THE
1000 N. Dixie Ave. | Cookeville, TN | 38505
O
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
RACLE Volume 101 | Issue 6 | Free in single copy
The primary news source of the Golden Eagles since 1924
> Battlefield 1 gives players
opportunity to play in World War 1 maps. p
Serving Tennessee Tech weekly during the fall and spring semesters Every fall the students and faculty of Tennessee Tech experience a celebration full of organizational competitions alumni visits culminating in a parade down Dixie Avenue and a football game in Tucker Stadium. All of these events came together this fall to create a haunted edition of the annual Tennessee Tech Homecoming.
Mr. & Miss Tennessee Tech
At this year’s canned food drive benefiting the food pantry, all Greek Life students donated an average of over 20 pounds per member, so not one specific organization won first place. Sororities and fraternities turned in the canned food they collected at the Hyder Burks Agricultural Pavilion, Oct. 19.
Katherine Carter and Peyton Roll were announced as Mr. & Miss Tennessee Tech during halftime of the football game, Oct. 22. This year’s homecoming court consisted of six pairs of students from various organizations: Katherine Carter and Peyton Roll, Rachel Tichenor and Dillon Eakes, Hailey Hubbell and Brandon Richardson, Fiorenza “Flower” Levantesi and Nate Engler, Sydney Smith and Tyler Bagwell and Jaelyn Todd and Elijah Sandoval.
Haylee Eaton
PAGE 4
Katherine Carter - ΑΔΠ
Ashton Breeden | The Oracle Peyton Roll - ΣΦΕ
The members of Alpha Delta Pi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon took first place in the banner competition with their theme of Scooby Doo. Each team created a banner made from a full size bed sheet and they were judged by members of the community based on creativity, appropriate theme and quality of artwork. Members of Delta Gamma and Sigma Phi Epsilon won second place with their theme of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
‘‘
Stepping onto campus brings back so many amazing memories. Tech gave me the four best years of my life. Homecoming means I get to reconnect with friends I haven’t seen in months. Getting to watch my sorority, ADPi, keep our winning legacy alive definitely tops the cake.
,,
- Casey Camp, Tech Alumna
‘‘
My favorite was a tie between the Scooby Doo float and the one with the Ferris wheel (the American Horror Story themed float).
Greek Organizations raised $50,285 to sponsor a Cookeville Habitat for Humanity house. They are scheduling to build the house in the spring during the Greek Week 2017 festivities. There was not a specific organization that won this event, but each organization that raised $55 per member were awarded “first place points” that contributed to the overall winning of homecoming.
,,
- Thomas Meisenzahl, Accounting Major
HAUNTED HOMECOMING
The FIJI and Kappa Delta homecoming float showcased their group theme with characters from “Ghostbusters .”
Members of the FIJI kazoo band follow behind their float during the homecoming parade. Haylee Eaton | The Oracle
Haylee Eaton | The Oracle
Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Alpha Delta Pi’s Homecoming float featured the characters of “Scooby Doo.” Haylee Eaton | The Oracle
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Reporting by Jacie Bowman, Ashton Breeden, Gabriella Farley, Olivia Hoffman and Shelby Savage
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LIVING
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
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>> Campus Happenings
VegTTU brings Atcheson to discuss history, ethics in today’s food system By DARIUS BERRY Beat Reporter VegTTU hosted Rachel Atcheson from the Humane League with a presentation and discussion regarding ethical issues in today’s food system Thursday, Oct. 23, in the Bryan Fine Arts building.
Atcheson, the Humane League Director of Campus Outreach, discussed myriad topics with students such as the history of the food system and various statistics, which was followed by an eight-minute video clip for the main part of the presentation, which ended with a discussion among students with Atcheson. After the discussion,
students shared their opinions on the discussion and how they felt regarding the issue. Courtney Riggs, a mechanical engineering and math major, stated that she felt it was very informative people learned a great deal of information. Riggs also stated that even though she has researched about these ethical
issues before, she received information that she did not know before. Trey Cunningham, a chemical engineering major, spoke very highly of Atcheson as the speaker. “I thought she was an incredible speaker and it was a very motivating, well-put together presentation,” Cunningham said. “If it would have had
more viewership, it could have been it could have influenced a lot more people and she needs to have larger stage with her talent for speaking.” This was the first year of hosting this event, which VegTTU President Lindsay Mills believed that the discussion resulted in a good turnout. “I thought it (went) re-
ally well,” Mills said, “I was really glad people had feedback, people were intrigued, had specific questions, it really helped me the people were interested and learned a lot.” For more information about the VegTTU Club, you can go to their Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/groups/ vegTTU/.
Cookeville Halloween Happenings MARANDA TANKERSLEY Beat Reporter
As the excitement from homecoming weekend wears off, Tech students are left with the decision of what to do for Halloween, which falls on a Monday this year. Throughout the week, organizations have planned on- and off-campus events to get students in the spooky spirit. For students looking for off-campus entertainment, there are several events happening throughout Cookeville.
Haunted Fashion Show 6 p.m. - Oct. 26 Multipurpose Room The TTU Merchandising Association puts on its free annual fashion show in the RUC’s Multipurpose Room. This year’s theme is “Haunted,” and it features items from the historic costume collection found in Oakley Hall, according to a post in the Tech Times.
