03 27 14

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Issue 50, Volume 125

utdailybeacon.com

PART 2 OF 2

Local skateboarders saddled with ‘absurd’ laws When Knoxville debuted its first skatepark at Tyson Park in 2008, local skateboarders finally had a place to go. The development of the skatepark brought forth legal problems that skateboarders still face today regarding safety, preservation of parks, and rules and regulations. The following is a continuation of part one of “A walk in the (skate)park,” printed in

SEE

Wednesday’s edition of The Daily Beacon. … And the Law Won Brian Beauchene, owner of Pluto Sports, a store located off Cedar Bluff Road that specializes in skateboards, snowboards and discs, was a major advocate for the creation of the Knoxville Skatepark and an overall supporter of skateboarding in Knoxville. But he also noted that many boarders prefer what he calls street skating, “where it’s more natural, more of that surfer feel.”

“When you’re at a skatepark, it’s a little fabricated; it’s made for you,” Beauchene said. “It takes away some of the rawness of skateboarding, so there are some guys who are just like street purists and don’t go to skateparks, and they go to places maybe they shouldn’t be skating.” This preference for “street skating,” Beauchene noted, causes more problems than skating at a skatepark. “Then, they get busted or they get hassled and get kicked out.” Beauchene listed the Women’s

Basketball Hall of Fame and UT’s campus as two spots skateboarders tend to frequent; he said it’s normal for them to get hassled out of these locations. “Security guards tell them to leave, and then they come back on Sunday when no one is there.” In 2011, three years after the Knoxville skatepark opened, there was a deadly accident involving a White Pine teenager, Calvin Kelley, 16, who hit his head while skateboarding sans helmet. He suffered major inju-

ries and passed away nine days after the accident. Posted in two different places at the Knoxville skatepark, the consequences for any person skating without a helmet would be the minimum $75 fine. Although aware of possible injuries, Erik Phillips, Knoxville resident and seasoned skateboarder, said he used to go to the skatepark all the time until police officers started hassling him and his friends about wearing helmets. See SKATEBOARDING on Page 2

Seniors face post-grad plans • Graphic Courtesy of Dillon Canfield

Melodi Erdogan Managing Editor

INSIDE

Volapalooza: How the campus concert comes together NEWS >>pg. 3

Happy Holler antique shop dusts off unique trinkets

ARTS & CULTURE >>pg. 6

This graph denotes the companies who hired the most interns and full time employees from UT.

Emilee Lamb Assistant News Editor It’s the beginning of the end. As summer looms ahead, so does the “real” world, and, for graduating seniors, the dreaded question: “What are you going to do after graduation?” Kristin Ballenger, senior in College Scholars, already knows her answer. Having spent her time at UT crafting a degree focused on financing and education in Title I schools – educational programs that give extra attention and assistance to academically at-risk students – Ballenger will walk across

the stage to Phoenix as a member of the 2014 Teach for America corps. Through participation in TFA, Ballenger will hold a full-time teaching position while simultaneously working toward a master’s degree in elementary education as a full-time student at Arizona State University. “The major I was creating through College Scholars just fit right in line with Teach for America and what they did and the schools they taught because I wanted to teach low-income students,” Ballenger said. “I thought it was a perfect fit for me to dive right in to teach in the schools that I created my major around.” Career Services Director

Russ Coughenour maintains early planning always proves indispensable as students transition to post-graduate life. “We feel if we can interact with the student in the freshman and certainly in the sophomore year, we can kind of plan a strategy with them,” Coughenour said. “The idea would be to have an end in mind: What do you want to become? What do you want to do?” Yet, approximately 75 percent of college students change their major at least once during their time in university, according to a statistic cited in a Pennsylvania State University academic advising journal.

Jennifer Nguyen, senior in psychology, originally planned to attend medical school to practice clinical psychology before encountering organic chemistry. Next fall, she will instead begin her graduate school career as a student of UT’s Master’s of Social Work program. “When I realized I had a passion for mental health, I had to talk to my adviser about my options if I didn’t want to go and Ph.D.,” she said. “She explained to me that the MSW program would allow me to practice clinically and do everything a clinical psychologist does.” See GRADUATION on Page 3

Students say racy music amplifies rape culture Jenna Butz Staff Writer As “Blurred Lines” made its way to the top of last summer’s charts, controversy arose with it. As more organizations across the world from students to feminists worked to ban the song, the awareness of rape culture grew. Marshall University’s Women’s Center defines rape culture as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.” Now, there is widespread debate over whether such music really impacts rape and sexual assault cases and leads to a skewed idea of sexual expectations, particularly in students. A member of Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee, Nicky Hackenbrack, junior in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology, thinks certain songs are capable of helping the growth of rape culture. Citing songs such as “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke, “Talk Dirty” by Jason Derulo and “Gorillas” by Bruno Mars, she believes the main reason these songs do so is because of their depiction of women. “Songs that facilitate rape culture don’t give women choice about their sexual behaviors and talk about women as physical creatures,” Hackenbrack said. “For example, Beyoncé is incredibly sexual in her new album, but she has total control on how she represents herself. This distinction is important to make and difficult to spot.” Similarly, Jodi RightlerMcDaniels, a Ph.D. candidate and graduate teaching associate in journalism and electronic media, agrees that the messages of rape culture in popular music stems from the representation of women in such songs. RightlerMcDaniels is a critical-cultural scholar who deals with race, gender and sexuality representations in the media, putting her in a position to constantly question media images. See RAPE CULTURE on Page 5

SPORTS >>pg. 7

Softball ‘doing all the small things right’ early on in conference play SPORTS >>pg. 8

Against the wall, Vols battle from bubble to Sweet 16 Steven Cook Copy Editor The bright lights of the NCAA tournament almost blinded Tennessee beyond recovery as its improbable Sweet 16 run was in its infancy. Missing their first eight shots, the Volunteers allowed Iowa to jump out to a 16-4 lead in last Wednesday’s play-in game. Desperately needing momentum heading into a TV timeout, Jordan McRae nailed an ill-advised 3-pointer. Iowa ran down, missed a three of its own, and McRae finished for a layup on the other end. Down seven points that felt more like 20, the Vols’ fate at that point was headed in one of two directions: fail to bounce back from a horrible start and spend the rest of Spring Break in Knoxville or gut out a vic-

tory and see what happens in Raleigh, N.C. The Vols have outscored their last three opponents 238179 — a 59-point difference — since that timeout. “I do think it was nerves the first 10 minutes of that game,” coach Cuonzo Martin said Tuesday. “Just, ‘Man, we are in the NCAA tournament.’ We didn’t flow right defensively. We lost assignments. “And then once we settled down and especially got that thing in overtime, we started to play well and we’ve been playing well ever since.” Ever since, the Vols have “stone-cold stunned” everyone in sight as one of the main surprises of the Big Dance. Their laid-back approach led to a 19-point win over six-seed Massachusetts before they crushed 14-seed Mercer. See MEN’S BASKETBALL on Page 7

Wade Rackley • Tennessee Athletics

Vols still searching for methods to speed up to an SEC level

Junior forward Jarnell Stokes goes for a layup in the Vols’ 83-63 victory over the Mercer Bears in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., on March 23. UT will take on Michigan in the Sweet 16 on Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis at 7:15 p.m.

INSIDE THE DAILY BEACON

@UTKDailyBeacon www.utdailybeacon.com

“The trip had done something to me, scratched an itch I never thought I had, replaced a puzzle piece I never noticed was gone.” OPINIONS >>pg. 4

News Opinions Arts & Culture Sports

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03 27 14 by UT Media Center - Issuu