Kappa Sigma fraternity brother, John Cameron Null, 19, of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., was arrested Friday after al-legedly being involved in a dispute with a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Null is charged with reckless endan-germent, arson by set-ting fi re to a vehicle and public intoxica-tion.

According to a report by Cookeville Police Offi cer Brandon Tayes, the incident happened late Friday night, and a witness there said, “someone put a fl aming piece of rolled up paper in the gas lid of a car.”

Tech student Ryan Scott said, “Wewere all upstairs just hanging out whensomeone ran inside, and said that there was someone trying to light a car on fi re.”

According to the report, several TKEmembers told offi cer Tayes it was Null, amember of Kappa Sig.

According to the report, Jacob Warren, a witness, told Tayes he saw Null get out ofa gray Ford Ranger and put the fl aming pa-per in the gas lid of an innocent party’s car.

Null then got back in the truck and drove north of the incident location andbegan talking to people on the sidewalk,Warren said, according to the report.

Warren stated that the burning objectcame out of the gas lid and was put out, the report said.

According to the report, Tech Police were in the area at the time of the incidentand stated that they witnessed a group get-ting ready to fi ght. They drove over toward the group, and the Ford Ranger drove off.

Potential graduating seniors are up by about 100 students, or 8.7 percent, this spring in com-parison to last spring.

“Including [graduate] stu-dents, there are about 1,325 po-tential graduating students this semester,” Denise Burgess, ad-ministrative associate, said. “It is important to keep in mind that the actual number of graduates could go down as thesis dead-lines come up and fi nal grades come in.”

Burgess said the number of graduating seniors last year was 1,219, including graduate stu-dents. The number of graduates from last fall appears to be lower than last spring and this semes-ter.

“Six hundred and one under-graduate students fi nished up in

the fall, but this number does not include graduate students,” Burgess said. “The total number of graduates is higher than that, but I do not have the amount of graduate students at this time.”

There will be two com-mencement ceremonies on grad-uation day, one at 9:30 a.m. for the colleges of agriculture and human sciences, arts and scienc-es, engineering and the school of interdisciplinary studies, and the other at 2 p.m. for the colleges of business and education.

“ R i g h t now, it looks like there will be about 500 g r a d u a t i n g students in the morning ceremo-ny and about 450 students in the

afternoon commencement,” Bur-gess said. Beth Harwell will be the guest speaker for the morn-ing commencement and Millard Oakley will speak during the afternoon c o m m e n c e -ment.

H a r w e l l c u r r e n t l y serves as Speaker of the House in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Oak-ley is the principal shareholder of the First National Bank of Tennessee and is the namesake of Tech’s Millard Oakley STEM Center.

As the date for graduation approaches, some of the gradu-ating seniors are refl ecting on their time at Tennessee Tech and

looking toward the future.“I have had a great four years

here,” Casey Elrod, senior, said. “But like all good things, they

must come to an end, I guess.”Graduation will be May 11 in

the Hooper Eblen Center.

Cars may not be welcome in the heart of campus if President Phil Oldham’s vi-sion for a pedestrian greenway moves for-ward.

“Increasing green space is just one ele-ment being considered as we look at what is best for everyone on campus in terms of parking, traffi c, safety and aesthetics,” Old-ham said. “In general, the campus Master Plan emphasizes the greening of campus through the relocation of automobiles and related parking areas to the campus perim-eter. This enhancement will allow for the development of a pedestrian-oriented cam-pus.”

Oldham said Tech’s campus has long anticipated a Science Quadrangle, a set of buildings envisioned to be a key element of a renewed and transformative Master Plan for the campus.

“As the Flight Plan team works on how our campus of the future will look, we have the opportunity to break ground in the near future on the fi rst building in that vision – the Science Building,” Oldham said.

Plans call for the Science Building to be located in the current Capital Quad park-ing area.

“It will allow us to take down Foster Hall which opens up new opportunities for green space in the parking area behind the Roaden University Center,” Oldham said.

Oldham said the changes are being considered defi nite.

“The Science Building was on the list for state approval for several years as part of our Master Plan, and we are now com-mitted to moving forward,” Oldham said. “We are currently in the concept stage of how that building will be incorporated and how the surrounding area will be trans-formed.”

The planning of the Science Quadran-gle and green space are not the only chang-es likely to come to campus.

“At this point, the [Flight Plan team] is still working to refi ne ideas and prioritize

them,” Oldham said. “When we begin the fall 2013 semester we will share those with the campus.”

Students, faculty and staff can expect to see changes being put it into place within the next 18 months.

“If our funding sources are identifi ed as planned, the groundbreaking on the Sci-ence Building could take place as soon as fall of 2014,” Oldham said.

A defi nite timeline for project comple-tion has not been set by the University.

“Modernization will not come without increased funding, so the timeline is open-ended and will depend on our ability to fi nd new sources of revenue,” Oldham said.

Oldham said the changes will have a large effect on students, faculty and staff.

“Any changes to the physical layout

of campus should enhance our mission of serving students and providing the best ed-ucational experience possible. The changes must address the needs of all those groups in terms of parking and safety, as well as their desire for a comfortable and welcom-ing campus,” Oldham said. “Our goals for any change, including changing campus infrastructure, are to build on our strengths that differentiate us from other universities and to best serve our students.”

