Students work diligently to finish the semester’s projects and study for finals. People throughout the region decorate their homes and businesses for the season and search for the perfect gifts for loved ones as the holidays approach. East Tennessee State University is gearing up for the biggest day of the semester – Commencement – but offers plenty of additional activities for students and the community in the month of December! The following listing includes events that are open to the public and are free unless otherwise noted: Music ETSU BLUE Down Home Takeover December 2-6, 7 p.m. each evening – Down Home, 300 W. Main Street This five-night musical event showcases all the bands in ETSU’s Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies program, which includes not only bluegrass and old-time ensembles, but country, a cappella and Celtic groups, as well. Tickets are $15 at the door; ETSU students with ID receive a discount. Holiday Concert: ‘For Auld Lang Syne’ December 7, performances at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. – ETSU Foundation Grand Hall, Martin Center for the Arts Over 250 performers will take part in this beloved ETSU holiday tradition, including the ETSU Chorale, BucsWorth, East Tennessee Belles, Greyscale, Ascension, Percussion Ensemble and Faculty Brass Quintet, along with special guests Matthew Fisher, organ, and Joanna Seiber, harp. Tickets are $15-$25; free for ETSU students with ID. Theater/Cinema Bud Frank Cinema First Friday Screening: ‘Flow’ December 6, 7 p.m. – Bud Frank Theatre, Gilbreath Hall The Bud Frank Cinema’s First Friday Screening on Dec. 6 is “Flow,” a 2024 French film which opens for wide release the same day. “A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, ‘Flow’ follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood.” Bud Frank Cinema Film Screening: ‘Seven Samurai’ December 13, 7 p.m. – Bud Frank Theatre, Gilbreath Hall The Bud Frank Cinema and Tri-City Film Farm present a restoration of “Seven Samurai,” a 1954 film from Japan that tells the story of a 16 th -century village whose desperate inhabitants hire seven samurai warriors to protect them from invading bandits. ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage’ December 17, 7 p.m. – ETSU Foundation Grand Hall, Martin Center for the Arts The timeless, award-winning animated television special by Charles M. Schulz comes to life in this faithful stage adaptation the whole family can enjoy. After the final bow, the audience is invited to join the Peanuts gang in singing traditional Christmas songs and carols. Tickets are $49.50-$139; limited seating is available. Fine Arts ‘FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social and Politically Engaged Art’ Continuing through December 6, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday – Reece Museum This annual exhibit, renowned for its exploration of contemporary social and political movements, features a diverse array of artworks addressing pressing global issues. ‘Stitch Together: The Social Seamstress in Southern Appalachia’ Continuing through January 10, 2025, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday – Reece Museum The Reece Museum hosts this exhibit exploring the social connections of seamstresses by showcasing the fashion and clothing of the museum’s permanent collection. Holiday Fun and More Ice Skating at ETSU Various hours, Thursdays-Sundays through December 21 – University Commons ETSU’s beloved synthetic ice skating rink is open for the holiday season. This year, in partnership with Brightspeed, the rink is free to ETSU students, faculty and staff with valid ID and open to the community with a $5 skate rental for all ages. Hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 5-9 p.m., Saturdays from noon-7 p.m., and Sundays from 2-7 p.m. Great Lecture Series December 6, 2 p.m. – East Tennessee Room, D.P. Culp Student Center The Great Lecture Series celebrates and showcases ETSU faculty who have recently been promoted to full professor, giving them an opportunity to share their work with the broader community. Attendees of this installment will hear from Drs. Brian Johnston, John Rankin and Megan Quinn. Jacob’s Nature Park: As We See It! December 7, 1-2:30 p.m. – Jacob’s Nature Park at Sinking Creek, 1919 Ocala Street This event for the community features five 15-minute presentations by ETSU students on park-specific topics, such as poisonous plants, mushroom coolness, pollinator trivia and more. Interactive activities, games, giveaways and hands-on learning opportunities for all ages are included. ETSU Fall Commencement December 14, 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. – Ballad Health Athletic Center (Mini-Dome) ETSU celebrates its fall 2024 graduating class in two ceremonies (10 a.m. – Quillen College of Medicine, College of Public Health, College of Health Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences; and 2:30 p.m. – Clemmer College of Education and Human Development, College of Business and Technology and College of Nursing). Complete information for graduating students, guests and faculty is available on the Commencement website, etsu.edu/commencement , where livestreaming will be offered for those not attending in person. ETSU Alumni Arctic Adventures: Frost and Fun Skate Night December 19, 5-8:30 p.m. – University Commons The ETSU Alumni Association presents an evening of Frost and Fun at the ETSU synthetic ice skating rink sponsored by Brightspeed. Participants can enjoy popcorn and hot cocoa inside the first-floor lobby of the D.P. Culp Student Center, as well as limited-edition T-shirts, a visit from Bucky, giveaways and holiday music. To learn more about these and other events happening at ETSU, visit the university’s online calendar at etsu.edu/calendar/default.php . For disability accommodations, contact Disability Services at (423) 439-8346.
It looked like a recipe for disaster. So, when his country's swimmers were being accused of doping earlier this year, one Chinese official cooked up something fast: He blamed it on contaminated noodles. In fact, he argued, it could have been a culinary conspiracy concocted by criminals, whose actions led to the cooking wine used to prepare the noodles being laced with a banned heart drug that found its way into an athlete's system. This theory was spelled out to international anti-doping officials during a meeting and, after weeks of wrangling, finally made it into the thousands of pages of data handed over to the lawyer who investigated the case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who'd tested positive for that same drug, per the . In April, reporting from the and the German broadcaster ARD revealed that the 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine, also known as TMZ. China's anti-doping agency determined the athletes had been contaminated, and so they weren't sanctioned. The World Anti-Doping Agency accepted that explanation, didn't press the case further, and China was never made to deliver a public notice about the "no-fault findings," as is often seen in similar cases. The stock explanation for the contamination was that traces of TMZ were found in the kitchen of a hotel where the swimmers were staying. In his 58-page report, however, lawyer Eric Cottier relayed some suspicions about the feasibility of that chain of events. Even without the contaminated-noodles theory, Cottier found problems with the way WADA and the Chinese handled the case but ultimately determined WADA had acted reasonably in not appealing China's conclusion that its athletes had been inadvertently contaminated. Critics of the way the China case was handled can't help but wonder if a wider exploration of the noodle theory, details of which were discovered by the AP via notes and emails from after the meeting where it was delivered, might have lent a different flavor to Cottier's conclusions. "There are more story twists to the ways the Chinese explain the TMZ case than a James Bond movie," said Rob Koehler, the director general of the advocacy group Global Athlete, who points to situations like this as one of many reasons that an investigation by someone other than Cottier, who was hired by WADA, is still needed. More .Struggling Valencia fires coach Rubén Baraja amid renewed criticism of owner Peter Lim
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