The Oracle - 092016

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1000 N. Dixie Ave. | Cookeville, TN | 38505

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Tuesday, September 20, 2016

RACLE Volume 101 | Issue 2 | Free in single copy

The primary news source of the Golden Eagles since 1924 Serving Tennessee Tech weekly during the fall and spring semesters

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PAGE 4

SGA treasurer resigns from executive position “As an executive office it’s not fair for me to push things off my plate. SGA deserves someone who can dedicate more time.”

When Smith initially told the council of his decision to leave, they began to discuss possible candidates for the open position.

According to the Tech Constitution, article 10 section 1, under officer vacancies, “When a vacancy occurs in any elected SGA office other than that of the President, a committee shall be formed consisting of the President, Vice President, and three (3) representatives appointed by

By ASHLEY MOYERS Beat Reporter

After six months in office, Logan Smith resigned as the acting Student Government Association treasurer Sept. 13, 2016.

Logan Smith, a sophomore chemical and bio-molecular engineering major, had to resign from his position for personal reasons.

“I’m a very busy person.

It came to the point where I had to choose between God, my family, my residential advisor position, schoolwork, and SGA council,” Smith said.

the Executive Council. (a) The appointment shall be effective until the spring semester election (b) The appointment shall be ratified by a twothirds vote of the SGA Senate (c) Smith If deemed necessary by the Vice President a special committee shall be appointed to review the performance of the Senator in question.

“If the Senator is found to be in neglect of their duties, the committee shall begin

impeachment procedures as stated in Article VI, Section 10 of this constitution.”

Current SGA vice president, Miranda Stoltz said, “I immediately thought of Hope Duke because she had showed interest last year about being treasurer for SGA but when she found out Logan was running she decided to support his campaign instead of running herself.”

The newly elected SGA treasurer, Hope Duke, has been active in SGA for the past three years.

The civil engineering major was a senator for two years and this year is the act-

ing Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature director.

Regarding the recent election, Duke will fulfill her duties as acting TISL director for the remaining year, as well as acting treasurer.

“I’m pretty familiar with the processes in SGA, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming year,” Duke said.

“My main goal this year, is for the senate to know how much money we have to spend for SOLO applications.”

Stoltz said, “I have complete faith in Hope’s abilities to balance her school life and SGA. She is very organized

and responsible. Hope is someone who I know I can count on to get stuff done.”

The current SGA president, Alex Martin said, “I believe she will have a smooth transition into office and I have complete faith in her.”

Former SGA treasurer Smith said, “I know Hope is going to do great things in office. I wish the best for executive council. It’s going to be a great year for SGA.” Duke has already been ratified for this position and will be sworn in at the next SGA meeting held Sept. 27 in the Tech Pride room in the RUC at 9:15 p.m.

Damon Wayans Jr. wins Fall S.O.L.O. Concert vote

By JACIE BOWMAN Beat Reporter Comedian Damon Wayans Jr. is scheduled to appear at the Hooper Eblen Center as the Fall Student Government Association SOLO entertainer.

Wayans will be bringing a guest comedian Na’im Lynn with him Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. Doors

open at 7 p.m.

“I know a lot of students are concerned about the vote and the artist that was selected. The vote just tells us who to bid for first; there is no guarantee that is the artist we will be able to book,” SGA President Alex Martin said.

Damon Wayans Jr. is a known actor and comedian and is one of the four Wayans brothers.

His latest roles include: Coach

on the TV show “New Girl”, Wasabi in the movie “Big Hero 6” and John in “Let’s Be Cops.”

The special guest of Wayans, Na’im Lynn, is known as a comedian, actor, and writer.

Lynn wrote for Kevin Hart’s “Laugh at My Pain” and appears on several comedy documentaries and tours including: “Real Husbands of Hollywood” and Kevin Harts world tours “Let Me Explain” and “What

Now?” with the comedic group Plastic Cup Boyz.

“It’s awesome. I’m definitely going to go now that I know about it,” Charlotte Thornton, political science major, said.

Tickets are available beginning Sept. 19 through Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the SGA office, RUC 115, and are also available the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of that week from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Wayans Jr.

Tech Softball player takes donations to help with flood relief Gabrielle Perez will be taking donations for Louisiana flood relief through Sunday, Sept. 25.

Many natives of Louisiana are left with severe damages to personal items and homes after the early August floods.

By MARANDA TANKERSLEY Beat Reporter

Tech softball player Gabrielle Perez is lending a hand to victims of the Louisiana flooding.

For the past week, Perez has organized a flood relief effort asking students to help donate items to the Red Cross of Baton Rouge.

“We were going to the Salvation Army, but once I found out that the Red Cross could take all of the donations, I chose them,” Perez said.

Students are asked to donate hygiene

items and non-perishable foods to one of the many drop boxes on campus.

Those drop boxes can be found in the lobby of the Roaden University Center, Volpe Library, Athletic Performance Center Bell Hall and the south entrance of the Hooper Eblen Center until Sunday, Sept. 25.

Gift cards to stores such as Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart are also accepted and can be taken to Michelle Huddleston in room 108 of the Roaden University Center.

“I have received many donations but have only filled up four boxes,” she said.

“I have challenged each sports team to fill up a box and am trusting that they will

take the initiative to do it. I’ve also spoken with a few sororities and fraternities and hoping and praying they each can get a box filled. I’m hoping and praying for 15 boxes total, but I may extend the deadline so we can get more donations in.”

Once donations are completed and her goal is met, Perez said the Tech Athletics Department is supplying a truck to transport the donations to Louisiana.

Tammie McMillan, Associate Athletics Director, said that the Tech Athletics Department will help Perez with her efforts, but depending on how much is donated is how they will determine whether the dona-

tions will be shipped to Louisiana or delivered by the supplied truck.

Perez, a Louisiana native, has family and friends affected by the flooding, which prompted her to lead the efforts, according to a post in Tech Times.

“My plan with this was not only to serve my home community, but also set an example for others to follow my lead and notice people in need in everyday life,” she said.

“I am passionate about organizing events, leading, changing peoples’ lives and making a difference. Every little thing you can do to help others is what you should do.”

