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Comer Auditorium hosted a five person panel discussion on prison reform the night of Feb. 26. The panelists - Jefferson County Circuit Judge Stephen Wallace, Alabama Appleseed Legal Director Shay Far-ley, Alabama Media Group Direc-tor of Opinion and Commentary K.A. Turner and attorneys Shay Golden and Charlotte Morrison - are all part of a task force to help find a solution to the overcrowding of Alabama prisons.

Wallace began the discussion by informing the audience that the state’s prisons are filled to almost double capacity, with $400 million dollars spent per prisoner. Empha-sizing that there isn’t a simple solu-tion to the problem, he introduced the three proposals the task force has made for what can and should be done.

The first proposal dealt with parole reform. According to Farley, when a prisoner is denied parole, it’s because they’re being evaluated the same way they were when they were originally sentenced.

Morrison encourages that the system “look at narratives and not boxes” when making their decision. The task force has proposed that whether or not a prisoner is paroled should be based on how they’ve changed.

In addition, mandated super-vised release was also suggested. This way the prisoner will still be under the supervision of a parole officer but will be able to rejoin society by getting a job and finding a place to live.

Next, because of the lack of

space in the prisons, the task force wants to make sure that the people being sent away actually need to be in prison. Or as Wallace put it, “Who are we mad at, and who re-ally needs to go to prison?”

There are three classes for felony offenses: A, B and C, with A being the highest felony. The task force wants to implement a new class, D, for offenses like drug possession. Drug related offenses made up 31 percent of the prison sentences in 2014, so if the class D offense was put into use, it would decrease the prison population by at least a small degree. The last proposal echoed the first one about parole.

It was suggested that prisoners be held accountable for their actions when they’re released. This proposi-tion would have to be specifically fixed to fit the crime the prisoner committed, but they wouldn’t be supervised as much. With the mandated supervised release, they will still be checked on by their parole officer, but if they commit a crime again, they will be sent back to prison.

Throughout the evening, the panelists gave the students in the audience the call to action to ex-ercise their voting rights and their influence on the justice system. According to Turner, the only

legislation related to prisons that had been presented before the task force assembled was whether or not the state could use the electric chair over lethal injection. She went on to explain that in situations like these where reform is called for, it only takes a few people writing letters to their representatives to get the issue noticed.

Sen. Cam Ward of Alabaster has drafted a bill for prison reform that he plans to present to the state legislature during its next session. In an interview with al.com, Ward said that he thinks the bill has a 60 to 70 percent chance of being passed.

Prison reform task force presents plan in Comer to help those behind bars

No. 13 Thursday, March 12, 2015Vol. 89

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established a new order on Feb. 26 in a three-to-two vote imposing strict net neutrality guidelines on internet services providers (ISPs). These rules include prohibitions on speed throttling, paid fast lanes and the blocking of websites and services. The order reclassifies ISPs as tele-communications providers under Title II of the Communications Act, providing the FCC with the means to enforce these rules.

The new regulations establish a standard that prohibits ISPs from taking actions that might disadvan-tage consumers or the websites and services they wish to access. ISPs are, however, allowed to slow ser-vice in cases of what the order calls “reasonable network management.”

For the first time, net neutral-ity rules will fully apply to mobile internet services as well. The order also allows the FCC to investigate agreements such as the one between Comcast and Netflix, which saw the streaming service pay for better access to its own customers.

“The internet must be fast, fair and open,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a statement given to Wired Magazine. “That is the principle that has enabled the in-ternet to become an unprecedented platform for innovation and human expression.”

The commission also brought to the debate a number of notable net neutrality advocates, including Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson, Veena Sud, an executive producer for “The Kill-ing” who spoke on behalf of Netflix and Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the web. Dickerson implored that the commission protect the internet as “an engine for economic oppor-

tunity,” while Sud argued that the open internet allowed for a diverse selection of media not found else-where. Berners-Lee simply stated that net neutrality should be added to “a list of basic market conditions that we protect.”

Initially, Wheeler proposed a series of regulations that under-mined the basis of net neutrality by allowing paid fast lanes. However, support from President Obama, TV personality John Oliver and popular websites such as Tumblr, Kickstarter and Netflix ignited the national conversation about

an open, equal internet. Follow-ing overwhelming public support, Wheeler announced the dra-matically overhauled plan that was finally pushed through in February.

As the vote shows, the com-mission isn’t unanimously on board with the new regulations, as Republican commissioners Mi-chael O’Reilly and Ajit Pai both expressed dissent. O’Reilly issued a statement calling the new regula-tions “an extreme solution to an imaginary problem,” and ques-tioned the FCC’s legal authority to implement the order.

FCC moves to regulate internet services under net neutrality rules

“The internet must be fast, fair and open. That is the principle that has enabled the

internet to become an unprecedented plat-form for innovation and human expression.”

-Tom Wheeler, FCC chairman

By CONNOR BUCY, LAYOUT EDITOR

Lecture series brings Lilly Ledbetter to Montevallo

See LEDBETTER, page 4

By LILY ELMORE, ONLINE EDITOR

Equal pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter spoke in Parnell Library March 10 as part of the Hallie Farmer Lecture Series. University President John Stewart opened the evening by welcoming Led-better on behalf of all the young women and parents associated with the university.

Ledbetter began by stat-ing what an honor it was to be speaking as part of this series in Montevallo. The Possum Trail, Alabama native shared the story of her personal battle for equal pay against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. After work-ing as a supervisor at Goodyear’s Gadsden radial tire plant for nearly 20 years, she received an anonymous note showing that she was being paid only 40% the salary of her male counterparts. “I was devastated,” Ledbetter said, continuing, “I realized that this inequality would follow me out of the job and into retire-ment through my Social Security, 401(k) and pension, affecting my ability to pay for my children’s college tuition, mortgage, car pay-ments, utilities and food.”

