Daily Helmsman
The
Q&A with R.C. Johnson
Friday, February 4, 2011 Vol. 78 No. 074
Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis
Athletic director talks BCS and UM football and responds to critics see page 10 www.dailyhelmsman.com
Fraternity members look up to mold
News Briefs
SGA senator announces bid for presidency At a Student Government Association meeting Thursday, Senator Tyler Dewitt, senior accounting major, announced his candidacy for SGA president under the United Students Party. Rachael Godwin, senator of the College of Arts and Sciences and sophomore political science major, will run under the same party as vice president, Dewitt said. Active campaigning to run for Student Government Association began Tuesday.
see
BY Chelsea Boozer News Reporter Overflowing trashcans and a laundrylittered floor tend to be common scenes in the home of a college student. A bathroom ceiling spotted with black mold is more infrequent — unless you live in The University of Memphis-owned Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house at 3609 Watauga Ave. Three students currently live in the house, where the mold has been visible since fall 2009, according to former resident Nathaniel Coleman, vice president
of Lambda Chi. Coleman, sophomore accounting and hospitality major, said the mold, which is also in the attic, is “nasty.” “I’m not sure what allergies I have to mold, but I could definitely notice a difference when I stayed (at my parents’) home over the weekend and when I went back,” he said. “Again, I don’t know if there is anything to that, but when you go into the attic, you can see it and smell it, and it’s kind of gross.” The mold was first reported Dec. 21, 2010 in an e-mail sent to Linda Arnold, rental property manager in the Physical
Plant department, who replied and told the residents that she put in a work order that day. Arnold refused an in-person interview with The Daily Helmsman because it is against Physical Plant policy, she said. In an e-mail response, she said the regional energy and environment department at U of M scheduled remediation of the mold for Thursday. Lambda Chi president Carlisle Jasper reported the mold 44 days before the scheduled remediation in an e-mail reply-
see
Mold, page 6
SGA, page 7 — by Chelsea Boozer, News Reporter
see
Homecoming, page 12
— by Jasmine Vann, News Reporter
Mobile museum promotes Black History Month
In honor of Black History Month, American Legacy magazine is sending a museum to The U of M. Students have an opportunity to learn about the impact of black history and culture during the “Know Your History” mobile museum tour today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. They will also get to test their knowledge of black history on a “Black History Trivia Wheel.” The museum, which will be located between the University Center and the campus bookstore, is sponsored by Regions Bank and American Legacy, a black culture and history magazine. Featured in nine cities, it will feature exhibits of the Buffalo Soldiers and an American Airlines exhibit called “Black History in Aviation.” “Hopefully, this tour will bring awareness and understanding of the African-American struggle in the U.S.,” associate dean of multicultural affairs Lonnie Latham said.
— by Melissa Wray News Reporter
The cradle without a cry U of M professors discuss infant mortality in award-winning documentary BY Erica Horton News Reporter When Memphis’ infant mortality rate became the highest in the United States in 2005, University of Memphis professors Craig Leake and David Appleby decided to put a face behind the statistics. Their documentary “Beyond Babyland,” which won a regional Emmy last Saturday and will air tonight on WKNO2 at 9 p.m., explores povertystricken neighborhoods in Memphis and addresses social issues behind infant mortality. “I thought it was an incredibly pressing subject right here in our backyard,” Appleby said. “When you have something of national importance that you can study locally, it’s pretty hard not to address it. A three-year project, the hour-long documentary follows six pregnant women who live in neighborhoods with the highest infant mortality rates in the city. It also introduces some of Memphis’ doctors, nurses and volunteers who are addressing the situation. “What we try to do in the film is go beyond the idea that infant mortality is a medical problem,” Leake said.
“Infant mortality, the dying babies, are the end result of a whole series of complicated issues that arise long before a woman is pregnant. The medical result is the end result of growing up with no good, healthy family models — missing fathers, single mothers giving birth and youth who have never seen a healthy family.” Leake said he hopes people see the problem and understand it’s not hopeless but certainly complicated. He said since the January report that 90 girls at Frayser High School were pregnant or had give birth since last year in the Memphis City School system, he’s heard people say things like, “Why don’t these girls just stop (having sex) or use birth control?” “Well, who has the money? Who’s going to drive them to go get it?” he said. Appleby said he’s studied poverty in third-world countries all over the world. “When that same poverty is only a minute from where you live, it affects you differently,” he said. “We have thirdworld conditions in our own city.” According to a 2009 report by
see Infant, page 3
by Casey Hilder
The University of Memphis Student Government Association will host Basketball Homecoming 2011 next week, with events beginning Sunday, Feb. 6, and ending with a party in the University Center River Room Saturday night, Feb. 12. Homecoming court voting ends today at saweb.memphis.edu/sa_sga/elect. The weeklong festivities include a talent
courtesy of Craig Leake
Voting ongoing for basketball homecoming
U of M professors Craig Leake and David Appleby (above) were recently awarded a regional Emmy for their documentary “Beyond Babyland,” in which the top image appears. The program, which will air tonight at on WKNO2, is a follow-up to their 2008 documentary on infant mortality rates in Memphis.
