Sidelines Online - 10/31/12

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

OCT. 31, 2012 EDITORIALLY INDEPENDENT

Candidates campaigning last-minute for close election season

CONTENTNEWS

RANTS AND RAVES

FEATURES

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

OPINIONS

SPORTS

Sidelines Lens

Sidelines Staff

6 Howell overcomes circumstance to win Fulbright By Mary Margaret Weatherford

COVER STORY8 Presidential candidates campaigning for student, swing

state votes By Alex Hubbard and Emily West

12 Save money, be creative with Halloween costumes By Claire Osburn

13Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ a different color than signature style By Jane Horne

10 Check out local happenings By Nick Georgiou

Becca [email protected]

Richel AlbrightManaging [email protected]

Asher HudsonOnline [email protected]

Chris BishopOnline [email protected]

Alex HubbardCampus news [email protected]

Emily WestCommunity news [email protected]

Emily KubisFeatures [email protected]

Jane Horne Arts & Entertainment [email protected]

Mark MizeSports [email protected]

Alex Harris Opinions [email protected]

Kelsey KlingenmeyerDesign [email protected]

Nhu Duong Photo editor [email protected]

Matt MastersAssociate photo [email protected]

Rebecca HuddlestonAd [email protected]

Leon [email protected]

Island Wren, who will be performing at Just Love coffee shop on Nov. 16, practices in the quad. From left to right: Ben Godley, Chris Godley, and Clay Young. Not pictured: Cole Ma-ness. Photo by Matt Masters.

15

Visit us at www.mtsusidelines.comThis edition designed by Christine Craft

John Bragg Mass Communication BuildingCenter for Innovation in Media

1301 East Main Street P.O. Box 8, Murfreesboro, TN 37132Editorial: 615-494-7648

2 SIDELINES |Oct. 31, 2012 | www.mtsusidelines.com

Nissan manufactures engineering job opportunities for grads By Quint Qualls

Give me policy and honesty: Debates need fact checkers By Richel Albright

43

Student creates, sustains No. 1 business in ‘Boro By Jessica Kryza

5 New science building becomes more than plan By Amber Dougherty

14

Expectations soar for MT basketball after historic prior season By Jordan Powell

NEWS

Nissan’s Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant revved up its production force, adding a third shift, 810 new posi-tions and an increased demand for MTSU engineering technology graduates. Nissan officials and Gov. Bill Haslam an-nounced the expansion of its Smyrna facility’s workforce on Oct. 19. Its assembly of vehicles is now a 24-hour opera-tion for the first time in the history of the plant. “The 810 manufac-turing jobs have been added in support of the company’s aggressive growth and demand for its products in the marketplace,” said Jus-tin Saia, Nissan North America spokesman. Additionally, the extension of the plant’s hours and labor force will create opportuni-

ties for the university engineering technology students who have been working with Nissan for a number of years to provide post-graduate work and projects for students, according to a partnership announce-ment between the two institutions. Opportunities for students at Nissan range from internships to-cooperative education programs. Students are able to apply their ex-periences to real world problems and tasks for part-time and full-time employment. “Our engineering technology department has worked with Nissan for many years by sup-plying graduates, class projects and co-op op-portunities,” said Walter Boles, Department of Engineering Technology chairman. “We do have many students working

at Nissan, and the new expansion will provide opportunities for many more of our engineering technology graduates.” The expansion rep-resents part of Nissan’s current plan to localize vehicle production. Ac-cording to a company press release, Nissan in-tends to have 85 percent of all merchandise sold in the United States pro-duced in North America by 2015. “Nissan continues to be a driving force in the local and regional econ-omy,” said Holly Sears, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce vice president of eco-nomic development. “The continued growth of Nissan has a significant economic impact due to the new jobs and payroll being created. In addition, as Nissan continues to grow, their suppliers

Nissan manufactures engineering job opportunities for grads

By Quint QuallsStaff writer

Middle Tennessee State University owns two LEAF cars. Photo by Sarah Addleman.

continue to grow.” Nissan has been an economic juggernaut in Rutherford County and the greater Middle Tennessee area since the Smyrna plant was constructed in 1983. It produces approximately 550,000 vehicles a year and brings a $440 mil-lion annual payroll to its employees in Middle Tennessee, according to Saia. “Nissan has now added over 2,000 manu-facturing jobs in Ten-nessee since mid-2011,” Saia said. “With recent growth, employment

at Nissan’s Smyrna manufacturing facility exceeds 6,000 employ-ees.” The Smyrna plant manufactures the Nis-san Altima, Maxima, Pathfinder and Infiniti JX. Later this fall, it will begin producing the fully-electric Nissan LEAF when it a new plant opens in Smyrna to make the vehicle’s lithium-ion batteries. It will be the first plant of its kind in the United States, according to a company press release. The company donated two Nissan LEAF cars

to MTSU in late August. The partnership between MTSU and Nissan North America will likely continue to create more opportuni-ties for students, both educationally and in the workplace following graduation.

CRIME BRIEFS

SIDELINES | Oct. 31, 2012 | www.mtsusidelines.com 3

MISCELLANEOUS Davis Science Building LotOct. 22, 7:22 p.m.While assisting a student with a vehicle problem, an officer was notified that an individual had a gun on campus. The complain-ant reported that this occurred in the parking lot of Beasley Hall. The complainant could not provide a name or de-scription of the suspect.

DRUG ABUSEMcFarland Health Services LotOct. 23, 2:09 a.m.Authorities arrested Malik Armstrong, 18, on the charges of simple possession and posses-sion of drug parapher-nalia.

