The Oracle - 03/26/10

>> More content on tntechoracle.com

THE

Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505

O

RACLE

Volume 93 | Issue 6 | Free in single copy | March 26, 2010

Sixteen students spend spring break in Europe ROTC Golden Eagle

By NICHOLAS ROLLINS & LAURA VAUGHT Staff Writers Sixteen Tech engineering students, accompanied by faculty advisors Corinne Darvennes and Holly Stretz, had the opportunity to study abroad in France over spring break. While overseas, they visited an engineering school and engineering firms, as well as the sights of Paris, small French towns, and even London.

Students were able to visit the Institute of Automotive and Transport

Engineering in Nevers, France and gain insight into French engineering education.

“At Tech we do more theoretical training than they do,” said Andrew Demko mechanical engineering major, “but they have more applied and hands on learning.”

“In France, they go to pre-college and get all of their general education and engineering fundamentals like physics, statics and dynamics out of the way for the first two years. Then, if they qualify, they do the program they want to study for three years.”

Students also visited engineering companies like Cummins Filtration, as well as examples of engineering and architecture, such as the Eiffel Tower.

French Professor Debbie Barnard explained some advantages and disadvantages to studying abroad.

“One of the big advantages is that you can use the language in a real life setting,” Barnard said. “It’s the best classroom.”

By traveling abroad, you can use the language from person to person rather than in a classroom.

That way you can experience culture out-

side of the classroom in a real environment.

Barnard said one of the biggest disadvantages is funding. It is expensive to travel abroad, but students can get financial support through Tech for airfare and travel expenses.

“It can be scary at first,” Barnard said, “but even in a week you can adapt to the culture.”

Demko said, “The trip was the best spring break I have ever had, and I learned a lot about engineering in France.

“As a student in engineering it helps to get as many view points as possible. Different perspectives will give you the creativity or insight needed to complete many tasks.”

Submitted by Mallory Johnston

From left to right: Tech students Jessica Mayberry, Kevin Mather, Mallory Johnston, Blair Nicholson, Doug Martens, and Steven Rosch pose with the Eiffel Tower.

fun run tomorrow

By CHRISTOPHER JONES Staff Writer

Tech’s ROTC will be hosting its 16th annual ROTC Golden Eagle run, which will include a 5k run or walk and a 10k run.

The race will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, March 27. Registration for the fundraiser begins at 6:30 a.m., continues until 7:30 a.m. and will be located at the Tucker Stadium parking lot.

The entry fees to participate in the run are $20 for an individual and $60 for a team of 4 people.

There will be awards given for the best overall male and female in each category, as well as the overall group winner. The various age categories are: 12 & under, 13-18, 19-29, 30-39, 40-50, and 51 and over.

“The awards this year are a new design that are in the shape of a dog tag, they are pretty sweet looking,” according to Cadet Staff Sergeant James Toliver.

The money raised by the ROTC Fun Run helps to support Tech’s Army ROTC program as well as their extracurricular activities. These include field training exercises at Fort Knox, KY or in Catoosa, GA, where cadets have the chance to fire M16-A2 rifles, gain hands-on field experience in first aid training, play paintball, and participate in squad tactical exercises.

“This event is the number one fundraiser for the TTU Golden Eagle Battalion. Its success is crucial to our funding for clubs, intramural sports, and any other extracurricular events that the battalion is a part of, including ROTC clubs,” Toliver said.

New this year to the fundraiser is the ability to register online at tntech.edu/armyrotc with payment paid via PayPal, to rotc@tntech.edu, using credit/debit card or immediate bank transfer.

Sponsors for the 16 annual ROTC Fun Run include: Papa John’s, Cookeville Nissan, Gentleman’s Barber, the Gaitan Family, Chick-Fil-A, and Veteran’s Barber Shop.

For more information, contact the Tech ROTC at 931-372-3574.

The Clothesline Project returns to Tech next month

By BAILEY DARROW Copy Editor

The Clothesline Project, a display that offers a voice to those affected by domestic and sexual violence, will be presented from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 6 in the RUC Tech Pride Room.

The room will be filled with shirts designed by people who have either fallen victim to violence or care about someone who has.

“Witnessing is part of the solution,” said Diana Lalani of the Women’s Center. “By coming and viewing their testimonies, you are affirming their healing and affirming their release. It’s not boring. It’s not frightening. It’s inspirational.”

In its twelfth year on campus, this is a Women’s Center event held in collaboration with Zeta Phi Beta.

“One year a student made a shirt and then phoned her mother in another state and talked about how she felt afterwards,” said Gretta Stanger, Women’s Center director.

“Her mother also wanted to make a shirt and drove hundreds of miles the next day to be at the exhibit. She, like many others, reported a sense of relief after creating the shirt and knowing that it would then be displayed in the years to come.”

“

By coming and viewing their testimonies, you are affirming their healing. It’s not boring. It’s not frightening. It’s inspirational.

Courtesy of whitehouse.gov / Pete Souza

Diana Lalani,

The Women’s Center

Held each year in April to correspond with national Sexual Assault Awareness month, this year’s event will be held on the same night as the sixth annual Take Back the Night march, aimed at ending violence against women and children.

The National Clothesline Project was founded in 1990 by a group of women in Massachusetts to address the issue of violence against women.

Since then the project has expanded to an estimated 500 displays each year nationally and internationally.

“People often make the mistake of thinking this is for women only, but we welcome all survivors,” Lalani said.

The colors of the shirts represent different kinds of abuse and sometimes offer tribute to those who have not survived. White

represents women who have died as a result of violence. Yellow is for battered or assaulted individuals.

Red or pink represent survivors of rape or sexual assault. Blue and green shirts are for survivors of incest and sexual abuse. Purple represents violence based on sexual orientation.

Shirts can be made any time at the Women’s Center in Pennebaker Hall Room 203 or at the event.

”

STAFF REPORT The Senate passed a bill reshaping parts of the new health care overhaul law on Thursday and is sending it back to the House for final congressional approval.

Democrats eager to get the contentious issue behind them had hoped that the Senate’s 56-43 vote would finish lawmakers’ work on the measure.

But Republicans managed to kill a minor provision on grants for low-income students that violated Congress’ budget rules. Now the House has to approve an identical bill before President Barack Obama can sign it.

House leaders predict the bill will be complete by the end of the week. The measure boosts health care subsidies for low-income people and reduces new taxes on high-cost health insurance policies.

The House passed the health care bill 219-212 March 21. President Obama signed the bill on Tuesday.

IN THIS EDITION Movie Talk goes 3-D

Campus dining health code scores - Page 2

- Page 8

- Page 7

Townsend takes on Texas textbooks - Page 5

OPINION

FRIDAY FORECAST

Tech football to face TCU, Arkansas this fall

ENTERTAINMENT

Senate OKs health care fix-it bill, House is next

SPORTS

PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 55, LOW 32

NEWS

www.tntechoracle.com

Page 2 | March 26, 2010

Student recieves state engineering scholarship PRESS RELEASE

Emily Epperson with David H. Huddleston, Interim Dean of the College of Engineering

Two Tennessee college students have each received a $1,000 scholarship from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee (ACEC of Tennessee). Paul A. “Sparks” Sparks, a graduate engineering student at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, received the state scholarship. Emily Epperson, an undergraduate civil engineering student at Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, received the structural scholarship.

The students were selected to receive the scholarships from among the engineering students at colleges and universities throughout Tennessee who submitted applications. As the state winners, Sparks and Epperson will compete for national scholarships with students throughout the United States. National scholar-

ship winners will be announced in October 2010.

ACEC of Tennessee has awarded an annual scholarship to a Tennessee engineering student since 2003. This is the first year that the structural scholarship has been presented. Past scholarship winners were students at Tennessee Tech, UT-Chattanooga, UT-Knoxville and Vanderbilt. Last year’s winner of the Tennessee scholarship also won the national competition and received an additional $10,000 scholarship.

Epperson, age 19, is a resident of Sequatchie, Tennessee. She is a 2008 graduate of Marion County High School. In addition to maintaining a 3.78 grade point average, Epperson is involved in several professional and student organizations. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the TTU Honors program. She serves as a counselor for United Youth Summer Camps and as a greeter at her church. She also plays intramural volleyball.

Epperson currently interns with the Center for the Management, Utilization and Protection of Water Resources at TTU. Dennis George, Director of the Center for the Management, Utilization and Protection of Water Resources and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said, “I have known Emily for two years.

