The Oracle- January 31, 2014

TTU Photo Services

T ech’s mascot, Awesome Eagle, was crowned with

the coveted gold medal when he won fi rst place at the 2014 Universal Cheerleading Association Mascot National Championships at Walt Disney World over winter break.

Awesome competed with a minute-and-a-half long skit against four other mascots from across the coun-try to claim his fi rst nation-ally recognized award. His competitors included Roomie the Lion from Southeastern Louisiana University, WU Shock from Wichita State University, Wiley D Wildcat from Wilmington University, and YoUDee, the blue hen from the University of Delaware.

Tech’s mascot has lost to Delaware at competition the last three consecutive years. Last year, Awesome missed the gold by only a half a point. Additionally, YoUDee has won four out of the past fi ve years’ competitions.

“That alone was the big-gest victory,” Awesome said. “Beating out the other mas-cots was icing on the cake.”

To gain entry into this year’s contest, Awesome and his group of assistants sent in a two-minute highlight reel of everything the mascot had done over the past year. The judging of that video resulted in 50 percent of Awesome’s overall score.

Once Awesome was ac-cepted into the competition, the cheerleading managers began working with him on a weekly basis on ideas for the skit. The team decided to construct an offi ce themed skit.

“We built everything from an oversized briefcase with a set of Hanes briefs on the inside to a cartoon-sized water cooler that transforms into a giant jug of 5-Hour Energy,” said Awesome. “The team and I pulled crazy fourteen hour work days ba-sically every day of winter break.”

Caitlin Jones, a four-year veteran of the Tech cheerlead-ing team was present at the event. She said the excitement of the moment that Awesome Eagle was announced as National Champion as “indescribable.”

“Tennessee Tech is fi nally on the map,” Jones said. “We could not have a more perfect mascot to represent the won-derful university we are.”

When Awesome won

the National Championship, the fans responded as fans would in any other sport. A cavalcade of fans rushed the fl oor and embraced Awesome while he clutched his newly acquired trophy.

“It was one of those ‘too good to be true’ moments,” said Derek Sawyer, junior cheerleading manager. “It felt unrealistic.”

The cheer and dance teams also competed on the national level at Disney World at the same competi-tion. The dance team placed in the top 10 of more than twenty Division 1 teams, while the cheerleaders ranked in the top 20 in their respective competitions.

Members of both

teams said they were happy with their performances at Nationals.

“As a team we bonded a lot, worked together, and we’re proud of ourselves,” said freshman Cassidy Sage, dance team member. “We worked hard for months and were only on stage for two minutes.”

Awesome said he was also proud of his perfor-mance and his representation of the University.

“I’m still in shock,” Awesome Eagle said. “It re-ally feels awesome to be a na-tional champion. This was my fi rst time winning the whole thing, but look out, America, because I’m not even close to done! Go, Tech!”

A Tech student was ar-rested on drug charges ear-lier this week after individ-ual packages of marijuanawere allegedly found in hisBrowning Hall dorm room.

Julian M. Upshaw, 18, a fourth-fl oorBrowning Hallresident, wasarrested andcharged with simple pos-session of acontrolled sub-

stance by Tennessee Tech po-lice on Tuesday after offi cersreportedly discovere d themarijuana during a relatedinvestigation last week.

Upshaw had admitted hewas selling the marijuana to“try to pay to stay in schooland to make it through this semester,” police say.

According to Offi cerMichael Lambert’s report, aresidential life coordinatorasked police to investigate a marijuana smell that wasbelieved to be coming from Upshaw’s dorm room on Jan.21.

“I walked down the hall-way and stood outside the door of that room,” statesLambert’s report. “Whilethere, I could detect an odorof what I am familiar with asbeing that of marijuana.”

After Lambert knockedon the door several times, Upshaw opened it and “theodor of the marijuana be-came stronger.”

The offi cer questionedthe student, who admitted possessing a “small amount”of marijuana and unlocked a small refrigerator in hisroom and handed the offi cera white envelope, says thereport.

“As he did this, I couldsee what appeared to be aglass jar with something stuffed into it,” Lambert says.

Lambert then askedUpshaw if he “had anything further,” and the studenthanded over a plastic bag thatcontained “29 smaller cello-phane wrapped packages of a green, leafy substance that(Offi cer Lambert) believesto be marijuana, a ScheduleVI drug,” which weighed1.1296 ounces, states an arrest warrant.

Upshaw said he hadbeen buying the marijuanafrom another unnamed stu-dent, the report states.

He reportedly told offi -cers he was reselling the sub-stance at $15 per package.

No one else was in the dorm room at that time, ac-cording to police.

Along with the marijua-na, offi cers confi scated a me-tallic grinder, a small digitalmini-scale and two personal vaporizers.

Upshaw was booked intothe Putnam County jail with a bond set at $2,500.

THE OORACLEVolume 97 | Issue 10 | Free in single copy | January 31, 2014Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505 | Est. 1924

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‘‘,,

It was one of those ‘too good to be true’ moments. It felt unrealistic. —Derek Sawyer, Cheerleading Manager

‘‘,,

Tennessee Tech is fi nally on the map, We could not have a more perfect mascot to represent the wonderful university we are.

—Caitlin Jones, Varsity Cheerleader

‘‘,,

As a team we bonded a lot, worked togeth-er, and we’re proud of ourselves.

—Cassidy Sage, Varsity Dance Team Member

‘‘,,

It really feels awesome to be a national champion. This was my fi rst time winning the whole thing, but look out, America, because I’m not even close to done! Go, Tech!

—Awesome Eagle, National Champion Mascot

Upshaw

TTU CheerUNLEASHING THEIR AWESOMENESS: Cheer Coach Robin Bur-roughs and the Cheerleading Managers pose alongside Awesome Eagle after Awesome was presented with the fi rst place trophy at the award ceremony Jan. 17. Pictured from left are Robin Burroughs, Awesome Eagle, Jason Hyder, Blake Berny, and Derek Sawyer holding the University Flag.

UCA

Awesome Eagle ‘jams out’ during his championship winning skit in Walt Disney World on Jan. 17.

By BRITTANY STOVALLBeat Reporter

By ALYSSA ADKISSON & LOGAN SHRUMBeat Reporters

Student arrested for selling drugs to pay for tuitionTotally Awesome

Awesome Eagle wins UCAMascot National Championship

Awesome Eagle poses with his championship trophy after win-ning with the Mascot National Championship.

Page 2 | January 31, 2014 tntechoracle.com

NEWS

techtech@eventsevents

05058 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Grant applications are now being acceptedFoster Foster 224 or Offi ce Academic Affairs


11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Career Fair Tips Workshop Johnson Hall Auditorium

7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. The Cumberland Quintet Wattenbarger Auditorium, Bryan Fine Arts Building

03037 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Women’s Basketball Hooper Eblen Center


January


01 01 6 p.m.AXTOUR Arenacross Rac-ing 2014 Hyder Burks Ag Pavilion

5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.Women’s BasketballHooper Elblen Center

7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. Men’s Basketball Hooper Eblen Center


All Day United States Department of Justice Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Hearings Multi-Purpose Room

8 p.m. - 10 p.m. Yankee Tavern by Steven DietzJere Whitson Building Backdoor Playhouse

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Student Affairs Committee MeetingRoaden University Center 224

7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Trombone Pops Night 1 Wattenbarger Auditorium, Bryan Fine Arts Building

9 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Trombone Pops Night 1: Coda Wattenbarger Auditorium, Bryan Fine Arts Building

February

By JAKE THREETEntertainment Editor

The Tech Fitness Center is opening the spring semester by launching new fitness classes in which students can enroll.