2 • Friday, February 4, 2011
The
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TIGER BABBLE
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Helmsman
thoughts that give you paws
Volume 78 Number 074
Editor-in-Chief
Scott Carroll
“Homework — 1; sleeping — 0. #collegekidproblems” — @jcouscous
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1. He’s a Preauxx by Aaron Turner
2. Pastner, Tigers still learning to cope with losing
by John Martin
3. Tigers’ recruiting class among top in C-USA
by John Martin
4. Fear and unity
by Erica Horton
5. Thin Piggy: racing on the cheap
by Michelle Corbet
“Aramark gives $12 million in commissions to UM. Rephrased: Students overpay by $12 million.” — @Hamlin38103 “When someone rings the doorbell, why do dogs always assume it’s for them?” — @triciacharris “5-hour Energy commercial: The man took the shot and said, ‘That was fast and easy.’ I thought to myself, ‘That’s what he said.’” — @chlloway12 “‘That’s what she said’ jokes will never get old because sexual innuendos are always funny.” — @JayTMcK “Someone just farted in the UC!”
— @KnotbreaD
“As Socrates said, ‘He who smelt it, dealt it.’” — @dailyhelmsman
Tell us what gives you paws.
DOMINO’S PIZZA Across 1 In development, as software 5 Ancient meeting place 10 Bloke 14 School since 1440 15 Really enjoy 16 Symbolic ring 17 “Oklahoma!” prop? 19 Heavenly bodies 20 Subject of a 2009 national tournament cheating scandal 21 Time off spent with Rover? 23 Star car 25 Downsizing event? 26 Extend across 28 Fingers 31 Fumble (for) 34 Undercover operations where agents can bring guests? 37 Tampa NFLer 38 Jobs, idiomatically 39 Tesla, by birth 40 Sol lead-in 41 Creative output 42 Dance for louses? 44 “Beau __”: Gary Cooper film 46 Head of government? 47 Body shop figs. 48 Close connection 50 Water carrier 52 Taser switch? 56 Mickey’s “The Wrestler” co-star 60 “Young” reformer 61 Fancy shoes for the campaign trail? 63 “Young Frankenstein” lab assistant 64 Small thicket 65 Lollipop, for one 66 Cheers 67 Exhaust 68 A long, long time Down 1 “Summertime” singer 2 Caesarean rebuke 3 Warty hopper
550 S. HIGHLAND
No Waiting! 323-3030
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4 Luanda natives 5 Rock collection? 6 Needle-nosed fish 7 Numbered piece 8 Sign of age 9 Garden pest 10 Round jewelry item 11 Not easily topped 12 Jessica of “Sin City” 13 Bridal accessory 18 Scratching (out) 22 Butts 24 Deepwater Horizon, for one 26 Disconcerting look 27 Penguins’ home 29 Blackmore heiress 30 Took a sinuous path 32 Knitting stitches
33 Sci. concerned with biodiversity 34 Thick carpet 35 Behave 36 Co. that merged into Verizon 40 Clear as mud 42 Texting button 43 Newscast segment 45 Mighty Dump Trucks, e.g. 49 Saucers and such 51 Made lots of calls, in a way 52 Mix 53 Hip Charlie, in ads 54 At the peak of 55 “Kick, Push” rapper __ Fiasco 57 “As I see it,” online 58 Go a few rounds? 59 Slithery threats 62 Co. with a butterfly logo
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 6
The University of Memphis
Friday, February 4, 2011 • 3
Life
Gone, not forgotten: Infant mortality affects UM student BY Timberly Moore News Reporter On Thursday Jan. 27, 2011 at Germantown Methodist Hospital, University of Memphis junior Ketara Drake gave birth to a son, Cameron Antonio Gray. Fifty minutes after entering the world, Cameron died. “He came out crying and I saw his eye open,” she said. “It was the sweetest sound I ever heard.” Drake, a journalism major, flew to Houston, Texas, for emergency corrective prenatal surgery in December of 2010. In a story about pregnant college students published in The Daily Helmsman the same month, Drake said that all young women in the same situation
Infant
from page 1 the Shelby County Health Department’s Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team, 84.4 percent of infant deaths occurred with the children of African-American mothers in 2008. Twenty-four percent of infant
should expect the unexpected. When she arrived in Houston, doctors told Drake that nothing could be done to save her son’s life and it was likely he would be stillborn. She said Cameron suffered from posterior urethral valve blockage, which causes fluids that should be excreted from the body to be retained. A stint is normally inserted into the fetus to open the blocked area. Doctors couldn’t perform the operation on Drake’s child because she was too far along in her pregnancy. Antonio Parkinson, state representative and founder/executive director of abettermemphis. com, an organization focused on improving the Raleigh community in North Memphis, said that young women need help
with maternal skills. “There are so many inexperienced and young mothers who need guidance on the important points of raising children,” Parkinson said. Parkinson’s organization holds an annual baby shower for pregnant young women. During the baby shower, several speakers tell guests about the importance of pre and postnatal care and establishing a solid support system. Terris King, morning show host of Hot 107.1’s ‘Hot Wake Up Show,’ was one of the speakers at this year’s shower. She said there are plenty of free programs around Memphis in which young mothers-to-be should participate. “Its extremely important to get prenatal care,” King, known
as T.K. on the radio, said. She said there are always chances for things to go wrong if you don’t take care of yourself. Her son was born prematurely, weighing one pound and 15 ounces, and was later diagnosed with autism. “I was getting all of my prenatal care, but he was born when I was 6 months pregnant. I was a little too active, so my next pregnancy I took it easy,” she said. “When you are pregnant, everything you do affects that baby.” She said she does not discourage exercise, just cautions pregnant women not to overdo it. Drake said that prenatal vitamins were not part of her daily routine, but does not think it affected the health of
her deceased son. If she has another child, she plans to take vitamins and continue visiting her doctor regularly, Drake said. She said the support given to her from family, friends, and the father of her child, fellow University of Memphis student Charles Gray, helped her make it through her experience. “I have the best baby’s father in the world,” said Drake. She said that she no longer blames herself for her son’s death. “At first I did, but I exercised every avenue I had as far as going to the doctor and traveling to Texas,” she said. “Some women don’t find out they are pregnant until their fourth or fifth month and deliver perfectly healthy babies.”
