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‘Snow White’ uneven, despite looks

Lady Vols eliminated from WCWS

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

PAGE 6 T H E

Issue 2

E D I T O R I A L L Y

PUBLISHED SINCE 1906

I N D E P E N D E N T

PAGE 5

http://utdailybeacon.com

Vol. 120 S T U D E N T

N E W S P A P E R

O F

T H E

U N I V E R S I T Y

O F

T E N N E S S E E

UT students win competition Wesley Mills News Editor

Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon

Jesse Hawkins, senior in graphic design, helps himself to some food at the Varsity Inn buffet in Gibbs Hall on Sept. 22.

Dining hall closes, angers students Lauren Kittrell Editor-in-Chief Varsity Inn at Gibbs Hall is officially closing its doors.

Unfortunately, that leaves numerous students on a meal plan that no longer includes the menu previously offered by Varsity Inn. Shaun McNeely, senior in logistics, said that the change in dining will greatly affect his lifestyle and eating habits. “(Varsity Inn closing) means I won’t be able to eat real and healthy food anymore,” McNeely said. “I’ll have to eat the fake eggs

at Presidential. My diet is Paleo-based — where you eat no bread, grains or pasta — and that is all Presidential has to offer. It means I’ll never leave the cafeteria full because there is nothing to eat.”

There are legitimate reasons for the cafeteria’s close. SGA president Adam Roddy said the average loss for operating Varsity Inn over the last three years ranged between $750,000 to $800,000 per year.

To appease the uproar arising mainly on social media, the university has offered a special dining option. Students who have already signed up for the Varsity-Inn plan will be allowed to stay on the same plan,

Obama campaign sues website over illegal use of logo The Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is suing a website that sells T-shirts, bumper stickers and buttons with the campaign’s signature “O” logo, claiming the store is infringing on its trademark.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Washington, the committee says Demstore.com is illegally selling products with two of its logos. The first is the campaign’s socalled “rising sun” logo, a blue “O” with red and white stripes at the bottom. The other is a 2012 logo that includes the “O.” Lawyers for the campaign are asking the court to stop Demstore.com from using the logo and award damages. The lawsuit says the campaign is being harmed by the sale of the competing items.

That’s because the campaign makes money from merchandise sales on its own website and doesn’t get that money, which is considered a campaign contribution, when people buy the items on another site. The campaign also misses out on a chance to get the contact information of people buying the merchandise — information that is used for future fundraising efforts.

Steve Schwat, the owner of Washington Promotions & Printing Inc., which runs

Demstore.com, said he was disappointed by the lawsuit. He said hundreds and maybe even thousands of companies make similar products and that he has never had an issue before.

“We have always cooperatively worked with Democratic campaigns,” he said.

Schwat said his company, which is based in Washington, has been providing Democrats with political materials since 1985 and worked with the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore and Howard Dean, among others. He said state and county groups rely on his site, which supports only Democrats, to get materials. And he said those groups don’t want to go to Obama’s website and pay more. For example, a white T-shirt with the Obama logo is $30 at the campaign’s site, but a group that wants to buy in bulk can get 500 from Demstore.com at $5.49 each.

“I think people prefer to have the freedom to buy the merchandise where they want to,” Schwat said.

Obama’s campaign filed a nearly identical lawsuit against Demstore.com in October 2011 in Chicago, but that lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed in January.

Washington Promotions & Printing had argued the lawsuit was improperly brought in Illinois.

but it will become the campus-15 plan.

“Those in University Housing and UT Dining were quite accommodating to students in how they allowed for the affected students to change their meal plans and housing options,” Roddy said. “The Dining Services even went so far as to grant the students on the Varsity Inn Meal Plan a more encompassing meal plan at the same price.”

Unfortunately, the plan failed to have the desired effect. Few students are satisfied with the substitute plan.

See VARSITY INN on Page 3

It was just a party where Jennifer Smith’s hobby turned into a reality.

“I don’t know how to make a graph, do numbers, or anything,” Smith said.

It was just a purchase Zach Linn bought to support a friend that sparked innovation.

“I thought it was poorly designed and it was hard to hold, but I realized when I was holding that water bag, I realized I could make it out of silicon,” Linn said.

Both Linn and Smith placed first with their Squish Bottle design in their respective categories this past month at the fifth annual Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the College of Business Administration.

Twenty-three-year-old Linn, who just graduated in retail and consumer science, received $5,000 for winning, complimentary start-up accounting services by Brenda Boyd, as well as a one-year membership in Estrada Strategies business coaching network.

Linn has become quite the expert in entrepreneurial work. As a sophomore, he placed third in the Business Plan Competition with a battery-inclusive backpack

which could charge laptops on the go.

This past fall, Linn won the VolCourt Competition with the simple idea of a doit-all water bottle. He wasn’t prepared for the success.

“It was crazy because it went from the Knoxville News Sentinel to the AP newswire,” Linn said. “I got press as far as Hawaii in some travel guide and in California. It went so big so quick.”

Linn said his water bottle has four important features: insulation, replaceable filter, collapsibility and durability.

