02 27 14

The Daily Beacon Thursday, February 27, 2014 Issue 35, Volume 125

The editorially independent student newspaper of the University of Tennessee

Student Appreciation Issue Hackenbrack is bringing sexy back >>See page 2

Movies by Miller: junior demonstrates ‘reel’ talent >>See page 8

Mascot unmasked: get to know the man behind the costume >>See page 14

2 • THE DAILY BEACON

Thursday, February 27, 2014 News Editor Hanna Lustig

CAMPUS NEWS

hlustig@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor Emilee Lamb

elamb1@utk.edu

Emilee Lamb Assistant News Editor Nicky Hackenbrack, in her own words, is a “very vanilla person.”

And, perhaps, she once was – a pre-med blonde-haired, allAmerican, and the daughter of an accounting professor.

Today? She is one of the driving forces behind UT’s most controversial student action committees.

The transformation began with one interest meeting.

Hackenbrack, junior in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology, now serves on the executive board of SEAT, Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee, the organization that puts on Sex Week.

A move from Florida to Tennessee during her fourth and fifth grade years, Hackenbrack said, exposed her to the world of sex education perhaps more fully than many of her Bible Belt peers.

“Talking about sex and going to that interest meeting didn’t seem like a big deal to me,” Hackenbrack said, “but I really did not foresee myself being so involved in it and I’ve just fallen in love with everything about it.”

Describing herself as a nerdy person with dreams of a career as a medical examiner, something reflected by her work at UT’s “Body Farm,” Hackenbrack said she could never have imagined the activist’s route her experiences at UT have taken her down.

“It is really crazy how things change,” she said. “I am such a different person and I am stunned by it pretty much everyday.”

Hackenbrack said she looks

to become further involved with Sex Week by stepping into one of the leadership roles that will be vacated by the graduation of UT students Briana Rader and Jacob Clark, the pair responsible for bringing the first Sex Week to a Southern, public university.

Although she believes there is still much to be done to further sex education in Tennessee, Hackenbrack said she feels Sex Week is making great strides toward that goal.

“I’m pretty appalled by what’s happening in Tennessee and what has been happening in Tennessee,” Hackenbrack said. “I love feeling like someone’s listening, finally.”

Travis Wilson, junior in global studies and classics and fellow SEAT member, asserted that the work he and Hackenbrack do with SEAT is indispensable in combating what he sees as a broken system.

“Our state education system is overly geared towards abstinence-only sexual education – which is to say, not education at all,” Wilson said by email. “To not provide an environment or platform in which students may come to learn about sex is a communal disservice and, in my personal opinion, criminal.”

Hackenbrack also spoke enthusiastically of the goals of her organization, expressing her belief that Sex Week informs students not only about how to take care of themselves, but also how to relate to each other.

“Equality is huge, and you really aren’t going to be able to be empathetic with someone if you don’t understand where they’re coming from,” Hackenbrack said. “It’s really important to have these dis-

• Photo Courtesy of Nicky Hackenbrack

Pre-med student’s life takes passionate Heart for feminism turn toward sexual awareness activism ‘Powers’ UT senior

Nicky Hackenbrack, who serves on the executive board for Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee, handed out lingerie on Pedestrian Walkway in support of last year’s Sex Week. cussions and understand the people you’re living with in this community and working with and studying with.”

Despite her belief in the necessity of student dialogue, Hackenbrack expressed concerns about the multitude of passionate voices of UT’s student population. Often, she said, an organization’s determined pursuit of its own goals can push another equally important, albeit different, organization into the shadows.

The student leader who Wilson described as “warmhearted, passionate and overwhelmingly kind,” said she enjoys seeing different campus organizations join forces

for a common goal, something the sponsorships of Sex Week events is accomplishing.

Wilson wrote glowingly of Hackenbrack’s “limitless” contributions to campus and her personal drive to help those around her, but said her ultimate legacy is as a role model to other students seeking to make an impact.

“The power and impact of a single individual should never be underestimated – the worth of any single person is infinite,” Wilson wrote, “but it is when we come together with a common purpose that our limitlessness becomes defined and takes a sure, potent shape.”

to make a difference Liz Wood Staff Writer At 5:30 a.m., Stephanie Powers is already awake.

It’s a weekday, and her itinerary includes a morning workout, a few hours of studying, class, and then meetings that often occupy her into the night. An RA, she will eventually retire to Humes to spend time with residents before doing homework and going to bed.

Such a busy schedule comes with the territory.

Powers’ other titles on campus include programming coordinator for the Women’s Coordinating Council, Take Back the Night co-coordinator, co-director of this year’s production of “The Vagina Monologues” and vice president of Recognition for Residence Hall Honorary.

But the list doesn’t stop there. Also involved in Habitat for Humanity and College Democrats, Powers – a senior in English – takes her activism outside of UT as a member of MENSA, a high IQ society.

Among all of her commitments, Powers said one of her deepest passions is her activity within the WCC. “I’m a feminist through and through,” Powers said.

“Everything the WCC stands for is what’s in my heart.”

Earlier this month, Powers co-directed “The Vagina Monologues.” She assumed the role with no prior theater experience, an undertaking long-time friend Julian Liggins, senior in global studies and political science, says

is typical of Powers.

“When it comes to being involved on campus, Stephanie ranks up there with the best,” Liggins said.

“Dedication and an unwavering passion for what she does sets her apart from most people I know. I’m really proud of her.”

Celia Chapuis, freshman in kinesiology, and Meredith Hull, exploratory freshman, are residents on Powers’ floor in Humes who spoke of her with similar admiration.

“After meeting Steph, I knew that by the time I was in her shoes as a senior I wanted to be in charge of events and excel in school just like she is doing now,” Chapuis said. “She always steps up to the challenge that freshman girls present, and she does so with grace and love.

“She has shown me how to be organized, successful and joyful in the craziness.”

Powers traces the source of her drive to her childhood.

One of eight children, Powers said she gained much of her inspiration from her mother.

“My mom originally growing up was a really strong role model for me and taught me that women can do anything,” Powers said. “I didn’t really see any opposition to that until I got to college, and I didn’t really know what to do with that.

“I didn’t know how to react to it and how to make it clear that I didn’t agree with people who think that women can’t do anything.”

See POWERS on Page 3

Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 3 News Editor Hanna Lustig

CAMPUS NEWS

hlustig@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor Emilee Lamb

Architecture student uses design to assist disabled • Photo Courtesy of Brice Holmes

• Photo Courtesy of Steph Powers

elamb1@utk.edu

Hollie Hughes Staff Writer

Stephanie Powers, co-director of “The Vagina Monologues” this year, gives a thumbs up after the final show in the UC Ballroom on Feb. 14.

POWERS continued from Page 2 Powers joined the WCC as a sophomore and now identifies the organization as one of her most rewarding commitments on campus.

“My heart really goes out to people that have been through sex-trafficking, partially because of my own background and also just the stories people tell about it are incredible,” Powers said. “As a feminist, a lot of people think it’s just women that we focus on, but that’s not really true. It’s really everyone that’s oppressed.”

Powers finds solace in her demanding life by dedicating an hour to herself each day when possible.

“I’m a little bit of a nerd,” she said. “‘Lord of The Rings’ was my escape when I was a kid, and it’s still my escape now. I’m kind of shy of other ‘Lord of the Rings’ fans, though.

“Actually, I’m kind of afraid of other ‘Lord of the Rings fans, so I kind of am in my own little bubble.”

Fluent in Elvish, Powers is in the process of tattooing a poem from “The Fellowship of the Ring” down her back.

Currently, it reads “All that is gold does

not glitter” in Elvish. Powers said she plans to add a line of the poem each year.

And as Powers accumulates more of the poem’s lines, she tentatively plans to write her own life’s next chapter within the Peace Corps in community development and administration.

Following this lengthy commitment, she plans on attending graduate school so she can later work with sex trafficking victims.

Abigail Powers, sophomore in social work and Powers’ younger sister, attested to her sister’s influence as a role model.

“She is constantly trying to give a voice to those who can’t use their own,” Abigail Powers said. “She has made a difference on this campus and I know she is going to do so much more beyond this. She has inspired me to stand up for what is important to me and be vocal about it. She is truly an inspiration.”

Still, Stephanie Powers maintains a humble and compassionate demeanor.

“I’m really drawn to helping victims and helping people come out on top, because you’re not always a victim,” she said. “You can come out of that and be a survivor, too.”

Brice Holmes does not leisurely spend his weekends and free time like most college students.

Instead, he is busy working on special projects for disabled adults.

Holmes, junior in architecture, is the assistant director for Freedom By Design.

Freedom By Design, a program of the American Institute of Architecture Students, is a service organization that gives students the opportunity to use their architectural skills to build special projects for disabled or low-income families.

The program searches for clients in the community that have a disability and need assistance to make their daily routines easier. The organization starts by identifying their clients’ unique needs and then designs around those to create ramps, decks and reconfigurations.

“I was looking for a way to get involved and saw it as a good opportunity to get out and do something helpful for the community,” Holmes said. “I also wanted to use my architectural education and apply it directly to design and build projects.”

Holmes, who has been involved with the organization since freshman year, said Freedom By Design has helped him develop many skills he will use as a future architect.

Being a volunteer, he said, is a rewarding experience that helps his community and uses his education to give back and impact people’s lives in a positive way.

While the community benefits from the work Holmes puts into the organization, he espoused his own benefits: getting hands-on experience with realworld construction applications.

Holmes said he has strengthened his skills in client relations and basic construction methods and techniques, eventually seeing how something as simple as a ramp, when thoughtfully implemented, can truly affect one’s quality of life.

Brice Holmes, left, junior in architecture and assistant director for Freedom By Design, digs up a fence post as part of a special project for disabled adults last summer.

“We try to help them regain their freedom of movement within their home,” Holmes said. “The ability to understand how things are put together is invaluable to architects, and the best way to learn is to go out and get your hands dirty.”

