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Volume 95 | Issue 18 | Free in single copy | April 20, 2012
Incoming freshmen may face stricter HOPE standards
By JONATHAN KAULAY Beat Reporter
Tennessee’s Senate passed a bill April 16 that could reduce some HOPE scholarship awards by half by 2015. Senate Bill 2514 may decrease the amount students receive if they are unable to satisfy both the minimum grade point average and ACT score required to get the full amount of $4,000. The current minimum requirements for the HOPE are a 3.0 high school grade point average or a minimum ACT score of 21. If the House approves the bill, students will have to satisfy both the grade point average and minimum ACT score to get the full amount. If they satisfy only one of these requirements, their amount awarded drops to $2,000. “In 2007/2008 we discovered we were spending more than we were taking in,” Sen. Dolores Gresham, R-Sommerville and Senate Education Committee chairman, said. “We watched it and discovered this trend continued year after year.” Gresham co-sponsored SB 2514. The HOPE fund began losing money in 2007 due to poor lottery profits and expanded eligibility. “We have to get away from spending more than we are taking in because we do not want this program to ever go in the hole,” Grisham said Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanoo-
Will Housley
If the bill pertaining to the HOPE scholarship passes the House, approximately 10 percent of Tech students will be affected and could lose some of their scholarship money. ga, said he believes that these cuts are “unnecessary.” “I still cannot see why we are planning for several years down the road when the numbers we have say we are going to meet all our needs,” Berke said from the Senate floor. “Yet we still keep trying to cut these scholarships.”
A report from state lottery officials shows that the lottery has set record gross sales over the last few months. As a result, HOPE is projected to have a surplus at the end of the year. In response to this increase in lottery sales, Republican lawmakers added an amendment that would
have the bill repealed if The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation maintains its current success. “This $10 million improvement does not cover the entire deficit,” Gresham said. “If they could maintain that kind of success, we would not need these new changes. If the Lottery Corporation could sustain
Students choose Eric Church for fall concert
that kind of success we would repeal [SB 2514] in 2015.” Democratic lawmakers said they feel that the goals set by the amendment are too severe and will trigger the cuts regardless. “What I am trying to make clear is that if it is anything below this record year, even if we are turning a profit in the lottery, these changes will still go into effect,” Berke said from the Senate floor. “In the following year, we still have a stellar year, but we do not exactly meet this humungous year, then these cuts are still going to happen.” According to a study done by the Senate Lottery Stabilization Task Force, middle-income and African American students would be disproportionately affected by the new HOPE requirements. African American students could see an 18 percent drop in eligibility or decrease in the amount awarded. Low income families that make $36,000 or less a year would see a 22 percent decrease, and middle-income families that make $36,000 to $72,000 a year would see a 35 percent decrease, according to the study. Adriane King, Tech’s Financial Aid assistant director, said that Tech will also be directly affected. “I think when you do the math, about 10 percent will be affected here at Tech,” King said. “That’s roughly 500 students.” The bill passed, mostly along party lines, 20-14.
Award-winning country music star slated to perform at fall SOLO concert in the Hoop
Tech searches: presidential finalists meet with community
By JODI LAWERENCE Beat Reporter
By JESSICA SMITH Beat Reporter
Eric Church is the April 12 SOLO vote winner for Tech’s fall 2012 concert. Church, the 2011 Academy of Country Music top new solo artist, won the vote by more than 50 percent over second place Josh Turner and other opponents Dierks Bentley, Chris Young, Billy Currington and Sarah Evans, according to SGA President Lee Gatts. “We have been waiting a long time for the country genre to come around,” Gatts said earlier this year. Students can look forward to hearing hits like “Sinners Like Me” and “Drink in My Hand” live at the Hooper Eblen Center. “I voted for Eric Church,” Stephen Porter, junior environmental agriscience major, said. “He is one of my favorite country artists, and I can’t wait to see him.” Will Scheibe, junior electrical engineering major, said, “I am very excited Eric Church won. He will be a good show.” However, not all students are satisfied with the choice of their peers, with some students refusing to attend any
The Tech community had the opportunity to meet the final three presidential candidates during forums held in the Nursing and Health Services Building’s auditorium, and via live stream, April 17-19. All three candidates— Susan Elkins, Philip Oldham and Ralph V. Rogers—gave 50 minute presentations to Tech’s academic deans, University administrators, students, support staff and intercollegiate athletics staff and faculty. In their presentations, the candidates discussed their credentials, gave a general overview of goals for the University and participated in a questionand-answer session. “There has been an online forum for each candidate where each person of the various groups can go in, and they can fill out a survey,” Carl Owens, College of Education professor and director of technology, said. The Tech community can evaluate each of the candidates’ presentations at www.tntech.edu/specialreleases. To take the survey, select “Online Surveys for TTU Presidential Finalists.”
Jessica Reeves
Angela Bell receives her ticket from Katie Winningham, University Planning coordinator, and Katya Hoffman, from left, for next week’s SOLO concert. Gym Class Heroes will perform at the Hoop April 24. SOLO concert. “I think Dierks Bentley should have won,” Zach Miller, sophomore turfgrass management major, said. “Eric Church is over-played, and I have already seen him multiple times in concert. I wanted to see someone new.” Nathan Brown, senior electrical engineering major, said, “I think the SOLO Bill is
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silly, so I don’t care about Eric Church. I won’t go.” Students can pick up tickets next semester, a few weeks before the concert. In 2010, students passed a referendum to increase full-time student fees by $20. Named the Student Organization Life Opportunity, or SOLO Fund, it was created by SGA to provide much need
monies to student organizations on campus and to increase student retention by funding relevant activities. The Fund is also used to sponsor one major event on campus each semester, with the first being the Goo Goo Dolls and Vertical Horizon concert held last year.
See “SOLO,” page 8
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Susan Elkins Elkins, Tech’s Extended Programs and Regional Developm e n t v i c e presid e n t a n d School of Interdisciplinary Elkins Studies dean, opened the forums on April 17. Elkins emphasized the technological facet of the University, as well as the importance of producing K-12 teachers for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. “We certainly are a comprehensive regional University that serves students across the campus in a variety of majors, but our mission distinctiveness is technological, the technological University,” Elkins said. “So opportunities for the development engine for the future of this institution primarily rests with S.T.E.M. education since that is what sets us apart.” She also stressed the importance of research at Tech.
