The Daily Beacon

Issue 51, Volume 121 Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Dr. Nick Geidner, an assistant professor of journalism, is originally from Ohio, one of the biggest swing states in this year’s election. He noticed the different atmosphere in Tennessee compared to his home state.

“It’s a completely different world living in Tennessee than it was living in Ohio four years ago. You can’t imagine the ads,” he said.

Geidner’s alma mater, The Ohio State University, has provided a nearly literal battleground in this year’s election.

The presidential candidates have combined to make seven appearances in and around the campus, and Obama even chose to kick-off his campaign there.

“Today, both Romney and Obama were within a couple miles of Ohio State’s campus,” Geidner said.

UT, however, does not provide a common destination to the candidates. Tennesseans may not have as direct of an impact on the Electoral College as Ohioans. For those disenchanted with the election process, Geidner offered an

RJ Vogt

alternative perspective, pointing out the importance of the popular vote.

“If Obama wins the Electoral College and loses the popular vote, he’ll still be the president, but he’ll have a lot less political capital,” he said. “The votes still mean something.”

This thought may explain why both campaigns have pushed to increase their hold on the states they are projected to carry. Obama and Romney know the importance of the popular vote.

The election is not only a matter of our country’s executive branch, either. School board members, house representatives and a senate seat are also up for grabs. These are elections that may affect voters more than most students realize.

“There’s a number of downticket races,” Geidner said.

“We tend to focus on the presidential election, but there are school board elections that will be decided by hundreds of votes. I can still make valuable decisions in my community by voting.”

News Editor Headed into tonight’s election, most of the states are already considered to be in the proverbial bag for either Obama or Romney. The real suspense of the election, as it has in the past, will reside in the decisions of a few key swing states.

This swing state phenomenon instills apathy in the minds of voters who live in predominantly Republican or Democratic states.

“Tennessee has been a Republican state for as long as I remember, so I don’t see why that would change,” said Adrien Raucoules, a sophomore in mechanical engineering who decided against voting.

His mentality is not rare among voters, and history backs him up. The GOP has carried Tennessee in the past three elections, with almost 57 percent of voters siding with the Republican candidate in each of the last two elections.

Local elections consist of few surprises David Cobb Assistant News Editor

• Photo courtesy of U.S. Senator Bob Corker

• Photo courtesy of Mark Clayton

What’s in store for you?

Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Is this country? Does America need a ‘Comeback Team’ or does it need to move ‘Forward?’

Preston Peeden Associate Editor Romney and Ryan share a bleak view of the past four years. That, however, is not how the incumbent team of Obama and Biden view their presidency. While the Republicans speak of themselves as “America’s Comeback Team,” Obama and Biden stylize themselves as moving

“Forward.” Four years ago, the 2008 campaign was plastered in the populist slogan of “Hope,” and it was that “Hope” that put Obama in office.

After four years, the unemployment numbers have dropped below eight percent (and continue to drop) and the economy is still growing.

See OBAMA on Page 2

Blair Kuykendall Editor-in-Chief Do you believe in America? Mitt Romney believes America has the potential to progress, but has yet to break out of recession. His slogan, “Believe in America,” was selected to convey his transformative vision for the nation. This vision includes a complete reversal of the

policies that have defined President Barack Obama’s tenure. For the Romney campaign, the last four years have been plagued by a series of “misdiagnoses” and “mistakes” regressing America. The economy has grown faintly since 2009, and the Republicans have been aggressive in advertising that fact.

See ROMNEY on Page 2

Tonight, while political analysts break down their predictions for the future of the White House, the ticker at the bottom of the television screen will subtly display the future of something a little closer to home — Tennessee and its municipalities.

Senator Bob Corker, a UT graduate and Republican incumbent, is up for re-election against Mark Clayton in the race to claim — or in Corker’s case, reclaim — a Senate seat in Washington D.C. “To me it’s really not Republican or Democrat,” Brian Stevens, mathematics lecturer and 2014 state senate hopeful, said. “You have to look at the person, their capabilities, how they meet with the public.

And Senator Corker’s experience as the mayor of Chattanooga puts him in line to know how to handle this responsibility of being a U.S. Senator. People have different views on how he did, but I don’t think we should look at Republicans and Democrats and put broad generalizations on them.”

The Clayton campaign has seen its share of hiccups, including inter-party disputes that have allowed for Corker to remain the widespread favorite in a race that came down to the wire in 2006.

“It’s going to be a landslide,” Stevens said. “It would be the biggest shock in politics. He (Clayton) has 10,000-to -1 odds of winning. And if he wins, my jaw will hit the ground, it will literally, and a bunch of other people’s will, too.”

But even more centralized than Corker vs.

Clayton or Obama vs.

Romney are the races for positions that have direct influence on the UT community.

“People need to be involved in local politics,” Stevens said. “Especially when you look at what’s happening with our university, which is a big thing to me, because the decisions of local politicians greatly impact this university.”

Each spring, UT ’s Student Government Association takes a trip to Nashville to visit the state officials who make decisions on higher education and the funding that UT receives from the state.

“Chancellor Cheek and our administration, they aren’t meeting with the president and White House staff,” SGA President Adam Roddy said. “They aren’t speaking at the House of Representatives.”

Roddy, a political science major, spent his summer in D.C., working with Tennessee third district congressman Chuck Fleischmann.

See LOCAL ELECTIONS on Page 2

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

2 • THE DAILY BEACON

Associate Editor Preston Peeden

ELECTION LOCAL ELECTIONS continued from Page 1 “Maybe the vote they cast for Obama or Romney or anyone else might not matter as much,” Roddy said. “But the other people on that ballot, those can be really important, and those you will see a lot come out of and I think people need to recognize that a little more.”

