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Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

All content by Reed OMara
Bentley Vetoes Budget Cuts, Keeps Park Open

Bentley Vetoes Budget Cuts, Keeps Park Open

Mary Catherine Hodges June 24, 2015

State park employees, advocates and patrons can breathe and return to enjoying their respective posts in the outdoors. Earlier this month, Gov. Robert Bentley vetoed the state legislature’s budget bill...

Miss Alabama pageant includes several UA students, grads

Miss Alabama pageant includes several UA students, grads

Mary Catherine Hodges June 11, 2015

A group of women gowned in long, white dresses paraded onto the stage as the 2015 Miss Alabama pageant came to a close at Samford University’s Wright Center Saturday night. There wasn’t a breath to...

Small statues provide big punch

Small statues provide big punch

Reed OMara April 14, 2015

Since January, the Birmingham Museum of Art has hosted an exhibit titled “Small Treasures: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and Their Contemporaries,” and it’s not until one enters the exhibit that the...

Co-op provide students with opportunities

Co-op provide students with opportunities

Mary Catherine Hodges April 12, 2015

At 7:30 a.m. many college students are still asleep.At 7:30 a.m. many mornings last year, Scott Nagy was walking into a production meeting with the company’s professional engineering team. Nagy, an...

Exhibit explores University's Civil War history

Exhibit explores University's Civil War history

Mary Catherine Hodges April 7, 2015

By Mary-Catherine Hodges | Staff ReporterA new exhibit in Gorgas House will feature original Civil War artifacts belonging to the Gorgas family, including the coat and ceremonial sword of General Josiah...

University releases new club sports regulations

University releases new club sports regulations

Mary Catherine Hodges April 1, 2015

After months of uncertainty and fluctuating regulations, the University released new guidelines for club athletes in a meeting held March 24. Club athletes are now permitted to wear the script A again...

Shirley Jackson's female-driven horrors worthwhile reads

Shirley Jackson's female-driven horrors worthwhile reads

Reed OMara April 1, 2015

Buzzfeed recently posted an article titled “20 Incredible Books From The Past Year You Need To Read Right Now,” featuring the longlist for the Baileys Women’s Prize For Fiction 2015. While the post...

Bands compete for festivals

Bands compete for festivals

Mary Catherine Hodges April 1, 2015

Although music festivals are known for hosting big name musicians, many festivals give smaller bands an opportunity to play on a more national level in front of larger audiences.This year, two local bands,...

Northport duo to play Druid City Brewing Company

Mary Catherine Hodges March 25, 2015

In 2001, a boy from central London and a girl from Tuscaloosa met.The boy, Rick Asherson, was a young keyboardist who only played in his garage for personal entertainment. The girl, Debbie Bond, was a...

SGA contest rewards students for recycling

SGA contest rewards students for recycling

Mary Catherine Hodges March 10, 2015

When students pass over the trash bin with old test papers or used water bottles, RecycleBama encourages them to think again.This semester, RecycleBama, a University of Alabama Student Government subcommittee,...

Local band balances school and music

Local band balances school and music

Mary Catherine Hodges March 4, 2015

The room is filled with a vivacious clutter of chords, scales and bickering as five boys clad in jeans and T-shirts decide what they’re going to practice for their upcoming shows.“I want Red Hot Chili...

Krakauer return to non-fiction scene with 'Missoula'

Krakauer return to non-fiction scene with 'Missoula'

Reed OMara February 18, 2015

It’s been 12 years since Jon Krakauer graced his readers with a new book, and with an Instagram handle called 
@KrakauerNotWriting, readers expected the mountain-climbing nonfiction writer to be done...

The Doctors and The Lawyers to host release party

The Doctors and The Lawyers to host release party

Mary Catherine Hodges February 16, 2015

During his freshman year at The University of Alabama in 2010, Taylor Atkinson posted a flyer in the lobby of Riverside West reading “Lead 
guitarist wanted.”“One day I just decided I wanted to...

Alumni to host weekend of dance at Hotel Capstone

Mary Catherine Hodges February 11, 2015

For singles, couples and individuals of all kinds, University of Alabama alumni, TJ and Wendy Zito, will host the second annual Anti-Valentines West Coast Swing and Carolina Shag weekend at the Hotel Capstone...

Book satirically explores lives of recent college graduates

Book satirically explores lives of recent college graduates

Reed OMara February 11, 2015

While satire was a genre commonplace in pre-revolutionary France, it’s less so nowadays – or so one would think. The recently released “A Very Recent History: An Entirely Factual Account of a Year...

Change of Venue: Closure of venues shrinks Tuscaloosa's music scene

Change of Venue: Closure of venues shrinks Tuscaloosa's music scene

Mary Catherine Hodges February 9, 2015

It’s 1992 in Tuscaloosa, and the Strip is a-buzz. The Beach Club is having another sellout 70s night with a live disco band, and there’s a chance students can see Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic, Drivin’...

