The Daily Beacon

Page 1

Issue 65, Volume 122

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Davis looks toward new position in SGA Preston Peeden Associate Editor

New SGA President Jake Baker and Vice President Paige Atchley, and the 2012-2013 SGA executive board. The 2012-2013 board exchanged their good-byes at the SGA transition ceremony on Tuesday.

SGA transitions herald speech from Butch Jones David Cobb Assistant News Editor The occasion was “business casual” at the annual transition ceremony for Student Government Association representatives in the UC’s Hermitage Room on Tuesday night. The room was packed full of UT deans and student leaders dressed to the nines.

There was certainly no lack of heartfelt farewell speeches, which were followed by the understandably emotional oaths of office by the new SGA executives. But the largest ovation of the night followed a speaker who was anything but nostalgic. Loosely adhering to the dress code, he sported a golf shirt with a Power T across the heart and spoke almost

exclusively of the future, noting that change is a part of it. On the topic of transition, Butch Jones is certainly not a stranger. “I’m a firm believer that change is healthy,” the first-year UT football coach told a delighted crowd that wasn’t aware he would be speaking until they were handed the meeting agenda on the way in the door. “They say that every

Former UT swimmers among injured in Boston explosions Staff Reports UT alumni and former members of Tennessee’s swimming and diving team Michael and Nicole (Brannock) Gross were among those injured in the attack at Monday’s Boston Marathon. Dr. Ralph Harvey, an associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, also witnessed the incident. The Grosses were near the race’s finish line waiting for Nicole’s mother to complete the marathon when the two bombs exploded. Nicole suffered two broken legs and has had multiple surgeries. Michael sustained burns and cuts. Nicole’s sister Erika was also severely injured in the explosion. Nicole swam for the Lady Vols from 1999 to 2002. She graduated in 2003 with a degree in community health education. Michael swam for the Vols from 1998 to 2002. He graduated in 2003 with a degree in sociology. The couple lives in Charlotte, N.C. Harvey ran the marathon and had crossed the finish

line about 15 minutes before he saw the explosions from a few hundred yards away. At first, he said, he thought it was a transformer exploding. “The second explosion was larger,” he said. “I wasn’t in any danger, but I could see the police and EMTs reacting immediately.” After the explosions, Harvey and other runners were bused back to the race’s starting point to help clear the finish area. An avid runner, Harvey was running his fifth Boston Marathon. “This immediately turned a beautiful event into an ugly event with so much horrible pain and loss,” he said. “This is my favorite marathon because of the crowd support. When you’re running the Boston Marathon, you feel like you’re part of history. It’s an honor to be able to run it.” With more than 23,000 runners in this year’s marathon, there are bound to be more Tennessee connections. The university has not heard of any current students who were at the race. If you were affected by the attacks, please email utnews@utk.edu.

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organization should change the carpeting and the color of their walls every two to three years,” Jones explained. “Because when people become comfortable, their work capacity and output goes down.” Jimmy Stanton, the associate athletics director for communications who helps coordinate his public appearances, stood to the side of the room as Jones launched

into a motivational speech. Though he’s in the midst of it himself after inheriting a football program that’s suffered through three consecutive losing seasons, Jones spoke confidently of how to handle the uncertainty of the future. “You get uncomfortable when you don’t know what’s next,” Jones said. “Quite sim-

ply, we don’t tell our players what’s coming next because I always want them embracing change … we have to be able to adapt and adjust.” The former Cincinnati head coach bookended his presentation by stressing the significance of student support for his team. See TRANSITION on Page 2

Around Rocky Top

Matthew DeMaria • The Daily Beacon

Allison Outerbridge during the triple jump in the 47th annual Sea Ray Relays on April 12.

Arts and Culture

Sports

Michael Buble pleases with new album

Lady Vols softball look to extend 16-game winning streak

>>See Page 5

>>See Page 7

Usually on UT’s campus, the Student Government Association election season triggers mass celebration for one party and dejection for another. Luckily for Grant Davis, the newly sworn-in Student Services Director of SGA, this year’s election turnouts were different. After the emergence of a rare third party, a week of non-stop campaigning and a 24-hour delay due to technological difficulties, Davis was left standing as the only member of his party, Engage UT, to win one of the “Big Three” positions in SGA. Unlike years past, when the positions of president, vice president and student services director have been filled by members of the same party, the surprise victory of the Baker-Atchley campaign, who did not run a candidate for the student services director position, meant that the role would have to be filled by someone on a different campaign. Into this void stepped Davis, who was able to parlay his past experiences as the Assistant Director of Student Services into a 2,654 to 2,047 vote victory over Amplify UT’s candidate, Lindsey Huff. This victory, however, was bittersweet for the livelong Vol fan from Shelbyville, Tenn. “It was a bitter pill,” the junior in biosystems engineering said. “I was extremely sad. Over the course of this, they (his running mates Christian Powers and Laura Burgin) became like my brother and my sister, and it hurts me. It still hurts me, after all the time and effort that we put into it.” For Davis, who was at Sunspot on the Strip with the rest of the members of Engage UT, his first thought wasn’t on his own victory but the results of his party. “I felt more about them, and telling our 60 people at the party,” he said. “It wasn’t about me. We didn’t really think about me winning until Sunday.” Newly sworn-in SGA president Jake Baker, a junior in political science, felt Davis’ victory got overlooked in the hoopla surrounding his own party’s performance. “I kind of felt bad because people were saying, ‘The Baker-Atchley campaign won … and Grant Davis,’” Baker said. “So he didn’t get that moment. While he did win his position, his campaign didn’t really win.” Despite Engage’s performance on the whole, Davis’ victory signaled a change in the attitude surrounding SGA for next year, as diverse opinions look to become the norm. Davis is quick to point out that these different views won’t be a hindrance but instead a benefit for the UT community. See DAVIS on Page 2

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