06 28 13

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Issue 9, Volume 123

Friday, June 28, 2013

Sessions offer college experience to high schoolers Summer program gives students tools for acclimation at UT Gabrielle O’Neal Contributor

• Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

TVA may have troubled horizon Federal budget mentions reform; UT report raises questions McCord Pagan

Staff Writer The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy announced Monday that a policy brief by fellow Mary English provided the official UT stance on a proposed reform of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Tucked away inside President Obama’s 2014 Federal budget lies a 212-word paragraph that has the potential to change many lives around Knoxville. TVA was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 as a way to create cheap electricity for the South, mainly through hydroelectric dams, while also providing much needed economic development to a region that was mostly rural and poor. Since that time, TVA has evolved into a major player in the region’s economy, serving nine million residents, directly employing 12,000, and taking credit for assisting with 48,000 private sector jobs. TVA’s model is unique in that it is a self-suffi-

cient government agency, enjoying some degree of autonomy. But the small mention of TVA in the Federal budget speaks of a potentially major structural change inside the provider of cheap electricity for Rocky Top and much of the SEC. The entire text may be found online, and it gives the impression that the government is no longer interested in seeing TVA remain a completely government-owned company, and that it would save money to divest. The federal corporation is $25 billion dollars in debt and will need to spend roughly the same amount over the next 10 years to bring it up to more stringent Environmental Protection Agency standards. According to Duncan Mansfield, a spokesman for the TVA, they must completely bring off-line 18 of TVA’s 59 coal fired plants by 2018. While Tennessee is known for its hundreds of miles of waterways, hydroelectricity now only makes up about 12 percent of its overall power, with coal supply-

ing 40 percent of its energy, the most of any resource. As most of these plants are older, they must be either decommissioned or have new scrubbers installed. All of this ends up being quite expensive, which is where the $25 billion dollars comes from. However, TVA has a budget cap of $30 billion, which has been in place since 1979. “We have very high standards and good performance, and I believe we are in the Top 5 in utilities when it comes to green energy,” Mansfield said. Although TVA has not received any congressional funding since 1999, the President’s brief plan is to immediately create a proposal for the possibility of federal divestment of TVA and the complete or partial privatization of its business. As a federal corporation, TVA has no stocks to sell to investors as a means of raising capital. Instead, the organization sells bonds to cover most of its budget. While its roughly $12 billion annual revenue covers the cost of its operations and more, the company still must plan for the retirement of plants and construction of new ones. According to a policy brief written by Mary English, a Fellow of the Howard Baker Jr.

Center for Public Policy, TVA’s outstanding debt is not backed by the Federal government, meaning that in the event of a default, only TVA would be responsible, not the taxpayers. However, the $25 million debt is still counted in the federal deficit, making up .2 percent of the government’s outstanding $16.8 trillion in loans. “Eliminating TVA’s debt would make a miniscule dent in the Federal deficit,” English said. According to an information sheet provided by Mansfield to The Daily Beacon, the debt belonging to TVA has actually gone down from its high of nearly $28 billion in 1996. In English’s policy brief, she has pointed out that a complete sale of TVA to a single utility would be unlikely, as “the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission probably would object to its stifling effects on wholesale electricity competition.” According to English, this would leave the selling of TVA assets to several other private utility companies in the region. see TVA REPORT on page 2

Students from Knoxville high schools, including AustinEast and Fulton, attended the 12th annual UT Project GRAD Summer Institute during the month of June. Students studied cancer genetic markers in the STEM education method through science, technology, engineering and math. They also worked on written and verbal communications as a part of the program. “We have one big, primary goal,” said Steven Waller, codirector of Project GRAD. “And that goal is to give students the opportunity to testdrive a college experience.”

For more information on Project GRAD, visit projectgradknovxille.com. There are two one-week sessions during which students take a series of morning and afternoon classes. Math and English courses are designed to educate students one level above their regular standings in high school. In addition to those courses, participants take a two-hour college research skills course that is managed by Hodges Library. “The library has a phenomenal outreach effort and fortunately we were able to collaborate with them.” Waller said. “The course teaches students how to properly use the library and not to be afraid of using the tools. “They’re taught how to use

the tools to do college research and then they also end up turning in a research paper at the end of the week.” In addition to courses, students volunteered at the Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED), Knox Area Rescue Ministries, the Phyllis Wheatly Center and Odd Felloe Cemetery. “For a lot of students it is a time when they discover college is not like high school,” said Ronni Chandler, associate director of Project GRAD. “The great thing about Summer Institute is that it is a taste of what that experience is going to be like for both kids and their families.” There are several Project GRAD programs across the country, the first began in Houston, Texas in 2001. UT has spent about $1.1 million on this initiative. “It’s one of the more novel programs in the country,” Waller said. After completing Summer Institute, participants are eligible for a $4,000 scholarship to attend an accredited two-year or four-year college of their choice. Students have to maintain a 2.5 GPA and graduate high school. “We had a lot of excellent students that really performed well at the institute,” Waller said. “I think a lot of students left the institute clear that they wanted to come to school here at The University of Tennessee. But I also think it was a period of reflection for the students.” As for next year’s Project Grad Summer Institute, Waller said that, in order to keep up with the changing needs of students, the program may make some adjustments. He maintained that the primary goal, giving high school students a chance to test-drive college, will remain.

