The Daily Beacon

Ali Griffin Staff Writer Finals time is around the corner and many UT students are beginning to panic.

“I’m worried about getting everything done that I need to get in time,” Sarah Fansler, senior in political science, said.

Stress is hard to avoid during final exams week, but according to U.S. News, there are some tips that can make finals a little bit more manageable.

The first suggestion includes counting your way forward towards exams. Start at least a week before your exam, giving yourself a chance to split the material into seven separate parts instead of cramming it into just two or three days.

“This semester, I’ve made out a schedule with the dates of my finals,” Fansler said. “I have each day in between planned so that I have everything that I am supposed to study planned out.

“I’m starting the weekend before classes [end], so that way

I can hopefully get everything done. It just makes the tasks seem a lot easier.”

Another tip which U.S. News suggests is to figure what exactly is going to be on your final. Some finals are comprehensive, covering the entire semester, while others only cover material since the last exam. Still others may be a paper or essay topic.

“None of my finals are comprehensive,” Kyle Tasman, undecided freshman, said. “They’re just like regular exams, and since I have good grades in those classes, I’m really not too worried about them.

“I don’t really have much of a plan to prepare. I’ll try to start about a week before, but I’m not too concerned since it’s not an entire semester’s worth of material.”

Finding out exactly what is going to be covered is key to delegating study time, according to U.S. News. First, decide what exams will be the hardest. Then decide what material you know the most about already. It is not always necessary to study for each exam for an equal amount of time.

“If the exam were comprehensive, I would definitely be freaking out a little bit more and probably spending more time studying, but since most of the material is pretty fresh I don’t think it will be as difficult,” Tasman said.

Another suggestion is to try to figure out your professor’s testing style. U.S. News encourages students to consider factors such as whether the professor focuses on smaller details from the material or a broader understanding of the material as a whole.

They also advise that you “shed some commitments.” The holidays offer many social events and also require extra shifts at work. Missing out on a short event or an evening shift at work can provide valuable study time that can better prepare students for exams.

U.S. News’ last suggestion is to remain calm and not panic on test day. They advise students to think of exam day as a “work period.” This will alleviate the pressure.

For more study tips visit USNews.com and zencollegelife.com.

2 • The Daily Beacon

InSHORT

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

George Richardson • The Daily Beacon

A student sits passed out in front of a computer in Hodges Library on Wednesday, Aug. 25. 2010. With the close of classes, many students will face the beast that is John C. Hodges Library in the coming weeks in preparation for finals.

Thursday, Nov. 24 12:33 a.m. — Officer dispatched to CookOut Restaurant in reference to an intoxicat- 1996 — Last day at VW for Jose Ignacio ed individual who refused to leave the prem- Lopez ises. The man, who was unaffiliated with the On November 29, 1996, top Volkswagen university, was arrested for public intoxica- official Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua tion. resigns from his job amidst accusations of Wednesday, Nov. 23 racketeering and industrial espionage.

Saturday, Nov. 26 Lopez had risen through the ranks as a pur11:13 a.m. — Report of a possible altered hang tag in a vehicle at the G-7 parking garage on chasing executive at GM, where he had pio12:20 a.m. — Vehicle seen traveling the neered what The New York Times called “the Andy Holt Avenue and Volunteer Boulevard. wrong way down James Agee Street. Upon most aggressive system in the world for buyUpon further investigation, the parking tag was found to be a counterfeit. The vehicle was conse- stopping the vehicle, the driver was found to ing auto components cheaply.” (This system, be operating the vehicle without a valid quently towed to the impound lot. which reduced GM’s costs and increased its license. The officer issued a misdemeanor profits, was known as the “Lopez effect” with3:30 p.m. — Theft of a cordless drill reported at citation and impounded the subject’s vehicle. in the industry.) In 1993, Lopez — supposedAndy Holt Tower. ly miffed because GM was not moving fast Compiled from a media log provided to the Daily Beacon by the University of Tennessee Police Department. enough to build a factory, called “Plant X,” that All persons arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. People with names similar or used the Lopez purchasing system — abanidentical to those listed may not be those identified in reports.

doned GM for Volkswagen. He brought with him more than 2 million pages of top-secret GM documents, business plans, pictures of new automobile designs and part and factory blueprints — information that, GM said, VW used to cut $450 million in expenses, eliminating GM’s competitive advantage in the European market. (For his part, Lopez denied any wrongdoing. “You have the right to take your ideas away with you,” he insisted, though in fact intellectual-property law dictates otherwise.) In mid-November 1996, VW opened a new factory in Resende, Brazil that seemed to be based on the purloined plans for Plant X. — This Day in History is courtesy of History.com.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Daily Beacon • 3

NEWS

New survey method more efficient Italian club holds culinary event RJ Vogt Staff Writer After a semester of teachers evaluating students through test grades, paper commentary and online homework, students now have the chance to turn the tables. Thanks to the revamped Student Assessment of Instruction System (SAIS), students can give valuable feedback to faculty online.

These responses do much more than many students realize. Providing insight into courses and programs, the student feedback is of vital importance to gauging teacher improvement and student satisfaction. SAIS itself was actually created out of student desire.

“The whole evaluation of instruction process originated with students who sought information from fellow students who already had those teachers,” provost Susan Martin said.

Student Government Association upholds this desire, using the SAIS information for their Tennessee 101 website, where students can take a look at courses and instructors as they register for the next semester.

The administration puts a lot of weight on these evaluations.

“We want to make sure that we recruit and maintain the very best students, and we know that the very best students will require the very best faculty,” Martin said. “The success of our undergraduate students relies on the excellence of our faculty. Student evaluations are the best way to ensure that excellence.”

Student surveys can even factor into tenure decisions.

Though students could understandably feel hesitant about submitting their honest opinions to teachers, there is, in fact, nothing to fear: the feedback received by faculty is not linked to the student who submitted it. And the faculty cannot see narrative comments until after grades have been posted.

Upperclassmen may find the system different from years past, when evaluations were of the paper variety. In order to provide the administration with feedback, students had to fill out a form and anonymously turn it in to a teacher. This practice, deemed inefficient by university officials, has been replaced by the completely online SAIS. The

switch could potentially save up to 1.25 tons of paper a year, as well as $30,000 in resources. It will also speed up the process of getting reviews into the hands of professors, one which used to take months of paper. Now, results are more immediately available.

The decision to go exclusively online is a risky one. UT’s administration has concerns that participation will drop off as it has at other institutions that have made similar changes to their evaluation policies. As a result, many teachers are being encouraged to continuously remind students to complete the evaluations. Last year’s online pilot project generated a 38 percent response overall.

“While we’ve made good progress, it is important to note that the previous, all-paper system response was 80-90 percent overall,” Martin said.

“We’ve been communicating with students in a variety of ways to emphasize the importance of their participation. The single greatest factor in getting students to finish their surveys is getting a reminder from their instructor.”

As of Monday morning, response rates stood at 48 percent.

Students have generally been positive about the new system.

“I didn’t do teacher evaluations last year because it seemed like a lot of work to fill out all the paperwork and then have to go turn it in,” Katie Draper, sophomore in speech pathology, said. “This is the time of year when we’re the busiest, and paper evaluations just seemed like a hassle, but the online isn’t so bad.”

John Sikes, freshman in mechanical engineering, said the best way to encourage students to finish evaluations is simple.

“Make them extra credit,” Sikes said.

Whether or not teachers decide to do so remains to be seen, but a final push to achieve a full response will occur on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

The “Chill Out” Study Break event is set for noon to 3 p.m. in the Commons of Hodges Library, where UT Dining Services and Mayfield Dairy will provide a variety of treats. While enjoying the sweets, students can also complete their surveys.

To take the survey now, go to http://oira.utk.edu/sais and click on the link “Fall 2011 Semester Online Evaluations.” If you have not yet completed your survey, please do so by midnight on Friday, Dec. 2.

Scott Martineau • The Daily Beacon

Workers prepare the Min Kao Building for further construction on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Over Winter Break, faculty will move into the new space and students will hold the first classes in the groundbreaking new research facility in the spring, after four years of construction.

