02 26 16

Racoon problem plagues Ag campus >>See page 2

Play on death promotes thoughts on life >>See page 5

“I urge you as students to stay open minded” >>See page 6

• File Photo

Hart “proud” of culture built at Tennessee Jonathan Toye

Sports Editor Tennessee athletics director Dave Hart said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the Title IX lawsuit that alleged Tennessee has created “a hostile sexual environment.”

That didn’t stop him from responding to the backlash that came from the aforementioned lawsuit.

Hart defended Tennessee’s culture at a

Volume 131 Issue 30

Thursday press conference in Ray and Lucy Hand Digital studio, saying he’s proud of the culture Tennessee has built under his watch.

He had to say something. The lawsuit sent Tennessee into a tailspin of negative publicity. The latest allegations had people questioning the character of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones and whether he should remain the football coach at Tennessee.

Hart first addressed the crux of the lawsuit, which said Tennessee was deliberately

indifferent toward sexual assaults. Hart said the opposite.

“I have tremendous empathy and sympathy for the alleged victims and all victims of sexual assault across the country,” Hart said.

“It is simply an unacceptable act. I can tell you that at the University of Tennessee, the Chancellor has made this his top priority, as should all universities across the country.

This has to gain the attention of everyone.

“I care deeply about our student-athletes, but I also care deeply about our student

utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon

body,” Hart continued. “We’ve worked very, very hard to educate as a priority, not only in our athletics department, but on our campus at large. We encourage victims to come forward, and it is my hope that the amount of publicity that has been generated in recent days will not discourage victims from coming forward because that’s a huge part of our collective effort.”

Hart then defended his football coach.

See HART on Page 10

Friday, February 26, 2016

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CAMPUSNEWS

The Daily Beacon • Friday, February 26, 2016

THE DAILY BEACON STAFF

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief: Jenna Butz Managing Editor: Bradi Musil Creative Director: Katrina Roberts Chief Copy Editor: Hannah Moulton News Editor: Tanner Hancock Asst. News Editor: Alahnah Ligon Sports Editor: Jonathan Toye Asst. Sports Editor: Taylor White Arts & Culture Editor: Megan Patterson Asst. Arts & Culture Editor: Michael Lipps Online Editor: Cara Sanders Asst. Online Editor: Altaf Nanavati Photo Editors: Esther Choo, Alex Phillips Design Editors: Lauren Ratliff, Justin Keyes Copy Editors: Breanna Andrew, Sara Counts, Trenton Duffer, Courtney Frederick, Jared Sebby, Shelby Tansil Editorial Production: Laurel Cooper, Amber Dalehite, Rachel Incorvati, Caroline Norris, Cameo Waters Training Editor: Troy Provost-Heron

ADVERTISING/PRODUCTION

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The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Wednesday 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

Sick raccoons business as usual for UT Travis Dorman

ing problems, for Hamilton and his pest control team, this is business as usual.

“We’ve had issues with raccoons for years on campus, here and there — never a large number of raccoons at any one time, but this not a new problem,” Hamilton said.

“A couple years ago the zoo had some major problems with raccoons getting in and taking food, and they decided to start trapping them.

They ended up with 15. We also had an issue at the Body Farm with raccoons taking body parts outside of the fence, and for a year we trapped over there and caught about six.”

Hamilton said that while people often think these animals are cute and pose no threat, they are in fact wild animals that need to be left alone whether they are sick or not.

To illustrate his point, Hamilton told a story about his sister-in-law, who decided it would be interesting to raise a baby raccoon as a pet.

When the raccoon grew up, it slashed open its owner’s leg while she was feeding it. Hamilton’s sister-in-law needed 18 stitches.

While raccoons attacking humans isn’t necessarily news, the sicknesses that plague the raccoon community are spreading.

Hamilton said that the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Association has tracked rabies and distemper as the viruses have moved down the east coast and across the mountains of North

Carolina.

USDA Rabies Wildlife Biologist Erin Patrick explained that rabies in earth crawling mammals is extremely rare in Knox County.

There has never been a case of a raccoon with rabies in the county, and the only other case of terrestrial rabies in the past 10 years was in one skunk in 2014.

Patrick said that as far she knows, UT’s raccoons have not yet been tested for rabies, and she thinks it is much more likely that they have distemper.

“Rabies and distemper can look a lot alike in how the clinical signs present themselves,” Patrick said. “The most important difference between rabies and distemper is that humans can contract rabies. Humans cannot contract distemper, but our domestic dogs can get distemper, so obviously we don’t want that.”

Patrick said that in order to test for rabies, biologists remove a piece of the animal’s brain.

This is impossible to do while the animal is alive, so raccoons that show symptoms are euthanized. The test for distemper can be conducted while the animal is still alive, however.

When asked how they know when a raccoon is sick, Hamilton was frank.

“We can’t typically catch a raccoon that’s not sick.”

Date: 2/17/16 Location: SAC Aquatic Center Lot/2106 Andy Holt Avenue

Date: 2/19/2016 Location: Pilot Gas Station, 2218 Cumberland Avenue

Date: 2/20/2016 Location: Henley Street

At 9:30 p.m., a UTPD officer was dispatched to the SAC Lot regarding a vehicle parked illegally which was blocking a handicap ramp.