Martin case gets heated in court The Associated Press

• Photo courtesy of Facebook

George Zimmerman’s defense attorney insisted during several testy exchanges with a key prosecution witness Thursday that Trayvon Martin injected race into their confrontation and insinuated the young woman was not believable because of inconsistencies in her story. However, 19-year-old Rachel Jeantel stood firm in her testimony about the night Zimmerman shot the unarmed black 17-year-old after a fight that Jeantel said she overheard while on the phone with Martin. Jeantel has said Martin told her he was being followed by a “creepy-ass cracker” — implying Martin was being followed by a white man because of his race. Zimmerman identifies as Hispanic. Race has permeated nationwide discussions of the

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case since the February 2012 shooting, which prompted nationwide protests and claims from critics that police took too long to arrest Zimmerman. The neighborhood watch volunteer has pleaded not guilty and says he acted in selfdefense. Defense attorney Don West also zeroed in on slight differences among three different accounts of what happened before Martin’s killing, in an apparent effort to discredit her. Jeantel has described what she heard over the phone in a deposition; a letter to Martin’s mother; and an interview with the Martin family attorney. Among the differences highlighted by West: — In some accounts, she said race was an issue but not in others. — Jeantel testified Wednesday that her friend’s last words were “Get off! Get

off!” before Martin’s phone went silent. But on Thursday, under cross-examination, she conceded that she hadn’t mentioned that in her account of what happened to Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton. She had left out some details to spare Fulton’s feelings, and also because neither Fulton nor the Martin family attorney asked her directly about them, Jeantel said. — After Martin asks why he is being followed, Zimmerman responds, “What are you doing around here?” in one account by Jeantel. In another account, according to West, she says Zimmerman said, “What are you talking about?” Zimmerman, 29, could get life in prison if convicted of seconddegree murder. Zimmerman followed Martin in his truck and called a police dispatch number before he and the teen got into a fight. Zimmerman has said he

opened fire only after the teenager jumped him and began slamming his head against the concrete sidewalk. Zimmerman has denied the confrontation had anything to do with race, as Martin’s family and their supporters have claimed. Jeantel testified Thursday that she thought race was an issue because Martin told her he was being followed by a white man. But West responded, “It was racial because Trayvon put race in this?” The exchange got testier as the day progressed. When asked by West if she had previously told investigators that she heard what sounded like somebody being hit at the end of her call with Martin, Jeantel said, “Trayvon got hit.” “You don’t know that? Do you? You don’t know that Trayvon got hit,” West answered angrily.

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Flip to page 3 for review of ‘Love & Misadventure’

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2 • THE DAILY BEACON

Friday, June 28, 2013 Editor-in-Chief Victoria Wright

IN SHORT

vwright6@utk.edu

Managing Editor RJ Vogt rvogt@utk.edu

TVA REPORT

Around Rocky Top

continued from Page 1 English said that customers in the Tennessee Valley, if a privatization plan were to go through, “would have… changes in rates, for sure.” The very nature of TVA and how it distributes power means it is more efficient as a whole, and was not meant to be split apart. According to English, a private venture would not be as concerned with controlling the ‘peaks’ of power that accompany any power system, which typically occur in the summer and winter when demand is highest. The lack of coherence might create problems for the consumer down the road. According to Mansfield, the TVA has found that its current not-for-profit model works quite well, as it also allows for low-cost power for all customers, as well as its extensive management of the environment around Tennessee. In addition to power generation, TVA is in charge of flood control, river management for 11,000 miles of shoreline, and 293,000 acres of reservoir land, all projects that would have to be taken over by private company should TVA be sold off in whole or in part. All of this has been provided by TVA from its revenue. Although Congress ended appropriations for electricity generation in 1959, it continued to fund these wildlife programs for another 40 years before TVA took over completely. Since that time, the corporation has not received any taxpayer dollars and has paid back nearly $4 billion of its initial $1.5 billion congressional investment (the money was still a loan and had accrued interest). “Once folks are clear on what TVA is doing, we can change taxpayers’ view,” Mansfield said. Politically, English said she does not see a divestment as very likely, but notes that it is

being considered nonetheless. “ The Obama Administration may be sincere, it may be trying to be proactive, but it is still worthy of careful scrutiny,” English said. “Regionally, it [TVA] is very important. This model has been welcomed for the past 80 years.” When TVA was formed in 1933, it was also designed as a form of economic development, and according to Mansfield, continues to do much in the form of assistance. TVA helps to identify and certify the sites that are good for businesses to use, including assisting with numerous ‘megasites’ such as the recent Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. “There is still great value in providing that service, it has helped retain private industry jobs,” Mansfield said. However, on page 52 of the FY2014 budget, the administration has come to a different conclusion. “Reducing or eliminating the Federal Government’s role in programs such as TVA,” the budget states, “which have achieved their original objectives and no longer require Federal participation, can help put the Nation on a sustainable fiscal path.” “[TVA] works very closely with the 155 local utilities, and helps attract and retain industry and is active in economic development,” Mansfield said. “We are much greater than electricity.” Given that TVA is legally required to keep rates as low as possible, it has done much to generate much good will towards the region, yet is still cooperating with the Office of Budget Management. Nevertheless, neither English nor Mansfield said they are overly worried about the prospect of the sale, and noted that TVA has survived past criticism.

