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Tuesday, April 4, 2017

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iCube creates high tech opportunities for students

By MASON BULTER & BEN WHEELER Beat Reporters iCube, located in Volpe Library, lets students and faculty produce new virtual reality projects and participate with various organizations to create a forward thinking office on Tech campus. “iCube and iMakerspace are a collaborative effort between the college of business and engineering to provide project based learning opportunities to students,” special projects manager Mack Luhn, said.

The programs coming out of this effort led to virtual reality projects and simulations, immense 3-D printing jobs, as well as the seat belt information mascot Ollie Otter.

The Business Media Center started about 30 years ago by Kevin Liska, director in the College of Business, with the idea to implement technology into the business world, and grown in the program over the years, with a move to Volpe Library for their new office.

“Over time, he cultivated an environment strong in solving problems that were previously thought to be impossible,” Luhn said.

For example, the “Drugged and Drowsy Teen Driving Simulator,” which according to their website was created through

Ben Wheeler | The Oracle ICUBE - Amanda Powell, virtual reality producer, with Tara Shaffernocker, standing, uses an Oculus Rift headset at the iCube booth at Tennessee Tech Tomorrow. The headset was used to show participants a virtual reality simulation called “Diabetes In Your Body: VR.” a partnership with the Students Against Destructive Decisions organization.

“One of our current virtual reality projects is a simulation about Type 2 diabetes, where you can see the effects of diabetes in four different organs of the body,”

development manager Stefanie Smithers, said. iCube participated as a featured booth at the Tennessee Tech Tomorrow event in the Bryan Fine Arts building, which focused on the future of the university and student experience, according to

Hytch.Me app brings new carpooling matchups to Tech students on campus

By ASA COSTELLO & HAYDEN WHITE Beat Reporters

Hytch.Me, a carpooling app, is expected to be announced as a new partnership with Tech this fall.

Hytch.Me allows individuals to initiate connections with others in their network to share transportation.

Christian Bruckman, director of market development for Hytch.Me, said Hytch.Me’s initiative is to decrease traffic on Tech’s campus.

He said the plan provides an efficient and social way for the commuter population to get to campus by saving commuters time, money and effort.

According to a press release from Hytch.Me, Mark Cleveland, Robert Hartline and Chase Geiser are the company’s co-founders who developed the Nashville based app to minimize traffic congestion and air pollution in Tennessee.

The app’s purpose is to use Facebook to verify who is logging in.

Users have the option to sign up as a passenger, a certified driver, or both.

“Becoming a certified driver would further validate an individual’s profile with a completed background check and motor vehicle report,” Bruckman said.

Hytch.Me allows users to be matched with friends, coworkers and neighbors, giving users the opportunity to develop rapport, identify mutual friends, and develop trust before sharing the ride.

“The app has a sturdy rating system designed to provide the best and safest experience for all it’s users,” Bruckman said.

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are most likely to ride with a stranger each time.

Hytch.Me allows the ability to customize the gender and age an individual matches with as well as how large or small of a radius they travel, Bruckman said.

“We do not provide advice as to what type of individual is a suitable travel companion. This is entirely your responsibility,” Bruckman said.

Plans for a parking garage is the reason for the increased price of parking passes.

Construction is not expected to begin until 2019 with an estimated cost of $11.8 million.

The garage is expected to have 600 parking spaces, however, until then spaces are limited, according to Tech’s Board of Regents and the Campus Parking Forum.

While the app is free, it does allow passengers to reimburse their driver by using credit payments through the app.

“Hytch sets a fare cap of $0.54 per mile. This is a true cost sharing model which also gives way to driver tax breaks at the end of the year,” Bruckman said.

He said when Hytch.Me becomes available, Tech students, faculty and staff who commute to campus with two people in their vehicle will have designated parking spaces enforced by campus security and Tech police.

Students must sign up via the Hytch.Me website to become an approved driver and use the designated parking spaces. Upon approval drivers will be sent a Hytch.Me decal to place on their vehicle, according to Hytch.

Me’s website.

For more information about the Hytch.Me app, email info@hytch.me or call 615-581-1333.

CONTACT:

the official press release.

“We encourage any student that is interested in our projects to stop by and inquire how to become an iCube team member,” Smithers said.

For more information on iCube, visit www.ttuicube.com.

Outsourcing Possibilities

Eva Dingwall | The Oracle

FACILITIES AND GROUNDS: Greg Haynes, a 19-year horticultural technician for Tech’s Facilities Department, preps the flower beds as a part of his job of maintaining campus greenery.

