University of Alabama System 500 University Boulevard East Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 205.348.5861

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February 22, 2019

ARTICLES OF INTEREST February 15, 2019 – February 22, 2019

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SPORTS 50

AL.com Wednesday, February 20, 2019

UA takes steps to avoid culturally insensitive parties, but some continue

By: Abbey Crain

Last October, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at The University of Alabama sent an email to Greek presidents reminding them to refrain from Halloween costumes that could be considered offensive.

The email encouraged students to be wary of the differences between "creative costumes and offensive costumes - those that attempt to stereotypically mimic or culturally misappropriate aspects of any group regardless of their gender, race, culture, ethnicity, religion, class, sexual orientation, and gender identity." The email also linked to articles such as "Culture vs. Costume: What's Appropriate for Halloween?" and included photos of inappropriate costumes, such as students in blackface, dressed as a Japanese Geisha and some wearing sombreros.

UA declined to comment on why the email was sent. But the directive seemed to anticipate the kind of backlash now consuming politicians in Virginia, where photos of students in blackface resurfaced from old college yearbooks.

The university, and in particular its fraternities and sororities, have a long history of confronting racist and culturally insensitive behavior on campus - often in a public way.

In 1991, The New York Times covered a protest on campus after white sorority members dressed in blackface in a "Who Rides the Bus" themed party.

In 2013, some all-white sororities at UA blocked African-American women from pledging. Last year a member of a historically-white sorority used a racial slur repeatedly in an Instagram video.

But even as the university works toward quashing racist and culturally insensitive Greek Life events, at least one fraternity continues to honor its Confederate roots.

According to a UA spokesperson, all Greek-sponsored parties must be approved by UA.

In 2009, members of the Kappa Alpha fraternity, a fraternity founded by Robert E. Lee, apologized after its "Old South" parade of flatbed trucks carrying women in antebellum-style hoop skirts and men in Confederate uniforms stopped in front of a historically black sorority house.

According to a UA spokesperson, "Old South" themed parties were banned by the national Kappa Alpha organization in 2016. But AL.com found photos from as recently as 2018 where students were posing in front of a cannon in front of the KA house wearing "Old South" costumes, though the men no longer wear the traditional Confederate gray.

"It is well known that the fraternity has consistently reviewed and revised policies regarding all social events conducted by individual chapters to ensure actions were in line with our core values," said communications director for Kappa Alpha national organization, Jesse Lyons in an emailed statement to AL.com. "These include the prohibition of any trappings and nomenclature associated with the Civil War period.

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AL.com Wednesday, February 20, 2019

He said the recent "Old South" parties at UA "were never required, nor condoned, and less than one third of chapters used the referenced nomenclature by 2015. Any event must be conducted with dignity, respect and be in compliance with university policies."

AL.com asked readers to send in greek party themes they experienced while at UA on Twitter.

3

The Crimson White Monday, February 18, 2019

Business students utilize ·rhe EDGE's resources Bailey Tibbs, a freshman majoring

in finance, is looking forward to the possibilities The EDGE EntrepreneurshiJJ Center provides business students, as ir gives students and entrepreneurs a space to work and grow their businesses.

"As a business student, I'm excited for the opportunities that The EDGE offers students to be creative, gain experience and hone their business skills outside of the typical classroom setting," Tibbs said.

In partnership with the city of Tuscaloosa and . the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce, The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business celebrated the grand opening of The EDGE on Feb. 6.

The EDGE is a new $11.7 million facility with offices, workspaces' and conference rooms. In addition, members of The EDGE also have access to workshops, forums and networking opportunities to meet and collaborate with other entrepreneurs.

Before the opening of the new facility, The EDGE was previously located in downtown Tuscaloosa. With the new facility, now located at 2627 10th Ave., the University now has more control over day-to-day operations while the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce provides more support for events ancl larger endeavors.

Josh Sahib, program manager at The EDGE, said the events to be held at the facility are the most beneficial opportunities students can take advantage of.

"Events at The EDGE are a great opportunity for students to get involved and utilize the space," Sahib said. "Companies that have won competitions in the past are still operational and doing very well."

The EDGE will host Startup Weekend March 1-3, an event held worldwide and sponsored by Techstars and Google to help narticinants learn how to create

a company while networking with mentors, investors, co-founders and sponsors. Participants will be challenged to form a team, create a business startup anri pitch their idea to a panel of judges -ai! in one weekend.

"Startup Weekend allows people with different skills, whether you're more technical or more of a designe1~ to come rogether and cross collaborate," Sahib said

Students can also participate in The EDGE's Edward K. Aldag Jr. Business Plirn Competition, which allows te8ms of entrepreneurs to compete for a monetary grand prize by submitting a preliminary business plan to be reviewed before submitting a final plan. Previous winners of the competition still utilize office space at The EDGE and continue to grow their businesses, including a video game company that won the competition last year.

In addition to utilizing The EDGE's facilities, student entrepreneurs are encouraged to get involved with the University's chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO). CEO is a student-led initiative that provides student entrepreneurs with access to mentorship opportunities, networking events and further opportunities to compete in business competitions.

Nate Jones, a sophomore majoring in finance, is a member of a research team at The EDGE, where he reads initial public offering prospectuses, which is data published when a company .t)ms the o:tock market for .the first time. He th, ·n ,_•::de:, those values into Microsoft Excel.

.hnes is also involved with CEO and ;.:aid the organization is very beneficial to business students by bringing in spokers who have experience and by providing a community for students interested in business to be around other like-minded students.

"It's an environment where people who want to start a business can not only meet others with similar interests, but get advice about starting their own," ,Jcnes

said. "It increases your connections, J,'.'1 if they don't know someone to solve your problem, they're happy to help put you in touch with the right people."

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The Crimson White Monday, February 18, 2019

UA works to rectify racist history BY ANNA BETH PETERS

STAFF COLUMNIST

Even though the path to racial reconciliation is a difficult and

arduous journey, The University of Alabama is taking steps in the right direction. The University is beginning to see the error of past mistakes and take action to right its wrongs.

Throughout history, the University has been an environment where race holds significance. The faculty and administrators at the University were known to have owned and rented enslaved people during the 1800s. The University was also slow to adhere to integration methods in the 1960s, and its first black students faced many hardships as trailblazers. Despite this, the University is now working to overcome its past ways of thinking and is transforming into a more diverse and welcoming college.

In 2004, the University took the first step toward racial reconciliation by formally apologizing for its involvement in the institution of slavery. The apology is written on a plaque near the Biology Building next to the graves of Jack Rudolph and William "Boysey" Brown, two enslaved people who worked on campus. The marker recognizes the past involvements of UA faculty and staff in slavery. This apology was one of the first of its kind, especially from a Southern school.

In 2010, The University dedicated a clock tower and the surrounding plaza to Autherine Lucy Foster, Vivian Malone and James Hood. These students were the first African-Americans to enroll at the University; however, Malone was the only one to successfully graduate. These students faced racial persecution and discrimination when the University opened its doors to them. Erecting monuments to honor their suffering is yet another step toward on-campus racial reconciliation.

Many buildings on the campus are named after problematic white men.

Just this past year, our Faculty Senate voted to establish a commission to study slavery at the University. This commission aims to make difficult conversations about race easier. The commission will be a crucial part of racial reconciliation at the University, as it hopes to educate and encourage students.

Earlier this month, the University took another step toward racial reconciliation. The new freshman dorm was named after

the Honorable John H. England Jr., the Tuscaloosa Circuit Judge. The residence hall is the first building to be named after an African-American on the University's campus. Many buildings on the campus are named after problematic white men, but it is promising to know that new buildings are being named to honor people of color. This is a crucial aspect of moving forward, as the naming of the residence hall serves as representation for the 23 percent of non-white students on campus.

Although more progress is essential to achieving racial reconciliation, the University seems to be striving for change. History serves as a tool for knowledge and growth, but the University must acknowledge its past shortcomings in order to move forward The apology, the monuments and buildings and the commission are all important tools that showcase the University's will to promote diversity and equality.

The journey for racial reconciliation at the University is no easy one. This university's history of abuse toward people of color is not pretty, but that does not mean it should be glossed over. We must overcome our past to head in a different, more promising direction for the future. The University of Alabama seems to be on the right track.

Anna Beth Peters is a sophomore majoring in political science and communication studies. Her column runs biweekly.

5

Alabama announces seven assistant coaches to staff

By Ben Jones Sports Writer

Alabama coach Nick Saban announced the addition of seven new assistant coaches to the staff in a news release Friday.

Steve Sarkisian was named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Pete Golding, who spent last season as inside lineback­ers coach and co-defensive coordinator, was promoted to defensive coordinator.

Charles Kelly was named associate defensiye coordina­tor and safeties coach. Brian Baker was named defensive line coach and associate head coach. Sal Sunseri was named outside linebackers coach. Kyle Flood was named offen­sive line coach and Holmon Wiggins was named wide receivers coach.

Steve Sarkisian • Offensive coordinator/

quarterbacks Steve Sarkisian rejoins

Alabama's staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after spending the 2016 season with the Crimson Tide. This is the fourth change for Alabama at offensive coor­dinator since late in the 2016 season, when the program parted ways with Lane Kiffin and named Sarkisian as his successor before the national championship game.

The Tuscaloosa News Saturday, February 16, 2019

Sarkisian called that one game before leaving to be offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 and 2018. Alabama employed Brian Daboll as offensive coordina­tor in 2017 and Mike Locksley in 2018. Both moved on after one season.

Alabama lost the national championship game to Clem -son35-31 toconcludethe2016 season. The Crimson Tide posted 376 yards of offense against the Tigers and the offense scored a go-ahead touchdown with a little more than two minutes to go, but couldn't seal the win.

Sarkisian will inherit one of the nation's most talented

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COACHES FromPageAI

groups of skill position players. Qua•terback Tua Tagov4iloa ret!lltls as tqe Heisman Trophy runner­up after breaking most ~f the school's single­season passing records as a sophomore. His top four wide receivers, led by Biletnikoff Award winner Jerry Jeudy, are also back. Junior running back Najee Harris is the leading returning rusher.

The Atlanta Falcons finished 10th in the NFL in scoring in 2018, averag­ing 25.9 points per game. They averaged 389 .1 yards per game, the sixth-best mark in the league. Atlan­ta's passing game was especially potent, ranking fourth with 290.8 yards per game. . They averaged 22.1

points per game and 364. 8 Y~rds per game in 2017, good for 13th and eighth in the league, respectively. 1'he Falcons went 10-6 in io17 and 7-9 in 2017 • Sarkisian first joined

Alabama's staff as an analyst early in the 2016 season. He spent most df the season in that role before being promoted to offensive coordinator. ; -Sarkisian rose to prom­

foence as an assistant coach under Pete Carroll at Southern Cal. He was quarterbacks coach for the Trojans from 2001-03 and again from 2005-06 after spending the 2004 season coaching the quarterbacks for the Oakland Raid -ers. He was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Washington hired Sarkisian to be head coach in December 2008. He went 34-29 in five seasons with the Huskies, qualify­ing for bowl games in each of his last four seasons but never going better than 8-4.

USC hired him as head coach for 2014 after firing Kiffin. He went 9-4 in 2014 anil hPf~n the 2015 season 3-2 before being fired. Several reports stated Sarkisian' s trouble with alcohol led to his dis­missal. He sat out the rest of the fall and the offsea­son before Alabama hired him in 2016.

Charles Huff • Associate head coach/

running backs Charles Huff, who was

the assistant head coach, run game coordinator and running backs coach at Mississippi State in 2018, was named Alabama's new running backs coach.

Huff previously worked at Penn State from 2014-17, the last two of those

se.isons with current MSU head coach Joe Moor­head. Huff coached and recruited All -America running back Saquon Bar­kley. In addition to MSU and Penn State, he has served at Western Michi­gan (2013), the Buffalo Bills (2012), Vanderbilt (2011), Hampton (2010), Maryland(2009)andTen­nessee State (2006-08).

Huff was considered one of Mississippi State's strongest recruiters in 2018. He's the second Bulldog assistant to join the staff along with defensive line coach Brian Baker.

Hohnon Wiggins • Wide receivers Alabama named

Holmon Wiggins as its new wide receivers coach. Wiggins spent the last three seasons at Virginia Tech. He has worked with head coach Justin Fuente for the last seven seasons, including four seasons at Memphis before that.

He helped coach the Hokies' top two all-time leading receivers, Cam Phillips and Isaiah Ford. Three of the top four seasons in school his­tory in receiving yards came while he coached in Blacksburg, Virginia. Ford had 1,094;eceivingyards in 2016, while Phillips posted 983 yards in 2016 and 964 yards in 2017. He also helped coach Mem­phis' all-time receiving leader, Anthony Miller.

Prior to working at Memphis, Wiggins coached running backs during the 2011 season at Tulsa. He spent five seasons as running backs coach at Illinois State from 2006-10. He began his career as a student assistant and a graduate assistant at New Mexico.

Kyle Flood • Offensive Hne Alabama named Kyle

Flood as its offensive line coach. He replaces Brent Key, who left for the same position at Georgia Tech after spending three sea­sons at Alabama.

Flood is best known for his time at Rutgers, where he was head coach from 2012-15. He was an assis­tant there from 2005-11. More recently, he was assistant offensive line coach for the Atlanta Fal­cons in 2017 and 2018.

In 2017, Flood helped Atlanta produce an offense that allowed only 24 sacks, tied for the third-lowest amount in the NFL.

He was fired from Rut -gers at the end of the 2015 season, during which the Scarlet Knights went 4-8. He received a one-year show-cause order from the NCAA that expired in September 2018 after an

investigation detemunect ~1ood "failed to monitor his operations staff" and their oversight of a group of mostly female stud~nt recruiting hosts.

He was suspended three games by the university during the 2015 season after an internal investi­gation found Flood had intervened with a profes­sor on behalf of a football player to maintain the player's eligibility.

Rutgers went 27-24 under Floo._l with bowl games in his first three seasons. He was chosen as the 2012 Big East Coach of the Year after getting Rut­gers tied for the Big East title and finished 9-4.

Cllarles Kelly • Associate defensive

coonlillator/safeties Former Tennessee

assistant Charles Kelly was named to Alabama's staff as safeties coach and associate defensive

,coordinator. Kelly was the Vols' special teams coordinator and safeties coach.

Kelly originally turned down the opportunity to work for former Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley at Mary­land as the Terrapins' defensive coordinator to stay at Tennessee.

Kelly succeeded Jeremy Pruitt as defensive coor­dinator at Florida State. He was linebackers coach for the Seminoles in 2013 while Pruitt was the coordinator, then became coordinator from 2014-17.

Kelly was at Georgia Tech prior to FSU. He coached several positions there. Kelly was interim defensive coordinator in 2012, was defensive backs coach from 2010-12, cornerbacks coach from 2008-09 and special teams in 2007.

Kelly split time as defensive backs coach and defensive coordina -tor at Nicholls State from 2002-05.

He was at Eufaula (Alabama) High School in 2000 and 2001 as an assistant coach after spending 1999 at Hender­son State as the defensive coordinator.

Kelly was at Jackson­ville State from 1994-98. He coached the running backs and defensive backs for a season each to start. Then, he was the offensive coordinator for a season and the def en -sive coordinator for two seasons.

In 1993, Kelly worked at his alma matter, Auburn, as an assistant coach. He played as a defensive back there from 1986-89.

Kelly's first coaching job came in Tuscaloosa. He worked at Central High School from 1990-()2.

The Tuscaloosa News Saturday, February 16, 2019 Sal-• Outside ll■ebackeu

coach Former Aiabama

assistant Sal S;.mseri is returning to Tuscaloosa as outside linebackers coach. He spent the 2018 season as defensive line coach at Florida. Overall, he has 36 years of coaching experi­ence, including 10 seasons in the NFL.

Last year, the Gators forced 11 fumbles and made 37 sacks, marking the first time the team achieved those combined totals since 2015.

Sunseri was lineback­ers coach for the Oakland Raiders from 2015-17. Prior to that, he was defen­sive ends coach for Florida State in 2013 and 2014, winning two ACC cham­pionships and the 2013 national championship with the Seminoles. He worked under former FSU coach and current Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher .

Sunseri previously worked at Alabama from 2009-11 as the assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach, help­ing the Crimson Tide win two national champion -ships. After that, he spent a season at Tennessee as defensive coordinator.