Hannah Cather • The Daily Beacon

An umbrella provides shady protection for students travelling in the afternoon heat.

THIS DAY IN 1985: Route 66 decertified After 59 years, the iconic Route 66 enters the realm of history on this day in 1985, when the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials decertifies the road and votes to remove all its highway signs. Measuring some 2,200 miles in its heyday, Route 66 stretched from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, passing through eight states. According to a New York Times article about its decertification, most of Route 66 followed a path through the wilderness forged in 1857 by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Edward Beale at the head of a caravan of camels. Over the years, wagon trains and cattlemen eventually made way for trucks and passenger automobiles. The idea of building a highway along this route surfaced in Oklahoma in the mid-1920s as a way to link the state to cities like Chicago and

HISTORY

Los Angeles. Highway Commissioner Cyrus S. Avery touted it as a way of diverting traffic from Kansas City, Missouri and Denver. In 1926, the highway earned its official designation as Route 66. The diagonal course of Route 66 linked hundreds of mostly rural communities to the cities along its route, allowing farmers to more easily transport grain and other types of produce for distribution. The highway was also a lifeline for the long-distance trucking industry, which by 1930 was competing with the railroad for dominance in the shipping market. Route 66 was the scene of a mass westward migration during the 1930s, when more than 200,000 people traveled from the poverty-stricken Dust Bowl to California. John Steinbeck immortalized the highway, which he called the “Mother Road,” in his classic 1939 novel “The Grapes of Wrath.” Beginning in the 1950s, the building of a

massive system of interstate highways made older roads increasingly obsolete, and by 1970, modern four-lane highways had bypassed nearly all sections of Route 66. In October 1984, Interstate-40 bypassed the last original stretch of Route 66 at Williams, Arizona, and the following year the road was decertified. According to the National Historic Route 66 Federation, drivers can still use 85 percent of the road, and Route 66 has become a destination for tourists from all over the world. Often called the “Main Street of America,” Route 66 became a pop culture mainstay over the years, inspiring its own song (written in 1947 by Bobby Troup, “Route 66” was later recorded by artists as varied as Nat “King” Cole, Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones) as well as a 1960s television series. More recently, the historic highway was featured prominently in the hit animated film “Cars” (2006).

Letterto the Editor Chancellor Cheek, I appreciate your decision to let us know about the tuition increase of 6%. I appreciate your decision to increase the tuition for the betterment of our great university. Nothing makes me prouder than seeing my name on a diploma from The University of Tennessee. I have always wanted to sing that Alma Mater knowing that I am an alum of this wonderful university. I must digress, though. I am incredibly irked by the knowledge of you voting in your own raise. I have a problem knowing that you can raise tuition and raise your salary in the same breath. I read your mission statement and hear of your goal to make this great university a Top 25 Research University and can’t help but wonder if you really have any skin in this game. I understand that you have this great vision of a better UTK and you are meeting this challenge head-on. But I have to wonder how committed you are to this. Funding is the difference maker in this venture. You taking your cut without seeing this through is certainly disheartening. I have to wonder of you are capable of leading us to the top. I hope this email finds you well, sir. I hope you understand that I want what is best for my Tennessee, our Tennessee. I want everyone to see how great an institution UTK really is. I hope you can take us there. Just realize that the Vols that you are leading, my peers and I, are looking up to you. We want to see you sacrificing along with us to achieve this lofty goal. And right now, you, sir, are on the opposite end of the rope. Please come pull on our side. Sincerely, Jeffrey Allen Anderson II Graduate Student The University of Tennessee


Friday, June 28, 2013

THE DAILY BEACON • 3

ARTS & CULTURE

Arts & Culture Editor Melodi Erdogan merdogan@utk.edu

Indie poet fails to please in one-dimensional collection Melodi Erdogan Arts & Culture Editor Meet Lang Leav, whose social media presence is consistent and intimate, even if her poems serve as shallow reflections of typical young adult angst. It’s becoming quite a challenge for physical books to remain relevant in a world where tablets and e-readers dominate the plain text of paper, but Leav is one of several authors who have taken advantage of a growing social media community in order to connect directly with fans. A native Australian artist who mainly writes poems and paints, Leav has accounts on every platform imaginable, including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr. With daily updates on each, Leav’s work gets delivered to around 20,000 boards, dashboards and timelines with each new post. This is how her new book, “Love & Misadventure,” came into existence. The book is a collection of poems accompanied by intricate illustrations, both produced by Leav herself. The poet had been “publishing” her works online and swiftly gained a huge fan base, opening the door for her 78-page book to be officially published. “Love & Misadventure” is currently available in all major bookstores. The majority of the poems, each fitting on a single page, are short and sweet, but their content is anything but. With just a few words, Leav combines a set of terms that accurately portrays the difficulties that arise in passionate, unadulterated love and in turn, exemplifies the petty, over-emotional behavior that most often comes with it. Each poem either falls under the subtitles of Misadventure, The Circus of Sorrows, and Love, in that order. Although the division of poems is smart, there is a loss of a common theme between each, causing an unnecessary break from poem to poem. Each piece could easily fit into a different subtitle, although, the breaks do provide for a momentary respite from the painful accuracy that Leav’s words speak. She fills the spaces with her own artwork, which loses its pizzazz when printed in gray ink that barely shows detail. In the poem “Mornings With You,” Leav writes,

