SPORTSpage 4

FEATURESpages 5, 6

OPINIONSpage 7

SUNNYNO CHANCE OF RAIN

HIGH 94, LOW 64

Brandon Flowers, lead singer for the Killers, releases strong new solo album

Opinions:Opinions:Appreciate military veterans’ sacrifi ce despite political viewspage 7

VOL. 87 NO. 05MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Mosque leader reactsPhoto by Jay Bailey, photo editor

Supporters of the new Islamic Center of Murfreesboro raised peace signs into the air Thursday as opponents discussed why the community center should not be built during the Rutherford County Commission meeting last

Imam explains center’s absence in protests

Just days after the Rutherford County Commission meeting Thursday, Imam Ossama of the Islamic Cen-ter of Murfreesboro voiced support for First Amend-ment rights and said it was one of the reasons he loved America.

Ossama said he supports the local community’s right to protest construction of the new Islamic Center and is glad to see that freedom of speech actually exists, but he said he feels the center should not get offi cially involved with the protests because he wants to remain peaceful.

“We are comfortable here and will reside in peace,” Ossama said. “To our opponents, the door is always open.”

The center will replace the current mosque that has been in Murfreesboro for more than 30 years. The current mosque, at about 3,000 square feet, only houses a small portion of its members, Ossama said. The new mosque, proposed to be 52,000-square-feet will include a 6,800-square-foot multipurpose room for praying and holding social events.

Ossama said members know the opposing side is a very small group of residents, and that they appreci-

ate the local supporters and counter-protest efforts designed to show the positive side of the argument.

Aaron Shapiro, an instructor of religious studies in the philosophy department, said he believes religious freedom is a core democratic value and Muslims de-serve the same right to worship as any other Ameri-can citizen.

Layla Hantouli, a member of the Islamic Center, said she converted to Islam three years ago and is taking the protests personally.

“Walking down the street, people yell at me to go home, and look at me strange because of my head scarf,” Hantouli said.

Saleh Sbenaty, an engineering technology profes-sor in the College of Business, said he believes the protests could have been part of a healthy debate if it was not for the hate messages that protestors have shouted in the past.

“When Muslims are labeled as terrorists, and ac-cused of crimes that they have never committed, the freedom of expression turns into an organized hate campaign against Islam,” said Sbenaty, who serves as chair of the center’s planning committee.

By JORDAN BRIENContributing Writer

MOSQUE, PAGE 3

LGBT fraternity to form on campus

An LGBT Frater-nity is slated to join the MTSU campus with the support of students and the administration.

Brandon Thomas, a junior majoring in po-litical science, said he has been interested in starting up an LGBT-only frater-nity for quite some time.

“It would give mem-bers a place to hang out and serve the com-munity fraternally,” Thomas said. “This fra-ternity will serve as an organization for men who want to be Greek but are not comfort-able in a heterosexual environment.”

The new fraternity would be called Sigma Phi Beta and focus on fra-ternal values, including brotherhood, scholarship, leadership, education, fra-

ternity life and schol-arship, ac-cording to the Greek o r g a n i -z a t i o n ’ s n a t i o n a l website.

As of right now,there is only one chap-ter, the Alpha Chapterin Arizona.

Thomas said he lookedfor a fraternity that would accommodatehim. However, he wantedto join a fraternity thatnot only allowed gaymen, but also, acceptedtransgender men.

“When I was lookingaround for fraternitiesI wanted an allowanceof transgender men,”Thomas said. “A gay al-lied fraternity is opento everyone.”

By ASHLEE GRAYContributing Writer

NPR reporter to visit campus

Nina Totenberg, a reporter for National Public Ra-dio, will be on campus Wednesday as part of MTSU’sConstitution Week to speak about how justice hasevolved in the U.S. Supreme Court throughout her morethan 30 years of journalism experience covering theJudicial Branch.

Totenberg’s lecture titled “Establishing Justice: TheNew Supreme Court” is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m. inthe Tucker Theatre, and the event is free and open tothe public.

“Ms. Totenberg’s experience and intelligent interpreta-tion of the nation’s highest court will provide insight andperspectives to further our study,” said Mary A. Evins, anassociate professor of history, in an MTSU press release.

Totenberg has won many journalism awards in broad-casting, such as the National Press Foundation Awardfor Broadcaster of the Year, and the 2010 Edward R.Murrow Award, which is given by the Corporation forPublic Broadcasting.

“The national call to form a more perfect union and es-tablish justice commences the U.S. Constitution,” Evinssaid. “Justice and the American court system frame Con-stitution Day activities this year, and [her] experience andintelligent interpretation for the nation’s highest court willprovide insight and perspectives to further our study.”

FRATERNITY, PAGE 3

By AMANDA HAGGARDContributing Writer

Constitution Week informs about Americans’ rights

Student organizations gathered out-side of the Keathley University Center last week to hand out shirts, give po-litical quizzes, and encourage students to register to vote in celebration of the 223rd anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.

The American Democracy Project, Young Americans for Liberty, Printer’s Proof and student musicians volunteered to inform students about the Constitu-tion, their rights and their responsibilities as citizens, as part of MTSU’s Constitution Day celebration.

Volunteers from the Democracy Project set up a table outside of the KUC with a mock Constitution for

people to sign, and many students decided to show up with their own John Hancock’s.

“[Students] can come up here and sign that they still agree with the Consti-tution,” said Andrew King, a junior ma-joring in public relations and member of the Democracy Project. “It’s pretty much one universal thing all Americans can agree on – no matter what their political beliefs are.”

King said he felt the primary ob-jective was to get students excited and involved with their civic du-ties, something that he said many young people don’t exercise much these days.

“We want to light a fi re in people’s hearts and get them involved in govern-

ment,” King said. “We want to get more people out voting, and whether they are Republican, Democrat, Independent, or whatever, we just want them to under-stand that they need to be involved in the political process.”

To follow through with their goal of getting more students to vote, members of the Democracy Project set up with voter registration forms.

“[We’re] getting people registered to vote, giving them a change of address if they need to, and if they’re in Rutherford County, we can mail it out for them,” said Carlin Stinson, a sophomore major-ing in nutrition. “We’re making prog-ress, and they can feel like they’re mak-ing a difference.”

Thomas

By JOSHUA M. WARDStaff Writer

CONSTITUTION, PAGE 3

Wine Tasting:A Fine Wine AffairTuesday, 5:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.1710 E. Main St.

