The Oracle - 02/26/10

Tech’s College of Engineering plans to terminate its Industrial and Systems Engineering program as a result of recent funding reductions.

The ISE program has 53 students en-rolled as of Fall 2009, making it the small-est of Tech’s engineering programs. The college has formulated a plan which will ensure degree completion in a timely manner for current students.

“Closing the Industrial and Systems Engineering program is a bad idea, in my opinion,” said Brice Bennett, senior ISE major. “Industrial engineering is one of the fastest growing of all the engineering programs.

“I think they could have found a more ef-fi cient way to fi nd the money for the budget re-ductions that would have made more sense.”

The College of Engi-neering has endured a re-duction of approximately $1 million in state appro-priation over the last two fi scal years.

The ISE program cancellation is one of many severe cuts brought about by nearly two decades of budget reductions. Both Tech and the College of Engineering face two years of critical cutbacks.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Occupational Outlook Handbook, more industrial engineers are employed in Tennessee than any other engineers.

“According to substantial evidence, the industrial engineering discipline is one of the fastest growing nationally and most prevalent for engineering jobs in the state,” said Jessica Matson, professor of industrial and systems engineering. “I think the removal of this program is un-fortunate for the state of Tennessee.”

Beginning July 30, 2012, the ISE pro-gram will no longer offer regular ISE courses. By this time, current ISE students should have completed degree require-ments.

Along with most engineering pro-grams, the ISE program at Tech is ac-credited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology, which will coordinate the closure to further ensure the quality of the program.

THE OORACLEVolume 93 | Issue 4 | Free in single copy | February 26, 2010Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505

IN THIS EDITIONBooker, Townsend address foreign aid in Haiti - Page 2

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ENTERTAINMENT

Those Darlins arrive at Tech on Thursday

- Page 5

SPORTSTech brings home

York Trophy - Page 4

By AMBER McCARTY Staff Writer

Two appointed to oversee learning villages

Have you ever tried to tune into WTTU 88.5 radio but had problems? Well here is some good news for you.

WTTU is now going to be acces-sible online through the Tech Web site. It is estimated to be up and running by the fi rst or second week of March.

According to Beth Rupe, director of WTTU public affairs, staff members are often asked why the radio station does not have a Web stream because most people do not have radios, just MP3 players or online music. People have also stated that if WTTU was online, they would tune in and listen a lot more.

“I feel it will really help our listen-ership,” Rupe said, “I think by word of mouth, Facebook and fl yers it will inform people and make them listen a lot more than now.”

The Web stream will be available 24/7 so that the consistency will be convenient for listeners. The format of the music will be the current daytime college rock. Eve-nings will consist of different varieties of anything from electronica, hip-hop, classic rock, and more.

The stream will be available 365 days a year, which means you will never have a problem tuning in to listen even during breaks.

“It’s automated,” said WTTU program director Kyle Prince, “We’ll be using the same system as we currently use if there is not a DJ in the booth. The playlist is 99 percent music with some brief station IDs voiced by local and national celebrities.”

Once the web streaming is up and running, it can be accessed through the main Tech Web site. But also there will be a button on WTTU Web site which you can click that will say “Listen Live.” After clicking that button it should start. The stream will play through Windows Real-Player or iTunes.

Eva Dingwall, student media secre-tary, said, “Online will be live. Exactly what you hear on the radio will be exactly

Industrial and Systems Engineering will no longer be offered at Tech by 2012

53Number of students in the ISE program as of Fall 2009

Budget cuts claim engineering program

By GERILYN LEMONSStaff Writer

FRIDAY FORECASTSUNNY

HIGH 42, LOW 23

OPINION

By DAKOTA WEATHERFORDStaff Writer

Do you like to help oth-ers or the planet? Beginning this fall Tech will have learn-ing villages in both New Hall dormitories to increase stu-dent involvement. Learning villages have been used in Ivy-League colleges such as Oxford and Cambridge Uni-versities.

There will be two parts of the villages separated be-tween New Hall North and New Hall South: environmen-tal and service. Tech recently selected two faculty members to be involved with the vil-lages. Paula Hinton will be in charge of the service village,

WTTU to launch online streaming in March

Kyle Prince, a WTTU DJ, interactswith listeners during his show, “Radar’s Hit List.”

Chuck Acheson

what you hear online.”The only setbacks that

have been detected so far with the testing is that if you are using an older computer or slower Internet access, you may experi-ence some skipping throughout the pro-gram.

Earl Hutchison, WTTU station advis-er, said, “This is a student-run organiza-tion. Students have wanted the streaming for two years, but we did not fi nd it fea-sible.”

Dave Dickerson, music director, and Kyle Prince, program director, collaborat-ed to fi gure out a way to make streaming possible. Finally, after talking to Hutchi-son about what they wanted, Hutchison checked with WTTU’s station engineer, Austin Stinett, and found out that stream-ing was actually affordable.

After checking with multiple provid-ers, Stinett recommended a streaming pro-

vider called DRS 2006, which is used by local JWC-Broadcasting stations. WTTU is the fi fth radio station to use the provider.

WTTU actually saved $700 with this stream provider. Through DRS 2006 there will initially be 30 listeners who can access the stream at one time. WTTU is able to upgrade the number of listeners if WTTU staff thinks the Web stream is constantly full, which will affect the cost. Compared to the most expensive provider, which costs $1070 a year, the noticeably lower price tag got WTTU’s attention.

Be sure to listen for additional infor-mation about WTTU’s Web stream and tune in once it is available.

For additional information about the Web stream, tune in to WTTU or contact WTTU Program Director, Kyle Prince, at [email protected], or WTTU Music Director, Dave Dickerson, at [email protected]

Photo Services

Paula Hinton, associate professor of history, and Lenly Weathers, associate professor of civil engineering, will lead the service and environmental villages, respectively.

while Lenly Weathers will be part of the environmental vil-lage.

