The Daily Helmsman by The Daily Helmsman

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The

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Students Weigh In On Seats UM students respond to concerns about student seating at Tigers’ home games

Vol. 78 No. 084

see pages 2, 5, 12

Finding a needle in a praystack Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis

BY TIMBERLY MOORE News Reporter

graduates and current students alike, who said they have dedicated their lives to spreading the word of Jesus Christ and influencing U of M students in a positive way. Fridays from 1 to 2 p.m., the group gathers with students in the University Center ’s Memphis Room for the “Haystack,” an hour of testimony, prayer and worship. The meetings are open to U of M students of all faiths. The name of the event comes from Williams College in Massachusetts, where in 1806, students praying in a field were forced to seek shelter beneath a haystack when a storm began. The students became known as the “haystack five,” with that night’s prayer ultimately called the “haystack prayer.” Like Putra, Josiah Lawrence, director of Campus Outreach, was not always involved with Christianity. The Arkansas

after the assistant coach of The U of M tennis team, of which Putra was a member, shared the religion with him. Despite the objections of his father — who Putra said told him to “pray that God would take my life before (he could)” if he converted — Putra became a practicing Christian after his fifth visit to Campus Outreach. Putra’s mother converted to Christianity two months later. Though half of a year passed before he and his father spoke about his conversion, Putra said their relationship is fine now. Putra is among other Campus Outreach members,

For some University of Memphis students and alumni, college has had a deeper effect than grade point average, social life or professional inclination — it shapes their faith. “When we came here, my father warned me about changing religions. But after I was introduced to Christianity, I didn’t care,” said Tezar Putra, former Muslim and 2008 U of M alumna. Putra, a staffer for U of M Christian organization Campus Outreach, converted to Christianity in 2007

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MPD investigating robbery near campus Woman’s purse and credit cards stolen at gunpoint on Highland BY CHELSEA BOOZER News Reporter A woman walking down Highland Avenue near campus was robbed at gunpoint early in the morning Jan. 31. Whether the victim is a student at The University of Memphis is unknown, according to Alyssa MaconMoore, spokeswoman for the Memphis Police Department. The victim told police that two black men in a white SUV approached her shortly after 2 a.m. as she approached the corner of Highland and Walker. One of the men got out of the vehicle and demanded she give him her purse. When she refused, the suspect pulled out a black handgun and threatened to shoot her if she didn’t cooperate, police said. The victim handed over her Coach purse with $600 and her debit card inside. The suspect then got back into the vehicle with his accomplice, who never exited the SUV, and headed south on Highland, Macon-Moore said. Roughly two and a half hours later, at 4:38 a.m., a man and a “possibly pregnant” woman attempted to purchase a television at the Walmart at 5255 Elvis Presley using the victim’s stolen credit card. The suspects, caught on tape by a store surveillance camera, were described as a 25- to 30-year-old black man, about 6-foot-1 and wearing a black jacket, and a black woman, with a light complexion and dressed in all black, who may be pregnant. The case is under investigation, Macon-Moore said.

see

Prayer, page 3

Gov. Haslam rolls out HOPEful summer scholarship legislation and that’s what Tennessee wants.” Currently, students meeting the lottery scholarship’s criteria receive the reward until they earn their degree or for five years after their initial enrollment at post-secondary institutions, whichever comes first. The renewal criteria would not change under this bill, Phelps said. The current base Hope scholarship

directed by Haslam’s government office to draft the legislation last week, and he thinks the proposal has a strong chance of passing. University of Memphis students “The administration is behind it,” hoping to graduate early can now Phelps said. “Obviously, Governor turn to HOPE. Haslam has taken his stance, and I New legislation presented by believe most higher education (orgaTennessee Governor Bill Haslam nizations) are behind it.” would allow students to use their Phelps said he does not know HOPE scholarships for summer when the bill will be courses. looked at or when it “Our lottery scholwill be discussed. arships have retained ur lottery scholarships “If students and the best and brightest have retained the best and parents feel strongly students in our state,” Haslam said in a state- brightest students in our state.” enough about using the HOPE for summer ment with his proposed school, then contactlegislative agenda, — Bill Haslam ing their legislators to rolled out last week. Tennessee Governor express support for The package focuses on educating Tennessee’s workforce, allows students $4,000 per semester, that piece of legislation is something identifying the state’s best teachers but Phelps envisions allowing an they are entitled to do,” he said. Ashley Olberding, junior jourand revising the civil justice system. additional $2,000 for the summer Tim Phelps, associate executive semester. Any supplements students nalism major, said she receives the HOPE scholarship, and though she director of grants and scholarships receive would remain the same. If students were to decide not to doesn’t take summer classes, she at the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, said the proposal attend summer classes, they would understands why it would be benwould likely increase the number receive only $2,000 for both the fall eficial to some students. “I’m already graduating early,” of students who attend summer and spring semesters. “There are bills out there that are she said. “But for students who want classes. “You may have students who proposing to change the initial eligi- to graduate early, I could see it (as) didn’t take summer courses because bility criteria, to change the renewal being helpful.” If the proposal were to pass, she the HOPE was not available to them,” criteria, but really I believe it will he said. “With the HOPE available to stay the same,” he said. Phelps said he and his team were them, they would graduate sooner, see ope, page 3

