UAB Briefs: Surviving the election, Halloween safety, high-tech artist

Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs, in which we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.

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Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email Iron City Ink at sydney@starnespublishing.com and jchambers@starnespublishing.com.

Politics gets personal, says UAB prof

UAB clinical psychologist Josh Klapow, 48, remembers 10 presidential elections, going back to the Gerald Ford-Jimmy Carter race in 1976.

Yet he told Iron City Ink this week that the current battle between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump “is not just the most passionate but… the most personal” election he’s ever witnessed.

“There is a unique undertone where both sides agree that there are significant problems in (Washington,) D.C., but both sides disagree how to fix them,” he said.

Sadly, the race has become extremely divisive, according to Klapow, who said that he has heard of serious damage to long-time friendships and even marriages caused when people take sides in the Clinton-Trump contest.

Klapow offers some perspective on the causes for these extreme emotions and suggests some ways for Americans to cope in a mature way when people they know and care about express political opinions they disagree with.

The impact of social media in driving these strong emotions about the election cannot be underestimated, according to Klapow. “The candidates, their campaigns, the news outlets, the cable and network TV news outlets – all are simultaneously leveraging social media to reinforce messages, to elicit emotional response,” Klapow said.

Unfortunately, many of these messages “have become commentary on character and the candidate” rather than being about “the candidate’s position on issues,” he said.

And these messages “are present constantly and are essentially prevent anyone from letting the issues settle or move on,” he said.

Our strong emotions regarding the election also show “a modeling effect,” according to Klapow, who said “we are witnessing essentially two camps headed up by two individuals calling into question the character of each other.”

In addition, “we are social beings who cannot help but learn from what we are seeing” from the two campaigns, Klapow said. “The vicarious learning through the statements and the messages have taken a political argument and turned it into a personal fight. Personal fights generate much stronger emotions.”

As a consequence, a lot of friends, family members and co-workers are “getting into verbal fights” over politics, said Klapow, who notes that people may say things are can’t be easily taken back.

“It becomes personal, individual and divisive,” he said. “The emotional damage is done. When you call into question someone’s intelligence, morality, patriotism, concern for the country by the nature of who they are voting for, you have now made a personal critique. That doesn’t go away.”

Will people be able to process all of this negative emotion and repair their relationships after the election?  That is “the most troubling aspect,” Klapow said.

“Will people make up?” he said. “Maybe, but this election will also set the precedent for lots of people with respect to who their friends are after the election. Throw in that one side will ‘win’ and one side will ‘lose’ and you have an entirely new emotional challenge that will have to be addressed after the election.”

Disagreements, even strong ones, are not necessarily bad, but we have to maintain some boundaries, according to Klapow.

“This is not about everyone agreeing or even about everyone being friendly,” he said. “This is about everyone respecting the humanity of those who have different opinions.

“In the end we cannot turn each of our disagreements about political views into what we are seeing the candidates do,” Klapow said.

The psychologist shared some tips for dealing with conflicting political views with UAB News.

“Be prepared to be surprised,” he said. “Be ready to hear views from friends that might be in conflict with yours.”

Before responding harshly in person or online to a friend’s political opinion, think about what you are saying and the value of the relationship, according to Klapow. “Be careful before doing or saying something that may end a valuable friendship,” he said.

“Allow for differences,” Klapow said. He suggests that you evaluate whether a person’s political comment or social media post was directed at you or was just a general comment. “The expression of an opinion does not have to translate into a personal invitation for a debate,” he said.

If you do respond to someone, “engage with respect” and don’t “get caught up in campaign rhetoric,” Klapow said. “If you feel you can enter into a discussion with a truly open mind, focused on learning more about why your friend feels differently than you do, then proceed.”

One should also “weigh the impact of political views on defining the person,” Klapow said, adding that, “It is healthy to have friends whose opinions are different from yours. If you cannot handle those differences, the question you need to ask yourself is, ‘Why not?’”

Keeping Halloween safe for kids

Halloween “should be a fun time,” but “safety is important, too,” said David Schwebel, UAB psychologist and director of the UAB Youth Safety Lab.

“Parents need to take safety into consideration with many factors, such as roads, pumpkin-carving and candy,” Schwebel said in a UAB news release.

Schwebel and Dr. Shilpa Register of the Callahan Eye Hospital offer the following Halloween safety tips for parents:

Jack-o’-Lanterns

--Adults can teach older children to cut jack-o’-lanterns and light candles.

--Younger kids can scoop out the seeds and draw designs on the pumpkins with colored markers.

Trick-or-Treating

--Look left, right and left again when crossing streets, and keep looking as you cross.

--Do not run across the street.

--Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there is no sidewalk, walk on direct routes with the least amount of street-crossing.

--Put electronic devices down, keep heads up and be mindful of potential distracted pedestrian behavior.

Costumes

--Make sure costumes fit right to avoid trips and falls.

--Instead of using masks for costumes, use face paint or makeup to avoid blocking the child’s vision.

--Do not overdo it with scary costumes around younger children, who can be sensitive to scary, unfamiliar things.

--Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers, and if possible, choose light colors.

--Do not purchase decorative contact lenses at beauty shops or gas stations; consult an optometrist or ophthalmologist, instead.

Motorists

--Slow down and be especially alert in neighborhoods.

--Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, medians and curbs.

--Be aware that popular trick-or-treating hours are between 5:30-9:30 p.m.

--Avoid distraction while driving.

Candy

--Search and inspect all candy when trick or treating. Any open pieces of candy should be thrown away.

--Watch out for choking hazards with young children.

Making art in brand-new ways

The UAB Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship lecture series – presented by the Department of Art and Art History – continues on Thurs., Nov. 3, at 5 p.m., with visiting artist McArthur Freeman II.

The lecture, which will be free and open to the public, is to take place at the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at 1221 10th Ave. South, according to a UAB news release.

A visual artist and designer, Freeman is assistant professor of video, animation and digital arts at the University of South Florida.

At his UAB lecture, he will discuss his most recent works, which combine digital sculpting, 3-D scanning and 3-D printing.

“Working with polygons that are manipulated on-screen, I push, pull, carve and mold forms as if working with digital clay,” Freeman said in the release. “My works are formed virtually through digital sculpting and are then 3-D printed and fabricated in other materials, such as resin or bronze.”

“I relish the ability to find forms and materialize them in the physical world,” Freeman said.

For more information, go to www.uab.edu/art.