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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

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Issue 19 I N D E P E N D E N T

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UT welcomes parents for fun weekend Victoria Wright Student Life Editor Knoxville became a playground for students and their parents this past weekend at the 2012 Winter Family Weekend. The three-day event kicked off Friday with a check-in at the Student Services Building. About 600 students participated in 10 events around Knoxville, including a dinner at the Neyland Stadium West Club on Saturday and a Family Weekend Lunch on Sunday. Patrick Ladd, assistant director of Parents Association, said the events gave parents an opportunity to see campus life. “At different times of the year, family weekend gives parents the opportunity to visit campus, visit with their student and kind of get an idea of what types of things are happening on campus,” Ladd said. Ladd also said Family Weekend is nostalgic for former UT students. “A lot of the folks who come back for family weekend are alumni, and they are always happy and surprised to see the places where they used to have class and used to walk around when they were here,” Ladd said. “It’s just a real good opportunity for folks to stay connected with their students and what’s happening on campus.” Provost Susan Martin spoke to students and parents during dinner on Saturday about some new enterprises. “She informed parents about ‘volvision’ and

the ‘quest to be a top 25 institution,’” Emily Parker, director of Parents Association, said. “It kind of gave an update because ultimately the parents the stakeholders,” she said. “They’re helping our students financially and supporting them to be here, so hearing from top-level administrators like the provost and meeting with them at dinner is very helpful for them to find out what’s going on at the university.” Parker said the majority of visitors attended the Vols and Lady Vols basketball games Saturday and Sunday. Parents and students bonded over UT’s victories against Georgia and Auburn. “It really gave parents an opportunity to go to a ball game with their student,” Parker said. “A lot of the students chose to sit with their parents, or their parents asked them to sit with them. Maybe the students didn’t ‘choose,’ but they sat with them.” Latasia Woods, coordinator of Parents Association, said the organization attempts to change the events so the parents don’t come back the next year and do the same thing. “The previous years we’ve had dinner at Calhoun’s (and) lunch at the UC,” Woods said. “We try to do different things and different menus.” Woods said some families have attended every Family Weekend, so it’s important to change the schedule each year to avoid disinterest. The Parents Association is already planning the next Family Weekend for September 2012 and expects about 700 people to attend.

• Photo courtesy of Emily Parker

Clay Talbert, undecided freshman, and parents Ronnie and Terri, enjoy activities in the UC at UT’s Winter Family Weekend on Sunday, Feb. 5.

Exhibit encourages creativity downtime, can find students, faculty and visitors arranging the words to form different phrases. The UT community will Wade Scofield notice that it doesn’t take particular artistic skill to create Staff Writer something worthwhile from the stick poetry. “I love the way it engages students, the interactive aspect During the month of February, UT students will have a of art,” Leigh Schlactus, senior in English literature and unique opportunity to express themselves in a public fashion. The Visual Arts Committee (VAC) is sponsoring its sec- Women’s Coordinating Council chair, said. “I wouldn’t really ond annual poetry stick exhibit in the western second floor of consider myself an artistic person. As opposed to the pictures the University Center. Designed as an interactive exhibit for hanging on the walls, I think it’s a different side to art that the UT community to enjoy, students will find that the Velcro- students don’t think about. It’s more modern, updated if you will. It, for a lot of people, breaks down that barrier of what based words can be arranged you would consider art, in any manner. and that especially for “This event from CPC’s VAC as a student group Visual Art Committee is I think that’s more excitperennially successful,” ing for them reaching Meredith Whitfield, senior in more members of the political science and Cultural student community and Attractions Committee chair, having more of an said. “Last year Central impact on campus.” Programming Council gave it Although an enticing an award, and it’s consistentfeature of releasing the ly one of their highest-expoinner child in us all can sure events, and an excellent be a distraction, it can interactive one to get stuWade Scofield • The Daily Beacon be a casual way to dents in a creative mood for PostSecret, one of VAC’s other Random words come together to form unexpected phras- express inner creativity big events coming up later this es in the Visual Arts Committee’s poetry stick exhibit in with minimal mess. “Some of my friends semester. People tend to use the UC. The exhibit allows students a chance to express and I spent almost an the words in interesting ways. their own ideas and interact in an artistic medium. hour in the UC playing I saw the people promoting the with it,” Samantha blood drive use them to say, ‘Volunteers/we need you/we want blood,’ which was pretty Thiesen, senior in political science, said. “We absolutely bonded over magnet usage. I think it’s fun. It’s a way to clever.” The poetry stick exhibit was set up in the UC on Thursday release creative energy within the craziness of university life.” “The way I see it, the UC is the refrigerator of our univerand will continue until the end of February. During the day, those wandering the halls of the UC, looking for food or sity,” Schlactus said. “Keeping students cool.”

Bill to help computer security The Associated Press WASHINGTON — A developing Senate plan that would bolster the government’s ability to regulate the computer security of companies that run critical industries is drawing strong opposition from businesses that say it goes too far and security experts who believe it should have even more teeth. Legislation set to come out in the next few days is intended to ensure that computer systems running power plants and other essential parts of the country’s infrastructure are protected from hackers, terrorists or other criminals. The Department of Homeland Security, with input from businesses, would select which companies to regulate; the agency would have the power to require better computer security, according to officials who described the bill. They spoke on condition of anonymity because lawmakers have not finalized all the details. Those are the most contentious

parts of legislation designed to boost cybersecurity against the constant attacks that target U.S. government, corporate and personal computer networks and accounts. Authorities are increasingly worried that cybercriminals are trying to take over systems that control the inner workings of water, electrical, nuclear or other power plants. That was the case with the Stuxnet computer worm, which targeted Iran's nuclear program in 2010, infecting laptops at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. As much as 85 percent of America’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by private companies The emerging proposal isn’t sitting well with those who believe it gives Homeland Security too much power and those who think it’s too watered down to achieve real security improvements. One issue under debate is how the bill narrowly limits the industries that would be subject to regulation.

