Approximately 700 seniors will graduate from Tech on Saturday Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. in the Hooper Eblen Center.

Only one com-mencement ceremony will take place this se-mester instead of the two ceremonies last semester. According to Debbie Combs, special projects coordinator, Tech’s spring commencements are typically larger than fall com-mencements.

“I think last December we had 750 [graduates],” said Combs. “So, it’s roughly the same size.

“We won’t know exactly how many graduates [will grad-uate] until the day of graduation or even the day after because of fi nals.”

Graduating seniors usually bring an average of eight guests to commencement. The Hoop-er Eblen Center can house 768 graduates seated on the fl oor and 9,692 guests in the stands and skybox, per fi re marshal guide-lines.

This semester’s speaker is Dr. John “Steve” Copeland. Co-peland is a native of the Alpine community of Overton County. He received a bachelor’s degree

from Tech and graduated from Auburn University with a Doc-torate of Veterinary Medicine.

He established his practice in 1970 and has continued to prac-tice veterinary medi-cine and surgery in Cookeville.

Copeland was ap-pointed by Lamar Al-exander to the Board of Veterinary Medi-cal Examiners; by the Cookeville City Council to the Board

of Trustees of the Cookeville Re-gional Medical Center; he is a member of the Advisory Board of Nashville State CommunityCollege, Cookeville Campus; and he is a director of the First National Bank of Tennessee. He served three years as chairman of the State of Tennessee De-partment of Labor Work ForceDevelopment Board. Copelandwas elected to three terms on the Cookeville City Council and served one term as Vice Mayor.

Copeland was appointed to the Tennessee Board of Regents in August 2009, by Phil Bredesen to represent the sixth congressio-nal district.

Copeland is married to Carol Sue Franklin Copeland and they reside in Cookeville. They have two sons and seven grandchil-dren.

THE OORACLEVolume 95 | Issue 9 | Free in single copy | December 2, 2011Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505

More stories and exclusive content at tntechoracle.comCAIN’S DOWNWARD SPIRAL | PAGE 3 RECORD BREAKING SEASON | PAGE 4 MOVIE REVIEW: THE MUPPETS | PAGE 5

FRIDAY

CONTACT: news - 931.372.3285 - oracle@tntech.edu | advertising - 931.372.3031 - ttuoracleads@gmail.com

52/29 °FSATURDAY

50/29 °F

TNTECHORACLE.COM FACEBOOK.COM/TNTECHORACLE@TNTECHORACLE

SUNDAY57/44 °F

MONDAY54/41 °F

TUESDAY43/39 °F

WEDNESDAY39/28 °F

Camille Woods

The waiting game: Jennifer Baity (left), a sophomore physical therapy ma-jor and Christine Horn (right), a senior multi-disciplinary studies major wait at Health Services.

Logan Nickleson

Recent Tech speaker reconsiders GOP run

M.S. Cooper/Pinkerton will undergo a $3 million renovation in spring 2013.

By JACOB WALKERBeat Reporter

Much has changed for Republ ican c a n d i d a t e Herman Cain since his re-cent visit to Tech’s cam-pus on Oct. 15, where he spoke from the steps of Derryberry Hall.

“Most everyone in the crowd defi nitely liked how down to earth he was,” Clay Stubblefi eld, president of the College Republi-cans, said. “He was a really good speaker and all of his ideas are at least in the right area, whether or not they’re the sharpest and to the point, they’re still going in the right direction.”

Soon after his appearance at Tech, allegations of past sexual harassment toward three women began to surface. The alleged in-cidents took place while Cain was serving as the head of the Nation-al Restaurant Association in the 1990s. Two of the incidents were reportedly settled of court with fi ve-fi gure payouts and none of the women chose to be identi-fi ed.

“He’s been running for the presidency about just as long as

TBR representative chosen to speak at fall commencement ceremonyBy WILL HOUSLEYManaging Editor

Tech anticipates closing half of residential hall M.S. Cooper/Pinkerton during the 2013 spring semester to begin a $3 million renovation project.

According to Charles Macke, director of residential life, it will be a major renovation, complete with new air conditioning and heating units, doors, plumb-ing, bathroom units, vinyl plank fl ooring and furniture identi-cal to that found in New Hall North.

“We’re trying to get away from the old institutional look of the building,” Macke said.

The renovation plans also in-volve upgrading the lobby space and building rooms for the new global learning village that will be headquartered in the residen-tial hall starting in the 2012 fall

semester, according to Macke.“Our goal will be to close

down one half of the building in January, and in May do the other half of the building so it’s all done by the fi rst of August,” Macke said. “It is kind of an un-conventional way we’re doing it, but it’s based on trying to fi nd space for everybody.”

Macke said that by closing only one half of the hall at a time, accommodating students will be easier for Tech.

Tech met with contractors in November to discuss the pos-sibility of closing one half of the building for construction while leaving the other half’s utilities, such as heat and water, fully functional, but an offi cial deci-sion has not been made, accord-ing to Macke.

He also said that the reno-vation is certain. However, the time frame has yet to be con-fi rmed.

By LOGAN NICKLESONWeb Editor

Residential hall to undergo renovations in 2013

Student illness on the riseBy CAMILLE WOODSBeat Reporter

Studying for fi nals is not the only thing keeping Tech students confi ned to their rooms.

Although Health Services usually treats more students clos-er to fi nals as they fall ill to cold symptoms and strep throat, a re-cent outbreak of viruses, is caus-ing more students to visit Health Services said Cynthia Tompkins, assistant director of Health Ser-vices.

“We’ve seen a lot of cold symp-toms, people who have strep, and for the past few weeks we have had a stomach virus on campus, too,” Tompkins said. “Many of the illnesses are due to viruses but the stress at the end of the semes-ter plays a factor, too.”

With the approach of fi nals, students begin to develop un-healthy eating habits, they don’t get enough sleep, and they turn to various methods to keep them awake so they can study longer.