By JASMYNE RAY

Brian Cahn/Zuma Press/TNS

Katie Compton/The Alabamian

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler makes a statement during the FCC vote on net neutrality on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

(Left to right) Stephen Wallace, Shay Farlley, K.A. Turner, Shay Golden and Charlotte Morrison discuss how to deal with Alabama’s crowded prisons.

Jane Goodman/The Alabamian

Guys get glammed up for a cause at He’s A Lady pageant

Page 3

On-Campus & Local

Arts & Lifestyle 6

Viewpoints Page 2

I have always been a sucker for collages. I would gleefully pore over my mom’s stack of magazines for just the right words and im-ages to glue around pictures of me taken with disposable cameras. The collections of cut and pasted snapshots, witty captions and literal clip art gave me real insight into my younger selves.

These days, I use social media to the same end, with the benefit of significantly less time spent washing Mod Podge out of my jeans.

Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram help me collect my thoughts and feelings in an entirely new way. It’s not like I could print a video off my dad’s camcorder and add it to my collage. Plus, not only am I shar-ing my life with my friends and family, but also with my future self. I can pull out my phone and record any moment, forever. And I love that.

Last semester, I went to Eclipse on a Friday night for a milkshake and stumbled upon an amazing performance by Verge Bliss. Of course I pulled out my phone at the concert- a girl was play-ing the electric autoharp! I was enjoying the experience and I wanted to add it to my collage. I didn’t diminish the memory in any way by taking a short video- just enough to show people what was up. I don’t put such faith in the English language to think it could describe what was happen-

ing- that’s why I took my phone out and made a quick Instagram post. And I’m glad I did, because I got to introduce my friends to some new music and solidified the memory for myself.

When Dr. Michael Patton was asking around for someone to live tweet the Life Raft Debate in Oc-tober, I jumped at the opportuni-ty. I helped share the quick quips and silly tricks of the night with those unable to attend. Sites like Twitter also allow us to have far more massive shared experiences, and I enjoy participating in that. I was able to tweet back at people with questions about the event, an interaction that wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t had my phone out. I remember that night vividly, because I not only had a great time at the debate, but got to share it all on a large scale.

For me, my phone doesn’t take away from the experience- it adds to it. Its camera can capture moments in ways words can’t. Its connection to the internet lets me share my in-the-moment thoughts with the world. It’s nice to have the option to scroll through my better moments when I’m feeling low, and I look forward to reflect-ing on these days in the future. So, I’m sorry if it offends you when I pull out my phone to take a picture or update my status, but I’m working a collage here.

Just be glad I didn’t have to bring along a shoebox of maga-zine scraps.

Working on a collageWhy I pull out my phone at concerts

In my time as a fan of rock n’ roll, there are many incredible, irreplaceable moments that I have seen up close and personal. Most of these either have no photos to speak of, or feature shots so low quality they distort the experience altogether.

Now, to say that I never take photos at concerts would be lying. But once the frame is digitally frozen, it never seems to awaken the same sensation and urge that caused me to snap it in the first place. Rather than use social me-dia to let my experience hang like an unwanted flyer on someone’s feed, I prefer conferring with others face to face about what transpired.

Instead of a digital thumbs-up or a notification that my story has been essentially stolen, I see emo-tions that range from jealousy, to awe to glowing friendship at a shared experience.

I often rely on my words to de-scribe a great concert before ever reaching for a photo. Because of this, there are certain stories my friends have heard over and over, more so if they were with me. But these are stories that never lose importance, and will never be forgotten.

There was the time that Britt Daniel, leader singer of my favor-ite band Spoon, lifted his Corona Light towards my direction before his band’s killer encore at Work-play in Birmingham. To a 16 year old me, the gesture probably aimed at hundreds was a personal salute for helping him sing every single song during that night’s set. The moment would’ve been a

grainy, non-descript shot on my phone, but the image is crystal clear in my memory.

A few years later, I caught The National at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The sonic poles of the band’s sound were perfectly performed, from the wailing paranoia of “Afraid of Everyone” to the cocksure confidence of “Mr. November.” At the end of the show, the band decided to play the plaintive “Vanderlyle Cry Baby Geeks” completely acous-tic: no mics, no amps, only the acoustics of the historic Ryman walls carried the music. Dumbly, I recorded the song with shaky hands on my iPhone. The video that survived, while a document to a tradition that band continues to this day, is ultimately ruined by hundreds of other untrained voices singing in de-tuned unison.

During my years here at Montevallo, Eclipse has served up several fantastic shows of free mu-sic to the community. My year as a staff writer mostly consisted of me scribbling furiously in a note-book and snapping crappy photos of the bands for articles. One of my most high quality memories occurred, however, when the Flor-ence, Alabama punks Nightmare Boyzzz played in September of 2013. The pogo-punch riff of “Go

Away” started, and immediately my busy hands dropped. Quickly, a friend and I jumped into the moshing crowd of 20 somethings. I don’t remember much from that two minute onslaught of sweat and limbs, but I do recall my buddy showing his true colors by saving my life after a tumble on the beer soaked floor. Try describ-ing that in 120 characters.

That same year, a group of close friends and I saw the legend-ary Neutral Milk Hotel in all of their reformed glory at Iron City in Birmingham. There was a strict and completely enforced “No Phones” policy by the venue at the band’s request. While this rule may have seemed like a sorely missed opportunity to record a life changing experience, there was wise reason to the deci-sion. I’ve never been much of a religious person, but that night was one of the most communal experiences I’ve ever shared with several other human beings. At one point, I wrapped my girl-friend and best friend in a warm embrace. The song “In the Aero-plane Over the Sea” was being shouted around me, and I don’t know if I find physical image of a happier moment since.

