Partly Cloudy with a 0% chance of rain HIGH LOW 72 49
White overtakes Orange in annual spring game
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Monday, April 19, 2010 Issue 63
E D I T O R I A L L Y
Clarence Brown Theatre gets quixotic with ‘Man of La Mancha’
I N D E P E N D E N T
PUBLISHED SINCE 1906
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Vol. 113 S T U D E N T
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Earth Day events to promote sustainability Kyle Turner Staff Writer
Chinese president flies to earthquake zone JIEGU, China — Chinese President Hu Jintao met with earthquake survivors Sunday in a remote, mountainous Tibetan region where rescue supplies were arriving at a faster pace. Hu cut short an official trip to South America to deal with the disaster, which killed more than 1,700 people in western China. Amid heavy security, Hu visited a village on the outskirts of Jiegu then headed to a field hospital beside the Jiegu sports stadium. Crowds of patients and visitors craned their necks to catch a glimpse of Hu as he chatted with medical staff and rescue teams for about 15 minutes. He took no questions and did not speak with journalists. Zou Ming, head of disaster relief at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said 25,000 tents, more than 50,000 cottonpadded quilts, and 850 tons of instant food and drinking water have been delivered to the quake zone.
In celebration of Earth Day and UT’s effort to make campus more sustainable, S.P.E.A.K. will host recycling and environmentally conscious events at the 2010 Earth Day Festival. The festival takes place in the Humanities Plaza on April 22 from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. as one of many Earth Month events. The events are all free and aimed at promoting sustainability by making little changes to everyday life. “The goal of the event is to show students that there are small ways to make big impacts on the environment,” Danielle Gerhard, sophomore in psychology, said. Students are highly encouraged to stop by and take full advantage of the different activities held throughout the event. A cookout will start the day off, including vegetarian options aimed at showing students alternatives to meat are just as accessible and delicious.
In an effort to promote recycling clothing, tables will be set up where students have the option to drop off unwanted clothes in exchange for someone else’s donations. Gerhard said this is a completely free way to get “new” clothing instead of donating or throwing out unwanted items. To show that recycling clothing can be creative, students have the option to bring in a Tshirt and get a screen print placed on the shirt. Free screen prints will be offered as a way to give a new look to an item of clothing someone might have contemplated disregarding. Other services offered at the event focus on UT bikers. Free bike tune-ups will be offered through U-TOP during the day. “Riding your bike to school is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint while in college, and free tune-ups will be offered to ensure students can keep cycling,” Chelsea Ennis, junior in psychology, said. The environmental groups represented at the Earth Day festival include Mountain Justice, TN Valley Bikes, UT Organic Market Garden
and Make Orange Green. “While students are at the festival, we really hope that they take a minute and visit the different tables with important message,” Gerhard said. “A lot of great groups will be there to highlight some of the important environmental aspects in the Knoxville community.” S.P.E.A.K. is also encouraging students to hear David Quammen, author of the book “The Song of the Dodo,” Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the UC Auditorium. Quammen will discuss evolution and the effects of human environmental actions. The author will highlight how the environment has changed from human impact and how those changes translate into evolutionary patterns. “He is a renowned environmental journalist and is extremely well informed about the environment,” Stephen Holland, senior in environmental and soil science, said. “His message is going to (be) applicable to all, and I think anyone who gets a chance should hear what he has to say.”
Solo trans-Atlantic rower coped with iPods, candy CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio — An Ohio woman who became the youngest person to row across the Atlantic Ocean alone says she got through the journey with four iPods, 300 chocolate bars and 100 audiobooks. Katie Spotz spent more than two months alone at sea before completing her feat in March. The 22-year-old athlete spoke about the adventure at a welcome-home party Saturday in suburban Cleveland. Spotz says her training included more than 100 hours meditating to help cope with the loneliness of rowing for 10 hours a day. She said the hardest part was sleeping in cramped quarters and battling sleep deprivation. She split the rowing into two-hour shifts and spent time sending e-mails and Twitter messages. Turkish Cypriot hard-liner wins election NICOSIA, Cyprus — Hardline challenger Dervis Eroglu won a key Turkish Cypriot leadership election Sunday, vowing to continue peace talks amid fears his victory could grind reunification negotiations with the Greek Cypriots to a halt and scuttle Turkey’s bid for European Union membership. Eroglu won just enough votes for an outright victory, with 50.38 percent compared to leftist incumbent Mehmet Ali Talat’s 42.85 percent, according to results posted on the Turkish Cypriot High Electoral Board’s website. Candidates needed 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff. Eroglu assured supporters who rushed to his party headquarters in the northern, Turkish Cypriot half of the island’s divided capital, that he would not abandon negotiations aimed at reunifying the divided island.