Multiple loaded firearms were confiscated and the vehicle was towed. The vehicle owner was arrested for public intoxication and possession of a weapon on school property.

At around 2:04 a.m., a UTPD officer initiated a traffic stop on a black Dodge Nitro for failure to yield at Lake Avenue and W Volunteer Avenue. The vehicle stopped at Pilot Gas Station on Cumberland. The driver received a citation for simple possession and unlawful drug paraphernalia and a verbal warning for failure to yield. A passenger was arrested for possession for resale of a schedule II substance in a drug free school zone and simple possession. The subject was transported to the Knox County Detention Facility.

Staff Writer Raccoons aren’t picky eaters, and they do love marshmallows.

Using the sugary cylinders as bait for springloaded cage traps is just one of the ways that Randy Hamilton, superintendent of Sanitation Safety for Facilities Services and his four-person squad have set about ridding UT’s campus of its sickly raccoons.

On Wednesday, UT Operations sent out a campus-wide email notifying students and staff that sick raccoons had been spotted around the Agriculture campus.

“Raccoons are nocturnal animals and should not be seen out in the daytime,” the email said.

“Sick raccoons may stagger, walk in circles or exhibit other strange behaviors. They may not act fearful of humans.”

The email urged people not to interact with these animals in any way, saying that if you spot a particularly strange raccoon during the day, you should immediately report the incident to Facilities Services so the animal can be captured and tested.

While the email may be the first time most students and staff have heard of raccoons caus-

CRIME LOG

Date: 2/17/2016 Location: Massey Hall/825 Volunteer Boulevard At approximately 11:35 p.m., a UTPD officer was dispatched to Massey Hall on a report of an intoxicated person in the lobby. The subject was later transported by Rural Metro to UTMCER

At approximately 9:16 p.m., a UTPD officer observed a Silver Honda Civic near Western Avenue with an inoperable left headlight.

Upon further investigation, I found the driver to be operating a motor vehicle on a suspended driver’s license and found the passenger to be in violation of a conditional release order and to be in possession of a schedule VI controlled substance. The driver was issued a misdemeanor citation for driving on a suspended license, and the passenger was placed under custodial arrest for violating a conditional release order and simple possession.

CAMPUSNEWS

Friday, February 26, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

3

Students activist inspires volunteerism Alex Harward

Contributor

UT’s College of Social Work offers a graduate fellowship to students in need of financial assistance after returning from the Peace Corps.

The Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program welcomed its first Peace Corp volunteer, Abby Borst, in the fall of 2015.

Borst spent two years in Panama as a Peace Corp volunteer before she returned to the states and enrolled at UT. She is the first student from the College of Social Work to pursue a degree through the Coverdell Fellows Program.

Borst explained that every day she spent in Panama was an adventure.

“Life is short and there is so much to learn and see in this beautiful world,” Borst said.

“You can change someone’s life for the better and simultaneously make a lasting impact on yourself as well.”

Dean of the College of Social Work Karen Sowers explained how proud the college is to have Borst as a representative and to be a part of the Master of Science in Social Work

program.

“Abby is warm and personable and brings a wonderful understanding of working across cultures to our program,” Sowers said. “We appreciate that she is helping other students envision the possibility of joining the Peace Corps.”

The Global Initiatives of the College of Social Work explained, “The Coverdell Fellows Program in the College of Social Work provides the opportunity to pursue an MSSW or Ph.D. degree.”

Borst’s program, the MSSW degree, prepares the graduates to work directly with or on behalf of under-served communities.

The Coverdell Fellows Program came to UT in 2015 with the aid of Rebecca Jackson, director of field and international education and assistant professor of practice in the College of Social Work.

UT has always been well connected to the Peace Corps through the Peace Corps recruiter in the Center for International Education.

Jackson explained that her role was to collaborate with the recruiter and faculty from both the College of Social Work and the College of Nursing to write the proposal to bring the Coverdell Fellows Program to UT.

ACTIVISTS on ROCKY TOP Borst is currently working towards her master’s degree. She hopes to combine her passion for working with diverse groups of people with her social work education.

“We feel very fortunate that Abby chose to become the first Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow,” Jackson said.

Jackson said returned Peace Corps volunteers are able to bring a different perspective to the classroom. “(They) are able to bring a valuable experience and a unique global perspective,” Jackson

said. “Consequently enhancing the learning experience for other students.”

Borst said she chose to pursue her master’s degree through UT because of the volunteer spirit of the university.

“UT’s social work program had very similar goals to the Peace Corps — empowering people, capacity building and sustainable development of communities,” Borst said.

Borst plans to graduate in the spring of 2017, but she added that she’s still not sure what she wants to do.

“I would love to get a job with a non-profit or work for the government,” Borst said.

As for the Coverdell Fellowship, the College of Social Work and the College of Nursing are accepting applicants for the program every year.

Jackson also expressed delight that senior student, Shellee Merryman, has been accepted to serve in the Peace Corps next year.

Borst was the first Coverdell Fellow, but she will not be the last as the program continues to grow and gain recognition.

For more information on the Coverdell Fellow program the website is http://www.csw. utk.edu/global/peace_corps.htm.

