DailyHelmsman

Vol. 78 No. 080The

Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis www.dailyhelmsman.com

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Tigers stand up against the test of time innumerous last-second thrillers

see page 8

Better late than never...

News Brief

The University of Memphis’ Career Services and College of Education will host an education career fair today from 1 to 4 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom.

The fair, free to all U of M students and alumni, will allow students seeking careers in education to meet with representatives from several local school districts, including the city of Memphis, Tipton County, Desoto County, Shelby County and Marion, Ark.

Alisha Henderson, director of Career Services at The U of M, said the fair will be “very beneficial” to students who attend.

Henderson said that school district repre-sentatives search primarily for students to fill teaching positions, but counseling and admin-istrative positions are available as well.

“Sometimes they even perform interviews on the spot, which may lead to follow-up interviews for a job opportunity,” she said.

Henderson suggested that students dress professionally and bring a resumé to the fair.

Education careerfair in UC today

— by Chris DanielsNews Reporter

The stairs outside The University of Memphis’ Patterson Hall were built in 1967. A section on the east side of the building is roped off with caution tape due to crumbling and decay.

According to Brian Wilcox, carpentry man-ager with The U of M’s Physical Plant, the stairs have endured many freeze and thawing cycles, which has caused the concrete to crack. The Physical Plant has sealed off the sections of the stairs to protect the users of Patterson Hall.

After the analysis by structural engineers is performed, a more accu-rate timeframe on the construction process will be revealed, Wilcox said.

One step at a time

When teachers call roll at the beginning of class, it’s common for students to clarify the pronunciation of their names.

University of Memphis senior Tenisha Harris has often had to clarify her gender.

Harris, an English major, is a lesbian who wears “boy-like clothing” and a short haircut. She said she is often perceived as a man.

“I constantly reminded (my professor that I am a girl), and it got to a point where he was call-ing me ‘he’ because that’s what he looked at me as, I guess,” Harris said. “I stopped wasting my time trying to tell him. It didn’t really bother me because I looked at him as being the idiot.”

Harris said her parents, who are both straight, are supportive of her lifestyle, but other students in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community have seen their parents “turn their back on them when they mention the word gay.”

The U of M has 12 peer institutions, including University of Alabama at Birmingham, Florida International University and University of Louisville. All have an LGBT Safe Zone.

The Safe Zone program is a nationwide effort that iden-tifies LGBT-friendly faculty, staff and students as resources to LGBT students.

Several individuals from University departments are cur-rently working on a collaborative effort to bring the Safe Zone to The U of M and have formed a Safe Zone Committee.

Lorna Horishny, administra-tive secretary in the Career and

Psychological Counseling Center and Safe Zone Committee editor,

said she hopes the initiative soon garners support from all departments

on campus. The committee, dedicated to implementing the zone, will seek sup-

port from faculty, staff and students before this semester’s end.

“For the last five years, we have been try-ing to figure out the best way to approach it

and give (the program) credibility and show how important it is (to have a Safe Zone on cam-

pus),” Horishny said.When the Safe Zone was first suggested five years

ago, it was dismissed because “administration” felt there was no need for it at The U of M, Horishny said.

Tim Smith, student coordinator for Safe Zone Committee and a senior majoring in teaching all learners, said The University lacked information about the Safe Zone at the time and didn’t realize its peer institutions had already implemented the program.

“We live in an area, which is reflected on The University, where being gay isn’t always OK,” Smith said.

The 2009 National School Climate Survey, released last year, reported high numbers of bullying and abuse toward the LGBT community on college campuses nationwide.

Compiled by the Q Research Institute for Higher Education, the survey reported that 84.6 percent of LGBT students said they were verbally harassed, 40.1 percent

LGBT ‘Safe Zone’ aims to provide more welcoming U of M campus

— by Joshua L. Bolden and Chris DanielsNews Reporters

BY CHELSEA BOOZERNews Reporter

by M

ike

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ller

Back on track

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tesy

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BY ERICA HORTONNews Reporter

For adults whose college experience ended without a degree, The University of Memphis has created a program to help them finish what they started.