Stevens agreed, hoping that the importance

OBAMA continued from Page 1 During the debates, Romney and Ryan both took shots at these numbers. While the percentage of increase and the overall percentage of unemployed Americans fell short of the lofty goals of the “Hope” promises, they still are an improvement.

Four years ago, this administration walked into economic ruin, and the Obama administration has made positive steps out. There have been 32 straight months of job growth, with two million jobs coming in the past year alone, and the economic growth over the past 12 months gives the national economy the strongest surge of momentum it has had since the fourth quarter of 2008.

The past four years have seen “Hope” turn into actual fiscal gains for many Americans, and it is with these job creation numbers that Obama will hang his hat on.

As for foreign policy, Obama’s first term can be summed up as reclamation. Like the economy, George W. Bush left America with its lowest level of international prestige since the 1970s.

In Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush set America up as the “World’s Police,” an honorific title that

ROMNEY continued from Page 1 The Romney campaign condemns the president’s “shortterm” approach to economic recovery.

Specifically, Romney has focused on renouncing programs he believes hindered or did nothing to support economic recovery. Atif Mian of the University of California, Berkeley, and Amir Sufi of the University of Chicago, believe the cash-for-clunkers program simply sped up new car purchases instead of creating lasting impacts. Romney’s plan also cites an economic study from Stanford University that stresses the irrelevancy of the administration’s temporary refund payments in inciting consumer spending. The Republican Party has continually asserted that failures to overhaul taxation, regulation and spending have only exacerbated the economic crisis.

In the realm of foreign policy, Romney believes that Obama has failed to uphold America’s position as a leading superpower. Romney believes that the president has focused far too much on “hollowing out the military” in the hopes of prospering peace, when global realities necessitate the contrary.

ppeeden@utk.edu

Managing Editor Emily DeLanzo

edelanzo@utk.edu

of local issues won’t be overshadowed by the mass hysteria that will accompany tonight’s election.

“We all start out believing that the presidential race is the most important race,” Stevens said. “And it is a very important race, but we don’t take the time sometimes to invest ourselves in these local races. And unfortunately, some people who do believe that they’re active in these local races just vote for one party, but especially at the local level you have to take a look at the individual.”

alienated allies and further enraged our enemies.

Obama spent his term trying to undo this, salvaging America’s international standing. The U.S. sanctions of Iran are a clear mark of this, as America was able to not only secure the help of Israel, but also the E.U. Instead of facing Iran as a singular nation, Obama led a combined front of over thirty nations.

Obama’s tenure, however, is not without problems on the foreign policy side, as the death of a U.S. ambassador in Libya is a black mark that will stay with this administration into posterity.

For Obama’s second term, the ideal is to continue moving forward. The president plans to invest in education, small businesses, clean energy and infrastructure to help bring back jobs to the U.S., thus stimulating our economy and strengthening the middle class.

Unlike Romney’s plans to cut taxes for the entire nation by more than 20 percent,Obama calls for tax relief for the middle class (an average of $3,600 per family), while raising taxes on the wealthiest. For President Obama, the future of taxation comes from the Buffett Rule, sonamed for Warren Buffett, which calls for eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy and increasing the rate at which they pay.

As for creating jobs, Obama’s American Jobs Act is expected to create nearly two million more jobs to build upon the momentum of his past four years.

When it comes to healthcare, the Affordable Care Act will stay in effect, eventually extending healthcare coverage to an estimated 32 million more Americans. Not only does the Affordable Care Act increase coverage, but it also helps sustain coverage for young people with their parents’ plans until the age of 26 (a popular stipulation due to the high rate of youth unemployment) and for those with pre-existing conditions, as by 2014 the Act stipulates that insurance companies will no longer be able to deny medical care to these individuals.

On the international grounds, Obama looks to continue much of what he has done in the past four years by reclaiming American prestige. America’s alliances with Israel, members of NATO, and several nations of Asia and Latin America have not been this strong since the ‘90s This cooperation will be necessary in dealing with shared challenges facing the world (Iran). Also internationally, Obama calls for an end to the war in Afghanistan, while also cutting the size and cost of our bellicose military.

Romney believes that he can bring some targeted fiscal therapy to a limping American economy. Several notable economists have worked with Romney to create an alternative strategy for growth. Their plan is centered on cutting fiscal spending, reforming tax laws to promote small businesses, reforming entitlement programs for viability and taking a cost-benefit approach to regulation. His campaign has promised to increase America’s GDP and create a climate conducive to job growth. The next four years under Mitt Romney would be focused on creating a “smaller, simpler, smarter approach to government.”

Romney is staunchly committed to curtailing the deficit.

He plans to return federal spending to the levels before the financial crisis. This would keep the government spending at 20 percent of GDP. Coupling this spending reduction with a broader tax base, Romney believes he can keep the budget revenue-neutral.

Romney has taken the traditional conservative approach to taxation, planning to cut marginal income tax rates by 20 percent for all brackets. He also wants to cut corporate tax rates to 25 percent. In an effort to target the effects of such cuts, he plans to maintain low taxes on capital gains and

income.

In the area of entitlements, Romney would like to abolish Obama’s healthcare legislation.

He has proposed an alternative approach to reform Social Security and Medicare, hoping to phase out benefits for wealthier seniors and allow states to allocate Medicaid funding themselves.

Along with critiques on excessive government spending, the Romney campaign has taken a critical stance toward many government regulatory practices. His team would like to approach regulation through the lens of cost-benefit analysis. He believes that regulation over energy production is creating difficulties for innovation. As president, Romney would encourage market-based approaches to legislation.

Romney has detailed a starkly contrasting approach to President Obama’s foreign policy strategy. To promote national security interests, Romney would like to expand and modernize all branches of the military. He believes that the military can be modernized to prevent war and encourage the development of democracy. The Romney campaign has continually promoted an increasingly close relationship with Israel, and called for a heightened response to Iranian nuclear ambitions. He also criticized the President for his approach to Syria.

