In June 1939, over 300,000 Jewish refugees applied for U.S. visas, and most were denied. Now, over 75 years later, the European Union has registered more than 230,000 Syrian refugees for 2015. And the United States has accepted 2,174 refugees since 2012. Thus far, 30 U.S. states have made motions to block refugees from resettling in their borders, despite immigration being under federal jurisdiction. See page 6 for a closer look at the local effects of the Syrian refugee crisis.
Volume 130 Issue 65
utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
2
INSHORT
The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Humans of Knoxville
DISPATCHES Haslam expresses more confidence in refugee vetting process Gov. Bill Haslam commented that he “feels better” about the vetting process implemented by the United States to evaluate Syrian refugees. This stance is a progression from original comments made by Haslam last Monday via a letter written to President Obama asking for a pause in refugee resettlement after the Nov. 10 attacks on Paris. Haslam said his concerns were alleviated after a meeting in Birmingham, Alabama with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who spoke about the 20 step process required of all refugees before they are allowed entry into the United States. Haslam said he received more phone calls last week on the singular topic of refugees than on any other day in his five years as governor.
Explosion rocks Japan’s most controversial shrine An explosion inside Japan’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine blew a hole in the roof of one site’s restrooms Monday morning, according to local police. No one was injured by the blast, however, and police are investigating the incident as a terror attack. Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine honors the deceased Japanese soldiers from WWII, including convicted war criminals. The shrine’s contentious purpose has caused tensions with neighboring China and Korea since the end of the conflict, both victims of wartime atrocities at the hands of the imperial Japanese army. Current Japanese Prime Minister Shinz Abe has avoided making trips to the shrine for the past two years, while Japanese Emperor Akihito has never visited the shrine since he acceded to the throne in 1989.
What does your perfect day look like? “I don’t know. Getting up and having breakfast and a cup of tea. I really like to read, so being able to read or be with family is important to me. Being with my animals. I don’t know, just hanging out basically and enjoying life.” - Abigail Brennan, senior in anthropology with a concentration in disasters, displacements and human rights Alyssa White • The Daily Beacon
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White House asks allies to step up in IS campaign By Associated Press WASHINGTON — The White House urged allies on Monday to do more in the campaign against the Islamic State, while President Barack Obama faced pressure in return to show the U.S.-led coalition will intensify efforts in response to the Paris attacks, even without a major shift in strategy. Requests for more counterintelligence, military and humanitarian assistance came a day before French President Francois Hollande was to arrive at the White House to discuss the fight against the extremists believed to be behind the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 people. Hollande, who next visits Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to seek more coordinated military operations that would include both the U.S. and Moscow. Obama has shown no inclination to rethink the U.S. strategy or significantly expand America’s commitment, despite pressure from Hollande, Republican critics
and some members of his own Democratic Party. However, Secretary of State John Kerry said in Abu Dhabi that both he and the president would like to see progress against the Islamic State “go faster.” At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S. may step up efforts supporting strategies believed to be working — airstrikes and train-and-assist missions in Syria and Iraq — but he played down the possibility of any surge of new American resources into the fight. The U.S. is “pulling more than our weight” in the coalition, Earnest said. “And we believe that there is more that can be done if countries are willing to contribute additional resources.” Vice President Joe Biden sought those resources from allies at a meeting with ambassadors from 59 of the 65 countries in the coalition. The discussion focused on what more the countries could do to cut off financing for the Islamic State’s global network and how to stem the flow of fighters crossing into Syria and Iraq to join the group, the State Department said.
ARTS&CULTURE
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 • The Daily Beacon
3
Dixieghosts discovers their southern roots through bluegrass
Ana Tantaris
Contributor By picking a name like Dixieghost, this band gave themselves an extensive southern music legacy to live up to — and with their rowdy, clever music reminiscent of traditional bluegrass, Dixieghost proves their southern roots. Dixieghost has been together since 2008 but did not solidify their signature acoustic sound until 2011. The vocal harmonies of Jason Hanna (guitar/vocals) and Justin Nix (bass/ vocals) with the instrumentation by Seth Hopper (fiddle), Jonathan Keeney (mandolin), Will Carter (dobro) and Dave Leventhal (banjo) make their traditional folk-bluegrass music a force to be reckoned with in the Southeast. It was during the band’s early period of stylistic transition that Hanna spent a year in Utah. He said that his southwest experience made him put the music at the forefront of his mind and was a key source of inspiration.