“The idea is that there are a number of people in the Memphis area who have start-ed a degree and not completed it,” said Dan Lattimore, part-time instructor and spear-head of the Back on Track program.

Lattimore said anyone is welcome to the program, but invitations were sent out to for-mer students who attended The University 10 to 15 years ago, had no holds on their account, maintained at least a 2.5 grade point average and earned at least 90 credit hours.

“On an undergraduate degree, there is no time limit on credits,” he said.

Ken Hall, marketing director for Leadership

see Track, page 3see Safe, page 3

Campus Construction

Adult Education

www.dailyhelmsman.com2 • Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Across1 Classifies, in a way5 Antony listener10 Envelope abbr.14 Beige-like shade15 Representation16 Dealer’s dispenser17 Game played on a six-pointed star20 Keystone lawman21 Smart club22 Cry to strike up the band23 Penne relative24 She played WKRP’s Jennifer25 1964 Beatles hit30 Time Warner “Superstation”33 Capacious34 Peddle35 The tan in a Black and Tan36 One of five states in which same-sex marriage is legal37 Trendy aerobics regimen39 Fort with many bars40 Apparel retailer Taylor41 Legatee42 In abeyance43 La + la, in Lille44 Diamond-patterned attire47 Volunteer st.49 “Let’s leave __ that”50 Producer Ponti52 “My Name Is Asher Lev” author Chaim54 Restorative place57 Companion at the end of 17-, 25-, 37- and 44-Across60 Jai __61 Pentium producer62 Brand with a pony in its logo63 A few64 Seacoast65 Stern’s counterpart

Down1 Chaste kiss2 Reverberate3 Stagehand4 Heliocentric universe center5 __ the occasion

6 1991 movie sequel subtitled “The Awakening”7 Apple products8 Turkish honorific9 At birth10 Be hospitable to11 White Star Line’s ill-fated steamer12 Actress Spelling13 Place to brood18 Agent Prentiss on “Criminal Minds”19 Bit of guitar music23 Coors malt beverage24 His show has a “Jaywalking” segment25 Serif-free font26 Nary a soul27 How things flow28 Each partner29 Right-to-left lang.31 “Old” chip producer?

32 Proverbial battlers37 Gull relative38 2008 govt. bailout recipient39 Granny, for one41 Red River capital42 Honshu metropolis45 Roadside trash46 Twinkler in a Paris sky48 Borden’s spokescow50 Pros who work on schedules, for short51 He sang about Alice52 Phnom __53 Suspicious of54 Catch a glimpse of55 Soccer great56 Elemental unit58 Put down, slangily59 33 1/3 rpm spinners

DOMINO’S PIZZA 550 S. HIGHLAND 323-3030No Waiting!

Volume 78 Number 080

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3. Wrap it upby Erica Horton

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5. Generation gap apparent at Grammysfrom our wire service

TIGER BABBLEthoughts that give you paws

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The University of Memphis Wednesday, February 16, 2011 • 3

Memphis, said 226,000 people in the Metropolitan area have started a degree and dropped out.

“That’s a lot of folks, bigger than many cities,” he said.

Betty Huff, another founder and leader of the initiative and vice provost of enrollment services, said more than 70 people have returned affirma-tive RSVPs for the program’s information session Feb. 21.

The event, which is free, will be held in the Michael D. Rose Theatre from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“Memphis, in general, and Tennessee, specifically, have a low rate of bachelor’s degree (attainment),” she said. “It’s below the national norm. We think there are a lot of peo-ple who started a degree and were doing fine and, albeit for financial or personal reasons, stopped. We are encouraging people to come and finish.”

