor the Web, for Windows, and for databases. SharePoint is based on FrontPage and allows users to design Web pages. Core Client Access License Suite allows users to connect to a Microsoft server, and SQL Server CAL is a license distri-bution management service. Frantom said the University entered into the agreements with Microsoft and Adobe in May 2006. Frantom said offi-cials renewed the agreements in May 2009. Frantom said each subscription lasts one year. Frantom said that the University gets continuous upgrades throughout the year without having to wait until the renewal date. In addition, Frantom said

each individual UA college can decide whether it will par-ticipate in the Microsoft and Adobe agreements. “All colleges and depart-ments have the option to initially enroll in these pro-grams,” Frantom said. Frantom said the agree-ments are beneficial to the entire campus. Frantom said faculty members have access to programs that have become standard for doing business, and the agreements help fac-ulty members because they do not have to buy the soft-ware themselves. Frantom said although students cannot use the programs, the agreements are beneficial to students.

Frantom said the University saves money, and the stu-dents see that money show up later with tools such as mobile apps, eLearning, and similar services. Frantom said the price each school pays to use the soft-ware varies. According to the Microsoft Campus Agreement Program Guide, Microsoft bases the pricing for the programs according to the number of faculty and staff in each col-lege. Frantom said she is not sure how Adobe determines the prices for its products. Frantom said the sav-ings provided with these agreements are substantial

when compared to what the University would have to pay outside of the agreements. Frantom said it is com-mon for software manufac-turers to offer agreements similar to UA’s agreements with Microsoft and Adobe. Frantom added that manufac-turers often offer corporate packages, educational pack-ages, and other similar pack-ages. According to the Microsoft Campus Agreement Program Guide, the Microsoft agree-ments are only available to nationally accredited higher-education institutions, and the software discounts are not available to businesses such as hospitals.

By Darleen SupervilleThe Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Sounding a familiar clean-energy theme, President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced details of a proposed energy rebate program he hopes will spur demand for insulation and water heaters — and jobs for hurting Americans. Obama said the administra-tion’s “HOMESTAR” program would reward people who buy energy-saving equipment with an on-the-spot rebate of $1,000 or more. He cast the idea as one that would save people money on utility bills, boost the economy and reduce American dependence on oil.

The plan would take the approval of Congress. “When it comes to domestic policy, I have no more impor-tant job as president than see-ing to it that every American that wants to work and is able to work can find a job,” Obama said at Savannah Technical College, in a state where the unemployment rate tops the national average of 9.7 per-cent. “That was my focus last year and that is my focus this year,” he said, “to lay a foundation for economic growth that creates jobs.” He appeared in Georgia three days before the govern-ment releases the February unemployment report. Speaking to the many peo-

ple looking for jobs, Obama said he knows “it’s tough out there.” The administration is hop-ing the energy rebate plan could become as popular as last year’s Cash for Clunkers money-back program for autos. Consumers would col-lect immediate rebates for buying insulation, water heat-ers or other equipment to make their homes burn energy more efficiently. Various vendors, rang-ing from small, independent contractors to national home improvement chains, would promote the rebates, give the money to consumers and then be reimbursed by the federal government.

President Barack Obama meets students as he tours the Youth Build Program at Sa-vannah Technical College in Savan-nah, Ga., Tuesday, March 2, 2010.

AP

Obama spells out plans, rebates for energy effi ciency

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By Glen JohnsonThe Associated Press

BOSTON — Once and possibly future Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney says in a new book that President Barack Obama’s international outreach efforts during his first year in office have been “kin-dling” to the “anti-American fires burning all across the globe.” In a wide-ranging policy book none-too-subtly titled “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness,” Romney says the Democrat’s efforts to reconcile with foreign powers, Muslims and others angered by President George W. Bush’s administration have weakened the country’s stature instead of enhancing it.

