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 Laura Testino
Organizations work to help students with mental illnesses

Organizations work to help students with mental illnesses

Laura Testino October 3, 2016

Thousands of hours, dollars and teensy balls of tissue paper combine to make the homecoming trek to Bryant-Denny a little more colorful and a lot more electric. This year, instead of puzzling together...

Can I get a roll tide: The history of the popular phrase

Can I get a roll tide: The history of the popular phrase

Laura Testino September 15, 2016

Ace a test? Roll Tide. Catch a fish? Roll Tide. Step in new puppy pee on the wooden floor? “Well, Roll Tide.”“It’s thoroughly invaded my family,” said Coady Latimer, the University of Alabama...

Gimme Shelter: Overpopulation remains an issue for Tuscaloosa shelter

Laura Testino August 29, 2016

A search for “dog” on the Alabama Student Ticket Exchange Facebook page will return more than 70 results dated since the beginning of May, when the last spring semester ended, and even more before...

Ferg musician strikes a chord with students

Ferg musician strikes a chord with students

Laura Testino November 19, 2015

At midnight outside the Ferguson Student Center, accompanied by the patter of the fountain, Griffin Burks can be found strumming the guitar and wailing on the trumpet for hours at a time.Burks, a freshman...

Civil rights activist and photographer presents exhibit downtown

Civil rights activist and photographer presents exhibit downtown

Laura Testino October 6, 2015

Less than one block separates the local YMCA from the Schomburg Center in Harlem. This short path inspired a long journey of civil rights activism for Doris A. Derby, whose documentary photography now...

Renaissance Men: Tuscaloosa's brewers are inspiring a citywide revival

Renaissance Men: Tuscaloosa's brewers are inspiring a citywide revival

Laura Testino September 1, 2015

Five hundred and sixty-three years ago, forty years before Europeans discovered America, an Italian notary and peasant woman gave birth to a son in Vinci, Italy. Despite the boy’s broad interests in...

Steel City Jug Slammers to play Live at the Plaza and Green Bar on Friday

Steel City Jug Slammers to play “Live at the Plaza” and Green Bar on Friday

Laura Testino July 17, 2015

Laura Testino | Culture EditorAlthough their old and gold Chevy van — mustache-clad and also nick-named Ron Burgundy — can’t quite make a trek to the moon, Mars or Pluto, the Steel City Jug Slammers...

Harper Lee releases new novel

Laura Testino July 15, 2015

"Go Set a Watchman," Harper Lee's sequel to her award-winning classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," was released last Tuesday, July 14. The book, published 55 years after its creation in 1960, focuses on...

Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage, licenses denied in Tuscaloosa County

Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage, licenses denied in Tuscaloosa County

Laura Testino June 26, 2015

This morning at 9 a.m., Alex Davenport reported for a staff meeting at the University. When she entered the room, she was a married woman, with marriage licenses from both Vermont and Jefferson County,...

​”Jaws” anniversary showings in Tuscaloosa theater

Laura Testino June 24, 2015

In celebration of the June 20, 1975, release date of "Jaws," Cobb Hollywood 16 in Tuscaloosa held a showing of the film Sunday evening, and will show the Spielberg classic for a second time tonight....

​Coal mining permit not renewed for Shepherd Bend

Laura Testino June 24, 2015

Multi-billion dollar coal company, Drummond Company, Inc., did not renew its permit to mine on Shepherd Bend, per a statement released last Friday, AL.com reported. Shepherd Bend, an area of the Black...

​Cannonballs found under University sidewalk

Laura Testino June 24, 2015

Construction crews happened upon 10 Civil-War-era cannonballs while repairing sections of the University sidewalk on Friday, according to AL.com. The area, just north of the Quad near the center of campus,...

University award established in Bonner's honor

Laura Testino June 24, 2015

A prize created to award unselfish service was inspired by President Judy Bonner, and will be distributed annually to a deserving member of the University's faculty or staff, according to The Tuscaloosa...

