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3 NEWS 6 FEATURES 8 COVER 10 SPORTS 11 A&E 16 OPINIONS Emily West >> Editor-in-chief

Amanda Gambill >> Managing editor

Stacy Busch >> Online Editor

Chris Bishop >> Online Director

Mamie Nash >> News Editor

Sinclaire Sparkman >> Assistant News Editor Daniel Jansouzian >> Assistant News Editor Bailey Robbins >> Features Editor

Maranda Faris >> Assistant Features Editor

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Claire Osburn >> A&E Editor

Noel Heath >> Assistant A&E Editor

Lauren Mandrell >> Assistant A&E Editor Sam Brown >> Sports Editor

Connor Grott >> Assistant Sports Editor Quint Qualls >> Opinions Editor Christine Craft >> Designer

Matt Masters >> Online Photo Editor Kyle Bates >> Print Photo Editor Leon Alligood >> Adviser

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NEWS

E-cigs still banned on campus despite vapor The university’s tobacco free policy becomes hazzy at the mention of electronic cigarettes. Despite the fact that there is no tobacco, the Food and Drug Administration still classifies them under tobacco substances, which allows the university to ban them. With the device’s growing popularity, adminstration is unsure about how and if they can change the policy. “That’s a good question,” said Sidney McPhee, university president. “We did not at the time of developing that policy take into consideration electronic cigarettes. I [plan] to bring it back to the university committee to get more clarification.” The campus officially became “smoke-free” last year. All forms of tobacco products were officially banned on school property.

Some students feel that the school is wrongly banning electronic cigarettes. “I haven’t inhaled a puff of a cigarette in two years with the help of electronic cigarettes. I’ve used them in class, on airplanes, and just about everywhere I go,” said Alex Connolly, a sophomore liberal arts major. Students can find electronic cigarettes where tobacco products are regularly sold. They are battery powered and contain nicotine vapor, which makes them “smokeless.” Some students prefer electronic cigarettes to traditional because of the significant difference in cost. A one to two-day disposable electronic cigarette costs between $8 and $15, while regular cigarettes can cost up to $6 a pack.

Basic reusable e-cig starter packages, such as the blu e-cig, can range between $20 and $80. More advanced e-cigs, such as vapors, which use refillable coils and flavored eliquid to produce water vapor, can range between $50 and $200.

had an actual cigarette since midJanuary because of e-cigarettes. Some students still prefer using traditional cigarettes, but agree that the ban on e-cigs should be removed.

“They burn your throat more than regular cigarettes, but they’re safer, If students smoke a pack of Marlboro so MTSU shouldn’t ban them,” said Red cigarettes a day in Tennessee, Rebecca Flannery, a freshman mass they can spend up to $2,400 a year communication major. on cigarettes. In one year, a pack-aday smoker would spend an average Although electronic cigarettes are of $490 on vapor supplies, saving advertised as a safer option than approximately $1,900 a year on traditional cigarettes, the FDA says cigarettes after the initial purchase of there is no way of being certain. the e-cig. According to the FDA, electronic cigarettes “have not been fully “A good bit of students come to studied,” and there is no way of our store. As more people catch on, knowing whether they are completely more and more people come in,” “safer” than regular forms of tobacco said Earren Tate, a manager at the products. Murfreesboro branch of the e-cig Cole Hodge >>Contributing Writer store Saffire Vapor. Mamie Nash and Chris J. Davis contributed to this report. Tate said that he personally has not

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NEWS

Sex

registered sex offenders who are restricted as part of their probation don’t observe Halloween, said Rutherford County Sheriff’s Detective Patty Hillis, who monitors the sex offender registry.

offenders

“We want to make sure we keep children safe from sexual predators in their neighborhoods while the children trick or treat,” said Robert Arnold, Rutherford County Sheriff.

to be monitored on Halloween Convicted sex offenders on probation will be checked by teams of Rutherford County Sheriff’s deputies and state probation officers Oct. 31 to ensure they are not participating in Halloween activities. The teams will sweep from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. throughout the county to ensure

Probation officers from the Board of Probation and Parole will check on sex offenders in their homes during the sweep, according to Hillis. Detective Andrea Knox will monitor sex offenders, and deputies from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Warrants Division will accompany her. Arnold said the deputies will work overtime to provide extra security for children.