Red Silo Brewing Company brings new craft beers to Cookeville

By STEVEN STOIK Beat Reporter At 7 p.m., just as business begins to pick up inside the freshly gray painted garage storefront on 118 West First St., you can see the fuzzy outlines of Cookeville beer lovers through the windows.

Sitting together in small groups, they laugh and sip as if the place had been open for over a decade. Walking past them and into the back of the small, repurposed building, past the 16 wood-carved taps in the bustling tasting room, a series of shiny, brand-new, stainless steel vats sit closed and quiet along the wall. Red Silo is now a living, working, small batch brewery business. A single man sits off to the right in this room, dumping a bag of fresh grain into a grinding machine. I introduce myself and begin asking him about the ownership.

“There are four of us owners altogether. You’ve Read More Online

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got Mark, Elijah and Rich,” Jim Helton, part owner of Red Silo, said. He then goes into a short vision the newly licensed business has in mind. “We don’t want to be a bar, but we want it to also be a family-oriented place.

The more people we convert to the craft of brewing, the more customers we have.”

He explains that isn’t to say that other places like bars in town don’t have a good place in the business community in Cookeville.

As of its soft opening August 27, he informs, Red Silo has officially become Cookeville’s very first legal microbrewery business.

“We do want people to learn here and educate them on the beer brewing process.

We’ve spent a lot of time trying to make this place not only inviting but an educational process. It’s a 6-hour workday for one batch. It just takes time,” Helton said. I look down into the machine and ask about his work.

CONTACT:

“Milling the grain,” he calls it. I’ve already spoken to two other people in this tight, tidily decorated place. Since this man admits to having his work cut out for him well into the night while everyone else is busy serving beer in the front room, I decide to finally sit down and ask about his brewing process.

“I’m just cracking the husk, but not too finely, so that when you add hot water to it, you activate the enzymes to start attacking the starch strains. It breaks them down into sugars. That’s the first phase, and it creates a sweet liqueur called ‘wort,’” says Helton. After one hour of hot steeping, the wort leaves something called a mash ton vat. “After it steeps, then you drain the sweet liqueur into this boil kettle and that [eventually] becomes your beer.”

Of course, the process is quite a bit more elaborate than that, and it is eventu-

ally explained to me which series of fermenters take the resulting hop-laced mixture and produce carbon dioxide fermentation. From there, a last batch of steel vats add carbonation from which the beer is poured into containers for the various taps.

Each of Red Silo’s four managers/owners have been brewing homemade beer for at least ten years. Jim Helton admits to have been working at it since 1999, when his wife brought home a brewing kit for him to tinker with. Elijah Thomen, chief marketing officer of Red Silo, has been working at the craft for a decade. Both Jim Helton and Mark van der Bleek, another owner, first collaborated in their admitted passion for beer at WCTE’s local “Blues and Brews” beer festival in 2014.

“It was a hit, everyone loved it. So they did some research and found out that they could open a brewery but not sell beer yet,”

Thomen said.

Until only recently, both state law and local ordinances made it illegal to run any type of retail beer brewery open to the public. Elijah elaborated on how the legal changes to selling beer in Tennessee came to fruition to make the business possible.

“That was kind of the big push for it—to sell beer.

We’re considered a manufacturer actually, but we sell it in a limited floor space for tasting. We also sell it as a wholesale line to other places like Father Tom’s,” Thomen said.

In Tennessee the law originally stated that a business can’t be a retail brewery in a county with a population of under 75,000. With barely over 73,000 as of the most recent census, along with the law against non-restaurant establishments selling alcohol in the area, they were unable to even appeal to the local city council. That is, until after Tennessee bill SB897 was passed and signed into

law in April 2015 allowing businesses to retail beer as manufacturers so long as they comply with local ordinances. After efforts to reach out to the local government, a local ordinance was passed to overturn some of the local hurdles of legally selling beer in a taste room. Thomen explained where the current legal restrictions stand in order to keep them up and running.

“There’s still a state exception where manufacturers are not required to serve food, but we’re still limited by square footage in our interaction with the public.

No more than 25 percent of the business area can be for beer tasting,” Thomen said.

Essentially, the new rules give them just enough legal room to sell beer in a taste room as a producer, but with limited serving space.

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NEWS >>“Red Silo” Continued from Page 1 Mark also delved into some of the up and coming IPAs and porter beers making their way into the taste room this fall for avid beer drinkers.

“We’re going to be releasing some seasoned ale this fall, like ‘Scorched Gourd’ and ‘Peanut Head’ peanut butter porter. We’ll have an apple ale and a Christmas ale coming out this season,” he said. “A lot of craft beer drinkers like to try something new, so we plan on always having new brews to try.”I was able to sample three different varieties myself while in attendance, including “Wild Corgi,” an English brown ale, “Engine 509” stout, “Engine 509 Nitro” stout, as well as reportedly smooth, sweet red ale called “Home Run Red.” Details will develop in this space soon, but readers will have to wait for thorough review of what said ale and beers taste like. In short for now, this reporter describes them all as relatively sweet, darker-brewed than many other breweries and especially frothy-sweet on the English Wild Corgi brown ale, which had a personally admitted delightful finish.

“I think Red Silo is about community and education and also socializing. I think it’s a great thing where the science meets the art of craft beer. You know, this has the feel of a good public house where there are no age barriers. Our mission here is to make drinkable beers in small batches,” part owner of Red Silo Mark van der Bleek said.

“Our mission here is to make drinkable beers in small batches. We want this to be an experience for everybody and to be an adventure for everyone.”

Red Silo Brewing Company is located in Cookeville’s historic downtown area at 118 West First St. and is open 4 p.m. through 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4 p.m. through 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m. through 10 p.m., according to the business’s Facebook page.

Readers can stay tuned there or on their new website redsilo.beer for incoming information about an upcoming official grand opening.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

tntechoracle.com Contact us: oracle@tntech.edu

>> Campus

Upcoming changes effect Homecoming events @ tech Habitat for Humanity has joined the list of Homecoming activities for the fall 2016 celebration. Greek and Student Organizations will work together to raise funds to sponsor a house in the Cookeville area.

By SPENCER WILLIAMS Beat Reporter This year Tech will be introducing a few changes to its annual homecoming.

