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O Tech to celebrate Dixie College Day THE

RACLE

Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505

Volume 92 | Issue 8 | November 13, 2009

The 100th anniversary of Dixie College will be an event-filled day filled with speakers, entertainment, displays and more as members of the Tech community come together to participate in the centennial celebration.

By AMANDA RUSSELL Managing Editor Tech will celebrate on Nov. 18 the 100th anniversary of Dixie College, the first undergraduate institution established on the University grounds.

“We look forward to holding a couple of ceremonies on the Quad that day to celebrate,” President Bob Bell said.

Scheduled activities for the day include the sealing of a University time capsule and a speech presented by a well-known Tech alumnus.

“We expect Representative Lincoln Davis to be our speaker, and we have invited a lot of other dignitaries, including members of Congress,” Bell said.

“Elementary and middle school children from the area have also been invited to attend this celebration. Dixie College was about furthering the education of the whole Upper Cumberland. And I’m happy to say we have maintained that really close relationship with the schools, even as a university.”

The month-long celebration offers students the opportunity to learn more about their homeaway-from-home. With currently strained parking conditions and residential situations, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the University’s growth, not elated by it.

“In the days of Dixie College, students didn’t have cars. Many didn’t even have the money to feed themselves,” Bell said. “So it’s important to understand the vision they had - the commitment those seven or eight men had, and how they changed this region with that vision.”

The state approved Dixie College’s creation in 1909 as a church-supported school. But the school struggled with inadequate funding and low enrollment.

By 1915 the school was turned over to the governments of Cookeville and Putnam County in order to attain enough funds to remain open. Governor Thomas Rye signed the act that created Tennessee Polytechnic Institute on March 27, 1915.

The school opened its doors in 1916 with only 13 professors

(Left) Workers build a sidewalk beside the main campus building, the original Dixie College structure, which would eventually be extensively remodeled and renamed Derryberry Hall, after long-time Tech President Everett Derryberry.

(Below) Tech’s library has moved several times over the past 100 years. When it, and most other offices and classrooms, outgrew the Dixie College building (now Derryberry Hall), a new building was built for it in 1949 on the Main Quad, next door to Kittrell Hall. Now known as the Jere Whitson Building, it houses the Office of Alumni Relations, Backdoor Playhouse and administrative offices.

All photos are scanned from negatives and prints by TTU Photo Services from the collections of the TTU Archives.

Tech to release commemorative book

By AMANDA RUSSELL Managing Editor

(Left) A class of cadets in front of Henderson Hall. Military training was a significant part of the Dixie College, TPI and TTU curricula, particularly during and after World War II.

(Above) Recruiting students was just one of the hurdles the fledgling Dixie College administration had to cross. The campus grew much faster once it became a public institution.

and 19 enrolled students, according to the History and Traditions page of the University Web site.

From 1916 to 1924, Tennessee Polytechnic only offered classes at high school and junior college levels. But by 1929 the State Board of Education authorized a complete college program and the first class of four-year graduates received bachelor’s degrees that June.

The five schools of study that made up the Polytechnic Institute were reorganized into colleges in 1965, when Tennessee Poly-

technic Institute gained university status, becoming Tennessee Technological University.

“Whether you’re an engineering major from Florida or an English major from Middle Tennessee, it’s important to understand the heritage of your university,” Bell said.

Each year University enrollment continues to grow. And the students who graduate the everexpanding University exemplify what a Tech diploma and initiative can afford you.

According to the History

and Traditions page, among the 65,000-plus men and women who have received degrees from Tennessee Tech are the former president of Boeing Corp., a twotime space shuttle astronaut, an NFL pro-bowl player, a New York Times assistant managing editor, a country music superstar, and a four-star general.

All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the celebratory event to commemorate the establishment of a tiny school turned influential university.

The Dixie celebration will also serve as a University fundraising campaign.

Practical Work: Dixie College to Tennessee Tech University, 1909-2009 is scheduled for release in mid-November to commemorate the establishment of the college.

“Susan Elkins, Calvin Dickinson and I, along with 35 to 40 other members of the Tech family, contributed to the book,” Bell said.

Alumni Relations sponsored the cost of the commemorative book, and proceeds from the sale will benefit the office for the purpose of funding alumni scholarships and meetings.

A copy of Practical Work will be encased in the time capsule alongside a letter from President and Mrs. Bell, a golden eagle pin, a Tech flag, and a variety of other University artifacts.

Alumnus Barry Wilmore to pilot NASA shuttle Tech to

By JENDA WILSON Staff Writer Tech alumnus and NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore will be heading to space through the STS-129 Mission.

Wilmore, a Mt. Juliet native, graduated from Tech in 1985 with his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. While attending Tech, he played football, and in 2003 was inducted into Tech’s “Sports Hall of Fame.”

Upon graduating, he applied to the US Navy, but failed the physical due to a football-related knee injury.

Wilmore then made the decision to use his remaining year of football eligibil-

ity while attending graduate school.