“And of all people, we should expect our president to under-stand these things, to expect that his bonds of affection for our country would be obvi-ous and unbreakable,” writes Romney. “In a world composed of nations that are filled with rage and hate for the United States, our president should proudly defend her rather than continually apologize for her.” He writes: “There are anti-American fires burning all across the globe; President Obama’s words are like kin-dling to them.” The Democratic National Committee disputed that assessment. “In the last elec-tion, the American people over-whelmingly rejected a radical foreign policy authored by Dick Cheney and wholeheartedly

By Mark ShermanThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court suggested Tuesday it will strike down U.S. cities’ outright bans on handguns, a ruling that could establish a nationwide own-ership right fervently sought by gun advocates. But the justices indicated less severe limits could survive, continu-ing disputes over the “right to keep and bear arms.” Chicago area residents who want handguns for protection in their homes are asking the court to extend its 2008 deci-sion in support of gun rights in Washington, D.C., to state and local laws. Such a ruling would firmly establish a right that has been the subject of politi-cally charged and often fierce debate for decades. But it also would ensure years of legal challenges to sort out exactly which restrictions may stand and which must fall. Indeed, the outcome of the Washington lawsuit in 2008 already has spawned

hundreds of court chal-lenges, including one in Massachusetts over a state law requiring gun owners to lock weapons in their homes. Two years ago, the court announced that the Constitution’s Second Amendment protects an indi-vidual’s right to possess guns, at least for self-defense in the home. That ruling applied only to federal laws and struck down a ban on handguns and trig-ger lock requirement for other guns in Washington, a city with unique federal status. At the same time, the court was careful not to cast doubt on other regulations of firearms. The court already has said that most of the guarantees in the Bill of Rights serve as a check on state and local laws. Still, “states have substantial latitude and ample authority to impose reasonable regula-tions,” said Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was among the majority in the 2008 decision. “Why can’t we do the same thing with firearms?” he asked.

By Randolph SchmidThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The post office is renewing its drive to drop Saturday delivery — and plans a rate increase — in an effort to fend off a projected $7 billion loss this year. Without drastic action the agency could face a cumula-tive loss of $238 billion over 10 years, Postmaster General John Potter said in releasing a series of consultant reports on agency operations and its out-look. “The projections going for-ward are not bright,” Potter told reporters in a briefing. But, he added, “all is not lost ... we can right this ship.” Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., chairman of the Senate sub-committee with oversight authority over the Postal Service, called on Congress to give the post office the flexibil-ity to deal with its future needs. “In light of the serious finan-cial challenges facing the Postal Service, postal manage-ment must be allowed to make the business decisions they need to stay competitive and viable in the years to come. As we have seen, it is not produc-tive for Congress to act like a 535-member board of directors and constantly second-guess these necessary changes,”

APLetter carrier Kevin Pownall gathers mail from the back of his truck in Philadelphia, Tuesday. The U.S. Postal Service is increasing the pressure for dropping Saturday home delivery as it seeks to fend off massive fi nancial losses.

prepared for an earthquake. While there are many Chileans still without food and shelter, the government is sending out troops to help provide aid, the Associated Press reported. Other South American countries are also helping to provide aid, such as the basic necessities for the citizens. Countries such as Brazil and Argentina rushed to assist after the earthquake. “After this earthquake, I don’t anticipate it affect-ing student’s ability to study abroad in Chile in the future,” Weaver said.

CHILEContinued from page 1

APFormer Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in Wash-ington.

In order for a student to be prohibited from visiting a country it has to be deemed unsafe by the United States when they issue a travel warn-ing, he said. “Also the providers for the program have to suggest that we do not send students over there,” he said. Some students from Chile come to the University to study at the English Language Institute, and there was one male student here. “We had a Chilean student that finished the ELI recently and he went back home,” he said. “After the earthquake,

we were thankful to hear that he and his family were safe.” As Chile seeks internation-al aid after this natural disas-ter, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton flew to deliver aid on Tuesday. According to the AP,Clinton said the U.S. is “ready to help in any way” that Chile requests and they plan to send water purification sys-tems and a mobile field hospi-tal with surgical capability. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Chile also needs temporary bridges, cash donations to buy food and medicine and generators.

In comparison to the recent earthquake in Haiti, Weaver said the death toll is lower in this instance because Chile was more structurally this earthquake.”

