A Tech student and FIJI frater- nity mem- ber was ar- rested by Cookeville City Po- lice on em- bezzlement charges at a sporting goods store in Cookev- ille on Sept. 23, according to a Cookeville Police report. The report filed by Officer Justin Long said Hunter Nelson Crouch, 19, of East 10th Street, was arrested at Dunham Sports on West Jackson Street for al- legedly stealing $4,000 worth of merchandise from the store. Officer Long responded to a call at approximately 2:22 p.m., where Melissa Leopold, the store manager, reported that Crouch and “some of his friends” had been caught steal- ing items from the store. Crouch works as a cashier at Dunham Sports, where he al- lowed nine other individuals to pass through the checkout line without requiring payment. Leopold told Long that Crouch’s friends would “pick out items in the store and bring them to Crouch’s checkout line,” where he pretended to scan items, but didn’t actually do so. “Mr. Crouch told me that all except for two of the suspects were fraternity brothers of the FIJI group,” Long’s report said. The stolen merchandise included golf clubs, golf balls, golf shoes, cleats, shirts, jackets, pants, shorts, socks and other clothing, a fishing rod and reel, shoes and duffel bags. Later, Crouch was booked at the Putnam County Jail, where bond was set at $10,000. He has an Oct. 17 General Ses- sions Court date. The names of the nine other individuals allegedly involved haven’t been released by CPD. Tony Marable, faculty ad- viser to Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) and Melissa Leopold, Dunham Sports store manger, declined to comment on the incident. Crouch is from Nashville, Tenn. and a nursing major at Tech. THE O O RACLE Volume 95 | Issue 4 | Free in single copy | October 7, 2011 Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505 See “Weapons” page 6 More stories and exclusive content at tntechoracle.com The Oracle will return, in print and online, Oct. 28 FLU SHOT PRICE COMPARISON | PAGE 2 GOLDEN EAGLES LAND RANKING | PAGE 4 MOVIE REVIEW: 50/50 | PAGE 5 FRIDAY CONTACT: news - 931.372.3285 - [email protected] | advertising - 931.372.3031 - [email protected]84/49 °F SATURDAY 81/46 °F TNTECHORACLE.COM FACEBOOK.COM/TNTECHORACLE @TNTECHORACLE SUNDAY 80/51 °F MONDAY 79/54 °F TUESDAY 75/57 °F WEDNESDAY 76/52 °F Parking garage in the works By SAMANTHA KENDALL Staff Writer A long-rumored parking ga- rage will be built according to Tech’s Master Plan. Building the STEM center dis- placed approximately 286 parking spaces and greening of the Capitol Quad courtyard will remove 142 additional spaces, according to the master plan used by the Facilities and Business Services. To compensate for the lost spaces, the garage is projected to be three-stories tall and will provide approximately 720 parking spaces. It will also have the potential to be expanded to the north and west and add an additional floor, allow- ing nearly 1,100 parking spots, ac- cording to the master plan. “It will probably be open park- ing with permit,” Jack Butler as- sociate vice president of Facilities and Business Services, said. “I think this is an awesome idea,” Danielle Hennig, junior nursing student, said. “It will be very good for Tech to have more parking on campus for commut- ers and students living on campus. I think this will also help with the reduction of class tardiness and, in some cases, absences because of Eight Phi Gamma Delta brothers allegedly involved in theft ring By WILL HOUSLEY Managing Editor Weapons charges prompt policy review By JULIE GRAHAM Staff Writer A recent inci- dent has ad- minis- trators look- ing at weap- o n s laws and trying to protect the safety of students on campus. Two weeks ago, Rob- ert Erik Haggard, 19, was arrested for the possession of weapons on campus. According to the po- lice report, Officer Jef- frey Bulakowski and Sgt. Sandy Thompson were patrolling the north paved lot of Jobe Hall when they noticed suspicious activity at a parked truck. Officers approached two male subjects stand- ing around a truck. Inside the truck, officers found a loaded revolver, a shot- gun, and several knives. The truck was later identi- fied as Haggard’s. Police arrested Hag- gard and transported him to Putnam County Jail where he was booked. “I cannot comment if the student is still on campus, but I can say that in situations in the past, the student was removed from the University,” Ed Boucher, dean of students, said. The student hand- book states that weapons are not allowed on prop- erty owned or operated by Tech. State law prescribes a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment and a fine not to exceed $3,000 for having weapons on school property. Viola- tion of this law is a felony. Even individuals with handgun permits may not bring handguns on prop- erty owned or operated by Tech. “When a situation like this happens, I have to meet with my behavioral and intervention team for quick action,” Boucher said. The behavioral and intervention team meets every Thursday to discuss student safety on campus. The team is made up of the dean of students, the director of Residential Life, the chief of Univer- sity Police, the director of the Counseling Center, and Disabilities Services. University Advancement The proposed parking garage will be lo- cated directly behind the STEM Center. Crouch Haggard By SAMANTHA KENDALL Staff Writer Every year, a few pedes- trians are hit on Dixie Avenue by passing cars because of distractions and ignorance. With only six crosswalks from William L. Jones Drive to 12th Street, many students walk across the street outside of the crosswalks. Tech’s communications department was asked to raise awareness by President Bob Bell’s office. To do so, the department put together a video titled “How to Cross the Street” and posted it on YouTube. This video is intentional- ly silly and the department is trying to get it shown around campus where students nor- mally spend time, according to Lori Shull, writer for News and Communications and the Office of Communications and Marketing. According to Shull, this Xtranormal video was up- loaded to YouTube Sept. 14. The video is monotone and is meant to be corny. “It’s always been a con- cern of ours, there’s always that fear,” Shull said. “Any- thing we can do to promote awareness and try to get stu- dents to look both ways, or not talk on their cell phone, not text on their cell phone while they’re crossing the street, we are certainly will- ing to do it and we are going to try. Shull said, “It’s going to Tech looks to increase pedestrian awareness be an ongoing effort.” According to Gay Shep- herd, chief of University Po- lice, speed has never been a factor on the driver’s part. The accident is normally the pedestrian’s fault. Pedestrian’s right- of- way in crosswalks law 55- 8-134 states that “no pedes- trian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.” “Pedestrians have to be- gin to take responsibility for their own actions,” Jack But- ler, associate vice president of Facilities and Business Services, said. “As students walk across, they need to follow the same basic prin- ciples that you would in any other city. “Walk across at pedes- trian walkways, pay atten- tion and look both ways before you walk across the street like your momma taught you when you were little, and follow standard protocol as a pedestrian.” According to Shepherd, if the accident is the pedes- trians fault, your tuition will not be paid for unless you have a good attorney, and the chances are still slim. Though Butler does not