Volume 142, Issue 1 Wednesday, August 24, 2022 @utkdailybeacon|| | THE COMEBACKCOMEBACK TheTHEDailyBeacon What’s inside: The newest dorm? A Holiday Inn | 4 UT welcomes new Dean of Students | 16 A student’s guide to local politics | 20 Soccer, volleyball look for repeat success | 35 Welcome Back Edition
Is campus really moving on from the plague years? Are we emerging from that fog of burnout? Even as we remain cautious, it’s not too early to celebrate how far we’ve come together since the spring of 2020, when the prevailing mood at UT was fear. I’ve been reading back through the first mentions of COVID-19 in the pages of the Daily Beacon. It’s a strangely haunting experience.
WELCOME BACK
Daniel Dassow, Editor-in-Chief The Daily Beacon
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 20222 DAILY BEACON STAFF AND POLICY INFORMATION EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Daniel Dassow MANAGING EDITOR: Abby Ann Ramsey COPY CHIEF: Olivia Hayes NEWS EDITOR: Autumn Hall ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR: Emma Co�ey SPORTS EDITOR: Josh Lane ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR: Andrew Peters OPINIONS EDITOR: Lily Marcum DIGITAL PRODUCER: Kailee Harris PHOTO EDITOR: Alexandra Ashmore DESIGN EDITOR: Bella Hughes SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER: Jackie Dremel ADVERTISING/PRODUCTION STUDENT ADVERTISING MANAGER: Aubrey Bishop ADVERTISING PRODUCTION ARTIST: Victoria Wheelock CONTACTS TO REPORT A NEWS ITEM OR SUBMIT A PRESS RELEASE, please email editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com or call (865) 974-2348 TO PLACE AN AD, please email admanager@utk.edu or call (865) 974-5206 NEWSROOM: (865) 974-5206 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com LETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor must be exclusive to The Daily Beacon and cannot have been submitted to or published by other media. Letters should not exceed 400 words and can be edited or shortened for space. Letters can also be edited for grammar and typographical errors, and Letters that contain excessive grammatical errors can be rejected for this reason. Anonymous Letters will not be published. Authors should include their full name, mailing address, city of residence, phone number and e-mail address for verification purposes. Letters submitted without this information will not be published. The preferred method to submit a Letter to the Editor is to email the Editor-in-Chief. CORRECTIONS POLICY:It is the Daily Beacon’s policy to quickly correct any factual errors and clarify any potentially misleading information. Errors brought to our attention by readers or sta� members will be corrected and printed on page two of our publication. To report an error please send as much information as possible about where and when the error occurred to managingeditor@ utdailybeacon.com, or call our newsroom at (865) The974-5206.DailyBeacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee on Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. The o�ces are located at 1345 Circle Park Drive, 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 379960314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year or $100/semester. It is also available online at: www. utdailybeacon.com
If you had told me a few years ago that I would be happy to call UT my home, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. I was set on going to a school outside of Knoxville, my hometown, because I thought that going to UT would be a repeat of the same life I already knew. Then, plans shifted and my freshman year was nothing like the life I already knew. While I would like to credit my volunteer spirit or easy access to Chick-fil-a for making UT vastly different than I expected, I unfortunately owe it all to a global pandemic. Stepping foot on campus as a student for the first time in 2020 made my first year unlike anything I ever imagined.Ithink we can all agree that life changed for everyone after March 2020. I went into UT with low expectations, and to be honest, they weren’t even met as I woke up every morning to join Zoom in my dark dorm room and ate every PCB meal out of a styrofoam box. As Daniel said in his letter, “when we returned, it was to a different UT.” But I, along with the class of 2024, was not returning. The first UT we knew was not the UT most people knew and loved. But, slowly, classes began to gain a sense of normalcy, the dorm room became a memory of the past and I found my place on campus. At first, UT surprised me by not living up to my lackluster expectation. Over the past year, however, I have been surprised once again by how campus is slowly starting to become the exciting, welcoming place everyone has told me so much about. I got to have in-person conversations with small business owners, which felt so much more exciting than the awkward Zoom calls I had grown accustomed to. I faced the frustration of trying to find a commuter spot on campus. I brought my dog to the HSS lawn and a UT photographer treated her like a celebrity. Whether it’s been good or bad, UT has never failed to surprise me. I’m so happy to call this place home for another year, despite how cheesy that sounds.
On the cover: Freshmen Leila Robinson (left) and Jalyiah Driskill (right) outside the Student Union Ashmore
The first question was always, “do you think We were home for so long. And even when we Welcome back, Volunteers.
on Saturday Aug. 20, 2022. Alexandra
Letter from the Editor: It’s not too early to celebrate
First, there was a coverage of a Lunar New Year celebration on campus in which the writer applied the same emotional distance to the virus in China as to the wildfires which were then raging across Australia. We thought the virus had the same odds of reaching Knoxville as those fires.About a week later, as a freshman staff writer, I wrote the opening sentence of the Beacon’s first feature on COVID-19: “It’s a morbid word problem: If thousands of people contract a contagious virus in a Chinese city of millions, how long will it take for the virus to reach the University of TheTennessee?”answerwas about a month. I’ll always remember the mood on campus those weeks before we were sent home to quarantine. Professors were the first to get nervous, asking if we were still comfortable passing paper copies around the classroom. We found their caution amusing.Butasthe virus got closer, we all began to prepare, as if for a storm coming off the Gulf. Fewer people were out and about on campus. There was an eeriness that is still hard to describe. The week they sent us home, I attended a production of Hamlet at the Carousel Theater – the chills and whispers and ghosts were freshly emblematic of our times.
/ Daily Beacon
Administrators said the situation was “rapidly evolving” and everything could change in minutes, so we in the audience pulled out our phones at intermission to check the data, which we assumed had changed since the uses of the world had seemed “weary, stale, flat and unprofitable.” We turned to our neighbors and shared that look of stunned resignation.
Letter from the Managing Editor: This campus keeps you on your toes we assumed had changed since the uses of the
Abby Ann Ramsey, Managing Editor The Daily Beacon
The first question was always, “do you think they’ll send us home?” and the second was “for howWelong?”werehome for so long. And even when we returned, it was to a different UT. There was still that fear, only now it was eclipsed by exhaustion and boredom and frustration. Sound familiar? Sound boring? I didn’t expect to be a senior writing about the ongoing pandemic. I didn’t expect that I would still have a pack of face masks with me. I didn’t expect to be so bored by all of it. But I also didn’t expect the exhilaration of seeing those storm clouds behind us, of seeing where we’ve been and waving goodbye to that fear together. It’s too early to say we’re in the clear. We are not living, as some believe, in a “post-COVID” world.But it’s not too early to be hopeful. It’s not too early to talk about rebuilding the campus experience, growing beyond the pandemic years, getting engaged and energized again. This year’s first edition of the Daily Beacon is not simply a Welcome Back edition. It is a comeback edition. It’s time for us to have grace for ourselves, to push ourselves out of our collective funk and, yes, to celebrate. We at the Daily Beacon will be here to get down on paper how campus bloomed after this long winter.
Long story short, whether you’re starting classes with dread or excitement, this place will indeed keep you on your toes. You might see UT change their mind time and time again like last year’s mask mandate whiplash. You might hear someone complain about their beans getting confiscated at a political event. Maybe Taylor Swift will decide to show up to campus and announce her next re-recording (I have literally no evidence to suggest this, I just daydream about it aWhateverlot). happens, May will come around and you’ll still have memories of football games in Neyland, studying frantically between classes and the recurring conversations about the state of the pandemic. You’ll come out of the year with countless stories that you laugh and cry with your friends about. It’s our job to try to capture some of those stories. The Daily Beacon is so excited to put your experience at the center of what we do, and we can’t wait for another unprecedented (I never thought I would find a word so exhausting) year. Welcome back!
Julia Traldi (center) and her parents load up her belongings as she gets ready to move into Hess Hall. Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. Ericksen Gomez-Villeda / The Daily Beacon Week kicks off
/ The
/ The Daily
In photos: Welcome
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 3WELCOME BACK
Alex Stone browses posters outside the Student Union during the sale on Saturday Aug. 20, 2022. Stone is a sophomore studying Wildlife Fishery Sciences from Greeneville, TN. Alexandra Ashmore Daily Beacon
Luke Sheppard (left) and Kielen Kniegge (right) leave the Vol Shop in the Student Union with new UT gear on Saturday Aug. 20, 2022. Sheppard and Kniegge are freshman studying fi nance. Alexandra Ashmore Beacon
Returning upperclassmen who were unable to score on-campus housing have been frus trated with UT’s “lottery style” housing. Many students rely on the university to provide them with housing since student apartments can be difficult to find, out of price range, or out of walking distance to campus. Several students went to social media to dis cuss their frustrations with UT’s housing situ ation. “There are a few reasons someone would prefer on-campus housing. Scholarship stipu lations being one,” said one UT student in a post to the online forum Reddit. “Also, some people just don’t want to be responsible for an apartment year round when they only live here eight months out of the year.”
