First day of classes tests UA transit system
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 23
...The system will eventually work, he believes, because UA has invested much, from rerouting and widening thoroughfares to purchasing the buses at a cost of $3 million. Parking passes have gone up from $75 to $125 -- an off-campus student can pay $310 for a parking space in one of the on-campus decks -- and parking fines have multiplied…The stops seem well planned – although one on the Green route opens onto a pile of gravel and sand -- and Wednesday there were often up to a dozen people waiting. Many stops had tents with volunteers dispensing water, maps and information. The Green route, one of the larger ones, takes 47 minutes to complete a loop from the Campus Drive parking deck -- the hub of the system -- to Coleman Coliseum, past the stadium, then back to the hub…
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) -- Aug. 22

CrimsonRide officially inaugurated
Crimson White – Aug. 23
…Walker said he was doing it to support UA students and to make it easier for them to get around campus…Ronnie Robertson, director of Transportation Services, said he was glad Walker could take part in the bottle breaking after the support the SGA has given to CrimsonRide. "The Student Government Association has played an important role in the development of the CrimsonRide system, with several SGA administrations involved in the research and implementation of the system," Robertson said.

Tide Text Alerts
CBS 42 (Birmingham) -- Aug. 22
UA Students, faculty and staff can all sign up for Tide Text Alerts which will alert them to emergency situations on campus.

iTour Bama
CBS 42 (Birmingham) -- Aug. 22
Two UA students have created a virtual tour of the UA campus that you can watch on your iPod.

Tide Makes Sports Illustrated
University of Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban is on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The article about Saban was written by Pulitzer Prize Winner Rick Bragg, who teaches writing at The University of Alabama.
WHNT (Huntsville) -- Aug. 22
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) -- Aug. 22
WCBI (Columbus, Miss.) -- Aug. 22
WRBL (Columbus, Ga.) -- Aug. 22
WTOK (Meridian, Miss.) -- Aug. 22

Ridgecrest East and West open
Crimson White – Aug. 23
…Ridgecrest East and West were completed just in time for the start of the new school year. The two four-story buildings hold suites comprised of four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining/living area and a kitchenette, making these residences more like apartments than typical college residence hall rooms…Another building, Ridgecrest South, is beginning construction. It will be similar to the east and west wings, but it will have five floors and a parking deck underneath the building. Tim Leopard, assistant vice president for construction, said so far everything is on schedule for the building's opening for fall 2009.

Beating the Heat
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) -- Aug. 22
For the first day back on campus, The University of Alabama had water stations set up for students.

Class raises funds to help former GTA
Crimson White – Aug. 23
…While Tokman, who was a fifth-year Ph.D. student last spring, was gone for about a week, students collected more than $200 in cash to help ease the hefty purchase of a last-minute plane ticket and more than $200 in gift cards to local restaurants, so groceries would not be an immediate concern…

A rape witnessed, a rape ignored
Pioneer Press (Minneapolis, Minn.) – Aug. 23
…The "Genovese syndrome" - or bystander effect - describes the mind-set that might have been at work in the St. Paul case. The larger the number of people who witness a crime, the less likely any one person is to jump in and assist, said Steve Prentice-Dunn, a psychology professor at the University of Alabama…

Government recommends no prison time for key Siegelman witness
Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.) – Aug. 23
…University of Alabama political scientist William Stewart, who attended some of the trial, described Bailey as "an important part" of the case against Siegelman and that he was not surprised the government would ask for leniency. "It's how the system works. If you provide evidence that's helpful in convicting a bigger guy, you get off yourself," Stewart said…