expect to see any major changes to the road, he is making efforts to have the city install an illuminated walk/don’t walk sign for Dixie Avenue. A car stops for Angi Sakamoto as she crosses Dixie Avenue. Brittany Ritzman not finding a parking spot. I wish they had started the plans 10 years ago, so we could benefit from it now.” The garage is planned to be built between the STEM center and the Upper Cumberland Regional Health Facility. Though still in the preliminary stage, the garage is expected to cost Tech $20,000 per space. According to Butler, the tem- porary gravel lot across the street from the Bryan Fine Arts Building was replaced with a permanent lot recently acquired at Prescott Mid- dle School. This new lot is planned to be expanded to allow 500 to 650 additional spaces, replacing the new rugby field. “Paving over a great, open field that is already in use by a club sport for a parking lot, that is still a several minute walk to the nearest academic building, doesn’t seem to make much sense,” Rugby Cap- tain, Brooks Robinson said. “And I know I speak for more than just myself when I say I would much rather see my tuition money go toward the maintenance of this recreational area than to a parking lot that would cover more perfect field space.” According to Butler, another new parking area will be built next to the Athletics’ Performance Cen- ter, adding 100-128 spaces. This lot is in the design stage and is expect- ed to be available sometime in the 2012 spring semester. By NICK ROLLINS Asst. Managing Editor Republican presiden- tial candidate Herman Cain, front-runner in the recent Florida straw poll, will make a campaign stop at Tech Oct. 15. Cain is scheduled to speak to students about his presidential campaign at Der- ryberry Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. This event is open to the public, and is free. Also on Oct. 15, there will also be a continental break- fast at 6:30 a.m. at the South- ern Hills Golf and Country Club, hosted by talk radio host Steve Gill. Cain’s victory in the Flor- ida straw poll took place Sept. 24, where he was one of eight candidates. He took 37 per- cent of the votes, with Rick Perry coming in second with 14 percent. Other Florida straw poll victories have proven to be significant, as three out of the last five winners later became president. This trend includes Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. Cain also won the Na- tional Federation of Repub- lican Women’s Convention straw poll Oct. 1 with 48.9 percent of the vote. For information on tick- ets, contact the Southern Hills Golf and Country Club. Presidential candidate to visit Tech
Transcript
A Tech student and FIJI frater-nity mem-ber was ar-rested by Cookeville City Po-lice on em-bezzlement charges at a sporting goods store in Cookev-ille on Sept. 23, according to a Cookeville Police report.
The report fi led by Offi cer Justin Long said Hunter Nelson Crouch, 19, of East 10th Street, was arrested at Dunham Sports on West Jackson Street for al-legedly stealing $4,000 worth of merchandise from the store.
Offi cer Long responded to a call at approximately 2:22 p.m., where Melissa Leopold, the store manager, reported that Crouch and “some of his friends” had been caught steal-ing items from the store.
Crouch works as a cashier at Dunham Sports, where he al-lowed nine other individuals to pass through the checkout line
without requiring payment. Leopold told Long that
Crouch’s friends would “pick out items in the store and bring them to Crouch’s checkoutline,” where he pretended to scan items, but didn’t actually do so.
“Mr. Crouch told me that all except for two of the suspects were fraternity brothers of the FIJI group,” Long’s report said.
The stolen merchandise included golf clubs, golf balls, golf shoes, cleats, shirts, jackets,pants, shorts, socks and other clothing, a fi shing rod and reel, shoes and duffel bags.
Later, Crouch was booked at the Putnam County Jail,where bond was set at $10,000.He has an Oct. 17 General Ses-sions Court date.
The names of the nine other individuals allegedly involved haven’t been released by CPD.
Tony Marable, faculty ad-viser to Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) and Melissa Leopold, Dunham Sports store manger, declinedto comment on the incident.
Crouch is from Nashville, Tenn. and a nursing major at Tech.
THE OORACLEVolume 95 | Issue 4 | Free in single copy | October 7, 2011Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505
See “Weapons” page 6
More stories and exclusive content at tntechoracle.comThe Oracle will return, in print and online, Oct. 28
FLU SHOT PRICE COMPARISON | PAGE 2 GOLDEN EAGLES LAND RANKING | PAGE 4 MOVIE REVIEW: 50/50 | PAGE 5
Parking garage in the worksBy SAMANTHA KENDALLStaff Writer
A long-rumored parking ga-rage will be built according to Tech’s Master Plan.
Building the STEM center dis-placed approximately 286 parking spaces and greening of the Capitol Quad courtyard will remove 142 additional spaces, according to the master plan used by the Facilities and Business Services.
To compensate for the lost spaces, the garage is projected to be three-stories tall and will provide approximately 720 parking spaces. It will also have the potential to be expanded to the north and west and add an additional fl oor, allow-ing nearly 1,100 parking spots, ac-cording to the master plan.
“It will probably be open park-ing with permit,” Jack Butler as-sociate vice president of Facilities and Business Services, said.
“I think this is an awesome idea,” Danielle Hennig, junior nursing student, said. “It will be very good for Tech to have more parking on campus for commut-ers and students living on campus. I think this will also help with the reduction of class tardiness and, in some cases, absences because of
Eight Phi Gamma Delta brothers allegedly involved in theft ringBy WILL HOUSLEYManaging Editor
A r e c e n t i n c i -d e n t has ad-m i n i s -trators l o o k -ing at w e a p -o n s laws and trying to protect the safety of students on campus.
Two weeks ago, Rob-ert Erik Haggard, 19, was arrested for the possession of weapons on campus.
According to the po-lice report, Offi cer Jef-frey Bulakowski and Sgt. Sandy Thompson were patrolling the north paved lot of Jobe Hall when they noticed suspicious activity at a parked truck.
Offi cers approached two male subjects stand-ing around a truck. Inside the truck, offi cers found a loaded revolver, a shot-gun, and several knives. The truck was later identi-fi ed as Haggard’s.
Police arrested Hag-gard and transported him to Putnam County Jail where he was booked.
“I cannot comment if the student is still on
campus, but I can say that in situations in the past, the student was removed from the University,” Ed Boucher, dean of students, said.
The student hand-book states that weapons are not allowed on prop-erty owned or operated by Tech.
State law prescribes a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment and a fi ne not to exceed $3,000 for having weapons on school property. Viola-tion of this law is a felony. Even individuals with handgun permits may not bring handguns on prop-erty owned or operated by Tech.
“When a situation like this happens, I have to meet with my behavioral and intervention team for quick action,” Boucher said.
The behavioral and intervention team meets every Thursday to discuss student safety on campus.
The team is made up of the dean of students, the director of Residential Life, the chief of Univer-sity Police, the director of the Counseling Center, and Disabilities Services.