Lattimore said he spoke with a 73 year-old-man who, after having ended his stu-dent career at The University 40 years prior, returned and graduated in December 2009.

“He was retired from a journalism job and decided he wanted to finish his degree,” Lattimore said.

Hall said people drop out of school because of “life circum-stances,” including marriage, children and money, and that those people need to know about programs like the Back on Track initiative.

“It’s vitally important,” he said. “If we are able to raise college attainment by 1 percent over a period of five years, from 23 to 24 percent (in the city of Memphis), the economic impact would be a billion dollars.”

Lattimore said being read-mitted to The University is a quick process for a student who was in good standing.

“Our admissions counselors can admit you on the spot,” he said. “It’s not any big hurdle in that regard, but if you change your major, didn’t leave in good standing or are coming in from another university, then it’s not so easy.”

He said representatives from different departments throughout The University will be at the information meeting, including financial aid, veterans affairs, adult and commuter student services,

admissions, academic transfer and articulation, and advisers from several colleges.

Joy Stout, director of adult and commuter student servic-es, said her department will set up an information table at the program.

“I see our role as a reten-tion piece for making sure that students know that there is a place for them to engage in activities external to their classroom experience,” she said.

Stout said adult students will make themselves avail-able to talk with prospective students who are interested in returning to school. She said they need to know there are students who relate to them.

“The program will allow non-traditional-age students to return to school to com-plete a degree program of interest,” she said. “It is also one that will give them an opportunity to engage in conversation with other adult students who have returned to school and are experienc-ing success while managing their busy lives.”

More information about the Back on Track program can be accessed at memphis.edu/backontrack.

This WeekClothesline Project

Shirt DesignAll Day • UC Shelby Room

Coming UpFriday, 2/18

Friday Film Series“Inception”

7 p.m.UC Theatre

The Clothesline ProjectBearing Witness to Violence Against Women

February 14 - 18 • McWherter Library

A vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a shirt, which collectively are hung on a clothesline to be viewed by others as

testimony to the problem of violence against women.

Shirts for painting are available in UC Room 227A

Break SilenceThe

were physically harassed and 18.8 percent reported physi-cal assault due to their sexual orientation.

Others said they were harassed or abused because of their gender expression: 63.7 percent verbally, 27.2 percent by physical harassment and 12.5 percent by physical abuse.

Harris said U of M faculty and staff aren’t aware of the strug-gles of the LGBT community, and they don’t make themselves available to LGBT students.

“I’ve considered going to another school where there was more openness about the LGBT community,” she said. “When people don’t feel comfortable, a lot of time that is what they do. The only reason I didn’t leave is because I was so far in my major, so I decided to stick it out, and I knew I could.”

Richard Scott, the Safe Zone Committee’s staff coordinator and psychologist for the Career and Psychological Counseling Center, agreed that the retention rates of the LGBT community are affected by how welcome students are on campus.

“If they (LGBT students) are not feeling campus is a safe atmosphere, they are leaving,” he said.

Harris said the campus is not as open as it could be.

“College is supposed to be one of those things where you become a part of the college,” she said. “I don’t feel like I had a chance to do that sim-ply because there is no accep-tance for the LGBT community around campus.

Currently, the Safe Zone pro-gram won’t operate under any particular department or orga-nization when it is implemented — it will stand alone. However, Horishny said it needs financial and administrative support.

If the program is wel-comed, Scott will certify fac-ulty and staff who volunteer to be Safe Zone participants. ”We want people who come to it to want to be well informed allies — those who are open-ly supportive and affirming toward all faculty, students and staff who are LGBT.”

Those certified will have the opportunity to sign a non-bind-ing contract that specifically lists their responsibilities.

Trackfrom page 1

Safefrom page 1 Bird is the word.

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@DailyHelmsman@HelmsmanSports

www.dailyhelmsman.com4 • Wednesday, February 16, 2011

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A University of Memphis Bible study group is ushering in moral lessons with hip-hop.

