The Daily Beacon

Issue 52, Volume 121

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

# OBA M A 2012 #Vote2012

Twitter takes prominence in political arena

#BelieveinAmerica #RomneyRyan2012 #GOP2012

Blair Kuykendall Editor-in-Chief

#VoteObama

Emily DeLanzo Managing Editor Pleased, upset, or generally annoyed by an Obama victory, countless Americans spent last night dialed in to their Twitter feeds.

This election year, Twitter played a defining role in American political dialogue for the first time in its history. A record 70 million Americans are now tuned in to Twitter, actively participating in a neverending national discourse. “(Social media) hasn’t changed many people’s opinions, but it has given people a voice,” Alex Aust, senior in environmental and soil sciences, said. Aust identifies himself as a moderate-conservative.

This significant increase in Twitter users, up from three million participants in the last election, generated an arena for realtime political discussion unrivaled in American history. Over 358 million tweets were cast from users all across the nation throughout the presidential campaign.

Alex Adkins, sophomore in English, identifies himself as a liberal Democrat, and is active both on Facebook and Twitter.

“Social media had a really large influence,” Adkins said. “Twitter specifically had millions of tweets today alone about the election. The political activity regardless of the party affiliation helped get people out to the polls.”

Over the past nine months, Americans took to Twitter to highlight the good, the bad and the wrong. Love it or hate it: Twitter has changed public perception of major elections. The website has completely redefined the way Americans and citizens of the world express their opinions, making discussion more inclusive. Voters, spectators and pundits alike turned to the website to celebrate and vent frustrations on election night. Major networks included live tweets in their coverage, focused on conveying as much information in real time as possible.

The main trending topic, #Election2012, aided major news sources in up-to-date reporting on the presidential election.

Names like “Obama” and “Romney” stayed on top of the United States trending chart on and off for almost 24 hours.

#ELECTED #4moreyears #forward #teamobama Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

President Barack Obama waves to people as he leaves a campaign office the morning of the 2012 election, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Chicago.

#ivoted

Electoral map current as of 1 a.m.

See SOCIAL MEDIA on Page 2

Republicans win TN supermajority David Cobb Assistant News Editor

Justin Joo Staff Writer Tuesday night, Tennessee Republicans garnered their first state senate supermajority in party history.

With Republican Joe Hensley winning District 28, the GOP claimed the two necessary seats to take the 22-11 margin in the state’s upper chamber.

The GOP also made a run at grabbing a supermajority in the House, where they needed to win only two seats, but came up short.

For Brian Stevens, a 2014 State Senate hopeful and UT math lecturer, the local

races hold as much significance, if not more, than the Obama vs. Romney race that attracted the national spotlight.

“We see the president in the media so much,” Stevens said. “When you have a national news channel, you can’t cater to it to a state. If they start going in-depth on Tennessee and start going over Tennessee issues, everyone who’s not from here is going to change the channel. So you have to cater to the masses. And there are a lot (of) federal issues that have great magnitude on us, but a lot of times these decisions … can have a large impact on our lives.”

On the national level, as expected, Romney collected a majority in the Volunteer State.

See LOCAL RESULTS on Page 2

Nation swings left early Obama victory in Oregon clenches presidential election after Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio go blue Beacon Staff Reports Incumbent Barack Obama held on to the presidency last night, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney in his bid for reelection.

The election was called last night by various news outlets, such as NBC, Huffington Post and FOX News, at around 11:20 p.m. Obama crossed the crucial threshold of 270 electoral votes with strong performances in the battleground states of Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Romney, who made a strong push late

Tuesday in several states around the northeast, carried the traditional red states of the Southern and Western area, with victories coming from Texas, Georgia, Utah and Missouri, among others.

Ultimately, it was too little too late, as President Obama not only capitalized his strong support base in the northeast and Pacific coast states, but also grabbed several key swing-states in the Midwest.

At the time of printing, Obama held the lead at 303 electoral votes compared to 203 for Romney, with polls in Nevada, Colorado and Virginia not yet fully counted and Florida too close to call.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

2 • THE DAILY BEACON

Associate Editor Preston Peeden

ELECTION

ppeeden@utk.edu

Managing Editor Emily DeLanzo

edelanzo@utk.edu

SOCIAL MEDIA continued from Page 1 With state results rolling in, pundits supported their respective candidates as each party celebrated newly announced electoral gains. ABC featured live tweet updates that flashed constantly across the screen as views were aired live via the Internet. Personalities like Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper, Dick Morris, Michelle Malkin, Ed Shultz and Jim Acosta all livetweeted remarks about each campaign’s response to the election results.

One surprising hashtag, #ImSickOf, trended throughout the evening.

While some comments associated with the hashtag were unrelated to the election, many observers used the term to air their grievances about both candidates. Several commentators were simply tired of the political discussion, expressing relief that the election was drawing to a close.

Some trending topics slid to the more comedic side of political postulating, like Obama’s #2TERMZ and Romney’s steadfast #BelieveinAmerica. Amidst the entertainment, the theme of the evening was still serious.

“It’s important that people go out and vote and don’t just talk about it on Facebook or Twitter,” Aust said.

• Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Kathy Willens

President Barack Obama supporter Lisette Drumgold celebrates on the stage at New York State Democratic Headquarters following Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012.

LOCAL RESULTS continued from Page 1 Closer to home, UT graduate and incumbent Republican Bob Corker easily carried Tennessee for the Republican party in his U.S. Senate race against Mark Clayton.

The Tennessee Democratic Party released an official statement on its website, tndp.org, in August concerning Clayton, saying, “Mark Clayton is associated with a known hate group in Washington, D.C., and the Tennessee Democratic Party … will not do anything to promote or support him in any way, and urges Democrats to write in a candidate of their choice in November.”

Corker originally served as the mayor of Chattanooga from 2001-2005, after a career in construction and real estate.

Stevens predicted that Corker would win Monday when he spoke with The Daily Beacon, giving his best news anchor impersonation.

“Bob Corker wins landslide, spending minimum amount of money on re-election efforts.”

It was a landslide indeed, and quite the contrast to his 2006 race that came down to the wire with Harold Ford, Jr., with Corker winning by less than three percent.

Corker first vied for the Senate in 1994, but lost in the Republican primary to Bill Frist, who would go on to serve in the Senate up until 2007.

Though this year’s race for the U.S. Senate didn’t come down to the wire, Stevens believes that poll-goers shouldn’t discount their ability to influence politics on

• AP Photo/The Tennessean, Jae S. Lee

the congressional level and on an even narrower base with elections to the Tennessee General Assembly and individual municipalities “It’s interesting,” Stevens said, “that the elections which are taken the least serious by some people are where their vote is most powerful.”

State senator Becky Duncan Massey held

on to her position in the 6th Senate District, which represents part of West Knoxville.

She defeated her democratic opponent, Evelyn Gill, with 69 percent of the vote.

Massey first served in the state senate in 2011 when Jamie Woodson stepped down.

This will now be her first full term in the state senate.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

THE DAILY BEACON • 3 News Editor RJ Vogt

CAMPUS NEWS

rvogt@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor David Cobb

dcobb3@utk.edu

Cultural organization expands reach

Students turn out to vote David Cobb Assistant News Editor At the University Center on Tuesday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., students exercised their right to vote, many punching a ballot, or in this case spinning the ballot, for their first time.

Andrew Blansett, graduate in political science, worked as an election official at the precinct, a role he’s served in for eight years.

“I think it gives them a great sense of pride,” Blansett said. “It shows the patriotic spirit that this campus has and that they care about the decisions being made in this country, and that they have a voice and want that voice heard. I think this is a great opportunity and a great means to do that.”

That opportunity came with some nerves for first time voter Sterling Rogers, freshman in aerospace engineering. Though he didn’t know what to expect, Rogers was happy to voice his vote.

“I’m black, I’m a college student and now I’m 18,” Rogers said. “And I feel like I can voice my opinion, so I chose to vote because I think I have an opportunity to make a difference and affect something.”

Three booths were available with rotary style mechanisms that voters turned according to their choices. Government-issued IDs were accepted for identification, though voter regis-

tration cards were preferred.

“The turnout for this presidential election looks to be like 2008 was,” Blansett said. “It’s a close tight race and a close tight election, and we’re just doing our job here to maintain that and get people through as quickly as possible to vote the way that they decided they wanted to vote.”

Michael Peng, senior in music, also graced the polls for his first time on Tuesday.

“It’s kind of the regular citizens input into the government,” Peng said. “It’s pretty much the way that we participate in how the government goes beyond the day to day of the legislation.”

Peng researched candidates for local office on his phone while in line to vote. “(The) Electoral College means that I’m going to be represented by an elector voting for Romney in any but the most extreme circumstances,” Peng said. “But I think that the votes for the Senate and the House are pretty important for me to contribute to.”

Though Tennessee went to Romney as expected, Tuesday held a special significance for new voters like Rogers and Peng.

“We’ve had a lot of first time voters,” Blansett said, “a lot of freshman that have been in here and they’re just really giddy, really excited to vote and they’ve thanked us for giving them that experience.”

Around Rocky Top Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon

A member of the Native American Student Association (NASA) dances in full regalia during a football halftime show on Sept. 26, 2010.

Sean Hale Staff Writer NASA, the Native American Student Association, is looking to gain momentum and increase their impact on UT’s campus.

Many organizations focus on one aspect of heritage or culture and tend to repel outside participation, but NASA wants UT to know that they are open to everyone and would love their support.

Multicultural organizations like NASA put on several events during the semester with the hopes of reaching a wider audience than just their immediate members.

“I want to get our events out there and having people come to them,” said Tiffany Donner, vice president of NASA and freshman in chemistry. “I don’t want to put on an event and just the people from NASA come. That’s how some of the events have been.”

Brittani Blanchard, NASA’s senior president and senior in psychology, elaborated, “Our primary goals are to serve as an area of education and knowledge of Native American traditions and issues. We also do programs as well to facilitate that to educate the campus and community on Native American culture.”

With many people of all different backgrounds and cultures in attendance at UT, many of these organizations are spun from a need to express their individuality.

Blanchard explained, “A big problem we are facing right now is that people are put off by thinking you have to be Native American to join

when we are all inclusive and extend a hand out there to show them there is so much more of a rich culture than is shown on TV.” The needs for groups that focus on showcasing different cultures are not only important for the rest of campus, but its members as well.