The two most popular classes being introduced are Hip Hop Hustle and Insanity. Both are now available to take and are featured in the fitness class schedule.

Abbey Jaffe, health promotions program coordinator, said her idea for this semester is to incorporate new classes that branch out from previous ones offered at the fitness center.

“I wanted to go outside of our comfort zone and offer classes we have never offered before here on campus,” said Jaffe.

Hip Hop Hustle is a unique style of step aerobics class that differs from the popular workout class Zumba. In Hip Hop Hustle, students blend dance moves with hip hop to help burn calories and drop pounds.

Insanity is a high-octane class that is more

intense than a regular step aerobics class. The class consists of all body weight activities, while constantly challenging individuals to go harder, faster, and longer.

Tech student LaTausha Slaven said she approves of the new classes and is thinking about taking one of them in the future.

“I personally love the concept of these new classes,” Slaven said. “I’ve never really taken any fitness classes at the fit, but this definitely makes me want to try one out.”

Hip Hop Hustle is held on Monday and Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. and lasts one hour. Insanity is held on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 6 p.m. and also lasts one hour. Both classes are held in the fitness studio located on the second of the fitness center.

Jaffe said one of her main focuses and goals is to get more males involved in fitness classes. She said she hopes adding Insanity to the class lineup will help achieve this goal.

“With Insanity, I wanted to pull more guys

into the class,” Jaffe said. “When guys see fitness classes, they tend to not like the idea. The goal was to get more male participants in the class. So far, I have had a few in the Insanity class already, but we are continuing to work on that.”

Tech student Aaron Price said he is unsure if a fitness class is the right thing for him, but said he feels positive towards the idea.

“I’m not sure if I would ever take a fitness class because I don’t think they’re for me, but maybe,” Price said. “I do think it is a good thing to try and get more males involved though.”

Jaffe said she welcomes any recommendations for new class ideas and is open to all suggestions from students.

Information about class schedules, times, prices, can be found online at http://www.tntech.edu/recreation/schedule/ or by calling the Health Promotions Office at (931) 372-6511.

Engineers use 3-D printerThe mechanical engi-

neering senior design course utilized new and advanced equipment to complete a class group project. The class used a new 3-D printer to complete their assignment.

The team used a Makerbot Replica 2X, which prints using two heads in-stead of the traditional one. The team was tasked with using the printer to make sy-ringes fi lled with fl uid.

“It’s the present and fu-ture of prototyping from anything to a gear to a body panel,” said mechanical engineering graduate Dan Hamblen. “You can make anything cost effectively and quickly for Tech students. It allows you to bring your ideas to life.”

Albert Painter completed a research ex-perience for undergradu-ates internship at Stevens Institute of Technology last summer under the advise-ment of Dr. Woo Lee. Lee’s project involved modifying a Makerbot Replicator 3-D printer to allow it to print from fl uid-fi lled syringes.

Amber Butcher, anoth-er mechanical engineering graduate, said, “We designed and built parts that attached to the original printer’s mo-tors but used the motors to depress a syringe fi lled with fl uid. Our goal was to design the system. It is the responsi-bility of Stevens to design the bone tissue fl uid and create the fi les needed to print the correct geometry.”

Team member Hannah Ross, a senior me-chanical engineering major,

said, “The easiest part of the project was probably just be-coming familiarized with the operation of the 3D printer in its original form. Albert was the only group member who had much previous ex-perience with 3D printing technology, so the rest of the group had to learn the basic functions of the printer.”

The group formed at the beginning of the Fall 2013 semester and decided this was the project they were go-ing to complete.

Hamblen said he was content with the project’s progress and completion.

“I was satisfi ed with my performance and the group overall succeeded in deliv-ering a modifi cation worth four months of development and implementation,” said Hamblen.

By ADAM WEBBBeat Reporter

CRIME BRIEFS:

- Jan. 27- 9:45 Classifi cation: Destruction/Damage/Vandalism Location: Tech Village West parking lot Disposition: Closed. Subject arrested Notes: A vehicle was vandalized.

- Jan. 26 - 1:15 Classifi cation: Trespass of Real Property Location: Murphy Disposition: Closed. Subject barred Notes: A trespasssing warning was issued.

- Jan. 25 - 10:05 Classifi cation: Driving Under the Infl uence Location: North Dixie Avenue Disposition: Closed. Subject arrested Notes: None.

- Jan. 24- 1:47 Classifi cation: Drug Equipment Violation Location: Tech Village Disposition: Closed. Referred to the Dean of StudentsNotes: None.

- Jan. 23- 10:50 Classifi cation: Destruction/Damage/VandalismLocation: Memorial Gym Disposition: Open case. Notes: A vehicle was vandalized.

- Jan. 22 - 11:07Classifi cation: Disorderly Conduct Location: Tech Village Disposition: Closed. Referred to the Dean of Students Notes: None.

- Jan. 21 - 12:45 Classifi cation: Drug/Narcotic ViolationLocation: Browning Disposition: Closed. Subject arrested Notes: None.

- Jan. 20 - Not available Classifi cation: Theft from building Location: Facility, Business Services building Disposition: Open case. Notes: None.

- Jan. 15 - 12:31 Classifi cation: Drug Equipment Violation Location: New Hall South Disposition: Closed. Referred to the Dean of Students Notes: None.

- Jan. 11 - 4:38 Classifi cation: Drug Equipment Violation Location: Roaden University CenterDisposition: Closed. No suspects or witnesses Notes: None.

- Jan. 15 - 12:31 Classifi cation: Drug Equipment Violation Location: New Hall South Disposition: Closed. Referred to the Dean of Students Notes: None.

- Dec. 30 - Not available Classifi cation: Burgulary/Breaking& Entering Location: Pennebaker Disposition: Open case. Notes: Theft occurred.

- Dec. 30 - 10:00 Classifi cation: Weapon Law Violation Location: 7th Street Disposition: Closed. Subject arrested Notes: Subject was on campus when offi cer stopped subject.

- Dec. 23 - Not available Classifi cation: Theft from motor vehicle Location: Facility, Business Services Building Disposition: Open case. Notes: Keys were stolen from a vehicle.

- Dec. 19 - 10:36 Classifi cation: Suspicous person Location: Roaden University Center Disposition: Closed. Subject barred Notes: Suspicious person was issued a trespassing warning.

- Dec. 18 - Not available Classifi cation: Burgulary/Breaking & Entering Location: Fitness Center Disposition: Open case. Notes: Money was stolen from a locked locker.

New classes offered at Fit

Matthew Phillips

Anthony Taylor demonstrates how the Fortus 400mc operates, a 3-dimenisional printer on Tech’s campus. The printer is predicted to be used for many different projects in the future. Some students have used the printer for various projects and assignments. Many students are in the process of becoming familiar with the printer and how it works.

Taking a walk through the Main Quad this semes-ter, students and faculty may notice visible progress on the renovations to South Hall. An overhaul on the building has displaced several faculty and students. The project is expected to continue until the fall semester.