Sex offenders must observe a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Oct. 24 through Nov. 4, according to a press release sent by Lisa Marchesoni, public information officer.

According to Hillis, any sex offender on probation who does any of the prohibited acts faces a violation of probation charge and may have to serve his or her sentence.

“These are people who are on probation for their sex crime,” Hillis said. “We encourage neighbors who are aware of a sex offender who lives in their neighborhood or see children go to the offender’s door for candy to notify the Sheriff’s Office immediately at 8987770.”

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is preparing to launch a new website that pinpoints where sex offenders live in the county. Citizens may sign up for email notifications when a sex offender moves in their neighborhood.

To check for sex offenders in their neighborhoods, citizens can reference watchdog. com or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s website at <tbi.state. tn.us/sex_ofender_reg/ sex_ofender_reg.shtml>

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Mamie Nash >>News Editor

Under Tennessee Department of Correction requirements by the Board of Probation and Parole, sex offenders on probation are not allowed to participate in Halloween events with or without their children. They are prohibited from:

• Placing any Halloween decorations inside or outside their home. • Answering the door of any residence for trick-or-treaters Halloween night. Porch lights must be off and front doors closed. • Giving any Halloween treats to children from home or visiting anyone’s home where treats are handed out. • Wearing costumes. • Accompanying children to trick-or-treat. • Hosting a Halloween party at their home. • Attending corn mazes, haunted houses, hayrides or other seasonal activities. • Gathering with any children.

NEWS

SGA changes up committees mid-semester Senators in the university’s Student Government Association have been given the freedom to choose their committee homes this semester. Executive vice president Haley Cobb, who was sworn in at the beginning of the semester, made the change. “When I came into office, it soon became apparent that the committees were not functioning efficiently because people were placed in committees that did not suit their interests,” Cobb said. According to Brandi Martin, college of education senator, members chose which committee they would like to work in. They were previously assigned committees, regardless of personal interests. “Committees are a good way for people from other areas to share ideas for bills,” Martin said. Senators ranked the committees they wanted to be in from least to most favorable, which gave them the chance to be a part of a group that they had knowledge of or interest in. However with their newfound freedom, some senators aren’t using it to their advantage. According to Devin Lee Hawthorne, liberal arts senator, this resulted in friends joining the same committee, which has created an atmosphere that makes it harder to get work done. While the point of each committee is to discuss topics pertaining to their area of affairs and create bills to better that area, anybody on the senate can present a piece of legislation pertaining

to any committee. The new committee chairs were voted in Oct. 24. Landy Tate, sophomore mass communication major, is chair of external affairs committee. Thomas Stovall, sophomore behavioral and health sciences major, is vice chair. Caleb Gray, sophomore liberal arts major, and Chris Hardman, master’s candidate in behavioral and health sciences, are co-chairs of student life committee. Madison Walley, sophomore business major, is committee chair of academic affairs. Kadesha Estes, sophomore behavioral and health sciences major, is public relations committee chair. Internal affairs did not have enough people present to vote on a committee chair.

However, some senators have two or three freshman they are mentoring. Because they are not required to be mentors, those who are stepping up feel as though they have grabbed the short straw, Martin said.

transparent to the student body through social media. If passed, it will require the vice president of marketing, Daniel Webb, to post the minutes of meetings and bills passed on social media sites and the SGA website.

These types of issues are never heard because some senators call the question too early in order to move on with the meeting, Martin said.

A resolution has also been presented that would encourage the university to provide students who make the Dean’s List an electronic certificate, signed by Sidney McPhee, university president, to encourage student success.

After the meeting was adjourned, the newly formed committees gathered around the room and exchanged ideas such as changing library times to 24 hours during finals and “‘Blue Box,’ a Redbox for students.” The SGA has recently brought up a bill that would make the senate more

Noah Gass>>Contributing writer Daniel Jansouzian, assistant news editor, contributed to this report.