“I’m Native American so that automatically sparked my interest to join NASA. It also was my freshman year so I just wanted to try new things and meet new people and also meet fellow Native Americans like myself, and they reached out to me,” Donner said.

Tennessee has a wide array of different ethnicities and communities that need someone to represent them.

“I’d like to do more stuff for Cherokee. We’ve done a Kids Day at Play because similar to other minority communities: obesity, alcoholism and diabetes are really high in those communities, so I would like to do more to help aid those issues as far as service goes,” Blanchard said.

Although NASA represents a small group, Blanchard thinks the organization can offer a lot of information to the rest of campus.

“Just that knowledge and presence because there (are) so many misconceptions and stereotypes out there about Native Americans, I feel like especially here at UT the Native American population here at UT is so small. There are less than 100 indentified native Americans enrolled at UT, and when you go to N.C. State there is so many more,” Blachard said. “I feel like for UT in general to bring out that presence and diversity they need to do better to make it more appealing to Native Americans.”

Sarah O’Leary • The Daily Beacon

Students hold various signs speaking up against domestic violence during the “Take Back the Night” event on Oct. 25.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

4 • THE DAILY BEACON

Editor-in-Chief Blair Kuykendall

OPINIONS

bkuykend@utk.edu

Contact us letters@utdailybeacon.com

Editor’s Note Civic participation beyond voting Blair Kuykendall Editor-in-Chief No matter who you voted for, the die has been cast. America decided, and we must be getting on with it.

What now?

If you voted, congratulations. Whether or not you believe your participation has any influence on the election results, casting your vote is an outward manifestation of your respect for the political process.

It’s important to have an ethical commitment to take a few hours once every four years to invest in your government. But that’s really not enough.

The part of election year that always distresses me is the return to status quo. The voting frenzy passes and politics return to the confines of cable and talk radio. Especially in our generation, it seems that the fall from election hype leads to an immediate drop in political dialogue. With some of the comments floating around Facebook and Twitter, some of you may feel relieved. I won’t. As crazy as some views seem, and as sloppily as they may be presented, I still find myself grateful to see our generation care. To see comments and questions raised about something other than the latest Kardashian divorce gives me a glimmer of hope.

That being said, I would like this dialogue to not only extend beyond election day, but beyond election politics altogether. Active citizens take the time to educate themselves, to participate in their communities, and to support the political process.

Civic engagement stretches far beyond casting a vote.

Despite its merits, the physical act of voting in the presidential election is far too glorified. Your ability to stand in line for an hour or two once every four years to check a box does not justify your citizenship.

In fact, there is a chance that your vote may be detrimental to the political process altogether. If you walked into the voting booth without making a good faith effort to educate yourself about the positions of both presidential candidates, your participation in the process was absolutely dilatory. Educating yourself doesn’t mean obtaining a working knowledge of whether the candidate prefers donkeys or elephants.

To justify casting a vote in any election, an individual should be able to say that they have a working knowledge of the differences that seperate the candidates, and the relevancy of those policy differences to the future of the country. Without that confidence, a would-be voter is blindly exercising unfounded judgement on a serious decision.

More important than voting, though, is community participation. From an economist’s perspective, an individual vote has an infinitesimally small impact on an election’s outcome. That’s essentially zero. Civic engagement, however, creates large ripple effects. Citizens who take a stand on a certain policy issue and organize support create change that matters. Regardless of who sits in a particular political office, you effect change by getting their attention.

If fighting for political change isn’t your thing, civic engagement can be as simple as volunteering at a local public school. Dr. Bob Kronick has worked tirelessly to promote a great program that helps UT students work in full-service schools in the Knoxville area. There are countless opportunities to invest in the community right here on campus. Have a look online at http://go.utk.edu.

It’s important to remember that elections create representatives. Representatives cannot convey opinions and perspectives that they don’t understand.

Take the time to make sure that your representatives understand yours.

— Blair Kuykendall is a senior in College Scholars and economics. She can be reached at bkuykend@utk.edu.

SCRAMBLED EGGS • Alex Cline

RHYMES WITH ORANGE • Hilary Price

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.

Public campaign finance needed T he Fourth B ra n c h by

Eric Dixon

The balance sheets are in, and unsurprisingly, the 2012 campaign season was the most expensive in world history. More than $6,000,000,000 were spent on political campaigns in 2012 alone.

Regardless of whether your candidate ended up on the winning side of the Electoral College this time around, almost all voters have serious problems with American politics these days. Atop the mountain of problems that plague American politics sits a fat cat, and his name is campaign finance.

The ability of money to influence policy (and, believe me, this has been empirically validated by a variety of scholars) affects literally every other political issue that we face. It’s not simply the volume of dollars that flood Washington, it’s the fact that our election process is structured such that elected officials must build policy to reflect the wants of rich donors if they hope to be (re)elected.

So, the current structure of campaign finance makes it impossible for even the shadow of a real democracy to thrive. We get it. But is it possible to structure campaign finance such that it doesn’t fall ill to these quandaries?

