By JOAN GARRETTSenior Staff Reporter

For some, math concepts canbe difficult to grasp. If studentscannot understand what a profes-sor is trying to teach, learningbecomes much more difficult.

Lindsey Marlow, a freshmanmajoring in mechanical engi-neering, said she could notunderstand the internationalgraduate student who teaches herprecalculus class because he isnot fluent in English.

“It is not a good situation,” shesaid. “You don’t understand aword [he] is saying.”

She said she views the com-puter course work as her onlyopportunity to learn the materialbecause her instructor is only

able to give examples of mathproblems directly from their textbook.

“The computer teaches every-thing and the teacher teachesnothing,” she said.

Marlow said she has not donewell in her math class becausematerial was not reviewed thor-oughly, and she said that concernsher because math concepts areimportant in her field of study.

“I think they should not haveforeign students teaching classesthat are necessary for someone’smajor,” she said.

It is almost impossible to learna new subject if the teacher isunable to explain the material,she said.

“It is not fair,” Marlow said.Justin Clark, a freshman major-

ing in industrial engineering, saidhe has faced many of the samedifficulties in his calculus classthis semester.

He said the only way he canunderstand his professor is if helooks directly at his face while heis talking. When the professor isfacing the dry-erase board toexplain an equation, it is virtuallyimpossible to understand what heis saying, he said.

Clark said he has approachedhis teacher several times afterclass with questions, but histeacher could not understandwhat he was saying.

“It is hard to communicatewith [international instructors],”he said.

Serving the University of Alabama since 1894

SPORTS: Alabama over Alabama State by 18, Page 6

Volume 111, Issue 57

Science programs in South lack women professorsBy STEPHEN DAWKINSSenior Staff Reporter

There is only one womanout of 22 faculty members inthe UA physics department,but this problem is notunique to the department orto the University.

The number of female faculty in several scie-nce departments at theUniversity is minute in comparison to the numberfor their counterparts, butWomen’s Prerogative, anational organization, hasinitiated a letter-writingcampaign to make university

officials across the countryaware of those low numbers.

For example, the chem-istry, physics and chemicalengineering departmentsonly have one female facultymember with 22, 21, 11 and22 men in each department,respectively.

The Prerogative campaignis based on a report byDonna Nelson of theUniversity of Oklahomaabout the lack of diversity inscience and engineeringfields at major universities.

“Schools need to look at

See SCIENCE, Page 2

Correct posture is key to maintaininggood health, in college and in lifeBy TIFFANY SUMMERVILLEStaff Reporter

Normal, everyday activities, such as studying, workingproductively at a computer, casually watching TV or evenwalking to class, might be bad for your heath. That’sbecause you may be doing all these tasks with incorrectposture and setting yourself up for future negative healtheffects.

Dr. Wayne Rhodes, a chiropractor who has practiced inTuscaloosa for 18 years, said a large portion of the prob-lems he encounters in his patients are posture-relatedand that bad posture is an aggregative factor in hispatients’ conditions 100 percent of the time, even if theyare young adults.

“Posture is a huge factor that a lot of young people don’tpay enough attention to,” he said.

Yet, all it takes is making some small changes to yourdaily activities now to greatly reduce your risk of futurenegative health effects as a result of bad posture. Here aresome tips on how to maintain proper posture as you gothrough your day.

Sitting

When sitting, make sure your lower back is supportedproperly so you don’t slump. When you slump, therounding of your spine places undue pressure on yourlower back. Most chairs are not made to support thelower back, so you may want to invest in one speciallyequipped to offer that crucial lower back support.

If you’re sitting at a desk working at a computer, it’s a good idea to use a document holder so you can

Posture

CW/ Jessica MaxwellWhile studying, students tend to forget about good posture when concentrating on class work. See POSTURE, Page 5

Perfect

CW/ Kelly LambertGrad student Ad Kanyalak from Thailand prepares for his Master of Art thesis exhibition. The show titled "bar-ri-er" has itsopening reception Thursday night from 6 to 8. at the Art Students League gallery in Woods Hall and will be open throughoutthe rest of December. Kanyalak describes his photographs as "a conversation clouded by cultural barriers that exist betweenAmericans and me. Whether hazy or def ined, inevitably these barriers somehow distort the true picture of me. I am leftfeeling that the true me is constantly fading."

Language barrierirks math students

See LANGUAGE, Page 2

For Senate:Panel neededto fight racismBy JOAN GARRETTSenior Staff Reporter

The Faculty Senate discussed a proposal to form a new Senate committeecentered around diversity and multiculturalism onTuesday, and Senate mem-bers voiced their concernsover the possibility of incr-easing the cost of faculty parking permits.

Wythe Holt, co-chair of theFaculty Life Committee, saidhe thinks the Senate shouldform a committee to workwith the newly created position of vice president of community relations to promote diversity and multiculturalism at theUniversity.

Holt said the issues of multiculturalism could bebetter handled through an independent committee, but Margaret Garner, chair-woman of the Legis-lative Agenda Committee,said the Faculty LifeCommittee should handlediversity issues.

Garner said the Senateshould not think that it is the only group dealing with diversity, and she said the Senate should rely on standing committees

that are already wrestlingwith the issues.

Karen Steckol, co-chair of the Financial AffairsCommittee, said she thinks it is important to send a message to students and faculty that the Senate caresabout issues of multicul-turalism.

Steckol said the formationof the committee would alsosend a message to the academic community that the University is serious about dealing with diversity.

“Visibility is very impor-tant,” she said.

Senate Parliamentarian BobSigler said he knows of manystudents who have felt alienated while attending the University and who have suffered psychological damage from racism.

Senate Vice PresidentMathew Winston said prob-lems occur at the Universitybecause there is ethnic diversity but not an apprecia-tion of other cultures.

“White students comefrom backgrounds that didnot disparage racism, andthey bring that to college,”said Clark Midkiff, co-chair of the Research and

See SENATE, Page 5

ENTERTAINMENT: TCF 442 has drama on and off the screen, Page 10

The Crimson White | Box 870170 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 | Newsroom — 348-6144 Fax — 348-4116 Advertising — 348-7845Classifieds — 348-7355 | Editorial content — cwletters@sa.ua.edu | News content — cwnews@sa.ua.edu

DistortedReality

Wednesday, December 8, 2004

“I do my best so that students can understand me, but they

don’t like international students from the beginning because they are used to American

instructors.”— Mariko Shimizu, a Japanese Ph.D.

student and instructor in the math department

See: “Language barriers irk math students,”Page 1.

their own practices to see if,even inadvertently, they arediscouraging women in thesefields,” said Sharon Levin,Women’s Prerogative execu-tive director.

The shortage of women inscience-related fields is detri-mental to society as a whole,Levin said.

“We are at a time in historywhere we need the best sci-entific minds,” Levin said,“but we are not getting thebest minds.”

The main problem is thatwomen studying in sciencefields go through college with-out seeing other women beingpromoted to higher positionsor sometimes without havingany female instructors at all,Levin said.

“They don’t see a place forthemselves,” Levin said. “Forsome reason, they are dis-couraged from going intoacademia.”

It is important for any col-lege student to meet rolemodels during their collegecareer, said assistant chemi-cal engineering professorTonya Klein.

“It is different [for womenwho want to go into science-related fields] not to havementors,” Klein said. “It is def-initely more challenging psy-chologically.”