Non-fiction can be read in series

Non-fiction can be read in series

Reed OMara January 27, 2015

Whenever someone gets Netflix for the first time, they inevitably succumb to binge watching. Whether it’s “Parks and Recreation” or “Orange Is the New Black,” putting energy toward one particular...

'90s chokers become newest retroactive trend to resurface in 2015

'90s chokers become newest retroactive trend to resurface in 2015

Mary Catherine Hodges January 26, 2015

Over the past few years we’ve begun to embrace a number of retroactive influences from generations past. The ’70s had their second coming with flower crowns, John Lennon-inspired glasses and Sonny...

Bama Rocks: Potential bouldering site to undergo reconstruction

Bama Rocks: Potential bouldering site to undergo reconstruction

Mary Catherine Hodges January 20, 2015

Tucked away off of U.S. Highway 11, down a long dirt road in Vance, Alabama, are 57.36 acres of an abandoned park named Bama 
Rock Gardens.First opened before the 1950s as a family-owned roadside attraction,...

Alabama physics major earns national internship

Alabama physics major earns national internship

Mary Catherine Hodges January 12, 2015

For Marissa Leshnov, science has been a crucial part of her life 
since childhood.“As a child, science was always presented to me in these wonderful demonstrations similar to magic shows,” she said....

New season brings new lipstick shades

New season brings new lipstick shades

Mary Catherine Hodges January 11, 2015

As we welcome a new semester, along comes the anticipation of a new year, new classes, fresh starts and more importantly, new styles. There is no better time to put away the lipsticks of 2014 – goodbye...

Dual degree students see more hours: 150 hours required for those with two degrees

Mary Catherine Hodges January 11, 2015

If you ask Alex Jones what year she is, she will likely tell you she’s a junior. However, on paper, Jones, a dual degree student, is a senior.Jones, a junior majoring in advertising and marketing, came...

Stephen King novels remain haunting and relevant

Reed OMara January 8, 2015

In the confines of my parents’ home, and in hundreds of other students’ no doubt, is an archaic bookshelf tucked away in a corner, the books citing copyrights from the 80s. While the contents differ...

Film festival welcomes students

Film festival welcomes students

Mary Catherine Hodges November 17, 2014

The Black Warrior Film Festival started in 2013 in 216 Reese Phifer Hall, and the next year it expanded to Lloyd and Graves Hall. This year, Black Warrior Film Festival will be held the weekend of Feb....

UA Aquatic Center closed following fire

Reed OMara November 13, 2014

On the morning of Thursday, November 13, a fire broke out at the UA Aquatic Center located on the University of Alabama's campus, according to Cathy Andreen, Director of Media Relations for the University....

Crimson Kindness hosts National Kindness Day

Crimson Kindness hosts National Kindness Day

Mary Catherine Hodges November 12, 2014

From the encouraging sticky notes spotted around campus, to the students handing out snacks during finals week, the culprit is most likely the students of Crimson Kindness, a student-run organization...

Artists display Cuba

Artists display Cuba

Mary Catherine Hodges November 11, 2014

Six trips, 12 months and 10,000 miles, sometimes sleeping indoors, sometimes outdoors – is what it took for Honors College Artist in Residence Chip Cooper and photographer Julio Larramendi to create...

Students study abroad to discover family heritage

Students study abroad to discover family heritage

Reed OMara November 10, 2014

For Keelan Vaughn, the question of his citizenship takes more to answer than simply pulling out his passport. Vaughn, a sophomore majoring in environmental engineering and German, is in the process of...

Don't fear literature class workload

Reed OMara November 9, 2014

Literature courses: Whether required for your major or for an elective, you’re likely to run into one, and if you are a procrastinator, you’re likely to hate one – even if you like reading. The first...

Students 'Save Quad Squirrels'

Students 'Save Quad Squirrels'

Reed OMara November 5, 2014

Between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, students could find a red tent set up on the Quad with students beneath announcing, “Save the Quad squirrels” and handing out fliers and T-shirts. Tess Severin,...

Crossroads program promotes interfaith acceptance, relations

Crossroads program promotes interfaith acceptance, relations

Mary Catherine Hodges October 22, 2014

Crossroads was created to help relieve religious tension and address issues surrounding interfaith conflicts throughout the 
UA community. The team is made up of 12 employees, 10 of which are students....

Millennials explain tattoos are for self expression

Millennials explain tattoos are for self expression

Mary Catherine Hodges October 21, 2014

Tattooing is an ancient art form and can be traced back to ancient Egyptian remains dating as early as 2000 B.C. The relevance of tattoos in society has persisted over the ages, and tattoos have served...

