February 2010 - Cookeville High School

Charger
The
1 Cavalier Drive
Cookeville, Tennessee 38501
Issue 5
Academic Team Scores $5000 Victory!
Xander Palentyn
Although you may not know
it, the CHS Academic Team
has made a strong appearance
this year, winning both of the
tournaments they have gone to.
Their most recent victory at the
Nashville Quizbuster has given
them $5,000 in prize money
and allowed them to get into the
Academic Team finals, potentially
winning a $10,000 prize if they are
victorious.
Academic Team tournaments
force the contestants to match
their wits against one another in
relation to various subjects. Some
of the questions are random trivia;
others are intense mathematical or
scientific questions.
Daniel Badoe, a member of
the “A” Team, was kind enough
to give me an insight into the
workings of the CHS Academic
Team. “Although several of our
members probably don’t attend
practice on a regular basis,” Daniel
explains, “we are still doing very
well.” A probable factor of this
success is the fact that many of the
Academic Team’s current members
have been in various quiz bowl
teams or on the Academic Team
itself for many years. For instance,
Daniel, who is now a Junior here at
CHS, has been involved in teams
such as this since his days at Avery
Trace. The Academic is coached by
Mr. Robert Miller.
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Literary Journal to Showcase Student Writing:
Poems, Essays, Short Stories and More
Dylan Loftis
As many may or may not know,
the Charger Staff puts out a Literary
Journal every year. Last year, the
Literary Journal was titled “To Kill
A Hummingbird: We’re Not Mocking Anybody”. Several students
submitted all kinds of drawings and
poems and short stories. These literary works of art were then taken
and typed up, and manually bound
together using a rather primitive
machine. This article’s main purpose is to prompt the student body
to SUBMIT SUBMIT SUBMIT!
We need more stories, poems and
artwork! Typically there are only a
few students who submit works to
be published and it would be great
if there were more submissions this
year. Why? Simply because we have
less submissions than Kimbo Slice.
(But we’re like walking glaciers,
we’re so decked out with ice.) If you
would like to submit something to
the Literary Journal, then make sure
you drop by Mrs. Martin’s and place
your submission in the folder titled
“LIT. JOURNAL” right outside
her classroom. If you would rather
send your submission via electronic
means, email your poem, short stories, or artwork to [email protected]. Thank you, and from all
of us in the Charger Room, have a
blessed day.
2
“You realize that our mistrust of the future makes
it hard to give up the past.”
Art Classes Join Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail
Mary Craighead
Many people have seen
quilts decorating the barns across
the Cookeville area.
Owners of these farms allow these
quilts to be put up on their barns
for the public to enjoy. Upper
Cumberland Quilt Trail (UCQT) is
the mastermind behind these beautiful works of art.
The UCQT aims to preserve the
historical craft of traditional quilting. Cookeville High has been
given the gracious task of creating
individual square quilts that will be
hung on barns in the Putnam area.
Mr. Ablakwa is in charge of the
paintings, which will be painted by
some on his students.
In charge of the construction is
Mr. Mansell. His class with construct 8’x8’ and 4’x4’ frames that
will hold the quilt paintings in
place.
For more information about the
UCQT visit their website at www.
uppercumberlandquilttrail.com
At right members of Mr.
Ablakwa’s first period stand beside one of the quilt patters they
are designing.
Hey ladies,
As most of you already
know Prom is just around the
corner, May 1st to be exact! I am
sure all of you ladies are hurrying
and scurrying to find all the
components of the perfect prom!
I wouldn’t stress too much; it will
be fun no matter what! I will be
honest though, I always thought
prom would be a little stressful for
the senior girl. I mean there is the
dress, the hair, the makeup, and
then the ever so unforgettable date!
Boys be sweet please! But I have
something to tell you ladies, and I
hope this will make things a little
easier...
Ready Set Grow is going
green and wants to recycle all of
your old formal dresses! Project
Prom Dress is a campaign for all
girls across the Upper Cumberland
(tell your friends!) in need of
an affordable dress. Here’s the
deal, bring a ‘gently used’ formal
dress to Ready Set Grow (195 S.
Jefferson) and
you will receive
a $100 gift card
towards purchase
of a new dress!
