04262018

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Farewell Issue

Laurel Cooper / The Daily Beacon

Volume 135 Issue 28

utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon

Thursday, April 26, 2018

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FAREWELLISSUE

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, April 26, 2018

THE DAILY BEACON STAFF

EDITORIAL

Thank you & goodbye

Editor-in-Chief: Alex Holcomb Managing Editor: Rob Harvey Chief Copy Editor: Olivia Leftwich Engagement Editor: Alec Apostoaei News Editor: Kylie Hubbard Sports Editor: Tyler Wombles Asst. Sports Editor: Damichael Cole Arts & Culture Editor: Neeley Moore Digital Producer: Leann Daniel Asst. Digital Producer: Natasha Roderick Opinons Editor: Jarrod Nelson Photo Editors: Emily Gowder Design Editors: Laurel Cooper, Lauren Mayo Production Artists: Kelly Alley, Grace Atter, Kyla Johnson, Caroline Littel

Alex Holcomb Editor-in-Chief

ADVERTISING/PRODUCTION

Advertising Production Manager: Zenobia Armstrong Media Sales Representatives: Mandy Adams, Amy Nelson Advertising Production: Nathaniel Alsbrooks

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This is the last piece of work I will write for the Daily Beacon, which is whatever, I guess. Looking back on my time here at the Beacon & UT, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been easy sometimes, & at other times, it has been, well … whatever.

When I started school here, I told people I only wanted to get my degree & leave. That was, objectively, stupid & prideful. I need people, & I’m lucky to have the people I do. I feel honored by all those that have allowed me to stand on their shoulders to become who I am today. Even from the little encouragements to big investments or just sending me an email back, I would not have made it this far & be who I am without those people.

So, instead of talking about myself anymore, I’ve just listed as many of the people I could remember that have, more or less, positively influenced me or helped me in school & work. Except for the first name, they are not really in order; they’re kind of loosely grouped with how I know those people. I’m missing a lot of people, & I’m sorry. A lot of people here will never read this anyway, & the ones I am forgetting probably won’t either.

Anyway, I’d like to thank Mom, S. Holcomb, G. Eidson, B. Cooper, P. Cooper, S. Nickles & family, C. Gibson & family, N. Millard & family, L. Morgan & family, R. Harvey, O. Leftwich., T. Wombles, C. Salvemini, K. Hubbard, D. Black, the entire Beacon staff, J. Kennedy, J. Bush, P. Lamb, S. Johnston, R. McClelland., J. Royston & family, S. Huff, Dr. L.A. Roessner, M. Faizer, R. Heller, L. Johnson, Mrs. Short, Z. Hitzel, Dr. H. Sharma, C.

Geros, T. Bundy, T. Bernard, D. Kenner, J. Rollins, Ms. Thurman, M. Williams, N. Eidson, A. Eidson, A. Eidson, C. Eidson, J. Eidson, E. Douglas, A. Grubb & family, B. Maul, M. Patterson. Holcomb, B. Musil, A. Nanawati, H. Moulton, J. Butz, L. Cooper, A. Terricabras, T. Hancock, E. Bailes, W. Wells, N. Karrick, J. Nelson, A. Tieu, Z. Armstrong, N. Alsbrooks, M. Adams, A. Nelson, T. Linkous & family, K. Linkous, C. Myers, M. Wolfe, S. Phillips, E. Boss, J. Green, B. Bledsoe, C. Owenby & family, M. Carpenter, B. Trent & family, O. Snodgrass & family, N. Haney, E. Little & family, H. Thurman, I. Nickles, J. Davis, S. Pearson, J. Cassidy, M. Powell, M. Jones, C. Smallwood, L. Jarnigan & family, most ERBC members, the Scarabbean Senior Society, summer 2017 coworkers, D. Johnson, D. Knight, L. Lee & family, C. Banks, S. Sensabaugh, T. Goins, T. Charles, S. Garcia, D. Squires, E. Chapman, KP staff, KP Kids, P. Baines, D. Anders, B. Woody, A. Clayton, L. Lambert, Z. Dye, N. Tuten, D. Montgomery, C. Altuzar, every source who has ever gotten back to me, M. Hartgrove, M. Curtis, H. Jones, D. Bennett, M. Stogsdill, D. Teel, X. Greer, M. Bian, M, Stephens, G. Cutright, everyone who has ever sent me hate mail, everyone who has sent me nice mail, E. Caldwell, D. Havener, J. Scott, D. Milner, J. Bell, Z. Bird, Look Up full-time staff, Look Up 2016 summer staff, Look Up campers, J. Christ, B. Obama, R & L., H. Styles, C. Rapper, A. Roker, J. Antonoff, D. Holcomb, L. Moore, P. Oswalt, A. Hodges, N. Hale, the ampersand, & anyone who lent me a favor.

Ok, goodbye. Much Love.

Farewell Column: After six years…

Mary Hallie Sterling Former Digital Producer

I graduated high school in May of 2012. I am graduating college in May of 2018. It took me six years to figure out and pursue something I care about, and that’s okay. After studying three different majors, transferring schools four times and taking a whole lot of classes I ended up not needing, I am finally here.

My journey to UTK was a long and confusing one, full of wrong decisions. Transferring here was, by far, the best decision I made throughout my college career.

My teachers and mentors have been amazing, my classmates were always helpful, and the overall atmosphere on Rocky Top was always uplifting and positive.

I have been in school for so long that I don’t know what I’m going to do now that I won’t have it. I still can’t imagine having no homework, no classes, no papers, no group projects. I will, however, always have the memories I made here. I’ll remember the times I wanted to quit but was encouraged on by my friends, teachers and classmates, the moments that made me excited about a career in video production, and every moment in between.

Since I’ve been in college for six years, I feel like I’m qualified to offer some advice. First, at every level and for every class, GO to class. Just do it. It really does improve your level of understanding, not to mention your professor’s level of fondness for you. Both will enhance your GPA.

Also, choose groups wisely. If your professor tells you to get in groups, don’t just go with the people closest to you every time. Take a minute, try to form a group that will be productive. It will make your life a lot easier — you don’t want to be left pulling all the weight.

