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Friday, March 16, 2012

Tigers prepare for battle Memphis Tigers begin NCAA tournament tonight, will play the St. Louis Billikens.

Vol. 79 No. 87

see page 8

Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis

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SGA Voter’s Guide: Meet the Candidates BY CHRISTOPHER WHITTEN News Reporter

In coming weeks the student body will have to decided which of three Student Government Association presidential candidates’ platforms resonates with them most, as voting begins on March 27 and lasts through the 29.

Russell Born

Hunter Dawson

• United Students Party

Although he was defeated by a few votes when he ran to become a Student Government Association senator last year, current SGA President Tyler DeWitt appointed Russell Born shortly after the beginning of this school year. He ran under DeWitt’s United Students Party that won 22 of 37 elected positions in the 2011 election. Now he said he wants to capitalize on his party’s past success as well as his own. Born said he is running to improve a campus that is already on the right track. “I am confident in both my track record

Nicholas Mastron

• Making A Change Party

• Political Science Major

• Criminology and Criminal Justice Major, Legal Thought Minor

• Senator at Large

• Running Mate: Caray Oldham, Broadcast Journalism Major

• Running Mate: Frederick Hampton, Biomedical Engineer Major

and the mission of the party,” he said. “The mission of the United Students Party is simple — to unite the student body at The University of Memphis by working to create an environment which fosters and promotes a sense of belonging and pride, while improving the overall college experience.” Born said he is running for president so that he can motivate others to be more actively involved on campus. “I’ve noticed we have untapped potential, and with the right motivation, we can hopefully see more legislation

see

Born, page 5

After running with the Finding Answers Concerning Everyone party for the past two years, Hunter Dawson formed the Making A Change party this year. With the newly formed party, Dawson said he wants to generate more campus energy, increase academic excellence and retention, improve campus safety and secure HOPE scholarship funding. “All four of our bullet points are areas in need of change,” Dawson said. “As president, I will work hard to make a change in these areas and all other areas brought to my attention by the students.”

• Political Science, Economics, International Studies and History major • Senator at Large • Running Mate: LeDarius Millen, Biology and Chemistry Major

Dawson said his two years of experience in the SGA make him the most experienced candidate. “I have been in over ten different organizations on campus and I have held leadership positions in multiple organizations,” he said. “Being involved in these organizations has given me the opportunity to communicate with many different students, which has enabled me to hear concerns from a broad range of the student body.” As a senator, Dawson is a member of the campus safety committee

see

• Students for the University Renaissance Emergence Party

Dawson, page 4

Nicholas Mastron, like his opponent Russell Born, received his position in the SGA by appointment. As campaign manager for the United Students party last year, Mastron worked to get Born and current SGA President Tyler DeWitt elected. DeWitt appointed Mastron last summer when it became obvious that some elected senators weren’t showing up at meetings. This year he hopes to continue his work, but this time get himself elected. “I wanted to start something completely new because I felt that we needed a new outlook in SGA,” Mastron said. “Personally, I‘ve grown

up this year with SGA, and I think our party is going to make a big impact going forward.” One issue Nicholas Mastron plans to address if elected president is the lack of productivity within the SGA. In the past, elected senators have either been impeached, stopped showing up to meetings or just didn’t produce any bills — unacceptable in Mastron’s eyes. “If senators are not writing bills, students are being denied an adequate voice. In that same breath, those representing must ask all students under their various positions’ authorities what should

see

Mastron, page 3

Persian New Year Celebration at UC courtesy of Ali Hajihashemi

BY ELIZABETH COOPER News Reporter

The Persian New Year is celebrated with a series of traditions including Khaneh-tekani, or spring cleaning, Chaharshanbeh-suri—the Wednesday feast during which adults and children jump over seven little fires and the Haft-Seen table shown here.