I have the utmost confidence in her academic future. She is a quiet leader who strives for perfection. She is an excellent worker who will get her P.E.”

Read the full story

www.tntechoracle.com

Macke denies housing requirement rumors Tech to host health fair in mid-April

By DAKOTA WEATHERFORD Staff Writer

Charles Macke, director of Housing, cleared rumors of sophomores living off campus next school year. With an additional residential hall going up, 2,300 students will be able to live on campus in the fall.

Sign-ups for housing is taking place during the last two weeks of March.

“We will have a pretty good idea by then on what our returning students are doing,” Macke said when asked about another overflow in campus housing.

“You do better by living on campus. That’s what I say. That’s what I believe whole-heartedly,” Macke said.

Macke denies all rumors of letting sophomores

live off campus starting next semester. The only people who can live off campus are students that have been at Tech for two years, those with junior standing or students at least 21 years old.

Macke stated that the reasons for having students live on campus their first two years is statistics and the connections.

“First thing would be connections, if you’re connected to folks you are more likely to continue. If you continue you’re more likely to succeed.”

You do better staying your first two years on campus, your junior year it doesn’t seem to matter, and your senior year, it shows you do better living off campus, according to Macke.

If you talked to someone who lived on campus their first two years of school and to someone

who commuted, their perception of the school ten years down the road are going to be totally different, said Macke.

Because of the overflow in freshman students last semester, some had to live in hotels or apartments. Those people will also be required to live on campus Fall 2010.

Macke wanted it be known that when students sign the housing agreement, it is just like a contract. It is agreement of two semesters for which housing will hold them accountable. Meeting the requirements halfway though the semester does not qualify you to break the contract.

Though housing is cheaper with more residents, the requirement is about the success of the students and the college more than the revenue.

Panhellenic executive members attend conference

By KARLA HAMMAC Staff Writer

Tech’s Panhellenic sorority executive members attended the 2010 Southeastern Panhellenic Conference in Atlanta, Ga. March 18-20.

Over 1,000 women attended from across the Southeast.

Tech’s Panhellenic Executive Council consists of Abbie Irwin, Savannah Hughes, Lauren McConnell, Courtney Scott, Emily Flannagan and Danielle Teams. Coordinator of Greek Life and University Programming, Katie Winningham and Panhellenic Advisor, Nicole Bostic also attended to gain knowledge on Greek housing and working

with a new generation of college students.

“Each officer had an opportunity to interact with other officers from other chapters during the conference,” Winningham said. The women split up into large breakout sessions

to learn about living their ritual each day, the importance of risk management and values.

“I met many great women at the philanthropy luncheon

and at my ethics session,’ Hughes said. The girls I met gave me some great ideas to bring back to Tech.”

Winningham said, “I feel like this was a great bonding and learning experience for the executive council. They had an opportunity to see how other Greek systems function at other universities.”

Each sorority requires members to pay panhellenic dues. The cost of the conference was funded by these dues.

The Panhellenic Executive Council has representation from each panhellenic sorority at Tech. Each Monday night the council meets with the panhellenic delegates to discuss new and old business amongst all the sororities, such as intramural games, formals and philanthropic events.

By HANNAH HARRIS Staff Writer The health fair returns to Tech April 13 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in both gymnasiums of the Fitness Center.

“We are hoping with the new extended hours that more people will be able to fit it into their schedules,” Ramona Mahood-Pennington, health promotions coordinator, said. “This is a great opportunity to come and learn about health.”

The health fair is welcoming back old booths from last year as well as new ones. Alumni are setting up booths at the health fair to give back to Tech. One in particular is Robinson Dental, who will be addressing dental health care. Convenient Care will be doing oxygen saturation. Chiroworks will be doing spinal screenings for those who participate in the health fair.

Satellite Medical Center will be informing people to eat this and not that. This will help everyday eating habits and slowly one may begin to see a difference in the way their clothes fit and how much healthier they feel.

The Health Department will be giving out information on STDs, how to prevent them and what to do if a person ends up having one.

Cookeville Regional Medical Center will be back this year to give participants the opportunity to have medical screenings. Some of the screenings do involve some cost, but they are cheaper at the health fair than going to the hospital or a personal doctor.

Cookeville Regional Medical Center is giving free lipid profiles to Tech students. A lipid profile is to inform students their cholesterol level.

For nonstudents the cost is $10. Do not eat 12 hours before this test; it is required for

93 93 83 Breakin’ Eggs THE

ORACLE

Sara Bohannon, Advertising Manager 931-372-3031

Unity Unity...It’s like blue jeans for the soul Church We love everyone and everyone is welcome of the Services at 11 am Cumberlands

931/520-1017

Read the full story

www.tntechoracle.com

HEALTH INSPECTION RESTAURANT SCORES

Advertise with Contact

823 E. 10th Street Cookeville, TN 38501

accurate results.

Other screenings include: bone density testing, this is especially good for women since history shows more bone deterioration in women.

Vascular screenings like those offered at the Health Fair have been known to save lives. This screening utilizes ultrasound technology to assess risk for stroke, abdominal aneurysm, and peripheral artery disease. There are three different tests that can be done all together or separately. All three tests done together make this screening worth over $500, but it only cost $125 at the health fair. Do not eat two hours before these tests.

Sunday mornings cookevilleunity@yahoo.com

96 88

RUC Marketplace

88 Read more content

online

O News!

Sports!

Polls!

NEWS www.tntechoracle.com

Page 3 | March 26, 2010

For official campus crime updates,visit www.tntech.edu/police/ police-crimelogs and

tntechoracle.com

Three theft incidents remain under investigation

By WILL HOUSLEY Asst. Managing Editor Tech police responded to three different theft incidents in two weeks.

According to Tech police reports, theft has been a reoccurring incident within the past two weeks.

Catalytic converters, copper wire and computer equipment were among the items that were stolen.

At 12:40 p.m. last Monday, Tech police were dispatched to the indoor tennis courts, located at 1995 N. Willow Ave., where catalytic converters had been cut off of two Tech vans.

Both vans are 2001 Dodge Ram 350s.

According to the report, Tech police are checking with the Cookeville police department to see if they have had any reports of stolen converters.

That investigation is ongoing.

In a separate incident, at 6:50 a.m. last Wednesday, Tech police responded to the construction site of New Hall South, where the complainant reported that sometime between 6 p.m. the previous night and the time of the report, four spools of new electrical copper wire had been stolen. The wire was located in the north wing of the fourth floor. Police questioned workers on the grounds of the construction site, but none had seen the wiring being removed. The construction site of New Hall South

is fenced in with entry gates on the east and west sides. According to the report, all gates were closed and locked at approximately 7 p.m. the previous night. The wire is valued at $500, and the investigation is ongoing.

In the last incident, at 12:32 a.m. Monday, Tech police were dispatched to Henderson Hall Room Three, where officers observed that a window frame and window had been removed from the front office door of Extended Education. Officer Hunter and Lt. White cleared the office but did not locate any suspects.

Susan Elkins, vice president of Extended Programs and Regional Development, was contacted and re-

sponded to do a walk-through with officers. Elkins confirmed that one computer tower, a keyboard and a monitor were missing from a desk, all of which were said to be approximately eight years old. Several other computers and a laptop had not been bothered.

The suspect or suspects also urinated and defecated in the front office area. Henderson Hall is open 24 hours a day.

If you have any information about any of these theft incidents, you are urged to call Tech police at 372-3234 or stop by the police department at 90 W. 8th St.

events @ tech

March & April

26 Last day Kappa Delta Shamrock Project 7:30 p.m Slide Company BFA, Wattenbarger

27 7:30 p.m.

Ron Barron - Trombone BFA, Wattenbarger

29

Until April 1 Advisement for Summer and Fall 2010 Until March 31 Delta Gamma Anchor Splash

30 11 a.m.

TAB Egg Hunt South Patio

01 5 - 7 p.m.

Presentation: Women’s Rights in Islam RUC, Tech Pride Room

02 Good Friday Holiday No classes Offices closed

05 Last day to drop a class with a “W” Until April 9 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Make-A-Wish donations RUC, first floor

06

7 p.m.

TAB Movie Night The Blind Side Derryberry Hall Auditorium 7 - 9 p.m.