Hannah Cather • The Daily Beacon

“I slowly wake / as day is dawning, / to fingertips / and lips imploring. / The sheets against my skin, / he says, / like wrapping paper / on Christmas morning.” Her balance in the structure of the poem is safe, and repeated in other poems in the collection, but the content is built around forced similes that are unnecessary. Though clever, the lines fail to flow and only introduce themes that muddle the real meaning behind the stanzas. Leav’s poetry could be a sister to Taylor Swift’s song lyrics; the undeniable relevancy of the poems scream for attention particularly from young women who struggle with romance and are infatuated by any boy band.

“Love and Misadventure,” as proven by the answers Leav writes in response to fan questions on Tumblr, is written from an autobiographical perspective, which at some points of the book becomes overwhelming. Poetry, like any other piece of writing, is best when it comes from the heart. Leav sometimes takes that literally, transforming a love poem to the ghastly reality of romance and relationships, and for pessimists, a staggering desire to chuck the book at the wall. “Sundays with Michael,” is a poem about her fellow poet/artist boyfriend (or lover, as she likes to call him) Michael Faudet, who she also dedicates half of the book to, “The half of this book – the

Movie features actors as themselves it both brilliantly honest and disappointingly narcissistic; in a movie where each actor plays himself, weak scenes continually depict a group of friends goofing around to see who can push the limit furthest. The result is subpar. The film’s premise is simple; Rogen and his best friend from Canada, Jay Baruchel, go to a party at James Franco’s house and the apocalypse strikes during the night. After a giant sinkhole opens up and beams of blue light send some people ascending slowly to the skies, Rogen and Co. hole up in Franco’s fortress. The mirth inherent in playing yourself shines through in the near-constant riffs on each other’s media personas. Jonah Hill, at one • Photo courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes point praying to a God he barely believes in, begins by saying “It’s me, Jonah Hill from R.J. Vogt ‘Moneyball’” in a blatant stab at his inflated Managing Editor head after receiving an Academy Award nomination from the film. Franco delights Actors have long fascinated America in mocking the neo-intellectual persona that because their lives seem so foreign, mysteri- he’s created, fighting to preserve his art and ous in the convoluted. When one man adopts saving all his favorite props. And perhaps the so many different roles, what sort of personal most entertaining gags come from Michael Cera, the generally soft-spoken dork who life emerges? Seth Rogen, however, fascinates in a dif- became Juno’s baby daddy and has a penferent way. By playing what is essentially chant for playing the sucker. In “This is the the same character in every film – brutally End,” Cera ditches the nice guy persona for witty, generally kind and casually stoned – that of a cocaine addict with raunchy tendenhe has created a unique niche in the world cies and no shame. It’s a refreshing departure of American cinema. We watch his movies that has the audience in stitches up until Cera’s last laugh. because, to some extent, we know him. The jokes on each other are as pleasurable This strange relationship between the audience and director of “This Is the End” makes for the audience as they were for the actors

making them because, to some extent, we feel like we know this gang. It’s the Judd Apatow crew, our buddies from L.A. It’s not so hard to envision a party with them going exactly like described in the movie. The narcissism emerges, then, not from the fact that they are playing themselves but out of the apparent unwillingness to edit out their most sordid descents into comedy. Too many times, a situation stretches on too long, as it does when Danny McBride and Franco have an extended shouting match over who gets to ejaculate on what. The idea of these brilliant comedic actors all surviving the end of the world is hilarious, but the reality of watching their flattest jokes for scene after scene grew stale quite quickly. The disappointment is only augmented by campy special effects, surely intended to make the end of the world feel as much like a joke as the actors seem to think it is. With some unnecessary CGI anatomy and PhotoBooth-esque flames, even Satan himself seems like an exaggeration that could have used some heavy-handed editing. To be fair, Rogen and his crew provide plenty of memorable insights into the hilarity of reality, even at the end of the world. A debate on what exactly gluten is and the immediacy with which the gang begins taping video confessionals are exactly the kinds of things we think actors would do. Even doubts about religion are relatable, if not exactly reverent. The movie thrills when realistically making fun of itself; it fails only its delivery, when the talented friends refuse to edit out their inanity and in so doing, make fun of their audience.

whole of my heart.” The poem is longer than most and keeps a flow and rhythm, yet still portrays an achingly charming liaison, and Leav continues the cliché that “love only exists in poems.” This hopeless romantic has done well with her social media presence and thoroughly appeals to her audience, which unfortunately is a strict range of females aging from 17 to 25. At times her poems are too dainty and too controlled, not being able to fully connect with the messages and evoke emotion. Yet they perpetuate the fantasy of a paralyzing romance that every teen pop star has brainwashed young girls into believing with every cutesy, petty album they release.


