When Memphis City Schools board member and part-time University of Memphis stu-dent Stephanie Gatewood first considered the idea of surren-dering the MCS charter and unify-ing the school dis-trict with Shelby County’s, she was hesitant to vote “yes” — until she began digging for details.

The Reconstruction-era document, authored in 1869, contained many passages Gatewood found troubling, perhaps the most notable of which hailed back to a part of Southern history that many would like to forget.

“Said board of education shall provide and maintain

separate schools for the use and accommodation of the white and colored youths of the city entitled to admission in the public schools of the

City of Memphis, subject to all respects, to the same rules, reg-ulations and treatment,” reads Section 1000 of the charter, passed under Private Act 30.

Though many factors played a role in Gatewood’s ultimate decision to vote to surrender the charter — taxa-tion equity for Memphis resi-dents who also pay county

taxes contributed significant-ly — she said she believes race relations play the big-gest role in the current debate on school consolidation,

which she calls “unification.”

“Economics is a secondary issue; however, first and foremost is race,” she said. “I’ve seen it personally in every (way) you can imagine.”

The segrega-tion provision in the MCS charter is not only ille-

gal, Gatewood said, but also “detrimental” to the state of education.

“When the charter was first written, it was never as much about kids as adults,” she said.

Gatewood said that although the isolationism

In celebration of The University of Memphis’ 2012 centennial, The U of M Alumni Association plans to provide Memphis with 6,000 pounds of fiberglass Tiger pride.

The Alumni Association’s citywide public art campaign, titled “Tigers Around Town,” is a collaborative effort among sponsors, artists and alumni to create 100 unique Tiger statues.

“The goal of our campaign is connecting the city and The University,” said Alexa Begonia, coordinator of alumni affairs. “The more people see the tigers, the more they will get a sense for the connection The University has with the city.”

There will be a total of 100 Tiger statues, each weighing 600 pounds, sponsored and designed by Memphians. Each

tiger will represent a different year.

“One hundred Tigers rep-resenting the 100 years The University has been open,” Begonia said.

The statues, which will be placed throughout the Memphis community, are life-like representations of a Bengal tiger with an outstretched paw and a ferocious expression.

Senior art education major Brooke Ebersole designed the pose of the Tiger.

“I wanted to explore the different postures a tiger can take in nature, so I used pho-tographic references in my design,” Ebersole said. “I found that each posture a tiger takes has its own personal-ity. Ultimately, we decided on a pose that showed a little attitude but had a regal and sophisticated look to it as

The revised Graduate Record Examination, to be released in August, has been advertised as longer and more difficult than the current test. Karen Weddle-West, vice provost of graduate programs at The University of Memphis, believes the test is superior — not in difficulty but in its focus.

“It’s not tougher. It’s not easier. It’s different, and it’s relevant to what faculty and employers look for,” said Weddle-West, a member of the GRE board that approved the changes to the test.

According to Weddle-West, the current GRE places emphasis on memorization. The new test will emphasize reasoning skills, which she said makes it a more valuable tool for employers and schools.

The new GRE contains less emphasis on vocabulary as well, with no antonym or analogy ques-tions, she said.

“On the current test, you could get a higher score because you are better at analogies, but it wouldn’t have an effect on actual skills you’ll need in something like engineer-ing,” Weddle-West said.

The GRE is divided into three sections: verbal reasoning, quan-titative reasoning and analytical writing. Currently, verbal and quantitative reasoning use a 200-800 point scale, and scores are mea-sured in 10-point increments. The new system uses a 130-170 point scale with one-point increments. The new test’s use of 41 points as opposed to the 61 points of the current test also makes the median score more useful, as the scores will be more balanced across the entire score scale.

“The problem with the current scoring system is the majority of the faculty and students think that a person who makes a 550 is much more promising than one who made a 500,” Weddle-West said. “It’s a 10-point scale, though, so in reality, the person with a 500 could have only missed five more than the other one.”

Weddle-West said she believes the new scale will cause less confu-sion due to the smaller increments. She also said that The U of M does not have hard cut-offs on GRE scores for graduate admissions, and combining the scores of the different sections is an “arbitrary combination that doesn’t represent anything.”

“When looking at applicants, we look at everything the students have done,” said Ernest Rakow,

DailyHelmsman

Vol. 78 No. 087The

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

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Jazz Week comes to UM, bringing Latin and Caribbean music along for the ride

see page 4

Dig This Beat, Daddio!