See “Search,” page 8
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Excessive printing charges to begin summer semester By MEGAN SEVERE Beat Reporter
The third and final stage of Pharos printing system is scheduled to begin this summer. Students who exceed the established printing limit will begin incurring charges, with those charges returning to the Technology Access Fee funds. Faculty and staff are being tracked by Information Technology Services on a separate Pharos group. The fee pays for student printing, campus internet access, computers for student use and classroom technology. “It’s important that the money is staying in that project,” Annette Littrell, ITS manager, said. The money generated from stu-
dents exceeding the printing limit is expected to fund technology ventures and other projects. “The Technology Access Fee is the same for all majors and any amount generated will be returned to the line item in Technology Access Fee that’s budgeted for printing supplies,” Littrell said. Littrell said ITS does not decide who receives Technology Access Fee dollars. The department chairs and college deans prioritize the list of projects, then the Strategic Planning Subcommittee of the Information Technology Committee receives these lists and recommends projects to the provost for approval. “As time goes on, if the amount allocated for printing decreases, then the money can go for other
M.S. Cooper, Pinkerton residents to be temporarily relocated for mid-year renovations By SHELBY McDONALD Beat Reporter
Tech plans to relocate fall 2012 students living in M.S. Cooper and Pinkerton halls at the end of the semester in preparation for spring 2013 renovations. Upgrades are planned for the plumbing, floors, rooms and the overall design of the halls. “We have more space in the spring than we do in the fall and we will plug those students in as best we can,” Andrew Moneymaker, Capital Quad and Crawford Hall area coordinator, said. “Right now it’s really early to determine what is going to happen. A lot of it depends on our reapplication process now—how many returning students apply and how many incoming freshmen apply. “We will get a better idea this summer, when we make assignments for the fall, to know if we will be full again or if we will have space.” Students moved from M.S. Cooper and Pinkerton will be first placed into all the empty spots on Tech’s
campus, before being moved into hotels. If students are in hotels, staff will be on site, along with the shuttle system for students to get back and forth from campus. “One year we had space come available on campus and it was hard getting students to want to leave the hotels and come back on campus,” Moneymaker said. “It is an adjustment, but if we are in the hotel, we will take care of them. If we aren’t, that’s even better.” M.S. Cooper is the international residence hall and the home of the Residential Life Office. Pinkerton is a co-ed residence hall. After the renovations, the halls will become the Global Village and continue to house the Residential Life Office. “The renovations are a good thing,” Moneymaker said. “When that building opens back up it is going to be one of the nicest buildings on campus, outside of New Hall North and South. It’s going to be a nice place to live.” Renovations to M.S. Cooper and Pinkerton are planned for completion in fall 2013.
events @ tech April & May
20 8 a.m. Scholastic Book Fair Bartoo Hall - Learning Resources Center
Kaylee Gentry
George Rich uses the printer in Clement Hall April 17. When Phase three of the Pharos system is in place, students will be charged for printing over their allotted amount. things other than student printing,” Littrell said. “After the Pharos system has been put into place and in effect for a few regular semesters, we will look at the total pages printed and adjust the prioritized line item accordingly in the
next budget.” Other features and capabilities in the final stage of Pharos implementation include the ability to print from personal computers both on and off campus by sending print jobs to campus printers.
Tech to award first honorary doctorate degrees to Tech alumni, astronauts By KAYLA GULLEY Beat Reporter Astronauts Roger Crouch and Barry Wilmore are scheduled to receive honorary doctorate degrees at Tech’s May 5 commencement ceremonies. Both Crouch and Wilmore will be the first recipients awarded honorary doctorate degrees by Tech since the Tennessee Board of Regents permitted their institutions authorization to award the degrees. “We have been very careful in choosing the first ones,” President Bob Bell said. “We wanted them to be people who truly anywhere in the world, [who] people would say are worthy of an honorary doctoral degree.” Crouch and Wilmore are both Tech alumni. According to Bell, the awards do not have to be awarded to alumni, but Tech has decided to award two alumni who are distinguished in the world. “We wanted someone who has truly represented the University well,” Bell said. Crouch was Tech’s first astronaut and will be awarded an honorary doctorate degree in science. Crouch said that he is flattered to receive the award. “I am always a little embarrassed by things like this, in that I know I am not that different from so many others whom I think are equally worthy, just a little luckier I guess,” Crouch said, via email. Crouch is retired, but occasionally gives speeches about his experiences as an astro-
naut as well as a variety of other technical topics. “I wanted to be an explorer, to open new vistas to the public,” Crouch said. “Everywhere on Earth that I could think of had already been explored, but then I saw a movie, ‘Destination Moon,’ in the early ‘50s. At the end of the movie, rather than saying ‘the end’, it said, ‘the end of the beginning.’ “Although it was before there were any space programs anywhere in the known world, I immediately knew that space was a frontier that would be explored during my lifetime. I wanted to be part of that exploration. “Like so many things in life, persistence is one of the most important characteristics of astronauts. In my case, I couldn’t be a military pilot or a regular astronaut, because I am color blind. I started applying to be an astronaut when I got out of college, but it was over 35 years later when I was finally selected to fly.” Wilmore will be receiving an honorary doctorate degree in engineering. Wilmore’s next mission will be in 2014, where he will travel to the International Space Station. As pilot, he will navigate the shuttle to the space station. He is learning Russian and will fly on a Russian space craft, according to Bell. Crouch will give the commencement speech at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony and Wilmore at the 2 p.m. ceremony. Wilmore was unable to be reached for an interview.
THE ORACLE •News •Sports •Opinion •Entertainment
6:30 p.m. Nature Fest 2012 National Geographic’s Human Footprint, presented by Clean Commission STEM Center
21 8 a.m. Army ROTC 5K/10K Walk and Run Tucker Stadium
22 1:30 p.m. Nature Fest 2012 BBC/Discovery’s Planet Earth Presented by Clean Commission STEM Center
23 8:30 a.m. Clerical and Support Recognition Brunch Hyder Burks Ag Pavilion 11:30 a.m. Spring Luncheon Forum RUC - Tech Pride Room
25 Last day of RODP Courses 3:30 p.m. University Faculty Meeting Derryberry Hall Auditorium
30 Beginning of Final Exams 11 a.m. Base Camp: Veterans Support Group Tech Counseling Center, RUC 307
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4 p.m. Commencement Rehersal Hooper Eblen Center 6 p.m. Residence Halls Close For Non-Graduates
5 9:30 a.m. Commencement for School of Agriculture and Human Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business and School of Interdisciplinary Studies Hooper Eblen Center 2 p.m. Commencement for School of Engineering and School of Education Hooper Eblen Center 6 p.m. Residence Halls Close For All Others
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Page 3 | April 20, 2012
Tech installs new stop signs, hopes to improve pedestrian safety on Peachtree Avenue By WILL SHECKLER Asst. Entertainment Editor
Emily Haile
Morgan Reavis (back left), Brittany Witten and Kellie Davis watch as Nick Schulte (front) kicks the quaffle during the Quidditch Club’s first practice of the semester.
