The Crimson White Print Edition - January 18, 2024

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024
VOLUME CXXX | ISSUE VI
DEBOER ROLLS IN
New Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer exits the plane at the Tuscaloosa airport on Friday
Washington’s Kalen DeBoer replaces Nick Saban as Alabama football head coach
Abby McCreary
Sports Editor
In a statement Friday
evening, Alabama Athletics
announced Kalen DeBoer
will replace Nick Saban as
the head coach of Alabama
football.
“One of the things I
told our team the other
day is we are going to get
someone who is not only
a great coach with the Xs
and Os, but also someone
who cares about his players
and someone I’d want my
sons to play for, just like I
would have wanted them
to play for Coach Saban,”
athletic director Greg Byrne
said. “We got that in Coach
DeBoer. He is ready to get to
work, and we look forward
to him leading the Alabama
Crimson Tide football
program for years
to come.”
The decision came less
than 48 hours after Saban
announced his retirement.
“The tradition-rich
history of this [Alabama’s]
program is unmatched
across the landscape of
college athletics, and I look
forward to continuing that
moving forward,” DeBoer
said. “Following Coach Saban
is an honor. He has been
the standard for college
football, and his success is
unprecedented. I would not
have left Washington for just
any school. The chance to
lead the football program at
The University of Alabama
is the opportunity of a
lifetime.”
DeBoer is the former head
coach of the Washington
Huskies, which he coached
for two seasons. This
past season he took the
undefeated Huskies to the
national championship as
the No. 2 seed in the College
Football Playoff, where they
lost to Michigan.
In his first season with
the Huskies, DeBoer became
the first Washington football
coach to win a bowl game
in his first season, with a
win over Texas in the Valero
Alamo Bowl. His first season
ended 11-2 — the most
wins of any first-year coach
at Washington — with a
3-0 record against ranked
opponents and a 3-0 record
against rival Oregon and
head coach Dan Lanning.
DeBoer finishes his
Washington career 25-3 with
several awards, including
the 2022 Associated Press
Pac-12 Coach of the Year and
the first-ever Seattle Sports
Leader of the Year Award
that same year.
DeBoer has coached for
27 years, including nine
seasons as a head coach,
with stints at Fresno State
and his alma mater Sioux
Falls. As a head coach, his
record totals 104-12, and he
took eight of his nine teams
to No. 1 or 2 rankings in
their respective conferences.
Before becoming a head
coach, he was an offensive
coordinator who mostly
worked with quarterbacks.
Most recently, he coached
quarterback Michael Penix
Jr., who went to New York
as a Heisman finalist and
led the nation with 4,903
passing yards.
“I am thrilled to welcome
Kalen DeBoer as the new
leader of the Crimson
Tide football program,” UA
President Stuart R. Bell said.
“With great enthusiasm for
the future, we are confident
that Coach DeBoer will
uphold the proud tradition
and standard of excellence
synonymous with Alabama
Athletics.”
DeBoer follows Saban,
who revitalized the Alabama
football program in his 17
years as head coach with
six national championships,
nine SEC championships
and a 201-29 record while at
the Capstone.
Saban said he intends
to stay involved with the
Crimson Tide program
during his retirement.
“I want to be there for
the players, for the coaches,
anything I can do to support
them during this transition,”
Saban told ESPN. “There
are a lot of things to clean
up, to help as we move
forward. I’m still going to
have a presence here at the
University in some form and
trying to figure out all that
and how it works. This is a
place that will never be too
far away from Miss Terry’s
and my hearts.”
Take classes at Shelton State as a Transient Student.
Visit sheltonstate.edu to apply and register!
INSIDE NEWS 2A SPORTS 5A
CULTURE 2B
OPINIONS 5B

2A
news
Students say UA accessibility is insufficient
Rachel Seale
Staff Writer
Although the University
of Alabama leads
the way in programs like
Adapted Athletics, which
allow students who use
wheelchairs the opportunity
to play sports, some students
with disabilities say campus
and off-campus areas like
the Strip still present them
with accessibility challenges.
Campus accessibility
Maddie Daniell, a
freshman majoring in
human development, has a
neurological and a genetic
disorder that requires her
to use a power wheelchair.
Even though the crosswalk
buttons technically meet
Americans with Disabilities
Act regulations, Daniell said
she can’t push the button
at crosswalks because they
are too high for her to reach
from her wheelchair.
“You just have to sit and
wait for an able-bodied
person to push the button
for you,” Daniell said.
Toni Nelson, a junior on
the wheelchair tennis team
majoring in criminal justice,
also said she tends to wait
for someone else to push
the crosswalk buttons due
to difficulties reaching them.
She said certain wheelchairs
are not made to go over
the grassy areas where
crosswalk poles are located
and users may get stuck.
Daniell said the biggest
problem on campus is the
cracked sidewalks, which
are painful to go over.
Additionally, she said many
sidewalks and ramps on
campus are inaccessible
because they are too steep
for her power chair to go
over and could cause it
to tip.
“Able-bodied students can
take a path that I just can’t,”
Daniell said.
Daniell said she can’t
ride buses on campus since
her wheelchair doesn’t
have tie-downs, or straps
that connect the chair to a
vehicle so the chair
doesn’t move.
“They’ll let you ride the
bus, but it’s not safe and
you're gonna slide around,”
Daniell said. “It’s a danger to
yourself and other people.”
Both Nelson and Daniell
said they have had issues
with elevators not working.
“There’s one in ten
Hoor that tends to always
be broken,” Nelson said.
“Thankfully, the teacher I
had let it go when I couldn’t
go to class.”
Daniell said she also
experienced an issue with
an elevator in the Math and
Science Education Building
that took 45 minutes to get
fixed, leaving her stuck on
the second floor of
the building.
“I had to take a test right
after that, which I was
almost late for,” Daniell said.
“It took a lot of calls and the
Office of Disability handled
The crosswalk buttons at the northeast corner of University Boulevard by the Strip’s Whataburger may not be ADA compliant, Lee Busby said. CW / Caroline Simmons
it, but it’s something that
shouldn’t have happened.”
Although campus
buildings have automated
doors that meet ADA
requirements, Nelson said
sometimes the ones at
Farrah Hall are locked.
There is an ADA
assistance phone number
listed on these doors;
however, Nelson said she
just waits for someone to let
her inside.
Daniell and Nelson
have both received
accommodations from the
Office of Disability Services.
Although Daniell has a
specific ODS employee she
can call or text, she said that
she has still encountered
issues such as push buttons
that don’t always work
when trying to open doors
and able-bodied students
parking in handicap
parking spaces.
ODS is the University’s
program that helps meet
with and plan reasonable
accommodations for
students with disabilities.
Vanessa Goepel, executive
director of ODS, wrote in
an email that students
with disabilities that are
impacting their academics
can contact the office
by completing an online
application, providing
documentation of their
disability and meeting
with an accommodation
specialist to have an
individualized assessment.
Goepel said ODS provides
students with disabilities
alternative formats for
testing, communication
access and classroom access.
“ODS regularly evaluates
our approach to academic
accommodations in order to
ensure educational access
while prioritizing student
autonomy,” Goepel wrote.
“The national trends are
towards use of adaptive and
assistive technologies to
provide accommodation and
supporting all learning styles
through Universal Design for
Learning (UDL).”
Although students have
concerns about general
accessibility issues, the
University leads the way in
accessible athletics facilities.
Margaret Stran, associate
director of Adapted
Athletics, wrote in an email
that the University was
the first college to open a
facility designed for adapted
athletics in January 2018.
She said the University also
opened the first collegiate
wheelchair tennis facility in
October 2021.
Able-bodied students
can take a path that I
just can’t.
Maddie Daniell
Freshman at UA
“UA is the leader in
adapted sports in the
United States and is the
only university that has
two facilities for [its]
athletes, both of which were
designed for students with
ambulatory disabilities,”
Stran said.
Stran said all campus
facilities are wheelchair
accessible and meet the
Rehabilitation Act and
the ADA.
Alex House, UA assistant
director of communications,
wrote in an email that
the University strives to
act in compliance with
local, federal and state
requirements when it comes
to campus accessibility for
all students.
