110420 The Daily Beacon

Volume 139, Issue 11 Wednesday, November 4, 2020

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UT custodians demand hazard pay from university amid COVID-19 SETH CHAPMAN Staff Writer

UT custodians and supporters gathered Friday in front of the Torchbearer at Circle Park to demand hazard pay from the university. Attendees held up signs in solidarity as students, custodians and one faculty member spoke out in support of providing hazard pay of $2.50 and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Sam Goodman, a lecturer at UT, started the press conference.

“Look, I don’t have to tell anyone that this is an extremely difficult time — in the world, in the country. Here in the state of Tennessee. Here in Knoxville,” Goodman said. “As a faculty member, I’ve been told over and over again by the university that UTK classrooms are the safest place in the county. I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that the classrooms that they’re talking about are not where my students attend my class. They attend my class from home. And for many of them, that home is their residence hall.

And the responsibility and the work and risk of keeping those homes clean and safe has fallen on workers who are understaffed and

earning poverty wages. You cannot tell me that’s right.”

As One of the organizers of the event, Eli Stanfield is a member of the United Campus Workers and shared their thoughts on the working conditions of custodians at UT. “Many of the workers start off making only $10 an hour. For many, and especially those with families, this is not a survivable wage. They (custodians) are on the front lines and are most exposed to the virus, yet they are the ones being paid the least,” Stanfield said.

Stanfield also added that one of the custodians meant to speak at the gathering was absent due to being diagnosed with COVID-19.

One of the speakers was Joyce Leeper, a custodian who has been working at the residence halls at UT campus for over 10 years.

“If you just started and are working fulltime, you don’t have the sick days built up if you get infected. They are supposed to pay for the first two weeks if you get infected, whether you are part-time or full-time. Anything after that, it’s on you to pay, even if you get reinfected,” Leeper said.

According to both Stanfield and Leeper, UT custodians are already working at half capac-

ity and being constantly shifted through the other dorm halls. While many classes have moved online, this has caused most students to have to attend online classes from their dorms. Custodians sanitize the dorms for the virus, but this also places them as the most at risk for infection.

“Some of the students in our building are quarantined right now, but we still need houses paid,” Leeper said, “and I would like to continue on working, but as some say, no-

body can in the conditions we are in.”

“Vol Means All” has been a rallying cry embraced by the administration, yet their commitment to that value is under question.

One UT student, Danny Urquieta, also joined other voices as they gave their speech in support of the hazard pay.

“I don’t know if UT is meeting our dialogues on ‘Vol Means All’ if they are not paying our custodians a fair wage,” Urquieta said.

Joyce Leeper, a custodian who spoke at the event. Seth Chapman / The Daily Beacon

Ewing Gallery wraps Asian art exhibition ‘Liberated from Storage’ RACHEL PARKISON Contributor

Photo courtesy of Rachel Parkison As the month comes to a close, the UT Ewing Gallery of Art + Architecture has just wrapped up its second exhibition of the fall semester.

This showing, entitled “Liberated from Storage: Selections of Asian Art from the Ewing Collection,” consisted of both historical

and contemporary works of Asian art from the gallery’s permanent collection — pieces which rarely see the light of day.

The Ewing Gallery’s fall lineup typically consists of three outside shows, meaning that they display works that are not created by students and are not readily available in Knoxville. Due to the challenges brought on by COVID-19, however, the gallery staff was forced to alter their schedule.

“We had a couple of exhibits planned that were going to necessitate going to New York to pick up work,” Sam Yates, director and curator at the Ewing Gallery said. “Of course, we had to put all of that on hold, and so we decided that offers the possibility of maybe highlighting works from our permanent collection that most of the time (aren’t seen by the) university community because they’re in storage at our off-campus storage facility. ... We just took it as an opportunity to, as they say, make lemonade out of lemons, and so we have focused on works this fall from our permanent collection.”

The credit for this exhibition went in large part to Dr. Karen Hughes, a biology professor at UT, whose recent gift to the Ewing Gallery of Japanese woodblock prints made up a large portion of the display. These prints were accompanied by a number of other works, including sculptural and textiles pieces from China, India and Taiwan.

“There are 113 (works) on exhibition right now,” Sarah McFalls, collections manager at the Ewing Gallery, said. “The majority of those pieces are Japanese woodblock prints from the mid-19th century, so they were all made in the 1830s to 1860s. They’re called ‘ukiyo-e’ prints, and they can depict landscapes, kabuki actors, scenes from plays, beautiful women that represent poems or virtues or flowers.”

Several elements of this exhibition have been with the Ewing Gallery since the 1950s and 1960s, when the university was not yet actively acquiring art due to a lack of storage facilities. Since then, however, the Ewing Gallery’s collection efforts have increased significantly.

“The contemporary portion is work that the gallery has collected since the mid-1980s through now. A number of those works we purchased from an exhibition Sam (Yates) curated in 2012, which was called ‘Redefining the Multiple: 13 Japanese Printmakers,’” McFalls said.

In recognition of the obstacles created by COVID-19, McFalls also endeavored to make many of the exhibition’s pieces virtually accessible. This way, those that could not visit campus in person were still able to interact with the works of art.

In regards to what the Ewing Gallery is planning next, the upcoming exhibition will feature pieces from Europe and the Americas from its permanent collection. Much like the works of Asia exhibit, these works will only be on display for a short time before returning to their home in storage.

“I think people who really want to see the exhibit will come,” Yates said. “We think the show has got a little something for everybody.”

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OPINIONS

The 2020 The Daily Daily Beacon Beacon •• Wednesday, Wednesday, October 2020 Wednesday,November October14, 7,4,2020

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On Sept. 9, The Daily Beacon Vol. 139, Issue 4 was published with a graphic on the back cover that was not approved by the editorial team.

The graphic read, “COVID INFO 7% of UT’s student body is in isolation” and “600 active cases | doubles every 6 days. UT has no set point to move clases online.” The misspelling of the word “classes” was indeed printed.

The graphic was placed by a now former employee, who added the graphic without the knowledge of the editorial team and under false premises. The incident was planned in advance, and former copies of the graphic were saved on a Daily Beacon computer.

Prior to the graphic being placed, two stories were scheduled to be printed on the back cover.

The employee resigned immediately after the printing of the paper.

This incident resulted in the editorial team changing the passwords to all accounts involved with the printing process, as well as removing the former employee from our workspace.

Letter to the Editor: Football time brings new issues MARJORIE MOORE Contributor

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The graphic also damaged The Daily Beacon’s reputation. As an editorially independent student newspaper, we pride ourselves in reporting objectively and fairly. The editorial team may have rephrased the graphic, had we been given the opportunity to view it. Additionally, the misspelled word, an error that could have easily been caught by the editorial team, appeared unprofessional.

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culation, and the editorial team would have subjected the printed graphic to such deliberation if given the chance. The figures in the graphic were not verified by any member of the editorial team prior to publication.

This incident was a lesson in many arenas. We have adjusted our procedures in order to ensure that something like this does not take place again in our newsroom, and the incident has been addressed with the former employee through Student Conduct.

Student newsrooms are an essential tool in the training of young journalists. In our student newsrooms, we learn to write, take photos and shoot video, but most importantly, we learn about the ethical application of journalism. This involves objectivity, fair reporting and a great deal of teamwork. It is imperative that student journalists work together to create work that is representative of an independent news source, in order to maintain our reputations as reliable news sources and helpful launching grounds for our journalism careers.

The biggest draw of a SEC school is arguably its football program. Going to a school down south means much more than just going to an academic institution. The atmosphere on game days, the national obsession with SEC football and fierce loyalty from the fans is unmatched compared to other conferences.

As a freshman last year, I practically counted down the days until kickoff in Neyland. However, times have changed and not necessarily for the better. With COVID-19 putting the world in a situation incomparable to anything anyone has ever experienced, we must be more diligent in our quest to contain the spread of this virus. I know the fanbase would be highly disappointed, but I just do not think it is in the best interest of our community to continue with the football season.

Let’s begin with how the university is attempting to run these games and allow fans into the stands. Tennessee has given precedence to students and donors, as they rightfully should with UTsports.com clearly stating, “Current UT students and active Tennessee Fund donors with season tickets will receive priority on 2020 football tickets.” However, my problem with this plan is that allowing people from outside the campus bubble that UT has tried to create and contain us in is contradicting every protocol they have set in place.

I understand the importance of keeping the do-

nors happy and allowing them to come to games being played by a program they have helped support with their money, but I do not think it is worth the risk of spreading the virus on a campus that the majority of students have tried so hard to keep safe. Even with limited capacity, Neyland Stadium is still one of the biggest stadiums.

Our student-athletes are also at the greatest risk for not only contracting but also for spreading the virus around campus as well. The SEC and other conferences have taken measures, such as cancelling out of conference games. However, teams are still having to travel out of state and being placed in contact with other people, so I am not sure if reducing the season to in-conference games does anything to help limit the spread.

