Tennessee ranks in the bottom 10 of three recent surveys quantifying different aspects of life.
In surveys ranking states on education, quality of life and safety from crime, Tennessee finished 41st, 46th and 43rd, respectively.Jamie Brock, an Arkansas native, was not surprised by the surveys, conducted by 298Morgan Quinto Press.
"I can believe it," said the sophomore. Brock said state levels of violence had implications on the results of all three surveys.
"You have a lot of violence here," said Brock. "You have the sniper shooting at you while you ride down Cooper."
Despite being ranked the fifth-least livable state, Brock plans to stay in Tennessee after she graduates to take advantage of Memphis City Schools' scholarship program.
An early childhood development major, Brock was not dismayed by Tennessee's status as the sixth-worst state for student-assaults on teachers.
"I'll have to go in with my dukes up," she said. All will be well "(a)s long as you know how to appeal to (the kids) and get on their level ... and understand where they're coming from."
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and North Dakota were declared the smartest, most livable and safest state, respectively. Conversely, New Mexico, Mississippi and Nevada finished last in those respective categories. This marks the sixth year in a row Mississippi has been deemed least livable.
Iowa and Vermont were the overachievers of the surveys, placing in the top 10 for all three surveys.
The rankings show some interesting, if not coincidental, trends in relation to the recent presidential election. Eight of the top 10 states in education went to Sen. John Kerry in the election, while an identical number of the most dangerous states went for President Bush.
Anthropology major Kipling Turner saw the implications of history in the results, drawing a link in the standard of living gaps between states to the gap between first- and third-world countries.
"It's largely a result of Northern oppression after the Civil War," said the senior. "'Well we won' so to the victor go the spoils."Though Tennessee's worst finish in the surveys was 46, it did fare worse in some of the individual categories.
For instance, Tennessee has the worst personal bankruptcy rate, which was used in the livability survey. This particular survey also looked at crime, poverty and home ownership rates, in addition to the median income or average number of sunny days for a state.
Tennessee ranked in the bottom 10 in four of the six categories of the safest state survey. The state's murder and robbery rates are the eighth worst in the nation, burglary rates are the sixth and aggravated assaults are the fourth worst in the country.
Similarly, Tennessee did excel in some individual categories.Tennesseans have the second lowest percentage of their incomes taken away in the form of state and local taxes.
Also, Tennessee has the third highest percentage of fourth graders whose parents have strict rules about completing homework.
