Friday08.31.12Vol. 80 No. 007

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HELMSMANIndependent Student Newspaper of the University of Memphis

The

Will Isaac affect

Saturday’s game?

See page 4

UM Ranking 5

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The Daily Helmsman is a “designated public forum.” Students have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The Daily Helmsman is pleased to make a maximum of 10 copies of each issue available to a reader for free. Additional copies are $1. Partial printing and distribution costs are provided by an allocation from the Student Activity Fee.

indexTiger Babble 2Tigers’ Tales 3Opinion 3

National 5Campus Life 6Sports 7

Liberty bowl: a whole new beast Improvements look to renew interest in Tiger football

photos By aloe MUlrooney | staff

The Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium’s new Jumbotron can be seen from as far away as Central Ave. and is the third largest in the country, according to Councilman Reid Hedgepeth.

Construction crews are work-ing around the clock to put the fin-ishing touches on the renovations at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in preparation for Saturday

night’s season opener against the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks.

Councilman Reid Hedgepeth sponsored a proposal last spring to renovate the Liberty Bowl fol-lowing the University of Memphis’ acceptance into The Big East

Conference with improved light-ing, a new playing surface, fresh paint, a high-definition sound sys-tem, new elevators and two new video boards.

Athletic Director Tom Bowen calls the combination of this year’s Tiger football team, new coach

Justin Fuente, and the newly reno-vated stadium a “perfect storm.”

“If you haven’t come in the past, come now,” he said.

The video board revealed at Tuesday night’s open house stands in the south end zone at 48 feet tall and 98 feet wide, making it

the largest in The Big East and the third largest in the nation, accord-ing to Hedgepeth.

Kevin Demsky, director of sponsorship marketing for FedEx, said the video board is a testament

By Michelle Corbetnews@dailyhelmsman.com

see LIBERTY on page 4

Bus to shuttle students to game All aboard the Blue Line

Air conditioned, cushioned and clean, the University of Memphis Blue Line

buses began running in the summer and are in full motion for the fall 2012 semester.

There are six Blue Line buses at the U of M, five of

w h i c h h e l p

students get to different parts of the main and Park Avenue campuses. One bus is a reserve vehicle for emergencies.

The buses, which run from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, are open for anyone to ride. However, after 5 p.m. passengers must show their University ID or accompany someone with a University ID to ride.

Bus No. 503 stopped in front of Student Health Services carrying about four or five students riding to the Central parking lot Thursday. A small television, turned off, hung from the front of the bus and the radio played

Students can catch a free ride to Saturday’s football game, courtesy of the Blue Line.

Administrators announced the shuttle service Wednesday at a town hall meet-ing in the University Center. The buses will charter students and their guests to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and back, picking riders up from the Central Ave. parking lot.

Angela Floyd, director of parking and transportation services, said deciding to run the Blue Line to the football game was a “joint effort” between Student Affairs, Athletics and Business and Finance.

For now, the shuttle service is only for Saturday’s game.

“We want a huge turnout [Saturday]

