UA transit system still in the works

City should punish
landlords
Music school
concert tonight
Commodores handle Tide
in women’s b-ball
OPINIONS, Page 4
ENTERTAINMENT, Page 5
SPORTS, Page 8
Serving the University of Alabama since 1894
Friday, February 3, 2006
Vol. 112, Issue 82
No refunds from Sept. Jones show
Venue 1215 says rapper’s
production company has
ticket money
BY BEN FLANAGAN
Entertainment Editor
■
[email protected]
Students who bought tickets for last semester’s soldout Mike Jones concert at
the Venue 1215 still have not
been reimbursed, nor has the
concert been rescheduled.
Moments before the rapper was supposed to take the
■
stage Sept. 29, power went out
on the Strip and patrons were
told to leave and hold on their
ticket stubs.
Venue owner Joel Holliday
said there are no plans to
reschedule the concert or give
a refund because the rapper’s
production company is being
uncooperative.
“We haven’t been able to get
anyone there,” Holliday said.
“We tried calling and calling,
and we can’t get any cooperation.”
The bar did not receive
any money from ticket sales,
Holliday said. Tickets were sold
at the Tobacco Depot on 15th
Street and at Catfish Heaven
on 21st Street.
In the days following the
event, representatives of both
businesses said they turned all
of the ticket proceeds over to
Jones’ production company.
Andrew Robertson, the
owner of Catfish Heaven,
declined to comment this
week.
A representative of the
Tobacco Depot could not be
reached for comment.
Holliday said he and his lawyer, Jason Neff, who he turned
the situation over to days after
the incident, don’t know what
Jones’ production company
did with the money.
“People have asked about
it, and I don’t have an
answer for them.
I don’t know,”
Holliday said.
“We
turned
it over to our
lawyer to make
sure it was a clean
situation, and we
just don’t know anything.”
Holliday said that
Mike Jones
canceled
two concerts
event at
The Venue
1215 in
September.
No fans
have
received
refunds for
their tickets
(left).
WhoMikeJones.
com
See JONES, Page 2
THE NEXT STEP: GREEK INTEGRATION AT UA
The struggle within
For white sororities, integration
comes political, social consequences,
members and observers say
BY ALEXANDRA BATTITO, BRITTANI TINGLE
AND
MIKE FAULK
The Crimson White
This is the third in a four-part series about
greek integration at the Capstone.
CW Photo Illustration/ Tiffany Schwarz, CW File
The UA sorority system is divided along racial lines. Above, members of Alpha Kappa Alpha hold a candlelight vigil in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 16, 2005. Below, new sorority pledges celebrate
after receiving their bids at this fall’s Bid Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
UA transit
system still
in the works
Officials to seek proposals for bus system
BY KATIE STALLCUP
Staff Reporter
■
[email protected]
all 2003 was an optimistic time for
many in the UA traditionally white
sorority system as Carla Ferguson, its
first black member, accepted a bid to
Gamma Phi Beta.
“[Integration] is something that
started today, and we hope it will continue,”
then Alabama Panhellenic President Heather
Schacht said.
That was more than two years ago, and
Ferguson is still the only black woman to
have been accepted into any of the traditionally white sororities.
Today sorority leaders say they want more
integration, but they say little in regards to
what is standing in the way of accomplishing
that goal.
Though no UA or sorority officials keep
statistics, Alabama Panhellenic Association
President Kathryn Garrison, a member
of Chi Omega, said there are an increasing number of minorities in Panhellenic
sororities.
“I think that integration is coming along
— it’s just that people don’t see it right off
the bat,” she said. “But I definitely think it’s
improving.”
Integration is a slow process that must
come from the sororities, she said. It can’t be
forced by Panhellenic or UA officials.
“Each individual house has their own
membership selection process, which
F
A UA transit system, which officials hope to have
running within two years, is still in the nascent
planning stages said UA director of Transportation
Services Ronnie Robertson.
The official proposal for companies to bid on the
system still hasn’t been released,
he said.
In December, Robertson said
he planned to have issued the
proposal and to have hired a
company to maintain the system
by February.
“We’re still ironing out small
— RONNIE
details, trying to fine-tune
the [request for proposal],”
ROBERTSON
Robertson said.
director of UA
The idea is to have a fleet of
Transportation
buses to shuttle students and
Services, on
professors around campus
the
request for
to reduce the number of cars
and traffic congestion. Transit
a proposal to
systems work at other schools, run a campus
such as Auburn University.
transit system
Though the RFP is still in the
planning stages, Robertson said
he would like to have 15 buses
on campus. He said Transportation Services would
have to wait until companies bid to know how
many buses to order, he said.
“I would like to tell you there’s going to be ‘X’
number of buses and routes, but we have to wait till
See SORORITIES, Page 3
See TRANSIT, Page 2
“We’re still
ironing
out small
details.”
UA resident assistants have new name, new role to play
RAs to be ‘more helpful,
friendly,’ bosses say
BY KRISTIE BUSAM
Senior Staff Reporter
■
[email protected]
Some campus residents
might only see their resident
assistants when they are
sniffing around dorm rooms
looking for alcohol, candles,
grills or drug paraphernalia.
But now, along with a name
change, RAs are supposed
to take on a more helpful,
friendly role in UA residence
halls.
“We are making a philo-
sophical shift,” said Ross
Bryan, assistant director of
UA Housing and Residential
Communities. “We want to
change the way they view
themselves and change the
way they are viewed.”
The title “resident assistant”
has been changed to “resident
adviser,” because RAs should
be viewed as mentors, friends
and resources, Bryan said.
“Calling them advisers
shows the complexity of the
job,” he said.
In the past, RAs conducted
health and safety checks once
a month, but only two such
checks were conducted last
semester.
“The job function of the RA
will not change, but they aren’t
here to be policemen,” he said.
“We want RAs to be viewed as
agents of social change.”
Bryan said the new
relationship between RAs and
dorm residents will not make it
“easier to get away with stuff”
because RAs will still handle
cases of resident misbehavior
as they arise, but RAs will not
go looking for such cases.
Bryan said it is not an
RA’s responsibility to make
sure residents do not drink
or smoke, as those are decisions which will be left up the
individual.
“Nobody wants an RA that
is there just to bust parties,”
Bryan said.
Melissa Pegues, a freshman
majoring in psychology and a
resident of Riverside, said her
RA’s presence would not deter
her from bringing alcohol into
her room.
“They don’t inspect the
rooms all of the time,” Pegues
said. “They tell you in advance
when they are coming in so
you have time to hide it.”
Pegues said she does not
see her RA as a policeman.
“Our RAs now seem like they
are trying to be our friend,”
Pegues said. “I still think if
See RESIDENCE, Page 2
The Crimson White ■ Box 870170 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 ■ Newsroom — 348-6144 Fax — 348-4116 ■ Advertising — 348-7845
■ Classifieds — 348-7355 ■ Letters, op-eds — [email protected] ■ Press releases, announcements — [email protected]
CW/ Leslie Roop
Haynes Haselmaier, a junior majoring in physics, aims a Nerf gun at
Anna Rich, a junior majoring in anthropology and a Blount Hall RA, as
Trey Sterling, a junior majoring in English, and Bonnie Stith study in the
Blount lobby Thursday night. RAs now have a new name and new roles.
online
www.cw.ua.edu
2 Friday, February 3, 2006
■
NEWS
UA pulls proposal for new police department
INbrief
CAMPUS
To submit a brief, e-mail [email protected]
Trustees request more information,
next Board meeting in April
BY STEPHEN DAWKINS
Administrative Editor
CORRECTIONS
■
■ In a Thursday report about fraternity integration, Steven
Davenport, a junior majoring in marketing, was identified
as a member of Pi Kappa Phi.
The fraternity’s treasurer, Grayson Menard, said Davenport
was a member until he went inactive this semester.
■ In the Wednesday report “Progress has been slow in last
2 decades,” the founding members of Alpha Delta Sigma
diverse sorority were described as “former Delta Xi Phi
[multicultural sorority] members who splintered from the
group.”