Sunseri's son, forme1 Alabama safety VinniE Sunseri, joined the stafl this offseason as a gradu · ate assistant.

Brian Baker • Associate head coach,

defensive line coach Alabama named forme1

Mississippi State defen · sive line coach Briar Baker as its defensive \in, coach. Baker and Huf both arrive in Tuscaloos, after spending 2018 wit! the Bulldogs. That wa: just one of three season: Baker was in Starkville Mississippi.

In 2018, Baker's person nel claimed five of the 1 SEC Defensive Lineman ci the Week Awards. Monte Sweat got it three times and Jeffrey Simmons wa chosen twice.

The year before ther, was even more succes with those two bein: coached by Baker. It wa the first time in MSl history more than on player was named a first time All-SEC defensiv lineman. Only one othe school in the SEC West ha produced multiple first team All-SEC defensiv linemen since 2003, an, that was Alabama in 201 c

During Baker's fir; season with the Bulldogi the defensive line ranke­in the SEC's top five i tackles for loss, tally ing 8 I. Three of Baker' player signed NFL fre agent contracts in Ma 2017 (Nelson Adams Johnathan Calvin an Nick James.)

7

Birmingham Business Journal Friday, February 15, 2019

ACREcom insights: Amazon's effect, economic outlook & more The current real estate cycle is one of the longest in recent memory, even for some who have been in the commercial real estate industry for decades.

Some experts say that 2019 shouldn't bring an end to the cycle or the dreaded 'R' word - recession. But 2020 might.

That was one takeaway from the Alabama Center for Real Estate's ACREcom confer­ence Feb. 8, which is one of the largest local industry meetings and continuing educa­tion offerings for real estate professionals.

ACRE's K.C. Conway gave his CRE and Economic Outlook presentation in which he outlined several things for CRE profes­sionals to keep an eye on in 2019 and into 2020. Here are several key takeaways.

Logistics infrastructure The growth of ecommerce business in the last decade has made plenty of headlines about its impact on physical retail stores. A dubbed "retail apocalypse" has garnered headlines as several well-known big-box retailers have declared bankruptcy or closed stores. although those in retail real estate are quick to point out that those worries are overblown.

But a recent report from ACRE high-

: lights another area to watch due to the I growth of ecommerce - Alabama's logistics

infrastructure. : ACRE's report "Logistics Infrastructure: ; Transformational Opportunities,· shows the i ecommerce supply chain growing at 25 to ! 30 percent per year, and the state's logistics

infrastructure is largely unprepared for it. The report says Alabama amid lose out on future economic development opportunities if it doesn't invest in infulstructure needs, wheth­er it's roads, bridges or at the Port of Mobile.

1 The implications for real estate are clearly pointing to even more demand for industrial warehouse-type development that can sup­port fulfillment and storage.

Real estate and business leaders in the state have said economic development wins like the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer are examples of projects that were attracted

: by logistics advantages, but future projects I of that type could pass Alabama by if more ' investments aren't made now. I

' ! The 'R' word: Recession

Recession doesn't seem to be in the cards for 2019, but more economic volatility

i may be.

J

Conway's presentation pointed out that even as GDP and low unemploy ment are still trending well for the U.S. economy. actions by the Federal Reserve, the threat of another government shut­down. and natural disasters out of any­one's control like hurricanes could make a difference in economic growth this year.

Another issue to watch. even as U.S. job creation increases. is a lack of quali­fied candidates to fill those jobs.

Economic activity weighs heavily in commercial real estate, both in develop­ment and investment.

Changes in lease accounting The Financial Accounting Standards Board is making changes to how leases are handled in financial reporting. The new standard will impact commercial real estate in a big way as companies and owners adjust to it.

Although it isn't yet clear how the new lease accounting standard could , affect commercial real estate valuations, an estimate from Moody's Investors Ser­vice.said it projects that real estate leas­es under the new standard would add $1 trillion in liabilities to corporate balance sheets.

Amazon changing grocery Birmingham has a particular claim to fame when it comes to how the grocery 1

business is changing due to technology. with Shipt starting in the Magic City. And

Grocery delivery startup Slupt's gTowth has been an asset for commet"cial real e!.tate.

BOBF ARLEY.PHOTOSHEL TER.COM

from a real estate perspective, the com­pany has also helped by signing on as anchor tenant in 60,000 square feet of office space in downtown.

But apart from Shipt, moves by Ama­zon could begin to impact the physical grocery stores in the retail real estate scene across the U.S. Grocery-anchored retail centers have been one of the saf­er investment options in recent years as retail properties struggle to backfill spac­es vacated by big-box store anchors.

The ACRE presentation pointed out that owners of grocery-anchored shop­ping centers could begin to struggle in the future depending on what happens in the market.

8

The Crimson White Thursday, February 14, 2019

International students get housing advice

BY XiEELf BREWER COi\!TRiBIJT,~IG 1/\/RiTER

Though Tingk~i x.,;, a second-y~ar graduate swdent completing

his master's degree in social work, hasn't had a negative experience with landlords. Some of his friends have.

Evenings at Global Cafe's panel on Feb. 12 served as a good reminder for him. The topic was "What you need to know about landlords and apartment leases," which served to help prevent the process of locating and securing housing for the academic year from becoming an added obstacle for international students.

The sheer number of students in Tuscaloosa scrambling to sign leases by the spring semester in conjunction with the countless decisions involving location, price and roommates lays a heavy burden on individuals who lack guidance.

Students who have travelled to the United States to pursue an education are focused on navigating a new culture, developing strong relationships w~th their peers and often overcoming a language barrier.

Global Cafe, an initiative of the Center for Community-Based Partnerships, provides a community where international students and student; with international interests ca:1 develop productive and beneficial relationships. Evenings at Global Cafe is a program designed to provide international students with resources for a smoother transition.

"We have one or two events a month to give important information to international students or visiting scholars about American culture and American laws," said Xu, an international student from China and a graduate assistant for the Global Cafe program. "It is important knowledge about how to make an international person adapt themselves to a new environment."

"Overall there's almost an epidemic in Tuscaloosa," Taylor said. "It's a landlord's market. The law kind of caters to the landlords. It's even hard for undergraduate students who are from the United States. It's hard enough '.or us, _so I can't imagine being an mternat10nal student and having to deal with the stuff we have to go through in a second language."

Global Cafe offers tutoring sessions ~Ionday through Friday from 8 a.m. :o 4 p.m., partnering international

and American students to practice conversational English, explore U.S. cwture and form relationships.

Taylor said she feels like Global Cafe evening events really display the heart of the program and highlight the work members try to do.

"Most of the people from here are very welcome, very kind, very warm," Xu said. "I've met a lot of people from different countries, from different places ;n America. It's one rJf the best experiences of my Jif2. ·•

·-·---,

'The panel fer the event consisted of four individuaL,: Amanda Collins­Sims, coordinator of off-campus housing and special services for UA Housing and Residential Communities; Zbigniew Krejpcio, a visiting Fulbright Scholar in chemistry from Poland; Yuri R. Linetsky, associate professor of clinical legal instruction, director of Clinical Programs and director of UA Civil Law Clinic; and Charter Morris, director of UA International Student and Scholar Services at the Capstone International Center.

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The Crimson White Thursday, February 14, 2019

'Aiauct1ria iaw is not always friendly to renters, but it does provide a certain level of protection to tenants," said Linetsky, referencing the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act as a valuable resource for an individual seeking housing. This document outlines the responsibilities of each party as stated by law.

Collins-Sims warned students about the incentives used to pressure individuals into signing leases. These promises of discounts or gift cards along with incessant reminders of limited availability lead many renters to prematurely enter legally binding agreements.

Morris explained that some landlords make unacceptable demands of international students because they assume these individuals are unaware of the legal rights they hold as a renter. The possibility of exploitation by landlords makes it crucial for all students to-understand the legality of the demands they might face.

Visiting a property before signing is recommended for anyone preparing to enter a lease, but Krejpcio said this is not an option for most international students. Travelling to the U.S. ahead of time to see a property firsthand is not feasible. He recounted his own experience of signing a lease from Poland, suggesting that students have their hosts inspect the property for them if possible.

Linetsky provided insight on specific legal stipulations that students need to understand. Security deposits were one of these topics. The return of security deposits at the end of a lease can be challenging because students must provide a physical address to receive it. If students are unable to provide this address within 90 days, landlords are not legally obligated to return the money. Additionally, this deposit is often returned in the form of a check, which can be an obstacle for international students.

Kathryn Taylor, a junior majoring in communication studies and a Global Cafe tutor, emphasized the importance of hosting these events.

10

The Tuscaloosa News Thursday, February 14, 2019

Camgian opens center at business incubator Tech company was chosen as anchor tenant fortheEdge

Staff report

Camgian Microsystems has opened its Center for Artifi­cial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tuscaloosa.

The Starkville, Mississippi-based technol­ogy company marked the grand opening of its Tusca­loosa center on Feb. 6 at the Edge, the business incubator

at 2627 10th Ave. Camgian Microsystems

Corp., founded in 2006 by Gary Butler, develops advanced and artificial intel­ligence technologies for the U.S. military, government and industrial sectors.

"We are so excited to offi­cially begin operations in Tuscaloosa," said Butler, Camgian's chairman and CEO, in a news release. "We look forward to making this

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CAMGIAN From Page Bl

facility a great success f ot- Camgian, and for the community."

Camgian was chosen as the anchor tenant for the Edge, a brand-new $11.6

million, 26,300-square­foot facility, which was created as a collaborative project between the Uni:­versity of Alabama, the city of Tuscaloosa and the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.

"We couldn't be more thrilled than to have Camgian select

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The Tuscaloosa News Thursday, February 14, 2019

Tuscaloosa and the Edge for its new Center for AI and Machine Leaming," said Jim Page, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. "Companies like Camgian promote innovation and inspire entrepreneurship, while creating excellent career

opportunities for our community."

In August 2018, when Camgian announced it wc,uldbecome the Edge's first tenant, Tuscaloosa leaders said the decision moved the area one step closer to a goal of advanc­ing a knowledge -based economy.

12

INSIDE THI STATEHOUSE

The Tuscaloosa News Thursday, February 21, 2019

When it comes to women in leadership roles, Alabama is a leader

9i T

here has been a lot of talk about the advancement of

women in politics over the past year. It has been suggested that more progressive states have led the way with this change.ButAlabama can very well make the case that it leads the nation in women taking state leadership roles.

It is doubtful that any state in the nation can claim a female governor and a female chief execu -tive of their state's leading business organization.

Kay Ivey began her first elected term as governor on Jan. 14, after

completing the unexpired term of ousted gover-nor Robert Bentley. Ivey had previously been the state treasurer for eight years and lieutenant governor for six years, before taking the gover­norship in April 2017.

On Jan. 2, Katie Boyd Britt took the reins of the state's most power­ful political organization, the Business Council of Alabama. She is the first woman to serve as the BCA' s president and chief executive officer, and is also by far the youngest CEOinBCAhistory.

Britt comes to the BCA from U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby's office, where she was our senior senator's chief of staff. Alabama Power CEO Mark Cross­white, who chairs the BCA' s executive commit­tee said, "As the top staff member for Sen. Shelby, she has worked daily with

businesses and elected officials from Alabama and the country."

Britt has always been a bright star on the Alabama political stage. She grew up in Enterprise, served as president of the Student Government Associa­tion at the University of Alabama, and then gradu­ated from the UA School of Law. Before becoming chief of staff, she worked in several posts in Shelby's office, including press secretary. She is married to Wesley Britt, a former Alabama and profes­sional football player, and they have two clitldren.

As Shelby's top advi­sor for the last five years, she headed his Judicial Nomination Task Force, spearheading the effort to recommend young talent for the eight vacant seats on the federal circuit and district court benches whose jurisdictions

include Alabama. As chief of staff, Britt

managed all of Shelby's Washington, D.C., and state operations, includ­ing matters relating to personnel throughout his six offices. She oversaw an annual administra­tive budget of almost $4 million and was Shelby's ambassador to constituents and com­munity leaders, industry association heads and senior executives across our state and nation.

Upon taking the BCA reins, Britt said, "My heart is in Alabama. Our state has made sig­nificant progress in recent years and I am honored to have been chosen to lead the BCA during this time of growth."

Ivey and Britt are not the only female govern­mental leaders in the state. Twinkle Cavana­ugh is president of the

Alabama Public Service Commission and has been a state leader for decades. She is a past chairman of the state Republican Party.

And two members of Alabama's congressional delegation are women. Given that the state has only seven congres­sional seats, that's a pretty good percentage.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell has represented the Seventh District of Ala­bama for close to a decade. She is on a fast leadership track in the Democratic House caucus. She is a Harvard-educated lawyer who was born and raised in Sehna. Her sprawling district, includes Bir­mingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and nearly all of the Black Belt.

Congresswoman Mar­tha Roby has represented southeast Alabama's Sec­ond District, also for close

to a decade. She is on a fast track within her party ranks, as well. She is a favorite among the House Republican leadership.

Folks, Alabama does not take a back seat to any state when it comes to females in leadership roles in government.

Gov. Ivey came out strongly in favor of a gasoline tax to meet the state's infrastructure needs in her Inaugural Address. If success­ful, she will not only go

. down in history as the first female Republican governor and first female governor elected in her own right, she will also leave a legacy of improv­ing Alabarna econolnically for decades to come.

Steve Flowers served 16 years in the Alabama Legislature. Readers can email him at steve@ steveflowers.us.

13

AL.com Thursday, February 21, 2019

Alabama gets $1.4 million grant for job training in coal counties

By: William Thornton

Alabama is one of nine states to receive grant money through the Appalachian Regional Commission for economic development and other initiatives in coal-industry impacted areas.

The state will received $1.45 million through the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. In all the program is pumping $21.8 million into 33 programs geared toward investment, manufacturing, technology and other outreaches.

Alabama's ARC grant will benefit West Alabama Works in Tuscaloosa for the POWER2 Expand Initiative.

The program is a partnership of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and West Alabama Works, the regional workforce council. Additional support is being provided by the Alabama Department of Commerce and Cengage Leaming.

The money will help deliver training and reemployment opportunities to residents in 10 coal­impacted counties - Bibb, Fayette, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Shelby, Tuscaloosa, and Walker.

The program was created to benefit high school students and adults with industry-driven credentials, as well as unemployed and underemployed individuals with adult basic education and advanced training opportunities. The end result, planners hope, will enable participants to obtain the necessary credentials to earn a livable wage.

The training programs include everything from GED to short- and long-term postsecondary training. Organizers say the project will improve 1,615 workers/trainees, connect 1,020 individuals with employment and equip 859 individuals with industry-recognized credentials.

14

Thf! Tuscaloosa News Thursday, February 21, 2019

The Hooded Order as home-grown hate

Necent editorial by Goodloe Sutton of

inden's Demo­crat-Reporter calling for a revived Ku Klux Klan to lynch self-proclaimed socialists and com­munists in Washington flippantly reminds us of.an awful truth: the Ku Klux Klan has deep, enduring Alabama roots.

Over the past 153 years, since its Pulaski, Ten­nessee, founding by five former junior officers of the Confederacy, the Ku Klux Klan has endured through three iterations and is now in its fourth manifestation. The first Klan, which.accord-ing to KKK 'cultural mythology "saved the South," was a Recon -struction-era phenom­enon narrowly focused on preserving white supremacy, thwart-ing radical Republicans, and keeping recently freed slaves socially and

economically subju­gated. In 1869, Imperial Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest ordered the first Klan disbanded because the hierarchy found its endemic vio­lence uncontrollable and counterproduc­tive. By 1877, while the Klan had largely disap­peared, its seeds already were deeply embedded in Alabama's culture.

Harpersville, Ala­bama, native William Joseph Simmons founded the second Klan atop Georgia's Stone Moun­tain, purportedly on Thanksgiving night, 1915, shortly after D.W. Griffith's motion picture "The Birth of a Nation" premiered in Atlanta. Within 10 years, this sec­ond Klan boasted more than 6 million members with klavems (chapters) in every state as well as Saskatchewan, Canada.

The Klan reached its height of power in Ala­bama in 1926 when Hugo Black, only recently resigned from the Klan, was elected to the U.S. Senate along with James Thomas "Cotton Tom" Heflin, also a member of the Hooded Order.

