the vanderbilt hustler 02-05-14

vanderbilthustlerWWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 VOL. 126, ISS. 5

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LIFE

CAMPUSOde to the English major

Rites of Spring predictions

AcFee funding application process changes

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PAGE 14

The new system is designed to improve e� cacy and fair-ness of student activity fee allocation

VPB has issued cryptic clues in the lead-up to this year’s Rites lineup. Here are the best guesses as to who will be playing

A columnist details the benefi ts of one of today’s most derided majors

OPINION

ANDREW PERRY / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

25.5 percent of applicants get

College HallsBy HANNAH SILLS

News editor--------------------

By the time the balloting process to apply for residence in the new Warren and Moore Colleges closed on Jan. 22, 2,440 students had applied to live in the new buildings, according to data from the Offi ce of Housing and Residential Educa-tion (OHARE). Of those who applied, only 25.5 percent were accepted.

Construction of Warren and Moore — known collectively as the College Halls at Kissam — be-gan in the summer of 2012 after the six dormito-ries located on Kissam Quadrangle had been de-molished. The new buildings cost approximately $115 million and will see their fi rst occupants in the fall semester.

While sophomores, juniors and seniors will each represent 33 percent of residents in the new dorms by design, the applicant pool was not evenly distributed among the different classes. Of the 2,440 total applicants, 42.4 percent were rising juniors, 34.7 percent were rising sopho-mores, and only 22.9 percent were rising seniors.

“We were a little surprised,” said Jim Kramka, senior director of Housing Operations, regarding the small number of rising senior applicants. The 22.9 percent who applied constituted only two-thirds of the volume of applicants that OHARE was anticipating.

— Continued on PAGE 2

The ‘magnifi cent seven’ of the men’s basketball team have impressed in conference play so far. With their roster worn thin, can they keep it up?

SEE PAGE 18

‘Outnumbered, but not

outmanned.’

SEE PAGE 18

.’COLLEGE HALLS RESULTS

“I think that a lot of the sophomore and younger classes were (applying to College Halls), but as a junior I did not see many people looking to apply due to the fact that they would be further away, have to have a meal plan, and the (lack of a full) kitchen,” said junior student Mackenzie Lyles. “And the potential to be split up I think was a turn-off for the older classes.”

Residence in Warren and Moore will also be divided evenly among genders, a breakdown that was refl ected almost perfectly in the applicant pool. 1,214 women and 1,226 men applied to live in Col-lege Halls.

Warren and Moore will feature the largest variety of living arrangements of any dorm on campus, with traditional singles and doubles as well as four,

fi ve and six-person suites. The suites will be unique compared with other dorms because they will con-sist of individual bedrooms, rather than traditional doubles. The suite singles and the fact that both dorms will be brand new were among the most common reasons for applying to live in College Halls cited by several students interviewed.

“We took a tour, and they’re just enormous,” said junior student Madison Kommor of the new rooms in Warren and Moore. “All singles in a six-person suite, so there goes all the suite drama. It was just perfect.”

Perhaps the most surprising statistic of the ballot-ing process concerns the number of students who received their fi rst choice of living arrangement: 100 percent.

Students also had the opportunity to submit coed ballots for Warren and Moore. 13 such ballots were submitted, according to OHARE, with the majority being for all single rooms, followed by a few for six-person suites.

Although this balloting cycle was the fi rst for the new dorms, it may also be the last to draw such a large pool from each of the three eligible classes. As the website for College Halls at Kissam explains, the ultimate vision for the residences is that students will enter in their sophomore year and remain through graduation. The ability to elect to remain in the same room for the subsequent year is commonly referred to as “squatters’ rights” on campus.

“Because we don’t have any history to look back on, all we can do is speculate (about how many students will choose to squat),” said Kramka. “But we expect retention will be high and that the great majority of the vacancies each year will be for rising second-year students.”

Regarding the balloting process for Warren and Moore, Kramka noted that he was “extremely pleased” overall.

“The lottery — again a very complex process because of the requirement that men and women be equally represented, the three cohorts be equally represented, and that those quotas be represented equally between the two colleges — worked per-fectly the fi rst time through,” he said. “Even those 1,800 students on unsuccessful ballots took the news with great understanding; we received very, very few complaints.”

While OHARE may not have received many com-plaints, students who had unsuccessful ballots did express disappointment. According to an InsideVan-dy poll, out of 76 respondents, 37 stated that they did not get into College Halls and were unhappy about it.

“I’m pretty mad about it because I’m a junior, and I was on a ballot of all juniors, and for every other housing option we would have had the strongest ballot and would have almost been guaranteed a spot — but we didn’t get one,” said student Elizabeth Dunlap.

campus QUOTE OF THE DAY

“But we expect retention will be high and that the great majority of the vacancies each year will be for rising second-year students.”

JIM KRAMKA, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF HOUSING OPERATIONS

2 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM

vanderbilthustlerSTAFF

ANDRÉ ROUILLARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ALEX DAI — CHIEF COPY EDITOR

ALEXIS BANKSANDREA BLATT KATY CESAROTTI LAUREN HEYANO

WESLEY LINASHLEY SHAN KARA SHERRER SOPHIE TO

COPY EDITORS

HANNAH SILLS — NEWS EDITORKELLY HALOM — LIFE EDITOR ERIC LYONS — OPINION EDITORALLISON MAST — SPORTS EDITOR

BOSLEY JARRETT — PHOTO EDITOR

DIANA ZHU — DESIGN DIRECTOR JENNA WENGLER — ASST. DESIGN DIRECTOR

SENIOR DESIGNERS

ZACH BERKOWITZKAREN CHANZOË SHANCERKATHY ZHOU

DESIGNERS HAN DEWANHOLLY GLASS

total applicants to Warren and Moore

Though students whose ballets were rejected expressed disappointment, 100 percent of those accepted received their fi rst choice of room type

BALLOT BREAKDOWN

113

48

136

55

122

NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON BALLOT

NU

MB

ER O

F B

ALL

OTS DID YOU GET INTO WARREN & MOORE?

We polled from InsideVandy.com36.4

percentYes, and I got my fi rst choice

49.4percent

No, and I’m not happy about it

14.3percentNo, and I’m okay with it

0 percent

Yes, and I got my second choice

NUMBER OF APPLICANTS BY CLASS

22.9percent

Rising seniors

42.4 percent

Rising juniors

34.7 percent

Rising sophomores

— Continued from PAGE 1

NOTE: Not all six-person ballots were for six-person suites, etc. Each could represent combinations of several room types — for instance, there were several six-person ballots with a fi rst choice of all singles.

COLLEGE HALLS RESULTS519

500

400

300

200

100

1 2 3 4 5 6

2,440

76people polled

2,440 total

applicants

DATA PROVIDED BY OHARE

Approaching the end of a yearlong effort, members of the AcFee Reform Commit-tee have announced an overhaul to the application for AcFee funding, a VSG-run initiative that provides financial support for student organizations. The AcFee Com-mittee is responsible for allocating $1.7-1.8 million dollars — which comes from a portion of each student’s activity fee — to Vanderbilt student organizations every year.

According to Joey Starnes, AcFee Chair for both this year and last year, “The (AcFee Reform Committee) was created not be-cause we thought there were huge prob-lems with AcFee, but because we thought it could get better.” The committee was established last year through VSG Senate approval, and began to make changes to the process of AcFee funding allocation this past fall.

Most of the changes concern the ap-plication itself; the process undertaken by student organization leaders to receive funding will not change except for the way that information is provided in the applica-tion.

The former Microsoft Excel document,

which served as the AcFee application, is now Google Drive based and will function more as a financial tracking tool, according to AcFee Reform Committee Chair Arlyn Goodrich. Since student organizations will be able to view their application through-out the school year, self-accountability for spending will be easier.

In addition, Goodrich says, the new application will ask questions based on the information provided by each orga-nization, and will eliminate unnecessary or irrelevant questions depending on the group. This, he says, will help to maximize the relevance of the information to be reviewed by the AcFee Committee.

