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This is the last issue of the Daily Beacon for this semester and for this year. And what a ride it’s been. Laws have passed. Controversy was stirred. Football games were won and lost. When we published our first paper of the year in August, we promised to be here for you.

We hope we haven’t let you down. You’ve certainly held up your end of the bargain. Thank you for reading, and go Vols.

Volume 131 Issue 67

utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon

Friday, April 29, 2016

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SPORTS

The Daily Beacon • Friday, April 29, 2016

THE DAILY BEACON STAFF

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief: Jenna Butz Managing Editor: Bradi Musil Creative Director: Katrina Roberts Chief Copy Editor: Hannah Moulton News Editor: Tanner Hancock Asst. News Editor: Alahnah Ligon Sports Editor: Jonathan Toye Asst. Sports Editor: Taylor White Arts & Culture Editor: Megan Patterson Asst. Arts & Culture Editor: Michael Lipps Online Editor: Cara Sanders Asst. Online Editor: Altaf Nanavati Photo Editors: Esther Choo, Alex Phillips Design Editors: Lauren Ratliff, Justin Keyes Copy Editors: Breanna Andrew, Sara Counts, Trenton Duffer, Courtney Frederick, Jared Sebby, Shelby Tansil Editorial Production: Laurel Cooper, Amber Dalehite, Rachel Incorvati, Caroline Norris, Cameo Waters Training Editor: Troy Provost-Heron

ADVERTISING/PRODUCTION

Advertising Manager: Conner Thompson Media Sales Representatives: Andrew Bowers, Jesse Haywood, Lauren Huguenard, Payton Plunk, Amber Wilson, Steven Woods Advertising Production: Aubrey Andrews, Tim Rhyne Classified Adviser: Zenobia Armstrong

CONTACTS To report a news item, please e-mail editor.news@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-2348 To submit a press release, please e-mail pressreleases@utdailybeacon.com To place an ad, please e-mail beaconads@utk.edu or call 865-974-5206 To place a classified ad, please e-mail orderad@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-4931 Advertising: (865) 974-5206 beaconads@utk.edu Classifieds: (865) 974-4931 orderad@utdailybeacon.com Editor-in-Chief: (865) 974-3226 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com Main Newsroom: (865) 974-3226 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com LETTERS POLICY: The Daily Beacon welcomes all letters to the editor and guest columns from students, faculty and staff. Each submission is considered for publication by the editor on the basis of space, timeliness and clarity. The Beacon reserves the right to reject any submissions or edit all copy in compliance with available space, editorial policy and style. Contributions must include the author’s name and phone number for verification. Students must include their year in school and major. Letters to the editor and guest columns may be e-mailed to letters@utdailybeacon.com or sent to Editor, 1340 Circle Park Dr., 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314.

CORRECTIONS POLICY: It is the Daily Beacon’s policy to quickly correct any factual errors and clarify any potentially misleading information. Errors brought to our attention by readers or staff members will be corrected and printed on page two of our publication. To report an error please send as much information as possible about where and when the error occurred to Editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com, or call our newsroom at (865) 974-5206.

The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Wednesday during the summer semester. The offices are located at 1340 Circle Park Drive, 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year, $100/semester or $70/summer only. It is also available online at: www.utdailybeacon.com The Daily Beacon is printed using soy based ink on newsprint containing recycled content, utilizing renewable sources and produced in a sustainable, environmentally responsible manner.

Dobbs draws inspiration from courageous battle Jonathan Toye Sports Editor The Cuckseys didn’t know what to expect when they received an invitation to attend a Tennessee football practice in November of 2014.

They certainly didn’t anticipate meeting a future family friend.

Their five-year-old son A.J. Cucksey met Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs for the first time after practice ended. Dobbs continued to stay in touch with A.J. and his family, visiting them on holidays and random weekends.

Somewhere along the way, A.J. became the little brother Dobbs never had.

“It’s really cool,” Dobbs said. “I am an only child. I never grew up with a little brother or a little sibling, so he is kind of like that for sure.

“He is always going 5,000 miles per hour.

He has a lot of energy.”

Dobbs genuinely enjoys spending time with A.J., saying he is really outgoing compared to other kids his age. But A.J. has also had to endure trials no child should ever have to face. He was very sick and in a wheel chair the first time he met Dobbs. A month earlier, the Cuckseys were on a family vacation at Disney World in early October of 2014 when A.J. began developing problems with his coordination and walking. His parents thought the problems were related to his preexisting eyesight issues. But they were still worried and his dad John Cucksey called the doctor.

The doctor suggested that they either take A.J. to an emergency room or bring him back to Knoxville.

“

He is inspiring to really anyone. When you are around A.J., the (energy) is completely genuine.

Everything he does is genuine.”