The founders of Alpha Delta Sigma splintered from the
group of students that would eventually become the first
members of Delta Xi Phi’s UA chapter, but were never initiated members of Delta Xi Phi.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Cuban economist talks life after Castro
Cuban historian and economist Salvador Larrúa will discuss the transition period in Cuba after the death of Cuban
President Fidel Castro today at 2 p.m. in 251 ten Hoor Hall.
Larrúa was an economist for the Cuban government’s
Central Planning Committee until 1988. He was recently
granted political asylum and resides in Miami.
Financial Aid hosts open house
UA Student Financial Aid will host an open house today
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Ferguson Center Plaza. In case
of rain, the event will be held on the first floor of the Student
Services Center, which is across the plaza from the Ferg.
For more information, visit financialaid.ua.edu.
Hispanic fraternity to hold interest meeting
Sigma Lambda Beta, a Latino-based multicultural fraternity, will have an interest meeting tonight at 7:18 in the
Ferguson Center forum.
For more information, visit www.slbmustang.com.
[email protected]
The UA Police Department might have to
stay in its temporary home, New Hall, a little
longer than planned.
UA officials’ request to the UA System Board
of Trustees for approval of a preliminary
budget for a new campus police station was not
presented to the board on Thursday because
trustees want more information about the
station before a decision is made.
The next scheduled board meeting is April 6
at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
UAPD has been housed in New Hall since
October. The department’s old home, Gorgas
Hall, was recently demolished to make room
for a new Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house
on the site.
The trustees want more information about
construction costs and possible sites for the
station, UAPD Chief Steve Tucker said in a
statement.
“The decision was made to wait until that
information is available before going forward
to the committee,” Tucker said. “Our hope is
to produce the updated information as soon
as possible. This type of request for additional
information is not unusual, and many completed projects on campus went through similar requests.”
Information about what sites are being considered for the new station was not available at
press time.
A police architectural firm has been studying UAPD’s need for a new facility since early in
the fall 2005 semester, UA spokeswoman Cathy
Andreen said.
“This gathering of information has been
an ongoing process,” Tucker said. “The next
step in the approval procedure is to present
findings to the Board of Trustees’ Physical
Properties Committee.”
CW/ Elliot Knight
New Hall was originally designated to be empty this year, but it now houses UA Police
because UAPD’s old station was torn down for a new Delta Kappa Epsilon house.
Co-ed honor frat holds info meeting
Phi Sigma Pi co-ed national honor fraternity will hold an
information meeting Monday night at 8 in 300 Ferguson
Center.
The organization is open to those in all majors that have
at least 12 credit hours and a 3.0 GPA. For more information,
e-mail [email protected].
WEATHER
Today
63º/41º
Mostly cloudy. Chance of
precipitation 60 percent.
Saturday
50º/28º
Sunday
Partly cloudy, west
wind around 15
mph.
Mostly sunny.
50º/34º
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I wouldn’t even call it a battle because
there’s no one fighting. It’s just
accepted.”
— Samantha Perry, a senior and former member
of Alpha Delta Pi, on the prospects of further
sorority integration.
See “The struggle within,”
Page 1.
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The Crimson White.
JONES
Continued from Page 1
because Venue 1215 did not
lose any money from Jones’
absence, his business is not
in a position to take any legal
action.
“Why would I need to sue?”
Holliday said. “The lawyers
are saying we’re in a bind. We
didn’t lose money.”
Asked about the status of
the ticket revenue and the
name of Jones’s production
company, Neff, Holliday’s
lawyer, said he didn’t know.
Asked whether he or Venue
1215 are planning any legal
action, he declined to comment and ended the interview.
Holliday also could not provide the name of Jones’ production company.
Holliday said the capacity
TRANSIT
Continued from Page 1
the RFP is out and see if the
University can afford the system,” Robertson said. “We
can’t be specific right now
because the thing is still on
the drawing board.”
Robertson said he would like
to see the transit system in place
by August 2007. UA President
Robert Witt and Tuscaloosa
Mayor Walt Maddox have also
said they want the transit system by fall 2007.
Without bids from contractors who want to create the
system, there is no way to
know how much the transit
system will cost, Robertson
said.
Robertson said he doesn’t
know where the money will
come from to fund the system,
but he said he hopes some
federal funds can be used to
supplement the cost.
In December, Witt said the
University has applied for federal assistance for funding a
transit system, and whether
the Capstone gets any federal
money will affect how long
it takes to get the system in
place.
The end result of a transit
system would be fewer cars
and less traffic on campus,
Robertson said.
Once the system is up and
running, students will park
in lots on the edge of campus and ride buses to class
from there, he said. Buses will
also drop students at strategic
points around campus.
“We hope students will take
for Venue’s back room, where
the concert was scheduled to
take place, is 150 people.
Jones had another concert
at Venue scheduled for the
night before, Sept. 28, but that
show was also canceled.
Those who bought tickets
for the Sept. 28 show were
allowed in to the Sept. 29
show.
Mike Jones had not yet
showed up to Venue on Sept.
29 when a transformer blew,
causing a power outage
throughout the Strip area.
In the days following the
incident, Holliday said he had
heard from Mike Jones’ people
that they were on their way to
Venue before the power went
out.
Corey Overstreet, a sophomore majoring in biology
who attended the show, said
he was never reimbursed for
the show. A ticket stub he
provided said there would
be no refunds and did not
include the name of any
production company.
Overstreet said before the
power went out, there were
rumors Jones wouldn’t show.
“Management never exactly said he was not going to be
there but that he was running
late,” Overstreet said.
“We heard from the
bartenders about 10 minutes
before the lights went out that
he wasn’t coming.”
“The MC kept saying, ‘He’s
on his way,’” said Brittany
Chandler, a senior majoring
in nursing. “The lights went
the bus instead of trying to
take their cars from class to
class,” he said.
Witt also said he would like
the transit system to go off
campus into student residential areas so that students can
take buses to campus and
leave their cars at home.
Since all freshmen will be
required to live on campus
starting this fall, the benefit of
a transit system will be even
greater in the coming years,
Robertson said.
Although
Tuscaloosa
Trolleys cruise the campus,
that system will not be able to
keep up with student growth
in the future, Witt said.
“The current trolley system is not adequate in terms
of providing transport,” Witt
said. “As the University grows,
we need an expanded transport system to meet needs and
reduce the number of cars on
campus.”
“I asked some of the Venue employees what I should
do about a refund, and they just said, ‘Hold on to
your ticket and clear the club.’”
— BRITTANY CHANDLER
senior nursing major
out around 1 a.m., and everyone was told to leave. I asked
some of the Venue employees what I should do about
a refund, and they just said,
‘Hold on to your ticket and
clear the club.’”
G y m n a
s t i c s
ALABAMA
@
KENTUCKY
Broadcast starts @ 6:00 PM
Exclusive coverage, interviews, & analysis
of the
#3 team in America
NEWS ■ Friday, February 3, 2006
■
3
SGA SENATE
Attorney general position to be reviewed
Senators also honor Coretta
Scott King
BY LORI CREEL
Senior Staff Reporter
■
[email protected]
The SGA Senate approved a new
committee to review the attorney
general position during its informal
meeting Thursday.
According to the resolution that
created the interim position, the
attorney general’s office would be
SORORITIES
Continued from Page 1
Panhellenic is not directly
involved with,” she said. “It’s
their own ritual.”
Social barriers
Many sorority members
declined to talk about the
issue, saying they had been
instructed not to speak with
the media. The Crimson White
attempted to contact the president or former president of
every Panhellenic sorority.
Most declined to comment or
couldn’t be reached.
Gamma Phi Beta leaders were among those who
declined to comment. Efforts
to reach Ferguson were also
unsuccessful.
Former Delta Zeta President
Amy Gillis said sororities
would need the cooperation
of fraternities to become more
integrated. Gillis declined to
explain what she meant by
that, but others in sororities
or former members say they
have an idea.