Summaries of the bill refer to companies with systems “whose disruption could result in the interruption of life-sustaining services, catastrophic economic damage or severe degradation of national security capabilities.” Critics suggest that such limits may make it too difficult for the government to regulate those who need it. There are sharp disagreements over whether Homeland Security is the right department to enforce the rules and whether it can handle the new responsibilities. U.S. officials familiar with the debate said the department would move gradually, taking on higher priority industries first. “The debate taking place in Congress is not whether the government should protect the American people from catastrophic harms caused by cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, but which entity can do that most effectively,” said Jacob Olcott, a senior cybersecurity expert at Good Harbor Consulting. See COMPUTERS on Page 3

TN WWII relic goes down, some hope to preserve parts of it The Associated Press OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — K25, the world’s largest building at the time of its construction in World War II, is getting smaller by the day as workers — using an armada of bulldozers, cranes and other tools of demolition — take down the brawny facilities that once processed uranium for atomic bombs and nuclear reactors. Thousands of truckloads of contaminated rubble and debris have been hauled away from the site since demolition of K-25 began in December 2008. Work on the West Wing was completed in early 2010 by Bechtel Jacobs Co., the U.S. Department of Energy’s former cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge. Work on the East Wing is proceeding at an accelerated pace under the direction of URS/CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR), which took over cleanup operations last summer. The pace could pick up even more if DOE reaches a final agreement with historic preservation groups. DOE last week distributed draft copies of a Final Memorandum of Agreement, which outlines the federal agency’s commitment to spend more than $9 million on a series of projects to make up for the loss of historic K-25 — one of the socalled “signature” facilities of the Manhattan Project that produced the first atomic bombs. Under the agreement, DOE would sponsor a K-25 History Center at the site (now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park), including an adjacent facility to house some original equipment that was used to process uranium in a gaseous form and concentrate the fissionable U-235 isotope. DOE would also provide a $500,000 grant to go toward preservation of the much-deteriorated Alexander Inn, originally called the Guest House. The

Guest House served as a home away from home for such luminaries as Robert Oppenheimer, technical director of the wartime Abomb project. DOE also is committed to saving the “footprint” of the original mile-long, U-shaped K-25 facility in order for visitors to appreciate the size and scale of the uranium operation, which was shut down in 1963 after supplying enriched uranium for the nation’s Cold War arsenal of nuclear weapons. David Adler of DOE said the agency and its contractors will try to preserve the concrete pad underneath the four-story K-25 if that proves feasible. There are questions about whether the pad’s surface and surroundings can be sufficiently decontaminated for unrestricted use by the public, he said. The Final MOA was submitted to a number of “consulting parties” for their approval. There is a 15-day comment period to offer suggestions for changes. The key players, in addition to DOE, are the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, the Tennessee Historical Commission and state's historic preservation officer, the city of Oak Ridge, and the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance. Representatives of those groups and other parties interested in preservation and history gathered Nov. 17 in Oak Ridge to talk about a new agreement, and many opinions and priorities were expressed. Gaining approval of the MOA is important for DOE to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act and to proceed with demolition of K-25. Under a previous Memorandum of Agreement, signed in 2005, DOE promised to preserve the North End of K-25 (the bottom of the “U”) as a central part of efforts to show future generations how the wartime atomic bomb activities were conducted. See ATOMIC on Page 3

2 • The Daily Beacon

InSHORT

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon

A member of the East Tennessee Tai Chi Club performs as part of the “Tai Chi Rain” dance at the Chinese New Year Festival in the Alumni Memorial Building on Sunday, Feb. 5.

1812 — Earthquake causes fluvial tsunami in Mississippi On this day in 1812, the most violent of a series of earthquakes near Missouri causes a so-called fluvial tsunami in the Mississippi River, actually making the river run backward for several hours. The series of tremors, which took place between December 1811 and March 1812, were the most powerful in the history of the United States. The unusual seismic activity began at about 2 a.m. on December 16, 1811, when a strong tremor rocked the New Madrid region. The city of New Madrid, located near the Mississippi River in presentday Arkansas, had about 1,000 residents at the time, mostly farmers, hunters and fur trappers. At 7:15 a.m., an even more powerful quake erupted, now estimated to have had a magnitude of 8.6. This tremor literally knocked people off their feet and many people experienced nausea from the extensive rolling of the earth. Given that the area was sparsely populated and there weren’t many multi-story structures, the death toll was relatively low. However, the quake did cause landslides that destroyed several communities, including Little Prairie, Missouri. The earthquake also caused fissures — some as much as several hundred feet long — to open on the earth’s surface. Large trees were snapped in two. Sulfur leaked out from underground pockets and river banks vanished, flooding thousands of acres of forests. On January 23, 1812, an estimated 8.4-magnitude quake struck in nearly the same location, causing disastrous effects. Reportedly, the president's wife, Dolley Madison, was awoken by the tremor in Washington, D.C. Fortunately, the death toll was smaller, as most of the survivors of the first earthquake were now living in tents, in which they could not be crushed.