The main change that will be taking place will be the introduction of Habitat for Humanity as one of the events for the week of homecoming.

This event will take place Oct. 20 starting at 4:30 p.m. and will be at the Roaden University Center room 119.

Habitat for Humanity on Tech’s campus is a student organization that promotes the participation and education of ensuring families in need throughout the area have affordable housing options.

“The purpose of this

homecoming event is to foster a better relationship between students and members of the Cookeville and greater Putnam county community,” Elliot Mitzelfeld, the homecoming chairman, said.

“So, be creative when you are thinking of ideas of how to raise the money for your chapters, some examples would be an auction, golf tournament, restaurant spirit night, or sponsorships.”

All of this will be leading up to the overall event for Habitat for Humanity.

According to the packet that was given out for this year’s homecoming, the event details are as follows: for the event there will be two separate divisions, a Greek division and a Student Organization division.

Each division will have the goal of raising $50,000 to sponsor a habitat for humanity house here in Cookeville.

If the Greek Division reaches its goal they will use their money to build a house during Greek Week 2017 festivities.

If the Student Organizations reach their goal a date for a house build will be set.

In order to receive full points an organization must raise $55 per member.

All money is due by 4:30 p.m. in RUC 119 and must be submitted in one check.

“I love that we are changing the way the university views homecoming and making it about service,” Kimberly McGrath, a Tech student, said.

“Having such a worthy reason makes all the work

that much more enjoyable.”

Other events that will be taking place during homecoming week will be Banners Oct. 17, Habitat Fundraiser Oct. 18, Canned Food Drive Oct. 19, Habitat Money Due Oct. 20, Spirit Day & Golden Eagle Pep Rally Oct. 21, and the Homecoming Parade Oct. 22.

“I enjoy getting to spend time with my sisters making the homecoming float,” Nikki Hickman, a sister of Kappa Delta.

“This year is especially exciting because of the haunted theme that Tech is going with. It will be a “treat” getting to see all the creative ways the floats are created.”

If you have any questions, please contact Elliot Mitzelfeld at 615-887-5224 or email ttutab@gmail.com.

Friday Café grants hands on experience

‘‘

By OLIVIA HOFFMAN Beat Reporter The School of Human Ecology’s Friday Café began last Friday, and is the first of a weekly, semester-long program.

Friday Café is a once a week dining experience put on by the students of Quantity Food Production and their professor, Melinda Anderson, Ph.D., who came to Tech in 2001. The Friday Café has been in effect since 1995.

“Quantity Food Production is one of three required food service classes in dietetics, and it deals with the commercial side of food service,” Anderson said.

Most of the students are Nutrition and Dietetics majors, but there are some Chemistry and Food Systems Administration majors. The purpose of this class is for these students to gain “real world, hands on experience,” Anderson said.

Each Friday, around 50 guests gather in Room 005 of Oakley Hall to eat a three course meal prepared totally by the students.

Guests are greeted at the door by a host and are guided to their seats according to a seating chart.

Mary Chamberlin, a senior Nutrition and Dietetics major, explained a crucial part of the experi-

CORRECTIONS SEPT. 13

T

he photo accompanying the story “From sea to shining sea,” was not properly credited. The Oracle would like to thank Camille J. Cauthen for providing the photo.

I

n the story “Tech police roll out new parking plan with increased consequences,” the towing policy is in effect for the entire academic year as opposed to only the fall semester.

T

he story “Tech police roll out new parking plan with increased consequences,” has misquoted a source. Elizabeth Clemens did not use the word ‘fragrant’ in her quote about the new towing policy.

A

dditionally in the story “Tech police roll out new parking plan with increased consequences,” Elizabeth Clemens was incorrectly identified.

Clemens is the Tech Police Department’s Secretary, not an officer.

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September

20 All Day

Arendt Fiber Art Exhibition Joan Derryberry Art Gallery

11 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.

Engineering, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Clement Hall 212

11 a.m. - 11:55 a.m.

AAUP Meeting Henderson Hall 205

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Tech Teaches 2- Inquiry RMH 104

4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Integrated Math PLC Teacher Workshop Oakley STEM Cemter

7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.

First Nations - The Circle of Music Wattenbarger Auditorium

21

All Day

Arendt Fiber Art Exhibition Joan Derryberry Art Gallery

4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Biology in a Box Workshop Oakley STEM Center

Everyone seemed really happy to be there, and they seemed especially excited about the dessert, chocolate lasagna.

—Katelyn Woodlee

,,

Food Systems Administration Major

ence - the menu.

“The first week of class, we all brought in menus to class that we came up with. We voted as a class on which ones we liked, and those are the ones that are used,” Chamberlin said.

Menus are set for the semester and are posted on Tech’s website. Entrees range from bruschetta chicken to steak fajitas, and desserts include chocolate lasagna and pineapple upside down cake.

Each students plays a different role each week, from back of the house duties like cooks and dishwashers to front of the house duties like hosts and servers.

At the beginning of the course, each student was required to take a day long course from the National Restaurant Association to make them ServSafe certified.

Katelyn Woodlee, a Food Systems

Administration major, worked as a server last Friday.

“Everyone seemed really happy to be there, and they seemed especially excited about the dessert, chocolate lasagna,” Woodlee said.

The room Friday Café takes place in has a full kitchen, thanks to donations from Shoney’s and Cracker Barrel, and can seat up to 50 people.

Last Friday, 45 people attended and ranged from “Tech students, faculty and staff to members of the community that have connections to campus and Tech students,” Anderson said.

The cost for the meal is $8, which goes toward supplies for the next meal.

Reservations must be made the Wednesday before the meal, or reservations can be made for the whole semester up front.

To make reservations, call Cindy Cobb at 931-372-3157.

22

All Day

Arendt Fiber Art Exhibition Joan Derryberry Art Gallery

11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

3D Printed Joints and Connections for Assemblies iMakerSpace, Volpe Library

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

One World Multicultural Evening Tech Pride Room

23 All Day

Arendt Fiber Art Exhibition Joan Derryberry Art Gallery

All Day

Last Day for 100% Refund Campus Wide

3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Soccer vs. Jacksonville State TTU Soccer Fields

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Festival of Voices Wattenbarger Auditorium

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Counterfeit bills cause problems for Cookeville area businesses

By BRYAN BOWEN Beat Reporter There have been many reports about counterfeit $50 bills being distributed around Cookeville and Cumberland County.