Even though the designs are typically modest, they have the power to make a profound impact on the lives of the clients.

On his biggest project, Holmes helped build and design a wheelchairaccessible ramp and decking system for a 1-year-old boy with centronuclear myopathy, a condition that affects skeletal muscles. The project took seven months and included replacing a deck near the boy’s living room, building a deck off his bedroom and a wheelchair-

accessible ramp.

When Holmes isn’t busy gaining hands-on experience with design builds, he and other members of FBD are organizing trips to regional and national American Institute of Architecture conferences.

Holmes said FBD couldn’t have made such an impact in the community without the input of the entire committee, adding that faculty advisor Brian Ambroziak plays an important role in the organization.

“I am always amazed how our students, who typically average about 10 hours a day in their studies and design work, always make time for meaningful extracurricular activities,” Ambroziak said. “They are ‘Volunteers’ in the purest sense of the word.”

4 • THE DAILY BEACON

Thursday, February 27, 2014 Editor-in-Chief R.J. Vogt

OPINIONS

rvogt@utk.edu

Contact us letters@utk.edu 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.

12 things only graduating seniors will remember Knight Errant by

Victoria Knight

Avoiding list-icles is a must for most aspiring writers, seeing as they are more Buzzfeed and less New York Times-worthy than we would like most of our work to be.

But this one is called for.

During a chat with fellow seniors this past weekend, we talked nostalgically, as everyone tends to do when the days to graduation can be counted down by double digits.

Our campus is not the same as it was this time three and a half years ago – for better or worse – but you may know you were a freshman in fall 2010 if: 1) You hated saying farewell to the Pedestrian Bridge after having it for two whole years of our undergraduate career. Sometimes you fondly look back and remember how when turning the sharp corners around Haslam you would almost run into people (especially bikers), or how you could look down from the top and yell at friends below. The patio area was pretty sketchy looking, but if you were ever running late to a meeting in the UC, you could totally count on the back entrance to help you out.

2) Sophie’s – in Strong Hall beside Clement for you youngsters – was your favorite lunch and dinner spot.

They had the best chicken wings and sweet tea, while also being the go-to spot when you needed something a little more wholesome than what the UC had to offer between classes. Southern Kitchen was only a weak replacement.

3) You were super pumped about Derek Dooley. The remnants of burned mattresses from the Lane Kiffin era could still be smelled in the air. Hope was still eternal.

Plus football games at this level were whole new territory and entertaining no matter if we won or lost.

4) Volapalooza was cool, because it was hosted on the intramural fields outside and thus directly across from your dorms, and because GirlTalk was awesome and threw glitter down from the sky.

5) Welcome Leaders did not exist so Welcome Week was reduced to fight or flight for the 7,000 new freshies.

If you braved the Pres Court video dance party and Matisyahu concert, then you had survived your first round of the UT Hunger Games for freshmen.

6) Speaking of Presidential Court, you literally lived and breathed for IHOP in the early mornings coming back from your nights out. They had your back, whether it was through mozzarella sticks, or seasoned fries and milkshakes, or even with good old fashioned pancakes.

7) You could take 12 hours and not pay for 15. You also don’t know what the heck being a uTrack student means, because myUTK clearly tells you, you are not one.

Nor will you probably take the time to figure out what it means. Good luck y’all.

8) Construction was at an all-time high for the four years that you spent here. Enough said.

9) You went to the Student Health Center when it was the tiny building crammed in between Clarence Brown Theatre and Tom Black Track and had only two waiting room chairs. The waiting rooms might have expanded, but that wait time hasn’t. Some things never change.

10) You remember being vaguely terrified when they talked about moving the Rock from its spot across the street where the new Student Health Center now proudly sits to its current location. You imagined the crane dropping, and the unregulated form of student expression being dashed to tiny pebbles. But it survived, and its everlasting paint layers continue to accumulate.

11) The long trek home to Presidential Court was uninterrupted by construction and crossing roads. You could start at the beginning of Pedestrian by Hodges and walk in a straight line all the way down to your respective dorm. The herd of freshmen cattle were all hearing the sounds of the dinner bell at the same time and the sidewalk space was where you were all reunited after being in class all day.

12) What you remember the most is just being here; through the evolution of campus buildings; the butt-chugging scandal; the arrival of the first ever Sex Week; the retirement of the winning-est women’s basketball coach in history. It’s never going to be the same place where you had the SGA campaigns, the papers put off til the night before, or ran around the Strip on the endless weekends.

But no matter how much our alma mater changes, I suspect when you come back, if you close your eyes hard enough and imagine the smell and sound and feel of that fall 2010 air, a piece of it will still be there – even when you have moved on past the stately walls of old UT. Victoria Knight is a senior in microbiology. She can be reached at vknight4@utk.edu.

Regarding Tuesday’s letter to the editor Tuesday, the Daily Beacon ran a letter – written by an anonymous convicted rapist – in support of Sex Week. In the editorial note explaining why the staff elected to break Daily Beacon policy and run a letter to the editor without a byline, we wrote that “the letter’s depiction of the repercussions of unprotected sex is truthful, and the editorial staff of The Daily Beacon believes that the letter’s underlying message is vitally important to the college community that we serve.”

The underlying message that we referred to was two-fold. We interpreted the author’s intent to explain that: 1) non-consensual sex is a felony and 2) unprotected sex can lead to pregnancy and require decisions regarding that pregnancy.

To clarify: the Hilltopics Student Handbook clearly states on p. 39 that “sexual assault is defined as any sexual act or

Editor-in-Chief: R.J. Vogt Managing Editor: Melodi Erdogan Chief Copy Editor: Gage Arnold News Editor: Hanna Lustig Asst. News Editor: Emilee Lamb Sports Editor: Troy Provost-Heron Asst. Sports Editor: Dargan Southard Arts & Culture Editor: Claire Dodson Asst. Arts & Culture Editor: Cortney Roark Online Editor: Samantha Smoak

failing to explicitly demonstrate that the events he described were more a result of his decision to rape a female student than they were a result of unprotected sex.

We hope this letter shows the student body that any question of consent renders a sexual act an act of assault, regardless of alcohol. The woman in the story was a victim of rape because rape does not require someone saying “no” – consent requires someone clearly and unequivocally saying “yes.”

If this letter encourages any victim to report sexual assault, or any student to use contraceptive protection, then we believe that the decision to run it is justified.

We also encourage anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of sexual assault to visit the Safety, Environment and Education Center’s resources at www.seecenter.utk.edu/assault_resources.php.

Sex Week: Let’s talk about it Uncommon Sense by

Evan Ford What’s in a name? A rose by any other name still smells as sweet, and an assistant to the regional manager is the same as assistant regional manager, right?

Obviously not. In case you’ve forgotten, the Affordable Care Act has far more positive ratings than Obamacare, even though it’s the exact same thing. Closer to home, “Sex Week” is getting far more press and criticism than their official title — “Sexual Empowerment and Awareness in Tennessee.”

And Sex Week sure knows a thing or two about titles — last year, they hosted a workshop on oral sex called “How Many Licks Does It Take?” This year, they’ve gone even more suggestive and controversial, with “We Can’t Stop” on orgasms and “My Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard” — an aphrodisiac cooking class.

These titles — while often hilarious and groan-inducing — are obviously offensive to Tennessee’s strongly conservative majority.

They’ve been called “atrocious,” and “a waste of student fees.” Directly referencing the titles, a student told CampusReform last year that “the only students who will attend will be the ones to go as a joke (sic).”

This is a big worry for me. I agree with Nicky Hackenbrack, a Sex Week organizer, who said in a Jan. 8 column that “In order to stop rape culture, we have to stop the sexual

repression.”

This issue should not be overlooked.

According to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, only 20 rape cases were reported at UT in 2011. Sounds pretty good, until you think about the fact that the U.S. Justice Department estimates that only around 5 percent of college rape cases are reported. If that estimate is right, there could have been 380 unreported rape cases that year.

But with the provocative titles mentioned above and such a negative stigma among conservatives, are the sexually-repressed and silent victims on UT’s campus really going to come out to Sex Week?

Maybe not. I know Tennessee state Sen. Stacey Campfield wouldn’t. Same with my conservative mother and my Presbyterian friends, who will not be among the 3,600 students that came to last year’s events.

Many of us probably think of this as a problem with Sex Week, that it’s going too far in approaching such a taboo subject, and ends up seeming like a week-long UT orgy. The titles are too provocative and alienate those it needs to reach the most. I thought this way all of last year.

Until I realized that the controversy was exactly what UT needed. By choosing these outrageous names and hosting “condom scavenger hunts” on campus, Sex Week has done exactly what they wanted to do — got people to “talk about it.”

In other words, every offended mother, student and state legislator that speaks out against Sex Week and its organizers is doing more than just publicizing and condemning the event. They are participating in it.

Sex Week got Campfield to admit that he

considers dressing in drag to be “dressing up like a duck.” It got him to say that first amendment rights don’t hold when students are forced to “pay for speech they find objectionable.” (If you want to see the flaw in this argument — I pay taxes to Tennessee, who pays Campfield. What if I find what he says “objectionable?”)

RUF and Campus Crusade for Christ are each having their own sessions in response to Sex Week. In a very real way, these organizations are participating in Sex Week.

There are students offended by the titles of Sex Week’s events, who think that Sex Week is a waste of their fees, and that’s completely their right. Maybe they’ll talk to their student senators and actually vote in SGA elections.

They could even run on a new, anti-Sex Week platform.

Even if that were the whole purpose of Sex Week — to get people to stop being so damn uninterested in every topic that’s a little controversial and hugely important — I’d be for it.

There are 27,000 diverse students on our campus, so why is this the first time we’re seeing a big conflict of beliefs and ideals on campus? Why is Sex Week the first challenge to our apathetic student culture?

