01 08 14

Snapchat – is it time to give up the ghost?

Science, public policy collide at Baker Center

How Queen Bey changed the game with her visual album – and why you need to see it

NEWS >>pg. 5

NEWS >>pg. 3

Lady Vols legend Candace Parker returns to Rocky Top for jersey retirement ARTS & CULTURE >>pg. 7

SPORTS >>pg. 10

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Issue 1, Volume 125

Student trustee opening to be filled by UT student Hanna Lustig News Editor Of the 26 members of the UT Board of Trustees, one trustee is not like the others.

A senior and former SGA president at UT-Chattanooga, Shalin Shah currently acts as the sole voting student trustee, a two-year elected position allowing one student an equal vote on all board decisions. At the close of Shah’s term in 2014, a student from UT-Knoxville will rise as his

replacement, an opportunity which rotates through the UT system.

The board, which seeks to provide academic and operational direction across UT’s institutions, is the “governing body of the University of Tennessee,” according to their website.

“The board can decide anything from tuition rates to admission requirements, so clearly students are directly affected by board decisions,” said Lindsay Lee, a senior in

mathematics and a member of this year’s SGA election commission, a group working to ensure fairness and efficiency in the upcoming spring elections. “Being a student member is a very unique and valuable opportunity to represent the entire student body in this impactful board.”

Although Shah’s pursuit of a career in student affairs drew him to the position, he began to recognize the necessity of a student perspective on the board.

“Most of the other trustees are 30 to 40 years removed from their college years and represent a very different world,” Shah said. “We can’t expect them to understand the day-to-day concerns and needs of students. They try their hardest but they are from a very different socioeconomic group. It is my job to bridge the gap between them and the students.”

To become a student trustee, the candidate must win both a student election and

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s approval.

“The results of the campaign are meant as a student endorsement for a particular candidate,” Lee said. “But ultimately Governor Haslam has the final say of who gets the position. This means it is possible for someone to win the SGA election but not be chosen by Governor Haslam as the student board representative from UTK.” Although Shah admits that much of the position involves

discretionary work on the student’s home campus alongside SGA, he was required to prepare for and attend an average of seven to eight board meetings and committee meetings each semester. As the student trustee, Shah automatically received membership on the Academic Affairs and Student Success Committee and the Research, Outreach and Economic Development Committee.

See STUDENT TRUSTEE on Page 3 • Photo Courtesy of the Medal of Honor Project

New music company supports Knoxville musicians Hayley Brundige

Assistant Photo Editor

See CLOSEUP on Page 8

Nick Geidner, assistant professor of journalism and electronic media, talks with attendees at the 2013 Medal of Honor Convention in Gettysburg, Pa. Students Jackie Delpilar, back left, and Taylor Hathorn, back right, work the camera to capture the moment.

UT journalism students continue to record untold stories through unique Medal of Honor Project R.J. Vogt Editor-in-Chief Known as America’s highest military distinction, the Medal of Honor is awarded for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. Only 52 recipients are alive today, and many will visit Knoxville in September for the 2014 Medal of Honor Convention.

It’s a big story for Tennessee journalists, and thanks to assistant professor of journalism

and electronic media Nick Geidner, UT will provide inside coverage through the Medal of Honor Project.

The online-based initiative Geidner created and students maintain aims to “create numerous pieces of media related to the Medal of Honor and its recipients,” according to medalofhonorproject.org.

“It’s really an organic project that’s just growing out of what the students want to do,” Geidner said.

Using print, video, photo and online journalism techniques, students plan to produce a documentary on the convention, as well as a documentary on the history of the Medal of Honor in Tennessee.

Taylor Hathorn, a senior in journalism and the managing editor of the project, said the importance of preserving military history through journalism cannot be emphasized enough.

“I want to make sure that

people in my generation know the importance of the medal and what these men – and one woman – did for our country and its legacy,” Hathorn said.

In September, Hathorn traveled to the 2013 Medal of Honor Convention in Gettysburg, Pa., with fellow journalism and electronic media students Jake Thompson, Kyle Knell and Jackie Delpilar. Along with Geidner and the School of Journalism and Electronic Media’s video specialist Mike

Wiseman, the students gathered footage and interviews with recipients, detailing their journey through blogs on the project website and generating social media buzz on the project’s twitter.

“I have gained a stronger understanding of what the medal is and what I can do to help preserve the integrity and honor that it holds,” Hathorn said. “Even if I’m just a tiny part in that – it means a ton.”

See MEDAL OF HONOR on Page 5

Lady Vols hope to shrug off slow SEC start Troy Provost-Heron Sports Editor Even in the dawn of SEC play, it may be a little surprising to see the two preseason favorites to win the conference – Tennessee and Kentucky – having already suffered a loss.

The Lady Vols suffered that loss in their conference opener against the LSU Tigers back on Jan. 2 while the Wildcats lost to the Florida Gators – who currently find themselves tied atop the SEC at 2-0 – on Jan. 5.

Junior center Isabelle Harrison said the Lady Vols learned a lesson from the LSU game, stating the team lost their focus with all the outside distractions surrounding the game.

“That whole day with

Candace’s jersey retirement and all those former Lady Vols coming back, I think we were all a little flustered and we weren’t as focused as we should’ve been,” Harrison said.

The jumbled SEC standings have even taken the Lady Vols by surprise, but junior guard Ariel Massengale said the competition should make this season an exciting one.

“It’s very surprising, but I always say the SEC is probably one of the best conferences when it comes to women’s basketball,” Massengale said. “It’s exciting to see that. It means that it’s going to be a good year, a fun year, and that every time you step on the court you are going to have to be ready to play because you never know what might happen.”

While the Lady Vols bounced

back and beat Georgia 85-70 on Jan. 5, they still had to fend off their SEC foe, as the Bulldogs roared back to the tune of a 21-0 run late in the second half to cut the deficit to six before Tennessee eventually pulled away.

The two close games have the Vols more prepared for what could be a tight SEC race, Massengale said.

“I think this first week has kind of taught us that,” Massengale said about the stout SEC competition. “Starting with our season, we were just focusing on one game at a time, and now that we are in this part of the SEC season, now we see what it’s going to be like from here on out so we just have to get ready and prepare for it.”

See LADY VOLS on Page 10

Donald Page • Tennessee Athletics

Forty people gathered in a living room Dec. 16 for a sold-out “Closeup” house show featuring musical acts Cereus Bright, Andrea Marie of United Pursuit, and Katie Roach. Guests sat on the floor or milled around the dining room, where refreshments were provided.

Closeup, started by local residents Austin Church and Nathan Fray in December 2013, is a company aimed at providing fans with an intimate musical experience and musicians with the funds to continue creating.

The first Closeup house show was advertised on social media sites and required fans to purchase tickets before the address of the venue was disclosed on the day of the show.

Titled “Tell Your Mom She Was Wrong,” the first post on Closeup’s website outlines the project’s mission to make “musician” a feasible career path.

“Somewhere along the way we all hear that you can’t make a living as a musician or a writer or an artist,” Church said. “If you’re a highly creative person and want to pursue that, the idea is that you’re going to have to prepare yourself to be poor, to just scrape by.”

In reality, Church said, there is plenty of money in the live music industry. The problem, Fray said, is the “middle men” who restrict the flow of money to the musicians. Fray experienced this firsthand when his band, United Pursuit, sold 400 tickets at the Bijou at $25 per ticket and walked away without pay.