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The Daily Beacon • Friday, February 26, 2016

“

ARTS&CULTURE

Appalachian music festival comes to Knoxville Sam Kennedy

Contributor Although some may think the music of the Appalachians is dying out, Jubilee Community Arts is striving to keep it alive.

The venue is an organization dedicated to preserving the traditional music of the Southern Appalachians. Every year the community hosts their Annual Jubilee Festival, and this year, the Jubilee Community Arts’ 47th festival will take place here in Knoxville.

The festival director Toby Koosman has been with the organization since 2005. In addition, after twenty years of volunteering at the Laurel Theater, he eventually became concert manager in 2002.

“My favorite thing about the festival is that the music engages people across generations, both the musicians and the listeners,” Koosman said. “It is the radical opposite of popular music that only makes sense to people who graduate from high school in a four-year span.”

Original Appalachian music was derived from various influences, including European and African tunes, in the mountains of the Southeast. It was originally recorded in the 1920s and was a key influence on the early

development of old-time music, country music and bluegrass.

Jubilee Community Arts has been operating as a regional community cultural center and arts presenter in Knoxville since 1969.

The organization’s stated mission is “to promote, preserve and present the performing arts of the Southern region and to nurture the cultural milieu responsible for the birth and evolution of these related art forms.”

“The overarching goal of the festival is to showcase regional traditional music,” Koosman said. “I look for bands that are not trying to put a traditional music theme in their act the way you put a guy in overalls in your TV ad to represent farmers, but that really love the music and have embraced its values.”

Starting Friday night, there will be old time string bands performing at the Laurel Theater. The event will continue Saturday night and eventually conclude with Old Harp Singing on Sunday.

Performances include a diverse group of artists, including Kelle Jolly, best known as a jazz singer who can also play the ukulele, Roy Harper, approaching 91 years old but still performing Jimmy Rogers songs and Victorian sentimental ballads and the Tennessee Stiff

My favorite thing about the festival is that the music engages people across generations, both the musicians and the listeners.”

Toby Koosman, Festival Director

Legs, a dynamic, young band who specializes in Texas swing and old-time fiddle tunes.

The Y’uns will be performing for their eighth year in the festival. However, their fiddle/mandolin player, Danny Gammon, has played at all 47 Jubilee Festivals.

“My favorite part about being in the festival would have to be the location. It’s a beautiful old church where I have seen many fine concerts,” Steve Horton, member of the Y’uns, said. “Also, the group of people that compromise the old-time music community in Knoxville.”

Two new bands will join the festival this year — Possum Crossing, featuring Rita Scruggs who brings a lot of Western North Carolina tradition, and Lost Fiddle Stringband, which features mandolinist Josh Sidman, who is now a fixture to the Knoxville music scene.

Other artists include: Mike & Marcia Bryant, The Bearded, Knox County Jug Stompers, Camp Hollow String Band, John Alvis & Friends, The Mumbillies and Epworth Old Harp Singing.

The 47th Annual Jubilee Festival is at the Laurel Theater from Friday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, Feb. 28. Tickets for the festival can be purchased at jubileearts.org.

ARTS&CULTURE

Friday, February 26, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

5

Play shows that it is natural to fear death Jarrod Hall

Contributor Death is something that none of us can escape, and coming to terms with that can be difficult. Some of us grapple with our own mortality all our lives. This is the central theme of Romulus Linney’s A Lesson Before Dying, opening at the Carousel Theatre this Friday, Feb. 26.

Linney presents the story of a young black man named Jefferson growing up in rural Louisiana with his godmother, who is caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and convicted of a murder that he did not commit.

The town’s young black school teacher Grant Wiggins is fresh out of college and back home.

As a personal favor to Emma Glenn, Jefferson’s godmother, Wiggins agrees to help Jefferson come to terms with what is happening. This proves difficult for Wiggins, who struggles throughout the play to understand his own mortality, how to teach Jefferson to wrestle with his own and what his place is in the world.

“A Lesson Before Dying” is expertly carried out, with every last drop of emotion squeezed out before the audience.

Wiggins, played by Trequon Tate, is every

bit of the wise-beyond-his-years school teacher that one would expect him to be. In the scenes where he talks to Jefferson, his voice is solid when it needs to be and shaky where it counts.

Even down to the expressions in his face, it is obvious from the opening scenes of the play that Tate is fully immersed in the character.

Jude Carl Vincent plays Jefferson, who struggles to identify how to die like a man and what being a man means when he only has weeks to live. Vincent perfectly represents every ounce of Jefferson’s confusion and anger at his situation.

During Jefferson’s trial, once it becomes obvious he is going to be convicted, the public defender tries to appeal to the all white jury’s sense of superiority towards blacks and calls Jefferson a hog. Jefferson internalizes this insult and believes it himself.

In one especially powerful scene, Wiggins tells Jefferson to act like what he is, a man.

Jefferson responds by getting down on all fours and eating corn out of a picnic basket like it is a slop trough for pigs, covering his face in food and spraying it all over the stage. This scene elicited more than one audible gasp from the crowd, and the tension in the room did not relent until well after the lights went down to close the scene.

There were stellar performances from all sup-

porting actors as well. David Kortemeier plays the abrasive Louisiana sheriff, and UT’s Connor Hess plays the compassionate Deputy Sheriff Paul Bonin. Glenn, played by Celeste Williams, could not be better represented as a tired old woman who just wants to see her godson make peace with himself.