According to the report, owner Rick Tringadjis called police to Krispy Kreme doughnuts Monday, Aug. 29, to report that his business had received a counterfeit $50-dollar bill earlier in the week.

Unfortunately, they may not be able to find the suspect.

“I explained to the complainant that without a specific time and more details that there was not much I could do to find the person who passed the bill,” Officer Jamey McCurry said.

“I am working a case involving multiple fake $50 bills that were being manu-

factured in Overton Co. and being passed in the city limits of Cookeville.”

Krispy Kreme is not the only local business that had to deal with counterfeit money.

The first incident was reported late Friday, Aug. 5, at the Putnam County Fairgrounds.

A man had come to the fair and paid for tickets with three fake $20 bills.

According to reporting officer Ryan Acuff, all of the bills had matching serial numbers.

According to another police report that was released Friday, Aug. 19, a store clerk told police that a white male entered the store and used a fake $50 bill to purchase gas and received $30 in change.

Then at 6:00 a.m., another white male entered the same store and pulled off the exact same scheme. A couple days later the same crime

was reported at the Speedy Mart on 10th Street.

The bills are rumored to be $10 bills that have been washed and printed over, making them difficult to detect with a counterfeit pen, but there are other ways to see if the bills you receive are fake.

The new $50 bills have a water mark of President Grant on both sides and have a color shifting 50 in the lower right corner.

If the note does not have these features, it may be a fake according to Federal Reserve website.

There is no news yet if officers are closer to finding the suspects involved in the crime.

The Cookeville Police Department urges anyone with any possible information about these incidents to contact Cookeville/Putnam County Crime Stoppers at 520-7867 or 267-8477.

Volleyball vs. Eastern Kentucky Hooper-Eblen Center

24

All Day

Arendt Fiber Art Exhibition Joan Derryberry Art Gallery

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

TTU Piano Competition Wattenbarger Auditorium

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Morehead State Hooper-Eblen Center

25 All Day

Arendt Fiber Art Exhibition Joan Derryberry Art Gallery

3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Scholarships and Award Celebration Wattenbarger Auditorium

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Soccer vs. Belmont TTU Soccer Fields

www.tntech.edu/calendar

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

COOKEVILLE, TN || THE ORACLE || Page 3

Campus <<

NEWS

Chartwells adds vegan and vegetarian options to campus dining with Leafy Greens

By SHELBY SAVAGE Beat Reporter Since the beginning of the 20162017 academic school year, Swoops has taken Zona Mexicana out and added Leafy Greens in.

So why Leafy Greens? What exactly brought them to Tech’s campus?

Samuel Holm, resident district manager of Chartwells, Tech’s campus dining services, explained that he believes more and more students don’t always want to eat meat or they’re just choosing to eat healthier.

“We didn’t add in Leafy Greens necessarily for vegetarians or vegans,” Holm said.

“Our hopes were to reach out to the growing demand of healthy

food, change it up a bit and add more substitutions.”

Holm feels as if the market for fresh food from students is more demanding right now.

Chartwells also wanted something different to offer on campus, and “since all the basics, burgers, chicken, and pizza are already covered, Leafy Greens seemed like the best option,” said Holm.

He said that he felt it was time for more options so they are “testing the waters” with Leafy Greens. All the food offered at Leafy Greens is fresh and made from scratch by chef Dustin right in the kitchen.

Although the food offered at Leafy Greens is more for vegetarians and healthier eaters, it is still open to any and all eaters. All of the dressings offered for the salads are oil and vinegar based.

There are six hot entrees to choose from that are changed every day.

Some of the entrees in the past have included parmesan tomatoes and healthy alternatives to pasta.

So what can a swipe get you at Leafy Greens? The menu includes four options. Option one offers one hot entrée, half size of a made to order salad and a regular drink for $7.99.

Option two offers one full size made to order salad and a regular drink for $7.99. Option three offers two hot entrée items and a regular drink for $7.99.

Option four, also known as the direct meal exchange, offers half a size of a hot entrée, half a made to order salad, and a regular drink for $6.25.

There is also the A La Carte op-

tions: one hot entrée item with no drink for $3.99, one half made to order salad for $3.99 and fresh appetizers for $2.99. All meals and dining dollars are accepted at Leafy Greens.

“The package options on the menu are more accommodated to freshmen because we know it can be a little intimating for them to understand the way meal plans work at first,” said Holm.

Thus far Leafy Greens has received great feedback. After fall break, Chartwells will be having polls for students to participate in.

The polls will consist of questions asking how students like Leafy Greens, what other food students would like to see on campus and everything pertained to campus dining.

“We are doing our best to feed the students fresh food and offer a

fun atmosphere. Renovations are great but we still need good food options,” Holm said.

Though Chartwells can’t remove such brand names places like Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks and Papa Johns, they can make adjustments as simple as a menu change or even adjustments like the feel of the atmosphere of a place.

Their main targets are the The Grille located in The Perch or the campus food truck.

They plan to carefully consider the feedback of the students and hope to start making necessary changes over Christmas break.

Chartwells is always open to feedback from students, whether that is positive or negative.

“We are here to accommodate to the students and fill their hungry needs,” said Holm

Belegrath at TTU LIVE ACTION BATTLE: Jonathan Adams, Israel Langston and Charles Ulett practice battle sequences as a part of Belegrath.

Belegrath is a Medieval Combat Society in which members wear costumes and construct homemade weapons. Ranging from individuals tournaments to full-on army battles, the clashes are executed in a safe way to reenact scenes from various time periods in history.

The group meets in Sherlock Park Fridays at 2:30 p.m.

Ashton Breeden | The Oracle

Page 4 || THE ORACLE || COOKEVILLE, TN

ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

>> Reviews

Oakes brings creativity to Tech’s Dungeons and Dragons

By ASHTON BREEDEN Guest Contributor

Photo by Ashton Breeden PRACTICE - Oakes prepares for a game of D&D with friends before their regular Thursday night game.