“Looking back, those [years at Tech] were the hardest years of my life because the good Lord didn’t give me a brain that could grasp things immediately,” said Wilmore in a preflight NASA interview. “I had to study, and I had to study hard, and as I look back, I was either studying or I was on the football field.”

After proving himself healthy in several physicals, the Navy accepted him.

Wilmore flew 21 missions in Operation Desert Storm while stationed on the USS Kennedy. He also participated in the initial develop-

Wilmore / Courtesy of NASA

ment of the T-45 jet trainer as a Navy test pilot.

He completed his masters in 1994 because he promised his mother he would.

DIXIE COLLEGE DAY

EVENT SCHEDULE Nov. 18

Before being selected by NASA, Wilmore was on exchange with the Air Force as a flight test instructor.

He was chosen as a candidate by NASA in 2000 and had to complete two years of training before becoming an astronaut.

After his training, Wilmore was assigned technical duties dealing with population system issues including the space shuttle solid rocket motor, external tank and main engines.

He found out fall 2008 that he would be piloting space shuttle Atlantis for the

CONTINUED on page 3 as “Alumnus”

host NASA downlink

By JENDA WILSON Staff Writer Tech will host NASA’s Inflight Education Downlink for the STS-129 space shuttle mission. The downlink, scheduled for 10:53 next Sunday, will allow the Soaring Eagle Question Contest winners to ask International Space Station astronauts their winning questions.

All day Photo display and video presentation in RUC

10:45 a.m. TTU Golden Eagle Marching Band begins procession from Bryan Fine Arts Building down Dixie Avenue to Derryberry Hall

Those invited to attend will view it in the Nursing and Health Services Building Auditorium. Clement Hall Room 212 will be open to all others and will show a broadcast of the NASA and NHS Building feeds.

“The NASA Education downlink event is a great opportunity, perhaps even a once-in-a-lifetime chance, for students to engage in direct dialog with NASA astronauts,” said Sally Pardue, associate professor of mechanical engineering and interim director of the Millard Oakley Center for Teaching and Learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. “We will be celebrating the value of ‘asking questions’ as a way of

CONTINUED on page 3 as “Downlink”

11:00 a.m. Time capsule burial, reading of Historic Charter for Dixie College and TTU history

Please recycle your copy of The Oracle.

The Oracle is free in single copy

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Page 2 | November 13, 2009

Editorial and Opinion Coddling does not create critical thinking EMILY BOOKER years, many of them not in a Editorial Editor When did college become a repeat of middle school?

When Tech started learning communities.

As I understand them, students in a learning community take most of their core classes together along with UNIV 1020, which is basically an introduction to Tech that you could learn in a campus tour.

This idea of being with the same people all day, learning the lay of the land, reminds me a lot of sixth grade, when the same 20 students would move around to the different teachers so we would adapt to middle school better.

I thought it was silly then, and I think it’s silly now.

Freshmen in college are adults. They come from many different backgrounds and have different experiences as they adapt to college life.

A point of college is learning your place and adapting accordingly, on your own terms.

I think the hope the administration has for learning communities is that they will create a close community of students who adapt to college well and stay in school.

But community is not built artificially. I do not love Tech because I was told all the reasons why I should, or from mandatory service projects and mandatory concerts.

I learned to love Tech from positive experiences over the past two and a half

classroom.

(On a side note, there are many people in my classes whom I would not want to see two or three times a day.

I feel sorry for students who are trapped in learning communities with people they don’t like and can’t take classes with friends in another learning community.)

A campus develops a community naturally. A university can always work to improve its image and enhance its community vibe, but that should come secondary to the main goal of any school: learning.

Public colleges give everyone (for the most part) a chance for higher education. But it should not be the university’s job to hand-hold everybody to make sure they stay.

Students have to build their own study habits, decide which classes are needed and when for their degree, and develop their own sense of service to the school and community.

If you treat students like children who need help every step of the way, how can you expect them to take on challenges that require independence and initiative?

The Y-generation is getting a lot of slack for being coddled. Our parents spoiled us. Our elementary teachers told us how special each and every one of us was.

And then we are criticized for living at home well into our 30s and expecting everything handed to us on a silver platter.

“

THE

ORACLE

Tennessee Tech’s

If you treat students like children who need help every step of the way, how can you expect them to take on challenges that require independence and initiative?

-- Emily Booker, Editorial Editor

We expect it because it’s true. In learning communities, you don’t even have to plan your schedule, you just take the classes labeled for your specific learning community.

Our managing editor, Amanda Russell, is a student mentor for a UNIV 1020 class.

She said that the students are so used to being told what to do and how to do things, that they cannot do simple tasks on their own.

“These kids are hitting a brick wall,” Russell said.

“They came up with this idea for a service learning project, but it was up to me and Dr. Wilson to string along ideas.

They wanted us to tell them what to do.”

I know the University wants to increase student critical thinking. And it should want that. Critical thinking is a useful life tool that any university graduate should have.

Yet learning communities seem to only teach freshmen students that they don’t have to think. Handholding, easeinto-college-learning, com-

”

munities do not create critical thinking.

Challenging students to take care of themselves and be responsible for their decisions and actions creates critical thinking.

