The Daily Beacon

Page 1

Issue 44, Volume 122

Friday, March 8, 2013

Election season begins for three SGA campaigns Blair Kuykendall

To kick off this year’s coverage, The Daily Beacon caught up with presidential candidates Jake Baker, Lindsay Lee and Christian Powers, for an introductory Q&A session. The goal was candor. None of the campaigns received advance notice about the interview questions.

Editor-in-Chief

David Cobb

Assistant News Editor

• Photo courtesy of Baker-Atchley SGA Campaign

• Photo courtesy of Amplify SGA Campaign

• Photos courtesy of Engage SGA Campaign

What adjectives would you use to describe yourself? JB: “My first one is flexible. totally committed to that idea I’ve always been the type of and ready to get in there and person when it comes to lead- make it happen. In the position ership roles that I don’t always of president, you need to have feel like I have to be the leader ideas and be ready to run with ... If I don’t feel like I’m the them, and you will run into best person for the job, I’m not obstacles for sure, and you going to try and do that job. will run into people that don’t I’ll gladly let somebody else agree with you but you need to do it. Tall, because I’m right be able to talk to them, and to at 6-foot-4 ... I was so uncoor- work with them, and to keep dinated when I was younger moving forward.” CP: “I’m very approachable. and then I grew like a foot one summer and got super unco- I’m an approachable individual, ordinated so I joined student I can spark up a conversation council and here I am. I don’t with somebody that’s shy but even know if this is an adjec- someone that’s also very vocal. tive, but involved. Everything I love to meet people. I’m all that I do on campus, I don’t about meeting people and getjust try and build a resume, I ting to know them, but also actually try and get involved in building a relationship with the organization ... I’ve done it them rather than just being because I believe in what the an acquaintance. There’s a lot of situations you get in with organization can do ... “ LL: “Oh gosh … excited, student government or even forward-thinking ... and stead- just personal lives that I think fast. I just have this idea of that after being approachable, what I want SGA to look like, I’m very open with people so I want it to be a body that it’s easy for me to connect and actually ... works for students understand what the problems and does good things. I am are at hand.”

What do you think is the most pressing issue facing the student body next year? JB: “I think one of the big- gest issue … problem, facing gest issues students face is just our students is that they don’t life on campus in general. A lot feel like they are part of that of students over the past year push. They don’t feel like they have developed an attitude that own a piece of the university, UT has kind of become like a like they own a piece of our business and not so much a potential greatness. So, you school, that it’s more focused know if SGA works better and on the financial side of things is more effective and more effiand not the experience side of cient it can be a body that it. One thing that we noticed is helps students feel like this is there’s the hashtag ‘#bigorang- part of their home, this is part escrew’ on Twitter all the time, of their mission as people to which is not great. Students make UT better.” should want to be students at CP: “One of the biggest frusUT ... They should be excited trations I’ve seen, and I think to be going here, so life on that students are also aware of, campus just in every facet of is the issue with communicathat – football tickets, parking, tion ... whether it be between residence halls, dining – there’s us (SGA) and administration, a lot of complaints across the but also between SGA and the board about all of those things. students. I think we’ve had a So I think it’s just life on cam- lack of communication in the pus and being a student.” last couple years. SGA, I think LL: “I think UT is in the as an entity, isn’t communicatmiddle of a big transitional ing to students. So that’s one period, you know they want to of the biggest issues that I become the big Top 25 univer- think students are frustrated sity, and I think it’s going to with. If they could see what’s happen, but in order for that going on, if they could be comto happen we need students municated to by other entities who take ownership of that on campus, I think that would and push. So I think the big- clear up a lot.”

