05-04-2016

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the davidsonian

May 4, 2016 Vol. 108 Issue 20

The Independent Student Newspaper of Davidson College since 1914

Inside NEWS Davidson international students host American students over summer break 2 Search for permanent Sustainability Director underway amidst student concerns 2 LIVING DAVIDSON Dear World hosts photoshoot on campus to share student stories 4 PERSPECTIVES Davidson claims educational accessibility regardless of financial status. Photo by Emma Johnson.

The Trust: Students question loan transparency WILL MCDUFFIE AND MICHELLE WAN Emeritus Editors

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ational student debt has risen steadily as the cost of college also continues to rise. Forty-two million Americans collectively owe $1.2 trillion in federal student loans. In 2007, Davidson College enacted the muchlauded Davidson Trust as a demonstration of its commitment to keeping education affordable for those admitted to the college. In eliminating loans from need-based financial aid packages, the Davidson Trust aims to allow students from all backgrounds the opportunity to afford the cost of attendance and the ability to pursue academic interests with fewer burdens about how those pursuits will be financed. Since fall 2007 when the Trust was enacted, more students who previously may not have been able to afford Davidson, or for whom the cost may have been a significant burden, have been able to attend. In the 2007-2008 academic year, the first under the policy of the Trust, 784 students received need-based aid, with an average need of $20,542. This academic year, 919 received need-based aid, and the average need was $41,941. The total cost of attendance this year was $60,119.

For many students, the college’s commitment to loan-free financial aid packages was a significant draw in their decisions to apply and attend. They note that without the Davidson Trust, financial constraints would not have allowed them to attend. “It’s way cheaper for me to be at Davidson than a decent state school back home,” Reese Schaffner `16 said. “When you look at tuition costs that are like $60,000 a year, and then see that they’re giving you like $55,000, you can’t be much but grateful for that.” Although the Trust allows Davidson to offer robust need-based awards that do not include loans, some students will still graduate with debt, joining the millions nationally who owe outstanding student loans. Schaffner is one of many students on campus who have received financial aid awards and have also taken out loans to cover the expected family contribution portion of their costs of attendance. “I knew coming in that my family wasn’t in a position to contribute to the cost of college,” Schaffner said. “I knew that whatever the estimated family contribution was, I was going to be taking that on myself.” Other students set to graduate with debt are also frustrated because they’re on the books for more than they ever thought they would be at a school with Davidson’s generous financial aid.

For these students, the problem lies with what they claim to hear – and not hear – from the college. They say that the alluring phrases, “no loan component” and “debt free financial aid package,” were more accessible to them as prospective students than their caveats. The “no-loan policy,” for example, refers specifically to the absence of loans in student aid packages, not to a guarantee that students won’t ever take out loans. National media outlets have employed the impressive rhetoric when covering the Trust, with CNBC publishing an article in 2012 titled “Debt-Free College? Yes, It Exists,” and Bloomberg News running a piece the same year headlined “The Debt-Free College Degree.” Two students, Ben Corson ‘17 and Austin Crouse ‘17, hearing concerns from friends about the way the Trust is presented, have taken action, constructing an initiative they hope spotlights what they believe is a lack of transparency in Davidson’s aid rhetoric. For months, the two, along with a small cohort of others also motivated by the topic, have explored the extent to which the rhetoric matches the stories they’ve heard from their friends.

