University of Tennessee Knoxville - Volunteer Yearbook (Knoxville, TN)

Page 30 text:

Torchnight illuminates frosh - a commen tary 'II urge you to branch out. Expose yourself to everything possible, said John R. Long III, Tor- chnight speaker. Torchnight is one of the university's oldest tradi- tions. With it came a feeling of nostalgia. The sym- bolic passing of the torch from the Senior class to the Freshmen was reminiscent of a time when the ceremony must surely have been attended by more than fraternity and sorority pledges required to be there. I admit I'm a junior and this was my first year to experience Torchnight, but I was trying to figure out why the ceremony has lost its importance over the yearsewhy it even died out in the early ,805. I thought of the day when it was such an honor to go to college that one would probably participate in everything. What are traditions at a university the size of UT? Do they have any meaning now or are they there for the benefit of the alumni who happen to be there? I looked around at the crowd assembled, which fill- ed only the floor of Alumni Gym, and wondered how many would truly follow the speaker's advice to take advantage of the diverse curriculum a university has to offer. Perhaps true tradition is a feeling reserved for those A scolded Sheridan Whiteside, played by Zack Allen, fumes while the vampish Lorraine Sheldon tChevy Anzt congratulates the newly-engaged Maggie Cutler tKathrynjean Harrist, in the Clarence Brown Company's rendition of 'The Man Who Came To Dinner? SGA president Rusty Gray passed the Hame to freshmen at the annual torchm'ght ceremonies. REM opened their Document tour at Stoker. otCCtiquj l VS'F'uHLL m Carol Owen Steve Morrell Steve Morrell Carol Owen

Page 29 text:

Steve Morrell Tom McDonald Torn McDonald Enc L. Smith Chapter 2 UT's game against California will probably go down in the archives of an obscure record book somewhere as the most boring football game played on this planet. Thousands of people sat freezing their unmentionables to metal while watching the V015 play a team Who looked like the only thing they cared about was getting a chance to travel. It was one of those kinds of games that make you swear youhll never go sit at a football game played during any winter month again. So we counted our blessings when R.E.M., the god of college and alternative bands, decided to open its national Work tour at Stoker Athletics Center after the release of their latest, Document. The band wiped away any thoughts of coldness with its serenade to a standing, crushed-together, gyrating au- dience of fools-for-music. A little more on the conservative side, the MBA Symposium featured former Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole, who spoke about her husband's cam- paign, opportunities for women and de-regulation. Torchnight assumed its usual occurrence, as did Alcohol Awareness Week, and UT tradition continued to be tradition. -by Carol Owen While the Vols worked their magic on the California Bears, tand by the way, the V015 won 38-12i, Elizabeth Dole sounded the Vir- tues of husband Bob, Rokelle Lerner educated listeners during Alcohol Awareness week about the plight of the Children of alcoholics, Amadou Sal! gave out information on African Week, and the Clarence Brown Company entertained audiences at the Clarence Brown and Carousel theatres. Whew! What an October!

Page 31 text:

Eric L. Smith Eric L. Smith Steve Morrell very people, people who care about their school and the people they come into contact with every day. Tradition cannot be defined nor can it be placed in a ceremony where the majority of the attendance is ear- ning merit points. Hopefully, more students in the future will realize the importance of the history behind Torchnight. As Long said, HTake up the torch of this university and you take up the best of this university. Enjoy and have fun. -by Scott Sanders R.E.M. starts tour at UT On the heels of the album Document, R.E.M. kicked off its national Work tour at Stokely Athletics Center to an energetic audience of 6,000 for Campus Entertainment Boardts first concert of fall. Although critics hailed the preceding album Lifes Rich Pageant as the musically ground-breaking group's best album yet, Document has surpassed that album's accolades and is now being called R.E.MXS best. The crowd remained on their feet throughout much of the performance, including three encores. With the talent of Mike Mills on bass, Peter Buck on lead guitar and Bill Barry on drums, lead vocalist Michael Stipe pulled in fans with emotional vocals and an easy style in songs such as, The One I Love and