Readers should navigate more nonfiction

Reed OMara October 21, 2014

There’s a typical path for the people who consider themselves readers.The first milestone, after ABCs have been learnt, is the time when fifth graders start reading eighth grade level work to maximize...

Support should continue throughout the year

Reed OMara October 14, 2014

When October rolls around, leaves start falling, and people begin pulling out their pink gear for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Magenta, bubble gum, rose – all shades permeate the season. Advertisements,...

Pedestrian struck by motor vehicle while crossing crosswalk

Reed OMara October 9, 2014

On Thursday around 6 p.m. a motor vehicle vs. pedestrian accident occurred at the crosswalk on the northbound side of Campus Drive, between Hackberry Lane and Shelby Hall. A student of The University...

Moakler to perform during campus fundraising concert

Moakler to perform during campus fundraising concert

Mary Catherine Hodges September 14, 2014

If there is one thing Maggie Snead, president of the Alabama International Justice Mission, wants people to know about slavery, it’s that there are 30 million people enslaved worldwide. AIJM, a student...

Female engineers remain a minority on UA campus

Female engineers remain a minority on UA campus

Reed OMara September 9, 2014

When Maggie Smallwood and Kayla Foust strode into their electrical engineering seminar the first week of class, they found themselves the only women in a class of over 50 people. The two, both juniors...

Alabama Blues Project brings music to Tuscaloosa children

Alabama Blues Project brings music to Tuscaloosa children

Mary Catherine Hodges September 6, 2014

Regardless of where they’re from, where they live or what school they attend, when members of the Alabama Blues Project walk through the door, they’re meant to be treated the same. “Things like the...

Fick uses art to showcase Serbia

Reed OMara September 4, 2014

The University of Alabama is renowned for the outreach its students perform after their college years, though few can say they find themselves 5,491 miles away in Novi Pazar, Serbia, shortly after graduation.Novi...

Provid water profits go to charity

Provid water profits go to charity

Mary Catherine Hodges September 1, 2014

When a bottle of Provid water is bought at Steel City Pops, its contents do more than quench the thirst of the buyer. Steel City donates 100 percent of the profit, $1.30 per bottle, to Birmingham based...

Climbing wall regulations include course certification

Climbing wall regulations include course certification

Mary Catherine Hodges August 24, 2014

In an effort to accommodate a growing University, new dorms, new sorority houses, new dining halls and now a new rock wall have been built. With the opening of the new rock wall at Presidential Village’s...

Mellow Mushroom to celebrate 40th anniversary

Mellow Mushroom to celebrate 40th anniversary

Reed OMara August 17, 2014

Tuscaloosa residents will have the chance for more than a Throwback Thursday to welcome them back for the first week of fall semester. Mellow Mushroom will be hosting Way Back Wednesday on Wednesday,...

Win with the Old Jersey, Celebrate with the New

Reed OMara July 17, 2014

On the fourth floor of the Galleria Kaufhaus in Berlin, just off of the Alexanderplatz Hauptbahnhof, lies a typical section for department stores: the athletic wear. Marking this one different from most...

Yik Yak encourages bullying with anonymity

Reed OMara April 22, 2014

When Franki Wangen looks down at her phone, she’s not surprised to see a text from a friend telling her she’s been mentioned again on a Yik Yak post. She looks at a guy at a neighboring table and wonders...

Senior finds creative niche at UA

Reed OMara April 21, 2014

When assistant professor Nathan Parker assigned self-portraits to his advanced creative writing class, he said he knew he could expect something different from Will Gillette. What he didn’t expect was...

Students take to Tinder for relationships, dating

Students take to Tinder for relationships, dating

Reed OMara April 14, 2014

Tess Severin, a University of Alabama sophomore from Illinois majoring in finance, is an active member of Alpha Kappa Psi. Rhys Butler, her boyfriend, is a junior studying telecommunication and film who...

The Chive promotes charity, positive acts

Reed OMara April 14, 2014

When Olivia Hodges is finishing up a late night bartending at The Houndstooth on the Strip, she unlocks her phone and begins to let the stress of bartending for college students melt away. She’s not...

Birds of a feather: UA siblings provide support system for each other

Reed OMara April 13, 2014

When students set sail to college, many find themselves alone and free to establish themselves away from their families. Others, however, have the support of a sibling, sometimes whether they like it or...

Spring breakers stray from beaches

Reed OMara March 11, 2014

When the Saturday of spring break dawns, campus is devoid of students as they head to their vacation destinations. While many opt for the Florida beach fronts of Panama City or Destin, others choose alternatives...

International groups remain inactive

International groups remain inactive

Reed OMara March 11, 2014

After Russian forces entered Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, rhetoric from U.S. and European officials have ignited deep divides between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian factions. Despite a distance of more...

