4 8 14

photo By Marion Ziegler

Graduation Issue 2014

The

DAILYHELMSMAN Tuesday 4.8.14

Vol. 81 No. 096

Independent Student Newspaper of the University of Memphis

the staff at the daily helmsman wants to congratulate all of the May 2014 graduates.

Go Blue!

Go Gray!

Go Tigers!

www.dailyhelmsman.com

U of M preserves graduation Graduates tackle traditions and creates new ones student

By Jonathan Capriel

news@dailyhelmsman.com With over 2,000 University of Memphis students expected to walk on graduation day, Vanessa Muldrow, coordinator of commencement and special events, will have a hectic time handing out all of those mortarboards and gowns.

“It will be a busy day for sure,” she said. “You definitely don’t get to sit down too much.”

Neatly piled stacks of paper work, student degrees, schedules and flyers overfill her desk and find space on chairs and in the corners of her office. For the last six years, she’s planned 18 commencement ceremonies. The U of M even hired her to help plan her own graduation.

“I don’t really remember if there is anything I would change about my graduation,” she said.

“But — as I was walking across the stage — I remember saying to myself ‘This was a lot of work.’”

In a ceremony filled with traditions, there have been a few changes over the years for the U of M.

The Daily Helmsman is a “designated public forum.” Students have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The Daily Helmsman is pleased to make a maximum of 10 copies of each issue available to a reader for free.

Additional copies are $1. Partial printing and distribution costs are provided by an allocation from the Student Activity Fee.

Preservations and special collections librarian Edwin G. Frank remembered his graduation from the U of M in 1976 as being rather uneventful.

“There were so many undergraduates at the time that we didn’t even walk,” he said. “They called out our names and we just stood up and sat back down.”

Despite this being the largest graduating class for the University, Muldrow says everyone will get to strut across the stage and the event should be just under two hours long.

“Some people don’t want to go because they think it is going to be long, but we have streamlined how it runs.” She said. “We want people to have fun. This is their big day.”

Cap throwing, a tradition that may have been started in 1912 by the United States Navy and has been known to send some students of other university to the hospital, is usually frowned upon.

“I don’t tell students they can’t, but I do remind them that they are rentals.” Muldrow said.

However, for an extra $20 a student can buy their mortar-

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board, named because of their similarity to tools used by bricklayers. That is what soon-to-begraduate-student Tiera Dishmon plans on doing.

“Decorating my cap is a must,” the fashion and merchandising major said. “It will say ‘Goodness and mercy will follow me,’ on the top. I plan on throwing my cap and catching it, too.”

One mortarboard that will not get tossed anytime soon is the one that sits on TOM the Tiger’s head, Muldrow said. Laura Fenton, a U of M graduate with a master’s in journalism, started this tradition a year ago after she saw it done at the University of Missouri.

“I went to my sister’s graduation at Mizzou and saw that they put a cap on their tiger’s head,” she said. “I wanted us to have that same excitement and link back to our campus as they did.

I feel like I have left my mark at the U of M.” However, not everyone will wear a mortarboard on graduation night.

“It is traditional for those con-

index

see GRAd on page 3 Sports

loan debt

By David Creech

news@dailyhelmsman.com Although most students have been told that they must go to college to get a decent job, their degrees do not guarantee a career — an overwhelming reality for a graduate when receiving the first student loan bill.

Nationally, about 37 million people have outstanding student loan debt totaling at around $1 trillion, according to American Student Assistance. The amount of outstanding student debt has been called a crisis, bringing the attention of the media and lawmakers alike.

While most loans have a grace period of six to nine months, this proves to not be enough in today’s job market, as the unemployment rate for recent college graduates hovers around 7.9 percent. The unemployment for college graduates hinders their ability to pay off loans, as 48 percent of 25- to 35-year-olds claim unemploy-

see deBt on page 8 22

2 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

The

www.dailyhelmsman.com

D AILY

H ELMSMAN Volume 81 Number 96

Editor-in-Chief L. taylor Smith Managing Editor Joshua Cannon Design Editors Hannah Verret taylor Grace Harrison Lingo Sports Editor Hunter Field General Manager Candy Justice

TIGER BABBLE

Advertising Manager Bob Willis Administrative Sales Sharon Whitaker

thoughts that give you paws

Advertising Production John Stevenson

“Always a good day when class starts with the prof chewing us out for not opening the doors to make the room more comfy for her” @MicahKass

Advertising Sales Robyn Nickell Christopher darling Contact Information news@dailyhelmsman.com

“#tigerbabble”

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19 His, to Jacques 20 Mandela’s birth town 22 Follies name 23 It has a bonnet and a boot 25 Top 28 Court tactic 30 Ruin 31 Farrier’s tool 32 Words from a follower 33 Place known for its lines, briefly 34 Poe title stowaway 35 Churchill’s “so few”: Abbr.

37 Jupiter or Mars 39 Shoe spec 41 Many months 43 “A Room With a View” view 44 Time of youthful innocence 46 Pope piece 47 1930s home for Capone 48 Response to a cape flourish 50 Co-star of Matthew in “The Lincoln Lawyer” 51 Beautiful people of futuristic fiction 53 O’s and A’s org.

56 Copious amounts 57 Work out 60 Zaire’s Mobutu __ Seko 61 Inside look?

62 Next yr.’s frosh, perhaps 63 You might hear it before you get up Down 1 Carp family member 2 College hangout 3 A/C measure

@_laurenscearce “My lab partner is a Spanish major. Number one: HALLELUJAH! Number two: WHY AM I JUST NOW FINDING THIS OUT?!” @jennifer_rorie “R.I.P. A bunch of trees at the U of M because the University decides to ‘remodel’” @MegCarolan

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.

4 LAPD part 5 Impossible to top 6 Fanatical devotion 7 Pitts of silents 8 Nissan models 9 Big name in outdoor gear 10 Adviser once described as “a cross between Henry Kissinger and Minnie Mouse” 11 Scotts offering 12 “Sure, let me try it” 13 Forecast word 15 Brilliant fish 21 Theme 22 Like an executrix: Abbr.

24 Fish eater 25 Stick in 26 Follows

27 Traverse 29 Beach shelter 34 Bog fuels 36 The moment after 38 Bubbly title 40 Tennyson’s “lily maid of Astolat” 42 Montreal daily 43 “Congo” attacker 45 Revive, as a bad memory 47 Get a load of 49 Crinkly gauze 52 Old Vatican coin 53 One of Hawaii’s five counties 54 ICU personnel 55 “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” author 58 Bulky center?

59 Old TV knob

S u d o k u

Complete the grid so that each row, column and 3-by3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

The University of Memphis

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 3

Grad

Page 1

T

Sick of Sin

he title of the last article was “Sick With Sin.” We pointed out the fact that every human being, since Adam fell, with the exception of Jesus Christ, has been born a sinner. It is impossible to successfully deny this. Why are there wars, cruelty, injustices, other human tragedies, and, ultimately death? Sin. Many deny this which is simply another manifestation of their sinful natures, which are prone to deny or distort reality. Ironically, those who have hope of a cure for the disease of sin are those who realize and readily admit that they are sinners. I am speaking of those who not only realize that they are sinners, but they are sick of sin. They do not enjoy the pleasures of sin as they once did. They struggle against it. They are sometimes almost in despair as they realize their desperate plight. If any of you readers fit this description I have some very good news for you. The very fact that you are willing to admit that you are a sinner and that you hate your sins is evidence that Jesus Christ may be drawing you to Himself. This should give you hope, because He is the only one who can cure the fatal disease of sin. Jesus Christ said in Mark 2: 17, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” If you are sin-sick go to this Great Physician in prayer and repentance and find relief.

ducting the ceremony to wear the colors and attire of the university they achieved their highest degree from,” Muldrow explained.