The strongest of the tremors followed on February 7. This one was estimated at an amazing 8.8-magnitude and was probably one of the strongest quakes in human history. Church bells rang in Boston, thousands of miles away, from the shaking. Brick walls were toppled in Cincinnati. In the Mississippi River, water turned brown and whirlpools developed suddenly from the depressions created in the riverbed. Waterfalls were created in an instant; in one report, 30 boats were helplessly thrown over falls, killing the people on board. Many of the small islands in the middle of the river, often used as bases by river pirates, permanently disappeared. Large lakes, such as Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee and Big Lake at the ArkansasMissouri border, were created by the earthquake as river water poured into new depressions. This series of large earthquakes ended in March, although there were aftershocks for a few more years. In all, it is believed that approximately 1,000 people died because of the earthquakes, though an accurate count is difficult to determine because of a lack of an accurate record of the Native American population in the area at the time. 1971 — Operation Dewey Canyon II ends Operation Dewey Canyon II ends, but U.S. units continue to provide support for South Vietnamese army operations in Laos. Operation Dewey Canyon II began on January 30 as the initial phase of Lam Son 719, the South Vietnamese invasion of Laos that was to commence on February 8. The purpose of the South Vietnamese operation was to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail, advance to Tchepone in Laos, and destroy the North Vietnamese supply dumps in the area. In Dewey Canyon II, the vanguard of the U.S. 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division, an armored cavalry/engineer task force, cleared the road from Vandegrift Combat Base (southwest of Cam Lo in the region south of the DMZ) along highway Route 9 toward Khe Sanh. The area was cleared so that 20,000 South Vietnamese troops could reoccupy 1,000 square miles of territory in northwest South Vietnam and mass at the Laotian border in preparation for the invasion of Laos. In accordance with a U.S. congressional ban, U.S. ground forces were not to enter Laos. Instead, the only direct U.S. support permitted was long-range cross-border artillery fire, fixed-wind air strikes, and 2,600 helicopters to airlift Saigon troops and supplies. 1990 — Soviet Communist Party gives up monopoly on political power The Central Committee of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party agrees to endorse President Mikhail Gorbachev’s recommendation that the party give up its 70-year long monopoly of political power. The Committee’s decision to allow political challenges to the party’s dominance in Russia was yet another signal of the impending collapse of the Soviet system. At the end of three days of extremely stormy meetings dealing with economic and political reforms in the Soviet Union, the Central Committee announced that it was endorsing the idea that the Soviet Communist Party should make “no claim for any particular role to be encoded in the Constitution” that was currently being rewritten. The proposal was but one of many made by President Gorbachev during the meetings. Critics of Gorbachev’s plan charged that dissipating the Communist Party’s power would erode the gains made since the Bolshevik Revolution and would weaken the international stature of the Soviet Union. Supporters, however, carried the day — they noted the impatience of the Soviet people with the slow pace of change and the general pessimism about the crumbling economy under communist rule. As one Communist Party official noted, “Society itself will decide whether it wishes to adopt our politics.” However, he was also quick to add that the move by the Central Committee did not mean that the Communist Party was removing itself from public affairs. Many foreign observers stressed that even in a new pluralistic political system in Russia, the well-established party would have immense advantages over any challengers. The response from the United States was surprise and cautious optimism. One State Department official commented that, “The whole Soviet world is going down the drainpipe with astonishing speed. It's mind-boggling.” Former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger indicated that he was “personally gratified and astonished that anyone would have the chance to say such things in Moscow without being shot.” President George Bush was more circumspect, merely congratulating President Gorbachev for his “restraint and finesse.” Ironically, the fact that the Communist Party was willing to accept political challenges to its authority indicated how desperately it was trying to maintain its weakening power over the country. The measures were little help, however — President Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991 and the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on December 31, 1991. — This Day in History is courtesy of History.com.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

ATOMIC continued from Page 1 However, DOE later backed away from that 2005 commitment, citing the building's structural deterioration. The federal agency said conditions were so unsafe that it made no sense to do anything other than tear it down. The yearslong debate over historic preservation has already impacted the K-25 project, which is reported to be the largest nuclear decommissioning project in history. Because the 2005 MOA is still in effect, DOE has vowed not to take any action to demolish the North Tower until a new agreement is reached.

In a Feb. 1 cover letter to the MOA, DOE's Susan Cange — the acting federal cleanup chief in Oak Ridge — said DOE is allowing its contractor to begin the procurement process for a subcontract to remove the North Tower’s asbestos-laden siding. That action is necessary because of the long lead time necessary for such a procurement, she said, but no physical work will take place until the MOA is signed. In the same letter, Cange praised all those who passionately participated in the long process and said the results will “commemorate one of the great chapters of American history, which took place at the K-25 complex during and after the Second World War.”

The Daily Beacon • 3

NEWS

COMPUTERS continued from Page 1 Under the legislation, Homeland Security would not regulate industries that are under the authority of an agency, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with jurisdiction already over cyber issues. “Where the market has worked, and systems are appropriately secure, we don’t interfere,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman, IConn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “But where the market has failed, and critical systems are insecure, the government has a responsibility to step in.” The bill, written largely by the Senate

Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Senate homeland panel, is also notable for what it does not include: a provision that would give the president authority to shut down Internet traffic to compromised Web sites during a national emergency. This “kill switch” idea was discussed in early drafts, but drew outrage from corporate leaders, privacy advocates and Internet purists who believe cyberspace should remain an untouched digital universe. While the Senate is pulling together one major piece of cybersecurity legislation, the House has several bills that deal with various aspects of the issue. A bill from a House Homeland Security subcommittee doesn’t go as far as the Senate's in setting the government’s role. Still, it would require DHS to develop

cybersecurity standards and work with industry to meet them. “We know voluntary guidelines simply have not worked,” said Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I. “For the industries upon which we most rely, government has a role to work with the private sector on setting security guidelines and ensuring they are followed.” Stewart Baker, a former assistant secretary at Homeland Security, said the government must get involved to force companies to take cybersecurity more seriously. Concerns about federal involvement, he said, belie the fact that computer breaches over the past several years make it clear that hackers and other governments, such as China and Russia, are already inside many industry networks.