So were 150,000 other Alabamians, including Montgomery Klavem Cyclops Bibb Graves, who won the governor-

. ship. Gov. Graves, a progressive who qua­drupled paved road mileage from 5,000 to 20,000 miles in his first term and expanded public education, was re-elected in 1935. The University of Alabama's college of education building bears his name.

During the 1920s, the Alabama Klan's predom­inantly white victims included men accused of philandering,drunken­ness, spousal and child abuse, and breaking the Sabbath, along with white women judged immoral for a variety of reasons, from divorce to violating inter-racial taboos. The Klan lashed, beat, tarred and feath­ered them. Black victims, however, were far more often beaten, burned, shot or hanged, often in combination. Neverthe­less, Goodloe Sutton's flippancy makes a valid point:noteveryone involved in mob violence was a Klansmen - but they all were racists.

Likewise, not every white Alabamian is ( or was) a Klansman, but every Klansman was (and is) a racist. Maintaining "white supremacy" is the enduring Klan legacy.

In the early 1940s, Alabama Klan member­ship sharply declined due to the economic effects of theGreat Depres­sion, global war, and a cultural shift from Protestant fundamen­talist morality toward cultural liberalism. But the Klan, like a persis­tent virus, endured.

Although revived in Atlanta in 1946, the third Klan blossomed in July 1961 with the found-ing of the United Klans of America, headed by Tuscaloosa native Rob­ert M. Shelton, Jr. By 1965, when the House Un-American Activities Committee subpoenaed Shelton, it consisted of more than 280 klavems in more than 30 states, 48 of them in Alabama. This Klan iteration made no pretense to Protes­tant cultural morality or supporting progressive causes, as did the sec­ond. The 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown

vs. Board of Education, the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, and the February 1956 attempt to desegregate the University of Alabama fueled its rapid growth in Alabama. Its mem­bership increased with the burgeoning civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements.

Unlike the second Klan and more lilce the first, the UKA focused on violence 'to intimidate African-Americans and whites who supported social justice. At least 10 murders in Alabama were attributable to the UKA, along with scores of bombings, includ-ing that of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on Sept. 15, 1963, killing four black girls aged 11 to 14. Its demise resulted from the murderous lynching of 19-year-old Michael Donald in Mobile in 1981. In 1987, the Southern Poverty Law Center, on behalf of Donald's mother Beulah Mae Donald, sued the Klan nearly out of existence. But the Klan, like a per­sistent virus, endures.

About a dozen Klan

groups are active in Alabama today. The revived United Klans of America is based in Ash­land. Other such groups include the League of the South, a white-suprem­acist group focused on secession and founded in late 1994 with headquar­ters in Killen. On their websites, almost all such groups deny hate but all support white supremacy and racial separatism.

The Klan endures because hate, like disease and death, are quintes­sentially human. It can and should, however, like disease and suffer­ing, compel the better angels of human nature to endure and overcome the pernicious effects of white supremacy, the one constant in 153 years of Klan hatred. Alabam -ians are better than that!

Earl Tilford earned his B.A. and M.A. in his-tory at the University of Alabama and his Ph.D. at George Wash­ington University. He taught history at Grove City (Pa.) College. Now retired, he lives in Tus­caloosa. He wrote this for The Tuscaloosa News.

15

The Crimson White Thursday, February 21, 2019

UA Internship Placement ranks No. 1 in SEC

BY ERIN BRAXTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The University of Alabama was named No. 1 in the Southeastern

Conference universities and No. 10 on the Princeton Review's 2019 list of the country's best colleges to attend for internship placement.

The Princeton Review determines its rankings based on students' ratings of the availability of internship placement services at their schools.

Amy Bramlett, program manager of Career Services in the College of Communication & Information Sciences, said she was psyched when she heard about the ranking because: after eight years in the Career Center, she knows all about the hard work that goes on.

Just being a little bit more prepared and be able to dig deeper into some other connections, I'm pretty excited.

GOBIND KALA

"There is a manager for experiential learning, there is an internship coordinator in every department," Bramlett said. "So those people work behind the scenes and aren't known to students until they have to be in the situation. So when I saw the ranking, it was literally that backbone of people, including the Career Center as a central outlet, that made it happen. I think it helped us to realize what we are doing is getting some recognition."

Career Center Executive Director Melinda King said the ranking was validation for what the work staff members are doing in the Career Center, and it shows the impact it ha~ had on the lives of students.

In the beginning of February, the Career Center began to offer extended hours for students. The Career Center was open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but is now open until 7 p.m. twice a week. King said she believes it is one step in the right direction to meet students where they are.

The Career Center staff arrived at Coleman Coliseum early Wednesday morning to prepare for the hundreds of employers and students coming to the first of two career fairs this week. The career fair is a place for students to introduce themselves to and network with employers in hopes of securing a job or internship for the future.

"It's an important day for our students," King said. "It's an important day for our university, so we want to make sure we get it right."

Gobind Kala, a senior majoring in management and information sciences, participated in the career fair for the second time. Kala said going into the career fair this year, he hoped to feel more prepared, get into contact with some good companies and build great connections.

"Just being a little bit more prepared and be able to dig deeper into some other connections, I'm pretty excited," Kala said.

Isabella Hardt, a junior majoring in creative media, said she thinks if more students knew about the University's internship placement ranking, more of them would apply for internships. She said it would also be a great way to attract more people to the University.

"I found it interesting because it hasn't been talked about at all," Hardt said. "I don't think it is bragged about enough."

16

The Crimson White Thursday, February 21, 2019

Hallowed Grounds displays history of slavery

BY JESSA REID BOLLING ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

During the week, thousands of students scurry across campus

going about their daily routines, seemingly unaware of the history that lies beneath their feet.

One professor has been unearthing that history and honoring those who suffered under the institution of slavery at The University of Alabama.

Shortly after Hilary Green, associate professor of history in the Department of Gender and Race Studies, began teaching at the University five years ago, she encountered a student who said slavery had nevev existed at the University.

"I immediately thought, 'Okay, I've got to do something about this,"' Green said. "I tried to formulate a walking tour across campus but also a lecture within my courses that I would regularly teach. So, the following August, we walked the campus."

For the past four years, Green has been guiding hundreds of visitors along a one-hour walking tour called the "Hallowed Grounds Tour," shedding light on the experiences of enslaved people owned by the University during the 1800s.

Green's research led her to documents from 1831 to 1865, such as bills of sale for slaves purchased by the University, student tuition bills that listed "servants" as one of the tuition fees, documents of enslaved people that received medical treatment and the diary of former UA President Basil Manly that documented the names of many enslaved people owned by the University.

From the original construction of the University until it's destruction on April 4, 1865 by Union troops, slaves were both bought and used for much of the labor at the University. They were made to maintain the grounds, clean, cook and perform other tasks to tend to the students and the campus.

From slavery to our present diversity, we are always being informed and shaped by that past, but that doesn't mean it will hinder our future.

HI LARY GREEN

The tour begins at Gorgas House and makes stops at the Little Round House, The Mound, the President's Mansion, Smith Hall and the slave cemetery. Tour dates can be scheduled online,

with a maximum of 20 people per tour group.

Along the tour, Green described the way slaves had to live, serving and cleaning up after students, carrying buckets of water from Marrs Spring to various

buildings, sleeping

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17

on floors or on stoops of the dormitories they tended to, as they were forbidden from sleeping in any of the rooms - some slaves even giving birth on school grounds.

During the tour, Green called out the names she found of some of the slaves who were owned by the University and asked the tourists to say their names out loud, ensuring that the names of enslaved people like Ben, Moses, Isaac, William, Neal, Crawford, Gabe, Arthur, Sabra and Lydia will be remembered by future generations.

"We represent that long legacy because we are the UA community," Green said. "From slavery to our present diversity, we are always being informed and shaped by that past, but that doesn't mean it will hinder our future."

The tour ended at the slave cemetery near the Biology Building, where two University-owned slaves, Jack Rudolph and William "Boysey" Brown, and a student are buried. In 2006, a historic marker was installed near the graves, recognizing their burial and commemorating the UA Faculty Senate's apology in 2004 for their predecessors' role in the institution of slavery.

"One of the things that we can be proud of is that UA was a leader in hav­

ing these difficult conversations and acknowledging these places as sacred sites," Green said. "We are the first in the SEC to do this. Other schools are following us." Gloria McClendon, a junior

majoring in African American studies, said the tour was eye-

opening for her, and that learning of the history of slavery on campus will give her a different perspective when walking around campus.

"Having insight on that part of the history on this campus means a lot," Mcclendon said. "I was just happy to dig deeper, especially with my major, into the history of our campus itself."

Vashton Smith, a freshman majoring in history, said learning about the

The Crimson White Thursday, February 21, 2019

University's past with slavery adds another layer of understanding to the experiences of African-Americans on campus, including the civil rights events that would later take place her •.

I was just happy to dig deeper, especially with my major, into the history of our campus itself.

GLORIA MCCLENDON "It really served to illustrate how

oppressed African-Americans were at a time in this school's· history and in this country where the cultural differences between blacks and whites on a southern college campus had the blacks as the help and even in some cases the sexual objects of the masters," Smith said. "It just showed me how the racism of that time really permeated throughout the state, and how we need to keep educating people on these topics."

By going on the tour, Green said visitors can have a greater appreciation of how far the University has come from its past with slavery to its current racially diverse campus.

"The University, in all of its complexity, has a complex past with race and memory of the African­American experience that predates the opening of the school," Green said. "It's not a shameful past but one that continues to inform the University. So by walking the tour and learning about the enslaved people, you're also learning about another under­appreciated and often untold story about the school, too."

18

The Birmingham News Wednesday, February 20, 2019

What have you done, Goodloe Sutton?

Kyle Whitmire kwhitmire@al.com

, A newsroom colleague, star-.._\ •• ;1: .. , ing at his phone, expressed his ' ...,. disbelief in terms I can't rep~at

here. I asked him what he was looking at. It was a photo on Twitter of a newspaper

editorial: "The Klan needs to ride again." Among other things, the editorial argued

that freed slaves had actually borrowed their former masters' robes to lynch other freed slaves, that Democrats somehow started every war since WWI including the Iraq War, that socialists in the Alabama GOP want to raise Alabama's gas tax, and that all these Washington, D.C./Montgomery, Alabama, politicians needed to be lynched.

"Is this really in Alabama?" my colleague asked.

I looked at the screen. I knew before I read a word: It was from the Democrat-Reporter, in Linden, and it had to be the work of Good­loe Sutton Sr., the editor and publisher. The italicized sans serif headline. The pinched Roman body text. It hadn't changed in 21 years or more. I knew because I used to set that type when I worked there.

Yeah, I once worked for an editor now reviled as maybe the most racist, and cer-

tainly most unhinged, in America. And it was one of the most formative jobs

I ever had. Try putting that on your resume. I've spent the last day trying to trace a line

from the place I worked at then to what I saw Monday. I'm still trying to make sense of it, and to figure out what, if anything, to say.

But what I've got to show for it are only feel­ings: I'm disgusted and I'm saddened. And I'm in doubt whether I knew Goodloe as well as I thought.

When I first met Goodloe, I was a college kid looking for a summer job. When I started at the Democrat-Reporter, Goodloe and his wife, Jean, had returned the day before from Chicago, where they had appeared on Oprah.

Yeah, that guy was on Oprah. Their tiny newspaper was reaping a fat har­

vest of awards and accolades after having put a county sheriff and two deputies in prison with their work - journalism that nearly cost the Suttons their lives. Even with the crooked sheriff in prison, they lived under threat. The former sheriff tried to pay a jailhouse snitch to burn down the Suttons' home with them in it.

Their profiles ran in journalism trade pub­. lications, The New York Times and TV maga-

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19

zine shows. They were honored for their work on the floor of the U.S. Congress.

Jean Sutton taught me the fundamentals of investigative reporting, and if you've ever read my columns blistering one public offi­cial or another for not respecting our public records law, it's because I can still feel her icy star2 over my shoulder.

These are things I carried with me in my career. But I should have paid more attention to what I left behind or what I ignored.

Jean died in 2003. The last time I saw Goodloe was at the funeral. 1 knew enough about their relationship and about how the paper ran to know nothing good lay ahead.

For the last few years, friends down that way had wondered whether Goodloe, who's almost 80 now, was suffering from dementia, alcoholism or both. A profile in the Montgom­ery Advertiser a couple cifyears ago said the Democrat-Reporter was struggling to stay in business and noted how he loaded his head­lines with racist language. I assumed Good­loe, like his paper, were slowly and sadly wast-ingaway.

in his own bile.

The Birmingham News Wednesday, February 20, 2019

As Chip Brownlee, the editor of the Auburn Plainsman, first showed the world outside Marengo County, Goodloe's racist madness seems to have set in some time back. For sev­eral years now his editorial page has been a cesspool of indefensible bilge.

When the Montgomery Advertiser's Melissa Brown reached Goodloe for com­ment, he didn't blame old age, a hangover or a case of the flu. He reaffirmed everything he ha~ written with unapologetic enthusiasm.

"We'll get the hemp ropes out, loop them over a tall limb and hang all of them," he told her. That guy was once on Oprah. That guy once won awards for courage and tenacity. That guy was once someone I considered with a measure of respect. But now?

He could have accomplished much good in his corner of this world - deep in Ala­bama's Black Belt, long poisoned by poverty and racial oppression. Instead, he let himself be eaten from the inside by hatred.

No measure of respect is left.

But I never imagined what I saw this week: Whitmire writes an opinion column on state The ravings ofa bigot and madman drowning politics for AL.com.

20

The Birmingham News Wednesday, February 20, 2019

AL.com partnering with MIT-based nonprofit Project with Cortico focuses on bringing diverse local news report

Alabama Media Group will partner with Cortico, a MIT-based nonprofit dedicated to fostering public conversation in communi­ties and media, as part of a $2 million grant announced Tuesday from the Knight Foun­dation.

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's new $300 million, five-year commitment to the future of local news. This is the second grant to Cortico from the Knight Founda·· tion, with the first announced in September 2017 for $900,000.

The grant was announced as part of the "We are grateful that we have this oppor-

tunity to d"'F; deeper into our community to help lift voices, stories and viewpoints that we might not be able to hear otherwise," said Kelly Ann Scott, vice president of content for Alabama Media Group.

The grant will allow AL.com to hire a full-time reporter to work on bringing more diverse stories into the local news report.

Working in cooperation with the Lab­oratory for Social Machines at the MIT Media Lab, Cortico builds listening systems designed to surface a community's under­heard voices and channel their perspectives and stories into the public dialogue.

The AL.com partnership will begin in Bir­mingham this spring. It will focus on find­ing gaps on what matters most to residents in the metro area, and then reporting on those gaps.

"Understanding what matters most to our communities and engaging around those storylines is a huge part of the future of local news," Scott said. "We are committed to finding those voices and stories so we can reflect them in our reporting, and are eager to discover what we can learn from this part­nership."

Through its first initiative, the Local '.1oices Network, Cortico is building a riet­'Nork of recorded in-person conversations · hat helps people in communities under­stand one another better.

"The Knight Foundation funding is help­ing Cortico build new local spaces for con­,tructive public conversation that will help "ebuild understanding among people and 'mst between the public and the media," said Deb Roy, co-founder of Cortico. "LVN will allow many more local voices to be heard and.help journalists tell stories that people really care about."

Conversations from LVN take place around a "Digital Hearth," which records the discussion and enables hosts to play speech highlights from other groups in order to cross-pollinate voices and perspectives across community boundaries.

The .conversations are transcribed and analyzed with special tools - like artificial intelligence software - offering the commu­nity, journalists and leaders new windows into important local issues. ·

As part of the AL.com partnership, Cor­tico will combine conversations from its LVN with local Twitter and talk radio conversa­tion to help find stories that reflect the con­versations and lives in Birmingham and its suburban communities.

"We want to be able to better connect and report on the stories that matter to those who live in the Birmingham metro area," Scott said. "We hope that this partnership will help us hear more voices in our com­munity and use those voices to develop sto­ries."

LVN will be deploying in select communi­ties during the next year, with the long-term goal of rolling out into every state. Rollouts also are underway in Madison, Wisconsin, and in the Bronx, New York.

The recent funding brings Cortico to a total of $10 million raised from foundations and individuals who seek to bring technol­ogy and human.power together to improve civic life. To date, in addition to the Knight Foundation, Cortico funding has come Reid Hoffman of Greylock Partner and founder of Linkedin; Craig Newmark of Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and founder of Craigslist; and Ali Rowghani, a Y Combinator Manag­ing Partner.