As the fourth part of a multi-phase renovation project on many of the older buildings on campus, South Hall is scheduled to receive a sprinkler system, new elec-trical work and, most notice-ably, all new windows in the building.

“The windows in the building were original and had never been replaced,” said DeLaye Miller, Facilities Project Manager.

The exterior of the building is slated to be fully cleaned and painted to re-fresh the look of the building while preserving the classic historical characteristics and architecture of the structure.

The building’s interior is also being refurbished and revamped to meet the standard set with the new classroom design seen in re-cently remodeled buildings Henderson Hall and TJ Farr.

Manual labor began on South Hall on Nov. 25 and is contracted to a 300-day work schedule. This would place building renovations being substantially completed near the end of Sept. 2014.

Some students said they feel the construction to the building gives a negative ascetic look to campus as a whole. “It looks we’re getting ready for a hurricane,” said international business junior Bianca Drew. Drew said she does not feel the wooden boards over all the window frames in the building en-hance campus’ look or feel.

South Hall was original-ly constructed in 1931 as the home economics building. The building has seen many changes and has served mul-tiple purposes in the 83 years it has been on campus, in-cluding housing the student union from 1954 to 1972 be-fore the building became the library annex. The building was renovated once again in 1993 to house the College of Agriculture and Human Ecology and the foreign lan-guage department.

Exactly 20 after the most recent renovation, work be-gan to prep the building for remodeling. At the begin-ning of the summer of 2013, all belongings and actions of the occupants of South Hall were packed up and moved to Foundation Hall, former-ly Prescott Central Middle School.

Foundation Hall pro-

vides a temporary space for occupants of buildings be-ing remodeled on campus. The building allows workers and students’ departments to have a stable offi ce until their respective buildings are completed.

A large number of of-fi ces and classrooms nor-mally located in South Hall are among the inhabitants that have been temporarily moved to Foundation Hall. These include the offi ces of foreign language, agriculture and human ecology.

“I’m appreciative that the University is renovating and has somewhere to put us,” said Mark Groundland, as-sociate professor of Spanish and interim chair of the de-partment of foreign languag-es, “but we look forward to moving back into South Hall.”

One of the main com-plaints students seem to have regarding the remodel process is that Foundation Hall is a longer walk away than most other buildings on campus.

“It kind of sucks,” said Bianca Drew, “the walk is longer from Johnson with just ten minutes in between.”

Other students are more positive on the relocation of their classes in Foundation Hall.

“I don’t like being so far out,” said Spanish and his-tory senior, Beth Pinzur. “But it is nice to be able to just run upstairs to practice my Spanish.”

Page 3 | January 31, 2014tntechoracle.com

NEWS

SGA welcomes new senators from School of Nursing

Returning senators welcomed new senators from the School of Nursing into the SGA Senate when the students returned to campus for the spring semester. The senators also returned with several new ideas to improve the campus.

Now that the School of Nursing is it’s own college outside of the College of Agriculture and Human Ecology, SGA needed senators to represent the nursing students. Over Christmas break, applications were taken and new senators were accepted.

One of the new School of Nursing senators, Peyton Miller, said, “I’m very excited to have this opportunity to be in SGA so I can be more involved with campus business and represent the School of Nursing.”

Another new School of Nursing senator, Megan Randolph, said, “I have been wanting to get involved with SGA for a while, so when I heard there was an opening, I jumped at the chance. I am looking forward to getting involved this year.”

The new senators joined the old for the fi rst meeting and began working on new ideas for Tech. Returning senator Andrea Shook, representative of the College of Arts and Sciences, already has ideas on how to improve the campus this semester.

“Since this is my last semester, I really want to do the most that I can to leave an impact for Tech,” Shook said. “Something that I’ve talked about with other senators is instead of having our college committees meet together, have us meet based on what we are interested with on campus so we can be more effective in writing bills that help our student organizations.”

Randolph said she also has some ideas to help the students at Tech.

“I was thinking about library hours and hours at the Swoops and keeping them open a little later, because I know students are out later than they have things closed,” Randolph said.

Returning senator Sam Blanton of the College of Engineering said she is happy to be back representing her college and is looking forward to the SOLO concert later this semester.

“I am excited to get more involved with my college and to represent them,” Blanton said. “I am also really excited about the Josh Turner concert, because he is one of my favorites.”

Miller said she, too, is also looking forward to the SOLO concert.

“I love Josh Turner and I think the campus is very excited for him,” Miller said. “I think it will be a great outcome.”

More information about SGA can be found at tntech.edu/sga/home.

By CAITLIN JAREDBeat Reporter

South Hall gets a facelift By DRAKE FENLON Managing Editor

Elissa LongfellowSouth Hall is currently under construction. Students and faculty who use the building have currently been relocated to Foundation Hall. Construction will last for the rest of the semes-ter and into the Fall semester of 2014.

Elissa Longfellow

By the end of the Fall 2014 semester, Tech plans to have South Hall completely renovated. The inside will be similar to Henderson Hall and TJ Farr.

South Hall begins renovations for the building. Many faculty and students are relocated until the remodel is completed.

This award is for outstanding seniors who graduated in December 2013 and those who are scheduled to graduate in May or August 2014.

This prestigious award is presented toa graduating senior who has exhibited academic, moral and intellectual integrity where in they show Tennessee Tech in everything they do.

This award was established in honor of the late Dr. Everett Derryberry who retired in 1974 af-ter 34 years as president of the university.

A blank nomination form and a template to use as a guide when completing the form can be

found at: http://www.tntech.edu/studentaffairs/derryberryaward/.

Nominations should be submitted no lat-er than Friday, February 21, 2014. Materi-als can be emailed to [email protected], mailed to Debbie Combs and TTU Box 5007, or delivered to Room 206, Derryberry Hall.

Please recycle

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The Oracle.

WHAT: WTTU-88.5 FM-The NEST is the University's

student radio and Cookeville's only alternative radio

station and you can be a DJ on it!

WHEN: Spring DJ Class starts Monday

Feb. 3 at 9:15 pm in RUC 369

WHY: WTTU DJs are scientifically proven to be cooler

WTTU DJ shifts are open to TTU faculty, students, and staff.

Dr. Bharat K. Soni, vice president of research and economic development, spoke about his plans of in-novation and research devel-opment for Tech at the SGA meeting Tuesday night.

“Innovation can happen any place, any time,” said Soni. “We want graduates who are not job seekers, but job creators.”

Soni’s said his main fo-cus for Tech is to encourage innovation, provide econom-ic development for the com-munity, and get students in-volved with his program.

Soni said simulations and virtual environments are

on the top of his to-do list. He said he expects an Immersive Visualization E nvironment to be placed on the third fl oor of the library by June of 2014. The Immersive Visualization Environment will consist of a visualization cube that re-quires students to wear 3D glasses and includes 3D TVs and head mounted display systems (HMDs). The visual-ization cube allows students

to virtually e x p l o r e things such as the hu-man heart, car en-gines, or aircrafts.

Another plan Soni said

he has for expanding research and economic development is to have a TTU Innovation Center built in the Highland Tech Park, which consists

of roughly 300 acres of land designated to bring in new industries and companies.

“Through the Innovation Center, we will be able to work better with the commu-nity,” said Soni.

Soni said he encourages

students to become involved in his research and the proj-ects he will conduct.

“If you have the drive for it, you can join,” said Soni.