Romney accuses Obama of wrongly apologizing for US

adopted by Mitt Romney that alienated our allies, embold-ened our enemies, depleted

our resources, distracted our focus and made the nation less secure,” said DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan. “What’s sorry is that Romney doesn’t think that deserves an apology. The president, on the other hand, has repaired much of the damage done by these failed policies, rebuilt our capacity to fight terrorism around the world, and kept our country safe,” Sevugan said. Romney kicked off his book’s marketing campaign Tuesday with a blitz across the TV dial, starting with NBC’s “Today” show, where he gave Obama an “F’’ for his first year rather than the B-plus the president recently gave himself. The former Massachusetts governor then moved to ABC’s “The View” and Fox News

Channel’s “Hannity” before concluding on CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman.” Fellow Republican and poten-tial 2012 White House rival Sarah Palin was booked as a guest on NBC’s competing late-night program, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” During the next two months, Romney’s book tour will take him to 19 states, the District of Columbia and across the bor-der to Toronto, where Palin recently promoted her own book. His itinerary reads like a presidential primary sched-ule, with stops in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, Missouri and Nevada. Romney’s 323-page tome is less personality-driven than Palin’s book, “Going Rogue.” Instead, it reflects on why

great societies have declined and suggests ways to improve the U.S. economy and restore its military and diplomatic might so it remains both a superpower and an indepen-dent arbiter of freedom around the world. “I don’t wish challenges and hard times on this nation, even though I believe they have made us the country and people we are today. But nei-ther do I fear them,” writes Romney. “My sole concern is that Americans will choose not to act, not to face our challeng-es head-on, not to overcome them.” Among the challengesRomney wants to confront is national health care, though not with the same plan outlinedby the president.

Postal Service’s emerging model: Never on Saturday

Carper said in a statement. Frederic V. Rolando, presi-dent of the National Association of Letter Carriers, also urged Congress to provide the post office with “financial breathing room,” but he opposed elimi-nating one day of delivery.

“I do not believe that weak-ening our commitment of six-day service to the public will enhance the long-term position of the Postal Service as a criti-cal element in our nation’s eco-nomic infrastructure,” Rolando said.”

As Americans turn more and more from paper to electronic communications, the number of items handled by the post office fell from 213 billion in 2006 to 177 billion last year. Volume is expected to shrink to 150 billion by 2020.

Justices may extend gun owner rights nationwide

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPage 10 • Wednesday,

March 3, 2010Editor • Steven Nalley

smnalley@crimson.ua.edu

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

• Acoustic Night: Sparrow and the Ghost and special guest Deadfingers: Bama Theatre, 7:30 p.m.

• Visual Arts Achievement Awards Exhibit: Bama Theatre Junior League Gallery 5:00 p.m.

• Alabama Jazz Ensemble: Moody Music Building 7:30 p.m.

A&Ethis weekend

By Tori LunaStaff Writer

A new sound will be rocking through the Jupiter Bar and Grill this Wednesday night. The band Telepath is set to bring their multi-layered sound to the stage in Tuscaloosa for the second time since playing The Mellow Mushroom a year ago. Telepath is a three-member band out of Asheville, N.C. The band is comprised of key-boards, bass and drums. The band came to be in 2007, and was started by the keyboard player, Michael Christie. “We were all living in the Asheville area and got togeth-er,” said Curt Heiny, bass play-er. “We all started playing and it worked.” According to the Telepath’s MySpace page, the band strives to be a unique new expression in the current live and electron-ic music scenes. They aim to provide the listener an environ-ment for creative thought and unrestrained emotion. Some of the band’s musical influences come from Arabic and Jamaican sounds. The band also features dubbed-out effects that make for great dance music. Telepath hopes that their unique sound brings together people and cultures that may be thousands of miles apart. “We are trying to bring some-thing new to the table,” said Heiny. Telepath’s first album, “Fire One,” peaked at No. 7 on the CMJ music charts, which is an industry specializing in inde-pendent and college music. The album stayed there for four weeks. Telepath’s latest album, “Contact,” came out in September 2008. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Telepath keyboardist Michael Christie and features nearly 20 guest musicians and singers. The 12-track CD is available on iTunes. The album has received many popular reviews. “Contact takes live band-based electronica a step beyond, utilizing the distant sounds of

Telepath returns to town• What: Telepath

• Where: Jupiter Bar and Grille

• When: Tonight at 10p.m.

• How much: Tickets are $8

IF YOU GO ...

Above:Bassist Curt Heing performs during one of Telepathʼs shows

Left: The band members of Telepath perform tonight for the second time in Tuscaloosa.

myspace.com/telepathmusic

the Middle East, India, West Africa and Jamaican dub to get the listener’s brain flowing and feet moving,” said Stratton Lawrence, music review col-umnist for the Charleston City Paper. The band has had many accomplishments since being together. They have played the Red Rock Amphitheatre in Denver and also got to play in Jamaica at an event called Caribbean Holiday. “One of the biggest accom-plishments of Telepath, I think, is the fact that we get to do what we love for a living,” Heiny said. Telepath will play at the Jupiter Bar and Grill tonight. Tickets are $8 and can be pur-chased on Jupiter’s Web site or by calling 866-468-7630.