Reservations: 615-893-0022

Concert:The Hold SteadyTuesday, 8 p.m.Exit In, Nashville

Tickets: $18 in advance, $22

at the door

Musical:“9 to 5: The Musical”Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.Tennessee State Museum

FREE

Concert:

Lyle Lovett and His Large BandWednesday, 8 p.m. Ryman Auditorium, Nashville

Tickets: $49.50 and up

Concert:Jimmy Gnecco of Ours with Cynthia CataniaWednesday, 9 p.m.Mercy Lounge

Tickets: $20

Sports:Nashville Predators vs. Carolina HurricanesPre-Season Game Thursday, 7 p.m. Bridgestone Arena, Nashville

Tickets: $3 and up

Festival:“Southern Fried Festival”Friday through SaturdayDowntown Columbia

For more information:

931-381-0954

2 SIDELINES MONDAY, September 20, 2010 www.mtsusidelines.com

Sigma Phi Epsilon rewards studentsTwo of MTSU’s fi nest freshmen have been se-

lected from a pool of about 1,600 students to re-ceive a scholarship from Sigma Phi Epsilon, the fi rst such award in fi ve years, according to the members of the fraternity.

Alex Musselman, a pre-medical major, and Caleb Jennings, a law enforcement ma-jor, received the scholarship for displaying academic excellence and for involvement in their communities, said Corbyn Payne, vice president of communications for Sigma Phi Epsilon.

“ W e l o o k e d at a lot of t h i n g s , f r o m l e a d e r -ship skills and civic involve-m e n t , to athletics, extracurricular clubs and church groups,” Payne said, “pretty much any involvement in the community.”

Both freshmen received a $500 scholarship Saturday evening at an award dinner held by Sigma Phi Epsilon.

“It’s an honor, especially considering the amount of people they offered it to,” Jennings said. “I couldn’t be happier.”

Jennings, who attended Smyrna High School, was on the cross-country team, in the drama and Spanish clubs, and in all fi ve clubs in the Junior Reserve Offi cers

Training Corps.“I feel pretty good about it,” Musselman

said. “I thank the brothers for voting for me.”Musselman played as an offensive guard on

the Trojans football team at Collinwood High School in Iron City, as well as served as a mem-ber of The National Beta Club and the Fellow-ship of Christian Athletes.

While the scholarship was offered to all male incoming freshman students, whether they applied to be a brother of Sigma Epsilon or not, Payne said he hoped that the two fi nalists would consider joining.

“They are the kind of people that we are usually looking for,” Payne said. “We interviewed them and had them around the house, and I think they would feel at home with our fraternity.”

M u s s e l -man and Jen-

nings said they would consider joining Sigma Epsilon.

“They are a great bunch of guys,” Jennings said.

Although it has been a few years since the MTSU chapter has participated in its national program, members of the frater-nity said they hoped to offer it more often in the future.

“I wish I had, had the same op-portunity when I was a freshman,” Steven Hartford, vice president of recruitment for Sigma Phi Epsilon and the organizer of the event said.

The fraternity hopes to increase its schol-arship budget in the future so it can of-fer larger scholarships to more students, Hartford said.

While the scholarship was offered to more than 1,000 freshmen, Hartford said that about only 25 applied in time for the July 1 deadline.

“I know when I fi rst started going to school I checked my email pretty regularly, but I understand that a lot of these guys prob-

ably didn’t,” Hartford said. “I think if wehad offered more money then more studentswould have applied for it, so we hope to inthe future.”

Nationally, the fraternity has been offeringthe scholarship for 20 years, Payne said, andthat currently over 150 chapters offer it. Everychapter is responsible for raising the funds anddistributing the scholarship.

“We hope that more people will apply nexttime,” Hartford said.

By CHRISTOPHER MERCHANTAssistant News Editor

Gordon votes on new energy bill

U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon voted Thurs-day in support of a bill designed to provide loans to American families and farmers to pay for environmen-tally friendly home improvements.

If passed by the U.S. Senate and signed into law by President Barack Obama, the Rural Energy Savings Act would establish the Rural Star and Home Star programs. Both would provide from $3,000 up to $7,500 in loans to qualifying homeowners to pay for the initial cost associated with energy efficiency upgrades.

“This bill will lower utility bills for families, reduce our country’s energy use, and create thousands of needed jobs in the manufacturing and con-struction industries,” Gordon said Fri-day in a press release.

The loans would be facilitated by ex-isting electric co-ops in rural commu-nities. Customers would then repay the loan over 10 years as part of their nor-mal electric bill.

“We are helping American families and farmers drive our economic recov-ery by giving them the tools they need to make their homes and farm buildings more efficient,” Gordon said.

According to the press release, energy savings created by the renovations would help to offset the cost of the loans over time. The programs would be intended to boost demand for American energy efficient products, materials, and con-struction and installation services.

“American manufacturers could use this boost that these loans would pro-vide,” Gordon said. “What’s more, the program is designed to be deficit neu-tral, with all of the capital going out as loans instead of grants.”

More than 90 percent of these ma-terials, such as caulking, insulation, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning systems, hot-water heaters, sealant, and windows and doors, are made in the United States, according to the press release.

“The cheapest form of energy is ener-gy you don’t use,” Gordon said. “Fami-lies and companies are finding ways to cut down on energy use and save money. Supporting their efforts with research and smart economic policies has been on of my major priorities in Congress.”

STAFF REPORT

Turkish lecture informs students

The University Honors College is planning to host a lecture Thursday on campus about democ-racy and the military in the Muslim country of Turkey, according to an MTSU press release.

“Civil-Military Rela-tions and Democratiza-tion in Turkey” will be delivered by Isa Afacan, director of Academic Affairs at the Istanbul Center in Atlanta, at 2 p.m. in Room 106 of the Honors Amphitheatre in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.

John Vile, dean of the Honors College, re-cently visited Turkey and observed that while the country is a leading democratic Muslim na-tion, the military has at times intervened in politics to preserve the separation of church and state, according to the press release.

“The ongoing relation-ship between military and civilian authorities is critical to the future of the country and possibly

the region as a while,” Vile said.

At the Istanbul Center, Afacan has worked as a liason between visiting dignitaries from Turkey and state and local offi -cials in Georgia, accord-ing to the press release. He is a doctorial candi-date in the School of In-ternational and Public

Affairs at Florida Interna-tional University, where he taught international affairs for three years.