College is about learning and facing challenges.

When you get that degree, you should feel like it’s worth something, not just a piece of paper for sitting in a class with the same 20 people being fed information.

Where did Tech get the idea that learning communities were actually useful?

Short answer: from another school.

Tech itself was spoon-fed the information that learning communities enhances the college experience, and in turn, that increases tuition.

Instead of developing its own unique way to increase critical thinking, Tech threw some money at the problem and mimicked someone else.

I guess if the school can’t act independently, I shouldn’t expect the freshman class to either.

Student-Run Newspaper

Managing Editor- AMANDA RUSSELL Advertising Manager- SARA BOHANNON Editorial Editor- EMILY BOOKER Sports Editor- CHRIS BROOKS Entertainment Editor- MIKE FORD Copy Editor I- TALLULAH GILLUM Copy Editor II - BAILEY DARROW Asst. Managing Editor- CHRISTINE SEIBER Advertising Asst.- ALLISON WHEELER Advertising Asst.- DIANA CARSON Asst. Editorial Editor- CHUCK ACHESON Asst. Sports Editor- BRANDON GOODWIN Adviser- BRENDA WILSON Cartoonist- MIKE FORD Tennessee Technological University--nondiscriminatory on the basis of sex in its educational programs and activities including employment and admission of students to the University as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and regulations based therein and published in CFR, part 86.

Tennessee Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer.

The Oracle is published weekly by Tennessee Technological University, P.O. Box 5072 TTU, Cookeville, TN 38505

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

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

Letters TO THE EDITOR I must speak (write) my mind on this. What is the point of being vaccinated for a 4 day flu?

This flu is not any worse than other flus, with the exception being that most people don’t have immunity to it already.

A healthy immune system may indeed be able to fight it off without any serious illness/symptoms, and a vaccine will weaken one’s immune system for the time period that it takes to work and become effective.

Perhaps the answer for us is not injecting weak versions of viruses into our bloodstreams, but exercise, vitamins, and rest?

This hype is getting out of control. Let us not be a society of timid, out-of-shape people who flock to supposed cures to protect us from what we do not understand.

Joshua Michael Suggs jmsuggs21@tntech.edu

Déjà-vu: vaccine for you CHUCK ACHESON Asst. Editorial Editor Following the letter to the editor regarding my previous article about the H1N1 vaccine, I feel I should elaborate my position a bit further.

The first point of my article: educate yourself. Know what is going into your body.

All the information about the vaccine is on the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site, cdc.gov.

Everything regarding the vaccine is there in black-and-white for anyone to see and read. It’s written in plain English and very understandable.

If you don’t understand the workings of the vaccine, it’s because you are actively trying to not learn about it.

The second point: vaccines are a proven mechanism for a healthy body.

Have you ever suffered from polio? No. A vaccine worked so well the disease is considered to be eradicated from the planet.

The official definition of vaccine, from Merriam-Webster, fully defends this.

I am not discrediting the values of exercise and a good diet, but even triathlon athletes still get the flu.

I’m not sayin’ anything, I’m just sayin’ why wouldn’t you get something to help bolster your defenses?

The third point: make a decision for yourself.

Don’t let some pundit make the decision for you.

If you educate yourself and think H1N1 is all filler and no killer, then don’t get the vaccine.

It is in my learned opinion from having worked with the J.J. Oakley Campus Health Services this semester that you should get the vaccine.

It’s proven safe and to be working. But, that’s just my opinion (and the CDC’s).

And, that brings me to the fourth and most important point.

The vaccine is FREE ($0, none, nada, zero dollars).

Allow me to reiterate my comment from last week. If the vaccine is safe, proven effective and free, why not get it?

While there is a lot of hype surrounding H1N1, this disease has the potential for mutation.

Why not play it safe with your health, Evil Knievel?

In addition, I apologize if this article seems strikingly familiar to last week’s.

I guess it’s true what they say, some people only read headlines.

Last week in “Students to Vote on SGA Constitutional Change”, Emily Booker reported about students getting the chance to vote to change the SGA constitution. The main point was that the SGA has passed a bill that will add $20 to a student’s fees for a semester to go to SOLO, a fund to support campus activities.

First, why should I give my money to some campus activities which I do not support?

Second, how come none of my SGA representatives, or anybody in that organization, reached out to me or any students about adding more fees?

Lastly, why on this Earth are we even talking about adding more fees to students in a slow, troubled economy

for any reason?

Also, upon reading the article we learn students do not get to vote on whether or not this SOLO involuntary funding should exist, but we get to vote on how we think it should be managed.

The word “think” is the key word. I have information for President Sean Ochsenbein, and anyone else who thinks this is a “positive step”.

People, start paying attention to your 10,000 students. Some are trying to keep their heads above water.

Not all want to give money to something they do not look forward to or even attend.

Always, Jeremy McLearran jtmclearra42@tntech.edu

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News Alumnus CONTINUED from page 1 STS-129 mission. Wilmore credits Tech with helping him develop the skills that led to this assignment.

“Every tool I need I got at Tech,” said Wilmore in an interview with “Visions,” Tech’s alumni magazine.