Josh Dobbs, Quaterback

That night John and his wife Shannon Cucksey agreed they would see how A.J. did

Junior quarterback Josh Dobbs and five-year-old A.J. Cucksey spend time together at the Cucksey home. • Photos courtesy of John Cucksey the next day before making any decisions.

When A.J. had to use the restroom the following day around 11 a.m., John sat in the stall with him and was three inches from A.J.’s face when A.J. said: “Daddy, where did you go?”

The Cuckseys immediately got in the car and rushed back to Knoxville. The doctor promptly ordered a CT scan, which unveiled news no parent wants to hear: A.J. had multiple tumors in his brain in a inaccessable area.

The tumors were blocking the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid in his brain, causing a build up of fluid and pressure.

“It was a tough time,” John said. “Everything is cloudy about then.”

A.J., however, had a strong support group.

And when the Cuckseys attended practice, the football team also offered encouragement.

After practice ended, every single player came over and shook A.J.’s hand. Then the coaches, including Butch Jones, went over and talked to A.J. Dobbs, who was preparing to make his second start that season against Kentucky, was the last player to visit A.J. They talked for 10 minutes. A.J told Dobbs he was his favorite football player. Dobbs took photos with A.J. “It was a pretty cool experience,” John said. “(But) we didn’t expect anything after that.”

Dobbs, though, didn’t waste time pursuing a relationship with A.J. John received a call around a week after his family attended practice. It was from Dobbs.

“I thought I was getting punked and someone was messing with me,” John said.

But it really was from Dobbs. He wanted to meet with A.J. again. The day before

Tennessee departed for Jacksonville for the TaxSlayer Bowl, Dobbs came over to the Cuckseys’ house and presented A.J. with a signed No. 11 jersey.

Dobbs originally planned to drop off the jersey and leave, but he ended up staying for an hour.

“The first time I went to his house it was humbling to see a four-year-old kid who can’t get around without his walker or his wheelchair,” Dobbs said. “I talked to the family and played with the family. We kind of just hit off.

“That just comes from the connection we had.”

The house visits intensified. Dobbs came over last Christmas and also visited the Cuckseys on Easter Sunday, bringing his own dad along. That gave John the opportunity to tell Robert Dobbs that he appreciates everything his son does to keep A.J. smiling.

These aren’t short visits either, Dobbs stays for a long time. He and A.J. love to talk about football. Sometimes, they talk about school.

Dobbs gave A.J. an orange backpack encrusted with the No. 11. A.J. has worn that backpack everyday he has attended school.

On the day Tennessee switched from Adidas to Nike, Dobbs left a Nike hat at the bottom of the Cucksey’s door with a note that read, “Hey A.J., I wanted you to be the first to get the new gear.”

“You can tell Josh actually cares for him and this not something he is doing for the media,” John said. “You can tell he really, really cares for him. And A.J. has developed the same care for Josh as well.

See DOBBS on Page 11

CAMPUSNEWS

Friday, April 29, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

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Cheating: A closer look at the academic epidemic Chris Botsis Contributor In 2007, at least 34 Duke University freshmen collaborated on an open-book, take-home exam they were assigned to work on individually.

When their tests were turned in with so many similar answers, it wasn’t difficult for the professor to unearth the cheating at hand. Once he reported his findings and the evidence was examined, nearly 10 percent of Duke’s first-year class faced academic penalties.

Many of the students were expelled entirely, with only a few lesser offenders being suspended or failing the class.

Academic cheating is far from a new phenomenon, but data shows the issue is becoming more widespread in recent years. While 10 percent of the Duke freshman class was caught, the real percentage of those cheating in higher education may be astronomically greater. According to a survey conducted by Time Magazine in June of 2015, a staggering 82 percent of university undergraduates admitted to cheating in some form during

college.

“I think the problem with cheating starts early on,” James Jackson Jr., associate director of the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards at UT, said. “Kids get away with it so easily in high school; they come to college accustomed to doing it.”

Jackson might be on to something. According to a study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, more than half of high school students have admitted to cheating in the last year alone. And unlike many smaller studies of this ilk, this study took into account a sizable chunk of students — a little over 40,000.

Furthermore, 34 percent of those students admitted to cheating more than twice throughout the year. By comparison, only 20 percent of students admitted to cheating in high school in the 1940s.

So why do students cheat, and why has it become a bigger problem now than ever before? Middlebury College professor Augustus Jordan, who led a 2010 study on motivations behind cheating, might have some insights.

“What we show is that as intrinsic motivation for a course drops, and/or as extrinsic motivation rises, cheating goes up,” Jordan told The Boston Globe. “The less a topic matters to a person, or the more they are par-

ticipating in it for instrumental reasons, the higher the risk for cheating.”