Living in the moment for live music

On Feb. 25, James Spann and the National Weather Service were busy reading weather radars, trying to determine whether or not schools and businesses ought to close for the safety of people in north Alabama the following day.

The impending threat was a snow storm. Based on radar projections, Alabama could have faced an experience much like last year’s “Snowpocalypse” which took the lives of at least five Alabama residents. Spann is still given a hard time and even blamed for the travesty that oc-curred that day. John Archibald of AL.COM said “If he had - sorry James - just rolled up his sleeves a little earlier, we all could have avoided it.” Why?

Spann reported Jan. 28, the morning of Snowpocalypse,

“There will be a light dusting of snow and no travel complications in Birmingham.”

Before we get onto him for this statement, we must remember that Alabama has been the butt of every winter weather-threat joke known to man. Every time Spann predicted snow, up to that day, people ran to stores to grab their milk and bread. After multiple snow predictions over the years, natives of Alabama choose not to take the threats seriously because it’s Alabama and it almost never actually snows here.

Back to Feb. 25, Spann’s Twit-ter account was receiving negativ-ity that inspired him to tweet “I have blocked over 100 trolls/hat-ers/know-it-alls over the past 24 hours while answering questions here. A refreshing feeling.”

If you follow his blog at all, you know Spann took seriously the lives that were taken just over a year ago. He even went so far with this recent weather as to give a play-by-play of what he was see-ing and what it could mean, even if it was unexpected. He wanted everyone to be safe.

But this time, people were not mad at him for predicting the roads safer than they were. People were actually upset with Spann for predicting a snow storm that never showed up.

April 27, 2011 is just one day we can remember as a day his forecasting helped save an un-known number of lives.

On the flip side, if he is wrong, he is willing and ready to admit it. At 7:22 a.m. the morning after snowpocalypse, Spann posted

to his blog an eloquent apology and admittance at his “bust” of a forecast the day before.

It’s arguably reasonable to think he should have predicted “Snowpocalypse.” But to be upset at him for predicting snow and it never showing up on queue is just silly. And that is what people on March 4 and 5, 2015 did.

Rather than thinking that weathermen are gods, thus allow-ing ourselves to blame them for forecasts that do not reflect in the actual weather, we can take their forecasts at face value. Weather has a history of changing up and creating chaos at the last minute. Many would be challenged to pre-dict every sudden turn of events.

James Spann and the follies of forecasting

Farmer Hall, behind Post OfficeStation 6222Montevallo, AL 35115alabamian@montevallo.edu205-665-6222www.thealabamian.com

Editor-in-Chief

Alabamian

Reed Strength

Layout EditorConnor Bucy

Copy EditorJoe Tutwiler

Contributing Writers

www.thealabamian.com

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Staff PhotographersDonnie BennettJane GoodmanKatie Compton

Online EditorLily Elmore

Tiffany Bunt

www.facebook.com/TheAlabamian

Staff Writers

Leslie SmithFaith LunaBritt Headley

Business ManagerStephanie Howe

Laura Poythress Jasmyne Ray

“ Instead of a digital thumbs-up or a notification that my story has been

essentially stolen, I see emotions that range from jealousy, to awe to glow-ing friendship at a shared experience.”

By LILY ELMORE, ONLINE EDITOR

By LAURA POYTHRESS

By REED STRENGTH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On the Bricks With Madison ImbuschHave you heard how the university is cutting the hours needed to graduate from 130 to 120?How do you feel it affects you?

David PohlerMusicSophomore

I briefly saw that. I saw the article. I have to take a lot of classes cur-rently. There are some general eds that I feel like I don’t need. I like learning, so it really just depends on what classes are taken away.

Natalie BonifayMusical Theatre & FinanceJunior

My business professors told me the week they voted on it and that it was probably going to happen.

For me, it’s awesome because I’m a double major, so that’s 20 hours, an entire semester for me that gets to be knocked off.

Amber HortonBusiness AdministrationSophomore

My teacher came in and told us when we were in class.

It does affect me because I’m in the business part. I don’t really think it’s a big deal. I’m kind of happy about it.

Hallie HootenHuman Development & Family StudiesSophomore

Yes

I’m really excited. I think it’s wonderful, and hopefully I will be able to actually benefit from it because I’m a sophomore. Hope-fully, it will cut down on some of my major classes that I need for my concentration.

On-Campus & Local Page 3

Palmer Auditorium was a crowded, chattering place on Feb. 26 during Alpha Gamma Delta’s (AGD) He’s A Lady pageant. Each year, the Panhellenic and Interfraternity organization on campus elects a male student to represent them in the competi-tion. The night also serves as AGD’s annual event to raise funds for juvenile diabetes research through the sorority’s foundation of the same name.

Each participant was presented in turn, all dressed for the oc-casion. Alpha Delta Pi’s (ADPI) Kira Kerdanserin was the first to make an entrance in a black dress, followed by Alpha Kappa Lambda’s (AKL) Penelope Patrick wearing mint green and a pink hat. Alpha Tau Omega’s (ATO) candidate, Honey Bear, appeared to loud applause in a floral en-semble.

Yolanda was Chi Omega’s (XO) representative and wore a pink mermaid style dress, which contrasted with Delta Gamma’s (DG) Tina Chartreuse Putnik’s nude sparkly gown. Lambda Chi Alpha’s (LXA) participant, Anaconda, made an appearance in a flowy, crème dress and was followed by Suzi Stars and Stripes from Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) in a short blue dress. Last was Amanda Reckonwith for Phi-Mu, who debuted in a floral printed outfit.