SGA also passed a bill to require freshman council members to pair with mentors from senate during the Oct. 24. session. “The bill serves as a guiding program for freshman in order to have a successful collegiate career,” Cobb said. The bill was under review for less than 10 minutes before it was called to question and a majority voted to move on. Martin said she and other senators voted to debate the bill, but the question was called so quickly they could not voice an opinion. She and Hawthorne believe a clause should be added to the bill to require senators to be mentors, or at least add an incentive so more members would be willing to mentor a freshman. Fifty-seven members are on the senate, and 31 are on freshman council.

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FEATURES

professor brings history to life Time passes slowly as a professor’s lecture on world history causes students to check phones and stare at the gum on the ceiling. For some, it’s just a way to cope with another general requirement course. For professor of Survey World Civilizations, Dawn McCormack, class is an opportunity. This semester she will be the first professor at the university to introduce “Reacting to the Past,” a program geared toward teaching students history through games in a hands-on environment For the fall, her class is playing the Threshold of Democ-

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racy: Athens in 403 B.C., where students pretend to become members of the Athenian Assembly who are fighting against one another and creating alliances in the name of democracy. “People like to immerse themselves in alternative realities, and they are competitive,” McCormack said. “They can learn immense[ly], if they are then hooked into content.” Becoming a professor was right for McCormack, whose love for history led her to degrees in anthropology, near eastern civilizations and languages and Ancient Egypt. She followed

FEATURES her childhood dream into archaeological sites in Egypt.

courses are taught so she could completely revamp the class.

“People like to immerse themselves in alternative realities, and they are competitive,”

“It is something I have put a lot of effort into, she said enthusiastically. “I enjoy sharing my research and what I know with my students.”

Abydos, the location of her current project, is possibly one of the earliest Egyptian cities. “I have been investigating a royal tomb from a period when kingship wasn’t very powerful,” McCormack said. Her goal is to uncover more information about pre-dynastic Egypt. McCormack tries to include interested students in her projects as well. “My last excavation was in 2011,” she recalled. “I had a number of MTSU students that participated in that excavation.” She is currently in the process of planning another dig in the Abydos site in May and June 2014. Though the work she does overseas could easily be the highlight of her career, she enjoys the thrill of teaching. McCormack chooses to rank her teaching career at the same level as her archaeological work. Her passion led her to re-evaluate the way her

In January, McCormack attended the Archaeological Institute of America annual meeting in Seattle, Wash., to present her paper “Excavations at South Abydos, Egypt: Unlocking the Secrets of 13th Dynasty Kingship.” There she heard about “Reacting to the Past” program for the first time. Developers of “Reacting to the Past” gave a presentation on the philosophy behind the program and how it affects students. The general idea is that students retain the most when they are put into a handson situation. “Reacting to the Past” accomplishes this by allowing students to assume roles in positions that people of the past faced. Initially McCormack was a bit skeptical, but left eager to learn more about this intriguing, new way of thinking. It was a student in particular who helped to convince her that this was something worth trying. “There was one person who said that she had never liked

history at all, but she had done 11 reacting games,” McCormack recalled. “Not only did she learn a lot, but she said it made her a lot better at her other courses.” In the spring, McCormack will be trying out two of the newer games, the Josianic Reform and the Council of Nicaea, in her Near Eastern Religions course. As long as this year goes well, she plans to continue to incorporate reacting games into her classes and is even considering developing a game of her own for Ancient Egypt in the future.

“The general idea is that students retain the most when they are put into a hands-on situation” “I really like when students start to push themselves as opposed to me telling them exactly what to do and start to take ownership of their learning, which is one of the things that led me to do this program,” she said.

Taylor Crombie //Contributing Writer

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COVER

MT Basketball hopes to continue success in Conference USA Sam Brown // Sports Editor

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COVER After making the NCAA tournament last year and setting records on the way, both Middle Tennessee’s men’s and women’s basketball teams are in a new conference and look to pick up where they left off. Both teams enter a new conference for the first time since 2000 when they joined the Sun Belt Conference after parting ways with the Ohio Valley Conference. Men’s Basketball looks to keep building The MT men’s basketball team looks to rebound from losing six seniors who were a large part of last year’s resilient squad. The team went 28-6 on its way to breaking the school record for wins and earning its first berth in the NCAA tournament since 1989. Although big impact players such as Marcos Knight, Bruce Massey and sharpshooter Raymond Cintron are gone, working with a new team is nothing new to Kermit Davis who is entering his 12th season as the Blue Raider head coach with a record of 208-139 in 11 seasons. “We’re always trying to recreate our identity,” Davis said. “We have high goals, we’ve created high expectations, but that’s what we’re all trying to do. So we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. We know that Conference USA is a really good basketball league, but we think we will be very, very competitive. We’ve got to keep the guys healthy, and I think we’ll be fine.” One player that needs to stay healthy is senior Kerry Hammonds, a catalyst who averaged 6.3 points,