New Hall North Haunted House
Halloween Open Mic Night
8 p.m. - Oct 26. New Hall North
8 p.m. - Oct. 27 The Perch
Students in New Hall North are throwing their seventh annual haunted house in the dormitory basement in support of the Tech Food Pantry. The price of admission for this event is one canned good or $1, according to the Tech Times.
The Treehouse Poets have organized a free Halloween-themed open mic in the Perch of New Hall North. Snacks at the event are provided and attendees can dress in Halloween attire if desired, according to the Tech Times.
Nosferatu Screening
Zombie Paintball
6-9 p.m. - Oct. 28 Rice Time Bistro
6:30-9:30 p.m. - Oct. 28 Fear Farm
Students in the Victimology class are screening the film “Nosferatu” at Rice Time Bistro in a fundraiser to benefit Genesis house. The event requires a $5 donation, which provides access to the film, food, games, treats and a gift card raffle, according to the Tech Times.
Fear Farm on West Netherland Road in Cookeville is throwing the last two dates of their Zombie Paintball Adventure events. The event costs $28, and includes 75 paintballs and access to the haunted corn trail and entertainment zone, according to the event website.
HALLOWEEN CENTRAL
408 W.Jackson St. 931.261.3084 Next to GNC
6-10 p.m. - Oct. 28 Red Silo Brewing Company
7-9 p.m. - Oct. 29 Cookeville Depot Museum
Red Silo Brewing Company is throwing a “Brewware Halloween Party.” Admission to the event is free. “Attendees just need to dress up and have fun. There will be promotional items and discounts on beer,” Elijah Thomen, Red Silo chief marketing officer, said.
The Cookeville Depot Museum is showing an outdoor screening of the original “Ghostbusters.” Attendees can bring chairs and blankets, and drinks and popcorn will be available for $1 each, according to the event Facebook page.
Trunk or Treat
Crawford Halloween Palooza
Unity Church of the Cumberlands on East 10th Street is sponsoring a free Trunk or Treat event for the community. The event includes a bounce house, trunk or treat, popcorn and candy for children and coffee for adults.
T
Tech and Workout Anytime in Cookeville are throwing the fourth annual Purple Palooza at the Hooper Eblen Center. The event is free to students and the public and includes trick or treating, a costume contest and the 2016 Golden Eagle basketball showcase, according to the event Facebook page.
Ghostbusters Screening
Unity Church of the Cumberlands
Costumes Props Masks Makeup Decorations Accessories
6-9 p.m. - Oct. 27 Hooper Eblen Center
Brewware Halloween Party
6-9 p.m. - Oct. 29
AREA’S LARGEST SELECTION
Purple Palooza
4-7 p.m. - Oct. 31 Crawford Hall Members of Crawford Hall are throwing their fourth annual Halloween Palooza regardless of the weather. The event allows children to trick or treat throughout the dormitory and is open to the public. Kid-friendly Halloween costumes are allowed, according to the Tech Times.
CORRECTIONS OCT. 18
he headline for “Tech experiences 3.5 billion in budget cuts for the 2016-2017 fiscal year,” billion was incorrectly used in reference to the amount of budget cuts the University has had to make. The correct term should have been million.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
COOKEVILLE, TN || THE ORACLE || Page 3
Campus <<
NEWS
Shola Lynch speaks on turnig women’s history into inspiring documentaries Shola Lynch gives insight into her award-winning documentaries Oct. 18. Lynch draws ideas from pivotal points in history to make fearless and thought-provoking films about stong and inspirational women. By RICHARD MOSELY Beat Reporter
Tech’s Women’s Center brought award winning filmmaker Shola Lynch to Tech Tuesday, Oct. 18, to speak on leadership and what it took to create her two feature films. “CHISHOLM ’72 – Unbought & Unbossed” made its debut in 2004 and follows Shirley Chisholm’s historic run for President as a black woman in 1972.
“As congresswoman Shirley would show that it was okay to come to a middle ground on some topics and not always having to be left or right,” Lynch said. Lynch won a Peabody award for excellence and two Independent Spirit award nominations for this film. In 2013 Lynch became the curator of the Moving Image & Recorded Sound division of the New York public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Here she collects different multimedia formats like film, music and photographs with people of African descent to study. “Free Angela & All Political Prisoners,” her second film, also made its debut in 2013 and received critical acclaim; one being from The New York Times calling it an “archivally wallpapered recollection of fearless behavior in the face of an antsy establishment.” “Free Angela & All Political Prisoners” follows the controversial story of black activist Angela
Davis, and how she got onto the FBI’s Most Wanted list while being a college professor. “It was really inspiraLynch tional,” said Lisa Luck. “It really encourages you to reach your own potential and be creative in what you do. I was really inspiring to hear her (Shola Lynch) speak on creativity
and how she’s manifesting that.” Lynch is currently working on her first narrative feature called “The Outlaw” which follows the story of Harriet Tubman and her accomplishments leading up to The Underground Railroad. “In the past Harriet Tubman really hasn’t had a voice; she was just a face,” Lynch said. “What I’m trying to do is learn more about her and the broader strokes of that period and people around her, so I can use my historical imagination to give her that voice.”
