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 Sam West
SENIOR COLUMN: Being the second banana

SENIOR COLUMN: Being the second banana

Sam West April 26, 2018

I joined the staff of The Crimson White as soon as I moved to Tuscaloosa for college. I was an unpaid contributing writer, I knew pretty much no one in town, and I was living alone in an empty four-bedroom...

Abortion and reproductive health divide communities

Abortion and reproductive health divide communities

Sam West February 22, 2018

Abortion is one of the most contentious issues on the University’s campus. To see proof of this, you don’t need to look further than the sidewalk.  Both pro and anti-abortion groups frequently use...

Liberals should be skeptical of Russia conspiracy theories

Liberals should be skeptical of Russia conspiracy theories

Sam West February 5, 2018

In 2012, Islamic militants killed four soldiers at a U.S. embassy in Benghazi and every conservative in America blamed President Obama. The administration’s response to the attacks sparked fiery right-wing...

Democrats must oppose border wall

Democrats must oppose border wall

Sam West January 22, 2018

Donald Trump was elected President because he made a grand, impossible promise to the American people: that he would build a Great Wall of America on our country’s southern border that would finally...

Against facts, logic and reason

Against facts, logic and reason

Sam West September 18, 2017

I hate Ben Shapiro. The conservative commentator and editor of The Daily Wire, who recently spoke at Berkeley to kick off their “free speech week,” is contemptible for many reasons, not the least of...

A response to Kyle Campbell: Military aggression is fundamentally wrong

A response to Kyle Campbell: Military aggression is fundamentally wrong

Sam West February 21, 2017

I agree with Kyle Campbell that Donald Trump's potential intervention in Syria is a bad idea. In a recent column, he argued that our new administration’s possible plan to use ground troops against Bashar...

Beyond blood and gore: Four great horror films that defy the genre's conventions

Beyond blood and gore: Four great horror films that defy the genre's conventions

Sam West October 27, 2016

It’s probably the most maligned cinematic genre. The horror film, a beloved Halloween tradition, is typically associated with misogynistic slasher movies, “torture porn” and low-rent drive-in flicks....

New dual exhibition showcases sculpture and interactive art

New dual exhibition showcases sculpture and interactive art

Sam West October 10, 2016

A new exhibit at The University of Alabama allows viewers to choose the endings to thirteen stories told through drawings. In another exhibit, students are confronted with sculptures that capture the...

Wait for it: Millennials share different opinions on sex than their parents

Wait for it: Millennials share different opinions on sex than their parents

Sam West September 29, 2016

Millennials might be having less sex than their parents did.That’s at least according to a study called “Sexual Activity During Young Adulthood Is More Common Among U.S. Millennials and iGen,” published...

Work by UA and UAB professors exhibited in joint art exhibit

Work by UA and UAB professors exhibited in joint art exhibit

Sam West September 22, 2016

For the first time ever, work by the art faculty of both the University and UAB is being displayed together. A joint exhibition in in Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in downtown Tuscaloosa features...

Six UA filmmakers are featured at Sidewalk Film Festival

Six UA filmmakers are featured at Sidewalk Film Festival

Sam West August 29, 2016

It’s one of the largest film festivals in the South, and it screens everything from internationally recognized independent movies to locally-made shorts and documentaries. Sidewalk Film Festival, entering...

“Briar Patch” exhibit examines controversial history of Uncle Remus characters

Sam West June 8, 2016

Without realizing it, you’ve probably seen or heard of the works of Joel Chandler Harris. Characters like Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear are common throughout popular culture, featured in children's...

Tuscaloosa artist exhibits surreal works in Dinah Washington Gallery

Tuscaloosa artist exhibits surreal works in Dinah Washington Gallery

Sam West June 2, 2016

In the deepest pit of hell, Lucifer stares you down. His hands are on the shoulders of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, and behind him are more of history’s most reviled figures, including Napoleon and...