deaths occurred with women under 20 years old, 63 percent occurred with women between 20 and 34, and 13 percent were from women over 35 years old, the report said. Lynda Sagrestano, director for the Center for Research on Women, said people should know that infant mortality is preventable. “There are lots of things that
we could be doing,” she said. “Most deal with pre-conception health. Long before you think you’re going to have a baby, you should prepare your body to be at its optimal place to have a baby.” She said the main cause of infant death in Memphis is premature birth. She also stressed that every woman of childbearing age,
which can be as young as 8 years old, should take their vitamins, specifically folic acid, whether they plan to get pregnant or not. “These are things you can do now,” she said. “Whether you plan to get pregnant or not, you have the best chance of optimizing your outcome.” Appleby said Memphians need to understand that there are mul-
tiple cultures that coincide in the city. “We’re all one city, but were not all the same, and we don’t all have the same opportunities,” he said. “There needs to be an appreciation of the challenge it is to be poor in America. We all say it, and we all know it exists, but we ought to spend time with people who don’t have the same story as us.”
I am a senior and Art major with a concentration in Graphic Design. TNOBC is the place to be for U of M students because of its location and the church’s involvement with the area and with the youth. TNOBC supports education.
~ Matthew Hamer
The New Olivet Baptist Church 3084 Southern Avenue Memphis, TN 38111 901-454-7777 www.olivetbc.com Call us for a ride from campus! (and its adjacent areas)
TONIGHT
Friday Film Series “Coming to America”
7 p.m. • UC Theatre
Coming Up
Tomorrow, 2/5 Tiger Basketball Watch Party 2:45 p.m. UC Union
4 • Friday, February 4, 2011
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Student Activities
Mock trial team advances to national finals for second year BY cHriS SHaW News Reporter When Melanie Murry, staff attorney at The University of Memphis’ Cecil B. Humphreys School of Law, held tryouts for the school’s mock trial team, she was looking for students who were able to adapt to certain situations and step up to a challenge. “I needed people who could think on their feet,” she said. “A lot of times I would ask students to take the opposite side of an argument they had prepared for. For example if they were expecting to be prosecutor, I would make them defend.” For the second consecutive year, Murry has gotten what she’s needed. The U of M mock trial team advanced to the national finals
of the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition, just as it did last year. In a mock trial, teams conduct a simulated trial based on a set problem. Students must be prepared to argue for the prosecution or the defense. The team qualified for national finals after winning second place at the National Black Law Students Association regional mock trial tournament in RaleighDurham, N.C. The top three teams at the regional competition were Ole Miss, Memphis and Faulkner University, in that order. The national finals will be held in Houston on March 9-13. Second-year law student and mock trial team member Angela Harris said Murry’s tactics on tryout day threw
her off, but they helped later in the competition. Harris, the youngest member on the team, was also the only team member who didn’t have any experience before this year. “I was the new kid on the block, and it was hard,” Harris said. “I asked a lot of questions. I’m sure I got on (my teammates’) nerves with all my texts and e-mails, but it was almost like I taught myself three or four classes over Christmas break.” The other three members of the team are veterans in the mock and moot trial world. Third-year law student Chandra Madison made it to the national finals of the Thurgood Marshall tournament last year after placing second individually in the regional competition. Thirdyear law students Lachina
Algers and Joseph McKinney placed second at the National Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition last year. Murry felt that experience wasn’t enough to get the team to the national competition, she said, so the students practiced over the entirety of winter break, sometimes for four hours at a time. Algers said that such a tough practice schedule was difficult on her life away from school. “Practicing that much was difficult,” Algers said. “I have a 5-year-old daughter and two jobs, but I told Melanie I wouldn’t have tried out if I didn’t think I could do it.” Despite the experienced team members and the rigorous practices that Murry held, the team still faced strong adversity early in the
regional challenge when one judge threw out one of the counts the prosecuting team had found. “We had found the person in our mock trial guilty on three different counts, but right when we started, a judge threw one of them out, which made our case even harder,” Harris said. The judge later explained that the team was right in charging the individual with three counts, but he wanted to see how the team would think on its feet. After so much practice and preparation, Algers said the only thing left to do is win. “Every team that Melanie has wins something,” Algers said. “It’s not just about the competition — this is a great learning experience, but I will say that I hate to lose.”
The Giffen Economics Club invites you to view
Capitalism: A Love Story Michael Moore’s documentary film that examines the impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans.