Haunted Homecoming Celebration PARADE DOWN DIXIE: Tech celebrated Homecoming Oct. 22 with the annual parade down Dixie Avenue. The theme this year was “Haunted Homecoming.” Float designs from sororities, fraternities, residence halls and religious organizations, included characters and scenes from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Stranger Things,” “Ghostbusters” and “Jaws.” The sprit squads and Awesome Eagle rode on a Putnam County firetruck as the parade continued past the RUC.
Ashton Breeden | The Oracle
Page 4 || THE ORACLE || COOKEVILLE, TN
ENTERTAINMENT
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
>> Reviews
Kim Cheng brings love of cosplay to Tech Cheng sews her own costumes and frequently enters competitions in Middle Tennessee. By ASHTON BREEDEN Guest Contributor
Photo Courtesy of battlefield.com MASTERS OF WAR - “Battlefield 1” is the first game in the series to take place in World War I and the first EA game in the setting since “Wings of Glory.”
‘Battlefield 1’ chaotically tackles ‘The Great War’ The game portrays the brutal battles of World War 1 through 64-player multiplayer. By CAMERON FOWLER Entertainment Editor After playing Battlefield 1, it’s hard to imagine why other developers ignore earlier wars in favor for the future, leaving World War I alone as almost a mythical failsafe for if a series wants to begin again rather than predict the next 50 years of warfare. The challenge in that is finding how to present it in a fresh way which draws those who endured those early Call of Duty games and see how drab WWI can be from a gameplay point-of-view. However, DICE, the developers of the “Battlefield” franchise, has found a way to merge their frenetic largescale destruction against a backdrop of the “Great War,” a war in which they hypothesize no one won. It’s a new take on familiar ground, and between the hefty multiplayer and noteworthy campaign, “Battlefield 1” tries and mostly succeeds giving WWI a new spin.
The game’s intro doesn’t mince words, throwing you into a brutal battle on the front lines which they say “You are not expected to survive.” This notion sets the tone of the game up in splendid fashion, as character you play dies only to shoot you into the body of another soldier in a different area of the battlefield. The idea that no one is remotely safe from death seeps into the characterdriven single-player campaign which is split up into levels taking focusing on disparate characters in drastically different battles and situations. Within these levels, there is a cohesive story that arcs the way a TV episode would, which both defies the modern formula of strictly straightforward stories and ends up suffering due to the length of each level. While some of the stories are interesting, some are merely a setup to dedicate another level to plane combat or tank combat, draining the emphasis of plot and emotion in favor of the trademark “Battlefield” spectacle. The flying and tanking is largely the same, although the models and context are wildly ancient compared to drones and jetpacks of recent futuristic shooters. This prospect is endlessly refreshing; it actually feels new to play with the tools of yesteryear due to DICE making each vehicle feel unique compared to previous entries. They feel unique because in WWI, they felt brand
spanking new, and DICE precisely captures that feeling. Also entering the fray are horses from which the player can wield a sword or shoot their gun from the hip. These vehicles bleed into multiplayer, which creates a dizzying, but addicting fusion of traditional ground combat and captivating air and land battles. The multiplayer is where most players will spend their time, and DICE has altered a bit of the formula this time around. Most of that includes the vehicles, which are obviously a pillar of “Battlefield,” but one huge addition is a new mode, Operations. Operations acts as a narrative within regular multiplayer matches with small battles dictating each match. Over the course of the game, one country (offense) needs to push to the end of this massive map by capturing objectives with the opposing country (defense) pushing against them. This mode feels epic in scale and often works like it should, with a premise simple enough that it should hook those who normally only play the Rush or Conquest modes. This scale comes at a price, though, because these matches can take up to an hour to fully complete. “Battlefield” is inherently supportive of long matches, but the ones here take the cake for the longest in the series. As always, the sound design is superb and the graphics beautiful.
There is a real barbarity to the mass destruction served up in multiplayer, as zeppelins crash and burn into the middle of the fight, effectively turning the tide of the match as well as the tone. When planes soar above and the gunfire rings out into the fields in true “Battlefield” fashion, it’s hard to imagine a multiplayer component more lavish and fullyrealized than this. When everything is working, “Battlefield 1” is chaos in the best way possible, but in the middle of all the sound and fury, it’s easy to get lost and run around without any idea what to conquer next. This is a genuine problem with some of the maps, which are so huge that the player can literally get lost in them. That’s no fun when the action is on the other half of the map and you’re running around trying to find a plane to crash. “Battlefield 1” shakes up enough to make the series feel like it really tries something new. The setting, however familiar, works the advantage of the series’ normal tropes. There are many working parts of the game, but most of them are controlled directly by the player, giving the game a sense of accessibility while still making their actions have weight. It offers a future not in setting, but in the way it shifts WWI into a war no one can win while giving players all the tools they need to feel like they can.
