Partly Cloudy with a 10% chance of rain HIGH LOW 93 67
‘The Last Exorcism’ leaves viewers with questions
Knoxville’s Chris Kirk wins KNS Opem
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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Issue 10 T H E
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Vol. 115
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Website offers advice for first-time budgeters
Kristian Smith Student Life Editor College brings a lot of firsts: first time away from home, first roommate, first all-nighter, but the first that may be the hardest one to deal with is the first time managing money. For Kelly Branham, undecided sophomore, managing money is a source of worry. “My parents have always given me a set amount of money, and I if I spend more than that, I’m in trouble, but I have never had to really budget before,” she said. “I’m worried, because I know I will be responsible for car payments and phone payments soon, but I’m not sure how I’m going to pay for it all.” Jo Bittof, a Knoxville native and founder of actfinancially.com, a money management website, said many college students have the same problem as Branham. “I have been a banker for many years, and I have seen so many people get off on the wrong foot,” Bittof said. “It’s mainly because they didn’t know (about finance). Even college grads and well educat-
ed people aren’t always aware.” Bittof said college students especially have a difficult time budgeting money. She said the transition from having parents make financial decisions to making those choices independently can cause problems. “Many college students aren’t aware of where their money is going, and they rely on credit cards too much,” she said. “If you don’t know where your money ’s going, you cant make a budget.” Bittof said financial problems in college can lead to unforeseen problems later in life. “College students don’t realize how important their credit score is going to be,” she said. “ These days, employers check your credit and credit score, insurance companies check your credit. (College students) think, ‘I’ll worry about it when I get a job,’ but you could have already ruined your credit score and lost opportunities.” While budgeting may seem difficult, Bittof has specific tips to stay on track. “Sit down and list all your expenses by category (housing, food, transportation, supplies) and create subcategories,” she said. “For example, separate the food category into groceries, eating out, coffee out, etc. Also list periodic expenses that aren’t monthly, like clothing and medical expenses.” Bittof said to then look at monthly income and periodic income and compare it to expenses. She said this budget should be the best- case scenario, but it may take a little tweaking to get it perfect. The next step is to track what you actually spend and compare it to your budget. Bittof said her website can do some of these things for you.
“ The website has guided steps to walk you through finances,” she said. “ There is a tracking area that functions like a checkbook. It locates income and expenses, and by categorizing that way, you have created a budget by category so you know what your goal for spending is while tracking your actual spending.” Bittof said the site also has a coaching section with a blog and articles about topics including understanding credit score, getting out of credit card debt, and credit and debt management. To prepare for life after graduation, Bittof said it is important to take budgeting steps now. “Don’t max out students loans just because you can, because you have to pay them back,” she said. “ Take the minimum amount and work to fill in the gap. You don’t want to come out of college so deeply in debt you don’t know how to pay for it.” Other budget tips include: Avoid having a car, rent or buy used textbooks, and avoid having a credit card. Bittof said one of the most important things about budgeting is understanding self-monitoring and discipline. “Mom and Dad aren’t there to do it for you,” she said. “Learn to assess everything as a want or a need; if it’s a want, do you know how to afford it?” Branham thinks budgeting tips like this will help her in the future. “When I can’t rely on my parents anymore, staying on a budget will help me stay on track,” she said. For more information about budgeting, or to get a free membership with actfinanically.com, email info@actfinancially.com.