“The old application wasn’t very user-friendly, and it wasn’t very intuitive,” Starnes said. “It required long hours trying to figure out what we wanted on the ap-plication.”

To further simplify the interview process that follows applying for AcFee, the appli-cation now includes new metrics for mea-suring spending, like tracking spending over time and spending per event attendee.

“A lot of what the allocation commit-tee has to do, in terms of calculations and looking through stuff, will now be done in the application,” Goodrich explained.

In order to better allocate funds, Go-odrich says his committee hopes the new application will help determine if each

organization is using its money effectively. The type of information collected from the application will be largely the same, said both Goodrich and Starnes.

However, according to Starnes, “The application (now) does a lot more. It spits out a lot of graphs and metrics that we didn’t have in the past, which will help us better evaluate groups and more accurately distribute money.”

Starnes says the new application will not take any more effort for student organiza-tions than it has in the past, just a different kind of effort. The AcFee Reform Commit-tee has created video tutorials for student leaders to learn how to navigate the new system.

Goodrich says the ultimate goal for creating the new application was to break down the ongoing trend in AcFee funding of larger, more established organizations receiving more funding regardless of per-formance.

“We’re trying to make it so that newer or-ganizations can break in and have a greater impact, faster,” Goodrich said.

In the past, new organizations would receive a standard $250 of AcFee funding, and after that, if they performed averagely, they would get a 5 percent increase, as would all organizations after their first year. Starnes says this is an inherent flaw that will hopefully be fixed by the new

system. “The overall goal is that larger organiza-

tions that may not have been performing as well as in the past will not continue to get increases like they have in the past,” he said. “Hopefully by trimming from organi-zations like that, we’ll be able to give newer organizations a little bit more money.”

Goodrich and Starnes say they don’t know if this kind of change will happen right away, but hope the new application system will be a step in the right direction.

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 3

AcFee funding application process new for 2014By CHELSEA MIHELICH

Senior news reporter--------------------

ORGANIZATIONSRECEIVING MOST ACFEE FUNDS IN

2013

Music Group: $538,000VU Speakers Committee: $241,000VenUe: $98,000VPB Exec: $78,000Homecoming: $56,500

This week, the Vanderbilt University Police Department and Vanderbilt Student Government announced an expan-sion of the presence of Community Service Officers (CSOs) in residential areas.

As of Feb. 4, there will now be a CSO on the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons 24/7 and one specifically assigned to Highland Quadrangle during the night hours. These officers will be an addition to VUPD’s regular campus patrol, which consists of nine police officers and a few additional CSOs. CSOs are able to offer a variety of services — like jumpstart-

ing cars — for students, employees and visitors at Vander-bilt.

“Previously, CSOs would have to patrol multiple residen-tial areas at one time,” said student body president Isaac Escamilla in a statement to The Hustler. “Now, CSOs will be dedicated to maintaining a security presence at only one residential area at a time either on a 24/7 or nightly basis.”

Escamilla said the upgrade is an initiative VSG has been pursuing since the beginning of the school year. Several VSG senators believe that the measure will significantly enhance security for students on campus.

“Having Community Service Officers assigned to only one residential area will allow for these officers to build a rela-tionship with residents and gain a deeper understanding of their assigned residential area and its security nuances,” Escamilla said.

Dean of Students Mark Bandas, Vanderbilt Police Chief August Washington and Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos also had a hand in pushing through the initiative.

“Their willingness to engage with student leaders, listen to their concerns and enact meaningful reforms has allowed for this initiative to become a reality,” Escamilla said.

Starting in May, there will also be a 24/7 CSO presence at the Kissam College Halls.

VUPD additionally offers an around-the-clock escort service and emergency blue-light stations positioned ev-erywhere around campus. According to VUPD, at least one of these lights can be seen at all times from anywhere on campus.


RVU Records to host songwriting competition

RVU Records, Vanderbilt’s student-run re-cord label, plans to host an original songwrit-ing competition for students from Feb. 8-21.

Zach Blumenfeld, director of RVU Records, said he hopes to record as many original songs as possible during the competition. The decision to hold the event was based on the success of a “cover competition” RVU Records held in the fall, for which students recorded other artists’ songs.

“We’re hopefully going to attract people by saying that we’re not just going to record single live takes of their songs; we’re going to give them the full recording experience,” Blumenfeld said. “They’re going to get the chance to arrange the song for as many instruments as they’d like, and producers are going to spend a lot of one-on-one time with them crafting the song so that it’s the way that they feel like it should sound, instead of just a bare-bones guitar and vocal or piano and vocal, which is what we generally did in the cover competition.

According to Blumenfeld, the original songs will be posted online and the winner of the competition will be selected by a public poll on the RVU Records website. The prize will include cash, recording time with the studio, and a feature on a new website called Mellodi, a college music hub founded by Vanderbilt alumni.

Blumenfeld said he expects a number of contestants similar to the 15 that participated in the cover song competition, but plans to

spend three to four times as long working on each track, producing higher quality record-ings.

Junior Collin Labak participated in the cover competition and plans on recording a “falling-out-of-love” song for the upcoming original song competition.

“I decided to enter the competition be-cause RVU has way better resources in terms of audio equipment and recording software than I have access to anywhere else,” Labak said in an email. “The competition allows me

to record a song for free, and with far superior technology compared to what I’m used to working with.”

Blumenfeld said that the aims of the com-petition include providing experience for the record label’s audio engineers and stimulating the campus music scene.

“It conforms to our motto, which is to catalyze and unify the Vanderbilt music scene,” Blumenfeld said. “By bringing all these musicians into the studio in a rather concen-trated period of time, we’re hoping that they

will be enlivened to do more with their music on campus, perhaps meet other songwriters, which could lead to some cool collabora-tions.”

The record label also plans to gather the original songs for a compilation album of tracks recorded in the studio, which is cur-rently planned for a mid-April release.

Blumenfeld said he hopes to build on the success of the November cover competition with this new contest.

“One of my favorite memories from the cover competition in November was walking into the studio and just seeing like four or five RVU Records staff members in there, working together to make a recording and becoming friends while doing it,” Blumenfeld said. “I firmly believe that strong social bonds are a necessary characteristic of a good student organization, and scenes like the one I’ve de-scribed above contribute to the construction of those bonds.”

RVU Records also collaborates with a variety of other groups on campus, from recording Vanderbilt Spoken Word’s album to producing soundtracks and the “Battle Bands” show for Vanderbilt Television.

“Generally, (RVU Records) serves the student body in their wishes to record audio,” Blumenfeld said. “We serve musicians, we’ve had musicians in any genre — from folk to singer-songwriter to full bands to rappers — come in and record tracks. We produce tracks, we engineer them, we mix and master them, we return them to the clients.”

Students interested in the competition can sign up to compete at http://bit.ly/RVUcon-test.

By ALLIE GROSSNews reporter--------------------

Winner to be selected by online public poll; prize to include cash, in-studio recording time and Mellodi feature

CAMPUS

Participants in the RVU Records original songwriting contest will be able to enjoy the full recording experience, according to Director Zach Blumenfeld.

BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Community service officers currently patrol campus with VUPD police officers, but will now also be specifically sta-tioned at certain residential areas.

COURTESY OF VUPD

VUPD to have permanent presence in residential areasCommunity service officers to begin patrolling Commons and Kissam 24/7, Highland during night hours

By TYLER BISHOPInsideVandy director

--------------------

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 5CAMPUS

Alumna working to create home for female student sexual violence survivorsDara House, a project of recent VU grad Sarah O’Brien, hopes to open doors in January 2015

Recent Vanderbilt graduate Sarah O’Brien is looking to change the way collegiate women recover from sexual violence, start-ing right here in the Nashville area.

O’Brien, a survivor of sexual assault, is currently working on bringing to life a proj-ect called Dara House, which is designed to provide what she calls a “healing home” for college-aged female survivors of sexual violence.