BY KYle laCroixNews Reporter

UM official evaluates Gre edits

Education

Unification and The University

Community

Tigers and tigers and tigers, oh my!BY MiChelle CorBeTNews Reporter

Tiger statues similar to the blue, 6-foot-long, 2-foot-wide one in U of M’s Alumni Center will soon appear across Memphis.

by A

aron

Tur

ner

Education

2008: UM study shows SCS special dis-trict would increase deficits in MCS and SCS, likely to increase tax rates

Nov. 2010:GOP gains significant majority in Tenn. legis-lature; SCS pushes to lift mora-torium on new special districts

Dec. 2010: MCS board resolves to surrender charter

Feb. 2011:Memphis City Coun-cil accepts charter sur-render

BY aMY BarneTTeCopy and Design Chief

Beneath all the muck of the consolidation debate, MCS board member and UM professor say antiquated laws, double taxation support surrender push

“Never in my life have I seen an education system

so separate. Classism is the worst kind of

discrimination.”

— Stephanie GatewoodBoard member, Memphis City Schools

March 8, 2011: Final day for Memphis residents to vote on referendum to transfer control of MCS to SCS; early voting continues this week through Thursday

1819: City of Memphis founded

1861: Tennessee secedes from Union

1862:Memphis captured by Union

1865: Civil War ends

1869: MCS charter enacted

1961:MCS pupils desegregated

1966:MCS facultydesegregated

1982:Tennessee law bans creation of new special districts

see Tiger, page 4

see gre, page 3

see SchoolS, page 6

www.dailyhelmsman.com2 • Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Across1 Rollicking good time6 “Pipe down!”10 The man’s partner, in a Shaw title14 Western neckwear15 Leer at16 “Très __!”17 Screw-up18 Fuzzy image19 Jedi guru20 Cop’s often-unreliable lead23 Apostropheless possessive26 Start of a Latin I conjugation27 Snack for a gecko28 Retailer’s private label32 Milne hopper33 Caroline Kennedy, to Maria Shriver34 Three-layer snacks36 Clerical robes37 “The Bachelor” network38 Laundry42 Martial arts-influenced workout45 Chewed like a beaver47 RR stop50 Facetious name for a school cafeteria staple52 Checkers demand54 Glutton55 Lic.-issuing bureau56 “The Gong Show” regular with a paper bag on his head, with “the”60 March Madness org.61 Passed with flying colors62 Up front66 Former U.N. leader Waldheim67 Row of waiters68 Dweebish69 Evian et al.70 WWII carriers71 Swap

Down1 Air gun pellets2 Chaney of horror3 Chicken-king link4 Davenport, e.g.5 West Coast ocean concern

6 Mingle (with)7 Like an extremely unpleasant situation8 Inner city blight9 Jane Eyre, e.g.10 Deep fissure11 Tear gas target12 Sawbones13 Shape up21 Harbinger22 Reverse23 Machu Picchu architect24 Home Depot buy25 Cold shoulder29 Right hand: Abbr.30 Mechanical worker31 Circumference part35 Performed in an aquacade37 “Washboard” muscles

39 Astounded40 Fabric joint41 Rec room centerpiece43 1-Down, e.g.44 Cyclone’s most dangerous part45 Harsh46 NFLer who used to play in Yankee Stadium47 Striped stinkers48 Costner/Russo golf flick49 Anatolian Peninsula capital51 Some Horace poems53 Pesky fliers57 “JAG” spin-off58 Penny59 “Moonstruck” Oscar winner63 Memorable time64 Total65 Color, in a way

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Volume 78 Number 087

YoU reallY liKe US!Yesterday’s Top-Read Stories

on the Web1. Miss Tennessee could be at U of M

by Chris Daniels

2. Athletic dept has no love for lacrosseby Scott Hall

3. Dearth of devotionby John Martin

4. Students’ excuses are inexcusableby John Martin

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Letter to the EditorMr. Carroll,

I am a graduate student, and I have a grievance with the maturity levels of our student body. I hate to gen-eralize, but this is my situ-ation: I went to R.P. Tracks on Thursday, Feb. 24, with some of my friends. When I left, I noticed that my car had been hit. The mirror had been knocked off, and there were red paint markings all down the right side, as well as dent marks.

Now, I consider myself a pretty calm person. My first reaction was “Damn, this really sucks.” As this occurred Thursday and I am only now making a comment, the con-dition of the car is not really the problem.

My problem is the fact that someone hit my car and never went in to R.P. Tracks and took responsibility for it. How hard is it to come in and say, “Uh, I just hit somebody’s car”?

I understand the fear of what might happen. I am

a college student. I get not having the money to pay for things. I would have never said, “You have to pay for damages.” I would have understood and respected the person for owning up to their mistakes. What kind of per-son does something like that?

I am speaking about char-acter: It isn’t the good times that define you, it’s the bad. How you deal with mistakes defines who you are. And unfortunately, if this is the way our students are going to handle their mistakes, then our society is going to be in a very sad shape.

Again, I hate generaliz-ing but feel that I must. One person’s actions affect many. Grow up, people. Mistakes happen, but please own up to it.

