02-08-2017 Davidsonian

the davidsonian

February 8, 2017 Vol. 112 Issue 12

The Independent Student Newspaper of Davidson College since 1914

Muslim Student Association Rallies Against Trump's Executive Order

Inside NEWS Andrew Kenneson details the advantages and challenges of the A-10 and the Davidson model 2 Davidson Refugee Support seeks to empower Charlotte refugees 3 LIVING DAVIDSON Artist Series flamenco wows audience 4 PERSPECTIVES Catherine Cartier '20 questions the sustainability of Self Selection practices 5

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni join in solidarity against President Trump's ban on refugees from seven countries. Photo by Abby Miller refugees feel from racial supremacist groups, Fahim emphasized the imperative of Davidson students to actively resist the injustice and hate that he Muslim Student Association (MSA) is manifest in the so-called “Muslim Ban.” Fahim hosted an event last Thursday that chal- said, “If not us mobilizing these initiatives in our lenged the supposed “privileged and un- community and actively working…to make the sympathetic” Davidson student stereotype. In slightest bit of tangible impact, then who?”

Dual Iraqi and American citizen Anmar Jerthe demonstration of opposition to President jees ’18 spoke about his mother’s experiences folTrump’s executive order barring refugees from lowing Fahim’s speech. After fleeing to Syria from seven majority Muslim countries, hundreds of students, faculty, trustees, and townspeople gath- Iraq due to civil war, Jerjees’s mother travelled ered in the Alvarez College Union’s amphitheater back to the Iraqi border biannually to get a new to stand in solidarity with Muslims and refugees. visa. On one occasion a customs officer threw his Opening the event, Sammy Syed ’19, President of mother’s passport to the ground, laughing due the MSA, stated, “People want to share support to the lack of bribe money inside it. Jerjees used the story to outline the “power of the passport,” to this community referencing his American but don’t necessarily passport, and the fact that know how to.” he “is treated with so much To accommodate respect” now that he is a the event’s supportholder of a U.S. passport. ers, the MSA pro“But the fact is,” Jerjees said, vided a plethora of “blue, green, red, black, I’m opportunities for still the same person. So, attendees to have I ask you here today, what an impactful experimakes an American? Is it ence during Combeing born in this nationmon Hour. Students state, is it having the idecomposed emails als that if you work hard and handwritten letenough, you’ll achieve what ters to the families you want, or is it having a whose members white color skin?” had been affected by Relaying the riveting the Quebec mosque stories of his experiences shooting. Striving to holding one Iraqi and one console those whose American passport, Jerjees loved ones had been demonstrated not only his affected both by viopride in the integral role lent actions toward that dual citizenship has Muslims and Presihad in shaping his worlddent Trump’s antiview but also his resolve to immigration rhetoric Sammy Syed, MSA president, opened the event. openly embrace the pluralin general, students Photo by of Abby Miller ity of his identity. “I’m not made spray-painted going to leave my culture just because I’m here flags reading, “No Ban, No Wall” and “Resist Hate.” Additionally, manifesting their support [in the U.S.],” Jerjees explained, “nor am I going for Muslim solidarity, students wrote to senators to denounce being an American because I’m from and representatives to oppose the executive order Iraq. I’m both. And I’ll stand here as both.”

Zaitoun also expressed similar disdain for and donated to both the American Civil Liberties Union and the mosques affected by the travel President Trump’s abandonment of immigrant values on which the US was founded. “This man ban.

Witnessing immense solidarity by the attend- came,” Zaitoun explained, “and in less than ten ees, Hani Zaitoun '20, a Syrian refugee who has days he ruined what the Americans have been been at Davidson for only three weeks, shouted, building for the last 150 years.” Zaitoun continued, sparking laughter in the crowd when he “This is the real America we want to see.”

MSA Vice President Shassata Fahim ‘18 also commented on the ease with which one can use echoed similar remarks to unite the Davidson technology to learn about immigrant history in community in a collective purpose of combatting the U.S. “It is so sad,” he said, “that in 2017 such the xenophobia, bigotry, and hate that is perpetu- pervasive ignorance exists in a country where ated by certain media outlets and the Trump Ad- Googling anything is just so easy. It’s really easy! ministration. Citing the general abuse that many You can ask Siri even. Just ask her, and she’ll tell hijab-wearing women face and the fear some you a lot.”

KAMRAN SHAHBAZ Staff Writer

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Although Zaitoun successfully introduced some comic relief into his speech, his concern for the ban’s negative impact was evident in an interview he had with The Davidsonian the following day.

A Muslim-born Syrian, Zaitoun emigrated from Damascus in 2015 to Germany, where he attended Free University of Berlin. Education USA, a division of the U.S. Department of State, published an article about Davidson on its Facebook page, and after seeing the “really high quality of education” at Davidson and an opportunity to thrive in an American liberal arts college, Zaitoun immediately began preparing for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), training for International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and preparing his Common Application. After receiving permission to transfer credits from Berlin and gaining admission to Davidson as a secondsemester freshman, Zaitoun arrived in Charlotte just three weeks prior to one of the most widely publicized bans in American history.

Zaitoun remains grateful to have been afforded the opportunity before the ban, stating, “Because otherwise, it would have been a real problem. I withdrew my seat at the University. I left my job. I basically left everything. If I were to fly after a few weeks, I wouldn’t have been able to come.” Besides deeming the ban to be immoral, Zaitoun chided it for its lack of pragmatism. Zaitoun criticized that the order prevents over 500,000 individuals holding green cards and thousands of visa holders from entering the US. Zaitoun is dumbfounded that the Trump Administration has exaggerated the likelihood of a terrorist entering the U.S. so greatly that it is misleading the public and has undermined the thoroughness and credibility of domestic vetting agencies. “It’s so sad because we’re not talking about a third-world country where the U.S. doesn’t have access to information of intelligence,” Zaitoun remarked. “The U.S. has the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, CIA; everyone who applies for a visa actually gets vetted.” Additionally, Zaitoun is stunned by the fears that many Americans use to justify the ban, specifically when citing the possibility of a terrorist’s presence among refugees. He said, “[The] whole rhetoric of leaving thousands of people stranded just because one of them [might do] something bad is just not realistic.”

Although concerned about losing his German residency permit if he cannot visit Germany in the next six months, Zaitoun appreciates his new life at the College and in Davidson. He is overjoyed by have assimilated into the Davidson community within weeks and is eager to undertake a political science major and an economics minor while also learning French. Zaitoun stated, “People here are really active. People here really do care about others. And they do really believe

Emma Tayloe '19 argues that Davidson's admissions policy needs revision 5 YOWL Chief Sigler fights off Russian henchman in epic battle 6 Davidson partners with Emerson College for hipster-prep student exchange 6 SPORTS Spring senior athletes prepare for their last semester of collegiate competition 7 Men and women's track ready for A-10 championships 7 that everyone has the right to get education and access to opportunities even if the American government does not believe in it.” Zaitoun will be featured in NPR’s Marketplace this week.

The campus-wide theme of continued activism in the Davidson community manifested itself throughout the MSA’s event. Zaitoun underscored the benefits of resistance to the ban through social media, as well as through the connections students make with Davidson Refugee Support and through Dr. Rebecca Joubin, who remains heavily involved with the Charlotte refugee community. Syed suggested supporting agencies such as ACLU whose more direct influence can prevent the immigration ban’s success. Fahim called for not only Muslim solidarity but also unity among all marginalized groups to support one another’s causes.