“We want it to be their idea,” said Charles Macke, director of Residential Life, referring to students.

The learning villages are open to all students and fac-ulty.

“It is an additional chance to connect with students,” Macke said.

Weathers said, “My vision for the Green Village is that of an active, stable and support-ive community populated by students who are interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle, are interested in pro-moting sustainable develop-ment, embrace an eagerness to learn, and the willingness to help others learn, seek to

enrich the village by orga-nizing and participating in formal or informal social, cul-tural and recreational village activities.”

Each of the villages will have its own budget. The budget will allow them to work on their choice of proj-ects pertaining to their vil-lage. The budget could also be used for trips or activities planned by students. They will develop a name, logo and mascot.

Eventually, they want the villages to venture into intra-murals, debate teams and en-gineering contests.

“Developing a strongly student-led atmosphere, es-pecially with respect to so-cial, cultural and recreational activities, will be essential for

the LLC (villages) to thrive,” Weathers said.

The villages are created to help students fi nd like-minded friends and faculty. Macke said that if everything worked out, there could be a village designated to each dorm on campus. By doing this, it will create more op-portunities for students to make friends.

“We got to give it a chance. It’s going to be slow going,” Macke said. Residen-tial life is going to start adver-tising for the villages soon. When future students sign up for housing there will also be information on the learning villages.

For more information, call Macke at (931) 372-3414.

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Tech alumnus survives 100-foot fall from cliff

- Page 6

| February 26, 2010 www.tntechoracle.com

OPINIONCONTACT USCONTACT US• Send Letters to the Editor to • Send Letters to the Editor to [email protected], TTU Box 5072 [email protected], TTU Box 5072 or tntechoracle.com/home/or tntechoracle.com/home/lettertotheeditor. lettertotheeditor.

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THE THE OORACLERACLEWeekly. Student operated. | P.O. Box 5072 Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505

Tennessee Technological University--nondiscrimina-tory on the basis of sex in its educational programs and activities including employ-ment and admission of students to the University as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and regulations based therein and published in CFR, part 86. Tennessee Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Affi rmative Action Employer.

CHRISTINE SEIBERCHRISTINE SEIBERManaging EditorManaging Editor

WILL HOUSLEYWILL HOUSLEYAsst. Managing EditorAsst. Managing Editor

SARA BOHANNONSARA BOHANNONAd ManagerAd Manager

ALLISON WHEELERALLISON WHEELERDIANA CARSONDIANA CARSON

Ad AssistantsAd Assistants

EMILY BOOKEREMILY BOOKEREditorial EditorEditorial Editor

SARAH TOWNSENDSARAH TOWNSENDAsst. Editorial EditorAsst. Editorial Editor

BRANDON GOODWINBRANDON GOODWINSports EditorSports Editor

JAMES SCHIERMEYERJAMES SCHIERMEYERAsst. Sports EditorAsst. Sports Editor

CHUCK ACHESONCHUCK ACHESONEntertainment EditorEntertainment Editor

TALLULAH GILLIAMTALLULAH GILLIAMBAILEY DARROWBAILEY DARROW

Copy EditorsCopy Editors

BRENDA WILSON, Faculty AdviserBRENDA WILSON, Faculty Adviser

BEAT REPORTERS:BEAT REPORTERS: Erica Betschart, Ellie Boles, Courtney Clifford, Matt Davis, Erica Betschart, Ellie Boles, Courtney Clifford, Matt Davis, Justin Duke, Casey Elrod, Jordan Farrell, Darrel Ferris, Christina Gillim, Kayla Justin Duke, Casey Elrod, Jordan Farrell, Darrel Ferris, Christina Gillim, Kayla Gulley, Karla Hammac, Hannah Harris, Ross Harvey, Lauren Huxford, Brandon Gulley, Karla Hammac, Hannah Harris, Ross Harvey, Lauren Huxford, Brandon Jelson, Christopher Jones, Dhir Joshi, Jonathan Kaulay, Samantha Kendall, Jelson, Christopher Jones, Dhir Joshi, Jonathan Kaulay, Samantha Kendall, David Lane, Gerilyn Lemons, Leasa McCall, Amber McCarty, Amanda Miller, David Lane, Gerilyn Lemons, Leasa McCall, Amber McCarty, Amanda Miller, Bailey Morgan, Aleksandr Peterson, Jonathan Pierce, Ashlee Polk, Brittney Bailey Morgan, Aleksandr Peterson, Jonathan Pierce, Ashlee Polk, Brittney Robinson, Nicholas Rollins, Jessica Smith, Brandon Stephenson, Evan Taylor, Robinson, Nicholas Rollins, Jessica Smith, Brandon Stephenson, Evan Taylor, Laura Vaught, Dakota Weatherford, Geri Anna Wilson, Jenda WilsonLaura Vaught, Dakota Weatherford, Geri Anna Wilson, Jenda Wilson

O

at its own job? I ask as a two-month-old

Tech alumna who is already being bombarded by dona-tion/input requests. My in-put is that if TAB cannot fund remotely interesting activities with a previously existing fund, SGA shouldn’t be able to take advantage of students for another $20.

Students, how about holding student-organiza-tions responsible for the way they spend your money?

Don’t shrug your shoul-ders at a boring campus. Your apathy will stamp another fee onto your already spiked bill.

How about writing to SGA President Sean Ochsenbein or TAB President Tiffany Biggs? Heck, their offi ce doors are 30-feet apart on the main fl oor of the RUC. How about knocking on one?

It’s so frustrating to me that in 20 years my children will ask me about a Tech that I may no longer recommend. You really can’t blame the administration for problems caused by a complacent stu-dent community.

Amanda Russell‘09 Tech alumna

[email protected]

Should the U.S. spend money and resources to help Haiti?

Poll of the Week >>

This week: What are you doing for spring break?

Go to tntechoracle.com to vote!