Michigan Super Bowl ad criticized as ‘insensitive’ The Associated Press LANSING, Mich. — The portrayal of a young Asian woman speaking broken English in a Super Bowl ad being run by U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra against Michigan incumbent Debbie Stabenow is bringing charges of racial insensitivity. GOP consultant Nick De Leeuw flat-out scolded the Holland, Mich. Republican for the ad. “Stabenow has got to go. But shame on Pete Hoekstra for that appalling new advertisement,” De Leeuw wrote on his Facebook page Sunday morning. “Racism and xenophobia aren’t any way to get things done.” A media consultant who has advised Democrats also thought it could prove problematic. “Some Asian-Americans may be offended by the stereotype that is portrayed in the spot,” said Robert Kolt, who teaches advertising part-time at Michigan State University and had previewed a number of Sunday’s Super Bowl ads. “Pete seems like a nice guy in the ad, but I think he is wasting a lot of money now. It’s just not Super Bowl-worthy. It’s not cute, it’s not funny and it’s not memorable.” Hoekstra campaign spokesman Paul Ciaramitaro said the ad is meant to be satirical. Hoekstra’s Facebook page, which by early evening was getting a barrage of criticism on the ad, snapped back that those “trying to make this an issue of race demonstrates their total ignorance of job creation policies.” On YouTube, the ratings buttons on the ad were disabled after it aired. “Democrats talk about race when they can’t defend their records,” Ciaramitaro said. “The U.S. economy is losing jobs to China because of Stabenow’s reckless spending policies. China is reaping the rewards.” The 30-second ad was filmed in California and

never mentions China directly. It opens with the sound of a gong and shows a young Asian woman riding a bike on a narrow path lined by rice paddies. Stopping her bike, the woman smiles into the camera and says, “Thank you, Michigan Senator George Richardson • The Daily Beacon Debbie Spenditnow. Debbie spends so much Brittny Detienne, sophomore in environmental science, walks past a puddle reflecting the tower of Ayres Hall American money. You bor- in the distance after storms on Wednesday, Jan. 25. row more and more from us. Your economy get very weak. Ours get very good. We take your jobs. Thank you, Debbie Spenditnow.” The scene then shifts to Hoekstra telling viewers near a cozy fire, “I think this race is between Debbie Spenditnow and Pete Spenditnot.” The Hoekstra campaign set up a website, www.DebbieSpendItNow.c om, that features the ad and includes Chinese writing, paper lanterns, parade dragons and Stabenow’s face on a Chinese fan. It accuses the Democratic senator of “pouring American dollars into the Chinese economy.” Democrats were quick to challenge the premise of the ad, referring to Hoekstra's 18 years in the U.S. House and the fact that he joined a Washington-based law and lobbying firm last year. “Hoekstra’s ad is nothing more than a hypocritical attempt at a Hollywood-style makeover because the fact is, Pete spends a lot,” Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said. “Hoekstra voted for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout and voted for trillions more in deficit spending before quitting Congress to get rich at a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm. Hoekstra is using the big game to play games with Michigan voters.” Hoekstra GOP Senate rival Gary Glenn of Midland struck a similar theme. “Saving America from the Washington, D.C., politicians who gave us this crippling debt and deficit crisis, Republican and Democrat alike, means Hoekstra and Stabenow should both get benched,” Glenn said in a release.

4 • The Daily Beacon

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

OPINIONS

Tops

Rocky

&Bottoms

Rising — UT’s trinket budget Last week UT’s new branding campaign, “Big Orange, Big Ideas” sparked a flurry of excitement, coupled with unique giveaways. Students and faculty received free orange T-shirts, buttons, lapel pins and pamphlets. There were even orange and white M&M’s. Members of the UT community enjoyed these fun and functional handouts, made possible by increases in tuition and fees put to excellent use. The festivities were enjoyed by one and all. In other news, Andy Holt rolled over in his grave. Falling — Student trust in the administration With the over-commercialization of UT’s education system, many students are left wondering not only what the value of their education will become, but also whether or not the administration running this university has a solid (and conceivable) plan of action to reach the Xanadu-esque idea of becoming a top-25 university. While T-shirts and M&M’s will certainly help feed and clothe the hungry and shirtless masses of UTK students, doubts still persist about how these sugary snacks and cotton undershirts will increase teacher salaries and graduation rates. Rising — Pressures for summer plans With the arrival of Spring Semester comes the need for summer plans. It seems like everyone is talking about what internship, job or study abroad program they will be shipping off for. While the pressure to impress with the time spent over summer is certainly high, it’s just as important to actually enjoy how you spend your time. It’s definitely not a good idea to burn out next school year because you spent your entire summer in a dark room reading and typing. Wherever your travels take you, be sure to build in some relaxation time. After all, how many commitment-free summers do we have left? Falling — Student support of marketing Sentiments on campus surrounding the new website and advertising campaign are mixed. No

matter how catchy the slogan, many faculty and students are concerned about the substance behind its claims. Instead of wasting time fueling a “brand,” many university students would like to see a campaign that actually improves their educational experience. Rather than putting a new spin on an old system, everyone would like to see some real improvements to UT’s processes and policies. How’s that for a big idea? Falling — Student stamina Every student comes into class at the beginning of a new semester enthusiastic about the prospects of a fresh start. After the first month, most of that enthusiasm has been slowly choked off. Late nights, early mornings and too much assigned reading make it difficult to keep morale high. For some reason, a professor’s voice is much more lulling in February. Dreary weather doesn’t help. It’s getting harder not to think about Spring Break. Falling — Faith in Punxsutawney Phil’s forecast abilities On Feb. 2, 2012, the infamous groundhog “saw” his shadow, thus ushering in predictions of six more weeks of winter. While Phil’s abilities have usually been accurate, Knoxville’s current run of 60-degree weather has left many wondering whether or not it would be advisable to go to a non-rodent source for their meteorological needs. Rising — McBee’s mustache mania Following the recent on-the-court success of the UT men’s basketball team — which has won two out of its past three SEC games — the facial fuzz craze has gone into full effect for the Big Orange faithful. The trend, led by Skylar McBee, the lanky 6-foot-2 mustachioed shooting guard who has been averaging 8.3 points per game in the recent run, is starting to live up to the local hype that surrounded his arrival on campus three seasons ago. With the continued success of McBee’s upperlip hair and deadly 3-point shooting, coupled with a resurgent effort from the entire bench, the Vols’ post-season chances look brighter with each passing day.

SCRAMBLED EGGS • Alex Cline

THE GREA T MASH-UP • Liz Newnam

Columns of The Daily Beacon are reflections of the individual columnist, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or its editorial staff.