Each participant was asked two questions for their interview, one serious and one silly. The

questions varied from things like “Who is the most influential person in your life?” to which the response from Kerdanserin was Beyoncé, to “What name would you give a lipstick brand?” to which Anaconda replied “Alpha-damn.” The interview portion was followed by a display of the differ-ent participant’s talents.

Kerdanserin sang “Ticki Ticki Toomba” and “Gold Let’s

go Golds”, followed by Patrick’s rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t”. Both performances had crowds singing and dancing along. Yolanda, Putnik and Anaconda all danced while Stars and Stripes played a saxophone. Reckonwith finished the talent portion with a short sock puppet routine before yodeling and singing, to laughter and applause from the audience.

Prizes were presented for ticket

buyers in the form of a raffle at various times during the pageant. The prizes were gift cards of vari-ous amounts to Panera Bread, LJ’s Boutique, Doodles and Falcon Art Supply.

After the talent portion ended, the judges deliberated while the audience was serenaded by the previous year’s winner, FIJI Kevin Britt. Britt played slower versions of “Ms. New Booty” and “Get

Low” on his ukulele. At the competition’s

end,Reckonwith won second runner-up. Putnik won first runner-up and Anaconda won Miss Congeniality and overall. The winners all took an onstage selfie together to commemorate their wins.

Alpha Gamma Delta raised $1114.19 for charity from the event.

A masculine makeover for charityBy LESLIE SMITH

UM studentsd rallied with thousands of other attendees Sunday, March 8 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Selma’s historical Bloody Sunday. To commemo-rate the day, tens of thousands of people from around the country marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Steve Parker, professor of sociology at UM, has been to Selma several times throughout his life. Parker recalls the first time he saw the Edmund Pettus Bridge. “I remember turning the corner and there it was, a very powerful icon.” Parker recognized the 50-year mark of Bloody Sunday was important for anyone wanting to better understand history, so he invited his students to be a part of the historical event. A handful jumped at the opportunity.

Dhakir Williams, a junior psychology major, is one student who went to march on Bloody Sunday. Williams said one reason he went was to experience and to be a part of history, as well as to gain a greater appreciation for it. “The day was vibrant and chaotic,” Williams said. “A sense of ethereal connectedness could be felt. The experience was a beautiful thing because it was very moving to see all of those different people come together of one accord, to commemorate not some-thing simply know as African American History but American history,” said Williams.

KaBreana Avery, a Selma native and Montevallo alumna, appreciated the his-torical event. “It’s interesting because no-body really knew how historic the town was until the movie came out, so it was really refreshing to see people acknowl-edge a place I call my home and reflect on the history there,” Avery said.

Parker was moved by the event as well. “We were in the crowd and there was an elderly man in a wheelchair next to us. He was an original marcher. When we got to the bridge, he got out of his wheel-chair and walked across the bridge,” said Parker. “It was important to him to walk across that bridge. I’ll have to continue to consider what that means and what it means for me.”

Parker remembers the original march interrupting regularly scheduled pro-grams and says he is glad to be able to share this historical moment with his students.

“Being back there af-ter being away for so

many years was great. It was wonderful to see so many people.”

Students relive history in SelmaBy LAURA POYTHRESS

(From left to right): Matt Suddarth, Harrison Allinder, John Gasson, Marcos Cruz, David Pohler, Taylor Kosman, Austin Coyle and TC Lowery.

Katie Compton/The Alabamian

It’s estimated that as many as 70,000 people attended the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” on March 8.

Quincy Hall/Contributer

The University Program Council (UPC) turned the Bibb Graves gymnasium into a rollerskating rink for the night on Feb. 24.

According to UPC coordina-tor Jacob Gordon, the idea for a roller rink came after he received an email from Spintacular, an event planning company. Every-thing from the mats laid over the gym floor to the skates students wore was rented from Spinac-tualar.

“Originally the ice rink caught our eye,” Gordon said. “However, after reports from our members that synthetic ice feels weird, we chose to do the roller rink.”

Strobe lights illuminated the dark space in fluorescent beams of red, blue and green as every-one rolled about. Some students skated with ease to the beat of the music. Others tumbled, but got right back up again or fell

while trying to help a friend up off the ground. The more talented skaters could skate and text at the same time.

Students who opted not to skate were content with sitting off to the side to watch everyone else.

April Lee, a freshman elemen-tary education major, and her friends gathered together to pose for a picture before skating.

“I would do it tomorrow,” Lee replied when asked if she would come to a similar event. Her only complaint was that she wished the floor was bigger.

The event received a posi-tive response from most of the students who attended.

“Overall, I believe the reaction was great.” Gordon said. “We even had a few students come by Student Life the next day to express their happiness with the event.”

Students show how they roll with UPC skate rinkBy JASMYNE RAY

On-Campus & Local Page 4

On the evening of Wednesday, March 4, Bibb-Graves gymnasium transformed to a cosmic putt-putt scene. The gym was lit only with black lights and the reflection of neons and whites. As soon as students walked in, they could pick a golf club and ball from a table. No rules were posted, leaving the instructions for completing the courses up to students. The gym had a path of 10 miniature-golf course mats, each increasing in difficulty as the golfers progressed through the path.

Though the gym was dark, it was light enough for students to recognize each other and make new friends.

The first course was simple with a long mat and a hole toward the end of it. The second course had a slight incline to add challenge to the player. Moving through the courses, rocks and wooden blocks were cleverly placed to obstruct the ball’s easy access to the hole and encourage strategy among the players.

The final and most difficult course had several blocks side-by-side, challenging the player to go between the center two rocks.

The University Program Council (UPC) hosts events on campus to allow students a chance to take a break from classes, make new friends and relax. Freshman accounting major Bronson Harris worked his way through the course and said this event was exactly what UPC aims to be for him. “This is only my second UPC event since I started at Montevallo, but I really enjoy what they are doing. It’s a great way to meet new people and just relax and have a good time.”

