| Summary: | The Kaleidoscope is the official student newspaper of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Student Newspaper of the University of Alabama at Birmingham • uabKscope.com Tuesday, September 11, 2012 TRAGEDIES REMEMBERED 49 years after 16th Street Church Bombing Below, 6A 11 years after September 11, 2001 Below, 2A, 6A, 3B Vol. 45 No. 27 2 Sections •12 pages Student Life Open House During Student Life Open House, visit all 5 locations listed below and get your card punched at each stop. Present your completed punch card at HUC 440 and you will receive a FREE STUDENT LIFE T-SHIRT. HUC ROOM 110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Student Life/Counseling & Wellness HUC ROOM 133. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Student Engagement HUC ROOM 135. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Student Media HUC ROOM 136. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Student Activities HUC ROOM 440. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Student Involvement REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED! CALL 975-9509 FOR MORE INFORMATION BACK FRONT Wednesday 9/12, 2- 4 PM Alleged Dark Knight Rises shooter denied admission to UAB Eric Roberts News Editor news@insideuab.com James Holmes, the alleged Dark Knight Rises shooter, applied to the University of Alabama Birmingham in 2010 and was denied admis-sion according to documents released by the university ursday morning. Holmes applied in Octo-ber 2010 to become part of UAB’s graduate program, and later traveled to Birmingham for interviews in February 2011. UAB, in a letter dated March 31, 2011, noti ed Holmes that “many well quali ed students applied which forced the admissions committee to make di cult decisions…we regret to in-form you that you have not been recommended for ad-mission.” ough, Holmes came to UAB highly recommended by the Department of Psy-chology at the University of California, Riverside. e recommendation states, “He (James) is a top notch student and he has a strong drive towards neuro-science. is performance… speaks to his intellectual ca-pability and to his motiva-tion. James will do well in his future professional training because of his intelligence, motivation and passion to-wards science. us, I am pleased to recommend him to you.” Included in the release with his rejection letter and recommendation letters, was his graduate ap-plication essay. Holmes stated in the opening of his essay that, “Rational people act based on incentives for self-ful- llment…I desire to attend graduate study at the Univer-sity of Alabama, a leader and innovator in scienti c re-search, because the universi-ty will provide opportunities to peruse my foremost pas-sions, the science of learning, cognition and memory. He added, “Making new discoveries in neuroscience is intrinsically rewarding in its own right. I have an unquenchable curiosity, a strong desire to know and explore the unknown, and a need to persist against the odds. e alleged shooter con-cluded with, “My life-long goal is to increase the e - ciency of how human beings learn and remember.” See Shooter Page 6A Eric Roberts News Editor news@insideuab.com On ursday, August 16, it was an-nounced that President Carol K. Garri-son would be stepping down a er a dec-adelong run as president of UAB. Just days later, Chancellor Robert Witt asked Richard Marchase Ph.D. who he called, “an accomplished scholar, re-searcher and administrator,” to take the reins of UAB as interim President. “It was very grati ed; this is an invig-orating experience,” said Marchase. Marchase takes the interim position leaving behind the role of Vice President for Research and Economic Develop-ment, which he assumed in 2005. Marchase said he “still meets with them (the department of Research and Economic Development) weekly,” but over 90 percent of his time is focused on being the interim president. ough, he says that lling Garrison’s shoes is a challenge. “She (Garrison) was a really remark-able president,” said Marchase. “I am try-ing not to miss a beat, it’s like drinking out of a water hose, but we’re doing well. ere is a steep learning curve.” Marchase said that in his short time that he has worked tirelessly to be brought up to speed on the intricacies of UAB. UAB is way more complex than other businesses or universities, Marchase said pointing to the 1.8 billion dollar budget and his multifaceted position. As the president of UAB, the state’s largest single employer, he also chairs the board of the UAB Health System, which includes UAB Hospital, e Kirk-lin Clinic and other of UAB’s nationally ranked patient care facilities and the board of Southern Research Institute. He added the he has spent numerous hours in meetings with administrators throughout the institution. While he acknowledges this appoint-ment as President will be temporary, Marchase wants to “be much more than a caretaker.” “I am trying to budget all my desires. Innovation is our conerstone, we want to brand this University with innovation,” said Marchase. “Long term changes in the strategic plan will not change. Something’s I will not try to put my imprint on, but we can make signi cant changes in six months or so,” Marchase said. Students will not be a ected much by the transition period, he said. e plans for the Hill University Cen-ter renovations and the new dormitory are still set to go before the Board of Trustees this week. “We want to be on a trajectory for progress, which is the hallmark of UAB,” said Marchase. Marchase said that Witt will be nam-ing a search committee for a permanent President soon, and he expects Witt will set a timetable within in a few weeks. Interim President speaks Richard Marchase Ph.D. assumed the role of UAB’s Interim President on August 21, 2012. UAB Media Relations Nick Price Editor in Chief editor@insideuab.com Eleven years ago, the world changed. On Septem-ber 11, 2001 the United States was dealt a tragedy that by no means compares to anything the history of the nation had faced before. Everyone was a ected. But today, 11 years removed from that fateful day, our words and reactions can neither quell nor echo those of the students and faculty who were forced to ab-sorb the shock of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa. Full of anger, sadness and dismay, here are the reactions from UAB in a report by then news editor, Allison Barnes, printed on Sept. 18, 2001. From September 18,2001 An impact and an explo-sion are what Melissa Cantley remembers most about last Tuesday’s attack on New York City’s World Trade Center. “I was at work, and I happened to walk into the break room right as the news coverage was go-ing on,” she says. “I remember looking at the television just as the second plane was ying through the tower. I thought it was an accident - I couldn’t believe what was happening.” Cantley, 23, says that her rst reaction to the situation was immediate prayer. “We have a prayer meeting every morning at work, so we started to pray for the nation right away.” Even amidst prayerful tones, anger’s voice was be-ing heard. Many voiced anger about how the nation could let terrorists attack and cause such a great deal of damage and deaths. In addition, ques-tions were raised about how the nation should respond to apparent acts of war. “Our nation has been so callous about our freedoms - we hang it over the heads of other nations as if we’re great,” Cantley says. ‘’We’ve been spoiled, and this is a wake-up call. We’re not all that we thought we were.” “Sometimes it takes things like this to make us open our eyes to exactly where we stand,” says Layla Carter, a se-nior majoring in music. “We think we have the power to an-nihilate other countries o the map, but maybe other coun-tries have the power to anni-hilate us too, and we just don’t know it yet.” See 9/11 Page 2A 9/11, Eleven years ago The World Trade Center was attacked 11 years ago by hijacked planes in New York City. MCT Richie