Haynes and his fellow facilities co-workers may be breathing a little easier after receiving President Phil Oldham’s email Thursday morning reassuring the campus community that the university will not be participating in the opportunity to outsource its facilities management.

On Wednesday, the state announced Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle was awarded the contract to manage all higher education facilities; however, it is up to each individual college and university to decide if they want to participate in the outsourcing.

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OPINION

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

>> Think Freely >

Send letters to the editor to oracle@tntech.edu oracle@tntech.edu.. Include your name, email address and limit letters to 300 words. Anonymous letters are not accepted. Deadline for letters is 4 p.m. Friday.

We reserve the right to edit grammar, length and clarity.

Southern accents remind the wanderer of home KATE TREBING Opinions Editor What’s in an accent?

Those peculiar twangs and nasal sounds that distinguish a particular people from every other populace around the world. We mock them, imitate them and try to hide them. But at the end of the day, we treasure them.

Our accents give us identity; they remind us of our roots. They are both unique and communal, an underestimated factor in defining our culture. We Southerners know this for a fact.

Despite what an outsider might think, not all Southern accents are alike.

A Mississippi native will sound nothing like the North Carolina local, who in turn will use a completely different vocabulary from the bayou fisherman in Louisiana.

Even within the state of Tennessee, dialects distinguish one town from another. The small towns of Baxter and Carthage are separated by less than 30 miles, yet each has its own unique Southern drawl.

To the untrained ear, these are negligible variations. To the local, they are our heritage.

Within both sides of my family, I have heard the second person plural expanded upon to every corner of the spectrum. “Ya’ll,” “yu’uns,” and “you’s guys” have all shown themselves in

‘‘

Our accents give us identity; they remind us of our roots. They are both unique and communal, an underestimated factor in defining our culture.

my family diction. When your father is from small-town Illinois, and your mother grew up in the backwoods of Tennessee, you find yourself witness to a unique conglomeration of local dialects.

When my father left Illinois at age 18, he brought his Yankee accent (sorry, Dad) with him to Texas. Then he met my mom. Backwater, backward and completely oblivious to her heavy twang, my mother was the purest form of Tennessee pride one could find in the city of Houston. Apparently, “heck fire” is not a common term in the Illinois household.

After having four kids and moving all over the South, my parents began to lose their heavy accents. Our family took up what the Wikipedia experts call a “General American” accent.

Characterized by having basically no strong intonation in any one dialect, this accent is used by actors, news anchors and anyone else who finds herself losing that distinct, regional accent of yesteryear.

The regional accent heralds back to a time when our borders were more defined. I am not speaking of the nowinfamous proposed Wall between

What's in a word?

Mexico and the U.S. I am talking about small town U.S.A. Before the Internet and the rise of globalization, back when parents enrolled their kids in the same school their parents’ parents attended, the community dialect was almost a security system. An unfamiliar accent would give away a stranger in an instant. “You’re not from around here, are you son?” Now imagine that coming from John Wayne, and you have the picture.

The global accessibility in our world is a wonderful aspect of the 21st century.

We are no longer confined to the pages of National Geographic; we can explore our world firsthand.

We aren’t limited to the jobs in our own small towns. The aspiring young graduate can move out of the suburbs and pursue his dream in whatever big city takes his fancy.

But with the dissolution of our limited boundaries comes the gradual disappearance of the quaint small-town dialect.

Sometimes the beauty of vernacular is not apparent until you leave your comfort zone. My oldest brother enlisted in the Navy right out of

“Boo. When referring to a significant other.

I think there are other things you can call them.”

“The R-word because people don’t understand the real meaning behind it and how it affects special needs students.”

,,

,,

,, Andrew McDole, freshman computer science

Florenza Levantesi, senior biology, pre-medicine

,,

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“Yolo. It’s just annoying because it’s been used for such a long time. I also really hate the word “lit,” not for any specific reason, I just hate it.”

“The word “K” drives me insane.

It’s a pet peeve of mine, especially when people use it in a text message.”

Kate Trebing is a senior in communication with a concentration in public relations. She can be reached at kdtrebing42@students.tntech.edu.

Overrated slang? Say it isn't so! Students on the street slam words and phrases that need to go.

‘‘

‘‘

,,

college, and his peers quickly dubbed him “Tennessee” for his Southern drawl. Back home, his accent was subtle, barely discernible even after 12 years in the heart of Tennessee. But in the barracks of Pensacola, Florida, my brother’s dialect stood out like a sore thumb. And he took pride in it.

