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Chck out Identical: Part 3
UT softball upsets no. 1 Arizona State
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Monday, February 13, 2012 Issue 23
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SGA campaigns meet to learn election rules ‘Fuel,’ ‘Revolt’ emerge; others to run independently Victoria Wright Student Life Editor The UT Elections Commission held a mandatory election interest meeting Thursday evening in the UC Shiloh Room for all prospective candidates for the March elections. About 75 students attended. Commission members distributed three sheets of notebook paper around the room for students to write their contact information and the position they were running for. Dressed in a black suit, Jovica Djurdevic, SGA election commissioner, began the meeting by explaining some objectives of running for SGA using a PowerPoint presentation. Other commission members sat idly up front in business causal attire. “Students form political parties — they do whatever they have to,” Djurdevic, senior in economics, said during the presentation. “They work together in political parties to achieve a common goal which is to better the overall student life on campus.” The presentation also included key campaign dates. Candidates can launch websites on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m., but the official campaign Shelia Hannus • The Daily Beacon week begins Sunday, March 25. Candidates were advised that distributing party paraphernalia and any other form of campaigning is Avery Howard, senior in agriculture and natural resources, laughs with Vice Chancellor for Student Life Tim forbidden before campaign week; however, executive candidates can Rogers during an SGA luncheon on Nov. 18, 2011. The UT Elections Commission hosted SGA candidates for an wear campaign paraphernalia such as T-shirts if they choose. Voting information session about the upcoming SGA elections. ends on Wednesday, March 28, at 5 p.m. The commission opened the floor for questions after the presening around after campaigns and seeing that a lot of (campaign mate- T-shirts, food, where as if you’re an independent you don’t have to tation. Many questions were posed concerning campaign regulations rial) wasn’t cleaned up,” Maria Dill, election commission member worry about your list of senators,” Dill said. “You’re kind of just on and social media, and some students seemed unsatisfied with the and senior in political science, said. your own.” answers. Dill also said the change came from conflicts between candidates SGA president Ross Rowland said funds for campaigning can “Facebook — we don’t control Facebook,” Djurdevic said. “You for areas of the Strip to campaign. come from party dues and fundraising, and from family. can put whatever you want, but you can’t make an event prior to cam“We just want to make sure people aren’t fighting over McDonald’s “A lot of times, students will call friends, parents and grandparpaign week on Facebook. Anything on campus — anything physical or the really popular places,” Dill said. ents — people like that,” Rowland, senior in public administration, — you can’t do it.” Students can run independently or with a party. The commission said. The commission also advised students that Facebook profiles can- said during the meeting that voting is individualized and parties canRowland said that the budget for candidates has decreased. not be created prior to the official website launch date on Feb. 19. not win as a whole. The two campaigns of note at this point have identified themselves According to the commission, candidates are no longer able to Running for SGA comes with a hefty price. The total budget for on Facebook as Fuel and Revolt. campaign on the Strip. parties is $7,000, and independent candidates have a $2,000 cap. Djurdevic said during the presentation that candidates should read “We decided to go ahead and change that because we were look“You have to think of all the expenses of your party, such as tents, their election packet to be sure they have all relevant information.
UT sends students to Beijing Claire Dodson Staff Writer
Whitney Carter • The Daily Beacon
Ethan Shamblin, undecided freshman, and Jay Knight, sophomore in civil engineering, participate in the Poetry Stick exhibit in the UC on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
This summer, UT is sending a team of undergraduates, graduate students and faculty to Beijing to lead an English summer camp for Chinese college students. The camp, held for incoming Tsinghua University freshmen, is aimed at providing an immersion experience in Western culture and language. “The camp is set up to be fun for the students, to give them a different teaching style than the ones they are used to,” program coordinator Betty Tipton said. “It’s a more interactive learning experience.” Leading the three-week-long camp are faculty and students from colleges in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Because of UT’s good relationship as an exchange partner with Tsinghua , UT has been asked to send a contingent of students almost every year since the program’s inception. “Our students and faculty always do a great job of representing the university,” Tipton said. The program’s UT coordinators will choose five teachers and 10 student volunteers to work at the camp on behalf of UT. While the program helps Chinese students gain experience in English, it also gives many faculty and staff a chance to go abroad that they would not have had otherwise due to time or job constraints. “It’s hard for non-teaching staff at UT to find the time and money to go abroad,” Tipton, com-
pany manager at the Clarence Brown Theatre, said. “This program allows administrative and other faculty positions to get a great abroad experience and share their passions with a different culture of college students.” According to Alisa Meador, administrative coordinator for the Tsinghua program, the camp also provides students a non-traditional abroad experience. “Any major can go, and it’s not for any academic credit,” Meador said. “It takes the pressure off going abroad. Also, not many students get to experience Chinese culture firsthand.” During the months beforehand and at the actual camp, the students and teachers chosen from UT have the chance to bond and form mentoring relationships. “They really form a tight cohort and become a cohesive group,” Meador said. “We encourage students to have mentors and strengthen their support network while at UT. The program helps foster this kind of support.” Perhaps the most interesting part of the program is the way the Chinese students get to be immersed in Western culture. Some of the topics that were taught in the past few years include Internet dating, tailgating and American theater. “It’s just a completely different atmosphere over there,” Tipton said. “The students want to soak up everything we tell them about how we live. They love our movies, music and culture.” The applications can be found on UT’s study abroad website. Teacher applications are due Feb. 15 and student applications are due March 7.
Proposal hopes to discourage underage tattoos The Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The sponsor of legislation that seeks to strengthen a Tennessee law prohibiting the tattooing of minors says the measure would also help fight gang activity, even though critics lament the proposal could be burdensome. Currently, a person under 18 cannot get a tattoo. A 16-year-old can be tattooed to cover up an existing tattoo, but only with the consent of a parent or guardian, who must be present during the procedure. Rep. Antonio Parkinson’s proposal would mirror the state’s child abuse law, which requires signs
of abuse to be reported to law enforcement or an entity like the Health Department. Those making the report might be a physician, a police officer or someone in education, such as a teacher. “Just like if a teacher sees a minor with a bruise on their back, minors with tattoos would be reported the same,” Parkinson said of his bill. The Memphis Democrat said he proposed the legislation after hearing about places where minors were being tattooed illegally, and possibly risked being exposed to equipment not properly sanitized. He said one woman told him her teenage daughter got a tattoo at such a place. The mark
ended up costing the girl her job at a fast food restaurant that didn’t allow its employees to have tattoos. Parkinson said he believes the proposal would also benefit law enforcement because many of the illegal parlors tattoo teenage gang members. “A lot of tattoo artists don’t do gang tattoos in legitimate tattoo houses,” he said. “If a minor is found to have these tattoos, this is a way for us to find out where they came from and actually penetrate the criminal enterprise the gang members are utilizing.” Kristin Helm is the spokeswoman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is
among law enforcement battling gang activity that’s becoming more prevalent in parts of the state. She said the agency can’t comment on the usefulness of the bill because it doesn’t know how “procedurally it would work and how TBI would be, or not be, affected.” At least 39 states have laws prohibiting minors from getting tattoos, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirty-one states have laws that prohibit both body piercing and tattooing on minors without parental permission. See TATTED UP on Page 3