“The way we’re thinking about the economics of house shows, if you can get 50 people to pay 20 dollars in advance, then the ticket pledges alone would account for $1,000,” Church said. “If you throw in profit from merchandise, it’s not a stretch to think that if the band could play 10 shows a month, they could make $36,000 a year each.

“And that’s a livable income.”

Fray said the role of the World Wide Web is pivotal in the success of this venture.

Tennessee junior guard Ariel Massengale pushes the ball up court in the Lady Vols’ 80-77 loss to the LSU Tigers at ThompsonBoling Arena on Jan. 2. Massengale finished the night with 10 points and 12 assists.

INSIDE THE DAILY BEACON

“In order to combat rape culture, we have to stop the sexual repression, because less sexual repression leads to less sexual violence. ... If we can’t provide a safe a sex positive place for everybody, then how bright are our ‘Big Ideas?’” @UTDailyBeacon www.utdailybeacon.com

OPINIONS >>pg. 4

In Short News Opinions Arts & Culture Sports

Page 2 Page 3, 5 Page 4 Page 6-8 Page 9-10

2 • THE DAILY BEACON

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 Editor-in-Chief R.J. Vogt

IN SHORT

rvogt@utk.edu

Managing Editor Melodi Erdogan merdogan@utk.edu

Jan. 7, 1977 In its 57th issue of the 14th volume, The Daily Beacon reported on UT’s inclement weather policy. The Beacon staff discovered that UT did not have a uniform policy governing university operations during bad weather.

In this particular issue, the lack of policy was particularly relevant, as Knoxville experienced both snow and freezing rain. January 1977 began much like January 2014, with temperatures as low as 10 degrees for the first four days of the year.

Though it is unclear when UT developed a plan for inclement weather, the information can currently be found at safety.utk.edu. Used rarely, the current plan mandates that the Chancellor or his appointed representative close school under severe conditions. The decision is then broadcast through the school website, emails and local radio stations. Weather reports show a trend towards warmer days during the next week, so any excitement leftover from Monday’s snow might as well melt away – school looks to be on.

In other news, the 1977 Beacon staff reported on the problem of bicycle-pedestrian traffic at UT, a story that has recurred over the years. In 2013, the City of Knoxville began working on Cumberland Avenue, aiming to change a “through” location into a “to” location.

This effort is focused on protecting bicycle and pedestrian traffic in the university and Fort Sanders neigh-

Beacon Flashbacks

borhoods.

Interestingly, the 1977 story includes a quote from then-Traffic and Parking Authority Director Alan Lasater. He said buying campus streets, though

not beyond the realm of possibility, would become conceivable within a few years.

This year, UT looks to make good on his words and gain administrative control of

Volunteer Boulevard and other campus streets.

This Beacon Flashback was compiled by Editor-inChief, R.J. Vogt.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 3 News Editor Hanna Lustig

CAMPUS NEWS

hlustig@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor Emilee Lamb elamb1@utk.edu

Nuclear scientist set to discuss future for science, public policy McCord Pagan Copy Editor What do Amazon, Facebook, global warming and the Fukushima Daiichi accident have in common?

All are changing due to big data analytics.

Today at 5 p.m., Dimitri Kusnezov will explore this issue in a lecture titled “Computation and Science Policy” at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.

As Chief Scientist for the National Nuclear Security Administration, Kusnezov will discuss the intersection between science and public policy and what the future will hold for the field.

Big data analytics, the analysis and investigation of information – sometimes on the scale of exabytes, or 1 billion gigabytes – is an emerging field in science, specifically in regard to running complex computer simulations and analyzing large amounts of user information.

Howard Hall, director of UT’s Institute for Nuclear Security and the UT-ORNL governor’s chair professor for nuclear engineering, said he is looking forward to the lecture, as it will offer a perspective on policy that accounts for science.

As an example, Hall pointed out global warming and its effects on the environment as an area in which high performance computing can work with and hopefully advance public policy.

“Anything along the lines of how affected they are, how expensive they are, are they sustainable, things like that,” Hall said.

As technology enables scientists to better analyze and store massive quantities of data, it opens the door for numerous methods of research. With the terabytes and exabytes of information available to analyze, new understandings of the world will perhaps allow policymakers to make more knowledgeable choices, Hall said.

“It really does require the intersection of computational science, which tends to be a very discrete, mathoriented field of study, with a much fuzzier, harder to quantify politics of human behavior,” he said.

Hall notes that big data analytics is already far more relevant to everyday life than many realize. In online advertising, high performance computing and big data analytics are used to predict buying habits and produce targeted ads for consumers.

“You’ve probably noted that if you’re searching for

something on Amazon and you hop on Facebook, (you) suddenly see an ad for it on Facebook. Well, those are some of the examples of what the commercial sector is doing.

“To some extent, no matter who you are, you’re already being judged by that,” he said.

As Chief Scientist for the NNSA, Kusnezov boasts much experience with the practical side of nuclear power but will discuss how to use science, specifically big data, to better inform those who make decisions.

Kevin Nolan, senior in computer science and jazz studies, will be attending Kusnezov’s lecture due to the large ramifications of big data, not only in scientific research, but also as an acknowledgement of its immense implications for public policy.

“A lot of large organizations and government entities are using their big databases they have of customers and citizens and make predictions on that and can identify trends,” Nolan said. “It’s a new field, and it’s a growing field, and a lot of the frontiers haven’t been defined yet. … Up until recently it was unfeasible to do a lot of the things regarding big data that are possible now.”

STUDENT TRUSTEE continued from Page 1 In addition, Shah noted “ancillary responsibilities,” like serving on the UT Diversity Action Council and other various committees.

During the first year of his or her term, the student observes the board as a nonvoting member, garnering insight as to how meetings proceed. In the second year, the student ascends to the role of voting student trustee. Only offered to Knoxville students every five years, the trustee position does not come without its challenges. Shah confessed he often felt “too nervous” to “speak up.”

“Most of the other trustees have been serving for

many years so it can be intimidating,” Shah said. “It takes time to understand the protocols and procedures.”

This, however, did not prevent him from initiating a dialogue with board members about “how adjuncts are treated,” calling it “a hidden problem and a stain on our schools, our reputations and our moral authority as educated citizens.”

“I have learned that all of the trustees and staff members really care for the student trustees and want to help you learn and adjust,” Shah said. “You just have to ask.”

While Shah believes “gravitas,” or “seriousness” is vital to the success of a student trustee, Lee mentioned the importance of the ability to “fairly represent the opinions of a wide

variety of UT student demographics,” “a passion for the university” and “a record of high academic achievement.”

Lee stated that nothing has been formally done to decide the candidates for the student trustee position, but discussions will begin later this month and into February.

For the chosen UT-Knoxville student, Shah advised a constant mindfulness of “the average student.”

“It’s easy to get caught up in the world of administration,” Shah said. “Make sure you walk every decision through the eyes of your quietest, poorest, average student.”

This year’s SGA elections are April 2 and 3.

4 • THE DAILY BEACON

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 Editor-in-Chief R.J. Vogt

OPINIONS

rvogt@utk.edu

Contact us letters@utk.edu

Letter to the

Editor

Why UT needs Sex Week

Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee (SEAT) is gearing up for a full production of Rent, taking place Jan. 30-Feb. 2, and the second annual Sex Week, which will be March 2-7.