3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists last year. Hammonds said he expects a lot from his team this year and wants to seize the moment when the opportunity presents itself. “We definitely have higher expectations because we feel like we let some things slip through our fingers, like losing the [Sunbelt] Conference tournament ... We know we got to come in with a lot of energy, focus and play hard,” Hammonds said. Other than Hammonds, the men’s team features four other seniors holding leadership status. Seniors Neiko Hunter, Tweety Knight, Shawn Jones and Torin Walker all look to make a big impact on this season’s squad. Knight, Marcos’s younger brother, is another player whose success is essential if the Blue Raiders are going to make another run for the tournament. The Chipola Junior College transfer averaged 4.7 points, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals last year and looks to improve after an impressive campaign where he played in all 34 games. “Tweety Knight has got to do well for us. He’s a huge key to our team,” Davis said. Rowe leads women’s basketball with high expectations Not to be outdone, the women’s team, who also made the NCAA tournament last year before falling to eventual NCAA Champion, Louisville, is returning six seniors. The women look to continue building on last year’s success. The Raiders were recently chosen as the preseason conference favorite in the

Conference USA women’s basketball preseason poll and plans to meet those high expectations. “We want to win Conference USA,” said Rick Insell, women’s head coach. “I really think we’ve got a great shot to win the conference.” Insell has been to seven NCAA tournaments in his eight seasons as head coach and knows winning the conference is no easy feat. It is one that the Lady Raiders feel comfortable in tackling behind the leadership of senior forward Ebony Rowe. Rowe, who has recently earned one of eight spots on the Conference USA preseason team, had a dominant season last year averaging an impressive double-double with 19.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. She racked up multiple awards, including being named to the Honorable Mention AllAmerica team by the Associated Press and the WBCA. She also earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors. Rowe, who is returning from offseason knee surgery, feels good about her knee and feels even better about the team she is a part of this season.

talent, the skill, all the pieces to really make it work.” However, the MT women are young with five freshmen joining the team. Ty Petty, China Dow, Caya Williams, Olivia Jones and Shy Copney all look to make an impact this year. Insell sees a lot he likes from his up-and-comers. “I see enthusiasm and excitement, and that’s the part of coaching that you love when you’ve got these new freshman coming in, and they’re not scared of anything — they want to play, they want to contribute today, they don’t want to contribute next year, they want to contribute today — and you like that as a coach,” Insell said. The tipoff Both the men and women’s teams kick off their season early in November with home games at Murphy Center. The women start their season facing in-state rival Tennessee Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. The men start with a battle against Southern University at 4 p.m. Nov. 10.

Photos by Brett Turner. Photos courtesy of MT Athletic Communications.

“We’re really talented,” Rowe said. “We’re young. We’ve got some young ones on our team, but they want to come in here and work hard. We’ve got good leadership so I think we can really go far this year. We want to win the conference. First year in Conference USA, we definitely want to win the tournament, and we want to get deep in the NCAA tournament. That’s our goal every year, but this year I really feel like we have the

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SPORTS

A stop along the way A quest to attend a home game of every Division 1 school Ritchie Simmons >> Staff Writer 10 SIDELINES | Nov. 6, 2013 | www.mtsusidelines.com

When Patrick Yarber attends a football game, he watches the action through binoculars and listens to the broadcast on a Walkman. Not because he’s sitting in the nosebleeds, but because he has lost roughly 80 percent of his vision. From high up in the stands, he watches what’s going on, but he can’t make out the exact details of the game going on below him. “I still like the atmosphere, and I still like to come, so I do what I can to see what I can see, and hear what I can hear,” Yarber said. He recently sat in Floyd Stadium while the Blue Raiders beat the Marshall University