BY CHRIS DANIELS News Reporter

“O

2 • Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The

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Daily

Letters to the Editor

Helmsman Volume 78 Number 084

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

Regarding the Feb. 22 article “Dearth of devotion,” I feel that both sides to the story have their valid points. However, I believe that it is ultimately The University and the FedExForum’s staff that hurt the attendance. First, The University has this assigned seating policy that is put into place. This frustrates students because if they don’t arrive at the same time as their friends do to the game, then they will have absolutely no chance of sitting by them. Now, I’m not saying this policy shouldn’t be used at huge games like UT and others, but come on for SMU. Also, there was a comment in the paper about the Cameron Crazies. This will never happen here because I cannot tell you the number of times, while cheering in the student section, that I have had a FedExForum employee come tell me to sit down. How can students get pumped up for their team if you have them stay seated the whole time? Students can get a better experience of the game from their own homes because they will actually be allowed to show some emotion and be able to watch it with their friends. Until these issues can be fixed or we get into a BCS conference, I just don’t see student attendance rising except for the big games. — Joshua Asplund Senior accounting major

From our wire services

I am a recent graduate of The U of M. During my last two and half years as a student, I attended almost every home game. All of those (mostly) great memories were spent in the student section. This season, I attended a Tiger game on a guest ticket with a friend who is still a student. Two things stuck out to me. First, the Blue Crew just isn’t very good at what they do. They seem no more passionate then the average fan. That’s fine — unless you are a member of the student group responsible for generating student interest in the games. Second, the student section seats aren’t great. If the layout were more like, say, Duke or Pitt, where there were students not only behind the goal but closer to the action and in the middle, it could go a long way.

by Joshua Bolden

— Matt Christopher U of M Alumnus

1. Dearth of devotion 2. The business of learning

by John Martin by Erica Horton

3. Bookstore under new management

by Joshua Bolden and Chris Daniels

4. China’s censorship of Internet strong 5. Music fraternity returns to U of M

Have opinions? Care to share?

DOMINO’S PIZZA

Across 1 Court jester 5 Zoo barriers 10 Sourdough’s ground breaker 14 Quint’s boat in “Jaws” 15 Polite 16 Yemen seaport 17 Country singer with the 1961 hit “Crazy” 19 Trickery 20 __-mo replay 21 Vicinity 22 Submerge while sitting poolside, as one’s feet 24 Australian folk hero Kelly 25 Mine entrance 26 49th state 30 Like the son in a parable of Jesus 34 Bills of fare 35 Sudden ache 36 Heal 37 Old Norse mariner 38 1- and 64- Across, and the first words of the four longest puzzle answers 39 Retain 40 Cranny relative 41 Russia’s __ Mountains 42 “Beau __” 43 Kitchen areas, perhaps 45 Fastening pin 46 Cereal grain 47 Also 48 Sponge for grunge 51 Play a round 52 Timing lead-in 55 “The Time Machine” race 56 Shameful emblem in Genesis 59 Puppy bites 60 Mindy, to Mork? 61 Teen bane 62 Reggae musician Peter 63 Doofus 64 Hammer or sickle Down 1 Dandies 2 Shouted, say

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3 Septi- plus one 4 Vegas opener 5 Joel who was the first actor to portray Dr. Kildare 6 No longer squeaky 7 Adidas rival 8 Badge material 9 Snow pack? 10 Hockshop receipt 11 Beatnik’s “Got it” 12 Calaboose compartment 13 Pants part 18 2009 Series winners 23 Lend a hand 25 Synthetic fiber 26 Congressionally change 27 The king of France? 28 Atom with a negative charge 29 Remora 30 Mamas’ mates

31 Hotel client 32 Sharp ridge 33 With 45-Down, Middle Ages quarantine area 35 Put through a sieve 38 “The Flying __”: Wagner opera 42 Explode 44 Padre’s hermana 45 See 33-Down 47 Memento 48 Pre-Easter period 49 Hodgepodge 50 “Uh-oh, I dropped it!” 51 Big smile 52 Crisp, filled tortilla 53 Sot 54 First-year law student 57 Ring icon 58 Sylvester, e.g.

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 4

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 • 3

Technology

Prayer

from page 1 State alumnus said witnessing others’ devotion to the faith, however, changed that. “I did not grow up in church,” he said. “I met a few people who lived for Christ every day — not just on Sundays. One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Sitting in a garage doesn’t make you a car any more than sitting in a church makes you a Christian.’ You have to be changed.” Josh Thomas, senior sports and leisure studies major, said Campus Outreach has helped him become more spiritual since he joined the group in his freshman year, pushing him to reach out to friends and members of his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon. “I struggled with fraternity life at first, but I realized I was here to share Christ,” he said. “It has been pretty cool because my house’s prayer group started (with three members) and has grown to fourteen.” Putra said he has seen similar, albeit more personal, growth from his experience with Campus Outreach. “(As a Muslim), I used to pray five times a day out of duty,” he said. “But now I pray out of delight.”

Facebook change allows LGBT users to emerge from their online closets BY ERICA HORTON News Reporter Usually, when Facebook makes a major change to its site, the social media giant’s 500 million users first complain and then adjust. Recent changes to Facebook’s relationship options may not be as noticeable as a change to profile layout, but they’ve left many members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community feeling appreciative and included. Facebook recently added “in a civil union” and “in a domestic partnership” to its relationship status choices. Kelly Gilliom, president of Stonewall Tigers at The University of Memphis, said she thinks the additions are a fantastic idea. “I think it will positive-

ly affect the gay community because more than ever, gays are allowed to be out of the closet,” she said. “There is still some discrimination, but the more we allow people to open up and be who they truly are, the more people will be able to realize every person is unique.” She said changes like the one Facebook has made, with its new additions to relationship status options, further allow people to be proud of who they are. Jarrett Barios, president of national organization Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said in an e-mail that when millions of Facebook users see these relationship status options, they will gain a greater understanding of the legal inequalities faced by loving and committed same-sex couples.

