| Summary: | The Kaleidoscope is the official student newspaper of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Student Newspaper of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Tuesday, October 9, 2012 Vol. 45 No. 31 2 Sections •12 pages Kaylyn Alexander Staff Writer Kaylyn@uab.edu Blazer Nation truly celebrated the meaning of “Our Town, Our Team” last week when ten Greek organizations competed in the annual Stompdown competition for Homecoming week. Each team was required to self-choreograph a stomp dance of up to seven minutes. As part of the judging process, each team had to incorporate the 2012 Homecoming theme into a routine. The creative elements ranged from theatrical skits to comedic dances. Themes included Willy Wonka, The Hunger Games, Blaz-ers v. Lions, and more. “I think that the theme this year allowed for students to cel-ebrate UAB, Birmingham, and the new era of UAB Athletics. Homecoming gives a chance for the students that love UAB to show the less enthusiastic students “Our Town. Our Team. #BlazerNation,” said Evan Colmenares, Spirit Coordinator of the Homecoming Committee. The male organizations that placed first in a category are as follows: Beta Chi Theta for “Best Dance” and “Best Skit,” and Delta Sigma Phi for “Best Stomp.” “We were absolutely thrilled to be a part of Stompdown. We really wanted to get our name out there and show people who Beta Chi is. We were humbled to have been recognized Wednesday for our hard work. Congrats to all the other participating organiza-tions and go Blazers!” said Jack Li, Beta Chi Theta Social Chair and stomp choreographer. This year, the men really kicked up their game during the competition. In the past, the male division performances weren’t nearly as elaborate,” said Colmenares. The female organizations that placed in 1st in a category are as follows: Alpha Omicron Pi for “Best Dance” and Best Skit,” and Alpha Kappa Alpha for “Best Stomp.” The 2012 Stomp Down Competition winners are Delta Sigma Phi for the male division and Alpha Omicron Pi for the female division. “We worked really hard and put a lot of hours towards practic-ing. We are just really glad that the judges saw that!” said Mattie Boyd, Alpha Omicron Pi stomp participant. Mini competitions included a Blaze Imitation Contest and raf-fle drawings. Prizes included an Alabama-themed Whole Foods gift basket and a free spray tan from Palm Beach Tan. The overall winners for UAB 2012 Homecoming Week are Theta Chi and Alpha Omicron Pi. FEATURES Where to get your Halloween Costumes 1B SPORTS Post-Game Garrick garners first victory 3A UAB Stompdown is back for 2012 Russ Timothy Staff Writer russtim@uab.edu This past Friday, a week of events leading up to the big win over Southeastern Louisiana was capped off by UAB’s annual Homecoming pa-rade. Beginning at the cor-ner of 14th St. and 10th Ave. across from Snoozy’s Bookstore, four women dressed in military uni-forms led the way, fol-lowed by UAB’s marching band, cheerleaders, dance team, and dozens of ve-hicles, many of which pulled floats created by different students across campus. “I was just walking by and saw the commotion,” said engineer student Pat-rick Parks. “I thought, ‘Well, I might as well watch.’” An increase in the level of school spirit be-came evident as those participating in the pa-rade tossed candy and school-colored beads to on-looking students. Various chants could be heard throughout the event, such as “UAB! UAB! UAB!” Boomsticks, Skittles, Double-Bubble Gum, Dum-Dums, Reese’s Pea-nut Butter Cups, Tootsie Rolls, Smarties, and many other items were thrown to those watching the event. Mascots Blaze and Vulcan even paraded about the streets. “It’s my first year, and I support football and all other organizations,” said Kristian Williams, a sophomore communica-tions major. “It was very creative - one float in particular with the witch. Oh, and I liked the other one with the guy dressed up like the Vulcan. This student had taken it upon himself to paint his skin grey and was the centerpiece of his own float. “Hey, thanks for the shorts!” One man yelled as the student’s float passed by. Those on the float turned and laughed, throwing candy the man’s way. A vast majority of stu-dents found inspiration for their floats’ design, however, by displaying UAB’s dominance over the Southeastern Louisi-ana Lions; one float’s main point of focus showed a slain lion underneath a goalpost. At one point, Ronald McDonald even passed by. “I didn’t expect to see a Mercedes Benz and all those Corvettes,” said Williams. “That was a nice touch.” Andrew Metzler/Contributing Photographer UAB Greek organizations brought their support to the annual stompdown competition on the Campus Green. Homecoming: Marching proudly in green and gold Kyle Thompson/Contributing Photographer UAB Color Guard and band show school spirit while marching around UAB’s campus. 2-A— Tuesday, October 9, 2012 UABkscope. com 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: October 16, 2012 Carlene Robinson Staff Writer drcarob@uab.edu Friday 9/28 • A man possessed marijuana, bong, sword, and wallet and was recovered at 12:30 a.m. in the 4th Avenue parking deck. He was arrested and the drugs were confiscated. • A $40 backpack with medicine inside was stolen at Sterne Library at 2:56 p.m. • At 7:35 a.m., someone stole currency from a vending machine at the UAB highlands. The charge is currently pending. Saturday 9/29 • A car was broken into at 3 p.m. on Belk 20th Street South. Sunday 9/30 • A car was broken into at 1 p.m. at Callahan Eye Association. The individual stole jewelry, laptop, and tools valued at $3,350. • At Spain Wallace Center, a hearing ad worth $2,000 was stolen. Monday 10/1 • A $700 iPhone was stolen at 4:09 a.m. at North Pavilion. Tuesday 10/2 • A car was broken into at 7:34 p.m. at the University House Apartments. The individual stole a jacket, USB cord, game CDs, and a Pepsi all valued at $61. • Another car was broken into at 6:09 p.m. on 1701 11th Avenue South. The individual stole a gym bag and other items valued at $785. • Marijuana found in North Pavilion at 8:50 p.m. Wednesday 10/3 • A credit card has been fraudulently spent at the Recreation Center spending about $1500. Thursday 10/4 • A bike, padlock and chain were stolen from Blazer Hall at 9:14 a.m. costing about $555. • Fight broke out at Sterne Library at 10:53 p.m. Natasha Mehra Contributor nmehra16#uab.edu Since the Supreme Court upheld key parts of the act in a decision on June 28, 2012, the Patient Protection and Afford-able Care Act, better known as Obamacare, has been a topic of much debate. Washington had a partisan reaction to Supreme Court Justice John Robert’s landmark decision: Demo-crats hailed the act as a revolu-tionary step in our healthcare system and Republicans vowed to repeal it as soon as possible. The act will push everyone to obtain healthcare, and the gov-ernment will subsidize those who cannot afford it. Obam-acare seems to be bringing a positive change. Why would anyone oppose health care for all Americans? As always, poli-tics plays a role. The largest problem oppo-nents of Obamacare seem to have is the universal mandate to purchase health insurance. They see this mandate as the government infringing on the rights of citizen, a nefarious step towards socialism. Both President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney agree that some degree of health-care reform is necessary. The United States ranks 37th in the world in health care, according to the World Health Organiza-tion. In addition, medical bills are the number one reason of bankruptcy in America. Each Presidential candidates’ ap-proaches to solving the issue, however, are different. Obvi-ously, President Obama is re-sponsible for creating Obam-acare. He wants to eliminate evaluations of pre-existing conditions by insurance com-panies, limit the market power