On February
21st , March
21st, and April
18th from 1 to 4
pm at our very
own school, all
dresses will be
resold for under
$149. If that does
not satisfy you,
check out Ready
Set Grow. They
have over 3,000
dresses ranging
in sizes 0 to
32, every color
beyond the color
wheel, and styles never imagined.
They also have dresses made by
well- known designers including
Jovanni, Party Time, Fire and
Ice, and Morgeez for all you high
Project Prom Dresses: Go Green-Recycle Your Dress!
fashion lovers. Ready Set Grow is
offering extended hours to serve
you better. Monday thru Friday
9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. , Saturday
9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ladies remember this goes
down in the highschool scrapbook
forever. So please go, have fun,
look pretty, create memories, and
be safe!
Love, Kasey Sisko
3
“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is
to create something that will.”
Eloquent Declarations of Undying Devotion
Emma Hollmann
February 14, more
commonly referred to as
Valentine’s Day, is fast
approaching. For some, the
day evokes hopes of eloquent
declarations of undying devotion
accompanied by red roses and
delectable chocolate. For others,
they cannot wait for the day to
pass because it seems as though
the universe has decided to make
fun of them for being single by
devoting an entire day that points
out that they are alone. Do you
really think that it is a coincidence
that the initials of Singles
Awareness Day, also on February
14, are S.A.D.? The rest of the
population is either indifferent or
believes that the holiday is simply
a goldmine for the Hallmark
Corporation. Unless you’re
indifferent, in which case you
might as well stop reading now,
you’ve probably at some point
wondered where this seemingly
random holiday originated.
Valentine’s Day was
originally the Roman fertility
celebration festival known as
Lupercalia celebrated on February
15. The date was changed to
February 14 around 496 when
Pope Gelasius I remade the pagan
festival into Christian feast day
St. Valentine’s Day in honor of an
undetermined saint.
The undetermined saint
could in fact be three different St.
Valentine’s, all of whom ironically
met their end on February 14. The
St. Valentine that is most widely
believed to be the intended honoree
fell out of favor with the Roman
emperor Claudius II around 270.
It is it this point where the factual
data ends, and conjecture begins.
Claudius II supposedly forbade the
marriage of young men because
single men made better soldiers.
However, Valentine continued to
marry couples in secret. After
being captured by the Romans,
Valentine was executed. His life
Top 10 Fads of 2009
1. Hipster glasses without prescription
lenses
2. V-Necks
3. Dressing Animals in Costumes
4. Barack Obama
5. Cupcake and only cupcake bakeries
6. Energy Drinks and Energy shots
7. Kavu bags and North Face Bags
8. Snuggies
9. Women’s Boots
10. Vampires and werewolves
was not focused on romantic love.
Rather, he was executed because
of his love for his religion and his
unwillingness to renounce his faith.
Valentine’s Day did not
definitively become linked with
love until the fourteenth century.
Henry Chaucer composed a poem
in 1381 to honor the engagement
between England’s Richard II and
Anne of Bohemia. Within this
poem the holiday and love are
linked together: “For this was on
St. Valentine’s Day, When every
fowl cometh there to choose his
mate.” Yes, the man responsible
for penning The Canterbury Tales
which haunts so many English
students is also responsible for
turning a seemingly random
day into a day decorated with
ridiculous amounts of red, pink, of
white, and accented by gifts.
Exchanging cards on
Valentine’s Day originated in
England in the eighteenth century.
The cards were hand-made, most
commonly of lace, ribbons, and the
Writing Editors
now-customary hearts and Cupids.
The tradition eventually spread
across the pond to the colonies.
The trend did not catch on until the
1850s when Esther A. Howland of
Worcester, Massachusetts, began
mass producing them. What was
once a relatively small operation
has now blossomed into the
massive greeting card market.
According to the Greeting Card
Association, twenty-five percent
of all cards sent each year are
Valentine’s Day cards.
The day of love has
interesting albeit unromantic
origins. There is one sliver of
irony: Henry Chaucer, the man
who haunts our English classes,
now haunts our social life. That
is pervasive learning, my friends.
The calendar does not take your
personal feelings into account.
February 14 will come and go as it
has for as long as the calendar has
been in existence so sit back and
enjoy the day.