“A lot of getting sick after midterms has to do with play-ing catch-up if you’re already be-hind,” Ashley Thompson, senior human ecology major, said. “I feel that as upperclassmen, we’re more stressed because we know what to expect and we seem to have a lot more riding on our fi nals. The weather plays a role, too, since many people suffer from winter blues around this time.”

Health Services said they en-courage students to begin study-

The Oracle will return, in print and online, Feb. 3

ing for fi nals now to avoid suffer-ing from stress-induced illnesses.

“Students don’t need to cram for fi nals,” Tompkins said. “They need to study now to keep from having that stress put on them, and I don’t encourage using en-ergy drinks or caffeine to stay awake to study for them.”

They also encourage students who are suffering from illnesses not caused by stress, such as a stomach virus, to get plenty of rest and stay hydrated.

“Students need to make sure they’re on a clear liquid diet, get as much rest as possible, still go to

class if you don’t have vomiting or diarrhea and keep hydrated by sipping on clear liquids like Ga-torade or Sprite,” Tompkins said. “Rest and hydration are the best things you can do since there are no antibiotics that can cure virus-es.”

Although there are no medica-tions that can cure viruses, Health Services can provide medicine to help relieve symptoms.

For more information or to receive treatment, contact Health Services at (931) 372-3320 or visit their offi ce located on the corner of 7th and Mahler Avenues.

Cain

Copeland

everyone else and it’s only just now when he’s at the top of the rungs, that this has surfaced,” Stubblefi eld said. “People can say, ‘Oh, well he’s paid these women to be quiet,’ but in the business world you don’t want it to be on the record that you were tried for something, so it’s almost worth paying to keep it out of the books.”

Until Nov. 7, none of the women who accused the Repub-lican candidate of sexual harass-ment had come forward publicly. All of that changed when a fourth woman, Sharon Bialek agreed to sit down on national television and discuss in graphic detail the events that occurred between her and Cain.

“Initially I thought, here it comes, here’s a black candidate who has a darker skin complex-ion, who sounds like a black man and who is ironically conserva-tive,” Robert Owens, director of Minority Affairs, said. “So when I had fi rst heard the allegations I thought, this is it, this is what they’re going to try and get him with. There’s no way that a black man is going to win the Republi-can nomination, it’s just not going to happen.”

Early in Cain’s race for the presidency the Georgia native was receiving attention for his 9-9-9 plan which will place a lower

tax on the poorest U.S. citizens, while still taxing corporations as well.

“It’s really interesting because it’s a complete and radical change from the current tax plan which I think that most people would agree isn’t working that well, no matter what side you’re on,” Stubblefi eld said. “His 9-9-9 plan is really interesting because it’s 9 percent income tax, 9 percent business tax and 9 percent sales tax. Although it’s hard to say what the affects of it will be since it’s just in the promoting stage, but I think it could work well.”

The 9-9-9 Plan will expand Gross Domestic Product by $2 trillion, create 6 million new jobs, increase business investment by one-third, and increase wages by 10 percent, According to Former Reagan Treasury offi cial Gary Robbins, of Fiscal Associates.

Recently another aspect to Cain’s campaign has surfaced after an Atlanta woman, Ginger White, has come forward with accusations of having a 13-year affair with the Presidential hope-ful.

While no changes to his can-didacy have been confi rmed, he reportedly told his staff that he is reassessing his bid for the presi-dency following this latest accu-sation.

Page 2 | December 2, 2011 tntechoracle.com

NEWS

techtech@eventsevents

December

tntech.edu/calendar

2TSSAA FootballTucker Stadium

6:00 p.m.TTU “No NonSense” Bull SaleHyder Burks Pavilion

7:30 p.m.TTU Candlelight Christmas ConcertWattenbargerAuditorium

41:00 p.m.President’s Open HouseWalton House

3:00 p.m.Kappa Kappa Psi Winter ConcertWattenbargerAuditorium

3TSSAA FootballTucker Stadium

7:30 p.m.TTU Candlelight Christmas ConcertWattenbargerAuditorium

66:00 p.m.Capshaw Elementary School Holiday Concert ChoirWattenbargerAuditorium

CRIME BRIEFS:- Nov. 18 - 7:54 a.m. Charges: Liquor Law Violation Location: New Hall South (Drinking off campus & had returned to dorm)

- Nov. 21 - 2:00 a.m. Charges: Open Theft Location: Foster Hall (bike rack)

- Nov. 26 - 10:30 a.m. Charges: Destruction/Dam- age/Vandalism Location: East and West Dorm Parking Lots

- Nov. 27 - 10:30 a.m. Charges: Theft from Motor Vehicle Location: New Hall South Parking Lot

- Nov. 28 - 8:45 a.m. Charges: Attempted Breaking and Entering Location: Bruner Hall

- Nov. 28 - 11:19 a.m. Charges: Extortion/Black- mail Location: McCord Hall

78:00 a.m.Putnam County Retired Teachers AssociationHyder Burks Pavilion

3:30 p.m.University Faculty MeetingDerryberry Hall Auditorium

9Last Day of Classes before fi nals

12Start of Final Exams

4:00 p.m.Commission on the Status of BlacksBlack Cultural Center

15Scholarship Application Deadline

4:00 p.m.Commencement RehersalHooper Eblen Center

1710:00 a.m.CommencementHooper Eblen Center

Students looking for nu-trition information for on-campus dining choices may be out of luck.

Au Bon Pain displays calorie information for its products. Other than the Healthy Choice display in the cafeteria, Au Bon Pain is the only dining offering on campus that has nutritional information readily available for students.

“Au Bon Pain sets that up and has done the research,” Sam Holm, director of Din-ing Services, said. “It’s their product that we produce so we follow their procedures. It’s based on the procedures and policies of each area.”

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-tion website, the FDA does not require full nutrition la-beling for restaurant foods, nor does it require that nutri-tion information be presented in the Nutrition Facts format.

