The Crimson White Print Edition - August 24, 2023

news
continued from 1A - bar closing
Since Singh has not
gotten approval to be a
gastropub, his restaurant
can only serve alcohol
while the kitchen is
operating and, therefore,
closes at 10 p.m.
Tuscaloosans continued
to share their thoughts
regarding earlier
bar closures.
Chris Coleman, owner
and general manager of
Unique on the Strip, said
there should not be a set
closing time for bars. He
argued it would jeopardize
safety and increase
overcrowding when bars
close.
“When you’re open all
night, people naturally
leave on their own,”
Coleman said.
Hampton Callaghan, a
Tuscaloosa resident and
2020 UA graduate, said he
thinks altercations will
occur no matter what time
bars close.
“It’s going to turn into
everyone going to house
parties and frat parties.
At least if you’re in a bar,
Alex Gravlee
Staff Writer
T he University of
Alabama is introducing
several new bachelor’s
degree programs for
the fall 2023 semester,
including business
cybersecurity, applied
liberal arts, neuroscience
and sport management.
The Alabama
Commission on Higher
Education, which reviews
new academic programs
for public Alabama
universities, approved the
majors during meetings in
September 2022 and
June 2023.
Business cybersecurity
The business
cybersecurity major,
which is offered in the
Culverhouse College of
Business, aims to inform
students about various
aspects of cybersecurity to
improve communication
within organizations.
Students in this major
will learn about consumer
privacy, data management,
secure application
development and even a
basic understanding of
programming languages
like Python. It also
provides education
on nontechnical parts
of cybersecurity, like
management of security
risks and psychology.
Allen Johnston, a
professor of information
at the college, said the
program’s main goal is not
you have security to try to
keep the peace,”
Callaghan said.
Although fraternity
parties tend to have some
type of security, house
parties often don’t, which
can lead to more problems
for law enforcement.
Conversely, Trevor
Chandler, a sophomore
majoring in political
science, supports midnight
closing times and the
moratorium. Having
worked in Tuscaloosa
bars before, Chandler
said he has seen the
reckless behavior that can
occur and thinks more
restrictions need to be
placed in the area.
As for the likelihood of
earlier bar closing times
being enforced, Kip Tyner,
who represents District
5 in the City Council,
said he is positive that
the council will not close
bars at midnight but has
considered closing bars
at 2 a.m. instead of 3 a.m.
on Fridays or staggering
closing times.
to promote cybersecurity
expertise, but to encourage
communication between
the technical and
nontechnical branches
of business.
Johnston said technical
staff, like cybersecurity
experts, and business-
oriented staff do not
always communicate well,
so this major seeks to
create a “professional that
sits in the middle” and
“communicates on
both sides.”
“They’ve got the
technical [knowledge] to
be able to communicate
and understand what’s
going on in the highly
IT-focused systems,”
Johnston said. “Then they
also have the business
acumen to understand the
needs of the business.”
Johnston said that a
board, which included
chief information officers,
chief sales officers and
chief information security
officers from organizations
like Lockheed Martin and
Dollar Tree, was created to
help develop the major.
He added that the board
provided information on
how to keep the topics
taught in class relevant to
the industry and how to
help graduating students
attract employers.
Applied liberal arts
Part of the College of
Arts and Sciences’ New
College department, the
applied liberal arts degree
allows students with over
80 credit hours to combine
Previously, Maddox
said staggering last calls
would require enabling
legislation from the
state legislature.
Nolan Stewart, a junior
majoring in political
science and a bouncer
at a Tuscaloosa bar, said
there’s already a lot of
governmental standards
— such as ABC regulations
and fire codes — bars
must implement in
order to operate. Despite
his general dislike of
“government interference”
in the bar’s business
affairs, Stewart is in favor
of staggered closing times.
At the Tuscaloosa
City Council committee
meeting on July 18,
Councilperson John Faile
suggested that all bars
close at midnight Monday-
Thursday and 1 a.m.
Fridays and Saturdays.
Faile, who represents
District 6, said his
constituents have
expressed concerns with
police response times,
including one person who
two minors for degree
completion. At least one of
the minors must be in the
College of Arts and Sciences.