Romney has promised support for the Libyan people and retribution against terrorists involved in the attacks in Benghazi. In respect to China, Romney promotes heightened vigilance on their economic practices and regulation of their currency. He seeks to promote greater cooperation with our allies for mutual security, but overall seeks to assert American leadership on the global stage.

Emily DeLanzo • The Daily Beacon

Local Knoxvillians wait in line on the first day of early voting last week.

TreDarius Hayes • The Daily Beacon

A student takes a moment to vote during early voting on Oct. 31.

StudentPerspective Make election night entertaining For better or worse, the election will be over tomorrow morning. Finally. We survived one heck of a primary season, somehow living through Newt Gingrich’s moon colony, Michelle Bachmann’s laser stare of death, Herman Cain dubbing the phrase “AW SHUCKY DUCKY!,” Santorum exploding in the South, and Rick Perry’s three greatest gaffes: dressing like a character from “Brokeback Mountain” while talking about his defense of traditional marriage, the unfortunate name of his family farm, and ... oh ... I forget the third one ... maybe Ron Paul knows the answer. But we, as Americans, pulled through.

And we got Small Face Romney and Obama, who Donald Trump keeps telling me wasn’t even born here.

As both candidates will tell you, this is an incredibly important election, and I mean it when I say every vote matters, so if you haven’t done so yet, go vote. Seriously, skip class and vote, because soldiers died to defend that right. But what after that? I would recommend sitting down with a few friends and some popcorn to watch the election results roll in. Why, you might ask? Because tonight is Oscars night for the news networks. While most starlets put on dazzling dresses to wow the crowds, tonight everyone from MSNBC to Fox will roll out the fancy new gadgets to enthrall the average American long enough to make counting to 270 fun (270 being number of electoral votes needed to win the presidential election).

On a normal news night I would encourage you to try to find a broad range of news coverage in order to help overcome biases, but not tonight. Tonight it’s about glitz and glam.

We’ve come a long way since Tim Russert’s humble whiteboard explained the mayhem of the 2000 election, so without further ado, let’s take a tour of the 2008 election toys.

In 2008, MSNBC sent a shiver up my leg with their giant virtual White House, helping me to both envision my candidate comfortably inside at the helm of the nation, and imagining the darn thing falling on him like a red, white and blue Wicked Witch of the West.

Meanwhile, Fox News brought the night to life with touch screens. Touch screens were everywhere. Seriously, I’m fairly certain if one walked into the Fox Studio and touched something, it would move. While this could have some pretty cool implications, I mostly saw them use it to take the states apart like a giant, expensive U.S. puzzle such as one might find in a kindergarten classroom if kindergarten were properly funded (which is a major issue facing the candidates, so think about the children as you cast your ballot).

But by far the winner for best newscast of 2008 went to CNN and their hologram. That was not a typo, they had a hologram machine.

Granted, they last used it for Jessica Yellin, but maybe this year they can use it for something really, really neat, like a candidate, a rockstar, Tupac, or Ronald Reagan (I know you haven’t heard enough about him in the last year). You never know, right?

Regardless of where you wind up on election night, whether you’re surrounded by friends, family, on your couch, or at the Baker Center, I encourage you to vote. Then I encourage you to genuinely sit down and think about how wonderful it is that we have a system that ensures us a peaceful transference of power, and be thankful. Because no matter your political persuasion, I think we can at least all agree that every election day we can raise our voice and try to effect change.

—Sarah Lucas is a senior in deaf education.

She can be reached at slucas5@utk.edu.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

THE DAILY BEACON • 3 News Editor RJ Vogt

CAMPUS NEWS

rvogt@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor David Cobb

dcobb3@utk.edu

Miss Homecoming, true volunteer tion, a competition which Alpha Chi won in partnership with the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi. “It’s been a joy to work with her over the past She remembers wearing a little UT cheerlead- year and see how she is able to light a fire,” Pickle ing outfit as a kid, cheering on her favorite team said. “She’s very positive about UT life in general and Greek life in particular, and I think she’s a great from her home in Dayton, Tenn.

Now that little girl from Dayton is all grown up, example of a Greek leader on campus.”

Even as Greek life and community service keep and instead of a cheerleader’s uniform, Katie Arnold busy, she still manages to thrive in the Arnold sports the homecoming crown.

“It’s very humbling and a big honor since I’m College of Nursing. Katie McCay, director of stusuch a big Volunteer fan,” said the nursing major dents services for the College of Nursing, elaboratand newly crowned Miss Homecoming. “It’s great ed on Arnold’s commitment to her major.

“She’s a very dedicatto be able to represent the unied nursing student,” versity.”

McCay said. “She gave As a close friend of Arnold, up her spring break to Keri Bowerman, fellow senior provide healthcare in nursing, saw Arnold’s anticiservices to a lot of peopation build throughout homeple who really don’t coming week. At Saturday’s have access to them.” game, Bowerman had a great The spring break view of Arnold’s reaction to McCay mentioned, a winning. service trip to Costa “It was amazing … you could Rica, was not the only just see pure joy on her face.

Alternative Break She was really proud to repreArnold has participated sent UT as Miss in. After attending an Homecoming,” Bowerman Alternative Fall Break said. trip as an underclassArnold has been a Vol fan her man, Arnold has whole life, and UT was the only served as a trip coordischool she applied to. nator for the past two “It was always the plan to years. come to the big state school,” Upon graduating in she said. “When I came on my the spring, Arnold tour I just knew it was the perhopes to stick around fect fit.”

Knoxville.

And Arnold has fit into the Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon “I plan on staying volunteer tradition with ease.

Volunteering with the Katie Arnold, senior in nursing, and working at a local Knoxville YWCA and the waves to the crowds after being hospital. In about two Knoxville Family Justice announced Miss Homecoming years, I plan on going back to get my master’s Center with her free time, she 2012. degree and become a focuses on serving those who have suffered domestic violence. The work ties nurse practitioner,” Arnold said.

