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Thursday, October 13, 2011 Issue 39
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LGBTQ rally encourages student opinions Event uses artistic messages to promote expression of equal rights, sexual identity Kyle Turner News Editor As the title implies, “Speak Out for Equality” is an event aimed at raising awareness of the inequity that exists between different members of society. “In order to help change our current laws we need to create awareness among people of all orientations,” event organizer Shannon Foster said. Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is encouraged to participate in the event and show support for the rights of the LGBTQ community. Organizers of “Speak Out for Equality” stress inclusive participation by all. “LGBTQ people are not the only folks voting. We need a united voice of people from all walks of life, backgrounds, orientation etc.,” Foster said. “Everyone supporting equal rights is welcome. “The event itself is fairly simple. We are asking anyone who supports equal rights to come make a videotaped or voice-recorded statement about why they believe LGBTQ people should have equal rights.” The event is planned to take place Sunday, Oct. 16, from noon to 5 p.m. Lox Salon on West Jackson Avenue will serve as the host sight for the event. Candid photos will also be taken at the event with the main goal being to combine all three mediums to create one piece of work. “This ‘Speak Out for Equality’ work will be published on YouTube, the ‘Speak Out for Equality’ (Knoxville) website and sent to various state politicians as a ‘spoken petition’ for equal rights,” Foster said. “What I love about our event is that it will live on in the voices of the participants beyond one day.” Student groups on campus are lending their support in
but the tipping point came after I watched iO Tillett Wright’s Self Evident Truth’s video online,” Foster said. Foster was so inspired by the work of iO Tillett that she no longer felt simply voting for candidates that supported equal rights was enough. “In order to help change our current laws we need to create awareness among people of all orientations,” Foster said. “I think art is this amazing venue to bring awareness and solidarity on some of the biggest issues that face humanity, which is one of the reasons I wanted an arts based event.” The “Speak Out for Equality” event was originally planned to contribute to the Self Evident Truths videos. After speaking with iO Tillett, the artist was so excited by the momentum already achieved, she wanted to come in person in the spring, Foster said. Instead of scrapping the event this Saturday, organizers decided to edit the concept and use it as a fundraising effort to bring iO Tillett to Knoxville. Many students and members of the community have shown a great interest in advancing the cause of equal rights. Sponsors include Fainting Goat Productions, Knox and You in 52, Old City Java and Planet • Image courtesy of Hillary McDaniels Xchange. Artists who will be conducting the video and photo shoots include Hillary McDaniels, Tovah Steven Stothard, graduate assistant in the college of social Greenwood and Jennifer Tipton. “Events like ‘Speak Out for Equality’ and OUTstanding work and OUTstanding member. “Structural and policy factors that contribute to discrimination against LGBTQ peo- are important because they add to the amazing work that ple need to be changed. That’s why OUTstanding supports local, national and international organizations have been building to increase compassion and equality in our socie‘Speak Out for Equality.’” According to Foster, two things inspired her to create ty,” Stothard said. “Every time someone speaks out for the event. Foster had a simple desire to marry her same-sex equality and holds themselves, their families, friends, workpartner Beth, who was particularly concerned with the fed- places and policy-makers accountable, is another step towards our potential for meaningful compassion and erally recognized civil aspect of marriage. “If it was important to her then it was important to me, equality.” preparation for the event. “As a member of our diverse and interconnected university community and greater Knoxville community, I believe all students, faculty, staff and community members should have a safe, supportive and positive experience,” said
Renowned cartoonist returns to campus Andrew Lindemann Staff Writer
Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon
Students walk around a huge ball of trash on the Pedestrian Mall on Wednesday, Oct. 12. The ball was a small example of the over 25 million pounds of trash the university produces per year, which Make Orange Green hopes to decrease through simple actions, such as providing reusable mugs to cut down on cup waste.
TVA not responsible for ash spill The Associated Press KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An attorney for the Tennessee Valley Authority said Wednesday that negligence did not cause the massive 2008 coal ash spill during a closing argument after an opposing asked a judge to hold the nation’s largest public utility liable for the disaster. TVA attorney Edwin Small told U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan that a deep foundation failure unrelated to TVA’s employee training, maintenance or construction caused the Dec. 22, 2008 spill in a breach of an earthen containment dike at the Kingston plant west of Knoxville. Small said attorneys for the 230 plaintiffs failed to specifically link any “negligent conduct to the failure that occurred here.” Plaintiff attorney Jeff Friedman said in a closing argument Wednesday that testimony and evidence show TVA neglected warnings about possible problems with the dike for years. No one was hurt in the spill but Friedman said “if there is a next time we may not be so lucky. What if it is handling nuclear energy instead of coal ash?” Small said records presented at the trial show a dozen geotechnical engineers have disagreed with evidence presented by Friedman and other plaintiff attorneys that seepage and other visible surface and shallow problems caused the spill instead of a shift in oversaturated ash 80 feet below. Small said TVA was operating the wet landfill based on the advice of engineering consultants. “That makes all the difference in the world,” Small said. “Simply put, the foundation was overloaded and the system failed.”