Government aid should go to its citizens first

America should help weaker countries in need

EMILY BOOKER

Editorial Editor

Dear Editor,I don’t understand SGA’s

need for the SOLO Bill. Isn’t TAB responsible for this?

According to TAB’s Web site, “TAB is a student organi-zation that provides a forum where students can express their individuality and inter-ests through planning and promoting special events on campus.”

However, the SGA Web site states, “SGA’s sole pur-pose is to represent the stu-dent body and voice their con-cerns to the administration.”

Students are already charged an activities fee by TAB. While attending Tech, I noticed TAB spent this mon-ey on snowcones and bounce houses. Perhaps if the orga-nization fronted ideas more relevant to students, SGA wouldn’t have to take its fo-cus from governing the stu-dent body to also entertain-ing it.

While I appreciate Stephenson’s article on the bill front, I don’t understand why it reeks of SGA press release. It doesn’t question why this bill is needed. I wish I could read about the fl ip side.

Who interviewed TAB re-garding its ill-fated attempts

SARAH TOWNSEND

Asst. Editorial Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,This letter is in refer-

ence to Brandon Goodwin’s editorial in the February 19th edition of The Oracle. Gym crowding is not a new issue. If you visit any gym at a busy time of day you will fi nd it to be crowded, which has al-ways been the case.

He makes some good points about underused space, but for more than half of his article he berates people for going to the gym. That is awfully hypocritical coming from a person who is “all for people getting in shape.” While other parts of the paper addresses issues professionally, like the recent issue with stolen newspapers or the Olympics, he resorts to insulting people for their gym attire. If someone wants to work out in a chipmunk out-fi t, that’s their prerogative. If he is tired of girls in boots blocking his running path,

he should try politely ask-ing them to move instead of whining in his column about it.

Why does it bother him that Tech athletes are play-ing basketball at the Fit? I play basketball regularly, and when I’m looking for a pick-up game, I go to the Fit. Is it that offensive if a Tech athlete does the same?

Finally, wouldn’t the sports editor’s time be better spent writing an article that involves Tech sports and not his frustrations at the gym? Perhaps next week he should write an article about the golf team instead of copying a press release I can fi nd on Tech’s athletic site.

If he doesn’t like over-crowding at the gym, I sug-gest he wakes up earlier, when the Fit is less crowded.

Jason [email protected]

The recent disaster in Haiti has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people. The U.S., along with many other nations, is trying to aid the country in as many ways as possible. Supplying medical assistance and re-sources to countries in the midst of chaos has been an American tradition since our beginning.

I was shocked to fi nd out that many people do not agree with our government spend-ing money to help support the disaster-stricken nation. In fact, there are even two on-line petitions demanding our government to stop funding to Haiti and the victims of the earthquake.

According to the sites both titled, “U.S. Should Not Help Haiti Earthquake Victims”, the U.S. doesn’t have the resources to spare. I understand that America is in debt and we should be

focused on our problems, however part of what makes this country such a symbol of hope is the fact that we help other places when in desper-ate need such as now.

The site reads, “By giv-ing money, we will pre-vent Haitian citizens from rising up in their own Tea Party Revolution and taking their country back from the Marxists.”

Frankly, I don’t think the people of Haiti are organized enough to free themselves from any government oppres-sion at the moment because their country is now ruins from a natural disaster that no political power created.

The site also claims that they do not discourage pri-vate organizations from do-nating to help the victims.

I agree that the majority of supplies and relief workers should be from private sourc-es. Maybe companies and in-

dividuals are helping out in their own ways, such as vol-unteering and fundraising.

Even here on our own campus, I have seen one group collecting donations for the cause. One of the best things about religiously af-fi liated organizations is the amount of volunteering that churches do during this kind of global catastrophe.

The problem I have is the fact that these people believe that we as a nation should do nothing to help these people who have been put in such a helpless position that is not their fault. You may argue that their government is cor-rupt. That may be so; how-ever I don’t understand how the victims of such a horrifi c event have corrupted their government.

Glenn Adamson ends the message with, “The U.S. gov-ernment should not give one dime: it isn’t their money to give and it will only reward failed choices.”

I would like to know how a child left as an orphan from this earthquake has made a choice in the Haitian gov-ernment. The idea that U.S. should not participate in di-saster relief because we have a debt and unemployment

is reasonable to an extent, however we all have food to eat and a place to live. If you don’t have a job, the U.S. gov-ernment will help you out and supply you with welfare so you can feed your family.

On the other hand, this nation is in such bad shape from this tragic occurrence some people really do have nothing there. Children will go without meals and medi-cal attention if the United States ignores this problem.

It is hard to imagine that American people, who in comparison have life pretty well, want to be selfi sh and withhold help from an area that is suffering more than most Americans ever will.

Our nation is a symbol of hope for so many other nations. America should be committed to helping nations as well as staying mindful of our own limited resources, instead of only looking out for number one.

“

”

If this is still the land of plenty, why do we allow our fellow citizens to go without as we export our troops, our clean water, our doctors, and our money to another country?

-- Emily BookerEditorial Editor

The earthquake in Haiti was devastating, and people generously rushed to the poor country’s aid. There are hun-dreds of thousands of people homeless, hungry and need-ing medical attention there.

They were there before the earthquake too, but no one seemed concerned about them then. Why were we so quick to help Haiti after the earthquake? Because a group of celebrities answered phones for a few hours asking us to give money?

When it comes to giving aid, America loves to jump on the band wagon, then take the reins and be the head-strong leader of the wagon, showing the world that we’re the country that helps people, usually by throwing money at the problem.

That’s not charity. That’s competitiveness. Can we af-ford to always be number one?

It’s been over a month since the earthquake now, and the U.S. is still down there giving emergency assistance.

But there are hundreds of thousands of people home-less, hungry, and needing medical attention right here in the U.S. I don’t see the gov-ernment pouring troops, re-porters and celebrities into its

own communities. Volunteers who do help locally usually face a shortage of resources.