ASSAULTAlumni DriveOct. 25, 1:42 a.m.Murfreesboro Police reported a robbery behind the Shell Station

on Rutherford Boule-vard and broadcasted a description of the sus-pects. MT Police made contact with individuals fitting the descriptions. While identifying the suspects, a struggle en-sued. The suspects were arrested, and a handgun was recovered. Mur-freesboro Police is han-dling the investigation, but MT Police is charg-ing Charles Robertson, 19, with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and carrying a weapon on school property. Murfreesboro Police is charging him with ag-gravated robbery, along with Shamari Cooper, 18.

ASSAULTStudent Union BuildingOct. 25, 12:52 p.m.Authorities arrested Thomas Upchurch, 23, on the charge of domes-tic assault and issued a trespass warning.

THEFTPeck HallOct. 25, 5:05 p.m.A complainant reported that her bicycle was stolen.

ALCOHOL Rutherford Boulevard Oct. 25, 11:30 p.m.Authorities arrested Neil Clark, 18, on the charges of simple possession along with Matthew Presley, 19, on the charges of driving under the influence and simple possession.

VAGRANCYStudent Union Build-ingOct. 25, 1:57 a.m.Authorities escorted a non-student from campus. The subject was sleeping in the restroom.

4 SIDELINES |Oct. 31 , 2012 | www.mtsusidelines.com

To Timothy Mer-edith, graduation date is not an obstacle standing between him and the real world – he keeps one foot in academia and the other in the workplace as a local businessman. Rutherford County citizens recently voted Meredith’s business the No. 1 Best Com-puter Services, winning one of the Daily News Journal’s 18th Annual Ruthies Awards Oct. 25.A Murfreesboro native and junior at MTSU, Meredith owns and operates Cornerstone Computers. Taking his learning experience to a different environment, he learned about the industry at Computers Plus, a locally owned company that went out of business. “I was the head tech-nician there for about a year, and I worked there for about two years,” Meredith said. “I was actually the young-est technician in the company. I considered myself to be pretty suc-cessful there.” During his work at Computers Plus, Mer-edith built the com-puter for the head of computational sciences department for the graduate program at the university. Though Computers Plus went out of busi-ness, and Meredith lost his job, he reversed the situation and seized the opportunity to open a new store August 2011. “I still had a good cli-ent base that I was able to bring with me [from

NEWSStudent creates, sustains No. 1 business in ‘Boro

By Jessica Kryza Staff writer

Computers Plus] be-cause I had done such a good job for a lot of people there that they would ask for me every time,” Meredith said. Meredith said that he has a variety of custom-ers who use his servic-es, such as networking, pickup and delivery, computer repair and on-site services. “I’d say, most often, it’s probably for virus-related problems. I mean, when it comes to service like basic com-puter repair service, it’s probably the most com-

mon issue just because, unfortunately, viruses are only going to keep on going up every year,” he said. Meredith runs his business daily, and he juggles work and school, double major-ing in computer science information and psy-chology. “I definitely think that a degree is worth-while to get,” Meredith said. “I do think I’ll keep learning things in the business that I may not learn with my de-gree, but it’s inevitable

that I’m going to learn a lot in my degree that I wouldn’t be able to in the business, and of course, it’s always nice to have that piece of paper if I ever do need to worry about a job in the future.” In addition to his educational goals, Meredith is thinking of business plan that will further the business, while also checking websites such as Tom’s Hardware and Wired to research the latest ad-vances in the computer world and avoid falling

behind in his studies. “I like to have goals for short term and for long term,” Meredith said. “My short term goals are to obviously increase revenue as much as possible to maximize my location and make everything at this location as efficient as possible. Long term wise, my plans that I would like to see is in the service related area where there would be satellite locations in dif-ferent towns. We would basically be centralizing the repairs and keeping

the repair center at one place.” Cornerstone Com-puters is located at 810 N.W. Broad St., Suite 126 in Murfreesboro. The store hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Students receive a 10 percent discount.

Timothy Meredith spends his time running a business and studying at MTSU. Photo by Briana Mailley.

persons at MTSU. Then you have the contrac-tors, builders [and] mov-ers. It is a group effort that will change science at MTSU for the better.” The building will be comparable to other sci-ence facilities at univer-sities across the state. “It will be state-of the-art and as nice as anyone’s,” said Melton. “We aren’t ordering technology until just be-fore the opening. It will measure up nicely to any science buildings in the Southeastern region.”The $146 million dollar building is slated to be fully functional in Janu-ary of 2015.

NEWS

Steel beams went up in early October, stand-ing tribute to the prog-ress of the four-year construction project that will eventually be a 252,000-square-foot sci-ence building, 30 years in the making. Between the Davis Science Building and Wiser-Patton Building, the two science facilities no longer accommodate the space to house all of the professors, students and equipment needed for a top-notch learning environment. The build-ing was designed for fewer than 10,000 stu-dents in the 1960s, but enrollment has tripled since then. “The new building will change the way students learn,” said Tammy Melton, chemis-

New science building becomes more than plan

By Amber DoughertyContributing writer

“The new building will change the way

students learn,” said Tammy Melton.

‘‘try professor and mem-ber of the new building’s committee. “The space this building provides will not only enhance student-teacher interac-tion, but will correct issues with the equip-ment. Professors are there to teach students and ensure safety. We have fume hoods break-ing and broken electrical outlets. Our students will acquire a new expe-rience in science.” While the new facility

will enable faculty proj-ects and research, the purpose of the building is for students and will provide multiple benefits to university students. “Let’s not forget the bottom line of MTSU – to educate students,” said George Murphy, professor and retired chemistry department chair. “Science buildings must be designed as a science building. Students will have the

ability to be more active. The building will have spaces for students to form groups and study. There will be a white board in every nook and cranny, TV monitors for group interaction, and places for students to sit and do homework and research.” Gov. Bill Haslam granted $126.7 million for the construction of the building, leaving the university to fund the other $19.3 million. “Not just one per-son is in charge of the building,” said Greg Van Patten, the chemistry department chair. “The state has a lot of interac-tion along with several

he science building’s frame is standing to the left of the James E. Walker library. Photo by Matt Masters.

