Rising — The Streak
If the last quarter-century has proven anything, the Kentucky-Tennessee football rivalry hasn't been much of, well, a rivalry. Saturday's installment of the SEC matchup cemented that fact, pushing the Vols' ridiculous winning streak over the Wildcats to 26 straight years, right into the next quarter-century.
Thanks to two of the last three matchups in the series going to overtime, Big Blue faithful believed this was the year for the Wildcats to best the Vols and stop the nation's longest winning streak over one opponent in Division-I football. And up until a Nick Reviez fumble recovery that stifled a potential 14-0 Kentucky lead in the first quarter, the Wildcats showed signs of life.
But like so many times in the series, Tennessee was still Tennessee and Kentucky was still Kentucky in the end.
While Kentucky's main incentive for beating Tennessee has been ending The Streak for 25 years, Derek Dooley's Vols had their own goal for Saturday's matchup: bowl eligibility. Yes, the victory over Kentucky gave Tennessee its sixth win of the season, so despite a depleted roster, a top-heavy depth chart and the breaking-in of a new coach for the second straight season, the boys in orange are goin' bowling.
Kudos to Dooley for a job well done in his first season in Knoxville. Rest assured, a 6-6 record for the regular season for this squad should have Vol fans relieved.
Falling — Black Friday
After 4 a.m. shopping sprees, inevitable bruises and aimlessly running through department store isles, it's over. Thank goodness.
Rising — The need for a little holiday kindness
Chalk it up to things that make you look at the sky and shout "KHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!"
The holiday season is upon us, which should mean an outpouring of kindness and cheer, right?
To a certain select few who have been visiting our campus lately, it would appear that we have some Ebenezer Scrooges in our midst.
The GAP Project (the Genocide Awareness Project) recently posted enormous pictures of dead fetuses, Holocaust victims and breasts undergoing brutal augmentation, among other graphic pictorials, in an effort to raise awareness on the perceived severity of abortion in the United States.
Whether or not you agree with the political stance of the GAP Project, everyone can certainly agree on one central aspect of this matter: The pictures are largely ineffective when placed in the context of goals to be achieved.
The pictures, which are very graphic in their nature, don't draw as much attention to the nature of abortion as much as they draw attention to 1) the shock value of gigantic dead baby pictures on Pedestrian Mall and 2) the comparisons between pictures of aborted fetuses and pictures of Holocaust victims.
The pictures largely fail to elicit the response that GAP Project members are hoping to achieve. For the most part, the pictures spark outrage, not about abortion, but towards the insensitivity of the protesters. Those opposed to the protesters feel that they are alienating those who may have had abortions and are simply trying to elicit an emotional response from those opposed to the signs in hopes of receiving some sort of satisfaction.
Also, the members of the GAP Project do believe abortion is a 21st-century holocaust, which you may make your own judgments about, but it seems a bit disrespectful to the memory of victims of the Holocaust to use pictures of someone's suffering to make a political statement.
Whether or not you agree with the GAP Project's political message, one thing is certain: This much controversy being stirred up on campus, especially this close to finals and the holiday season, seems in poor taste for the season. Try a little tenderness, GAP Project. Instead of putting up scary pictures of dead fetuses, try offering a helping hand to someone who could really use a friend. It's the holidays, after all.