An Evening of Comedy with Dean Obeidallah

08 All day Alpha Gamma Sigma Ringer for Life All day Student Fisheries Association Fish Fry South Patio

tntech.edu/calendar

OPINION

www.tntechoracle.com

Page 4 | March 26, 2010

Decisions made in fear defy ideal of independent, educated voters cratic and socialist, not dictatorships and communist. Finland isn’t Cuba. Norway isn’t North Korea.

What is there to fear with some government oversight?

Following Europe’s political path is not a death march into communism. Some people like the government protecting them.

And others like the government to stay out of personal business. Similarly, what is there to fear with some restrictions on government? Americans like their personal space. We can’t always compare ourselves to our European counterparts. A lot of

We have this handy little document called the Constitution which says what we can/can’t do EMILY BOOKER that stops us from the extremes.

But even that is played by Editorial Editor both sides against the other. The right says that the founding fathers would have never wanted this health care bill, that freedom was the all-end-all for the founders and should be for us. The left Last weekend as I watched But I think the people that says that the health care bill prothe news endlessly yak on about are for it genuinely care about vides a better quality of life and the health care bill, I realized it’s providing health coverage to all better pursuit of happiness for not about health care at all. It’s Americans. And in the House Americans, so it is exactly what about fear.

Sunday, the vote (narrowly, but the founders would want.

Franklin D. Roosevelt once legally) showed America wanted There is a fear that if we said, “Let us never forget that coverage more than job creation don’t do exactly what the foundgovernment is ourselves and not or reduced debt. ers intended, an alien power over us. The ultiThe truth is, yes, we’re horribly mate rulers of our democracy are America is shiftun-American not a president and senators and ing left. We (the and should be congressmen and government people) have been In politics, there isn’t right and wrong, locked up in officials, but the voters of this for awhile. Teddy or good and evil, just a spectrum of Gitmo, so evcountry.” He also said something Roosevelt wanted political preferences. ery issue has to about having nothing to fear but health coverage match up with fear itself. for all Americans a what a bunch -- Emily Booker I don’t see eye to eye on hundred years ago, of rebellious, Roosevelt politically, but he got around the same Editorial Editor rich, white it right this time. time the country guys wanted Democrats and progressives started busting moin 1776. want you to think that no one nopolies and passThe foundcan afford or even get health in- ing labor laws. immigrants came here to avoid ing fathers set a good framesurance anymore because of the Since then, we’ve gotten federal work for this country, but just a mean, greedy, corporate insur- medical programs like Social European governments.

In politics, there isn’t right framework, not the whole house. ance racket.

Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and wrong, or good and evil, Back in the day, when the ink Republicans and libertar- and the State Children’s Health just a spectrum of political on the Constitution was dryians/Tea-Partyers want you to Insurance Program. ing, Congress couldn’t agree on think that the Democrats are Before you start thinking preferences.

In either direction, there are exactly what the Constitution trying to build the next Soviet we’re on the express train to Union, take away all individual Commietown, remember that extremes which can be danger- should include. So they passed freedoms, and kill a few maimed we aren’t as left as much of the ous, but some steps to restrict the Bill of Rights, which I’m pretelderly and unborn babies in the Western world. Britain passed its government spending isn’t anar- ty fond of. They also left in that process.

National Health Service Act in chy just as some steps to expand part about slavery, not because How can we act rational- 1946. Sweden has a government- government oversight isn’t 1984. they intended America to always ly when the fear inside us is funded “equal access” health drummed to extremes? care system, which has been in Personally, I think the health place for years. care bill is too big and too expenIn fact, Scandinavian counsive. And I think Obama should tries are commonly thought of have prioritized a lot more press- as the most socialist of modern The bill has thousands ing issues above this. countries. That is, they are demo-

“

”

be a slave country, but because they knew Congress would deal with that at another time.

That’s the cool part about our government. The people get to vote and send their representatives to make the rules as we the voters see fit. Think drinking is the cause of all social woes? Pass the 18th Amendment. Decide that was a bad idea? Pass the 21st. We can adapt our laws to our current feelings and political leanings (within some fundamental limits of course).

I don’t think our founding fathers ever imagined the America we live in now. The government is much stronger than even the Federalists could have predicted.

Federal highways, federal economic rules, federal education rules, federal health care rules, and on and on and on.

But they also never imagined airplanes, computers, Marxism, atomic weapons, women’s suffrage, or Wal-Mart. It doesn’t mean we have strayed from what our founders told us to do, just that the world has changed and America with it.

Read the full story

www.tntechoracle.com

What’s in the health care bill? of pages and hundreds of provisions, including a change in federal student loans. Here are just a few of the provisions:

Read more editorial content

online

O News!

Sports!

• Insurance companies will have minimum services they must cover, including preventive care. They will have to pay out a certain percentage of premiums for patient care. By 2014, when the exchanges open, insurers won’t be able to deny customers for pre-existing conditions without facing penalties.

• Everyone will have to have health insurance or pay a fine, a requirement known as the individual mandate. The fine for not having insurance would be a minimum of $695 per person per year, with exemptions for financial hardship and other special cases.

• Employers with more than 50 workers who don’t provide insurance will have to pay a fine. Fines are calculated based on number of employees. Employers with less than 50 employees do not apply to this mandate.

THE

• People will be able to buy insurance that covers abortion on the new health insurance exchanges, as long as the insurance company pays for the services with patient premiums, not taxpayer subsidies.

(Medicaid has an exemption for cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother.)

• The bill sets automatic annual increases in the maximum Pell Grant, scheduled to rise to $5,975 by 2017 from $5,350 this year. The new Pell initiative also includes $13.5 billion to cover a shortfall caused by a steep rise in the number of Americans enrolling in college.

• Nearly all federally-backed student loans will come straight from the government. The government will make approximately $500 billion in direct loans in the first 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate. It will save the federal budget $61 billion over ten years. Of that amount, $36 billion would be directed to the popular Pell Grant program.

O RACLE

Weekly. Student operated. | P.O. Box 5072 Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505

CHRISTINE SEIBER Managing Editor

SARAH TOWNSEND Asst. Editorial Editor

WILL HOUSLEY Asst. Managing Editor

BRANDON GOODWIN Sports Editor

SARA BOHANNON Ad Manager

JAMES SCHIERMEYER Asst. Sports Editor

ALLISON WHEELER DIANA CARSON Ad Assistants

CHUCK ACHESON Entertainment Editor

EMILY BOOKER Editorial Editor

TALLULAH GILLIAM BAILEY DARROW Copy Editors

Tennessee Technological University--nondiscriminatory on the basis of sex in its educational programs and activities including employment and admission of students to the University as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and regulations based therein and published in CFR, part 86.

Tennessee Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer.

BRENDA WILSON, Faculty Adviser

Polls!

www.tntechoracle.com

BEAT REPORTERS: Erica Betschart, Ellie Boles, Courtney Clifford, Matt Davis,

Justin Duke, Casey Elrod, Jordan Farrell, Darrel Ferris, Christina Gillim, Kayla Gulley, Karla Hammac, Hannah Harris, Ross Harvey, Lauren Huxford, Brandon Jelson, Christopher Jones, Dhir Joshi, Jonathan Kaulay, Samantha Kendall, David Lane, Gerilyn Lemons, Leasa McCall, Amber McCarty, Amanda Miller, Bailey Morgan, Aleksandr Peterson, Jonathan Pierce, Ashlee Polk, Brittney Robinson, Nicholas Rollins, Jessica Smith, Brandon Stephenson, Evan Taylor, Laura Vaught, Dakota Weatherford, Geri Anna Wilson, Jenda Wilson

OPINION

www.tntechoracle.com

Page 5 | March 26, 2010

Texas textbooks make right-wing bias standard SARAH TOWNSEND Asst. Editorial Editor

You may have seen on the news that the state of Texas is proposing a change in social studies textbooks.

Lawmakers want the textbooks to be more politically correct, but Texas school board officials are more concerned with injecting their own Christian ideals. In a public school system, textbooks should be politically correct.

These new text books will reflect the views of Christian conservatives who are trying to impose their personal biases. Not only evolution in science books will be affected, but these people want to re-write history with a more conservative twist.

According to Don McLeroy, a Texas school board member who helps write the public school curriculum, liberals have filled textbooks with biases and Texas is simply evening the score.

“To me it is just providing accurate history, and my observation is the left doesn’t even know they have biased it. They just think that is what it is,” McLeroy said.