Made out of silicon, the water bottle doesn’t contain something brand new, but rather combines unique features of all different kinds of water bottles into one.

The major publicity came in a wave that Linn wasn’t expecting.

“I really missed the ship,” he said. “I didn’t have any images or anything to back it up. I didn’t have the website for it. It was totally just the idea. So in time, I’ve been developing it and now I’ve got a website and designs for the bottle.”

Missing the cut by fivehundredths of a point into the college of business, Linn was determined that GPA wasn’t going to define his success in college and after.

See BUSINESS PLAN on Page 3

Shooting incident on the Strip Staff Reports The Knoxville Police Department is currently investigating a shooting incident involving a 21 year old male UT student who was grazed by a passing bullet while walking on 19th Street near Cumberland Avenue early on the morning of June 3, 2012.

According to a release from the University of Tennessee Police Department, officers responded to a call at 2:40 a.m. about a possible altercation

at a club on Cumberland Avenue, more popularly known as the “Strip.” A witness on the scene reported seeing a black male fleeing the scene, described as being around 5’11” in a gray tank top, following hearing either fireworks or a gunshot. No firearms were reported by the witness.

The victim was identified as Kwame Tyhee Willis, who had sought medical attention at approximately 4:40 a.m.

Knoxville Police Department officers spoke to Willis at 4:49 a.m. and reported

in a release that Willis said he had been wounded while walking across Cumberland Avenue in front of New Amsterdam Bar and Grill.

Willis was treated for his wounds and released.

A student body wide e-mail was sent out by UTPD as a Safety Notice.

UTPD urges students to not walk alone at night, and if the need arises for assistance, to contact the police or to use one of the over 100 blue light phones on campus.

Tia Patron • The Daily Beacon

A car leaves the White Avenue garage onto an empty street, due to "No Parking" bags placed on meters along White Ave. Several streets in the Fort will be repaved during the next couple of weeks.

2 • The Daily Beacon

InSHORT

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Tia Patron • The Daily Beacon

Students pack up their cars outside Hess Hall on May 7. Students spent the 24 hours after final exams ended packing and clearing out of their dorm rooms to head home.

1940 — Dunkirk evacuation ends On June 4, 1940, the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk on the Belgian coast ends as German forces capture the beach port. The nine-day evacuation, the largest of its kind in history and an unexpected success, saved 338,000 Allied troops from capture by the Nazis.

On May 10, 1940, the Germans launched their attack against the West, storming into Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. Faced with far superior airpower, more unified command, and highly mobile armored forces, the Allied defenders were a poor match for the German Wehrmacht. In a lightning attack, the Germans raced across Western Europe. On May 12, they entered France, out-flanking the northwest corners of the Maginot Line, previously alleged by French military command to be an impregnable defense of their eastern border. On May 15, the Dutch surrendered.

The Germans advanced in an arc westward from the Ardennes in Belgium, along France’s Somme River, and to the English Channel, cutting off communication between the Allies’ northern and southern forces. The Allied armies in the north, which comprised the main body of Allied forces, were quickly being encircled. By May 19, Lord John Gort, the British commander, was already considering the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) by sea.

Reluctant to retreat so soon, the Allies

fought on and launched an ineffective counterattack on May 21. By May 24, Walther von Brauchitsch, the German army commander in chief, was poised to take Dunkirk, the last port available for the withdrawal of the mass of the BEF from Europe. Fortunately for the Allies, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler suddenly intervened, halting the German advance. Hitler had been assured by Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, that his aircraft could destroy the Allied forces trapped on the beaches at Dunkirk, so Hitler ordered the forces besieging Dunkirk to pull back.

On May 26, the British finally initiated Operation Dynamo — the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk. The next day, the Allies learned that King Leopold III of Belgium was surrendering, and the Germans resumed the land attack on Dunkirk. By then, the British had fortified their defenses, but the Germans would not be held for long, and the evacuation was escalated. As there were not enough ships to transport the huge masses of men stranded at Dunkirk, the British Admiralty called on all British citizens in possession of sea-worthy vessels to lend their ships to the effort. Fishing boats, pleasure yachts, lifeboats, and other civilian ships raced to Dunkirk, braving mines, bombs, and torpedoes.

During the evacuation, the Royal Air Force (RAF) successfully resisted the Luftwaffe, saving the operation from failure. Still, the German fighters bombarded the beach,

destroyed numerous vessels, and pursued other ships within a few miles of the English coast. The harbor at Dunkirk was bombed out of use, and small civilian vessels had to ferry the soldiers from the beaches to the warships waiting at sea. But for nine days, the evacuation continued, a miracle to the Allied commanders who had expected disaster. By June 4, when the Germans closed in and the operation came to an end, 198,000 British and 140,000 French troops were saved. These experienced soldiers would play a crucial role in future resistance against Nazi Germany.

With Western Europe abandoned by its main defenders, the German army swept through the rest of France, and Paris fell on June 14. Eight days later, Henri Petain signed an armistice with the Nazis at Compiegne.