The Crimson White ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Wednesday, March 3, 2010 11

By Drew Taylor Administrative Affairs Editor

The new CD released by Doobie “Doghouse” Wilson, aka Alan Lane, a UA chemical engineering professor, turns out to be a good mix of songs that, while they sometimes veer into corny territory, create a feel-good mood. In actuality, I did a review for Wilson’s last CD, “One More Time,” back in August 2008, and was very sur-prised by how much I actually enjoyed what I was listening to. Wilson’s new album, “Too Wet for Comfort,” was no exception. Ideally, what Wilson wants to do with his music is simply have fun. Yes, some of these songs have the potential to have their own spots on “Schoolhouse Rock” (“Savin’ Room for Dessert”), but what makes the songs that much better is how he performs foot-stomping music to simple subjects, like having to get up for work in the morning after a long night’s gig (“PhD’Licious Theme”).

Where else can you hear a country/funk fusion song? Outside of “Cheatin’ On Your Man,” probably nowhere. (That’s your cue, musicians). However, the acoustic numbers are where Wilson shines the most,

emphasiz -ing that all

you need is a guitar and microphone to make music. After all, didn’t Bruce Springsteen record a little gem called “Nebraska” in the basement of his house with a mic, a guitar, a harmonica and an eight-track? Tracks like “She’ll Fly Away,” a song about a father watching his daughter grow up, stick out for its simple, yet articulate, guitar work and singing. Listen to “Hallelujah,” which established Leonard Cohen as a songwriter’s songwriter and trans-formed Jeff Buckley’s career from a struggling New York musician to one of music’s tragic “what could have been” stories, and you’ll see there’s a lot that Wilson has to offer. And like many musicians worth their salt (or at least think they’re worth their salt), Wilson pays hom-age to feel-good music of yesteryear. If it hadn’t been for the name embed-ded in my memory, I would have thought some of the songs were done by the likes of J.J. Cale or anyone else Eric Clapton has covered. In that same vein, there’s a lot with “Too Wet for Comfort” that could eas-

ily translate to J.J. Cale’s 2007 collab-oration with Clapton, “The Road to Escondido,” my current aural obses-sion. Is this the best record I’ve ever heard? No. Could I find anything else better than this? Far from it. Is it one of the better recordings I’ve listened to in a while? Maybe.

After listening to “Too Wet for Comfort,” I came up with two conclu-sions — you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to make something mem-orable, and, above all else, you don’t have to take yourself too seriously for your music to be appreciated. For that, Mr. Doghouse, I thank you.

Professor’s music makes things funny, bluesy

CW critic’s rating:

Bottom line: “Too Wet for Comfort,” although cheaply done and not concerned with anything too serious, is a fi ne example of Wilson’s best work — a foot-stomping good time.

‘TOO WET FOR COMFORT’

Oscars sometimes lead way for social changeBy Peterson Hill

There have been some groundbreaking years at the Academy Awards. 2005 was memorable, with one of the first movie that ever became popular about homosex-uality. 1968 is known as the moment new Hollywood and old Hollywood converged.

Sometimes Hollywood is on the precipice of social change, bringing these issues to light. Certainly the cause of same-sex marriage was helped by the film “Brokeback Mountain,” and Elia Kazan’s “On the Waterfront” showed the horrors of the McCarthy era of politics. The Academy Awards some-times falter when it comes to social change, though. There have only been four females in the history of this award show who have been nominated for Best Director. Kathryn Bigelow, who direct-ed this year’s film “The Hurt Locker,” is also the only female who has ever had a real chance of winning. Her direction is actu-ally likely to win her an award come Sunday night. The fact that only four women have been nominated is some-thing that makes the Academy’s panel, which is often seen as progressive, lose some credibil-ity. Along the lines of directors, this year Lee Daniels, who directed “Precious,” is making two Oscar firsts. On one hand,

he is the first black director to ever direct a movie that has been nominated for Best Picture. Imagine that. Spike Lee, who has brought us some of the most compelling cinema of the past 25 years, has never had a film that has been nominated for Best Picture. I do believe that the Academy Awards are some of the most exciting three hours of televi-sion of the year. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that I will have my eyes glued to the screen for every minute. What makes this night so interesting is that it highlights films most people aren’t likely to see. If “The Hurt Locker” wins Best Picture this year, it will be the lowest grossing film to ever win the award, and I think it this is the best film of the past year. A movie benefits from this type of publicity. Audiences hate touching movies about the Iraq war, but receiving a nomination for Best Picture is likely to bring more viewers to this film, which is a great thing. Movies such as “An

