ESPN to televise Alabama’s A-Day
Birmingham News – March 4
Alabama coach Nick Saban hopes to fill the stands for the annual A-Day game, if for no other reason than to allow a national audience to view the spectacle. ESPN will televise the Crimson Tide’s final spring scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium on April 18 at 2 p.m., the school announced Tuesday…”This is a great opportunity to showcase the University of Alabama and our football program,” Saban said in a release. “That positive energy and enthusiasm by our fans has had a significant impact on our success. There’s nothing better than coming out of the tunnel to a full stadium, whether that is A-Day or at our home games in the fall.”…Details are still being worked out, including whether Saban will be with the commentators in the booth or wear a microphone on the field. As in past seasons, assistants will coach the two squads…
Mobile Register – March 4
Chinese Catholics ‘terrified’ of losing freedoms, professor says
Catholic News Agency – March 4
A University of Alabama professor who recently studied in China for several months reports that Catholics in the country are enjoying freedoms but are anxious about government monitoring and “terrified” their liberties may be swiftly taken away. Dr. Anthony E. Clark, assistant professor of history at The University of Alabama, returned to the United States in December 2008 after studying the history of Christianity in China. He particularly focused on the stories of Catholic martyrs and the destruction of Christian churches during the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted from 1898 to 1900. Though the nation’s Christians are engaged in “enormous restoration work” and enjoy “enormous freedom,” Prof. Clark said, “at the same time, you’ll see an arrest of an underground bishop, or a couple gets a warning from the party police about a visit they had with a foreigner.”…“Before the communist revolution, Christianity was a tiny little minority, and it’s still a minority, but it’s the fastest growing religion in China today,” Prof. Clark said. “Catholics were three-fourths of Chinese Christians, and Protestants one-fourth before the revolution; today it’s the opposite. Protestants are three-fourths of the Christians in China and Catholics are one-fourth. The Protestant house churches are exploding. There are so many. It’s the fastest-growing religion in China.”…
UA study shows $133M in tax credits unclaimed
Tuscaloosa News – March 4
A University of Alabama study found that low-income to moderate-income workers in Alabama failed to get up to $133 million in tax credits last year from the federal government. The workers were eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit but did not claim it in filing their federal tax return, said David Hoover, an associate professor of economics at UA who worked on the study. That means they left the money on the table, he said. ‘Part of the reason is that the people who are eligible [for the credit] are not always aware of it. … And a lot of those who are eligible use the 1040EZ form’ and do not want to figure the math needed to fill out the Earned Income Tax Credit form, which also must be filed to get the credit, Hoover said…
Chronic pain and depression: managing pain when you’re depressed
HealthyArticle.com (WebMd) –March 4
…Once depression sets in, it magnifies the pain that is already there. “Depression adds a double whammy to chronic pain by reducing the ability to cope,” says Beverly E. Thorn, professor of psychology at the University of Alabama and author of the book Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Pain…
Students work to build homes and lives
Crimson White – March 4
Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa…“We have such a tremendous support system, especially from the University,” Executive Director Alison Wade said. “Currently we have a student interning on our board and several students working with us on a PR campaign. All along with those who volunteer during our work days at the constructions sites, whether affiliated with Greek organizations, the Community Service Center or volunteering independently.” Recently, the University reinstated its Habitat for Humanity Chapter with the help of Katherine Long, the chapter’s president. “Last summer while I was working at Habitat as a secretary, the staff asked me if I could help start a student chapter of Habitat for Humanity on Alabama’s campus. So, at the start of the school year I worked to form the chapter with 15 members,” Long said. A semester later, UA’s chapter has doubled in size and is not only working with Habitat to build homes, but also to raise funds to help the families assisted by the organization…