University Advancement
The proposed parking garage will be lo-cated directly behind the STEM Center.
Crouch
Haggard
By SAMANTHA KENDALLStaff Writer
Every year, a few pedes-trians are hit on Dixie Avenue by passing cars because of distractions and ignorance.
With only six crosswalks from William L. Jones Drive to 12th Street, many students walk across the street outside of the crosswalks.
Tech’s communications department was asked to raise awareness by President Bob Bell’s offi ce. To do so, the department put together a video titled “How to Cross the Street” and posted it on YouTube.
This video is intentional-ly silly and the department is trying to get it shown around campus where students nor-mally spend time, according to Lori Shull, writer for News and Communications and the Offi ce of Communications and Marketing.
According to Shull, this Xtranormal video was up-loaded to YouTube Sept. 14. The video is monotone and is meant to be corny.
“It’s always been a con-cern of ours, there’s always that fear,” Shull said. “Any-thing we can do to promote awareness and try to get stu-dents to look both ways, or not talk on their cell phone, not text on their cell phone while they’re crossing the street, we are certainly will-ing to do it and we are going to try.
Shull said, “It’s going to
Tech looks to increase pedestrian awareness
be an ongoing effort.”According to Gay Shep-
herd, chief of University Po-lice, speed has never been a factor on the driver’s part. The accident is normally the pedestrian’s fault.
Pedestrian’s right- of-way in crosswalks law 55-8-134 states that “no pedes-trian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.”
“Pedestrians have to be-gin to take responsibility for their own actions,” Jack But-ler, associate vice president of Facilities and Business Services, said. “As students walk across, they need to follow the same basic prin-
ciples that you would in any other city.
“Walk across at pedes-trian walkways, pay atten-tion and look both ways before you walk across the street like your momma taught you when you were little, and follow standard protocol as a pedestrian.”
According to Shepherd, if the accident is the pedes-trians fault, your tuition will not be paid for unless you have a good attorney, and the chances are still slim.
Though Butler does not expect to see any major changes to the road, he is making efforts to have the city install an illuminated walk/don’t walk sign for Dixie Avenue.
A car stops for Angi Sakamoto as she crosses Dixie Avenue.
Brittany Ritzman
not fi nding a parking spot. I wish they had started the plans 10 years ago, so we could benefi t from it now.”
The garage is planned to be built
between the STEM center and the Upper Cumberland Regional Health Facility.
Though still in the preliminary stage, the garage is expected to cost Tech $20,000 per space.
According to Butler, the tem-porary gravel lot across the street from the Bryan Fine Arts Building was replaced with a permanent lot recently acquired at Prescott Mid-dle School. This new lot is planned to be expanded to allow 500 to 650 additional spaces, replacing the new rugby fi eld.
“Paving over a great, open fi eld that is already in use by a club sport for a parking lot, that is still a several minute walk to the nearest academic building, doesn’t seem to make much sense,” Rugby Cap-tain, Brooks Robinson said. “And I know I speak for more than just myself when I say I would much rather see my tuition money go toward the maintenance of this recreational area than to a parking lot that would cover more perfect fi eld space.”
According to Butler, another new parking area will be built next to the Athletics’ Performance Cen-ter, adding 100-128 spaces. This lot is in the design stage and is expect-ed to be available sometime in the 2012 spring semester.
By NICK ROLLINSAsst. Managing Editor
Republican presiden-tial candidate Herman Cain, front-runner in the recent Florida straw poll, will makea campaign stop at Tech Oct.15.
Cain is scheduled tospeak to students about hispresidential campaign at Der-ryberry Auditorium at 8:30a.m. This event is open to thepublic, and is free.
Also on Oct. 15, there willalso be a continental break-fast at 6:30 a.m. at the South-ern Hills Golf and Country Club, hosted by talk radiohost Steve Gill.
Cain’s victory in the Flor-ida straw poll took place Sept.24, where he was one of eightcandidates. He took 37 per-cent of the votes, with RickPerry coming in second with14 percent.
Other Florida straw pollvictories have proven to besignifi cant, as three out of thelast fi ve winners later became president. This trend includesRonald Reagan, George H. W.Bush and George W. Bush.
Cain also won the Na-tional Federation of Repub-lican Women’s Convention straw poll Oct. 1 with 48.9 percent of the vote.
For information on tick-ets, contact the Southern Hills Golf and Country Club.
137:30 p.m.TTU Jazz Bands in ConcertWattenbarger Auditorium
8:00 p.m.Women’s Rugby Interest MeetingRUC 371
143:00 p.m.Women’s Soccer v. Murray State
7:00 p.m.Women’s Soccer v. SIU Edwardsville
For a daily crime report, visit www.tntech.edu/police/police-crimelogs
CRIME BRIEFS:- Sept. 28 - 10:31 a.m. Charges: Stolen TTU Property-iPad Location: Smyrna, Tenn.- Sept. 30 - 3:11 a.m. Charges: Vandalism to outer door Location: Evins Hall- Oct. 1 - 1:03 a.m. Charges: Firecrackers/Smoke bomb at door Location: New Hall North- Oct. 2 - 3:15 p.m. Charges: Vadalism to light pole and globe Location: Tech Village West
- Oct. 2- 1:00 p.m. Charges: Theft of personal property Location: New Hall South- Oct. 4 - 6:30 p.m. Charges: Theft from vehicle Location: Parking lot at Browning/Evins- Oct. 5 - 1:10 p.m. Charges: Broken car window Location: Cooper Hall- Oct. 5 - 8:18 p.m. Charges: Trespassing Location: RUC
By CAMILLE WOODSStaff Writer
With fl u season ap-proaching, students are faced with the task of decid-ing where to receive their fl u shots.
Health Services has fl u shots available to students for $11 and faculty for $15, but there are only about 400 shots in stock with some on back order, according to Scott Bilbrey, men’s health coordinator for Health Ser-vices.
In recent years, all of Health Services stock of fl u shots has been depleted, but it is too soon to tell if this school year will follow the same trend.
“We’ve got plenty right now,” Bilbrey said. “And right now it’s just a little too early because usually the fl u season hits around January, but, of course, each year var-ies.”
Students are not able to fi le with their insurance companies due to the fees that are included in their tu-ition, regardless of whether their insurance will pay for fl u shots or not.
However, several phar-macies, including Walgreens and CVS, offer fl u shots that
76 Countries for Tennesse Tech graduates. *** Full travel and living benefits included ***
Live, learn, and work
This is the best time to gain international experience.