of the insurance industry, in-sure every American, and grant small businesses tax credits for insuring their employ-ees. All of this will be run by the national government and funded by tax dollars. What most people do not realize is that this plan is modeled after Mitt Romney’s healthcare plan in Massachusetts, also known as “RomneyCare.” Ironically, Romney is the biggest advocate for repealing Obamacare. He opposes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be-cause he believes that health-care should be a state’s respon-sibility, not that of the national government. So exactly how does Gov-ernor Romney intend to re-form healthcare after appeal-ing Obamacare? According to his website, he “will pursue policies that give each state the power to craft a health care reform plan that is best for its own citizens. The federal gov-ernment’s role will be to help markets work by creating a level playing field for compe-tition.” Hence, the Governor intends to have the states be in control of Obamacare, while somehow stimulating compe-tition between insurance pro-viders to ensure Americans receive the highest quality healthcare at the lowest price. Also, he wants Americans to be able to choose their health in-surance provider. Yet, his plan does not offer detailed insight into how he will achieve this massive goal. Both Obama and Rom-ney want to reform healthcare and both have offered at least a general premise as to how they attempt to do so. Ameri-cans have the chance to choose their president, and as a result, their healthcare reform plan of choice, in about four weeks. Until then, the debates will continue on whether Obam-acare should be repealed or continued. Healthcare reform dependent on the people’s choice for president Tianjiao Zhang Staff Writer tzhang@uab.edu It seems that Pluto may have an imposter moon. A pair of as-tronomers at the Unisersidad Complutense de Madrid, Carlos and Raul de la Fuente Marcos, says that there is a quasi-moon around the distant and icy dwarf planet. The object in question, 15810, was first observed in 1994 by astronomers using the Isaac Newton Telescope at the La Palma islands observatories. It is estimated to be about 250 km in diam-eter, or about a fifth the size of Charon, Pluto’s largest moon. From Pluto’s perspective, 15810 is apparently circling around the dwarf planet. However, the study finds, this phenomenon is just happen-stance. 15810, like Pluto, is trapped in a 2:3 orbit resonance with Neptune. For every three orbits that Neptune completes, both Pluto and 15810 complete three. Because they have differently-shaped orbits, though, the two bodies drifts towards and away from each other as they travel around the sun. About every two million years, 15810 and Pluto cross paths. For about 350,000 years, it appears that 15810 is circling Pluto with its other moons. Pluto currently have five confirmed moons. The largest, Char-on, was discovered in 1978 when astronomers noticed that the apparent disk of Pluto had a bulge that appeared periodically. Bet-ter imaging techniques showed that the bulge is actually a moon. In 2005, two additional and smaller moons were discovered, and were named Nix and Hydra. Though the International Astronomical Union officially de-moted Pluto from the status of “planet” to “dwarf planet” in 2006, fascination with the distant planetesimal did not subside. Just this past summer, the Hubble Space Telescope observed two more moons circling Pluto. As their discovery is so new, they are dubbed P4 and P5 as they await a formal christening. 15810 has briefly joined the company of Charon, Nix, Hydra, P4, and P5 as companions of Pluto. Unfortunately, though, it will be left out of the limelight as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft visits Pluto in 2015. Right now, 15810 is separated from Pluto by about 278 million miles, much too far for New Horizons to visit. For comparison, Hydra, the furthest moon from Pluto, orbits at a mere 40,000 miles. However, we have caught 15810 as it is just beginning to cross paths with Pluto. It is closing in on Pluto. In 13,000 years, when 15810 makes its closes pass, it will be a mere 6.4 million miles from Pluto. Perhaps before that pass, we will have developed tech-nology allowing humans to visit and study Pluto and its imposter moon in person. Carlene Robinson Staff Writer drcarob@uab.edu It’s almost here! Four days of no classes, no teachers, and no deadlines. Below, Kaleidoscope offers some nice places to spend the break. Red Mountain, right off of Lakeshore, has a beautiful outlook of Downtown Birmingham. On a clear day, one can see Children’s Hospital and even Sterne Library. Red Mountain used to be an iron mining district, but was bought out by Tennessee Coal and Iron in 1969. The park still has a rustic feel to it, and is free to all while they are still trying to renovate certain places. One city over from Pelham, Oak Mountain proudly stands as Alabama’s largest and best state park. It appeals to any type of out-doors person including fishing, swimming, biking trails, golf, and even horseback riding. The fee is about three dollars to get in, but its well worth the side door change in this 9,000 acre park. The Recreation Center’s Outdoor Pursuits is taking two trips to Virginia: one to Mount Rogers for backpacking and the other to Virginia Creeper for a 50-mile downhill bike ride. Outdoor Pursuits gives some advice for backpacking and bik-ing trips. “Pack light. Eat and drink regularly. Use shoes that have already broken in,” says Justin Pohly. To help with getting ready, Outdoor Pursuits holds a pre-trip meeting a couple of days before they leave for their adventure. Asheville and Boone are favorites among any mountain lover. It is peak fall season in these areas, and the colors are majestic. Spend the day doing wine-tastings, touring the Biltmore House, or out hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. Mountains aren’t the only thing attracting people away. In Gulf Shores, they are hosting a Shrimp Festival. Pink Floyd is per-forming in Atlanta on October 13th, and the Montgomery zoo is always is available with open arms. Whether it’s sleep or fun events that spark your interest, have a happy Fall Break! Fall into fall break Another moon for Pluto? Wikimedia Commons Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act UAB News During the first stop of his “Guts and Glory” speaking tour, star chef, television host and bestselling author Anthony Bour-dain will share eyebrow-raising stories and behind-the-scenes insights in an evening appearance presented by UAB’s Alys Ste-phens Performing Arts Center. Bourdain’s rock-star look and blunt observations about the world of restaurants, chefs and cooking have won him fans across the globe. He will make his first visit to the Magic City for the appearance at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in the center, 1200 10th Ave. South. Tickets are $62, $53.50 and $41.50, and student tickets are available. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or visit www. AlysStephens.org. Bourdain has played a major role in shaping the world of food in the United States. He has hosted two popular shows for the Travel Channel, “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” and “The Layover,” and is the honorary chef-at-large at New York’s famed bistro Les Halles. Bourdain is known for his bestselling Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, a candid, hysterical and sometimes shocking portrait of life in restaurant kitchens, and his most recent New York Times best seller, Me-dium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook. In October, Bourdain will begin filming a new series for CNN that will be similar to “No Reservations,” but “on a slightly larger scale,” Bourdain told L.A. Weekly in a recent interview. “I’m interested in looking at places like the Congo, Myan-mar, Libya; you know, post-conflict Syria would be wonderful, through the prism of what people eat every day. I think it’s useful information to show how people live, how they eat, what makes them happy,” Bourdain told writer Ali Trachta in August. Anthony Bourdain coming to the Alys Stephens Center InsideUAB.com Tuesday, October 9, 2012 — 3-A Tripp Larsen Sports Editor sports@insideuab.com Southeastern Louisiana was not interested in just handing UAB their rst win of the season. On homecom-ing Saturday the Blazers came into the game 0-4 a er losing several close games and was hungry for the rst “W” of the season. ings were chirpy at the start. A er the game, senior linebacker Marvin Burdette mentioned that during the coin toss, captains of SELA said that they wanted the ball rst because UAB had no de-fense. Burdette was red up, and set the tone of the game inside of the rst minute to show the Lions exactly what the Blazer “D” had in store. On third and short, Lion quarterback Nathan Stanley was ushed from the pocket, and while scrambling, he attempted a ip-pass to pick up the rst down. Burdette snu ed the play out, intercepted what would-be a rst down pass, and took it to the house. is placed the Green and Gold on top, where they would stay for the remainder of the game. Sophomore defensive end Diaheem Watkins, a er the game, talked about Burdette and his pick-six, saying, “He looked liked a little running back out there. He was pretty fast, I was trying to block for him but he outran me.” Getting ahead early is something that the Birming-ham squad has had no prob-lems doing; in fact they have held leads in all but one game (Troy being the lone excep-tion) this season. Once again getting on top early was a fo-cus by rst-year head coach Garrick McGee’s squad. A er the game, Greg Franklin said, “ e game plan was to attack them fast. We all huddled up as a team on the sidelines and said we were going to throw the rst punch and we did what we said we were going to do.” Greg Franklin had a solid game coming o of his poor performance against Tulsa: racking up 35 yards on seven carries with a touchdown on the ground plus a game high 86 receiving yards on four catches as he added another score for 120 yards of total of-fense on the day. McGee said a er the game, “Our team, our program has had a lot of rain. It is always good to have sunshine so they can see the way that we go about our business the way I am hard on them all the time, there is a reason for it. And if they continue to trust me and concentrate then they can beat most of the teams they play.” Moral victories only go so far and this time the Blazers were only satis ed with an actual W. Diaheem Watkins said, “It feels good. It feels like that hard work was paying o . We still got a long season ahead of us but that win feels good. We know the taste now.” e Blazers thoroughly outplayed the Loins, rack-ing up almost a 400-yard ad-vantage in total o ense. e run game looked good again, gaining over 150 yards for the rst time this season. “What felt the best is to see our team play up to our potential. To see us run the football, block, see us convert third downs, see our defense y around the eld, make big hits, get their hands on the football, keep le-verage on the ball, make long kicks, kick the ball in the end zone, play special teams the right way, that is what felt best to me, to see our team play the way they are capable of play-ing.” e defense allowed only 47 yards on the ground as on pace to only giving up nine rst downs and allowing only 2.3 yards per play en route to the 52-3 victory. e Blaz-ers forced two turnovers, and didn’t cough up the rock a single time. e defense once again put pressure on the op-posing QB sacking him three times during the game. Ty Long drilled a 53-yard-er to put himself rst and sec-ond in UAB history for lon-gest kicks. Penalties were once again a problem for the home team, as they hit with over seven cost-ing UAB 70 yards. e Blazers can’t take a week o , especially now that they will be travelling to Houston. Houston has won two straight games and will be looking to stay perfect in conference play. McGee said “Sometimes dealing with suc-cess is just as hard or harder than dealing with failure… Especially for a team that hasn’t had much success.” His team will now have to deal with that success as they move forward and as they attempt control their own destiny in C-USA as they chase a confer-ence championship. Garrick McGee picks up rst win as a head coach, routes SELA 52-3 Taylor Suttle Sta Writer tsuttle@uab.edu I spent most of last year wonder-ing who that guy in the wheel chair was that knows everyone on cam-pus. Well, I nally had the pleasure of nding out for myself. His name is Timothy Alexander and he’s an undergraduate student here at UAB majoring in criminal justice and communication management. What a lot of people don’t know about Tim is that he’s a member of the UAB Blazer’s football team. Most people look at his wheel chair and imagine it’s a setback, but for him it’s no big deal. Almost eight years ago, Timothy Alexander’s life was turned around completely when he was involved in a serious car wreck. It was October 28 when his friend fell asleep at the wheel. Tim, two other friends, and a friend’s young nephew were the passengers. e car smashed into a telephone pole and barely balanced on an incline for the next few min-utes. ose next few minutes might have been the longest minutes of his life. During that time, Tim punched out the window and helped the child out the window. en nally the car’s balance gave out and fell o the ledge. When the paramedics found Tim, they thought it was too late—He was going to be a vegetable from that point on. His neck was broken along with his back and he was paralyzed from his chest down as he coughed up blood. It was only a few minutes until his lungs gave out and collapsed causing the para-medics to give him a tracheotomy. He was rushed to the hospital, put in a medically induced coma, and had several surgeries. To this day if you ask Tim about his wheelchair he’ll tell you, “I’m go-ing to walk again any day now!” His faith is unbelievable. He ghts his body every day to build the strength and walk again. His nerves are slowly growing back together and rebuilding themselves. He works out with the football team and goes to practice every day just like any other player you see out at Legion Field, but he also does special work outs every day to build the muscles in his legs back. e coaches and his friends spend time with him help-ing him stand on his own to learn to walk again as he had to relearn how to talk, dress, read, and even write. Before his car wreck, Tim was ranked eighth in the state in high school football and had a promis-ing football career ahead of him. His riding around on two wheels instead of two legs isn’t going to stop him from playing again. He called the UAB football department and gave them his story. He was welcomed to the Blazer family with open arms and will hopefully be our tight-end next year. When I asked Tim how he stays so optimistic and hopeful through all of this he told me, “I’m not in this chair for me. I want to do it for everyone else to show people that you can do it-- to show people that the sky is not the limit. People know about it but they don’t believe in themselves. It’s just understand-ing that if you believe in yourself you can accomplish anything.” He thinks about his brother at least once a day and aspires to make him proud, shinning down on him from Heaven. A few years before the wreck, his family’s house caught on re and his brother saved his life—like he saved the young child in the wreck. Two weeks before Tim’s wreck, his brother was also in a car wreck, and didn’t make it. His brother was and still is his hero so now Timothy strives to be a hero for others. Not only is he an active member of