“I’d like students to know that Flight Plan is relevant to their future,” Oldham said. “When we improve this campus and the student experience, we increase the val-ue of every degree we award. The physical changes are a relevant part of a bigger effort to defi ne your university for the future.”

THE OORACLEVolume 96 | Issue 18 | Free in single copy | April 19, 2013Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505 | Est. 1924

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The Oracle will return, in print and online, Sept. 13

Oldham proposes pedestrian campusBy SARAH REESEBeat Reporter

Null

Jake Threet

Students gather in groups to study for fi nals as graduation approaches.The May 11 morning ceremony will take place at 9:30 a.m., and the after-noon ceremony will take place at 2 p.m., both at the Hooper Eblen Center.

Kappa Sigma brother arrested for failed arson attempt

By CASEY WOODARDBeat Reporter

By MATTHEW HILLBeat Reporter

Blake Pierce

Students Chelsea Mofi eld, Grace Garcia and Rachel Barner study on the Main Quad Tuesday. More green space could be coming if President Phil Oldham’s Flight Plan moves forward.

See “Arson,” page 2

Graduation numbers increase by almost 9 percent for spring ceremonies

Harwell

Oakley

Page 2 | April 19, 2013 tntechoracle.com

NEWS

techtech@eventsevents

April

tntech.edu/calendar

CRIME BRIEFS:

For up-to-date crime information, visit tntechoracle.com

21All DaySenior Painting Thesis, Tommy Jenkins’ “Free Style” Exhibition opens.Bryan Fine Arts Building Lobby

3 p.m. Bryan Symphony Orchestra in ConcertWattenbarger Auditorium, Bryan Fine Arts Building

- Not Available - Not Available Classifi cation: Destruction/Damage/Vandalism Location: South Hall Disposition: Open Case. Notes: Shattered Window

- Apr. 15 - 1:00 Classifi cation: False Pretenses/Swindle/Con Location: Other (Facebook) Disposition: Open Case. Notes: Subject thought he had bought electronics from Facebook, but after sending money, the seller did not send the items.

- Apr. 12 - 4:30 Classifi cation: Burglary/Breaking and Entering Location: Hooper Eblen Center (Offi ce) Disposition: Open Case. Notes: None.

- Apr. 13 - 12:36 Classifi cation: Aggravated Assault Location: RUC (West Side/Outside) Disposition: Open Case. Notes: 2 people wallking were hit by water balloons thrown from a White BMW.

- Apr. 12 - 10:53 Classifi cation: Disorderly Conduct Location: Henderson Hall (Front entrance) Disposition: Closed. Referred to Dean of Students Notes: None.

- Mar. 1 - Not Available Classifi cation: Intimidation Location: Derryberry Hall (Offi ce) Disposition: Closed. No Further Action. Notes: Suspect is not a student and violated the criminal trespass law on state property.

- Apr. 4 - 11:35 Classifi cation: Liquor Law Violation Location: New Hall North (Hallway) Disposition: Closed. Referred to Dean of Students Notes: Res Life Report. Tech Police not called.

196 p.m. - 8 p.m. Spring Kite Fling with Kite Specialist Glenn Davison STEM Center

7:30 p.m.TTU Symphony Band and Concert Band in Concert Wattenbarger Auditorium, Bryan Fine Arts Building

8 p.m.“Marat/Sade” by Peter WeissBackdoor Playhouse, Jere Whit-son Building

2012 p.m. - 9 p.m.Spring Awakening Music & Arts FestivalSherlock Park

2 p.m.“Marat/Sade” by Peter WeissBackdoor Playhouse, Jere Whit-son Building

8 p.m.“Marat/Sade” by Peter WeissBackdoor Playhouse, Jere Whit-son Building

9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.Arrowmont School of Arrts and Crafts Artist in Residence ExchangeAppalachian Center for Craft, Smithville, TNSGA executives run unopposed

Student Government Association execu-tive council candidates ran unopposed in the April 11 elections, making the elections unusu-ally non-competitive compared to other uni-versities.

“I think that no one [running] against us is just kind of a show of solidarity from the sen-ate,” Clay Stubblefi eld, Tech’s new SGA presi-dent, said. “You [need] a year of experience to run for the executive positions. So I think they just really supported us running.”

Austin Peay State University, the Uni-versity of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s student government elections all involve competitive campaigns and are prominent on campus.

“We had two debates for all members run-ning for executive council, candidates sent out campaign fl yers, it’s really competitive,” Jawaun Rogers, Austin Peay SGA chief justice, said. “The elections really make an impact on the campus.”

The UT-Knoxville elections are a week-long event in which candidates give out T-shirts, live televised debates are held, live tweeting during the debate occurs and there are opportunities for students to meet the can-didates.

At UT-Knoxville, 24.8 percent of the stu-

dent body vote for student government candi-dates. More than 130 senators run to represent their colleges, and only 70 get elected. The can-didates get to use a $7,000 budget, which the school provides, to spend on their campaigns.