It makes sense. The less students are invested in learning the course for the subject matter itself, the less motivation they have to actively participate. Lisa Gary, senior lecturer of the College of Communications at UT, points out that this might be a flaw with our system of education itself.

“I think a lot of students, even good students, are more focused on their grade than what they’re learning,” Gary said. “And there’s a problem with the system when that’s the case.

“You have to do a certain amount of evaluation to have learning outcomes, I understand that. But if students were more motivated by learning and less by the grade, it would probably make a big difference.”

That focus on evaluation and the pressure students often feel to excel in school because of it may be another issue that leads to cheating. Pressure can start early on, long before higher education, and it might explain cheating starting early too.

Even for those who never cheated in high school, the greater stakes of college — like getting good grades in hopes of landing a good job, becoming financially independent

and standing out in the job market — can add even more stress.

According to a report from PayScale, an online salary, benefits and compensation information company, as many as 22 million Americans are underemployed in today’s job market.

Underemployment, in this instance, is defined as “having part-time work but wanting full-time work, or holding a job that doesn’t require or utilize a person’s education, experience or training.”

The report does point out, however, just how difficult underemployment is to measure compared to unemployment.

PayScale’s report concluded that health care administration, business management and criminal justice were the top three most underemployed majors, with underemployment at 58 percent, 60 percent and 62 percent, respectively. Other majors, like psychology, education and liberal arts rounded out the list. But there’s no shortage of graduates in these fields either, which only leads to more underemployment.

See CHEATING on Page 5

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CAMPUSNEWS

The Daily Beacon • Friday, April 29, 2016

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SPRING 2016 Whether you’re finishing up your first year in the Big Orange Country or just finished taking graduation photos last week, you’ve put a lot of work into this semester. Students were more involved than ever this spring with campus happenings, and “UT” became an infamous household name before we knew it.

For those who might have missed out, here’s a list of the semester’s highlights that brought us to today.

Tennessee legislators vote to defund UT’s Office of Diversity State lawmakers’ outrage with UT’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion culminated in their decision to partially defund that office in April.

All but four members of the state Senate voted on a measure redirecting over $400,000 in state funds away from the diversity office to go towards scholarships for minority students seeking engineering degrees. The house version of the bill, which would have used $100,000 of that sum to fund an “In God We Trust” decal program for state law enforcement vehicles was tabled in favor of the senate version.

Privatization One of the more vocal opponents to Governor Bill Haslam’s proposal to outsource the management of state office buildings, including those run by UT’s facilities services workers, came from university administration.

Vice Chancellor for Facilities Services David Irvin heavily criticized what he saw as a flawed plan from the governor’s office and one which would unlikely save the money estimated by

Haslam and his aides. “It would be a disaster for this campus. It would be a disaster for our students... You can kiss top 25 goodbye.”

Anti-abortion and anti-LGBT displays inspire student protests The campus saw two major displays of opinion this semester. The first came as a 360 display of unborn fetuses and other images that represented anti-abortion opinions. The group who sponsored the display was asked to come to campus by a student organization. Several students skipped class and gathered at the displays to protest the images.

Another display arrived unwelcomed by any student organization on campus in March.

The “Bible Believers,” a national organization that frequents college campuses and other events, brought anti-LGBT messages to campus. They inspired an even larger student and faculty protest.

Mass Class Exit Following a vote in the Senate to defund the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at UT, students left their classes in masses to join in protest in the Humanities Amphitheater.

Several hundred students joined the Diversity Matters Coalition, who invited any and all student who felt “personally victimized” by Tennessee legislators. The group encouraged the students to fight for change in the diversity climate on campus by laying down in the HSS amphitheater and later in the Presidential Courtyard. Other students hung confederate flags out the windows of dorms in the courtyard once the crowd moved.

Leaving behind some dos and don’ts

Cara Sanders Four very short years ago, I was petrified to come to college. I was scared out of my mind to leave Nashville for the unknown that awaited.

Fast forward, and now I’m praying that I never have to leave.

As I sat down to write my commencement piece, I realized that I had so much to say because these last four years have given me so, so much.

I’m not great with goodbyes, so I’m not going to drag you along my ride down memory lane,

but I will leave you with my ‘dos and don’ts’ for college.

Every year at our senior banquet, the girls of my sorority give advice to the younger chapter members. I’m going to take a page out of ADPi’s book and do the same for you.

Do: Go out on a Tuesday, even if you have an exam at 8 a.m. the next day. It’ll be worth it.

Don’t: Max out your credit card at Hanna’s, because you’ll have to tell your parents that Hanna’s Café isn’t actually a coffee shop.

Do: Go to class. It really is the most important thing you can do and the reason why we’re all here after all.

