Friday, October 19, 2012 Issue 39, Volume 121
Game day shenanigans wreak havoc on Strip Justin Joo Staff Writer On the long portion of Cumberland Avenue known as “the Strip,” rambunctious, drunk crowds are not a surprising sight. But when it’s football season and the Vols are playing on their home turf, the Strip can be an entirely different beast. The sidewalk is packed with not only the customary students but also an array of out-of-towners of all shapes and sizes. Some are old alumni coming back to relive their glory days, some bring their whole family with children and strollers in tow, some walk around with a beer in hand and not a care in the world, and some are just fans from out-of-state coming to support their team in a strange new land. It’s no secret that when it’s football time in Tennessee, the Strip is brimming over with new patrons. But what happens on the other side of the bar? For Neil Reynolds, kitchen manager at the Half Barrel, a game day is no typical Saturday. “You’ve got to be prepared for it,” said Reynolds. “Not just in the days leading up to
it. Making sure you’re rested up and ready to go. I worked eleven and a half hours (during the Florida game), and it started earlier…” For the Florida game, Half Barrel opened at 10:30 a.m. and reached capacity within an hour. Reynolds estimated that the crowds maintained their size at least until 1 a.m. Reynolds said that it eventually got to the point where they would only let one person in when someone left. Fortunately, Reynolds said that security is seldom a major issue for the Half Barrel. “We definitely have more security for game days,” said Reynolds. “But I’d say the biggest issues are the people that will be a problem no matter where they’re at, whether they happen to be here or somewhere else on the Strip on a Saturday game day.” Both the fans of the Vols and their opponents are relatively behaved, Reynolds said. From his observations, the only really bad fans are the ones from the big rival SEC teams. “Georgia, Florida and LSU are the worst to deal with,” said Reynolds. “Georgia, every year we have to play them here. Thank God this year it’s not here with us. They are always just the worst, most obnoxious to deal with.” See GAMEDAY on Page 2
Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon
People use a beer apparatus at a tailgate before a home football game near Clinch and 13th Street in 2011.
Students Author critiques diversity dig rocks Justin Joo
Staff Writer
Matt Reed Staff Writer On Sunday, Oct. 21, UT’s McClung Museum will pause to celebrate history by fusing National Archaeology Day and National Fossil Day into a single afternoon event. Co-hosted by the Archaeological Institute of America, East Tennessee Society, and McClung Museum staff, the event will take place from 1-5 p.m. and is open to the public. Students interested in pursuing careers in related fields are especially encouraged to attend. Displays of current research by local archaeologists and paleontologists will illuminate the possibilities of working in such fields, and attendees will note a range of topics covered. Jessica Dalton-Carriger is an Assistant to the Aracheology Curator for the museum. “We’re really trying to increase public outreach and public knowledge of the many projects we’re involved in,” she said. Professors, staff and graduate students will also be present to guide the activi-
ties and answer inquiries. Hands-on activities will include identifying animal bones, Native American artifacts, rocks and other fossils. Visitors are welcomed to bring along artifacts of their own for identification as well. Bobby Braly, also an Assistant to the Archaeology Curator, will perform a flintknapping demonstration for a glimpse into prehistoric tool making. Finally, a pottery demonstration will take place outside in the plaza area. “What a wonderful opportunity for students of all ages to learn about the disciplines of archaeology and paleontology and to talk with UTK scientists about their research,” Dr. Jeff Chapman, Director of McClung Museum, said. Since the early 1960s, Frank H. McClung Museum has served UT and the greater Knoxville area as one of the state’s most impressive historical facilities. Displays showcase a vast array of artifactual topics including archaeology, geology, Native Americans of Tennessee, human origins, decorative arts, ancient Egypt, Civil War and freshwater mussels. See FOSSIL DAYS on Page 3
Emily DeLanzo • The Daily Beacon
The Frank H. McClung Museum will host an event to celebrate National Fossil Day on Sunday, Oct. 21, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Even though UT and other universities are pushing to have strong and inclusive diversity policies, those institutional initiatives might be flawed. So said Tim Wise, an antiracist author and speaker, who presented the lecture “Beyond Diversity: Challenging Racism in an Age of Backlash” to a nearly packed UC Auditorium Tuesday night. “I hope that by the end of our time together tonight, regardless of where you stand on certain issues … ” Wise said, “you will at least come away with the idea that … to ignore issues of race and economics just is simply something that we cannot do any longer.” The Nashville native spoke at a brisk pace, with his lecture a mix of poignancy and humor. Before delving into the thesis of his presentation, Wise took time
to acknowledge that many of the students in the audience were getting extra credit for attending his presentation. “Let’s hear it for extra credit,” Wise said to the amused audience. “I’ve been around a bit. I don’t really expect that when I come to any college campus that it’s going to be hundreds and hundreds of people who just absolutely get up every morning, eating, breathing, sleeping issues of racial justice.” After warming the crowd, Wise got to the heart of the matter and began to critique campus diversity initiatives. “I’m also highly critical of the traditional and dominate discussion about diversity on campus,” Wise explained. “And it’s not that I’m against diversity … but the truth is most of the time when we talk about promoting diversity like on a college campus, we do it in a narrow way, a way in which most of the real issues continue to be overlooked.” See TIM WISE on Page 3
Emma Russell • The Daily Beacon
Tim Wise, author and activist, spoke about “diversity” efforts on college campuses and addressed the issues of racism and inequality in the UC Auditorium on Oct. 16.
Professors examine income gap Claire Dodson Staff Writer UT Assistant Professor in Political Science Nathan Kelly co-authored a study in September relating GOP congresses to the wealthiest one percent of Americans and explaining the income gap between the poor and the wealthy. Kelly, along with Thomas W. Volscho, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at CUNY-College of Staten Island, published their findings in “The Rise of the Super-Rich: Power Resources, Taxes, Financial Markets, and the Dynamics of the Top 1 Percent, 1949 to 2008.” “What we found is that both the economy and politics affect the income gap,” Kelly said. “Economic growth reduces inequality. Union membership reduces inequality. Having more
Republicans in Congress makes inequality higher. Lower income tax rates make inequality higher.” One of the most important parts of these findings is that they were all considered before the effects of redistributive programs like Social Security and welfare that serve to lower inequality. “So even before government takes money from some through taxes and gives it to others through benefit programs, policy choices have an effect on inequality,” Kelly said. “This, in essence, shows that politics in part makes the market.” The study does not make a judgment on whether inequality is good or bad, but rather serves to examine the role that politics can have in how the U.S. market and economy are structured. “The fact that we can put politics and policy right alongside globalization and stock markets and real-estate
bubbles and economic growth and politics still matters is pretty amazing,” Kelly said. “Lots of folks just don’t believe politics is a cause of inequality. It’s becoming clearer with every new study that politics does play a role.” Eric Keller, a graduate student in political science, has read extensively about Kelly’s study and finds it very intriguing. He argues that while inequality may not be good or bad, it is an important indicator of the economy. “The problem isn’t with inequality per se, it is with such severe inequality where there is little chance for anyone on the bottom rung to climb the ladder,” Keller said, “The very top rung folks tend to kick the ladder away to maintain their monopoly on wealth. Less severe income inequality, more than likely, means a healthier economy since lower rungs spend more on consumer goods due to their much larger size.”