The Daily Helmsman by The Daily Helmsman

Daily Helmsman

The

C-USA Implications for UM Tulsa matchup at FedExForum represents a crucial game for Tigers

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 Vol. 78 No. 072

see page 8

Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Students forced to pay in or drop out BY HANNAH OWENGA News Reporter Increasing tuition rates and an economic recession have forced thousands of University of Memphis students to stretch their budgets, resulting in double the number of students enrolled in a tuition payment plan from three years ago. Currently, 3,452 students are actively signed up for a payment plan, an increase from 1,942 during 2007-2008. During the 2007-’08 school year, 730 students were purged from U of M classes for nonpayment of tuition. Carol Warren, U of M bursar, said students who sign up for the installment plan are given a series of deadlines. The

plan requires that half the tuition balance be paid upon enrollment, and if students miss payments, they incur late fees but aren’t purged from classes. Students may pay for the semester’s tuition in two separate installments under the plan. The number of students who opt to pay their U of M tuition in monthly installments has increased 18 percent, or more than 503 students per semester, during the last three years. Benny Lou Alvarado, social science research associate at The U of M’s Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said the payment plan helps relieve students of the pressure of paying a large, lump expense.

A 5 percent tuition increase at The U of M was approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents in July, upping tuition for in-state students taking 12 credit hours to $3,390 per semester from $3,229 in 2009-’10. “Students are (worried) about financial needs and are open to any opportunity to relieve the financial burden of college,” he said. “It is a service The University offers and is working as intended.” Sophomore English major Jarrett Guthrie participated in the installment payment plan for one semester. He said without the option, he wouldn’t have been able to pay on time. “It was helpful,” he said. “We just went through a recession. It’s hard for unqualified students to find a job — especially for

me, since my parents make too much (to receive financial aid).” Guthrie said the payment plan allowed him to go to school and work a part-time job, which he used to pay the installments. Kassilynn Tillman, mother and junior biology major, said she has never enrolled in the installment plan but knows all too well about struggling to pay for tuition. “Paying for gas, child care expenses and higher tuition rates to fund a bronze cub in the library has beyond dented my pocket,” Tillman said. “I can understand why the numbers have increased in the payment plan. I would definitely enroll in the payment plan just to keep my classes.”

courtesy of Brandon Bailey

Professor to students: Write your members of Congress

MCT

University of Memphis junior Brandon Bailey combines beatboxing with playing his harmonica to create a unique sound known as “harpboxing.”

A crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands flooded downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Tuesday, calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule.

BY CHRIS DANIELS News Reporter In an effort to support the millions of Egyptians protesting their authoritarian government, one University of Memphis professor is asking students to flock to their keyboards. Kent Schull, assistant history professor, has expertise in modern Middle East history and said he thinks students should write to their state and U.S. representatives. “These people are really trying to get a better life for themselves, and that resonates with all of us,” he said. “We all want basic freedoms that we all feel we have a right to, and this is what the Egyptian people want, and I think the United States has to put the Egyptian people’s interest ahead of our own international interest.” Egypt and the U.S. have been allies since the end of the 1970s, when Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel. As part

of this treaty, the U.S. government sends approximately $1.5 billion per year to Egypt. Egypt’s military receives the majority of America’s annual financial aid, with very little of its general population benefiting from the money, according to Schull. “You have a huge gap between the rich and poor,” he said. “Egypt has a lot of its money coming from tourism and from small manufacturing depths from agricultural production, and the people that control that — they have a lot of money, but the vast majority of the population is very poor.” Schull said that the U.S.-Egypt alliance is based, in part, on geography and natural resources. “Egypt has been a very close trade partner with the United States,” he said. “(It’s) a very close political partner for trying to keep stability within the Middle East. Without Egypt as an ally, then it would be very tough to get Saudi Arabia’s oil to us.”

see

Egypt, page 6

UM harmonicist boasts originality BY ROB MOORE News Reporter Five years ago, after listening to his grandmother talk about the family’s musical past, University of Memphis junior Brandon Bailey decided he wanted to pick up an instrument. “My great-grandfather played (harmonica), and there is a tradition of blues in my family,” the interdisciplinary studies major said. Bailey said he begged his mother to buy him a harmonica, which she did, and last September he released his first album, “Memphis Grooves.” He’s currently scheduled to play around the world this summer.