Education” also benefit from this type of exposure. These two films barely performed at the box office, but they are two of last year’s best, and it is wonder-ful seeing them get nominated. Every once in a while, though, the Academy’s voting body does something remarkable. Nearly 70 years ago, Hattie McDaniel became the first black actor or actress to ever win an Academy Award. Though she went on to win Best Supporting Actress, McDaniel wasn’t even invited to the premiere of the film “Gone With the Wind” because of the color of her skin. The Academy showed that they could be more progressive than the movies they honored. Like many Americans, I will be huddled in a crowded room with other people who love to see great movies given the acco-lades they deserve. So, here’s hoping the Academy can usher in a new era of winners with the win of Kathryn Bigelow.

By Jennifer PeltzThe Associated Press

NEW YORK — Lil Wayne was ready Tuesday to go to jail, but his court date went up in smoke. While the rap star was head-ing to his sentencing after pleading guilty in a 2007 gun case, a fire shut down the courthouse and postponed the already-delayed proceeding. Having braced to start up to a year behind bars, he was unhappy about the postpone-ment, said his lawyer, Stacey Richman.“Once you make up your mind to do something, you want to do it,” she said. The sentencing may be

Sentencing for Lil Wayne postponed due to court fi re

rescheduled for Wednesday, though court officials were still scrambling to determine Tuesday afternoon when Manhattan’s main criminal courthouse could reopen after the smoky basement blaze. It left eight people with minor injuries and forced about 1,000 to flee the building. The Grammy Award-winning rapper is expected to get a year-long jail term after pleading guilty in October to attempted criminal possession of a weap-on. He admitted having a loaded gun on his tour bus when it was stopped after a Manhattan show in July 2007. If he’s back in court Wednesday, he could cross paths with fellow platinum-selling rap-per Ja Rule, arrested separately on a gun-possession charge after playing the same concert. Ja Rule, known to the court as Jeff

Atkins, happens to have a court date Wednesday; he has pleaded not guilty. Lil Wayne, 27, was initially due to be sentenced and start his term last month, but the date was pushed back so he could have surgery on his gem-stone-encrusted teeth. He had bid a drawn-out adieu to friends and fellow artists, including a Rolling Stone coverstory last month and a video blitz this past weekend. He said in a video clip sent Monday to MTV News that he shot footagefor seven music videos with various artists in one night over the weekend. Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Carter, has been one of the genre’s most prolific, ubiqui-tous and profitable figures in recent years. His “Tha Carter III” was the best-selling album of 2008.

REVIEW

The new CD by Doobie “Dog-house” Wilson was re-leased in February.

Myspace.com

Peterson Hill is a senior in New College. His column runs on Wednesday.

COLUMN

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12 Wednesday, March 3, 2010 SPORTS The Crimson White

By Tony Tsoukalas Staff writer

Alabama’s men’s track and field team finished seventh at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., over the weekend. The Crimson Tide came away from the meet totaling 47 points, which was the most the team has earned in the meet since 2006. In the SEC, finishing seventh means the team is on par with some of the nation’s top teams. “It is always very mislead-ing,” coach Harvey Grant said. “It’s a tough conference. It’s like a pre-NCAA meet. You can have top notch performances and still not make a final.” Due to the tough competi-tion within the conference, the Tide may have seen a sneak peek at what the NCAA Indoor Championships will look like in two weeks. Many of the run-ners the Tide was up against

will also compete in nationals. “It was just like racing in the national championships,” Glance said. “In the 60-meters, you had probably eight of the top 12 sprinters in the coun-try.” Kirani James proved to everyone once again that he is one of the nation’s fast-est at 400 meters, coming in second and posting a junior world record. James, who ran a slower preliminary time, was placed in the slower of the two groups and did not race head to head-to-head against the world leader and eventual win-ner, University of Georgia’s Torrin Lawrence. “It was a split race,” Glance said. “It will end up showing in the results that he [Kirani] came in second place, but he won his section by six or seven meters.” The Tide will travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Alex Wilson Invitationals this weekend in what Glance is calling the

