Bids for the Univer-sity bookstore opened Feb. 3, with three vendors re-sponding to the request for proposals.

The contract with cur-rent owner, Barnes & Noble, whose successful proposals have retained its manage-ment of the bookstore since 1994, will expire at the end of June. Tech is looking to have a new contract by the fi rst of July.

While the proposing vendors remain unnamed at this time, evaluation of the proposals is underway.

“This bid was done in two phases. There are a technical portion and a cost portion,” said Judy Hull, Business Services director.

An evaluation team looks at points from the technical portion, like qual-ifi cations and experience, pricing structure, store lay-out, marketing strategies and student involvement, scoring each vendor based on the potential 70 points. The fi nancial portion of the proposal has yet to be re-viewed.

After the proposals are evaluated in the technical portion, the fi nancial por-tion will open and each ven-dor will be scored based on proposed revenue. These points will be added to the technical score and the

vender with the most total points will win the con-tract.

“They can’t buy thecontract. It’s something where you look at the over-all picture,” said Hull.

The technical portion should be completed byFeb. 24, opening the second half of evaluations.

“We have a target dateof March 8 for issuing a let-ter of intent, and that just notifi es everybody of thesuccessful proposer,” saidHull. “We have a reviewperiod where the other twocan come in and look at thescores and fi les and makesure that they don’t haveany issues or anything withthe University’s decision.”

The successful bidderwill earn a fi ve-year con-tract to manage and operatethe University bookstore.An additional fi ve yearscould be added based onhow successful the vendor is at Tech.

“We left the second fi ve years very fl exible. We cando whatever best suits ourneeds,” said Darla Wilhite, director of auxiliaries andUniversity liaison betweenthe University bookstoreand contracted vendors.

Regardless of the win-ning organization, the Uni-versity bookstore will sellsimilar products and re-main in the same locationin the RUC.

President Obama’s pro-posal to keep college afford-able could have negative con-sequences for Tech.

The proposal directly links a college’s eligibility for federal aid programs with its tuitions affordability. The plan will impact $3 billion in federal aid money known as campus-based aid that is used for programs like Work Study.

Under Obama’s propos-al, campus-based aid would be raised to $10 billion. This money would then be distrib-uted to colleges and universi-ties, rewarding the schools that maintain tuition costs.

“We are now on the low end of the tuition scale, but it’s based on a percent-age,” Claire Stinson, Tech’s Business and Planning vice president, said. “If you have a product and charge a dol-lar for it, then the price goes up another dollar, that’s a 100 percent increase.”

Tech’s tuition costs have been increasing steadily over the last few years. Under this proposal, Tech’s increas-

THE OORACLEVolume 95 | Issue 11 | Free in single copy | February 10, 2012Tennessee Tech University | Cookeville, TN | 38505

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Tech’s increasing tuition could lower federal fundingBy JONATHAN KAULAYBeat Reporter

Air quality prompts tests, warningsBy NICK ROLLINSAsst. Managing Editor

An ongoing problem with the indoor air quality at South Hall has prompted doctor’s visits, numerous air quality tests and no resolution for faculty and students.

Faculty and students on the second fl oor of South Hall fi rst encountered symp-toms of dizziness, headaches, nausea, elevated blood pres-sure and heart rate, breathing problems and fl u-like symp-toms in November.

Julia Baker, foreign lan-guages assistant professor, said that she was experienc-ing headaches in her offi ce. She went to Satellite Med due to ongoing symptoms, where they tested her blood and found an elevated level of carboxyhemoglobin, which is when blood cells have carbon monoxide instead of oxygen attached to them.

“I was told that my car-boxyhemoglobin level was 9 percent total,” Baker said. “My doctor told me 8-12 per-cent is considered to be that of the level of a heavy smoker, and I don’t smoke.”

According to the Nation-al Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the per-missible exposure limit for carbon monoxide is 35 parts-per-million during an eight-hour time period, which is See “Air Quality,” page 6

April Gilbert

Students such as Bethany Stringfi eld may benefi t from Obama’s plan to contain tuition cost.

Barnes & Noble to compete for University bookstore bidBy JESSICA SMITHBeat Reporter

ing tuition could cost the uni-versity federal aid money.

“We are tied closely with federal aid,” Stinson said. “The STEM building was built entirely with donations and federal funding.”

Obama fi rst made refer-ence to the plan during the State of the Union Address by putting colleges and uni-versities.

“If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down,” Obama said dur-ing the address.

Obama began revealing the details of his proposal to the public when he spoke at the University of Michigan three days after the State of the Union Address.

The proposal comes at a time when student loan debt is at an all time high, increas-ing the tensions between stu-dents and schools.

“I feel like a broke col-lege kid,” Lindsay Moore, a Tech accounting major, said. “It is just too expensive.”

The proposal also comes at a time when many colleges and universities are faced with large state budget cuts.

“We’ve seen a 31per-cent cut in state funding that

we have to partially replace with tuition,” Stinson said. “It worries me when the fed-eral government gets into the business of infl uencing tu-ition rates.”

Obama made several other proposals related to colleges and universities. He proposed lower interest rates for federal subsidized loans and a permanent extension of a tuition tax credit.

He also called on colleges and universities to offer a list to potential students compar-ing fi nancial aid packages

and statistics on graduates, like how much they are earn-ing and where they are cur-rently employed. According to Obama, all of this is de-signed to give students a bet-ter value.

“Once the nose is under the tent, the whole body will soon follow,” Stinson said. “We got people in Washing-ton trying to manage univer-sities nationwide who do not know all the variables.”

All of Obama’s propos-als will require congressional approval.

Jessica Wilson

Orange fl yers hang in South Hall to inform students like Rachel Evans what to do in case a carbon monoxide detector is sounded.

about a 6 percent carboxyhe-moglobin level.

“I used to work out twice a week and now I can’t do that,” Baker said. “Now I walk three stairs at home and I’m out of breath.”