More than 50 students showed up to play cosmic golf. The gym was filled with laughter from students missing the mark entirely, but also had quiet pock-ets of deep concentration from those hoping to get a hole-in-one.

UPC hosts Cosmic GolfConsidering the impact of this unfair pay-

ment, Ledbetter took the information to the Equal Employment Commission, where she was told she had “one of the best cases” and should find an attorney. The historic discrimi-nation case that ensued went all the way up from Calhoun County to the U.S. Supreme Court over the course of nine years. During this time, Ledbetter was ostracized at work, experienced the ups and down of appeals and had to travel to Washington, D.C., to testify while her husband Charles underwent radia-tion therapy for cancer treatment.

The Supreme Court ultimately decided against compensation for Ledbetter, stating that she filed her claim too late after her last unequal paycheck, despite the fact that she filed as soon as she was made aware of the discrepancy. However, Ledbetter continued to advocate for her cause, because she “knew the law was on her side.” Her work in D.C. resulted in the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was the first bill signed into law by President Barack Obama on Jan. 29, 2009.

After telling her own story, Ledbetter stressed the importance of ensuring equal pay for equal work across all genders and races. “I originally thought this was just an issue in the Southeast,” she said, “but I have discovered that it affects family across the nation and around the world.” She pointed out several agencies that have helped her in her cause, highlighting the National Women’s Law Cen-ter and American Association of University Women (AAUW). She concluded her lecture by stating “We must overcome history and do better.”

The speaker then opened the room up to questions, prefacing with answers to two common inquiries: “No, I don’t know who wrote that letter, and no, I don’t buy Good-year tires.”

In response to a question regarding whether she considered herself a feminist, she said, “If the definition of a feminist is some-one who fights for equality under the law, than you could turn me one.”

She also shared that she was never issued an apology by Goodyear. To this day, the company still claims her unequal pay was not discriminatory but based on “poor perfor-mance,” even though she was kept on as a supervisor for over 19 years despite Alabama being a “fire-at-will” state.

Ledbetter encouraged women who want to be involved in advocacy to help in the fight against injustice to join the AAUW, which provides information about current legislature that would affect equality in the U.S. An-swering a question about the smaller victories she encounters in her ongoing battle, she said “Little things kept me going through the tough times, and you can be a part of those by staying in contact with your representa-tives.” In closing, Ledbetter said, “Change is happening- it goes in government and univer-sities. Get what you’re entitled to.”

The night rounded out with a small recep-tion at which Ledbetter signed copies of the book she co-authored about her experiences, “Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond.” She also posed for pictures. The next Hallie Farmer Lecture will be held in 2017, when the com-mittee will choose another prominent speaker to present a lecture “representative to the work and lifetime goals of Hallie Farmer”.

Lilly Ledbetter Continued from Page 1

By LAURA POYTHRESS

Matt Suddarth, Harrison Allinder, John Gasson, Marcos Cruz, David Pohler, Taylor Kosman, Austin Coyle and TC Lowery.Katie Compton/The Alabamian

Thursday, March 12

8:00 p.m. Trivia Eclipse Coffee and Books

Friday, March 13

2:00 p.m. Faculty senate meetingMerril Room

7:00 p.m. Amnesty International MeetingComer 307

9:00 p.m. Poetry SlamEclipse Coffee and Books

Satuday, March 14

1:00 p.m. Baseball vs. Ga. South-westernKermit A. Johnson Baseball field

1:00 p.m. Women’s Tennis vs. TuskegeeTennis Field

7:00 p.m. Movie: “Into the Woods”Farmer

Sunday, March 151:00 p.m. Baseball vs. Ga. South-westernKermit A. Johnson Baseball field

