Anew app pioneered by Davidson students hit the App Store this fall: ZIP Campus, a rideshare service exclusive to the College where students can get paid to drive their classmates. ZIP functions similarly to other rideshare apps like Uber or Lyft, but looks to set itself apart through a lack of fees and greater trust and familiarity with drivers.
Cillian Hallinan ’28, Isaiah Dinar ’28 and Daulet Berdikulov ’28 founded the app. Dinar came up with the idea last year after giving a friend a ride and charging him half the price of an Uber.
“It [was] $50 for a maybe 20-minute drive, so I offered to do it for $25—half the price,” Dinar said.
“We realized there’s no reason for this much discrepancy between what people will drive for and what people will order a ride for.”
This focus on affordability combined with an orientation around safety. The founders referenced the story of a friend ordering an Uber back from a bar, only to have the driver cancel the ride last minute.
“We spoke to a friend of ours who ordered an Uber back from a bar, and when the driver arrived, he canceled the ride, but she didn’t see the cancellation and got in the car.
Once she realized that there was no longer a ride, so no one knew where she was, and she was just in the car with this random guy, she understandably freaked out,” Hallinan said. “We felt there has to be a better alternative to Uber or Lyft where students can trust their drivers. The idea of getting into a random car with a random old dude is just not safe.”
Familiarity with student drivers on a campus as small as Davidson assuaged some riders’ concerns over
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complaint baselessly
Professors, students question YAF complaint against Davidson
ABI BRISSETT ’26 (SHE/HER)
National conservative advocacy group Young America’s Foundation (YAF) filed a civil rights complaint against Davidson College on behalf of two alumni, Cynthia Huang ’25 and Hannah Fay ’25. The complaint alleges that Davidson unfairly treated Huang and Fay in such a way that both “bore the discrimination from anti-Israel students and officials along with, or on behalf of, their Jewish classmates.” In a piece published by The Daily Signal, the two demand Davidson be held accountable for alleged Title VI and Title IX violations and call for the College’s federal funding to be revoked.
The complaint rests upon an incident that occurred on Oct. 7, 2024.
Davidson’s Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter, of which Huang was president at the time, hosted a “Stand with Israel” project where pamphlets titled “The Five
‘No Kings’ protest
DAVID ANDERSON MONTES LARA ’28 (HE/HIM)
Community members gathered in Cornelius on Saturday for a No Kings protest organized by the Indivisible Lake Norman chapter. This protest was one of more than 2700 around the country held this past weekend in opposition to the Trump administration and what protesters called “a fascist regime.”
At the center of protest planning was Diane Hals, a Davidson resident who co-founded the area’s Indivisible chapter.
“Indivisible is a national organization, progressive but nonpartisan, that believes peace is the only way for change. We always aim to de-escalate, never escalate. We also are there making sure elected officials are accountable for their promises,”
Hals said. “Once the national organization set the date, it was up to our team to decide where to have it.”
Hals said holding the protest in Cornelius was intentional. “We’ve held rallies in Davidson, Huntersville and Mooresville, but we haven’t been back to Cornelius in a while.”
Indivisible Lake Norman hoped to reach more people to encourage them to join the protest. “There might be residents over here in Cornelius that are feeling [...] let down with what’s happening in the government and might feel emboldened and comfortable joining us.”
Davidson resident Alan Martin said he protested to reassert his faith in American democracy, but what finally pushed him to come were comments about the No Kings movement from national figures.
Myths About Israel Perpetrated by the Pro-Hamas Left” were distributed.
Associate Professor of Political Science Silvana Toska, an expert in Middle East Politics, explained that the pamphlet was misleading. “[The pamphlet contains] randomly selected and poorly contextualized quotes to make a case against both Palestine and Islam more broadly. It is not factually correct, it is discriminatory against Palestinians, and it is Islamophobic,” Toska wrote in an email to The Davidsonian
The pamphlet also inaccurately represents the history of Israeli-Palestinian relations. “I would add that it does no service to Israel—despite its intention—because it selects only quotes that emphasize Israeli leaders’ disdain for Palestinians, rather than the more complex history of interactions between the two peoples,” Toska continued.
In the middle of YAF’s Oct. 7 memorial, Huang and Fay reported that Davidson administrators re-
quired the pamphlets be removed because students felt “unsafe” due to their Islamaphobic content. Soon after, Director of Student Rights & Responsibilities Mak Tompkins notified Huang of a potential Code of Responsibility violation and asked YAF to have a conversation to discuss the incident.
This incident directly led to the civil rights complaint, which was mainly filed on the grounds of antisemitism. While neither Huang nor Fay are Jewish, they allege, according to the complaint, that in representing the Jewish community, they themselves faced ethnic and religious discrimination.
Davidson Jewish Student Union (JSU) Co-Presidents Sylvia Cevallos ’26 and Samuel Franklin ’26 said the YAF memorial and complaint does not accurately speak for Davidson’s Jewish community.
“[YAF is] filing a lawsuit on behalf of Jewish students, but doing so not as representatives or
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New year, same book: Quips & Cranks returns
Quips & Cranks distributed free copies of the 2024-25 yearbook in Union on Friday after returning from a five year hiatus, thanks to the work of Editor-in-Chief Lanie Demarcay ’27 and the Quips & Cranks staff.
When Demarcay was touring Davidson, the mention of a college yearbook excited her. It was an opportunity to envelop herself in a new community. When she arrived and found Quips & Cranks was inactive, she set out to revive it.
“I came to campus, and I realized the club had kind of faded out around Covid,” Demarcay said. “I went, ‘okay, well, this seems like a pretty beloved campus tradition. Let’s work on trying to bring it back.’” Demarcay spent her freshman year trying to justify re-establishing the yearbook. Her advocacy paid off, and plans began to take shape.
“My sophomore year, that was 2024-25, we finally got the green light from Miss Emily Eisenstadt, who has been an incredible support throughout this entire time, and we [received funding from] the ATC,” Demarcay said. “Every student leadership position on campus was very supportive of us coming back, especially when I had nothing to prove that we could actually do this.”
With a group of motivated students, Demarcay began the hard part: making the yearbook.
“All last year, I had a team of around 35-ish students–a little bit more, sometimes– working hard and creating pages, taking photos, writing stories, and we just worked from August all the way up until the end of May, even after school was let out, getting this book finished, collecting stories, telling everything,” Demarcay said.
3 4 5 6 7
Casey Scheiner ’28 sits down with Mayor Rusty Knox.
Cate Goodin ’26 on Tillis’ call to action
Aidan Marks ’27 on Club Sailing
Claire Louise Poston ’28 reviews “Dracula” Anna Morrow ’28 on student marathoners
COLIN DECKER ’27 (HE/HIM)
Protesters comes together for a “No Kings” protest in Cornelius on Saturday. Photo by David Anderson Montes Lara ’28.
Demonstrators hung a Palestinian flag reading “ceasefire now” from the Chambers Building in spring 2024. YAF’s
claimed demonstrators “staged a takeover.” Photo courtesy of @yaf on X.
Student-created
rideshare app prioritizes affordability and safety
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
the risks of getting in a car with a stranger.
“The Honor Code was another safety feature, knowing that everyone driving had signed and followed it was anxiety relieving. It also seemed advantageous for the driver because they got the full sum of money, not just a portion like Uber and Lyft,” Nithali Petsch ‘29 said.