Morgan Liv McConnell Staff Writer Christmas comes early for the Italian club this year with their “Pasta e Basta!” event Tuesday in the International House.

As the name, which translates to mean “pasta and nothing else,” implies, the festivities will center on a traditional Italian pasta meal. The professors of UT’s Italian program are hosting the lunch in recognition of the end of an eventful semester and the beginning of the holiday season.

“The Italian program likes to say ‘Grazie!’ (thanks) to their students for their hard work during the semester,” Renee D’EliaZunino, the club’s adviser, said.

“We organize this event to celebrate the end of the semester, the holiday spirit and the friendships that were created in the classrooms.”

The menu consists of two pasta dishes, penne cone le zucchine (penne with zucchini) and spaghetti al pomodoro, which is classic spaghetti with tomato sauce.

“We are eating classic yet simple Italian dishes that are made from fresh, healthy ingredients,” club member and junior in journalism and electronic media Margaret Sharbel said. “We support the Italian ideal of eating real food, in the company of our friends and family, and never rushing the experience of the pleasures of Italian food.”

Various desserts will also be served, including the typical Italian Christmas sweets pandoro and panettone.

“They have very old origins,” D’Elia-Zunino said. “Pandoro is a traditional Italian sweet yeast bread, most popular around Christmas and New Year. It is often served dusted with powdered sugar to resemble the snowy peaks of the Italian Alps during Christmas.”

Panettone is an equally unique dish comprised of candied oranges, citron, lemon zest and raisins. Variations such as chocolate are also popular.

“It is a type of sweet holiday

bread that is one of the symbols of the city of Milan,” D’EliaZunino said. “It dates back to the Roman empire.”

Panettone’s date of origin demonstrates the number of years (centuries, in fact) that Italians have known their way around the kitchen. But length of culinary experience alone is not the only reason why Italian food has earned such an infamously pleasurable reputation.

“The great thing about Italian cooking,” Sharbel said, “is that it promotes creativity and beauty in the kitchen and completely nourishes the body. Italian cooking is an event in itself because it brings together people who share a love for great foods and good company.”

Annachiara Mariani, instructor of the Italian 111 class, agrees.

“In America, dinner is oftentimes not made such a big production of,” Mariani said.

“People are too busy and fast food is popular. But in Italy, the dining table is the center of the family. Women can spend all day cooking.”

This sense of community associated with eating together is the primary reason for “Pasta e Basta!” in the first place, Sharbel said.

“The most important part about this event is the chance to get all the Italian students together before the holidays,” she said. “While there will certainly be time to learn about Italian cooking, the event is mostly for students just to come hang out and be together, practice our Italian and simply enjoy one another’s company while sharing a delicious meal.”

The meal will be followed by musical entertainment provided by the club members themselves.

“One of my students sings opera, and she will be performing for us,” Mariani said.

“Another student will play traditional Italian music on the guitar.”

All in all, the event promises to be warm, festive and community-centered, which is what the

Italian club is all about.

“This idea of coming together to celebrate life, if you will, with family and friends and wonderful food is a true Italian value that I have come to learn about from the Italian program at UT,” Sharbel said.

Unfortunately, this event is not open to the public at large due to limited space and food quantities. However, those interested in UT’s Italian community are strongly encouraged to get involved. Fun group activities such as going out to eat at Italian restaurants are typical of the club, and an overnight stay in a cabin on Buffalo Mountain is planned for later this school year.

“While the semester is coming to an end, it would be fantastic to see more people interested once we return from Christmas break,” Sharbel said. “We screen Italian films about once a month in the library, we have Italian Table once a week at Starbucks in the library to work on speaking in Italian and we will be planning other events for the spring.”

“The Italian program is very small, but we are a big family,” D’Elia-Zunino said. “Students and instructors try to get together often to know each other, share experiences and learn from each other. And we have a good time, always.”

4 • The Daily Beacon

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

OPINIONS

FinalFarewell Society lacks drive to make difference

Will Abrams Copy Editor Looking back on my last four and a half years here at UT, a lot of things have really grinded my gears. Namely the continued success of the Kardashian family, but that doesn’t really have anything to do with my farewell column.

I’ve noticed throughout my college career that many students are looking for great rewards through the least amount of effort. By this I mean that many people coast through assignments, cheat or just fail to put forth an effort and then expect the system to work for them.

This isn’t to say that everyone in college is lazy or lacks discipline. There are plenty of people who will walk at graduation with near-perfect grades. Kudos to them.

At the same time, there are students who try hard but don’t make the grades. It’s an unfortunate thing in life, but not everyone is cut out to be a doctor or CEO. This is not necessarily the group being targeted in this column.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we, generally speaking, have lost the attitude that built our country to be the world power it is today. That attitude is one of hard work, endurance and the will to act.

Society as a whole, not just on college campuses, has fallen for this mentality that we no longer have to work hard to reap the rewards. A sense of entitlement has replaced the pioneering spirit that forged America as it is read in the history books.

Americans no longer seem to care for building a better world for tomorrow. Instead it is about “what can you do for me now?”

If you really need an example of this, check out Congress over the last few years. Rather than come together to pass important legislations that would better the country, politicians care more about staying in office and touting the party line.

(It is fair to note that quarrels between groups of

politicians date back to the birth of America, but today they seem to be even more absurd.)

To give this a more recent face, how about that beloved time of year where Americans come together and join hands in friendship? I am, of course, talking about the nuisance that is Black Friday.

How far gone is a consumer culture when a woman injures 20 people, including children, with pepper spray in order to gain a shopping advantage at Wal-Mart?

America is supposed to be in a recession/postrecession purgatory of sorts, but you wouldn’t know it from the line outside of Best Buy on Thursday night. Why worry about the money you don’t have when you can just take out another loan, a mortgage, more credit cards?

Instant gratification is the new face of America.

It’s the reason why everybody is drowning in debt, the NBA lockout took forever and garbage like “Twilight” is accepted as quality literature.

I realize that I’m painting with pretty broad strokes here, but what this essentially comes down to is how do you want to be remembered?

There is only so much time in college to do the things that matter. Make a difference in whatever way possible. If accepting the status quo and giving less than one’s full effort was the American way, there probably wouldn’t be an America.

When it’s all said and done, would you rather have put forth the effort and tried to make an impact? Or, as a recently ousted Big 10 coach put it, will you look back and say “I wish I had done more?”

In closing this final column, I would like to thank those who pushed me to excel in my time here at UT: professors who do more than just the basic requirements, The Daily Beacon for giving me the opportunity to develop my skills and do something that I enjoy and Campus Crusade for challenging me in what I believe and assisting my spiritual journey.

I came to the University of Tennessee back in the Fall of 2007 not knowing what to expect from such an important time in my life. There were disappointments along the way, but also some incredible moments. Rocky Top may not be a perfect place, but it will forever be home, sweet home to me.

SCRAMBLED EGGS • Alex Cline

THE GREAT MASH-UP• Liz Newnam

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.

GOP racial views less than equitable D e ar Rea d e rs by

Aaron Moyer Last week the GOP had their National Security Debate. America is in a sad state of affairs when the villainous Dr. No is the most sane and reasonable person running for the Republican nomination. Newt Gingrich evidently forgot his dementia medicine and was convinced he was in World War II fighting for an oil baron’s rights. Rick Santorum was too concerned about the impending threat of Islamic terrorists to actually answer any question.

It is incredibly disturbing that these are what the GOP considers presidential material. If any of these mental cases managed to become president, the country would spiral even further into a fear-based frenzy. After 9/11, anyone who appeared Middle Eastern or Islamic in any fashion was presented with unabashed fear and hostility. Over time this xenophobia has managed to wane a little bit, but it appears that the candidates are trying to reignite it.

They want America to be the land of the free — only if you are a white Christian male that is — and are generating hostilities towards anyone who might impede them.