the Blazer’s football team, but he’s also very involved in his church. He was nominated for the Magic Moment’s Kid’s award and does motivational speaking. He works with the Ketter-ing Foundation that works to help young adults with disabilities. Tim also does motivational speaking for the Alabama vocational rehabilita-tion studies. To Tim, the sky really isn’t the limit. is past weekend he will be representing our study body in the Mr. and Ms. UAB scholarship program. He made it to the top 5 - nalist and couldn’t have been more excited to miss out on the half time talk with the rest of the team. For Tim his accident has been anything, but a set back—more of a challenge he’s determined to over-come. More than just a game Houston McDu e (top) Darrin Reaves rushed for 54 yards on 14 carries with 1 TD and came out of the back eld for 57 yards on three catches. (bottom) The Blazer ‘D’ allowed only 47 yards on the ground and only 125 yards of total o ense in their stellar performance against SELA. Timothy Alexander determined to not just walk again but get back on the football eld Houston McDu e/ Sta photographer Timothy Alexander was chosen as one of the 5 nalists for Mr. UAB. Tripp Larsen | Sports Editor sports@insideUAB.com sports Chase Cole Staff Writer chascoleman@uab.edu The UAB men’s soccer team captured their first con-ference game this weekend as they faced Florida Inter-national University Saturday night in Miami as they im-prove to 6-3-2. The Blazers, who are de-fensively one of the strongest teams in Conference USA, wasted no time getting con-trol of the game and isolating FIU to one side of the field. UAB scored the opening goal nine minutes and 36 sec-onds into the match when Se-nior Kofi Gyawu found Chase Wickham at the far left side of the field. Wickham then capi-talized on the opportunity, beating FIU’s goal keeper and planting the ball in the right corner of the net. Gyawu now leads the team with three as-sists and four goals on the year while Wickham is right behind him with three goals and four assists in his second season as a Blazer. Before the end of the first half the Blazers extended their lead 2-0 as Mladen Le-mez scored his third goal of the season, connecting with the back of the net on a pen-alty kick 56 minutes into the game. “Our guys played a great game tonight,” UAB head coach Mike Getman said. “We controlled the play early and got the two-goal lead”. The second half of the match was a defensive strug-gle with The Golden Panthers outshooting the Blazers 15-8. FIU finally capitalized on one of their shots 78 minutes into the game bringing the score to 2-1. “Give FIU credit they scored an in-credible goal to get back in the match, UAB head Coach Mike Getman said. “Their keeper was also very good tonight. We played well for 90 minutes and it will take a very good team to beat us when we play like this.” There is still a lot of work to be done and UAB men’s soccer team will have to continue to play hard every game in order to get back into the top 25 and secure a tournament appear-ance. The Blazers are looking to improve their rankings this week as they travel to South Carolina to face the Game-cocks in their next Confer-ence USA match October 10, at 6 p.m. CST (7 p.m. EST). Mike Getman’s Blazers will return home after a two game road trip for three straight conference games against Kentucky, Tulsa, and the Mar-shall Thundering Herd. The Blazers currently are fifth in conference and look to improve their spot in the coming weeks. Jeff Shain MCTcampus Luke Donald put the hammer down on Bubba Watson. Rory McIl-roy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stifled Keegan Bradley. Paul Law-rie - 13 years after his only other Ry-der Cup appearance - took down the FedEx Cup champion. In time, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose ripped points from U.S. hands. The European train was gathering steam. And the Americans didn’t have enough to stop the momentum. It ended with Martin Kaymer jumping into the arms of his team-mates, the singsong “Ole, ole, ole, ole” echoing across Medinah Country Club, and the Ryder Cup headed back across the Atlantic. The final score was 14-13, match-ing the largest Sunday comeback in Ryder Cup history. And a comeback that would have stirred the heart of the late Seve Ballesteros, the catalyst behind Europe’s Ryder Cup rise in the 1980s. “We are in shock,” Rose said after the Europeans completed their come-back from a 10-6 deficit. “We wanted to believe. We really did want to be-lieve, but we had no illusions of how hard that day was going to be _ four (points) against a team that’s played so well all week.” Kaymer, who has fallen on hard times since reaching world No. 1 just 18 months ago, provided the clinching point by finishing off with a 1-up vic-tory over Steve Stricker. After leaving himself a 6-foot par save at No. 18, the German’s putt dropped into the heart of the cup. “I’m so, so happy,” Kaymer said. “On 18 I was a little too aggressive (with my first putt), but I wanted to make it. I’m just so happy. I’m happy for (Jose Maria) Olazabal as well.” Ballesteros, the Hall of Famer who teamed with Olazabal to form the indomitable “Spanish Armada” that keyed so many Ryder Cup victories in the 1980s and early ‘90s, died in May 2011 after a long battle with brain can-cer. Olazabal kept his composure until his countryman’s name came up. “The boys did an unbelievable job,” Olazabal said. “I’ve got a few thoughts for my friend Seve.” Then Olazabal leaned his head back, pulled his white cap over his eyes and cried: “This one is for him!” Europe paid tribute to Balleste-ros by wearing his traditional Sun-day attire _ a white shirt with navy slacks and a sweater. One sleeve also featured a silhouette of the Spaniard, taken from his joyous celebration af-ter he won the 1984 British Open at St. Andrews. “I have no doubt in my mind that he was with me today, all day,” said Sergio Garcia, who flipped a 1-down deficit with two holes left against Jim Furyk into a victory. “There’s no chance I would have won my match if he wasn’t there. “It was amazing, and it feels so good to be able to win it for him and for our captain.” Rose also stole a point from Phil Mickelson with a birdie-birdie finish over the final two holes of his 1-up tri-umph. Poulter and Kaymer were even in their matches until moving in front at Medinah’s par-3 17th hole. “The U.S. played so poorly on 17 and 18,” NBC analyst Johnny Miller said. “They earned the loss.” All told, Europe won eight of the 12 singles matches and got a split from Francesco Molinari in the an-chor match against Tiger Woods. It matched the the legendary 1999 U.S. rally at The Country Club at Brook-line, Mass., for biggest Sunday come-back in Ryder Cup history. “We’re all kind of stunned,” said U.S. captain Davis Love III, a member of that 1999 squad. “We know what it feels like now. . . . We just got a couple of matches flipped there in the middle that cost us.” Europe’s victory also managed to make people forget what could have been a costly gaffe by McIlroy, the world No. 1 who showed up at Medi-nah not more than 10 minutes before his match after confusion about his tee time. McIlroy sped to the clubhouse in the back seat of a police car as Donald and Watson were walking down the first fairway of their opening match. The 23-year-old pro told officials he had become confused about his tee time, having seen them shown on TV in Eastern time. With no more warmup than a couple of practice putts, he still wound up dispatching Keegan Bradley by a 2-and-1 count. “It’s the most worried I’ve ever been,” McIlroy said. “If I was playing for myself, I’d be fine. It’s my own fault. But to let down all the boys and vice captains and captain - I would never have forgiven myself.” 