Quidditch club begins scrimmages, hopes for intramural team for fall By EMILY HAILE Beat Reporter Tech’s Quidditch Club held its first scrimmage against East Tennessee State University March 31. “It was a learning experience,” Kellie Davis, sophomore co-president, said. “We learned what other teams were going to be like and how to work together as a team.” The club will also scrimmage against Middle Tennessee State University and Belmont University at the end this semester. “MTSU started about the same time we did,” Davis said. “They’ve had the same amount of time to prepare. Belmont looks very strong, so we’ll see how rough it gets.” The club plans to have quidditch included in next year’s intramural sports. “We really want to get more people out here to understand the game,” Davis said. “We want more people out here watching us so they don’t say, ‘what is quidditch and how is it played?’ and don’t think that we’re actually flying on brooms.” Davis said the game is rougher than she thought it would be. “When we talk about quidditch, a lot of people think we might just be out here being silly, throwing a ball back and forth,” Davis
said. “But this is really a contact sport, very physical. We’ve had our first significant injury, which was a broken finger. “We’ve had twisted ankles and some crutches, bruises and cuts and scrapes. We really want people to understand that we’re serious about this and that it’s a legitimate sport.” Davis said the club plan to on hold more scrimmages in the fall. “We’ll maybe bring Belmont and MTSU down here,” Davis said. “We’ve heard Tusculum has a team. I’ve also heard that UT Knoxville has a team, but we’ve had trouble finding how to contact them. But we’ll try to get them here and have a good home game.” The club’s long term goal is to make it to the Quidditch World Cup, which is held every year in November. “We’d love to get out there and play with all these big colleges like Harvard and Louisiana State and Texas Tech and Florida,” Davis said. “We’ve got some big competition with some big people on their teams. But I’m very proud of our team and what we’ve accomplished. We’ve gotten so much better since our first practice.” For more information about the Quidditch Club, search for Tennessee Tech Quidditch on Facebook.
Tech has added two more stop signs on Peachtree Ave. to control traffic and make this road safer These two stop signs went up April 9. It turned this two-way stop into a fourway. According to Jack Butler, associate vice president of Facilities and Business services, the intersection was discussed at their last Building and Grounds committee meeting. “It was brought up as a safety item that the large commuter lot is just across the street and ResLife also had parking on the commuter lot side of the street,” Butler said, via email. “It is an extremely busy intersection for pedestrians and vehicles turning at 8th street off of Peachtree.” Campus Police are monitoring this intersection with the Patrol Officers. University police officer Claude Looper said that it is great these signs were added. But not everyone has noticed the signs right away. “The first night I came back to work they had just put the signs up,” Claude
Looper said. “I was thinking about something else while driving 10 mph, like normal, and there were a couple of students in another car in the other lane watching me drive right through it.” Looper said one area that needs to change is University Drive, which links Willow Avenue to the RUC. “A lot of people misinterpret this as a two-lane road and it’s not,” Looper said. One alternative to the road is to move the sidewalk back and make angle parking all the way around the park. “Naturally if will slow people down and create more parking,” said Looper. “With the way the road is now it’s an accident waiting to happen. People try to pass on that street and if you’re riding against the median, someone cuts over on you, and you’re in trouble. “It either needs to be made into a twolane road or make parking spaces available. If you had parking all the way around Sherlock Park, even on the 10th street side, it will alleviate a lot of the parking problems plus it will slow people down.” At the time facilities does not have any other areas that are to be fixed.
CRIME BRIEFS: - April 10 - 5:15 Classification: Destruction/Damage/ Vandalism Location: New Hall North - Parking Lot Notes: Rear window busted out of a vehicle.
- April 12 - 6:00 Classification: Destruction/Damage/ Vandalism Location: Memorial Gym - Pool Notes: Pool valves were turned in the opposite direction, causing pool to flood.
- April 12 - 11:37 Classification: Other (Loud music, Suspi- - April 16 - 12:50 cious person, Harassment, Minor disturClassification: Other (Loud music, Suspibance) cious person, Harassment, Minor disturbance) Location: New Hall South - Parking Lot at Fenced Area Location: Prescott Middle School - Parking Notes: Indecent exposure. Suspects Lot was walking outside area of fence. Notes: Suspicious person. Issued a trespass All units arrived and suspect ran into warning and advised subject that he/she wooded area. Search was conducted would be arrested if on campus again. but met with negative results. - April 17 - 5:51 Classification: Intimidation Location: Bruner Hall - Classroom
For up-to-date crime information, visit tntechoracle.com
TBR considers modifying common calendar, Tech aims to keep equivalent semesters By NICK ROLLINS Asst. Managing Editor The Tennessee Board of Regents is considering changes to the common calendar, which could affect Tech and other TBR institutions as early as the fall 2014 semester. According to Monica Greppin-Watts, TBR communications director, any revision to the common calendar will be discussed at the Subcouncils’ meeting in July and the Presidents’ Council meeting in August. “This policy was brought up as an attempt to address major issues within the common calendar,” Treva Berryman, TBR Academic Affairs associate vice chancellor, said. The common calendar in effect now was created in order to have an equal amount of class days between the fall and spring semesters of each academic year. Currently, there are exactly 16 weeks in the fall and 16 weeks in the spring, with an equal amount of classes for each day of the week. “The goal was to try to get an equal number of classes,” Berryman said. “But by having the spring semester start on a Thursday, what we’ve found is that many students don’t come—it hasn’t worked.” In order to keep a balance throughout the semesters, for example, classes for the spring semester start on the first Thursday before Martin Luther King Day, and is counted as a Monday class because students are out of school the following Monday. According to Berryman, representatives from several TBR institutions have come together to collaborate on making an effective calendar. “Our sister institutions got a committee at the Tennessee Board of Regents together, and decided we will probably stop doing those two days before Martin Luther King Day, which means we will lose those two days,” Brian O’Connor, Tech mathematics professor, said.