Project Transformation will use hip-hop artist Usher as a teaching tool at its meeting tonight at 9 in the University Center‘s Senate Chamber.

The campus Bible study will use track titles from Usher’s 2004 album, “Confessions,” as headings for its series of biblical lessons. Some of the titles were adjusted to fit the values of a Christian lifestyle, said Justin Henderson, former University of Memphis student and Project Formation minister.

“A lot of today’s music is not in line with the word of God,” Henderson said. “We used Usher to reach a broader group of stu-dents and to keep the attention of our regular members.”

However, the group won’t be singing along with Usher’s hits. Usher is the theme of the series, but not the lesson, Henderson said.

Cortney Richardson, senior orga-nizational leadership major and creator of Project Transformation, said he doesn’t believe in mixing secular music with Christianity due to the language used and top-ics covered in secular songs.

Instead, the songs will be used to discuss fornication, temptation and healing emotional pains that most college students deal with, Richardson said.

The parts of the series are titled “That’s What It’s Made For,”

“Seduction” and “Burn.”The idea to implement Usher

into Bible study originally came from a poll taken during a meeting. On an index card, students were asked what they would like to be taught in Project Transformation, and the answers evolved into this series.

Henderson said with a hint of Usher, an invitation to Bible study is more appealing and rests easier with college students.

The incorporation of Usher songs was intended to generate interaction within the study, he said. Students are handed outlines at every session so they can refer to the scriptures mentioned in the lesson.

Freshman communication major Kamron Hill said he had previously taken part in Project Transformation because another student invited him, and he didn’t need a catchy tune to persuade him.

“People come because they want to come to Bible study,“ Hill said. “I don’t think using Usher will increase the numbers of visitors.”

Project Transformation averag-es 30 visitors per Bible study, and attendance peaked at 87 during the Fall 2009 term.

Project Transformation plans to create several more special series for this semester, Richardson said, but the themes will not always be based on hip-hop artists.

“Whatever it takes that isn’t out of line with my morals, I will try,” he said. “University of Memphis has a need for it.”

Religion

Campus Bible study harnesses power of pop musicBY HANNAH C. OWENGANews Reporter

Although Usher Raymond’s music does not enter the conversation at Bible study at Project Transformation, the group does use song titles from his 2004 album to organize its lessons, held in the UC’s Senate Chamber.

The University of Memphis Wednesday, February 16, 2011 • 5

President Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday to former President George H.W. Bush and 14 others, including poet Maya Angelou, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, investor Warren Buffett and basketball legend Bill Russell.

The medal is the highest U.S. honor a civilian can receive and is awarded to individuals who have made significant contribu-tions “to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or pri-vate endeavors.”

“This is one of the things I most look forward to every year,” Obama said, calling the honorees “the best of who we are and who we aspire to be.”

Obama reviewed the life and career of President Bush, describ-ing his time as a Navy pilot, U.N. ambassador, U.S. envoy to China, director of the CIA and as vice-president under President Reagan.

Obama also praised Bush for achievements during his 1989-93 presidency, including reduc-ing nuclear weapons, driving Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait and overseeing the after-math of the Cold War’s end. The president commended Bush for his post-presidency work with disaster relief.

“His life is a testament that public service is a noble calling,” Obama said. “His humility and his decency reflects the very best of the American spirit. Those of you who know him — this is a gentleman.”

Poet Maya Angelou was the one of several artists among the honorees. Obama praised her for rising above an abusive child-hood to inspire others with her words, saying her voice has “spoken to millions, including my mother, which is why my sister is named Maya.”

He quoted Angelou, saying, “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again,” and bent down to kiss her cheek as he presented her with the medal.

Obama joked that Ma, a world-renowned cellist who has been performing in concert since age 5, was a “late bloomer,” and described his award-win-ning career, which includes 15 Grammy Awards and more than 75 albums.