Pop music, dancing, sweets and traditional Iranian culture will fill the University Center River Room tonight in celebration of the Persian New Year. The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. and will last until 10:30 p.m. Norouz, which translates to “New Day,” begins on the first day of spring and marks the first day of the Iranian calendar. The Persian Student Association is hosting the event to celebrate the New Year and introduce the Iranian tradition to those who know little about it. “We have some friends who are Africans, and they always ask us about our country,” Ali

Hajihashemi, president of the PSA, said. “They know almost nothing about our country.” The region formerly known as Persia became Iran in 1935. The two words “Persian” and “Iranian” are used interchangeably in regard to culture, while Iran is used in regards to politics. Because Norouz contains major aspects of Iranian culture, the PSA believed it would be a good way to fuse the New Year celebration with general information about the country. Hajihashemi said he expects 250 people to visit during the course of the evening. Attendees can dance to Iranian pop music or browse the tables of Persian cultural goods.

The traditional Persian New Year table, The Haft Seen, will be composed of seven symbolic objects beginning with the Farsi letter “S” as well as other objects, including mirrors, candles, goldfish, painted eggs and a holy book. A music table will display seven traditional instruments including the string instruments, “Santur” and “Setar,” and the frame drum, “Daf.” Classical Persian music will play on two monitors as well. A handicraft table will showcase Persian carpets, textiles, inlays, paintings and metalwork, while another table will provide general information about Iran such as population, climate and major cities.

see

Celebration, page 6

2 • Friday, March 16, 2012

The

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TIGER BABBLE

Daily

H elmsman Volume 79 Number 87

thoughts that give you paws

Editor-in-Chief Casey Hilder

“So a dime is only 3 minutes in the parking meter?” — @Daniellej_08

Managing Editor Chelsea Boozer News Editors Jasmine Hunter Amanda Mitchell

“Why don’t they take out all of these library books and get more computers. I mean, do they really think we come here to read?” — @RandomOnTheMike

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DOMINO’S PIZZA Across 1 Totally 10 Rigs on the road 15 Annual All-American Soap Box Derby site 16 Old French capital? 17 One may be marching 18 Keyboardist who founded Return to Forever 19 Rembrandt van __ 20 Certain protests 22 “Friends” actress, familiarly 23 Spread __ 26 Pmt.-lowering option 27 Lacking a partner 28 Blessed event? 30 Italy’s Como, per esempio 32 Rug with a long pile 33 Fancy layer 35 “__ out!” 36 Giant in a 2000 merger 37 1980s Screen Actors Guild president 40 “The Complaint of Peace” essayist, 1521 42 Eastern Med. country 43 Ophelia’s niece, in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” 44 TV Stone Age pet 45 Court figs. 46 Lacking 48 Town across the Connecticut River from Springfield, Mass. 52 Ring support 53 Baker’s meas. 55 Puck’s eatery 56 Veep before LBJ 57 Candy heart phrase 59 Gnarly 60 Big name in insurance 62 One of two in a historic 1869 Utah meeting 65 “Sharky’s Machine” author 66 Classroom concern 67 Wee hr. 68 Deliberate

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Down 1 Buffalo skaters 2 “Tumbleweeds” cartoonist 3 Fruit in a knock-knock joke 4 Negatives 5 Cannes duo 6 Picnic trash 7 2011 Canadian Open champ Sean 8 Architectural support 9 “Chariots of Fire” executive producer 10 E-7 Army personnel 11 Ranch closing? 12 Mint family herb 13 “Help me” 14 Checkout counter newspaper fodder 21 Gulf of Guinea country 24 Staying power 25 Web issues

29 Raise 31 Asian swingers 34 Sends 37 Poe poem written at the time of the California Gold Rush 38 Cardplayer’s request 39 Type of ballot 41 Suds source 47 Cochlea shape 49 Underground home 50 Two-time U.S. Open champ 51 Unassuming 54 Nighttime disturbance, at times 57 Healer 58 Cologne conclusion 61 New Deal home loan gp. 63 Trendy 64 “Double Fantasy” artist

