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Thursday, February 2, 2012

PAGE 6 T H E

Issue 16

E D I T O R I A L L Y

Mostly Sunny 20% chance of rain HIGH LOW 62 39

PUBLISHED SINCE 1906 http://utdailybeacon.com

Vol. 119

I N D E P E N D E N T

S T U D E N T

N E W S P A P E R

O F

T H E

U N I V E R S I T Y

PAGE 5 O F

T E N N E S S E E

Dooley, Vols sign 21 in ‘spread out class’ Matt Dixon Sports Editor Derek Dooley said Tennessee gave the rest of the SEC plenty of ammunition to use against the school in recruiting and the Volunteers had to overcome social media, which Dooley called the “national barber shop,” but UT ended National Signing Day with 21 signees, including seven who were mid-year enrollees and began school in January. “All in all, if you look at all that’s happened, all that’s transpired, it’s hard to feel better than I do today,” Dooley said. “I made the statement to our coach staff, this is the best day I’ve felt as far as the future of our program, where we’re heading, that I have in the 24 months I’ve been on the job. It’s a good day.” The first Wednesday in February is the first day high school seniors and junior college prospects are eligible to sign with the college of their choice and

the event has turned into holiday-type spectacle to college football fans across the country. After a 5-7 season and losing six assistant coaches, Dooley had a saying to the remaining assistants and potential recruits about looking at the foundation that’s been build over the past two years. “Keep the main thing the main thing,” he said. “Keep your focus on what’s real. Keep your focus on the facts, and not get lost in emotion, not get lost in fear and not get lost in negativity.” UT signed players from nine states, including four from each of Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. “I don’t care what anybody says, this is a special place and still sells all over the country because of the great tradition, the fan base, the gameday experience (and) the atmosphere they fell when they come on campus,” Dooley said.

Name *Cody Blanc Deion Bonner Davante Bourque Drae Bowles George Bullock Jason Croom Daniel Gray *Alden Hill Alton “Pig” Howard Justin King LaTroy Lewis Daniel McCullers LaDarrell McNeil *Justin Meredith Danny O'Brien Cordarrelle Patterson *Nathan Peterman *Darrington Sentimore *Trent Taylor **Tino Thomas Quenshaun Watson

Position Athlete Cornerback Running back Wide Receiver Kicker Wide Receiver Cornerback Running back Wide receiver Linebacker Linebacker Defensive tackle Safety Tight end Defensive tackle Wide receiver Quarterback Defensive line Defensive line Defensive back Running back

Ht/Wt 6-1/200 5-11/180 6-1/210 6-1/198 6-1/195 6-5/220 6-0/170 6-1/220 5-9/180 6-3/215 6-4/235 6-6/380 6-1/195 6-5/225 6-2/310 6-3/205 6-3/210 6-2/273 6-2/271 5-11/195 5-9/175

Hometown (school) Ranking by 247Sports Knoxville (Central) 3 stars Columbus, Ga. (Carver) 3 stars Crowley, La. (Crowley) 4 stars Jackson (Jackson Christian) 4 stars Knoxville (West) 2 stars Norcross, Ga. (Norcross) 4 stars Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Boyd Anderson) 3 stars Alliance, Ohio (Marlington) 3 stars Orlando, Fla. (Edgewater) 4 stars Atlanta, Ga. (Dunwoody) 3 stars Akron, Ohio. (Archbishop Hoban) 3 stars Milledridge, Ga. (Georgia Military College) 3 stars Dallas, Tx. (Wilmer-Hutchins) 4 stars Anderson, SC. (T.L. Hanna) 3 stars Flint, Mich. (Flint Powers Catholic) 4 stars Hutchinson, Ka. (Hutchinson C.C.) 5 stars Fruit Cove, Fla. (Bartram Trail) 3 stars Norco, La. (Miss. Gulf Coast C.C./Alabama) 4 stars Lakeland Fla. (Lake Gibson) 3 stars Memphis (Melrose) 3 stars Athens, Ga. (Clarke Central) 3 stars