All in all, ”A Lesson Before Dying” is a visceral and engaging piece of stagecraft and is professionally executed by everyone involved.

In writing this review, I legitimately struggled to find one thing to criticize about the play. The lighting and sound design all went off without a hitch, and the minimalist style of stage-design was engaging but artfully crafted to the medium.

As humans, we may struggle to face the facts regarding our own mortality, but we might just struggle with the fact that “A Lesson Before Dying” only runs for a finite amount of time before we are forced to go out into the world having learned something about the people on stage, and maybe even something about ourselves.

“A Lesson Before Dying” will play at the Clarence Brown Theatre’s Carousel Theatre from Friday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, March 13.

All performances are $5 for UT students with a valid student ID.

A Lesson Before Dying performance at the Clarence Brown Theatre playing now until March 13.

• Courtesy of Clarence Brown Theatre

6

VIEWPOINTS

The Daily Beacon • Friday, February 26, 2016

Letter to the Editor: A response to Summer Awad’s column On February 23, at the Arnstein Jewish Community Center, a wonderful program took place, featuring a Jewish and an Arab-Italian comedian who travel through the country teaching us to “laugh for tolerance, peace and understanding.” The program was organized by the Knoxville Jewish Alliance, the Muslim community of Knoxville, the Muslim Student Organization, the Jewish student organization Hillel and Hillel International. The AJCC gym was packed with people of all ages and all backgrounds. The comedians, Scott Blakeman and Dean Obeidallah, stress our commonalities rather than our differences in their Stand Up for Peace routine, and it was heartwarming to see so many members of our Knoxville community come out to support our common quest for peace in the Middle East. Their motto, “If we can laugh together, we can

live together,” is a good beginning to a meaningful dialogue on the issues of the Middle East.

To my knowledge, the student writing the column about Monday night’s Judaic Studies lecture on the ideas for a modern state of Israel in the February 23 edition of the Daily Beacon was not at this event.

There are different ways to make oneself heard and to communicate one’s passion.

The choice is up to each individual.

Gilya Gerda Schmidt, Ph.D. Professor Emerita, Department of Religious Studies, and Director Emerita, The Fern and Manfred Steinfeld Program in Judaic Studies 974-2466

I was sent a copy of your article in The Daily Beacon. First of all, let me say that I respect your point of view. What I learned from your article is that the next time if a group of students raise their protest, as you did, I will ask them to stay and listen and be the first to be called on in a discussion afterwards.

As it happened, you did not stay beyond the first few minutes, and therefore you may have missed some of my central points. Let me just make clear that my alleged statement, “His talk followed a larger colonial tradition of erasure, incorrectly painting Israel as a formerly empty place whose only few inhabitants were barbaric and uncivilized” was never mentioned in my talk. What I talked about were the utopian elements of the early Zionist movement. I made it very clear that these are not my opinions. For historians it is important to know what historical figures thought and said, and for students it is important to distinguish between the opinions of a lecturer and the opinions of the people he or she cites (and criticizes). Another example of the confusion between what I said and what I cited from is your statement, “ Brenner chuckled at the fact that the indigenous people of Palestine were

“The Dog Days Are Over” Florence and the Machine “How Much is that Little Doggie in the Window ”

Letter to the Editor: A response to Summer Awad’s column Dear Ms. Awad,

Do you love dogs? So do we. Here are some songs about dogs—woof woof and happy Friday.

so unwilling to accept the “civilization” that the Zionists brought (read: forcibly imported) to historic Palestine.” It was not me, but Theodor Herzl who said that (not exactly in these words) and I clearly criticized this position. At no point did I say or support the view that Palestine was a formerly empty place. I was invited to lecture about the different Jewish views of a future Jewish state. Of course, UT is most welcome to also invite speakers on different topics, such as on Palestinian views on a Palestinian state.

It is my sincere hope that within the university we should all be able to listen to different points of view with respect for each other. I would have liked it very much if you and your colleagues would have stayed and discussed these issues after the lecture. I was also quite surprised to find flyers, which were printed and distributed before my talk, discussing terms I would supposedly use in my lecture.

Just as much as I want to learn from your opinions, I urge you as students to stay open-minded, to listen to different points of view and to discuss them in a constructive atmosphere.

With best regards, Michael Brenner

Patti Page

“Hound Dog” Elvis Presley

“Who Let the Dogs Out” Baha Men

“Bird Dog” Everly Brothers Show

“Dog-Eat-Dog” Free For All

“Bad to the Bone” George Thorogood

“Black Dog” Led Zepplin

“Bring My Baby Back” Dr. Dog

“Gin and Juice” Snoop Dog

Columns of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.

VIEWPOINTS

Friday, February 26, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

7

Another reason why building walls won’t work

Peter Cates For Pete’s Sake

I just overheard my sick roommate, Gus, ask Siri, “What sicknesses make you throw up?”

Before that, my roommate Ian vomited downstairs. It’s not a winning night in our house.

Living with five other college guys is overwhelming at times (to say the least).

We share one full bathroom, and the other “bathroom” is a closet. Your best bet, if you want to close the door, is to turn your body sideways to fit on the toilet. It’s a really classy place. To be fair though, it’s a step up from our last living situation where three of us shared a small apartment. I lived in the dining room. Yes, that’s true.