I argue that it can only be achieved through mandatory public campaign finance. Some scholars have put forth proposals for mixed public-private systems, but a system that allows for any private actors, whether natural or artificial, to make monetary contributions directly to political campaigns will be poisoned by the same toxins as the current system.

Mandatory public campaign finance does introduce complications, however. First, there’s the issue of where the money to publicly finance campaigns will come from. The best option here may just be a sum of dollars funded by taxes. The

exact size of this pot of funding would, obviously, be open to public debate, but would be much smaller than the $6 billion spent on campaigns this go around. In this digital age, candidates could plausibly spread their message without spending insane amounts of money on their campaigns — especially if the other candidates were forced to do the same thing. Here’s another idea. What if a public fund was established and fashioned with tax dollars and was then supplemented by the donations of private parties?

These donations would be made directly to the public fund, not individual campaigns, to be divided equally among candidates. It’s hard to imagine private parties donating much to a public fund now, but that’s because our opinions of donations to political campaigns has been warped by the current system. Under a system where no private actor could donate directly to a campaign, it’s plausible that some private parties would donate to a public fund out of sense of democracy.

Second, there’s the issue of who gets the money. It’s obviously not feasible to provide every citizen who declares candidacy for a public office with funding. So, what if an individual seeking election was required to garner some substantial number of petition signatures to receive funding?

Presidential candidates already have to do this to be placed on ballots in each state. Doubling this number could be a potential requirement for candidates. If a candidate is able to garner some tens (or hundreds) of thousands of signatures (prior to receiving public funding), then I think it’s fair to say that democracy wants to see them as a candidate. This would not be easy, but it would require more grassroots action among candidates before they could even acquire funding.

The specifics need to be polished, but requiring mandatory public campaign finance for all federal (not just presidential) races would allow a more legitimate democracy to take root in this country. Undoubtedly, we would see a shift toward policy that reflects the will of citizens, which would make the solving of virtually every other political issue easier.

— Eric Dixon is a senior in philosophy. He can be reached at edixon4@utk.edu.

American values at stake in election T he Mapl e Kind by

Hunter Tipton

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Blair Kuykendall editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com

MANAGING EDITOR Emily DeLanzo ASSOCIATE EDITOR Preston Peeden CHIEF COPY EDITOR Eric Nalley DESIGN EDITORS Alex Cline Caroline Gompers PHOTO EDITORS Tia Patron Tara Sripunvoraskul NEWS EDITOR RJ Vogt ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR David Cobb ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Victoria Wright ASSISTANT ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Rob Davis SPORTS EDITOR Lauren Kittrell ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Austin Bornheim COPY EDITORS Hannah Bloomfield Jacob Hobson Justin Joo Lauren Kennedy William Trenda

ADVERTISING MANAGER Alison Embry beaconads@utdailybeacon.com

ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Casey Lawrence Andi Overby Sookie Park ADVERTISING PRODUCTION ARTISTS Will Jellicorse Anna Simanis EDITORIAL PRODUCTION ARTISTS Brittany Coggins Kristi Frazier Katrina Roberts CLASSIFIED ADVISER Gabe Quistorff orderad@utdailybeacon.com

To report a news item, please e-mail editor.news@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-2348 To submit a press release, please e-mail pressreleases@utdailybeacon.com To place an ad, please e-mail beaconads@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-5206 To place a classified ad, please e-mail orderad@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-4931 To submit a Letter to the Editor, please e-mail letters@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-4931 If you think something has been reported incorrectly, please contact the managing editor at 974-2348.

Advertising: (865) 974-5206 Classifieds: (865) 974-4931 Editor-in-Chief: (865) 974-2348 Managing Editor: (865) 974-2348 Main Newsroom: (865) 974-3226 Fax: (865) 974-5569

The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Tuesday and Friday during the summer semester.The offices are located at 1340 Circle Park Drive,11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year, $100/semester or $70/summer only. It is also available online at: www.utdailybeacon.com.

LETTERS POLICY: The Daily Beacon welcomes all letters to the editor and guest columns from students, faculty and staff. Each submission is considered for publication by the editor on the basis of space, timeliness and clarity. Contributions must include the author’s name and phone number for verification. Students must include their year in school and major. Letters to the editor and guest columns may be e-mailed to letters@utdailybeacon.com or sent to Blair Kuykendall, 1340 Circle Park Dr., 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314. The Beacon reserves the right to reject any submissions or edit all copy in compliance with available space, editorial policy and style. Any and all submissions to the above recipients are subject to publication.

By the time you read this column, we will hopefully know who the next president of the United States of America will be. However, the deadlines for columns are two days before the run date, so bear with me as I write about the election without the results.

I feel like people tend to say this every four years, but I truly think that this election will heavily determine the future of America. We have moved further and further away from a free market, we are growing our entitlement programs, we no longer value wise spending, and our government does not demand any sort of return on investments. The deficit is growing out of control, and what can’t go on forever, won’t. Eventually our government will run out of other people’s money to spend, and what happens then?

We like to look at countries like Greece, Spain and Italy and think that their financial crises could never happen in the U.S. We like to believe that we are more mature and protected than those people across the world that riot and get tear-gassed. We forget that the debt we rack up with China is made of real dollars that have to be paid back. We aren’t dealing with monopoly money as it sometimes seems, but dollars that are in such vast quantities that they are out of our scope of comprehension.