Afacan’s dissertation is on Turkish-Ameri-can foreign relationsin the post-Cold War era. He will have time after the lecture to an-swer questions from audience members.

STAFF REPORT

Open House:MTSU Student Pro-grammingMonday and Tuesday9 a.m. until 4 p.m.Keathley University Center

Room 208

FREE

Greek Affairs:Interfraternity CouncilGreek RowRecruitment begins Monday for

the 12 fraternities of

the council.

Greek Affairs:Panhellenic CouncilGreek RowRecruitment begins Monday for

the six sororities of the council.

Event:“Our Parade Of Flags” & Ping Pong TournamentTuesday 4:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.Keathley University Center Knoll

MTSU Intercultural and Diver-

sity Affairs Center in partner-

ship with English Language Ser-

vices of the University College

FREE

Student Life:“Glee” Season Pre-miere PartyTuesday, 8 p.m. until 9 p.m.Monohan Hall, 1st Floor Lobby

FREE

Event:“Express Yourself!”

Wednesday, 8 p.m. until 10 p.m.Monohan Hall

Room 219

FREE

Student Life:Palatial Concert SeriesThursday 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.Health, Wellness and

Recreation Center

FREE

Film:“The Karate Kid”Sunday 8 p.m. until 10 p.m.Keathley University Center,

The Knoll

FREE for students

LOCAL EVENTSLOCAL EVENTS

Events PolicySidelines welcomes current campus

and community events submitted by all readers. Please e-mail events to slcam-pus@mtsu.edu or slnews@mtsu.edu, and include the name, date, time and loca-tion 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 inde-pendent, non-profi t student-produced newspaper of Middle Tennessee State University. Sidelines publishes Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters and online during June and July. The events listed are not necessarily associated with Sidelines or MTSU.

On CampusOn Campus Off CampusOff Campus

Photo courtesy of Sigma Phi Epsilon

The Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity hosted a banquet Saturday, giving two scholarships to incoming freshmen for their outstanding academics and loyalty to the community.

“They are the kind of people that we are usually looking

for... I think they would feel at home with our fraternity.”

CORBYN PAYNEVICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATION FOR SIGMA PHI EPSILON

“The cheapest form of energy is en-ergy you don’t use. Families and com-panies are fi nding ways to cut down

on energy use and save money”

CONGRESSMAN BART GORDONU.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Photo courtesy of The Society of Universal Dialogue

Isa Afacan, director of Academic Affairs at the Istanbul Center in Atlanta, is slated to give a lecture on campus Thursday about democracy and military in Turkey.

MONDAY, September 20, 2010 SIDELINES 3www.mtsusidelines.com

VandalismSept. 15, 12:45 p.m.Greenland Drive

A car was reportedly vandalized in the

parking lot.

Traffi cSept. 15, 4:52 p.m.Bell StreetA tag was reported stolen from a vehicle in

the parking lot.

TheftSept. 16, 10:16 a.m.John Bragg Mass Communication Building

Items were reportedly missing from

a classroom.

TrafficSept. 16, 1:26 p.m.Business and Aerospace Building

Kenneth Sprott, 51, was issued a state cita-

tion for parking in a f ire lane.

TheftSept. 17, 8:51 a.m.Davis Science Building

Items were reportedly missing from

a classroom.

FireSept. 17, 11:41 a.m.Bell Street

A car caught on f ire in the parking lot.

TrafficSept. 17, 3:31 p.m.Maintenance Lot

A vehicle was damaged in the parking lot.

AlarmSept. 17, 6:09 p.m.

Scarlett Commons Club House

A f ire alarm went off.

TrafficSept. 17, 10:51 p.m.Rutherford Boulevard

Jennifer Lokey, 33, was issued a state cita-

tion for driving on a suspended license.

AlarmSept. 18, 1:25 a.m.Scarlett Commons Club House

A f ire alarm went off.

AlcoholSept. 18, 2:15 a.m.Rutherford Boulevard

Lawrence Clayton Chambers III, 21, was

arrested for a fi rst offense of driving under the

infl uence and violation of the implied

consent law.

CRIME BRIEFS

Center attempts to stay out of protests

Sbenaty said the “organized hate campaign” against the local Mus-lim community is “totally unwar-ranted” because it has been one of the most productive and law-abiding communities in Middle Tennessee for decades.

“As for Kevin Fisher, one of the or-ganizers who is hiding behind environ-mental and traffi c concerns, I would ask where was he when the World Outreach ‘mega’ Church was built,” Sbenaty said.

Spencer Dixon, a disabled Vietnam War veteran, said he is not Muslim but supports the Islamic community in Murfreesboro.

“It’s sad [that] such a small group gives such a bad name to the community,” Dixon said, add-ing the U.S. Constitution should protect everyone.

“Christians have caused just as many problems throughout history,” Dixon said.

Photo by Jay Bailey, photo editor

Supporters and opponents of the construction of the new Islamic Center of Murfreesboro lined up Thursday inside of the Rutherford County Courthouse before the County Commission’s meeting.

MOSQUEFROM PAGE 1

Multiple organizations gather to commemorate founding of nation

Young Americans for Liberty also had a table set up with the “World’s Smallest Po-litical Quiz,” which determines your place-ment on the political spectrum and shows students what histori-cal figures share their political beliefs.

YAL handed out pocket-sized Consti-tutions and copies of Frédéric Bastiat’s “The Law,” an 1850 essay on political econom-ics that emphasizes in-dividual liberties and criticizes a government that takes advantage of its own laws to control its citizenry.

“Everybody should read it, regardless of what they believe,” said Galadriel Robinson, a member of YAL.

Robinson, who hopes to attend MTSU to study graphic design, said she also feels that student involvement in government is of the utmost importance.

“There are so many people that don’t even think about politics, like ‘I don’t want to be involved,’” Robin-son said. “The thing is, politics are going to be involved with you whether you like it or not.”

Robinson said YAL also had several pages of signa-tures on a petition to have

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas’ 14th Congressional District visit MTSU.

Printer’s Proof brought out an old-fashioned printing machine to make shirts with constitu-tional themes like “We The People.”

“All the designs are based on the Constitu-tion, trying to get more people aware of it,” said Cullen McMackins, a junior majoring in stu-dio art and co-presi-dent of Printer’s Proof. “It’s $10 if you don’t have a shirt, and if you bring a shirt we’ll print it for free.”

Musical performanc-es were also heard throughout the day as students and volun-teers played songs rel-evant to the occasion.