“The goal of the house is to provide services for college women that usually aren’t provided on their campuses for free,” O’Brien said. These services will include offering different types of nontraditional therapeutic techniques, such as yoga or painting, providing legal and psychiatric counseling, and providing access to a social worker.

The house will provide a full-time resi-dence for the women for a period of three to eight months. O’Brien expects that between five and seven women will live in the house at any given time. The women will be ages 18-25 and must be either enrolled in a col-lege or university or taking a break with the full intention of returning to school. O’Brien envisions living in the house as helping women reacclimate to campus life, espe-cially after a traumatic experience.

The inspiration to create a home for sur-vivors came in part from a desire to provide a community for those women.

“I’ve talked to hundreds of survivors all across the country whose battles and struggles with their healing journey have all been very similar in that they don’t feel a sense of community or support on their college campus,” she said. “(Dara House) in and of itself will be a community.”

The name “Dara” was the “last piece of the puzzle” to come together for the project, O’Brien said. It comes from the Dara Knot, which is a traditional Irish/Celtic knot that symbolizes many of the qualities she wanted Dara’s name to represent, including strength, endurance and community.

O’Brien has been working on the Dara House concept for about six months now. She has been able to devote more time to working on the project since graduat-ing from Vanderbilt in December. O’Brien was also active in issues concerning sexual violence while on campus, joining five other

students in filing a federal Title IX complaint against Vanderbilt for the alleged “mistreat-ment of sexual assaults” in November 2013, a filing which remains under evaluation to determine if a federal investigation is neces-sary.

Recently, the Dara House project marked a milestone by raising more than $3,000, which will go towards filing federal and state applications required of this type of organization. Now, O’Brien hopes to raise $200,000-$500,000 before 2015, which will be used to obtain a house and pay for the services of support staff. The goal is to open Dara House’s doors by January 2015.

The response of the local community to Dara House has been positive so far, accord-ing to O’Brien.

“The activist community that I work with and friends and family have been over-whelmingly supportive,” she said. “Even a lot of Vanderbilt students, and mainly Vanderbilt alumni, have reached out to me, asking how they could support or how they could offer their knowledge to help the house really kind of take off and get started.”

O’Brien hopes to eventually expand from the Nashville area and see multiple Dara Houses in regions across the country. She has already been contacted by survivors of sexual violence from other areas who are enthusiastic about the idea of Dara House and would consider starting one locally.

For more information about the Dara House project, visit darahouse.org.

The Vanderbilt Hustler does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, but Sarah O’Brien has given permission to be identified as a rape survivor.

By HANNAH SILLSNews editor--------------------

I’ve talked to hundreds of survivors all across the country whose battles and struggles with their healing journey have all been very similar in that they don’t feel a sense of community or support on their college campus.

‘‘

’’

opinionTHE

RANTSomething got you peeved? Irked? Honked o� ? 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.

Check out this week’s Rant on our Twitter account @InsideVandy.

I fucking hate the Kirkland Bell. Do I really need to be reminded of what time it is every hour? When I’m studying into the night? When I can’t sleep? Kirkland rings once, and I’m still awake. Kirkland rings twice, and I’m still awake. Kirkland Rings three times, and I’m still awake... Time will always taunt me, but that damned clock doesn’t have to.

Hahaha at the freshmen too lazy to go back to Commons thinking that Bamboo Bistro would be open at 6.45 p.m. on a Saturday night. Welcome to the food desert that is main campus on week-ends.

If I’d known that I would have to share a jail cell-sized box of cinderblock at the age of 21 at a school that costs $60,000 a year, I would have looked more seri-ously into other schools.

ugGGGHGHHGH can we please get lil b to speak here please we never get anyone good to speak here because this place is a shithole in the middle of nowhere but lil b #basedgod would fi x all that PLEASE

Does this university cater to anyone who actually wants to study? Apparent-ly Vandy has the money to revamp the Rec Center but can’t a� ord to replace the earplug dispensers in the libraries.

Stop pretending to like a club you couldn’t care less about. Deactivate and fi nd an organization that you’ll actually enjoy.

vanderbilthustler

ANDRÉ ROUILLARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF [email protected]

EDITORIAL BOARD

HANNAH SILLSNEWS EDITOR

[email protected]

ERIC LYONSOPINION EDITOR

[email protected]

KELLY HALOMLIFE EDITOR

[email protected]

ALLISON MAST SPORTS EDITOR

[email protected]

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 o� ers three methods of expression: letters to the editor, guest columns and feedback on InsideVandy.com.

The views expressed in lead editorials refl ect 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 o� ce or via email to [email protected]. 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.

Lengthy letters that focus on an issue a� ecting students may be considered for a guest column at the editor’s discretion.

All submissions become the property of The Hustler and must conform to the legal standards of Vanderbilt Student Communications, of which The Hustler is a division.

The Vanderbilt Hustler (ISSN 0042-2517), the student newspaper of Vanderbilt University, is published every Wednesday during the academic year except during exam periods and vacations. The paper is not printed during summer break.

The Vanderbilt Hustler allocates one issue of the newspaper to each student and is available at various points on campus for free. Additional copies are $.50 each.

The Vanderbilt Hustler is a division of Vanderbilt Student Communications, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Vanderbilt Student Communications.

Declaring my English major was probably the best thing that has happened to me at Vanderbilt. While my parents would prob-

ably disagree, my experiences over the past four years have taught me that English majors (a nod to Philosophy majors here as well) are some of the most well-adjusted, creative, thoughtful and open-minded individuals at this school. And my English and writing-based classes, regardless of how well or how poorly I did in them, have been consistently the most rewarding classes I’ve taken here. Enough with the “barista” jokes everyone — it’s time to appreciate the widely-unrecognized benefi ts of spending your four collegiate years with your head in a book and your pen to paper.

This has been a risky column to write. Penning anything as an English major (or even worse, as an editor) opens one up to digs about minute grammar mistakes and poorly constructed sentences; these

slip-ups will be used as ammunition to invalidate entire arguments and to tear down credibility. Hopefully, I’ll avoid any misplaced commas that might give you cause for doubt.

For the uninitiated, English classes involve more than reading literary classics, understanding references and picking apart pieces of poetry and lines of prose. My classes have helped me come to better understand the world as it was, is and will be, all through the lens of literature. I’ve had classes that have focused deeply on censor-ship, race in the South, modern colonialism, Caribbean immigration patterns, feminism, and twentieth century psychology, and that have touched on too many other topics to count. I’m a better person for immers-ing myself in these ideas, most of which were entirely foreign or unknown to me before. I’m more open-minded, self-aware and worldlier for discussing these subjects with my classmates and for writing and performing research on them. Literature serves a purpose beyond entertainment; it provides the reader with a gateway to new perspectives. As author George .R.R. Martin

puts it in “A Dance with Dragons,” the fi fth installment of his doorstopper series A Song of Ice and Fire, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

This column would be remiss to skip over what has been the chief benefi t of taking all of these English classes: improving my com-munication skills. I’ve always been fond of language — maybe a little too fond. Under the generously lenient oversight of Mr. Kelly, my high school English teacher, my idea of eloquence ballooned into cramming as many adjectives, adverbs and clauses into my sentences as grammatically possible, a la William Faulkner. The size of my writer’s ego was directly correlated with the length of my sentences.

My English courses here have sharpened what was a six-foot wooden club (with which I beat my professors and readers over their collective heads) into a leaner, more elegant, more direct implement, helping me fi nd my style without sacrifi cing my voice. I can communicate my views more confi -dently and correctly, and I can argue more effectively and cohesively. All of these things have benefi ts in professional and academic life, not to mention in communicating my feelings and strengthening my personal relationships to boot.

