MTSU students started collecting relief aid Tuesday for the Haitian people after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of the capital city Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12 followed by a 5.9 aftershock yesterday.

Two of the students col-lecting for Raiders Helping Haiti – Ertha Luma, a soph-omore philosophy major, and Erwine Sainvil, a se-nior social work major – are Haitian natives who have family members who live on the island nation.

“It just hurts my heart to see my country struggle,” Luma said. “It has always been one disaster after an-other, and they never get a break.”

Luma and Sainvil have been working with Raiders Helping Haiti, a group of students who are collecting supplies such as clothing, shoes, non-perishable foods and medical supplies for their native country since the earthquake.

“I think with MTSU’s help we can help a whole country stand up on its feet, because I feel like right now Haiti is on its knees,” Sainvil said. “We are being beat to the ground

with this earthquake.”Raiders Helping Haiti

plans to be in the lobby of the Keathley University Center on Thursday and Friday this week to take donations and hand out informational f liers.

“We are very proud, and we have always been patri-otic,” Luma said. “Our country will always be in our heart, and it will always be our No. 1 priority.”

Sainvil is a member of Holy Name Catholic Church, which is help-ing Raiders Helping Haiti collect the necessary sup-plies and distribute them to Haiti.

“We need the inter-national community to help us,” Luma said. “It is our duty to help another brother.”

No monetary donations are being accepted by Raid-ers Helping Haiti.

Luma said students who want to make monetary do-nations should make a con-tribution to the American Red Cross, an organization with a long-standing histo-ry of providing humanitar-ian relief in times of crisis.

“There are organiza-tions where the money

does not go directly to the people,” Luma said. “There are people out there who are scamming; they are taking advantage of people’s generosity.”

Luma said she feels MTSU has been very sup-portive to her and the Hai-tian community, and she is

grateful for all of the thoughts and prayers her classmates have sent to her.

“I have been a proud Haitian ever since I can remember,” Sainvil said. “Even though our country is devastated right now, I think we can still make it with a little push and a little bit of help.”

Deya Bakoyema, a fresh-man basic and applied sci-ence major, and Lucretia Williams, a sophomore basic and applied sciences major, are friends of Luma’s who helped the relief ef-fort by passing out f liers and working at the Raiders Helping Haiti booth.

Bakoyema said she watched the news all weekend and wanted to do something to help out her friend.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 VOL. 88, NO. 2

Column by Craig Hoffman gives MT men’s basketball a midseason progress report

PAGE 6

Opinionspage 4-5

Sportspage 6

Featurespage 7

Blue Raider Defensive Coordinator makes lateral move to Mississippi State “My dad always told me, if you’re a man

with a clear conscience, speak with a clear conscience and the world will know.”

HAITIAN RAPPER, WYCLEF JEANmtsusidelines.com

THUNDERSTORMS80% CHANCE OF RAIN

HIGH 60, LOW 42

Photo by Chris Donahue, staff photographer

Haitian student Ertha Luma hands out fl iers on Haiti relief efforts.

By ROZALIND RUTHCommunity News Editor

Youth step up, help Haiti

HAITI RELIEF

Students on campus at risk for PC virus

Meal vouchers help make campus food affordable

A computer virus was de-tected last week that is sav-ing links to pornographic Web sites on the desktops of campus PCs.

Gregory Schaffer, as-sistant vice president of the Information Technol-ogy Division, said that the virus is a variant of a Botnet auto-worm, a self-replicating, self-launching virus, fi rst seen about sixmonths ago.

Shaffer said people rent time from the creator of this virus, sets up links and cre-ates pop-ups for the renter’s Web site. The virus can sit dormant on a machine for weeks, infecting other ma-chines before showing any sign it exists.

“Malware sometimes dis-guise themselves as some-thing good to fool users and scanning software,” Schaffer said. “The virus is a form of malware, which our antivi-rus software did not identify at fi rst.”

Schaffer said that ITD was successful in working with

Trend Micro, the university’s antivirus software provider, in creating an update for its software to identify and eliminate the program from infected PCs.

MTSU computer techni-cians are now busy work-ing to remove the virus from infected computers around campus.

Shaffer said the virus poses a serious threat to facilities with multiple us-ers for every computer be-cause it installs itself onto any thumb drive. The virus then launches itself onto any computer once the in-fected thumb drive is at-tached. Because of this, he said, the virus has been especially prevalent in labs and teacher stations.

He said this also puts stu-dents’ personal computers at risk.

Students should regularly update their virus scanning software and scan their PCs with the thumb drive loaded so that it is checked as well, he said.

After numerous complaints from students to faculty and staff about the exorbitant prices of food on campus, Aramark and MT Dining Services responded by offer-ing free meal vouchers, with hopes to make on campus eating more affordable.

Aramark set up the Doug McCallie Scholarship last year, named after the former direc-tor of Aramark Food Services at MTSU, to distribute a lim-ited number of vouchers for free meals and items from the food pantry in the Student Support Services Offi ce.

Director of Student Sup-port Services Crickett Pimen-tel said she thinks the scholar-ships fi ll a need for students on campus because of the many factors affecting the ability of a student to afford the basics.

“Sometimes people go hun-gry because they’re having to make a choice; ‘Do I pay my light bill or do I buy grocer-ies,’” Pimentel said.

Any student who needs a voucher or food items from the pantry must fi rst re-ceive a referral from either an administrator or faculty member. Vouchers can be exchanged for a meal from McCallie Dining Hall or The

Raider Zone, and the bags of food contain breakfast, lunch and dinner items.

The Student Services Offi ce has allotted roughly 200 meal vouchers a semester and typi-cally hands out fi ve a week per student. The number can change depending on a student’s needs, but MT Din-ning Services said they will not turn away a person who needs help.

“It is a case-by-case basis to make sure people don’t go hungry,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel said that last se-mester, when the program be-gan, all of the vouchers were handed out.