Germany annexed half the country, leaving the other half in the hands of their puppet French rulers. On June 6, 1944, liberation of Western Europe finally began with the successful Allied landing at Normandy.

1989 — Tiananmen Square massacre takes place Chinese troops storm through Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy protesters. The brutal Chinese government assault on the protesters shocked the West and brought denunciations and sanctions from the United States.

In May 1989, nearly a million Chinese, mostly young students, crowded into central Beijing to protest for greater democracy and call for the resignations of Chinese

Communist Party leaders deemed too repressive. For nearly three weeks, the protesters kept up daily vigils, and marched and chanted.

Western reporters captured much of the drama for television and newspaper audiences in the United States and Europe. On June 4, 1989, however, Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters. Turmoil ensued, as tens of thousands of the young students tried to escape the rampaging Chinese forces. Other protesters fought back, stoning the attacking troops and overturning and setting fire to military vehicles. Reporters and Western diplomats on the scene estimated that at least 300, and perhaps thousands, of the protesters had been killed and as many as 10,000 were arrested.

The savagery of the Chinese government's attack shocked both its allies and Cold War enemies. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared that he was saddened by the events in China. He said he hoped that the government would adopt his own domestic reform program and begin to democratize the Chinese political system. In the United States, editorialists and members of Congress denounced the Tiananmen Square massacre and pressed for President George Bush to punish the Chinese government. A little more than three weeks later, the U.S. Congress voted to impose economic sanctions against the People's Republic of China in response to the brutal violation of human rights.

— This Day in History is courtesy of History.com.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

VARSITY INN continued from Page 1 Colin Skinner, senior in journalism and electronic media, said the closing of Varsity Inn was upsetting. His experience at Varsity Inn was something that he enjoyed and the absence of it will be felt.

“Gibbs Hall is a great dining experience because it combines demographics like athletes and nonathletes in a place where the food is quality.

Fraternity guys could even get free protein there. It was great. The fact that the school, or athletic administration rather, wants to take this experience away from all demographics and make it into a practice session for players is both upsetting and unfair.”

BUSINESS PLAN continued from Page 1 Unlike Linn, who competed in the growth-technology aspect of the competition, Smith competed in the lifestyle section. Smith received the same prizes as Linn, but went a much different route to get there.

A Russian studies graduate, Smith is the founder of Grassroots Uganda in North America.

The business sells jewelry made by Ugandan women to US customers.

“I am importing and retailing products handmade from Uganda,” Smith said. “It’s primarily jewelry, handbags, purses, a couple aprons and things like that.”

Last summer, Smith went to Uganda to work with Nourish International when they ran across the owner of Grassroots Uganda.

“What this organization does is that it reaches out to homeless, HIV positive, war-stricken women,” Smith said. “It connects them to local artisans that can then teach them how to make these products and gain some extra money so they can either provide money for their kids’ school or eventually some might start their own microentrepreneurship.”

NEWS Roddy said that while the close was a necessary act, the operation may not have been handled appropriately.

“I believe the major problem with the whole issue was a simple lack of awareness and information,” Roddy said. “Athletics decided to, for the most part, close the Varsity Inn. The major problem with this was that they did not inform the students of this until long after they had already signed up for meal plans. Even certain administrators and administrative offices had been ‘left out of the loop’ and were surprised to hear of this. This resulted in many students rightfully being upset at the fact that their meal plan was being changed after they already signed up for it.”

Roddy encourages students to express their opinions on the matter as the change in dining options will effect each and every student.

Grassroots Uganda gave some items to Smith so she could take them back to the United States and sell them, and she has done well enough that she asked the company if they wanted her to keep selling and they said yes.

Smith considers herself a social entrepreneur.

“What that is starting to do is molding the best qualities of for-profit and non-profit into the same business entity,” she said. “There are a lot of different people that are selling African goods. I’m going to try and mold together the positive aspects of them.”

Smith said that several businesses are very altruistic in their action, but poor in their quality of products. Still others have extremely high quality and no story behind their stuff.

Right now Smith is selling items on Etsy, which is a website where handmade and vintage items are sold and bought.

Ultimately, Smith’s goal is concentrated on making a difference while turning a profit.

“I want to take the really high quality and the really great story and mold it with an incredibly interactive, social initiative with this website,” she said. “I want people to understand how their purchases are allowing these women to become empowered and how a great product and a great business and something you enjoy can contribute to something good in the world.”

Whitney Carter • The Daily Beacon

Kat Dotson, junior outfielder, talks to Karen Weekly during the Miami (Ohio) game May 19.

The Daily Beacon • 3

Zimmerman was confused and fearful, attorney insists The Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — The former neighborhood watch leader charged with fatally shooting Trayvon Martin was confused and fearful when he and his wife misled court officials about their finances during an April bond hearing that allowed him to be released from jail, his attorney said Monday.

Attorney Mark O’Mara wrote on a website run by George Zimmerman’s legal team that he will ask for another bond hearing. A day earlier, Zimmerman returned to jail because his $150,000 bond was revoked by a Florida judge after prosecutors claimed Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, deceived the court during the bond hearing.