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 5

The University of Memphis

Friday, March 16, 2012 • 3

Academics

Computer Speak

University of Memphis researchers produce talking computer technology BY MICHELLE CORBET News Reporter It can read your mind. Really. The University of Memphis’ Institute for Intelligent Systems has created a tutoring system that adapts to student’s needs by analyzing their cognitive and emotional reactions — including boredom and frustration. AutoTutor uses conversations between an animated talking figure and the student to teach difficult subjects, like physics, for high school and college students and biology for middle school students. “This is one of maybe three in the world that helps students learn through conversation. It presents difficult problems that take about a few sentences to answer, then holds a conversation between the student and tutor,” said Art Graesser, co-

director of The IIS. Studies have shown a human tutor is the most effective form of cognitive learning. Students get the one-on-one attention they need when working with a tutor individually. AutoTutor allows each student to have a personal tutor at the convenience of their laptop. “Affective studies show it’s as effective as a human, and the beauty of software is you can make copies,” said Andrew Olney, associate director of cognitive psychology at IIS. Olney has released a downloadable version called Gnu Tutor that students can download free of charge, he said. Xiangen Hu, cognitive psychology professor, built the AutoTutor Lite system where a creator of the program can build a tutoring program on any topic. IIS received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science

Foundation in August 2011 for the project, “Beyond Boredom: Modeling and Promoting Engagement During Complex Learning.” Graesser said the ISS is operating on about a dozen grants for their research on intelligent computer tutoring systems, totaling roughly $15 million. The U of M is one of four university leaders in the area of computer tutoring systems that use conversational agents to engage students. The University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Arizona State University and Carolina State University are also studying the technology. What is missing is to take the technology out of the lab and into schools is a company to license the product, Olney said. “What we have works, but you can’t just drop it in a prin-

cipal’s hands for people to use. They have to author lessons for the material they want to teach—there are technical challenges,” Olney said. Pearson Education has taken an interest in intelligent tutoring systems. A version of AutoTutor, called Operation Ala, is in the works of being commercialized by Pearson and is expected to be released later this year. Operation Ala is a game environment where students learn research methods through playing games. It is geared toward college and high school students. The U of M has profited from AutoTutor in many ways, probably close to $20 million in research grants, said Olney. The research has also brought in graduate students, built labs, created context for training students and generated prestige for The University, he said.

ressStudent Chapter Cong ation rm fo In f o lists, na ur m Jo o l d na e sio es re F l a u n n Society of Prof A d an th m 0 lis 3 na ur e Jo h T and presented by the Department of

Founded

Wednesday, March 21: Page One

Thursday, March 22: Brian Stelter

6 p.m. reception in UC Lobby / 6:30 p.m. lecture in UC Theater

5 p.m. in Rooms 103 & 117 in the Living Learning Complex

Brian Stelter from the New York Times

“Page One: Inside the New York Times”

An absorbing, exciting, riveting film that chronicles the effect of New Media on traditional print journalism as seen inside the New York Times. Support for this event provided by the Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities, U of M Residence Life and Student Event Allocation.

TONIGHT

Brian Stelter, media reporter for the New York Times, discusses how Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogging are transforming the news industry and how a new generation of journalists operates within it.

Both free aynodne! open to ever

Mastron from page 1

be written within SGA,” Mastron said. Mastron said students should pick him over the other candidates because he produces quality bills and follows up on their implementation. “I do not write bills that cannot be taken to the next step with a conscious effort,” Mastron said. “Every bill or resolution I write represents a commitment — a contract that I am upholding to the roughly 25,000 students at the University of Memphis.” Mastron is working closely with the administration to have a building named after Stan Bronson, The U of M baseball team’s batboy for more than 50 years. “I am determined, whether it is my final act as a senator, to get this man the honor that he deserves from The University he has called home for more than 53 years,” he said. Mastron wrote several resolutions in the year he has served as senator — one that challenged The U of M’s plus and minus grading system and another that maintained Pepsi Co. as The University’s beverage supplier. Mastron’s current project is an outreach program to public high schools in Memphis. Often students enter college with the idea that college is much like high school and The University of Memphis is more like “Tiger High,” Mastron said. But he said he hopes to break that stigma. “This program focuses on teaching high school students the need to develop personal work ethics and examines the necessary strategies for collegiate success, using the University of Memphis as the primary example,” Mastron said.