Unfortunately, we aren’t protected. Greece is what the U.S. will be in 20 years, only with far fewer guns. When the money runs out, when the not-so-free food stamps, welfare, unemployment and other entitlement programs run out, are U.S. citizens just going to sit down and say “Well, it was good while it lasted?” No. They won’t. We are a country where the ideals of action and accomplishment are deeply rooted in American tradition. We don’t approve of

standing by and just let things happen.

However, there is a safer option that is afforded to each and every American citizen that can protect us from pandemonium if we use it correctly. We can vote. The privilege of voting has been beaten into us for so long that it’s cliché by this point, but it is still true. Many people across the world do not have the right to choose the government that governs them, but we do.

We have the right to walk into a voting booth that has been bought with the blood of patriots.

We have the right to choose the future of America. Do we want to be a country which promotes entitlement, which spends its citizens’ hard earned money with reckless abandon, which forces both consumers and producers to abide by commercial rules established out of the personal opinion of our leaders? Do we want to live in a country where the government finds it easier and more acceptable with each passing year to dictate the terms on which we live? I don’t think we do.

Whichever candidate wins, I hope that he realizes there is more at stake than his own personal philosophies. I hope he takes time to remember that they represent a government run for the people and by the people who voted them in. I hope he remembers that our country has a time-tested document in the Constitution that is there to limit the government and protect the people, not vice versa. I hope that the president is prepared to be responsible for the development of the U.S. for the years to come, and can lead us toward a brighter future.

Shameless Prediction of the Week: I’ve told people that, because Romney won the GOP nomination in May, numbers and historical analysis have indicated that he would win the presidency. I’m not calling a Republican blowout, but I’m not sure it will be that close.

My Electoral College prediction is Romney 295243, with Romney securing Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Colorado and Virginia. Obama will win Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Minnesota.

— Hunter Tipton is a senior in microbiology.

He can be reached at jtipto10@utk.edu.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

THE DAILY BEACON • 5 Arts & Culture Editor Victoria Wright

ARTS & CULTURE Pop culture icons support Obama campaign in Ohio The Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio — Someone has to introduce the president.

On Monday, the final day of the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama, however, didn’t bring along an opening act. He brought along two main acts.

Bruce Springsteen. Jay-Z. Theirs wasn’t an introduction, it was pop culture moment.

The Boss was spending the entire day with Obama, traveling on Air Force One from Madison, Wis., to Columbus, Ohio, and then to Des Moines, Iowa, where Obama planned a coda for his campaign, a finale where his run for the presidency began five years ago.

Jay-Z boomed his way into Columbus’s Nationwide Arena, performing a rendition of his hit “99 Problems” with a political twist for a crowd estimated by fire officials at more than 15,000 people. He changed a key R-rated word to make his own political endorsement. “I got 99 problems but Mitt ain’t one,” he sang.

“They tell the story of what our country is,” Obama said of the two performers, “but also of what it should be and what it can be.”

Springsteen added a whole new sense of vigor, even giddiness, to the Obama entourage, with many of the president’s aides and advisers clearly star-struck by the rocker’s presence.

Springsteen, in jeans, black boots, a work shirt, vest and leather jacket, was not wearing the typical Air Force One attire. But the Obama camp has left formality aside; many aides are growing beards through Election Day and ties have been left behind in favor of sweaters for the chilly outdoor events during the last hours of the campaign.

Asked if there was any downside to using celebrity glitz instead of substance to drive voters to the polls in the final days, Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki laughed. “I think Bruce Springsteen might be offended by you calling him glitzy,” she said.

“Bruce Springsteen, and some other celebrities who have been helping us, reach a broad audience that sometimes tune out what’s being said by politicians,” she said.

As Psaki spoke to reporters at the back of the plane, Obama was up front and on the phone with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie discussing the recovery from Superstorm Sandy.

Christie, who says he has attended more than 100 Springsteen concerts, said Obama then handed the phone to Springsteen, a New Jersey native whose songs often have been tributes to his youth in the state.

Upon landing in Columbus, Springsteen told a reporter that it was his first trip on Air Force One. Grinning, he said, “It was pretty cool.”

As for New Jersey, he said, “I’m feeling pretty hopeful” that the state’s hard-hit shore will recover.

In Madison and Columbus, Springsteen serenaded audiences with renditions of top anthems “No Surrender,” “Promised Land” and “Land of Hope and Dreams.” But he also has a custom-made campaign song named after the Obama motto “Forward” — which he acknowledged was “not the best I’ve ever written.”

“How many things rhyme with Obama?” he asked.

Obama, no doubt, didn’t mind.

“I’m going to be fine with Bruce Springsteen on the last day that I’ll ever campaign,” he said above the din of the crowd.

“That’s not a bad way to bring it home. With The Boss. With The Boss.”

vwright6@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Rob Davis

rdavis60@utk.edu

Play tackles Prop 8 issue served as an opportunity to remind people of the issue before they visited the polls.