“I think the main thing that made me take it seriously is when I lived in Utah. I got lost in the desert for about 14 hours,” Hanna said. “It’s one of those things, there’s a lot of things that you can do and a lot of things that you don’t do in life, and it’s like, you can get lost in the desert any day, so you may as well just do what you really want to do.” Dixieghost was an electric folk rock band before Hanna went to Utah, where he was able to play with some old-time bluegrass bands. When he moved back to Knoxville, Dixieghost decided to go acoustic, so the six-piece band developed an all-acoustic traditional sound with jazz and old school country influences. “The kind of stuff that we wrote has always lent itself better to acoustic instrumentation,” Hanna explained. “I think that when we first started out, we didn’t do that, because we didn’t know anybody that played banjo or anything. So we went the electric route.” Since discovering their true identity as artists, the Dixieghost members
make sure to capture the spirit of bluegrass by ensuring no two shows are the same. Whether they are playing corporate events, bluegrass festivals or shows at regular venues and bars, Dixieghost has mastered the art of adapting their set to their audience and setting. “Being bluegrass, we have like two completely different sides,” Hanna said. “If you saw us through a bluegrass festival, you would have a completely different idea of who we were than if you saw us through the music video or here in Knoxville at Barley’s or something.” While Dixieghost has done many small tours around the region, one of their main challenges has been finding time for all six members to be able to go on longer tours. “Ideally it would be nice to get to a point where we’re doing this for a living, but if that doesn’t happen, it’s not a big deal either. It’s more fun than anything else,” Hanna said. To Hanna, the band will have ‘made it’ simply if they continue playing music. “My goal at the end of the day is to
have a whole catalog of music that we’ve written and people are familiar with,” Hanna said. “So it’s less of a specific event that I’m hoping that we’re able to do. It’s more about just the ride, you know, the experience and getting to continue to write and get to play that stuff.” The men of Dixieghost are politically minded and even played some campaign rallies for Bernie Sanders this summer, but their politically charged music also has a religious influence, as spirituality is a common theme for the genre. “It’s kind of like a theme throughout old time and bluegrass music to have songs that are about religion, so we do songs about it, but we come from kind of a different angle,” Hanna added. “We realize that it’s a part of our culture here, so there’s quite a bit of commentary on it; usually it’s not negative or positive. It’s just general acknowledgement of it.” The band released their first fulllength album this summer while touring and playing festivals, and they are currently booking shows to promote it.
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CAMPUSNEWS
The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Humans of Knoxville
What is something not many people know about you? “My college peers wouldn’t know that I did dance and theater for my entire life until college. Most people wouldn’t guess that because I come across as shy, but I’m not really.” - Fiona Retzer, junior in medical laboratory science Alyssa White • The Daily Beacon
Homicides of transgender women in US rise Associated Press For a few transgender Americans, this has been a year of glamour and fame. For many others, 2015 has been fraught with danger, violence and mourning. While Caitlyn Jenner made the cover of Vanity Fair and Laverne Cox prospered as a popular actress, other transgender women have become homicide victims at an alarming rate. By the count of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, there have been 22 killings so far this year of transgender or gender-nonconforming people — including 19 black or Latina transgender women. The toll compares with 12 last year and 13 in 2013, and is the highest since advocacy groups began such tallies a decade ago. “Most Americans think it’s been an amazing year for transgender rights,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “But for the transgender community, it’s been one of the most traumatic years on record.” Death by death, the details are horrific. Kiesha Jenkins was beaten and shot dead by a cluster of assailants in Philadelphia. Tamara Dominguez was run over multiple times and left to die on a Kansas City street. Police said the most recent victim, Zella Ziona, was shot dead in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last month by a boyfriend embarrassed that Ziona showed up in the presence of some of his other friends. There’s no question that anti-transgender hatred fueled many of the killings, yet activists and social-service professionals say there are multiple factors that make transgender women of color vulnerable. They have documented that numerous victims were killed by intimate partners and many while engaging in prostitution. “For many of these women, it’s chronic unemployment or participation in survival sex work,” said Louis Graham, a University of Massachusetts professor who has studied the experiences of black transgender women. Many are beset by homelessness and economic desperation, sometimes ending out in coercive and violent relationships, Graham said. Chase Strangio, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, said that for many perpetrators of the violence, “there’s a sense of transgender people being less than human.” ___ Philadelphia has experienced two confirmed homicides of transgender people this year — as have Detroit and Kansas City. In May, London Chanel was fatally stabbed by her roommate’s boyfriend
