The Daily Beacon

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Issue 42, Volume 121

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Students feel effects of life and school Samantha Smoak Staff Writer Good grades, a social life and sleep. This infamous triangle has become a reality to many college students. Some students argue that it is impossible to have all three, while others swear it’s true. Cody Bancroft, freshman in architecture, said he doesn’t feel that there is a way for him to get a full night’s sleep, get all his work done and still have time for friends. Bancroft said that he loves to be with his friends, but he is rarely able to find the time to do so. “If I do hang out with friends … it makes for an even longer day,” Bancroft said. He is not alone. Christina Lulich, sophomore in architecture, said there is no way she could get eight hours of sleep, have time for friends and family, and get good grades. “It’s just not possible to devote enough time to each,” Lulich said. “It’s possible to get eight hours of sleep and still do all of that, but if I were to do that I would probably sacrifice my

grades, and the time spent with friends and family wouldn’t be quality and I wouldn’t be learning much from my schooling.” Often times, students revert to staying up all night, a choice for which consequences vary from student to student. “During the day, I don’t feel many effects,” Bancroft said. “It is when the lights go out at night that I see how tired I am.” Hallie King, junior in communication studies, said she feels the effects of an allnighter f o r

several days, and her recovery depends on a number of factors. “I probably feel the effects for two days, and how quickly I recover depends on what’s going on,” King said. “Like how much homework I’ve had to do, how much work I have to do at my job and how much sleep I’ve had previous to the all-nighter.” The frequencies of allnighters vary per students and majors, but the effects could spell trouble later in life. According to a new study by the Associated Professional S l e e p

Societies, 30 percent of working adults who receive less than six hours of sleep per night are four times more likely to suffer a stroke. Some students believe that they could get a full night of sleep if they managed their time more efficiently. Katherine Cahill, junior in English, said she feels she could get eight hours of sleep most nights if she really wanted to. “There would be always certain crunch times where I would have to stay up later, but I don’t think I would have to pull all-nighters,” Cahill said. “I could definitely prioritize more and procrastinate less.” For some, they are completely unnecessary. “It’s all a matter of time management,” said Nate Crilly, sophomore in food science and technology. “In my classes I have to be able to think,” he said. “It is of more benefit for me to have a good night’s sleep than to spend an extra couple of hours studying.” James Swart, freshman in biosystems engineering, agreed with Crilly. See ALL NIGHTERS on Page 3

Election news saturates social media Slam poet, activist to host workshop on gender theory David Cobb

Assistant News Editor

Primetime television slots, commercial spots, the Internet and newspaper space aren’t the only mediums being filled with constant chatter regarding the presidential election. For UT students Katie Rall, sophomore in biology, and Matt Kyker, junior in accounting, Twitter and Facebook have become saturated with Obama vs. Romney talk, too. “During the debate they’re pretty much full of commentary and most of it is uneducated, not very smart, kind of personal issues as opposed to actual debate issues,” Rall said. With Twitter, a site that wasn’t popular until after the 2008 election, reporting 6.5 million #debate tweets dispatched during Monday’s final presidential debate, it’s nearly unavoidable. Kyker doesn’t have a Twitter account, but he hasn’t been immune to the social media discussions. “Facebook, I mean we’re from the South, so people typically fall Republican,” Kyker said. “They’re trying to bash Obama about not answering questions and how he rails Romney for not having any specific plan, even though he does have the five point plan as a framework.” For Kyker, a Republican, those are the “more mature” arguments he says are presented by his friends via social media. Rall’s experience on debate nights has been different.

• Photo courtesy of Scott Tufankjian

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at the second presidential debate on Oct. 16. “A lot of times people are commenting on appearance, or commenting on things that don’t actually have to do with the debate,” Rall said. “But most of the time (social media) are very full, and you can tell by the content of the comments who they’re voting for, even if they pretend they don’t know.” For a demographic comprised primarily of 18-21 year olds, the 2012 election is the first election that most college students are eligible to participate in, a dynamic that Kyker believes alters the level of interest that his fellow students show in the debates. “I think so, because in high school, they know that they can’t really vote, and they don’t really matter, or I guess that they feel like they don’t really matter,” Kyker said. “And those aren’t the