Aside from the Doug Mc-Callie Scholarship, the offi ce relies on private donations to keep their food pantry stocked. They call these dona-tions their “food bank.”

Pimentel said because of the bad economy and with Tennessee’s unemployment rate higher than the national average, students are hurting. Many MTSU students are either losing jobs, or getting their work hours cut back, she said, and this scholarship is absolutely necessary at a time like this.

“It’s hard to study when you are hungry,” Pimentel said. “You have to meet the basic needs.”

John Thomas, senior mass communication major, said he questions the timing of Aramark’s decision to start the scholarship program.

“Is this a result of all the complaints,” Thomas said. “Would the free vouchers be better spent by reducing the cost of meals?”

Thomas said he would like to know Aramark’s profi t margin and see how it relates to comparable businesses off campus.

Candice Hall, senior lib-eral arts major, said she is solidly behind the idea of the vouchers.

“College students strug-gle with many things like deadlines, fi nals and work schedules,” Hall said. “Find-ing food should not be one of them.”

By CHRIS MAYOStaff Writer

Photo by Erin O’Leary, staff photographer

Adam Tahirkheli, freshman business major, fi lls his plate with food at McCallie Dining Hall.

HAITI, PAGE 3

MTSU students and Haitian natives collect goods for relief effort

VIRUSES, PAGE 3

By MICHAEL PECKContributing Writer

2 SIDELINES THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 www.mtsusidelines.com

MLK’s fl ame still burns strongMembers of Alpha Phi Al-

pha Fraternity, Inc., hosted a candlelight vigil Monday night in honor of the organization’s most famous member: Martin Luther King Jr.

“A lot of people use this day as a free day, because a lot of places are closed,” said Al-pha Treasurer GliJuan Kirby, a junior electronic media communication major. “We [host the candlelight vigil] in recognition; we do it in memoriam for him.”

Kirby said the Alphas hold the vigil every year to pay re-spect to King and honor his legacy. The event is open to all students on campus.

More than 100 students at-tended the event at the Keathley University Center.

“I ran out of the paper holders used with memorial candles because there were so many people there,” Kirby said, adding that as attendees stood in a circle outside of the KUC, they began to sing “We Shall Overcome.”

Participants watched “MLK: Words that Changed a Na-tion,” produced by CNN, and listened to Richard Milner, professor of education at Van-derbilt and an Alpha alum-nus, speak about the Civil Rights Movement.

“He told us King spoke truth to power,” Kirby said, referring to Milner’s speech.

Alpha member Michael Farmer, a junior market-ing major, said one reason the fraternity holds the vigil is to educate students about King’s accomplishments.

“It’s very important that we know and under-stand our history so we can

progress for the future,” Farmer said.

Arbor Barrow, senior Eng-lish major, and Rose Cage, sophomore history major, said they came to the event because they thought it would be interesting.

“Martin Luther King Jr. contributed a lot to the Civil Rights Movement,” Barrow said. “I think what he teaches us is as important today as it was when the Civil Rights Movement was in progress.”

Cage said she thinks King’s vision still applies to today.

“His message of equal-ity is always going to be just as relevant, because there are still groups that are be-ing discriminated against,” Cage said.

Charles Collins, Alpha member and senior recording industry major, said the vigil is held each year to remind people that they can achieve their dreams.

“[King] opened so many doors for us, not only as Afri-can-American males, but peo-

ple in general,” Collins said. “I think, basically, what we want students to accomplish is to pursue anything they want to do.”

Kirby said Alpha members participated in a mock sit-in earlier that day at the Dis-covery Center in Murfrees-boro to celebrate King’s 81st birthday.

Kirby said members sat at a kitchen counter to demon-strate a sit-in and educate chil-

dren about the Civil Rights Movement. He added that one girl asked him if she could par-ticipate in a sit-in, even though she was white and a girl.

“It educated kids about the fact that there weren’t just black men who participated in the sit-ins,” Kirby said. “There were actually young females and young males of differ-ent orientations and races that participated.”

Kirby said the fraternity plans to participate in events at the Discovery Center in the future.

“We love the Discovery Center, and we love going

there for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day,” Kirby said. “Ev-ery year that we can go there and help, we defi nitely plan on helping, demonstrating sit-ins and anything else they need us to do.”

King joined the Alphas in 1952 as a doctoral student at Boston University, and he was honored as the key-note speaker at the Alpha’s 50th anniversary celebration in 1956.

The MLK National Me-morial Project Foundation, founded in 1984 by the Al-phas, was established to raise funds to build a memorial in Washington, D.C. The memo-rial will honor his efforts in the Civil Rights Movement on a national stage.

The Alpha’s national Web site, Alpha-phi-alpha.com, stated that the foundation is still accepting donations to complete construction.

By MARIE KEMPH

Campus News Editor, and

MEGAN MCSWAINStaff Writer

Photo by Sarah Finchum, staff photographer

Students gather on the Keathley University Center Knoll to show respect for Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday.

Photo by Sarah Finchum, staff photographer

Students sing and praise the great accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr. at a candle light vigil Monday on the KUC Knoll.

His message of equality is always going to be just as relevant, because there are still groups that are being

discriminated against.”ROSE CAGESOPHOMORE HISTORY MAJOR

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 SIDELINES 3www.mtsusidelines.com

Jan. 6, 4:29 p.m.Traffi cEaton Street

Colton Mason was issued a state citation

for a violation of a traffi c control device

and improper display of a tag.

Jan. 6, 10:20 p.m.HarassmentScarlett Commons

A complainant reported receiving a

harassing e-mail.

Jan. 8, 11 p.m.TheftGreek Row - Pi Kappa Alpha House

A laptop was reported stolen.

Jan. 8, 2:05 p.m.TheftCorlew Hall

Flat panel televisions were reported

missing from the building.