“Never hold a poster if you do not know what it says,” Tunisian student Mariem Bchir ‘20 explained as she shared verse 13 of Surah 49 of the Qur’an to the crowd. In prominent black and white letters, her poster read: “And we have made you into Nations and Tribes that you may recognize one another.” Pointing toward Mecca, the green English banner is hung across from its Arabic counterpart, which faces the West, on the balcony of the third floor in the Alvarez College Union. Strategically placed to illustrate the inexorable link existing among all people regardless of their background, the posters suggest that no rhetoric, legislation, or action from current politicians can tarnish the interdependence and common humanity of the international community.

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Page 2 February 8, 2017

The Davidson Model in the Atlantic 10 Conference

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ANDREW KENNESON Alum Staff Writer

he landscape of college athletics changed dramatically between 2010 and 2014. The Big East collapsed. The SEC bolstered its already fearsome lineup of football powerhouses.

The ACC solidified its claim as the best basketball conference in the land. The PAC-10 became the PAC-12. However, these shifts did not only affect big football conferences. When the dust settled, dozens of smaller schools and conferences remade and rebranded themselves, including Davidson.

Davidson is not a typical Division I school.

Academically, our peers are schools like Pomona, Williams, Carleton, and Swarthmore. These small, private, academically rigorous liberal arts colleges look a lot like Davidson, except for the fact that when Davidson athletes take to the field, court, mat, track, or pool, they aren’t facing off against schools like Williams or Swarthmore.

That’s because our athletic peers are bigger: often public universities such as the UNC schools, or, more recently, schools like George Mason and VCU. Because, in the midst all that conference shake-up, Davidson moved to Atlantic-10.

This was a big step up in most respects. First, we face a fiercer competition. Most of the moves made in that tumultuous time period were either lateral or upward moves for big sports like football or basketball. Davidson’s move to A-10 was not only a promotion for our flagship sport, basketball, but for almost every other sport as well.

There’s more travel involved too. Davidson moved from the cozy confines of the Southern Conference, with destinations like Greensboro, Charleston, and Boone, to the distant and unfamiliar territories of Washington D.C, New York City, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.

Then, of course, the schools got bigger. The average size of schools in the A-10 is 15,700 and some, like VCU, George Mason, and University of Massachusetts, have almost fifteen times as many students as Davidson.

We also don’t have nearly as many scholarships as A-10 schools. Although it’s hard to get exact figures, most coaches say they are in the bottom two or three in terms of funding in every sport. The basketball teams are the only exception. Of all the moves made amidst these conference realignments, Davidson’s move to the A-10 is among the most ambitious.

It’s been two and a half years since that move.

Every team has either played three seasons, is in the midst of their third season, or is gearing up for it. Campus buzzed with talk of the move when it happened, but now it’s the new normal. Three years ago, people in and outside of Baker asked, “Can we handle this?” More recently, however, there has not been a campus-wide discussion around the question, “Are we handling this?”

Overall, how has Davidson benefited from this move? And what could Davidson do better?

Front Porch Renovations Let’s back up. The A-10 move really started at Georgia Tech, where Jim Murphy, Davidson’s athletic director, and Bernadette McGlade, the A-10 commissioner, worked together for ten years before moving on to their current postings.

The two stayed in touch and McGlade would often ask Murphy if he would be willing to have a conversation about moving to the A-10.

Every time the presidents meet, McGlade said, they all thought Davidson would be a good fit.

Two other things were happening around that time. One, we were having some consistent success on the basketball court. The men’s basketball team won the Southern Conference (SoCon) regular season six out of the previous eight years before the A-10 move. The other was that the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference asked if we would be willing to join them.

The first meant that Davidson had, in at least our biggest sport, outgrown the SoCon. The second clarified our priorities. Moving to the CAA, which includes teams like UNC-Wilmington and William and Mary, would be a step up in competition, but it would still keep Davidson mostly in the South. Plus, of the schools that were outside the South, only Drexel and Northeastern were in big cities.

If we were going to do this, Murphy said, we were going to use a move to raise our national profile and move into markets where we didn’t already have a presence. So he and the athletic department turned down the CAA. About a year later, Davidson announced it would be moving into the A-10.

This history is important because it shows why Davidson made the move. It wasn’t just so our athletes could test themselves against tougher competition. We wanted to use athletics to spread Davidson’s footprint out of the South. As one Davidson coach said, “If a college is a house, athletics are the front porch. For better or worse, it’s often the first thing people see.” By moving to the A-10, we made our front porch much larger.

Footprint Expansion We realized that when students go look for jobs, most employers in Charlotte or Atlanta know about Davidson. But up in Washington D.C., New York, or Philadelphia? Less so. The same goes for admissions; smart kids in the South have probably heard about Davidson more than kids in the northeast. On top of all that, alumni who already live in the Northeast could feel more connected to the school as a result of the move to the A-10. This shift could help raise Davidson’s profile to a more national level. Level of competition was important, but it wasn’t the real reason Davidson choose to make such an ambitious jump.

The footprint expansion seems to be working, too. Two and a half years isn’t all that long when it comes to these sorts of things, but the early signs remain promising. Alumni Relations reports that alumni in the Northeast have been thrilled with the opportunity to see Davidson play close to home. The department has been able to host events at games that get alumni together and connect with Davidson again. This is great news for the school: alumni who feel connected to their alma mater are more likely to give back.

On the other hand, the numbers of students taking jobs in the Northeast right out of school has not increased significantly, though it might just be too early to tell. Plus, those numbers don’t take into account the alumni who try to break into Northeastern job markets after starting off in the South.

The same goes for admissions. While we had a record number of applications last year, the numbers coming from the Northeast didn’t increase dramatically. It’s too early to say if the A-10 move has embedded Davidson into these markets yet.

The early signs, however, are generally positive.

Coaches, for instances, are getting more athletes from Northeastern areas. Hopefully, more applications from non-athletes will arrive in the years to come.

Money The financial side of the move is working, as well. It costs more for us to be in the A-10, due primarily to increased travel. Since competition levels have gone up, we’ve increased scholarships in some areas. We’ve paid off the exit fee for leaving the Southern Conference, and the entrance fee for entering the A-10 will be paid off in a few years.

But we’ve made money too. The new deal with Under Armour, for example, saves the department money, and, it would not have happened without the A-10 move. However, perhaps the biggest way Davidson will make money off the A-10 move is through basketball.

The NCAA allocates money to its member schools partly based on how often those schools compete in the NCAA’s tournaments. The NCAA makes money off broadcasting and marketing the teams, so those teams get a cut of that money if they are part of those tournaments. This is not, however, true for all sports. The NCAA does not make enough money off the soccer tournaments, for example, for any of that money to trickle down to the schools. This makes the basketball teams our money-making sports.

Because the Southern Conference was a weaker basketball conference, Davidson essentially had to win the conference to get a bid to the NCAA tournament. The A-10, on the other hand, often gets three or four teams in. By moving to the A-10, we increased our chances of getting into the NCAA basketball tournaments, thus increasing our chances of attaining more revenue.

All that being said, the point of the move was not financial. Murphy said, “I’d be happy just breaking even.”

The marketing and financial aspects of the A-10 move are also, so far, working out. It’s putting Davidson’s name in new places at a generally low cost. But this is only part of the picture.