in North Philadelphia; on Oct. 6, Kiesha Jenkins, 22, was attacked and shot dead by a group of men. Police Capt. James Clark said Jenkins was a prostitute, and described the assault as a robbery, not a hate crime. Police soon arrested a suspect with a prior record of robbery arrests. Nellie Fitzpatrick, a former assistant district attorney who now heads the Philadelphia mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs, said some transgender Philadelphians harbored long-standing mistrust of the police and were frustrated that Jenkins’ killing was not being investigated as a hate crime, though Pennsylvania does not have a hatecrimes law covering gender identity. However Fitzpatrick credited the police department with working to improve relations. One key step: establishing formal guidelines for officers’ interactions with transgender people. Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said the guidelines, as well as LGBTspecific components in training at the police academy, were having a positive impact. “It’s not perfect,” he said. “But we’re moving in the right direction.” Among those killed in Detroit was Ashton O’Hara, whose stabbed body was found in a field in July. O’Hara embraced feminine attributes but was comfortable being addressed with male pronouns. His mother, Rebecca O’Hara, said she noticed the tendencies while Ashton was still a toddler. “How could you be against a person for being happy about who they are?” she asked during a telephone interview. She marveled at Ashton’s skills as a hairdresser and makeup artist, yet worried about potential nastiness from others. “For years, I was afraid I was going to get that phone call, telling me he’s hurt or dead,” she said. “He’d say, ‘I’ll be all right. Nothing will happen.’” Police have arrested a 37-year-old man and charged him with Ashton’s murder. The other victim in Detroit this year was Amber Monroe, 20, shot dead in an area frequented by prostitutes. A friend, transgender-rights activist Julisa Abad, said Monroe had twice previously been wounded by gunshots in that area. “To go back to that same place, life has to feel like you have no other choice,” said Abad. In Kansas City, Missouri, police continue to investigate the death of Tamara Dominguez, a 36-year-old who left Mexico in her late 20s to escape the violence she faced as a transgender woman. At about 3 a.m. on Aug. 15, the driver of an SUV drove into her, ran over her several times, then fled, according to witnesses. There have been no arrests.
CAMPUSNEWS
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 • The Daily Beacon
Humans of Knoxville
What is something not many people know about you? “I am still not 100% sure what to do with my life.” Why not? “Well, I don’t want to choose something just because I want to make a decision. I want to try a lot of different things, so I can be confident in my career.” - Amelia Jansen, senior in anthropology Alyssa White • The Daily Beacon
Knox city officials to vote on new Regal Cinema headquarters Staff Report
The film industry is setting its sights on the South. Despite positive feedback from Regal Entertainment Group’s announcement, Mayor Madeline Rogero and other Knoxville city officials reported they were surprised by the little public response to the location of the new headquarters in the South Knoxville. “There have been some tweets and Facebook posts, but I’ve been out a lot in the community — daily — and I have gotten mostly positive feedback from it, actually,” Rogero said in a Knoxville News Sentinel article. “But it’s like anything. There will be people for it and people against it, and we know that going into it. That’s typical.” Vice Mayor Nick Pavlis reaffirmed Rogero’s evaluation of the city’s reaction and commented he had received both thoughtful and aggressive comments about Regal’s move to Knoxville.
“I read the letters to the editor (in the News Sentinel), and there are some people who say we’re selling out and this, that and the other. But that’s the way the game is played anymore, and you’re either in the game or you’re not in the game.” Pavlis said he is inclined to support the deal along with many other officials who will cast their votes during the City Council’s scheduled session tonight. If the vote carries, Regal’s new headquarters will sit on the remnants of the Baptist Hospital which was once a ninestory, 180,000 square foot medical building. Demolition of the former hospital was completed in July 2014. Councilman Nick Della Volpe also expressed concern over the nature of the Regal Cinemas deal and barred interaction from council members when negotiations first occurred. While Della Volpe said the move “doesn’t sound like the best deal for the taxpayers,” he is still inclined to vote in support of it. “I’m a bit of a skeptic, but I can’t say I’m against it, because it is a good thing,” Della Volpe said.