Now that I am preparing to take my own voyage away from familiar borders, I treasure my accent as a homing device of sorts.

I come from a land of biscuits and gravy on a Saturday morning, school farm days with the local Future Farmers of America, and family potlucks on Sundays after church. Every region has its traditions, and these are ours. They are what I will recall when I need to reconnect with my roots.

When my brothers and I were younger, a common family joke held that I was actually a “Michiganian,” meaning that I didn’t share their heavy Tennessee accent or drop off the second half of the majority of my words. Even as a kid, I had a knack for grammar and syntax. And apparently my brothers believed that Michigan natives had perfect English pronunciation.

Today, I do not mind the rolling vowels and lazy consonants of that Southern accent. Neither do I mind the clipped, high-pitched tone of my Illinois roots. Behind every accent is a story, a history and a heritage.

‘‘

Alex Burd, sophomore special education

‘‘

“LIT – I flipping hate it. The word means nothing and people are attributing things to it.”

,,

Lance McNees, sophomore accounting

“How bah dat. I just get sick of hearing it. It’s not even proper grammar.”

,,

Jane Dycus, junior international business

Lucas Bradford, sophomore mechanical engineering

Content gathered by Oracle contributors Lauren Brabston and Lacey Renfro.

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Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Reviews <<

ENTERTAINMENT

‘Five Came Back’ examines art during wartime

By CAMERON FOWLER Entertainment Editor Among the many documentaries and pieces of m e d i a made about World War II, there is no shortage of focus on the conflict’s impact on the American film industry.

It forced filmmakers to confront the world within their own work. Propaganda was rampantly displayed before features in theaters to boost morale. People were angry, and film provided an outlet to portray the complex emotions every American was feeling.

“Five Came Back,” a new Netflix series adapted from Mark Harris’s book of the same name, attempts to zoom in closer on five renowned directors who were moved by the war and ultimately ended up serving their country.

It analyzes, with specificity and care to the filmmakers’ cause, why and how war affected each man. It’s a powerful testament to the universality of these directors and the horrors of war that inspired them.

The series examines some of the finest directors of the early Hollywood era -- John Ford, Frank Capra, George Stevens, John Huston and William Wyler -- through the lens of historical footage and in-depth interviews with five living filmmakers who’ve made their own mark on culture: Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, Francis Ford Coppola, Lawrence

Photo Courtesy of newyorker.com MAJOR - Frank Capra sits at a desk viewing documents. While serving in the army, he produced the ‘Why We Fight’ propaganda series.

Kasdan and Guillermo Del Toro.

Each director discusses what the pre- and postwar work of those five meant to American cinema and to the craft of filmmaking.

They have a deep understanding of their subjects. This makes each line of thought and examination they provide more valid and striking.

The series works primarily as an analysis of the films these men made, and although the facts of WWII seem to be

ingrained in the public consciousness, the interweaving of filmmaking history with the universal truth of war still leaves a powerful impact.

Though it’s easy to remove oneself from the minutia of the film industry in the ‘30s and ‘40s, once the horror of Hitler and Mussolini is interweaved with the relatively neutral filmmaking of the directors before war breaks out, there is a compelling thread that dominates the series: patriotism.

We see how John

Ford’s “The Battle of Midway” revolutionized documentary filmmaking, as Paul Greengrass comments. These directors taught generations how to craft a film, but “Five Came Back” provides insight into how the creative process shifts in dire times. These men were serving their country first, but also felt an obligation to inform the public of just how severe this war was, thus finding creative ways -- such as Ford’s frantic, gonzo shooting of Midway -- to

portray the chaos of the fight.

In a striking scene near the end of the first episode, we see how Frank Capra turned his commissioned propaganda film into a statement about the importance of war.

In his seminal propaganda series “Why We Fight,” Capra crafts a message universal to all Americans.

By using footage of Japanese, Italian and Nazi soldiers, he effectively uses the enemy’s propa-

ganda against them, empowering the common American. He wanted the average man and woman to feel something; to light a spark within them. The series supports the idea that great filmmaking is empowering; it causes the mind to think and reflect but also act. Capra and his peers did just that.

“Five Came Back” is empowering not just as a piece about war, but about how art can make a difference and inspire a nation.