As far as these events go, I’ll borrow the words of university president Joe D’Pietro, reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel — “If a single unwanted pregnancy or sexual assault were prevented as a result (of Sex Week), that would justify the program.”

I agree.

Evan Ford is a junior in philosophy. He can be reached at eford6@utk.edu.

Integrity is strengthened, not sacrificed, through compromise Dean’s List by

Katie Dean As humans, we’re naturally inclined to be self-serving, and as Americans, we live in a society that completely exacerbates the need to have what we want, when we want it and how we want it.

Acting like I am any different would be pompous and, well, just plain false. I am simply a product of my environment, and I, too, experience the requisite mini-freak outs incurred by less-than-stellar 3G service or Einstein’s putting the wrong cream cheese on my bagel.

I set out to be inflexible; I just like things the way I like them.

This is a column about compromise. While it seems like a very simple, straightforward idea, bargaining your ideals and selecting those that are most important to you is no small task.

How do we make decisions about what issues really matter to us and what things can be adjusted? Everyone has their own experiences and reasons for believing in things, and conceding those values can be exponentially

harder than one might think.

Recently, I was reminded of just how difficult it can be to carefully evaluate ones ideals in light of the opinions of others. Last week, I attended the “Budget Simulation” event that was organized by the UT Economics Club and held at the Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy. Yes, this decision reveals my nerdier side – one I am not ashamed of.

Besides, there was free pizza, and it actually turned out to be an incredibly enlightening experience.

The evening started out with a speaker from The Concord Coalition, a non-partisan organization that studies the federal budget and devotes themselves to educating people about the consequence of having a steep deficit.

From there we broke into teams of five or six and proceeded to go through a list – a very long one – of programs that are usually discussed when Congress tries to pass the budget every year.

Essentially, we were trying to agree on and balance a federal budget in about an hour and a half, choosing which programs to cut and which to provide with more money. While this is difficult in and of itself, my group was an interesting mix of students, an economics professor and a retired doctor. You can imagine how varying the points of view were here.

Attending this budget simulation gave me a

totally new appreciation for people that actually have to make these decisions.

We like to sit in our living rooms listening to CNN or Fox News and criticize legislators for making concessions we don’t like or agree with. What we don’t seem to understand – or want to understand – is that sometimes the overall good in a policy outweighs that one part of it that you personally disagree with.

As an intern in a U.S. Senators office, I know first-hand what it’s like to deal with angry, inflexible people who just want to rant about the way they believe America should be run. I have to talk to people like this every day, and every day I wonder if it would be easier to get things accomplished if we as a society weren’t so self-serving and inflexible.

A lot of people feel like to compromise is synonymous with sacrificing your integrity.

In fact, I found a quote recently that said, “Compromise means to go just a little bit below what you know is right. It’s just a little bit, but it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine.”

But this quote is off the mark; integrity is not always about rigidly sticking to every single ideal you value in life. Integrity is about taking the time to examine what is truly important and meaningful, and what can actually be improved with genuine compromise.

Katie Dean is a junior in political science.

She can be reached xvd541@utk.edu.

Get Fuzzy • Darby Conley

Non Sequitur • Wiley

EDITORIAL

attempt to engage in any sexual act with another person without the consent of the other person, or in a circumstance in which the person is unable to give consent due to age, disability or alcohol/chemical or other impairment.” In the letter, the author explains that he had sex with a sophomore student after she had consumed “a lot” of alcohol, to the point where he was not certain if she was sober enough to know what they were doing. This act was an act of rape. Throughout the rest of the letter, the author explains how he was convicted of rape, imprisoned for seven years and now lives a life as a sex offender.

The editorial staff apologizes for any perceived commiseration with or support of this man’s story; we do not pity him, but we do see precautionary value in his narrative.

Furthermore, we erroneously assumed an inherent lesson against non-consensual sex,

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Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 5 News Editor Hanna Lustig

CAMPUS NEWS

hlustig@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor Emilee Lamb

elamb1@utk.edu

More than an Internet Fad

BY THE NUMBERS

Fadi Saleh set the web ablaze by making Barack Obama sing, but his YouTube stardom is just the beginning

It began in the shower his freshman year.

In the midst of a lazy winter break in 2011, Fadi Saleh had an epiphany: he wanted to make Barack Obama sing.

So that’s what Saleh did with a few clicks, a video editing program, and a handful of long nights.

Using footage from recent campaign speeches, Saleh sliced and diced Obama’s words, stringing them together to form lyrics. The finished product, a seamless video depicting Obama crooning Rihanna’s “Drink To That,� reeled in approximately 80,000 views during its first week after launching on Jan. 4, 2012.

Saleh admitted the total “disappointed him.� He’d anticipated millions, not thousands.

Then, things went wild. “Even today, it’s still surreal,�

Saleh said last week. “It was super surreal then, and its super surreal now.�

Inadvertently, Saleh had built an enterprise. Baracksdubs, a YouTube channel featuring a multitude of pop songs sung

by President Obama, now has more than 500,000 subscribers and 130 million total views.

Saleh has been flown out to New York City and California for MTV’s Video Music Awards after creating the “Party In The USA� dub.

Stars Robin Thicke, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and One Direction have even publicly endorsed Saleh’s work via their personal social media platforms.

And this is only the beginning. Saleh has still grander plans for the channel.

Translation: Saleh believes millions of hits on YouTube and Internet stardom are just the beginning for the 20-year-old entrepreneur.

Going viral Saleh remembers the moment everything changed again, at exactly 5 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2012.

Saleh had just pulled an allnighter to complete his second Baracksdubs video, a version of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.�

The spring semester was about to start, and he was preparing to ride back to Knoxville with a friend from his Memphis home.

Saleh posted the video to a few Lady Gaga forums and hopped in the notorious shower once again. “By the end of the night it

already had thousands of comments,� Saleh said. “The next morning it was featured on the Today Show, and next week it had three million views.�

Within a week of its creation, Baracksdubs started going viral. the Today Show wanted an interview, as did every local media outlet. “We threw a party for him and I went out and bought him a cake when he got his 2 millionth view and thinking back to that, we thought it was the pinnacle,� Hannah Bailey, senior in political science and one of Saleh’s closest friends, said. “We thought it was a hobby he would do his freshman year of college and he’d go back and share later in life and that would be it. “None of us expected it at all.�

But it wasn’t the pinnacle. It was the tip of the iceberg. “Sexy And I Know It� by LMFAO would later reach 21.6 million views. “Call Me Maybe�

by Carly Rae Jepsen would draw 41.4 million views.

Getting creative Three hundred and fifty speeches.

That is the average number of videos Saleh peruses while constructing a video.

But first, Saleh simply chooses a song and familiarizes himself with the lyrics.

In partnership with Saleh, Maker Studios constructs the beat for each song, permitting Saleh to legally reproduce copyrighted material on YouTube.

Then the hunt for specific words begins – also legally, since Obama’s speeches are public domain.

Saleh uses video editing software to find at least five replicates of each word, splicing them down to the millisecond.

Drawing from this stockpile, Saleh sequences the pieces and substitutes a replicate word as needed, matching Obama’s linguistics to the original song. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot about inflection and what makes things sound good together,�

Saleh said. “I’ve also learned a little more about Obama and his personality and his voice over the past two years.�

It takes about two weeks to put together a new video at a leisurely pace.

After a final review, Saleh exports the finished song.

Outside YouTube Yet, Saleh’s Internet identity hasn’t stopped him from making waves on campus.

The past two years, Saleh has served on Student Government

Association campaigns. Last semester, he spearheaded the Dining Dollars Donation effort, which encouraged students to spend unused Dining Dollars on essential items from the POD Markets; all items collected were then donated to a local food bank.

He is also the mind behind the UTK Confessions Facebook page.

And this week, he was named a finalist for the prestigious Truman Scholarship. “School tends to give people these limits to what they can do,� Saleh said, “and honestly, you can go out and start anything if you convince yourself you have the time and the ability to do it.�

More than just a Fad Saleh sports an ear-to-ear grin as he talks about the future of Baracksdubs.

Much like his own, it’s in limbo at the moment.

Saleh recently changed majors, jumping from biochemistry to health administration – a move motivated by the channel’s rise to prominence. “The biggest influence was the joy of entrepreneurship and the people and doing business with people,� Saleh said. “I’ve got something they want and they’ve got something I want.

That really excites me. “I tapped into my whole problem-solving passion,� Saleh continued. “All it is, is critical thinking. So I’ve moved from being a cog in the wheel in the medical field to overseeing the entire field to the doctor and administrator.�

With a solid following via Twitter and Facebook, the channel has traction in spades, setting the stage for Saleh’s next big move. “Since the beginning, I’ve always had a social cause look at (the channel),� Saleh said. “I can do this to make positive social change. “People look at it as an extracurricular (activity) – social causes – but honestly it should be tied completely in with everything that we do.�

It’s a belief he applies to every aspect of his life. “I think with Fadi, his ability not just to sympathize but to empathize with other people sets him apart,� Bailey said. “You can come to him with anything, an idea or an issue you’re having in your own life, and he can really take it on from your own perspective. “That’s why he’s such a great vehicle for change.�

SUBSCRIBERS

550, 754 TIME SPENT MAKING A VIDEO

2 weeks PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES WATCHED PER VIDEO

350 TOTAL VIEWS ON YOUTUBE

130, 087, 914 Hayley Brundige • The Daily Beacon

Gage Arnold Copy Chief

All numbers as of 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25

Fadi Saleh, junior in College Scholars, poses for a photo at his desk in Volunteer Hall. Saleh, the creator of the YouTube channel Baracksdubs, has amassed more than 130 million views on the account by stringing together bits of President Barack Obama’s speeches and making the president appear to be singing hit pop songs.

