Davidsonian 3.27

Davidsonian

Independent Student Journalism Since 1914

March 27, 2024

Atyantika Mookherjee ‘27 explores the complexity of land acknowledgments

ANNABEL GROSECLOSE ‘27 (SHE/HER) STAFF WRITER

College tours typically serve as a way for prospective students to gain a window into what their life could look like as a Davidson student. The Davidson College Historical Campus Tour serves as a way for Davidson community members to gain a window into the College’s history and connection to race and slavery.

The historical tour was created by two students, Lauren Collver ‘25 and Anaya Patel ‘25. The idea came to them after taking AFR 224: “Race and Campus History” with James B. Duke Professor of Africana Studies Hilary Green. The course focused on major issues and questions related to slavery and emancipation within higher education, with a focus on Davidson and the University of Alabama. Collver and Patel created the tour in order to share what they learned with the wider campus community.

“Davidson has a deep history with colonialism, slavery, and white supremacy, a history that has significant lasting impacts on the college and surrounding community,” Collver said. “This knowledge belongs to the entire Davidson community, and we hope that our tour can ensure that everyone who would like to know this history is able to easily

Katriel Sander ‘27 reflects several months after deleting social media

A peek into Amelia Shields ‘24’s abstract and meditative senior art exhibition

The Yowl examines how to navigate Davidson’s dining options, offers tips

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Historical Campus Tour Sheds Light on Davidson’s Past

access it.”

Collver and Patel also made it clear that their tour was not a standalone project, but rather a resource that has been a long time coming and involved collaborative effort.

“Our research is made possible by the work of Davidson alumni, faculty, and staff who

Center staff and Chief Diversity Officers from other small liberal arts colleges.”

The historical tour includes some of the same stops as the official campus tours, including the Historic Quad, Chambers, Patterson Court, and the President’s House. The information presented at each location contrast greatly

have been working to uncover this history and make it accessible for decades,” Patel said.

The tour is open to the entire Davidson community, as Collver and Patel seek to educate members of the College and beyond on the history of their surroundings.

“We’ve had a very broad range of participants so far—lots of community members, a great number of faculty and staff, and some students,” Patel said. “ We will also be giving private tours for groups like the Matthews

Abetween tours.

One of the first stops of the Davidson College Historical Campus Tour is the President’s House. Historical tour guides use the house as a site to introduce enslavement at Davidson, identifying it as one of the few remaining buildings constructed by enslaved people on campus.

In contrast, the 2022 Campus Tour Manual encourages tour guides who are passing the President’s House to “mention the accessibility

and in-tuneness of President Hicks with the needs of the student body.”

The tours also present different information at the Historic Quad. The Historic Quad is the part of campus closest to Main Street and neighboring the Cunningham Fine Arts Building, and it includes Eumenean Hall, Philanthropic Hall, and Elm and Oak Row. According to Collver, The Davidson College Historical Campus Tour uses this stop to discuss the stories of the enslaved people who were part of Davidson’s history. The tour mentions “the daily lives of enslaved people who labored in student dorms and on campus grounds,” “the violence that enslaved individuals experienced on a daily basis and [...] the fingerprints left behind by enslaved laborers from nearby plantations, still visible in the bricks of buildings.”

The admissions tour does not include any of the same information and instead discusses the white men who attended the College in the past as well as the building’s purposes past and present. According to the 2022 Campus Tour Manual, student tour guides must share that “Eumenean and Philanthropic Halls were the original social arenas on campus. Davidson was originally founded as an all-male agrarian college: men worked the fields in the morning, attended class in the afternoon, and retired to these social halls for conversation and debate in the evenings. Eu Hall now is home to

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Community Bands Together to Help Injured Football Coach

ssistant Head Coach of the Davidson Football Team Steven Jackson is in rehab after being severely injured in a car accident the morning of March 13th. Jackson suffered many injuries, including damage to his back, and his family’s single car was totaled.

Jackson has worked at Davidson since 2018 and was promoted to Assistant Head Coach in 2021. He also serves as the Special Teams & Defensive Run Game Coordinator and Defensive Ends Coach. Throughout his six seasons at Davidson, he has made an impact on the lives of numerous players.

“During Covid, he was tough on me; I remember it getting on my nerves a ton, but looking back on it, it helped me out tremendously not only as a player but as a person as well,” said 2023 season captain and defensive lineman Jonathan Hammond ‘24.

“After one of our practices before our 2021 spring season, he pulled me aside and told me he believed that I could do great things and told me never to forget the goals I had set since the beginning of our first meeting together… Coach Jackson made sure to go out of his way for us as players… he considered us to be like sons and it felt that way.”

Hammond’s gratitude is echoed by many other players on the team. Defensive lineman Julian Rawlins ‘25 expressed his admiration for Jackson on and off the field.

“Coach Jackson is without a doubt the best leader and one of the finest men I’ve had the pleasure of knowing,” Rawlins said. “He is a living testament of what it is to be a great father, husband, coach, and community servant, and he has become a man whom I truly respect and admire.”

Jackson has made an effort to connect with all of his players. Offensive lineman Romeo Norris ‘27 explained how Jackson helped him adjust to his first year at Davidson.

“When we met originally, his energy and enthusiasm were apparent upon first impression. Ever since then, he

has always been a voice of encouragement for me and my academic and athletic journeys,” Norris said. “With this being my first year on campus, he helped me adjust to college life, being the first person to congratulate me on my accomplishments big and small…”

His absence on the field for the past two weeks has left a large hole to fill. Ava Blasch ‘26 is a Practice and Office Assistant for the football team, and spoke to Jackson’s cheerful presence.

“Everyone can feel the weight of Coach Jackson’s absence both on and off the field—there’s obviously something missing,” Blasch said. “He is often the first person to ask how you’re doing on any given day, and consistently leaves practice with a smile on his face, kids in tow.”

According to Blasch, the dynamic of practice has changed without Jackson.

“It affects the energy, but everyone has rallied together to make the most out of the situation,” she said. “Senior players are coming back to help out at practice and players are quickly adjusting to changes at practice.”

Although the Davidson community is also rallying together to support Jackson and his family through his recovery. A GoFundMe campaign was created to raise money for a new car and medical expenses. At the time of publication, the page had reached just under $145,000 dollars out of the initial $150,000 goal. A Meal Train link, which allows for community members to sign up for specific days to cook or provide meals for the Jackson family, is also circulating so that Jackson’s two kids and wife can eat dinner every night of the week, especially since they do not have any immediate family members close by.

The Jackson family did not respond to a request for comment. However, as of a recent update to the GoFundMe page, Jackson is progressing in his recovery in rehab.

“One week ago today, the trajectory of my life was changed forever, but I want to be clear that my calling and my purpose has not changed,” Jackson wrote in his most recent Instagram post on March 20th. “God has put this thing on my heart these last few weeks - impact over influence. The hundreds of thousands of dollars raised, the tens of thousands of prayers received that we know of, the thousands of messages and posts, and 100s of visitors does not happen when life is focused on influence but only when focused on impact.”

As players, friends, and family await Jackson’s return to the community, they have faith that he will come back stronger than ever.

“His infectious energy and tireless work ethic serve as a constant source of motivation for all of us,” said defensive lineman Mikah Kent ‘26. “Even now with all he is going through, he is still watching film and getting better. We have no doubt that he will give his all to recover, and we all plan to help him through it in any way we can.”