Don’t: Take yourself too seriously. You don’t have to have everything figured out by the time you graduate. I sure don’t.

Do: Take time to make new friends and explore new hobbies. If I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have ended up at the Beacon. If I hadn’t ended up at the Beacon, I wouldn’t have met some of the best people I know.

See CARA SANDERS on Page 6

FAREWELLS

Friday, April 29, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

Don’t take college for granted

Tanner Hancock News Editor What’s the best way to sum up a college experience?

I could tell you about the time I drunkenly stumbled out of The Hill, lost my phone and sandals and couldn’t find my house until after sunrise.

I could tell you about the the time I almost met Peyton Manning outside of Gus’s.

Or the time my freshman roommate shattered my bottle of George Dickel after trying to get it down from the ceiling hiding place.

I could tell you about the time I met my current girlfriend, our first date, first fight and all the good stuff that comes after.

I could tell you about my first weekend in col-

CHEATING continued from Page 3 The measurable fact that there are more college graduates in today’s America than ever before — yet not enough skilled workers to fill the jobs needed — is known as the skills gap.

Andy*, who admitted to cheating in the past and is currently underemployed, made some compelling arguments for why this might lead to academic dishonesty.

“I think people are starting to doubt the power of their degrees. It might depend on (their) majors, but just ask students about to graduate,” he said. “They think their whole four or more years of college could end with them still being unable to find a job in their field. And they’re right.”

Unfortunately, cheating is not just an academic concern — there may be more at stake.

Research done in the past ten years suggests that academic cheating correlates with dishonesty later in life. A 2007 Southern Illinois University survey, for example, found that students who cheated in college consider themselves more likely to engage in illegal activities, break rules in the workplace and even cheat on their partners.

With research piling up to support this correlation, it’s important to understand that cheating is not only an educational problem but a broader social issue.

So how do we address this social issue and contain the cheating epidemic, even if only on an individual level? Jackson encouraged students to disavow any academically dishonest behavior.

lege, sitting on the grassy hill behind the tennis courts, wondering where my friends and life in high school had gone and whether things would ever be the same again.

They wouldn’t, but that turned out to be OK. I’m not the same person I was when I came here four years ago. I don’t spend my weekend nights chilling on one of UT’s three green spaces (though it would be a lot cheaper). When I first came here, I was desperate to be liked, hungry for attention and not even partially sure of who I was, let alone what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. To be honest, I still don’t know what I’m going to with my life, but this time around, I have something my freshman self never had the benefit of.

I know who I am, and I have UT to thank for it.

So here’s to my time on Rocky Top. To the ugly campus jokes, to the late night Beacon sessions and to all the friends I was fortunate to enough to enjoy them with. Don’t take a second of your time here for granted. Billy Madison may have put it best, “Stay here. Stay here as long as you can. For the love of God, cherish it.”

Senior, journalism, get a job, thancoc7@vols. utk.edu.

“It starts with students first and their attitude[s] towards cheating,” Jackson said.

“The less acceptable it is for one’s friends, the less likely they’ll be to cheat themselves.”

While Jackson found the 82 percent statistic unsettling, he’s “optimistic that number will lower in the future.” Universities have been taking the threat of cheating a lot more seriously in recent years, he observed. Auckland University in New Zealand, for instance, now administers a mandatory “cheating test” for its students to ensure they know all of the school’s academic integrity policies and standards.

It is also important to take into account the specifics of the Time study — namely, that it did not ask students what they were cheating on.

“In my larger classes especially, I have quite a few students who cheat on very low-stakes items like attendance,” Gary said.

It is still cheating, but as she points out, it is an important distinction between cheating on a paper or a test.

“I think the same people would be a lot less likely to do that on something like an exam.”

To students who are feeling overworked, overstressed and tempted to try and cheat to pass a class, Jackson urges not merely to think of the potential consequences but to consider if they really want to earn their degree using dishonest methods.

“It devalues your degree,” Jackson said. “And it devalues everyone else’s who earned theirs honestly.”

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FAREWELLS

The Daily Beacon • Friday, April 29, 2016

Hey seniors, this one is for you. Graduation is around the corner. We hope you’re prepared to sob.

“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” Green Day

“Don’t Blink” Kenny Chesney

“Farewell” Rihanna

“We Are Young” fun.

“I’ll Be There For You” The Rembrandts

Cameo Waters

“How Far We’ve Come” Matchbox Twenty

Cameo Waters is graduating with a degree in Journalism and Electronic Media. She is planning on pursuing photography.

“We Are The Champions ” Queen

CARA SANDERS continued from Page 4 Don’t: Be passive. If you want something, you should work hard to get it.

Do: Take time to know advisors and those people around you. They really are there to help, and they just might be able to encourage you to do something you wouldn’t have done before.