Parrish Sra Writer riparris@uab.edu is Saturday will mark the 49th year since the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that took place here in Birming-ham. e racially driven act of terrorism was a major turning point in the civil rights move-ment and stands historically as one of the most infamous acts of violence in the country. On the morning of Sept. 15, 1963, a bomb exploded under-neath the front entrance of the church right before a Sunday morning sermon. “I heard something that sounded, at rst, a little like thunder and then just this ter-ri c noise and the windows came crashing in,” Carolyn McKinstry told NPR in 2001. McKinstry served as her class secretary in the church at four-teen years old and was present on the morning of the bomb-ing. See Remembered 6A 16th Street Baptist Church bombing remembered MCT Campus The 16th Street Church stands today, reassembeled. wikicommons Photo Illustration by: Daniel Twieg InsideUAB. com Tuesday, September 11, 2012 — 2-A Authentic Thai Cuisine in Historic Five Points South 1918 Eleventh Avenue South Tel: 324-1928 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Lunch & Dinner Redeemable at Surin West Lunch or Dinner for all UAB Staff & Students with valid ID. Please limit one coupon per person per visit. Dine In Only. Expires: September 18, 2012 Kaylyn Alexander Staff Writer kaylynbalexander@gmail.com Last weekend, Birmingham AIDS Outreach (BAO) hosted Rise Above Aids, a promotion party for the 2012 Magic City AIDS Walk. BAO asked for an optional entry fee of $5 with all pro-ceeds supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS. Last year, AIDS Walk raised over $37,000 for the cause. This year’s promotion party was held at Above, Redmont Hotel’s rooftop bar, where Bir-mingham supporters gathered to enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres, live music, and good company. Earlier last week, BAO also hosted MAC & Models, spon-sored by MAC Cosmetics. “Rise Above Aids was for a good cause that brought students and the community together to further raise aware-ness on the topic of HIV/AIDS ” said Duy Tran, member of the BAO AIDS Walk commit-tee board. The non-profit organiza-tion hosts the annual Magic City AIDS Walk so that over 800 HIV-positive individuals may receive free services from BAO, and thousands more re-ceive education and free test-ing. “Our non-profit organi-zation is community-based, and we primarily work with AIDS organizations around Birmingham, including AIDS Alabama, 1979 Clinic at UAB, UAB Family Clinic, and West Alabama AIDS Outreach,” said Jamie Whigehurst, Develop-ment Director of Birmingham AIDS Outreach. Birmingham Aids Out-reach was established and incorporated in 1985 with a common goal to accompany HIV-positive individuals. At this time, a “Buddy Program” was formed from volunteers who spent time with those af-fected by HIV and assisted them in daily life. “Until the mid-90s when the program was ended, there wasn’t sufficient medicine for a lot of HIV-positive individuals. Unfortunately, the majority of impacted individuals became sick and died. For many differ-ent reasons, these individuals were isolated from their family and friends. This program con-nected Birmingham residents to HIV-affected people,” said Whigehurst. Magic City Aids Walk will be held on Sunday, September 16th at Avondale Park from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Indi-viduals and groups are encour-aged to the open event. “We stress that our events are free on top of being family, kid and pet-friendly. Because we host free events, we also at-tract HIV-positive people who may live in a low-income area,” said Whigehurst. Live performances will include Once In A LIfetime 80s Band, Magic City Choral Society, and four local youth church choirs, directed by Emanuele Reese. Participants may sign up for free and start a customiz-able fundraising page where individuals are encouraged to write why the cause is impor-tant to them. The fundraising page may be shared via Face-book and e-mail for friends and family to donate to the cause online. To register for the Magic City Aids Walk, visit http:// www.baoevents.org/Register. html. AIDS outreach in the spotlight Carlene Robinson Staff Writer drcarob@uab.edu There are organizations to become a better leader, to help out in the community, and to assist students with their homework. What about pro-grams and events that spark community health? Well, there are plenty of resources, aside from the Campus Recreation Center, all around Birmingham. According to the Center of Disease Control and Preven-tion, Alabama has the second highest obesity percentage claiming 32% of the citizens. With all the fat and grease swimming around in their systems, many local groups and Farmer’s Markets are try-ing to combat this horrifying statistic. Here on campus, Students for a Healthier Community work with different programs throughout Birmingham, and teach all ages about nutrition and general healthy lifestyles. “We really want to make an impact on the community,” states Imani McMullin, vice president of SHC. The SHC club formed spring of 2010. They have ex-panded over the years from just focusing on the younger generation to branching out and changing adults’ current lifestyles. This year they plan to work on the issue of diabe-tes with UAB’s medical school though the M-Power program. With the Spirit of Luke, SHC raises awareness of stroke prevention and educates the community about warning signs. “Current ly, there are many health disparities in Birmingham,” Gaylen Patterson, Co-president of SHC, explains, “And not enough people are aware of opportuni-ties to bridge the gaps.” P a u l e a t h a Diggs, the other Co-President , continues, “SHC provides the op-portunity for students to reach out and make that impact.” Their first meeting is Sep-tember 17, 2012 at 7p.m. in Heritage Hall 106. On Saturday mornings, Pepper Place has a farmer’s market held on the corner of 28th Street and 2nd Avenue South. It begins at 7 a.m. and lasts until noon. They have demonstrations from various culinary chefs on how to create easy, nutritious meals. Iman Judge of Taj India was the fea-tured chef this week. There are over 30 vendors at this event varying from bo-tanical wonders to local fruits and vegetables to unique knick-knacks. The season runs from mid-April to December 15th.R ailroad Park on First Av-enue also has a farmer’s market every Wednesday afternoon from 4-6. Kit King, one of the ven-dors at the event, is an at home farmer and owns “Wild Child Farms”. She has farmed for a little over two years, and just entered the farmer’s market this year. “We always ate organic food and canned, so this was the next step,” commented King. King debates that farmer’s markets are better than a su-permarket, because you get a more personal feel for your food. “We try to cater to individ-uals’ likes and dislikes, so they can have more useful prod-ucts,” King brags. “Everything is fresh. No bruises or over-grown products sold.” Striving for health Local Farmers markets offer fresh produce Carlene Robinson Witt Farms stand is one of the numerous stands featured at the Pepper Place Market. The Market is held on Saturday Mornings at Pepper Place. Russ Timothy Staff Writer russt926@aol.com Tents lined Birmingham’s loft district this past weekend, allowing many talented artists of all sorts to showcase their works to the public in the 2012 Artwalk. “It’s a great way to get ex-posure, a lot of it,” says Lauren Lambert, a 26-year old resi-dent of Birmingham who en-joys making jewelry. Lambert sat on a stool un-derneath her white tent, grin-ning as she later revealed that this year was her first time participating in the event. Dozens of people mosey by each tent, browsing through what each artist has to offer. “I’m here because I needed a good excuse to get out there and meet people,” says Antho-ny Tavis, a 34-year old Hoover resident. “You know, it’s important to participate in