​Midtown Village continues movie series

Laura Testino June 24, 2015

An outdoor movie is shown on Saturday evenings in Midtown Village, as part of the free movie series, "Screen on the Green." The movie begins at dusk, or 8 p.m., and patrons are encouraged to bring their...

Tuscaloosa holds free music nights in June

Tuscaloosa holds free music nights in June

Laura Testino June 17, 2015

Last Friday at the Government Plaza, an indecisive partly-cloudy sky yielded 76-degree temperatures and a light breeze on the grass, where, by 5:45 p.m., several families were toting blankets and chairs...

Rec canoeing event to raise money for cystic fibrosis

Rec canoeing event to raise money for cystic fibrosis

Laura Testino March 26, 2015

In recent summers, incoming freshmen have been bussed to the Student Recreation Center during their Bama Bound session, and often end up playing battleship: four students per canoe in the pool, equipped...

Law expert comments on campus free speech

Laura Testino February 22, 2015

Ronald Krotoszynski is the John S. Stone Chairholder of Law and Director of Faculty Research within the University’s School of Law. His areas of law expertise include administrative, telecommunication...

Keeping the Faith: Students find ways to practice religion in college

Keeping the Faith: Students find ways to practice religion in college

Laura Testino February 19, 2015

Eric Mayo spent his first Sunday as a college student exploring his new surroundings, and eventually found his way just west of Bryant-Denny Stadium and Rama Jama’s, on the corner of Paul W. Bryant Drive...

Black Warrior Film Festival returns for 3rd year

Black Warrior Film Festival returns for 3rd year

Laura Testino February 13, 2015

“Kingsman: The Secret Service” and “50 Shades of Grey” debut at Hollywood 16 Theatre this weekend, but won’t be the only additions to the Tuscaloosa film scene: The Black Warrior Film Festival...

​Changes to McFarland Boulevard proposed

Laura Testino February 12, 2015

An 11.2 mile transportation project was proposed for US 82/McFarland Blvd. between Rose Boulevard in Northport and Jug Factory Road in Tuscaloosa, an area that includes the University. The construction is...

​Chinese New Year to be celebrated Sunday

Laura Testino February 12, 2015

The Association of Chinese Students and Scholars, in association with University Programs, will celebrate the Chinese New Year Sunday, Feb. 15, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Ferguson Student Center. Chinese...

CMF award winners to take Hollywood

CMF award winners to take Hollywood

Laura Testino February 4, 2015

Campus MovieFest returned to the University on Jan. 20 and culminated with a finale in the Ferguson Theater on Jan. 29. The top 16 student films were awarded as Campus Finalists and were shown to an...

Professor researches electron mechanics

Professor researches electron mechanics

Laura Testino February 4, 2015

As the number of hashtags created, emails sent, documents composed and photographs downloaded increases, it’s easy to forget that this information is only saved by the process of tiny electrons at work...

CMF returns to UA

CMF returns to UA

Laura Testino January 21, 2015

Campus MovieFest returned to The University of Alabama earlier this week for the eighth year in a row. This is the festival’s fourteenth annual world tour, and it officially began for University students...

Campfires aid blood pressure, study says

Campfires aid blood pressure, study says

Laura Testino January 21, 2015

Campfires contribute more than heat and the ideal marshmallow roasting conditions – the flickering orange and gold flames also lower blood pressure, according to a research study conducted by Christopher...

Pianist to perform in Moody Music Building

Pianist to perform in Moody Music Building

Laura Testino January 12, 2015

The School of Music will host guest pianist Margery McDuffie Whatley for a concert this Tuesday.Whatley, a Georgia native, completed her master’s degree in music and doctorate in musical arts for piano...

Enter the Brothers: Senior TCF majors practice martial arts, do stunt work

Enter the Brothers: Senior TCF majors practice martial arts, do stunt work

Laura Testino December 1, 2014

About 10 years ago in the gymnasium of Liberty Middle School in Madison, Alabama, Kevin and Calvin M. Ross were doing more pull-ups than most of their classmates, running at two of the quickest speeds...