“There are very few people you’ll meet that possess the joy that Yo-Yo Ma does,” Obama said.

American investor Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, received the medal for his philanthropic efforts.

Obama lauded Buffett’s gen-erosity, saying, “a philanthropist is a lover of humanity and there’s no word that fits Warren better.

“He’s so thrifty I had to give him a White House tie the last time he came to visit,” Obama said. “His was looking a little shredded.”

Politicians Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and U.S Rep.

John Lewis, D-Ga., were hon-ored, although Merkel wasn’t present to receive her medal.

Lewis was a leader during the civil rights movement, Obama said, who organized student sit-ins and was on the first Freedom Ride to fight segregation. The congressman won his first term in 1986.

Two former professional ath-letes — Russell and baseball leg-end Stan Musial — were among the medal recipients.

Obama praised Russell, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., for his courage and strength as a member of the Boston Celtics, where he regu-larly endured racism from fans.

The president described how Russell refused to play after a restaurant declined to serve the team because of its black mem-bers, and called him “someone who stood up for the rights and dignity of all men.”

Three-time World Series win-ner Stan “The Man” Musial was honored for his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and his sense of integrity. Obama said he is “a gentleman you’d want your kids to emulate.”

“He asked for a pay cut when he didn’t perform up to his own expectations,” Obama said. “You can imagine that happening today.”

Other honorees were: Sylvia Mendez, a civil rights activ-ist; John H. Adams, co-found-er of the National Resources Defense Council; Jasper Johns, an American artist; Gerda Weissmann Klein, a Holocaust survivor, author and activist; Jean Kennedy Smith, former ambas-sador to Ireland and founder of VSA, an organization that pro-motes the artistic talents of young people with disabilities; John J. Sweeney, former president of the AFL-CIO; and Dr. Tom Little, an optometrist who was murdered while on a humanitarian mission to Afghanistan, whose award was accepted by his wife.

Politics

Obama awards freedom medals to Bush, Merkel, BuffettBY JULIE MIANECKITribune Washington Bureau

U.S. President Barack Obama honors for-mer President George H.W. Bush with the 2010 Medal of Freedom in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday in Washington, DC.

MC

T

www.dailyhelmsman.com6 • Wednesday, February 16, 2011

When Marion Powless began teaching at The University of Memphis in 2002, she was asked to transform the advising pro-cess in the psychology depart-ment.

Today, Powless heads an advising system that requires no paperwork and employs only one staff member — herself.

“I was given the opportu-nity to design and create a program the way I wanted,” said Powless, academic servic-es coordinator for the depart-ment. “It was entirely new, and I wanted to make changes.”Powless created the advis-ing center in the Psychology Building, where student advis-ers help their peers select appropriate classes and give them guidance.

All student files and tran-scripts are now kept online, and Powless can access them any time a student visits or calls her.

“It’s not just for our conve-nience, having the files online,” she said, “but it saves money on ink and paper. We have this focus to ‘go green,’ and I expect our printing costs to continue to be way less.”

Powless said she person-

ally sees everyone majoring in psychology at least once a year and offers students the option of being advised via Skype, a video conferencing program.

If a student has a personal situation that prevents them from meeting with her face to face, using Skype offers an alter-native way to have a meeting, she said.

But in order to effectively meet the needs of all her students, Powless trains her Psychology 3700 classes to access advising resources offered by The U of M and properly advise their peers.

“We are the model for this program,” Powless said. “We are the only department that currently trains juniors and seniors to advise.”

Students in Psychology 3700, the department’s Peer Advising course, are required to pass the midterm exam with three or fewer errors before they are per-mitted to advise.

Once the midterm is com-pleted, the students shift from answering phones and schedul-ing appointments in the advis-ing center to conducting peer advisements.

Holly Keating, junior psy-chology major, is currently enrolled in Psychology 3700 and spends around seven

hours each week in the advis-ing center. While Keating said she feels overwhelmed at times from combining school, a part-time job and work in the advising center, she said she ultimately feels grateful for the opportunity.