“At senate meetings, we propose bills and convey information about campus news, the elections, SOLO concerts, etc.,” Emily Mc-Donald, Tech’s SGA vice president, said. “It is the senators’ jobs to relay that information to students in their prospective college. Stu-dents had the opportunity to become aware of the SGA election process through the sena-tors, Tech Times, Facebook, Twitter, etc. A goal I have for this coming year is to promote and improve communication between the senators and the students.”

Tech’s SGA election rules allow candidates to hang one banner in the RUC, chalk side-walks, make buttons, make Facebook pages, etc., but since all the candidates this semester ran unopposed, there was little to no cam-paigning and little attention drawn to the elec-tions.

“We want to get students more involved and try to get people more knowledgeable in what SGA is doing,” Stubblefi eld said. “I’d like to think of a way to maybe have forums where students can come and meet their senators and tell them something. We are defi nitely looking into that. We thought about having a page on the SGA website where they can post questions and see if we can help them.”

By ALLISON MILLSBeat Reporter

ALL SMILES AT RELAY FOR LIFECancer survivors kick off the fi rst lap around the Main Quad at Re-lay For Life held last Friday. The event was held to help promote cancer awareness and raise funds to fi nd a cure.

“Each person is impacted by cancer, and we never realize how many people are impacted and how evil it is.” - Caitlin Harrison

Brittany Stovall

Facebook is testing a new feature in the United King-dom that gives users the op-tion to pay to send messages to celebrities.

For a maximum price of £10.68, or $16.32, you can send messages to any celebri-ty on Facebook. The price var-ies from person to person. For example, messaging Snoop Lion would cost £10.08, or $15.40.

“I feel like that it wouldn’t actually get to the celebri-ties,” Brandon Smith, senior biology major, said. “So many

people would be doing it for people like Justin Bieber that there is no way that kid could read them all. Even with the less popular celebrities, how are you going to be sure that they read it? It seems like a rip off to me. I wouldn’t use it.”

Facebook said the system they have in place of pay-ing to message non-friends is designed to prevent spam. However, sometimes people benefi t from hearing outside their immediate social circle.

“We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance,” Facebook an-

nounced. “Part of that test involves charging higher amounts for public fi gures, based on the number of fol-lowers they have.”

An algorithm that takes into account the number of followers someone has and the number of messages be-ing sent determines the cost. It will be payable by credit or debit cards online. The re-quired age for this service is 18.

The system was intro-duced to only 10 percent of Facebook users in Britain at the end of March with the plans of introducing it to the rest of the country soon.

Facebook allows UK users to chat with celebrities By ARTHUR JACKSONBeat Reporter

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>> ARSONCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

According to Taye’s re-port, Tech Police were un-aware at this time that the occupants in the truck were involved in the attempted arson.

“We had to close the house down because it was getting late. Apparently Null got angry when some of the brothers kicked him out,” Andrew Farley, TKE president, said. “He had not been drinking at our house but showed up al-ready pretty drunk.”

The Ranger was lo-cated a short time later by Tech Police, and all the oc-cupants were read their

Miranda rights by Offi cer Chris Melton.

According to the report, the driver of the Ranger, Seth Wofford, and pas-senger, Clay Walters, were interviewed separately by police.

Both stated that Null was with them and put the fl aming paper in the gas lid as retaliation for the alterca-tion. Walters stated that he tried to talk Null out of it, but Null insisted on doing some damage, according to the report.

Null was “extremely intoxicated and very unco-operative,” asking for an attorney, according to the report.

2311 a.m.TAB Journal Book handoutRUC Lobby

254 p.m.Mascot TryoutsFitness Center West Gym

246 p.m.Baseball vs Alabama A&M

266 p.m.Baseball vs Murray State University

HAVE NOT USED MARIJUANA

HAVE NEVER USED MARIJUANA

IN THE PAST 30 DAYS

TTU: A Constituent University of the Tennessee Board of Regents/066-162-11/An EEO/AA/Title IX/Section 504/ADA University

D A T A T A K E N F R O M A 2 0 1 0 C O R E S U R V E Y O F 2 3 8 T E N N E S S E E T E C H S T U D E N T S .

%

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OF TTU STUDENTS

OF TTU STUDENTS

Think you know what is normal about college drug use?

The 2013 Boston Mara-thon runners had a love for running and a goal to fi nish the race. They did not ex-pect to make history. They ran for the sheer adrenaline rush, for the ones who can no longer run, for the ones they love.

Monday, April 15, 2013, also known as Patriot’s Day, is another date to add to the history books for terrorism in America. Two bombs ex-ploded near the fi nish line shortly after the fi rst run-ners crossed the fi nish line at approximately 2:50 p.m. EST.

The Boston Marathon took place in honor of the Sandy Hook shootings: 26 miles for 26 lives. Little did they all know, three more

lives would be lost and more than 150 added to the wounded list.

Many would say this was a cowardice act and wish the same type of trag-edy on the guilty. I happen to agree. Would that actu-ally be of any help? I real-ize it would not, so instead I turn to something different: compassion.

The victims need prayer. I want to lend a hand to anyone in pain so much that it hurts when I cannot. If I could go, I would, but I know I would be in the way. The best thing I can do is pray.

The challenge I propose to all of us is to pray every day for the victims. Pray for the doctors to have wisdom

as they treat the victims. Pray for the three families who lost their loved ones.