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The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 24, 2015
REFUGEE PROCESS TELLS MORE T Syrian refugee crisis shows old fears in new light REFUGEE Someone who is outside their country of origin, who has been a victim of persecution — meaning that they could have been tortured or had family members murdered — and they are subject to persecution based on political opinion they have articulated, their race or sometimes their religion
MEGAN PATTERSON ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
“Should the United States offer a haven in this country for Jewish refugees from Central Europe?” was the question published in The Harvard Crimson from a poll by the Student Opinion Surveys of America on Dec. 14, 1938. 31.2 percent of the undergraduates surveyed said “yes,” while 68.8 percent polled said “no.” Less than a year later, in June 1939, the number of Jewish refugee applicants for U.S. visas was over 300,000 – most visas were denied. As of Nov. 19, 2015, the European Union registered more than 230,000 Syrian refugee applicants for 2015. Since 2012, the U.S. has accepted 2,174 refugees, but currently, 30 states have issued statements that aim to lower that number– suspending refugee admittance entirely until states are given a larger say in refugee resettlement in the U.S. American public opinion on refugee admittance remains divided, but for Gilya Schmidt, professor of religious studies with a specialization in Judaic studies, examining a historical case study may offer some perspective. Schmidt spent her career teaching on the holocaust, and she said the American reaction to Jewish refugees both before and after World War II has never failed to shock her students. “Very little difference, which is really shocking,” Schmidt said. “We were very isolationist at the time, fear of someone else taking our resources, fear of bringing in ideas that we didn’t want here, such as communism.” For Schmidt, fear of the unknown is a natural, albeit unfortunate, human response. “It’s an irrational response, an emotional response,” she said. “Being different oftentimes is threatening to some people.” Taken in context of recent reactions toward Syrian refugees, Schmidt said she finds this sort of predictable human behavior even more concerning. “This reminds me so much of what is happening with Paris right now,” Schmidt said. “We are afraid of some of the suicide bombers or terrorists, that they might have come in with the refugees.” Regarding the 1938 undergraduate student poll, Schmidt remarked on the contextual relevancy of the response. In that same year, the Evian Conference convened to determine how to handle the massive efflux of Jews from Nazi Germany. Out of the 29 countries represented, including the U.S. and Britain, only the Dominican Republic offered a substantial haven for refugees. Schmidt theorized that this apathetic response gave Hitler the “green light” to take his initial plan of emigration for the Jews one step further. Without extrapolating too far on what these events mean for the Syrian refugee crisis, Schmidt
acknowledged the patterns present in history. “It’s not that history repeats itself, but I think some of the characteristics of how people abuse other human beings repeats itself,” Schmidt said. “We look down on a group, we have certain perceptions of a group, we single them out, we try to separate the good people from the bad people.” This singling out and encouraged division, however, is what many nations currently rely on in their immigration policy. Professor Karla McKanders, associate professor of law with a specialization in immigration law, outlined the extensive process in Graphic 1 below. According to McKanders, this process usually takes up to two years and states within the U.S. have not traditionally been involved. This makes the statements recently issued by dozens of state governors that they will no longer accept refugees largely ineffective under the current system. “It raises a constitutional issue because the state has not been involved in this vetting process of bringing refugees to the United States,” McKanders said. State Senator Richard Briggs acknowledged that immigration is a federal issue and not a state issue, but maintained that state’s should be allowed a greater role. According to Briggs, the state government’s main goal is to ensure the security of the screening process and to allow tracking and registration of all incoming refugees. “I think we would like to know the numbers, which we are not getting that information, and I think we would like to know what the vetting process is because the problem is they can’t really vet them,” Briggs said. McKanders addressed what she views as common concerns on refugees being streamlined into the country without proper screening. “I think there’s been a lot of confusion in the media regarding the process for refugees,” McKanders said. “I’m not aware of anybody that is allowed to bypass this system.” There is one alternative method of obtaining refugee status outside of the process detailed below: claiming asylum. Claiming asylum is an internal process that begins when a non-citizen already present on U.S. soil petitions to be given sanctuary. The Refugee Convention, an international document, requires the U.S. not to return a person facing persecution back to their country of origin. Additionally, the Refugee Act of 1980 forbids governors from preventing refugee integration into their state. “There could be, and there are, some Syrians on student visas or work visas or people that come to the border that may request asylum,” McKanders said. “But, under those circumstances, that person still goes through a singular screening
p
p A t e
d w w c e i
i c
d
Associate law professor Karla McKanders
GAINING REFUGEE STATUS
“United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees”
“United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees”
Makes preliminary decision on whether applicant meets refugee criteria
Attempts to resettle the refugee with a third-party country
If the country is the U.S.
