Daily Helmsman The
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
UM defeats Houston After win, women’s basketball teams looks toward Marshall
Vol. 79 No. 73
see page 8
MATA matters
Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis
Helmsman garners awards BY CHRISTINA HOLLOWAY News Reporter Current and former Daily Helmsman staff members attended the 2011 Southeastern Journalism Conference Friday, bringing home six awards, including the top award for Best Overall College Journalist of the Year. The competition — which is known as the Best of the South — is held annually at colleges in the southeast. Ten people are ranked in each category. Managing Editor Chelsea Boozer was presented with College Journalist of the Year, beating out 41 other universities in the southeast. Stories submitted for consideration of the award included coverage of The University’s possible federal violations of the Clery Act as determined in an audit by the Department of Education. Other winners included Michelle Corbet, who placed ninth in arts and entertainment; former reporter Erica Horton, who placed fifth in features; Boozer, who placed fourth in news; former Editor-In-Chief Scott Carroll, who placed third in the opinion category; former staff member Cole Epley who placed sixth in layout and former Sports Editor John Martin, who placed first in sports. Carroll’s Best of the South award was garnered after judges reviewed editorials he’d written on issues of campus safety, including whether a bill should be passed allowing firearms on campus and the importance of officials utilizing The University’s emergency text message system responsibly. “Most of it is just the staff we get,” Carroll said. “We got more motivated and better reporters every semester that I was there, and it made my job easier. The same way with the editorials – the reporters were doing such good work. All of the information I needed to put an opinion on was there in their stories.” Martin, the Best Sports Reporter of the South, was
see
Awards, page 3
www.dailyhelmsman.com
Services to university part of citywide dialogue BY ELIZABETH COOPER News Reporter Hot dust sprayed Scott Mar’Quella in the face as a Memphis Area Transit Authority bus passed her 45 minutes after her first bus broke down. When the senior criminology major arrived on campus, she was an hour and 40 minutes late to her financial aid meeting.
Mar’Quella remembered this as her least favorite MATA experience. Now she is upset over increased fares and cut services to The University of Memphis that became effective in December. Her student perspective is one component of the Transportation Task Force that addressed the issues of inequality they
believe are inherent in the Memphis public transportation system at a town hall meeting Jan. 28. The group is now forming the Memphis Bus Riders Union to
increase public input and accountability for public transportation services in Memphis. “Public transportation is a civil rights issue,” said Laura Sullivan, a community organizer with the TTF, at the meeting. In a city where an estimated one-third of the population lacks access to private
transportation, poor services and high fares reflect the city’s inability to meet the needs of its people, Sullivan said.
Many of those reliant on public transportation are African American and working class, she said. Alison Burton, Director of Marketing and Customer Relations at MATA, views the issues from a different perspective.
see
MATA, page 8
‘What Not to Wear’ in Memphis BY MICHELLE CORBET News Reporter
Students have a chance to participate as extras on the set of The British Broadcasting Corporation’s popular reality TV series “What Not to Wear” when it records an episode in Memphis today. The production crew creates a ruse in order to distract the person who is being surprised by their friends and family with a trip to New York City for a $5,000 makeover by hosts Stacy London and Clinton Kelly. BBC is recording three episodes of “What Not to Wear” in Memphis. The company, which is based out of New York City, has been filming in town for three weeks. Thus far, they have been to STAX Museum of American Soul Music on Monday and The Pink Palace Museum on Tuesday.
“Every city we go to, we like to shoot areas that are indicative of the city — STAX, Pink Palace. We like to showcase the city and its different attractions,” said Cynthia Bruck, one of two directors of the Memphis show. About 15 hours of each day are spent working on an episode. The BBC sent emails and flyers around town to advertise for fill-in roles on the show. Extras spend about five hours on the set, but are only needed for one scene. “It’s typical TV and movie stuff, ‘hurry up and wait’,” said extra Larry Clark, a former U of M student who decided college wasn’t for him and joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as a clown. The “What Not to Wear” directors prep the extras for the scene in which they surprise the person nominated for a makeover by their friends and family.
Before doing the real scene, the extras go through a rehearsal. “Make sure to look at the main action, not the camera. It loses the sense of reality,” said Director Brandon Phillips while directing the Pink Palace shoot Tuesday. The ploy at The Pink Palace filming was that a film company was coming to shoot a constellation show at the planetarium to present to potential donors. Everyone in the planetarium knew about the surprise that was about to take place except for The Pink Palace employee chosen as a contestant. “I love to watch the people and the production — I like the atmosphere,” said extra Sally Molasky, or Happy Johnson as she’s called on the stage, a former U of M student who is now a comedian and actress. When watching the constellation show, the outline of stars for
the last constellation was in the shape of the contestant. The narrators of the constellation show, London and Kelly, said the stars were not quite as bright or shiny as they could be. The outline then transformed into a photo of the employee. Six cameras were placed around the planetarium to capture the employee’s look of shock and excitement. “Reality is the spur of the moment. If you miss it, there’s no going back,” said Sean Davis, assistant camera operator and U of M Film and Video Production alumnus. The shows are expected to air on TLC this summer. BBC is shooting the last episode in Memphis today at the Mr. Pride Carwash on Poplar Ave. If interested in being an extra on the show, contact Esther Llamas at ellamas@nybbcproduction.com.