Lastly, do your homework. Time management is something I really had to work on when I went to college. I had gone to the same school from kindergarten to high school graduation. I knew how to work that system. When I started freshman year, it was like walking down the same road for 13 years and then, all of a sudden, running into a tree. I had to re-take or drop out of some classes that year, but I definitely — eventually — learned how to do well.

At my high school graduation, I had my whole life planned out. I had been dating a guy for three years and I was going to marry him, I was going to be a pediatric nurse, I was going to have my best friends around forever. Not one thing in my plan actually happened, and I am so thankful for that. I learned that things will happen just as they are meant to, even though it may not feel like it at the time.

Keep going. Once you reach graduation it will all be worth it. Do the extra tasks to gain experience in your field — it’ll actually help you in “the real world” after graduation. Don’t take anyone for granted. Do the work, it’s worth it. Cheers to college.

FAREWELLISSUE

Thursday, April 26, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

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You’re all wonderful.

Jarrod Nelson Opinions Editor

I have no idea how to write this.

Most of the farewell columns I’ve read offer up some piece of advice, or lessons learned, or some funny little anecdote about how this is more bittersweet than old honey and pickles, which is a thing people eat.

While I have all those things, none of them feel right. None of them feel worthy of the 600 or so words I have here. Thus, I will die as I lived, winging it and probably coming much closer to the things I said I hate than anything unique or insightful.

For me, these four years have been about opportunity. I had the opportunity to be a columnist and get notpaid to write my thoughts down for popular consumption once a week for three years. I had the opportunity to make videos for the same purpose, although I could only handle those biweekly. I had the opportunity to be an editor and understand just how screwed we will all be when local papers finally kick the bucket. I had the opportunity to be the president of CEB and work with my best friends to help plan events that made campus more interesting, more fun and more engaging.

I had the opportunity to hate myself. I had the opportunity to be proud of myself. I had the

opportunity to screw up and the opportunity to succeed. Never once did I have the opportunity to pet Smokey.

Excepting the last, and probably the first, those were great. They were phenomenal opportunities. I wish everyone could have had as amazing of a time as I had. But there was one thing that meant more than that. There was something that was truly a privilege. Because I had the privilege of being a Volunteer.

This isn’t some cheesy ode to the University. I still don’t know the alma mater by heart, I kind of harbor a general contempt for the administration outside of the good souls in mid-level management, and let’s be real, we are never going to be good at football again.

No, for me, being a Volunteer was not about the traditions the Scarabs came up with or doing all of those things that everybody does every year because it’s expected. It was about doing and seeing the things nobody had seen before. It was about watching thousands of students push back against the state legislature and administration when our Diversity Office was defunded. It was about seeing 1,000 people fill an auditorium to hear Cornel West speak about racial justice in the South. It was about all of the student leaders who

made a Senate meeting last four hours because they felt cheated by SGA. It was about being lefty-loosey to the Big Orange Screw.

That has been a privilege. I have, for four years, been surrounded by my favorite people.

This place just brings it out of you. It makes you find your best self and be it, not because you are inspired by the architecture or awed by the strong tradition of rich white men your rich white institution has produced, but because you absolutely must be to make it through if you’re interested in leaving an impact.

Institutions like this are not really interested in impact, not when it comes to themselves at least, but they breed people who are. It’s been my privilege to be friends with those people. To help and be helped by those people. To hate myself just a little bit because I am not as amazing as those people, while at the same time be inspired by those people to be like those people. They are real Volunteers.

I’m not sure who is reading this. Socialized has technically been gone for a whole semester, so I’d be honored if anyone did. But I’d be even more honored, heck, even privileged, if just one of those Volunteers read this and knew that I was talking about them.

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FAREWELLISSUE

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, April 26, 2018

Swisher looking ahead of College Republicans Tyler Wombles Sports Editor

Alex Swisher didn’t envision herself as the president of UT’s College Republicans chapter when she first arrived on campus. In fact, she didn’t even see herself going into politics.

But now, as a graduating senior, Swisher looks back on a tenure, and a college career, that has left her fulfilled, even if it wasn’t what she was expecting.

“Just getting involved in politics at UT has just been the craziest, wildest experience of my entire life,” Swisher said. “I could not have planned anything that has gotten me to where I am today.”

Swisher has served as the president of UT’s College Republicans chapter for the 2017-2018 school year, leading the group during her senior year. A double major in journalism and electronic media and political science, Swisher originally planned on entering the journalism field after college. That plan changed with her entry into the political landscape.

“I really wanted to graduate and eventually become an anchor on the Today Show,” Swisher said. “Now, I don’t exactly want to use my journalism degree for journalism. I want to go into political communications and use the

skills I’ve learned in journalism for media management and have that background in media to better understand how to portray candidates and elected officials as a press secretary or something else.”

Swisher initially became involved in a leadership role with College Republicans during her sophomore year, when she was chosen as the group’s communications director. At the end of her junior year, she was elected as the president of the chapter.

Through recruiting and leading organized events, Swisher believes that College Republicans has improved during the past year.

“We built a really great chapter and got a lot of students involved in governors’ campaigns, senate campaigns and just other local campaigns,” Swisher said. “So it was a really exciting year for us … It was an amazing experience getting to lead a group of really passionate people and really getting to advocate for what they wanted on campus.”

David H. Folz, faculty advisor for UT’s College Republicans chapter for over 20 years, attributes a large part of the group’s productivity to Swisher.

“Alex has exhibited remarkable organizational and leadership skills throughout her presidency,” Folz said. “She has helped to recruit more new members for the (College Republicans) than in any previous period since

my tenure as faculty advisor.”

Along with her work with the College Republicans, Swisher has also served as an SGA senator for the College of Communication and Information and as an intern with a Nashville mayoral campaign, Congressman Diane Black’s office and Fox Business Network, for which she wrote online articles.

Swisher currently also works as a part-time field representative for Congressman Marsha Blackburn’s U.S. Senate campaign and plans to be promoted to full-time on May 1. After graduating, Swisher plans on continuing her work with Blackburn’s campaign.

“I really want to work very hard to get Congressman Blackburn elected to the U.S. Senate,” Swisher said. “I think she’ll be a great, positive change. After that, we’ll see whatever is next after the campaign.”