/ The Daily Beacon ANTHONY WHITE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITYHOUSING We have increased our housing inventory through master leases.
Housing turns to Holiday Inn, off-campus apartments amid shortage
Quarry Trail is a student apartment complex located across the river on Highland Crest Way. It is a two mile distance from UT’s campus and is about a 10 minute drive. Quarry Trail offers a variety of floor plans, on-site parking, in-unit laundry and a shuttle that runs to and from campus.UTalso turned to the Holiday Inn Express & Suites to house over 130 transfer students. Located on Papermill Drive, it is also about a 10 minute drive to campus.
For those wondering what students living at the Holiday Inn will do about necessities such as laundry or transportation to campus, UT has a solution. “On-site laundry will be offered at no charge,” White said. “A shuttle to and from campus will run every 20 minutes during the week and every 30 minutes on the weekend. Time and frequency are subject to change.”
Housing at the University of Tennessee will look different this upcoming school year as the university has turned to an apartment complex and a hotel to house first-year and transfer students. In the past five years, UT has seen a massive increase in enrollment and is now the number one school in the SEC for growth and admis sions. However, the number of students ad mitted poses a challenge to UT housing: there are not enough residence halls to house the number of students coming in.
“The design phase is expected to begin for two new residence halls in fall 2022. The halls will provide 550 and 750 new beds, re spectively. The new buildings will also include classroom spaces and will be built on current surface parking areas,” White said. Adding two new dorms will allow UT to con tinue to keep their admission rates high while also ensuring that students can get the true “freshman experience” of living on campus their first year. Inn on Papermill Drive will house around 130 students this fall. andra Ashmore
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 20224 WELCOME BACK
OLIVIA HAYES Copy Chief The Holiday
“We have increased our housing inventory through master leases with the Holiday Inn and Quarry Trail, and have converted guest housing typically used for campus visitors to apartments for students,” White said.
First-year students are able to live in all on-campus residence halls, in addition to the apartment-style halls that are typically re served for Thoughupperclassmen.residencehalls filled up, there are still incoming students in need of university housing. For students who were not able to score on-campus housing, UT has provided alternativeExecutivearrangements.Directorof University Housing Anthony White provided insight as to what al ternative housing will look like this year.
“The Holiday Inn will operate as a residence hall on campus and will have an on-site hall di rector and resident assistants to provide social and educational programming. The University of Tennessee will be operating the Holiday Inn Express, and only UT students will be assigned to stay in the hotel while under university management. The main entrance will be locked at night, and the front desk will be staffed by UT employees,” White said.
“It can be difficult to get an apartment un less your parents are on the lease or you work a full time job. Plus, on campus residence halls offer better security and safety than off cam pusWhenapartments.”askedabout what UT housing will look like in the future, White revealed the uni versity’s plans to build two new dorms.
Alex
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 5WELCOME BACK
As Forbes ranks UT a best employer for women, employees weigh in
File / The Daily
Stehle is excited to see the growing leader ship of women on campus. However, she would like to see growth in women being promoted to associate and full professor, as well as retain ing and empowering faculty members of color. Following its most recent nomination, UT continues to make strides towards a more eq uitable and inclusive work environment. The complete methodology used in the study can be found on the Forbes website.
“I especially like my colleagues, and, of course, working with students. My supervisors have been very supportive and appreciative of my work throughout my career. I am in the College of Arts and Sciences and leadership in the college has made many efforts to hire and retain women and minority faculty ... Women in the college have mentoring groups and other ways to connect, support each other and ex change ideas,” Stehle said.
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“I’m delighted to learn that my alma ma ter and my employer has been named one of Forbes’ Best Places to Work for Women. In my six months here, I have found the college to be a very collegial and collaborative place to work. The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming, and I’m quite pleased with the commitment I see to equality and diversity throughout the college in the makeup of the faculty, the staff and the students,” Long said. Long did not hesitate to express her pride in the position she holds at UT. She believes that the inclusivity and overall sense of community that she has experienced is an inspiration for women.While Maria Stehle, professor of German and cinema studies, associate head of modern foreign languages and co-chair of the cinema studies program, has had a mostly positive ex perience during her 15 years working for UT, she believes that conditions are now much bet ter than when she first started.
UT Chancellor Donde Plowman participates in the University of Tennessee’s Homecoming Pa rade in Knoxville, TN on Nov. 12, 2021. Beacon
Carol Anne Long, associate director of the Bettye B. Lewis Career Center for the UT College of Law and UT Law alumna, shared her excite ment surrounding the nomination.
AUTUMN HALL News Editor
Although Stehle believes that UT has made progress during her time as an employee, she thinks there is still further work to be done.
After being named one of America’s Best Employers, Tennessee’s Best Employers and a Best Employer for New Graduates, the Uni versity of Tennessee has received yet another Forbes Magazine nomination. The nomination, which was announced on July 26, names UT one of America’s Best Em ployers for Women based on real responses from employees. Given their experiences, many of UT’s female workers were not sur prised by the resulting title. The process of determining which orga nizations receive this title consists of 50,000 responses rating the working conditions and environments of employers. The results, which were divided into groups of 20,000 men and 30,000 women, were then assessed for gender gaps.Of the 400 listed organizations, UT was ranked 196th based on the results of questions pertaining to working conditions, diversity and likelihood of recommending an employer to a friend.Inaddition to UT exceeding these standards, several other organizations were newcomers to the ranking. For details, visit the complete list of America’s Best Employers for Women.
“Shortly after I came to UT, the policies changed so that tenure-line faculty could apply for family leave for a semester for the birth or adoption of a child … I wish non-tenure track and staff also had a better leave policy. We also desperately need more and more affordable child-care at the university and in the city in general. Our mainly female staff in the offices need to be paid better,” Stehle said.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 7WELCOME BACK
“This is actually my first year involved with SGA. I’ve been involved with other parts of campus leading up to this academic year, but I decided to get involved with SGA because it presented itself as a more encompassing way of giving back to a university and community that I love … We have a team filled with capable individuals who I fully believe will give their all for the University of Tennessee and its student body,” Summar said. Although the transition back to in-person has provided various challenges, the members of the association remain hopeful. Throughout this year, they are going to work towards filling the gap of disconnection between the members and programs on campus.
Brown has spent the past three years at the university as a member of SGA and has credited much of her growth to the organization.
“I have been involved in SGA since my fresh man year. I began in the First-Year Council, then transitioned to serving as an Undergrad uate Student Senator for the past two years. Throughout my time at SGA, I have served in various leadership roles that have been in strumental in my development and growth,” BrownMarshallsaid.
Brown expressed her excitement and hope for a new beginning at the university to grow the“Personally,community. I am very excited about this upcoming year. As we have been navigating through the pandemic, this year looks to be a new beginning where more students will be on campus and engaged. I am looking forward to all of the events we have planned this year and making connections to strengthen SGA and improve campus for students,” Brown said. To learn more about the student govern ment association and to potentially get in volved, visit their website.
SGA hopes to reengage pandemic-weary students
After a challenging few years, the univer sity’s Student Government Association (SGA) is hoping to reconnect with the student body and administration to spark more involvement within the community. When asked about association and the over all goals, Student Body President Jordan Brown provided a description of the organization.
KAITLYN PILCHER Staff Writer (From left to right) 2022-2023 SGA executive members Mark Hancock, Abbey Lawrence, Jor dan Brown and Marshall Summar Courtesy of Aleksandr McGovern
The members of SGA are planning to pur sue these goals carried over from their spring campaign, Evolve. This campaign had three main policy pillars – embrace, engage and en ergize – that are completely focused on build ing the community within campus, making every student feel that SGA is a place for them and bringing back widespread student engage ment.However, after their campaign ran unop posed, the SGA executive team realized that very few students were informed on SGA and its mission as an organization, and they are working hard to change how things are done and turn over a new leaf within the university.
Summar, the treasurer for SGA, spoke on his engagement with the association and experience as a senior at UT.
“The Student Government Association is a student-run body with the goals of support ing and advocating for students as they navi gate campus life. Our organization is centered around providing all students with a place to share their experiences and views concern ing student life. We aim to implement positive change and celebrate campus events through our programming and policy. It is a space to be heard, make connections, and become a more involved Volunteer,” Brown said.
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 20228 WELCOME BACK ‘A new beginning’:
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Students stand in line at Southern Kitchen located at Volunteer Hall, 1525 White Ave., to get dinner. Kailee Harris / The Daily Beacon
Admittedly, dining on UT’s campus can be a little tricky to get used to at first, but as it is with many new things, the more exposure one gets, the quicker it’ll start to feel like second nature.
Keep in mind that while meal swipes cannot be replaced, additional dining and flex dollars can be transferred to a VolCard if a student runs out. Or, if nothing else, debit cards can be used at retail locations and P.O.D. markets, too.