At the hearing, Shellie Zimmerman testified that the couple had limited funds for bail because she was a full-time student and her husband wasn’t working. Prosecutors say Zimmerman actually had raised $135,000 in donations from a website he created.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester ordered Zimmerman returned to the Seminole County Jail, and Zimmerman complied Sunday afternoon. Zimmerman had been hiding in an undisclosed location for safety reasons.

“While Mr. Zimmerman acknowledges that he allowed his financial situation to be misstated in court, the defense will emphasize that in all other regards, Mr. Zimmerman has been forthright and cooperative,” O’Mara said.

Zimmerman will remain in jail at least until next Monday because the judge will be out of court this week and has no hearings scheduled.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Martin during a confrontation in a Sanford, Fla., gated community where Zimmerman lived and where Martin was visiting. He has pleaded not guilty and is claiming self-defense. The delay in his arrest for 44 days led to protests nationwide and led to intense debate about self-defense laws and race. Martin was black; Zimmerman’s father is white and his mother is from Peru.

Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda presented to the judge last week a partial transcript of telephone conversations Zimmerman had with his wife from jail, days before the April 20 bond hearing. Zimmerman and his wife discussed the amount of money raised from

the website, and Zimmerman spoke in code to tell his wife how to make fund transfers, according to the transcript. The code referred to amounts of “$15” in place of “$150,000.”

When Shellie Zimmerman was asked at the bond hearing how much money was raised from the website, she said, “Currently, I do not know.”

O’Mara acknowledged that the phone calls make clear Zimmerman knew a lot of money had been raised by the website. But Zimmerman’s judgment was clouded by threats to his safety that required him to stop working and forced Zimmerman and his family to leave their homes, the lawyer said.

“We feel the failure to disclose these funds was caused by fear, mistrust, and confusion,” O’Mara said.

Of the $204,000 raised from the nowdefunct website, $150,000 is under the administration of an independent third party. About $30,000 was used to help Zimmerman go into hiding after he was released from jail in April.

The remaining $20,000 was kept in cash to help with the Zimmermans’ living expenses. A separate website started by O’Mara has raised $37,000.

The revocation of Zimmerman’s bond could impact his case in several ways, legal experts say.

If the judge refuses to grant bond a second time, O’Mara is under pressure to move the case along because his client will be sitting in jail, not his own home.

The bond problem also could influence the judge’s opinion of Zimmerman’s credibility if there is a “stand your ground” hearing. Such a hearing, before the judge and with no jury, would give Zimmerman the chance to argue he killed Martin in self-defense under the Florida law that gives wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat in a fight if people believe they are in danger of being killed or seriously injured.

If there is a trial, prosecutors, under certain circumstances, may be able to cite the bond hearing to raise questions about Zimmerman’s credibility in a case in which he is going to need to convince a jury about his version of what happened during the confrontation.

“The gravity of this mistake has been distinctly illustrated, and Mr. Zimmerman understands that this mistake has undermined his credibility, which he will have to work to repair,” O’Mara said.

4 • The Daily Beacon

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

OPINIONS

Going

Somewhere...

Hopefully

Response to ad represents nativism Preston Peeden Managing Editor There’s no such thing as a free meal.

Restaurants will tell you that one item, or even an entire dining experience is free, only to have you pay some hidden surcharge or leave you beholden to them on a return visit, but for the Dallas, Texas based pizza company Pizza Patron, their concept of a free meal cost only three little words.

“Pizza, por favor.”

That’s it. I learned about this deal from my girlfriend last week, and for today (June 5, 2012) only from 5-8 p.m. at Pizza Patron’s 104 establishments throughout the southwest, all a caller needs to say are those three little words to get a free pepperoni pizza. While this may seem like a benign marketing tool, some have viewed the “Ordena en espanol y llevate gratis una pizza grande de pepperoni” (Order in Spanish and get a large pepperoni pizza free) campaign as discriminatory, by placing an unfair advantage on a perceived “foreign language” over our own.

As quoted in a USA Today article, one man, Peter Thomas, the chairman of the Conservative Caucus, said, “It seems to punish people who can't speak Spanish, and I resent that. In public areas, people should be speaking English, and that includes pizza parlors.”

After reading this, the only thought I could fathom was “when did ordering a pizza become such a big deal?”

The media attention to this issue shouldn’t really surprise me though. Pizza Patron is no stranger to controversy, as they made a previous media storm similar to this in 2007 when they announced that they would start accepting Mexican pesos as payment (which resulted in several executives receiving death threats). As for the issue of the perceived prevalence of the Spanish language, immigration, particularly from the southern U.S. border, has been a hot topic issue for over a decade, and issues of immigration reform are well-placed on the lips of every politician this election cycle. But why do these three little words even matter?

For people like Peter Thomas, saying “Pizza, por favor,” must seem like the kowtowing of some “truly American” ideal to a foreign interest. By this train of thought, Pizza Patron is further degrading Americanism, the ideals that truly made America “great,” and taking those positive

qualities and degrading them.