Once the trio of entrepreneurs generated the initial idea for the app, they looked to Davidson’s Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for funding. They received a $1,000 grant from the Hurt Hub’s Try It Fund to build a pilot version. Then, they competed for $5,000 from the Nisbet Venture Fund at the Hurt Hub.
Hallinan, Dinar and Berdikulov
surveyed dozens of Davidson students on their ideal product design, sifted through Uber and Lyft legal filings to understand the rideshare industry and cold emailed attorneys
asking for advice. Finally, they incorporated those findings into a presentation for a collection of alumni business leaders explaining why they should win the funding. The efforts were successful: ZIP won the grant, giving them financial flexibility to develop their app.
“When you’re building something yourself, it’s hard to see how good it is. And so we went into it being like we’re cooked—there’s no way we win this, especially as freshmen. But looking back, I think we did a really good job,” Hallinan said.
The trio spent the summer writing code in conjunction with a student programmer, developing a legally compliant terms of service and securing approval from Apple and Google to have ZIP available for download in their respective mobile stores. As they returned to school, they pivoted to increasing students’ awareness of their emerging app. ZIP focused early efforts on “Wildcat Wednesdays”—where students flock off campus to New Korner Pub
and often find themselves hankering for fast food afterwards—setting up a limited release on Sept. 10 and a full launch on Oct. 8.
“The experience of riding ZIP was great: quick and simple,” Ben Butler ’28 said. “It’s a good alternative to Uber because of the price and the comfort you have with a Davidson student driver.”
While the founders are pleased with the initial rollout, logging 35 unique riders and a 2.3-minute average wait time, they said that their early weeks of operation ran into conflicts with on-campus Wednesday social events such as Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Lawn Party and Warner Hall Eating House’s Crush Party. With fewer on-campus events in upcoming weeks, ZIP staff anticipates setting records.
To meet this demand, the founders recruited drivers like Kathryn Kuznetsov ’28, Julien Ernoul ’28 and Brayden Hawk ’28. Benefits like direct pay without fees, scheduling flexibility and the social atmosphere of driving classmates attracted drivers to work for ZIP.
“I decided to become a driver because I liked the idea of what they were trying to create and it seemed like a pretty simple job to be a driver. Also, it is an excellent chance to just be social and meet new people around campus,” Hawk said. “My driving experience so far has been amazing. It has been an easy process and I haven’t had any technical difficulties on their app yet.”
Hallinan, Dinar and Berdikulov want to bring the app to other campuses, but for now they remain focused on fine-tuning it within Davidson.
“At the end of the day, if I graduate and take on a full-time job in something that’s not ZIP and all I’ve made is a transportation service for students at Davidson that everyone loves, that’s a win,” Hallinan said.
Yearbook returns after five year
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
The yearbook club consists of students who were just as eager as Demarcay, including Maureen Cavanaugh ’27.
“We’re lucky to have people who have experience from doing their high school yearbook or something like that, or are just interested in learning a new kind of skill,” Cavanaugh said.
“We have a lot of people who are really passionate about, you know, contributing to our community that way. So it’s been really great.”
In their effort to capture Davidson’s communal spirit, Quips & Cranks became a lively community itself. “Our planning meetings are really, really fun because everyone’s working on their section or their page, and they come back to the group and they have different ideas or and something exciting that they decided to do with a page, and you get to see the drafts and everything,” Cavanaugh said.
“It’s kind of fun to see this creation come to life over the course of the whole year, because we started with
200 blank pages, and then created something out of that. Working with all the people who helped make that possible [has] been a really rewarding experience.”
With one issue under their belts, Demarcay and the team already have ideas for the next edition.
“We want to cover more events on campus [to] showcase what it’s like to live [at Davidson] on a day to day, not just the big things like Fall Fling, [or] the great Davidson debate, but more of the small things,” Demarcay said.
The club intends to host more events, like a release party and a photo day. “We would like to host a photo day, so students can come onto campus and get their picture taken,” Demarcay said.
“It’s not just for the yearbook. [Students] will get access to these photos. It will also allow us just to have current photos, photos that everyone’s happy with. One of the challenges [in the recent edition] was also getting names correct. [Picture day] will allow [students] to submit and use [their] preferred names.”
Locals rally for democracy
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“What tipped the scale for me was Mike Johnson saying this [No Kings protest] is a hate America movement, and it’s not a hate America movement; it’s a love America movement,” Martin said.
Standing beside him, fellow Davidson resident Sean Copeland said protesting is the least people can do.
“Some people will say, ‘what good does it really do?’” Copeland said.
“My grandfather fought fascists in World War II. The least I can do is get my butt off a couch and come out and hold a sign and be with other people.”
Both men said their participation also came from a shared respect for the rule of law.
“This is about the rule of law, not about Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. This is about the American system,” Copeland said.
Cornelius resident Shannon McKenzie said frustration over national politics motivated her to protest. “I’ve been sending emails and voicemails to our representatives for months,” McKenzie said. “This is the one thing I can do to visually show how I feel […] how we collectively feel.”
Several Davidson students also joined the demonstration. Olivia Car-
absence
The 2024-25 edition of Quips & Cranks became available to students on Oct. 17. During the preceding two days, the club distributed 611 copies, not including the over 100 yearbooks sent to members from the Class of 2025.
The books are free to any and all students. Director of Alvarez College Union and Student Activities Emily Eisenstadt––and the faculty member to whom this edition is dedicated––worked with the Activities Tax Council (ATC) to establish the club’s budget, and helped ensure students would not pay for the yearbook. “The [production] cost for each one is like $60-50 and not necessarily accessible to everybody,” Eisenstadt said. “The idea to make them free was part of [Quips and Cranks’] budget with the ATC,” Eisenstadt continued. “Pre-pandemic, when the yearbook was up and running, they were also free. At the time, [students] would get a yearbook from [their] first year at Davidson, [and their] last year at Davidson. But in this iteration of Quips & Cranks, anybody that wants one should be able to take one.”
ter ’29 said this was her second No Kings protest. “I’m fed up with people being exploited and with friends and family back home being taken away by ICE,” Carter said. “Our country needs to come together, and this is the best way to do it.”
Dylan Swick ’28, community outreach manager for the College Democrats, helped coordinate student logistics.
“I first got involved through the Mecklenburg Democrats,” Swick said. “They’ve been incredible about keeping us [Davidson Democrats] in the loop and helping students get involved. We held a sign-making event and went over safety: staying with your group, bringing water, [...] We sent out an email with all the same reminders to make sure everyone knew what to expect.”
Some students think that campus groups could still expand participation. “The Davidson Democrats encouraged a lot of people to be here today, but I think on campus, we can still do more to be involved and spread awareness,” Carter said. For many attendees like Martin the sentiment was the same. “The worst thing that you can do in this situation is nothing.”
For Demarcay, the yearbooks are not just keepsakes, but also pieces of college history. “The yearbook isn’t just something for students to cherish,” Demarcay said. “It’s useful not only for our students. It’s useful for the archives. It’s useful for admissions. We are creating something that is going to outlast us. It’ll stay with Davidson. You look back on the old, old, old books from the 1930s and all those students have long since moved on from Davidson […] our team is contributing to that.”