Ben Affleck improves convultued action flick ‘The Accountant’ By HANNAH BARGER Entertainment Critic White collar crime is a bit of an enigma in Hollywood: movies like “Wall Street” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” claim to show the faults of looking out for number one and living for a good time, but that meaning tends to get lost somewhere between Michael Douglas saying “greed is good” and Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie going at it on a pile of hundred dollar bills. In “The Accountant,” Ben Affleck’s title character, Christian Wolff, is hardly Jordan Belfort. Instead, “The Accountant” skips the glamour and jumps straight to Jason Bourne-style action and intrigue. The premise fully-loaded: Affleck’s character is a math genius, an expert sniper, and a career criminal/vigilante who falls
into the autism spectrum. As a child, his father, a quintessential gruff military movie dad, deals with raising a son with special needs about as delicately as a bull running through a china shop. Still, Wolff rises above a troubled upbringing (did I mention that his mom abandoned him?) to become a top forensic accountant who works primarily at the behest of his handler, a private caller known only as “The Voice,” all while being tracked by detective J.K. Simmons (better known by me as the dad from Juno). If you think this sounds like the world’s most depressingly believable superhero origin story, you’re right. After being contracted by a billion dollar robotics corporation, Wolff manages to gain Dana, Anna Kendrick’s cute but socially awkward young office worker as a
Photo Courtesy of cinemablend.com IT ADDS UP - The movie’s script was featured on a ‘blacklist’ which includes popular scripts not yet made into movies.
love interest, in the grand Hollywood tradition of pairing twenty-something women with middle aged dudes for some inexplicable reason. This is forgivable, though, because even I have to admit they’re adorable. As the movie progresses, the two find themselves entangled in a web of fancy hotels,
shootouts, and break-ins. “The Accountant” is a weird, convoluted movie, but not necessarily in a bad way. We’re in the midst of the fall movie slump, without even a decent horror movie to tide us into Halloween. Still, this movie is notable for trying to pull us out. It made a very admirable attempt to portray
autism in a less stereotypical light, and Ben Affleck’s performance as a down-toearth superhero is much better than Affleck trying to be Batman. One standout in particular is Jon Bernthal (better known for playing Shane on The Walking Dead and owning my heart), who gives a fantastic performance as the career criminal who always finds himself one step behind Wolff. “The Accountant” is not a perfect movie, but as the season changes and the Oscar bait films start rolling out, the curse of late summer movies is beginning to lift. While “The Accountant” isn’t exactly Oscar-worthy, it left me with that cheesy, warm “I love the world” feeling that only a good movie can. If it was good enough for my mom and dad to see twice, it’s good enough to see at least once.
Cosplay, or costume play, is a norm for anime and video game fans, especially at conventions. For one fan in particular at Tech, it’s a way of life. Cosplay is the act or practice of dressing up as a fictional character, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. “I think it goes all the way back to when I was little; I always loved crafting and creating,” Kimberly Cheng, a competitive cosplayer and student at Tech, said. “When I started high school, I joined my school’s anime club and learned about Middle Tennessee Anime Convention and wanted to try cosplaying cause it looked like a lot of fun.” Costumes can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to create. This depends on the character design’s complexity and whether or not the cosplayer in question wants to use props. “I have a bad habit of binge sewing, and one of my most recent cosplays I churned out in less than three days,” Cheng said. Another norm at cons are cosplay competitions. Generally, judges look for quality of cosplay and sometimes crowd favorites. There are three degrees of cosplay levels: novice, journeyman and master. “When I started getting back into competitions, I was bumped up, on the spot, from novice to journeyman, and a year or two later to master, the highest rank,” Cheng said. Cheng also said that even though she doesn’t have a lot of time to play video games, the majority of her cosplays are based off them. Her personal favorite cosplay is of the character Gwendolyn from the video game “Odin Sphere.” Cosplay also has its fair share of controversy as well, mostly in the “cosplay does not mean consent” debate. “The basis of this phrase covers all forms of physical contact, from hugging without asking, grabbing, groping, etc.,” Cheng said. Cheng also said noncosplayers at conventions should keep in mind that not all cosplayers want to be hugged by complete strangers and some costumes could be delicate and thus easily breakable. “I’ve only had issues with it two times, but those two incidents have really made me more on guard,” Cheng said.
Please recycle your copy of The Oracle once finished.
Thank you!
Page 4 || THE ORACLE || COOKEVILLE, TN
ENTERTAINMENT By HANNAH BARGER Entertainment Critic White collar crime is a bit of an enigma in Hollywood: movies like Wall Street and The Wolf of Wall Street claim to show the faults of looking out for number one and living for a good time, but that meaning tends to get lost somewhere between Michael Douglas saying “greed is good” and Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie going at it on a pile of hundred dollar bills. In The Accountant, Ben Affleck’s title character, Christian Wolff, is hardly Jordan Belfort. Instead, The Accountant skips the glamour and jumps straight to Jason Bourne-style action and intrigue. The premise fully-loaded: Affleck’s character is a math genius, an expert sniper, and a career criminal/vigilante who falls
into the autism spectrum. As a child, his father, a quintessential gruff military movie dad, deals with raising a son with special needs about as delicately as a bull running through a china shop. Still, Wolff rises above a troubled upbringing (did I mention that his mom abandoned him?) to become a top forensic accountant who works primarily at the behest of his handler, a private caller known only as “The Voice,” all while being tracked by detective J.K. Simmons (better known by me as the dad from Juno). If you think this sounds like the world’s most depressingly believable superhero origin story, you’re right. After being contracted by a billion dollar robotics corporation, Wolff manages to gain Dana, Anna Kendrick’s cute but socially awkward young office worker as a
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
>> Reviews
Photo Courtesy of cinemablend.com Pudae volorer umenda dolupta tecepere nullora cor serferernam, aut etur, ut amus love interest, in the grand Hollywood tradition of pairing twenty-something women with middle aged dudes for some inexplicable reason. This is forgivable, though, because even I have to admit they’re adorable. As
the movie progresses, the two find themselves entangled in a web of fancy hotels, shootouts, and break-ins. The Accountant is a weird, convoluted movie, but not necessarily in a bad way. We’re in the midst of the fall
movie slump, without even a decent horror movie to tide us into Halloween. Still, this movie is notable for trying to pull us out. It made a very admirable attempt to portray autism in a less stereotypical light, and Ben Affleck›s
performance as a down to earth superhero is much better than Ben Affleck trying to be Batman. One standout in particular is Jon Bernthal (better known for playing Shane on The Walking Dead and owning my heart), who gives a fantastic performance as the career criminal who always finds himself one step behind Wolff. The Accountant is not a perfect movie, but as the season changes and the Oscar bait films start rolling out, the curse of late summer movies is beginning to lift. While The Accountant isn’t exactly Oscar-worthy, it left me with that cheesy, warm “I love the world” feelings that only a good movie can. If it was good enough for my mom and dad to see twice, it’s good enough to see at least once.