This is why Obama’s presidency has caused such an upsurge in racism and general bigotry. The thought of a black man leading the country and doing a good job is a direct threat to this concept of an ideal America. The GOP is willing to destroy the country’s economy and stymie any potential progress simply so that Obama’s legacy will be tarnished. There is an old quote by political consultant Lee Atwater, who worked for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, about the Southern strategy of the GOP of cutting food stamps and legal services that describes this perfectly: “You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘N*****, n*****, n*****.’ By 1968 you can’t say ‘n*****’ — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now (that) you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is (that)

blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that. But I’m saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me — because obviously sitting around saying, ‘We want to cut this,’ is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a lot more abstract than ‘n*****, n*****.’”

The pure insane bigotry that is running the GOP is doing nothing but harming America as a whole.

It has been proven by other countries many times that a solid welfare system not only keeps the citizens happier, but makes the economy significantly stronger overall. By trying to enforce a strict social caste with the minorities as the outcasts, all that is happening is America is weaker and worse off than before. Instead of fighting to keep minorities at the bottom and making the bottom as horrible as possible, focus needs to be placed on making the bottom livable so those who inevitably end up there can survive.

America needs to do away with this obsession of oppressing minorities. When driving in the South, you will undoubtedly see the flag of hate that is the confederate battle flag being flown with pride. In Germany, any Nazi-related material is banned and denial of the holocaust can get you jail time. Germany is ashamed and regretful of their flag of hate and yet in America not only is the confederate flag flown with pride, the confederate soldiers are regarded as heroes. The Civil War was about the right to own a person, no matter how you look at it. This is not something that should be lauded; Americans should be ashamed that the country was almost destroyed simply because a group wanted to own living human beings.

This country is badly in need of a social repair.

Minorities should have just as equal access to a good life as the majority. There is something wrong with this country when an Islamic group is prevented from building their activity center simply because some people are afraid of them. If a person or group is evil, it is not because of the color of their skin or their creed. The reasons are much more deep than that, and to believe otherwise is pure asinine ignorance.

— Aaron Moyer is a junior in philosophy. He can be reached at amoyer3@utk.edu.

Relationships hard over holidays Bus y N ot h i n gs by Samantha Trueheart

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Blair Kuykendall editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com

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The month of December brings many joyful and traditional moments where one can reconnect with old friends and cherish old memories with family members. Although many enjoy the holiday season, this is the time of year when hidden stresses arise. With the gift buying and the forced small talk with an aunt you barely know, sometimes we wish December could hurry up and pass so we can move on to the new year and back into our daily lives. New problems with relationships arise from this change in pace. Often, many couples choose to take breaks during this time because of the high stress. Due to the gift giving, meeting of the family members and overall expectations that follow this time of year, it is difficult for a couple to survive if they are not already strong before these months. Although this might cause serious heartbreak, it might not be a bad idea to focus on you and your needs during the time of giving.

During this season, many couples feel they should stay together due to the expectations that society has placed upon us. With images of cozy fires, sparkling lights and drizzling snows, we often wish to share these experiences with another. No one wishes to be lonely, and the holiday season makes it difficult to let go. But with those special moments comes the expectations that many couples must face. For instance, a majority of couples must meet with family members where their relationship is often questioned and diagnosed. Although these relatives are genuinely interested, it might be difficult to pinpoint your relationship if it has not already

been discussed with your partner. For the one meeting the family, it could be difficult and awkward. But, they must endure this for their loved one. Because of these feelings of expectation and awkward situations, couples find this time to be a struggle.

If a couple is struggling before the holiday season, it might be hard to pretend everything is going well when meeting the family. If a couple must pretend to be happy, it is a sign that they should take a break. Although this might be difficult, it could be beneficial.

Because there is so much family time and gift giving, many never have the time to focus on themselves and what makes them truly happy.

Once the holiday season is over, and the stresses that come have dissipated, the couple could consider picking up where they last started.

Another reason why dating during the holiday season can be difficult for a couple is for college students who live in different areas.

It could be hard to see each other often during the break, and traveling from one Christmas dinner to the next could be tiring. If a college couple takes a break during the season, they can focus on their old friends and family and begin dating again once the new semester has begun.

We have many years ahead of us to share special moments with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Now is the time to focus on oneself and take a break from school. If a relationship is not strong before the Christmas break begins, consider taking a break with your partner to truly see what matters most in life.

If you both decide you are willing to endure the awkward family settings, gift giving and other expectations that follow with the holiday season, then you have moved into another step of the relationship that will hopefully prosper.

— Samantha Trueheart is a sophomore in communications. She can be reached at struehea@utk.edu.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Libyan council proposes new army The Associated Press TRIPOLI, Libya — Dozens of Libyan religious leaders on Monday urged authorities to disarm former rebels and form a national army, backing the transitional government’s struggle to exert control over the militias that overthrew dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The fighters are widely admired for their role in bringing down the Gaddafi regime, but the clerics’ statement reflected concern over the militias’ refusal to submit to the central authority. Dozens of militias have held on to arsenals of heavy weapons and sometimes clash amongst themselves.

“We advise speeding up the process of establishing a national army and the collection of arms,” said a statement from the 250 imams and other clerics gathered for a conference in Tripoli, the first of its kind after the fall of the Gaddafi regime. It was organized by Libya’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

The clerics expressed fears that tribal and regional tensions could lead to a deterioration of security. “We need to focus especially on reconciliation and ... on building the new state of Libya,” said Salim Jabar, an imam from the eastern city of Benghazi.

Participants complained about young men who they said carried weapons on the street and fired into the air for fun, sometimes killing people.

Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council says it is working on forging a national army, integrating some of the militias and disarming the rest.

Officials acknowledge the process could take months, and they said they could not force the militias to go along.

In a report that highlighted one of the consequences of lack of militia accountability, the U.N. said that former Libyan revolutionaries still hold about 7,000 prisoners from the civil war, some of whom were subjected to torture and ill treatment.

The report by U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon, made

The Daily Beacon • 5

NEWS

public before a Security Council briefing, said that many of the inmates have no access to due process in the absence of a functioning police and judiciary.

The 250 clerics also demanded that the country’s planned constitution be based on Islamic Shariah law, and that anything that violates Islam — including the consumption of alcohol — remain illegal. Alcohol consumption was banned by Gaddafi, a policy that found favor with many Libyans.

Most political forces in this conservative and overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim country expect that religion will guide the future shape of the state, although it is still unclear how the precepts of Islamic law will be implemented.

The clerics also said they were concerned with what they said were “rumors” circulating in Libya’s newly freed press.

One advocated a law that would allow journalists to be charged with murder for publishing false information that incites tribal or other tensions.

After the conference, female reporters who tried to interview a leading cleric were told they could not do so, because he did not speak to women.

Also Monday, NTC leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said a key official has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the July assassination of a senior rebel commander.

The transitional government’s former deputy prime minister and top diplomat, Ali al-Essawi, was arrested along with others during the investigation of the killing of Gen. AbdelFatah Younis, Abdul-Jalil said in a televised news conference. He did not say when they were arrested, how many or who they were.

Younis was a former interior minister in Gaddafi’s regime who defected to the rebel side in February and helped command the uprising. Some rebels distrusted him and believed he was working secretly for Gaddafi.

Abdul-Jalil said a military prosecutor had evidence that Younis “was not a traitor.”

Stocks surge after holiday weekend plan calls for Europe’s most stable economies jointly sell bonds to provide assistance to the region’s most indebted members, like Greece and Portugal.

Investors are hoping that the recent signs of deterioration in the debt crisis will finally get Europe’s leaders to agree on a package of measures that can ease market concerns over whether the euro currency itself can survive.

Stock indexes in Italy and Germany rose 4.6 percent while France’s index rose 5.5 percent. The euro and commodities prices also rose.

The Dow jumped 264 points, or 2.4 percent, to 11,495 as of 3 p.m. Eastern. The index plunged 564 points last week on fear that Europe’s debt crisis was spreading to large countries like Spain and even Germany. Alcoa Inc. jumped 5.7 percent, the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 30, or 2.6 percent, to 1,189.

The rally lifted stocks across the board. Only four stocks in the S&P 500 index fell.

The Nasdaq composite rose 76, or 3.1 percent, to 2,518.