Cortico was founded by Chairman Deb Roy, director of the Laboratory for Social Machines at the MIT Media Lab, Cortico President Eugene Yi, and Russell Stevens, Deployment Lead at LSM. Cortico's devel­opment team brings experience in using machine learning to understand and map media, while its deployment team includes experts in data journalism, local news and community organizing. Advisers and sup­porters include Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Reid Hoffman, Joi Ito, Ali Rowghani and Craig Newmark.

21

Linden editor condemned for 1(1(1( editorial Suggestion the Klan should 'ride again' draws calls for resignation

Staff and wire reports

The longtime editor of a small Marengo County news­paper is facing widespread condemnation after pub­lishing an editorial last week calling for a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.

Goodloe Sutton, the editor and publisher of The Dem -ocrat- Reporter, a weekly newspaper in Linden, wrote the editorial, which began: "Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again." The editorial said Democrats and "Demo­crats in the Republican Party" are plotting to raise taxes in Alabama, so the Klan should raid the "gated communities" where they live.

The Montgomery Adver­tiser reported on the editorial Monday and since then two universities have withdrawn awards they gave to Sutton. Lawmakers and others have called for him to resign, and the Alabama Press Association suspended his newspaper's membership.

Sutton, 79, told the Adver­tiser he stands by his Feb. 14 editorial. During an inter­view with the Montgomery newspaper, Sutton suggested lynchings as a way to clean up

See EDITORIAL, A5

The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Washington. He also ques­tioned whether the KKK is violent, claiming the white supremacist terrorist orga -nization "didn't kill but a few people."

"We'll get the hemp ropes out, loop them over a tall limb and hang all of them," Sutton told the newspaper.

The editorial has made national news and prompted calls from Alabama lawmak­ers for Sutton to apologize and resign from the paper where he has worked since 1964. His family has owned The Democrat-Reporter since 1917.

"What rock did this guy crawl out from under? This editorial is absolutely dis­gusting & he should resign -NOW!"U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said Tuesday on Twitter. "I have seen what happens when we stand by while people-especially those with influence- publish racist, hateful views. Words matter. Actions matter. Resign now!"

"For the millions of people of color who have been ter­rorized by white supremacy, this kind of 'editorializing' about lynching is not a joke -itis a threat," said U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, whose district includes Marengo County. "These comments are deeply offensive and inappropriate especially in 2019. Mr. Sutton should apologize and resign."

The Alabama Press Associ -ation wrote a letter to Sutton and to the organization's members saying that its board of directors voted Tuesday to censure him and suspend The Democrat-Reporter's membership.

"Because of your recent editorial advocating violence bytheKuKluxKlan, the Board of Directors of the Alabama Press Association is of the opinion that you have taken action which has brought disgrace upon newspapers in Alabama and the profession,"

the letter stated. The APA also issued a state -

rnent saying it would have the right at its next meeting to consider expulsion of the newspaper.

The Democrat -Reporter, established in 1879, fre­quently publishes editorials with a conservative viewpoint and critical of the Democratic Party. The use of "Democrat" in its name reflects back to the period when nearly all white conservatives in the South were Democrats.

The KKK editorial was only the latest in a series of pro­vocative opinions expressed by The Democrat -Reporter.

In a December editorial about the high cost of crime, the newspaper said: "Giving addicts enough free dope to kill themselves is cheaper than putting them in prison for killing other people to oet a few bucks to buy more ,:,

dope." Weeks earlier, the

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newspaper complained that CBS News historically has "slandered the South" by providing too much coverage when whites kill blacks in the region.

In 2007, Sutton and his late wife, Jean, were inducted into the University of Southern Mississippi's communication hall of fame for their work at the newspaper in the 1990s that helped bring down a corrupt sheriff. Jean Sutton, who died in 2003, had worked alongside her husband since 1964,

USM released a state­ment Tuesday saying it had removed Goodloe Sutton from the hall of fame after learning of the KKK editorial and his "recent and continued history of racist remarks."

"The School of Commu­nication strongly condemns Mr. Sutton's remarks as they are antithetical to all that we value as scholars of journal­ism, the media, and human

communication," the state­ment said.

Later Tuesday, Auburn University's Journalism Adviiiory Council voted to rescind Sutton's 2009 award as an Alabama Distinguished Community Journalist. The award was presented to both Sutton and, posthumously, to Jean Sutton, whose award status would remain unaf­fected, according to The Auburn Plainsman, the stu -dent newspaper.

"The School of Commu -nication and Journalism strongly condemns Good­loe Sutton's editorial," said Jennifer Adams, director of Auburn University's School of Communication and Jour­nalism in an email to The Tuscaloosa News. "Sutton's vile editorial has no place in our nation's discourse."

The Democrat- Reporter received national recogni­tion for its efforts to expose the malfeasance of former

The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Marengo County Sheriff Roger Davis, as well as the corruption in his office during the mid-199os. Davis was later sent to federal prison after being convicted of extorting a bondsman.

In the wake of the con -troversy over last week's editorial, several other edi­torials from the newspaper have resurfaced. In one, he defended Harley Barber, a former University of Ala­bama student who left the school after repeatedly using racial epithets on Instagram. In another, he questioned the truth behind allegations three different women had brought against former Anniston Star Publisher H. Brandt Ayers, who was accused of spank­ing female reporters during the 1970s. Ayers resigned from the Star shortly after the allegations were published.

Linden, the county seat, has a population of about 2,000 people.

23

The Tuscaloosa News Monday, February 18, 2019

Football fuels more passenger traffic at Birmingham airport

The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM - New numbers show that Binning­ham's airport is experiencing strong growth in passenger traffic.

More than 2.9 million passengers passed through the airport in 2018, Al.com reported.

That's a 10 percent increase compared to the 2. 7 million passengers who used the air­port in 2017.

In January, the airport set a record: It served 224,012 pas­sengers, a nearly 16 percent increase in passengers over the previous year.

The Birmingham Airport Authority attributes the J anu­ary numbers to its work with the airlines to add more seats and flights from Birmingham. Many of those extra flights

have been added during the collegefootballseason,asfans flew in and out for games.

For instance, American Airlines and United Airlines added flights to the San Fran -cisco Bay Area for Alabama's appearance in the national championship.

"This growth is a direct result of the Birmingham community creating demand for the airlines by making BHM their airport of choice when flying to their game day destinations," said Sylvester Lavender, the Birmingham Airport Authority's Interim President and CEO.

"We anticipate our pas­senger numbers to continue to rise throughout the year as more routes and flights will be added for both business and leisure travelers," Lavender said.

24

The Tuscaloosa News Monday, February 18, 2019

More than $12 billion in taxed sales reported By Jason Morton Staff Writer

Alabama shoppers set a hol­iday sales record by spending about $321 million more this past holiday season than they did the year before.

All told, almost $12.1 billion in truced sales were reported statewide in November and December, according to recent figures released by the Ala -bama Retail Association.

While this fell short of the $12.2 billion predicted by the association last year, it still was more than what had been recorded in any previous year, the association said.

Locally, Tuscaloosa sales tax revenues also saw a slight increase in holiday 2018 sales over those in 2017.

In November and December 2018, $6.95millioninsalestax was recorded at Tuscaloosa City Hall.

TIL.s marks an o.86 percent increasr. over the $0 .69 million collected in November and December 2017, according to City Hall data.

"We had a great fall and a great Christmas," said Charles Spurlin, owner of The Shirt Shop downtown.

He attributed the spike in November and December sales to football crowds, since the annual Iron Bowl was hosted in Tuscaloosa just two days after

• the Thanksgiving holiday.

Students were joined by their parents in participating in the local Black Friday sales, which contributed to the local sales increase, Spurlin said.

"It was just a domino effect," he said.

Statewide, Alabama's sales growth was slightly less than the 2.9 percent holiday sales growth reported nationally.

See SALES, A7

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25

SALES From Page Al

The National Retail Federation predicts the national economy, will grow somewhere between 3.8 percent and 4.4 percent in 2019.

Also a contribut­ing factor to the state's increase was Alabama's early adoption of tax policy related to online sales stemming from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed states to enforce more collec­tion of internet-based transactions.

Alabama has been receiving tax collec­tions from oy.t-of-state, online-only merchants through the Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT) since2016,butbeginning Oct. 1 those collec­tions applied to a much broader group of retail­ers selling into the state because of the Supreme Court decision.

Those transactions brought $12 million dol­lars more in new tax revenue into the state during the 2018 holi­day season as compared with the same period in 2017, the Alabama Retail Association said. The sales reflected in Ala -bama's SSUT jumped

The Tuscaloosa News Monday, February 18, 2019

72.27 percent, or $154.5 million, in November and December 2018, from $213.8 million to $368.3 million.

But the holiday sales reported from the almost 1,000· merchants par­ticipating in the SSUT program represented just 3.05 percent of total holiday sales in our state, meaning that - for now...: brick-and-mortar stores remain the bread­and-butter of Alabama sales tax collections.

This means that taxes collected from' stores like The Shirt Shop con­tinue to be an important source of revenue for local governments and the communities they serve.

For Spurlin, he said he looks forward to the last five months of the year as August welcomes in the return of college students, September through November brings in college foot­ball fans and December ushers in the Christmas shopping season.

"We have a five-month period where we run a very successful opera -tion," he said. "Our little store is healthy and we're proud to be here."

Reach Jason Morton at jason. morton@ tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.

26

The Birmingham News Sunday, February 17, 2019

Ivey: We must rebuild our corrections system

In order to correct a problem, you must first admit there is a problem. In Alabama, we have a problem. Our problem is our state's corrections system.

Like many other states, issues of violence, poor living con­ditions and mental illness persist within our system. These issues, and others, are exacerbated by a crowded inmate population, correctional and health care staffing challenges, and aging prison infrastructure - each piece compounding the others.

We have a problem in Alabama, and we have waited far too long to address it. The path forward to resolve these prob­lems is clear and obvious. However, this path is neither quick nor simple. . First'. we must increase our correctional staffing levels by !mprovmg the pay scale for correctional officers and expand­mg our recruiting efforts. Second, we must construct prison facilities that meet the needs of a criminal justice system in the 21st century.

We have already started making strides toward reduc­ing our prison population and increasing staffing levels. In 2_015, the Alabama Legislature passed historic criminal jus­tice reform legislation that greatly reduced the number of (nmates in Alabama prisons. Thanks to members of the Leg­islature, the state's prison population has decreased from n~arly 200 percent of capacity to approximately 160 percent, still too large, but an important step in the right direction.,

Also in 2018, the Legislature helped improve our system by increasing funding for correctional and health services staffing. An additional $86 million was appropriated for the state_'s 2018 and 2019 fiscal years to retain new staffing for medical and mental health services and to reduce the turn­over_ rate of correctional staffing. For the upcoming regular session, my budget proposal will include an additional $31 million to hire 500 new correctional officers and increase the pay_ s~ale ~or all security personnel to make their salary com­petitive given current market conditions in Alabama. . Alabama currently sits under a federal court order requir­mg the state to roughly double the number of correctional officers in the next two years. Although I disagree with many aspects of the lawsuit that led to this order, the fact of the matter is that it compels us to make staffing levels a neces­sary and vital part of the solution to our problem.

In December, we saw our first increase in the number of correctional officers in years. With a rising retention rate, we can begin adding to our officer ranks, rather than sim­ply maintaining our current staffing levels. This is a difficult task, but because of the commitment from members of the Legislature, we are now well on our way to addressing ou~ staffing challenges.

Next, we must improve the conditions in which we house inmates. "Deplorable," "horrendous" and "inadequate" are words which have been used to describe them. Our exist­ing facilitie? need $750 million in maintenance alone. Last year, we closed the Draper Correctional Facility, a 79-year­old prison, because it was simply too costly to repair. With­out costly maintenance, many other facilities may require closing as well. Repairing these facilities that do not meet the needs of today's criminal justice system would be waste­ful and ineffective. We must put aside politics of the past and fix this problem for the betterment of our state.

Alabama must have new prison facilities because we must have better conditions, we must have better safety, and we must have better programs. The Department of Corrections hired a project management team that recommended we build three new regional men's prisons. Of the three new facilities, one will have additional space centralizing ser­vices for special needs populations: the aged, the infirmed and those with mental health conditions. Additionally, there will be space in each new facility for educational and voca­tional training programs.

These facilities will be a valuable and lasting invest­ment in the future of our state. On average, 95 percent of our inmates, once they have completed their sentence and are eligible for release, will be returning to the cities, towns, communities and neighborhoods within Alabama. This investment will secure our opportunity to release these indi­viduals back into society as more educated and more pro­ductive, law-abiding citizens.

The investment in these new facilities will also ensure

See Next Page 27

The Birmingham News Sunday, February 17, 2019

that we retain control of our correctional system. Across • this nation, federal courts are intervening in unprecedented ways into the operations of correctional systems. In 2009, three federal judges ordered the 'release of thousands of inmates in the California prison system. Some estimate this order resulted in the release of more than 40,000 inmates. Following the release of these inmates, one study into the impact of this mass release called the increases in crime rates "alarming." So, our pul:>Iic safety also demands this investment.

Today, the Department of Corrections is preparing a "request for proposals" for distribution to contractors in Ala­bama and across the nation, asking for bids to build these new prisons. By taking this step, we will - for the first time - receive the most accurate view of the real cost of building these new facilities.

Some opponents of this plan say that it is too costly. Here in Alabama and across our country, we have a set of laws to which every person must adhere. However, no matter what crime was committed, every human being deserves a cer­tain level of care. I say to you that it is and will continue to be costly to provide adequate living conditions and health care for the more than 20,000 adults in our corrections system, to maintain aging facilities, and to sustain public safety.

Others sa,y special interests have a hand in this plan; that could not be further from the truth. In fact, I make a prom­ise to you that part of this next step is to publicly provide the real costs we 1eceive from contractors and to work closely with the Legislature to determine the most cost-effective way of moving forward. Whatever we do will be the best and most fiscally responsible decision for the state of Alabama.

A tough decision will have to be made in the very near future. With the continued support from the Alabama Leg­islature and with the added support from the people of Ala­bama, I am putting forth this plan to make "Trouble in Ala­bama Prisons" a headline of the past.

As we work together, we will solve this problem and make the situation better for those incarcerated, the employees who care for them, and the entire state of Alabama.

28

The Birmingham News Sunday, February 17, 2019

Lawmakers taking Bicentennial road trip

When local leaders started planning this year's Alabama Bicentennial events for Huntsville and Madison County, they had a great idea.

Since the state was liter­ally formed in Huntsville in 1819 at the site of what is now Alabama Constitution Hall Park, why not bring the Alabama Legislature here to hold an actual day of law­making during the 2019 leg­islative session?

Unfortunately, that pesky Alabama Constitution got in the way. Turns out, after research by Bicenten­nial Committee Chairman Julian Butler's law clerk, the state Constitution (the 1901 rewrite) actually forbids the Legislature from meeting outside the state capitol in Montgomery.

So this coming week· end, they'll do the next best thing. Starting Friday, about 80 members of the Alabama Legislature will visit Hunts­ville to learn about how our state was founded, in the place where it was founded.

"It's just an educational thing for them," said Sally Warden, executive director of the Huntsville/Madison County Bicentennial Com­mittee. "About a quarter of them are new to their posi­tions:so this is an opportu­nity to let them know what Huntsville is all about."

Getting 80 legislators together outside of Mont­gomery is a pretty big deal. Previous blanket invitations for legislators to come to town have yielded about 35 or40ofthem.

"There's just this excite­ment, because it's the Bicen­tennial year, and to be here in Huntsville, where Ala­bama was born," Warden said.

The publi~ event on Sat-

urday, beginning at 10 a.m. at Constitution Hall Pa~k downtown on Gates Avenue, will feature the unveiling of the Alabama Statehood Commemorative Forever Stamp by the U.S. Postal Service. The stamp feafures a stunning vista from the state's highest point, Mt. Cheaha.

First-day issue stamps, a big deal for collectors, will be for sale, Warden said. Isaac Cronkhite, executive vice president of the Postal Ser­vice, will officially dedicate

,the stamp. The ceremonies will be

presided over by State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, who is the chairman of the Ala­bama Bicentennial Commis· sion. Speaker of the House Mac Mccutcheon of Hunts­ville, and Senate President Pro Tern Del Marsh of Annis­ton will also speak.