Competitive Cosplay finds home at Tech Photo Courtesy of battlefield.com
‘Battlefield 1’ controls chaos of war By CAMERON FOWLER Entertainment Editor After playing Battlefield 1, it’s hard to imagine why other developers ignore earlier wars in favor for the future, leaving World War 1 alone as almost a mythical failsafe for if a series wants to begin again rather than predict the next 50 years of warfare. The challenge in that is finding how to present it in a fresh way that draws those who endured that early Call of Duty games and see how drab WW1 can be from a gameplay point-of-view. However, DICE, the developers of the “Battlefield” franchise, has found a way to merge their frenetic largescale destruction against a backdrop of the “Great War,” a war in which they hypothesize no one won. It’s a new take on familiar ground, and between the hefty multiplayer and noteworthy campaign, “Battlefield 1” tries and mostly succeeds giving WW1 a new spin. The game’s intro doesn’t mince words, throwing you into a brutal battle on the front lines that they say “You are not expected to survive.” This notion sets the tone of the game up in splendid fashion, as the character you play dies only to shoot you into the body of another soldier in a different area of the battlefield. The idea that no one is remotely safe from death seeps into the character-driven single-player campaign that is split up into levels focusing on disparate characters in drastically different battles and situations. Within these levels, there is a cohesive story that arcs the way a TV episode would,
which both defies the modern formula of strictly straightforward stories and ends up suffering due to the length of each level. While some of the stories are interesting, some are merely a setup to dedicate another level to plane combat or tank combat, draining the emphasis of plot and emotion in favor of the trademark “Battlefield” spectacle. The flying and tanking is largely the same, although the models and context are wildly ancient compared to drones and jetpacks of recent futuristic shooters. This prospect is endlessly refreshing; it actually feels new to play with the tools of yesteryear due to DICE making each vehicle feel unique compared to previous entries. They feel unique because in WW1, they felt brand spanking new, and DICE precisely captures that feeling. Also entering the fray are horses from which the player can wield a sword or shoot their gun from the hip. These vehicles bleed into multiplayer, which creates a dizzying, but addicting fusion of traditional ground combat and captivating air and land battles. The multiplayer is where most players will spend their time, and DICE has altered a bit of the formula this time around. Most of that includes the vehicles, which are obviously a pillar of “Battlefield,” but one huge addition is a new mode, Operations. Operations acts as a narrative within regular multiplayer matches with small battles dictating each match. Over the course of the game, one country (offense) needs to push to the end of this massive map by capturing objectives with the opposing country (defense) pushing against them. This mode feels epic in scale and often works like it should, with a premise simple enough that it should hook those
who normally only play the Rush or Conquest modes. This scale comes at a price, though, because these matches can take up to an hour to fully complete. “Battlefield” is inherently supportive of long matches, but the ones here take the cake for the longest in the series. The sound design is superb and the graphics beautiful as always. There is a real barbarity to the mass destruction served up in multiplayer, as zeppelins crash and burn into the middle of the fight, effectively turning the tide of the match as well as the tone. When planes soar above and the gunfire rings out into the fields in true “Battlefield” fashion, it’s hard to imagine a multiplayer component more lavish and fully realized than this. When everything is working, “Battlefield 1” is chaos in the best way possible, but in the middle of all the sound and fury, it’s easy to get lost and run around without any idea what to conquer next. This is a genuine problem with some of the maps, which are so huge that the player can literally get lost in them. That’s no fun when the action is on the other half of the map and you’re running around trying to find a plane to crash. “Battlefield 1” shakes up enough to make the series feel like it really tries something new. The setting, however familiar, works the advantage of the series’ normal tropes. There are many working parts of the game, but most of them are controlled directly by the player, giving the game a sense of accessibility while still making their actions have weight. It offers a future not in setting, but in the way it shifts WW1 into a war no one can win while giving players all the tools they need to feel like they can.