Monday, Feb. 7 @ 3:30 p.m. Fogelman Classroom Bldg. Rm 119 Discussion Following Free & Open to all Students, Faculty & Staff
The University of Memphis
Friday, February 4, 2011 • 5
Academics
GRE overhaul makes exam longer, tougher BY KYlE lacroiX News Reporter For University of Memphis undergraduates hoping to continue their studies at the graduate level, the road to acceptance will soon be more difficult. Starting this August, students applying for graduate schools will face a revised Graduate Record Examination, the standard test required by many graduate programs in the United States. The new GRE will be longer, harder and more complex than the current version and will use a new scoring system, said Lee Weiss, director of graduate programs for Kaplan Inc., a company that makes test preparation books and programs. “These are the biggest changes in the history of the GRE,” said Weiss, who also leads GRE preparation classes for Kaplan. The current GRE is divided into three sections: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing. Currently, verbal and quantitative reasoning are worth 200-800 points each. The new system will use the same sections, but they will be worth 130-170 points each. Test takers are graded on a scale of zero to six for the analytical writing section. That portion of the test will remain the same. The new test will also be an hour longer, increasing the exam’s duration to approximately four hours. “The new test is more like the (Graduate Management Admission Test), which is the test for business schools,” Weiss said. “They’re trying to go after that
romantics featured in faculty recital BY tiMBErlY MoorE News Reporter University of Memphis assistant music professor Kevin Richmond and his wife, part-time instructor Sandra Ramawy, are inviting students to explore the sounds of nostalgia with them. Richmond and Ramawy, both pianists, will hold a recital Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Harris Concert Hall, “An Evening of Brahms and Nostalgia.” The two have been playing piano for more than 70 years combined. The event is free and open to the public. Richmond will perform compositions by Johannes Brahms, a romantic composer from the second half of the 19th century, and Ramawy will play nostalgic pieces from several 20th-century composers. “I chose Brahms because Brahms functions as a wonderful commentary to the nostalgic pieces,” Richmond said. He suggests that students come to “expose themselves to live music in a genre that they are perhaps not familiar with.”
market. More than 400 schools accept the GMAT or the GRE, and they’re trying to make that number higher. They’re making it with more higher-level reasoning questions because of that.” Business graduate programs at The University of Memphis accept either the GRE or the GMAT. The way the test itself works will change as well. Now it will allow you to skip questions to come back to them later, change already entered answers and use an onscreen calculator. “Right now, the computer works so that every time you get a question right, it’s harder,” Weiss said. “The new one is a multistage test. After a section of, say, 20 math questions, if you did really well, you get 20 harder ones, allowing you to improve your grade further.” Harder questions are worth
more points than easier ones on the GRE. “There are a lot of advantages to taking the older test,” Weiss said. “It’s easier, more predictable — and you get your results fast enough for fall deadlines.” Students who take the new test, he said, will not receive their scores until November, so those looking to attend graduate school in the fall should take the exam before the August switchover. According to the website of Educational Testing Services, the creators of the GRE, the delay is required to provide “necessary statistical analysis” of the new test. Lemmie Griggs, graduate admissions counselor at The U of M, said he was not aware of the coming changes to the GRE. “They only mentioned it for a sentence in this,” he said, gestur-
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ing to a GRE pamphlet designed for the 2010-2011 school year. “They didn’t mention the November delay, but I suppose they wouldn’t want to either.” He said he doesn’t believe the delayed scores will affect a lot of students. “Many students take the tests before that time, but those who wait might have to wait until the spring,” Griggs said. “Some departments only accept applications in the fall, so they might have to wait a year.” Brennan Somers, U of M senior, recently took the GRE and said he doesn’t think a GRE score is the most important thing on a graduate school application. “I scored a 1000, which wasn’t bad but wasn’t necessarily the best,” he said. “My resume and body of work really helped me out, though. I’m a journalism
major, so the advanced math and some other subjects didn’t apply to what I was going to do.” Some University of Memphis departments post the average GRE scores of students enrolled in graduate studies on their websites. The average scores currently listed are primarily around 1000, and some departments list 900 as the minimum GRE score required for acceptance into the program. Somers said he thinks a longer, more difficult test won’t encourage students to go to graduate school. “I think this will deter people away even more,” he said. “It’s already a difficult test — making it longer and harder will drive people away from graduate school, and most of these schools don’t exactly have a lot of kids signing up for them right now.”