Banks had some of the biggest gains as investors became less fearful of an imminent freeze-up in Europe’s financial system.

Morgan Stanley jumped 3.9 percent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 2.4 percent. Retailers also rose sharply. Macy’s Inc. rose 4.9 percent and Best Buy Co. rose 3.5 percent.

The Associated Press NEW YORK — A strong start to the U.S. shopping season and fresh proposals for a far-reaching solution to Europe’s debt crisis sent stocks sharply higher Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 260 points in afternoon trading, making up nearly half of the ground it lost last week.

Initial reports show a record number of shoppers hit the mall or bought gifts online during the holiday weekend.

Thanksgiving weekend is a make-or-break time for many retailers. For the past six years, Black Friday has been the biggest sales day of the year.

The retail numbers add to a growing set of indicators, including steady drops in the number of applications for unemployment, that suggest the U.S. is far from the second recession economists had begun to fear in August.

“This goes in stark contrast to the gloom and doom that had been over markets,” said Rob Lutts, president of Salem, Ma.based investment firm Cabot Money Management. “A lot of the stocks I follow have been more oversold than any time I can remember in the last few years.”

Markets in Europe also rose sharply as leaders there discuss new approaches for containing the region’s debt troubles. One

• Image courtesy of Pixar

Toy Story 2 was O.K.

OIT announces website outages Staff Reports The Office of Information Technology will be making infrastructure improvements during the first few days of the official UT Winter Holiday closing. Beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 26 and continuing until early Wednesday morning, Dec. 28, several core services used by faculty and staff will be impacted by the outage.

Specific programs that will be affected during the planned outage include, but are not limited to: Banner/MyUTK, T-Storage, Online@UT (Blackboard), IRIS/Business Warehouse/ERecruiting, SharePoint, Analysis.utk.edu, OIT UNIX systems, and access to Digital Media Services and online web streaming.

Tmail, Office Communication Server (OCS), and Volmail are expected to be available during the maintenance window; however, Blackberry Enterprise Services and listserv services will be unavailable. LiveOnline@UT (Centra) will be available, but from an alternate website, http://asp8.centra.com/SiteRoots/main/index.jht ml?default=true&domain=/Custo mers/university_of_tennessee.

Many web pages hosted by the utk.edu and

tennessee.edu domains, including most departmental sites, the OIT web site and personal web pages, may also be offline. The web page for changing your password will not be available, nor will the university’s online faculty, staff and student directory.

The upgrade will also impact the wired and wireless network access in many of the Knoxville campus buildings. A few Knoxville campus buildings will be without telephone service. A list of buildings affected is available online at http://oit.utk.edu/helpdesk/kb/entry/1809/.

We apologize for any inconvenience this planned outage may cause. Our goal is to restore all programs and services as quickly as possible.

The OIT Traffic Center will be down during most of the outage, but it will have information about the status of various systems once web sites are restored.

Additional information regarding the outage is available at https://utworks.tennessee.edu/oit/itservices/slm/ lanman/SitePages/Home.aspx (log in required).

If you have specific questions or concerns about the planned outage and how it may impact your services, please contact the OIT HelpDesk at (865) 974-9900 or online at http://help.utk.edu.

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6 • The Daily Beacon

NEWS

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

SEMESTER Steele Gamble • The Daily Beacon

Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon

George Richardson • The Daily Beacon

Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon

George Richardson • The Daily Beacon

Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

NEWS

The Daily Beacon • 7

IN REVIEW

Taylor Gautier • The Daily Beacon

Madeline Brown • The Daily Beacon

George Richardson • The Daily Beacon

8 • The Daily Beacon

ARTS&CULTURE

Some thoughts on formal education

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Artist draws on diverse influences

Jake Lane Arts and Culture Editor Another semester behind us all, and what have we learned?

Finals loom on the horizon, with graduation to follow for some and respite for all. After four months of cramming knowledge into our brains, it will be nice to cool the old jets, but with the end of every term I wonder what I’ll remember in mid-January when classes begin again.

This time around I’ll be working a day job and won’t be enrolled in classes, a degree under my belt with only an extra semester lost for the cause. After 17 years in the educational system, the prospect of continuing to learn outside of the classroom is both exciting and somewhat perilous. After all, without the experience of learned scholars to illuminate our own quests for insight, how can one stay on the path to enlightenment?

All sarcasm aside, coming to UT I had some reservations about the educational experience I’d have in pursuing my bachelor’s degree. Thankfully, from the first class that was dispelled and the majority of my professors have proven to be not only experts in their field, but allies with boundless encouragement and the desire to pass their passion for everything from film to religious theory to the next generation of scholars and workers. In no specific order, I would like to thank Bill Larsen, Chuck Maland, Allen Wier, Marilyn Kallet, Chris Holmlund, Erin Smith, Bill Hardwig and Kelly Baker for the opportunity study with them and expand my worldview.

That said, exploring academia and knowledge outside of arts and sciences alike with the freedom to focus on whatever trips my trigger does present a wonderful new chapter in my

own journey. Not to wax too sentimental here, but every reservation I’ve had about organized education has fallen away to an appreciation for what school actually represents — the institution which teaches you ways to approach learning and presents some finite knowledge, but ultimately prepares you to approach the world with an open mind and a thirst for truth.

As spring approaches and I look back on formal education, the desire to reflect on the manifold lessons and skills collected over the years becomes overwhelming at times. Just because you have a piece of paper which states you have reached a plateau in expertise for a particular subject doesn’t precisely make you an effective authority or practitioner. I’ve written since I was a kid and don’t see myself stopping, but the academic pile-up and influence hangover will take time and rest to subside before I feel I’ll be able to produce anything original.

While you sleep off your own worries and breathe sighs of relief to be done with another semester’s obligations, look back not on having wasted your time even if a class wasn’t particularly interesting. Try to take as much as you can from every experience and never discount an instructor even if you think they have nothing to offer.

Academia is a wide, convoluted field of ideas and pitfalls whose gifts are not always apparent.

With a malleable mind and a grain of salt, you just might make something out of these four years that transcends an education — you might find yourself.

• Photo courtesy of Beirut

Brian Conlon Staff Writer

Throughout the three albums and handful of EPs from Zach Condon’s musical project Beirut, there have been few things that have remained consistent.

Condon’s uniquely crooning voice has been that most notable constant, as influence, instrument, geography and lyrical content have been subject to steep variance.

Indeed, for most of Beirut’s history, geography has served as a chief influence in Condon’s musical process, essentially creating a line of concept albums in which the concept almost redefines the band. It began with 2006’s “The Gulag Orkestar,” which drew heavily from Eastern and Central European music and culture with song titles such as “Brandenburg” and “Bratislava.”

Condon’s interest consequently moved a bit west, as 2007’s love letter to France, “The Flying Club Cup,” flushed out Beirut’s French influences. The pattern continued with the “March of the — Jake Lane is a senior in cre- Zapotec” EP after Condon’s journey to ative writing. He can be Oaxaca, Mexico in 2009. reached at jlane23@utk.edu.

Then comes the recent LP, “The Rip

Tide.” Beirut’s previous releases can almost be analyzed from the language and places on the track listing. However, upon looking at the album’s track list, there is no immediate geographic area that can link the tracks together. But then the eye catches “Santa Fe,” the New Mexican city in which Condon began this project, and it becomes apparent that this album is a sort of homecoming for Beirut.

This idea is solidified with progression through the album. Yes, Condon’s vibrato and the pervasive brass instrumentation still prevails, yet the music has without doubt become more American, as the other geographic influences dynamically mix and fall to the background. This is what the audience should be expecting, when Beirut comes to the Bijou Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 4.

While Beirut does have its fair share of crooning piano-based songs, the opening artist Perfume Genius specializes in this fare. Another solo project under a band moniker, Perfume Genius Mike Hadreas creates somber, lyrically rich songs whether exclusively using the piano or employing densely layered synthesizers.

Perfume Genius provides a definite contrast in mood and sound, yet the pairing

works as the two artists’ beautifully crafted music manages to complement each other.