4 • THE DAILY BEACON

Friday, June 28, 2013 Editor-in-Chief Victoria Wright

OPINIONS

vwright6@utk.edu

Contact us letters@utk.edu

Hindsight can reverse intentions R.J. Vogt Managing Editor The Defense of Marriage Act has been struck down, and its author has fled the scene in the style of another landmark-trial role player, Norma Leah McCorvey. Gone is a stale relic of the mid 90s, an act that claimed to defend marriage by making it a prize for only the straight and narrow-minded. First, a brief history of DOMA. The bill was originally introduced in Congress in 1996 by -- here’s a shocker -- a Southern Representative from Georgia, Bob Barr. He went on to be the Libertarian Party’s nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election. DOMA had two main arguments: firstly, no State should be required to recognize the samesex marriage of another state. Second, the Federal government would only recognize marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. When the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that this second argument was unconstitutional, Twitter and Facebook and living room television screens exploded with the conviction that we were, indeed, witnessing history. But what did DOMA’s daddy have to say? In a statement to U.S. News, Barr said he still personally believes marriage should be defined as between one man and one woman, but trusts the “judgement of the people of Georgia more than that of Washington D.C.” Essentially, the author of one of the most antigay bills in American history has retreated from his attempt to elucidate a national definition of marriage and set up camp in the Respect for Marriage Act, which instead returns marriagedefining power to each individual state. State’s rights, y’all. Barr’s reversal on the rightfully-dismissed DOMA reflects the age-old adage, “hindsight is 20/20,” a cliché oft used to justify wistful reflections on previous decisions. Change of heart moments brought on by hindsight’s famed clarity happen more often than you might think, as in the case of Normal Leah McCorvey. The infamous Jane Roe whose 1973 lawsuit rendered state laws banning abortion unconsti-

tutional has changed sides and is now heavily active in pro-life causes. She represents another key player in American policy whose landmark case has been in the news this week. On Tuesday night, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis successfully fillibustered a bill that would have made abortions much harder to attain. Unlike Barr, who jumped ship at the right time, McCorvey is one whose hindsight left her on the opposite end of success. She was forced to look on in Texas as her current ideology suffered yet another blow from a movement she spawned. Bob Barr, an anti-gay states’ rights advocate whose DOMA lies shattered on the Supreme Court floor; Norma McCorvey, a former prochoice advocate whose legislation, now regretted, continues to protect the women and endanger the fetuses of Texas. These two figures of American political history, though perhaps rarely mentioned, represent more than the transformative power of hindsight. They are two victims of the troubling power of a firey zeitgeist. It’s not that hindsight is so much clearer than the here and now; we just cannot always see through the smoke. The landmark SCOTUS decision, for example, has many gay rights activists and supporters turning Facebook into a sea of red equal signs, and it is easy to predict rainbows and butterflies. But the decision deftly avoided the first argument of DOMA, which supports state power. In a country where 33 states forbid same-sex marriage, the battle is not over. And in Texas, where Wendy and her rabid Twitter following saved 37 of 42 abortion clinics in the state, the war on abortion will rage on. McCorvey, now far removed from her stint as a Jane Roe, recently starred in “Doonby,” a prolife independent film that opened for a February sneak peak in Dallas. People think hindsight offers clarity because the experiences between now and then color in the lines of the previous vision, but the cliché more accurately reflects the flexibility of human conviction. Barr and McCorvey have not reached revelation; they suffered delusion from the start. Wednesday, the Supreme Court saw clearly. Here’s to hoping there’s no judicial change of hearts. RJ Vogt is a rising junior in Haslam College Scholars. He can be reached at rvogt@utk.edu.

What the Duck • Aaron Johnson

RHYMES WITH ORANGE • Hilary Price

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.

Despite qualms, ESPN a solid network Commitee of Infractions by

Greg Bearringer A week after bashing ABC for having a terrible website, and having been a critic of ESPN in the past, I am going to disagree Mr. Vogt (who is a pretty good writer, all things considered) about how good ESPN is at what they do. Before I appear too passionate in the defense of ESPN, let me say that their sins are significant. For starters, they still employ Stephen A. Smith (who has never been good) and Skip Bayless (who hasn’t been good for over a decade). They have been known to punt on major stories, the Penn State scandal being the worst example of many. And I do believe that they let their business department control their journalistic side too often. The three best examples of this are: hiring Rick Riley a writer so bad that ESPN had to disable online comments on his columns, any news about college football realignment (which impacts their gigantic contracts with various conferences) and, finally, they are told to over commit to stories despite the various creative minds begging to cover other subjects (Tebow, Favre just to name a couple). There are three distinct issues brought up by Mr. Vogt that I have an issue with. The first is a perfect example of what appears to be wrong with ESPN but is really a problem with us. The National Hockey League (NHL) gets the shaft, the narrative goes, because they chose to be on Versus (which is a cable network… seriously) instead of ESPN. While this is kind of true, you cannot blame ESPN for the NHL being, until very recently, the worst run organization in sports for at least a decade. While their decision to stick with Versus was really about getting air time on their parent company’s station—NBC— and thus isn’t as bad as it appears, the sad truth is that a ten year, $2 billion deal is a sad comment on the state of the franchise. For comparison, the