Students from Hunts­ville, Madison and Madison County will also be involved in the festivities.

The Bob Jones High School Saxophone Quar­tet will perform an opening tribute to Alabama, and the colors will be presented by the Columbia High School.

JR OTC Color Guard. The Lee High Magnet School Orches­tra Ensemble will sing the national anthem, and the Riverton Elementary School Ambassadors will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, and sing "Happy BirJhday" to Alabama.

The Bob Jones Saxophone Quartet and the Lee High Orchestra Ensemble will combine for an Alabama Bicentennial Finale.

The legislators will arrive Friday and leave Sunday. They plan to tour the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, the Huntsville Botanical Gar­den, local historicar sites, Cummings Research Park and Redstone Arsenal. They'll also have a learning luncheon at the University of Alabama in Huntsville called "From Antebellum to Antimatter."

They'll also get some in-depth education about the Alabama Constitu­tion and the state's found­ing from experts from the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

"They need to know these things before they start gov­erning down there," Warden

. said.

29

The Tuscaloosa News Saturday, February 16, 2019

Community colleges set legislative agenda System seeks more money, support for workforce plan

ByEdEnoch Staff Writer

The Alabama Community College System will seek additional fundfog as part of a legislative agenda that includes support for efforts to develop a statewide work­force development plan and consideration of a possible future bond issue for public

education. During its regular meeting

on Wednesday, the system's board approved the plans for the upcoming regular session of the Alabama Legislature. The Legislature is scheduled to convene on March 5 for the 2019 session.

The board approved the budget request for the next fiscal year at its Decem­ber meeting. The system is requesting $445. 7 million for fiscal year 2020. The budget proposal reflects an increase

j

of $64 million, or about 17 percent. The increase would provide additional funds for workforce development, $29 million for the community collegecampusesandsupport for a pilot correctional educa­tion and other programs.

As part of its agenda, the system is also seeking addi -tional funding from the Advancement and Technol­ogy Fund, whichmaybeused for repairs and maintenance, classroom support, trans­portation and the purchase

of technology and equipment. Appropriations from the fund are made separately from the Education Trust Fund.

"It's a big pot of money and we certainly want our share of it. More importantly, it can be used to help us finalize the (systemwide enterprise resource planning software) project among other uses," said Boone Kinard, special assistant to the chancellor for governmental affairs, during

See BOARD, Bz

See next page 30

BOARD FromPageB1

the board's January work session.

The legislative agenda also includes support for efforts to develop a statewide workforce development plan and the development of per­formance- based metrics and other accountability measures.

The Tuscaloosa News Saturday, February 16, 2019

The system also plans to support a possible public school bond issue.

"We certainly expect at some point, maybe this year or next year ... the Legislature is going to con­sider a bond issue. We have heard estimates of as much as a billion ( dollars in) bond issues," Kinard said. "We want to be on record as sup­porting that. That will take care of numerous capital improvement needs on our campuses if that comes to fruition."

31

Birmingham Business Journal Friday, February 15, 2019

UAB EYES NEW SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING COMPLEX IN SOUTHSIDE The University of Alabama at Birmingham's building boom may continue with a new science and engineering complex.

The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees gave Stage I approval Feb. 8 for a project that is slated to include a 115,000-square-foot building that represents the first phase of the new science and engineering complex.

When all phases of the complex are complete, it will house all of UAB's natural science programs with the

.. ···-1 ~· ...

College of Arts and Sciences and the engineering programs from the School of Engineering. The first building in the complex - with an estimated price tag of $64.5 million - will be

located west of 14th Street and south of University Boulevard, adjacent to the Campus Green. The project will be funded with $58.5 million in future UAB bond funds and $6 million in UAB plant funds, according to UA System documents.

The building will include instructional lab space, research lab space, lab support space, classroom space, and faculty and staff office and support space.

The project will involve demolishing the existing education building to clear the way for the complex, with the UAB School of Education relocating to the vacant business wing of the business and engineering complex after its previously approved renovation.

UAB said it evaluated the option of renovating Campbell Hall, which houses the biology and physics department, as well as the chemistry building, and determined that would be cost-prohibitive. The Scheol of Engineering is currently located in six different buildings, so a consolidated new building would offer several advantages.

UAB intends to construct the complex in multiple phases over several years. With the UA System Board granting Stage I approval on Friday, the next stage involves

approving an architecture/engineering firm, construction manager or program manager. Subsequent stages will involve approving the design and granting authorization to award the construction contract.

For UAB, the new complex will join several recent major building projects on campus - a list that includes the new Collat School of Business, a new building for the College of Arts & Sciences, an addition to the School of Nursing and several others in the works.

32

Birmingham Business Journal

HEALTH ACTION PARTNERSHIP SELECTS NEW PRESIDENT

Monica Baskin, a professor at the UAB Division of. Preventative Medicine, has been installed as president of the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership.

The partnership is a community

health-oriented collaboration of more than 80 organizations, including the Jefferson County Department of Health, UAB, United Way of Central Alabama and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

"I am excited to lead the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership;' Baskin said. "I hope to maintain the forward momentum of this coalition and continue to mobilize action to assist the inhabitants of Jefferson County."

Baskin also serves as an associate director for community outreach and engagement at the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The partnership's current priority areas include promoting physical well-being through healthy lifestyles, improving mental health, reducing health disparities, optimi,~ing health care access and more.

Achievements of the partnership include smoke-free policies, miles of fully funded or completed bike and pedestrian pathways, increased fresh fruit and vegetable purchases by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and general nutrition education.

Friday, February 15, 2019

33

EDUCATION

The Birmingham News Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Feds again investigating Alabama's grad rates 20 percent jump by students with disabilities questioned

Trisha Powell Crain tcrain@al.com

Two years after Alabama reported fake high school graduation rates, federal offi­cials are once again asking questions.

The question this time: How did so many more students with disabilities suddenly graduate from high school?

A recent federal report ranked Alabama high schools among the most efficient in the nation, claiming the fourth highest overall graduation rate, 89 percent, for the class of 2017.

Additionally, according to Alabama fig­ures, 74 percent of students with disabilities finished high school on time. It was just 54 percent the year before.

Now federal officials are asking how Ala­bama improved that overall rate by more than 20 percentage points in one year and how the number of graduates with disabili­ties went up a whopping 40 percent from one year to the next.

In 2017, federal officials busted Alabama for reporting false graduation rates for the 2014 class and beyond. Alabama officials implemented a plan to ensure the rates were accurate and fixed the 2016 rates, which

. showed 54 percent of students in special education graduated that year.

Last year, after federal officials reviewed the increase in 2017 rates, they asked ques-

tions that the state has yet to answer, said Liz Hill, Press Secretary for U.S. Education Secretary Betsy Devos.

"We did send a letter to Alabama ask­ing for more information regarding signifi­cant variances in graduation data year over year," Hill responded when asked whether those questions were answered.

Hill provided a link to the copy of the federal audit which includes the corrective action plan that state education officials created to ensure graduates were counted accurately.

SEE GRADUATION RATES, A4

See Next Page 34

/ Advocates in Alabama are also skeptical of the new numbers.

"I am suspicious of a 20-percentage-point jump in a year," said Nancy Anderson, Asso­ciate Director for the Alabama Disability Advocacy Program. Anderson said school and state officials need to accurately track how many students with disabilities are graduating from year to year.

In response to AL.corn's questions about these latest graduation rates, the state edu­cation department's spokesperson, Michael Sibley, acknowledged the sudden gains, but did not have an immediate explanation. He provided the following statement:

"We are aware of what appears to be non-standard growth in the graduation rates of Alabama's Special Education students in certain areas of the state. Whenever there are statistical anomalies, a deeper dive into the data is necessary to review for mistakes, over­sights, or justifiable ratioQale."

· In Alabama, students i:n special educa­tion graduate at far lower percentages than most groups of students and only students with limited English proficiency drop out in higher percentages. Achievement rates for special education students in Alabama on the National Assessmeni of Educational Progress, the gold standard i9 testing, are far below other states' proficiency levels.

"If you don't accurately know that number (of graduates), then how do you know what to ·improve in tenns of your practice?" Anderson asked. "Or for that matter, if they've been suc­cessful, what practices they need to build on?"

It is unclear exactly what numbers were originally sent to federal officials, because graduation rates currently posted on Ala­bama's federal report card show a 20-percent­age-point increase, from 54 percent in 2015-16 to 74 percent in 2016-17. Federal officials initially asked about a 22-percentage-point increase.

DATA BEING REVIEWED Sibley at the state department said local

school districts report those rates, and sev­eral districts "show significant increases in their special education graduation rates."

The state department is reviewing the data for accuracy, Sibley wrote, and will make cor­rections if necessary. If the data prove to be accurate, Sibley added, "We will look for ways to replicate the successes experienced within our special education subgroup."

AL.com has requested further informa­tion from some local superintendents who had large increases in the nl!mber of stu­dents with disabilities graduating from one year to the next. For example, Gadsden City schools had a 48-percentage-point gain, Autauga County had a 40-percentage-point gain, and Monroe County had a 39-percent-

-

The Birmingham News Wednesday, February 13, 2019

age-point gain. Sibley provided a document showing

the state department responded to the U.S. Department of Education's inquiry on May 28, 2018, but that response only admitted the graduation rates transmitted electronically to federal officials in February and in April «rere inaccurate.

No documents were produced showing that state officials had sent corrected rates to federal officials, which is what the U.S. Department ofEducation is waiting for.

The Advocacy Institute, a national non­profit organization that advocates for stu­dents with disabilities, took a look at gradu­ation rates nationwide. Their findings show Alabama's rates increased the most among all states - from 30 percent to 74 percent -since the 2010-11 school year.

Nevada is close behind, with a 42-per­centage-point gain over the same period. Nevada's big gains appear to come from hav­ing dropped the graduation exam in 2017. After having a graduation rate that hovered between 23 percent in 2010-11 and 29 percent in 2015-16, that state's graduation rate rose to 65 percent in 2016-17.

Given the difficulty many students with disabilities have in finding work or pursuing college after high school, keeping track of how many students in special education are graduating with which diploma is import­ant, Anderson said.

"When it comes to kids with disabilities," Anderson added, "one of the key indicators offuture employment and a way out of the poverty that is so often associated with per­sons with disabilities is legitimate gradua­tion with a regular diploma."

Only 80 of Alabama's 137 school districts reported graduation rates for students with disabilities for the 2015-16 school year, as the other 57 had fewer than 10 students graduate so that information was privacy-protected.

35

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE

The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 13, 2019

The NEA has overstayed its welcome in Alabama

Hi The Alabama Educa­

tion Association was the most pow­

erful and influential pblitical organization ill Alabama for close to three decades. The late Paul Hubbert built this powerful organization. He reigned omnipotently over the Legislature and became known as ijle King of Goat Hill.

', But all dynasties have to end. The AEA reign began to end with Hubbert's retirement.The choice of Henry Mabry to succeed

Hubbert was devastat­ing for the organization.

Mabry's appointment was the worst night­mare Hubbert could have imagined. Hubbert was a frugal steward and fierce protector of the AEA's financial resources. He did not throw the organization's money. away. Mabry did. Mabry frivolously depleted the organization's coffers as well as its political action committee's dollars.

I witnessed a prime example of Mabry's frivolity. Hubbert had an in-house polling group, probably the best in the state. He knew through his polling which legis­lators could be beaten and which could not be beaten. Mabry inher­ited this pollster.

Veteran state Sen. Jimmy Holley had refused to do Mabry's bidding onanissue, and Mabry decided to come after him. AEA's polling showed that Holley could not be beaten and that he would win 60-to-40 against whoever ran against him. But Mabry went to Cof­fee County and found a candidate to run against Holley. Mabry promised and gave the candidate $100,000. He spent it and the polling revealed the same, Holley would win60-40.Mabrystub­bomly spent another $100,000 on the erst­while candidate. Holley won, 60-to-40. This scenario played out all over the state. This began the death of the AEA.

A fellow with a name

similar to Hubbert, Mike Hubbard, then rode the Republican sweep of the Legislature into a reign as speaker of the House. Hubbard, in true Machia­vellian form, worked to put the final stake in the heart of the AEA. The most destructive step was the legislative prolubition of the AEA's automatic payroll deductions. This dealt a huge blow to the funding stream that sup­ported its powerful PAC.

As the AEA lay in disar­ray and on life support, the National Education Association stepped in to stabilize the AEA. Now, the AEA and its dedicated Alabama members have climbed out of that pit. They have elected a strong board of representa-tives from throughout

the state. They have worked diligently and paid back the debt to NEA.

The NEA, however, like the Reconstruction liber­als from up North who refused to go home, wants to stay and take over the AEA's resources. The NEA is overtly involving itself in the state organization's governing process, ignor­ing the will of the Alabama membership and refusing to relinquish its cash cow.

Some folks remember the days of the company store, where employees had to spend their checks and stayed indebted to the company, truly never finding freedom again. We are witnessing that scenario play out in Ala­bama with the NEA's foot on the neck of the AEA.

Alabama's teachers,

bus drivers, nurses and lunchroom staff work for very little pay to educate our children. They help to build our future work force. AEA's members and board members are Ala­bamians who are not wild­eyed liberals. They reflect Alabama values and do not mirror liberal NEA values.

It is time for the NEA to exit Alabama and allow the AEA to work with the Alabama Legislature and business leaders to improve education in Alabama. In other words, the in-laws have over­stayed their welcome. It's time for them to go home.

Steve Flowers served 16 years in the Alabama Legislature. Readers can email him at steve@ steveflowers.us.

36

Inside

The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Council members suggest changes to Elevate Tuscaloosa plan Other City Council action I A7

his suggestions from conversa­tions with council members and residents alike since Mayor Walt Maddox unveiled his "Elevate Tuscaloosa" plan last week. By Jason Morton

Staff Writer

For its first in-depth discus­sion on the mayor's proposed sales tax increase to fund a vari­ety of education, transportation

and recreation projects over the next decade, the Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday hearda counter-proposal.

Councilman Matt Calderone of District 4 said he compiled

"1his, by no means, has unan­imous support from the City Council," Calderone said.

But his list of 10 suggestions has its origins in the feedback he's received from each of his

fellow council members, he said .. These proposals include the

consideration of the Elevate Tuscaloosa projects on a case­by-case basis - instead of one, $250 million package deal -while imposing the sales tax permanently instead of for 10 years, as Maddox suggested.

"Sometimes it's better to just rip that Band-Aid off,"

Calderone said. Other ideas include increas­

ing the city's General Fund reserves by IO percent to 15 percent before any of the new sales tax proceeds are allocated, and steering some of these new dollars toward public works and public safety initiatives.

See COUNCIL, A7

See next page

37

COUNCIL FromPageAl

'This is a departure from Maddox's proposal, which called for dedicating all revenue from the 1 percent sales tax increase to the Elevate Tuscaloosa projects.

The council took no actiononCalderone'scmm­terproposal, instead opting toreviewthereconunenda­tions and revisit next week.

Council members also did not indicate whether they leaned toward approving or denying the projects con­tained within the Elevate Tuscaloosa proposal or the counterproposals compiled by Calderone.

There was no discus­sion on the merits of the tax increase but, rather, how the increased revenue would be spent.

"I think we have to look at the future ... because 10 years from now, where are we going to be?" said Cmm­cilman Eddie Pugh.

Councilman Kip Tyner did question the need for urgency. Maddox has said he'd like to have the sales taxincrease approved by the City Council in time for col­lections to begin by June 1.

In response, the mayor said this request was based on political timing and a shift in economic spending patterns.

The closer to a munici­pal election, Maddox said, the harder it will be for the council to will the political capital to approve what may

prove to be an unpopular sales tax increase.

And with a trend in diminishing sales tax rev­enues based on the rise in online sales; and the spending habits of young Americans, the decline in sales tax revenues is only expected to continue in the years ahead.

"There are moments when we have to lead," the mayor said. "If we don't pass this, you'll never be able to explain to your con­stituents ... whyyoudidn't address it."

The work session con­cluded with Maddox agreeingtotakeCalderone's proposals to the city staff to weave into the overall Ele­vate Tuscaloosa plan.

The City Council is expected to review his proposals for additional discussion next week.

"I'm going to work with you because I believe we both can win," Maddox said, "and I believe that

The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 13, 2019

there's.a pathway to do this."