SGA College of Engineering senator Scott Hill said he thinks it is impor-tant to involve students in in-novative ideas and projects.

“Encouraging more in-novation from the student body will lead to more future

business owners and entre-preneurs; our economy des-perately needs these kinds

of people right now,” said Hill.

“Some of the best and most innovative ideas come from re-search and

development opportunities offered by universities that get behind their students and fully support the ideas they come up with,” said Kyle Bieze, a senator of SGA from the College of Engineering. “I’m very grateful that Dr. Soni has plans to offer more of these opportunities to

our students, and I believe these changes could make Tennessee Technological University a more valuableand prestigious university.”

Soni has earned a B.S. and M.S. in statistics and has a Ph.D. in applied mathemat-ics. Before accepting his posi-tion at Tech, Dr. Soni served as the chairman of the de-partment of mechanical en-gineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

If interested, email Soni at [email protected] or stop by his offi ce in Derryberry305. To learn more aboutthe Immersive Visualization Environment, visit www.vrs.org.uk/.


NEWS

Jobe and Murphy host fi rst Chill Night in hall lobbyJobe and Murphy Halls

hosted their fi rst Chill Night on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. in Murphy’s lobby drawing in a crowd of around fi fty people.

The night was kicked off by the halls’ council presi-dent, Andrew Gavin an-nouncing upcoming events like a movie night on Sunday, Feb. 9 to start the week of

Valentine’s with “Crazy, Stupid Love.”

“We are going to have an event every other week,” Gavin said. “The next one will be on Feb. 13, talking about Real-ationships.”

After the brief meeting was completed, the students enjoyed some time to eat brownies and have some cof-fee or cocoa.

Then the fun began with the hall’s assistant coordi-nator, Lauren Johnson, pre-

senting a monologue from Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” Her spirit-ed recitation encouraged the next performers that anyone can do an open mic night.

Freshman Trinity Meeks, recited three original poems next.

“I would love to do more of them,” Meeks said. “I love to read my poems. They might not be the best, but I know they are good.”

After Meeks, some musi-

cians began the more lively part of the night.

The hall coordinator saidthey were excited about theturnout.

“I am very excited about the turn out that we had,”Lauren Johnson, Jobe/Murphy assistant coordina-tor said. “I am also really gladthat we had some originalpoetry. That was really excit-ing. I hope that we can have itagain. I hope it can become aregular thing.”

By SARAH DINGWALLBeat Reporter

By JORDAN BLAIRBeat Reporter

Vice President Soni plans to double University research initiatives

Tech students buddy up to bridge cultural differences

The Tech Buddies pro-gram has nearly tripled in size since the program’s es-tablishment during the Fall 2011 semester.

While experiencing a new cultural environment can be exciting, the Tech Buddies program eases what could be a challenge for many international students arriv-ing at Tech with questions and concerns during their fi rst few weeks on campus.

“The program is an at-tempt to bridge the cultural gap that frequently exists on TTU’s campus. This is ac-complished by matching ei-ther an American student or a returning international stu-dent with a new international student,” said Jacob Kelley, student coordinator of the program.

Emphasizing that the matches are not random, Kelley expressed that many factors are considered, such as personal interests and cul-tural considerations, before the students are paired up.

“Some cultures have to be matched with a girl. With cultures like those of Saudi Arabia, the girls can’t be matched with a guy. So we have to meet their require-ments,” junior Tech buddy Eric Xiao explained.

While the program strongly emphasizes that it is not a dating service, some students continue to utilize it in that manner. Same-gender matches are typically created where applicable to help alle-viate this.

“Typical ‘buddy’ ac-tivities might include show-ing international students around campus, locating

banks and grocery stores near the University, helping with an apartment search, chatting over a cup of coffee, going to parties, university events, or even inviting your buddy home with you for the holidays,” as stated on the Tech Buddy Facebook group page of over 600 members.

“I feel like the Tech Buddies program has been a very successful program and it has a great potential of growing. We have more and more international students coming every semester and they truly want to be friends with the US students and practice their English,” Study Abroad Coordinator Amy Miller said.

Matched with three dif-ferent Tech buddies each from Germany, South Korea, and India himself, Kelley strongly encourages more students to become involved and apply for a buddy.

“My experiences with these students were each unique and memorable. We often discussed cultural norms, politics and sports. I often walked away from these discussions with a great insight into the cultures of the students’ homes, which made the time I spent with them beyond worth it,” he said.

Matches for this semester should be sent to students by the end of this week.

More information re-garding the program and how to become involved can be found by contacting Study Abroad Coordinator Amy Miller at [email protected], Student Coordinator Jacob Kelley at [email protected], or by search-ing for the TECH BUDDIES group via Facebook.

By MELISSA EDWARDSBeat Reporter

TAB seeks new membership as semester beginsTech Activities Board

offers students who join the opportunity to not only gain social skills, leadership abilities, and develop personally, but also a greater chance at employment after college.

Kelsey Jozwik is a former executive member of the Tech Activities Board. She said TAB helped her network with other students and Tech faculty and staff.

“Getting involved has really shaped my college experience,” Jozwik said. “I highly recommend applying to be a member of the Tech Activities Board to get involved. We have free events throughout the year and are very involved in planning campus wide events like Homecoming.”

TAB sponsors or co-sponsors a variety of activities throughout the year such as TAB Tuesday giveaways, Late Night Tech Nights, concerts, outdoor movies, hypnotists, and tailgate contests at football

games. TAB member Luke

Patton said he encourages students to join TAB becauseof the variety the club offers for students.

“TAB is a great way to get involved on campus because they have their hand in so many different campus-wide activities,” Patton said. “Whatever interests you, TABmost likely has a committeefor it.”

Katie Williams serves as the student activities coordinator. Williams saidmembership to not only TABbut clubs across campus is crucial to student success.

“Membership in student organizations is vital tostudent success because they offer students an avenue toput the knowledge and skills they have learned in the class room to use in a practicalenvironment,” Williams said.“All of these skills are soimportant both in college and in the job market.”

To keep up to date with the Tech Activities Boardand other events on campus, follow TAB on Twitter @tntechtab.

By RACHEL KERRBeat Reporter

Sarah Tate Junior Chayla Bell prepares to give away Tech bumper stickers for the TAB Tuesday event. Each week TAB gives away a free item to the students.

Death at Dawn gives killer winter workout

Despite the frigid tem-peratures, 170 participants turned out for the twice year-ly exercise event known as “Death at Dawn,” which took place on Tech’s campus Jan. 13-24 and ran from 5:30 to 6:30 each weekday morning.

The program was origi-nally founded in 2004 by Larry Epps. Along with cur-rently being Cookeville’s vice mayor, Epps is an experi-enced runner with numerous Boston Marathons under his belt.

Death at Dawn was ini-tially developed to benefi t lo-cal high school athletes.

“It originally started out as a way to have the athletes conditioned before the sea-son started. It started out as just the players and me and another dad. Then, we were concerned about breaking TSSAA rules for having prac-

tice before the season started, so we just made it open to ev-eryone,” said Epps.

Each workout session consists of exercises such as running and core workouts.

Jenny Iwanyszyn, a pre-physical therapy major at Tech, endured the negative temperatures and early hours to become a fi rst-time par-ticipant in the recent Death at Dawn session.

