Author: RaeAnne Alexander

The UAB USGA executive council election has proceeded to a run-off in three categories.  Voting reopened this morning at 8 a.m. and will close at 8 a.m. Friday. Students may vote here. The unofficial results of the election were announced on the USGA’s Instagram Wednesday evening. The run-off candidates are listed below. President Ayona Roychowdhury Anahita Maleknia Executive Vice President Sydney Testman Samir Abouhaidar Executive Vice President of Student Services Miguel Luna Amanda Tran Ammar Rana and Vinaya Vanteru have been announced as the winners of the Vice President of Communications and the Vice President of Finance categories, respectively. The…

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Students gathered outside the Hill Student Center this afternoon to protest against Alabama Senate Bill 129. The bill, which passed the state Senate on Thursday, states it would “prohibit certain public entities, including state agencies, local boards of education, and public institutions of higher education, from maintaining a diversity, equity, and inclusion office or department or sponsoring any diversity, equity, and inclusion program or program that advocates for a divisive concept.” The protest, organized by Esperanza UAB, Gender & Sexuality Union at UAB and Young Democratic Socialists of America at UAB, featured several student speakers. “If this bill is passed,…

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The 2024 USGA executive council election will begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, March 5, and will remain open for 24 hours. Students may vote on BlazerNET. If necessary, runoff elections will take place on March 7. Below is the full list of executive council candidates. Vice President of Finance Gitanjali Alapati Vinayasri Vanteru Vice President of Student Services Amanda Tran Miguel Luna Henna Parekh Vice President of Communications Ammar Z. Rana Sheetal Rumalla Executive Vice President Samir Abouhaidar Sydney Testman Harrison Strong President Anahita Maleknia Eshan Pokhrel Ayona Roychowdhury

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Dear UAB, My name is RaeAnne Alexander, and I am enthusiastic to be Editor-in-Chief of The Kaleidoscope for the upcoming school year. I am passionate about editorial freedom, uncompromising coverage and principally, providing a platform for students to openly express their opinions. As such, I feel a great need to acknowledge any claim that may contradict this mission. An Instagram account titled @uabforequity posted a submission on Tuesday, April 11 that made several concerning claims against The Kaleidoscope, including that our outlet suppresses and censors student voices. Additionally, the statement criticized our editorial policies. The Kaleidoscope is a fiercely independent…

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In preparation for the 2023 USGA election, Kaleidoscope sent a questionnaire to all students running for office. Seven candidates shared about themselves, their campaign and their view on the issues USGA faces. Their responses are below and have been edited for brevity and clarity. Use the links on the names below to jump to various points in the article. Candidates Christy Xie, VP of Finance Danny Truong, VP of Finance Rinn Mitchell, VP of Communications Janelle Guillermo, VP of Communications Ayona Roychowdhury, Executive Vice President Cassidy Stoddart, Executive Vice President Anjali Thottassery, VP of Student Services David Hantouche, VP of…

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What is there to say about “Hamilton” that hasn’t been said before? Since 2015, the musical has reinvigorated the musical theatre genre with its catchy songs and beloved characters. This winter, Hamilton is taking the stage at the BJCC’s Concert Hall from January 24 to February 4.  You don’t need me to tell you “Hamilton” is good, but I will anyway. During its roughly three-hour run time, the show never ceases to be entertaining; the songs, which blend a catchy fuse of R&B, hip-hop and rap elements, are incredible, and the performances are emotional and gripping. From the jump, “Alexander…

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Aura is Kaleidoscope’s sister organization under the UAB Student Media umbrella. In honor of Aura’s upcoming issue, Contemporary Juice, I sat down with Anna Ulrey, Aura’s Editor-in-Chief and Olivia Blanton, Aura’s managing editor, to discuss juice, map making and Joe Biden. So you have probably been asked this like, a million times over already, but what does contemporary juice mean to you? Olivia: Try a billion times over. I can say simply that I was sitting in the middle of the student media office and it just popped into my head. There was no precursor. It just became Contemporary Juice,…

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The World Games are coming to Birmingham in just a few days. Here’s how you can get prepared. About the games If you somehow haven’t heard, The World Games are a multi-day sporting event compiling all the major oddball sports that aren’t in the Olympic Games. The World Games kick off on July 7 at 7 p.m. with an opening ceremony at Protective Stadium. From there, a variety of sporting events, such as bowling, archery and drone-racing will take place around Birmingham from July 8 until July 17. Our own UAB campus will host several games, including boules, lacrosse, racquetball,…

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On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, putting an end to 49 years of federally protected abortion rights. The decision will allow states to enforce their own abortion laws. 22 states, including Alabama, have immediately put laws into effect that will either heavily restrict or entirely ban abortion. UAB students have joined the scores of voices speaking out on this landmark decision. “I’m afraid for women all over the country and I’m afraid they will take away more rights from marginalized groups,” said Lily Elena, an incoming freshman. “It feels as if they overturned it to…

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