Holm said that pizza and chicken are two of the most popular meal choices among students. Chicken tenders are the top seller at both Backyard Burger and Grill Nation. A Backyard Burger three piece chicken tender meal with seasoned fries and a Dr. Pep-per contains 860 calories, 44 total grams of fat, and 1,410 milligrams of sodium.

Some students believe that this nutritional informa-tion should be available at all the locations on campus.

“I wish all the restaurants in The Grill had their nutri-

tion information posted,” KayAnn Moore, sophomore nursing major, said. “It might help me make better deci-sions when I’m ordering.”

Holm believes that the nutrition of the food is not as signifi cant as the portion size that students intake.

“French fries aren’t a bad thing,” Holm said. “If you eat them every day or eat piles of them, that’s a bad thing.”

Teresa Hall, Dining Services dietitian, offers an Awesome Choice station that provides students with the proper serving size and number of calories for certain foods served in the cafeteria. Holm said that it would be diffi cult to list the nutrition information for all of the food served in the cafeteria be-cause it is made from scratch. Specifi c brands and ingredi-ents are not consistently used to prepare the food.

“Healthy is available,” Holm said. “It’s up to the students. That’s why we put Awesome Choice up here for lunch, but it’s one of our least used areas.”

During the past several years, changes associated with the preparation of the food served at Tech have been made. The staff no lon-ger cooks with heavy may-onnaise or whole butter, and they use a leaner ground beef and cage-free eggs.

“It’s something we do take seriously,” Holm said. “We’ve defi nitely had to push this part of the world to eat better. We’re pushing, and it’s not well received.”

Nutritional information lacking in campus diningBy GERI ANNA WILSONBeat Reporter

As fi nals approach, Tech students are fi lling up not only the library, but also the on-campus coffee shops.

“The cofee sales at Star-bucks go up more than 10 percent every year when fi -nals week arrives,” Janetta Hunter, Starbucks manager, said. “This is not random. It’s because of fi nals week.”

Hunter said there are a few drinks that seem to be particularly popular.

“We sell a lot of the mo-chas which is caramel, white mocha coffee drink and chai tea latte,” Hunter said

She said there is a bigger demand for caffeine.

“I usually don’t drink coffee here at Starbucks,” Abdulmajeed Alotaibi, a se-nior in civil engineering said. “I brew my own, but every semester during fi nals week I always stand in the line to get my coffee from Starbucks every morning till the library closes. I drink more than fi ve to six cups every day until fi -nals are over.”

Whitney Norrod, sociol-ogy major, said, “I’ll drink energy drinks more during fi nals week, or leading up to fi nals, than I normally do.”

Emily Brunett, an em-ployee at Au Bon Pain, said she considered the possibil-

ity that some students would prefer energy drinks over coffee. She said she thinks they have special-ordered a shipment of energy drinks to the campus cafes for fi nals.

While there is no doubt that sales increase during fi -nals week, Hunter said there may be factors other than students’ need for caffeine contributing to the increase. She pointed out that students have to use their Flex dollars before they expire at the end of the semester.

Matthew Ashton, se-nior marketing major said, “I saved 20 swipes for fi nals week because I’m going to need every one of them for coffee.”

Finals increase coffee sales

By DHIR JOSHIBeat Reporter

The Oracle

tntechoracle.com

Please recycle your copy of The Oracle.

•News•Sports•Opinion•Entertainment

Great Opportunity Part Time Payment Collection Representative Pays amount such as $2,800/mo & benefits Takes only a little of your timePlease send e-mail to

gynde112@gmail.com

166:30 p.m.School of Nursing 34th

Convocation CeremonyWhitson-Hester Auditorium

Some of Tech’s engineer-ing students are taking their skills overseas to help less fortunate communities.

Engineers Without Bor-ders is a new student orga-nization that will go to for-eign countries to complete projects. The projects deal with building and rebuilding structures in a safer, more ef-fi cient way. There is a wide range of projects, but the goal is to help people who do not have the resources to com-plete it themselves.

The members of EWB re-cently voted on which project they would like to take on. According to Robert Griffi n, senior mechanical engineer-ing major and EWB president, Tech’s project will either be in Ecuador or the Philippines.

“We voted between the two projects, and we are ac-tually applying for both,” Griffi n said. “We’re currently in the application processes for a water fi ltration system in either country.”

EWB’s fi rst choice be-tween the two projects would put the engineers in Chaguar-pamba, Ecuador, a commu-nity lacking clean drinking water. The water is a major cause of illness in the area.

“The illness prevents economic gain and produc-tion due to time lost at work,”

Griffi n said. “Because their water is undrinkable, they are unable to advance as a community.”

EWB’s project is to install a system that makes the wa-ter safe to drink. The system will benefi t at least 1,200 peo-ple in the area. EWB will also be working with the Peace Corps on this project.

If Tech’s EWB chapter is not chosen for the Ecua-dor project, the other option would take place in Susug-aen, Philippines. This area also has a problem with wa-ter. Instead of one big project, this choice has two slightly smaller projects, according to Griffi n.

Susugaen’s source of wa-ter is not reliable, so modifi -cations to the current water system must be made. The community also has a prob-lem with sinkholes due to the way the current system is built.

“These have caused a loss of water during the dry season,” Griffi n said. “They are unable to produce crops to feed the area and are lim-ited on how much drinking water they have.”

Completion of the Su-sugaen project would benefi t several hundred people.

EWB will know which project they have been cho-sen for within the next few months. The goal is to begin the fi rst project next summer.

Engineering organization to travel overseas for construction projectsBy EMILY HAILEBeat Reporter

Brendan Blatchford, senior phyical therapy major, surfs the web at Starbucks in the RUC.Dhir Joshi

Tennessee Board of Regents institutions may soon see changes in their academic cal-endars, including a potential shift in fall break schedules.

Dec. 12, the members of the TBR Common Calendar Re-Evaluation Committee will meet to report their fi ndings.