FEATURESHowell overcomes circumstance to win Fulbright

By Mary-Margaret WeatherfordStaff writer


“The first week of chemistry class I wrote in the notes about the “atoms,” the a-d-a-m’s,” said Kaitlen Howell, MTSU graduate. Her large silver hoop earrings wiggled and swayed as she laughed at herself. “After about a week my teacher wrote ‘atom’ on the board and I was like, ‘What is that word?’ I thought it was a play on words, you know, ‘Adam and Eve,’ the first beings,” she said, grinning widely.Howell, 25, did not have the same educational background as most of her peers. She finished kindergarten and first grade, but she hardly at-tended school until com-ing to MTSU in 2006. Despite her unusual educational background, she was awarded the Fulbright research grant in 2010 and was the third person in univer-sity history to achieve this award of academic merit. About seven years ago, Kaitlen Shanna Howell of Murfreesboro didn’t exist. Her name was changed shortly be-fore her eighteenth birth-day, when she joined her adopted family. Prior to that, she lived with her biological family. “It was a pretty miser-able time in my life, to be honest. I was basical-ly not allowed outside of my house, had no contact with the outside world, had no sense of safety,” Howell said. She said that mul-tiple people inside and

outside of her family abused her throughout her childhood. She said that she and her brother were the “scapegoat” of the family, meaning they were targeted more than other family members. However, they were the only two who escaped the destructive situation to become successful. “It’s almost like, for us, it was so bad — not even normal bad — it

was so bad that we had no choice but to have something different,” Howell said. It was critical for Howell and her brother to escape. “I knew I wasn’t going to survive if I didn’t get out,” she said. “I had a will to survive.” Though Howell wasn’t allowed to have social contact with the outside world, she and

her family did attend church on a regular basis. Church was the source of Howell’s eventual free-dom from her detriment through the support of her church community. “With time, people a little bit forced their way in, and I forced my way out, and we met in the middle,” Howell said, regarding the people of her church. From ages 13 to 15,

she was in and out of fos-ter homes, and by 15, she entered Mercy Ministries of Nashville, a home for girls with life control or abuse issues. Here, she found a place to live, referring to it as a “house of healing.” “I got a lot of heal-ing from my past but also learned just how to address the issues in my life, even the hurts I carry,” Howell said.She began moving to-ward gaining an educa-tion at Mercy, but was “terrified” of school. Howell would pick up a dictionary and read it aloud, page after page. The only real instruction given to her before she took the GED was how to write an essay. Despite this, she passed the GED, far exceeding the state requirements and her own expectations. Howell remembers the first assignment she did in general science before taking the GED – it concerned human physiology. “I remember learning about the valves on the veins – your blood has to go back to your heart and has to go against grav-ity,” she said with child-like curious excitement. This was the moment Howell began to consider an academic career in medicine. “I just thought it was incredibly beautiful. It was just stunning to me how functional and how well designed it was, and that was kind of really a continuation of my pas-sion for medicine devel-oping,” she said. When she first came to MTSU, Howell didn’t skim chapters or skip

class. She would often study 16 hours a day, she said. “It was almost an understanding that it is an impossible goal; I will never get there, but dang it, I’m going to give all I have to trying,” she said with gusto. Howell said she didn’t want her past to affect her future. “It was unfair — I was free, but then I wasn’t free, and so I had this motivation to get truly free from my past,” she said. Howell’s first two years at the university fostered doubts, but by her senior year, she began to see progress. “I was actually really shocked when I realized I’m there. You know? I made it,” Howell said. She learned how to add fractions in calcu-lus, and cried because she thought she had a ‘B’ with a 96 average in one of her classes. “I had never been to school,” she said. “I thought you had to get 100 percent to get an ‘A,’” she exclaimed with unashamed glee.Needless to say, she did not have the typical col-lege experience. Howell tutored students throughout her college career. She said the best way to learn is to teach, and she still tutors today. “I relish in getting to share that with someone else and helping them not to have a deficiency in their education and their learning,” she said. She sees tutoring, teaching and mentor-ing as always being a

Howell rebuilt her life and succeded as a Fulbright Scholar. Photo courtesy of Kaitlen Howell.

FEATURES

Howell and friends enjoy Afghani food while studying in Germany. Photo courtesy of Kaitlen Howell. part of her life, and one day hopes to teach in medical school. Cur-rently, she is applying to medical schools and hopes to attend Vander-bilt University. Howell began her Fulbright journey with the application process, which considers grades, academic qualifications, relevant experience and personal character. Howell said the absolute goal of the Fulbright’s existence is for mutual understand-ing between countries through research and to serve as an American ambassador. Through the 10-month research grant, she completed the larg-est neurological study as of yet on cardiac arrest patients who were in a coma or a decreased state of consciousness. She predicted patient

outcomes and observed whether they would wake up, recover or regain function. This led to the decision of whether to maintain life support after a patient goes into a coma. “The brain is absolutely fascinating to me be-cause it innervates every part of the body,” said Howell, explaining why she chose to focus on neurological functions. Up to three of the 250 Fulbright students are chosen for a Ful-bright internship, and Howell received the internship in addition to the research grant. With this, she stayed in Germany an additional six months. “I think that being an [American] ambassador in Germany was a very important part of my life. It’s something that I gained so much from,