culture.” Although Tavis’s official job is working for the state geo-logical survey, he is a painter at heart, as his tent showcased works ranging from colorful paintings of abstract works to more direct approaches such as a guitar shaped paint-ing with the words “Highway 61” across it. “I’m honestly just here for the gorgeous women Birmingham has to offer,” says a smiling and laughing Tavis. As a growing number of people of all ages stroll through the streets, it becomes apparent just how much of a safe, family-friendly event the Artwalk has grown to be. “I came here be-cause I wanted to actually find inspi-ration from other local artists,” said Clarence Barbour, senior UAB student and film major, “and, oh god, I did!” Although many were there to socialize and enjoy each other’s company, a huge focus of each artist was to sell some of their works. “Why am I here?” says Lillie Minnifield, 26-year old painter and writer. “Well, to make money obviously.” “I enjoy Artwalk, though, because I can share ideas with other artists. It’s a way of learning how the artist com-munity is unique from every-thing else.” From paintings, to jew-elry, to photography, to glasses fashioned from empty Corona bottles, the Artwalk consisted of a wide-range of creations. Nearby street vendors even took advantage of the situ-ation by setting up shop on seemingly every corner, offer-ing hot dogs and hamburgers, alcoholic beverages, and sno-cones. “When I’m stressed, I paint,” says Minnifield. “I like looking back and saying, ‘I did that.’ It gives me peace.” Local artists on display at the Birmingham Artwalk Carlene Robinson The 2012 Birmingham Artwalk showcased local artists in Birmingham’s Loft District. The walk featured local artists doing demonstrations in various forms of art including spray paint. The Artwalk also featured paintings, jewelry, photography, glass and other various forms of art. 9/11 From Page 1A Carter remembers that she was oblivious to the course of events because she was in class when the first crashed occurred. ‘’When I finally did see what was going on, I didn’t know exactly what was happening, but I knew it was big when I saw footage of the second plane striking one of the towers.” “We’re at the same point that we were when Pearl Har-bor was attacked,” Carter says. “No matter how far we think we’ve advanced, the fact that this was still able to happen lets us know that changes need to be made.” The resounding conclusion across campus is that, regard-less of what course of action the nation takes, innocent peo-ple will die. “It’s sad, but inevitable.” Carter says. “I really feel bad for the president because he has to make some hard deci-sions. I know the nation has got to do something.” Students say they feel that it will be inevitable for foreigners to feel unsafe in our country and on the nation’s campuses. “Yeah, it’s stupid that stu-dents would turn against stu-dents and try to hurt each oth-er just because a student might be Arabic. But for a while, it’ll be inevitable that this type of persecution will happen,” says Jeremy Godwin, 19, from Il-linois. “Americans want someone to blame, someone to take their anger out on and until we can punish exactly who did this, we’ll be looking for a scapegoat. That scapegoat will probably be people living in America who are of Arabic decent, or who look like they are foreigners. It’s so ignorant,” Godwin says. What Godwin fears the most, however, is that the worst is not over. “Retaliation by the U.S. will happen. And then what? We see America united now, but in the coming weeks and months, we’ll see a division between people who are for going to war and people who are against war,” Godwin says. Godwin didn’t hear of the incidents until he got home that night. Although subtle at first, an echo of war began to grow last week as students learned more about the events happening in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. Then as coverage opened up around the nation, the U.S. gained another perspective of the war. “On the news they were showing adults and children in Arabic countries, and they were dancing in the streets and throwing candy,” a UAB com-munications student says. “My first reaction was that the U.S. should just blow all of them off the map.” While deadly revenge was voiced by some students. Oth-er options for putting an end to the matter came with calmer suggestions. “You don’t want to take an innocent life for payment of another innocent life, that doesn’t make things right,” Carter says. “But, we still can’t just sit back and let destruction take its course. There needs to be some major peace talks, that’s the only way to end this.” Jody Trautwine, a teacher at Cathedral Christian School, agrees that his reaction to last week’s turn of events have been focused on finding a way for peace. “If the nation reacts cor-rectly, this can be the end of such terrible events. If not, this will just continue to happen,” says Trautwine. “If the country wants to find the answers to this, we’ll have to stand on our foundation - we’ll have to look to Christ.” Trautwine agrees that find-ing all of the attack’s perpetra-tors will be difficult for this country. see 9/11 on 6A fotopedia.com The site of the 9/11 memorial in downtown Manhattan. 3-A— Tuesday, September 11, 2012 UABkscope.com Maja Mzombwe | Science & Technology scienceguy@InsideUAB.com science Like Us! We need you to Like us. We really do. We have an overwhelming need to be liked. You can feed our obsession and win some cool stuff. We’ll be drawing names from among the Likers (is that a word?) for giveaway T-shirts and other prizes. Plus, the Facebook feed keeps you up to date with the latest campus news, sports and events as reported by students. www.facebook.com/uabkscope CHICKEN • WINGS • TENDERS • SALADS • AND MORE! Visit Our Convienent Location at 282 Palisades Blvd, Near Walmart in Homewood 205.423.0523 ALL THAT STUDYING GOT YOU HUNGRY? DURING OCTOBER FOR STUDENTS & FACULTY UAB WELCOME BACK for Students/Faculty/Staff With UAB ID in August & September 2011 Visit our Convenient Location at 282 Palisades Blvd., Near Walmart in Homewood • 205.423.0523 15% OFF! for Students/Faculty/Staf With UAB ID in September 2012 FREE WiFI Kasopefoluwa Oguntuyo Contributor kongun93@uab.edu Do you question the big picture of scienti c projects and sometimes wonder how a particular work is applicable? Well, to encourage innovative approaches to worldwide is-sues, the UAB College of Arts and Sciences proposed a solu-tion: they would like to encour-age collaborations amongst di erent schools and depart-ments. As a nationally ranked research institution, UAB re-ceives over $433 million dollars for research conducted in the health sciences. is nancial support translates into a wealth of resources and, of course, the minds to go with it. Why not take advantage of it? In order to capitalize on the brain trust at UAB an Interdis-ciplinary Innovations Forum that will be held every month. In January of 2012, the College of Arts and Sciences kicked o the Innovations Forum with a discussion that combined the physics behind clean energy technology of fuel cells and the ethical implications of new energy sources on poverty and climate change. Subsequent seminars have presented a range of topics from the man-agement of healthcare data to the economic practicality, ethi-cal dilemmas, and scienti c investigation behind regenera-tive medicine. e College of Arts and Sci-ences also initiated the Inter-disciplinary Innovations Team Awards, which o ers grants of up to $30,000 for collabora-tive projects. A er a proposal review process, awards will be distributed quarterly (in Janu-ary, April, July, and October). Recently, the College of Arts and Sciences awarded four scientists with its rst Inter-disciplinary Innovations Team Award. One proposed project is to use nano-materials to encourage the growth of dam-aged neuronal axons in pa-tients with spinal cord injury. Another project combines UAB’s