Among the problems the committee plans to address is the Tech calendar system, which is unique in comparison to all other institutions in the TBR system.

In the past, Tech has utilized a system that required students to attend Monday classes on the fi rst Thursday of the spring semester. This was to make up for the Monday missed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The argument in favor of this system is that it balances out the number of class meet-ings each semester per day of the week. For ex-ample, under this system, classes would meet 14 times a semester for each day of the week.

“Tech has been doing that for a long time, but it creates problems because we have so many students who attend more than one in-stitution,” Gretta Stanger, member of the Com-mon Calendar Re-evaluation Committee, said. “Does someone taking classes at Vol. State and at Tech attend Thursday or Monday classes on those days?”

In fall 2010, Tech implemented a calendar with the same semester start dates, but did not utilize the practice of attending Monday class-es on the fi rst Thursday. This change offset

the number of class meetings, which allowed 13 Monday classes and 15 Wednesday classes. Classes all other days of the week would still meet 14 times.

One proposal that the committee is con-sidering is to move fall break, which currently breaks the semester in two halves, to the week of Thanksgiving. This would create a week-long break for the Thanksgiving holiday.

However, not everyone likes this idea.“I think that a week, especially that close to

fi nals week would be too much,” Graham Tate, senior political science major, said. “It would make it hard to come back to study for fi nals.”

By combining fall break with the Thanks-giving break, there would be no time off for students, faculty and staff between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

“Without having a fall break, students will go a long time with no break at all, which will make them burned out,” Brian O’Connor, pro-fessor of mathematics, said. “Taking a whole week off right before fi nals gives students the opportunity to forget a lot of what they have learned.”

After the committee meets Dec. 12, its re-port will be passed on to TBR’s policy-making sub-councils. They will review the report and make necessary changes before sending it to the President’s Council, where it will receive fi nal approval.

Stanger said that while the committee’s decision is not the fi nal decision, she thinks that the revised calendar policy will not al-low for options for the individual institutions. This means that schools within the TBR system would all have identical calendars.

Mid-semester break may be lost as TBR common calendar comes up for reviewBy BRITTANY RITZMAN &NICK ROLLINS Copy Editor and Asst. Managing Editor

Page 3 | December 2, 2011tntechoracle.com

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

Photo courtesy of http://www.democraticunderground.com

CORRECTIONCORRECTION

The article “International violinist visits Tech from Afghanistan” in the Nov. 18 edition, states that William Harvey made a proposal to the Taliban to remove their ban on music. Harvey did not make this proposal. The article also states that he was invited to teach violin in Afghanistan by the head of the Ministry of Education. He was actually hired by Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, founder and director of Afghanistan National Institute of Music. The Oracle regrets the errors.

O

Herman Cain during his infamous Lybia pause.

Weekly. Student Operated.Weekly. Student Operated.Tennessee Tech UniversityTennessee Tech University

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

WILL HOUSLEYWILL HOUSLEYManaging EditorManaging EditorNICHOLAS ROLLINSNICHOLAS ROLLINSAsst. Managing EditorAsst. Managing EditorBRIDGETTE BUCHANANBRIDGETTE BUCHANANAd ManagerAd ManagerSARAH DEROSSETTSARAH DEROSSETTAd AssistantAd AssistantBRITTANY RITZMANBRITTANY RITZMANCopy EditorCopy EditorCASSIE TESAUROCASSIE TESAUROEditorial EditorEditorial EditorJONATHAN FRANKJONATHAN FRANKAsst. Editorial EditorAsst. Editorial Editor

ROSS HARVEYROSS HARVEYSports EditorSports EditorANDY RUTHERFORDANDY RUTHERFORDAsst. Sports EditorAsst. Sports EditorCHUCK ACHESONCHUCK ACHESONEntertainment EditorEntertainment EditorWILL SHECKLERWILL SHECKLERAsst. EntertainmentAsst. EntertainmentEditorEditorLOGAN NICKLESONLOGAN NICKLESONWeb EditorWeb EditorHOLLY COWARTHOLLY COWARTFaculty AdviserFaculty Adviser

BEAT REPORTERS:BEAT REPORTERS: Ashley Ayub, Lindsay Blakely, Ellie Boles, Jillian Boreing, Jacob Cook, Ashton Corbin, Jackson Cresswell,

Sarah DeRossett, Jamal Ferguson, April Gilbert, Julie Graham, Kayla Gulley, Emily Haile, Karla Hammac, Drew Haston, Biskie

Holman, Emily Homan, Caitlin Jared, Dhir Joshi, Samantha Kendall, David Lane, Justin Matheney, Amanda Miller, Sarah Reese,

Shannon Rountree, Megan Severe, Ashley Smith, Aubrey Smith, Haley Smith, Brandon Stephenson, Heather Veatch, Jacob

Walker, Lindsey Wallace, Emily Weinzetl, Geri Anna Wilson, Jenda Wilson, and Camille Woods.

THE OORACLE

tntechoracle.comtntechoracle.com

CONTACT USCONTACT USAdvertising 931.372.3031ttuoracleads@gmail.com

NewsroomNewsroom 931.372.3285931.372.3285oracle@tntech.eduoracle@tntech.edu

REPORT AN ERRORREPORT AN ERROR

Editor 931.372.3285wahousley21@students.tntech.edu

VOICE YOUR OPINIONVOICE YOUR OPINIONOpinion 931.372.3285cetesauro42@students.tntech.edu

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

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

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

2. Originality is required. 2. Originality is required. Plagiarized works will not Plagiarized works will not be considered.be considered.

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

4. Letters may not run 4. Letters may not run in every edition due to in every edition due to space.space.

5. The Oracle reserves 5. The Oracle reservesthe right to edit for style, the right to edit for style,grammar, length and grammar, length andclarity.clarity.

6. Submissions must be 6. Submissions must bereceived by 4 p.m. on received by 4 p.m. onTuesday.Tuesday.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this newspaper DO NOT necessarily refl ect those of Tennessee Tech University’s employees or of its administration.

