Have you heard the story about the time UT students amassed on the Strip, “stripped” off their clothes and ran down a street probably just as ugly/convenient as it is now?
Or the one about the guy who directed Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart — and got UT’s theater named after him?
What about the staff-carrying genie who promises to read your oracle cards? Heard of him?
Knoxville and the university have got some crazy stuff going on. When our editorial staff was assembling this issue, we scoured Daily Beacon archives, Knoxville blogs and historical records. We asked our friends and family and actually used social media successfully to find ideas. What we uncovered was surprising and interesting and so much better than we expected.
Throughout this issue, you’ll find little tidbits and quirks about Knoxville you never knew existed. They are the things that make Knoxville special, the things that make our love/hate relationship with the city worth the struggle at the end of the day.
The long walks to class uphill both ways dodging drunk football fans and construction and terrible drivers in an ice storm when the humidity is making it feel like 100 degrees — can occasionally feel a little endearing.
Like a little brother we frequently want to give a noogie to.
On these pages, you’ll see a different kind of Knoxville start to form, one with magical, exciting characters and hidden places you’ve yet to discover. Growing up in Knoxville, I forget to appreciate how great it is here, how much I like the coffee shops, the music, the bars, the people.
But when I graduate in May, I know I’ll miss my scruffy little city — a place always trying to do better for itself and its people, even if it makes mistakes along the way. This issue is a handy reminder of all that is cool and mysterious and, dare I say, unconventional.
Make the most of this city while you’re here. Make the most of the small moments walking by that statue that shall not be named. Appreciate all the walking even though it’s most likely not the only exercise you needed to get toned calves or lose the freshman 15, no matter what the tour guides told you.
These years will be over before you know it, and you’ll never get the chance to sleep late and arrive 45 minutes late to your math final, sweating and crying actual tears when the professor graciously lets you take it in anyway (I haven’t done that).
Welcome to our Knoxville: weird, wacky and most of all, wonderful.
Claire Dodson is a senior in English and the editor-in-chief of The Daily Beacon. She can be reached at [email protected].