Coming to America Rated R
TONIGHT 7 p.m. • UC Theatre
6 • Friday, February 4, 2011
mold
from page 1 ing to Arnold, who told him a fence residents were building was a breach of their lease. “I think that other situations in the house which make them unlivable, such as the mold in the bathrooms, would be a breach of the housing agreement and something that needs a solution,” Jasper said. In the e-mail, he also told Physical Plant there was mold on his bedroom’s air vent, which he replaced at his cost. “To look up while taking a shower and see mold (and I’m pretty sure no mold is good mold, except cheese) is something that I feel needs to be fixed,” he said in the e-mail. Arnold said Physical Plant inspected the house when The University acquired it in May 2008. Lambda Chi fraternity members lived there before the house was University-owned and did not have to leave the house for the inspection. “Based on the inspection by the Physical Plant, it appears that the mold issue reported to our office on Dec. 21, 2010, is a recent problem,” Arnold said Thursday. “All tenants were mailed a letter in August 2010 advising them to notify our office if they suspected mold on their walls or ceilings.” Environmental Hygienist John Parker of Mold Inc., a mold testing and removal company in
www.dailyhelmsman.com
Memphis, said the growth was cause for concern. “If you’ve got black mold, that’s always bad,” he said. When Parker looked at photos of the mold from the fraternity house, he said his first thought was that “these photos look scary.” He said he would need to test the mold to find out the type and severity. From looking at photos of the mold, he said it may be in the Stachybotrys family, which contains a species commonly known as “black mold” that causes poor indoor air quality and could be fatal to those overexposed to it. The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s website says any mold has the potential to cause health problems, and the severity of symptoms depends partly on the type of mold and ages of individuals exposed. It lists several possible health effects, including allergic reactions, asthma, infection and irritation. Recently elected Student Government Association senator Matt Uselton, also a senior finance major and member of Lambda Chi, doesn’t live in the house but said he has seen the mold. Though he knows dealing with older homes can be difficult, he said the mold problem has been an issue for a long time. “I would like to see work being done a little faster than it is going now,” he said. “I don’t believe any type of mold is sanitary, and as long as rent is being paid, we are legal tenants of The University of Memphis and their rental prop-
erties. Just as any landlord or maintenance crew would do in any other rental property, I would hope (the mold) would be fixed within a matter of days from the initial report.” Arnold said that fraternity housing is inspected quarterly. During inspections, heating and air conditioning systems, smoke detectors and sprinkler systems were inspected, she said. Residents of Zeta Beta Tau’s fraternity house at 3604 Midland Ave. complained to Physical Plant about property issues as well. ZBT President Hunter Lang e-mailed Arnold the morning of Jan. 16 after moving in the previous night. In the e-mail, he said that when he opened his bathroom door after letting the water run for a few minutes, “a sea of water” leaked out of the walls, ruining two new rugs, which he had to throw away. “On top of that, my shower still backed up,” he said in the e-mail. “This is a PROBLEM, and I am not very happy. I was under the impression that all of these things had been checked before we moved in. Obviously I was wrong.” Lang said Arnold called him at 8 a.m. that morning and sent workers over to fix the problem. “During our routine maintenance inspection repair, we replaced the toilet and repaired a faucet leak,” Arnold told The Daily Helmsman in an e-mail. “The issue in the guesthouse (where Lang lives) was not a leak but a stopped-up sewer line. A sewer
line stoppage is hard to identify on a routine inspection. It usually takes repeated usage of the bathroom before the problem presents itself.” In addition to the plumbing issue, Lang said he doesn’t approve of the on/off lock on the water supply valve of the indoor sprinkler system. “If another fraternity wanted to play a prank on us, they could just come over and hold up a lighter to them (the sprinklers), and we couldn’t cut them off,” Lang said. He added, “the plumber said, ‘This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.’” Arnold said the device was installed to meet state fire marshal codes. “The lock is a safety feature to prevent someone from turning the system off,” she said. Tom Battle, facility construction specialist at the State Fire Marshal’s Office, said the code demands the water supply valve remain permanently turned on but doesn’t regulate the means of doing so. “The code requires supervision so you don’t have a closed valve,” he said. “As long as it is locked open, then that is good.” Zach Namias, previous ZBT president and U of M graduate, said that installation of the sprinkler system delayed move-in to the ZBT house by more than three years. Lang said Physical Plant told him it was against codes for four or more unrelated people to live there without a sprinkler system.
Residents of ZBT pay an extra $292 per month on their $34,583 sprinkler system. Residents in Lambda Chi’s 3609 Watauga property pay an extra $221 on their $26,210 system and an extra $206 per month on the 3605 Watauga property’s $24,366 system. They all pay at an interest rate of 6 percent over 15 years. From February to June 2010, while the house wasn’t equipped with the system, the athletic program rented the current ZBT house for newly hired football coaches, according to Arnold’s e-mail. She didn’t specify how many.
Solutions
The University of Memphis
Friday, February 4, 2011 • 7
Performing Arts
Attention All StudentS Re: Parking Citation appeals The Student Government Court will review parking citation appeals
by Casey Hilder
Every Wednesday, from 4 to 5 p.m. in University Center, Room 359
Junior home furnishing merchandise major Raven Mattison rehearses for The University of Memphis’ Black Student Association’s rendition of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.” The play will be shown Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the UC Theatre.
SGA
from page 1 Godwin said one of the party’s goals is to increase students’ knowledge of what SGA does and is doing. Dewitt said he wants to increase ethics among SGA members. “I’m looking forward to an exciting challenge and restoring accountability and integrity within the Student Government Association,” he said. Also at Thursday’s meeting, SGA members elected senior finance major Matt Uselton as a senator at large and Aaron Robinson, health care administration and organizational leadership senior, to take over as senator of the University College. The previous University College senator, Gian Gozum, is studying abroad this semester and resigned from SGA to make travel possible.
Let us know what you think about your student government. Tag your tweets with #tigerbabble.
For more information on appealing citations, go to http://saweb.memphis.edu/judicialaffairs/ (click Parking Citation Appeal) or http://bf.memphis.edu/parking/tigerpark_info.php
8 • Friday, February 4, 2011
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World
Egypt’s VP offers concessions as battles spill out of Cairo square
MCT
BY Laura King, Timothy Phelps and Ned Parker Los Angeles Times
Fighting and clashes continued for a second day around Tahrir Square on Thursday between Mubarak supporters and detractors. Anti-Mubarak protesters carry a wounded man from the front lines to a make shift medical clinic nearby.