“Students or employees
who may encounter
accessibility challenges are
encouraged to report any
issues using resources listed
on the Office of Disability
Services website, by calling
the ADA Hotline at 205-348-
5882 or sending an email to
uafacilities@ua.edu,”
House wrote.
Both Nelson and Daniell
said they didn’t know
where or to whom to file
complaints about problems
they have faced.
House also said the
University works with the
city of Tuscaloosa to ensure
areas off campus are also
accessible, including
the Strip.
The Strip
Daniell said there is a
lack of sidewalk space on
the Strip, which causes her
to put herself and others in
danger by riding in the road.
Nelson said she uses a
walker or wheelchair due to
cerebral palsy. She said the
sidewalks on the Strip are
small, so she also tends to
ride in the street.
Nelson said she’s had
a friend walk beside her
and watch for cars while
she used the road on the
Strip near the Union on
Frank apartments since the
sidewalks are not big enough
for a wheelchair or walker.
Mallory Hatchett, a 2023
UA graduate who received
ODS accommodations as a
student, said she struggled
to get around campus after
she developed postural
orthostatic tachycardia
syndrome, or POTS, in
2020, which causes her to
experience dizziness and
makes it harder to walk
long distances.
Hatchett said she is
against the way parking
functions on the Strip. Publix
only allows its customers to
park in its parking lot, which
includes a few of the only
handicap parking spaces
available on the Strip.
“We all understand like
we’re constantly forgotten
about, but I think it’s really
aggravating when Alabama
likes to say that the campus
and the Strip and everything
is accessible and it’s not,”
Hatchett said.
Lee Busby, a member of
the Tuscaloosa City Council,
reevaluated the areas
students called into question
on the Strip along University
Boulevard, Union on Frank
apartments and Here
Tuscaloosa apartments.
Busby wrote in an email
that the City has given
$400,000-$500,000 to help
fund UA projects within the
last 18 months, including
those designed to create
accessibility improvements.
According to the
U.S. Department of
Transportation, crosswalk
push buttons should be
placed no higher than 3.5
feet above the sidewalk, a
minimum of 2.5 feet from
the curb and 5 feet from
the crosswalk.
Busby found that the
crosswalk button on
the northeast corner of
University Boulevard by the
Strip’s Whataburger is 4
inches higher than the other
crosswalk buttons at this
intersection due to a cross
slope in the sidewalk.
“I am asking that that
issue be reassessed for ADA
compliance and common
sense functionality,”
Busby wrote.
Moving forward
Hatchett said she wants
the University to take
more action to listen to the
suggestions of students
with disabilities on how to
increase accessibility.
“I would like them to
host meetings with people
that are disabled ... and ask
them specifically, like, ‘What
do you think we could do
to improve our campus?’”
Hatchett said.
Stran is a member of the
ADA Deferred Maintenance
Committee and works with
the University on its
master plan.
“Work on the master plan
also includes UA students
with ambulatory disabilities
assessing and providing
feedback on accessibility
across campus via an
interactive app,” Stran said
in her email.
Interim Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Engagement Editor
Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion Chairperson
Chief Copy Editor
Assistant Copy Editors
Opinions Editor
News Editor
Carson Lott
editor@thecrimsonwhite.com
EDITORIAL STAFF
Carson Lott
managingeditor@thecrimsonwhite.com
Ronni Rowan
engagement@thecrimsonwhite.com
Jeffrey Kelly
dei@thecrimsonwhite.com
Jack Maurer
Sarah Clifton
Cassie Montgomery
Chance Phillips
letters@thecrimsonwhite.com
Ethan Henry
newsdesk@thecrimsonwhite.com
Assistant News Editors
Culture Editor
Assistant Culture Editor
Sports Editor
Assistant Sports Editor
Photo Editor
Assistant Photo Editor
Chief Page Editor
Chief Graphics Editor
Multimedia Editor
Maven Navarro
Jacob Ritondo
Savannah Ichikawa
culture@thecrimsonwhite.com
Gabriella Puccio-Johnson
Abby McCreary
sports@thecrimsonwhite.com
Bella Martina
Natalie Teat
Riley Thompson
Natalie Marburger
Shelby West
Augustus Barnette
The Crims is the community newspaper of The
University of Alabama. The Crimson White is an
editorially free newspaper produced by students.
The University of Alabama cannot influence
editorial decisions and editorial opinions are those
of the editorial board and do not represent the
official opinions of the University. Advertising
offices of The Crimson White are in room 1014,
Student Media Building, 414 Campus Drive East.
The advertising mailing address is Box 870170,
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.
The Crimson White is printed monthly, August
through April by The University of Alabama, Student
Media, Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. Call 205-
348-7257.
All material contained herein, except advertising
or where indicated otherwise, is Copyright © 2024
by The Crimson White and protected under the
“Work Made for Hire” and “Periodical Publication”
categories of the U.S. copyright laws. Material
herein may not be reprinted without the expressed,
written permission of The Crimson White.
The Crimson White, Copyright © 2024

news
How SGA officers have delivered on campaign promises
Courtney Stringer
Staff Writer
The Crimson White
spoke with SGA
President Collier Dobbs
and members of the
executive council to
discuss their progress
toward campaign
promises made in
the spring. Dobbs will
address all initiatives the
SGA has worked on in
the annual State of the
School address Jan. 30.
During last year’s
campaign, the candidates
expressed their goals in a
series of Q&A interviews
with The Crimson White.
Although some of these
goals have yielded
tangible results so far,
others have not.
President Collier
Dobbs
In last year’s Q&A,
Dobbs said one of his
goals was creating a
student leadership
summit.
“I believe a lot of
student organizations
look at a problem from
a narrow perspective,”
Dobbs said.
Dobbs worked with
other SGA members
and The Source to plan
the summit, which is
scheduled to be held in
late February.
Dobbs also mentioned
adding more student
resources in the
interview, and now
says the SGA has
implemented Togetherall,
a free resource that offers
mental health support for
students, on Blackboard.
Previously, Dobbs said
he wanted to increase
the SGA’s transparency
by including an SGA
newsletter within UA
President Stuart Bell’s
monthly newsletter to
make students aware of
SGA events.
Currently, the SGA has
a newsletter that is sent
out once a semester, but
is not included in
Bell’s newsletter.
In an interview with
the UA News Center last
August, Dobbs mentioned
wanting to instate a Good
Neighbor Walk in which
SGA members would
travel through Tuscaloosa
neighborhoods to
distribute the Good
Neighbor Guide, an SGAcreated
resource for
Tuscaloosa renters.
Dobbs said the Good
Neighbor Guide has
been created but not
yet distributed, and the
walk will likely take
place after Spring Break.
Dobbs also
mentioned holding
a fashion show that
would benefit the
Denise and Chandler
Root Crimson Career
Closet, which allows
students to borrow
professional clothing at
no cost.
Dobbs recently
said the SGA has been
working on a clothing
drive, and the date of the
fashion show has not
been finalized.
Executive Vice
President Josie
Schmitt
In her Q&A, Josie
Schmitt, the SGA’s
executive vice president,
discussed increasing
the SGA’s transparency
through a year-end
review on its website that
would allow students
to view what each
position and branch has
accomplished.
Recently, she said
the SGA is working
to finalize the review
that will highlight the
accomplishments of
the Executive Council,
Cabinet, Senate
and Judiciary.
Schmitt said in her
candidate statement
that she planned to
implement initiatives
in campus connection,
student experience,
internal engagement and
student safety.
She said recently that
she has worked with
Student’s Tide Against
Suicide for Suicide
Prevention Week and
co-hosted Puppy Break
to help relieve student
stress.
Vice President for
Student Affairs
Andrew Fairburn
In his Q&A, SGA Vice
President for Student
Affairs Andrew Fairburn
said he wanted to
implement a Bama Asks
director to his cabinet
who would interview
students on campus
on topics relating to
athletics, academics
and transportation.
Recently, he said
he’s working with Vice
President for Student Life
Steven Hood to make
the Bama Asks platform
more accessible to
students, although he did
not provide details.
Fairburn said in his
candidate statement that
he wanted to make the
block seating selection
process for football
games more transparent.