“We put a call out across campus for any student who wanted to perform songs of patriotism and pro-test, anything that was Constitution related,” said Mary Evins, as-sociate professor of history, who serves as coordinator of the Democracy Project.

“One professor from the College of Mass Communication has brought his songwrit-ing class,” Evins said.

On Friday morning, there was a live read-ing of the Constitution featuring John Vile, dean of the University Honors College, mem-bers of the American

Democracy Projectand any other student that wanted to read his or her favorite portion of the text.

The importance of active involvement in government was the major theme of both days, but some said that more than any-thing Constitution Week was about getting students’ attention.

“It’s just good to get out there to talk about views and opinions, like the Founding Fa-thers did,” Robinson said. “We’re supposed to be involved, the Constitution wants us to be involved.”

King said he un-derstands youngpeople often getfrustrated with the political process.

“It gets a little con-fusing at times,” King said. “You’ve got Fox [News] on one side yelling something,and you’ve got MSN-BC on the other side yelling something else - we want to clear out all the clutterand get to the meat of things.”

Evins said that al-though Constitution Week didn’t have a ma-jor turnout, she hopes that this will help some students grow in terms of their civic responsi-bilities.

“More than any-thing, what we’re re-ally doing is planting seeds,” Evins said.

Student vies for new organization

He said he wanted to inform the campus and community about issues in the gay community concerning discrimination.

“Our campus is not as informed as it should be,” Thomas said. “A lot of people need to be edu-cated. People don’t know that you can be fi red for being gay.”

Thomas said he spoke to Angela King, director of Greek Affairs, two weeks ago and discussed plans for bringing the LGBT fraternity to campus, and he learned the necessary steps he would have to take in order to get approval to have the fraternity on campus.

“This week was the fi rst time anyone has shown interest in this fraternity,

and they have the full sup-port from Greek Affairs and administration,” King said. “We support any or-ganization that can uphold their fraternal values and the mission of MTSU.”

King said there are other LGBT fraternities and so-rorities across the nation on other college campuses, and she said those would be welcomed to campus as well. She said she was very optimistic about the new fraternity’s formation on campus and hopeful to get the process of establishing the fraternity started as soon as all of the guide-lines are met.

“Most organizations be-gin as a colony,” King said. “Once they are on campus, they must meet national standards and be a colony for a certain period of time. Also, the organization must comply with Greek Affairs, and must actively recruit as

well as have a certain num-ber of interest.”

There is a project under-way called the Lambda 10. This project’s purpose is to inform the community about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender topics at the college level, and pro-vide educational tools to understand sexual orienta-tion, according to the na-tional Lambda 10 website.

When an LBGT orga-nization arrives at MTSU, the fraternity will be placed into a council, King said.

“Right now, they would have the opportunity to join the Multicultural Greek Council, but if they want to join Interfrater-nity Council, they have that option as well,” King said. “When an LGBT organization comes to the university we will be completely supportive and thrilled to accommodate any student’s request.”

FRATERNITYFROM PAGE 1

Photo courtesy of Brandon Thomas, junior political science major

Zak Craft (Left), Janee Ivorie (Right) and Brandon Thomas (Middle) set up a table in the Keathley University Center for MT Lambda’s annual “Spring Out Week” last semester.

CONSTITUTIONFROM PAGE 1

4 SIDELINES MONDAY, September 20, 2010, 2010 www.mtsusidelines.com

SPORTSMany things to consider in Dasher case

OvertimeScott Henry

College football coaches have several questions to answer before they make disciplinary decisions. Which decision is good for the program, for the player, for their careers?

Rarely do all three agree. In the odd case of MT quarterback Dwight Dasher, Head Coach Rick Stockstill concentrated on the fi rst, disguised the second, and set the third aside.

What’s good for a coach’s career is win-ning games. In the season opener, Min-nesota’s defense would have been sorely tested in trying to contain the slippery Dasher. A win over the Gophers would have enhanced Stockstill’s already rising profi le; a profi le that adds to the stress that Blue Raider fans feel every offseason, waiting for news that coach Stockstill will one day don another school’s hat at a press conference.

What’s good for a player is to play and show their skills to scouts. That’s what the player thinks, anyway. Even if Stock-still didn’t do right by Dasher, the player, he made a more important decision in doing right by Dasher, the man.

We all need occasional reminders that choices have consequences. This lesson goes on long after the thrill of living is gone, to borrow a line.

Dasher’s pro prospects take a hit here, however. A player with gambling hab-its, real or rumored, whether betting on poker, football or turtle racing, raises red fl ags with the conduct-conscious Na-tional Football League. As a man though, Dasher’s taken his medicine and can now carry on with his personal life.

But is the medicine suffi cient? Some question the ethics of bringing a player back after a situation like this.

To them, I ask: a situation like what?This is an athlete making a poor

choice of people from whom to bor-row money. True, the theft of a team-mate’s personal check is more disturb-ing. Colin Boss, the teammate that Dasher stole from, however, appears to have forgiven Dasher and refuses to fi le charges.

Did Dasher rob a 7-Eleven, send a girlfriend threatening texts, or take gifts from an agent? No, no, and only if you think agents hire 80-year-old runners who live in Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Before this week’s NCAA ruling, Dasher was technically still eligible to play. He could have started those fi rst two games. If the four-game suspen-sion had still come down last week, Dasher would have been out for a pair of Sun Belt Conference games, includ-ing the expected title showdown with Troy University.

The Sun Belt games are the ones that decide bowl bids, so no, it’s not all civic awareness at work here.

Dasher missing the first two games was still an MTSU decision not an NCAA ruling. President Sidney McPhee sits on the NCAA Board of Di-rectors, so we can believe that everyone working under him will closely consult NCAA law in times like these.

What’s good for a program - at least one that isn’t a professional sports as-sembly line like Southern Cal football or Kentucky basketball - is showing that it plays by the rules. We know college ath-letics can be shady at times. But if integ-rity was paramount, Tennessee would be looking for a new basketball coach, John Calipari would be selling cars in New Jersey, and Lane Kiffi n would be pumping gas in South Carolina.

There is no loss of integrity in Stock-still’s choice to keep Dasher on the team, after a case in which no charges were fi led. To think otherwise is to expose one’s own envy of an athlete’s perceived sense of entitlement. This is a learning experi-ence for a player who may have thought himself bulletproof.

Maybe it didn’t do much for the play-er. But, what’s good for the program is what times like these do for young men as people.

