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Thursday, August 25, 2011 Issue 7

E D I T O R I A L L Y

Isolated T-Storms 40% chance of rain HIGH LOW 93 72

Vol. 118

I N D E P E N D E N T

S T U D E N T

PUBLISHED SINCE 1906

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Mahogany Soul entertains with slam poetry ple spread of McCallister’s fruit and desserts, Wing Zone chicken with pre-packaged dipping sauces and fruit punch. Most students filled their plates in a hurry, eager for the event to begin. “The food was amazing” Lindsay Murphy, sophomore in pre-pharmacy, said.

The slam poetry aspect of the evening was hosted by Taria Person, senior in creative writing, who is also one of the three main organizers of the Mahogany Soul Café event. She went onstage between every individual perOn the fourth Tuesday of every month, the Office of formance, ensuring that every performer got his or her fair Multicultural Student Affairs partners up with a separate share of clapping. organization and creates a café, complete with slam poetry “Being able to be around this great art is the performances. most rewarding aspect of this,” Person said. Opening night of this event, “The Mahogany Soul “People are able to speak up here about things Café,” was Tuesday evening. It was co-sponsored by they might not get to otherwise.” the Mu Iota chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. Members of Indeed, the poetry slam was all about speakthis fraternity, wearing dress pants and ties, greeted ing up. Seventeen performers got onstage and attendees as they walked into the crowded corridor of expressed themselves, always in a very passionthe Multicultural Center and ushered them into a ate manner. The performers’ voices rose and fell small side door where the event was held. with the tone of the poems, usually accompanied “The best part of the evening was the live music by emphatic body language. A great deal of the because there are very few places you can see that poetry was originally composed, although some kind of art on campus,” Alexandria Lane, sophomore students sang songs written by others. Jonathan in political science, said. Kinnard, senior in political science, said he was Some 70 chairs engulfed the middle of the room, very nervous when he sang “Don’t Change” by while three or four tables, simply decorated in black Musik. and white tablecloth, sat front and center to the “There are few chances to express your talent microphone. The microphone, where the main action in front of so many people,” Kinnard said. “You of the evening took place, sat on a stage and was surdon’t always have that ability.” rounded by black curtains, which only added to the Two of the main organizers of the Mahogany atmosphere. To the left side of the stage a small band, Soul Café, Justin Coleman, senior in pre-med, consisting of a saxophone, piano and cello, played and Biaunca King, senior in marketing, said the smooth jazz as people began filtering in. planning for this event begins at least three “My first thought was that it was really small, and weeks ahead of time. This means shortly they I didn’t think all of these people would fit,” Ty-Vonna will be prepping for the next Mahogany Soul Johnson, sophomore in psychology, said. Café performance. By the time all 160 guests had crowded into the The show begins with prepared performances Mahogany Soul Café, a member of the fraternity was but ends with a series of open-mic amateurs. on stage insisting that the gentlemen give up their Anyone who would like to try his or her hand at seats to the ladies. While the room was over-crowded, Matthew DeMaria • The Daily Beacon ) performing, would like some good food or even it did nothing to diminish the relaxed atmosphere of the event, and the 30 or so men who were lining the Justin Coleman, senior in psychology, speaks at the Mahogany Soul just wants to appreciate a warm and accepting Café last year. The coffee house event, held in the Multicultural atmosphere is welcome to attend on Tuesday, edges of the room seemed to be a part of the poetry. Sept. 27. Along the back wall there was a delicious and sim- Center, features poetry, theatre, and the spoken word.

Alex Pierce

Staff Writer

UT avoids additional NCAA sanctions Matt Dixon Sports Editor Tennessee no longer has that NCAA cloud hanging over its head. After more than a two-year investigation, the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions announced Wednesday its final ruling on violations involving UT’s football and men’s basketball programs under previous coaching staffs. It was good news for the university and former football coach Lane Kiffin, but bad news for former men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl and three of his assistant coaches. "We appreciate the opportunity to close this chapter with the Committee's announcement today, moving forward with no major violations in our football program and no additional penalties from the NCAA," interim athletic director Joan Cronan said in a statement. "The institution cooperated fully with the NCAA and we have a strong culture of compliance, and a bright future is on the horizon for Tennessee athletics." The NCAA accepted the 20 selfimposed penalties, including a two-year probationary period, effective Aug. 24, 2011, already implemented by UT and the SEC. No additional sanctions were George Richardson • The Daily Beacon added to either program. There was the Bruce Pearl reasons with officials during a pre-season game against Oakland in possibility of scholarship reductions for 2010. Pearl received the brunt of sanctions handed down by the NCAA regarding both programs and even a post-season the actions of the University and it’s staff in both the basketball and football pro- ban for the men’s basketball program. grams.