In an interview, he also implied that minority groups, blacks and women, gaining

the right to vote happened because white men made it happen for them.

Basically, some Texan fundamentalist Christians are controlling what goes into textbooks throughout the country.

According to a “Nightline” piece about this, most textbook publishing companies make their products to suit their buyers, and because Texas is such a large state, it purchases more books than any other state.

Whatever passes in Texas will be what public school children will be subjected to throughout America.

Things we know as scientific evidence will be pushed to the side, Creationism will be taught in school, and the acts of Joseph McCarthy will be justified in your future children’s textbooks.

If you paid attention in history class (real history class where they teach what actually happened), you know he was the precious Republican senator from Wisconsin who accused more than 200 fellow politicians, actors and regular citizens of being communists.

Somehow, this is okay to the Texas Board of Education,

Phil’s call isn’t just for‘red necks’ Dear Editor, You almost got it right. Did I hear redneck and Groundhog Day used in the same sentence? Phil is now quietly resting, but alas, how sad he will be when I tell him that you, Sarah, called Groundhog Day a redneck holiday.

At least you got the information regarding the animal activist organization right. And yes, we treat Phil like the treasure that he is, but back to this redneck thing.

Our wonderful national holiday is filled with family, and shadows, and fun, and cold and smores and a hot toddy or two... We do not limit our holiday to rednecks, but we do celebrate frivolus fun.

Does Santa limit his holiday to a certain group? I would give you a big Groundhog Day hug if you were here and we would like to invite all your readers to Gobblers Knob atop a hill in rural Pensylvania to meet first hand, the prognosticator of prognosticators: Punxsutawney Phil.

Spring is only a couple of weeks away... just like Phil predicted.

Sarah, are you a believer in the 125 year tradition of weather forecasting from the cutest marrmot you have ever seen? As for the rednecks out there, you are welcome here anytime.

Warm regards on a cold day, Ben Hughes Official Handler of Punxsutawney Phil bhughes@pah.org

‘Silly stunts’ bring other animal rights issues attention Dear Editor, I was happy to see questions raised about confining and isolating animals for the superstitious pagan ritual known as Groundhog Day (“Mechanical Phil Makes Silly Holiday Sillier,” 5 March). If we’re going to devote a day of enjoyment to indulging outdated folklore, let’s at least make it fun for everyone.

Groundhogs are very shy animals who shun human contact, so for Phil, the Groundhog Day festivities are a terrifying experience. Hauling Phil out to be gawked at, handled, photographed, and then left to lan-

and it should be written in textbooks as a reasonable act. In my opinion, justifying McCarthyism is as bad as justifying Communism.

And it only gets better from there. They also require that the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, be mentioned alongside Abraham Lincoln, the actual U.S. president at the time of the Civil War. He says they’re just trying to reflect what has actually happened in U.S. history.

Because there are enough witnesses left from the ‘60s who accurately remember the events of that decade, they can’t make anything up about the ‘60s until at least 2030. Oh wait. They tried removing Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court judge, and any mention of Ceaser Chavez, the famous labor organizer.

Milestones in American history would be discounted.

And what is that they always say about history? If you don’t learn about your history, it will repeat itself?

They did successfully remove the author of “Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?” because his name is Bill Martin Jr. which also happens to be the name of another author who wrote a book critical of capitalism. They got them confused apparently. Nice example of how intelligent these people are.

If you have a biblical world view, that’s great. But I can have morals and teach

my future children morals at home. I will probably take my kids to church when I have them in the distant future, but school and church should not be related. Not only is it wrong to create a bias, half of the things Texas Board members want to include are simply not true. Being exposed to religious teachings of any kind should be up to the parent, not the school board.

You can teach your kids whatever inaccurate garbage you want to in your own home. However, I’d like to know that when I have kids and send them to school in the distant future, they’re learning true facts.

Elementary school should not be linked to Sunday school in America. Whatever happened to separation of church and state? Young minds are being molded by people who base their lives on making laws pass based on ignorance.

The whole issue should be embarrassing to conservatives. It makes them appear brainless as a whole, which occasionally isn’t the case.

Thankfully McLeroy has been voted out of office.

Unfortunately, he has his seat on the board for the rest of this year, and by the time he finally leaves office, the social studies rules will already be in place and will be here stay for the next ten years in every U.S. public school.

I encourage you to watch the “Nightline” special on this topic on YouTube.

CONTACT US

• Letters are edited for grammar but not for content. Please limit letters to 300 words in length. Anonymous letters are not accepted. Deadline for letters is 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Poll of the Week >> What do you think about the passing of the health care bill?

I am for the bill and am glad it passed.

I am against it, but now that it passed the House, I will go along with it.

I am against it and hope it is repealed.

Go to tntechoracle.com to vote!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

guish in a Plexiglas cube—devoid of dirt or vegetation and where he cannot hibernate—for the rest of the year is clearly inhumane.

We agree that there are many animal issues that deserve our attention, but we also believe that all animals—even those who, like groundhogs, garner little respect—deserve to be treated with dignity.

The very heart of the ethic that underlies and informs PETA’s actions is the right of all beings to be secure from violation and harm.

While many organizations focus their attention solely on more obvious animal issues (like spaying and neutering), we try to draw attention to any case that deserves it, including the cruel and unnecessary groundhog promotion.

That doesn’t detract from the larger matters at hand, our core issues: the enormous suffering of animals killed for food, used in experiments, mutilated for fashion, or exploited for entertainment.

Defending this event as “tradition” does not justify subjecting an animal to gratuitous stress. Cruelty to animals must be challenged wherever it occurs, regardless of whether it is labeled “tradition” or “culture,” and PETA speaks out whenever there is the potential for animal suffering.

Much of PETA’s work is done through undercover investigations that expose cruelty and violations of the law in laboratories, on fur farms, in slaughterhouses, and behind the scenes at circuses.

Despite our best efforts to get the word out about the horrors we find

in the course of our investigations, it is often the “silly” stunts that get widespread media coverage, rather than our very serious undercover work.

However, by using fun, lighthearted stunts to get people’s attention in the first place, we also open the door to informing them about the more solemn side of our work.

Besides, wouldn’t it be cooler if Punxsutawney’s groundhog had laser eyes?

Drew Winter DrewW@peta2.com

‘4th and Long’ is wrong about Vols Dear Editor, I am a senior here at Tech. I try to catch the latest edition of The Oracle when I can. Just like most newspapers, I just read the sports section of The Oracle.

As of late I have paid particular attention to the “4th and Long” section. The recent article on Pat Summit caught my attention being a Tennessee fan.

He states that “to date, she has 873 NCAA victories.” I, along with any other person who calls themselves a UT fan, thought this was incorrect. Because, yes, you were not dreaming when you watched the celebration on ESPN when she got her 1000 victory.

But I wanted to check myself. So I called the NCAA offices and spoke to the Associate Director of Athletics Gary Johnson, and he says they have

O

• Send Letters to the Editor to oracle@tntech.edu, TTU Box 5072 or tntechoracle.com/home/ lettertotheeditor.

on record 1005 NCAA victories as of the end of last season.

He also said they do include the AIAW victories. Now I understand a mistake, but this is not the first time I have read some ridiculous comments in this column.

I will use just one example, in the 10/16/2009 issue of The Oracle, the “4th and Long” article compares Johnathan Crompton to Lee Sweeney. Stats (at mid-season) are used as the bases for this article, and come one, OVC and SEC are like comparing apples and oranges for football.

Let’s be realistic. Come April, Crompton will be drafted and well I do not know about Lee. Do not get me started on the Eric Berry commentary...”What is all the hype about Eric Berry?” is the quote from the article. Well let’s see, first round draft pick and one of the best defensive backs to play college football.

I suggest the data being put in these articles be checked a little better next time and maybe we could write an article that does not bash UT athletics or analyze the population at the fit.

Justin James jdjames21@tntech.edu

Reader reflects on Oracle’s changes Dear Editor, I want to start by saying that I am extremely impressed with the overall quality and appearance of

The Oracle this semester. It shows a huge improvement especially over last semester, but also in the history of the paper, as I remember it.

The layout of the front page is so elegant and up to date. I love it. The news pages also show a great deal of attention to layout. Great job.

The web site and use of web based media is also a big improvement. I look forward to receiving an email with the latest news on campus every week! I am very impressed with the significant change in the web site and with the extensive use of social media. Big props to whoever is in charge of the internet presence.