As volleys of gunfire echoed through the heart of Egypt’s capital, senior government officials on Thursday offered a flurry of political concessions, seeking to placate protesters on the eve of a potentially explosive new confrontation between supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak. Street battles raged for hours near the banks of the Nile River, with anti-Mubarak demonstrators spilling out of their stronghold of nearby Tahrir Square and pushing back pro-Mubarak elements who had attacked the plaza a day earlier. The army moved decisively for the first time to separate the rival camps, but its efforts were often ineffectual. Fierce fighting spilled into
surrounding streets. Amid an accelerating breakdown of law and order across the city, protesters described Friday, the main prayer day of the Muslim week, as the deadline for the embattled president to step aside. Mubarak has refused to do so, though he has said he will not seek re-election in September. But protest leaders insist he must go now. Speaking on state television, Mubarak’s newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, appeared to reach out to the protesters, thanking them for initiating a push for reform and reiterating an offer to negotiate with the Muslim Brotherhood, a driving force behind the protest movement. Suleiman also said Mubarak’s son, Gamal, whom many expected the president to try to install as his heir, would not contest the elections either. And in an unusual move,
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Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq publicly apologized for Wednesday’s violence, saying its instigators would be punished. “This issue will not be forgotten, will not go away just like that,” said Shafiq. The government has denied involvement in Wednesday’s seemingly well-coordinated onslaught by pro-Mubarak partisans against protesters camped in the square. Leaders of the protest contend that the attacking force included plainclothes police, common criminals and paid thugs. Signaling a widening campaign of intimidation, suspected proMubarak elements on Thursday targeted foreign journalists, roughing up some reporters while dozens of others were detained by authorities. That crackdown followed assertions by state-run television that the foreign press has been unduly sympathetic to the protest movement. Foreign tourists and residents continued to flee in the thousands, braving a gantlet of vigilante checkpoints to get to the international airport. Unlike the generally friendly neighborhood patrols that appeared earlier this week, some of the new checkpoints were manned by angry young men who swarmed around cars they considered suspicious. At one such checkpoint, men in civilian clothes forced three foreigners out of their car and searched their bags and the car trunk. They demanded to inspect passports and searched for cameras. “Foreigners have been stirring up a lot of trouble here,” said a uniformed police officer who was supervising the young men at one downtown checkpoint. Thursday’s street battles were smaller in scope than those a day earlier, but were nonetheless fierce — and frightening for those caught up in the clashes. The army had attempted to keep the two sides apart, planting tanks and soldiers in the no-man’s land between enemy lines. But the protesters’ shift out of Tahrir Square onto open ground near the Nile greatly complicated the military’s task. Bound by the army’s pledge not to fire on protesters, soldiers trying to keep order were at times reduced to trying to wave combatants away. Pro-Mubarak forces roamed freely in many neighborhoods, particularly the downtown business district. Groups of men armed with sticks and cudgels were seen confiscating food and water apparently meant for the square’s defenders. Protest organizers, in turn, said they had detained dozens of pro-Mubarak attackers who infiltrated the square, turning a travel agency in the square into a temporary holding center. But rough justice was sometimes dispensed on the spot for suspected provocateurs. “No, no, I’m one of you!” a panicked man cried out in protest as he was seized by a crowd of anti-government demonstrators, who set upon him with fists and sticks. Protesters set up a small
see
Cairo, page 9
The University of Memphis
Friday, February 4, 2011 • 9
World
Tens of thousands stage rival rallies in Yemen BY noaH BroWninG and Borzou daraGaHi Los Angeles Times
Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his supporters sought to upstage a “day of rage” against his rule Thursday by holding a large simultaneous counterdemonstration across town. The two rallies drew tens of thousands and unfolded largely peacefully, but highlighted the political unrest sparked by the overthrow of longtime Tunisian ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali last month and the ongoing popular uprising against the 30-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. The Tunisian and Egyptian upheavals have fueled people’s demands for political change across the Arab world. There have been calls for anti-
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from page 8 exhibition of what they said were police IDs seized from some of those who attacked the square. In incongruous scenes, some protesters in the square prostrated themselves in prayer while a hail of rocks fell nearby. On the plaza’s fringes, men smashed railings to make metal clubs. Some of the combatants donned motorcycle or bicycle helmets to protect their heads from stones. In the late afternoon, pops of gunfire rang out, followed by a barrage of machine-gun fire. Most men stood their ground as the two sides battled over a highway overpass that served as high ground for the pro-Mubarak forces to stage attacks. But others retreated, unnerved by the crackle of bullets. Organizers banged metal pipes and fences as a call to arms, and dozens rushed forward with bags of rocks and metal shields. Some flung firebombs toward the pro-Mubarak forces. A group rushed by carrying a body bleeding from the leg. “It’s a gunshot wound,” they shouted as they scrambled through the debris to an outdoor triage center. The outbreak of fratricidal rage dismayed some. “I am angry because Egyptians are fighting Egyptians,” said one man with the thick beard of an observant Muslim. “For what? For nothing.” As night fell, more security checkpoints sprang up on the edges of the square. Young men brandished wooden clubs. And for another night, protesters laid down cardboard on which to sleep.