“We had been talking about putting Brandon’s music on a record for a while,” said his aunt and executive producer, Lasonia Harris. “We wanted to express what he wanted to say, in the way he wanted to say it.” Bailey’s style, called harpboxing, consists of looped beatbox rhythms, blues riffs and vocals. Of the 13 tracks on the album, all but one are solo creations. When Bailey went to record his album at Memphis-based Willie Mitchell & Royal Recording Studios, studio engineer Lawrence Mitchell was impressed. “Brandon’s album was the

see

Harmonica, page 6

2 • Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The

www.dailyhelmsman.com

TIGER BABBLE

Daily

Helmsman

thoughts that give you paws

Volume 78 Number 072

Editor-in-Chief

Scott Carroll

“I really gotta learn hieroglyphics so I can read up on all of this drama in Egypt.” — @bceolla

Managing Editor Mike Mueller Copy and Design Chief Amy Barnette News Editors Cole Epley Amy Barnette

“Damn ... I just missed an opportunity to yell ‘Ghostbusters!’ in class when my prof said, ‘Who are you going to call?’” — @danielmangrum

Sports Editor John Martin Copy Editors Amy Barnette Christina Hessling General Manager Candy Justice Advertising Manager Bob Willis Admin. Sales Sharon Whitaker

YOU REALLY LIKE US! Yesterday’s Top-Read Stories on the Web

Adv. Production Rachelle Pavelko Rachel Rufenacht Adv. Sales Robyn Nickell Michael Parker

Contact Information

Ads: (901) 678-2191 Fax: (901) 678-4792

News: (901) 678-2193 Sports: (901) 678-2192

dailyhelmsman@gmail.com The University of Memphis The Daily Helmsman 113 Meeman Journalism Building Memphis, TN 38152

The Daily Helmsman is a “designated public forum.” Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The Daily Helmsman is pleased to make a maximum of 10 copies from each issue available to a reader for free, after which $1 will be charged per copy.

1. Pastner, Tigers still learning to cope with losing by John Martin

2. U of M students put an end to board-em

by Amber Crawford

3. Weekend warriors: out and about in Memphis 4. Fear and unity

by Erica Horton

5. Thin Piggy: racing on the cheap

by Michelle Corbet

Down 1 Northwestern pear 2 Where Pioneer Day is celebrated 3 Teammate of Mickey and Whitey 4 Simmons alternative 5 Settler? 6 Early light

“Friendship is like peeing on yourself: Everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feelings it brings.” — @JayTMcK “Rain isn’t bad — it’s the puddles in front of Mitchell Hall that soak your socks and inverted umbrellas. :P” — @tardis_lizard “Is it appropriate to say I’m a slore for education?” — @chlloway12 “So U of M’s Voices for Planned Parenthood is almost official! Time to let the sex ed begin.” — @memphisvox

DOMINO’S PIZZA Across 1 Purchases 5 One way to cope 10 Key of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 14 Midwest native 15 Speeder’s downfall 16 Attorney general under Clinton 17 Long story 18 African title of respect 19 Earth, in Essen 20 OPIE 23 China’s Sun __-sen 24 Gallery administrator’s deg. 25 Cry of success 26 “Wait, there’s more ...” 29 Ring 5-Downs 32 Last: Abbr. 34 OBIE 40 __-B: dental brand 41 Trail 42 In charge of 43 OKIE 48 Just fine, at NASA 49 Hors d’oeuvre spread 50 Fairbanks-to-Anchorage dir. 51 To the rear 54 Afternoon break 56 Sportscaster Cross 58 ODIE 65 Leaf-to-branch angle 66 Threshing instrument 67 Sculptor’s material 68 Anatomical blood carrier 69 Specialty 70 Queen’s home 71 Blue-pencil 72 Shore eagles 73 River to the North Sea

by Chris Shaw

“We’re free-listing movies we’d take on a journey to a new world — we only have five options. Of course someone put ‘The Twilight Saga’ ... the taste of this society insults me.” — @MonteQ

550 S. HIGHLAND

No Waiting! 323-3030

“Elephants are only fertile for three days every five years. Therefore, it’s rare to see a baby elepha— ... Wait! Elephants have sex?” — @ChelseaBoozer

Tell us what gives you paws. Send us your thoughts on Twitter @dailyhelmsman or #tigerbabble. Or post on our Facebook wall at facebook.com/dailyhelmsman.