Another aspect is that we don’t just want to be in new markets, we want to win in new markets, which would also help us make a name for ourselves. The final part is how athletes have handled the move. After all, the weight of ambition in moving to the A-10 fell mostly on the shoulders

of Davidson’s athletes. The games got harder. The travel got longer. The academic demands did not change. None of those athletes came to Davidson thinking it would be easy. But the move to the A-10 has raised questions of how much we can demand from our student athletes, and whether the “Davidson Model”, where athletes are treated like regular students, is still feasible.

Wins and Losses On paper at least, the move indicated a step up for every sport except men’s soccer and baseball. The former was a lateral move, while the latter was a small step down. Across the board, however, we compete against bigger schools with more resources. In the SoCon, we were playing schools that were two or three times bigger than us and usually had more scholarship dollars. In the A-10, most schools are ten to fifteen times bigger than us, and as a result almost always have more money.

These charts show how we’ve done so far. The highlighted rows are conference records in the A-10. For cross country (XC), Swimming and Diving, Golf, and Track, the places are finishes in conference tournaments. Neither wrestling nor football moved to the A-10, so they are not included here. Asterisks denote seasons still in

progress.

Two trends emerge here. One is that despite being the smallest and often the least-funded school in the A-10, we don’t play like it. Very few teams have finished their seasons at the bottom of the conference. We periodically beat teams that should, on paper, wipe the floor with us.

Second, there are more games out there to be won. We are not far off. Any coach or athlete will tell you that the difference between winning and losing in college athletics often comes down to inches and seconds; the difference between teams is five or six percent. Every year, one or two teams will win finish first or second in conference, and it usually isn’t the same teams. Small improvements in the right places can take a team from seventh one year, to second the next. Now, with almost three seasons completed in the A-10 and more attention and resources in Davidson athletics than ever, everyone from student athletes to Jim Murphy think it’s time we start winning more consistently.

Are We Handling This?

Talk to athletes and coaches for a while and you’ll hear a range of opinions on the A-10 move.

A lot if it is positive.

Across the board, coaches enjoy competing against better competition. They feel like they are building better teams to compete against better opponents. Some even said the teams they have now are the best teams they’ve ever had. They also enjoy the increased credibility for the athletic department. Most said they can get better recruits, which is especially true for sports like lacrosse and field hockey, which are mostly played in the Northeast. They like being able to take their athletes new places, like New York City or St. Louis.

Some have even gotten more scholarships.

Many athletes echo these things. They like playing against better competition. Some feel like their teams started buckling down, working harder, and taking athletics more seriously since the move. They’ve enjoyed going new places and seeing new things with their teammates. For the most part, they’ve embraced the challenge.

However, there have also been downsides.

The biggest disadvantage is travel. In the SoCon, the average travel time to a conference game was about two hours. Now the closest school, VCU, is over four hours away. Other trips that teams take

include six hour drives to Washington D.C., eight or nine hour trips to Pittsburg, Dayton, or Philadelphia, flights to New York, St. Louis, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Conference games that used to be one-day affairs now consume the entire weekend, with a flight out Saturday morning and a red-eye flight Monday morning to make it back for class.

Despite the new challenges, athletes aren’t missing any more class than they used to. Prior to the move, professors were worried that athletes would miss more than the allotted three Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes or two Tuesday and Thursday classes with the increased travel time. But, as Dean Shandley reports, they really haven’t. This confirms that the Davidson Model of athletics remains intact. Athletes are still 100% athlete and 100% student 100% of the time, despite greater demands. Even after a move to a bigger conference, Davidson treats its athletes like regular students.

The Davidson Model The issue at hand, therefore, is not whether we should be in the A-10 conference. It’s whether the school should do more to support athletes given the new challenges. The “Davidson Model” says that athletes don’t get special benefits. They don’t have a special dorm or cafeteria. They don’t get to choose classes before anyone else.

There aren’t tutors available for athletes that aren’t available to everyone else. A few take summer classes, but most do not. And yet, these athletes compete against other schools where athletes get all these benefits and more. The question the A-10 move raises is whether this model is still feasible.

Because, at the end of the day, most athletes don’t feel like regular students. They have practice six days a week, often for two hours or more, and lifts two or three mornings a week.

If they are hurt, they are expected to be in the training room every day before practice. And now with the A-10 move, they leave campus for extended trips almost every other week in season. Plus, all these obligations are non-negotiable. Most athletes might miss two or three practices for extenuating circumstances in their entire career, and very few have ever missed a game.

Non-athletes, of course, have obligations outside of the classroom as well. But although it’s impossible to measure, it’s hard to imagine that any more than a handful reach the sheer number of hours that athletes put into their sport, week in and week out.

As established early, Davidson moved to the A-10 to expand our footprint, to use athletics to spread our name outside the South. Logically, this could mean athletes are not regular students; they are ambassadors of sorts for the school.

However, as several athletes noted, nothing really changed when moved to the A-10. More was asked of athletes by the school, but the same amount of support was given.

These time commitments, coupled with the rigor of Davidson’s academics, and compounded by the Davidson Model of treating athletes like regular students, has taken a toll on some athletes. They say that being an athlete at Davidson has always been difficult, and they knew it would be difficult when they came here. Since the A-10 move, many are, at least while in season, stressed and anxious all the time. They can’t separate academics from athletics; they think about the tests coming up and what they’ll miss when they fly to New York this weekend. Many also wonder why Davidson insists on treating them like regular students when they clearly aren’t. It’s as if there’s a line of asking too much from athletes, and the Davidson Model has always crept toward it. But with the A-10 move, we may have stepped over it.

On the other hand, not all athletes feel this way. It’s hard for everyone, but some, for whatever reason, have handled it better than others. But enough have voiced concerns for it to be troubling. With that in mind, a few ideas have been

A-10 Continued on Page 3

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Davidson Refugee Support Empowers Refugee Communities

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LAURA DUNNAGAN Senior Staff Writer

avidson Refugee Support is evaluating how to best address the needs of refugees in Charlotte and abroad in the wake of a recent Executive Order from President Trump banning immigration from seven majority-Muslim nations.

Davidson Refugee Support, commonly called DRS, was founded in November 2015 by a small group of students who had worked with refugees around the world and wanted to connect Davidson students with refugees. They partnered with Refugee Support Services, a non-profit in Charlotte that serves more than 300 refugees and their families.

Now, DRS has approximately 80 members and 13 initiatives to address various refugee community needs.

Last semester, DRS began a microfinance initiative that sold knitted hats from women affiliated with Refugee Support Services. Hayden Bates, one of the co-founders of DRS, says the idea to knit hats was developed by a young woman in Charlotte who trained the women at the RSS center so they could earn a profit for themselves and for their families in their home country. The initiative started with five women but has since grown to include fifteen, and the venture is proving to be lucrative. “We’ve made over $4,500 just in Davidson sales, and we know [the women] have been selling in other places as well,” says Bates. “This is providing the first paychecks that these women have received, in a lot of cases,” comments Bates. “It’s exciting to see their excitement and newfound independence.” Half of the money earned by hat sales goes to the women directly, and half goes to buying supplies to continue the venture.

Catherine Cartier, one of the microfinance team members, says the success of the hat campaign has motivated the women to diversify their products.

“We’re thinking about transitioning to jewelry,” says

Cartier, “and we’re hoping to expand by setting up an online store and selling at other schools or churches.

We’re looking to expand outside of Davidson [even though] we’ve had great support here, but we know the amount of hats a person can buy is limited.”