Jackson himself remains optimistic as well.

“Please continue to pray for me and my family,” he wrote in the last lines of his post. “Please continue to show up. Please continue to stand in the gap. I’m off to rehab! Lightweight baby!”

BELLA ANDJELKOVIC ‘26 (SHE/HER) PERSPECTIVES EDITOR

Steven Jackson has been part of the Davidson football community for the past six years. Photo from Davidson Athletics.

Davidson’s Historic Quad contains some of the oldest builings on campus, many of which were built by slaves. Photo from Davidson website.

Examining Why Davidson Does Not Have a Land Acknowledgment

ATYANTIKA MOOKHERJEE ‘27 (SHE/HER) STAFF WRITER

Davidson College has not made an official land acknowledgement recognizing its presence on historical Catawba Nation land. While the College has made many efforts to build community with the Nation, including the ongoing collaboration Dútα Bαhiisere Kus Ráˀhere, which means “We Know Corn Together” in Catawba, Davidson has yet to put out a formal statement of recognition.

Land acknowledgements are a formal statement that recognizes Native American communities as original inhabitants of and stewards of land that was seized by colonial powers. Nearby institutions such as North Carolina State University, Western Carolina University and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte have published land acknowledgments recognizing the roots of the land they are built on.While these schools and many others have deemed land acknowledgements as a step forward in rebuilding the relationship with Native American communities, others argue that this action is simply performative.

Associate Professor of History Rose Stremlau specializes in the study of Native Americans in the South. She explained the tensions within making a formal land acknowledgement.

“Especially in contexts where there are a very small number of Native students at a particular institution, having some acknowledgement of Native history that is routinely part of academic life is helpful to the students, because Native students have said that it is helpful to hear that,” Stemlau said. “But it also can be very performative, especially in places where there isn’t a larger commitment to creating the kinds of programming especially around recruitment and retention [of Native students], as well as acknowledging actual harms that were done.”

It is undisputed that Davidson sits on

Catawba land. However, the specific details of how the College founders came into possession of the land remain murky. For this reason, Stremlau emphasized the importance of time and research.

“Saying the wrong thing at this point or even feeling like we know enough to even know what to say at this point, like I study this and I don’t know what the actual role is of the college’s founders,” Stremlau said.

“I only know that there is one. That’s where I think the issue of performativity is very much rooted in the context of what are we doing? And what has been done in the past that we acknowledge we are a part of?”

Davidson’s collaboration with the Catawba, which has included public artwork, chef’s demonstrations and growing traditional corn among other things, stands as a testament to Stremlau’s emphasis on intentional action.

Teresa Dunlap is a member of and Cultural Class Specialist at the Catawba Nation. She “holds reservations” about the effectiveness of land acknowledgements, but highlighted areas she sees as positive in Davidson’s work where most land acknowledgements fall through.

“In my experience, Davidson’s “Dútα Bαhiisere Kus Ráˀhere” collaboration

is doing many things most land acknowledgments do not,” Dunlap said. “In place of a land acknowledgment, I encourage Davidson students to become actively involved in programs like the one mentioned above which is currently amplifying Indigenous voices, advocating for policy change, creating educational opportunities for Davidson students, and working on land restitution.”

Many Davidson students have taken the opportunity to get involved in the collaboration, including Ty Cryan ‘24. Cryan works as a research assistant focusing on the Catawba corn grown on campus. He spoke to the impact of a land acknowledgement at Davidson.

“This really established partnership with the Catawba Nation is a great step, so if we did have a lineage acknowledgment statement, it would not be simply performative; however, I think it is very important that in the administration, everyone that is involved in that decision is very aware and understanding of history,” Cryan said.

In addition to formally recognizing Davidson’s land as historically inhabited by the Catawba Nation and collaborating with the Nation through these ongoing projects,

Stremlau pointed out that there are other concrete steps the College could take on the academic side. This includes specifically targeting Catawba and other Native American students in college admissions. According to the Class of 2027 Profile, 0.3% identify as “American Indian.”That equates to less than two students out of 525.

“As far as I know, we’ve never admitted, let alone graduated Catawba students,” Stremlau said. “Having a real conversation about what it means not only to recruit Catawbas but perhaps to recruit Native students regionally or Native students from communities to whom the Presbyterian church has missioned would be a very important step for the College to take.”

Davidson “strives” to sustain a culture and community of students from diverse cultures, ethnicities, races, national origins among other identifiers, according to the college website. Stremlau encouraged admissions to do a better job including Native American students within that culture.

“I understand that our admissions counselors, you know, focus their energies on communities where they will get the most applications,” Stremlau said. “It’s asking… us to do something a little different, which will be to invest the resources, knowing that it might be some time before we see not only a significant, measurable number of Native students, but also we may have to actively recruit a cohort of Native students to come together at one time. And, again, those are all possibilities. But that has to be a commitment of the administration.”

As Davidson seeks to confront its history, Dunlap encouraged visible and tangible steps as the best way forward.

“Taking concrete actions such as these goes beyond mere acknowledgment and contributes to genuine reconciliation for past wrongs.”

Historical Tour Highlights Davidson’s Past, Invites All Community Members

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the Vann Center for Ethics. Phi Hall is home to the Chidsey Center for Leadership Development.” The manual also directs tour guides to say that Oak and Elm Row were, “the original dorms (built in 1836) and are the only original buildings left on campus. Each had four bedrooms that each housed four men. Today these buildings house various offices.”

The Davidson College Historical Campus Tour walks from the Historic Quad to Chambers Hall at the heart of campus to share information about additional college ties to slavery, referencing Green’s report Maxwell Chambers and His Complicated Connections to Davidson College. According to the report, Chambers, who was a slave owner, left a gift to Davidson in his will that was so large it briefly made Davidson the wealthiest college in the South.

“[We discuss] the figure of Maxwell Chambers, who was a generous supporter of the college, enslaved a large number of people, and amassed his wealth through the slave trade,” Patel said. “We point people to Dr. Green’s recent report on Chambers for more information. We also use Chambers to highlight the ties between Davidson and the Confederacy.”

The admissions tour does not reference Maxwell Chambers. Instead, admissions tour guides share that, “Chambers is the academic hub of campus.”

The Davidson College Historical Campus Tour and the admissions tour both stop at Patterson Court as well. According to Patel and Collver, their tour pauses at Patterson Court to share information about “the history of racism in fraternities at Davidson and the work of students to push for more spaces of belonging and community for Davidson’s students of color.”

Unlike The Davidson College Historical Campus Tour, the admissions tours discuss all 16 Patterson Court Council organizations. The information shared does have some overlap with the Davidson College Historical Campus Tour due to the explanations of the National Pan Hellenic Council organizations, Latinx organizations, PASA and OLAS, and The Black Student Coalition.

Race is mentioned in the 2022 Campus Tour Manual; however, this discussion primarily occurs in the context of current support systems rather than acknowledging Davidson’s history. For instance, race comes up when the tour is taken to Alvarez College Union and told about the many offices and resources found there. One of these resources includes the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.

According to the manual, “[the Center for Diversity and Inclusion] serves as an extension to the Spencer-Weinstein Center for Community and Justice. Faculty, staff and student groups can reserve space in the Multicultural Center. However, priority is given to programs that support the mission of the multiculturalism at Davidson: Commission on Race and Slavery, Historic quad, [and the] BLM mural.”