“The cold made it slight-ly harder to run because my muscles were not engaging as quickly as they do when its warm, but the cool air gave me more energy, so there were some pros and cons to running in the cold,” she said about how the cold affected her ability to perform the workouts.

“Although I did not par-ticularly enjoy the ridicu-lously cold temperatures or the super early mornings, I absolutely loved the running and all the motivation from

everyone who attended. It makes it so much easier to push yourself when you have people right there beside you doing the same thing,” Iwanyszyn said.

Hannah Dunn, a senior soccer player at Cookeville High School, was also one of the participants.

“We work hard, but we have fun. We’re like a family,” said Dunn. She added that she enjoys the atmosphere of Death at Dawn as much as the conditioning she receives.

The event, which takes place each year in January and again at the end of July, is open to the public, but you won’t fi nd any pub-lic announcements for the occasion.

“We don’t use social me-dia at all. We don’t advertise. I have an email list with a few people on it, like the other leaders, that I send informa-tion to, but other than that, it’s all word-of-mouth,” said

Epps. Although the sessions are

open to anyone looking foran additional workout op-portunity, Epps noted it maynot be for everyone.

“If you’re not going towork hard and you’re not go-ing to run, go home,” Eppssaid.

Iwanyszyn concluded bysaying, “I just want to addthat, overall, Death at Dawnis an outstanding programthat is perfect for any skilllevel. It’s organized reallywell, and Larry and TracyEpps and the rest of thegroup leaders are wonder-ful people who genuinelycare about the experience theparticipants receive, as wellas their health and fi tness. Ihighly recommend it to any-one who wants a jump startin there fi tness and needs alittle extra motivation.”

Death at Dawn is set totake place again this July.

By JESSICA WILSONBeat Reporter

Students and community members face single digit temperatures at fi tness camp session at Tucker Stadium before dawn.

Soni

Hill

‘‘,,

Innovation can happen any place, any time,” said Soni. “We want graduates who are not job seekers, but job creators.—Bharat Soni, Vice President of Research and

Economic Development

Student Directed Play by Josh Rapp and Joe Clark

Produced in cooperation with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

February 6, 7, 8, and 11, 14, 15 at 8:00 p.m.

The February 10 performance has been cancelled

Late Show: February 13 at 10:00 p.m.Matinee: February 15 at 2:00 p.m.

tntechoracle.com Page 5 | November 22, 2013

SPORTS

James Dillon

Monday night’s contest against Murray State was a critical conference game for the Tech women’s basket-ball team and its adversary, Murray State. Both teams came into the contest need-ing a victory in the Ohio Valley Conference, but the Golden Eagles pushed ahead and took the win.

The fi rst half was evenly contested, with both teams

owning leads at some point during the period. The larg-est lead of the half, a double-digit difference, belonged to Tech. At the end of the half, the Golden Eagles had a comfortable 7-point lead, 41-34. Diamond Henderson led fi rst half scorers for Tech with nine and Molly Heady put up eight. C¬oach Jim Davis also received points from the bench as Shunice Herron scored six points in the fi rst half.

The second half was all

By SHEA HAILEAssistant Sports Editor

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Senior guard Jeremiah Samarrippas drives into the lane in last year’s home game against Belmont.

The fi rst 1,500 fans through the doors of the Hooper Eblen Center on Jan. 30 received a free “Gold Rush” t-shirt to help

support the Golden Eagles men’s basketball team as it took on in-state rival Tennessee State.

Also, all local elementary school students who made the honor roll received a free ticket by presenting a report card or

academic achievement award.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BASKETBALL

Tech’s Golden Eagle basket-ball teams continue their Ohio Valley Conference schedule Saturday night against in-state rival Belmont. The doubleheader will kick off at 5:30 p.m. in the Hooper-Eblen Center.

Both men’s and women’s teams lost in their fi rst meeting against the Bruins by single dig-it amounts. The Golden Eagles come into the match up looking to avenge their losses as they head down the home stretch of their schedules.

Turnovers were the story for the women’s team in its last matchup against Belmont. The 17 turnovers were costly for the team even though they were shooting an impressive 59.7 percent from

the fi eld. The Bruins were able to capitalize off of the Golden Eagles’ mistakes, scoring 16 points off the giveaways.

Junior Diamond Henderson, the team’s leading scorer, fi nished with a game high of 29 points on the night. The team looks to follow her hot hand, along with strong post play from junior Candace Parson, in hopes of capturing a win this weekend.

“The game plan is to limit their scoring,” said Henderson. “The things we have to do this time around is defend their 3-point shot, get ball movement on offense and limit their offen-sive rebounds.”

The women’s team comes into this game with a record of 8-13 overall and 5-3 in the OVC. They are currently ranked third in the OVC East Division.

The Golden Eagle men suf-fered a 2-point loss when they last faced off against the Bruins in Nashville. The team is looking to have their best shot of knocking off the conference leaders at home Saturday. Tech has played very well this season at home, and, thus far, are 7-2 in the Hooper-Eblen Center.

Belmont, who earlier in the season beat the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, defeated Tech 64-62 in their fi rst match up this season. The team was led by seniors Jeremiah Samarippas and Dennis Ogbe, who fi nished with 16 and 14 points respectively.

The game came down to the wire in its fi nal seconds. After back to back turnovers by both squads, Samarippas was left to take the last shot with seconds to go on the clock. The senior guard missed

the shot attempt that would have pushed the game into overtime.

“We got smacked by Belmont at home [last season],” said Samarippas. “I want to beat them this year. I don’t like Belmont.”

The men’s team comes into this game with a record of 10-13, 3-5 in the OVC. They are current-ly ranked fi fth in the OVC East Division.

Tipoff for the men’s game is at 7:30 p.m., directly follow-ing the women’s game. Saturday is Jackson County and Overton County Night. Residents of those two counties can purchase tickets at the game for $1 per person.

For more information on Tech’s basketball programs and all of Tech athletics, visit TTUSports.com.

Doubleheader a Bruin Saturday night

Steve Springthorpe, for-mer Duke assistant coach, joined the Tech family in December as the new head soccer coach.

Springthorpe said he hopes to bring a new edge to the team as they begin play in the Ohio Valley Conference next fall. He described the OVC for women’s soccer as “competitive” and “chal-lenging” but said he knows the Golden Eagles have the opportunity to make a state-ment next season.

Several players said they were also optimistic about the season.

“When we had our fi rst team meeting with Coach Springthorpe, I knew I would like him,” said upcoming ju-nior forward Taylor Blazei. “He brought a completely different philosophy which centered around commit-ment, investment, and pride.

Springthorpe hired as new head coachSOCCER

These three qualities alone are great in their own right, but if we can combine them together, I believe we have a chance for a winning season.”

With Springthorpe’s new coaching techniques, the team m e m b e r s said they are excited to work t o w a r d s an OVC champion-ship.

“ Wi t h his talented background and just the few weeks he has been here, he has already shown the ability to turn around our previous sea-sons,” said upcoming senior forward Kelsey McGohan.

Springthorpe’s coaching ability is well documented. As a head coach at North Carolina State in 2011, he led the program its fi rst 10 win season since 2002. Prior

By ALLISON BOSHEARSBeat Reporter

to his N.C. State employ-ment, Springthorpe spentfour years, 2004-08, at FresnoState. He fi nished with a pro-gram best 52-40-12 overallrecord.