Endorsements should be evaluated C ambel l’s Co r n e r by

Seth Campbell When it comes to the world of politics, I can usually withstand most all of the pomp and circumstance that goes hand-in-hand with the political world. I find the State of the Union interesting, though the constant applause does grow tiring. I even find the White House press briefings somewhat interesting, as much of a bore as they can be. In all of politics, the campaign season does provide some of the most interesting and entertaining news. The one facet of the campaign season that I cannot understand is the element of endorsements. Just a few days ago, I reluctantly sat through an over-thetop press conference where Donald Trump endorsed Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Throughout the entire press ordeal, which was inflated with entirely too much ego, I kept thinking of who would care about Donald Trump’s endorsement. Of course Romney wanted the notch and airtime and I am sure that Trump highly valued his own endorsement. With the exception of these two individuals, I just can’t envision any American who truly cares about Trump’s opinion. There are plenty of people out there who choose to endorse a certain candidate. Every election season we see a myriad of celebrities get behind a chosen candidate, sometimes placing their own popularity in peril. Aside from the money they may provide their candidate’s campaign, the notion that these celebrity endorsements make a difference is ridiculous. Does anyone admire a celebrity personality to the extent where they listen to his electoral advice? Just because I watch “Walker, Texas Ranger” doesn’t necessarily mean I align myself with Chuck Norris and his ideology. In fact, studies largely show that the vast majority of celebrity endorsements result in little-to-no change in a candidate’s trajectory. We can safely say that Chuck Norris’ endorsement of

Fox News personality Mike Huckabee could not save his failed 2008 presidential campaign. Truthfully, only a handful of people can lend a meaningful endorsement. Of these people, none are more influential than Oprah Winfrey. The benefits of her choice to endorse President Obama may never fully be known, but Oprah’s following is unlike any other demographic. It can safely be assumed that her enthusiastic support of Obama helped him secure the nomination and surely it didn’t hurt his numbers for the general election. During this election cycle, no one seems more eager to participate in the art of endorsing than former Republican candidate Herman Cain. While initially declaring he is endorsing the American people, Cain pivoted a few days later and endorsed Newt Gingrich. When questioned about his endorsement of Gingrich, Cain seemed rather unsure and proclaimed his admiration for Gov. Romney and his campaign. If nothing else, Cain’s delusional endorsements are perfect examples of this outdated practice. Endorsements were far more meaningful prior to the 24-hour media networks, and they meant much more during a time when celebrities were larger than life. Simply put, when Frank Sinatra spoke, people listened. Nowadays, the term “celebrity” is thrown around and through social networking they all have a constant forum to share their opinions. And while Kanye West has plenty of thoughts and beliefs, they just don’t have the same weight as Sinatra’s. This all may seem trivial, but clearly some people, odd as it may be, value these endorsements. Gov. Romney was excited to the extent that he organized a press conference with all major media outlets in order for America to see that Donald Trump has chosen him. If we are leaning on celebrities for our political knowledge, America is in much deeper trouble than anyone realizes. The tradition of endorsing a candidate is nothing but outdated. I don’t care and most of America chooses not to care. Whether it is a jaded business mogul or a rapidly-aging action star, they can keep their endorsements and save us all some valuable time. — Seth Campbell is a senior in history. He can be reached at scampb42@utk.edu.

Poverty issue merits world attention Bus y N ot h i n gs by

Samantha Trueheart

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The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Tuesday and Friday during the summer semester.The offices are located at 1340 Circle Park Drive,11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year, $100/semester or $70/summer only. It is also available online at: www.utdailybeacon.com. LETTERS POLICY: The Daily Beacon welcomes all letters to the editor and guest columns from students, faculty and staff. Each submission is considered for publication by the editor on the basis of space, timeliness and clarity. Contributions must include the author’s name and phone number for verification. Students must include their year in school and major. Letters to the editor and guest columns may be e-mailed to letters@utdailybeacon.com or sent to Blair Kuykendall, 1340 Circle Park Dr., 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314. The Beacon reserves the right to reject any submissions or edit all copy in compliance with available space, editorial policy and style. Any and all submissions to the above recipients are subject to publication.

According to the United Nations, “Almost half the world, over 3 billion people, live on less than $2.50 a day.” Poverty is an important issue that affects the lives of countless people. If a person lives below the poverty line in his country, he faces greater difficulty in maintaining a proper diet, staying healthy and obtaining an education. Poverty takes away the basic liberties that each person has access to. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that “22,000 children die each day due to poverty.” The people who encounter poverty normally do not have the power to make their voices heard to others. Often, the world does not notice the impact poverty makes on their lives. By raising our own voices against growing poverty around the world, we are helping those who cannot fight. The United Nations defines poverty as “the total absence of opportunities, accompanied by high levels of undernourishment, hunger, illiteracy, lack of education, physical and mental ailments, emotional and social instability, unhappiness, sorrow and hopelessness for the future. Poverty is also characterized by a chronic shortage of economic, social and political participation, relegating individuals to exclusion as social beings, preventing access to the benefits of economic and social development and thereby limiting their cultural development.” Often, people overlook the poverty we have in America. Yet, many suffer from the effects that come with being below the poverty line. The organization Feeding America reports that “In 2010, 48.8 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 32.6 million adults and 16.2 million children.” Even though the United States is considered a privileged country, countless people suffer from food shortages and starvation.