Quips & Cranks’ 2025 yearbook is the newest addition to Union’s shelf of previous volumes. Free copies are availale to students. Photo by Aidan Marks ’27.
Founders stand together with Nisbet venture grant. Left to right: Daulet Berdikulov ’28, Isaiah Dinar ’28 and Cillian Hallinan ’28 Photo courtesy of @thehurthubdavidson on Instagram.
Protesters stand with signs denouncing authoritarianism as drivers pass by honking. Photo by David Anderson Montes Lara ’28.
YAF alleges alumni faced civil rights violation while at Davidson
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
members of the Davidson Jewish community, and without the ability to properly understand what that entails,” Franklin said.
Cevallos echoed Franklin’s sentiment. “The Jewish experience is such a unique experience, and deciding that you can speak for experiences you’ve never had is really not appropriate and not fair to the Jewish voices on campus,” Cevallos said.
JSU declined to co-sponsor YAF’s Oct. 7 memorial, instead focusing on their own event. Cevallos and Franklin denied the complaint’s accusation that Davidson administrators perpetrate antisemitism. “President Hicks has been so supportive of JSU. He’s always attending the Seder and we’ve had Shabbat at his house. He does his best to extend his support directly to JSU,” Cevallos said.
Huang and Fay cited other incidents that played a part in their anger
Features Politics
toward Davidson—many of which were portrayed inaccurately. For example, the two argue that “when leftist groups wanted to bring California Gov. Gavin Newsom to campus, they had no problem getting a swift response.”
That account is inaccurate, according to Davidson Democrats Co-President Julia Fitzgerald ’26.
“Governor Gavin Newsom could have spoken on campus in his capacity as Governor of California, but he would not have been permitted to discuss or endorse his role in the 2024 Harris-Walz Presidential Campaign. To comply with [College] regulations and allow him to speak about the campaign, the Davidson College Democrats moved the event off campus. As a result, Governor Newsom’s visit was not sponsored by Davidson College,” Fitzgerald wrote in an email to The Davidsonian
However, YAF’s events are hosted in College spaces which means they are subject to approval by the
Student Activities Office. YAF has misconstrued facts for political gain before.
Burt Folsom is Distinguished Fellow at Hillsdale College and YAF’s longest-serving speaker. He was slated to speak at Davidson in 2018 but technical difficulties delayed his speech. Despite the interlude, Folsom eventually spoke to gathered students. However, YAF’s Chief Communications Officer, Spencer Brown, appeared on Fox News a few hours later claiming the event never took place and accused Davidson of censoring conservative speech.
Joe DeMartin ’21 was on Davidson YAF’s board at the time. “[Brown] never actually discussed anything that he was going to say with the Davidson chapter. The truth didn’t matter; what mattered was pushing this preferred narrative that this national organization had, that its students were under immense threat of censorship,” DeMartin said. Nationally, YAF is assisting Huang and Fay with their suit. Brown re-
leased a statement on Oct. 16 detailing YAF’s involvement. He also published a PDF file of the complaint.
The Davidson chapter has had no direct involvement with the complaint, according to YAF President Caroline Wilutis ’26. “On a personal level, I definitely support what they’re doing. But speaking for YAF, as a part of Davidson, we aren’t really related to it. So far this year YAF has had no problems with the school.”
Discourse on campus surrounding the lawsuit has been speculatory and College administrators have offered limited communication regarding the suit. The President’s Office refused to comment. Director of Media Relations Jay Pfeifer was dismissive of the complaint.
“The complaint by the two former students is without merit. While students, they and the referenced organization received the same treatment as other student organizations, including those that took the opposing
view on the Gaza conflict. Davidson takes seriously its obligation to create a non-discriminatory campus environment and we comply with federal civil rights laws, including Title VI and Title IX,” Pfeifer wrote in an email to The Davidsonian Pfeifer forwarded a link to Communication Studies Professor and The Davidsonian advisor Issac Bailey’s article entitled “I Know Speech is Protected at Davidson College. I See it all the Time” for additional context. Bailey, a staunch free speech advocate, said the case lacks merit.
“The YAF pamphlet and retweet did not constitute harassment. But the College had an obligation to look into student complaints about those things. And the College does not single out and try to silence conservatives. That was a tense time, and students with a variety of ideological views were being challenged, not just those involved with YAF,” Bailey said.
Local politics in Davidson: A Q&A with Mayor Rusty Knox
CASEY SCHEINER ’28 (HE/HIM)
Rusty Knox is a real estate agent, musician and Davidson native since childhood. He has also been Mayor of Davidson since 2017. Since his initial run for Mayor over then-incumbent John Woods, Knox has run unopposed in every mayoral election. Now, as he prepares to win a fifth consecutive term this November, Knox sat down with The Davidsonian’s Casey Scheiner ’28 to share more about his political origin story, relationship with the college and advice for students. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Casey Scheiner: How did you get into local politics?
Rusty Knox: My dad was the mayor here from 1984 to 1997. I had an uncle that was the mayor Charlotte for two terms, and ran for governor back in 1984. My Uncle Joe was the mayor of Morrisville for 30 years.
So my family has always been involved in politics, but more so on a community service level.
In 2015 the town had this project called the Downtown Catalyst Project. It would tear down the old town hall. It would put three buildings there. It would add apartments and a boutique hotel to Jackson Street. And it would have ruined that postcard that is Main Street. It would have ruined it forever.
So I started going to the town board meetings and asking questions, and I started a Facebook group called Paradise Lost. It was on my first CD that I recorded, there was a song called Paradise Lost, and it was about the demise of Davidson. So I started this Facebook group called Paradise Lost to engage the public and say, come to town hall and ask questions. I didn’t beat the Catalyst. The public beat the Catalyst, because eventually the town killed it.
So I ran against John Woods, who was the sitting mayor at the time— he’d been mayor for 10 years—and Lori Vinson, who was a former Mayor Pro Tempore. I got 57% of the vote, and I killed it. And I’ve run unopposed the next four times. So this is the fifth time I’m running
and I’m running unopposed again. But I’m not sure if I was prepared for what this entailed when I got into it, but I realized very quickly that if I was going to do it, it needed to be done full time.
CS: Why should Davidson students care about local politics?
RK: This is your home for four years, and a lot of projects that we work on holistically will not be achieved in four years, but there’s a lot of touch points that do get achieved in your time here and your tenure here. So for you to be a part of that, I urge students to, say, reach out and say, I’d love to be on the sustainability committee, or I’d love to be on the livability or parks and record, and we find a way to make a slot for a student that wants to do that.
To understand the Davidson student is to understand that you’re largely service oriented. You know, you care about where you live, you care about where you go to school, enough to take the time out to find out about the issues, to take the time out to register to vote. For me to stand out here on election day and see 100 to 120 students that come vote in an off year election means so much because you’ve taken the initiative to change your voter registration when you got here as an 18 year old and say, I’m now voting in Davidson. I’m now voting in Mecklenburg County because this is my home.
CS: How has the relationship between the Town of Davidson and the College evolved over time? What do you want it to look like going forward?