In the meanwhile, Arnold will serve as Miss into her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, which supHomecoming, a role that Pickle sees as more than ports the victims of domestic violence.

Arnold’s dedication to service inspires UT alum- just a title.

“What they look for in the Miss Homecoming na and Alpha Chi chapter advisor Betsy Pickle.

“Her fire for community service, whether it’s is someone who represents the best of UT female campus or the greater Knoxville community, is just students, someone who excels academically and very heartening to see in a young person,” Pickle through community service,” she said. “But I think there’s also something about personality … there is said.

As the president of Alpha Chi, Arnold was heav- no one with more enthusiasm or spirit or heart ily involved in this year’s homecoming competi- than Katie Arnold. She has an amazing love for UT — it’s extraordinary.”

Around Rocky Top

RJ Vogt

News Editor

Lake Sturgeon project ends Matt Reed Staff Writer

Jackson Sibley Contributor A long-awaited project materialized at Knoxville’s Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge as more than 2,500 lake sturgeon were released into the French Broad River.

Coordinated by the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, the US Fish & Wildlife Service and UT graduate students, the lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) were released into the French Broad River on Thursday.

Members of all agencies including UT students were present to help release the sturgeon, along with fifth graders from Knox County’s Gap Creek Elementary School.

In preparation for the events last week, the Gap Creek youngsters have been raising a sturgeon of their own, appropriately named “Spike.” The primitive lake sturgeon is evolutionarily ancient, with fossils dating

back over 130 million years.

With this in mind, the structure and features of these fascinating creatures are still a bit shocking to most individuals, illustrating why they're often referred to as “living fossils.”

Records indicate that mature adult lake sturgeon can live up to 150 years and reach sizes of more than 300 pounds.

Furthermore, most juveniles require more than a decade to reach sexual maturation, making the monitoring process of these individuals quite lengthy and the success rates sometimes difficult to determine.

The young sturgeon released into the French Broad averaged less than 12 inches in length.

Scientists believe lake sturgeon flourished in the Tennessee River watershed for millennia. It was not until the 1900s with the onslaught of human impacts such as over harvest and bad management practices that these fish became extirpated, or regionally extinct. Currently, lake sturgeon are considered endangered in Tennessee, and must be released when caught by anglers.

Graduate students in

forestry, wildlife and fisheries helped guide the demanding process of raising some 200 individuals for the release. The fish must be fed and their tanks cleaned multiple times daily, making it virtually a continuous undertaking.

“Sturgeon are time and laborintensive to raise,” said graduate student Dan Walker, who took care of the fish daily. “It was definitely rewarding after all that work to see them swim off into the river.”

The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga also played an integral role in the raising of over 600 individuals. Bernie Kuhajda, an aquatic biologist for the Tennessee Aquarium, helped explain the significance of such an event.

“From a scientific point of view, it’s important to reestablish the aquatic biodiversity that used to be here,” Kuhajda said.

“Lake sturgeon disappeared from the Tennessee River, and we’re putting them back. But this project is so much more than just replacing lost aquatic biodiversity — it’s getting the general public, and in this case elementary school children, excited about conservation.”

Jaylnn Baker • The Daily Beacon

The UT Singers perform during homecoming week on Friday, November 2.

Healthcare talk enlightens students Parker Suczynski Contributor For many Americans, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or “Obamacare” as it is more commonly known, will be a primary issue for many on Election Day, regardless of individual political leanings.

On Thursday, Dr. Theda Skocpol, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University, spoke at the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center about the PPACA, including common misconceptions about the law and the effect the law would have in the years to come.

Skocpol outlined what she considers to be the three most important things the PPACA does, citing changes to the laws which insurance companies have to follow as the most important.

“The most important thing Affordable Care does is to create new rules of the game for private insurance companies,” Skocpol said. “They still get to make a profit, but they need to do it not by avoiding sick patients or shedding sick patients, but by finding ways to improve the quality and efficiency and lower the cost of health care coverage.”

The other two most important aspects of PPACA, Skocpol said, are expansions of affordable coverage through Medicaid and individual states’ ability to set up a “comparison shopping marketplace” where individuals or businesses will be able to compare the terms and costs of insurance before buying.

Skocpol then discussed the fact that the PPACA was passed by a bare majority and the effect that has had on the public’s perception of the law.

“It created what we have seen ever since, which is a public opinion disconnect about this law,” she said. “If and when pollsters go out and ask Americans about specific parts of the law … those are all wildly popular. They get about 70 to 90 percent approval.”

However, there is one part of the law that does not get such universal approval — the individual mandate rule. “(The individual mandate) says that if you are one of the two out of a hundred Americans left over after this law is fully implemented who doesn’t have insurance,” Skocpol explained, “you will have to either buy a private insurance plan or pay a small fine. That’s what the individual mandate is.”

She continued, “It’s not

going to hit very many people, and the fine is so small that many of those who are conscientiously opposed to private health insurance will just pay the fine. The IRS is not allowed to enforce the fine if they don’t pay.”

Many of the students attending the lecture were glad that parts of PPACA were clarified, such as Rachel Townsend, freshman in communications, who attended the lecture.

“I learned a lot of stuff that I definitely didn’t know beforehand,” Townsend said. “I’m glad that she clarified a few things for me so that way I know a little bit more about it going into the election on Tuesday.”

“She is somebody that is an expert,” John Dickey, graduate student in political science, said. “It was quite interesting, based upon what she brought to the table. I’m glad that we were able to bring her in.”