Kayla Edwards, another microfinance team member, says the microfinance initiative helps students actively serve the refugee population. “We’re not purely fundraising—the money from the hats doesn’t go to the center but to the women for them to get supplies and continue,” says Edwards. “It gets us directly involved in what they’re doing, and we have a direct relationship with them.” Cartier adds that the microfinance initiative has incredible potential to foster community involvement. “These hats could become another way that people could find out more about refugees, especially if we had a website with information about how refugees come to the United States and how complicated that process is.”

DRS also partnered with the Muslim Student Association to plan the Stand with Muslims and Refugees event held outside the Union on Thursday, February 2. Anmar Jerjees, another DRS co-founder who works with the Higher Education Committee, says that event was exemplary of DRS’s mission to be a student group focused more on action than intention. “Our event on Thursday was much more symbolic than the typical flagpole events,” says Jerjees.

“Now our Syrian students, as well as our undocumented students, know they not only have people there for them, but they have proof. The picture we took proves that we stand for them.” DRS is also focused on policy change, encouraging members to call their representatives to talk about the Executive Order. Jerjees is also advocating for funds from the Board of Trustees in order to provide more legal sup-

port for students. “At DRS we’re not about talk, we’re about policy and action,” stated Jerjees.

Emma Tayloe, who works with the DRS Distance Tutoring initiative, says that, the organization is taking on more of a political role in response to President Trump’s Executive Order because the organization views its political involvement as a way to spread their message of inclusion. “It’s become necessary to be loud in stating the values we’ve always had, [especially] now that there’s so much more of a threat to those values,” says Tayloe. She adds that the political involvement is not a shift in DRS but a “reaction to a shift in the government.”

Jerjees says that four new initiatives are being created in response to Trump’s Executive Order. “We’ve seen an explosion of creativity [since the immigrant ban],” says Jerjees. “We have a need, but we also have some of the most passionate people I’ve ever met, and when you combine the two you produce quality work and that’s what we’ve been able to do so far.”

Bates says DRS’s role in the community is even more important in light of the immigrant ban; “I see our role as building coalitions between other groups that have similar perspectives.” “Now more than ever we see that we have to work together, that their cause is our cause, and we’re interested in accessing groups on campus that may not see this as their issue and reaching out to groups that we don’t usually talk to.”

Contradictory to the message of inclusion promoted by DRS, Trump’s Executive Order motivates the team members to action. “It pushed me to become more involved and educate myself on other ways I can help support communities in Davidson or Charlotte or get more involved in Davidson’s campus,” says Edwards. “I think DRS’s continued effort to create community with refugees in Charlotte and other partner organizations reaffirms the fact that immigrants and refugees are welcome here, and Davidson as a whole wants to do its part in supporting them and creating a welcoming environment.”

Photo courtesy of davidsonrefugeesupport.org

Davidsonian.com

crime log Time Reported

Description / Location

1/31/17

Fondling on East Side of Campus.

Prosecution Declined.

1/31/17

2nd Degree Rape on Campus.

Prosecution Declined.

2/1/17 at 2300 hrs

Extortion at Richardson.

Further Investigation.

2/2/17 at 0910 hrs

Miscellaneaous-Suspicious Activity at Wall Academic Center.

Further Investigation.

2/5/17 at 0001 hrs

Underage Consumption at Armfield.

Dean Referral.

2/5/17 at 0125 hrs

A-10 Continued from Page 2 ...kicked around to tweak the Davidson Model without completely overhauling it.

Possible Alterations One possible alteration is priority scheduling. Every athlete can look at their schedule before a season starts and know what days they’ll miss the most and what days they’ll most likely have off. They can also look a class schedule and know which ones they can’t afford to miss, not even two or three times. Guaranteeing in-season athletes one or two classes, especially if they’re labs or seminars, could help them compete and learn better.

The big problem is that there aren’t enough classes, which the registrar has looked into and a common problem. Even if athletes got priority scheduling, it wouldn’t make that much of a difference unless they got priority on all classes, which would be grossly unfair to non-athletes.

What could happen, according to Murphy, is a move to cutting Friday classes. This might have a number of benefits for all students, but it would especially help athletes with weekend away games.

Summer classes could also be an option.

Some teams, particularly basketball, do this already. This allows the athletes to take three classes in-season and train on campus over the summer, both of which can make a big difference. The problem here is that very few profes-

Underage Consumption x2 at Chidsey.

Dean Referral/Medic Transport. sors want to teach in the summer, and getting them to do so can be expensive. Most teams, and the athletic department in general, don’t have the resources to pull this off on a large scale. And for that matter, many athletes wouldn’t have interest in spending their summers in Davidson anyway.

More on the competition side, we could encourage and allow more athletes to stay for a fifth year if they didn’t play much or got hurt in a prior season. This might help teams develop better players. But like summer classes, the big hurdle is cost. Financial aid only covers eight semesters, and most teams don’t have the scholarship dollars to cover the difference.

The football team, however, is trying out a program where underclassmen take a spring semester off, and intern with an alumnus, thereby extending their careers. If this is successful, other sports might implement it as well.

These are the challenges, and perhaps the conversations we need to have, about athletics at Davidson. How much is too much? Can we still treat athletes like regular students? What would we lose if things did change? One athlete put it nicely and said, “It’s not about making it easier.

It’s about putting us in a better position to succeed.” The A-10 move has already been a success.

The question now, two and a half years later, is how we can improve.

Thanks to all the athletes, coaches, and administrators who spoke with me for this article. Thanks also to Jonathan Swann, who contributed reporting.

living davidson

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February 8, 2017

Dramatic Gowns and Cajón Sounds: From the “Cradle of Flamenco”

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ERIN DAVENPORT PERSPECTIVES EDITOR

Outside of these doors we carry different identities, lead different lives—but tonight, we’re united as an audience, and will become a community by experiencing the same art.” This is how Sana Alimohamed '17, the student producer of the Artist Series, opened the performance by Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana. Alimohamed went on to describe the group as one of the best flamenco dance companies, but most importantly she set a tone for the performance which brought together the crowd for what would be an incredible dance and musical journey.

This spirit of unity was definitely felt in the audience reactions throughout the performance. Many gasps and applauses were delivered in harmonious consensus. Even though the majority of audience members seemed to be community members, students in attendance also seemed to deeply appreciate the work. Davidson’s International community was in full force at the event, with rows of seats reserved for those students and their Davidson host families to enjoy the performance together.

Alimohamed further explained that: “flamenco is an improvised dance and that the pieces can be anywhere between 9 to 12 minutes depending on how the dancers and musicians feel the piece. The light technicians, dancers, and musicians all have to coordinate with each other in these moments because the dance is so fluid.”

The show opened with a city backdrop meant to evoke a Spanish street. From the beginning, the dancers and live musicians made flamenco accessible and engaging.

The intense eye contact from the dancers drew the audience in, and once there, an emotional narrative was presented by Flamenco Vivo’s members. Several of the dance numbers were inspired by Spanish painters, including one which focused on Julio Romero de Torres and another which featured works by Pablo Picasso.

Costumes for women involved floor length gowns of various levels of formality. The opening outfits for women were in pink and purple hues, and evoked an upper class motif when paired with suits for the men. Later in the show, these outfits gave way to slightly more casual ensembles. Interspersed among the dance performances were musical interludes which features only

the live music. Liu Volpe, 'w17, said: “As part of the Smith Series planning committee, I was ecstatic about Tuesday’s Flamenco performance. Though I was impressed by the dancers, I found myself more fascinated by the musical performers. The musicians were almost always on stage performing without a break and played without looking at a score.”