Students use karaoke as social, creative outlet

Students use karaoke as social, creative outlet

Laura Testino November 23, 2014

On Justin Oliver’s list of performance experiences, wedged between a “Roll Tide!” from American Idol judge Randy Jackson and a YouTube video of an impromptu vocal performance in Krispy Kreme, is...

Student covers hockey for Russian publication

Student covers hockey for Russian publication

Laura Testino November 19, 2014

Nate Proctor left the United States for Russia fluent in the language of the National Hockey League, but not fluent in Russian. Proctor is spending his fall semester studying abroad in Russia, taking...

New College senior hosts on-campus arts festival

New College senior hosts on-campus arts festival

Laura Testino November 19, 2014

The work of 18 artists will occupy the Canterbury Chapel lawn Thursday for “Creative Space: Art from the 
Crimson Heart.” The arts and crafts festival is a senior project by New College student Amelia...

Crossroads Productions offers collaborative film experience

Crossroads Productions offers collaborative film experience

Laura Testino November 9, 2014

Not many scenarios exist for blues music fans to indulge in passions for sports and filmmaking while also honoring musician Robert Johnson. Brandon Sparks managed to weave these distinct interests together...

Student writes game scores

Student writes game scores

Laura Testino October 27, 2014

Some students face the video game screen with a controller in hand, intently focused on hitting just the right buttons in just the right sequence. Instead of facing the screen, Thomas Wilson is on the...

Seniors perform solo recitals for class credit

Seniors perform solo recitals for class credit

Laura Testino October 20, 2014

Over the past semester, nursing homes in Tuscaloosa have listened to the ebb and flow of musical notes from Ben Lucy’s 
guitar. The community performances were all part of the preparation process...

Baron aims for Rio Paralympics

Baron aims for Rio Paralympics

Laura Testino October 20, 2014

Over the past 20 years, Shelby Baron’s passport and tennis racket have accompanied her to tournaments around the world. Although Baron said she can’t name all of the locations from memory, the voyages...

New group enters the ring: Students start boxing club welcome to all skill levels

New group enters the ring: Students start boxing club welcome to all skill levels

Laura Testino October 12, 2014

When Cameron Carver heard a rumor circulating among the students in Shelby Hall about his chemistry professor, he went to the professor's office hours to investigate. Carver had recently taken up boxing,...

German bakery provides quiet atmosphere

German bakery provides quiet atmosphere

Laura Testino October 6, 2014

Just before 5 a.m. every Monday through Saturday, the block on Fourth Street, sandwiched between Greensboro and 23rd Avenue, smells a little more like Germany than Tuscaloosa. The scent escapes from Edelweiss,...

Sonic Frontiers returns with Dave Douglas

Sonic Frontiers returns with Dave Douglas

Laura Testino October 1, 2014

Sonic Frontiers, a New College initiative, will return for its fourth concert season Friday night by hosting musical guest Dave Douglas. The concert 
series features innovative musicians who may otherwise...

Character variety brings intrigue to UATD play

Character variety brings intrigue to UATD play

Laura Testino September 28, 2014

When loved ones share meals around the dinner table, much more is exchanged than dishes of vegetables, breads and desserts. Inevitably, the conversations that blossom from dinner time foster an atmosphere...

Wardrobe can affect performance, perception

Wardrobe can affect performance, perception

Laura Testino September 23, 2014

After the coffee has been brewed, Aubrey Craig, sporting his favorite dark brown Alden loafers, is ready to start his day. When he arrives on the University of Alabama campus, others around him have backpacks...

Tide's room with a view: Student workers see different Gameday through skyboxes

Tide's room with a view: Student workers see different Gameday through skyboxes

Laura Testino September 14, 2014

Stroll down the Walk of Champions, beyond the sliding glass doors of Gate 1, and tucked away within a maze of hallways and elevators are the portals to the skyboxes of Bryant-
Denny Stadium. Once the...

