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Students take a swing at Kendo @UTKDailyBeacon

utdailybeacon.com Issue 04, Volume 127

NEWS >> pg. 2

Monday, August 25, 2014

Majority of students opt in

Student programming to cope with budget changes after opt-in deadline Hayley Brundige News Editor (@hayleybrundige)

Savannah Gilman Staff Writer The choice was yours. At midnight Aug. 20, the chance to opt in or out of the student programming fee on MyUTK came to a close. For registered part-time and full-time students paying some or all of the Student Programs and Services Fee, the system recorded 26,172 choices made: 21,541 - 82.31 percent of students opted in, while 4,631 - 17.69 percent of students opted out. Those who chose to opt in allowed their $19.46 Student Program and Services Fee to be allocated for student-organized program-

ming like Volapalooza, Vol Night Long and Issues Committee lectures. While both parties paid the same amount, those who opted out chose not to support student programming. Instead, their funds will be reallocated to other campus resources. Students who missed the August deadline automatically opted out. Administrators strove to inform students of the new procedure, Vice Chancellor for Student Life Vincent Carilli said, to prevent accidental opt-outs. ”We have tried to provide as much information as possible so that students could make an informed decision,” Carilli said. Carilli also stated that the university has not taken a formal position on whether students should opt in or opt out. Opting out reduces the pool of money that student organizations may request for

funding. Students who opted out must pay the public admission price to attend any programming supported by this portion of the fee. Greta Hoffman, junior in communications disorders, became familiar with the effects of the opt-in clause at the Clarence Brown Theater, where students who opted in will continue to enjoy $5 tickets, rather than full price admission. “If I didn’t opt in, I would be spending a fortune to go to all the shows I want to,” Hoffman said. After realizing student fees could support Sex Week, Natalie Beitel, junior in electrical engineering, chose to opt out. For Beitel, it was a “moral decision.” “I don’t agree with a lot of the things that went on during Sex Week and I took the stance that even though it’s only about 17 cents, not a large sum to pay, I still don’t want that money going to Sex Week,” Beitel said.

26, 172 students opted in 4, 631 students opted out

17.69% Source: Division of Student Life

See OPT-IN on Page 2

From the track to the turf

Hannah Cather • The Daily Beacon

Students shimmy with Planeta Azul

The Passistas, Brazilian samba dancers, encouraged audience participation at the Planeta Azul event hosted by the Cultural Attractions Committee and Central Program Council on Aug. 22.

Brazilian dance group shares culture through dance Hannah Cather Photo Editor (@hannahcather)

Despite the humidity, more than 100 people gathered in the HSS Amphitheater to watch the Brazilian dance troupe Planeta Azul on Friday. While the performance was set to begin at 8 p.m., the dancers did not appear for another 30 minutes. Mosquitos were swarming, but as three women clad only in feathers and sequins climbed on stage, the audience let out an audible gasp. Two less conspicuously dressed dancers followed, but the entire group soon broke into motion, shimmying and shaking to the music. Feathers flapped, sequins flashed and the audience clapped along to the beat. As the music died down, one smiling member stepped forward to greet the audience and introduce the group. Accent notably absent, she explained that Planeta Azul was formed in

Williams using speed to climb cornerback ranks

Chicago. Planeta Azul consists of two performing groups: the samba band and the Passistas Samba dance troupe. According to the group’s website, it is “the Midwest’s premier samba dance company,” and travels across the country providing live entertainment as well as samba lessons. “By the time we’re done, you won’t even realize we’re still in Knoxville,” said Yaasha Abraham, the group’s leader, as she asked the audience to stand for the first dance lesson. A soft beat started to play, and the dancers began to bob to the sounds of a “chocalho,” the generic Portuguese word for a shaker instrument. Abraham explained that in samba, this beat is “the engine that keeps the samba train running.” “When you hear that engine, your body starts going,” Abraham explained. “You start by bumping up and down.”