While this is all well and good, reading and writing about the works of luminaries past and present for four years has made me realize how terrible of a writer I really am in the scheme of things. Still, I’m left with a craft I can hone for the rest of my life and look forward to improving upon. I’ve never had a greater appreciation for the power of editing and self-refl ection as when I’m able to look back on something I’ve written a day afterward and realize how unsatisfi ed I am with it. English classes have taught me patience when I edit and re-edit my pieces, and pore over volumes of reference material searching for the perfect quote.

With these skills, many English majors have taken their degrees to great heights, even in recent years. Hank Paulson, Clar-ence Thomas, Conan O’Brien, Barbara Walters, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Mitt Romney, Michael Eisner, Sally Ride and Ken Jennings (Ken Jennings!) all have one

ANDRÉ ROUILLARDis a senior in the College of Arts and Science and editor-in-chief of The Hustler. He can be reached at [email protected].

The world doesn’t need English majors...

... but they make it a better place.

6 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER ◆ WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM

QUOTE OF THE DAY“Kids who are sent to jail think of themselves as criminals. Their social world becomes

the criminal justice system, and their ties to their communities are severed.”

MICHAEL ZOOROB

W _hat exactly makes a superhero? When I was a kid, I thought superheroes were people like Superman

and Spider-Man, people with secret identities and masks who could save the world. On Halloween, I thought it was the coolest experience to go trick-or-treating dressed like Batman, complete with a cape, mask and fake muscles. I believed that someday I would see the Batmobile on the freeway, with Bruce Wayne racing off to fi ght a bad guy and keep me safe. Of course, sooner or later reality was bound to set in. I came to realize that people don’t dress up in Spandex and fi ght crime (or at least not successfully). Superheroes were comic book legends, nothing more. They don’t exist in real life, and I would have been a fool to keep believing that. Or so I thought.

The truth is that while we don’t have superheroes in the classic sense — noc-turnal crime-fi ghting vigilantes — we do have superheroes today. We have men and women who put their lives, their well-being, and their livelihoods on the lawn so that we can live in freedom and security. The only differences are that we

call them soldiers, and they don’t wear masks. And we don’t thank them nearly as often as we should.

The NFL rectifi ed that this year. Let’s face it, for all intents and purposes, this was a pretty anticlimactic Super Bowl. The game was a blowout, commercials not starring Stephen Colbert were pretty boring and we didn’t have a Janet Jack-son wardrobe malfunction at halftime for everyone to talk about. I ended up changing the channel halfway through the fourth quarter, which was still prob-ably later than many of you. The one positive takeaway I have from this game is an important one: It paid homage to our American superheroes.

No, I’m not talking about Spider-Man and the Avengers. Nor am I talking about the players on the fi eld this weekend. I’m talking about our military servicemen and servicewomen. I can honestly say that while I expected fi reworks and a crazy light show from Bruno Mars, I did not expect a touch-ing, heartwarming military salute in the middle of his performance. Bruno took attention away from his moment in the sun to recognize our heroes who are all too often forgotten. Beyond that,

though, Bruno’s halftime show was only the tip of the iceberg. Budweiser offered a poignant salute to a soldier returning home from deployment, as did several other companies, and the NFL topped this all off with an inspiring reading of the entire Declaration of Independence by dozens of current and future Hall of Fame players prior to the start of the game.

These moments were the only redeeming elements in what was otherwise a waste of 3 1/2 hours. But I cannot downplay how impactful those messages were. Our military is frequently forgotten, neglected and even outrightly scorned, so for them to be recognized on TV’s biggest stage is a priceless gesture.

With this in mind, I salute the NFL and FOX. They didn’t give us a memo-rable Super Bowl. Instead, they put the “Super” back in Super Bowl by recog-nizing the service of men and women far more heroic than any comic book legend ever was. And they reminded us that a little “thank you” can go a long way.

J.R. RIDLEYis a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science and the debate coordinator for the Vanderbilt College Republicans. He can be reached at [email protected].

Putting the ‘Super’ in Super BowlA salute to the NFL for recognizing America’s military during the big game

thing in common: they were all English majors. These CEOs, fi nanciers, politicians, millionaires, billionaires, astronauts and captains of industry all benefi tted from the critical thinking, attention to detail and ability to hold an entertaining dinner con-versation that was drilled into them as Eng-lish majors. After picking apart sentences, reading between the lines and appreciating nuances in the works they read in college, these people have worked their ways to the tops of their respective fi elds.

I don’t want this column to devolve into a BuzzFeed-esque “25 People You Didn’t Know Were English Majors” (it could) but I think these few examples serve to illustrate the range of applicability and effectiveness of the training an English major under-goes. Attention to detail, learned from placing commas correctly, matters when constructing models in investment bank-ing. The ability to communicate effectively, learned from years of writing essays, mat-ters when you’re in a debate against fellow presidential candidates. Arguing your point forcefully matters when you’re on the bench with eight other Supreme Court Justices. And an encyclopedic knowledge of 19th century Victorian literature matters when you’ve just stumbled upon the Daily Double in Jeopardy.

The world needs math majors. The world needs chemistry majors. The world needs engineers. And I’ll admit that maybe the world doesn’t really “need” English majors. But I, and many others, I think, are glad that we have them.

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER ◆ WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 7

8 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER ◆ WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM

People tend to conform to what is expected of them, and labels are the language of expectations. Others treat you differently when you bear a certain label. You treat yourself differently when you internalize

that label. And you behave differently around others when you think they label you. Consider, then, the cumulative damage wrought by labels like “criminal,” “addict” and “disordered.”

A famous study of the Ashanti people by Austrian psy-chologist Gustav Jahoda illustrates the potency of labels, even arbitrary ones, in shaping human behavior. The Ashanti, a West African ethnic group, believed that the day a boy was born affected his temperament; in particular, boys born on Mondays were thought to be peaceful and well-tempered, while boys born on Wednesdays were thought to be aggres-sive. Moreover, children were given “soul-names” which refl ected the days on which they were born, broadcasting their birthday at all times.

This strange tradition had the auspicious side effect of cre-ating a natural experiment, a rarity in psychological research. Tracking the court records of the Ashanti region for fi ve years, Dr. Jahoda found that, fascinatingly, 22 percent of violent offences were committed by boys born on Wednesday, more than triple the percentage of violent crimes perpetrated by boys born on Monday. Obviously, nothing intrinsic to a Wednesday birth can turn good people into violent ones. Social expectations, however, do wield such power.

This effect is not anomalous. Studies in the United States and elsewhere have shown that randomly labeling children as “gifted” results in signifi cant academic gains. Similar stud-ies indicate that assigning random labels to employees’ work-

place performances leads to actual changes in employee performance consistent with the randomly assigned labels.

And there are important public policy implications to this idea of a malleable self, especially with regards to minors who get into legal trouble, about 70,000 of whom are currently incarcerated, according to the Justice Department. As it turns out, forcing delinquent teens to spend time with even more delinquent teens in prisons or inpatient rehab centers results in more, rather than less, delinquent behavior (a phenom-enon called “peer deviancy training” in criminology circles). And demeaning kids as “broken,” “criminal” or “alcoholic” in so-called “tough love” therapy makes them worse, not better, writes Maia Szalavitz in Time magazine.

In an interview with Szalavitz, Matt Thomas (a pseud-onym) described the pernicious feedback loop of his stint in rehab, where he spent seven weeks as a 13-year-old for selling marijuana: “It was (in rehab) that they told me that I was a drug addict and an alcoholic. There was no turning back. The whole event solidifi ed and created this notion in my own mind and in my social status (that) who I was was an alcoholic and drug addict.”

Indeed, one study in the Journal of Youth and Society found that kids who are sentenced to juvenile detention are more than three times as likely to go to jail as adults com-pared to kids who commit the same crimes but receive more lenient sentencing.

Why? Kids who are sent to jail think of themselves as crim-inals. Their social world becomes the criminal justice system, and their ties to their communities are severed. When they get out, they wear the scars of a jail sentence. Employers, landlords and neighbors discriminate against them.