“From chemistry to physics to football, it all helps me.”

Tech has been the school of choice for more than one member of the Wilmore family. Beth Ann Wilmore and James Wilmore, Wilmore’s niece and nephew, both attend Tech.

“He has inspired me in many ways,” said Beth Ann Wilmore, a sophomore nursing major. “Uncle Barry has always been there to cheer me on and uplift me.”

“I had the opportunity to intern at NASA this summer and we [he and Wilmore] ran and lifted weights every morning at 5:30,” said James Wilmore, a senior pre-med major. “I also was able to observe him and his crewmates train for their mission. I realized that these men didn’t only work hard to get to where they are—they were the best at everything they did.”

Wilmore has accumulated more than 5,900 flight hours and 663 carrier landings, all in tactical jet aircrafts, and has received multiple aviation honors.

He will make history as the pilot of the last space shuttle crew rotation flight to or from the space station.

ABOUT THE ASTRONAUT Barry E. “Butch” Wilmore • Is from Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

• Has a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from Tech and a M.S. in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee • Was inducted into Tech’s Sports Hall of Fame for football in 2003 • Is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School • Has accumulated more than 5,900 flight hours and performed 663 carrier landings in a tactical jet aircraft

Image courtesy of NASA

About the mission Charlie Hobaugh is commander of STS-129 with Robert Satcher, Michael Foreman, Randy Bresnik, and Leland Melvin serving as mission specialists. This will be the first space trip for Wilmore, Satcher and Bresnik.

The STS-129 mission—the 31st to the ISS—is to deliver experiment racks and two spare gyroscopes to the ISS. Because it is the first mission to be devoted to transporting spare parts, it will carry those of highest priority.

The parts are going up on two platforms, called external logistics carriers, or ELCS. It is hoped that wherever a failure happens, the needed

spare will be close by.

“You’ll see this theme in some of the flights that are going to come after ours as well,” said Brian Smith, lead ISS flight director STS-129, in a preflight interview. “This flight is all about spares – basically, we’re getting them up there while we still can.”

There will be 27,250 pounds of parts to keep the ISS going after the space shuttles retire.

STS-129 will also feature three spacewalks and is slated to bring station crewmember Nicole Stott back to earth.

Where other space shuttles have been outfitted with a system that allows them to draw power from the space station, Atlantis was not. This

means the shuttle has just 11 days to get to the station and back.

The six astronauts will be under quarantine at the JSC for three days before flying to Kennedy Space Center on Thursday for Atlantis’ launch.

The mission is set to launch at 2:28 p.m. on Monday, four days later than previously scheduled. If it is delayed again, the downlink will also be subject to postponement.

Melvin and Satcher are expected to provide updates on their Twitter accounts during the shuttle mission.

The ISS has been continuously occupied by humans since Nov. 2, 2000, and is a partnership of the U.S., Russian, European, Japanese and Canadian space agencies.

“Nothing like this has ever taken place before and I think regardless of what we do on station... we’ve made great strides, even politically,” said Wilmore in the same preflight interview. “Even in that aspect, if you think about parts that are built and constructed in Japan, Italy, Europe and Russia… all these components come together, and they work together. It is indeed remarkable.”

Upon completion in 2010, it will have a crew of six conducting research in preparation for future space exploration.

For more information about NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, Inflight Education Downlink Program or for complete astronaut biographical information, visit www. nasa.gov.

>>online edition

COMMUNITY Toy-Drive & Fundraiser, EVENT Lighthouse Christian Camp Nov. 16

When: Monday Where: Chi-Alpha Time: 6-9pm Bring: a new toy or $5 • Donation gets you free Dominos Pizza & video game play

Downlink CONTINUED from page 1

knowing more about what science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can mean to each of us as we reach for our dreams.”

Students will be divided into four age groups: kindergarten to fourth grade, fifth to eighth grade, ninth to twelfth grade and college.

A judging team comprised of students and faculty from Tech blindly selected 120 questions—30 questions from each age group—and ranked them.

The top five questions in each age group were sent to NASA for review. The top 20 students—five from the four age groups—will sit on stage and directly ask the astronauts their questions.

Astronauts Leland Melvin, Nicole Stott and Tech alumnus Barry Wilmore will be participating in the downlink from the ISS. Although participants and audience members will be able to see and hear the crewmembers from space, the crew will not be able to see them.

Several VIPs were invited to attend the event. As of Nov. 9, Rep. Bart Gordon, Charlotte Gentry—niece of Charlie Hobaugh, STS-129 commander—and several of

Wilmore’s family members had confirmed their attendance.

NASA’s downlink and the students’ interaction with the astronauts will be shown in a live feed on WCTE-TV, the local PBS station—channel 22 on Dish/Direct/antenna, 10 on Charter cable or on the second digital channel of any state-wide public television station.

The downlink program, established in 2001, gives participants the opportunity to learn what astronauts experience while working in space.

NASA’s downlinks last for approximately 20 minutes and are provided with no cost to the host organizations— excluding expenses like promotional materials and paid man-hours. They are facilitated by NASA’s Teaching from Space Office in conjunction with the Johnson Space Center’s Public Affairs Office.