Not only is our mission to bring comprehensive and medically accurate sex education to UT, we also strive to make UT a safer and more inclusive place. The scope of this article is aimed to respond to past critics and point out the importance of addressing sexual assault in relation to a sex negative culture, especially on our campus.

Although UT offers a range of sexual assault and sexual health resources, most of these measures are reactions to sexual assault.

Services like health care professionals, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, condoms, and law enforcement do not prevent sexual assault from happening or combat rape culture.

In addition, our own Safety, Environment and Education (S.E.E.) Center provides materials for peer-led educational groups; however, they do not advertise its existence. To assume that students, who do not see the need for sexual assault education, will seek out this PDF file worksheet and distribute it to their peers is naive.

This “readily available” information should instead be a detailed list of what to do, what departments to go to and what hotlines to call in case a sexual assault occurs, as a victim or bystander.

As the harbinger of cultural change, Sex Week aims to promote the expansion of sexual health knowledge and a sex positive attitude, without which we cannot even hope to have constructive conversations about sex, sexuality or relationships and the multiple variables that affect our values.

Without the interdisciplinary approach, we cannot help men recognize their privilege, we cannot give victims the confidence to report in the face of shame, and we cannot help people feel comfortable with their sexuality.

Sexual assault prevention and sex education cannot have a one-size-fits-all approach.

However, the abstinence-only policy Tennesseans grow up with does not encourage conversation about consent, healthy masculinity, pleasure and the sexuality spectrum. Sex Week covers all types of events, because sexual education should focus on protection from STIs and pregnancy as well as protection from bullying, harassment and sexual assault.

The university needs to take a more active role, particularly in preventing sexual assaults from happening in the first place, and Sex Week wants to hold our administration and police department accountable. UT officials do have the responsibility to make campus a safe environment for all.

Sadly, the abstinence-only sex education in Tennessee uses fear factors to attend to an agenda. In Nashville last spring, two women came to speak to Hillsboro High School students. They claimed STIs make you infertile and shared inaccurate facts about contraceptives, but labeled it as medically accurate information. A Metro Nashville School Board member responded by saying the students are smart enough to discern fact from fiction. But fiction continues to be concealed as fact.

Even at the University of Tennessee, “students in an academic setting are responsible for digesting the information they receive” is not enough when 28 UT girls needed rape kits in 2012 and when the National Institute of Justice reported that “only 36 percent of rapes, 34 percent of attempted rapes and 26 percent of sexual assaults were reported.” The University is not “appropriately fulfilling its role in sexual health education” until no rape kits are needed to be distributed to UT students.

UT does need to be held accountable and take responsibility for the sexual assaults happening on its campus.

One way to make this a reality is to incorporate pleasure into the conversation of sex. In fact, the World Health Organization includes pleasure in their definition of good sexual health.

In order to combat rape culture, we have to stop the sexual repression, because less sexual oppression leads to less sexual violence. Sexual education must make it a point that everybody enjoys and expresses their sexuality differently. Assuming students will distinguish between inaccurate and accurate facts or that students will seek out accurate information on their own is unfair.

We cannot allow UT to not take responsibility for what’s happening to its students. UT cannot place the blame on the students for the information they’ve been given throughout development without presenting better resources. If we can’t provide a safe and sex positive place for everybody, then how bright are our “Big Ideas?”

For more information, go to www.sexweekut.org.

Nicky Hackenbrack is a junior in biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology. She serves on the executive board of Sex Week/ Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee and can be reached at nhackenb@utk.edu.

Columns of The Daily Beacon are reflections of the individual columnist, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or its editorial staff.

Letter to the Editor: A non-frat guy’s perspective on Pong Before I came to Knoxville, I knew nothing of Pong. I knew nothing of Pi Kappa Phi and I knew nothing of Greek life.

My previous institutions were not privy to Greek agendas, nor did they acknowledge any form of Greek society. To me it all seemed trivial and, well, rather dumb.

Not until meeting two members of Pong who lived across the hall in my apartment complex did I begin to understand the inner workings of Greek life and begin to understand the meaning of Pong.

I do not wish to reveal the meaning of Pong, but rather, address what Pong came to mean for me.

As a graduate student living 700 miles away from family, friends and everything I knew to be familiar, establishing a friend base in a foreign culture proved to be more difficult than I had originally anticipated.

The brothers of Pong, however, held no qualms about inviting me to parties, socials, gatherings, tailgates or whatever you want to call their usual weekend events. Before long, I became integrated with a group of men that knew no form of judgment and carried themselves with a level of honesty and blatant collective acceptance that has become all too unfamiliar in today’s social world.

Their zest for enjoying every day and their jocular character among one another was refreshing in the ever-drying nature of what having a sense of humor truly means.

Editor-in-Chief: R.J. Vogt Managing Editor: Melodi Erdogan Chief Copy Editor: Gage Arnold News Editor: Hanna Lustig Asst. News Editor: Emilee Lamb Sports Editor: Troy Provost-Heron Asst. Sports Editor: Dargan Southard Arts & Culture Editor: Claire Dodson Asst. Arts & Culture Editor: Cortney Roark Online Editor: Samantha Smoak

I define Pong as the group of men that opened their door to an outsider – a foreigner – and brought him connections, friendship and some great barbecue. Pong isn’t just a fraternity or a brotherhood. Pong is a symbol for a dying breed of men who have been ostracized in a new age of self-indulged boys who believe that mutual respect among men is given, not earned. Pong is a separate entity that cannot be taken away; it is a manner and a characteristic innate to the men who took part.

I have traveled to different areas of the world, I have been to three different institutions of higher education, I have danced with the devil in the pale moonlight, and I have made 60-second brownies in 30 seconds, but I have never been a Pong.

To the men of Pong who allowed me to take part: rest assured that you were a part of something no one can take away. Hence, carry with you the embodiment of Pong, the hilarity, the respect, the open mind, the diligence, the candor, the civility and the knowledge of what it means to be a man.

As you move forward and look to the forthcoming years, know that no matter the circumstance at hand, only you, as brothers, can restore Pong to greatness.

David J. Lomascolo II is a graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies. He can be reached at dlomasco@ utk.edu.

On the Common Core and its discontents The Jeremiad by

Jeremy Brunger The Frankfurt School theorist Walter Benjamin once lamented that art dies when the same model that produced the Ford Model T is applied to art. What of the Common Core, the new rational model of educational measurement schools nationwide, including in Tennessee, are adopting?

It is, as student speaker Ethan Young proclaimed at the Knox County School Board regular meeting in November 2013, the very selfsame model, or as he puts it, “an industrial model of school.”

Public education has long been intimately linked to the economic formations governing social formations. In other words, school systems are tied to whatever economic regime is dominant. For example, the baby boomer generation saw its schools produce students in a similar way to how the generation manufactured the material wealth that built American infrastructure on an incline for decades.

A system like the Common Core isn’t exactly new, but it is more robotic than previous incarnations of public education.

It could only have been produced after the 1990s, when a new form of economic rationalism invaded the bureaucratic systems America depends upon to function — when “the data” became the sole instrumental method of measuring success, as seen in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

and No Child Left Behind in the 2000s.

In this model, faces are worthless, as are personalities; the bottom dollar, or the highest grade, is the only worthwhile datum in the entire enterprise.

Isaac Asimov published “I, Robot” in 1950. His stories did not concern public education, university students in 2014, or the foundational models of infrastructure development America is stuck with today.

