Actually in English you talk about Shakespeare in the present tense because you're discussing an active analysis of the text and the relationship between the reader and the attempt to convey meaning. Which really is a bit silly because Shakespeare wrote plays.. or rather, his plays weren't even written down at first. They were simply performed. Later they were scribbled down.. so the manner of conveyance (which dictates the meaning) is often entirely left out of literary analysis of his work. Bad lit major, bad bad lit majors! *newspaper across nose* Stop trying to make theater into literature!
And it was said by a character in a play.. it's not Shakespeare's voice, his opinion, etc.. Just so we're clear.
But why bring this trivial difference of opinion up? Because it illustrates that different fields, departments, etc.. have different ways of seeing things. A lit department would probably be fine with such statements, but anyone who has studied Shakespeare as theater academically is not going to let that slide. The stripping down of scripts into mere words on a page is a sore point for most theater practitioners. It's generally seen as the murder of an artform and a contributing factor in the decline of public performance.
So be careful of even your most innocuous statements.. though the OP would likely not be happy in a theater program who believed such things. Thus a rejection would be a favor, despite the desire for acceptance.
I'm not sure I'd be MUCH help, but I do live in Alabama and have visited T-town as it's called a few times.
I didn't attend UA, but I've heard that most students have to walk long distances (but that might be subjective...maybe it isn't THAT far) to attend class.
You'll DEFINITELY want a car if possible. T-town is like most other towns in Alabama. Hardly anything is truly within walking distance. It seems that a lot of the 'main drag' type stuff is on McFarlane Blvd, and the mall is on University (I think).
Tuscaloosa isn't a particularly nice town overall. Of course I'm an Auburn fan, so I might be a bit biased there! Truthfully, there are some parts of Tuscaloosa I'd stay away from in terms of living, of course I don't know enough about the town to tell you where that would be.
My friend that got her Masters there lived in Cottondale about 10 minutes up the interstate.
I think most of the apartments around the university are infested with loud partying undergrads.
hope this helps, and you guys can message me if you want to know anything else. Sorry I'm not a huge expert.
Roll Tide WAR EAGLE! (You'll get used to that if you come)