delivers... SAC Cinema: Twilight 2 & 7 P.M. | UC THEATRE

4 • Friday, March 16, 2012

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Campus Events

Dawson from page 1

Music majors, professors ready for Rudi E. Scheidt Concert Series

and the finance committee. The safety committee hosted a self defense seminar last semester that was open to all students and instructed by one of the officers from police services. From his position on the finance committee, Dawson has a hand in deciding whether to disburse funds from a $90,000 pot to students who have requested financial aid for travel. “I vote to give out thousands of dollars to students that apply for SGA travel funds, so that students can go to conferences and obtain even more experience in the area in which they are interested,” he said. Dawson said he also supports getting a card-swiping system or keypads for sorority houses. He said if he wins, he would make sure that happens.

After more than a month of rehearsals, the ensembles at the Rudi E Scheidt School of Music at The University of Memphis are ready for a weekend of entertainment. The University Singers and Chamber Choir will team up with The University of Memphis Symphony Orchestra Sunday at 4 p.m. at St. Anne Catholic Church, located at 670 S. Highland Ave. “The School of Music likes to take our music into the community, so that people who aren’t part of The University can enjoy it as well,” said Carol Morse, marketing communications manager at the School of Music. Free and open to the public, the concert will be conducted by Lawrence Edwards, a professor with the school, and Jeremy Warner, a doctoral candidate. The choir and orchestra will perform works by American classical composer Aaron Copland and Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. “The last time these groups performed together was in September at The University Centennial Kick-Off concert, and the audience was very impressed with this group,

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Phi Mu S PAG H E T T I D I N N E R tuesday, march 20 5-8:30 p . m . t h e v u e

(in poplar plaza near kroger)

•

courtesy of Carol Morse

BY ERICA HORTON News Reporter

The University of Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Choir perform for September’s Centennial Concert. Morse said. “So if you didn’t get to go, this is an opportunity to hear them together again.” The U of M Wind Ensemble will perform Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Harris Concert Hall.

Admission is free to students with student identification, $8 general admission to the public and $5 for senior citizens. Albert Nguyen, director of bands for the School of Music,

said approximately 45 music students will play three pieces by European composers. “It’s wonderful music and wildly entertaining,” Nguyen said.

Step Up to a Higher Degree.

The University of Memphis Graduate School Recruitment Fair Monday, March 19 · 1 – 6 p.m. Free GRE® Workshops at 2 & 5 p.m. Michael D. Rose Theatre at the U of M (Parking in the Zach Curlin Garage)

$ 8 A P L AT E (includes salad, bread, dessert & drink)

ticket if purchased in

advance from any

p hi m u

benefitting Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center

•

questions? contact chelsea lanier at

Apply to the Graduate School. Discuss financial aid, scholarships and fellowship programs. memphis.edu/truebluefuture or 901.678.4212

(901) 413-4201

The University of Memphis

Friday, March 16, 2012 • 5

Campus Events

Christianity conference at Fogelman Monday BY MELISSA WRAY News Reporter

This Monday and Tuesday, students, faculty and staff at The University of Memphis will have an opportunity to discuss ideas during the “From Creation to Christianity” conference sponsored by the Bornblum Judaic Studies Program. The conference, free and open to the public, will take place in room 123 of the Fogelman Executive Center and has been divided into three sessions. The first session, which lasts from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, will include subjects like the creation versus evolution theory, Isaiah’s vision, the overall nature of God and the strong influence evil had on various characters from biblical times. The second session, which begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m. that day, will be devoted to the book of Judges, Ruth’s role as a new convert to Judaism and the story of Joseph.