CORRECTION: The photo described in the Jan. 28 story “Exhibition exposes talent of UM students” features two naked men, not a man and a woman.

7 “Bonanza” brother 8 Flier until ‘91 9 Waiter’s burden 10 Thrown in 11 Like Hood’s men 12 Tennis great Agassi 13 Down under kids 21 Thrown missile 22 __ Cynwyd, Philadelphia suburb 26 Tiny particle 27 Dragster’s org. 28 Campus VIP 30 Kodak product 31 Rascal 33 “__’Clock Jump”: Harry James recording 35 A, in communications 36 Cancún quencher 37 Miles per gal., points per game, etc.

38 Roger of “Cheers” 39 Made faces, perhaps 44 Roast, in Rouen 45 Painter of Southwestern scenes 46 Puts down 47 “The King and I” actress, 1956 51 Desert growth 52 Sent, in a way 53 Pop singer Lopez 55 “It’s __ nothing!” 57 French hot springs town 59 In need of tuning 60 Do some mending 61 Location 62 “The Whiffenpoof Song” collegians 63 Church section 64 Certain colorist

S u d o k u

Complete the grid so that each row, column and 3—by—3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

Solutions on page 7

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 • 3

Leisure

BY ERICA HORTON News Reporter While the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers drive up and down the field in Cowboys Stadium this Sunday, pizza delivery people will be driving all over Memphis. Pizza giants Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s, the largest pizza chain companies in the United States, are gearing up for Super Bowl XLV, the No. 1 at-home party event and the No. 2 food consumption day of the year. Ben Rainwater, junior broadcast journalism major and delivery man for Papa John’s, said this will be the second year he has worked during the big game. “On Super Bowl Sunday, they bring in as many people to work as they can, and it’s still hard to control all the orders that we have,” he said. “Usually you quote people a 45-minute delivery time, but it takes an hour to two hours because there are so many orders.” Rainwater said the largest order he delivered last year during the Super Bowl was 20 pizzas to a frat house, but the bigger the order, the bigger the tip. He said he made about $110 in tips in a seven-hour shift that night.

Buy One, Get One Free!

“If somebody’s team is doing well, they tip better, but if they’re doing bad, they get miserly,” he said. “And if it’s somebody just having a good time, they tip well too.” Pizza Hut spokesman Chris Fuller told the Dallas Morning News that he predicts the chain will sell 2 million pizzas. John Schnatter, founder of Papa John’s, told the news outlet he anticipates 1 million of his company’s pizzas sold, and Tim McIntyre, a vice president at Domino’s, thinks his company will sell 1.2 million pies. First-year U of M law student Drew McCoy said he worked for Domino’s for two-and-a-half years. He said it didn’t seem very busy to him during Super Bowls XLIII and XLIV but that it could have been because they had more than 15 drivers on those nights, when they usually average five to seven. “If we had had a normal amount of drivers, we would have been swamped,” he said. Some U of M students said they plan to order from one of the big three chains, while others have different culinary plans for the evening. “We get Domino’s, wings, chips and beer,” senior Spanish major Josh Crawford said. ”If

I had to rank pizza, I would say Domino’s, Papa John’s and then Pizza Hut. I used to hate Domino’s until they did a new crust, and now I love it.” Freshman Rachel Clark said ordering pizza for the Super Bowl has never crossed her mind. “I stay with my dad, and we just drink, watch football and eat finger food, like chips and dip and pigs in a blanket,” she said. “I probably eat twice as much as normal because we eat all day.” A 2008 statistic by Men’s Health magazine revealed that while watching a Sunday football game, Americans consume an average of 1200 calories, and during the Super Bowl, 27 billion calories in potato chips go down the nation’s collective hatch. The magazine also said that antacid sales jump 20 percent the day after the game. Tomas Juskevicius, a graduate student who hails from Lithuania, said he has never heard of the Super Bowl and does not know what to eat to honor the occasion. “It must be exciting — I should go,” he said. “If the guys take me, I’ll probably go.” Juskevicius said that coming from Lithuania, he’s big on basketball and usually watches world championship games with chips and beer.

by Casey Hilder

Sports fans, eat your heart out

When hunger strikes during a football game, some folks just phone it in. Super Bowl Sunday, the second most food-filled day of the year, is a boon for pizza delivery drivers, who get called in to work in droves.

ions

ir extens

ki ha Velvet Ya Beauty & Wig 4320 Summer Ave. 901-767-1977 (Next to TJ Maxx & Ross) Limit one per person

We make all kinds of clip extensions by licensed cosmetologists.