Thundering Herd in the final seconds when quarter Logan Kilgore connected with wide receiver Tavarres Jefferson to win the game 51-49. He is no stranger to the university’s athletics. He watched the Raiders play when they were still a 1AA team in the Ohio Valley Conference. He even saw MT in away action as he knocked other Div. 1 home games off his list. He saw them play Florida State in 1991, Nebraska in ‘92 and Texas A&M in ‘95. “I like Middle,” Yarber said. “I root for Middle, and I respect their program.” MTSU was among the weekend traveler’s last stops. About

SPORTS five years ago, he made it his mission to attend one home game at each of the current 125 Division 1 football universities. A die-hard Vanderbilt fan, Yarber has been going to college football games for 35 years. The six-foot, six-inch tall man felt a new sense of urgency in the past few years as his vision quickly worsened. He decided that he was going to complete his quest in 2013. Yarber deals with two different eye diseases. He has had retinitis pigmentosa most of his life. The disease is a hereditary condition that affects the retina and degrades peripheral sight that creates an effect known as “gun-barrel� vision. He also has macular degeneration, which produces holes in his central vision. His visual acuity is about 20/300, compared to the average 20/20. What someone with 20/20 vision can see at 300 feet, Yarber can’t see until he’s 20 feet away. With weakened vision, he finds himself focusing on the band playing, the crowd cheering or booing and the smells of popcorn and hotdogs.

“I just enjoy the whole experience,� Yarber said. “It’s kind of my getaway. I’m comfortable in the ballpark or arena. It’s my little escape from reality, I guess you’d say.�

“It’s kind of my getaway. I’m comfortable in the ballpark or arena. It’s my little escape from reality, I guess you’d say.� His journey has led him across the country, and his story has been covered by several publications, including the Buffalo News, The Tennessean and the Boston Globe. Yarber said that he is amazed by the exposure his story has gotten. “I’ve been doing this for 35 years, and for the first 34 years and 10 months, it wasn’t a story to me,� Yarber said. “I was a weekend warrior. That’s what I did. It’s my hobby.�

When he told his friend and former co-worker Frank Ziegler that he aimed to finish his quest, Ziegler then made it his mission to extend Yarber’s story to the masses.

and Fresno kicks a 58-yard field goal on the last play of the game and wins it.�

“As long-suffering Vandy fans, we hit it off immediately,� Ziegler said. “We’ve stayed in touch the last couple of years, since Pat had to retire because of his eyesight. He called me in July and said, ‘I’m going to complete the quest this year.’ I told him I think there’s a story there.� Through the decades, he’s seen many coaching legends, including Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. He’s seen many of the Heisman trophy winners in person, either in a college game or later in the NFL. He’s also witnessed some of the greatest thrillers in college football history, and he still remembers them clearly.

Despite the game and his passion for football, the most pleasant experience for Yarber has been the hospitality he has received. “I’ve got to have help at the airport and at the stadium because my eyes have gotten so out of focus,� Yarber said. “I’ve met so many nice people who have been willing to help someone they don’t even know.� Yarber’s last stop is in Idaho Nov. 9, where University of Idaho will take on Old Dominion. “They’re absolutely rolling out the red carpet in Idaho,� Yarber said. “They’re going to treat me like the king of France while I’m there. Shortly after that, the whole nation is going to be familiar with the story.�

“I was at a game at University of Buffalo this season that went into five overtimes,� Yarber said. “I was at Utah State a few years ago, when they were still bad, and they were playing Fresno state. They played their hearts out. They were ahead 28-27 with just seconds left,

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A&E

Dracula premiere bleeds out NBC’s new show “Dracula” is a poorly attempted revamp of “True Blood” on its best day. The series mimics others of its genre with its sexually explicit elements and targeting viewers who have never read the original novel. The show does involve Dracula’s resurrection from the grave at the hands of Van Helsing—the same Van Helsing who killed Dracula according to Bram Stoker’s novel. Dracula is assumed to be the 19th century equivalent of Tony Stark as an American entrepreneur and man of mystery. Viewers are introduced to this storyline at a party thrown at the mansion of Alan Grayson, Dracula’s alter ego, when he locks eyes with Mina.

