The Daily Tuesday,

October 12, 2010

U of M Held Scoreless
Tigers shut
out for the

Helmsman
Vol. 78 No. 032
first time in
11 years

see page 7
Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis www.dailyhelmsman.com

Sweet, creamy revenge

Teachers to receive face-fulls of pie for fundraiser
BY MIKE MUELLER ously, but that’s not the case. tor-in-chief of The Pinch, has
“For the most part, every- volunteered to be the recipient
News Reporter one has been happy to do it,” of several airborne desserts
“Once the first pie is thrown, she said. “The professors are lobbed by students from a few
it will be bedlam.” feet away.

That’s what graduate stu-
dent Devon Taylor said she
expects this afternoon, when
trash-bag-clad professors and
teacher’s assistants from the
English department become
the targets of whipped, frothy
student vengeance.
The University of
Memphis’ literary journal,
The Pinch, and the creative
writing club are hosting Pie-
A-Professor today from noon
to 2 p.m. outside Patterson
Hall. For $5, students receive
a whipped cream pie and a
“The only
“I’m willing to be ‘pied’
because it’s for a great cause,”
Iversen said. “We’re raising
repercussions money for The Pinch.”
The U of M’s literary mag-
for students azine is well known across
or faculty ... is the country and has received
national awards, according to
our heartfelt Iversen.
gratitude for their “We’re very proud of the
journal, but we’re always
support in helping running on a very tight shoe-
string budget,” she said.
to keep The Pinch Despite its national reputa-
in print.” tion, fundraisers like today’s
pie-throw are what “keep the

courtesy of Shawn Decker

chance to take aim at their
favorite instructors.
Taylor, who serves as mar-
keting coordinator for The
Pinch and the Creative Writing
Club, said there’s a perception
that professors and teacher’s
assistants take everything seri-
— Kristen Iversen
Editor, The Pinch
actually more interested in
throwing pies at each other.”
Kristen Iversen, associate
professor of English and edi-
wheels turning” at The Pinch,
Iversen said.
All of the proceeds from the
day’s “pie-ings” will go toward
the Oct. 23 release party of the
Fall 2010 edition of The Pinch
see Pie, page 2 HIV-positive Shawn Decker met his wife, Gwenn Barringer,
nearly 10 years ago while she was preparing for an HIV/AIDS
awareness program. Tonight the two will bring their message
to U of M students with “A Boy, A Girl, A Virus.”

Life and love

with HIV/AIDS
contaminated blood products
BY CHRIS DANIELS
used to treat his hemophilia. He
News Reporter
photo illustration by Scott Carroll

and Barringer apply humor and

Two lovers who study HIV
and AIDS will share their own
personal story about the disease
tonight at 6 p.m. in the University
Center Theatre.
Gwenn Barringer and her
HIV-positive husband Shawn
Decker will speak about the
disease at “A Boy, A Girl, A
The U of M chapter of the NAACP will host “Why We Use the N-Word” tonight in the
Virus,” a program to educate
University Center River Room.
students at college campuses
openness to their story with the
hope that students will develop a
stronger connection to the issue.
“Students have been very
receptive to the message, and I
think that our use of humor is
one of the reasons why,” Decker
said. “I don’t pretend my life is
any harder than anyone else’s.
We all have challenges, and I can
step outside of my own.”

Term of endearment or derogatory slur?

BY ERICA HORTON
News Reporter
Everyone’s heard it or had the
opportunity to use it.
Nigger.
Tonight from 6 to 7 p.m. in the
University Center River Room,
The University of Memphis chap-
ter of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored
People will host “Why We Use
the N-Word.”
The free event will feature a
brief introduction of the word
“nigger,” a short video clip about
its context, a panel of community
and student leaders and an open-
floor discussion.
Harry Cash, talk radio host
for local station K-97.1, will join
several U of M students, includ-
ing College Republicans President
Tyler Dewitt and Empowered
Men of Color President Cortney
Richardson, to lead the discussion.
James Johnson, member of the
juvenile and justice committee for
The U of M chapter of NAACP, said
“Why We Use the N-Word” is the
first event of its kind on campus.
He said several committee
across the country about the
ethics of sexual responsibility,
communication between sexual
members believe the word is very partners and the medical reali-
controversial and deserves to be ties of HIV infection.
talked about. Barringer met Decker while
“It’s one of those things people searching for someone with
don’t want to talk about on the HIV to help her develop the
surface, but they do have an opin- program.
ion behind closed doors,” he said. “I had no idea at the time
Johnson said he wants students that it would lead to such a
to have the opportunity to be in a healthy, loving relationship,” she
room with different perspectives said. “That came first, and then
regarding the use of the word. we developed the program, so I
“It’s a discussion everyone can guess I got more than I was look-
take part in,” he said. ing for and couldn’t be happier
Larry Moore, associate profes- about it.”
Decker was diagnosed with
see N-word, page 4 HIV as a child in 1987 through
In addition to educating stu-
dents through “A Boy, A Girl, A
Virus,” Decker authored a book
in 2006 detailing his experience
with HIV, “My Pet Virus: The
True Story of a Rebel Without a
Cure.”
“I’m a much more empathetic
person as a result of having HIV,”
he said.  “I have no tolerance for
racism or homophobia and keep
a pretty open mind. I’m certain
that the discrimination I’ve faced
due to a medical condition is the
reason for this. Those times were
hard, but I’m happy for who I
am today and that I took some
see HIV, page 4