By Kelsie Carternews@dailyhelmsman.com

Number of fi rst-week riders more than any summer month

By Erica Hortonnews@dailyhelmsman.com

see SHUTTLE on page 6

see BLUE LINE on page 7

Editor-in-ChiefChelsea Boozer

Managing EditorChristopher Whitten

Design EditorAmanda Mitchell

Sports EditorBryan Heater

General ManagerCandy Justice

Advertising ManagerBob Willis

Administrative SalesSharon Whitaker

Advertising ProductionHailey Uhler

Advertising SalesRobyn Nickell

Michael ParkerBrittany Block

The University of Memphis The Daily Helmsman

210 Meeman Journalism Building Memphis, TN 38152

news@dailyhelmsman.com

DAILYHELMSMANThe

Contact Information

Volume 80 Number 5

Advertising: (901) 678-2191Newsroom: (901) 678-2193

Across1 Be positive5 Erases from the bases9 Ebb14 John Ratzenberger voiced one in “Monsters, Inc.”15 Puerto Rico, por ejemplo16 Edible mushroom17 Beaver’s motto?19 Model20 Uncertain21 Auburn, e.g.: Abbr.23 Rochester’s love24 One queued up for petrol26 “So will I ... make the net / That shall enmesh them all” speaker28 Sri Lankan king31 Device for measuring a king’s performance?36 Takes over38 “You must be looking for someone else”39 Westernmost Rocky Mountain st.40 USMC enforcers41 Doctor’s threads?43 One in Saint-Émilion44 U.N. Day month45 Ghostly glow46 Antagonist in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”48 Jig performed by Wilson of “The Office”?51 Future D.A.’s hurdle52 Supermodel Taylor53 City with Ibsen quotes set into its sidewalks55 “Jaws” boat57 Woodpile protector60 Prefix with arthritis64 Show emotion, say66 Postponement ... or what was not per-formed in 17-, 31- and 48-Across?68 Sink69 Seller of SOMMARVIND beach accessories70 Logical lead-in71 Pooped

72 Ozzy Osbourne duo?73 Eucharist wafer, e.g.

Down1 Actress Sedgwick2 Old depilatory3 Publisher Chandler4 Place to enjoy the last blush of summer?5 Andalusian aunt6 Sharp7 Small valley8 Bollywood wrap9 “What __ to do?”10 Barrio market11 “Don’t be a fool!”12 Rip13 Vogue rackmate18 Major fight22 4-Down concerns25 Taxing event, in more ways than one27 Mylanta target28 Mill story?

29 Toy-saving org.30 As a precaution32 Early Peruvian33 Gunk34 City SSW of Milan35 Happening37 Pirate ship part42 Two-piece piece47 Stinko49 Vitamin B350 Ripped from a CD54 __ cit.: footnote abbr.55 Balls56 Gather58 Where PHX airport is59 Fall tool61 Actress Hatcher62 ER readouts63 “All right, already!”65 “The Closer” channel67 __ in November

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7

TIGER BABBLEthoughts that give you paws

“Im confused. We have a renovated football stadium but I’m sitting in a class with broken, unusable desks. Priori-ties?”

@klmccddy

“C’mon Daily Helmsman, get with the times. Th ose tiger tongues were gone a month aft er they were on campus. #OldNews” @bjcross42

“Can we put a giant temperature controlled bubble over the university? God knows I pay enough tuition for it.”

@GinaBean88

“Punches thrown, words exchanged in #southernlot over a parking space.”

@laracatej

“Dear Construction Workers, You had ALL SUMMER to dig up a whole in the middle of Central. #timemanagement #getittogether”

@JeanneMarizzle

“Apparently if you’re too lazy or impatient to fi nd a park-ing spot on campus, it’s acceptable to just make your own.. #really?”

@ashtheginger

“Th ere’s ppl making parking spots that I’ve never even thought of. Th is problem needs a solution quick. #Mem-phis” @ElChosenJuan

“If people would park like they’re supposed to, I could fi t my Mini in tons more places ”

@tayroars

“Purchasing a book for $100 less on amazon while looking at it in the U of M Bookstore.”

@RyanParris

Tell us what gives you paws. Send us your thoughts on Twitter

@dailyhelmsman or #tigerbabble. Or post on our Facebook wall at facebook.com/dailyhelmsman.

Complete the grid so that each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

Sudoku

Solutions on page 8

www.dailyhelmsman.com2 • Friday, August 31, 2012

We hold worship at 7 p.m. Tuesdays, followed by a free hot meal for all of the Campus Community.

Need a jump-start to your semester? We’ll look at “blessings” in worship September 4. We’ll offer a blessing of students to those who desire it. There is a place for you here.

The Wesley Foundation at Memphis3625 Midland • 458-5808 • www.wesleymemphis.org

Facebook: Wesley@Memphis, Twitter: @WesleyatMemphisWesley is the campus ministry of The Memphis Annual Conference of

The United Methodist Church

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Opinion

Wa l k i n g onto campus earlier this week I was greeted by two women armed with campus maps and wel-

coming smiles who asked if I needed help and if I knew where I was going.

