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Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505 | Est. 1924
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Volume 96 | Issue 13 | Free in single copy | February 22, 2013
SGA President, student ejected from game following altercation By MEREDITH PAINTER Beat Reporter Tech students Michael Cox of Sigma Chi and SGA President, Lee Gatts of Phi Delta Theta, were kicked out of an intramural basketball game Jan. 30 for fighting. The intramural basketball game between Sigma Chi and Phi Gatts Delta fraternities got heated and a punch was thrown by Gatts during play. The scoreboard was 38-11 with Sigma Chi. Cox, Sigma Chi forward, brought the ball down the court, releasing the ball to a teammate. “I was dribbling down the sideline and I turned my back up to the top of the key,” Cox said.
“The guy came up and bumped me out of bounds continuously. I guess that’s his form of defense.” Lee Gatts, Phi Delta Theta defensive player said, “Both teams were playing competitively and realized Cox the referees weren’t calling very much for either side. I really didn’t think there was much of a situation.” Spectator Justin Handley said, “Cox threw his hands up after he released the ball motioning for the foul to be called by the ref, but nothing ever got called.” Cox said both referees were inexperienced and had not been making calls the entire game. “Gatts gave me a nudge in the back so I turned around and shoved him back. He pushed me
Student reports BB gun drive-by shooting attempt By APRIL GILBERT Beat Reporter A Tech student was the victim of a drive-by shooting with a BB gun near New Hall South Feb. 5 at 5:30 p.m. According to the police report, the student noticed an older model, fourdoor, small car with four college-aged
again and I stumbled into the Phi Delta sideline,” Cox said. “While I was turned around trying to get out of the Phi Delta circle it was said that he threw a punch at me, but I didn’t see it.” Handley said, “After Cox got out of the Phi Delta sideline, Gatts threw a punch right at him and missed.” “Cox tensed up but didn’t go after him because by that time they were already breaking everything up.” Both Cox and Gatts were ejected from the game and Phi Delta was given a technical foul for the push and thrown punch. Intramural employee Jake Reel officiated the game. “It was a situation that escalated due to competitiveness. The intramural staff and student employees handled the situation incredibly well,” he said. Gatts said that he believed the situation to have been dealt with.
students in it crossing in front of New Hall South. The occupant of the vehicle then stuck a toy pistol with an orange barrel tip out of the window and began firing at the student. The occupant starting laughing and drove off, the report said. Donna White, administrative associate for the Tech police, said the case is considered aggravated assault. “Simple assault is just when you use your hands. If you have to go to
Twitter/@blakeaallison
Word of the incident traveled by social media. Tech student Blake Allison’s tweet was retweeted by four people.
“I believe this may be an example of an ant hill trying to be a mountain but there really wasn’t any kind of situation,” Gatts said. “All players from both teams have been cleared to play all intramural sports.” The fight received social media attention from several members of the student body. Blake Allison, student, tweeted “@TNTechSGA president Gatts throws punches while playing intramural basketball game” after hearing of the “al-
most fight.” Allison said that he was blocked by the SGA’s Twitter account after the tweet was published. “I wasn’t the only one to get blocked,” said Allison. “Half of intramural got blocked by the SGA account for tweeting about the incident.” Sigma Chi ended the game with a 30-point victory and both players are considered in good standing with Tech’s Intramural at this time.
the hospital it becomes aggravated. And because they used a weapon, it’s an aggravated assault,” White said. She also said the victim would have to press charges since the police were not present at the time of the incident. Officers are still looking for the car. According to the report, the car is a small, four-door, older model car with a bike rack on the top and a Tennessee license plate.
$3.5 million renovation makes way for Global Hall By BISKIE HOLMAN Beat Reporter Residence halls M.S. Cooper and Pinkerton are undergoing extensive renovations to upgrade mechanical and plumbing systems in order to house students August 2013. Built in the late 1960s, the halls house 180 people and have never had renovations. “We’re really excited about the changes taking place. Students will get to enjoy the renovated facilities, but they still get to interact with each other in the halls and common areas,” DeLayne Miller, project manager of Facilities and Building Services said. The renovations include but are not limited to include: removing asbestos materials, replacing the Heat Vent Air Conditioning system, renovating the bathrooms, replacing interior doors, as well as updating flooring and furniture in offices, common areas and resident rooms. In addition to these renovations, space in the residence hall will be renovated to accommodate a new learning area, Global Village. “The plan is to rename M.S. Cooper and Pinkerton Global Hall,” said Charles Macke, president of Residential Life. Global Hall will house international students and American students who want to live with international students. “Roughly one-third of the space will be for returning international stu-
Brittany Stovall
Student Jennifer Nordhoff collects her printed papers at the library. Student printing allowance have been increased from $25 to $30 per semester.
ITS increases print allowances By JORDAN KERLEY Beat Reporter
Jake Threet
Chad Zinchini walks past the fenced off M. S. Cooper Hall while it undergoes renovations slated at $3.5 million. dents. The other two-thirds will be for new international students and American students who are interested in being involved with the Global Village and international students,” Macke said. Tennessee Board of Regents approved the renovations in advance to allow the University time to appropriate funding and commission the project.
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Commissioning is done by third party design to ensure that the new building systems meet the owner’s needs, and the safety guidelines for a lower cost. Within the next seven years, the campus’s master plan includes renovating all seven residence halls. Each renovation costs approximately $3.5 million and will take one to two semesters for completion.
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Information Technology Services has increased students printing allowance from $25 to $30 per page due to the amount of money that has been saved since the Pharos printing system has been implemented. This semester, students have an increase in the amount of papers they can print and a decrease in the cost per page to print. “In 2010 ITS was supplying 71 cases of paper and 28 toners per month to the labs around campus,” Annette Littrell, director of academic and client technologies, said. “Now there has been a decrease in use for paper and toner and for the fall semester only 38
cases of paper and 13 toners per month were supplied which means consumption has been cut almost in half.” Last semester students were paying 10 cents per one-sided copy, and 15 cents per double-sided copy but with the new printing allowance, students will pay 8 cents for one sided-copy and 13 cents for doublesided copy. “If students take advantage of double-sided printing, they will see a significant increase in the number of sheets they can print,” Littrell said. “Last semester students could print about 330 pages before exceeding the quota, and this semester students should be able to roughly double the amount of pages they can print.”
See “Allowance,” page 6
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