The Franklin Stove Blog blog was linked to at the end of this touching and disturbing letter from an Alabama student’s mother to the University of Alabama President. One person who sent it to Jim Rainey (the Publisher of the Tuscaloosa News)  said that he seemed interested in it. But the letter has yet to be seen in in The Tuscaloosa News.

Dear Dr. Bonner,

I am the parent of Katharine Patricia Smith, sophomore by year and junior by credit at the University of Alabama. Our oldest son went to UA in the late 1990’s/2002. We are not strangers to the UA campus life. I will attempt to be as brief as possible.

When Katie chose to attend the University of Alabama, she had been accepted at American University as well as the other Florida Universities. Her choice resulted in the surrender of the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and several other scholarships that would have virtually cost us nothing for her bachelors’ degree. We have exhausted our Florida Pre-Paid Tuition Plan to the University of Alabama and now we are working to keep the tuition paid until Katie graduates.

My husband has a small business in land clearing and I manage a small nonprofit organization here in Milton, Florida.

Katie came to UA with a long history of leadership:
• Class president in her 5th grade year at Rhodes Elementary School.
• Represented her class each grade in student government throughout middle
school.
• Freshman and sophomore class president at Milton High School.
• Vice President of the school student body-Junior year at Milton High School.
• Student Body President Senior year at Milton High School.

Because of Katie’s leadership in high school, as a sophomore, she helped stimulate the interest in Florida amongst many young people around the state regarding the derogatory usage of the word, “retard”. This came about because of Katie’s love for her brother, Curtis Daniel Finlay. He experiences Autism, Tourette Syndrome and has an Intellectual Disability. Katie held events at her school, had petitions signed and began speaking to groups around the state, as well as had the opportunity to speak at a national conference of The Arc of the United States.

Many Florida Advocacy groups learned about Katie’s activities. These activities became one of the catalysts that ignited other actions around our state to promote a special piece of legislation, following the national movement and implementation federal legislation of Rosa’s Law. In the 2013 Florida Legislative Session, Senate Bill 142 and House Bill 1119 were passed unanimously to eliminate all usage of the word in all state statutes and laws and now the word Intellectual Disability is the correct term. I cannot tell you how proud I am of Katie. This was spearheaded by a young girl who loves her brother with Autism.

I provided you with all of the above information because when Katie came to the Capstone, she wanted to participate in leadership activities. Her love for leadership resulted in advice that she should join a sorority. According to her ‘advisors’ this would be the only way to become involved in Student Government. She joined and through the first experience with Rush, she became very disappointed about the process. We should have known then (in the summer of 2012) something was wrong with this system. Katie would call home several times a day crying about these antiquated customs. Katie met so many really nice young women who were equally as talented and qualified to become a member in an UA Pan-Hellenic Sorority. Many of these young women, (who were equally qualified for membership,) were not invited within the second, third and fourth day of Rush. As Katie would learn later, it was because of their skin color or ethnicity. Katie felt confident that this would change and continued with her membership of AOII, as advised.

During Katie’s first year, she was elected First Year Council President and later ran for a Senate position. She was elected because she had shown no opposition to “the Machine.” Katie joined the University’s chapter of Best Buddies and has become a mentor to many of the students at Crossing Points. This past summer she participated in the Avanti Team and was elected the Avanti of the Year by her teammates. As parents, we thought everything was just fine until this past fall. It was then we began to learn about many activities that had and were occurring in the sororities at the University of Alabama. It is called the “Code of Silence.”

I have learned that at weekly sorority and fraternity “swaps” it was strongly encouraged that the new sorority members participate in a practice called “bumping”. As I see it, “bumping” is nothing more than sexual rituals. When you add copious amounts of alcohol provided by the older fraternity members, you can only imagine what will occur. Impressionable eighteen year olds look up to these older sisters and they will feel like they should do what they are ‘supposed to.’ It does not matter what you have taught your children, this is severe peer pressure. I am not a prude here. I was once young too.