And in important ways, it’s not much different a story from that of the Ashanti boys who happened to be born on Wednesday. A Justice Policy Institute report notes that as many as one-third of teens engage in “delinquent behavior,” and most teens grow out of it as they age. Detention “may actually interrupt and delay the normal pattern of ‘aging out’ since (it) disrupts (teens’) natural engagement with families, school, and work.” The “outcast” label, whatever its form, is a uniquely injurious sanction.

A 2004 National Institute of Health report concluded that programs which “aggregate high-risk youth in ways that facilitate contagion” are ineffective in, if not detrimental to, bettering adolescent behavior. Another fi nding was that “pro-grams that seek to prevent violence through fear and tough treatment appear ineffective.”

But the same NIH report found that “programs that aim at developing skills and competencies” in troubled teens can work to prevent future violence. Behind all this unnecessary suffering there is a hopeful story to be told about forgiveness and human decency. Therapy which incorporates the fami-lies of teens can be very effective in treating drug problems, for example, with more than half of participants signifi cantly decreasing their drug use in a 2003 study at the University of Miami.

In short, when given support, instead of stigma, people get better. The ancient Roman poet Virgil coined the phrase “omnia vincit amor,” or love conquers all. However unex-pectedly, contemporary evidence in social science may be proving him right.

Great expectations How labels create delinquency and acceptance cures it

MICHAEL ZOOROBis a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science and online editor of the Vanderbilt Political Review. He can be reached at [email protected].

OPINION

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER ◆ WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 9

If you’re like many millennials, you’ve probably heard of bitcoin. But if you haven’t, here’s your chance to fi nally understand what it is, how it works and why it’s revolutionary.

Bitcoin is neither a company nor a tangible com-modity. Bitcoin is a digital currency that is created, transferred and secured using asymmetric cryptog-raphy. Skipping the technical jargon, you can think of bitcoin as an electronic form of cash. Bitcoin enables users to send money over the internet in seconds with transaction fees that are miniscule compared to the traditional bank wire or money transfer system.

The fi rst bitcoins were mined in January 2009 on regular computers. Since then, over 12 million have al-ready been mined. Due to technological advances, to-day’s miners must use a type of specialized hardware called ASICs (application-specifi c integrated circuits) to profi t from mining. It is estimated that new bitcoins will cease to be mined around the year 2040, when the total supply nears the built-in limit of 21 million.

Unlike payment networks such as MasterCard and Visa, Bitcoin does not have a central authority that processes all the transactions. When transactions are made, they are broadcast to the peer-to-peer network. Bitcoin “miners” continuously run mining software which listens to the Bitcoin network and packages recent bitcoin transactions into blocks.

These miners are rewarded with associated transac-tion fees and new bitcoins for each valid block they

generate. The amount of new bitcoins created per block started at 50 and halves every 210,000 blocks. The diffi culty involved in generating a valid block is adjusted every 2016 blocks such that one block is added approximately every 10 minutes to the block chain — a public ledger of all confi rmed bitcoin transactions. Since it is so diffi cult to mine valid blocks alone, miners often pool their resources into min-ing pools and share the rewards in proportion to the resources they contribute.

For most people, the most interesting of aspect Bit-coin is how quickly it has grown. The price of a single bitcoin increased from fractions of a penny to over $1,200 USD between April 2010 and November 2013. Today, the price ranges from $800 to $950 depending on which exchange you use. While the rise in price has been mainly attributed to speculators, there is also growing demand for Bitcoin as a currency. Many brick-and-mortar shops and online retailers now ac-cept Bitcoin as form of payment.

Bitcoin is an exciting new experiment in money. Unlike the dollar or euro, Bitcoin is not controlled by a physical central bank and its supply cannot be arbitrarily infl ated. The U.S. dollar controlled by the Federal Reserve has lost 95 percent of its purchasing power since 1913 because more of it is always being printed. The supply of dollars is unpredictable, where-as the monetary policy that governs Bitcoin is a set of rules established in the open-source software and

is enforced by the decentralized network. The supply of Bitcoin is forever limited which causes its value to increase over time relative to real goods. Arguably, a currency with a predictable supply is more equitable to its users who will not bear the burden of taxation through infl ation.

One common myth is that Bitcoin is an anony-mous currency. However, there are many ways that bitcoins can be traced back to a person’s identity. The blockchain can be analyzed for links and patterns, IP addresses can be traced and bitcoin exchanges or in-ternet service providers can be served warrants by law enforcement. If you buy an item with Bitcoin and have it delivered to your physical address, you also lose your anonymity. However, bitcoins still offer pseudo-anonymity: Bitcoins are sent to and from addresses which do not provide any additional information about the identity of the parties involved in a transac-tion. If proper precautions are taken, such as using a new address for every transaction and sending them through mixing services, Bitcoin can also offer greater fi nancial privacy.

Bitcoin promises a cheaper, faster and more secure payment system for the future. Bitcoin is decentral-ized, scarce, durable, fungible, hard to counterfeit, easy to verify and easy to store — many technical properties which make it ideal to become the world’s global currency.

What’s a bitcoin?Truths and myths about the biggest buzzword in the digital marketplace

KENNY TANis a senior in the College of Arts and Science and founder of the Young Americans for Liberty chapter at Vanderbilt. He can be reached at [email protected].

OPINION


President Obama visits McGavock HighAROUND NASHVILLE


President Barack Obama visited Nashville’s McGavock Comprehensive High School on Jan. 31, two days after delivering his State of the Union address. Obama covered his plans for the future of American education, highlighting the successes that McGavock

has had with its academy-based system.Left: President Obama receives a standing ovation as he exits the stage.Top and right: Demonstrators line McGavock Pike, across from the high school, calling for

policy changes ranging from immigration reform to the president’s impeachment.

Photos by Bosley Jarrett

If you’re in a small group

COFFEE SHOP CRAWL


life GO DO

THIS

If you’ve ever spent time in a major city, chances are you’ve come face-to-face with someone who is homeless. Most people might walk straight past these individuals. Some might give a dollar or two. But for the average pe-destrian, anything more than a small handout is too tall an order.

Then there’s senior Whitley O’Connor. Two years ago, O’Connor founded The Curbside Chronicle, a “street maga-zine” written and sold by homeless vendors in Oklahoma City. Though different publications employ different busi-ness models, “street papers” comprise a genre of publica-tions produced and sold by homeless authors. By the most recent count, 125 street papers exist worldwide, and 43 in the United States.

“I have a heart for people,” said O’Connor of his endeavor. “Regardless of the situation they’re in, whether it’s domes-tic violence, or education and equity, or homelessness, I’m about implementing effective solutions to those issues.”

And despite a somewhat serendipitous start, The Curbside Chronicle has already proved extremely effective. Through-out high school, O’Connor pursued philanthropic work through the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofi ts and developed an interest in social enterprise. Upon arriving in Nashville as a fi rst-year in the fall of 2010, O’Connor noticed the expan-sion of The Contributor, the street paper sold in Nashville, right near Vanderbilt. When he off-handedly commented on the expansion of the Nashville street paper to his social enterprise professor, the pair started to develop together a business model, and The Curbside Chronicle was born.

As street papers go, though, The Curbside Chronicle is unique in a few ways. Many street publications, including

BREAKING THE CYCLESenior Whitley O’Connor starts innovative street paper in Oklahoma City

By EMMETT MCKINNEYLife reporter--------------------


Senior Whitley O’Connor founded The Curbside Chronicle, a street paper written and sold by various homeless vendors in Oklahoma City.

Choral Prism II ConcertFeaturing Vanderbilt University Concert Choir, Symphonic Choir, Core Choir, the Melodores and Vanderbilt Variations, this night of singing showcases many voices at Vanderbilt. The free concert is Friday at 8 p.m. in Ingram Hall.

It’s like a bar crawl, but legal! Grab a latte to-go at Fido, then venture far-ther off campus for quiche at Crema or crepes at Red Bicycle. Hop over to The Urban Juicer to get your fruit and veggie fi x, and then revel in your shared food coma for the rest of the day. Everyone knows communal glut-tony is the fi rst step to lasting friend-ship, so come hungry — maybe even the morning after your thrift party.