Furthermore, if a student uses their meal equivalency during the lunch period, which runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., then they cannot enter a dining hall again until the din ner period begins. Specific dining hours can also be found on the Vol Dining website. Ordering Food
ROBERTS Staff
Students eat dinner at the Fresh Food Com pany located on the first level of Stokely Hall. Kailee Harris / The Daily Beacon
Meal Swipes and Meal Equivalency Meal swipes can also be used at partici pating retail locations and P.O.D. markets on campus, which is referred to as meal equiva lency. The only caveats to meal equivalency are that students have to order within the con straints set by the retail location and that it forbids access to a dining hall during the meal period that it was used.
Additionally, there are multiple ways to or der from UT’s dining locations. Students can go to the location directly and get in line to or der with an employee, or they can use a kiosk. Kiosks are posted by participating locations and allow students to skip the line and order ahead with GrubHub.
UT offers many different meal plans, which can be found on the Vol Dining website.
Given how huge UT’s campus is, finding something to eat is rather easy. However, fig uring out how to utilize a dining plan in the best way possible can be a little more chal lenging.
For instance, students can’t go to a Star bucks on campus, order whatever they want and ask to use their meal swipe. Instead, they have to order from the posted meal equiva lency options that Starbucks advertises.
Kiosks can be incredibly convenient since they’re compatible with meal swipes and din ing or flex dollars. However, be aware that it can be difficult to make modifications to meals ordered on a kiosk, as they sometimes only offer specific items and there isn’t always an option to add or remove things. Students can also order food to their loca tion by taking advantage of Starship, a robot delivery service that debuted on campus last semester. Dining and flex dollars can be used with Starship, as well as a debit card. Starship sometimes offers promotions in which deliv eries are free during certain times, but a small fee is to be expected in most cases.
How to navigate on-campus dining
MACY Writer
WELCOME BACK
Meal Plans
A majority of meal plans include meal swipes to be used at UT’s dining halls, which include Rocky Top Dining Hall, Stokely Din ing Hall and Southern Kitchen. In order to use a meal swipe, students must add their stu dent ID to their phone’s wallet and touch their phone or physical Volcard to the sensors lo cated inside all dining locations.
While freshmen living on campus are a bit limited in their options – they must choose either the Tennessee Unlimited 7 or Tennes see Unlimited 5 – commuters and upperclass men are free to choose whichever dining plan they want. In the case that commuters and up perclassmen don’t choose a meal plan them selves, they’re automatically enrolled in the $300 flex plan. Flex dollars and dining dollars operate as tax-free dollars that allow students to pur chase items from any of the retail locations and P.O.D. markets on campus. Balances can be found on VolCard accounts and on receipts after making a purchase.
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“Finally, the time has come,” Alderman said. “It was a very tough time for all of us not being able to connect to people during COVID. We are very happy to organize the ninth Knox Asian Festival again to connect people to people to cre ate and keep a welcoming community.”
“My hope for this year’s festival is that it serves as a reunion for all of the different AAPI communities in Knoxville,” Biles said.
While the CDC has relaxed COVID-19 guide lines, festival organizers have continued to make safety a top priority. Hand sanitizer stations will be set up throughout the grounds. Admission to the festival is free. However, at tendees are encouraged to pre-register for the festival. Thirty participants will be selected at random to win one free ramen from the Ramen Bones food truck. Since the festival is entirely outdoors, in the event of inclement weather, attendees are high ly encouraged to follow the festival’s Facebook page for updates. In addition to the main festival, ACCTN has partnered with Central Cinema to host the 2022 Asian Film Festival on Saturday, Aug. 27. The day-long festival will feature five films, includ ing celebrated Japanese film “Rashomon” and director Bong Joon-ho’s thrillers “Parasite” and “Memories of Murder.” Tickets are $10 per screening or $35 for a day pass to all showings. Tickets can be purchased at the Central Cinema website.
AURORA SILAVONG Writer
Staff
(Above) An attendee at the Knoxville Asian Festival dressed a Japanese kitsune mask and kimono on Aug. 25, 2019 at World’s Fair Park. File / The Daily Beacon (Left) A tea maker presents a traditional Japanese tea ceremony to a small crowd at the Knoxville Asian Festival at World’s Fair Park on August 25, 2019. File / The Daily Beacon
The festival’s iconic passport program makes a return, which encourages festival goers to visit each of the 13 culture tents to collect stamps and experience what the cultures have to offer, in cluding henna tattoos and Japanese sake tasting.
Attendees are also encouraged to take pictures and post them to social media under the hashtag #knoxasianfestival to enter for a chance to win one of 10 commemorative t-shirts. Besides food and merchandise, there will be performances all day long spread across two stages: the amphitheater and a stage on the lawn of the park. A schedule of the events can be found on the Knox Asian Festival website. Audiences will be treated to traditional dances, folk music and even martial arts demonstrations.
Kumi Alderman, executive director of the Asian Culture Center of Tennessee (ACCTN), said they are eager to be back.
Yuriko Biles, a senior majoring in English and nonprofit management, serves as a commu nications editor and fundraising intern on the AACTN board this year.
Knox Asian Festival returns Aug. 28 with largest-ever celebration
There will be over 100 tents and booths at the festival, offering tasty food, crafts and cultural exhibitions. This is the largest number of par ticipants the festival has seen, and it had to im plement a waiting list after reaching maximum capacity for the festival space.
The COVID-19 pandemic put many beloved community events on hold these past two years. The Knox Asian Festival was one of those, but after a two-year break, the festival will return to World’s Fair Park on Sunday, Aug. 28. The festival will kick off at 10 a.m. with a pa rade of nations. The parade will begin at World’s Fair Park and will make its way to the amphi theater, where 26 national representatives (two from every country) will sing a rendition of “We Are the World.” The singers will be accompa nied by the Clayton-Bradley Academy student orchestra.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 13WELCOME BACK
To apply to CEB, students must complete an application online. Then, leaders will reach out to schedule an interview to determine where each applicant fits best.
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 202214 865-522-3353 For an interview, leave a message for Phil phatcher@knoxvilletn.govHatcher PARKS AND RECREATION WELCOME BACK
“Since it takes the majority of us to put on an event and we can all be in meetings and go out together, it’s made us very tight-knit,” Collins said. “While all the committees focus on engaging with campus culture, A&C’s mission is to celebrate cultural diversity on campus, which allows us to make spaces for and showcase different groups of people and organizations on campus.”
“Artist’s Alley is becoming an established A&C event older students recognize and get excited about, which we’ve seen in the growth of turnout numbers,” Collins said. “I’m hoping to grow Artist’s Alley this year by both getting new ideas from our new incoming members as well as keeping key aspects intact so we can continue to build on what the previous Artist’s AlleysBeyondwere.”the arts and culture committee, a few other events CEB has been responsible for in the past year include a speaker session with Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, a performance by singer-songwriter Todrick Hall and, perhaps their most well-known event, Volapalooza.Ashley Hull, a senior marketing major, has been involved with CEB for four years and serves as the current president. She first started out in the entertainment committee, but now oversees all committee leadership teams and leads planning for all events.
“My most rewarding moments as a member of CEB have been hearing from students about how much our events mean to them,” Hull said. “Seeing students enjoy our events is so encouraging because that is the reason for all the work we Furthermore,do.”Hull emphasized the vast interests CEB represents for students interested in joining.“There are opportunities for students interested in entertainment production, music, politics, arts and more,” Hull said. “I would encourage students looking for a way to grow in their professional development and leadership skills as well as meeting new people to apply for CEB.”
Singer-songwriter Todrick Hall performs
On Campus Events Board, students bring wow factor to life at UT
With hundreds of student organizations on campus, it can be both exciting and overwhelming for a student at the University of Tennessee to find where they feel most at home. Some organizations are more broad and appeal to a variety of interests, whereas others are more niche in nature. The Campus Events Board (CEB) provides the best of both worlds in this regard. CEB is in charge of putting together a variety of events on campus, all with the intention of fostering community and creating a positive campus culture. With three different committees to choose from, lots of students can contribute to enriching life on campus by joining the organization.Thethree CEB committees include arts and culture, entertainment and issues. Naturally, these committees can overlap, but sophomore English and cinema studies major Halle Collins, the current president of the arts and culture committee, believes each committee is unique and suits different types of students. Out of the three committees, arts and culture is CEB’s smallest, but this by no means makes it the least important.
One of Collins’s favorite arts and culture events is Artist’s Alley, which is held once each semester to provide UT students an opportunity to showcase their artwork and small businesses. The talent and drive of these students is something Collins believes is often overlooked yet incredibly important to recognize.
