Vol. 78 No. 104

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

Wednesday, April 6, 2011Daily

HelmsmanThe Thousands

living in make-shift shelters; food and water at a premium

see page 5

Japanese Still Reeling from Quake

Haslam budget would bolster state wages

University of Memphis employees could receive their first raise in four years through Governor Bill Haslam’s 2012 budget, which proposes giving state employees a 1.6 percent pay increase.

In October 2010, members of The U of M’s United Campus Workers, Progressive Student Alliance and Workers Interfaith Network held a public forum in the University Center to raise awareness about University employee pay and changes to insurance policies.

The groups are working to help U of M employees not only get a raise but also, for some, have their pay increased to liv-ing wage — $11.62 in Memphis.

Tom Smith, coordinator of The U of M’s United Campus Workers, said he thinks it’s great news that there is finally a pay raise proposal in Haslam’s budget but added that a 1.6 percent raise for someone making less than $20,000 a year is very little money.

In Haslam’s State of the State Address, presented in early March, the governor said that due to the tough economy, the state government has “held the line on increased wages” in recent years.

“While (a 1.6 percent increase) is less than I would like to do — and doesn’t begin to make up for three years without a raise — it is a first step,” Haslam said.

Dave Smith, Haslam’s press secretary, said the governor believes there are a lot of dedicated workers for the state who really believe in what they’re doing and deserve a raise.

“During the campaign, it was what he really wanted to do,” he said. “If you’re going to attract the best workers, then you need to compensate them accordingly.”

Tom Smith, of UCW, said for U of M employees and even faculty members, a 1.6 percent raise wouldn’t cover the increased costs of University health insur-ance, but an equal-dollar pay raise would mean all workers received the same raise for the year, no matter their position.

“We’ve encouraged (the legislature)

to do an equal-dollar raise as a first step,” he said. “We’ve introduced a bill with (State) Senator Beverly Marrero and (State) Representative Mike Turner to give a $2,000 pay raise to all higher education employees.”

Ralph Faudree, U of M provost, said he thinks the potential pay raise Haslam pro-posed would be “positive for everyone.”

“Clearly, for some individuals, the lack of salary increases has been difficult for them,” he said. “We just have to wait at this stage and see the nature of the salary increases. We don’t know for sure if it’s going to be confirmed by the legislature.”

Faudree said in previous years, when the time has come for pay increases, The University has handed out a variety of raises to its employees, including across-the-board and merit raises for more than 2,500 workers.

“If there (have not) been salary increas-es for some time, we usually do across-the-board raises so everyone receives something, but at this stage, we just don’t know,” he said. “Until we receive

guidelines from the legislature, The University won’t be able to outline any-

Joe Jackson will carry on Finch legacy

BY ERICA HORTONNews Reporter

see Raise, page 7

Haslam

Joe Jackson’s grandfather, Peter, told him the Orange Mound legend of Larry Finch when he was a child.

Peter, who played against Finch at the now-defunct Caperville High, recounted how savvy Finch was during his years at The University of Memphis. He could never forget Finch’s unique jump shot — the way he’d gracefully leap toward the basket rath-er than squaring up. It was tough to block.

J a c k s o n was young, though, and his attention was fixated mostly on his own potential. He didn’t care about some former col-lege player’s u n o r t h o d o x jumper.

Little did Jackson know how important Finch, who died last week-end at age 60 after years of health issues, was to his livelihood as a U of M basketball player.

“When I was smaller and younger, I didn’t really even think about it like that because I was just trying to worry about myself,” said the freshman guard, who, like Finch, hails from Orange Mound. “Now, it’s really bigger than what it seems. We’re playing in his facility. We’re actually repre-senting him.”

As the story goes, Finch was the first African-American player from Memphis to stay home to play at The U of M. In doing

so, he blurred the line between black and white during a time in which racial tension in Memphis was at its highest.

When Finch chose to play for the Tigers in 1969, the city was still reeling from the sanitation workers’ strike and subsequent assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

“He wanted to go to The University of Memphis because it was Memphis,” said former U of M guard John Wilfong, who knew Finch well. “He basically went against his community, against his city. He had charisma.”

Today, the Tigers practice in the Larry O. Finch Center on campus. Inside, the walls are adorned with several pic-tures of Finch in a Memphis State uniform. But that’s about as physi-cally close as Jackson gets to Finch. He never actually

met the late legendary player and coach.“That’s one thing I wish I would’ve

done,” Jackson said. “I wish I could’ve got a chance to meet him, you know, because that’s really the Memphis legend. I mean, we got a lot of big names, but he’s the one because if Penny Hardaway was the one, he’d have the gym (named after him). I love Penny Hardaway, but Larry Finch he cre-ated the monster.”

Jackson, like Finch, grew up in the rough streets of Orange Mound, an urban com-munity in Memphis that’s suffered from violence and other crime in recent years.

“Back in the day, Orange Mound was more family-oriented. Now it’s kind of crazy,” Jackson said.

Jackson attended Sheffield Middle School and went on to graduate from White Station High School, albeit not before passing Finch in most categories in the Tennessee high school basketball record books.

With his commitment to The U of M in 2009, Jackson became the first Orange Mound native since Finch to stay home and it might stay that way for a while.

BY JOHN MARTINSports Editor

Professor to present theories onfinancial literacy

Economics professor Julia Heath will lead a discussion on “Financial Literacy for the 21st Century” today in room 225 of the Ned R. McWherter Library.

Heath will discuss the evo-lution of the term “financial literacy” and will cover her ideas on how the public’s approach to financial literacy needs to change.

Heath co-founded “Smart Tennessee,” a statewide finan-cial literacy educational pro-gram for students in elemen-tary through high school and also currently serves as the director of the Center for Economics at The U of M.

Her speech is part of Faculty Scholarship Week. All week long, University Libraries and the Friends of University Libraries will host an exhibit in McWherter Library featur-ing different works — such as books, CDs and artwork — created by several U of M professors.

BY ROBERT MOORENews Reporter

by D

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Freshman guard Joe Jackson hails from Orange Mound, the same neighborhood as Memphis legend Larry Finch.

see Jackson, page 8

“We walked the same streets, played on the same

courts. When Larry Finch was young, he had to think like me. He wanted to be the best. I take pride in

playing with his spirit inside me.”

— Joe JacksonFreshman guard