Thank you,

Lesley CruzSecond-year graduate

student, Master’s of Health Administration

Upset by the lack of TigerBabble in today’s paper? That’s on you, buddy. Send us your thoughts on Twitter @dailyhelmsman or #tigerbabble. Or post on our

Facebook wall at facebook.com/dailyhelmsman.

The University of Memphis Tuesday, March 1, 2011 • 3

Whether they’re sneakers, san-dals or stilettos, one University of Memphis student organization wants women to wear the shoes that empower them in honor of Women’s History Month.

Professional Assertive United Sisters of Excellence will host the opening ceremony for their women’s history month “Powerpumps” campaign — a series of events — tonight at 6 in the University Theatre.

“It’s a campaign that focuses on what your shoes are that empow-er you as a woman, whether it’s tennis shoes, pumps, flip-flops — whatever those shoes are that get you to your destination,” P.A.U.S.E. President Antionette Booker said. “We want to see you in those shoes.”

P.A.U.S.E. focuses on helping women become leaders in the community and the workforce and on campus, Booker said.

The organization seeks to highlight efforts of women who

haven’t been acknowledged in past.

“It was so long before (women) were actually were able to actually contribute on a larger scale,” said Linda Hall, coordinator of minor-ity affairs at The U of M. “We get a chance now to see them shine.”

Now in its fifth year on cam-pus, P.A.U.S.E. has over 100 mem-bers, including freshman Charnita Heard.

“I wanted to be able to give back to my community,” the polit-ical science major said.

Later this month, Heard will host a town hall for The U of M P.A.U.S.E. chapter called “More Than a Woman.” The workshop will address many topics, includ-ing “Are You Ready For Sex?” and “What Is A Woman?”

The purpose of Heard’s work-shop is to get women to realize “they need to do more than an average woman,” she said.

The organization will also pres-ent the play “A Woman’s Worth,” which highlights the different roles of women in society.

P.A.U.S.E will also host its

annual women’s conference, “The Blueprint of a Woman,” on March 25 and 26 at 6 p.m. in the Michael D. Rose Theatre. This year, Terry McMillan, the author of “Waiting To Exhale” and “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” will be part of the event.

“These programs are meant to

empower women,” Booker said. “We put on programs that let (women) know you are destined to be great. You have a brand about yourself. It is our purpose to help guide you to that brand.”

Booker wants people to come to all the events and celebrate the accomplishments of women.

“We need to show the world who we are,” Booker said. “It is so many women who are doing things on campus. They may get recognized with a certificate but people need to see you. People need to know what you are doing and what impact you have on this campus.”

TONIGHTBehind the Swoosh:

Sweatshops & Social Justice6:30 p.m. • UC Ballroom

Coming UpWednesday, 3/16

Wednesday Night Live:music of Timbre

8 p.m.UC River Room

Women’s History Month

PAUSE pumps up the empowermentBY JoShUa BoldenNews Reporter

Professional Assertive United Sisters of Excellence will host a series of women’s empower-ment-themed events in March in honor of Women’s History Month.

by A

aron

Tur

ner

associate dean of the college of education. “GRE, prior grades, their graduate and undergraduate

GPA are all factors. We look at the whole package. The GRE is part of it, but the decision is not made on the GRE alone.”

“There are things in the (new) exam which really measure critical thinking skills over rote memory,”

said Moira Logan, associate dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts. “That’s what we’re look-ing for in the graduate program.”

The new GRE also provides an on-screen calculator and the abil-ity to go back to earlier questions,

making the test more convenient and usable for students, Weddle-West said.

The new test also includes an optional Potential Profile Index section that judges skills such as creativity and perseverance. To fulfill this section, a test-taker lists three people who will be sur-veyed on the person’s skills in those areas.

“I do not think that this new test is harder at all,” said Weddle-West.

“It requires a different set of more reasoning skills, but these skills are more important to graduate school and employment.”

Those who want to attend a graduate school this fall need to take the current test before August to get their results back in time.

Test prep materials are available free at www.gre.org, and a Graduate Recruitment fair will be held today in the Michael D. Rose Theatre from 1 to 5 p.m.

grefrom page 1

www.dailyhelmsman.com4 • Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Weekly Devotional For YouThe Consequences of Illicit Sex

We have been considering sex in the last couple of devotionals. We have seen that sex is a great gift of God that is to be enjoyed between a man and woman who are married. All other sexual activity is forbidden by God. When God forbids something, we are foolish to ignore His prohi-bitions. There are serious negative consequences when people break God’s sexual laws. Some of these negative consequences are emotional. When a girl gives herself to a man she is not mar-ried to, she really loses his respect and her self-respect. I know a couple who were married for over twenty years and had several children. When the marriage was put under pressure, the wife threw up to her husband the premarital sex they had engaged in. Sadly this marriage broke up. When people have the self-discipline, self-respect, respect for each other, and respect for God to wait until marriage, they trust themselves and they trust each other. This trust and mutual respect are priceless. Don’t throw this away with a brief fling of passion. There are also physical consequences of illicit sexual activity. Many a young person has had his or her life blighted by an STD. There is also the danger of pregnancy, which many try to rectify by the brutal taking of an innocent life. This guilt is terrible. Live by God’s laws and avoid these horrendous consequences.