team’s “last chance meet.” For the Tide, the meet serves as an opportunity for athletes who are on the border to post quali-fying times for nationals. “We got three event that we are shooting at; I call them our three bullets,” Glance said. “The 800-meter with Fred [Samoei], the 4x400 and Tyson [David] in the 5000-meter. If we can just get one of those bullets it will increase our individual chances at All-Americans and also our team’s chances at scoring points.” Even though the Alex Wilson Invitational is only one week before nationals, Glance said he plans to go all out in order to get as many athletes to qualify as possible. Though the many of the Tide’s athletes will not have the luxury of a week off before nationals, Glance said he is not concerned. “Sometimes a week off will help people and sometimes it hurts people,” Glance said. “It depends on your preparation, and we always been very care-ful on how we prepared.” Glance said that he was opti-mistic on the team’s chances going into nationals, saying all his athletes need to do is get there “Anything can happen once you get there,” Glance said. “ A hiccup here or there can deter-mine who is an All-American and who isn’t.”

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Tide gets seventh in SEC championshipsTeam turns attention to nationals after strong season

By Marilyn VaughnStaff writer

Although they walked away with an eighth-place finish, the Alabama women’s track and field team put together a solid performance at the SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., finishing just 14.5 points outside the top five. The team finished in eighth place with 51 points. Florida would take the meet with 110 points. Though the Tide did not bring home an SEC title, the team did have several ath-letes named to the All-SEC team. Among those athletes were senior Kim Laing, who claimed the 60-meter hurdles title by just 0.08 seconds, freshmen Krystle Schade, who finished second in the high jump clearing a height of 5-10 ½, and Chealsea Taylor, who finished second in the pentathlon, scoring 4,019 points. Among the point scor-ers were some of the team’s walk-on athletes. Sophomore Amethyst Holmes finished seventh in the hammer throw posting a mark of 60-4. This mark exceeds her mark from last year by over 12 fee,t according to head coach Sandy Fowler. “I surprised myself in early February [at the beginning of the season], and to come out in late February and

have such a significant PR is quite a blessing to me,” said Holmes. “I owe it to the coaching I’ve had and the whole team for encouraging me.” Holmes is among some of the athletes on the team who have not yet posted an NCAA provision time and will need to participate in a last chance meet this week-end to do so. Head Coach Sandy Fowler acknowledges the importance of this meet for her athletes and foresees the major stumbling block in the competitors’ way: mental strength. “The hardest thing coming off the conference champion-ship is more emotional and mental; they have to bring that same level of emotion and hype [from the confer-ence championship] into the last chance meet,” said Fowler. “That’s hard to do, but it all starts in practice.” As for those athletes who have already qualified for NCAAs, the preparation does not stop until the meet on March 12-13 in Fayetteville. Kim Laing has already begun

to narrow in on what areas of her race she can improve on before then. “I would have to make some improvements on the beginning of my race, the first three hurdles. If I con-tinue doing what I’m doing now, training hard, working on improving every aspect of my race, I am confident that I will have more success,” said Laing. No question that confi-dence comes from years of experience competing on the national stage, but what about those making their first NCAA’s appearance? Coach Fowler doesn’t seem to have any doubts her first time competitors, particu-larly her freshmen, will have any troubles, noting that they are all big meet competitors and could surprise everyone. “My freshmen did an absolute fantastic job [at SECs],” said Fowler. “When you recruit an athlete, you recruit them in that they will affect your program imme-diately and help, and there have been young ladies that have done so.”

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Tide earns sixth at Indoor Championships

From staff reports

“Anything can happen once you get there. A hiccup here or there can determine who is an All-American

and who isn’t.”

— Coach Harvey Glance{ }

“My freshmen did an absolute fantastic job [at SECs].