Baker also said that this has not only affected profes-sors, but students as well.

Colleen Hays, foreign languages associate profes-sor, said, “I remember one of my students running in my offi ce saying, ‘Can I get some aspirin? I’m having the worse headache I’ve had in

my life’.”However, Tech has tested

air quality within South Hall since November. Accord-ing to test results, they have found virtually no detection of carbon monoxide, but they have found typically higher levels of carbon dioxide that fl uctuate throughout the day, particularly during class time.

“We found levels up to 1,500 parts-per-million of car-bon dioxide,” Kent Clawson, Tech’s coordinator of envi-ronmental health and safety,

said. “OSHA’s limit for work-ing eight hours a day is 5,000 parts-per-million. Those spikes of carbon dioxide are really right around [class time] because you have all of the students waiting to get into class and all of the stu-dents getting out of class.”

Also, the American Soci-ety of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engi-neers has a standard of 1,000 ppm of carbon dioxide in in-door spaces.

The newly appointed Search Advisory Com-mittee is preparing for the fi rst public meeting, sched-uled for 12:45 p.m. Feb. 17 in Tech’s Multipurpose Room.

The Search Advisory Committee and Tennessee Board of Regents Chancel-lor John Morgan’s responsi-bilities are to narrow down the list of applications and screen the qualifi cations of the candidates. The com-mittee then chooses and presents one candidate to the TBR, which will either accept or deny the candi-date.

“I think of Tech stu-dents pretty much as be-ing the stock holders of our University,” Ashley Hum-phrey, Committee student representative said. “There-

fore any decision that’smade, that is going to affectthe students, needs to comewith student support and astudent voice.”

Milestone dates and thesearch procedures will beestablished at the metting.

The committee list wasfi nalized and made publicJan. 31.

Hopes for new Presi-dent

The new president willbe the ninth in Tech’s 97-year history.

“The person who is se-lected as president plays atremendously importantrole in the future of the Uni-versity; and that affects notjust the students who comehere, the faculty and staffthat work here, but the en-tire region,” Paul Semmes,committee faculty repre-sentative, said.

TBR announces presidential search committee membersBy KAYLA GULLEYBeat Reporter

See “Search,” page 6

Page 2 | February 10, 2012 tntechoracle.com

NEWS

techtech@eventsevents

February

tntech.edu/calendar

102:00 p.m.Tea is for TenureRUC Noble Cody Suite

124:00 p.m.Mark Collins, percussion, Senior Student RecitalWattenbargerAuditorium

7:00 p.m.Wonkak Kim, clarinet, Faculty RecitalWattenbargerAuditorium

118:00 a.m.Cupids Chase 5KPrescott Hall

10:00 a.m.Tommy West Barrel & PolesHyder Burks Pavilion

5:00 p.m.Ellen Bomar, saxophone Senior RecitalWattenbargerAuditorium

7:00 p.m.Philip Shapiro, trumpet, Junior Student RecitalWattenbargerAuditorium

133:00 p.m.Commission on the Sta-tus of BlacksBlack Cultural Center

3:30 p.m.Faculty Senate MeetingPresident’s Conference Room

6:00 p.m.Black History Month: Soul food dinner, spoken wordRUC Multipurpose Room

7:00 p.m.Women’s Basketball v. Eastern IllinoisHooper Eblen Center

1410:00 a.m.Enhake Chamber Ensemble, Guest Artist RecitalWattenbargerAuditorium

11:00 a.m.TAB Giveaway: “Build a Bear”Roaden University Center

Jessica Reeves

Students, like freshman Garrett Emberton, would have no reason to study if Tech were to shut down on March 20.

Tech’s International Stu-dent Affairs Offi ce is busy as the number of international students grows.

Within the last fi ve years, Tech’s student body has grown. According to an e-mail from Alexis Pope, Tech’s assistant director of

admissions, one of the big-gest increases comes from the international freshman.

In Spring 2011, 53 inter-national students were ad-mitted while 188 internation-al students were admitted in Spring 2012.

“Charles [Wilkerson] has been going out and recruit-ing more, like traveling to China and Vietnam, and go-

International student enrollment sees yearly increasesBy MICA BILBREYBeat Reporter

The Offi ce of Annual and Special Programs is hosting the second annual Tuition Runs Out Day, with help from SGA, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 20 on South Patio.

“Tennessee Tech is a Tennessee Board of Regents school, by that we are par-tially state funded,” SGA President Lee Gatts said. “We are about 40 percent state funded, to be exact, and the rest of our money comes from tuition.”

Tuition Runs Out Day is an event to educate students, faculty, staff and community members about the cost of running the University and

why donations are so impor-tant. Without alumni dona-tions, the University would be forced to shut down in March each year due to de-pleted funds.

Lee said there will be or-ganizations set up and activ-ities being held to get people involved.

Tech’s average running cost is around $4.60 per second. At this rate, it costs Tech $16,560 per hour to stay in operation.

“So Tuition Runs Out Day represents our alumni who make their contribu-tions. Even if it’s just a dol-lar, they are still helping us keep our doors open here at Tech.”

Tuition Runs Out Day to highlight University operating costsBy JODI LAWERENCEBeat Reporter

1512:00 p.m.Black History Month: Midday MatineeBlack Cultural Center

7:00 p.m.Men’s Basketball v. Eastern KentuckyHooper Eblen Center

162:00 p.m.Resume ERRUC Rm. 342

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ing to career fairs to recruit students,” Amy Miller, Tech study abroad coordinator, said. “He wasn’t able to do that much before because we didn’t have enough staff here. As we have added on to the offi ce and have more staff members, he has been able to go out and recruit more students.”

According to Miller, part of the growth comes from the international students who come from abroad to study and get a degree. Another infl uence is through word-of-mouth, with students tell-ing their family and friends, spreading international awareness about Tech.

“We get mostly Saudi Arabian students,” Miller said. “We also get people from other countries includ-ing China, India, Kuwait and Brazil.”