Klein, who is the onlyfemale instructor in thechemical engineering depart-ment, said she had an ideathat she wanted to instructcollege students while shewas still in school.

The number of women whobegin a science-related careerin academia and then decideto pursue a different career isdisturbing, Klein said.

These women mightchange their minds becausethey are faced with the realityof very few female peers, she said.

“It would be nicer if therewere more women,” Klein said.

Klein said academia is one

of the last traditionally male-dominated sectors of societythat women are infiltrating.

“The world is changing; itjust doesn’t change overnight,”she said.

More women are studyingin science-related fields, butthis trend doesn’t necessarilycarry over into the percent-age of female instructors.Klein said the chemical engi-neering field has a rela-tively high number of women— historically 40 percent to45 percent.

Levin said Women’sPrerogative began the letter-writing campaign shortlybefore Thanksgiving, and sofar the reaction has been verypositive.

“[Women’s Prerogative] isdesigned to allow youngerwomen to help themselvessolve the problems they facein society,” Levin said.

The group’s Web site allowsinterested people to send let-ters to officials at their univer-sity about the number ofwomen faculty members. Alsoon the Web site, it is possibleto send opinion pieces to localnewspapers and print fliers topost around campus.

One way to help womenadvance in their fields is tochange the “tenure clock,”Levin said. The process tobecoming tenured could beput on hold for women totake maternity leaves, she said.

“[Under most systems]basically you are given thechoice of work or children,”Levin said.

Hiring a female physics pro-fessor is a priority for the UAphysics department, chair-man Stanley Jones said.Department members havebeen looking for one over thepast several years even with-out a position available, hesaid.

The UA physics departmenthas formed a committee to filla position in the department,and the committee will begininterviewing candidates in thespring, Jones said.

“We have been looking for a

woman for six or seven yearsunsuccessfully,” Jones said.

He said the department hasoffered jobs to about fivewomen during that period oftime, but all have turned downthe offers. Most of these candi-dates have received betteroffers, Jones said.

The low number of womenreceiving degrees in physicsalso presents a problem. Jonessaid about 12 percent ofphysics degrees go to women,but other life-science fieldshave higher numbers.

“A complicated issue isspouses,” Jones said. “Theyalso need a job.”

“The most important thingwhen [female physics instruc-tors] are married is to be ableto hire their spouses.”

Many female candidatestake jobs at universities wheretheir husbands can work also,he said.

“We would like our facultyto reflect the makeup of our students,” Jones said.

“We do have a sizable number of women graduate students.”

About 20 percent of physicsgraduate students are female,Jones said.

CAMPUS

Council grants permit for f ishing tournament

Hoover gets state’s f irst municipal homeland security off ice

The Tuscaloosa City Council took the following actions atits Tuesday morning meeting:• Guys and Dolls Fishing Trail was awarded a permit to holda fishing tournament on Lake Tuscaloosa.• An amendment was introduced to change CherrystonePhase Two from a single-family district to a residence district.• Druid City Electric Inc. was awarded a contract to replacewiring in Jaycee Park.• The 2004 Underage Enforcement Award was given to theTuscaloosa Police Department by MADD.• With the exception of Public Safety and Utility Plants, allCity Hall offices will be closed Dec. 23 and 24 for Christmasand Jan. 3 for New Year’s.

— Malcolm Ifekauche

LOCAL

The Crimson White is the community newspaper of The University of Alabama.The Crimson White is an editorially free newspaper produced by students.

The University of Alabama cannot influence editorial decisions, and editorialopinions are those of the editorial board and do not represent the official opin-ions of the University.

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All material contained herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise,is Copyright © 2004 by The Crimson White and protected under the “Work Madefor Hire” and “Periodical Publication” categories of the U.S. copyright laws.

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STATE

QUOTE OF THE DAY

INBriefWorld

the

NEWS Wednesday, December 8, 2004Page 2 • The Crimson White

Holiday hours announced for Ferguson CenterThe Ferguson Center will be open for the following hours

this holiday season:

• Dec. 19: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.• Dec. 20-22: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.• Closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 1• Jan. 2: noon to 5 p.m.• Jan. 3: 7 a.m. to midnight

For more information, call the Ferguson Center informa-tion desk at 348-6063.

SCIENCEContinued from Page 1

Two more TCF f ilms to run at Bama TheatreAlong with the TCF 442 productions “Porcelain” and

“Carry-Out,” the Bama Theatre will also screen two inde-pendent study projects by two film students Thursday night.After the intermission following the other two films,telecommunication and film major Kevin Pinkerton’s“Smokin’ Holmes” will be shown. Immediately afterPinkerton’s film, telecommunication and film master stu-dent Todd Bryant’s “Straw Man Unyielding” will follow. Eachfilm runs about 25 minutes. The evening’s events will beginat 7:30.

HOOVER (AP) — The City Council decided to establish whatofficials believe is the first municipal homeland securityagency in Alabama despite questions over whether thedepartment was really needed in Hoover.

The seven-member council voted Monday to approvethe proposal by Mayor Tony Petelos, who said the officewould improve the city’s communications with state andfederal authorities. Petelos announced Tuesday thatHoover Police Chief Bob Berry would lead the city’s newDepartment of Homeland Security and Immigration.

Some questioned whether the department was intendedto monitor the growing population of Spanish-speakingimmigrants in Hoover, and Councilman Mike Natter saidhe doesn’t feel threatened living in the Birmingham suburb.

“Quite frankly, I do not believe al-Qaida has come toHoover,” said Natter, one of two council members tooppose the department.

Natter also questioned the estimated $150,000 cost ofestablishing the department, noting recent warnings fromcity finance officials that costs will rise and revenuesdecline.

Petelos, who has met with members of Alabama’s con-gressional delegation about his proposal, said extensivechanges in federal immigration law are expected next year,and he wants Hoover to be at the forefront of implementingthe new rules.

Clark said he and other stu-dents are aware that theirteacher struggles with Englishbecause often during class histeacher will ask what certainEnglish words mean.

He said he thinks having aprofessor who cannot speakfluent English has affected hisgrade and that he has notlearned calculus as a result.

Clark said he does notunderstand why the mathdepartment allows so manygraduate students to teachwho cannot communicateefficiently with students.

“If you’re teaching peoplethat speak English, you kindof need to speak English,” he said.

Sam Evers, director ofIntroductory Mathematics,said he has not received anycomplaints this semesterabout the teaching abilities ofinternational instructors.

He said all international stu-dents are required to pass anEnglish language test thatproves that they can speakEnglish understandably.

Graduate students who do not pass are used as tea-ching assistants but areunable to teach on their own,he said.

Evers said there are sixinternational graduate stu-dents teaching introductory

math courses and that each ofthem is working on either amaster’s or Ph.D. in math.

Evers said complaints aboutprofessors are never ignored,but he said some instructorsneed adjustment time to getused to teaching a class full ofstudents.

American students mayhave difficulties understand-ing their international instruc-tor not because they havepoor English, but because oftheir thick accent, he said.

“I have talked with each[international instructor] on apersonal basis,” he said. “Wedon’t put them in front of aclass if we don’t think they aresuitable.”

Zhijian Wu, chairman of themath department, said he seesmath as a very diverse depart-ment, but from time to timethere are complaints from stu-dents who cannot understandtheir teacher.

Wu said he always encour-ages students to talk with theirteacher after class in order toclarify material.