In a game as physical as football, it is virtually impossible to act like our football players will be able to social distance or that they won’t be swapping sweat with players from the other team.

Some of you may think that COVID-19 would have no effect on a young person in as good of shape as a D-1 football player, but USA Today says, “concerns about myocarditis became a widespread concern for athletes recovering from COVID-19.”

Despite not being in the most vulnerable group, the health and safety of our athletes should not be overlooked.

The students and decision makers at individual universities have to be held accountable for their role in stopping the spread, too. It was reported that the Southern Methodist University student section was kicked out from the team’s game versus Memphis for failing to adhere to the school’s social distancing and COVID guidelines.

The same USA Today article stated, “LSU even said it would no longer require a medical wellness check to enter the stadium.” We would like to think that young people would understand the importance of following all the guidelines set in place by their institution, but it is not realistic to expect a bunch of 18 to 20-something year-olds to want to spread out and wear a mask. Additionally, if the university in question does not even seem willing to enforce the guidelines they have set in place to keep everyone safe, what should make students follow in suit?

If schools like LSU stop health screening, and schools like Tennessee allow visitors to come into the bubble they have tried to create for students, the plans for a safe football season seem redundant.

I am sure there is not anyone that would be happy to see an early end to football on Rocky Top this fall, but I believe that there is no safe way to continue a football season in our current climate.

This virus is too easily spreadable and puts too much of our community at risk to try and continue the season.

Marjorie Moore is a sophomore majoring in economics. She can be reached at mmoor184@vols.utk.edu

Columns and letters 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.

OPINIONS

Wednesday, 4, 2020 Wednesday,November October 28, 2020•• The Daily Beacon

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Killer Conversations: Body of Elisa Lam found at the Cecil Hotel MOLLIE CHAMBERS Columnist

The Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif., is most commonly known for the death, violence and overall strange activity it seems to attract. Since it was built in 1924, 16 deaths have occurred on the grounds of the Cecil.

Of these deaths, the one that sticks out the most to me is the death of Elisa Lam. Elisa Lam was a 21-year-old college student taking a solo trip to visit California. She began her stay in the Cecil Hotel on Jan. 26, 2013. Her parents were hesitant to let her travel alone; however, they let her go on the condition that she called them every day.

Lam kept in constant contact, which is why on Jan. 31 they found it odd that she hadn’t called them.

After failing to get in contact with their daughter, her parents called the Los Angeles Police Department. The police searched the hotel; however, Lam was nowhere to be found. During their investigation, they found strange surveillance footage of Lam on an elevator.

Personally, this footage gives me the creeps. It is evident from Lam’s body language that something was wrong. It even seems like she is having a heated discussion with someone else although she appears to be alone in the video.

Two weeks after Lam was declared missing, hotel guests began complaining about the water pressure in their rooms. Some guests even mentioned their water coming out black or having a strange taste. After receiving these complaints, a hotel maintenance worker checked the water tank where he found Elisa Lam’s dead body.

Lam’s body was found naked with her clothes and other personal belongings floating around her. First responders had to cut the side of the tank open in order to retrieve her decaying body.

One of the most disturbing things about Elisa’s death was the discovery of her body.

Not only did it start by hotel guests unknowingly drinking the remains of her decaying body, it was alsoseemingly impossible for Elisa or anyone else to have gotten her body into the water tank.

The water tank was located on the roof of the hotel and all doors and stairs leading to

the tank were only accessible by hotel staff.

Any excessive force on any of the entryways to the water tank would have triggered an alarm. This means that gaining entry to the hotel’s roof and water tank was very difficult.

After four months, Lam’s autopsy report was released; however, the report caused even more confusion. The report states that Lam’s body showed no signs of trauma and ruled her death accidental.

I’m not really sure how a person would accidentally drown naked in a water tank.

It seems to me like Lam was murdered and placed in the water tank, but there is littleto-no evidence that supports this theory.

After Lam’s death, her parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit in order to obtain more information about their daughter’s death; however, it was sadly dismissed, meaning this case remains closed.

I still have a gut feeling that foul play was involved in Elisa’s death. Because of this, I hope that one day her case is reopened — not only for my curiosity, but so her family can finally get the peace they deserve regarding their daughter’s death.

I hope that one day her case is reopened — not only for my curiosity, but so her family can finally get the peace they deserve regarding their daughter’s death.

MOLLIE CHAMBERS COLUMNIST

Mollie Chambers is a sophomore majoring in journalism and electronic media. She can be reached at mollcham@vols.utk.edu.

Columns and letters 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.

Letter to the Editor: Victual equilibrium, issues with dining options ANTONIO TERRELL JR. Contributor

On campus dining selections are not optimal. I am a sophomore on campus who has continued to grow discontent with the dining experience. My vexation deals with meal periods, meal equivalency and late night or weekend dining options.

The designated dining times can be inconvenient, which leads to wasted meal swipes. From 7 to 10:30 a.m. students are allotted time to use their first meal swipe for breakfast. From 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. students can use their second swipe and from 4:30 t0 8 p.m. final meal swipe may be used.

Most students cannot exercise the first time slot due to classes being taken in the morning. Furthermore, for a two hour time period from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., the cafeterias are not making fresh food as dinner is being prepared.

Most of my friends on campus do not finish their classes until three in the afternoon, which leaves them with mere snacks to use as sustenance until the final meal period.

Two-thirds of meal swipes on any given day are unused. Additionally, when a student does not use a swipe, there is no transfer or

carry over for the missed meal, which is a missed opportunity to eat as well as a waste of money.

A way to combat students wasting meal swipes would be to implement a system that allows the meal equivalencies to stack when a swipe is unused in a day. For instance, if a student were to miss the breakfast and lunch swipes, the meal values of $4.35 and $4.85 would be conjoined with the dinner meal value of $4.85 so that the student has the opportunity to spend $14.05 at the restaurants that take meal swipes in the Student Union and Presidential Court. This way the student would not have to use alternative methods of payment.

In conjunction with missing meals, at most restaurants on campus, students are not allowed to use meal equivalency swipes until the dinner period. When my friends and I are hungry and want to avoid the mediocre food in cafeterias, we are forced to forego the meal swipe and use Dining Dollars or our actual money. This hassle expedites the depletion of funds.

Cafeterias may be more out of reach for students than restaurants on campus, and restaurants are more appetizing than the menus in cafeterias. However, Quiznos, Dippers and Mabel’s are the sole options that offer lunch time equivalency. To

minimize wasted meal swipes, more fast food options should accept the lunch meal equivalency.

Also, Southern Kitchen is a positive alternative to fast food, as well as the traditional cafeteria. An entire meal can be acquired with the meal equivalency. Another Southern Kitchen-type restaurant would benefit the campus, but instead of “soul food” the other diner could focus on a selection that juxtaposes southern-styled foods.

This fictional restaurant could specialize in foods such as Philly cheesesteaks, mozzarella sticks, wings and any other modernized food. These additions could transform the dining experience to one that is more accommodating to the lives of its student body.

Late night and weekend meal options are not favorable either. Once the on campus restaurants and cafeterias close, the options for food are all on Cumberland Avenue, otherwise known as The Strip. There is a cornucopia of nosh selections on this street. The drawback to these enticing restaurants is that they do not accept meal swipes nor dining dollars, forcing students to spend their personal funds for food.

Should the University and restaurants on Cumberland Avenue collaborate and form a system that allows students to use dining

dollars and meal swipes for late night and weekends, businesses would witness an increase in food ordering activity that would benefit both students and restaurants.

Students would be more inclined to eat on The Strip, which would lead to more customers as well as revenue for the designated restaurants. The opportunity to use the equivalency can be from 8 p.m. until the closing time of that restaurant. This slight adjustment would serve the Volunteer community well.

If there were some adjustments in the dining options, meal plans and equivalency options the University would see more upperclassmen students opt-in for meal plans. The student body would feel as if meal plans were not bunco choices, and achieving this dining stasis would not disappoint the members of this community.

Antonio Terrell Jr. is a Sophomore majoring in Finance. He can be reached at aterre11@vols.utk.edu

Columns and letters 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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SPORTS

The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, 2020 Wednesday,November October 7,4, 2020

6 stats that explain the first half of Tennessee’s football season RYAN SCHUMPERT Sports Editor

Tennessee entered its bye week at the halfway point in its schedule. The Vols are 2-3 after winning their first two games against South Carolina and Missouri. Since, Tennessee has lost three straight blowouts — including losing to Kentucky at home for the first time since 1984.

Here are six stats that tell the story of the first half of the Vols’ season.

28 — The number of points defenses have scored against Tennessee this season. Tennessee started the season taking care of the football, not turning the ball over in its first two wins.

That trend continued through the first half at Georgia where Tennessee had a 21-17 lead at halftime. Things collapsed for the Vols’ offense after that.