These offices help host organizations make the downlink event a highlight of comprehensive STEM education activities.

The amount of downlink opportunities during ISS increments vary and are determined by NASA’s mission operations.

As of April 2007, more than 30 million students have participated in in-flight education downlinks. Many of these students were reached with the help of extensive educational broadcasting: NASA broadcasts downlinks live on NASA TV and streams them on its Web site.

Engineering student awarded Tapman scholarship

By CANAAN WILLIAMS Staff Writer

Look for this symbol for more content on

www.tntechoracle.com

A Tech civil engineering student was recently awarded The Samuel Fletcher Tapman ASCE Student Chapter Scholarship.

Lindsay Smith, a senior from Mount Juliet, received the $3,000 scholarship from the American Society of Civil Engineers based on activities within the ASCE, academic accomplishments and an essay in which she described her decision to become a civil engineer.

“I have been very involved in the ASCE student chapter since my freshman year and that has really paid off,” Smith said. “Not just because I won this scholarship, but because I have developed many more skills than what the classroom could have taught me.

“This award will help me to focus more on my research, which I have been doing since my freshman here at TTU,” Smith said.

The scholarship is described as being “highly competitive,” with only a maximum number of 12 student’s nationwide receiving the award each year. Because of this, she admitted to being surprised by such an honor.

Smith describes herself as an ambitious person, committed to excelling in whatever she does. Although she said she has worked hard to

Smith

get where she is now, she also mentioned receiving support from Tech faculty and staff.

“I have had tons of support from my adviser, Ben Mohr,” Smith said. “He is always pushing me to take the next step and to go above and beyond what is required.

“Also, David Huddleston, dean of engineering, has always provided support when I needed it,” Smith added.

She would like to apply the knowledge and skills she learned as an engineering student to advance the way people live and to preserve the environment.

Scheduled to graduate in May 2010, Smith is planning to pursue her master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering.

For more information about scholarships, visit www.tntech.edu/scholarships/home. The deadline to apply for scholarships for 2010-2011 is Dec. 15.

www.tntechoracle.com

Page 4 | November 13, 2009

Entertainment Football in the Groin

A comic strip by Mike Ford

Mike Ford 11-13-09

Cookeville’s Indian Association dances its way to Derryberry

By MIKE FORD Entertainment Editor

The Indian Association of Cookeville will host a dance concert evening from 5 to 7 p.m., Nov. 14, at Derry Berry Auditorium. Kuchipudi and Bharathanatyam Indian classical dances will be performed.

According to the Kuchipudi Academy of Dance, Kuchipudi “is a classical dance form that originated

in the village of Kuchipudi, in Southern India. For a long time, the art was presented only at temples and that too only for annual festivals of certain temples in Andhra Pradesh.

Bharathanatyam is India’s oldest form of classical dance.

“In the ancient times, [Bharathanatyam] used to be performed by the Devadasis in the temples of Tamilnadu as ‘dasiattam’. The postures of the Bharata Natyam dance of India have served as an inspi-

The Tech Players’ Autumn performance of “Dracula” opened last night at the Backdoor Playhouse. Directed by Mark Harry Creter, this “Dramatic Version Freely Adapted by Crane Johnson from the novel by Bram Stoker” is “...fascinating...eerily worthwhile...”

– The New York Times

ration for the ancient sculptures in Hindu temples,” Indobase.com’s section Dances of India said. “The postures of the celestial dancers depicted in the scriptures were given the name of Bharatanatyam Mudras on earth.

“The philosophy behind the dance is to search the human soul and unite with the Supreme Being. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for nonstudents. For more information and ticket purchases, contact cookevilleiaoc@yahoo.com.

Music Dept gets in the holiday spirit

By CHRISTINA RIDDLE Staff Writer

Tech’s music department is gearing up for the holiday season with the annual candlelight Christmas concert.

This semester has been eventful for the music department as they try to draw students in by having more concerts and recitals. From the Festival of Voices to the fall concert, students have had plenty of opportunity to enjoy performances, and there is more yet to come.

“The fall concert was very impressive,” Tina Davis, a parent of a chorale student, said. “But I’m really looking forward to the Christmas

concert, because the students always do such a great job.”

This concert will be filled with pieces from different genres and languages. One of the songs, “Noel” by Todd Smith, is an African spiritual, uncommon to many Christmas singings. Another song that will be performed is “Glory, Glory, Glory to the New Born King,” a spiritual by well-known composer Moses Hogan.

Chorale is an audition only, advanced choir conducted by Craig Zamer, director of choral activities. This choir is expected to perform on a more advanced and challenging level than concert choir.

Instead of meeting for three hours a week, chorale meets for six hours a week. According to Chorale member Tim

Monday-Thursday 11-6, Friday and Saturday 11-7

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Keyt, it can be hard work, but it always pays off.

“I thought Chorale was going to be like every other choir. I was wrong. It’s very challenging. But it is definitely worth it because in the end, we sound really great,”Keyt said.