Neyland renovations nearly complete, offer new experiences Jason Hall Staff Writer Neyland Stadium has gone through many renovations over the past four years, but this season marks what people involved in the project refer to as “The Master Plan.” The stadium, which has been home to the Tennessee Volunteers since 1921, has undergone many alterations inside and out. One of the newest major upgrades to Neyland is the addition of the Tennessee Terrace. The Tennessee Terrace offers a new experience for UT fans, which include 1,800 outdoor seats with cup holders, expanded concession menus, new restrooms, flatscreen TVs and a panoramic view of the Tennessee Campus. John Painter, associate director of media relations for UT football, characterized the terrace as a more affordable version of a skybox. “We’ve come up with some plans to improve the stadium, like the club seats and the Tennessee Terrace,” Painter said. “It’s kind of in between a regular-season ticket and a club seat. With the Tennessee Terrace you sit outside, but the seats are a little bit better. But you go into your own area where you can buy concessions, and the price is the same.” The concession area has also improved with the new additions to Neyland. Similar to newly constructed stadiums in professional sports, Neyland will now include a large food court, which includes seven different concession areas. The expanded concessions include a grill stand, wraps and salads, a combined Starbucks and ice cream stand, a Petro’s and hotdog stand, a buffet area with weekly specials and other concession stands and snack areas. Another main focus of renovations was to improve the bathroom areas in the stadium. The renovations have improved water, electricity
and sewer issues. Neyland has also gone through many changes to its exterior. The entrance across from Peyton Manning Pass, Gate 18, now has a new brick entrance. The stadium also includes hanging banners of past UT legends, such as Peyton Manning, Reggie White and General Neyland himself. The changes have won the approval of first-year coach Derek Dooley. “It’s absolutely stunning when you walk up,” Dooley said. “To see what has been done, it almost takes you back, and you feel like you’re in Rome, Italy, thousands of Ian Harmon • The Daily Beacon (Antenna Cond Regular 7 pt) years ago. It’s just a monumental structure and it really just The finished Neyland Stadum facade and a clear Stadium Drive were a welcome site to students on Monday, speaks for itself. I’ve got to Aug. 30. give Mike (Hamilton, UT athletic director) so much credit for the job he did. Not just for the vision of the change, but also for the money put into the renovations.” Dooley spoke about the importance of saving tradithere is in climate modeling extreme events, as well as how to tions and fan support during Robbie Hargett quantify and communicate that uncertainty. his press conference following Staff Writer Karsten Steinhaeuser, another researcher, is a doctoral student Wednesday’s scrimmage. researching data mining and machine learning, with a focus on “I hope the fans appreciate Researchers from UT and ORNL are participating in a new it,” Dooley said. “I think it’s multi-institutional project dedicated to predicting climate change applications to climate change, climate extremes and impacts. “My research on the use of complex networks to represent the going to do two things: Fans more accurately. will have a better gameday The project uses data mining, the process of discovering pat- climate system will be used for quantifying and reducing uncerexperience because of it, and terns in data, to “ ... discover hidden patterns among model-simu- tainty in model outputs, which in turn will guide impact assessalso it has to do with a sense lated variables that are relatively better predicted and establish ments due to changes in projected future climate,” Steinhaeuser of pride. So when they come their relations with those that are not, with the goal of improving said. “The novelty of this project is that an attempt will be made to see it, they’ll feel a part of it.” predictions of the more crucial variables,” Auroop Ganguly, senior Though the total capacity staff member in ORNL’s Computational Sciences and Engineering bridge the gap between climate modeling and integrated assessments through the use of model-simulated and observed data,” has decreased, the stadium Division and adjunct professor at UT, said. still holds more fans than any While some climate variables, such as temperatures over atmos- Ganguly said. “While a few such methods have been developed, other stadium in the SEC and pheres and oceans, are relatively easy to predict with models, they have often been focused conceptual models with specific goals.” ranks third amongst all foot- more extreme variables, such as hurricanes, are not. “Hopefully, the project will result in some valuable insights new ball stadiums (both NCAA “Turns out that some of the less well predicted model variables to the climate science community,” Kodra said. and NFL) in total capacity, may be more important for climate change impacts and policy,” David Erickson, a senior research staff member in the behind Michigan and Penn Ganguly said. “Climate change policies and decisions could Computational Earth Sciences Group in the Computer Science State’s. The new total capacity impact the nation’s and the world’s critical infrastructures and key and Mathematics Division at ORNL, said the project will also of Neyland Stadium is resources.” Ganguly also noted that many climate models are able to reli- strengthen ties related to climate science between UT and ORNL. 102,459. “The involvement and training of students and post-docs is a ably predict change from continental to global levels but become Construction will take a critical aspect of climate science going forward,” Erickson said. short break during the start of less accurate at local and regional levels. The $10-million project has already been funded by the “Unfortunately, most decision makers need local to regional the 2010 season but will coninformation,” Ganguly said. “This project will attempt to craft a National Science Foundation. tinue for years to come. “All the work is really ahead of us,” Ganguly said. “As we move Saturday marks the first systematic strategy to discover new and stakeholder-relevant forward, synergies will need to be developed with existing capachapter in the life of the newly knowledge from climate data.” Thirteen researchers from seven institutions are involved with bilities and projects in related areas.” renovated stadium. The Vols Kodra believes that, regardless of the outcome, the project will host the UT-Martin Skyhawks the project. Evan Kodra, ORNL researcher with an expertise in be extremely important to the general public. geostatistics, climate and public health, said that the cross-discipliand will host games for the fol“A better understanding of what climate change means, or does lowing three weeks, including nary research makes this project challenging but also creates the not mean, for different parts of the world will continue to be potential for great rewards. games against Oregon and Kodra’s work focuses on evaluating how much uncertainty important and will probably become even more important in the SEC East rival Florida. future,” he said.
UT, ORNL collaborate to improve accuracy of climate change models