He said recently that
he had met with the
Student Judicial Board
in the fall to explain the
block seating allocation
process in the case of an
appeal, but no appeals
were made.
Vice President for
Academic Affairs
Johnny Foster
Johnny Foster, the
SGA vice president
for academic affairs,
discussed finding ways
to alleviate academic
pressure that students
may feel in his Q&A.
One of these was
potentially making the
student schedule page,
Week at a Glance, into
a clickable widget for
easier access. Foster
said the idea was
presented to Office of
Information Technology
representatives and is
currently being worked
on by the office’s
software engineers. It
remains to be seen what
the final result of this
idea will be.
Additionally, Foster
spoke on making
examination booklets
available in all classes.
Foster said that
while he advocated for
the placement of the
booklets, it proved to be
“logistically impossible,”
although Foster did not
specify further.
“In response to this,
the SGA has doubled
down on our promise to
have free examination
booklets always readily
available on the front
desk of the SGA office,”
Foster said.
Foster also discussed
wanting an open-door
policy to allow students
to approach him with
concerns. Currently,
Foster said that through
the implementation
of the policy, he’s been
exposed to issues for a
wide variety of groups.
Foster said members
of the SGA had spoken
with representatives
from Xfinity, the UA
residential internet
service provider, and
engineers to advocate on
behalf of the students
experiencing issues with
internet connectivity.
He said there has been
“significant maintenance”
on the connectivity,
although he didn’t
provide specific details
on this maintenance.
“Altogether, the opendoor
policy that my office
holds has been extremely
beneficial for myself and
all students across our
campus,” Foster said.
Vice President for
Financial Affairs Eric
Doh
In his campaign Q&A,
Doh said one of his
goals was to modernize
Financial Affairs
Committee funding and
reward organizations that
used funds responsibly.
He said recently
that the SGA has been
able to allot a variety of
student organizations
additional funding for
their programming,
and that there have
been discussions
concerning improving
the committee’s funding
system, although nothing
concrete has happened
yet.
In his candidate
statement, Doh
mentioned improving
financial literacy on
campus and increasing
the transparency of fund
allocations from student
bills.
Doh said the
SGA has hosted
Wealth Management
Wednesdays, a speaker
series that allowed
students to hear from
experts on topics related
to financial literacy.
He also said a fulltransparency
week is
being planned for the
spring that will allow
a breakdown on the
transparency of student
funds, but no dates have
been finalized.
Vice President for
External Affairs
Samad Gillani
Samad Gillani, the
SGA’s vice president for
external affairs, said
in his Q&A that his
main goal was to make
students feel welcome
and reconnect them to
the campus and city.
Gillani said recently
that he has worked to
collaborate with Bama
Dining to increase the
Dining Dollars locations
to four new restaurants
in Tuscaloosa: World of
Beer, UPerk Coffee, The
Standard Pizza,
and WeDat’s.
He also said that in
November, students
had the opportunity to
receive a pass for a free
week at 9Round, a local
kickboxing gym.
3A
“Giving students
opportunities to be
active participants in
the city they call home
during their time at the
Capstone is an ongoing
effort,” Gillani said.
During his campaign,
Gillani stated his
intention to collaborate
with Lyft to offer students
discounted late-night
rides and the Tuscaloosa
Metro Animal Shelter
to raise money with a
pickleball tournament.
Gillani recently wrote
in an email that despite
his efforts, these
partnerships were
“halted due to university
or other restrictions.”
Gillani also previously
mentioned making the
SGA more transparent
with the student body
and gathering their input.
Gillani said recently
that “significant strides”
have been made to foster
open communication,
citing the fact that details
for External Affairs
programming have been
made available in the
SGA’s newsletter, website
and Instagram account.
Gillani said he’s had
the opportunity to speak
with many students
during his open office
hours about involvement
opportunities as well.
Vice President for
Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion Bella Loia
In her Q&A, Bella Loia,
the SGA’s vice president
for diversity, equity and
inclusion, mentioned the
goal of listening to the
student body on what
changes need to be made
to the University.
Loia has launched
the SGA DEI Passport
Instagram Page, which
allows students to
discover and participate
in diversity, equity and
inclusion events.
“The response has
been overwhelmingly
positive, reflecting the
effectiveness of this
approach in fostering a
more inclusive campus
community,” Loia said.
Loia also previously
stated that she would
like to increase the
SGA’s transparency
by expanding its
committees and getting
more students involved.
Loia said recently that
over 100 members have
been added to the SGA
Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion Committee,
with additional assistant
director roles.
She also said the SGA
Black Student Leadership
Council has been
reinstated.
CW / Shelby West

4A
photo
Athletic director Greg Byrne and
his wife, Regina Byrne, await
for DeBoer's arrival.
CW / Riley Thompson
Alabama fans greet DeBoer
following the landing.
CW / Riley Thompson
Former head coach Nick Saban and his wife,
Terry Saban, listen to DeBoer's
introduction speech on Saturday.
CW / Riley Thompson

sports
5A
TOUCHDOWN(in)
ALABAMA!
DeBoer attends press conference after arriving in Tuscaloosa.
CW / Riley Thompson
Abby McCreary
Sports Editor
Kalen DeBoer spoke
in his first press
conference as the head
coach of Alabama football
last Saturday. Here are the
three main takeaways.
DeBoer understands
Alabama culture.
Replacing former head
coach Nick Saban and
his wife, Terry Saban, in
Tuscaloosa means much
more than just football,
and DeBoer realizes that.
“I want to learn the
stories. I want to learn
all the great moments,”
DeBoer said. “I know many
of them. I’ve watched
from afar, but I know
there’s so many behind
the scenes that I know are
just as important to this
tradition.”
DeBoer also said the
crowd waiting for him and
his family to arrive at the
airport proved to him how
special Alabama culture
is, and he’s excited to
continue bringing people
together.
“There’s something
special about being a head
coach and the investment
that goes into trying to
make all the different
pieces fit, having the right
people in those places,”
DeBoer said. “These
facilities are awesome, but
it’s the people that make
the place special.”
At the end of his
statement, DeBoer, who
previously served as
the head football coach
at Washington, grew
emotional detailing how
much Seattle meant to
him, so the fact that
he left it for Tuscaloosa
speaks volumes.
“I knew this was a
thing not that I had to do,
but that I really wanted
to do,” he said. “That’s
not a knock on Alabama
and everything it stands
for, that’s highlighting
everything that I feel so
strongly about back
in Seattle.”
Championships are
still attainable.
DeBoer mentioned
championships, both
SEC and national, several
times throughout his press
conference, and he said
winning one will involve
three things.
“We’re going to do it
with class, with integrity,
with academic excellence,”
he said. “It’s my job to
make sure we uphold the
standard that has been
set here at Alabama and
continue to build on that.”
DeBoer said replacing
a head coach who won six
national championships
and nine in the SEC is a
privilege that he’s ready
to accept.
“When I look at places
that I want to be, it’s about
winning championships,”
DeBoer said. “That’s an
expectation that I can’t
wait, and accept as a
privilege, to try to uphold.”
Player development is
key to his goals.
Saban had a
clear commitment
to the development
of his players, their
growth as men and
their commitment to
academics. DeBoer said
he also hopes to develop
players “athletically,
academically, socially and
even spiritually.”
“In the end, we want to
make sure we’re building
better men because
someday football will be
over and someday real life
DeBoer speaks at a press conference Saturday. CW / Riley Thompson
will hit you in the face,”
DeBoer said. “Building
better men in this time
that we’re going through,
this phase in their life, it is
one of the most influential
that they will have. It
is a privilege and an
honor to be someone in a
position that can have that
influence, and I don’t take
that lightly.”
Shop Boots,
Jeans, & Hats
This is our water.
Help UA protect it.
Only rain down the drain.
at The Wharf
in Northport
For questions, comments, or concerns
about Storm Water, contact
Environmental Health & Safety
220 Mcfarland Blvd N (205)-752-2075
(205) 348-5905 | ehu.ua.edu | @EHS_UA

6A
Environmentally friendly
transportation is a
recurring theme in national
headlines, especially as
electric cars increase in
popularity across the U.S.