Grace Chapel Primitive Baptist Church – Zack Guess, Pastor828 Berclair Rd. • Memphis, TN, 38122 • 683-8014 • e-mail: zguess@juno.com

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P.A.U.S.E.Professional Assertive United

Sisters of ExcellencePresents

Women’s Month Opening Ceremony

TONIGHT @ 6 p.m.University Center Theatre

Honoring women who have done wonderful things here on campus and in the community

Including:

What are your Power Pumps?

Dr. Ladrica Menson-FurrAshtyn Beatty

Maria RodriguezK’La Harrington

Kimmy DoMs. Linda Hall

Rachel AndersonAngie Norwood

University of Memphis stu-dent Laura Bock sings it, Evan Nicholson plays it, and this week the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music invites students to celebrate it — no jazz hands required.

Jazz Week at The U of M begins tonight and will feature perfor-mances from students, profes-sors and guest artists Rahsaan Barber and El Movimiento.

Jack Cooper, director of jazz studies, said the guest perform-ers are new artists whose music is “an eclectic mixture of Latin, jazz and Caribbean styles.

“They just came out with a new CD,” he said. “They’re younger, and (Barber’s) very exciting. I thought it would be a

good fit for us.”The week begins with a per-

formance by Cooper’s saxo-phone group, the Southwest Horns, tonight at 7:30 in Harris Concert Hall and continues with a student or faculty group’s con-cert each night through Saturday.

The concerts are free and open to the public, with the excep-tion of Saturday night’s perfor-mance by The U of M’s Southern Comfort Orchestra with Barber, which is free for students with a U of M ID. General admission tickets for the public cost $10.

Each concert will take place in the Harris Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m.

Cooper said jazz originated in America, and jazz festivals have been taking place in the country since the 1960s.

“It’s our indigenous music,

an eclectic mix of a lot of things, including Latin, African and Western European,” he said. “It’s the melting pot of music. It could have only happened here.”

Bock, a jazz studies major, will perform during the week in a jazz combo and jazz singer ensemble.

Bock said she became inter-ested in jazz after she transferred from Rhodes College, where she was an English major.

“I became a music student because it was the only thing I could see myself doing,” she said. “I love it, and people tell me that I’m good at it.”

But Bock said her music career doesn’t stop with jazz. She said jazz is a gateway to the genre she wants to perfect — Americano.

“It’s a mixture of the country, folk and bluegrass idioms,” she

said.Bock, who plays piano, banjo,

guitar and mandolin, said with a foundation in jazz theory and harmony, she could do any type of music.

“It’s totally different than any-thing else that’s out there — it’s the music that breaks all the rules,” she said.

Nicholson, jazz studies gradu-ate student, said he also studied the genre to become a better musician.

“Studying great musicians and artists, you take what you learned and apply it to your own instrument for your own musi-cal capability,” said Nicholson ,who plays the upright bass. “The complexity of jazz helps you grow and fully grasp an understanding of music.”

Nicholson said he’s not sure

when he became interested in jazz, but he said he will study it for the rest of his life.

“When (playing jazz) goes right, it’s magical. It’s great,” he said. “There’s nothing better.”

Cooper said one of the com-mon misconceptions people have about jazz music is that you can play anything and place it in the genre.

He said though improvisation is a part of jazz, there’s a method behind it.

“There are certain things and a certain direction it has to go,” he said. “When you improvise, you have to have melody and be able to say something through the instrument.”

Cooper said he hopes stu-dents come out to the different concerts during Jazz Week to get a better understanding of jazz.

Performing Arts

And all that Jazz Week...BY eriCa horTonNews Reporter

well.”“Tigers Around Town”

is a concept similar to the Germantown Charity Horse Show’s 60th Anniversary in 2008, when 21 horses were painted by local artists and placed throughout the Memphis suburb.

The only tiger already on display belongs to the Alumni Association, which had its tiger made early to serve as a sample statue. It is current-ly on display in the Alumni Center on Normal Street.

“We already have our Tiger,” Begonia said. “He is

blue with black stripes and a white belly.”

The corporation who is molding the statues, Fiberglass Animals, Shapes & Trademarks, painted the Alumni Association’s tiger.

The fiberglass tigers will all be 6 feet tall, 2 feet wide and 7 feet long. Local fans, alumni and businesses will sponsor the statues’ costs.

Every statue is pur-chased through the Alumni Association. Buyers can either pay $5,000 to sponsor a tiger statue that they can keep after the centennial celebration or $3,000 to sponsor the statue throughout the 2012 campaign. Those statues will then be up for auction.