I’m also very pleased with the quality and thought that goes into the entertainment section. I look forward to reading the “Movie Talk” column each week. Such a great section to read.

Opinion is of high quality, as usual. Emily is one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure of reading. She has such strength in her words. The new assistant editor is showing so much potential, I look forward to future work.

Now to sports, my least favorite section. I also keep up with the letters to the editor and I’ve heard many negative things about the sports section and heard many negative things through the grapevine on campus.

Not only does it bring stigma to the paper by degrading people and organizations at TTU, it also shows poor attention to such important detail, such as layout. The sports section shows no sort of attention or comparison to the rest of the paper, it’s layout goes completely against the flow of the paper. Such a disgrace to The Oracle. Not only that, the sport’s editor shows no sort of respect to anyone on campus, his column never has anything positive to say, and I’m not the only one to say that.

Seriously, what is so hard about finding something newsworthy and respectful to say? Get another job, spare the loyal readers a waste of two minutes reading your page, or lack thereof.

Other than that, I am absolutely amazed by the significant improvements The Oracle has harvested this semester. Great job, guys! Keep up with the hard work, professionalism in coverage, and superior quality!

Your Loyal Reader, David Boleman davidboleman12@gmail.com

SPORTS

www.tntechoracle.com

Page 6 | March 26, 2010

Tech Baja affected by new Strength and Conditioning Center Construction site to take over Baja practice area

By EVAN TAYLOR Staff Writer

Courtesy of Sports Information

A.J. Kirby-Jones leads the nation in home runs with 13.

Baseball, Kirby-Jones swinging for a repeat

By JAMES SCHIERMEYER Asst. Sports Editor

The Golden Eagle baseball team will play its final non-conference home series this weekend against the Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville Cougars (5-15).

The first pitch of the series will be thrown today at 3 p.m. Tech will then match up against interstate rival Tennessee (11-10) on March 30 before beginning conference play next weekend on the road at Jacksonville State (11-10).

Tech then returns for a home and home matchup with non-conference foe, Lipscomb April 6 and 7.

The Golden Eagles defeated Belmont earlier this week in blowout fashion 15-5. Leading the charge for head coach Bragga’s squad with two late home runs was A.J. Kirby-Jones, adding to his record-setting career total.

A.J. leads the NCAA with 13 home runs so far this season in addition to leading the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home

runs, total bases, walks and runs batted in to go along with being the Louisville National Player of the Week and OVC player of the week earlier in March.

“A.J. just does what he does,” Bragga said. “We know what we are going to get out of A.J. everyday. He is a tremendous ball player and he always shows up ready to give it his all.”

During his National Player of the Week run earlier this month, KirbyJones was 10-19 from the plate with five home runs, two doubles, 13 RBIs, a .526 batting average, .655 on-base percentage and a slugging rate of 1.421. At one point, Kirby-Jones hit four home runs in five at bats.

Most players hope to have those kinds of stats over the course of an entire season, let alone a single week.

“It was a great honor, but now I have to keep working for my teammates and we have to get better because it is still early in the year,” Kirby-Jones said. “I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates especially Chad Oberacker, Tate McMillan and Austin Wulf because they are getting on base allowing me to see pitches and I am just trying to hit the ball hard and make something happen.”

The win over Belmont, Tuesday

was a great mental boost for the Golden Eagles who were swept by Memphis the previous weekend despite exploding offensively for 22 runs. Tech (10-11) had won 5 of their previous 6 before squaring off against the Tigers.

While the rest of us were on Spring Break, the purple and gold boys of summer were winning baseball games in bunches going 4-2 over the week.

Tech earned a split with powerhouse South Alabama University falling in the first game 6-4 and winning the second in dramatic 14-13 fashion.

Tech, then made their bats rain taking three of four and scoring 37 runs against Buffalo University despite terrible weather.

Tech defeated East Tennessee State University in the front end of a home and home series on March 17.

A clutch one-out, two-run walk-off single from freshman Zephan Guyear in the bottom of the ninth secured a 6-5 victory for the Golden Eagles. Tech visits ETSU for the conclusion of their annual series April 28.

You can follow Tech baseball live during each game at TTUsports.com.

Admission is free for every home game and all members of the Tennessee Tech community are encouraged to attend.

Upcoming plans for a Strength and Conditioning Center may put a pinch on grounds traditionally used to test out Baja SAE vehicles.

A general contractor was given the notice to proceed Monday, March 22 and will begin as soon as the weather is good enough.

The center is part of a plan to build three new facilities, the Strength and Conditioning Center, a new soccer field and new indoor and outdoor tennis courts.

The goal of the new Strength and Conditioning Center will be to help train athletes more effectively and recruit future student athletes.

The center will be built to replace the current weight training facility on the third floor of Tucker Stadium, a less than optimal place for several hundreds of pounds of weight training equipment.

Construction of each of the new facilities is not set in stone, and is largely based on gathering donation money for each of the new facilities.

“I’m not saying that this is going to take place over the next 1 to 2 years,” Grant Swallows, associate athletics director for development, said. “It may take ten years.”

The first of the facilities, the Strength and Condition-

ing Center, will be built directly adjacent to the area where the Society of Automotive Engineers tests out their Baja vehicles.

“That space has always been planned for us to expand our facilities,” Swallows said.

While it may lead to a bit of a squeeze, both sides are working together to work out the best solution for both parties.

“It will be necessary for all the parties involved to put their heads together and work in good faith,” Dale Wilson, lead organizer and team faculty adviser for the Baja SAE team, said. “Everybody up and down the power train has been supportive.”

One of the three planned facilities, the soccer field, will be placed directly on the land that the Baja team uses, meaning that the Baja team will eventually need to find a new location, though not any time in the near future.

Baja SAE has been large part of Tech’s activities for over thirty years. Tech has more wins and more top ten finishes than any other school.

While the new situation may be inconvenient, it is hardly the end for Baja SAE. If possible, a better location or facility will be the next step.

“We try to work the best we can in unison with the understanding that we’re going in different directions,” Wilson said.

sports @ tech March & April 26 Baseball vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 3 p.m.

27 Track - TTU Invitational Softball @ Eastern Illinois 1, 3 p.m.

Baseball vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 2 p.m.

28 Track - TTU Invitational Tennis @ Eastern Kentucky 10 a.m.

Softball @ Eastern Illinois 1 p.m.

Baseball vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 1 p.m.

30 Softball vs. Jacksonville St. 3, 5 p.m.

Baseball @ Tennessee 6 p.m.

31 Women’s Tennis @ Memphis, 11 a.m.

The new 24,000 square foot center will provide strength, practice, and locker facilities.

Courtesy of Sports Information

Strength and Conditioning Center to open in Fall 2010

By ELLIE BOLES Staff Writer Tech’s Strength and Conditioning program will soon be gaining even more muscle.

On Monday, Tech broke ground on the new Strength and Conditioning Center scheduled to open at the end of this year.

Director of Strength and Conditioning Chip Pugh said construction on the center was set in motion after a private donation of roughly $250,000 increased their total

donations to just over $2 million.

Development of the center will be funded solely with private money.

The 24,000 square-foot facility will be located next to the softball and baseball fields in a location that Pugh said was ideal for Tech’s student-athletes.

“We thought it was the best place for the facility,” said Pugh. “The sand pit and the obstacle course are there, which makes things more convenient for training.”

Pugh said that private

donors continue to pledge donations towards the center, and he said those donations would be used to purchase equipment.

The new center will house a 10,000 square-foot strength center and a 10,000 squarefoot indoor practice facility.

The remaining space will be used for offices and locker rooms.

The new locker rooms will be most beneficial for Tech’s softball team. The team’s current locker room is in a shed that, according to assistant strength coach Kristina Hort-

ert, is prone to flooding.

Hortert said while she is excited for new locker rooms for the softball team, she knows the benefits of the new facility are bigger than lockers.

“We will have the best facilities in the OVC when this is finished”, said Hortert. “It will take our athletics and our recruiting to the next level.”

Although the center is primarily for student-athlete use only, Pugh said some weight-lifting classes, as well as Pugh’s Crossfit affiliate class, would be held there.

April 2 Tennis vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 11 a.m.

Softball vs. Murray State 1, 3 p.m.

Baseball @ Jacksonville St. 1, 4:30 p.m.