The University of Alabama’s
EcoCAR team, which is
currently competing in a fouryear
competition to build a
functioning electric vehicle,
has seized on this interest.
Madison O’Brien, a junior
majoring in marketing, has
been involved with the team
since her freshman year.
“We are currently in
year two of the EcoCAR
EV challenge, where we're
working on a Cadillac Lyriq,”
O’Brien said.
Year one consisted
primarily of planning
and designing, and the
team emphasized the
importance of year two in the
competition.
“This year is where we
take the vehicle from what
rolled off the production line
into our vehicle,” said Corban
Walsh, a Master of Business
Administration student and
the organization’s project
manager.
This requires removing
many parts of the previous
car, for example, motors,
and replacing them with the
team’s own. By the end of the
competition’s second year,
the team needs to have a
functioning vehicle to
be competitive.
Walsh said that in years
three and four, the group will
be “refining and perfecting”
the vehicle.
O’Brien said the UA team
has existed since 2014 and
is approaching 10 years of
being on campus. The team
has around 90 members from
various majors, although
most students are studying
engineering.
O’Brien said the team
has had some success so far
against its 12 competitors.
“In year one of the
competition, Alabama placed
third overall,” O’Brien said.
“And the communications
team, we actually placed
first overall.”
The teams are scored in
various ways. Each team is
divided up into subteams,
which compete against one
another in different aspects of
the competition.
Nik Collins, the
organization’s propulsion
controls and modeling lead
and a third-year doctoral
candidate in mechanical
engineering, explained how
the competition works.
“Throughout the entire
year, we are consistently
earning points through what
are called ‘deliverables,’”
Collins said. “It’s basically, we
are submitting documents or
other information throughout
the year to competition that
they grade and basically give
us feedback on.”
In years two, three and four
of the four-year competition,
the teams put their vehicles
through a test drive. The
following week, each group
provides a presentation on
its recent progress and future
news + sports
EcoCAR team competes to build green transportation
Ethan Henry
News Editor
CW / Shelby West
plans. Both stages are scored
and factored into
the competition.
The current EcoCAR EV
competition is just one
of several Department of
Energy-led Advanced Vehicle
Technology Competitions
that the University has
participated in. Others include
past EcoCAR challenges
and the ongoing Battery
Workforce Challenge.
The team has also
collaborated with other UA
organizations. In the fall,
the group held an Earth Day
cleanup event with the UA
Environmental Council.
The EcoCAR team’s equity
and mobility subteam is
currently working with
UA Adapted Athletics to
establish a system of rigs or
hand controls that could be
integrated into the vehicle to
improve accessibility.
Walsh emphasized the
professional experience that
his role has given him.
“It’s a fairly large project,”
he said. “We have multiple
paid people and a fairly good
budget, so it’s a nice step
between going from a club on
campus into, say, a job.”
The competition is also
international, as there are two
Canadian teams participating,
McMaster University and
the University of Waterloo.
O’Brien said McMaster
University’s team recently
visited Tuscaloosa for a small
communications summit.
“We actually ended up
taking the Canadian school to
an Alabama basketball game,”
O’Brien said.
Each semester, all teams
meet for a workshop. The
locations of these workshops
vary; past locations include
Boston and the University of
California, Davis, and next
month’s will be in Detroit
at the American Axle &
Manufacturing headquarters.
This collaborative aspect
of the competition can lead to
connections across different
campuses.
“I'll be honest, I've got a lot
of close friends on opposing
schools just because I've
seen them year after a year,”
O’Brien said.
Collins expressed a similar
attitude about collaborating
with other schools.
“The coolest thing about
EcoCAR is the fact that we
get a lot of interactions with
other universities,”
Collins said.
Those interested in joining
the team can go to its website
and fill out the prospective
member form.
The Iron Bowl: It’s not just football anymore
Abby McCreary
Sports Editor
The entire state of
Alabama and quite
possibly the football world
watched “Gravedigger”
unfold last November, when
Alabama quarterback Jalen
Milroe connected with wide
receiver Isaiah Bond on
fourth and 31 to win the
Iron Bowl.
For just over 130 years, an
Iron Bowl win has mattered
nearly as much as a national
championship, divided
more families than politics
at Thanksgiving dinner,
and remained even more
unpredictable than Alabama
tornado season.
This game between the
Crimson Tide and Tigers
was introduced the same
season football came to the
universities, but over the
years it has spread beyond
the gridiron. The intrastate
rivalry has extended to every
sport the schools compete in,
organizations and activities
the schools share, and even
charities the schools
donate to.
Alabama won the latest
installment of the Iron Bowl,
football’s 27-24 victory in
Jordan-Hare Stadium, but
here are the next three
matchups in the storied
rivalry.
Women’s basketball
at Auburn, Jan. 21 at 2
p.m. CT
Basketball is quickly
working its way into the
Iron Bowl legacy, and
women’s head coach Kristy
Curry added her name to
the legend with last year’s
Crimson Tide victory — the
ninth consecutive win.
“To have nine in a row
[against Auburn], which is a
school record, just amazing,”
Curry said. “Absolutely
amazing and I'm so proud for
our kids.”
Since joining the Alabama
program in 2013, Curry
has gone 12-10 against the
Tigers, and aside from some
early losses, has learned
to dominate the rivalry in
the past couple of years.
She hasn’t given away
an Iron Bowl title since a
heartbreaking 1-point loss
in 2019 during the SEC
tournament. Since then,
there have been some close
calls at home and away,
during the regular season
and the postseason, but still
Curry has figured out a way
to be victorious.
“You can throw everything
out the window when you go
down there and play those
guys,” Curry said. “Those
rivalry games, a lot can
happen.”
The sentiment carries
over to her players as well.
Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker,
a Birmingham native and
Georgia transfer, said the Iron
Bowl has followed her all
her life.
“Of course it’s different,
it’s my home state, I want
to go and beat Auburn,”
Barker said. “I’ve grown up
just wanting to beat Auburn
in every sport, watching on
TV, in football, basketball,
baseball, anything like that.
I think even when I was at
Georgia I thought of it as my
own Iron Bowl, I just wanted
to beat them.”
Barker, Curry and the
rest of the Crimson Tide will
have their chance to break
the school record again by
extending the win streak to
10 games on Jan. 21.
Men’s basketball vs.
Auburn, Jan. 24 at
6:30 p.m. CT
After losing both Iron
Bowls in the 2021-22 season,
the Crimson Tide men’s
basketball team came back
to win both last season. The
second win saw not only a
17-point comeback at home
Jaden Bradley (#0) shoots the ball during last year’s Iron Bowl basketball game in March. CW / Archive
but also secured the SEC
regular season championship
— it was a big night for the
Crimson Tide, and the rivalry
win made it even sweeter.
Head coach Nate Oats
knows the importance of the
rivalry, and he makes sure
his players do too, including
former Crimson Tide star
Brandon Miller.
“Brandon came to a lot
of Alabama football games.
He understands the Iron
Bowl rivalry in football,” Oats
said after the 2023 game.
“This is the equivalent to the
Iron Bowl rivalry, it’s just in
basketball. I think Brandon
understood it. The guys
hadn’t been involved in it
yet, they should understand
it after playing in the
environment they played
in today. It’s great. It’s what
makes college basketball
different than the NBA.”
This year’s Iron Bowl will
be a matchup between the
unranked Crimson Tide and
the No. 13 Tigers. It’s a stark
difference from last season,
when Alabama consistently
ranked in the top five and
Auburn was unranked.
Despite an 8-5 record
going into SEC play, Alabama
had a strong SEC home
opener that Oats can only
hope will carry over to Jan.
24 when the Tigers visit
Tuscaloosa.
Swim and dive in
Tuscaloosa, Jan. 19
The men’s and women’s
swim and dive teams host
the Tigers for their last dual
meet of the season. The
Iron Bowl in the Pool often
takes place at the end of the
season and is usually only
followed by another Tiger
matchup at the Auburn
Invite.
Last year, the No. 6
women’s team defeated the
No. 19 Tigers, but the No. 14
men’s team fell to its No. 9
counterparts. Both teams
took home relay wins, and
then-sophomore Charlie
Hawke, who swam in the
relay win, also brought back
two individual wins.