Jacob Oakes was raised on “Dungeons & Dragons.” In fact, that’s how his parents met. Instead of going out on hikes for family bonding, they’d stay at home on Saturdays and play D&D. Now, he’s the president of Tech’s Dungeons and Dragons.

Oakes is a junior English major that plays D&D with not only his fellow club members but also his friends.

“I play with Ling and the gang every Thursday night,” Oakes said. “And then I

run a game during our club meetings every Friday. So I run two campaigns every week.”

Oakes has a secret to his mad skills as a dungeon master: the games he runs are in parallel universes. He draws from characters that he had from past games with his family.

“The reason I’m an English major is because I love telling stories. Being able to make my own worlds and my own characters and explain them is just so much more fun.”

On campaigns Oakes uses a mat that he can write, draw and erase on to help represent

the dungeons his players are in. They even use miniatures so they know where their characters are in the dungeon and battle.

“I’m a majority purist when it comes to D&D but I’ve played a couple of games of “Rifts,” “Shadowrun,” “Fallout P&P” based off the videogames and a few others. I don’t remember the names.”

Oakes has actually been teaching a few of his friends how to play the game with the latest edition. The 5th edition player’s handbook was released August 19, 2014, according to the official D&D

website.

“It’s easier to teach Ling and my friend Dallas how to play ‘Dungeons & Dragons.’

It’s just straight forward,” Oakes said.

Oakes’ love for the game is what ultimately led him to form the Dungeons and Dragons club here at Tech. He said he liked the campaigns with his friends and club members the most out of all the games he’s played.

He also said that anyone can come join the fun with Tech’s Dungeons and Dragons at their weekly meetings Fridays from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. in RUC 371.

Nick Cave confronts inner darkness on ‘Skeleton Tree’

By CAMERON FOWLER Entertainment Editor

Combining the mystic with the realistic has always been the modus operandi of Nick Cave, and to a more subtle extent, his backing band the Bad Seeds. Their often somber instrumentation feeds the soul of most of Cave’s lyricism - a bevy of violently ominous poems which yearn for escape from the neglected cage that is Cave’s persona.

There has always been a certain detachment to these lyrics from the life of Cave, save for his decades-long fascination with death and God, which consistently paints the edges of each record he and his band have made. But with “Skeleton Tree,” a man who translates the madness is consumed by a darkness greater than any characters he’s sung about, and it gives way to a torrential sense of loneliness, heartbreak and grief.

The album serves as a piece of personal reflection for an artist who for so long has conveyed narratives with anonymity. In 2015, Cave’s son, Arthur, died after falling from a cliff at the family’s home in England. Cave had already finished writing and recording the majority of “Skeleton Tree” when the accident occurred, yet in a mystic sense the album was finished in an entirely different light than when it began. Cave’s lyrics were now soaked in a coat of horror and unfathomable tragedy, and the album’s soul rests there.

The material of the album still assumes qualities of Cave’s work as mentioned, but it’s impossible to shake real feelings of bottomless grief from the songwriting on every track. On the opener, “Jesus Alone,” a swollen synth pushes Cave’s desolate voice out into the middle of nowhere as strings catch it. As Cave sings in the chorus, “With my voice/I am calling you,” darkness gives way to a somber piano that languidly dances with the brooding synths. There is a constant but subtle balance between reaching for hope and swaying through void in the arrangement of this song, an idea that defines each song on the album.

Despite most songs taking on this emotional shell, there is a sonic laziness present on some instrumentation which

aids the desperate state Cave often finds himself in songs such as “I Need You,” where Cave is the closest to crying he has ever been on a record. In terms of song structure, this is perhaps the most experimental on the album in terms of emotional resonance. The song takes on jutted movement, the soft beat skipping as Cave yearns over backing vocals lamenting the pain he sings about: “Nothing really matters anymore, not even today/No matter how hard I try.” Cave appears to be singing about a lover, but “I Need You” personifies the album’s powerful concept of duality between reality and fantasy as Cave the human overlaps with Cave the writer. We never know who Cave is singing about, but there is no need - passion becomes louder than words and we begin to ache despite the ambiguity of the narrative.

The title track and “Anthrocene” confirm the loose, airy nature of The Bad Seeds, who tease their instrumentation with electronic tinges that create a sense of astute terror, a nervous jitter especially apparent on “Anthrocene,” with drum and piano improvisation that frays wildly among the persistent swirls of maniac, fuzzy spurts featuring a drum machine, an instrument which was also explored on the band’s last album “Push The Sky Away.” In fact, much of the sound of that album carries over to “Skeleton Tree,” although the latter is vastly more experimental with its heavy use of minimalism and unique song structure using elements such as the drum machine to further the dark sonic palate by enclosing the music rather than expanding it as seen in “Anthrocene.”

While “Skeleton Tree” is among the darkest material Cave has ever recorded, the glimmer of hope comes in the song “Distant Sky,” a ballad which features Danish singer Else Torp as a female companion to Cave. “Distant Sky” confronts the idea of just getting away, of going to a time or place where no pain exists. As Cave sings “Call the gasman, cut the power out,” over soaring strings, a finality washes over the themes of the record and there is a flare of hope.

“Skeleton Tree” is a tough listen, but by the end there is release in knowing that Cave has the final word and that music will continue to speak truths when words can’t.

Photo Courtesy of traileraddict.com FOOL ME ONCE - “Blair Witch” was filmed and marketed under the false title ‘The Woods’ until a Comic-Con trailer revealed that it was a sequel to ‘The Blair Witch Project’ only two months before its release.

“Blair Witch” a shallow return to familiar ground

By HANNAH BARGER Entertainment Critic Ignoring the almost two decades of completely unnecessary f o u n d f o o t a g e horror movies it spawned, 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project” is a modern classic in its own right. “Blair Witch” is another story.

Our protagonist is James Donahue, the little brother of Heather, who acted as the “face” of the original film. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you stop reading right now and do so, because spoilers abound ahead.

Heather and her two friends are presumed dead after an ill-advised documentary film project on the mythical Blair Witch ended in a haze of shaky camera footage and screaming. However, a new

video gives James reason to believe his sister is still out there.