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6 • THE DAILY BEACON

Thursday, February 27, 2014 News Editor Hanna Lustig

CAMPUS NEWS

hlustig@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor Emilee Lamb Zoe Yim • The Daily Beacon

elamb1@utk.edu

33-year-old radio host proves it’s never too late to start anew talk about it in depth.”

After dropping out, Moon held numerous jobs. He He walks eight miles a decided to return to school day. Most students barely after quitting an office job at the Jackson, Tenn., drive that amount.

You may see him walking office for the Department of across Gay Street Bridge, Transportation.

“Two years ago, I weighed listening to podcasts. You may have eaten the sand- 220 pounds and smoked and wich made by him at Market sat around all the time,” Square’s Tomato Head. You Matthew Moon said. “I had may have heard him this a terrible job. I got sick morning as your radio host of being unhealthy, being unhappy, so I went back on 90.3 The Rock.

At 5 a.m., Matt Moon, to school, stopped smoking a 33-year-old senior in and lost 75 pounds.”

Gina Moon supported his journalism and electronic decision to return and has media, begins his daily trek since witnessed that choice to campus. transform her husband.

Moon works at the stu“It was a really scary thing dent radio station to fulfor him to go back to school fill his major’s practicum and he wasn’t really sure requirements. He started that he could working at handle it,” the station Gina Moon as an outsaid. “He’s a ’m kind of a side project completely required for workaholic. ... (It’s) different stua prerequisite probably going to kill dent than journalism the first time course. me at some point, around.” “ Yo u ’ r e but I don’t know. I Classes, listening to 90.3, The don’t want to stop. I work and volunteering Rock,” Moon have fun.” at the stuannounces. dent radio “This is from -Matt Moon station keep a band called Matthew Yuck, new Moon busy. music from He said he them. Song’s sleeps less than five hours called ‘Middle Sea’ from most nights, but coffee and their new album, ‘Glow and runs keep him going.

Behold.’”

“I’m kind of a workaholic.

Moon dreams of working ...

(It’s) probably going to as a radio host at National Public Radio. He first kill me at some point, but I attended UT in 1999 as a don’t know. I don’t want to Child and Family Studies stop. I have fun.”

While his many responsimajor.

He met his wife, Gina, in bilities admittedly strain his marching band before decid- marriage, Matthew Moon ing to drop out in 2003. said he has never been hapGina said she can’t recall his pier. He’s making changes parents and friends making and friends. He’s also finda big deal about his decision ing himself.

“It’s nice to put those puzto leave school. zle pieces together,” he said, “He didn’t really care “because I didn’t do it when about his major, so I didn’t I was supposed to, when I see the point in continuing,” was like 18 to like 22.” she said. “We didn’t really

Zoe Yim

Contributor

“I

Matt Moon, a senior in journalism, covers a morning shift at 90.3 The Rock as a part of his practicum.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 7 News Editor Hanna Lustig

CAMPUS NEWS

hlustig@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor Emilee Lamb • Photo Courtesy of SPEAK

elamb1@utk.edu

Pump up your playlist The Daily Beacon’s annual student appreciation issue recognizes unique student talent across campus. Some of UT’s students have pursued careers in entertainment. Check out The Daily Beacon’s Spotify playlist featuring the musical talents of current UT students and UT alumni.

A seated Jake Rainey, senior in journalism and electronic media, enjoys a successful bake sale on Pedestrian Walkway hosted by SPEAK in September 2013.

Track star combines speed, activism for winning combo • Photo Courtesy of All Sports Pic

McCord Pagan Copy Editor He came to UT in 2010 on a track scholarship.

Yet, one need only look at Jake Rainey’s rope sandals to see a man who has found success outside of the realm of athletics.

Now a senior in journalism and electronic media, Rainey’s time is split between running, activism and classes.

His sophomore year, Rainey began attending Students Promoting Environmental Action in Knoxville meetings for Geology class. But, falling in love with the movement, he continued his membership with SPEAK out of his passion for green activism.

“If Tennessee needs to know anything,” Rainey said, “it’s that climate change is real and that something needs to be done about it.”

During Rainey’s first semester in SPEAK, the organization learned of a factory being planned in Greene County that would manufacture explosives for mountaintop-removal mining. The explosives were made with red phosphorous, a substance that reacts with water and air to create highly-toxic phosphine gas.

The factory – activists worried – could spread toxins beyond the estimated 500-acre radius, thus threatening a vital Tennessee River watershed and nearby elementary school.

At a town hall debate on the issue, Rainey and other SPEAK organizers publicly spoke against the project.

“That was a turning point in my life,” he said. “I decided I really enjoyed that sort of activism and public speaking. Getting a chance to do something like that was pretty awesome. And

Jake Rainey runs at the NCAA D1 XC South Regional Men’s 10k in 2010. obviously I enjoyed it, since I’m still doing it.”

Rainey’s future, however, is not yet certain, and he’s okay with that. He prefers to live in the moment.

“Your mind can go some pretty dark places sometimes if you try to think too far ahead,” he said.

However, Rainey does plan to stay in the South after graduation, feeling his work should help reform energy priorities in the traditionally conservative region.

Rainey’s passion for the environment is rivaled only by his love for his family.

Gary Peterman, Rainey’s former academic adviser, has witnessed the magnitude of that love. He parades a slightly yellowed article from 2012 as proof; that year, Rainey sacrificed a

semester of running to care for his mother after she sustained multiple injuries in a car accident.

Rainey himself never mentioned this act. Only by request would he offer details.

“When I decided to take the semester off, it wasn’t really an option in my mind,” Rainey said. “I just did what I had to do to help my mom because I know she would’ve done the same for me.”

Regardless of what he chooses to pursue, Peterman is sure of Rainey’s success.

“He is athletically active, but he is also intellectually active, and I always find that refreshing,” he said. “To me, there’s not a limitation on him. He would be successful in whatever endeavor he goes into.”

“Jolene” Dolly Parton “Jolene”

“Paradise” Peter Horecka ft. R.J. Vogt “Paradise Single”

“Choke” The Black Cadillacs “Run”

“Good Light” Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors “The Collection”

“Strawberry Wine” Deana Carter “The Deana Carter Collection”

“You Got Me Confused” Johnny Astro and the Big Bang “Thick as Thieves EP”

8 • THE DAILY BEACON

Thursday, February 27, 2014 Arts & Culture Editor Claire Dodson

ARTS & CULTURE

pdodson@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Cortney Roark

Photos courtesy of Hayley Brundige • The Daily Beacon

croark4@utk.edu

Matt Miller, a junior in theater and an independent filmmaker, directs actress Paige Woodward for a short skit in the Clarence Brown Theatre on Feb. 25.

Filmmaker Matt Miller uses a Nikon D5200 to shoot a short skit with student actors on Feb. 25.

Student filmmaker brings unique philosophy, ‘voice’ to big screen Cortney Roark Assistant Arts & Culture Editor “That very open minded, free-flowing creativeness that interacts with a multitude of people. That is what I love.”

For Matt Miller, junior in theater with a minor in cinema studies, this is the the reason he is a writer, photographer, editor and collaborator.

It is the reason he is an independent filmmaker.

Miller has written and directed “The Roommate Series” and a short film, “The Wayward Date.” An excerpt from “The Wayward Date,” won the Audience Choice Award for Best Picture at the Handheld Film Festival at Regal Downtown West Stadium 8 in December.

Bill Larsen, a distinguished lecturer in English who taught Miller in multiple film classes, called this story “excellent” and said he may have come up with a trademark for future films.

“His stylistic work only makes the strong narrative that much better,” Larsen said. “He has a sharp eye and a

fine knack for filming and editing. But maybe best of all, I love that he included the bicycle. … Anyone who knows Matt knows that his bicycle is a key part of who he is.”

“The Wayward Date,” was the beginning of Miller’s desire to find and share his “voice” as a filmmaker. He said this film, a very “surface layer” film, helped him reach an acceptable level of mastery so he can move on to deeper layers of filmmaking. He credits Wes Anderson’s film “Rushmore” with his desire to share his personal style.

“Watching (Anderson’s) films, you know exactly what he cares about as a person and the ideas he’s trying to share with people and the things he is trying to change in the world through his films,” Miller said. “That is what having a voice is about when making movies.

“I feel like pandering to an audience like a blockbuster does washes that out.”

Miller admitted he was on his way to becoming a run-of-the-mill blockbuster filmmaker. That is, a filmmaker who creates what the most convenient audience wants to see. In his case, he said Will

Ferrell-type films came to mind. It was “American Beauty,” directed by Sam Mendes, that helped Miller develop the ideas he has behind a film.

“When I watched ‘American Beauty’ the second time, I realized that everyone in that film was on board completely,” Miller said. “They were like, ‘I understand the idea we’re trying to show here. Let’s show it.’ They basically had the feeling of, ‘This is the movie I’m making. I’m not making it for you.

When I make this movie, it’s going to change my life.’”

Larsen said Miller has a motivation that is hard to find in a student, even comparing Miller’s shots to those of John Ford. He describes them as having the best possible angle and distance.

His “sharp eye” along with his love of film will bring success his way, Larsen said.

“What probably sets Matt apart from other film students is how genuine his passion about learning to become a filmmaker is,” Larsen said. “He wants to soak up everything he can learn about film and filmmaking. … He not only loves film and filmmaking, he lives

them.”

Like Larsen, Paul Harrill, professor in the school of art, has noticed Miller’s desire to learn.

“After class is over, he wants to continue the conversation,” Harrill said.

“He’s reading and researching topics on his own. He’s creating projects on his own initiative. He doesn’t do things because they’re assigned, but because he wants to.

“It’s fun to teach students with that kind of curiosity and passion.”

Miller is not only passionate about learning the technical aspects of filmmaking, but also emotional aspects as well. He hopes to accomplish making a film with multiple layers, much like films directed by Martin McDonagh such as “Seven Psychopaths.” “(McDonagh’s) films have six or seven or eight underlying themes and they don’t usually become apparent until you watch the movie multiple times,” Miller said. “Every time I watch (‘Seven Psychopaths’) I get a new philosophical idea, a new viewpoint on life, while at the same time being incredibly entertained.”