This season, Hawke
returns with several more
titles to his name. With the
No. 22 men’s team, Hawke
ended the first half of the
season at the Tennessee
Invite, where he earned a
career best in the 100-yard
freestyle and helped break
a school record in the 400-
yard freestyle relay. At the
invite, both the men’s team
and the No. 21 women’s
team finished third in their
respective competitions.
The No. 18 women’s team
went undefeated in dual
meets at 6-0 and the No. 19
men’s team suffered one loss
to bring the Crimson Tide to
4-1. Alabama hopes to build
upon its dual meet record
against the No. 10 men’s and
No. 14 women’s Tigers in the
classic Iron Bowl matchup
before heading to the Auburn
Invite in February and then
the SEC championships.

In the Week 11 AP
Top 25 poll for
college basketball, the
Alabama Crimson Tide
is nowhere to be found.
Head coach Nate Oats’
squad, which sits at
11-5 after an 82-74 win
over Mississippi State
on Saturday night, is
on the outside looking
in for the seventh
consecutive poll, a
streak dating back to
immediately after its
loss to Ohio State.
Nobody is making a
legitimate case for the
Crimson Tide to crack
the Top 25. It wasn’t
even close, receiving
just 60 votes; it’s simply
unrealistic to rank a
team with five losses
before conference play
begins, especially one
with such glaring issues
as Alabama’s dubiousat-best
defense.
It’s possible,
however, that the team’s
prolonged absence from
national recognition
is masking the threat
it potentially poses to
highly ranked teams
down the line.
The most potent
piece of evidence for
this potential lies in the
NCAA NET Rankings, a
method of sorting teams
based on strength of
schedule, results and
efficiency. As of Jan.
9, the NET went as
follows:
Houston first.
Arizona second. Purdue
third. BYU fourth.
Tennessee fifth. And ...
Alabama sixth.
Those top five
come as no surprise;
all are ranked in this
week’s AP poll, and
even then, the Cougars
find themselves at
eighteenth. Why then, is
an Alabama team that
equaled last season’s
loss total before the end
of the calendar year
so respected by such a
sacred metric?
There are a couple
of different answers.
The first is simple, and
it is directly tied to the
brand of basketball Oats
has held fast to since
coming to Tuscaloosa:
The offense is prolific.
As of Jan. 11, the
Crimson Tide was third
in the country in points
per game at 90.6, onetenth
of a point behind
the Kentucky Wildcats.
As in every other
year during Oats’
tenure, the defense
sports
has taken its fair share
of lumps. Fortunately,
the offense is firing on
all cylinders. As of Jan.
15, it has crossed the
100-point threshold four
times, and in two other
games it scored 99 and
98; it boasts the SEC’s
leading scorer and three
others in the Top 25; it
is first among Power
Six teams in 3-point
attempts per game and
12th overall in 3-point
percentage.
The next answer,
perhaps even better
for the total-season
outlook, is that
Alabama played a
brutal nonconference
schedule. Its five losses
have come at the hands
of Ohio State, Clemson,
Purdue, Creighton and
Arizona, four of which
are highly ranked and
esteemed contenders
in their respective
conferences. As of Jan.
11, the Crimson Tide
is third in national
strength-of-schedule
rankings.
This punishing
schedule is nothing
new under Oats.
Fans will remember
that Novembers and
Decembers in the last
few years have seen
highlight matchups
galore, whether it be
high-octane bouts
with Gonzaga or
controversial slugfests
with Houston.
A season ago, then-
Crimson Tide center
Charles Bediako
summarized the
philosophy behind these
rigorous schedules: “We
love competition. We’re
looking for the hardest
teams to play; we look
to challenge ourselves
and play the toughest
teams. It all helps for
March especially.”
Oats echoed this
idea earlier this season,
before the early-
December stretch
against Purdue, Arizona
and Creighton, saying,
“We like scheduling
hard. I think we get
our guys up for games.
We get deficiencies
exposed, and we can
work on them.”
This obviously
doesn’t make five
losses before January an
optimal position to be
in. One could even see
it as a major letdown
that Alabama came
up empty-handed in
an area of the season
where in years past it
often flourished. These
1B
Alabama men’s basketball is ready to pounce
Luke McClinton
Staff Writer
losses aren’t necessarily
ignominious or illogical,
but it’s unfortunate
that such an offensively
inclined team couldn’t
steal any of these
games in which it was
competitive for most of
the time.
As Nick Kelly of
the Tuscaloosa News
put it, Alabama “has
five losses, albeit good
ones. That won’t hurt
Alabama drastically
come NCAA Tournament
selection time, but the
Crimson Tide has to
start winning games to
bolster its resume and
help its case.”
It’s easy to write off
Alabama as washed,
suffering the perils of so
much lost talent from
last year. But if Oats
has proven anything in
his quick turnaround
of a program that for
so long dwelt in the
pit of mediocrity, it’s
that this culture of
running, gunning and
not backing down from
even the most elite of
competition produces
results. History says it’s
only a matter of time
before those results
show themselves
this season.
The hottest sports to watch this winter
Henry Sklar
Contributing Writer
Despite Alabama
football’s season
ending in the Rose Bowl,
there are still plenty of
sports at the Capstone
to enjoy.
Men’s basketball
is coming off a
disappointing exit in the
2023 NCAA tournament
but is led by a soaring
offense in 2024.
Women’s basketball is
looking to continue its
recent success after
also appearing in the
NCAA tournament in
2023. Lastly, gymnastics
is ranked among the
premier teams in
the country, fighting
for its first national
championship in over
10 years.
Here is a synopsis of
the top Alabama sports
to watch this winter.
Men’s basketball
The Alabama men's
basketball program,
which won its second
SEC championship in
the past three seasons
in 2022-23, is off to a
11-5 start in the 2023-
24 season, as of Jan. 15.
The Crimson Tide men's
team faced a gantlet of
a schedule in the outof-conference
portion of
the season with games
against No. 1 Purdue,
No. 22 Creighton and
No. 8 Arizona.
Despite the fiveloss
start, KenPom
has Alabama as the
seventh-ranked team in
the NCAA, boasting the
country's top offense.
Senior guard Mark Sears
and Hofstra transfer
Aaron Estrada are
the backcourt leaders
for the Crimson Tide,
averaging over 13 points
a game.
Ahead of Alabama's
SEC home opener
against South Carolina,
Nate Oats said he hopes
students will support
the Crimson Tide.
“We need everybody
to come out and just
get the energy in the
building so our players
play a little harder,”
Oats said. “Our players
hopefully will be playing
with maximum effort
and giving the fans a
show that they deserve
to see when they come
to watch us play.”
Must-attend game:
Jan. 24 vs. Auburn —
Auburn and Alabama
are off to high-flying
starts, ranked in the
top 10 in KenPom
and the NCAAM NET
Rankings. Both teams
are contending for the
national title; however,
with the Iron Bowl of
basketball comes the
right to claim to be the
top basketball team
in the Yellowhammer
State.
Women’s basketball
Before 2021,
Alabama's women's
basketball team had
yet to make March
Madness since 1999. The
Crimson Tide program
has gained heavy
momentum, making
the NCAA tournament
twice in the past three
seasons.
When asked about
the critical factors of
continuing the team’s
recent success, head
coach Kristy Curry said
multiple interconnected
elements are crucial.
“The foundation is
laid on the court, in
the classroom and in
the community,” Curry
said. “It's this time, it's
this team's turn for
that. I think that the
expectations, that's
what it's about
at Alabama.”
The women's team
is off to a high-flying
start with a 15-4 record,
as of Jan. 15 (2-2 in SEC
play). The Crimson Tide
is led by senior guard
Sarah Ashlee Barker,
who's in her second
season with Alabama
after transferring
Alabama gymnast Shania Adams performs her beam routine against Missouri on Jan. 12 in Coleman Coliseum.
CW / Hannah Grace Mayfield
from Georgia. Barker
is averaging 16 points
a game to start the
season.