According to Miller, there are several aspects that ap-peal to the international stu-dents, including an English language school on Tech’s

campus and a less expensive tuition. With Tech being a smaller college and overseas from their home lands, stu-dents studying at the Univer-sity will have a better chance of getting a job.

“Charles Wilkerson vis-its career fairs in places like China and Vietnam and other countries,” Miller said. “He also speaks to different schools about the engineering and business programs avail-able on our campus. When he goes overseas to the career fairs, he gets a lot of attention specifi cally because we have a strong engineering depart-ment.”

Andrew Bleignier, Tech immigration specialist, said, “The Tennessee Board of Re-gents has allowed us to make agreements with agents that can help do the recruitment from abroad. Our director has been tasked to build good relationships with trustwor-thy individuals that can help provide us with applications for the students.”

According to Miller, one reason students come to Tech is to get different types of scholarships, including hon-ors scholarships and other funding from their countries’ governments.

“All scholarships come from the outside. Some come from their governments to come here,” Miller said. “An example is almost all the Saudi Arabian students are on a full scholarship from their government. Also, sev-eral Brazilians are on a pro-gram called Science without Boarders, which allows them to study abroad and allows them to be here for a year.”

Bleignier said, “I’m bias. I think it’s absolutely won-derful in so many aspects. I think international students on campus add to an educa-tional environment of shar-ing exploration with other students. I think more a di-verse a campus is—not just of race, but of ages and back-grounds—benefi ts everyone in so many ways.”

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Ron Paul is a fascinating fi gure in American politics.

This claim was made in an article by Jonathan Frank in last week’s edition of The Oracle.

While the claim itself is true, the article did not quite give Mr. Paul a fair analysis at all.

This article was ex-tremely biased; that being said, I am fairly biased also. Why? Because I’ve actually bothered to do my research on Mr. Paul and have drawn completely different conclu-sions about him.

Despite being 76 years old, Paul has amassed a large following among col-

lege campuses. This is the same group who shunned McCain (who is actually a year younger) in 2008 for be-ing too old and out of touch.

What makes the differ-ence between the two? The fact he is not a run-of-the-mill politician—he refuses to be bought out by corporations and truly believes what he stands for.

As was pointed out in the previous article, Paul has an extremely low success rate for proposed legislation and often votes differently on is-sues than virtually every oth-er Congress member.

This is because he votes for what he believes is right for the country, not what is right for big business or his chances of getting reelect-

ed. He is the only candidatewhose stances on major is-sues do not change to what-ever will get him elected-he’sbeen consistent since dayone.

Unfortunately, I’m limited to 300 words to bring you to-day. But I do ask you to do your own research into thepresidential candidates.

I’d prefer you to be in-formed and completely dis-agree with me on Ron Paul,rather than just take what youread from one or two indi-viduals and move on. As wesaw last week, sometimesbiases can get in the way ofthe true story.

Now, I don’t have the best fashion sense out of the majority of girls here on campus, but I have a bone to pick with a few of the “faux pas” in the fashion article in last Friday’s edition of The Oracle.

While I agree that Uggs and short shorts aren’t the best idea and salmon col-ored skinny jeans might not always be the most fl attering thing, why are we not allowed to put our hair in pig tails?

Maybe certain girls rock pigtails, or maybe they just want to feel young again. Who is to judge their hair? It’s their own hair; they can

style it how they want. And female khaki pants?

I’m not even sure what’s wrong with khaki, not to men-tion brand labeled clothing. I can understand not wearing tank tops in winter, but she also put no leggings under shorts/skirts, which is often worn because it’s cold out-side because it’s winter!

But I could look past all of these “faux pas” if it wasn’t for number fi ve on the list, wearing purple and gold.

Seriously?! Our school’s colors are purple and gold! Why was this advice put in the school newspaper to be distributed to students who should be told to support the school not that the school col-

ors are a fashion mistake? Plus, when did those two

colors become uncompli-mentary? Someone forgot togive that memo to LSU, theMinnesota Vikings and allother sports teams that usethose two colors.

Also, in the article shementioned color blocking,“two very bold colored piec-es, giving the illusion that thecolors block each other off.” Wouldn’t wearing purple and gold be considered her defi -nition of color blocking?

Page 3 | February 10, 2012tntechoracle.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 blogs.ajc.com

Too much parking?

Here are some com-ments on last week’s “Letter to the Editor.”

Tech does promote “re-sponsible and legal” parking. They’re called parking tickets. Tech Police write a ridiculous amount of them, but people still park where is convenient for them. As a tour guide, I heard many statements on how beautiful the campus is already. And Tech does “give other universities in the state a run for their money.”

Where would you move thousands of parking spots off of campus? Tech is pretty landlocked. And how about the millions of dollars that would cost?! For those of you that don’t know, Tech has

a master plan that includes tons of new facilities, beautifi -cation, green areas, and yes, even a parking garage.

The administration is constantly doing things to im-prove the quality of education at Tech, which includes keep-ing your education affordable by fi nding cheaper janitorial services and cutting the cost of printing. You would be as-tounded if you saw the amount of paper that was needlessly wasted by students.

The decision to charge for printing and possibly lay off janitors will be made “to provide leadership and out-standing programs.” – TTU Mission Statement

Don’t expect every prob-lem Tech has to be gone be-fore you graduate; be patient. Investing in our educational

system will be one of thethings that will help right thecourse of this country. “How can I invest as a broke col-lege student?”

Give your opinion toan administrator or yourSGA senator; their jobs areto make your voice heard.Don’t go home on the week-ends and become involvedin a student organization.Student groups are the life-blood of TTU.

And lastly, if you can’t have any faith in TennesseeTech and its administrators, well maybe you should justtransfer and take your com-plaining elsewhere.