I’m not saying that Haiti doesn’t need aid. Please, if you can give, give. It’s your personal choice how you want to spend your money, time and resources.

There are plenty of wor-thy causes that need charity, both locally and internation-ally. But a government’s money, time and resources should fi rst go to its own peo-ple, then abroad.

Most of the time, foreign aid has nothing to do with wanting to help the average citizen “over there,” wher-ever there is at the time. It is much more political and self-interested than that.

We’ll give good ole green-backs to a poor country, hop-

ing it’s enough to buy food and medicine, build roads and bridges, and hire teach-ers and doctors.

But really, it’s a politi-cal move, either to make that country like us or to empower it against a country we’re not too fond of.

Remember when we gave the Taliban all that money and all those weapons? It was never to kindly help them, but to weaken the Soviets. And now the Taliban has the resources to fi ght us for years on end.

Because foreign aid is

a political tool more than a charity, quite a bit of that money does not go to schools and medicine like it’s intend-ed. It will go to pet projects of that government, or worse, corrupt leaders just pocket the money.

“It is heart-breaking that global society has evolved a highly effi cient way to get entertainment to rich adults and children, while it can’t get twelve-cent medicine to dying poor children,” said William Easterly, an econom-

ics professor on development and aid issues on the U.S. and Foreign Aid Assistance’s web site.

Maybe that’s because we’re going about it all wrong. Should we help countries in need? Yes. Should we ignore the need in our own country for political means? No.

In efforts to help Haiti, America has proved it has money and resources to care for people in need. But why must that willingness to help only come when a foreign country is struck by natural disaster?

Where is that willingness to help when Americans are struggling to survive every day? If this is still the land of plenty, why do we allow our fellow citizens to go with-out as we export our troops, our clean water, our doctors, and our money to another country?

America can be a leader without being the country that always rushes to the pop-ular disaster to give aid.

Let’s set a good example by helping our own suffering citizens fi rst. Then there will be more people able to donate both materials and time to the ongoing problems around the world.

If you would like to donate items to Haiti, a collection box for water, food and supplies is located on the fi rst fl oor of the RUC next to the Service Learning Center offi ce.

Yes 58%No 42%


NEWS

Sixty percent of students who withdraw from Tech never declare a major. In an at-tempt to lower that number, The Offi ce of Academic Affairs is hosting a majors fair geared toward undecided students.

A Major Discovery is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the RUC Multi-purpose Room. Event coordinator Brittni Simmons said the event will have the same feel as a career fair, with booths set up to display some of the different majors offered at Tech.

“We want this to help undecided stu-dents attach themselves to the university,” Simmons said.

While A Major Discovery is primarily geared toward students who have yet to de-clare a major, Simmons said students who have chosen a major could also benefi t from the fair by seeing the potential career op-portunities available with a degree in their fi eld.

By ELLIE BOLESStaff Writer

Tech to host A Major Discovery Fair

Read more content

www.tntechoracle.com

Tech student Jordan Iwanyszyn is running for Putnam County School Board in the August gen-eral election.

Although heavily in-volved in politics and help-ing other candidates get elected, Iwanyszyn is put-ting together his fi rst cam-paign for offi ce. Iwanyszyn, a political science major with minors in both busi-ness and speech commu-nication, will be putting all the knowledge he has learned over the years of helping local and state offi -cials to make his own cam-paign successful.

“I feel like I am young enough to remember how being in school is, but ma-

By DAVID LANEStaff Writer

Iwanyszyn seeks school board chair

ture enough to make choic-es to help this county’s young minds,” Iwanyszyn said. “With my priority in public service, I have a lot to contribute through the education process. I would like to sit down with some of the students in middle school and talk to them

Iwanyszyn

about how the board can help them stay focused in high school.”

Iwanyszyn is current-ly working on four other campaigns as the Putnam County Republican Party Vice Chairman. He was in SGA at Tech and was presi-dent of the College Republi-can club.

When he has a free mo-ment away from school and the busy life of local politics, Iwanyszyn plays intramural frisbee and basketball. He is also involved in the UCSC and SOC campus ministries on campus.

For more information on Jordan’s campaign, you can visit his web site at http://jordanforputnamschools.web.offi celive.com/default.aspx or the Facebook group “Jordan M. Iwanyszyn For Putnam County School Board – District 2.”

“Hope” isn’t just the title of one of Tennessee’s most popular scholarships; it’s an amenity students can call their own . . . even if they lose the Hope Scholarship.

Every spring, more than 700 Tech students drop below the minimum grade point average and are disqualifi ed from the Tennessee Hope Ed-ucation Lottery Scholarship.

The GPA requirement differs depending on which 24-credit-hour benchmark a

By ALEKSANDR PETERSONStaff Writer

Hope without Hope Scholarshipstudent has reached. At 24 and 48 hours, the minimum is 2.75. At 72 hours or more, it’s 3.0.

What you may not know, however, is that 100 students regain the Hope Scholarship each semester. Students who send a request online will be reevaluated at the next bench-mark to determine if they are eligible to regain their schol-arship.

Sometimes, simply retak-ing a course will do the trick.

In other cases, “it takes a couple semesters of good, old-fashioned hard work,” said Adriane King, assistant director of fi nancial aid.

There are approximate-ly 350 international stu-dents at Tech. They come from many cultures and backgrounds.

Steve Ngwira, a fresh-man from Malawi, Africa, is studying Manufacturing and Industrial Technology at Tech with the sponsor-ship friends back home. He considered attending the University of Tennes-see, Knoxville and Portland State University before de-ciding on Tech.

“What I usually did

By SAMANTHA KENDALLStaff Writer

International students express thoughts of experience, atmosphere at Techwas send e-mails to the in-ternational student direc-tors, and then I would learn more about the school from their responses, but some of the schools were a little bit rude,” Ngwira said. “One thing that got me interested in Tech was the response I got from the international student offi ce. They were very willing to help.”