It’s been a hard and fast fall from the top for Herman Cain since that cold morning in October when I stood outside Derryberry Hall with the Tea Party senior citizen constituency of Cookeville to watch him speak for ex-tra credit.

If you weren’t able to make it, you missed quite a show.

A Nashville entertainer whom I’ve never heard of but I’m just sure is on the cusp on worldwide fame came out and performed a song called entitled “I Am America,” complete with hand motions (Note: It is impossible to write a catchy song about reforming our country’s tax codes. Don’t even try).

Then loud, patriotic instrumental music played and Herman Cain came out and basically yelled at us for about 30 minutes and then went back on the bus and left.

But I digress.In the weeks that fol-

lowed, four women came forward accusing Herman Cain of sexual harassment during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990’s.

Then on Monday, an Atlanta woman named

Ginger White went pub-lic with her story, alleging that she had a 13-year af-fair with Herman Cain.

Cain has vehemently denied these charges, yet several news stories indi-cate that he may be prepar-ing to drop out of the race because of this.

He reportedly told a group of 90 staffers on a conference call Tuesday that these charges were “cause for reassessment” of his campaign.

If these allegations against him are untrue, as Cain says they are, drop-ping out of this race would be the worst thing that he could do.

It is tantamount to an admission of wrongdoing and sends a message that people can manipulate the outcome of a Presidential race with fabricated stories.

As Herman Cain con-siders the future of his can-didacy, he would be wise to remember what hap-pened to John McCain in 2008.

In February of that year, The New York Times printed a story insinuating that McCain may have had a romantic relationship with Washington lobbyist Vicki Iseman. The McCain

campaign pushed backhard against this false sto-ry and was ultimately vin-dicated with the truth.

I’m no Herman Cainfan, but when charges areleveled against you likethose made against Cain,if they really are false, youdon’t give up and quit,you stay in and fi ght. You defend your honor andyou ensure that voters areafforded an opportunityto know what really hap-pened.

If Herman Cain hascarried on an inappropri-ate relationship with any-one during the course ofhis professional life, he iswell advised to drop outnow.

We are already facinga drought of integrity inWashington, and behaviorsuch as this is not consis-tent with the “change” hiscampaign speaks of, butrather is perfectly in linewith the status quo.

But if these reports arefalse, I urge Herman Cainto stay in this race. Don’tallow these individualswho slander your namethe thrill of a victory.

Stay in and press for-ward, knowing that ul-timately the truth willprevail. You owe your do-nors, your staff, and mostimportantly, your wife, atleast that much.

Oh, also maybe readup on the confl ict in Libya, and perhaps makesome fl ashcards for futureinterviews.

Herman Cain’s fall from graceJONATHAN FRANK

Asst. Editorial Editor

Initially I thought, here it comes, here’s a black candidate who has a darker skin complexion, who sounds like a black man and who is ironically conservative.

“

Robert Owens,Director of Minority Affairs

in reference to Herman Cain’s sexual harassment scandal, see page 1

Quotable Campus

Spring 2012 staffORACLEFOR

THE

Managing EditorAsst. Managing Editor

Ad ManagerAsst. Ad ManagerAsst. Ad Manager

Editorial EditorAsst. Editorial Editor

Sports EditorAsst. Sports Editor

Entertainment EditorAsst. Entertainment Editor

Copy EditorWeb Editor

The Oracle will return Feb. 3!

Will HousleyNicholas Rollins

Bridgette BuchananTBATBA

Cassie TesauroJonathan Frank

Ross HarveyAndy RutherfordChristina Riddle

Will ShecklerJenda Wilson

Logan Nickleson

CASSIE TESAURO

Editorial Editor

Leggings do not count as pants

Ladies, we need to talk about the leggings situation on this campus.

I know you love your leggings. I’m just as addicted as the rest of you.

They’re much more com-fortable than skinny jeans and much more stylish than sweatpants.

But our addiction is get-ting out of hand.

You know how we look back at clothing styles and cringe? I know I’m not alone in regretting most of my nineties adolescent fashion choices.

Remember the foam platform fl ip fl ops? I fi gured that if the Spice Girls wore them, they had to be cool. The same went for bedazzled scrunchies and brightly col-ored track pants.

I fi rmly believe that the leggings as pants trend is go-ing to be the ‘acid wash mom-jeans’ of our generation.

It’s one of those trends that crept up on us. No one is really sure how leggings became such a big thing. All we girls know is that we need them, just like we all need

colorful rainboots and some-thing that’s mustard yellow.

Of all the fashion trends on campus the leggings as pants look is by far the strangest.

Can we all agree to stop pretending that this is a good look?

At my brother’s gradua-tion ceremony two years ago, a girl showed up in a blouse and golden metallic leggings. It looked like someone had spray-painted the bottom half of her body gold. Let me assure you that it was not a good look.

Wearing leggings as pants at a graduation is bad enough. But wearing shiny gold leggings as pants is tak-ing it to a whole new level.

Unless your name is Lady Gaga, back away from the shiny spandex.

I know that it’s ridicu-lously comfy. Walking around all day in nothing but your underwear would prob-ably be really comfy too, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

Leggings aren’t as thick as you think they are. Seriously,

we can see everything.I’m talking every dimple

and every undergarment (or lack thereof).

Really you might as well be walking around in sheer panty hose.

Just throw a skirt on over them. It doesn’t even have to be a long skirt. All I ask is that it’s long enough to cover the same amount of skin as a pair of 80s gym shorts.

I promise you’ll still be just as comfortable.

Jeggings, those strange hybrids of jeans and leggings, are a grey area.

A good basic rule of thumb for jeggings is if they’re as thin as regular leg-gings, then they don’t count as pants. So if you buy them off the same rack or shelf where tights are on display, then they’re defi nitely not pants.

You shouldn’t be able to tell that jeggings aren’t nor-mal jeans.