However, parallels abound between the thinking of the bureaucrats — however necessary they are, and they are necessary — and the thinking of the robot which seeks to reproduce itself. The dominant epistemology of bureaucracy is cold, dissected data; so, too, is the dominant epistemology of the public school becoming cold, dissected data.

Students are not being trained how to live, think, question or rebel. Instead, they are being taught how to behave, listen, obey and universalize their minds according to a standard plot developed by bureaucrats, many of whom have never taught a class a day in their lives.

As Young said, “The task of teaching is never quantifiable.” Education is being mechanized, its knowledge formalized but devalued, and its students objectified and passed through the ringer darkly. America already has trouble sustainably manufacturing cars. Why apply that same model to human life and the life of the mind?

From the outset under our current pedagogical regime, every student is primed to learn. But it is worthwhile to briefly examine the nature of this learning. From toddlerhood on, students are graded on what amounts to a population scale.

They come to think of themselves as their grades: an A student, a B student, a C student, and so on. Decades ago, Aldous Huxley caricatured such a practice in “Brave New World,” yet the caricature persists in living form. Students are taught to selfobjectify in order to survive in what we adults call the “real world” and thereafter to reproduce the current economic regime in all its facets. This insight is the greatest gift of sociology – social systems reproduce over the heads of their individual participants.

We think of the grading system as a natural reification of knowledge. But it is no such thing. It is merely a heuristic schools use to tattoo their children according to their employability, their status in the hierarchy.

Michel Foucault asked in his “Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison”, “Is it surprising that prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons?”

While education is indeed the supreme tool society uses to ensure its children grow up to be happy adults, the sort of social engineering propagated by the Common Core is not. Rather, it is bureaucracy come alive, impersonality rendered animate, and Frankenstein’s pedagogy. Ought we be weary of it, and weary for it, considering its great importance?

Education is not only the lifeblood of our civilization, but also its thermometer. If our education system is producing robots, we need not infer intensely that we are producing robots.

Jeremy Brunger is a senior in English.

He can be reached at jbrunger@utk.edu.

Get Fuzzy • Darby Conley

Non Sequitur • Wiley

EDITORIAL

The brothers of Pong seemingly bounced off one another when in the same room with the quick-witted jabs they threw and the hilarity that ensued afterward.

Too often I have been stifled by sensitivity, cry-baby attitudes and the new generation of cowards with a sense of entitlement.

Having observed Pong, I realized that none of them believed they were entitled to anything and in fact, believed that the only thing they were entitled to was each others respect – if earned. None of them boasted as obnoxious trust fund babies nor did they claim to be the best and the brightest. They did however respect each other as men, not boys.

While immature interactions did take place as they would in any social setting with males of any age, they earned one another’s respect. They held a sense of pride in their fraternity and followed through their social endeavors with an open door and a welcoming attitude.

Because of Pong, my faith in the new generation has been restored. I saw how there are still some men, a select group, that laugh in the face of harsh criticism, dance in the instance of uncertainty, come together when there is chaos, and sweat when work needs to be done.

The true meaning of Pong is not in its historical origin; no, the true meaning of Pong resides in the occasions of the house in Fraternity Park.

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Classifieds: (865) 974-4931 orderad@utdailybeacon.com Editor-in-Chief: (865) 974-2348 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com Main Newsroom: (865) 974-3226 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Tuesday and Friday during the summer semester. The offices are located at 1340 Circle Park Drive, 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year, $100/semester or $70/summer only.

It is also available online at: www.utdailybeacon.com LETTERS POLICY: The Daily Beacon welcomes all letters to the editor and guest columns from students, faculty and staff. Each submission is considered for pub-

lication by the editor on the basis of space, timeliness and clarity. The Beacon reserves the right to reject any submissions or edit all copy in compliance with available space, editorial policy and style. Contributions must include the author’s name and phone number for verification. Students must include their year in school and major. Letters to the editor and guest columns may be e-mailed to letters@utdailybeacon.com or sent to Editor, 1340 Circle Park Dr., 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314.

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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 5

CAMPUS NEWS Polar air brings singledigit cold to East, South Associated Press ATLANTA — Fountains froze over, a 200-foot Ferris wheel in Atlanta shut down, and Southerners had to dig out winter coats, hats and gloves they almost never have to use.

The brutal polar air that has made the Midwest shiver over the past few days spread to the East and the Deep South on Tuesday, shattering records that in some cases had stood for more than a century.

The mercury plunged into the single digits and teens from Boston and New York to Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville and Little Rock — places where many people don’t know the first thing about extreme cold. “I didn’t think the South got this cold,� said Marty Williams, a homeless man, originally from Chicago, who took shelter at a church in Atlanta, where it hit a record low of 6 degrees. “That was the main reason for me to come down from up North, from the cold, to get away from all that stuff.�

The morning weather map for the eastern half of the U.S. looked like an algebra worksheet: lots of small, negative numbers. In fact, the Midwest and the East were colder than much of Antarctica.

In a phenomenon that forecasters said is actually not all that unusual, all 50 states saw freezing temperatures at some point Tuesday. That included Hawaii, where it was 18 degrees atop Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano.

The big chill started in the Midwest over the weekend, caused by a kink in the “polar vortex,� the strong winds that circulate around the North Pole. By Tuesday, the icy air covered about half the country, and records were shattered like icicles up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

It was 1 degree in Reading, Pa., and 2 in Trenton, N.J.

MEDAL OF HONOR continued from Page 1 For the professors, the meaningful project is also a highly educational one. Amber Roessner, an assistant professor in journalism and electronic media who has had some students contribute to the project, said she thinks experience interviewing sources will be key for students in the workplace. “If they’re sent to go cover the next Hurricane Katrina, they can handle that with a

New York City plummeted to 4 degrees; the old record for the date was 6, set in 1896. “It’s brutal out here,� said Spunkiy Jon, who took a break from her sanitation job in New York to smoke a cigarette in the cab of a garbage truck. “Your fingers freeze off after three minutes, your cheeks feel as if you’re going to get windburn, and you work as quick as you can.�

Farther south, Birmingham, Ala., dipped to a low of 7, four degrees colder than the old mark, set in 1970. Huntsville, Ala., dropped to 5, Nashville, Tenn., got down to 2, and Little Rock, Ark., fell to 9. Charlotte, N.C., reached 6 degrees, breaking the 12-degree record that had stood since 1884.

The deep freeze dragged on in the Midwest as well, with the thermometer reaching minus 12 overnight in the Chicago area and 14 below in suburban St. Louis. More than 500 Amtrak passengers were stranded overnight on three Chicago-bound trains that were stopped by blowing and drifting snow in Illinois.

Food ran low, but the heat stayed on.

The worst should be over in the next day or two, when the polar vortex is expected to straighten itself out. Warmer weather — that is, near or above freezing — is in the forecast for much of the stricken part of the country.

On Tuesday, many schools and day care centers across the eastern half of the U.S. were closed so that youngsters wouldn’t be exposed to the dangerous cold. Officials opened shelters for the homeless and anyone else who needed a warm place.

Emergency workers in Atlanta drove the homeless to shelters or hospitals.

With the bitter cold slowing baggage handling and aircraft refueling, airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights in the U.S., bringing the four-day total to more than 11,000.

In New Orleans, which reported a low of 26 degrees, hardware stores ran out of pipe insulation. A pipe burst in an Atlanta suburb and a main road quickly froze over.

In downtown Atlanta, a Ferris wheel near Centennial Olympic Park that opened over the summer to give riders a bird’s eye view of the city closed because it was too cold.