Folz holds Swisher, and her time as president of College Republicans, in high regard and praises her work as president, including her attempts to communicate with separate organizations.

“I will always regard Alex as a president who modeled servant leadership,” Folz said.

“She gave sacrificially of her time and talent to recruit members and to reach out to other campus organizations with differing political views to organize events so students would have opportunities to learn about and appreci-

Moses York / The Daily Beacon ate different views and opinions.”

Despite leaving campus and embarking on her future endeavors, Swisher’s appreciation for UT and the experiences that the university has given her is still on her mind.

“I would not have had the opportunities that I have had and the experience that I have if I had not come to UT … so I have a really special place in my heart for UT,” Swisher said.

“I think back to the other schools that I was deciding between, and I just know for a fact that I would not be where I am today if I hadn’t come here.”

Junior looks to improve agricultural education Cat Trieu Copy Editor

Dalton Teel is fighting for social equity through agriculture, the education system and leadership.

A junior in agricultural communications, Teel first realized agriculture was his passion in high school.

“When I started taking agriculture education classes, I began to see the connection between our everyday lives and agriculture. That connection really fascinated me, because everyone needs food and clothing and resources that are driven by the agricultural industry,” Teel said.

“Knowing that wide reach and impact that agriculture has, that was something I wanted to be involved in.”

Soon after, Teel joined the Future Farmers Association (FFA) at his high school and ultimately decided to attend UT for its agricultural program.

Currently, Teel is a UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) Ambassador, which allows him to help with the recruitment and retention of

students in agricultural studies at UT. “Oftentimes, you see the College of Agriculture and automatically think of farming,” Teel said. “It’s neat to talk to them about all the other opportunities we have, like food science, environmental science and veterinary science.”

Less than 2 percent of Americans are involved in production agriculture, Teel said.

With many not aware of where food comes from or the work being done to get that food on the dinner table, Teel’s ultimate goal is to create agricultural education programs for inner-city elementary schools to teach students about the agriculture industry.

“Our culture has been so shifted away from production,” Teel said. “I want to create these programs to really teach students that may otherwise never know where their food comes from and teach them about agriculture to let them experience some of that.”

While heavily involved with agricultural education issues and activities on and outside of campus, Teel has also been heavily involved with SGA through First Year Council and as Senate Chairman.

Teel described the role of Senate Chairman as essentially a “facilitator” of Senate conversa-

tions who invites speakers with diverse backgrounds and opens SGA town halls so students who are not in SGA can voice their thoughts.

“Something I consistently remind myself of is that there is work being done, and someone has got to facilitate that conversation,” Teel said. “There’s got to be some sense of intentionality behind everything that happens.”

Teel said that his compassion for those he loves and desire for social equity drive his work in agricultural communications and campus activities.

“Social change is not just a movement when it’s personal. When it’s personal, it impacts people you know,” Teel said. “There’s a level of empathy that goes with it that can’t be matched. Oftentimes if people see me as an agent of social change, it’s all rooted in the deep level of compassion — a compassion for people and a drive towards justice and equity.”

Junior in accounting Xavier Greer has worked with Teel as an Orientation Leader and SGA executive board candidate.

“One thing I like about Dalton’s leadership style is how efficient he is and how is able to facilitate groups of people to rally around a good cause,” Greer said. “I have never met a person that is so cognizant of everyone’s feel-

ings in the room no matter how diverse the crowd. His rhetoric and diction is second to none because he is able to capture the room with his words and let his message feel personal to everyone listening.”

Social issues outside of campus also enthrall Teel. Teel interned with Teach for America in Phoenix and worked with students on Native American lands and in inner-city Phoenix this past summer.

“That was really neat to see just the work we’ve got to do with our education system in the United States,” Teel said, “because when students that live in the U.S. are not getting the same access because of the color of their skin or zip code, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Teel will continue his fight for social equity after graduation and said he will work with Teach for America in Washington D.C. “Until everyone has equal access to education, food and resources and until people are just treated equitably in general, we won’t be at that level of social change we want to see,” Teel said. “That’s why I’ve continued to be involved with agriculture and education and social change. Those three things together could truly make a difference.”

Thursday, April 26, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

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FAREWELLISSUE

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, April 26, 2018

Senior reflects on busy college career, passes baton to underclassmen Kylie Hubbard News Editor Don Black started freshman year without a single interest in joining campus organizations but started his senior year in too many organizations to number.

“I think I’ve hardwired my brain into being busy over the last three years,” Black, a senior studying business analytics, said. “If I don’t have 12 things going on at a time it’s like I’m not doing anything. I’m wasting my time. I’m bored.”

In a one-hour First Year Studies course with Mike McKinney, a professor of evolutionary biology and environmental science, Black participated in a policy challenge competition through the Howard Baker Center. McKinney offered students less homework in exchange for their participation in the competition. With the intention of bypassing homework for the semester, Black took the lead on the project and found himself immersed by student leaders.

“I took it over and did most of the work for it,” Black said. “Through that, I met a bunch of involved people, and they kind of served as mentors in a way that I didn’t know they were.”

Since then, Black has worked with vari-

ous organizations addressing topics such as the environment, diversity and sexual assault.

Black also served SGA his sophomore year as the East area and business senator and his junior year as parliamentarian and environment and sustainability committee director and won a few awards through his roles.

Advocating for issues took the main stage in Black’s life, and one of his fondest memories of advocation included the fight against Gov. Bill Haslam’s outsourcing plan, which would have outsourced facilities services jobs to private companies.

“I got a text an hour before the chancellor sent the email out saying she wasn’t going to outsource, and I just went to my car and cried,” Black said. “It was such a long fight and meant so much to these workers.”

Black is also involved with the Game Changers program through the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA). Game Changers allows people like Black to mentor middle-school boys by talking about domestic violence and teaching bystander awareness. “(It) has been a really impactful experience just to be able to work with kids who look different than me, who talk different than me, and (they) have poured into my life, and I pour into See DON BLACK on Page 7

Courtesy of Don Black

FAREWELLISSUE

DON BLACK continued from Page 6 their life,” Black said. “It’s been really cool.”