I smiled and politely answered, “No,” then “yes,” respectively. That’s when it hit me. As cliché as it sounds, the University of Memphis has become a home to me.

Looking back to my freshman year, I remember the feelings I had. I had my schedule printed out and in the front page of my notebook. I tried so hard

not to stand out. I just wanted to blend in with everyone else.

But I didn’t. Being a nontraditional student at 27 years old has its advan-tages but my salt-and-peppered hair gave away the extra years (advantage?) I may have had on some of my peers.

I was so excited to return to col-lege – I had taken a sabbatical after fall 2003 to work full-time and again in the spring of 2006 when I realized I still wasn’t ready.

But in 2011, I laced up my shoes and prepared for the long road ahead.

I called home after every class that first week – ranting about my professor who assigned homework on the first day or sharing a story of how I went to the wrong class and sat through 20 minutes before realizing it.

But the U of M has changed over my tenure here. There are directional signs pointing students toward their buildings and opening week has aides to guide students around campus or to hand out extra copies of the map they may have left at home.

A girl asked me yesterday if I knew

where something was.“Yeah,” I told her. “I know where

everything is.”Looking back to my nearly com-

pleted academic career, I feel confident I can succeed and am ready to take on the world, as I hope all future alumni may.

But there’s one thing I wish I had known when I was a freshman, or more so just been aware of: everything was going to change – my group of friends, my attitude towards college and even my major (a few times), and most of all the University. The school I feared for so long would become my home.

So take it from someone who’s done this a time or two: brace for change. n

Editor: students should embrace changeBy Christopher Whittencwhitten@dailyhelmsman.com

Send us your thoughts@dailyhelmsman.

What advice do you have for incoming freshman?

By Nathanael PackardTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta es

“Make good use of your time and enjoy college.”

Grace Cartwright, Nursing junior

Tigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta es

“Stay on track with your career choice and have good friends.”

Sai Chava, Computer science senior

Tigers’ Ta esTigers’ Ta es

“Don’t F-it up for yourself.”

Rachelle Cooper, Engineering junior

“Be best friends with your professors.”

Jennifer Johnson, Psychology sophomore

“Take your time choosing your major.”

William Garavelli, Engineering junior

The University of Memphis Friday, August 31, 2012 • 3

39 S. Main St. & Monroe901.521.8005 • www.fl ightmemphis.com

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to how FedEx has invested in the city, the University and sports.

“It puts a focus and visible symbol of the investment from the business community to turn the Liberty Bowl into a world class event,” Demsky said.

The new playing surface known as “AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D60X,” is not only more buoyant and durable, Hedgepeth said, but also ecofriendly. It incorporates more than 15,000 recycled tires within the grass.

The entire stadium has been repainted back to its original col-ors from when it was built in 1965. The stadium also received new elevators and field lighting.

Field lighting regulations were revised allowing lights to be 150 feet from the ground instead of the original 250 feet, improving illumination by 30 percent, said Bob Winn, U of M’s associate athletic director.

Councilman Bill Boyd and

Councilman Edmund Ford Jr. announced to the crowd of Tiger fans in attendance at Tuesday night’s open house that the proj-ect was completed “on time and under budget.”

The $2.5 million costs of the video boards were donated from FedEx, University President Shirley Raines said, and the other improvements were paid for by the city.

Hedgepeth said the Liberty Bowl and surrounding areas are awaiting state approval for Tourism Development Zone sta-tus. If approved, tax revenue gen-erated from the TDZ will be used to pay off the bonds used to fund the project.

Hedgepeth said he antici-pates another six months before approval is granted, but is confi-dent it will be.

The U of M agreed to pay $500,000 a year in interest on the $6.5 million the city spent on renovations, until the costs of the bonds are taken over by TDZ tax revenue.

If the Liberty Bowl does not get approved for TDZ status, the University has committed to pay-ing $500,000 a year for 15 years to cover the cost of the renovations.

Former Athletic Director RC Johnson told The Daily Helmsman in April that the University would use its Bowl Championship Series money to cover the costs.