RK: I cherish the relationship. I’m a gym rat. I grew up playing basketball in the old Johnson gym, where the student union is. I mean, I learned to play tennis and handball and took my swimming lessons as a child at the College. My mom was a secretary for the Dean of Students growing up. Our relationship with
the College is as strong as it’s ever been. I love Doug Hicks. Y’all are so fortunate to have Doug Hicks. When I heard his remarks before he came here and actually took the helm, I realized I was gonna get along with him because we have a lot of the same directives, with equality and affordability and attainability and immersion in the community that you’re in. Doug has just jumped in with both feet and both hands [and] has dramatically changed the atmosphere at the College—for you guys, for faculty and staff, and for the town. I mean, he is known throughout town already. We talk continually about collaborative stuff that we do together. We’re looking at the potential of a future affordable housing project together with town and land and
College and land both folded together. We’re looking at other potential stuff: some workforce, campus stuff. They’re just so many initiatives. This is a relationship that I don’t take lightly and that I don’t take for granted. And I think we together know that we can build a stronger community.
CS: What advice would you give to students looking at careers in public service?
RK: Find what your niche is. Find what’s your wheelhouse. For example, I came here with my largest two driving points as mental well being and affordable and attainable housing. If you’re looking at the future, if you want to be involved, whether it’s here or in your hometown, by getting involved, you can make a difference.
Mayor Rusty Knox signing legal documents. Photo courtesy of @Rustyknox on Instagram.
Mayor Rusty Knox standing next to former NC Governor Roy Cooper. Photo courtesy of @Rustyknox on Instagram.
Perspectives
YAF does not speak for Davidson’s Jewish community
We are the Co-Presidents of the Davidson Jewish Student Union (JSU), writing in light of recent events to offer our perspective on Jewish life at Davidson and the vital role played by the JSU. We are both seniors, and as we traverse our final year, it is impossible to understate the role of the JSU in shaping our time at Davidson. The Jewish population at Davidson is small – roughly five percent of the student body – but despite our size, JSU has fostered a warm, tightly knit, and lively community. Our organization hosts biweekly Shabbat dinners, cultural events such as last week’s Bagel Brunch, and works to maintain ties with the town of Davidson’s broader Jewish community. We are very proud of the state of Jewish life at Davidson, and we are committed to making sure future generations of Jewish students have the opportunities we had. Being Jewish on a college campus is complicated, and the diversity of the Jewish experience makes the JSU’s role quite complex. Our members come from Jewish communities of all sorts, and arriving here can be a culture shock. For many members of the JSU, the
first few weeks at Davidson come with the responsibility of being someone’s first Jewish friend or acquaintance. JSU provides a place for Jewish Davidsonians to meet, mingle and bond over a shared culture, faith, and sense of humor.
As the old joke goes, two Jews and three opinions. Argument and debate are central to the Jewish tradition, and have been for thousands of years. Jews are taught from an early age to question and argue with parents, rabbis, and even G-d. A love of reasoned debate is embedded in every Jewish community, and these are values we carry forward in our response to the on-campus conversation over the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The past few years have been a turbulent period for Jewish organizations on college campuses throughout the country. Many have faced a rising tide of antisemitism as well as polarizing internal debates. We consider ourselves very fortunate. While other college campuses have experienced violence, here at Davidson we have mostly avoided hostility. We believe that students have made their voices heard and contributed to a campus culture that similarly values respectful dialogue and ideological diversity.
Concerning the recent lawsuit by Young
America’s Foundation – filed with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, calling out Davidson College for violating Title VI, Title IX, and administrative directives from President Donald Trump – we reiterate that they do not and cannot speak on behalf of the Davidson Jewish community. Neither do we. JSU’s membership is politically diverse and we are an explicitly apolitical organization. We do not engage in political activity or advocacy and we strive to remain neutral on controversial, hot-button issues. We are also not lawyers, and are incapable of making any assessment as to the legal merits of the complaint.
Nevertheless, we are troubled by the recent lawsuit for several reasons. For one, we strongly dispute the plaintiff’s assertions that antisemitism is “rampant” at Davidson. We believe that, while there have been minor incidents of antisemitism on campus, they have been sporadic and not the result of any action or inaction by the administration. We find the plaintiff’s claim that they personally “bore discrimination…on behalf of their Jewish classmates,” despite not being Jewish themselves, to be questionable. This lawsuit revolves around last year’s
‘Have More Babies’: The conversation I did not envision having on ‘Public Good’
gloss over. Yet I feel as though the very core of it must be addressed.
In 2025, does a grimace and an eye roll prove a sufficient response when an elected official tells a group of students to start having babies? There are myriad conversations to have after the Institute for Public Good’s Oct. 13 moderated discussion, titled “Public Good in a Divisive Time.” But, sitting with a group of my senior friends, just three rows away from Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), I found the discussion ended–or at least all that I processed stopped– after Tillis’ call to the crowd in an answer to a question on “public good.”
For the final question, an audience member asked about the scope of public good, and whether it is our community, the United States, or the global world. Wrapping up all the earlier messaging on what the public can do to improve the nation’s political landscape, Tillis implored everyone “to go out there […] to engage,” and then, to my bewilderment, “and, have more babies, guys, thank you.” Met with audience laughs, Tillis’ closing line is easy to
Tillis’ remark was the final word of the conversation, so no audience members could respond. But, I was disappointed not to see any type of redirection or at least an attempt at sheepish clarification from the people on the stage. The prompt called to mind Harrison Butker’s college commencement speech from 2024, where the Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker reduced half of the audience’s purpose in life to having children: “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world. But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
Though not as brash, Tillis’s comment mirrored a statement seemingly becoming acceptable in places of education.
Placed at the conclusion of the talk, this call to the students lingers, and perhaps overshadows Tillis’ other stated manners in which students can serve the “public good,” while simultaneously carving out who from the public should be contributing where. Set within the current discourse on reproduction in a post-
Crime Log
Time Reported Description/Location
10/20/25, 18:05 hrs
10/20/25, 15:18 hrs
10/15/25, 15:00 hrs
Traffic Offenses: Expired Registration Plate; Expired Inspection Baker Drive, Closed/Cleared by Arrest Larceny Offenses: Misdemeanor Larceny Tomlinson, Further Investigation
Larceny Offenses: Misdemeanor Larceny Little, Further Investigation
landscape, such a short line from Tillis carries considerable consequence. On an international level, we see rhetoric of women’s education as a threat to birth rates intertwining with immigration policies. The preceding statement to Tillis’ invitation, linked to his views on immigration, sets up a correlation awfully similar to the pronatalism of Viktor Orbán in Hungary.
Some may feel I’m grasping onto a throwaway line, but it is the very nature of casualness that strikes me. It’s suddenly acceptable and unchallenged to say such a thing; the only discussions that emerge from it are among my friends and me, wide-eyed on the amphitheater steps of Union, trying to process absurdity in a mask of normalcy.
As Tillis shared his countdown for days left in office, I wonder: will he spend the rest of his days as a senator advocating for safeguards against maternal mortality–rates that disproportionately affect Black women in the state of North Carolina? Will he protect the operation of rural hospitals? Will he tighten gun control to protect those babies from being killed once they go to preschool?
With the same logic of public good in ex-
October 7th Memorial, which marked the first anniversary of the single greatest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. JSU was initially approached by the Davidson Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter and asked to co-sponsor their event. We declined in favor of focusing on our own memorial. While our event highlighted the personal stories and lives lost during the October 7th massacre, we feel that YAF used their memorial to advance a partisan agenda, choosing to attack their political opponents during what should have been a solemn reckoning with the tremendous human cost of the conflict.