Jarrett Guarantano turned the ball over four times in the second half versus Georgia including a fumble that went for a touchdown to finish off the Vols.

Carelessness with the ball continued into the home meeting with Kentucky and cost the Vols dearly. Tennessee handed a team with a limited offense a 17-point lead due to three interceptions, including two pick sixes.

Tennessee’s turnover struggles were limited last week against Alabama, but the Vols did make one big mistake with Eric Gray fumbling and the

Crimson Tide returned it for a touchdown.

In Tennessee’s last 10 quarters, they scored 24 offensive points while defenses scored 28 points against them. That isn’t a winning formula and a big reason for Tennessee’s three game losing streak.

One — The number of passing touchdowns Tennessee has in the red zone. Jarrett Guarantano said red zone offense was a main focus for him and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney after the offense struggled there in 2019.

There have been some improvements there, though the Vols haven’t found the red zone much, but its focus has been in the run game.

Tennessee has eight touchdowns on 12 red zone trips but just one touchdown is a passing touchdown, and it came on a wide receiver screen.

The Vols may have improved some in the red zone this season, but their ceiling there is still low as they remain limited by what they can do there.

Four — The number of fade route touchdowns Josh Palmer has between 27 and 36 yards.

For all of Guarantano’s struggles this year, the redshirt senior continues to prove that he can throw a good deep ball.

Tennessee has four touchdowns on fade routes to Palmer this season, all down the right sideline, too. The route has been Tennessee’s most productive this season.

Palmer has stepped up to fill the void left by

Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway, but he’s struggled to find additional help.

With freshman receiver Jalin Hyatt continuing to come on and Guarantano’s deep ball being the strength of his game, look for Tennessee to attack on more of these passes in the second half of the season.

Six — The number of sacks Tennessee’s defense has since its opening win over South Carolina. The Vols sacked South Carolina’s Collin Hill four times in the opener but haven’t been able to get to the passer since.

Pass rush was a concern for Tennessee entering the season with the departure of 2019 sack leader Darrell Taylor to the NFL. De’Andre Johnson seemed poised to fill that void after earning SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honor in week one but has been quiet since.

Kivon Bennett started across from Taylor a year ago, recording 4.5 sacks, but the junior has been underwhelming with just half a sack this season.

The pass rush is a major question that Tennessee must address this bye week. The Vols will need improved play up front if they want to turn around the 2019 season.

100% — Opponents field goal percentage versus Tennessee this season. Kickers haven’t missed a kick versus Tennessee this season. 11of-11 is the mark. The Vols have played in just one close game. so kicking hasn’t played a massive role this season, though it did in the one

close game.

Tennessee was fortunate with kicking a year ago as Kentucky and Indiana’s kickers missed pivotal extra points, and the Indiana kicker missed a go-ahead field goal in the last two minutes.

The extra turn here has been the limitations and struggles of Tennessee’s kicking game.

Brent Cimaglia was the preseason SEC First Team kicker but has rarely heard his number called this season with just four field goal attempts.

Cimaglia has struggled in his four attempts, missing two kicks, each of which were under 50-yards. Cimaglia missed just four-of-27 attempts a season ago.

67.1% — Percentage of passes teams have completed against Tennessee this season. The mark ranks third worst in the SEC, despite Tennessee having the fewest attempts against them.

Tennessee has been horrible defending the middle of the field as neither safety has been able to replicate Nigel Warrior’s production in the middle of the field.

All three of Tennessee’s inside linebackers have struggled in pass coverage as well and nickelback Shawn Shamburger has seen his production drop from a season ago.

Texas A&M, Auburn and Arkansas all have limited passing games and taking away the easy passes over the middle will be key to defensive success.

SPORTS

Tony Vitello talks upcoming Vols’ baseball season JEFFREY RUSSELL Staff Report

Tony Vitello and the Tennessee baseball team took the college baseball world by storm before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Vols had a record of 15-2 with impressive wins over No. 1 Texas Tech and No. 25 Stanford in the Round Rock Classic. The pitching staff was on fire to start the season with a 2.01 team ERA, and they held their opponents to a .196 batting average. The Vols hitting also had a great start to the season with a .320 team batting average and 31 home runs.

One of the biggest question marks for the 2021 season is how will the Vols replace 2020 first-round draft pick pitcher Garrett Crochet who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox. Pitchers like Jackson Leath and Jason Rackers have the talent to fill the role but whoever fills the role has to step up and take it.

“That’s an interesting topic because that’s the one area where if you’re just gonna go on paper, there’s a separation between this year’s team and last year’s team,” Vitello said. “ We had a guy who we thought could be a dominant Friday starter and that changes the whole weekend if you have that, it’s not a prerequisite to have an Omaha team type team though. We have several candidates that can be that guy but by no means do we have someone that has stepped forward and has been that guy, part of it is some guys haven’t got a lot of repetitions. Guys like Leath and Rackers are still recovering, but it’s gonna have to be somebody so hopefully, they can do the job to the standards that they have and we have.”

The Vols also will be missing the powerhitting outfield duo of Alerick Soularie and Zach Daniels who were drafted by the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros respectively in the 2020 draft. Soularie had a slow start to the 2020 season that kept his batting average at .267 but he was able to hit five home runs which showed his power at the plate. In 2019 Soularie had an impressive.357 batting average over 60 games. He also tallied 11 home runs and 46 RBIs. Daniels had a breakout 2020 season hitting four home runs and 18 RBIs which helped him tallied an impressive .357 batting average and get drafted.

Crochet, Soularie and Daniels will leave big holes in the Vols lineup, but Vitello believes in the guys he has on his rosters and their ability to keep the momentum from last season going.

“I think with the bats, with the defense I think guys have made jumps in their pitching,” Vitello said. “The world finally got to see

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wutk

Wednesday,November 4, 2020 • The Daily Beacon

“THE 7”

1 SAM ROBERTS BAND

2 YVES JARVIS

3 Head Baseball Coach Tony Vitello with team during a game against Indiana on Feb. 22, 2019 at Lindsay Nelson Stadium.

File / The Daily Beacon what we knew what was happening with the transformation of Garrett Crochet. He was always a big time weapon for us and the program. It was gonna be something different last year once he was unleashed. He’s a big X-Factor, but I think you can remove him, so I’d say yeah.”

“The one thing we really carry over is the camaraderie between the guys from last year but it’s between those guys. I know it’s been very difficult for us, and I assume it’s been challenging for other programs to integrate first year guys like we usually would. At the end of every fall, newcomers and returners will make comments that they aren’t the team they want to be yet, and that’s hard to do until the season starts,” Vitello said.

In the offensive lineup, the Vols have a lot of depth, which means they’ll have a lot of options in the batter’s box each time they take the field. Vitello expects rotation in the lineup daily to help guys grow and experiment with the best lineups, which means the team will have a lot of moving parts, but Vitello thinks that can work to the Vols advantage.

“I like the ability to move guys around to different positions,” Vitello said. “It’s supposed to be our job to develop these guys, so we take pride in making sure guys are ready at all times and used in a bunch of different situations. I think it’ll be a duplicate of last year with the lineups where you see some different things. There were days where a guy would be in the three-hole and wasn’t starting the next day, or he was down lower in the lineup. If we lose some games, people can accuse me of over-experimenting, but until then, I think it has multiple benefits.

Especially for the kids but also for the program when we do that.”

In a season that will be at the ultimate mercy of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vols are trying to fill out a complete schedule.

Some teams have been struggling to solidify games, which has had Vitello on a daily standby to fill out a complete schedule for the Vols.

“We are kind of on everyday standby just because I think our conference has been the leader in a lot of categories, but the one thing they’ve been strong in when it relates to leadership is patience, ” Vitello said. “Why jump to a conclusion about the virus three weeks down the road when we don’t even know what it’ll be like next Tuesday? So with that, we don’t truly know our schedule. ...

The schedule is a headache to begin with, but it was a real challenge to piece together the schedule we have now, but that thing may get flipped upside down by the NCAA, SEC or both. So it’s an ongoing conversation the head coaches are having.”

“It’s supposed to be our job to develop these guys so we take pride in making sure guys are ready at all times and used in a bunch of different situations.”

TONY VITELLO HEAD BASEBALL COACH

ROMY (FROM THE XX)

4 TYLER RAMSEY

5 SLOW PULP

6 DAWES

7

KURT VILE (ft. JOHN PRINE)

CITY NEWS

November 4,2020 2020 66 The TheDaily DailyBeacon Beacon• •Wednesday, Wednesday, October 7,

The Chef’s Table growing fast with in-house hydroponic garden RACHEL STEWART Contributor

Rachel Stewart / The Daily Beacon When you step into a restaurant, the last thing you may expect to see is a fully functioning hydroponic garden, but that’s exactly what customers find when they step into The Chef’s Table.

First opened in September 2019 as an expansion of All-Ways Catering, The Chef’s Table prides itself on its quality ingredients, transparency and sense of community.