Farther south in Pensacola, Fla., a Gulf Coast city better known for its white sand beaches than frost, streets normally filled with joggers, bikers and people walking dogs were deserted early Tuesday. A sign on a bank flashed 19 degrees.

Patches of ice sparkled in parking lots where puddles froze overnight.

Monica Anderson and Tommy Howard jumped up and down and blew on their hands while they waited for a bus. Anderson said she couldn’t it recall it ever being so cold. “I’m not used to it. It is best just to stay inside until it gets better,� said Anderson, who had to get out for a doctor’s appointment.

The Lower 48 states, when averaged out, reached a low of 13.8 degrees overnight Monday, according to calculations by Ryan Maue of Weather Bell Analytics. An estimated 190 million people in the U.S. were subjected to the polar vortex’s icy blast.

Farmers worried about their crops.

Diane Cordeau of KaiKai Farm in Indiantown, Fla., about 90 miles north of Miami, had to pick her squash and tomatoes Monday to beat the freeze but said her leafy vegetables, such as kale, will be sweeter and tastier because of the cold. “I’m the queen of lettuce around here, so the colder the better,� said Cordeau, whose farm serves high-end restaurants that request specific produce or organic vegetables.

little bit more finesse than perhaps they would otherwise,�

Roessner said. “At least that’s what I’m hoping for.�

Geidner said he also hopes to create a documentary detailing the stories of the wives of Medal of Honor recipients.

He mentioned the autobiography of Col. Leo K. Thorsness, one which details his Medal of Honor mission in Vietnam and subsequent experience as a prisoner of war but includes only brief mentions of his wife. “For people like Leo Thorsness’ wife, who was sitting at home while he was in

the hands of Hanoi for six and a half years ‌ we don’t know what that experience was like,�

Geidner said.

The convention takes place Sept. 9-13, but the UT students working on the Medal of Honor Project will continue gathering stories throughout the spring semester.

Geidner said the effect of reporting untold news is clear to see. “The coolest thing,�

Geidner said, “is I think sometimes they’ve realized that what they’re doing is stuff that hasn’t been done.�

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News Editor Hanna Lustig hlustig@utk.edu

Assistant News Editor Emilee Lamb elamb1@utk.edu

Campus not shocked by Snapchatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s security breach, privacy concerns Emilee Lamb Assistant News Editor 2014 hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been kind to Snapchat.

Two months ago the popular instant messaging application, which allows users to send pictures and videos lasting just seconds at a time, was featured in a Time magazine story touting the businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opportunities for expansion. Now, the startup is facing a trial by fire following a large security breach which exposed the names and phone numbers of 4.6 million users.

Unidentified hackers claim the intrusion was intended to expose flaws in the security of Snapchatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s system. The hack occurred on Jan. 1, 2014, only days after the company was publicly warned of holes in its protection of user information.

Jinyuan Sun, an assistant professor in the

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, said she was not surprised by the cyber attack. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I do know is that most of the consumeroriented services donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have very good security system in place until big incidents happen, or until they grow big and popular,â&#x20AC;? Sun said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Security is often not what makes a product successful, so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a major concern that small companies are willing to invest in. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect those services to implement very sophisticated security systems.â&#x20AC;?

As a business, Snapchat generates no income.

Founders Evan Spiegel, CEO, and Bobby Murphy, chief technical officer, shocked the business world in November by turning down a $3 billion purchase offer from Facebook.

Snapchat, created by the former Stanford students two years ago, has grown exponentially during its short lifetime. Numbers cited from CNN and Time estimated the number of photos sent

through Snapchatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s services at 400 million per day at the end of 2013.

The exposure of Snapchatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weaknesses has opened discussion of the potential risks of using such applications, which aim to maintain an environment of privacy and secrecy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe the app was intended to give people the freedom to do whatever they want, which is a dangerous concept,â&#x20AC;? said Chelsea Gurene, sophomore in nutrition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In these days, children even 10 to 12 years old have iPads or iPhones where they can send and receive inappropriate snaps. It is dangerous to allow children access to such a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;freeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; app.â&#x20AC;?

Users like Megan Bell, junior in psychology, see privacy management as the responsibility of the communicator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even though Snapchat claims that once the timer is up, your picture is gone forever, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe that,â&#x20AC;? Bell said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dumb enough to send incriminating pictures, y o u should b e ready to face the eventual consequences.â&#x20AC;?

Sun posits that online privacy is an unattainable goal, citing the information freely exposed by millions every day through online activities like searching for nearby businesses, which requires the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe a service can completely ensure user privacy because that will render the service useless,â&#x20AC;? Sun said.

The issue of personal privacy in the digital age, Sun believes, has ventured beyond secure networks and firewall protections. In her opinion, the information available to the world is controlled by what society finds appropriate to share on the World Wide Web. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Internet is evolving, and the concept of privacy is also changing,â&#x20AC;? Sun said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not simply a technical question but more of a social and psychological issue.â&#x20AC;?

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD â&#x20AC;˘ Will Shortz ACROSS 1 Lithium or iridium 6 Math subj. with proofs 10 W.C.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 14 En masse 15 Area jiggled while twerking 16 Touched down 17 Food criticâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assessments of calamari?

19 Brilliant 13-Down 20 Disbursed 21 Part of a Holmes comment to Watson 23 Nintendoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Super ___ 24 Tony-nominated musical based on a 1992 Disney movie 27 Maneuver on a chessboard?

32 Ones coming on board 35 Biblical verb ending 36 River under the Ponte Vecchio 37 Steinway offering

38 ___ Cruces, N.M. 39 Follow-the-leader sorts 40 Identifies, on Facebook 41 One seeing pink elephants 42 Kosygin of Russia 43 Rug rat pursuer?

46 Believers in one god 47 Elvisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s label 50 Stalloneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genre 53 The last 30 seconds of many TV shows 56 Talk show physician 57 Outstanding posture for a catcher?

60 AT&T Stadium feature 61 Antidiscrimination org.

62 Horse with a patchy coat 63 Floored it 64 Long and lean 65 Elvisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trademark look

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE G A S H

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32 Elevs.

33 â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Hurt Lockerâ&#x20AC;? setting 34 Prego competitor 38 Centers of attention 39 The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aâ&#x20AC;? of I.P.A. 41 Baseballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Old Professor

42 Strong point 44 P on campus 45 Battle cry 47 Attend a homecoming, say 48 Jalopy 49 Tycoon on the Titanic 50 Puts in 51 Trim, as a photo 52 â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Complete Works of Shakespeare,â&#x20AC;? e.g.

54 Cobras of Egypt 55 Newspaper ad meas.

58 Mens ___ (criminal intent) 59 Proterozoic

6 • THE DAILY BEACON

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 Arts & Culture Editor Claire Dodson

ARTS & CULTURE

pdodson@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Cortney Roark

croark4@utk.edu

The Beacon’s top films of the Christmas season Claire Dodson Arts & Culture Editor

Cortney Roark Assistant Arts & Culture Editor

The Wolf of Wall Street

Over the break, the Daily Beacon’s Arts & Culture editors spent their time sleeping, watching bad made-forTV movies, and seeing as many films in the theater as financially feasible. These Christmas movies covered the cinematic spectrum; from excessive biopics to understated tall tales, this holiday season brought a slew of engaging and challenging films to audiences – whether they were ready for them or not.