Stemming past the Game Changers program, Black organized the UT Men’s Project, a student organization that provides a place for male students on campus to meet and talk.

Associate professor of history Lynn Sacco worked with Black on the conception of UT’s Men’s Project.

“Our deepest connection may be in trying to figure out how to get young men to talk about what it means to be a man and by so doing to see individual men resolve some of their confusion, and for men, as a group, to become more aware of the differences between thinking one is born masculine versus becoming masculine,” Sacco said. “Through Don (Black), I’ve learned so much about how serious young men think and struggle to shape a meaningful life and society,” Black also made a lasting impression on the Alternative Break Program, which allows students an opportunity to spend spring, fall and early summer breaks volunteering at various locations. Supervisor Natalie Frankel said Black excelled as a leader within the program.

“Don (Black) is the type of person that goes above and beyond what I ask of him,” Frankel

Thursday, April 26, 2018 • The Daily Beacon said. “I can give him vague directions for what I need, and he will do much more than I thought was possible, which has made this year for the AB program so great.

Looking back on the busy schedule Black created for himself in his four years on campus, his only regrets stemmed from situations he wishes he had more control over.

“There’s no regrets in the sense of everything that led up to this point in my life made me who I am, and I’m happy with who I am,” Black said.

“But around the edges there are regrets about things that I didn’t have control over.”

Black’s issues around the edges include the disestablishment of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, losing friends and not applying for College Scholars. Black also said that after he got involved in advocating for issues he realized he knew less than he should.

“There’s the graph of how much you know about something and how much you’re willing to talk about it. The more you learn about something, the less you are willing to talk about something because you realize what you don’t know,” Black said. “I think there were times where with environmental issues (and) diversity issues I didn’t know as much as I should have. It’s a learning process, and you figure something out.”

The learning processes provided Black with prime opportunities to learn from his mistakes.

“I think the goal and the hope is that you

use it as a learning process and don’t make that mistake again,” Black said. “Let people hold you accountable for ways that you could be better. When people hold you accountable, that accountability is an act of love toward you. It’s not aggressive, it’s not hostile.”

For Black there was never, as he said, “a ‘Luke Skywalker, my parents died,’ moment.”

But instead, the little moments through his tenure at UT have led to a collection of good memories. One of the best of these memories for Black was his work on an article investigating the Scarabbean Senior Society, a secret society on campus.

“It was a lot of fun to put together and interview people about, and ... I have an obsessive personality, so just to be obsessed with it for a while. (I was) really proud of the end product at the time. I was like, ‘This is the only thing I’m proud of,’” Black said. “The response to it was great. It should have won the Beacon (Twitter) bracket ... or at least an award.”

Sacco said that Black’s pieces, especially his columns, are impactful to campus life. As a professor who teaches classes on the history of gender and sexuality, Sacco focuses on the history of heterosexual white males and how the groups rose to the top of the social hierarchy.

“Don’s pieces on masculinity were so sophisticated and well written that I couldn’t stop handing out copies — he nailed it,” Sacco said.

“I think it is just as important that, as an appar-

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ently normative white male, Don has used whatever privilege he has on behalf of the marginalized rather than the majority on campus.”

But for Black, his work on campus hasn’t received personal gain but instead gain for organizations he has touched.

“In President (Barack) Obama’s last press conference, he said that he thought of his job like a relayer. He’d take the baton and that he’d hope by the time you’re done (that) you pass it a little farther ahead than when you got it.

That’s what I think of when I think about being involved on campus too, Black said. “My hope is that in all the organizations that I’ve been a part of, advocating for the issues that I’ve been involved with and the relationships that I’ve built, that I pass the baton off a little bit further along than when I got it.”

As Black leaves UT, he stresses the importance of realizing that a place on campus is ready to accept every student.

“There is a home for you. And I know it’s easy for me to say as somebody with a lot of privilege — economic, gender, racial, the whole host of them, but I really believe there is somebody out there who will make you feel at home on campus,” Black said. “We have the campus community of 28,000 people, so I really think that that person is there for you. Get involved in things that you are passionate about.”

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CAMPUSNEWS

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, April 26, 2018

Artist awarded for her creative, interactive art Natalia Capella Staff Writer

Michaela Leib perfected the art of recycling this year.

Leib, a sophomore studying studio art and computer science, earned the Juror’s Choice award by metal artist Preston Farabow at the 2018 Art of Recycling Sculpture exhibition.

Twelve of the sculptures from the exhibition were on display at the Knoxville Convention Center through Sunday which showed the connections among Gerdau — the largest producer of long steel in the Americas — the UT sculpture department and local non-profit organization Dogwood Arts.

Gerdau creates new steel from discarded scrap metal to use for city infrastructure instead of leaving the materials for a landfill. Students can use the scrap metal for sculptures as well, and the intermediate and advanced sculpture classes participate in a “scrap dig” and art show.

“It’s a really great opportunity to get your work out there, and we actually didn’t know there would be a Juror’s Choice Award until we had already started fabricating (in class),” Leib said.

Vice president and general manager of

Gerdau Knoxville Johnny Miller said that the exhibition’s juror Preston Farabow must make harder choices regarding winners each year as students continue to produce better pieces.

“The artworks become more impressive each time,” Miller said. “When he saw Michaela’s sculpture, ‘Groundwork,’ he said it took his breath away. That kind of feedback from such an accomplished metal artist speaks volumes about Michaela’s creativity.”

Miller said the purpose of the exhibition is three-fold, highlighting and serving different purposes.

“This art project provides an excellent opportunity to support student sculptors like Michaela, celebrate National Recycling Month and educate the public about how green steel manufacturing really is,” Miller said.

Leib said she cannot pinpoint what exactly sparked her interest in art, but said she always enjoyed creating projects and has a background in stage technology and journalism.

“It’s exciting to go through a creative process with your peers,” Leib said. “I’m technically not in Intermediate Sculpture. I’m doing more of an independent study alongside the class, so it was nice to be involved in a group activity with them rather than just working by myself.”

