The Davidsonian 2/26/25

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Davidsonian

For a Better Davidson.

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thedavidsonian.news

Former North Carolina Governor and alumnus Jim Martin ‘57 discusses DEI.

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Volume 124, Issue 3

February 26, 2025

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Worried about the next five years?

Sophia Rees ‘27 offers insight.

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Shoe designer Stuart Weitzman laces up for a discussion at the Hurt Hub.

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Disappointed that your Lifestyle question wasn’t answered? The Yowl has you covered.

Foreign policy reversal brings Ukraine back to the spotlight

STELLA MACKLER ‘26 (SHE/HER) SENIOR EDITORIAL ADVISOR

ussia’s invasion of Ukraine marked its third year on Feb. 24 and up until a few days before, no public facing events were planned at Davidson. Two years ago, the college community commemorated the first year of the war with a large event in the Lilly Family Gallery. People came together to remember lives lost and livelihoods destroyed. In 2024, a smaller group of volunteers and supporters gathered to once again come together and raise funds to support Ukrainians.

By the start of 2025, Ukraine had fallen out of the news cycle.

Davidson students were more tuned in to Washington D.C. and the Middle East. The Trump administration’s opening of peace negotiations with Russia last week changed all of that.

Senior officials from the U.S. and Russia met in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18 in what reporters at The New York Times described as a “head spinning reset of their relationship” to discuss ending the war in Ukraine and re-establishing normal relations between the US and Russia. These meetings signaled a distinct shift in US policy after three years of American efforts to isolate Moscow.

This shift motivated Professor and Chair of Russian Studies Dr. Amanda Ewington to host a “teach-in” on Feb. 24, three years to the day since Russia’s invasion, focused on current events in Ukraine and changing US/Russia relations. The event’s urgency was clear: it came less than a week after Ukraine rejected a ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S. and Russia and on the same day that the U.S. voted against a U.N. resolution condemning the Russian invasion and calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops.

“This year, we were almost afraid to organize something because sadly it felt like people aren’t paying attention.

We knew there would not be the same kind of energy. But last week with the remarks that my colleagues in political science, I’m sure, will be discussing, I just felt shocked and moved and felt like it was urgent to touch base again with the campus community about what is happening in Ukraine,” Ewington said while opening the event.

On Monday evening at the Carolina Inn on Main Street, Ewington, alongside Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Besir Ceka and Assistant Professor of Political Science Dr. Silvana Toska, guided a room full of students through the events of the past week. Though the event was not posted on WildcatSync and advertised largely

Dr. Besir Ceka and Dr. Silvana Toska speak at the teach-in at the Carolina Inn. Photo by Claire Kelly ‘25.

through email and word of mouth, it was standing room only.

Following Ewington’s introduction, Ceka unpacked President Trump’s motivations for engaging more directly with the Kremlin, for which he provided three reasons.

“We find ourselves allying and aligning with actual dictators who imprisoned opposition parties, who killed their opponents, who poisoned political opponents,” Ceka said. “How did we get here? [...] First, it’s very important to understand the way that Trump and his inner circle, but mostly Trump, view the world. It’s a transactional approach to international relations. What is it in for me? I think his view on politics extends and is based on his experience in the private sector as a CEO of a large organization. Let’s not forget that American corporations, and frankly, international corporations, are deeply authoritarian in the way they’re organized. The CEO at the helm, decision making is authoritarian. A lot of those tendencies translate very well in how he wants to do business.”

Trump’s recent engagement with Russia, Ceka argued, is also motivated by a personal animosity toward Ukrainian

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President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We need to remember that it was Zelensky, or because of Zelensky and his unwillingness, or at least reluctance, to play ball with Trump that he [Trump] got impeached the first time around,” Ceka said.

“Recall, the first impeachment was due to him [Trump] pressuring Zelensky to use his power to investigate Biden, his [Trump’s] political opponent, in exchange for military aid.

This transactional view is tied in with a personal animosity towards someone he clearly does not respect.”

The third motivation, and the one that Ceka described as “most overlooked right now” is an ideological convergence between Trump and Putin.

“If you paid attention to what [Vice President] JD Vance was saying at the Munich Security Conference, the focus was on actually berating Europe for not following far-right ideas and policies,” Ceka said. “Berating Europe, or Germany specifically, for creating a firewall around the Alternative For Germany, which is a far-right, extreme-right party, and putting forth the very kinds of policies and ideas that the Putin regime has been putting in place for a decade and a half now. I think, fundamentally, Trump sees a lot more in common ideologically with Russia currently than [he] sees with a tolerant, progressive, inclusive Europe.”