So while the main floor of the FedExForum might look like an ocean of black squares, some of the U of M faculty will be sporting unique academic attire.

Thomas Nenon, the new Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, received his doctorate in philosophy from the AlbertLudwigs Universität in Freiburg Germany, which had a retro flare to their scholarly threads.

“The hat is reminiscent of Christopher Columbus,” the dean said. “(The robe) is the tradition-

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al and uniformed wear of scholars during the 16th century.”

How a person dressed in that era was mandated, he said.

“Your job would determine your attire,” Nenon said. “All bakers dress like all other bakers, and only professors were allowed to dress like professors.”

The hood and wide sleeves were used to keep scholars warm, since many of them did not have extra money to buy coal to burn, Nenon said. Although he does not wear his cap and gown while studying or teaching philosophy, they hold sentimental value.

“My mother bought it for me as a graduation gift,” Nenon said.

“My friend at the university got an old dean’s gown and had it duplicated by seamstresses who make priest vestments. The hat was also custom made but in a German town that has historical parades every year—the same place where my wife was born.”

The U of M will have two graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 10. The first ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and will be for graduates and doctoral candidates in the College of Arts and Sciences, Communication and Fine Arts and the University College. The second starts at 2 p.m. and is for graduates and doctoral candidates in the College of Business, Engineering, Nursing, Public Health and the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

If the Grizzlies make the postseason playoffs, then commencement will be moved to Sunday.

The first ceremony will begin at noon and the second ceremony will begin at 4 p.m.

How do you plan to celebrate after you graduate?

Tell us at #tigerbabble

We are so proud of you. Thank you for your dedication and the many contributions you have made to our chapter. You forever have left your mark on our chapter and our lives. You will always be a part of our special family and no matter what path you choose, we will be cheering you on. Good luck in your future endeavors — we know you will do great things!

@dailyhelmsman

4 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Alumni share pre-graduation shenanigans

By Brady Boswell

news@dailyhelmsman.com When graduation finally arrives, it is not only met with the completion of required courses, but also with rituals and celebration.

“I believe that everyone has that one thing they’ve done before graduating where they can look back onto and say ‘I can’t believe I did that,’” Amy Fletcher, an education alumni from the University of Memphis, said. “It’s just nice to look back onto it and say that you did something that you don’t normally do on a regular basis.”

Whether it is running through the fountain or riding one of the many life-size tigers that ferociously await students as they walk through campus, graduates have many ways of memorializing their last days as a college student.

“I don’t think anyone who has gone to Memphis can say they have not rode a tiger,” Morgan

Minor, an English alumni from the U of M, said. “It’s like one of those things that everyone’s got to do even if you’re planning on graduating from Memphis or not.”

Aside from partying, the gentle relief alumni feel knowing that the weight of school has been lifted from their shoulders may be the sweetest celebration of all. For many graduates, the realization that there is no longer a need to study and do homework to maintain a positive GPA is satisfying beyond measure.

“Honestly as soon as I graduated, I went home and relished in the fact that I don’t have to sit through lectures, dedicate hours to study and being able to let my hair down,” Fletcher said. “It was probably one of the biggest reliefs.

That, and after having my first daughter.”

The adage “all good things must come to an end” may be time-tested and true, but after the celebration ends – graduates

are often reminded of the sobering realization that they must use their degree and experience (or lack thereof ) to get a job in what many elders call “the real world.”

For some, job hunting can be nearly as much of a pain as dealing with procrastinated homework.

“I believe you must do as much work in the classroom as you would outside,” Joseph Grant, a Liberal Arts alumni at the U of M, said. “Even though it’s sometimes very difficult to get a decent paying job in my field, I worked hard and it all turned up for me.”

While celebrating and releasing built up anxiety is important, staying motivated, bearing in mind the principles learned on campus and in the classroom, should be a first priority, according to Fletcher.

“Even though it’s a good thing to let yourself relax before and especially after graduation,” Fletcher said. “Have fun, but always stay focused.”

CONGRATULATIONS SPRING 2014 GRADUATES FROM

THE DAILY HELMSMAN STAFF

Congratulations alex smith

Fort Hood suspect had requested leave

By Paul J. Weber Associated Press

FORT HOOD, Texas — Army investigators on Monday released a more detailed timeline of last week’s fatal shootings at Fort Hood, describing an eight-minute rampage in which the suspect fired 35 shots over an area spanning the equivalent of two city blocks.

Three people were killed and 16 others wounded in the shooting spree before the suspect, Spc. Ivan Lopez, killed himself, authorities said.

During a news conference Monday, Army spokesman Chris Grey said the shootings at the Texas post followed an argument related to Lopez’s request for taking leave, but he didn’t indicate

whether it was granted or describe circumstances behind the request.

A spokesman for Lopez’s family said last week that Lopez was upset he was granted only a 24-hour leave to attend his mother’s funeral in November. That leave was then extended to two days.

The shooting spree Wednesday ended when Lopez killed himself with his .45-caliber pistol after confronting a female military police officer, who Grey said fired once at Lopez but didn’t strike him.

Providing the most detail yet about the second mass shooting at Fort Hood in five years, Grey mapped out how Lopez opened fire in the building where the

see Hood on page 17

Congratulations on your graduation,

Christina Graves We are so very proud of you!

We love you, Mom and Dad

CONGRATULATIONS!

We are all very proud of your accomplishments at the University of Memphis!

We are so proud of you, Andrew!

From Alvin, Shyrelle and the Family We knew you could do it!

CONGRATULATIONS, DESIRAE

Desirae S. Payton - Mom, Dad, sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews, Grandmama Gladys, Aunt Carolyn, Anne Thrasher and Girls

We’re so proud of you!

And, we love you very much!

Love, Mom, Dad, Christina, JR, Deshun and Davion

The University of Memphis

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 5

Tigers’ Ta es “I’d like to have a job as soon as I graduate.”

“My degree. I’m just ready to graduate.”

Perla Villanueva, Criminal justice senior

Kelvin Mallett, Engineering senior

“Loan forgiveness.”

Ryan Littman, Japanese senior

What do you want for your graduation present?

By Robbie Porter

“Rent money.”

“A better plan for my future.”

Emily Gahn, Nursing senior

Daynica Harley, Economics senior

Peace Corps gives students rare opportunities

By Joey Kachel

news@dailyhelmsman.com Since 1961, the Peace Corps has sent young Americans all over the world to help those in need, inspired by John F. Kennedy’s plea to “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

Kennedy created the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961. He envisioned the Peace Corps as a way to spread American values throughout the world and to combat the stereotype of the “Ugly American.” Since then, the Corps has expanded greatly, and now Peace Corps volunteers are currently working in 65 countries on almost every continent.

A total of 163 Peace Corps volunteers have come from the Memphis area, including Dominique Doss. After graduating from the University of Memphis in 2011 with a degree in journalism, Doss will be heading to Belize on June 24 to instruct the locals on how better to take care of their health.

“One day, I was talking to my father and he told me ‘You can’t save the world, Dominique,’” she said. “I figured this would be a good chance to try.”