She is a beautiful university student and daughter of a prestigious doctor. Grayson then spends all his time stalking her by watching her at plays, class and inviting her boyfriend to his mansion to conduct an interview for the local newspaper. The best way to explain the plot at this point is a spiral of confusion. Dracula’s purpose in immortality is to destroy a group known as “Order of the Dragon.” The Order killed Dracula’s wife, who looks shockingly like Mina. When Dracula is not stalking his yet-unrequited love, he is methodically killing members of Order of the Dragon, and indiscriminately killing random girls he sees on the street. As far as character development, most

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of them are one dimensional. They are painted in black or white with only minor characters landing in the gray area in between. The first episode ends with a 10 minute fight montage that is so reminiscent of “Resident Evil” that I wanted to change the channel. Each death is accompanied by a speech complete with a stereotypical British accent and might has well have been a reverse translation from the Boondock Saints prayer. A young girl, turned by Dracula earlier in the episode, declares from her cage that Dracula is creating his own legion to fight the Order. Overall, the producers decided to stay true to vampire legend—and they

left the glitter at home. If viewers pay close attention, they will see the myths associated with vampires appear periodically throughout the episode. Minor characters reflections do not appear in mirrors, victims heads are cut off so they will not be able to turn and sunlight burns vampire’s skin. I don’t recommend wasting your time with this series or suggest getting attached to this monstrosity. I doubt NBC will even sign the series for season two. I think I’ll stick to watching “True Blood” on HBO. Maranda Faris //Assistant Features Editor

A&E Let’s face it, no one wants to show up at a party this Halloween weekend with the same $50 costume as everyone else. Instead of risking a fashion faux pas, hit up your nearest vintage or craft store to make your own. While in the past doit-yourself projects may have been reserved for the creatively inclined, a small budget and endless inspiration have changed that.

Get creative this Halloween with DIY costumes

You can gather supplies from items lying around the house, vintage or secondhand shops or craft stores. Don’t make a bulky costume that is hard to dance in or that involves a lot of props. Do make a costume with originality and notoriety. Here are Sidelines’ favorites. “Breaking Badâ€? cooks up inspiration With the ending of “Breaking Bad,â€? Walter Whites and Jesse Pinkmans are sure to be out and about. Instead, go as drug kingpin/chicken entrepreneur Gus Fring. Put in the extra effort to be Fring minus half a face. Be sure to carry around blue pop rocks for Heisenberg’s signature product.Â

“Dexter� could be bloody awesome “Dexter� can be brought back to life by pairing a dark long sleeved shirt and cargo pants with a rubber apron and a fake knife. Find yourself in a couple this year? A plastic wrap dress covered in fake blood would make a great addition to our favorite serial killer. “Walking Dead� means killer costumes Become “The Walking Dead’s� resident badass Daryl Dixon with a fake crossbow, a sleeveless vest decked out with angel wings and a pair of combat boots. Choose your poison: slutty pumpkin or witch Be inspired by “How I Met Your Mother’s� “slutty pumpkin,� which, isn’t all that slutty. Add black triangle-shaped eyes, nose and mouth to an orange dress, make a head wreath out of fake green leaves and voila. Or go fabulous witch with “Hocus Pocus� inspired colored velvet, a wooden broom, heavy black eyeliner and dark lipstick.

Couple costumes: double the fun If you’re Halloweening with your significant other this year, go as Adam and Eve with nude fabric and fake leaves. Or choose the indie twosome route as Margot and Richie Tenenbaum. Guys, all you need are BluBlockers, a ‘70’s style headband and a beard. Ladies, just use a faux fur coat and straight bob with bobbypinned bangs. “Moonrise Kingdomâ€? also has cute, couple costume potential as well. Fellas, all you need is a khaki button up and shorts, a yellow scarf, fake glasses and a coonskin hat. Ladies, a mod mini dress, knee socks and binoculars will do. For a simpler costume, a Jack Daniels t-shirt and a Coke t-shirt is a guaranteed party favorite on any pair. However you’re rolling this Halloween, scour the Internet, gather supplies and make this year’s costume the best yet. Claire Osburn //A&E Editor

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A&E

A book of note Novel nudges musician to write composition 14 SIDELINES | Nov. 6, 2013 | www.mtsusidelines.com

A&E Inspired by a novel on his summer reading list, a music education major from Columbia composed a completely original concert music ensemble in just two days.

who was just 17 when he wrote the composition “Perils of the Pearl.” “It was the quickest I’ve ever finished a book, and the quickest I’ve ever written a piece.”