Simply pray.No words can wipe

away the nightmares the victims experienced. No amount of hugs can make the images of carnage dis-appear.

Many people will ques-tion why God didn’t protect those runners or the inno-cent bystanders. I only have one answer. When God gave the earth to Adam, in Genesis, he gave it to him to guard and protect. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it opened their eyes to the knowledge of evil. Because of sin 9/11, the Oklahoma City bomb-ings, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Columbine and many other tragedies occured.

According to Ephesians 6:12, our battle is against the spiritual forces of evil, not fl esh and blood. Whatever we do, we can’t blame any-

one for what has happened, let alone people who only look like the ones we want to blame.

The blame game only hurts us. We have to fi nd a way to help. This is why I issued this challenge to pray.

We have to stop wor-rying about who did it and just pray. It is the only way we as a people will fi nd any semblance of peace. Let the authorities take care of who, what, when and why. Pray.

Do this to honor the dead both in the marathon and Sandy Hook. Dedicate your day to praying for the families of this nation who have lost loved ones to hei-nous acts of terror, includ-ing the men and women who died to give us the right to pray openly. Then don’t just stop with one day; make it a habit. This is the only way America as a whole will begin to heal.

I must admit that read-ing the last batch of opinions by Sarah Dingwall has disap-pointed me.

It seems that the standards of The Oracle have fallen in re-cent years, and Dingwall’s ar-ticles are the perfect example. Rife with errors in grammar, punctuation, usage and gener-ally poor style, these articles leave me puzzled as to why they were ever published. If the Assistant Opinion Editor’s writing is not up to par (it’s not, frankly speaking), where are the copy editors? “Journalism” of this caliber refl ects poorly on everyone as-sociated with the University, not just Dingwall and the copy editors.

In addition, Dingwall’s most recently published ar-ticle (Reshaping a country: Why gay rights matter) was very poorly written, fi lled with errors of both fact and logic and a generally offen-sive piece of “writing” to see published. One of the most offensive errors was invoking

the Separation of Church andState.

Her position is actually ad-vocating the joining of Church and State, despite her claims.As marriage currently works,it is a religious ceremony thatis unifi ed with a State proce-dure (most people are alreadyfamiliar with the phrase “By the power vested in me by the State of ________, I now pro-nounce you man and wife,”which is commonly recited atmarriages across the nation).If Dingwall really believes inthe Separation of Church andState; which would be a hardbelief to defend given her past theocratically-leaning articles,she would be advocating that NO United States citizens be allowed to be married, at leastby the state. I sincerely askyour staff to take a very closelook at all future publications.Errors of this nature shouldnot make it to print.

They’re offensive and inplain language - just wrong.

Page 4 | April 19, 2013 tntechoracle.com

OPINION

Est. 1924. Weekly. Student Operated. Award-winning.Est. 1924. Weekly. Student Operated. Award-winning.Tennessee Tech UniversityTennessee Tech University

TTU Box 5072TTU Box 5072Cookeville, TN 38505Cookeville, TN 38505

WILLIAM HOUSLEYWILLIAM HOUSLEYEditor-in-ChiefEditor-in-ChiefDRAKE FENLONDRAKE FENLONManaging EditorManaging EditorBRIDGETTE BUCHANANBRIDGETTE BUCHANANBusiness ManagerBusiness ManagerKRISTINA DYESSKRISTINA DYESSSales AssistantSales AssistantJACQUELINE ATKIELSKIJACQUELINE ATKIELSKISales AssistantSales AssistantSUZI VAUGHNSUZI VAUGHNCopy EditorCopy EditorKRISTY HARDINKRISTY HARDINOpinion EditorOpinion EditorSARAH DINGWALLSARAH DINGWALLAsst. Opinion EditorAsst. Opinion Editor

JAMAL FERGUSONJAMAL FERGUSONSports EditorSports EditorDREW HASTONDREW HASTONAsst. Sports EditorAsst. Sports EditorJACOB THREETJACOB THREETEntertainment EditorEntertainment EditorLINDSEY GORELINDSEY GOREEntertainment CriticEntertainment CriticHANNAH BENJAMINHANNAH BENJAMINEntertainment CriticEntertainment CriticMELISSA EDWARDSMELISSA EDWARDSWeb EditorWeb EditorWILLIAM SHECKLERWILLIAM SHECKLERCirculation ManagerCirculation ManagerHOLLY COWARTHOLLY COWARTFaculty AdviserFaculty Adviser

BEAT REPORTERS:BEAT REPORTERS: ALYSSA ADKISSON, ROSEMARY APPLE, SHELBEY ASHBURN, JACQUELINE ATKIELSKI, JORDAIN BLAIR, LINDSAY BLAKELY, CHARLI BRAY,

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HASTON, MATTHEW HILL, BISKIE HOLMAN, EMILY HOMAN, ARTHUR JACKSON, JORDAN KERLEY, RACHEL KERR, ELISSA LONGFELLOW, LAUREN LUCKHART, BRITTANY

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The Oracle encourages The Oracle encourages readers to write letters readers to write letters and commentaries on and commentaries on topics of interest. A few topics of interest. A few guidelines:guidelines:

1. Letters should not 1. Letters should not exceed 300 words. exceed 300 words. Commentaries should Commentaries should

be around 500 words and be around 500 words and include a picture.include a picture.