Sisters band together to help sick alumna

Sisters band together to help sick alumna

Sam West April 18, 2016

Ashley Taube was two years cancer-free. Her doctors had performed a risky procedure on the high school math teacher in 2012, removing a tumor from her pancreas, and they were confident they had eliminated...

The Crimson White and Alice Magazine win six awards

Sam West March 29, 2016

The Crimson White and Alice Magazine won six awards in the 2015 Society of Professional Journalism Region 3 Mark of Excellence contest. The publications also finished as finalists in six other categories.Alice...

Hidden Gems of Tuscaloosa: Find literary treasure at the Friends of the Library Bookstore

Hidden Gems of Tuscaloosa: Find literary treasure at the Friends of the Library Bookstore

Sam West March 29, 2016

Book lovers beware. Hidden on the left hand side of the Tuscaloosa Public Library is a treasure trove filled with fiction, biographies, westerns and more, all costing between $1 and $3. Once you discover...

Bama Theatre to Screen Where to Invade Next

Bama Theatre to Screen “Where to Invade Next”

Sam West March 22, 2016

The Bama Theatre is starting this year's second Art House Film series tonight, with a new documentary from director Michael Moore. The doors to the show open at 6:30, and the film starts at 7:30.In "Where...

Culture Calendar Week of March 21

Culture Calendar Week of March 21

Sam West March 22, 2016

A new film by Micheal Moore will be playing at the Bama Theatre. The Dirty Lungs will perform at Green Bar. And Bobby Bones will put on a one-man comedy show. This is the week in culture.Tuesday March...

The Howling Tongues to Play Egan's Bar

Sam West March 8, 2016

Atlanta-based rock band the Howling Tongues will play at Egan's Bar this Friday, March 11, as a part of their "Vampires in Space Tour." The doors to the event will open at 7:00 pm.According to their website,...

Severe Storms Possible for Tuscaloosa, according to National Weather Service

Sam West March 1, 2016

There is a potential for "severe storms" across Central Alabama from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., according to an outlook released by the National Weather Service. The service warns of winds up to 70 mph and hail...

Alabama ranks among top 75 schools in the country

Alabama ranks among top 75 schools in the country

Sam West February 23, 2016

According to a new ranking created by Business First, the University of Alabama is one of the top 75 public colleges in the country. The survey places UA at number 54.Factors taken into account to create...

Tuscaloosa area under tornado watch

Tuscaloosa area under tornado watch

Sam West February 23, 2016

UPDATED: 6 p.m. 02/23/16The Tuscaloosa area is under a tornado watch until midnight tonight, alongside flash flood watches and wind advisories, according to the National Weather Service in Birmingham.Tuscaloosa...

Dance the night away: Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre to put on show

Dance the night away: Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre to put on show

Sam West February 18, 2016

At a dance recital in a crowded theatre, the use of cell phones is typically strictly forbidden. But at an upcoming show put on by the University’s Theatre and Dance department, it will be encouraged.The...

UA theatre department brings Ghosts to life

UA theatre department brings “Ghosts” to life

Sam West February 15, 2016

The death of a lord throws an aristocratic family into turmoil. A mother is left without her husband, and a son returns home to learn his father wasn’t the man he thought he knew.This is the story of...

Culture Calendar for the week of Feb 7: Akira Kurosawa, the Black Jacket Symphony, and Kane Brown

Culture Calendar for the week of Feb 7: Akira Kurosawa, the Black Jacket Symphony, and Kane Brown

Sam West February 10, 2016

The week's arts and entertainment events, from gallery openings to local music, all in one place.Wednesday, February 10Hudson Strode Presents "Throne of Blood"What: Akira Kurosawa's classic film retells...

Q&A with Lee Keyes of the Counseling Center

Q&A with Lee Keyes of the Counseling Center

Sam West February 8, 2016

Lee Keyes is the executive director of the Counseling Center and a licensed psychologist.Q: What do you think are some of the most common stressors that students who are not mentally ill face?A: Academic...