Don’t: Take people for granted. There is no way that I could manage a lot of things by myself, including multimedia, so thank you, sincerely, John and Bradi.

Do: Make time for your friends. Every Thursday is exclusively reserved for #bingobitches at Cool Beans. It’s a standing date that I will miss every week when I graduate.

Don’t: Forget to thank the people you live with for loving you because sometimes you can be really difficult, and they put up with you anyway.

Do: Stay in touch with your friends, even if they move away for a job or travel abroad. They are really important.

These four years fly by faster than you think.

They can be stressful and emotional and scary, but they are going to be the best four years of your life.

Thank you to my friends, family and all of the people that I have met. My life is fuller and happier because of you all.

And, thank you, readers, for picking up the Beacon and reading it. Without you, I wouldn’t have found a job that helped me figure out what I want to do post-grad.

Cara Sanders is graduating with a degree in Public Relations. She is planning on moving back to Nashville where she will continue to look for a job. Feel free to start a gofundme campaign for her in the meantime. She can be reached at carasanders@me.com.

“Come Sail Away” Styx

“Like A Rolling Stone” Bob Dylan

“Free” Zac Brown Band

VIEWPOINTS

Friday, April 29, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

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When it’s time for us to say goodbye

Katrina Roberts Creative Director

Four years ago, I was 18 and standing uncomfortably in a cinder block room asking if I could have a job at The Daily Beacon.

I blinked.

Now I’m 22, and I’m saying goodbye to what has become my cinder block home. This also means saying goodbye to my fellow cinder block dwellers, whom I have come to know and love.

(Disclaimer: I really thought when I sat down to write this that it would be funnier. I was hoping for a perfect mix of pure joy and deep sorrow all rolled into one perfectly executed farewell column, but it’s actually just pretty sad and self-indulgently poetic, so brace yourself.)

Being a freshman, I am extremely excited about all of the opportunities that are available for me at UT and The Daily Beacon is no exception. I am applying for this position because I am very interested in all parts of newspaper production, but particularly the layout and design of it all. Though I do not have any prior experience with newspaper production, I am very interested in it, and I am a quick learner. Also, being an English major is useful in the world of newspaper just by itself. What I lack in experience, I believe I make up for in enthusiasm and willingness to learn all that I can.

From this experience, I hope to gain a working knowledge of production software and equipment, as well as all of the components that go into producing a newspaper. I also hope to learn more about team dynamics on a newspaper staff. I expect that I will be able to contribute with good work and good problem solving skills, if the need arises. I also enjoy working with people to accomplish a common goal, so I plan to be a good team member with good contributions. I look forward to working at The Daily Beacon!

--September 7, 2012

We: a pronoun used to indicate one or more persons in a group including the person speaking; a word to stand in for a community when a singular is simply not enough.

We have made it. It’s the end of another day, another week, another semester, another year. The days run together and weeks become seasons, but every now and then, there is a sigh and the gentle revelation that we have, in fact, lived to see another day. Most of the time we scramble through the process, taking no time to stop because there is no time to stop. Fix the error. Send the paper. Start your homework. Say a small prayer that you wake up on time for class. Repeat.

We have wasted time and made the most of it in the same moment. Hours are spent in that office watching outdated videos of rock stars being hit with shoes or watching Jeopardy and Beyoncé videos. We take quizzes and read horoscopes. Sometimes we go outside and play with a giant ball. We have formed the strongest relationships while struggling through a crossword or arguing over the last French fry. When we’re not working, we’re building friendships, and no amount of time spent typing can match that. Time is fickle, and we’ve used it well, even when we haven’t.

We have been angry. We have left the office mad and avoided it until necessary. We have complained to one another about one another. However, when the anger fades, there are still bonds that tie us.

We have failed. Some days, we cannot spell. We cannot get names right, and we make people mad. We mess up colors and make poor design choices. We make

mistakes. For every award on our shelf, there are dozens of failures propping it up.

We have succeeded. Those awards show our hard work and time dedicated. We’ve tried, failed, learned and failed again. But somewhere in that cycle, we have learned to value our mistakes and learn from them. And we have the plaques to prove it.

We. Have. Prevailed.

And when some of us leave the immediate we, it hurts to say good bye.

These are my friends and my family, and this has been my home for four years. I found a passion I didn’t know existed and a quiet confidence I didn’t know I had.

The Beacon has shaped me more than I ever thought it would, and it has given me the chance to know some of the greatest souls this world has ever produced.

I think there will always be a place for me between those two little letters, as there is for everyone who has left behind the single-windowed office for brighter skies.

We move on, but we stay in touch and remember our time at The Daily Beacon.

