The Vanderbilt Hustler 01-22-14

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VOL. 126, ISS. 3

BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

COMMODORES STRIKE GOLD

By BEN WEINRIB Asst. sports editor --------------------

Commodores bring in Stanford’s defensive guru, Derek Mason, and his ‘intellectual brutality’ to jumpstart the program

When Derek Mason packed for his initial interview with Vanderbilt University, he brought a black suit with a black-and-gold tie. He wore that same combination when he was introduced as the Commodores’ 28th head coach Saturday morning.

According to Williams, more than 65 candidates reached out to Vanderbilt from all sorts of backgrounds, including head coaches and assistants from college programs and the NFL, along with one computer analyst. Ultimately, the university felt Mason was the best candidate and the best fit for the academics,

Croom (Mississippi State).

Mason is already a more distinguished hire than his predecessor, Franklin. The former Stanford defensive coordinator was named a finalist for the 2012 Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football.

One of the defensive guru’s most impressive qualities is his ability to stop the read option, so much so that NFL coaches come to him for advice. This expertise helped his Stanford defense rank third in the NCAA in rushing defense, 10th in scoring defense and 16th in total defense in 2013.

— Continued on PAGE 12

CAMPUS

OPINION

PCC looking to decrease lengthy wait times

Roe v. Wade anniversary

Three columnists offer their thoughts on the landmark court case

athletics and community of Vanderbilt.

“This job means everything to me,” Mason said in his introductory news conference on Saturday. “This is where I want to be. This is where I plan on spending the rest of my career.

We will win. Make no doubts about that.”

Mason becomes just the fifth AfricanAmerican head coach in SEC history, following in the footsteps of Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin, along with former coaches James Franklin, Joker Phillips (Kentucky) and Sylvester

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Following an increase in student demand for the PCC’s services, the center’s leadership works to get students into appointments faster PAGE 2

LIFE

A look at The Kefi Project A new campus organization, The Kefi Project, brings public art to campus to spark conversation and build community PAGE 10

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campus VANDER

BITS Danny Glover gives MLK Day keynote speech

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I think it’s crucial and important in the day and age we live in to explore more than Western culture and expand our parameters. That’s why we’re doing these programs.”

SHERIF BARSOUM, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AND SCHOLAR SERVICES

Working on the wait PCC trying to reduce student appointment wait times

By MADDIE HUGHES Senior news reporter --------------------

BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Vanderbilt Divinity School professor Dale P. Andrews, left, moderated the keynote event featuring actor and activist Danny Glover, right.

By CHELSEA MIHELICH Senior news reporter --------------------

Vanderbilt’s 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series concluded Monday night with a keynote address by actor and humanitarian Danny Glover.

Glover’s keynote address, moderated by Vanderbilt Divinity School professor Dale P. Andrews, shed light on Glover’s involvement in the African liberation movement of the mid-20th century and on his ongoing fight for economic justice in the U.S. “My relationship with Africa goes back to when I was a student in the ’60s,” Glover said on Monday.

“It was clear that the movement in Africa and the movement in the U.S. paralleled each other.”

In addition, Glover remarked that both Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela “marched in order to bring justice and equality to their people.”

Glover has also spoken out for economic equality. “You can’t have real justice until you have economic justice,” he said regarding this issue.

In addition, he said it is important for people to understand that “we are all interconnected.”

CORRECTION In The Hustler’s Jan. 15 issue, on page 10, an article in the Life section referred to a campus sorority by the name “Alpha Omega Pi.” This sorority does not exist on campus; the article intended to refer to the sorority Alpha Omicron Pi. The facts provided for “Alpha Omega Pi” in fact reflect the history of Alpha Omicron Pi. The editors of The Hustler apologize for the mistake.

The Psychological and Counseling Center, located on 21st Avenue just off of West End Avenue, may seem a little out of the way for many Vanderbilt students. Yet despite its relative geographic remoteness, Dr. Catherine Fuchs, the center’s director, says that over the past year and a half an increased number of students have begun taking advantage of the resources offered by the PCC. However, according to both students and Fuchs, one side effect of this increased usage is that some students may have to wait several weeks to get an appointment.

Fuchs said the PCC recognizes this issue and is constantly working to make improvements to the system to make the counseling center as accessible and accommodating as possible for students.

Fixing the system to decrease wait times This isn’t the first instance when long wait times for appointments have plagued the PCC, however.

Fuchs has been working for the past year and a half to change the old patient intake system, which had students waiting weeks to actually meet with a therapist.

According to Fuchs, before she came to the PCC a different system was used for patient intake.

While it would be quick to get students in for an initial meeting, there would be a long turnaround time between the intake session and when the student was assigned to the therapist they would actually be working with.

“That was the system I inherited,” Fuchs said.

Students who have experienced the old system agree that it wasn’t ideal. “(My freshman year) I had trouble getting in. I actually went to a private psychologist in the community because (the PCC) was so

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crowded,” said Kyle Deland, a junior.

However, for financial reasons Deland returned to the PCC, and he says that since then he has had a positive experience.

To make the intake process more effective and ensure that resources were being used efficiently, Fuchs redesigned the old system. Now, a student will have one to three meetings with staff members to determine the right treatment for him or her.

This process ensures students are getting the care they need and targets candidates who may benefit from group sessions rather than individual sessions, allowing the PCC to help more students. Currently, 19 group sessions meet at the PCC, addressing a wide range of mental health issues.

In addition to working to solve the problem of long wait times created by the former patient intake system, the PCC has also been working to make students more aware of its presence on campus. Programs like Liaisons Educating and Advocating for Psychological Support (LEAPS) and Culture Cafe, a program that discusses issues of mental health with international students, are now in place to reach out to students.

With increased student demand, long waits still persist However, the increased visibility on campus means more students are seeking treatment for mental illness, which means a busier schedule for the center. Despite Fuchs’ efforts to streamline the intake process, students have still complained about long wait times when scheduling an appointment, especially if it is their first time visiting the center.

This difficulty may arise not from a lack of availability of appointments, but rather because it can be difficult for students to coordinate their schedules with the operating hours of the PCC, which is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

According to Fuchs, “One of the challenges is a student may call, and the front desk offers an appointment within a seven-day period, and the student says, ‘I have class, I have lab, I have whatever, so I can’t come.’ We don’t work around the clock.”