Troy Provost-Heron Sports Editor (@TPro_UTDB)

See PLANETA AZUL on Page 5

Roaches, mold and break-ins Students struggle with negligent Fort Sanders landlords Projects Editor For many UT students seeking their first non-dormitory home, the Fort Sanders neighborhood is prime real estate. Every spring, starry-eyed 20-somethings quickly snap up leases in the Fort, eager to live in the sole residential district within walking distance of campus. But what happens when those leases – and the crooked landlords that accompany them – don’t quite live up to the hype? “There was black mold in the kitchen; there was standing water throughout the entrance hallway and into the kitchen and living room,” Marissa Scribner, senior in BCMB, recalled of the apartment she nearly moved into this month. “We found out it was sewage water when we had been told it was just a regular leak.” While touring the apartment a mere two months prior to move-in, Scribner and her roommate were appalled to discover how startlingly far the Clinch

Avenue home had degenerated. “I ended up talking to the prior tenants who said there was a fire there earlier and management never fixed anything, so their pipes burst about twice a year,” Scribner said. “The landlord was just trying to talk his way through it and if it were not for our parents, then they would have screwed us over.” Scribner and her roommate were lucky to have parents in town who could intervene; others are not so fortunate. “A lot of kids won’t stick up for themselves and some of their parents aren’t in range to come rescue them,” she said. The Fort’s underhanded landlords are well aware of college students’ defenselessness and naivety, said Brooke Carpenter, a junior in physical therapy. “You’re excited about your first house and they have to know that,” Carpenter said. “In your excitement, you probably overlook some things that you might not initially see or not think to check for -- like fleas.” When Carpenter and her three roommates moved into their Forest Avenue

Editorially independent student newspaper of the Unversity of Tennessee since 1906

I n your excitement, you probably overlook “

Liv McConnell

some things that you might not initially think to check for -- like fleas.

-Brooke Carpenter home, they were shocked to find they shared the address not only with fleas, but rats and cockroaches as well. “We had, and still have, a huge pest control problem,” she said. “We notified our landlord of this and he didn’t seem to care at all. At one point he did flea bomb the house but he didn’t even give us a day’s warning, and we had to find somewhere else to stay that night.” Failing to receive help from the landlord on behalf of rat and cockroach issues, the girls were forced to address the issue. “We got a trap for one (rat) but the other was one was really smart and would eat the peanut butter off the traps,” she said. “We used a trashcan

and had to trap it with a broom. It was the most horrible thing.” Carpenter believes many Fort residents simply accept absentee landlords, unsure how to demand better treatment. “Certain people wait until the last minute to find a place and then panic, because they’re hearing about other people who have already signed leases,” she said. “It’s later in the year so they don’t think they have many options around here, but they want to be able to walk to campus. So they just pick something close and deal with the issues.”

VIEWPOINTS >>pg. 4

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones has made it clear that team speed, especially on the defensive side of the ball, is something the Volunteers must improve if they hope to contend in the SEC. So it’s fitting to see Michael Williams’ name near the top of the cornerback depth chart as the 2014 season approaches. Williams has more than enough speed to fill that void, and the proof can be found on Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium every spring where he runs track for the Vols. The road to the top of that depth chart, however, hasn’t been easy. “My time at Tennessee has been a great experience,” Williams said. “I’m blessed to have this opportunity. I have grit, (I’m) just relentless. I’m a fast guy, sometimes I play too fast, I’m just out there trying to get better and trying to make Tennessee better.” Originally following in the footsteps of his older brother Madieu Williams, who was a former second-round pick and has played 10 seasons in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins, Michael signed to the University of Maryland to play football but was granted a release after the Terrapins denied him the opportunity to run track. The 5-foot-11-inch, 177 pounder spent the next two years running for the Vols of LaPorte Stadium, not the ones in Neyland. But Williams still had the desire to play football and decided to join the Vols in the spring of 2013, although his mother, who passed away when he was 12, would rather his focus be solely devoted to track. “I remember my mom never wanted me to play football,” Williams said. “She always wanted me to run track. She did hurdles, so that’s the reason I did hurdles. Now I’m playing football and dedicating it to her. Everything I do is for my mom.” See FOOTBALL on Page 6

See LANDLORDS on Page 2

Science, in its beautiful simplicity, is an integral part of our lives whether we recognize it or not.

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