(See, I told you it was sad. Also, as if this wasn’t enough, I included my original application for the Beacon so I could have the first thing I ever wrote included in the last. Yup. That’s a dagger straight in the heart. But such is life at The Daily Beacon.)

Katrina Roberts is graduating with a degree in English with a concentration in creative writing. She can be reached at katrinadroberts6@gmail.com.

So long and thanks for all the Phish Travis Dorman Staff Writer While the state of Tennessee threatens to rear up and tear itself in two as the most conservative legislature in the country continues to push back against its flagship university’s “political correctness,” I sit alone and struggle to write something meaningful.

“What if my whole column was just ‘Beer and go Vols’?” I type out the words, giving them careful consideration before backspacing.

There’s no way this is going to be meaningful. In lieu of that, however, kindly allow a self-indulgent stream of garbage to flow from my fingertips, and we can sit back, smile and pretend it’s good.

I can’t say I’ve learned a lot in college classrooms, sitting still for hours at a time, my eyelids drooping as a faceless professor repeatedly empha-

sizes the importance of whatever it is they are droning on about.

But I don’t know, man, I don’t care. I’m just going to cram months of likely irrelevant information into my short-term memory so I can pass a test the next day and get drunk on the weekend, standing stupefied in the club as waves of light and sound envelop me and wash away everything I might have memorized.

“Good to see you, man!” I give the Cool-Guy Sliding Hand Embrace™ to a wandering bro, who responds by sloshing Natty Light on my slick kicks. I may have seen that dude before, but it isn’t particularly good to see him now. And I’m sure I’ll never see him again.

“Goodbye forever,” I whisper under my breath as he stumbles into his next social encounter, the dialogue of which will almost certainly be drowned out by the deafening pulse of generic dance music, sonically crafted to prevent the formation of any substantive human connection.

It’s all good though. I’m having fun.

“COLLEGE!” I shout, my tongue extended, my body flailing wildly.

But hold up. The thought hits me like something that hits someone really hard. What am I actually doing here — in this club, at this school, on this planet? And who am I even? What do I want?

How am I going to make enough money to satisfy the price tag slapped on survival? How am I going

to make a difference in this world? What happens if I simply fail?

These are the questions that stare every student in the face when they inevitably have a sleep deprived existential crisis in the wee hours of the morning. Years 18-22 are the most significant formative years in life, according to me, and no thinking individual can escape the reckoning that occurs when they start questioning who they are, who they want to be and how they fit into a turbulent society pulled from every direction by identity politics.

While working for the Beacon has not answered all of those questions for me (in fact, it may have only raised more), it has encouraged me to open my eyes and pay attention to the dynamics that shape this campus. I’ve learned more from observing and documenting four months of conflict — diversity office funding, outsourcing efforts, anti-transgender bathrooms, the Bible bill, guns on campus, the counseling bill, to name a few — than I have in classrooms over four years of college.

I’d like to thank the Beacon for giving me that opportunity —especially Tanner, for his dad jokes and pseudo-philosophical non-answers; Alahnah, for sharing her food and chapstick, taking pulls of my juice smoothie and being nice to me when I first began; and Katrina, for forcing me to say goodbye every time I shuffled out of the office, which I hate because it presumes my presence was

important in the first place.

At this point, I could editorialize and connect the dots between the issues that our campus faces.

I could theorize on the cause of the maelstrom of anger and hatred that is suffocating our state, but I won’t do that here or now.

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. I’m pretty much done talking now. I’ve been done since before I started writing this column, but I felt obligated to do it (because Katrina made me). And now I feel obligated to have a moral to the story.

So if there has to be one, let’s go with: look around, try to understand the issues that don’t affect you and get involved in everything you can.

You may learn nothing inside the classroom, but you can learn so much more about yourself and the world outside, on campus, in how you interact with people and how they interact with one another. It’s a miniature representation of the real world.

Shouts out to my boys Funk Sanders who will quite literally be disbanding upon graduation and shouts out to everyone who took a stand and fought for something they believed in this semester. Thanks to anyone who reads my words.

Good luck.

Travis Dorman is graduating with a degree in journalism & electronic media. He does not want to be reached. (But if you feel inclined, his email is trav.dorman@gmail.com.)

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FAREWELLS

The Daily Beacon • Friday, April 29, 2016

A story about getting through it

Michael Lipps Asst. Arts & Culture Editor

“How do you want your shit sandwich?�

This is the question my public speaking professor posed to our class last summer, and it would become the topic for our impromptu speech.

The premise of the shit sandwich thing is that, in life, you will inevitably be handed a shit sandwich (i.e. shit happens). My professor wanted us ponder this and decide what’s important to us, why and share with the class things that we have always wanted to say or do but haven’t. He wanted to remind us that life is short and to let nothing stand in your way of cherishing it.

