Kaleidoscope looks back on 2015. (Photo by Sarah Adkins).Jessica Middleton - Visual Content Managervisuals@insideuab.com
Casey Marley - Editor in Chief
editor@insideuab.com
Brandon Varner - Managing Editor
managing@insideuab.com
Anna Sims - Assistant Copy Editor
asst.copyed@insideuab.com
January
7-- A gunman opened fire in the office of a French satirical newspaper, “Charlie Hebdo,” killing 12, according to CBS News. The slogan “Je suis Charlie” arose in the wake of the attacks as the world showed support for the Parisians on social media.
15-- UAB faculty voted no confidence in president Ray Watts. According to al.com, “the resolution of no confidence in Watts expresses the faculty’s concern over shared governance and an open decision-making process.” The events surrounding the termination of the football, bowling and rifle programs spurred the vote.
February
5-- Same-sex marriages were to begin in Alabama on Feb. 5, 2015, but Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore issued a decree to probate judges on Sunday, Feb. 4 ordering them not to issue the licences.
According to US News, gay marriage was legal at this time in Alabama, but was effectively denied by political officials in the state until the Supreme Court ruling the following summer. “I was pleasantly surprised that Alabama legalized same-sex marriage,” sophomore student Sarah Caroline Padgett said. “More than anything, I am overjoyed that this group of people has fought for, and won, such a basic but incredible human right.”
March
15-- Kendrick Lamar’s album “To Pimp a Butterfly” was leaked to iTunes and Spotify a week earlier than intended. According to Billboard.com, the album created a streaming record for Spotify, with 9.6 million listeners on the day of the release.
21-- UAB Men’s Basketball won the Conference USA championship for the first time since 2006. “Winning the conference tournament was a huge deal for UAB and all its fans and supporters,” second year Golden Girl Olivia King said. “Winning conference gave the fans and the whole community hope for the future UAB would hold and showed just how much of a family we truly are.”
April
11-- The Sons of UAB Football held their second alumni spring football game at Legion Field. With the loss of the football team late last year, the game took on a special significance to the organization.
30-- Presidential candidate Ben Carson spoke on university fundraising at the University of Mobile where he compared Obama’s presidency to an “elementary school class without supervision”.
12-- Freddie Gray from Baltimore, Maryland was arrested for carrying an illegal switchblade. Gray fell into a coma while being transported to a police van and died on April 19 due to spinal cord injuries. His death sparked an uproar against police brutality in the United States.
May
12-- An earthquake hit Nepal, killing 153 people and injuring more than 3,200. This earthquake was considered the aftershock of the first major quake that hit Nepal in April.
21-- Alabama representative Jack Williams stated that sources told him that Dr. Ray Watts would be announcing that UAB football would not be returning. He was said to announce this in an email at 7 p.m. However, Dr. Ray Watts announced that no decision had yet been made that Thursday morning at 11 a.m.
June
1-- Dr. Ray Watts announced that UAB would be taking steps to reinstate the football, bowling, and rifle programs.
18-- Dylann Roof, age 21, shot and killed nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Roof confessed to the shooting and said he had intended to start a “race war”.
18-- Doug Jones, the U.S attorney who prosecuted suspects in the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, discussed the shooting in Charleston with WIAT.com. “You think about all of the things that we’ve done over the years, and for something like this to happen, it is just reminiscent of all that happened, all that was said, in the 50s and 60s,” said Jones.
July
10-- In light of the Charleston Shooting and growing racial tensions, South Carolina removed its Confederate Battle Flag from its capitol’s statehouse. The flag’s removal came three weeks after South Carolina’s governor, Nikki Haley, called the state’s legislature back into a special session to pass a bill for it to come down. Its removal was delayed by state congressional debate, according to the Wall Street Journal.
18-19-- Birmingham hosts its first ever Sloss Music and Arts Festival at the historic Sloss Furnaces. The two-day event saw national acts from Modest Mouse and Tyler the Creator to Alabama favorites like St. Paul and the Broken Bones.
August
18-- UAB Athletics Campaign Committee’s “Finish the Drive” Campaign kicked off a two-week period where UAB fans were to submit their promised donations that would fill a $2 million gap of athletic funding. President Ray Watts, M.D announced the September 1 deadline for contributions on August 14, by August 31 the drive had collected $2.2 million.
28-- The news of Governor Robert Bentley’s wife, Dianne Bentley filing for divorce after 50 years of marriage surprised the state. Dianne Bently cited “complete incompatibility of temperament” as the reason for the split. According to AL.com, this is the first time in Alabama history where a sitting governor has divorced.
September
29-30-- UAB Students voted to increase their student fees by $25 to bring back the Football, Bowling and Rifle teams. This was the first student referendum to increase student fees in UAB history.
24-- Pope Francis, in his first papal visit to the U.S., addressed a joint session of Congress, urging lawmakers to use their American power to create more peace and unity in the world. “We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good,” the Pope said, as reported in the New York Times.
October
9-- Johnathan Evans, former UAB Student, was abducted outside of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church a block away from campus. While held at gunpoint, Evans was forced to abandon his car and ride with his assailants for three hours, during that time he was beaten severely and forced to withdraw as much money as he possibly could out of an ATM. Many students were surprised to learn of this crime, as no B-Alert was issued, despite its proximity to campus. However, Jim Bakken, director of UAB’s media relations, had an explanation for their silence on the matter.
“By the time BPD was contacted hours after the initial incident, and it was communicated to UABPD, there was deemed as no immediate threat.” Bakken said. “As such, a B-Alert would not have been appropriate.”
13-- Five democratic candidates participate in the first Democratic debate for president, which was broadcast live on CNN. Lincoln Chafee, Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders and Jim Webb fielded questions on several issues of the day, and ended the debate about halfway through the BET Awards for those that wanted to enjoy the politics and then hit the Quan.
23-- The world braced for Hurricane Patricia’s landfall in Mexico, as it had become the strongest Hurricane ever recorded with winds approaching 211 mph and a minimum central pressure of 892 millibars. The Hurricane made landfall in rural Mexico, minimizing damage and loss of life.
November
6-- University of Alabama system Board of Trustees votes to sell bonds with the goal of financing a new football facility for UAB. The new facility will include a new football operations complex and practice fields, with an expected cost of 12 to 15 million dollars. The bonds are expected to cover the entire cost.
7-- Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou,the presidents of China and Taiwan respectively, formally meet for the first time. According to Al Jazeera, the meeting was the first between two heads of state for these countries since 1949, the end of China’s civil war.
12-13-- Suicide bombings in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon on Nov. 12 take 43 lives and leave hundreds injured. The next day, multiple attacks in Paris, France, result in about 130 fatalities and hundreds of injuries. Both attacks were later claimed by ISIL, and the seven perpetrators of the attacks were later killed as the result of a police manhunt.
What’s next?
December
4-- UAB holds its last day of classes as students prepare to finish strong for finals week. For tips on how to deal with the stress of the impending finals, look to last December’s final issue of UAB’s student newspaper.
18-- Chapter VII in the Star Wars saga, The Force Awakens, will be released to the public. JJ Abrams, the director at the helm of the Star Trek reboot, has taken the reigns of this hotly anticipated new chapter in the iconic series.
2016...
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