— Coach Sandy Fowler{ }

SPORTS in brief

2009 football team sets White House visit on Monday

The 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team will visit the White House on Monday, March 8. The team will depart Tuscaloosa for Washington on Monday morning and take part in a service proj-

CCWW..UUAA..EEDDUU

Alabamaʼs Green suspended for violating team rules

(AP) — Alabama forward JaMychal Green has been suspended indefinitely for violation of team rules. Head Coach Anthony Grant

announced the sophomore’s suspension on Tuesday, the eve of the Crimson Tide’s game at South Carolina. Green is the team’s sec-ond-leading scorer (14.8) and top rebounder (7.2). He is the only player to start every game for the Tide this sea-son. Grant did not set a date for

Green’s return. He suspend-ed guard Senario Hillman for the last game against Mississippi but didn’t rule out Hillman’s possible return against the Gamecocks. Alabama (14-14, 4-10 Southeastern Conference) has two games left in the reg-ular season, hosting Auburn on Saturday.

ect during the visit to the White House, which culmi-nates with an opportunity to meet President Barack Obama. During the team’s day in Washington, there are also scheduled stops at the U.S. Capitol, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and National Mall.

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Page 14 • Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Editor • Jason Galloway crimsonwhitesports@

gmail.com

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

• Men’s Basketball vs. South Carolina: Columbia, S.C., 6 p.m.

• Baseball vs. Georgia: Regions Park, Hoover, Ala., 6:35 p.m.

• Women’s Basketball vs. Georgia: Duluth, Ga., 8 p.m.

SPORTS this weekend

By Britton LynnSports Writer

After holding an 11-game win streak for almost two weeks, the softball team fell to the University of Central Florida last weekend 3-2. The No. 7 Alabama softball team now moves to 12-3 fifteen games into the season after the Crimson Tide finished the NFCA Leadoff Classic 4-1. “This past weekend was a really good weekend for us,” said head coach Patrick Murphy. “We beat four of the five teams, and instead of tak-ing a step forward and a step back, I think we took three steps forward and a small step back. Everyone is going to try and bring their best game against us, and we just have to be ready for it.” Alabama beat Maryland, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska at the tournament in Columbus, Ga., but the Tide will be focus-ing on its one loss against UCF to look for areas of improve-ment, team members said. “We got off to a good start and beat some really good teams, which has given this young team some confidence, but at the same time we didn’t finish the way we wanted to,” said senior Charlotte Morgan. “As the season goes along we need to address that. We faced some really good teams and learned a lot about ourselves. Now we just need to keep work-

ing and get better.” Alabama has a lot to be proud of after its two losses to Missouri at the beginning of the season — causing some fans to question the Tide’s high ranking. But since that series, the Tide has only been beaten by UCF. “I think we are the come-back kids,” Murphy said. “We never say die. We feel we are never out of a game, which the Michigan game illustrated {When Alabama entered the final inning down four runs]. A lot of teams may have fold-ed and given up, but this team doesn’t do that.” Alabama will have six straight home games starting this weekend. Four are part of the Easton Challenge Friday through Sunday, followed by a double-header with Liberty Tuesday. The Tide will alter-nate between Michigan and DePaul this weekend with a double header scheduled for Saturday. “This weekend will be anoth-er good test for us,” Morgan said. “It is nice to be back home, as we have been on the road for two straight weeks. We just need to keep taking each game at a time and not try and get ahead of ourselves. It should make for a great weekend of softball in front of our fans.” Alabama isn’t taking this tournament lightly, even though the Tide has a home-field advantage. Alabama

SOFTBALL

Softball improves to 12-3 over weekend

CW | Kevyn M. Bryant IIAbove: Alabama sopho-

more pitcher Amanda Lockewarms up before an inning

against South Alabamaearlier this season. Locke

allowed three runs in the fi rstinning in the fi nal game of the NFCA Leadoff Classic Sunday, leading to a 3-2

loss, snapping Alabamaʼs 11-game winning streak.

CW | Rachel HilLeft: Alabama sophomore outfi elder Cassadra Reilly-

Boccia swings at a pitchagainst then-No. 9 Missouri

on Feb. 14, the Crimson Tideʼs last loss before Sun-dayʼs 3-2 letdown against

UCF.

games over the weekend, and the fans are expecting similar results against Michigan and DePaul. “We are supposed to have good weather, so I hope every-one comes out,” Murphy said. “Michigan is a top-five team ,and DePaul is one of the bet-ter teams in the country with one of the best pitchers in the country. She was our only shut-out two years ago — they shut us out in Chicago, so we know her. Michigan has two of the top pitchers in the country, so it is going to be quite the chal-lenge.” The Crimson Tide’s first game this weekend is Friday at 6 p.m. against Michigan.

scored 10 runs against Michigan and 11 against Nebraska in back-to-back