By ASHTON BREEDEN Guest Contributor
Cosplay, or costume play, is a norm for anime and video game fans, especially at conventions. For one fan in particular at Tech, it’s a way of life. Cosplay is the act or practice of dressing up as a fictional character, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. “I think it goes all the way back to when I was little; I always loved crafting and creating,” Kimberly Cheng, a competitive cosplayer and student at Tech, said. “When I started high school, I joined my school’s anime club and learned about Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC) and wanted to try cosplaying cause it looked like a lot of fun.” Costumes can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to create. This depends on the character design’s complexity and whether or not the cosplayer in question wants to use props. “I have a bad habit of binge sewing, and one of my most recent cosplays I churned out in less than three days,” Cheng said. Another norm at cons are cosplay competitions. Generally, judges look for quality of cosplay and sometimes crowd favorites. There are three degrees of cosplay levels: novice, journeyman and master. “When I started getting back into competitions, I was bumped up, on the spot, from Novice to Journeyman, and a year or two later to Master, the highest rank,” Cheng said. Cheng also said that even though she doesn’t have a lot of time to play video games, the majority of her cosplays are based off them. Her personal favorite cosplay is of the character Gwendolyn from the video game “Odin Sphere.” Cosplay also has its fair share of controversy as well, mostly in the “cosplay does not mean consent” debate. “The basis of this phrase covers all forms of physical contact, from hugging without asking, grabbing, groping, etc.,” Cheng said. Cheng also said non-cosplayers at conventions should keep in mind that not all cosplayers want to be hugged by complete strangers and some costumes could be delicate and thus easily breakable. “I’ve only had issues with it two times, but those two incidents have really made me more on guard,” Cheng said.
Please recycle your copy of The Oracle once finished.
Thank you!
COOKEVILLE, TN || THE ORACLE || Page 5
Tuesday, October 25, 2016 Send letters to the editor to oracle@tntech.edu oracle@tntech.edu.. Include your name, email address and limit letters to 300 words. Anonymous letters are not accepted. Deadline for letters is 4 p.m. Friday. We reserve the right to edit grammar, length and clarity.
Think Freely <<
OPINIONS
Charlie Brown offers respite from political fatigue KATE TREBING Opinions Editor L a s t Wednesday marked the third and final presidential debate for the next four years. For two hours, an audience of more than 70 million apprehensively watched as the candidates continued their infamous squabbles. Then at the strike of 10 p.m. (Central time), the candidates shook hands (with everyone but each other), and the masses breathed collective sighs of relief. The last debate had come to a close, and our lives could resume with some sense of normalcy. However, a much smaller and far more enthusiastic audience was also deviating from the norm that night. This small population had carved a half-hour into their hectic, politically charged evenings in order to watch “Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin.” I was among these devoted kids-at-heart. I make no apologies for my affinity for kids’ classics. Television is meant to both inform and entertain, and I happen to be entertained by childhood classics from the 1960s. Every year my family eagerly awaits the Charlie Brown specials as a brief reminder of “the good old days,” when the greatest concern we shared as a family
Photo courtesy of Library of Congress CARTOONIST MASTERMIND - Although Peanuts creator Charles Schulz often incorporated subtle references to religion and politics in his comic strip, the characters remain a symbol of lighthearted comedy. was choosing our Halloween costumes and finding the best Trick-or-Treating hot spots in our rural homestead. I regard Charlie Brown almost as a favorite book: timeless and familiar, yet capable of teaching invaluable life lessons with each new encounter. As is customary during this hectic time of the semester, I was completely oblivious to anything outside the realm of college (and politics, thanks to this year’s election). I had no inkling that one of my most cherished autumnal traditions would be airing the same night as the final presidential debate. I became aware of this year’s
scheduling while driving home and misunderstood the radio DJ to believe that the broadcasting was to be held at the exact same hour as the presidential debate. Anyone who has ever waxed nostalgic during the holidays can imagine my internal dilemma. As an idealistic young Millennial, I feel it is my patriotic responsibility to be informed on the state of the presidential election. This includes selfinflicted viewing of live shouting matches between candidates. On the other hand, Charlie Brown heralds in the fall season, and with it all that is good in the world. A tradition this beloved cannot
be abandoned simply for the sake of a political free-forall. Luckily for me, I was saved the arduous choice between patriotism and self-indulgence. “The Great Pumpkin” was set to appear on NBC at 7 p.m., while the debate would dominate the major news broadcasts at 8 p.m. As one might imagine, this dilemma was truly no dilemma at all. The Charlie Brown saga is easily accessible, as it has been for the past 50 years. I was not agitated because I would not have another opportunity to watch a 30-minute cartoon. I was upset because it seemed
the network producers had intentionally decided to air an extremely popular Americana ritual at the same time as the third and final presidential debate. I took this to mean that Americans were so disgusted with politics that they had decided to bail out on the debate and treat the voting ballot like a multiple choice test: in case of doubt, mark “C.” This debate has been exceptionally sensational. Like a particularly juicy piece of celebrity gossip, the candidates’ scandals have dominated the news to a fault. Additionally, families throughout my Southern homeland have become segregated by unrelenting political loyalties. I imagine this sort of family tension is reminiscent of Civil War battle lines: Union and Confederate soldiers sleeping under the same roof. Family dinners are tense, high blood pressure is on the rise, and world-weary civilians are contemplating living “off the grid.” In times like these, the world needs Charlie Brown more than ever. This is why adults love returning to childhood stories. We reach a point in our lives when we become disillusioned with reality. Stress, responsibility, expectations, and disappointments become more realistic than the carefree world we used to visualize in bedtime stories. We forget how it feels to be a kid again until we discover it anew in an old classic, and suddenly
we are transported back to a simpler time. Our nation’s leaders could learn a lot from the Peanuts crew. Lucy, the big mouth with a knack for squashing others’ self-confidence, is nevertheless a conscientious big sister. She wakes up in the middle of the night to rescue her brother Linus from a cold bed in a pumpkin patch. She pushes him into his bed, takes off his shoes, and covers him with his blanket. And in the morning, she feels no need to advertise her sisterly goodness by gloating over her little brother. Sure, she ridicules her little brother’s fanciful belief in a Great Pumpkin reminiscent of Santa Clause. But she nonetheless asks for second helpings of candy to share with the Great Pumpkin devotee. Like most of us when faced with family we disagree with, Lucy may scoff and argue. But in the end, she will always be looking out for her own. Take heart, fellow Americans. We have less than a month until the end of this exhausting election. Until then, maybe we can make more of an effort to overcome our differences and prepare ourselves. Regardless of the outcome, we’re all still one large, somewhat dysfunctional family. Kate Trebing is a junior in communication with a concentration in public relations. She can be reached at kdtrebing42@students.tntech.edu.