Frozen Cast: Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Idina Menzel

Anchor Man 2: The Legend Continues

Director: Martin Scorsese

Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee

Cast: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner

Genre: Biography, Comedy

Genre: Animation, Comedy

Director: Adam McKay

Rating: R

Rating: PG

Genre: Comedy

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill

Rating: R Claire’s Take: Martin Scorsese’s latest project is disgustingly excessive – and that’s how it is supposed to be. The film portrays the real-life story of Jordan Belfort (played excellently by Leonardo DiCaprio), a Wall Street con man who made millions of dollars ripping people off. The film is also excessive in its length, with a run time of just over three hours. It is at times incredibly hilarious, but after the two-hour mark, Belfort’s greed and Jonah Hill’s voice start to wear on you. You will leave the film with the strong urge for a shower.

Claire’s Take: Disney’s “Frozen” is visually spectacular, and it shines with an incredibly musically gifted cast which includes Broadway actress Idina Menzel. The plot is also refreshing, complete with a character twist and a slightly “Brave”esque ending. “Frozen” is a bit of a divergence for Disney, and they did a better job giving girls more wellrounded princesses that they should actually aspire to be.

Cortney’s Take: “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” brought to the screen exactly what was expected, plus a little more. With such high standards set by the original film, the sequel was just different enough to stand out.The original cast was great, as well as the new faces. The standout of the newbies was Kristen Wiig, the love interest for the stupid yet sweet Brick Tamland. Wiig brought the same randomness as Brick’s portrayer Steve Carrell, yet had enough uniqueness to create a perfect pairing of the two. What this sequel lacks in memorable ridiculous quotes, it gains in substance. Will Ferrell was presented with opportunity to take Ron Burgundy to a level of maturity through the idea of having a real family. Was “Anchorman 2” enough to support a third addition? Maybe not, but it definitely deserves a spot among the best comedies.

Inside Llewyn Davis Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman

American Hustle Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Director: David O. Russell

Genre: Drama

Genre: Crime, Drama

Rating: R

Rating: R

Claire’s Take: The Coen brothers’ subtle portrayal of a folk singer (Oscar Issac) is a softer contrast to the sometimes bloated blockbusters of the holiday season. The music drives this film and is excellently executed by the likes of Marcus Mumford, Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan. Isaac plays the angst of his character with snarky humor, and seeing him navigate the folk scene in the 60s is entertaining, if a bit melancholy.

Cortney’s Take: “American Hustle” is possibly the best film of the holiday season. It touches on human relationships and interactions that the common person does not usually experience, yet it does this in an understandable way. The characters are relatable in their innate sense of morality. The exceptional cast takes risks to bring the individual personality through on screen and performs above the standard set for them.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 7 Arts & Culture Editor Claire Dodson

ARTS & CULTURE

pdodson@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Cortney Roark

croark4@utk.edu

• Photo Courtesy of Beyoncé

Beyoncé wows with surprise visual album Claire Dodson Arts & Culture Editor While most of us were recovering from a grueling finals week, Beyoncé was proving to the world for the thousandth time that she is, in fact, Queen Bey. The 32-year-old icon released her best kept secret – her self-titled visual album – on Dec. 12 and proceeded to sell more than 1 million copies in less than a week.

The album includes 14 tracks and 17 music videos, a body of work that is arguably her best yet.

The video component of the album brings her work to life – through 17 videos she is a captivating performer, capable of drawing eyes to her work in ways more complex and artistic than just showing us her body (though she does that as well).

If this album has a concept, it is to explore a woman’s role (specifically Beyoncé’s role) in a society that is always telling her she is not good enough the way she is. The first track “Pretty Hurts” shows Beyoncé dealing with the phoniness of beauty pageantry, complete with bulimia, excessive makeup and competition between girls based purely on physical appearance.

Despite Beyoncé’s obvious beauty and killer body, it is her supreme confidence in her intelligence, artistic ability and yes, sexuality, that make us so obsessed with her.

The artistic spectrum of these videos span the horror movie that is “Haunted” to the subliminal “Mine,” featuring Drake. All together, they create an image of what Beyoncé’s life is like – entirely different from ours and yet infinitely accessible.

Beyoncé’s self-entitled visual album was released on Dec. 12 and sold more than 1 million copies in less than a week.

The seemingly easy and yet intense complexity of this work separate Beyoncé from other contemporary artists.

In “Rocket,” for example, she explores her body for most of the video in a way that is almost similar to Miley Cyrus’s recently released “Adore You.” Yet where Miley wants to disturb us with her sexuality, Beyoncé wants to entice us, to play with our obsessive admiration for her in a way that is sometimes more disturbing.

Furthermore, she doesn’t let her status as Jay-Z’s wife demean her own status as a woman. In “Flawless” she sings, “I took some time to live my life, but don’t think I’m just his little wife.” This line is symbolic for the album as a whole; there are men in her videos – including Jay-Z, Frank Ocean and Drake – but it is always clear who runs the show.

And yet, “Beyoncé” is easier to stomach than, let’s say, Kanye’s “Yeezus.” Her confidence comes across not as supremely annoying arrogance, but as truth. Beyoncé’s accessibility during videos like

“XO,” where she looks like she’s having the time of her life at an amusement park, set her apart. She may not be normal, but she is human, after all.

The settings of her videos add to this feeling of relatability – “Blue” features an underprivileged tropical city, while other videos take place in mostly black communities with shots of residents in them. Part of the visual experience of this album is that is seems somewhat autobiographical and incredibly real.

“Beyoncé” as a whole brings listeners a great sense of satisfaction – there is a story here.

At times, the music serves more like a soundtrack to a movie than a purely musical endeavor. Lately, it seems most music videos lack that narrative, trading pictures of the story for pictures of the artist.

Beyoncé brings both to the musical table where she reigns supreme, enthroned as one of the most highly favored pop icons in music history. She seems able to do no wrong, and as she sings in “Flawless” – we must bow down.

English professors honored by MLA Victoria Brown Staff Writer Thomas Heffernan, interim director of the UT Humanities Center and Kenneth Curry, professor of English, are being honored in Chicago, Ill., this weekend by the Modern Language Association committee.

Heffernan will receive the ‘Prize for a Scholarly Edition’ for his work entitled “The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity,” which was published by the Oxford University Press in 2012.

“Thomas J. Heffernan’s edition of the third-century ‘Passion of Perpetua and Felicity’ is not only a

model of scholarly method but also a readable, humane work,” the MLA committee announced in a press release. “The commentary seems effortless — yet any working critic or editor will recognize the extraordinary effort that went into it.

“Heffernan’s edition combines delight with instruction and deserves all the praise and honor that it has received.”

Heffernan was inspired to write the book after coming across the story of Perpetua and Felicity, Christian martyrs who were imprisoned during the third century. He was intrigued by the idea of Perpetua leaving behind a diary of her time during imprisonment, as this was

the first autobiographical journal left by a woman in history.

“I read it and got fascinated with it and decided to do the book,” Heffernan said. “I could hardly believe the story could be true and decided to investigate it.

“Normally, it would seem to be fake because there are no other documents during the time period written by a woman, so I got involved, tying to see if it was actually real. To my amazement and satisfaction, I found it to be true.”

John P. Zomchick, a professor of English and vice provost for Faculty Affairs at UT, is a close friend and colleague of Heffernan.