4-A— Tuesday, October 9, 2012 UABkscope. com • 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 10 pm 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 Former Blazer Graeme McDowell stuns U.S. with wild comeback in Ryder Cup MCTcampus Graeme McDowell aided the Europeans en route to a Ryder Cup victory. Chase Cole Staff Writer chascoleman@uab.edu The UAB women’s soccer team (2-11, 1-4 C-USA) had another gut wrenching loss on the road this week as they fell 3-2 to University of Texas at El Paso (8-6-0, 1-4-0 C-USA) Fri-day night. While the Blazers fought hard to open the game, UTEP managed to stun the Lady Blaz-ers three minutes into the match when Tori Martyn headed a ball into the far right corner off a set piece. UAB would answer that score with one of their own when freshman Paige Hanks sent a shot into the box that was deflected and landed at the feet of senior Emma Jane Smith who planted the ball into the net, securing her second goal of the season. Although the game was back and forth UTEP found several ways to get around UAB’s de-fense 35 minutes into the play, scoring yet another goal, and ending the half with a 1-2 lead. The second half of the match opened almost identically to the first, as UAB received another blow when UTEP scored three minutes in off of a blocked head-er that rebounded and buried into the net, bringing the score to 1-3 at the start of the second half. Moments later in the 57th minute of play, sophomore Jo-hanna Liney received a cross from Emma Jane Smith and smashed the ball into the right corner of the net bringing the score to 2-3. Liney who leads her team in points with 11, scored her fifth goal of the sea-son but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the Lady Blazers to overcome UTEP Friday night. UAB has struggled hard all season and time is running out for the Lady Blazers. There are six conference games left and the UAB women’s soccer team needs to minimize their mis-takes to move forward. Little mistakes allow their opponents to make easy goals which slow the momentum and deflate the confidence level of the players. However, there is still time for the Lady Blazers to get things to-gether, but it has to happen now. The UAB women’s soccer team continues on the road this weekend to Colorado Springs, Colorado where they will face Colorado College Sunday Oct. 7, at 1:00 p.m. CST. On Friday Oct. 12, West Campus field will host Houston at 7:00 p.m. CST. Houston McDuffie/Staff photographer The women’s soccer team look to turn things around before C-USA tournament. Lady Blazers stumble in El Paso, try to turn things around before C-USA tournament Kyle Thompson/ Staff photographer UAB picks up first C-USA win of the season after falling to SMU. Early goals prove enough as men’s soccer team takes down FIU InsideUAB.com Tuesday, October 9, 2012 — 5-A Tianjiao Zhang Sta Writer tzhang@uab.edu For advice, thoughts, and concerns from current UAB students, check out. www.uabKscope.com Sadhvi Batra | Opinion Editor opinion@InsideUAB.com forum uabKscope.com 135 Hill University Center 1400 University Blvd. Birmingham, AL 35294 Phone: (205) 934-3354 Fax: (205) 934-8050 Web: www.UABkscope.com E-Mail: editor@insideUAB.com Place an Ad: ads@insideUAB.com The Kaleidoscope is the o cial student newspaper of the Univer-sity of Alabama at Birmingham. Unsigned editorials and the opinions of the Kaleidoscope’s columnists do not necessarily re ect the opinions of individual student writers, editors, Kaleido-scope advisers or university ad-ministrators. Signed columns and letters re ect the opinion of the writer and serve as expressions of fact and opinion to Kaleidoscope readers. Letter Policy: Letters to Kaleido-scope are always welcome. 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Nick Price Editor in Chief . . . . . . . . . .934-7239 editor@InsideUAB.com Eric Roberts News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . .934-7239 news@InsideUAB.com Sadhvi Batra Forum Editor . . . . . . . . . . .934-7239 opinion@InsideUAB.com Mariah Gibson Spectrum Editor . . . . . . . .934-3354 features@InsideUAB.com Tripp Larsen Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . .934-3354 sports@InsideUAB.com Majaliwa Mzombwe Science Editor . . . . . . . . . .934-3354 scienceguy@InsideUAB.com Daniel Twieg Photo Editor. . . . . . . . . . . .934-3354 photos@InsideUAB.com Erik McGuire Alt. Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . .934-3354 altmedia@InsideUAB.com Cassandra Garbutt Bimazubute Baruani Copy Editors . . . . . . . . 934-3354 copyed@InsideUAB.com Colin Quarello Karen Horton Webmasters. . . . . . . . . . . .934-3354 Josh Headley Schae er Chorney Landon Adams Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . .934-3354 UAB Sta Ad Manager Lou Ellen Williams . . . . 996-6801 Production Manager Bill Neville. . . . . . . . . . . . . .934-6691 O ce Assistant Beth Hunter . . . . . . . . . . . .934-3354 Adviser Amy Kilpatrick. . . . . . . . . .934-8043 Brad Ste ens Contributor bradst@uab.edu e recent “47 percent” video clip plaguing and nag-ging Mitt Romney’s presi-dential campaign is merely an appetizer for his pluto-cratic socioeconomic view: give lots to the best and less to the rest. Readers are surely familiar with the newly-discovered video of Rom-ney speaking at a $50,000/ plate fund-raiser in Florida last May. Greed was the only thing slimier than humidity on that summer day in Boca Raton. During his hateful rant, failed Massachusetts gover-nor Mitt Romney asserted that 47 percent of all Barack Obama supporters are “de-pendent upon government,” and feel “entitled to food and housing.” is dog whistle could be heard for miles. e Romney camp and its surrogates have been working hard to spread the politics of division and old resentment. Of many ex-amples, recent attacks by surrogates such as disgraced former New Hampshire gov-ernor John Sununu about the President’s need to “learn how to be an American,” are a sad attempt to categorize Obama as “other”. Ousted former House Speaker Newt Gingrich eloquently com-mented, again on Fox News, that maybe President Obama needed to play more basket-ball and watch more ESPN. Now Romney himself has stooped even further and insulted the President’s con-stituents, presumably some of the very same voters needed by Romney himself. Although food and hous-ing are tangible things, the visceral sentiment created lives among the intangible. “Dependent,” “entitled,” and “housing” are old code-words from an old playbook embodied in Nixon’s South-ern Strategy and still em-powered by the far-Right. e rst presidential de-bate was a disaster for several obvious reasons. Most im-portantly, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama alienated their respective bases. Mitt Romney pretended that he was a political moderate, and Barack Obama pretended that he was not debating in a presidential election. In a shocking regression of reality and common sense, Romney claimed that his $5 trillion tax cut would not add to the budget de cit. Ac-cording to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, this is ri-diculous. He then digressed, in more ways than one, to a statement claiming that he would not lower taxes for the wealthiest Americans. We must remember that this would mean going back on a campaign promise he de-pended on for the entirety of the six or seven years of which he has been running for president. Reducing taxes for the rich worked so well during the Bush administra-tion, who could blame him? Cutting taxes for the top in-come bracket is exactly what Mitt Romney prescribed in his aforementioned cameo. e shackles of circum-stance, as Dr. King artfully described, mean nothing to a man who denigrated the de-prived during a $50,000 per plate fundraiser. In claiming that President Obama’s healthcare bill cre-ated a panel to decide who gets lifesaving treatment, Mr. Romney stooped to a new low, even for a 2012 Repub-lican presidential contender. Such humiliating Sarah Pal-in- isms will receive plenty