Anara Kudabayeva, a junior from Kazakhstan, is at Tech as an exchange stu-dent studying international business.

“I am here because of my scholarship program-IREX,” Kudabayeva said. “I didn’t chose Tech honestly they just sent me here, but before, they of course told

me.” There were 11 other

schools to which she could have been assigned.

Since arriving in August, both have experi-enced good and bad things about Cookeville.

Ngwira is currently the only student from Malawi

The fi nancial aid depart-ment tries to notify students when they should send a re-quest, but King said it’s ulti-mately the student’s respon-sibility.

There are second chances available if students are un-able to regain the Hope Schol-arship. Tech has a privately endowed fund, called the Sec-ond Chance Hope, that offers fi nancial assistance for this exact purpose. Applicants must have previously been awarded the Hope scholar-ship, and eligibility is deter-mined primarily by fi nancial need and is given out on a fi rst-come, fi rst-serve basis.

at Tech because it is hard to get a visa to come to the United States.

Charlie Wilkerson, di-rector of International Stu-

dent Affairs, helped Ngwira with the transition.

“I didn’t really encoun-ter problems because every question that I was asking, Charlie was able to answer,”

Ngwira said. Ngwira said that Wilk-

erson’s dedication to getting him the information that he needed quickly made the hardest parts of the process easier.

Kudabayeva didn’t en-counter any problems on her trip, but they both have experienced some challeng-es adjusting to the campus culture.

“It’s like there is no-body living on campus dur-ing the weekends because students go home,” Ngwira said. “I have no home this is my home!”

One thing that has helped Ngwira is the new Cookeville Area Transit System.

“This is one of the best gifts that Tennessee has giv-en to us,” Ngwira said. “I was excited when I heard about them because now you can move freely, if you want to go to Wal-Mart, you go without thinking about how much you have to spend for the taxi.”

“I really want to say thanks to the international offi ce because each ques-tion, even the personal questions, they always are patient to hear and give advice which really helps,” Kudabayeva said. “They have so much experience working with international students. Charlie is like our dad because...he helps us and gives us advice.”

“Some students may not be in the right major, and some students who are in the right major don’t have a clue what they can do with it,” Simmons said. “This gives them a chance to see what jobs are out there.”

At the event, students will have the chance to take a career assessment test given by Career Services.

“This will hopefully give unsure stu-dents confi dence in any decision they make when choosing a major and, ulti-mately, a career path,” Simmons said.

A Major Discovery will have both student and faculty representatives from 19 different academic departments. Roy Loutzenheiser, associate dean of the Col-lege of Engineering, said he plans to bring a student from each major in the College of Engineering to offer advice.

Simmons said she hopes the fair is more successful than it was the fi rst time it was held.

“We have games, we have door prizes, we even have entertainment,” said Sim-mons. “We really want students to want to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Undecided students can preview different majors offered at Tech

>> News>> Opinion >> Sports>> Entertainment

>> Breaking News>> Polls>> Message Boards>> Calendars>> Online Exclusive News>> Online Exclusive Multimedia

“

”

I have no home, this is my home!

-- Steve NgwiraFreshman International Student

Working out at Tech, there are numer-ous ways to get in shape. Fitness classes are growing in popularity on college campus-es. But which class is the best? There are 13 classes at Tech’s Fitness Center, and know-ing where to start can be a challenge.

“People come in and ask me what class do I go to? ” said Ramona Mahood-Pen-nington, University Recreation and Fitness Center coordinator. “ It all depends on what your goal is.”

There are classes for every personality and fi tness level.

Aqua Dance is an in-water cardio workout class. It is a gentle workout for people and great for water lovers. Step Express is another cardio class for high-en-ergy people who want an aerobic workout. The level of intensity can be controlled in this class by changing the height of the step.

“Any workout is as hard as you make it,” Mahood-Pennington said.

Boredom is an issue people face when working out, and changing a routine is a great way to combat it. That’s why Tech offers different kinds of classes, such as the High Hips class. This is a middle-eastern dance workout that is great for abs. If bore-dom is an issue, this is a great way to step up a workout.

If High Hips isn’t enough, say good-bye to being bored, and join in on the high-energy kickboxing dance party, Turbo Kick. This workout is for people who want to have fun and not feel like they are work-ing out. For cardio lovers, Pedal I.T. is a high-energy, total cardio cycling class for those at an advanced fi tness level.

For those focusing on strengthening the body, Sculpt Zone is a great choice. This class is a resistance workout for those who want to weight train but do not like the weight room. Those who like a challenge and want a detoxifying, relaxing workout

should try Every Bodies Yoga. Yoga is a hard, strength- training workout and is dif-fi cult because of the slow pace movements that tone the body.

If having a fabulous tummy and tush is the goal, TNT is the perfect workout. TNT goes well with the Ab Lab workout class. This class concentrates on combining cardio and strength training to achieve a toned core and back.

For an all-over total body workout, try Bootcamp. Interval training makes Bootcamp a great fat burning workout and is for those who like sweating and hard work. Another cardio and strength training combo class is Cycle Circuit. This fast-pace class is on the stationary bike.

“Prepare to sweat,” Mahood-Pen-nington said. “One minute you are on the bike three minutes later you’re on the fl oor doing push-ups.”

Cardio Kick is another combo class like Turbo Kick. However, Cardio Kick is a longer workout that adds muscle-strength-ening exercises. Water Works is another class for those who love water but also desire an aerobic feel. It is great for target-ing individual muscle groups.

“You are working hard in this class, but don’t feel like it,” Mahood-Pennington said.

“It’s ok if you are a beginner,” Ma-hood-Pennington said.

Here are some tips for beginners from Mahood-Pennington.