6
“Department o
Does second ev applicant meet
The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 24, 2015
• GRAPHIC 2
THAN ONE STORY “If we are the land of the free and the brave, we need to give everyone a chance. We are a country of immigrants and we can’t forget that, even if we’ve been here for several generations.” Gilya Schmidt
process.” For government officials such as Briggs, these standard procedures are inadequate in light of recent world events. According to Briggs, the chaos in Syria is preventing proper vetting from taking place, as open communication with the Syrian embassy regarding background checks isn’t available. “What we are requesting is something that normally states do not do, but because of the extraordinary circumstances of what happened in Paris and what’s happening in Belgium and what’s happening in Syria, we’re requesting that there be more communication and be more involvement with the federal government when they’re looking to resettle some of these people in Tennessee,” Briggs said. “These are extraordinary times.” Schmidt said measures of controlling radical populations, including isolation, tracking, keeping lists and ethnic cleansing, can be a “dangerous path to go down.” Yassin, a Syrian refugee in Knoxville, knows firsthand the danger in excessive investigation. The last time Yassin was in Syria was 2011, right before the
valuation on whether ts refugee criteria
FROM THE STUDENTS
protests began, he said. Yassin returned from two years studying in Spain, and, almost directly after landing, his passport was confiscated and he was told to go meet with what he referred to as the “secret police.” For the next month, Yassin was interrogated from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m daily by authorities, who asked questions ranging from what his family does to why he talked to the Spanish about freedom. Finally, Yassin caught word from neighbors that others were being asked questions, so he bought a ticket and got out. “If any secret police are asking about you, your neighbor come to you and tell you ‘Hey, they’re asking about you.’ And you know what that means,” Yassin said. “They’ll take you away and put you in jail or something. “So as soon as they started asking, I just left the country.” Leaving behind his family in Syria, Yassin applied for asylum after entering the U.S. on a visa. Shortly after, he opened his own restaurant in downtown Knoxville, Yassin’s Falafel House. After keeping his refugee status secret for years, Yassin said he has decided to open up to the community about the ongoing plight of Syrians. “We have to do something. We can’t just sit there,” Yassin said. “They have to see ‘ Ok not all of us are terrorists or not all of us come here to ask help from the government or to have food.’ We can make our own life if we have a chance.” Although Yassin stays in contact with his family, who currently reside in the city of Damascus, he said he remains concerned for their safety, knowing the state of his homeland. “It’s hard to explain. You have everything but you are ten minutes from all the dangers,” Yassin said. “They talk about a street. I know it. I’ve been there. They’ve been attacked with everything tanks, airplanes.” Since becoming an advocate for refugees, Yassin said he has received mostly support and only some personal attacks from the Knoxville community. “What’s really good about Knoxville is the kind of support we are getting. I was not expecting that. Maybe it’s because we are downtown and are around many open-minded people around us,” Yassin said. “These people have supported us a lot. More than you can imagine.” Schmidt advocated the supportive attitude that Yassin reports in the local community as something all Americans should exemplify. “If we are the land of the free and the brave, we need to give everyone a chance. We are a country of immigrants and we can’t forget that, even if we’ve been here for several generations,” Schmidt said. “Everybody came from somewhere.”
Support the migration of Syrian refugees into TN Not registered to vote Do not support the migration of Syrian refugees into TN
The Daily Beacon conducted a random survey of 110 students. Students were asked whether they support allowing Syrian refugees sanctuary in Tennessee and if they are registered to vote. The above graphic shows the results of the survey.
• GRAPHIC 1 “Department of Homeland Security” Sends an officer abroad to interview refugee Screens applicant for terrorist or criminal affiliation
If allowed into the U.S.
of State”
7
“Office of Refugee Resettlement and Charitable Organizations” Resettles individual families or individuals into the United States
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The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 24, 2015
“
The riots you probably never heard about The second part of “Mockingjay� came out this weekend, and I’m honestly not sure I care. I thought the first part of “Mockingjay� was one of the most boring and overlong movies I’ve ever seen and was a clear example of bloated capitalism affecting art in a negative way and distorting a creative vision. Maybe I am too political. But the point is, I know I’m going to start hearing everyone talk about how the book was better than the movie. And apparently this book sucked. But I’ll still hear that because, like it or not people love being hipsters, and if they like the book more it means they liked it before it was cool. Liking the book more is the literary equivalent of only drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon. It might not be a bad beer, but you refuse to even consider an alternative. There was a movie that came out recently called “Stonewall,� which you probably didn’t hear about, because, by all accounts, it was terrible and reduced New York City to a soundstage in a much more obvious way than NASA reduced the moon to a New Mexico warehouse. I don’t actually believe that, before I get a flood of emails. The movie was about the Stonewall riots, a massive story in the history of the gay rights movement that deserves to be told in a way that isn’t offensive and whitewashed. So basically, the way it actually happened. Come on; drink some Pabst. On June 28, 1969, a police raid on a bar in Greenwich Village led to massive demonstrations and protests by the LGBT residents of the community. The next few weeks led to activist groups springing up across the city to provide safe spaces. The next six months saw two large activist organizations take root in the city, with three newspapers dedicated to advocating gay and lesbian rights flying off the presses as well. The next