Shaul Bar

Steven McKenzie

The following day, also in room 123, scholars will turn their focus to the New Testament. From 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday,

“The U of M is the only

university without a religious studies department. My classes are always packed with students, and there are always other students who come up and ask me questions about religious studies.” — Shaul Bar Judaic studies professor the third and final session will include topics including the birth narratives of the four Gospels, with particular emphasis on how Luke’s narration features salvation. Two additional topics

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include Paul’s epistle to the Romans and German priest Martin Luther ’s essay, “Two Kinds of Righteousness.” Judaic studies professor and

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conference organizer Shaul Bar said he organized the conference because of the “huge demand for Biblical studies.” “Every self-respecting college and university, especially in the south, has a religious

Solutions

studies department,” he said. “The U of M is the only university without a religious department. My classes are always packed with students, and there are always other students who come up and ask me questions about religious studies.” In room 136, Steven McKenzie, a religious studies professor at Rhodes College, will deliver a keynote address at 7 p.m. McKenzie said his hopes and expectations for the conference are that listeners will get some sense of the way critical biblical scholarship operates. “I also want listeners to understand the kinds of historical and literary issues illustrated in the Bible by David,” he said. Bar said he hopes students who attend the conference will be persuaded to major in religious studies. “Students who take courses in religion always tend to have a better understanding of life and human nature,” he said.

Born from page 1 passed. If elected SGA President, I not only want the SGA to reach its full potential, but for The University to reach its full potential as well,” Born said. The issues of tuition costs, building campus tradition with athletics and campus security and parking have been Born’s primary focuses as an SGA senator. “The University of Memphis has to be on the same scale as the preeminent universities in our region and country, and finding answers to these issues will help us achieve this goal. I’m the candidate who has dealt with these issues the most, and put the effort into finding and implementing solutions.” The senate passed Born’s bill last semester that calls for new card readers to be installed in the sorority houses to increase security. The new security measures are set to be implemented this summer, Born said. Compared to his opponents, Born said he cares about the bigger issues. “I have the vision and drive to solve these problems and a record to reflect that while my opponents do not,” Born said. “With all due respect to my opponents, there has been a concern with issues that are not as pressing to the University.”

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Walk&Talk

What are your plans for St. Patrick’s Day? by Brian Wilson

“I’ll be working and then getting hammered. I have a green tux tee.”

“I’m just going to find a friend and drink.”

“I’m going to play Frisbee all day and party all night.”

“I’m going to go to Burger King and stock up on their special green ketchup.”

— James Mays, Nursing junior

— Gariel Taylor, Graphic design freshman

— Aherin Dickson, Journalism freshman

— Shelby Heines, Undecided freshman

Iranian culture, such as how Islam affects both Muslims and non-Muslims in Iran. The PSA registered as a student organization two years ago and has 25 members at The University of Memphis and an additional 25 who attend other universities including Memphis College of Art and University of Tennessee Health and Science Center. Since its inception, they have hosted several events, such as “Words, Not Swords”

focusing on women writers and the legacy of sex segregation in literature, a comedy night featuring a Middle Eastern comedian and a screening of “Women without Men” directed by Shirin Neshat, an Iranian woman who left Iran just before the revolution in 1979 and now resides in New York. PSA’s next event on April 5 will feature a fusion of Persian melodies and poetry with Flamenco music.

CeleBration from page 1

Hajihashemi said the PSA would also like to show the modern aspects of Iranian culture. “There is not a good image of Iran and Iranians in American minds,” he said. “We want to show them that people in Iran are just like Americans.” He said the people play

sports and music. They use technology and live typical modern lives. Whatever Americans are doing, Iranians are doing almost the same thing there, he said. “We try to show that political conflicts should be left for governments,” he said. “It is necessary to separate the government from the people.” Last fall the group hosted the lecture “Islam and Modern Iranian Culture” to answer questions of contemporary

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARTY WEEKEND

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“I’ll be wearing green while cleaning my house all day.”