‘Damage and Joy’ disappoints fans

By HANNAH BARGER Entertainment Critic It’s been 19 years since Scottish alternative band The Jesus and Mary Chain have released new material, and I’m sad to say their latest arrival, “Damage and Joy,” came quietly, at least for me. I didn’t know about it until an ad popped up on my Facebook feed. To be fair, I’m more of a Sisters of Mercy (another band that will seemingly go forever without a new album) and a Cure fan, but I felt a little embarrassed on behalf of my high school wannabe goth self for missing something so big.

Due largely to the fact that I was in preschool when their previous album was released, I had never experienced the feeling of new Jesus and Mary Chain material until last Thursday night. I wasn’t sure what to expect with “Damage and Joy” - I figured it would either be the sound of a group of old guys clinging to their youth, a “matured” version of their old sound, or something so wildly different that it remained the old band in name only. If forced, I’d probably categorize it as a mixture of the first two: to me, it’s a “remember when we were young” record, but in a way that doesn’t claw and beg for the past.

The first track, “Amputation,” is more than a little bland lyrically, incorporating classic fuzzy guitar sounds with a synthesizer and bored vocals in a way that reminded me of a strip club scene in an early Rob Zombie movie,

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if that helps paint a picture. It left me somewhat disappointed and worried about how the rest of the album was headed. It’s also apparently the album’s primary single, which was a bummer to hear since it really doesn’t do the band justice.

My hopes were bolstered with the second track, “War On Peace,” which is a slow and melancholy song with lyrics centered around depression and alienation. Track three, “All Things Pass,” is very solid musically, but suffers from the same lackluster lyrics that made “Amputation” hard to listen to with a straight face. The real single- worthy song, to me, is “The Two of Us,” a cute, goofy song about love and drugs.

As I mentioned, The Jesus and Mary Chain aren’t my favorite band of their kind.

I’ll admit openly that my favorite song of theirs is “Just Like Honey, “also known as that song you’ve definitely heard in a movie before but can’t remember what movie it was (Lost in Translation, if you were wondering).

For a die-hard fan, “Damage and Joy” is likely a welcome addition to a long and respectable musical career. For me, it’s good background music and not much else. That isn’t to say that “older” bands can’t still release incredible material, but the legacy of being a seminal 80s group will probably continue to taint the band’s further releases. Nothing can compare to a band’s heyday, and “Damage and Joy” doesn’t try to.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

THE ORACLE || COOKEVILLE, TN || PAGE 4

SPORTS

>> Inside the Game

Smash Brothers tournament hits Tech this weekend

By KYLE MCGEE & CHRISTAN MCCALL

Beat Reporters

The Tech Super Smash Brothers Club is holding their semesterannual “Tech the Smash” tournament series April 8.

The sixth installment in the tournament series, “Tech the Final Smash,”

brings over 100 players from across the southeast region to play various games in the Smash series, such as Melee, Project M and Smash 4.

The way the tournament is set up is by grouping 12-15 participants in eight separate groups.

The top two participants from each group will advance to play in a bracket of 16. From

there, the winner for each tournament will be determined in this bracket. All brackets are double-elimination.

Club president Coleman Walker and vice president Cristian Quiterio founded the tournament series in 2014, the inaugural year of the club.

Since then, the tournament is one of the largest tournaments in the

state, drawing an average of 80-120 players, Walker said.

Quiterio said part of the reason for the tournament’s success is the venue, Johnson Auditorium. “ J o h n s o n Auditorium has this coliseum-esque feel for matches being played in the center,” Quiterio said, “it serves as a great stage for the players and also a great venue for the

crowd to interact with the players.”

“Tech the Final Smash” is the last tournament for Walker, a senior. With this being the last one, Walker wants to make sure the tournament is the best one yet by offering catered food, T-shirts, professional photography and trophies.

Travis Dixon, the club treasurer, said the

tournament “serves the purpose of bringing like-minded people from around campus and the region together for both competition and camaraderie.”

If interested in competing at “Tech the Final Smash,” visit the Facebook page at “Tech the Final Smash” for more information. Doors open 9:30 a.m. and the events start at 10 a.m.

Golden Eagles Softball TECH PLAYS AUSTIN PEAY: Golden Eagles’ first baseman, Kelly Kennedy, fields a bunt against Austin Peay University Saturday night to end the series. Tech lost 1-0.

Tech won the first game of the series 6-5 after 10 innings, this brings their overall record to 10-21.

The Golden Eagles’ next series is at Tennessee State, April 8 at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Alexis Staley | The Oracle