They should be just as thick as your go-to skinny jeans. Only then do they qualify as pants.

I believe that if we all work together we can end this horrible trend. Leggings as pants can soon be nothing but an unpleasant memory.

That and something fu-ture generations will mock us for.

Page 4 | December 2, 2011 tntechoracle.com

SPORTS

BASES LOADED

with ANDY RUTHERFORD

Asst. Sports Editor

By ANDY RUTHERFORDAsst. Sports Editor

Despite a disappointing loss this past weekend, the Golden Eagles 2011 season will go down as the most successful in recent memory.

Tech earned several honors and records both as a team and as individuals.

The Golden Eagles fi nished the regular season with an overall record of 7-3, the most wins for Tech since the 2001 season.

The team fi nished with a conference re-cord of 6-2, which earned the program its fi rst share of the OVC title since 1975 and 10th in school history. Wins over the other two 6-2 conference teams, Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky, clinched Tech its fi rst FCS playoff berth.

The team also earned a share of the Ser-geant York Trophy, going 2-1 against the oth-er OVC schools in the state of Tennessee.

Tech set new school season-highs this season by scoring 355 points and earning 237 fi rst downs.

Several individuals were honored for their performances this season as well.

Head coach Watson Brown was named

OVC Roy Kidd Coach of the Year and was named a fi nalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, which honors the best coach in the entire FCS.

Senior wide receiver Tim Benford also re-ceived a top honor as he was voted the OVC Offensive Player of the Year. He is only the fourth receiver to win the award and only the second Golden Eagle.

Benford’s 86 receptions and 826 yards led the OVC this season and brought his career totals to 217 receptions and 3,104 yards, mak-ing him second all-time in the conference in both categories.

He was also named to his third All-OVC fi rst-team.

In total, nine Golden Eagles were named to All-OVC teams.

Joining Benford on the fi rst- team were senior Scott Schweitzer, junior Marcus Ed-wards, and senior Richmond Tooley.

Second-team All-OVC Golden Eagles were senior Dontey Gay, senior Travis Ad-kins, junior Will Johnson, and senior Nick Campbell.

Freshman Austin Tallant was named to the All-Newcomer team.

There’s a big weekend of championship games coming up this weekend in college football.

The Pac-12 and Big Ten will each hold their fi rst conference championship games, Oklahoma State will host Oklahoma in what is essentially a championship game, and Georgia will try to pull off an upset against an unbeaten LSU team in the SEC Champion-ship.

As important as these games are, every-one is looking forward to see what unfolds in the BCS picture.

LSU is ranked No. 1 and Alabama is No. 2 going into this weekend. Many are speculat-ing that these two teams will play in the BCS National Championship in January, regard-less of what happens this weekend.

Do these two teams deserve to be there? I say no.

Don’t get me wrong. Do I believe these are the best two teams in the country? Abso-lutely and I don’t have any doubt about that.

My point is that if you aren’t the cham-pion of your conference, how can you say that you are the best in the nation? That would be the equivalent of saying the Oracle is the best newspaper in middle Tennessee, but not the best in Cookeville. It makes no sense.

Another reason I am against Alabama playing for a national title is the fact that they already lost to LSU this season. I know it was a three point overtime loss but it was also in Tuscaloosa. If Alabama couldn’t knock off LSU at home, it is less likely they would do it at a technically neutral site. You can’t call it a neutral site though because the BCS National Championship game will be held in New Or-

leans so it will pretty much be a LSU homegame.

I know what the argument to my theoryis. Some will say that, according to my theo-ry, if LSU, Oklahoma State, and Virginia Techlose this weekend then we will have to see anOklahoma versus Oregon matchup.

I have no answer to that. I agree that thatwould be ridiculous. That would leave LSU,Alabama, and Stanford with one loss eachnot going to the title game while two two-lossteams do.

My solution is a playoff system. The FBSis the only division of collegiate athletics thathasn’t implemented a playoff system.

The reason they give is because of all thetradition and income attached to the bowlsystem. I don’t understand why they can’t doboth. Use the current BCS bowl games andtwo more, possibly the Cotton Bowl and Cap-itol One Bowl, and use those as your sevengames of an eight-team playoff.

For those outside the top eight, you canstill have your traditional bowl system.

In the past, the BCS has sorted itself outat times but it has also left just as many ques-tions.

But since we don’t have a playoff sys-tem and there’s not one on the way anytimesoon, all we can do is speculate as to what willhappen and who really should be in the biggame.

My thought is that, if they both win onSaturday, LSU and Oklahoma State shouldmeet in New Orleans to play for the BCS Na-tional Championship. If one or both loses,then I have no idea.

As the semester wraps up, the fi tness center has many new improvements planned to for the new year.

There are changes in the hours the fi t is available as the semester ends, along with the appearance, as another year rapidly ap-proaches.

Due to the limited amount of parking during the TSSAA tournament this week-end, the fi tness center will be closed though Saturday. Sunday, the Fit will open back up during its regular hours.

Dec. 16, the second fl oor of the Fit will be closing. To compensate for the loss of all of the second fl oor equipment there will be a makeshift cardiovascular area set up in one of the gyms.

Over the break, the carpet and tile fl oor-ing on both the fi rst and second fl oors will be replaced. According to assistant director of the fi tness center, Suzann Hensley, the second fl oor of the fi t is 20-years-old and the fl oors have never been replaced.

“We are more than excited about this re-placement,” Hensley said.

A lot of the CV and weight equipment will be replaced. Several of the new pieces are combo machines, which allow for more than one workout on an individual piece of equipment.

One of the new pieces of equipment is the summit trainer, which is a combination of an elliptical and a stair climber.

“We’ve never had a piece of equipment like it before, it’s very unique and new on the market,” Hensley said.

Not only are there going to be new fl oors and new weights, there will also be new deck drains around the pool.

Extensive cleaning and painting of the whole fi tness center are planned as well.