Samantha Perry, a senior
and former member of Alpha
Delta Pi, said sororities are
hesitant to accept black
women out of fear of losing
social prominence and recognition from fraternities who
wouldn’t affiliate themselves
with a sorority that has minority members.
Perry said she was present
at a meeting of her sorority’s
chapter on the second day of
rush in 2003 when Ferguson’s
name was read from the “drop
list,” meaning she would not
get a bid. Perry and others
raised opposition to cutting
Ferguson so early into rush
she said.
Members who supported
dropping Ferguson had questions to her reasons for rushing a white sorority and also
said Ferguson would feel like
an outcast there, Perry said.
Sorority members feared the
possibility of being the only
sorority with a black member,
she said.
“No sorority wanted to be
the first to accept a black girl,”
Perry said.
She said Ferguson only
made it to the second day
of ADPi’s rush because the
sorority was acting in line with
the others officially considering Ferguson. Sororities were
reluctant to drop her right
away, Perry said.
RESIDENCE
Continued from Page 1
there was a major problem he
would handle it, but I don’t
think he’s suspicious of us.”
Pegues said she isn’t a
close friend with her RA, so
she would not go to him with
personal problems. But she
said she would go to him with
problems in her building.
The name change was discussed with RAs last month,
and they were made aware of
their role as a mentor, Bryan
said.
“We want to change the
mentality of the RAs,” he said.
“We haven’t sold the leadership position. RAs assist no
one, they advise.”
Brandon Watters, a sophomore majoring in criminal
justice and a resident of Rose
Towers, said he doesn’t see
much of his RAs.
‘They show up during emergencies, but other than that
there is a ‘hi’ and a ‘bye’ every
now and then,” Watters said.
reviewed at the end of the year
to decide whether to make the
position permanent, to continue it
as an interim office or to do away
with it.
College of Arts and Sciences Sen.
Meghan Stringer said she and SGA
Chief of Staff R. B. Walker chose seven
senators from different colleges with
different views on the original attorney general resolution to serve on
the committee.
Stringer said the committee was
created because it would be easier
for the seven members, rather than
all 50 senators, to “hammer out the
details” of whether to keep the attorney general position or not.
She said senators not on the committee should contribute what they
think.
“It’s really important that all of us
work together,” Stringer said.
SGA President Mary Margaret
Carroll pushed for the creation of
the attorney general to be a students’
advocate within the SGA and to be
an authority on the SGA constitution.
Graduate student Prince Cleveland
However, it was the fear of
losing social status — not racism — that kept the sorority from truly considering
Ferguson, she said.
ADPi President Emily Ray, a
junior, said she couldn’t speak
on the validity of Perry’s comments because she was not in
involved in 2003 recruitment.
She referred questions to the
sorority’s adviser, who could
not be immediately reached.
An active sophomore member of Pi Beta Phi sorority,
who spoke on the condition
of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the issue, also
said sororities have trouble
integrating because of a struggle to maintain a top social
standing within the white
greek system.
“If it looks like it might hurt
us, we won’t do it,” she said.
She said no one in her sorority directly said they reject
people based on race, but it’s
something that’s quietly been
understood as their practice.
“I feel like if one organization would stand up then it
would make a change, kind of
open a door,” she said.
She said along with that
effort, it’s also necessary to
get more minorities to rush.
She said part of what makes
that effort hard as well is
there’s likely a feeling amongst
minorities that the odds are
stacked against them.
She said they’re right.
“They’re coming through
rush and they know they’re
going to get dropped,” she
said. “We have to prove to
minorities it’s something they
want to be a part of.”
David Roskos-Ewoldsen, a
UA psychology professor, said
the fear of losing opportunities
with fraternities “absolutely”
deters sororities from pulling
in more black members.
“It’s a social club. That’s a
big part [of why women join
sororities],” he said. “To do
something that’s going to
challenge one of the primary
functions of this, it’s going to
be extremely difficult.
“It takes a lot of bravery, it’s
just hard.”
Some sororities, such as
Alpha Gamma Delta, Kappa
Kappa Gamma and Kappa
Delta, require potential new
members to have a letter of
recommendation from alumni to be considered.
Holly Graham Puth, 2004
president of Alpha Gamma
Delta, said she thinks that’s
one of the main reasons why
they haven’t pledged a black
woman yet.
“That’s been one of the hindrances of others not pledging. … We don’t take anyone
unless they have a recommendation, basically,” Puth said.
Watters said he doesn’t need
his RA to be a mentor, but
he thinks it is a good idea for
freshmen.
“It doesn’t really affect me as
a sophomore,” Watters said.
Watters said he is not a
drinker, but alcohol brought
into Rose Towers is not a big
deal.
“I have friends who know the
RA, so they don’t think twice
about bringing in the beer,
but some people don’t want to
abuse the relationship.
“If you are friends with the
RA, they hound you less and
trust you.”
RAs declined to comment
because they are not allowed
to speak to the media by HRC
rules.
Attention a deterrent for
blacks
In a system in which most
recruitment is done during
a week of heavily regulated
pageantry, any black woman
who seeks to join a sorority is
certain to receive a fair share
of media attention.
That can also be hard on a
minority woman trying to join
a traditionally white sorority, Roskos-Ewoldsen said,
because they become a representative of the struggles of
their entire race.
UA Vice President for
Student Affairs Margaret King
said she was “horrified” by the
level of coverage that can be
placed on individual students
during rush.
“I think it is really, really
hard on the student,” she said.
“I think it places a lot of stress
on them.”
Such situations are not limited to the Capstone.
The same year that Ferguson
entered Gamma Phi Beta, the
first black woman entered a
traditionally white sorority at
the University of Arkansas,
said Scott Walter, that school’s
associate dean of students.
No black woman at Arkansas
has tried since, Walter said.
The black student at
Arkansas received a huge
amount of attention and was
more ostracized by the black
community than by the white
community, Walter said. Her
experience is probably acting
as a deterrent against other
black women following suit,
he said.
In 2007, Arkansas will delay
sorority rush in hopes of
attracting more members, but
Walter said achieving integration in the sororities is “an
uphill battle” because their
rush is so competitive and
high profile.
“It may be three or four more
years before anyone even tries
that again,” he said.
Ashley Long, a graduate
member of the UA chapter
of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a traditionally black sorority, said
rushing a white sorority would
be a daunting task.
“If I decide I want to be
is the attorney general, and he has
three deputy attorneys general.
The senators serving on the committee are Stringer, Culverhouse
College of Commerce and Business
Administration Sen. Adam Rankin,
C&BA Sen. Stephanie Shelton, College
of Human Environmental Sciences
Sen. Michael Noyes, College of
Education Sen. Samantha Simmons,
A&S Sen. Amanda Minor and College
of Engineering Sen. Daniel Sullivan.
In other business, the Senate
passed a resolution honoring Coretta
Scott King, who died Tuesday.
in an APA sorority and I’m a
minority, my name is going to
be in the paper, and that discourages people,” Long said.
Specific recruitment
needed, some say
Long said she thinks there is
a strong possibility that if APA
sororities promoted themselves specifically to minorities, more would decide to
rush.
“They really have to make a
conscious effort to say, ‘We’re
open to change,’” she said.
Garrison said Panhellenic
has extended its outreach for
recruitment of high school
students to Tennessee, Georgia
and Mississippi.
She said Panhellenic has
no plans to target minorities because the recruitment
process is open to everyone
equally.
“Anyone can get on our
Web site [greeklife.ua.edu]
and register for recruitment,”
Garrison said. “I think it’s up
to their initiative to go on
there and get involved.”
Garrison said Panhellenic’s
job is to support prospective
pledges as they go through
recruitment and that the
application and acceptance
process for each house is com-
The resolution, authored by A&S
Sen. Michael Polke, expresses the
SGA’s sympathy “in the loss of this
great pioneer.”
King was a highly respected
advocate for justice, peace and
human rights, the resolution said,
and she “was one of the most
influential African-American leaders
of our time.”