“Each tiger will have a

plaque with the year, a fact about that year, the donors name or ‘in memory of’ and the artist’s name,” Begonia said.

Joe Biggers, assistant direc-tor of alumni affairs, said the Alumni Association could not reveal the artists’ names or locations of Tiger statues at this time but encouraged atten-dance at The Tigers Around Town Grand Unveiling Gala on campus Sept. 10.

The event will take place at noon, making it a sequen-tially clever date, 9-10-11 at 12 (noon), Begonia said.

After their unveiling, the statues will remain on campus through the holidays and then will be moved to their individ-ual locations in January 2012.

Tigerfrom page 1

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@DailyHelmsman @HelmsmanSports

The University of Memphis Tuesday, March 1, 2011 • 5

Behind the Swoosh:Sweatshops and Social Justice

Hear about Jim Keady’s experience of working in a Nike sweatshop in Indonesia for a month

while making a mere $1.25 a day.

TONIGHT @ 6:30 p.m.UC Ballroom

After seven months of fund-raising, The University of Memphis’ Up ‘til Dawn chap-ter unveiled a $152,000 check for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Friday night at the University Center.

Up ‘til Dawn, a student orga-nization that benefits St. Jude revealed this year’s big card-board check just before 3 a.m. Saturday at its annual celebra-tion. The organization raised $23,000 more for 2010-2011 than 2009-’10.

According to Kelly Pietkiewicz, senior education major and executive director for Up ‘til Dawn, the late hours of the finale event serve a sym-bolic purpose.

“We are just hoping that by staying up real late one night out of the year, we can decrease the amount of parents that have to stay up with their children wondering what’s going to happen with their health the next day,” Pietkiewicz said.

Since the organization was started 12 years ago at The U of M, it has spread to over 250 campuses nationwide. The U of M chapter has raised over $1.2 million during that time.

Jessica Shemwell, a senior biomedical engineering major

and team relations chair for Up ‘til Dawn, accredited the high number of funds raised to the energy of the nearly 100 stu-dent teams that participated.

“We really pushed for it the second half of the term,” Shemwell said. “The side events this semester just really blew my mind and that’s where a lot of our fundraising came from. And people were really being creative about it, so I think between the energy and adver-tising, it really helped a lot.”

Pietkiewicz said Up ‘til Dawn members raised money in many different ways. The most effective was the letter writing party, where students sent donation requests to friends and family. But the most impressive fundraising activity, she said, was “canning,” when Up ’til Dawn members hit the streets and ask for donations from drivers stopped at red lights.

“We actually had a week-end where we made over $6,000 from canning this year and that was just unbelievable,” she said.

Up ‘til Dawn also collab-orated with local restaurants and entertainment facilities to receive percentages of sales for designated days to raise funds.

The entertainment at the finale event consisted of a vari-ety of games, a man who broke

bricks with his head, a per-formance by The U of M pom squad, a live band, an inflatable joust and bungee run, crafts, massages, a caricature artist and even a chance to watch The U of M chess team in action.

The chess team had reserved a room to practice in the University Center prior to Up ‘til Dawn’s reservations, so the two organizations collaborated to make a chess tournament part of the finale event.

Jonathan Daniels, a junior economics major and the enter-tainment chair for Up ‘til Dawn, said the planning for all of the activities wasn’t easy.

“It was a lot of behind-the-scenes work and early prepara-tion,” Daniels said, “so when the time got here it wasn’t like we were in a scramble to make sure we had everything.”

Pietkiewicz said she was pleased with the turnout at the finale and the hard work by all those involved. She said she couldn’t find the words to express her appreciation for the organization’s fundraising efforts this year.

“It’s special not only for our campus to be able to say The U of M has raised this much, but also, the more important thing, it’s special because of how much we’re helping St. Jude.”

Casey Nelson, head freshman football coach at Arlington High School, breaks bricks at the Up ‘til Dawn finale, held Friday in the University Center Ballroom. This year’s event raised $152,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

by A

aron

Tur

ner

Philanthropy

Fighting the yawn with Up ‘til dawnBY aMBer CrawFordNews Reporter

www.dailyhelmsman.com6 • Tuesday, March 1, 2011

expressed in the 1869 docu-ment is now contrary to fed-eral law, she has seen that same sentiment in modern-day Memphis.

“It appears we’re back where we started 142 years ago,” she said. “People have moved outside the city for sev-eral reasons — I call it ‘elitism syndrome.’ It affects whites and blacks (who) don’t want their children to go to school with poor, black kids. Never in my life have I seen an edu-cation system so separate. Classism is the worst kind of discrimination (in my book).”

Otis Sanford, holder of the chair of excellence in The University of Memphis Department of Journalism, said he thinks class mainte-nance is more central to the debate than pure racism.