computer science and healthcare strengths to tackle threats to healthcare informa-tion security. ese projects only provide a glimpse into the vast amount of groundbreaking research done at UAB. Increasing col-laboration amongst di erent departments brings research a step closer to solving current-day problems. us far, the Innovations Forum and the Team Award have cultivated ideas. With the diversity of ongoing projects, the general public is bound to reap the bene ts of this interdisciplin-ary approach; maybe in the hospital or in the car we’ll soon be driving. I’m looking forward to seeing other discussions and projects that will emerge from the Interdisciplinary In-novations Forum and Team Awards. Currently, the Team Awards are only available for principal investigators. One thing I’d like to see in practice is an interdisciplinary award for undergraduates and graduate/ professional school students. To read more about these stun-ning scienti c endeavors in the Interdisciplinary Innovation Forum, check out http://www. uab.edu/cas. Tianjiao Zhang Sta Writer tzhang@uab.edu Do organic foods provide more nutrients than regular foods? A new study from Stanford University says no. Scientists at the Center for Health Policy, led by Dr. Dena Bra-vata, conducted a meta-analysis of data procured by 237 previous studies of organic foods. In hopes of removing bias, this meta-analysis was not funded by any external sources, whose views may a ect the interpretation of the results. Dr. Bravata said that the team was very surprised by the con-clusions of the study. e study found no signi cant di erence between the nutrient contents of organically produced foods and conventionally produced foods. A conventional orange will pro-vide just the same amount of vitamin C as an organic orange. ere were exceptions, however. Some organic foods do have a statistically signi cant higher phosphorous content. Still, it is not enough to say that there will be a nutritional bene t from consum-ing organic foods. People acquire more than enough phosphorous through conventional foods, so there is no practical advantage to eating organic foods. e nutritional content of foods is determined by multiple fac-tors. Of these, ripeness is perhaps the most in uential. An unripe fruit will contain only a fraction of the nutrients in a ripe fruit, regardless of whether the fruit is organic or conventional. However, there are other, non-nutrition related bene ts to or-ganic foods. e study found that organic produce contained sig-ni cantly less pesticide traces than conventional foods. Organic foods are produced without the use of synthetic pesticides, fer-tilizers, or other chemicals. Conventional foods, though, are still safe to eat. e FDA’s maximum allowed pesticide level in foods is much lower than levels that could harm humans. Organic meats also tended to contain less antibiotic-resistant bacteria than con-ventional meats. Sonya Lunder, an analyst at the Environment Working Groups, points out that nutritional value is not a primary reason for which people choose organic foods over conventional foods. e perceived health bene ts of organic foods are not centered on a supposedly higher nutritional content. People buy organic foods mostly because organic foods are not grown with arti cial pesticides and fertilizers. Dr. Bravata’s study found that the lower amount of pesticides in organic foods provides tangible develop-mental bene ts. ree studies in 2011 followed pregnant women and their children exposed to various levels of pesticides. On av-erage, women who were exposed to less pesticide while pregnant had children with slightly higher IQs. e lower content of antibiotic-resistant bacteria also provides large-scale bene ts. Organic foods lower the possibility of human pathogens acquiring the antibiotic resistance gene. Such a hop to human bacteria could create new superbugs and pandemic out-breaks. e results of the study, though, are nevertheless very clear. Organic foods simply do not provide more nutrition than conven-tional foods. If you had been spending more money on organic foods just to get more nutrients, then you may have been spending it in the wrong place. Ethan Gissendaner Sta writer ethang@uab.edu As a broke college student and devoted foodie, making the choice between Publix and Whole Foods on grocery day has been an emotional one. I want to eat and cook in the healthiest way possible. I sim-ply cannot a ord organic food so I have to settle with conven-tional instead, accepting a nu-tritional de cit in the tradeo . Or so I thought. A recent Stanford study re-veals there is little nutritional di erence in organically and conventionally grown food. Sure the organic stu has less pesticide content, but com-parisons show conventional levels of chemicals are not signi cantly greater. Organic animal products are not any more nutritional either. Milk is the only item that has a higher nutritional value than its con-ventional counterpart. ese facts bring many questions to mind, the rst of which being what made buy-ing organic so appealing in the rst place? As farming compa-nies grew and food production became more commercialized, farming practices focused on e ciency and pro tabil-ity, not quality of product or the natural growing process. Concern for chemical use af-fecting the land, the produce, and consumers led to organic standards being employed and readily available at most su-permarkets. Organics quickly became synonymous with “healthy.” However, like Stanford’s study proves, there are holes in the system of certi ed or-ganic farming. Now that or-ganic food has become such a desired option, many large corporations have seen a pro t in farming organically and also in lowering certi cation standards. As organics grew, so did companies’ push for the USDA to loosen restrictions on organic farming. Currently, organic certi cation means much less than when the movement began. is raises another ques-tion in my food-savvy mind: if there are no health bene ts in organics, what am I buy-ing them for? For the quality-concerned consumer, there are many other speci cations to seek on grocery shopping day. Locality, seasonality, and animal welfare are very impor-tant facets of farming and food consumption and contribute more to health than whether the foods are organic or not. Supporting local farmers is one of the healthiest choices that can be made. Individual farmers who rely on the fruits and vegetables of their labor take great e ort to grow sus-tainable and chemical free produce even though most do not have o cial organic certi- cation. e importance is not in the label but the intent of the farmer who wants to give food-savvy people like you and me the best produce we can consume. Small operation farmers can only grow what should naturally be in season because their operations do not include tropical greenhouses or food own in across the world. In comparison, today’s standard of organic which allows food to be shipped across the world at any time of the year and still be certi ed. ese farmers also take the best care of their animals, which means they administer medicine when it is needed. Organic standards, however, allow no medicine to be given, resulting in sickly animals su ering on organic farms. Local eating is a movement gaining momentum across the nation but is one evident in Birmingham. If your stomach is craving more than just shal-low certi cation, check out Birmingham’s local food scene. Pepperplace hosts a farmer’s market every Saturday through December and boasts clean produce from local farmers. Numerous restaurants consis-tently source locally and are easy to locate in an Internet search. Next time I grocery shop, I’ll decide on local food and ethically grown conventional foods. I’ll swap a grocery cart for a paper bag at the market. Anum Muza ar Contributor anum@uab.edu As a science major in my junior year, I know that I have had many science-major friends who are no longer science majors, a