During the Tuscaloosa School Board elections, the AOII Machine representative told all of the members of her sorority that they were to vote for a former UA student. If they voted for this person, they would receive a limousine ride to the polls as well as a wristband that could be exchanged for an alcoholic beverage at two local downtown bars. Katie spoke out against such practices. Although Katie was not an eligible voter in Tuscaloosa, she was AFRAID to speak out with her name attached but attempted to go to Greek affairs and the Alabama election board. She spoke out, anonymously, because she was terribly afraid of the backlash that might come for doing so. During this last bid for Senate seats, Katie was told by a “machine rep” that she “could not run for Secretary of the Senate”. She has been told that her actions do not reflect the University of Alabama’s principles. These are only a few issues that we are troubled about with the University of Alabama Greek System evidential common practices.

We were saddened to see that Katie resigned from AOII on March 12, 2014 as a matter of principle of the sorority process. She will NOT be reimbursed for the rest of the semester which includes her food plan. She has been shunned and avoided by the majority of these girls. Her car was keyed the week prior to leaving on Spring Break. There have been questions about some evident tampering with her car wiring. This has been reported to the Tuscaloosa Police Department.

At Katie’s last Senate meeting, (March 20, 2014), Katie co-authored and introduced a resolution for the sororities and fraternities to end segregation in these organizations. She felt that the expectation that you had courageously attempted last fall had to come from within and not from Administration. There were only 6 votes to end segregation and the others voted it down and send it to committee. Since this was the last meeting, it was ‘killed’ on the senate floor that night. That night, she experienced much backlash from the present senators, even some laughing while she answered questions.

She wanted to present this resolution last fall, but the Machine told her that she was not allowed. It was also in her best interest to keep her mouth shut and if so, she would be ‘backed’ for an executive position in the Student Government Association.

In other attempts for leadership opportunities, Katie tried out to be a Capstone woman. From all accounts of the interview, it sounds like most of the questions were about what knowledge Katie had about “the Machine.” From what I have learned about this “machine” it is not safe to know very much about “the Machine.”

Katie tried out for the Blackburn Institute. Katie informed us “that they really wanted instate students and very few are accepted from out of state.” Should we have furnished the census records from the 1800s to 1940 regarding my Alabama Ancestors of Chambers County, Alabama?

When it is all said and done, my husband and I have already spent over $50,000 for an out of state university for what I thought my daughter would have first class leadership opportunities. (This does not include room and board and sorority expenses.) This has not come to fruition. We are very disappointed in the principles that are being dictated by these sororities and fraternities.

From our experiences at the University of Alabama the “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” appears to be shrine only. The monument is reflective of concrete only. Shouldn’t there be meaning behind this statue? Not a commemorative ceremony with distinctive guests but with real meaning?

Since March 20th, Katie has been approached by the Huffington Press, Marie Claire Magazine and many others listed below:

http://cw.ua.edu/2014/03/21/sga-senate-votes-to-end-resolution-supporting-greeksystem-
integration/
http://www.al.com/news/tuscaloosa/index.ssf/2014/03/
university_of_alabama_sga_fail.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcIjjPlYB7I&feature=youtu.be
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/26/university-of-alabama-race-greeks-
_n_5029195.html
http://jezebel.com/bill-supporting-greek-integration-doesnt-make-it-throu-1550249433?
utm_campaign=socialfow_jezebel_twitter&utm_source=jezebel_twitter&utm_medium=s
ocialflow
http://gawker.com/u-of-alabama-greeks-win-fight-for-their-right-to-be-ra-1550457536?
utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_me
dium=socialflow
https://ttowntruthseeker.com/2014/03/17/machine-reign-of-terror-at-the-capstone/
https://ttowntruthseeker.com/2014/03/21/sga-members-showing-their-true-colors/

I am sure that you may think this is all “sour grapes.” I almost wish this was. I have to tell you that my husband and I are very worried for Katie’s safety and well being. After this Spring Break, we have seen a different daughter than we first sent away to school. For this reason, I am requesting a meeting with you regarding this matter. As a mother, I need to have reassurance in my mind about my daughter’s safety. If this is not enough, attached is the letter that Katie wrote to her sorority as to why she felt the need to resign. We were sickened that this has been going on.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

Patricia Ann Smith
cc: Paul Owens, Jr. Trustee of the Curtis Finlay Foundation

Save Tuscaloosa Schools was a campaign that was a product of Mike Echols’ Educate Tuscaloosa PAC

Perhaps the reason for the attempted School Board takeover will never be known? Was there a reason for PACs run by  Mike Echols to throw so much money into the race?