“I think (race) is an issue, but not the No. 1 issue,” he said. “I don’t want to say class (is No. 1), but I do think (some opponents of the merger) feel … a disdain for all things Memphis. That goes beyond race, that suburban-versus-urban mentality. Some does go back to race.”

Sanford’s primary concern in the potential merger, he said, is the limited time the public has had to process the concept.

“It was only mid-November (when the idea of surrending the charter arose), so the public was totally caught off guard,” he said. “They had to be thrust into it — just dumped into it. The school board probably could have seen this coming and could have started some conversation so the community could have gotten engaged with it.”

The motivating factor in the school board’s decision to

surrender, Sanford said, came from a push by the newly elected Republican majority in the Tennessee legislature to re-allow the creation of special school districts, which ceased in 1982. If passed, the law could allow Shelby County Schools to make its dis-trict’s borders permanent, rul-ing out the pos-sibility of unit-ing with the city in the future.

“(Some want-ed to) wall off Shelby County from Memphis so they could have what they have now, and the Democrats thwarted them at every turn in the legislature. (When Republicans gained) a clear majority, the hubris started to go,” Sanford said.

Gatewood said she has been fighting against the looming possibility of special district status since she first stepped onto the board seven years ago.

“It wasn’t until (SCS board chairman David) Pickler became chairman-elect that we saw a push to get that status,” she said.

Though details of how the administrative turnaround would work are still uncer-tain, Gatewood said that the most vital components of edu-cating students and running schools would not be harmed if Memphis citizens passed the referendum, currently in the early voting stage and set for a final vote March 8.

“A lot of people are saying, ‘Well, we have all these mon-umental questions’ … well, we’ll never be able to do this again,” she said, referring to the possibility of SCS closing its doors permanently to city schoolchildren.

Gatewood pointed out that businesses regularly merge, often without clients feeling significant effects from the changing of the guard. When

her bank was bought out, she said, her day-to-day opera-tions were untouched.

“It could be a seamless tran-sition,” she said. “All it is is changing the management. It’s a business.”

Gatewood suggested that regional superintendents or a chancellor system could help ease the weight of such a large system on John Aitken, Shelby County Schools super-intendent, whose contract was recently extended to 2015.

She said the notion that some personnel lower on the totem pole, such as custodi-ans, could be lost completely is “ludicrous” and that the school system’s budget is allocated in fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30, so students’ learning experience would not be harmed or their schools’ operation disrupted.

Both Gatewood and Sanford said there was no reason to believe that bringing MCS students, whose average test scores are lower than those of

their SCS counterparts, into the county system would “drag down” the better-performing pupils.

“A lot of great things are going on in MCS,” Gatewood said. “ U n i f i c a t i o n would make for a much richer sys-tem — it could be a very seam-less transition.”

Sanford said he thinks MCS tends to be painted in an u n n e c e s s a r i l y negative light.

“I think we can get this done,” he said. “I think unifi-cation can happen.”

But Sanford added that the process will likely not be easy, even if the referendum passes.

“It will be unbelievably painful … just because of per-sonalities, with the city versus the suburbs versus the state. There may be too many cooks in the kitchen, and I can’t see

how the soufflé will rise — not without some Pam.”

Though he wishes the situa-tion had played out differently, Sanford said he is likely to vote for the surrender and for unification.

“I said, ‘Why are we doing this when we don’t have a plan?’” he said. “But the more I thought about it … I don’t like how the state legislators have responded. I don’t like the way the suburbs have handled it. I don’t like the way it got done. And I reserve the right to change my mind, but I’m (prob-ably) going to vote for it.”

Gatewood encouraged Memphians to vote on the referendum and take a stand in ensuring state and fed-eral funding for Memphis public school students is uninterrupted.

“I’m hoping everyone will go vote. I think they are excit-ed to have a voice in what happens,” she said. “Citizens deserve the opportunity to vote in the referendum, regard-less of what I want.”

The Writing On The Wall Project

BRICK PAINTING SESSIONSCome Paint Bricks to Contribute to the Writing On The Wall Project

MASS BRICK PAINTING

March 21 - 23 • 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.Rose Theatre Lobby

Sign up in UC 210 or UC 211 for a time slot, starting March 1

(When your organization signs up for a time slot, SAC needs to know how many people will be painting cinder blockers so enough

supplies will be made ready.)

OPEN DOOR PAINTING

March 14 - 29 UC Operating Hours

UC 227A, inside the Involvement Zone

Just Stop By!(For individuals or small groups)

Scholarship OpportunityThe Donald K. Carson Leadership Scholarship

Applicants must demonstrate a strong capacity forleadership and be able to show how their leadership

helps create opportunities for the growth anddevelopment of other people.