Springthorpe has a prov-en winning record includingwins in the SEC, WAC, andUSA South conferences.

At his previous school,Springthorpe assisted in training goalkeepers and de-fense, and analyzing fi lm.

“We are pleased thatSteve has agreed to lead our soccer program,” saidTech Athletic Director MarkWilson. “To secure a headcoach at Tennessee Tech whohas previous head coach-ing experience at the highest level of Division I will helpelevate our program in allfacets.“

The Golden Eagles will begin spring practicein February 14 and begintheir fi rst season underSpringthorpe in August.

Springthorpe

By SAM OMACHONUBeat Reporter

Gold Rush

Golden Eagles. Tech extended its lead by beginning the half with a 17-4 run. However, Murray did not go down without a fi ght. The Racers began to fi nd their 3-point game, but the Golden Eagle defense was too tough. Tech fi nished with 53 rebounds, which led to 22 second chance points. This brilliant defen-sive performance was en-hanced by the play of Kayla Brewer. Brewer fi nished with six blocks and 11 rebounds, which led the team. She also contributed eight points, making her two points shy of a double-double.

Tech’s bench played a large part in the Monday night road win. The reserves combined for 23 points and 26 rebounds.

The success of the starters and strong bench play made the Golden Eagles unstop-pable in their eventual 81-65 defeat of the Racers. Diamond Henderson fi nished the night with 17 points, leading the team. Molly Heady and Hannah Goolsby also fi nished with double digit points.

The Golden Eagles end-ed their stretch of four away games with an important victory in the OVC. They will return home on Feb. 1 to play conference foe Belmont in a doubleheader with the Golden Eagle men’s basket-ball team.

Senior guard Diamond Henderson drives the lane in a recent home game. Henderson and the Golden Eagles return home Saturday, after a three game road trip, to face Belmont.

Freshman guard Shirmaine Thomas goes up for a contested layup in Thursday night’s “Gold Rush” game against Tennessee State.

Ben Corda

James Dillon

Tech picks up win at Murray State

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Assistant Opinion Editor

Runny nose, fever, headache, sore throat, sneezing, and possible re-gurgitation of the contents of the stomach – yes, you might have the fl u or some form of it. Or it’s just your allergies.

The fl u scare this year is hitting close to home. Three people from this area have passed away from it recently and it has caused a major infl ux to doctors’ of-fi ces for people to get the fl u shot. One thing - the fl u shot doesn’t cover every strain of the fl u. Does anyone even know how many different strains there are?

My family has even had this discussion. “Is anyone getting their fl u shot?” Most of us are on the side of using our faith and good health decisions instead of pok-

Fighting the f lu

“Time to look for homes in Miami!

How fascinat-ing and not at all helpful, THANKS

GOOGLE. “

ing one more needle in our arms, since almost every time you go to the doctor they are poking you with a needle for one thing or another.

The rest of my fam-ily look at it like taking a vitamin. I understand this thought very well. It is part of a healthy diet to them.

I have never enjoyed people sticking me with needles and, considering the last few years of my life I’ve been in and out of the hospital with asthma, I don’t want any more. But, more than my previous statement prevents me from going to the doctor to re-ceive my fl u shot: I choose not to participate.

I choose not to partici-pate in the hysteria of panic and fear. I have enough

problems standing on my faith to join in the craziness, including my allergies, which, when they come on the scene, look a lot like the fl u. I’ll just keep being faithful in taking the aller-gy medicine the doctor has prescribed.

Someone I knew a long time ago taught me that my words have power - power over me and my mind. So, taking this knowledge, I ap-plied my faith and chose to declare that I will not par-ticipate in the fl u.

I don’t feel well right now cause of the crazy weather and the extremes of temperatures going from indoors to out. It is going to happen when your body has to adjust so abruptly to the changes.

Add stress to this. We are in college; our immune systems are under attack constantly. So, why would we go around saying, “I’m going to get the fl u shot, cause I know I would be the one to get it and have to

miss classes?”Your words have power

people! Sitting there day in and day out saying that, eventually you are going to get it even if you did get the shot.

You can convince your-self into getting sick. This is basic brainwashing! You say it enough and you will believe anything.

If my time here on Tech’s campus has taught me any-thing, it is this - don’t be-lieve everything you hear. So, why would you listen to yourself say that you are going to get sick? You don’t have to . You can stay as healthy as you want to be.

Runny nose, fever, headache, sore throat, sneezing, drainage, feeling

sick to my stomach – yes, Iam a college student withallergies and asthma, anda full course load, full timejob, and two part-time jobs. I have to take care of myselfby not adding the fl u to thelist.

So when I am asked if Iam going to get the fl u shot, I simply state, “I am not par-ticipating this year or ever.”

According to the CDC, vaccine manufacturers now estimate 138-145 million doses of infl uenza vaccine will be produced for the U.S. market this season. (This is an increase from their initial estimate of 135-139 million.) An estimated 30 million to 32 million of these doses will be quadri-valent fl u vaccine. The rest will be trivalent fl u vaccine.

gets a punch in the face. You are the reason we can’t have a nice planet.

Most environmental scientists refer to it as global climate change, NOT global warming. In addition to seeing hotter summers, we can also expect to see cold-er winters. Our highs and lows will be getting more extreme.

A VERY limited version of the problem is the world is simply losing insulation. Just as the insulation of your house keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, so the atmo-sphere protects the Earth.

Here’s the problem with climate change issues in the media: no one seems to sci-entifi cally discuss the prob-lem. When doing research for this piece, one of the top stories was how real estate website Trulia had noticed an intake in searches for warm-weather properties. It’s -15 in New York?

Time to look for homes in Miami! How fascinat-ing and not at all helpful, THANKS GOOGLE.

Or, like Fox News has pointed out, we should al-ways question the moral fi -ber of environmental scien-tists before believing their fi ndings. They might be making up their results for money! I think Heisenberg did the same thing. Step 1: examine particles. Step 2:

propose law of uncertainty. Step 3: profi t.

Sorry to burst your bub-ble, climate change deniers, but you’re fi ghting a losing battle. You’re out on a sheet of melting ice along with the polar bears.

The Polar Vortex is a real, regularly occurring atmo-spheric phenom-enon, documented since the 1860s.

In layman’s terms: large pock-ets of frigid air de-velop in the Arctic when a lack of cloud cover lets heat escape into space. The air hangs out in the upper atmosphere, hemmed in by strong west-to-east jet winds.

Sometimes though, the jet winds are simply not strong enough to keep the bubble of frigidity in its normal spot, and it moves south like Sherman’s army, leaving sadness and shiver-ing in its wake.

North America and Europe are hit with icy blasts worthy of Elsa of Arendelle, while Alaska, Siberia, and stretches of northern Asia are practical-ly balmy with temperatures in the 50s. It’s colder in Nashville, Tennessee than in Nome, Alaska. And that’s where Balto is set!

The jet winds behav-ing erratically, moving cold

air to the south, are just asymptom of the condition. Unfortunately, they’re asymptom that’s taking up all of our attention: Arcticscientists are currently fi nd-ing Polytrichum mossesthawed for the fi rst time in44,000 years.

If that’s not enough proofabout greenhouse gasses and changingclimates, thenI have somegreat propertyin Kansas that will soon be

oceanfront. So please, do us and

the polar bears all a favor:stop complaining how it’sso cold, doesn’t MotherNature know it’s the Southhere, and the store ran out of bread.