Jordan J. Jozwikjjjozwick@gmail.com

The Oracle’s new “That’s What She Said” advice coumn is here to help. Questions can cover any topic. Send your submissions to: OracleSheSaid@gmail.com

Have a question?

One of the many uncomfortable moments during Madonna’s half-time performance.

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

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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.

Oracle readers, we need to have a family discussion about that halftime show at the Super Bowl this year.

Admittedly, I’m not a huge Madonna fan. Cue the letters to the editor. I would have liked to see a perfor-mance by someone who’s a little bit more current, say for example, The Carpenters, ABBA, or perhaps John Tesh.

In terms of the actual per-formance, let’s start with the um, “singing.” Madonna and I have two things in common: neither of us has ever sung at the Super Bowl. This isn’t the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Madonna isn’t Ashlee Simpson (she could, however, be her mother).

I was expecting a live per-formance. Instead, I’m pretty sure some guy hit “play” on a CD in a sound booth some-where while Madonna and her army of Trojan soldiers

bopped around on stage. Madonna, dressed in

some sort of Cleopatra-in-spired getup, performed her hit song “Vogue” and briefl y did some shuffl in’ and vari-ous awkward stretches with LMFAO. Then Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and a chorus of cheer-leaders took to the stage and joined Madonna in a perfor-mance of a new song entitled, “Give Me All Your Luvin’.”

It was at this time that Madonna picked up a pair of pompoms and joined the cheerleaders in their routine.

Madonna, you look great but you’re 53 years old and are probably already receiving solicitation in the mail from AARP. Stop gy-rating across the stage in your stripper boots and put down those pompoms; you could throw out your hip.

Also during this song, M.I.A., who I only

know from the “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack, fl ipped the bird to the show’s 111-million-strong audience, thus sending the Parents Television Counsel and the FCC into panic mode. But hey, at least we didn’t have a wardrobe malfunction.

After that song, a march-ing band lead by a visibly winded Cee Lo Green came out and joined Madonna in a 30-second medley of “Open Your Heart,” and “Express Yourself.” I’m a product of the ‘90s so I had to Google the lyrics.

Then, for the grand fi -nale, Madonna and a spar-kly-black, choir robe-clad Cee Lo Green, who at this point is starting to resemble a low-budget drag queen, lead a choir in a performance of “Like A Prayer.” This concluded with Madonna disappearing into a cloud of smoke and the mes-sage “world peace” dis-played across the stage.

World peace, huh? Let’s just shoot for civility be-tween you and Elton John. That would be a good start.

Madonna half-time show falls fl atJONATHAN FRANK

Asst. Editorial Editor

Poll of the Week

This poll is not scientifi c and only refl ects the opinions of those who chose to participate. It does not refl ect the public as a whole. Voting for this poll took place online between

Feb. 3 and Feb. 10, 2012 at www.tntechoracle.com.

Another Groundhog day has come and gone.

Go to tntechoracle.com to vote!This week: What’s the most annoying Facebook picture pose?

Did you wish for an early spring or 6 more weeks of winter?

‘Faux pas’ too picky

Elisa TanksleyEctanksley42@students.tn-

tech.edu

37% - Winter. I want more snow!

63% - Spring. I’m tired of this dreary weather.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORBe fair to Ron Paul

Brandon Schreiberbjschreibe42@students.tn-

tech.edu

Last Sunday, the world watched as the Giants and Patriots came down to the wire in Super Bowl XLVI.

Tom Brady didn’t have a great game; we saw a miraculous catch by a Giants re-ceiver, a Giants touchdown in the closing minutes, and a Patriots Hail Mary play that fell incomplete. In a way, it was a very similar ending to Super Bowl XLII.

But the aftermath couldn’t be more different.

Four years ago, everyone in the me-dia was discussing the fascinating David vs. Goliath victory for the Giants. This year, there has been quite a bit of nega-tivity.

For starters, let’s look at Eli Manning. The guy is coming off his second Super Bowl MVP performance in four years, yet he can’t sit down for an interview with-out being asked about his brother’s con-dition.

As Super Bowl MVP, you are sup-

posed to be seen holding the Lombardi Trophy, driving off in your brand new car and going to Disney World. Eli has done these things but nobody has no-ticed because everyone wants to know if Peyton will play next season. It seems Eli can’t make his way out from underneath his older brother’s umbrella even after an MVP.

Looking at other quarterbacks on the fi eld, you have to feel a little sorry for Tom Brady—which is something not of-ten said about a good looking millionaire married to a supermodel.

This guy only threw one intercep-tion but saw catchable balls go through his receivers’ hands, including a drop by the usually sure-handed Wes Welker that may have cost them the game.

The poor guy should have been left in peace to mope, but technology rears its ugly head again as someone catches his supermodel wife blasting the Patriots’ re-ceiving core on camera.

Maybe he wouldn’t have had this problem if Rob Gronkowski had been completely. The second-year tight end, who had 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns this year, was limited to two catches with a high ankle sprain that limited his mo-bility.

Except on the dance fl oor.Gronkowski was seen after the game

dancing with his shirt off in an Indianap-olis club, much to the chagrin of many Patriot fans and former players.

Those are just the examples of thenegativity surrounding those directly in-volved in the actual game.

There’s always the critique of thehalftime show. Though not as bad as lastyear musically, a controversial gesture byM.I.A. had Super Bowl offi cials apologiz-ing for the fi rst time since the infamous wardrobe malfunction.

Commercial reviews are even com-ing up negative.

Whatever happened to the dayswhen heroes were immortalized on thebig stage?

Super Bowl winners and MVPs wereconsidered godlike. Losers had to answertough questions about the game, but notabout their family members or post-gameactivities.

This Super Bowl should go down as agreat game for both teams.

Yes, the Patriots lost, but to be in theSuper Bowl with the defense they have issomething to be proud of.

Yes, Tom Brady lost his second Su-per Bowl, but the fact that he has been tofi ve, ties him with John Elway for mostappearances.

