Tuesday evening, a story about the arrest of over 50 Vanderbilt students, many of them members of the Sigma Chi fraternity, was posted on InsideVandy.com. A photo collage accompanied that story, and it featured the mug shots of 54 of those students. The story and image were also printed in Wednesday's issue of the Hustler.

The decision to run the photographs has been controversial, to say the least. This decision was ultimately made by the editor, and it did not have unanimous staff support (indeed, the reporter who wrote the story did not approve of running the photographs). There have been objections. Many are outraged because of a perception that the mug shots were printed to humiliate the students involved. This is simply not true. The Hustler needs to clear up the misconceptions about how this editorial decision was reached.

After the story came to our knowledge, we investigated further, discovering television news reports that featured the mug shots. The Hustler contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office, which e-mailed the pictures to the paper. The story was newsworthy and informative, yet the pictures gave a much clearer story and highlighted the extraordinariness of the details.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Polk County Clerk of Courts Connie Clark "said her office has processed other large groups on similar charges, but this seems to be a record number of arrests from one group." Clearly, an important aspect of the story was the large number of young men that were arrested at a single time. The photo collage captured this aspect.

The presentation of the cover story was meant to be provocative and eye-catching; this reflects the extraordinary nature of the story. There was no intention of singling out individuals, forwarding an agenda against Sigma Chi or its brothers, or drawing negative or unnecessary attention to the Hustler or its editor. The editor did not intend to make a value judgment on the actions of either the Vanderbilt students or Polk County authorities involved.

All of these and more factors were taken into account during the editor's decision-making process. After weighing to pros and the cons of running the photo collage, the editor made his decision. The decision to run the mug shots was not made lightly or without thought and consideration for those students who have already been placed under a great deal of stress. It is a decision by which the editor stands.

It would have been a disservice to the Vanderbilt community not to give the full picture of the story. Before Wednesday's story, the events that occurred last weekend were strung together as a series of rumors. The Hustler is proud to have investigated and produced a story on record that provided the community with the facts, and we will continue to report fairly and unbiased as the story continues to develop. There was nothing in the story, the headlines, or the photo collage that was factually incorrect or misleading, and all of the content contributed to telling the story.

Many disagree with the editor that the image was necessary, and it is their right to do so freely; the Hustler does not ignore the criticism. The debate about the mug shots involves a great deal of emotions, and the editor greatly respects the arguments against running the photos. In the end, however, the decision to run the mug shots was correct.