I can’t help but disagree vehemently with Peter Thomas and people like him. This is a simple advertisement campaign, and a smart one at that. Pizza Patron has all of its locations in areas where the Spanish language is prevalent (they even brand themselves as the leading pizza company to the Hispanic population). By inserting this deal Pizza Patron has not only created national attention for themselves, but they are also trying to further ingratiate themselves with their key demographic. It’s good business, nothing else. For those that feel it is racist and discriminatory against those who can’t speak Spanish, the ads themselves teach people how to say the phrase, making it accessible to anyone who can remember those three little words. What troubles me more than the ad itself is the response that it has generated from the likes of people like Peter Thomas.

At the heart of Thomas’ stance seems to be the remnants of the same nativist sentiment that allowed for racial quotas on immigration to exist legally in the U.S. until 1965 (some of these laws include the complete exclusion of Chinese people in 1882 in the aptly named Chinese Exclusion Acts). The key to the opposition’s argument is somehow centered on race and the question of “what truly is American?” But when did the two become mutually exclusive in some instances?

This anti-Spanish speaking sentiment completely runs counter to the heart of the American mythos of the past two centuries, being that America is a melting pot of different immigrant cultures, including “our” own. We pride ourselves on this belief in acceptance, dating back as far the Puritans, but completely ignore the times that we have had policies running counter to it. Whenever the issue of bilingualism in the public sphere is brought up, people ignore the prevalence and importance of immigration to this own nation’s founding, and instead balk at any proposal, viewing them as un-American or even racist.

With three little words and the promise of a free meal, Pizza Patron has started a fight over race, immigration and even advertising ethics.

Honestly, I don’t see why people care so much.

It’s an advertisement, there is no political agenda behind it, but rather Pizza Patron wants to make money and get its name out there, something it is certainly doing in both cases. There is no cultural agenda for them, it’s just money.

Actually, I’m a little hungry, I wouldn’t mind some pizza por favor.

— Preston Peeden is a senior in history. He can be reached at ppeeden@utk.edu.

SCRAMBLED EGGS • Alex Cline

Columns of The Daily Beacon are reflections of the individual columnist, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or its editorial staff.

Man, dog relationship complicated Shal l o w a n d Pe d a n t i c by

Robbie Hargett The relationship between dog and human surpasses all other animal-human relationships. Cat lovers will take issue with this, and let’s go ahead and set aside parasitic relationships — neither of those is healthy.

Owning a dog has become a lifestyle, with different lifestyles possible depending on the type of dog. Given a patch of wilderness, a hound often means an outdoor hunting life, whereas a yellow Labrador retriever roughly equates to the suburban fences that enclose it. A dog may engender a lifestyle, or vice versa, a particular way of living being conducive to a particular breed.

Either way, dogs become entrenched in our lives, and we love them for their companionship. But that’s not the whole story. A trained bird will sit on your shoulder, but it’s not the same.

All the essential reasons why we love dogs have to do with our own egos. Unlike ideal human-human relationships, the human-dog relationship is unbalanced, being one of dominance and subservience. It is the tension between having a friend and controlling — owning — that friend that we find so desirable.

My female golden retriever, Dixie, barks when thunderstorms approach. She is scared because she has absolutely no idea what to make of the sound of the rapid expansion of air following a sudden electric discharge very far away. It’s endearing. She pants and paces anxiously, and we comfort her with petting and soft voices, the way we would speak to a child who is afraid of the dog behind the fence. Maybe it is the way dogs need us, or the way we think they need us, that we are most in love with. While we love to control, we also love to feel needed.

Or perhaps we are most in love with their uncanny ability to gaze into our eyes, as we gaze into each other’s eyes. It is this talent of adjusting to the actions of humans that has made us think of dogs as more than pets. We project onto dogs our own humanized personalities, many of them stereotypes, incidentally — the wise old man, the naive child, the Jersey juicehead, the Irish drunkard. Dixie, nine years old, is a needy elderly woman

who only cares about eating, sleeping and receiving attention, and who crosses her forelimbs, ladylike, when she lies down. My male dog, Kody, two years old, is the gentle giant, the big baby, who goes running at the first sign of danger — a rustling of leaves — though he feigns courage by turning his head and barking as he retreats. My girlfriend’s male golden, Winston, is effeminate and prim, carefully testing the ground under the water’s surface before going for a swim. Hence the nickname, Winnie.

This personified view of dogs raises them to a level beyond the dumb animal, but our egos obscure the reality that dogs have much simpler emotional capabilities than humans. They do not love us the way we love them. They stare into our eyes because they have seen us staring at each other, and they have a knack for mimicry. A dog does not “feign courage,” much less act courageously. He relies on impulse and instinct, and he reacts negatively to the unfamiliar or uncertain. Kody may bark at sinister footsteps crunching the leaves, but he also barks at the wind turning them over.

The fact is we are so self-centered that we see complex human emotions such as regret and shame in our dogs’ eyebrows. Although it is a dangerous way of looking at things, we will never get past that humanized way of seeing a dog’s open mouth as a smile.

