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Get to know a Lady Vol: Brynn Boren
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Friday, March 9, 2012 Issue 42
T H E
E D I T O R I A L L Y
I N D E P E N D E N T
PUBLISHED SINCE 1906 http://utdailybeacon.com
Vol. 119 S T U D E N T
N E W S P A P E R
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U N I V E R S I T Y
Volapalooza lineup announced Preston Peeden Managing Editor As another semester continues to roll slowly to a close, one big student event stands out on the horizon. Sandwiching the end of classes and the beginning of exams, Volapalooza has served as a break for the weary and tired UT student. With the concert a month away, anticipation will begin to grow with the announcement of the lineup. In 2002, Volapalooza was merely a show made up of mostly local bands. But fast forward to 2012, for the event’s 10th anniversary. Volapalooza: The Kickoff to Commencement concert, which is the largest student-run event on campus by any student organization, has become a one-day festival known for big bands and even bigger shows. With previous acts including Flogging Molly, Passion Pit, Cake, Ben Folds and others, this year’s lineup stands up as just as impressive. The April 27 show will include the electronic group Big Gigantic; Knoxville’s The Black Cadillacs; an import from Memphis, Tenn., Three 6 Mafia; and headlining the event is reggae royalty Ziggy Marley. For some of the artists, little introduction is necessary. Three 6 Mafia have been a staple of the hip-hop scene since their debut album “Mystic Stylez,” and have been a household name since their Oscar win for their contributions to the “Hustle and Flow” soundtrack. While Ziggy Marley’s famous last name alone adds credibility to anything he does, it certainly does not hurt that he is an incredibly talented artist in his own right. On the other hand, Big Gigantic and The Black Cadillacs might be less familiar to many. Big Gigantic is an electronic group whose festival touring record will include stops at Bonnaroo, Wakarusa and the Electric Forest Music Festival by this summer’s end. And as for The Black Cadillacs, their renown comes from a series of successful shows as opening acts and headliners around the area. The process for choosing the lineup came down to student desires. “We looked at our Volapalooza student survey that we send out in the beginning of the year for all the students to take and suggest artists and genres that they want us to do,” Michelle Swing, senior in marketing and co-chair of Volapalooza, said. “For the past three years, hip-hop has been the top genre. And so all of our efforts were going towards getting a hip-hop artist.” After snaring Three 6 Mafia as a sorely-needed hip-hop representative, Volapalooza
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then went out to try to find a way to make the concert appeal to more than just fans of one genre. “We wanted to include as many genres as we could, starting off with Big Gigantic, which we think is a really great electronic selection,” Swing said. “They sold out at the Valarium at around 1,200 people in September, and they are really popular with the electronic college scene. The Black Cadillacs are a local popular opener, and they got a lot of appeal around here. And Ziggy Marley ... he fits into the reggae side easily.” This all-inclusive attitude was shared by Swing’s fellow co-chair Kyle Zanath, a senior in biochemical, cellular and molecular biology. “We wanted to get something for everyone, and that’s really hard to do,” Zanath said. “We messed around with different genres and trying to work in our budget ... We are trying to create a festival atmosphere, which can be hard on a college campus. But we’re working there and this year I think we have encompassed it pretty well.” The following organizations have contributed to help create this year’s festival: Central Program Council, Cultural Attractions Committee, Honor’s Council, Black Cultural Programming Committee, Student Government Association, Disability Services, RecSports, Aramark, Tennessee Athletics, and the Division of Student Life. Ultimately, though, the event comes down to giving a special experience to the students. “I want people to enjoy themselves,” Zanath said. “We have been putting a lot of effort into this, and we know this is a good lineup.” Due to the timing of being after the last day of classes, Swing is hoping that Volapalooza will allow students to blow off some steam before finals. “We want this to be a giant end-of-the-year blowout,” Swing said. “We want everyone to enjoy themselves and take the time to really just celebrate their success and the hard work they’ve put in throughout the year. It’s a celebration and a reward.” The show will be held at the intramural fields by the TRECS, with gates opening at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students, if purchased beforehand — albeit the means of purchase are not yet known — and $10 dollars at the gates with a valid UT student ID. For non-students, tickets for admission will be available on Monday and will cost $20 in advance through knoxvilleticket.com, and $30 at the gates for general admission. For more information, the Central Program Council urges students and non-students alike to “like” the Volapalooza Facebook page to get up-to-date releases on ticketing and other matters. Also check out the Facebook pages of the Valarium and the Midnight Voyage for information about the official after-show at the Ciderhouse with Ana Sia and Reid Speed.