However, Fuchs recognizes the need for flexibility on both sides.

This year, for the first time ever, some groups meet in the early evening.

— Continued on PAGE 4

DIANA ZHU — CREATIVE DIRECTOR JENNA WENGLER — ART DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNERS DESIGNERS

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ALEX DAI — CHIEF COPY EDITOR COPY EDITORS ALEXIS BANKS WESLEY LIN KARA SHERRER SOPHIE TO

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

— Continued from PAGE 2 Fuchs said, “We have faced the challenge of working around classes, which is why we are trying to make these 4 p.m. options.”

The PCC does what it can to set up students with appointments in a timely manner and works to recommend workshops and other resources that do not require appointments in the meantime.

However, if a student is in an emergency situation the counseling center does accept walk-ins. The triage team is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays to accept students who feel they cannot wait for a scheduled appointment. A licensed psychiatrist is also available for one hour every day if a student is in a crisis and needs someone who can help provide relief by writing a prescription.

Students seeking an appointment with a licensed psychiatrist, however, may have longer wait times than those looking for other forms of therapy, because there are fewer medical providers than other staff members at the counseling center.

When one freshman student, who asked not to be named, first made a call to the center toward the end of fall semester, she was told the nearest appointment with a licensed psychiatrist, who could provide changes for her medication, was in four weeks, after finals would be finished. She ended up taking advantage of the walk-in service instead.

As she told The Hustler in an email: “I was distraught because I desperately needed help, and it looked like it would come too late. However, the PCC provides drop-in counseling for students with an emergency or who just need to talk to someone. I went to a couple of those sessions and they helped a lot, but not as much as if I had got an

appointment sooner.”

Recommendations and plans to get students in sooner To help other students avoid facing a similar issue, the PCC recommends that those who think they may need help seek it as soon as possible and not wait until they are facing an emergency situation.

According to Fuchs, the number of visitors to the PCC tends to spike later in the semester, when students are taking midterm exams and receiving important grades.

“In November or October, (students) get midterms and get the grades, and they suddenly want to be in yesterday,” she said. “We get this bulge in the month of October, no matter how hard we try to get students to come in sooner.”

But that doesn’t mean the staff at the PCC will stop trying. Fuchs “takes it very seriously that access is frustrating to some” and is working to figure out the best system to respond to high-pressure times like finals and Greek recruitment, when student anxiety levels are higher. She plans to release a student satisfaction survey to patients this spring to find out where problems may lie.

Overall, Fuchs is impressed by the openness of the campus to mental health issues. “(In the past year) there has been a definite increase in students (at the PCC), which I think is pretty neat,” she said. “It says a lot about the Vanderbilt culture that students are willing to seek help. It is an amazing university in terms of the acknowledgement of the importance of mental health issues.”

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Students travel to Morocco for service and educational trip Students went to Morocco over winter break to engage in a cultural learning experience and participate in local community service projects

By KATIE FUSELIER News reporter --------------------

As the majority of Vanderbilt’s campus dispersed to return home for the holidays, 11 students and one faculty advisor departed with a completely different objective: to spend 10 days on a service learning project in Morocco.

Sponsored by the Office of Active

Citizenship and Service, Morocco Winter Break allowed its participants to combine cultural education and service in Rabat, a city in the North African country.

Sherif Barsoum, director of International Student and Scholar Services and site leader for the trip, explained that the students on the trip spent their mornings in lectures about Moroccan politics and culture, with topics ranging from perspectives on gender to a cooking demonstration. Because students were not required to study any particular discipline at Vanderbilt like Arabic or Islamic Studies, the lectures were meant to provide context and background for the experiences of the trip.

The students then applied their classroom learning to everyday life, with tours to the city of Marrakesh, with its large market, and to a small

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM CAMPUS fishing village, Essaouira. They were challenged to interact with merchants and locals as authentically as possible despite the language barrier.

“The market was crazy,” said Laura Silliman, a senior participant on the trip.

“There were tons and tons of people selling the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen: beautiful rugs, and there are just these beautiful doors everywhere, beautiful woodwork, plates, bowls. They really take pride in their handiwork, and it’s beautiful.”

While studying Moroccan culture, the trip’s participants were also able to undertake a number of service activities.

Through a project with the Cross-Cultural Center for Learning, an institution based in Rabat with which OACS planned the trip, the students helped teach English to high school graduates looking for employment in the service industry, a field with a high demand for English-speakers. The 11 Vanderbilt participants worked with more than 100 Moroccan students split into various classes.

Silliman explained that the experience was difficult because no student on the trip had a working knowledge of Arabic, but some of the elementary education majors had been trained in teaching basic English. She noted the enthusiasm of the Moroccan students, however, as a memorable aspect of her experience.

“They were so enthusiastic and eager, always volunteering to come up

to the front,” Silliman said. “The girls volunteered more than the guys, which, considering the gender dynamic in the country, is really amazing. There’s really an eagerness to learn.”

The participants also visited the country’s Amnesty International headquarters and spoke with local employees about the work these individuals do in the region.

After the discussion, each student was given the opportunity to blog for the organization.

Silliman was particularly inspired

by Amnesty’s focus on women’s rights.

“Morocco has really made improvements as far as abiding by the rights of women,” she said, “but obviously, these organizations say there’s still a lot to be done regarding family law and how women are perceived.”

The students also had the opportunity to visit the National Council on Human Rights, spend time at a local nursing home and exhibit their artistic sides when they spent one day of their trip painting the walls of a health clinic for children.

“I think there was a really good balance between service and education, and it was beneficial that we did different kinds of service,” Silliman said regarding the trip.

Clive Mentzel, director of OACS, spoke to the situation the Morocco trip attempted to create for its participants.

“OACS is willing to partner with authentic, local service providers who can give our students the most authentic and

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

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COURTESY OF LAURA SILLIMAN

From left to right, program participants Jessica Crawford, Catherine Prater, Nikki Yurkoski, Paige Wilson, Sonal Walia, Laura Silliman, Laurel Piper, Aliysa Patel, Marissa Uchimura, Nisha Khorasi and Izabela Tyszka take a group photo in front of the Parliament of Morocco as part of Morocco Winter Break. direct access to real service needs on the ground, real cultural experiences and just a genuine immersion in the country while they’re there,” Mentzel said.