Many freshmen do not knowthat meeting professors afterclass can solve 80 percent of communication problems, he said.

Along with the English lan-guage tests, international stu-dents are also required to par-ticipate in a training programthat prepares them for teach-ing, Wu said.

He said they videotape

the international studentsteaching a practice class andcritique their methods and language capabilities.

International students wa-tch themselves teach and areable to quickly improve, hesaid.

Wu said situations wherestudents are unable to learntheir math material because ateacher cannot communicateclearly in English should neverhappen.

In the past, students haveswitched to other sectionswhen they were having diffi-culties understanding theirteacher, he said.

Mariko Shimizu, a JapanesePh.D. student and instructorin the math department, saidshe has found it very difficultto meet the English require-ments for teachers.

She said very few inter-national students pass theEnglish language exambecause it is so hard.

The exam requires interna-tional students to speak into acomputer and have artificialconversations. She said shefeels the exam is unfairbecause international stu-dents are not able to talk withreal people.

She said instructors gothrough so much in order to teach, and she said shethinks international studentsshould be able to speak like Americans if they aregoing to explain the complex

concepts of math.She said, however, that it is

important for students to telltheir teachers when they can-not understand them.

Shimizu said she has foughtto learn English for years soshe could teach, and she stillhas to speak slowly in order tobe understood.

“It is very important forinternational students to beable to teach math becausethey need to experience students,” she said. “I need to know how they think andin order to do this, I need to teach.”

If you compare how muchtime international studentteachers spend on classpreparation to how muchtime American teachersspend on class preparation,you will find that internation-al teachers do a lot morework, she said.

“I do my best so that students can understand me, but they don’t like international students fromthe beginning because they are used to American inst-ructors,” she said.

Shimizu said regardless ofwhether a student is Americanor international, it is hard totalk about math, and interna-tional teachers are under pres-sure to be better thanAmerican teachers.

“We have to do so muchbetter or else they wouldn’tneed us,” she said.

LANGUAGEContinued from Page 1

Check out what’s happening

on the entertainment scene

today, Page 10.

NEWS The Crimson White • Page 3Wednesday, December 8, 2004

CW/ Jessica MaxwellDespite a lack of snow, the University campusis transformed into a winter wonderland beforethe holiday break. The President’s Mansion isdecorated akin to the style of the Old SouthernChristmas decorations complete with swags ofgarland, wreaths and a large Christmas tree.Buildings including Rose Administration andGorgas Library have also decorated for theseason with lights and greenery.

A CapstoneChristmas

Check out TheCrimson White on

the Web at

www.cw.ua.edu.

OpinionsPage 4

Editorial BoardLauren Davidson EditorHeather Henderson Managing Editor

Chris Otts News DirectorWill Nevin Opinions Editor

The Crimson White welcomes your view on issues you see on this page, the rest of the paper and in the community. TheCW reserves the right to edit editorial submissions for punctuation, style and length. Libelous and inappropriate mate-rial may be edited for content. Each submission, including e-mail, must include the author’s name, address and phonenumber. Students should include classification and college of enrollment. Hand-delivered letters must be accompaniedby a photo ID. The word limit for letters is 300 words, 700 for columns. For more information, call (205) 348-6144.

Lauren DavidsonEditor348-8049

Heather HendersonManaging Editor348-6146

Chris OttsNews Director348-6146

Tiffany SchwarzArt Director348-9240

Alex MerrittSports Editor348-8057

Will NevinOpinions Editor348-6146

Jessica MaxwellPhoto Director348-9240

Ben FlanaganEntertainment Editor348-6146

8December

2004

CW newsroom contacts

Stop-lossdishonest

Our View

Our View is the consensus of The CW editorial board.

I have already gotten that warm,fuzzy feeling that people always getaround the Christmas season, andI’m not talking about the feeling youget after eating some of your mom’sfavorite dressing.

I’m also not talking about the feel-ing you get when you open presentson Christmas morning or that feelingyou get when you drink a cup of hotchocolate with whipped cream ormarshmallows.

I’m talking about the goose-pimplyfeeling you get during the CharlieBrown Christmas special when Linusexplains the real meaning behindChristmas.

“In those days Caesar Augustusissued a decree that a census shouldbe taken of the entire Roman world… And everyone went to his owntown to register. So Joseph also wentup from the town of Nazareth inGalilee to Judea, to Bethlehem thetown of David, because he belongedto the house and line of David.

He went there to register withMary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting

a child.“While they were there,

the time came for the baby tobe born, and she gave birthto her firstborn, a son. Shewrapped him in swaddlingclothes and placed him in amanger, because there wasno room for them in the inn.

“And there were shep-herds living out in the fieldsnearby, keeping watch overtheir flocks at night. Anangel of the Lord appearedto them, and the glory of the Lordshone around them, and they wereterrified. But the angel said to them,‘Do not be afraid. I bring you goodnews of great joy that will be for allthe people. Today in the town ofDavid a Savior has been born to you;this is Christ the Lord.’”

Isaiah predicted the coming of theMessiah when he said, “For to us achild is born, to us a son is given, andthe government will be on his shoul-ders. And he will be called Wonderful,Counselor, Mighty God, EverlastingFather, Prince of Peace. Of the

increase of his governmentand peace there will be noend…”

Christmas gives everyonea chance to think on thebirth of the Savior, but italso causes us to look at thegreat sacrifice that Hepoured out for us. Because God loved you and

me so much, He gave up hisone and only son to come toEarth to become a man. Hegave up His throne in heav-

en because He loved us. Because of our sin, our lies, our cov-

etousness, our stealing, our murder-ing, our adultery, our disrespect to ourparents, our idolatry and our blasphe-my, we have separated ourselves fromGod. God only wants perfection in Hispresence, and after Adam fell, no manhas ever been perfect.

Isaiah said, “All we like sheep havegone astray; we have turned, eachone to his own way; and Jehovah haslaid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

God requires that sin must be pun-ished, and this punishment is eternal

damnation. But God didn’t want us tobe condemned. So, through no effortof our own, God gave His Son JesusChrist to become a sacrifice for oursin. All the sins we have ever commit-ted in our lives or will ever commitwas laid upon him.

Isaiah the prophet wrote, ‘“Comenow, let us reason together,’ says theLord.

‘Though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow;though they are red as crimson, theyshall be like wool.’”

“Surely He took up our infirmitiesand carried our sorrows, yet we con-sidered him stricken by God. But hewas pierced for our transgressions, hewas crushed for our iniquities; thepunishment that brought us peacewas upon him, and by his wounds weare healed.”

Jesus Christ came for the explicitpurpose of saving you and me fromour own destruction. By His gracealone, and not by our works, He tookthe beatings and the shame of thecross. He lives to take my shame away.

Jesus was that Old Testament lamb

who was sacrificed by Israel on theDay of Atonement to cover sin. Jesusprovided us a better sacrifice byremoving our sin because the bloodof animals could only cover sin, notremove it.

We did not reach up to touch God.God reached down to touch usthrough his son. All other religionstirelessly push works or sacrifice as amethod of reaching God, but Jesussaid we can be saved by His gracealone. We don’t have to be rich, popu-lar or perfect to come to Him. All youhave to do is lay your sins upon Him,ask Him to forgive you and be theSavior of your life. Trust in Him to takeaway the sin and shame, and He will.

As you look at all the Nativityscenes that are everywhere, remember what that little baby didfor you.