King also led the campaign to
establish Martin Luther King Jr.’s
birthday as a national holiday and
chaired the federal commission for
the holiday once it was established.
pletely up to the individual
sororities.
Christina Newell, former
president of Alpha Omicron
Pi, said AOPi has taken steps
toward integrating.
“At my house we represent a
lot of different girls who come
from different backgrounds,”
she said. “We have Korean,
Chinese and a few Hispanic
[members].”
Newell said she thinks many
people in the greek system
want to see more integration.
“I think being part of a
sorority is getting a chance to
meet all the different girls and
interact, and when you just
have one kind of person, you
don’t get the full experience
out of it,” Newell said.
Puth said she didn’t know
whether the University’s greek
system would ever become
completely integrated, but
said she was optimistic that it
would happen eventually.
“Twenty to 25 years from
now, it could very well be so.
There’s no one to really say if
it will be that way,” Puth said.
Perry said a sorority with
strong social status in the
greek system would have to
risk losing clout with fraternities and make the move
towards accepting black students before the rest would
follow suit.
But Perry said she doesn’t
see much movement to integrate coming from within the
sororities.
“I wouldn’t even call it a
battle because there’s no one
fighting,” she said. “It’s just
accepted.”
Staff reporter Alexandra Battito
can be reached at battito@
cw.ua.edu. Student life editor
Mike Faulk can be reached at
[email protected]. Editor Chris
Otts and managing editor for
news Nick Beadle also contributed to this report. They can
be reached at [email protected]
and [email protected].
Got Housing?!
If you plan to live on campus in the fall, thereʼs
important news you need to know! The process of
campus housing recontracting has changed!
Attend an informational meeting in your community to
learn everything you need to know about returning to
campus housing in the fall.
Community Meetings:
Residents of Tutwiler, Harris, Parker-Adams, and Byrd
Tutwiler Living Room, Tuesday, February 7, at 8:00 p.m.
Riverside Residential Community
Riverside Community Building Living Room, Wednesday,
February 8, at 9:00 p.m.
Residents of Parham, Burke East, and Burke West
Burke West Living/Game Room, Thursday, February 9, at 9:00 p.m.
Residents of Rose Towers
Rose Towers Activity Room, Monday, February 13, at 8:00 p.m.
Residents of Blount, Paty, Palmer, Somerville, and Friedman
Paty Lobby, Monday, February 13, at 9:00 p.m.
Residents of Bryce Lawn and Highlands
Highlands Activity Room, Wednesday, February 15, at 8:00 p.m.
All current students who wish to return to campus
housing in 2006/2007 must go to myBama and pay
a $200.00 deposit by March 1, 2006.
Questions?? Go to http://housing.ua.edu or call Housing
and Residential Communities at 348-6676
Opinions
Will Nevin ■ Editor
[email protected]
What’s your view? Send letters or guest columns to
[email protected]. Students should include name,
year, major and daytime phone number. More
information is available at the bottom of the page.
Monday: Nick Beadle
with
Damage
Control
4
Friday, February 3, 2006
Hey,
it
could
happen
one
day
Punish lazy
Our View
Roe v. Wade overturned
The Crimson White
June 24, 2010
landlords
WASHINGTON — Decades
after it first divided America
into pro-choice and prolife camps and galvanized
Christian conservatives, Roe
v. Wade, the historic Supreme
Court decision that first guaranteed a woman’s right to an
abortion, is no more after the
Supreme Court overturned it
in a split 5-4 decision today.
“It is time for the federal government to set aside
the abortion question,” said
Justice Antonin Scalia in writing for the majority. “This is a
policy debate that is best left
up to the states to decide.”
Ruling in both Richards v.
Arnold and Williams v. Nevada,
the court said it was up to
states to set restrictions on
abortions, including parental
notification laws, mandatory
waiting periods and even the
complete ban of abortions.
Joining Scalia in the majority were Chief Justice John
Roberts and associate justices Samuel Alito, Clarence
Thomas and J. Michael Luttig,
the court’s newcomer after taking the seat vacated by retiring
Justice John Paul Stevens.
Writing for the minority in
a dissenting opinion, Justice
Anthony Kennedy expressed
dismay at the court’s decision.
“What this court fails to realize is that it has set into motion
In May 2005, the Tuscaloosa City Council passed
an ordinance creating a special zone around campus
that allows up to five unrelated people to live together
in a house as long as realtors got permission to have
more than three unrelated people living there.
To get this permission, realtors would have to make
capital improvements to their properties such as adding property to prevent the “scourge” of lawn parking,
adding bedrooms and/or bathrooms and dividing
some houses into duplexes.
Those improvements cost money — money that
landlords would prefer not to fork over. So in the
nearly nine months since the resolution passed, how
many landlords have applied for this special housing?
Maybe 10 or 15, right? Certainly a handful at least.
How about zero. None. Zilch.
According to Tuscaloosa city planner John
McConnell, no property owners in Tuscaloosa have
applied for permission to allow for more than three
unrelated people to live in the same house. Does
that mean there are no houses that have four or five
people under the same roof? No way.
There are clearly several houses around campus
with more than three unrelated students in residence.
In a Thursday Crimson White story, housemates
were shown a five-bedroom house, yet only three of
them signed the lease. All five of them, however, mail
checks to the realtor, they said.
It’s a great trick, actually. Get five people in a house.
Get five rent checks. Show the city the lease with only
three signatures, and you get out of expensive of your
responsibilities for improving the property.
When the ordinance passed in May, former
Councilman Joe Powell suggested the new rules
would be hard to enforce. He had this thing figured
out, but no one — at least no one with any authority
— listened to him.
Now we’re left with a plan that is great in theory
(realtors are supposed to be investing in improvements to off-campus housing) but useless in practice
unless the city enforces it. Property owners are shirking their responsibilities, but they’re reaping all the
benefits of packing students into houses as tightly
as they can. No wonder some in the city want to ban
lawn parking. There’s a lot of it going on because
landlords aren’t adding parking to four-to-five person
houses, as they should be under this new law.
It’s time for action — the city needs to crack down
on owners not living up to their end of the bargain,
and it also need not punish students, who are only
taking the realtor’s lead in living in these houses.
Next year, at least some upperclassmen will be
forced to look off campus for housing as mandatory freshman housing is instituted. Some of them
are going to be pushed into some of these sham
leases. The last thing we want is for students to face
any hardship for this. They’re not the ones lying to the
city.
My
View
Will Nevin
[email protected]
a national chaos that may not
be resolved for decades to
come,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy, joined by Justices
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David
Souter and Stephen Breyer,
said the court was giving in to
political pressure rather than
ruling from a strong legal footing.
When the decision was
announced, protesters outside
the court erupted. Members
of the National Right to Life
Committee joined with members of the Christian Coalition
and broke out into impromptu hymns, while Planned
Parenthood protest organizers
shouted angrily on the steps of
the Supreme Court.
Christian
Coalition
President Roberta Combs said
she was pleased with the decision.
“I could not be any happier
than I am right now,” Combs
said moments after the
decision was handed down.
“We’ve fought so long and so
hard. This is one victory that is
well deserved.”
Abortion supporters, however, were not ready to concede defeat.
“For us, this now becomes
a state-to-state fight,” said
Planned
Parenthood
of
Michigan Chairwoman Sela
Mitchell. “This is not a defeat.
This is a chance to bring a
woman’s right to choose to
every state in the Union.”
What was once a fight
on the national level now
becomes a conflict on a stateby-state basis. According to
the Center for Reproductive
Rights, 30 states are likely to
see some sort of challenge to
the right to an abortion with
21 of those states — states as
diverse Michigan, Utah, Texas
and Rhode Island — as likely
to ban abortion outright. In
the other 20 states, a woman’s
right to an abortion appears
secure.
The cases that spelled the
end for Roe came from different areas of the country
— Richards v. Arnold arose
in Delaware whereas Nevada
was the source of the second
case — but they had one common element: states seeking
to exert their will on the question of abortion.