We will continue to believe our dogs do tricks because they want to please the ones they love, rather than the ones who provide them food. We will continue seeing our relatives in our dogs’ faces, and we will always look for common interests between ourselves and our dogs, even if they don’t exist.

And yet some do exist. It must be true that dogs really do enjoy our company, that when we leave they really do miss our presence, that they are not just anxious about the unfamiliar, not just acting on mechanical reflex.

We want it to be true, and I believe there is a balance of instinct and affection in a dog’s brain.

But then a pressure shift in the atmosphere, the detection of a new scent, and static building — all the things humans only recognize in their gout and boils.

There is pacing and barking, and mommies and daddies saying, what’s wrong, Charlie? Then, after several minutes — hours, days — faintly, a low, slow, rumble of thunder in the distance, and we realize how differently dogs perceive the world.

— Robbie Hargett is a graduate in English. He can be reached at ghargett1@utk.edu.

Meaning of patriotism still pertinent T he Hermit S p e a ke t h by

Jake Lane

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A recent acquaintance who has since become a good friend asked me point blank at one point if I was a patriot.

The situation involved my failure to pledge to the flag at a graduation ceremony, wherein the gathered masses in sleeveless t-shirts and Sunday best alike gathered to celebrate the transition from childhood into what passes for real life in these modern times. It has been such a long time since I really pondered the question that some fieldwork was necessary to ascertain an objective response.

Let it be said up front that I have such little working knowledge of sports that it was the only topic I have never explored at length with the Daily Beacon. But like Hunter Thompson, I’ve found a means to understand the culture surrounding sporting events that can provide more entertainment than what occurs on the field.

Fast forward to Memorial Day, as I sat in the bleachers at Smokies Park in Sevierville for a showdown with the Huntsville Stars and observed once again the masses descending to take part in America’s pasttime. Though I went to the game more as moral support for a friend working a booth in the concourse, a certain sickening whimsy came over me.

AA baseball is one of the last bastions of the old sports culture held over from mid-century America of yore. Unlike going to a major sporting event, the crowd is smaller and less of a fanatical pack than a group of die-hard fans and local speculators, with the intermittent voyeur seeking cheap thrills. Smokies Park reminds one of the old open fields with billboards lining the outfield, given a slight modern facelift. Fans sit about in bleachers and field seats alike, and the players are never reduced to ants whose actions necessitate the big screen on the scoreboard to make sense of the direction in which the game is headed.

Thus on a Monday night in Sevier County I saw what is left of the America I love, and to some degree was reaffirmed of its inherent goodness. That is to

say that despite many of the token gestures to veterans and repetition of patriotic songs which at times lacked much practical value, the crowd and assembled sports professionals had their hearts in the right place. From the nervous color guard awaiting their big moment of marching on to the field to present the flag, to the young children awkwardly saluting and attempting to find context for the words of civil pride which they spoke, these people undoubtedly meant their pledges and were proud of their heritage as Americans.

In a place where entertainment is the order of business for the day, such displays of patriotism lack the political overtones often ascribed to them by commentators on both sides of the aisle, and indeed offered no support of Obama or Romney or any political hopeful, for that matter. For that day in that field, those kinds of alliances meant little in comparison to the overall feeling of well-being and belonging to a Union.

For the last few political cycles, especially in the wake of 9/11, the term “patriot” has taken on a a pejorative bent, and is either used as a slight or shield for any number sociopathic nationalist ideas. But in effect, pride in the place you live and the people who live there is only natural. It’s only natural, then, that a sporting event would exemplify that. A baseball game is like a fairly peaceful war, where progress is tallied in runs and outs instead of victories and confirmed kills. Cheering for the home teams to crush the challengers, however, lacks any of the morally vacant rationalization which pro-war lobbies espouse like gospel. At the end of the day, everyone can go home happy their team won, or hopeful that the next game will end differently.

My immediate response when asked about my patriotism was, of course I love my country, but I love Walt Whitman’s America, not Sam Walton’s. The inherent glory of the Union and the supremacy of its people inscribed in “Leaves of Grass” doesn’t attempt to slag any other body politic as less relevant, but simply the beauty and diverse factors which come together to form our great melting pot give it a singularity unrivaled by any other place on the planet.

Now you can buy that diversity in one building at rollback prices, and if our competitor’s prices are lower, we will match them to the dollar, guaranteed.

— Jake Lane is a graduate in creative writing. He can be reached at jlane23@utk.edu.

ARTS&CULTURE

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Daily Beacon • 5

‘Snow White’ not the tale it used to be geous, which is definitely saying something.

Her character is part bitter aging beauty Arts and Culture Editor queen, who is desperately clinging to the last “Mirror, mirror on the wall, what summer vestiges of her good looks, mixed with a blockbuster was the most obvious money dash of megalomaniacal tyranny and a shade of crazy for good measure. Not only did her making attempt of them all?”