With another bench trial on TVA liability set Nov. 1, the judge in Knoxville gave attorneys a Jan. 12 deadline for posttrial filings. He will then decide if TVA is liable. James Scott, an attorney for property owners whose lawsuits are set for the second trial, declined comment about how it will be different or if he might to decide to rely on evidence presented in the 4-week bench trial that ended Wednesday. If the judge finds TVA liable, court proceedings on damages will follow. During the trial, geotechnical engineer William H. Walton, testified about leading a $3 million spill study by AECOM USA Inc. He said it was triggered by a “slime layer” of watery ash deep under the surface. Walton compared the deep slimes beneath the ash to “undisturbed yogurt” that becomes more fluid when it is stirred. Attorneys for property owners suing TVA for damages from the Kingston Plant spill contend negligence in management and training practices caused the disaster. They have cited TVA Inspector General Richard Moore’s criticism that the AECOM report failed to consider management practices and gave too much weight to the slime layer. The TVA inspector general has said that slimes finding tended to reduce the “legal liability” of TVA management. His report also said management’s decision to allow TVA’s lawyers to hire the consultant and narrow his focus for the “root cause” study predetermined a choice “between accountability and litigation strategy.” Another study said the spill “could have possibly been prevented” if TVA had heeded concerns about the stability of the ash pond raised by TVA employees and consultants as early as 1985 and again in 2004.
Last Friday, famous political cartoonist Marshall Ramsey returned to UT, his alma mater, to give a talk on his accomplishments and opinions. Ramsey, a 1991 graduate of the UT College of Business, is nationally syndicated in the cartoon industry. While at UT, he served as the editorial cartoonist for The Daily Beacon and won the John Locher award for the nation’s top collegiate cartoonist. He said that his time with The Daily Beacon sparked his career interest. “When I worked for The Daily Beacon, I fell in love with it,” Ramsey said. “I had a blast.” Ramsey credits his time with The Daily Beacon for teaching him how to be successful in the media world. “In today’s media environment, you have to have many different skills,” he said. “The Beacon taught me how to deal with editors and meet deadlines, skills which I still use every day.” Since graduating from UT, Ramsey’s cartoons have appeared in USA Today, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times and 450 other newspapers. Ramsey currently works for The Clarion-Ledger, the daily newspaper for Jackson, Miss. Notably, he has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. “One time at a UT football game I told my mom and dad, ‘I bet you I’m the only twotime Pulitzer finalist in this whole stadium,’” Ramsey said. “They told me, ‘We bet you we’re the only two people who care.’” Ramsey’s first-ever cartoon in The Daily Beacon involved the late Jack Reese, the former chancellor of UT. The cartoon was titled “Reese’s Believe It or Don’t,” and poked fun at Reese’s
reluctance to expand the university’s parking capacity by displaying three rows of cars piled on top of each other. Ramsey said that humor comes to him and his family naturally. “My family is funny by nature,” Ramsey said. “I grew up in a family that looks normal but isn’t.” Ramsey touches on a number of controversial topics with his cartoons. He routinely pokes fun at his home state of Mississippi, which he once deemed in a cartoon as “The Fattest State of the Nation.” Ramsey has also drawn more serious cartoons about disasters such as Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina, which devastated his home state. “No matter who you are, Hurricane Katrina was bad for everybody,” he said. “Look at the aftermath, especially on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi — you talk about completely destroyed.” When Ramsey was in his 30s, he was diagnosed with melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer. There were concerns, he said, that he might not overcome the cancer, as it had progressed past its beginning stage. However, he eventually overcame the cancer, and he credits his battle with the disease for making him a stronger person. “With the whole cancer thing I’ve learned a lot,” Ramsey said. “I’m a firm believer that when bad things happen, good things come from them.” Ramsey expressed his views on the journalism field, saying that he prefers to pay attention to the local news because “it connects the people.” He said that students who plan to have a career in journalism should prepare for change and look to immediately establish a name for themselves, as he did. “I thought I was for sure going to be in advertising,” Ramsey said. “However, things changed, and I made a career out of doing what I love.”