Barsoum also expanded on the value of participating in a trip like Morocco Winter Break.

“Being at Vanderbilt, it’s so easy for us to

go to Europe, and most of the students at Vanderbilt are familiar with or have been there, but it’s not as easy or accessible to go to an Arab country,” he said. “I think it’s crucial and important in the day and age we live in to explore more than Western culture and expand our parameters. That’s why we’re doing these programs.”

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

opinion

QUOTE OF THE DAY “Public policy meant to stop murder, even if it conflicts with privacy rights, is reasonable. Public policy meant to impose standards of social behavior held by one particular group on the nation at large is not.”

MICHAEL DIAMOND

SPECIAL TOPIC

Roe v. Wade: 41 years later

Jan. 22 marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case that set a precedent legalizing abortion in the United States by extending the right to privacy to the womb. Three columnists offer their perspectives.

Safe, legal, rare

The discussion needs to shift away from arguing over ideology to solving problems

T MOLLY CORN is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at molly.e.corn@ vanderbilt.edu.

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KELLY HALOM

NEWS EDITOR news@insidevandy.com

LIFE EDITOR life@insidevandy.com

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ALLISON MAST

OPINION EDITOR opinion@insidevandy.com

SPORTS EDITOR sports@insidevandy.com

oday Roe v. Wade remains an important talking point; a politician’s stance on abortion is often a litmus test for how socially liberal or conservative they are. While always debated, the issue has become more salient in the past three years. According to the Guttmacher Institute, states have enacted 205 restrictions since 2011, more than the previous 10 years combined. Today, 27 states are considered hostile to abortion.

The problem with restricting abortion in individual states, or anywhere in the U.S. for that matter, is that it disproportionately affects women with limited economic means. Before abortion was legal and widely accessible, wealthy women still had the option to travel to other countries or have the procedure done under the radar with the right amount of money. Women with limited economic means often turned to dangerous back alley procedures in moments of desperation. Because abortion was an underground industry, it is nearly impossible to know exactly how many people had illegal abortions before the passage of Roe v. Wade, but one collective

The Vanderbilt Hustler Opinion page aims to stimulate discussion in the Vanderbilt community. In that spirit, columnists, guest columnists and authors of letters to the editor are expected to provide logical argument to back their views. Unreasonable arguments, arguments in bad faith or arguments in vain between columnists have no place in The Hustler and will not be published. The Hustler welcomes reader viewpoints and offers three methods of expression: letters to the editor, guest columns and feedback on InsideVandy.com.

The views expressed in lead editorials reflect the majority of opinion among The Hustler’s editorial board and are not necessarily representative of any individual member.

Letters must be submitted either in person by the author to the Hustler office or via email to opinion@insidevandy.com. Letters via email should come from a Vanderbilt email address where the identity of the sender is clear. With rare exception, all letters must be received by 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The editor reserves the right to edit and condense submissions for length as well as clarity.

of unlicensed, self-taught women claimed to have performed over 12,000 abortions in the Midwest before legal abortion was widely accessible.

Modern restrictions on abortion tend to take two forms, one protecting the “right” of insurance companies to deny abortions on religious grounds and the other protecting the “rights” of unborn children. Often the pro-life vs. pro-choice arguments center on how life is defined, and when the cells become human life, whether that is at conception, implantation or viability. Debating the definition of life is a practice as old as debating its meaning, but I personally find it much more reasonable to define life’s start at viability, (a point that has been estimated at approximately 24 weeks) rather than at conception, when none of the necessary functions for living independently have developed yet. Treating a developing cell mass that has the potential to become human life as if it is already an independent individual can (and has) lead to women being prosecuted after miscarriages.

While protecting the rights of the indi-

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THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER ◆ WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM vidual is of utmost importance, it is important to consider that when the rights of any individual overlap with another’s rights, as often happens, there arises the ethical and undemocratic dilemma of whose rights must be privileged over others. We see this dilemma most often in wars, and in the quintessentially American right to violent self-defense. Treating a fetus as if it were an independent life could lead to restrictions on what is considered acceptable behavior for any woman who could potentially be pregnant. Drinking, smoking and skydiving could all be harmful to the “child” of any woman who is unknowingly pregnant.

Additionally, I think it’s necessary to remind those who are universally opposed to abortion that making it 100 percent illegal will not eliminate abortions, but instead make it a privilege for the rich and drive black market operations into unsafe, unsanitary conditions that will ultimately cost many women their lives.

In a country as diverse as the U.S., the gulf between the opposing values may in fact be unbridgeable. But if we are to remain optimistic, and try to be stewards of a better future, we absolutely must find common ground. Despite partisan differences and differences in values, I trust that both “pro-life” and “pro-choice” people would like to see a future in which every child that is born will have loving and capable caretakers, in which unplanned pregnancies will be reduced and the number of abortions would be low. In fact a recent Gallup poll has concluded that 78 percent of people who oppose abortion do not, in fact, oppose birth control, making it seem that the politicians who advise women to hold aspirin between their knees to ward off unwanted pregnancy are not the true face of the pro life movement.

75 percent of women who seek abortions say they cannot afford a child, un-

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

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Despite partisan differences and differences in values, I trust that both “pro-life” and “pro-choice” people would like to see a future in which every child that is born will have loving and capable caretakers.

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derscoring the inadequacies of U.S. policy in empowering and supporting mothers.

It is the only nation in the world that does not enforce national mandatory paid maternity leave. Additionally, child care in the United States is often more expensive than the wages that a mother returning to work would be able to make. In 35 states, it is higher than the cost of a year at public university, making children literally “unaffordable” for many.

Reducing unplanned pregnancy certainly doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution, but according the Guttmacher report, American youths have the highest rate of STIs and unintended pregnancies among developed countries, despite not being the most sexually active. Perhaps the solution can be found in starting comprehensive sex education at a younger age, as is the custom in many European countries. The broad goal of improving our general public education in a way that motivates and inspires teenagers would help them make empowered and educated choices about their early sexual experiences. But one thing is certain, uncompromising ideology on either side of the Roe v. Wade battle will not be the cultural kryptonite that eliminates unplanned pregnancy and ensures that every child is wanted.