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3. For verifi cation, letters 3. For verifi cation, letters and commentaries MUST and commentaries MUST include your name, e-mail include your name, e-mail address, home town and address, home town and classifi cation or title.classifi cation or title.

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Media misinforms about MS

26 miles for 26 lives: The terror at the Boston Marathon LETTER TO THE EDITORConcerned alumnus

Send letters to the editor to oracle@tntech.edu. Include your Send letters to the editor to oracle@tntech.edu. Include yourname, email address and limit letters to 300 words. Anonymous name, email address and limit letters to 300 words. Anonymousletters are not accepted. Deadline for letters is 4 p.m. Tuesday. letters are not accepted. Deadline for letters is 4 p.m. Tuesday.We reserve the right to edit grammar, length and clarity.We reserve the right to edit grammar, length and clarity.

KRISTY HARDIN

Opinion Editor

The recent death of “America’s girl next door” Annette Funicello both sad-dened and angered me. As a fan of Annette’s beach blanket movies, saying goodbye to such an iconic piece of Americana and my own childhood was heart-breaking. As a fellow mul-tiple sclerosis patient, I was angered by the misinforma-tion put out by the media regarding the correlation between Funicello’s death and MS.

“Mouseketeer Annette Funicello dies from multi-ple sclerosis” read the head-line of a Catholic.org article.

While Funicello is now deceased, the claim that her illness caused her death is simply not true. When asked for his professional opinion on Funicello’s dis-ease and whether or not it contributed to her death, Dr. Harold Moses, Jr., who did his residency at the famed Mayo Clinic and is now Vanderbilt University’s assistant professor of Neurology, said, “I think she likely had primary pro-gressive MS She also likely did not die from MS but from complications most

likely related to infection.”It is important to note

that while, as Moses pre-dicts, Funicello likely had primary progressive MS, that is only one of the two main types of MS. Primary progressive MS steadily worsens after a person is diagnosed, and it only af-fects 10 to 15 percent of MS patients. The other 85 to 90 percent of MS patients have what is called relapsing-remitting MS. With RRMS, a person has periodic at-tacks of symptoms, or re-lapses, followed by partial or complete recovery, or remissions.

Many turn to the media for their education about the disease. Sharon Osbourne became an ambassador for MS when her son Jack was diagnosed with it last year. Her status as talk show host, and wife of rock music leg-end Ozzy Osbourne hardly gives Sharon the credibility to speak on medical matters.

It’s understandable to be frightened when your child is diagnosed with a disease you can’t under-stand or predict, but car-rying on as if it’s a death sentence is ridiculous, espe-

cially since, as the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation re-ports, “MS is neither conta-gious, nor fatal. People with MS have a life expectancy that is not really any differ-ent from the general popu-lation. The leading causes of death in the MS com-munity are heart disease, cancer and stroke. MS tends to affect quality of life, not quantity of life. There are unusual variants of MS that can be very aggressive and potentially shorten life, but these are not the norm.”

While MS can cause such symptoms as fatigue, weakness, spasticity, bal-ance problems, bladder and bowel problems, numbness, vision loss, tremors and vertigo, it’s important to note that not all symptoms affect all MS patients, and

symptoms and signs may be persistent or may cease from time to time. It’s also important to note that Funicello lived for 25 years post-diagnosis.

Since being diagnosed in 2009, I’ve noticed a few twinges of numbness, and I’m not as nimble as I used to be. But neither issue kept me from joining others and walking fi ve miles April 13 to raise awareness for my disease. Through having MS, I’ve learned to more carefully monitor my diet, reduce my stress level, stay hydrated and get plenty of rest. Doing these things not only decrease my likelihood for MS fl are-ups, they make me happier and healthier in general, which is something we all should strive to be, disease-stricken or not.

Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon co-starred in many “beach party” movies in the ‘60s.

Courtesy of USA Today

• Multiple sclerosis is a potentially debilitating disease in which your body’s immune system eats away at the protective sheath, myelin that covers your nerves. Myelin can be compared to the insulation on electrical wires. Damage to myelin causes interference in the communica-tion among your brain, spinal cord and other areas of your body. This condition may result in deterioration of the nerves themselves, which is irreversible.

• Symptoms vary widely, depending on the amount of damage and the nerves that are af-fected. People with severe cases of multiple sclerosis may lose the ability to walk or speak clearly. Multiple sclerosis can be diffi cult to di-agnose early in the course of the disease be-cause symptoms often come and go—some-times disappearing for months.

• Multiple sclerosis has no cure. However, treat-ments may help treat MS attacks, manage symptoms and reduce progress of the disease.

Photo courtesy of medicinenet.comThis chart shows how and where MS symptoms affect a patient’s body.

MS: JUST THE FACTS

Tech football will host its annual spring game tomorrow at 1 p.m. and wrap up its spring practice with an additional week of practice before putting away equipment until the fall.

There was noticeable improvement in a lot of players from week one to week two of prac-tice, Head Coach Watson Brown said.

“I’m watching individuals more than I am team stuff in the spring,” Brown said. “I feel like a lot got better from week one through the scrimmage in week two.”