Maya Vermeer ‘26 is an admissions tour guide, and she believes that The Davidson College Historical Campus Tour offers a valuable perspective on Davidson’s past.

“I definitely think that the focus on the racial historic aspect of the school is really important [in the historical tour],” Vermeer said. “I grew up in the South, so I kind of know [about the prevalence of slavery across Southern colleges], but I think a lot of people who come from up north which I feel like is a large percentage of Davidson students don’t really realize that everything around them was built by slaves and, was built through slavery.”

However, Vermeer feels that The Davidson College Historical Campus Tour and admissions tour have distinct purposes and should not necessarily be combined.

“I think our [admissions] tour is introducing people to Davidson in a way [where] I show them Wall and I talk about like my professor experiences and things like that. I think that that’s a very different purpose [than the historic tour],” Vermeer said. “[The admissions tour is] to kind of see if you would fit in here, what you like and what you don’t, especially for these admitted students.”

Though Vermeer recognizes that the two tours have different goals, she believes that prospective students could be made aware of the Davidson College Historical Campus Tour

alongside the admissions tour.

“I think [the historic tour is] definitely something that me as a tour guide, I think that would be something that I would send people to.”

Africana Studies professor Dr. Hilary Green and history professor Dr. Rose Stremlau are both staff advisors for The Davidson College Historical Campus Tour. Like Vermeer, they believe in the value of this tour and the work it will do in terms of community growth.

“[Patel] and [Collver] have crafted a tour that prompts people to think about the narratives we tell about this place that is our home and how those shape the kind of place we want it to be in the future,” Dr. Stremlau said. “That’s a good thing, and I hope it prompts more questions, research, and public history projects, including tours. It is important for all members of the college community to have access to a range of information about our shared history.”

Green echoed Stremlau in her support for the tour Collver and Patel created.

“I am proud of these students who took the initiative to develop a more extended tour that moves beyond the normal admissions tour. I recognize the need of multiple tours for different campus constituent communities, especially those rooted in advancing the mission of developing humane instincts with both disciplined and creative minds.”

Patel and Collver encourage all community members, including prospective students, to seek out a more complete history of the College.

“We hope our tour provides a narrative that encourages our participants to consider how the college and the campus community can work towards a future that appropriately reckons with this history and works towards tangible justice for the communities that have been impacted, namely the Catawba Nation, the Cherokee Nation, the descendants of those entangled with slavery at Davidson, and the African American community of West Davidson,” Patel said.

Historical markers are seen around campus, yet there is no historical marker or formal acknowledgment that the college sits on Catawba land. Photo by The Historical Marker Database.

Students Encouraged to Study Abroad in Spring Features

Office of Education Abroad Attempts to Correct Semester Inbalances

STELLA DAVIS ‘26 (SHE/HER) STAFF WRITER

Among students who study abroad at Davidson, a group that encompasses sixty-five percent of each graduating class, there is an increasing trend in those choosing to go away for the fall semester of their junior year. This has had implications on everything from general campus life to housing, prompting the College to encourage students to go abroad in the spring instead.

According to Education Abroad Advisor Kate Hermsmeyer, there is a significantly higher amount of students who chose to go abroad in the fall rather than the spring, and the numbers are continuing to rise.

“Our office isn’t supposed to give out exact numbers but I can say that the numbers are usually 3x as high for fall vs spring,” Hermsmeyer wrote over email. “The numbers for this fall are even higher – it will likely be more than 3x as high.”

On Monday, March 11, the Class of 2026, which encompasses current sophomores, received an email from The Office of Education Abroad encouraging them to defer their study abroad from the fall 2024 semester to spring 2025 in exchange for a financial incentive.

“Students with approved applications for fall 2024 who defer to spring 2025 will receive a $500 credit to be used towards the cost of non-program related expenses during their time abroad,” the office wrote in the email.

This incentive is the most recent effort on behalf of the administration to encourage students to study abroad in the spring.

“We’ve had the Heitz-Wagener grant before, but this is the first year that we’re doing a deferral incentive and that’s just for students that had applied to go in the fall and then could choose to defer to the spring from this academic application cycle,” Hermsmeyer said.

The Heitz-Wagener Scholarship provides a $1,500 stipend at the end of a study abroad program for students who chose to study abroad in the spring. This scholarship is not new, however it could be utilized along with the financial credit to encourage students to remain on campus in the fall.

Hermsmeyer also pointed out a general feeling of quiet in the fall as another issue to combat.

“It also just feels more empty in the fall when people are gone as well, so wanting each semester to feel the same in terms of campus life,” Hermsmeyer said.

However, this very concept is contributing to students wanting to study abroad in the fall. Many students expressed a desire to go abroad at the same time as their friends.

“Honestly I think a big part of it is my friends are going in the fall and I’m not going to stay at Davidson if none of my friends are here,” said Ava Branch ‘26. Branch is spending fall 2024 in Rome. “I am definitely going to be more apt to look at programs for the fall semester as opposed to the spring.”

Siobhan Kelley ‘26, who will be in Morocco for her junior

fall, echoed Branch’s sentiment.

“What makes Davidson special for me is having the people I love here, and they are all going abroad in the fall,” Kelley said. “I don’t think I could be here without them.”

There was also a common sentiment among students that the spring semester is more exciting, and they want to be on campus for that.

“There are more fun events in the spring that the entire Davidson community can rally around like Frolics and Placement Day,” said Kate Mutzner ‘24 who went abroad her junior fall. “If there were more fun events in the fall or maybe change the classes because there is no reason I need to be here in the fall class-wise.”

Neve Rauscher ‘26, who is going abroad to Cambodia in the fall, added that the general campus atmosphere in the spring is more energetic.

“It’s a combination of the incoming class is very new to Davidson and figuring things out and by the time spring semester rolls around you get a whole new cohort of people coming back that know Davidson pretty well and also the first years kind of have campus life figured out,” Rauscher said. “I think a lot of clubs and organizations have also taken off and hit the ground running by the time spring rolls around.”

Sophia Holmes ‘25 is one of a few juniors currently

spending their spring semester abroad. She said that the social scene is a matter of personal preference.

“Honestly, the social scene at Davidson hasn’t mattered to me while I’ve been here,” Holmes said. “I think the only difference between studying abroad in the fall and in the spring is that in the spring, if you were to be at Davidson, you would get to experience seeing everyone again. But that depends on how much you value that.”

Holmes acknowledged however, that many of her friends also did not go abroad in the fall, making her decision easier.

“I think that if you are not studying abroad in the fall and all of your closest friends are gone, then Davidson will feel a little bit more difficult socially and emotionally,” Holmes said. “Luckily I had my closest friend with me during the fall semester so I was pretty comfortable.”

For many students, there isn’t even a question of which semester they will go away for.

“Personally, I never considered going abroad anytime other than fall of junior year, because that’s when I was told everyone would go—that was just the assumption,” Kelley said.

Branch is unwavering in her decision.

“Spring is more fun, there is more stuff to do, it is the better semester to stay for.”

Davidson students travel all over the globe to study abroad. The majority go during junior fall. Graphic by Stella Mackler.