Jacob Fierly is a self-taught chef and the founder of both All-Ways Catering and The Chef’s Table.

Satisfied customer Howard Kirkland remarked on Fierly’s abilities as a chef.

“What strikes me about (Fierly) is that he seems to understand ingredients and how

they work. It’s not just ‘here’s the recipe’ he understands why you put certain things in recipes in certain proportions to make it taste great,” Kirkland said.

Take, for example, the seemingly odd jalapeño waffle. Kirkland said he tried it on a dare and was blown away by how good it was and how the flavors balanced each other out.

As far as menu recommendations, Fierly raved about the quinoa salad, crab cakes and brussel sprouts. Kirkland noted that he’s making a point to try everything on the menu and has never had anything bad to eat there.

To Fierly, his restaurant is more than just a business; it’s like a family.

“We want to hire and employ people in the restaurant realm and make it better than other places. The restaurant realm is a very unsavory world with very long and hard hours. Our goal is just to try to take care of people better,” Fierly said.

“My wife and I also have a huge passion for adoption and mission work. Our biggest long term goal is to start hosting fundraisers for other people: to provide people with a place to gather, to provide the food and then hopefully have people donate towards a cause,” Fierly said.

Fierly’s restaurant and business has only been growing lately, including his new inhouse hydroponic garden. He said he had been playing around with hydroponics at home for a while and decided to implement them in the restaurant about three months ago. The garden provides the restaurant with a source of fresh herbs, including cilantro, parsley, basil,

dill and spearmint.

Hydroponic gardening is an alternative form of gardening that uses no soil. Instead, plants are grown in a solution of water and nutrients. Plants grown this way usually yield more, require less space and conserve resources.

The Chef’s Table’s hydroponic garden is right out in the open, in the front of the dining room.

“When he started the herb garden in the restaurant I was like ‘okay that’s just cool.’ It’s not only that it’s cool because he’s growing his own herbs, but he’s not growing them in some back room somewhere, he’s put them out front so people can see exactly what they’re doing,” Kirkland said. “You can watch them come right into the dining room with scissors and clip off something — you’re getting it about as fresh as it can be.”

Fierly also has ambitions to expand his gardening efforts. He mentioned that there is a courtyard out front that — pending approval from the landlord — he would love to take advantage of for growing tomatoes, lettuce, squash and more, with hopes of one day turn it into a community garden.

“I’ve always loved the idea of farm to table and locally sourced foods. We had the space to put these hydroponic boxes out front so we did,” Fierly said.

Fierly also noted how hard it is to rely on locally grown food.

“There’s not a lot of locally sourced products that we are able to utilize. At one point we were going to use some local beef for our

burgers but we couldn’t get enough to source our burgers,” Fierly said.

Although the restaurant isn’t utilizing any other locally sourced products right now, the goal is ultimately to have an almost completely locally sourced menu.

All in all, the restaurant aims to foster a sense of transparency and community. There is only a glass wall separating the kitchen and the dining room, so customers can truly watch the entire process of their food being made — from the hydroponic garden to the frying pan to their plates.

Kirkland spoke to how all of the components of the restaurant contribute to its enticing atmosphere.

“It gives people an added sense of understanding of the freshness of the food — if he’s taking that much care with just the herbs, how much care is he taking with everything else … and he has this huge glass between the dining room and the kitchen. He’s essentially inviting people to watch them work,” Kirkland said.

Fierly has goals to expand and create more restaurants that are themed around different concepts. While The Chef’s Table only serves breakfast and lunch, he would love to create more niche restaurants so he can specialize in certain types of foods and flavors.

“Our goal is just to always grow. And we want to grow our family, because that’s really what my employees are to me,” Fierly said.

The Chef’s Table is located on 911A Executive Park Dr. Its hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Pokémon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra: Still underwhelming CONNOR HOLT Staff Writer

After almost an entire year since the initial release of Nintendo’s Pokémon Sword and Shield, the game’s DLC expansion pass has been completed with the Crown Tundra going live last week.

The Isle of Armor DLC was a disappointment on its own earlier this year, but how does the entire pass hold up now that both DLCs are playable?

Starting out, the Crown Tundra DLC opens up the southern chunk of the Galar region previously blocked off by a mountain range. All you need to do to get there is go to Wedgehurst train station and present the Crown Pass that will show up in your inventory.

A short train ride masquerading as a loading screen will bring you to the Crown Tundra, and there a grand adventure awaits — sort of.

The gist of the DLCs is simple: a decently sized new area is open for exploration. There

you can find and catch all sorts of Pokémon that weren’t in the base game and take part in a small storyline in that area.

Honestly, the storylines are worthless.

There’s a complete lack of interesting gameplay involved with them. And just as the complaint was a year ago, all the newly added Pokémon should have been obtainable from the get-go.

The $30 upfront cost for both DLCs doesn’t merit what they actually do, and there’s no reason for these additions to have not been in the base game to begin with.

Yet, the Crown Tundra does add some aspects to the game that are beneficial; it just shouldn’t be a paid DLC. The Crown Tundra is definitively the most beautiful environment built into a Pokémon game. The evergreens covering the mountainside, the snow, Pokémon frolicking the in wild and the music all coalesce into a majestic winter wonderland.

Rare Pokémon are abound, including new legendaries.

There’s one major problem though for peo-

ple who care about lore and pre-established content, however.

The Crown Tundra is absolutely lore breaking with all the legendaries that can be captured there, as well as the extinct fossil Pokémon that just freely roam around.

Omanyte’s Pokédex entry for the games do explain why it has become catchable in the wild, but that isn’t the case for all the other fossil Pokémon that just seemingly haven’t gone extinct in the south of Galar.

Moreover, the existence of a Regigigas in the Crown Tundra breaks the pre-established lore that Regigigas was sealed away in the Snowpoint Temple from Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum.

There was only one Regigigas, because it was Regigigas itself that created the legendary golems in its image.

That’s not even to mention the existence of all the legendaries that are just chilling out in the Dynamax Adventure cave.

Of course, the point of the DLC is just to make a bunch of Pokémon obtainable, but that could have been done by allowing for players to

transfer their Pokémon from generation 7 up to generation 8. The mechanic as has been possible since generation 4 introduced the Pal Park which allowed for forward transfer from generation 3, and even existed in the form of the time capsule used between generations 1 and 2.

By all measures, Game Freak has made fans pay $30 dollars for content that should have been in the base game, broken their own lore and have peddled it as a great addition.

Sure, the Crown Tundra is a fantastic environment. It’s honestly enjoyable to just quietly walk through the snowy Frosmoth forest and listen to the music.

That doesn’t change the fact every other Pokémon game had all the same kind of postgame content integrated at release for no extra charge.

2/5 Torches

SPORTS

Wednesday, 4, 2020 TheDaily DailyBeacon Beacon Wednesday,November October 14, 2020 • The

7

Lady Vols volleyball season begins, gets first win against Georgia JESSICA LANDEFELD Staff Writer

After coming off a tough opening weekend against SEC rival Kentucky, the Tennessee (12) volleyball team started things off right in its home opener against Georgia (1-2). With a starting seven consisting of Natalie Hayward, Rocky Perinar, Madison Bryant, Lily Felts, Ava Bell, Danielle Mahaffey and Madison Coulter at libero, Tennessee claimed the win (3-1).

“We’re just really thankful,” Head Coach Eve Rackham-Watt said. “I thought for having a limited capacity crowd, our fans showed up and were tremendous. We could really hear them and it made it feel like a home court advantage, even in this strange time. When I walked out I felt like, ‘Wow, we’re actually here and it’s been a year!’ We’re here, we’re playing, and there are so many people who have helped us get here. So we’re just thankful and excited for the opportunity to play at

home.”

The Lady Vols kicked off set one with an early lead, with the Bulldogs trailing behind 11-8. Bell and Mahaffey combined for a massive block that pushed Tennessee even further ahead to 21-14. Mahaffey wasn’t finished and delivered the kill that gave Tennessee the 25 points they needed to take the first (25-16).

“Compete and be vocal,” Mahaffey said.

“Those are two things constantly in my mind and constantly in the team’s mind. We’re always competing and fighting and communicating with one another, and it really takes us a long way when we do.”

Set two came just as easy for the Lady Vols, gaining another early lead with the help of kills from Felts and Bell. Despite Georgia’s best efforts from a comeback within the set, Tennessee took the second (25-19).

Set three didn’t go as smoothly for the Lady Vols. After Georgia took advantage of some Tennessee mistakes, the Lady Vols found themselves behind for the first time. While they did push hard for a comeback thanks to a

kill and ace from Mahaffey, the Bulldogs took the set (26-24).

“Tomorrow we need to take advantage of those in-between plays where players are hesitating and nobody knows who should play the ball,” Felts said. “We have to take advantage of those because just those two or three points a set that we’re losing on balls dropping between two players can be the difference. We lost by two points in the third set so if we can eliminate those plays I think we can bring it down to three sets tomorrow.”