Jan. 11, 3:30 p.m.TheftBusiness and Aerospace Building

Complainant reported theft of a bicycle

from racks outside over the holidays.

Jan. 11, 3:29 p.m.TheftJim Cummings Hall

Someone reported their car keys stolen.

Jan. 13, 4:11 p.m.TheftTodd Building

A laptop was reported stolen from

the building.

Jan. 14, 1:31 a.m.BurglaryPeck Hall

Windows were reported damaged from

an alleged forced entry.

Jan. 14, 5:21 p.m.Traffi cRutherford Boulevard

Donald Walls Jr. was issued a state cita-

tion for driving without a license.

Jan. 14, 5:29 p.m.VandalismPittard Campus School

A complainant reported the building’s

marquee had been vandalized.

Jan. 15, 5:02 p.m.TheftAlma Matter Drive

A complainant reported their Oldsmobile

Aurora was broken into and books were

stolen from the vehicle.

Jan. 16, 1:58 p.m.Alarm FireBoutwell Dramatic Arts

A curtain caught on fi re.

Jan. 16, 9:26 p.m.TheftMiller Horse Coliseum

A wallet was reported stolen.

Jan. 17, 4:40 a.m.AlcoholScarlett Commons, Building 3

Michael Logan Woods, Cody Ryan

Benard and Wesley Jordan Tabor were

issued campus citations for underage

consumption of alcohol.

Jan. 17, 4:41 p.m.Traffi cAlumni Drive

Robin Hardy was issued a state citation

for failure to provide proof of insurance.

CRIME BRIEFS

Nashville Shakespeare Festival: The TempestJan. 14 – 31Thursday – Saturday 7:30 p.m.Sunday 2:30 p.m.Location: Troutt Theater, Belmont

University

Admission: $10 for students, $19 in

advance, $22 at the door Thursday –

Saturday, $16 in advance and $19 at the

door Sunday.

Eastern Barrel Futurity Association Barrel RacingJan. 22-24Location: Tennessee Miller Coliseum,

MTSU

Admission: free

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey CircusJan 22 – 24Location: Sommet Center, Nashville

Admission: $14.75 – $102

Jeff the Brotherhood, MARJ and Special Guest 18+Jan. 22, 9 p.m.Location: The End

Admission: $5

Robbers, One Big Owl, The Fine Grain and The Man In the MoonJan. 25Location: Rocketown

Admission: $5

Help Haiti Benefi t Concert: DJ K7, Milele RootsJan. 21, 8 p.m.Location: The Riverhouse

Admission: $5

The Great American Trailer Park MusicalJan. 22-23, 7 p.m.Jan. 24, 2 p.m.Location: Mufreesboro Little Theater

Admission: Adults $10 and Students

and Seniors $5

Saturday PM Art: Erin Anfi nson: PrintmakingJan. 23, 2 p.m.Location: The Discovery Center

Admission: $5

Georgia O’Keeffe and Her TimesThrough Jan. 31Location: Frist Center for the Visual

Arts

Admission: $7 for students,

$ 10 adults and 18 and under free

CURRENT EVENTS

Events PolicySidelines welcomes current campus and

community events submitted by all readers. Please e-mail events to slcampus@mtsu.edu or slnews@mtsu.edu, and include the name, date, time and location of the event, as well as your name and a phone number for verifi -cation. We reserve the right to refuse events at our discretion as our space is limited.

Sidelines is the editorially independent, non-profi t student-produced newspaper of Middle Tennessee State University. Sidelines publishes Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters and Wednesday during June and July. The events listed are not necessarily associated with Sidelines or MTSU.

Photo by Jay Bailey, photography editor

A lone tree outside of the Keathley University Center battles against the elements waiting for spring to come.

“Now is the time that we really need help,” Sa-invil said. “I want peo-ple to know that this is

not going to go away in a month or two – it might be here forever.”

Donations can be brought to the drop boxes in the KUC lobby as well as Room 107 of Peck Hall, or Room 101 of Midgett Hall, through Friday.

“We are taking things that you may have at the house already, like canned foods or clothes that you do not even wear,”

Williams said.Items sought include

baby formula, antiseptic, rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs, cotton balls, hydro-gen peroxide, gauze, ban-dages, feminine products, petroleum jelly, bottled wa-

ter (preferably packaged by the case), powdered milk, gently used clothes, hand-held or portable radios, f lashlights with batteries, non-perishable foods, and children’s toys.

“Anything that they can do will really help, and I really appreciate them from the bottom of my heart,” Luma said. “I will be eternally grateful to everybody.”

“Although it started with just the [links to] Web sites, there is a danger of it mor-phing into something more nefarious,” Shaffer said.

The virus is now dis-guising itself as Mal-ware Defense. In actu-ality, this is not a valid anti-virus program.

A pop-up warning ap-pears stating that the com-puter is under attack from viruses and needs credit card information in order

to remove an alleged vi-rus, according to an ITD press release.

Anyone encountering any pop-up message that asks for personal informa-tion should close the win-dow and contact the ITD help desk immediately.

Schaffer said that all stu-dents should install anti-malware programs and keep anti-virus software up to date.

Any student who believes his or her computer is in-fected can reach the ITD help desk at 615-898-5345.

VIRUSESFROM PAGE 1

HAITIFROM PAGE 1

MTSU announced plans to unveil a new Staff Senate, an organization to represent the non-faculty employees in university government and advise President Sidney McPhee on staff-related issues.

Trina Clinton, an MTSU human resources coordinator, said HR will conduct the elections, which are set to begin the first week of May.

“We need you to nominate one or more of your col-leagues for the election that you feel would do a great job in representing non-faculty employees,” Clinton said. “In order to have a successful Staff Senate, it is important that the represented employees elect individuals that will voice their ideas and concerns.”

Clinton said the senate would consist of 24 members, with one representative for each of the six major divi-sions of the staff, as well as six at-large representatives. All representatives would be elected for a two-year term running during the fiscal year – July through June.