If this question was asked two weeks ago, role shine with its outward appearance and the answer would have been “Battleship.” actions, but also she was the only person in But fortunately for Liam Neeson’s reputa- the movie to have any sustained depth. tion, “Snow White and the Huntsman” has Ravenna is both blessed and cursed by her topped the mediocrity of that board game beauty. It is what gives her strength, but it is adaption, and raised the stakes another level also what spawns her growing cruelty and with its uneven and superficial tackling of ultimately forces her own undoing. Ravenna is in a way a tragic figure: although evil, she the Brothers Grimm classic.

The film stars Kristen Stewart, who has was made that way by not only herself but perfectly mastered the “partially intrigued, others, as it was the perception that her useopened mouth stare” expression but not fulness to society came only through her much else, as its lead, as well as Chris physical beauty that created her downward Hemsworth (of “Thor” and “Avengers” spiral.

Regardless of the looks of the film and fame) and the ever-radiant Charlize Theron.

Directed by Rupert Sanders, a Londoner Theron’s acting abilities, “Snow White and known more for his commercials than any- the Huntsman” is not a good movie. Rather, it has all of the feeling thing else, the film of a Hollywood stuattempts to revamp dio’s cash-in attempt the Disney cartoon on two rising celebribastion by returning ties stuck in a fanit to its German folk favorite scenario of tale roots, but in love-triangles, fight doing so it loses sight scenes and hunky of its storytelling Australians. And it is potential. this overtone that With that being dooms the movie. said, “Snow White” Hemsworth and was not without its Stewart were simply positives.

For bad actors playing starters, the visuals of even poorer roles. the movie are at times They were past prenothing less than dictable and bordered stunning. There are on shallow and repetimoments where even tive. It is not entirely the most ardent cynic the fault of the two in the audience is leads, however, as not shocked by the world only did they play a and images that story that everyone Sanders and cinePhoto courtesy of rottentomatoes.com knows the ending to, matographer Greig Fraiser have created. In fact, the first 15 min- but they also had very little quality writing utes were essentially one breathtaking set to work with.

Overall, “Snow White” was doomed piece after another, drifting from a snow covered palace courtyard to an earth-shaking before it was even released. Like most battleground and ending in a castle takeover. remakes, it’s hard to tell a story in a new and That opening sequence of visuals was also, better way than a beloved original. “Snow coincidentally, the best fifteen minutes of the White and the Huntsman” appears to be a movie (followed closely by the 5 minutes in brave attempt at revamping the Disney claswhich Stewart was off-screen and her charac- sic while bringing in the dark undertones of ter presumed dead/comatose). Not only did the Grimm tale, but ultimately it was noththe movie itself look great, but in the con- ing more than disappointing. Regardless of fines of its mangled storyline, Charlize the beauty of its visuals and the strength of Theron (as always) shined as the terrifying- Theron, there is little to cheer about, making the film not worth the price. ly beautiful yet evil Queen Ravenna.

Theron’s Ravenna is as cruel as she is gor-

Preston Peeden

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SPORTS

6 • The Daily Beacon

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Lady Vols end season with loss at WCWS Matt Dixon Sports Editor Much like Alabama on Thursday night, Oregon didn’t waste any time Saturday afternoon against Tennessee in an elimination game at the Women’s College World Series.

The No. 11-seed Ducks’ first batter, right fielder Samantha Pappas, hit a solo home run off Lady Vols’ starting pitcher Ellen Renfroe on the second pitch of the game.

Oregon (45-17) added another run later in the first inning, giving the Ducks all they needed in a 3-1 victory over seventh-seeded Tennessee (52-14) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The loss ends the Lady Vols’ season.

“We lost two very close ball games,” cohead coach Ralph Weekly said. “Our kids gave it everything we had. We just couldn’t hit in the clutch. We’re hitting the ball pretty good in BP and hitting the ball pretty good yesterday, and that happens at times. It’s really not any-

body’s fault. There was no lack of effort out there, and we just got beat both times.”

It was Tennessee’s fifth appearance at the WCWS in eight years, and the first since 2010.

The Lady Vols’ only run against Oregon pitcher Jessica Moore came on a two-out RBI single by centerfielder Tory Lewis in the bottom of the second inning, which scored catcher Ashley Andrews. Andrews was one of four Lady Vols senior along with Shelby Burchell, Cat Hosfield and Holly Baker, who were apart of 190 wins during their Tennessee careers.

Moore pitched a complete game for the Ducks and held Tennessee to just four hits en route to her 33rd win of the season.

“I have to give credit to Oregon,” Weekly said. “They had a great game plan, and their pitcher did well. We hit a lot of ground balls.”

Ellen Renfroe pitched just two innings before her sister, Ivy Renfroe, replaced her in the top of the third. Ivy Renfroe allowed a run in the fourth inning, which turned out to be the last run of the game.

Whitney Carter • The Daily Beacon

Kat Dotson, junior outfielder, talks to Karen Weekly during the Miami (Ohio) game May 19.