MACY ROBERTS Staff Writer
Joining CEB is an effective way to develop planning, organization and leadership skills, as well as make new friends and connections on campus. To discover more about CEB and to keep up-to-date with new details regarding events and application rounds, check out their Instagram and Facebook accounts, @UTKCEB.
during a Campus Events Board event on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. File / The Daily Beacon
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 15WELCOME BACK
“Even the smallest of things are be ing noticed about students, and everyone feels, I think, tied to and connected to the idea of wanting to be part of care,” Hughes said. “We as administrators have to work together to think about student success and well-being holistically and through out the community.”
Integrating each part of the campus community, including sororities and fra
Dean of Students Byron Hughes guided Virginia Tech through the COVID-19 pandemic with care-centered leadership before coming to UT. Submitted
As the dean of students transformed into something of a fireside presence, the pandemic reinforced for Hughes that cri ses create community. It was a lesson he had learned over a decade before.
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Hughes arrived at Virginia Tech a year after the deadliest school shooting in the United States occurred there on April 16, 2007. He remembers going around cam pus with the chief of police ahead of the annual Hokies Spring Football Game to prepare student groups for a celebration set to take place near the anniversary of theThemassacre.deepcommitment to community Hughes saw among students and admin istrators shaped his leadership.
Hughes holds a doctorate in higher education from Tech, where his research focused on the influence of masculinity among college men. He is an active mem ber of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and spent nearly a decade working in fraternity and sorority life. His arrival at UT follows a spring semes ter in which more fraternities were sus pended or on probation than were in good standing. The potential shortcomings of Greek life are familiar to Hughes, who left the first fraternity he pledged in college.
“The end for them was brotherhood, as opposed to brotherhood being a means toward something more. That meant they fell short, significantly,” Hughes said.
“We’re all in it together, we’re all cocreating it together.”
Byron Hughes, an expert in higher education and former dean of students at Virginia Tech, became the next dean of students on July 1 after a months-long na tionalLikesearch.DeanShea Kidd Brown, who left the position in January of this year, Hughes first took on the role of dean of students in 2018 after a decade at Virginia Tech, where he previously served as assistant director of student conduct and director of frater nity and sorority life. Less than two years after he became dean of students at Virginia’s research powerhouse, Hughes experienced a rapid expansion in the field of student services, spurred on by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.Beforethe pandemic came to American universities, the dean of students office was not seen as an emergency response unit. But overnight across the U.S., stu dents were directed to take much of their confusion and fear to the dean of students office.Hughes recalled how his office became a beacon in the earliest days of the pan demic, beginning the night students were sent“Byhome.that evening, we probably had nearly a thousand messages in the inbox for the dean of students office,” Hughes said. “I think that’s what the pandemic showed us, is that people just had no idea, families had no idea, supporters had no idea where to start … who am I supposed to go to? And that’s what I think the dean of students office became.”
DANIEL DASSOW Editor-in-Chief
New Dean of Students Byron Hughes introduces himself: ‘We’re all in it together’
ternities, into the common mission of the university is a pillar of Hughes’s lead ership.Though he will not directly oversee Greek life at UT, Hughes’ approach to the subject reflects his broader commitment to valuing a diversity of student experienc es and encouraging the best side of every student group, no matter their standing on campus.“We’ve got to get it right if we want to continue to be seen as a value,” Hughes said. “I think if done right, fraternities and sororities can be one of the best and most transformative leadership and learning experiences that students can have. And when it’s done wrong, then yeah, it should not be part of the experience we’re trying to offer.”
“I think UT needs a Dean of Students who can foster community and collabora tion across campus, both from the faculty and administration side and the student side,” Karnowski said. “Things have not felt quite the same since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I look for ward to having someone who can get all areas of campus engaged!”
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 17WELCOME BACK STORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
“I would be a Dean of Students for all students, on both sides of conflict,” Hughes’ quote said. “Care includes think ing about how we treat everyone.”
I would hope and expect that people feel like they can bring their whole selves into any space and that their whole selves will be valued.
BRYON HUGHES DEAN OF STUDENTS
“I would hope and expect that people feel like they can bring their whole selves into any space and that their whole selves will be valued,” Hughes said. As Hughes and his family prepared to move to Knoxville, he came to appreciate the similarity between UT’s Torchbearer Creed and Virginia Tech’s motto, “Ut Pro sim,” which means “That I may serve.”
Vice Chancellor for Student Life Frank Cuevas touched on the connection when Hughes was hired. “I am excited that Byron will be joining us on Rocky Top as he brings a wealth of experience in student advocacy and sup port to our campus. He is committed to the Volunteer experience and developing a sense of community as we work together to make UT a place where all students mat ter and belong,” Cuevas said. As part of his interview process, Hughes attended a lunch with student leaders from across campus, who were able to ask him questions in an open forum.
Eva Kar nowski, a senior nursing student and as sistant in the Dean of Students Office, gave Hughes a tour before the lunch. She said Hughes had “a very warm and inviting personality and aura about him” and she is hopeful that he will meet the current moment as dean of students.
At each interview lunch, student leaders were handed evaluation sheets for candi dates with two large spaces, one for pros and another for cons. Student assistants in the Dean of Students Office say there were few cons to be found on any student evalu ations of MichaelHughes.Rodriguez, a senior studying business administration and management and president of the Interfraternity Coun cil, was struck by how, in under an hour, Hughes spoke at length about making a campus community that is welcoming and productive for students of all backgrounds, including all racial identities and sexual orientations.“Hisenergy, personality and passion for students were evident within my first five minutes of interacting with him,” Rodriguez said. “What I found most im pressionable, though, was his ability to tie in students’ needs and the importance of student advocacy into all of his answers –which is crucial for his position.”
MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ PRESIDENT, INTERERATERNITY COUNCIL His energy, personality and passion for students were evident within myfirst five minutes of interacting with him.What I found ityimpressionable,mostthough,washisabiltotieinstudents’needsandtheim-portanceofstudentadvocacy.
He even wrote down one of Hughes’ quotes from his interview with students, so that he could remember it.
In his new role, he will oversee a diverse group of programs and offices, including Student Conduct and Community Stan dards, Student Disability Services, Multicul tural Student Life and the Pride Center.
Upcoming Welcome Week events to kick off new school year
Welcome Back Bash
If you’re looking for something on Friday that’s a little more active, look no further than RecSports’ upcoming Nightcrawler event. Go to the Vol Wall from 9-11:59 p.m. to experience a blacklight and glowstick-lit rock climbing challenge. Of course, the glowsticks are not the only thing you can get on Friday at the Vol Wall.
Whether you’re a freshman, transfer stu dent or senior, it can be overwhelming to get to campus and see countless events coming up within the first few days of class. Almost ev erywhere you look, there’s something to add to your already full calendar. Each one of the dozens of events has some thing to offer to students. Maybe you’re look ing to know more about an organization, listen to music with friends or simply get some free food. If you’re having trouble narrowing down what you’d like to attend, here are a few op tions to consider.
The first Friday of the school year is clearly packed with events as the Campus Events Board (CEB) will host a Welcome Back Bash from 7-10 p.m., immediately following the en gagement fair.
Baker Center Ice Cream Social
Pride Center Open House If you’re looking to get involved with the Pride Center or simply learn more about re sources available to LGBTQ students, the Pride Center’s open house is an event you should not miss.On Friday, Aug. 26, the center encourages students to drop by anytime from 1 -5 p.m. Pride Center staff are also planning several other events within the first few months of class, so it’s a good time to get plugged in.
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 202218 WELCOME BACK
The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy focuses on equipping students with the tools to go into public service and, according to its website, aims “to provide a forum for ex ploring democracy and promoting leadership in public service.” For the first day of class, its agenda also includes providing free ice cream.
The center will host an ice cream social on Wednesday, Aug. 24 from 5-6 p.m. No RSVP is required. Students are encouraged to visit not only to get some ice cream, but to also get some information about what the Baker Cen terMoreoffers.information is available on the UT event calendar.
RecSports offers many “adventure trips” throughout the year, including but not limited to mountain biking, whitewater rafting and backpacking. They also offer fitness classes almost every day and host intramural sports. Attend Nightcrawler to dip your toes into Rec Sports events and see what it’s all about.
NAACP memebers welcome potential mem bers during the Student Engagement Fair Aug. 21, 2021. File / The Daily Beacon
Throughout the year, the Pride Center hosts initiatives like peer mentoring, the Qloset, an LGBTQ+ reading group and more. More infor mation about the Pride Center and the upcom ing open house is available on its website.
Student Engagement Fair After dropping by the open house, you can walk down Pedestrian Walkway to glance at over 250 student organizations with involve ment opportunities. What might sound like yet another infor mational event is surprisingly packed with free stuff and is the perfect opportunity to get some friends together on campus for the first time of the semester. Whether you’re looking for free stickers or have been waiting to see just how many or ganizations there are on campus, swing by on Friday, Aug. 26 from 5 -7 p.m. Visit the UT event calendar for more information.
RecSports promises free shirts to the first 100 people and snacks to everyone.