This concert is presented by UT’s 90.3 The Rock, whose general manager and program director, Benny Smith, explains the station’s reason for supporting this concert.

“Like so many other great indie artists, WUTK has been playing their music since basically day one, which would be about 2006 for Beirut,” Smith said. “We have loved the music Beirut makes, and we want to make sure that others share our excitement about the band coming to play a great venue, The Bijou Theatre, in our own town. It is going to be a fabulous show.”

Aaron Searcy, junior in history, also expresses this sentiment.

“Beirut is such a cool band because of their musical diversity,” Searcy said.

“They’ve always got instruments on stage that you don’t see every day, like horns, ukulele, accordion and a bunch of percussion.”

Beirut and Perfume Genius will perform for all ages at the Bijou Theatre on Gay Street. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Health vital for exam preparation Lauren Kittrell Staff Writer The cool, crisp weather of winter is officially here and has brought with it the everlooming monster of finals week.

As students return to campus after a delightful Thanksgiving weekend, the struggle that presents itself is not necessarily the finals themselves, but staying healthy throughout. UT Health Center’s clinical specialist, Debbie Passmore, said that due to a lack of sleep and proper healthy habits, this is often a busy time for the clinic.

“We do see an increase for our students at this time of year when the finals are starting to come to fruition,” Passmore said. “We notice that they do seem more susceptible to what we would call the common cold. We may even get an increase in mono.”

While the common cold is something that seems to be related to the season, Passmore said mono is generally linked to stress.

Students like Ashley Hodgson, undecided sophomore, are trying to find the healthy balance between studies and sleep. Hodgson said she will more than likely try to get her studying done during the day and rest at night.

“It’s important to me to stay healthy during finals because I want to be able to function as well as I can during my tests and not get sick during my finals and while I’m trying to study,” Hodgson said.

While this might seem like the logical solution, students like Hodgson often choose to

work late into the night and sleep and party during the day. Passmore explains this is not a healthy lifestyle and may lead to sicknesses over finals week.

The party-by-day, work-bynight routine may seem appealing, but Passmore says caffeine and alcohol can add to a student’s likelihood of getting sick during this season.

Along with an active lifestyle, Passmore insists the best way to stay healthy for exams is by lowering caffeine intake and enjoying a healthy diet.

“You need plenty of rest and you need to eat well,” Passmore said. “You do need an outlet other than studying to relieve some of that stress.

Unfortunately for students, drinking is not a way to relive some of that stress. It may seem to, but it actually adds to the stress.”

Passmore said a healthy diet is important for staying healthy, and vitamins and teas are a good addition to a student’s diet. While vitamins and teas are a helpful addition, Passmore emphasizes they do not work as a supplement to a healthy diet.

“The good basics of eating a good diet is probably better than any of the supplements you could take,” Passmore said.

Passmore also encourages students to come by the Student Health Center. She said that the center sees an increase in patients during this season, but that the center can help by giving advice and diagnosing student’s symptoms.

As students head into finals, the key to staying healthy and being prepared for tests is to drink water, stay active and get plenty of rest.

HOLIDAY

The Daily Beacon • 9

For guy gift ideas, look to classics Kyle Turner News Editor Everyone is always looking to give great gifts for the holidays without breaking the bank. If finding an affordable gift is not difficult enough, many are left wondering just what to buy.

Working off someone’s list is not essential. Buy things you think someone would enjoy even if they have not mentioned it. As the saying goes, it is the thought that counts. However, in case the thought is not all that counts, these gifts will not leave you broke and dreading the holiday season.

Here are some easy and affordable ideas for guys when thinking about that special gift this year.

All weather coats are essential for any guy. There are hundreds of options out there for any price range. The jacket does not need to be trendy or expensive. Try to find a style that is classic and functional. As nice as a new Barbour jacket might be, it is out of the price range for many, but take a trip to your local thrift store or relative’s closet and you might be surprised.

With a little tailoring and new hardware, your grandfather’s Burberry trench could make a great gift for a guy you may know. No matter where you end up finding a new coat, a classic style and great fit are key.

Everyone should be accustomed to writing letters at this stage in life. Personalized stationary is an easy, inexpensive gift essential for all. Traditional stationary stores can be expensive and a little formal. Search around for custom cards and designs. Websites such as Etsy.com have individual sellers that can make unique modern stationary.

Those who are even more crunched for cash can look into making their own. Stationery can prove affordable and a needed gift all year round.

Little details are those that matter and set guys apart.

Having a great watch for any occasion is key. While a Rolex would be the ideal gift this season, less expensive timepieces can look just as nice. Find a watch that you like, even those out of your price range. It is the style that is important and what you will ultimately be searching for.

Military watches are popular this year, and while the style deviates little, the prices vary much more significantly. Look around to find the ideal brand at a reasonable price. Just like reusing an old coat, search for old watches. One of the easiest gifts can be to replace an old battery and watch strap for a brand new watch with added provenance.

Buying shoes for guys is not always the easiest thing. Everyone has their own taste, but here are a few styles that any guy will like.

The chukka or desert boot is a great shoe that can go with just about anything. It’s a great staple for any guy’s wardrobe. They have risen in popularity, and many brands are now making the boot. Finding one of good quality and low cost will not be a problem.

Also, consider buying classic sneakers.

Many brands such as Nike routinely reintroduce older models of shoes for a retro look. The extra money it might cost to buy a pair as a gift will be worth the investment because guys will be able to wear these everywhere except the gym.

For those guys that already have an iEverything, consider going low tech. Look into vinyl record players and turntables. You can find the record players new or used for reasonable prices. Go to your local record store and pick up a few albums and it will be a great multifaceted gift.

Take it back a few years with a camera as well. Find an older camera that still uses film. Buy new film, a camera bag and necessary accessories and it will make a unique present.

He will be forced to focus as opposed to just point and click.

Rehabilitating an old camera can spark a new interest and serve as fun way to remember the holiday while learning a new hobby.

10 • The Daily Beacon

HOLIDAY

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Holiday season sees wave of new game releases Chris Flowers Staff Writer

Wiley Robinson Staff Writer This holiday season’s “gotta collect them all” toy fad comes in the form of a video game. “Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure” improves upon the Pokemon model by giving its players clear reasons for wanting to collect them all. Targeted at kids in the 8-12 age range, the game is basically a “Gauntlet Legends” clone with one very important twist: The player’s in-game character is a real life action figure. Action figures are placed upon the Portal of Power, which teleports the Skylander into the game. The game comes with the portal and three Skylanders, but of course the game can’t be completed 100 percent with just three Skylanders. The Skylanders are divided into eight types and some of the game’s areas are only accessible by one type of Skylander, so eight of the $8 figures is the bare minimum.

Of course, kids may have some difficulty with the later stages of the game, and death means that you either teleport in one of your remaining Skylanders or restart the level. This effectively means that the number of lives you have is the number of Skylanders you own. Besides additional figures, level packs can be purchased for $20 and a castle-shaped carrying case can be had for $40. Available on Mac, Windows, 3DS, Wii, 360 and PS3, publisher Activision made sure to cast the widest net possible for hooking kids on “Skylanders.” While the game makes no attempts at subtlety in its quest to get kids to buy more gear, watching your real-life action figure fight through dungeons while earning new gear and experience is undeniably cool. Younger gamers will likely fall in love with “Skylanders,” but parents should know what they’re getting into before purchase.

For that special brand of PC gamer that calculates self-worth by Crysis frames-per-second, “Battlefield 3” and “The Witcher 2” are excellent games that will push their systems to their limits. “Battlefield 3” sets itself apart in the crowded online multiplayer shooter genre through the amount of sheer insanity in the in-game action. Up to 64 players vie for control of gigantic maps, fighting battles involving infantry, tanks, helicopters and jets. The unrivaled amount of on-screen action, combined with graphics that represent the first major step forward since Crysis mean that only the bleeding edge of current hardware will do for running the game maxed out. “The Witcher 2” is the only role-playing game this year that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as “Skyrim.”