Nominations will be accepted until April 1. Anyone who wishes to nominate a candidate should e-mail Clin-ton at kclinton@mtsu.edu.

Staff Senate gives workers campus voiceSTAFF REPORT

I want people to know that this is not going to

go away in a month or two— it might be here forever.”ERWINE SAINVILSENIOR SOCIAL WORK MAJOR

4 SIDELINES THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 www.mtsusidelines.com

Befürworter des friedensNate Bernadini

Over-consumption does not equal prosperityAmericans must reformat standards for success to exclude materialism, envy

MT’s Stock rises; renews faith and school spirit

After the fi rst bowl win in MTSU history, students have yet another thing to be proud of in the athletics program. In a time where college coaches jump ship in the blink of an eye, such as Lane Kiffi n with the University of Tennessee, MTSU head coach Rick Stock-still has shown the MTSU com-munity exactly what he brings to the table, which is loyalty.

After turning down East Carolina University’s offer, Coach Stockstill has turned down two contract offers, with the other being an offer from the University of Memphis, in this off-season alone that would have, as rumors imply, nearly tripled the salary that he currently makes at MTSU. It was also speculated that he was a candidate for the head coach-ing position at South Florida. The position was fi lled by Skip Holtz, which in turn opened the ECU head coaching job.

With the bowl win under his belt, it’s a given that Stockstill will continue to gain respect from the players he already coaches and the future recruits that he will continue to bring into the Blue Raider family. Now, the students within this university owe Stockstill a bit of gratitude for wanting to make MTSU athletics a staple in the university and a reputable foot-ball program in the Football Bowl Subdivision. In the midst of his return, the Blue Raider football program will have sta-bility within itself, increasing the likelihood of another solid season in 2010.

His belief in the program he has been building for the last four seasons is something that MTSU students should be proud of. His reputation as a head coach has made Stockstill a hot commodity in today’s NCAA football program, but his loyalty to the community, football program and univer-sity has made him a special member of the MTSU family.

FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD Cease partisan feuds over health care

Yesterday, I discussed the constitutionality of the re-forms within the health care bill with an intelligent hu-man being. This was the fi rst time that I was given such a privilege.

The largest problem in this country is not the actual bills; rather, it is the needless parti-san bickering that has plagued the U.S. for centuries.

With a two-party sys-tem, the hang-up comes from one party putting out an idea, followed by the other party’s insistence that their opponent’s idea is lacking of that certain je ne sais quoi.

We desperately need reform on most of the systems in this country, including health care. But it can’t happen if our po-litical leaders continue to fi ght like children.

Amidst the partisan dis-putes, the average American’s viewpoint is often ignored.

But back to my discussion: the violation of the Constitu-tion lies in the 10th Amend-ment, which sets and limits constitutional power of the federal government – among other fantastical interpreta-tions, such as “U.S. v Lopez,” where it freed a 12-year-old boy charged with the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 when

he brought a gun to school.While the legislative inter-

pretations of this amendment have been stretched quite far in the past, mandating health insurance to the people of this great nation is a right that is certainly not discussed in the Constitution. Thus, the right should belong to the states.

This does not mean, how-ever, that the government shouldn’t have the right to re-quire health insurance among its people; the Constitution just requires it to be divvied among the states. Furthermore, I would venture to assume that Congress would include state exemption policies as it has in the previous editions of the health care bills.

We cannot afford to pay for the country’s health care, espe-cially not as an out-of-pocket expense. While it is great to live in a country that cannot refuse to treat us, the medi-

cal practitioners deserve to be paid a reasonable amount for their services. That is barely happening today in an effective way.

Medicare and Medicaid pa-tients leave their doctor’s offi ce expecting the bureaucracy to make good on its promise of payment. However, many doc-tors end up getting tangled in seas of red fl ags and forms in triplicate rejected due to the lack of a comma.

Moreover, municipalities, states and even the federal government have to expend countless dollars to the hospitals to cover for people that are uninsured and have no intention of ever paying their bills.

A bill proposing health care reform, includ-ing both versions that are being revised and collabo-rated as we speak, would not be a government handout to the “have-nots.” In fact, this “welfare-like” piece of leg-islation would promote and demand accountability for those people.

If we can fi nd a way to fol-low PAYGO [Pay as You Go] at the same time, making sure we can pay for each bill before it passes; it could be a win-win, even if certain states oppose

the mandate. Point blank, we as a country cannot accept a bill that does not let the states make that fi nal decision.

That is not saying the ne-cessity of reforming our cur-rent lousy excuse for care is anything less than just that: absolutely necessary.

Meanwhile, the people who oppose the bill are not even attempting to fi nd actual problems with it.

Sarah Palin, who has been unemployed until she recently joined the ranks of Fox News, is actually still preaching the

egregious lies of the death panels, even though the entire country generally feels quite strongly about promoting living wills.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., believes that welfare programs and health care re-form are actually signs that the U.S. is becoming a social-ist nation. Yet the queen of the tea party herself has ac-cepted more than $250,000 in government handouts and subsidies.

Socialism indeed. We live in a country that

uses a multitude of social programs to benefi t the hard-working people that make this country what it is. Socialism is

not communism. And just be-cause people respect the efforts of Cuban socialist reformer Che Guevara, however offen-sive, does not mean they are with the communist views of Fidel Castro.

This is also not the time to be fi scally liberal and toss around pork. What we need are opportunities to express all of our concerns and make a compromise that will help pull this country back on its feet.

In the spirit of contributing to the health care discussion, I urge each and every person who wants to comment on this column to direct those comments to U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Murfreesboro, before his retirement later this year.

So man up and direct your intelligent comments to some-one who can do something about it. It is much more pro-ductive to venture out of your typical environment – be it stereotypically conservative or liberal – and fi nd out what is actually going on and what you can do to help.