Skocpol’s speech was given at the Third Annual Anne Mayhew Distinguished Honors Lecture. This lecture series recognizes economic historian Anne Mayhew, who was also the first woman to serve at UT as chair of the Department of Economics, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

4 • THE DAILY BEACON

Editor-in-Chief Blair Kuykendall

OPINIONS

bkuykend@utk.edu

Contact us letters@utdailybeacon.com

StaffColumn

Moving past homecoming parade RJ Vogt News Editor In case you missed it, last week was homecoming.

As a brother of Pi Kappa Phi, I really enjoyed getting to know the ladies of Alpha Chi Omega and working together to show UT our school spirit. And winning the massive trophy? That was pretty enjoyable, too.

One could say that it was ours, and we spent it (obligatory 2Chainz reference).

But as I reflect on the countless hours spent pomping floats, the money spent on boxcar races and the energy poured into “Smokey’s Howl,” I cannot help but wonder what we, as UT’s student body, could have accomplished if we focused on the community instead of floats, boxcars and cheerleading.

The Greek community raises millions of dollars through philanthropy events throughout the year, and countless other student organizations also give back.

But when we all come together to show school spirit, why not continue that Volunteer tradition? Instead of building that which we only destroy, why not build that which others need?

Our campus is located right across Cumberland Avenue from one of the toughest, most crime-ridden areas in Knoxville. Many of us call Fort Sanders home, sharing its streets with a struggling homeless community. Though many students work to combat homelessness, there is certainly more that could be done.

And not too far away, Children’s Hospital of Knoxville is filled with children who are battling tough conditions and life-threatening situations. I have no doubt that those kids would love to spend more time with college students.

Soup kitchens, battered women’s shelters, animal shelters … the avenues for giving back are unending.

Do not get me wrong, I love the school spirit we

display during homecoming. I was blown away by the routines of “Smokey’s Howl,” and some of the floats were beyond impressive. Did you see those banners?

They are gorgeous. But it seems to me that displaying school spirit is not constrained within the confines of outdated traditions of parades and banner decorating competitions. We are the “Volunteers”; volunteering is itself the greatest display of school spirit we can offer.

And although tradition may insist on upholding the parades and boxcar races and cheering competitions, should tradition supersede the needs of others?

Focusing on the community during homecoming may not be only good for those we serve. It might even attract a wider scope of participants. I mean, let’s be honest. Outside of Greek organizations and a handful of student groups, how many students really noticed homecoming? How many students currently reading this column did not participate in any quantifiable way?

With those students, I can commiserate. Last fall, I was not in a fraternity and I had almost no idea that homecoming was going on. If it hadn’t been for my friends that were in Greek organizations complaining about sore thumbs from pomping, I would have had absolutely no idea.

Maybe if it were a week more focused on giving back, more students would participate. The current setup focuses on groups, making it harder for individuals to get involved. A service-based homecoming might open wider the influence. School spirit might even increase.

After halftime at Saturday’s game, the student section emptied out pretty dramatically. It was evident that many of the students were only there to see the results of the homecoming competition and the crowning of Miss Homecoming (congratulations to the lovely Katie Arnold). Once the winners were announced, few students (including myself) cared to stay and watch what turned out to be a pretty exciting game.

Really, what kind of school spirit is that?

The wreckage of our beautiful floats will be gone by next week, but people will always need volunteers.

— RJ Vogt is a sophomore in College Scholars. He can be reached at rvogt@utk.edu.

SCRAMBLED EGGS • Alex Cline

Palm Trees And Fishbowls • Anna Simanis

Columns of The Daily Beacon are reflections of the individual columnist, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or its editorial staff.

All events compose true reality l o s t in Co m m u n i ca t i o n by

Jan Urbano

Our technological prowess and achievements mimic what occurs in our universe: both continue to expand seemingly without limits.

Humanity has created thousands of tools to help itself survive and thrive in a usually hostile and cold world, and with great success. We’ve managed to keep our bellies full and our heads dry, all while being able to protect those that are important to us and launching steel drones to other worlds. However, even with everything we have, we still dream and fantasize about things that science has deemed to be impossible in this universe. That may change within the next few decades.

Originating from science itself, the invention of virtual reality will become a topic that may be used to help solve the world’s problems, or exacerbate them. In virtual reality, the laws of physics that govern our real lives may or may not be the same, and the methods of communication may even be completely different. In a sense, it is a world where one can start life anew. Such a thing can be very exciting, but opponents might say that such a simulation is bad because, well, it’s fake.

However, how do we define what is real while in this state? Is it from what you experience, or how you affect others?

Sometime last week, my younger brother introduced me to an interesting show called “Sword Art Online.” In this show, by putting on a special virtual reality helmet, people can enter a virtual world which is governed like a MMORPG, similar to “World of Warcraft,” but with humans as the only race. They are fully

capable of interacting with any other person in the game as well — in a sense, it’s like the real world, but with skills and mechanics meshed in, like the video games you play today.

The idea of it sounds really fun and enjoyable; who wouldn’t want to become a swordsman and be able to name and use your own skills? However, the game brought up a great thought experiment. Many characters within the show questioned the worth and value of what they had experienced while in the game.

Even though they knew they were in a simulation, they had communities and roles within the game, making it seem as though the game was more “real” than real-life.

This brings up an important question — if you were put into said virtual reality simulation, in which all of your senses were completely blocked from the real world and immersed into the simulation, would you be able to differentiate the feeling of “realness” in this state? The only way you would be able to tell that this virtual world was not real was because of differences in how the world was governed.

That’s how we distinguish what’s real and what isn’t; we compare what we humans experience normally to the conditions or states that we move into, such as the simulation.

Even if the world we were to live in were fake, however, would that depreciate the joy or pleasure that we would experience in the virtual world when measured against the same joy or pleasure in the real-world, assuming the joy or pleasure in both cases come from the same action? For those who want to lead a full, real, and happy life, be friendly, strong-willed, and have your own, unique personality that transcends whatever medium of communication you use, be it a chat box or your own voice.