Richards v. Arnold had its
roots in the 2008 election as
Jim Arnold, a conservative
Republican, ran a long shot
campaign for attorney
general in Delaware. His main
campaign pledge was to use
Delaware laws already in place
to shut down abortion clinics
despite Roe. Elected by a narrow margin, Arnold did exactly
as he said, closing down the
state’s abortion clinics using
a Delaware ban on abortion
as his justification. Rebecca
Richards, leader of the state’s
chapter of the National
Organization for Women, soon
filed suit.
While Delaware saw a contentious court battle, Williams
v. Nevada was a case with
widespread public approval as
the Nevada legislature passed
a law requiring parental notification before performing any
abortions on a minor. Much to
the chagrin of Nevada politicians, the law was challenged
under a 1990 initiative passed
by voters.
In Alabama, voters are likely to see a nasty gubernatorial election centered on the
question of abortion. With
Gov. Bob Riley stepping down
because of term limits, the
state Republican Party is now
coalescing around the man
Riley defeated in a primary
four years ago, Roy Moore.
“We’re really excited about
the decision today,” an
unidentified Moore staffer
said. “Our poll numbers are
going through the roof.”
Will Nevin is opinions editor
of The Crimson White. His column appears on Fridays.
Our View is the consensus of the CW editorial board.
Letter to the Editor
Woodruff had courage
In response to Jason Hill’s
Wednesday letter to the editor, I suggest Mr. Hill refrain
from opinion pieces ignorant of American law.
It stuns me that Hill, a
criminal justice major,
seems completely unaware
that the draft ended in 1973.
Hill states that service men
and women are “forced” to
go to war, unlike journalists such as Bob Woodruff
who choose to get in harm’s
way. Hill might be confused
because he is registered for
the Selective Service but he
cannot be forced into active
duty. He must voluntarily
sign up as all current military personnel did.
Hill confuses the media’s
role of “keeping our officials
honest” with an attempt
to discredit the American
soldier. Surely Hill is aware
that American officials
(think “Brownie,” think New
Orleans) are not always
competent. Here’s the problem: We have our military
officials telling us the
insurgency is on the run or
in its last throes, and yet
last week alone more than
200 explosions rocked the
Iraqi capital. Does Hill think
the military helped arrange
the attack for better ratings
for Woodward and to bring
opprobrium on the military?
Most stunning is Hill’s
statement that a soldier
with a family deserves more
respect than any member of
the media. Mr. Hill, please
forward your letter of condolence to Bob Woodruff’s
wife and four young children to The Crimson White
so we can all see the qualitative difference in respect
rendered in print.
Woodruff’s willingness to
risk severe injury or even
death might suggest that
he had the courage of his
convictions about bringing
a greater understanding of
the Iraq war to the American
public than mere denigration of the military.
Paige McCormick
Graduate student, English
Editorial Board
Chris Otts
Will Nevin
KRT Campus
God created sex to be on pedestal
BY MATT SNOW
What exactly does “putting
sex on a pedestal” entail? It
means that you respect the
authority of the higher power
— God — in his commands
when he says to not fornicate outside of marriage. In
response to putting sex on a
pedestal: I do that.
Does it kill my libido? No.
Why then would Liz Stierwalt
say that it does? Is this something that she has done before?
If that is the case, why did she
change sides? She fell to the
obviously higher power of sexual immorality over her good
conscious of putting sex on a
pedestal.
But it is about more than just
a good conscious. It is a spiritual matter, as Liz pointed out.
Editor
Opinions Editor
God hates sexual immorality (homosexuality, premarital
sex, polygamy) as he describes
throughout the Bible. Even in
the New Testament Jesus said
it was sinful to think sexual
thoughts about another person and to lust after them.
This seemingly impossible
commandment is a stumbling block for so many that
it causes them to fall into the
practice of premarital sex.
Liz also said “prideful virgins
defend the sanctity of sex, subscribing to a fairytale notion of
the act so they can hold out
until marriage.” This is simply wrong. We wait until marriage because of the outline
that God gave us to live by: the
Bible. Could it be that the No.
1 best seller of all time would
be wrong? That the infallible
works are misleading just to
Nick Beadle Managing Editor, News
Tiff Schwarz Managing Editor, Design
torture Christians? The most
simple and correct answer is
“no.”
She is correct, however,
when she says, “at the end of
the day, no one has the power
to control what you do with
your body.” No one can control what you do, especially
when you are a rebellious college student (under the influence most often). But some of
us hold ourselves to a higher
standard, and on our wedding
night we proudly declare “one
and done.” There are no sexual
sins when you are with your
spouse; it is right and pure in
the eyes of God.
Perspective is a key thing to
remember. Sex is a privilege,
not a right, just like life itself.
The Lord gives, and the Lord
takes away, perhaps anatomically or physiologically. I warn
you that the wrath of God is
not something to be taken
lightly as he demonstrated in
the Old Testament with the
wandering Israelites.
In my COM 100 class, we
learned that there is a difference in arguing by authority
and arguing by belief. While
these were my beliefs, I argue
with the authority of God and
the Bible, which stands much
higher than the ideology of the
American collegiate dream to
get laid by everyone they can.
If you want a real sex column to read that is far more
“juicy” than anything The
Crimson White can print, I
suggest reading The Song of
Solomon.
Matt Snow is a sophomore
majoring in mechanical engineering.
The Crimson White welcomes your view on the issues. Letters to the editor must be less than 300 words
and guest columns less than 700. Send submissions to [email protected]. Submissions must include the
author’s name and daytime phone number. Phone numbers are for verification and will not be published.
Students should also include their year in school and major. For more information, call 348-6144 or e-mail
[email protected]. The CW reserves the right to edit all submissions.
Entertainment
Ben Flanagan ■ Editor
[email protected]
Friday, February 3, 2006
IN brief
from staff and wire reports ...
Creative Campus hosts
critic seminar Sunday
The Creative Campus
is holding a seminar on
Sunday at Allen Bales
Theatre from 2 p.m. until 5
p.m. for students interested
in journalism, theatre and
writing.
Participants will learn
the techniques of review
writing from professional
critics and see live demonstrations. At the end of
the seminar, participants
will have the opportunity
to write a sample review
to apply to be chosen as a
Creative Campus critic.
When chosen, critics will
review UA theatre department shows and have their
work featured online and
in print. The critics will
choose, in May, the recipients of “The Al’s” — the
University’s first annual
Oscar-like award show.
Students can contact
Erica Crabtree at crabt007@
bama.ua.edu for more
information.
‘Mockingbird’ exhibit
continues all weekend
The exhibit showcasing
materials related to the
famous Harper Lee novel
“To Kill A Mockingbird”
will be open all weekend
in the W.S. Hoole Special
Collections Library on
the second floor of Mary
Harmon Bryant Hall.
The exhibit will have
photographs of Lee during
her days as a UA student
and several editions of the
book. Admission is free. For
more information, call 3480500 or e-mail hooleinfo@
bama.ua.edu.
‘Lost’ star delivers prayer
for Hawaiian lawmakers
HONOLULU (AP) — One
of the actors of the ABC
series “Lost” left behind
his star power to promote
a different type of strength
among local lawmakers —
harmony and hope.
Dressed in a simple gray
suit draped with a single
strand of maile leaves,
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje,
a devout Buddhist, quietly
delivered the traditional
daily prayer before the state
Senate on Tuesday.
“I thank you very much,
deeply, from the root of my
heart because I believe this
is what my mission is in life
to share this practice and to
create dialogue with others,”
Akinnuoye-Agbaje said.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays
the character of Mr. Eko,
a former African drug lord
who had taken on the identity of a Roman Catholic
priest. The series is filmed in
Hawaii.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje read
the 23rd Psalm, which is
also the title of the “Lost”
episode during which Eko’s
violent past and struggle for
redemption are revealed.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje was
invited to deliver the invocation by Sen. Fred Hemmings,
R-Lanikai-Waimanalo, after
the senator saw the episode
featuring Eko’s story.