But that’s part of college and having less money than we might wish we had. My rent is super cheap, and I have a lot of fun. But it makes me think about what communal living could look like for me beyond college.

No I don’t mean starting a hippie commune or becoming monks (although I did write about that here); I mean a modern day communal living situation where multiple people/families share certain things, maybe even including a house. It’s what tribes and societies did for basically the entirety of

human existence before modernity came in to put barriers between us. Walls and fences are relatively new concepts.

I have a friend who lives in a community in Knoxville. Everyone involved has separate houses but they live on the same street, meet every morning, make meals together and raise their kids together. When there’s a family crisis, it’s a community crisis, and they hold each other up that way. The more and more I see it play out, the more I’m intrigued to be a part of something like it. The idea of having a family that goes beyond just a normal nuclear family and expands to my own “tribe” makes life sound a lot less solitary.

We’re all looking for some sort of support team and it seems to me that this is a historically proven way to do it.

And somehow we’re missing this, right?

People are dividing themselves further behind electronic screens and buying bigger houses and putting less people in them. It’s like when we get more money we think that people are suddenly supposed to start buying bigger things with more space for less people, as if our reward for getting rich is isolation.

The word that comes to mind for me repeatedly is “lonely.” I keep hearing about

people who are just so lonely even in their marriages and their families and I think, “Who would want this life?” We need genuine human interaction to sustain us, to make us feel un-lonely, and we need that interaction in a continuous group setting.

What I want, and what I think we all want whether or not we can see it, is to have people to share with. I just can’t see myself raising kids, pursuing a career or writing without a community surrounding me who helps me carry the weight of it all. And maybe that’s having roommates and maybe it’s a neighborhood community or maybe it’s something entirely different. But the human condition, as it stands now, demands that people start taking down more walls than they build up.

But for now I’ll just stay happy with a front yard with a falling apart metal fire pit surrounded by beer cans, toilet paper rolls thrown on the bathroom floor and unnecessarily loud music. It’s hard to see sometimes why I love this mess of a house, but it’s because I get to share it with other people.

Peter Cates is a junior in English. He can be reached at pcates4@vols.utk.edu

Proof that rejection can be a precursor to success

Sarah Hagaman Turn of Phase

I held the envelope in my hands and held my breath with anticipation.

Months had passed while I waited eagerly to receive a certain letter. My whole high school career seemed to teeter on this very moment — the moment when I would rip open a letter and find out if I had been accepted to the college of my dreams.

I swallowed, gingerly tore open the corner, opened the paper and ...

Rejected.

My heart dropped painfully. Rejected?

I, like most people, don’t tend to take rejection very well. Failure is a numbing word, one that recalls moments of stunned silence. My visions of attending that beautiful university proved to be little more than wishful thinking.

Many people avoid failure at all costs; we often edit our appearance, words and past to highlight our successes and hide our shortcomings Rejection from my dream college certainly looked like a great personal failure.

Failure, by definition, is “the lack of success.”

Yet one lack of success doesn’t have to dictate the direction of the future.

J.K. Rowling ’s “Harry Potter” received twelve rejections from publishers before publishing the book that would generate over $24 billion in franchise revenue.

A news editor fired Walt Disney because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

Steven Spielberg received rejections from the University of Southern California three times before pursuing a job as a director.

Apple fired Steve Jobs before he returned with ideas that produced the iPod and other wildly popular products.

Henry Ford’s businesses failed five times before his automotive inspiration made him an American business icon.

Dr. Seuss received 27 rejections from publishers before becoming one of America’s most popular children’s authors.

College is an incredible experience, full of potential for growth and maturity. You’ll be exposed to a dazzling array of people, ideas and experiences in a few short years. But, like many things in life, our paths can take unexpected turns and alter drastically due to failure, disillusionment and disappointment.

Changes are inevitable, and in the midst of our vigorous attempts to “fulfill our destiny”

and “follow our hearts,” it’s important to embrace every moment of the experiences ahead — especially those that don’t end up working out as we had hoped.

My rejection letter from the college of my dreams made me feel like a massive failure.

But four years later, I can confidently say that I’m grateful for that moment — because it led me to UT, where I’ve had four of the best years of my life.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

In the midst of my college-choosing panic, I wouldn’t have understood that.

But no matter where you’ve come from, whether you were born with aspirations to become an engineer, doctor or comedian, college truly is the place to explore, take a risk, fail, change and try again.

So go ahead. Take the risks — and fail triumphantly.

Sarah Hagaman is a senior in English.

She can be reached at shagama1@vols.utk. edu

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ARTS&CULTURE

The Daily Beacon • Friday, February 26, 2016

The Tennessee Theatre to bring classic fairy tale to life Hanna Roznowski Contributor Hansel and Gretel, the beloved fairy tale from everyone’s childhood, is being brought to life this weekend by the Knoxville Opera.

The opera, written by Engelbert Humperdinck in 1893, will come to the Tennessee Theatre this coming weekend.

Candy will be provided for children in the audience who are welcome to take photos with the cast after the final curtain.

Chrystal Williams, a mezzo-soprano, will be playing the mischievous Hansel.