A series of questions were raised in the Read, Listen, Think blog:

Golf course – school parcel land: How the deal was done:

How interesting is it that the main player in this deal was Mike Echols, who was the money man behind the school board challengers?

Why in the world would the entities and individuals involved carry on the negotiations or discussions and ultimately make a deal involving the possibility of a new school – a major decision by any school system – and not substantively involve the school board?

Is it possible that this deal was kept quiet in hope of – or even in reliance upon – the election of a fundamentally different school board? Mike Echols worked the deal out between PARA and the Department of Mental Health. Is it coincidence that shortly thereafter he set about to unseat as many of the then-current school board members as possible? Lee Garrison began to position himself to run for the chairman position as early as January 31st, just fifteen days after the amended lease was filed. Would it have looked bad at that point in time for this land to come available the way it did? Would the questions it has raised have had a negative impact on the campaigns of candidates who ‘knew’ about the land deal?

It has been documented that the campaigns of the board of education challengers last year were largely funded by donations from businesses and individuals who were connected to the construction, real estate and banking industries. Why were these folks so motivated to change the board? Based on the acrimony surrounding the choice of location for Tuscaloosa’s new technical school and the fact that many of the individuals and entities from that battle contributed to challengers in this one, I propose that they did not trust that school board to do their bidding. There are a number of businesses and individuals, many of whom donated to challengers’ campaign funds either directly or through Mike Echols’ PACs, which stand to profit from school construction. Could it be that this land deal was always planned to be held secret pending the outcome of the school board elections?

Photo accompanying Gawker article

Well, what the Gawker publishes is not always exactly politically correct…  But this has a certain ring of truth to it…

Adam Weinstein’s U. of Alabama Greeks Win Fight For Their Right To Be Racist Dicks gives this account of the University Student Government Association’s recent lack of action:

Last summer, the University of Alabama campus was rocked by allegations that the fabled Greek scene was racist. Well, not allegations: The school’s all-white sororities rejected two women because they weren’t white. The school’s student Senate had a chance to fix things. But last week, they said “fuck it.”

A modest proposal encouraging Bama’s fraternities and sororities not to discriminate or segregate on the basis of race died in the student Senate last week—after it was sunk by senators with Greek sympathies, according to several of the bill’s sponsors.

The proposed resolution was tame as hell; after decrying the school’s longtime “stigma… regarding its legacy of segregation,” it stated that “the Senate supports the complete integration of all Greek letter fraternities and sororities at the University of Alabama, with respect to social diversity among its membership.”

In fairness to the University of Alabama’s racially fraught Greek organizations, they also seem to like beating and humiliating white students.

And plenty of other campuses house fraternities that were begun by unrepentant Southern whites during reconstruction, or who share their beginnings with a secret society that formed the basis for the Ku Klux Klan. As I write this, one frat on the local campus in Tallahassee is preparing for its annual “Old South” ball by remaking its house into a fort, complete with cannonades:

Old traditions die slowly in The Heart Of Dixie…

Jezebel covered the story too. In her story Bill Supporting Greek Integration Doesn’t Make It Through “Bama Kate Dries wrote:

The news that this resolution didn’t make it through the SGA is wholly unsurprising, given that UofA’s student government is known to be controlled by The Machine, a “secret” Greek organization. The Machine is made up of representatives from numerous fraternities and sororities. These individuals help decide what candidates for SGA should be endorsed and funded, thus ensuring that the Greek agenda has consistently strong majority representation on campus. As The Crimson White reported, 27 members of SGA “voted yes to keep the bill from being voted on, 5 no, and 2 voted present.” A few weeks ago, Alabama SGA’s Twitter account was hacked and tweets were sent out alleging that candidates were pay $5,000 to run.

If the bill is to move forward, it will have to be rewritten and reintroduced to the SGA next term. Multiple sponsors of the bill allege that it was not voted on because members of SGA felt it displayed a bias against Greek life; Speaker of the Senate Cole Adams told AL.com that there were issues with its “verbiage and intent” and that his fellow senators had “technical questions” about the resolution. Lead sponsor and writer of the resolution Katie Smith said the bill was laughed at when it was introduced, adding that she wrote it in the fall but did not introduce it then because the SGA said they “did not want to take a stand” on the issue of racial integration.