As for the Giants, two titles in fouryears is something any team would begfor.

As for Eli, yes he may have to see and hear hours upon hours of Peyton cover-age, but for once in his life he has some-thing that Peyton does not: two rings.

Tech’s EXPW program waits for approval on expansion plans

Tech’s exercise science, physical edu-cation and wellness department is looking to expand in the near future and are wait-ing for Tech’s approval.

For long-term aspects, the department has been speaking with the local hospitals and the human ecology department to make plans for expanding programs such as physical therapy and occupational ther-apy. The demand for these two programs is growing nationally.

Also, the demand for enrolling in physical therapy and occupational thera-py courses at Tech is rising. EXPW is also looking to add a graduate program in PT and OT, by Fall 2012.

Another change the department is considering is changing the coaching and sport administration degree to a minor, to allow non-EXPW department majors, who would like to coach, to take classes and get this as a minor.

Tech currently offers the following undergraduate programs in the EXPW department: Coaching and Sport Admin-istration, Fitness and Wellness, Pre-Physi-

cal Therapy, Pre-Occupational Therapy and K-12 Teacher Licensure.

Coach Watson Brown excited about incoming recruits: “best class”

TThe Tech football team signed 24 new players on National Signing Day, Feb. 1.

“We’re excited about this group,” said Head Couch Watson Brown, “Each class gets a little stronger, and this is the best one we’ve had. We were able to meet the immediate needs that we went after.”

The 2012 recruiting class is a lineman-heavy class, with 11. The Golden Eagles are losing seven linemen this year and three more next year, leaving several po-sitions for fi lling over the next couple of seasons.

Brown said he is also excited that 18 of the 24 signees are from Tennessee.

One in-state lineman signee was of-fensive tackle Brent Dillard from Mount Juliet, Tenn. Dillard, a Tennessee Mr. Football Finalist, was heavily recruited by other schools on Tech’s level, but chose to play for the Golden Eagles.

Dillard was not available for an inter-

view, but mentioned via e-mail his feel-ings on coming to play for Tech:

“I chose Tech because I knew it was a great school, with a great football program. I felt that the coaches and the players were the type of people that I would like to be around for the next four to fi ve years. And I am just relieved that the signing is over and I know where I will be spending the next few years of my life.”

In addition to linemen making up almost half of the recruiting class, Tech signed three receivers, two safeties, two quarterbacks, two linebackers, two run-ning backs, one cornerback and one punt-er/kicker. They also signed three players from Georgia and one each from Alabama, Ohio, and California.

Jared Davis is one of the quarterbacks signed. He was also a highly recruited player by many schools on Tech’s level throughout the South and also chose Tech over all other offers.

For more information, visit www.TTUsports.com.

Football awards dinner this Sunday, open to public

The Tennessee Tech football team will gather Sunday afternoon, Feb. 12, for head coach Watson Brown to present the team’s annual awards, and the public is invited to attend the 2 p.m. event in the Roaden University Center. The cost of the dinner

is $16 per person.In addition to a public recognition of

the team’s success, Brown will announcethe winners of the Robert Hill JohnsonAward and several additional honors for the 2011 Golden Eagles including the Son-ny Allen Leadership Award, the UnsungHero Award, the Tech Pride Award andMVP honors by position. Brown will alsoannounce the 2011 permanent team cap-tains.

The event will also feature a behind-the-scenes video showing some teamhighlights and activities that have notbeen previously seen by the public.

The Golden Eagles fi nished one of themost successful year’s in program historyby capturing the school’s 10th OVC cham-pionship, appearing in the FCS Playoffsfor the fi rst time, and placing in the Top 25of all thre fi nal FCS polls.

Tennis team has match rescheduled

Tech’s men’s tennis game againstGardner-Webb scheduled for 11 a.m. Sat-urday has been postponed and has beenrescheduled for April 11th, at 1 p.m. For more information, visit TTUSports.com.

Page 4 | February 10, 2012 tntechoracle.com

SPORTS

Weekly Roundup This week’s sports stories at a glance

Senior Leah Bradley led the Golden Eagle track team at the Southern Illinois Uni-versity Invitational with two new career records.

Bradley improved on her record, set last week at the Niswonger Invitational, in the 800-meter race with a time of 2 minutes, 25.69 sec-onds. She also set a personal best in the mile, fi nishing with a time of 5:25.

Golden Eagle runners Kara Webb, Traci Jones and Rebecca Cline all joined Bradley in fi nishing in the top half of the mile runners. Webb and Cline beat their previous records in the mile with improved times.

“I believe our team is doing well for how early in the season it is,” Jones said. “We have a young team and everyone is pushing hard to do their best at conference. I’m looking forward to see-ing how things play out for us as individuals and a team at the indoor conference.”

Tech’s Emily Weinzetl, Jenna Philpott and Webb

all fi nished in the top half of runners in the 800-meter race. Webb and Weinzetl both set personal best times, along with Elizabeth Mitch-ell and Kathryn Forbes.

“This is the fi rst time I have done indoor, so it’s different for me,” Webb said. “I am working hard to get faster every time I hit the track.”

Golden Eagle Lacy Ys-las competed in the shot put, throwing for a distance of 37 feet, 1 inch. This beat her performance last week and set a career best for her in the fi eld event.

Emily Williams (11:35.47), Brittany Brown (11:43.92) and Meghan O’Donoghue (11:46.35) all scored personal best records in the 3,000-meter run.

The SUI Invitational was the last chance for the runners to compete before the Ohio Valley Conference Track & Field Champion-ship, scheduled for Feb. 24-25 at Tennessee State Uni-versity in Nashville.

Sophomores Brittany Cotto (left) and Dalis Connell practice for the upcoming OVC championship.

Allie Sampson

Bradley, Tech track and fi eld fare well at Southern Illinois By DAVID LANEBeat Reporter

This week’s Weekly Roundup features stories fromBeat Writers Drew Eller and Aaron Vick, and from TTU Sports Information.