Get to know your

NEW SISTERS

If you’re with your little (or a prospective one)

THRIFTING

lifelifeGREEK LIFE

WHERE TO GOThis-n-that: 5700 Georgia Ave.12th Avenue Thrift: 1125 12th Ave. S

’Tis the season at Vanderbilt — little season, that is. With the addition of countless screams for “new babies” at every pregame for the past two weekends, upperclassmen in sorori-ties are fi nally starting to actually recognize those new people wearing their letters. So now that we’re friends on every existing form of social media, becoming friends in real life is next on the agenda. Whether you’re in the market for a little or just want to meet some of your sorority’s newest pledge class, there are better ways to get to know them than over an Apple PBG or in a frat bathroom. Here are some things you can do with your new members to switch things up.

Check out these ideas for how to bond with your new pledge classBy Priyanka Aribindi, life reporter

To pull a play from the year’s “best” new artist, take your newest addition to one of the many thrift shops right outside the VandyBubble to gear up for whatever fun Greek Row has planned for the weekend. Digging through the good, the bad, the ugly and just plain bizarre is always fun, and with themes like Betarobics and DKE Disco, we could all use some vintage items for our weekend nights. Check out This-n-That or 12th Ave Thrift for the best fi nds.

WHERE TO GOFido: 1812 21st Ave.Crema: 15 Hermitage Ave.Red Bicycle: 1200 5th Ave. NUrban Juicer: 2206 8th Ave. S


The Contributor, follow the “domestic model,” which focuses strongly on social issue content, in a newspaper format. The problem with such a model, according to O’Connor, is that it tends towards negativity without empowering authors or readers to improve the system.

“It doesn’t leave you with a, ‘here’s what we do’ mindset,” O’Connor said. In contrast, The Curbside Chronicle em-ploys a magazine format that features pop culture and local restaurant reviews alongside commentary on homelessness in Oklahoma City. Such a model allows the magazine to ap-peal to all readers, not just those interested in homelessness.

“We knew that we needed a product that would stand alone,” O’Connor said. It’s more empow-ering that way, we thought.”

The unorthodox business model has proved empowering indeed: Using an average of five vendors on a given day, the street magazine has sold about 5,800 copies since it began publishing in August 2013, reaching an audience of roughly 14,000 readers. Vendors buy the magazine for $0.75 per copy, and the suggested donation is $2. However, vendors often receive more for their wares, averag-ing between $3.50 and $4 per sale. Each sale may appear small, but the sum total is huge: By O’Connor’s estimation, vendors have raised between $20,000 and $24,000 selling The Curbside Chronicle.

Despite the magazine’s early successes, O’Connor has en-countered unexpected challenges that come with managing a magazine among the homeless population. The challenge, O’Connor said, is not getting people to buy. Often, it’s getting

people to sell.“I went in very naively thinking that these jobs would

come flocking to me,” O’Conner explained. “And it’s not a matter of community acceptance — more of getting the vendors out. Homeless people are often promised minimum wage for single-day construction jobs. In reality, according to O’Connor, these workers might receive just $40 for a full day’s work: an average of about $4 per hour.

Even if the construction firms are mistreating them, the certainty of a paycheck at day’s end makes recruiting

vendors difficult for O’Connor. Altogether, though, selling the magazine makes more sense for the homeless: The Curbside Chronicle guarantees no pay-check, but vendors, on average, pocket $75 per day.

Such a substantial profit margin allows O’Connor to make an impressive guarantee to vendors: Sell The Curbside Chronicle consistently for three weeks, and we’ll find you housing. And since vendors began selling, the street magazine has found housing for four vendors and is now in the

process of finding housing for two more. By this measure-ment, The Curbside Chronicle has gone beyond helping the needy to breaking the cycle of homelessness in a realistic way.

Altogether, the accomplishments of the magazine are many and diverse. To O’Connor, though, the most important one is simple: “They feel more human doing this.”

The Curbside Chronicle is currently publishing every other month. The fourth issue will be released on Friday.

If you’re in a big group

PINEWOODSOCIAL

Food, drinks, coffee, bowling, boc-ce ball — Pinewood Social has so many activities. Bowl for a game, and then take a break to grab some of their delicious “Things on Toast” before hitting the lanes for round two. With its large size, this is the perfect place to hang with a big group, so grab some sisters and make a night of it.

WHERE TO GONashville Humane Association: 213 Oceola Ave.

There are few things in this world a sorority girl likes more than pup-pies, and at a humane association puppy love is as much fun for you as it is for the dogs. Grab a group on a Friday afternoon and blow off some steam — who knows, you might just come home with a new house dog. Pay the pups a visit at the Nashville Humane Association.

WHERE TO GOPInewood Social: 33 Peabody St.

If you’re in a medium-sized group

NASHVILLE HUMANE ASSOCIATION

Whether it’s domestic violence, or education and equity, or homeless-ness, I’m about imple-menting effective solu-tions to those issues.’‘

’‘


Music group announces Steve Aoki to headline Rites of SpringVanderbilt Music Group announced fi rst headliner Steve Aoki this weekend. Here’s a look at the response, as well as our predictions of what’s to come

This year the Vanderbilt Music Group, by re-leasing its lineup much earlier than in recent years, has begun to tease out who will be playing at the Rites of Spring Music Festival. The fi rst announcement came this weekend, with Music Group tweeting that DJ Steve Aoki will be one of this year’s headliners.

“We wanted to bring someone that people want to dance to, some-one that everyone at college would love as a headliner,” said Ally Warson, this year’s Music Group chair.

Known for his antics during live perfor-mances, including various crowd surfi ng stunts, throwing cake at fans and spraying champagne bottles, Aoki certainly keeps things interesting.

“He’s a lot to handle, but I think in the best way,” Warson said. “That’s really what we wanted, a high-energy headliner, and we re-ally pushed for him.”

Though his live shows have made people take notice, Aoki has also proven himself in the industry as an EDM musician, record pro-ducer and the founder of Dim Mak Records. In 2013, Aoki was ranked the eighth best DJ in the world according to DJ Mag. That same

year, Aoki’s album, “Wonderland,” was nomi-nated for a Grammy Award for best dance/electronica album.

Warson feels this talent and knack for performance has not been lost on students, as she has felt that the response has been very positive.

“For one person too, when there’s still so much more coming, it’s just exciting to get an initial positive reaction,” Warson said.

Many more of the acts will be announced on Friday, Feb. 7.

“We’ve never released this early before, and it’s because we’ve been so diligent about get-ting our names locked down and getting our offers nailed down early,” Warson said.

Clue: This performer travels light and does not check bags when they fl y.

Guess: BirdyWe think Music Group might be

going for some word play here, and we’re hoping it’s to lead us to this

artist. Birdy doesn’t seem to have a show on the Friday of Rites, and she

will be touring in the U.S. this spring. Hopefully, she makes a stop at Vandy.

Other potential candidates include An-drew Bird and Robyn.

Clue: Buddy Valastro thinks this artist does not respect his craft.Guess: Steve AokiCake Boss Buddy Valastro might not think it’s so funny that Steve Aoki throws so much cake at the crowd. Come on Steve, that’s a waste.

Clue: This artist/group opened up one of our 2011 performers this year.Guess: DaughterDaughter is scheduled to open some shows for The National this year, which is a band that performed at Rites of Spring in 2011.

Daughter doesn’t seem to have any shows scheduled at the same time, though the band is making an appearance at Coachella in the Sunday lineup. Other potential candidates include Big Sean, Tyler, the Creator and Logic, who all opened for Kid Cudi.

Clue: You would see a lot of these at the airport. A very specifi c amount.Guess: 21 PilotsWe might not be that confi dent in all of our guesses, but we feel pretty sure about this one.