government protests Thursday in Sudan, Friday in Jordan and Saturday in Syria. On Wednesday, Saleh vowed not to run for another term in 2013 and said he wasn’t positioning his son as his successor. He also vowed to begin broad talks aimed at reform with the opposition, which has reacted skeptically. The pro-government rally, which appeared to have been set up hastily the night before, received official logistical support. Soldiers guarding the demonstration route from Sanaa’s old city to its Tahrir Square mingled amicably with the thousands holding portraits of Saleh. Huge tents and loudspeakers lined the way. “With our souls, with our blood we will sacrifice for you, oh Ali,” they chanted, in support of Saleh. The opposition, led by a
coalition of well-organized and vocal political parties and organizations, had originally hoped to stage a rally along the same route as the progovernment rally. Instead, it held its rally in the university district in western part of the capital. A large cordon of anti-government activists formed a human chain to guard against possible progovernment infiltrators. They held banners urging Saleh to “Go! Go! Go!” They held portraits of Mohammed Bouazizi, the 26-year-old Tunisian produce vendor who set himself on fire Dec. 17 after being humiliated by authorities. That act of protest and desperation sparked the Tunisian revolution that toppled Ben Ali and captivated the Arab world. Protesters in Sanaa described Saleh’s promises of reform as
“business as usual.” Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest nation, faces an insurgency by rebels who call themselves Houthis in the north, a separatist movement in the south and an al-Qaida threat. Saleh is considered a close ally of the West in combating extremist Islam in the Arabian Peninsula and piracy in the adjacent Gulf of Aden. The Obama administration and the European Union have praised his pledges to reform. But protesters blamed him for most of the country’s troubles. “All that happens in the south, all that happens with the Houthis in the north, the president is behind it,” said Ali Hamdi, 22, a student who was among the anti-government protesters. “In order for these conflicts to stop, the president must go.”
10 • Friday, February 4, 2011
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Q&A R.C. with
BY JoHn Martin Sports Editor
Athletic director R.C. Johnson, in his 16th year in the position, addressed on Thursday the possibility of The U of M’s joining a Bowl Championship Series conference. Johnson also spoke about the future of Tiger football under coach Larry Porter.
On Thursday, The Daily Helmsman sat down with University of Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson to discuss criticisms surrounding the athletic department and the future of U of M athletics. DH: In your approximation, would a BCS conference
affiliation improve interest and attendance? R.C. Johnson: “I think there’s probably something to that, but again, there are BCS schools that are having the same issues that we are. So it’s not just that. And even if you’re in a BCS conference, if we were playing Rutgers, I don’t think that would mean a whole lot to the fans.” DH: At least from a basketball standpoint, do you think it would be better to remain in Conference USA for the foreseeable future? Johnson: “All things being equal, it would be. But the money — and I hate to be so blatant, but it’s true — in a BCS conference is so much different. And you can’t ignore that.” DH: How do you feel about the promotion of the football program under Larry Porter? Johnson: “I think what Larry’s done in recruiting has been the greatest thing for us. I think he hit a home run. We’ll find out in a few years, but I think on the surface it’s a home run. I think we’re on the right track to get this thing going.” DH: There’s a vocal contingent in the city that has called for you and President Shirley Raines’ resignations on several occasions. Why do you think people are so critical of University of Memphis leadership? Johnson: “I think we’ve done the things we’re supposed to do. The President certainly has. She has been very supportive. We’re doing better academically than we’ve ever done. We’re raising more money than we ever raised in the history of the school. We’ve built more buildings and facilities than we’ve ever had here before. I think we’ve got a great group of coaches here. I think part of it is — I’m starting my 16th year here — eventually there are some people that aren’t happy with what you want to do. But I try to look at the big picture and I think we’re on the right track. The President has been terrific and we’ve got a great booster club going. But you’ll always have those people that aren’t happy with what you’re doing.” DH: How would you evaluate your 16-year tenure at The U of M? Johnson: “I think the things that you and I just talked about, those are factual growth things that have happened. People just can’t ignore that. It’s not all me, but I think we’ve just come a long, long way. There are a lot of good things out there.”