Volunteers are involved in a number of projects, such as helping farmers by introducing new crops and farming techniques to increase their food security and decrease hunger, slowing the spread of HIV vulnerable countries by instructing others in HIV prevention and care, teaching vital subjects like science and math to children who would otherwise have little or no access to an education and helping to stop malaria in Africa, among other projects. The Peace Corps also has a unit of volunteers dedicated to smaller-scale, high-impact projects and disaster relief.

Before joining, volunteers

photo coUrtesy of the peace corps

Since 1961, the Peace Corps have been sending young adults to where they can do the most good.

have to go through a stringent application process that may take up to a year. After deciding what they want to do and submitting an application online, volunteers go through an interview process where a member of the Peace Corps staff determines what their personal attributes are, their dedication to the corps and how suited they would be for their chosen position.

Once the interview is completed, volunteers have to wait for a slot to open up in the position of their choice. Once it does, the Peace Corps sends out an invitation, giving them some background information on the country they’re being sent to. If they decide to join, they must

make a doctor’s appointment and get the required medical exams and immunizations before leaving the U.S. There are some substantial financial benefits to volunteering with the Peace Corps. While on assignment, volunteers are given an allowance that covers food and housing, health and dental insurance and transportation costs to and from the country they’re serving in. A volunteer’s student loans may be deferred as well. They get two vacation days a month—or 48 days over two years. And, once they get back home, the Peace Corps provides them with $7,425 before taxes to help them make the transition. A typical length of service in the Peace Corps is 27 months.

But some benefits go beyond money. Alethea Parkers, a public affairs specialist with the Peace Corps Southeast Regional Office, said many of the benefits of working with the Peace Corps are intangible.

“Volunteers work side-by-side with local teachers, farmers, business owners, local governments and/or non-governmental organizations,” Parker said. “By doing so, volunteers are personally integrated in the community-based development process. Also, Volunteers are immersed in the culture and often gain global perspectives that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Peace Corps service can help jump start careers and inspire international interactions.”

While serving, Peace Corps volunteers can take the opportunity to interact with their neighbors, learn the local language and customs, find hobbies and generally integrate with their host culture.

Even so, serving with the Peace Corps can be occasionally dangerous. Volunteers are often posted to remote areas with little access to medical attention. Despite the risks involved with becoming a Peace Corps member, Doss wouldn’t want to do anything else.

“It definitely is (rewarding),” Doss said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would do it all over again.” Students interested in joining the Peace Corps can visit peacecorps.gov.

6 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Jacob Dennis

Congratulations on a great achievement! There is a great future awaiting you as you make your statement in history. We are so very proud of you.

- The Kendricks

Congratulations on Your Graduations,

Dr. Mom and Masters Ken! Job Well Done!

Time for a Book Sale!

The Latta Family

Congratulations, Anthony!

“You will always be the head and not the tail.”

Very proud of you!

With Love, Your Family

Congratulations!

Emily Ann Taylor

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Congratulations,

Geron Johnson!

We are very proud of you and your accomplishments!

Love, Mom, Dad, Cachét, CKentrell and Joshua

Congratulations, Rebekah Pearson We’re so proud of you!

All our Love and God’s Blessings Philippians 4:13

Congratulations John M. Escue

We are so proud of you With love from Eric and Ashley, Mom and Darryl

Ashley McInnis

You have made us the proudest parents alive!

Always believe in yourself, our Irish princess!

We’re so proud of you!

And, we love you very much!

Love, Dad, Mom, Seth, Racheal & Reese

ELISE COLE,

Morrison writes, “You are your own stories...life is artful; now make it art.”

So proud, Mom & Dad

Love Dad & Mom Good job, Sarah Wombough Love, Tommy, Jacob & Jayden You’re done!

Congratulations on your Graduation from U of M Law School!

John C. Catmur, Jr.

We are so very proud of you!

With Love, Your Family

The University of Memphis

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 7

Congratulations to our editor-inchief, L. Taylor Smith.

We’re so proud of you and we’re going to miss you!

8 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Debt

Page 1

ment and underemployment to be the main cause of struggling with their debt, claims the ASA. According to the Project on Student Debt, 58 percent of University of Memphis graduates in 2012 graduated with some sort of student loan debt, with the average amount at $22,214.

Drew Garth, an engineering graduate, believes school is an investment, and, like all investments, has risk involved.

“Some people get screwed with student loans,” Garth said. “Like everything, you get a return on your investment, but with student loans, it might take even longer to break even.”

Garth made most of his tuition from scholarships but paid the rest out of pocket with money from his savings.

“In today’s economy, it may be smarter to wait until the unemployment rate in a major’s field goes down, and work to save money for college until that happens,” Garth said.

Garth believes that the majority of scholarship money that a student makes depends on his or her high school performance.

“People don’t realize how important high school is,” said Garth. “If you put a little effort into the ACT by reading a book

or taking a class, you can puff your ACT score and get the Dean’s Scholarship.”

Andy Britton, a recent philosophy graduate, also paid out of pocket what his scholarships did not cover.

“With a bachelor’s degree, it’s almost always possible to work to pay for school,” Britton said.

“But if you must take out loans, make sure you get in the workforce as quickly as possible to pay off the debt before it accrues more interest.”

Ashleigh Arnwine, who graduated with a degree in health ser vice administration last December, took out several loans while she was at the U of M. “The bills were very overwhelming at first, but I found a full-time job,” Arnwine said.

“Finding a career is the first thing any graduate should do, especially when facing loan payments.”

The FAFSA offers seven different ways to pay off student loans. Arnwine took the IncomeBased Repayment Plan, a service that bills the borrower a percentage of his or her monthly income.

“Look into the different options and find the one that best fits you,” Arnwine said.

“Don’t be unprepared when the grace period runs out.”

photo By candice briggie | staff

Student loans can pile up quickly after graduation. A recent publication by Project on Student Debt showed that more than half of 2012 U of M graduates had accrued some student debt, the average being upwards of $20,000.

SIGMA PHI EPSILON CONGRATULATES OUR GRADUATING SENIORS

AARON FAULKNER

CHRIS HUGHES

JAY MCADAMS

JONATHAN COLLINS

JOSH DAY

KYLE HOWARD

SPENCER POPE

STEVEN BIGGS

WE’RE PROUD OF YOUR VIRTUE AND DILIGENCE IN THE CLASSROOM AND YOUR BROTHERLY LOVE OUTSIDE OF IT. WE WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK WITH YOU BRIGHT FUTURES. HFF

-- PROUD BROTHERS OF SIGMA PHI EPSILON – TN BETA

The costs and benefits of a higher education add up The University of Memphis

By Patrick Lantrip

news@dailyhelmsman.com The unemployed or underemployed millennial has been a common cliché for quite some time now, and while the concept of the barista with a Ph.D. will continue to be fodder for late night comedians and satirists, research shows that the gap between those with a college education and those without is widening. However, majors are not all created equally.

Researchers at the Pew Research

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 9

Institute compiled data of the average earning of the last five major generational categories and broke them down into three categories—those with a four-year college degree, those with a two-year degree of some college and those with only a high school education.

The study found that millennials without any form of higher education were having a much harder time supporting themselves than their counterparts in other generations. The average mean income is down more

than 20 percent from those of the same age in 1965, and the percentage of those living in poverty has almost doubled since 1986.

On the other hand, after inflation adjustment, those with a four-year degree are earning 16 percent more on average in salary than their counterparts in 1965, while those with only a high school education earn 7 percent less over the same timeframe.