While the question of which game offers the most superior overall experience is debatable, the graphical superiority of “The Witcher 2” cannot be denied. Mere mortals may be able to run the game very near maxed out, but enabling uber-sampling is a brutal test of any PC’s mettle. With uber-sampling activated, each frame is rendered multiple times and a composite is created for optimal texture quality and anti-aliasing. While the game’s unorthodox and fastpaced combat system may turn off some RPG fans, those who don’t mind a change of pace will find an extraordinarily deep and unique role-playing experience in “The Witcher 2.”

“Skyrim” secured almost one million pre-orders on the Xbox 360,

350,000 on the PS3 and 200,000 on the PC. The relatively low number of pre-orders for the PC version is somewhat misleading, as vgchartz.com only reports on retail sales and pre-orders, so pre-purchases through online distributors like Steam are not accounted for.

“Oblivion” enjoyed excellent reviews and high sales on the Xbox 360 upon release (it wasn’t released on the PS3 for another year), somewhat unusual for a PC-focused, Western-made RPG. “Oblivion” sold 3.4 million copies on the Xbox 360, but it came out during a time in the Xbox 360’s life when the major releases were few and far between. The console’s launch titles had come five months previous, and the new major title, “Gears of War,” didn’t come for another eight months. Now Bethesda will be positioning its game among a holiday lineup filled to the brim with popular, established franchises. But with over 1.5 million pre-orders lined up, a total second only to “Modern Warfare 3,” the game should provide Bethesda with its biggest hit yet.

The “Modern Warfare” series gets a lot of criticism from the game community

because of its commitment to incrementally refining preexisting mechanics mixed with frequent sequel releases, but one wouldn’t be able to tell that by the numbers. Most industry analysts predict an overall 2-to-1 sales difference between “MW3” and “Battlefield 3,” respectively, and logically expect revenue to increase past the sales records the last two “CoD” games set for the industry by rolling in over $30,000,000 for the first week. With the full integration of the “CoD Elite” membership-based service, proprietary DLC is expected to be a more integral and frequent part of the experience then ever before. Paying a $50 annual membership in Elite provides the content immediately and for free as well as the ability to enter competitive tournaments for prizes. But at around $15 for a pack of multiplayer maps, an unprecedented flow of proprietary content would be necessary to validate the cost, posing a potential problem for more casual players unwilling to commit hundreds to an auxiliary service.

The appeal of “Super Mario 3D Land” is not limited by demographics; the game is a must-have for any 3DS owner. Early

adopters have been starved for quality releases since the system’s launch, but Nintendo seems to be making their big push this holiday season. If there is one genre Nintendo has locked on to, it’s the 2D platformer, and “Super Mario 3D Land” maintains their pedigree of excellence. This is the first 3DS game to actually incorporate the system’s 3D effects into the gameplay. Although it is entirely possible to complete the game with 3D disabled, some of the game’s puzzles rely on the added depth, and without 3D enabled, guessing is the only way to progress. Longtime Mario fans will appreciate the demanding difficulty of later stages and the return of “Super Mario Brothers 3”’s Tanooki Suit. If a system seller for the 3DS exists, this is most certainly it.

For those with enough creativity and free time, “Little Big Planet 2” offers the tools for PS3 owners to create not only their own levels, but their own full games. The story mode progresses through 30 levels of platforming and physics puzzles, but the real reason to pick up this game is the creation mode. Games ranging from duel joystick shooters to “Tetris” clones have been created by LBP community and often include custom assets created in-game or captured through the PlayStation Eye. Uploaded levels are carefully moderated so the game maintains its kid-friendly appeal. “Little Big Planet 2” would make a great gift for any kid with the patience to master the game’s creation tools.

The Astro A40 is the best gaming headset, bar none. At $250 it isn’t the most economical choice, but it provides excellent 7.1 surround sound for both PC and consoles. The included Mixamp has USB, RCA, headphone jack and Toslink inputs, catering to any modern audio source. Xbox players can use an included cable to plug their controller into the Mixamp for voice chat support while PS3 and PC users input via USB, which also powers the device. The best feature of the A40, besides the incredible audio quality, is the ability to fine tune volume levels on the fly.

The master volume knob controls the overall volume while the balance knob adjusts the balance between game audio and voice chat or music. Through my many years of PC gaming I have heard a myriad of different headset microphones and none of them even come close to the included boom mic of the A40 in clarity. The Astro A40 will be the last headset you ever need and both wired and wireless systems are available.

There are few college-aged gamers whose lives haven’t been touched by the original “Halo,” and at $40, “Halo Anniversary” might be the best deal this holiday season. The game uses the original’s engine to remake “Halo: Combat Evolved” down to the last physic, but it’s far from a lame hi-def version — 343 Industries rerenders “Halo” beautifully almost from the ground up, ensuring the delight of finding that familiar muscle memory is magnified with the disorientation of completely new visuals that still stay completely true to the aesthetic of the original. As a bonus, with the push of a button, players can re-render the graphics to the Xbox original during the actual game for either comparison or nostalgic purposes. Again, at a price of $40, “Halo Anniversary” is a safe bet for any

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

SPORTS

Aug. 1 On a proposal to eliminate kickoffs from college football: “We may as well take the pads off too and play flag football. It’s hard for me to propose doing away with a play that’s been in football since — we call it foot-ball.”

Aug. 11 On reading Shakespeare to the team: “I asked if they had read Shakespeare, and they tried to recite some of the Old English language, which none of them understood. I told them I didn’t understand their language of today. It’s really no different. Them trying to read Old English and then me trying to understand what they’re saying, it’s about the same.”

The Daily Beacon • 11

Aug. 14 On freshman tailbacks Marlin Lane and Tom Smith: “Marlin’s a little more elusive kind of guy. Tom is a little more of a hammer-knocker. He came from a Wing-T offense. They teach you in the Wing-T to run straight. You don’t even look up, you just run.”

Nov. 14 On Tyler Bray coming back from his broken thumb: “You can’t be in a cast for a month and then come out of a cast and say you’re good. We live in ‘la-la land.’ (Bray) lives in ‘la-la land.’ I’m the only guy that has a sense of reality in this whole organization.”

Aug. 15 On freshman linebackers A.J. Johnson and Curt Maggitt: “Despite what guys on our staff are saying, I’m not ready to anoint them as Lawrence Taylor.

They haven’t played a game.”

Aug. 16: On the team working hard every day: “We have this sign, I don’t know if you’ve all seen it. ‘Relentless pursuit of continuous improvement.’ That’s our sign. That’s what we stand for. I told the players there’s not a parenthesis under it that says, ‘When I feel like it,’ unless somebody wrote it this morning. That was about the mentality today. ‘I don’t feel like it so I’m not going to do it.’ It was not the start that we needed mentally. We are a very immature team when it comes to working. We have to learn that nobody really cares how you feel. When you’re in the fourth quarter and you’re tired and hurting, the 102,000 that paid money to come see you don’t really care how you feel, nor does the guy lining up next to you. The only way to be able to perform in those circumstances is when you don’t feel good, you have to overcome it mentally. We’re still working on that.”

Aug. 24 On freshman running back Marlin Lane muffing the first punt of the team’s final fall camp scrimmage: “That was a part of the script. What’s so funny? We script everything so we don’t get a crazy reaction.”

Sept. 3 On wearing orange pants against Montana: “I just remember seeing the old footage of the coaches out there and they all had orange pants on. So I asked (equipment manager Roger Frazier) if he could get a pair of orange pants. He didn’t think I’d wear them. He thought I was wasting my money. So Fraiz got it done and I felt like, let’s put it on. I’m not at the blazer yet. Everybody else wanted me to wear white shoes and a white belt. My wife intervened on that. That’s why you never do anything without asking your wife.”

Sept. 7 On Texas A&M joining the SEC: “I’m a traditionalist. I think we had a real good thing and I hope we don’t disrupt it too much, that we preserve that this is a special league. One of the reasons it’s so special is because we don’t day-trade our teams. We’ll see but the landscape is changing. It’s that old saying, ‘It’s not about the money. It’s about the amount.’”

Sept. 12 On wearing his orange pants at Florida: “That’s the last thing I’m worried about. I can assure you the orange slacks aren’t the reason we’re winning.”