trend not unique to UAB. Many students drop their science major a er experiencing the traditional introductory courses. Why exactly is this? According to many profes-sors and education specialists, the method by which science is rst exposed to students in college is unappealing and students thus switch majors as soon as possible. Shirley M. Tilghman, molecular biolo-gist and president of Princeton University, explains that many science students are ex-posed to a factual, dry side of science in in-troductory courses, thus turning them away. Tilghman calls for the creation of more sci-ence courses that engage students in “big questions” early in a student’s career so that students can interact with the fun, exciting side of science from the start. Such courses would be taught in the form of a seminar class. is way, reshmen college students could jump into the sciences without rst spending years memorizing facts. For exam-ple, Tilghman designed a freshman seminar, “ e Role of Asymmetry in Development,” in which students discussed their ideas about creating asymmetry in cells without consulting their textbooks. e main idea was that students were able to discuss and learn in such a way that they could cre-ate their own hypothesizes and really think outside the box. Such classes force students to think as one who works with science as opposed to one who just memorizes. Such classes force students into thinking in ways that scientists think. Many other instructors are trying to de-velop ways to create a more welcoming sci-ence environment for freshman. David Bos-tein, a professor at Princeton, created a two year science curriculum in which students are exposed to the main ideas they would need in upper level science classes. e idea was to get younger students to see the con-nections between di erent science disci-plines early on. Tilgham also pointed out that the liberal arts colleges have better records than most research universities at producing doctoral students in science. One reason this might be is because of the more close-knit rela-tionships between professors and students at liberal arts colleges, opposed to the little interaction between the many students and professors at research universities. Rather, the professors are more concerned with their own research. e ideas of engaging seminars, inter-disciplinary courses, and smaller class sizes contributing to the learning experience have been a great topic in the education realm. In fact, such e orts can be seen on UAB’s on campus, especially in the University Honors Program. However, the creation of such an integrated curriculum takes a lot of e ort on the part of the faculty who may be reticent in coming together to collaborate with those outside their department. Tilgham, however, would argue that e orts in creating an inte-grated, engaging science experience for un-dergrads would be worth it. UAB Interdisciplinary collaboration Organic foods not really healthier New approach to science ed needed Forget organic, eat local Stanford study nds little nutritional advantages to eating organic foods InsideUAB.com Tuesday, September 11, 2012 — 4-A Tim Melton features@UABkscope.com Tripp Larsen | Sports Editor sports@insideUAB.com sports Chase Cole Sta Writer masadabbc@gmail.com e Lady Blazers have had a tough start to the 2012 season and Friday night was no excep-tion as the Green and Gold fell 4-1 to Ole Miss. Ole Miss wasted no time getting on the board, scoring two goals in the rst half alone. eir rst goal was scored 14 minutes into the game o a pass from Erin Emerson to Alix Hildal. e Lady Blazers did their best to control the eld, but were unable to contain the ex-plosive nature of the Ole Miss o ense. In the 43rd minute of the game Mandy McCalla de-livered a lightning fast ball into the back of the net giving Ole Miss a 2-0 lead to end the half. UAB head coach Harold Warren said “the mistakes are getting to us.” “I have to give credit to Ole Miss, they’re a very good team and very well coached. We just have to do what we can to min-imize our mistakes, and keep working.” As the second half opened it seemed as if the Lady Blaz-ers caught a second wind when Sophomore Johanna Liney, assisted by fellow sophomore Megan Collins, scored her second goal of the season, and the Blazers only goal in Friday night’s contest. “We had some great mo-ments tonight with Jo Liney’s goal to bring the score to 2-1 but our mistakes were costly. We just need to get better.” Ole Miss’ nal goals were scored by Rafaelle Souza dur-ing the 69th and 80th minutes of play. While the start of this sea-son has been less than stellar, the UAB women’s soccer team still has time to better before conference play starts. ere are two non-conference games le , a er which UAB has 11 conference matches that will determine how the Blazers end their season. If UAB wants any shot at a conference title they will need to learn to quickly minimize their mistakes, work together as a team, and capital-ize on every opportunity. UAB continues on the road to Florida this week where they will face Stetson Friday, Sep-tember 14th at 3 p.m, before heading over to Boca Raton, Fla. Sunday, September 16th to meet the Florida Atlantic Owls at 10 a.m. Missed opportunities lead to Ole Miss victory Houston McDu e/Sta Photographer Harold Warren’s squad will try to get their rst win this season on Friday against Stetson. Chase Cole Sta Writer masadabbc@gmail.com On the road, No. 24 UAB gave up another heartbreaking loss Friday night, and helped No. 8 ranked New Mexico open their season with a win. In normal fashion the Blaz-ers (2-2-1) started the rst half o well, constantly attacking the net, and not allowing the Lobos (4-1) as much as a single shot on goal. Unfortunately for the Blaz-ers, UNM quickly regrouped a er the break, hammering 5 shots on goal to open the sec-ond half, nailing their rst goal in the 57th minute of the game. e play was set up by Michael Calderon who spotted Nik Robson at the top of the 18- yard box and a er a very clever drop pass by Calderon, Robson sent a shot sailing into the top le corner of the net, giving UNM a 1-0 lead. “We played very well in the rst half,” said UAB head coach Mike Getman. “Giving up an early goal in the second half made the game much harder. Give credit to New Mexico, they are a very good team. We continue to play great teams, and learn important lessons. I know we will be better for hav-ing challenged ourselves. We will regroup and get ready for another tough match at Clem-son on Monday.” However, the Blazers didn’t go down without a ght. Ju-nior Moses Adeniran drilled a free kick from nearly 50 yards away that seemed to glide past several defenders before being blocked by New Mexico goal keeper Victor Rodriguez. Ro-driguez managed to get to the ball only seconds before it en-tered the back of the net. Refusing to go down, UAB attempted to rally yet again a few plays later when junior Chris Wickham, o a throw-in, found himself in front of a wide open net and headed the ball straight towards it. Un-fortunately, that attempt to tie was blocked as well when the ball was headed out by another UNM defender. With 12 minutes to go in the game, UNM dealt the nal blow with a short pass to James Rogers who gently guided the ball into the back of the net to secure the win for the Lobos. Although UAB prevented UNM from shooting in the rst 45 minutes of the game, the Lobos managed to out-shoot the Blazers 17-11 in the second half. A er a tough couple of weeks on the road and a big slip in rankings, the UAB men’s soccer team looks for a its next win. e Blazers continue to travel this week to Clemson, South Carolina where they face the Tigers Monday evening at 7 p.m. e game can be watched via UAB game tracker at uab-sports. com Men’s soccer su ers another tough loss on the road Mike Getman’s squad overpowered in second half Daniel Twieg/ Photo Editor Men’s soccer looks to bounce back against another top-ranked team in Clemson. David McCaw Senior