CEB hosts a myriad of events that, according to their website, “engages students and fosters an inclusive campus culture.” Last year, they hosted speakers like Noel Miller, Aly Raisman and Todrick Hall. To kick off what is likely to be another jam-packed year of events, CEB in vites everyone to the Student Union Plaza for food trucks, a live DJ and more. Nightcrawler
ABBY ANN RAMSEY
Managing Editor
Knoxville Zoo
Last but not least is Scruffy’s Cafe located on North Broadway. Every purchase at this kitten and cat cafe goes toward local small businesses and supports the Young Williams Animal Shelter. At any given time there will be up to 15 felines available for adoption. Since most customers are unable to adopt, Scruffy’s Cafe acts as a space for people to enjoy the company of cats all while enjoying snacks, refreshments and Netflix. In addition to their Kitty Yoga activities, this establishment now offers new workshops like Pawttery Night and a Self-Love Sewing Night to make and take home a fleece-stuffed monster or kitten. There is also a new Comedy Night: Kitten Around in the works in partnership with Tiny Stage.
Ancient Lore Village If unique experiences and photo opportunities are for you, then check out the Ancient Lore Village. Every weekend, there is a Sunday brunch with fresh ingredients to start the week off on the right foot. There are also trivia nights and tours offered at various times throughout theOnweek.Sept. 5, there will be activities for everyone to participate in with the purchase of an all-access pass, which includes appetizers, outdoor games, hiking, archery and axethrowing. There is also a Village Garden Bar & Grill available for an additional cost. All these activities are ready to make for a great day trip, not to mention the picturesque lodgings that are perfect for the background of selfies.
KAITLYN DANIELS
Of course, their newest exhibit is a certain hit as well. The Clayton Otter Creek exhibit is now open and allows for an up close and personal brush with the zoo’s three river otters.
Frothy Monkey Frothy Monkey’s newest cafe marks their tenth location overall and is set to open this fall. The downtown Knoxville venue will reside in the Kress Building, since the company is known for repurposing historical buildings.
Contributor
The Boocherie Next, stop by the new sober bar called The Boocherie on Sutherland Avenue. Exclusive for anyone over the age of 18, this alcohol-free bar has a variety of drinks like their artisanal Frog Juice kombucha. Even Smokey XI is welcome here since they are pet-friendly. Enjoy entertainment such as jazz, spoken word poetry and even comedy acts.
First on the list of places to visit is the Knoxville Zoo. Recently, the zoo has announced an after-hours admission every Thursday included with all memberships. UT students are eligible for a discounted rate, so head on over after class for some wildly fun encounters with red pandas and Malaysian tigers. While you’re there, stop by the lions’ exhibit to see their newest additions, Anga and Maji, the lion cubs born at the zoo.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 19WELCOME BACK 6 new Knoxville events, spaces to enjoy this fall
Top Golf For more outdoor adventure, the excitement continues at Top Golf located in both downtown Knoxville and their newest location in Farragut. Both locations offer swing suites for all ages and skill levels to practice their drives using golf-simulated courses. The Farragut venue has full-service dining, arcade games and, of course, 72 outdoor driving range bays. There is no need to bring clubs or golf balls since they’re included. The games are halfpriced every Tuesday which is perfect for broke college students looking for something entertaining to do.
Some things to look forward to are their allday brunch menu, seasonal drinks and wellknown cold brews in cans or on draft.
Knoxville has a lot of new changes coming this fall, which are sure to be exciting for the start of this next semester. From new establishments to unique experiences downtown, there is something to pique anyone’s interest. Be sure to check out the following when returning to the fun and fast-paced Knoxville city life.
Scruffy’s Cafe
Photo courtesy of Knoxville Zoo Frothy Monkey has an all day brunch menu which highlights lattes, pasteries and breakfast delights. Photo courtesy of Frothy Monkey
“There are many local races where you can have a huge impact on who’s in office and who’s going to listen to students, and young people,” Vaughn said. “Your voice is going to matter locally more so than at any other level of Localgovernment.”governmentcan be confusing, so here is a brief, simplified breakdown of some of the most important positions held by elected officials in Knox County.
“There are at least two, maybe three factors at play here,” Harmon said. “One is, we sched ule elections strangely. The first Thursday in August is not a very memorable or convenient time for a municipal election. That really works against students having a significant role in it. The other factor is that, a lot of people do not realize until too late how much municipal and local government has a role in their lives.”
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 202220 WELCOME BACK
A student’s primer on Knoxville politics
Knox County Commission There is a council of commissioners in Knox County made up of 11 men and women, who represent different parts of the county at ses sions of county governance, during which they vote on policies, budgets and other important local decisions. Only one commissioner, Re publican Carson Dailey of the ninth district, serves the UT campus. There are two commis sioners that serve “at-large,” meaning they represent all of Knox County. Those are Repub licans Larsen Jay and Justin Biggs, in the 10th and 11th seats, respectively. Knox County Mayor There is one person who governs the whole of Knox County, who is currently Glenn Jacobs,
PIERCE GENTRY Staff Writer
Tennessee State General Assembly
Davy Crockett and County Mayor Glenn Jacobs (left) talking during a basketball game on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019 at Thompson-Boling Arena. File / The Daily Beacon
Jack Vaughn, a senior majoring in commu nication studies who was also recently elected to the fifth seat in Tennessee’s Democratic State Executive Committee, also stands by the importance of local elections.
While a relatively high 66% of college stu dents nationwide voted in the 2020 presiden tial elections, many are left in the dark about how to get involved in local campaigns, which happen yearly. Knox County held a major elec tion in early August, which decided several elected positions, including county mayor and district attorney. Statewide primaries were held simultaneously, deciding which candi dates will go head to head in the November midtermHowever,elections.onlyjust over 11% of registered voters in the county cast a ballot on Aug. 4. Many who skipped the polls complained of confusion, lack of awareness and simple dis interest.UTprofessor of journalism Mark Harmon, a Democratic candidate opposing Republican incumbent Tim Burchett for the state’s second House of Representatives seat this year, admits that voting and electoral policy is far too con fusing for the average citizen.
Tennessee has a state legislature made up of a House of Representatives and a Senate. There are three state senators and seven state representatives who each represent some part of Knox County. Only one senator and one rep resentative represent UT campus and the Fort Sanders neighborhood, however. Those are Republican Richard Briggs and Democrat Sam McKenzie, respectively. Their jobs are very similar to the national congress, except they are purely concerned with matters of the State of Tennessee.
“If you don’t want more of the same, then you need to vote and get involved, and find people who share your priorities,” Vaughn said.
United States House of Representatives Seat Two In total, there are nine U.S. House of Repre sentatives seats reserved for the State of Ten nessee. However, only one represents Knox County. That seat is currently held by Tim Bur chett, a Republican who is up for reelection this year. His job is to assess the needs and wants of the majority of people in his district (an area of a city or state that determines who represents who), and to represent them in the House of Representatives, which votes on many impor tant national decisions, such as the creation of laws or the declaration of wars.
“We have local candidates come to speak and recruit help for their campaigns,” Wil liams said. “Many of our members, including myself, work for local and state campaigns.”
There are many organizations in and around campus that encourage political involvement.
We have canidateslocalcome to speak and recruit help for their includingcampaigns...myself.
Knoxville City Mayor Indya Kincannon is Knoxville’s 69th mayor and the second woman to hold the position. She presides over the entire city, ensuring that the people’s needs and wants are properly ful filled by the city’s administrative faculties. She also appoints certain city officials, such as the recently sworn-in KPD chief Paul Noel. Mark Harmon encouraged all local citizens to learn their political establishments and to actively participate in election cycles. “Politics matters,” Harmon said. “It mat ters who gets elected. They’re not all the same.
The College Democrats are both groups that engage in politics, assisting in local campaigns and fostering friendships between those with sharedSeniorbeliefs.Cassie Williams is the president of the UTK Conservative Coalition, an umbrella organization which keeps cohesion between all of UT’s conservative groups, including College Republicans. She says that there are exciting opportunities for young students wishing to get involved in local politics.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 21WELCOME BACK
If you don’t want more of the same, then you need to vote and get involved.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon greets party-goers after her victory on Tues day night, Nov. 5, 2019. Daily Beacon
CASSIE WILLIAMS PRESIDENT OF UTK CONSERVATIVE COALITION
JACK VAUGHN TN DEMOCRATIC EXEC. COMMITTEE
There are some big differences, and you need to invest a little bit of time in learning those differences. And you must work hard for the people who support what you support.”
Knoxville City Council Much like the county commission, the city council comes together to vote on city ordi nances, planning and policies that affect each and every citizen of Knoxville. Two council members represent different parts of UT cam pus, those being Tommy Smith and Andrew Roberto in the first and second seats, respec tively.