158:30 a.m.Presidential candidate Herman Cain to speak at TechDerryberry Auditorium
2:00 p.m.Women’s Volleyball v. Eastern Illinois
7:00 p.m.Football v.Tennessee StateTucker Stadium
162:00 p.m.Women’s Soccer v. Austin Peay
18Fall BreakNo Classes
19Monday Classes Resume
are covered by some major insurance companies.
“We check with your in-surance company to see if it’s covered,” Laura Busenbark, CVS pharmacist in charge, said. “We give you a $5.00 gift card if your insurance doesn’t cover it.”
Although fl u shots are $29.99 at CVS, she stated that many Tech students come in to receive them.
“Why pay $11 for a shot I can get for free with my insurance at Walgreens,” Christine Horn, multidisci-plinary studies major, said. “I guess it would make a dif-ference if I used $11 in gas to get there, but I don’t.”
Bilbrey said that he be-lieves that the cost of the shots at Health Services is minimal in comparison to what customer service pa-tients receive at Health Ser-vices.
“A lot of times, we make our faculty and students wait 20 minutes just to make sure they don’t have a reaction,” Bilbrey said. “I like that we take that extra precaution and the convenience of being able to come over here since it’s right on campus.”
For more information or to receive fl u shots, contact Health Services at (931) 372-3320.
Spirit Squad introduces new mascots this seasonBy EMILY HAILEStaff Writer
The Tech Spirit Squad has added three new mas-cots this year to complement Awesome Eagle at appear-ances.
Grandpappy Eagle and the Purple and Gold Morphs, or nest keepers, have been added to the program in or-der to get more of the crowd involved at events.
“We had thought about it before but never had this kind of dedication to the program until now,” pro-gram coordinator Robin Bur-roughs said. “The characters can play off each other, and it helps to expand the pro-gram.”
Emily Haile
Grandpappy Eagle is being hoisted by the Purple and Gold Morphs. All of these characters are new mascots to Tech.
The new mascots have been added to give back to the community, according to Awesome Eagle. Awe-some wants to interact with all the people that support him, and the new mascots can help Awesome spread Tech Pride. According to Awesome, the community is what defi nes Tech. He wants to put on more of a show and make events even more enjoyable for the people who support him.
Grandpappy Eagle is Awesome’s grandfather. He used to be Tech’s mascot and recently came out of re-tirement to join his grandson at sporting events and other appearances. According to Awesome, Grandpappy may
be slower, but he has the same playful spirit that’s ex-pected of the Eagle family.
The Purple and Gold Morphs were added to the program to entertain the crowd. According to the Gold Morph, the Eagles rep-resent the image of Tech, and the morphs are spirit-based.
Grandpappy and the Purple and Gold Morphs participate in skits with Awe-some during football tailgat-ing. Each skit has a different theme. The themes so far have been Grease and video games, and the next game will have a skit based on the circus. Homecoming’s skit is a surprise. Each skit will be performed again during bas-ketball games.
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OPINION
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That’s what she saidDEAR SHE SAID: Is
there anything outdoors to do in this town? And do any restaurants give discounts?
-Broke freshmanDEAR BROKE: Most
restaurants in town actually offer a 10 percent discount to Tech students. There are also some places that have Tech nights. If you like to do things outdoors, then you should check out Burgess Falls. It’s a good place to hike and see the falls. Fall Creek Falls and Rock Island are both within an hour’s drive of Cookeville, as well. Cummings Falls is another place to go.
DEAR SHE SAID: I am a sophomore business major but I think I want to switch to Human Ecology Merchandising and Design. Did I wait to switch my ma-jor too late? Do you think it’s a good idea to switch
majors in the middle of the school year? -Confused on campus
DEAR CONFUSED: If being a business major is something you do not want to do anymore then you defi nitely should switch to something you fi nd more in-teresting and you enjoy. It’s hard coming to college with your mind made up on what exactly you want to be. Most people who come in with a set major change it at least once before graduating. You should also see if cred-its will switch over and you might still be on track. The professors will not get mad and they are here to help you succeed. Good luck and hope it works out for you. If not, you can always switch to something else.
DEAR SHE SAID: I am graduating in May and have no clue where to even start
looking for a job or what exact career path I want to choose.
-Scared to face the real world
DEAR SCARED: First, go visit Career Services. Alice Camuti and Don Foster are there and willing to help you be successful when you graduate. Get your name out there and have a well estab-lished resume ready to hand out. Don’t worry about fi nd-ing your dream job right off the bat. You will most likely switch companies several times and even might do something that will have nothing to do with your ma-jor. You might want to even create a LinkedIn account and ask professors if they have any connections any-where. The more time and commitment you put out there the better result you will get.
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Recently, political pun-dits and news anchors have spent a lot of time discuss-ing, and in many cases, mak-ing light of, Republican pres-idential candidate Michele Bachmann’s claims that she “talks to God.”
While Bachmann may bring much of the criticism on herself in the sometimes puzzling way that she artic-ulates her faith, she is yet an-other example of the many policymakers and candi-dates for public offi ce who are shamed by the media because of their evangelical beliefs.
Former President George W. Bush became fod-der for late night comedians when it was revealed that he believed God had called him to seek the offi ce of the president.
Similarly, former pas-tor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee came under strict scrutiny for his religious views during his run for of-fi ce. For example, in a 2007 debate, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Huckabee about the creation process by saying, “Do you believe literally it was done in six days and it occurred 6,000 years ago?”
It was a question that,
as Huckabee noted in his response, would have been more appropriately asked of someone seeking to write the curriculum for a science textbook than someone run-ning for president of the United States.
Most recently and most troubling is Bill Maher’s recent declaration during the opening monologue of his nightly HBO talk show that “In today’s Republican Party, there’s a term for people who hate charity and love killing - Christian.”
It all points to an out-of-touch, largely prejudi-cial mainstream media that consistently fails to show the same deference for those who hold Christian beliefs as they do for those of other faiths, instead needling con-servative Christian politi-cians and opinion leaders on the intricacies of their religious ideology, hoping for an infl ammatory sound bite or politically incorrect remark.
Ultimately, this practice does a disservice to vot-ers, who are not afforded as much of an opportunity to hear candidates discuss the issues that affect their daily lives.
Though the national
debt stands at upwards of$14 trillion, unemployment numbers remain high with no job growth shown in themonth of August and thefuture of social security isuncertain, the media keepswrenching our political dia-logue back to things such asRick Perry’s off-the-cuff re-mark more than a year agothat the BP oil spill may havebeen an “act of God” andMichelle Bachmann’s claimsabout being a “submissivewife.” With the stakes sohigh, voters deserve a betterdiscourse than that.