Equality and justice for all?

Why the abortion industry harms women and minorities

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ABBY SUTTON is a senior in the College of Arts and Science and state chairman of the Tennessee College Republican Committee. She can be reached at abigail.m.sutton @vanderbilt.edu

rior to winter break, the Contemporary Women’s Movements class (WGS 250) launched a “Who Needs Feminism?” campaign at Vanderbilt. Some supporters of the campaign argue that women still need feminism to ensure their right to abortion on demand. Unfortunately, the feminist movement ignores the rights of — and advocates the elimination of — the most innocent and vulnerable girls in our society: those in the womb.

In her book “Unnatural Selection,” Mara Hvistendahl notes that today our world is missing 163 million daughters simply because their parents preferred a boy. Despite this harrowing

statistic, feminists have continued to fight against the Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act, which would have banned sex-selective abortions in the United States.

But why? Feminists should naturally be pro-life — after all, they fight daily for the equality and self-empowerment of women.

Unfortunately, they fail to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.

Equally horrifying is the disproportionate number of minority babies being aborted compared to white babies. In New York City, 40 percent of all pregnancies end in abortion — while 58 percent of African-American babies are — Continued on PAGE 8

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

being aborted. Yes, you read that correctly: More African-American babies are being aborted than born in the Big Apple. And while the abortion rates there are the highest in the country, Governor Cuomo and Mayor De Blasio are seeking to help open more abortion clinics. De Blasio even said that he wants to shut down all of the crisis pregnancy centers in New York City.

If they succeed in such efforts, even more of the African-American population will be harmed.

While New York lawmakers seek to open more Planned Parenthood clinics, do they forget that its founder, Margaret Sanger, was a leading advocate of eugenics? Sanger started the “Negro Project,” and said in her speech “My Way to Peace” that she wanted to “apply a stern and rigid policy of sterilization and segregation to that grade of population whose progeny is tainted, or whose inheritance is such that objectionable traits may be transmitted to offspring.” Sanger believed that certain portions of the population should be eliminated, sterilized or kept on separate farms.

She even recruited African-American ministers to advocate for this program because “we do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea of it ever occurs to any of their

OPINION more rebellious members.” Abortion was Sanger’s necessary means of eugenics and population control.

Proponents of abortion call it “reproductive justice.” But where is the justice? Where is the justice in 163 million helpless girls ripped out of their mothers’ wombs? Where is the justice when more than half of the AfricanAmerican babies in New York City are killed before taking their first breath?

Women and minorities are disproportionately affected by the abortion industry at an alarming rate — and organizations that claim to fight for their rights are actually depriving their very members of their right to life. You cannot have liberty without life, you cannot have equality without life and you cannot have justice without life.

Fortunately, public opinion is beginning to shift on abortion: According to the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, our generation is more pro-life than any previous generation. The reality of life within the womb has been continually manifested by medical and technological advances. While a lot of work still remains to be done, it can be done. If you truly want justice, if you truly want equality and if you truly want liberty, then join the fight to give every child his or her most fundamental right to life.

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Misplaced priorities

Why the abortion debate will never go away

D

MICHAEL DIAMOND is a junior in the College of Arts and Science and vice president of the Vanderbilt College Democrats. He can be reached at michael.s.diamond @vanderbilt.edu.

emocrats believe the Republicans are waging a war on women.

Republicans believe the Democrats are waging a war on the unborn. And ordinary Americans believe both parties are waging a war on their patience.

Both the pro-life and the prochoice camps believe they have the taken the moral high ground in the battle over abortion. As it turns out, both sides have; the problem is that each has taken a different hill. The abortion debate is never going away, largely because it is not a debate at all but rather a screaming match in which both camps are just yelling past each other. The fundamental ethical question at stake is, “At what point does human life begin?” This question cannot be settled by rational scientific analysis; surprising as it may seem, the scientific community does not even have an agreed-upon definition of “life” in the abstract, let alone the life of an individual

human being.

How, then, do we decide at which point a potential human being becomes an actual human being with rights? One answer is to refer to a higher authority. For example, many Christians have accepted a Biblical interpretation that life begins at conception.

However, the cellular details of pregnancy were unknown at the time of the Bible’s writing; nowhere in the Bible is it literally taught that life begins at conception. Various Christian leaders of different denominations interpret the same passages as proclaiming life to start at conception, life to start at viability outside the womb and everything in between.

If one accepts the premise that life — or, perhaps more accurately, personhood — begins at conception, the issue of abortion becomes clear-cut: It is murder.

Given this premise, there is no moral difference between getting an abortion at eight weeks and killing a 2-year-old child. It is no

OPINION THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM wonder then that the annual March for Life rally regularly draws hundreds of thousands protesters to Washington, D.C. It is also unsurprising that anti-abortion violence is one of the most prominent forms of domestic terrorism, with perpetrators imagining themselves as latter-day John Browns.

However, conception is not the only, or even the most sensible, starting point for life. A large number of people, both secular and religious (and myself included), instead believe in alternate definitions taking into account a fetus’ viability outside of the womb, which was the metric undergirding the Supreme Court’s opinion in Roe v. Wade. For many of these individuals, the anti-abortion fervor is nearly incomprehensible. Instead of seeing a sincere belief that abortion is equivalent to murder, they (not unreasonably) see a cynical movement to restrict women’s rights to control their own bodies fueled by a patriarchal vision of “proper” gender roles. Indeed, there is significant overlap between

those who believe that life begins at conception and those who favor social conservatism, and it is difficult to hear comments from ultraconservative politicians like Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock (whose 2012 Senate campaigns floundered due to insensitive statements about rape) and not

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through which the issue of abortion is viewed. Yet, there is reason to be hopeful that a more constructive conversation will emerge.

There is a way around the abortion debate that would satisfy the legitimate concerns of both pro-life and prochoice groups: reducing the

No amount of debate will realistically change peoples’ beliefs on when life begins, which are formed more culturally than rationally, and which ultimately determine the lens through which the issue of abortion is viewed.

detect even a hint of sexism.

Pro-choice advocates’ claim that they defend privacy rights is legitimate.