Diabetic students balance their insulin, classes

Diabetic students balance their insulin, classes

Laura Testino September 7, 2014

Alicia Traylor, a freshman at The University of Alabama, can identify the number of carbohydrates in every bite of food she consumes, and it is not because she decided to try out a new diet plan. Traylor...

Groups support recycling initiatives for September

Groups support recycling initiatives for September

Laura Testino September 6, 2014

RecycleBama, an SGA-led initiative, is encouraging the University to take more responsibility for its impact on the environment by implementing Sustainable September. The three week series of events supporting...

Sassafras grows local arts scene

Sassafras grows local arts scene

Laura Testino September 1, 2014

Outside the window of Tuscaloosa resident Laurie Johns’ home, past a New England Red birdhouse replica hanging in a nearby tree, lies an opening in the woods, where a small path has been carved by the...

Student turns sports into jobs

Student turns sports into jobs

Laura Testino August 24, 2014

For Jonathan Hutchens, a sophomore majoring in exercise science, life revolves around Bryant-Denny Stadium. Hutchens works in recruiting for the Crimson Tide football team and as a bar-back at The Bear...

Student turns flair for thrifting into vintage store

Student turns flair for thrifting into vintage store

Laura Testino August 17, 2014

Lake Stanfield, a senior majoring in German and marketing, doesn’t let the cost or the weather deter her from sporting any conglomeration of her fashion finds on a daily basis. “You can have great...

Students benefit from studying abroad with Capstone International

Students benefit from studying abroad with Capstone International

Laura Testino August 17, 2014

Instead of packing bags and heading home this past summer, over 700 students from 90 different majors at The University of Alabama collected their most valuable belongings, passports and visas and embarked...

Kentuck offers clay courses

Laura Testino April 23, 2014

Kentuck Art Center invites students and other members of the Tuscaloosa community to dive into the arts this summer with Clay Days, a series of classes exploring clay as a medium for artistic expression....

UA fashion majors to bring designs to fashion week

Laura Testino April 21, 2014

As the semester comes to a close, many fashion students are anxious to see their hard work transform into a final product. For some, this hard work will be flourishing on the runway of Birmingham Fashion...

UATD tech weeks always a balancing act

Laura Testino April 9, 2014

Behind every stage performance is a sequence of decisions, cooperating to create a specific atmosphere for the audience to enter. Each of these decisions, which often come down to the specific angle of...

‘Birthday Party’ brings expanded cast to stage

Laura Testino April 7, 2014

Possibilities may seem endless when a group of people unite for a celebration. Playwright Harold Pinter explores some of the most unconventional of these possibilities in his play “The Birthday Party,”...

Bama students audition for Broadway

Laura Testino March 20, 2014

Relaying the depth of one’s study and understanding to a potential employer can be a daunting task. Doing all of this in two minutes through a scene from a movie or a song from a musical may seem impossible....

Art explores repurposed material

Art explores repurposed material

Laura Testino March 17, 2014

One man’s trash may be another man’s treasure, but after being altered and pieced together, these hidden gems can become gallery-worthy art. Elements in Transition, the current exhibit in The T.E.M.P....

Student-led show choir to hold spring concert

Student-led show choir to hold spring concert

Laura Testino March 11, 2014

Audiences have the opportunity to enjoy renditions of a variety of musical numbers in “An Evening with Resonance: A Spring Revue,” the spring concert produced by student-led show choir Resonance. ...

Dance majors balance lab hours, performances

Dance majors balance lab hours, performances

Laura Testino March 3, 2014

Choosing a major can be a daunting task, especially when one’s interests may lie in a variety of subjects. Instead of these varying interests translating to an undecided major, some students make the...

Students prepare for UATD’s ‘Picnic’

Laura Testino February 25, 2014

The reappearance of many themes in theatre suggest that while time and place may alter the clothing characters wear or the language they use, the characters still struggle with subjects universal to...

Opera Theatre finds new home

Opera Theatre finds new home

Laura Testino February 24, 2014

With the ushering in of the Spring semester came the final renovations to a 1969 chapel on The University of Alabama’s Bryce campus that transformed the building into Bryant-Jordan Hall, the new home...