Jarrod Nelson Socialized
People that tended to have original ideas that didn’t conform to Joseph McCarthy’s idea of what an American was supposed to be.�
year saw the first Gay Pride marches, which started to commemorate the anniversary of the riots. If there has ever been a social explosion, the birth of a new universe of activism, the splitting of some weird atom of oppression, this was it. How? Police raids like this were not uncommon in New York or anywhere else. The FBI even kept lists of known homosexuals at that time. They were considered possible subversives, like actors, writers and people that tended to have original ideas that didn’t conform to Joseph McCarthy’s idea of what an American was supposed to be. This had the effect of pushing homosexuality “underground,� with notable exceptions. Writers like Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs both wrote frankly about homosexuality and their experiences and both even lived in Greenwich Village. But overall, “sweeps� of neighborhoods were
VIEWPOINTS
fairly common. The Mafia owned the Stonewall Inn at the time. Like the actual Mafia. I guess money was money for them. It was primarily a gay bar and dance club, catering primarily to gay and transgendered men of all races. It also happened to not have a liquor license. It was pretty common for policemen to come in, raid for alcohol, confiscate it and then go about their merry way — or the Mafia would pay them off. Again, not joking. This time was different though. The police decided to try to take all of the patrons to the police station, and there were 205 of them. It takes a long time to transport 205 people. A crowd soon formed outside the bar and soon began cheering the patrons and jeering the police. Beer bottles were thrown. Then, a woman was hit with a baton for complaining her handcuffs were too tight. And then the atom split. The police were surrounded and retreated back into the bar when the crowd became violent. The Tactical Police Force — think SWAT in the 60s — showed up and attempted to push through the crowd, who began chanting and singing the most hilarious things that you should definitely look up. It took hours for the police to literally beat the crowd into submission. But they came back the next night. Again, the police returned. Again, they beat the demonstrators into their homes. The newspapers picked it up, and the sudden voice and massive attention was too much for the LGBT community to deny. The bomb had gone off. It led, in many ways, to what we all saw this last summer on the steps of the Supreme Court. We move next week to the lead up to that ruling. Welcome to the present. Jarrod Nelson is a sophomore in public relations. He can be reached at jnelso47@vols.utk.edu.
Columns of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.
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PUZZLES&GAMES
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 • The Daily Beacon
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Get Fuzzy • Darby Conley
NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD • Will Shortz
dadoodlydude • Adam Hatch
ACROSS 1 Genesis brother 5 An “art” for Donald Trump 9 “If you want to throw a fit, fine” 14 Japanese electronics giant 16 Like lambs and rams 17 Oil, informally 18 Some titillating messages 19 Perpendicular to a ship’s midline 20 Amounts after a decimal point 21 Longtime Lorne Michaelsproduced show, for short 22 Lady ___, first female member of Parliament 26 Long-eared hopper 27 Bitter 30 Home on the range: Var. 31 On ___ with (comparable to)
32 Passover meal 33 Trounce 34 Call from behind the deli counter 35 Feature of Rome’s Pantheon 37 Modern paint no-no 39 Droids 42 Feminine ending 44 Monopoly card listings 48 Has ___ (is connected) 49 Supply-anddemand subj. 50 Dodo 51 Yemeni capital 52 “___ how I roll” 54 Stick with a blue tip, maybe 55 “Blade” star Wesley 57 Casino staple 60 Skilled 61 “Weird, huh?” 65 Misplaces 66 Surprise winner 67 Diary part
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13 Back-page menu item, maybe
43 Burned ___ crisp
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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE
Cartoons of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.
1
36 Big track events
45 “Almost got me!”
47 Canonized woman of Fr. 53 Feature of a punk hairdo 56 Online crafts site 58 ___Kosh B’Gosh 59 Radio dial 61 Has too much, informally
62 Beaver’s 38 Bush press construction secretary Fleischer 63 Hip-hop’s Dr. ___ 39 Popular British brew
64 Gym shirt
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SPORTS
The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 24, 2015
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Lady Vols continue struggling from deep in win over Chattanooga Trenton Duffer Copy Editor
The Lady Vols escaped Thompson-Boling Arena with a 59-57 win over Chattanooga last night, but the team’s inconsistency from beyond the arc still proves troublesome for head coach Holly Warlick. Over the course of the past three games, the Lady Vols have shot a combined 5-42 (11.9 percent) from the three-point line, including a 3-18 performance against the Lady Mocs last night. The struggles from deep were nonexistent in the Lady Vols 102-47 win over Central Arkansas earlier in the year. That game saw the Lady Vols net nine of the 19 three’s they launched, including a 4-6 shooting performance from Kortney Dunbar and a 3-5 output from Te’a Cooper. But since that game, no Lady Vol has hit more than one triple in a game. “When you’re 3-18 from the three-point line, you need to understand that it’s time to quit shooting,” Warlick said after the team’s win. “We just gotta get a little more basketball sense, a little more basketball mind … These kids are smart enough. You gotta get the ball inside.” Diamond DeShields, who led the team with