Sta Writer djwppictures.com In retrospect, it’s hard to say exactly who’s respon-sible for what happened on the Spanish Fort home field this past Labor Day. The Toros were set to host rival Daphne in an Eastern Shore kickoff game that because of a broadcast opportunity, would play out as a not-so-normal match. The two lucky teams were getting the opportunity to play not only in front of their friends and families but also for anyone who de-cided to tune into ESPN on Monday the 3rd. As is any high school football player’s dream, both Spanish Fort and Daphne eagerly awaited the cameras and scouts that would all come to-gether in the nation-ally televised showdown. But it wasn’t just the players who were charged up for the event, students of Span-ish Fort knew that this was a fruitful opportunity to show just how much spirit and support they could show for their home team. Unfortunately amidst all the excitement, some stu-dents took the cheers a little too far and caused a loss to the schools respect. These few but powerful teens resorted to poking some hurtful “fun” at the Daphne team colors dis-playing a controversial ban-ner which read, “Purple? Man, that’s GAY”. Obvious-ly the sign aroused many officials and viewers who had tuned into ESPN for that afternoons match. Un-der heavy fire on all sides of the matter, the Spanish Fort school district took a strong stance against the use of the banner. While the students were not pun-ished for the slur, they still received stern warnings from the principal that in-cidents such as this one would cease. Although the spirited teens who held the sign are being blamed almost entirely for the matter, it is hard not to wonder whether the way fans pres-ent themselves at sporting events reflect the issue of homosexuality in the sports world in general. Homophobia hits home hrc.org Students from Spanish Fort High School hold up a sign containing a homophobic slur. 5-A— Tuesday, September 11, 2012 UABkscope.com ORDER NOW PIZZAHUT.COM Ordering Online is as easy as changing yOur majOr…again. ® 431 20th St. South • 205-978-8000 $8 Dine-In • Delivery • Carryout Large 1-ToppIng pIzza No coupon required, just valid College Student ID. 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ALABAMABIR/6.5x8/F David McCaw Senior Sta Writer djwppictures.com Wednesday marked mon-etary history for the NFL as it passed on a donation of $30 million for research carried out by the National Institutes of Health. e grant is the largest sum given out in the history of the NFL and is also worth more than the past ve years worth of donations to the foundation. e NFL dishes out about $1.5 million a year to the study of almost every type of injury related to football and it is cal-culated that the last ve years have seen about $7.5 million put towards medical research. e money all originates from the NFL player care foun-dation which began its dona-tions in 2007, providing around $2.8 million year round to med-ical related research as well as health tests for current players. e only other contribution was to Boston University’s Cen-ter for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, which went toward research centered on the brains of football players, mostly for signs of degenerative disease. It seems as if a large sum of the money that is donated can also be traced to athletic equip-ment safety in order to avoid a mass quantity of concussions among players. But some of the funds also nd their way to organizations dealing with steroid education- $2.6 million through the Atlas and Athena program and $3 million writ-ten out for the Partnership for Clean Competition. So all in all while most of the money that is handed out to charities deals with acciden-tal injuries some of the revenue nds its way to the study of self in icted dilemmas. As long as the 32 teams that make up the NFL continue to rake in the approximate $1 mil-lion each, the foundation can continue its almost $10 million yearly donations to keep Amer-ica’s favorite players healthy and safe. NFL donates in e ort for safer game MCTcampus NFL donates over $30 million to help prevent injuries. David McCaw Senior Sta Writer djwppictures@yahoo.com A couple of Blazers hit career milestones in the Car-olina Clash this past week-end. The Green and Gold ladies finished the Carolina Clash against Clemson and South Carolina in their final matches of the tournament. For Friday’s first game of the set, The Blazers had notched up one win against Winthrop, in which setter Alison Woods recorded her 3,000 assist to become just the fourth Blazer to do so, 3-0 and evened out the score with an unfortunate 3-1 loss against South Carolina early Saturday, in the loss Sam Ser-ley took the spotlight in the wake of the inclement dam-age with her 19 kills out of an attempted 24 which gave her 1,000 kills to her career name. The loss to South Caro-lina ended a four match winning streak the Ladies in Green had put together since getting off to a 1-4 start. The Blazer hype in-tense as the team took the first set at a close 25-23. But the next match proved a fault to UAB and the team walked away 1-1 so far for the weekend. It was Clemson that gave the final blow in the Blazer at-tempt to take back the court late Saturday. The game saw three Clemson players with 10 plus kills each. In an attempt to match the Tigers, UAB rocketed eight kills via Aly Slaughter, and Serley was right behind with seven, but the Green and Gold never caught up with the Tigers in aggression level. Whether it was the court away from home or the pres-sure of two intense teams (South Carolina with a per-fect 10 season so far), the Blazers know that dwelling on the 2-1 weekend losses will keep their attitude away from where it needs to be. All of this came after UAB opened its home sched-ule on Tuesday against Geor-gia State. “Our goal com-ing into tonight was to get our offense going and we wanted to own the net and I think the kids did a great job of that,” head coach Kerry Messersmith said. UAB took down the Panthers three sets to one. Own the net they did coming up with 16 blocks to aid in the win. “Offensively we are doing much better than we did two weekends ago,” Messersmith said. “The match earlier to-day against South Carolina really could have gone either way. I think we are making progress every day. We just have to get everyone on the same page.” The team will have a week to get themselves back in check and put their en-ergy into focusing on taking down Bowling Green in next week’s Purdue Active Ankle Challenge as Kerry Messer-smith’s team will look to get back on the right side of .500. Kyle Thompson/ Sta Photographer Kiriana Hirini executes one of the 16 blocks for the UAB on their path or Georgia State. UAB slams four straight wins before weekend losses Two Blazers hit milestones this weekend at Carolina Clash Steve Corkran Contra Costa Times(MCTcampus) It was only one game, but it appears the NFL world isn’t going to come crashing down under the weight of replace-ment o cials a er all. Former o cials, current and past coaches and play-ers had led us to believe the worst. Yet, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants made it through the NFL opener Wednesday with little com-plaint. “Our o cials did a more than adequate job (Wednes-day) night,” NFL commission-er Roger Goodell said at the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit. “We’ve proven we can train o cials, get them up to NFL standards, and we’ve done that in a three-month period. ese o cials will get even better as time goes by. e game is not going to stop.” But will the concern? e NFL locked out the of- cials because of an impasse in contract negotiations with the NFL Referees Association. e sides haven’t been able to hammer out a deal because of disputes over salary, retire-ment bene ts and operational issues. Longtime high school and college o cial Dale Newhouse of Orinda watched Wednes-day’s game with a discerning eye, given he once made the