“Perils of the Pearl” has since been premiered by the MTSU Symphony Orchestra and was well received.

Featuring parts for a full orchestra as well as an organ, the piece gains momentum by including a portion of the “Star Spangled Banner,” which was directly inspired from a scene of McClure’s nonfiction work. During the storm, she caught sight of an American flag.

“It’s not every day that a sophomore in college gets their work performed by an orchestra,” Blair Boothe said. “I didn’t feel the sense of accomplishment until the performance.”

Its not every day that a sophomore in college gets their work performed by an orchestra Boothe was inspired by Tori Murden McClure’s bestselling memoir “A Pearl in the Storm,” which chronicles her threemonth solo journey across the Atlantic in a rowboat. Read during the summer before he came to the university as a freshman, the book brought him out of a composing slump and inspired him to write musical notes once again. “As soon as I started reading the book, I thought it would be a good composition,” said Boothe,

Although Boothe had a wealth of experience participating in school marching bands and playing in his free time, he hadn’t had any formal lessons in music theory when he wrote the composition. He wrote the ensemble out on his personal computer completely by ear. Today, he has composed more than seven large-scale works. Boothe doesn’t necessarily follow a certain set of rules when composing. Instead, he seeks to relate into musical notes what he hears in his mind. “There’s still a few things in my head. I don’t know what they are, and I have to experiment with it for a while,” he said. “They responded well [to “Perils of the Pearl”], so I was really happy.” He had the unique opportunity to meet the author who inspired him when Sidney McPhee, university president, organized a luncheon where the two could be introduced. Boothe gave McClure a digital copy of his

composition. He recalled that she was in awe and thanked him for the recognition. In the future, Boothe plans to teach and direct to share his love of concert music with others. “With my degree I want to start out directing high school programs and have my students put on concerts,” he said. Later on, the composer would move on to conduct college-level orchestras.

With my degree I want to start out directing high school programs and have my students put on concerts,” Though he is currently working on the final touches of a brass ensemble about Ancient Rome, he cannot comment on when exactly his next work will be finished. “I had been planning on writing a piece about the end of the world,” Boothe said. Considering his track record of writing compositions at an unbelievably fast rate, students will certainly enjoy his next marvelous work before the

Apocalypse.

Noel S. Heath //A&E Assistant Editor

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OPINIONS

Don ’t panic, it’s only caffeine

A few times a week, someone tells me that I’m going to die from my overzealous caffeine consumption. Granted, I do go through about four Monster Energy drinks a day, occasionally with a few cups of coffee for good measure. After a few months of moving the complaints in the back of my mental filing cabinet, I looked into the claims that energy drinks are actually a death sentence. In my research, I learned energy drinks are not that harmful. Few people actually die from simply having too many energy drinks. According to WebMD, Monster Energy drinks have contributed to a total of 40 illnesses and five deaths, while Rockstar Energy drinks have contributed

to 13 illnesses and two unnamed disabilities. The numbers are relatively small in comparison to the amount of people who consume energy drinks on a daily basis Long-term, excessive consumption of caffeine will typically result in high blood pressure in some individuals. Excessive use can also result in heart palpitations or arrhythmia, irregular heartbeats, if more than the recommended dose is ingested. Typically, 5-hour Energy shots are found to be the source of caffeine-related illnesses. According to LiveScience, a digital scientific news outlet, 30 reports of heart-related problems arose in one year as a result of 5-hour Energy consumption. I can’t say I heed the warning

that Monster “is cancer in a can.” Caffeine consumption actually has very little to no effect on whether I’m going to get cancer. According to the Oncology Nutrition Dietic Practice Group, coffee and caffeine have potentially a negative effect on the growth of cancer cells. Overall, death and cancer resulting from short-term excessive consumption rarely occurs. Too much of any substance puts your health at risk eventually. To stay awake during the semester, I’m willing to take that long-term risk and stand by my energy drink habit.

Maranda Faris // Assistant Features Editor

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