and then I bring that back to America. I’m glad to carry that with me here. I’m a different person because of my Fulbright experience,” she said. Howell was origi-nally planning to stay three to 10 more years in Germany for a master’s program, but love got in the way. “We actually decided to get married before we decided to date,” she said, chuckling at the way she and Nathan, her husband, came together. The two started dating six months after she had been in Germany. He was in Tennessee, and she was in Germany. “Skype is a wonderful thing,” Kaitlen said smil-ing in an almost bashful way, her fair freckled cheeks turning a soft pink. They married six weeks after she came

home from Germany, and they’ve been happily mar-ried for five months now, she said.Recently Howell’s research was accepted by an inter-national epidemiological conference in Portugal; there, she presented her findings from the study. She said this in such a quick manner, like it was a normal thing for anyone to have presented before a congress in Portugal. Howell said her profes-sors truly made a dif-ference in her life and contributed to her success – in particular Dr. Victor Montemayor of physics and Dr. M. Gore Ervin of biology. “[They] really helped me to get to the point where I was no longer just striving and feeling like I was just trying to make up for this gap but to really seeing what I loved and seeing my passion for learning and

for academia,” Howell said fervently. “They both teach with such passion and such skill.” Howell confessed her favorite memories at the university are of her up-per division biology and physics courses. “I just felt like my brain came alive in those,” she said, giggling at that fact. “I know that I’m a nerd. I’m perfectly comfortable laughing at myself for being a nerd,” she divulged, tickled at the idea.Howell advised current students to focus on what they need and love – not expectations of others.“Really find your passion and pursue that. Pursue who you are and what you want to do yourself.”

COVER STORY


Presidential candidates campaigning for student, swing state votes By Alex Hubbard and Emily West

Campus and community news editors

With leads in five of eight true swing states, President Barack Obama could be a short distance away from reelection. As both Obama and his Republican challeng-er, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, focus on the economy and gaining the prefer-ence of undecided voters in competitive states, the voter turnout is well underway. “I wanted to have a thought process before I voted,” said Justin Cousineau, sophomore math and physics major. “I am simply an Ameri-can, and I try to have social philosophies and in-general thinking. I am a big fan of public programs and activism. I consider myself left wing, and I plan on vot-ing for Obama. Romney is in the complete op-posite direction.” After the second-largest turnout of voters aged 18 to 29 in 2008, both candidates have devoted resources to the youth vote, but often the

debts they had to repay. Obama realizes modern day students can’t ask parents for money as a lot of those parents are no longer in work, which means a lower possibility of them help-ing with the cost.” But former Massachu-setts Gov. Mitt Romney used a spirited series of debates to narrow the race after debating all of those issues in several key states. “If the election were today, President Obama would be reelected,” said Kent Syler, political science professor. “The question is what’s go-ing to happen over the next 13 days – has the Obama campaign been able to stabilize things and stop the momentum that was building for Gov. Romney?” Obama has leads in five of eight Sidelines-selected swing states, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polling numbers in those states. Obama leads in Ohio,

issues for younger vot-ers are the same as their older counterparts. “I was brought up conservative,” said Abby Good, senior mass communication major. “Even though my par-ents had those beliefs, I have formed my own, and I am for Romney. He says he will cut spending, and I’d really like to see him be right about that.” In addition to spend-ing, education through-out the nation consumes another big portion of both candidates’ cam-paigns, as both try to figure out the most pro-ductive way to allocate money for schools and student loans. “I think the fact that Obama is putting effort into a plan for student loans is a good reason for students to consider voting for him,” said Judy Whitehill, chair-woman of the Ruther-ford County Democratic Party. “Both he and Michelle had to have loans, and both had Iowa, Nevada, New

Hampshire and Wis-consin, while Romney leads only in Florida and Virginia. The two candidates are tied in Colorado. Both the Tennessee Democratic and Repub-lican parties heavily participated in rallying for their candidate by sending advocates for knocking door-to-door or making phone calls. “From our stand-point, we want Tennes-see volunteers to help with the swing states, whether it be making

phone calls or going door-to-door,” said Adam Nickas, executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party. “We are trying to use people as our primary resource and have been doing so, especially in the swing state of Ohio.” However, the Tennes-see Democratic Party headed east toward North Carolina and

Virginia. “Over the past few weekends, we have taken teams of two or three dozen people to go knocking on doors,” said Brandon Puttbrese, Ten-nessee Democratic Party communication director. “We want the voice of the president heard, and we know his campaign trail has not rested for a minute and are on the

Dale Sikkema represents the Republican party in a mock debate. Photo by Emily West.

not defy current trends and vote for the opposite candidate. Even if Romney finished election night with Florida and North Carolina – once a swing state that many observ-ers expect is now safely for Romney, a win will not be easy without Ohio. Romney would have to win five of six remaining swing states, all of which voted for Obama in 2008.

What: Students can participate and watch the votes and live coverage of the 2012 election Nov. 6. Sidelines, MT 10 and WMTS will be there making sure your voice is heard in this year’s election.

Admission is free and food is provided. Election coverage will include the local elections along with the national broad-casts coverage streaming live. Multiple social media sites and news coverage will be screened on TVs

The event is sponsored by MTSU Liberal Arts, Student Programming, Honors Col-lege, American Democracy Project and Center for Innovation in Media.

When: November 6

Time: 5 p.m. til 10 p.m.