17 points and who her herself was 1-5 from deep, attempted to lead by example in the fourth quarter when the Lady Mocs were attempting to mount a comeback. Seeing that the threeshot wasn’t there, DeShields drove the lane and attempted to get buckets instead of jacking it up from three-point land. “There had been gaps the whole game,” DeShields admitted after the game. “The guards, all of us, have been settling for outside jumpers.” Dunbar leads the team with a 41.7 (5-12) shooting percentage from the three-point line. However, there isn’t another player on the team who is shooting better than 33 percent. Searching for an identity: Warlick also admitted in her postgame press conference that the team is still exploring who plays well with whom on the court. The four-year coach stated that injuries are responsible for halting the team’s ability to find their own identity and what type of team they want to be on the court. “When it’s your time, you’ve got to come in and produce,” Warlick said. “We need to find a bit more chemistry on who plays better together, and I don’t think we’re at that point.” The Lady Vols have 11 different players that they use in their rotation. Warlick admits that with Tennessee’s style of play, she should
Diamond DeShields shoots the ball during the game against the Chattanooga Lady Mocs. • Photo Courtesy of Donald Page/Tennessee Athletics be able to play 11 players. However, Warlick also warned that if players play sloppy, she’ll be forced to move some people around in her rotation. “We’ve gotta run the ball, and if we do that and do what we’re supposed to, we’ll play a lot of people,” Warlick said. “When we walk the ball up, then I don’t know if too many people will play. If you don’t stick to what we want you to do in the game plan, then you need to come out.” The Lady Vols started the same five players only twice this year. Against Central Arkansas and Penn State, Kortney Dunbar, Mercedes Russell, Andraya Carter, Te’a Cooper and Alexa Middleton got the starting nods. Russell and Cooper are the only two that remained starters against Syracuse and Chattanooga. Lady Vol of the Week: Bashaara “Beast” Graves has been a force to be reckoned over her past three games, as the senior dropped her third straight double-double against the Lady Mocs. Graves’ 10 points and 11 rebounds helped
her notch away her 24th career double-double, which is tied with South Carolina’s Alaina Coates for the most in the SEC among active players. Graves also brought a cool 94.1 (16-17) shooting percentage into the game against the Lady Mocs. Although the senior stuttered a bit from the field last night (4-7), she still helped her team pick up the victory with her three added steals. Meanwhile, Graves’ shooting percentage still remains at a resounding 83.3 percent. Even though she’s had this type of success, Graves wants to focus on her team’s ability to “dominate” on the floor. “I just know we’re capable of coming out and being dominant,” the senior said. “I mean, we can come out and win by two. It’s still a great win, and I accept it. But I just want us to come out and be a dominant team.” Up Next: The Lady Vols will get to celebrate Thanksgiving before Albany comes to town on Black Friday. That matchup will take place in Thompson-Boling Arena this Friday, Nov. 27 at noon.
SPORTS
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 • The Daily Beacon
11
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Lady Vols survive furious rally to beat Chattanooga 59-57 Jonathan Toye
Sports Editor No. 4 Tennessee survived another scare. The Lady Vols (4-0) built a 19-point halftime lead, but had to stave off a furious second-half rally to beat No. 24 Chattanooga 59-57 Monday night in front of a crowd of 9,449 at ThompsonBoling arena. “It was a win for us,” Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. “We will take it, but it wasn’t very pretty. I am not very happy, but we will take the win and move forward. “I think we are still trying to find our way. Who we want to play, who plays well together because we have had so many people hurt. That hasn’t helped us. When it’s your time you got to go in to produce. I think we got to find a little bit more chemistry on who plays better together and I don’t think we have quite yet.” Diamond DeShields scored a team-high 17 points and snagged six rebounds, despite only playing 21 minutes. Mercedes Russell chipped in 13 points. Bashaara Graves contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds, registering her third straight double-double. Queen Alford led Chattanooga (3-2) with 19 points. Ansley Chilton added 13 points. Both players helped sparked a 22-4 run that
whittled Tennessee’s lead of 20 down to two in the fourth quarter. Ansley drained a triple that made the score 49-47 with 7:02 remaining in the game, drawing a collective grown from the audience. She wasn’t finished, though. She hit another shot from beyond the perimeter to bring Chattanooga to within two points once more at 53-51 with 2:49 to go. DeShields, however, drained two free throws and banked in a ten-foot shot to extend the Lady Vols’ lead to 59-57 and effectively end Chattanooga’s comeback bid. “I wanted to give more,” DeShields said. “I feel like the past few games I was kinda holding myself back. I just wanted to give more. I knew I could do more than my past two performances. Whatever the outcome was, I was trying to put in more effort.” After slugging out the last two wins, the Lady Vols seemed destined for blow-out victory. Tennessee built a 26-7 lead after the first quarter and led by 23 at one point in the first half. Then Chattanooga switched to zone, and familiar offensive problems emerged: too many turnovers, too many missed shots, too many three point attempts. “We just get settled in,” Warlick said. “We settle in and we are OK. We start looking at the
Bashaara Graves #12 of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers dribbles the ball during the game between the Chattanooga Lady Mocs and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. • Photo Courtesy of Donald Page/Tennessee Athletics clock and think ‘we are up so we can relax a bit.’ with the result. The Lady Vols players know they You can’t. I don’t care who you play. You just aren’t playing to their potential. “I just know what we are capable of,” Graves can’t. And I thought that is what we did. We got real casual, relaxed and thought this game was said. “We just need to come out and just be over. It’s a 40-minute game. Tonight, we thought dominant. I mean, we can win by two, it was still a great win. I accept it. I just want us to come out it was maybe a 20-minute game.” Warlick wasn’t the only person not pleased and just be a dominant team.”