Research also suggests that in most fields, advanced degrees tend to pay off more so than a bachelor’s

degree alone, despite the rising cost of education.

In another study done by the Pew Research Institute, researchers found that the median adjusted monthly household income for those with only a bachelor’s degree only rose by 17 percent since 1984, while those with a master’s saw an increase of 23 percent and those with a doctorate saw an increase of 34 percent.

The same study also found that median adjusted monthly household income for those without a four-year

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degree or just a high school education fell over the same time period.

However, the researchers admit that this data only applies to employed individuals. When broken down by major, the average median income and unemployment rates vary.

With data taken from the 2010 U.S. Census, the Wall Street Journal compiled a list of 173 majors and ranked them in terms of unemployment rate, median earnings and popularity.

The study showed that popularity and practicality were not necessarily congruent.

Business management, accounting, nursing and psychology were all in the top five in terms of popularity, but posted pedestrian unemployment rates and median salaries, with the exception of nursing which boasted an employment rate of only 2.2 percent and the highest median income of the group.

Petroleum engineering took top billing in the median salary category at $127,000. Various engineering degrees overwhelmingly rounded out the top 10 with the exception of pharmaceutical sciences and administration, which came in second with $105,000.

There were six majors that had a zero percent unemployment rate, but were all among the lowest in terms of popularity. They were mostly dominated by sciences such as astronomy and astrophysics, geological engineering, actuarial science and pharmacology.

On the other hand, clinical psychology had the highest unemployment rate by a wide margin at 19.5 percent. Miscellaneous fine arts, U.S. history and library science also had employment rates above 15 percent.

Students at the University of Memphis that wish to explore different careers and majors, or just want to enhance their professional development within their major can visit the office of Career Services located at 400 Wilder Tower.

“What we primarily do is work with students to determine if they are in the right major based on their academic strengths, work interest, personality and other different factors,” Career Advisor Eric Bailey said. “Also, we work on everything that they need to do outside of the classroom.”

Career services also helps students gain confidence during interviews, write professional resumes and look into possible graduate programs.

However, Bailey advises students not to wait until their senior year before visiting Career Services.

“Employers now are requesting some type of experience to go along with that degree,” Bailey said. “So we have to start figuring out how to get that experience while we are actually still in college.”

10 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Value of graduate school hotly debated among students

By Mandy Hrach

news@dailyhelmsman.com Making more money, moving up in a company or finding a better job are all good reasons to seek a graduate degree.

Yet a graduate degree is not for everyone, and getting an education beyond the four years spent at a university is a decision that should be considered carefully with some clear goals in mind, according to one University of Memphis administrator.

“There are numerous benefits to earning an advanced degree,” Karen Weddle-West, director of Diversity Initiatives at the University and vice provost for Graduate Programs, said.

“The most important advantage is the in-depth and rigorous study of a particular discipline.”

Weddle-West also serves on national boards, where she is the chair of the Council of Graduate Schools Advisory Committee on Minorities in Graduate Education.

The U of M is currently home to 4,500 graduate students and offers

25 doctoral degrees, 55 master’s degrees, 30 graduate certificates and the Education Specialist degree.

Another determining factor of earning a higher education degree is the effect on one’s lifetime earnings.

According to Weddle-West, a doctorate degree can increase lifetime earnings by $3.4 million.

“One of the benefits is the ability to stand out in a crowd. Even if a graduate degree is not required, it can make a person stand out from the others. It can also carry some economic benefits,” said one unnamed graduate student at the University.

In some professions, like education, employees are rewarded for getting an advanced degree without ever having to change jobs. In other fields, getting the graduate degree can put a person in line for promotion. There are some professions such as law and medicine where the advanced degree is the entry into the field.

However, a graduate degree right after a four-year degree can delay a person’s entry into the workforce.

Some students choose to work a cou-

ple of years before attending graduate school.

Cost can also play a factor when deciding to attend. Many financial aid programs do not cover the cost of graduate school, which means paying for it without help or borrowing money.

Prior to the recession of 2007 to 2009, many companies were reimbursing employees for extra education, but very few companies today continue to reimburse.

“Graduate school is definitely market-driven. When jobs are very much available to all students who hold degrees, graduate school attendance tend to decline,” Weddle-West said. “When it’s clear that people need a competitive edge to pursue the job of their choice is when attendance rises.”

Experts advise that a person needs to have clear career goals and a clear plan to repay loans when pursing a graduate degree. While it may not be for everyone, for some, the advantages of earning a higher degree can greatly outweigh the drawbacks.

Congratulations Kara!

We are so proud of your hard work.

With love, your Family

Congratulations, Jonathan!

We are so proud of you.

photo By candice briggie | staff

Burton Bridges is the chair of the fundraising evaluation committee at St. Jude and has been employed there for seven years.

He is also a part time graduate student in the journalism department at U of M. “I feel like every class I’ve taken through my program has had a direct impact on my work. It’s sharpened my writing skills, my interviewing skills and my overall creativity.”

Congratulations to our 2014 graduate,

JOSH HILTENBRAND! With much pride and even more love, Emily, Mom, Dad, Jess and Granny

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JACOB VAUGHN!

Love You!

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You do it all so GRACEFULLY! Congratulations Graduate With Love, Your Family

The University of Memphis

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 11

12 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

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Student reflects on taking time off

By Samuel Prager

news@dailyhelmsman.com After a student crosses the finish line and wraps up four years of academia, they are often faced with the difficult decision of joining the workforce or returning to graduate school to further their degree. It is a simple decision for few, leading graduates down a road less traveled by taking a year — or more — off to make the decision.

For journalism graduate student Zachary Losher, taking a break was an important step in finding out what he wanted to pursue in life.

“When I first got out of undergraduate program, I didn’t actually want to go to graduate school,” Losher, 26, said. “I thought that I would just try to use my degree to get a job, but I never got a job that I was happy with and that I could see myself doing for more than a few months at a time.”

During his three-year-break from school, Losher worked five different jobs before deciding to go back to further his studies.

However, upon returning to college, Losher had made revelations within his career path. Losher said that as an undergrad he acquired an English degree with a minor in art

photo By Harrison lingo | staff

Zachary Losher, a journalism graduate student, works on an upcoming assignment. history. However, during his break, he realized he wanted to pursue media studies, a program within journalism that focuses on the research of how people consume and align with media.

“It’s something I wouldn’t have jumped into. If I had gone into

grad school right away I would’ve jumped into an English literature and art history program,” Losher said. “Taking that time off really let me think about things for a long time. It changed what I wanted to get out of school.”

Losher also noted that during

his hiatus from school, he learned a lot about life and himself, as well as figuring out what he wanted to do.

“For me, the break was valuable because I had no idea what I was doing, so it helped me figure out what the right type of school to go to and what I really wanted to

study,” Losher said. “I don’t necessarily regret taking the break. I did learn a lot about life and myself and things like that, but at the same time I wish I was already done with school completely.”

Through his experience working at entry-level positions, Losher added that having a specializedformal education could be the difference between a promotion and being stuck in the same spot.

“There are a lot of highly specialized jobs nowadays, you might be able to get an entry position at a job you love and work there for three or so years, but when you’re up for a promotion you may not be able to get it because you don’t have the educational criteria,” Losher said.

However, he also added that working towards a specific Ph.D., which he said is his ultimate goal, could also have some negative effects when looking for a very specialized position.