What Deleting Social Media Hasn’t Given Me Perspectives

KATRIEL SANDER ‘27 (HE/HIM)

Idownloaded Instagram on my 12th birthday and deleted it the summer before college. While I had it, I frequently found that the app was taking too much of my attention, so I used to commit to “cleansing” from it only to fail after a few days, or more often, hours. This habitual cycle of failure eventually led to me losing hope in the prospect of deleting it at all, since I knew from practice that doing so wouldn’t work.

After six years of holding my effectively unbroken allegiance, I finally committed to deleting all of my accounts (not just the apps) on a mission to use my time better. Nearly one year since this decision, I can confidently say that deleting social media did not end up actually saving me any time.

In the immediate weeks after deleting my accounts, I made the shift from wasting time on Instagram Reels to wasting time on YouTube Shorts. I then had my brother set a time limit for YouTube on my phone, so I would just mindlessly scroll on LinkedIn when it ran out. In a different mood, I would aimlessly walk around campus or talk to friends when I needed to study.

I was still procrastinating, and directly after making such a tangible commitment to productivity, I was still producing the same effort for schoolwork that I did in high school, doing literally the bare minimum to meet expectations. Social media had made me accustomed to a type of escapism that is useful for finding immediate gratification, but also degraded any motivation I had to do anything that takes time to yield results.

When I was making the decision to delete these apps, I figured that doing it prior to college would be the easiest transition. Still, because of the addictive nature of these apps, my attention span was so damaged that after six years of their use, quitting them was hard. However, quitting the type of stimulation they gave was much harder. My journey to finding satisfaction in the things I need to do—or the unexciting things that make me better—only began after realizing that how I spent my time was the issue, not necessarily the things that enabled me to waste my time.

Although I am glad to now know the value of intentionally spending my time, I still deeply regret how time-expensive this conclusion was to reach. On average I spent four to six hours being either anxious, mindless, or numb on Instagram almost every day for six years which on the low end totals to about one year of my lifetime. I wish I could remember anything from this experience, but I don’t even remember what I used to consider my best posts, or the followers I lost, or the content I used to enjoy watching. Any value through interactions on this app yielded absolutely nothing lasting for me, and despite knowing this while using it, I could not get away from it.

The only thing from my using social media that I remember is that the majority of my time on these apps was not even intentional, and tended to be from reflexive phone-checking. Usually, these checks would be in social situations that were either awkward or boring, so Instagram was the perfect distraction to find engagement with. I think this was one of the fundamental difficulties with quitting it, because the algorithms of these apps create a problem that only things of their own nature can fix. Even in a universe where I never had

Instagram, I probably would not have spent this time doing anything particularly interesting or memorable. Still, I also wouldn’t have damaged my attention, while supporting all of the harm that Instagram causes to other people too. I think about how every time I liked or commented on a post, or everytime I neglected to, I pushed value assignments of approval onto other people that might have impacted how they perceived themselves.

This is all to say that aside from the timing after high school making a lot of sense to make the jump, part of what pushed me to finally delete my accounts was advice from people that it would give me more time and make me more productive. I can now confidently say that the reality of making that jump itself was far less useful and entails far more additional work than I was led to believe. With this in mind, if I had greater commitment towards doing so, I could have begun that work while still keeping those apps, but considering the types of stimulation that they foster, where long-term commitment is only really to the app itself, deleting my presence on these platforms was a helpful first step.

Discussing The Economy: An Outlook for Davidson Graduates

GABRIEL RUSS-NACHAMIE ‘27 (HE/HIM)

Four years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic began and plunged our world into a period of uncertainty and chaos. In my small town of Lincolnton, North Carolina, it was a deeply emotional time. I saw firsthand how our community struggled with the dual challenge of an economic and public health emergency. It was heartbreaking to witness the toll the disease took on loved ones and the financial strain on small businesses that are the backbone of our town. Additionally, the move to online learning and remote work weakened the close social bonds that are the foundation of our community.

In just a few weeks, the Davidson Class of 2024 will walk across the graduation stage and begin to pursue careers and other professional endeavors. After facing the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during their early college years and watching inflation rates hit a 40-year high, these graduates are likely concerned about the labor market they are about to enter. Fortunately, economists have developed methods to accurately evaluate the economy’s performance. Just as doctors rely on vital signs to assess a patient’s health, we can use economic data points to gauge the health of our economy.

No statistic is more important than the unemployment rate for those entering the labor market. The unemployment rate is the percentage of the labor force without a job actively looking for work. Without a strong labor market, employment opportunities for graduates can be scarce, harming their career prospects.

In fact, graduating into a weak labor market can result in lower earnings later in one’s career due to the lack of opportunities to gain experience and skills. According to an article from the National Bureau of Economic Research summarizing economic research on this subject, “Those who join the workforce in a downturn have lower long-term earnings, higher rates of disability, fewer marriages, less successful spouses, and fewer children.” This data suggests that for Davidson graduates, the state of the economy when they enter the job

market can not only significantly influence their career trajectories but also their personal well-being

A major cause of economic anxiety in recent years has been the significant increase in inflation. The inflation number you commonly hear reported in the news is the yearly change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), one of the many price indices used to measure the inflation rate. For decades, inflation had been stable around the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. However, during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that inflation peaked at a 40-year high of 9.1% in 2022. Economists have largely attributed the rise in inflation to supply chain issues from the pandemic and too expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. However, inflation has been trending downwards as the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates, with year-overyear inflation falling to 3.2% in February as reported in the Wall Street Journal. While inflation remains elevated, it is close to the Federal Reserve’s target rate and will likely fall more this year.

Many economists anticipated a rise in the unemployment rate as inflation declined during 2023. According to a poll conducted by the Initiative on Global Markets at the University of Chicago, 85% of economists surveyed predicted a recession in 2023. If you’ve taken an introductory economics course, you are probably familiar with the reasoning these economists used to support this prediction. When I took my first economics class in high school, I was fascinated when my professor introduced the idea of the Phillips Curve and its potential to impact our daily lives. The Phillips Curve is a graph that illustrates the theory that there is an inverse relationship between the unemployment and inflation rates. It suggests that as inflation falls, unemployment increases and vice versa.

However, inflation has fallen without increasing unemployment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment was just 3.9% in February, reflecting a robust labor market. This real-world test of the Phillips Curve challenges established beliefs about the link between unemployment and inflation. This situation is particularly beneficial for

college graduates as their prospects for securing employment are enhanced. It’s also crucial to consider the role of economic growth in shaping the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the Davidson Class of 2024. Economic growth is the increase in the production of goods and services in an economy over time and is measured by the growth rate of Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP). A growing economy means increased living standards, the creation of jobs, and more wealth to fund public services. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the latest quarter we have data for, real GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.2% as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), showing the economy is robust and is growing at an above-average rate.

I’m optimistic about the future of the US economy and about starting a career where I can apply the skills I’ve acquired at Davidson in the professional world. Yet, I share the uneasiness that I’ve heard many of my classmates have about our country’s future economic situation.

I’m deeply concerned about climate change and its impact on the United States’ financial situation. As the planet gets warmer, we will face economic challenges due to more

severe weather events and rising sea levels. Like many young people across the country, I’m also increasingly worried about housing affordability. Rising housing prices threaten to put homeownership out of reach for many, worsening economic disparities. According to the National Assocation of Realtors, home prices were rising in 80% of US markets at the end of 2023. Furthermore, the amount of economic inequality in the United States is troubling. As technology advances and overwhelmingly benefits those with higher incomes and skills, policymakers must tackle this inequality while promoting innovation and economic growth.