Considering how much drama the resolution has prompted, the content of it is incredibly uncontroversial. It does not attempt to force integration of any kind and only acknowledges that though Greek organizations “benefit the campus and community … there is a distinct and also unique portrayal of a number of Greek organizations at the University of Alabama as having membership defined on the basis of one’s race” which has “attracted unfavorable national attention” in a number of important national media outlets.

Doubtlessly no member of the Student Government Association at the University of Alabama would  burn a cross or wear white robes, but there does seem to be a certain amount of recalcitrance in the SGA ranks when it comes embracing 21st Century social norms.

As Melissa Brown’s reported in her story University of Alabama SGA fails to pass resolution supporting Greek integration, sparks controversy:

The University of Alabama SGA’s Senate Thursday night failed to pass a resolution to support the full integration of its Greek system, and sent it instead to committee, where it will die with the end of the 2013-14 Senate session.

Though its opponents remain tight-lipped on what issues they found with the resolution, its co-authors unanimously believe the bill was intentionally killed on the Senate floor by what one senator calls a “manipulation” of procedure to ensure its demise.

Senator and bill co-author Chisolm Allenlundy said he understands why some people disagree with the bill but takes issues that the bill wasn’t formally debated or considered on the floor.

“My fellow senators chose rather to send it to committee, so that they would not have to be listed as having voted against the legislation.”

Speaker of the Senate Cole Adams disagrees with Allenlundy’s assertions, stating Thursday night that there were many “technical questions” with the bill, and senators did not want to rush it through a vote without its due process.

But co-author Katie Smith, who introduced the bill to the floor, said the issue of integration support should have “been treated with respect and not ridicule,” and describes senators laughing as the bill was introduced.

“This was not a catch-22. It was worded in a non-controversial way but the senators decided to vote for objection,” Smith said. “We have all had ample time to consider this issue since it went national in the fall of 2013. Voting against this resolution was very clearly voting against the very idea of integrating Greek organizations.”

The resolution, co-authored by Senators Smith, Allenlundy, Anthony James and Justin Thompson, notes the unfavorable national attention UA and its Greek system received after discriminatory recruitment practices were revealed in August 2013.

There would be a high probability that a resolution encouraging blacks to play football for the Crimson Tide would get unanimous support though.

According to a report  by WVTM-TV’s Meredith Armstrong the operatives for the University of Alabama’s Machine conducted their own little reign of terror during the recent Student Government Association elections. She reported:

Some University of Alabama students say they don’t feel safe after receiving threats because of their involvement in Student Government Association campaigns.  Students say members of a secret underground group known as The Machine have been harassing and threatening them after students openly supported SGA candidates that opposed Machine supported candidates.

“Things have been posted anonymously saying that they should burn our building down or someone said we should bring down a storm on Mallet. You know we’re not comfortable sleeping on the first floor of this building right now because we don’t know what people are going to do,” said Lexis Doland, a member of The Mallet Assembly.

But the students say the back lash against those who didn’t support The Machine backed candidates didn’t stop there. Madelyn Dukes says her phone number was used to create a personal ad on Craigslist for “women seeking men.”

“With the way that people have taken this just a step too far doesn’t show that their track record is necessarily trusting in my safety from here on out,” she said. 

During the day Tuesday, Dukes says she and other students supporting presidential candidate Justin Thompson were yelled at, spit on, and cursed out. Students say most of the name calling, harassment, and threats they received happened along the Crimson Promenade near the Ferguson Student Center on campus.

Thompson says he expected some of the backlash because of his homosexuality. “It wasn’t completely unexpected, but the jokes I just think people are uncomfortable with it. They don’t appreciate others sexuality, different types of people,” he said.

Others who openly supported Thompson for president say their phone numbers were posted on Craigslist adds for cars and video game systems, which raked in dozens of calls.  “It was really kind of an indirect, indirect harassment by whomever put the numbers up,” said Jesse Davis, one of Thompson’s supporters.

The Machine has never been terribly concerned about any niceties in its behavior, whether in conducting campus elections or meddling in Tuscaloosa municipal elections.