Christmas displays are already haunting some stores ASHTON BREEDEN Guest Critic
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Meath SOMETHING ABOUT SANTA - Retailers nationwide draw upon Santa Claus's appeal to attract holiday shoppers.
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This time of year always brings nothing but utter frustration for me. Not only do we have holidays back-to-back, but we also have to contend with stores jumping from one holiday to the other with almost zero days to adjust. News flash WalMart, there actually is a holiday in-between Halloween and Christmas and it deserves just as much love as you give the other over-marketed holidays. It wouldn’t be so bad if the stores would take their time in setting up their holiday displays. But that’s not the case. I can almost guarantee that as soon as we hit January, all the stores will start gearing up for the lovesick holiday that is Valentine’s Day. I can’t be the only one that gets frustrated that a few weeks before Halloween, stores start setting up Christmas trees as if it’s already passed. It would be different if they were setting up for Thanksgiving, but that is not the case. Some people have argued that you can’t really do much for Thanksgiving in terms of decoration, but that’s okay. We don’t have to decorate for every little holiday that pops up on the calendar. One of the things that irritate me the most is when stores and people start playing Christmas music early. I only start listening to the music a few days after Thanksgiving, sometimes on Black Friday if I have a good enough reason or album to justify playing the annoyingly catchy tunes that are so often played during that time of year. Thanksgiving is over-looked because there’s really no good way to market it besides “Hey, buy some turkey.” But it’s a holiday I always look forward to. Yes, the food is always a
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plus but what I really look forward to is the annual parade and dog show. Watching these two events on TV has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. I always refuse to leave the house until I see the Pikachu balloon. But the real way that they make money off Thanksgiving isn’t the holiday itself. It’s the day after. That’s right, the day all men fear and all women look forward to every year. Black Friday. Not only will stores open early for customers to get ahead on their Christmas shopping, but consumers can also buy some of the year’s hottest items pretty close to dirt-cheap. The catch? You have to be one of the first people in the store to be able to use half of these deals. Now I can’t really hate on people that go shopping on Black Friday, I’m one of those people. But I can be mad at how stores have tried to one-up each other with their opening times. Last year, some stores even opened Thanksgiving night to try and get ahead of their competitors. This mindset is taking away from a time of year that is about giving thanks and spending time with family. What we need to do as a society is stop, take a breath, and evaluate what we’ve made holidays in to. They’ve been reduced to nothing but large marketing schemes for stores. They’re looked over and skipped so that the real holidays can shine in their nice little sections that are so conveniently placed at the front of the store. They’re not what they used to be. And that is the real problem. Ashton Breeden is a senior in communication with a concentration in public relations. She can be reached at asbreeden42@students.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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Tuesday, October 25, 2016
THE ORACLE || COOKEVILLE, TN || PAGE 6
SPORTS
>> Inside the Game
Tech fends off Southeast Missouri in homecoming win By MARCUS HANSON Sports Editor
Thomas Corhern | Tech Athletics THE GOLDEN EAGLES BRING HOME THE WIN - Junior Dontez Byrd(1), locked in the win against Southeast Missouri on Saturday. Byrd scored the game winning touchdown, when he caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Michael Birdsong.
Tech’s football team had quite a nail biter on their hands for their homecoming game against Southeast Missouri, with the final score being 21-20. “It was a big win,” said Tech head coach Marcus Satterfield. “We know it wasn’t pretty, but it was proof that if we tried to play as hard as we could, we can overcome execution, we can overcome bad play calls, we can overcome anything. It was great that our seniors were leaders, they trusted the process and fought for four quarters, no matter what the momentum swings were and found a way to come out one point better than our opponent.” The defense had a strong showing both in keeping points off the board and putting them on the board.