of attention on Fox News, al-though they were debunked by every fact-checking or-ganization imaginable. is rings similar to Romney’s allegation that because of “Obama’s economy,” 23 mil-lion people are looking for work. According to the Bu-reau of Labor Statistics, the real number is 12.5 million, and the unemployment rate dipped further down this week to 7.8 percent. roughout Mitt Rom-ney’s political career, the vir-tues of honesty have always taken a backseat to the pros-pect of reward. For a man who was recently caught in a video complaining that he could not teach poor Americans responsibility, his debate performance was a stunning impersonation of someone with compassion. We are so lucky that a can-didate of this temperament will never be faced with the task of providing guidance to anyone. Romney and the “47%” Science and politics are in-separably intertwined. Much of the funding for the basic sciences comes from the gov-ernment. us, it is only ex-pected that politicians are to decide on how much funding goes towards funding the sci-ences. Of course, cuts into sci-ence funding for NASA, the NSF, and other sciences are less than admirable, but it is totally within the rights of politicians to do so. However, when politicians begin to distort science itself, they begin to cross a line. e most prominent examples of such distortions are, of course, the controversial topics of evo-lution and climate change. is past August, Kentucky lawmakers were extremely surprised to nd that evolu-tion was a central theme in the state’s standardized tests. State representative Ben Waide (R) proclaimed that “evolution is not a science” and that “the theory of evolution has never stood up to scienti c scrutiny.” A new survey by Yale and George Mason University showed that there is a sharp di-vide between parties over views of global warming. Whereas 66% of Obama supporters say that scientists agree that global warming is occurring, only 22% of Romney support-ers agreed, re ecting the GOP party line that global warming is a hoax and hysteria. In reality, though, evolu-tion is one of the best sup-ported theories of science, and there is an overwhelming scienti c consensus that global temperatures have been rising alarmingly. Over 98% of actual scientists agree that evolution occurred, and no national or international scienti c orga-nizations dissented from the consensus that global warming is occurring due to human ac-tivities. e few dissenters to global warming, such as the Heart-land Institute, have shady funding that could be traced back to conservative groups. is partisan funding, of course, directly a ects the out-comes of studies, calling the validity of their conclusions into question. What politicians have missed is that, unlike politics, science is based on facts--not beliefs. ough in politics, there are better choices, such as democracy versus dictatorship, there are no clear-cut truths. Politics is a battle between be-liefs of how the government should function, and how it should serve the interests of its people. Science, on the other hand, is not so. Like politics, there is a debate. But unlike politics, the scienti c debate is settled sooner or later when the cor-rect answer is found. ere is no belief in science. Whereas in politics, one may believe that more government regula-tion is better or the opposite. In science, belief in theories is meaningless. Not believing in a theory will not invalidate it; saying that the theory of grav-ity is wrong does not magically unbind you from the force of gravity. To bring beliefs and parti-sanship into science is to alter its very nature. Politicizing science, such as the debate over global warming, masks the truth rather than uncover-ing it. One can only hope that politicians will become more enlightened and stop trying to distort science to t their agen-das. Scienti c issues in politics need to be evidence-based Tianjiao Zhang/Cartoonist Cartoon by MCT Campus To bring beliefs and partisanship into science is to alter its very nature. Eric Kaemmerer Contributor ekaem2@uab.edu Marvel Comics’ latest event, “Avengers vs. X-Men”, saw the two biggest teams in the Mar-vel Universe go head-to-head as the cosmic entity, the Phoenix, returned to Earth. e X-Men, led by Cyclops, believed the Phoenix would use Hope Summers, the Mutant Messi-ah, as its host to save the mutant race a er the Scarlet Witch depowered all but 198 mutants in the “House of M” event in 2005. Captain America and the Avengers believed that the Phoenix would destroy the Earth and its host based on past experiences with it. Because of their di erent beliefs the Avengers and the X-Men went to war over Hope Summers. During the course of the events, Iron Man broke up the Phoenix into ve parts as they possessed Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik who pushed back the Avengers and took Hope. e “Phoenix Five” then started xing the problems of the world, but the Avengers worried their powers would grow unchecked, and Hope went with them to think of a solution. Cyclops then declared, “No More Avengers,” and had the X-Men hunt them down and powers of the Phoenix, which became the Dark Phoenix, just as Jean Grey did many years ago. In the nal battle Cyclops murdered Professor Charles Xavier, but Hope Summers and the Scarlet Witch were able to defeat him and use the Phoenix together to re-start the mutant race. Cyclops was arrested for his crimes against humanity in his time as the Phoenix and Captain America decided to put together a new team of Avengers consisting of Avengers and X-Men. So who won the war? e initial argument was over whether or not Hope could control the Phoenix and at the end she did manage to with the help of Scarlet Witch. It could be said the X-Men won but there are many factors to look at. At the initial time of the Phoenix’s arrival on Earth, Hope was not yet ready to wield its powers. While the X-Men were right about what Hope could have done with the Phoenix--if she had taken its powers--the Avengers’ fears might have come true, and Earth may have been destroyed. While the mutant race may be back, it was not without cost because the Phoenix Five did a lot of damage as they went a er the Avengers; attacking several nations and starting natural disasters. e Avengers won the war while the X-Men were right in the argument. It seems like there are too many factors to decide who real-ly won and lost, as is the case in real wars. I be-lieve that neither side truly won or lost. e X-Men lost and the Avengers realized how little they’ve done in helping mutants. In the events of the war, friendships and marriages were ru-ined, moralities tested, and lives lost. is all leads into “Marvel NOW!” Many new books will be released over the next few months, starting with “Uncanny Avengers #1” which unites the two teams. e road ahead will be challenging, but the alliance can strengthen the heroes of the Marvel Universe. The Phoenix’s return causes strife in the Marvel universe 6-A— Tuesday, October 9, 2012 UABkscope.com Maja Mzombwe | Science & Technology scienceguy@InsideUAB.com science 700 University Blvd. Birmingham, AL 35233 Toll Free: 888-774-1600 Local: 205-320-1600 www.batterysalesandservice.com Battery Sales and Service offers a complete line of automotive, motorcycle, marine commercial, golf cart and lawn and garden batteries. Also available are wheelchair, emergency generator, forklift, commercial and gel batteries. Our on-site services include installation and repair. 