The University of Memphis
Friday, February 4, 2011 • 11
Basketball BY JoHn Martin Sports Editor
At times — usually the most critical ones — The University of Memphis men’s basketball team can look lost. Confused. Disoriented. Late in close games, the Tigers almost appear clueless. When they fall behind late in the latter part of games, instead of pulling together and digging themselves out of holes as a team, they panic. In each of its losses this season, The U of M has been plagued by virtually the same issues, like turnovers and a lack of rebounding. The issue isn’t that there are new problems arising, it’s that the same ones keep resurfacing. Just when they look like they’ve turned the corner, the Tigers (16-6, 5-3 Conference USA) lose a game they’re supposed to win. The discrepancy exists, U of M coach Josh Pastner said, because of something that doesn’t: true senior leadership. “Sometimes, when you’re trying to handle success, you’d like to be able to go to your upperclassmen, your seniors,” Pastner said. “It’s part of the maturing and growing process of just understanding that whether (or not) you win four in a row, you can’t have any letup. It’s valuing every possession, offensively and defensively.” The Tigers have only one senior, forward Will Coleman, on their current roster. Though Coleman is a senior academically, he’s only played NCAA Division I basketball for two years as he attended MiamiDade junior college before coming to The U of M. Not only do the Tigers lack true senior leadership, they’re low on upperclassmen, as well. Junior forward Wesley Witherspoon has not played since the Jan. 12 loss to Southern Methodist University, 64-58, due to a two-game suspension and knee soreness. Junior guard Charles Carmouche, who transferred from the University of New Orleans, missed several games earlier this season due to flulike symptoms and did not play in Wednesday’s game against Tulsa after he collided with freshman guard Will Barton in practice on Monday. Wednesday’s game against Tulsa, which the Tigers lost, 68-65, was the first time this
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season that Pastner started four freshmen. “You can’t put enough value on having some older guys that have been around the program and your system, (who know) your standards and what you want,” Pastner said. “I just think you can’t put a premium on that.” Last season, his first as head coach, Pastner wasn’t left with a world-beating roster. He did, however, inherit the luxury of having two seniors, guards Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp, who had contributed to deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. The only player on the current roster who has played in an NCAA tournament game is Witherspoon. “Last year was a transition, now this one’s a building (year). We’ve got to build, to lay the foundation, lay the cement, lay the concrete,” Pastner said. “You can’t just put a roof and have a bunch of sand. I want to have something that’s sustained at an elite level for a long, long, long time. And it takes steps to get there.” In Wednesday’s 68-65 loss against Tulsa at FedExForum — only the Tigers’ second C-USA loss at home since 2006 — freshman guards Will Barton and Chris Crawford took and missed unnecessarily tough shots that ultimately paved the way for the Golden Hurricane
AP
lack of leadership haunting young tigers
Unlike last season, University of Memphis coach Josh Pastner doesn’t enjoy the luxury of having multiple seniors on his roster. The Tigers have only one senior, forward Will Coleman, and the lack of experience on the roster is sometimes glaring. to snatch a victory. With 30 seconds left in the game and The U of M down by three, Crawford was instructed to go for a quick 2-pointer. Instead, he launched and missed a difficult 3-pointer. Without a calming senior voice on the floor, as Coleman had fouled out with 1:19 in the game, the young Tigers were forced to close the game
C
out themselves. The result was a loss to an underachieving Tulsa squad. Despite the Tigers’ current two-game losing streak, freshman forward Tarik Black said it’s not senior leadership the Tigers are missing but a true
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understanding of hard work. “Guys just haven’t figured out what it means to work hard in college. None of us have,” he said. “We’re learning how to work hard in each and every play, and we don’t understand that yet.”
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Sunday, Feb. 6
Game Day sponsored by SGA’s Freshmen Senate (Stroll-Off)
UC Ballroom 2 - 4 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 7
U of M’s Got Talent Competition and Talent Show
Michael D. Rose Theatre 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 8
Memphis Trivia Night
UC River Room 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 9
IFC’s Womanless Beauty Pageant
UC Theatre 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 10
Homecoming Pep Rally and Tiger Spirit Dress-Up Competition UC Atrium noon - 1 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 11
Canned Food Drive — Support Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA)
Saturday, Feb. 12
Men’s Basketball Game vs. Southern Mississippi Tiger After-Party
SGA Office 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. FedExForum 5 p.m. UC River Room 10 p.m. - midnight
Homecoming from page 1
competition, a trivia night hosted by last year’s king and queen, a pep rally and a school spirit wardrobe competition. “I think school spirit is what our team needs to give them an extra lift right now,” 2010 homecoming king Greg Vann said. “I hope everyone takes advantage of all of the great, exciting events this week, especially the trivia night that me and Joya Smith will be hosting.” Homecoming festivities conclude a week from Saturday with a men’s basketball game against Southern Mississippi at FedExForum at 5 p.m. and the “Tiger After-Party” in the UC River Room from 10 p.m. to midnight. SGA president Hunter Lang said this year’s homecoming could be “the best yet.”
$1 million gift will help fund entrepreneurial center at UM BY Jasmine Vann News Reporter Thanks to a $1 million gift from Hilliard and Harriet Crews, The University of Memphis plans to open a new center geared toward supporting student and faculty entrepreneurs on campus by 2012. The Crews Ventures Lab, named after the benefactors, is a business start-up facilitator and incubator for student and faculty looking to start their own businesses. Hilliard Crews, a former Frayser High graduate and U of M alumnus, has donated half of the $2 million needed to fund the center, which will be located at the former Masonic Lodge at Walker Avenue and Patterson Street. An entrepreneur himself, Crews founded the Memphis Glove Company, Crews Venture Glasses, River City Rainwear and Shelby Specialty Gloves. A venture capital investor for more than 10 years, he was inducted into the Society of Entrepreneurs in 2007. “The CVL is intended as an entrepreneurial resource for faculty and students,” said Doug Hurley, U of M vice president of information technology. The new center will provide a space for students and faculty to develop new ideas, build teams and talk to advisers about patents and other ways to further their ventures. To ensure new businesses that start up are working toward their independence, entrepreneurs are expected to raise their own funds as well as work toward early success and moving into other spaces. “We will help clients think through what they have and what they want to do,” said Kevin Boggs, U of M director of technical transfer and residential development. Other resources that will be available to students at CVL include advisers, exposure to investors, mentors, financial experts and legal consultants. “We want assertive, confident people to realize that to be an entrepreneur, you don’t have to go at it alone,” Boggs said. “We can support you.” “It’s an exciting addition and great value for The University,” Hurley said.