Here's Calderone's list of Elevate Tuscaloosa counterproposals:

• Consider 1 percent sales tax increase with no sunset provision.

• New revenue allocated by the City Council on an _individual project or initia­tive basis.

• All new revenue to be placed in an appropriate reserve account with no new revenue spent until the city's reserve fund is increased by 10 percent to 15percent:

• Each project or initiative from Elevate Tuscaloosa will be evaluated on its own merits, not as a collective group of projects.

• Dedicate a budgeted percentage for certain cat­egories outlined in Elevate Tuscaloosa: Education, Economy, and Experience.

• Dedicate a budgeted percentage of new revenue to public safety capital fund

projects, initiatives and deferred maintenance.

• Dedicate a budgeted percentage of new rev­enue to administration improvements and public works capital fund proj­, ects, initiatives and deferred maintenance.

• Continue to advocate for the passage of state legislation to allow the city to eliminate its share of grocery tax and, until the passage of this legislation, place aside an estimate of grocery tax revenue on an annual basis at the end of each fiscal year.

• Advance the public education components of mayor's Elevate Tuscaloosa proposal.

• Dedicate a portion of new revenue to economic development and job creation.

Reach Jason Mor-ton at jason. morton@ tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.

38

The New York Times Friday, February 22, 2019

The Other Shoe Drops on College Amateurism as a Duke Basketball Star Is Hurt

By MARC TRACY and KEVIN DRAPER

When the left sneaker of college basketball's biggest star split open on national television Wednesday night 30 seconds into the biggest game of the season, what spilled out was not only his foot but also questions about the future of a marquee player and

From Page Al

millions to elite college sports pro­grams to be the exclusive sponsor for teams and supplier of their footwear.

With his shoe split and his knee sprained, Williamson, an uncom­pensated, budding superstar, sat helpless on the arena floor, staring at the shoe he was .wearing in part because of a rich deal between Nike and Duke, one of the world's wealthiest universities.

Here were all the issues of big­time college sports laid bare: Should amateurism be curbed in college sports, allowing athletes a cut of the money they help produce? Should a prodigious tal­ent like Williamson, who is good enough to play professionally right now, have to risk his future competing for free because of an N.B.A. rule prohibiting him from leaping to the league directly from high school? Do the sneaker com­panies, which were at the heart of a federal fraud trial near the start of the season, do more harm than good in college sports?

For a quarter of a century, Nike has been paying Duke tens of mil­lions of dollars to sponsor its teams, and to ensure that its ath­letes wear only footwear bearing the company's ubiquitous logo. The players get enough shoes to carry them through the season, al­lowing them to serve largely as free human billboards.

"All this does," Gabe Feldman,

about the huge influence shoe companies hold over big-time col­lege basketball.

The incident occurred in a game between the archrivals Duke and North Carolina. Zion Williamson, a Duke freshman, pivoted with the ball above the foul line, and the sheer force of his 285-pound frame and acrobatic versatility ap­peared to cut the shoe almost in two, as though severed by a sharp

who directs Tulane's sports law pi:ogram, said of Williamson's in­jury, "is put a magnifying glass on an issue that has existed for a long time."

Williamson has not com­mented.,

With the exploding sneaker playing on a near-continuous loop, Nike stock closed down Thursday by 1.05 percent, as the world wondered how a shoe could split so badly in the middle of a game.

The answer remains a puzzle even to experts. James Gilbert, an orthopedic surgeon who worked with Duke athletics in the 1990s, said he had seen shoes fall apart similarly on soccer players, but never on the hardwood.

"I think it's a product failure;' Gilbert said. "I've never seen that. I had no idea that that happens."

In a statement Wednesday night, Nike said: "We are obvi­ously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The qual­ity and performance of our prod­ucts are of utmost importance." The statement called the shoe ex­plosion "an isolated occurrence;' though in 2015, the Kenyan mara­thoner Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon even as the lin­ers in his Nike shoes fell out.

Williamson, who has a mild knee sprain, will most likely be sidelined for one to two weeks, then continue being the favorite to become the No. 1 overall pick in the N.B.A. draft in June. By then he will probably already be a mil-

knife. Former President Barack

Obama, sitting on the sidelines at the Duke arena, was seen on video pointing at Williamson and ap­pearing to say, "His shoe broke."

On Thursday, as the incident was replayed on countless high­light reels, the damaged shoe threatened to become a night­mare for Nike, which pays tens of

Continued on Page Al7

lionaire, thanks to the endorse­ment deals he can sign when he ends his college career. For now, he is an N.C.A.A. amateur.

Sneaker companies first got deeply involved with college ath­letics in the late 1970s, when an en­terprising Nike executive named Sonny Vaccaro arranged for sev­eral prominent coaches, such as John Thompson of Georgetown and Jerry Tarkanian of the Uni­versity of Nevada-Las Vegas, to

Who gets the money that shoe companies pour into athletics?

receive money in exchange for outfitting their players in the com­pany's shoes. Starting in the late 1980s, Nike began to sign deals that covered all of a university's tec:!ffiS.

'"Now we see the kids wearing the shoes and selling the product all over the world - and the kids never got anything;' Vaccaro, who left Nike years ago, said Thurs­day. "The money has served the same people, except for the most important ones."

A decision in a federal class-ac­tion lawsuit challenging N.C.A.A. restrictions on compensation is expected any day.

Standout basketball players

See next page

39

were squeezed further in 2006, when the N.B.A. barred talented teenagers from following in the footsteps of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James by en­tering the league straight out of high school.

Then, in September 2017, fed­eral prosecutors in New York's Southern District revealed more of the chasm between college bas­ketball players, who can receive only scholarships and related costs of being on campus, and the administrators and coaches who reap the benefits of the revenue the athletes generate for their col­leges, conferences and the N.C.A.A. itself. The men's basket­ball tournament yields about $1 billion per year for the television rights.

In three complaints filed in United States District Court in New York, prosecutors accused roughly a dozen assistant coaches, middlemen and employ­ees of Adidas of plotting to funnel money to players' families in ex­change for pledges that the ath­letes, among other things, would play for certain schools and sign with Adidas once they began their professional careers. The scandal led to the firing of a Hall of Fame coach, Rick Pitino of the Univer­sity of Louisville, and has already netted three convictions, includ­ing of Adidas's former director of global sports marketing.

The transactions outlined by the complaints are practically the modus operandi at many top bas-

WHY KEEP PLAYING?

Zion Williamson risks his .career for Duke and Nike, which profit from his free labor. Page B9.

ketball programs, documents and testimony in the legal case sug­gested. Wiretaps revealed sus­pects describing at least one Adi­das rival engaging in the same practices. Documents from the case reported by Yahoo Sports last year indicated that former top players at dozens of prominent programs - including Duke -had been on the payroll of an aspi­ring agent who has since been convicted of fraud.

Duke did not reply to requests for comment Thursday.

The specifics of Duke's deal with Nike, which the two sides have extended through 2027, are not publicly !mown. As a private university, Duke is not obligated to reveal the terms.

But a look at Nike deals with similar universities that are pub­lic offer some indication of how the contracts work.

Nike's deal with North Carolina, for instance, will give the univer­sity more than $90 million in cash and merchandise over 10 · years. Nike also signed personal con­tracts with a number of North Car­olina coaches: Roy Williams, the men's basketball coach, will re­ceive an average of $300,000 a year over the life of the 10-year agreement.

The New York Times Friday, February 22, 2019

Contracts generally state that Nike is not liable for injuries suf­fered by athletes wearing its prod­ucts. The contracts also require every player to wear the compa­ny's shoes unless a medical condi­tion makes Nike footwear unsuit­able. A player might, as stipulated in Nike's deal with the University of Michigan, be required to make himself available for examination by Nike or a local podiatrist before using a shoe made by another company. ·

It is not known why Williamson wore the particular Nike model that tore on Wednesday. It was a Nike "signature shoe:• a term for a style endorsed by a specific ath­lete - in this case, the N.B.A. star Paul George, who plays for the Ok­lahoma City Thunder.

What makes Williamson so compelling is the·same thing that might make a shoe unable to con­tain him. He combines size and speed with strength and agility in the manner of LeBron James, who .during a day off this month went to Charlottesville, Va., to see Williamson and the Blue Devils take o.n Virginia. Though Williamson weighs 285 pounds, at times he seems like the fastest player on the court.

"When you're dealing with some of these athletes who are getting quicker, stronger, faster, you've got to consider some of that:• said Gilbert, the orthope­dist.

40

The New York Times Friday, February 22, 2019

A Search for Old Blackface Photos Hits Close to Home By MATTHEW HAAG

After a scandal erupted around Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia this month over a racist photo­graph in his 1984 medical school yearbook, reporters at USA Today set out on an ambitious review of hundreds of college yearbooks from that time.

That search of yearbooks from 120 colleges in the 1970s and '80s found that racist imagery like the black-and-white photograph on Mr. Northam's yearbook page -one student dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member and another in blackface - appeared on full, bla­tant display in dozens of the glossy publications. White stu­dents dressed up like black celeb­rities, smearing on shoe polish to resemble Michael Jackson, or wore Nazi uniforms to parties. In an article published on Wednes­day, USA Today identified at least 200 instances of racist and derog­atory images and material in yearbooks across the United States.

One example was on Page 218 of the 1988-89 yearbook at Arizona State University. The yearbook was edited by a 21-year-old named Nicole Carroll, who is now USA Today's own editor in chief.

On that page, a photo showed two white male students covered in black paint smiling at the Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity's Halloween party. On the left, a shirtless man with boxing gloves over his shoul­ders was dressed as Mike Tyson, white the other student, wearing a wig and a bikini top, was Robin Givens.

Weeks before Halloween in 1988, Ms. Givens, an actress and model, filed for divorce from Mr. Tyson, who was at the height of his boxing career. She called her mar­riage a "continuous horror story" and accused him of "unprovoked rages and destruction" and threatening to kill her family.

The yearbook caption, which omitted the students' names, read, "The business fraternity members went all out for the ball."

Ms. Carroll, who is white, also designed Page 218 of the year­book. When the photograph was discovered, she "immediately re­cused herself from involvement in this coverage," the newspaper said.

The newspaper published its in­vestigation on Wednesday along with a column by Ms. Carroll, who said she was shocked by the dis­covery and did not remember the photograph. She declined to com-

Kitty Bennett contributed re­search.

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Nicole Carroll, top, the editor in chief of USA Today. She oversaw a yearbook at Arizona State that showed two white students in blackface, above left, dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens.

ment further on Thursday, saying that she did not "have anything more to add than I wrote in my col­umn."

"I am sorry for the hurt I caused back then and the hurt it will cause today." Ms. Carroll, who graduated with a bachelor's de­gree in journalism in 199!, wrote in the column. "Clearly the 21-year­old me who oversaw the book and

that page didn't understand how offensive the photo was. I wish I had."

She added, "Today's:11-year-otd me of course understands and is crushed by this mistake."

Ms. Carroll, who became the newspaper's editor in February 2018 after nearly 20 years at its sister publication The Arizona Re­public. said she had dedicated

much of her journalism career to increasing diversity in news­rooms and covering diverse com­munities.

"As journalists, we must hold ourselves accountable as we do others, and it is important to call myself out for this pour judg­ment," she wrote.

A spokesman for Alpha Kappa Psi said that the fraternity was "sorry for the pain this photo causes" and that "we must own all of our history." Arizona State Uni­versity also apologized for the photograph.

"The photo in this student publi­cation is a sad reminder that this kind of insensitivity was all too common in past decades," the uni­versity said in a statement on Thursday. "Things are changing for the better, for which we at A.S. U. are grateful, but that does­n't take away the possibility that the picture caused or will cause pain. For that we are sorry."

Blackface has endured in Amer­ican popular culture for more than 185 years. emerging in the early

USA Today's chief edited a yearbook with racist images.

1830s at minstrel shows and blackface performances in per­verse portrayals of staves by white people. Blackface survived the Civil War, the emancipation. both world wars and through the civil rights era. Even in recent decades, as shown by Mr. Northam's yearbook and the USA Today review, the shameful pas­time persists in American life.

The pages of the 1988-89 Ari­zona State University yearbook underscored the continued strug­gle by people of color in the United States at the time to gain equal footing with their white peers. A local chapter of the National Asso­ciation for the Advancement of Colored People had opened on campus only the summer before. the yearbook noted.

·'The ideal situation would be not to need special clubs, opportu·· nities and scholarships for minor­ity students to get ahead," a found· ing member of the studenr N.A.A.C.P. group was quoted as; saying in an article on Page 240. "We will continue to fight until the day that (minorities) are judged by their mental ability and skill, rather than their race."

41

Medical School Run by Kaiser Pl~ns to Waive Student Tuition

By ABBY GOODNOUGH

Kaiser Permanente, the California­based health system that is preparing to open one of the only American medical schools not connected to a university, said Monday that it would waive tuition for ev­ery student in its first five graduating classes.

Kaiser Permanente, which has its own hospitals, clinics, doctors and insurance plan, is following the New York Univer­sity School of Medicine, which announced last year that it would eliminate tuition for all current and future students. Like N.Y.U., Kaiser's main goal is to keep stu­dents from forgoing lower-paying special­ties like family medicine because of crushing debt, or foreclosing the option of medical school altogether because of the cost.

"Even middle-class families are finding medical school hard to pay for;' said Mark Schuster, the founding dean and chief ex­ecutive officer of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. "We're going to see how this plays out and learn from it."

He said the schoot would start accept­ing applications in June and open in Pasa­dena the summer of 2020. The annual tu­ition will be about $55,000, he said, adding that while it was not planning to cover tu­ition beyond the first five classes, it would provide "very generous financial aid" based on need after that.

Unlike N.Y.U., which is raising $600 mil­lion from donors to pay for its tuition plan, Kaiser Permanente is tapping into the portion of its revenue that it spends on "community benefits," which all nonprofit hospitals have to provide to keep their tax-exempt status. The company says it spent $2.3 billion on community benefits in 2017, including charity care for the un­insured and other spending that pro­motes community health. It has nearly $73 billion in operating revenue overall.

Each class will have 48 students, small­er than average for a medical school. But what will set it apart most, Dr. Schuster said, is teaching Kaiser Permanente's model of integrated care, in which doctors work on teams with other types of medi­cal providers, including pharmacists,

The New York Times Tuesday, February 19, 2019

psychologists and social workers, sup­ported by technology and data, to make sure none of a patient's health needs slip through the cracks.

Students will skip the lecture-type sci­ence courses that typically dominate the first year of medical school and immedi­ately start "integrated clerkships" in Kai­ser Permanente hospitals and clinics, starting with primary care and adding surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pedi­atrics and psychiatry the second year.

Another focus will be teaching medical students how to be aggressive champions for their patients. Dr. Schuster pointed to Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician in Flint, Mich., whose analysis of local children's blood tests proved the city's water was causing widespread lead poi­soning; as a role model.

"We want our students to have the con­fidence and skill to do what she did and speak truth to power;' Dr. Schuster said. "That involves being able to go outside the clinic, write the op-ed when needed, go to a community advocacy group and say, 'I need your help."'

N.Y.U.'s offer seems to have already had an impact: its medical school saw ap­plications increase by 47 percent for next year, to 8,932. The number of applicants who identify as black jumped by 142 per­cent, to 1,062.

Neither Kaiser Permanente nor N.Y.U. will cover room and board for students, though Kaiser will offer them insurance through its system, Dr. Schuster said.

Other medical schools have taken steps recently to decrease their students' finan­cial burden; Columbia University, for ex­ample, is using a $250 million gift for a new endowment that will fund a range of scholarships and grants meant to ensure none of its medical students incur debt.

About three-quarters of medical school students graduate with debt, according to the American Association of Medical Col­leges; the median amount of debt re­ported for the 2017 graduating class was $190,000.

In addition to Dr. Schuster, a pediat­rician who came to Kaiser Permanente from Harvard Medical School, Kaiser has hired about a dozen others to serve as deans, department chairs and a senior vice president. It has received prelimi­nary accreditation from the Liaison Com­mittee on Medical Education, a somewhat different process than usual because un­like the universities that open medical schools, it is not already a degree-grant­ing institution.

"For the population, there are not nearly as many medical schools as one might expect," he said, adding that Cali­fornia exports more medical students than it keeps. "We will each have our own niche, area of particular focus, and there's room for all of us."