So of course, he does what any horror movie twenty-something would do: he sets out to leave his parents completely childless by heading out to the woods with a camera and a troupe of his own vaguely unlikeable friends.

One feature I loved about the original movie was its rawness. This shouldn’t come as a surprise - rawness should be the foundation of any found footage movie.

The characters talked over each other, bickered, and finished each others’ sentences in a way that was uncomfortably realistic.

This movie was cleaned up significantly from its predecessor, and that was the beginning of its problems.

The dialogue was stilted, the camera work was so obnoxiously jostled I’m sure it made the patrons

in the next screening room over sick, and the story was somehow both rushed and painstakingly slow. Here’s a brief rundown: James and his sort-of love interest, Lisa (the resident student documentarian) set out with their friends Peter and Ashley (arguably the only character in this film I didn’t want to hit) to find out what happened to Heather and her crew.

They meet a young couple that look like the sort of people who hang out in front of liquor stores offering to buy cigarettes for middle schoolers.

There’s screaming, weird noises, a completely unnecessary scene involving a worm-type thing, and everyone blessedly dies in the end.

That’s it. That’s all two hours of it condensed in one paragraph. I just saved you $8.23.

The problem with “Blair

Witch” isn’t so much that it’s bland, or that it’s boring, or that it answers absolutely none of the questions it or its predecessor proposed.

It’s that it’s completely empty. While “The Blair Witch Project” was cutting edge and full of true suspense, this movie was a repackaging of the same boring, straight to Netflix drivel that’s come out of the horror industry in the last decade or so.

The cast of “The Blair Witch Project” is relatable in that they’re a bunch of scared kids who got in over their heads.

The “kids” (am I really supposed to believe that James is the same age as me?) in this movie are flatter than the Seagrams your great grandma keeps in the back of her fridge.

I wouldn’t recommend seeing this movie. I wouldn’t even wish this movie on my worst enemy.

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OPINIONS

Parking changes work for the greater good KATE TREBING Opinions Editor I wrote my very first opinion editorial around this time last year. I was fresh-faced, naïve and totally unprepared for the huge undertaking before me. I had no idea how to begin to write an editorial, and I was ready to latch onto any topic that presented itself. That topic turned out to be the parking situation on campus.

In the last year, we the people of Tennessee Tech have raised our voices countless times in protest of what we deemed to be parking injustices. We have to hike to class, uphill both ways, and we’re already running five minutes late! This may actually have been a version of my own words not too many months ago.

However, my mindset on this hot topic has been transformed just as thoroughly as my career choice over the last few years.

At the risk of alienating myself from the entire Tech community, not to mention my professors, classmates, and closest friends, I am prepared to take the role of devil’s advocate in this issue. Before you throw the first stone, here me out. This is why you should think twice before complaining about parking on campus.

Over the past few weeks, Tech’s campus has been abuzz with grumbling against the new parking zones. Our parking fee skyrocketed from a measly $20 to an outrageous $93 for a basic purple pass, or even $205 for a faculty member’s gold pass!

However, the commuters of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville are shelling over $188 for a yearly pass, and non-commuters

‘‘

At the risk of alienating myself from the entire Tech community, not to mention my professors, classmates,

,,

and closest friends, I am prepared to take on the role of devil's advocate in this issue. are paying as much as $294 per year to park.

It is true that our campus is a fraction of the size of UTK, but if we want to benefit from the same opportunities and advances as these giant universities, we will have to be willing to support that growth financially.

Tech needs space to grow. As explained to the Tennessee Board of Regents by a Campus Parking Committee composed of students, faculty and staff, our university’s parking zones are currently at 90 percent carrying capacity. Furthermore, the slated construction of a new laboratory science building is projected to eliminate 859 parking spaces.

By now, most people on campus know that Tech has a Campus Master Plan to counteract issues such as these. For more than 13 months, rumors have circulated among the campus community about an enigmatic parking garage that will solve all of our problems. For those of you not in the know, this not merely a campus rumor. Tech will soon have its very own parking garage, albeit at a seemingly slow rate of speed (design plans commence July 2017, while construction is set to begin in 2019). However, the parking garage will not solve all of our problems, as its forecasted capacity is set at 624 parking spaces. Tech will need to continue to expand.

Rather than grow outward with sprawling

parking lots and a concrete landscape, the Campus Master Plan proposes a “greening of the campus.” Imagine walking to the STEM Center under the cool shade of massive trees.

Picture crossing Dixie Ave. on a rainy December evening without the dread of an unobservant driver sweeping you off your feet. These new parking regulations are inconvenient, but they are contributing to a campus to which we will want to return someday.

Meanwhile, our parking lots are concrete deserts, cars circling like vultures around empty parking spaces. How can I excuse the injustice of students paying seven times more for a parking space that seems to grow increasingly more elusive? I don’t bother to explain because I don’t bother to play the game.

This is a simple solution for a massive problem. As a commuter for almost four years, I know what it feels like to speed-walk to your first class, or perhaps to trek to your car in the dark after a long day on campus. However, this semester is different.

I purchased a purple pass this year. This entitles me to the parking spots on the very outer edges of campus, yet not once I have been late to my first class this semester. This is solely due to planning ahead. I give myself time to walk, and because I park in zones that

most commuters avoid like the plague, I never have to circle the lot to find an empty space.

Of course there are exceptions to every rule. Many students cannot physically trek the distance to their classes. For these, and for anyone who doesn’t feel like a little bit of fresh air in the lovely Tennessee humidity, our campus has provided wonderfully accommodating shuttles.

Every morning without fail, as I leave my car and begin my sojourn to the heart of Tech’s campus, I am greeted by at least one brightly colored shuttle bus making its rounds and picking up commuters. The drivers are more than willing to stop in the middle of their route and pick up stragglers at any point in their walk. I have to fight off the sensation of guilt when I politely refuse the ride in favor of my own two feet. What can I say, I like to work up a healthy sweat.

I remember distinctly my first Saturday on Tech’s campus. I spent the day wandering from building to building, getting acquainted with campus and fending off my freshman jitters.

I also remember trekking across the barren concrete landscape that is the Capitol Quad parking lot. Nothing says welcome home like sizzling on a massive concrete frying pan.