*Enrolled at UT in January **Originally signed in 2011

See SIGNING DAY on Page 6

Writing program wins honor First-year writing program, writing center help secure award Matt Miller Staff Writer When Kirsten Benson, the interim director of composition at UT, got the brief e-mail announcing that UT’s Writing Program had won the Certificate of Excellence from the Conference on College Composition and Communication, she sat in denial for almost a full minute. Then, she seized a copy of the e-mail and sprinted to the office of Stan Garner, the head of the English Department. “We didn’t have any idea when we would hear back, and when I got the e-mail, I was instantly overwhelmed,” Benson said. Since its creation in 2004, the CCCC Writing Program Certificate of Excellence has been given to only 37 schools. UT was one of seven schools to receive the award this year. The award will be presented to the UT program at the CCCC annual convention in St. Louis, Mo. on March 23. “(The award) recognizes that the University of Tennessee’s firstyear writing program and writing center are up there with the top programs,” Garner said. Garner is tremendously proud that the university has won this award and wholeheartedly believes that it deserves this recognition. For Benson, announcement of the award also brought back memories of the video about the writing program that accompanied the application for the award. “When we first wrote out the script, it sounded like an academic article; it was so boring,” Benson said. After reading over it they decided that they needed help. They

took the problem to Tom Owens of the creative communications program, and he gave the idea to get students’ opinions into the video. “That’s where it really broke open for us,” Benson said. “That was really what this whole process was about.” Benson was the main person in charge of completing the application for the award and was incredibly relieved when she was able to turn in the 30-page application. The UT Writing Program won this award because of its exceptional first-year writing programs and its writing center. “First-year writing is a gateway to success at all of the levels,” Garner said. “It is something that we have been working on for a long time and trying to make it as effective as we can.” The Department of English has made significant changes to the first-year writing program. One of the biggest changes was having focuses and special topics in the English 102 classes. “We are trying to give them a specialized focus so that there is a particular area of investigation that students can choose,” Benson said. This specialized focus in the English 102 classes gives students a chance to research a topic that could help them later in their majors and helps the teachers connect with students who have the same interests. The writing center also stands out among other universities, according to the CCCC. The English department has been working on the writing center to create a place that gives students useful feedback on their writing. “There is always more to do,” Benson said. “Writing is a hard thing to teach, and the only way to make it better is to have constant application (of ideas).”

Palin hacker seeks appeal for conviction The Associated Press CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A federal appeals court panel Monday upheld the conviction and sentence in the hacking of Sarah Palin’s email by a Tennessee student in the 2008 election year. The three-judge panel affirmed the conviction of David Kernell, 24, for obstructing an investigation as a University of Tennessee student before agents seized his computer at his apartment in Knoxville. Kernell’s attorney, Wade Davies, contended at trial that Kernell had no criminal intent and that guessing his way into the email account when the then-Alaska governor was John McCain’s running mate on the Republican presidential ticket was a prank. Kernell was released in November after serving less than 11 months and Davies said he is doing well. Davies said he will seek a review by the full U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Davies in an email statement Monday said his client was convicted of a misdemeanor for accessing email but

also of “obstructing an investigation under a new statute that does not require there even to be an investigation pending.” Davies said the opinion “confirms that David Kernell did not have knowledge of an official investigation at the time of the alleged obstruction. We challenged the statute as unconstitutionally vague because it criminalizes conduct when someone only contemplates that there might be an investigation in the future.” Davies said that if necessary he will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of “being convicted of a felony for obstructing an investigation without knowledge of the investigation.” The opinion Monday said the government presented sufficient evidence to support a conviction, showing that Kernell knew about the FBI investigation based on postings by “anonymous commentators” that they had reported him to the FBI and Kernell’s posting himself that referred to the possibility of an investigation. The jury that convicted Kernell in 2010 acquitted him of wire fraud and deadlocked on an identity theft charge.

Mudslide affects trucking business The Associated Press NEWPORT, Tenn. — The westbound lanes of Interstate 40 were closed near the North Carolina state line on Tuesday after mud and rocks tumbled onto the highway in Cocke County in the early morning. Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman B.J. Doughty said another house-sized boulder was in a precarious position above the interstate and TDOT geotechnical personnel were checking how stable the situation was. “We’re not yet able to say when we can reopen the George Richardson • The Daily Beacon lanes,” Doughty said. John McConnell recounts stories from his time as a senior speech writer for President George W. Bush and chief All westbound traffic was speech writer for Vice President Cheney at the Baker Center on Tuesday, Jan. 31. McConnell discussed his work being turned around at mile and learnings from dealing with some of the most major events in recent history, including the Sept. 11th attacks.

marker 451. Eastbound travel was not affected. Doughty said the department was preparing to hire a contractor to remove the debris on an emergency basis — a process that allows rapid approval of the work. TDOT was working with North Carolina authorities on a detour. Westbound traffic was initially being routed onto Interstates 26 and 81 — a long detour through the Tri-Cities area of Kingsport, Bristol and Johnson City. A massive rock slide on the North Carolina side of the border in October 2009 closed the interstate in both directions for six months, causing economic hardship in the region and affecting visits to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.


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