With Prince Fielder signing a nine-year, $214 million deal last week, the commonplace argument on every sports talk show was whether athlete’s salaries today are fair or blown out of proportion.

Let’s start with some numbers. By year, the highest con-tract in North American sports is held by Alex Rodriguez, third baseman for the New York Yankees.

His yearly salary, before taxes, is $27 million. That deal is for a guaranteed 10 years. For the 162-game baseball sched-ule, that’s a little more than $169,000 per game.

In football, the largest contact belongs to Larry Fitzger-ald, who makes $15 million annually. For a 16-game football schedule, that’s a little more than $937,000 a game.

The largest world contract is that of Ferrari Racing driver Kimi Räikkönen, who makes a whopping $51 million every year. With a limited racing schedule, that’s about $2.9 million every event.

Not included in these numbers is income received, like endorsements and signing bonuses.

So are these huge dollar amounts warranted, or is soci-ety to blame for infl ating these athletes’ heads to the point that they believe they can demand such ridiculous amounts of money?

In an article by Patrick Goldstein entitled “Is Sports the New Showbiz?” he says sports teams are willing to take mon-etary risks that they would not have in past years because of the payoff for successful teams.

With TV deals and revenue sharing at an all-time high, the best teams are making enough money to more than cover their salary expenses. In these days, when actors in Holly-wood are making less money per movie, sports ventures are not as risky and have more guaranteed returns.

However, this has come to bite some teams in the prover-bial behind later down the road.

The largest basketball contract belongs to Rashard Lewis,

making more than $21 million yearly. However, after signing this contract with the Seattle SuperSonics, he was traded to the Orlando Magic, where he had a few good years before he was traded to the Washington Wizards.

He was widely criticized for never living up to his con-tract and taking up large portions of his teams’ salary cap.

Sometimes these moves pay off, however.The New York Yankees have the biggest payroll in Major

League Baseball, along with 27 World Series and 40 Ameri-can league titles to show for it. They also have four of the top-10 largest contracts in all of sports.

Mihir Bhagat, Bleacher Report senior analyst, said ath-letes’ salaries have blown out of proportion.

“Professional athletes are making too much money in a society where salaries and wages are traditionally based on the value of one’s work,” Bhagat said. “In today’s society, one should be paid according to the job’s economic importance and their value to society.”

Economic importance? We are talking about billions of dollars in taxable revenue generated by American sports. That seems like economic importance to me.

The reason athletes get paid so much is because that is the cost of putting a good product on the fi eld, which, in turn, makes the money back. Owners wouldn’t give such lucrative contracts if they weren’t still making money.

“Professional sports are a business,” said Jimmie Lee Sol-omon, director of minor league operations for Major League Baseball. “Our product just happens to be putting highly paid players on the fi eld or court.

“Which player has the superior talent? Which player is more likely to help the team win games? Which player is more likely to draw fans into the ballpark and sell jerseys? Those are the questions we ask.”

Marcellus Wiley, former NFL player and current ESPN analyst said he was all for the guys getting paid and he loves it.

The bottom line with sports, and life, is that you’re going to have busts. Some people are not going to perform up to ex-pectations. However, some risks are taken in order to be suc-cessful. It is a business. If fans and companies continue to pay large amounts of money in support of teams and individuals, then owners and managers will continue to pay top dollar in order to acquire the best players.

The Extra Point: Athletes Salaries

Bases Loaded: Super Bowl Reaction

By Andy Rutherford

Asst. Sports Editor

By Ross Harvey

Sports Editor

Go overboard with sparkles and bows. (you’re not a present)

Pick a dress that leaves nothing to the imagination.

Wear hooker boots.

Make yourself look like you should be placed on a Christmas tree.

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tntechoracle.com Page 5 | February 10, 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

Staple Pieces to Declutter ClosetsFashion Forward

If you have a full closet but nothing to wear, you could be missing important staple piec-es that pull any outfi t together.

Contrary to popular be-lief, there comes a point when too many clothes can be dis-tracting. The key to any ward-robe is to have a few staple pieces that will guide an outfi t to a completed, cohesive look.

A tailored blazer is an article every closet should contain. A blazer’s versatil-ity makes it possible to dress an outfi t up or make a dress more casual. The blazer being tailored is the most important element in pulling an outfi t together. The sleeve length should also be considered when choosing the right look.

A fl attering approach to the blazer is to pair it with dark-wash skinny or boot-cut jeans and a top with a plung-ing neckline. For a more con-servative, day-time look, add

long necklaces to cover the ex-posed neck and chest. Finally, wedge booties complete the look while keeping it casual.

Another essential ele-ment to any wardrobe is the perfect, fi gure-fl attering pair of jeans. The perfect pair of jeans, more often than not, will cost more than the aver-age Old Navy jeans. However, not to worry, because it is only important to have one pair, so feel free to splurge.

A few excellent brands to consider are: Paige Denim, J Brand, Rag & Bone, TEXTILE Elizabeth & James and GoldSign.

The most important elements when search-ing for jeans are the wash and fi t. Keep in mind, even the most petite person can have a dreaded muffi n top if jeans are too small.

Every woman should have little black dress on hand. This type of dress can be worn in almost any atmo-sphere. Generally, black has a

dressed-up feel, but wearing a pair of distressed, camel-colored suede boots trans-forms the dress into a perfect Saturday afternoon outfi t.

Don’t be hindered by the word “little” with this piece. This dress can be virtually any length, have any neckline or sleeve length that you prefer.

Accessories can be used to make any outfi t unique or to add a personal touch. The accessory that never goes out of style, and can be worn in any season, is the pashmina.

Unlike a scarf, a pash-minas are made of a linen or cashmere material and are usually wider than scarves. They can be used as a body wrap, shawl or neck wrap.

A pashmina can be worn with literally any style outfi t, with the most common being the jeans and t-shirt combination.