Friday

Friday Film Series 7 p.m.

UC Theatre

Coming Up

Saturday, 2/5 Tiger Basketball Watch Party 2:45 p.m. UC Ballroom

4 • Wednesday, February 2, 2011

www.dailyhelmsman.com

World

Egypt’s unrest tied to high food prices BY KEVIN G. HALL McClatchy Newspapers Economists and experts in food security have warned repeatedly in recent years that an unbridled rise in food prices could trigger the very kind of explosion of citizen anger that’s now threatening to topple the Egyptian government. Such anger is likely to rise elsewhere, too. A large nation with lots of desert, Egypt must import more than half of its food supply. Since 2008, there’s been

sporadic unrest there as the cost of staples, from bread to fruits to vegetables, has gone up steadily. One of those warning about the food prices was Hamdi AbdelAzim, an economist and former president at the Sadat Academy for Social Sciences in Cairo. “If the rise in food costs persists, there will be an explosion of popular anger against the government,” he told the IPS Inter Press Service in midNovember. A few weeks earlier, political opponents of President Hosni

Mubarak had rallied to protest rising prices and to demand price ceilings on products to protect Egypt’s poor. Soaring food prices aren’t the only reason that Egyptians took to the streets to try to topple their long-serving president. But they’re a significant factor, and a steady surge in global commodity prices reminiscent of 2008 is sure to bring new battles over food security this year. Protests against food prices recently rocked Jordan and Algeria. These same ris-

ing prices were partly why Tunisia’s strongman, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled his nation in mid-January. India and China are navigating the difficult waters of trying to control rising prices in their populous nations. In the trading pits of commodity markets, the buzz is that many poor nations are trying to hoard wheat, corn and other staples. Such stockpiling has added to the bullish sentiment that’s driving commodity prices even higher. “Countries are hoarding grain supplies right now because they don’t want to see what’s happening in Egypt happen to them,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst for commodities trader PFG Best in Chicago. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization took the unusual step last Wednesday of updating its guide for policymakers in developing nations. It urged nations to avoid “policy actions that might appear useful in the short term but could have harmful longer-term effects or even aggravate the situation.” Such actions in the past have involved export restrictions by food-producing nations, which aggravated tight global supplies in 2008 and led to a spike in prices. By restricting exports, these nations, which include Argentina and Ukraine, drove down domestic prices, discouraging production and causing even tighter global supplies. The Food and Agriculture Organization compiles an index of basic food prices around the globe, and it peaked in December. “With this new price shock only two years after the crisis in 2007-’08, there is a serious concern now about implications for food markets in vulnerable

Alternative Spring Break Building Tomorrow One Break at a Time March 5-12 New Orleans, LA Applications available in UC 211 or online at http://www.memphis.edu/service/asb.php

Deadline to apply, Monday, Feb. 7 by 5:00 p.m. Visit the website or call (901) 678-8679 for more information.

“There’s no

doubt that one of the side effects of the weak dollar and quantitative easing has been rising commodity prices. It helped create this bullish environment for commodities.” — Phil Flynn Senior market analyst, PFG Best countries,” Richard China, the director of the U.N. organization’s policy and program development support division, said last week in announcing the updated guidelines. For U.S. farmers, Egypt presents the eighth-largest export market, much of it wheat sales, since the country is the world’s leading wheat importer. American wheat and corn are sold across North Africa and the Middle East, prompting worries by U.S. farmers that Egypt’s problems will spread throughout the region. Wheat prices have risen by more than 70 percent over the past 12 months, and corn prices climbed in mid-January to their highest level since July 2008, a period when global food prices soared. They have since dipped slightly, to just under $6.60 a bushel Monday, but they’re expected to remain volatile, since corn production is expected to drop 14 percent globally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. corn farmers traditionally have had 80 percent of the Egyptian market, although that dipped to 50 percent last year. There’s less concern about current shipments, especially since Egypt is thought to have adequate inventories for now. The focus is more on what sort of government emerges there. “I think, longer term, it is really what’s going to happen with the transitional government. Is that some sort of continuation?” said Chris Corry, the senior director of international operations for the U.S. Grains Council, which represents U.S. farmers. The issues in Egypt right now are basic, he said: “The government must function for banks to be open, for payments to get transacted, for commodities to be purchased.”