Dustin Evans is a senior or-ganizational communications major and managing editor for Sidelines. He can be reached at slmanage@mtsu.edu.

Cheers!Dustin Evans

If you were given a quiz on the health care bill, what grade do you think you’d make and why?

St. Charles

“20. I think the more I know

about politics, the more

frightened I get.”

David St. Charles, senior music major

Dominguez

“70. I haven’t done the research

myself. Since the problem is not

really in front of me, I just don’t

see the relevance to my life as of

right now.”

Yovanny Dominguez, senior accounting major

Al-Qadi

Andrea Al-Qadi , sophomore marketing major

“70. I don’t pay attention as

much as I should. I have health

problems, so I should probably

care more about it. I guess I’m

just too busy with school.”

Houston

“68. The information that I fi nd

online is too confusing for me to

understand exactly what is being

implemented from our current

administration. It’s like a web of

lies and information.”

Patrice Houston, senior elementary education major

Middle Tennessee State University1301 East Main Street P.O. Box 8

Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Editorial: 615-904-8357 Fax: 615-494-7648 Advertising: 615-898-5240 Fax: 615-904-8193

www.mtsusidelines.com

SportsSteven Curleyslsports@mtsu.edu

Editor in ChiefAlex Moorman*sleditor@mtsu.edu

Community NewsRozalind Ruth*slnews@mtsu.edu

Managing EditorDustin Evans*slmanage@mtsu.edu

Multimedia Larry Sterlingslonline@mtsu.edu

Production ManagerChris Carter*sldesign@mtsu.edu

AdviserSteven Chappellschappel@mtsu.edu

AdvertisingAndy Harpersl4ads@mtsu.edu

PhotographyJay Baileyslphoto@mtsu.edu

Campus News Marie Kemphslcampus@mtsu.edu

AdvertisingJeri Lambjlamb@mtsu.edu

* denotes memberof editorial board

FeaturesEmma Eglislfeatur@mtsu.edu

BusinessEveon Corlecorl@mtsu.edu

OpinionsMichael Stone*slopinio@mtsu.edu

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Americans make up a small percentage of the world, yet they consume a much larger percentage of its resources. The waste must stop.

According to The World Bank’s most recent sta-tistics (2008), the world’s population is around 6.6 billion people.

The United States has a population of more than 304 million.

This means that the U.S. is about 5 percent of the world’s population.

Furthermore, in 2005, MarketingCharts.com esti-mated that more than half

of the people living in the world live off of less than $2 a day.

M a rke t i ngc h a r t s .c om predicts that, in 2011, the U.S. will spend $753 billion on entertainment and me-dia goods and services.

With these statistics in mind, it is clear that we are a country, and perhaps ig-norantly so, which is driv-en, in many ways, by greed and over-consumption.

Any thinking person, when comparing these sta-tistics with the numerous problematic conditions the world faces today, can clearly see that we are not

only the cause to many of these problems, but also the potential solution.

No other country on the planet is in the position to inf luence the world and im-pact its direction into the future the way the United States can.

I love this country for many reasons, but to not criticize it would only lead to the continuation of step-

ping over the dirt we, as a nation, simply can’t afford to step over any longer.

If we want to benefit our lives, as well as the lives of others, in a positive and progressive way, we, again, as a country, need to re-think our lifestyles.

We must conduct them in a way based more on sur-vival rather than the envy and materialism our coun-try has been brainwashed to depend on and live by.

We need to be thankful and humble; there is never an excuse not to be either. I cannot stress this enough.

We need to reanalyze our standards, as a country, when defining what success is, and, at the same time, understand how we’ve as-sociated achievement with blinded corruption. This can only start with you.

We need to take only

what we need in life and no more.

We need to give in times of abundance.

We need to separate luxu-ry from necessity.

We need to think outside our borders not so we can be more open-minded, but be-cause we are infl uencing the

world in tremendous ways whether we are aware of it or not.

� A powerful country doesn’t make it great.� A developed country

doesn’t make it pros-perous. � An educated country

doesn’t make it right.� A religious country

doesn’t cause it to fall in God’s favor.� A decent heart is great.� A moral heart

is prosperous.� A just heart is right.

And God works in the hearts of those who seek Him, and religion plays no factor.

Nate Bernadini is a senior German major. He can be reached at ntb2f22@gmail.com.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 SIDELINES 5www.mtsusidelines.com

Transform your words into actionsTalk is cheap and virtually worthless; only initiatives impact the world in positive ways

Pearl before swinePearl Howell

College students tend to be all talk, no walk. They fearlessly approach the touchiest of politi-cal topics, arguing their opinion shamelessly.

Abortion, socialism, communism, partisanship, bipartisanship, Congress, gay marriage – no topic is safe…unless that topic is put to a vote.

None of them will tell you that they’ve never touched a voting ballot unless it was for their high school’s homecoming court.

While the number of those voting between the ages of 18 and 24 grows slightly each year, more than half of the youth in America are still not voting.

For a generation that

claims intense interest in the world around them, college-aged Americans are surprisingly inactive.

Political movements have trouble gaining a follow-ing on campus. Programs shrivel up and die due to lack of interest. These pro-grams and movements tend

to be focused on things that students should care about.

Circle K, a volunteer ser-vice organization, struggles to hold on to its few mem-bers. Volunteer fairs gen-erate very little interest on campus. The majority of the student body does not vote for campus elections, and even fewer students run or help with campaigns.

Why does such a vocal student body refuse to par-ticipate in movements that parallel their beliefs? It would appear to be a par-ticularly disturbing form of hypocrisy or perhaps an ill effect of sheer ignorance.

Those so willing to speak and so reluctant to act shows a lack of concern for the causes that they so frequently discuss. What

good is done by discussing how awful and widespread the destruction in Haiti was, for example, if no one participates in fundraisers and cleanup?