This week brought some good news in the form of a ceasefire in Gaza and the promise of a path to peace in the Middle East. We are praying for an end to the cycle of violence in Israel and Gaza, and for the memory of all those lost during the conflict. The first word we learned in Hebrew school was שָׁלוֹם – shalom. It is a word that has many meanings, but the most underused is the simplest: peace.
change for personal security that Tillis employed, I would like to invert that dynamic. What do you position as the family’s gain for this proposed public good? Where is the advocacy beyond birth? And if the logic does not hold for public good there– a throwaway line isn’t just that. It’s a discrepancy when one can’t uphold this reasoning across all people or relationships to the “public.”
It feels crazy that I need to write an article that has already been written before in many forms from 50 years prior. It feels crazy that this article is so glaringly second-wave given all of the nuance and intersections of other topics covered during the talk. But if Tillis is willing to employ such a blatantly retrograde call, I might as well meet the moment with a glaringly obvious response.
Cate Goodin is an English and Art History double major from McLean, VA. She can be reached for comment at cagoodin@davidson. edu.
Dobbs
CATE GOODIN ’26 (SHE/HER)
SAMUEL FRANKLIN ’26 (HE/HIM) SYLVIA CEVALLOS ’26 (SHE/HER)
SPORTS
Club Sailing returns to the water looking to grow
AIDAN MARKS ’27
W(HE/HIM)
hen Club Sailing Co-President Zijin (Jim) Wang ’27 texted the club’s GroupMe “STRONG WIND TODAY! Make sure to wear enough layers!” ahead of Sunday’s practice, the small crew stuffed into Wang’s SUV on the way to Lake Campus knew they might get wet.
What the members sailing for only their second time might not have expected was getting soaked by water spraying over the bow as Wang guided the 420-model sailing dinghy through choppy water and strong gusts on Lake Norman.
But to Wang, who learned to sail nine years ago in China, windy days and rough water are the best parts of sailing—and great ways to hook new members.
“Taking people out to rough water to start is a great way to get their interest,” Wang said. “When I first fell in love with this sport, it was because I was sailing over strong wind conditions. [...] When people can handle the boat [and sail] against the strength of nature [...] they will feel more connected to the sport.”
This fall is Wang’s second year as Co-President of the student-run club. When he came to Davidson as a freshman in fall 2023, the sailing club was largely inactive. Its Instagram page had been dormant since Oct. 2021. Busy schedules, overlapping commitments and low membership meant the club’s leadership at the time was unable to hold regular practices.
Wang eventually got on the water alongside Co-President Nicholas Skarbek-Borowski ’27 who is abroad this semester. “Throughout the whole year, there was only one practice, and that practice happened because I was emailing the club president so much that she eventually agreed to host a practice,” Wang said.
After contacting the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s (SAISA) conference organizer, Wang and Skarbek teamed up to compete at the 2024 Carolina Trophy Regatta in March—the club’s first competition since fall 2019.
“I was very competitive back in China, and I wanted to continue that here,” Wang said.
The regatta’s sponsor, the Lake Norman Yacht Club, sits Southwest of Davidson’s Lake Campus. On a windy day, students can see the white sails of the Yacht Club’s boats across the lake. Despite the regatta’s proximity, Davidson only fielded one boat.
“The regatta organizer was very surprised, like ‘you have Lake Campus across the lake [from] where we are racing, and you couldn’t get enough people to come,’” Wang said.
“I was just feeling ashamed by that, and that’s how I decided to expand the club.”
Wang and Skarbek took the reins last year. They prioritized competing at regattas, which Wang admitted came at the expense of the club’s growth.
“Because we’re focusing so much on regattas and only Nick and I [are skippers], every time we travel to regattas and back, we just don’t have the time to host another practice during the weekend,” Wang said.
Previously, Wang dragged friends along to weekend regattas across the 33-member SAISA conference that stretches from Florida to North Carolina. Past destinations include Clemson, Raleigh, Atlanta and even Jacksonville, a six hour drive away.
Changtai (Terry) Li ’27, who had never sailed before but now helps
Wang lead practices, joined the club when they needed one more person for a regatta in Charleston last fall.
“[Jim] reached out to me and I wasn’t that busy,” Li said.
This year, Wang’s priorities are different. He is taking more time to instruct new members on the fundamentals of sailing instead of jumping straight into competitions.
On Sunday, Wang began practice with a brief whiteboard session discussing terminology, concepts and knots. However, Wang firmly believes in learning by doing.
For the rest of Sunday’s practice, Wang and Li each took a crew of two sailors on the water. Li guided his boat around a bay more sheltered from the wind, letting people practice being the “skipper,” or captain, who steers the boat and controls the main
Davidson Field Hockey enters final stretch with most wins since 2015
ANNA MORROW ’28 (SHE/HER)
Davidson field hockey holds a strong position with four games left in regular season play. On Oct. 17, the ‘Cats (8-6) bested The University of California, Davis 1-0 to meet the eight win mark for the first time since 2015. Sib Naaktgeboren ’26, from Zwijndrecht, Netherlands, leads the team in scoring but credits overall success to team culture. “We really are a bunch of best friends just playing field hockey together,” Naaktgeboren said. “From the goalie to the frontline, we are playing like a connected unit and working for each other.”
Naaktgeboren now tops the Atlantic 10 (A-10) in goals on the season and is tied for fourth in Division I field hockey in points per game with her 15th goal on the season off a penalty corner against UC Davis.
As a whole, Davidson has scored 39 goals in 14 games, placing the team at the top of the A-10 and 14th in the nation for goals-per-game. Naaktgeboren attributes their offensive fire-
power to a great team bond. “Because of our connection, we have been able to play more offensively [...] These goals are the result of good defensive efforts and being able to work the ball up the field, where the team is setting me up to score some goals as well,”
Naaktgeboren said.
Head Coach Zoe Almquist said this season has been the program’s most successful since she joined in 2019.
“I’ve been saying this for a few years, ‘we’re getting better, we’re getting better. We might not see it in the results, but I promise we are getting there,’” Almquist said.
“As a coach, it feels like steps, but in terms of specific results, all of a sudden, you start to see results and for a person on the outside looking in, results may appear quickly, but it’s a product of the work that we’ve been putting in over many years.”
The team’s successes extend past their wins, putting up strong performances against top-ranked teams. Davidson played Wake Forest on Sept. 5 into double overtime, losing 2-1 to a team that is now ranked 7th in the nation. Lourdes Wolf ’29 started in
the game against Wake Forest. Wolf is a first-year forward from Hamburg, Germany who has had a great impact on the program thus far with 10 points in her first season. She commented on the double overtime loss to Wake. “Getting into double overtime with one of the best teams in the country is good, and it’s something that we should be proud of, but also we also need to work on execution,”
Almquist identified penalty corner execution percentage as an area for improvement. “[Corners are] about the details, getting the rhythm right and getting the reps in. We are continuing to work on trying to get enough reps in practice, enough consistency in practice, in terms of execution,” Almquist said. “Anything that goes wrong disrupts that rhythm and gives us a lower chance of execution. And so it’s definitely an area where I want to be better.”
Davidson’s corner execution percentage consistently remains around 10%. “Top teams in the country and internationally are striving for a 25% corner scoring percentage. That’s a marker that we’re looking to
sail. Wang took his boat into rougher water to practice “tacking,” changing directions while facing upwind, and “hiking out,” leaning over the side of the hull to counter-balance the boat and prevent it from tipping over.
