Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White


Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White

Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White

All content by Chance Phillips
The Tuscaloosa Public Library located off of Jack Warner Parkway.

Opinion | Alabama’s libraries are underfunded, understaffed and under siege

Chance Phillips, Opinions Editor April 10, 2024

“Don’t let the fox guard the henhouse” is a pretty simple maxim. You shouldn’t put someone in a position of responsibility who can’t be trusted with that responsibility. But for some reason,...

Opinion | Alabama doesn’t need a representative bought by Big Crypto

Opinion | Alabama doesn’t need a representative bought by Big Crypto

Chance Phillips, Opinions Editor March 31, 2024

On Super Tuesday, March 5, almost a dozen candidates were on the ballot as potential Democratic nominees to represent Alabama’s newly redrawn Black opportunity district, District 2. Two moved on to...

The city of Northport recently approved a major water park project.

Opinion | The Northport water park deal is too good for the city’s politicians

Chance Phillips, Opinions Editor March 27, 2024

Let me be clear: I want the Northport water park project to succeed. I even think it’s got a decent chance, despite the developer’s troubling history of unfinished projects. But Northport’s elected...

 A student scrolls through TikTok.

Opinion | TikTok sucks. The government should buy it

Chance Phillips, Opinions Editor March 20, 2024

I don't like TikTok. I don’t think you should use TikTok. But you should be able to. As someone who has never even downloaded TikTok, my experience with the site is essentially limited to my friend...

Opinion | Want to know the facts? Don’t listen to Katie Britt

Opinion | Want to know the facts? Don’t listen to Katie Britt

Alex Jobin and Chance Phillips March 14, 2024

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, a former UA SGA president, was entrusted with giving the Republican response to President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address. And on March 7, she betrayed that trust. Britt...

Students enjoy a sunny afternoon on the Quad.

Opinion | The University should be ashamed after choosing to end National Recognition Scholarships

Chance Phillips and Daniel Tharp February 21, 2024

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misstated the context of George Wallace's Stand in the Schoolhouse Door. Wallace blocked the entrance to Foster Auditorium in 1963, not 1956, to prevent...

Opinion | Alabama legislators care more about cattle farms’ profits than your grocery bills

Opinion | Alabama legislators care more about cattle farms’ profits than your grocery bills

Chance Phillips, Opinions Editor February 18, 2024

The Alabama Legislature is really on a roll. It’s trying to remove all real penalties for political corruption. The state House just passed a bill to legalize gambling, which will only make it easier...

Opinion | No casinos, no lotteries, no parlays: Keep gambling illegal

Opinion | No casinos, no lotteries, no parlays: Keep gambling illegal

Chance Phillips, Opinions Editor February 14, 2024

In 2024, people are placing bets on just about anything, including whether Taylor Swift would announce she’s pregnant with Travis Kelce’s child at the Super Bowl (she did not). Well, not in Alabama.  Here...

Presidential candidate visits the campus during his campaign on Jan. 24 at the Bryant Conference Center.

Opinion | Despite his family name, Kennedy can’t break up the two-party system

Chance Phillips, Opinions Editor January 31, 2024

“Dude, he could be like the most powerful man in the world one day,” one awestruck student said on their way out of the selfie assembly line. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would certainly like you to think...

The Tuscaloosa News headquarters

Opinion | The government can and should save local news

Chance Phillips, Opinions Editor January 10, 2024

Local news outlets are dying. According to a recent report from the Medill Local News Initiative, more than 2,800 newspapers, predominantly local papers, have closed their doors since 2005 due in part...

Workers from ZF Chassis Systems picket on Oct. 4 across the street from the plant where they work.

Opinion | The green transition has to mean more well-paying union jobs

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist October 22, 2023

More than 30,000 members of the United Auto Workers are currently on strike at plants owned by the Big Three automakers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. “You can be loyal to American labor or...

Opinion | The garbage in, garbage out of campaign finance

Opinion | The garbage in, garbage out of campaign finance

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist October 11, 2023

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was indicted Sept. 22 for allegedly pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including literal bars of gold. However, those who pay attention to Alabama politics...

SGA sign outside of its office located in the Student Center.

Opinion | AMP students interested in SGA deserve more flexibility

Chance Phillips and Alex Jobin October 1, 2023

There are two universities at the Capstone. One provides undergraduate students with the higher education needed in today’s professional world, while the other serves graduate students seeking advanced...

The Masters of Public Administration is housed in Ten Hoor Hall

Opinion | The MPA isn’t enough. Let undergraduates major in public administration

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist September 24, 2023

You can get a master’s in public administration at The University of Alabama, but you can’t get a bachelor’s in public administration. If you want to show potential employers that you spent years...

Mike Pence during his visit to campus on April 11, 2023.