When a person does not have the proper nutrients he needs, he will be prone to more illness and disease. In areas where poverty is more prevalent, sickness and health issues often become a major problem. The UN reports, “An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 millions deaths in 2004. Every year there are 350-500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide.” Literacy is another problem associated with poverty. Knowledge is power and the key to escape from the cage of poverty. If a child does not have the correct resources to better his or her education, he will continue the cycle of poverty when he is an adult and pass it on to his children. The UN states, “Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.” Actress Jennifer Garner is partnered with an organization, Save the Children, that focuses on fighting poverty in the United States. Garner, in a recent article to spread awareness of the cause, wrote, “Kids growing up in poverty have heard, by the time they turn four, 30 million fewer words than my kids.” The callousness in our society allows apathy to rule our behavior. By ignoring the poverty that is currently going on in America and the world today, one is allowing this cycle to continue on to other generations. By getting involved in organizations that do work abroad, or by volunteering at a local homeless shelter, you are making a difference in someone’s life. The smallest effort could make the biggest impact. As members of the human race, our survival depends on our ability to care for the weakest in society. We must work to empower those who are suffering from poverty to help them become a meaningful part of civilization. When we help others, we are also helping ourselves in learning how to become fully compassionate human beings. — Samantha Trueheart is a sophomore in communications. She can be reached at struehea@utk.edu.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Daily Beacon • 5

ARTS&CULTURE

‘Soulcalibur V’ disappoints Wiley Robinson Staff Writer It’s been a few years since “Soulcalibur IV,” the fourth installation of the 3D, weapon-based fighting game that’s a common site both in arcades and living rooms — let’s see if “V” does anything resembling finding that elusive happyplace between keeping its fans happy while staying fresh and competitive. Fighting games seem to evolve at a snail’s pace, even when compared to the rest of a creatively stagnant industry, but they have the excuse of having been in on the resilient human competition slice of the market which is most directly benefiting from the shift to online play. All that’s ever been needed is a solid core fighting mechanic that’s just varied, balanced and accessible enough to keep people both itching to compete and willing to learn how to do it. Attempting to keep things interesting for the console crowd, “IV” gave us a single player story-mode (for some reason, “Soulcalibur” fancies itself as a story-driven fighter) that at least paid some individual attention to each fighter’s story arch, even if the one-size-fits-all string of encounters was universally underwhelming. What “V” gives us will make you yearn for a direction even as hesitant and watered-down as that. “V” chooses a terrible hybrid of the cutscene driven path (which quickly degrades into mind-numbing story boards) that the most recent “Mortal Kombat” installment successfully took with its campaign while including about five percent of the characters in the narrative, most of whom are uninteresting reboots of sadly-retired characters. Instead of being able to play through a large set piece that takes care of (re)introducing you to every character’s style in the ever-appealing context of a good (or just comprehensible) story where they all loosely interact with each other, we get a story that revolves around this one tool (a reboot of Cassandra and Sophitia) named Patroklos. Nothing could be more wrong about this. Brazen and one-dimensional, this guy is trying to find his estranged sister and somehow gets caught up in the classic conflict between the legendary swords Soulcalibur and Soul Edge. The pacing is simply awful. You play a few “episodes” of one or more strung-together battles with Patroklos only to bounce around to a grand total of five characters, including — inexplicably — a move-set change in the middle of the game (right when we might be getting familiar with Pat’s relatively uninspiring move-set) that is a straight rip — animation for animation — of the umbrella blade wielding geisha Setsuka from “IV” (who thankfully happens to be the most awkward, dully technical character ever). The mode, rather pretentiously, doesn’t even try to function as a tutorial for a game that is undoubtedly going to be picked up by new players in a huge console market looking for something new. Getting mercilessly punished for not being a Setsuka master two hours into what would otherwise be a two and a half hour campaign is a small price to pay for maintaining the artistic immersion of a game where the big laughs from the opacity of the language barrier are the only thing softening the sheer failure to entertain the most willing of a willing audience. Suffice it to say that abandoning the automatic appeal of “Soulcalibur’s” wide character recognition established for over a decade (a la “Halo: Reach”) is really stupid; but the raw pretension of getting us to care about some new thing written by some outsourced studio on a

shoe-string budget instead is a new low even for aloof Japanese fighting games. Like, attaching yourself to a ball-and-chain and jumping into a particularly nasty portion of the Hudson low. At least, in some sad awareness of their over-dramatic, terrible game mode, they made every unlockable attainable on the first play-through. The character creation mode is back, for better or worse, with a lot more clothing, equipment and body-specific customization options unlocked over the course of playing the game in any mode. Manipulating the height of characters as well as the thickness of limbs, muscle definition and the like is pretty fun, especially in an environment where the main characters are all but completely ignored if not replaced outright with younger versions for entirely unexplored reasons — you’re already playing this game, why not just make up your own crap? There are also patterns and textures you can apply to clothing and equipment and doodads you can custom-fit anywhere on your character to create a myriad of effects, like attaching a bow and arrow, bunny ears and nondescript shapes, all of which you can adjust the length, width and color of. Of course, the depth of the creator is spited by the simple dearth of game modes in “Soulcalibur V,” which has scrapped the fun how-far-can-you-get dungeon-crawly Tower of Lost Souls in IV designed to put custom characters through their paces predictably in favor of disappointment. Besides an arcade mode reduced to six stages, the Quick Battle mode has you fight custom-made characters of varying difficulty for arbitrary titles (again, hilariously affected by the language barrier) a la “Modern Warfare 2 and 3” that sort of introduce you when you play online. What we do get for a survival-mode is a stupidly inaccessible clusterfudge that exclusively pits you against the toughest CPU instead of the obvious superiority of a gracefully increasing difficulty curve, a mode that only a few variations of could have breathed a limitless amount of replay value into this game. None of the modes ever attempt to organically teach you even the basics of fighting, necessitating a few trips to the Training room made even more unpleasant than usual in that you can’t unlock any creation goodies for participating in perhaps the purest form of dedication to this silly game. What we do get is a simple, easy-to-use, competitive, online multiplayer mode, which is more than fun enough to validate the character creation. It sports a ranking system that’s actually quite good at pitting you against people who you’ll have fun playing against, all the while rewarding success and penalizing failure with the gain and loss of points in a pool that deterMatthew DeMaria • The Daily Beacon mines how fast you can rank up to the next skill class. Glory Johnson runs out of the tunnel during pregame introductions before tip-off For all intents and purposes, “Soulcalibur V” against UTC on Tuesday, Jan. 3. would be a clear downgrade from “IV” if it weren’t for the simple fact that core fighting mechanic has been tightened and refined very adequately. Slow guys like Nightmare and Siegfried get their long overdue beef-up in range and damage over speedy ones (some of whom get some small nerfs), and the three-round battles (up from a default of two in IV) compliment the safe addition of a power bar needed to pull off flashier combos and well-timed cinematic super attacks similar to those in “Street Fight IV,” welcome balances and additions all. That alone means there’s never been a better time to relearn your favorite characters, assert your will upon friends and strangers, and look good doing it. But again, these critical improvements will only accentuate the lack of time and effort spent making “Soulcalibur V” anything more than as a

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD • Will Shortz TUTORING TESTPREP EXPERTS GRE/ GMAT/ LSAT For over 30 years, Michael K. Smith, Ph.D., and his teachers have helped UT students prepare for the GRE/ GMAT/ LSAT. Our programs offer individual tutoring, practice tests, and computer- adaptive strategies at a reasonable price. Programs can be designed around your schedule, weekdays, weeknights, or weekends. Conveniently located at 308 South Peters Rd. Call (865)694-4108 for more information.