The glamorization of mental illness

Sam West February 8, 2016

In December, Target celebrated the holiday season by launching a line of bad-on-purpose “tacky” Christmas sweaters, the perfect apparel for an irony-obsessed generation. One of these garments started...

Bystander intervention requires more training and research

Sam West February 1, 2016

On a clear, sunny day in Panama City Beach last spring break, media reports across the United States erupted with footage of crowds of college students passing by as four men raped an unconscious woman....

University Students create short films for Campus MovieFest

University Students create short films for Campus MovieFest

Sam West January 28, 2016

Aspiring auteurs and movie fans will gather in the Ferguson Center Theater on Thursday night, for the finale of the Campus Movie Festival. A group of would-be directors who submitted films for the contest...

New Art Exhibit “Two Boys and the Love Doll” deals with the loneliness of modern life

Sam West January 20, 2016

What appears to be a woman in the traditional outfit of a Japanese geisha is actually a lifeless doll with vacant eyes. This unsettling image is one of many at a new exhibit in Sarah Moody Gallery.“Two...

Oz Music's new owner talks vinyl, the music industry, and the store's future

Oz Music's new owner talks vinyl, the music industry, and the store's future

Sam West January 20, 2016

The back office of Tuscaloosa’s only extant record store is an audiophile’s fantasy, a space cluttered with piles of CDs and records. One stack of ready-to-sell vinyl is neat and organized, composed...

Don't turn the page on UA's book arts program

Don't turn the page on UA's book arts program

Sam West November 16, 2015

The fifth floor of Gorgas Library is filled with beautiful leather-bound books of art, iron cutting boards, and giant wheels that apply wet ink to crisp paper. One of the floor’s well-fenestrated halls...

Cuban Printmaking makes big impression

Cuban Printmaking makes big impression

Sam West November 12, 2015

Lonely figures in stark black and white dwell on existence. One is trapped in a wooden prison, being watched by an immense, muscular overlord. Another reclines with a flag between her feet. A third sits...

Netflix and kill: Horror movies to get you in the Halloween spirit

Sam West October 31, 2015

Snuggling up with a bucket of popcorn and watching scary movies is a tradition of the Halloween season. Streaming services make access to hundreds of films easy, but this often leaves a potential viewer...

Halloween: different places, same day

Halloween: different places, same day

Sam West October 26, 2015

Scary movies, costume parties, candy – this is Halloween, the modern incarnation of a holiday that has its origins in the fusion of pagan harvest festivals and Christian commemorations of the dead.Halloween...

Harper Lee classic hits stage

Harper Lee classic hits stage

Sam West October 22, 2015

There is a tension in the air at the Bean-Brown Theatre on Thursday night as the cast of "To Kill A Mockingbird" appear in full costume for a photo shoot. Actors discuss a strong desire to do right...

The Bama Theatre adds films to their Art House lineup

The Bama Theatre adds films to their Art House lineup

Sam West October 21, 2015

The fall season of the Bama Art House film series was scheduled to wind down last night, with a showing of “The End of the Tour,” a biopic about writer David Foster Wallace. The film starred Jason...

New Strokes

New Strokes

Sam West October 19, 2015

By day, a downtown storefront nestled near Birmingham’s Alabama Theatre is the studio of artist Amy Pleasant. But at night, she often transforms this space into a gallery for the work of others. The...

Body of Work: UA students and alumni defend the traditionally stigmatized art of tattoos

Body of Work: UA students and alumni defend the traditionally stigmatized art of tattoos

Sam West October 12, 2015

When he's in public, gets strange looks from people, their eyes drifting down to the sleeve of tattoos running down his left arm. But Bryan McKinley doesn’t let this faze him. In Cynical Tattoos,...