Monday, March 16

6:00 p.m. Intramural Softball startsIntramural Fields

6:00 p.m. Senior Class MeetingFarmer

7:30 p.m. Sigma Alpha Iota Spring Musicale Davis Hall

Tuesday, March 17

6:00 p.m. President and Advisors BanquetAnna Irvin Dining Hall

8:00 p.m. Resonate Worship ServiceMontevallo BCM

Wednesday, March 18

10:00 a.m. Student Dietetic Associa-tion Bake SaleBloch Hall

5:00 p.m. Running Man Event-Korean Culture ClubBibb Graves

7:00 p.m. UPC Magician Peter BoiePalmer Auditorium

Thursday, March 19

Phi Mu’s BonnaMUMyrick Gym

7:30 p.m. Pattin Piano Fund Benefit Recital

Friday, March 20

12:00 p.m. Montevallo Literary FestivalJ.A. Brown Room Carmichael Library

7:00 p.m. Greek Unity StepshowPalmer House

Saturday, March 22

9:00 a.m. Electronics Recycling DayCity Recycling Center

11:00 a.m. Softball vs. UNC Pen-brokeSoftball field

12:00 p.m. ATO’s St. Patty’s Day Kickball TournamentIntramural Fields

6:00 p.m. Zeta Phi Beta’s Flicks n’ FacialsFarmer Hall Meeting Room

Monday, March 23

SGA Elections Begin

5:30 p.m. City Council MeetingMontevallo Chamber of Commerce

6:00 p.m. Active Minds MeetingComer 309

Tuesday, March 24

5:00 p.m. Baseball vs. MilesKermit A. Johnson Baseball Field

6:30 p.m. Don Stewart Talk & Gal-leryParnell Memorial Library

7:00 p.m. UPC Casino NightAnna Irving Dining Hall

7:30 p.m. An evening of Avant-garde LeBaron Rectial Hall

Wednesday, March 25

1:00 p.m. Women’s Tennis vs. Co-lumbus St.Tennis Facilties

3:00 p.m.Softball vs. Ala-HuntsvilleSoftball Field

6:00 p.m. Baseball vs. StillmanKermit A. Johnson Field

6:00 p.m. Dodge with DGMyrick

Thursday, March 26

4:30 p.m. LXA’s Watermelon BustKing Quad

Ongoing

Mondays

6 p.m. Spectrum MeetingFarmer Hall Meeting Room

8:30 p.m. Anime Club MeetingHarman 119

Tuesdays

8:00 p.m. Resonate Worship ServiceBaptist Campus Ministry

Wednesdays

11:00 a.m. Cafe Escape Baptist Campus Ministry

Thursdays

5:30 p.m. Feminist Majority Leader-ship Alliance MeetingReynolds 116

7:00 p.m. Korean Culture Club MeetingReynolds 226.

8:00 p.m.Secular Student Alliance MeetingMorgan/Comer Commuter Lounge

Satuday, March 28

Spring Break, no class until April 5.

8:00 p.m.Secular Student Alliance MeetingMorgan/Comer Commuter Lounge

March 2015 Calender of Events

“Change is happening- it goes in government

and universities. Get what you’re entitled to.”

CORRECTION:A previous version of the article “Stewart dedicates new 3-D building on

homecoming” that ran on Thursday, Feb. 26 incorrectly stated the following:1) The ceramics workshop in the new 3D building is named after married

UM alumni Barbara and Conrad Blackerby. Previously, the article stated that the ceramics workshop was named after only Conrad

2) The metal workshop is named after UM alumna DeAnna Smith’s father, Donald G. McCarley. Smith and her husband Christopher contributed funds to the construction of the building. Previously, the article combined the name of Smiths and never mentioned that the metal workshop was named after DeAnna Smith’s father.

3) The dean of the College of Fine Art is Steve Peters. Previously, the article incorrectly referred to him as Steve Peterson.

National & World Page 5

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Lawmakers have legalized the use of recreational marijuana in Alaska and the District of Columbia (D.C.) According to Pew Research, the bill passed ballot measures in the 2014 elections and came into effect for Alaska Feb. 24 followed by D.C. on Feb. 26.

According to NPR, Alaska was the third state, and D.C. the first district, to legalize recreational marijuana use in the U.S. The states preceding them were Colorado and Washington in 2012, fol-lowed by Oregon in 2014. Oregon’s law will take effect in July.

“While marijuana is legal in three states, it’s actually been legalized in four,” reported NPR blogger and producer, Bill Chapell. In July, an initiative similar to Alaska’s will take effect in Oregon. The legal states are similar in restrictive laws but vary when it comes to retail of marijuana. In Alaska and D.C., selling marijuana, both licensed and otherwise, is prohibited. However, in Colorado and Washington state, it is allowed.

Nearly two thirds of D.C. voters in November passed Initiative 71, or the “Legalization of Possession of Minimal Amounts of Marijuana For Personal Use Act of 2014,” according to dcmj.org, a supporter of marijuana legalization. Under this, adults aged 21 and over are allowed to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and use it on private property.

The bill also allows adults to give up to one ounce to another person but restricts exchanging money, goods or services for it, according to USA Today. Legislation further allows residents to cultivate up to six plants in their primary home with no more than three being mature plants.

In December, Congress passed legisla-tion that aimed to block Initiative 71 in

D.C. by banning the use of appropriated funds to “enact any law, rule or regula-tion to legalize” marijuana, reported USA Today.

Similarly, Alaskan residents ages 21 and older can legally use marijuana. Limits include having no more than one ounce of marijuana on them and no more than four ounces can be harvested in their home. Marijuana consumption in public and driving while high are illegal in both Alaska and D.C., according to CNN and NBC Washington.

Republican backlash occurred after the law went into effect.

Congressional Republicans called for investigations and hearings against D.C.

Republican representative for Utah, Jason Chaffetz, opposed pro-legalization laws. Chaffetz was reported by The Wash-ington Post saying, “very serious conse-quences” would come to D.C. Mayor, Muriel Bowser, if she continued with her plan to implement marijuana legalization. “You can go to prison for this,” The Post quoted Chaffetz saying.

Despite that, Bowser still allowed D.C.’s marijuana legalization to take ef-fect, reported USA Today. “We are acting lawfully,” Bowser told reporters.

According to Pew Research, 54 percent of Americans said legalization of marijuana would lead to more underage use. However, another poll showed that a majority believe that alcohol is more dangerous to society and personal health than marijuana.

According to Huffington Post, Ari-zona, California, Massachusetts, Mon-tana and Nevada are looking to obtain a pro-marijuana legalization measure on the upcoming 2016 ballots.

Marijuana legalization extends across country

© 2014 MCTSource: Marijuana Policy Project

State medical marijuana laws

NOTE: Alaska and Hawaii are not to scale

R.I.Conn.

Del.D.C.

Legal for medical use Legal for recreational use by adults

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws that allow the medical use of marijuana.

By FAITH LUNA

President Barack Obama on Tuesday laid out an ambitious plan to reform the stu-dent loan industry, unveiling on his visit to Atlanta a "student aid bill of rights" that he says will help the growing number of young borrowers.

In a rousing speech to roughly 9,500 people at Georgia Tech, Obama said having the world's most educated and skilled work-force is critical to democracy and competing in a global economy. But while education is important, Obama said, it's never been more expensive.

"I believe that America is not a place where higher education is a privilege that is reserved for the few," he said. "America needs to be a place where higher education has to be available for every single person who's willing to strive for it, who's willing to work for it."