For now, the goal is to pique people’s interest and provide an opportunity to practice basic techniques.
“We haven’t stepped into the phase where we really need to learn the competing skills. So far, we’re just letting everybody get the experience,” Li said.
Newcomers are often surprised to hear Wang and Li coordinating logistics or calling out to each other across the lake in Chinese. Li is one of multiple Chinese students in the club recruited by Wang. Thanks to him, sailing has become a popular way for Chinese underclassmen at Davidson to meet and socialize.
“I think there’s a lot more [Chinese students] sailing because many of my close friends are Chinese,” Wang said. “They’re very supportive of my passion and what I’m doing. So whenever I need help, they’re like, ‘oh, maybe I can help.’ And then I’ll just say, like, ‘okay, come along’ and just train them for a bit, and we just go to the regatta.”
Wang said about 15% of the 50-member club are Chinese. That makes Davidson’s club unique. About 82% of collegiate sailors are white, according to a recent survey by the Intercollegiate Sailing Association. Wang said finding Chinese sailors at regattas is uncommon. “I think our identity adds diversity to this sport.”
Although Wang is anxious to compete this fall, he keeps himself grounded by looking to the future. “I calm myself down and say, ‘you have to grow the club,’” Wang said. “I envision that after they learn all the skills, we can have more sustainable practices, and [...] eventually become a bigger club and get more funding and [be] more competitive.”
achieve,” Almquist said. Almquist believes in the team’s ability to execute through the remainder of the regular season. “I said to the team ‘this is a championship caliber team’ in the winter, and they looked at me like I was crazy, but then you say it enough and they start to believe it, and I’ve believed it the whole way. I think the Wake Forest game was heartbreaking, but it also caused us to think, ‘if we can do that, we can do it against anybody.’“ Davidson travels to Philadelphia this weekend where they face St Jo-
seph’s University on Oct. 24 looking to bounce back after a home loss to Stanford University on Oct. 19. They are tied with St. Joe’s for third place in the A-10, both with a 50% win percentage. A win on Friday would put the team at nine overall wins for the first time since 2012. Davidson hopes to continue their success heading into the A-10 Conference tournament at the University of Richmond on Nov. 6-8. The top four teams have the opportunity to win the conference championship which would be a first in Davidson program history.
Davidson Field Hockey are third place in the A-10. Photo courtesy of @dcfh wildcats on Instagram.
Kyle Hoffman ’27 (left) and Zijin Wang ’27 (right) during Club Sailing’s first regatta of the year at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington this Saturday. Photo courtesy of Zijin Wang ’27.
Arts & Entertainment
‘A Tribute to Big Mama Thornton’ comes to Davidson
WYATT GESSNER ’28 (HE/HIM)
For one night, Pamela Sneed transformed. The acclaimed New York City-based poet performed “A Tribute to Big Mama Thornton” last Friday in Tyler-Tallman Hall. The show, written and performed by Sneed with support from a backing band, is a blend of prose, blues music and video.
The show is centered around Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, an influential but often forgotten early pioneer of rock and roll. “Now there are two books [on Thornton], but when I started years ago, there was one, so she’s really been under researched,” Sneed said.
Without much information available about Thornton, Sneed was unsure if she would even be able to properly emulate the artist who has been dead for forty years.
“When I read this book [“Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters”] that just came out on Big Mama Thornton, by this Black queer woman [Lynnée Denise], I thought it was interesting that a lot of the points that I picked up [as] really seminal to describe her life are the same that she focuses on. So in a way, that was really affirmative.”
In many ways, Sneed is the ideal candidate to spend most of the show in character as Thornton due to their shared identities as Black queer women. Queerness was an aspect Sneed
was determined to highlight as a particularly undercovered part of Thornton’s story.
From the beginning of the show, Sneed pulls no punches in fighting for Thornton’s recognition not just as an equal amongst her white contemporaries, but also for directly contributing to their success.
In one of the performance’s best moments, Sneed delivered a visceral rendition of “Hound Dog,” the song first recorded by Thornton but later used to launch the career of Elvis Presley; her brassy, scathing tune was directed as much at the cheating man featured in the song as Presley.
“Ball N’ Chain,” another song of Sneed’s adopted by a white artist (in this case Janis Joplin), receives similar treatment.
Beyond seeking recognition for her songs, Sneed sought justice for Thornton simply by telling her story. Born in Alabama to a minister and a singer, Thornton—like blues itself— rose from the Baptist church. After losing both her parents at a young age, she taught herself to sing and ran away; she was eventually taken in by another blues singer, Diamond Teeth Mary. It was a tale that struck home with Sneed. “It’s like a guilty pleasure,” she said. “I listened to gospel, my roots, and then Big Mama Thornton came up, and I was watching the way that she moved and stuff, and I was like ‘oh I get that, I get that, I want to play her.’”
Towards the end of the show, Sneed drops character as Thornton to discuss her own story’s uncanny similarities to Thornton’s. Moving away from home at a young age to pursue art also gave both the space to discover their sexuality.
It is through these parallels, in combination with her detailed research, that Sneed is able to do what only few can––offer herself as a conduit through which the struggles Thornton faced are shown to still exist today.
In building this bridge, Sneed is able
to cast light on contemporary issues.
“Even as a woman of color and even as a queer person, I’ve been conditioned to look at history a particular way, and so for me it’s an uncovering too, so for everybody it’s like trying to change that sort of direction,” Sneed said.
Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Fernanda Villarroel Lamoza encountered Sneed’s work last year and decided to bring her to campus.
“Sneed underlines the need to shed light on the lived experience of a Black
Queer woman who has made her own life possible, while underscoring how the work of artist[s] is often informed by in-depth and meticulous research,” Lamoza wrote in an email to The Davidsonian
Fortunately, with increased cultural interest in blues, Sneed thinks more recognition is coming.
“So now you’re gonna see in the next couple years a lot of attention paid to the blues singers,” Sneed said. “I think it’s gonna come, and I think it’s gonna come big.”
‘Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really’ reimagines the monster
CLAIRE LOUISE POSTON ’28 (SHE/HER)
Barber Theatre became a site of gothic horror and female retaliation this past weekend with “Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really,” a play written by Kate Hamill that reimagines Bram Stoker’s classic novel through a feminist lens. In this production, directed by Associate Professor of Theatre Mark Sutch, the women of “Dracula” are fierce, witty and refuse to be silenced.
The Davidson production transforms the classic Victorian myth into something transgressive and culturally relevant. A female Van Hesling replaces the traditionally male character and leads the fight against Dracula, sub-
verting the original story’s patriarchal foundation. Through gory blood effects, close combat and dark comedy, the play asks what it means for women to become formidable in search of justice.
In this adaptation of “Dracula,” English businessman Jonathan Hacker’s trip to Transylvania draws him into the Count’s plan for domination, sparking a sense of horror that follows him back to England. There, his wife Mina cares for her friend Lucy who is possessed by Dracula, while Lucy’s husband Dr. Seward observes Renfield, a bug eating “mad woman” since she was first targeted by Dracula.