UA Vedic Society hosts Sacred Sounds

UA Vedic Society hosts Sacred Sounds

Sam West October 9, 2015

The Ferguson Ballroom filled with the sound of music from the other side of the world Thursday Oct. 8, as the University of Alabama students danced and sang in a celebration of Indian culture.Last night,...

Dames, see them rollin'

Dames, see them rollin'

Sam West October 8, 2015

Ebola Lola glided around the curve of the skating rink, exhausted. She was attempting a grueling initiation rite to join the Druid City Dames – completing 27 laps on a regulation track in under five...

Get that Business off the ground: the rise of the Hover Board

Get that Business off the ground: the rise of the Hover Board

Sam West October 1, 2015

“IO Hawks,” “Funky Ducks,” “Hover Boards.” These are all names that describe the sleek, two-wheeled, futuristic devices. Students weave on them and slide between pedestrians, cutting their...

Manhattan Short Film Festival to screen at the Bama Theatre

Manhattan Short Film Festival to screen at the Bama Theatre

Sam West September 29, 2015

Dozens of moviegoers gathered on a brisk fall night in 1998 to see the first Manhattan Short Film Festival. The event’s original incarnation featured twelve short films, which were screened on the side...

Everyday surveillance inspires art exhibit

Everyday surveillance inspires art exhibit

Sam West September 28, 2015

By Sam West | Staff ReporterThe growing lack of privacy and the increasing role of technology in today’s world is a worry for many people. This issue is explored intently in “[mon-i-ter],” a new...

History of the Bama Theatre: Marquees & Memories

History of the Bama Theatre: Marquees & Memories

Sam West September 24, 2015

It’s hard to think of a more charming place in Tuscaloosa than the Bama Theatre. The facade of the building lights up all of downtown when a show or movie is playing. Posters in the interior reminisce...

Seduced tells story of reclusive billionaire at Allen Bales Theater

Seduced tells story of reclusive billionaire at Allen Bales Theater

Sam West September 22, 2015

The story of a mad billionaire, a mysterious aide and two alluring women will be put on stage. “Seduced,” a drama by acclaimed playwright Sam Shepard, will run until the end of the week at the Allen...

Southern artists work exhibited at the Fuel and Lumber Company

Southern artists work exhibited at the Fuel and Lumber Company

Sam West September 18, 2015

"Hither and Yon" is a new exhibit at the Fuel and Lumber Company gallery in Downtown Birmingham that attempts to reckon with a modern situation—the internet age and its assault of jumbled together images,...

Afternoon hangs: Getting in touch with Mother Nature

Afternoon hangs: Getting in touch with Mother Nature

Sam West September 17, 2015

It’s the size of a grapefruit and holds up to 400 pounds. It’s both an adventure hobby and a nest to curl up and sleep in—a rare combination of nylon suspended in the air, tied between 
two trees.Hammocking—or...

Second act: Tuscaloosa man finds faith amid hardship

Second act: Tuscaloosa man finds faith amid hardship

Sam West September 14, 2015

Drunk and with nowhere to turn, Joe Jackson found himself standing in front of the Tuscaloosa YMCA. After the death of his son, Jackson had begun numbing the pain with alcohol. That cost him his marriage,...

The Late Show continues Stephen Colbert's brand of political humor

The Late Show continues Stephen Colbert's brand of political humor

Sam West September 11, 2015

When Conan O’Brien took over “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno in 2009, many fans of O’Brien’s surreal, cerebral and often bizarre comedy were disappointed. They felt as though the host had to...

Black Jacket Symphony to perform in Tuscaloosa

Black Jacket Symphony to perform in Tuscaloosa

Sam West September 10, 2015

Rock aficionados who have always wanted to hear songs like “Hells Bells” and “You Shook Me All Night Long” live in concert will finally have the opportunity 
Friday.The Black Jacket Symphony,...

