Rhythm & Roots Reunion was held in Bristol, VA/TN over the past weekend.  E&H seniors Marianne Carroll and Rachel Shenk attended.  Read about their experience below.  Photos by Marianne Carroll.

What did you think about R&RR?

Rachel: I thought it was a great festival – I saw tons of bands, got to hang out with friends that I haven’t seen in a while, and it was a great place to relax after a hard week at school.

Marianne: It was a great experience as far as expanding my horizons when it comes to hippies and a new kind of culture.

What was your favorite part of R&RR?

Marianne: Definitely… that’s kinda tough actually… I really liked seeing all the colors, and all the different types of stringed instruments coming together to create a really neat melody.

Rachel: My favorite part was getting to see tons of bands for free.  I volunteered all three days.  That was a good experience, too.  I got to meet really interesting people.

Who was your favorite band?

Rachel: Oh man, there were so many.  I really enjoyed Woody Pines & The Lonesome Two.  I also loved Holy Ghost Tent Revival, The Floorbirds (I met them!), The Hackensaw Boys, Langhorne Slim, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Baytop & Franklin, The Two Man Gentleman Band… there was also this really good rockabilly band Friday night called the Straight 8’s.  There were so many good bands there… plus old favorites like Doc Watson and Wayne Henderson.

Marianne: I really liked Woody Pines, too… and The Hackensaw Boys.  I’ll be promoting Woody Pines on my radio show (Thursdays from 9pm to 11pm!).

Was there anything you didn’t like?

Marianne: Paying $20 to get in for one day!  I also didn’t like all the drunken meatheads that would hang out in the bars.

Rachel: Well, at the end of the day on Sunday, when the whole festival was over, I watched a trash guy take the recycling bag – full of empty bottles – and dump it into a trash can with regular trash.  And I agree with Marianne, I didn’t like all the drunken people who were just there to get wasted publicly.  It’s great that the bars are open so late and have music inside, though.

Will you go again next year?

Rachel: YES!

Marianne: Abso-freakin-lutely.

For those of you who don’t know what the Bonner program is, it’s a scholarship that requires each scholar to do so many hours of service (that’s right, unpaid) during the school year, as well as the summer.

So this year, now that I’m a junior, I decided to do something a little more intense and will be working with sexually abused children. This is an aspect of E&H life a lot of people don’t know about, but we Bonners and PPCS majors (no, I’m not one) know all about the struggles and hardships in the area.

This column, along with Eliza Snyder-Hewitt’s (coming soon!!), will be a look into what we do every week. I hope you all get something out of it; we sure do.

But good or bad, The Mitchell Report ordered by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig exposed some inconvenient truths to sports fans that might not have been willing to hear them. Of course now, one player’s alleged steroid use is dominating the headlines (Roger Clemens) and no person is more appreciative than Barry Bonds, but fans and the media alike need to shift their focus back to the grand scheme of things.

Even though it is a big deal that “The Rocket” might have been juicing, he is not the only player who was caught by the probe. In fact, he wasn’t even the only big player caught by the probe.

At least one player from every Major League team was caught. So those who say that steroids are not a problem in baseball (and in sports altogether) try to justify that. Obviously they have a negative effect on sports in all phases, as well as the children that look up to and admire athletes in these sports, but what about the health concerns?

It’s impossible now to measure the ramifications of an athlete’s steroid use over a long or short period of time because it has just became pervasive in sports, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s not healthy. If that’s the case, it should be the biggest concern for the MLB. They have to make sure the players are safe first and foremost.

Secondly, they have to maintain the integrity of the game, so it’s either all get steroids or none get steroids. Let’s hope it’s the latter. Also, even a player who is proven guilty of using steroids cannot be eliminated from Hall of Fame contention.

Who’s to say that the player opposite them was not juicing themselves? It is entirely possible. And where do you draw the line? Would Barry Bonds for instance not have hit a lot of home runs if he hadn’t juiced?

The MLB has tried over the last several years to loosely police steroid use, but I think that was only an attempt to save face for the league in anticipation of what a probe such as The Mitchell Report would uncover.

As for punishment? I think lots of community service (talking to kids at school about avoiding steroids), a stiff suspension and fine (say a year and a year’s pay) and counseling and rehabilitation are key to curbing this problem. Do this instead of talking about it, and witness the results.

Moss has also been accused of preventing the woman from leaving her house (where the incident allegedly occurred) to seek medical attention.

This news couldn’t have come at a worse time for Moss or the New England Patriots. When the story broke last week, Moss and the Partiots were preparing for the AFC Championship Game.

What has been a record breaking season on the field has also been a fairly quiet season off the field, which is saying something for the often outspoken Moss. Like many NFL receivers, Moss is anything but quiet.

Up until this season, he had simply squirted a water bottle at a referee (which drew a $25,000 fine), verbally assaulted Vikings’ corporate sponsors (drawing a $15,000 fine and mandatory anger management classes), assaulted a traffic officer in downtown Minneapolis in his SUV (landing him one night in jail and a $50,000 fine), pretended to moon fans in Green Bay (causing a $10,000 fine) and had been a distraction on basically every team he had ever played for.

Before entering the league Moss had quite a rap sheet as well. Moss served time for battery and violating his probation by smoking marijuana. Moss also had marijuana in his car at the time of the traffic incident, but not enough to warrant a misdemeanor.

However, this does not make Randy Moss guilty of the crime that he has just been accused of. Like I said, this year we had been witnessing a new Randy Moss through and through. And Moss made some valid points.

“It’s unfair to us as athletes, that when a situation like this occurs, it’s up to you guys to make an assumption,” Moss said during a press conference. This really opened my eyes to the subject. What can athletes do other than deny allegations of wrongdoing?

Of course, unfortunately more often than not, the allegations are true. However, this time I believe Moss. He showed emotion and valid concerns about becoming a meal ticket in his press conference. He has sued based on the premise he’s a victim of extortion.

Moss may be guilty, but I think he’s innocent.