Arts and Culture Editor “I think the date enabled us to remind people of It differed from your average play — no costumes, an issue that has been largely forgotten in the nationelaborate lighting or sets — but the issue it covered al election cycle,” Venkov said. “Four states have ballot initiatives today regarding same-sex marriage, so was prominent.

Visitors gathered in the Ula Love Doughty hopefully the issue gains momentum again so individCarousel Theatre for a reading of the play “8,” which uals around the country can marry the person with which they have fallen in covers controversial conlove, sooner rather than stitutional amendment later.”

Proposition 8, which The cast read to a full banned same-sex maraduience with nothing more riage in California. than a spotlight hovering The play was presentabove them. The mood was ed by UT’s Commission serious, but scattered for LGBT People, UT through the reading were Theatre Department, humerous moments.

Issues Committee and the Venkov said many of the UT chapter of Amnesty cast members were new to International. the stage.

Dimi Venkov, senior in “They were not actors theatre and director of the onstage; they were ordinary performance, said the individuals making rational inspiration to bring the arguments for marriage play to UT stemmed from equality. And they were wonwhen he saw the play derful,” Venkov said. being read by George After the reading, audiClooney in Los Angeles. ence members stayed for a “Directing ‘8’ was very panel discusion with cast and different,” Venkov said. same-sex marriage advo“Focusing on the words cates. (no acting, no fancy Jessica Alexander, senior designs, no effects) was in theatre, enjoyed the permuch simpler and less formance. stressful. The script is • Photo courtesy of Out Boulder “I wish we had more already so well written — we just worked to con- A stage reading of the play “8” generated dis- things like this on campus vey it clearly to the audi- cussion about the California measure that that were more informative,” Alexander said. “I just really ence. Of course we all struck down gay marriage in 2008. support the cause and what learn with practice, so this was inevitably going to be an easier process as I they’re trying to do.”

Venkov, though hopeful to spread a message, said learn from mistakes of the past.”

Written by Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award- that the performance was more so a motivational tool winning screenwriter of the movie “Milk,” the script than an attempt to sway opinions.

“I realize that we probably didn’t change minds is based on the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger. last night. We were probably preaching to the choir.

Performers read from case testimonials and court transcripts, with one of the primary reasons backing However, I hope people took away a structured, Proposition 8 was the detrimental effects gay and les- rational model for how to fight for marriage equality.

This kind of step-by-step model is useful for the bian marriages would have on heterosexual unions.

Though the play was read the night before the future fight in Tennessee. This is an issue where we presidential elections, Venkov said there was no sig- can take advantage of public policy. Eventually, our nificance behind the date. But the coincidence of it votes will matter,” Venkov said.

Victoria Wright

Around Rocky Top

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD • Will Shortz

Emma Russell • The Daily Beacon

Students pose in heir best zombie impressions during the “Friday Night 5K” on the Pedestrian Walkway on Oct. 26.

ACROSS 1 5 9 14 15 16 17

SERVICES

EMPLOYMENT

FOR RENT

CONDOS FOR SALE

19

Affordable home and Pet care services now available.

Contact on facebook @ Al’s Home and Pet Care or call 865-705-1897.

Part time employment: Mathnasium, the math learning center, is seeking instructors for elementary through high school level math. If you enjoy working with kids and understand the math we?ll teach you the rest!

Ability to tutor calculus not required, but a plus. E-mail westknoxville@mathnasium com.

16th PLACE APARTMENTS 3 blocks from UT Law School (1543- 1539 Highland Ave.) One 1BR apt. only.

Brick exterior, carpet, laundry facility on first floor.

Guaranteed and secured parking. 24 hour maintenance. No dogs or cats. 32nd year in Fort Sanders. www.sixteenthplace.com. brit.howard@sixteenthplace. com. (865)522-5700.

West Knox between Sequoyah Hills & Westmoreland. Updated Westcilff Condo, Living Room ea opens to dining, 2BRS, 2 BAs, Central Heat/Air, Fully equipped kitchen, Swimming pool, Close to UT and downtown, 5709 Lyons View Pike, Only $94,900, MLS # 805109, G.T. BALLENGER REALTORS 688-3946 .

20

Clinch at 14th St. Evian Tower. 1BR 1BA with parking $495/mo. No pets. Howard Grower Realty Executives Associates. (865)588-3232 or (865)705-0969

CORNHOLE LEAGUE Want to play cornhole? Thursday night league, bring your partner and play. For information call: 865-385-1576

Fatigued? Never again if you GO: www.cnkstayhealthymall.com. Order “Liftoff”.

It’ll shift your mind into HIGH. Call 865-951-2683 for immediate delivery.

Lose, hold, gain weight. Find nutritious meal program just for you! GO www.cnkstayhealthy.com.

Call 865-951-2683 for immediate delivery of products.

EMPLOYMENT Jimmy John’s now hiring drivers and in-store help for all shifts. Call (865)637-1414.

Classified ads can work for YOU! Give us a call at 974-4931

UNFURN APTS 1 and 2BR Apts. UT area and West Knox area. Call for appointment (865)522-5815.

3BR 2BA, centrally located on Highland, nice second floor loft. $1395/mo. Available January 2nd. Call 865-776-4281.

South Knoxville/ UT downtown area 2BR apts. $475.

(865)573-1000.