While there are no definite changes to the calendar yet, several proposals have been submitted from different TBR institutions, including Tech. O’Connor’s proposal, which has been passed by Tech’s Faculty Senate and Academic Council, suggests that Tech recovers the Friday class meeting day before Martin Luther King Day. In order to do this, the Good Friday holiday would be moved to the Friday of spring break, with students reporting to class on Good Friday. “Now the way we can gain one of them back is to get rid of the Good Friday holiday, which, I believe, most of the four-year schools do already,” O’Connor said. According to Berryman, Good Friday is not a legal holiday, therefore it is up to the institution to decide whether or not classes are canceled. By law, institutions cannot close the school, including administrative and support offices, for the Good Friday holiday, but they are allowed to cancel classes. In order to keep both semesters balanced, O’Connor proposed canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and designating the Wednesday after fall break to hold Wednesday classes, instead of Monday classes that currently make up for Labor Day. “We’re going to be short a Monday class in the spring term,” O’Connor said. “Then to kind of mirror that in the fall semester, we’ll remove Labor Day and make up for it with the Wednesday after fall break. And, so we don’t have an extra Wednesday, we will be out of school the day before Thanksgiving. “We keep the terms equal as best as we can, so each term will be one Monday class day short, essentially,” O’Connor said. “It’s unfortunate, but that’s the best we can do, I think.” Berryman said that she has received many proposals to modify the common calendar, and that anyone is welcome to submit his or her own proposal.
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Page 4 | April 20, 2012
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State Senate wages war on teenage hand-holding CASSIE TESAURO Editorial Editor
Holding hands is a gateway to sexual intercourse, at least according to the Tennessee Senate’s newly passed bill. The bill itself almost reads like a class syllabus, laying out rules for sex education in Tennessee by way of a strict abstinence-only curriculum. I could take this opportunity to cite one of the many studies done on how much more effective comprehensive sexual education is at lowering teen pregnancy rates. Or, I could rehash the old standby argument that there’s no way you can give a building crammed full of sexually frustrated teenagers some promise rings and expect them to all to buy into it. I could even quote some Tennessee politicians’ remarks on safe sex practices that are as false as they are irresponsible. But instead, I’ve decided to join the nonsensical bandwagon.
In honor of them throwing out that old scientific idea of correlation not being indicative of causation, I think we should get the ball rolling on some new bills to define the other dangerous gateways we encounter in day to day life. For instance, I’m guessing that most serial killers ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at some point in their lives. Therefore I propose a law that all peanut butter containers have a government warning label stating the link between pb & j sandwich consumption and homicidal tendencies. It’s a slippery slope, my friends. I asked other students for their best new bill ideas, and here’s what they came up with: • Eating is a gateway to bulimia. • Shoe wearing is a gateway to curb stomping. • Breathing is a gateway to smoking. • Literacy is a gateway
to propaganda. • Political grandstanding is a gateway to becoming an irrelevant politician, creating mistrust of government and wasting tax money. • Drinking water is a gateway to death. 100 percent of all dead people have H2O in their bodies. • Last but not least: ignorance is a gateway to bill writing. This is just a small sample of what our student body can accomplish when it performs its patriotic duty. If anyone out there thinks of more, be sure to write to your senator. That about wraps it up, folks. This will be my last editorial before graduating. I’ve had a great time venting my college life frustrations with you over the past few semesters. Have a fantastic summer break, and remember: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you want something to change on your campus, in your government or in your world, then you have to start making some noise. Trust me, it’s amazing what you can accomplish with a little research and some well-placed sarcasm.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Sustainability is still an important issue I have been a Tech student for two years now. I have experienced two homecoming campaigns and two SGA executive campaigns. Now, I think we can all agree that on Homecoming voting day the campus is chaotic. Most students try to avoid the hot spots like South Patio and the Grill. Last year, SGA elections were not as hectic. However, this year was a different case. I think it is great to see
students who have a desire to make Tech’s campus better. I am all for good, healthy competition. A good competition includes two opponents making their arguments on why they deserve the position. A good argument should include if you are the best qualified, how long you have been involved in SGA, which committees you serve on, etc. Your qualification should not be based on if you are or are not a part of a Greek organization. As a member of a Greek organization, I felt of-
fended when I read chalk art stating, “vote the non-greek.” I heard many other members of Greek organizations voice their opinion about that statement as well. It was taken as there is something wrong with being Greek. When people vote for a position it should be because they are the best person for the position. I encourage all the students to vote on the person’s qualification, not by the letters on their chest.
Morgan Collins cmcollins42@students.tntech.edu
Poll of the Week What will you do with old notes and graded papers from this semester? 12% - Throw them somewhere and forget they exist.
44% - Save them. They may come in handy. 44% - Two words: celebratory bonfire.