•Introduce yourself to your instruc-tor. If you let the instructor know you are a beginner they can keep their eye on you.

•Make sure to drink plenty of water, even if you are doing an in-water class because dehydration occurs.

•Everyone was a beginner at some point so don’t be afraid.

•Know that once the music turns on all eyes are on the instructor.

For more information about the fi tness classes offered by Tech, visit www.tntech.edu/recreation/fi tclasses or call 372-6511 for details on pricing and available times.

The Golden Eagles (2-1) baseball team opened the 2010 campaign, taking two of three games from the defending Southern Conference champion Georgia Southern Eagles (1-4).

Adam Liberatore, the Ohio Valley Con-ference pitcher of the week, set the tone for the weekend pitching six scoreless innings and striking out fi ve in route to Tech’s 5-2 victory. It was Liberatore’s fi rst action since Tommy John surgery last season.

“It was really tough coming back from surgery, being forced to watch all last year,” Liberatore said. “It felt great to help my team win a game and be back on the mound.”

“He picked up right where he left off, which was great to see,” Head Coach Matt Bragga said. “He got out there, did what he does and won a huge game for us. It’s great to have him back.”

Georgia Southern took the Saturday contest 16-9, but Tech won the rubber match and the series on Sunday 12-9. The Golden Eagles erased an early eight run defi cit on Sunday in a dramatic come-from-behind victory. Clutch RBI’s from sophomore Ben

Burgess and junior A.J. Kirby-Jones late in the fi nal game secured the series win.

“Our guys were really resilient,” Bragga said. “It takes a lot of resolve to win in an environment as hostile as Georgia Southern. Southern is a really good team, so it was great to fi nally compete against someone besides ourselves.”

The Golden Eagles welcome Cleveland State Vikings (0-3) this weekend for a three game series at Bush Stadium. The Vikings were swept by UNC-Greensboro last week-end.

“These early non-conference games you don’t know your opponent that well,” Bragga said. “All we can do is go out and play the best possible baseball we are capable of play-ing and if we do that, we will have a great opportunity to win some games regardless of who we are playing.”

Tech has won its last four home openers and was 20-9 last year at home. Admission is free for students at every home game.

“We’re just excited another season is here. We are the last sport on campus to start, so it’s just great to fi nally get started,” Bragga said.

The Golden Eagles travel to Nashville next Tuesday for a mid-week contest with in-state rival Vanderbilt (4-0) at Hawkins Field.

York Trophy awarded to Tech at O’Charley’s Dinner of Champions


SPORTS

Liberatore gets OVC Pitcher of Week Honors, Golden Eagles Take Series

They’ve been waiting since October to pick up their hardware and on Tuesday night in Nashville, Tennessee Tech football coach Watson Brown and his senior play-ers accepted the coveted Sgt. York Trophy.

Tech won the award for the fi rst time in 2009 after sweeping to a perfect 3-0 record against its Ohio Val-ley Conference in-state foes Austin Peay, Tennessee State and UT Martin.

The Sgt. York Trophy, sponsored by the OVC and the Nashville Sports Coun-cil, was given to the Golden Eagles at the O’Charley’s Dinner of Champions at the Renaissance Hotel in Nash-ville.

“It was worth the wait,” said Brown. “Winning the York Trophy was one of the major goals of our team and we are extremely proud to have accomplished it. It’s

something that these seniors will always remember, and hopefully its the fi rst of many.

“We’d like to keep this trophy in Cookeville for many years to come,” Brown said.

Joining Brown on the stage to accept the award were most of the team’s 2009 seniors, including offensive guard Taylor Askew, who drew the task of carrying the 150-pound wood-and-bronze trophy to the team’s bus for the ride back to Cookeville.

“The coaches and play-ers talked about winning the York Trophy through-out Spring drills and from the fi rst day of fall camp,” Askew said. “Every player on the team is aware of Sgt. York’s accomplishments and contributions as a Soldier, and every player took it upon himself to do all he could to win this trophy and bring it back to the Cookev-ille. We think this trophy belongs here, and winning

it is something we are all extremely proud of.”

In addition to Brown and the players, Tech’s contingent at the Dinner of Champions included three members of Sgt. Alvin C. York’s family (center in photo at left), his oldest son George Edward York, his only surviving daughter Betsy Ross Lowery, and his grand-daughter, Angie York. Tech history profes-sors Michael Birdwell, Calvin Dickinson and Jeff Roberts were also at the dinner. It was Birdwell who did much of the research on York when the trophy was established in 2007.

Retired Cookeville sur-geon Sam Barnes sculpted the bust, while Birdwell and former OVC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher designed the base.

The conference also had a large contingent on hand for the presentation, includ-ing fi rst-year Commissioner Beth DeBauche.

PRESS RELEASE

By JAMES SCHIERMEYERAsst. Sports Editor

By HANNAH HARRISStaff Writer

4th and LongBY BRANDON GOODWINSports [email protected]

Who’s Hot? Who’s Not?

The Golden Eagles golf teams were on fi re last weekend, each fi nishing in second place in their tournaments.

Seniors Diana Carson and Josh Simer were named to the all-tournament teams for their efforts. Carson shot a 153 and Simer scored a 148, each fi nishing third in their respective tournaments.

After winning four in a row to round out January, the Golden Eagles have lost six of their last seven games and have just one win in the month of February.

Tech’s point margin in those losses is a staggering -14 points. It’s only win in that time was against a UT-Martin team who has won only one road OVC game.

Tech is 7-10 in conference and, if it loses to Jacksonville State this weekend, can end up fi nishing eighth in the OVC.

Tech Golf Men’s Basketball

I’m going to venture away from talking about Tech this week to take a look at someone we’ve all had our eyes on for the last few years: Tim Tebow.

Tebow is set to debut his new NFL-style of play at the Florida Pro Day on March 17. His release, as well as his footwork, is said to have improved dramatically. With the NFL draft approaching, I have decided to take a look back on his career to see if he is as ill-equipped for the pro’s as most people say he is.