Leib said that interactive objects are often

Michaela Leib’s sculpture, Groundwork, won the Juror’s Choice award by metal artist Preston Farabow at the 2018 Art of Recycling Sculpture exhibition.

Courtesy of Michaela Leib present in her work, and she likes to think of her projects as systems. Though she cannot draw specific inspirations without naming solely artists, she uses her knowledge and interest in math and science to incorporate into her work.

“I’m really interested in this question of authentic functionality — whether an interactive object actually works as described or is just fabricated to appear that way,” Leib said. “‘Groundwork’ is on the lower end of interactiv-

ity as far as most of my work is concerned, but I still had people asking me if the grass was real.”

Miller said the exhibition continues to connect peers in an interactive art experience and bring awareness to the action of recycling.

“Students can see how creative and talented their peers are, even at the beginning of their sculpting careers,” Miller said. “It also will open anyone’s eyes to the ‘Art of Recycling’ because it truly is inspired art.”

UT students raise funds to build dream bedrooms for sick children Libby Dayhuff

Staff Writer Four UT students started a fundraising campaign to help Special Spaces, a local nonprofit organization that builds dream bedrooms for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Alex Card, sophomore studying physics, Kiely Morrison, sophomore studying supply chain management, and McClaine Remus and Cortney Cohn, freshmen studying marketing, started the fundraising campaign for part of their public writing class.

Special Spaces was an organization that everybody in the group could get behind and advocate for, Morrison said. “I’ve had several close people in my life affected by diseases or mental illnesses. After finding out about Special Spaces, it was kind of an easy fit for me,” Morrison said.

Founded in Knoxville, Special Spaces has grown to include 26 chapters in 15 states, serving children nationwide. The Knoxville chapter creates two to three dream bedrooms a year and is approaching the 1,000 bedroom benchmark since its founding.

As part of the fundraising campaign, the group created public social media pages, including a Facebook page and an Indiegogo page, both titled “A Warrior’s Wonderland.”

“We’re doing a lot of social media posts about

the campaign and just trying to get the word out via public mouth as much as we can,” Cohn said.

“We’ve put up some flyers, and people can make online donations through Indiegogo to help fund these dream bedrooms.”

The process of getting a dream bedroom is simple. Parents submit applications for their children, and once a child is chosen, a team from Special Spaces interviews him or her to learn more about the child’s interests.

After raising the funds for a bedroom, Special Spaces will move the family out for one day while they renovate it.

Morrison said the children get to pick the design of their room before the Special Spaces team makes it a reality. “The child gets to choose the design of their bedroom,” Morrison said.

“They’ve done Lego bedrooms, spy cave bedrooms, skateboarding themes, princess themes … just whatever the kid wants for their room.”

In addition to the dream bedroom, Special Spaces also renovates other parts of the house depending on the project’s budget and the needs of the family.

“They decorate, but also, depending on the illness, they’ll incorporate something like a breathing machine to make it more accessible,” Remus said. “Instead of staying in a hospital in those bland rooms, the child can be at home in a more comfortable place like their dream bedroom.”

The bedrooms created by Special Spaces are usually funded by local businesses, churches,

Courtesy of Kiely Morrison corporations, people within the community and fundraisers, including the students’ current fundraising campaign.

Morrison said that donors can receive incentives for donating online at the campaign’s Indiegogo page. “If you donate five dollars, you can get a handwritten thank-you note from Special Spaces.

For donating $25, you can get a teddy bear,” Morrison said. “If you donate $50, you can get a teddy bear, and then you can send a teddy bear as well.”

The campaign has raised about $1,000 so far, and the goal is to raise $3,500 in total. Cohn said

the group is dedicated to reaching the monetary goal even after their class and the fundraiser end.

“We would definitely like to continue our campaign. Right now we aren’t even close to our goal, so I definitely would like to at least reach that goal and just stay involved,” Cohn said.

Cohn explained that volunteers are needed in addition to online donations for Special Spaces.

“Once the money is raised, there’s still only a small Special Spaces team, and they need people to help build the dream bedrooms for the kids,” Cohn said. “I know some people would rather donate their time and help out that way.”

ARTS&CULTURE

Thursday, April 26, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

9

Urinetown presents absurdist dystopian future William Wells

Contributor

When we talk about protecting our inalienable rights, we tend to leave out some of our most basic and most essential ones, such as our right to urinate.

This is the dystopia of “Urinetown,” the newest musical to run at the Clarence Brown Theatre on campus.

Set in a gritty unnamed city, Urinetown describes a world where, after a devastating drought, water rights have been restricted and placed into the greedy hands of the Urine Good Company (UGC). To conserve water, private restrooms have been replaced by for-profit public alternatives. Like with any other for-profit amenity, the rich benefit a lot more than the poor.

If this sounds to you like a show filled with plot holes and bathroom humor — well, that would be correct. But within the absurdist musical comedy, there are some genuinely thoughtprovoking ideas.

We first meet the cast outside Public Amenity #9, the cheapest and grimiest option for those who can barely afford to use the bathroom. The actors, in full crust punk apparel, beg for change as they are herded by Ms. Pennywise (Charlotte Munson), the restroom’s ultra-bureaucratic gatekeeper.

Each actor gives outstanding performances throughout the show, but it is the team of Little Sally (Crystal-Marie Alberson) and Officer Lockstock (Norm Boucher) that really lend the production its magic. On paper, Lockstock is

the show’s narrator, yet it is in his conversations with Sally that the real plot exposition occurs.

As the play begins, we hear the two discuss the history of bathroom regulations in the city, although Sally is quickly silenced by Lockstock, who doesn’t want to overwhelm the audience with information.

Despite what feels like a formulaic plot, wherein unassuming everyman Bobby Strong (Jade Arnold) takes on an evil corporation and falls in love along the way, there are moments of true experimentation in the play. The duo of Lockstock and Sally frequently break the fourth wall, commenting on the narrative in real time, even airing their grievances with the production of which they are the stars.

“This isn’t a happy play,” Lockstock repeats several times.