Centuries ago, Martin Luther stood before the pa-pal commission investigat-ing his supposedly radicalbeliefs and exclaimed, “HereI stand, I can do no other.” I imagine that many of our conservative Christian can-didates for public offi ce would echo that sentiment.
These are their bedrockconvictions. They may not always be politically expe-dient or fall in line with theviews of the various cablenews anchors and talkingheads, but this is what they believe and they cannot, in good conscience, depart from that.
As both the primary election and the general elec-tion in November 2012 drawnearer, it’s time for the me-dia to end the open season on evangelicals and engageus in a responsible discus-sion of the issues.
Amen.
Media misunderstands evangelicals
JONATHAN FRANK
Asst. Editorial Editor
Have a question?The Oracle’s new advice columnist is here to help. Submissions can be sent to the editorial page editor at [email protected]
CASSIE TESAURO
Editorial Editor
Think before you speak
We need to have a frank discussion about what we’re saying in public settings.
I’m talking to you, wom-an on your phone in Walmart describing you menstrual cycle in detail. I’m talking to you, too, freshman boys loudly comparing sexual histories in the dorm lobby.
I suppose it’s possible that some of you don’t real-ize how loud you’re talking. But for the most part, I sus-pect you either don’t care or you want us to hear you. But why?
First, let me state the obvious. No one else wants to hear what you’re saying, probably not even the poor soul stuck in the conversa-tion with you.
It’s getting to the point where I have to listen to my iPod everywhere I go just to drown you out.
Even in my dorm room, I can’t escape you. You stop in the middle of my hall-way to talk about what you did in a bathroom stall this morning.
I’m in my room memo-rizing all the bones of the human skull. Everyone else on this fl oor is doing home-work, getting some sleep or simply trying to relax.
So take your pointless conversation to your own room and give the rest of us a break.
Today alone, I’ve heard
several loud, public conver-sations from men and wom-en on topics so base that I’m sure my editor wouldn’t ap-prove me describing them in this article.
We’re in college, peo-ple. A little class would be fantastic.
What’s even worse than these conversations are some of the so-called cat-calls or comments yelled across campus.
When I worked at a desk on campus, I had groups of male college students walk right up to the desk and make blatant sexual remarks.
I’ve put up with com-ments like these since I was a preteen and usually I can shrug them off.
But to have this happen on my campus and to have a group stand there taunt-ing me in an almost threat-ening manner is completely unacceptable.
Is this some kind of at-tempt to prove your mascu-linity? If it is, let me assure you that it’s not working. You look like a lot of things while yelling out of your buddy’s car window. Manly is not one of them.
To the guys doing this on campus: if you want to be treated like a man, then start acting like one. The wom-en on this campus have no time to waste on overgrown boys acting like they just hit
puberty.To the guys who see this
happening on campus: step up and help the girl. You wouldn’t want your moth-er, sister or girlfriend to go through that.
I can tell you from a lot of personal experience that cat-calls aren’t taken as com-pliments. They have a defi -nite feel of hostility. Cat-call-ing signals disrespect mixed with sexual thoughts. When those two come together, it’s a dangerous situation that can escalate quickly. Even if you plan on only yelling out your car window as a harmless joke, a woman has no way of knowing that’s where you draw the line. So stop hassling us.
I know I’m not the only person here who’s tired of inappropriate conversations or comments in public set-tings. Maybe these people just never learned better.
So let’s educate them. Tell them to take bathroom talk somewhere else. Tell them to show some respect to your female classmates.
I’m a huge advocate for freedom of speech. But just because I have the right to talk about personal hy-giene or how sexy you look doesn’t mean that I’ll yell it out in public.
I have too much self re-spect to waste my freedom with pointless, offensive remarks.
Want to yell something out? Go ahead. Just make sure it’s something worth-while. The world is waiting to hear you say something that matters.
Keep The Oracle the way it is - 42%
Photo courtesy of bachmann.house.gov
Page 4 | October 7, 2011 tntechoracle.com
SPORTS
By JILLIAN BOREING Staff Writer
Golden Eagle football ranked 21st in FCS pollBy ANDY RUTHERFORD Asst. Sports Editor
By DAVID LANEStaff Writer
The Golden Eagles (4-1, 3-0) received national rec-ognition this week as they cracked the top 25 in the polls for Football Champion-ship Subdivision.
Tech is ranked 21 in the FCS Coaches poll and 23 in the Sports Network/Fat-head.com poll after a 34-31 victory over the UT-Martin Skyhawks (1-2, 1-1) last Sat-urday.
“It doesn’t mean a lot but yet it’s nice,” Head Coach Watson Brown said on Tues-day. “It’s still early in the year but it’s defi nitely better than the alternative.”
This marks the fi rst time that the Golden Eagles have been ranked since the 2002 preseason polls. It is the fi rst time they’ve held the honor during the regular season
since November 2001.Tech and #12 Jackson-
ville State (4-1, 3-0) are the only two Ohio Valley Con-ference teams in the top 25 and are currently tied atop the conference.
“Anytime [you are ranked] you are getting two things, recognition for your school and recognition for your league,” Brown said. “Those make it pretty neat.
“Other than that, you can’t really use these. You’ve just got to get ready for the next game.”
The team has an off week this week, then they have a conference matchup as they host the Tennessee State Tigers (1-4, 0-2) Oct. 15 at Tucker Stadium at 7 p.m.
This will be the second of three Sgt. York Trophy games this season.
For more information, visit TTUSports.com.
Tech’s cheerleading squad pre-pares for the Universal Cheerlead-ing Association’s National Compe-tition at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 13-15.
The squad members put in nine hours of team practice per week along with tumbling classes and at least 30 minutes of additional stunt-ing six days a week in order to get ready for competition. They also cheer for all home football and bas-ketball games.
“It’s a lot of commitment for them but it will be worth it,” Coach Robin Burroughs said. “I want them to be as prepared as they can be for competition this year. It’s a good feeling to know that you are ready and have done all you can do.”
In previous years, Tech has had two school squads, All-Girl and Co-ed, but Burroughs has combined them into one small co-ed squad.
“By having one squad, we can focus more on having a stronger program for competition,” Bur-roughs said.
The squad will perform a two-and-a-half minute routine that con-sists of a crowd cheer, tumbling and stunting. They must also prepare a crowd tape, a compilation of the squad’s game and community in-volvement, that will be shown at the championship and accounts for
15% of their score at Nationals.“It’s a lot work getting the vid-
eos ready but the squad has done a great job of working hard and prac-ticing to get the skills they need,” Burroughs said.
The 2012 competition will be Tech’s third showing at UCA Na-tionals and Burroughs says she hopes the third time’s a charm.
“I’m really excited about the talent of our cheer team this year,”
Burroughs said. “It’s a step up as it has been every year.”