Where: Student Union Ballroom

COVER STORY

SIDELINES | Oct. 31, 2012 | www.mtsusidelines.com 9

Presidential candidates campaigning for student, swing state votes

move for voters like gangbusters.” While Romney leads in Florida, which con-tains the most electoral votes — 29 — of any of the swing states, most observers agree that Ohio is the key state. No Republican presidential candidate has seen victory without the votes of Ohio, and a Democrat has done so

only twice.But with a diverse range of interests and people, Ohio’s 18 electoral votes are tough to claim. “Demographically, Ohio is very similar to the nation as a whole,” said Dan Birdsong, a political science profes-sor at the University of Dayton. “What is more, the mix of urban, suburban and rural areas

make Ohio difficult to pinpoint issues that reso-nant with voters as well as coordinate get-out-the-vote efforts.” Ohio cities such as Cleveland and Cincin-nati often bring diver-gent political agendas to voting. These urban interests coupled with rural voters who come from coal-mining coun-try means that many

2012 Election Viewing Party

candidates struggle to reach out to the entire state. While the state’s TV airways serve as the pri-mary conduit, the three presidential debates that have brought Romney within three points of Obama in Ohio and closer in other states, Syler said. “The first debate gave him an opportunity to kind of step out of the 30-second attack ads and demonstrate to the people that he wasn’t as scary as he was made out to be and gave him an opportunity to appear presidential,” Syler said. “I think the second and third debates, President Obama probably did better in both of them, but the first debate kind of set the tone, and Governor Romney has been able to ride that to a lead in most national polling.” But national voting will not decide the race.Instead the Elec-toral College, a system whereby individual states cast a number of votes equal to that state’s Congressional representation, will de-termine the next presi-dent. In most states, the winner of the popular vote in that state will take all electoral votes the state can cast. According to the Washington, D.C.-based Politico newspaper and website, which included North Carolina in its cal-culations to make nine swing states, Obama needs 33 votes to gain a 270-vote majority, while Romney requires 89 votes to get to 270. The data assumes that all non-swing states will

Red states representative of Republican majorityBlue states representative of Democratic majorityWhite states representative of swing states

RANTS AND RAVESOctober 31

Halloween Freak Fest12th and Porter 114 12th Ave N.,

Nashville8 p.m.

Ages: 18+Admission: $5.

Get your freak on – in costume, mind you, in Nashville at 12th and Porter for a Halloween Freak Fest. Gimm and Icky, a Nashville based rap/pop duo, will head-line the dance party. Also, Nashville-based singer/songwriter, Alyssa Bona-gura, will be performing

songs off her latest record released earlier this month. Grim and Icky put on a high-energy show and are no strangers to the local bar scene. They frequent the infamous Monday night tradition, the Whiskey Jam at Win-ners bar near downtown Nashville. Expect to

jump, sway and put at least a hand or two in the air. To reiterate: dress to impress.

November 1CMA Awards

Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway, Nashville

7 p.m.Admission:

$114.50 - $551

If you have an affinity for large crowds, cowboy hats and the secondhand stench of Marlboro Reds, then head up to Nash-ville for the CMAs at the Bridgestone Arena. The top talent here in the country music capital of the world will be there in all their studded glory to

receive recognition and/or playful scrutiny from their respected peers. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will be host-ing the 46th annual event with performers such as Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Vince Gill, T-Swift and people you’ve probably never heard of.

This is Brad and Car-rie’s fourth year hosting together, and if you’ve ever watched the awards ceremony, you pretty much already know what to expect. If you don’t want to spend $551 on a ticket to the “biggest night in country music,” just buy some popcorn.

November 1The Kicks w/ The Black Cadillacs & Sequoyah

12th and Porter, 114 12th Ave. N.,

Nashville8 p.m.

Ages: 18+

If you like good rock n’ roll, this is a show you don’t want to miss. Hail-ing from Little Rock, Ark., The Kicks put on a heavy show. They blend metal, pop and elements of punk with a sound you would expect from a power pop-punk band. They’ve toured with

acts like The Donnas and Motley Crue, and they’re currently touring with The Black Cadillacs and Sequoyah, who will be opening up for The Kicks. From Knoxville, The Black Cadillacs are a more classic sound-ing rock band, claiming influences from The

Rolling Stones and The Who. And lastly, hail-ing from South Carolina, Sequoyah, who used to be Sequoyah Prep School until 2010, is a rock band that will start the night off right. Rock n’ roll.

November 2Oakland’s Mansion900 N. Maney Ave.

9 a.m. to noonAll Ages

Admission: $5

The end of October and the beginning of Novem-ber is arguably the most beautiful time of the year. The leaves are changing, and the weather is getting cooler. Put on those old long sleeves, scarves and that jacket you forgot you bought last year to head out to Autumn in the

Oaks in Murfreesboro on the grounds of the Oak-land’s Mansion. If you’ve never been, you’re in for a treat. You’ll be able to explore autumn-themed science, history and nature, all of which and that highlights the best parts of this time of year. You can bring a picnic,

blanket and someone you care about for an unfor-gettable time in the fallen leaves. Your favorite pumpkin-spice latte is highly recommended.

November 4Musicians Corner

Album Release Show 3rd and Lindsley,

818 3rd Ave. S., Nash-ville

7 p.m.Admission: $8

All Ages

You’ve probably heard of Musician’s Corner, the nonprofit that presents free music to the public. To add to the awesome-ness, the organization will be releasing an album featuring some awesome local acts and some nearby ones, as well. There will be the

local band, Colorfeels, and Atlanta’s own Nathan Angelo. Over the course of the Musician’s Corner season this past summer, the nonprofit recorded its first full-length album featuring 16 different artists. The profits from the album sales will keep free music events hap-

pening around Nashville. Damien Horne will be performing along with other soulful acts, as well as an acoustic round featuring country bands like The Farm. If it’s in true Musician’s Corner fashion, it should be a good time with lots of good music.

10 SIDELINES | Oct. 31, 2012 | www.mtsusidelines.com

November 3An Evening with

Anthony BourdainTPAC, Andrew Jackson Hall, 505 Deaderick St.,

Nashville8 p.m.