Must-attend game:
Jan. 18 vs. LSU —
Alabama faces a major
test as the defending
national champion LSU
Tigers, led by legendary
head coach Kim Mulkey,
come to Tuscaloosa. The
Tigers have two box
office superstars, Angel
Reese and Hailey Van
Lith; both are projected
to be selected in the
first round of the
WNBA draft.
Gymnastics
The hype in Coleman
Coliseum doesn't stop
after basketball, as in
the program's 50th
season, gymnastics is
looking to continue its
growth in its second
season under head
coach Ashley Johnston.
In 2023, the Crimson
Tide made a run in
Johnston's first season
but bowed out of the
NCAA tournament in
the Sweet 16.
The 2023 team
boasts graduate student
Luisa Blanco, who
will compete in the
2024 Tokyo Olympic
Games for Colombia.
The Dallas, Texas,
native qualified for
the Summer Olympics
via the 2023 Pan
American Games. In
2023, alongside Blanco,
graduate student
Makarri Doggette and
junior Lilly Hudson were
voted All-Americans.
The Crimson Tide
won its first season
meet at the Mean Girls
Super 16 Gymnastics
Championships over
schools like UCLA,
California and Auburn
with a final score of
197.125.
Before the season
opener, Johnston said
the team was looking
forward to the long
season ahead.
"We cannot wait to
finally be competing,”
Johnston said. “We've
had a great preseason,
working and growing
together as a team,
but this is where all
the hard work and
excitement pays off.”
Alabama hosts
Arkansas on Friday,
Jan. 19, in Coleman
Coliseum.
Must-attend meet:
Feb. 2 vs. Kentucky —
The Crimson Tide will
be looking for revenge
when Kentucky comes
to town. In last season’s
NCAA tournament, the
Wildcats knocked off
Alabama in an upset to
advance to nationals for
the second time in that
program’s history.

2B
culture
UA art professors:
Educators by day, astounding creators by night
Luke McClinton
Staff Writer
Visual art is home to
a range of voices,
a wide and everexpanding
cache of
unique perspectives. It
allows a colorful — or,
sometimes, literally
black and white — blend
of creativity, emotional
expression and
even advocacy.
Artists make
up an elusive and
seemingly endless
category. As if the
array of perspectives,
personalities and
positions weren’t
extensive enough,
however, at The
University of
Alabama, there is a
doubling down of this
extensiveness.
When asked to
describe an artist,
one could give any
among a slew of
answers — world-class
painters with works in
museums, hawkeyed
photographers who
spend every waking
hour capturing the
world, perhaps even the
barista trying to pay off
student loans by selling
modernist caricatures.
A less likely response
would be professors.
The idea of a
university professor as
an artist is fascinating.
Whether consciously or
unconsciously, we often
put these educators in a
box. Most end up placed
somewhere along the
spectrum from adjuncts
who spend their time
dashing between
classrooms and grading
freshman essays to
long-tenured experts
who are always teaching
a 500-level seminar or
doing rigorous academic
research.
With art professors,
there’s a different
dynamic. They
don’t operate in the
stratosphere of rigidity
and analytics; they
have emboldened
visions and youthful
artistic ambitions.
These educators by day,
so to speak, represent
the part of the faculty
who have made their
creative endeavors their
carrer. It is a way of
expressing one’s own
and observing others’
distinct outlooks on life.
For Jason Guynes,
professor of art and
chair of the Department
of Art and Art History,
“the opportunity to
view the world through
someone else’s eyes
for a moment is often
what’s so interesting
in art in general.” This
is an enlightening
perspective; it allows
one to throw off the
notions of art as an
innocent whim of
youth or as wishful
escapism for adults
and let it simply
exist as a medium for
perspectives.
Once these narrow
ideas are left behind, all
that’s left is to absorb
these perspectives,
acknowledging that a
college professor is at
least as capable — and
arguably more — of
offering intriguing and
valuable worldviews as
any other artist.
The offerings are
limitless. When asked
about their work,
specifically those they
will be showcasing in
the Department of Art
and Art History Faculty
Biennial Exhibition
until Feb. 12, several
professors gave several
notable and singular
responses.
“My own work can be
described as geometric
abstraction produced
both in painting and
drawing form,” associate
art professor William
Dooley wrote. “I am not
sure if this is a category
but it does describe
the work.”
Associate professor
of art and painting
Bryce Speed wrote,
“I use an interplay of
universal shapes on
simple grounds to evoke
palpable experiences of
the horizon, language,
and architectural
spaces.”
Guynes’ artist
statement intimates
his desire to “narrate
the human condition”
through personal
experience as well
as a fascination with
what is referred to
as “unrealism.” That
latter aspect draws him
toward “those elements
that are so strongly a
part of a narrative, but
that aren’t obviously or
visibly apparent.”
Assistant professor
of art and art history
Jamey Grimes “love[s]
experiencing the beauty
of the outside world,”
a love that inspires
sculptures utilizing
“synthetic materials
that interact in some
way with light and
shadow.”
These are just a few
excerpts among the rich
and ceaseless cascade
of artistic perspectives
held by UA professors.
Whether they are
straightforward or
incomprehensible to
all but the mind of the
beholder, they reveal an
authentic spirit of art.
It isn’t exceptional
that a professor should
offer a captivating
perspective. After
all, they have the
opportunity that the
debt-racked barista
doesn’t, which is to
explore their most
unorthodox and outthere
ideas without
the pressure of those
ideas providing their
living. They don’t have
to cater to audiences
but, as Grimes wrote,
“experiment freely
with [their] artistic
expression.”
These professors
are employed to teach
their craft. As such,
with the practice of the
craft itself, they are at
complete liberty, free to
go where their creative
spirits take them; given
the brilliance that got
them to professorship
in the first place,
the destinations are
undoubtedly worth
it. They flourish, and
the Tuscaloosa and
University of Alabama
art scene is better for it.
More information
on the Department of
Art and Art History's
professors and faculty
arts can be found at art.
ua.edu.
“Tower Loan,” Bryce Speed
“Vending Machine,” Bryce Speed
“Father and Daughter 1,” Jason Guynes
These paintings, and more, will be available for viewing at the 2024 UA Department of Art and Art History Faculty Biennial Exhibition at the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art.

The School of Music
has been a vital
component of The
University of Alabama’s
vibrant campus since
opening in 1987. The
school, which is based
within Moody Music
Building, teaches over
400 students at the
undergraduate and
graduate levels.
According to the
School of Music’s
website, its mission is
to serve the community
and region through
musical education,
service and performance.
With an emphasis on
community, discipline
and passion, the School
of Music aims to support
and push members
toward their goals.
The school organizes
various concerts and
performances that allow
students to express
their love for music with
various genres, styles
and instruments.
On Feb. 2, the school
will host its Spring
Spectrum Concert at
Moody Music Building
from 7:30-9 p.m. The
concert is advertised as
a paid event featuring
a demonstration of the
“full spectrum of art and
talent” by faculty and
music students.
Charlie Snead,
director of the School
of Music, oversees
the operations for the
school’s student body,
faculty and staff. Also
serving as professor of
horn, Snead shares the
importance of the music
school as an academic
program for talented
musicians, but also as
a creative entity where
each member plays a
vital part in its success.
“They are consistently
working with each
other, for each other,
dependent on the
success and commitment
of those around them,”
Snead said. “That breeds
a distinctive and unique
sense of community
among our students,
faculty, and staff.”
The School of Music
aims not only to educate
students but also to
host events supporting
local businesses and
nonprofits in Tuscaloosa.
On April 6 from
8-11 a.m., the Bark to
the Beat Music 5K will
benefit the Tuscaloosa
Metro Animal Shelter, a
nonprofit organization
with a vision “to inspire
community involvement
in animal welfare and
motivate the public to
embrace responsible
lifelong pet ownership.”
Kevin Woosley,
race director for the
upcoming 5K and senior
instructor of class
piano at the University,
shared excitement for
the event’s premiere.
The Bark to the Beat
Music 5K will display
local musical talents
culture
and provide support
and entertainment
for participants, all
while giving back to a
community organization.
“This event will be a
unique experience for
all who participate!”
Woosley said. “UA and
high school musical
ensembles will provide
the soundtrack along
the way.”