Adding this accessory actually makes the look more feminine, in addition to breaking a common style.

Dr. DogDr. Dog“Be the Void”“Be the Void”

Dr. Dog released “Be The Void,” a consistent ad-dition to the band’s previ-ous six albums, Feb. 7 un-der record label ANTI-.

“Be The Void” introduc-es few surprises, featuring Dr. Dog staples like classic guitar tones, piano-driven compositions, echoing vo-cals, punchy bass lines and Beach Boys-inspired, multi-part harmonies. The group has again achieved an en-joyable marriage of ‘60s pop and modern psychedelic folk.

Alternating lead vocals

by bassist Toby Leaman and guitarist Scott McMicken keep the record’s 12 songs from sounding too much alike. The easiness and youth in Mcmicken’s tenor voice complements the tragedy and woe in Leaman’s bellows.

“That Old Black Hole” and “Do The Trick” stand out as the album’s best songs, having the signa-ture Dr. Dog sound, im-mediately catchy chorus melodies and high energy.

The record has a theme of repetitive but pleasant guitar riffs, noticeable in “Lonesome,” “How Long Must I Wait” and “These

Days,” which mimics the gruff vocals and dance-able bass line for which The Strokes are famous.

Dr. Dog ends with “Warrior Man” and “Turning The Century.” Both songs evoke memory of the Beatles, through carefree vocals and experimentation with sitar, and are strong album closers.

A lack of memorable, im-pactful songs is arguably the biggest fl aw of Dr. Dog’s re-leases and “Be The Void” is no exception. Although it is yet another well-produced, fun album, it falls short of chang-ing listeners’ lives or revolu-tionizing the world of music.

By LOGAN NICKLESONWeb Editor

By LINDSEY GOREBeat Reporter

“The Woman in Black” falls far from spooky by relying on familiar scares and a predictable plot.

Daniel Radcliffe plays the heartbroken widower and father, Arthur Kipps, who is trying to make ends meet for him and his son. Kipps works as a lawyer and is sent to work in a small town to resolve the legal affairs of the late Alice Drablow and selling her home located in a marshland, Eels Mansion.

Kipps notices something is awry when a majority of the locals treat him rudely or ignore him completely.

After arriving at Eels Mansion, he quickly real-izes that he is not alone.

Daily, played by Ciarán Hinds, is the only person willing to help Kipps as he attempts to work through the eerie sounds and shad-ows that seem to move.

After a young girl dies in his presence, Daily in-forms Kipps of the string of child deaths that have sur-rounded the town and their relation to the Eels Mansion.

Kipps then decides to take the fates of the town and his son into his own hands.

“The Woman in Black” does a decent job of making its audience jump, but it lacks the original thrills needed to stick in a viewer’s mind.

The fi lm’s early 20th century setting adds an element of creepy to the story with a dreary atmo-sphere and subdued colors.

Scenes receive an extra el-ement of terror and loneliness as most scenes primarily take

place in the Eels Mansion on the marshlands. The setting and scenery have the potential to add a unique sinister feel that is not frequently utilized.

The effects are often nothing more than a chairs rocking with no one in them, shadows moving, or bumps and creaks. The sound ef-fects are adequate and placed properly for optimum scares, but sounds are the only real scares the fi lm has to offer. The use of a green screen is painfully obvious and leaves a bigger impres-sion than the movie’s plot.

Cheap, unoriginal thrills, like loud noises and ghosts jumping out of shadows, are the fi lm’s main source of scares.

The fi lm’s reliance on these clichéd elements makes the uninspired

plot seem even duller. Radcliffe’s act-

ing is satisfactory.His role seems like it

would be more appropri-ate for an older actor, but Radcliffe succeeds overall in his fi rst major fi lm since the “Harry Potter” series.

His role as Kipps is strong enough to show thathe is talented and willing enough to break away from the role of Harry Potter.

“The Woman in Black” has the opportunity to be a re-freshing break from the bloody cliché horror movies have become, but the weak plot, inadequate effects and cheap thrills waste this potential.

“The Woman in Black” is rated PG-13 for the-matic material and vio-lence/disturbing images.

Ugo“The Woman in Black” leaves viewers less than interested, similar to the acting of Daniel Radcliffe

DO DON’T

By CHRISTINA RIDDLEEntertainment Editor

Anti

Christy’s Bakery was this week’s restaurant contender, but instead of storming the castle while all her units were ready to for battle I decided to try out her baked goods at dawn!

Alright, not necessarily at dawn, but I did arrive at Christy’s right as the doors opened at 7 a.m. and I had never tried their breakfast. I entered cautiously because the place seemed slightly de-serted this early in the morn-ing and was seated quickly.

For a good 30 minutes or more, I was the only per-son eating which was nice. However, I was surprised no one was coming in to eat since the prices were very fair. Also, I loved their ra-dio preset of oldies music. A week before this I came with a friend on a Thursday night and loved the music so much that I started to sing out loud, only to realize I was disrupt-ing the live performers pro-gram. He was very good and comes every Thursday and Friday for dinner.

So this morning, I ordered the French toast plate with scrambled eggs, two orders of hash brown and a cup of coffee with unlimited refi lls

which totaled $6. I can’t com-plain since my food came out well cooked and surprisingly quick. My French toast love still goes out to Grandpa’s Pancake House because it was tastier, but the toast at Christy’s was alright.

The rest of the menu seemed pretty basic, just switching the main item on the dishes.

The food sections range from biscuits, omelets, plates and Christy’s breakfast special.

They do not have Tech discount, but if you have a smart card those will take off

10% off your meal. All the meals are under

$10 and even though break-fast ends at 11 a.m. you can still order any time morning, noon or night.

Check out Christy’s Bakery this weekend for a food special in celebration of Valentine’s Day.

From Friday, Feb. 10 to Tuesday, Feb. 14th, a dishof herb crusted porkloin, a choice of 3 side items, a des-sert and a beverage will be $12.99 per person.