— Jan Urbano is a junior in biochemistry and molecular biology. He can be reached at jurbano@utk.edu.

New president offers same politics?

(Un)C ommon S e n se by

Ron Walters

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So we all know what today is. Millions of Americans will stand in line, sometimes for hours at a time, and choose who they think is the best possible candidate to lead our country for the next four years from among a huge variety of two choices. Some people will be turned away because they do not have proper forms of identification, and they will be overwhelmingly the elderly, the poor, and minorities. For one day, voters will experience warm, fuzzy feelings of patriotism and satisfaction of fulfilling their quadrennial civic duty. Me? I’ll just be relieved that on Nov. 7, my Facebook news feed will go back to being filled with cat photos, peers complaining about school, and duck face instead of the political ramblings of hundreds of so called “experts.”

Presumably, half the country will be devastated by the results, proclaim that our great republic is finished, and begin rebuilding their bomb shelters started four years ago, and the other half of the country will be relieved that their guy gets four more years to fulfill unmet promises, certain that this time he will live up to his word. Meanwhile, libertarians will complain in mass about the lack of a viable third candidate in national elections. News outlets will inevitably blow the results out of proportion and rhetoric for or against the winning candidate will spew from pundits paid to profess their opinions to national audiences.

It will be impossible to escape, at least for a couple of days.

I do not want to sound like an apathetic cynic; I will fulfill my civic duty today, and I do prefer one candidate over another. Personally, I cannot stand Mitt Romney; I find his stance on social issues outdated and discriminatory,

his economic policies beneficial only for a select few, and his fanciful nostalgic reconstructions of America’s past (i.e. referring to 1950s and ‘60s America as an idyllic Mayberry in his national convention speech) absurd. That’s not to say I have not found numerous flaws in Obama’s first term either.

The continued operation of Guantanamo Bay and its detention practices is a horrid blight on our international reputation, and his decision to increase our reliance on drone warfare is setting dangerous precedents.

If elected, however, Romney will soon discover, as President Obama did, that implementing all the plans and projects promised during the campaign is excruciatingly difficult. Compromises will have to be made and Romney will be forced to modify some of his ideas in order to get them passed. Presidents generally hover around the center, in an effort to please as many people as possible. If re-elected, Obama will return to the oval office to the same gridlocked, hyper partisan environment that has been present for the last several years. Certainly, things will change with a new president eager to place his own stamp on the oval office or even with an incumbent determined to enhance his legacy, but it is important that we keep everything in perspective.

This presidential election campaign has been exhausting, bitter, and violently contested. It has highlighted numerous glaring flaws present in our political system. This campaign has been marked by particularly lavish campaign spending and limited political options for voters, but it is mercifully drawing to a close. It will be safe once again to browse internet and television news outlets, and our collective, national conscious will have to find other matters worthy of outrage and undivided attention.

— Ron Walters is a senior in English literature, French, and global studies. He can be reached at rwalter5@utk.edu.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

THE DAILY BEACON • 5 Arts & Culture Editor Victoria Wright

ARTS & CULTURE

vwright6@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Rob Davis

rdavis60@utk.edu

Khan opens up with ‘Haunted Man’ Spencer Hall Staff Writer Much like the album’s cover artwork, “The Haunted Man,” Natasha Khan’s third album under the stage-name Bat For Lashes is a stripped down expression of who she is as an artist.

It is not an easy task placing Bat For Lashes into one genre.

Her voice and arrangements reach heights indicative of Annie Lennox while keeping a modest nonchalance resonant of Laura Marling. Bat For Lashes wears her feelings on her sleeve, which shine through into her lyrics, making “The Haunted Man” her most defining and personal album to date.

Feeling as though she had no other songs left to write, Khan turned to films and artwork for inspiration. After seeing a scene in the 1970s film “Ryan’s Daughter,” Khan got the idea for the album’s introductory track, “Lilies.” She sings lines representative of blossoming into a much happier and creative artist over an electronic backing track complete with synthesizers and filtered guitar strumming.

On one of the album’s catchier songs, “Marilyn,” Khan drew inspiration the movie “Drive.” Due to the film, she made a track that had a touch of the movie’s 1980s L.A. pop music. With help from Beck supplying some guitar work on the track, “Marilyn” definitely captures the electro-pop sound

that Khan strived to grasp in her music.

Perhaps the most passionate and personal song of the album is “Laura.” She strives to make a more traditional song, something that Bat For Lashes is not quite known for. Rather than using synthesizers and electronic backing-beats, “Laura” is a much simpler song. It shows off Khan’s powerful raw emotion as her voice soars over no more than just a piano and horn section. Undoubtedly, “Laura” is the most poignant track on the entire album, and will stick with any listener.

“Rest Your Head” is an earworm of a song that will get the listener’s toe tapping.

Underneath Bat For Lashes’ echoed-harmonies lies a mysterious dance beat with club sounding drum kits and an electronic rhythm section. The song builds up and finally erupts with the catchy chorus leading right into a synth solo.

Although “Laura” may be the key track that listeners will remember most, “Rest Your Head” is the track most likely to light up the dance clubs.

Even though, at times, the album becomes lackadaisical, “The Haunted Man” is a solid record from an artist who hasn’t released new music in more than three years. With her rhythmic musical display and melancholy vocal arrangements, fans of previous Bat For Lashes albums will find the new album to be a return to form for this British songstress.

• Photo courtesy of Calvin Harris

DJ brings beats with guest artists Chris Cable Staff Writer

Drop a techno beat and hire a famous singer to throw in some lyrics, and you’ve got a number one single. That’s how DJ Calvin Harris does it, anyway.

With a title characterized by how long some of his songs have already been out, Calvin Harris debuts his new album, “18 Months.” Despite the fact that “Feel So Close” and “We Found Love” — made famous by Rihanna — are already familiar and semi-old, Harris is kind of a genius.