Angels will be bringing in $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. That’s right, a single franchise is bringing in almost as much as the NHL is from their Versus deal. The reason why the NHL is not the same screen time on ESPN as it did in the mid-90s? Its just not that big of a sport in the country. ESPN doesn’t emphasize it because people are just not watching it. My second quarrel is the implication that ESPN ignored Jason Collin’s decision to come out. For starters, it most certainly did not. There were a huge glut of articles and a massive amount of TV time devoted to it. The reason it didn’t have the staying power? The general reaction to the announcement was pretty bland. There wasn’t really any controversy. ESPN— who employs the most prominent gay journalist in sports, LZ Granderson— reacted by committing quite a bit of time to the personal side of the story, and did a fairly good job of it. But after every major columnist writes a story about a topic, and every one who can be interviewed on a subject is interviewed, well, that’s about all one can do. The most remarkable thing about this story wasn’t just that Jason Collins came out; it’s that so many across the NBA vocalized their support. My biggest complaint about Mr. Vogt’s article is that he blames ESPN for doing many things poorly. The real truth is that a good amount of the blame falls on three other parties: NBC, Fox Sports, and us. You see, the sad truth is that Fox Sports and NBC aren’t as entertaining or as informative as ESPN. Because of that, people are forced to watch them. Of course, what we watch and read directs the big wigs at ESPN to still employ people like Mr. Smith. If you want ESPN to be better, the solution is clear: don’t watch “First Take”. Watch “Outside the Lines” or “E:60” instead. Go to Grantland. com (which the network owns and is very good) instead of hoping that Reilly’s column happens to be good. Any other form of complaint against them just won’t matter much. You have the power to make them better. Greg Bearringer is a graduate student in history and can be reached at gbearrin@gmail.

Fashion protests Turkish gov’t Whispering Sweet Nothings By Melodi Erdogan

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Umit Benan is a menswear designer who was born and bred in Istanbul, Turkey. Like many Turkish citizens, Benan is advocating against Prime Minister Erdogan and his dictatorial regime that is slowly but surely leading to what may be a civil war for the once-hopeful European Union member. “I started designing this collection six months ago, but I decided to do it two years ago because it made me think about who we are and where we are going with Turkey,” Benan said in an interview with Style.com after his spring 2014 menswear presentation on Monday. “This has been going on for 10 years, I feel like we are loosing our identity.” The fashion industry is not directly correlated with politics. One is a creative, business-driven trade while the other manages government, policy, plus internal and external affairs. Benan’s collection not only criticizes the current Turkish state but also alludes to the country’s Ottoman antiquity. This inspired his collection but also provided for a fresh, eyeopening approach to fashion, which sometimes is extremely shallow. Benan’s models walked down the runway in long tunics, three-piece suits and identical paper masks over their faces all with the show of the classic fez hats that were in style during the Ottoman rule. Despite the collection being shown for the spring season, the palette was dominated by dark colors such as navy, brown and a dark, blood red. “The way I am presenting is pretty serious, pretty important volume,” Benan said after his show. “I don’t want to take the subject lightly, because if I presented it lightly it would not be taken seriously.” It is interesting to observe how fashion suddenly became a part of something bigger. What is stereotyped as materialistic nonsense, with a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes costing upwards of a thousand bucks, suddenly opened

the door for political evaluation. The context is everything. While police were using threats and tear gas on protestors as Prime Minister Erdogan stood aside, Benan debuted his exquisite collection in Milan, Italy, only a few countries away. Had Benan been presenting his collection in his own country, he would have been jailed, just as so many journalists have been for speaking negatively of the Prime Minister and his anti-secular policy. There’s no doubt that Benan’s collection will receive mixed reviews for creating a collection based off a very strong critique. The state of the government in Turkey inspired Benan just as prohibition inspired Gatsby and corruption inspired Kanye. The ideas these artists base their work off involves the understanding of complex, detailed events lying beneath the surface of what they created but still lending themselves to individual creative expression. For many people, international conflict does not affect daily life. Coffee will still be offered with cream and the grocery store will always be stocked with crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jelly. Maybe it is because American media focuses too much on gossip and fluff to fully inform their citizens, but with the knowledge of global affairs and news outside of the domestic borders comes the ability to understand conflict and explain culture, fashion and much more within the correct context. It is very easy to be ignorant of world affairs and disregard global news, especially since it won’t negatively affect your sandwich making. The world will still turn if the television mysteriously changes channels to Bravo at the sight or mention of Afghanistan. Although, with Benan’s collection, it is obvious that current affairs happening across the globe shape the rest of the world in a subtle yet effective way, easily flying under many radars that don’t know better. Ultimately, by staying in tune with the rest of the world, life becomes a little more interesting, and who wouldn’t want that? Melodi Erdogan is a sophomore in journalism and electronic media. She can be reached at merdogan@utk.edu.