See ENGLISH AWARD on Page 8

8 • THE DAILY BEACON

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 Arts & Culture Editor Claire Dodson

ARTS & CULTURE continued from Page 7 “The MLA Scholarly Edition prize is awarded every two years, which makes this honor even more impressive,” Zomchick said.

“Tom’s patient bibliographical work — the work of many years — has received the top honor in our profession. It recognizes his learning and his painstaking skill in establishing a reliable text, illuminating annotations and informative historical context for generations of scholars to come.”

Heffernan is originally a New York native who later traveled to England, where he studied at Cambridge University. During this time, he took a major interest in historical studies.

After graduating, Heffernan began a career at UT, where he has been a professor ever since.

croark4@utk.edu

His love of history played an important role in his 12-year compilation of facts and information for the book, which competed against hundreds of other titles for the prize.

Heffernan traveled to numerous places, such as Africa and Jerusalem, in order to see and read the original historical documents for his work.

He said while creating the book he’s “learned much more about the status of women in the Roman Empire, particularly the status of upper class women and elite women.”

Heffernan hopes that those who read the book will be inspired by Perpetua’s courage and strength to stick with her faith and beliefs.

“We should try to emulate people who have this kind of courage,” Heffernan said.

“She can be a role model for your own beliefs.”

Hannah Cather • The Daily Beacon

ENGLISH AWARD

pdodson@utk.edu

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Cortney Roark

Cereus Bright performs at a home in north Knoxville on Dec. 16 in the first house show put on by Closeup, a new company that supports local artists.

CLOSEUP continued from Page 1 “We used online ticketing for this first house show and everyone has paid up front,” Fray said. “This ensures that everyone will get paid a lot more fairly than just passing around a hat.” Closeup shows also give fans the unique experience of seeing popular bands in a more intimate setting.

“If you’re just clicking around

on Spotify, you can forget what you were even listening to a minute ago,” Fray said. “But there’s something really memorable about getting in front of just two or three artists in one evening. That connection that you form is going to be stronger than it would be from just being one in a crowd of people or finding music online somewhere.”

Tyler Anthony of Cereus Bright said he appreciates Closeup as an opportunity to connect with fans in a new way.

“What’s neat about Closeup is that it sort of repackages the house show, which is typically the type of venue that new upand-comers play,” Anthony said.

“To have a band who can sell out those big venues play a house show is a completely different experience.”

The first Closeup show was hosted by Emily Nicaud and her husband in their north Knoxville home.

“We’ve wanted to have house shows here since we moved in,

and this is our first one,” Nicaud said. “I think it’s a great way to meet people and invite them into your own life.”

Hoping to expand their project to include bands from Nashville and Atlanta, Fray and Church said they have big plans for the future of Closeup.

“There’s a time and place for bigger venues,” Fray said. “But there’s also a time just to gather in homes and backyards.”

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

THE DAILY BEACON • 9 Sports Editor Troy Provost-Heron

SPORTS

tprovost@utk.edu

Assistant Sports Editor Dargan Southard msoutha1@utk.edu

Hot-shooting Vols peaking as conference play looms Matthew DeMaria • The Daily Beacon

Steven Cook Copy Editor ‘Twas a season of giving and receiving — no phrase could better encapsulate a Tennessee basketball team that has seen its fair share of highs and lows over the holiday break.

Hoping to distance themselves from a season-opening road loss at Xavier and a Bahamas slip-up to UTEP, the Vols immediately got big chances to make some noise during the break.

But they didn’t deliver.

The break opened up with Tennessee heading to face thenNo.12 Wichita State on Dec. 14 for the Vols’ toughest road test of the non-conference season.

A chance to notch the season’s biggest win on national television motivated Cuonzo Martin’s crew early on in the game as they took a one-point lead into the halftime break.

But Tennessee’s defense fell apart in the final period, allowing 45 second-half points.

The offense couldn’t keep up, and Jordan McRae’s 26 points weren’t enough as the Vols dropped their third of the season in a 70-61 loss to the Shockers.

The signature win-thirsty Vols got a chance to right their wrongs four days later when the North Carolina State Wolfpack came to town. Instead of starting with promise, this one got ugly for Tennessee in a heartbeat.

The Vols were beaten silly early on, faced a 17-point halftime deficit, and simply spent all of their energy clawing back into the game. McRae had 21 and Maymon added 17 points and 16 rebounds, but they fell 65-58 for their second straight loss.

McRae shot just 6-for-22 in the loss — a staggering amount of attempts — and he was frustrated in his inability to trust teammates to score in key moments.

Stokes leads Vols past LSU in SEC opener Junior forward logs 25th career double-double on 20th birthday Associated Press

Junior guard Josh Richardson throws down a two-hand slam dunk in the Vols’ 98-51 victory over Tusculum College on Jan. 4. Richardson finished with 10 points in the contest.

“I have to trust my teammates more,” McRae said on Dec. 18. “I trust my teammates, but when we get down, I feel like it’s on me to bring us back and I have to trust guys more.”

Boos raining down from the Thompson-Boling Arena rafters were undeniably performancerelated and not the typical referee complaining. It was Dec. 18, weeks before the SEC schedule, and the Vols already had four losses.

The Vols were in trouble, yet again stuck in another earlyseason rut. The ever-annoying Bruce Pearl songbirds had never been louder. Just as well, the preseason hype never seemed so far away.

Of course, it was then that Martin’s squad got things together and in a big way.

The Tennessee offense began to get its feet under them with a morale-boosting, 82-67 win over Morehead State on Dec. 23. Josh Richardson had his best game of the season with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Finally, Martin said after the win, Richardson listened to his coach’s request to attack more on offense.

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell a guy to

be aggressive,” Martin said on Dec. 23. “When you’re playing 30 minutes a night, I just don’t know what to tell you.”

At least the Vols could go home for Christmas with some sort of momentum.

That momentum didn’t waver amid holiday presents and Christmas carols. The Vols returned back to Knoxville on a mission to turn their season around.

The once-ranked Virginia Cavaliers visited Tennessee on Dec. 30, and Martin was facing the music. Another loss could spell doom for the Vols’ NCAA Tournament chances, even though it wasn’t even January yet.

The Vols couldn’t miss against the Cavs. Whether it was shooting 11-for-17 from deep as a team—including an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 Antonio Barton half-court shot at the halftime buzzer — Tennessee’s offensive issues quickly became an afterthought.

In the end, Tennessee pulled out a 87-52 win that seemed to be wrapped up before halftime.

The 35-point victory was the biggest of Cuonzo Martin’s tenure in Knoxville and simply just the type of game he expected

from his team all along.

“Much needed win against a talented, physical opponent,” Martin said on Dec. 30. “But I think more than anything, it shows our guys the level we’re capable of playing at when we play together and when we play hard.”

Three scorers — McRae (21), Jarnell Stokes (20) and Richardson (20) — finished with at least 20 points.

Richardson notched another season high in points.

“It got to a point where when I shot a three, I was just running back on defense,” Richardson said on Dec. 30. “I felt like if I threw it up there, it was going to go in.”

One more speed bump remained for the Vols to finish out the non-conference slate, and it was a 98-51 win over Tusculum College in which Tennessee continued its recent shooting form. The Vols shot 35-for-61 (57.4 percent) from the field.

Many UT diehards expected the 2013-14 season to go a bit more smoothly in the early stretches, but there’s no doubt the Vols are peaking as they head into conference play.

Jordan McRae scored 19 points and Jarnell Stokes registered his 25th career double-double to lead Tennessee to a 68-50 victory against LSU in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Tuesday.