Why do you think you deserve to be SGA president? JB: “Being president of started this group and we did SGA, it’d be an honor for any this whole big awareness week student. I don’t know if any and we got a lot of support. I student is really worthy of the think I have a lot of experience position and everything that it working with a whole bunch entails, because you are a voice of different types of people, of the student body essentially different groups on campus, and you represent the general listening to what they think student body. Being at a school and running with it … getting this size, I don’t know if one really passionate about what student can ever fully do that. the students want, and just But I think I deserve that just running with it.” CP: “One of the biggest because of my experience and the things I’ve done here at UT. reasons why I’m running, is I’ve been involved in things being an executive, I’ve seen outside of SGA. I’ve not just what it takes to carry that role been focusing on that. I’ve been in discussion, in collaborating involved in things like Greek with administrators, as well as Life, Student Orientation, the speaking with students. One Honor’s Program, the Center of the biggest reasons why, is I for Leadership and Service. So want to give back to students. I think I’ve had a really unique I was given an opportunity my experience here at UT. I’ve sophomore year to run on a been involved in a lot of differ- campaign, and I was a senator, and then this year, I was given ent types of things.” LL: “I think that I have a his- the opportunity to be senate tory of leadership on campus chair, which is something out and kind of being a person who of the blue I never would’ve sees a problem and tackles imagined coming in. So the it. One example is the work biggest thing I want to do is we did with Campus Disability give back to students. And I Advocates last semester, we think that’s why I deserve it.”

‘Spring Awakening’ previews Sex Week Justin Joo

Staff Writer Students can get a preview of April’s Sex Week with this weekend’s production of “Spring Awakening.” At the first event of Sex Week, students will be able to see a staged reading of the Tony Award winning Broadway rock musical in the Carousel Theatre at 8 p.m. on Saturday. “Spring Awakening” explores the negatives and positives of sexual discovery. Based off a 19th century German play with the same name, the musical looks at topics such as abortion, homosexuality, puberty, rape and pregnancy, as a group of teenagers begin to discover their sexuality. The music combines elements of alternative and folk-infused rock. Jacob Clark, a junior in College Scholars, helped coordinate the event. He said that although the musical could be grim at times, its overall message is a positive one. “The main message, as dark as the play can be and as sad

as parts are, it’s very positive,” Clark explained. “ … The end is very positive. It embraces sexual expression, but it makes sure that you need to know to do it safely and realize what you’re doing.” The performance will be a staged reading, so there won’t be elaborate sets or costume changes. However, the musical’s message will still be prominently featured and have an impact. The play will feature UT students, local musicians and other performers, as well as Terry Silver-Alford, a music theatre lecturer, directing the music. The staged reading will be free and open to the public. Seating is general admission. “Spring Awakening” is the first event of Sex Week, a weeklong program in April that will feature dozens of events and speakers discussing a variety of topics on sexuality. Both events are coordinated by the student group Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee, or simply, SEAT. Clark and Brianna Rader, also a junior in College

Scholars, founded SEAT back in August. The two wanted to do a Sex Week at UT after seeing the program’s success at other universities such as Yale and Harvard. It started when Rader, then a member of Issues Committee, hosted speaker Megan Andelloux to UT back in March 2012. Andelloux is a renowned speaker on sexuality issues who frequents college campuses. The event’s success prompted Rader to work with Clark on expanding the discussion on sex at UT for a full week. “The speaker came, it was a fairly good crowd, it was very successful, the students loved it, so I was like, ‘Okay, we should expand this idea,’” Rader recalled. “So I approached Jacob … and that’s when we decided to go through with the idea.” The two created SEAT after realizing they needed to be members of a student group in order to coordinate an event on UT campus. “Sex Week is our main function,” Clark said. “SEAT’s main

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goal is to put on Sex Week.” He added that in the future, SEAT plans on doing more than just Sex Week, such as working in partnership with other student groups who put on events in line with SEAT’s goal of sexual education and discussion. Some of the events of Sex Week include a return of speaker Andelloux, discussion about virginity and transgender issues, free HIV testing, a panel on the law and sexuality and a discussion on how to talk to your doctor about sex. Clark said that SEAT had originally hoped to present “Spring Awakening” closer to the start of Sex Week, but logistically it didn’t work out. “We really wanted it to be on campus,” Clark explained. “It’s difficult for people to go off campus a lot of the times. But we were able to get the Carousel Theatre on this weekend, so we took the option.” Those interested can see the full schedule for UT’s Sex Week at http://sexweekut.org/ schedule/.

Matthew DeMaria • The Daily Beacon

Senior guard Taber Spani hugs assistant coach Jolette Law after the win against Texas A&M last Thursday. The Lady Vols captured the No. 1 seed in the 2013 SEC tournament and will be playing March 8 at 12 p.m. in Duluth, Ga. Correction: Thursday’s article, “Future development near campus concerns many,” stated that the company Fulton Bellows used to be located on Wal-Mart’s build site. In fact, the company formerly located on this site was Fulton Bellows & Components.

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