File / The
A common misconception is that out-ofstate college students are ineligible to vote locally. However, so long as a student holds residency at an address in Knoxville, and is a citizen of the United States, they are eligible to vote in local city, county and state elections. Absentee ballots are also available for students who go home for the summer.
UKirk is located at 1831 Melrose Ave and will be giving out ice cream on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 1-3 p.m.
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 202222 WELCOME BACK
ABBY ANN RAMSEY
Managing Editor
Students hanging out in the Pride Center, lo cated on the third floor of the Student Union on Monday Sept. 27, 2021. Ana Hernandez/ The Daily Beacon
“Traditional sex ed is often not inclusive in general, but especially in regards to gender identities and sexualities, so we also seek to ad dress this lapse in education and the resources many don’t receive through this sex ed.” Along with the Pride Center, SEAT is a re source and way to get involved that is deter mined to be welcoming to the LGBTQ commu nity. SEAT has a Google form open to anyone to fill out if they have questions or concerns about sex education, sexuality or relationships. They are also _accepting application for people who want to get involved. Other organizations on campus that seek to be a resource to LGBTQ students include but are not limited to the LGBTQ+ Association of Business Scholars (LABS), OUTgrads, UKirk, Lambda Law Society and SGA.
UKirk is a Presbyterian Church USA campus ministry whose mission is “to be a ‘home away from home’ and a ministry to the campus that welcomes all students regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation or denominational af filiation” according to its website.
While UKirk is a religious ministry, Lun dberg said it is still a place where people can have conversations and ask questions that do not have to be related to faith. Additionally, they aim to keep UPerk solely a place for drink ing coffee, hanging out and studying, so people feel safe rather than pressured to be involved with the ministry.
Finding LGBTQ campus resources for community, ‘deep listening’
Blythe Lundberg, a junior civil engineer ing major, is a hospitality intern at UKirk who plans events throughout the year and man ages UPerk, a coffee shop attached to the main UKirk building. Since her involvement with UKirk, she has found it to be a welcoming re source.“Ifelt like I could totally be myself there and know that I would be treated with love,” Lun dberg said. “The environment that UKirk has spent so long cultivating is an awesome re source to access when you feel like you need to be deeply listened to.”
“We seek to make our organization as a whole, and more specifically our weekly meet ings and events, a safe space for everyone, especially LGBTQ+ students,” Knopps said.
Another LGBTQ-friendly organization is Sexual Empowerment and Awareness in Ten nessee (SEAT). According to Amanda Knopps, senior chemical engineering major and chief of staff of SEAT, the purpose of SEAT is to “to foster a comprehensive and intellectual dis cussion on sex, sexuality, and relationships” by educating UT students through unique methods.SEATis best known for hosting Sex Week, a week dedicated to comprehensive sex educa tion that has been controversial in the Tennes see state Knoppslegislature.saidthatpeople tend to think of sex ed as educating people solely about hetero sexual sex. For SEAT, though, being an LGBTQ resource is a top priority.
While UT offers hundreds of clubs for just about every niche interest you can think of, it might take a little bit of hunting to find one that you are positive will be welcoming no matter yourAccordingsexuality.to the Princeton Review, UT ranks No. 1 on a list of the most LGBTQ-unfriendly college campuses in America. While the pro cess of this ranking by the Princeton Review has been criticized, The Daily Beacon reported last year that many students still find the rank ing accurate due to the influence of university and state leadership’s attitude toward the LG BTQWhilecommunity.theuniversity sits in the middle of political turmoil across the state, students rou tinely find UT to be a not-so-welcoming place for LGBTQ students. Many organizations on campus, however, aim to alter attitudes and create a safe space for all students. The Pride Center, now located in the Student Union, offers countless opportunities for stu dents to feel welcomed on campus and to get involved in welcoming other students.
“It’s one thing to be LGBTQ-affirming, but it’s another thing to be vocal about it. UKirk is very vocal about it,” Lundberg said. “We want passerbys to know what we stand for and that it comes from nothing but love and support. We want to be that safe haven.”
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 23WELCOME BACK
In reference to school papers, it’s also interesting to see what your peers are thinking and interested in. A hope I have for this year is to get more columns that are directly related to the UT experience and to make the opinions section more tangible for readers. Ultimately, the opinions section at the Beacon is a place to share and interact with campus through your own lens of the world. If all this sounds interesting to you and you have an interest or opinion you want to share, please reach out! We’ll be recruiting writers throughout the year and would love to have you join.
Opinions
Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff. Lily Marcum is a junior studying journalism. She can be reached at lmarcum1@vols.utk.edu.
Opinion writing is a great place to start if you are interested in something but don’t know a lot about it. When reading someone’s opinion, it is important to read it critically, but good opinion writers will lead you through how they got to their opinion and to their sources. It is also important to read other people’s writing outside of your own bubble or point of view. While it may not change your mind, it gives you more information and insight into the mind of others.
LILY MARCUM
In the words of the amendment, “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of Thegrievances.”FirstAmendment basically allows criticism of the government without censorship, which is great for maintaining a free democracy. This is particularly great for opinion writers because most critics of the government come from someone’s opinion about what should or should not be done. It also allows the right to critically analyze other institutions without ramification from the government. Great, but why should you read it?
A huge basis in the foundation of the United States is the First Amendment, which includes the freedom of the press.
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 202224 WELCOME BACK
There is so much variety in opinion writing, especially at the Beacon. We have writers commenting about sports, film, politics and art, just to name a few. There is something very special about being able to read someone’s perspective and have it elicit a reaction, even if it’s a negative one. A source of pride for me is when I got my first hate email in response to my column. Although no one really wants “hate mail,” it was a cool experience to realize that my writing created such a reaction that someone felt the need to tell me about it.
While it is not always acknowledged, there is a lot of value in opinion writing, especially in the modern journalism landscape. Although not objective, the job of an ethical opinion writer is to provide wellresearched and factual evidence to back up their opinion or claim. It is my goal this year to encourage a variety of opinions, but to always have them rooted in credible sources andSoethicality.whatisthe value of opinion writing?
Editor
Letter from the Opinions Editor: Why does the Opinions section matter?
Welcome back, Vols! The start of a new academic year always comes with a mixture of emotions. Some are excited to be starting a new chapter of their lives or to get back to their routine. Some are dreading the impending feeling of deadlines, while others are just anxious and curious for what this new semester will bring. For myself, I am feeling a mixture of all three, but am glad to know that I will be in good company. As the new editor for the opinions section, I’m feeling particularly anxious and excited to see what our writers will bring to the table.
Opinion journalism is defined as journalism that makes no claim to objectivity. It is separate from news as news is supposed to be purely factual information.
East Tennessee Maverick: Our long, hot summer
Wednesday, August 24, 2022 • The Daily Beacon 25WELCOME BACK
Tennessee Republicans’ 2019 trigger law, which will go into effect on August 25, will now ban abortions from fertialization, with _no exceptions for rape, incest or even victims of child sexual abuse. I cannot believe I have to write about how morally wrong it is to force a young girl who might be raped by a power figure, such as a father or uncle, to carry that child. This law endangers thousands of women across Ten nessee and strips away their very basic human right to bodily autonomy.
GOP officials, including senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, called for vague mental health investments, more often char acterizing criticism of assault rifles as an attack on the Second Amendment. The irony of pro tecting an amendment from an attack instead of school children must have been lost on them.
WALKER KINSLER Columnist
The nicknamed “long, hot summer of 1967” was a time of great civil unrest, similar to the strife of the summer protests in 2020. These past months have no doubt been filled with a familiar sense of outcry, exhaustion and even dread.From multiple mass shootings in May, to the reversal of Roe v. Wade in June, to the con tinued interference in our public schools, our state legislature, our governor and our state’s delegation to Congress have either sat idly by or have actively made things worse. Following the brutal mass shootings in a Buffalo supermarket and Uvalde elementary school, calls from across Tennessee to regu late assault rifles and high capacity magazines were met with scoffs from Gov. Bill Lee and his Republican state legislators. On June 6, Lee signed an ineffectual ex ecutive order outlining schools to more or less continue current school safety laws, but fram ing it as a call to “enhance school safety.” The order also failed to mention the word “gun” once.
Hillsdale, a conservative Christian college in Michigan, had no right even before the com ment debacle to have government support for coming into Tennessee. Lee’s insistence to also force their conservative curriculum on public students attacks our state education’s integ rity. In addition, Lee’s voucher program, which would give eligible families up to about $8,100 in public tax dollars for private school tuition, is designed as a tool to kill public schools. It was approved by the conservative Tennessee Supreme Court in July after nearly two years of rightfully being blocked in courts.