• Photo courtesy of Josh Queener, TVC
At a recent TVC filming of “World View,” Samantha Vandergriff speaks to producer Whitney Bell. “World View” features interviews with international students at UT and students who have studied abroad. Interest meetings and auditions are Monday at 8 p.m. in suite 40 in the Communications Building. There are openings for several positions including on-air talent, videographers, editors, producers, ad sales and graphic designers.
Greeks build during week Rob Davis Staff Writer Greek Week is in full swing this week on campus. During the week, many different events will take place at UT, but the main event of Greek Week will take place off campus. “The Habitat for Humanity house build is the main event of Greek Week, and it is the third year students have participated in the build,” Jim Harrison, adviser for the Interfraternity Council, said. “Along with helping build the house, students have helped raise $30,000 to help fund the project. This is also the third year students have raised money.” During the week, Greek organizations will work together to build houses off Rutledge Pike. The days are divided into different work periods. Each period will consist of several Greek organizations, with a total of 20 students working on the site at all times. “It’s a great opportunity to give back to the community,” Meghan Slater, philanthropy chair for Panhellenic, and junior in public relations, said. “The hours are from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., and students wear hard hats and actually get to build a house.” In total, students will complete five houses. One of which will go to local resident Princess Thomas, who is the single mother of a 12 year old. “While the students are building the house, the future residents will be attending class,” Slater said. “They will be learning skills like money management and basic home upkeep skills.”
Students have enjoyed giving back to the community. “I participated in building the Habitat house last year,” Clay Collett, a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and a sophomore in political science, said. “It’s a great experience to be able to help build an environment for children and parents who need it. I plan to do it all my four years of college and after that as well. It really is a rewarding experience for them and for you.” Although building the Habitat houses is the main focus of the week, different activities will go on throughout the week. In addition to starting the house, Sunday featured an all-Greek worship service at Sevier Heights Baptist Church. The Panhellenic Building will host a blood drive Monday and Tuesday. Each person to donate blood will receive five points for his or her organization. Tuesday will also feature a volleyball tournament on Fiji Island. The event is open to all Greek organizations. Wednesday will feature an all-Greek cookout on Fiji Island during the afternoon. The week finishes out with Carnicus on Friday and Saturday. In addition to Carnicus, Saturday will feature the dedication of the Habitat houses. All the participants are invited to come out and view the dedication. Lindsey Nelson Stadium will play host to the allGreek baseball game Sunday. This is the final event of Greek Week and after the game the all-Greek picture will be taken at the stadium.
New academic sorority aims for fall 2010 start Donesha Aldridge Staff Writer A new academic sorority is hoping to get its start next fall. Beta Beta’s presidents, Elizabeth Southerland, freshman in music and Emily Smith, sophomore in nuclear engineering, want motivated female students to join. “We are very passionate about the causes and purposes of our sorority,” Southerland said. Southerland said there are many reasons women should want to join the new sorority. “First and foremost, Beta Beta is to serve as a support group for academically motivated women,” she said. “We want to encourage each other to continue pursuing not only academic excellence but overall per-
sonal optimality. We believe that there are many women at UT and all over the country, who hold the potential to be truly great, if they are only given the resources.” Southerland said she thinks Beta Beta will be successful. “Beta Beta began as one of those ‘great ideas’ friends talk about but never actually follow through with,” Southerland said. “However, because we are so passionate about Beta Beta’s purpose, our sorority is well on its way to becoming real. Beta Beta’s astounding initial success is also due, in my opinion, to the nobility and importance of its purpose.” Southerland said UT women who are academically motivated and artistically inclined would be great candidates for Beta Beta. See SORORITY on Page 3