Yield your heart to the Savior thisChristmas. He is knocking at thedoor of your heart. Merry Christmas.

Marlin Caddell is administrativeaffairs editor of The Crimson White.His column appears every Wednesday.

In recent years, one wordabove all others has becomesynonymous with what is nowhated in this country. This wordhas been abused, draggedthrough the mud and stuck onanyone who refuses to conformto anything out of a host ofaccepted societal norms. Insome parts of the country, itmight as well be an expletive.

Now, let’s say it all together:liberal.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen; I ama part of a dying breed in the South, agroup with a proud tradition that hasbeen lately given a bum rap. As a manwithout a state and apparently now anexpatriate living in my own country, it ishard to hold onto the ideals I cherish inthe face of such adversity.

Take a look around. We have a staterepresentative trying to rid our librariesand theaters of homosexual material. Wehave an Alabama electorate that just col-lectively pined for the days of Jim Crow.This same electorate also refuses to votefor anyone or anything that might try toimprove the state’s ledgers through taxincreases. Because of these and a multi-tude of other issues, it’s not a good timefor anyone appearing centrist, much lessleft of center.

Still, I cling to my values like a piece ofdriftwood in an angry and tumultuoussea. But why? Why cast my lot with an ide-ology that is becoming increasinglymaligned?

For me, liberalism allows for an ana-lytical approach to almost any issue.This is important because the thingsfacing our society and our nation arenever as simple as the black and whitesolutions that some people like to

invent. For example, I support our

armed forces as any trueAmerican should — but I mightnot necessarily agree with thedecisions to send them intoarmed conflict. I’m a Christianwho claims Jesus Christ as mysavior, yet I realize that others donot share my faith. I also respectthe division between church andstate.

I abhor abortion when used as a formof birth control, but I think it should beleft as an option to be sorted out betweena woman and her doctor. I’m against druglegalization, but I think medicinal mari-juana should be open as an option forthose it can really help.

Sure, my various positions mightsound conservative or moderate, butthese gradations and analytical approachare markedly liberal. They’re alsofrowned upon. Just look at the recentpresidential election — Sen. John Kerrywas ridiculed as being a “flip-flopper”just because of his nuanced approach topolicy making.

In general, liberalism allows me toalways question my world. In as much, Ican demand more of my elected leadersand challenge authority. I can also ques-tion accepted customs and seek to shakeup the status quo.

And that’s the big one. Nothing canhamper progress more than blind accept-ance of the status quo. I believe we shouldchange the things that need to bechanged in our world, and that change isa natural part of life. I admire and respectour past, but I don’t grasp it as if it weresacred.

As a populous, we should never be con-tent with what we have. We should always

strive for a greater and better society —not just for the rich or influential — butfor all. Because of this, change and theevolution of ideas should always be a toppriority.

Above all, I am a liberal because I feel.When gays and other minorities are thetarget of bigoted hatred, I feel the stings ofdetestation. When others go hungry, I feelthe emptiness of their stomachs. Whensome in this country cannot pay for thebasic necessities of life, I feel the cold ofan unheated home.

These are not just empty promises ofempathy so readily offered by some; thesefeelings go a long way in my policy prefer-ences. I support gay marriage because Ifeel that you cannot choose whom youlove in this life, and that all peopledeserve a shot at happiness.

I feel that humanitarian aid — here andabroad — should be more of a prioritythan it is now. I feel that poverty is not achoice but a fact of circumstance; there-fore I support things like progressiveincome taxes that do not penalize thepoor.

In short, I think we could all use ourhearts a little more. Becoming less inter-ested in ourselves and more interested inthe well-being of our neighbors can onlymake for better world.

And I’ll leave you with this. When tra-versing the road of life, search for thecompromises that lead to better under-standing.

Search for the things that serve to bindus together as a people, not the thingsthat rend fellowship asunder.

Liberal, conservative or somewhere inthe middle, we all have to get along.

Will Nevin is the outgoing opinions editorof The Crimson White.

Remember Jesus Christ while you celebrate Christmas

In the defense of liberalism

When two parties come together to sign a contract,usually the terms are set out in cold and unchangeableprint. When one party violates a contract, that party isusually held accountable. Just ask the U.S. Army.

Army officials, faced with a growing need for troopsin Iraq, have put in certain measures to prevent retire-ment and to also keep soldiers from going home —even though their enlistment contract may be up.This is entirely ludicrous since the Army is on a com-pletely volunteer basis. When the date is up for thesevolunteers to go home, they should be on their way.

Seven U.S. soldiers have filed suit against theArmy for broken contracts, and with good reason.Last spring, the Army initiated a plan known as stop-loss to ensure continuity among deployed units andto avoid bringing new soldiers in to replace thosesoldiers whose contracts had run out. The policyaffects more than 7,000 soldiers who had plannedon retiring or leaving because of expired contracts.

Soldiers who enlist should be able to trust theArmy, but with these kinds of policies, future enlis-tees might reconsider fighting for their country.Sure, the Army has great benefits, such as paying foreducation, but the benefits might be outweighed bythe possibility of being stuck in Iraq for several yearswhen the contract only said one.

The stop-loss policy is just a backdoor draft thatforeshadows things to come. Right now, it is easier tojust keep current soldiers or call people out of retire-ment to fight the war rather than to cause a draftuproar. Soldiers who have completed their taskshould not be lied to, and should be able to go by thecontract in which they signed up.

When soldiers, or anyone for that matter, sign acontract, then everything should be up front. Bybreaking contracts, the Army is being deceptive andborderline illegal. The government should not beable to mistreat people who are willing to put theirlives on the line for the country.

It is understandable that the government wouldwant to keep experienced soldiers in the war, but ifthey have done their time, they should be let go.These people are being treated as pawns to furtherthe agenda of the government. Rather than beingseen as real people with names, lives and families,these soldiers are seen as just another number.

The stop-loss policy seems to be a last resortbefore a full draft is reinstated. Of course, PresidentBush said he would not reinstate the draft, but hemay have no choice if the numbers of enlistees con-tinue to drop. Realistically, if there are any other con-flicts, a draft may be the only solution.

This is not a pro-war or anti-war debate; it is sim-ply an argument of what is right and what is wrong.

It must be hard to be accountable and responsibleif the government is not doing what it is supposed tobe doing. People who risk their lives are being takenadvantage of, when really they should be the first tobe treated with dignity and respect.

CW/ N

ick B

eadle

Will Nevin

Marlin CaddellTHE WATCHMAN

consistently hold your headat chin level without havingto glance back and forth fromthe desk to the monitor,which places unnecessarystress on your neck.

It’s also important to makesure your keyboard is lowenough so your arms canhang at lap level. When thekeyboard is too high, you areforced to hold your shouldershigher than you would in anormal, relaxed position,which also places stress onyour neck.

Sleeping

Though you might havedone it when you were ababy, sleeping on your stom-ach as an adult can causeserious damage to the neckand is a habit that must bechanged immediately toavoid future neck and backproblems, Rhodes said.

When you sleep on yourstomach, the neck is strainedbecause the head is rotatedto one side for hours on end.The best sleep position is onthe back or side with a pillow

placed between your legs tokeep the pelvis aligned.

Walking with a backpack

Students who carry heavybackpacks when walking toclass on a daily basis need tobe careful to distributeweight evenly over their bodyby wearing the backpack overboth shoulders.