I don’t love paying $93 to park on the outer edges of campus. I am not a masochist looking to stir up a fire of hate mail in my inbox. But I see the greater good at work in this situation.

And while I may not necessarily reap the benefits of the greener campus and parking garage, I want some other homesick freshman to have that opportunity.

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

The Power of Presence: College student reflects on dressing for the little things SAMANTHA CANEER Guest Critic In our world today, we are increasingly drawn to a more laid back kind of style as opposed to the rigid social standards of dressing in a specific way and acting in an ‘acceptable’ manner of the generations before us. While most people would throw a tantrum if they had to trade in sporting workout apparel and snapbacks for dress shoes and khakis, I am slowly coming to believe that there is a time and place for certain attire and temperament.

I am in no way advocating that we burn every set of yoga pants we own (I would be at risk of burning Middle Tennessee to the ground if I did).

However, I am suggesting that in our pursuit of ‘wearing whatever we feel comfortable in’, we are losing something important. We are no longer utilizing what I call ‘The Power of Presence’. By this, I am alluding to the fact that wardrobe and appearance, whether we like it or not, have a huge impact on how we feel about ourselves and how others view us.

For instance, why do we dress up to go to job interviews? We want to leave a good impression. We want to look, feel, and present ourselves as ‘put-together’ so that we will be hired. But is first impression not as important in everyday life as it is in an interview? As convenient as it is running to town in the first (clean) thing I can find to throw on, (FYI: the sniff test is only allowed on finals week, otherwise, you need to buy more clothes and/ or do laundry more often), there is something about that feeling when you look in the mirror

THE

and see yourself in something besides tennis shoes. We dress up because it not only portrays us as running our worlds like Beyoncé, but it makes us feel like we are running our lives.

I can’t be the only person that has noticed that better posture and smiling more are both consequences of putting more effort towards appearance. I walk like I’m somebody worth noticing when I dress like I’m somebody worth noticing. I can’t help but wonder if I would utilize more opportunities in life if I got up, did my hair, picked out an outfit, and did my make-up. I also question if I would look at myself and talk to myself in a more body positive manner if I felt ‘put-together’ every day.

Would I avoid mirrors and that cute guy if I felt confident in how I present myself each day? Would taking the time on my appearance every morning affect how I see myself in general? Would I walk the street looking at my phone and avoiding eye contact, or would I walk and say good morning to people I pass? Would taking the time in the morning to shave your face and put on a nice shirt give you the confidence to get to know the girl in your psychology class? If you got up and wore those cute new shoes, would you take a chance and go meet a professor to ask about doing research? What would you have the self-possession to do if you felt like a million bucks every day?

And even if you think dressing well is hogwash and is only something 9-5 professionals do, what do you think about manners? Have we lost so much common decency that being polite is now considered

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flirting? The answer to this is YES. If you don’t know this, you don’t know how to be polite.

This also indicates we have no idea how to approach someone respectfully when interested in the dating realm. If you like someone and have talked to them, why not be up front and just ask? The worst they can do is say no. Have we decided that eye contact is creepy instead of realizing that it imparts value to the people we meet on the street? Is it really that weird to smile and look people in the eye? I believe the answer is no. It’s not weird; we’ve just lost the art of being present in our world. We slump and hunch instead of sitting and walking like people who are active and participating in their world. These are all aspects of living and being in the now. We have been staring at our phones too long. We need to re-learn how to walk, talk, and interact with our world. We’re no longer participating in life. We have become mere by-standers because we are not ‘showing up’ to life. We are throwing on whatever is clean and using our phones to give us an excuse not to interact with the people we meet.

I believe it is of utmost importance that we re-learn the Power of Presence. The Power of Presence is so important not only because people inadvertently remember us by our first impression, but also because I believe it gives us poise and an air of self-assurance that can only be attained if we take the time to coax it out of ourselves. Look in the mirror and make yourself the person you want to see. When you do that and you feel confident in yourself, it will no longer matter what others think, but it will make them notice.

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Photo courtesy of Samantha Caneer LOOK SHARP - Caneer has learned the value of making a good first impression.

Power of Presence has absolutely nothing to do with what people think of how you look, but it has everything to do with the confidence you exude. It’s about presenting yourself in such a way that you can forget about yourself and focus on living life the way YOU want to live it.

It’s not about the brand you wear or what the spring color is. It’s about owning a room.

It’s about making people remember you, not what you’re wearing. And guess what?

You will have a head start on that interview someday since you will have already been practicing the Power of Presence in your everyday life.

Samantha Caneer is a junior in computer science and chemistry. Emails will be forwarded through oracle@ tntech.edu

2. Originality is required. 5. The Oracle reserves Plagiarized works will not the right to edit for style, The Oracle encourages be considered. grammar, length and readers to write letters and clarity. commentaries on topics of 3. For verification, letters interest. A few guidelines: and commentaries MUST 6. Submissions must be include your name, e-mail received by 4 p.m. on 1. Letters should not address, home town and Friday. exceed 300 words. classification or title.

Commentaries should be 7. Your thoughts are free. around 500 words and 4. Letters may not run Think often, think free. include a picture of the in every edition due to writer. space. kdtrebing42@students.tntech.edu

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DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of Tennessee Tech University’s employees or of its administration.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

THE ORACLE || COOKEVILLE, TN || PAGE 6

SPORTS

>> Inside the Game

Satterfield revamps football program at Tennessee Tech

By DARIUS BERRY Beat Reporter Football season is in full swing and with a new season comes new expectations and changes for Tech football as the Marcus Satterfield era is officially underway.

Coach Satterfield comes from Temple University to turn around a football program that has gone a combined 14-21 the past three seasons, but Satterfield believes that the program can be a place where they can succeed and win a national championship.

“I wanted to come to a program where I felt the pieces were in place from a community, region, culture, university and location where we thought we could implement our organizational structure and win national championships,” Satterfield said. “And we felt that this was a place we could that.”

Coming into a program that has not succeeded over the last few years, Satterfield felt that the mentality of the program had to change by going from a “losing” mentality to a “winning” mentality and believes that stressing those points every day will be evident in the next year or so.