Kumdo Club teaches Korean sword fighting

Kumdo Club teaches Korean sword fighting

Sam West September 3, 2015

The sport most associated with The University of Alabama may use helmets and shoulder pads as a sort of armor, but a new athletic activity hoping to come to the University uses bamboo swords, chest plates...

Artist combines modern and classical art techniques for Apocrypha exhibit

Artist combines modern and classical art techniques for “Apocrypha” exhibit

Sam West September 1, 2015

Protestors and police fight as a man with the head of a tiger is crowned king by an angel. A jilted manikin bride stands alone at an empty outdoor wedding. A lupine scientist is flanked by skeletons and...

Expectations run high for new late night programming

Expectations run high for new late night programming

Sam West August 27, 2015

The famous saxophone solo at the end of Bruce Springsteen's “Born to Run” played out Jon Stewart’s last episode of "The Daily Show” a few weeks ago, as 'The Boss' paid tribute to a comedian whose...

Bama Theatre to feature music biopic Amy

Bama Theatre to feature music biopic Amy

Sam West August 25, 2015

It’s hard to miss the Bama Theatre when you’re in the downtown area. The facade of the movie house is bold, bright and classic-looking, reflecting the era in which it was created. The Bama Theatre...

Exhibit by UA alumna to appear at Bama Theatre

Exhibit by UA alumna to appear at Bama Theatre

Sam West July 29, 2015

The Bama Theatre is known for independent film, drama, dance and live music. But through its Junior League Gallery, the venue is also a space for the visual arts, such as the exhibit by painter and University...

UA alumni stand out at Campus MovieFest

UA alumni stand out at Campus MovieFest

Sam West July 22, 2015

Hollywood, the glittering epicenter of the American film industry, is home to the Campus MovieFest, an exhibition that honors the best young auteurs in the country. This year, three University of Alabama...

Henri's Notions to preform at Bama Theatre

Henri's Notions to preform at Bama Theatre

Sam West July 15, 2015

A blend of bluegrass, folk and Celtic musical genres characterize the style of Henri’s Notions, a Tuscaloosa band internationally recognized for their 
distinct sound.The group will perform an acoustic...

UA alumni to perform in million dollar show

UA alumni to perform in million dollar show

Sam West July 8, 2015

A 31-foot-long, two-story tall recreation of Prince Eric’s ship. A troupe of professional actors and musicians. And performances of iconic songs everyone knows and loves.All of this can be seen at the...

Celebration on the River

Celebration on the River

Sam West July 1, 2015

Music, fireworks and a water skiing tournament are just some of the events that will be a part of this year’s Celebration on the River. The festivities, which will be held at the River Market area downtown,...

Pieces make display debut in 'Lately' exhibit

Pieces make display debut in 'Lately' exhibit

Sam West June 24, 2015

Over 400 pieces of art were recently acquired by The University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences, and a handful of these works will soon go on display for the first time ever. This exhibit, “Lately,”...

UA student takes choreography to NYC festival

UA student takes choreography to NYC festival

Sam West June 17, 2015

By Sam West | Contributing WriterNew York City is home to the 2015 Young Choreographer’s Festival, where the recent University of Alabama dance and musical theatre graduate Ameen Price-Burnett will lead...

Student receives art grant

Student receives art grant

Sam West June 17, 2015

A Windgate Fellowship worth $15,000 was recently awarded to University of Alabama senior Alexandra “Ali” Hval for her work in textile craft. The grant is given to 10 graduating seniors each year who...

UA faculty member has photo gallery in Rome

UA faculty member has photo gallery in Rome

Sam West June 3, 2015

Of the lessons Chip Cooper learned from his time photographing in Cuba, one stood out as the most important: “They live in their needs. We live in our wants.”While in Cuba, Cooper photographed the...

'Broken' painting exhibit showcases light, color

Sam West May 27, 2015

The walls of a downtown Tuscaloosa art gallery currently feature an exhibit that portrays the distinctness of one moment in time, but it invites several minutes of appreciation. “Broken Color” by Greg...

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