Charger Staff
Advisor
Layout Editors
Photographers
Cartoonist
Geoff Pippin Mrs. Martin
Jordan Dronebarger
Writers:
Heather Calfee
Morgan Franklin
Megan England
Mary Craighead
Chuck Fleming
Catie Brown
Sallie Forrester
Kristen Lindsey
Ryan Gibbojs
Mary Katherine Gleason
Technology
Andre Greppin
Matt Matteson
Emma Hollman
Caitlin Jared
Kayla Ketner
Dylan Loftis
Dave McMinn
Xander Palentyn
Kasey Sisko
Aubrey Smith
Michael Wallace
Beccah Lenhart
Holly Arms
Jordan Dronebarger
Heather Calfee
Elisa Zuniga
Advertising
Sydney Moore
Lani Herron
Jodi Kelsey
T rigg Summs
Aaron Bacon
4
“Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort
of everyone I’ve ever known.”
Black History Month Celebrates Parks, King and Others
Trigg Summs
Black history month
is a time to commemorate and
celebrate the contributions that
African Americans have made for
our country.
The origin of this month-long
holiday started with its creator,
Carter G. Woodson, an American
historian. Carter was the son of a
former slave and worked hard to be
considered a pioneer in the study
of African American history. He
decided that the celebration would
take place during the second week
of February (but was later changed
to expand the whole month of
February) to coincide with the
birthdays of two of many men that
greatly influenced black history:
Frederick Douglass and Abraham
Lincoln.
Before Black History Month
came to be, Carter was hard at
work on other projects like the
Association for the Study of
Afro-American Life and History
founded in 1915, and a year later
founded the widely respected
Journal of Negro History.
Many famous African
Americans have fought for the
respect they deserve from Harriet
Tubman to Rosa Parks and ML
King to Malcolm X; many are not
recognized and given the credit
they deserve. The fight has lasted
since colonial
time’s and has
been succeeding in
its cause little by
little.
These days that
cause has made
a giant leap and
bound marked by
The Million Man
March in 1995,
and Barack Obama
becoming the first
African American
President in 2008.
To this day the
struggle to succeed
with their cause
still goes on.
the Young Democrats and
Republicans was organized by
Young Republicans sponsor, Mr.
Keith Brown, and was recognized
as an outstanding success. The
viewership turn out for last year’s
debate was impressive, and both
organizations hope to draw an even
larger audience in March.
The March debate is being
organized around not only divisive
hot button topics, but also issues
that are relevant to Tennessee
and our community in particular.
Both Republican and Democratic
organizations agree that each
party’s political identity is unique
and comes from an ideological
standpoint, which will be focused
on heavily during the debate.
The Young Democrats
and Republicans aim to promote
political awareness and encourage
students to get involved in the
community through intellectual
dialogue. Please, plan to attend
the March debate between the
Young Democrats and Young
Republicans. Support your school
CHS Great Debate Coming in March
Andre Greppin
Tentatively scheduled for early
March, the Young Democrats and
Young Republicans organizations
at Cookeville High School will
participate in a policy debate.
The debate is being scheduled
after school on a Friday in March,
and will focus on the topics of
education and health care, as well
as economic and foreign issues.
The purpose of the debate
is to focus on the ideological
differences that make each party
unique and explore proactive
solutions to national and local
problems. Both Young Democrats
and Young Republicans have
focused on the objective of
community involvement, and agree
that the policy debate is a unique
way to promote political interest
and intellectual discourse.
Last year’s debate between
and your community by getting
involved. Young
Democrats
Young
Republicans
5
“The things you own end up owning you.”
Prom Just ‘Round the Corner for Class of 2010
Dylan Loftis
Prom time is coming, and soon.
With the home stretch for seniors
in the second semester, the buzz of
prom time starts zipping, zapping,
and sometimes clapping through
the halls here at CHS. It has been
rumored that this year’s theme for
the evening will be “Black and
White”.
The theme in and of itself is very
exciting, seeing as prom is typically something more “classic” or
“historical”. Prom is a very exciting time for Seniors, and I implore
those that have considered not
attending, into reconsidering and
being a part of the evenings activities. From what I hear, prom night
is a blast. Teachers are dancing
with teachers, students are danc-
ing with their dates, and every now
and then, a teacher and a student
might slip in a boogie or a two-step
in as well.
(Many
students
have
already
worked on
polishing
up on their
dancing
skills by
taking
a dance
class
during lunch which was taught by
Grant Billings.)