Indeed, audience members seemed especially transfixed by the cajón, a six-sided percussion instrument used in modern flamenco music. At the end of one particular cajón solo the audience roared its appreciation. Caitie Connor, a student manager of Duke Family Performance Hall, added that “The male vocals were stunning” and “not to undercut the dancers, but my favorite part of the performance was probably the instrumental flamenco piece in the first act--the audience went wild when they finished.”

The tone of the performance, as with most flamenco, seemed to be intense, and almost mournful. Grace Drake, a Spanish 270 student who was invited to attend the performance for free by her professor, remarked that “they seemed to not be emoting happiness but rather strong emotions like pain.”

Costuming could display tone shifts within the performance. At one point during a male dancer’s solo he paused to dramatically roll up the sleeves on his white collared shirt, a sign his dancing was about to become even more dramatic. In a different segment, female dancers ripped their blue dresses off to reveal white ones underneath, producing a vulnerable and emotional moment.

The emotional climax of the performance may have been when a male dancer held his hand to his head mimicking a gun gesture.

His suicidal motions kept the audience transfixed. The Duke Family Performance Hall was the perfect venue for this performance, given how innovative the use of the background screen was. Rich colors could be projected and altered throughout the performances. In other moments, introductory videos set the scene for dances to follow.

All in all, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana’s performance was an excellent representation of the multifaceted, ambitious, spontaneous art form of flamenco, that entertained and delighted its Davidson audience.

Eating House Self Selection

On Saturday, February 4th, members of Connor House, Rusk House, Turner House, and Warner Hall welcomed new members Photos Courtesy of (from left to right, top to bottom): Olivia Daniels, Teagan Monaco, Tara O’Herlily, and Shannon Ballard

THE CHEW 2.20 Funfetti Pancakes with Glaze Adapted from Sixsisterstuff.com

Inspired by a Nummit Favorite!

Want your favorite recipe featured? Email editor Mary Porter at maporter@davidson.edu to get involved!

Ingredients 1 cup pancake mix 1 cup yellow cake mix 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup of milk 3 tablespoons of rainbow sprinkles For the Glaze: 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter melted 2 teaspoons of vanilla 3 tablespoons of milk 2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Place all ingredients for pancakes in bowl and whisk until blended. It’s okay to leave a few clumps in the batter.

2. Scoop about 3/4 cup of batter onto skillet or into pan and bake like regular pancake. It will make 8-10 pancakes.

3. For the glaze, mix butter, vanilla, and milk with beaters while slowly adding in powdered sugar. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

4. Drizzle glaze over warm pancakes and serve.

perspectives Self Selection: Choosing to Consume

A

CATHERINE CARTIER

s a person on Davidson’s campus,whether you’re affiliated with an eating house or not, it’s impossible to ignore the celebration and shrieking that characterizes Self Selection day. For firstyear students joining eating houses, it can be a day of excitement, centered around forming a new community with students of all ages. On Saturday, I too began my day with a run around campus and down the hill.

Ideally, I think Self Selection is a time to begin new relationships with members of a house.

It’s a time to meet new potential friends for the next semester and into the future. Though we all have slightly different motivations and reasons for joining eating houses, I saw this same hope universally reflected in the excitement of many other new members. But if we want to know each other, to build that feeling of togetherness, why does self selection involve so much consumption?

Consumption begins with the knocks on our doors. We’re given new t-shirts and hats, bearing the names of our houses, which will join piles of other t-shirts in our closets. Later in the day, I received an email--along with the

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February 8, 2017

other new members of my house--instructing us to wear clothes that we can throw away to the toppings event. Not everyone has enough money to throw away an entire outfit and a pair of shoes. But beyond this, it’s simply wasteful. Yes, I won’t be wearing my giant pink Warner shirt that I wore for toppings every day of my life, but it’s still an article of clothing. To mindlessly receive it and discard it twelve short hours later ignores the reality that time and money went into its creation.

Then there’s the food that we receive at the eating houses. I learned yesterday that my house has reduced its food waste by giving away leftover food to a local charity, but I wonder about the other houses. I also wonder about the food that can’t be donated--I work at the composter in physical plant, and we rarely receive food from eating houses, although some give their leftover food to the farm. We also ate off of paper plates, using plastic silverware and cups. I saw hundreds of cups, plates, and silverware left in the trash after our event.

The toppings themselves are another area where consumption became the means by which we bonded. A main feature of self selection night is being covered in toppings--whether shaving cream, condiments, or chocolate sauce--by current house members. When I saw a huge bin full of chocolate sauce in my house

before the event, part of me felt excited for the night ahead, but part of me wondered why we need to cover ourselves with these things to have a bonding experience.

Of course, self selection only happens once a year. Undeniably, consumer culture is particularly evident on this day, but it’s interwoven into other choices and events throughout the year. Last semester, I conducted a waste audit at F with the Office of Sustainability. We found 1835 beer cans and 585 red solo cups. Not a single one had been recycled. Many of us say we care about sustainability, but we disregard how wasteful our everyday choices are.

Looking ahead to the rest of the semester, I’m thinking about big-little week, a week with similar goals of group bonding and relationship forming. It’s exciting to have a mentor, but that person doesn’t need to shower us with gifts to be someone we can look up to. That mentorship could take shape through small yet thoughtful gestures, like encouraging notes or an impromptu performance.

The rituals of self selection--new t-shirts and toppings--are firmly ingrained in the traditions of our school. In reflecting on this, I’ve wondered--at what point should we accept things because they are tradition, and when do we need to step back and reevaluate our choices? Joining an eating house can feel more

like purchasing--rather than investing in--new friendships. There’s certainly a place for fun that is carefree and joyful and silly, and that type of fun really does bring people together. It’s possible for us to have that atmosphere without producing excessive waste. From what I’ve seen, the bonds between people in eating houses is about much, much more than the shared rituals of self selection. What would it look like to have a self selection day focused less on consuming together and more on forming those new friendships?

Eating houses are unique to Davidson--they don’t have national affiliations--meaning we have power to change the choices we make, during the rituals of self selection and beyond.

I ended up dropping my eating house membership. The consumer culture I experienced on self selection day played a role in my decision, but it wasn’t the sole factor. As the semester continues, I hope that PCC and campus as a whole can look critically at the role consumption plays in our social lives.

the school. But how do higher college rankings benefit students?

Appearing on the U.S. News College rankings can increase the number of applicants for a college or university by as much as 5%, but a higher or lower rank on the list was not shown to have any effect on the number of applicants (2). Getting a spot on the list may lower Davidson’s acceptance rate and improve rank, but a higher ranking is not an end in itself. Although there is a correlation between college rank and alumni donations, the relationship has not been demonstrated to be causal (3). Changes in college rank have no clear impact on hiring of graduates; the Chronicle of Higher Education conducted a study involving 50,000 employers and “college reputation” was found to be the eighth most important hiring factor (4). Researchers did not study the degree to which a change in college ranking affects “reputation.”

If higher rankings don’t necessarily benefit students, then Davidson needs to find other justification for its admission policy.