Requirements:• Current, full-time U of M undergraduate student• Completion of at least 12 credit hours• Minimum cumulative 2.8 GPA• One or more years remaining before graduation

One or more scholarships totaling $5,500will be awarded for the 2011-2012 school year

Students may be nominated or apply themselvesFreshman students are especially encouraged to apply

Pick up applications in Office of Dean of Studentsin 359 University Center

Completed applications must be returned byFriday, March 18 by 4 p.m.

SchoolSfrom page 1

“I think (race) is an issue, but not the No. 1 issue. I don’t want

to say class is, but I do think (some opponents of the merg-er) feel a disdain for all things

Memphis. That goes beyond race, that suburban-versus-

urban mentality.”

— Otis SanfordMedia professional and holder

of the chair of excellence in journalism at The U of M

Tell us what you think about the unification of the city and county school districts! Will you be voting?@DailyHelmsman#tigerbabble

From the MCS charter:Sec. 1000. Board to provide separate schools for white and colored pupils.

Said board of education shall provide and maintain separate schools for the use and accom-modation of the white and colored youths of the city entitled to admission in the public schools of the City of Memphis, subject to all respects, to the same rules, regulations and treatment.

The University of Memphis Tuesday, March 1, 2011 • 7

Talent Extravaganza TryoutsMarch 1, 2 & 3

The University Center

Doors Open @ 2:30 p.m.Early Arrival is Suggested

Tryouts ONLY from 3 - 5 p.m. each day

March 1: Iris Room (338)March 2: Ballroom C (320C)

March 3: Memphis Room A (340A)

For more information, contact Heather Maclin hdmaclin@memphis.edu

4

minutes

to

show

your talent!

Last weekend, The University of Memphis softball team trav-eled to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Nike Invitational and defeated the hosting No. 16/17 Stanford in their second win over a ranked opponent this season.

Prior to the season, the Tigers had never beaten a ranked team. Now, they’re off to their best start in school history.

The Tigers took 3 of 4 in the invi-tational and defeated Colorado State 4-3 in comeback fashion in the final game of the tournament.

“It was a rough first six innings,” senior infielder Maddie McKinley said. “But we just kept with it, and (plugged) away until we were able to get people around and to score and we just did our job.”

Colorado State (3-11) took a 2-0 lead on two solo home runs by catcher Emily Pohl in the third and fifth innings. CSU freshman pitcher Alexa Cash (0-4) held the Tigers at bay through six innings until the Tigers rallied in the sev-enth, using four straight hits to ignite a two-run sequence that sent the game to extra innings.

The Tigers added two more runs in the top of the eighth to seal the victory.

“It was a really frustrating game at first,” head coach Windy Thees said. “We gave up a couple of solo homeruns in the begin-ning, and with this team, they like to wait to the last minute to respond to pressure when it’s on them. As a coach I don’t like that, and maybe we can get them to respond a little earlier in the game — I know our pitchers would like that also.”

Sophomore ace Carly Hummer (8-0) pitched the final two innings in relief and struck out the side in the eighth to pick up her eighth straight victory. Memphis improves to 12-3 on the season and finished the tourna-ment 3-1. The Tigers have won their last 10 of 11.

“We had a good first quarter of the season, but obviously I will think about the one that got away,” Thees said. “If you break the season down like that, our season has been pretty successful. But starting this weekend we will be back at 0-0, and we have to move on from there to see where we’re at for the next 15 games.”

Memphis will next play in the Bulldog Classic hosted by Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., on March 4-6. The Tigers will face the Bulldogs twice as well as No. 21/24 Texas A&M and Mississippi Valley State.

After his nearly record-breaking 16-strike-out performance Friday night, University of Memphis sophomore pitcher Dan Langfield was awarded Conference USA pitcher of the week, the league announced Monday.

Langfield struck out 16 batters in the Tigers’ 5-4 series opening victory over Kennesaw State. His 16 strikeouts were the second-most in C-USA and U of M history. Former Tiger pitchers Chad Harville (vs. Cincinnati, 1997) and Derek Hankins (vs. Murray State, 2004) struck out 17 batters and hold the single-game record at The U of M.

It is Langfield’s first pitcher of the week award, and he’s the 18th Tiger to receive it. Memphis has collected six C-USA Pitcher of the Week awards since the 2009 season.

The Tigers return to action on Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Oral Roberts in The University of Memphis Baseball Classic. The U of M also welcomes Eastern Kentucky and Southern Illinois to the Bluff City for the weekend tournament.

BaseballUM pitcher earns C-USA honorBY adaM doUGlaSSports Reporter

U of M pitcher Dan Langfield earned Conference USA pitcher of the week hon-ors for his 16 strikeouts in a 5-4 win against Kennesaw State in the series opener. He’s the first Tiger to receive the award since 2004.

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SoftballU of M softball off to best start in program’s historyBY adaM doUGlaSSports Reporter

Solutions

Maybe you should tryfinding a solution to the

gas crisis, instead ...

www.dailyhelmsman.com8 • Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Perhaps University of Memphis coach Josh Pastner shouldn’t have said it in the preseason.