She faces a challenging role in playing a boy child but relates to Hansel’s courageous nature. “To me it’s freeing because I’m a firm believer in that you’re only as old as you allow yourself to be,� Williams said. “It’s a challenge to make sure you’re really honest and genuine, because children are honest.�

Even though Hansel’s character is brave, without Gretel, he would not have fared well against the witch. Soprano Lindsay Russell will be playing the other half of the

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enchanting duo.

Russell believes the differences in the two characters make them successful together. “You need two people to watch each other’s back. There’s strength in both of them. Gretel is in her happy place when she’s at home and Hansel is more in his safe place when he’s out in nature,� Russell said. “The roles switch when they leave the home so that Hansel becomes more of the guardian.�

The opera takes a deeper look into the characters as individuals and provides more to the story than most will remember from their youth. Russel explains that the duality of the characters really makes them unique and fun to portray. “Gretel is wanting to be a grown up, wanting to always do the right thing,�

Russel explained.

Williams said Hansel’s personality acts as Gretel’s foil as “free spirited, a true child.

He’s brave and strong, he’s fearless.�

The production hopes that not only will the classic characters draw spectators in, but that the music will also enchant the audience.

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“I think Humperdinck’s writing is in a league of its own,� Williams said. “To have this music with this children’s story, I think it’s an incredible mix.�

However, the opera is certainly not only for children. With Humperdinck’s incredible style, the familiar fairy tale is transformed into an elaborate opera. “It’s not easy; you really have to be a good musician,� Williams said. “It’s really sophisticated music. Definitely a rewarding experience.�

When asked why UT students should come enjoy the production, Russell said in addition to being more affordable than a night at the movies, students will leave the opera humming. “It transcends, it takes you someplace else,� Williams said. “When you get on that stage, it’s not you anymore. It’s something greater than you.�

Hansel and Gretel will premiere at the Tennessee Theatre tonight, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m with a second performance on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be Hansel and Gretel performance at The Tennessee found at http://www.knoxvilleopera.com/ Theatre Feb. 26-28. hansel-gretel/. • Courtesy of Knoxville Opera

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PUZZLES&GAMES

Friday, February 26, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

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SPORTS

The Daily Beacon • Friday, February 26, 2016

Injury not enough to stop Isabelle Harrison Trenton Duffer Copy Editor Isabelle Harrison fell to the court gripping her knee, knowing that the injury she just sustained was bad.

“Now that I look back on it, I see that everything happens for a reason,” Harrison said.

Later finding out that she had torn her ACL, the Feb. 15, 2015 game against Kentucky proved to be Harrison’s last as a Lady Vol. Despite the injury curtailing the rest of her senior year, Izzy, as she’s called by many in the basketball program, remains with the university, helping the team with practice and leadership.

With a healthy ACL and a new WNBA contract in hand, Harrison’s transition to the next level begins now.

“Everybody has issues to work through, and that was just one of mine,” Harrison said. “This has been a year-long process.”

Harrison is one of 11 children born to Dennis and Ida Harrison. DeeDee Harrison, the sister who is closest to Isabelle Harrison’s age, played middle blocker for UT from 2009-2012.

DeeDee Harrison’s presence at UT helped persuade Isabelle to join the Lady Vols.

“I visited her a couple of times while I was in high school still, so when she would have her games, the basketball team would walk through, and everyone would be like, ‘It’s the Lady Vols.

They’re awesome,’” Harrison said.

“I would come and see Pat (Summitt) during practices, and she was an idol. Her passion and her legacy on the game is what drew me in.”

Harrison’s class was the final class to have Summitt as a coach. For this, Harrison is forever grateful.

“Not many people can say they played for Pat Summitt. When people think of basketball, they think of Pat Summitt,” she said. “I got to be coached by her and yelled at by her. I think it was a privilege. I got to wear that badge of honor.”

HART continued from Page 1 On Wednesday, an amended complaint was filed in the Title IX lawsuit. According to the amended complaint, Jones allegedly told former Tennessee player Drae Bowles he “betrayed the team” after the wide receiver helped a woman who was allegedly raped by teammates A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams.

Bowles gave the alleged victim a ride from her apartment to Volunteer Hall in the hours after the alleged sexual assault, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also claimed the alleged victim called 911 in Bowles car to report the alleged rape.

The lawsuit said coach Jones told Bowles in a phone call that he was disappointed in Bowles

As Summitt stepped down from the coaching pedestal, Holly Warlick stepped in. As the 2015-2016 season has progressed, more fans are jumping ship after the Lady Vols tied a franchiseworst 11 losses after Sunday’s defeat at LSU. Harrison, who practices with the Lady Vols almost every day on the practice squad, believes in Warlick through the adversity.

“Holly’s been an assistant for as long as Pat’s been coaching,” Harrison said. “Head coaches have to have that hardcore exterior like Pat had.

When (Warlick) had to step into that role, she had to figure that out, and I think she did a good job. She’s still learning.

“A lot of people try to compare the two, and you can’t do that. You just can’t. It’s just hard to compare them.”

After playing four solid years at UT and cementing herself as a top pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft, Harrison was disappointed at the time to find out she had been drafted 12th overall by the Phoenix Mercury.

It wasn’t the team that upset her. The Mercury are one of the top teams in the WNBA with Brittany Griner at center.

What disappointed Harrison is how far she fell in the draft after the ACL injury.