Though the show has
been sweeping up awards,
including a Golden Globe
last month for best television
drama series, AkinnuoyeAgbaje called his appearance before the Hawaii
Legislature “the pinnacle” of
his career.
■
5
MOVIE REVIEW
‘Matador’ absurd but amusing
BY PHIL OWEN
Contributing Writer
Right now we are in the
middle of awards season,
which is probably my favorite time of year because more
movie discussion takes place
during this time than any
other. Unfortunately, “The
Matador” is not going to be a
part of many of those discussions because it has only been
nominated for a single award
this year, the Golden Globe
for best actor (Pierce Brosnan)
in a musical or comedy. That
lone nomination is what drew
my attention to this movie,
and boy, am I glad it did.
“The Matador” is the story
of for-hire hitman Julian Noble
(Brosnan), who is beginning
to have a mental breakdown.
Because of this, he botches
a couple of jobs and ends up
on the run from his previous
employers. On the other side
is self-employed businessman
Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear),
who meets Julian while on a
business trip to Mexico early
on in Julian’s breakdown.
Julian befriends Danny
because, being an international killer, he doesn’t have any
friends, and, as the saying
goes, hilarity ensues. There’s
more to the plot than this,
but it contains some interesting twists that I don’t
want to give away.
Brosnan got that Golden
Globe nomination, and he
got it for a reason. He is
outrageously funny here
— a true riot. His Julian and
Kinnear’s Danny play off
each other as well as any
other duo in recent years. It
was a real joy to see Brosnan
just be weird and watch
Kinnear react. Also, Hope
Davis as Danny’s wife adds
some great one-liners in her
brief screen time.
The movie is far from perfect, though. Another great
buddy comedy of 2005,
“Wedding Crashers,” would
build up great momentum
only to lose it in attempts to
be sentimental. The same
thing happens with this film,
as the filmmakers attempt
rottentomatoes.com
to make Julian and Danny’s
bonding more meaningful. Pierce Brosnan attempts to shed his James Bond persona by portraying a middle-aged hitman in “The Matador,”
The emotional moments in which is playing in Birmingham.
the film just stick out and
a movie such as “Kiss Kiss, it has the great humor and timentality that holds this film
work against the flow of a
movie that is otherwise pretty Bang Bang” to be among the wit that is also found in “The
absurd. The reason I consider best movies of 2005 is because Matador” but avoids the sen- See ‘MATADOR,’ Page 6
Wind instruments key
at Spectrum Concert
BY WES WOLFE
Contributing Writer
If you want to know what’s
going on among brass and
woodwind players at the
School of Music, a good
place to find out is at today’s
Spectrum Concert at the
Moody Music Building. Both
students and faculty will perform in a myriad of groups
designed to showcase what
the school has to offer.
“It’s a sampler, if you will,”
said Skipp Snead, director of
the School of Music. “It offers a
little bit of a lot of things, with
hopefully at least several or
multiple things that everyone
will like.”
Eight different groups will
perform tonight, including
six student groups: Alabama
Symphonic Band, Alabama
Jazz Ensemble, Alabama Jazz
Standards Combo, Alabama
Trombone Choir, Alabama
Tuba/Euphonium Quartet and
Percussion Ensemble.
School of Music faculty also
will perform Johnny Mercer’s
“Tangerine” in a jazz sextet
and playing Joseph Haydn’s
“Presto” in a quintet.
“The Alabama Faculty Jazz
Sextet is performing, so they’re
going to get a chance to hear
our top jazz musicians out of
our faculty, and then our top
woodwind instruments [in the
Capstone Quintet] will perform there,” said Alexis Clark,
marketing support assistant at
the School of Music.
The concert will have a theatrical feel to it as different
performers will be in different
parts of the concert hall.
“The other cool thing about
the Spectrum Concert is if
you’re sitting in the audience,
normally you’d sit there and
watch a concert,” Clark said.
“In the Spectrum Concert, the
symphonic band might be on
the stage, and then the jazz
sextet might be up in the balcony. Then, the Million Dollar
Band is going to come and
surround you in the whole
“So you’ll be surrounded
by music. It's probably
the only concert we have
that makes full use of the
space.”
— ALEXIS CLARK
School of Music marketing
support assistant
concert hall. And the flute
soloist might be in the back,
behind the audience. So you’ll
be surrounded by music. It’s
probably the only concert we
have that makes full use of the
space.”
The concert is a part of the
Alabama Honor Band Festival
in which the top high school
performers from across the
state come to the Capstone to
receive instruction and perform with other top students.
“Honor Band is an opportunity for all of the top high
school performers across the
state who play a wind instrument to come to the University
of Alabama on an invitationonly basis and have the opportunity to play with other top
musicians under outstanding
directors,” Clark said. “They
get a preview of the University
of Alabama, they get a preview
of the School of Music and, in
the Spectrum Concert, get a
preview of all the outstanding
students and faculty members
that perform.”
While the honor band program is in its 21st year, the
Spectrum Concert was added
in 2000. However, in that short
time Spectrum’s proved to be
a popular addition, drawing
anyone who’s interested in
the variety of programs at the
School of Music. The popularity spawned a second Spectrum
show in the fall semester with
vocal and string performers.
The Spectrum Concert starts
at 7:30 tonight in the Moody
Concert Hall. Admission is
free.
6
ENTERTAINMENT ■ Friday, February 3, 2006
IN brief
Sunday TV offers more than Super Bowl
Kilmer lists N.M. ranch
for $18 million
BY FRAZIER MOORE
Continued...
ROWE, N.M. — For sale:
1,800 acres of Val Kilmer’s
Pecos River Ranch southeast of Santa Fe. Asking
price: $18 million.
Sotheby’s listed the riverfront property near Rowe
on Jan. 3. It’s only a part of
the actor’s 6,000-acre ranch,
and was once part of the
Forked Lightning Ranch
owned by Greer Garson
and her husband, Texas oil
man Buddy Fogelson.
Real estate agent Garrett
VeneKlasen said buyers
can choose to purchase
only part of the land.
The property already has
been subdivided into two
parcels, he said. The first
part, which includes a fishing operation, covers nearly 1,000 acres and includes
3 miles of the river, three
houses, a stable and a rock
quarry.
Part of that parcel is protected from further development and subdivision
by a conservation easement held by the Santa Fe
Conservation Trust.
The other piece consists of about 850 acres of
undeveloped land with
three-quarters of an acre
of river. San Miguel County
zoning ordinances would
allow it to be split into parcels as small as 5 acres,
VeneKlasen said.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Every viewer
knows: This Sunday is the biggest sports day of the year.
For one thing, there’s Super
Bowl XL. With ABC’s pregame
coverage starting at 2:30 p.m.
EST followed by the main
event at 6:25 p.m., it will test
the mettle of the hardiest
couch potato.
But if you aren’t game to
watch the Seahawks and the
Steelers go at it, don’t worry.
Other sports are available —
like surfing, as you click from
channel to channel in search
of an alternative to hours of
pigskin pageantry.
Don’t get your hopes too
high. A bruising extravaganza
like the Super Bowl doesn’t
typically inspire rival networks
to put their best shows on the
field as counterprogramming.
All isn’t lost, though. You do
‘MATADOR’
Continued from Page 5
back. The movie was written and directed by Richard
Shephard, who has finally
broken out with this film after
having done some indies that
went nowhere. While I would
attribute the problems I have
with the movie to him, the
intelligence and wit of the
script make me think of him
as someone to watch, because
it’s pretty obvious that he has
great potential.
have other choices. Instead
of football, you might start
warming up for a marathon.
Hallmark Channel, for
instance, will offer viewers a
marathon of “Little House on
the Prairie,” the classic frontier
family drama starring Michael
Landon and Melissa Gilbert.
It will air from noon Sunday
through 3 a.m. Monday.