“There is always a danger about going through some long and extensive specialized educational program and then the job market ends up being saturated with people with the same education as you,” Losher said. “I would recommend knowing

see time on page 20

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To our ADPi Seniors who have always been First and Finest, and will be our sisters Forever!

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The University of Memphis

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 13

Oscar Pistorius takes witness stand for first time

By Christopher Torchia and Gerald Imray Associated Press

PRETORIA, South Africa — His voice shaking, Oscar Pistorius took the witness stand Monday for the first time, testifying that he was trying to protect the girlfriend he killed and that he became so tormented by memories of the fatal shooting and panic attacks that he once hid helplessly in a closet.

Pistorius also offered an apology to the family of Reeva Steenkamp, who died from multiple wounds after the doubleamputee runner shot her through a closed toilet door last year in his home. He said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.

Prosecutors allege he killed her after an argument.

“There hasn’t been a moment since this tragedy happened that I haven’t thought about your family,” the athlete said at the murder trial as Steenkamp’s mother, June, looked impassively at him in the courtroom.

“I was simply trying to protect Reeva. I can promise that when she went to bed that night she felt loved,” Pistorius said.

Pistorius’ display of anguish

philly | XinhUa | ZUMa press

South African paralympic athlete oscar Pistorius, center, is escorted as he walks to the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Monday, April 7, 2014. Pistorius stands trial for the premeditated murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria east. and remorse was a marked departure from the testimony of some prosecution witnesses whose accounts painted a picture of the runner as a hothead with a jealous streak, an inflated sense of entitlement and an obsession with guns in the months before he killed Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model.

He has yet to be cross-examined about the shooting in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, and that testimony is likely to be the centerpiece of a trial being broadcast on television and followed around the world. Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder and faces 25 years to life in

prison if convicted. Some analysts think the judge, who will decide the case, will consider a lesser charge such as homicide, which could still send him to prison for years.

Pistorius, 27, spoke in a soft, quavering voice at the start of his testimony, forcing Judge

Thokozile Masipa to ask him to speak more loudly. He stood at first, stifling sobs as he said he was on antidepressant medication and sometimes woke from nightmares to the “smell of blood.”

Defense lawyer Barry Roux, who had aggressively challenged prosecution witnesses since the trial began March 3, led Pistorius gently through events in a life that was held up, in the runner’s heyday, as an inspiring tale. Pistorius was born without fibula bones because of a congenital defect, and his legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. He ran on carbon-fiber blades and is a multiple Paralympic medalist.

He also competed at the London Olympics but didn’t win a medal.

Pistorius described the positive role of his mother, Sheila, and his grief when she died when Pistorius was a teenager. He spoke about the sacrifices he had made for his athletic achievements, his work with charity and how religion was important to him.

Pistorius said he has been taking antidepressant medication since the week after he killed Steenkamp and has trouble sleeping. He described one night when

see WItNeSS on page 22

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Congratulations

Janelle Guy! We are very proud of you and your achievement!

Congratulations, Jessica !

We are so proud of you.

Love always, Mom, Dad, Tricia and Andrew

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Congratulations on Your Outstanding Achievement,

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With Love, Your Family CONGRATULATIONS,

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for earning your Master’s Degree!

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NICOLE A. SMITH! We’re so proud of you!

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We’re very proud of you!

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MEGAN D. PIKER SIT IT OUT OR DANCE? LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE DANCING!

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We could not be any prouder of you!

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Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 15

CONGRATULATIONS NIGHAT ROOZIMAN We know how hard you’ve worked to achieve this goal!

4.0 GPA

We are very proud of your accomplishments!

You are the best mom and best wife in the whole wide world!

You’re our shining star!

We love you very much, Love,

Husband and Children

16 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Walking at graduation is not a requirement

By J.T. Mullen

news@dailyhelmsman.com Most — if not all — college students relish in the day that they meet all of the requirements to obtain their degree, and while the majority walk with no hesitation, the decision may not be so simple for some.

There are no requirements that say a senior must walk at graduation, but unless a student decided to return to school for another degree, it may very well be a once in a lifetime experience.

It is a much-anticipated day that only comes to students who dedi-

cated the time to meet the 120 credit hours required to graduate.

University of Memphis Commencement and Student Af fairs Sp ecial Events Coordinator Vanessa Muldrow encourages all graduating seniors to attend their ceremony.

“If at all possible, students should walk,” she said. “It is a moment you cannot get back. It is a time to celebrate all your hard work and dedication.”

Senior accounting major Luke Hooper, 22, agrees whole-heartedly with this sentiment and is walking this May. “I decided to walk at graduation because it is an expression

and celebration of the hard work you put in the past four years to achieve your degree and the grades you achieved,” he said.

According to Muldrow, the majority of graduating seniors attend the ceremony and walk.

“Nearly 80 percent of those in the undergraduate program, on track towards graduation participate in their ceremony,” Muldrow said.

A common question for seniors is whether or not there are any fees to participating in the ceremony. Muldrow said that is not an issue.

“Students do not pay any fees towards graduation at the time of

Congratulations on Your Graduation

Randall Stevens We are very proud of you!

Love you, Your Family

their Commencement,” she said.

“All fees are covered by student fees.”

There are a few reasons to why some students do not participate in their own commencement.

Muldrow believes lack of interest is a big part.

“Most students who do notparticipate have no interest in attending Commencement, live out of town or have prior obligations,” she said.

Matt Noah, a graduate student at the University of Memphis, received his undergraduate degree in accounting in December of

see WALKING on page 19

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Congratulations, Brittany Rochelle!

It is hard to put into words how proud we are of you and all of your accomplishments. College is over and now you have so many new and exciting opportunities ahead of you. Enjoy them all!

We love you, Mom and Dad

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Hood Page 4

argument began before leaving and driving away, shooting at times from his car. The three who died were gunned down in separate locations.

Grey said Lopez first killed one soldier and wounded 10 others in the first building — the dead being one of the men Lopez had argued with moments earlier. Lopez then drove to a motor pool area where the Army truck driver was assigned and worked, killing another, Grey said.

The last place Lopez entered was a block away at a medical building, Grey said, walking inside and killing a soldier behind the desk.

“At this point we do not know why he entered that building, and we may never know why,” Grey said.

In all, investigators say Lopez fired more than 35 shots.

Authorities said 11 of 16 injured have returned to duty. Three soldiers who remain at nearby Scott & White Hospital, where the most critically injured were taken, were

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 17 listed in fair condition Monday.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend a memorial service Wednesday at Fort Hood.

Authorities said transportation arrangements for the three dead are being finalized for their funerals.

In another attack at the base in 2009, 13 people were killed by Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, who had said he was angry about being deployed to Afghanistan and wanted to protect Islamic and Taliban leaders from U.S. troops.

Lopez did a short stint in Iraq in 2011 and told medical personnel he had suffered a traumatic brain injury. The 34-year-old was undergoing treatment for depression and anxiety while being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder, base officials said. Fort Hood officials on Friday, however, said his mental condition was not a “direct participating factor” in the shooting.

Officials said Lopez did not see any combat in Iraq and had not previously demonstrated a risk of violence. He seemed to have a clean record and Grey said again Monday that Lopez showed no ties to potential terrorists.

AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN | JAY JANNER | MCT

A Fort hood soldier, right, hugs Spc. Kristen Haley, left, the fiancee of Sgt. First Class Daniel Ferguson who was killed in the Fort Hood shooting, at a tribute walk for the victims of the shooting at Lions Club Park in Killeen, Texas, Friday. April 4, 2014.