When the fierce Van Helsing arrives, she recognizes that to save them all, Dracula must be destroyed. The rest
of the play follows Lucy, Mina and Van Hesling as they unite to confront the manipulative and violent vampire. In Stoker’s classic tale, male characters “save” women from corruption and death, while female characters are mere victims or symbols of sin derived from the Victorian imagination. Hamill’s play subverts this dynamic entirely. Women seek revenge rather than waiting to be rescued, and become the messengers of the play’s main themes. The defeat of Dracula is possible only through the determination and wisdom of its female protagonists.
The cast began their intense rehearsal practice in September with help from fight scene and intimacy coordinators, who guided them through the production’s demanding physical and emotional scenes. The show is gritty and visceral, featuring moments of vampiric neckbiting, seductive female monsters and frequent physiological unraveling. A nine-person cast performing on an intimate stage setup required deep trust amongst actors to come to fruition.
Julia Holt ’28 played three characters: Dracula’s wife Druscilla, a miller and a merchant. Working with an intimacy coordinator was a new experience for Holt. “[Scenes with them] were definitely kind of awkward at first, just weird and out of my comfort zone. But after doing it multiple times you get really used to it, and the cast was always just having fun and laughing throughout the whole process,” Holt said.
While the play is extremely physical, it also focuses on speech as a source of power and control. Initially, male characters do not believe women about their violent and, violating en-
counters with Dracula, a dynamic that echoes contemporary conversations about the ongoing tendency to doubt women who speak out about sexual assault and other forms of gendered violence. As the women resist Dracula’s control, the play becomes a fight not just against Dracula, but against the patriarchal power structures that silence his victims.
Scenic designer Dolph Orthwein ’26 brought the world of “Dracula” to life with a creepy set that felt both decayed and alive. Dracula’s castle is at once corroding and seeping with dynamic special effects like unexpected blood and startlingly immersive lighting.
Designed with the Barber Theater’s small space in mind, the production uses a single, versatile set that transforms smoothly from scene to scene.
“I definitely started with a more castle-like aesthetic, and then moved into this more concrete, dirty, broken away facade, and really tried to represent the underlying darkness of the story. I really wanted to feel the grime and the grunge of the place was infecting the people who were living in it,” Orthwein said.
Orthwein’s creative vision was incredibly effective. The fog seeping from under the stage and flickering lights contribute to the increasingly eerie and hysterical mood in the space.
Seated so close to the stage, the audience sometimes found themselves implicated in the unfolding madness.
As the audience is caught in the midst of fake blood spurts, and characters emerge from between the bleachers and even sit amongst them, viewers are drawn into the same feverish anger that propels the plot.
The production successfully balances dark comedy and serious themes.
Much of the humor of Dracula’s character is derived from his resemblance to real people, despite his obvious fantastical nature.
“[Kate Hamill] humanizes Dracula by making him so much like people we may have met in our life—kind of charming, but at the same time, creepy and predatory. So a lot of the humor comes from ridiculing aspects of his character,” Sutch said.
“We’re kind of moving back cyclically—not entirely, but somewhat— to an era where women didn’t have quite the number of options they once did,” Sutch continued. “Some of those same questions about people’s stations and opportunities seem to be up in the air again. So even though the play is set 140 or 150 years ago, the way the playwright frames those issues feels scarily relevant right now.”
The horror of the production is derived not simply from its creepy setting and bloody gore, but from the ways in which Dracula’s control mirrors real world systems of power.
“They make a big point to show that Dracala could be like a natural evolution, not just some cool creature,” Holt said.
In an age of ongoing debates that decenter women’s perspectives and remove female autonomy, like that over reproductive rights and women’s place in the workforce, Lucy and Mina’s struggle to be heard feels extremely relevant. Dracula’s chilling wrath, meanwhile, echoes anxieties about frightening authoritarian tendencies and the consolidation of power in American politics.
“Monsters are among us, even if they are not immediately apparent, and maybe even everyone has the capacity for monstrousness,” Sutch concluded.
Pamela Sneed (left) performs in Tyler-Tallman Hall. Photo by Ali Santana ’28.
Students perform in the Barber Theatre. Courtesy of @davidsoncollegetheatre on Instagram.
Living Davidson
Free Styling at Semester’s End
Inside the mind of student marathoners
Running a marathon is an enormous commitment, especially for a college student. Despite a substantial time commitment and mental challenges, some Davidson students undertake this challenge that less than 1% of the population can claim to have completed in their lifetime.
Olivia Hess ’28, Gavin Higgins ’28 and Anna Mathy ’26 are three examples of Davidson distance runners who take on training for marathons on top of their life on campus.
There are many challenges that come with training for distance races as a college student. “Training is tough this year especially because of my schedule [...] but I run, bike and swim whenever I can. I also get to run with friends a lot which is absolutely the best,” Higgins said. Mathy shared similar struggles and bright spots. “[Marathon training] took more self-discipline. In high school, my coach told me exactly what to do. It was also a big shift going from a full team to mostly running alone [...] I enjoy running alone sometimes, but it’s been nice finding running buddies at Davidson who’ll join me for a few miles,” Mathy said. She has completed two marathons: Chicago in the fall 2023 and Boston in the spring 2025. Hess found a similar community in running. “Since I’m not on an official team, I can plan when I run. Mostly I run in the mornings.
There’s a club aspect with races sometimes, but I haven’t raced yet so it’s been more for fun, not training to increase speed or compete,” Hess said.
Higgins has completed multiple ultramarathons, races over the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles. He enjoys trail running instead of road racing, which is the traditional format for a marathon. “I love challenges and I love the mountains. I grew up going on massive hikes and trail runs with my parents and ever since have just been captivated by it,” Higgins said.
Hess recently completed her first marathon in Minnesota over fall break. She decided to run that race in 2024 when she tore her ACL and made a commitment to running 26.2 miles. Through the long training process and grueling race, Hess had a few phrases of encouragement that she clung to: “After tearing my ACL, one that stuck was ‘the pain cave is a privilege.’ Another was: ‘I can’t run 26 miles on my own strength.’ It reminds me that God gives me strength and helps me run with endurance [...] and from cross country, I always remember ‘your mind will give out before your body will.’ That helps remind me I’m capable of hard things.”
Mathy ran two marathons of high regard. In order to get through difficult stretches of those races like heartbreak hill, a steep incline around the 20-mile mark of the Boston Marathon, Mathy remembers her supporters. “I re-
mind myself that my friends are cheering and that I do this because I love it. Even if a run doesn’t go well, there’s always tomorrow. If I hit a running rut, I take a break. When I’m ready to get back into it, I ease in with walking or a short run,” Mathy said. Whether using running as a break from Davidson’s myriad demands or a way to experience community, Hess, Higgins and Mathy have benefitted from distance running. Their dedication in training is an inspiration.
Last Weeks Answers
Crossword by Victor Fleming ‘73
Olivia Hess ’28 (left) and Anna Mathy ’26 (right). Photos courtesy of Hess and Mathy.
Photos courtesy of Union Board
Yowl The
Irreverent student journalism since Yesterday. Castigat Ridendo Mores.
yowl.com/davidsonprom
Deep dive into TPUSA bylaws reveals Prima Nocta clause and a salary of a hog every new moon
Page Medieval Times
IPG formally IPE (Institute of Public Evil) to host student groups in a wooden barn with mass pigeon nests - flock two blocks away with burning cloth tied to feet
Page Olag of Kyiv
October 22, 2025
Glitter found in Chick-fil-A Sandwich
Page: Forever Chemicals
Davidson Football Alums Take the Field for Wildcat Weekend
Davidson Football stars of years past suited up on Saturday against St. Thomas (MN) in a touching moment amongst the Wildcat Weekend festivities.