Obama described a plan that he said is de-signed to improve the experience for federal student loan borrowers. It calls for federal agencies to study whether new regulations are needed to protect borrowers and the creation of a centralized complaint system. The plan also requires third-party lenders to better inform students of repayment options.

The president's one-day visit to Atlanta was the latest stop in a swing through the South that included a weekend trip to Selma, Ala., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," the 1965 attack on civil rights activists. Last week, Obama visited South Carolina's Benedict College for a town hall forum.

Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson accompanied the president Tuesday on his flight to Atlanta, where Obama was greeted by Congressman David Scott, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Fulton County Chairman John Eaves. During his speech, Obama revealed he also met with media mogul Tyler Perry before the Georgia Tech event.

The welcome Obama received was a contrast to his last visit to Atlanta in Sep-tember. In the heat of the midterm election campaigns, many top Democratic contenders steered clear of the president, and Republican Gov. Nathan Deal avoided him as well. This time, several Democratic leaders, including former gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter, appeared at the event. Deal also met with Obama on Tuesday and stayed until the end of the stop at Georgia Tech.

Obama was introduced at Georgia Tech by a third-year aerospace engineering student who wrote to the president about her con-cerns over college affordability.

Republicans expressed skepticism about Obama's plan to make a college education more attainable, pointing out that college costs have risen sharply during his presi-dency.

"We can all agree that college should be more accessible, and we cannot continue to burden our children with more debt, but President Obama's strategy won't work," said U.S. Sen. David Perdue, a Georgia Republi-can and Georgia Tech graduate.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, urged the president to embrace a House-passed bill to broaden 529 college sav-ings accounts, allowing the money to be used for computers or other technology expenses. The Obama administration recently floated a proposal to tax 529 plans in order to help pay for a proposal to give free community college to all, but the administration backtracked amid a wave of criticism.

The American Association of State Col-leges and Universities lauded the goal of Obama's bill of rights but cited some of its shortcomings.

"We caution that making loans more affordable and their repayment less burden-some are no substitute for upfront policies to protect borrowers from crushing debt," AASCU officials said in a statement Tuesday.

Some Georgia Tech students also gave the initiative mixed reviews. "It sounds nice," said sophomore Rama Siripuram, 19, "but I don't know how it will achieve those goals. That's always the problem with big, fluffy speeches like these. It was more a morale-boosting message than anything specific."

The president repeatedly praised Georgia Tech as one of the country's best values, call-ing it "one of the best bargains around" and Tech's students the "embodiment of what we hope for."

Georgia's Tech's selection for the event was a nod to its initiatives to improve college affordability and access. The university is among the first to offer an online-only mas-ter's degree in computer science, and through its G. Wayne Clough Georgia Tech Promise program, offers debt-free educations to quali-fied in-state students.

Obama visits Georgia Tech, unveils plan to reform student loan industryBy JANEL DAVIS and KATIE LESLIE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Arts and Lifestyle Page 6

It feels strange, realizing that I’ve been in this tiny town on the edge of a glacier-and-volcano-cov-ered island for over a month now. The time is all blurred together sometimes, and what feels like two days becomes a week without my noticing. There are no classes, no deadlines, no employers, noth-ing but my own discipline to give any sort of structure to my time here and while that has wavered between stressful and relaxing, it’s also been quite freeing.

Some days, I write for hours and hours; I don’t even notice the sun changing the light in my window or the slowly depleting groceries in my kitchen. There is only me and my computer, me and my good friend Times New Roman making our way across blank pages.

But on other days, there is only me, without words to fill the white space and I feel like I’m losing something—time, maybe, or the very spark that drives me to write in the first place. I spend those days eating chips or wasting my brain cells online or whining with a few of the other writers here who find themselves having the same kinds of days. It isn’t something to say lightly—because Iceland really is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen—but sometimes the monotony of the days drives me up the wall and I couldn’t care less about the mountains or the puffins or the snow. Sometimes, Iceland, and Skagi in particular, doesn’t mean beauty and inspiration and epiphanies; sometimes it means we sit in the gas station for forty five minutes waiting for a bus that never comes to take us to the hot pools the next town over so we can just get out of here.

But both of those kinds of days

have made something very clear to me: I’m not doing what I came here to do. I came here with a plan (you’d have thought that by now, I’d have learned that plans change); I had some projects I wanted to revise, polish up, finish. Some, I just wanted to start. I haven’t done any of those. And I’m ok with that—happy about it, actually, because I find myself, instead, producing things I didn’t expect. It seems like “the real world,” with the bills and grocer-ies and job searching and care-taking and everything else that’s waiting for me when I get back, isn’t real at all and that makes writing so much better. It doesn’t make it easier, not at all, but it

makes it richer, more immersive, because I can fall right into it without worrying about “the real world.” That is one of the things I value most about being here.

One of the other factors that prompted me to want to study abroad at all was the prospect of making connections with other writers. I’ve met people from Pal-estine, Vancouver, Melbourne, Se-attle, and Bergen. I’ve met people who are still in transit, heading to Helsinki, Shanghai, Manches-ter, Moscow, and New York. I’ve made friends with poets, painters, sculptors, and a graphic novelist. I’ve been pointed to career and educational opportunities in Scot-land, Palestine, Vancouver, Spain,

and Reykjavik. Just being here has opened doors for me, allowed me to get to know people and create a small, but amazing network of people who have impacted my work and whose work I have also influenced (can you believe that? I can’t).

One of the (excuse the pretentious expression) “tragi-cally beautiful” things about the structure of this residency is that people are always moving, always transitioning. My first month here was full of the sounds of Skagi, recorded and set to videos of the town by two Norwegian sound artists. They completed their project. Then they left. There is something desperate and clinging

in the short amount of time we have to get to know one another, something that makes friendships shallow and steadfast all at once. How much can you really know someone in less than a month? The answer is more than you might think. The answer is not as much as you’d like. The answer is just enough to miss them terribly when they leave. I’ve less than a month left here. Part of me is ready to move on, ready to make my next step, whatever that turns out to be. Another part of me, though, is already dreading my departure.