“Being able to see same-sex couples in civil unions and domestic partnerships who celebrate their relationships no differently than married couples will serve as another reminder that these couples still lack the same legal recognition and protections associated with marriage,” he said. “Facebook’s noteworthy move also highlights the vast majority of same-sex couples living in states where there are no legal protections whatsoever.” Currently, gay marriages can be legally granted in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C. In New York, Maryland and Rhode Island, those marriages are recognized but not currently granted. Facebook is translated into 70 different languages and used

around the world, and users range from students at The U of M to President Barack Obama. Fifty percent of those users log on to the site on any given day, and people spend more than 700 billion minutes on the site per month, according to Facebook’s internal statistics. Barbara Kritchevsky, law professor at The U of M’s Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, said while Facebook’s latest amendment isn’t a bad thing, she doesn’t think the change will make much of a difference. She said Facebook does not have any advanced political impact. “I don’t know that it sends any messages at all,” Kritchevsky said. “Maybe if you’re someone who hates gay people, and you see it, is it going to make you hate gay people any less?”

The Persian Student Association presents

Dr. Farzaneh Milani

Professor of Persian Literature & Women Studies

HoPe

University of Virginia in Charlottesville

from page 1 said she probably still wouldn’t take summer classes. Zachary Buckler, freshman HOPE scholarship recipient, said he was unaware he couldn’t use his scholarship for summer courses. “I figured since a majority of students only take classes in the fall and spring, that was when it was offered,” the music education major said. “I figured there might be some exception to it.” Buckler said if he received additional scholarship money for the summer, he would use it to further his education career. “I would definitely use it to graduate sooner,” he said.

Author of Words, Not Swords: Iranian Women Writers and the Freedom of Movement Iranian women traditionally have not had the right to move about freely. Dr. Milani follows other female Iranian literary figures whose works have helped break down segregating boundaries in and beyond Iran. Her book explores the legacy of sex segregation and its manifestations in Iranian culture and challenges cultural hierarchies that divert attention from the control of women everywhere.

Thursday, Feb. 24 6 p.m. • UC Theatre

This event made possible by Student Event Allocation

Friday

Friday Film Series “For Colored Girls”

7 p.m. • UC Theatre

Coming Up

Saturday, 2/26 SAC Cinema “Despicable Me”

2 p.m. UC Theatre

4 • Wednesday, February 23, 2011

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Economy

Libyan chaos spooks oil markets, speculators BY KEVIN G. HALL McClatchy Newspapers Oil prices spiked around the globe Tuesday as traders reacted to the spreading chaos in oil-rich Libya and fretted that a winter of discontent for tyrants also could threaten global oil supplies and the fragile U.S. economic recovery. The price for a barrel of crude oil for April delivery shot up $5.71 in Tuesday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, settling at $95.42, its highest in more than two years. In overseas trading, Brent crude oil on the London Intercontinental Exchange settled up almost half a percentage point at $106 a barrel. Rising oil prices will have an immediate impact on U.S. gasoline prices, another headache for weary consumers already facing rising food prices amid a sluggish economy. Economists fear that a sustained rise in fuel prices could slow the already plodding economic recovery. A price spike that spans a few weeks wouldn’t be problematic, but a sustained hike to $3.50 a gallon or higher would weigh heavily on consumer sentiment. “Every time oil prices rise, it feeds through to consumers. It erodes growth of real disposable income,” said Chris Varvares, the president of St. Louis-based forecaster Macroeconomic Advisers. He called the rising fuel prices “another head wind” for the economy. Forecaster IHS Global Insight projected that a rapid $11-perbarrel increase in the price of crude oil would translate into a 25-cent-per-gallon increase in gasoline prices. The economy would lose almost half a percentage point of growth if prices stayed at that level for a full year, and 270,000 jobs would be lost. “It would certainly dampen the economic recovery,” said Sara Johnson, an economist with IHS Global Insight. Crude last traded below $80 a barrel on Oct. 19, settling at $79.49. It crossed $90 a barrel on Dec. 23 and since then closed above $90 16 times through Friday, bouncing between $80 and $92 — until this week.

Solutions

For much of February, oil has fetched a much higher price in Europe than in the United States. This gap reflects that Europe gets a much higher percentage of its oil from the Middle East and North Africa. But on Tuesday, Libya’s unrest changed the equation. It was the first member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to teeter on the verge of collapse, and its strongman, Moammar Gadhafi, abrogated his country’s oil contracts Tuesday. “It’s exacerbating the situa-

tion, and all the more because they are an actual producer and exporter in OPEC. We’re watching developments there extremely closely,” said John Kilduff, a veteran oil analyst on Wall Street for Again Capital. Libya exports 1.2 million barrels per day of oil, meeting just a fraction of global consumption. What markets fear is that the spreading unrest could topple regimes in Algeria and Iran and even spill into Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and a key U.S.

ally. Much of Saudi oil comes from eastern regions populated by Shiite Muslims, in a country where the rulers are Sunni Muslims. Some of the unrest that’s sweeping the Middle East and North Africa — most notably in Bahrain — is fueled by Shiite-Sunni animosity. For now, there’s no shortage of oil globally, but reported statistics show that the supply is tightening. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Feb. 8 that the world consumed 84.3 million barrels of oil per day last year. Before the unrest spread

across the Middle East and North Africa, consumption was projected to increase by 2.4 million barrels per day this year, surpassing the previous record consumption level, set in 2007 before the U.S. economic crisis went global. Rising prices boost unsavory oil producers and U.S. allies alike. The silver lining here is it gives Saudi Arabia and the rest of the oil-producing countries a huge amount of money. It gives them enough money to slow their potential anti-government forces, and that at least keeps them at bay,” said Fadel Gheit, a managing director and senior oil analyst for investment adviser Oppenheimer & Co. The Saudis “should be smart enough to know that the world is changing and they better move with it.” If Iran, already facing unrest, were to descend into the kind of chaos witnessed in Libya, that could send oil prices soaring. Iran is the second-largest oil exporter in OPEC, much of its supply going to Asia. “If that output were disrupted, the Chinese and the Japanese would go out to the global markets. ... We’d be in competition for the much lower oil output,” Kilduff said. Trying to calm fears, the Parisbased International Energy Agency issued a statement Tuesday that said it “stands ready, as always, to make oil available to the market in the event of a major supply disruption if alternative supplies cannot readily be made available via normal market mechanisms.”