“Feel So Close” is one of the only songs Harris sings on the album, and it is one of the most successful, showing evidence that he should sing more.

Harris begins his album with a preview of his disc jockey skills in “Green Valley.”

Tennessee State University.

Starting the album in that way sends the message that his beats are the focal point.

There was also an incorrect Sadly, the beat is monotonous without any reference to a photo for the vocals behind it. The following track, story. The Mu Zeta chapter “Bounce,” which features Kelis, is a total let of Delta Sigma Theta is a down too, because the vocals just don’t sorority, not a fraternity, as was printed in the photo caption.

BEACON CORRECTION The article “Stomp show entertains crowd” from yesterday’s issue of The Daily Beacon featured an incorrect name of a fraternity and their chapter. The performers of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity were a part of the Alpha Theta chapter at

match his sound medley.

On a brighter note, the aforementioned single “We Found Love” is Harris at his finest. His tunes are catchy and unique in structure. This single, followed by “Iron,” is the beginning of fist pumping beats and climactic compositions. Not only is the album a new wave of pop-style music, but it also features talented artists like Ellie Goulding, Example, Kelis and Florence Welch.

Credit must be given to Harris for his song “Sweet Nothing,” which features Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine. The music is engaging and Florence shines as usual with her flawless, haunting voice. The song is pure genius in every aspect. It’s one of the highlights of the entire album.

The next song, “School,” is a Daft Punk version of elevator music. However, the catchiness of the song is overwhelmingly entrancing to the ears. Had Harris added any lyrics whatsoever it would have been a disaster, which again shows Harris’s genius.

As one of the last songs, “Here 2 China” catches the listener off-guard. The beat of

Harris and Dillon Francis is paired with the rap stylings of Dizzee Rascal. The song should be a huge dance hit at parties and clubs. Though the lyrics aren’t original or meaningful, the song follows mainstream radio closely. It certainly holds its own among the many pop songs being played today.

Ne-Yo sings “Let’s Go” on the album, a hit that has been played on the radio and TV for a while now. Having a popular artist like NeYo singing is probably a wise choice for Harris considering the fact that some of the other songs are lack-luster. With Ne-Yo’s smooth vocals, the song is only fit for the dance floor.

The last track, “Thinking About You,” gives the spotlight to the lesser-known Ayah Marar. The beat is similar to a 1990s workout song, but Ayah saves the song with her naturally good singing voice.

So overall, Calvin Harris gives the world a nice dance album to enjoy. With competition from David Guetta, he is sure to produce even better material in the future.

Around Rocky Top

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD • Will Shortz Jalynn Baker • The Daily Beacon

Jeremiah Welch, junior in music, performs during the UT Cello Studio concert on Oct. 25.

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

6 • THE DAILY BEACON

Sports Editor Lauren Kittrell

SPORTS

lkittre1@utk.edu

Assistant Sports Editor Austin Bornheim abornhei@utk.edu

Guess’s dream coming true David Cobb Assistant News Editor

Parker Eidson • The Daily Beacon

Redshirt freshman Quinton Chievous had 15 points and six assists against Victory University Monday night.

Vols beat Eagles, 99-57 Lauren Kittrell Sports Editor It’s basketball time in Tennessee.

The men’s basketball team took on the Victory University Eagles Monday, winning the preseason exhibition game 99-57. The Volunteers’ first point of the 2012-2013 season went to sophomore forward Jarnell Stokes. It was a free throw.

The Vols trailed by as many as six points in the first quarter and realized just how necessary preseason play is. Head coach Cuonzo Martin said that while the team turned around in the second half, the first 20 minutes weren’t up to par.

“One thing we talk about all the time is how you play when the lights go on,” Martin said. “I thought our guys were a little slow out of the gates. They weren’t as aggressive and as assertive.”

Martin was on and off the bench, unable to content himself with the team’s first half performance. He said he was more concerned with how the team was playing than that many points were on the board, and he would have liked to see the team do a little more.

“I didn’t think we were playing well in the first half,” Martin said. “We missed three dunks.”

But the game took on a new pace when the Vols returned to the court in the second half. Martin said it was good to see the team getting in a groove as the game played out.

“I think for a first game, even though it was an exhibition game, we corrected some things as far as turning the ball over,” Martin said.

The Vols won’t face an SEC team until January against Ole Miss, which means they have plenty of time to work out whatever kinks remain. For now, Martin said he’s pleased with the team’s final outcome.

“We got the ‘W’,” Martin said. “It’s good to get a game under your belt, so to speak.”

Victory kept the score within ten points at the half, but wasn’t able to keep up with the Vols’ upbeat pace in the second half.

Junior guard Jordan McRae said the team came out of their halftime talk refreshed and ready to show their fans a glimpse of what they are capable of.

“He just was reminding us to not play for ourselves,” McRae said. “(The fans) come to see Tennessee, so keep playing hard.”

The Vols outscored the Eagles 69-37 in the second half with 30 points coming from guards Quinton Chievous and McRae. Chievous score double digits in the second half with six assists. Martin said he thought Chievous played with a lot of energy. “(Quinton) is a guy that plays hard and he plays hard all the time,” Martin said. “It’s hard to keep him off that glass.”

McRae said he thought Chievous did a great job.

“He can do so many things playing the floor,” McRae said.

The Vols will face Kennesaw State on Friday at 7 p.m. EST.

The 14,788 fans that came to ThompsonBoling Arena Monday evening to catch the first steps of UT’s NCAA tournament dreams probably didn’t realize that a dream came true in front of them.

But for Victory University’s Nathan Guess, a senior guard from Memphis, that was exactly the case.

“Normal people, at some point, throw up their hands and say ‘this isn’t meant to be,’” said Kurt Brown, Guess’s high school coach.