By WILL SHECKLERAsst. Entertainment Editor

Jillian Boreing

The Morning Sunrise breakfast combo at Christy’s Bakery. This is one of four breakfast combos on the menu.

Embrace the holiday’s festive colors of red and pink.

Pick a dress that isfi gure fl attering.

Wear heals. It will in-crease your height and make your legs look more defi ned.

Accessorize. (always!)

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•Listen online at tntech.edu/wttu

Album Review:Album Review:

Christina’s Valentine’s Day: what to wear and what not to wear

The Woman in Black, bleak and boring

Restauraunt Review:Christy’s Bakery

tntechoracle.comPage 6 | February 10, 2012

NEWS

Up to date campus crime information at:

tntechoracle.com

Air QualityCONTINUED from page 1

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Lauren Keeled and Ashley Bhegani, of Alpha Kappa Psi, the professional business fraternity, sell Candy Grams to Bassey Inameti for Valentine’s Day Feb. 7 in the RUC.

Brittany Anderson

ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK TODAY!visit tntech.edu/eagleyearbook

ST25

“We have tested for mold, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon di-oxide, oxygen levels, relative humidity and temperature,” Clawson said. “We have also used other equipment for VOCs in general to help iden-tify where the source is, but we haven’t been able to fi nd any elevated levels through-out the building.”

Clawson said he believes that one cause of higher lev-els of carbon dioxide is poor air circulation on the second fl oor.

“There’s no mechanical air circulation on this end of the building,” Clawson said. “But, the other thing that goes along with that is that this fl oor hasn’t had a circu-lation system since its incep-tion. We are not discounting that it is an issue, but it has been that way for over 30 years.

“We haven’t found any-thing that had levels we didn’t expect to fi nd. Oxy-gen was what we expected,

and for carbon monoxide, we haven’t found anything. I think it is diffi cult on a lot of levels because we could have some people who could say they have elevated carboxy-hemoglobin in their blood.”

After researching the is-sue, Clawson also said that the carboxyhemoglobin could have methylene chlo-ride molecules, from prod-ucts such as paint removers, attached to the blood cells in-stead of carbon monoxide.

“Even though it tests one thing in your blood, it can also be mimicked by other things like methylene chloride,” Clawson said. “So when we heard that those fi ndings were out there, I rented an-other piece of equipment that tested for methylene chlo-ride.”

However, according to test results, detection of methylene chloride has come up as less than 25 parts per billion.

Testing will resume for now in the offi ces and class-rooms so that a solution to the problem is found.

“It’s a diffi cult situation because you want to fi nd something, and if you can’t fi nd something, it’s diffi cult

to say, ‘Well, maybe it’s not here’,” Clawson said. “I’m bothered by the fact that we can’t fi nd something that explains why people are not feeling well.”

Since November, several foreign language professors have temporarily relocated their offi ces and classrooms to the School of Nursing and Health Services building be-cause of their students’ safe-ty.

Baker said, “I think it is diffi cult for all of those in-volved because half of the department is no longer even over at South Hall.”

The Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by Hays, is planning to send out a campus-wide survey on building satisfaction and safety.

Hays said, “This will be for faculty, staff and admin-istrators. But we are going to try to get an online survey for students as well.”

Baker said, “Students have a right to a safe, healthy environment.”

For more information about the air quality lab re-sults at South Hall, visit www.tntech.edu/safety/south-hall-iaq-results.

SearchCONTINUED from page 1

“This University contrib-utes in many different ways to the county, to the coun-try, to the region and to the state.”

Tech’s is the state’s only technological school and, ac-cording to its mission state-ment, is committed to enrich the lives of people and com-munities in the Upper Cum-berland region of Tennessee.

Humphrey said, “I am looking for someone that can represent Tech in many different situations, some-one that is a great commu-nity leader, someone that can connect to the students on a personal level, someone that can represent Tech, even in a national sense.”

While Kaye Loftis, com-mittee support staff repre-sentative, said Tech needs “a really good leader” because the economy has brought on hard times.

“It really does not mat-ter what school they went to. I think we need someone

that has had leadership ex-periences, someone that has proven at the University,” said Loftis. “I want someone that has been more in the ad-ministrative experience.”

TBR and search fi rm Greenwood/Asher & Associ-ates Inc. have been accepting applications and nominees for Tech’s new president since September.

Honor being on the Committee

Humphrey said, “I feel like it is a really big honor and I don’t take this respon-sibility lightly. I know it is going to take a lot of time and commitment: I am only one of three students who was chosen to represent a student body of over 11,000, so I feel like, I want to really make sure that the student’s voice is heard.”

Semmes said, “I made a choice a long time ago that I cared about the institution and I wanted to be at the table when there are important de-cisions being made and serv-ing on the Search Committee is one way to do that.”

Loftis said, “I am anx-ious to get into seeing who the applicants are, what their

qualifi cations are and to get started on the whole pro-cess.”

The Search advisory Committee members are as follows: Emily Reynolds, committee chair and TBR board member; John Cope-land, TBR board member; Lee Gatts, Student Gov-ernment Association and TBR student regent; Julius Johnson, TBR board mem-ber; Robert P. Thomas, TBR board member; Corinne Dar-vennes, faculty representa-tive; Carl Owens, faculty representative; Jeff Roberts, faculty representative; Paul Semmes, Faculty Represen-tative; Ashley Humphrey, student representative; Mor-gen Cupp, student repre-sentative; Nathan Burton, alumni representative; Kaye Loftis, Support Staff Repre-sentative; Marc Burnett, ad-ministrative representative; Joe Albrecht, business com-munity representative; Jean Davis, community-at-large representative; Steve Rains, community-at-large rep-resentative and John Rose, community-at-large repre-sentative.

PARKING TICKET FRENZY

Tech police offi cer, Chris Russell, writes an unsuspecting student a park-ing ticket.

Brandi Campbell

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