Students need to realize that they are living a sort

of farce when they simply hang out and shoot the breeze with friends and classmates. While having a social life is an impor-tant part of being a hu-man being, helping others is a far more important and worthy endeavor. Be-

sides, who says having both isn’t possible?

The problem might be in the college-student cli-ché: When a freshman en-ters college, he or she may be expecting to be dressed in black, sipping a piping-

hot latte and discussing politics. The reality is fre-quently different and usu-ally involves sweatpants and wolfing down instant lunches. Either way, both scenarios involve an aw-ful lot of sitting and living the American stereotype of

eating too much and talk-ing too loudly.

I suppose the point I am trying to get across is an old and overused one: Actions speak louder than words. We must stand and talk rather than sit and talk.

Discussing world events and developing opinions is important. Impact, though, does not come from a well-worded argument, but in strong, definitive ac-tion. Voting, volunteering, campaigning or starting a movement shows far more conviction than speaking your mind in class or de-bating with your friends.

Pearl Howell is a freshman theatre major. She can be reached at rph2t@mtsu.edu.

For a generation that claims intense interest in the world

around them, college-aged Americans are surprisingly inactive.”

Now put the two together and e-mail slopinio@mtsu.edu

6 SIDELINES THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 www.mtsusidelines.com

SPORTSBlue Raiders’ Stock stays still

MT’s head football coach has taken his name out of consideration for the head coaching position at East Carolina University, MT Athletic Director Chris Mas-saro confi rmed Tuesday.

Those close to the foot-ball program on campus ex-pressed a sense of surprised admiration for the coach.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for the guy, especially with what is going on elsewhere,” said Steve Winfree, a graduate student working at the Floyd Stadium ticket offi ce.

Massaro said Stockstill’s plan to stay is a statement for the Sun Belt conference.

“There’s no reason why the Sun Belt Conference can’t be perceived as an equal to Conference USA,” Massaro said.

Stockstill said MTSU was a young and growing football program.

Stockstill reportedly turned down a lucrative of-fer from ECU, where re-cently departed head coach Skip Holtz signed a six-year contract in 2008 that could have paid up to $9.5 million after incentives.

“I think the biggest con-cern he had was security— to make sure he could stay here for a long time,” Mas-saro said. “It really wasn’t about money, if it was about money, he’d already be gone.”

The decision comes as a surprise to some after the recent coaching shifts else-where in the country.

“Coach Stock is a prime ex-ample of a coach that’s there for the kids and there for the city,” said junior running back Phillip Tanner. “Unlike a lot of coaches that will tell you it’s just a business, Coach Stock proved it’s not just a business.”

Stockstill cited timing is-sues confl icting with recruit-

ment for both schools, with National Signing Day set for Feb. 3.

“The timing is never good for a coach to change jobs,” Stockstill said. “However, the timing of this opportunity came at a critical time in re-cruiting with both universi-ties and to the fault of neither MTSU nor ECU.”

On Tuesday, Stockstill was also named the Tennes-see Sports Writers Associa-tion Coach of the Year after leading the Blue Raiders to a 10-3 record and New Orleans Bowl victory over Southern Mississippi University.

Massaro also discussed adding a fi fth and sixth year to Stockstill’s contract, but would not give details re-garding the fi nancial element of such an extension.

Inconsistency limiting MT men’s basketball

MTSU breaks every hud-dle with the words “no ex-cuses;” however, they have every excuse in the book as to why they have been wildly inconsistent this year.

MTSU lost six of its fi rst nine games, with its only wins coming against King College, Lamar, and Cum-berland, most of those games being played without fi rst Team All-Sun Belt big man Desmond “Boogie” Yates.

All of camp and pre-sea-son practice was spent run-ning an offense that was cen-tered around Yates. Then, just days before the season, Boogie found out he would need surgery on his knee.

This completely changed the dynamics of the team, and suddenly the new play-ers had some monstrous shoes to fi ll.

Since the disappointing game against Tennessee, which was followed by a win versus Southern Illinois Universtiy-Edwardsville and a break for fi nals, MTSU has looked remarkably better. They worked on defense, re-bounding, and not turning the ball over, and accord-ing to assistant coach Artie Pepelea, “really found out who their team was.”

After two tough losses to Florida Atlantic and Florida International, this work came to fruition in an enormous upset win against Western Kentucky, put-ting the Raiders back in the conference mix.

MTSU’s guards have been the backbone of the incon-sistency. Nearly every game, James Washington, Rod Emanuel or James Gallman have put up good numbers, but never all on the same

night. All have broken the 20 point barrier, but often to no avail as the other two have done nothing.

Washington has been the most impressive, taking on the brunt of the scoring roll, and providing fi ery leader-ship not seen here prior to his arrival. “From the minute he arrived, this was his team,” Kermit Davis told me in the pre-season.

Emanuel is a slick scorer who is still fi guring out how to maximize his ability in Davis’ system.

He can shoot the three, but is much more comfort-able getting to the rim and from mid-range.

He could put up huge numbers every night, but until then we’re stuck with the inconsistency that has led him to only average 7.4 points per game so far.

Gallman is easily the best shooter on the team, but at just under six feet, he simply can’t get shots off against bigger opponents, or at least doesn’t think he can. If he gets trigger happy, then ex-pect more consistent num-bers, if not, he’ll continue to disappear in games.

Meanwhile, the two re-maining guards from last year’s squad have battled each other for playing time

with Calvin O’Neil eventu-ally winning out the job over Demario Williams as the backup point guard. O’Neil doesn’t bring much offen-sively, and is at times actually an offensive liability. Howev-er his defense on A.J. Slaugh-ter was the reason MTSU beat WKU.

Overall, there are lots of extenuating circumstances when it comes to this team. The backcourt had the big-gest adjustment and is just now fi nding its identity. That being said, with “no excus-es” in mind, the backcourt has earned a C+ so far.