Despite these real concerns, the current rates of unemployment, inflation, and economic growth highlight a strong economy that will welcome the Davidson Class of 2024 into the workforce. To ensure this prosperity continues, we must elect leaders who will take these issues seriously and address them using evidence-based policy.

Sports

Division I Basketball Team Votes to Unionize Could It Set a Precedent for Davidson Athletics?

THOMAS KADE ‘26 (HE/HIM) SPORTS EDITOR

Earlier this month, the Dartmouth College men’s bas ketball team voted 13-2 in favor of joining a union, becoming the first unionized college sports team in the United States. The team, headed by forward Cade Haskins ‘25 and guard Romeo Mythrill ‘25, elected to join the union SEIU Local 560, a group representing more than 500 Dart mouth employees.

The standing of collegiate athletes as paid workers has been an oft-debated issue in the sports realm, as many believe col lege athletes do not receive the proper compensation for the lump sums of money they bring to their respective schools. The recent surge in popularity of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) has allowed some student-athletes to utilize their brand to fun nel some money into their pockets. For instance, athletes are permitted to engage in sponsorship deals with various compa nies. Dartmouth’s choice to unionize, though, is unprecedent ed because it unifies the entire team under the same umbrella, whereas NIL deals typically occur on an individual basis. In this vein, the team hopes that unionzing will allow them to ne gotiate salaries, practice accommodations, and medical care for injuries sustained on the court.

Dartmouth forward Brandon Mitchell-Day ‘26 elaborated on the motivations for seeking unionization.

“Many people think that we unionized in order to get paid. While that would be nice, that is not really our intention. We unionized so we would have a voice in decisions that could help make our lives easier,” Mitchell-Day said.

Davidson swimmer Frank Howden ‘26 acknowledges the Dartmouth players’ concerns and spoke to the demands that being a student athlete carries.

“As a swimmer who is not on scholarship, I do see where [the Dartmouth players] are coming from. We take time out of our day and work hard and receive no compensation,” Howden said.

However, Howden remains positive about the Davidson athletic department.

“Davidson athletics does a tremendous job giving us opportunities to be our best and that’s all I can ask for and I have no complaints,” Howden said.

What was the response of the Dartmouth administration and how may this be applied to Davidson College if a similar situation were to arise? Dartmouth College pushed back against the team’s unionization, claiming that the studentathletes knew they were joining an Ivy League school where athletic scholarships are banned. The school also believes that the basketball player’s opportunity to receive an exceptional education at an elite institution is part of the give and take, and they use this point to discredit the basketball team’s insistence on being considered employees.

Dr. Sean McKeever, a Philosophy professor at Davidson College who has taught a course on the philosophy of sports, disagrees with Dartmouth College’s logic.

“One can be both a student and an employee; one does not rule out the other,” McKeever said. “I would add it is also irrelevant whether the institution in question is (or is perceived to be) elite.” McKeever’s insight applies to Davidson, since it is widely considered to be an elite liberal arts institution.

A broader issue related to collegiate teams unionizing is the so-called “slippery slope” that may be established. Many

Standings Update

collegiate athletes do not receive NIL deals and the policy undeniably serves more mainstream and popular sports such as football, basketball, and baseball. The question when evaluating the possible proliferation of college sports teams unionizing becomes where the line is drawn. For sports that are not profitable–a description that applies to the majority of sports across most schools, including Davidson–administrations are dubious about being burdened with providing resources, accommodations, and salaries for unionized teams that do not supply a positive cash flow to the school.

McKeever reflected on the potential of unionization expanding into sports that are not profitable. According to him, because colleges and universities display behavior that is reflective of an employer-employee relationship, it should not matter whether or not the sport in question is profitable.

“Colleges and universities exercise the kinds of authority and control over athletes that is characteristic of the control exercised by employers over workers in other businesses,” McKeever said. “Notice that this case does not depend upon whether NCAA athletics are actually profitable, either on the whole or for every particular school, nor [does it depend] on whether they would still be profitable if athletes were recognized as workers.”

Women’s Lacrosse

Overall, the future of unionization and of the model the Dartmouth men’s basketball team may have established is unknown. As of yet, no other collegiate sports teams have decided to unionize. Moreover, the prospect remains difficult to achieve given the need for a majority of players on a team to vote yes.

Additionally, in situations where NIL is lucrative, there is unlikely to be enough support in favor of unionization. Dartmouth and its men’s basketball team represent a school and a sport where athletes are minimally benefitting from NIL, so the decision to unionize made sense from their perspective in furthering the athletes’ claim to a fair working environment.

It is also uncertain if the potential for unionization affects Davidson College athletics. Similar to Dartmouth, Davidson is not a national powerhouse in any sport and athletes are not the recipients of major NIL deals. Depending on the sport and the trajectory of the popularity of unionization within college athletics in the coming months and years, Davidson could eventually be affected. One thing is certain, though: the decision to unionize comes with immense friction, criticism and opinions from many directions and will continue to be a talking point for the foreseeable future.

Davidson Women’s Basketball Senior Spotlight Video

The ‘Cats faced off against Dartmouth at Belk Arena early in the 2018-19 season, earning a 79-76 victory. Photo by Jeff Sochko.

Arts and Entertainment

In Aeternum: Amelia Shields’ Abstract Landscapes

ANNELISE HAWGOOD ‘27 (SHE/HER) STAFF WRITER

As our culture relies more and more on spinoffs, readaptations, and generative AI, individual creativity spans few and far between. Luckily for Davidson students, the Visual Arts Center promises abundant artworks displaying artists’ skill and originality. Studio art major Amelia Shields ‘24 exhibited her senior thesis collection, In Aeternum, at the Van Every Smith Galleries from March 20-24. Her collection of abstract oil paintings challenged viewers to truly observe and interpret their detail. I visited Shield’s show multiple times during the collection’s view dates; the works’ layered details and command of earth tones inspired me to return and reinterpret what I had seen. While Georgia Fairbanks ‘27 imagined the sharp transparent shapes as “glass,” her peer, Alexa Verghese ‘27, insisted on the curved jigsaw resembling “flesh.” I could find a million different images in each of Shield’s masterpieces, with a billion different meanings. I believe the artist’s true success was in her ability to capture the attention of any passersby. Cyrus Boothby ‘27, an intended physics major and typically averse to visual art, found Shield’s abstract dimensions “mesmerizing… something you’d see in space.” My peers found joy in the ease of applying the artwork’s visual cues to their own interests. But what is the true meaning behind this unrepeatable collection? I had the honor of interviewing Shields herself to find an answer.

During her interview, Shields returned to her artistic goal of “worldbuilding.” It was easy to match Shield’s artworks with her studio, a creative universe itself. Even if her entire collection hadn’t been stacked against the wall, a plethora of paint swatches enveloped her pallet tables. The same earth tones and organic brushstrokes overtook the scap canvases and works in progress. Just as I felt absorbed into her formal exhibit, Shield’s studio felt like a world of its own. We sat down next to the original blueprint, her matrix: a master copy design for her finished works. Shields explained that this canvas of “superimposed drawings…of almost everything I can think of” forms the basis of the entire collection. From this point of departure, her artworks remain simultaneously cohesive

and distinctive. She projects separate sections of the matrix on different canvases and forms organic compositions. Painting lines and shapes that both follow and deviate her guidelines, Shields starts her creative process.