Congratulations on Your Graduation,

Seth Dodrill!

We’re so proud of you!

Love, Mom, Dad, Stephanie, Chuck, Kenny, Rachel and Erin

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18 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

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Graduation invitations require careful planning

By Amber Williams

news@dailyhelmsman.com For English majors, writing graduation invitations may feel like second nature. For others, it can be a task more dreadful than final exams. As seniors prepare for the moment they’ve been longing for since coming to the University of Memphis, properly inviting family and friends is imperative.

U of M Assistant English Professor William Duff y described the first step as differentiating between announcements and actual invitations.

“Traditionally, graduates will send graduation announcements to friends and family, which more or less does exactly that— it announces your forthcoming

graduation,” Duffy said.

According to him, an invitation is something different altogether as it actually invites the recipients to attend the graduation.

After deciding which one to send, he recommends carefully constructing an announcement.

“Specify what exactly the recipient is being invited to,” Duffy said.

He advised that students make sure to include instructions for recipients to receive their tickets if they are indeed invited to the actual ceremony, where they should go, the date and the time.

Duffy stated that if it is a graduation party that students are referring to in their invitations, make sure to make that

Bird is the

evident.

“In the end, though, language is key. It would be confusing in a graduation announcement to invite recipients to celebrate with you. So choose wording that is clear, and on a formal occasion like a graduation,” Duffy said.

As far as purchasing invitations goes, there are many websites that enable students to select and personalize various packages.

The U of M Commencement office listed the University Store, Balfour and Jostens as the best ordering options.

The University Bookstore only carries a package of 10 for $12.95 that does not enable customization.

Balfour has a Basic Package

with 25 announcements for $95.50, an Essential Package with 35 announcements for $126.75 and a Deluxe Package with 50 announcements for $177.75.

Jostens offers a Basic Package with 25 announcements for $64.95, an Essential Package with 25 announcements, tissue inserts and a certificate of appreciation for $83.95 and a Deluxe Package with 50 announcements for $145.95.

Shutterfly, a website that offers a variety of customizable options, allows students to add a personal flair to their invitations.

Some students even choose local stationery shops and venues, such as Shara’s Paperie Studio, to go that extra mile.

Shara’s Paperie Studio, a local

stationery shop, allows students to personalize their invitations at a local store. Shara Vanziger, who owns and operates the Studio, believes it is important for students to add their own personal touch to their graduation invitations.

“I think its better to personalize your invitations rather than opting for the cookie-cutter Jostens invitation,” Vanziger said.

According to her, the price starts at about $2 an invitation, and it goes up from there.

“You’ve worked hard for this moment, you’ve put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to this point in your life,” Vanziger said. “You want an invitation that says, Hey! I made it—something with a little charisma.”

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Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 19

Supreme Court won’t hear appeal of New Mexico gay-bias case

By David G. Savage

Tribune Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — In a victory for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal from a New Mexico photographer who claimed a freespeech right to refuse to shoot a wedding album for a same-sex couple.

The photographer was charged with violating the state’s anti-discrimination law, which requires businesses to serve customers and

clients without regard to their race, religion or sexual orientation.

The case of Elane Photography had drawn wide attention because it posed a religious-freedom challenge to state anti-discrimination laws. It was credited with spurring legislative campaigns in Arizona and Mississippi to strengthen the religious-freedom rights of business owners.

Elaine Huguenin, the photographer, said she took photos of “traditional” weddings but that it would violate her religious beliefs to shoot photos of a wedding of

two women.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal is not a ruling, but it is significant that the appeal did not attract the four votes needed to grant a hearing.

Last month, the court heard arguments in a somewhat related issue over whether family-owned corporations have a religiousliberty right to refuse to pay for the full range of contraceptives required under the federal health care law.

However, the appeal in the Elane Photography case focused

only on the First Amendment and the freedom of speech. Lawyers for the Alliance Defending Freedom said the New Mexico anti-discrimination law would force the photographer to “create expression” in violation of her beliefs.

Critics called the law a form of “compelled speech.”

The appeal argued that a state anti-bias law, when applied broadly, would “require individuals who create expression for a living — like marketers, advertisers, publicists and website designers — to speak in conflict with their

consciences.”

UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh and the Cato Institute’s Ilya Shapiro had filed a separate brief urging the court to hear the case. They said the First Amendment should protect writers, singers, actors or artists whose work involves expression. But they said this protection was limited in scope and should not extend to “denials of service by caterers, hotels, limousine service operators and the like.”

Ruling against the photographer, the New Mexico Supreme Court refused “to draw the line between ‘creative’ or ‘expressive’ professionals and all others.” For example, its judges said, a “flower shop is not intuitively ‘expressive’, but florists use artistic skills and training to design and construct floral displays.” And the same is true of bakers and wedding cakes, they said.

“Courts cannot be in the business of deciding which businesses are sufficiently artistic to warrant exemptions from anti-discrimination laws,” the state court concluded.

On Monday, the court issued a one-line order saying it would not hear the case of Elane Photography vs. Willock.

Walking Page 16

2013. Noah did not participate in his graduating class’s ceremony because of a lack of interest.

“Honestly, I have better things to do than sit there for like two to three hours with a bunch of people I do not know,” he said.

“I’m going to grad school so I was just going to walk after that.”

Whatever choice seniors make, nothing takes away from the great achievement of graduating and receiving their degree, according to Hooper.

“I am looking forward to receiving my undergraduate degree way more than I am looking forward to walking, but yes it is exciting since it is the ceremony to prove you have finished,” Hooper said.

Send us your thoughts @dailyhelmsman #tigerbabble

20 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

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Factoring in GPA on résumés

By Hannah Bailey

news@dailyhelmsman.com Students and postgraduates preparing their résumés and anticipating life after college may be wondering how much weight their grade point average may hold with employers while searching for a job.

While the general consensus is that work experience is the most important factor to employers in the hiring process, in today’s competitive job market a solid GPA doesn’t hurt one’s chances of landing a job.

According to Robert Boroff, managing director for Reaction Search International in Memphis, an international job recruitment firm, some industries and companies take a job candidate’s GPA into account more than others.

“I think any industry that is more competitive is going to take GPA into account,” Boroff said. “Your technology, medical device, life sciences, obviously any financial services will most likely hire the applicants with the most impressive résumé and GPA.” Another highly competitive job market that relies heavily on GPA when hiring is the legal industry.

“Law school GPA is critically important in getting a job in most good law firms,” Lewis Thomson law firm attorney Jonathan May said. “They generally won’t even interview someone outside the top third of a class.”

Company size also plays a factor in whether one’s GPA really

matters. The larger the company, the more important a GPA is going to be when trying to land a job, according to Boroff.

However, not every industry takes a students GPA into account. Creative fields are more interested in an individual’s portfolio of work than the grades they made while in school.

Taking these factors into account, the big question for jobsearchers when putting together their résumé is whether or not to include their GPA. According to career services at Virginia Tech, in fields where employers care about GPA, leaving a GPA off may run the risk of employers assuming that it is very low.

In situations where graduates

have a low GPA and are job searching in a competitive field, other measures can be taken to increase their odds of being hired.

“Apply for an internship with the company you want to work for and try to find a position that fall with them,” Boroff said. “A lot of companies will actually make their offers to students before they graduate.”

Work history is often times more important to employers than academic success, giving students with below average grades the opportunity to shine in that area.