3 Track @ Austin Peay State University Invite Tennis vs. Murray State 11 a.m.

Softball vs. Murray State 1 p.m.

Baseball @ Jacksonville St. 2 p.m.

5 Women’s Golf @ Western Carolina Invite 6 Women’s Golf @ Western Carolina Invite Tennis @ Morehead St. 1 p.m.

Baseball @ Lipscomb 6 p.m.

7 Softball vs. Kennesaw St. 4 p.m.

Baseball vs. Lipscomb 6 p.m.

For more, visit ttusports.com

SPORTS www.tntechoracle.com

Page 7 | March 26, 2010

Tech football to face TCU, Arkansas in 2010 season Golden Eagles face FBS opponents for the 14th consecutive season

By BRANDON GOODWIN Sports Editor The Tennessee Tech football team will once again – make that twice again – take on a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. The Golden Eagles will open their 2010 season with back-to-back games against Arkansas and Texas Christian University.

The season kicks off in Fayetteville, Ark. on Sept. 4th with the Razorbacks out of the Southeastern Conference then continues on Sept. 11th against the Horned Frogs of TCU from the Mountain West Conference.

Arkansas, projected to be ranked in the top 20 to start the season, returns 17 starters from last year’s 8-5 team. Among those is quarterback Ryan Mallett who led the SEC in total offense and passing efficiency last season. The Razorbacks were the top scoring team in the conference, averaging 37.3 points per game. They were also ranked second to Florida with 439.3 yards per game.

“Arkansas will be a pretty big game,” said junior running back Henry Sailes. “The SEC has a lot of speed and size.”

After playing one of the best offensive teams in the nation, Tech will have to regroup quickly as it travels to Fort Worth the next week to face TCU (12-1 in 2009). The Horned Frogs have led the NCAA in total defense the past two years, holding opponents to just 239.69 yards per game last season.

TCU returns 16 starters including nine AllMWC players and is projected to be ranked in the top seven to start the year.

The defense does take a hit this year, losing two All-MWC cornerbacks in Rafael Priest and Nick Sanders.

“It’s going to be pretty good competitive game,” said Sailes. “I think it will help us out mentally.”

Tech head coach Watson Brown said the games serve two purposes. “It’s a two thought process,” he said. “The kids love them.”

The games also serve a financial purpose, however.

Amon G. Carter Stadium, home of the TCU Horned Frogs

“We need the money,” Brown said.

“We’re not going to keep playing two [FBS teams] a year, but right now, financially, we just have to do this.”

For the players, on the other hand, it’s not about the money.

“The coaches ain’t real fond of it,” Brown said. “But the kids want to go play in the nice places and play against the best players and see what they can do.”

“Playing big schools will help us see where we are at the beginning of the season,” Sailes said.

Junior linebacker Charlie Seivers thinks

Courtesy of TCU Sports Information

the team is ready.

“I think we’re up for the challenge,” he said. “It’s exciting for a smaller school to get to play a [FBS team].

“It teaches us a lot and those are the games that you’re obviously going to be the underdog, but you’re going to learn a lot when the odds are all against you,” he continued. “It’s a good learning experience.”

Brown considers the Arkansas and TCU games to be a sort of pre-season.

“We treat those games as a different season, really,” he said. “We have to get back from the Arkansas and TCU games and basi-

cally start our real season at that point.”

This will mark the first time the Golden Eagles have ever met either of the two teams.

“If we just come back from those games and don’t have injuries, I think we’re a better football team because we lined up against the best players we’re going to play all year long,” said Brown. “When you line up against a better player, you get better.”

Tech finished 6-5 last season and went undefeated at home, finishing second in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. The Golden Eagles are scheduled to play Iowa in 2011.

4th and Long

By BRANDON GOODWIN

Sports Editor bagoodwin21@tntech.edu

Junior Ashley Mayhew is prepared to compete at the TTU Invite.

Courtesy of Sports Information

Golden Eagles to host TTU Invite

By ERIKA BETSCHART Staff Writer The Tennessee Tech track team will be hosting the first Tennessee Tech Invitational in recent memory this Saturday.

Five schools from across the nation will travel to Cookeville to compete at Tucker Stadium.

With each meet this season Tech has steadily improved, shattering school records and making history.

Junior Ashley Mayhew said, “I believe we will have the best season in Tech’s history.”

In their last meet, she placed fifth in the hammer throw and added four points to Tech’s total. This season is quickly proving to be one of the best in Tech’s history.

Sophomore Emily Weinzetl said, “We’ve had a lot of records broken this season already. I think as a team we’re looking to break those newly set records, as well as shatter old ones.”

Tech has broken five school

records so far this season with threats of shattering several more. Leayn Carter, Ashley Mayhew, Rachel Forbes, Katie Lowery and Megan Lyons all set school records in their personal events. While Tech’s quartet of Allison Price, Emily Weinzetl, Danielle Catlett and Leayn Carter blazed the 4x400 relay record by nearly seven seconds.

The ladies have been practicing since August.

“We have been training really hard, just conditioning and practicing on technique,” Mayhew said.

The team is ready for whatever the weather may bring; the ladies practice rain, or snow.

“Weather does play a major part in performance, but everyone has to compete in the same weather at the big meet, so I think it keeps all things equal,” Mayhew said.

The ladies are all pumped about the hosting of the Invitational. Their peers will actually have the opportunity to come

and support them.

“I think us hosting the OVC meet this year means everything for our sport. It’s going to get us noticed on campus.

Hopefully we get more attention from the athletic department as well,” Weinzetl said.

Tech will be hosting Kentucky State, Tennessee State, Alabama A&M, and CarsonNewman College this Saturday. This is the first time since the 1970’s that Tech has hosted an invitational. Tech is approaching the invitational as preparation for Tech the Ohio Valley Conference Championship which Tech will host later this spring.

The ladies expect your support with a full track the heat is on.

“I am so excited about this.

We have waited a long time to get a full track. I just hope we get a lot of fans and support during the home meets,” Mayhew said.

The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and admission is free to the public.

In light of the above story about football, I would like to discuss the prospect of small schools getting paid to play large schools.

I think it is great. The money coming into the program for playing one or two games a year is astounding, not to mention the national attention the Football Championship Series teams have to gain. But it isn’t always about the money.

In my tenure at Tech, I have had the pleasure of watching the Golden Eagles play Auburn, Louisville, Kansas State, and Georgia. I also plan on going to both the Arkansas and TCU games next season.

The scenes I have encountered at these games is outstanding. The venues are always packed and the fans are the loudest I’ve ever heard. Tech fans are usually nestled into a couple of sections in the lower-level of the stadium, but they cheer their hearts out.

Walking out onto the field with 80- or 80,000 fans screaming is a feeling I’ll never

forget. The players won’t either. They don’t worry about whether it’s right or wrong; they just play. They love being on the big stage, win or lose.

They know they’re against all the odds, but you can still see that ‘what if’ in their eyes.

What if we won? What if we left this crowd of 92,000 so stunned that they can’t speak? What if ESPN called me up one day?

We all know about Appalachian State beating Michigan in 2007. That will stand as the most prominent FCS over FBS upset for a long time. Or will it?

These upsets happen more often than one might think. At least one FCS team has beaten an FBS team each of the last 11 years: William and Mary last year, Appalachian State in ’07, Montana State in ’06, UC Davis in ’05. Need I go on?

It could happen, you never know. I’ll be at the games cheering for Tech. I hope you will be too.

“If you can’t take a punch, you should play table tennis.“ - Pierre Berbizier

WHO’S HOT?

WHAT’S NOT? Fences

Kirby-Jones has hit 10 home runs in the last 10 games. In those ten games, he batted .579 (22-for-38) with 17 runs and 30 RBI. He is slugging 1.579 and has drawn nine walks.

He was named National Player of the Week on March 16th and his 13 total home runs leads the nation.

Chain-link, padded walls, or ivy-covered brick, none of it stands up to the beast that is A.J. Kirby-Jones. Even the green monster quivers at the thought of Kirby-Jones stepping to the plate.

If you live anywhere within a 35-mile radius of a baseball field, be aware that it’s not hail, it’s A.J. So park carefully, very, very carefully.

ENTERTAINMENT Page 8 | March 26, 2010

www.tntechoracle.com

Movie Talk Extended Edition: 3-D Movies

By CHUCK ACHESON Entertainment Editor With the wild success of Avatar (2009), many critics and viewers were quick to celebrate the next 3-D revolution in film.

