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The Daily Beacon provides a slew of ways to survive finals week
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 Issue 69 T H E
E D I T O R I A L L Y
PUBLISHED SINCE 1906 http://dailybeacon.utk.edu
Vol. 112
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PAGES 8 & 9
U N I V E R S I T Y
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Holiday shopping guide suggests gift ideas Justin Joo Staff Writer With the notorious Black Friday having come and passed, the Christmas shopping season can now begin in earnest. From now until Dec. 25, people across the United States will be frantically scouring Wal-Marts, shopping malls and jewelry stores trying to find the perfect gift for their friends and family. But what does one do when they have no idea what to buy? With the ever-growing trends and fads, it’s hard to keep up with the many things that loved ones would like to find under the Christmas tree. Hopefully this guide will help give confounded shoppers some hints. Teenage Girls For the 15-year-old niece or preteen sister, there are only two words you need to
know: Twilight Saga. With the recent movie release of “New Moon” bringing in over $300 million at the box office, there are books, action figures, the DVD release of “Twilight” and teen magazines featuring the eternal question: Team Edward or Team Jacob? Any Man Younger Than 35 If there is one gift that will always make a man smile, it is electronics. They are simple creatures that love toys. A new iPhone 3GS may set the buyer back $199, but it will put a grin on his face. Three major video game systems -- the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii -- have all dropped their prices recently. Both the Xbox 360 (Elite Holiday Bundle) and Playstation 3 (120 GB) are selling for $299 at Best Buy. For the Ladies Women can sometimes be
hard to buy for, and purchasing a gift for them is usually a challenge. “I really don’t want to be (shopping) at all, so I’ll probably try and grab the first thing I see,” Chase Wunder, freshman in business, said. “I also make sure to give my girlfriend the receipt, so if she wants, she can return and get what she actually wants.” Of course, grabbing her a Snuggie ($19.95, plus shipping and handling) just because everyone else says they’re awesome is not always the best approach. But there is one fail safe solution. Everyone has heard the phrase, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” As clichéd as that might sound, the male shopper may be surprised how effective a pair of earrings can be at spreading Christmas cheer. Jewelry is the ticket to go from the nice to naughty list. See SHOPPING on Page 3
George Richardson • The Daily Beacon
Shoppers crowd the walkways of West Town Mall early Friday morning searching for deals on the biggest shopping day of the year. While crowds complicated finding the best deals for a perfect Christmas gift, many shoppers braved the large masses.
Schools may pursue UT coaches
Organization provides vision education, affordable eye care
Ellen Larson Staff Writer
Katie Hogin • The Daily Beacon
Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin delivers a piece of advice to junior defensive back standout Eric Berry during the contest against Vanderbilt Nov. 21. While many believe Berry will leave UT and declare for the 2010 NFL Draft, Kiffin has made it abundantly clear he will be staying to coach Tennessee “as long as (he) can coach.”
Matt Dixon Staff Writer With the success the Tennessee football program has had during the 2009 season, some assistant coaches may be given the opportunity to leave Big Orange Country. Head coach Lane Kiffin admitted this could be a possibility when he hired a staff that was the highest paid in college football. “Anytime you shoot high, that’s going to happen,” Kiffin said. “If you shoot high and you get great coaches and recruiters like this, you’re going to eventually lose them.” Kiffin believes losing these coaches means that you are building a championship program, something Kiffin has
stressed since arriving in Knoxville. “If we’re losing (coaches), it’s a good thing,” he said. “Because usually if you’re losing (coaches) that means you’re successful and winning a bunch of games.” Kiffin’s father, defensive coordinator Monte, was a longtime defensive guru in the NFL. Despite ties to the professional ranks, Monte has been very firm about remaining on Rocky Top. “I want to tell you this right now, I ain’t retiring, okay? I’m not going back to the NFL,” Monte Kiffin said. “I didn’t coach in the NFL 25 years to come to Tennessee and get experience to go back to the NFL … I’m going to stay right here, I love it here, and I’m going to coach here as long as I can coach.” Former Ole Miss head coach Ed
Orgeron served as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator under Kiffin. Orgeron was at the center of a recruiting war last offseason when LSU offered him more money to coach in his home state rather than rejoin Kiffin at Tennessee. Orgeron is a coach Kiffin knows could become a head coach again given his recruiting success. “Here’s a guy that’s proven again that he can go anywhere and get players,” Kiffin said. “Look at the example of him coming here. He was here for such a short time, and we signed a top10 class, the No. 1 player in the country (in running back Bryce Brown) and look what’s going on this year.” See COACHES on Page 3