MT’s Tennis teams starts season swingingPhoto by Jay Bailey, photo editor

Alex Dachos, a sophomore on the tennis team, (Top); Yuiri Nomoto, a freshman on the tennis team, (Bottom left); and Carla Nave, a sophomore on the tennis team, (Bottom right); played in the Buck Bouldin Classic on Friday and Saturday. The second annual tour-nament boasted many MT winners, winning all seven of their singles matches and one-half of the doubles contests played Saturday.

Like many girls around the world, Vanessa Mueggler began kicking a soccer ball with her father as a child. He coached her through youth leagues and recreation ball and simultaneously passed on his love and knowledge of the sport.

She showed potential early in life, but Mueggler truly knew she had found her call-ing when the trophies started stacking up after a summer with her 13-year-old club team, the Lakers.

Playing in her final cam-paign as a Blue Raider, Mue-ggler continues to shine and is leading MT offensively through one of its toughest schedules in school history. The senior midfielder leads the team with five goals and 11 points after eight games.

The All-Sun Belt Team performer spoke with Side-lines about her time at MTSU and her hopes to turn the season around.

SL: How do you feel the team is doing so far this season?

VM: I’ve been a little dis-appointed with how we’ve done. We haven’t been play-ing to our full potential. As individuals, everyone is re-ally talented, but we haven’t been taking the field with the focus and determina-tion we should be. I think if we focused more, we’d have better results.

SL: What are your goals heading into the rest of your season?

VM: Individually, I just want to help the team out as much as I can. We want to win the conference tour-nament and take MTSU to NCAA’s for the first time.

SL: As a senior, how do you embrace your leadership role, and what do you do to turn things around this season?

VM: I tend to lead more with actions. I just go out and play my game, play hard and hope people latch on to that mindset. We’ve all just got to continue to play hard. We’ve played a lot of hard teams, but we can’t be intimidated anymore. We’re going to turn it around before conference play, and we’ll be okay.

SL: How does it feel know-ing this is your last season

with the team?VM: It’s kind of weird. I

don’t like thinking about it, because I have no idea what I’m doing with my life after school [laughs].

SL: What is your most memorable moment playing here at MTSU?

VM: Last year, I scored in the conference tournament against North Texas. My teammate Jen [Threlkeld] crossed the ball, and I fin-ished. She was one of my fa-vorite players to play with, so that was really memorable. Also, scoring against [Uni-versity of North Carolina] this year was special, because

they were the number one team in the country.

SL: What do you enjoy when you’re not playing soccer?

VM: I really like cooking with my roommates. We always try new recipes to-gether. I also like shopping and yoga.

SL: What are your plansafter you graduate?

VM: I’ll hopefully finish my degree next December. Then if I work at a job using my degree for a year, I can qualify for a visa to stay in the states. I don’t have any plans to keep playing soccer right now, but I would if I get the itch later on in life.

Soccer: Kicking since birthMueggler discusses her senior year, graduationBy WILL TRUSLERSports Editor

CLASS: Senior POSITION: Midfi elderNicknames: “V”Hometown: Pincourt, QuebecMajor: EconomicsRole Model: Mia HammFavorite Movie:“Pride and Prejudice”Favorite Book:“Eat, Pray, Love”Favorite Food: SushiPre-Game Rituals: I read a chapter from “Mind Gem” before every game.

MT SPORTSSPOTLIGHTVANESSA MUEGGLER

It is not unusual for the Keathley University Cen-ter to be swarmed with people, but on Tuesday, the crowd had a purpose – the Lighthouse Music Group hosted a promotional event for emerging R&B artist Lauren J.

Lauren J is the stage name for MTSU student Jessica Lauren Winters, a sophomore majoring in recording industry with a dual concentration in music business and audio production. Jessica was born and raised in Mem-phis, and she has been singing since she was 3 years old.

Members of the promo-tional team were dressed in 1940s style, consisting of loud printed clothes, red lipstick and pin-curled hair. They walked around selling raffl e tickets and promoting Lauren J’s new single “Betty,” which dis-cusses the life of an inde-pendent businesswoman.

“I can remember her waking up singing in the morning,” said Donna

Winters, Jessica’s mother, who left Memphis at 6 a.m. on Tuesday in support of her daughter.

Like many artists, Jes-sica’s musical roots came from church. As a child, she sang in the church youth choir. In middle school, she participated in Talent Fridays when students would showcase their many talents.

“I would always get up and do something,” Jessica said.

Jessica says she was sure she wanted to be a musi-cian when she performed a song she wrote called “Se-cret Boo” in front of her school in eighth grade.

“I was singing from my heart and the crowd was vibing with me,” Jessica said.

She wrote the song for a guy she had a crush on.

“He knew it was about him, so he played me good,” Jessica said with a laugh.

From there, Jessica con-tinued to perform wher-ever she could. She even met Memphis-based rap group 8 Ball & MJG whom she networked with and

was able to meet producer Al Spears to record her fi rst demo tape.

She used the studio of a woman by the name of Flow, who gave Jessica her fi rst stage name, JBaby. Flow introduced Jessica to a rapper named Rapstar, and Jessica got the chance to sing with him when he opened up for heartthrob Bow Wow at the Cannon Center in Memphis.

Jessica credits her musical infl uences to many artists.

“Different artist infl u-ence me in different ways,” Jessica said.

She admires the power in Aretha Franklin’s voice, and whenever she is asked to sing on the spot, she sings Franklin’s hit “Natu-ral Woman.” She gets her inspiration for dancing from the late a&B singer Aaliyah, and she strives to sustain her voice while dancing like Beyoncé. As a writer, Jessica admires Keri Hilson and Lyfe Jennings because of the powerful messages their songs have.

MONDAY, September 20, 2010 SIDELINES 5www.mtsusidelines.com

FEATURESDO YOU LOG INTOFACEBOOK EVERYDAY?

WOULD YOU EVER TAKE A CLASS ON HARRY POTTER OR LORD OF THE RINGS?

Social networking can produce poor gradesSocial networking can produce poor grades

Think back to when you fi rst met your best friend. The two of you had so much in common and so much to learn about each other that you were inseparable. Those of us who use Facebook on a daily basis are unknow-ingly making ourselves a new best friend.

Facebook allows us to give insight into our daily lives. It lets us brag about what we did last weekend and even show off our best pictures. We can keep up with birthdays and breakups. It even lets us create event calendars and chat live with friends. With so much to see and so much to do, it is no wonder why Facebook has be-come such an enormous part of our lives.