However, a look at the history, financial success and health concerns, shows that the new revolution might just be a case of déjà vu.

And what about filmmakers going back and retroactively adding 3-D to older movies? Is 3-D here to stay this time? Let’s take a look.

A Brief History The desire for three dimensional entertainment is nearly as old a film itself. While the execution of the medium is only now coming to fruition as a serious instrument of visual conveyance, the notion of 3-D in movies dates back to The Great Train Robbery (1903). In the final seconds of the film, one of the bandits points his gun at the camera and pulls the trigger.

Although a digitally enhanced projectile did not appear to fly into the audience, the sequence planted the seed for exploration into use of the 3rd dimension. It would take about 50 years, but 3-D movies would become a viable source of entertainment.

The first 3-D boom began with Bwana Devil (1952). The film featured the Natural Vision 3-D system, which developed into the polarization system and became the standard for the industry and a precursor for the modern model used today. Some features used the anaglyph system of two lenses (generally one red and one cyan) in a pair of glasses. However, this model best served non-moving images found in comic books of the day.

Because the systems during the first “golden age” of 3-D required dual strips to be played in theaters, the medium fell from favor due to expense.

During the 60s and 70s, studios released several movies using a red/ green anaglyph 3-D system, but most were gimmicks in otherwise critically-unsuccessful movies. However, the period did produce one major breakthrough, Allan Silliphant and Chris Condon’s Stereovision system in 1970. The system allowed for two images to be squished on one film strip rather than two, meaning the polarized images would not go out of sync.

The 80s and 90s saw a reemergence of quality 3-D movies, spurred by the desire of several theme parks, Disney World and Universal Studios among others, for specialty 3-D attractions. From this came Francis Ford Coppola’s Captain Eo (1986), starring Michael Jackson.

This is one of the final images of The Great Train Robbery (1903). Directors hoped the audience would react to the visual, helping create the illusion of 3-D.

Other films entered the market but the mainstream reemergence of 3D would have to wait until the 21st Century.

Ghosts of the Abyss (2003), directed by James Cameron ironically enough, was the first to use the Reality Camera System, which allowed for film to be recorded digitally, ushering in the possibility for movies like Avatar and Alice (2010).

The Money Doesn’t Lie But, it doesn’t tell the whole truth either.

Proponents of 3-D movies point out the financial success of Avatar means that 3-D movies are here to stay permanently. Yes, Avatar is the highest grossing film of all-time domestically and internationally.

However, when the domestic numbers are adjusted for inflation, a different picture emerges.

When adjusted, Avatar slips to 14th overall on the list. Even when movies released more than once are removed from the equation, Avatar sits at 7th. In addition, Avatar only has seventy-percent of the adjusted net gross of The Sound of Music (1965), the highest gross for a single release. So, what does this mean?

Avatar has the most money but not the most seats filled. And, don’t forget the extra $3 you shell out to see 3-D films. The numbers don’t support the idea that Avatar is the harbinger of the 3-D revolution, rather, the movie appears to be a

Top Grossing Films Domestically, Adjusted for Inflation 1. Gone with the Wind - $1,537,559,600^ 2. Star Wars - $1,355,490,100^ 3. The Sound of Music - $1,083,781,000 4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial - $1,079,511,500^ 5. The Ten Commandments - $996,910,000 6. Titanic - $976,712,200 7. Jaws - $974,679,800 8. Doctor Zhivago - $944,670,800 9. The Exorcist - $841,427,600^ 10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves - $829,490,000^ 11. 101 Dalmations - $760,370,300^ 12. The Empire Strikes Back - $747,154,600^ 13. Ben-Hur - $745,780,000 14. Avatar - $731,621,200 15. Return of the Jedi - $715,792,100^ ^ Denotes movies with multiple theatrical releases Source: http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

A scene from James Cameron’s Avatar, released by Twentieth Century Fox in 2009

flash in the pan especially since only 12 3-D films have ever broken the $100 million unadjusted gross mark domestically.

Health Concerns When many members of the audience left Avatar, they said they felt “blue” in every sense of the word. Others left the movie feeling “green.”

The ill feeling many 3-D movie goers suffer from is known as “vergence accommodation conflict.”

VAC results from the brain being forced to focus on both near and far images in 3-D movies.

In reality, when we look at an object close to us, the background fades out of focus, and vice versa.

However, with 3-D movies, the brain must go against what it has learned naturally, usually resulting in eye fatigue and migraines.

The problem had been long thought to exist but was confirmed in a study conducted by Martin Banks, professor of optometry and vision science at the University of California, Berkeley.

“You’re taking that normal relationship which has been coupled in the brain for years and you’re changing it. And what we showed is that can cause fatigue,” Banks said about VAC. In addition, Banks warned that younger people are more at risk.

“When you hit your 50s and 60s, we think that concern is going to be reduced,” Banks stated. “So that is probably more problematic for young adults, teenagers, et cetera.”

While VAC isn’t the next plague, a growing number of people are re-

porting illness in 3-D movies.

Reimagination or Descecration?

One of the most insidious actions in the eyes of a movie purist is to alter the original. That’s why many are denouncing Cameron’s desire to retroactively add 3-D to Titanic (1997). Aiming for a 2012 re-release of the movie, Cameron hopes the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic will help ticket sales.

But will 3-D make the movie better? Did the new effects in the rerelease of Star Wars (1997) make the movie better? What about changing shotguns into walkie talkies in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (2002)? Or the colorization of Casablanca (1942) in the 1980s?

Stephen Bogart, son of Humphrey, might have said it best, “if you’re going to colorize Casablanca, why not put arms on the Venus de Milo?”

So, will a 3-D version of Jack Dawson’s cold, dead hand protruding from the screen as he slips below the waves make Titanic better?

Personally, I doubt it.

A Cinematic Revolution?

Is 3-D here to stay? Historically, it looks like no and we are just on the front-end of the excitement, which will taper off over time. With questionable grosses as a whole for 3-D and growing health concerns, it looks like another case of déjà vu from earlier periods. However, an unprecedented number of 3-D films are in production and 3-D is making the leap to television.

This is the best chance has ever had of becoming a serious medium.

Go inside the booth: Kassi Thomas Kassi Thomas hosts “Horseback Harmonies” on WTTU 88.5 FM. The Oracle had a chance to sit down with Kassi while she aired the most recent installment of her show.

Q: Any DJ names and the story behind them?

KT: It’s always just been “Kassi” except for the semester I cohosted a show with my friend Brittany Wilkey and together we formed a cohesive unit known as “K-Dub.” Q: Tell us about your show.

KT: “Horseback Harmonies” is based around Daytrotter sessions recorded at Horseback Studios in Rock Island, Ill. It’s an eclectic mix of new indie music with a focus on indie folk.

Q: What past shows have you done?

KT: My first, “Queens of Noise” was in 2007. Next came “The Band Next Door,” which focused on local artists, in the Spring 2008. Finally, I worked on “K-Dub’s 2 Hours of Power” in Spring 2009. I’ve got my show planned for next semester: “Gypsy Rose,” which will focus on Eastern European folk music.

Q: One last quick question, what are you studying here at Tech?

KT: I’m working on a B.A. in History with Secondary Education.

Kassi’s “Horseback Harmonies” can be heard on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on WTTU 88.5 FM or streamed by following Q: You said you focus on indie the link at TNTech.edu/WTTU. folk, could you name some of the bands or artists featured Photos by Chuck Acheson on the show?

KT: Sure, I play bands like Delta Spirit, A.A. Bondy, Social Studies, Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, and Cold War Kids just to name a few.

Q: Tell us about your experience at WTTU 88.5 FM. KT: I’ve been a DJ at WTTU 88.5 FM since my freshman year in Fall 2006. I’ve worked in station management off and on from Fall 2007 to Fall 2009.

This is my fourth show while at the station.

Hands Around (Reigen) is the newest production being performed in the Backdoor Playhouse this season. Originally written in 1900 by Arthur Schnitzler, the play deals with the class structure of the time through a series of one-on-one encounters between characters of different classes. These encounters show how sexual contact transgresses class and economic boundaries. The content of the play is geared towards an adult audience, dealing with with sexuality and partial nudity. For further information contact the Backdoor Playhouse box office at 372-6595 or go online to www.tntech.edu/bdph.