FOR RENT 1 BR CONDOS Security/Elevator/ Pkg/Pool 3 min. walk to Law School. $520R, $300SD, No app. fee.

865 (2210-9045 , 250-8136).

Monday Plaza 1BR and studios available on The Strip.

Starting at $395/mo. Call (865)219-9000 for information.

HOUSE FOR RENT Top of 17th St. at Laurel.

Large 4BR brick house. 1 BA, hardwood flooring, central heat, available now. No pets.

1701 Laurel Ave. Details: 389-6732.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

God’s Place Thrift Store.

5925 Chapman Hwy Colonial Village. Every Friday Bag of Clothes $1. Large display table w/lights. We are helping the community and helping feed the homeless. Questions call Vicki 604-8077.

This could be YOUR ad.

974-4931

21 23 24 25

26 28 31

D.C. team since ’05 34 Kind of colony in “Papillon” 35 & 37 Leave quickly … or what both words in 17-, 21-, 26-, 49-, 56- and 61-Across could be?

39 Not live 42 “Uh-huh” 44 N.Y.C. commuters’ inits.

47 “Yippee!”

49 Catholic remembrance 52 Tokyo, formerly 53 Word after e or G 55 Mitchum rival 56 Tipoff 59 See the light of day 60 Virus that arose in the Congo 61 × 63 Bags with handles 64 Indigo plant 65 Ready to be driven, in golf 32

Harness horse’s gait Light bluish green Reading chair accompaniers Tennis’s Mandlikova It’s just under 8: Abbr.

Intensely passionate Athlete’s booster One of many on a monitor Ving of Hollywood Subject of a Car and Driver report It was transferred to China in 1999 Sleek, briefly Detergent with a glass in every box, long ago Where to paint a model Pea or peanut Mormon church, for short

1

T A C S K P O E N D C E R L E A W L C U T S

O L A Y

D I R K

O S L O

S T A R E W O R D A B E A R E P T A S E T E L E P O M P O N I O N E L L Y A L E M

I N J S A P I A L M S A U S C A K N E D U P

P E E K

S O S O

O N T V

B R O D O

U N R I P

M A T T E

N O N O

T R A I X P E

3

4

5

14

6

9

10

26

27

31

32

28 33 37 42

47

48

52

53

29

38

43

44

49

50

54

51

55

58

59 61

63

64

65

66

67

68

67

68

___ attack ___ Pop, 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Lat. and Lith., formerly

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6

7

8

Kind of blanket Mounted a fierce campaign Works without a break?

Landing strip Life’s pleasures The 9-Down might put one out, briefly Salutation in an old-fashioned love letter Foul-up

46

30

34

60

66

45

25

36

41

57

13

22

24

40

12

16

21

35

11

19

23

56

8

18

20

39

7

15

17

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE R I C H E C H O F E A T R I M I S P O K T A R E A L A S P A L H U B B R W H E E E A S E D I T Z S L A Y

2

9 10 11 12 13 18 22 24 27

29 30 33 35 36 38

62

“Colors” org.

Throw ___ Screwy in the head Suppose Fizzy water Hydrologist’s field: Abbr.

IM pioneer Japanese brew “Taking Woodstock” director Lee Inventor Whitney Bath ___ Fantastic bargain The Doors’“Love ___ Madly” Mrs. Morgenstern on “Rhoda” D.D.E. opponent

39 40 41 43 44 45 46 48 50 51 54 57 58 59 62

Meadowlands team Birders’ magazine Plug Come up ___ Puts one and one together?

Set off The 1 and 2 in 1+2=3 Soprano Sumac ___ Club Peaks ___ Mountains (Asian range) Heartfelt request Soak up some rays Snakelike Korean War fighter

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

6 • THE DAILY BEACON

Sports Editor Lauren Kittrell

SPORTS

lkittre1@utk.edu

Assistant Sports Editor Austin Bornheim abornhei@utk.edu

Vol offense improves, Vols revamp their game defense suffers Austin Bornheim

Åssistant Sports Editor

Tara Sripunvoraskul• The Daily Beacon

Tyler Bray throws a pass down field against the Trojans on Saturday.

Lauren Kittrell Sports Editor Tennessee football is coming to a close.

With only three games left in regular season play, the Volunteers look to win out and achieve a much-needed 7-5 record. Head coach Derek Dooley said the Vols’ upcoming match against Missouri will be a test for the team’s offensive line.

“They are one of those 4-3 teams with penetrating defensive linemen, they are coming at you,” Dooley said. “They play real sound behind them, so they are very similar philosophically on defense to what South Carolina does.”

The Vols’ defense has struggled through the last several games and Dooley said the team hasn’t had the results they were expecting. He said success breeds confidence and without that the team isn’t going to be overly confident.

“That is something we have to keep working on with our defense. It is hard to be confident when you aren’t getting results, but the way you build confidence is through your preparation during the week and your investment during the week,” Dooley said. “You go out there and rep it and you feel good about it and then you go out and play.

That is a big component of it.”

While the defense suffered, the Vols’ offense has done nothing but improve. Junior quarterback

Tyler Bray said junior wide receivers Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson were continuing to be a major influence on that side of the ball.