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 • 5

Health

New diet guidelines prod Americans once more to adopt healthier lifestyles BY ANDREW ZAJAC Tribune Washington Bureau In a new attempt to help an overweight nation slim down and improve its long-term health, the government released new dietary guidelines that called on Americans to eat less, cut down on salt, bulk up on fruits and vegetables, and try water instead of sugary soft drinks. The guidelines, part of an every-five-years re-examination of the nation’s diet, generally paralleled past recommendations by the government and outside groups, but this time it put special emphasis on salt as a special dietary culprit. It recommended reducing sodium intake by more than half for all people 51 and older, all African-Americans and everyone with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease — all together about half of all Americans. The guidance was addressed to a U.S. population in which one-third of children and a majority of adults are overweight or obese and seemingly impervious to warnings about the consequences of unhealthy eating. Many of the new recommendations are stronger in tone than the 2005 guidelines, aimed at awakening the public to the links between unhealthy eating habits and such chromic killers as diabetes, cancer, stroke and heart disease. And this time the government emphasized the economic as well as the medical price of unhealthy eating. Health and Human Services

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who unveiled the guidelines with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, said three-quarters of every health care dollar is spent on chronic diseases related to diet — imposing a huge financial cost on business, governments and household budgets. Past guidance has been “opaque ... and there really has not been much debate focus on how this impacts us as a nation,” said Sebelius, whose department co-authored the guidelines with the Agriculture Department. Some nutrition experts, while lauding the guidelines overall, said that their impact would be blunted because of an unwillingness to name specific foods to be avoided or consumed in smaller quantities. Vilsack underscored the magnitude of the communications challenge, saying, “I must admit personally I never read the dietary guidelines until I got this job.” The advice on sodium was perhaps the most drastic recommended alteration. Americans consume an average of about 3,400 mg of sodium daily, well above the 2,300 mg recommended daily upper limit. The new guidelines recommend that the half of the U.S. population in a risk group lower intake to about 1,500 mg. That likely will be hard to do even with willing consumers, because about 90 percent of a person’s sodium comes from restaurant or packaged food, not the salt shaker. “You have to look at a label or

a (food) company website,” said Margo Wotan, nutrition policy director for the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. More generally, Wotan praised the guidelines for straightforwardness that she said will help consumers understand what they need to do. For example, Wotan said, the guidance document may be the first in the series dating back to 1980 to state the obvious: “eat less” — and to offer an image rather than a measurement of a proper portion: “make half your plate fruits and vegetables.” “It’s so clear,” Wotan said. The guidelines also advocated switching to fat-free or low-fat milk and directly discouraged consumption of sugary beverages in favor of water. Previous beverage guidance urged selection of “beverages with little added sugars or caloric sweeteners.” Nutritionist Marion Nestle said the new guidelines are a substantial improvement over earlier versions, but she said the government pulled punches by failing to name foods to be avoided, in deference to powerful food lobbies who don’t want their products passed over by consumers. Nestle said the guidelines use the acronym “SoFAS”, which stands for solid fats and added sugars. “Why don’t they just say what they mean: eat less meat, sodas, snack foods?” said Nestle, who teaches at New York University. “The most useful thing they could do is name names.”

Attention All StudentS Re: Parking Citation appeals The Student Government Court will review parking citation appeals Every Wednesday, from 4 to 5 p.m. in University Center, Room 359 For more information on appealing citations, go to http://saweb.memphis.edu/judicialaffairs/ (click Parking Citation Appeal) or http://bf.memphis.edu/parking/tigerpark_info.php