ENTERTAINMENT www.tntechoracle.com

Page 9 | March 26, 2010

Comics that should be on your radar: Fables

By CHUCK ACHESON Entertainment Editor The Fables series is a fresh look at the fairytale genre of stories. Created by Bill Willingham, the long-running series offers an interesting interpretation at nearly every fable, fairytale or tall tale.

The fables once lived in a world of their own before an evil entity, The Adversary, systematically destroyed most of the kingdoms, forcing the fables to flee to the “real” world. After the loss of their home world, the fables take up residence in New York, trying to adapt to their new lives while planning to take back their home world.

While in the “real” world, the fables sign a general amnesty treaty, forgiving all previous transgressions. The result? The Big Bad Wolf, known as Bigby Wolf, becomes the new sheriff in addition to several inversions of previous roles by characters.

Throughout the series, Willingham performs character studies of several of the fables. Ever wonder why Prince Charming shows up in so many fairytales?

Willingham offers a provoking explanation that intertwines lore and modern thinking seamlessly.

Add all of that on top of a story that is epic in every sense of the word. Heart-pumping battles are strewn throughout the series, peaking with the end of the first major storyline in issue #75. And, these aren’t the fairytale battles you grew up with. For example, the tortoise and the hare team up to form a mobile machinegun platform, reminiscent of modern military vehicles. And, that’s just a peak of Willingham’s incredible imagination on display.

The 93rd issue just came out and the series is plunging headfirst into its second major storyline. And, the new storyline has done what is nearly impossible... be a sequel that doesn’t feel like a sequel, it’s just as creative and

Spin Dat Record With KYLE BUCKNER

When I listen to new music from artists that I like I want to hear progression. I want to see that an artist is taking steps forward, rather than remaining complacent and stuck in the sound of a previous release.

Midlake’s new studio album, The Courage of Others, is a great example of a release that shows a band that is moving forward, building upon their characteristic sound while going in a new direction. Midlake’s previous releases, 2004’s Bamnam and Silvercork and 2006’s The Trials of Van Occupan-

Movie Talk

thoughtful as the first.

I couldn’t recommend this book highly enough. Admittedly, I didn’t find the series until issue #62 but that brings up another strong point of the series. After every sixth of seventh issue, they are combined into a trade book, making entry into the series very easy. In addition, each trade is more or less a self-contained story, while working on the overall storyline.

The series has spawned a couple spin offs including the Jack of Fables series and the newer Cinderella series.

Do yourself a favor and check out the first couple of trades for this series. The first two are slower than the rest, but set the stage well. From the closing pages of the second book to the issues coming out now, Willingham takes readers on a wild and exciting trip no one should miss.

Despite the book’s grounding in children’s literature, the book is The cover for issue #71 featuring Cinderella Courtesy Vertigo suggested for mature audiences.

Midlake The Courage of Others

ther, were excellent indie rock records. These albums showcased songs that are poppy, psychedelic, inspiring, and well rounded.

The Courage of Others, apart from multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist Tim Smith’s distinct voice, sounds almost like a completely different band.

Midlake dropped the synthesizers and replaced them with flute, harpsichord, cello, brass, and woodwind instruments. The album’s tracks are predominantly soft and somber, with fluttering arrangements, distant harmonies, and smooth, haunting vocals.

Tracks like “Acts of Man,” “Winter Dies” and “Small Mountain” sound like they’re straight out of 15th century Europe. Smith creates an almost ethereal world by pairing rustic, pastoral imagery with music that is

reminiscent of the Renaissance era. If person, you will definitely enjoy it. the percussion were absent from the Also, if you like this album or one of record the songs sound almost as if their earlier releases Midlake will be they could be performed in a huge ca- performing at Mercy Lounge in Nashthedral backed by a full symphony. ville on April 1.

My favorite track on the album, “Fortune,” is one of the only songs that doesn’t feature a full array of instruments. Played with only two guitars and beautiful complementary harmonies, the track is simple, peaceful, and stunning. “Fortune” is also the closest to an example of the band’s previous work.

Overall, The Courage of Others is a brilliant album. Midlake sounds more mature and confident on this album than on any of their previous work. The band members are fantastic musicians who know their boundaries, but aren’t afraid to go in a new direction. This isn’t a pop album, but if you are a pretty relaxed The album cover for The Courage of Others

WE’RE LOOKING FOR TALENTED STUDENT PERFORMERS! The Disney College Program is seeking Animated Character Performers and Parade Performers to perform at the

Walt Disney World® Resort near Orlando, FL. Special consideration will be given to Disney Animated Character “look-alikes” and individuals 4’8” – 5’ and 6’ – 6’3”.

Applicants must view an online presentation and attend an audition.

Check out our Web site at www.disneycollegeprogram.com /entertainment for further details and an online application.

Honors program offers intellectual movie series for all interested students

By ROSS HARVEY Staff Writer

The Honors Program provides a social and intellectual event every Saturday.

Mindful Movies is an event where a movie is shown and then discussed. All students, including those not in the honors program, are invited to attend.

Located in the Honors Lounge, in TJ Farr, Mindful Movies is easily accessible.

Despite this, attendance to the event has been low, chair Willis Kelley said.

“We want people to attend,” Kelley said. “But Honors is a small pool, and we may need more publicity [to reach those outside of Honors].”

Kelley enjoys presenting these movies, and discussing the themes and actions that take place in the movies.

Some of the movies shown so far include Fight Club, The Shawshank Redemption, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, and American History X. “These are Oscar-winning

movies, and there is quality in the story. There’s nothing quite like talking about a good movie with people that got something out of it,” Kelley said. “This isn’t like high school; we won’t force you to say anything. But we do want real opinions, and it’s good to just hang out.”

On April 3 Mindful Movies will be partnering with the Under Represented Groups Committee to show The Joy Luck Club, a film about the relationship of Chinese-American women and their Chinese mothers, and discuss cultural roles in today’s society. It will show at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.

“We’re excited about it. We hope to have a good turnout. The more people, the more provisions and refreshments we can have, so bring your friends too. People should take advantage of it,” Kelley said.

For more information about Mindful Movies, contact Willis Kelley at wekelley42@tntech.edu, or co-chair Lindsey Slaughter at lmslaughte42@tntech.edu.

AUDITION Tuesday, March 30 11:30 AM DC Dance Factory 1850 E General George Patton Drive Franklin, TN 37067 EOE • Drawing Creativity from Diversity • ©Disney

By Matt Knieling / Find more at http://www.inanimateshorts.com

By CHUCK ACHESON Entertainment Editor

Alice Alice in Wonderland picks up when Alice is nineteen and back in the real world. Before you know it, the denizens of Wonderland bring her back so she can realize her destiny: to end the Red Queen’s rule.

Overall, the movie was decent but suffered from a couple problems throughout the film that really brought down the quality of the movie.

The biggest problem was the pacing of the storyline. If you blink, you will probably miss something important. Events happen too quickly throughout.

It just feels like there was enough content for two movies, but it was jammed into one.

Despite the pacing, the plot was very interesting, engrossing and a logical step for the franchise.

I wouldn’t call the story “epic” but it was exciting and the final battle topped off the film nicely.

The other major problem with the movie was the 3-D. The 3-D in the movie was an afterthought done in post-production, unlike movies like Avatar and Up in which 3-D was a focus from the beginning.

When the jabberwocky spews fire into the camera, the problem comes to the forefront. For the first time, a 3-D movie actually hurt my eyes. The color choice during that sequence didn’t help either. However, the rest of the visuals were stellar.

The world comes alive from the beginning and pulls the viewer in with wonderful cinematography and settings. Tim Burton’s personal aesthetic is on full display as the sequences share the same vibe as his previous movies.

The acting was hit and miss.

Surprisingly, despite working with Burton several times previously, Johnny Depp (The Mad Hatter) just wasn’t on his A-game in this movie. He looked the part but his acting didn’t match the peculiar feeling of the other characters, especially when compared to the mannerisms of the Cheshire Cat. Mila Wasikowska (Alice), on the other hand, did very well in her portrayal of teenage Alice. She managed the awkward teenager role without being over-the-top.

If you are a Burton fan, I don’t have to tell you to try the movie out and see if you like it, because you’ve seen it twice by now. For the rest of us, I’d say give it a shot, it’s alright except for the story pacing and when the jabberwocky burned out my retinas.

MPAA Rating: PG

Final Grade: Bnext Issue: Clash of the Titans

Advertisement