But Guess isn’t normal — at least the path he took to college basketball isn’t — and the only hands he was throwing up Monday were in an attempt to guard Tennessee’s Jordan McRae. Rewind to homeschool basketball practices in 2007 and Brown, along with Guess’s other coach, Andreus Shannon, would not have believed that their scrawny left-handed shooting guard would one day find himself gracing the court at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“No,” Shannon said with a chuckle. “My hope for him was probably walking on somewhere, probably NAIA level.”

“I knew Nathan could shoot and I knew he had the heart for it,” Brown said. “But him in a major place against a Division I school one day — eh, that wasn’t really crossing my mind at the time.”

For Guess, the notion of playing against SEC competition — something he’s now done three times — was even more far-fetched.

“I would have said that you were smoking crack,” Guess said. “I never would have believed you in a million years.”

Guess originally enrolled at Crichton College where it was agreed that he would play his sophomore year, but before he could see the court, the school was shut down due to financial troubles, and he was forced to bounce his dream to Blue Mountain College in Mississippi.

Though he made the team, he was asked to do what he had done the previous year — sit out a season, this time as a redshirt, meaning two consecutive years without touching the court for Guess.

“Man, the day that he told me I was redshirting, I knew I was going to be able to play the next year,” Guess said. “But still I was really depressed, and thought about quitting … but my brother said ‘Look, if you quit now, you’ll always have regrets. I’ll support you whatever you do, but this is passion of yours and if you

quit now you’ll always regret that.’ ” In customary fashion, Guess kept at it, deciding that it was worth voluntarily waking up at 5 a.m. every day to hit the gym, even though he wouldn’t see game action.

“I usually got 1,000 shots a day,” Guess said.

“I wanted to perfect that part of my game because I know I’m short, and I’m not that quick and so I wanted something that could be automatic.”

That same season — while he nailed down his shot as a redshirt player at school with an enrollment of just over 400 in rural Mississippi — Skylar McBee, a player to whom Guess says he is similar, hit a game-winning shot in the national spotlight against the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks.

Before Guess could have his chance for a game-winning shot of his own, or even a single shot at all, the BMC coach resigned and left his future in the hands of a new coach.

Meanwhile, a former University of Memphis graduate assistant Scott Robinson was organizing the basketball team for a new school called Victory that would operate in place of the defunct Crichton.

“When we started the program, Nate came to me and was asking about being on the team and all that,” Robinson said. “And he was very persistent and I want those type of guys.”

In 2010-11, his third year of college, Guess played for the first time, even seeing action against Arkansas.

Following the season, Guess was awarded a scholarship.

Last year he posted six points in 13 minutes in a game at Auburn while seeing regular action as a shooting guard for the Eagles.

“All of my hard work really came into fruition. It was amazing. I’m truly blessed beyond measure to live out my dreams.”

Robinson said the experience of playing at Tennessee will benefit his team both from an experience standpoint and financially.

As for Guess, the opportunity to play against SEC competition — a foresight that he associated with smoking crack five years ago — is nothing short of a dream come true.

Guess played the game’s final seven minutes Monday, tallying six points on two three pointers in Victory’s 99-57 loss on Monday.

“Man, it felt great I can’t lie, but I’m also a competitor I want to play all 40 minutes and win,” Guess told The Daily Beacon after the game.

“But to get an experience like this is amazing and I’m thankful.”

Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon

Prentiss Waggner waits for the play against Alabama on Oct. 20.

Defense searches for answers Austin Bornheim Assistant Sports Editor With the Tennessee defense struggling more each week, head coach Derek Dooley has conceded that it is time to try something different to prepare for Missouri this weekend.

“There’s some significant things that we’re going to do this week that I hope will help,” Dooley said. “I’m coming out of the offense room and putting all my attention on defense, just sitting in trying to create solutions.”

The Vols (4-5, 0-5 SEC) surrendered a school worst 721 yards to Troy this past Saturday and were consistently unable to cover the Trojan wide receivers.

“When you play our style of defense sometimes it’s going to put stress on some guys,” said Dooley. “Sometimes it puts stress on the guys up front when they run the draw play, and sometimes it puts stress on the corners. We just aren’t making the plays.”

The coaching staff will try and take some pressure off the defense to see if they will produce more consistent play.

“It’s just taking some of the pressure off,” said Dooley. “Don’t throw the fastball every time.”

Sophomore defensive back Justin Coleman believes the team could move to more zone over the final three weeks to help alleviate some of the pressure on the cornerbacks.

“We’re trying to play off a little bit so the ball doesn’t get thrown over our head,” Coleman said. “Playing man the cornerbacks feel like they’re on an island a lot.”

But communication continues to be an

issue for the secondary.

“It’s just us not getting the call and communicating with each other,” said Coleman.

“What we got to do is get the cornerback to look at the safeties and communicate with the linebackers so we can all be on the same page.”

The secondary isn’t the only defensive unit that is struggling in the eyes of the head coach; the defensive line isn’t applying enough pressure on the quarterback to help the corners.

“We haven’t been getting much pressure on the quarterback, and that has caused a lot of problems as the down gets stretched out,” Dooley said.

After giving freshman Daniel Gray the nod at cornerback on Saturday, the coaching staff went back to redshirt senior Prentiss Waggner after Gray was beat down the field twice. There were discussions of moving the senior to safety, but with the team’s struggles he will stay on the outside.

“There has been some discussion on stuff,” said Dooley. “We put Daniel Gray in.

Before we did that we said, ‘let’s see how we can do with moving another corner in there.’ Dan competed hard but he gave up a lot of plays. We still need Prentiss at corner.”

The Vols will have a week’s worth of practice to correct their mistakes before the Tigers visit Neyland Stadium for the two teams’ first ever meeting.

“They are playing great defense, they really are,” Dooley said. “Big time defense.

Look at them rankings-wise. Look what they did to Florida. They are a top 20 defense, and so we are going to see if our offense can go perform, which we have to this point.”