42

The New York Times Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Three Women Sue Yale, Saying Fraternity Scene Is Enabling Harassment

By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS

Three Yale students who claim they were groped at fraternity parties have filed a class-action lawsuit against the university, ar­guing the school has fostered an environment where alcohol-fu­eled gatherings at off-campus fra­ternity houses dictate the under­graduate social scene.

While the New Haven, Conn., university presents itself as a campus where fraternities are not a major presence, the lawsuit states that few options besides fraternity p~rties exist for women who want to socialize and meet other students.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Connecticut, comes as universities across the country have been trying to crack down on bad behavior by fraterni­ties, from binge drinking and sex­ual harassment to abusive hazing rituals that have led to several deaths. Aware that their image has been tarnished, fraternities have often been partners with uni­versities in trying to change party culture.

Yale has often looked the other way, the plaintiffs claim, while parties rage and women from Yale and surrounding colleges are rou­tinely sexually harassed and abused.

Joan Gilbride, a lawyer for the fraternities named in the lawsuit, said the accusations are "baseless and unfounded;' and that the fra­ternities and their national orga­nizations would vigorously de­fend themselves against the claims.

A Yale spokesman, Thomas

Lisa A. Bacon in Richmond and Jonathan Katz in Charlottesville contributed reporting.

Conroy, said he could not com­ment on the specifics of the law­suit. But he shared a message to. Yale students last month from the dean of Yale College, Marvin Chun, after a yearlong review of campus culture, including frater­nity culture. It said in part, "I con­demn the culture described in these accounts; it runs counter to our community's values of mak­ing everyone feel welcome, re­spected, and safe. I also offer some plain advice about events like these: don't go to them;'

The dean said that Yale "plays no formal role in the organizations not affiliated with the university, including Greek organizations," and he said the university was working on providing alternative social spaces and events on cam­pus.

The lawsuit acknowledges that there may. be questions about Yale's ability to regulate off-cam­pus organizations. . . _,, .

"Yale often claims that the uni­versity cannot punish the fraterni­ties because they are unregis­tered, off-campus organizations," the lawsuit says. But it argues that this position is disingenuous, be­cause the fraternities "act as ex­tensions of Yale," providing party space, while Yale permits them to use the Yale name, Yale email ad­dresses, Yale bulletin boards and campus facilities for recruitment.

Peter McDonough, general counsel of the American Council on Education, a university trade group, said universities have been reluctant to become too deeply in­volved in regulating fraternity life.

"The very concept of a campus is where people learn not only from each other but through shared experiences:' he said.

"And this isn't the K through 12 en­vironment."

The plaintiffs - a sophomore and two juniors - have demanded in the lawsuit that Yale and its fra­ternities rein in the parties. They have also asked for a court order that would force the fraternities to admit women and allow them to share in the benefits of member­ship, like housing and powerful alumni networks that can lead to jobs, internships and social capi­tal.

"Simply put, fraternities ele­vate men to social gatekeepers and relegate women and non-bi­nary students to sexual objects," the lawsuit said. "Moreover, Yale's fraternities have alumni and pro­fessional connections to the busi­ness world, including banking and consulting firms, which often re­sult in coveted job offers and eco­nomic opportunities:'

The three women who filed the suit are Anna McNeil, 20, a junior from Brooklyn majoring in art his­tory; Eliana Singer, 19, a sopho­more from Minneapolis majoring

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43

in political science; and Ry Walker, 20, a junior from Brooklyn majoring in astrophysics and Afri­can-American studies. The Jaw firm representing them, Sanford Heisler Sharp, is also represent­ing women who are suing Dart­mouth College for sexual assault and discrimination by three pro­fessors who they said turned a hu-

A suit comes amid a national push to curtail a party culture.

man behavior research depart­ment "into a 21st-century Animal House."

All three women in the Yale case said they were groped at frater­nity parties during their first semesters. In the lawsuit, Ms. Walker, who is African-American, said she was passed over by fra-

ternity brothers controlling ad­. mission to a party, while white women behind her were admitted.

"We eat together, take classes together, exist in this coeduca­tional place;• Ms. Walker said in an interview. "But somehow be­cause of the way Greek life oper­ates on campus and the control they have over social spaces here, that means that on weekend nights, men are the only ones who have power."

Sororities are not a substitute for fraternities, the plaintiffs said, because they have been around for much Jess time, and do not have the depth of contacts that fraternities have.

The lawsuit, filed as a class-ac­tion complaint, accuses Yale of vi­olating Title IX of federal educa­tion Jaw, which prohibits sex dis­crimination by institutions receiv­ing federal funding, and breach of contract for not providing the edu­cational environment it promised. It accuses the fraternities of vio­lating the Fair Housing Act for of­fering housing only to men, and

The New York Times Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Yale and the fraternities of vio­lating Connecticut's Jaw against discrimination in places of public accommodation. It seeks unspeci­fied damages.

The women belong to a student group called Engender that has used civil rights-type tactics to try to force fraternities to accept women. For the past three years, women and "non-binary" stu­dents from Engender have tried to join fraternities. Only one frater­nity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, let them apply, according to court papers. But in the end they were denied and the fraternity chapter said it was because their national chap­ter did not allow women, the law­suit says.

The complaint suggests that there is a ."symbiotic" relationship between Yale and its fraternities, which involves letting the frater­nities manage social life on cam­pus, in exchange for Yale officials looking the other way when par­ties get out of hand.

"The fraternities take on the li­ability associated with student al­cohol consumption, and in ex­change, Yale allows the fraterni­ties to use Yale resources (and re­cruit Yale students) and largely turns a blind eye to the sexual har­assment and assault occurring in connection with the fraternities;' the complaint says.

The lawsuit claims that Yale Jags behind peers like Harvard, which in 2016 announced that it was discouraging students from joining single-sex social clubs by barring them from leadership po­sitions on campus and from re­ceiving endorsements for presti­gious scholarships like the Rhodes.

In December, Harvard was sued by fraternities, sororities _and students saying the new pol­icy is discriminatory.

44

Chronicle.com Friday, February 1, 2019

Oklahoma's President Urges Angry Crowd to Help Him Fix 'Shameful Moment'

By: Katherine Mangan and Michael Vasquez

The University of Oklahoma's repeated struggles with racist student behavior were on full display Tuesday during a tense campus rally, as minority students demanded more action from administrators, and a former dean called for the university president to resign.

Emotions ran high as students and faculty and staff members crowded into a campus hall to express anger and frustration at the latest racist incident - a Snapchat video of a student in blackface appearing to use a racial slur.

To some it was a bitter reminder of a 2015 video that also went viral, shaking the university and tarnishing its reputation. In that video, which evoked images of lynching, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members laughed and sang about how they'd never allow a black student to join their chapter.

Much of the anger on Tuesday was directed at Oklahoma's president, James L. Gallogly, a former oil executive who took office in July, after regents recruited him to help make the university more financially sustainable.

After listening to speakers question the administration's commitment to diversity, the president took the floor to plead with the audience to work with him in making the campus a more inclusive, welcoming environment for all students.

The problems, he agreed, go beyond the actions of a few individuals.

"This is a shameful moment in our history that keeps reoccurring," Gallogly said. "It is our moment of truth, and we have to do something about it. I will be held accountable. I don't just want your criticism. I want your help. Pointing fingers and making demands doesn't get the job done."

The students who spoke at the rally said they were tired of waiting, particularly because some of the promises that administrators made after the 2015 incident were not fulfilled.

One of the protesting groups, the Black Student Association, issued a list of demands that includes zero tolerance for hate speech, more support for African-American academic programs, and more multicultural faculty and staff members.

On Monday, Gallogly held a news conference to denounce the Snapchat video, which surfaced on Friday and quickly became national news. But the president also cited legal limitations that prevented him from expelling the students responsible. The two students identified, he said, had voluntarily agreed to leave the university and expressed "deep regret" for their actions. The university is investigating the possible involvement of a third student.

Among his goals, Gallogly said, was recruiting more minority faculty members and students, improving diversity training, and making the student code of conduct as rigorous as possible to address inequality and racism.

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45

Chronicle.com Friday, February 1, 2019

Critics who accused Gallogly of not doing enough have compared his response with that of his predecessor, David Boren, who, in 2015, announced that he was expelling the two students and kicking the fraternity off campus.

Last week's incident is different in a few respects, Gallogly pointed out. It happened off campus, at a private residence, and it didn't involve the sorority the students belonged to, Delta Delta Delta.

The 2015 fraternity incident, in referring to lynching, also included a threat that could reasonably make a student fearful for his or her safety, a university lawyer pointed out.

That incident prompted the university to create an Office of University Community, led by Jabar Shumate, a former state senator and student activist at Oklahoma.

Shumate, who served as a vice president overseeing that office for three years, was forced out after being accused of improperly using a state vehicle for personal reasons. He denied that charge, saying the real reason he was forced to resign was his objection to the possibility that the administration was going to let the disgraced fraternity return to campus.

Shumate could not be reached on Tuesday for comment. The university offered a different narrative at the time, releasing a statement saying that Shumate had resigned after being confronted with the findings of an audit that "revealed a significant misuse of university assets."

University officials and the SAE national organization have denied that the chapter's return is in the works, but email records obtained by The Chronicle show that Gallogly wrote to an unidentified donor on his first day as president, in July: "I know this has been a painful experience for so many but perhaps we can all find a healing way to resolve this matter where everyone is pleased with the outcome. We prevent future similar incidents by not forgetting the event and learning from it but at some point there must be forgiveness as well."

'You Need to Call Them Out'

During Tuesday's rally, students from multiple ethnic groups tweeted under the hashtag #BetterTogether and urged their peers to express solidarity. For more than two hours, students stepped up to denounce recurring acts of racism.

"As a black student, words don't matter," one student said. "This has happened in the past, and it's happening again. When a year goes by and nothing happens" she turned to the president -"please understand that I'll be asking for your resignation." The crowd cheered.

Another student urged white students and faculty members to do more. "Too often the burden is placed on faculty, students, and staff of color," he said. "The work starts with you. When you're sitting at your table eating your avocado toast and you hear about these incidents, you need to call them out."

Suzette Grillot, who was removed from her position as dean of international studies last week, used her time at the microphone to blast the president's deep cuts to her department, which will close its study-abroad center in Brazil.

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46

Chronicle.com Friday, February 1, 2019

Grillot, who announced her removal on Twitter, had tried and failed to convince Gallogly that study centers in Latin America were a worthwhile investment, benefiting Oklahoma students and leading to an increase in students from Brazil and Mexico.

Email records show that Gallogly asked the dean in July: "Why do we need to source students from Brazil and Mexico given strong demand that we already have?"

At Tuesday's rally, Grillot read Gallogly's email to the crowd.

"If I have to explain why we need a diverse student body to a president of a public institution of higher education, then I think we all know what kind of leader we have," she said to applause. "And what kind of trouble we're in."

Things grew more combative from there.

"I'm not going to be as kind as the people who asked for your resignation a year from now," she told Gallogly during her remarks. "I'm going to ... ask for it now," she added, inserting an expletive.

Quoting Martin Luther King Jr.

Gallogly was next to speak, and he started by firing back at Grillot. One of the first things he did as president, he said, was ask the university's deans to explain what steps they were taking to increase diversity.

"One dean wrote back, 'I'm too busy. I don't have time for that,"' Gallogly said. "She just asked me to resign."

From there, Gallogly shifted to address students who, he said, had leveled unfair accusations against him, blaming him for racist incidents that pained him as much as it did them. He acknowledged that he experienced the insults differently than would a person of color who is accustomed to frequent slights.

At times, Gallogly's voice shook with emotion as he urged the crowd to work with him, not against him. Quoting Martin Luther King Jr., Gallogly asked the crowd to remember that "darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

The president said that over the previous few days, he had sought the advice of George Henderson, a professor emeritus of human relations and the third black professor hired by Oklahoma, in 1967. Henderson had urged him not to expel the Snapchat-video students, he said.

In an interview on Tuesday, Henderson said he believed that the president was committed to change and was taking the right steps to hold his administration accountable for the goals he had announced. Expelling students for expressing offensive views, particularly on social media, isn't the answer, Henderson said.

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47

Chronicle.com Friday, February 1, 2019

"I want to give him a chance," said Henderson, the son of Alabama sharecroppers and the author of a memoir about his experiences at Oklahoma. "I was involved in the civil-rights movement, and we wanted to communicate with people and not excommunicate them when they did terrible things. If we throw people out, we miss the opportunity to teach them."

Former President Boren's decision to create an Office of University Community in2015 was well intentioned but didn't work, Henderson said. "The vice president for university community was not held accountable and didn't have a plan and procedure for getting things done," he said.

Rather than limiting responsibility for improving race relations to one office, Henderson said, all administrators should be held responsible - the provost for how deans perform, and the deans for how department chairs fulfill those goals. Henderson said the university should also do a better job of making sure all students of color, not just black students, feel supported.

For Gallogly, healing the university's racial divisions represents the biggest public challenge he's faced in his first year as president. Grillot, the former dean, told The Chronicle she is skeptical that he is up to the task.

"I have very little confidence in his ability to handle this moment," she said.

The president urged Tuesday's crowd to give him a chance.

"I love each one of you," he said, voice cracking. "I'm happy to look you in the eye and tell you that. That's why I'm here, and that's the only reason we're here. We are better than this moment. Let's prove it."

48

The Web.com Tour announced last week a new tournament

set to debut on the annual schedule this year. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship will be at Capitol Hill (Senator Course) in Prattville, April 18-21, with 156 players compet-ing for a $550,000 purse.

There are a number of Web.com Tour players with various levels of status who played for the University of Alabama: Lee Hodges, Davis Riley, Robby Shelton, Tom Lovelady, Jason Bohn, Hunter Hamrick, Dicky Pride and Nick Rousey. Others with statewide connections include Zack Sucher, Willy Wilcox, Casey Wittenberg, Blayne Barber, Michael Hebert, Sam Love; Boo Weekley, Will Cannon, Matt Gilchrest, Conner Godsey, Michael Johnson, Smylie Kaufman and Garrett Osborn.

"We are excited to once again partner with the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail as we deliver a tremendous new event on the Web.com Tour," Web.com Tour Presi­dent Alex Baldwin said.

"The Senator Course has a wonderful history on our Tour and in our sport, and we are confident that the pas­sionate golf fans in Alabama will enjoy the opportunity to get up close to the game's next wave of PGA Tour stars."

Web.com Tour event to debut in

Montgomery The announcement marks

the Tour's 11th partnership with the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which hosted the Web.com Tour Champion­ship from 1997 through 2005 at four different properties, including the Senator Course each of the final five years.

"This is the 23rd con­secutive year professional golf has been played on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, and we look forward to welcoming the Web.com Tour, its players and fans back for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Cham­pionship," John Cannon, President of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, said.

"While our world-class courses are open to the public all year long, we look forward watching male and fem ale professional golfers take on the Senator Course in 2019. Being able to hold multiple professional tour­naments on the same course in the same year is a true testament to the quality of our golf courses and the great work of our staff."

The Symetra Tour's Guardian Championship has been played on the Senator Course the past two years, with the 2019 event slated for Sept. 20-22. LPGA tourna­ments were played on the Senator Course between 2007 and 2016, produc-ing winners such as Lorena Ochoa, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Ari ya Jutanugarn.

The Tuscaloosa News Monday, February 18, 2019

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., the Senator Course was named as one of Golf Magazine's "Top 10 New Courses" in the United States after opening in 1999. The course is one of three onsite at the Capitol Hill facility (Legislator, Judge) and fea­tures a Scottish-style layout complete with over 160 pot bunkers and 20-to-40 foot mounding.

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship will be operated by Global Golf Management (GGM). Chicago-based GGM has successfully staged more

than 1,000 events on five continents, and currently provides consultation, man­agement, and tournament operations service for over 40 professional golf events across the globe.

With 50 available PGA Tour cards for the following season (since 2013), the Web. com Tour is the path to the PGA Tour. Twenty-five Tour cards are reserved for the leading points earners at the end of the 24-event Regular Season. Another 25 are up for grabs at the three-event Web.com Tour Finals that follow the regular season in August and September.

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship replaces the Tour's El Bosque Mexico Championship by INNOV A this season, which was recently canceled due to the gas crisis affecting Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.

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Second Symetra Tour RTJ event announced

Just days after the second professional golf tourna -ment along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in 2019 was announced, the good news continues. The Symetra Tour, official qualifying Tour for the LPGA Tour, will be playing a professional golf tournament May 23-26 on the Lake Course at the RTJ Grand National in Opelika.