* Tony Shalhoub shines as an
obsessive-compulsive detective in “Monk,” the hit comedy-drama regularly airing
Fridays on USA. But Sunday
from 4 through 11 p.m., USA
presents a viewers’ choice of
seven favorite episodes. They
include “Mr. Monk Takes his
Medicine,” “Goes to Vegas”
and “Bumps His Head.” Please
wash your hands thoroughly
beforehand.
* Down-home cooking
queen Paula Deen is cooking
up a “Supper” Bowl marathon
on Food Network from 2 to
That said, “The Matador”
is a fun romp that’s mostly a
blast.
8 p.m. Along with episodes
of her series “Paula’s Home
Cooking,” the course includes
encores of her specials “AllStar Kitchen Makeover” and
“Paula Goes Hollywood,” plus
a special edition of “Behind
the Bash” with its host, Giada
De Laurentiis, covering Deen’s
movie-premiere party. (Last
year, Deen added “film actress”
to her resume, performing
alongside Kirsten Dunst and
Orlando Bloom in the feature
“Elizabethtown”).
* From noon to 9 p.m., VH1
is airing nine episodes of the
UPN hit, “America’s Next Top
Model,” with supermodel Tyra
Banks guiding the transformation of everyday young women
into what might potentially be
— well, the title says it.
* Catch a marathon of personal makeovers as TLC airs
five hours of “What Not to
Wear” from 7 p.m. to midnight,
with a style SWAT team that
(out of four)
includes fashion experts Stacy
London and Clinton Kelly,
hair specialist Nick Arrojo and
makeup artist Carmindy.
*Starting at noon, Court TV
airs eight hour-long editions of
“The Investigators,” its documentary series of true stories
about law enforcement and
the justice system. Then, from
8 p.m. through 4 a.m. Monday,
episodes of “Forensic Files”
show how legal experts assemble pieces of a crime puzzle to
nab the perpetrator.
*In something more akin to
a sprint, Fox News Channel
will repeat three hours of “The
O’Reilly Factor” from 8 to 11
p.m.
SPORTS ■ Friday, February 3, 2006
■
GOLF
■
UA looks to build
on fall successes
BY SCOTT LATTA
Senior Sports Reporter
■ [email protected]
After
not
participating in any tournaments for
more than three months, the
Alabama men’s and women’s
golf teams are picking up their
clubs again in preparation for
their spring season.
Head coach Jay Seawell
knows his team is on the cusp
of performing up to their
potential, though they face
some challenges this spring.
“The year was exactly what
you’d think of a young team.
We played really, really good
or really, really bad,” Seawell
said. “I’d like to see some
more consistency that I don’t
think we had last fall that kept
us from being one of the elite
teams, and I think that’s something we’ll learn.”
The Crimson Tide will be
without one of its best players
for at least four weeks while
Joseph Sykora, a redshirt
sophomore, recovers from
arthroscopic surgery on his
elbow.
The surgery, performed
two weeks ago, was done to
remove four bone fragments.
With Sykora out, Seawell
BASKETBALL
Continued from Page 1
many rebounds. Our kids
stepped up really well defensively in the second half.”
Alabama was held scoreless
in the final five minutes of the
game, and they also committed
six turnovers in that period.
The two main reasons
Balcomb went to the man
defense were the hot hands of
Moore and Lauren Hill.
Moore finished with 18
points, and Hill was four-of-six
from beyond the arc en route to
a 14-point night.
“They started to recognize
that I was knocking down shots
after I made two in a row in the
second half,” Hill said. “So [the
defense] made it really hard to
get looks and shots.”
Alabama jumped out to a 9-3
said he knows he’ll have to
look for leadership out of his
younger players.
“We’re going to need some
people who haven’t played
very much to step up because
of Joseph being out, so it’s
going to put a little more
strain on Mark Harrell and
Gator Todd who are our leaders,” Seawell said. “We’re being
lead by sophomores.”
The Tide will play its first
tournament of the year next
weekend in Jacksonville,
Fla., in the Mercedes-Benz
Intercollegiate. Seawell knows
that if his younger players
contribute the way he thinks
they can, there will be positive
results.
“It’s two-fold: what is the
progress on Joseph’s elbow,
which we’ll know in a few
weeks, and will the players
behind him step up? And I
believe they will,” Seawell
said. “Depending on how
Joseph heals and how the
players behind him respond,
I think we can do some very
good things.”
While women’s head coach
Mic Potter enjoyed success
in his first semester at the
Capstone, he also knows that
his team is capable of more
than they showed.
“What we’re all aiming for
is a chance to get into the
regional championships and
from there to play our way
into the national championships,” Potter said. “The way
things are kind of falling out,
there are five or six teams
we’re tied with for the 11 to 16
spots in the region and we’re
going to play those teams a
lot."
The Tide women are lead
by junior Jenny Suh. Suh, who
finished tied for second at the
Derby Invitational to close out
the fall, led Alabama in all four
fall tournaments, posting a 73
stroke average.
“Jenny closed out the fall
in a really All-American type
fashion,” Potter said. “She
leads by example; the younger players see her and know
what she can do. They see her
working with a purpose by
herself concentrating on what
she’s doing, and they learn
from that.”
The women play their first
tournament of the year Feb.
19 to 21 at the Papa John’s
Collegiate Invitational in
Miami. The Tide will play three
other tournaments before the
SEC Championship in April.
lead after Hill’s first 3-pointer
of the game, but a couple of
threes from Caroline Williams
put Vandy back in it.
Sherwood
gave
the
Commodores the lead at the
7:33 mark of the first half, and
Vandy retained a 28-23 lead at
the half.
The Tide fought hard to get
back into the basketball game,
but it was clear that Alabama
just ran out of gas late.
“Fatigue was a definite factor
in the last eight minutes of the
basketball game,” Smith said. “I
know we are down on numbers,
and we don’t have a very deep
roster to begin with. That’s why
you have to be proud of how
hard we are fighting and the
direction we are heading despite
losing.”
Alabama will head to Athens,
Ga., to play the UGA on Sunday
at 1:30 p.m. and will return
home Thursday for a matchup
with Ole Miss at 7 p.m.
7
SWIMMING AND DIVING UPDATE
Tide swimming looks to UT
BY DAVE HONISBERG
Sports Reporter
The Alabama swimming
and diving teams closed out
regular action this season on
the road in Columbia, S.C.,
where they met some stiff
competition from South
Carolina and Georgia in a dual
meet.
The No. 20 Alabama men’s
team beat the South Carolina
Gamecocks and lost to No. 10
Georgia by a slim margin.
The Crimson Tide men beat
South Carolina 206-91 and
were edged out by Georgia on
the last relay by a 158.5-140.5
decision.
“We swam pretty well out
there,” Alabama head coach
Eric McIlquham said. “We took
the Georgia men down to the
last relay. To win, we had to go
one-two in the last relay, and
we ended up going two-three.
But we were in the hunt.”
The Tide women lost both
to No. 1 Georgia, 207-91, and
to South Carolina, 168-131.
Alabama’s men won the
opening relay when the 200meter medley relay team,
comprised of freshman Chris
Perry, junior Vlad Polyakov,
junior Apostolis Tsagkarakis
and senior Darren Erasmus,
finished with a time of
1:31.14.
Polyakov and junior Hunor
Mate’ finished first and second, respectively, in both the
100- and 200-meter breaststrokes. Polyakov finished first
in both events, with winning
times of 54.44 in the 100 and a
1:55.90 in the 200.
Alabama also clinched first
and second place in the men’s
50-meter and 100-meter freestyles. Tsagkarakis won the
50-meter freestyle with a time
of 20.69, followed by Erasmus
with 20.74. Erasmus won the
100-meter with a 45.01, followed by Tsagkarakis with
45.56. Perry closed out the
day for the Tide by finishing
first place in the 100-meter
backstroke, turning in a time
of 50.62.
But the men were not the
only ones winning. On the
women’s side of the meet,
senior Kathryn Hallquist took
first place in the 100-meter
backstroke, finishing with a
57.37, while junior Victoria
Genova was claiming victory
in the 200-meter butterfly, finishing more than two seconds
faster than the rest of the pack
with a 2:02.20.