6 • Wednesday, February 2, 2011

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Harmonica from page 1

most different thing I’ve ever recorded,” Mitchell said. “What he does with the harmonica and looping is very original and experimental.” Bailey said he discovered harpboxing on the Internet. “I was very inspired and used YouTube as a way to learn more,” Bailey said. “I taught myself by watching videos on how to do loops and layer tracks.” One of the artists he watched was Adam Gussow, who later became Bailey’s mentor. “Adam helped make my album complete, along with my aunt and producer,” Bailey said. Bailey’s 50-minute album, released under the Modern Blues Harmonic label, includes a remake of “Hit the Road Jack,” made famous by Ray Charles, and three original compositions. This summer, Bailey will

travel to Chicago and abroad to Australia. He is endorsed by Harrison Harmonicas, which supplies him with instruments and schedules his performances. While Bailey’s calendar is booked full of musical engagements, he said his music isn’t work — it’s a hobby. His main goals lie in the medical field. “I want to finish school and pursue a medical degree,” Bailey said. “Right now, I’m pursuing my music as well and trying to find a balance doing both.” Whatever the future may hold for Bailey, Harris said she has only high hopes for her nephew. “Brandon is extremely talented, and I was honored to help him on his way,” she said. “I know he will go great places. Mitchell also praised Bailey, placing emphasis on his creativity. “Brandon was great to work with because he maintained an open mind,” he said. “Because of his talent and creativity, we were able to create something completely unique.”

Egypt from page 1

Tiger Leadership Institute Now accepting applications to be a Spring 2011 Cohort of the Tiger Leadership Institute. TLI is an 8-week training program that provides students with knowledge & skills to succeed and grow as leaders. Graduates of the Institute gain a diverse set of leadership knowledge and earn a certificate recognizing their commitment to personal and leadership growth.

Deadline for applications is Friday, Feb. 4 Selected participants will be notified by Feb. 11

To obtain an application, go to: www.memphis.edu/leadership_program/tli_intro.php For more information, contact the Office of Leadership & Involvement UC 211 • 678-8679 • studentleadership@memphis.edu

TLI Training Days & Times Level I (Personal Awareness & Self-Management) Each Tuesday from 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. (first cohort) Each Wednesday from 4 - 5 p.m. (second cohort)

Level II (Leadership Theory & Organizational Leadership) Each Wednesday from 4 -5 p.m.

Level III (Leadership Beyond The College Experience) Each Wednesday from 2:30 - 4 p.m. (only for those who have completed Level II)

The U.S. doesn’t want Egyptian people viewing it as a country that funds a dictator, Schull said. “The U.S. has been walking this fine line and probably needs to throw its support very squarely behind the Egyptian people going for democratic change,” he said. Schull said that the more representatives and senators hear from Americans about supporting these Egyptian protests, the more likely it is that “maybe they’ll listen.” Eric Groenendyk, assistant professor of political science, said writing Congress would be an effective way to show citizens have initiative and care about the issues their country faces. “Writing your congressperson and expressing your opinion on any issue is a good way to get government to hear your voice above and beyond Election Day,” he said. U of M students Ben Hill and Justin Capebianco said they both would write Congress in hopes of making a change. Hill, junior computer engineering major, said he understands the United States’ relationship with Egypt and that the country is an important ally. But whenever a country falls under the power of a leader who disregards citizen’s rights, he said, something has to be done. “I think it’s important for students, for all people, to send letters to Congress, to the representatives, the district and their state because of the fact it is their job to represent us,” he said. Capebianco, freshman film production major, said he has been watching the protest and commented on how shocking and violent the footage has been. “In the realm of a dictatorship where freedoms are taken away, I feel that not just as an American but as a human being there are certain inalienable rights that belong to all people,” he said. “And when things are going on like that and all we are doing is enabling said practices, what does that show for us as far as a moral, freedom-spreading government?”

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 • 7

Entertainment

Track and Field

Peeling back the curtain UM posts solid performance on modern news media BY JOHN MARTIN Sports Editor

IFC, Comedy Central offer double dose of ‘Onion’ with shows ‘News Network’ and ‘SportsDome’ BY NEAL JUSTIN Minneapolis Star Tribune Jon Stewart is preaching at rallies, Bill Maher is getting so angry his hairline is receding at triple time and Glenn Beck, once the funniest man on TV, now believes he’s Uncle Sam, not Yosemite Sam. In other words, it’s the perfect time for the Onion to conquer the airwaves. IFC’s “The Onion News Network” and Comedy Central’s “Onion SportsDome” both debuted this month, another major step forward for a company that debuted in 1988 as a free satirical weekly in Madison, Wis. “There will be 37 more shows in February,” said Julie Smith, co-executive producer for both programs. Based on early episodes, that’s just fine with me. The programs mercilessly poke fun at the media rather than what they cover, much as “The Daily Show” did when Craig Kilborn was in the anchor seat, with no obvious political agenda or social message to get in the way. On “SportsDome,” whose earnest team includes former reporter Scott Goldberg as the pompous Marc Howell, that means promoting a dramatic series in which a minorleague baseball team solves crimes, a 40-second report that covers the past four years of Major League Soccer and a prognosticator named The Toad that croaks out predictions from a cage. “Onion News” features an over-the-top report on a Midwest