According to a
document submitted to the
ACHE, the new program
exists “strictly for degree
completion,” meaning it is
recommended for students
who have not made
significant progress toward
their degrees or are not set
to graduate in six years.
Robin McGill, the deputy
director for academic
affairs at the ACHE, said
this degree is not for
students seeking an area
of individualized study,
but one an adviser would
recommend to struggling
students.
McGill added that the
major was added to boost
degree completion rates.
Neuroscience
The neuroscience degree
program is under the
Department of Psychology
in the College of Arts
and Sciences. The degree
relies on multidisciplinary
faculty, combining subjects
including biological sciences,
philosophy, anthropology
and education.
It also trains students to
participate in neuroscience
research alongside prepping
pre-med students for
the MCAT.
Rajesh Kana, a
professor in the
Department of Psychology
who helped develop
the program, said since
the university does not
have the resources like
told him it had taken
police 55 minutes to
respond to a call.
Michael Terry, lead
guitarist for the Druid
City Rockers, said he
has always felt safe
performing in Tuscaloosa,
but has mixed feelings
about the heavy police
presence around bars.
“I think the police
presence can present a
sense of control so you
have to be on your p’s
and q’s,” Terry said. “It’s
a little more uptight. On
the other hand, it’s nice to
know that the police are
nearby in case there is an
incident.”
Alex House,
assistant director of
communications for the
University, said UAPD
and TPD are stationed
around the clock at a joint
substation on the Strip.
More UA officers will be
assigned to the Strip as
UAPD grows.
Terry said he wonders
if earlier closures could
impact bars’ abilities to
UA introduces four new bachelor’s degree programs
other universities with
neuroscience programs,
the program uses faculty
and courses from
other departments.
However, he said not
having enough bandwidth
allows students to
have room for their
own field of interest in
the courses they like
because the program is
interdisciplinary.
Kana said this new
program comes during a
general movement toward
neuroscience on campus,
mentioning a new MRI
center built in late 2022
and the development of
a neuroscience minor.
He added that 60% of
neuroscience minors
said in a survey that they
would pursue a major
in neuroscience.
“I think the center of
mass of neuroscience
at the UA campus is
significantly changing,”
Kana said. “Hopefully, in
the next few years we’ll
see a much different-
looking major with lots of
options built in as we have
more faculty as well as
more new courses.”
Sport management
The University's
new sport management
program trains students
for careers in the athletics
industry, including
education on security,
event planning, public
outreach and more.
Among the new
classes created for the
major is a required
3A
hire bands, as bars started
canceling their bookings
with his own band this
summer. However, one of
Terry’s potential solutions
to thinning out crowds
could be to open more bars
in areas besides the Strip,
like downtown Northport.
Sydney Regan, a junior
majoring in criminology,
said she thinks police
aren’t always the answer.
Regan suggested that
a group of designated
students patrol the Strip
to help students get home
safely and keep the peace.
Tyner said the solution
to keeping nightlife in
Tuscaloosa, as well as
enforcing public safety,
may be to create smaller,
more intimate bars in
the future.
“I think the appetite
now is for smaller bars,”
Tyner said. “The mega bars
are probably history, at
least under this council.”
Tyner warned that bar
owners who admit patrons
over capacity this fall will
be shut down for 24 hours.
internship course, RHM
367. According to the
ACHE’s meeting document
(pages 55-58), potential
sites for internships
for the course include
the UA Department of
Intercollegiate Athletics,
the NFL, MLB and Atlanta’s
Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Carla Blakey, an
undergraduate program
coordinator for the
major, said the program
is launching with an
enrollment of over 300
students. She attributed
these numbers to student
internship success.
“Experiential learning is
definitely our foundation
of what we do and what
has made us successful
and what will continue
to make us successful,”
Blakey said.
She also mentioned a
new study abroad program
in Spain launching in the
coming summer called UA
in Europe: Globalization
of Sport. Blakey said
the program is still in
development but will be
advertised at the study
abroad fair.
Shop Boots,
Jeans, & Hats
at The Wharf
in Northport
220 Mcfarland Blvd N (205)-752-2075