No amount of debate will realistically change peoples’ beliefs on when life begins, which are formed more culturally than rationally, and which ultimately determine the lens

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number of unwanted pregnancies in the first place. The most effective way to prevent abortion is to promote contraceptive use and real sexual education, not “abstinenceonly” propaganda, in schools.

After Russia began promoting modern contraceptive use in the late 1980s and early

1990s, increasing usage by 74 percent, the abortion rate declined by 61 percent. And numerous review papers have found little to no evidence that abstinence-only education decreases teen pregnancy, whereas comprehensive programs have met with success.

Opposition to these policies is not based on the sanctity of life but instead on socially conservative traditionalism.

Public policy meant to stop murder, even if it conflicts with privacy rights, is reasonable. Public policy meant to impose standards of social behavior held by one particular group on the nation at large is not.

We are never going to agree on what should be done about abortions — but most of us can agree that there should be fewer of them. Promoting policies that help women avoid unwanted pregnancies in the first place is thus a much better use of our time than rehashing a stale debate in an attempt to answer an unanswerable question.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

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RANT Something got you peeved? Irked? Honked off?

The Rant is your place to anonymously vent your spleen on any issue you want. To get your rant on, visit the InsideVandy.com Opinion page.

If you’re going to force half the undergrads to be on a meal plan, then find a way to make lunch at Rand on Tuesday/Thursday not a nightmare.

The Hustler still lagging behind in publishing the .pdf of the paper online.

Kind of belated, but the fact that the Zeta Slow Grind didn’t happen last semester really grinds my gears.

I’d like to thank Charlie Woodlief for offering one of the most thoughtful and needed Opinion pieces that The Hustler has had in quite some time.

I want to move Vanderbilt to a location that is warmer than the current weather. #spongebob episode where they move da worm Why do they have the AC on when it’s so cold outside? No wonder I’m sick!

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

life

GO DO

Potter Yule Ball THIS Harry Benefiting Books from Birth, Mayfield 11 and Phi Sigma Pi are presenting the Harry Potter

Yule Ball on Saturday, Jan. 25 from 7-10:30 p.m. Tickests cost $8 on the wall, $10 on the door, and the event will feature the Melodores, TNC, and more. Put down your Potions homework and prepare to dance the night away to the tune of the Weird Sisters’ wrock music.

The Kefi Project engages community through art

By SAARA ASIKAINEN Life reporter --------------------

The Kefi Project believes in the ability of art to actively engage the viewer. “The mission of Kefi is to alter the everyday actions of a Vanderbilt student by altering the environment through interdisciplinary and interdepartmental partnerships,” said founder and director Kion Sawney. That translates into public art that seeks to have an effect on campus and off.

Sawney himself was the leader of the organization’s first two exhibits, “Before I Die” and “pairAsouls.” As part of the “Before I Die” project, Kefi set up chalkboards outside of Rand Hall at the beginning of the fall semester that prompted students to sum up what they want to accomplish in life. Sawney considers the installment a success.

“That’s asking people, that’s asking a Vanderbilt student to contemplate what it is to live,” he said. “But it is also actually to contemplate what is to live while being able to see what their peers are saying themselves, just to show a sense of community on this campus, to show a sense of interaction, to kind of break yourself down, to break barriers on a campus that has many walls up.” The board was full by the end of its first day.

If “Before I Die” asked students to engage with one another, the “pairAsouls” display of colorful umbrellas at Sarratt Student Center focused on creating an effect outside. Sawney calls it “the multiplied effect of the organization,” as different Vanderbilt students and groups donated money to support different umbrellas, raising $1,600 in donations. The umbrellas that were used are being donated to The Contributor newspaper to provide concrete shelter for the homeless.

The organization was even contacted by a homeless shelter in Toronto about recreating the installment.

Sawney sees being involved in Kefi as beneficial for the individual artist because the nature of the installments forces the creators to be more innovative. “We give students an ownership of the campus that’s never existed before, at least when it comes to the public realm,” he said.

Kefi’s current project and first of the spring semester, “Trails,” features three paths throughout the campus: “A Pathway to Give Back” from Peabody to main campus, sponsored by the Senior Class Fund, that offers advice from seniors to freshmen; “A Poet’s Path” from Highland to main campus that features two poems from Vanderbilt’s Centennial Professor of English and distinguished poet Mark Jarman; and “Squirrel

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The Kefi Project’s “Trails” centers around a signpost on Library Lawn, which points onlookers toward three themed paths through Vanderbilt’s campus.

Crossing,” which involves signs placed all around main campus on the walking paths.

These projects are meant to showcase the value of teaching at Vanderbilt and let people interact with them. The focus of “Trails,” for example, is to get people to utilize their education outside of the classroom.

Kefi currently has 20-30 active members and is always looking for more people. “Your

involvement is what you want it to be; that’s kind of the simplest way for Kefi,” Sawney said. However, the organization is starting to mandate 14 hours of commitment over the semester from its members for operational reasons. “(Installing the art pieces) is a large commitment that can actually be easily absorbed if we divide among our membership,” Sawney said.

MLK Freedom Ride tour highlights Nashville’s history

By KELLY HALOM Life editor --------------------

On Monday, Jan. 20, Kwame Lillard, a former TSU student and Freedom Rider, gave Vanderbilt students and members of the community an exclusive tour of the city, highlighting the history of the civil rights movement in Nashville, a city that acted as a training ground for many civil rights leaders.

Associate Director of Residential Education Traci Ray, who was in charge of programming the event, said students gain a much greater understanding of the movement through the tour.

“It really illuminates the stuff that we read in books, but it brings it to life through storytelling,” Ray said. “Most people that we attract to go on the trips are people who are investigating for themselves what civil rights was and is.”

Ray feels that the programming’s strength comes from its simulation, as the day is supposed to reflect actual experiences of Freedom Riders. Lillard often brings

picket signs that were used by actual students during the civil rights movement for those on the tour to carry with them around town.

“It’s something about having to walk downtown with a picket sign that makes it very real,” Ray said. “We’ll go from one spot to another spot. We’ll stop; we’ll talk. And those who are carrying the picket signs have started to adapt to carrying them, but they do feel how people stare, how people are looking.

“To be quite honest, what he’s trying to simulate is if there will be one person who will stop and stare with a mean look or throw a nasty gesture or toss out obscenities and foul language.”