Sept. 13 On the offense, specifically the passing game, seemingly having fun on the field: “You can’t just go out there and play backyard ball. But there are times within the system that you have to be a player and use your creativity to make a play.”

Sept. 28 On UT’s lack of production running the football: “I never think things are as bad as everybody else does I never think they are as good as everybody else does.”

Oct. 3 On playing Georgia at home for the first time: “It really means absolutely nothing. It was a good story last year, but the fact that it’s home doesn’t make it any different. It means a lot more people are coming to the game — that’s probably the biggest thing personally. I will stay away from my house this week because there will be 600 people.”

Oct. 10 On the team’s reaction to Tyler Bray’s injury: “I know a lot of you guys have heard Jim Stockdale, prisoner of war in Vietnam. I don’t know if you’ve read about him. Eight years he was a prisoner of war. Tortured, beat down and of course when he gets out he survived it. And everybody says, ‘Well, how did you do it?’ He was very solution-oriented the whole time he was in there. They asked him who didn’t survive and he said, ‘The optimists.’ And you think, ‘What?’ Because you’re told, ‘Hey, everything is going to be O.K.’ What he said was that the optimists would say, ‘I’m going to get out by Christmas.’ Then Christmas would come, ‘I’m going to get out by Easter.’

Easter would come, ‘I’m going to be out by the summer.’ Then the summer would come and their spirit would get broken and they died because they quit. The point of it is that you never lose faith in what the end of the story is going to be. I told the team that.”

Oct. 10 On the impact of losing key players during the season: “Nobody is going to feel sorry for Tennessee and they’re not going to feel sorry for me. That’s O.K. I’m not going in the tank because we have had some things happen to us that make it a lot more challenging.

Anybody can go in the tank and blame. We just have to find solutions and that is what we are going to do. With good energy, go out there and compete — compete like men. And that’s what we should do.”

Oct. 17 On how to prepare for Alabama: “Don’t score first. It just pisses them off.”

Oct. 24 On South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffrey: “He’s a great player. And if you don’t believe it, just go play one-onone with him and let them throw a jump ball.”

Oct. 24 On the team improving over the course of the season: “I told the team yesterday, ‘What’s the smallest room in the world?’

Do you know? It’s a mushroom. Right? That’s what it is. The largest room in the world is the room for improvement. That’s where we are. We have to focus on the largest room in the world. I didn’t plan on saying that today, but I did tell the team. You guys always draw it out of me.”

Nov. 5 On kicker Derrick Brodus playing against MTSU: “We didn’t have a kicker so we had to make a call to the frat house.

This is no lie. We called the frat house and had a policeman go get him and he goes out there, suits up and nails three PATs and afield goal. He got the game ball. I was proud of him. Great story. I’m going to write a book one day about the things that happened to me over the years. I had to find a kicker out of a frat. I didn’t know what we were going to do. Just when I think it has all happened to me, we are going out to pregame without a kicker ... It’s a good thing he wasn’t having too much fun on a Saturday afternoon. I told the coaches, ‘Hey, an intoxicated Brodus is better than nobody. Get him.

Just get him here. Give him a breathalyzer.’ Fortunately he didn’t do anything bad.”

Nov. 7 On kicker Chip Rhome’s injury: “He’s hurt. He pulled something. You know, kickers have muscles we don’t know about.”

Nov. 14 Talking to reporters about a muffed punt costing UT field position: “They went 60-something (yards), but if you did Pythagorean theorem — you know, a-squared plus b-squared equals c-squared — I bet it was about a 75-yard kick. None of you guys have any idea what that is. That’s why you write. You create a right-angle. That’s the long side and you get the 90-degree. Did you make it past Algebra I? It’s geometry, man.”

12 • The Daily Beacon

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Daily Beacon • 13

SPORTS

Robinson named SEC player of year Despite being without the services of Kayla Jeter, who was named preseason All-SEC, Tennessee’s 19 SEC regular-season The Southeastern Conference unveiled the 2011 Volleyball All- wins are a school record. The Lady Vols started three freshmen SEC Awards on Monday and the University of Tennessee was well and two sophomores in almost every match and have not been represented, Sophomore Kelsey Robinson was tabbed SEC Player swept.

Two of three losses on the year have come against ranked teams, of the Year, setter Mary Pollmiller earned SEC Freshman of the Year and head coach Rob Patrick picked up SEC Coach of the Year while UT has had two of its longest winning streaks at 11- and 12straight victories. This was also the fourth consecutive 20-plus win honors.

Robinson became the first Lady Vol ever to be selected as the season for Patrick and the ninth of his career.

Joining Robinson on the All-SEC First Team were juniors conference's Player of the Year. On the season she ranked first in the league in kills per set (4.57) and points per set (5.19), while DeeDee Harrison and Leslie Cikra.

Harrison ranks atop the conference in blocks per set, averaging her average of 0.37 aces per set in SEC play rated second.

Nationally, her points per set average of 5.17 ranks 10th in the a league best 1.31 blocks per set in SEC matches. She also ranks country, and she is one of only three SEC players to be tabbed the first on Tennessee and fifth in the SEC in hitting percentage, as she hit at .364 clip in league American Volleyball Coaches matches.

Association National Player of Named the conference’s the Week this season.

Defensive Player of the Robinson also tallied a conWeek on Sept. 26, the ference-best 21 double-doubles Nashville, Tenn., product has on the year, tallying double digstarted as UT’s middle its in kills and digs in four of blocker in every match this the five final conference matchseason. Her best performes. She was also named SEC ance of the year came at Player of the Week five times, Alabama, as she hit .733, which was the most for a playwhich was the second-higher this season. est hitting percentage of any Named a team captain, the SEC player this season. first team All-SEC choice and In league play, Cikra Bartlett, Ill., product has startrecorded a hitting percented in all 30 matches for the Big age of .312, good for seventh Orange this season. in the conference and tops Ranking as the top setter in among players who were the conference, Pollmiller was non-middles. She also got it selected as the Freshman of the done defensively, averaging Year after leading the league 0.75 blocks per set. with 12.35 assists per set During the SEC slate, the (counting league matches Chagrin Falls, Ohio, native only) and ranks sixth nationalhit .400 or better in seven ly with a season average of matches, while tallying dou12.05 assists per set. ble digits in kills 12 times.

Tabbed Freshman of the She also ranked second on Week five times, a conferencethe team in kills per set on best, Pollmiller becomes the the year, averaging 2.81. first Lady Vol since Nikki Tiffany Baker was named Fowler (2007) to win the Matthew DeMaria • The Daily Beacon second team All-SEC and to award. This year, the Littleton, Colo., native paced the Orange Kelsey Robinson jumps for the ball during a game the All-Freshman Team. and White offense to a .280 hit- against Mississippi State on Sunday, Nov. 6. Monday, Against the league, Baker hit ting percentage, which ranks Robinson earned SEC Player of the Year, Mary Pollmiller .296, which was third best second in the SEC, while UT’s received SEC Freshman of the Year and head coach for the Lady Vols. As an outseason average of .278 ranks Rob Patrick was awarded SEC Coach of the Year as the side hitter, she averaged 0.69 blocks per set and ranked ninth nationally.

Lady Vols were selected to host the opening round of second on the team in solo Also named second team All-SEC and to the All- the NCAA Tournament against Duke at 7 p.m. on blocks.

The Carrolton, Texas, Freshman Team, Pollmiller Thursday, Dec. 1. product also registered five accounted for 89 percent of UT’s assists on the year. Her 69 helpers against Ole Miss on Nov. double-doubles, four of which came against the league. She was 11, marked the second best by any SEC player this season and the selected as the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 31, and most by anyone in a conference match. She also has seven double- a day later was tabbed CVU.com’s National Player of the Week. On the year, she hit .300 or better in eight SEC matches. doubles in 2011.