Ceka closed his remarks by describing Europe’s options to protect its interests in the current moment. These included a NATO with less US influence, a European defense community and a concert of democracies with other countries like Australia, Japan and New Zealand. There is also a fourth option: “capitulation to the authoritarians.”

Carrying on the theme of evolving relations between the US and European powers, Toska centered her part of the talk on what Ukraine has done for the US and the world, flipping common talking points that emphasize what the US has done for Ukraine.

“There have been such incredible military innovations on the battlefield in Ukraine,” Toska said. “The United States has learned tremendously on how to fight on the battlefield because of Ukraine, most importantly, because Ukraine used American weapons. It used obsolete American weapons that were going to cost us a ton of money to decommission because a lot of them were not useful for warfare. Ukraine took them, used them in the battlefield, improved on them, and it showed the United States how to fight modern warfare against an army like Russia.”

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PCC adapts in the face of new meal plan changes

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HARRIS HUBER ‘27 (HE/HIM) STAFF WRITER

he 2025-2026 academic year marks the first year that sophomore members of Patterson Court Council (PCC) organizations will be required to be on the All-Access Unlimited Meal Plan through the College. Although these plans have not yet been enacted, housed PCC organizations are already making future financial plans and adjusting to policy changes. But questions remain for many Davidson students: what changes are happening and what will the future of PCC dining look like?

Since the new policy was announced, students have expressed their fears about the full meal plan being a requirement.

Davidson’s previous meal plan system allowed students to choose between a combination of meal swipes at Vail Commons and a corresponding amount of Dining Dollars per semester. Meals through eating houses and fraternities were handled separately and students could adjust their meal plans through the College accordingly.

Freshmen this year are required to have a

full meal plan for the entirety of their college experience.

When the new system was announced, Davidson students overwhelmingly showed out in defense of the old system, with a 2023 petition asking Davidson to not implement the new system reaching almost 800 signatures. Much of this resistance comes from a lack of understanding about the goals of the changed system. Many students opposed to this change were primarily concerned with how the shift would affect wanting to join a PCC organization.

“It worried me that the school was trying to disincentivize joining a PCC organization,” Kappa Sigma member Ben Kremer ‘27 explained. Kremer is not alone in his worries.

“I was most worried about the cost to students, and paying for fraternities or eating houses on top of that [the full meal plan] would scare people away,” Turner House member Rose Cecchi ‘27 stated.

The College has aimed to minimize the impact of changing dining systems on PCC involvement. Assistant Director of Student Activities Shakaya Walcott said this change was focused on PCC organizations. “Richard [Terry] has worked with the [organization

presidents] in the best possible way to make sure the change minimizes the impact to the organization,” she stated.

This work, headed by Director of Auxiliary Services Richard Terry, is not done in vain.

Fraternity recruitment this year has increased relative to the last two years, despite the upcoming meal plan changes. “This was our largest recruitment [...] in the last three years,” Walcott explained.

Despite fears of PCC minimization, Terry has assured students that Davidson College is not trying to make PCC meal plans a thing of the past.

Rising sophomores, and the classes to follow, will not pay an additional fee to their PCC organization on top of their All-Access Unlimited Meal Plan through the College.

Instead, Davidson will pay the organizations for their members’ meals at their houses.

Their meal plan through the College will then be reduced to a combination of meal swipes and Dining Dollars that should add up to a total of 21 meals per week.

For example, if a PCC organization member has 10 meals at their house, they also have 10 meals at Commons as well as 200 Dining Dollars. But, this student can use four of the

non-PCC swipes at other dining locations like Qdoba. These four swipes are called equivalency swipes.

The change in meal plans to value meal equivalencies is a key factor in this. Meal equivalencies, or equivalency swipes, are a part of the new system and allow students to use $12 value swipes at campus dining options. This system is meant to help students who struggle budgeting out their Dining Dollars throughout the semester, replacing these Dining Dollars with meal equivalencies, which reset weekly.

This was a major point of emphasis for the administration. “[W]e’ve heard [...] generally, not just me, but sometimes an email to me from a parent or an advisor has a student say to them, ‘I don’t have enough food. I can’t get enough to eat,’” Terry explained.

“It means that you won’t get two-thirds of the way through the semester and have no [spending power] [...] if you come from a really wealthy family, no big deal, right? I’d say use your credit card. But there are a lot of students who weren’t managing that very well. So granted, it’s a little paternalistic. It’s

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News

Teach-in provides community with clarity amidst foreign policy change

Ukraine also kept the conflict within the region, which maintains wider European security. European security, Toska argued, is American security.