This is what he will work toward with his new short film, which follows a cellist who loses to his best friend in a competition and makes it his primary goal to win the next competition. It will explore Miller’s idea that everyone is either a “fixed mindset person,” a person who will perfect specific things, or a “growth mindset person,” a person who will challenge themselves continuously while maybe not perfecting one specific thing.

“I have very specific ideas about philosophy that I want to share with people,” Miller said. “That’s kind of my personal selfish reasons for making film – to get my ideas out there. But you can’t just have that reason, because then it becomes a chore, and I’ve never felt like that while making a film.

“The unique voices independent filmmakers have are pretty phenomenal if you can open your mind far enough.”

Miller said he plans to take full advantage of the cinema studies major that will be offered in fall 2014. He also started a Facebook page last semester entitled UTK Filmmaking. Anyone interested in film can join.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 9 Arts & Culture Editor Claire Dodson

ARTS & CULTURE Performance major proves he isn’t a ‘one band’ man pdodson@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Cortney Roark

Jenna Butz Staff Writer Cello, bass, guitar and keyboard are just a few examples of the instruments Gideon Klein, a senior in music composition, plays.

Beyond that, he composes music that has led to creative influence in the many bands he plays with, including Maplehurst and Cereus Bright.

Starting out as a performance major his freshman year, Klein made the switch to composition while a sophomore. In high school, Klein attempted the “singer-songwriter thing,” but he admitted he’s “not really great with words” and wrote more instrumental pieces instead. Playing bass, guitar and cello, Klein had a difficult time managing all three as a performance, missing the ability to switch between them when he was focused on cello performance.

Switching to composition “was finally the thing where I get to mix in all of what I’ve grown up with.”

Klein’s compositions are influenced by “dead” composers. This influence has led Klein to consider writing some that will last long past his lifetime so other musicians can someday find it. Evan Ford of Cereus Bright saw the time and talent composing “modern classical” music takes firsthand when he saw Klein perform at his senior recital.

“This type of composition takes an amazing mind and incredible focus—to imagine multiple parts on different instruments and make sure they all work together and aren’t distracting,” Ford said. “The dedication and knowledge it takes to write classical pieces is astronomical, and Gideon nailed it.”

Coincidentally, Klein became a member of both Maplehurst and Cereus Bright at rather sudden times. For Maplehurst, Klein had taken a semester off from orchestra to try out men’s choir. There, he met Maplehurst’s keyboardist, Will Sliger, who asked him to check out a project he was doing with Jenna Weaver and David Platillero. Klein’s decision to stop by one of their rehearsals has since made him a member of the band, who has recorded an album and played on WDVX’s Blue Plate

Special last December.

“So we started playing music, and David got really excited and so did Will and so did Jenna,” Klein said. “Then we were like, ‘This is the four of us.’ Then we got just this past summer Cole, who played drums with us. We had our CD release show last semester that was really fun.”

Then “somewhere in the middle of all that chaos,” Klein met Tyler Anthony of Cereus Bright. Klein knew the two of them would meet soon as Matt Nelson, Cereus Bright’s bass player, had mentioned the band’s interest in “a cellist for a few recordings.” Klein’s official work with Cereus Bright began during the recording of their second EP. Ford said they “wanted someone who was an expert at composing string parts.”

“He showed up, we were playing through ‘Happier Than Me,’ and by the end of the song, he had already pretty much written what came to be the part on the record,” Ford said. “He’s not even just an instrumentalist, either, as he’s constantly coming up with new melodies and textures.

Gideon’s a great musician, in every sense of the word.”

Klein is dedicated to -Evan Ford his two bands, but he said he’s not the “type of guy that only has one band.” Instead, he jumps between the two along with other gigs he finds to further his musical horizons.

“I think I’m one of those guys that just kind of jumps from band to band, and I really enjoy playing music,” Klein said.

While he plays cello in both Maplehurst and Cereus Bright, as well as taking private lessons for it, Klein said he “professionally” plays bass and guitar as well. And though the three string instruments are his main ones, Ford said Klein “can play pretty much every instrument I could think to hand him.”

One example is found in another one of his bands. Klein plays keyboard in The Big Pink, which is a cover band of The Band.

“I thought we should have just been called the Cover Band,” Klein said. “I think it would have really made things confusing.”

Klein has never been far from music, as his parents are musical. Despite his musically tal-

• Photo Courtesy of Gideon Klein

croark4@utk.edu

“ This type of compo-

sition takes an amazing mind and incredible focus—to imagine multiple parts on different instruments and make sure they all work together and aren’t distracting.”

Solace in the spotlight

How one theater student found her home at center stage Claire Dodson Arts & Culture Editor The year is 2006. “High School Musical” has just been released, and 13-year-old McKinley Merritt is captivated by the music, the dancing and probably Zac Efron. Unlike most teenagers however, Merritt’s love for HSM will propel her to take her first step onto the stage.

A year later, she will audition for a Nashville community theater production of the beloved tween classic where she will play a cheerleader, the first of many roles.

Merritt, now a junior in educational interpreting with a minor in theatre, has gone on to make a name for herself at UT, acting in numerous productions at the Clarence Brown Theatre, a short film and, more recently, as Joanne Jefferson in Sex Week’s February production of RENT.

Before her “Musical” debut, Merritt had never sang, “like ever.”

“It wasn’t like I was singing from birth and my parents were like, ‘We’ve got to get this girl on a stage!’” Merritt said. “None of my family are artsy people, by any means. My mom and dad can hold a tune.”

Despite this less-than-dazzling beginning, Merritt pursued her new interest with vigor, transferring to Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet high school in Nashville because of its reputable theater program. While at Hume-Fogg, she performed in the ensemble in several productions, including “Les Miserables” and “Into the Woods.”

Although she has dealt with the rejection all actors inevitably face, an experience directing “The Glass Menagerie” last year gave her a little more insight as to why certain casting choices

are made.

“Sitting on the other side of that table, you see that person is perfect for a certain role,” Merritt said. “And you understand that there’s a reason you are put where you are within a show; that’s also just a life thing.”

She soon found a practical application for this wisdom that came in the form of spring and fall of 2013, when she wasn’t cast in any Clarence Brown Theatre productions.

“After doing four shows more or less back-to-back, that was a humbling experience,” Merritt said. “I had to reevaluate and talk to teachers and say, ‘Hey, give me some tips. What else do I need to do?’

“You take what you need to improve on and you work on it and come back and fix it and hopefully get cast next time.”

See MERRITT on Page 10

Gideon Klein, senior in music composition, plays the cello – one of the many instruments he has mastered. ented parents though, his young mind’s confusion between two very different instruments explains how he landed on the cello.

“I was six and started playing bass,” Klein said. “Then I went into a music store, and I saw a couple of cellos and told my mom, ‘Hey, these are basses for people my age.’ She was like ‘No, no. This is a cello; it’s a completely

different instrument.’”

“And I was like, ‘Mom, I know you’re smart and all, but trust me. I know exactly what I’m talking about. This is a bass for someone my age, and I want it.’ So, that Christmas, I got a cello, and I’ve been playing ever since. It was an accident, and I didn’t listen to my mom.”

10 • THE DAILY BEACON

Thursday, February 27, 2014 Arts & Culture Editor Claire Dodson

ARTS & CULTURE

pdodson@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Cortney Roark

croark4@utk.edu

Phoenix exhibits snapshot of millennial reality lines like, “My confidence will be “I wanted to hint at certain aspects and very 20-something.”

Ideas of the rebellion of youth my downfall and I will find solace of young gay culture: going out, drinking and drugs, sleeping with are echoed in Brian Hooyman’s in the insults of my friends.” The strangers, feeling remorseful, think- poems “Invocation For My Muses” poem brings to the forefront the Millennials comprise a generaand “Quicker Road Trip.” Hooyman, writer’s struggle between cynicism ing too much. tion that is constantly critiqued with “My main interest in writing the freshman in kinesiology, started and idealism. words like “entitled,” “lazy” and “Quicker Road Trip” takes on a story was crafting a simple, yet com- writing poetry after being dared to “self-centered.” UT students are a more narrative style, as Hooyman plex story about a young gay man enter a high school slam contest. microcosm of a generation, and it’s recounts a who feels lost.” easy to generalize college kids -- we summer road In the story, look the same, talk the same and act trip to see a Medina recrethe same. friend who ates the expeBut we are not the same. would otherrience of youth The diversity of perspective here wise spend through Holden or me, feeling stuck and lonely seems very human, very is astounding, and it is a diverhis birthday Caulfield-esque sity encapsulated in the spring relateable and very 20-something. ” alone. The Eugene and 2014 issue of the Phoenix, UT’s trip served his search for literary magazine. The latest issue -Victor Medina as a symbolic belonging. features eight writers and artists reminder of Underneath who brought their unique style and the transition clothing choicappreciation of art to the literary between high es and Friday table.

“As a joke I was like, ‘Hey, I’m school and college and all the emonight plans, this feeling of being outWith a style that is both relateable of-place is one that college students gonna enter the contest and kick tions that go along with it. and artistic, Victor Medina, senior “It’s kind of about the process of some butt,’ and my friends were share. in English, created the short story “(Eugene’s) being forced in like, ‘No you’re not, you suck at driving down there and realizing, “Eugene, Meet Leebo” to explore the directions he’s never been before,” poetry,’” Hooyman said. “I was like, this is the end of something great,” realities of life as a young gay man.