12
The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 24, 2015
FOOTBALL
SPORTS
Defense anchoring the Vols down Jonathan Toye
Sports Editor Tennessee senior safety Brian Randolph still remembers when Tennessee’s defense hit rock bottom in 2012. So he is enjoying the unit’s current high. The Vols have not exactly faced great offenses in their last two games, but that should not discount the defense’s recent string of performances. Tennessee’s defense has held its last two opponents – North Texas and Missouri – to eight total points. Before Missouri quarterback Drew Lock scored a one-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the Vols did not allow a point for eight consecutive quarters. It’s a stark contrast from 2012, when the Vols’ porous defense allowed nearly 36 points per game. “It’s been night and day,” Randolph said. “Especially since my second year (in 2012). That was a rough year for us. Nobody was proud of that. After that year, we actually went in to the offseason; that’s all we talked about was our average points we gave up every game. “We are very prideful on defense. We like to give our best performance, and when we don’t, it makes us work that much harder.” The hard work has paid dividends. Not only are Vols’ opponents struggling to score points, but they are also struggling to gain yards. In a season where college offenses move the ball up and down the field with ease, Tennessee (7-4, 4-3 SEC) has gone five straight games limiting opponents to below 400 yards. The success starts up front. Since the Alabama game, the Vols have forced 13 sacks and have consistently pressured opposing quarterbacks. When the defensive line plays well, the unit as a whole benefits. Linebackers can assist in coverage and the secondary does not have to cover wide receivers as long. Tennessee coach Butch Jones said the defense has done a good job of winning first and second downs lately, forcing third-and-long situations. When an offense faces third-and-long, the play book shrinks, and the offense becomes predictable. “Any time you can create third and long situations, it becomes advantageous for you,” Jones said at his weekly presser in the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio. “I think staying ahead of the sticks,
improving our tackling, swarming to the football, all those things, the small details (are very important). “It’s always those little things that nobody sees that adds up to the big things that everyone sees. It’s those small details of getting six, seven, eight hats to the football. It’s winning your one-onone matchups on the line of scrimmage. I think our defensive line continues to improve and get better. I think Darrin Kirkland Jr. continues to improve with the volume of repetitions that he’s gaining.” Kirkland has been a key player to the defense’s recent success. The freshman from Indianapolis enrolled at Tennessee in the spring, but an injury in the weight room sidelined him for spring practices. Kirkland entered fall battling for the starting position at middle linebacker. Colton Jumper ultimately won the job, but Kirkland took over for good in the middle of the season. The growing pains were there, but Kirkland said he has a better grasp on the defense now. Randolph observed Kirkland’s communication has improved. Kirkland led the defense in tackles against North Texas with eight. He had five tackles and a fumble recovery in Tennessee’s 19-8 win against Missouri. “It’s definitely great to have a guy out there playing like he is,” Randolph said. “Playing fast, confident, making all the calls. I don’t have to think too much out there, because he is doing all the thinking for me. Having a guy out there on the field makes the job easy. “One thing I told him about himself, ‘He’s got talent I have never seen before’ in the way he gets to the ball (and) makes plays. He is running out there like a safety … That’s definitely something you can’t coach.” Kirkland and the defense has now produced two great performances in a row. They have a great chance to make it three in a row against Vanderbilt in the season finale (TV: SEC Network, 4 p.m.). Vanderbilt ranks last in the FBS in scoring offense and ranks 119th in total offense. The Commodores, however, have a tradition of playing Tennessee close, regardless of the circumstances. That is why Randolph is not taking anything for granted. “Vanderbilt always gives us a tough game,” Randolph said. “They have been our rivals. They are from the same state. “It’s a team emphasis, we have it in our team room. Beat our rivals.”