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Agatha Christie classic “The Mousetrap” comes to town

Vols ready to host No. 1 LSU

Friday, October 14, 2011

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E D I T O R I A L L Y

Issue 40

Vol. 118

I N D E P E N D E N T

S T U D E N T

Windy 20% chance of rain HIGH LOW 71 49

PUBLISHED SINCE 1906 http://utdailybeacon.com N E W S P A P E R

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Pep rally to boost student morale Event features appearances by coach Dooley, team captains

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country. “It’s been nine years since Neyland Stadium has hosted the No. 1 team in the country and we hope that our students and fans will embrace the opportunity to show the country what Big Orange Country is all about,” Doug Kose, associate director of athletics marketing, said. Those in attendance will include head coach Derek Dooley and the captains of UT’s team. The UT Spirit Squad and the Pride of the Southland Marching Band are also scheduled to attend the event. The Pep Rally will be held Friday night at 5:15 p.m. at the Gate 21 amphitheater. The event is free and open to the public with parking provided in lot nine at no cost. “Rally on Rocky Top will be a great way to support coach Dooley and the team. Now more than ever, we need the students to support the program,” Kose said. “We will also have some great giveaways and the Stadium Store at Gate 20 will remain open until 6:30 p.m. and offer a 20-percent discount to all fans and students after the rally.” The first 400 fans will receive free Texas Roadhouse appetizers and giveaways. Those in attendance will have the chance to win a Dooley autographed football, two tickets to the LSU Game, two sideline passes to the LSU Game, officially licensed University of Tennessee memorabilia, among other things, according to organizers. “Rally on Rocky Top” will be the last chance for fans to show their support before UT takes on LSU Saturday.

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Students fast for hunger awareness Steele Gamble Staff Writer

The UT Muslim Student Association encourages students to “go hungry for a day Staff Writer so someone else doesn’t have to” on Sunday for its 11th Students are urged to attend Friday night’s event to support the annual Fast-a-thon. VOLS as they go head to head with the No. 1 team in the country Local businesses will on Saturday. donate $2 to the Love SGA and the UT Athletics Department are joining together to Kitchen of Knoxville for host “Rally on Rocky Top,” a pep rally aimed at boosting morale by every student who pledges to showing the UT team its fans are there. abstain from the consump“We are putting together this pep rally to evoke support and tion of all food and beverages motivate the football team for the big game against LSU this weekduring daylight hours this end,” Drew Shapiro, student services director and senior in history, said. “This is a pivotal point in the season and now, more than Sunday. ever, we need to show the team how much student support there Ashraf El-Messidi, junior is on campus.” in mechanical engineering With a fear that enthusiasm for UT’s athletics could wane, stuand MSA vice president, said dent leaders sought a way to re-engage fans. the MSA is trying to raise “We (SGA) felt that it was important that an event was held to awareness about hunger in get students excited for Volunteer football once again,” Avery G. Knoxville. Howard, senior in agricultural leadership, education and commu“You see hunger on TV, nication, said. and you see people starving After positive feedback from various students and staff, Howard overseas, but you don’t really said all were able to come together to host “Rally on Rocky Top.” know what they’re going Howard feels it is more important than ever that the team feels the through until you experience support of the Orange Nation in the face of LSU. it yourself,” El-Messidi said. Some see the pep rally as a unifying event that will bring the “And even after this event, student body together for support against the top team in the you’re guaranteed to have food at the end of the day, while others, they don’t know when their next meal is. It’s good to (be) in solidarity with them and to raise money and support the cause.” The guaranteed food ElMessidi refers to is the break in the fast that will be held at 7 p.m. in the UC Ballroom. According to the pledge form, participants are invited to share a home-cooked meal as the check is presented to the Love Kitchen. El-Messidi said that students can pledge by signing the form at the Fast-a-thon table in the UC plaza or by signing the online form found under the events link on the UTK-MSA Facebook page. According to the Facebook page, two guest speakers will talk about the history of the Fast-a-thon and the significance of fasting during the break. Rida Aijaz, senior in business and MSA member, describes the Fast-a-thon as a Hannah Cather • The Daily Beacon philanthropic cause. “You have so much food Matt Wooten, sophomore in political science and communications, signs up for the free mug that SPEAK was with you, but there are so handing out to students on Wednesday. For Friday, they are having a vegaterian cookout on the Pedestrian Mall many people around you who from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Kyle Turner