As I reflect over my time in college, I can’t help but recall all of the shit. One of the worst days during the entire process was the day I had to take a statistics final. I had to leave for home directly after the final to attend a funeral, so I exited my bedroom to head for class in funeral-appropriate attire and found that my dog had a bout of explosive diarrhea in the night that

was all over everything.

I’m sharing this because most of us, if we’re honest, have been there during college. We’ve lost loved ones, we’ve failed or nearly failed courses, we’ve battled sickness and struggles and we’ve thought that we’d never make it.

I certainly didn’t think I would, as I knelt down and held back my tie while wiping dog crap off my living room walls as I simultaneously tried to remember mathematical formulas.

But I want to share with you a victory story, and it’s yours as much as it’s mine. When life serves us a shit sandwich, we get through it.

Less than half of Tennessee residents have an education that exceeds a high school diploma. I, along with the class of 2016, am now soon to be in the minority. College is hard, for a myriad of reasons, but it is conquerable. And while college may or may not feel like one big shit sandwich for you, you’ll get

to the other side.

You didn’t ask for it, but that’s my word of encouragement to you. I feel like it’s the least I can do, as I’ve been encouraged by many of you during my time at the Beacon and UT. I’ve met talented musicians and artists, tenacious entrepreneurs and even ambitious students tackling issues of homelessness in our communities. It’s been a good ride, and I thank those I have had the privilege of meeting for passionately pursuing life in inspiring ways.

Whether you’re leaving this place too or you’ve got more time to put in, be kind, be gracious and always live a good story.

Michael Lipps is graduating with a degree in Communication Studies. He hopes to find a job that pays a living wage while continuing to write about arts, culture and business as a side gig. He can be reached at michaellipps@me.com.

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PUZZLES&GAMES

Friday, April 29, 2016 • The Daily Beacon

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NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD • Will Shortz ACROSS Far and away one’s favorite writer?

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Mellow R&B track

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I’m Not A Hipster• John McAmis

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Fly

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“___ off!” (phrase of homage)

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Scratches (out)

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French border region

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Cartoons of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.

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Room in Clue

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FAREWELLS

The Daily Beacon • Friday, April 29, 2016

The impact of storytelling Marina Waters Staff Writer

I’ve always been enthralled with words.

In high school, I would make these extravagant birthday cards that would take me weeks to create. I loved cutting out vibrant shapes of paper, but my favorite part was writing a little something about that person on one side of the card.

If I’m truly moved by someone or something, I do such a better job through an email, handwritten note or the occasional letter.

For some reason, my heart and soul has always been more in tune with the words flowing from my cheap

Zebra BP pens and the click clacking of the keys on my old laptop. It’s as if a part of me intertwines with these words somehow.

And that’s why I am so happy to have been able to write about my experiences during my time here. My mission is to telegraph the story behind people.

These stories aren’t about me or you or even the subject. These stories are about people. These stories are about people like Erik Baker, the local musician who loves Knoxville so much, he told me that in his mind heaven looks a lot like a show at the Bijou Theater. It’s about an unbelievably humble, bearded country artist by the name of Chris Stapleton who would rather talk about Knoxville restaurants than his upcoming sold out show.

I could tell you about the time I hung out with country rockers The Cadillac Three on their tour bus or the time I talked to Jamie Lynn Spears about her very famous sister who we referred to as just Britney. But stories are what have kept me diminishing the tread on my Durango boots and kept a black stamp on my right hand.

I don’t go to drink, party, hit on the drummer or spice up my Snapchat story but to see an artist sing their life’s stories for the world. Because the love of my life

if music. And stories are important.

That’s what I’ve learned in college. I learned to listen to other people’s stories. You’d be surprised at how deeply people really appreciate a good listener. Listen to the stories of your teachers and professors — they are trying to figure out life just as we are.

Most of all, your story is important. And don’t you dare let anyone else tell your story. Take that poetry class that was not suggested by your advisor and is outside of your major and realm of friends. Walk into a student organization and tell them what you want to write about. Those two events are part of my story, and I couldn’t be more grateful that they belong to me.

I believe that God put me here at UT to stand strong as the person I truly am and the person He intended for me to be. I’m the sole journalism major in my advanced poetry class. I’m the lone Christian attempting to love others through the harsh things they say about my savior, Jesus Christ. I’m the only girl at a concert who doesn’t have a drink in her hand.

That’s my story. I’m proud to add being a member of The Daily Beacon and a Tennessee Volunteer to that story. And I’m proud to own it.

Marina Waters is graduating with a degree in journalism & electronic media. She plans to keep writing in many forms and fashions, and can be reached at mwaters8@vols.utk.edu.

Columns of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.

SPORTS

DOBBS continued from Page 2 “It’s just amazing to watch … a lot of people don’t realize the relationship Josh and A.J. have had in the last year and a half.”