Admission: $15 & upAll ages

November 3Art Crawl Downtown

The Arcade, 15 14th Ave. N.,

Nashville6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

RANTS AND RAVESOne of the best things about Middle Tennessee is the appreciation most for the arts. Not just mu-sic, but the visual arts as well. The first Saturday of every month, The Arts Company hosts an event in which visitors can browse galleries by artists

from all over. You’ll be refreshed and encouraged by the enormous amount of talent that can be found here, gallery after gallery. You won’t be disappointed. As adver-tised on the website, most galleries have free wine and other refreshments.

Usually you’ll find street musicians (all of them have homes and are very talented) littered along the road, hosted by the gallery they play in front of. They may not guar-antee it, but you’ll gain some new perspective on art after a solid evening in downtown Nashville.

Is your stomach growl-ing? It probably does when you watch Anthony Bourdain’s show on Food Network, and it might after An Evening with Anthony Bourdain where he’ll be sharing dis-patches from his travels. He’ll be in rare form at the Andrew Jackson Hall

in Nashville as he shares stories from the road and bits of his life’s work. There will also be an open question and answer session where audience members can ask Antho-ny anything – like how he makes everything he eats look so darn good. Anthony’s “No Reserva-

tions” is in its ninth sea-son on the Food Network on Monday evenings. If you still have no clue who he is, think food and travel hosted by “the bad boy of cuisine.”

For more news, sports and entertainment visit

mtsusidelines.com

By Jane HorneArts & Entertainment editor


ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENTSave money, be creative with Halloween costumes

Following the masses into the nearest costume surplus store for your annual Hallow-een garb can leave you with little else but a $50 hole in your wallet and an unimaginative outfit. So this year, get creative instead. With so many places to draw inspiration from, and so many thrift stores to scour, why not this year go a little less “hot referee” – which you’re also freezing in, ladies – and get a little more original? Perhaps the biggest appeal of DIY-ing it is that it is very cost effective, especially for us penny-pinching college kids. Most of the suggested costumes to follow can be created uniquely to your indi-vidual style with items you or a friend already have at home. For those who want to participate, yet aren’t

particularly into cos-tumes, get the best of both worlds by sporting a costume requiring little other than a hat and a color-coordinating outfit. For the traditional Halloween route, dress as a witch, a pumpkin or candy corn. Or go the animal path (via animal-ear headbands) by being a butterfly or a peacock, among the other basic animals. A rainbow, a Greek (god)dress, or even “paper, rock, scissors,” can all be achieved by sim-ply pairing the right

headpiece or mask with solid-colored ap-parel. Same goes for the popular “flower child” choice, only try going more Hendrix and Jop-lin, rather than fake and commercialized with a ridiculous afro wig and a plastic peace sign necklace. However, for those who want to throw back to the more classic nature of Halloween costumes, characters from “Mario,” the “Harry Potter” series or the currently huge su-perhero genre, are also

very doable. You do not have to spend a fortune on the generic, themed attire manufacturers create, when making it at home is far more cost efficient and will be just as effective. This outfit route is also a better option because you will avoid the disappoint-ment of someone at the same party wearing the exact same thing as you. If iconic is what you’re looking for in a costume, go for Wendy Adams (braids, peter-pan collar and black), or an Edie Sedgwick

(late 60’s-black tights, big earrings, heavy eye makeup, cigarette) and Andy Warhol (hipster glasses and sleek, dark clothing). And we’re all at least familiar with the classic “Nightmare be-fore Christmas” charac-ters of Jack (black suit with white pinstripes – skeleton accents would help) and Sally (patchwork dress, red hair if possible). Margot and Richie Tenenbaum from “The Royal Tenen-baums,” would only require black eyeliner, straightened hair with a

side clip and a faux-fur jacket for Margot, with Richie being complete with blublockers, a ten-nis headband and a suit jacket. Other cult clas-sic films such as “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Zoolander” also contain an array of fabulously weird char-acters one could easily imitate with a variation of their own wardrobe or thrift store finds.Television shows, how-ever, can also prove to be excellent source of inspiration, especially with themed shows such as zombies from “The Walking Dead,” vampires from “True Blood,” and medieval characters from “Game of Thrones.” All can be recreated with small purchases, such as fake blood, vampire teeth, fake swords and drab vintage clothing. If worse comes to worse, you can ensure that “Green Man” and the hugely popular Psy from the “Gangnam Style” music video will always be greatly ap-preciated. So, whatever Hal-loween costume idea you end up settling on, this is simply a request that you at least at-tempt at some form of originality and self-ex-pression. This way, we won’t have multitudes of Lady Gaga’s run-ning around, and more importantly, so you can save that green.

By Claire OsburnContributing writer

Curtis Clark, a freshman behavior and human sciences major, tries on a wig at All Things Possible. Photo by Taylor Humphrey.

Kara Anthony, a freshman liberal arts major, browses the racks at All Things Possible bargain center for costume ideas. Photo by Tay-lor Humphrey.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Nashville’s country-pop princess Taylor Swift has made another mark on music history after her fourth album, Red, broke platinum in less than a week. With her single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” being the only one off the album to gain consid-erable radio attention, fans weren’t sure what to expect from Red. There’s no denying that Swift is becoming more broadened in the musical genre, and her songs have less country music influences. Even her personal styling since the announcement of Red has become less girl-next-door, and more classy-meets-trendy. While some may ex-tend criticism for this, it comes as no surprise. At 22, Swift is still taking chances with her music and discover-

ing who she is, which she’s done in fine form with her newest album. As compared to Speak Now, which was written solely by Swift, Red is a mixture of Swift songs and collaborated songs with successful and cel-ebrated songwriters in the pop music genre. The mixture of purely Taylor-written songs with artists such as Max Martin and Shellback, both of who have writ-ten with Britney Spears, Maroon 5 and other pop artists, is notice-able. The pop sounds definitely come from the collaborated songs, while the Swift-written songs can still be no-ticed as purely Taylor. “State of Grace” opens the album and was at the top of the iTunes charts when it was released a week before the album. It’s about the unexpected

arrival of a new roman-tic interest, and carries themes heard through the rest of the album, while still giving that fun, dance-around-your-room feel that is typical of any first release of a Swift album. The title track, “Red” is a perfect example of a Taylor Swift song. Passion and heartbreak are paired with a chorus that makes you want to get up, sing along and momentarily reminisce on all your past relation-ships. “Treacherous,” “All Too Well,” “I Almost Do” and “Begin Again” are melancholic songs that don’t disap-point, and will make the favorite lists of Tay-lor fans everywhere. Perhaps the most noticeably unique and outstanding songs on Red are “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “The Last Time.” There were

Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ a different color than signature styleBy Jane Horne

Arts & Entertainment editorrumblings that there was a dubstep-influenced song on the album, and that made Swift fans everywhere a little nervous. But “I Knew You Were Trouble” blends flawlessly with the rest of the songs. While the sound may be a little different than what fans are used to, the lyrics re-main completely Taylor. They are reminiscent of songs we saw on Speak Now, looking back on knowing that a guy was a bad choice, falling for it anyway. “The Last Time” is a beautifully writ-ten song, and it makes complete sense that the voice featured on the track is Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol. While Swift has been criticized

for songs that have im-mature themes of love and heartbreak, this makes up for it with the simple message of de-manding to be important to your romantic partner. It’s also a nice follow-up on the album to “Stay Stay Stay,” a track that brings back memories of “Mean” on Speak Now with the simple, and fun lyrics. And what would a Taylor Swift album be without the one track that has nothing to do with love? Where its only goal is to produce fun, dancing and a little bit of hope? “22” does just that with lyrics like “we’re happy, free, con-fused and lonely in the best way/ it’s miserable and magical.” The song takes pride

in being young and hav-ing as much fun as you can with the friends that matter. The success of Swift’s fourth album is just another reassurance that she is here to stay. Red is yet another album that belongs in any music lovers library that ap-preciates heartbreak, fun and moving on. Fans aren’t quite sure what is coming next from Swift, but then again, the 22-year-old probably doesn’t know what she has planned next either. Until then, Swifties everywhere will be anxiously awaiting the announcement of the Red U.S. tour and for the cycle of music and love to “Begin Again.”

Taylor Swift changes her style with new album. Photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

OPINIONSGive me policy and honesty: Debates need fact checkers

The election is less than a week away and Americans are either going to reelect Presi-dent Barack Obama or give former governer of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, a chance to run things. Either way, you have a choice to make. Over the course of the past three weeks, Americans have watched Obama and Romney take cheap shots at one another in an election tradition we Americans like to call a debate. Each night as I tuned in to see what each can-didate would say next, in a desperate hope to figure out what they stood for, more times than not I found myself shaking my head at the television. These debates are a waste of time and truly do not educate the unde-cided voters.In a fast-paced society, many people don’t have the time or energy to sit down and truly look into each candidate’s campaign, along well as their past actions, to make a well-informed choice as to whom to elect. So we turn to the news. Well…we know Fox News isn’t going to air anything positive about Obama and MSNBC will undoubtedly find something to harp on the Republican party about. Now what? So then we turn to the debates, to hear it straight from the pro-

verbial horses’ mouths, though these days all they say seems to come from another end. In the first debate Romney came out and took Obama, and Amer-ica for that matter, by surprise. But aside from

By Richel AlbrightManaging editor


learning that Mittens has an affinity for Big Bird and Obama’s claim that Romney has proposed a $5 trillion tax cut, what did we really learn in that first debate? First of all, that $5 trillion tax cut isn’t true. According to Fact-Check.org, Romney claims to offset his rate cuts but not add to the national deficit. In the words of my favorite College Gameday an-chor Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.” Romney also prom-ised to “not reduce the taxes paid by high-income Americans” and

“lower taxes on middle-income families,” with-out explaining how he could do so without also increasing the deficit, according to FactCheck.org. In the second debate, which was a town hall style, there were intense moments where I was fully expecting punches to fly, but instead the candidates stuck to the sparring of words. Again, what did we re-ally take away from this? In what was pos-sibly the most intense moment of the debate Romney criticized Obama’s response to the terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya, being spontaneous and not

Middle East. This is where I’d like to propose the introduc-tion of fact checkers at the actual debates.This year has seen a flood of fact checkers calling out each can-didate in nearly every speech, campaign ad and post-debate reports. Sadly, most people don’t care enough to look into what was true and what wasn’t after the debates are over with. Wouldn’t it be a beautiful thing if each time a candidate was wrong or misleading a buzzer sounded and someone actually set them straight? As a voting citizen, I want to give my vote to the person who is

going to be honest and straightforward with me, but how can we ex-pect them to do so when no one is holding them accountable for blatant-ly lying each time they take the stage? I know it will be years– at least four, but I anticipate many more– before any sort of talks to introduce an idea like this occurs. But I think it’s time we stop accepting their false statements and vague policy explanations and hold them to higher standards. If you’re going to ask for my vote tell me point blank, without criticizing your oppo-nent, what your policy is and how you expect to achieve it and don’t make excuses for any-thing you have or have not done. I’ve already cast my ballot, and I encourage you to do so too. But take a deep look at each candidate and yourself. What do you stand for? Not your peers,

not your parents, but you. Make an educated and informed decision, you’ve still got time to take a good look at each candidate, you may be surprised by what you learn. In the words of Tony Snow, journalist and former press secretary to President George W. Bush, “Voting is a right best exercised by people who have taken time to learn about the issues.”

an act of terror. Obama fired back telling him to “check the transcript.” Though Obama did call these attacks an “act of terror” on the day of said attack, he refrained from using the term again for a couple weeks until it was con-firmed. The third and final presidential debate was much more civilized than the previous two but still full of falsities, with mentions of naval ships and bayonets and just how many troops each candidate said should be left in the

‘‘ I think it’s time we stop accepting their false

statements and vague policy explanations and hold them to

higher standards.”