Concert choir is an ensemble that is open to any student or faculty member. In fact, a large number of these singers are not music majors. They are students from all over the university who enjoy coming together to make good music, according to Nathan Allen, chorale member.

“Last semester I was in concert choir, and I was really surprised by how good it was. I thought since anyone could join, it would be interesting. But, I was impressed,” Allen said.

Both choirs will perform at the Christmas concert, along with Siegel High School and Cookeville High School.

There will be two nighttime performances of this concert: one at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 featuring Sigel High School and the other at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 5 featuring Cookeville High School. Admission is free for Tech students.

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Photos submitted November 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 2009 at 8:00 p.m., Matinee: Nov. 21, 2009 at 2:00 Late Show: November 19, 2009 at 10:00 p.m.

Remember Sufjan Stevens? So do we

By ALEX HATCHER Staff Writer When any music lover thinks about indie-rock music, the name Sufjan Stevens instantly sticks out. Quite possibly one of the most interesting and groundbreaking musicians of the past decade in indie-rock, Stevens has been relatively quiet after he released his influential “Illinois” album over four years ago.

The Detroit-born musician debuted with his album “A Sun Came” in 2000. This album proved to listeners that his writing, lyrically and instrumentally, was superior and complex. He followed with the release of “Enjoy Your Rabbit” in 2001, which was a highly electronic album concerning the animals of the Chinese zodiac. At this point in his career, Stevens made an ambitious move stating that he planned to write a full-length album honoring each of the 50 states. In 2003, he released “Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State.” In this revolutionary album, the multi-instrumentalist played over 20 instruments and by the end of the year it was considered one of the highest acclaimed albums of the year. In 2004, the intimate stand-alone songs of “Seven Swans” hit racks. The groundbreaking release of his second of the 50 states project, “Illinois” quickly gained worldwide acclaim. Stevens’ sold out “Illinois” tour in

which his numerically large band dressed in cheerleading outfits, earned him a spot in the indie-rock hall of fame.

Each intimate show following the release was sold out and has been sold out since. Following the “Illinois” album, Stevens released “The Avalanche,” which was an entire album of unreleased tracks and outtakes from “Illinois”.

After the release of “Illinois” and several tours, Stevens sort of disappeared from the music scene. Fans anxiously awaiting his next 50 states release were disappointed to hear what Stevens had to say in a recent interview with Paste magazine in which he called the project a joke.

“The whole premise was such a joke, and I think maybe I took it too seriously,” Stevens said. “I started to feel like I was becoming a cliché of myself.”

The eager fans were given a taste of what the mastermind had been creating over the past couple years when he released “The BQE.” Stevens’ multimedia work celebrating the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway premiered in 2007 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This project included a 40-minute film and symphony piece by Stevens.

Based on the response of the performance, he decided to release a box set including the music, the DVD, an essay on the liner of the album, a comic book, and a View-Master reel.

While this project would seem a bit bizarre and random to

some, fans that have seen any of his live shows have seen that his band is basically an informal, handpicked symphony playing obscure instruments that are strategically placed throughout each song. In the same interview with Paste, Stevens blames the BQE project for slowing down his record making.

“In all honesty, [“The BQE”] is what really sabotaged my creative momentum. It wasn’t ‘Illinois’ so much,” Stevens said. “I suffered sort of an existential creative crisis after that piece.

I no longer knew what a song was and how to write an album. It overextended me in a way that I couldn’t find my way back to the song,” Stevens said.

What does this mean for the musical genius’ future?

The interview has some fans in freak-out mode, but not to worry. At a September performance in Ithaca, N.Y.’s Castaway, earlier this year, fans were shocked to hear several brand new songs from the composer. The new songs have given fans a beacon of hope that there is still more to come from Sufjan Stevens.

Asthmatic Kitty, Stevens’ record label, continues to grow as it adds new talented artists like My Brightest Diamond, Shapes and Sizes, and Castanets. With the resurgence of Stevens’ unmistakable name to the music scene, we know he’s staying busy and can hope that there is more exciting new music to come.

www.tntechoracle.com

Page 5 | November 13, 2009

Sports Golden Eagle soccer falls in conference final to Murray State Tech fights through two double-overtime contests to reach final, but Racers prove to be too much in title game

BY KATIE BARNHILL

Staff Writer

For the first time since 2000, the Golden Eagles made it to the conference finals before falling 4-0 to Murray State in the championship game.

On top of Tech’s successful weekend, five players from Tech were recognized at the Ohio Valley Conference banquet last Thursday.

The tournament kicked off last Thursday at Morehead State against fifth-seeded Eastern Illinois. In the regular season, Tech played EIU to a 2-2 tie, but this time in what Tech considers to be a “lucky” game, the fourthranked Golden Eagles took the 3-2 victory over EIU. Junior forward and center midfielder Jen Hoffman, who was named Offensive Player of the Year and awarded First-Team and All-Tournament Team honors, picked up a hat trick, scoring all three goals for Tech after being down 2-0.

“They weren’t pretty goals,” Hoffman said, “but it worked.”