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 • 5

Walk&Talk

What do you think of potential changes to student seating at FedExForum? by Brian Wilson

“I’m in the Blue Crew, so I think it’s sad. Student involvement sucks because we’ve been spoiled.”

“I’d be disappointed if they got rid of it, but other schools usually have way better turnout, so it’s really on the students.”

“They definitely shouldn’t just get rid of it completely. I think that a lot of the time, it just depends on who’s playing.”

“If anything, we should look at the average number of students attending overall and lower the number of student seats to reflect that average.”

“Keep it as it is. Our basketball team is very popular — the only reason our games aren’t as crowded as other schools’ is that our basketball program isn’t quite as big.”

— Thomas Shook, Business management senior

— Justin McQueen, Education sophomore

— Eric Wright, Undecided freshman

— Jeffrey Foster, Music business senior

— Brandon Galloway, Psychology senior

World

300 missing, death toll rising after New Zealand quake BY IAN LLEWELLYN McClatchy Newspapers Three hundred people are missing and 75 bodies have been recovered from the quake ravaged New Zealand city of Christchurch, local authorities said Wednesday. Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said there were now 55 identified bodies at a morgue, which had been set up at local

military base. Another 20 bodies had been recovered, but were not yet at the morgue and had yet to be identified. Parker was hopeful that many of the missing would be accounted for over during recovery efforts. Search and rescue staff also said many people remain trapped alive inside buildings destroyed by the 6.3-magnitude earthquake Tuesday afternoon.

More than 120 people had already been pulled from collapsed buildings as rescuers worked through the night under floodlights in the rain. Earlier, police said they were having to leave bodies as they concentrated on getting to survivors, some of whom had to have limbs amputated to get them out of the rubble. Prime Minister John Key held an emergency Cabinet meeting

Wednesday and pledged all assistance possible to Christchurch in both the initial aftermath and the long rebuilding program ahead. He thanked the international community for assistance. There were more than 200 search and rescue staff working through the city with another 500 joining them over the next two days as international offers for assistance come in. More than 1,000 armed forces have

also been deployed to assist. The quake struck on Tuesday around noon Tuesday when office buildings and streets were full of people. Christchurch is New Zealand’s second-largest city and home to around 370,000 people. The quake was felt throughout New Zealand and caused 30 million tons of ice to break off from the Tasman Glacier, about 200 kilometers away.

Stonewall Tigers presents

afe ex ession

TONIGHT • 8 - 10 p.m. UC Bluff Room Planned Parenthood will offer information on Safe Sex. Free Food & Drinks Provided

6 • Wednesday, February 23, 2011

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Science

Voyager spacecraft still seeking edge of solar system You probably have more computing power in your pocket than what NASA’s two venerable Voyager spacecraft are carrying to the edge of the solar system. They have working memories a million times smaller than your home computer. They record their scientific data on 8-track tape machines. And they communicate with their aging human inventors back home with a 23-watt whisper. Even so, the twin explorers, now 33 years into their mission, continue to explore new territory as far as 11 billion miles from Earth. And they still make global news. Scientists announced last month that Voyager 1 had outrun the solar wind, the first man-made object to reach the doorstep to interstellar space. It’s amazing even to Stamatios “Tom” Krimigis, of the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab near Laurel, Md. He’s one of just two principal investigators of the mission’s original 11 still on the job 40 years after Voyager was approved by NASA. “Needless to say, none of us expected it was going to be operating for so long,” said Krimigis, now 72. “We were all praying to get to Neptune (in 1989). But after that? Who thought we could be with this 33 years (after launch)?” In all that time, only one instrument, on Voyager 1, has broken down. Nine others on the two craft have been powered down to save dwindling electrical power from their plutonium-powered generators. But five experiments on each Voyager are still funded and seven are still delivering data. Problems do crop up, but fixes can still be made with radioed instructions that take 12 hours to reach the craft. “I suspect it’s going to outlast me,” Krimigis said. Krimigis is the emeritus head of the Space Department at the lab and the only remaining original member of his Voyager instrument team. He spends most of his time on other duties as principle investigator on another Hopkins instrument aboard the Cassini mission now orbiting Saturn. Last month, Krimigis and his colleagues on Voyager 1’s LowEnergy Charged Particle instrument reported their latest findings to the American Geophysical Union, meeting in San Francisco. Voyager 1 had reached a place in June where the outward flow of charged particles from the sun — the solar wind — stops. It’s a bit like where a plume of cigarette smoke stops rising and curls into a cloud. “Everybody is very excited about this,” Krimigis said. “Seeing the end of the outflow of the solar wind after being in the Space Age for, I guess, 54 years now, is quite an event ... at least for the aficionados.” Norman F. Ness, professor emeritus at the University of Delaware, has been the principle investigator since 1970 on the Voyager magnetometers. Edward C. Stone, at CalTech, has been project scientist for the Voyager mission since its inception. They’re the last of the mission’s original leaders. Ness was 36 when he joined the mission, he said. He was a geophysicist, with experience in oil explo-

ration, seismology and magnetic fields. “But space was much more exciting,” he said, and NASA was attracting many young scientists. “Most of the people working in the space business at that time were quite young, because rocketry itself was a young technology. Very few people had any experience in it.” Voyager was the pinnacle of his career, said Ness, now 77. “There is never going to be a mission in anybody’s lifetime, now living, that is ever going to get these observations in hand,” he said. “So it’s once in a lifetime.”