“We have to teach our kids how to win, they know how to lose right now,” Satterfield said. “The psychological aspect of teaching our kids how to win games and how to be tough enough to win games, toughness is as much as about the physical as it is mental toughness that it takes to win a football game.”

Satterfield said the players responded “nicely” to the discipline and structure of their organization and really see the results of it whether it is in school, being involved in the community, or playing on the field.

The changes have also

led to a departure of 16 players from last year’s team who are not on the team for the season.

“When a new coach comes in, you have [to] set your standards, guidelines, and bylaws that everyone has to abide by, and if they don’t they say ‘this is not for me’ and sign with another staff,” Satterfield said. “Whether it is good or bad, or right or wrong I don’t know but we are a different staff and some kids couldn’t handle it.”

When recruiting, Satterfield said he and his staff are looking for smart, tough kids that want to be challenged academically and feel even though they may not be the fastest or most athletic, but they can be good, consistent football players and give their maximum effort throughout.

“We want guys that have shown through their high school or junior college career [they] are willing to

Tony Marable | TTU Sports Information FIRST WIN FOR SATTERFIELD - Tennessee Tech head football coach Marcus Satterfield looks on as his team wins their first game of his Tech career against Austin Peay 41-7. be coached, tough-minded, mentally smart, and have great values and standards, Satterfield said.

Satterfield believes that fans should be excited for the future of Tech football and have something to look forward to for years to come.

Weightlifter Heather Ashworth breaks barriers

By SEAN HENRIQUES Beat Reporter Some people spend their entire lives trying to break one record, but Heather Ashworth, a freshman at Tech, has broken over 10 by the age of 18.

Ashworth is a first semester freshman from Whitehouse, Tennessee. She is a pre-physical therapy major because it goes along with power lifting and she wants to work with athletes.

“I came to Tech because my grandfather graduated from here with a degree in engineering and I am a legacy student,” Ashworth said.

Ashworth is not just an ordinary student. She is a female powerlifter and a

continuous record breaker. She has been powerlifting competitively for about a year and six months now. Before she started lifting in competition Ashworth said she was raised in the gym.

“My parents were always in the gym when I was younger, and still are now. In elementary school I thought of the gym as a playground, in middle school I just did my homework in there, and in high school is when I began getting interested in powerlifting,” said Ashworth.

Ashworth said that her parents have been her greatest motivation from a young age. Now her motivation is to continue to break records as one of the youngest women in powerlifting. Her first broken record was at the age of 16 in her first contest when she squatted 205

pounds, bench pressed 150 pounds, and deadlifted 305 pounds. She said that if she had a motto it would be, “not strong for a girl, just strong.” To be the best that she can be, Ashworth works out intensely four days a week and she does cardiovascular training for the other two.

On Sunday she rests.

Ashworth will be competing at the International Ashworth Powerlifting League Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nov. 10.

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“They should be excited for the process as a whole, the type of young man that is in the uniform, how hard they play every single play, they don’t take any play or team for granted, they play hard when they are up 30 and they play harder when they are

down 30 with that relentless mindset,” Satterfield said.

“That toughness that our kids will have is what fans can look for and consistently be the most physical, disciplined, relentless, accountable, toughest team in the country.”

Tech volleyball travels to Idaho for tournament

By HALEY DAVIDSON Beat Reporter Tech’s women’s volleyball team travel to Idaho to play against Oregon State, Idaho and Wyoming in the Idaho Volleyball Classic Sept.

15-16. The Golden Eagles left at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, catching a flight to Moscow, Idaho.

“Flying to Idaho with the team was such a fun experience,” Kirsten Brugere said.

“It was a great bonding experience for us also.”

The Golden Eagles started out play Thursday night, rallying against Pacific Ten team, the Oregon State Beavers.

OSU grabbed an early lead against the Golden Eagles in the first set, winning 2510, which led to the Beavers winning the game, 3-0. Kellie Williams and Rachel Thomas led Tech in kills, earning seven each while Kirsten Brugere had 10 digs.

“I think we struggled to

stay in control and play at our own pace, the first two sets we made a lot of errors that we finally corrected but unfortunately it was too late, “ Senior Kennedy Wade said.

“I think we were all upset because we saw that we really had a chance at taking a win over a big team like Oregon State, but we gave it up because of our own errors and lack of intensity.”

The Golden Eagles plan to play Division one schools, Idaho and Wyoming Friday Sept. 16.

Senior middle blocker Alyssa Povey is an Idaho native and is very thankful that she got to have a little taste of home this tournament.

“I love reminiscing and getting to share a piece of home with my team as well as play the sport we all love,” Povey said. “My family have always been such an amazing, supporting group in everything I do, so having them here is really special.”

Tech cross country teams sweep meet in Alabama

By AUSTIN CLAY Beat Reporter Tech’s men’s and women’s cross country team placed first at the Azalea City Classic in Mobile, Alabama, Sept. 9.

The classic included five teams from Alabama State, Southeastern Louisiana, Tech, Troy and the host school South Alabama.

“We knew that we were good but when we put it together for the first time, it really showed that we have a lot of potential,” Paul Patterson, a senior transfer cross country member, said.

Patterson believed that the Azalea City Classic really gave the team a boost of confidence that was needed and something they can build upon.

“Coming away with a win was definitely a lot of excitement and it put a lot of faith back into our running,” Jenna Storms, a sophomore cross country member, said.

Storms says that last year they had a good team but was never able to work together, so this win gave them a better idea on how to win.

Gilbert Boit finished first for Tech in the men’s race with a time of 24:09.34 in the

8k. That was 29 seconds faster than any other runner. This performance also broke a Tech school record.

Micayla Rennick finished second, first for Tech, in the women’s race with a time of 22:06.17 in the 6k.

The men’s team came out of the race ranked 14th in the USTFCCCA Division 1 South region poll.

“I don’t think we should put too much thought into it, but just keep doing what we are supposed to do,” Patterson said.

Patterson believes the team could get big heads if they get caught up in the rankings. He thinks there is still room for improvement.

“By the time OVC (championship) rolls around we are all going to be hitting our strides,” Storms said.

Storms said last year everyone was tired once the OVC Championship came around.

She believes this year will be different, with everyone competing at the level they are.

The teams have two meets left, in Nashville and Louisville, before postseason play begins.