Martin hires new S&C coach Vols, Lady Vols head to NCAAs Staff Reports Tennessee basketball coach Cuonzo Martin, along with UT’s head strength and conditioning coach, Ron McKeefery, announced Thursday that Nicodemus Christopher has been hired to oversee all strength and conditioning efforts related to the men’s basketball program. Christopher spent the last year as a sports performance assistant at Purdue.

“We’re eager to bring Nicodemus on board,” Martin said. “I talked to a lot of people whose opinions I value, and the things people had to say about his level of knowledge and work ethic really stood out. I believe he’s going to do a great job for us, and I think he’ll relate well to our players.”

Christopher was responsible for the sports performance programs for softball and track and field at Purdue during the 2011-12 academic year, while also assisting with men’s basketball as a speed and conditioning coordinator.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to come to Tennessee and work with one of the best and most progressive coaching staffs in college basketball,” Christopher said. “I’m also excited about the vision for the program under coach Martin’s guidance.”

A native of San Diego, Calif., Christopher has previous experience as an assistant sports performance coach at Accelerate Performance Enhancement Center (APEC) in Tyler, Texas,

and he worked as a sports performance coach at the Michael Johnson Performance Center in Dallas. During his time in Dallas, he helped train members of the NHL’s Dallas Stars and the FC Dallas MLS franchise. He also assisted with NFL training camp preparation and offseason workouts for NFL standouts such as Marion Barber, Bradie James, Akin Ayodele, Donald Driver and Weslye Saunders, just to name a few.

He received a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance from Baylor (2007) and a master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis on biomechanics and anatomical kinesiology from the University of Texas at Tyler (2010).

As a graduate instructor for biomechanics and anatomical kinesiology at Texas-Tyler from August 2008 through May 2010, Christopher taught students to apply the principles of physics to human movement, such as athletic tasks, in order to improve performance and reduce the risk of injury. His courses also examined how the laws of physics apply to biological systems such as the human body.

Christopher was a volunteer assistant strength and conditioning coach at Stanford in the fall of 2010, and he is a USA Weightlifting (USAW) certified sport performance coach.

During his time as an undergraduate at Baylor, Christopher sat on the executive boards of both the African Student Association and the Association of Black Students.

Whitney Carter • The Daily Beacon

Wes Walker, senior catcher, recieves a framed jersey for Senior Day on May 19 against Arkansas.

Matthew Keylon Staff Writer Members of the Tennessee track and field team are heading to Des Moines, Iowa for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Volunteers who qualified for the event include: sophomore Chase Brannon in the men’s pole vault, redshirt freshman Matthew Hoty in the men’s shot put, senior Brittany Jones in the women’s 200 meter, senior Brittany Sheffey in the women’s 1500 meter, the women’s 4x400 meter relay team consisting of senior Ellen Wortham, sophomore Kianna Ruff, junior Nijgia Snapp, junior Martinique Octave, senior Chanelle Price and senior Ashley Harris.

Both the men’s and women’s 4x100 meter relay teams are heading to nationals. The women’s 4x100 meter relay team consists of senior Ashley Harris, Jones, junior Martinique Octave, junior Kia Jackson and Wortham. The men’s 4x100 meter relay team consists of sophomore Reginald Juin, freshman Jamol James, sophomore Jarael Nelvis, junior Arnez Hardnick and junior Desmond Brown. Joining this already extensive list of Vols are senior Annie Alexander in the women’s discus throw and shot put, sophomore Linda Hadfield in the women’s pole vault, Price in the women’s 800 meter Wortham in the women’s 400 meter hurdles.

The total number of track athletes going to nationals is 11 women competing in nine events and six men taking part in three events.

The track Vols got to the national outdoor championships by qualifying at NCAA East Preliminary Round meet on May 25-26 in Jacksonville, Fla. at North Florida’s Hodges

Stadium. Tennessee Director of Track and Field J.J. Clark was pleased with the showing the Vols had.

"Our objective was to come here and advance people to the NCAA meet,” he said.

“We advanced men; we advanced women. We had a couple of casualties, people we wanted to make it, but didn't, but on the whole, it was an outstanding day. Our program is moving in the direction we need it to go.”

In particular, Brannon earned a trip to nationals by having his second-best outdoor vault of his career. He soared over the bar at 17 feet, 5 1⁄2 inches on his third attempt to tie for eighth.

"I had a good plan coming in, I've been jumping well in practice, and I executed the plan to make it to nationals," Brannon said.

"I'm glad I made it on my third attempt. It's very satisfying, because I didn't want everyone to think I was just a flash in the pan making it indoors. I am glad I could do it again."

The women’s 4x100 meter relay team had its best outing of the spring at preliminaries by having a time of 44.29 to finish third in the second heat and sixth of the 12 qualifying teams. They are going to the NCAA Outdoor championships for the second-consecutive year.

"We've put forth so much work, so to come here, run a season best and punch our ticket to nationals is exciting," said Jackson.

"Ashley got us out to a good start and both Brittany and Martinique kept it going, and I just did what I had to do to get top three. All of us just competed today to the best of our abilities."

The Tennessee track team will be competing at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships June 6-9.