Stamatios M. Krimigis, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, is pictured with the Voyager spacecraft’s backup flight unit, which was never used.

MCT

BY FRANK D. ROYLANCE The Baltimore Sun

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL? An Important Session for Diverse College Students Thursday, Feb. 24 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. University Center, Bluff Room (304) Free lunch provided

Hear from a panel of law students who can give you the real story on what it takes to get into law school. Yolanda D. Ingram, law school dean for student affairs, and Sue Ann McClellan, assistant dean for law admissions, will be on hand for a question & answer session regarding law school admissions, financial aid and scholarships, and the law school’s diversity access program.

See more by visiting us at www.memphis.edu/law

DESPICABLE ME Saturday, Feb. 26 @ 2 p.m. UC Theatre

Come see how many minions you can spot.

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 • 7

Basketball

Tigers survive Houston, 69-58

by Ross Minkin

BY JOHN MARTIN Sports Editor

Freshman forward Tarik Black sends a Houston shot flying in The U of M’s 69-58 win at FedExForum on Tuesday. Black finished with a team-high 16 points and three blocks.

After a crushing loss against Rice last Saturday, The University of Memphis men’s basketball team entered a totally different mindset: Survivor mode. With the help of a brand new starting lineup that didn‘t feature freshman Joe Jackson for the first time this season, the Tigers resuscitated their Conference USA title hopes with a 69-58 win against the University of Houston on Tuesday night in front of 16,550 fans at FedExForum. “We had no choice, you know, because we’re pinned, but to win this game,” coach Josh Pastner said. “We don’t have a lot of margin for error. We had no choice against a good Houston team.”

Behind the Swoosh:

Sweatshops and Social Justice Hear about Jim Keady’s experience of working in a Nike sweatshop in Indonesia for a month while making a mere $1.25 a day.

Tuesday, March 1 6:30 p.m. • UC Ballroom

As their chances at a regularseason C-USA crown hung in the balance, the Tigers (21-7, 9-4 C-USA) responded with the urgency that was absent last Saturday. They took advantage of the small Cougars’ frontcourt and went inside to freshman forward Tarik Black, who bounced back from a foul-out performance against Rice with a team-high 16 points and three blocks. “It was very important (to win tonight), because we have to win the rest of our games in order to win out in the conference,” Black said. “Now we’re looking ahead.” Behind freshman forward Alandise Harris’s 13 first half points, the Cougars led the Tigers, 21-15, with 8:58 left in the first half. Junior guard Charles Carmouche answered with a solo 7-0 run to put the Tigers ahead, 22-21, with 5:40 left in the half. The Tigers cruised into halftime with a 38-32 lead after they turned up the pressure defensively. Houston had 11 turnovers by halftime, finishing with 16 for the game. Harris led the Cougars with 16 points but was limited to just three points in the second half by freshman guard Chris Crawford, who finished with five points, five rebounds and five assists. “We’re a team that focuses on defense and defensive rebounding,” said Carmouche, who finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. “That’s what we’re made of. When we defend and rebound, we win games.” The U of M, which boasts C-USA’s best field goal percentage defense, held Houston to 40 percent shooting from the field and 29.4 from the perimeter. The Tigers held the rebounding edge, 34-25. In the second half, the Cougars switched to a zone defense, which has been historically effective against the Tigers this season, to narrow the lead to 55-53 after a Harris dunk with 6:51 in the game. After several empty possessions by the Tigers, Carmouche drilled a 3-pointer to pull the Tigers ahead, 60-55, with 2:35 in the game. On the next possession, freshman guard Antonio Barton hit the second straight three for U of M to finally put the game out of reach. “Bottom line is, Charles (Carmouche) hit a big three, and Antonio (Barton) hit a big three to open up the game,” Pastner said. “And that was the difference.” Freshman guard Will Barton, the Tigers’ leading scorer, logged a season-low six minutes. “I love Will Barton. He’s a really good basketball player, and he’s helped us win games this year, but I just didn’t think Will played well today and he didn’t produce, so we didn’t have time to (play him),” Pastner said. The Tigers, who were tied for fourth place after last Saturday’s loss, are now tied with Southern Miss and UAB for first place and can ensure a C-USA regular season championship if they win the next three games. “I think we’ve got the talent to do it,” Crawford said. “In my mind, I think we’re going to do it. We’ve just got to keep working hard. We’ve got enough talent. I feel we’re fixing to win these next three games.” Following the game, Barton was wheeled out of FedExForum on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital due to dehydration, Pastner said.