Clue: Two of the members probably spent some nights in tents on Tobacco Road.Guess: The Avett BrothersAs Tobacco Road is often used to refer to sports played among ACC North Carolina universities, it is possible that members of the band camped out once or twice for a game. Scott Avett did go to East Carolina University, which is part of the University of North Caro-lina system. Additionally, cellist Joe Kwon got his degree from UNC Chapel Hill. Plus, the band doesn’t seem to have another concert that date. Though it might just be wishful thinking on our part, we really hope we’re right about this one.

Clue: This group blends in with Adam Sandler.Guess: UhhhAlright, Music Group, you’ve stumped us. Is this a band that makes jokes? Do they look like Adam? Do they hang out with him? Are they wedding singers? We don’t know. We just don’t know.

OUR UNOFFICIAL GUESSES: The Hustler breaks down Music Group’s latest TWEETS on who will be coming to Rites of

spring this year

By KELLY HALOMLife editor

--------------------


LIFE


MONDAYSUNDAY THURSDAYWEDNESDAYTUESDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

2

1

876543

131211109 1514

212019181716 22

252423 282726

THIS MONTH IN NASHVILLEDon’t just tell people you live in Nashville, go do it. From concerts to spoken word, this city has a lot going on. This month, go and explore your second home By Kelly Halom, life editor

FEBRUARY 2014

SOUTHERN SMASH

Sarratt 325/327

KINGS OFLEON

Bridgestone Arena

LEWIS BLACKRyman Auditorium

AN EVENING WITH

KJERSTIN GRUYS’

Saratt Cinema

FAREWELL DRIFTERSThe High Watt

NASHVILLE JAZZ

ORCHESTRAIngram Hall

AN EVENING WITH

IRA GLASSRyman Auditorium

BERLIN PHILHARMONIC

WIND QUARTET

Ingram Hall

TONY BENNET

Andrew Jackson Hall

SPOKEN

WORD SHOWCASE

Sarratt Cinema

ASIAN NEW YEAR FESTIVAL

Langford Auditorium

IMAGINE DRAGONS

Bridgestone Arena

MUSIC ROW101

Bridgestone Arena

SOUTHERN SMASHSarratt 325/327Southern Smash and Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee are coming to Vanderbilt for an afternoon of empowering young women and men who feel trapped by the numbers they see on the scale. The afternoon will include a photo booth, Let It Go Balloons, scale smashing and various other activities. A SmashTALK featuring body image and eating disorder experts will take place 5:30-7 p.m. in Buttrick 102.

‘MIRROR, MIRROR...OFF THE WALL: AN EVENING WITH KJERSTIN GRUYS’Sarratt CinemaGo Figure is hosting Kjerstin Gruys, author of “Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall,” who will be discussing her decision to go a full year without mirrors and how the decision im-pacted her self image. The event will start with refreshments and end with a Q&A along with a book signing. Refreshments will be served starting at 5 p.m. outside of Sarratt Cinema, and the talk will begin at 6 p.m.

‘REINVENTING RADIO: AN EVENING WITH IRA GLASS’Ryman AuditoriumThe creator of public radio show “This American Life” will talk about his program and the creative process behind it, from where they find stories to how they under-stand the program in a greater context of broadcast journalism. Glass often uses mo-ments from the show throughout his talk to demonstrate how the show comes together.

VANDERBILT SPOKEN WORD SHOWCASESarratt CinemaVanderbilt Spoken Word will perform its showcase, “Gym Class Weirdos” 7-9 p.m. in Sarratt Cinema. The evening will include spoken word, song, dance and nostalgia, as the group remembers high school and discusses the parallels between it, college and life at large. Tickets are $5. There will also be a performance on Feb. 22.

MUSIC ROW 101Bridgestone ArenaThis one-day conference at Bridgestone Arena gives anyone the chance to learn all about how the music business works. Spend an entire day learning from music industry professionals. The conference costs $98, and admission includes a ticket to the Predators game that night. For more information, visit http://wsix.com.

LIFE

sports THE BIG STATVanderbilt women’s lacrosse team’s shooting

percentage during the 2013 season .80516 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM

An ankle injury should keep the junior on the

sidelines for the fi rst couple of games, but Duckenfi eld, who collected 20 ground balls and caused 15 turnovers last season, will be a big contributor when she returns.

ALEX

DUCKENFIELD

POSITION: DefenseYEAR: JuniorHEIGHT: 5-8

Kratz served as a backup goalie for the

past two seasons. In her career at Vanderbilt, she has posted seven saves and a .636 save percentage.

MADDIE KRATZ

MADDI

E K

RATZ

POSITION: GoalkeeperYEAR: JuniorHEIGHT: 5-10

Nesi played in only six games as a sophomore,

winning fi ve draw controls. She also picked up fi ve ground balls and caused a turnover.

GABR

IELL

E NESI

POSITION: DefenseYEAR: JuniorHEIGHT: 5-5

The senior enters the season as an

experienced defender after forcing 21 turnovers and collecting 26 ground balls last season.

ALYS

SA DUNLAP

POSITION: DefenseYEAR: SeniorHEIGHT: 5-5

NES

Byner started in all 17 games last season,

during which she forced 21 turnovers. She picked up 26 ground balls, third most of the Commodores.

BRAN

DI BYNER

POSITION: DefenseYEAR: SeniorHEIGHT: 5-7

Despite a freshman season cut short by a

back stress fracture, Chandler was fi fth on the team in goals (16) and second in draw controls (22), playing in 13 games and starting in 11.

KELLY

CHANDLER

POSITION: Midfi eldYEAR: SophomoreHEIGHT: 5-8

The sophomore midfi elder took just 10

shots last season but capitalized on her opportunities, scoring fi ve goals.

ASHLI

N DOLAN


Kunowsky was one of two freshmen to

start all 17 games last season. She led the team in draw controls (31) and fi nished second in shooting percentage (.514).

ALEXA

KUNOWSKY


After playing midfi eld for a season,

Lockwood is moving to attack. She scored 13 goals last season, good for sixth most on the team.

AMAN

DA LO

CKWOOD

POSITION: AttackYEAR: SophomoreHEIGHT: 5-6

Ramzy won six draw controls off the bench

last season. After appearing in 30 games as a midfi elder, she will make the transition to attack this season.

MEG

GIE

RAMZY

POSITION: AttackYEAR: JuniorHEIGHT: 5-5

A returning starter, Schonk fi nished her

freshman season second on the team in points (35), third in goals (25) and fourth in assists (10).

MAL

LORY

SCHONKPOSITION: AttackYEAR: SophomoreHEIGHT: 5-6

The senior captain is the team’s top

returning scorer. She made four of her 28 goals last season against Penn State at the American Lacrosse Conference Tournament on May 2.

ABBY

WHEELER

POSITION: AttackYEAR: SeniorHEIGHT: 5-4

LACROSSESEASON PREVIEWThe lacrosse team returns starters and brings in young talent for a season fi lled with high expectations and high-ranked opponents. Read up on the 12 starters who will take the fi eld for the fi rst time against Kennesaw State on Feb. 7By Allison Mast and Katie

Walden, sports editor and sports writer

2014 VANDERBILT

LACROSSE SCHEDULEFeb. 7 Kennesaw StateFeb. 9 MassachusettsFeb. 15 LibertyFeb. 22 North CarolinaMarch 2 StanfordMarch 5 DenverMarch 15 Penn StateMarch 19 LouisvilleMarch 23 PennMarch 29 Johns HopkinsApril 2 HarvardApril 6 Ohio StateApril 10 NorthwesternApril 13 FloridaApril 16 JacksonvilleApril 19 MichiganMay 1-4 American Lacrosse Conference Tournament

LACROSSESEASON PREVIEWThe lacrosse team returns starters and brings in young talent for a season fi lled with high expectations and high-

PHOTOS BY BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

*Home games in gold


As Vanderbilt’s athletic recruiting continues on an upward trend, the women’s lacrosse team has pulled in an impressive freshman class. The eighth-ranked recruiting class, according to In-side Lacrosse, features some of the top recruits in the country, whom head coach Cathy Swezey calls “a smart group of players who have picked up on things so quickly.”