“I love the process of world building,” Shields said.

It seems that the journey of creating these new environments captures the artist and viewers more than any potential finished product. Shields carefully maintains this “space of transition” in her works; without forcing her viewers what to see, perspectives can vary and develop into unique interpretations.

Shield’s understanding of her own collection shifts and flows like the textures in her “abstract landscapes.”

“I’d love to think of my work as realms and portals,” she said. While viewers enjoy identifying various beings or images in her paintings. the artist is “not trying to depict creatures.”

Inspired by science fiction, Shields tackles the question, “what would a world look like if there were no humans?” Her works exist among the unobserved crevices of our universe, where colors clash and combine without disturbance.

My personal favorite, Chrysallis, features a spectrum of muted reds, blue-grays, and tans. These disintegrating colors layer upon each other in a constructive manner that makes the viewer question the painting’s 2-D form. As thin, semitransparent shades fold and weave within one another, bursts of patterns present themselves spontaneously. Rhythm lies inbetween these conjoined shapes, and growing lines suggest a potential movement or shift in composition. As the title suggests, Chrysallis resembles a product of nature, organic and scientific in its form. Flesh-colored highlights lead the viewer’s eye down and across the painting, straight into a dark abyss of navy blues and grays.

This past week, a “stressful but…very good experience” for Shields, gave the Davidson community an opportunity to witness a glimpse of the world builder’s perspective. I returned to the gallery three times, with the attempt to grasp an unchanging significance. But my interpretations evolved: a decaying universe to an undisturbed nature, to a symbolic shift of thoughts and feelings. Above all, Shield’s artwork gave me the opportunity to ponder, to meditate with my thoughts and observations: something the fast-paced college lifestyle yearns for. It is no surprise that the artist also noticed this phenomenon. Shields contentedly recounted her favorite part of the show, “It was so exciting to see random people get lost in the paintings.” The artist captures this feeling, with the hopes to apply more “fluid and intentional textures” in her next collection. For now, I, along with the visual art community at Davidson, applaud Shields for her masterful command of color, technical skill, and unique approach to her senior thesis show.

Annelise Hawgood ‘27 (She/Her) is from Cincinnati, OH and can be reached for comment at anhawgood@davidson.edu.

Students Celebrate Nowruz, Fundraise for Lebanese School

JUDAH SILVERMAN ‘27 (HE/HIM) STAFF WRITER

Nowruz is a celebration of the Persian New Year. The holiday, which means new day in Persian, which is also a festival of spring, occured on March 19 this year. On March 18, the Davidson community gathered to celebrate the holiday with the Middle East and North African Student’s Association (MENASA). The celebration doubled as a fundraiser for the Nazarene School in Lebanon, a school supporting Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese students. The event was held in conjunction with La Semaine de la Francophone, the week of the Francophone, with the French and Francophone Department sponsoring this event. The interdisciplinary efforts of the Arab Studies, French and Francophone, and Music departments to work with MENASA coalesced in an event featuring multiple Francophone artists’ works, Iranian musicians and singers, and authentic Afghan food.

While MENASA’s Nowruz celebration has always doubled as a fundraiser, former MENASA E-Board member and alum Nahi Nadra ‘23, explained recent additions to the event.

“In spring of 2023, we decided to add a silent art auction to the event and [artist] Etab Hrieb, a [Chicago-based] Syrian artist, graciously donated some of her work to auction.”

Hrieb’s art depicts abstract landscapes of her homeland while grappling with ideas such as beauty, grief, and perseverance. The 2023 Nowruz fundraiser raised about $1,000 to support the Nazarene School in Lebanon. Thanks to the ambition of MENASA and

Arab Studies Department Chair, Dr. Rebecca Joubin, more artists’ works were featured and auctioned at this event. Françoise Hazel, a Charlotte-based Haitian artist, contributed some of her pieces which depict the natural landscapes of Haiti and Guadalupe using recycled materials. Hazel also provided metalwork art from Noailles, a village in Haiti known for its metalwork.

Elie Bou Zeidan, a local Lebanese artist, whose art “renders striking naturalistic paintings, capturing simple moments and sensual revelations in every stroke,” as described in his website, donated two pieces. Zeidan also runs a highly acclaimed art studio in Cornelius, Studio Elie, where he teaches classes, leads workshops, and hosts events.

The Norwuz celebratio also featured a Persian musical group. Shahram Mazhari, singer and drummer, leads the group and is supported by musicians Koroush Markazi, Farideh Basir, and Malahat Hamedfar. The performance featured elegant tar and sitar work, Persian string-based instruments that are commonly considered the father of the guitar, as well as a beat provided by traditional Persian drums, such as a daf.

Throughout the performance, Mazhari repeatedly reminded the crowd to enjoy the music without chatter. Persian music, like Mazhari’s, requires listeners to intensely focus on what they are hearing; it is not meant to be background music. As Mazhari performed, he explained how his music included elements of human rights advocacy, condemning the oppression of ethnic groups throughout the Middle East and the world.

In concluding his performance, Mazhari made statements regarding the political influence young people have and how they should use it to fight human rights abuses,

stating,

“Vote for your conscience, vote for the way your heart believes,” Mazhari said. “When somebody is tortured, everybody is tortured. Human rights are human rights everywhere. We are all one and we are humans.”

The event also featured authentic Afghan food, prepared by caterer Najila Hashemi. Hashemi provided multiple homemade dishes ranging from Manto, Afghan dumplings, to rice pudding, to Kebabs. The interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts of MENASA Co-Presidents Zaynab Abuhakema ‘24 and Elias Henderson ‘24, and Common Ground Chair Jenna Bouhussein ‘26 put on an event that brought students, performers, artists, and local community members from varying backgrounds and cultures together for a noble cause.

“We hope to show that we are here for people all around the world, no matter who they are,” Abuhakema said.

Ultimately, the students, faculty, and community members that made this event possible accomplished their goals, raising over $1,175 to further support students of the Nazarene School in Lebanon.

“Struggles and injustices exist everywhere, and if we can even help just a little bit, we are more than happy to do just that,” Abuhakema said.

Judah Silverman ‘27 (He/Him) is from Tucson, AZ and can be reached for comment at jusilverman@davidson.edu.

Two of Sheild’s pieces, “Cascada” (R) and “Arcanum” (L) on display in the VAC. Photo by Annelise Hagwood.

Mazhari’s group performs during the Nowruz party. Photo by Judah Silverman.

Hrieb’s art was up for bidding during the auction. Photo by Judah Silverman.

Living Davidson

Tell Me Some of Your St. Patrick’s Day

Preferences and

I’ll

Tell You What You Should Have Given to Your Little as a Gift!

Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day, my lovely readers! I know I am over a week late on this, but really, who’s counting? The only thing more important than the awesomeness of last weekend’s holiday, however, was the awesomeness of Big/Little weeks! Whether you were a Big who set up the deliveries, a pledge who had to put on a bowtie to give a basket to some poor unsuspecting Little, or simply an onlooker who enjoyed the public embarrassment taking place, this is definitely the quiz for you.

How did you spend St. Patrick’s Day?

A - Honestly, you barely remembered it was St. Patrick’s Day…

B - Pinching everyone not wearing green!

C - Partying it up! It’s what Saint Patrick would’ve wanted.