Social networking sites seem to have revolutionized our on-line experiences in the way we communicate and keep in touch with one another. Such sites, especially Facebook, seem as if they were designed to be addictive.

“I wouldn’t say I am addicted, but it does leave me wanting to keep coming back to see if there is anything new,” says Krista Klein, former MTSU student.

Many people check their Fa-cebook pages at least fi ve times a day and do not even have to be in front of a computer to do so.

“I probably check my Face-book about six or seven times a day,” says Lindsay Williams, a senior majoring in psychology. “Plus, I have Facebook mobile so new notifi cations go to my phone too.”

This all seems very handy to the user. The problem with this is that the more we log into our home page to check for status updates, look at peoples

pictures, or see who wrote on our walls, the more time we are taking away from other important things we could be doing. Studying could be the biggest thing affected by our Facebook cravings.

“I’m literally addicted,” Wil-liams says. “There is more to see than on MySpace or Twitter or any other site for that mat-ter, therefore, inquiring minds learn more.”

Last year, Ohio State Uni-versity conducted a study in-dicating that students who use Facebook regularly tend to study less and also have lower GPA scores. 148 of the 219 stu-dents who were surveyed were regular Facebook users. These 148 students were, on average, scoring a grade point lower than the 71 students who were non-Facebook using students.

The average GPA for Face-book users is 3.06, while non-Facebook users hold an average GPA of 3.82. The Facebook us-ers admitted to studying only one to fi ve hours per week while the non-users were studying an average of 11 to 15.

“I can totally understand this,” says Amanda Wilson, a student majoring in interior design at Western Kentucky University. “Facebook can quickly get in the way of school work and work it-self and even make it hard to stay focused on studying sometimes.”

Although this study does not directly prove a correlation between Facebook and falling grade point averages, procras-tination and distraction could be part of the culprit.

“As a teacher, I can see how Facebook can distract and cre-ate problems,” says Emily Park-er, Special Education teacher at Lakewood Elementary. “Espe-cially with the younger crowd because they are more focused

on their social lives than on their future at times.”

Instead of checking our school-or work-related e-mails, many of us stray to social networking.

“Facebook is defi nitely in the top three places I go to when I fi rst get on a computer,” Klein says. “I have had to tell my-self many times not to get on Facebook on a particular day because I had a lot to get done that day.”

In turn, this causes many stu-dents to receive lower grades.

“Facebook becomes addic-tive when it starts interfering with your life, your grades, or your work,” Parker explains. “When you get to this point, you are probably wondering why there are not more than 24 hours in the day.”

Many students have Face-book constantly running in the background. We have alerts sent to our cell phones or we always have our homepage up and running on our computers. This prevents us from missing new information, news or gos-sip, but hinders our abilities to carry out other tasks. When we are alerted with notifi cations, our fi rst instinct is to see what is up, distracting us from what we were doing.

“We need to remember to put the important things before our social lives,” Parker says.

Facebook cannot be held en-tirely responsible for students’ productivity levels; after all, it is our friend. We must place some blame on ourselves for getting sucked into the joys of social networking.

“I believe it is in everyone’s nature to want to know about what our peers are doing in life and in general,” Wilson says. “Facebook is just a tool that helps us do that.”

Does Facebook take over your academics?

Sophomore releases new R&B singleAspiring musician discusses balancing hectic schedule with love of musicBy JANANI WEBBContributing Writer

MUSICIAN, PAGE 6

Photo by Janani Webb, contributing writerLauren J, an MTSU student and aspiring musician, discusses her upcoming single “Betty,” slated for Sept. 18, during her CD release party on Sept. 13 in the Keathley University Center.

Graphic by Andy Harper, production manager

By CASEY WARRENContributing Writer

6 SIDELINES MONDAY, September 20, 2010, 2010 www.mtsusidelines.com

“I want my music to have a purpose and still be fun,” Jessica said.

Currently, Jessica and per-sonal manager Veronica Rat-liff, known as “Ronnie V,” are working on taking her career to the next level.

Veronica is also from Memphis, and the two met last year through pro-ducer Kenneth Worles Jr. of Eternal Productions.

Veronica has a long yearn-ing to be a businesswoman, and she has owned business-es as a small as setting up a lemonade stand as a child to playing the violin at various parties and functions.

Hopefully, Veronica’s lifelong business will re-main to be RonnieV man-agement. She manages two other artists at MTSU, in addition to Lauren J.

“I’m a personal manager,” Veronica said. “I want to be a part of every aspect of their lives. I see them as artists, not just my clients.”

While these ladies are on top of their game, they admit that at times life can be stressful.

“It gets stressful, but you have to keep the vision,” Jes-sica said. “It’s better when you struggle.” In addition to music and management, the

ladies also have school and other obligations.

Jessica is taking an 18-hour course load that in-cludes three night courses, one online course and three lecture classes. She is a mem-ber of MTSU’s dance group MPAC. Her hobbies include dancing, and recently, she took up cooking.

“I’m not sure if I’m good at it but it’s fun,” Jessica said.

Veronica on the other hand is busy balancing school, work and managing. She has a 15-hour course load and waits tables at Ruby Tuesday, Inc.

“We have to put our personal and social lives to the side and stay focused,” Veronica said.

These ladies only see their futures getting better. Next summer they plan to move to Atlanta to further their careers.

“Right now, Lauren J is locally known, and we want her music to reach the mass-es,” Veronica said.

When asked if she has a backup plan in case music doesn’t work out, Jessica re-plied, “My whole life I have tried to think of a backup plan, but I can’t fi nd any-thing else to do that would make me truly happy.”

Jessica’s single “Betty” will be released on Sept. 18, and she plans to release a mix tape in early spring.

MUSICIANFROM PAGE 5

Student takes music career to next level

Students bond over bicycling

Wind whipping through your hair, bugs colliding with your face, and going fast, fast, fast – oh, the joys of riding a bicycle, an activity that is even more fun with friends, old and new.

For more than a year, the Murfreesboro biking community has been taking in all the joys of friends, and fun-fi lled night-time bike rides at a weekly event called Mother F***ing Bike Night.

As classes come to a close on Thurs-day nights, the biking community takes over the Quad outside of the James E. Walker Library.

At 8:30 p.m., people start riding into the Quad on bicycles. Most come in groups, backpacks blinking red with lights, ready for their weekly dose of friends, fun and physical activity.