The football team held an inter-squad scrim-mage last Saturday after completing its fi rst week of practice in full pads.

Brown noted that the offense performed well during the fi rst scrimmage. There was only one fumble, and both squads were able to move the ball consistently.

“[We] run a lot of plays and eat a lot of clock - that’s what we like to do,” Brown said.

Brown felt that the defense needed to im-prove up front against the run but was encour-aged that the younger players, throughout the defense, were getting reps and making plays during the scrimmage.

The Golden Eagles’ defensive secondary

has limped through the spring due to injuries. The team does not have many of its projected starters and key players practicing, but Brown hopes that when they return they will lead the defense.

One player Brown hopes will contribute the rest of the spring and into next season is rising junior James Huguely. Brown said that Hu-guely has the potential to be an all-OVC cor-nerback for the Golden Eagles.

“James came on late last year then had a concussion and missed the last three games,” Brown said. “He is really good this spring.”

Another upperclassman Brown is hopeful to have back at the beginning of the season is two-year starting senior safety Marty Jones, who was injured in the second game of last season. Jones had been a key player for the de-fense the previous two full years, seeing action in every game. Jones also racked up 15 tackles in the two games he played during the 2012 season.

The defense has returned Malcolm Mitchell, Lamar Moore and Jordan Johnson up front and is looking to them to be an infl uence in the fall.

“I think we have a shot at winning [the OVC championship] again,” Brown said. “Person-ally I thought we did last year.”

On the other side of the ball, the team’s of-

fense is hoping to put up big numbers this fall.“The offense we’ve got this year might be

better than the last two,” Brown said. “We’re real deep at running back. We could play four guys there.”

The slot receiver position also looks quite stout with returning rising junior Cody Mat-thews. He was the team’s second-leading receiver a season ago in many categories, in-cluding total receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Ladarius Vanlier is also back and looking to light up the second-ary from the slot. Senior Zack Ziegler is out for spring practice, but he will be back for the fall.

The battle for starting quarterback is closed for the time being. Brown was happy with the performance of rising junior Darian Stone and has named him the starter.

“Darian Stone has stepped up right now, today, as our starting QB,” said Brown. “He’s done a really good job.”

You can see the Golden Eagles in action dur-ing the annual Purple/Gold Spring Scrim-mage tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Tucker Stadium. After that will be a few more spring practices, then a long wait until the 2013 season home opener against Cumberland University Aug. 29.

The Tech softball team went 3-2 this past week with wins over conference rivals Belmont University and Austin Peay State Uni-versity.

The Golden Eagles host-ed the Bruins last week-end and played a make-up doubleheader against the Governors Tuesday.

Senior pitcher Claudia Harke got the win Sunday, which allowed Tech to take the series after a loss and a win the previous day.

“We bounced back in its second game and really hit the ball well and played smart defense,” Harke said. “We came back as a completely different team.”

Belmont was successful in their rally against Tech in the fi rst game winning 4-1, but the Golden Eagles held down a comeback from the newest members of the conference 3-2 in the second game.

Tech decided the series Sunday with a 7-4 victory over Belmont, shutting down the Bruins’ offense from scoring another run after the second inning.

Junior centerfi elder Christian Gibbs helped spark the Golden Eagle hitting after being down 4-0 early in the game.

“We knew we needed to forget about the runs scored and just focus on own hitting and make ev-ery at-bat count,” Gibbs said.

The team rallied in the bottom of the second in-ning, scoring four runs and tying the game. The scoring continued for the Golden Eagles through the third with two more runs

and capped the game off with another run in the sixth.

The team returned to the fi eld Tuesday with make-up games against Austin Peay. The Golden Eagles split the doubleheader with a loss in the fi rst game 7-4 and a shutout win in the second game 7-0.

“I think it helped hav-ing mid-week games be-cause we were able to play gamelike situations that haven’t come up in the past,” Gibbs said.

Tech will continue Ohio Valley Conference action this upcoming weekend. The Golden Eagles will take on the top two teams in the conference. Satur-day, the Purple and Gold face Southern Illinois Uni-versity Edwardsville, fol-lowed by a trip to Charles-ton, Ill. to take on the top seed in the West, Eastern Illinois University.

“We need to get wins this weekend and focus

on really coming together especially before the tour-nament,” Gibbs said. “This weekend is going to be crucial.”

Both Harke and Gibbs expressed how important it’s going to be for the Golden Eagles to become

closer as a team. “We want to make every

at-bat count and not give up errors on defense,” Harke said. “With being on the road we become closer as a team, so hope-fully that can transfer over to the games.”

The feeling I’ve gotten from those around campus is people are surprised the Tech baseball team beat the No. 2 Vanderbilt Univer-sity Commodores Tuesday night.

They couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The Golden Eagles have a very talented and experienced team. They returned fi ve players from last season who hit .300 or better.

They have had good pitching this season with a team earned run average of 4.65.

Most importantly, they believe.After spendiang time with Head

Coach Matt Bragga this season, he fully believes his team can go toe-to-toe with anybody in the coun-try. The fact is, they can.

This team has shown what they can do when they piece together good baseball, like when they ripped off on a 14-game winning streak in the fi rst half of the sea-son.