leap to the NFL, and his cur-rent job entails evaluating and mentoring o cials. Newhouse worked one NFL exhibition game and the 2001 Monday night opener at a time when the regular of- cials were locked out over a wage dispute. “I don’t think it was a ma-jor leap for me because I had the advantage of working leagues with rules similar to the NFL,” said Newhouse, who o ciated Pac-10 games for 27 years and also o ciated games in pro-fessional leagues such as the USFL and Arena League. e bigger issue, he said: e fact that the NFL isn’t able to secure the best o cials available. at’s because 70 percent of major college o cials, by Newhouse’s estimation, are supervised by NFL o cials. (Many NFL refs also coordi-nate assignments for the col-lege game.) As a result, current ma-jor college o cials are barred from working NFL games during the lockout. “Not having access to those guys makes a lot of di erence,” Newhouse said. “ e NFL isn’t getting the cream of the crop, Division I o cials.” Even so, Newhouse said, the o cials from Wednesday night’s game did a commend-able job. He said he would have graded them in the B-C range. Newhouse said he thinks once replacement o cials get up to speed, “they’ll be ne.” --It seems as if everyone has a take on whether Peyton Manning will be the same quarterback that starred for the Indianapolis Colts from 1998-2011 a er returning from neck surgery. For our money, we’ll rely upon on the opinion of Tony Dungy, the man who coached Manning from 2002-08. “I saw a lot of the same things,” Dungy said. “Him going 100 miles an hour dur-ing practice, talking to the receivers in between drills and showing them things. But the big thing I noticed . he delayed (our) interview 25 minutes because he was hav-ing a (hand) signals meeting with all of his receivers and backs. at’s the old Peyton Manning, the Manning that I know.” Replacement o cials may be here to stay Back up o cials getting better, Roger Goodell OK with their performance MCTcampus Matt Cassell looks to the head o cial for a call in a preseason game. InsideUAB. com Tuesday, September 11, 2012 — 6-A Keep the peace with Bright House Networks TV & High Speed Internet Serviceable areas only. Some restrictions apply. Products and prices subject to change. Apple is a trademark of Apple Inc. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Road Runner and related indicia are ™ and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s12) Offer expires 10/5/12 Plus, let Bright House Networks provide and maintain the affordable High Speed Internet modem that best fi ts your needs. Sign up today. Call 1-855-817-6825. brighthouse.com Get Digital Service and Road Runner Turbo with speeds up to 20 Mbps for per month for 24 months, plus taxes. Score ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, and ESPNU action between classes with the WatchESPN app. Check email, download music, video chat with friends back home with Road Runner® Turbo. Save cash by combining services! A FREE My Services Account lets you access awesome apps to watch more TV in more places. The Bright House TV app lets you watch TV on select Apple® and Android™ devices anywhere in and around your place. Get hundreds of FREE HD channels & On Demand programming. Shooter From Page 1A Holmes’s reviewers at UAB had mixed things to say about his prospect for admission to their labs. One reviewer stated, “Ex-cellent applicant! Great GPA and GRE scores.” While another added, “He may extremely smart, but dif-ficult to engage.” In the end two reviewers checked they would offer ad-mission, while one checked “yes” and “no.” Holmes also applied in 2010 to the University of Io-wa’s graduate neuroscience program and was rejected. According to the Associated Press, Iowa’s neuroscience program director warned his colleagues and the admissions committee by email, “James Holmes: Do NOT offer admis-sion under any circumstances.” The alleged shooter en-rolled at the University of Col-orado Denver, and withdrew in the spring 2012 due to poor performance. On July 20, Holmes entered an Aurora, Colo. movie the-ater killing 12 and injuring 58 others during a showing of the “Dark Knight Rises.” Holmes faces numerous counts of attempted murder and murder. Remembered From Page 1A “And then a lot of screaming, just a lot of screaming and I heard someone say, `Hit the floor.’ And I remember being on the floor . and it was real quiet.” Birmingham, which had come to be known as Bombingham as a result of that explosion and many others, then became the focal point of the civil rights movement that had lacked in the South and the bombing sparked a worldwide ur-gency to act against the violence that continued. The explosion killed 14-year-olds Cynthia Wesler, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and 11-year-old Denise McNair, but no initial arrest was made. “These are friends of mine,” said McKinstry. “And we come to Sunday school one day and they’re gone. They’re dead. They’re just blown away and Birmingham goes on with business as usual.” Martin Luther King, Jr. told President Ken-nedy from Atlanta that steps needed to be taken to prevent the violence emerging in the south, there would be “in Birmingham and Alabama the worst racial holocaust this Nation has ever seen.” Finally, the four men responsible for the crime, Thomas Blanton, Herman Frank Cash, Robert Chambliss and Bobby Frank Cherry, were indicted and convicted years later, the last of the men being indicted after 40 years follow-ing the blast. Today, the 16th Street Baptist Church stands at the intersection of 16th Street and 6th Avenue with daily tours given Tuesday through Friday. Above: Martin Luther King, Jr. along with fellow Civil Rights Activists are memorialized in Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park across from The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. (Daniel Twieg) 9/11 from 2A “We have some intelligence that will allow us to identify and catch some of the terror-ists, but once we try to find ter-rorists in their own homelands, it will become much more dif-ficult. They’ll be among their own and will be able to hide among their own people.” Trautwine says it will take the cooperation of a nation to bring an end to terrorism and to turn around the events that continue to take place. For Saroj Hardit, a 20-year-old UAB student, her call on what will happen next is firm. “We’re going to have to strike back, and if the worst comes, this could blow up into an all out third world war.” That’s just what many UAB students are afraid of the pros-pect of the world entering into a massive war. “It’s really scary,” says Jen-eshia Abrams, 18, a freshman. “Our generation has never seen anything like this. I mean, we hear stories from our par-ents and grandparents and we just can’t relate because those stories aren’t real to us. Their stories are more like something out of a movie. But when you see pictures of what happened last week, you know this is real.” The 9/11 Memorial in New York, New York, was opened to the public for the first time on Monday, September 12, 2011. The north pool of the memorial is in the shadow of the unfinished Freedom Tower. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT) 1-B— Tuesday, September 11, 2012 UABkscope.com Tim Melton features@UABkscope.com Mariah Gibson | Features Editor spectrum features@insideUAB.com Mondays 6:30-8:30 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. 