Medina said. “He is a person who ‘Oh yeah?’ And then I ended up Hooyman said. “It’s a sentimental “As a gay man in his early 20s, I look at the relationships we have.” winning.” doesn’t know what he wants yet. wanted to write a story about a gay Art in the 2014 Phoenix was creSome of this brash self-assurance “For me, feeling stuck and lonely man in his early 20s,” Medina said. seems very human, very relateable is woven through “Invocation,” with ated by Colby Sirbaugh, sophomore

Claire Dodson

Arts & Culture Editor

“F

in advertising, whose collage pieces range from dark to sublime and inadvertently highlight the major themes in the magazine: youth and relation to the outside world.

In Sirbaugh’s piece, “Punk,” he superimposed two pictures of a friend who had a massive safety pin through his lip, the result of “drunken misjudgement.”

“We went through a whole ordeal to try and find him a healthier alternative to the pin; finally, one of our friends found a spare nipple ring in her purse,” Sirbaugh said. “What you see in this piece is that transition. I didn’t have my camera. The piece is just two overlayed images I took with my iPod Touch. I’m often inspired by spontaneity, and this sort of gnarly imagery is something that attracts me.

“I like to photograph subjects that some people may not want to see.”

If people do, however, want to see the idiosyncrasies of individuals in a larger group, well, you need only point them to the Phoenix.

• Photo Courtesy of T.K. Photography

MERRITT continued from Page 9 One of the teachers she sought advice from is Carol Mayo Jenkins, the artist in residence in acting and professor of theatre at UT. Jenkins, who has acted on Broadway and on the 1980s television show “Fame,” has seen and helped Merritt grow as an actress.

“In the beginning, she was a talented, enthusiastic kid – boisterous, cocky and sometimes, frankly, a bit of a pain,” Jenkins said. “That didn’t last long. Because McKinley is very aware of the world around her and very smart, she began to see how the professionals with whom she was working dealt with rehearsals, directors, other people.

“A large part of our development in theater comes from observing others, absorbing their techniques, remembering what they do and how it affects us. McKinley is very good at that.”

These techniques came in handy during Merritt’s time as Joanne in “RENT.” In a musical with so many versions, she said it can be difficult to bring a new voice to a beloved character. Brian Gligor, graduate student and one of the directors of “RENT,” said he thinks she achieved this goal.

“McKinley really brought her own quirks to Joanne,” Gligor said, “making her very charming while still exuding the professionalism and drive that makes her and Maureen’s relationship so fun to watch.”

For Merritt, making a character her own is the product of combining her own qualities with the qualities of the character.

“It’s hard to not 100 per-

McKinley Merritt, junior in educational interpreting with a minor in theater, performs on Nov. 14, 2013, in the play “I See London, I See France,” a senior thesis play by Molly Kessler. cent copy something else that you see,” she said. “And I can’t say that I was 100 percent original, but when you take the character and what you know about the character, and personalize it in some way, that’s how you make it different.”

Merritt said her passion for theater and willingness to learn has shaped her in ways that affect every facet of her personality.

“I think everyone should be forced to learn theater at some point,” Merritt said.

“You’re forced to figure yourself out when you’ve got to figure out another person, even if it’s just for a scene for a class and finding a way to

“Y ou’re forced to figure yourself out when

you’ve got to figure out another person, even if it’s just for a scene for a class and finding a way to personalize.”

-McKinely Merritt personalize. It’s opened me up as a person.

“I’ve always kind of been a ham, but I definitely don’t know what I’d be doing if I weren’t acting.”

Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 11 Arts & Culture Editor Claire Dodson

ARTS & CULTURE

pdodson@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Cortney Roark

• Photo Courtesy of Dustin Brown

croark4@utk.edu

Artist uses mystery in contrasting imagery to unsettle, enlighten Janie Prathammavong • The Daily Beacon

Jenna Butz Staff Writer “I like to bring together contrasting things, so like offensive or pornographic, kind of violent imagery and then cute, pink, girly things.”

This is the basis behind the art performances and video projects of Zea Askew, junior in studio art with a concentration in 4-D whose work has earned her awards in UT’s School of Art. Last semester, Askew was asked to do a body extension exercise for her Introduction to 4-D Studio Art class. Influenced by a bulimic friend, Askew dressed herself in pink children’s underwear and set up with Disney Princess cups set on top of a Disney Princess tablecloth.

Using a plastic stomach she had made out of two Ziploc bags, she poured in a pink diet shake and sucked the pink liquid up, spit it out into the cups and walked off.

This performance won her both best in her class and best overall. “(Bulimia) is very ritualized.

Each little thing,” Askew said.

“I used the obsessiveness of it or the organization, I think. I know she used to keep cups of vomit in her fridge. Just the rituals of it. There was also this young girl. Emily Bivins, the director of the foundations classes, her daughter was there, and she was talking the whole time during everything, and when the performance started, she was just wideeyed and silent. It was interesting to have the dynamic of the young girl there.”

Paul Harrill, associate professor of 4-D and transmedia, has Askew in his Introduction to Video Art class, where students learn technical and creative strategies for making films and videos.

While Askew’s work often deals with political or social issues, he sees her approach as “refreshing.”

“She approaches those issues obliquely,” Harrill said. “That approach means that there’s ambiguity and mystery in the work, and it makes her art a dialogue with the viewer. Obviously, I think that’s an exciting and sophisticated approach for a young artist.”

Askew was not always pursing art, though. Before transferring to UT last semester, she attended Tennessee Technological University for biology. She switched to geology and “just wasn’t happy at all.” It was then that she decided to move to Knoxville and pursue art instead.

Before college, Askew was always around art, as her father is an art professor at a community college in Florida. She attended art magnet schools for both middle and high school and drew, sculpted and performed in plays when she was younger – which influenced her decision to focus on 4-D art.

“My concentration is 4-D, so like performance, installation, time-based things, sound stuff,” Askew said. “(I’m interested in) pretty much anything, and that’s why I like it; it’s so open.

“I’ve been interested in performance just because it’s a new medium for me, and I like to learn things and challenge myself.”

Recently, Askew worked with

Nathan Smith, freshman in American studies, poses for a photo in the WUTK 90.3 studios. Smith hosts the “Gold Standard Hip Hop Show” every Sunday night.

Freshman DJ working to ‘change lives’ at WUTK Victoria Brown Staff Writer Zea Askew, junior in studio art with a concentration in 4-D, performs her improv on the theme “inner self.” Askew’s improv is a representation of her Twitter persona and how one can control his or her identity via a facade. “It’s still who I am,” Askew said, “but it’s easier to exist online.” another new medium: a Super 8 camera. Used to make silent black and white films, she used “weird, Virgin Mary, bondage imagery.”

From dressing her friend and boyfriend in wigs, masks, horns and collars to having another friend dress in Mary Janes with braids in her hair, Askew said it all looked like a “Marilyn Manson video” and was “very cliché.”

“It’s hard when I create things because I don’t understand the conceptual meaning behind it until afterwards,” Askew said.

“Then, I’m like, ‘Obviously that’s why I did this and that.’ I think it’s just growing up and trying to figure it out. Taking a step back and looking at everything.”

Colby Sirbaugh, sophomore in advertising, first spoke to Askew at a T-Bus stop.

“The combination of her style and intellect made her seem mysterious,” Sirbaugh said, which led to his desire to get to know her better. Askew later used him in her Super 8 project where she used a lot of imagery with “slightly religious undertones.”

“She kind of contrasted light and dark in the sense of good and evil,” Sirbaugh said. “(It was) very mysterious, with sexuality playing a pretty big role.

“I haven’t seen the final project, but if I had to describe it I would say imagine if ‘A Clockwork Orange’ or ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ were three minutes long and directed by high fashion designers.”

Askew speculates that her style of art stems from an emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend from high school who has continued to stalk her. While she tried to ignore him for three years, she has decided to take legal action with the encouragement of her family and boyfriend.

“I have a court date next month,” Askew said. “All this stuff is really stressful, and I think looking back on it, a lot of that imagery is about the feeling of being controlled and trying to figure out

how to make your own freedom.”

For an upcoming class performance, Askew will explore that idea further. The project is about exposing her inner self.

Askew thinks “they want us to be angst-y artists,” but she plans to delve into her Twitter persona.

Wearing a schoolgirl uniform and the pink, children’s underwear, she will sit down and tweet.

While she has not decided the specifics, she is considering taking a picture of the audience and have instructions up for how to tweet her.

“I’ll interact with them through this thing that is very private to me,” Askew said. “My mom doesn’t know my Twitter. People on Facebook, I usually don’t tell them. Recently, with the whole stalker, ex-boyfriend thing, I had to change my name on Twitter and delete my Tumblr, taking the way that my privacy is broken into my own hands. I’m the one who’s giving it out, and it kind of puts the power back to me, and I kind of like that.”

With the support of her parents serving a big role in her creative life, Sirbaugh said she sees her intuition as one of her strongest qualities.

“I think she knows herself pretty well which allows for her artwork to come across quite honestly; (that’s) something very honorable, with so many ‘artists’ that are trying way too hard to be creative and interesting,” Sirbaugh said. “Zea just is.”

Askew was told by her adviser to move to New York after she graduates, which is now her “only set plan” after college. She is unsure of what she will do when she gets there, but she is unafraid of chance.

“I just kind of try to stay open to things, and I believe something will fall into my lap if I keep doing something that I like,” Askew said. “I’m pretty much open to anything. I feel like art is pretty open.”

Nathan Smith leads a double life – student by day, radio disk jockey by night.

Smith, freshman in American studies, hosts the “Gold Standard Hip Hop Show” every Sunday night on Knoxville’s WUTK 90.3 station.

As a kid, Smith grew up listening to what his parents played for him: an assortment of cassette tapes, country music stations, Broadway soundtracks and classical music on public radio.

But as he got older, he began to form his own personal musical tastes.

“When I was in eighth grade, I saw a History Channel documentary on Bruce Lee, in which RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan was interviewed,” Smith said. “I’d hated rap before, but after hearing his music, I fell in love with it.”