Sophomore Elliott Normand was able to snag an interception, his second of the season, and return it for a 25-yard touchdown. “Our defensive line was putting a lot of pressure on them,” Normand said. “I read the run and it was a playaction and I just don’t think the quarterback could see me because I was dropping back from the line of scrimmage. I just intercepted it and got a couple of blocks from my teammates.” “It’s really amazing, because he got Michael on that same play in camp, because you can’t see him. He’s not ‘Too-Tall’ Jones. He’s dropping back into coverage like Michael did and the ball got behind Elliott’s head. Elliott had to jump into the air, turn his body around and catch it. A lot of people fall when they land. When he lands, he runs and scores a touchdown,” Satterfield said. “We challenged our de-
fense because we only got one takeaway in the last couple of weeks, but we challenged them to not just set up a score, but to score and that’s a huge credit to Elliott.” While Tech didn’t score at all in the second half, the first half was huge, putting 21 points on the board. Thaenrat Yeede put Tech on the board in the second quarter, in a 2-yard run to the end zone. Within a minute Tech intercepted a pass from Southeast Missouri bringing the score to 14-10. The final scoring play for Tech came from Dontez Byrd, who caught a 10-yard pass from Michael Birdsong. “Their defense really shut us down in the second half,” Satterfield said.”... They were making big plays, but one of our mindsets is to not let them score touchdowns in the red zone.” The next game is Nov. 5 at University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Men’s golf has best finish this season in Dickson tournament By AUSTIN CLAY Beat Reporter A full team effort allowed the Golden Eagle men’s golf team to have their best finish yet, finishing tied for fourth place, while the women’s golf team finished out their season tied for sixth place Oct. 17 and 18. The men’s team competed in Dickson, Tennessee, at the F&M Bank Intercollegiate,
while the women’s team competed in Germantown, Tennessee, at the Memphis Intercollegiate. Junior Alexander Riddle led all Tech golfers with a score of 225, placing 23rd. Following Riddle, a trio of golfers finished one stroke shy of Riddle’s 225. Sophomore Matthew Giles, freshman Dabney Dickinson and freshman Cameron Yeary all finished tied for 24th, scoring 226 each.
The Tech men’s team played as a unit, with all golfers scoring within six strokes of each other, and it led to their best finish of the season, with one tournament left on the schedule. OVC foe Murray State tied with the Golden Eagles, while the men also beat host Austin Peay. Once again, sophomore Hollee Sadler led all Tech women golfers with a score of 226, which tied her at 12th.
Sadler helped her team to a sixth place finish, scoring 922 overall. Host Memphis won the event with a score of 895. Making only her third career appearance, redshirt freshman Arianna Clemmer finished 19th, scoring 230, just one stroke shy of the leader, Sadler. “It feels wonderful to know I helped the team and I proved to myself that I can compete at this level,”
Clemmer said. Unfortunately for Clemmer, the fall season ended for the women’s team, but Clemmer said there isn’t any time off with their coaches and what they want to accomplish. “I think we can carry the momentum into the spring because I know my coaches are not going to let us be satisfied with what we did this fall,” Clemmer said. “We will all push ourselves even
harder so that we can be even more competitive in our tournaments and more importantly win our conference championship.” The women concluded their fall season with their tournament in Germantown, Tennessee. The men’s team travels south Oct. 31 to Birmingham, Alabama, for the Samford Intercollegiate. This tournament wraps up the fall season for the men.
Soccer wins against SIUE
Spencer Williams | The Oracle TECH SOCCER TEAM HAS TWO SHUTOUTS THIS WEEK - Freshman, Nora Vicsek(19), helped secure a spot in the OVC Tournament with the only goal against SIUE.
By SPENCER WILLIAMS Beat Reporter The Tech soccer team officially clinched a spot in the OVC Tournament with their 1-0 shutout win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. This is the second-straight season that Tech has made it to the playoffs. The last time that the Golden Eagles have made it to the playoffs in back-to-back years was 2008-09. Sophomore goaltender Kari Naerdemann recorded her eighth shutout of the year and the 15th of her career to become the program’s alltime career leader in shutouts. “It was an important game for both sides, and we knew coming in that SIUE is a great team,” Tech head coach
Steve Springthorpe said. “We just played the best that we possibly could and battled with them. We are happy to come out of it with a deserved win.” With this victory, the Golden Eagles (9-5-3, 5-1-2) now lead the Cougars (7-6-3, 5-2-1) in the standings. “The first goal is getting into the top six and that was the focus for us today. We knew we had the No. 2 team coming in here and knew we were a few spots behind and wanted to make sure we solidified a spot in the top six by getting enough points, and we did that today. Now the next thing is we play Sunday and we will see if we can better our seeding,” Springthorpe said. Freshman Nora Vicsek found the back of the net in
the 32nd minute after receiving a well-placed pass from sophomore Mayra Tarraga Manzanal, giving her third consecutive game-winning goal. Vicsek is now tied for the second most gamewinning goals in the OVC with four goals in her rookie season. “The first in this string of game winners gave her a lot of confidence and she’s just making the most of her opportunities. But we’ve got to talk about the ball that Mayra put on to Nora. It was an unbelievable ball chipped over the top to her running on. It was a great combination play for us and I’m happy for Nora,” Springthorpe said. Tech played another shutout game Sunday, Oct. 23, against Eastern Illinois, winning 2-0.