With all the hub-bub and hype,
one is bound to have heard a word
or two (maybe three) about prom
by now. I have been witness to
girls already in search for the
perfect prom dress. (Some Charger Staff
members
may or
may not
be guilty
of this.) I
have seen
guys talk
to one
another
about
who they
are thinking about asking to the prom,
and I have even heard of a few
instances in which prom dates are
already determined. Exciting, no?
As they have in years past, the art
classes will help with decorations
for prom, and as always, it WILL
look great thanks to all the Fine
Arts teachers. The prom date for
this year of May 1st is quickly approaching. (Four months, give or
take a little, will be all that remains
till Prom by the time of the publication of this article.) Seeing as
I have yet to ask anyone to Prom
2010 (that is pronounced TwentyTen), right now seems like a fairly
opportune time.
So, without further delay, I would
like to ask Mary Elizabeth Craighead to join me in the evening’s
festivities when May 1st rolls
around. I believe “tradition” goes
something like this, “Mary, will
you go to prom with me?”
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Kayla Ketner
It is that wonderful time of year when one sacred word will make our
eyes glow with anticipation and joy. That word is snow. The third nine
weeks is when our hearts race at the mention of snow in the forecast. We
hope to make it through the nine weeks without going to school for a
complete week. What can we do to increase our chances of the beautiful
white stuff floating down from the heavens? Snow rituals, of course. I
have delved into the knowledge of childhood and have come up with
some rituals to ensure the ground is covered in white.
#1- Sleep with your pajamas inside out and backwards.
#2- Flush ice cubes down the toilet.
#3- Run around the kitchen table five times (no more, no less),
but make sure your knees do not knock against the edge of the table.
#4- Leave a spoon under your pillow when you go to sleep. This
superstition dates back to the days of the Pilgrims, so it must work.
#5- Sprinkle shaved ice on the trees and bushes in your yard.
#6- Repeat a snow chant.
#7- Snow dance.
In Michigan, there is the “Heikki Lunta.” It is a Finnish-American
song and dance named for the Hank Snow, who is apparently a snow god.
From my research, it seems that the “Heikki Lunta” is a sure-fire way to
make it snow. You can search the internet for the lyrics and even listen to
how it is supposed to be sung. Here is the chorus for your enjoyment:
“Dance, dance, dance Heikki Lunta dance.
Make it snow, snow, snow Heikki Lunta snow.
Dance, dance, dance Heikki Lunta dance.”
If all else fails: pray. Let it snow!
6
“Until you find something to fight for, you settle for
something to fight against.”
Two Divergent Opinions of Superbowl
Chuck Fleming
We’ve all hear of it, some
of us watch, and some even enjoy
watching it. Yes, that’s right; I’m
speaking about the super bowl, the
biggest game of the year for Americans (sometimes even the century.) It all started back in the day
when the NFL (National Football
League) and the AFL (American
Football League) merged together
to create a super league, of sorts.
This league decided to host a game
every year to decide who the world
champion of football was.
It was originally going to be
called “The Big One”, however,
luckily, it was shot down and
replaced with the name we know,
and love, today. The name was
inspired by a children’s toy at the
time, known only as the “super
ball”, and was only meant to be
a placeholder name. However, it
somehow endured and has become
recognized country round, and
even in some foreign nations.
Here are a couple of fun facts
about the Super Bowl that you
might find interesting. The game
lasts 60 minutes and the commercials 30. The guacamole consumption on Super Bowl Sunday is
around 8 million pounds. 14,500
tons of chips are eaten. A 20%
increase in antacid sales the week
before. During the 2001 games 69
commercials were aired. They each
cost $2 MILLION per 30 seconds.
97.5 million people watched Super
Bowl 42. New Orleans and Miami
have hosted the Super Bowl the
most at 9 times. Pittsburgh has won
the most Super Bowls at 6 times.
The longest Super Bowl winning
streak has only been two in a row.
Buffalo lost at the Super Bowl 4
times in a row. Pretty cool eh? It’s
obvious that over the years the
Super Bowl has become a national
phenomenon. It’s funny how out
of the 309 or so million people
97.5 million people agree what to
watch at the same time. It’s really
amazing to think that a third of our
country is watching the same thing,
and of their own free will none the
less.
Even people who could care less
about watching a football game on
the tube, such as myself, find themselves shoving all sorts of salty and
spicy foods into their mouths at an
alarming rate year after year as we
watch semi-attentively.