Smith grew up in College Station, Texas, and moved to Knoxville before his junior year of high school. After listening to rap music on-and-off for a few years, Smith became interested in artists like Kanye West, Odd Future, Das Racist, Gorillaz and the Beastie Boys during his sophomore year.

“Finally, my junior year of high school, I became obsessed with Childish Gambino and an alternative rapper from Wisconsin named Milo who fully made me realize how beautiful and meaningful rap could be, cementing my love affair with it,” Smith said.

As a high school student, he heard about WUTK 90.3 and was instantly drawn to the idea of DJing. He said that if he attended college at UT, he knew he’d be interested in working for the station.

Smith started at WUTK 90.3 a few months before his freshman year, in May 2013. He originally had a regular shift before being asked to become the hip-hop director.

One of Smith’s favorite things about working at 90.3 is introducing new music to his audience. He spends a few hours each week researching new songs and artists to add to his playlist.

“I try to make each show an emotional journey, so I start off with music that’s more fun, and then slowly transition to music that’s more emotive or introspective,” Smith said. “I’d like to think that maybe my show makes some sort of difference for people’s emotional well-being, although I’m not sure if it does or not.”

Smith aims to show people the connectedness between all different genres of music. While he plays mainly hip-hop, he also incorporates different sounds to show how one type of music builds off of a seemingly completely different type.

“I also want to educate people about all the different elements that make hip-hop what it is,” Smith said, “so I play a wide variety of music – not just rap and hip-hop, but electronic, experimental, R&B and jazz.”

See SMITH on Page 12

12 • THE DAILY BEACON

Thursday, February 27, 2014 Arts & Culture Editor Claire Dodson

ARTS & CULTURE

pdodson@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Cortney Roark

croark4@utk.edu • Photo Courtesy of Tia Patron

Computer science major finds solace in choreography Between classes and coding, Belinda Loi still finds time to bust a move Hannah Moulton Staff Writer

Three years ago, Belinda Loi had never taken a single dance class.

Loi is a senior in computer science who now doubles as a hip-hop choreographer at BOSS Dance Company. Loi joined BOSS, a branch of Dance Society, her sophomore year with no prior dance skills. Loi said she had always found dance inspiring but didn’t really find an outlet for it until coming to UT. Once she joined BOSS, Loi discovered that choreography might be her calling.

“Essentially, I wanted to get up to choreographing because I think that’s the fun part,” Loi said, “because I like creating.”

Last year, Loi had her first opportunity to choreograph when she was asked to create a minuteand-a-half routine for the Confucius Institute. This year, Loi choreographed her

first full piece for the BOSS Dance Company Annual Showcase.

In addition to choreographing for BOSS, she also worked on the event planning committee her junior year and now serves as historian for the group.

With a limited background in dance, Loi dedicated much of her time to perfect her skills. She spent around six hours per week practicing on several different dance pieces. Her dedication and drive to perform helped her earn her choreographing position.

When she first tried out for BOSS three years ago, Loi said her audition was “terrible.”

“But what I did, because I was really passionate about it,” Loi said, “I practiced every day, every single day – and I hope it showed.”

It did show, as Loi made the audition and was cast in her first performance.

Her peers pointed out Loi’s perseverance and drive made an impact on other choreographers and

Belinda Loi, senior in computer science, showcases her moves in the group performance “Boy Toy,” during practice for the 2014 BOSS Dance Company Showcase. dancers at BOSS. “It still amazes me that she just started dancing three years ago, standing in the back of other choreographer’s pieces just to learn movement,” Lindsey Bacon, BOSS choreographer and UT alum, said of Loi’s progress.

“Belinda is fierce when it comes to dance, whether it’s choreographing, teach-

ing or performing,” Sharon Eun, law school student and BOSS dancer, said. “You can tell her drive stems from her passion of the art.”

For this year’s showcase, Loi taught her hip-hop routine to 15 other girls, most of whom were new to dance. Loi said one of the main traits she looks for when casting a dancer is a passion similar to hers.

Loi likes to give people who, like her, had no previous training in dance.

“That’s one of the things I was really proud about my piece for this year,” Loi said. “I was able to teach people that had never

SMITH continued from Page 11 Working at WUTK 90.3 has opened many doors for Smith, and he admitted he is grateful for the connections and friendships he has made with musicians, promoters, record labels and general radio people.

“I know that these relationships will definitely benefit me post-graduation in the job market, but it’s also really great to be able to bond with people over a shared love of music,” Smith said. “It’s cool knowing how many people there are out in the world who dig the same things as you.

“I’ve talked with people all over the world who love the

danced before.”

On top of dancing, Loi is also working on graduating with a degree in computer science by the end of this year. Last semester, Loi was taking 24 hours of classes, working as a server at Bonefish Grill and interning at Oak Ridge National Library. All of this while being heavily involved in dancing and choreographing at BOSS. “It’s not something that I dread; it’s a good outlet,” she said. “As a computer science major, yes it is hard, it’s a little demanding, but to be able to dance, and to have a hobby like that,

it’s a good stress reliever. If I’m coding, or doing some homework problem and I want to take a breather, I go practice.”

Loi’s post-graduation plans are not set in stone, but she said she is leaning toward graduate school.

As for dance, Loi hopes to continue on with her beloved hobby. She has reached out to a local dancer who is starting a professional dance group in Knoxville called Grounded Contemporary Dance Company; after agreeing to choreograph a piece for the group, Loi will perform the routine in February 2015.

same weird little things I do.

It’s generally just a cool feeling.”

Smith also said he hopes WUTK 90.3 will continue its influence in the community and that more UT students will tune in to the station.

“I think it sometimes seems like we have a bigger following in Knoxville rather than on campus,” Smith said. “You’d be surprised the number of people who don’t know about 90.3. I think there are so many people who if they knew about it, they would love it. “ Smith said music can make people realize there is a place for them, and it can mean a world of difference.

“Regardless of who you are or what you like, 90.3 has something for you and something to offer,” he said. “It’s also a great

way to promote the culture of our own city, while also shaping culture on a larger scale.”

Smith hopes to continue DJing for the station as long as they’ll have him and wants to spread positivity and good music to anyone interested.

“I only have two goals as a DJ,” Smith said. “I want to change lives by sharing the music that has changed my own life, and I also want to get people to love artists that deserve to be heard.

“I know that music can shape people’s lives for the better, and that’s really what I try to do with my DJing.”

For more information about Smith’s show, the “Gold Standard Hip Hop Show” or to listen live to WUTK 90.3, visit wutkradio.com.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 13 Sports Editor Troy Provost-Heron

SPORTS

tprovost@utk.edu

Assistant Sports Editor Dargan Southard • Photo Courtesy of Jack Johnson

msoutha1@utk.edu

Jack Johnson holds up a UT flag in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, where the 4,000 mile Journey of Hope bike ride to Washington D.C. began in the summer of 2013. Johnson, a senior in communication studies, said the 60-day trip to raise money for Pi Kappa Phi’s philanthropic organization, Push America, changed his life.

Cycling for a cause UT student lifts disabled children’s spirits, finds purpose in cross-country bike trip Bradi Musil Staff Writer Jack Johnson can’t sing and doesn’t know how to make banana pancakes, but he can freestyle rap and bike 100 miles in one day.

A senior in communications studies and minoring in political science and cinema studies, Johnson’s outlook on life changed last summer after participating in the Journey of Hope crosscountry cycling trip.

Journey of Hope, a 4,000-mile expedition from San Francisco, Calif., to Washington, D.C., is hosted by Push America, a philanthropy organization run by Pi Kappa Phi (PONG), Johnson’s former fraternity. PONG is the only fraternity in the world to own and operate its own national philanthropy, Johnson noted.

Journey of Hope raises money and awareness for people with disabilities. Johnson heard about the trip from his fraternity president when he was a freshman at UT. “As soon as he told me about it, I said ‘I am doing that before I graduate,’” Johnson said.

To participate, riders must raise $5,500. Last summer, Journey of Hope raised $500,000 in total. The trip lasts approximately 60 days, from June 10 to August 12. Riders cycle anywhere from 50-100 miles a day, crossing 15 states in the process.

“I’ve bled and sweat, and probably cried, in almost every state across the country,” Johnson said.

Every day, riders finish with a “friendship visit” to a different organization that Push

America helps support. Johnson fondly remembers playing blind baseball and being “schooled” in wheelchair basketball by the NCAA Wheelchair Basketball Champion. His favorite memory, however, was meeting Kate in Wisconsin.

Kate is a young girl with an undiagnosed disability, and Johnson’s friendship visit was to simply take Kate around the mall. Johnson quickly noticed a UT “PowerT” sticker on Kate’s wheelchair and later learned his fraternity brother and close friend Houston Carbaugh had met Kate during his own Journey of Hope trip and has stayed connected with her since.

“It was unreal,” Johnson said.

“It was probably the coolest moment in my life, to be honest with you. ... It makes the whole thing worth it.”

Not big on athletics, Johnson admits he hated the daily bike rides but would commit to another summer of fatigue to experience what he felt that summer again.

“It’s supposed to be a symbol,” he said. “Every day, you get up and you ride and you struggle and you hurt, sweat, bleed, cry and hate your life, but at the end of the day, no one is telling you to do it. You can stop, but someone with a disability – they don’t get to.”

Johnson also related more painful experiences during the expedition, which included a concussion while biking through Ohio and being hit by a car in Utah.

“Jack is outstanding,” J.J. Lovegrove, former PONG president and current chapter adviser for the fraternity, said. Lovegrove met Johnson when he was the

recruitment chairman for PONG. “He is very detail oriented, mature beyond his years,” Lovegrove said. “He is just a very forward-thinking person.

He has some perspective that he sees the world in a much different way than a normal college student does.”

Having lived in Nashville for the past 12 years, Johnson said coming to UT “just made sense.”

“I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else,” Johnson said.