Ashley Farris, senior exer-cise science, physical education and wellness major, is a captain of the cheerleading team.
“Our program is a very close-knit, hardworking program and I think we all want to see it move for-ward,” Farris said. I think that’s ourbiggest goal for this year.
Ashley Mitchell, junior educa-tion major and also a captain of thecheerleading team said, “The dedi-cation and skill level of the squad have gone through the roof. It takes a lot of dedication to compete. We really have to make sure everyonekeeps up on their skills and work-ing out if we want to win.”
She says her favorite part ofcheerleading is competing.
“It’s such an adrenaline rush,” Mitchell said. “You’re kind of ner-vous but once you step out onto the mat, the nerves go away and you just do what you’ve been workingso hard to do.”
Last year, Tech competedagainst 15 teams in Small Co-ed Di-vision 1. Competitors included the University of Oklahoma, GeorgeMason University and the winner, Hofstra University. Tech competed on day one of competition howeverdid not make it into the fi nals.
“Last year we didn’t do as well as we had hoped but the lev-el of skill and dedication has in-creased a lot this year,” Burroughssaid. “I’m already extremely proud of the team and I know they are just going to continue to get better and better.”
Southern Hills Golf Club hosted the TTU Invitational 8k race in which the Golden Eagles took second overall in both the men’s and women’s divisions in front of a home crowd.
This marks the best fi nish-es of the season for both teams, trumping their previous spots in fi fth overall in the last two races.
Tech junior John Greene crossed the line fi rst to take the individual win after closely following Jacksonville State’s Mickey Sanders for the major-ity of the race. In the fi nal lap of the course, Greene pulled a lead on Sanders and fi nished fi ve seconds ahead of the JSU runner. Greene, who has set and reset new personal best records at the fi rst two races of the season, broke his own record again by fi nishing with a time of 26 minutes, 39.49 sec-onds.
“I was really excited about racing in front of our home crowd and I’m glad I could
have such a good race in front of them,” Greene said. “I was really happy with my time and everyone else’s. I’m excited to see what we can do this next week on a faster course.”
Rounding out the top three was Tech sophomore Matt Bishop with a fi nishing time of 27:12.37. This was almost enough to give Tech a fi rst place overall, but six runners in
the Top 10 from JSU edged out a win with 25 points over the Golden Eagle’s 33 points.
After the men’s race was in the books, the female competi-tors lined up to make their 5k run at the fi rst place title. Soph-omore Peri Winborne was the fi rst Tech female to cross the line in fi fth overall, recording a time of 20:13.67. Winborne had help securing the second place overall from teammates Rebec-ca Cline and Traci Jones, who also fi nished inside the Top 10.
“I felt stronger at the fi nish than I have in a while and I’m so proud of how everyone on the team did,” Winborne said. “We’ve really improved since last year and everyone is work-ing hard to keep improving for our conference meet.”
Rounding out Tech’s women’s team were Leah Bradley, Beth Miller, Megan O’Donoghue, and three fresh-man runners Kara Webb, Eliza-beth Mitchell, and Katie Mc-Crary.
The Golden Eagles will be lining up again for the Jackson-ville State Invitational Oct. 8.
Tech cheerleaders prepare for national competition
Tech cheerleaders perform in front of the crowd at Tech’s fi rst football game this season. The squad is currently getting ready to go to the UCA’s National Competition in January.
FCS Coaches Poll - Week 51. Georgia Southern (26 fi rst-place votes) 4-02. Northern Iowa (2) 3-13. Montana State 4-04. Wofford 4-15. North Dakota State 4-06. James Madison 4-17. New Hampshire 3-18. Appalachian State 3-29. William & Mary 3-210. Lehigh 4-111. Delaware 3-212. Jacksonville State 4-113. McNeese State 3-114. Montana 3-215. Sam Houston State 4-016. Richmond 3-217. Southern Illinois 2-218. South Dakota 3-219. Indiana State 4-120. North Dakota 3-221. Tennessee Tech 4-122. Southern Utah 3-223. Chattanooga 2-324. Coastal Carolina 3-125. Jackson State 4-1
Robin Burroughs
Greene wins men’s individual, leads team to second overallSophmore Winborne among three Tech women to fi nish in Top-10, women also fi nish second at home meet
Tech V-ball goes on road againThe Tech volleyball team will hit the road again
this weekend for a pair of crucial Ohio Valley Con-ference matches at Morehead State University and Eastern Kentucky University.
The Golden Eagles (2-15, 1-6 OVC) will take on the conference-leading Morehead State Eagles tonight at 7 in Morehead, Ky.
“I think that we are really starting to put the pieces together, even though it’s a little slower than we would have hoped,” said junior Katrina Dvorken..
Tech started its season with eight straight losses, facing tough teams, including Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Kansas State.
Tech returns home Oct. 14 and 15 to host South-ern Illinois University- Edwardsville and Eastern Il-linois University. The matches are free to the public. For more information, visit ttusports.com.
Three were named preseason All-OVC selectionsby College Sports Madness on Tuesday and seniorguard Kevin Murphy was the pick for Player of theYear in the conference.
Murphy was also named fi rst-team All-OVC andwas a second team All-Mid Major selection, which recognizes 20 players who represent the best the mid-major conferences have to offer.
Senior point guard Zac Swansey was named sec-ond team All-OVC and junior guard Jud Dillard wasnamed fourth-team All-OVC.
Weekly Roundup
John Greene (pictured above) beat his personal record once again as spectators look on. Greene placed fi rst overall in the race.
David Lane
This week’s Weekly Roundup contains stories by Staff Writer Ashley Smith and Sports Editor Ross Harvey.
Project Reality Runway, Tech’s alternative fashion show, returns Tuesday at dead hour in the RUC Multi-purpose Room.
Promoting positive self-images, organizers of the fashion show want partici-pants and guests to leave un-derstanding beauty is not just skin-deep. Challenging the standards placed on women and men by the media, Proj-ect Reality Runway celebrates individuals who are willing to be just that, individual.
On Tuesday, a diverse faculty and student group will strut their stuff on the walkway. Reinforcing the message of the day, each par-ticipant will wear an outfi t that shows who they are as a person.
Even if you are not in the fashion show, organizers en-courage all guests to follow suit and wear something that shows you for you, not what the media expects.
In addition to the run-
way show, WTTU DJs will be playing music and emceeing the events with plenty of free goodies for everyone who visits.
Several of the pictures taken of participants and guests will be shown in No-vember on the Be-You-tiful Display Board.
Project Reality Runway
is part of the Love Your Body Day program brought to life by the TTU Women’s Center with the help of TTU Lambda and WTTU.