A field of 144 women golfers will compete for the highest purse ever on the Symetra Tour at $300,000. A Pro-Am and other com -munity events will be held earlier in the week.

"While we started the year with one tournament sched­uled to be played on the Trail, we are delighted to welcome a second Symetra Tour event to the Trail in 2019, along with a new Web.com Tour event," Cannon said.

"These three events will showcase the quality of Alabama golf around the world. With such a quick turnaround, these new tour­naments are a true testament· to our staff and the world­class golf offered to the public along the Trail all year long."

RTJ Grand National first opened in 1992 and hosted the first professional

tournament on the Trail in 1997. This will be the sixth professional tournament played at Grand National and the second time for profes­sional women's golf. The PGA Tour's Barbasol Cham­pionship was held at RTJ Grand National in 2015, 2016 and 2017. LPGA'sAFLAC Tournament of Champions was held in 1998 and the Nike Tour Championship was played at RTJ Grand National in 1997.

The Symetra Tour will return to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in September for the Guardian Champion­ship in Prattville. This will be the third year for the Guard­ian Championship.

"We will have a strong need for volunteers and other community partners for these events," Cannon said. "Both Opelika and Prattville have strong track records in hosting great events and offering exceptional hospi­tality. We look forward to welcoming these profes­sional golfers and their fans to Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. We encour­age the fans to come back and play these courses for themselves."

The Tuscaloosa News Monday, February 18, 2019

Symetra Tour players with Alabama connections include former UA golfers Lakareber Abe, Janie Jackson, Chey­enne Knight, Mia Landegren and Camilla Lennarth, along with other locals Marta Sanz Barr~o, Patricia Sanz Barrio, Carlie Carr, Cydney Clanton and Anna Lesher.

Laye gets hole-in-one

On Saturday, Craig Laye shot a hole-in-one on hole number 16, a par-3, from 115-yards, at the Links at Tuscaloosa. Witnesses were Tim Hawkins, Mike Layson, Allen Roberts and Dennis Gilliland.

Ian Thompson has been writing about golf in Ala­bama for over 26 years. His weekly "Mr. Golf" column concentrates on golfers, golf events and people associ­ated with the sport of interest to the Tuscaloosa and Bir­mingham areas. Reach him with story ideas at thomp­sonteesoff@gmail.com

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The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Rescheduling not a problem

- until it is

Football scheduling in the Southeastern Conference isn't necessarily the source of most conspiracy theories. That would

be SEC officiating, which provides new fodder for the paranoia mill on every fall Saturday.

Scheduling comes close, though, largely because in a 14-team league that plays eight conference games, there is no way for sched­ules to be absolutely equitable. Furthermore, at most schools, the definition of "equitable" lies in a gray area that comes very close to meaning "favorable." What looks like a perfectly fair Ole Miss schedule, for instance, might not look so great to Ole Miss. Some of the controversies about games have been alive longer than the players that are playing in the games.

For instance, LSU has complained about having Florida as its permanent divisional crossover opponent for decades, dating back to the precise moment when it became

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apparent that Florida was going to be tougher than Tennessee. When the Vols were a national powerhouse in the , 1990s, everyone else in the West thought Alabama's crossover schedule was perfectly fine.

All that is preface to a story that came out Tuesday from reporter Brandon Marcello of Auburn Undercover. Marcello said while there were still "obstacles," Auburn, Georgia and the SEC were working to move the Auburn-Geor­gia game, the league's oldest rivalry, from its traditional mid-Novem­ber date to a Saturday earlier in the season.

That's been an issue . at Auburn recently. It is not just because Georgia and Alabama, Auburn's late-year rivals, have been very good. It's also because the schedule has gotten twisted in a way in which Auburn either plays both games at home (good) or both on· the road (not so good.)

And there is no problem with Auburn, or any league institution, trying to fix what it perceives as scheduling issues.

Alabama has done it. LSU has brought the rota­tion up for a vote at the SEC Meetings in D~stin, Florida, although it didn't get the presidential S'Up­port it needed to bring about a change. Any good athletics director never stops looking for an edge (orafairshake,depend­ing on where you stand on that "equitable/favor­able" thing.)

That doesn't mean · any schedule move-1nent doesn't have ripple effects.

· The issues, if the Auburn/Georgia game is ultimately moved, are (a) what is the new date and(b)whatotherteams

. ~ve their schedule shuffled to accommo­date the switch?

First, if Georgia is going to keep its tra­ditional November closing stretch of a non-conference-don't­call-it-a-cupcake game and then Georgia Tech, it would almost have to play an SEC game in that spot or the Bull­dogs would be finishing league play on the first

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Saturday in November. Does Auburn want to

play Georgia and LSU on consecutive weekends? Is that better or worse? For an example of the ripple effect, let's say Auburn plays Missis­sippi State in the current Georgia spot. Do the Bulldogs want an Ala -bama/ Auburn/Ole Miss finishing stretch every year?

That's not to say things can't be worked out for everyone. It might be easier to work them out if the SEC adopted the Nick Saban -endorsed nine-game .. conference schedule, but

The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 20, 2019

that doesn't appear to bE on the horizon.

There is no real "prob­lem" with Auburn and Georgia playing earlier - it would be an attrac­tive television game, no matter what slot you put it in. But any new shuffle of the scheduling cards affects more than one team, and someone is bound to complain somewhere,atleast until a botched targeting call gives them some­thing new to complain about.

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or 205-722-0225

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The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 13, 2019

2019 Alabama baseball preview: Starting pitching By Ben Jones Sports Writer

Alabama baseball opens its 2019 season on Friday with a three-game series against Presbyterian. The Tuscaloosa News will examine the team in a four-part series this week

before the season.

The pitching· situation for Alabama will need more than one recruiting class to rebuild. The starting rotation in 2018 gave a decent account for itself, but depth was a con­stant worry and the talent was

often overmatched by SEC opponents.

Four SEC pitchers were chosen in the first two rounds of the draft last year and more talent is always on the way up. It's not an exaggeration

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ALABAMA FromPageC1

to say the top third of No. 1 pitchers in the conference have fust- or second-round potential, and Alabama isn't there yet.

Friday night starter Sam Finnerty is back for his senior season and was announced as the Friday night starter earlier this week. He went undrafted after his junior season. Despite that, he acquitted himself well last season and gaye Alabama a chance in nearly every outing. He didn't get roughed up consistently, managed and minimized bad iunings and didn't put undue burden on the bullpen. That's more than enough for him to be a reliable starter to open a series.

Freshman Tyler Ras was announced as the Saturday starter. Toe righty was Ala­bama's top-ranked recruit in the class. Perfect Game ranked him No. 74 overall in the nation, and he has as much potential as any player on the roster.

Toe Sunday starter and midweek starter are still up in the air, and those posi­tions may not be decided until competition sorts things out in the first few weeks.

Junior college transfer Wil Freeman was chosen

The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, February 13, 2019

in the 36th round of the draft but chose to attend school instead. He should be steadier than some of the freshmen, a quality which has real value when you'll be counting on so much unproven talent. Freshman Connor Sham­blin has also drawn strong reviews and will likely get an opportunity.

Redshirt junior Brock Love, now almost two years removed from Tommy John surgery, should be better off than he was in 2018. He's always been seen as a pitcher with good stuff who just needed to stay healthy. Lefty Garret Rukes was the Sunday starter last year could be used similarly, though he never stretched out last year to the load of the other starters. Having a lefty somewhere in the weekend rotation can niake things more challenging on oppos,ing lineups.

Regardless of who is involved, look for lots of combinations in the early parts of the season. The Tampa Bay Rays had some success last season

· using what they called an "opener." That essentially means using a reliever to pitch for one or two innings before bringing on a "starter" to throw the bulk of the game. That could be a possibility, but there may be even more unusual strat­egies waiting to be seen.

54

• COLLEGE BASEBALL

The Birmingham News Friday, February 22, 2019

SEC to use centralized replay for conference games Creg Stephenson cstephenson@al.com

The SEC will implement a centralized video replay review process for conference baseball games beginning this season, the league announced Thursday.

The N.CAA allowed for centralized replay in baseball for the first time this season, and the SEC is the first conference to go to that method. Previously, there was an on-site replay official in the booth for conference games and the SEC tour­nament.

Under the new system, a replay official will review games from the SEC Video Cen­ter at the league office in Birmingham. The replay official will render decisions and communicate them to the on-field umpiring crew, in the same fashion as the system used by Major League Baseball.

Baseball is the third SEC sport to go to centralized replay. The SEC adopted the sys-

tern in football in 2016 and in men's basket­ball in 2017.

Conference play for SEC baseball begins March 15. The replay system will be tested at select non-conference games leading up to the full implementation.

Plays that can be reviewed/challenged under NCAA guidelines include:

Specified fair/foul ball calls: Deciding if a batted ball is fair or foul. The ball must first touch the ground or a fielder beyond the ini· tial position or the first or third baseman.

Potential home run calls: Deciding if a batted ball is a ground-rule double or a home run.

Catch plays in the outfield: Any catch or no catch in the outfield or foul territory.

Catch plays in the infield: A call of "no catch" can be changed to "catch" within the infield only if it results in a third out with any runner on base, or any time with a bat­ter runner only.

Spectator interference: An umpire's deci­sion on whether spectator interference occurred.

Scoring plays at home plate (including collisions): Deciding scoring plays at home plate inclusive of collisions (illegal and/or malicious slides) or time plays.

Force/tag play calls: Force and tag play calls involving the batter or batter runner acquiring the base prior to the defensive player's attempt to put out the batter runner or runner at any base (including first base).

• Specified base running calls: Calls involv­ing whether a base runner passes a preced­ing runner before such runner •is out; and upon an appropriate appeal by the defensive team, whether a base runner touched a base.

Hit-by-pitch calls: Play involving a batter and whether a pitched ball touches a batter or his clothing (hit by pitch).

Tag-up plays: Deciding if a runner failed to retouch his base after a ball is legally caught before he or his base is tagged by a fielder at all bases.

Placement of runners: The umpire's place­ment of a batter runner or runners following a boundary call.

Interference for the purpose of breaking up a double play (force play slide rµle)

55

COMMENTARY

NCAA hopes alive, what

about· Tide's heart?

CacllBmt

For all the obituar­ies that have been written about the

Alabama men's basket­ball team'S'season - you couldn't call them eulo­gies, given the angry tone of 99 percent of the social media com­mentary and at least one newspaper column -they may not be the final edition. Like the Monty Python peasant pre­maturely tossed on the plague wagon, you can .just hear, over the blar- . ing outrage, the faint cry of "I'm not dead yet."

In fact, thanks more to the overall strength of the Southeastern Con­ference this season than to anything Alabama . has done in February, there's a chance the

The Tuscaloosa News Friday, February 22, 2019

patientcanrecover.The Crimson Tide would have a pretty good shot at making the NCM Tournament field if it can just win its three remaining home games. Now, that "just" is a mighty big word. Of the three home games remaining for UA -Vanderbilt, LSU and Auburn - the Crimson Tide will be underdogs twice.

The last game in which Alabama will be favored, perhaps for the rest of the year, comes Saturday against Vandy. I am not a fan of the "must win" scenario but if Alabama loses at home to the Com­modores, who have not won a single SEC game this sea~on, that will put any NCM hopes 7 feet under in a 6-fc;>ot grave.

The road game against South Carolina next week isn't a good matchup for Alabama, as Frank Martin, who has done a stellar coaching job in confer­ence play after a slow start, will have ·a physi­cally tough. team, as he always does.

But if Alabama could, somehow, get to Fay­etteville at 9-8 in SEC.

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play, who knows how the Razorbacks, who have been somewhat disap­pointing themselves, will respond? Then there is an SEC Tournament

.· game, probably an 8-9 matchup, that would be another chance for a quality win on a neutral court. So there is a path.

The problem is, a path doesn't matter unless a team wants to walk down it. Some teams do. Floric'l::1. with Us h::i<'k tn

the wall just as squarely as Alabama's one week ago, responded by going on the road, dominat­ing in Tuscaloosa, then following that up with an overtime win at LSU in what was one of the best SEC games of the year. The Gators were an absolute model of tenacity and mental toughness, responding with big shot after big shot, answering every time LSU made a run.

When has Alabama displayed that sort of toughnessthissea~on? In Knoxville, perhaps, ::i lnss th::it nmh::ihlv iHci

Tlte Tuscaloosa News Friday, February 22, 2019

more to give Alabama fans hope at the time than any other game UA fias played. But what has happened in the last month to nurture that hope?

When has Alabama responded to a chal­lenge? Given UA's history in Nashville, you could perhaps make a case for Riley Norris' 3-pointer that put the rallying Commodores (yes, the o-for-the-SEC

. Commodores) away. Even if you do count that shot, that's one show of spirit in a month that has inl'lnciPci P::irlv l'nll::insps

and late collapses, and not much else.

Yes, Alabama's hopes are sti)lalive. You can say that much. But if the Crimson Tide team doesn't show any out­ward signs that it still has a heartbeat·_ sit up, or wiggle a finger, or maybe even grab an offensive rebound along the way - no one is going to be listeniiig,ormourning niuch, when the season gets tossed on the plague wagon for good .

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com fl1" 7flt:-777-fl77t:

57

AL.com Thursday, February 21, 2019

How recent hires have only improved perception of Alabama coach Nick Saban

By: Rainer Sabin

As a wave of assistants fled Tuscaloosa last month, a narrative began to form around Alabama's football program and its head coach, Nick Saban. The exodus, which followed a reorganization the previous offseason, prompted outsiders to wonder if Saban had become too demanding of a boss and the unique experience of working for one of college football's elite teams wasn't worth the aggravation that accompanies it.

That speculation was bolstered by comments former Alabama wide receivers coach Josh Gattis made after his quick exit to Michigan, when he said on Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh's podcast the staff in Ann Arbor was "by far the most hospitable ... that I've been around."

It was a conclusion Gattis arrived at a mere five days after landing his new job.

According to Gattis, he had been the recipient of one of Saban's famed "butt chewings" when he informed the head coach he was leaving, which wasn't exactly shocking.

As one former Alabama staffer said of Saban, "He's constantly confronting people."

But the anecdote Gattis shared only reinforced the perception Saban's draconian leadership style had started a negative trend of annual staff turnover.

For those searching for answers to explain why this was happening, it seemed as good a reason as any.

But then a funny thing happened: Coaches who had left Alabama in previous years signed up for another tour with the Tide.

Steve Sarkisian, whose first stint as offensive coordinator was as short as it was uninspiring, returned to call plays. Sal Sunseri, the linebackers coach who was there when Saban's Alabama dynasty began to congeal, came back to shepherd the pass rushers. And Major Applewhite, who was the OC at the dawn of Saban's tenure, has resurfaced in Tuscaloosa as an analyst after he was ousted as Houston's head coach. The influx of retreads has been a fascinating development that has only helped Saban make the case the culture he has created at Alabama isn't as unpleasant as others may claim.

Saban has had to fight that impression, especially as Clemson - and the family-fun atmosphere it has cultivated-has become the Title's chief nemesis. Unlike Saban, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney has been able to retain his assistants throughout their ascent to the top of the college football world.

"Don't mess with happy," Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said. "And right now our coaches are happy, because it's not like this everywhere."

But others who have left Alabama, perhaps thinking the grass will be greener elsewhere, learn that isn't true either.

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58

AL.com Thursday, February 21, 2019

That same ex-staffer who noted how Saban constantly confronted people also acknowledged how much he realized he had missed Alabama's exacting culture when he was at other programs that didn't have the same high standards.

"When I was at Barna, you leave the practice field whipped or exhausted," he said. "You're like, 'We got it in to day.' Whereas I have been other places where you leave practice and you don't feel like you've even had practice."

For some coaches, that level of intensity is a turnoff; to others, it's intoxicating.

At the very least, it's not enough to dissuade them from making a second act in Tuscaloosa.

Former assistants Bo Davis, Jeremy Pruitt, Joe Pannunzio and Billy Napier can attest to that. They all left and they all came back to work for Saban.

Now, Applewhite, Sunseri and Sarkisian are following in their footsteps.

That shows the program's atmosphere is far from toxic and that Saban's management style isn't objectionable to everyone in his profession.

The Alabama head coach may be a tough boss, but it's clear he's not so bad that someone wouldn't want to work for him twice.

59