After his father is taken to the infamous Urinetown, a mythical penal colony for the piss poor, Bobby becomes the leader of the urination revolution. He fronts the resistance movement against Caldwell B. Cladwell (Peter Kevoian), corrupt robber baron and founder of the UGC. Along the way, he falls in love with Cladwell’s daughter, Hope, played by Brittany Marie Pirozzoli (the heavy-handed symbolism of the name is lost on nobody, not even the characters).

As the proletariat heroes fight the evil bourgeoisie of Cladwell’s corporation, we are forced to wonder just how extreme the soldiers of a cause are justified in being. Can we still stand behind the freedom fighters as they kidnap Cladwell’s daughter and threaten to kill her?

And if Strong’s army does get their way, how will they regulate the ever-depleting water if restrooms are once again free and exploitable?

“Urinetown,” the musical is running Apr. 18 2018 through May 6, 2018 at Clarence Brown Theatre.

William Wells / Contributor These burning realities inject a sense of realism into the play’s naïve revolution, showing just how fallible idealism can be.

Lending to the play’s pseudo-noir is its outstanding orchestral accompaniment, led by conductor Terry Silver-Alford. From cringe-inducing ballads to the “Chicago”-esque jazz numbers, the band commands control of the show’s ambience without becoming a distraction from the vocalists.

The play never veers into dull slapstick humor, instead relying on clever self-awareness, wry pastiche and comedic absurdism. The rotat-

ing cast of characters are both archetypal and rounded, and by the show’s end, good and evil seem to blur and lose meaning.

Essentially, “Urinetown” can be seen as a play for people who don’t much care for plays. The show is imbued with enough humor and irony to beset any pretensions one might associate with theater, and the end result is a genuinely entertaining production.

“Urinetown” will run until May 6 at the Clarence Brown Theatre. Tickets can be found at the Knoxville Tickets website.

Coffee shop owners add Pearl to local scene Chloe Bahna Contributor

Before its grand opening on April 13, Pearl on Union opened up quietly, serving coffee unannounced in the mornings.

Pearl is a new coffee house located on Union Avenue in downtown Knoxville and is among an ongoing line of local Knoxville coffee shops.

The new location is the third installment of coffee shops owned by Shaun and Meg Parrish.

The two have previously opened and managed Old City Java — Knoxville’s oldest coffee shop, which opened in 1992 — and Wild Love Bakehouse.

Although it just opened, Pearl has history in its name. The name comes from Shaun’s grandmother, who he describes as a strong and inspirational woman.

The newly arrived cafe offers baked goods alongside its coffee. Its pastries are delivered each morning fresh from Wild Love Bake House, named Knoxville’s best bakery.

It uses fresh and local ingredients for its dairy products, even down to its in-house made vanilla syrup. Many of the local ingredients it offers

come from Cruze Farm, a local dairy farm from East Knoxville. Cruze Farm’s milk is used, alone as well as what is incorporated into pastries.

Crafting brews from coffee beans around the world, Pearl has specific coffee blends that are unique to its business. This includes a light roast blend called Luis Huayhua, which has notes of apricot and toasted almond and is named after the farmer from the location the flavor originates from.

The blend was offered to the coffee shop as a grand opening gift. Because only a certain amount of the beans were harvested from the single source in Caranavia, Bolivia, Pearl is the sole server of the blend.

Pearl as a whole focuses on lighter-roast coffee. According to the staff, the lighter blends allow them to hit more flavor notes, while a darker blend of coffee has a masking effect on the flavor. When arriving at Pearl, the baristas will willingly describe the various flavor profiles for the coffee.

Jess Stapleton, a barista at Pearl, applied to one of the coffee houses owned by the same owners here in Knoxville but was directed to open the newly-arriving store on Union Avenue instead. Stapleton said her experience at Pearl is unique because of the care the company has toward the coffee itself.

“Although I have previous experience working as a barista, (I’ve) never worked in a place that has this much passion in their coffee,” Stapleton said.

Caytie Wilkes, another barista that works for Pearl, has worked for different coffee shops in the Pearl family for two and a half years prior to working at the new location.

“The place is unique, and it offers things you cannot get anywhere else,” Wilkes said.

Wilkes said her personal passion for coffee is found from her work, and her knowledge is gained from the products found at the cafe.

As a newly arrived shop, Pearl has welcomed both longtime Knoxville natives excited for a coffee shop in the downtown area and fresh faces that are new to the area. Hillary Bloom is a new member of the Knoxville community who said it was the top suggestion for a coffee shop upon her arrival.

“I just moved from Southern California a week ago, and out of all the coffee shops found locally, Pearl was the top one suggested,” Bloom said.

Out of all the items at Pearl, Bloom picked an iced latte and a chocolate croissant, which she said she recommends to anyone who decides to visit Pearl.

Pearl has already been busy since opening,

Pearl Coffee is located in downtown Knoxville on Union Ave. Corey Markus / The Daily Beacon and the staff hopes that the arriving warm weather will bring more people in with outside tables that provide a city view. The cafe opens every day at 7 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. every night except on weekends, when it closes at 8 p.m.

10

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, April 26, 2018

PUZZLES&GAMES

Thursday, April 26, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

11

STR8TS No. 1117

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For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Str8ts, Sudoku and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store at www.str8ts.com

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12

CAMPUSNEWS

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, April 26, 2018

Graduate schools rank in top 30, look toward further improvements John Orona Staff Writer

Three UT graduate schools have made it to the top 30.

As ranked by U.S. News and World Report, the Haslam College of Business ranked 22nd, the College of Social Work ranked 25th, and the Tickle College of Engineering ranked 29th.

The College of Law, College of Nursing and the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences ranked in the top 50 as 34th, 40th and 48th, respectively.

“This is something we’re very excited about,” Steve Mangum, dean of the Haslam College of Business, said. “You don’t want to be playing the rankings game, but you do want to always be asking yourself what you can do to improve.”

U.S. News uses a slightly different assessment system for each type of graduate school.

Research expenditures, for example, are more heavily weighted for engineering schools, while outcomes such as the average starting salary of graduates affect the business school more.

Still, both colleges are judged 40 percent on the qualitative factors of peer college and recruiter perceptions of the college, with the rest of the ranking coming from quantitative data.

“It is exciting to be in a college where our rankings are steadily improving,” Wayne Davis, dean of the Tickle College of Engineering, said.