EMPLOYMENT First Baptist Concord After School Care is looking for childcare workers, must be at least 18 years of age to work in a Christian childcare environment. 15-20 hours per week during school years. Possible 40 hours per week during summer. Apply online at fbconcord.org or call (865)671-5559. Jimmy John’s now hiring in-store help for all shifts. Call (865)637-1414. Savvi Formalwear Now ing PT sales associates. ary plus commission. work environment. (865)898-4742.

HirSalFun Call

University Swim Club now accepting applications for assistant coaches for summer season. Contact Wendy at uswimclub@yahoo.com

EMPLOYMENT

FOR RENT

Seeking temporary afterschool babysitter for toddler, 3-5:30. 2 weeks in February, 2 weeks in March. Possibility for longer-term work if desired. Please call 456-0851.

THE TOMATO HEAD MARYVILLE Hiring all positions Full and part-time. No experience necessary. Apply in person. 211 W. Broadway, Maryville, TN (865)981-1080 or online www.thetomatohead.com.

HUNTINGTON PLACE UT students! Only 3 miles west of campus. Eff. to 3BR. Hardwood floors. Central H/A. Pets allowed. (865)588-1087.

Staying in Knoxville This Summer? Need a Fun Summer Job? Camp Webb day camp, in West Knoxville, is now accepting applications for full-time summer camp counselor jobs! Positions: general camp counselors, lifeguards, and instructors for Archery, Arts & Crafts, Drama, Swimming, Ropes Course, Nature, Sports, & some leadership positions. Part-time available. www.campwebb.comto apply.

Technical Degree Sponsorship Program Air Force seeks sophomores/juniors for full time positions as computer or electrical engineers post graduation. Earn up to $3100 per month plus full medical benefits while in school. Limited slots!! For more Info, please contact Alex Sellner (423) 943-5051 alexander.sellner@us.af.mil

This space could be yours. Call 974-4931

UNFURN APTS 1 and 2BR Apts. UT area and West Knox area. Call for appointment (865)522-5815. South Knoxville/ UT downtown area 2BR apts. $475. Call about our special (865)573-1000.

FOR RENT 1 BR CONDOS Security/Elevator/Pool/Pkg 3 min. walk to Law School. $520R, $300SD, No app. fee. 865 (4408-0006 , 250-8136). Campus Condos Available in August 2BR, 2BA and 3BR 3BA units available. W/D in unit. Reserved off street parking. 3 minute walk to Law School and stadium. $475/mo. (770)744-4238. Condo for rent 3BR 2BA near campus. W/D included. $375/mo each. Available for fall. (865)310-6977. Country setting. 10 min to campus. 2BR, large kitchen, garden space. Very quiet. $550, no pets. 579-6346. Free February rent! Fully furnished, $349 for 1 BR in 4BR/2BA apartment. Near campus and downtown. Call Monica 614-354-1306.

UT area. Studio apt. 1700 Clinch Ave. 2 blocks from campus. Water and internet included. First month power free. Lease and damage deposit. Pool and laundry room. $500. Avail. now. www.absolutecom.com/517. 423-956-5551. WALK TO CAMPUS Great Specials! 1,2,&3BR Apartments. Available. No security deposits. Prime Campus Housing (865)637-3444. primecampushousingtn.com.

ACROSS 1 5 9 14 15 16 17

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Walk to class! 1-7BR units available. Call for more information (865)388-6144.

HOUSE FOR RENT Close to UT. 5BR, 3BA, 3500 sq. ft. 2 bonus rooms. $1495/mo. Great West Knox. 3BR, with bonus, 2.5BA $1200/mo. Both have all appliance including W/D. 865-363-9190. Lovely one person cottage. Carport. Many ammenties. 5 min drive to UT. No pets. $485/mo. (865)850-0983.

ROOMMATES Looking for roommates 11th Place Condos. Call (865)599-3239 or 599-3284.

Read the Beacon Classifieds!

Among the 1%, so to speak Classic Pontiacs Playful little one Grant and Carter “Dies ___” Often-consulted church figure It goes in the ground at a campground Muhammad Ali’s boxing daughter Pal, in Paris Coal diggers’ org. “… And God Created Woman” actress Idiosyncrasy Four-wheeled wear Liqueur flavoring They’re dug out of the ground Part of P.S.T.: Abbr. Former “Entertainment Tonight” co-host ___ artery

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Tenderized cut of beef Dress shop section Catch some waves? Online exchanges, briefly Expensive coat? ___ Chaiken, co-creator/writer of “The L Word” “Huh … what?” reactions Beaut Baseball brothers Joe and Frank ___ pro nobis Non-revenuegenerating ad, for short Like Robin Williams, typically “Ode on a Grecian Urn” poet 12-Down, for one Big-eyed birds Many a wearer of plaid š and ş

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Machine gun sound George Harrison’s autobiography Pessimistic disposition Fair Deal pres. U.S. base in Cuba, informally Large fishing net State tree of Illinois, Iowa and Maryland Witness Ethiopia’s Haile ___ Fictional reporter Kent

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New Balance competitor Hitter of 511 career home runs Rambled on and on “Positively!” Baseball brothers George and Ken “Get back, ___ … Go home” (Beatles lyric) Not even, as a leaf’s edge Tanker or cutter Adorable ones Leaning Author Roald Doesn’t do Not fall behind Jennifer of “Friends”