The Super Bowl has become far
more than a football game. It has
become far more than a yearly
event. It has become a national
pastime which is celebrated by
more people than you could ever
hope to imagine. It is celebrated by
people who love the sport and even
those who don’t. It is watched with
a religious fervor unlike anything
we have ever seen. This is why
Super Bowl is indeed, Super.
Xander Palentyn
on end secretly praying for a “Happy Bunny No One Gets Injured So
We, the citizens of the
This Can Get Published” to ocUnited States, generally consider
cur, preferably one with a Happy
ourselves one of the more socially
Bunny outcome. We try to justify
and technologically advanced soour ancient Love of Happy Buncieties in the world. However, one
nies by supplying the contestants
special time of year works quite
with rules and “safety regulations,”
diligently to show how far we have but the innate nature of violent
actually fallen despite our constant sport and its ability to invoke an
exertions that we are ever climbinsatiable hunger within the gening toward social perfection: The
eral population for “Happy Bunny
Superbowl.
No One Gets Injured So This Can
A lovely comparison can be Get Published” is frightening in
drawn between the Romans and the its power. We as a nation devote
United States today. As the Roman millions of dollars a year to attendEmpire collapsed, the state started
ing these games, some to “support
to sponsor increasingly gruesome
their team,” others for something
games within the Coliseum for
to do. Perhaps the worst part of this
free to the public in an attempt to
is the fact that corporations take
occupy their interest and keep the
advantage of the masses’ Love of
average citizen occupied enough to Happy Bunny by paying exorbitant
not see the truth of their decaying
amounts to air their commercials
way of life. Now, as we are movduring these events. Millions
ing towards a more socialist naof people watch the Superbowl,
tion, what some people could call a which creates the most opportune
decay of the old American Dream
time for the corporations to impart
and all that America once stood for, their message with the general
we are becoming more obsessed
public. This is further enhanced by
with varithe fact that the vast majority of the
ous violent people watching will be in some
sports and various state of intoxication. So, in
videogone fell swoop, both our craving
ames. This for Bunny Joy and our consumerist
becomes
nature is satiated.
most
As previously stated, we
evident
as a nation hold ourselves above
around the the rest as “more sophisticated”
time of the etc.. But when you take a step back
Superbowl. and view what is happening to our
Everyone
society, it seems quite obvious that
is hoping
for all our technological advanceto watch
ments and social progress, we are
large quan- still the same Bunny Loving and
tities of
gluttonous people we were thouindividuals sands of years ago.
wail on
P.S.Substitute Happy Bunny etc.
each other for blood/gore as necessary.
for hours
“What we call chaos is just patterns we haven’t recognized yet.”
7
Prelude XVI to Perform “Simplicity”
Caitlin Jared
has a stable background in dance.
She is learning the ropes of being
Prelude XVI, aka Dance IV, a member of the dance company,
had a great last performance, which and she is picking up the difficult
included Dance III. Mrs. Flat is
choreograph easily.
very proud of both her classes for
After a successful perfora smooth, successful show. After
mance with Dance III, Prelude XVI
the recital, Prelude XVI lost two of is ready to put on their next show,
their members, Eric Bell and MeSimplicity. The recital begins Febgan Lutcyk, but they also gained
ruary 19th and 20th at 7:30 p.m.
one member. Now joining Prelude General admission is $7, which is
XVI is Sam Irwin. Sam was part
put toward the dance funds for the
of Dance III last semester, so she
spring performance. The recital
will be held at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center.
Prelude XVI’s next performance, Simplicity, is going to be
exactly what the title says, simple.
Earth tones will be used for the
costume colors to accentuate the
simple theme. The dance pieces
that will be presented are as follows, “Deliver me,” “All the Wild
Horses,” “Float On,” “Staring at
the Sun,” and the group piece is
“The Wolves.” “Float On” is a
Jodi Kelsey
in the first round if their district
tournament. They then lost to
York Institute in the finals,
also receiving the runner-up
spot and advancing on to
Regionals.
Cookeville High School’s
Chris Bernstein was named
MVP, averaging 193.56.
Thomas Egler and Brittany
Ledbetter were named
to the district first-team
roster. Darren Parks, Nate
Riggsbee, Aubree Finley, and
Amber Avilez were named
to the district second-team
roster, and Mitch Boston and
Jodi Kelsey were named to
the third-team roster.
reenactment of Mrs. Flat’s college
dance telling a story of her and
her friends in high school. Amber
Campbell is the student choreograph this month.