“It’s a lot of fun when everyone comes back because we are going to have lots of new stuff that is well over due,” Hensley said. “It is going to look new, smell new, and feel new.”

The fi t will reopen Jan. 3 with limited hours until Jan. 12 when the hours will re-turn to normal.

Fitness Center hours reduced for TSSAA, remodeling, winter break

Does the BCS actually work? Weekend’s games should show need for playoff

The Ohio Valley Con-ference Team Sportsman-ship Award was given to the Tech Golden Eagle men’s and women’s cross country teams for the 2011-12 season after a vote by student athletes and coach-es from their sport.

Presented annually since 2005, the award goes to the team that best exhib-its sportsmanship and the standards of ethical behav-ior outlined by the OVC and NCAA.

“Without sportsman-ship there are truly no meaningful victories,” OVC commissioner Beth DeBauche said. “The re-cipients of the OVC Team Sportsmanship award should accept this award

with great pride for their fellow competitors have made it clear their teams ex-emplify the best in intercol-legiate athletics. In receiv-ing this prestigious honor, other competitors are say-ing these student-athletes compete with class, respect their opponents and value fair play. That is quite a compliment as those are all traits that will lead to true victories throughout the course of life.”

This year marks the fi rst time that Tech cross country has won the team sportsmanship award. Oth-er Golden Eagle teams that have received the award in the past include baseball, men’s and women’s golf, soccer and women’s track and fi eld.

“I am very happy we received the award,” Gold-

en Eagle John Greene said. “I thought we had earned it through our respect for our competitors and I am glad we could bring this award to Tech.”

The Golden Eagle women’s team also re-ceived the same award.

“Sportsmanship is a very important thing to coach, the program, and to me,” Traci Jones, team captain, said. “I am very honored that the rest of the OVC felt we were a de-serving team of this award. I am also very proud that the guys team received the honor too.”

The Golden Eagle cross country teams have fi nished the 2011-12 season and will return to running next fall.

Tech football team caps successful season with multiple honors

Wide receiver Tim Benford looks back at the sidelines before the play. Benford, who had 86 receptions on the season, was named OVC Player of the Year.

By LINDSAY BLAKELYBeat Reporter

Andy Rutherford

Tech cross country teams win OVC Sportsmanship AwardBy DAVID LANEBeat Reporter

Tech’s top fl ag football players will com-pete for the national title in their sport Dec. 29-31 in Pensacola, Fla.

The team earned an invitation to nation-als at the Battle of the Bluegrass Flag Football Regional tournament at Western Kentucky University Nov. 18-20.

The team, comprised of students from Tech ranging from freshmen to graduate stu-dents, named themselves “Gold Woof.”

“We have always been called Gold,” Darren Greogry, captain of the team and Intramural Coordinator, said. “What comes after Gold always changes. It has been many different names, Gold Snuffl eupagus, Gold Bloons, Gold Pooh, Gold Bobby’s World, and Gold Woof. We try to just come up with ran-dom cartoon characters to put at the end of Gold.”

Sixteen teams competed at the regional tournament. Gold Woof beat Northern Ken-tucky University and Campbellsville Univer-sity in the fi rst day of pool play. They then beat Bellarmine University, which advanced them to the quarterfi nals.

Inclement weather prevented Gold Woof from playing Murray State University on Nov. 20. Due to the game cancellation, all four quarterfi nalists received an invitation to the national tournament, put on by American Collegiate Intramural Sports.

Gold Woof also won a fl ag football tour-

nament in Dayton, Tenn. on Nov. 5.“This is my 5th year taking a team to dif-

ferent places to compete,” Gregory said. “We have competed at MTSU, Western Kentucky, Dayton, Tennessee, New Orleans, and soon to be Pensacola Florida. We have had a great track record so far winning the state tourna-ment 2 times, the regional tournament once, and fi nishing top 5 in the national tourna-ment last year.”

Last year’s fl ag football team, Gold Pooh, earned an invitation to the 2010 nationals, held at The University of New Orleans. They were eliminated on a last minute touchdown in the quarterfi nals, however, player Ryan Warf won the all-around skills competition at the tournament.

“In two tournaments so far this year, we have not been challenged, with that being said, I really like our chances to bring the 2011 fl ag football national championship home to TN Tech University,” Gregory said.

“I have told the team that when we win the national tournament, we are all going to go swimming in the Gulf at midnight on New Years,” Gregory said. “Other than that, we have no big plans after we win, maybe an autograph session of all the players in the Fit.”

The travel team is chosen by Gregory. “I try to evaluate players throughout the

intramural fl ag football season,” Gregory said. “Really, it is a judgment from me and some of the returning players in picking up new talent.

Flag football team heads to nationalsBy JILLIAN BOREINGBeat Reporter

Granted, “Skyrim” came out several weeks ago, but this is not the type of game you play for fi ve hours and then render judgment. We at The Oracle are busy folks, so I wanted to refrain from talking about “Skyrim” un-til I played enough to give the game a fair critique. Af-ter 40 hours of game play, I think I’m ready.

Developer Bethesda Game Studios offers a robust world centered on the story of the main character and his or her quest to prevent the apocalypse. Dragons, which most characters considered only legend, have begun at-tacking settlements in the area and you must fi nd the reason for their return from the dead.

You are a ‘Dragonborn,’ a seemingly dead lineage that shares a common heri-tage with dragons, which grants you special powers. Amid your quest, you must deal with warring factions fi ghting a civil war.

The main storyline is very enticing, offering enough intrigue to keep you pushing to see the conclu-sion. Along the way, the player has endless options for side quests and well over 150 landmarks to explore for loot. If you skip over the dungeons spread across the map, you’re going to be missing a great part of the game.

I really dug the level-ing system, which does not force you to pick a tradition-al RPG class, but allows you to mix-and-match as you

choose. Want to be a wizard wearing heavy armor? Feel free to join my club.