University of Alabama Law Faculty member Paul Horwitz commented on a scheduled meeting of The Senate Task Force for Excellence in Equality, Inclusion, and Citizenship at the University. He was concerned about the lack of participation by students affiliated with The Machine in previous Task Force meetings.  He said, “The lack of public Machine or Old Row participation signals their unwillingness to take these issues seriously and puts the obligation on the university and its faculty to do what these young people are unwilling or unable to do. Lack of public Machine participation also sends loudly and clearly the message that if the Machine is unable to acknowledge its existence and account for its actions, it needs to either be brought into the open or shut down. And, again, to the extent that the theme or through-line is one of transparency and accountability…”

Since the administration of the University of Alabama seems to have been more receptive to complaints by alumni that their children are being besmirched by unfavorable publicity than those about student misbehavior from faculty or residents of Tuscaloosa it is doubtful that the Task Force will curb the unethical and immoral tactics of The Machine. The Machine lurks like the Hogwarts giant squid off the shore where the Crimson Tide rolls in. Just how far the tentacles of The Machine go into the University’s Board of Trustees and Administration will probably never be known.

Image of a screen-capture of the Stephen Keller campaign Twitter account with Allen from the Capstone online story.

The Capstone -“Voice of The University of Alabama” is reporting fraudulent behavior in the just held Student Government Association elections. A Special Report: Recording Leads to Questions of Fraud In SGA Election raises questions what about the impact that Students for Experienced Leadership may have had on the election and its ties to The Machine.

Cameron Hurley-Knight reported about the Student Government Association election:

In a series of  interviews conducted on Election Day, Vice President Elect of Student Affairs Stephen Keller acknowledged that his campaign was working with other Machine candidates under the banner of “Students for Experienced Leadership” and that he personally distributed flyers that he did not pay for, which is a violation of SGA elections rules according to materials provided by the elections board. Under SGA election rules, anyone associated with a campaign must conduct themselves in accordance with predetermined regulations including spending reporting procedures and that, “all candidates and their volunteers shall be responsible for knowing its contents.”

The online Capstone post includes recordings that were allegedly made by a “whistle blower” who was “not a UA student and is not even from the state.” The whistle blower said that  “he was in town visiting a friend over spring break when he got involved in a SGA elections scandal.”

After mucking up the Tuscaloosa Board of Education race one might think the The Machine might want to have a lower profile, but if the SGA election was indeed tainted by its machinations The Machine should be back in the spotlight.

The ways things get done around Tuscaloosa’s City Hall aren’t too hard to fathom. Unfortunately  many ordinary citizens who might actually think that their voices count don’t understand that only the voices of the right people really count.

Just who the “right people” are depends on many things.

Well organized neighborhood groups have repeatedly stopped a development that they thought would be injurious to their property values and quality of life. As Jason Morton reported in The Tuscaloosa News, the Tuscaloosa City Council recently voted on  “a rezoning decision that could allow the construction of an apartment complex on a 17.07-acre tract off Hargrove Road.” Morton further reported that the council would face “another round of opposition from nearby neighbors and residents who maintain that an apartment complex of this size will hinder public safety, add traffic to an already burdened road and infringe upon their overall quality of life.” The Council voted the complex down, in keeping with an earlier Planning and Zoning Commission vote.

Morton wrote that at the Planning and Zoning Commission all but one of the “commission members voted in line with the recommendations put forth by the mayor’s Student Rental Housing Task Force in November. Those recommendations, adopted by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council, urge both panels to deny or refuse to consider any rezoning requests that would allow the development of an apartment complex of more than 200 bedrooms.”

Many of the neighbors who lived in another part of town were blindsided by the rapid approval of The Collegiate however. In an article about the City Council’s vote on zoning amendments that would limit student housing Jason Morton reported in The Tuscaloosa News:

The only proposed development currently in the city’s approval pipeline that stood to be affected by the changes was able to escape their limitations on Thursday.

Trinitas Ventures LLC, a development company out of Lafayette, Ind., is planning to construct a $26 million, apartment-only complex of 677 bedrooms in configurations of one, two, three and four bedrooms on 13th Street just east of the 1,226-bedroom Lofts at City Center on the former site of the Wood Square shopping center. The development is to be called the Collegiate.

Bryan Winter, the Tuscaloosa attorney representing Trinitas Ventures, said it would be a quality location for new residents, while its construction would bring jobs to the community.

“Trinitas and The Collegiate are truly excited to be a part of the Tuscaloosa’s championship community,” Winter said. “Trinitas especially appreciates the diligence and professionalism of the Tuscaloosa city staff throughout this process.”

