DJ HEROES TAKE LEGENDS APPS will host the first-ever DJ Blowout at Legends on Wednesday. The event will feature four local DJs, including three Appalachan State University students. Each will play a 35-minute set.
The Appalachian 11.18.14
Appalachian State University’s student news source since 1934
EARTH WIND FIRE
Vol. 89, No. 23
Running backs Terrence Upshaw, Marcus Cox and Ricky Fergerson comprise a three-pronged ground attack that is leading a high-scoring App State offense
by Daniel Statum
A
pp State football has seen a third running back show he can be just as deadly in the ground attack as both sophomore Marcus Cox and redshirt freshman Terrence Upshaw. Junior running back Ricky Fergerson has run for 292 yards this season, while averaging 7.7 yards per carry and notching three touchdowns. With two games remaining, he has already surpassed his total from last year when he ran for just 215 yards. Fergerson has seen the majority of his carries in the matchups against Troy and Georgia State
where he ran for more than 100 yards in both contests, as well as having an 84-yard dash against the Panthers that ended up just four yards short of a touchdown. When thinking of the running game early in the season, most of the attention was on the onetwo punch of Upshaw, who has run for 460 yards while averaging 4.8 yards per carry with two touchdowns, and Cox, who has amassed 1,142 yards and 15 touchdowns on a 5.9 yards per carry average, but running backs coach Chris Foster said he never saw it that way. Foster said he always knew the three backs had a chance of
Intern Sports Reporter
being a true triple threat. “Ricky had a great camp,” Foster said. “Everybody looked at it like a dynamic duo, but Ricky was always right there in the running. He’s continued to work, and when he finally got his opportunity, he made the best of it.” Upshaw agreed with Foster but added a little more flair to how he thought of the backfield trio. “We’re earth, wind and fire,” Upshaw said. “I’m earth, Ricky is fire, and Marcus is wind. That’s how we’re rocking now.” The explosiveness of Fergerson, Upshaw’s ground-and-
pound technique and the quick flowing movements of Cox are what make up the three unique styles in the App State backfield this season.
“We’re earth, wind and fire,” Upshaw said. “I’m earth, Ricky is fire and Marcus is wind. That’s how we’re rocking now.” Foster said the three backs have worked hard as a group and although one may succeed more or gain more recognition,
they all continue to push each other to make one another better. “We help each other out,” Fergerson said. “We come out on the field, we get on each other and rag on each other. I try to have them look up to me as sort of a big brother because I am older, and I have [played] three years now.” Upshaw said he looks at the situation with the same mentality, where he and Cox have both been in the program for just two years and sometimes look to Fergerson to help push them –
SEE TRIO PAGE 9
SGA works to provide rape kits by Nicole Caporaso Senior News Reporter
Morgan Cook
Cans that were donated for the fourth annual Hunger Games Canned Food Drive sit outside the ACT office. The drive collected a total of 3,768 cans.
Soup of the day: Charity by Nicole Caporaso Senior News Reporter
Various organizations in Watauga County, many of which are associated with Appalachian State University, have been working to make a large impact on fighting hunger in the county. The Appalachian Ambassadors concluded their annual canned food drive Nov. 15. In addition to collecting monetary donations and cans, the ambassadors sold T-shirts for $10, which equates to 48 pounds of nonperishable food, said Sam Utesch, chair of the student ambassador’s canned food drive. “Within Watauga County, almost a
quarter of the population lives on or below the poverty line,” Utesch said. “In Boone, excluding Blowing Rock, that number rises to almost 50 percent.” Last year, the ambassadors were able to raise over 14,000 pounds of canned food. The donations go to the Watauga County Hunger and Health Coalition. Utesch said one in three people who receive assistance from the coalition are under the age of 18, and with partnerships and government subsidies, every dollar that the coalition receives can turn into 4.8 pounds worth of food. “The Student Ambassadors want to
SEE FOOD DRIVE PAGE 4
Rape kits are not available on campus, and to the knowledge of Dr. Bob Ellison, Director of Health Services, they never have been. According to www.rainn.org, a rape kit may also go by different monikers, such as a sexual assault evidence kit or a sexual assault evidence collection kit. A rape kit, Ellison said, can also more accurately be called a “forensic exam.” “Forensic examination includes a very careful interview of what happened, a very structured, detailed physical examination and evidence collection according to a specifically trained protocol,” he said. “DNA or hair samples might have to be collected, as well as vaginal or oral or rectal swabs – there’s just a variety of things. X-rays or photographs might be necessary, it depends on a case-by-case basis.” Due to continued unavailability of rape kits on campus, Appalachian’s Student Government Association is now revisiting old legislation on the topic. “We are currently working on resurrecting that legislation as we speak,” said Carson Rich, SGA president. “After a multiple number of forums and hearing that previous legislation had been written about rape kits, it was brought to our attention this is something the students really want, so we are looking into the feasibility of it.” Currently, those in need of a rape kit can go to Watauga Medical Center. Vicki Stevens, director of corporate
communications for Appalachian Regional Healthcare system, said there are staff members available “24 hours, 7 days a week,” to perform a forensic exam. According to a Nov. 14, 2002 article of The Appalachian, legislation passed in both the Faculty Senate and the SGA to make rape kits available through Health Services. However, in the 12 years since, that has not happened. “It is an extraordinary process that must be done correctly and frequently enough to maintain an expertise,” Dr. Ellison said. “The process is done at the hospital for the entire community because there are needs beyond the Appalachian campus for this service.” Health care practitioners who would perform these examinations must be SANE-certified, which stands for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Ellison said. Ellison said he does not believe the physical examination process should necessarily be made available by Health Services. The possible revival of SGA’s prior legislation on making rape kits available through Health Services comes at an interesting time for Appalachian. Rape Culture Awareness Week on campus is currently be held Nov. 17-21. “I think the conversation is extraordinarily important, students want access to high quality care and services, which is something we at Health Services would agree with,” Ellison said. “But the service is available close and locally and it would not be in best interest to duplicate those services here.”