The practice of offering preferential admission for legacy students and early decision applicants more than violates a general sense of fairness, it extends Davidson’s racist history. Say ‘David’ previously owned a whites-only movie theater and was then forced to integrate. If he were to make it easier for his returning customers and their families to enter, no one would question the injustice and absurdity of his policy. I doubt that popular opinion would shift even if ‘David’ promised he had a “commitment to diversity and inclusivity.”

Currently, 67% of Davidson students are white (1), compared to 58% of all college students in the United States (5). Davidson College did not admit its first black student until 1961,

when in a “close vote” the Board of Trustees decided to admit up to three African students per year (6). Eventually, the policy was amended to allow African-American students, but the integration process was slow. For decades, Davidson College operated as an exclusively or overwhelmingly white school. Legacy applicants can be assumed to come from overwhelmingly white families. Thus, the preferential admission of legacy students gives a distinct advantage to a group of applicants more likely to be white. That Davidson would maintain a policy that benefits a white population is especially troubling given our school’s history.

Davidson’s role in the oppression and exploitation of people of color extends beyond refusing to admit non-white students. Davidson was a school built by and for plantation and slave owners of the South. I don’t intend to assign personal responsibility to legacy students for the actions of their ancestors, but I do think that some may have indirectly benefited from slavery. I am a clear example: I am a legacy at Davidson and until the Civil War, my family was one of the wealthiest in the country. My family owned a large plantation and hundreds of slaves. Any advantage the admission office gave me during the application process for my legacy status perpetuates the injustice of slavery.

I see no alternative but for Davidson College to stop taking legacy status into account during the admission process.

Preferential admission for early decision applicants benefits the wealthy, as well. Multiple college data sites have estimated the cost to attend Davidson exceeds $60,000. Although the school promises to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, aid is often insufficient. According to the College Scoreboard, one in five

students at Davidson has a federal student loan, with “typical total debt” of $16,385. Students who need to compare aid packages from multiple schools don’t have the luxury of applying early decision.

The Single-Choice Early Action program employed by many top schools, including Yale University, could easily replace the early decision program. Students that apply to Yale’s Single-Choice Early Action cannot apply early decision or early action to any other school in the United States. The Yale admissions page explicitly states that the program “would still allow [applicants] to compare offers of financial aid in the spring,” which would address the advantage students from wealthier families have under the early decision system.

As a leading institution of higher education with a particularly shameful history, it is imperative that Davidson works to make the admissions process as fair as possible. Current policies give advantages to wealthy applicants and to a group that is disproportionately white. This breaches Davidson’s professed commitments to integrity, inclusivity and diversity.

Catherine Cartier, '20, is an undeclared student from Portage, Michigan. Contact her at cacartier@davidson.edu.

Preferential Admission of Legacy & Early Decision Applicants Benefits the White & Wealthy EMMA TAYLOE

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ast year, Davidson admitted early decision applicants at more than twice the rate of regular decision applicants (1). Furthermore, legacy applicants have an edge over non-legacies; when asked to speak to the role legacy status has in admission decisions, the Dean of Admissions explained that “the acceptance of the legacy students is typically about two times the regular admission rate of the college, yet appreciate that this preference is primarily given to those students that are applying under [the] early decision (binding) program.” Although it is conceivable that the children of Davidson graduates have above average college applications, I find it unlikely that legacies are qualified at twice the rate of the general population. I believe that Davidson College grants certain students an advantage by sole virtue of their status as an early decision or legacy applicant and that this advantage unfairly benefits a population of students more likely to be white and wealthy.

Publishers of college rankings often take enrollment yield into account. Students admitted under early decision commit to enroll, whereas a regular decision applicant has the option to choose between schools. Colleges and universities can achieve a higher enrollment yield by admitting more early decision applicants over regular decisions. Legacy applicants may have an advantage in the application process for the same reason. They may be more likely than a non-legacy student to enroll in Davidson because of their personal connection with

the davidsonian staff editors-in-chief news editors

living davidson editor perspectives editor

Emma Johnson Matt Landini Olivia Daniels Kate McNaughton AJ Naddaff Steffaney Wood Mary Porter Erin Davenport

yowl editors

Paul Henderson Sophie McHugh

sports editor

Ian Robertson

photo editor

Abby Miller

web editor business manager

Emma Johnson Austin Newsome

Emma Tayloe, '19, is an undeclared student from Arlington, Virginia. Contact her at emtayloe@davidson.edu 1. Davidson College Admission page 2. “The Role of Higher Education in Career Development: Employer Perceptions.” The American Educational Research Association.

3. Mulhere, Kaitlin. “These Twenty Colleges Raked in the Biggest Donations Last Year.” Time Money. 2016.

4. “The Role of Higher Education in Career Development.” The Chronicle for Higher Education. 2012.

5. National Center for Education Statistics. 2014.

6. McEwen, Charles. “Davidson Gradually Adopts More Integration.” The Davidsonian. 1967.

The hard acT To Follow Issue Teenage Harris Teeter Employee’s Mental Notes On How To “Do College Right” Continue To Stack

Page Big Party Tonight?

Local Professor Enjoys Sick Little Game of Taking Attendance

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Wow. WOW! Freshman Excited

by Quillen Sighting Page 2

After Walk Across Davidson Campus, Local Dog Now Certain He’s a Good Boy

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“Dude, Pledging Was Honestly Fun For Me,” Senior Tells Freshman With Completely Straight Face

This Issue Brought to You By: A Rapidly Declining Sense of Self-Worth

Campus Police Chief Todd Sigler Fends Off Russian Henchmen As Spinning Propeller Inches Closer

Davidson and Emerson College Partner To Launch Hipster-Prep Student Exchange Program

According to reports, an exhausted Campus Police Chief Todd Sigler engaged in fist fight with a seven-foot tall Russian henchman while on a fact-finding mission to Turkey over the weekend. The battle is said to have occurred next to the spinning propellers of a prop plane that had been inadvertently activated moments before, causing Sigler and his hulking opponent to trade strikes while dancing between the deadly rotors.

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Sigler was heard saying under his breath after he delivered the final blow to the plane’s pilot only to turn around to see a much larger, bald and shirtless Russian henchman approaching with fists raised.

“Okay, okay, just gimme a second big guy. Your friend here knocked the wind out of me.” Sigler reportedly proceeded to feign injury by gripping his stomach before suddenly lunging at the goon and landing a punch squarely on his nose. “C’mon, big man. I’ve fought tougher than you, alright? Is this really the best your boss

In an effort to make good on their commitment to ensuring that students graduate with a global mindset fit for a real world context, Davidson College and Emerson College have finally launched their long-awaited student exchange program. The initiative, which begins this semester, aims to assuage concerns plaguing both campuses regarding cultural diversity.

“I’m nervous, but excited about this term,” confessed Jason Murphy '18, who will be Davidson’s first participant in the program, “I’ll definitely have to make some adjustments. For instance, I’ll need to start rolling my own cigarettes.

And I should probably research what a drum circle is before I find myself in one. But at the end of the day, we’re all just looking for resume boosters, right?”

Murphy, who is involved in SGA, Phi Gamma Kappa, and the Prelaw Society, leaves next week to begin his studies at Emerson, which is on the quarter system.