That’s why a properly wornbackpack is more conduciveto good posture than a tote orshoulder bag carried on thehips or on one side of thebody, which places unduestress on that one side.

As a general rule, theweight of backpacks shouldbe no more than 10 percentof your body weight, Rhodessaid, though it’s very easy tolet your backpack becomesubstantially heavier. He alsorecommends taking precau-tion picking up a heavy back-pack from the floor, an actthat could cause serious backharm if done carelessly.

Driving

Driving can wreak havoc onposture and health if you’re notseated properly in the driver’sseat, Rhodes said.

As with any sitting position, it is important to have the lower back supported. Rhodes also suggests sitting fairly close to the steering wheel so you don’t have to lean forward.

It’s beneficial to use theentire back of the seat forsupport to be able to leanback and still control thewheel without straining muscles at the shoulder junction. It’s also always agood idea to get out of the car and move around afterevery couple of hours of driving.

Lounging

Even a physically passiveactivity such as lounging onthe couch or floor in front of the TV can compromisethe curve of the neck if you’re straining to hold the neck at an improperangle to view the televisionscreen.

This popular loungingposition has caused serioushealth problems in the last 40years with the increase in TVwatching among Americans,Rhodes said.

“Unless you have a TV on

your ceiling, you do not needto lie on your back and watchTV,” he said.

NEWS The Crimson White • Page 5Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Service Committee.Holt said he hopes

the Senate can oversee a diversity committee because the UniversityCommittee for Diver-sity and Inclusive-ness has had sparse attendance and little suc-cess influencing theadministration to pro-gress in the area of multi-culturalism.

Senate President JohnMason said the proposalwill be reviewed by the Governance Comm-ittee and will be used on a trial basis in order forits goals to be furtherdefined.

Winston also told theSenate that the Parking andTraffic Regulation Stan-ding Committee rece-ntly voted to app-rove an increase in the cost of faculty parking permits.

The cost of parking per-mits would increase $40 and could be imple-mented within the nextyear, he said.

Winston said theincreased cost could beseen as a pay cut for facultywho cannot afford it.

The increase was attributed to the exp-ense of construction, hesaid.

“Faculty should not haveto pay for that growth,” hesaid.

He said the Senate would write to UniversityPresident Robert Wittrequesting that parking permits remain the same price.

SENATEContinued from Page 1

Find out what’s

happeningin sports

today, Page 6.

By ANEESA MCMILLANStaff Reporter

Still dissatisfied with thecity’s safeguards to preventsewage leaks, Friends ofHurricane Creek still plans togo through with its lawsuitagainst Tuscaloosa, the envi-ronmental group’s leader saidTuesday.

“We have up to 60 days fromthe day the notice was given totake any action,” FHC directorJohn Wathen said. “The legalsystem is a very slow process.”

The city received notice of

the suit filed on FHC’s behalfby the Florida-based LegalEnvironmental AssistanceFoundation in September.Wathen said the lawsuit is inthe discovery phase of thecase where each side gathersevidence to support their case.

FHC and LEAF officials havesaid the suit is an attempt tocoax city officials into takingmeasures its members believewill preemptively preventsewage leaks. They assert thatprevious leaks led to healthand environmental problemsin the area, and the city needs

to aggressively address theproblem.

Wathen said there are stillproblems with generators thatcould cause serious massivesewage failure if the city experi-ences a power outage. “As far asI can see, the city has not metany of the requirements listedin the lawsuit,” Wathen said.

City officials have rebuttedthat some problems cited inthe lawsuit occurred when theremnants of Hurricane Ivanhit Tuscaloosa in Septemberand that other problems haveor will be corrected. They have

also said that before the law-suit was filed, many attemptswere made to negotiate withthe FHC officials.

Tuscaloosa wastewatermanager Jimmy Junkin said hehas not heard anything aboutthe lawsuit since it first arose.“We haven’t gotten any morecorrespondence,” he said.

Previous suits threatened byFHC were settled throughnegotiations between thegroup and the city. U.S. Rep.Artur Davis, D-Ala., moderat-ed such successful negotia-tions last spring.

Hurricane Creek lawsuit still on

CW/ Elliot KnightOne of the substations that Friends of Hurricane Creek allege has leaks or other problems that are polluting the creek. The group is going ahead with its lawsuit against Tuscaloosa.

POSTUREContinued from Page 1

Friday:

• A look at Alabama’s water ski teamSportsWednesday, December 8, 2004 Page 6

Crimson Tide by18 over AL StateBy BUDDY HUGHESAssistant Sports Editor

MMOONNTTGGOOMMEERRYY —— A sparkling first-half effort gaveAlabama a big enough cushion to survive asloppy second-half performance and stave off apesky Alabama State team 72-54 Tuesday nightat the Joe L. Reed Acadome.

Senior guard Earnest Shelton said the teamdid not overlook the defending SWACTournament champions.

“We didn’t take [this game] any differently,”Shelton said. “We knew they were a good team,[and] they were going to come out with a lot ofintensity. We just came into the game just likewe approach any normal game.”

The Crimson Tide dominated the first half onboth the offensive and defensive sides of thecourt.

Freshman point guard Ron Steele didn’t looklike a freshman as he picked the pocket of aHornet player and led the fast break finding for-ward Kennedy Winston for an easy two points.

“We wanted to run,” Shelton said. “We knewthey were going to zone us, and one way to beatthe zone is to get the ball up the court. We justwanted to run, get some rebounds, get on theboard, get the ball out and just run the court.”

Shelton was a big part of the Tide’s transitiongame.

The Memphis native made a key block on anASU fast break that set up a fast break opportu-nity for the Tide. The play appropriately result-ed in a Shelton layup.

Winston and Shelton hooked up for twopoints when Winston pulled down a reboundand found Shelton wide open down the court.The junior hit Shelton in stride with a full-courtpass and Shelton laid it in the cylinder for two.

Winston continued his hot streak leading theTide in scoring with 21 points (see sidebar, page7).

The Tide took a 41-22 lead into the lockerrooms but came out flat in the second half. TheHornets woke up from their first-half slumber

to put together a 12-3 run to cut Alabama’s leaddown to 12. But that is as close as the Hornetsgot.

A layup by Steele and a 3-pointer fromWinston put an end to the ASU run and put the

APAlabama center Jermareo Davidson attempts to block a shot againstAlabama State during the Crimson Tide’s 72-54 win Tuesday night.Davidson f inished the night with eight points and nine rebounds.

See VICTORY, Page 8

Alabama women win fifthof year over in-state rivalBy RICHARD D. LEESenior Sports Reporter

Heading into Tuesdaynight’s game against theUAB Blazers, AlabamaCrimson Tide head coachRick Moody expressedsome concern over how histeam would respond coming off its first loss ofthe season.

He didn’t have to waitlong to get an answer.

The Tide took controlfrom the start and never letup, improving its record to5-1 beating in-state rivalUAB (1-7) 74-55.

Moody, who was honored before the gamefor his 300th career coach-ing win, improved his all-time record to 20-0 in non-SEC home games ver-sus an in-state opponent.

“I was very pleased withour effort tonight,” Moodysaid. “It was really animprovement over lastSaturday [against VirginiaTech]. The most improve-ment was in our attitudeand our intensity.”

Sophomore guardMarverly Nettles led a bal-anced Tide scoring attackwith 15 points. Sophomoreguard Navonda Moore had13 points while seniorguard Monique Bivinsadded 11 points and ateam-high six rebounds.