620 11th Street South (Between Birmingham Fire Station #2 and WBHM) OPEN FOR DROP-OFFS • Glass bottles • COOKING oil/grease • #1 & #2 plastic bottles • Steel food cans • Aluminum cans • Paper/cardboard We Can! Be the Greenest University UAB Recycling Center | Keep UAB Clean and Green. Use Our Recycling Bins | Call 205-996-9043 or e-mail recycle@uab.edu No motor oil/hazardous waste Mark Trammell Sta Writer ripmrgordo@hotmail.com Unlike the vampire and zombie subgenres, demonic possession lms haven’t quite overstayed their welcome as of yet- though “ e Devil Inside” certainly ticked o more than a few critics and lmgoers alike, thanks to that now infamous ending. I like the ongoing “Paranormal Activity” series just ne and look forward to the next one in October, and “ e Last Exorcism” and “ e Exorcism of Emily Rose” certainly had their moments. ough “ e Possession” can’t resist leaving the door open for future installments, at least it’s somewhat based in reality. e lm’s source material is the legend of the Dybbuk box, which is grounded in Jewish folklore. ose who want to know more are directed to the not-so-suspiciously-timed recent episode of Syfy’s popular docudrama series, “Paranormal Witness,” in which the real-life events are portrayed as they had allegedly occurred. “ e Possession” is a more ctionalized ver-sion of the subject at hand, this being the movies and all. In the movie, a little girl nds a box at a yard sale- a er it cripples the previous owner, who, of course, ips out when she sees it at the window being held by the movie’s main heroine. Fair warning! In no time, supernatural hijinks ensue. e end result plays out like “ e Amityville Horror” crossed with “Hellraiser.” From the for-mer, we’ve got suburban life gone to hell in a re-cord amount of time, including a creepy kid with an imaginary “friend” and mass insect infesta-tion; from the latter, the spooky demon-in-a-box that haunts and tortures the one who opens it. ere’s also an intriguing Jewish “Exorcist” vibe, complete with no less than perhaps the only Ha-sidic rapper/singer out there, Matisyahu, as the resident exorcist- or whatever they call it in its Jewish guise. Ultimately, though it’s nothing you haven’t seen before and better- notably in the aforemen-tioned lms- “ e Possession” does have a few things going for it. e cast is uniformly solid, including TV-vets Kyra Sedgwick (“ e Closer”) and Je rey Dean Morgan (“Supernatural”) as a couple going through a nasty divorce with two daughters caught in the cross re. One daughter is the endearing Madison Dav-enport (“Shameless”) and the other is the unlucky winner of what’s inside the box, Natasha Calis (TV’s “ e Firm”), who’s e ectively creepy. Wait until you see her haul o and slap the crap out of a classmate who makes the mistake of trying to swipe her beloved box. Not pretty. ere’s also a nicely smarmy turn by Grant Show as the would-be stepfather with cleanliness issues. ings do not end very cleanly for him, needless to say. He is going to need more than a tube of Ultra-Brite to clean up that mouth. at attention to neatness also extends to the look of the lm, which forgoes the typical dilapi-dated surroundings of horror movies. is lm is rather in favor of a ni y, near-clinical approach that is reminiscent of some of director David Cronenberg’s best work, particularly the likes of “Dead Ringers” and “ e Fly.” is horror is set in the suburbs- a la “Poltergeist”- with modern-looking homes and spotlessly white hospitals. Sure, there are shadows wherever you go when there need to be, but I liked the more modern look of the lm. It serves as a nice contrast to the typical torture décor presented in a lot of the post- Rob Zombie and “Saw” icks See Possession continued on 2B Bitty Reese Senior Sta Writer brittyr@uab.edu Birmingham’s Belle Mina, not to be confused with the in-corporated community, didn’t have the most auspicious of starts. Singer/guitarist Mi-chelle Lott had the ambition and drummer Sarah Bridges shared the dream with Mi-chelle. At the beginning, they had an o -tuned piano, a gui-tar tuned to the piano, no mics, and two songs. Patience was tried, but the girls of Belle Mina pulled through. Alyssa Hicks was brought in for her talent-including her piano-tuning abilities-on the keys, new songs were written, and nuisances were sorted out. Today, Belle Mina is one of Birmingham’s strongest bands. eir sound is accessible with-out being bland or conven-tional, and it is electric yet fea-tures folk elements. One might notice that they are one of the few local acts consisting of all females. And while sex does not determine the quality of a per-son’s music, it is always nice to see women playing in this city’s musical sea of men. Most recently, Belle Mina has been selected to open up for e Corin Tucker Band at e Bottletree on September 22. Be sure to check out this up-and- coming local band- along with the queen of vibrato- for yourselves and prepare to be impressed. Cody Owens Sta Writer cjowens@uab.edu In the days following the two rivaling con-ventions, it is only a natural reaction for ‘we the people’ to have an open discussion about the clear winners and losers. Because, a er all, poli-tics is a blood-sport and there can only be one le standing. Round One—Anne Romney v. Michelle Obama: oratory skills aside, this is a clear and obvious knockout by the reining rst lady. Sweet little Anne was simply out of her league. Sure, pundits will say she was nervous and therefore it was a “cute” speech. Please. Michelle won the battle of the wives without even raising one of those beautiful eyebrows of hers. She was con-cise, con dent and wonderfully candid, whereas Anne seemed to be begging for applause in be-tween her sentences; amateur hour type stu ,. Basically begging the nation to change their minds about her husband being an automaton sent from the not so distant, post-apocalyptic future, where robots reign supreme. She seemed fake and full of baloney. Wait ,that’s not a good analogy. What is the wealthy substitute for bo-logna? Beluga caviar? Either way, Michelle wins See Conventions continued on 2B Conventional winners and losers Jams in the Ham: Bella Mina MCT Campus Kyra Sedgwick and Je rey Dean Morgan star in the newest horror movie, ‘The Possession.’ Britty Reese Bella Mina, a new Birmingham-based band will perform at Bottletree on September 22. Romney: MCT Campus Obama: whitehouse.gov Romney and Obama both had high and low points in the past weeks’ conventions. Possession: Nothing you haven’t seen before The end result plays out like “The Amityville Horror” crossed with “Hellraiser.” The Band: Belle Mina. Members: Michelle Lott , Alyssa Hicks, and Sarah Bridges. see Belle Mina continued on 2B Spotlight InsideUAB. com Tuesday, September 11, 2012 — 2-B • all new equipment • large capacity machines • free wi-fi • big screen tvs • safe, secure environment • clean, smoke-free • credit cards accepted • coin changer • laundry supplies • attendant on duty • dry cleaning drop-of service WASH - DRY - FOLD free weekly pickup & drop off same day service 7 days a week 6 am til midnight Quest Club Thursday Night is College Night Amateur Talent Contest Live Shows • Stacy Storm • Addison Khia Campbell • Safari • Georgetta Burns Special Guests DJ’s Mix • DJ Steve • DJ Dustin Alabama’s Only 24/7 Dance Club Tuesday-Sunday • 18 & Up 416 24th Street South • Birmingham http://quest-club.com/ Possession from 1B favored by producers Sam Raimi and Rob-ert Tapert (the endearing “Evil Dead” series, soon to be remade/rebooted by the team) for their Ghost House Pictures line. Their films can be hit-or-miss, though the sweet cin-ematography of Dan Laustsen (“Silent Hill”) doesn’t hurt. This one is of a piece with their “Grudge” and “Messengers” series- not “The Boogeyman,” thankfully- and with the num-bers “The Possession” is getting at the box office, you can pretty much count on the fact that there will be another of these as well. We’ll see about future installments, but for now, “The Possession” is solid enough to not be embarrassing for Raimi and Co. I wouldn’t pay full price for it, but it’s matinee-or-rental worthy, at the very least. Grade: B-Conventions from 1B this round for the democrats. Round Two—Clint v. Clinton: At first impression, it seems as though President Clinton would win this match, hands down. Clinton’s speech outlined clear and obvious signs of progress in this great nation of ours. He used numbers and factual informa-tion to suppor
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