Junior Anthony Ndikum, who participated in the tour on Monday, felt that meeting Lillard was truly the highlight of the experience. “He talked so casually about being spit on and getting coffee thrown at him and that sort of stuff, and it’s really shocking, because we like to think that this was so long ago, but then he was there and describing these

experiences,” Ndikum said.

Ndikum also found that the tour offered a new view of Nashville, not just a second home during his college years, but a place that holds many landmarks of an important time in our country’s history — landmarks that can go unnoticed if not looking for them. Ndikum commented that one of the most memorable parts of the day was having Lillard take them into the Walgreen store downtown where he participated in lunch counter sit-ins as a student.

“There are issues here on campus that kind of get glazed over in the elite campus atmosphere,” Ndikum said. “I think it’s really important to see and realize these real struggles that people go through.”

Through this tour, students were able to escape the campus bubble and get into the city to see and experience where the movement took place.

“We just need to be in the trenches,” Ray said. “That is what really hits home the learning.”

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

Rec Center offers new fitness classes The new Vanderbilt Recreation and Wellness Center is up and running with enhanced features including a new indoor practice field, track and bowling alley. Beyond new equipment and facilities, the Rec has also significantly expanded its offering of group fitness classes. Here’s a look at some of our favorites

By ALISON VON DEYLEN Life reporter --------------------

BEST FOR BEGINNERS: TURBOKICK This class is a combination of kickboxing, dancing and cardio. Moving to a great mix of high-energy music, you’ll learn new kickboxing moves each session. With some extra dance steps interspersed along the way, this class is sure to get you sweating.

When you can go: Tuesday, 5:30-6:15 p.m.; Wednesday, 6:15-7:15 p.m.; Thursday, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

BEST FOR MIXING UP YOUR ROUTINE: AQUA AEROBICS You may think water aerobics are for older generations, but this class dispels that myth right away. Upbeat music will keep you active, and high-power moves will keep you working hard.

A combination of cardio and strength, this class is for all ages and even those who can’t swim.

When you can go: Monday, 5-6 p.m.; Tuesday, 5-6 p.m.; Wednesday, 5-6 p.m.; Thursday, 5-5:45 p.m.; Friday, 5-6 p.m.

BEST FOR TONING: SPIN AND LIFT This workout combines both cardio and strength training in a medley of spinning and lifting. The class keeps participants particularly engaged by going back and forth between the two exercises. Get ready to be sore in the morning.

When you can go: Thursday, 3-4 p.m.

BEST FOR MUSCLE BUILDING: BALLET SCULPT Barre classes are the new fitness craze, and Vanderbilt is taking notice with the addition of Ballet Sculpt. This class uses repeated ballet moves to tone your body all over. Specially designed to work your muscular endurance, this class will burn in the good way.

When you can go: Monday, 4:15-5:15 p.m.; Thursday, 6-7 p.m.

BEST FOR TRUE GYM RATS: WOMEN’S POWER 90 This full-force 90-minute workout includes cardio, weights, core work and stretching. This class is definitely not for the faint of heart. Feeling super ambitious? Stay for the Hardcore class afterward.

When you can go: Wednesday, 5-6:30 p.m.

Classes are free for all students and require no sign up. Class times are subject to change in February. Check out http://vanderbilt.edu/studentrec to make sure you get to your class at the right time.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

sports

2DRILL MINUTE

Commodores cruise past No. 14 Tigers, into top 20

ALEC MYSZKA / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

By ALLISON MAST Sports editor --------------------

The women’s basketball team continued its hot streak with a victory over No. 14 LSU (14-4, 3-2 SEC) on Sunday, Jan. 19, its third win over a ranked opponent this month. The Commodores (16-3, 5-1 SEC) worked their way up the top 25, landing the No. 16 spot after the win.

Behind the sharp shooting of senior guards Jasmine Lister and Christina Foggie, the Commodores gained a 20-point advantage in the second half. The Tigers fought back within 7, but the home team held them off to secure their fourth consecutive win.

Foggie scored 19 points, while Lister, reigning espnW Player of the Week, chipped in 25 of her own.

“I have two seniors playing like seniors, very composed, big down the stretch, keeping the team together,” said head coach Melanie Balcomb of her stars.

Sophomore guard Morgan Batey also finished in double digits with 11 points.

The Commodores continue to be a balanced team with Kylee Smith, Kady Schrann and Marqu’es Webb also making large contributions. “(I also have) a lot of players doing their role and doing their job to the best they can at the time. So you’re seeing different people step up. I thought we were really a team today,” Balcomb said.

Vanderbilt looks to extend its hot streak on Sunday, Jan. 26, when the South Carolina Gamecocks come to Nashville. The two teams met on Jan. 5, when the Gamecocks handed the Commodores their only conference loss.

THE BIG STAT Years of coaching experience for new head football coach Derek Mason

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The ‘Goldfather’ gets his coach — Continued from PAGE 1 Additionally, Mason held highpowered Oregon to an average of 17 points per game the past two years, despite the Ducks’ being second in the nation in scoring in that time span at 47.6 points per game.

Mason, who coached various defensive positions for the Cardinal and was named defensive coordinator in 2010, often likened Vanderbilt to Stanford during the press conference.

“What Jim (Harbaugh) did was he made it respectable to talk about Stanford,” Mason said.

“What David (Shaw) did was David made it chic.”

Similar to what Franklin did at Vanderbilt, Harbaugh inherited a team that went 1-11 in the previous season and went 29-21 in four years, culminating in a 12-1 Orange Bowl-winning season.

Shaw took over and has gone 34-7 with consecutive Rose Bowl berths.

Maybe Mason could be Vanderbilt’s Shaw.

Through Shaw’s “intellectual brutality” mantra, Mason hopes to bring Harbaugh’s blue-collar mentality to Vanderbilt, resembling what Franklin did in his three years in Nashville. But at the same time, he’s not going to try to replicate any coach, even the one who just left West End. “David never tried to be Jim Harbaugh,” Mason said. “I’m never going to try to be James Franklin. I’m Derek Mason; I’m your new head coach.”

One of the biggest challenges for Mason is going to be filling up a near-empty coaching staff.