With the current team floundering, the alums hoped to provide a much-needed spark to the team.
Current Wells Fargo financial advisor Jared Brockhammer III ’97 swapped out the quarter-zip for his old quarterbacking spot.
“It was great to be back with the boys,” Brockhammer said. “All it took was one Natty Light at F the night before and it was like we never left.”
Running back Andrew van Reinstadt ’83 missed his own retirement party for the game. “When you have the opportunity to play ball and help out this sorry ass team, you take it,” he said.
However, not every journey to the game went smoothly. Busses from The Pines at Davidson retirement community got caught in traffic on Main Street, delaying the start by several minutes.
Additionally, the ‘Cats were without star cornerback Donovan Wishbone ’78 (shingles) and tackle Eugene Dobson ’32 (polio).
The players weren’t the only blast from the past though. Davidson also busted out its legendary 1926 playbook, featuring such classics as “run it up the middle” and “run it up the middle again.”
Once the game started, several of the alums were struck by how far the sport had come. “This is great,” Wide Receiver Randy Razzburger ’63 said, motioning to the cheerleaders. “We didn’t have those [meaning women] when I was here.”
However, not all of the modern changes were received well. Issues arose in the first quarter when several Davidson defenders and coaches suffered heart attacks upon seeing St. Thomas complete a pass longer than five yards.
Things didn’t get much better in the second quarter. One run by an opposing player left so many Wildcats on the ground it caused a backup at the local LifeAlert call center. Several alums had to leave the game, citing arthritis.
At halftime, the team resolved to stick to their game plan. “These kids just don’t understand the fundamentals,” Brockhammer said. “You can’t just throw the ball all willy-nilly; you’ve got to establish the ground game.”
True to their word, the ‘Cats stuck to the plan. Yet even with the help of modern technological advances (electric wheelchairs), they struggled. Davidson slumped to a 0-50 score, a margin surpassing even that of Bill Belichick and his girlfriend.
Yet when all seemed lost, opportunity appeared for the ‘Cats. St. Thomas, seemingly bored, stopped fielding a team, allowing an opportunity for Franklin Smythe ’19 to punch in a touchdown, much to the excitement of the three remaining fans.
When asked about it after the game, Smythe couldn’t be prouder. “We did it our way,” the WWI veteran said. “And we wouldn’t change a thing about it.”
Davidson Aesop Fables
Nonner and the Athlete
Once there was a Nonner who strolled along hungry, yet was dissuaded by the prospects of Commons and, without the time for the line at Davis, decided they might make the trek to Qdoba. However, the Nonner’s legs were tired from walking up and down the Chidsey south stairwell. As the Nonner struggled to traverse the bricks, a signature rumble and clack came from beyond as a scooter carrying an athlete rode up right by the Nonner, almost hitting them. The scooter screeched to a stop as the athlete asked why the Nonner was walking more feebly than normal. “I want to cure my hunger with chips and a burrito bowl and Qdoba,” exasperated the Nonner as the Athlete began to grin.
“I will take you there. Hop on my scooter,” the athlete stated. And so the Athlete carried the Nonner across PCC and up the hill on the back of his scooter. The Nonner ordered their food and held their bag with triumph as they began to remount the scooter, when all of a sudden the athlete grabbed the bag and scootered away, leaving the Nonner behind, listless, hungry, and tired.
WATCHLIST
Commons Lobster
Olga of Kyiv
Untitled design
Synthius Haunt
Page 8
Spell check
Incident of The Week
Union Gym hand foot & mouth disease, listeria outbreak
The Toilet Paper Issue
Fall 2025 Monarch Butterfly Migration. Will it Happen?
Page Border Control
Senior To Learn The Phrase “Reap What You Sow” As They Fill Out Their Last Webtree Page 7 More classes needed to graduate
International Student Unsatisfied with Politics in Home Country: Fights for Dictatorship in Another
Tumultuous times are the ones we are living in right now. International students across the US campuses have been struggling with homesickness, lack of future prospects, and a growing sense of rightlessness. Most international students coming to the welcoming Davidson College come from humble origins; they come to the US searching for a better future for themselves, their families, and their future generations. Recent changes in migratory laws had many international students under fire; certain nationalities were put on a ban list, a colorful list of red, orange, and yellow. Virtually any country that has had immigrants that helped build the US is now banned or has restricted entry.
But fear not! If you are an international student who is scared of supporting human rights, and simply do not want to marry your way into a green card, I introduce to you the best method of becoming one with the crowd: join a political organization to support the downfall of another country that is not yours!
Criteria of joining are: 1) be an international student, 2) be a white international student, 3) have the child-like dream that your country will be saved by the US, 4) convince yourself that you are fighting for diversity of opinions International students interested in flying under the radar can email me at onceweuseyouwewilltreatyoulikeanyotherimmigrant@davidson.edu
More shocking & Disturbing Signs of Radical Leftism at Davidson
More shocking and disturbing signs of radical leftism at Davidson On October 7, Davidson Alumni Hannah Fay and Cynthia Huang ‘25 published an op-ed in The Daily Signal in which they accused Davidson of being hostile to conservative voices. In the op-ed, the two cited several “leftist indoctrination efforts” of the college, including “requiring cultural diversity courses” and “designating secluded spaces for LGBTQ+ students”. Following these shocking revelations, The Yowl assigned a team of investigative reporters to uncover more of Davidson’s dangerous woke radical leftist programs. These were their findings: - The football team sucks. Think about it, football is a manly sport loved by traditionally conservative demographics. The football team’s bad performance is a purposeful leftist statement by the college. - They make us take a foreign language, because the college is controlled by the communist global elites. They hate the English language because it’s the best. - The letters D, E, and I can all be found within “Davidson College”: the truth was under our noses all along. - When you enter Commons, you need to turn LEFT to get to the food. That’s right: LEFT. This is a clear sign Dining Services has been infiltrated by Antifa. - During our search of the VAC, we found blue, white, and pink paint. This disgusting display of radical gender ideology is sickening. - LIBERAL arts. We were absolute fools not to notice it sooner.
Scorpio (October 23 - November 21): Spooky season is upon us, and you are totally serving that dark energy. Just no rituals in communal bathrooms, please. (We’ve received some distress about the rust-colored stains)
Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21): Routine can be stifling sometimes. Go to Commons and try some of that tilapia!
Capricorn (December 22 - January 19): You aren’t afraid to go for what you want, and that’s a strength. Don’t be afraid to call someone out for being too sensitive.
Aquarius (January 20 - February 18): With the year getting busier, you might find it easier to isolate yourself. But try to get out of that cocoon. Maybe even try your luck at K-pub karaoke this week!
Pisces (February 19 - March 20): You are an ethereal creature. But you still have to continue doing your work if you want your college career to progress.
Quote of the Week
“Can’t believe I got infected with hand, foot, and mouth disease AND listeria. I’m gonna go the gym and lick all the equipment.”
Note: The Yowl is a satirical supplement to The Davidsonian Hence, nothing in it should be taken as truth.