The first goal Hoffman intended to kick the ball up as a serve for someone else, but “it just went in,” she said.

That was all Tech needed to gain the momentum necessary to take the game.

“After the first goal, the tempo and pace of the game

Photo courtesy of Sports Information

Jen Hoffman (right) accepts her OVC Offensive Player of the Year award from Jennifer Gibbs, Ohio Valley Conference Assistant Commissioner for Championships. Hoffman was one of four Tech players honored with postseason awards. picked up,” according to Hoffman. “People came off the bench and helped lift the team.”

The next goal Hoffman floated up from 20 yards out to tie the game at 2-2. But it wasn’t until her third tally, a lob into the goal in the second overtime that fired up fans and players as Tech advanced to the semi-finals.

After a tough fight to the end in Tech’s first game, the semi-final game was played the next day against Morehead State, the top-ranked team, who had a bye in the first round.

After a scoreless first half, freshman forward and AllNewcomer Team selection Andrea Meloff scored the first goal for Tech in the sec-

ond half.

With less than ten minutes left in the half, Morehead scored, taking the game into overtime, where the score held through one extra period.

In the second extra session, freshman forward Kris Cambron put away the Eagles by scoring with 1:21 left on the clock.

“I was already mentally preparing in my head where I was going to kick my penalty kick,” junior center mid Brooke Mayo said.

After two back-to-back games, both going into double overtime, Tech went into the finals match against Murray State on Sunday, the first chance at a conference final for Tech in nine years.

Tech fell 4-0 to Murray in what seemed to be “a combination of a bunch of things,” Hoffman said.

“We’ve always had a problem playing Murray,” according to Mayo, “this game, we didn’t play well and Murray played really well.”

However, one game did not reflect the success Tech had in the conference tournament and in their season.

Mayo said she “knows [they] got this far because [they] all trusted each other and worked hard together.”

Mayo and Hoffman agreed that everyone stepped up in the conference tournament.

“In the whole tournament, the whole team stepped up, we didn’t just have one hero,” Mayo said.

Although the girls are sad to see senior Brittany Rogers leave, who, according to Mayo, “helped them out a lot in the past four years,” it is good news that they will only be losing one player for next year.

“Now that we have a taste for the finals and know how to get there, we want to prepare for next year.” Mayo said. “Our goal is to host the conference tournament and win the conference championship.

Cambron earned CoFreshman of the Year, OVC First-Team, All-Tournament Team, and All-Newcomer Team awards for her performance during the year.

Other winners of OVC awards were juniors Taren Brown, who earned SecondTeam, and Michelle Decker, who made the All Tournament Team.

Tech hopes to stay in OVC championship race Saturday at Jacksonville State

BY BRANDON GOODWIN

Assistant Sports Editor

The Tennessee Tech football team puts its winning record on the line as it travels to Jacksonville, Ala. to take on the 15th-ranked Jacksonville State Gamecocks. The Golden Eagles (5-4, 4-2 OVC) are just one game behind Eastern Illi-

nois in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with two weeks to play.

Tech enters the game winning four of its last five OVC games and has two remaining against JSU and Murray State at home to round out the season. Last week, the Golden Eagles fell on the road to Southeastern Conference opponent Georgia 38-0.

“We’re coming to town to try to beat these guys. We know it’s not going to be easy by any means. We’re going to have to play an unbelievably good game,” said Tech head coach Watson Brown.

“We don’t get into stats and all that; we just have to figure out a way to win.”

Jacksonville State (6-3, 4-1 OVC) is on pace to have one of the best seasons in program history, but is ineligible for the OVC title due to academics. The Gamecocks have not allowed a touchdown in the last nine quarters and has

not been shutout since 2000, the longest current streak in the OVC. JSU has won six of its last seven; its only loss in the stretch came on Homecoming against Eastern Illinois, 28-20.

“I don’t know that we’re looking at it as a cornerstone win as coaches,” Brown said, “but the players are trying to hang in there and win a championship. We had certain goals this year. Of course, everybody wants to win the championship. We want a winning record. We want to

win all of our games at home.

We wanted to win the Sergeant York Trophy. All four of those things are still in our grasp. The hardest one, of course, is winning the championship.”

Brown acknowledged the clutch play of the Golden Eagles this season, saying, “We could honestly be 1-and-whatever right now.

We’ve won close games this year and we’ve won them in the fourth quarter when we’ve had to make plays to win them. It’s not been easy, and I don’t think it needs to

be overblown where we are.

I don’t think we’ve jumped as high as everybody thinks we have. We still have a long way to go.”

Tech has given up 52 points in the third quarter, while only scoring 19. JSU on the other hand has scored 129 second-half points and has given up only 66.

Kickoff is set for noon Saturday and can be heard live on Magic 98.5 and online via TeamLine. The Golden Eagles finish the regular season at home against Murray State on Nov. 21.

Fitness Center to host state doubles racquetball championships

BY KARLA HAMMAC

Staff Writer

The 2009 Tennessee State Doubles Racquetball Championships will be held at the Tech Fitness Center on Nov. 21. Racquetball players of all ages will be traveling from across the state to compete for the title.