Tennessee quickly bounced back in set four, taking an early three-point lead and forcing a timeout from Georgia. The Lady Vols continued to push and with the help of aces from Giana Pellizzon and Mahaffey, Tennessee held on to its lead and defeated the Bulldogs (25-15).

“Looking at the group of six to nine players in the rotation that came in and contributed, there was really just a comfort level,” Rackham-Watt said. “There was a calm competitiveness that was fun to watch. I’m just happy

for them because they’re put in a lot of work, especially in the last week and a half to just compete.”

The Lady Vols will play Georgia again tomorrow at home at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.

Tennessee’s Asha Phillips (4) and Madison Coulter (3) look for the ball during the game against Auburn University on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Caitlyn Jordan / The Daily Beacon

Notebook: Review of Tennessee volleyball’s first game of season BARRETT WALKER Staff Writer

The University of Tennessee volleyball team won its first game of the season, against Georgia. The two schools played at Thompson-Boling Arena last Wednesday night, where the Lady Vols defeated the Bulldogs, 3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 24-26, 25-15).

First Win After tonight’s win, Tennessee improves to 1-2 on the season, with a 1-2 SEC record.

The Lady Vols’ first two games of the season were losses at the hands of No. 3 Kentucky. Tennessee won just one set in two games against the Wildcats, while hitting a mere .182 percent in the first game and a poultry .101 percent in the second game.

Tennessee rebounded nicely in Wednesday’s win. As a unit, they hit .267 percent while committing 18 errors. The Lady Vols were in the driver’s seat in the first two sets, besting the Bulldogs in almost every single category.

“I saw a lot,” Head Coach Eve Rackham said. “We knew that it would be a gametime decision with the rotation that we went with. I think that the players that were out there played so well together, and we didn’t make any subs because of that. I thought from the service line that our pressure was really good. Our setting was great. I think that Natalie Hayward had a great night and it was the first time that she had been in a

5-1 for us, and she got to run the offense from the get-go. She really made our hitters comfortable, across the board. Looking out there at that group of nine players in the rotation that came in and contributed, it gave such a comfort level and a calmness that was fun to watch. I was happy for them because I know how much work they put in over the last week and a half.”

Tennessee hit a rough patch in the third set. They hit just .184 in the third frame, their worst of the night, and recorded nine errors. They would mount a comeback late in the set to tie the game at 24 until Georgia broke away and scored the next two points.

The Lady Vols responded by hitting .357 percent on 28 attempts and just two errors.

They also played lockdown defense as Georgia hit just .029 percent and committed nine errors on 34 attempts. Tennessee would walk away with the final frame and their first win after besting Georgia, 25-15.

force some balls to her that weren’t really in rhythm. We were able to get some blocks early on the ones she got, which helped us get her out of rhythm a little bit. She is a good player and I don’t have any doubts tomorrow that she’ll come back and be very good.

I think that they weren’t able to keep her in rhythm as much as they wanted to and that has something to do with our serving.”

Fabulous Felts

Lily Felts reminded everyone that she is still one of Tennessee’s best players.

The junior finished the game with 15 kills on a .316 hitting percentage, seven digs, one assist and committed just three errors for the Lady Vols.

“It is a really good thing to have those

sorts of expectations and high standards coming from your coaches because it forces you to perform,” Felts said. “If that is what they are expecting from you, then you have to deliver it. I think that, as far as my performance goes, I have to give a lot of credit to my setters, to Natalie. She really put the ball up there for me and really set me up on every ball that she could, because she knew that I was gonna deliver for her. There is a big trust component to that, and we both know that I have her back and she has mine.”

Hayward recorded 41 of Tennessee’s 43 assists on the night, while also tacking on 11 digs and five blocks.

Tennessee finished its series matchup against Georgia on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Thompson-Boling Arena.

Stopping Stivrins Georgia standout Amber Stivrins came into Knoxville after making quite the debut for Georgia. Against South Carolina, the sophomore transfer finished with eight kills and 12 digs in game one. In-game two, Stivrins tallied 26 kills and eight digs in Georgia’s win against the Gamecocks.

However, the trip to Rocky Top proved to be a rocky experience for the outside hitter.

Stivrins tallied 11 kills but hit just .116 percent and committed six errors on the night.

“I thought that our serving was good and that took them out of rhythm a little bit,” Rackham-Watt said. “They had to

#21 Danielle Mahaffey returning the ball during the Lady Vols loss to Georgia at Thompson Boling Arena on Oct. 29, 2020. Alexandra Ashmore / Contributor

CITY NEWS

The Daily Beacon Wednesday, November 4, 2020 88 Wednesday, October• 28, 2020 • The Daily Beacon

Yomi ‘Fapas’ Fapasuri for Senate: Independent chooses Tennessee NATASHA MCKAMEY Staff Writer

Courtesy of Fapas for Senate In 2018, Senator Lamar Alexander announced that he would not bid for re-election this year after serving in the Senate for 17 years.

“I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate in 2020. … I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege. I have gotten up everyday thinking that I could help make our state and country a little better, and gone to bed most nights thinking that I have. I will continue to serve with that same spirit during the remain-

ing two years of my term,” Alexander said in a 2018 press release on the 2020 election.

Among Marquita Bradshaw and Bill Hagerty as candidates looking to fill this seat, there are nine others running as independents for Senate in the Nov. 3 general election. One of those independents is Yomi “Fapas” Faparusi.

Faparusi was raised in Nigeria on the University of Ibadan campus. It was in Nigeria that he graduated from medical school. He later attended John Hopkins School of Public Health. where he received his PhD. He also holds a Juris Doctorate, is an immigration attorney, a licensed physician and a small business owner.

Faparusi moved to the United States more than 20 years ago. He originally lived in Maryland but relocated to Tennessee 10 years ago.

He currently lives in Brentwood in Williamson County and is married with three sons.

“I am the ultimate ‘Tennessee Volunteer’ because I chose the great state of Tennessee over a decade ago and intend to spend the rest of my life here. As one of Tennessee’s two Senators, I will serve my fellow Tennesseans by following the U.S. Constitution,” Faparusi said in an interview with the Murfreesboro Voice.

His campaign platform focuses on recovering from the current COVID-19 pandemic, immigration, healthcare, “the racial divide,” the

Second Amendment and more.

Fapasuri’s website critiques the PPP loans received by small businesses during the pandemic. He instead offers an alternative of PPP grants and says the government should not have hidden any public health data to justify keeping the business sector closed.

The independent’s stance on immigration is to move away from using the topic as, “a wedge issue for both parties to leverage every election cycle.” He refers to immigration as a social issue and an economic issue because immigrants cannot work without the proper paperwork and legalities in place.

The answer to what “we do with undocumented immigrants already inside the U.S.” and “how do we stop illegal immigration,” Fapasuri claims legal immigration must be promoted as the foundation along with “securing our borders.”

The candidate wants to see legalization granted to DACA recipients and believes that families should be kept together because creating a route to legalization will create more taxpayers and, in turn, help the United States recover from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With respect to his plan to “heal the racial divide,” Fapasuri condemns riots, destruction

of property and assaulting police officers. His alternative is to have conversations and true dialogue even if it is tough because he believes that is the only way to solve racial injustice.

He calls for the partnering of law enforcement with Black churches and organizations because of the safe haven nature that churches have provided for activists.

Fapasuri goes on to explain that violence only begets violence, and any life lost is one too many.

He uses his identity as an immigrant, as an American, as a Tennessean and so much more to promote why he should be elected to Tennessee’s open Senate seat.

According to his website, he will put Americans, Tennesseans in particular, over politics and represent the people of Tennessee.

“I’m a Tennessean by choice. I chose Tennessee. I chose to come to the United States.

This wasn’t a passive decision. This was an active decision. I fell in love so much with Tennessee that I said, ‘You know what? I’m not going to any other state. This is where I want to be for the rest of my life.’ And the least I can do is to make Tennessee better than how I found Tennessee. So this is my thank you to all the other people who made Tennessee better before I came here,” Fapasuri said.

4 things to do to prepare for spring registration, choose courses BEN WINIGER Staff Writer

It may be hard to think about the future right now. However, it’s something we have to do.

Course registrations have begun, so here are some things to keep in mind while you register.

Talk to your advisor The first thing you should always do is talk to your course advisors. They, more than anyone, know about your general education, college and major/minor requirements. If you don’t take care of these requirements, you simply won’t be able to graduate.

Luckily, your advisors make it a lot easier to work through your requirements and fit them into your schedule. Set up an appointment using your MyUTK account and get planning.

However, do not go in unprepared. Always remember that it’s your education. As such, you make the final call in what you want to do. List your concerns about the upcoming semester and ask you advisor about them.