Internships, volunteer work and athleticism on a résumé will highlight an applicant’s accomplishments while networking,

having solid communication skills and making connections in an applicant’s job market will also help in landing a position after college.

“If you know people who work in the same organization, letters of recommendation always holds a lot of weight,” Boroff said. “Leveraging relationships actually makes a big difference.

Something to think about that might help you overcome a lower than average GPA.” Personality, maturity and the overall way an applicant comes across to employers also plays a role in whether or not one gets a job.

“People are looking for energy and vitality basically,” Boroff said.

Time

Page 12

about the type of field and market you want to go in, researching the people who have those jobs you want and see how they got them.”

One thing Losher said helped him figure out what he wanted to academically pursue was reading, and that researching prominent figures in a possible field could produce some very beneficial knowledge about the subject in regarding to school and the steps needed to achieve personal goals.

“Read all the time, anything that interests you. Find out who the smart people are in the field you’re considering and that have already written a lot of smart things,” Losher said. “You’ll have a better knowledge base when graduate school does roll around and you’ll be a better student.”

Although Losher clearly stated that graduate school or any other time of former education is typically beneficial, it may not have as much relevance towards other careers.

“It’d be short sighted to say that everyone who goes to college needs to go to graduate school. It just really depends on what you want to do,” Losher said. “I would feel bad making a statement telling any undergrad that they all need to go to graduate school, but it is a good thing for most people.”

Though Losher said there are pros and cons to both taking time off and getting a graduate degree in general, the job market is constantly getting more competitive and that is always helpful to have an extra edge on the competition.

“There used to be this huge market but what separated you was this college degree, but with a college degree being the new high school diploma what separates you is this masters degree, this Ph.D, this nursing certificate or dietician certificate,“ Losher said.

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The University of Memphis

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 21

U of M athletic department emphasizes academics

By Corey Carmichael

sports@dailyhelmsman.com College athletic departments around the country have been under the microscope lately after several programs were exposed for graduating athletes, especially in football and basketball programs, who were not able to legitimately graduate the college’s programs.

At several institutions and in some extreme cases, players were unable to either read or write at a college level, exposing the integrity of the athletic departments’ aca-

demic programs and standards.

Even at accredited universities like the University of North Carolina, years of cheating were exposed. There were lecture classes created for athletes in their African American Studies program that had been exposed in a 2012 investigation by Mary Willingham.

Essentially, these curriculums were started in order for athletes to enroll in a class and receive illegitimate grades for work they did not have to do. The system was put in place to enable athletes that struggled academically and give them a free pass through the higher

education learning process. Schools are promoting the product on the football field and letting their educational integrity bear the burden.

Another example that comes to mind is the story of Dasmine Cathey, a University of Memphis football player who enrolled in the summer of 2007 and graduated in the 2012 spring semester. In an article by Brad Wolverton entitled “The Education of Dasmine Cathey,” Wolverton outlines Cathey’s struggles with graduation after entering the university with an elementary reading ability.

There are guidelines in place

Congratulations, Justin King!

I’m very proud of you and know you will do well in Pharmacy School.

Love you!

Mom

Mike Kendrick

Congratulations! You have continuously proven your ability to take on the most challenging task. Each time, in the aftermath, you stand tall and today you stand as tall as ever. No matter which direction you choose, success awaits you at the point of the compass.

We are so very proud of you. - The Family

for student-athletes admittance to Memphis that make the process more selective. There is a minimum high-school grade point average of 2.00, a minimum 16 ACT composite score with a minimum of 16 in the English and Reading subscores or a SAT score of 770 with a minimum of 390 Verbal subscore.

Those ineligible by these standards are admitted only by presidential exemption and must sit out their freshman year.

Each year, less than a handful of presidential exemptions are awarded for Tiger student-athletes, one notable example was alumni Anfernee

“Penny” Hardaway. Following his NBA career, he donated a sum of one million dollars in order to create an Athletics Hall of Fame on the University’s campus.

The University has made leaps and bounds when it comes to athletes and their academics. According to a press release by the Center for Athletic Academic Services at the university, the overall grade point average and percentage of studentathletes qualifying for Academic Honors (3.0 GPA or better) rose every year since the 2009-10 aca-

see athletic on page 22

Mom, I’m so thankful for you and your support. You are the reason I will be graduating May 2014.

Love you, Jvonne

Congratulations,

Allison!

Congratulations on your graduation,

Matt Duty!

You are such an inspiration.

We are proud of you!

With Love, The Fam CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GRADUATION,

JOSHUA “SQUEAKY” MARKING WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

WE LOVE YOU. - MOM, DAD, FAMILY AND MILLIONS OF FANS...

It seems like yesterday that you were starting kindergarten and now you are graduating from the University of Memphis. We’re very proud of you!

Love, Mom and Dad

22 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Athletic Page 21

demic year. In 2009-10, the GPA for student-athletes was 2.78, while 49 percent of student-athletes qualified for Academic Honors.

Since then, the GPA has climbed to 2.96 in 2012-13 and 59.5 percent of student-athletes qualified for academic honors.

Other indicators of the success of student-athletes are the continually rising Graduation Success Rates and Academic Progress Ratings. The APR is a four-year average of performance academically that benefits athletes that maintain their eligibility and continue their education at the same school.

Each semester, athletes are judged on their eligibility and their enrollment in the university, each of those being worth one point.

There is a potential for four points each academic year for each athlete. The total number of points

www.dailyhelmsman.com the athletes earned is divided by points possible, and the result is multiplied by 1000 in order to get the APR score.

In 2008-09, 73 percent of student-athletes graduated, and that percentage increased to 84 percent by 2012-13. The APR for these athletes has increased as well, from 965 in 2008-09 up to 978 in 2012-13.

The NCAA as a whole has increased its standards as well.

Notably, the 2012-13 University of Connecticut men’s basketball team was ineligible for post-season play because their APR was below 900 for three consecutive years.

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida conducted a comprehensive analysis of the men’s basketball tournament teams and their APR and GSR. Richard Lapchick, the primary author of the study and is the director of TIDES, said in the study that the results have stagnated

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rather than improved.

“This year we seemed to be treading water instead of moving ahead,” Lapchick said. “The academic reforms have led to positive change since their passage almost a decade ago. We need to raise the bar and move toward 60 percent being the acceptable standard for the APR. This year 88 percent of the teams in the men’s tournament are already there.”

Lapchick is speaking about the nation in general, but he also commended the top ten schools with the highest GSR, including the U of M. Along with the basketball program, other sports have excelled in academics. Since the 2008-09 academic year, 40 teams have scored a perfect APR score of 1000. In those five years, the basketball team, the women’s golf team and women’s tennis teams scored perfect in each of the five. The volleyball team scored 1000 in four of those five years.

Witness Page 13

he went to hide in a closet after waking up in “a panic.”

“I climbed into a cupboard and I phoned my sister to come and sit by me, which she did for a while,” Pistorius said.

His voice broke again, and he struggled to speak when he described how Steenkamp was “a blessing” in his life. Yet in cellphone messages revealed by the prosecution, Steenkamp had once said that Pistorius scared her.

Pistorius will return Tuesday to continue testifying after the judge granted an early adjournment because she said Pistorius looked “exhausted.” Pistorius said he had not slept the night before.

“I’m just very tired at the moment .... I think it’s a lot of things going through my mind,” he said. “The weight of this is extremely overbearing.”