“We’re working as a backup in case the Liberty Bowl doesn’t get TDZ status, but no city or state money, no student money, no donor money will be used — it’s all coming from BCS,” he said.

Raines said the new video boards, interior improvements and field are all developments that will help the U of M stand-out in The Big East.

“I’m mostly excited about the exciting atmosphere, and that 29 of our football players are from Memphis schools,” Raines said. “Not only do we have a beauti-ful stadium and video board, but we stand behind our city and all students who wear our name.” n

uuLibertyContinued from page 1

Make sure that little bird in our ear is you.Send us your thoughts @dailyhelmsman.

Tigers to battle potential rains of fading IsaacAmid a storm of publicity pro-

moting Saturday’s football game, the University of Memphis has a new opponent, and its name is Isaac.

Hurricane Isaac made landfall Tuesday night over southeastern Louisiana and brought with it winds in excess of 80 mph.

Isaac dumped about 20 inches of rain on some cities as it made its trek north and to the west of its original target.

Joey Sulipeck, chief meteorolo-gist for FOX-13 Memphis, had been tracking the storm as it made its way into Memphis on Thursday.

“The question was always, ‘Once it makes landfall, where does it go?’ And where it goes is really the steer-ing wheel on this thing,” Sulipeck said. “It’s continued to trend further west as we’ve been watching it.”

Despite a saturated effort to woo students to the game via the Tigers’ “Mind your business, Dennis” cam-paign, several students cited poor timing for their reasons to miss the season opener.

But Isaac’s poor timing isn’t deterring everyone. Hundreds of freshmen have committed to marching across the field in the cul-mination of this year’s Frosh camps with the traditional Frosh Frenzy.

“I think if it rains a lot it might affect (attendance),” said Tevin McInnis, a junior communications major. “If I wasn’t involved with Frosh Frenzy, I probably wouldn’t go because of the rain.”

Bob Winn, associate athletic director at the U of M, said his

office has been in contact with the leadership of the National Weather Service as Isaac moved into the Bluff City. He said he is confident predictions from four days ago will hold true.

“It’s never a good thing to have storm warnings in your area or even near your area,” he said. “The bulk of the storm is drifting to the west and the center line of the storm is west of Little Rock, (Ark.) accord-ing to the national weather service.”

Winn said he hopes Saturday will yield a barrage of fans rather than storms, but there may be about a 20 percent chance of rain.

“We certainly wish no harm to our neighboring communities,” Winn said. “But we feel the bulk of the rain will be west of Memphis.”

Winn said there are procedures in place if the weather turns sour. Officials will order the teams off the field and fans will have opportuni-ties to move into dry areas and wait out the rain.

“We hope everyone comes out and gets to experience all the excit-ing new things we have to offer fans,” he said.

But the Tigers will have plenty of opportunities to win over the fans this year as the University continues to roll out five more installments of its “Mind your business, Dennis” campaign.

“As long as the football team does well, that will do more than any promotion will do,” said Gage Markey, freshman recording tech-nology student.

Sulipeck said the National Weather Service predicts Isaac will be a depression Saturday night when the Tigers kick off the season

against the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks.

“Isaac will be in central Missouri moving into central Illinois, hook-ing to the right and above us,” Sulipeck said. “That means we will be in the bottom right quadrant of the storm.”

The good news, he said, is the storm is not sitting over Memphis

and dumping torrential downpours. But the bad news is, there still could be pummeling winds if Memphis is caught in the outer bands of the storm.

“Those outer bands of the storm can still provide winds and show-ers late Saturday into Sunday with Memphis being right in the mid-dle of everything,” Sulipeck said.

“Depending on a game of inches, just like football, we might just be outside the outer bands.”

Sulipeck said he expected the storm to cause some hiccups in game flow due to wind gusts pos-sibly affecting kickoff and an occa-sional pass.

Other than that, he said, it will be “a game-time decision.” n

By Christopher Whittencwhitten@dailyhelmsman.com

Shiva Kadire, management information services freshman, battles the wind and sideways rain from fading Tropical Storm Isaac as he walks across campus.

photo By Chris Wieland | staff

www.dailyhelmsman.com4 • Friday, August 31, 2012

National

NEW ORLEANS – Isaac contin-ued its slow march across Louisiana on Thursday as rising floodwaters forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate and officials launched a “controlled” release of water from a storm-stressed dam along the bor-der with Mississippi.