“We’ve been working

hard in practice [ever since theloss],” Bivins said. “Tonight itjust paid off.”

Against UAB, the Tide gotback to its specialty – playingsolid defense.

Alabama held the Blazers toonly 5 of 35 shooting (14.3 percent) in the first half whileforcing 13 turnovers.

“We just try to get after it ondefense,” sophomore guardKate Mastin said. “We feel likewe can match up against anybody so we try to create[offense] with our defense.”

At one point in the first half

CW/ Elliot KnightAlabama guard Kate Mastin f inished with f ive points and f ive assists against UAB Tuesday night.

See TIDE, Page 7

SPORTS The Crimson White • Page 7Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Winston steppingup big for teamJunior plays wellcoming off week ofnational awardsBy DENNIS PILLIONSenior Sports Reporter

MMOONNTTGGOOMMEERRYY —— KennedyWinston had another standoutperformance Tuesday night inMontgomery against theAlabama State Hornets.

Winston finished the gamewith 21 points, sevenrebounds and five assists.

The Prichard native startedthe game strong, keepingAlabama’s offense on trackafter starters Chuck Davis andEarnest Shelton both pickedup two early fouls.

Winston hit 4-of-6 shots inthe first half and racked up 11points, five rebounds and fourassists before the break.

“We planned on coming inand jumping on them early,but they responded well,”Winston said.

When Alabama State closedthe gap to 13 points in the sec-ond half, Winston respondedby scoring seven straightAlabama points and stiflingany possible comeback.

“When it was crunch time,he made some big baskets andthat’s typically what he does,”Alabama head coach MarkGottfried said.

Winston’s shooting was alsoimportant, since Sheltonstruggled from long range, hit-ting only 2-of-9 3s.

“Me personally, I just could-n’t put it in the hole tonight,”Shelton said. “[Winston] wasplaying really aggressive, step-ping up and knocking downbig shots.”

Winston hit 8-of-11 shots inthe game, including 4-of-6 3-pointers.

Alabama State coach RobSpivery said the Hornets couldnot focus on Winston toomuch because of the CrimsonTide’s depth.

“We didn’t really give anyspecial attention to himbecause you can’t ignoreEarnest Shelton or RonaldSteele or anybody else,”Spivery said. “We just tried tostay in front of him and workon rebounding the ball.”

Winston entered the game

just after being named ESPNand The Sporting News’National Player of the Week forhis performances againstCharlotte and East Tennessee.

Winston scored 33 pointsand pulled down 10 reboundsin the three-overtime game atCharlotte, including the bas-ket that forced overtime andthe game-winning shot in thethird overtime.

He had 21 points and 10rebounds in the win overETSU.

The junior forward was alsonamed SEC player of the weekfor the fourth time in hiscareer, the most of anyAlabama player, but said hetried not to focus much onawards.

“As long as we’re winning,that’s the most importantthing,” Winston said. “I couldplay well, but if we’d lost those

games, I don’t think I’d havegotten the award.”

Winston entered the contestaveraging 18.1 points and 6.3rebounds per game and shoot-ing 46.1 percent from the floorand 46.7 percent from 3-pointrange.

Alabama State, Charlotteand ETSU all qualified for theNCAA Tournament last year.

Winston, whose health wasin question after offseasonknee surgery, seems to beplaying well, playing 37 min-utes on Tuesday and 53 min-utes in the triple-overtimegame at Charlotte.

“That was an adrenalinegame,” Winston said. “It wasn’ta matter of conditioning, thatgame took a lot of heart anddetermination.”

“It looks like he’s getting hislegs back up under him,”Shelton said.

APAlabama forward Kennedy Winston f inished Tuesday night with 21 points, seven rebounds andf ive assists in Alabama’s 72-54 win against UAB.

UAB missed 16 straight shotsand did not score a field goalfor almost nine minutes.

During that stretchAlabama, already leading 20-15, blew the game open goingon a 17-2 run to pull ahead by20 points.

“They are a very talentedteam,” UAB head coachAudra Smith said. “We dug ahole early. The bottom line isyou have to make shots, andwe just couldn’t make themwhen we had to.”

The Blazers avoided totaldisaster in the first half bygoing 10 of 12 from the free-throw line compared to only1 of 6 for the Tide.

Coming out of the lockerroom after halftime leading38-21, Alabama used its supe-rior depth to wear down theundermanned Blazers.

UAB suited up only eightplayers for the game andseemed to tire as the gamewent on.

“Depth has been a big plusfor us all year,” Moody said.

“It was obvious we had theedge tonight in that depart-ment.”

The Tide took quick advan-tage as Moore, Nettles andBivins combined for eight ofthe first 16 points of the halfto take its biggest lead of thegame 54-32.

“We were finding the openplayer and when you get anopen shot you knock itdown,” Mastin said.

To their credit, the Blazershung around and did not letthe game get out of hand asthe solid play of sophomoreguard Carmen Guzman keptUAB within striking distance.

Guzman finished the nightwith 18 points and 14rebounds.

It wasn’t enough, however,as UAB got closer than 17 therest of the way.

“You have to give UABcredit, they hung in there andtheir kids can play,” Moodysaid. “This is the first game allyear we were out rebounded.”

For both Mastin andBivins, natives of Alabama,the win was especially sweet.

“Beating UAB’s good, mostdefinitely,” Bivins said.

Mastin furthered Bivins’point.

“I remember watchingthem [UAB] beat us in theNIT when I was still in highschool,” Mastin said. “I wasstill mad from that and want-ed to get this win really badtonight.”

Alabama travels toTennessee Tech on Saturdayfor a game that will tip off at 7p.m.

TIDEContinued from Page 6

CW/ Elliot KnightAlabama guard Monique Bivins scored 11points against UAB on Tuesday night.

Check out The CrimsonWhite on the Web at www.cw.ua.edu.

Steroids do help you hithome runs.

It’s time to put this argu-ment to rest. I’m sickand tired of the ludi-crous argument Ikeep hearing fromfriends, on radio call-in shows andfrom players thatsteroids can’t help aguy hit the ball out ofthe ballpark, so I’mgoing to break itdown for you.

I’ll be starting lawschool in August, soforgive me if I use a lawyerlyapproach while making mycase.

You, the reader, will be myjury.

While many factors on anygiven night go into hitting ahome run (wind, pitcher, etc.)there are two major players inthis argument: the effectsteroids have on a person’sbody and the factors that gointo hitting a home run.

First, let’s analyze whatsteroids do to the body.

In addition to causing acne,headaches, stretching yourskin, speeding the baldingprocess, causing “roid rage”and depression, damagingyour liver, increasing your riskfor heart disease, decreasingyour ability to maintain anerection, raising your bloodpressure, forming femalebreasts on men, stuntinggrowth and shrinking your tes-ticles … whew … steroids alsoincrease muscle mass anddecrease recovery time afterworkouts.

In other words, when BarryBonds works out all day longin the offseason, then goeshome at night, juices up andgoes to bed, he wakes up thenext day feeling fresher thanthe Prince of Bel-Air.

Meanwhile, the rest of histeammates wake up aching,wondering how the hell Barryis back in the weight roomdoing seven sets of eight repslifting a car and a half.

So what does that have to do

with hitting home runs, youask.

Many factors go into hittinghome runs, especial-ly at record-settingpaces. These factorsinclude, but are notlimited to, the follow-ing: hand-eye coordi-nation and batspeed.