His replacement, Emerson sophomore Sapphire Kennedy, is already well into her first semester at Davidson. “‘I don’t know why we sud“I think I’m prepared. Though it’s pretty different here. Like, what denly have to have a chick are duck boots?” stated Kennedy, a film major who only speaks in with spiked green hair walkhaikus. ing around campus. It freaks Students on both campuses have conflicting views about the me out that she writes with a program. Davidson senior Tyler quill and only ever eats burnt Yawn stated, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the international extoast.” change programs. Those Greeks can hang. But I don’t know why we suddenly have to have a chick with spiked green hair walking around campus. It freaks me out that she writes with a quill and only ever eats burnt toast.”

On Murphy, Emerson first year Herman Thorpe said, “I can’t figure him out.

That guy’s either totally committing to an ironic statement about masculine identity performance, or he’s for real.” Thorpe, a frequent contributor to The Alley Off Wall Street, Emerson’s economic-poetry magazine, was one of the most vocal student supporters of the program. “He’s pretty good at dabbing though, in all senses of the word,” he added.

Despite concerns from the student body, the administrative staffs from both schools remain confident that the program will be a resounding success for years to come, benefiting their respective campuses with perspectives and experiences not usually featured in their typical applicant pools.

On Murphy’s prospects at Emerson, Kennedy had only this to say: “They’ll eat him alive. Button-downs aren’t welcome there. Anyway, go ‘Cats!”

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Controversial Applied Math Honours Thesis Finds Girls Can Even

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Every Question From Doctor During Physical Triggers Flashback of Regret

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Sophomore Realizes Fraternity Just Dish-Washing Ponzi Scheme

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The Anti-Resume: Items to Include If You DON’T Want to Get Hired • Works well with wolves.

• Can I bring my pocket knife to work?

• Will actively not enjoy working under a woman.

• 8 years experience slinking in the shadows.

• Tendency to “go rogue”on TPS reports.

Your Davidson Honor Section

Editors: Henderson, McHugh & Sons Writers: Craig Thomas Greg Again Thirsty Thurston Hannah L. PB Pat Alexis, Kaylen

Note: The Yowl is a satirical supplement to The Davidsonian.

Hence, nothing in it should be taken as truth. Word.

The DaviDsonian

“Sigler’s chipper child companion Roundtop is said to have mounted the plane’s machine gun and used it to destroy an approaching convoy of reinforcements.” has to send my way?”

Instantly recovering from the strike, the henchman used the lapels of Sigler’s leather jacket to throw him toward the whirring blades of the aircraft, which the Davidson College Police Chief miraculously managed to avoid by mere inches.

Though Sigler spotted the unconscious pilot’s loose Luger 1900, he was pulled from beneath the belly of the plane just as his fingertips began to scrape the weapon in his direction.

Sigler’s chipper child companion Roundtop is said to have mounted the plane’s rotating machine gun and used it to destroy an approaching convoy of reinforcements. Though too preoccupied with his opponent to offer any vocal encouragement, Sigler reportedly raised an eyebrow in approval when his 11-yearold sidekick, whom he had met while following leads in a village outside Istanbul, managed to cause a nearby fuel tank to erupt in a large fireball.

The tense melee reportedly concluded when the henchman, standing over a bloodied and bruised Sigler and grinning confidently, failed to notice the spinning propeller quickly approaching behind him.

“Watch your head, comrade,” said Sigler, raising his arm to his face just as the henchman splattered into bits.

“C’mon kid, we gotta split. There’ll be time for celebrations later,” Sigler muttered to his young companion. The pair was last seen running toward a nearby vacant Hind helicopter as sirens blared in the distance.

Nation’s Presidential Choice Probably Looking Forward to Seeing the New Transformers Film Sources close to the White House have suggested that the President Donald J. Trump is probably looking forward to seeing the new film Transformers: The Last Knight. Though the President has yet to confirm this sentiment through a tweet or a more formal public announcement, everyone is pretty certain that he will excitedly attend Michael Bay’s newest sci-fi/thriller when it is released early this summer.

“Well, he really loved the first few, especially the last one with Mark Wahlberg. He was also pretty into the Ninja Turtle ones that came out recently because they had ‘guns, action, and ‘monsters,’” Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Reince Priebus attested on Sunday. “He’s always talking about it during his daily security briefings, constantly saying that its like ISIS is the Decepticons and we’re Sam and the Autobots.”

Witnesses present at Trump’s exclusive Super Bowl party last weekend also reported hearing him say several positive remarks under his breath during the Transformer’s trailer that aired during the second quarter.

“Well, he really loved the first few, especially the last one with Mark Wahlberg.

He was also pretty into the Ninja Turtle ones came out recently because they had ‘guns, action, and monsters.’”

“I’m 90% sure I heard him say that it was ‘great to see Marky Marky kicking ass and taking names again,’ and ‘thank God they found another hot broad to replace that smoke from the first one,’” said one bystander. “It didn’t really seem like he was saying it to anyone in particular. He was just whispering to himelf while staring up in awe at the trailer playing on screen.”

“The main issue right now for the President is that he is very concerned that Bumblebee and Optimus Prime were fighting each other in the most recent trailer,” said Kellyanne Conway. “He has mentioned to me on a number of occasions that he cannot quite wrap his head around why two lifelong friends would turn on each other, and so I do think it is safe to assume he is looking forward to enjoying Transformers: The Last Knight on opening day.”

Sources from within the Trump Organization also report that Trump regularly claims to have been “this close to scoring some free tickets to Revenge of the Fallen” from one of his “pals at Paramount.”

sports

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Spring Senior Athletes Prepare for Final Season A new semester is upon us in full force, and along with our new academic schedules comes a new set of sports for the spring. The spring semester contains a wide range of sports, from basketball to golf, and a set of senior athletes hoping to combat the I-am-a-spring-semester-senior lull and make their mark as a Davidson athlete for the final time. In this article, I’ll preview four senior athletes from four different sports to highlight just a few of the hard-working senior student-athletes on this campus.

encouraging higher expectations for everyone on the team. As one of the few seniors on the team, Sidwell gets a bit nostalgic, saying that “it makes you want to take advantage of every second you get out there because you know this is the last ride”.

He also mentioned Lee Miller, Forrest Brandt, Nate Becker, Sam Foy, and many other notable players from the last few years who Jake will be in good company with once he graduates. “I just want to take advantage of being a part of this team for one more year,” Jake commented, “As far as the sport of baseball, that’s something that has always been a part of my life and I’m sure it will continue to be a part of my life, one way or another”.

Jake Sidwell: Baseball Before Sidwell even made it to Davidson, he had already set himself apart. In 2013, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 39th round of the MLB Draft, making him the first MLB-drafted player to attend Davidson. While here, however, Sidwell has been a strong and consistent team player. The primary catcher last season, Sidwell started 48 of the 52 games he played in and proved himself solid at the plate with a .309 batting average, the second highest on the team.

Every D-1 sport at Davidson is difficult, but baseball even more so because of their rigorous and time-consuming schedule, amounting to 52 games from February to May. “I think baseball is a tough sport for anyone to stick with because it’s a game based so heavily on failure,” Sidwell commented. “It’s a much more mental, technical game than a lot of people think”. For Jake, this has translated into many hours with his teammates, working on and off the field. Together, the team hopes to win the Atlantic-10 Conference, something that Sidwell feels the baseball team deserves.

On a personal level, Jake has grown as a player and a teammate throughout the past three years.

He cites Associate Head Coach Taylor as one of the primary drivers in his improvement, always

Nicole Pettiglio: Women’s Lacrosse One of three captains of the lacrosse team, Pettiglio is a powerful force on the field. Last season, she started and played in all 17 games of their season and ended up finishing with 17 goals.