Students divulge personal secrets
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Volapalooza Timeline
• Perpetual Groove, 2003
• Appetite for Destruction, 2004
• Robert Randolph, 2005
• Ben Folds, 2006
• CAKE, 2007
Activism strikes social media The Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda — If Joseph Kony lived in relative anonymity before this week, he’s an Internet star now. A video about the atrocities carried out by Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army has gone viral, racking up millions more views seemingly by the hour. The marketing campaign is an effort by the advocacy group Invisible Children to vastly increase awareness about a jungle militia leader who is wanted for atrocities by the International Criminal Court and is being hunted by 100 U.S. Special Forces advisers and local troops in four Central African countries. The group’s 30-minute video, which was released Monday, had more than 32 million views on YouTube by Thursday. The movie is part of an effort called KONY 2012 that targets Kony and the LRA. “Kony is a monster. He deserves to be prosecuted and hanged,” said Col. Felix Kulayigye, the spokesman for
Uganda’s military. But Kulayigye said that Kony’s forces — once thousands strong — have been so degraded that he no longer considers Kony a threat to the region. Because of the intensified hunt for Kony, his forces split into smaller groups that can travel the jungle more easily. Experts estimate that the LRA now has only about 250 fighters. Still, the militia abducts children, forcing them to serve as soldiers or sex slaves, and even to kill their parents or each other to survive. The LRA now operates in Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan. Uganda, Invisible Children and (hash)stopkony were among the top 10 trending terms on Twitter among both the worldwide and U.S. audience on Wednesday night, ranking higher than New iPad or Peyton Manning. Twitter’s top trends more commonly include celebrities than fugitive militants.
• Dashboard Confessional, 2008
Warren’s books. I was very excited to have the opportunity to hear Frank speak and to learn more • Gym Class Heroes, about his mission with PostSecret.” His message took a more serious turn halfway He is a man who collects secrets, and the audi2009 ence in Cox Auditorium on Wednesday night did through the show, when he began to focus on a major theme of PostSecret — suicide prevention. not fail to deliver. “The fact is, in this country, in the short amount “I’m a self-proclaimed Harry Potter fanatic,” the first secret sharer who stepped to the microphone, of time I have been speaking here tonight, there have been two murders, but said. “I have ‘The Deathly four Americans have taken Hallows’ tattooed on my wrist. their own life,” Warren said. When I came out as a teenager, it “On college campuses, it’s even (Harry Potter) was my strength. • Passion Pit, 2010 more devastating. Statistically, And I’ve always been afraid that among us here tonight, in the the strength’s gonna leave. The next 12 months, 30 of us will reason that I got it done … I don’t think about ending our lives — want it to disappear.” and 10 of you, right now, are “My secret’s not quite as sitting by somebody who will upbeat as that one,” another stuactually try.” dent said, “but … so here goes. He proceeded to share three Pain pills took everything I ever ways to help prevent suicide. had away from me; they took my • Girl Talk, 2011 See VIRAL VIDEO on Page 2 He said the most effective relationship, my job, my school, option is to be direct, and conmy violin, my computer, my front a potential threat head friends and most importantly, they took my dignity and integri- Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon on. “Ask them and say, ‘Hey, are ty away from me. And in relation Frank Warren, founder of you thinking about hurting to that guy’s secret, Harry Potter PostSecret, discusses a also helped me keep my sanity secret mailed to him on a yourself? I’m always here if you while I was in rehab.” burger wrapper on need to talk,’” Warren said. The second path is to These two secrets represent Wednesday in the Cox the wide variety of emotions Auditorium. The event was remove the method; check to and interesting theme of con- hosted by the Central see if they have a loaded nectedness present at the Program Council and was firearm or prescription medicaPostSecret Live Event, spon- the first time Warren had tions. Finally, Warren advised to sored by the Visual Arts visited Knoxville. contact professional help, citCommittee. The program ing 1-800-SUICIDE and also brought Frank Warren, founder mentioning VolAware, the UT suicide hotline. of the award-winning blog PostSecret, to campus. “More than once, I’ve gotten e-mails from stuHe walked out in jeans and an untucked buttonup, on a stage adorned only with a barstool and a dents that said the only reason I’m alive today is because my RA asked me how I was doing at just small table; the simplicity belied his story. “My name is Frank, and I collect secrets,” the right time,” Warren said. “Sometimes it’s the smallest things that can make the biggest differWarren said. This was not just his introduction; it was also ence.” Logan Brooks, a sophomore in English and a how he began his mission back in 2004. He passed out 3,000 postcards to complete strangers, asking Resident Assistant in Morrill Hall, really felt the for their secrets. It wasn’t long before those secrets importance of that secret. “When Frank mentioned how RAs could be that began to trickle in, and soon, the project had taken change or assistance for that one student, I truly a life of its own. “I’ve been a PostSecret fan for years,” Jackie believed my position as a student leader became Delpilar, a sophomore in journalism and electronic that much more necessary and influential,” Brooks Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon media, said. “I look forward to checking the web- said. Kevin Benaim Gonzalez, graduate student in business administration, speaks with a site every Sunday, and I’ve read several of Frank representative from Target at the Diversity Job Fair on Tuesday in the UC Ballroom.
RJ Vogt
Copy Editor