Maybe it was unfair to com-pare last year ’s senior-laden Tigers, who set a program record for 3-point shooting percentage, to this year’s team, which can’t even consistently knock down an open three.

But he did. Before the sea-son started, Pastner predicted that the 2010-11 Tigers would be better shooters than last year’s team.

The statement, at the time, seemed logical.

He was bringing in a guard like Chris Crawford, who was regarded for his streaky shoot-ing in high school. He was returning a knock-down shoot-er in guard Drew Barham. Junior forward Wesley Witherspoon shot 43 percent from three last year.

“I thought we were going to be a better shooting team this year than we were last year,

because we shot the ball so well in the preseason,” Pastner said. “I mean, we just did. That is just the most perplex-ing thing. We have not shot the ball well. We’ve got good shooters, and we’ve been get-ting open shots.”

The Tigers (21-8, 9-5 Conference USA) aren’t just worse from 3-point range than last year’s team, though. At 32 percent, the Tigers are the worst 3-point shooting team in C-USA.

In their last two losses, the Tigers shot a combined 4-of-35 (11 percent) from 3-point range.

Freshman forward Tarik Black, who has arguably been The U of M’s most consistent player this season, could only watch as his teammates fin-ished with a 1-of-18 effort from 3-point range in a 74-47 loss to the University of Texas El-Paso last Saturday.

While Black wouldn’t admit that he deserved more touches, he said the decision-making by his teammates was dubious.

“It wasn’t so much frustrat-ing as just watching us go

down,” he said. “I don’t like losing regardless. I’m a team player. Me, if I get two touches a game and end up with two points and one rebound, I’m happy as long as we win and as long as we’re taking smart shots. (Against UTEP), we weren’t taking smart shots and we ended up losing by (27). That’s embarrassing to me.”

Freshman guards Will Barton, Joe Jackson and Crawford, who all average at least 22 minutes a game, are shooting less than 29 percent from three.

“Just by the law of aver-ages, we’re going to have a game where we make shots,” Pastner said. “We’ve just got to step up. It’s one of those things where it’s contagious. We need a guy to make one or two and it’ll just spread. We just need someone to step up and hit a three.”

The U of M’s recent struggles can’t be completely attributed to 3-point shooting struggles.

The selfish tendency of the Tigers, which plagued them earlier in the season, has resur-faced. In their last three losses, the Tigers have compiled a combined 56 turnovers com-

pared to just 30 assists, which equates to almost a 2-to-1 turn-over/assist ratio.

Barton, who has been criti-cized for his showmanship, said his flashiness isn’t about being selfish — it’s just part of his game.

“I really don’t think about it when I do stuff like that because it’s just natural to me. I’m not really thinking when I

do it,” he said. “Everyone knows I love passing the ball, but I’m a scorer, too, so if I’ve got a shot I’m going to take it. That comes with the ter-ritory. When you’re making them, you’re great. If you miss a couple, you’re going to hear a couple negative things.”

Pastner said that, while it’s no secret that he wants to give Black the ball inside on every possession, the Tigers have to continue attempting 3-pointers in order to open things up for the big man.

“That doesn’t mean we’re going to live and die by the three,” Pastner said. “I keep telling our guys, ‘I got con-fidence in you and if you’re open and it’s within good ball movement, fire that sucker. Just shoot it. Make it.’ They’ve just got to believe. They’ve got to stay positive and visualize the shot going in.”

The Tigers don’t have much time to turn their shooting woes around. They’re cur-rently in a three-way tie with UTEP and Southern Miss for second place in C-USA with two games left in the regular season and one game behind first-place UAB.

In ESPN’s Bracketology, the Tigers are the first team in the “First Four Out” category, meaning that, according to college basketball analyst Joe Lunardi, they’d be the first team to miss the NCAA tour-nament field.

But winning the C-USA reg-ular season title, which would bolster the Tigers’ tournament resume, isn’t as clear-cut as it was just last week when the Tigers controlled their own destiny.

When they start playing for one another and having fun, Barton said, their shots will start to fall and their season will be salvaged.

“We can pull together,” he said. “I still have faith in the team. We have a lot of talent, but talent doesn’t always win. It’s about the tougher teams, teams that are going to do the dirty work and just really play for each other. You’ve got to want it for each other. When we really grasp that, that’s when we’re going to come together and we’re going to get really good.”

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mature and responsible peoplefor available positions workingwith children ages 12 monthsthrough 5 years. Applicants

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U of M freshman guard Chris Crawford is one of three Tigers who average at least 22 min-utes a game while shoot-ing under 29 percent from three-point range. In their last two losses, the Tigers have shot a com-bined 4-of-35 from three. They’ve also committed 39 turnovers.

by David C. Minkin

Basketball

Tigers waiting for their shotBY John MarTinSports Editor