“Ukraine single-handedly kept the conflict localized,” Toska stated. “European security is American security. [President Jimmy] Carter talked about this in 1983 when he talked about economic security as US national security. The reason for that is if Europe is not secure and is merged into a conflict in its east, what that means is that we lose the largest trading partner. Not to make all of this about dollar bills, but I do want to show you that even though it seems like the United States has done a lot for Ukraine, it has actually gotten a lot back.”

Ukraine’s lasting resistance has wider geopolitical implications that play to US interests, particularly in relation to China.

“We talked a lot in our classes about the fact that China may

want to invade Taiwan,” Toska said. “Ukraine made it very clear to China that it’s not going to be a very weak thing, that invading a smaller country with a much weaker military can be incredibly costly. Even though Putin doesn’t care for the casualties, he seems to be impervious to however many Russians die in the battlefield. But China is aware that a long-term war is maybe not to its benefit [...] In other words, economic stability and national security, these are two things the United States got out of its very small support of Ukraine in monetary terms.”

The event ended with remarks from Motria Procyk, coleader of the local group Davidson for Ukraine, thanking attendees for showing their support and willingness to learn.

Professor of Religious Studies Greg Snyder also spoke briefly on the importance of civic engagement and “melting the phone lines” of local representatives in order to keep supporting Ukraine front of mind for policymakers.

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Ewington, in an interview following the teach-in, spoke to the importance of raising awareness amid the shift in public attention back towards Ukraine, and sustaining that attention.

“Having something like this had not seemed possible because people aren’t interested, people are ignoring Ukraine,” Ewington said. “We are doing a lot of quiet work behind the scenes. We continue to work with our refugees.

We continue to connect people. There’s all this small stuff that’s going on behind the scenes, but the American public has just decided they’re not interested. They’ve moved on.

We were hesitant to have an event and not have people show up. But with everything that happened last week that was so shocking it just felt like, ‘You know what?’ We have to raise awareness, that combined with the anniversary, it felt like a duty. We had to do something.”

New meal plan sparks discourse amongst students CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 kind of an allowance.”

But questions remain: how exactly does payment between Davidson College and PCC organizations work?

Each student will select a meal plan with their eating house or fraternity based on what the house has chosen to offer, without any regard for cost.

“We’re just going to solicit from the house [...] ‘Which students are on your 10, which are on your five, which are on one,’ and we will automatically assign them the complementary plan,” Terry explained. For each student within a house that pays for a set meal plan, the College will pay the organization what their meal plan is worth.

The worth of the meal plan will be based on the organization that has the most expensive food.

“We basically took the most expensive house, and that’s what we used. It’s going to mean the house [...] that was spending the least on their food, they’re still going to get the same amount per student,” Terry stated.

As for houses that spend less than the most expensive house on the court, the overflow of income will be free for the house to spend as they see fit. “[T]hat is our money. It does not have to go

This spreadsheet shows how the College will use PCC meal plan options to determine students’ All-Access Unlimited Meal Plan.

Spreadsheet from Richard Terry. to food. They’re not going to audit it and ask where it goes,” Rusk House President Ella Grace Dunn ‘27 explained.

“We really want to keep this autonomy, right?

You know, you’ll get the money from the plan, but this doesn’t come with additional oversight,” Terry continued.

How the houses will use these funds remains to be seen, but it is clear that it will result in a change in financial planning.

This shift in budgeting, while designed in conjunction with PCC organizations, will not be without additional complications.

PCC organizations have already begun planning on how to accommodate the new plan. “Our [Rusk] treasurers have been

working on a breakdown and they’re setting up new deals for everyone [...] it’s still a bit of waiting to see what’s going to happen,” Dunn said.

Kappa Sigma President Gabe Edmonston ‘26 expressed similar concerns. “It’s just going to take some practice. It’s a complicated system, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad one. It’s more work on our part, but it’s more work on their part, I think it’s just going to take some getting used to,” Edmonston stated.

As Davidson approaches the full implementation of the meal plan shift, what will become of the PCC meal plan system remains unknown and future changes appear

to be flexible.

“They’ve said we’re trying this out right now, so any feedback is helpful. We’re going to see how this semester goes,” Dunn explained.

While each PCC organization may be preparing individually, Terry has emphasized the College’s willingness to support the organizations throughout these changes.

“We’ll just do the math, we’ll do the change.

We’re not perfect, and if some unexpected, unintended consequence comes out of it, then together, we’ll figure it out,” he stated.