Alumnus begins local fruit delivery

Alumnus begins local fruit delivery

Reed OMara March 4, 2014

When Jake Bell sees bananas in a bowl at Starbucks, he can’t help but ask the barista if these are a new addition. She replies yes. They’re even in the smoothies now. His satisfaction is apparent –...

Hammocks increasingly popular among students

Hammocks increasingly popular among students

Reed OMara March 3, 2014

With the onset of warmer weather, students begin to repopulate the outdoors, and the trees quickly become adorned with colorful hammocks. “I call them the hammock villages. People stack them, like,...

Walk of a champion

Walk of a champion

Reed OMara February 19, 2014

Julep is not like all of the other dogs that roam the Quad with their owners when the weather warms for the first time in February. Julep is a Westminster Dog Show ribbon holder, and her owner Brenna Potash...

Faculty reside among students

Faculty reside among students

Reed OMara February 6, 2014

When Larry Bowen leaves his office in Osband Hall at the end of the day, it’s only a few steps away to his apartment in Harris Hall, traditionally known for housing students. Bowen is the associate...

Shirtless cowboy plays guitar for campus

Reed OMara February 5, 2014

Chase Bodiford sits talking about his anthology of British poets that’s back in his dorm room in Paty Hall while sipping his cinnamon latte from Starbucks, the only clue to who he is being the guitar...

Spartan Race offers extreme challenges for participants

Reed OMara January 27, 2014

When someone begins a 5k, 10k or 15k, they hear the gunshot and begin to walk, jog or run. They keep running until the race is finished. For those who enter the Spartan Race, whether to compete in a 5k...

Author's nonfiction book details desegregation from 1963-1970s

Author’s nonfiction book details desegregation from 1963-1970s

Reed OMara January 21, 2014

Though Earl Tilford earned his Ph.D. in American and European military history at George Washington University, Tilford still admits that his first love is Southern history, particularly Southern history...

Weight loss programs costly for many students

Weight loss programs costly for many students

Reed OMara January 15, 2014

With the timeworn New Year’s resolution of weight loss comes an annual increase in ads for fad diets such as Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem. While advertisements for these “Lose 12 in 12” diets have...

Local DJs mix classes, creativity

Reed OMara November 26, 2013

While others are grabbing their licenses and keys to get ready to go out to the bars on the Strip, Brett Hodinka is reaching for his mixer and his computer. When others have been thinking all Friday about...

Creative Co-Op to display, sell student artwork

Reed OMara November 20, 2013

In order to showcase student artwork, the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center will house Creative Co-Op’s first off-campus gallery showing titled “Branching.” The Cultural Arts Center took the...

Students revamp, personalize dorm rooms

Reed OMara November 18, 2013

For freshmen and other dorm inhabitants, the question of dorm design can be the same as deciding a major: go glamorous or go functional? Most dorm dwellers scope out Target or look online at PB Teen...

HCA brings Bollywood movie night to campus

Reed OMara November 11, 2013

In celebration of International Education Week, Honors College Assembly will be hosting a Bollywood movie night on Monday, Nov. 11, where students can see “Three Idiots,” the highest grossing Bollywood...

Author shares personal ties in slavery, civil rights through new book

Author shares personal ties in slavery, civil rights through new book

Reed OMara November 6, 2013

A seventh-generation Southerner and descendant of a slave owner, Margaret Wrinkle was born into the “racially charged” year of 1963, just on the cusp of the civil rights movement, and said she feels...

UADM hosts fundraising ‘for the kids’

Reed OMara November 5, 2013

In the fall of 2010, a group of students met in the basement of Nott Hall to piece together the foundation for UADM, a student organization that raises money for Children’s of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham...

Creative Campus hosts All Hallows Happening performance art event

Reed OMara October 29, 2013

Dry ice fog, candles reminiscent of a séance and costumed individuals howling to the moon greeted students who attended Creative Campus All Hallows Happening Tuesday at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation...

Ferg to feature foreign food, fashion

Reed OMara October 23, 2013

The University of Alabama’s International Student Association will be combining food and fashion in their “International Food and Flair” event Friday in the hopes of bringing together international...

Creative Co-Op helps students show, sell art

Reed OMara October 15, 2013

For those seeking to add an original flair to their dorm space or apartment while supporting University of Alabama student artists in the process, look no further than Creative Co-Op. Founded by senior...

Army ROTC cadets go international

Army ROTC cadets go international

Reed OMara October 7, 2013

Five University of Alabama Army ROTC juniors, at least three of whom had never previously been out of the country, experienced deployment without combat this summer as they journeyed around the globe to...

Students blog for class, career, personal reflection

Reed OMara September 15, 2013

People can blog for an infinite array of reasons, but for some students at The University of Alabama, blogging can provide focus, personal clarity and a way to improve one’s writing. More specifically,...