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Alison Krauss brings new songs, old friends to the Tennessee Theatre
Tamika Catchings nabs WNBA MVP award
Friday, September 23, 2011
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Varsity Inn offers more upscale menu options Little-known dining location serves lobster, steak for athletes, students alike Wade Scofield Staff Writer The Varsity Inn Cafeteria inside Gibbs Hall is a somewhat unknown source of delectable sustenance on campus. Because it is not a usual residential cafeteria, many students have never eaten there. “I didn’t know we were even allowed to eat there,” R.J. Vogt, undecided freshman, said. “I thought that cafeteria was just for the athletes, but I hear the food is really good.” In fact, any university student can eat at Gibbs Hall for either lunch or dinner. Located at the intersection of Lake Loudon Boulevard and Volunteer Boulevard, The Varsity Inn’s hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. for breakfast, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch, and 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for dinner. The Varsity Inn offers a variety of cuisine not found anywhere else on campus. On one day, there were oven-baked potatoes, pork ribs, a sandwich bar, steamed vegetables, hot dogs and hamburgers, and two different types of smoothies. “Just about every day is a specialty day,” Jacob Bouck, sophomore in aerospace engineering, said. “The cafeteria is definitely the best aspect about living in Gibbs. It’s far and away better than the food I ate all the time last year.” Gibbs Hall is known for having more
unique food choices. For example, students say steak is served at least twice every week and lobster is served roughly once every two weeks. “It’s easily the best cafeteria on campus,” Grant Self, sophomore in wildlife and fisheries, said. “The staff is deliberate in making the food as quickly but as well as they can. Of course, the food is topnotch. It’s the only cafeteria that served fried alligator the week before the University of Florida game.” On tours, many students are introduced to Gibbs Hall as “the athletic residence hall,” where most of the football, basketball and baseball players live. “Most students think that Gibbs is only for athletes,” Bouck said, “but because of NCAA rules, the building technically has to be 51 percent non-athlete.” One can usually find the wide eatery packed with athletes and non-athletes alike, enjoying homelike atmosphere and a seemingly home-cooked meal. “The service is great,” Self said. “For the most part, if you need something and you ask a staff member for it, they’ll get it right away. And they always serve you with a smile. It doesn’t seem like as much of a job for them.” “I plan on going soon,” Vogt said. “Some of my friends have gone over there in the last week, and even though I don’t have the Gibbs plan, I hear the food is absolutely worth it.”
Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon
Jesse Hawkins, senior in graphic design, helps himself to the buffet in the Varsity Inn Cafeteria inside Gibbs Hall on Sept. 22. Many students do not realize anyone can eat at the cafeteria for lunch and dinner. Food at Varsity Inn is more specialized and sometimes steak is served twice a week.
Latin America presents possibilities Steele Gamble Staff Writer U.S. Department of State Economic and Commercial Officer Natalie van der Horst spoke of trade policy in Latin America with UT students at the Baker Center on Tuesday. Van der Horst stressed the importance of expanding the trade of U.S. goods and services in Latin America through free trade agreements. Two of the three current pending agreements are in Panama and Columbia. “Right now — the United States, the White House, the State Department — we’re working very closely with Congress trying to get those agreements approved by the U.S. Congress so that they can be implemented and so that U.S. companies and U.S. workers can benefit from those agreements”, van der Horst said. As the U.S. economy continues to decline, State Department officials are looking at growing economies to try to reverse the current recession. “Latin America represents an already significant and a growing market for the United
States,” van der Horst said. “In Latin America, they’ve actually had GDP growth numbers that are significantly higher from the United States, and they want to buy.” Many Americans believe that unemployment rate is one of the nation’s biggest issues. Van der Horst sees the Latin American market as a potential catalyst to decrease these rates. “The Latin American market is huge and they are going to be growing and growing and growing over the next couple of years,” van der Horst said. “As U.S. companies export more to this growing market, that means more U.S. jobs, more U.S. income, greater GDP growth here in the United States so directly benefits the American household.” Department of economics professor Kenneth Baker believes the Latin American market is beneficial to Tennessee households. “Tennessee has exported more and more and more every year,” Baker said. “That can only help people in Tennessee who are looking for a job. The more we export, the more people we need to make things here in
Tennessee. We export $27 billion from the state of Tennessee alone last year, $27 billion worth of goods and services. That adds up to a lot of jobs for Tennessee people and graduates of UT.” If the two pending Latin American free trade agreements become policy, it would increase the demand for U.S. goods. Van der Horst described the effects the agreements would have on exports. “By signing free trade agreements with countries, we decrease the amount of tariffs that are levied against U.S. goods,” van der Horst said. “That means that our goods will become relatively cheaper compared to their Chinese competitors.” Van der Horst also described the current demand for U.S. goods in Europe. “Europe has been mired in the same economic woes as the United States,” van der Horst said. “They are having their own debt crises. They are having their own low growth rates. They have high unemployment rates, and they also produce a lot of the stuff themselves. Right now they are not as lucrative in the market for U.S. exports.”
Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon
Willow Love, sophomore in chemical engineering, ponders over what hot dog to get at the Campfire Grill on the Pedestrian Mall on Sept. 14. Campfire Grill usually has a new special every week on top of its regular options.
Questionable execution raises upheaval The Associated Press ATLANTA — Georgia’s execution of Troy Davis for the murder of an off-duty police officer has done little to resolve the debate over his guilt that captured the attention of thousands worldwide, including a former president and the pope. Davis remained defiant even after he was strapped to a gurney Wednesday night in the state’s death chamber, declaring his innocence and urging the victim’s family to continue searching for the truth. “I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight,” Davis said in his final statement. Demonstrators wept during a candlelight vigil outside the prison. High-profile figures, including former President Jimmy Carter, said there was too much doubt surrounding Davis’ conviction and that his execution called the entire death penalty system into question. Relatives of the slain officer, Mark MacPhail, said the execution marked an end to years of legal turmoil and rejected his claims of innocence. “He’s been telling himself that for 22 years. You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything,” said the officer’s mother, Anneliese MacPhail. Davis had been convicted of MacPhail’s 1989 killing. Prosecutors said Davis was pistol-whipping a homeless man after asking him for a beer when MacPhail, who was working as a security guard at the time, rushed over to help. Authorities said Davis had a smirk on his face when he shot the officer in a Burger King parking lot in Savannah. Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter, but seven of nine key witnesses have recanted all or parts of their accounts. Some jurors have said they’ve changed their minds about his guilt. Others have claimed a man who was with Davis that night has told people he actually shot the officer, though state and federal judges have repeatedly ruled against him.
No gun was ever found, but prosecutors say shell casings were linked to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted. Davis’ execution had been halted three times since 2007. The U.S. Supreme Court even gave Davis an unusual opportunity to “clearly establish” his innocence in a lower court last year. But a lower court judge ruled that defense attorneys didn’t meet that standard — a higher bar than is set for prosecutors in proving guilt. While the nation’s top court didn’t hear the case, they did set a tough standard for Davis to exonerate himself, ruling that his attorneys must “clearly establish” Davis’ innocence — a higher bar to meet than prosecutors having to prove guilt. After the hearing, a lower court judge ruled in prosecutors’ favor, and the justices didn’t take up the case. On Wednesday night, his execution was again delayed as officials awaited word on whether the nation’s high court would take up Davis’ case. The justices ultimately declined without explaining the decision, clearing the way for Davis to be put to death shortly after 11 p.m. Carter said he hoped the case led the nation to reject capital punishment. “If one of our fellow citizens can be executed with so much doubt surrounding his guilt, then the death penalty system in our country is unjust and outdated,” Carter said. Other supporters included, Pope Benedict XVI, a former FBI director, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, several conservative figures and many celebrities. Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions on Davis’ behalf. Supporters staged vigils in the U.S. and Europe, declaring “I am Troy Davis” on signs, T-shirts and the Internet. Some tried increasingly frenzied measures, urging prison workers to stay home and even posting a judge’s phone number online. President Barack Obama, who could not have granted Davis clemency because it was a state case, deflected calls to get involved.