At least one death was reported. As evening approached on another soggy Gulf Coast day, hundreds of homes remained underwater and thousands of residents scrambled to emergency shelters. At least 500 people who had gambled on riding

out the storm were rescued by heli-copter or boat.

About a third of the state remained without electrical power, even as the once-mammoth Isaac was downgraded late Thursday to a tropical depression. Although levees protecting New Orleans held fast, sparing the city significant flooding, officials warned that the danger had not passed.

Mayor Mitchell Landrieu lifted a dusk-to-dawn curfew but implored residents not to leave their homes on irresponsible sightseeing trips.

“We’ve got people going block by block to assess water levels, but this storm has merely entered a different phase. It’s still dangerous. The game is not over until it’s over,” he said.

The rains and winds eased

Thursday, but rural and suburban areas remained firmly in Isaac’s watery grip. Rivers across Louisiana continued to rise and many were predicted to reach historic flood levels of 20 feet or more before receding.

In some places, entire commu-nities were evacuated, including Kentwood, La., with a population of 2,200. In a region familiar with nature’s mayhem, survivors of past storm systems with names like Gustav, Ike and Katrina kept one eye on the sky and the other on rising waters, as meandering and unpre-dictable Isaac dumped as much as 16 inches of rain in some places.

Downed trees and power lines continued to block roadways, and cars and trucks plunged headlong

into standing water. Each of south-ern Louisiana’s numerous parishes, or counties, faced its own misery.

For some, tornado watches loomed throughout the day. And in storm-thrashed Plaquemines Parish, officials began work on a levy breach to prevent the structure’s failure.

Meanwhile, people tried not to panic: A long line of cars snaked down nearby Belle Chasse highway for the one open gas station. Police cars patrolled grocery store park-ing lots, apparently to deter loot-ers. But the day’s most tense drama occurred 60 miles northwest of New Orleans, where the Lake Tangipahoa dam — located just across the Mississippi border — showed signs of weakening.

Officials ordered 60,000 residents within half a mile of the swelling Tangipahoa River to evacuate as crews with backhoes, bulldozers, pumps and other equipment rushed to the 2,300-foot-long earthen dam at Percy Quinn State Park.

As workers conducted the “con-trolled breach,” a Louisiana National Guard helicopter hovered overhead, providing a minute-by-minute update of the dam’s condition.

“You can see the water spilling over,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said at an afternoon briefing after a flyover of the dam, adding that officials did not think the dam had been compromised.

“Even if they declare the opera-tion a success, I would still stay evac-uated because if there is a breach, we do not want people evacuating in the middle of the night,” Jindal said. “Go ahead and get out now before the water comes. That’s a lot better than having to be rescued.”

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant sounded a similarly ominous tone.

“It does just take a little breach to be a big problem for all of us because that water would get down south quick,” he told reporters before leav-ing to inspect the dam. Meanwhile, officials threw everything they could muster at Isaac.

Jindal’s tally included 314 National Guard troops, 300 search and rescue workers and hundreds of boats, aircraft and other vehicles.

Still, on many residential streets, storm waters defied sand bags, flooding into homes and engulfing rural roadside mail boxes. Residents without boats or Jet Skis were simply out of luck.

At one flooded and abandoned home, two cows stood forlornly on a front porch surrounded by water, like two castaways marooned at sea. The skies above many communities were dotted with National Guard Black Hawk helicopters searching for residents in need of rescue.

Along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain north of New Orleans, dozens of buses and high-water vehicles helped evacuate about 3,000 people from rising waters. Even resi-dents who were not threatened were asked to remain inside their homes, many of which remained under a boil-water advisory for drinking water.