With special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Charles Bankins as the only assistant left from Franklin’s staff listed on the team’s official roster, Mason has quite a few positions to fill.

Already, according to CoachingSearch.com, Mason has brought two assistants with him from Stanford — inside linebackers coach David Kotulski will be the defensive coordinator and defensive assistant Vavae Tata will be the defensive line coach.

Additionally, three coaches from Ohio University are expected to join Mason’s staff — Gerry Gdowski (wide receivers coach),

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Vice Chancellor David Williams, the “Goldfather,” introduces Derek Mason to the press on Saturday, Jan. 18. Williams said about 65-70 people showed interest in the head coaching job after James Franklin left for Penn State last weekend.

Jason Grooms (football operations) and Keven Lightner (offensive line coach).

Perhaps even more pressing for Mason is trying to salvage what is left of the Commodores’ recruiting class.

After Franklin’s departure, just nine commitments remain, according to Rivals.com, with several players decommitting or committing to other schools with just under two weeks until National Signing Day. While Mason hasn’t contacted any recruits directly, as of Saturday’s press conference, he spent all of Friday studying Vanderbilt’s original recruiting class and feels confident fans will “like what (they) see on Signing Day.” Although Franklin has already flipped five former Commodore commits to Penn State, fans shouldn’t expect Mason to go down that same avenue with Stanford recruits.

“I believe those young men decided on the process long ago, which was to go to Stanford,” Mason said. “I think in doing so, you have to be what you say you are. If you have character, then you look to change halfway through that process because a coach leaves, then that means you were never committed to the process.”

Mason, an especially strong recruiter in the South, recruited several current Vanderbilt players in his time at Stanford.

“I’ve been in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana. It’s been my territory,” he said. “We’re going to continue to open those doors in the South, but we’re going to make sure we take the Vanderbilt brand nationwide.”

The charismatic coach will be tasked with improving on consecutive 9-4 seasons, even with the loss of 13 seniors. But Vanderbilt is confident moving

forward with its coach signed to a “multi-year deal,” Williams told The Tennessean.

“When Derek got through meeting us,” said Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos, “we (Williams, Zeppos and booster John Ingram) just looked at each other, and we said, ‘This is our coach.

This is our leader.’ I want a leader who’s a coach, not a coach who’s a leader. I think of great athletes and great performances, and I said, ‘This was like Secretariat.

Where was second place in this process?’ And there was Derek.

There was Derek.”

“We look forward to making sure we do two things here at Vanderbilt,” Mason said. “We graduate and educate young men who are going to change the world. The second thing when we talk about football: SEC East title, here we come. Make no bones about it. If you can’t talk about it, you can’t be about it.”

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

Young Jones brings old feel to Commodores

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By BEN WEINRIB Asst. sports editor --------------------

If you meet freshman center Damian Jones, you’ll find a happy-go-lucky, sometimes quiet, a little bit goofy 18-year-old. He seems to lack the tough personality normally associated with a dominant big man.

But that’s exactly what he’s been this year for Vanderbilt.

Leading the team in both points and rebounds for 40 minutes, Jones has been a revelation in his first season. He would be the outright leader in both categories had he not started the first three games on the bench and seen his minutes limited.

Jones has truly come out of his shell in the last nine games.

He has averaged 13.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, including 15 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in SEC play.

This kind of production was not unexpected, as Jones was highly recruited out of high school. The 77th-ranked player in the Class of 2013 (according to Rivals.com) was the most highly touted Vanderbilt recruit since DaiJon Parker was ranked 63rd in the Class of 2011.

“I just think he’s getting better as a

player,” said head coach Kevin Stallings.

“He’s maturing a bit, getting some experience. The only thing he really needs is game experience, and the more experience he gets, the better player he’s going to be.”

Seven months ago, though, experience wasn’t the only thing Jones needed to succeed. He came to campus in June at 6-foot-10, but around just 215 pounds — very light for a college center. Since then, he has put on 20 pounds through workouts, a lot more protein and better eating habits.

“He’ll continue to get bigger and stronger as his body matures,” Stallings said. “He came in on the thin side, but he’s going to be a big physical guy. He’s not as physical as some of the guys from Kentucky, but that didn’t stop him from having a great game.”

That game against Kentucky has been the biggest game of Jones’ career so far.

Matched up against 6-foot-9, 250-pound Julius Randle, 7-foot, 244-pound Willie Cauley-Stein and 7-foot, 265-pound Dakari Johnson, Jones still managed a season-high 11 rebounds and a nearseason-high 18 points on Jan. 11.

Already, he has become something Vanderbilt hasn’t had since Festus Ezeli graduated two years ago: a true post scorer.

Even though he was out-sized and his team was out-numbered at seven scholarship players against seven likely first-round NBA picks, Jones was still able

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to dominate the boards. His goal is to not let his lack of size and experience affect him.

“I don’t take that into mind,” Jones said. “I just figure that if you just work hard, go out there and play that you can accomplish anything.”

Part of what makes the coaching staff so impressed with Jones is how coachable he has been in his short time on campus. His ability, as Stallings describes, to “absorb information like a sponge” has eased the transition to SEC basketball.

“He’s a student of the game,” Stallings said, “and he tries to get better through learning and getting smarter about the game, so that’s been a very pleasant surprise with him. He’s very coachable and easy to work with and a really nice kid, but we knew all those things when we recruited him.”

That capacity to learn is much of the reason he’s at Vanderbilt, which he chose largely so he could be an electrical engineer at a top-20 school. It should also give Commodore fans hope that he will stick around for all four years to earn that degree.

And perhaps Jones will continue to develop to dominate the SEC too, all the while keeping his soft-spoken demeanor.

“I see a lot of opportunity here,” Jones said. “The school is very prestigious; it’s a nice school. If I graduate from here, I can get any job I want. Basketball-wise, we’re a pretty decent team, and I want to be a part of it.”

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

SPORTS

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Looking back: The media’s role in James Franklin’s departure

By MATT LIEBERSON Sports writer --------------------

Anyone following Franklin’s whereabouts or decisions on Twitter ended up with a massive headache.