10% discount to UAB students, staff and faculty (with ID card) Need a Spark? Give Us A Call! Tianjiao Zhang Sta writer tzhang@uab.edu As the presidential election rolls around once again, the debate is of course centered on the most important issue – the economy. Amidst the bicker-ing and arguing over how the ailing economy should be handled, the former center stage issue of climate change has largely been overlooked in this election cycle. Sidelined? Yes. Still polar-izing? Absolutely. A new sur-vey by Yale and George Mason University shows that there is still a sharp divide between Republicans and Democrats on climate change. Whereas 86 percent of Obama supporters believe that global warming is happening, only 45 percent of Romney supporters believe so. Undecided voters were very similar to Obama supporters, with 80 percent believing in global warming. However, denying global warming is becoming a harder and harder position to defend. Whereas stories of the melting ice cap and abstract gures of rising temperatures had made it easy to dismiss global warm-ing as a hoax by environmen-talists, more recent changes are hitting much closer to home. Wild res, droughts, and other extreme weather make global warming a much more personal and undeniable prob-lem. More and more people are acknowledging global warming as real. A survey in July by the University of Texas at Austin showed that 70 per-cent of the public believed that global warming is happening, up from 65 percent in March. is gure, however, does not indicate that there is less of a divide. When asked if they believed that global warming is caused by human activities, 65 percent of Obama support-ers said yes, as opposed to a mere 27 percent of Romney supporters. Attitudes about environ-mental policy clearly re ect this dichotomy on the cause of global warming. While 78 percent of Obama supporters said the U.S. Congress should be doing more to curb global warming, only 35 percent of Romney supporters said the same. ough the economy is a much more pressing issue, climate change should not go unnoticed. e global econ-omy is still very much based on the consumption of fossil fuels, and e orts to alleviate global warming will undoubt-edly require a shi to alterna-tive energy sources. Such a shi would cause an economic upheaval as the cornerstones of energy production are re-placed. Alternatively, if no switch is made, the depletion of fossil fuels would collapse the current energy supplies, leading to a catastrophic dis-ruption. Despite the future implica-tions, advocates for the cause and politicians are weary of speaking out. A er the reces-sion began, environmental activists were cast as energy taxers who did not want to help the economy. A now-debunked scandal sowed the seeds of the idea that scientists fabricated global warming to scare the general populace. Since then, politicians who had made climate change an important issue on their agen-das have been repeatedly voted out of o ce. President Obama, how-ever, has broken the silence in his acceptance speech of the Democratic nomination, pro-claiming that “climate change is not a hoax.” Global warming is perhaps the biggest change in the planet’s history since the rise of humankind, and it will have an untold e ect on soci-ety. Along with the economy, we should also focus our atten-tion on the future of the planet. Shejuti Paul Contributor tzhang@uab.edu As the presidential race continues, the economy re-mains on the forefront of key issues to be discussed. Yet, just as pressing are the candidates’ policies on science and in-novation. America’s scienti c research cuts across all sectors and is instrumental to its pros-perous future. Both President Obama and Governor Romney have voiced di erent visions for the future of the U.S. scienti c en-terprise. President Obama has been largely a friend to Science and Innovation. Some of his key scienti c policies included improving science education through revising the Elemen-tary and Secondary Education Act and li ing the ban on hu-man embryonic stem cell re-search. Romney, on the other hand, remains the wildcard. Many members of the scienti c com-munity worry that if Romney wins the presidential election, it could result in a drastic shi in the U.S. government’s ap-proach to scienti c study and research. ey fear that the Romney-Ryan ticket will re-duce the overall budget for re-search and shi its emphasis-- moves that could potentially hinder economic growth. “If Gov. Romney is serious about his budget and spending proposals, then circumstances will be dire for medical or bio-medical researchers who rely on funding from NIH, CDC, or any other federal source. “We could witness the great-est retrenchment in federal support for scienti c research in the nation’s history” wrote John McDonough, director of Harvard School of Pub-lic Health’s Center for Public Health Leadership. Recently, the Romney cam-paign has stipulated that the Governor realizes that inno-vation is crucial to American prosperity. In the presidential candidates’ online science de-bate, Romney stated his sup-port for “robust government funding for research”. Yet, Vice-presidential can-didate Paul Ryan’s federal spending plan-also heavily en-dorsed by Romney- tells a dif-ferent story. If carried out, Ry-an’s plan could cut spending on non-defense related research by 5 percent, or $3.2 billion, below the 2012 scal budget. Long term, Ryan’s small-gov-ernment approach would re-duce government funding for research and development to historically small gures. Both Ryan and Romney claim that their economic plan supports “basic research and development.” In real-ity, it would drastically reduce spending in applied research and projects, leaving them to the mercy of the private sec-tor. Science advocates worry that this might also include clinical trials sponsored by the National Institute of Health for therapies from which the drug industry would be unlikely to pro t. It is hard to predict how Ryan’s budget would a ect the NIH, the single largest funder of basic research, as it makes up a relatively small aspect of the budget’s health category. e health section of the budget is greatly in uenced by Con-servative assumptions on how health care reform will play out. Despite uncertainties, the White House has already esti-mated that the bill could cause the number of NIH grants to shrink “by more than 1,600 in 2012 and by over 16,000 over a decade.” Ryan, though rarely a champion of Government Research Centers, has repeat-edly supported the NIH, even lobbying for increased funding in 2000. It is unclear whether the Romney-Ryan ticket will be friend or foe to scienti c in-novation and research in the U.S. Before November 6. Americans must continue to press Romney and Ryan about their views on science’s role in America’s future. As voters, they deserve a clear under-standing of how their policies will shape the future of sci-ence before they can make an educated choice on the future leader of this country. Ethan Gissendaner Sta Writer ethang@uab.edu “It’s ALIVE!” Lightning ashes. under rumbles. An ominous moaning is heard from a massive lump on the operating table, a mad scientist lurking over his newly created creature. e beast rises, dastardly yellow eyes aglow, screws protruding from its neck. e scientist’s maniacal laughter rips through the night. Although reanimating gro-tesque body parts was never widely popular as in Mary Shel-ley’s “Frankenstein”, it is safe to say science ction writing has had a substantial in uence on scienti c practices and progress. Fictional writing has deeply in- uenced society’s perception of science and provided a framework that supports actual scienti c research and dis-covery. e absurd-at-the-time writings of space travel, cordless phones, and electric vehicles don’t seem so absurd today. Scienti c progress has turned ctional fantasies into functional re-ality. e president of Arizona State University, Dr. Michael M. Crow, seems to think ctional writing was the key propellant for those very sci-enti c discoveries. His belief in the power of the written word propelled him to build the Center for Science and the Imagination on Arizona State’s cam-pus, a collaborative learning space for writers and scientists to brainstorm new ideas that span