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RBG: A Historic Figure and Champion of Women’s Rights
By: Jess Barfield Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) was a larger-than-life figure, like other UTK students, I looked up to and admired her, and I was inspired by her accomplishments and toughness. In fact, as an 11-year old, I once wrote her a short letter since I was learning about Supreme Court Justices in school; in…
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Gauging Reaction to UTK’s Spring Alteration
On Sept. 17, The University of Tennessee – Knoxville announced a few changes to the 2021 spring semester. The changes are spurred by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty around it. According to a press release by the university, the spring semester will now begin Jan. 20, one week later than initially planned. The…
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Ruff Times May Call for More Pets
By: Jess Barfield Does it even need to be said that students love pets, and especially dogs (I have a pup and don’t get me started!) (see the book by Mark Cushing, “Pet Nation: The Love Affair That Changed America”). Even with rules regulating where dogs can go on campus, we still see them at…
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A Step Towards Justice For Breonna Taylor?
While there have been a multitude of events in which minority Americans have found themselves on the wrong end with police that spurred the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, a few have especially had an impact. Most will note the murder in February of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia and in May of George Floyd…
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Professional Sports, Wearable Health Devices, and COVID-19
By: Jess Barfield Can UTK students stay healthy in the age of COVID-19 based on practices in professional sports? The answer may be “yes” and if so, UTK students should take note. In a time when many people have become less active due to social distancing and staying indoors, some people have become concerned that…
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Quarantine, Tigers, and Planes, Oh My!
It is not every day that Knoxville, Tennessee makes national news, so when Knoxville makes the news for three different stories, there must be something going on. Within the past 24 hours, CNN ran a story on how more than 2,100 members of the University of Tennessee family are in quarantine, an airplane made an…
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All-Inclusive NCAA Basketball Tournament?
Last month, many collegiate governing bodies, announced they would postpone fall sports. The NCAA announced all Division I fall sports championships would be pushed to the spring, and conferences such as the Big Ten, Pac-12, and Ivy League also followed suit. Some conferences, such as the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 have pushed on with…
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Positive Conversation Enriches the LCS Championship Weekend
This past Sunday, the 6th of September was the final round of the League of Legends LCS Summer Split Playoffs in which one of the most popular eSports teams of all time, Team SoloMid, won the championship. This year’s Summer final series saw an increase of over 60k peak viewers to last year, even with…
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The Drones are Coming… with Food?: Eating in the Age of the Coronavirus
By: Jess Barfield Given the impact of the coronavirus and the need for social distancing, drone delivery of food is an idea that makes a lot of sense. However, to the disappointment of many UTK students, you can’t yet get fresh pizza airlifted to your dorm or to your apartment. Still, the success of…
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NFL QB Dismissive of COVID-19
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins drew the ire of many fans, media members, and other pundits on Wednesday with his remarks about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on a podcast. In an interview with NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt for his “10 Questions” podcast, Cousins touched on the band, Creed, career moves from Washington to the Vikings,…