McRae, who made all three of his 3-point attempts, also handed out five assists. Stokes finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Antonio Barton, who made four 3-pointers, added 14 for the Volunteers (10-4), who have won six consecutive games against the Tigers.

LSU (9-4) had only two players in doublefigure scoring. Jordan Mickey had 14 points, while Johnny O’Bryant III chipped in with 11.

Senior Andre Stringer failed to score a point for the first time in his career.

Tennessee used smothering defense and red-hot 3-point shooting to take a 38-24 halftime lead. LSU made just 34 percent (11-

of-32) of its first half shots. Meanwhile, the Volunteers made seven first-half shots from behind the arc — four

by Barton.

Tennessee took the lead for good at 15-12 on a D’Montre Edwards 3-pointer with 11:58 remaining in the first half. The Vols pulled away in the final seven minutes of the opening half when they outscored the Tigers 18-4.

All of those Tennessee points came from its perimeter players.

Barton made three of his four 3-pointers in that stretch. McRae made two baskets, including a 3-pointer, and Josh Richardson made two field goals. The only LSU points during that time came on field goals

by O’Bryant and Mickey.

The Volunteers protected their doubledigit lead throughout the second half. In the first eight minutes after halftime, LSU cut its deficit to a dozen points on three occasions.

Each time, Tennessee answered with a basket — twice by Stokes.

10 • THE DAILY BEACON

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 Sports Editor Troy Provost-Heron

SPORTS continued from Page 1 Graves banged up The Lady Vols inability to get rolling at the start of SEC play may be due in part to sophomore forward Bashaara Graves’ nagging injuries to her back and right leg.

“I think she’s fine,” Warlick said. “She came down pretty hard on her back and I think she came in and got treatment so I think she is ready to go.”

The injury prevented the 6-foot-2 forward from starting in the Lady Vols’ victory over the Bulldogs and may keep her out of the starting five once again come Thursday’s contest against the Ole Miss Rebels.

“I think it’ll be based on what happens today and the next couple of days, so we will see,” Warlick said.

Harrison gets cozy With Graves being nicked up, Harrison has been asked to shoulder more of a load-down low for UT and she has done just that, scoring 44 points and grabbing 20 rebounds in the Lady Vols’ two SEC contests.

Harrison attributes her success to finally reaching a point in her a career where she has confidence in what she does on the court.

“I’m just glad that I’m able to get to a point in my game where I can be comfortable with it,” junior center Isabelle Harrison said. “Every game I just try to do my best and that’s what Holly talked to us about. I just want to do the best for her and my teammates.”

Even with the recent success, the Nashville, Tenn., native said she remains to be her own biggest critic, which has helped her develop the confidence she has now.

“I’m still pretty hard on myself when it comes to the games,” Harrison said. “I’m always talking to Dean (Lockwood) about mistakes I’ve made.

“I feel like I’ve improved and whatever I have to do to get better, I’m going to watch film with Dean to continue to improve my game.”

msoutha1@utk.edu

Parker’s decorated Tennessee career honored through jersey retirement Patrick MacCoon

Donald Page • Tennessee Athletics

LADY VOLS

tprovost@utk.edu

Assistant Sports Editor Dargan Southard

Staff Writer In the rafters of ThompsonBoling Arena, there now hangs a sixth retired jersey number of not only a former two-time national champion, but also a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player.

Candace Parker, who ranks third on the all-time Tennessee scoring list with 2,137 points, joined the elite group of Lady Vol greats on Jan. 2 and now has a spot in history beside Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw, Daedra Charles, Bridgette Gordon and current head coach Holly Warlick.

With a night off from playing professional basketball overseas, the Los Angeles Sparks superstar returned to her old stomping grounds.

Alongside friends and family, including her 4-year-old daughter, she received the ultimate homecoming with nearly 15,000 of her biggest fans in attendance to witness her No. 3 jersey be placed in its final resting spot before the Lady Vols tip-off against LSU. “It means a lot to me,” the 27-year-old said before her jersey retirement. “It truly hit me this afternoon when I was explaining to my 4-year-old daughter what tonight was.

I asked her, ‘Lailaa, what’s tonight?’, and she said, ‘Mommy, your number three is going in the sky.’ And I said ‘yeah’ with a laugh.

“It’s amazing to share this moment with so many familiar faces, family and friends, and past players and my coach that I really and truly respect.”

In her three-year career at

Former Tennessee Lady Vol Candace Parker, left middle, stands behind her retired jersey with Head Coach Emeritus Pat Summitt, Head Coach Holly Warlick, Athletic Director Dave Hart and her 4-year-old daughter, Lailaa, before UT’s matchup against LSU at Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 2. the University of Tennessee, she started 109 out of 110 games. During her time hooping for the Lady Vols, she averaged 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.9 steals per game, while also becoming the all-time leader in blocks (275) and dunks (7).

Parker also met the expectations of a fan base thirsting for another national championship. In fact, she exceeded them as she brought backto-back titles to Knoxville in 2007 and 2008 and was a part of 101 wins and only 10 losses when she took to the court.

The first championship came when the Lady Vols defeated Rutgers, 59-46.

The 6-foot-4 power forward poured in 17 points to cap off a season in which she averaged 19.6 points and 9.8

rebounds per game.

She considers her first championship to be her most defining moment, especially after her team’s season came to an end in the same city where they beat the Scarlet Knights the year before against North Carolina in the Elite Eight.

“I remember after that first championship because it was ironic that Cleveland was where we lost the year before we were able to go back and seek redemption and win where we lost,” she said. “I remember going in the stands and finding my dad and giving him a hug, because he knows from the time we lost in Cleveland to that next year we busted our butt to work hard and continue to do as much as we could do to be in the best position to win the national

championship.”

The next season, Parker helped the Lady Vols win their second-consecutive championship when she scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a 64-48 victory over Stanford, all while battling a left shoulder injury.

She also became just the fourth player to win backto-back most outstanding player of the Final Four honors along with Diana Taurasi, Chamique Holdsclaw and Cheryl Miller.

The Naperville, Ill., native’s time at UT was not all about creating a name for herself but bringing titles to her team and to a coach that helped shape her as a young woman.

“When I looked up in the rafters when I was playing here, I was dribbling and shooting and picturing a

national championship banner, it wasn’t my jersey in the rafters,” she said. “The only time I came to Tennessee thinking that was when I was on my first unofficial visit with my dad and he was like, ‘Is your jersey gonna be up there in the rafters?’ Once I got here it was all about winning national championships.”

While Coach Summitt was one of the top reasons Parker attended UT, current LSU head coach and former Lady Vols assistant coach Nikki Caldwell was also a major factor why she decided to join the Vols.

“It’s very fitting that my jersey is being retired on this night in a game against LSU,” she said. “Nikki Caldwell was a huge reason why I came here and wanted to be a Lady Vol. She was the main person that recruited me.

“It was an honor to play under that coaching staff for four years.”

Despite six years removed from her playing days for the Lady Vols, she still puts it in her agenda to talk to her former team and give them advice.

“I talk to a lot of the girls on the team,” she said. “Ariel Massengale is from around the same area I am, I talk to Isabelle Harrison a lot, and Meighan played on my Aces basketball team. I told the team this year you are what you repeatedly do. You have to develop your personality and character now, because when the postseason comes you can’t just turn it on. That’s the time when you know you’re ready and go out and have fun because you know you are prepared.”