UT said it will not appeal the NCAA’s decision. "It is time for the University of Tennessee to put this behind us and look forward," UTK Chancellor Jimmy Cheek. "The NCAA commented very positively about our cooperation. We have worked hard to make things right and that has been accepted by the Committee. We have great coaches and great student-athletes, and now it's time to go out there and compete." Pearl was given a three-year showcause penalty for the unethical conduct and failure-to-monitor charges. "Head coaches bear primary responsibility for monitoring all aspects of their programs and promoting an atmosphere for compliance,” the COI report stated. “It is also presumed that head coaches know or should know of violations in their programs, particularly when the violations occur over an extended period of time." Three of his assistants--Tony Jones, Steve Forbes and Jason Shay--were all given a one-year show-cause penalty for failing to corporate and act with honesty and sportsmanship. The sanctions essentially ban the former UT coaches from coaching in the NCAA for the duration of their penalties. Kiffin, who coached only one season at UT before leaving for Southern Cal, will not be penalized by the NCAA after the committee only charged him with committing 12 secondary violations, all involving recruiting.

Ghost tours allow customers to investigate Rob Davis Staff Writer Coldspots Paranormal Research does not offer a runof-the-mill ghost tour. It offers tourists a chance to lead a paranormal investigation, according to organizers. There are 30 sites, or ground zeroes, around Knoxville, but each tour consists of visiting a few of the sites. “I am a certified paranormal investigator and I love history,” J-Adam Smith, CEO and tour guide of Coldspots Paranormal Research, said. “I went to the East Tennessee history museum, and I learned a lot of interesting things about the local history. I wanted to show people the side of Knoxville they didn’t know existed.” The locations are unique to Knoxville and give participants a different view of Knoxville history. “Knoxville has a rich history, and I’m sure some bizarre stories to go along with it,” Philip Davis, senior in history, said. “This is a great way to get a unique look at history.” On the investigation, guests are shown how to use equipment, such as EMF readers and cameras, to capture

orbs, changes in energy and apparitions. In addition to having the equipment, Smith is a trained psychic and will do a psychic reading of the area. Smith began doing tours a year and a half ago and is set to complete his 30th tour to date. “Travis Cover just recently joined me as a history researcher and a tour guide. For the first year I did everything myself,” Smith said. Each month the duo gives four to five tours, but that number is expected to increase significantly during the peak month. “Our peak month is October,” Smith said. “October is the month where you see a lot of haunted things being set up. During the peak season, we would like to be able to do multiple tours in a night and take the quest to different sights so that each group has a different experience.” Currently, one of the sponsors for the Coldspot is Sangria on Market Square, which is where the tours start. “Before the tour, we usually have a meet-and-greet. We welcome them to the tour and explain that we are going on a quest, an investigation,” Smith said. “We go over the

place where we are going and teach them about the equipment, how to capture an orb and how to read the EMF detector. We start moving to each location, and I will give a story about it as best I can. We tell the investigators what happened, when it happened and who it was between.” In addition to doing the tours, Smith hosts a radio show from his website www.knoxghost.com. “We cover three things on our radio show: local history, international hauntings and tools of the trade for paranormal activity.” Smith is currently looking for interns to help him with the radio show. Positions for internships include someone to work audio engineering and writers for the show, as well as theater majors for tour guides. In addition to the radio show, the website is also host to a discussion forum that can be found at www.knoxghost.freeforums.org. “It’s fun,” Smith said. “It’s educational, we have a neat theme on our tour. You’re not just walking around and being told a story. It’s an investigation.”


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