“Working in the advising cen-ter has given me the chance to obtain real-world experiences,” Keating said. “It’s like a job, and it trains us to deal with real situations.”

Senior psychology major Jonathan Lester is currently train-ing to advise other students.

“I’m excited to find out what people are passionate about,” Lester said. “It’s going to give me strong ideas about what questions to ask patients when I graduate.”

The goal of incorporating stu-dents into the advising atmo-sphere is to better suit their needs, Powless said.

She hopes that after students have helped their peers with problems they’ve already faced, like class selection, student advisers will be better prepared after graduation.

“We want students to greet the peers they are advising with, ‘What brings you here today?’” Powless said. “We want to give students a real-life working experience.”

Friday, Feb. 18 7 p.m.UC Theatre

INCEPTIONRated PG-13

BY ROBERT MOORENews Reporter

Advising

Psych department’s Powless shows technological prowess

Solutions!

... to at least some of your problems.

The University of Memphis Wednesday, February 16, 2011 • 7

If Gang of Four had a dol-lar for every band that it influ-enced, the members wouldn’t necessarily be rich, but they’d probably be able to make a hefty down payment on a new house. In the last few years, bands such as Franz Ferdinand, the Rapture, Bloc Party, Radio 4 and Futureheads have all picked up major elements of the Gang of Four sound, R.E.M. covered its songs, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have joked that they ripped off the British band and deserve to be sued.

Gang of Four emerged from the British punk scene of the ‘70s with a sound unlike any other, a mixture of aggressively loud gui-tar that embraced noise as texture and favored a staccato rhythmic

attack, funk-influenced bass and drums, and vocals that frequent-ly functioned as dialogues about how human relationships are reduced to commercial transac-tions. Gang of Four’s 1979 debut, “Entertainment!,” remains one of the landmark albums of the last 35 years.

The band has been inac-tive for long stretches over the last two decades, but founding members Jon King and Andy Gill recently reconvened with a new rhythm section to record “Content” (Yep Roc), the band’s first studio album of new mate-rial since 1995.

Original drummer Hugo Burnham and bass player Dave Allen, a key player on the band’s first two albums, both joined Gill and King when they first reunit-ed a few years ago, but have since left to pursue careers in

academia and digital technology, respectively.

New bassist Thomas McNeice and drummer Mark Heaney step up to the challenge on the new album. Less strident and angu-lar than “Entertainment!” and not quite as fiercely funky as its nearly as good 1981 follow-up, “Solid Gold,” “Content” none-theless does a good job of play-ing to Gang of Four’s timeless strengths.

“The reunion tour (to play songs primarily from the first two albums) was meant to be a short term blast,” King said. “Andy and I had to relearn those songs. I had to re-encounter the young Jon King, which is dis-turbing in some ways.”

King said Gang of Four had very specific ideas about the role of each instrument when they began recording in the ‘70s

and spotlights an unlikely early inspiration: the ‘50s Chicago blues recordings of the Muddy Waters Band.

“We each came up with our own parts, but there were cer-tain things we didn’t want to hear. For example, I hate drum-mers using ride cymbals and making that splashy, washy noise. We want the instruments side by side, rather than lay-ered. Splashes fill in all the gaps. Muddy Waters wouldn’t have let that happen. Chicago is (the) center of the great purity of all music. There would be no Gang of Four without that sound.”

The band’s feel for groove was built in from the get-go. King and Gill were art students at Leeds University, and visited America for the first time in their late teens as part of their studies.

“When I was18, hitchhiking around the Northeast, I was taken aback by the musical apartheid here, the black and white radio stations,” King said. “For me in my teens, everyone danced to reggae. It was British music, as far as we were concerned. And James Brown. You couldn’t go to party and not hear ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine.’ And that led us to Funkadelic and Chic and everything else. As a white band, we weren’t inter-ested in playing genre music, ‘black music’; it would be point-less for us to do that. But we just naturally understood that the music should have that dance-able vibe, because that’s what we were listening to all the time. And it’s what we weren’t hear-ing in a lot of the punk music at the time.”