“I’m just trying to get in shape,” joked Jaime Shafer, a senior in College of Mass Communication.

“It’s a good social event, and I like to ride my bike with people, instead of by myself,” Shafer said. “It’s just fun to be on the road, on your bike and not in a car.”

The early riders slowly circle the Quad or show off bike tricks as they wait for the stragglers before Bike Night goes into full swing.

Before riding out, the bikers play a game they call “foot down,” said Natalie New-berry, a sophomore in the College of Mass Communication.

Foot down involves riding in a circle and trying to make the other riders put their foot on the ground by creating a wall of bikes and pushing the ones stuck in the middle. The last one on their bike in the middle wins, Newberry explained.

At 9 p.m., the group “circles up,” to sig-nify the start of the ride through town. The group takes the same route every time: past the Health, Wellness and Rec-reation Center, behind Greek Row, right onto Rutherford Boulevard, hanging an-other right onto East Main Street and finishing at the Murfreesboro Square, where they circle around a few times

before heading to SONIC Drive-In for a post-ride powerup.

Contrary to what some might expect, the pace is relatively slow, not a crawl, but steady enough to have a conversation with the rider next to you.

Sometimes Red Bull brand manag-ers come to support Bike Night, waiting at the Murfreesboro Square in the iconic Red Bull car for the riders to arrive.

MTSU student Alison Ford, a brand manager for Red Bull, usually shows up at the beginning of the night with a case full of Red Bull to energize the riders for the ride around Murfreesboro.

Ford, who is a sophomore in the Col-lege of Liberal Arts, supports events and students around campus as part of her job with Red Bull. She usually attends Bike Night, but a night class has been keeping her from coming lately.

“More people should come to Bike Night,” Ford said, as she handed a Red Bull to one of the riders.

A misconception about Bike Night is that you have to ride a fixed-gear bicycle to participate, but all types of bikes are welcome – road bikes and fixed gears, cruisers and mountain bikes, tricycles and tall bikes.

“There are so many cool people here that are free-spirited and open-minded,” said Sarah Cendejas, a junior in the Col-lege of Mass Communication.

Cendejas also likes the environmental aspect of riding bikes.

“Every bike helps cut down on pollu-tion,” Cendejas said.

Aside from the environmental and physical benefi ts of Bike Night, the event is a great place to meet people with a com-mon interest: bikes.

“I love the community aspect of it,” said Ryan Green, an MTSU graduate and one of the fi rst to become involved with Bike Night. “Now that I don’t go to school here, it’s the one night a week I look forward to hanging out with friends and doing what I love to do – ride bikes.”

Before Bike Night, there was Critical Mass, a global event held once a month. About a year ago, some members of the

local biking community wanted to ride together more often, said Charley Rose, a senior in the College of Business. Since then, the weekly event has grown sig-nifi cantly, on average, more than 50 people show up to Bike Night.

“Everyone that shows up plays a pivotal part in Bike Night,” said Eric DeTorres, a senior in the College of Lib-eral Arts. “Why aren’t you at Bike Night?”

OPEN HOUSENOVEMBER 13TH

10 AM - 2 PM

Training for your Future Over 50 campuses worldwide

Individual studio and lab time

Over 30 years in education

Global alumni network of working professionals

Financial Aid is available to those who qualify.*

Nashville Capus: 7 Music Circle North, Nashville, TN 37203 Phone: 615.244.5848

Over 50 Institutes in USA FRANCE GERMANY HOLLAND SWEDEN BELGUM AUSTRIA SWITZERLAND SPAIN ITALY SLOVENIA

GREECE KUWAIT JORDAN AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES INDIA MALAYSIA SINGAPORE

TURKEY JAPAN SOUTH AFRICA

*Nashville Campus only

Classes begin September 27th.

By TAYLOR HIXSONStaff Writer

Campus ‘bike gang’ stirs up adventure in Boro

File Photo

MONDAY, September 20, 2010 SIDELINES 7www.mtsusidelines.com

OPINIONSSidelines is the editorially independent, non-prof-it, student-produced newspaper of Middle Tennes-see State University. Sidelines publishes Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters and online during June and July. The opinions ex-pressed herein are those of individual writers and not necessarily Sidelines or MTSU.

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

Editor-in-ChiefAlex Moorman*sleditor@mtsu.edu

Managing EditorMarie Kemph*slmanage@mtsu.edu

Production ManagerAndy Harpersldesign@mtsu.edu

Campus AdvertisingChelsea LeMaysl4ads@mtsu.edu

PhotographyJay Baileyslphoto@mtsu.edu

FeaturesLaura Aiken*slfeatur@mtsu.edu

OpinionsAimee´ Schmittendorf*slopinio@mtsu.edu

Multimedia Larry Sterlingslonline@mtsu.edu

SportsWill Truslerslsports@mtsu.edu

NewsMarie Kemph*slnews@mtsu.edu

Asst. NewsChristopher Merchantslcampus@mtsu.edu

AdvisorLeon Alligoodalligood@mtsu.edu

A&ERozalind Ruthslfl ash@mtsu.edu

Copy EditorMatthew Hemmerslcopy@mtsu.edu

BusinessEveon Corlecorl@mtsu.edu

* denotes member of editorial board

Follow us on Twitter@MTSUSidelines

Follow us on Facebook

MTSU Sidelines

Check us out:youtube.com/mtsusidelines

Sidelines is an editorially independent newspaper affi liated with Middle Tennessee State University and the College of Mass Communication.

Off-CampusAdvertising

ShelbyvilleTimes-Gazette

Hugh JonesSissy Smith

adsforsidelines@gmail.com

Media Convergence DirectorTiffany Gibsonsidelinesmanager@gmail.com

Ignore politics, thank veteransIt would be safe to say that

service members from each branch of the military are hard-ly comparable to those of fellow college students. The intensity and fast pace of the military often belittles the intensity of college due dates, unruly pro-fessors, exams and dealing withfinancial aid.

Though the intensity levels dif-fer, the transition from carrying a gun fi lled with bullets to carrying a backpack fi lled with books must be challenging. At MTSU, many veterans are facing that challenge every day.

Veterans play an intricate role in our society. While serving, veter-ans defend the nation, standing up for those who are unable. Ameri-ca sends them all over the world, from combat zones in Iraq and Af-ghanistan, to supporting military airbases, and to providing sup-port throughout the vast oceans

and seas.Many experiences are gained

from traveling into places one would not normally fi nd them self. When veterans return from the duties that carried them far from home, they return with a broadened mind.