either discipline. e center embodies the pos-tulate of science ction writer Neal Stephenson that American writers have lost the ambition of previous authors that forced science to leap into the future. It is the president’s intention that by providing a space in which ction and practical-ity can collide, scienti c vision will be fostered. e center, inaugurated this past Monday, has already begun its rst venture with com-puter chip maker Intel called Tomorrow Project to instigate positive scienti c conversation about the future. e center also has joined forces with Stephenson’s “Hieroglyph” online journal to publicize “moon shot” writing. Ambitious pro-posals are hoped to spur ambitious projects and results. A major goal is creating a community that perceives the scienti c future not as Fran-kenstein but more as Dolly the cloned lamb. Already in the works is a plan to send 3D printers to the moon to manufacture materials from moon dust. Novelist Corey Doctorow and Kip Hodges, director of space and earth explora-tion, are teaming up on this project. e center’s director, Ed Finn, says an even more eclectic group is desired. “I’m really interested in making sure that we include artists and designers and other kinds of creative thinkers as well, people who might de ne themselves as builders and makers,” he said. is approach to scienti c exploration could open up multiple avenues for scienti c advance-ments, utilizing diverse lenses through which to view science. e Center for Science and the Imagination could be a trend setting model for campuses, even UAB. e strong science and re-search presence on our campus could take great advantage of the thinkers and creators in dif-ferent disciplines. Exposure to unconventional perspectives like audaciously written ction has the potential to accelerate science not just to the moon but toward better medical practices and cures. e Center is sponsoring Emerge, a confer-ence in the spring, to unite engineers, writers, researchers, and artists to explore the future. Encouraging outlandish scienti c brainstorm-ing and creative science discussion may be the ticket to the latest breakthrough . e next breaking news of science may not originate from a research lab or even a scienti c study, but very well may come from the pages of a novel. Politics vs climate change Science funding and the election Science ction meets reality Ethan Gissendaner Sta Writer ethang@uab.edu On October 4 social media went out of this world—literally. e Mars Rover Curiosity checked in on Foursquare, the rst ever check-in from another planet. Curiosity checked in at Gale Crater, its current spot of explora-tion on Mars. Foursquare users can follow the travels of the Rover as it treks across the Red Planet, touching rocks and taking photo-graphs along the way. Its human team on Earth has posted several of Curiosity’s pictures to the site and accompanied the check-in with a witty post from Curiosity to would be visitors: “Mars is cold, dry and rocky. Extra moisturizer and sturdy shoes would be a good idea, plus oxygen for those of you who breathe.” Curiosity is well on its way to being dubbed “Mayor” of Mars, a title that is several light years away from the Rover’s earthling followers. According to the rules of Foursquare, one must have the most frequent check-ins at a location within the past sixty days to become “Mayor”. I think it’s safe to say Curiosity is a shoe-in for the position. e next scheduled check-in is in an area called Glenelg and a er that, the 3.4 miles high Mount Sharp. e Martian mountain is the central destination of Curiosity’s mission. e rover aims to explore the mountain’s foothills, once thought to have been ex-posed to liquid water. NASA has con rmed that the location-centered social media will be used throughout the Rover’s two year long journey across Mars. is, however, is not NASA’s rst use of social media in space. e space agency has been using Foursquare since 2010 when astronaut Doug Wheelock became the rst ever person to check-in from outer space at the National Space Station. NASA is excited to implement this social technology to give insight to the Rover’s mission and allow people to follow its progress in real time. Having the Mars Rover on your time-line makes space ex-ploration a bit more personal and accessible to everyone. e Rover has inspired a series of Curiosity-themed badges and prizes for Foursquare users to earn through various check-ins that “pique scienti c curiosity.” NASA has deemed certain mu-seums and science centers locations worthy of Curiosity badge status. e Rover’s use of social media is yet another example of how technology is bridging gaps between worlds. is connection could prove monumental if the Rover makes a ground breaking discovery. e Rover’s updates will provide a unique glimpse into the actual happenings of space exploration while plugging into so-ciety’s obsession with social media. From now own, exciting dis-coveries, when found, will immediately be trending worldwide. We might be far from living on Mars, but we can rest assured that when we do, social media will be waiting on us. Social media on Mars rover http://www. lmo lia.com NASA It was brought to our attention that last week the article A Tale of Two Poles contained within it an in-stance of plagiarism. e last paragraph of the article contained an explanation of how water temperatures a ect Antarctic ice. e discussion about the me-chanics of this phenom-enon were not the thoughts of the author. Rather, these thoughts belonged to Jinlun Zhang who presented them in “Increasing Antarctic Sea Ice under Warming Atmo-spheric and Oceanic Con-ditions.” Editor’s Note InsideUAB.com Tuesday, October 9, 2012 — 1-B 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 Mariah Gibson | Features Editor features@insideUAB.com spectrum Britty Reese Senior Sta Writer brittyr@uab.edu An in atable piece of nostalgia was perched on top of the grass in the middle of the Campus Green early ursday a ernoon. e glossy pri-mary colors stuck out vividly as it called upon the child-like innocence we try to suppress now that we’re in college. “Come play with me!” it called. “I’m so fun! I’m not a trap sent here by a witch, I swear!” As you approached the thing that looked like a Lego-balloon hybrid, you realized it was actually an obstacle course. is, along with can-died apples, is what comprised the Fall Festival; one event leading-up to Homecoming. I was challenged to a race on the in atable obstacle course minutes before it was to be taken down by grad student Dana Lackey, who said the whole experience was “Energetic and quite competitive. It helped me work o some calories from stu ng my face at the decoration judging cookout.” Of course the Fall Festival was not the only event held to entertain the bored and raise school-spirit for the game, depending on your football disposition. Multiple events were held all throughout the previous week. Monday was eat-your-weight-in-cookout-food day, followed by pancakes and karaoke. e pancakes? ey were totally free, and you got to eat them late at night and then sing about it! e next night at the Alys Stephens Center, Cedric Yarbrough and Carlos Alazraqui of “Reno 911!” performed, and though some of us had to miss that, unfortunately, it was most certainly an in-credibly funny time. Wednesday witnessed the famous Gurney Derby followed by the Green and Gold Games. Organizations, fraternities, sororities and people otherwise not associated with clubs competed in gaming fun times, such as: water balloon tossing, human pyramid building, three-legged racing, crab walking, and any other activity where you could have dropped a G. Not to mention run-with- the-egg-but-don’t-drop-it! It seems you can’t walk anywhere on campus right now without being reminded of the up-coming game. ere are banners with Bl
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