Baseball is a game of ups and downs. There are parts of the sea-son where you are hot and parts where you are cold. It’s just the nature of the game.

This baseball team was hot at one point in the season and has cooled off a little, going 6-4 since the 14-game winning streak.

The good thing for the team is that they are heating up again.

They are heading into this week-end’s conference matchup against Jacksonville State University on

a four game winning streak, and that is good news for the Golden Eagles.

Tech will have 12 conference games in their last 17 matchups, with the last series of the season against conference newcomer and Ohio Valley Conference leader Belmont University.

The Golden Eagles currently sit one game back in the loss column to Belmont with a 15-3 record in conference, compared to Bel-mont’s 13-2.

If the Golden Eagles can get hot, it would be perfect timing.

With the OVC tournament com-ing up, Tech could roll right into the NCAA tournament.

I can’t say for sure if the Golden Eagles need to win the OVC tour-nament to make it to the NCAA tourney. They do have the big win against Vanderbilt, won two out of three against Illinois University and two out of three against Aus-tin Peay State University.

The downside is that they were swept in the season series against

an average Middle Tennessee State University team,and didn’t get to play a full series against Michigan State University. Tech lost the only game that was played against MSU.

That’s why the upcoming games are so important for Tech.

They have a chance to make up for the early season loss to Lip-scomb University They will get to improve their already impressive conference record, and they will close the season against current OVC leader Belmont.

This Tech team has proven that it can play good baseball and play with anybody.

If they can continue to play good consistently, I fully believe that they can make a run in the NCAA tournament.

I think this team can make it out of the regional and into the super-regional. At that point, they are just two wins away from Omaha, and two wins against good com-petition isn’t impossible for this ballclub.

Tech’s men’s golf teamended its regular season sched-ule with a fi fth place fi nish atthe Big Blue Intercollegiate,hosted by Tennessee State Uni-versity April 15 and 16.

The fi fth place fi nish wastheir best score of the springsemester, and Head CoachPolk Brown thinks that histeam could be getting hot at the right time as they preparefor the conference tournament.

“We’re playing some reallygood golf as we’re heading intothe conference tournament,and that’s really encouraging,”Brown said. “This gives us alot of good, positive momen-tum going into next week, andI’m looking forward to seeingwhat we can do.”

The underclassmen on theteam continued their strong spring at the Big Blue Intercol-legiate, where sophomore LeeWhitehead fi nished ninth andfreshman Bryce Kendrick fi n-ished 15th out of the 93 golfersin the tournament.

All of Tech’s golfers in thetournament fi nished in the top30 of the 93 players.

Freshman Adam Cunning-ham fi nished 21st, senior LeeMaxwell 27th and freshmanMitch Thomas 30th.

The Big Blue Intercollegiatewas the fi nal regular seasontournament for Maxwell andGreg Kitts. However, Brownsaid they are class acts, greatkids and a great example to theyounger players on and off thecourse.

“Lee and Greg have rubbedoff on these younger guys andhave shown them the ropes and how to handle themselves in acollege tournament,” Brownsaid. “The younger playershave learned this and are play-ing good golf now. Our ticketto get to the regional from hereis winning the conference tour-nament.”

The conference tournamentfor men’s golf will be hostedby Morehead State UniversityApril 25-27.

Page 5 | April 19, 2013tntechoracle.com

SPORTS

By CALLEN HARRELLBeat Reporter

By JAMAL FERGUSONSports Editor

Softball wins big against APSU, Belmont

IN BETWEENINNINGS

with DREW HASTON

Asst. Sports Editor

Tech baseball believes in its capability

By EMILY HOMANBeat Reporter

Football fi nishes up spring practice with scrimmage Men’s golf ties season’s best finish at Big Blue Intercollegiate

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tntechoracle.comPage 6 | April 19, 2013

ENTERTAINMENT

Hannah’s happenings in Cookeville

By JAKE THREETEntertainment EditorBy LINDSEY GORE

Entertainment Critic

‘

‘42’: No foul ball for audiences

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in “The Great Gatsby,” based on the best-selling novel.

Summer is full of action, comedy at the movies

Courtesy of The Week

By HANNAH BENJAMINEntertainment Critic

Thank you, Tennessee Tech, for hosting

Maggie Wilderotter

2013 is shaping up and becoming a great year at the movies. This summer is jam packed with must-see movies. As an avid moviegoer, I am ecstatic to see what will happen at the movies this summer.“Iron Man 3”

Set after the events that occurred in “The Avengers,” Tony Stark faces a powerful enemy: the Mandarin. Based on the trailer, we are in for a darker and less humorous “Iron Man.” It looks to be as intense of a movie we have seen from Marvel yet. I expect Ben Kingsley to deliver an outstanding performance as the fi lm’s villain. “Iron Man 3” hits theaters starting Wednesday, May 1.“The Great Gatsby”

Based on the hit novel of the same name, the movie fi nds a Midwestern war veteran Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) discovering himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). The trailer makes this fi lm look incredibly promising, and I hope it does not disappoint. “The Great Gatsby” is set to be released Friday, May 10.“Fast and Furious 6”

I have loved this series from the very beginning, and I can even forgive the “Tokyo Drift” sequel. The trailer makes this fi lm look more action-packed than past fi lms. “Fast and Furious 6” crashes into theaters Friday, May 24.“The Hangover 3”