8 • Wednesday, February 23, 2011

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World

Private eyes are watching ‘U’ Thousands of cameras patrol China’s unaccepted Uighurs in Urumqi BY TOM LASSETER McClatchy Newspapers

MCT

Looking slowly around his own bedroom, the nervous Uighur man with hunched shoulders said

he wasn’t sure whether he could speak openly about the Chinese government. “Someone may be listening on the other side of any wall here,” said Anwar, a 50-year-old shop-

Surveillance cameras keep watch on the streets of Urumqi, China. Perhaps more than any other corner of the nation, the city is now a showcase of the police state tactics used to maintain the rulers’ vision of “harmonious” society.

keeper who didn’t want his last name made public. “We must think of our own safety.” It wasn’t idle concern. Chinese officials added nearly 17,000 surveillance cameras last year to the tens of thousands already installed in Urumqi, apparently centered on neighborhoods frequented by Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority. They recently announced plans to put the entire city of some 2.4 million people under “seamless” observation with tens of thousands more. During the past several weeks of protests in the Arab world, some Western observers have sought to draw parallels between the scene in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and the one at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, when military gunfire mowed down crowds demanding political reform in China. Would it be possible, they wondered, for that sort of unrest to spread again in China? While the details are different

in many ways, the plight of the Uighurs in Urumqi makes it clear that Chinese officials spent the past two decades honing authoritarian social control strategies, both blunt and sharp, to be sure that doesn’t happen. Perhaps more than any other corner of China, the city is now a showcase of the police state tactics that the country’s rulers use in tandem with economic growth to maintain their vision of “harmonious” society. Like most Uighurs in this city on the edge of China’s western expanse, Anwar was afraid of saying the wrong thing and being dragged off by police, who are usually members of the country’s majority Han Chinese population. After riots between Uighurs and

A hard-hitting, investigative film that explores how the current financial crisis, the nation’s worst since the Great Depression, was built on a foundation of criminal activity.

Monday, March 21 @ 3:30 p.m. Fogelman Classroom Bldg. Rm 119 Discussion Following Free & Open to all Students, Faculty & Staff Sponsored by

see

cHina, page 11

FOR COLORED GIRLS Rated R

Friday, Feb. 25 7 p.m. UC Theatre

Plunder: The Crime of Our Time

Hans in the summer of 2009 left almost 200 people dead, according to official statistics, the Chinese government launched a combination of severe crackdowns and information-gathering that targeted Uighurs of all walks of life. “The ability and scale of this new surveillance is unparalleled. ... Police can take away and ‘disappear’ people at any time,” said Nicholas Bequelin, a Hong Kongbased researcher for Human Rights Watch’s Asia division. “It is an area where the political repression is the most severe of any part of China.” When Anwar leaves the tworoom house that he tries to keep warm with a coal stove and rugs

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 • 9

MCT

World

Protesters hold hands in a show of unity as they take to the streets of the capital Sunday to demand that Morocco’s ruler, King Mohammed VI, give up some of his powers, dismiss the government and clamp down on corruption. Demonstrations throughout the country were mostly peaceful, and analysts say Morocco is unlikely to succumb to the kind of violence that has recently wracked the region.

Tens of thousands march peacefully for fast political reforms in Morocco BY BORZOU DARAGAHI Los Angeles Times In what is being called an unprecedented show of political unity and strength, tens of thousands of protesters from various political strains marched peacefully in cities and towns across Morocco on Sunday demanding rapid political reform. The rallies, marchers said, were aimed at gaining democratic rights in a nation that has long been a hereditary monarchy and at times as oppressive as its autocratic North African neighbors. “We no longer want to be subjects,” said Abdelilah Benabdeslam, a leader of the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights. “We want to be citizens.” Even state television, derided

by one former associate as similar to North Korea’s in its restrictions, reported on the protests, though it also gave equal coverage to tiny bands of pro-government demonstrators praising King Mohammad VI. The protests closely followed the successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and amid calls for change in other authoritarian states across the Middle East and North Africa. Demonstrations broke out in Rabat, the capital, as well as the business hub of Casablanca, the cities of Marrakech, Tangiers, Fez, Agadir and smaller towns and villages, according to activists and photographs and video posted to social media websites. Human rights groups, various leftist and Islamist factions, trade unionists and advocates for the rights of those speaking the Berber

language took part in the rallies. But they were led by the same type of youthful tech-savvy activists who helped spark the toppling of longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Calling themselves the Feb. 20th Youth, they began using online social media less than a month ago to urge people to take to the streets. In Rabat, they could easily be spotted in the rally, urging fellow protesters to remain orderly. They said they weren’t worried about the possibility of the kind of violence that has shaken Bahrain or nearby Libya, where security forces have opened fire on peaceful protesters. “The big risk is staying at home and doing nothing against the dictatorship,” said Montasser Drissi, a 19-year-old student who was one of the rally organizers.

“The government doesn’t really represent the people,” said Myriam Harnafi, a 15-yearold holding a Tunisian flag who

attended the protest with her mother and father.

see

Morocco, page 11

The A-Train Express: When Harlem was King and the Music was Swing Examining the History and Culture of America’s National Dance, “The Swing” with special guest Norma Miller

TOMORROW - 2/24 10-11:15 a.m.

UC Ballroom Panel Discussion on the past, present & future of swing music & dance with Norma Miller Legendary Entertainer & Dancer “The Queen of Swing”

1-2:15 p.m.

UC Theatre Screening of “Queen of Swing” Documentary film biography of Ms. Miller traces the birth of swing dance in racially integrated Harlem and embodies a generation of cultural transformation where skin color meant everything and nothing.

2:30-3:30 p.m.

UC 1st Floor Atrium Book & Poster Signing by Norma Miller Ms. Miller will sign copies of her three books on the birth & life of swing dance, and related posters

6:30-10:30 p.m.

UC Ballroom Free Swing Lesson & Dance 1st hour: Free lesson 7:30-10:30: Swing Dance to Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio from Seattle, WA

Come Join The Fun!