Prelude XVI consists of
Holly Arms, Amber Campbell,
Sam Irwin, Megan Jackson, Caitlin
Jared, Caitlin Kerley, Tarah LeClair, Lauren Morgan, Rachel Phillips, Ashley Webster, and Courtney
Williams.
See you there!
New Sport at CHS and UHS: Bowling
Many sports are played here at
Cookeville High School, but one
sport many do not hear about is
bowling. Many people do not
know about this local team made
up of high school students from
Cookeville High and Upperman
High.
The members of the boys
team are Chris Bernstein(CHS),
Thomas Egler(CHS), Darren
Parks(CHS), Mitch Boston(CHS),
Josh Branson(CHS), Nathan
Eldridge(UHS), Nate
Riggsbee(UHS), and Brendan
Finley(UHS). They finished out
their season tied for first place with
a record of 11-1. They hosted their
district tournament here at Bowling
World. In the first round, they came
up with a win, defeating Livingston
Academy. They then fell short
with a loss against York Institute,
finishing in the runner-up spot, and
advancing on to Regionals, where
they finished in 3rd place.
As for the girls, the members of
their team are Jodi Kelsey(CHS),
Megan Mashburn(CHS),
Brittany Ledbetter(UHS),
Amber Avilez(UHS), Aubree
Finley(UHS),
Emily Averitt(UHS), Ashley
Andrews(UHS), Jessica
Maynard(UHS), Serena
Ingram(UHS), and Kayla
Bain(UHS). The girls beat
Cumberland County High School
Highlights of the Decade
There have been many events that have shaped America in the past decade. Here are 15 events that highlighted the past decade.
1. The decade went green.
2. September 11th terrorist attack on America. 2001
3. Kelly Clarkson takes the title of the first American Idol winner. 2002
4. Halle Berry becomes the first African-American actress to win an Oscar. 2002
5. Beyonce goes solo. 2003
6. Janet Jackson’s Wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl half-time. 2004
7. Tom Cruise jumps on Oprah’s couch professing his love for Katie Holms. 2005
8. Apple comes out with the iPhone.
9. Katie Couric takes over as CBS Evening News Anchor. 2006
10. Paris Hilton goes to jail for 23 days. 2007
11. Crocs become a new fad. 12. Michael Phelps sets a new record by earning 8 gold medals. 2008
13. Barack Obama becomes the first African American president in the United States history. 2008
14. Michael Jackson R.I.P. 2009
15. Oprah Winfrey, the international icon of the decade.
8
“We’ll never be as young as we are tonight.”
Death at Dawn
Michael Wallace
Twice a year, a dedicated
group of individuals get up at 5:30
A.M. for two consecutive weeks
to partake in a rigorous workout
known as Death at Dawn. Some
do it to get in shape, some do it for
pre-season sport training, and some
just do it for the coveted T-shirt.
Whatever the occasion, a group of
100 to 120 rises before the sun to
carry on the 6 year and counting
tradition.
Originally, the program
began as a training session for
the Cookeville High School
soccer teams and was led by
the enthusiastic Larry Epps.
Eventually, more than soccer
players began to show up, and the
session evolved into something
much more. Epps, still leading
the program, says, “It started
as a tool for coaches to help get
their athletes in shape before the
season started. We noticed when
my daughter was playing soccer
in 2005 that the girls would show
up to practice out of shape. I’d
look at them and think; wouldn’t
it be better if the kids got in shape
before season?”
According to TSSAA rules,
coaches themselves cannot train
their athletes during the dead
period (not during season).
Luckily, Epps opened up this
program as a way of working
around that since it is voluntary
and now opened to anybody.
The program addresses every
aspect of a workout: Athletes warm
up around the Tech track, complete
an excruciating core session with
UT diver Ron Graves, perform
plyometrics (stadium steps,
intervals, etc.), and finally finish up
with “the hill.”
2,000 crunches, 200 sprints, and a
few swollen joints later, everyone
that has made it through receives
the Death at Dawn tee, which
represents the vigor, strength, and
vitality of those who participated.
Epps states, “We are amazed to
see all those people out there
running; Running is most player‘s
punishment. I’m always sitting
there with my jaw wide open.”