Assistant Editorial Editor’s final words JONATHAN FRANK Asst. Editorial Editor
For the past two semesters, I’ve had the opportunity to share with you each week about issues that I believe deserve a discussion within the Tennessee Tech community. Next month, I, along with several other members of our staff, will graduate, thus ending our time here at “The Oracle.” I am thankful to have been given this platform to speak from each week, and I hope that I have used it in a way that is responsible, tasteful and that elevates the level of conversation on matters of public interest. Our editorial editor, Cassie Tesauro, has been a tremendous encourager and teacher during my time here. One of her many entertaining editorials last semester was entitled “Think Before You Speak”—advice that I have tried to always heed when writing my opinion pieces each week. She ended that column by stating “The world is waiting to hear you say something that matters.” That’s what I have always sought to do. I’ve used this column to discuss topics ranging from the Occupy movement, to our state’s recently passed voter
THE
ID law, to false claims of a “Republican war on women,” to Kim Kardashian—because really, you can’t make a sex tape, get married in a reality television event for the E! Network, then get divorced 72 days later and not expect me to write about it. Also, as I recall, that was a pretty dry week for politics. You did your part on a regular basis by joining in the conversation and sending us your comments and letters to the editor. Who would have thought that the most strongly worded responses I would receive would come from my editorial on Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime show? (Shout out to Jaclyn in New York!) For the record, I still say she lipsynced that performance. Whether you agreed with what I had to say each week, or found yourself completely opposed to the opinions I expressed, I want to thank you for reading, and I hope that if nothing else, it caused you to investigate the merits of the topic for yourself and develop your own opinions. Oh, and thank you Ron Paul supporters for not slashing my tires after the February
ORACLE
Weekly. Student Operated. Award winning. Tennessee Tech University TTU Box 5072 Cookeville, TN 38505 WILL HOUSLEY Managing Editor NICHOLAS ROLLINS Asst. Managing Editor BRIDGETTE BUCHANAN Ad Manager HILLARY PACKER Asst. Ad Manager JENDA WILSON Copy Editor CASSIE TESAURO Editorial Editor JONATHAN FRANK Asst. Editorial Editor
ROSS HARVEY Sports Editor ANDY RUTHERFORD Asst. Sports Editor CHRISTINA RIDDLE Entertainment Editor WILL SHECKLER Asst. Entertainment Editor LOGAN NICKLESON Web Editor GABRIEL SEALS Circulation Manager HOLLY COWART Faculty Adviser
3 issue. I want to thank our managing editor, Will Housley, and our faculty advisor, Professor Cowart, for giving me this opportunity. I also want to thank my advisor, Lori Maxwell of the political science department, and all of my instructors in the journalism department—Brenda Wilson, Russ Witcher, Karen Lykins and Monica Greppin-Watts—for their guidance over the past four years. A special thank you is also owed to the unsung hero of the Communications Department, Eva Dingwall. Her title is administrative associate, but that does little to describe all that she does for “The Oracle” and the students of the department on a regular basis. I have no delusions of grandeur when it comes to my work with this publication. We are not the “New York Times.” If we were, I would have been fired on the first week. We are a small, college paper, but a darn good one at that. I believe that the work we do and the service we provide to the Tennessee Tech community is important, and I am both proud and grateful to have been a small part of it and to have worked in the company of so many talented people. Thank you.
This poll is not scientific and only reflects the opinions of those who chose to participate. It does not reflect the public as a whole. Voting for this poll took place online between March 29 and April 12, 2012 at www.tntechoracle.com.
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BEAT REPORTERS: Rosemary Apple, Ashley Ayub, Mica Bilbrey, Krystal Blouin, Allison Boshears, Heather
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SPORTS tntechoracle.com
Page 5 | April 20, 2012
Sixth in OVC, softball to play SIU-E this weekend By ANDY RUTHERFORD Asst. Sports Editor The Golden Eagle softball team will host conference foe, SIU-Edwardsville, in a threegame series this weekend. The series starts a seven-game home stand for the Golden Eagles. Tech is coming off a disappointing trip in Charleston, Ill. last weekend where they dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Eastern Illinois last Sunday, 7-2 and 3-1, following being rained out on Saturday. Their mid-week matchup with Cumberland was rained out as well. SIU-Edwardsville is also coming off a disappointing weekend on the road as they dropped the final two games of the series to Jacksonville State after winning the opener. They did win their mid-week matchup on Wednesday as they shut out Saint Louis 2-0 at home. Both teams are battling for position within the conference with less than a month remaining in the regular season. The Golden Eagles currently sit in sixth place with an OVC record of 11-11 and overall record of 17-24. SIU-Edwardsville is right on their tails in seventh place in the conference with a 10-10 record in the OVC, 19-23 overall. The series kicks off with a doubleheader
Allie Sampson
Brandi Campbell
Freshman Taylor Ketchum pitches to a win in the first of a double-header against Eastern Kentucky on April 12. on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the third game will be on Sunday at 1 p.m. For more information on Tech softball and all Tech athletics, please visit TTUSports.com.
Archer, Tech baseball receive MLB attention By AARON VICK Beat Reporter
When local athletes go pro, they become the sports spotlight in the local media, and everyone seems to know who they are. For five years in a row, the Tech baseball team has produced at least one draft pick for the MLB, with three coming from the 20092010 squad. The highest pick was fifth-rounder Stephen Pryor, who signed with the Oakland A’s. Tech’s top prospect for professional baseball is junior Tristan Archer. Archer was drafted out of high school, also by the Oakland A’s, and was awarded OVC pitcher of the week earlier in the season. He also leads the team in ERA and strikeouts (minimum 10 innings pitched). Head Coach Matt Bragga said that Archer, as well as “a few other guys,” are being looked at by major league scouts. “It’s great for our program,” said Bragga. “We hope that when guys come in here, that is their aspiration, to play at the next level.” Major league attention can also benefit Tech’s recruitment process. If a high school baseball player is being recruited by various colleges, often times the player will look and see how many players were drafted out of
that college. This can be a major factor in deciding where to play on the collegiate level. “Whenever you have four or five years in a row where players are drafted, it can influence a young man to consider Tech more than before,” said Bragga. “It’s not a huge percentage of college players who get this opportunity [to play professionally], but it does show these chances are definitely real.” A player of professional grade not only performs well, but keeps composure when faced with adversity and success, especially if they are pitchers. Freshman David Hess, starting pitcher for the Golden Eagles, has learned how upperclassmen pitchers Archer and senior Cullen Park handle themselves on the mound. “David is very level-headed, which is odd for a freshman,” said Bragga. “Having Archer and guys of that nature definitely help, because David can see them keep a pretty even keel when on the mound.” Bragga said the Tech baseball team hopes to continue the process of getting players drafted consistently in the future. Tech, like all other NCAA baseball programs, will continue to build up its team and make a run for the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
The men’s tennis team has clinched the number one seed heading into the conference tournament this weekend. The team finished with a perfect 8-0 record, their first undefeated regular season since 2008. They look to win their first OVC championship, and subsequent NCAA tournament bid, since 2006. Their semifinal match will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Centennial Tennis Center in Nashville against the winner of today’s matchup between Jacksonville State and Morehead State.
HOT CORNER
The Tech football team prepares for the upcoming season by running plays at a mid-April practice. Coming off an OVC Championship, Tech hopes to start the season strong beginning with this early preparation.