The band’s early shows weren’t all well-received. Songs such as “Anthrax,” which opens with a minute of feedback and includes some of the more cyni-cal anti love-song lyrics ever writ-ten, tended to divide audiences and mortify club owners.

“We quite successfully emp-tied rooms quite a few times,” King said with a laugh about the quartet’s early days. “You play a song like ‘Anthrax,’ and you’re asking for trouble. One promoter begged us not to go on stage after seeing our sound check. He thought he was getting a band to play ‘Desperado,’ and instead he got us. He said, ‘I’ll pay you, but please don’t play.’”

Not quite fitting into the pub rock scene with their abra-sive sound and lyrics, not quite “punk” enough with their art-student clothes and cerebral lyr-ics, the members of Gang of Four forged their own movement.

It was later dubbed “post-punk,” a term that King said was as much about sociology as sound: “I was working on a paper on Jasper Johns in New York in ‘76 and became friends with (future movie director) Mary Harron, who was then a fanzine writer and dating the drummer of the Patti Smith group,” King said.

“Andy came to New York to study, too, and we were staying at St. Mark’s Place near (punk mecca) CBGB and going there all the time. ... We were play-ing pinball with Joey Ramone. Everyone was in a band. What was interesting about New York bands is that they had all their 19th century French-poet imagery and skinny, clanky guitars. Richard Hell invented the look, which was heisted by the Sex Pistols. The U.K. scene picked up on the three chords and keep-it-dumb aspect, but not on the other stuff. And nei-ther scene did any black music, no funk. It was still an enjoy-able scene. The Buzzcocks were our friends and were a great pop-punk band, but none of them played anything that had a groove to it. The term ‘post-punk’ got coined a few years later for all the bands that didn’t fit in with that.

“But all ‘post-punk’ means is that bands were giving a nod and a wink to dance music.”

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BY GREG KOTChicago Tribune

Gang of Four’s influence still prevalentMusic

www.dailyhelmsman.com8 • Wednesday, February 16, 2011

University of Memphis senior Will Coleman has grown to appreciate the suspense that close games bring.

He hasn’t had much of a choice.

More than half of the Tigers’ games this season have been decided by nine points or fewer. Their last four games have been decided by five or fewer.

Call it luck or clutch perfor-mance, but The U of M is 12-2 in games decided within this nine-point margin.

As young as the Tigers (19-7, 7-3 Conference USA) are — the youngest team in program his-tory, according to U of M coach Josh Pastner — tight games have simply become old hat.

“They’re fun. They’re really fun,” Coleman said. “Yes, I do like them because I just think it’s funny when, you know, guys are like, ‘Yeah, we beat Memphis, yeah, yeah,’ and then we come back right at the last second and hit that shot and everybody’s just like, ‘Oh, man, what just happened?’”

It happened Jan. 19 against Southern Miss at Reed Green Coliseum. The Tigers trailed by as many as 18 in the first half. Southern Miss looked like it would finally end its then-15-game losing streak to The U of M.

The Tigers clawed back, though, and escaped Hattiesburg with a 76-75 win after junior guard Charles Carmouche hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left.

“They just have this look on their face like, ‘Aw, we lost again,’” Coleman said. “I think it’s so funny. Maybe it’s just me.”

Feb. 9, The U of M trailed Central Florida, 47-40, with 11:55 left in the game after the Knights opened the second half on a 17-8 run.

The Tigers rallied over the next 10 minutes and knotted the game at 60 apiece after fresh-man guard Will Barton nailed a three with 59.5 seconds left.

The Knights took the lead on their next possession, 62-60, after Marcus Jordan scored on a layup with 40.8 seconds.