Pistorius also described how

he felt vulnerable to crime, an attempt to explain his claim that he reacted to what he thought was a dangerous intruder in his bathroom by shooting with his 9 mm pistol. He said his mother slept with a gun under a pillow, and that his family had been hit by house break-ins and carjackings over the years. He said he had sometimes been followed by unidentified people while driving home.

Pistorius also referred to an incident in which he was allegedly assaulted at a social function in late 2012 and had to have stitches on the back of his head.

Prosecutors have provided a contrasting picture with evidence indicating that he had been reckless with firearms in public, allegedly shooting his gun out of a sunroof on a road and asking a friend to take the blame for him when a gun was fired under a table in a busy restaurant weeks before he killed Steenkamp.

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Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 23

Road ends for women’s basketball seniors

By Austin Reynolds

sports@dailyhelmsman.com This past season was the last for three Tiger seniors of the U of M women’s basketball team — forward Pa’Sonna Hope, guard Devin Mack and guard Jasbriell Swain.

Despite concluding their eligibility at the U of M, each of the three seniors began her collegiate career elsewhere. Hope played her first two seasons at the University of Mississippi, Mack played her first two at Kishwaukee College and Swain played three years at Binghamton University before transferring back home to Memphis for her senior season.

Swain played just one year for

the Tigers, but nevertheless she still felt emotional at the conclusion of the season.

“It’s surreal. I think it’ll all hit me when it’s all said and done, when I’m finally hanging up my jersey, but I’m happy and I’m really gonna miss my teammates,” Swain said following the Tigers senior night victory over the University of Cincinnati.

Swain appeared in 29 games in her senior campaign, averaging 2.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16 minutes of action per game.

Mack appeared in 31 games, scoring 4.1 points per contest and making 13 starts.

Hope started 25 games for the Tigers while posting 7.3 points per game on 45 percent shooting to go along with 6.8 rebounds.

Losing the double-double

threat of Hope may seem to leave a hole in the Blue and Gray’s frontcourt, but it will leave room for some of the Tigers’ younger players to develop. Freshman forward Brandi Goodman battled injury for the first half of the 2013-14 campaign, but she emerged as an effective rebounder and solid defensive presence when seeing minutes late in the season.

Sophomore forward Courtney Powell regularly provided a spark off the bench, averaging three rebounds per game in just 11 minutes.

Hope’s departure will free up minutes for these players to further develop and give them an opportunity to make more meaningful contributions on the court in the coming season.

Memphis finished the year with a 13-18 record — its worst since a 12-18 mark posted in head coach Melissa McFerrin’s first season in 2008-09. The Tigers faced a tougher level of competition in the American Athletic

Conference, allowing them to get their shot at some of the nation’s elite teams including the University of Connecticut, which holds an undefeated record and plays for the national championship Tuesday night.

photo By Brandon caradine | staff

Forward Pa’Sonna Hope averaged 7.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in her senior season. Hope plans to graduate with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Solutions

24 • Tuesday, April 8, 2014

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Pastner, Tigers bid farewell to seniors

By Hunter Field

sports@dailyhelmsman.com The University of Memphis men’s basketball team enters uncharted waters next season after graduating five key seniors this year.

Senior guards Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford have been staples on the Tigers since the fall of 2010.

Guard Geron Johnson transferred to Memphis two seasons ago, and Michael Dixon Jr. and David Pellom arrived on the U of M campus last summer, contributing for just one season a piece.

Memphis head coach Josh Pastner will most certainly miss the leadership and stability those five seniors brought to his team next season but he said he appreciated the time each senior spent in the Blue and Gray.

“I want to thank our seniors,” the fifth-year coach said after the Tigers’ final game of the season. “I appreciate these guys so much. Especially for guys like Joe and Chris, who have been here for all four years, and they, you know, Joe and Chris helped keep the program at a very, very high level. Geron and Mike, Geron’s been here two years, Mike one, they assisted Joe and Chris with keeping the program at a very, very high level, keeping it relevant, doing a lot of great things.”

Those five seniors contributed 47.7 points per game combined for the Tigers’ last season — well over half of Memphis 76.9 points per game average. Pastner and the Tigers will lean heavily on inexperienced players to replace their production.

With the seniors, most of Memphis’ three-point shooting will be leaving as well. Crawford and Dixon were the U of M’s only real threats from downtown. Dixon shot 38.6 percent from deep, and Crawford connected on 37.3 percent of his 3-pointers.

Memphis will have to replace more than statistical production next season. Jackson and Crawford have been with Pastner since his second season as head coach at the University.

Pastner struggled in his first season, working with scraps from the John Calipari era, but he convinced Crawford and Jackson to come to Memphis even though they had chances to go elsewhere.

“When we took over, there was a lot of uncertainty,” Pastner said. “And we had to almost, especially that second year, start from ground zero pretty much. And including that first year, we were just trying to hang on as if we were in the ocean, just trying to stay above water. And, through time, these guys to my left have made the program not only stay above water, we were able to get to land and have a lot of success, a lot of wins.”

Pastner also boasts his players’ ability to take of care of their business in the classroom. Both Crawford and Jackson graduated early, and Dixon and Johnson expect to graduate in May. “They’re good young men who have done a lot of good things on

the court, but, most importantly, they’ve represented the program and the name on the front of the jersey and the University extremely well,” Pastner said.

Jackson finished his degree in organizational leadership in August of 2013. He made several Conference USA first teams and he was named the C-USA Player of the Year in 2013.

The Memphis native also earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference All-Conference Second Team. He is eighth in all-time scoring at the U of M and fourth in assists and made free throws.

Crawford graduated this past December with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. He won MVP in last year’s C-USA tournament and was C-USA’s Sixth Man of the Year.

He finished his career in the top 10 in both three-point percentage and 3-pointers made.

Johnson enrolled at the U of M following stints at several junior colleges. He was in and out of trouble with the law before coming to the U of M, but he credits Pastner and helpful teammates for helping him turn his life around.

“These three guards next to me, great guys, great character,” Johnson said after his final game in Blue and Gray. “Before here, I made a lot of mistakes in my life. I learned a lot from them because, in the past, they don’t make too many mistakes off the court. We have a guy that has, but Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford, great character guys. They’re just humble and work hard and do what they’re supposed to do.”

The Dayton, Ohio, native averaged 9.7 points per game in two seasons for the Tigers. He was an All C-USA third team selection in 2013, and he plans to graduate in May with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Dixon began attending Memphis in August after spending three seasons at the University of Missouri.

Dixon provided a much-needed scoring lift off the bench for the Tigers, and he was their second leading scorer with 11.8 points per game.

The American named the Kansas City, Mo., native their Sixth Man of

the Year this season. Dixon hopes to graduate with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in May. Pellom, like Dixon, spent his first three seasons in Washington D.C. at George Washington University. He transferred to Memphis last summer after sitting out last year with a wrist injury. After an early knee injury sidelined him for the first three

games this season, he gave the Tigers depth in the frontcourt, despite not making a huge impact in the scoring department. Pellom has a degree in sociology from G.W. Guard Trey Draper will also be leaving the program after four years on campus. Most of his contributions came in practice, but he appeared in 11 games for the Tigers

this season, scoring three points on the year. Draper graduated in August with a degree in sports and leisure management.

Jackson, Dixon, Crawford, Pellom and Johnson will all most likely try their hands at professional basketball. Although they may not play in the NBA, it is possible that they may play for teams over seas.

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