Solutions (We knew you’d be back, baby.)

storm dubbed “Snowlocaust,” a “Concurrence Round Table” in which pundits aggressively agree on everything and a story on a kidnapped colleague that points out that “tears and blood are making her cheeks shiny.” “It isn’t so much that we’re taking situations and exploring the humor in those, but rather how these things are covered,” said Suzanne Sena, a former Fox News contributor who plays “News Network’s” vain lead anchor Brooke Alvarez. “How many of us haven’t been out there covering that snowstorm that never comes, but we report on it because we’re there? Or we’re in front of a building and it’s dark, but we’re there because we’re live from the scene. That’s some of the absurdity that we’d like to explore.” Launching two cable shows simultaneously isn’t a coincidence. It’s part of a long-range strategy that’s more concerned about marketing a brand than moving newspaper copies. Late last year, the organization decided to franchise its print editions to local partners who pay a weekly fee to use the content, but get to keep all profits from the ads they sell. In return, the Onion increases brand recognition and hopes to draw more people to its website, books and TV shows. The strategy comes partly in response to the challenge of selling print ads. The company shuttered print editions in Los Angeles and San Franciso in 2009 because of a drop in advertising revenue, according to Columbia Journalism Review.

The Onion’s preparation for a new era began in 2000 with the launch of its website, followed in 2006 by an online version of the “News Network,” which was honored two years ago with a prestigious Peabody award. “Television just seemed like a natural next step for us,” said Will Graham, another executive producer for both series. “It’s a chance for us to skewer the broader world of cable news and this kind of nonstop, in-yourface information overflow with explosive, swishy graphics.” It’s too early to label either show a hit, but the early numbers for “SportsDome” are promising. About 1.5 million viewers tuned in for the debut, soundly beating ESPN’s “Sports Center.” It’s also telling that many of those being skewered seem to get the joke. Rachel Maddow and Mike Huckabee have taped appearances on “News Network”; former NBA star Gary Payton and the New York Giants’ Ahmad Bradshaw have played ball with the “Sportsdome” folks. If the Onion can remain smart, sly and sinister on TV, its fan base should keep on growing. “I think what makes the Onion stand out is that we do the kind of humor that’s not just ha-ha-ha and then you forget about it 10 minutes later,” Graham said. “It’s the kind that makes you laugh and cringe a little bit at the same time because it puts, not in a heavyhanded way, a weird perspective on some part of modern media.”

University of Memphis junior Karlis Pujats set a school record in pole vaulting with an indoor vault height of 5.36 meters in the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet in Lexington, Ky., over the weekend of Jan. 28. Pujats, who also holds the record at The U of M for outdoor pole vault, is only six inches away from the NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 5.50 meters. “Karlis certified himself as one of the best vaulters in the country today,” U of M track and field coach Kevin Robinson said. “He’s only four centimeters short of qualifying for the European Championships after this weekend’s performance and definitely was our man of the meet.” Pujats’ 5.36-meter mark is the

best in Conference USA and is tied for third best in the entire nation. Junior Cam Baker, who plays wide receiver for The U of M’s football team, placed fourth in the long jump with a personalbest 7.04 meters. Senior thrower Knut Syversen finished sixth in shot put toss with a season-best throw of 16.69 meters. “Knut was a little down in the weight throw this weekend, but I think that was mainly due to riding the bus and our current training cycle,” Robinson said. The Tigers compete again this weekend at the SIU McDonald’s Invite. “Next week’s meet will give our men a chance to win the entire meet,” Robinson said. “That’s our goal, there and at the conference meet. This week’s meet gave us the confidence that we can do that.”

Come Watch the Super Bowl On the Big Screen Free Food & Drinks

Super Bowl XLV Watch Party

Sunday, Feb. 6 UC Theatre Doors open at 5:30 p.m.