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don’t have the privileges to eat or drink,” Aijaz said. “If you just fast for a day, that cause from what you pledge, the money that’s all collected, it goes towards feeding those people who don’t have the resources or the food to eat.” Aijaz also described fasting as a human deed. “It’s not just food and drink, it’s also restraining from the negative thoughts you get on a daily basis,” Aijaz said. El-Messidi sees fasting as an act of reflection. “It gives you a chance to kind of reflect on your blessings and the things that you’ve been given,” ElMessidi said. “Things that we tend to take for granted every day, and when you fast, you’re able to understand just how grateful you are.” El-Messidi said the event has been successful over the past decade. “The event started in 2001,” El-Messidi said. “(It) spread across the world on hundreds of campuses, and it started right here at UT. Last year we had about 970 people pledge, 170 students. This year we’re hoping to meet our goal of 1,000.” Aijaz described how the Fast-a-thon is related to Islam. “The holy month of Ramadan, we fast from sunup to sundown remembering Allah, God and also we restrain from negative thoughts and bad deeds during that time,” Aijaz said. “It’s just an awareness of how just refraining ourselves from food and drink is also linked to refraining ourselves from the negative thoughts and the bad deeds.” El-Messidi said that the Fast-a-thon is an opportunity for students to learn about Islam. “Obviously the main objective is to raise awareness of the hunger issue, but also it gives people a chance to see what Muslims go through every day for a month, to kind of live in Muslims’ shoes for a day,” ElMessidi said.

Exhibit showcases heroes of different color Victoria Wright Staff Writer For all comic book enthusiasts accustomed to the images of Superman and Wonder Woman, there is a new group of heroes and heroines to be recognized, and they are right here at UTK. “Invisible Ink: The Art of Black Independent Comix” showcases 28 vivid pieces of independent African-American comic artwork in the Art & Architecture Building. The exhibit, which has been displayed since Oct. 3, is a part of the UT Ready for the World Program. Last Thursday, exhibit curator John Jennings, associate professor of visual studies at SUNY Buffalo, spoke to students about the exhibition. Jennings said comic books are becoming a popularized literary medium. Most are familiar with the traditional, white-faced hero or heroin, but slowly, underground African-American artist are starting to ascend into their own spotlight. “Usually, it’s (African-American comics) underground or mostly online,” said Kehinde “Kin” Olowoyo, senior in graphic design and drawing. “Although they exist out in the independent underground, there are very few black superheroes in the mainstream.” Simon Sok, a senior in graphic design, is not an avid comics reader but enjoyed how the lecture introduced a progressive moment in the industry. “I thought he had some really interesting things to say, as in seeing the progressive movement transcend from very traditional to a more accepted medium,” Sok said. Among the bold colors, graphic images of robust heroes and heroines wielding deadly knives and swords, Sok’s favorite piece was a

comic of a girl sporting pink goggles and pig tails. The comic hails from Samax Amen’s comic “Champion of Children,” which details the adventures of Little Mad Skills, who is featured in the piece. Over the past 20 years, newspapers have been trying to diversify the comics and strips and other content in papers. Perhaps the most mainstream is “The Boondocks.” Though now a popular cartoon, the television show received its start as a comic strip circulating college newspapers and magazines. Sok believes that there is still a hole within he comic world, including adaptations of classical comic strips in the movies. “I feel like superhero movies that come from comic books — I feel there is a certain imbalance,” Sok said. Some of the pieces displayed in the exhibit spark a familiar resemblance to classical comic book storylines. One features a group of superheroes, all with individual powers, protruding muscles and dressed in color leotards. Much of the art works are a mixture of Japanese anime, or animation, and AfricanAmerican artwork. Most of the artists are not shy about displaying violence in the comics, as some pieces show blood and one depicts the aftermath of a bullet splitting through a man’s teeth. In addition to the lecture, Jennings will also hold a workshop on Friday called AFRO-FUTURISM, for School of Art students. The workshop allows students to see Jennings’ characters come to life. Despite the underground status of many of the Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon artists displayed at the exhibit, Olowoyo believes Tamra Hunt, fine arts graduate student, looks over the INVISIBLEINK collection in there is a possibility that more African-American the Art & Architecture Reading Room on Oct. 6. The collection is a part of the UT comics will be recognized as more exhibits are Ready for the World Program. opened.


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