“I was supposed to be drafted a lot higher than what I went. I’m still thankful I got drafted in the first round and by Phoenix because they’re a great organization,” Harrison said. “Their coaching staff is great, and the players that they have mesh really well.”

The draft experience was one that Harrison admits she won’t forget.

According to the Nashville native, draft experts sat down all of the young ladies who were participating in the draft days before the draft took place and took them through a crash course on everything from taking care of their bodies to filing taxes.

“Adult stuff,” as Harrison calls it.

As the day of the draft finally arrived, thoughts swirled around Harrison’s head about when her

and that he “betrayed the team.” Jones later apologized to Bowles for his comments, according to the lawsuit.

Bowles signed an affidavit Wednesday that the allegations found in the lawsuit were truthful.

Jones fiercely denied the allegations in a statement Wednesday night.

“I did all I could to assist the former student in question,” Jones said. “During the course of the judicial process, campus officials, as well as the young man’s own words, will clearly establish that I have done nothing wrong. I will fight all of these false attacks on my character, and I know that once this process has been completed, my reputation will be affirmed.”

His boss offered his support Thursday.

Hart declined to comment on the Bowles’s allegations because they were in the lawsuit, but he defended his coach’s character.

Isabelle Harrison attempts to shoot in last year’s game against LSU. • File Photo name would be called.

“I remember everything going by so fast,” Harrison admitted. “Until they called my name, I held my breath for the entire show. When I heard them say my name to Phoenix, I thought to myself, ‘Thank God. I can finally breathe out.’”

Although Harrison was drafted in 2015, she had to sit out for the season because of her ACL tear.

Now, ready for her rookie campaign in the WNBA, Harrison is ready to prove to the entire league how powerful of a player she is.

“I just want to be a rebounder and a defender,” Harrison said. “The team I’m playing for scores, so I don’t have to worry much about the offensive side. I just want to be active on the offensive and defensive glass and just be a good defender.”

“I trust Butch Jones implicitly,” Hart said. “I know who he is. I know what his work ethic is. I know what he has meant to this university well beyond the department of athletics, and I know how he’s represented the university.

“I see what (Coach Jones is) trying to do, and he’s done a very good job. His priorities are in the right places.”

Hart supported his last statement by noting that Jones has immediately suspended any player accused of sexual assault.

He also addressed rumors about his own job security.

“I don’t (have any concerns),” Hart said. “I communicate on a very regular basis as you might imagine with our chancellor. I respect him greatly and I think that respect is returned.

And I think his knowledge of the hill we have to climb is respectful. He is right where I am on this topic: we got to do more. We have to do better,

everybody on our campus.

“But’s it’s been a great relationship and respectful, trusting relationship.”

But a press conference won’t immediately dissolve the perception that Tennessee has a sexist culture.

Tennessee’s problems have been well-documented. Hart knows this. But he also said he believes in the culture at Tennessee.

“We’re not perfect. We’re far from it,” Hart said. “ We have a lot of great stories to tell. We have a lot of fantastic student-athletes … That’s the sad part in all of this, and it’s true campuswide, that most of the people here are really good people — high, high majority — but those stories sometimes do get lost, and should get lost, in a moment like we have had, the days that we have had recently.

“It doesn’t erase all of the good things that are happening by any stretch of the imagination.”

SPORTS

Friday, February 26, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

11

BASEBALL

Tennessee travels to Arizona for Grand Canyon Classic Shane Switzer Staff Writer Coming off a season-opening series win over Memphis, Tennessee (2-1) will travel to Phoenix, Arizona to participate in the Grand Canyon University Classic.

The last time Tennessee played in a regular season tournament was three years ago in the Hokie-Smokey Tournament. The tournament will take place Feb. 26-28. Also participating in the tournament will be the Central Michigan Chippewas and the St. Mary’s College Gaels.

The Antelopes of Grand Canyon University will host.

Tennessee will face Central Michigan and Saint Mary’s for the first time in school history.

The Vols took the series with Grand Canyon last season winning two games to one.

Last season the Vols defeated Grand Canyon in game one 4-1, lost game two 1-0 and won game three 7-1. Of the three Tennessee starters in that series only Kyle Serrano is still on the team. He pitched game three and was credited with the win. Serrano (0-1) won’t be available this weekend however, he will skip a start with a sore arm.

Grand Canyon is 2-2 on the season after opening the year with Gonzaga. The Antelopes finished last season with a 32-22 record, earning their Western Athletic Conference title and reaching the 30-win mark for the third year in a row.

The Antelopes have 12 runs through four games but have given up 33 runs. Gonzaga scored 21 runs on the Antelopes in one game alone.

Saint Mary’s College (4-1) opened the sea-

son with a series win over Seattle University and a 7-4 victory over UC Santa Barbara. Last season the Gaels had a 28-27 overall record and ended in eighth in the West Coast Conference standings.

The third opponent the Vols will square off with in Arizona, Central Michigan, had a 35-22 record last season. The Chippewas suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of No. 24 Arkansas to begin the season.

The probable starters for Tennessee are Andy Cox on Friday, Zach Warren pitching Saturday and Hunter Martin on Sunday.