In short, the moreprecise your hand-eye coordination, themore likely you are tomake solid bat-to-ball contact and,

thus, hit the ball farther. Can steroids improve hand-

eye coordination? Thus far, no science out

there has proven that they canand I don’t believe they do,either. So let’s move on to batspeed.

Once again, in short, thefaster you are swinging the batupon contact, the further theball will travel, making it morelikely to fly over a fence far, faraway.

Ah, maybe we’re onto some-thing here.

So, can steroids increase batspeed?

Of course they can! Batspeed is directly tied tostrength and body torque.Steroids not only make youstronger, but also give yourbody more time to spend inthe weight room by making itpossible to spend less time inthe hot tub relaxing your soremuscles.

I’m sure there are more sci-entific ways to break it down,but the bottom line is this: Thestronger and quicker yourmuscles are, the faster you willbe able to swing a bat.

It’s not just your biceps thatget bigger.

Your abs, legs and everyother muscle also are giventhe opportunity to get quickerand stronger if you takesteroids.

The faster you can swing abat, the more likely you are tohit a home run when youmake solid contact. Do

steroids make you a home runhitter? No.

I could inject steroids twicedaily into my flabby butt and Istill wouldn’t be able to hit theball out of the infield.

But take a guy like JasonGiambi or Bonds — guys whohave already proven to besolid home run hitters — andgive them steroids and all of asudden 20 hits a season thatwould have landed on thewarning track are now landingin the outfield bleachers.

Almost overnight, you cango from a skinny contact hitterand base stealer who averages32 home runs over the first 14years of your career into anoversized mammoth whoaverages 52 home runs over afive-year span. Can’t ya, Barry?

I rest my case.This steroid scandal should

be the most damaging blackeye on baseball ever. It’s worsethan betting on baseballbecause hallowed recordshave been broken andcheaters broke them.

Anyone who is proven guiltyof using steroids should bepermanently banned from thegame. They should wear ascarlet ‘S’ for steroids.

Should they be eligible forthe Hall of Fame? Sure, what-ever. Put Barry in there next toa scrolling video of howsteroids can be injected intothe body and let everyone seethe greatest home run hitter ofall time — a doped-up conartist.

The worst part about all ofthis is the blasé attitude fansare beginning to take. Where’sthe outrage? Where’s theanger?

Have we all become desen-

sitized to the most corruptingforce in baseball, or is it just sopredictable now that it seemsanticlimactic to get riled upover something we all knew inthe first place?

“Baseball players usingsteroids? Well, duh.”

And why are people defend-ing this type of behavior?ESPN did a feature on how thefans’ lust for the home run ispartially to blame. I almostcanceled my cable on the spot.

I guess my interest in boxinglead to the Pacers-Pistonsbrawl as well. My bad.

What puzzles me the mostis why the players’ union isn’tthe one that wants the drugtesting.

If you’re a clean player andyou’re fighting for a roster spotor a bigger contract, isn’t it inyour best interest that the guyyou’re competing against notbe using steroids?

Despite its recent efforts,which have come only afterSen. John McCain threatenedto take congressional action,the players’ union’s defiantattitude toward testing leavesme no alternative but tobelieve that more players areusing steroids than we think.

But I say screw the players’union.

Who needs ’em? Bud Seligcertainly doesn’t. As actingcommissioner of MajorLeague Baseball, he has a“best interests of baseball”clause in his contract that

allows him to do whatevernecessary in dire times.

I’m pretty sure the only waythis could get any more dire isif Bonds hit his record-break-ing 756th home run, and as hewas crossing the plate aloaded syringe fell out of hisback pocket.

The clause has been useddozens of times over the years,sometimes unsuccessfully,perhaps most famously in theChicago Black Sox scandal, theonly scandal that compares towhat we’re talking abouttoday.

The ball has been in BudSelig’s court before and he’sdropped it on numerous occa-sions. (Tied All-Star game any-one?)

What will it take to get a stiffsteroid policy? Does someonehave to die on the field?

Everyone except the playersis on Selig’s side.

He should follow NBA com-missioner David Stern’s leadand, for once in his tenure,rule with an iron fist.

If you have used steroids,you’re banned. If you test pos-itive in the future, you’rebanned. Period.

I would rather the league goon strike again and hash thisthing out than sit throughanother season of doubt. Theperiod from 1994-2004 alreadyhas a Ruthian, er, Bondsianasterisk next to it.

The fans deserve nothingless than the option to go tothe ballpark, see a toweringhome run and not have towonder whether the guy whojust hit it is using drugs.

Make it happen, Bud, orresign and let someone elsefight the good fight.

By the way, I’m available.

Alex Merritt is sports editor ofThe Crimson White.

SPORTS Wednesday, December 8, 2004Page 8 • The Crimson White

Decade of MLB tainted

Alex MerrittWRITER’S BLOC

Should they be eligible for the Hall ofFame? Sure, whatever. Put Barry in therenext to a scrolling video of how steroidscan be injected into the body and let every-one see the greatest home run hitter of alltime — a doped-up con artist.

Tide back in the driver’sseat.

Alabama forward ChuckDavis said Alabama headcoach Mark Gottfried pro-vided a little inspiration tohelp improve the Tide’s sec-ond-half play.

“We were playing realsloppy [and] lazy,” Davissaid. “We weren’t gettingback [on defense].

“Coach said time was up.He really told us that if wedon’t get back, we’re goingto practice at 12 o’clocktonight. We had to comeout there and get our ener-gy back up and come outand play.”

Playing in Montgomerywas very special for Davis,who grew up just down theroad in Selma.

Davis did not disappointthe family members thatmade the trek from Selma.The junior dominated thepost with 18 points andnine rebounds.

“I had millions of peoplecall me for tickets,” Davissaid. “I wasn’t able to geteverybody in.”

Alabama will take to thecourt again on Saturday atColeman Coliseum againstthe Temple Owls at 6 p.m.

VICTORYContinued from Page 6

ENTERTAINMENT The Crimson White • Page 9Wednesday, December 8, 2004

to how screenwriters are oftentreated in the movie business.

“Screenwriters have theleast power in the industry,”Greer said. “I hope that Robbycan look back on this as a positive learning experience.

“If not, then he’s learnedthat he shouldn’t be a screenwriter.”

On the contrary, Trione saidhe hopes to write and directhis own short film next semes-ter.

He mentioned that hewould like to collaborate inthe future with Gaar on aremake of “Carry-Out” usingthe original title “Intrigue?!”

He also said he is in theearly stages of an animated“presidential time-travelthriller” following ThomasJefferson on a fictional

adventure. While tension at Thursday’s

premiere will no doubt behigh, Trione (who said he isconsidering wearing all blackclothing and a black widow’s

veil) said he is confident therewon’t be any verbal or physicalviolence there or at the after-party.

“I’d like to think that we cankeep it together,” Trione said.

“I’m not one to start fights.”The screenings will begin at

7:30 Wednesday at the BamaTheatre in downtownTuscaloosa.

Admission is free.

MOVIESContinued from Page 10

“They tried to convince me that I had agreed to make it adrama because I said that the actors should ‘play it straight,’ Iwas like ‘Of course, that’s how comedy works!’”