This event sponsored by Red Hot Lindy Hop UM Dance Club, Black Student Association, Honors Student Council & Student Event Allocation

10 • Wednesday, February 23, 2011

www.dailyhelmsman.com

World

Somali pirates kill 4 Americans BY DAVID S. CLOUD Tribune Washington Bureau

A California couple and two other Americans taken hostage by Somali pirates were mortally wounded Tuesday morning by their captors, shortly before a U.S. special operations team boarded the hijacked vessel, killed two of the pirates and captured the rest, U.S. military officials said. Some of the victims were still alive when they were found by the U.S. team and were given first aid, but all four died, said Vice Adm. Mark Fox, the commander of U.S. naval forces in the region. The owners of the yacht Quest, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., and another couple, Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle of Seattle, were on an aroundthe-world sailing trip when they were taken hostage by pirates Friday off of Oman. “We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest,”

said Gen. James N. Mattis, U.S. Central Command Commander. Fox told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that the incident was the deadliest one he could recall involving U.S. citizens held by pirates. A flotilla of U.S. naval vessels had been shadowing the yacht, known as the Quest, for three days and conducted negotiations over the weekend in an effort to free the two couples as the yacht made its way south toward Somalia, said Lt. Col. Mike Lawhorn, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean. There were signs of divisions among the 19 pirates during the hostage standoff, U.S. officers said. On Monday, two of them came aboard one of the Navy vessels, the USS Sterett, for faceto-face negotiations and did not return to the yacht. The incident turned fatal Tuesday morning when the pirates fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Sterett, which

missed, and U.S. naval personnel heard gunshots coming from the yacht. At that point, a team of 15 special-operations forces boarded the yacht. “As they responded to the gunfire, reaching and boarding the Quest, the forces discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors,” according to a U.S. military account of the incident. Fox said he had no details of the negotiations with the pirates and declined to comment when asked if the U.S. had planned to prevent the hostages from being taken ashore if the yacht reached Somalia. After the grenade was fired

at the Sterett, several pirates came on deck with their hands raised, as if trying to surrender, Fox said. The gunfire erupted on board almost immediately. But U.S. officers said it was not known whether the hostages had made an escape attempt or whether disagreements among the pirates prompted the shots. “I can presume inside the vessel there was a lot of smallarms fire,” Fox said, but he noted that the special forces team did not have to fight its way onto the yacht. As the U.S. special forces team cleared the vessel, it discovered two pirates who

already were dead. Another two were killed by U.S. personnel, one by gunfire and one by a knife, Fox said. “A pirate was killed by a special operations force members with a knife while clearing the interior of the vessel,” Fox said. In all, 15 pirates are in U.S. custody and will be held for possible prosecution, Fox said. The FBI is investigating the deaths, Fox said. Fox said there were indications that the pirates who took the Quest came from a “mother ship,” a larger vessel that operates far from Somalia and can dispatch teams to hijack multiple ships.

The University of Memphis

Morocco from page 9

“I see myself in the young people,” said Naima Boulal, a 54-year-old longtime trade unionist at the rally. “We have dreamed of this day for a long time. With this Facebook generation, I feel hope.” Almost all protesters interviewed said they wanted profound political change but not a revolution. “The people want a new constitution,” they chanted, waving banners and holding Egyptian and Tunisian flags. “This is a new Morocco.” The main rally in Rabat drew a massive tide of protesters that flooded the main streets and wound up before parliament. Unlike in Yemen, Bahrain and Libya, official permission was granted for the rally. No riot police were present, and the few uniformed security forces hung back, directed traffic or chatted amicably with demonstrators. As the protest ended, a group of plainclothes security officials pounced on a protester who was banging storefronts. There were also reports of injuries in small confrontations between security forces and protesters in other cities. The North African nation of 32 million is a major U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida as well as an economic partner of the West, especially France, which has invested heavily in its former colony. A free trade agreement with the U.S. took effect in 2006. Under the rule of Mohammad VI, who ascended the throne in 1999, Morocco expanded politi-

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 • 11

cal freedoms and even began examining the allegations of torture and disappearances during the previous era. But critics and watchdog groups contend that it has regressed on human rights and press freedoms in recent years. Many also complain of corruption at the highest levels of government, uneven economic development and persistent illiteracy among the poor. The protests took place even though leaders of some established Islamic and socialist political parties, who have been in and out of the opposition over the last decade, called on their supporters not to take part. A whisper campaign painted the rallies as pursuing an anti-monarchy agenda, a taboo in Morocco. A cold drizzle fell as several hundred protesters began to gather at the brick walls of the Bab El-Had gate next to Rabat’s ancient Medina. Cell phone and text-messaging services became spotty. Many voiced frustration, disappointed by the low numbers that showed up early. But as noon approached and the crowd swelled, protesters were heartened. As they began to march toward the parliament, the sun broke through the clouds to reveal a massive gathering. Some even defied their political organizations to take part. “Morocco deserves better institutions,” said Mustapha Ramid, who resigned from his post as a leader of the mainstream Justice and Development Party after it refused to endorse the rally. “I hope the king will greatly reform the country in order to satisfy the demands of the Moroccan people.”

China

from page 8 on concrete walls, there’s no question in his mind that he could be under watch. Across Han-dominated areas, where luxury hotels and slick office buildings do big business, the cameras appear to be fewer in number. Local Uighurs fear it’s a hint of things to come: a prosperous region meant for Han Chinese, not Uighurs. In 1949, the Han made up less than 7 percent of the population of the Xinjiang area, which includes Urumqi, and Uighurs composed more than 75 percent, according to state statistics. Due in large part to government relocation efforts, Uighurs now have less than half of the region’s population; they barely maintain a numerical edge over the Han in Xinjiang as a whole and are vastly outnumbered in Urumqi. The 2009 riots, a Uighur rampage followed by a violent Han backlash, seem to have created even more support among the Han here for government supervision of Uighurs. Their resentment is compounded by their widespread perception that Uighurs don’t appreciate the enormous government investment in Xinjiang’s infrastructure. For example, more than $4.5 billion is slated just for airport construction through 2015. While the Han interviewed in the city say the atmosphere improved after the arrests or detentions of well more than 1,500 people after the bloodshed, they still worry that “separatist” elements in the Uighur population could make more trouble.