“The frontcourt grade should be incomplete. There are just not enough grades in,” said Pepelea about MT-SU’s big men, and in reality he’s right.

Desmond Yates and Th-eryn Hudson hadn’t played a game together all season until last week.

Boogie started on fi re when he fi nally returned from his injury, dropping 20 points against Belmont in his fi rst game back, and then 26, despite being seemingly the only offensive option against Tennessee.

Then the decline start-ed. His offensive numbers have still been respectable but he’s been a liability on the defense.

Simply put, he’s not healthy.

“I’m getting there” he told me this week. “I can’t move like I want to, I can’t jump. It’s frustrating man.”

Clark named Wooden Award finalist

The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award Committee has selected Lady Raider’s redshirted senior for-ward Alysha Clark as a mid-season candidate for the 2010 John R. Wooden Award.

The award, the most cov-eted individual award in col-

lege basketball, recognizes outstanding individual and team play through the fi rst half of the season.

A national ballot will be an-nounced in March consisting of approximately 20 players competing for the player of the year award.

The Mount Juliet, Tenn., native leads the Sun Belt Con-

ference in scoring, averaging 24.6 points per game, and her 11.6 rebounds per game have her ranked sixth nationally.

The Lady Raiders travel to Bowling Green, Ky., to play Western Kentucky Univer-sity before returning home to take on the University of New Orleans and the University of North Texas.

By STEPHEN CURLEYSports Editor

STAFF REPORT

Blue Raiders finally down archrival Hilltoppers

One shot can change a season.

Junior point guard James Washington sank a 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left to give the Blue Raiders a 47-46 win over rival Western Kentucky University at the Murphy Center Monday.

The win marks the fi rst time the Blue Raiders have beaten the Hilltoppers since Feb. 23, 2006.

“I’m just really proud for our players and fans who have sat through a few losses in a row to Western Kentucky,” said Head Coach Kermit Davis. “It was a great atmosphere tonight; our fans packed it and willed us to win at the end.”

MT led the game until the 1:22 mark of the second half af-ter two free throws by WKU’s Jeremy Evans.

Trailing 46-44 going into its fi nal possession, the Hilltop-pers made a switch defensively to cover senior forward Des-mond Yates and gave Wash-ington the opportunity to bury the three.

WKU inbounded the ball and immediately called a tim-eout after crossing midcourt,

giving them 6.1 seconds to hit a game-winner. The Blue Raider defense prevented them from even getting a shot off until the fi nal second. The shot was heavily contested and com-pletely missed the basket.

“In the huddle we said we’re not going to lose,” Yates said. “There was no way we were go-ing to lose this game.”

As a defense, the Blue Raid-ers held the Hilltoppers to just 34.1 percent shooting, hitting 14 of 41 fi eld goal attempts. Preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year AJ Slaughter was held to just 11 points.

“He’s such a tough guard, he moves faster without the ball than anybody we play,” Davis said. “He makes great cuts, and Calvin [O’Neil] was on top of him.”

Yates led the scoring for the Blue Raiders with 14 points while contributing seven rebounds.

Forward Steffphon Pettigrew led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 12 points, despite only playing six minutes in the fi rst half due to foul trouble.

“They played harder and more physical than us,” said WKU Head Coach Ken Mc-Donald. “Middle Tennessee really exploited us at the for-

ward position, and that really hurt us.”

The Hilltoppers played a sloppy fi rst half, committing seven turnovers and scoring just 15 points.

“We didn’t come out and play with passion and energy,” Slaughter said. “We weren’t getting easy buckets and get-ting our confi dence, and I think that led to shooting a bad percentage.”

The win puts MT just one game behind WKU for fi rst place in the conference standings.

The Blue Raiders travel to Monroe, La., tonight to take on the University of Louisiana at Monroe before meeting WKU again Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.

The Hilltoppers travel to Troy, Ala., Thursday to play the Trojans.

“The Middle Tennessee-Western Kentucky game is the biggest basketball rivalry in our conference,” Davis said. “It always draws the best crowds, and I really do hope that both teams win Thursday and the game is for fi rst place on Saturday.”

The game Saturday will be nationally televised on ESPN2 at noon.

Photo by Brennan Sparta, staff photographer

Montarrio Haddock, senior guard and forward, dunks the ball against WKU on Tuesday.

By STEPHEN CURLEYSports Editor

Photo by Brennan Sparta, staff photographer

Head Coach Rick Stockstill yells plays at players at the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 20.

The Basketball BuzzCraig Hoffman

FEATURESTHURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 SIDELINES 7www.mtsusidelines.com

I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me as I gasp at the little red numbers blaring in my face at the register: $500. The bookstore employee shrugs her shoulders apologetically, as if she sees that same reaction at least a dozen times a day.

Thinking back on this memory of my first week of freshman year, I shudder. Not only because I nearly spent half a grand on textbooks, but because I see it happen to so many students every semester. It’s easy to point them out because they have that defeated look on their face as they emerge from the Keathley University Center with a handful of brand spanking new books in tow.

“I did the exact same thing you did,” admits Lana Tingle, fresh-man recording industry major, after I told her my horror story. “I put down the $5 at Customs to re-serve my books.”

Tingle says she knew it wasn’t go-ing to be cheap and just assumed it was normal to pay that much.

“They handed me my box when I went back and I paid be-cause I didn’t know any better,” Tingle says.

And that right there is the prob-lem; many students don’t know any better. In high school, we were

so used to being handed our text-books, promising we would return them without them looking like a pack of wild dogs had gone at the pages. But now, stepping into the college realm, we are introduced to the concept of purchasing our own books on our own time. Gasp! Wel-come to adulthood.

That’s where this handy dan-dy invention called the Internet steps into play, and not to sound snarky, but it boggles my mind how many students fail to explore their options and save themselves hundreds of dollars.