I’ve grown tired of hear-ing commentators saying ‘he isn’t accurate enough’. Take a look at the stats. In 2009, Tebow broke the NCAA record for passing effi ciency (formulating completion percentage, yards per pass, touchdowns per pass, and interceptions per pass) with a 170.8.

One of the reasons for this was his extremely low interception percentage. Only 1.6 percent of his passes were intercepted, just slightly

more than the NCAA record-holding Billy Volek of Fresno State (1.3).

He ranks second all-time in NCAA completion per-centage (67.1). Sam Bradford, who played just 30 games, ranks fi rst with a 67.6.

Tebow is a running quar-terback, right? Wrong. He passed for 88 touchdowns, ranking him third in SEC history, just one fewer than Peyton Manning (89). Florida great Danny Wuerffel holds the reins in that category with 114.

Let’s add in those rush-ing touchdowns now to bring his career total to a stag-gering 145. That is an SEC record and also ranks second in NCAA history. That’s 44 more than Manning, in case you were wondering.

Statistics aside, Tebow is probably the strongest man to ever play quarterback. Ru-mor has it, he can bench over 400. At the Tallahassee NIKE

camp before his freshman year, he benched 185 pounds 38 consecutive times.

No, he will not be able to run the spread in the NFL, nor will he be able to fully transform to a pure pocket passer. I think Jacksonville (who has publicly announced it wants to draft Tebow) will form some new type of hybrid offense combining spread, standard, and option styles.

Super Bowl champion Drew Brees ran the spread when he was in college and now is one of the best passing quarterbacks in the league.

His 6-foot-3-inch, 245 pound frame will not be used as a battering-ram in the pros like it was in college. Instead, he will be forced to use his mind.

My prediction: Tebow is drafted by Jacksonville in the fi rst round and becomes their starter on opening day.

Kelvin Quarles (left) and Derek Dickerson with the Sgt. York Trophy Courtesy of Sports Information

Get in shape, take a fitness classLevels of classes range from yoga to kickboxing

“He was like Moby Dick in a goldfi sh bowl.“ - Steve Sabol


ENTERTAINMENT

Read more entertainment content

online


ONews!

Sports!

Polls!

Movie Talk

By CHUCK ACHESONEntertainment Editor

Final Grade: B

next week: Cop out

Those Darlins set to rock the Backdoor PlayhouseShutter Island

By Matt Knieling / Voyage of the Clementide is a weekly comic exclusive to The Oracle.

By CHUCK ACHESONEntertainment Editor

The highly acclaimed band, Those Darlins, will be gracing the stage at Tech on Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Backdoor Playhouse.

Those Darlins brings an original sound to the stage with their blend of pop, rock and country. Laced within the lyrics of their songs are messages about female empowerment, music his-tory and egalitarian ideals. On top of all that, add a pinch of late 1970s punk and you have a band that appeals to nearly every taste.

The band has recently won several awards including a New York Times’ Pick and a Boston Globe “Band to Break in ‘09.” In addition, they have earned cov-erage in Bust and American Songwriter.

Billboard’s Bill Werde named them “Best Band I Didn’t Really Know Before

I Got to SXSW (South by Southwest).” Following the festival, Paste and USA Today listed Those Darlins among the best performances for the entire show.

Although Those Darlins is now based out of Murfreesboro, Tenn., the members hail from all over the South-east. Kelley Darlin, the band’s bassist, hails from South Carolina. Guitarist Jessi Darlin comes from Kentucky and Nikki Darlin, who plays the baritone ukulele, is from Virginia.

In addition to Those Darlins, Jill Andrews will be joining the show. An-drews’ musical stylings are very soul-ful and reminiscent of her moving fron Johnson City, Tenn. to Knoxville.

With so much talent on one stage, your Thursday night plans need to in-clude this concert.

The show is free to Tech students. Center Stage, WTTU, Tech Players, and The Women’s Center are sponsoring the show.

Left: The creative poster for the show is up around campus, lists the sponsors and location. Right: Kelley, Jessi and Nikki Darlin make up Those Darlins. Photo by Rob Stack

The members of Those Darlins are bringing their unique fusion of pop, rock ‘n roll and country music to the Backdoor Playhouse

“The Hurt Locker”wins big at the BAFTAsBy CHUCK ACHESONEntertainment Editor

Movie award season is in full swing and the British Academy of Film and Tele-vision Arts chose its winners this past Sunday.

The Hurt Locker, which fol-lows a bomb disposal squad in Iraq, swept the show win-ning the “Best Film,” “Best Director” for Kathryn Big-elow and “Original Screen-play” categories. In addition, the movie won a slew of other awards for cinematography and sound. The other biggest winner of the night was Up, Pixar’s animated jewel, which took the “Best Animated Fea-ture” and “Best Sound” cat-egories.

The most noticable snub of the show was Avatar, James Cameron’s blockbuster which has either broken or will break every box offi ce record ever. It did win all the purchasable awards, the technical ones, but the lack of any major awards came in stark contrast to how heavily favored Ava-tar entered the evening.

A myriad of other fi lms won the remaining catego-ries, but the winners in the

major categories could give a hint to who will hit it big at the Oscars.

The BAFTAs are the British version of the Oscars and the similarities don’t end there. Over the past few award seasons, the two awards shows have shared many of the same winners, breaking away from the Golden Globe selections. Last year, the two shared Slumdog Millionaire winning the big-gest prize, “Best Picture” or “Best Film.” But, several trends indicate a shake-up in the commonalities this year between the two shows could happen.

For example, a movie about Iraq has never won “Best Picture” at the Oscars. And, remember how Avatar is taking all the box offi ce re-cords? It’s taking all those re-cords away from Cameron’s Titanic, the 1997 “Best Pic-ture” winner. Cameron could buck the recent drama-centric trend and put a blockbuster back on top.