“This is the first time Tech has ever been able to host the tournament,” Suzann Hensley, assistant director of university campus recreation, said. “We are excited to say

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the least.”

All players compete in two games until 15 points are scored and a tiebreaker is played until 11 points are scored if the first two games are split.

Eyewear is mandatory.

Medals will be given to first and second place finishers in all of the divisions.

The Fitness Center has eight racquetball courts. The courts have a first and second floor viewing area.

Campus recreation has

purchased bleachers for extra seating for the games. Participants will have free access to lockers, locks, and towels.

Lunch will be provided to all participants from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A hospitality room will also be provided.

“We have hosted two or three invitational tournaments, and they keep getting bigger and bigger,” Hensley said. “We get complimented on our organization of the tournament, hospitality, and our facility.

Eastern Illinois Eastern Kentucky Tennessee Tech UT-Martin Tennessee State Austin Peay Murray State Southeast Missouri Jacksonville State*

“The great thing about hosting it at Tech is that we are centrally located in Tennessee. Whether you live in Johnson City or Memphis, it isn’t that far of a drive,” Hensley said.

Half of the first event’s fee of $20 will be paid for Tech students by campus recreation to encourage entry.

“They will be surprised as to how well they will do,” Hensley said.

The entry forms must be received by Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.

Conference

Overall

5-1 5-2 4-2 3-3 2-3 2-4 2-4 0-7 4-1

7-2 5-4 5-4 4-5 3-6 3-6 3-6 1-8 6-3

* - ineligible for conference championship Saturday’s games Tennessee Tech at #15 Jacksonville St., 12:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV) Western Carolina at Eastern Kentucky, 12:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV) Murray State at Southeast Missouri, 1:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV) UT Martin at #13 Eastern Illinois, 1:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV) Tennessee State at Austin Peay, 4:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)

Page 6 | November 13, 2009

www.tntechoracle.com

News Spring 2010 French class to include trip to Morocco

By AMELIA TRITICO Staff Writer The foreign language department at Tech is offering a class in the spring that will travel to Morocco.

The class, taught by Debbie Barnard, will take the trip over spring break.

The French 4910 class will focus on Francophone literature and will have at least two learning sessions to focus on Morocco for those traveling. The group will learn about the cultural and social customs of the country before leaving the United States.

During the trip, the class will visit Fes, Casablanca and Marrakech. The focus of the trip will be vis-

iting mosques, markets and cultural sites. The group will most likely travel by train within in the country to each city, so it will see much of the countryside.

“I was excited to see the department offering a class that focuses on a French-speaking country that isn’t France” Rebecca Hillebrand, a French and Spanish student at Tech, said.

Morocco is located in Northern Africa and natives speak predominantly Arabic and French. The primary religion is Islam, but the country has been influenced by Judaism, paganism and Christianity throughout its history.

“I’m excited about getting to go to a Muslim country because

I’ve never been to one before,” Hillebrand said. “I’m excited to see the different culture.”

Despite being one of the main launching areas of illegal immigration into Spain from North Africa and one of the world’s largest producers of hashish, Morocco is a relatively peaceful country.

Hillebrand speculated that this might be why Morocco was chosen for the class instead of another country in North Africa. There is much less civil unrest there than in the surrounding areas, and security is better.

The prerequisite one semester of French. Contact Barnard or the foreign language department for more information.

Scholarship Deadline Dec. 15 • Complete a single application through ScholarWeb to apply for all University scholarships for which you are elegible.

Wilma Carr scholarship available through Women’s Center

By BAILEY DARROW Copy Editor Wilma Carr scholarship applications for Fall 2010 award year are being accepted at the Women’s Center now through Dec.15.

The scholarship was established by Fleet guard Inc. in honor of Wilma Carr, who lost her life at the hands of an abusive husband.

“No records are kept from year to year,” Gretta Stanger, director of the Women’s Center, said. “However, based on the statistics on domestic violence and other family trauma in our society, I feel sure that there are many more who would be eligible than the number of applications we usually receive.”

Qualified applicants are current or prospective students who are survivors of domestic violence, child abuse or similar unfortunate situation and are in good standing with the university.

All applicant information is kept strictly confidential. Because of the sensitive nature of application information, all applications must be turned in to the Women’s Center.

“Those who apply online at Scholar Web for a scholarship have to post the name of the awardee online for all to see,” Stanger explained. “This scholarship does not identify the awardee publically at all.

The awardee is notified by their preferred method and we are able to directly inform the appropriate financial aid person, who understands the reason for confidentiality.”

Applicants must submit a goals statement as well as a description of the circumstances that qualify them for this scholarship.

Once all applications have been received, a selection committee will review submitted materials and select recipients.

“The small committee that reviews the applications meets and discusses the information submitted,” Stanger said. “The applications that do not provide all the requested information, like signature to check grades or the statement of goals from the applicant, are the first to be eliminated.”

After the review process is complete, all application information is shredded to maintaine confidentiality.

Applications and more information are available online at www.tntech.edu/ women/scholarships or at the Women’s Center in Pennebaker Hall Room 203.

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