“Justin is the same goofy kid that he has been since he got here. As long as he keeps that going he will be fine,” Bray said. “Everyone is more focused. C.P. especially, last week he had his best practices of the year so far.”

Bray said Patterson’s energy level has been key to his performance of late.

“He was running his routes crisp,” Bray said.

“He got complaints about his route running so he took initiative to get better at that.”

Bray’s own stats compare with former Vol and current NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. With 200 completions, 2,812 yards and 25 touchdowns, Bray said he’d like to see his stats a little more rounded.

“I would either like to rush (for a touchdown) or catch one. Doesn’t matter to me,” Bray said.

“They are both six so it doesn’t matter. I think I have a height advantage and my vertical — I could jump over anybody. I have better hops than Justin.”

After the team’s last-minute 55-48 win over Troy, Bray said it was good to see the team show an ability to finish well.

“We are not going to go down to the wire and lose like we have in the past,” Bray said. “We can go through and actually finish the game.”

Lady Vols beat Gators Staff Report GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Tennessee Lady Vol volleyball team won an epic five-set battle over No. 13 Florida on Sunday, topping the first-place Gators, 3-2 (17-25, 25-21, 27-29, 25-23, 19-17), in front of 2,475 fans at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. It was the Lady Vols third straight win over the Gators, who were unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play entering the match.

The win marks UT’s first three-match winning streak over Florida since 1990 when UT won four in a row in the series and improves Tennessee to 17-6 overall and 10-4 in league action. Florida drops to 19-4 overall and 13-1 in SEC play with the loss.

“I’m just really excited for the players,” said head coach Rob Patrick. “They have been working hard for this entire year. This is one of the hardest places to win a match and Florida is one of the top teams in the country. It was just two great and very physical volleyball teams battling each other for over two hours.”

“I was really proud of how our team played the big points really well,” Patrick said. “This was a team win. Everybody on our team — even in our practices — had a big say in how we were going to perform here tonight so I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The Big Orange was led offensively by junior

outside hitter Kelsey Robinson, who recorded a team-high 20 kills and posted 11 digs for a doubledouble. She committed just four errors on 70 swings. UT had three players pick up double-doubles in the match. Sophomore Tiffany Baker finished with 10 kills and 11 digs and her classmate Mary Pollmiller dished out 39 assists and had 14 digs.

Defensively, Tennessee was stout all match. UT picked up 19 team blocks, marking the highest for a Gator opponent since the Big Orange recorded 21 in a five set win over Florida on Oct. 30, 2005.

Sophomore transfer Olivia Okoro led the way at the net, compiling a career-high eight blocks, while DeeDee Harrison and Kayla Jeter had seven and six, respectively. Three of Jeter’s blocks were solo, marking a new career-best in the category.

Harrison also put down a season-high 13 kills and hit .344, while Jeter added 12 kills and a blazing .400 attacking clip.

“Our middle hitters worked really hard and were key in helping to slow down Florida’s potent offensive attack,” Patrick said. “Kelsey, Kayla and Tiffany also did a fantastic job of setting up the blocks on the outside.”

In the back row, junior libero Ellen Mullins continued her fantastic season with a 28-dig effort.

With her first dig of the match, the Nashville native became Tennessee’s 13th member of the 1,000 dig club.

results and a win.”

Though this is Chievous’ first time in a game, his teammates aren’t surprised by the results.

“I wasn’t surprised at all,” senior Kenny Hall said. “I’ve always said that he is one of the hardest (working) guys on the team. He goes 100 percent all the time, he’s a little warrior like Coach (Martin) says.”

The Vols came away with a win Monday night against Victory University, but the players still see room for improvement before the season opener.

“I liked the intensity we had, but we still have some things to take care of before the opener,” head coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Martin was pleased that his team came away with the 99-57 win, but wants his team to shore up little things on the defensive end.

“There were a lot of breakdowns on the defensive side of the ball,” Martin said. “I think some of the technique had some slips so we have to get that corrected.”

Martin didn’t think his team played particularly well in the first half, but they were able to turn things around in the second.

“I don’t think we played really well, especially in the first ten minutes,” said Martin. “Late in the half I think we got better, then in the second half I think we were solid.

We started moving the ball a little better, getting the ball inside and creating the pass off the dribble.”

Offensively, Martin was pleased with the intensity his team played with throughout the game and hopes to see that in the team’s opener Friday night against Kennesaw State.

“It doesn’t matter the opponent, let the scoreboard take care of itself,” Martin said. “You do what Parker Eidson • The Daily Beacon you have to do, you don’t have to look up, it’s understood.”

Head coach Cuonzo Martin intensely watches his Redshirt freshman Quinton team play against Victory on Monday.

Chievous was key in the Vols’ win, tallying 15 points and six assists. Chievous is Though there were times the Volunteers seeing extended minutes due to the injury of looked shaky Monday night, Hall is ready for Jeronne Maymon.

“It was a great feeling to get out there on the season to start.

“I think we’re ready. We’ve been hungry all the court for the first time and play in front of off season and we’ve had a nice exhibition the fans,” Chievous said. “I really just try and have fun and play basketball. I felt like my hard game to give us that feel especially for those work in practice paid off and got some good guys who haven’t been out there before.”