ARDT combines sculpture with original compositions

Laura Testino February 17, 2014

Dancers in Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre will sync with more than just the music in “aeolian,” a piece by professor Sarah M. Barry, in the ARDT Spring 2014 Concert. Barry’s piece integrates...

Theatre students gain auditioning experience at Tennessee workshop

Theatre students gain auditioning experience at Tennessee workshop

Laura Testino February 13, 2014

For students eager to pursue a career in performing arts, the University of Alabama theatre and dance department serves as a four-year layover in the flight toward ultimate destinations like New York and...

UA professor writes novel on obligations, conflicts with family

Laura Testino February 13, 2014

The creation of something new doesn’t always start with having a definite end goal in mind, but instead choosing to begin the journey. More than 20 years ago, when Angela Benson, published author and...

UATD presents dynamic Blood Wedding

UATD presents dynamic ‘Blood Wedding’

Laura Testino February 6, 2014

The University of Alabama’s department of theatre and dance invites audiences to enjoy the illustration of some of life’s classic themes in its multifaceted production of “Blood Wedding,” written...

Student delves into commercial music major

Student delves into commercial music major

Laura Testino February 4, 2014

Composer John Williams likely never anticipated his film score from “Star Wars” would be broadcast throughout the home of 5-year-old Brent McCollough from a “plastic, terrible-sounding” piano....

Gallery to host Morgan Collection

Gallery to host Morgan Collection

Laura Testino January 16, 2014

Beginning Jan. 16, The University of Alabama Art Gallery at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center will showcase “The Morgan Collection – Selections,” an exhibit composed of pieces from the Permanent...

Tuscaloosa welcomes opening of new recording studio

Tuscaloosa welcomes opening of new recording studio

Laura Testino January 13, 2014

Opportunity often nestles in unexpected times and places. The Druid City Time & Spaceship, for example, a newly functioning recording studio just outside the city of Tuscaloosa, is tucked away on a wooded...

Students celebrate away from home

Laura Testino November 26, 2013

For many students, the end of the final Tuesday class brings the promise of a trip home to feast upon a variety of holiday favorites with family. For others, circumstances cause them to celebrate and give...

UATD brings ‘The School for Lies’ to campus stage

Laura Testino November 18, 2013

The University of Alabama’s department of theatre and dance will offer the community a chance to travel back to 17th century France with its production of “The School for Lies.” The play, an adaptation...

Octubafest: a definition and display of the euphonium

Laura Testino October 22, 2013

October bursts with the sounds of larger-than-life instruments during Octubafest, the musical month-long celebration of the tuba and euphonium. The University of Alabama’s tuba and euphonium department...

Doctoral students direct opera productions

Laura Testino October 10, 2013

Students at The University of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa community have the opportunity to travel back to their childhood in a refined fashion as the UA Opera Theater presents “Fables and Fairy Tales:...

UATD presents ‘Book of Days’

Laura Testino October 1, 2013

The University of Alabama department of theatre and dance presents “Book of Days,” a multi-genre play written by Lanford Wilson and directed by Matt Davis, a second-year graduate student, beginning...

‘The Spectacular Now’ director visits UA for screening

Laura Testino September 19, 2013

Students can strut the Hollywood red carpet Monday, Sept. 23, as the Ferguson Theater hosts the one-time Tuscaloosa premiere of “The Spectacular Now,” a film directed by James Ponsoldt, starring...

‘The Spectacular Now’ director visits UA for screening

Laura Testino September 19, 2013

Students can strut the Hollywood red carpet Monday, Sept. 23, as the Ferguson Theater hosts the one-time Tuscaloosa premiere of “The Spectacular Now,” a film directed by James Ponsoldt, starring...

Gallery on campus to showcase award-winning artist

Gallery on campus to showcase award-winning artist

Laura Testino August 28, 2013

Each semester, the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art in Garland Hall showcases exhibitions from a variety of artists who work in different mediums, providing students with the opportunity to view art from cities...

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