At day’s end, more than 610,000 people remained without power in Louisiana and 43,000 in Mississippi. A 62-year-old tow truck driver, Greg Parker, was killed overnight when a tree fell on the cab of his truck in Picayune, Miss., said Tony Bounds, a spokesman for Pearl River County’s emergency operations center in Poplarville, Miss.

“With one of those wind gusts, the tree came over and crushed him,” he said. n

Isaac’s waters force thousands to flee in Louisiana, Mississippi

By Tina Susman, Molly Hennessy-Fiske & John GlionnaMCT

Leroy Smith, right, helps evacuate Michele Bowers with Hank Schlindwein, back, in La Place, La., on Thursday amid flooding from Hurricane Isaac.

MCt

U of M ranks highly in Washington Monthly magazine college ratings

The University of Memphis is doing something right, and it land-ed them in the top 20 percent of ranked colleges in the nation.

The U of M is ranked No. 51 among 281 colleges by Washington Monthly magazine.

The U of M secured its ranking thanks to recruiting and graduat-ing low income students as well as

producing research from cutting-edge scholarships and awarding doctorates. The University also earned praise for encouraging stu-dents to give back to their country.

Other Conference USA schools landed in the rankings as well. The University of Southern Mississippi ranked No. 69 and the University of Central Florida came in at No. 106. Neighboring Middle Tennessee State University also made the list

with a secure No. 127. The University is also ranked

fifth for service staff, courses and financial aid support.

“We know how important financial aid is in students lives and in trying to get their educa-tion,” said Richard Ritzman, direc-tor of student financial aid.

“I had a problem [with the financial aid office] several semes-ters in a row,” senior Kyle Lacroix

said. “[My problems] stopped last semester.”

Ritzman said that this year the financial aid office has tried to be “as proactive as possible,” by send-ing out information as soon as they receive it. “Every time we can do something earlier we have more time to work with students who are having problems,” Ritzman said.

“There are usually long lines,

but they’ve gotten better about that too,” Lacroix said.

Washington Monthly upholds that its rankings are based on more than how many people attend the university, but what the school is doing for the country. They also maintain that their ranking rubric is more important in determining the worth of an institution than other publications. n

By Kelsie Carternews@dailyhelmsman.com

The University of Memphis Friday, August 31, 2012 • 5

so we will know if [the students] want [the shuttle] all season,” Floyd said.

The turnout will also determine if the Blue Line will run to away games and basketball games.

Freshman Brooke Scott said he is glad the University is providing the shuttle service.

“People that live in the dorms that don’t have cars shouldn’t be excluded,” he said.

Saturday’s game starts at 6 p.m. The Blue Line will begin picking up students at 4 p.m. from the Central parking lot and dropping them off at gate six at the stadium.

Three buses will carry 26 stu-dents and have two wheelchair accessible spaces.

Floyd said the shuttle will return students and their guests to the Central parking lot after the game. Riders have a one-hour time

slot to get back to the bus after the game, but Floyd said drivers “will make sure that all the people in line at the gate will get picked up. No one in line will get left.”

Students typically can only bring one guest on the Blue Line, but Floyd said the administra-tors wanted to make sure students were able to bring their friends and family members who want-ed to see the first game so they can have an unlimited number of guests on the shuttle Saturday.

Students wanting to pick up guest tickets to the game may buy up to two for $7 each at the Bursar’s Office while supplies last.

Senior Dewayne Dickey, jour-nalism major, said he will be rid-ing the shuttle to the game. He said having the shuttle is a good idea because he believes “the main rea-son people don’t go to the games is because of transportation.”

“Ride it,” Floyd said. “Get on board.” n

uuShuttleContinued from page 1

In five years, people with mobility issues, especially those who cannot afford the necessary equipment, will find their jour-neys becoming easier thanks to four professors at the University of Memphis.

Biomedical engineering pro-fessors Joel Bumgardner, Amy de Jongh Curry, John Williams and Warren Haggard have been awarded a grant for more than $100,000 by the National Science Foundation in order to design devices for people who have a difficult time getting around.

Bumgardner, interim depart-ment chair of the biomedical engineering department and principal investigator of the project, said the program pro-vides a learning opportunity for the biomedical engineering students.