Talk to career advisors Maybe you’re confused about your educa-

tion right now, and you want to explore more options and try new things. Well, career advisors are the perfect people to speak to.

Going into anything blindly isn’t wise. You will always get farther with an informed outlook. So, if you’re thinking about altering your path, seek out a career advisor and explore your interests together. Talk about what classes are good for exploring.

Even if you’re not entirely convinced to explore, it’s still recommended. College is a good time to branch out and explore what you enjoy doing. You may get to the end of your college career and find that you don’t enjoy your subject as much as you thought. Balanced exploration helps you avoid this.

See if the class is in-person Everyone is still in the age of COVID-19, bringing with it an extra consideration. No one knows how every class will operate in spring 2020. It may be assumed that some courses will be online, some hybrid and some fully inperson, but it is important to do your research to figure this out.

Online class is not for everyone. Some people need that hands-on approach to properly learn course material. However, in-person is also not viable for some students who need to stay home.

Before you commit to any course, double check what kind of course it is, and talk with

Rebecca Winiarski / The Daily Beacon your advisor. If it is not listed on the sign-up portal, email the course professor and ask them about it. You may come up empty handed, but such important information should not be left unknown.

Be mindful of your workload Students can take a maximum of 19 course hours without appeal. With appeal, they can take more. Ambitious students may see an opportunity to learn as much as possible each semester. While understandable, taking large course loads comes with a lot of risk.

Simply put, you will have more stress with a higher workload than you would with a lower one. Nineteen hours does not sound like much

in and of itself, but that time climbs quickly when factoring in study time and assignments, and none of this includes extracurriculars or jobs, which are things you might not have time for if you take too many hours.

At the same time, taking the minimum may allow too much down time. If you’re a student who needs a lot of deadlines to remain on track, the 12-hour minimum may offer too much flexibility. Especially, keep the difference in online/in-person courses in mind here.

This differs from student to student, so it all comes down to the environment you work best in. Do not sign up without thought; really consider about how you think and work, and go from there.

PUZZLES & GAMES

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 • The Daily Beacon

9

the daily beacon

crossword & sudoku

your morning coffee’s best friend.

Daily Egyptian 9/14 Crossword 11

LOS ANGELES TIMES CROSSWORD • Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

STR8TS No. 512

Medium

9

5 6 1 4 5 6 7 8 8 7 9 1 2 3 1 2 2 4 3 9 3 4

6 5

7 4

3

© 2020 Syndicated Puzzles

1

3 4 8

Across

Previous solution - Tough

1 6 1 4 3

6 9 4

2

You can find more help, tips and hints at www.str8ts.com

3 2 4 6 8 7

4 3 9 1 7 6 5 8 1 2

7 6 3 5 2 4 2 8 3 6 7 9 8

1 5 10 14

9 8 8 7 3 4 3 5 4

15

6 5 7 6

How to beat Str8ts – Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

SUDOKU

9 6

Medium

7 1 3 6 2 8 2 6 1 3 7 6 5 9 4 8 6 4 1 9 8

The solutions will be published here in the next issue.

Previous solution - Easy

2

6 8 2 9 4 3 1 7 5

1

7 1 3 8 6 5 9 4 2

5 9 4 7 2 1 8 6 3

1 5 7 4 3 8 6 2 9

4 3 8 6 9 2 5 1 7

2 6 9 1 5 7 4 3 8

9 7 5 3 1 6 2 8 4

8 4 1 2 7 9 3 5 6

3 2 6 5 8 4 7 9 1

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

7

© 2020 Syndicated Puzzles

No. 512

8

PuzzleJunction.com

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Str8ts, Sudoku and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store at www.str8ts.com

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15 16 14 Ballet move They’re rigged 18 19 17 Spanish flower 22 23 20 21 Daughter of James II 24 25 Wedding band, maybe 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Blackhearted 34 35 City on the Rhine 33 Letter before iota 37 38 36 Constellation between Carina 40 41 39 and Pyxis 44 43 Pieces of material 42 South American 45 46 plains Mars, to the 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Greeks 55 56 57 54 Steal Claw 59 60 58 Lame Old and feeble 62 63 61 Before fat or Copyright ©2014 PuzzleJunction.com Atlantic Adam’s madam 9 Dragging one’s 60 Like some 37 An albatross has Sheet of stamps feet rumors the largest one of False 10 Overhaul 61 Water carrier these Ancient greetings 62 Hawthorne and 11 Bread maker 38 Baldness “Wheel of 12 Missile housing Bacon, to their 40 Equipment Fortune” buy 13 “What a shame!” 41 Pop singer Collins buds Colossal 21 Native Canadian 43 Weather map line 63 Yemeni port Ship board 23 Cuts off 44 Abilities Clemency 25 Money award Down 46 Fence feature Summer wear 26 Kind of cross 47 Shoestring Learned one 27 Ludicrous 1 Science rooms 48 Lined up Bypass 2 Sufficient, old28 Sheer curtain 49 Cotton bundle Works hard fabric style 50 Parking place Kind of heel 3 Ballerina Pavlova 29 Sidekick 51 Mrs. Lincoln’s Spirited horse 4 5-pointed star 30 “Star Trek” actor maiden name Trainee 5 One parent Burton 52 Narrative Wheedle 31 Happening 6 Partner of pains 53 Beasts of burden Bubbly drink 7 Fr. saints, briefly 32 Office stations 56 Hagen of Reef ring 34 Tiny amount 8 Holiday abroad Broadway

puzzles Wednesday.

NewNew puzzles every every Monday and Thursday.

THE DAILY BEACON

CITY NEWS

10 The 4,2020 2020 TheDaily DailyBeacon Beacon• •Wednesday, Wednesday,November October 7,

Ghostrunner review: A unique experience marred with rough edges SETH CHAPMAN Staff Writer

Run. Slice. Die. Repeat. This is the core gameplay loop of Ghostrunner, the cyberpunk (no, not the one you’re thinking of) hack-nslash from All in! Games. And trust me on this one, you will be doing the third part a lot.

Ghostrunner is a first-person action-platformer. You are a Ghostrunner: a futuristic ninja with superhuman agility and a wicked katana. After being defeated by a Doctor Octopus look-a-like, you awaken without your memories and the urge to stab some bad guys.

When you get down to it, Ghostrunner’s level design is broken up between two segments. There are extended platforming sections where a voice dumps plot info into your ear and large parkour arenas are littered with mooks to murder.

Combat is a deadly mix of parkour and visceral sword slashing. Both you and everyone else in the game are a glass cannon, meaning anyone can die in one hit. While you are only armed with a katana, most enemies are armed with guns, meaning you’ll need to use your parkour skills to stay ahead of your foes.

Ghostrunner is an unforgiving game and will swiftly punish any misstep on the player’s part.

Ghostrunner is simple in terms of its gameplay. You have a sword you can slash with and some basic parkour maneuvers. Don’t expect

to be performing any fancy combos with your sword either.

Besides a few extra abilities you gain throughout the game, like a powerful air blast you fire from your hands, the only notable ability you have is the dash. The dash provides the player a quick dodge that can be used to either dodge an attack or close the gap on a platform. It’s pretty handy and, when used in mid-air, it will allow the player to slow down time and poise themselves for a strike. This move alone is great for setting up some badass ninja moments.

Knowing that failure can be behind any enemy or any bullet makes combat exhilarating.

Walking into a combat arena is more like entering a puzzle room. As you die over and over, you will find the optimal routes and which enemies to prioritize. When you finally do clear a tough room of enemies, it can be a rewarding experience. Yet, more often than not, repeated deaths lead to frustration.

Ghostrunner takes clear inspiration from similar games of the genre, like Hotline Miami and Katana Zero with its style of one-hit combat. It stumbles in its execution though because, unlike those other games, it lacks the necessary polish that makes those other games fun. Ghostrunner walks the razor’s edge of being challenging and frustrating, and it ultimately fails in that balancing act.

The parkour mechanics are what let Ghostrunner down. Don’t get me wrong; when it works, it looks and feels spectacular. However, the crutch of the parkour gameplay, the wall

running, is an inconsistent mess. There have been countless times where I’ve had to plummet to my death or eat a stray bullet to the head because my character decided to slam his face into a wall instead of running on it.

It seems to be an issue where the game struggles to decide whether your wall running connects or fails, and in a game that demands constant focus and flow, it gets irritating fast.

Not only can getting the wall running to actually work be enraging but dismounting from the wall feels clumsy and awkward. Jumping from a wall should grant you a boost, but this is ultimately a dice roll of whether the game decides to give it to you or not. Sure, 85% of the time, it will give it to you. But that pesky 15% can really grate on you.

The worst offender of this comes in at the last level which becomes a brutal test of your parkour capabilities with a stream of moving walls being your only means of traversal. The cracks in the game really start to show in that last section, and it just left a bad taste on what should have been an adrenaline-pumping sprint to the finish.

