“Broken Bridges”

War on display at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center: The Crimson White – Sept. 17

From Aug. 4 to Sept. 15, The University of Alabama Gallery presented “Broken Bridges,” a showcase of documentary photography by Stephen Humphreys at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center. Twenty untitled photographs are displayed and they depict still moments that present the devastation and destruction in Ukraine… “The title, ‘Broken Bridges,’ is obviously a reference to the physical toll,” Daniel White, the director of the UA Gallery, said. “But also, we included the people in the show to show the emotion toll, the burden put on families. [In] politics and war, people are always collateral damage.”

Undergraduate Research

Opinion | UA students should consider undergraduate research: The Crimson White – Sept. 17

One student who exemplifies undergraduate research success at the University is Yonathan Janka, a junior majoring in microbiology. “Undergraduate research has been one of the most pivotal experiences during my time at The University of Alabama,” Janka said. “Challenging obstacles and projects have tested me to think critically and promptly.”

Notre Dame Cathedral

UA professors recreate original colors, sounds of Notre Dame Cathedral: Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 19

A major grant obtained from the National Endowment for the Humanities will enable four University of Alabama professors to recreate the environment a worshipper in the Middle Ages might have experienced inside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Voter Registration

Student organizations urge students to register to vote on National Voter Registration Day: The Crimson White – Sept. 19

… Richard Fording, Vote Everywhere’s adviser and a professor of political science at the University, wrote in an email that voter turnout among UA students increased from the 2016 election to the 2020 one, according to data compiled by the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at Tufts University. In the 2020 election, around 87% of UA students were registered to vote, but only 64% of registered voters cast their ballots, which is just below the 66% average for all college campuses in the U.S.

Domestic Terrorism

How local police could help prevent another January 6th-style insurrection: The Conversation – Sept. 20

Authors, Matthew Valasik, Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Alabama; Shannon Reid, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of North Carolina – Charlotte

UA Theatre and Dance

‌Mark your calendars: Upcoming events in the UA theater and dance programs: The Crimson White – Sept. 20

‌Alabama’s theater and dance programs are looking to maintain a high level of prestige with the fall semester’s lineup of shows.

UAW Strike

Local UAW workers strike: WVUA – Sept. 20

Contracts with the nation’s big 3 automakers expired Friday, and negotiations began in Ernest. The University of Alabama professor of American studies Michael Innis-Jimenez says automotive wages have not adjusted to reflect modern inflation in the past 15 years. And that is why workers are asking for a 40-percent pay increase. He says workers also fear being left behind from changes within the industry. 

Ammonite Fossil

Fish’s big mistake preserved an unusual fossil for us: Ars Technica – Sept. 20

… Adiel Klompmaker, curator of paleontology at The University of Alabama Museums, was not involved in this research. Noting that what Cooper and Maxwell have uncovered about the Pachycormus diet is a “remarkable result,” he wrote that he particularly liked how they “showed that the fish Pachycormus had a different diet depending on their size! Young individuals preyed upon fishes, but adults ate non-shelly cephalopods called coleoids. Shifts in diet are [rarely] reported in the marine fossil record. Such evidence helps us to reconstruct ancient food webs more accurately.”