— Robby Trione

Director of “Porcelain”

Check out TheCrimson White

on the Web at

www.cw.ua.edu.

here’s no busi-ness like show

business. That’s a les-son students in AaronGreer’s TCF 442 classlearned firsthand thissemester, as they werepresented with thechallenge of writing,producing and editingtwo short films sched-uled to premiere at theBama Theatre duringdead week. While thisinitial goal will beaccomplished withThursday’s screenings of“Porcelain” and “Carry-Out,”the process of bringing the pic-tures (especially the latter) tolife has been nothing short oftumultuous.

After reviewing a number ofsubmitted screenplays, classmembers voted on the twomovies they wanted to makethe most. Subsequently, Greerdrew names out of a hat todecide who would performspecific jobs (director, produc-er, production designer, etc.).The two respective directorswere senior psychology majorAdam Schwartz and seniortelecommunication and filmmajor Justin Gaar. Schwartzand Gaar graduated togetherfrom the Jefferson CountyInternational Baccalaureateprogram at Shades Valley HighSchool in Birmingham.

Schwartz was assigned totackle a kidnapping comedy

originally entitled“Intrigue?!” thatbecame “Carry-Out”by screenwriter andclass memberRobby Trione, whohas collaborated onmany comedic proj-ects with Gaar, mostnotably “We BuiltThis City on GuessWho” and the awardwinning “Talk Intothe Lobster.” Hopingthat Gaar wouldcome aboard to

helm his “absurd comedy,”Trione saw the first of manydisappointments when Greersuggested that Gaar forgoworking on “Intrigue?!” inorder to test his range with themuch more dramatic“Porcelain.”

“I wanted to see [Gaar] directsomething outside of his com-fort zone,” Greer said. “Thisrepresented growth for him …I didn’t want Trione and Gaarto be forced to use each otheras crutches.”

Based on an original screen-play by Will Wallace (the pro-ducer of “Carry-Out”),“Porcelain” can best bedescribed as a science-fictiondrama examining the relation-ship between a female androidnamed Elizabeth (AbigailElizemeyer) and her creatorSeth (A. Clay Boyce). Sethbecomes worried whenElizabeth begins to show

interest in, andpossibly experi-ence, a particularemotion she wasn’tprogrammed tohave.

Though Wallace’sscript served as themovie’s basic foun-dation, Gaar andscreenwriter CurtisAbrams reportedlyrewrote the scriptfour times before pro-duction. Consequently,credit for the finalscreenplay will go toGaar and Abrams,with Wallace receiv-ing credit for the orig-inal story.

Though Wallacesaid he felt conflicted aboutthe changes made to his script,he sees that as part of themovie business.

“I’m just looking forward toseeing the final product,”Wallace said. “It’s a good feel-ing knowing that something Iinitially created is going up onthe screen.”

Though he seemed confi-dent about having the pictureready for Thursday’s screening,Gaar said that the days leadingup to it would be “intense.” OnSunday, there still existed agreat deal of work to be doneregarding the sound mix —especially the musical score,which was completed andturned over to the filmmakers

on Mondayevening.

While, tosome, theprocess of get-ting “Porcelain”made soundslike ane x t r e m e l y trying experi-ence, it hardlycompares tothe hardshipsfaced by“C a r r y- O u t ,”which sufferedmany internalp r o b l e m sbecause ofscript-relateddisagreementsamong Trione,

Schwartz and Wallace.According to Wallace, Trione

was slow to complete the script— the reason Trione cited forbeing continuously harassedby Wallace via e-mail.

“I don’t work well underpressure,” Trione said.

Complicating matters evenworse was a disagreement overthe comedic direction themovie was taking — withSchwartz and Wallace in onecorner and Trione in the other.

“[Trione] really likes hisscript and got defensive whenwe approached him with newideas,” Schwartz said. “Theoriginal script was all aboutone-liners, sight gags and jokes… that works well for sketchcomedy, but we didn’t think itwould come off well in a film.Most of the jokes were too offthe wall.”

The situation escalated to itspeak just as Hurricane Ivanbegan to wreak havoc on theGulf Coast. Trione, a Fairhopenative, traveled to Talladega tobe with family members whowere forced to evacuate. Withthe final script due the follow-ing Monday, Trione couldn’tcommunicate with his groupvia e-mail, causing them topanic. At that point, Wallace,Schwartz and crew-memberChad Davis churned out theirown version of the script — anact that infuriated Trione, whoclaimed that his draft wascompleted by the deadline.

“They tried to convince me

that I had agreed to make it adrama because I said that theactors should ‘play it straight,’”Trione said. “I was like ‘Ofcourse, that’s how comedyworks!’”

Wallace and Schwartz citeda lack of rising action during along scene as an additionalweakness of Trione’s script.Wallace described the scene as“two people talking for 20 min-utes.” Eventually, Trionebacked down and sat back asWallace, Schwartz and compa-ny shot the movie based onmajor revisions containingsome of Trione’s original dia-logue.

Trione, who reportedlyserved sporadically as boom-mike operator, said the set wasso tension-filled that he decid-ed not to come back after a fewweeks into the shoot.

“I couldn’t handle it any-more,” Trione said. “They weremaking all these changes with-out me knowing, and I saw [thechanges] as they shot them.”

Trione also added that hecouldn’t even bring himself tosit with the “Carry-Out” groupat a recent class meeting, opt-ing to join the makers of“Porcelain” instead.

Greer, however, still thinksTrione might be able to emergewith a somewhat different out-look on the situation, citing theexperience as a reality check as

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Wednesday, December 8, 2004 • Page 10the

CW/ Graham FlanaganScreenwriter Robby Trione wrote the initial story and screenplay for "Carry-Out," which was previously titled "Intrigue?!" Director Adam Schwartz and producer Will Wallace implemented majorrevisions to the shooting script which, according to Trione, barely resembles his original vision.

CW/ Graham FlanaganSenior telecommunication and f ilm major Will Wallace served as producer on "Carry-Out" andwrote the original screenplay for "Porcelain." However, Wallace will only receive story credit onthe latter, which was reportedly doctored heavily just prior to production by screenwriter CurtisAbrams.

CW/ Graham FlanaganEditor Ty Meeks (LEFT) and director Justin Gaar (RIGHT) make some some last-minute changes to "Porcelain," which is scheduled to premiere thisThursday at the Bama Theatre. Gaar helms the android drama from an original screenplay by senior TCF major Will Wallace.

CW/ Graham FlanaganDirector Adam Schwartz (LEFT) and producer Will Wallace (RIGHT) put some f inishing touches on the audio mix of "Carry-Out." The darkly funnykidnapping caper premieres Thursday at the Bama Theatre.

Courtesy of TCF 442The kidnappers, played by Missy Flowers (LEFT) and Phil Barnes (RIGHT) transport their cargo, aka Cynthia (Jill Fratkin, LEFT) and Carver (DanWhisenhunt, RIGHT) in "Carry-Out," directed by Adam Schwartz.

Abigail Elizemeyer(LEFT) stars asElizabeth, a femaleandroid companioncreated by Seth(A. Clay Boyce,RIGHT) in"Porcelain," directed by JustinGaar. The movieexamines the turnof events thattranspires whenElizabeth becomescurious about anemotion she wasn't programmed tohave.

Courtesy of TCF 442

Creativedifferences

There has been much controversy surrounding the TCF 442 class’ studentfilms. Find out why in The CW’sretelling of the two stories.

Graham Flanagan

CATCHING FLICKS WITH

FLANAGANS

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