This probably all sounds like nitpicking, but consider, in this parkour game, where you spend much of your time sprinting off of walls and depending on reliable jumps to clear gaps and connect to other walls, how irritating it can be when it only works most of the time.

You’re already dying enough (as it is to the enemies). Adding on top of that, the game choosing not to work only raises the frustration even more. The parkour is clumsy in

Ghostrunner and could stand to learn a few lessons from its contemporaries like Titanfall 2 and Mirror’s Edge.

Ghostrunner’s story is incredibly unremarkable. Most of it is long exposition dumps from admittedly decent voice actors. There are a few twists and turns, but considering most of the plot occurs off-screen, it’s hard to find any reason of why you should care about anything happening. It doesn’t help that the major “twist” in the story you can see coming within the first 15 minutes of the game.

Ghostrunner shows so much potential in its gameplay. When the parkour and melee combat line up, it becomes something truly special to behold. However, with its inconsistent parkour and very short runtime (it takes roughly seven hours to complete), there just isn’t much on offer here. Collectibles might lend some replay value, but with its very linear level design, Ghostrunner feels more like a glorified demo than a full-blown game.

Even at a $30 price tag, it’s a difficult game to recommend. Speedrunners may find their favorite game here, but for everyone else, I recommend holding on to those $30 for something more substantial coming soon. Overall, Ghostrunner is an imperfect game that has the gall to demand perfection from the player, and that is its greatest sin.

2.5/5 Torches Game reviewed on Xbox One X.

3 science fiction games to play while you wait for Cyberpunk 2077 SETH CHAPMAN Staff Writer

In some unfortunate news, Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed a third time to Dec. 10. Cyberpunk 2077 was originally supposed to launch a week after the release of the next-gen consoles and was set to be a surefire hit on the new systems.

While this is certainly disappointing to learn, we are happy to recommend to you a list of awesome sci-fi games that are sure to fill the Cyberpunk shaped hole in your heart.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Probably the closest experience you’ll get to Cyberpunk 2077 until it releases, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a futuristic RPG that accommodates a load of different play styles. You play as Adam Jensen, an agent for the secretive Task Force 29 as he uncovers an international conspiracy.

Jensen is an Aug, meaning he is a cybernetic human. Much like Cyberpunk 2077, your cybernetic enhancements play a key part in de-

termining your playstyle, and Jensen has a load of options available to him. Want to avoid alerting guards and sneak into places you probably shouldn’t? Invest into Jensen’s cloaking augments to render him invisible and hacking skills to unlock doors and pathways previously locked off to you.

Maybe you prefer a more direct approach with a straight up fight. Jensen can use the Titan Shield augment which converts his skin into liquid metal, able to absorb even the toughest of attacks. Players can also grab the Icarus Strike augment which will cause Jensen to blink toward enemies while also knocking them back.

With a wealth of play options and an intriguing, branching storyline, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a fantastic RPG that deserves your attention. While its world may not be to the scale of Cyberpunk 2077, it makes up for it with dense and detailed levels as well as huge replay value.

Watch Dogs: Legion The timing of this game could not have been better. Watch Dogs: Legion is an open-world game set in a near-future London. The city has been overtaken by Albion, a paramilitary force, and its up to Deadsec, a hacktivist group, to lead

the resistance and unite the people of London against their oppressors.

In case you might not be familiar with the Watch Dogs series, this open-world series of games focuses on giving players access to hacking tools in order to manipulate the city around them. Whether its hacking into cameras or remotely piloting someone’s car, there are loads of options open to the player.

What sets Watch Dogs: Legion apart from its predecessors is rather than controlling one protagonist, players can now play as anyone in London. Essentially, the player builds up their own team of Deadsec hackers by recruiting anyone they wish off the street.

Each person comes with their own unique set of skills as well as their own quirks. For example, you can recruit even elderly folk who wish to take the fight to Albion. While they might come with extra perks such as effectiveness with guns, they’ll struggle with clambering over cover and fences.

Watch Dogs: Legion has managed to come around at the right time when gamers needed a futuristic open world to get lost in while they wait for Cyberpunk 2077. Be sure to also stay tuned to The Daily Beacon as will have a review for Watch Dogs: Legion sometime soon.

The Outer Worlds Another fun futuristic RPG, The Outer Worlds may not share the same aesthetic as Cyberpunk 2077, but it certainly shares some common themes.

Like Cyberpunk 2077, The Outer Worlds envisions a dystopic future where corporations have taken over our daily lives. In the Halcyon system, the Board and its many corporations have a foothold over humanity’s last-ditch hope of a functioning space colony. From here, it’s up to the player to determine the fate of the colony.

From the makers of Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds provides the player plenty of opportunities from role-playing as their ideal character. Whether you decide to be a smoothtalking gunslinger or a physical brute who has a knack for hacking, the choice is ultimately up to you, and the game reflects those choices.

Players will also inevitably bump heads with the various factions in the Halcyon colony, and who you decide to help or burn can have consequences throughout the game. The Outer Worlds has wonderfully colorful and weird worlds to explore and will tide any players over until December.

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Wednesday, October 14, Daily Beacon Wednesday, November 4,2020 2020• •The The Daily Beacon

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Tennessee volleyball loses to Georgia in second game of series JESSICA LANDEFELD Staff Writer

Night two against the Georgia Bulldogs (2-2) did not go as planned for the Lady Vols (1-3). With a starting seven of Natalie Hayward, Rocky Perinar, Madison Bryant, Lily Felts, Ava Bell, Danielle Mahaffey and Madison Coulter, Tennessee managed to claim the first set but couldn’t hold on to the momentum long enough to beat Georgia in five.

“That’s one of the hard things about these back-to-back nights, we’re just not used to them,” Head Coach Eve Rackham-Watt said.

“I think getting a win last night and coming in today, our sense of urgency and fast start that we got off to yesterday didn’t carry over.

That’s something for this team to learn from.

Everybody we play, we’re going to play backto-back.”

It was a tough battle in set one. With a tied (13-13) score, Georgia refused to let up on Tennessee. The Bulldogs forced a timeout after grabbing two in a row to end the backand-forth scoring but the Lady Vols bounced back after Jasmine Brooks delivered a block and a kill to end the set, 25-23.

Set two was more of the same, with both

teams exchanging every other point. Bell gave the Lady Vols a short lead with a kill that rocked Thompson Boling. It didn’t take long for Georgia to rebound and take back the lead.

Despite a strong comeback effort from Tennessee, the Bulldogs took the second, 25-23.

With Georgia on a hot streak, the Lady Vols began to lose momentum in the third and never managed to get a solid lead. Some points on error and a few kills from Brooks and Felts couldn’t stop the Bulldogs from finishing off the set, 25-18.

Tennessee came out swinging in set four after dropping two and three. It didn’t take long for kills from Bell to put the Lady Vols on top early. Bell and Felts’ kills and Giana Pellizzon’s ace pushed Tennessee to an even further lead, ultimately securing their set four victory (25-15).

“We changed up the rotation so we got a different matchup that worked a little bit better and we were able to capitalize on that,” Rackham-Watt said. “We started with Jasmine Brooks front row, who is normally in the back row, so we just got a different matchup and jumped on them early. It worked so we went with that same matchup in the fifth and had our chances.”

The final set came down to the wire.

#3 Madison Coulter and #12 Madison Bryant dive for the ball during their loss to Georgia at Thompson Boling Arena on Oct. 29, 2020.

Alexandra Ashmore / Contributor Tied at seven, the Lady Vols grabbed three in a row before service errors brought Georgia back to tie it at 10. After exchanging points back and forth the Bulldogs came back and took the last match, 15-13.

“They (Georgia) serve aggressively, all six of them,” Rackham-Watt said. “Everyone who serves for them is a good server and they

don’t really have a weak rotation back there, so they just continually put pressure on you, and we just didn’t handle it as well tonight.”

Tennessee will play Friday, Nov. 6 at Thompson-Boling Arena against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Notebook: Lady Vols fall in 5 to Georgia, play South Carolina next BARRETT WALKER Staff Writer The University of Tennessee volleyball team was defeated by Georgia at ThompsonBoling Arena on Thursday night. The Bulldogs (2-2, 2-2 SEC) defeated the Lady Vols (1-3, 1-3 SEC) in five sets (23-25, 25-23, 2518, 15-25, 15-13).

Two out swinging Tennessee went into the third set tied at one all. It very quickly tilted toward Georgia’s favor. The Bulldogs hit .270 in the third frame, their best mark of the night, and committed just five errors. While on the other side of the net, Tennessee managed to hit just .125, while making six errors on just 10 kills.

Georgia would go on to take the set, 25-18.

The roles changed in set number four.

Tennessee got out to a big lead early and didn’t look back. The Lady Vols played their best volleyball of the night in set four. As a team, they hit .303 with 13 kills and had four blocks, with just three errors. Georgia wasn’t able to find any kind of rhythm in their 25-15, fourth set loss. The Bulldogs hit .000 thanks to eight errors and just eight kills.