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Meals Luggage attachments Unification Church member Added assessment Writer Dinesen Pickling need Macy’s competitor ___ & Young, big name in accounting Offering on Monster.com Be in debt to “I know what you’re thinking” skill

6 • The Daily Beacon

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

THESPORTSPAGE

Men’s tennis trampled by Illinois, 4-1 Winterbotham: ‘We’ve got to learn from this match, look forward’ Marissa Steinberg Staff Writer The Tennessee men’s tennis team lost 4-1 Sunday afternoon to Illinois at the Goodfriend Tennis Center. After displaying a high-energy comeback on all courts to win the double’s point, the Vols were unable to carry the lead in singles play. The Vols lost the first set on all six courts and were unable to keep their composure to overcome the deficits. “It’s a tough loss; every loss is a tough loss,” UT freshman Mikelis Libietis said. “Every day you need to just go and play the best that you can.” Sophomore Taylor Patrick lost to Illinois’ Tim Kopinski on court five, 1-6, 2-6, which gave the Illini their first point of the match. Patrick was playing up a court for the injured Edward Jones. On court four, sophomore Jarryd Chaplin fell to Bruno Abdelnour, 2-6, 4-6. Freshman Brandon Fickey’s match against No. 24 Roy Kalmanovich resulted in not only a loss, but a point penalty and a game penalty when Fickey threw his racket and walked off the court when his match ended. “He (Fickey) handled things the exact opposite of how you should handle things,” UT coach Sam Winterbotham said. “He threw a fit on the court today when things didn’t go his way. Look, that isn’t what lost us the match. It’s Brandon’s behavior throughout our team today, the attitude.” Libietis, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week last week, played Dennis Nevolo who is currently ranked No. 2

in the nation. Losing the first set 4-6, Libietis was serving up a break in the second set when he took the game penalty that was received from Fickey on court two. Instead of serving for a 5-3 lead in the second set, the game penalty made the score 4-4. Senior Bryan Swartz lost his match on court six to Farris Gosea 6-7, 4-6. Gosea’s win for the Illini gave Illinois the final point to win the match 4-1. Hunter Reese lost 2-6 in the first set at court three, but was in a second set tie breaker at 6-6 against Stephen Hoh when the match was called. “There wasn’t the humbleness, the competitiveness, the willingness to fight and to establish your game — you have to establish your game,” Winterbotham said. “They need to compete and stay within that plan throughout the match and have the toughness and the discipline to do that. We didn’t have that today.” Libietis/Reese won 8-6 on court one, and then a victory on court three from Nagovnak/Chaplin gave the Vols the doubles point. Court three was unfinished. Tennessee has won the doubles point in all six matches this season. “We’ve got to learn from this match, and we’ll look at the video,” Winterbotham said. “We will set up a plan for next week. We have to prepare for a really good Duke team who just beat this Illinois team 7-0. We can’t look back, we have to look forward.” Prior to this match, UT won a 4-3 match against No. 21 Ole Miss which earned them a bid into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Vols are now 4-2 and are preparing to host No. 10 Duke on Saturday. Tennessee will then travel to Charlottesville next week where they will play in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

Whitney Carter • The Daily Beacon

Peter Nagovnak rips a shot back during a match against Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 5. The Vols were dealt their first loss in five matches against the Fighting Illini, 4-1.

Indianapolis belongs to Mannings The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Tom Brady let his final pass fly toward the scrum of players in the end zone, hoping for an incredible finish. Uh-uh, Tom. Not in this city, and not in this game. Indianapolis is a Manning town, whether it’s Peyton or Eli pulling out the wins. And the Super Bowl is suddenly the province of the New York Giants, who have figured out how to topple Brady and the New England Patriots in the biggest moments. Eli Manning led another fourth-quarter touchdown drive and won his second Super Bowl MVP on Sunday night, leading the Giants to a 21-17 victory that provided a pulsating finish to an NFL season that started with turmoil and a lockout. “It’s been a wild game,” said Manning, who now has one more Super Bowl title than his older brother. “It’s been a wild season.” A wild finish was certainly fitting. The Giants (13-7) almost didn’t make the playoffs, needing a lot of help at 7-7 with two games left. Their defense finally came together, and Manning gave them a chance in every game with his penchant for comebacks — a league-record 15 touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Of course, his greatest career comeback was in that Super Bowl four years ago, when the Patriots were undefeated and Manning led a late scoring drive that included an enduring Super Bowl moment — the incredible catch

Anna Forrester • The Daily Beacon

Trae Golden goes hard in the paint during a game against Georgia on Saturday, Feb. 4. The Vols look to take momentum from that game and continue SEC success this Wednesday at 8 p.m. against South Carolina.

David Tyree made by trapping the ball against his helmet. The Patriots (15-4) had a chance to avoid more such history on Sunday. Brady, trying to match boyhood hero Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw with four Super Bowl titles, had New England in range to put it away late in the fourth quarter. Wes Welker dropped a pass at the 20-yard line with four minutes left, forcing a punt that gave the Giants another chance trailing 17-15. “It comes to the biggest moment of my life, and (I) don’t come up with it,” said a red-eyed Welker. “It’s one of those plays I’ve made a thousand times.” Manning’s turn for more Super Bowl magic. He threw a spot-on 38-yard pass down the sideline to Mario Manningham, fitting the ball perfectly between two defensive backs barreling down on the receiver. Manningham got both feet down before getting smacked out of bounds in front of the Patriots’ bench, a catch that was upheld on replay and reminded the 68,658 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium — one in particular — about that other catch four years earlier. “In those situations, you are always looking to see who is going to be the guy,” Tyree said, in the Giants locker room. Once Manningham came down with it, the Giants sensed things had turned their way, just like four years earlier. “I think they are both spectacular catches,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “I think with Mario’s earlier tonight, the way he kept his feet inbounds and held onto the ball (while) going out of bounds was a remarkable thing.”