Comic by Matt Masters.

Richel Albright

SPORTSExpectations soar for MT basketball after historic prior season

The Middle Tennes-see men’s basketball team is looking to keep the momentum of last year’s historic season going as they prepare to enter this season as the unanimous selection to win the Sun Belt East Division. The Blue Raiders’ historic 27 wins in 2011-2012 marked the most wins in a season in school history, earning them a spot in the Na-tional Invitation Tourna-ment. MT went on to make a deep tournament run, falling only one game short of a trip to Madison Square Garden for the NIT semifinals. The team has won two Sun Belt Championship in three years overall. This year, expecta-tions are again sky high, as MT was unanimously elected to win the Sun Belt East Division by the Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Blue Raiders have even received votes in a pair of national Top 25 pre-season polls. “We’ve got 11 of our top 13 back. We lost two seniors . . . but I feel really good,” said Head Coach Kermit Davis. One of the two seniors was LaRon Dendy, the 2012 Sun Belt Player of the Year who joined the Wash-ington Wizards’ sum-mer league team and is currently playing for the Greek team Kolossos, a member of Europe’s A1 League. The returning group is led by Marcos

Knight, a senior guard and the only returning player to start every game last season. Knight averaged 11.8 points a game last year, making him the Blue Raiders’ top returning scorer. Joining Knight is senior forward JT Sul-ton and senior guards Bruce Massey and Ray-mond Cintron. The four seniors also represent Middle Tennessee on the preseason All Sun Belt team. “We’re going to need a lot of those guys to make up for Dendy,” Davis said. “Dendy’s got this ‘it’ factor. He just has this swagger that, you walk into an arena and are play-ing UCLA, Ole Miss or Tennessee, he just brings that ‘we’re fixing to win the game.’ Bruce Massey has it. Marcos Knight has it. We’ve got a lot of toughness on our team and they play with . . . personality and . . . enthusiasm.” Also looking to bolster the team’s success this season will be University of Texas El Paso transfer Jason Jones, who returns after an injury-plagued 2011-2012 season. Jones was hampered in preseason practice by a hamstring injury, but will look to return the form that saw him finish eighth in the Sun Belt in scoring his sophomore season. After last year’s vic-tories over UCLA, Ole Miss, and Tennessee and a hotly contested loss against Vanderbilt in Nashville, the Blue Raiders have March Madness in their sights. “For me, the biggest thing is making, and

winning, the NCAA tournament,” Knight said. “That’s the ulti-mate goal.” Junior guard Kerry Hammonds expressed his expectations to win a third conference championship in four years and earn a NCAA tournament berth. “If you don’t get that, it’s a bust,” Hammonds said. Although, like many other coaches, Davis does not necessarily buy into preseason projec-tions. The all-time win-ningest coach in school history received a new five-year contract earlier this year and welcomes this season’s expecta-tions. “Our expectations are obviously to get a little bit better every single day,” Davis said. “We just got picked to win our league, which doesn’t mean anything, but it’s always great to have expectations.” While many seasoned Blue Raiders return to the court, MT has a pair of newcomers in juniors Neiko Hunter and Tr-antell “Tweety” Knight, who are ready to make an immediate impact similar to the way that Marcos Knight, Dendy and Massey did after transferring in last sea-son. Tweety, the young-er brother of Marcos, is likely to add some chemistry to the team in joining his brother on the court and in the locker room. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen two brothers that are so much alike. And they just like to be around each other,” Da-vis said. “They’re just good. They really enjoy

playing with each other on the court.”Davis said that the ju-nior has been challeng-ing Massey at the guard position. “Tweety brings a lot to the table as a point guard Bruce (Massey) is a great defender and Tweety is just as good, if not a better defender, than Bruce,” Ham-monds said. Knight will have to prove himself on the court in order to take the starting job from Massey, who had 131 rebounds and 134 as-sists last year. The Blue Raiders do not just play to win; they play for their fans. “One of the most pleasing things for our players and I was seeing the student body come

back in great numbers, and we had one of the best student sections in college basketball last year,” Davis said. Last year, MT fans helped the team post the sixth largest increase in college basketball atten-dance in the nation. Davis said that one expectation for this sea-son is to see the fan base and the support of the student body increase and continue to grow. Davis also said that he wants to run a student-friendly pro-gram that encourages attendance. “We hope [atten-dance] picks up on Nov. 9 where it left off,” Davis said. “The student body is absolutely the most exciting thing in that arena. It helps our

players win games.” The Blue Raiders have a tough, non-conference schedule this year. MT will face the 10th-ranked Florida Ga-tors in addition to again playing Ole Miss and Vanderbilt this season. The Florida and Vander-bilt games will be held at a neutral location and the Ole Miss game will be held at the Murphy Center. MT will host its first exhibition match at home against the Auburn-Montgomery Senators Nov. 5 at 7 pm. The Blue Raiders’ first game of the regular sea-son will be against the Alabama State Hornets Nov. 9 at the Murphy Center. Tipoff is sched-uled for 7:45 p.m.

By Jordan PowellStaff writer

SIDELINES | Oct. 31 , 2012 | www.mtsusidelines.com 15

Guard Bruce Massey was a crucial part of the Blue Raiders’ 2011-2012 season, including the NIT win at Tennessee. Photo Courtesy of MT Athletic Communications.

For more news, sports and entertainment visit

mtsusidelines.com

Sidelines Online - 10/31/12

Documents

Transcript of Sidelines Online - 10/31/12