Within this group of talented players are four Under Armour All-Americans, in addition to several participants in the Under Armour Underclassmen Games and numerous U.S. Lacrosse and Academic All-Americans. This class consists of five midfielders, one attacker, a defender and a goalie, all hailing from Maryland and Massachusetts.

Although the class shows to be midfield-heavy, each individual at the four core positions provides an important skill to the team, cement-ing a very competitive present and future for Vanderbilt lacrosse. The five midfielders, Jill Doherty, Caroline Peters, Mackenzie Lange, Shelby Trentzsch and Sydney Trentzsch, create depth at this important position, where both offensive and defensive skills are required.

Both Doherty and Peters, recognized as Top 50 lacrosse recruits by ESPNHS, add a high point-producing threat to an already strong scoring team, after producing 150 combined points last year in high school. Lange brings a strong foundation in transition and teammate communication, complemented by a relentless rush to create her own shooting lanes. Twins Shelby and Sydney Trentzsch create a unique dynamic, highlighted by a commitment to teamwork heightened by their own relationship, allowing for a special type of advantage rarely found in college lacrosse.

At the specialty positions, Vanderbilt brought in players with a commitment to the team and to constant improvement. At attack, Abby Quirk scores points at high levels, providing not only goals but also assists, as highlighted by her tri-ple-digit point total last season. The vocal Eliza Clemens, as described by a former teammate, serves as a shutdown force on defense, stop-ping defenders with her speed and aggressive strength and creating turnovers to start up an offensive attack. Lastly, the dependable goalie

Callahan Kent, who recorded 158 saves last season, secures a strong future, creating a strong presence in goal. As the midfield strengthens the core of the team, attack, defense and goalie form a strong authority on the opposite ends of the field.

The team, and specifically the freshman class, focus around cohesion, which can be seen in the daily closeness of relationships among these student-athletes. Whether in class or dining at Rand Hall, the players are rarely seen alone, re-flecting their commitment to core team values.

“Coming in, it’s been really great just to already have friendships and be able to take that onto the field,” Clemens said.

With many of the players are originally from the same region, several members were part of the same club team or school, while national competitions pitted these now-teammates against one another in the past.

“There is a unique scenario where some of us have played club lacrosse with each other or in high school, and even if we didn’t play with each other, some of us have played against each other,” Lange said.

While teamwork thrives as most important theme, it is also necessary for the players to chal-lenge one another on the field.

“Coach Kathy just really emphasized that the only way to improve is to be competitive,” Lange said.

“I think that we’ve all been competitive, but pushing each other,” Sydney Trentzsch said, paying homage to the need to keep the competitiveness and at the same time make sure that this complements teamwork instead of replacing it.

“It’s so nice being able to come onto the field and going as hard as you can, but then still be off the field and be so supportive and having such a big group of friends who really have your back. Not a lot of teams can go so hard on each other and have the best relationship off the field like we do,” Jill Doherty said in reaction to the importance of the coach’s message.

All of this teamwork has not gone unnoticed, as Swezey has shown public support of and pride in this freshman class. “I think they’re all capable of playing. Every single one of them has had moments of brightness. They’re all doing really well, and we’re pleased with what they brought,” Swezey said.

Northeast-heavy recruiting class brings cohesion to LAX squad

By JOSH HAMBURGERSports writer--------------------

Headline


“We’re outnumbered, but we’re not out-manned.”

That’s the mantra Vanderbilt men’s basketball head coach Kevin Stallings has been working with lately, and it seems to be paying off.

“We might not have as many as you have,” Stallings said after practice on Thurs-day, “but what we have is good enough and good enough to compete.”

Ever since Josh Henderson tore his ACL

and MCL in early December and lead-ing scorer Eric McClellan was dismissed from the program at the start of SEC play, Vanderbilt has been playing with just seven scholarship players. That’s by far the least in the NCAA.

All of a sudden, guys who were expected to ride the bench are getting big minutes. Forward Luke Kornet could really have benefi ted from a redshirt year to build up muscle mass, but now he’s the fi rst man off the bench. Walk-on guards Carter Josephs and Nathan Watkins played a combined 11 minutes last season and have already tripled that number this year.

In the case of Rob Cross, he wasn’t even expecting to put on a jersey all year. The senior manager was promoted to a walk-on because the team had too few players to run a full practice.

Yet despite its low numbers, Vanderbilt has managed to be competitive in confer-ence play. The Commodores are 4-4 so far in SEC games, much better than their 2-6 start at this time last year.

The main problem that comes with short rosters is that key players have to play ex-traordinarily high minutes. Dai-Jon Parker, Kyle Fuller and Rod Odom have combined to play all 40 minutes a total of 15 times this

season. Alabama’s Trevor Releford is the only other SEC player to go all 40 minutes, and he’s only done it twice.

Of course, student-athletes come to col-lege wanting to play as much as they can, but 40 minutes per night can quickly take a toll on players.

“Playing in the SEC is a little bit diffi cult going night in and night out with these guys basically playing SEC football out here, the way the physicality is,” Parker said.

Stallings tries not to tire his players out in practice because he needs to save their legs for game day. Before the Georgia game on Jan. 29, two Commodores were banged up, one with a bruised shin and one with a stiff back, and Stallings had to call off a live prac-tice less than 20 minutes in to prevent injury.

With so few healthy bodies left, just keep-ing players on the court is of the upmost importance, and Stallings knows that.

“We obviously can’t afford anything to go wrong with these guys,” Stallings said. “Every day when I see our trainer, I just look at him like, ‘You better not be here with bad news.’”

During the games, Stallings has to keep managing his players’ fi tness, especially with how dependent he is on his starters. The starting fi ve plays an average of 34 minutes per game, while the two-man bench of Luke Kornet and Shelby Moats averages just a combined 30 minutes per game.

Oftentimes, especially when players get into foul trouble, Stallings switches to a zone defense. Playing the zone means the Com-modores don’t have to run around guarding one man all game, which results in fewer fouls but is also a weaker scheme than their man-to-man defense.

“I think at the beginning of the confer-ence season, I probably overreacted and thought that we were going to have to play more zone, and our defense wasn’t as good,” Stallings said.

“We played more zone than we’d like to play and want to play and should play because our best defense is our man-to-man defense. (Against Georgia) we played some zone. It was effective, but our man defense is what won the game for us.”

After Saturday’s 55-49 win against Mis-sissippi State, Stallings said the team played their best zone defense all year, but he also noted at the postgame press conference that the team was more gassed then usual.

And that will be a major concern going forward. It’s likely unsustainable for Vander-bilt to expect so many minutes out of so few players with 10 grueling SEC games left in the regular season.

But Stallings is proud of this team’s resiliency. The Commodores are playing much better than the 2012-13 Mississippi State team that featured eight scholarship players for most of the season and fi nished 10-22. Stallings sees a winning edge to this team that has made this season far from his toughest as a coach.

“There were years when I fi rst got here that I felt like we were going to have a hard time competing whether it was because of where we were at in our program relative to where other people were in their program or what,” Stallings said. “I think this group is good enough to compete, and they’re prov-ing that.”

SPORTS 18 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM

By BEN WEINRIBAsst. sports editor

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BOSLEY JARRETT /THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 55-49 on Saturday, Feb. 1. Kyle Fuller fi nished the game 5-of-13 from the fi eld with 14 points, and Rod Odom went 6-of-13 from the fi eld with 18 points. Freshman Damian Jones fi nished with 13 points.

Surviving in the SECHow long can the ‘Magnifi cent Seven’ hold up?

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 19SPORTS

National Letters of Intent will be arriving all day this Wednesday. Here’s how Vanderbilt football’s verbal commits felt leading up to Signing Day

Recruits ready to sign


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