Sunny with a 0% chance of rain HIGH LOW 72 48
‘Let Me In’ proves worthy American remake
Vols face Bulldogs in Athens
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
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Issue 35
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
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Vol. 115
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LGBT Commission provides student support Network of student groups plans events to reach out to variety of students on campus community builder for students and a source of information. “It has served as a symbol on campus for UT’s com-
Betsy Goldin Staff Writer The LGBT Commission met Monday to discuss what the organization has accomplished and the work the group has left to do. The role of the commission is to improve the livelihood and status of the LGBT community on campus. It is made up of faculty and students appointed by the chancellor. “People from all parts of campus are here with diverse views and diverse interests,” Lynn Sacco, chair member and associated professor of history, said. Seven years ago, when Sacco first arrived at UT, no commission for the LGBT community. Today, the community has the LGBT Commission, LGBT and Ally Resource Center, the Safe Zone program and a more active Lambda Student Union. Safe Zone is a network of faculty and students that believes every student should feel safe and comfortable on campus and in the community. Volunteers display a Safe Zone symbol to show their respect toward the LGBT community. The resource center serves as a tool for LGBT students to find and get to know each other. It acts as a
“
Those kids we can help. It’s
the ones who don’t know that sort of fall through the cracks.
– Lynn Sacco, chair of LGBT Commission, on reaching out to LGBT students at UT
and feel so disenfranchised when he should feel so empowered. It is a goal of these organizations to stop the bullying on campus. Hate crimes should be reported to UT’s 946CARE hotline. Sacco said that without action, nothing will change. The commission makes it a priority to reach out to students in a culture that supports homophobia and hate crimes. The organization has worked hard to create programs that reach out to students and make them feel welcome. “The most exciting thing was seeing the web page for this commission, seeing the web pages for the Lambda Student Union, seeing the web pages for the outreach center,” Daniel Justice, treasurer of the Lambda Student Union, said. “It was a huge relief to me.” Justice said one of the biggest problems with the commissions is not getting enough active participation, because of the stigma attached. The resource center works to involve the LGBT community with all students on campus. The center will be celebrating “Coming Out Day” on Oct. 11 at the Humanities Amphitheatre. This is just one of the events the center will be hosting in the upcoming semester. The LGBT Commission will meet again Nov. 1. It is open to the public.
”
mitment to diversity,” Donna Braquet, chair of the resource center, said. Students who are aware of these organizations have a way to connect with other students. “Those kids we can help,” Sacco said. “It’s the ones who don’t know that sort of fall through the cracks.” The issue of cyberbullying was discussed in light of the recent death of a Rutgers University student. Sacco said it is upsetting that a student could be so ashamed
Student volunteers in Costa Rica Donesha Aldridge Staff Writer Living up to the Volunteer name and spending five weeks abroad, helping the environment’s wildlife and volunteering in Costa Rica, Johannah Reed, junior in environmental studies, said her experience abroad in Costa Rica was like nothing else. Reed was one of 19 volunteers to attend the trip through the Global Vision International program; however, she was the only UT student to go. GVI is responsible for volunteer programs in more than 40 countries in the world. Reed was assigned to the wildlife conservation program and mainly did volunteer research in the Costa Rican rainforest. She also got a chance to work closely with others on conservation projects. Reed said she was searching for a study abroad program UT had to offer, but none of them amounted to the ideas she had in mind. “I wanted a real hands-on experience,” Reed said. “I wanted to do something that I felt really mattered, rather than just going to another country to take classes that I could take at UT just as easily.” Reed said one of her top priorities in choosing a place to study abroad was to work in an environment that she had never experienced before. However, she wanted to study abroad in a place that allowed her to work hands-on with her interests: animals and the environment. “I thought that this experience in Costa Rica would be such an educational experience that would allow me to witness wild animals in their raw, natural habitat, and I was definitely not disappointed,” Reed said. Ben Southard, peer advisor in the Programs Abroad Office and a senior majoring in international business and logistics, said most students who come to the office look for places they are mostly unfamiliar with. Southard said it is so important for students to take advantage of any study abroad opportunity that comes along, whether it is a program from UT or from somewhere else. “You’re getting that experience and having a chance to go outside of your comfort zone,” he said. “It gives you a lot of cultural understanding and knowledge outside of home. It’s important to understand that there’s a world outside of the U.S.” Southard said although many students sometimes complain about their first weeks away from home, he has never had a student come back and say he or she hated his or her time abroad. “Most students wish they were still there,” he said. “At the end, you always wish it never has to end.” Reed said she would definitely go to Costa Rica again. “Initially, I was a bit nervous traveling abroad to a country where I didn’t speak the language by myself, but as soon as I met up with the other people volunteering with GVI and went to our campsite in Tortuguero National Park, all of my reservations went away,” she said. Reed said she learned how to value all species of life in Costa Rica. “With the increase in development and technology use that is unsustainable, so much of the earth is being squandered, and many species are quickly going extinct,” she said. “I think that is our duty, to try to do as much as we can to keep this from happening. After all, this is their home too.”
John Qiu• The Daily Beacon
The Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole band came to UT Monday, Oct.4 to bring some French creole music to Tennessee. Stroughmatt’s music is influenced by his time living in Louisiana, giving it some Cajun and zydeco influences.
Smith keeps cool front off court Preston Peeden Staff Writer J.P. Smith is an example of contradictions. A self-described goof off the court, Smith is one of the best college tennis players in the nation, having held the No. 1 ranking for most of the months of April and May. “If you pick a line-up out with this young man, and you say ‘OK, one of these guys is the No.1 player in college tennis,’ then he'd be the last one picked,” men’s coach Sam Winterbotham said of Smith’s physical appearance on the tennis court. But that’s just Smith. Standing 6’2” and weighing 181 pounds, this Townsville, Australia native seems at first glance like a regular college student, not a fast-serving, big-match winning force on the tennis court. As an athlete, Smith’s production speaks for itself.
Since arriving at UT in 2007, he has compiled a record of 112 victories in singles matches, as well as an equally impressive 110 in doubles. He has held the No. 1 overall ranking in both respects, and he is also a three-time AllAmerican, with his sights set on becoming UT’s first four-time All-American this season. Winterbotham says Smith is very driven on the court, and that’s what makes him so successful. “It’s his competitiveness,” Winterbotham said. “He just doesn’t take points off. He’s always focused for the next ball and ready to play the next ball. And he can do that for three and a half hours.” The competitive nature of tennis is what attracted Smith to the sport. “I played a variety of sports growing up, but the individualism and one-on-one competition I loved,” Smith said. Smith is much more than just tennis, though. He is, at his core, just a regular person, he said. He’s an economics major,
who points out one of his biggest goals as “staying ahead of his schoolwork.” And like most students, he does not have a clear idea of what he wants to do with his major. His favorite movies are comedies, specifically those featuring Will Ferrell or Ben Stiller. His favorite video game is Mario Kart 64, and his favorite character is Peach (something he chalks up to as always being the second player and never getting the one he wanted). His favorite color is now orange after his time on campus. His favorite bands are Blink-182, Angels and Demons, Good Charlotte and Three Days Grace. As for food, Smith keeps it simple. “Steak and chicken,” he said. When it comes to his free time, either on campus or back at home, Smith stays active in sports. He loves to play cricket and rugby recreationally and says that if he did not have tennis practice, he would probably be at the pool swimming laps. See J.P. SMITH on Page 9