Ultimately, he sees himself writing movie scripts. This is a recent development, but Johnson is currently writing and looking forward to developing his cinematic knowledge through more classes.

His passion for film was sparked this year in his Screenwriting Cinema Studies 365 class.

“I’ve never had a class I’ve enjoyed more,” Johnson said.

Johnson is also working to train his best friend for this summer’s Journey of Hope.

Having served as a member of SGA senate, Fraternity Park senate and Volunteer Challenge Chair for All Campus Events, Johnson enjoys getting involved in a wide range of organizations and clubs. He also served as vice president, philanthropy chair and social chair for PONG fraternity.

“When I find something I really like,” Johnson said, “I just want to do it all.”

Lovegrove said he appreciates Johnson and has high hopes for the young man.

“I can’t say enough good things about him,” Lovegrove said. “He will do something great with his life. No doubt about that.”

Smokey’s handlers carry on ‘hectic,’ prestigious tradition Dargan Southard

Assistant Sports Editor The formation is cohesive and precise, like puzzle pieces sliding neatly into place.

In an instant though, this thick arrangement of feathered caps and brass instruments are quickly separated, opening up the floodgates for a stampeding mass of orange.

This thundering herd, however, requires a guide. A group that demonstrates leadership and provides a strong sense of direction in the midst of a chaotic environment of more than 100,000 rabid fans.

Meet four UT students and one exceptional dog who on a handful of fall Saturdays fill this exact role, while igniting one of the most iconic moments of a Tennessee football game day.

Together, Josh Thompson, Bert White, Tyler Fuqua and Evan Betterton make up the quartet of dog handlers in charge of leading Smokey X through the “T” of band members, with the throng of Volunteer football players following closely behind.

The four students are all members of Alpha Gamma Rho, the national agricultural fraternity that’s officially cared for Smokey since 1977. For Thompson, a junior in English and president of AGR, he sees the longstanding relationship as a testament to the fraternity’s upstanding qualities.

“I think it speaks to the kind of trust and the kind of light that the university sees AGR in,” Thompson said. “They’re able to believe that we can take care of UT’s mascot the way we do.

“I think it really sheds light on the ability that they think we have to stay mature with everything, make the right choices and make sure that Smokey’s getting the best care that he can.”

For arguably the most recognizable Bluetick Coonhound around, though, that care requires strategic planning and careful time

management.

On home weekends, Smokey’s itinerary is rather extensive, and the four handlers must prepare for countless photos, numerous handshakes and many unexpected pit stops along way.

“We know along the way we’re probably going to get stopped quite a few times for pictures and to talk and things like that,” Thompson said. “So we really have to plan ahead.

“It can definitely get to be a little hectic, but it’s a lot of fun.”

On Fridays during the fall, one of the handlers picks up Smokey from the Hudson family, who for decades has been the permanent caregivers for both the current Smokey and his predecessors.

After a stop at the AGR house and possibly a quick bath, it’s off to Big Orange Pep Rallies, an event that takes place at various Food City locations in the area and allows fans to interact and snap pictures with the beloved dog.

“The farthest one away we went to was Sevierville,” said White, a senior in advertising.

“That’ll last probably two hours, and after that we’ll go back to the house. Smokey’s usually pretty tired by then so he’ll just fall asleep.”

And that rest is well-needed come Saturday.

At the same time countless UT students are wrapping up thier Friday night adventures, Smokey and his handlers are embarking on a multi-hour long journey that includes stops at many of the university’s most festive pregame gatherings.

In 2013, the Vols had four home games that started before 12:30 p.m., so the game day schedule often began just moments after the sun peaked over Neyland Stadium. “(For noon games) usually we’ll be up and out of the house with Smokey … by 8 a.m.,” White said, “which is contrary to everything that’s going on in the house.

Everybody’s sleeping until the last minute.”

The first visit is made to Volunteer Village, which sits adjacent to HSS and provides a kidfriendly atmosphere leading up to kickoff.

Here, Smokey reaches celebrity status with the younger crowd as many of the children present experience their first encounter with the hound.

Meanwhile, the handlers mingle with large crowds of UT fans, often answering countless questions about the school’s prestigious mascot.

“Half the time we just spend time talking to people about the Vols, answering questions about Smokey,” White said. “You have to be really knowledgeable about the Smokey line and Smokey now. We all studied our Smokey history.”

Up next is the Vol Walk, where Smokey again becomes a major attraction as he weaves his way through the vast sea of orange upon entering the stadium.

With the game quickly approaching, Smokey and his handlers relax for just a moment inside their own locker room that also houses the spirit squad. Any alterations to the in-game protocol are discussed, and everyone regroups one last time before kickoff.

“Usually we’ll talk about if there’s anything different going on, like if something different is happening at halftime that usually doesn’t,” White said. “Then we’ll just get ready for the national anthem because right after that the band plays the V-O-L-S and makes the ‘T.’” For Thompson, the hectic mornings, chaotic hours and stressful mishaps all culminate at this final moment — when Smokey and his four handlers lead one of UT’s most-heralded football traditions.

“When you’re running out through the ‘T,’” Thompson said, “all the stress is gone.

“The adrenaline rush and just the feeling of being connected to the university like that makes up for it.”

14 • THE DAILY BEACON

Thursday, February 27, 2014 Sports Editor Troy Provost-Heron

SPORTS

tprovost@utk.edu

Assistant Sports Editor Dargan Southard

msoutha1@utk.edu

The man behind the Volunteer’s best friend

• File Photos

Mascot Smokey takes photos with fans at the Lady Vols’ “We Back Pat” game against Alabama at Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 20, 2013.

Smokey poses during the Lady Vols’ basketball game against Coker College at Thompson-Boling Arena on Nov. 4, 2012.

Troy Provost-Heron Sports Editor What could you do in five minutes?

The answer to that question could be an array of things, but for one UT student, five minutes is more than enough time to make friends with tens of thousands of people.

The process is as easy as a costume change and a mask on a Saturday afternoon in the fall.

Following a morning full of appearances throughout the campus, there he is, leading the Vols out of the tunnel as they run through the ‘T.’ “I don’t really know how to explain it, that’s just such a great experience,” he said. “There is just such a big feeling of family because everybody is there for the same cause, they all just love UT and there is just so much orange and they are all just chanting at the same time. It’s just one of the really big things about the job.”

That job, of course, is being Smokey, the mascot of the University of Tennessee.

In his three years in the suit, he has perfected a character that requires an extraordinary amount of detail for every last second of a game.

Costume changes, gathering props and preparing skits, celebrations and interac-

tions are all requirements of the job, and while under the mask, all of it must be done without going unseen.

“The ultimate goal is that Smokey is seen and prevalent at all given times in the stadium,” spirit program Head Coach Joy Postell-Gee said. “When Smokey leaves or departs for any amount of time, that should never be a visible observance of any fan.”

Throughout history, Smokey has been much more than just a character for the university.

The mascot was integral in bringing national recognition to the spirit program, winning the school’s first College Mascot National Championship back in 2000.

The school has since won two more mascot titles, the last coming in 2008.

But with all the history and success that prior Smokeys have seen, PostellGee, who has run the spirit program since 1991, said the current Smokey rivals anyone who has had the privilege of putting on the suit.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my past couple of decades to have very successful mascots,” Postell-Gee said. “(With that said) I would venture to say that he is probably up there with the top five. His passion for being Smokey, first and foremost, is very equivalent with any of those in the top five. The other thing is that, often times mascots when they come into the program as an understudy, they come into a really good situation because they have a great leader in their head Smokey, but I feel like, unlike some of the other former mascots, he was not provided that luxury.

“So not only has he had to provide that for the character Smokey, but also for his understudies, so I feel like he has had to do double duty and I think he has certainly captured some goals and expectations that we had become complacent on in the past couple of years.”

With an identity that needs to remain anonymous, the ability to snap out of character once the suit has been shed is a necessity.

After an entire day of interacting with fans, however, that task is easier said than done, he says.

“After an event with little kids, I’ll go change and get out of suit and just be walking out – and I’ve caught myself from doing this several times – but I’ll go to pat a kid on the head on the way out and

then be like ‘well that’s weird, I shouldn’t do that because I’m not a dog right now,’” he said. “So it’s really hard to snap back and forth.”

Anyone who’s ever seen Smokey knows how outgoing he can be, but the personality of the person behind the mask is nowhere near what Smokey’s is.

“Contrary to popular opinion that a mascot is always outgoing and vibrant and very communicative, his personality is not like that,” Postell-Gee said. “He is much more comfortable putting that Smokey head on and he is very verbal with his expression (as Smokey).”

As one can imagine, in three years, Smokey has racked up many memories.

While being on the sidelines and celebrating touchdowns – or whatever the scoring may be for the multitude of sports that Smokey attends – is an exciting experience for him, nothing lives up to the one thing he loves most about the job – interaction.

“Whenever a little kid just runs to you – and some kids are really scared and that’s fine – but others just adore you, and they’ll run up to you and look at you with these big eyes, and they are just so enthralled by the mascot,” he said.

“Those are my favorite moments.”

When it comes to the actual games, though, one moment is right up there with interacting with the fans. “(Other than the interaction) I guess a really close second would be running through the ‘T.’ Just hearing the crowd roar as you run, it’s like you’re being carried by their voices.”

And when a long day’s work of being the most recognizable figure on campus is over and the suit is hung up for the night, that’s when he goes back to being one of more than 27,000 students, a transformation that definitely elicits some emotion.

“It’s really humbling, I’ll just put it that way,” he said. “It’s hard to explain.”

But while the experience of unmasking and reverting back to a student is a humbling one, the feeling he gets seeing through the eyes of Smokey is one he wouldn’t give away for anything.

“It’s an opportunity to get out of myself and to be something else,” he said. “Some people say when you read a book, you get to escape your life and you’re just like that character for awhile ... it’s exactly like that, only real life.”