“It’s a fairly complex process and not easy to change.”

The engineering school has moved up eight spots in the last five years, more than any other public institution. This year’s ranking is the first time the college has cracked the top 30 and the first time all of its individual graduate degree programs have made the rankings.

“In the top 60 colleges of engineering in the country, we’re the fastest-growing Ph.D. program,” Davis said. “Our true growth rate in Ph.D. students in our college is four times the national average.”

The increase in ranking can be attributed to Tickle’s success in doctorate students per faculty and the number of doctorates granted, which are ranked 20 and 23, respectively — well above the college’s overall rating of 29.

“Because we’re growing at the Ph.D. level faster than anybody else, that means our rankings are slowly moving up through the mix,” Davis said.

Despite the school’s success on the quantitative side, the data shows they’re still underperforming on the qualitative side of peer and recruiter assessment, ranking 33 and 39 on those scores, respectively.

“What that means is that the university just has a ways to go for people to really understand that we’re actually a lot better than they think we are,” Davis said. “There’s a reluctance on these (other) schools’ part to think that the University of Tennessee is getting better and better, but the truth is we are — the metrics say we are.”

The same lagging perception holds true for UT’s business school, at least in terms of peer assessment. Haslam’s recruiter assessment has increased over the last three years and is even higher than many schools ranked above it.

“The companies that recruit at the University of Tennessee have been extraordinarily pleased with the quality of students and the quality of training the students have got,” Mangum said.

“Of all the elements that the rankings look at, that’s probably the one that has increased the most over the past.”

Haslam’s rankings have also been boosted by an increase in the college’s mean Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score and starting salary.

“We look at the rankings to find out what we can learn. We don’t make our decisions based on the rankings; we make our decisions on what’s best for the students, what’s best for employers,” Mangum said. “And we trust that if we’re doing a better job of educating students, if we’re doing a better job of research, if we’re doing those core things better, then it’s going to show up eventually in terms of the rankings.”

The nursing building sits near Circle Park.

Emily Gowder / The Daily Beacon

SPORTS FOOTBALL

Thursday, April 26, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

13

Chryst bringing pro-style potential for Vols’ new offense Will Backus Staff Writer

Arguably the biggest storyline this spring for Tennessee has been who will take the helm at quarterback this upcoming season in Tyson Helton’s new offensive scheme.

The leading candidates are the only scholarship quarterbacks Tennessee currently has on its roster: Jarrett Guarantano and Will McBride.

Guarantano may be seen as the favorite to land the job between the two, and his impressive performance of 226 yards and two touchdowns in the Orange and White Game may have furthered his cause.

But head coach Jeremy Pruitt has not tipped his hand since he arrived on campus.

“I know one thing, you can’t win in this league without a quarterback,” Pruitt said in March. “I’ve been as brutally honest as I can; I don’t know what we have at any position.”

Despite the talent of both Guarantano and McBride, they may not be the best fit for the kind of offense Helton will integrate at Tennessee. At the moment, Helton appears to be bringing a pro-style offense in which the Vols could potentially air the ball out more and take more snaps under center.

Guarantano and McBride, while having talented arms, are not accustomed to this style of play at quarterback. Both were dual threat quarterbacks coming out of high school, and both have played in Tennessee’s spread offense the past couple of years, with more snaps coming from the shotgun.

The systems are completely different, and it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks.

However, Tennessee has one more quarterback coming this summer that could quickly insert himself into the conversation for starting quarterback: Stanford graduate transfer Keller Chryst.

Chryst spent his formative years at Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California, where he was ranked as the No. 3 overall pro style quarterback in the 2014 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He committed, and signed on, to play for Stanford.

The Chryst family is one steeped in athletic tradition. Geep Chryst, Keller’s father, is currently the tight ends coach for the Denver Broncos. Paul Chryst, his uncle, is the current head coach for the Wisconsin Badgers.

His mother played collegiate volleyball and his uncle, Rick, is a former commissioner for the Mid-American Conference.

Chryst played in 23 total games at Stanford, posting an 11-2 record when starting for the Cardinal. In his career, he completed 55.2 percent of his passes for 1,901 yards and 19 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

In the 2016 Sun Bowl against North Carolina, Chryst exited in the second quarter with a knee injury, later diagnosed as an ACL tear.

Though he would get healthy in time to start the 2017 season at quarterback for Stanford, it was a tough road back.

“It’s mainly all mental,” Chryst told CBS Sports on his recovery. “Maybe 99-percent mental. Doing the right thing every day, getting treatment every day, asking for help every day.”

Chryst’s 2017 season was not one that will likely be a fond memory. He had an uninspiring week three performance in which he threw for just 72 yards and two interceptions against San Diego State.

The next week, he exited Stanford’s game against UCLA with another apparent injury. The Cardinal then turned to freshman quarterback KJ Costello, who led Stanford to a victory on the back of 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Chryst never saw the field again as Stanford’s starting quarterback. In January, he announced he would transfer from Stanford as a graduate, and in March announced his next destination would be Tennessee.

Despite the lackluster finish to his Stanford career, Chryst could be a very important piece at Tennessee. He’s spent almost his entire career playing in a prostyle system, similar to what Helton is expected to bring to Tennessee.

Chryst may be a perfect marriage to Helton’s system due to his experience.

Though he’s coming to Tennessee late, his past may give him an advantage over both Guarantano and McBride.

Pruitt has been silent on who exactly has the edge in the starting quarterback race, but it isn’t unreasonable to expect Chryst to be a major factor early.

“There’s probably other guys that would have liked to have come here,” Pruitt said of Chryst in March. “But I would not tell them they’d be the starting quarterback.

Keller was excited about just the chance to compete.”

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14

SPORTS

The Daily Beacon • Thursday, April 26, 2018

SOFTBALL

Meghan Gregg puts individual compliments off for goals Noah Taylor Contributor

In the bottom of the seventh inning, facing two outs with the bases loaded in a 0-0 game, senior shortstop Meghan Gregg walked up to the plate with a chance to drive in the winning run for No. 7 Tennessee and clinch a series opening victory over No. 6 Georgia.