In the Tigers’ next trip up the floor, freshman guard Antonio Barton caught a pass from his older brother, Will, and knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.5 sec-onds left.

“Everybody was screaming,” Coleman said. “I heard them, ‘Oh, we beat Memphis finally’ (after the Jordan layup), and Antonio (Barton) came out and hit that three. I don’t know — I just enjoy that.”

Of course, a 12-2 mark in games decided by nine or fewer doesn’t happen without a few breaks.

In the Tigers’ 67-61 win against Southern Miss on Saturday, the Golden Eagles — who shoot on average 74 percent from the free-throw line — were 9-of-18 from the charity stripe.

Had UAB’s Aaron Johnson not missed his second free-throw attempt with eight sec-onds left Jan. 22, the Tigers might not have escaped Bartow Arena with a 76-73 overtime victory.

“Everybody’s got to under-stand, Tiger Nation out there should feel very blessed with the record that we have because it could easily be another record if we don’t take care of busi-ness in all those close games,” Pastner said. “We’re very fortu-nate to have the record that we have, but that’s a credit to the players making plays.”

Perhaps the most impressive part of the Tigers’ 12-2 record in close games is that eight of those wins came without junior Wesley Witherspoon. The 6-foot-9 forward was suspended for two games after the Tigers’ 64-58 loss to SMU on Jan. 12.

He was reinstated eight days later but has not played due to knee soreness.

“I would prefer to win by 50, but that’s not the case,” Pastner said. “I’ll take a one-point win. I just want to get the ‘W.’ You’ve got to give our guys credit for execution and mak-ing plays. Players make plays — that’s the bottom line.”

Through the bevy of down-to-the-wire contests, freshman Tarik Black said, the Tigers are finding out about much more than just wins and losses.

They’re finding out about themselves.

“Now we can trust each other. If your team’s never been in a close game, they don’t

know who to throw the ball to when the clock’s winding down,” Black said. “We know exactly what to do. Really, we don’t have a certain man — we

found that out. A lot of teams might be in that same situation, but they might not know that because they haven’t been in tight games.”

Basketball

Experts of the eleventh hourTigers learning how to embrace thrill of close finishesBY JOHN MARTINSports Editor

The Tigers appreciate the fact that more than half of their games have been decided by single digits. Tonight’s game against UAB, who the Tigers defeated 76-73 Jan. 22, figures to be yet another dogfight.

by D

avid

C.

Min

kin

Juan Taylor will serve as an assistant coach for The University of Memphis football team, coach Larry Porter announced Tuesday.

Taylor coached wide receivers at Buffalo from 2006-2010. He was the only assistant to remain on staff after Jeff Quinn replaced Turner Gill last year, when Gill accepted a head coaching job at the University of Kansas.

Under Taylor’s guidance, Buffalo wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt became the Bulls’ all-time leader in receptions with 268, in receiving yards with 3,551, in touchdowns with 28 and in all-purpose yards with 5,341.

Taylor was a wide receiver at Division II school Kentucky State and earned First Team Black College All-American in 1992. He played and coached for the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League.

University of Memphis wom-en’s tennis sophomore netter Courtney Collins has made his-tory once again.

Collins was ranked No. 107 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Monday rankings. Collins was also the first Lady Tiger to be invited to the ITA All-American Championships last year.

The Fulton, Miss., native is the No. 1 singles player for the Lady Tigers, with an overall 4-3 mark. Two of her three losses came at the hands of Top 50 players.

“I’m pumped,” Collins said. “This is something I’ve worked so hard for, and now I’m going to climb.”

She is also a member of Team USA and will compete in the World University Games in China this summer.

Porter taps Buffalo’s Taylor as new UM assistant coach

Collins enters ITA rankings, a first in U of M’s historyBY JOHN MARTINSports Editor

BY JOHN MARTINSports Editor

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