Without any legal authority to refuse issuance of the permits — the development met the current rules pertaining to these types of projects — John McConnell, director of the city’s Planning and Development Services, said a building permit was reviewed, approved and issued.

The permit required the approval of the Office of the City Engineer for the associated land development permit, which City Engineer David Griffin also issued on Thursday.

Because these permits were approved prior to the zoning amendments becoming law, Trinitas Venture’s project — as long as it is completed and occupied by September 2015 — will be allowed to remain and operate as a grandfathered, non-conforming structure.

The developers for The Collegiate had not even bought the property for this project and applied for any kind of permit when the Student Housing Task Force was meeting. At the time the project was considered by many on the City’s planning staff to be dead in the water.

But the counsel for Trinitas Ventures  Bryan Winter virtually camped out in City Hall for a couple of weeks and was the project’s midwife. Every time the project’s application process hit a snag he was there to work it out. He just about single-handedly birthed The Collegiate. Winter, as well as other local people involved, may have gotten a significant bonus for pulling all the strings necessary to have the project “grandfathered” in. The normal Tuesday meeting for the City Council had been delayed by foul weather. Last-minute procedures to grease the wheels for The Collegiate were going on right up to the time of the rescheduled Council meeting on the following Thursday.

Many of the people who lived in neighborhoods located in the vicinity of The Collegiate read about the student housing project for the first time in Friday’s newspaper. It is true that they had had no neighborhood organization or connection to a group such as Tuscaloosa Neighbors Together.  But even people who were supposed to be “in the know” were probably surprised too.

One of Winter’s other projects had been the Hilton extended stay motel “Home2 Suites” that will be built on a city block where many buildings of historical value once stood. In his presentation to the Planning and Zoning Commission he repeatedly claimed that the motel was really a “hotel.” The location of an extended stay motel had been prohibited in the Downtown Riverfront Overlay District. The property it was to be located on was finally rezoned.

Winter is on the Board of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce. The Tuscaloosa City Council recently unanimously approved renewal of a $175,000 contract with the chamber to manage its economic development activities. A new building to house the chamber’s EDGE “business incubator” is being built, partly with disaster relief funds, by the city.

In T-Town certain powerful individuals and sometimes even large groups of ordinary folk determine how it’s done.

Will Kelly Horwitz be reseated on the School Board in the new year? Or will there be no miracle?

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

Krampus, the demonic version of St. Nicholas, has by now descended from the Alps of Europe to visit quite a few students of The University of Alabama. He has certainly meted out punishment to the students who, at the behest of The Machine, voted for Cason Kirby in the Tuscaloosa municipal election. Doubtlessly he has also cracked the whip across the backs of the students who’ve become so blindly drunk at the Irish Pub Innisfree that they’ve wrecked havoc on the nearby Historic District.

Meddling by students in the local election has effectively disenfranchised permanent residents of District 4 who voted for Kelly Horwitz, who was considered by many to be the most effective School Board member. Her Machine orchestrated replacement Cason Kirby will muck around for four years before heading for greener pastures. Machine supported School Board Chair Lee Garrison, perhaps best known for his unique phallic Halloween mask, and Kirby make quite a pair. The word “dum-dum” somehow comes to mind.

Students who have gone wild in the Historic District after being expelled from Innisfree have racked up quite a record of destruction and obnoxious behavior. There was an incident last year of an Innisfree patron as getting in a fight at the pub, being pursued by police and finally being pulled off a roof of a house in the Historic District.  One soaking wet student was arrested who had fallen into a fish pond.  A co-ed had been banging her fists on all of the windows and doors of a home before she was accosted. Sideswiping parked cars, urinating in rose bushes and littering with beverage containers in the Historic District is also commonplace. One resident of the Historic District has said, “Home invasion is the new normal here.”

Surely those who’ve enabled the bad behavior of students will have been visited by Krampus too, but their sorry lives are probably so miserable already that they’ve hardly noticed the additional pain.

All that bad karma over the Tuscaloosa School Board election was bound to affect the Tide’s fortunes. The football team players probably didn’t even vote in the contest. But there was so much involvement by the University, its students and administration in the fraudulent election that there was a karmic consequence — getting beat by its in-state rival Auburn and ending any possibility of a third National Championship.

Members of the Red Elephant Club which shares the same Post Office  Box with the Educate Tuscaloosa PAC probably aren’t happy. They now know how people in District Four feel about the election.