The days prior to Saturday, Jan. 11 were filled with rumors of signed contracts, private flights and recruits leaving. This confusion was brought on by countless reports from media outlets that were accredited to untraceable “sources.” SportsCenter’s Twitter account reported on Jan. 8 that Franklin had been offered the head coaching job at Penn State. The next morning, Jan. 9, SportsCenter posted that Franklin had in fact not been offered the position. Exactly an hour later, SportsCenter posted that Franklin would accept an offer that day to become Penn State’s coach. He did not accept that day.

Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams ignored the noise throughout his negotiations with Franklin.

“The media has a job to do, and part of that is to have a story, even in some cases develop a story,” Williams said.

“You accept that 90 percent of it is unsubstantiated. You can’t avoid it all, but I don’t consider it to get in the way of my job.” Williams emphasized the trust he and the former Commo-

dores head coach had. “(Franklin and I) developed a relationship where we can tell someone about an erroneous report. Coach Franklin or his agent would always tell us when those reports came out.”

Shortly before the rumors began swirling was Franklin’s trip to Pasadena to cover the BCS National Championship Game with ESPN on Jan. 6. A cynic would say Franklin was there for himself, but Williams disagrees. “Obviously being on TV with a likable personality, of course you’re improving your own brand,” Williams said. “But he still had our (Vanderbilt’s) pin on.”

He also stressed that Franklin was honest, even with mass confusion in the media.

The timeline that Williams painted of the process echoed this honesty.

“Coach always told me his thought process,” he said.

“Sunday after the bowl game was the first time Penn State reached out to me. We exchanged emails, and Coach said that they

wanted to approach him. Tuesday evening, he told me he got an email from his agent saying they were going to make an offer. Wednesday or Thursday morning he had a formal offer. All along he said he and his wife had not decided, as late as Friday afternoon. They were honest though, saying they were leaning towards it.

He never lied.”

Most reports never got this timeline correct. Reporters nowadays are often citing unnamed sources “close to the way of thinking” of the person or someone with “knowledge of the situation” — all vague in meaning.

Online, anyone can appear legitimate, which ESPN insider Brett McMurphy cautions against.

McMurphy was one of the first

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reporters to accurately break the news on Franklin’s departure. “Today there are numerous ‘reports,’ not all from journalists. Some are from real reporters; some are just from non-journalists with websites.

Many people are just speculating,” he said.

Another issue that leads to confounded reports comes with a digital footprint of any action. For example, when rumors of Penn State officials’ interviewing Franklin in Florida surfaced, a tracked private flight from Destin, Fla., to State College, Pa., began circulating online. Reporters showed up at University Park Airport expecting Franklin, who was not there.

Another report cited that Franklin’s assistant coaches had been following Penn State recruits on Twitter as evidence for the coach’s departure.

“Good reporters don’t report all of that,” McMurphy said. “Every detail doesn’t have to be reported.

For the flight, if a beat writer were doing his or her job, that would just show up in the next day’s paper instead of a blow-by-blow account of takeoff and landing.”

On the other side of the process, Williams didn’t believe the media would

change his methods from his last coaching search in 2010. “We are going to go about it the way we have, and I won’t really talk to the media again without a coach,” said Williams, who spoke with The Hustler before finishing his search.

“But this time, it’s about continuing this growth, and finding someone to represent the values of Vanderbilt.”

Williams’ comments proved correct, as Friday, Jan. 17, Vanderbilt hired Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason. Though the hire was mostly reported accurately, some media outlets still created controversy. Early Friday, CBS Sports’ Bruce Feldman reported that offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton of the Indianapolis Colts had removed himself from consideration for the job. Feldman also mentioned that Vanderbilt sent a private flight for Hamilton for him to come to Nashville and accept the job. Hamilton denied this rumor Friday, and further reports indicated that Mason was Vanderbilt’s top choice all along.

Whatever the case, Vanderbilt hopes to continue building under Mason, and those with headaches from Twitter can finally shut down their phones.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

Looking forward: Former WR Chris Boyd enters NFL Draft after missing season

yards and eight touchdowns. Boyd only got better the following season, forming a dynamic double threat with standout receiver Jordan Matthews while posting 774 yards on 50 receptions and five touchdowns. He, along with the other draft hopefuls, will participate in bench pressing, agility tests and positional drills to improve his draft stock.

Since Pro Day is technically reserved for members of the football team — and Boyd is not on it — people who want to adhere strictly to this rule and his punishment may hold reservations against his participation. However, the university’s decision to allow Boyd to participate is not unprecedented. A similar case occurred a year ago, when LSU safety Tyrann Mathieu, who had been dismissed from the team for failed drug tests, participated in LSU’s Pro Day. Because he was allowed to do so, he bolstered his draft stock by impressing the scouts on hand, ending up making Mel Kiper Jr.’s 2013 NFL AllRookie Team.

Boyd strives to follow this path by putting on a show at Pro Day and proving to scouts that he has worked hard on his own. His road to the NFL has been undoubtedly rocky, but Boyd’s participation at Pro Day will put on display his commitment, skill and passion to accomplish his dream of making it as a professional athlete. He will be watched closely and the pressure will be higher than ever.

KEVIN BARNETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

By JOSH HAMBURGER Sports writer --------------------

Months after his dismissal from the Vanderbilt football team, wide receiver Chris Boyd decided to focus on graduating after this semester, while simultaneously declaring for the upcoming 2014 NFL Draft. In November, the junior announced he would forgo his remaining year of eligibility in hopes of getting a shot in the pros after putting up solid numbers in his two prior seasons. The decision to leave behind college football certainly wasn’t cleancut; however, Boyd ultimately resolved that obtaining his degree at Vanderbilt, in addition to working on his own athletically, would serve his best interests in the long run.

Boyd entered a plea deal to accept a misdemeanor charge as an accessory in attempting to cover up the alleged crimes committed by four of his fellow former teammates last summer. While that case still remains ambiguous to many and Boyd still has yet to tell his part of the story, he will make an appearance at Vanderbilt’s Pro Day. This annual event allows for football players entering the draft to highlight their skills in a mock NFL combine in front of dozens of scouts. The physical 6-foot4 wide receiver impressed during his redshirt freshman campaign in 2011, accumulating 31 receptions for 473

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014

backpage TODAY'S CROSSWORD

TODAY'S SUDOKU

Answers to last week’s puzzle

Answers to last week’s puzzle