D - Dude, it was a Sunday. You were panic-doing-your-work, obviously.

ANSWERS BELOW!

Mostly A’s:

Acapella Delivery: Giving you some free will over which group to hire, but it’s always a good time to see your Little serenaded by one of the talented singers on this campus!

Mostly C’s:

Chambers Lawn Picnic with Friends: A delivery that is way harder to coordinate than you’re expecting, but a very sweet one if you can pull it out!

TPick a shade of green.

A - Lime Green.

B - Emerald Green.

C - Leprechaun Green (Is this an actual thing?).

D - Forest Green.

Did you consume any green drinks from Nummit?

A - A matcha, if that counts!

B - Absolutely, you consumed so much green food coloring in pitchers you’re a bit worried about your health.

C - One or two, but the unnatural color was throwing you off.

D - Not this year (but there’s always St. Patty’s 2025!).

Mostly B’s:

Hire Doug: The man, the myth, the legend himself. Your Little would have never forgotten this encounter.

Mostly D’s:

Something Elaborate: Whether planning a fake wedding between your Little and their marriage pact, sending them on a super complicated scavenger hunt, or having someone recreate an entire movie scene for them, your Little would have gotten a laugh out of this one!

CAMPUS CELEBRITIES - THE SUSTAINABILITY COOPERATIVE BY: BEN PEAKE ‘25 (HE/HIM)

he Sustainability Cooperative had never performed live before this past weekend’s Woodstock event. In fact, the band, composed of lead vocalist and keys player Tom Roff, drummer Liz Austell, bass guitarist Emma Goldfarb, and co-lead guitarists Brady Ding and Tyler Puleo, was just a thought experiment until this semester. While Tom had the idea of a band brewing in his head for a long time, it wasn’t until he was studying abroad in France this past fall that everything started coming together.

When visiting Tom in Paris, Liz asked what he was looking forward to in the spring. It was here that Tom proposed his idea. Liz’s response was instant and full of excitement. “I have always wanted to be in a band, and I play pretty much every instrument you would need in a band.” Liz just had one request: she wanted to play the drums. Tom, in a joking manner, said that he didn’t “have anyone in the band right now. So the drums are yours.”

Back in the States, Tom quickly set about recruiting his guitarists. Tyler, who had been in a band before at Davidson, was an easy sell. Brady was a little more difficult to rope in. “It was winter holiday. I was back home in China, and Tom just texts me at two in the morning my time asking me if I wanted to join a band… I said I could be parttime and help with rehearsals. But when I came, and we did the first few, I really liked it. So I told Tom I’d just be full-time.”

Tom contacted Emma as well, but it wasn’t to join the band at first. Emma plays for another Davidson group, Casual Attire, so Tom had questions about how to go about starting a band on campus. Eventually, the conversation turned to group membership. “Tom was listing everyone off, and I was like, ‘So you don’t have a bass… do you need a bass?’” Tom was all for it, and so, The Sustainability Cooperative was formed. Musical experience in the band ranges. Tyler has been playing the guitar “forever.” On top of the drums, Liz plays saxophone in Davidson’s jazz band and has piano experience. Brady also plays in the jazz band and was in a band in high school. Emma has done it all, from playing bass and guitar to being in both her high school jazz band and guitar ensemble to playing the drums for Casual Attire. She also had a stint in a band called the Ice Cream Socialists, which she considered “really memeable.”

Have you ever found a four-leaf clover?

A - When you were a kid, definitely, but not super recently.

B - No, and it’s a bit of a touchy subject for you actually.

C - I mean, probably?

D - No, and honestly, you weren’t aware that people were searching for them.

Pick a favorite Irish celebrity!

A - Cillian Murphy.

B - Hozier.

C - Saoirse Ronan.

D - Paul Mescal (You are so real for this by the way).

Tom had the least experience. Although he played in a high school orchestral band, he had no experience singing live. “In terms of singing, I’ve never done that before. I just sang in the car. One day, my gap year roommate, who was a really sweet guy, was like: ‘Dude… you can actually sing.’” Tom, emboldened by those words, felt confident enough to sing and pick up piano again in order to do both for the band.

The Sustainability Cooperative defines their music as a combination of “pop-altrock hits.” But in terms of their personality? “Goofy, chaotic, quirky, and silly.” They clearly have chemistry, and those adjectives definitely fit, even though Brady noted the differences between, at the very least, himself and his bandmates. “All of these guys are really outgoing, which intimidated me at first. But after some time, I really fed into their passion, which was really cool.” This personality and passion fed into their setlist for Woodstock, composed of their opener “Talk Too Much,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “This is Gospel,” “Burnin’ Up,” “This Love,” and their closer “Stacy’s Mom.” Before their performance though, the band had to practice and get into playing form.

Emma says that The Sustainability Cooperative first “picked a song. The first one was ‘Stacy’s Mom.’ And I was like, ‘we should all learn this song individually and then come and play it together.’” Liz continued, saying that “we spent a week or two before we got together on ‘Stacy’s Mom.’ And then we spent three weeks on ‘This Love’ and so on.” The strategy proved successful, and the band would play at Linden Court after their individual practice time. They are “really efficient” when playing together. Brady said that there is, of course, some goofing off, but when it’s time to work, they become one unit. In order to perform at Woodstock, The Sustainability Cooperative had to record a demo for WALT. They were picked, and it helped that their “setlist had a different vibe than any other setlist at Woodstock.” After more practice, which consisted of playing two hours a day in the days leading up to the event, including a 7:30 AM Friday morning run-through, it was time to get on stage and let loose.

Liz was quick to reminisce. “It was electric. I loved the crowd, and I felt that our energy was so good. We were all just having a really good time, and it’s something we’ve been working towards and really wanted for a long time.” Tom said that they had a little pregame talk before the show, where he expressed his nerves, but when he “got out there and saw the people supporting me in the crowd… I was having too much fun to get nervous anymore.” The group was quick to thank student Mary Herdlin for her backup vocals, and made it clear they wanted to play songs that people knew. “Stacy’s Mom” was the crowd favorite, but the band thought “Talk Too Much” was their best track. Either way, for every member, Woodstock was “really, really special… It was a blur in the best possible way.” It’s safe to say their debut was a hit, and the band is definitely excited to deliver more in the near future.

The Sustainability Cooperative debuted at Woodstock. Photos from Tom Roff.

Yowl The

Irreverent student journalism since 2004. Castigat Ridendo Mores.

yowl.com/allthreethistime

How

Page You Can’t

March 27, 2024

Advice Amanda: I Became the Yoko Ono of the Davidson Band Scene, Now You Can Too

Connor to Swap Risk Managers for Dress Code Managers at Formal

Page Sex ‘N Stuff

Page Women vs Women

Things You Should Definitely Say to Your Politically Uptight Friends

• Thinking of voting for RFK, everyone likes the Kennedys right?

Republican? Democrat? Who cares, as long as they legalize the za they have my vote

• Not sure what Reagan and Bush did as presidents, but their shirts sure are sweet

• I don’t understand all the hate toward gentrification, I love all these new breweries, CBD oil pop-up stores, and tiny dogs in designer clothing

• Was Trump really THAT bad? His Instagram account is funny as hell

• Bernie Sanders? Isn’t that the fried chicken guy?

• Yeah of course I am pro-life, who would be prodeath?