The negative outcomes of reversing nearly 50 years of women’s rights in our state cannot be contained in a simple list. How can you char acterize the spit in the face Tennessee leaders have given to every young girl’s dignity? When asked about the lack of exceptions in July, Lee declined to even mention the simple wrong of leaving out rape and incest. Tennes see Democrats are pushing to add more excep tions in the next legislative session, pleading to the GOP’s sense of morality. Contributing to his poor leadership, Gov. Lee’s plan to bring 50 Hillsdale College charter schools to Tennessee has all but fallen apart after the college’s president, Larry Arnn, made disparaging comments about our state’s edu cators in July. With Lee right next to him, Arnn said they were “trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges.” Lee has yet to condemn Arnn for his comments, only quietly distancing himself from his former project.
STORY CONTINUED ONLINE Read more at utdailybeacon.com
Tennessee’s leaders are continuing to not do enough to stop these preventable slaugh ters in our grocery stores and schools. Assault rifles have no place being in the hands of civil ians, much less those with no training. Uvalde also showed that good guys with guns cannot always prevent a tragedy, despite Lee’s insis tence.After the reversal of Roe v. Wade on June 24, Tennessee Republicans burst into celebration while Democrats erupted in protest. Tennes see’s GOP attorney general, Herbert Slatery, jumped into action, filing for a 2020 law ban ning abortions as early as six weeks to go into effect on June 28.
The program only applies to the Democratic enclaves of Nashville and Shelby County, as the Republican state legislators were worried about the reaction from voters in their red dis tricts. The party of “small government” has no qualms about government overreach when it furthers their agenda.
Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff. Walker Kinsler is a sopho more studying political science. He can be reached at sler@vols.utk.edu.wkin
Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.
The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, August 24, 202226 WELCOME BACK
MAXWELL HAWKINS Columnist
Maxwell Hawkins is a senior at UT studying political science, public administration and economics. He can be reached at utk.edu.mhawki13@vols.
Creating goals for yourself and setting your own expectations will not only make your day to day proactive instead of reactive, but will also empower you and equip you to handle future challenges. These goals to a proactive lifestyle can be extremely trivial. Almost every success ful person says they make their bed every morning.Othergoals can consist of making new friends or meeting a new person every day, spending time in nature or, my favorite op tion, hitting a new personal record working out at TRECS. It is more beneficial to get a boost of dopamine by adding 20 pounds to your bench press rather than doom scrolling through Twitter.
As the fall semester begins, it is important to sit down and ask ourselves the follow ing question: what is my “normal” going to lookThelike?past few years have created circum stances that changed what our normal dayto-day life looks like. One of the greatest changes of the past two years is the removal of consistency from our day. Fortunately, as we enter a new season, new opportunities present themselves. If we can learn to balance consistency and spontaneity through our days, it will dra matically improve our college experience.
I promise that teaching yourself how to be successful in small, trivial things will help you be successful in the long run. Work However,harder.to have a truly balanced life style, it is important to have spontaneous joys. Not everything needs to be planned or coordinated. This is something that I have personally learned after the lockdowns and restrictions of the past two years. While setting goals will train your mind and lift your spirit, spontaneous adventures can help fuel your heart. Find a place to set up your hammock, take a hot girl walk or have a movie night with the boys. Whatever it may be, take time to remind yourself to enjoy the spontaneous moments in your daily life. Play harder. At UT, you have an incredible opportunity to try new things and have fun, but you also have a duty to strengthen yourself. Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping. There are people all around you here who are proud of you and are here to support you. You are not alone and you have what it takes. I encourage you to make great memories and to achieve great things this school year. Welcome to Rocky Top! You have what it takes.
As college students, it can be very easy for us to live our day-to-day lives react ing to our circumstances. Living a daily life purely reacting to your circumstances is not healthy, will not make you happy and limits your college experience.
If we can learn to balance consistency and throughspontaneityourdays, it will experience.improvedramaticallyourcollege
The Search: What will ‘normal’ look like this year?
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Tennessee’s Cortland Lawson rounds third base after hitting a home run during the Vols’ game against Iona in Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Feb. 27, 2022.
The Vols finished second only to Oklahoma (11) for the most players selected in the draft and were the leading part of the SEC’s draftleading 83 selections in 2022.
Lawson joins fellow infielder Lipscomb in the Washington Nationals’ organization, as he was selected 411th overall in the 14th round. Lawson broke out for the Vols in his first year as a starter in 2022. Consistently batting ninth in Tennessee’s lineup, Lawson slugged 12 home runs and drove in 45 as he batted .269 in 65 games. He led the Vols with 148 assists and had 60 putouts.
Cortland Lawson was the final Vol taken in 2022, joining Trey Lipscomb, Ben Joyce, Will Mabrey, Jorel Ortega, Seth Stephenson, Mark McLaughlin, Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck and Blade Tidwell as Tennessee’s final selections.
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The Tennessee baseball team set a new re cord for selections in a single MLB Draft. 10 total former Vols were chosen on the fi nal day of the 2022 MLB Draft, extending their record after breaking it the night before. After six selections on day two of the draft and three from day one, Tennessee’s 10 draftees passed its previous record of eight picks in 1992 – a draft that was 50 rounds long.
UT breaks program record with 10 picks in 2022 MLB Draft JOSH LANE Sports Editor
File / The Daily Beacon STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 29
No. 21 Trey Lipscomb celebrates with teammates after hitting a homer against USC at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Sunday Mar. 20, 2022. BeacondaGomez-Ville-Ericksen/TheDaily
Ben Joyce was selected five picks after Lipscomb at No. 89 overall by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round. Joyce routinely sat in triple digits with his fastball and topped out at 105.5 mph on May 1 – the fastest pitch ever recorded in college baseball. In addition to one of the best fastballs in the game, Joyce featured a dominant changeup and a promising slider, which he used to post a 2.23 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in his lone season with the Vols, striking out 53 batters in 32.1LHPframes.Will Mabrey was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the sixth round at No. 168 overall. Mabrey was another Vol who broke out in 2022, as he finished second on the team with 29 appearances and put up a 2.63 ERA with a WHIP of 0.95. Mabrey struck out 52 and walked only five in 41 innings. Second baseman Jorel Ortega was picked by the Minnesota Twins 174th overall in the sixth round. Similar to his fellow infielder Lipscomb, Ortega’s years of patience were rewarded with a starting role in 2022, and he took full advantage of it, setting a career-high in every statistical category. He hit .323 with a 1.070 OPS and 18 home runs. Outfielder Seth Stephenson was drafted 207th overall by the Detroit Tigers in the seventh round. Stephenson transferred to Tennessee in 2022 after spending two years at Temple Junior College, and he found an immediate role at the top of Tennessee’s lineup. The Buda, Texas, native showcased his electric speed, finishing sec-
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ond in the SEC with 25 stolen bases while batting .339.Mark McLaughlin was the record-setting pick for Tennessee, becoming the ninth Vol drafted in 2022 when he went to the Chicago White Sox 221st overall in the seventh round. McLaughlin, the Vols’ third pitching draftee, set careerhighs with 27 appearances and 45 strikeouts with a 2.01 ERA in 31.1 innings. For his career, McLaughlin posted a 1.90 ERA in 47 appearances (six starts) while totaling 97 strikeouts over 75.2 innings.
STORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
Third baseman Trey Lipscomb was the first Vol off the board on day two of the draft, going to the Washington Nationals 84th overall in the third round. Lipscomb enjoyed the best season of his career as a senior in 2022 after waiting three years for a starting job. Lipscomb inherited the hot corner from 2021 MLB Draft pick Jake Rucker and did not miss a beat, as he slugged a team-high 22 home runs and 80 RBIs on his way to All-SEC and All-American First-Team honors.
Tennessee entered the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and were the heavy favorites to win it all, flexing a pitching staff four Friday night starters deep. It’s a scenario other teams only dream of.
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The 2022 Vols’ greatest accomplishments started and ended with the Tournament cham pionship. They entered the postseason at the No. 1 overall seed, and after cruising through the Knoxville Regional, they did live up to their expectations and fell in the Super Regional round in three games to Notre Dame.
The Vols have their eye on a repeat in the 2023 season, though they will have plenty of holes to fill on their roster. A program-record 10 former Volunteers were selected in the 2022 MLB draft, including the SEC Tournament hero Gilbert.The Vols are not, however, worried about the replacements. They were in the same sport a year ago when four-fifths of their infield and two-thirds of their starting rotation left, and still rattled off one of the most dominant sea sons in college baseball. Vitello earned his second consecutive Per fect Game Coach of the Year award for a reason. He will have the Vols – no matter how different their lineup looks – ready to defend their title in 2023.
The Vols lived up to expectations and took home the SEC Tournament championship for the first time in 27 years back in May at the Hoover Met with an 8-5 win over the No. 7 seed Florida, punctuating what was one of the most dominant seasons in the SEC’s history. Ten nessee (53-7, 25-5 SEC) became the second team in two years to win both the SEC regular season championship and the SEC Tourna ment (Arkansas, 2021).
“They’re good kids,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said. “I think they’ve got what they got coming to them. They work hard as well, so congrats to them.”