Dobbs knows there isn’t much he can say to comfort A.J. He has never been in A.J.’s situation so he wouldn’t even know where to begin when giving advice. All Dobbs can do is try to make A.J. happy.

A.J. loves football. So on one random Saturday, Dobbs played football with A.J. and his dad in their backyard. A.J. was happily running around, donning his Tennessee helmet and jersey. The moment stood out to Dobbs.

“It was kind of surreal just to step away from things and just be a little kid in the backyard playing with little A.J.,” Dobbs said. “That was probably my favorite moment with him.”

John also has his own favorite memories of Dobbs and A.J. He remembers Dobbs laying on the floor playing Lincoln Logs with A.J. “I am a firm believer that smiles are what really help these kids heal and get through these tough situations,” John said. “Every time Josh comes over, it’s nothing but smiles for A.J. “Just knowing that there is another adult figure out there who cares for our family and cares for our son like we do. A.J. is a tough kid and seeing A.J. smile and A.J. stay positive makes it easier for us to cope with the situation.”

Friday, April 29, 2016 • The Daily Beacon Dobbs also benefits from the relationship, as A.J. is inspiring in his own right. A.J. may be young, but he knows what he is going through.

And he is prepared to fight.

Family friends call John to tell him A.J. inspires them. John himself once had to give a speech at the Peyton Manning golf classic.

Admitting he is not much of a public speaker, John was dreading the speech until his son gave him a boost of motivation by serenading Peyton Manning with Rocky Top. If A.J. could sing Rocky Top to one of the best quarterbacks of all time while battling brain tumors, surely John could deliver a speech.

“He is a role model,” Dobbs said. “He is kind of a little inspiration, a little motivation that every time I think I am going through something tough, you just look at him and see how much positivity he has and how much energy he has and how much genuine excitement he has for really anything. It really brightens my day.

“He is inspiring to really anyone. When you are around A.J., the (energy) is completely genuine. Everything he does is genuine.”

Seventeen months have passed since Dobbs and A.J. first met. A.J. underwent 41 weeks of chemotherapy treatment in a year’s span.

He still has the tumors, which are now stable, and he has been out of chemotherapy since November.

A.J.’s biggest problem at the moment is his

eyesight. He also has to deal with the side effects of chemotherapy. John has at times watched his son’s body deteriorate in a 12-hour span.

His father doesn’t know what the future holds. John avoids being too optimistic just in case they receive more bad news. He admits that his son faces a life long battle.

A.J. isn’t fighting alone, though. He has friends from church praying for him. The Prayers for A.J. Cucksey Facebook page has over 7,000 likes and provides a platform for people to off their support.

And A.J. has Dobbs.

It’s Saturday, and Dobbs intends to make A.J. smile yet another time.

Adults guide A.J. to his room, where two surprises wait behind the door.

The first surprise is a Tennessee makeover of his room, courtesy of Special Spaces, a nonprofit organization that provides children battling life-threatening illnesses with special spaces that help them temporarily forget their struggles. In A.J.’s case, his special space suits his die hard Tennessee fandom, as an entire wall is painted the popular checkerboard pattern.

The second surprise is Dobbs. Steve Winfree, the Director of Fundraising and Special Events at Special Spaces, contacted Dobbs on Twitter and gave him details about the room makeover.

Dobbs made sure he was there to surprise A.J. A.J. loves the first surprise and is elated by

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the second one. He eagerly asks Dobbs if he has seen the room downstairs. (Special Spaces also designed a playroom for A.J. and his three-year old sister Gia). Dobbs smiles and wipes the edge of A.J.’s mouth.

It’s a small gesture, but it reflects just how much Dobbs cares about A.J. And how much their relationship has progressed in the past 17 months.

“I was really excited and really happy for him,” Dobbs said. “It was a blessing he was able to receive that.

“He knows all three verses of Rocky Top. He is a big time Tennessee fan. (The room) was something he deserved.”

Later that day when the cameras have left, Dobbs, Winfree and the Cuckseys share conversations together. The conversations reflect the comfort level Dobbs has with the family.

Cuckseys tease Dobbs about his Atlanta Braves hat. As Mets fans, they jokingly tell Dobbs that he is not allowed to wear the hat in the house.

When Dobbs finally gets up to leave, Gia, who is normally shy around Dobbs, wishes him goodbye.

Dobbs is a little surprised. This is the first time Gia has said hello and goodbye to Dobbs during a visit. It’s another small indicator of how close Dobbs has become with the family.

Gia will have more opportunities to talk to Dobbs.

He said he plans for his relationship with A.J. to last forever.

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The Daily Beacon â&#x20AC;˘ Friday, April 29, 2016