Their minds, for those who choose to enter college, learn the fundamentals of English, math-ematics, humanities and many other basic studies beyond the ba-sics of high school. This focus al-

lows veterans to contribute, once again, to the society they fought to protect and serve.

It is often hard to recognize a veteran unless an article of clothing or a backpack denotes some military connection. Many of you unknowingly share class-es with veterans. In fact, many of you probably wouldn’t know that the number of veterans en-rolled at MTSU is increasing at a fast rate.

According to the MTSU’s Veter-ans Services, which helps veterans initiate their GI Bill and helps them integrate into college life, there are more than 900 Iraq and Afghani-stan veterans enrolled at MTSU. The amount of veteran students enrolling at MTSU is increasing every semester. This could partly be due to the new Chapter 33 GI Bill, which increases funding for students who served post 9/11.

The Department of Veter-

an Affairs’s website indicates that veterans can receive up to $13,426 per term under the new GI Bill. Not only are tu-ition and books covered by this maximum, veterans who are eligible for the new GI Bill receive a housing allowance that is based on the zip code of their home.

Another reason for the surge of students could be that the econo-my is doing so horribly that it now appears to be the best time for veterans to seek higher education, rather than delve directly into the struggling workforce. There are many factors that MTSU’s veterans include in their decision-making process before choosing a degree.

Despite the reasons, MTSU is sharing its campus with a type of person who will contribute to our nation in so many ways. Veterans have endured hardships that most college students could benefi t from

hearing about. Though campus life may not

be as rigorous as a combat zone, it is a transition that requires ad-aptation. Be aware of those who have served and share the campus with you. Veterans allow you to enjoy the freedoms they have so selfl essly provided.

Though you may not agree with the wars or political agen-das, veterans don’t decide where wars will be fought. Instead, they defend something they believe in – our country and our freedom. If you see a veteran on campus or know of one in your class, say, “Thank you.”

U.S. Army Sgt. E.J. Hirsch served with the 101st Airborne in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is a junior majoring in journalism and can be reached at ejh2x@mtmail.mtsu.edu.

Staff ColumnistE.J. Hirsch

College: The best four years of my life

“Remember, this will be the best four years of your life,” my mother said, as I waved goodbye in front of McHenry Hall during the fall of 1995.

My parents were both teachers, and I grew up in Germantown. I focused on school, and in the pro-cess, I earned the Presiden-tial Scholarship. I had two goals: Maintain a 3.0 GPA and have as much fun pos-sible in the meantime.

My mom highly suggest-ed that I pledge to a sorority in order to meet people and get involved on campus. I joined a sorority. However, I did not abide by all the rules and was asked to leave. This allowed me to get to-gether with 12 other girls on campus and start our own sorority.

Thus, Phi Chi was born.At the time, we were a

very successful sorority, and I built friendships that will last a lifetime.

Unlike most people who would have stopped with this huge venture, I decided to get involved with the Stu-dent Government Associa-

tion. I held positions on the traffi c court and within the College of Mass Communi-cation. These opportunities allowed me to understand the power of having a voice and how one person can make a difference.

Today, I am a board member for my neighbor-hood and the Midsouth Compensation Association.

I suppose I am a glutton for punishment because I also played for the women’s soccer club team and the fi rst women’s rugby team.

If you have never expe-rienced a rugby party, well you are missing out. This is by far my top recommenda-tion for those seeking a new cultural experience.

There are many more clubs and activities that I have not mentioned. The key is to get involved in a group that speaks to your interests and have fun while making a difference.

My involvement in cam-pus life helped me to become the person I am today. I graduated in the fall of 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in mass communications. I worked various jobs for a couple of years and then headed back to school.

I earned my master’s de-gree in business adminis-tration with an emphasis in human resource man-agement in 2002 from the University of Memphis. I am currently a contract re-cruiter for VACO Memphis, and I still play soccer on two leagues.

I never thought I would say this, but my mom was right. My four-and-a-half years at MTSU were the best years of my life!

Jessica Van Eyck Glat-stein is an alumna of MTSU. She can be reached at jvaneyck@bellsouth.net.

Randall Munroewww..xkcd.com“Public Opinion”

Comic

Guest Columnist

Jessica Van Eyck Glatstein

Motivation key to successful futureYou’ve undoubtedly been bom-

barded with a constant strafi ng of advice your whole life, whether its come from the people who are paid to give it — school counselors, coaches and the like — or those who give it free — parents.

If you’re a confused college stu-dent who feels that prior advice hasn’t progressed your life, scratch it all from your mental record and follow the simple slogan of a com-pany who merely wants you to buy shoes: Just do it.

Mark my words (with a high-lighter if possible): Those three words, if utilized properly, will get you through the rest of your days

and nights feeling fulfi lled and joyous. Let me explain.

Just: It is a word that rings of immediacy. And there’s nothing more immediate than the life that runs forward with or without you.

For college-age students, there pre-sumably is a tomorrow, but those tomorrows start to add up quickly, eventually leading to grey beards and diabetes.

As the ancient saying goes, “A man [or woman] who puts off work is always at hand-grips with ruin.” As of 2007, a study revealed three- out of four- college students consider themselves procrastina-tors. I would assume there are more who actually are.

“People who procrastinate tend to be less healthy, less wealthy, and less happy,” the author of the study, University of Calgary professor Piers Steel, told USA Today in 2007.

So correct that oversized gut, negative bank account, and perpet-ual, saddening sighing by getting off that rump and just doing it.

But, what if you don’t have any “doings” lined up?

Well you’re in luck — at least partially because you are enrolled in a university that has classes and extracurricular activities galore. Additionally, you’re on earth and it goes without saying that there’s tons of stuff you can fi nd to do on this hunk of rock.

Granted, square boxes are easy

to mindlessly stare at and interact with for hours upon endless hours. But, moving pictures don’t lead to that fulfi llment and joy I referred to earlier. You and I both know that.

Michael Stone graduated in May with a degree in journal-ism from the College of Mass Communication, and he is a former editor-in-chief of Side-lines. He now works as a re-porter for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He can be reached at michaelstone428@gmail.com.

Guest Columnist

Michael Stone

Asst. NewsReid Atkinsslstate@mtsu.edu

8 SIDELINES MONDAY, September 20, 2010, 2010 www.mtsusidelines.com