For more information, check the TTU Women’s Cen-ter website at http://www.tntech.edu/women/
Let’s think about the movie 50/50. Based on a true story by the screenwriter Will Reiser, this movie is about the struggle to live life as normal-ly as possible after being diag-nosed with cancer. It’s a fi lm about life, fi lled with tribula-tions, friends, family and hu-mor even in the gloomiest of situations.
The movie starts with Adam and Kyle on the way to work living their regular lives. They live normal every-day lives and we get to know their personalities. Adam (Joseph Gordon-Lovitt) men-tions having back problems to his friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) while waiting in the coffee shop one morning. He de-cides to check it out with a doctor.
As it turns out his unusual back pain is because of a type of rare cancer he has with a survival rate of “50/50.” Darn. And all he wanted to know was if it was stress or if he could take meds for a quick fi x. Who could blame this guy that, as the doctor keeps yak-king away about fancy words and options he has, the only thing Adam can do is sit in a state of shock totally ignoring the doctor who really doesn’t show very much emotion, ei-ther.
Now we notice and we can begin to put ourselves in his shoes as we follow him trying to live his life as nor-mally as possible.
He fi rst tells his girlfriend, Rachael. Emotions of dread and sadness come across her face with a hint of confusion what to do now or how could
this happen. I blame the mood lighting. His girlfriend says she’s not going to leave him, but throughout the rest of the movie her excuses be-come more frequent. The best thing she did was adopt a re-tired race dog named Skeletor that defi nitely lives up to his name, but Skeletor grows on you throughout the movie.
The second person he informs is Kyle, his best friend. He has a mini spasm, holds back crying, and even learns that Patrick Swayze is dead. You’ll have to see it for yourself. Kyle sticks alongside Adam better than the girlfriend does, but that could be partially because his friend having cancer is a con-venient way to hit on ladies. He even throws a huge party for Adam, but while the party thrower, Kyle, hits on women the rest of the party lines up to chat with Adam like it’s his own funeral procession already.
Lastly, he informs his mother and father about the cancer. Not to sound like a bad guy, but I don’t fi nd it a bad thing that he tells his par-ents last about the cancer. The problem I have, though, is the way he waits to tell them both. If I remember right, he waited three days. To top it off, he invites mom and dad over for dinner with his girlfriend without telling them what’s going on. His mother believes that he’s going to propose… Whoops. Sorry about the bad news, mom. His dad cannot really react too well. Because of his severe Alzheimer’s, he doesn’t quite know what is going on.
After he tells mom what is wrong, she goes ballistic and she tells him, “I’m mov-
ing in.” Adam tells her he is fi ne and he can take care of himself. Besides, he has Rachael to take care of him. This strikes a huge blow at his mother, but she relents as long as he calls her, which, for the longest time, he does not.
Adam’s cancer therapist, Katie, is an organized mess. She goes straight by the books and is not quite sure what she’s suppose to do with this being only her third patient in her career. After a rough start and some odd choice of meditation music, Adam still goes to Katie for guidance because he needs someone to talk to about his problems, or because he wants to help her out, or just because she’s cute.
The remainder of the movie follows Adam as he struggles with the cancer and life. He dumps his girl, fl irts with girls, destroys a painting with his best friend that his ex made for him, does weed with old timers from the hos-pital, makes mistakes, and more as he gets closer to his chemo date.
I am still unsure of how much of the movie is based on the true story and how much of it is clearly Holly-wood. Either way, it’s a very interesting drama with bits of comedy that easily places the viewer into the shoes of the main character as his entire world is turned upside down.
Defi nitely worth watch-ing for anyone who wants a movie with a great story and is not in the mood for an ac-tion movie.
Final Grade: A-
tntechoracle.com Page 5 | October 7, 2011
ENTERTAINMENT
By WILL SHECKLERAsst. Entertainment Editor
Let’s Talk About Comics: Habibi
Summit and Mandate PicturesKyle (Seth Rogen) assists Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) with shaving his head following Adam’s diag-nosis of cancer.
Movies on my Mind:50/50
Love Your Body Day promotes fashion reality
Craig Thompson“Habibi” follows the story of Dodola and Zam as they try to fi nd each other in a rapidly changing world.
Over the past week, I have been reading Craig Thompson’s newest offering, “Habi-bi,” and I am quite pleased with the graphic novel.
Following the story of Dodola and her adopted brother, Zam, whom she raises like a son, the book looks into numerous facets of Middle Eastern life. Islam plays an im-portant role throughout the text as means of guiding the characters and as numerous tales from the Qu’ran frame the primary story.
During the story, men from the local pal-ace captured Dodola, taking her to the royal harem where she was forced to surrender her body to the sultan over the course of six years. After Dodola went missing, Zam set out to fi nd her while running into troubles of his own.
As much as the story was about two peo-ple searching for each other, the story was about Zam fi nding himself. The unnamed Middle Eastern country went through radical changes in the six years and Zam must fi nd a place for him and Dodola, should he fi nd her, and the teachings found in the Qu’ran.
The content of the book strays fromThompson’s previous graphic novels, “Blan-kets” and “Good-Bye, Chunky Rice,” in that the book deals with very serious and graphic material. However, Thompson expertlyweaved the story to a fi tting fi nish.
In addition to fi ne story telling, Thomp-son’s artwork rose to higher level with “Habi-bi.” Still operating in black and white, everypanel aches with the amount of detail pres-ent. Thompson’s line work harkens to the style of Joe Sacco, fi tting, of course, then that Sacco received a special note at the end of thebook. Sprawling two-page layouts through-out the book just bleed style and substance.
I can register only one complaint withthe book. In certain panels, characters broke the fourth wall by acknowledging the readerthrough coy glances. On more than one oc-casion, this broke the fl ow of the page andjust gave off an awkward feeling.
Despite my complaint, I really enjoyed this book. The content is not for everyone,but the story is expertly told and drawn. Thebook is a behemoth, coming in around 640pages, but well worth the time and money.
Final Grade: A
By CHUCK ACHESONEntertainment Editor
By CHUCK ACHESONEntertainment Editor
TTU Women’s CenterHanna Miller, Shavonda Jones, and Jessica Smith helped rock the runway in 2010. They love being fun, stylish, and comfortable.
Gather At the Corner of Dixie Ave. & 9th St near Derryberry HallWeapons
CONTINUED from page 1
The team is currently considering this recent incident and trying to fi nd a way to alert more students about the laws on cam-pus.
“I am considering putting more signs up about fi rearms and other weapons on campus to make students more aware of the matter,” Boucher said.
In Residential Life, monthly safety and health checks are done throughout the res-idence halls to make sure residents are liv-ing a safe and healthy lifestyle.