The women also had a
meet in Gainesville, Fla., on
Jan. 20 against the Arkansas
Razorbacks and the Florida
Gators. They beat Arkansas
handily with a 104-34 decision but lost to Florida 17897. McIlquham said his teams
have been doing a great job.
“We got touched out in a
few races this week, and we
just have to get some fine tuning in, not just for next weekend, but for the SEC and NCAA
Championships,” McIlquham
said.
“[The South Carolina meet]
was a pretty exciting meet,
and we had some great swims.
We’re finally standing up and
racing. We’ve been laying low
for pretty much all season, but
now our kids are starting to
step up now that it’s starting
to count, so I’m pretty excited.
We’re really peaking right now
as we get ready to open up the
championship season.”
Since returning from the
meet, both teams have been
making final preparations
for the SEC Championships,
which kick off Feb. 15 in
Knoxville, Tenn.
Sports
Next Week
■
Matt Scalici ■ Editor
[email protected]
A recap of Men’s Basketball vs. LSU
Recap of XL Super Bowl and how former
Tide star Shaun Alexander perfomed in it.
■
8
Friday, February 3, 2006
■
GYMNASTICS
Fresh freshman faces aid team
Two freshmen have yet to
compete for the Tide, and
they are Jacksonville, Fla.,
native Amanda Montgomery
and Marion, Ill., native Bianca
Puello.
Montgomery was a member of the Level 10 National
Team in 2003, while Puello
was the Level 10 uneven bars
champion in 2001.
“I knew early on we were
going to have to put them out
there trial by fire, and thus far
they’ve done well,” Patterson
said. “I don’t expect them to
be perfect. I expect there is
going to be a learning curve,
but as long as we continue to
get better with each passing
week I’m going to be happy.”
Tide leaning on freshmen for boost to the top
BY DAN SELLERS
Senior Sports Reporter
■
[email protected]
The 2006 version of Alabama
gymnastics is a little different
than those of previous years.
The Crimson Tide is still
geared for a championship
run, but its destiny might
depend on the success of the
freshman class.
The Tide squad boasts eight
newcomers, and they are
making their presence known.
The freshmen have accounted
for nearly half of the routines
turned in by Alabama, and
their performances have been
crucial to the Tide’s 9-0 start.
“Anytime you have a large
freshman class, there’s a lot of
things that go with it,” gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson
said. “One that I really enjoy
is the youth and enthusiasm
they have.
“They’ve been excited since
the first day they arrived on
campus, and I think what they
lack in experience they make
up for with enthusiasm.”
One of the most talented freshmen was a late
arrival to the Capstone,
but she is showing no ill
effects. Brittany Magee, an
Arlington, Texas, native,
arrived in Tuscaloosa on
Dec. 26 after meeting eligibility requirements.
“I had an open space
where I didn’t know what I
was going to do,” Magee said.
“So I talked with [coach Bryan
Raschilla and coach David
Patterson] and asked them
about what I needed to do to
come in January.”
Magee was originally going
to train all year with USA
Gymnastics, but a back injury
sidelined her and led to her
early enrollment.
She rebounded from what
she called a poor performance
at the Super Six in Baton
Rouge, La., and won her first
CW / Elliot Knight
Front to back: Courtney Priess, Ashley Ford, Cassie Martin, Bianca Puelo, Amanda Montgomery, Melanie Banville, Ashley O'Neal, Brittany Magee
posting a season-high 9.9 on
“They’ve been
the vault.
excited since the first
Arguably the most highly
touted of the newcomday they arrived on campus, ers is Canadian Olympian
Banville. The
and I think what they lack Melanie
Ontario native earned her
in experience they make up stripes last week on the
Plains in the Tide’s win over
for with enthusiasm.”
Auburn.
— Sar ah Patterson
Head gymnastics coach
event
with
a
9.9 in the
floor exercise at Penn State to
notch her first event title.
Magee’s most clutch performance thus far was notching
a 9.875 on the floor exercise
against Florida. Her showing
helped the Tide fend off the
Gators in front of a record
crowd at Coleman Coliseum.
Magee added to her resume
against Auburn last week by
With senior Ashley Miles
sidelined by the flu, Alabama
turned to Banville in the final
event. She was nearly flawless
as she landed a 9.925 to ice
the match. She also tied her
career best with a 9.825 on the
vault.
“[Our performances] are
really important, because we
are already half the team”
Banville said. “The freshmen
need to contribute to the
team and get consistent now,
so that later on we can really
help this team.”
Cassie Martin is another
freshman with a few good
outings under her belt. The
Olney, Md., native won her
first collegiate event by scoring a 9.9 on the balance beam
at Penn State and repeated
that score to win the balance
beam at Auburn.
“We’ve got a great team, and
it’s a lot of fun,” Martin said.
“Everybody just pushes you
to get better every day — it’s
inspiring.”
Ashley O’Neal has also
improved over the course of
the season. After only competing in one event at the
Super Six, she was part of
three events at Penn State.
She had some pivotal performances against Florida
and posted a 9.85 on the vault
against Auburn to help the
Tide to its best vault showing
of the season.
Alabama went into Ohio
to pull a talented freshman
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ■ VANDERBILT 65, ALABAMA 53
Tide women fall to Vandy
BY DAN SELLERS
Senior Sports Reporter
■
[email protected]
The Alabama women’s basketball team has not beaten a
ranked team since December
2002, and for now things will
stay that way. The Crimson
Tide had No. 21 Vanderbilt on
the ropes with five minutes
remaining Thursday night, but
a 16-0 Commodore run put
Alabama away 65-53.
The loss sends Alabama (813, 2-6) reeling to its fifth consecutive loss, three of which
have come at the hands of top
25 teams. Vanderbilt (15-7, 44) has now won two in a row.
“I thought we made huge
shots throughout the entire
basketball game, except those
last four minutes where we
really needed to,” Alabama
head coach Stephany Smith
said. “You have to give
Vanderbilt a lot of credit. They
really stepped it up offensively
and defensively.”
After being down by as
many as nine, Alabama slowly
fought its way back into the
game.
Navonda Moore knocked
down a 3-pointer to cut the
deficit to two with less than
14 minutes remaining, and
Dee Merriweather tied it with
a baseline layup on the next
possession.
Junior guard Leah Drury
gave the Tide its first lead
since the halfway mark of the
first half on a transition layup.
After a Vandy field goal,
Moore came up huge again.
The Jackson, Miss., native
CW/ Elliot Knight
Navonda Moore (34) drives towards the goal Thursday evening in
Alabama’s loss to Vanderbilt.
drained a 3-pointer to put
Alabama back in the lead at
45-42.
The Commodores coun-
tered back with a steady
dose of Liz Sherwood. The
sophomore center pounded
Alabama inside all night and
had nine of her game-high 23
points down the stretch.
The teams swapped baskets,
but it looked like Alabama
would take control after freshman Camilla Blands buried
a knuckleball-like three. The
field goal gave the Tide a 53-49
lead with more than five minutes to go, but that is when the
wheels fell off.
After a free throw and a
layup, Caroline Williams
drained one of her four 3pointers of the night to put
Vandy in the lead for good at
54-53. She also applied the
dagger by drilling her final 3pointer of the night to give the
Commodores a comfortable
six-point lead.
Vanderbilt head coach
Melanie Balcomb made a key
move late in the game to neutralize the Tide’s scorers, and it
worked to perfection.
“We switched to man-toman because we needed stops
and rebounds near the end of
the game,” Balcomb said. “Our
zone was giving up too many
See BASKETBALL, Page 7
out in Courtney Priess. Priess,
a two-time all-around finalist at the Level 10 National
Championships, has been
competitive early, with her
best score being a 9.8 on the
uneven bars at Penn State.
Ashley Ford, a home-grown
freshman who hails from
Tuscaloosa County High
School, competed in one
event at the Super Six. She
posted a 9.625 in her college
debut to help Alabama win
the vault title with a 49.050.