“This is a chance for the stu-dents to learn about the biomed-ical design process that directly impacts clients and individuals, as well as increases awareness about issues and challenges for developing devices for individu-als with mobility disabilities,” he said.

The devices are not lim-ited to a particular group of disabled people, according to Bumgardner. Individuals who rely on wheelchairs and are athletic, those that require motorized wheel-chairs, those who rely on canes and walkers and individuals who are largely confined to hospital beds are eligible to receive these devices.

The grant provides direct funding to assist the students with purchasing supplies and materials needed to design new devices as well as broaden activ-ities among departments and organizations that work solely with disabled individuals.

Amy de Jongh Curry, associ-ate professor and academic co-director of the biomedical engi-neering department, said this project also allows the group to expand their activity.

“Instead of taking on one project here and there we’re able to take on several in a year’s time,” she said.

Students who were involved in the previous project learned to design and build devices such as a hip brace, an elbow ortho-sis or a mobility scooter within the environmental constraints of cost, useability, affordabil-ity and creativity, Bumgardner added.

There are important factors to consider with disabled indi-viduals because they exhibit a wide range of functional ability, and it is “a challenge to manu-facture devices to meet indi-vidual needs,” he said.

“The students are also inspired and take great pride in their designs because of their interaction with their client,” he

said. “They have the opportu-nity to see how their devices are used and improve their client’s lives.”

The group will receive their funding Saturday with the inten-tion of completing two projects within their first year, as well as completing two to three more in the coming years.

Curry said she hopes this project will provide solutions for some of the students on cam-pus, as well as the people in the community.

“It will also provide a differ-ent kind of educational experi-ence for the students, as well as get to know their clients’ needs a lot a better,” she said.

Amber Dyson, sophomore business major, said the group’s efforts are helpful because they are aiding disabled people with something they need, but can-not afford.

“It’s hard for me to walk around this campus, and I’m not even disabled,” she said. “I can only imagine what it’s like for someone who actually is.” n

U of M receives mobility grant

Campus Life

By Melissa Wraynews@dailyhelmsman.com

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Players get focus timeSports

Most groups have a policy in effect to deal with media inquiries and several of those restrict media contact to employees or members of the group. A variety of purposes are given for the policies, but with University of Memphis football the reason is pure and simple: focus.

Throughout most of the col-lege football landscape, the media is cut off from player contact after Tuesday’s practice while coach-

es generally stop conversing after Wednesday.

This can create tension between athletic media relations and news outlets, but as Ron Mears, director of athletic media relations at the U of M said, it is not to burn bridges, but to let the coaches and players put their full focus into the upcom-ing game.

“The players have to focus on the game, and the coaches have to focus on the game,” Mears said. “Our coaches generally won’t talk to the media after Wednesday’s practice,

except for some occasions.”If these guidelines were not in

place, players and coaches would be juggling their personal lives and the demands of practice and games, while also fielding daily questions from a variety of media.

“We’d all be asking and inter-viewing them everyday if we could,” Mears said. “It’s a matter of giving the team some time to themselves so that they can go out there and do what they need to do to represent the University and the city in the right way.” n

By Bryan Heaterbheater@dailyhelmsman.com

in the background. The driver, Keith Salee from

Martin, Tenn., said he’s enjoyed his route so far and has gotten to meet a lot of students.

At about 3 p.m. Salee said roughly 20 students had ridden the bus since his shift began at 11 a.m.

“Once everyone learns the routes it’ll be good for everyone — students

and staff,” he said. “Ever since I’ve been here, students are real courte-ous, professional and appreciative.”

Salee, who has a Class A and B commercial driver’s license, said he drove a tractor before beginning work for the U of M. He also drove a bus for his church.

Tommy Miller, newly hired man-ager of transportation at the U of M, said he did not know how much the Blue Line costs, how the service came to campus, how much the gas for the

buses costs, how the buses are funded or how the bus drivers are found.

“I’ve been to at least 25 to 30 uni-versity websites since I’ve been here and almost all of these major uni-versities have a shuttle line of some kind either in partnership with a city program or have their own like ours,” he said. “It seems to be the fashion of most universities to move students more efficiently and have fewer cars on campus.”