“We want our residents to feel like this is their home,” Andrew Moneymak-er, Residential Life coordinator said. “We want them to feel safe and not worry about weapons or problems in the dorms.”
University Police is also concerned with student safety but new changes are not currently slated to take effect.
“With this situation, I think there was no evil intent there,” Boucher said. “He
was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The Tennessee Board of Regents re-cently asked schools to send in a copy of their handbooks.
“They asked us for a copy, because they want to make one general handbook for all TBR schools instead of having individual ones for each school,” Boucher said.
The wording for the fi rearms and other dangerous weapons will soon read, “any possession of or use of fi rearms, dangerous weapons of any kind, or replica/toy guns, e.g. BB guns, pellet guns, paintball guns, water guns, cap guns, toy knives or other items that simulate fi rearm or dangerous weapons are not allowed on school prop-erty.”
“The new wording is forthcoming, but we do not know as of now when it will be put into effect,” Boucher said.
By ELLIE BOLESStaff Writer
The president of the Tech College Republicans said he supports the reason-ing behind the controversial “Increase Diversity Bake Sale” that was held Sept. 27 on University of California, Berkeley’s campus.
The bake sale charged differential prices to con-sumers based on ethnicity and gender. White students were charged $2, while Asians were charged only $1.50, Hispanics $1, African Americans were charged 75 cents, and Native Ameri-cans were charged 25 cents. Women of all races received a 25-cent discount on those prices.
The race-based pric-ing was intended to protest California Senate Bill 185, which has since been passed by the state legislature and
Tech College Republicans support Berkeley bake sale
now awaits Governor Jerry Brown’s approval. The bill will allow the state univer-sity system to consider race and gender when making admissions decisions.
Berkeley College Repub-licans president Shawn Lew-is said the whole point was for the event to seem racist, but he said he believes the bake sale is no more racist than the bill that would give an individual an advantage in college admissions based solely on their gender or race.
Tech College Republi-cans president Clay Stub-blefi eld said he agrees with Lewis and thinks the bake sale wouldn’t have been news if it hadn’t been dis-criminatory.
“No purpose would have been served by the bake sale being mundane and un-controversial,” Stubblefi eld said. “They want the sale
to incite as much outrage as the bill they are protesting should.”
Colleges across the country have held similar events. Generally, College Republicans organizations host these events. In some cases—such as Berkeley—the plan sparked controver-sy and protests.
Other times, however, university offi cials stepped in.
At Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, offi cials stopped a similar bake sale on campus. Offi cials at The College of William and Mary in Virginia said they were ap-palled at a race-based cookie sale on campus, and shut it off. A bake sale at South-ern Methodist University in Texas was shut down after 45 minutes because of what offi cials called an “unsafe environment,” according to local reports.
HENNA TATTOOS ON SOUTH PATIO
Basmah Al Dossary gives freshman Morgan Reavis, basic engineering major, a henna tattoo on South Patio.
Mica Bilbrey
By KAYLA GULLEYStaff Writer
The University encour-ages students to “Unleash Your Awesomeness,” but the Offi ce of Admissions says the year-old campaign has created more of an at-mosphere than a recruit-ment tool.
Dr. Bobby Hodum, exec-utive director of enrollment management, said the cam-paign is successful, but he did not credit the campaign to the infl ux of freshmen.
Admissions records state there are 1,968 new freshmen this fall, which is 16.7 percent of the student population at Tech.
Hodum said the admis-sions offi ce asked new stu-dents why they chose Tech, and no students stated it was because of the campaign.
“I chose Tech because of its size and that my sister goes here too,” Carly Ow-ens, freshman from Morris-town, said.
Freshman Jacob Parkin-son from Kingston, Tenn. said he did not recall the “Unleash Your Awesome-ness” campaign.
“I have heard of it, but I have no clue what it is,” Parkinson said. “I have only heard of it because I got a free t-shirt with that saying on it.”
Jonathan Turner, fresh-man from Cookeville, Tenn. agreed.
“I know its Tech’s slo-gan but other than that I do not know much about it,” Turner said.
According to Hodum, the campaign is a piece of the puzzle that brings in stu-dents, but there are about 250 other factors. Such fac-
‘Awesomeness’ slogan not effectivetors include academic offer-ings, affordability and cam-pus comfortability.
The Offi ce of Communi-cation and Marketing used funds that were set aside to develop brochures with the campaign slogan for each Tech department. The bro-chures were developed to make a consistent look for the University. They will be used for potential students or when faculty representatives visit high schools.
“In the big picture, the campaign works well and provides a good opportunity for Tech,” Hodum said. “The old campaign ‘More Than Tech’ did not work well and departments had a hard time with the slogan.”
Hodum said that the new campaign provides a healing process to all the departments on campus.
The campaign launched fall of 2010 after a year of plan-ning by the Offi ce of Commu-nication and Marketing.
Focus groups, with seven student participants from the Upper Cumberland area, were held in high schools July 2010. The main goal of these focus groups was to get stu-dents’ opinions on the cam-paign.
According to marketing records, 86 percent agreed that the “Unleash Your Awe-someness” message appealed to them in the focus groups. All of the students either agreed that the “Unleash Your Awesomeness” mes-sage made them want to fi nd out more about Tech.
“Focus groups are in-tended to be smaller and more intimate to really have a roundtable and in-depth discussion about the topics,” Bobbie Maynard, marketing
director said.Twenty-one high school
students were surveyed whileon a campus tour in July 2010.Most of the students whowere surveyed were from the Nashville area.
Marketing records show76 percent agreed that the tag-line message “Unleash YourAwesomeness” appealed tothem. 67 percent agreed that the message “Unleash YourAwesomeness” makes them want to fi nd out more about Tech.
“We got mostly all goodfeedback from the focusgroups and surveys,” May-nard said.
In March 2010, an offi cialFacebook page for the Uni-versity was created as partof the campaign. By Septem-ber 2010, the page had 12,871 likes and it currently has 23,153 likes.
“The campaign means to me that when students cometo Tech, the University will help you reach your full po-tential,” Maynard said.
Some freshmen at Tech do recall the campaign whenchoosing a university.
“I remember the cam-paign when deciding on auniversity and I thought itwas cool and stood out fromother universities,” Katy Cox,freshman from Mt. Juliet,Tenn. said.
“I do remember the cam-paign when I was decidingon my university, and liked it because it distinguishes Techfrom other schools,” Mary Kate Nalan, freshman fromMemphis, Tenn., Said.
A freshman focus groupis to be conducted this fall.To participate in the focus group, contact [email protected].
A Berkeley College Republicans member sells baked goods for their “Increase Diversity” protest.Courtesy of the Associated Press