The final set was a battle between the two programs. Georgia got out to a 7-3 lead,

quickly, before Tennessee marched back to take a 10-7 lead. Georgia would call a timeout and go on a 7-1 run, after the break, to bring them one point away from victory. The Lady Vols would score two more points to make the score 14-13, Georgia before a Giana Pellizzon error would give the Bulldogs the match point.

“I just told them in the locker room that losing teaches us a lot,” Head Coach Eve Rackham-Watt said. “I don’t take any moral victories that we played hard, that’s a given that we show up for an SEC opponent. I expect a battle and I expect we are going to play hard. We have been talking a lot about two point sets, and obviously, we had three of them tonight, and it shows our ability to close out and play clean when it counts. For us, yeah we fought. I was especially proud of the kids that came in. Emily Merrick, (Nicoletta) Capizzi, those kids haven’t played for us much and that was kind of their first bit of action. I was happy for them that they came in and contributed, that was definitely a bright spot.”

Freshman standout Jasmine Brooks has bounced back nicely for the Lady Vols since her first two games against Kentucky.

The freshman outside hitter totaled just

nine kills in her two games against the Wildcats, while also committing nine errors. Her Rocky Top debut was a much different story.

Brooks swatted 12 kills in game one against Georgia. She also tallied three digs and three blocks.

In game two, the Toney, Alabama, native notched 17 kills which were second-most on the team, behind Lily Felts’ 19 kills. Brooks also finished the game with one assist, four digs, and two blocks.

In the Dawg house Since taking the head coaching job at Tennessee, Rackham-Watt has faced Georgia five times and has won just two matches.

“It was kind of a reversal from last night,” Rackham-Watt said. “Last night, we won the serve and pass battle, and I think tonight, they won the serve and pass battle. We had a hard time keeping ourselves in the system which put a lot of pressure on the attackers because they weren’t seeing as many good opportunities. Georgia serves really well, and we didn’t handle that pressure well. I think that we had to shuffle the lineup a little bit and they forced us into some things that were very good for us.”

Last season, the two schools faced off twice with the final score reading 3-1, in Georgia’s favor both times. In the first game,

Tennessee struggled to get much going on offense, despite Sedona Hansen’s 25 assists and 11 digs.

In game two, Tennessee played much better, as they hit .284 while committing just 17 errors. Former Lady Vol Tessa Grubbs finished the match with 25 kills, Hansen tallied 47 assists and Felts recorded 13 kills and 11 digs.

Before last night’s 3-1 win, Rackham’s Lady Vols defeated Georgia back in the 2018 season. In that game, Tennessee would drop the first two sets of the match before marching back to take the 3-2 victory. Grubbs finished with a then-career-high 27 kills.

Up next, Tennessee will welcome South Carolina to Thompson-Boling Arena on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.

#21 Danielle Mahaffey returning the ball during the Lady Vols loss to Georgia at Thompson Boling Arena on Oct. 29, 2020.

Alexandra Ashmore / The Daily Beacon

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The Daily Beacon • Wednesday, 4, 2020 2020 Wednesday,November October 14,

Vescovi more confident in game approaching sophomore season RYAN SCHUMPERT Sports Editor

It’s hard to believe that it was 2020 when Santiago Vescovi made his Tennessee debut, but it was. Jan. 4, 2020, Vescovi started in his first college basketball game, just a week after landing in Knoxville.

Vescovi scored a team high 18-points in the loss to LSU, raining in six triples. The Uruguayan native also turned it over nine times.

The left-hander eventually evened out, averaging 10.7 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 3.5 turnovers per game.

COVID-19 took away Vescovi’s chance at a normal offseason, as the guard returned home to Montevideo, Uruguay, in March and didn’t return until August. However, in some ways being back home during the global pandemic was a blessing for Vescovi.

“In Uruguay it was way easier because COVID was like a smaller thing,” Vescovi said.

“We had really few cases. By the time I was there we had like 60 active cases in the country. That made us be available to play fiveon-five, have practice and do whatever we wanted in groups. … I was basically working

out by myself and with a strength and conditioning coach I knew. That and playing fiveon-five with guys that I knew.”

Even after some returned to campus in June, players were only able to work out individually in Pratt Pavilion all summer.

Vescovi’s time spent with a strength and conditioning coach led to him slimming his body down a bit. Vescovi believes the physical change is already paying dividends with his improved quickness.

“I’ve already experienced a really big change in my whole game and body,” Vescovi said. “I’ve been feeling it during practice. I feel myself way more quickly. I feel more lean also, I got leaner during the summer working out at home. I feel like that’s really going to help me in terms of, first of all my defensive standing point, because I’ll be able to guard quicker guards.”

Vescovi said his training regimen back home included playing five-on-five three to four days a week, working out with his strength coach and working on his game every day on his own.

Vescovi said points of emphasis included improving his man defense and his shooting. The sophomore said he feels much better about his shot now than he did last season.

“I think my game has improved a lot,” Vescovi said. “I feel better physical wise, and I’m starting to learn more about the pace of the game, and as Coach Barnes asks us, I’m trying to play faster, and every time I get the ball I’m trying to run the court, and I feel like I’m doing a really good job doing that, but I think I still have a lot of room to improve, and that’s what I’m working on every day.”

Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi (25) with an open layup against Auburn at Thompson Boling Arena on Saturday, March 7 Sydney Goodsell / The Daily Beacon Rick Barnes is known for being tough on his point guards, and with the Vols’ head

coach saying he feels like four to five guys could play point guard, he could be quick to pull the trigger on a point guard not doing what he wants.

Vescovi will have to earn Barnes’ trust to have a firm role playing significant minutes at point guards. Vescovi believes that it’s not only his skills that have improved this offseason but also his understanding of Tennessee’s offense and what Barnes wants out of him.

“I feel way more comfortable right now,” Vescovi said. “We’re starting to know every time more of what Coach Barnes wants from us. I think that’s good for the team because we’re all on the same page. I feel really good about the offense we’re running right now, and also just running more every time and getting the pace faster. I think it’s really going to help us,” Vescovi said.

College basketball’s official start day is less than a month away, but Tennessee’s schedule is still yet to be set after ESPN’s plan to have non conference games in an Orlando bubble fell through this week.

Whenever Tennessee officially hits the hardwood, its guard situation will be fascinating to watch and Vescovi certainly factors in there.

Best of Vol Calls: UT using open week to improve after losing streak BRYSON WRIGHT Contributor

After a brutal loss against Alabama on Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers are heading into a much needed open week.

Practice this week has been similar to spring practice with the Vols focusing on improving themselves rather than scouting another team. Each position group has its own weaknesses that the coaching staff will look to correct.

“There’s a lot of things we can improve on: offense, defense and special teams,” head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “We’ve challenged each position group to find three things they do well and three things they need to fix this week, and that’s all that we are focusing on.”

The Vols must improve their turnover differential if they want to finish the season strong. The coaching staff is focusing on this more than anything as the Vols prepare to take on Arkansas in a week and a half.

“The second half against Georgia we turned the ball over three times and then when we played Kentucky we turned the ball over four times,” Pruitt said. “Our number one priority is taking care of the ball offensively and creating more turnovers defensively.”

Open dates often give the coaching staff to ensure players are still able to get reps.

Because of how few reps players had in the offseason due to COVID-19 protocols, this open week is even more important than in years past. According to all accounts, Tennessee has seized the opportunity and had a good, physical week of practice.

“We’ve had a physical couple of days, and we will continue to do that; we missed so much early on that we have to go back and practice like it is Fall camp,” Pruitt said. “We have worked very little, if any, on Arkansas, we’re still working on Tennessee. We have to fix ourselves before we start worrying about somebody else.”

The open date will be huge for all of the players, but specifically the younger guys who are still fighting to earn playing time in the last five games. This week will be a great time for young players to make an impression on the practice field as coaches continue to search for players that could help the team on Saturdays.

“First of all, we have to make sure the younger guys know what to do, it doesn’t do any of us any good if we put a guy out there that doesn’t line up the proper way or doesn’t have confidence in what he is doing.” Pruitt said. “For a lot of these young players on our team, this week is very critical for them moving forward this season.”

The Vols open week comes at a great

Tennessee wide receiver Josh Palmer (5) runs the ball after a successful catch during a game between Alabama and Tennessee at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.

Caitie McMekin/Pool via News Sentinel time, as the Vols are currently in the midst of a three game losing streak. The Vols are 2-3 and have just five games left to play.

Last year, the Vols were in a similar position, before rattling off six wins to end the season. This year’s Vols are looking to do something similar, however, they still have

steep competition near the end of the season as facing #8 Texas A&M and #10 Florida along with perennial SEC west powerhouse Auburn.

After the open week, the Vols will travel to Razorback stadium and face Arkansas on Saturday, Nov. 7.