Kingdom of Ice-olation, Pt. 2

Microwaved Cinnamon Apples

1 apple1 teaspoon cinnamon1 tablespoon brown sugar1 pinch nutmeg1 tablespoon butter, diced small

Microwave Preparation:

Cut and core apple. Dice apple and place in microwave-safe bowl. Mix cinnamon, brown sugar, nut-meg and butter together and pour over apples.

Heat in microwave 2 minutes or until apples become soft.

Oven Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Follow above instructions and place in an oven-safe dish. Heat in oven 10-15 minutes. Remove and let cool 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Also, for variation, add 1 table-spoon of maple syrup or sprinkle dry yellow cake mix on top and pour two tablespoons of melted butter on top before heating.

College CuisineMicrowaved cinnamon apples

Tucked into a cul-de-sac in Alabaster, across from the post office on Highway 119, you will find Buck’s Pizza. Buck’s is a large building with a country feel created by its cabin shape and wooden exterior, surrounded by a large parking lot.

As soon as customers walk in the door, there is a sweet aroma of cedar combined with the scent of freshly baked pizza. The inte-rior is vast and has a warm feel with exposed wooden beams and hardwood tables. The atmosphere at Buck’s is family friendly, but also loud, bordering the qualifi-cations of a sports bar with TVs everywhere.

There is a hostess stand that tells customers to either seat themselves or wait to be seated, depending on the time of day. Buck’s rarely has more than a five-minute wait time to be seated.

The food sampled includes the beer-battered onion rings with remoulade, the caesar salad, the margherita pizza with artichokes, the 5-meat pizza, the spicy barbeque chicken wings and the cinnamon bread.

The onion rings were typical. They were crispy and thickly battered. Paired with the slightly spicy remoulade, this appe-tizer was a great combination of

flavors, mixing the sweet onion with the spicy dip.

The caesar salad was average. The dressing tasted like it came from a bottle and nothing about it was unique.

The margherita pizza with artichokes arrived on a thin crisp crust. Every ingredient looked and tasted fresh. The base was a garlic, oil and parmesan mixture, layered with diced tomatoes, basil leaves, artichoke hearts cut into fourths and mozzarella cheese. Everything about this was on point.

The 5-meat pizza was filled with flavor through tiny diced ham, small shreds of bacon, pep-peroni and beef. Wow. There was much to savor through the salty meats. Surprisingly, this was well-balanced through the inclu-sion of tart tomato sauce on the hand-tossed, limp crust. Nothing about the 5-meat was lacking. It was another remarkable pizza and should definitely stay on the menu.

The spicy barbeque wings were cooked to perfection and the barbeque sauce had a sultry, smoky flavor. The sauce stuck to the wings well. The heat from the spice was bearable, but made even cooler when paired with the ranch dressing offered with the wings. The ranch, of note, tasted

like it came from a bottle. The cinnamon bread was a

large round of bread, sweet and filled with cinnamon flavor and a powdered sugar drizzle. Every-thing about this bread was per-fect. Though cut into rectangles, the round somewhat puffy bread was delicious for every piece. Even the edge pieces that did not have cinnamon and sugar goo on

them were filled with flavor. Buck’s has a price range of

$3.00 to $5.00 for salads and $6.00 to $22.00 for pizzas.

In all, Buck’s did not disap-point. Since Buck’s is a pizza joint, it makes sense that the most palatable foods were the pizzas, rather than the salad or onion rings. Buck’s has found their niche.

Food review: Buck’s Pizza

The Alabamian Recommends...

Most of Hollywood in recent weeks has been focused on the controversy surrounding “50 Shades of Grey” and the most holy of all award shows, the Oscars. One movie seems to have been overlooked by the press. “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is a thriller/spy movie starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Firth.

The movie is loosely based on the comic book series “The Secret Service” and follows a rather familiar James Bond formula. The

film involves gadgets, a cra-zy villain and over the top action sequences. “Kings-man” does not follow this formula outright though. One of the main characters is killed off fairly early and there is no love interest for the male protagonist.

What makes “Kingsman” interesting is it has enough gratuitous violence to make Tarantino cry with envy. This movie is not afraid of blood and gore. The perfor-mances of both Jackson and Firth also provide interest-

ing character changes for the seasoned actors. Firth still plays a proper British gentleman, but his character is deadly. Samuel L. Jackson still lets out a number of F-bombs on screen, but ironically his character is a pacifist.

Even though “Kings-man” does possess some originality, expect a few corny scenes and unneces-sarily long action sequences. Regardless of its faults, it’s still a great movie to watch.

By LAURA POYTHRESS

New to Netflix this month: hilari-ous observational humor from comedy sweetheart Aziz Ansari. Pulling from his knack at analyzing society in a profoundly comedic way, Ansari’s latest special is a must-see amongst the streaming service’s latest additions. Look for jokes about how technology has ruined dating, a break-down of the “creepy guy” archetype and relatable relationship humor. Ansari shows his sweet side in bringing his parents up on stage and in the dedication of the show to his recently deceased friend and col-league Harris Wittels. It’s stand-up from the sweet, funny guy we all want, or want to be, and it’s definitely worth a watch.

“Kingsman: The Secret Service” Aziz Ansari’s “Live at Madison Square Garden

By BRITT HEADLEY

Laura Poythress/The Alabamian

Buck’s Five-Meat pizza consists of a heaping helping of pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon and ground beef.

Britt Headley/Contributer

By LAURA POYTHRESS