Friday, June 28, 2013

THE DAILY BEACON • 5

ARTS & CULTURE

Friday, June 28

Arts & Culture Editor Melodi Erdogan merdogan@utk.edu

Saturday, June 29 What: Jill Andrews with Amanda Platt When: 9:30 p.m. Where: Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria Price: $10 Melodi’s Take: Got a date this Saturday night? Barley’s is where you should go. This Old City restaurant/bar/concert hall is the hip-happening place almost every night of the week, and Saturdays always feature the coolest, underground artists that Knoxville could ask for. This weekend it’s Jill Andrews, a folk singer who has a voice that could potentially break glass. Her range and clarity will be breathtaking in the small yet intimate space Barley’s provides. She’ll be preceded by Amanda Platt, another singer who you’ll fall in love with by the end of her set. • Photo courtesy of Facebook

• Photo courtesy of Facebook

What: Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band with Milk Carton Kids When: 8 p.m. Where: Bijou Theatre Price: $21.50 Melodi’s Take: When you hear the name Josh Ritter, think of Leonard Cohen singing songs of archaeologists falling in love with mummies. Ritter, a Idaho native, redefines the Americana music genre by pairing it with interesting lyrics that make for compelling stories and a undeniably happy beat in his tunes. He always performs with his Royal City Band, and Americana duo Milk Carton Kids will be opening the show for them. Watch Ritter perform from his latest album, “The Beast in its Tracks,� because it’s sure to be an amazing night.

Sunday, June 30 What: Oom-Pah: A Festival of Horns and Drums When: 7 p.m. Where: Clayton Center for the Arts Price: $25 Melodi’s Take: It’s officially the last day of June, why not celebrate with some percussion? All weekend long concert bands, percussion groups and even the Knoxville Community Band will take part in this fun festival that is paying homage to the instruments that give music life. By the end of the weekend your head will be spinning from all the beats you’ve heard. In a good way.

• Photo courtesy of Facebook

What: Ray Wylie Hubbard When: 8 p.m. Where: Shed Price: $20 Melodi’s Take: Looking for some good ol’ country entertainment this weekend? Then Ray Wylie Hubbard is your guy. Hubbard, a country folk and blues artist, is visiting Shed to give a performance that will likely rip some strings on a banjo. Having more than 30 years of experience, Hubbard ranks as one of the best living Texas songwriters and is often compared to fellow Texans Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Hit up Shed this Saturday to see this guy rock out. He’ll leave you shaking in your boots.

• Photo courtesy of Milk Carton Kids

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6 • THE DAILY BEACON

Friday, June 28, 2013

SPORTS

Sports Editor Steven Cook scook21@utk.edu

UT plans to honor legendary coach with plaza eight NCAA championships and 32 combined SEC regular season and tournament titles. During her tenure, Summitt produced 14 Olympians, 21 WBCA/Kodak/State Farm AllAmericans who earned 36 honors and 39 All-SEC players who were recognized a total of 82 times. She also sent 34 of her players to the WNBA, including 15 drafted in the first round and three chosen with the first pick. The most impressive statistic of Summitt’s career, however, is the 100-percent graduation rate for players who completed their eligibility at Tennessee. That figure represents 122 Lady Vols who earned diplomas, including several who obtained master’s degrees before leaving Rocky Top. “This is a well-deserved honor for my coach, mentor and friend,” said Holly Warlick, current head coach of the Lady Vols, who played for Summitt from 1976-80 and coached alongside her for 27 years. “She will always be a legend for Tennesseans and others throughout the country.”

Staff Report From 1974-2012, Pat Summitt built an incomparable legacy as head coach of the Lady Vol basketball program. As a way of saying thank you for all she has meant to the University of Tennessee and the Volunteer State, the UT Athletics Department would like to honor the Hall of Fame coach and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient in a spectacular and lasting way. Plans call for Pat Summitt Plaza to be built at the corner of Lake Loudoun Boulevard and Phillip Fulmer Way, providing an impressive entry to the campus and greeting fans as they arrive via those avenues for basketball games at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Tennessee Fund is providing the opportunity for all Tennessee fans to pay tribute to the coach with the most victories in NCAA basketball history. The plaza will serve as a permanent testament to the career of college basketball’s greatest coach. A prime entry point for the new Lake Loudoun

• Photo courtesy of UT Sports

Boulevard entrance of campus, the area will feature a bronze statue of Coach Summitt and will celebrate the success of the Lady Vol basketball program. “This is an exciting opportunity to honor, in perpetuity, the coach who is synonymous with the sport of women’s bas-

ketball,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart said of the legendary Summitt. “Generations to come will enjoy seeing this beautiful statue and plaza named for this exceptional leader, role model and the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history.”