JOSH LANE Sports Editor
“An easy one that everyone now knows in the country, just managing his emotions,” Vi tello said of Gilbert. The Vols’ center fielder did not let the mo ment get to him, and after falling behind 0-2 to Finnvold, he roped an opposite field double that cleared the bases. After several at-bats in a row in which Gilbert did not look like himself at the plate, a conversation with Vitello reminded him of the approach that’s made him a pro jected first-round draft pick.
DREW GILBERT VOLUNTEER ON ALL SEC TEAM
Gilbert finished the day with two hits and four RBIs, more than enough offense to sup port Camden Sewell (W, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) as the Vols won the SEC Tournament for the first time in its current format. The Still water, Minnesota, native was named the Tour nament’s MVP after finishing the week with seven hits and a tournament-high nine RBIs.
Coach V came up to me, I think at my third at-bat, and told me to stop thinking and just go play. That helped a lot.
After first SEC Tournament win in 27 years, Vols have eyes on repeat
“Last night, even at-bats today, (I was) chasing pitches out of the zone, not something I feel like I’ve done a lot all year,” Gilbert said. “But Coach V came up to me, I think my third at-bat, and told me to stop thinking and just go play. That helped a lot.”
HOOVER, Ala. – If any team was ever favored to cruise through the SEC Tournament, it was the 2022 TennesseeVols.met little resistance throughout the regular season. The Vols won a near-SEC record 23 consecutive games, clinched their second-straight SEC East division title the first week of May and had the SEC wrapped up out right with a full weekend to go.
Florida’s freshman left-hander Carsten Finnvold – in his fifth collegiate appearance –stymied the Vols for the first four innings, but they broke out in a major way in the fifth. Seth Stephenson executed a squeeze bunt perfectly to get the Vols on the board, and one batter later Florida intentionally walked Jordan Beck, loading the bases, but setting up a lefty-lefty matchup with Drew Gilbert. Gilbert, who was one of five Vols selected to the 2022 All-SEC team, made his biggest improvements from a year ago in controlling his energy. Gilbert’s fiery passion can be a tre mendous asset when harnessed correctly, but detrimental when it’s not.
The Daily Beacon UT Baseball head coach Tony Vitello shakes hands with Auburn head coach Butch Thompson at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Sunday, May 1, 2022. Edward Cruz /
The Tennessee baseball team celebrates winning the SEC Tournament after taking down Florida 8-5 in the title game Sunday, May 29 at The Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama. Josh Lane/
No.1 Drew Gilbert celebrates with his teammates after hitting a home run against Campbell University at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday, June 4, 2022. Edward Cruz / The Daily Beacon
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Milton will play second fiddle to Hooker, but the success of the team and his own personal success is still very much on his mind.
Asst. Sports Editor Quarterback Hendon Hooker lines up before the snap during the Tennessee vs. Georgia game on Nov. 13, 2021 in Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN. Jamar Coach / The Daily Beacon
Hooker is obviously the starting man for the Vols, but behind him is another guy that can be a problem for opposing defenses.
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“You can get playing time anytime, all it takes is the moment,” Milton said. “You’ve just got to be ready when your name is called. No matter when it is, you’ve got to be ready.”
“It puts drive in the younger guys,” Milton said. “They look at me and Hendon, and they see the competition we have and they see it’s healthy. They know that it’s all about compe tition, it’s all about having fun, it’s all about helping your brother out.”
A season ago, Milton was in the same posi tion as Hooker is this season. He had just won the quarterback battle and was set to be the starter. Milton went on to start just two games –Bowling Green and Pittsburgh – before an in jury sidelined him and allowed Hooker to take over as starter for the remainder of the season. Rather than transferring to another school where he could get a guaranteed start, Milton decided to stay at Tennessee.
One of the most important aspects of a foot ball team is having a quarterback who can lead the team on and off the field. Tennessee has two — Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton. Hooker solidified his spot as one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC a season ago, racking up 2,945 yards and 31 touchdowns while giving up just three interceptions.
“Joe is a very competitive guy,” Hooker said. “Day in and day out he works his tail off. Just being here at Tennessee, I feel like as a quarter back you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“We feel like we’re our biggest critics,” Hooker said. “Anytime I come off the field, Joe has something to say, and anytime Joe comes off the field, I have something to say. We just kind of feed off each other’s energy.”
Together, the pair of Hooker and Milton has developed into a crucial duo for the team. They have become the epitome of healthy competi tion for this year’s team.
ANDREW PETERS
Hooker has developed as a player over the course of the offseason, but in his second year at Tennessee he has also stepped up to be a leader for the whole team. “Coming out of my shell was the biggest thing,” Hooker said. “Just trying to get my teammates to trust me first and kind of being in a reserved spot. Now, I can be a lot more vo cal to the whole team and address things teamwide.”
It is also helpful for Hooker and Milton to have someone to talk to who has been in their same situation, to bounce ideas off of and to go to for advice.
The competition, friendship and leadership that Hooker and Milton bring to the team is vi tal for on the field and off the field success for the entire team.
Hooker’s low interception rate last season was a big part of Tennessee’s success, and it doesn’t come from a lack of risk-taking, but rather from knowing when to take the risk. “You still have to take risks, but it’s just knowing the right moment to take the risk and being accurate,” Hooker said. “That’s the big gest thing. There’s always going to be a risk to be taken as a quarterback, and just knowing the time and place for that is the biggest thing.” Taking care of the ball is one of the most im portant jobs of the quarterback, and if Hooker can do it well this season, he believes it will lead to success. “I’m just taking what the defense gives me and playing smart football,” Hooker said. “The team is the ball, so me taking care of the ball is taking care of the team. The less amount of turnovers we have the better chance we have to win.”
Quarterback duo set to lead team on and off field
The Tennessee volleyball team is also de fending a postseason berth in 2021 after a three-year, play-off drought. The Lady Vols went 20-10 overall and finished 11-7 in the SEC, good for a fourth-place finish.
Alexandra Ashmore
The beginning of the fall semester brings an abundance of hype on Rocky Top for one thing: the return of the football season. But there are two other sports that play in the fall that are of ten overlooked and deserve an equal amount of attention for their recent successes: soccer and volleyball.
Tennessee’s biggest loss was not defend ers Abby Burdette or Wrenne French — though they are huge losses on the backline — but their head coach. The 10-year Tennessee head coach Brian Pensky was named the SEC Coach of the Year following the terrific 2021 campaign and then was hired by perennial powerhouse Flor idaTennesseeState.
The Lady Vols were picked to finish third in the SEC in the preseason coaches poll, their highest preseason prediction since 2019, when they were also picked to finish third. Tennes see began Rackham Watt’s fifth season with a exhibition win over Belmont Saturday night, and they will open the season for real against Loyola-Chicago on Friday, Aug. 26.
looked internally and promoted longtime Tennessee assistant Joe Kirt to take over the program in 2022 after spending 15 sea sons on Rocky Top as an assistant, primarily working with the goalkeepers. Kirt has yet to notch his first win leading the program, but it won’t be long before he does..
The Lady Vols opened their season early before the semester officially started, dropping their season-opener to No. 10 UNC and tying with No. 23 SMU in their home-opener on Sunday. Ten nessee entered the season voted No. 1 in the SEC by the league’s coaches.
The Lady Vols are returning many of their top scorers from a year ago. Leading the way is fifth-year senior forward Mackenzie George, who took home First Team All-SEC honors last year. Jaida Thomas and Taylor Huff — the 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year — round out a potent offensive attack, while junior Lindsey Romig and promising redshirt freshman Ally Zazzara will lock down the goalkeeping duties.
The Tennessee soccer team is coming off one of its best seasons of the last decade. The Lady Vols took home the SEC Tournament title for the first time since 2008, as well as their sec ond consecutive SEC East title. Defense was the calling card of the 2021 Lady Vols, as they opened the season on a program-record 653 minute shutout streak, totaled a program-high 13 shutouts and won 20 games for the first time ever. Tennessee advanced as far as the Round of 16 before their postseason run came to an end.
Tennessee amassed several individual mile stones last season. Setter Natalie Hayward and outside hitter Breanna Runnels both landed on the All-SEC Team, Knoxville native Lily Felts surpassed 1,000 kills for her career, and head coach Eve Rackham Watt, in her fourth season leading the program, became the fourth-win ningest coach in Tennessee’s history.
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/ The Daily Beacon
JOSH LANE Sports Editor No. 2 Jaida Thomas steals the ball during an early season game against SMU on Aug. 21.
Tennessee soccer, volleyball looking to build off successful 2021 seasons
Graduate student Danielle Mahaffey is the most experienced Lady Vol on the roster, while Hayward, Morgahn Fingall and Oregon trans fer Kylie Robinson round out the senior class. Mahaffey, Hayward and Fingall were all named to the preseason All-SEC Team, and Hayward — in her final COVID year of eligibility — can make history, as she currently ranked 10th in program history with 1,877 assists.
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