Tech football looks forward to next season By ARIEL PERRY Beat Reporter
The 2012 Golden Eagles football team is ready to return to action this fall as the reigning Ohio Valley Conference champions. It will be a season filled with challenges both at home and away for the eagles, facing nationally ranked teams like Oregon on Sept. 15 and rough season ender against long-time, in-state rival Austin Peay on Nov. 17. With a rough road ahead, the players aren’t letting the pressure get to them and are using the schedule as a challenge to motivate them to work harder. “We have to work harder than last year’s team,” Corey McDonald, sophomore defensive back, said. With a majority of the players from last year returning, and a strong recruiting, class Tech is a threat in every game.
Weekly Roundup
There is a bigger target on the Golden Eagles backs since the team is the returning OVC champion, remaining humble and knowing that each game is more important than the last. “The biggest challenge will be coming out of practice with the right attitude, not being content. We need to play hard every game,” Joshua Pleasant, a red-shirted freshman defensive back, said. The players are pumped for the upcoming season, using last year’s success as a motivator to push them harder to not let the championship they earned last year be the only one for another thirty plus years. “I feel like we have a chance to repeat,” Caleb Mitchell, junior corner back, said. If Tech can pull off another championship, it would be the first time since 2008 that a team has won back-to-back OVC championships.
This week’s sports stories at a glance
more laid back here and
Black and Gold was the
competing. It’s definitely a different atmosphere and I’m thankful Coach Cox gave me the opportunity to experience it.” Forbes is in her fourth season with the Golden Eagles. Competing in the javelin event, Forbes threw for 91 feet 10 inches at the Austin Peay Invitational. Competing in four different events, Jones represented Tech in the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 meter runs as well as the mile event. This season marks her fourth with Tech. Philpott, along with Jones, has been named four times to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. Her middistance running helped secure solid finishes for TTU in the 400 and 800 meter races. Her personal best record of 1:02.03 in the 400 meter run at the Vanderbilt
Eagles at that race. Mid-distance runner Weinzetl has consistently brought her 800 meter time down over the first five races of the season. Starting the season with a 2:30.22, she lowered her times until recording a 2:23.86 at the Austin Peay Invitational. In a recent interview Weinzetl gave advice to the younger members of the team. “Four years go by quick,” said Weinzetl. “Make it worth it and work as hard as you can every day, but still find time to enjoy your team and everything involved in this sport. Make tons of goals for yourself and don’t let anyone stop you from running them down.”
Track seniors look back the stress levels are not as only personal record in a at college careers elevated when it comes to sprint event for the Golden As the 2012 track and field season comes to a close, the Golden Eagles say goodbye to seniors Leah Bradley, Rebecca Forbes, Traci Jones, Jenna Phillpott and Emily Weinzetl. Over the season these women have been front runners in their respected events, improving on personal best records and scoring multiple top finishes. Coming off an impressive showing last weekend, the seniors look back at their years as collegiate athletes. Before coming to Tech, Bradley ran for Georgia Southern University and compares the difference in competing for the Golden Eagles. “Running for TTU is a lot different than running for Georgia Southern,” Bradley said. “It is much
This week’s Weekly Roundup features a story from Beat Reporter David Lane.
Tech Football | 2012 Schedule
Junior third baseman Michael Morris was three for five at the plate on Wednesday night when the Golden Eagles hosted the instate opponent Belmont Bruins. His two-run shot to right center in the bottom of the ninth inning clinched the 7-6 victory the team. The win gave the Golden Eagles their first back-to-back wins since beating Murray State on April 1.
Aug. 30 Sep. 6 Sep. 15 Sep. 22 Sep. 29 Oct. 6
Hampton North Greenville at Oregon at SE Mo. St. * at Murray St. * Jacksonville St. *
Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17
Eastern Ky. * at Tennessee St. * Eastern Ill. * Tenn.-Martin * at Austin Peay *
* denotes Ohio Valley Conference
visit ttusports.com for more info
ENTERTAINMENT Page 6 | April 20, 2012
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‘The Cabin in the Woods’: creative, campy and gory By LINDSEY GORE Beat Reporter “The Cabin in the Woods” is a campy, gory delight destined to be a cult classic. “The Cabin in the woods” starts out like the typical slasher film with a group of friends traveling to jock-and-scholar Curt’s (Chris Hemsworth) cousin’s cabin for a rustic getaway. The trip to the cabin is rough enough, with a rude and spooky gas station attendant giving the group a hard time. The group including all the stereotypes ranging from the good girl to the stoner, make it to the cabin and discover it is not exactly what they were hoping for. The good time hoped for quickly turns creepy when they discover the cellar of the cabin is full of oddities that both intrigue and scare them. When the good girl Dana (Kristen Connolly) reads a passage in Latin from a diary she found in the basement the group’s good time turns into a nightmare. “The Cabin in the Woods” has the same campy feel that “The Evil Dead” franchise has. The gore and special effects are all extreme and the storyline is so ridiculous and entertain-
Must-see movies of the summer
By LINDSEY GORE Beat Reporter
welivefilm
“The Cabin in the Woods” received an exceptionally high rating of 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
ing that it is obvious the film will have a cult following. Hemsworth is by far the biggest name on the cast, but the lack of big name actors adds to the cheesy campiness of the film. Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison and Jesse Williams, along with Connolly, have never had any major roles or performed in many, if any, huge films. Their acting is less than perfect, but that is to be expected in a campy slasher flick. Two bigger Hollywood names play smaller supporting roles, and the characters are among some of the funniest in the film. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford play two behind-
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the-scenes guys, Sitter and Hadley. The two work together flawlessly, and the banter and jokes between the two characters add a degree of hilarity that is set apart from the rest of the film. “The Cabin in the Woods” is as unique as it is entertaining, and it offers an unconventional point of view to the slasher film. “The Cabin in the Woods” is rated R for strong bloody horror violence and gore, language, drug use and some sexuality/nudity.
Lindsey’s Rating
2012 summer workshops
TTU students and staff: 50% off workshop fee! More than 45 workshops available, including Jewelry Making Basic Glass Beadmaking Bladesmithing Fearless Sculpture Handmade Papermaking Green Woodturning
Full schedule at tntech.edu/cra f tcenter
GET CREDI T FOR YOUR CREAT I V I TY! TTU students can earn one hour of credit for a week-long workshop, or three hours for an intensive workshop. For more information about academic credit, contact Ward Doubet at wdoubet@tntech.edu. tntech.edu/cra f tcenter 931-372-3051 Tennessee Tech University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its program and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Director of Diversity & Legal Affairs, PO Box 5164, Cookeville, TN 38505, 931-372-3016.