Tight end handcuffed on murder charges Associated Press New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in the shooting death of a friend prosecutors say had angered the NFL player at a nightclub a few days earlier by talking to the wrong people. Hernandez, 23, was taken from his North Attleborough home in handcuffs just over a week after Boston semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd’s bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park a mile away. Less than two hours after the arrest, the Patriots announced they had cut Hernandez, a 2011 Pro Bowl selection who signed a five-year contract last summer worth $40 million. Lloyd was a 27-year-old athlete with the Boston Bandits who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee. He was shot multiple times on a secluded gravel road, authorities said. Hernandez “drove the victim to that remote spot, and then he orchestrated his execution,” prosecutor Bill McCauley said. If convicted, Hernandez could get life in prison

• Photo courtesy of AP

without parole. “It is at bottom a circumstantial case. It is not a strong case,” his attorney, Michael Fee, said at a court hearing during which Hernandez was ordered held without bail on murder charges and five weapons counts. Lloyd’s family members cried and hugged as the prosecutor outlined the killing. Two were so overcome with emotion that they had to leave the courtroom. McCauley said the slaying stemmed from a night out at a Boston club called Rumor on June 14. He said Hernandez was upset about certain things, including that Lloyd had talked to some people Hernandez “had troubles with.” The prosecutor did not elaborate. Two days later, McCauley said, on the night of June 16, Hernandez texted two friends from out of state and asked them to hurry back to Massachusetts. Surveillance footage from Hernandez’s home showed him leaving with a gun, and he told someone in the house that he was upset and couldn’t trust anyone anymore, the prosecutor said. The three men picked up Lloyd at his home around 2:30 a.m., according to authorities. As they drove around in their rented car, they discussed what happened at the nightclub, and Lloyd started getting nervous, McCauley said. Lloyd texted his sister, “Did you see who I am with?” When she asked who, he answered, at 3:22 a.m., “NFL,” then, a minute later, he sent one final text: “Just so you know.” Within a few minutes, people working the overnight shift at the industrial park reported hearing gunshots, McCauley said. Surveillance video showed the car going into a remote area of the industrial park and emerging four minutes later, the prosecutor said. A short time later, Hernandez returned to his house, and he and one of the other men were seen on his home surveillance system holding guns, McCauley said. Then the system stopped recording, according to the prosecutor. Hernandez had recently installed the system and had 14 cameras inside and out, according to McCauley, who said detectives found footage was missing from the six to eight hours after the slaying. Investigators did not specify who fired the shots. They did not identify the two other people who were with Hernandez or say whether they were under arrest.

Pat Summitt’s influence stretches all over the world,” WNBA standout, ESPN analyst and former Lady Vol Kara Lawson said. “I’m thrilled the University of Tennessee is honoring a woman who, as a pioneer, champion and catalyst, shaped the women’s game. As a former

player, I feel fortunate to have learned under the greatest basketball coach in history.” In her 38 seasons as head coach at UT, Summitt guided the Lady Vols to an eye-popping 1,098-208 record and a remarkable winning percentage of .840. Along the way, her teams won

Renfroe hopes for future title Scott Carter

Staff Writer UT softball pitcher Ellen Renfroe developed a love for softball at an early age, playing for the West Tennessee Diamond in McKenzie, Tenn. She chose UT to continue both her education and her softball career because of many factors, including the coaching staff and her family’s unwavering loyalty to Tennessee sports. Her faith, however, was the most influential factor in her decision. “It was a decision I prayed about,” Renfroe said. “I felt that it (Tennessee) was where God was leading me to go.” Of course, the junior had an opportunity at Tennessee this season that very few people get to experience: she played on a team with her sisters. Her older sister, Ivy , is also a pitcher and the two have formed a dynamic duo on the mound. Their younger sister, Anna, is an infielder. “It’s been a blessing,” Ellen Renfroe said of competing alongside her two sisters. “This was the last season we will all be together. It was great watching my sister (Anna) get better, and to watch Ivy have such a great season.” After posting a stellar season personally and as a team in 2011-2012, Renfroe said she had high expectations for herself and her softball team this season. The Tennessee softball team did not disappoint, achieving a record of 52-12 and advancing to the Women’s College World Series championship, where they finished

• Photo courtesy of Tennessee Athletics

second to Oklahoma. The Lady Vols nearly took Game 1 in a thrilling affair that ended in a comeback Sooners victory, and they were swept in the final Game 2. Overall, Renfroe said that the team’s recipe for success was the ability to have fun and enjoy the moment. “I think down the stretch we all just really tied to embrace the need to have fun,” Renfroe said. “We play the best when we are relaxed and focused on our specific roles.” Despite finishing second after losing the championship series to Oklahoma, Renfroe says that her experience at the College World Series was still an excellent one.

“It’s awesome,” Renfroe added. “We can’t be down on ourselves because we were No. 2 and that’s an incredible honor. “Not all teams get there. It was great to be playing for a championship.” After an impressive regular season and postseason, Renfroe said she is excited about how the Lady Vols’ young players stepped up. She said she and her teammates are hopeful about the future of Tennessee softball and their chances of competing for a national championship on a year-by-year basis. “I definitely think we have potential (to win a national championship), it’s just going to take a lot of hard work.”


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