The cold descending where it doesn’t belong is asymptom of our continued irresponsibility towardsatmospheric preservation. Sometimes just desserts canbe icy.

Global Warming: Mother nature’s cold shoulder?

Sophomore vocal performance major DeAnna Etchison braves the freezing temperatures and heavy wind while walking to class, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014.

Global warming gets chilly: How the polar vortex fits in.

By this point, I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing and saying, “Sacré moo, it’s cold!” Welcome to the world of the Polar Vortex. However, the next person to say to me, “Where’s glob-al warming NOW, huh??”

Sarah Tate

FreedomOutpost.com

tntechoracle.com Page 7 | January 31, 2014

ENTERTAINMENT

Editor’s top 30 movies of 2013By JAKE THREETEntertainment Editor

By HANNAH BENJAMINEntertainment Critic

By KIMMY MANNINGEntertainment Critic

‘Frozen’ is original, outside-the-box

‘I, Frankenstein’ more like ‘I, Tankenstein’

‘American Hustle’ has made over 128 million at the domestic box offi ce, almost tripling its production budget of 40 million.

Courtesy of Fanart TV

“Yankee Tavern” coming to Backdoor Playhouse

‘‘I, Frankenstein’ opened at the weekend box offi ce with a dismal $8.6 million.

Courtesy of Geekly Rant

2013 was an outstanding year for fi lm. It was one of the best that I can remember for some time. I was literally in the

movie theater every weekend of this past year, except for a handful. Often, I would watch more than one movie a week, and I probably watched around 50 fi lms, cumulatively. We’re fi ve weeks away from the 86th Annual Academy Awards and a lot of the fi lms nominated are back, showing in theaters locally and around the nation.

I’ve compiled my list of the top 30 fi lms from last year and, while some of the fi lms are nominees and have been this whole awards season, others are just great fi lms I’ve seen that deserve to be mentioned. Granted, I’ve not seen every award season worthy fi lm released this year. There are a couple of fi lms like, “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “Enough Said,” that would probably be on the list, but, unfortunately, I did not get the chance to see them. The list below contains the best fi lms that I did see, though.1. Gravity

Honestly, it was a real toss up between number one and two and some days my opinion changes, but, for now, I’m giving it to Gravity. Sandra Bullock gives the best performance of her career in the best visual effects movie I’ve ever seen.2. American Hustle

Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence steal every scene in which they appear, in a fi lm that could have been a major hit in the 70s as well. Outstanding fi lm.3. 12 Years a Slave

It is the true story of one man’s absolutely heart wrenching and brutal life as a kidnapped slave that deserved this big screen adaptation.4. Mud

Only the beginning of what was to be Matthew McConaughey’s outstanding year in cinema. This is an instant cult classic that will last forever.5. Captain Phillips

Easily Tom Hanks’ best fi lm in 10 years. The last 15 minutes will make your heart stop.6. The Heat

This is the best comedy fi lm of the year, with two of the best actresses in Hollywood, starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.7. The Way Way Back

Another instant cult classic

that will make you laugh, cry, and want more. Sam Rockwell is perfection.8. Dallas Buyers ClubStunning, crazy, intense, heart breaking and courageous are a few words to describe this fi lm. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto’s body transformations in the fi lm are absolutely shocking and mind blowing. 9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller directs and stars in this beautiful, poignant fi lm about one man’s journey to fi nding himself.10. Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Katniss and the gang got an even bigger production budget for this sequel and it paid off big time. It was a thrilling, heart pounding ride for audiences.11. The Wolf of Wall Street

Although the content and language may not be watchable for some, Martin Scorsese manages to make a really extraordinary fi lm. Leo DiCaprio also gives an out of this world performance. 12. Saving Mr. Banks

Emma Thompson will make you laugh out loud, rip your heart out, and then make you smile in this surprisingly powerful fi lm.13. Rush

The fi lm, based on a true story, takes the viewer through the intense rivalry between former Formula One drivers

A f t e r the fi lm’s debut last fall, “Frozen” became a box offi ce hit; it has grossed over $763

million in sales, received a Golden Globe, and is nominated for an Academy Award. “Frozen” became an instant Disney classic within months of its premiere.

As the skeptic inside, seeing this movie was not on the top of my to-do list, considering it is about yet another Disney princess that is not part of the original with whom I grew up. The release of this movie and the uproar that followed prompted me to care less, as if liking it would prove me to be an enthusiast of the crowd.

However, as in all things typically resented, it ended up proving me wrong before the movie had reached its fi nish. What makes this movie different is that the writers for “Frozen” did not want to make a typical, “boy meets girl, girl marries boy, boy saves her life” kind of shindig. They designed the movie to be more rational (despite the occasional snowman talking) and with deeper meaning to its conclusion.

Just a heads up, this will be a bit of a spoiler to those who have not hopped on the “Frozen” bandwagon. Writers Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck decided to make the “one true love” of the story not be your average true love kiss from the signifi cant other prince they just met. The characters in the story were restored by the relentless love of a sister, who embraced her with a hug that could save. Touching, right?

Normally, fi lms do not imprint on me as

much, but this one stands out due to its originality, and, apparently, I’m not the only one to think so. According to The New York Times, “love does the trick, but in this case it is sisterly loyalty and devotion rather than romantic attachment.”

If you’re looking for more to the movie, or a way to express your fandom, “Frozen” may be getting a couple more outlets. Forbes wrote, “To the surprise of absolutely no one, Walt Disney announced just over a week ago that “Frozen”

would indeed be getting a stage-based spin-off andvarious other expansionsof the brand.” As formaking a sequel, chancesseem to be slimmer.“Disney Animation hasbeen incredibly stubbornabout not makingtheatrical sequels to their theatrical animated hits” to avoid adding on to astory unnecessarily.

Before “Frozen”begins to thaw out and be stretched thin of all itsfi nancial opportunities,let’s appreciate its atypical writing and outside-the-box storytelling.

If coming in sixth in the box offi ce this weekend and receiving a fi ve percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes is any

indicator, “I, Frankenstein” is a strange fantasy/sci-fi combination that simply does not deliver. Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy star in this graphic novel adaptation about a dystopia present where angelic gargoyles and demons face off for ultimate power amidst the normal human world. Frankenstein’s immortal monster (Eckhart), given the name Adam by the gargoyles, struggles to fi nd purpose in a life where he has no soul. In a war between Heaven and Hell to discover the secret to immortality, Adam fi nds himself caught in the middle and must make a decision to save the human race or to go his own way.

‘I, Frankenstein’ is tough to watch, not because the acting is poor, but because the script gives the actors nothing with which to work. The story is boring and full of holes that even the ending

does not reconcile. After an hour and a half of build up to the fi nal battle scene, the most interesting part was the choice of a cool, electronic gospel track as background music. The CGI effects were overdone and cartoonish.

Something to appreciate about “I, Frankenstein” is that they do not force a love story on the audience, a very popular trend in just about every fi lm and television show to date. While there is some sexual tension between

Adam and the lead scientist Terra (Yvonne Strahovski), the relationship of the two is downplayed and leaves the main focus on the action of the plot. However, because the plot was so uninteresting, it may have been a nice touch to spice things up.