The Tuscaloosa Metro
Animal Shelter will have
many animals present
at the event and invite
nonparticipants to
attend the event and
cheer on friends
and family.
Tickets are advertised
for the community
starting at $20 a person,
and the price will
increase on Jan. 31.
The race will begin just
across from the School
of Music at Butler Field,
the home of the Million
Dollar Band. Participants
under 19 who are not
enrolled at the University
must be accompanied
by a legal guardian,
according to the event’s
website.
Runners and walkers
will receive T-shirts
and snacks as they
participate in the event.
An exciting introduction
to the spring season, the
Bark to the Beat Music 5K
provides an opportunity
to celebrate artistic
expression, athleticism
and animal welfare.
The School of Music
will also host free events
open to the public,
including a performance
by the UA Symphonic
Band on Feb. 21 at 7:30
3B
Spring Spectrum Concert and Bark to the Beat Music 5K:
A look into upcoming School of Music events
Anna Hill
Staff Writer
Taylor Paton
Contributing Writer
The Frank Moody Music Building holds many of the School of Music’s events. CW / Elijah McWhorter
p.m. and a UA Concert
and University Band
performance on Feb. 15
at 7:30 p.m., both held at
Moody Music Building.
“Our students are an
energetic and committed
group, achieving
excellent results on
an annual basis across
all of our disciplines,
garnering consistent
and impressive national
and international
accolades,” Snead said.
“The opportunity to
be immersed in that
environment daily is
who we are in the School
of Music, the reason our
faculty comes to work
every day, and why we
enthusiastically look
forward to what we get
to do.”

4B
culture
A look into what healthy relationships are in college
Ava Morthland
Staff Writer
While in college,
many students
find themselves
entering new
relationships. Whether
that be with friends,
romantic partners or
new family members,
learning how to
navigate and self-reflect
is key in improving
relationships.
Learning about what
constitutes consent
and how to build
boundaries, knowing
the signs of abuse
in your relationship
and the relationships
around you, and
understanding what
resources are available
can help students get
a better grasp of what
they should know about
healthy relationships.
Consent and
boundaries
As new college
relationships are
formed, setting
boundaries can help
students mentally and
emotionally protect
themselves. While
boundaries might
not be necessary for
every college student,
students should be
equipped with the
tools to have these
conversations and
should know how to
handle the challenges
that might come
from them.
Personal boundaries
are the emotional limits
one is comfortable with
and as one develops
as a person, so will
one's boundaries.
Consent is permission
or agreement to do
something and is
important when
establishing trust
between all parties
involved.
Tiffany Marcantonio
is an assistant professor
in the Department of
Health Science and runs
a research lab, called
the Consent, Alcohol
and Sexual Assault
Lab, that focuses on
preventing sexual
violence.
Marcantonio said
that in society we talk
about establishing
boundaries a lot, but not
about how to respect
the boundaries
of others.
“My big thing these
days is about being
able to listen better and
really hear, teaching
people about respecting
what others want
and that it’s okay to
be told no and that’s
not something to
challenge or overcome,”
Marcantonio said.
Shannon Welch, the
assistant director of
clinical services at the
Women and Gender
Resource Center, said
that boundaries come
from checking in with
yourself and learning
what feels right and
what does not. Your
response comes from
a place of authenticity.
Welch also said that
while guilt may be
a part of vocalizing
personal boundaries, it
does not mean you are
wrong but rather that
you need to get in the
habit of honoring
your voice.
“One thing I tell
people is trust their gut
and their intuitions and
learn to be in tune with
that if something feels
off,” Welch said.
Welch mentioned
looking into how people
respond when you set a
boundary is important
and can tell you a lot
about who they are.
“‘No’ is
communicated in so
many ways. ‘No’ is
not responding, ‘no’ is
pushing, ‘no’ is silence,”
Marcantonio said.
Consent goes beyond
sexual activity and is a
part of our day-today
lives.
According to
an article from
Mindbodygreen, setting
healthy boundaries
with family members
can also help reduce
anxiety and resentment,
strengthen conflict
management skills, and
build better self-esteem.
“Healthy boundaries
with parents
involve mutual
acknowledgment that
you are an adult with
your own thoughts,
opinions, beliefs,
experiences, and needs,”
therapist Alyssa Mancao
writes in the article.
“It means owning your
needs and being able to
say no when you want
to say no and yes when
you want to say yes.”
Welch said the WGRC
works with students
The Women and Gender Resource Center addresses gender inequity for Tuscaloosa students. CW / Hannah Grace Mayfield
throughout the year,
especially before
breaks, on navigating
family boundaries and
setting up a safety plan
students can implement
when they go back
home.
Consent between
family members
can include asking
permission before
hugging one another
and respecting the
answer that is given.
In long-term or new
romantic relationships,
consent is important
to protect the safety of
everyone involved. As a
relationship develops,
consent can change as
you learn more about
your partner.
Signs and types of
abuse
Abuse can come in
many different forms
including both physical
and mental abuse. It is
important for students
to recognize the signs
of abuse in order to stay
safe.
In a study
Marcantonio conducted,
young people who had
engaged in alcoholinvolved
consensual
sex were asked what
advice they had about
navigating those
experiences. This advice
includes advocating for
verbal communication
instead of relying on
nonverbal cues and
being clear with your
intentions.
According to
Psychology Today,
there are 10 warning
signs that people
can recognize from
an abuser, including
jealousy, attempt
to control, attempt
to isolate, violating
privacy, treating you
with disrespect, blaming
you for bad behavior,
threatening you,
destroying personal
possessions, inability
to show compassion
and excluding what is
important to you.
Unusual behavior,
excessive nervousness,
being agitated and being
withdrawn are all signs
that you or someone
you know is being
abused.
Marcantonio said
that there are four ways
to abuse someone:
enticement, coercion,
physical force and
alcohol- or substancefacilitated
sex.
“[On] college
campuses, the two most
common are coercion
actually, so that’s
nagging and pressuring,
and then the substancefacilitated
one. I would
say while certainly
physical force happens,
it’s just to a lesser
degree on a college
campus,” Marcantonio
said.
Resources
Resources for
students dealing with
unhealthy relationships
extend beyond the
campus, including
Tuscaloosa Safe Center
and Tuscaloosa Police
Department.
Welch said that
it can be difficult
and dangerous when
leaving an unhealthy
relationship, but taking
the first step in reaching
out is important. She
also said that having
a safety plan can be
useful in case you or
someone you know is in
a dangerous situation.
Having a plan in place
beforehand can be
beneficial in helping
with any uncertainty
or nervousness that a
victim might have.
“It’s really tough
when you’re being
mistreated, it’s really
tough to talk about
being mistreated, and
on the outside, you can
see it so clearly, but
when you’re in there,
it can be really hard,”
Marcantonio said.
Marcantonio also
said that it is important
to not get angry when
someone discloses
being abused but to
have empathy instead.
At the University, the
Title IX office is where
students can go if they
want to report genderbased
discrimination,
harassment, sexual
assault or sexual
violence. It is important
for students to know
that all UA staff and
faculty are mandated
reporters, including RAs,
community directors in
housing and residential
communities, nonstudent
employees in
a senior management
role, and graduate
teaching or research
assistants.

It does not take long to
notice the imbalance
that exists between the
different colleges on the
University’s campus. Walk
from the Shelby Quad to
B.B. Comer, or from ten
Hoor to the neighboring
Hewson Hall. Despite the
shared architectural design
elements, the contrast
between these buildings
is stark.
Where the engineering
and business buildings
boast beautiful modern
interiors and exteriors,
the College of Arts and
Sciences hosts classes
in older facilities whose
upkeep and appearance is
apparently far lower on the
administration’s list
of priorities.
Anyone who has had
class in ten Hoor, home for
political science majors like
me, has heard rumors of
asbestos, sat in a dimly lit
classroom with a peculiar
smell, and struggled to
locate a convenient outlet
for charging their laptop.
This is a far cry from the
experience a hall like
Hewson offers, where
business students enjoy
a breathable open floor
plan with a plethora of
accommodating study
spaces and classrooms
built for modern education
(not to mention a
conveniently located Java
City coffee shop).
