the davidsonian
OCTOBER 28, 2015 VOL. 108 ISSUE 7
The Independent Student Newspaper of Davidson College since 1914
Inside NEWS Alumna shares experiences with Venture for America 2 Four Watson Fellowship nominees announced 3 LIVING DAVIDSON PAGE 8 Halloween costume do’s and don’t’s 4 PERSPECTIVES
The class of 2016 dons caps and gown for Fall Convocation. See awards presented on page 3. Photo by Shea Parikh.
2016 presidential election sparks fresh discussion of political climate on campus
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GARRETT BARLOW Staff Writer
s candidates on the national stage prepare for the 2016 elections, citizens all over the country, including Davidson students, have begun to engage in more political thinking. The College Republicans, College Democrats, and College Libertarians are all actively voicing their opinions, and the groups disagree about the tone of political climate on campus. According to Beth Wright ‘17, president of the College Republicans, “Conservatives are probably a minority at Davidson.” Bridget Lavender ‘18, president of the College Democrats, agreed. “I’ve heard that there are more Democrats than Republicans,” she said. Sarah Gompper ‘18 and Alex Mathews ‘16, two leaders of the College Libertarians, disagreed, arguing that the progressive voice on campus outpaces the actual progressive presence. “While Republicans and Libertarians probably make up
close to half of the population,” Gompper said, “their views are not heard to nearly the same extent as those of our progressive peers. There’s a type of intimidation that plays out. People can be scared to voice minority political opinions.” Both the College Republicans and College Democrats reported a large increase in membership over the past few years, with the number of Republicans quadrupling from two years ago. Because of the increase in membership, the campus, like the nation, has become more polarized. While the Libertarians have not gained membership at the same rate as the other groups, Mathews insisted there has been an influx of libertarian ideals. “We have found out that at least one third of our campus has libertarian views,” she said. The Center for Political Engagement, a nonpartisan campus organization designed to foster respectful political discussion, houses the three aforementioned partisan groups on campus. Lavender commended the Center for providing a forum for discussion. “It’s great to have a formal system of meeting together,” she said.
Wright said that the CPE is “working to improve the political climate, because it helps to improve political communication.” Some members of the College Democrats recently encountered resistence when the college barred the group Davidson Students For Bernie Sanders from using the college email system. The group, which seeks to informally coordinate support for the Democratic candidate, was admonished by figures in the school administration after the College Democrats sent out an email advertising the campaign group’s first meeting. When Davidson Vice President and General Counsel Sarah Phillips received the email, and after she consulted outside legal sources, she sent an email back informing the group that the college’s email system cannot be used to campaign for a specific candidate. Because Davidson is a 501(C) nonprofit organization, it is not allowed to utilize resources to campaign for specific candidates or
See POLITICAL on page 3
Alston Lee Lippert and Nicky Oyedepo discuss local initiatives tackling food deserts 5 Megan Feichtel breaks down the Davidson workload 5 YOWL Family Weekend attracts unafÀOLDWHG YLVLWRUV 6 SPORTS Field hockey prepares for postseason in comeback year 7 Men’s and women’s swimming take home opener 7
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Phelps Sprinkle ‘93 shares advice for life of successful leadership REID WALKER Staff Writer
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n Monday night, Phelps Sprinkle ’93 returned to Davidson to share his experiences and thoughts on leadership. The lecture, titled “What Building a Tree House Taught Me about Reflective Leadership,” centered on Sprinkle’s decision to focus on building a tree house for his family before worrying about the next step in his career. Sprinkle, a member of Davidson’s 1992 Final Four soccer team, now serves as Director of Organization Development of Peacehaven Community Farm, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create community between non-disabled and disabled individuals. “When you spend time with people who have different backgrounds and experiences[…].it’s a powerful thing. You learn from them,” Sprinkle said. The lecture, presented in an open question and answer format, started with Sprinkle’s remarking on his days at Davidson before going through his career path and future goals. How-
ever, his beliefs and thoughts on leadership and passion were most prominent in his lecture. “I like to live my life seamlessly,” he said. Sprinkle’s humor and energy set the tone for the lecture. When asked what stood out in his experience at Davidson, for example, he joked about his 1.75 freshman spring semester GPA. He went on to talk about two classes he took his junior year that changed the way he lived his life. “Before, I was going through the motions,” he said. “But now, when I see something that I don’t like, I do something about it.” Sprinkle made sure to emphasize that leadership to him involves just as much “being as doing.” He explained this concept by telling a story about how the financial success of his previous company, Topics, came at the same time as health problems for his disabled daughter, Roxy. This time prompted Sprinkle to pause and think about the balance between his successful work and challenges at home.
See ALUM on page 3
Phelps Sprinkle ‘93 lectures about leadership. Photo by Scott Cunningham.