So, what does this all mean? Nothing really, but it sure is fun to speculate. We all have to wait until March 7 to know for sure, but until then, let the guessing begin.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have given numerous classics, including The Departed and Gangs of New York, how-ever, their most recent col-laboration, Shutter Island, is drastically underwhelming for what you expect from this pedigree.

The story opens with Edward “Teddy” Daniels (DiCaprio) on a ferry to Shutter Island, a mental in-stitution for the criminally insane. As a U.S. marshal, Daniels is heading to the island to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando. After just a few days on the island, Daniels notices some strange oc-currences at the institution, which has some surprises in store for him.

In the previous Scors-ese-DiCaprio fi lms, the plot contained enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the fi nal minutes of the movie. For example, after watching The Departed, I refused to ride in elevators for about a month, that’s how shock-ing the elevator sequence was.

In Shutter Island, how-ever, the plot is only sus-penseful for the fi rst half of the fi lm. After the se-quence on the bluffs with Daniels and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), the desti-nation of the plot becomes obvious and any chance of some shocking revelation is lost. That being said, there is a glimmer at the end of the movie that leaves you wondering, but, overall, the plot is uncreative.

Other portions of the fi lm felt amateurish in ex-ecution. The camera work was herky-jerky which worked for some of the sequences, especially the fl ashbacks, but the rest of the time, it was just annoy-ing. In addition, the music is overdone and painful at times. But, it’s not all bad.

The positives of the fi lm included a stellar per-formance by DiCaprio. He captured the feelings and raw emotions of his charac-ter, allowing the audience to be invested in him. The remainder of the cast did a fi ne job too. They fi t their roles well and made the fi lm come alive.

Aside from the camera work, the overall presenta-tion was top-notch. You can almost feel the tension between the characters. In addition, the island takes on a life of its own during the storm and Ward C ooz-es creepiness.

Overall, the movie is not bad. However, it defi -nitely does not live up to the expectations the names Scorsese and DiCaprio in-cur. It’s a movie worth checking out; just don’t ex-pect to be blown away.

MPAA Rating: R

By TALLULAH GILLIAMCopy Editor

Tech alumnus recovering from 100-foot fall, remains in good spirits

online edition


NEWS

techtech@eventseventsFebruary/March

-- tntech.edu/calendar

279 a.m.Women & Men’s Tennisat Jacksonville State

1 p.m.Baseball v. Cleveland State

5:30 p.m.Women’s Basketball v.Jacksonville State

7:30 p.m.Men’s Basketball v.Jacksonville State

281 p.m.Baseball v. ClevelandState

O

01Until March 4Phi Mu Greek God

0211 a.m.Major Discovery FairRUC, Multipurpose Rm.

11 a.m.Spring BreakSunglasses GiveawayRUC, 1st fl oor

055 p.m.TWC Chili Supper &Silent AuctionRUC, Multipurpose Rm.

What started as a routine camping trip for seven friends last Friday, ended early Sat-urday morning in a horrifi c accident for Adam Scalf, a Spring 2009 Tech graduate of the zoology program.

The campers stayed up to watch the sun rise at the scenic Window Cliffs near Burgess Falls. Shortly after that, Scalf walked to the edge of the cliff, used the restroom, turned to return to the campsite, and slipped, falling an estimated 100 feet to the bottom.

Read The Oracle’s top stories at


Scalf, 24, was air lifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga. His injuries in-clude a skull fracture, a dam-aged rotator cuff, a punctured lung, six broken ribs, and damage to his spinal cord. His back was also broken in two places.

“He laid down there bleeding for two hours,” said Albert Scalf, Adam’s father.

He wasn’t down there alone, however. Erik Kenney, long-time friend and Fall 2009 Tech graduate, was the fi rst of the campers on the scene.

“Erik got down there immediately,” said Corey Webb, close friend and Tech

alumnus. “Within a minute, he had slid and hopped down 100 feet and was at the bottom with him. I followed and gave him my shirt and bandana to stop the bleeding and a jacket to keep him warm.”

Devin Baerenwald of Nashville; Ashley Frazier, a geology major; Tristan Hill, a mechanical engineering ma-jor and Layton McDaniel, a graduate student, were also camping with the group.

“After that Corey came back up and called 911,” Fra-zier said. “No one else had a phone or was able to tell any-one where we were.”

McDaniel and Hill ran

back and forth from the camp site to Scalf with supplies such as water and blankets while Frazier and Baerenwald cleaned up the camp site and watched from above.

“We thought the helicop-ter couldn’t fi nd us,” Frazier said. “That was one of the hardest parts because we were waiting. We could hear sirens, and we were all just so worried. It felt like no one was coming, but we knew they were trying.”

Scalf was initially unable to feel his legs, but had felt sensations in both by Tues-day. After he fi rst felt his right foot, Scalf asked for an-

other mountain to take on.“I actually feel real good,”

Scalf said. “[My spinal cord] isn’t torn or anything. It’s just bruised. It’s got something like a blood clot in it they hope will go out.”

Bryan Webb, close friend and Tech alumnus said, “I’ve never seen anyone bounce back like he has. No doubt, he is the toughest guy I’ve ever met, and on top of that, one of the best people I’ve ever come across.”

Scalf said, “I think the worst part is that it’s excruci-ating to eat. I cut my tongue when I chew because my teeth are jagged. I also bit through

my lip.”After spending two

nights in the intensive care unit, Scalf was moved to in-termediate intensive care.

“Scalf has always said he has an indestructible skull. He wasn’t kidding,” said Dahlia Gilliam, four-year friend and animal science major at Tech. Taking in a slightly more serious tone she continued, “Adam Wayne is our mountain man--he’s al-ways been our hero.”

Frazier summed up the group consensus.

“Scalf is going to come back times three, and it’s go-ing to be super Scalf.”

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