This summer may prove to be best spent at the movies. Summer movies come in what seems to be a flood of different genres, actors and plots. It becomes difficult to decide what to buy a ticket for when every movie looks as interesting as the last, but here are five of this summer’s most anticipated movies. “The Avengers,” May 4 The Marvel superheroes come together in one film to fight a force that is trying to destroy the world. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) are brought together by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to fight off what is trying to demolish everything in its path, and Thor’s brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) may be behind all of the destruction. Scarlett Johansson plays the Black Widow and Jeremy Renner plays Hawkeye. The superhero lineup remains the same for every character but The Hulk. Since the role was formerly played by Edward Norton, Ruffalo has big shoes to fill. Ruffalo usually portrays a more reserved character, so playing a superhero as angry and big as The Hulk will be a big change for him. “Captain America,” the last Marvel superhero film before “The Avengers,” had a little too much story and not enough action that is craved in superhero films. Hopefully, the lack of action will not prove to be a prequel of what to expect from “The Avengers.” “The Avengers” is not yet rated. “Dark Shadows,” May 11 Following the premier of the summer’s first and most anticipated big superhero film of the sum-
mer, “Dark Shadows” is a change of pace from action packed to the dark, odd humor of Tim Burton. “Dark Shadows” follows Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), a vampire who is set free after years of imprisonment. Barnabas returns to his home to find his relatives in need of his immortal help. Burton’s two go-to actors, Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, are accompanied by big names like Eva Green and Michelle Pfeiffer. These actors are capable of portraying that certain feel of oddball creepiness and hilarity that Burton movies always have. Even though there have just been a few trailers for the film, Burton has a cult following that are anticipating this film like Marvel fans are anticipating “The Avengers.” “Dark Shadows” is not yet rated. “Moonrise Kingdom,” May 25 Wes Anderson’s latest star-studded film follows two twelve-year-olds who fall in love and runaway together in the summer of 1965, putting their hometown into a frenzy. A cast including actors like Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis and Jason Schwartzman is enough to make the film worth watching, but it is the unique, indie feel to Anderson movies that will make the film stick out from other summer releases. Anderson movies always have an awkwardness about them that is entirely unique to Anderson’s work, and “Moonrise Kingdom” looks like it will be no exception. “Moonrise Kingdom” is rated PG-13 for sexual content and smoking. “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” June 22 The film is based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s
book of the same name. In it, the 16th president of the United States vows to wipe out the entire vampire population when he discovers their plot to take over the United States. With a title like “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” many people are not taking this film seriously. When the fact that Abraham Lincoln is massacring vampires is looked past, the film looks to be incredibly action packed with beautiful cinematography that says this film certainly means business. Benjamin Walker is cast as Lincoln, and the role seems to be fitting. Judging by the trailers, his look is fitting for the part and his acting appears solid. Mary Elizabeth Winstead will portray Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is not yet rated. “The Dark Knight Rises,” July 20 “The Dark Knight Rises” is the final film in the Batman series that picks up eight years after the death of Two Face. Batman took the blame for the villain’s death, but a new villain causes Batman to protect Gotham City once more. The cast is filled with some of the biggest names in the industry. Christian Bale returns as Batman and Tom Hardy is cast as the new villain, Bane. Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Liam Neeson also add to the star appeal of the movie. The film’s trailers make it out to be not just a movie, but a cinematic bang to end one of the biggest superhero series remakes. “The Dark Knight Rises” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language.
ENTERTAINMENT tntechoracle.com
Page 7 | April 20, 2012
Bands to see: Bonnaroo 2012 By LOGAN NICKLESON Web Editor The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, scheduled for June 7-10 in Manchester, Tenn., boasts an impressive 2012 lineup. Because the massive roster of different artists can be overwhelming, I have outlined my top seven bands to see at Bonnaroo 2012. The Avett Brothers World-renowned for its ruggedly authentic performances, The Avett Brothers is not an act to miss live. The North Carolina folkrock band is best known for its rootsy 2007 release “Emotionalism” and more radio-friendly 2009 release “I and Love and You.” The latter album peaked at number 16 among the Billboard 200 Best Selling Albums, number seven among Rock Albums and number one among Folk Albums. The Civil Wars Receiving Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Folk Album at the Grammy Awards in 2012, The Civil Wars has already achieved acknowledgment for its unmatched live show. Mimicking southern spirituals, The Civil Wars create honest, bone-chilling tunes. The duo’s 2011 album, “Barton Hollow,” reached number 12 on the Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Billboard Digital Albums chart. The Civil Wars is composed of singer/songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White, who shares an uncanny resemblance to Johnny Depp. fun.
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Nate Ruess, former singer of The Format, joined Andrew Dost of Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train to create fun., a pop band known for big-sounding, blissful arrangements. The band introduced the world to its unique brand of indie pop in 2009 with “Aim and Ignite” and managed to advance it further with “Some Nights” in 2012. Featured on “Some Nights” is inspirational hit song “We Are Young,” which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Digital Songs charts. Bon Iver Singer and songwriter Justin Vernon’s indie rock project, Bon Iver, grew like wildfire among the underground scene in 2008 with the release of the haunting “For Emma, Forever Ago.” After releasing its critically acclaimed 2011 selftitled album, Bon Iver was thrust into the limelight. Pitchfork.com named Bon Iver Number One Album of the Year in 2011. The band also received considerable attention at the Grammy awards in 2012, winning Best Alternative Album and Best New Artist. tUnE-yArDs Backed by bassist Nate Brenner, Merril Garbus fronts the experimental tUnE-yArDs. To accurately reproduce the busy-sounding studio versions of tUnEyArDs songs live, Garbus creates drum and vocal loops. This unique process is reason enough to experience the duo live. The latest tUnE-yArDs album, “w h o k i l l,” was released in 2011 and features popular song
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“Gangsta.” Blind Pilot Based in Portland, Ore., indie-folk group Blind Pilot experienced a unexpected lift from obscurity in 2009 with the release of “3 Rounds and a Sound,” which reached number 13 on the Billboard Top Digital Albums chart. The release followed a 2008 bicycle tour, during which the band biked, music equipment in-tow, from Bellingham, Wash., to San Diego, Cali. Blind Pilot released its more-polished, sophomore album “We Are the Tide” in 2011. Delta Spirit San Diego’s Delta Spirit, whose most recent releases include “History From Below” in 2010 and “Delta Spirit” in 2012, is an American original built around sincere lyrics and tight folk-rock arrangements. The musicians’ passion for what they do becomes most evident in live performances.