— Kenzie Tilson, Early childhood education freshman

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The University of Memphis

Friday, March 16, 2012 • 7

Baseball

Tigers recall the Governors, snap five game losing streak BY DAVID CAFFEY Sports Reporter The University of Memphis baseball team snapped a five game losing streak with a win over Austin Peay at FedExPark Tuesday. A walk-off single from senior third baseman Jacob Wilson ended the game as the Tigers defeated the Governors 3-2. For Wilson, the win is exactly what the team needed after a tough road trip last week against Louisiana-Monroe and Baylor.

“It’s a great win — just the momentum shift to get things back going on our side,” he said. “We hadn’t been playing great.” The U of M fell behind early in the game after APSU’s Greg Bachman hit an RBI single to bring in Jon Clinard and took the lead, 1-0. Reed Harper scored on a sacrifice fly in the fourth to extended the gap to 2-0. The Tigers would stay behind until the bottom of the sixth when senior Adam McClain led off the side with a

double. Sophomore Zack Willis followed with a double of his own to drive in McClain and cut the deficit to a single run. Senior Eli Hynes brought in Willis to tie the game. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Wilson stepped up to the plate with two runners in scoring position. Wilson’s RBI single to left field would bring McClain home and pick up the win for the Tigers. Wilson said that the lategame comeback is a testament to the team’s ability to stay competitive throughout every

inning. “This shows that we grind it out all nine innings, and we have a chance to win every game,” Wilson said. “That’s what we have to start doing from here on out.” After Tuesdays win, the Tigers improve to 6-10 while the Governors drop down to 9-6. Sophomore RHP Jonathan Van Eaton earned his second win of the season. Memphis will host Siena in the final non-conference series of 2012 beginning tonight with at 6:30 p.m. at FedexPark.

Campus Life

Senior RHP Patrick Bailey said that keeping the momentum of the Austin Peay win is key in improving the season. “This past week was tough we lost a couple close ones, but the team’s really come together,” he said. “I feel like we could be on a streak here.” After the series with Siena, the Tigers will play their next five games at home hosting Arkansas State and ArkansasPine Bluff next week. Memphis will begin Conference-USA play March 23 against No. 7 Rice.

Environment

Low flood risks in US despite warm winter by Brian Wilson

BY RENEE SCHOOF MCT

Mechanical engineering senior Joey Rubino joins friends and passers-by in a friendly game of Frisbee Thursday afternoon.

After an unusually warm winter with low snowfall in much of the United States, no part of the country faces a high risk of flooding this spring, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Thursday in its annual forecast of floods, droughts and spring temperatures. For many areas, the forecast was a relief after last year’s historic floods over many weeks on the Mississippi River in the northern and central parts of the country. This year, the Mississippi and many other rivers have only a normal risk of flooding. Nationwide, “this is the first time in four years without a high risk of major flooding,” Laura Furgione, deputy director of the National Weather Service, said at a briefing. The only places with aboveaverage spring flood risks are the Ohio River Valley — including parts of western Illinois, much of Indiana and southwestern Kentucky, where there was above-normal precipitation during the winter — and parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Still, Furgione cautioned that a heavy rainfall can lead to flooding at any time, even in areas where the overall risk is low. Forecasters only can predict a few days ahead where or how heavily rain will fall. Floods are a leading cause of deaths from severe weather, and more than half of the deaths are in vehicles, Furgione said. Six inches of moving water is all it takes to lose control in a vehicle. This year’s lower flood potential follows a winter with low snowfall across much of the country. Snow cover across the Lower 48 states was the third smallest in the 46 years of the satellite record. (Only 1991 and 1980 had less.) And spring has started early, with March temperatures as much as 35 degrees above normal in many places. NOAA’s National Climate Data Center reported that 400

