THE PARTY’S OVER
SLAUGHTER
Turn the lights out on Bruce Pearl
Marine remembers Iwo Jima
MARVIN WEST, A-7
JAKE MABE, A-6
BEARDEN
Vol. 5, No. 10 • March 7, 2011 • www.ShopperNewsNow.com • 10512 Lexington Drive, Suite 500 37932 • 218-WEST (9378)
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“That’s not what we’re about at all,” Rhea says. “We bring the world to the campus.” While the main objective of the IHouse is to educate American students, it also offers support to international students. Students from around the world use the facility’s computer lab, television room, and space for studying and eating lunch. Where students gather, interesting discussions occur. Recent topics have included the threat of civil war in Libya and Tennessee state Sen. Bill Ketron’s proposed bill that would make it illegal to practice some forms of Sharia Law. “It’s fascinating to hear the conversations that go on here on a daily basis,” says Rhea. Khalid has enjoyed sharing her culture through I-House events and international festivals on campus. She has found that while some students are interested in learning more about other cultures, most undergraduates don’t appreciate the value of diversity. She worries that the university doesn’t offer enough assistance to international students, particularly graduate students who often arrive in Knoxville with no place to stay and no Social Security number.
experience
II-House H lends l d diversity to campus and community By Wendy Smith
T
he primary purpose of the University of Tennessee’s International House is to teach homegrown students about other cultures, and members of the community are welcome to participate – if they can find a parking place, says former I-House director Lee Rhea. Rhea recently stepped down after serving as director for seven years. On Tuesdays, students from various countries present a Coffee House with cultural food, crafts or even dance lessons. Each Thursday, Global Hour offers a forum for discussion off world events in the news. Language labs give participants the opportunity to practice foreign languages with a native speaker. Occasional Culture Nights feature dinner and an educational presentation about a particular country. A handful of Bangladeshi students presented Culture Night two weeks ago at the I-House. Nabila Khalid, the only University of Tennessee undergraduate student from Bangladesh, was master of ceremonies during the evening, which served up a Bangladeshi dinner, a slide show, traditional dance and Khalid’s performance of a Bangladeshi pop song. Culture Night is a bargain for community members at $7 per person, in addition to the $1 per half-hour parking fee at the University Center garage. “It’s cheaper than dinner and a movie,” says Rhea. The current location at 1623 Melrose Ave. is I-House’s fourth home since it was established in 1969. One of the misconceptions about the facility is that it “sequesters” international students from their American counterparts.
The International House was established in 1969 to educate American students about other cultures. It has been at its current location at 1623 Melrose Ave. since 1995. Photos by Wendy Smith
“I was lucky to have a sister here,” she says. “It’s really hard.” Rhea agrees. He’d like to see UT advise international students on housing, public transportation and obtaining necessary identification. Perhaps the campus should be more user-friendly to international students who choose to expand their minds, and share their culture, in the Knoxville community.
Salwa Mostafa, a graduate student from Bangladesh, performs at a recent Culture Night hosted by the UT International House.
A wild ride through the justice system “On January 4, 2011, at 5:09 a.m., my car was stolen from my garage at my home. The Knox County Sheriff’s (Office) was called at approximately 7:30 a.m., upon the discovery of my missing car … and we were told they were busy and would take our name and number and call us back. After a while and no return call my husband called back and a report was taken over the phone.” Cook wrote that the sheriff’s office showed “no interest” in coming to her home to check for evidence the thief or thieves may have left. Asked if they had insurance, they were told to call their insurance company and were “dismissed.” Fearing that the thieves would discover a letter in the car from her bank notifying her of a check for a large sum to be released to her the following day, Cook said she told Detective Jim Pritchard that she was “terrified” that the
Farragut residents felt victimized by thieves and officials By Larry Van Guilder Like most of us, Kim Cook and her husband, Darryl Smith, had little experience with the criminal justice system and were glad of it. That changed around 5 a.m. on Jan. 4 when Cook’s car was stolen from the garage of their Farragut residence. Her subsequent experience with law enforcement officials and Knox County prosecutors left her and her husband outraged and bewildered. To the extent that any crime victim’s story can have a happy ending, this one does, but getting there was a wild ride. Cook told her story in a Feb. 18 letter addressed to General Sessions Judge Chuck Cerney and copied to dozens of local and state officials:
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thieves would return to her home. “Detective Pritchard felt my fears were unfounded and again dismissed me,” she wrote. Cook’s husband, Smith, is head of engineering for the town of Farragut and has access to the town’s traffic enforcement camera videos. The morning of the theft he watched a video showing his wife’s car pulling out of their subdivision and heading east on Kingston Pike before turning north on Campbell Station Road. Cook wondered why her husband was doing the investigation. “Isn’t this the job of the sheriff’s department?” she wrote. On Jan. 7, the KCSO called to tell Cook her car had been located. It had been wrecked following a high speed chase on I-75 in Loudon County. Had Cook known more about the driver at the time her vehicle was stolen, her fear would have magnified.
Afton Broderick, a 21-year-old former student at Karns High School, was wanted for questioning in the attempted murder of two other upstanding citizens (who would decline to testify) on Dec. 27. She also faced charges for other thefts. Cook discovered that Broderick had a Facebook page where she had posted statements that might have come from the defendants in the Christian-Newsom murders: Jan. 2, 2011: “I told yall weak ass nigga to stay out of my face, get it now?” (Although she uses language familiar to listeners of “gangster rap,” Broderick is white.) Dec. 14, 2010: “no apologies, nah suckers I’m not sorry. You can all sue me, y’all could be the cause of me no remorse for me, like there’s no recourse for me no apologies not even acknowledging you at all … till I get a call that
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The Knox County Sheriff’s Office sent a response to this story late on deadline day. It is on page A-2. gods coming no apologies, … its all funny I can spit in ya face while your standin across from me, no apologies.” The KCSO told Cook that Broderick’s alleged accomplice, Steven Thodos, could not be charged with car theft because he was not seen driving the car. So when Cook secured video footage from a Walmart showing Thodos entering the store wearing her sunglasses and the car later leaving the parking lot, she charged him with stealing the sunglasses. On Feb. 17, Cook was in court to hear the charges against Tho-
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