Downtown to host Christmas festivities Blair Kuykendall Staff Writer As students rush around to finish up their finals and head home for the holidays, they should be sure to take some time to enjoy Knoxville’s own Christmas cheer. With a rich local tradition, the city of Knoxville has its own set of exciting events celebrating the Christmas season. “Market Square hosts an ice skating rink each year around Christmastime,” Anna Manneschmidt, Knoxville resident and undecided freshman said. Downtown on the square, local residents and UT students can come together to enjoy Knoxville’s Holidays on Ice. The full-sized ice-skating rink will be open Friday, Nov. 27, through Sunday, Jan. 3. Knoxville’s most popular winter festival, Christmas in the City, hosts a variety of exciting weekend events leading up to Dec. 25. The annual WIVK / FOWLERS Christmas Parade will take place on Friday at 6:30 p.m. downtown on Gay St. This year’s parade will feature an array of floats, band performances, dancing and lights. On Friday, Dec. 11, at 6:00 p.m. locals will come together to enjoy Comcast’s Christmas at Chilhowee Park. This event will feature free pictures with Santa Claus, cookie decorating with Mrs. Claus, caroling and free horse drawn carriage rides. There will also be marshmallow roasting as visitors enjoy the lighted trees “floating” on the lake
under the stars. UT’s own Clarence Brown Theatre will put on Charles Dickens’s classic “A Christmas Carol” from Nov. 25 - Dec. 20, 2009. On Dec. 1, the Holiday Chorale Concert performed by the School of Music will take place from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Cox Auditorium. The School of Music will also sponsor a Holiday Musicale at the Foundry from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 6. This event is designed to benefit their scholarship program and requires an R.S.V.P. to 865974-8935 by Dec. 1. The 41st Annual Knoxville Nativity Pageant, a community sponsored pantomime drama, will take place at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Dec. 13-15. The Ramsay House Plantation, another Knoxville attraction, will be hosting a Candlelight Tour with music and refreshments as well as a wreath-making workshop in honor of the season. Some holiday festivities traditionally incorporate a more philanthropic turn. “The Fantasy of Trees event is put on every year to benefit the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital,” Emily Manneschmidt, undecided freshman and Knoxville resident, said. This year’s festival took place Nov. 25-29 and raised funds to purchase medical equipment benefiting children. Each year Knoxville residents turn out to enjoy holiday activities and contribute to this cause.
A new campus student organization, Unite for Sight, is dedicated to educating people on eye care and providing eye care to those who cannot afford it. Lauren DeSain, senior in biological sciences, created the Unite for Sight chapter this semester at UT after providing eye care with the Unite for Sight organization in Ghana. “Our group was able to provide over 5,000 vision screenings, perform 421 surgeries and visit 50 villages during our few weeks in the Upper West Region of Ghana,” DeSain said. All of the services DeSain and the philanthropy organization provided in Ghana were free of charge to the patients. Now she is focusing her efforts as president of the new chapter at UT to provide vision screenings and promote awareness in Knoxville. DeSain said the UT chapter will be performing visual acuity screenings in the Knoxville area. The chapter will be connecting those without insurance to national programs that will pay for them to see an optometrist and referring those with insurance to a local doctor if they do not regularly receive eye examinations. “Unite for Sight is unique in that it is the only organization on campus that is solely focused on offering affordable or free eye care to the Knoxville community by connecting individuals with national eye health programs and discounted or free clinics in the area,” Peyton Pinkard, senior in Biological Sciences and the chair of the Unite for Sight chapter at UT, said. The first visual screening was held Nov. 24 in the UC. “The screening went great,” DeSain said. “Our club was able to connect several members of the community to national pro-
grams that provide full eye exams free of charge.” Another thing the Unite for Sight chapter does is educate people on eye care. “A major aspect of our chapter will be to provide education programs during vision screenings and in local schools,” DeSain said. She said one of her chapter’s goals is to visit local elementary, middle and high schools to teach youth about their eyesight and also to inform teachers on how to spot eye problems in their students. “Teachers are in a unique position to identify potential visual problems among their students, and since many eye problems can be corrected easily if caught early, this workshop program is extremely important,” DeSain said. DeSain said in the future the chapter plans to collect eyeglasses and perform fundraising for the international programs. Last semester DeSain helped raise money by organizing a guest lecture and benefit dinner by a Ghanaian ophthalmologist. “Last year, Dr. Wanye, an ophthalmologist from Ghana working with Unite for Sight, came and spoke on campus at a fundraiser that the Chancellor’s Honors Program hosted in which we were able to raise $1,700,” DeSain said. There will be a similar event in the spring for Unite for Sight, DeSain said. DeSain added that throughout the school year, Unite for Sight will be hosting several fundraisers on the Pedestrian Mall. Unite for Sight was accepted as a UT student organization at the beginning of this semester and approved as an official Unite for Sight chapter more recently. Students wanting to get involved with Unite for Sight may contact DeSain at ldesain@utk.edu. Volunteers will need to register with the national chapter and complete volunteer training.