places had high temperature records broken on Wednesday, and 177 had record-warm overnight lows. Ed O’Lenic, chief of the operations branch of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said it’s likely that warm weather will continue this spring, though not at record highs, over the Great Plains, east and southwest. The Pacific Northwest and Alaska are expected to be on the colder side of average. The dominant force in the weather has been the Arctic Oscillation, the atmospheric pressure patterns in northern middle and high latitudes. Last year the Arctic Oscillation was in a phase that brought low pressure, cold and snow. This year, its other phase occurred, bringing high pressure and warmer and drier conditions, O’Lenic said. “Extreme events like the one we’ve seen are consistent with the notion that the climate is changing toward the warmer,” he said. Still, he added, it’s impossible to connect any single event, like the current record-breaking warmth, with climate change. Drought continues this spring in the southern Plains, especially in west Texas and eastern New Mexico, as well as in the Southeast, said David Brown, director of the Southern Region Climate Services. Twothirds of Texas and threefourths of Georgia are in severe, extreme or exceptional drought conditions — the top three most severe classifications. Drought is expected to continue in many of these areas through the spring, Brown said. The weather is expected to be wetter than last year’s record drought in Texas and Oklahoma. In parts of the Southwest and West, drought is forecast to continue, raising the risk of wildfires. And in Georgia and Florida, drought likely will last a couple more months, he said, at least until the tropical storm season plays out in the summer.

8 • Friday, March 16, 2012

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Basketball

Tigers tipoff NCAA tournament tonight The Memphis Tigers are rolling, and will try to keep their seven-game winning streak alive as they take on Saint Louis tonight in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Billikens finished with a 25-7 record and finished second in the Atlantic 10 conference. They also won eight of their final 10 games, a run that finally came to an end with a 71-64 loss to Xavier in the A-10 semifinals. Head coach Rick Majerus, who took Utah to the national championship game in 1998, joined the program in 2007. This is his first trip to the NCAA tournament as the Billiken’s head coach. Memphis will have to contain Saint Louis’ star player, senior forward Brian Conklin. Conklin leads the Billikens in scoring with 13.9 points per game. He’s also a solid rebounder, pulling down 4.8 boards per game. He shoots 53.3 percent from the floor and is efficient from the free throw line, converting just under 80 percent of his shots. Junior guard Kwamain Mitchell could also be a concern for the Tigers. The fivefoot-eleven guard averages 12.1 points per game and leads the team with 3.8 assists per game, racking up 122 on the season. Saint Louis is also a threat to the Tigers’ ball handling, with Mitchell and Mike McCall Jr. recording a combined 81 steals this year. Memphis is also a team that’s a threat to turn their opponents over. The Tigers have forced their opponents into 475 turnovers this season, including 270 steals. Memphis forward Tarik Black will face a battle down low with sophomore forward Dwayne Evans, who is the defensive force inside for the Billikens. Evans has pulled down 232 rebounds on the season, nearly 100 more than any other player, averaging 7.2 boards per game. The game might come down to which team can better control the tempo. Memphis likes a fast-paced offense, with tight defense aimed at forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. Saint Louis, on the other hand, values a disciplined, defenseoriented game. The Billikens are eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 57.5 points per game. SLU held ten opponents to less than 50 points. Memphis and Saint Louis have played two common opponents, Charlotte and Xavier. Memphis played each once, while Saint Louis played Xavier three times. Memphis went 2-0 in those games, while

SLU went 3-1, beating Charlotte and Xavier twice during the regular season, before falling to the Musketeers in their conference tournament. Game time is set for 5:50 p.m. and will be aired nationally on TBS.

by David C. Minkin

BY SCOTT HALL Sports Editor

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The Tigers will look to keep their postseason hopes alive as they take on the Saint Louis Billikens tonight in Columbus, Ohio.

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