“Compared with before, we feel less safe,” said Cai Jinbao, a Han clothing merchant who moved to Urumqi 18 years ago from the coastal province of Zhejiang, which is on the other side of the country. “I couldn’t tell you when the markets close at night. I don’t go out much in the evening anymore.” Along with thick clusters of cameras in Uighur neighborhoods, an epicenter of the rioting, there are now patrols by police in five-person formations with riot shields, shotguns and compact assault rifles. The monitoring of phone calls, text messages and Internet activity is, even for China, intense. “The Han officials don’t want to see Uighurs,” said Abdulrahman, a 37-year-old driver who, as with many other Uighurs, preferred that his family name not be revealed. Before continuing the conversation, he emphasized how dangerous it was to speak about his experience. “We’re worried about being monitored. There are cameras everywhere,” he said, tapping his hands together nervously. “If we talk, we will be arrested.” Some Uighurs were less hesitant to speak their minds, however. Mehmet, a 40-year-old with a tan face and flat nose, said he was now convinced that “the aim of the government is to remove

Uighurs from the city.” “It’s possible there will be more violence. I worry there could be an even bigger dispute,” said Mehmet, who was vague about his position in the Uighur community but was introduced by an intermediary as having deep religious convictions and who was treated with deference by others. “The government is watching Uighurs very closely. It’s creating a very serious problem between ethnic groups.” Throughout the post-2009 period, the government has continued to bulldoze Uighur neighborhoods in the city and surrounding Xinjiang. Officials say they want to modernize the housing stock, but Uighurs and human rights analysts suspect an effort to break up Uighur population centers as more Han Chinese arrive in the area. To the west of Urumqi, a large group of Uighurs is building houses next to a road that leads to a garbage dump, on the side of a small hill that has no water or electricity. Some of the men melt snow on garbage drums to make water for cement mix. “They want us to live by the garbage,” said Kurban, a burly 38-year-old whose Urumqi home, in a neighborhood where he played as a child, was torn down in 2006. “What can we do? Talking means nothing.”

Come Ride With Us! U of M Cycling Club

Sharing good times in cycling, commuting, mountain biking, road biking and cyclocross

Group Bike Ride Tuesday, March 1 6-9 p.m. Meet in the parking lot behind The Peddler Bicycle Shop 575 S. Highland

Don’t forget your helmet! Questions? Contact Doug Campbell at: dacampbe@memphis.edu

12 • Wednesday, February 23, 2011

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Opinion

Students’ excuses are inexcusable Let’s start this column right, shall we? University of Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson should cut the student section in half after this season. He should’ve done it after last season. What, you expected me to conjure up some other lame excuse for my peers? There are enough already, and frankly, they’re all pathetic. The student section at The U of M isn’t lackluster because students have to work or find babysitters. It’s not poor because FedExForum’s Downtown location is a few miles from campus. No, student attendance is terrible because students don’t take any pride in The U of M. Nobody lives on campus. Nobody goes to games. Nobody cares. At schools like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA, college is something you live. There are pep rallies, tailgating and, you know, school spirit. At The U of M, college is something you do during the day. Afterward, you just go home. Or to work. So maybe, in that sense, it’s unfair to compare The U of M to the other blue bloods of college basketball. But the students are the ones who make it unfair. Make no mistake: The atmosphere at FedExForum during U of M basketball games can be electric. But it feels like a pro game with a pep band. The best thing about college basketball games isn’t the basketball part. It’s the atmosphere. It’s the kids who paint themselves up and make clever signs and come up with funny jeers for the other team. That doesn’t exist at FedExForum, partly because there aren’t enough students in attendance. Which, of course, is because students work. Or because they’ve got a brainteaser of a midterm within The U of M’s heralded curriculum. Right. They might be dreaming and thinking about going to games, but they’re not actually doing it. So, absolutely, Johnson should take 50 percent of the student section. Sell the tickets to people who would go, because they’re out there. Students don’t deserve them. The Tigers are the third winningest program in the country since 2000-’01, behind just Duke and Kansas. Students should attend their games. There’s no excuse in the world that justifies not having at least 1,200 students in attendance per game. But Johnson, U of M coach Josh Pastner and lots of students are trying hard to come up with one. Work. Tests. Kids. Not everyone’s a sports fan. Weather. (I’m not making this up.) Of course, some of it’s true. Some people work full-time. Some people do have children to take care of. And no, not everyone’s a sports fan. But at a 22,000-student school,

by David C. Minkin

BY JOHN MARTIN Sports Editor

With less than 50 percent of student seats filled on average at Tiger basketball games at the FedExForum, University of Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson has considered reallocating the seats for public sale. should filling a 2,000-seat student section really be this difficult? In three of the last five years, the Tigers have made their way into the NCAA tournament — as far as the national championship, an Elite 8 and a Sweet 16. It’s not enough

for students, though. They’ve got better things to do than support the only decent program on campus. It’s an incredibly ungrateful action (or inaction) by students not to show up — and sad, really. With every empty seat in the student

section at FedExForum, the lack of University pride is that much more evident. But save the boohooing. Students don’t want to go because students don’t want to go. Not because they have to work or ride a bike or read

THE DAILY HELMSMAN

four chapters in a biomedical engineering book or because it’s kind of cold outside. After all, sooner or later, the same wishy-washy students are going to run out of excuses — and seats, too.

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Good luck, Tigers!

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