Delta Spirit
Bon Iver
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NEWS Page 8 | April 20, 2012
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“If you’re looking at a national footprint, it’s probably the research efforts that we’ve really got to focus on,” Elkins said. “We all know we are not generating the research that we really want to generate at this point in time, but there are resource issues.” The threat of large class sizes was among issues raised during the faculty forum. “I think we’re at a critical point where we’ve got to say, ‘how large can we be?’,” Elkins said about enrollment. “How many students can we serve in different majors? What can a class size be? Do we still need to increase enrollment, or are we maxed out?” Philip Oldham Oldham, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
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provost and Academic Affairs and senior vice chancellor, held his forums on April 18. Oldham emphasized size, quality of educational experience and total impact value as being critical issues for Tech. “ I t h i n k you have s o m e language in your current plan that indicates Oldham growing to something like 15,000 in student enrollment,” Oldham said, in the forum with athletics staff. “I would agree with that, personally. I think that’s a good, wise thing for you to do.” Oldham said that while some may think that quality and size act against each other, he argues that they do not. He said he believes that the size and quality of Tech play into its total impact
value. “[Tech’s impact value] certainly is through our students and the educational experience that they get here and the careers they are able to build based on that educational experience, but also it’s the scholarship that we produce,” Oldham said. “It’s the research that we do. It’s the new knowledge that we create that helps directly improve the lives of those we serve.” The issues of a large student-to-faculty ratio and what can be done to fix it was among those raised to Oldham during the faculty forum. “In higher education, we can’t want to recreate what we used to look like,” Oldham said. “We have this tendency to always look backward and say, ‘oh, well we used to have 10 faculty, now we only have eight— somebody owes us two.’ “I believe the healthier approach is to say ‘forget what you used to look like.
WINDOW ON THE WORLD
What do you need to look like five years from now or 10 years from now?’ What does that need to be? I’m a lot more interested in having a plan that says ‘here’s what we can do if we have the resources to support it.’” Ralph V. Rogers Rogers, Purdue University at Calumet Academic Affairs vice chancellor and mechanical engineering professor, wrapped up the forums on April 19. Rogers Like Elkins and Oldham, Rogers began his presentation briefing each group on his background. However, Rogers was the only candidate who did not comment on general goals for the University before the question and answer session. Faculty raised some of
the same issues to Rogers that they did to Elkins and Oldham. “How we increase diversity is really a good question and I would like to say, not diversity, but inclusivity,” Rogers said. “Increasing diversity is about ‘how do I get people of different color and backgrounds to our campus?’ We can talk about that and there are strategies to do that, but what we’re really trying to do is to make this an inclusive culture.” Rogers was also asked how he would bring funding to Tech in order to avoid the proposed issue of the large student-to-faculty ratio and the overuse of adjunct faculty. “I will tell you flat-out that we are not going to get it from the state,” Rogers said. “What we do have to do is find our own ways of raising revenue, and that means being a little more entrepreneurial and being willing to look at things, perhaps a little differently.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports Tech has third lowest crime rate in 2011 among TBR Universities By JACOB WALKER Beat Reporter
Melissa Edwards
Members of Tech’s Saudi Arabia Club give cultural information about the country to students during the annual Window on the World festival held April 14, celebrating cultural diversity on campus.
“I will tell you the pressures are going to be to find new ways to teach more students with less resources. That is the expectation.” The Next Step Next, each of the 18 committee members will make a recommendation and give thoughts to the chancellor about each of the three candidates. The chancellor and the governor will choose Tech’s next president. “There is someone on the committee that represents basically every area of the campus—for example, athletics, or the staff, or the faculty, or the deans—so there will be someone who will collect the feedback from each of those groups and then they will advance that feedback when they speak with the chancellor,” Owens said. Each candidate’s resume can be viewed at www.tntech.edu/president/search/. A live tweet of the forums can be viewed under Twitter hash tag ttu-
Tech has the third lowest crime rate in the Tennessee Board of Regents system, according to a 2011 Tennessee Bureau of Investigation campus crime survey of the six four-year Universities. The 2011 TBI campus crime statistics showed East Tennessee State University with the third highest crime rate, not far above Tech, with a crime per-capita rate of 0.0250. Tennessee State University and Middle Tennessee State University were first and second highest, with annual crime rates of 0.0433 and 0.0289, respectively. “I was initially surprised to see the results after I compared the different four-year schools to one another,” Gay Sheppard, Tech police chief, said. “But we also had a lot of categories where Tech was well below average, such as robbery, where we had zero as opposed to TSU having four.” The University of Memphis placed fifth, leaving Austin Peay State University with the lowest crime rate at 0.0093.
“We’re very meticulous with our reporting process,” Sheppard said. “We encourage students to report everything. I talk to the incoming freshman at the SOAR events and make sure that they know to always call the police. “I think this could have increased our overall numbers, but we don’t have hardly any of the more severe crimes that you see on other campuses.” Corey Masters, a senior History student at Tech, said, “One of the reasons why I chose to attend this University was based on how safe and secure you feel while on campus. I walk from the library to my car really late at night sometimes and have never had a problem.” The crime rates were determined by dividing the number of crimes reported by campus agencies by the number of students who attended the University that year. For instance, in 2011 Tech had 241 reported crimes and a campus population of 10,657, resulting in a crime rate of 0.0226. In the same year, U of M had 403 reported crimes and a campus population of 24,803, resulting in a crime rate of 0.0162.
SOLO
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The SOLO Fund is divided into a Super Fund, which funds the Concert Series and a General Fund. The General Fund is a smaller percentage of money collected from the $20 student fees that is allocated to student organizations to fund free events for students. All University registered organizations can apply for funding of a planned event. There are
three available application sessions during the semester, allowing organizations to receive up to $2,000 ($1,000 per event) per semester. Organizations are required to fill out an application with details regarding what their event consists of and how they plan to execute the event with SOLO funds. SGA then chooses which organizations will receive funding. For more information about the SOLO organization funding, or to get an application, visit www.tntech.edu/sga/forms.