• I think it was a real unifying moment when we all posted those black squares I don’t identify with a party, I am kinda in the middle

• Wait, today was election day? Oops. Not like voting does anything anyways

• Aaron Rodgers would make a good president, does Joe Biden have 4 MVPs?

• I don’t understand the Lauren Boebert hate, vaping and jacking off your boyfriend at a musical is legendary

• Jet fuel can’t melt steel beams…

AThe [REDACTED] Issue

Self-Proclaimed Straight Man’s Most Played Songs Are Slut Pop and Queercore Pop Page Deeply Closeted

I• I don’t understand the Hunter Biden hate. Spending a million dollars on coke, sports cars, and hookers is going to be every frat boy on campus in five years

• I voted for AOC cause she lowkey a milf

• Not sure about this whole global warming thing, it was pretty cold last week

• What do you mean we can’t just print more money?

• I voted for Mitt Romney cause he lowkey a dilf

• IDK I think I might write-in Kanye again

• Russians must love Putin, he keeps getting reelected. Wish we had a president like that

• If Trump can’t afford his legal fees, he should ask his parents for help, that’s what I did when I got my DUI

• I’m voting against whoever banned pornhub in North Carolina I relate to George Santos, how do you think I got into Davidson?

• That stand-up comedy routine after live Thursday was really funny!

Two Unconnected Lists

s an official paper for Davidson College, we cannot advocate for protests that may disrupt certain parts of the administration or may lead to harm. In unrelated news here are two lists that are in no way connected to each other or are advocating for anything at all.

• Copperhead Snake - $100

• African Bush Viper - $120 Nile monitor lizard - $70

• Spitting Cobra - $500

• Water Moccasin - $60

• Baby Bobcat - $2,5000

T• RLO • Registrar’s Office President’s House

• Commons

• Student Activities Office

• Whoever made WebTree’s House

Commons Hack

he cafeteria is the centerpiece of all college campuses. It is a place to gather, share stories, and reminisce on family meals. Sadly our lovely palace that is Commons does not live up to the expectations with food being either too hard or too soggy and each Commons trip having a mandatory 30-minute bathroom break. To boost morale, Commons has started presenting its ways to beat their own system and make an edible meal out of the food they provide. These fall short, however, as the food is still from Commons. Here are some hacks that will supply you with the nutrients you need to survive. The hack is don’t go to Commons. There are plenty of ways you can exercise your human right to eat. One recommendation for the reader who wants a flare of a classic Mediterranean dish is to stalk around Rich Circle, and when a Dominos driver

WRITERS

inevitably comes by, act like you ordered the pizza and leave. Warning: this will require you to break the honor code. Are you looking for an efficient way to get protein directly into your system for your next lift sesh? Look no further than the water fountains on first libs. With this hack, take one sip out of the fountain and you will get 100% of your daily dose of protein from ants and 200% of your daily dose of electrolytes from the heavy metals in the water. Our third and final hack is a special paleo diet. Gather your friends and retreat to the cross-country trails. Gather sticks and rocks and prowl the underbrush on the hunt for prey. Follow this hack, and you will collect a bountiful harvest of deer, squirrels, and people who wander the woods while drunk. These hacks might be abnormal, but they are a surefire way to obtain something nutritious and edible.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I’ve been doing too much cocaine, I need to reconnect with my Amish roots.

wear long dresses” - Connor Seniors

Campo Reports an LSD and Other Hard Drug Resurgence on Campus

Post-Woodstock

Page alright alright alright

An Explanation of the Terms I Had to Google to Understand My Friends

n our modern era, gone is the day of trends that last for decades, gone are the distinct periods of meme culture, and gone are accessible and relevant slang. With 5G towers and GMO milk slowly rotting away our attention spans, modern vocab has become a choppy and ever changing current. Without a knowledgeable chronically online guide, one will surely sink into the depths of irrelevancy. Fear not dear reader, the yowl has scoured Discord, Twitch, TikTok, and 4chan for relevant slang to lead you on your way to sound like a basement dweller.

• Reas: It’s just short for reasonable. It likely originated from people not wanting to type the whole word out.

• Edging: [REDACTED BY EDITOR]

• Chat: A reference to a group of online people who are not there. Shows early signs of schizophrenia.

• Don’t take any wooden nickels: Don’t do anything stupid. This saying might be from the 1920s and not the 2020s. More research is needed.

• Ate: The subject dominated in or succeeded in something.

• Served: the subject outperformed or achieved in something. The last two were likely created while hungry.

• Acty: Surprisingly not redacted. It means to get active. It is usually used in an attempt to rally people to an underwhelming event.

• Example sentence: “Who wanna get acty at [pcc org. night party]”

• Gooning: [REDACTED BY EDITOR].

• Girl: This is an unknown concept to the users of this list. It is more of an idea or theory than a concrete thing.

• Goober: Just a silly guy. Possible connections to the peanut from SpongeBob fame.

• Raz: To make fun of. Often used by someone who wants to be mean, but hides behind the illusion of being friendly…no, I am not butthurt about something

• Wib: if you know you know

• Example: that really wibs me

Military Draft Happens on Campus

Ladies, gentlemen, and the people associated with Turner House, The U.S. Military has invaded Dougie’s house and demanded that he offer up 200 of our finest Wildcats to serve in the military. Naturally, Doug immediately suggested the two students who challenged him during the last Presidential Ping-Pong Tournament, as that is how he judges strength. The military then proceeded to weed out the weaklings on campus and find those that would make the 200 strongest soldiers. Interviews were then conducted with the students being drafted the day after Frolics. Stay strong, soldiers. We began our interviews with the varsity athletes (AKA the first draft). “Yeah, it’s chill. Surprised they wanted the Nonners though. Like, what could they even do? I mean physically,” said Elias Football, Class of ’25. What could they even do, indeed? For fun, we interviewed the three theater students drafted next. They insisted on being interviewed together, stating, “We have to stick together! Now more than ever,” and then began an over-rehearsed rendition of the High School Musical song “We’re All in This Together.” Upon seeing this, a drill sergeant nearly shot them on sight before being held back. The three Hamilton lovers received a newly established pardon stating, “Anyone whose only knowledge of guns is from

1.

2.

the ‘Ten Duel Commandments’ is exempt from the draft.

The Davidson Generals were up next, as their name caught the eye of the military officers. They also are known to sing about their massive penises, something the military is fond of. Their coordination skills were high, and so the entire group was drafted to join the Navy Band. “I can’t wait to do my rendition of ‘Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepson on the battle field to motivate the other soldiers. I think this is the best way I can serve (*winked*) the country,” one of the Generals told us. We concluded our interviews with the male poli-sci majors, since everyone on our team wanted to put off going into undecorated dorm rooms with conspicuous copies of Mein Kampf. Upon being asked if he was ready to be drafted, Daniel Gates began to whoop and holler like a drunk white boy in a mosh pit. “USA! USA!” chanted a group of Ralph Lauren-wearing men who appeared out of nowhere. The sergeant accompanying us beamed with pride at the seemingly deaf flock of privilege. “We’re gonna be alright,” he whispered as a single tear trailed down his cheek. So, remember Wildcats, if you happen to be drafted, be patriotic, don’t break into song, and we’ll see you on the battlefield.

Note: The Yowl is a satirical supplement to The Davidsonian Hence, nothing in it should be taken as truth.

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