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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

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Issue 14

E D I T O R I A L L Y

Mostly Sunny 0% chance of rain HIGH LOW 64 48

PUBLISHED SINCE 1906

I N D E P E N D E N T

S T U D E N T

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http://utdailybeacon.com

Vol. 119

N E W S P A P E R

O F

T H E

U N I V E R S I T Y

O F

T E N N E S S E E

LA performer helps launch church Sings on walkway to promote branch Lauren Kittrell News Editor Thursday, former “Glee Project” participant Cameron Mitchell graced the Pedestrian Mall with a performance and a mission. Ignoring the rain, Mitchell played and sang some of his original songs as students passed swiftly by on their way to and from class. Several volunteers from Faith Promise Church stood under and around a small tent joyfully handing out free T-shirts and information about their recent campus church plant. Michael Wallace, UT campus and high school pastor with Faith Promise Church, said the main goal of Mitchell’s visit was to help promote the UT campus Faith Promise Church. “In October we opened a church here on the UT campus,” Wallace said. “We meet back and forth between the Alumni Memorial Building and the Clarence Brown (Theatre). We always meet at 11:30 (a.m.) on Sundays, so we’re still trying to get the word out and let people know that we’re here to help.” Wallace worked with Mitchell at a church in Texas before moving to Tennessee, and invited Mitchell out to help promote the new church plant. Mitchell also performed for Wallace’s high school ministry in a concert on Wednesday night.

“I wanted to come out and sing, and I used to lead worship a lot and he told me that I would have an opportunity to do that,” Mitchell said. “I had an opportunity to do some of my own songs and sing some worship, and I love performing and I wanted to come out and see Michael Wallace and sing for Knoxville.” Wallace said Mitchell’s story is inspiring and something that he wanted Mitchell to have an opportunity to share. After being offered a role on the teen-show, “Glee,” Mitchell turned it down. “Cameron made a great decision to say no to that,” Wallace said. “(He recognized) that the greater importance was to represent his relationship with God in every avenue of his life. His story was one that was really unique, one that we really wanted to help people recognize.” Mitchell was excited to have a chance to share his story again and was quick to say that though he faced some difficulties, the overall experience was something that he would never want to lose. “I was on the ‘Glee Project’ this summer,” Mitchell said. “It started in June and it was a great experience; I really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. It definitely had some twists and turns and some ups and downs, but I really loved it and it was a great experience.” See MITCHELL on Page 3

Greece solution may not help financial markets The Associated Press

The deal would reduce Greece’s annual interest expense from about 10 billion euros to about 4 billion euros. When the bonds mature, Greece would have to pay its bondholders only 103 billion euros. It is unclear how investors who buy and sell the bonds of other debt-burdened countries, such as Italy, Spain and Portugal, will react. If they drive up borrowing costs for those countries, the debt crisis could get worse. Private investors hold twothirds of Greece’s debt, which is equal to an unsustainable 160 percent of its annual economic output. By restructuring the debt, Greece hopes to make it a more manageable 120 percent by decade’s end. Greece’s public creditors — the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank — want the government to cut public salaries further to bring the national budget in line. That proposal has been met with resistance by Greek politicians afraid of losing elections this spring. But they also worry Greece will be denied 130 billion euros in bailout money if it can’t cut its deficit. The restructuring of Greece’s private debt could still fall apart. If it does, that could mean trouble in the U.S. markets, which have enjoyed a placid January of steady gains.

NEW YORK — Greece and the investors who bought its bonds have the beginnings of a deal that could avert a disastrous, long-feared Greek default on its debt. But don’t expect a celebration on Wall Street this week. If the deal holds and works, it will help prevent a potential shock to the world banking system. It will also remove one of the biggest threats to the impressive rally in U.S. stocks this year. The problem for investors is that good news — like real improvement in Greece’s longterm finances — is likely to develop in slow motion. Bad news, like a breakdown in the debt talks or a spasm of market fear, would be faster. Punch-in-the-nose fast. “I think they’ll probably be happy, but I don’t really see this accomplishing very much in the long term,” says Michael E. Lewitt, editor of The Credit Strategist, an investor newsletter. “They’re not solving any of these problems,” he says, so if things go wrong, “it’s likely to be a much worse sell-off.” Under the tentative agreement, announced Saturday, investors holding 206 billion euros in Greek bonds, or about $272 billion, would exchange them for bonds with half the face value. The replacement bonds would have a longer maturity and See INVESTORS on Page 3 pay a lower interest rate.

• Photo courtesy of Cameron Mitchell

Students relate to comedy act Alex Pierce Staff Writer Comedians Geoff Keith and Rob O’Reilly teetered toward the less tactful end of the humor spectrum during their performance Friday in the UC Auditorium. About 50 people came for the two-part stand-up show titled “Comedy Night with Geoff Keith and Rob O’Reilly.” O’Reilly opened the show. According to his official website, the Los Angeles native “toured over 100 colleges last year.” Of all the colleges he visited, O’Reilly mentioned UT was one of the largest. O’Reilly said he was confused when he observed “a huge cross next to an adult video store” on his way to Tennessee. The anecdote elicited a chuckle from the audience. “That’s right, the clapping instinct is correct,” O’Reilly quipped after a seemingly random round of applause from the audience.

O’Reilly’s quick and witty comedy style came through in stories told in rapid succession. Each story was vaguely related in theme to the last. His wry humor seemed to bother some audience members, but most ill feelings dissipated as the show continued. “There were a few borderline offensive jokes, but you get those at every comedy show,” Ashley Brown, undecided sophomore, said. “Overall, I enjoyed the show a lot.” Most of O’Reilly’s jokes were accompanied by vivid hand gestures, as O’Reilly is known for being very expressive. After O’Reilly wrapped up his 40-minute performance, Geoff Keith came on stage and introduced himself, saying, “I’m a bit of a scum bag.” His T-shirt that said “Mr. Funny” in bold letters foreshadowed his performance. Although the show started awkwardly with microphone trouble, it quickly regained pace as Keith began performing. He shouted questions to the audience then mocked their lackluster responses.

Keith, however, endeared himself to the audience by telling a number of college-related jokes, such as his confused attitude at his freshman orientation, the ridiculousness of philosophy classes, failing and dropping classes. “The only papers I filled out in college were those little ‘drop class’ forms,” Keith said. The familiar subject matter made Keith the favorite of the crowd. The audience also enjoyed Keith’s closing joke. He described his experience on the MTV reality show “Dating Disasters,” where he played a variety of characters who terrified a blind date with offensive behavior. The comedian performed the skits over 40 times, and therefore had many stories that made the audience cackle. “Comedy Night with Geoff Keith and Rob O’Reilly” was organized by the Campus Entertainment Board, which is a sub-committee of the Office of Student Activities. The show was free for all UT students.

Rebecca Vaughan • The Daily Beacon

Sam McElfresh, senior in English and resident assistant in Humes Hall, gets pied in the face during the “Pie your RA in the face day,” on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Students were able to pie their RAs for a dollar per pie, with proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity.


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