The Vols began the year in Chattanooga against in-state rival Memphis, winning games one and three to take the series. Through the first three games Tennessee’s runs per game are at 7.0 and have a team batting average of .300. The pitching staff has an overall earned run average of 5.00. Tennessee gave up 19 runs to Memphis over three games.

After the series against Memphis, Tennessee coach Dave Serrano said the team needs to stay focused and clean up the pitching staff’s fielding as a whole.

“We have work to do still,” Serrano said.

“We got to solidify some roles, got to figure out who’s gonna be at the end of the game. That’s what the early season is for.”

There are two current Vols who have ties to Arizona. Senior Steven Kane graduated from Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, Arizona, and JUCO transfer Matt Walden graduated from Mesquite High School in Gilbert, Arizona.

Tennessee returns to Knoxville for its home opener on March 2 against the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Tennessee baseball player, Zack Warren, pitches to the opposing team.

• File Photo

Heartfelt protesters protest Hart press conference Trenton Duffer Copy Editor

As Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart addressed the media on Thursday about the culture of the Tennessee athletic department, around 20 protesters stood in the lobby of the Anderson Training Center.

These protestors held up a number of signs, each with sayings such as “We are with you Jane” and “Stop UT rape culture.”

The “Jane” refers to the now eight women who have filed a Title IV lawsuit related to alleged sexual assaults against the university.

The original 64-page case report had only

six plaintiffs when the suit was filed, but as of Wednesday, two more “Jane Doe’s” were added to the list.

Junior Colleen Ryan, who helped organize the protest, said that this is an important issue for not only the university, but for every college in the country.

“When it comes to addressing sexual assault, really the survivors, in perspective and experience, is what should be out there,” Ryan said. “We just want to make sure that administrators and policy makers related to the campus sexual assault prevention initiative are considering the real ‘Jane Doe’s’ here in this case and the countless other victims of sexual assault.”

Hart’s press conference comes just two days after the university’s 16 varsity head

coaches participated in almost an hour-long press conference to help provide evidence that the campus has remained vigilant and strong throughout the alleged sexual assault charges.

On Wednesday, an amended complaint in the lawsuit said football coach Butch Jones allegedly told sophomore Drae Bowles he “betrayed the team” by helping the alleged victim in the A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams rape case.

Jones later denied the report, saying that the claim is “absolutely false.”

Ryan feels that the athletic department is being more conscious of the claims now that more are coming out.

“I hope that they take some time to reevaluate their programs and what they’re

doing on this issue and start taking tangible action to move forward to create a safe campus culture for all students on UT’s campus,” Ryan said.

Freshman Alayna Cameron, a protestor at the event, feels that Chancellor Jimmy Cheeks absence from today’s press conference isn’t beneficial towards the case.

“I think that Jimmy Cheeks’ lack of appearance at this shows that he’s not as concerned as he should be about this as a chancellor and also as a representative on behalf of the students,” Cameron said. “I see that this is indicative of his view towards this issue.”

As Hart’s press conference ended, the protestors lined up and began chanting “Vols for Jane,” “Vols for a change” and “No more business as usual.”

12

The Daily Beacon • Friday, February 26, 2016

SPORTS

UTOP program offers students an opportunity for outdoor recreation Ben McKee Contributor

The proximity of the Great Smokey Mountains is one of the many perks of attending UT. People from all around the world and the United States flock to Tennessee throughout the year in order to get a glimpse of East Tennessee’s beauty. Not only do they want to take in the beauty, but there are plenty of adventures to experience.

The University of Tennessee Outdoor Program makes it easy for students to experience East Tennessee’s beauty. With the “Vol Wall,” which is a completely free rock climbing wall, a bike shop, equipment rentals and group trips to participate in, it is the place to go for everything outdoors If a student needs their bike worked on or needs to rent a bike to get to and from class, the bike shop is the place to go. As far as rental equipment, the program has anything a student would need to go camping or backpacking and create an exciting adventure.

The trips provided by outdoor program are available to all current students, faculty and staff with an active RecSports membership. Some trips require more experience than others, but for the most part, the trips are geared towards all personalities and characteristics. In the event that a trip is more strenuous or demanding, the program tries to provide the necessary

information to conquer the particular trip.

Having these activities available allows students to create memories with friends and gives them the ability to be outdoors anytime they would like. Trip leader Julianna Burchett believes that having these opportunities helps provide students with an opportunity to participate in outdoor activities and get away from everyday life.

“Being students, things can become crazy and we can become pretty stressed out with homework and classwork,” Burchett said. “UTOP really offers a place to leave all of that behind, get outside and think of something else other than schoolwork.

“It’s a nice mental break from what we normally worry about as students.”

UTOP offers a variety of trips, many of which are seasonal.

Early in the spring semester, multiple skiing trips were offered.

In the coming months many biking, climbing, backpacking and hiking trips will be available as the weather warms. Students can also sign up for multiple rafting and kayaking trips that will soon be available. Over the course of spring break, UTOP will be going coastal sea kayaking in South Carolina, which is promising for a great time. Burchett considers UTOP “a gem of the university.”

You can find more information about UTOP at 2111 Volunteer Boulevard on the bottom floor of the TREC or Student taking part in the UT Outdoor Program’s kayaking online at http://recsports.utk.edu/outdoor-program/ trip.

• Courtesy of UT Outdoor Program Facebook Page