The visuals are fantas-tic and aside from the usual massively open world, game bugs (clipping issues and some wonky physics), I did not notice any major prob-lems. As a note, I have been playing on the PC and have read reports of lag and bug problems on the console ver-sions.

Although the combat can be repetitive after awhile, I didn’t really get that feel-ing until near the end of the game. In addition, fi ghting dragons is something that

never gets old. Every timeI hear the music shift in the background, denoting adragon’s presence, I’m fi lled with the same excitement as the fi rst dragon battle.

“Skyrim” is a heck of agame. I’ve spent an exces-sive amount of time playingalready and I anticipate thetrend to continue, much tothe detriment of my studyhabits for fi nals week. Withso much available content, you’ll defi nitely get enoughbang for your buck.

tntechoracle.com Page 5 | December 2, 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

Movies on my Mind:Hugo

Let ’s talk about movies With CHUCK ACHESON, Entertainment Editor

ONLINE @TNTECHORACLE.COM

Bethesda’s ‘Skyrim’ offers robust, fun experience

Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) go on a road trip with the iconic characters in a bid for a reunion show.

Walt Disney Pictures

It’s the last issue of the semester and, luckily, we have one of the most enjoy-able fi lms on which to end the semester. “The Mup-pets” stumbles a few times but the majority of the fi lm is a lovingly, crafted, touch-ing tribute to the original series.

The story opens with brothers Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (voiced by Pe-ter Linz). The two shared an all-American childhood except for one major differ-ence: Walter is a muppet. After a chance rental of an old Muppet’s video, Walter falls in love with the Mup-pets.

Fast forward to the present day, Gary has been in a steady relationship with his girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), for nearly 10 years and to celebrate their 10th anniversary, the two travel to Los Angeles. Gary invites Walter, much to the chagrin of Mary, and the three set off to the big city.

While on a tour of the now run-down Muppets Studio, Walter accidentally overhears Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) planning, the purchase and subse-quent destruction of the studio in order to reach the

oil reserve located beneath the studio. After sharing the news with Gary, the brothers decide they must tell Kermit so that he might stop the sale.

The acting and musical numbers in this movie were absolutely superb with only a few minor exceptions. True to Muppet form, celeb-rity cameos laced the movie bringing together numerous big names from the present and previous generations. Honestly, the lack of a Steve Martin cameo shocked me a bit, as he teamed up with Kermit for one of the most memorable moments in en-tertainment history.

The humor remained the same from the show in all its wonderfully wacky glory. However, I am not sure how much the humor holds up for people in the generations following mine. This notion hits upon one of the main thematic elements of the movie. Is the whole-some nature of the Mup-pets’ humor lost on the new generations raised on raun-chy garbage fi lms?

I sincerely hope not. The ability to make an audi-ence laugh without resort-ing to vulgarity is a rare tal-ent and The Muppets excel

in spades. The worst thing you’ll see in “The Mup-pets” is muppet-on-muppet violence (which somehow earned the movie a PG rat-ing).

Regardless, if you en-joy good things, you’ll fi nd plenty to like in “The Muppets.” Between Gon-zo (voiced by Dave Goelz) destroying his successful plumbing company in the Muppet’s reunion bid and Miss Piggy (voiced by Eric Jacobson) becoming a suc-cessful magazine mogul, laughs abound.

While humor highlights the movie, at its core, “The Muppets” is about one of the oldest life lessons: be yourself. A moral that has never gone out of style, “The Muppets” reinvigorated the idea with their own unique style.

This is a movie I think the late Jim Henson would love; it honors the Muppets tradition while blazing a new path in the franchise. “The Muppets” rarely mis-steps during its nearly 100-minute runtime and the lov-ing care of the entire crew to make the movie correctly permeates from screen. See the movie, and then see it again. You won’t regret it.

Final Grade: A MPAA Rating: PG Hugo (Asa Butterfi eld) and Isabella (Chloë Grace Moretz) work to fi x the robot Hugo’s father saved from a museum fi re.

Paramount Pictures

By CHUCK ACHESONEntertainment Editor

In “Skyrim,” you take on the role of a mythical warrior that you can design however you choose.

Bethesda Softworks

Final Grade: A Rating: M

“Hugo” is the work of director Martin Scorsese in his fi rst 3-D movie experience. The fi lm is based after the novel, “The Inven-tion of Hugo Cabret.” The fi lm takes place in a Paris train station where Hugo, under the guise of his drunkard uncle, keeps the clocks at the station working.

Young Hugo lives in the station not as a thief, but more along the lines of a borrower. Take only what you need and maybe some spare parts to keep the station running on time. Honestly, without Hugo, people would be late for their trains, but the Chief Inspector and his dog are always on the prowl for orphans about the station like Hugo.

One day Hugo tried taking some parts from a shopkeeper named George, but dis-covered it was merely a trick to catch Hugo in the act. George confi scates Hugo’s pock-ets and takes his precious journal that was given to him by his father to fi x this broken-down robot.

Originally, the robot was salvaged byHugo’s father before his death in the mu-seum fi re. Now his only hope is fi xing thisrobot to see if it holds a secret message fromhis father.

Enlisting the help of shopkeeper George’s granddaughter, the two have theirown sort of adventure that leads them to adiscovery beyond their wildest dreams.

The movie is rated PG for smoking, mildaction scenes and peril. Although if you’reinterested, the movie is not showing at the Cookeville Carmike, but will likely be therein the coming weeks.

Pros: If you’re fans of original fi lm, this movie is for you. You get history and an ad-venture with a dash of mystery involved inthe movie.

Cons: Your better off if you can see the movie in 2-D. Most exciting adventure scenes were probably in the movie trailer. Might be above the heads of younger audi-ence members

Hmm: Why must every movie with snow in it make me feel so cold?

By WILL SHECKLERAsst. Entertainment Editor

“Skyrim” is one of the best games so far this year and another major success for developer Bethesda Game Studios.

OTNTECHORACLE.COM

• Crossword• Crime Map• Polls• Video• Photos• Newsletter