I have been waiting for this movie since the second sequel’s hot mess of a release. It’s no secret that the second was not as good as the fi rst. Allegedly this one is supposed to be like the fi rst, and based on the trailer, I’m buying into those rumors. “The Hangover 3” opens Friday, May 24.“Man of Steel”

If there is one fi lm that has me the most excited, it is this one. Ever since seeing the teaser for it last year I have been anxiously waiting. The full length trailer was not a disappointment, and this reboot of the “Superman”

series looks very promising to become a hit series. “Man of Steel” fl ies into theaters Friday, June 14.“Monsters University”

If you were kid when “Monsters, Inc.” came out, then you are excited for this long-awaited sequel. Technically it’s a prequel, but whatever, this movie is happening, and I am a happy guy. “Monsters University” jumps into theaters Friday, June 21.“The Heat”

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in a movie together as police partners just seems like the perfect comedy movie of the summer. I love both actresses dearly, and I’m really hopeful this movie will deliver the belly laughs. If it doesn’t, I will still love it. “The Heat” arrives in theaters Friday, June 28.“White House Down”

While on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman (Channing Tatum) springs into action to save his child and protect the president (Jamie Foxx) from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders. Viewing the trailer, the fi lm resembles “Olympus Has Fallen” which came out earlier this year. The fi lm looks to be as action-packed as “Olympus,” and Tatum looks to be the driving force behind all of the action. “White House Down” blasts into theaters Friday, June 28.“The Lone Ranger”

The classic tale of Tonto

and John Reid comes to thebig screen in this highlyanticipated release. Tonto(Johnny Depp) recounts theuntold tales that transformedJohn Reid (Armie Hammer),a man of the law, into alegend of justice. Its looksto be a great action-packedmovie with Western ties.“The Lone Ranger” rides intotheaters Wednesday, July 3.“Grown Ups 2”

The hilarious cast fromthe original “Grown Ups” isback for a whole new movieof laughs. Everybody is back,minus Rob Schneider, andbased on the fi rst trailer thereare plenty of laughs still tobe had. The gang all getstogether after Larry (AdamSandler) moves his familyback to his hometown.“Grown Ups 2” arrives intheaters Friday, July 12.“RED 2”

This is an awaited sequelto come out as well. Theoriginal “RED” was oneof my favorite movies of2010. The cast of old-timerassassins is just the rightblend of badass and funny. Ifthe trailer is any indication,moviegoers will be just assatisfi ed the second timearound as the fi rst. “RED 2”will be released Friday, July19.

There are more fi lms thatdid not make my must seelist. Sorry Star Trekkies, butthere are plenty of fi lms to seethis summer at the movies.

All trailers and fi lmdescriptions can be foundon fandango.com orcomingsoon.net.

The Backdoor Playhouse will be performing “The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of The Marquis de Sade” by Peter Weiss, or “Marat/Sade” for those who would like to refer to the show without taking three years.

This production,

directed by Mark Creter, is literally insane and features insane asylum inmates putting on their own production about the French Revolution.

“Marat/Sade” is free to Tech students, $12 general admission, $10 for seniors, and $5 for non-Tech students. There are only three more opportunities to see the show, being tonight at 8 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tech Activities Board, which we know and love for their free stuff and

Late Night Tech Nights, will be hosting the Spring Awakening Festival tomorrow at Sherlock Park with the assistance of Res Life Villages and SEAC, the Student Environmental Action Coalition. The Dirty Guv’nahs will be performing along with James Wallace and the Naked Light and Kory Wheeler and friends. The festival will take place from noon to 9 p.m. and will feature local food and artists. This event is also absolutely free!

“42” is a beautiful and heartbreaking look at a baseball icon’s journey to shatter racial stereotypes and forever change baseball.

“42” tells the story of Jackie Robinson, the fi rst African American baseball player to play in Major League Baseball. General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) breaks the MLB color line by signing Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team in 1946, when prejudice was a prominent issue.

Signing Robinson stirs up controversy and trouble for Robinson and Rickey, which forces both to turn the other cheek and exercise

an honorable amount of restraint.

From a historical perspective, “42” has a vast majority of even the tiniest details down pat. The clothing, cars and overall story prove to be historically accurate. The fi lm works to portray Robinson’s impact on MLB history in an equally accurate and appropriate light.

“42” gives a look into the prejudices and injustices that were prevalent during that time. Boseman and Ford portray their characters almost fl awlessly. Boseman not only looks the part but acts the part of Robinson.

Boseman looks arguably as close to Robinson as possible, and Ford’s abrasive-but-soft representation of Rickey holds true to Rickey’s

reputation. Supporting characters offer a solid background, with Lucas Black, Christopher Meloni and Hamish Linklater playing supporting roles.

“42” is both an inspiring tale of working to overcome injustices and a heartbreaking story of the evils of the world. The fi lm proves to be fi lled with many moments of triumph that often outweigh the heavyhearted scenes.

“42” puts a much deserved spotlight on Robinson and all those involved in supporting him and their work in breaking the infamous MLB color barrier in a heroic look at history.

“42” is rated PG-13 for thematic elements including language.

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