things that they’re interested in. They’re not really thinking ‘Oh, I want to get a job when I graduate’ or ‘Oh, I want to fix this social issue.’ In high school you kind of get in a click and you don’t really experience those things unless you’re on the negative end I feel like.” Rall believes that students are more politically aware now than they have been previously in their lives, but not necessarily about important issues. “I don’t know that I would say people care more,” Rall said. “I feel like people are paying more attention to it, which is good. But I don’t know necessarily that they’re paying more attention to it for a purpose. I feel like they’re paying more attention to it because right now it’s prevalent, and their friends may be paying more attention, so they will too. “Yet they’re going to comment on it and try and influence other people’s decisions, when in fact they don’t actually care about the elections and don’t actually care about the debates.” For Kyker, talk on social media doesn’t affect his opinion of what he sees as the primary issue. “We’re kind of in a bubble,” Kyker said. “We don’t really see all the economic impacts because we’re in college. So the prevalent issues in our lives are social issues. But that’s not the prevalent issue in America. What we’re here for is to get a job, and we’re not going to have a job when we get out of college if we don’t get the economy working.” Twitter has been successfully inundated with political opinions during the debates. But it might break on Nov. 6 when the election finally happens.

Radio club, scouts use ham radio RJ Vogt News Editor The Third Saturday in October has lost its luster in recent years, as the Vols have lost the past six games against Alabama. For UT’s Amateur Radio Club, however, The Third Saturday in October has a different meaning. Every year, the Boy and Girl Scouts of America participate in the “Jamboreeon-the-Air” on October’s third Saturday, a chance for members to contact other scouts around the globe. They also gain experience with amateur radio, known

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commonly as ham radio. A handful of students and an alumna were on hand to help the scouts learn the basics of twoway radio communication. “We presented a class to them about amateur radio, and how to use the radio,” Bobbie Williams, the advisor and call trustee for the club, said. “Following the class we let them talk on the radio using several different frequencies.” With two different radios set up, the club had access to both short range and long range frequencies. Williams said that the new amateur radio buffs were able to make contact with other scouts, despite poor weather conditions. They enjoyed a chance to surf the airwaves,

almost to the point of exhaustion. “They had a blast, one of them was so tired he just about fell asleep,” Williams laughed. Michael Miceli, a sophomore in linguistics and the current club president, said he thought the scouts specifically enjoyed connecting with their fellows hundreds of miles away. “I could tell that the thing that they enjoyed the most was contacting people out of state and out of the country,” he said. He added that the club will likely continue to help the jamboree take place. See RADIO CLUB on Page 3

• Photo courtesy of Andrea Gibson

Andrea Gibson, a poet and activist, performs one of her spoken word pieces.

Justin Joo Staff Writer Gender can be more than just a two-way street, and UT students can learn about it from a slam poet. The Lambda Student Union will be hosting a Gender Theory Workshop with Andrea Gibson today from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Hodges Library, Room 251. Gender theory is the study of how gender plays out in a variety of topics, such history, race, political science and anthropology, just to name a few. A major concept in gender theory is that gender is not divided into two simple subsets of male and female. Caitlin Miller, president of Lambda and senior in philosophy, said that the workshop will focus on that aspect of gender theory. “Society perceives gender roles to be one way,” Miller said. “Females are supposed to be this. Males are sup-

posed to be this. And (Gibson’s) point is that gender is more fluid. … You’re not stuck in any expectations based on your anatomy.” Miller said that she doesn’t know exactly how Gibson will present the workshop and that it will be a surprise to both Lambda and the audience. “She should bring poems and prompts for discussion,” Miller said. “She talks a lot about gender norms in poems, gender roles and gender binary, so I’m imagining it will involve some of those things.” The ultimate goal of the event is for students to have a better understanding of how gender norms play into people’s lives and how gender is not necessarily tied to a person’s sex. Miller said that even people who know little-to-nothing about gender theory could still benefit from Gibson’s workshop. See LAMBDA on Page 3

Cisco Adler album shines page 5 The Daily Beacon is printed using soy based ink on newsprint containing recycled content, utilizing renewable sources and produced in a sustainable, environmentally responsible manner.

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