“I, Frankenstein” is a movie on which some sci-fi /fantasy lovers may want to save their money. The fi lm is rated PG-13 for scenes of intense fantasy action and violence throughout.

Niki Lauda and James Hunt.14. August: Osage County

Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts are national treasures that do no wrong in an incredibly dark, yet funny fi lm. It features an outstanding supporting cast, as well.15. Blue Jasmine

Cate Blanchett is absolutely amazing in this career defi ning performance. It’s an honest, real, and emotional fi lm written and directed by Woody Allen.16. Her17. Prisoners18. Bad Grandpa19. Philomena20. Nebraska21. About Time 22. The Spectacular Now23. Out of the Furnace24. World War Z25. Man of Steel26. 4227. Thor: The Dark World28. We’re the Millers29. Side Effects30. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

I only hit the highlights for the top 15, but the remaining 15 fi lms are outstanding as well and I highly recommend any of them. While many of these fi lms are showing in theaters again, a lot are already available on DVD or will be before the Oscars. It’s not often that we get so many good movies releases in a single year, but 2013 was one for the books. Take a few hours and enjoy what 2013 gave us in fi lm.

By REANNA YOUNGBeat Reporter

“Yankee Tavern”, a play by Steven Dietz, will be coming to the Backdoor Playhouse stage for seven nights in February. Students Josh Rapp and Joe Clark will direct the play.

Mark Creter, artistic director, said Yankee Tavern is a thought provoking performance.

“Dust falls from the ceiling and a man walks into a bar and orders two beers, yet he’s alone,” Creter said. “He starts rambling on about things like, ‘Were there multiple shooters involved in the Kennedy shooting?’ ‘Did NASA really land on the moon or was it all a hoax?’ ‘Was there really a terrorist attack, or did the government set up 9/11?’”

The Backdoor Playhouse performers are preparing the dark comedy thriller to leave audiences rethinking such conspiracies. Rapp and Clark both said they are excited to direct this show under the sight of Mark Creter.

Creter said the play

is modern piece to which audiences can relate.

“‘Yankee Tavern’ is a modern play set in the bar of a larger condemned hotel and run by a grad student named Adam,” Creter said. “Adam puts up with his dad’s friend, Ray, who is full of all kind of conspiracies about anything and everything. Adam and Janet think Ray is off his rocker, until the conversation progresses with a man named Palmer who walks into the bar.

“Palmer begins to shed light on the conspiracies Ray has been talking about and Adam and Janet start to wonder if Ray is actually crazy,” said Creter.

Creter said he suggested the play to the student directors.

“I read the play this summer and really like it, so I suggested Rapp and Clark read it,” Creter said. “They thought it was a good play, as well, and it would really give a challenge to our actors. It’s a complex play that is contemporary, dark and a comedy at the same time.”

Rapp said the play has a signifi cant quality that makes it

stand out. “There is a lot of reality and

current topics discussed in this play, but what makes this play shine is it completely driven by conversation,” said Rapp. “As the conversations build, it will take you on a turn and leave you wandering what is coming next.”

Creter said the mystery of the show is what makes it a must-see for audiences.

“This is a very different play with plot twists and gaps that will draw you in,” said Creter. “If you’re into the shows “Blacklist” and “Homeland”, you will enjoy this play.”

“As the mystery continues throughout the play, it ends leaving the audience wanting more,” said Rapp.

“Yankee Tavern” will be presented at the Backdoor Playhouse Feb. 6-8, 11, and 14-15. Shows start at 8 p.m. A late show will be presented Feb. 13 at 10 p.m. A matinee will be available to audiences Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. For ticket information, contact The Backdoor Playhouse box offi ce at (931) 372-6595.

Tech students face harsh winter conditions on campus


NEWS

The beginning of the spring semester brought cold weather to Tech’s campus and students. In the fi rst two weeks, students attended classes despite the snow, wind, and below freezing temperatures.

Jack Butler, associate vice president of facilities, said this is the roughest winter he’s experienced in his three years on campus.

“The weather is hard on everyone, and this is the fi rst year they’ve called for natural gas and electric interruptions,” Butler said.

Butler said students should think conservatively about energy use.

“We’ve had some instances where students kept their windows open in the dorms,” Butler said. “We can control the resources we have to help our environment.”

Others are noticing and even fi nding humor in the weather changes and dangers across campus.

Tech student Ben VanWinkle uploaded a video that he recorded in the campus cafeteria. The video

shows several Tech students falling and slipping on the icy stairs in the rear parking lot of the RUC.

“My initial reaction was to do something, but people were already trying to solve the problem at that point,” VanWinkle said. “I remained the unresolved observer.”

VanWinkle said about 70 percent of students walking down the stairs fell or slipped.

“I was cringing every time, hoping no one would get hurt,” VanWinkle said.

“My intention was to remain anonymous, but I forgot my name would show up on the YouTube video,” VanWinkle said.

One day after the video was uploaded, it received over 3,000 views.

Tech student Drake Fenlon was the last person to fall in the video. He said he noticed the stairs were being salted, but didn’t think about the ice. Fenlon said his friend had just warned him to be careful on the ice.

“I fell exactly when my friend said, ‘ice,’” Fenlon said.

No reports of serious injury due to the icy steps were made.

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Campus experiences power outages due to weatherAs subfreezing

temperatures and chilly winds swept through campus during the last two weeks, Tech facilities worked to keep operations running smoothly.

“We’re trying to do everything we can to prepare and ensure the campus is able to meet whatever weather situations occur,” said Andy Loftis, power plant manager in the facilities department.

“They’re temperatures we’ve not seen here in a long, long time,” Loftis said.

Loftis said the only major winter-related incident so far happened earlier this month when pipes burst in Derryberry Hall. The building fl ooded after an air handler’s hot water coil burst due to the freezing temperatures on Jan. 6.

“I consider that pretty good for the weather that we’ve had this month,” Loftis said. “Lots of other places have had freezing problems. We’ve just had the one incident.”

The campus experienced brief a few brief, campus-wide power outages on Jan. 23 due to heightened electrical consumption across the region. In response to increased power usage, the Tennessee Valley Authority asked its customers late last week to voluntarily reduce energy usage to help prevent any power outages. This includes Tech’s campus.

“If there were enough voluntary cutbacks, they would not have to call any other power outages,” said Loftis. “Apparently, they’ve had some cooperation, because they did not call for

an outage from us.”Loftis said TVA did

ask the campus to induce an electrical outage earlier this month on the same day Derryberry Hall fl ooded.

“TVA did call…about an electrical outage, so we ran on our generators from about 5 o’clock at night (Monday) until 9 o’clock (Tuesday

morning),” Loftis said.Loftis said the campus

hasn’t been asked to produce one since that date.

Tech, which uses natural gas to circulate hot water for heat, was on a gas curtailment, or delivery restrictions, until the end of this week. This forced the department to dip into diesel oil fuel reserves.

Loftis said there have beensix days of curtailments this winter thus far.

But classes should beable to continue as usual,uninterrupted.

“It shouldn’t be anything faculty or students shouldeven notice,” Loftis said.

By BRITTANY STOVALLBeat Reporter

Sophomore vocal performance major DeAnna Etchison braves the freezing temperatures and heavy wind while walking to class. This winter has already provided record-breaking low temperatures.

Sarah Tate

Documents

The Oracle- January 31, 2014