In fact, she has played in every game throughout her past three years on the team, making her a critical member of the team from the very beginning. Pettiglio takes her important role on the team seriously, mentioning that she hopes to “be an impact player all over the field” and “striving to work 100% in practice and in games from start to finish”.

Her time on the team has not always been positive, however, as her success only comes with years of hard work and dedication. “One of the hardest parts about this sport is how long are off-seasons are compared to how short our season is,” she commented. “It can be mentally and physically exhausting to stay focused for that long for what feels like an extremely quick season”.

Through it all though, Nicole has always enjoyed seeing the progress of the team from year to year and helping each player make their own impact on the team.

As with many athletes on Davidson’s campus, one of the most positive results of playing a D-1 sport are the strong friendships formed throughout the four years of play. The lacrosse team is

EMMA JOHNSON Editor-in-Chief

smaller this year than it typically is, but this smaller size has only served to bring the women closer together. Especially amongst the seniors on the team, Pettiglio commented that the seniors have “all taken on important roles to make sure that together, we can all be the best resources and leaders for our teammates”. Nicole and the rest of her senior class hope to take their talents, passion, and strength to the A-10 tournament and as the search for the championship title.

J.B. Gough: Men’s Tennis While men’s tennis does have invitational matches during the fall, A-10 play does not start until the spring – and J.B. is ready. “My main personal goal for this season is to lead the team by example both on and off the court,” J.B. said, looking ahead to his final season, “I want to train as hard as I’ve ever trained to set a standard for my teammates so that we can have the best season possible”. Gough sets a high bar for himself: last season, J.B. was a solid player on the court, with a 3-1 record in A-10 matches in singles play and a career-best five-match doubles win streak with teammate Shamael Chaudhry ’18.

The statistics do not tell the whole story for

J.B. Gough ‘17 hopes to finish his Senior season off strong on the Men’s Tennis Team.

Gough, who values the time off the court with his teammates just as much as the wins. “The most fulfilling part of the last four years has been seeing the team chemistry consistently grow each year,” Gough commented, reflecting on the closeness of the team this year amongst all of the class years.

Even though he is a captain, a leader, and a strong presence on the court, J.B. feels like just another member of the team, working just as hard.

One thing that most seniors reflect on during their final semester is how fast the last four years have gone. The same goes for J.B., who commented that he envies the freshmen and the years on the team that they still have ahead of them. When I asked him what he hopes to do with his last semester, he told me that he wants to “simply value my last year and make the most of the opportunities I’ve been given as a player and as a captain”.

Beyond Davidson, tennis will still play a prominent role in Gough’s life. His post-Davidson plan has him in Charlotte, where he hopes to be playing in a high-level league for a few years.

More than the physical aspect of the game, he knows that the leadership skills and team experience will be critical aspects in his new job life.

Melanie Ransom: Women’s Basketball There are many strong players on the women’s basketball team, but Melanie has proved herself to be a force among them. Beginning in high school, Melanie was known for her athletic prowess, winning awards for both basketball and track and field. At Davidson, she was set back initially because of an injury that prevented her from playing all of freshmen year, but she returned to full health for her sophomore and junior years.

Last year, she played in 18 games and recorded a number of personal bests, including most rebounds in a game and most minutes played.

Melanie and the rest of the women’s basketball team are facing a tough start to the season so far this year, but still have many conference games ahead of them as they work towards the A-10 Conference tournament in February and March.

Track ready to make impact at A-10 Championships JONATHAN SWANN

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Staff Writer

hile the beginning of the spring semester has most likely been busy for everyone, the men’s and women’s track teams have been especially busy, already competing at 4 meets. Though not every athlete has run in every meet, the collective effort of both the men’s and women’s team has been extremely impressive. School records and personal records have been falling left and right, and with only one meet left before the A-10 Championships, the team hopes to build on their momentum to finish strong across the board.

Led by a talented core of athletes, both veterans and newcomers, the squad is, according to Walker Mogen '17, among “the most well-rounded team that Davidson has had in a long time.”

From the 200m run to the 5k run (and the relays), to the various field events, the team is looking to place many athletes on the podium come the conference meet. Sarah Sears ’18 commented that “track season is always exciting because we get to combine our team {distance and mid-distance runners] with the sprinters and field events.” With the full complement of athletes, the team is eager to leave a legacy on the track, and already has done so this season. Mogen said honestly, “I’m excited to see what we can do [at conference].”

Both the Men’s and Women’s teams have shown great promise, with record-breaking performances abound on both sides this indoor season. Jada Woods '20 set a new school record in the triple jump at 11.45m at the Wake Forest Invite while Sarah Sears ’18 broke 5 minutes in the mile for the first time in her career, setting a school record in the process en route to a 4:53:03 at the BU Track and Tennis Center.

Remarking on her performance, Sears said “the Boston track was the perfect atmosphere to break the school record in the mile. It was awesome to get to race on such a fast track with some really good competition.” In addition, Caroline Turner '17 recorded a new PR in the 5k, crossing

the line in 18:04.20, finishing in 7th overall and smashing her personal record by nearly 20 seconds. Caroline Yarbrough '19 also set a personal best mark in the 5k with a time of 17:11.65, both at the BU Invite.

Senior Captain Hannah Rieden, a contender for an individual title in the 800m, noted that the team is “looking for podium finishes in most events” and that the high stakes meet will require the team “go into the mindset of wanting to win.”

For Rieden and the team’s other seniors, the championship is a culmination of 4 years of hard work and one of their last chances to see all their hard work come to fruition.

On the men’s side, the 4x400m relay team of Sean Caveney '19, Jacob Hostetler '18 Garrett Nickelson '20 and George Williams '20 recently shattered the school record by seven seconds with a time of 3:17:9 at Boston University. Hostetler,

Will Brewster ‘17 winning the 10k in last year’s A-10 Championships.

Photo by John Reid/Atlantic 10

Nickelson, and Williams also broke individual records. Williams ran the 400-meter run in 48.52 seconds to break Hostetler’s own record of 49.64 seconds, set last season. Hostetler set a new personal best mark in the same heat, crossing the line in 48.58 seconds. Nickelson broke a school record in the 500m run with a time of 1:04.49, placing fourth overall in the field and besting the school record by over two seconds. On the distance side, Mogen narrowly missed the school record in the 3k with an 8:14.39, a mark that is also currently best in the A-10.

Distance star Will Brewster took the top prize in the mile at the Wake Forest Invite, clocking in with a new school record at 4:11.95. Brewster looks to defend the 5k conference title he won last year but also win the mile and 3k in a few

weeks; he’s learned that “the key to winning a championship is showing up hungry with a chip on your shoulder.” Such a mantra stems partially from Davidson’s disappointing finish at this past Fall’s A-10 Cross Country Championships, where the Cats’ placed 7th despite coming in as legitimate contenders for the team title. Brewster acknowledged that “I really just want to do everything I can to help the team finish as high as possible,” and hopes the team can record a top 3 finish.

Overall, according to Brewster, the men’s team is shooting for a top 3 finish and it seems like the women’s team shouldn’t be too far behind. ] Let’s wish our fellow Wildcats good luck as they finish the season out strong. Go ‘Cats!

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Men’s Tennis Prepares for A-10 Matches See Page 7 J.B. Gough '17 Photo by Emma Johnson

February 8, 2017