With their senior leader and the conference RBI leader on deck, the Lady Vols had to be feeling confident in their chances to win the game.

But suddenly, Gregg found herself facing a 2-2 count versus Georgia’s ace in pitcher Brittany Grey. After a defensive struggle between two top-10 teams, the only thing standing between a Tennessee win and extra innings is Gregg’s swing.

Tennessee’s fate was decided when Grey’s pitch veers to the left and hits Gregg, automatically sending Gregg to first, and walking in the game’s winning, and only, run.

This walk-off victory, courtesy of a hit-by-pitch was historic for Gregg and the UT program.

It was her 242nd career RBI, surpassing the previous record held by Lady Vol legend Tonya Callahan, making Gregg the all-time leader in the team’s 22-year history.

“Meghan Gregg is a great player, and she is a great hitter,” co-head coach Ralph Weekly said.

“She is one of the best hitters in the country. I believe that sincerely. I think she’s a really good shortstop too.”

After being congratulated by her teammates and coaches, Gregg was only thinking of what it meant for her team getting a big win over a conference rival.

“I wasn’t really thinking about that (breaking the record) at all,” Gregg said. “It was definitely an interesting way. Really, what I was thinking about was that we beat Georgia.”

Just over two weeks later, Gregg broke another record, this time in the home run category, hitting her 53rd career home run in a win over No. 14 LSU. “That is a record that has stood for a long time,” co-head coach Karen Weekly said. “We weren’t sure if it would ever be broken because Tonya Callahan (was) such an awesome player.

I’m really happy for her.”

When Tennessee takes the field for their final regular season series at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium this weekend, they will be paying homage to Gregg, along with fellow seniors CJ McClain, Scarlet McSwain, and Sheridan Allen.

“They are always emotional,” Karen Weekly said of senior day.

“It’s not just about that day. It’s a reflection

of all four years. You really get a sense of time because they are about to embark on another chapter of their life.”

Gregg came to Knoxville as a freshman in 2015, by way of Flint River Academy in Williamson, Georgia where she earned Gatorade Softball Player of the Year in the Peach State, among other awards.

In 2017, Gregg was named to the NFCA AllAmerican team after a junior campaign where she hit 18 home runs and 54 RBIs. She has already exceeded that RBI total with 60 in 2018 and is just four short of tying her home run total during that All-American season.

On the field accomplishments are not the only thing Gregg has achieved in her Tennessee career. Twice she has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll (2015 and 2017), Easton/ NFCA Scholar Athlete (2017), and most recently, as a finalist for the McWhorter Post-Graduate Scholarship.

“I’m definitely humbled to be in the record books or even close to anybody in there,” Gregg said. “But if I was having to choose, I’d definitely pick a World Series any day.”

When Gregg finds herself at the plate against Kentucky on Saturday, she won’t only be thinking about what she can still accomplish for the program with the time she has left but also reflecting on the immaculate career she will leave behind.

“I think it’s just a really special moment,” Gregg said. “Just recognizing all of the hard work and dedication in the last four years and just seeing it all come together and really just celebrate that moment.”

not just about “thatIt’sday.

It’s a reflection of all four years.

You really get a sense of time because they are about to embark on another chapter of their life.”

Karen Weekly, co-head coach

UT infielder Meghan Gregg, #55, has a hit on March 31, 2018.

Tara Halley / The Daily Beacon

SPORTS

Thursday, April 26, 2018 • The Daily Beacon

15

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Lady Vols turn attention to NCAA Tournament Noah Taylor Contributor

Following a 4-2 second-round loss to Ole Miss on Thursday in the SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament, No. 35 Tennessee (1811) now turns its attention to the NCAA Tournament.

Seeding for the Lady Vols will be announced beginning on May 1, when the tournament field is set. Head coach Alison Ojeda is confident her team will be included in the bracket when it is released, feeling that the team has done enough to make the tournament.

However, that confidence won’t deter the Lady Vols’ preparation plans coming off of a loss.

Tennessee, which played host to the SEC Tournament at Barksdale Stadium last week, went 1-1, defeating Alabama 4-1 in the opening round before losing to Ole Miss in the second. “(Ole Miss) fought really hard,” sophomore Gabby Shuck said. “They knew our strengths, our weaknesses. We knew they

were going to come out fighting.”

The upcoming NCAA Tournament will mark the 26th appearance since 1989 for the Tennessee program, which currently holds a 32-25 record overall in tournament play.

Only once since 1995 have the Lady Vols not made an appearance (2015), but they hope to put together a strong run through the tournament and possibly reach the Final Four for the first time since 2002.

Last season, Tennessee defeated Winthrop, 4-1, in the first round before being eliminated in the second round by No. 15 Duke by the same score.

The Lady Vols have only advanced past the Round of 16 nine times previously but hope to make it 10 in the upcoming weeks.

In her second season at the helm, head coach Alison Ojeda, who had previously served as an assistant coach on the Tennessee staff, is hoping to see Tennessee notch back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in her first two years.

Ojeda believes the team’s success in year two has been due to the players’ ability to show up and work hard in every aspect of the game — something they’ll need to do to

make a deep run in the NCAAs. “Our team has been working hard,” Ojeda said. “We’ve been so close all year from jumping into that next level. If we want to get where we want to go, literally every single player needs to show up every single play.”

That mentality is one the players have adopted as they go forward and get set to put the SEC Tournament loss behind them.

“We’re just going to have to come out and bring our ‘A’ game,” Shuck said. “Anything can happen. We need to believe in ourselves.

We’ve put in a lot of hard work.”

While the next opponent has not yet been set for Tennessee, Ojeda plans for her team to continue preparing just like it has for any other opponent this season.

“We’ll (do) everything we possibly can to come out on top,” Ojeda said. “We’ll compete our tales off against them and put ourselves in (the) situation to come out on top.”

The 16 host sites for the NCAA Tournament are yet to be announced, but the first and second rounds will begin on May 11 and take place through May 12.

Head coach Alison Ojeda during the women’s tennis match against Auburn on Mar. 29, 2018.

Emily Gowder / The Daily Beacon

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The Daily Beacon â&#x20AC;¢ Thursday, April 26, 2018