Tennessee will host Duke (21-8) at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the For the third time in his coaching career, Patrick claimed SEC Coach of the Year after guiding a young Lady Vol team to an over- opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Thompson-Boling all record of 27-3, as UT won its first outright conference champi- Arena after Ohio State (19-14) takes on Middle Tennessee State (21-11) at 4:30 p.m. The winner of both contests will move on to onship after finishing the year 19-1 in league play. a second-round showdown on Friday.

Tough lessons learned in football woes

Staff Reports

Clay Seal Asst. Sports Editor One of the big reasons I came to UT was because (in caveman voice) I really like football.

I know I’m not alone in that one.

And with that, I know I’m not the only one who’s had that decision continually slap them in the face over and over and over the past four years.

When the class of 2012 arrived on campus back in August 2008, Tennessee had a preseason No. 18 ranking coming off an improbable run to the SEC Championship Game. Things looked pretty much like usual.

That season kicked off with a bummer of a loss to unranked UCLA. It continued with a homecoming loss to Wyoming.

The coach got fired.

Signs of life in the next season.

A close loss at No. 1 Alabama. A scandal with three players attempting criminal activities at a prominent booster’s gas station. A disappointing finish in a bowl game loss to Virginia Tech.

The coach left.

A young team with a lot of inexperience hit some tough times.

They lost to LSU in a heartbreaker.

They then again lost a heartbreaker to North Carolina in the Music City Bowl. No team had suffered such terrible luck in one season.

Finally, 2011 rolls along. The Vols have one of the top quarterbacks in the league. One of the top receivers in the country. Things are looking up, especially after the first two games. Then, said receiver gets hurt, goes out for the season.

Said quarterback hurts his thumb, misses the roughest part of the schedule.

A 10-7 loss to possibly the lousiest Kentucky team during the Vols’ 26-year stretch ended the worst season of Tennessee football since most students have been alive.

Instead of championship trophies, glorious moments and memories that will last a lifetime, UT students got backpacks full of tough lessons.

Life doesn’t usually go according to plan. In fact, it rarely does.

That’s a cliché, I know. But here’s

something that’s not: Sometimes, it’s important to fight on the losing side.

Growing up playing sports, I played on a lot of teams. I’ve been on the undefeated, league championship teams. I’ve been on the teams that stepped on the field and didn’t even entertain the notion of walking off the field on the losing end.

I’ve also been on the teams that were ashamed to put on their jerseys, knowing they would again be wasting a perfectly good Saturday so they could drive 45 minutes away to lose to yet another team.

The latter situations sucked. But it was from these that I learned maybe the greatest skill I have: how to lose.

In modern sports, and modern life, that’s not something to be merited. If you’ve learned how to lose, you’ve accepted being a loser. But that’s not true.

Learning how to lose means you are mature enough to accept that sometimes you can try your very best and things still won’t go your way. It means that you’re able to have disappointment crammed in your face, only to shove it back, and figure out how to move on.

You thought about going to Alabama, Auburn or Florida.

Instead you chose Tennessee. And instead of having similar experiences, you’ve never even had the opportunity to go home over Winter Break and exert your bragging rights over your friends, unless they go to Buffalo, Memphis, Vanderbilt or Kentucky.

(And you can’t even use that last one anymore.)

You may not have been on the field for the mess you’ll call Tennessee football during your time here, but if you’ve been emotionally invested in the program, you feel like you’ve had as much disappointment as the team has.

And if this is one of the biggest disappointments in your life, be grateful.

When real adversity comes around, now you know how to lose.

14 • The Daily Beacon

THESPORTSPAGE

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Jackson took ‘leap of faith’ with UT gave in to coaches’ advice and slid inside to tackle, where he started the last 20 games for the Vols.

He finished the 2010 season with 48 tackles, 11 tackles for Malik Jackson called transferring to Tennessee in July loss and five sacks. This year, Jackson was UT’s best player at 2010 “a blind leap of faith that went really well,” but he didn’t each of the four defensive line positions, and defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox took advantage of Jackson’s versatility, expect the Volunteers to go 11-14 in his two seasons at UT. “I wouldn’t have changed anything,” Jackson said after moving him around on the line, especially in pass-rushing sitUT’s 10-7 loss to Kentucky in his final game as a Vol. “I want uations.

“Malik is a great defensive lineman,” sophomore defensive to say thank you to the coaches and everybody who gave me tackle Maurice Couch said. “He’s officially a defensive end, the opportunity to come here and play for them. It was a great experience. I’m glad I came out here and had an opportunity but for him to play inside, it takes a lot of heart and a lot of to play and meet new people and learn new things about straining to and stuff to do. Malik helped me out a lot through the season. I learned a lot from him. I better my technique myself. I wouldn’t take anything back.”

The All-SEC 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive lineman does- because of him. Him and (senior defensive end) Ben Martin, I really appreciate everything they did and it’s a sad thing they n’t regret leaving didn’t get to beat Southern Cal after his Kentucky for their sophomore season. last game.”

When the Trojans and The loss to the coach Lane Kiffin were Wildcats means no hit with NCAA sancbowl game for the tions, including a postVols. season ban for two “I never thought years, it allowed Jackson my senior year would and the rest of USC’s go like this,” Jackson upperclassmen to transsaid. “I kind of wantfer to another Division-I ed one more month school without having to with these guys, but sit out a season. He it just wasn’t in God’s played a reserve role for plan. It just didn’t go the Trojans in 2008 and right for us.” ’09, recording 22 tackles Still, Jackson’s and 5.5 sacks as a defenimpact on the Vols’ sive end in his freshman program didn’t go and sophomore seasons. unnoticed.

Jackson decided to “Malik, he’s been come to Knoxville, makgreat,” UT coach ing him a fan favorite Derek Dooley said in immediately because he early November. left Kiffin and Co. for “Had a great attitude, the Vols. really matured as a “I didn’t even know person. He’s matured where Tennessee was on as a player; he’s been the map,” Jackson said. a great team player.”

“I didn’t know anything And Jackson about Tennessee. I just George Richardson • The Daily Beacon shares the same sencame here with an open mind. The coaches said Malik Jackson dives to recover a fumble against South Carolina on timent for the coach they were going to give Saturday, Oct. 29. Jackson transferred to UT before the 2010 foot- that brought him to me the opportunity to ball season and hasn’t looked back since, proving his worth on the Tennessee.

“Dooley’s going to play and show what I field at every defensive line position while amassing 48 tackles on do big things,” he have. I came out here the year. said. “He’s been and worked really hard, and they gave it to me. I made a lot of friends, I learned a lot building this team really good, and I have no doubt they’re and I’m just glad that I had the opportunity to come in here going to come out here ready to play, especially after this season. I just feel like they need to grow up and sit back and see and play.”

As a junior at UT, he immediately became a key player for where the seniors were coming from and go out there and play the Vols’ defensive line. Four games into last season, Jackson for something bigger than themselves.”

Matt Dixon

Sports Editor

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FIRST PLACE: 49-16

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SECOND PLACE: 48-17

Matt Dixon Sports Editor Southern Miss 34 - Houston 49 Wisconsin - Michigan State Virginia Tech - Clemson Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Georgia 23 - LSU 13

Preston Peeden Managing Ed. Southern Miss 28 - Houston 49 Wisconsin - Michigan State Virginia Tech - Clemson Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Georgia 27 - LSU 24 2OT

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THIRD PLACE: 47-18 Brent Harkins Ad Sales Southern Miss 31 - Houston 45 Wisconsin - Michigan State Virginia Tech - Clemson Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Georgia 21 - LSU 37

FOURTH PLACE: 46-19 Will Abrams Copy Editor Southern Miss 31 - Houston 45 Wisconsin - Michigan State Virginia Tech - Clemson Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Georgia 17 - LSU 31

5

FIFTH PLACE: 45-20 Robbie Hargett Chief Copy Editor Southern Miss 17 - Houston 38 Wisconsin - Michigan State Virginia Tech - Clemson Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Georgia 17 - LSU 28

5

FIFTH PLACE: 45-20 Clay Seal Asst. Sports Editor Southern Miss 38 - Houston 52 Wisconsin - Michigan State Virginia Tech - Clemson Oklahoma - Oklahoma State Georgia 21 - LSU 42