Grace Carr encourages Millenials to get out and vote 5 Jackson Mauzé discusses an incident with town police 5 YOWL Union Board supplies bagpipes to students for finals stress relief 6 Students believe UFO has been spotted over campus 6 SPORTS Lacrosse heads to their first A-10 tournament 7 Taite Jensen ‘16 reflects upon four years of interviewing Davidson athletes 7

See TRUST on page 3

Patterson Court Council votes on the prospect of NPC sororities GREG ALSPAUGH Staff Writer

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n a recent Patterson Court Council (PCC) vote of five affirmatives, twenty-one negatives, and two abstentions, PCC decided not to continue the discussion of bringing additional sororities to Davidson’s campus. For those who may not have their fingers on the pulse of Davidson’s Greek life and Patterson Court scene, the current structure of these organizations includes eight fraternities, four eating-houses, and two sororities. Of those eight fraternities, six are Interfraternity Council (IFC) fraternities and two are National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) fraternities. The two sororities are both NPHC sororities. NPHC organizations are historically African-American. In this recent vote, the decision made by the PCC was to discontinue the discussion of introducing National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities to Davidson’s campus, but it did not affect the current NPHC sororities and fraternities. Generally, the vote determined that sororities like those typically present on larger private and state universities’ campuses would not be considered for establishment at Davidson. Another important factor to consider when interpreting the results from this vote is the his-

tory of social organizations at Davidson College. Back in 1858, IFC fraternities were first introduced to a then all-male Davidson College. Over the years as Davidson slowly became closer to becoming co-ed, male eating-houses also appeared on Davidson’s campus. However, when Davidson became co-ed in 1973, most of those eating houses became co-ed along with the college. Over the next four years, more and more members of the Davidson community advocated for all-female eating-houses, meeting similar oppositions to those the NPC sororities question faces on Davidson’s campus today. In fact, many feared that all-female eating-houses would eventually bring about sororities. To combat this fear, the PCC of the time agreed that the all-female eating-houses would be non-national and nonselective, meaning that a woman did not have to receive a bid to be a part of an eating-house. In 1977, Rusk House became the first all-female eating-house on Davidson’s campus. Then in 2006, the last co-ed eating-house on Davidson’s campus closed its doors, marking the complete transition to all-female eating-houses. In order to disseminate the reason why the PCC vote was so heavily in opposition to NPC sororities on Davidson’s campus, an interview was conducted with Madeline Driscoll ‘17, one of the strongest advocates for bringing NPC sorori-

ties to Davidson’s campus. When asked about the resistance to NPC sororities at Davidson, Driscoll responded: “Honestly, I’m still confused… Despite facts, figures, and emotional pleas, women on campus didn’t move from their fearful and judgmental stance, thus taking away opportunities from other women on campus and future Davidson women in the name of feminism and knowing that Davidson was just better than all that NPC ‘crap’…” The facts and figures that Driscoll references come from a four-part mini-series she wrote regarding the stereotypes surrounding the NPC sororities most typically discussed throughout the Davidson student-body. In Part II of this miniseries, she asserted that sororities have much stronger alumnae networks than eating houses do, both because eating houses face administrative difficulties obtaining alumnae information and because sororities produce experiences that sister employers can relate to, whereas eating houses do not produce these experiences nearly as frequently. When asked about potential downsides to NPC sororities on Davidson’s campus, Driscoll continued, “Some of [the concerns], and this is so important, were really valid. The questions addressing racial and socioeconomic and sexuality and gender identification inclusion were re-

ally important and were concerns that we looked forward to keep addressing as the conversation continued, but now, of course, we can’t.” From another perspective, Beth Wright '17, current president of Warner Hall Eating House, voted negatively on behalf of her house regarding the issue at the PCC meeting. Her vote was based on a house-wide vote conducted at Warner following presentations advocating both for and against the question. Beth commented, “It took our members a long time to come to a decision, and we had many members who did vote yes or were on the fence. The concerns that seemed most important to the house were inclusivity and accessibility. Many also voiced to me that they would like to see eating-houses meet many of the aforementioned goals. Instead of bringing in new organizations, some would prefer to see the eating-houses take a more active role in creating community, developing our networks, and offering more opportunities outside of our usual leadership/service/social events.” When pressed about potential benefits NPC sororities could bring to Davidson’s campus, Beth did admit that national networks, more leadership positions, and tighter communities were a few of those potential benefits, but for now, the vote amongst PCC has tabled the discussion.


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