Opinion | Calls for term limits are undemocratic and counterproductive

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist September 20, 2023

America is a gerontocracy. According to Pew Research Center, the median voting House member is 57.9 years old and the median senator is 65.3 years old. President Joe Biden is 80, and if he’s reelected...

The UA Human Resource building located at 1515 Flint River Drive in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Opinion | Employees on and off campus deserve affordable health insurance

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist September 10, 2023

Employer-sponsored health insurance is a horrific and costly policy failure, but the only thing worse than relying on your employer for health insurance is not having health insurance at all. A 2019...

Evolve is one of the apartment complexes in Tuscaloosa that is increasing rent prices.

Opinion | Tuscaloosa is squeezing students by keeping housing scarce

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist August 30, 2023

Tuscaloosa is a college town. It’s been a college town since the state capitol moved to Montgomery in 1847. So why are the Tuscaloosa City Council and The University of Alabama making it so hard for...

Opinion | Democratic socialism is the solution to young Americans’ problems

Opinion | Democratic socialism is the solution to young Americans’ problems

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist August 27, 2023

If conservative politicians get their way, America is about to suffer through a third Red Scare.  Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fl., has declared that socialists “are not welcome” in his state, and the former...

myBama is the universitys platform where students can access a multitude of pages and websites

Opinion | It’s actually good to change majors and drop classes

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist August 23, 2023

If you’re thinking about changing your major, do it. If you start feeling like you should drop one of your classes, do it. College is a period of personal transformation for every student. Many incoming...

Writers and actors picket outside Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, CA.

Opinion | A society without solidarity is no society at all

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist August 2, 2023

Whenever it looks like workers might be going on strike, headlines focus on costs to companies and to consumers. The simultaneous strikes by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and...

The Quad sits empty as students are away for summer break.

Opinion | College is broken but it doesn’t have to be

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist July 12, 2023

The modern American university is a dragon, napping decades away atop mountains of gold. The Ivies and other elite universities sit on tens of billions of dollars they seem afraid to ever spend. Even The...

Opinion | Let’s embrace the spirit of the Declaration this Fourth of July

Opinion | Let’s embrace the spirit of the Declaration this Fourth of July

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist June 28, 2023

Every year since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, Americans have celebrated on the Fourth of July. Constitution Day (Sept. 17) and Bill of Rights Day (Dec. 15) don’t...

Opinion | Abstaining from alcohol is better for you and for your studies

Opinion | Abstaining from alcohol is better for you and for your studies

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist June 7, 2023

Editor's Note (6/8/23): This story has been correctly updated to fix an error on alcohol taxes.  Drinking in moderation isn’t good for you, you don’t need to drink to have fun, and Prohibition...

Opinion | The Democratic primary needs more crystals and good vibes

Opinion | The Democratic primary needs more crystals and good vibes

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist May 31, 2023

To be frank, Marianne Williamson will not be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 2024. You should still vote for her in the primary. Williamson is a 2020 Democratic primary “also-ran”...

Opinion | Campus dining needs to embrace plant-based food

Opinion | Campus dining needs to embrace plant-based food

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist April 5, 2023

We all want to be good people and we all want to help save the planet, but it seems like most people forget that come mealtime. If you aren’t already vegetarian or vegan, you should consider eating...

Opinion | Public housing should not be an afterthought

Opinion | Public housing should not be an afterthought

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist March 29, 2023

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s recent report to Congress about homelessness in America found that half a million people were homeless in January 2022. The average American renter is...

Opinion | Parking isn’t the problem … driving is

Opinion | Parking isn’t the problem … driving is

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist March 26, 2023

A lot of students at The University of Alabama are angry that parking on campus is expensive and time-consuming. They shouldn’t be. In The Crimson White’s February Instagram poll, both commuting...

Opinion | Join a credit union, not a bank

Opinion | Join a credit union, not a bank

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist March 1, 2023

I proudly do all of my banking with a credit union, and you should, too. College is when many young adults first begin to control their own finances: getting their first credit cards, opening personal...

Opinion | The University of Alabama needs more public beauty

Opinion | The University of Alabama needs more public beauty

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist February 15, 2023

One of the most poignant lyrics I’ve heard comes from the poem-turned-song, “Bread and Roses.” It goes, “Yes, it is bread we fight for / but we fight for roses, too.” The poem emerged from...

Opinion | You and Alabama both need unions

Opinion | You and Alabama both need unions

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist February 8, 2023

Less than a 40-minute drive from Tuscaloosa, almost 700 coal miners have now been on strike for 679 days. Members of United Mine Workers of America District 20 work in mines operated by Warrior Met...

(Courtesy of UA News Center)

Opinion | The New Deal’s long legacy in Tuscaloosa

Chance Phillips, Contributing Columnist January 22, 2023

In his recent book, Eric Rauchway, professor of history at the University of California, Davis, describes the importance of the New Deal beautifully: “The New Deal matters because we all live in it;...

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