A Daily Helmsman reporter was

told that Angela Floyd, director of parking and transportation services, would respond to questions about the Blue Line finances on Wednesday, however Floyd could not be reached for comment.

The Blue Line stops are located in several spots on campus and students can also go to Memphis.transloc.com or download the free Transloc App to their phone to locate the buses. The buses are equipped with Transloc GPS systems, which track the buses as they move in real time.

“I know the Transloc system is the best system and a lot of other major universities use it,” Miller said.

During the summer, approxi-mately 500 to 600 students rode the Blue Line buses per month, Miller said. About 300 students per day rode the buses on Monday and Tuesday this week, and Wednesday saw the number of riders rise to around 450.

“Park and ride. Leave your car where you find a spot and hop on the Blue Line and it’ll get you where you want to go,” Miller said. “It’s more cost efficient. It gets vehicles off the streets for congestion and (helps with) pollution also.”

Cali Neal, sophomore physical therapy major and two-time Blue Line rider said the bus is hard to catch.

“I think the app isn’t working, or I’m using it wrong,” she said. “I expected it to be easier to catch and

for there to be a bus schedule.” Neal said she would not advise

riding the bus if you’re in a hurry and is worried about the safety of riding it at night. At a town hall meeting Wednesday, Floyd said that it was difficult to come up with an exact schedule the buses could stick to because of the train that runs across the Blue Line’s route. She said as an alternative the University spent a lot of money on the best GPS system so that students could track the bus on the website or phone app.

“Even though you have to show your student ID, other people can still just get on it, there’s no security and it runs until 11 p.m. at night,” she said.

Allen Mamaril, sophomore bio-medical engineering major, said he has not ridden one of the Blue Line buses yet, but thinks it could be con-venient to some students.

“I heard they were going to the Liberty Bowl and the Fed Ex Forum,” he said. “So I’ll probably use it for the games.”

Mamaril said he probably wouldn’t use the system to get around campus because he likes walking around the University.

“I don’t think it’s necessary. I guess it could be good for some people, especially with disabilities,” he said. “I guess some places are just too far for people.” n

uuBlue LineContinued from page 1

A student boards the Blue Line for a trip back to his car at Central parking lot.

photo By Christina holloWay | staff

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Golf looks to carry on last year’s success

The University of Memphis Tigers men’s golf team is set to open their season Sunday in Verona, N.Y. The Tigers will compete in the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Missouri.

The Tigers aim to build on last year’s historic season, when they won their first Conference USA

title and returned to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 24 years. Returning for the Tigers are eight letter-winners from last year’s squad, including senior Steve Lee and juniors Will Pearson and Grant Milner, three of the five play-ers from last season to make the NCAA Championships.

Lee returns from a strong 2011-2012 campaign in which he finished

with a 74.3 stroke average. Pearson entered the scene midway through the season and took no time making his presence felt, compiling three top-15 finishes.

Also returning for Memphis are seniors Carlson Cox and Lexus Keoninh. In last year’s Wolfpack Intercollegiate, a tournament that the Tigers won, Keoninh shot his way to a top-10 finish. Cox made

only one tournament appearance for the Tigers.

Rounding out the returning play-ers are sophomores Cory Gaylord and Alex Hoffman, as well as junior Erwan Vieilledent. Gaylord had an impressive freshman season, com-peting in four tournaments and posting a third-place finish at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate.

The freshmen include John

Luke Tyner, who redshirted last year, and Drew Greenwood, who won the 2009 Arkansas 5A State Championship at Lakeside High School in Hot Springs, Ark.

The opening tournament will have 12 teams and will be at the Turning Stone Resort. The first two rounds are set for Sunday, with the final round scheduled for Monday. n

Junior Will Pearson is one of three returning Tigers who made the NCAA Championships last season.

photo By Joe MUrphy | speCial to the daily helMsMan

By Bryan Heaterbheater@dailyhelmsman.com

www.dailyhelmsman.com8 • Friday, August 31, 2012