Let’s take a gander at Half.com. A subsidiary of eBay, Half provides a platform where sellers competitive-ly put their item up for sale based off the sale prices of others. The po-tential buyer sees the available in-ventory for any particular item and can choose the seller.

So that new Mathematical Ideas textbook you were about to pur-chase from Phillip’s bookstore can probably be found on Half for…well…half the price. Albeit used, who cares if your copy has ‘I heart Megan Fox’ scribbled on the pages. You’re going to inevitably try to sell it back anyway.

If the thought of buying your books from a sketchy, nameless in-dividual freaks you out, and you don’t want to sit around for weeks

waiting for said fellow to ship your book, then consider rent-ing your textbooks online from a well-known company like Chegg or Direct Textbooks.

You can go to Chegg.com, make an account and search for the books you need. You then have the option of renting your book for ei-ther 60, 90 or 120 days and at the end of that period, you just stick them back in the cute little bright orange box they came in and send them back.

“The price changes from book to book,” says Aayush Phumbhra, co-founder of Chegg. “For example, ‘Reading, Thinking and Writing,’ the most popular book used at your college, has a list price of $94 and on Chegg you can rent it for $32.”

If the thought of saving yourself an arm and a leg doesn’t excite you, then maybe the fact that they plant a tree for every book you rent will.

“With the help of students, we have been able to plant over 2 mil-lion trees,” Phumbhra says. “And we have saved $340,000 on your campus alone.”

So why would anyone object to this crazy notion of borrowing books and saving money?

“One reason is that fear of the unknown,” says Chris Lindgren,

president of Direct Textbooks, an-other online textbook company. “When you go to order online, if you haven’t done it before, you’re left wondering if you got the right book or if you will get it in time.”

If at this point you have looked at all these options and you want to

rule out dealing with online pur-chases entirely, then do yourself a favor and at least look at the book-stores that are off campus.

They have the student’s best in-terest in mind and they will give you the best deal.

“You’ve got to look at the big picture,” says Amy Richmond, manager of Beat the Bookstore. “I do encourage students to weigh out all their options and see how much money they will be out of pocket for buying something new or used online — After they have done all that, then come to us so we can help give you the lowest price we can.”

That day I left the bookstore, I went home, turned on my com-puter, did some research and saved myself $300 dollars.

It’s frugal, but do the responsible thing and bargain shop before you blow your money; the money you could be spending on burritos at Taco Bell.

By EMMA EGLIFeatures Editor

Re-evaluating the Sunday night specialNew restaurant brings culture to the ’Boro party scene

When I returned to To-mato-Tomäto last semester, I was shocked and disap-pointed that I would no lon-ger receive my coveted fi sh-bowl of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

However, in the short-est amount of time pos-sible when opening a new restaurant, the fi ne people at the Blue Rooster gutted, remodeled and opened 3 Brothers Deli & Brewhouse in the vacancy left by my ex-favorite eatery.

The kicker – this place has a full bar and one of the fi nest selection of imported beers in the ’Boro, and the

food is the secondary hook that will leave you satis-fi ed, full and happy until last call.

Yes friends, a bar in Murfreesboro that serves delicious food till 1 a.m. And, you can leave without reeking of stale cigarette smoke for weeks on end.

Although the sandwich-es speak for themselves, this delicatessen serves 75 bottles, has 22 different draughts to choose from, a full liquor and wine stock and a daily happy hour from 3 to 8 p.m. – screw the fi shbowl of PBR.

This lush digresses. 3 Brothers has a vivid

décor that establishes an

air of culture infused by classless kitsch. Yet, just behind the leg lamp, an heirloom Christmas favor-ite, visitors can fi nd unique treasures on display from local artists.

Virginia P. Brick-McEach-ern, who works as a liaison between the restaurant and local musicians, painters, photographers and other artists, said she holds “The Beatnick Night of Jazz, Art & Wine” every Sunday at 7 p.m. Local artists are fea-tured for a month, with a debut night during the “Beatnick” night where visitors can meet and speak with the artists.

The evening kicks off at

8 p.m. when the artists are joined with local musicians and spoken word artists, like Word Up. Later in the evening, the microphone is opened up for anyone to jam, bringing a truly eclec-tic evening of poetry, music and rhythm.

While being surrounded by music fans, brilliant ar-tistic creations and hold-ing a frosted mug of Hazed and Infused, it seems like enough for a great Sunday. However, one can also catch up on the game simultane-ously while digging into The Big Brother, the signature sandwich – a sinful pile of numerous deli meats topped with French fries and cole-

slaw on toasted sourdough. The thought of eating all

of that on a sandwich was a tad frightening, but the combination of corned beef, coleslaw and fries is actual-ly heartwarming and plays into the home-style feel 3 Brothers is going for.

Sandwiches, salads and the almost famous chili can also be paired with the fresh-fried chips and horseradish dip to deliver a subtle pop to the senses.

If Sunday is not a good day to venture out, 3 Broth-ers has events each night, including Beer School from 5 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday.

Beer School features a brewing expert that can give

visitors insight to the brew-ing world. Four samples of different hops and malt blends can be tasted for $5, with the usual happy hour special of receiving your third beer for free.

With different music nights, trivia contests and regular drink and food specials, 3 Brothers is a fantastic hang out for all ages. It is a place you can call home, when you don’t want to deal with “those people.” –Cheers.

Local artists interested in contributing artwork for 3 Brothers’ gallery pre-sentations should con-tact Brick-McEachern at queenp227@yahoo.com.

Photo by Jay Bailey, photography editor

Guests enjoy live music and one-of-a-kind art at 3 Brothers Deli & Brewhouse. Between live music, tasty sandwiches and wonderful beer choices, everyone is sure to fi nd something pleasing to the senses at this Main Street hot spot.

By DUSTIN EVANSManaging Editor

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8 SIDELINES THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010 www.mtsusidelines.com