And of course these
dichotomies are not
experienced by students
alone. Professors in
different departments
must also adapt to teach
in their given environment
— whether that is in a
cramped classroom with a
malfunctioning projector
and a broken thermostat
or in a state-of-the-art
facility with plentiful
accommodations.
The truth is, every
university will have its
strengths and weaknesses
— especially one like the
Capstone with almost
40,000 students pursuing
a diverse breadth of
degrees. It is unrealistic
to expect that every
campus facility will be
outfitted with modern
amenities and updated
architecture. However,
we can be realistic
while simultaneously
acknowledging that faculty
and students in every
department have an equal
right to work and study in
the best environments the
University can provide.
Unfortunately, a
look at the University’s
current and planned
building projects
reveals an imbalance
in infrastructural
development that appears
to prioritize Greek life
housing, athletic facilities,
and more general-purpose
projects like Student
Center renovations, the
University Club restoration,
and a new Alumni Hall.
Certainly, it can be no
easy task to decide where
and when funds should
be appropriated for such a
opinion
large and diverse campus
that only continues
to grow. Even still, the
University must offer
better support to colleges
and departments that have
clearly been in need of
greater resources for
some time.
The Capstone pulled in
over $946 million in the
2022 fiscal year, and that
number only increases as
more students pay more
and more in tuition. The
least the University can
do is make a stronger
commitment to ensuring
that all students and
faculty benefit from the
investments made with
that income, and receive
those benefits equitably.
The present lack of such
equity is further exposed
by an examination of
educator salaries across
departments. A College of
Business professor makes
over double the annual
income of a humanities
professor. An Honors
College instructor makes
less than the average
Alabamian’s salary while
nursing, business and law
faculty members make
close to $100,000 a year on
average. The pay for our
educators varies greatly
by field.
Even if you find uneven
investment into facility
upkeep and development
to be a somewhat
superficial inequality, there
is no arguing that these
gaps in departmental pay
reveal objectively uneven
priorities in the University’s
distribution of resources.
I am under no illusion
that the different
disciplines found on
campus all need the
exact same amount of
investment to accomplish
their educational missions.
The hard sciences
often require costly lab
equipment the social
sciences and humanities
do not, and larger
departments surely require
bigger buildings that will
cost more to build and
maintain.
However, I do believe
that if credit hours cost
the same amount for all
students across all fields,
then they deserve to
experience similar levels
of high-quality education.
That includes being
instructed by competitively
compensated educators
in good, well-maintained
learning environments,
regardless of your
chosen major.
Going forward,
it would be great to
see the University
administration make a
formal commitment to a
more even distribution of
resources across campus
in order to ensure that no
college or department feels
underserved or left behind.
Even better would
be more democratic
involvement of students
and faculty in the decisionmaking
process for things
like building renovations. I
know that there is already
5B
Infrastructure and salaries reveal the University’s uneven priorities
Alex Jobin
Staff Columnist
Mary Claire Wooten
Staff Columnist
In December, the Supreme
Court announced that it
would revisit the decision
made in FDA v. Alliance
for Hippocratic Medicine
by a three-judge panel of
the United States Court
of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit. In April 2023, the
panel ruled in favor of
limiting access to the
popular abortion pill
mifepristone. The pill is
available by mail and can
even be prescribed by
telehealth professionals,
but the panel believed
the Food and Drug
Administration’s regulation
of the pill was too relaxed.
In 2019, the FDA approved
a generic form of the
drug, which has not been
an issue at the Supreme
Court. The panel’s goal was
that the pill would remain
legal, but with certain
restrictions on how it could
be accessed.
This year, the
Supreme Court will hear
appeals from the Biden
administration and
the drugmaker Danco
Laboratories, which will
defend the decisions made
by the FDA that ultimately
made mifepristone more
accessible. We can expect
to hear a ruling by the end
of June, just a few months
before the presidential
election in November.
When it was first
approved in 2000,
mifepristone would be
prescribed only after three
visits with a doctor. With
the rise of telehealth,
the FDA adapted to the
times and loosened its
regulations. In 2016, it
even expanded its original
window in which the pill
could be prescribed from
seven weeks to 10 weeks
and lowered the number of
Keep mifepristone on the market
required visits from three
to one. Now, many health
care providers, as long
as they have completed
the mifepristone risk
evaluation and mitigation
program, possess the
ability to prescribe the pill
as well.
All of these
amendments help
decrease the shame and
embarrassment that many
women are subject to
when searching for these
kinds of procedures. Half
of all abortions in the
U.S. are performed using
mifepristone.
This case is the first on
the court’s docket directly
concerning abortion
since it overturned the
constitutional right to
an abortion in June 2022.
Since then, the decision
has been left to state-level
elected officials, but now,
the Supreme Court has
been placed in a peculiar
position.
After initially leaving
the decisions up to elected
officials, the conservative
majority must now rule on
a medication that the FDA
approved more than two
decades ago. Now, states
where abortion is still
legal could face a severe
reduction in access to the
medication as well.
This case also opens
the door to broader
questions about the FDA’s
authority. Letting political
advocacy organizations
like the Alliance for
Hippocratic Medicine
file lawsuits against
the FDA for approving
products could irreversibly
politicize the regulation
of pharmaceuticals.
While mifepristone is still
available until the Supreme
Court rules, if things go
south for the drug, serious
changes would have to be
made. Mifepristone would
be completely taken off
the market until time was
taken to redesign labels
and the FDA would have
to completely rewrite the
rules and regulations for
distribution. It wouldn’t
return until all these steps
are taken.
Or, the Supreme Court
could overrule the Fifth
Circuit, and nothing would
change. States that restrict
how mifepristone is
distributed continue their
practices and distribution
goes on without a hitch.
Maybe the justices
propose something entirely
different, upholding some
aspects of the changes
made by the FDA in 2016
and changing others.
Mifepristone is used
to block the hormone
progesterone and then
misoprostol will induce
contractions. Advocates of
abortion have claimed that
if mifepristone is outlawed,
the second drug in the
process, misoprostol, could
still be used to terminate
a pregnancy. However, this
method causes more pain
and discomfort and is not
as effective overall.
Where should we go
from here, to benefit the
most people possible?
Leave the decisions in the
hands of the person who
would have to carry their
pregnancy to term, instead
of the lawmakers who
have never met them or
experienced the hardships
that may prevent them
from raising a child.
Forcing women to have
children they can’t raise or
support only leads to more
hardships than would be
experienced by lawmakers
who would have to face
defeat in the wake of a
Fifth Circuit overturn.
Access to abortion
medication by mail has
been a light at the end
of a very dark tunnel
overturning Roe v. Wade
created. Erasing this option
a thorough process that
goes into making such
administrative decisions,
but holding public forums
or more frequently
surveying students and
faculty to gauge what
projects they consider the
most important would go
a long way to making more
people feel that their voices
are being heard.
With regard to faculty
pay, we need both more
transparency and greater
equity. It is extremely
valuable to have faculty
salaries public, but even
more helpful would be
explicit rationales behind
the pay gaps these salaries
reveal. The University has
an obligation to both its
faculty and its students
to explain why one
educational discipline is
valued differently
from another.
If a finance professor’s
wages need to be higher
due to greater competition
with the private sector job
market, then so be it, but
a humanities professor’s
labor shouldn’t be valued
any less just because they
may have fewer extraacademic
job prospects.
All instructors deserve
to be fairly compensated
because they are all
expected to help provide
an education worth the
student’s price
of admission.
would leave millions of
women with no choices
and no say in what
happens to their bodies.
People are fearful
and have begun stocking
up on medications that
may no longer be readily
available to them after
the Supreme Court rules
on mifepristone, going as
far as to order these drugs
from overseas. If they’re
unable to travel to receive
the care needed, this poses
the best option for many in
states where abortion
is illegal.
In the face of a
mifepristone ban, it’s hard
to say how the shipping
and distribution of the
abortion medication would
be enforced. Searching
for illicit abortion pills in
international mail facilities
shouldn't be necessary.
Those left without the
ability to access necessary
care should never feel
compelled to find less
safe, but more accessible,
alternatives to these pills.
This year the Supreme Court will hear the cases for and against mifepristone. Courtesy of J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press