“The purest expression of death”

War correspondent Chris Hedges delivers 2025 Z. Smith Reynolds Lecture

CLAIRE IRELAND ‘28 (SHE/HER) WEBSITE CO-DESIGNER

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ulitzer-Prize winning former foreign correspondent Chris Hedges came to Davidson’s campus on Feb. 20 to give this year’s Z. Smith Reynolds Lecture, entitled “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning.” Dr. Patricio Boyer, Director of the Humanities Program and Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies introduced Hedges, after which he took to the stage and held a deliberate 30 seconds of silence before opening his lecture: “The landscape of war is hallucinogenic. It defies comprehension.”

Hedges, who has reported on various conflicts for many media organizations, including The New York Times, is no stranger to war. Notably, he has covered the Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s, the Gulf War in the early 1990s and the Yugoslav Wars in Sarajevo in 1995. “I’ve tasted enough of war, enough of my own fear. My body turned to jelly to know that war is always evil— the purest expression of death,” Hedges stated resolutely.

Hedges’ lecture broadly focused on acknowledging the realities of war. He offered specific descriptions of the trauma war induces upon perpetrators of violence and victims of violence and reflections on his own experience with war. In doing so he painted war as it is, not as how it is remembered after being “sanitized and mythologized” for the sake of patriotism. “You can’t resist effectively if you can’t determine the configurations of reality” Hedges argued.

These descriptions of the cruelties of war that he has witnessed firsthand took the form of a series of narratives. First, he recounted a sequence of interactions he had with snipers in various conflicts and their bullets which gave way to the “distinct, ominous sound that spreads terror.”

He described one instance in Sarajevo that is forever imprinted in his mind: watching from his place of shelter at the Holiday Inn as an old couple was fired at by a Serbian sniper while simply tending to their vegetable garden. “ I watched it from the back of the Holiday Inn, but by now I have seen it—or the shadows of it—hundreds of times,” Hedges mournfully elaborated.

Attendee Louis Zhang ‘25 was struck by the uncensored realities that Hedges depicted. “I appreciate that we have some people like him, that are working the front line and working for justice and never surrender to the authorities of power and to tell us the truth, and just the truth,” Zhang said.

These real world experiences which construct Hedge’s lines of reasoning, leave him disconnected from the title of “pacifist.”

Throughout the lecture, Hedges continually expressed that, though he is a Presbyterian minister, he does not claim the title.

“There were no discussions about pacifism in the basements in Sarajevo when we were being hit with hundreds of Serbian shells a day under constant sniper fire,” he declared.

Hedges, nonetheless, is an unyielding critic of war and those who profit from it. “Only politicians, autocrats, and warlords who dream of the god-like power that comes with wielding armies or war planes and fleets along the merchants of death [...] profit from war,” he said. He continued to condemn these war profiteers. “These merchants of death are Satanic. The more corpses they produce, the more their bank accounts swell.”

Hedges’s lecture centered around his strident denouncement of what he continually referred to as the “Genocide in Gaza.”

Hedges has spent seven years covering the Israel-Palestine Conflict and specifically substantial time in Gaza while serving as the Middle East Bureau Chief for The New York Times beginning in 1991. “My old office in Gaza City is a pile of rubble [...] Friends and colleagues are dead or more often have vanished. Last heard from weeks or months ago,” Hedges described.

He painted desolate and grueling pictures of the reality of living in modern day Palestine, conditions born out of the ongoing conflict. “Desperate Palestinians are being forced to choose between living like cave dwellers—camped out amid jagged chunks of concrete—dying from disease, famine, bombs and bullets, or [face] permanent exile,” Hedges said. “Shooting unarmed people is not bravery. It is not courage, and it is not even war. It is crime, it is murder, and Israel runs an open air shooting gallery in Gaza in the West Bank, as we [the United States] did in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Hedges has plans to go back to Rafah in upcoming months in

order to contribute to his soon to be published book: A Genocide Foretold. The contentious nature of the book has led to poor receival from publishing houses and an expensive bill to foot.

Hedges has primarily turned to writing a myriad of books and publishing on Substack (a subscription based self-publishing site) to disseminate his writing after leaving The New York Times in 2005. In this new age era of self-publishing, Hedges suggested that he will “probably have to use the Substack to fund the book.”

Lecture attendee Rimsha Syed ‘27 noted the timeliness of Hedges’ lecture in conjunction with the current political state of the United States and world at large. “I think it was really critical at this point in time for a speaker like him to come in that has all of this experience, especially given the new administration coming in,” Syed said afterwards. “It’s a good place to remind us that that doesn’t mean we should be striving any less [to end] those injustices.”

Katriel Sander ‘27 echoed Syed’s sentiments. “I like the way that Hedges began by talking about just the horrors of war [...] It was something that almost any other speaker would have made really unpalatable for Davidson students, but Davidson students need to hear [it].”

Hedges ended his lecture on a note of how Americans collectively can repent for their complicity in ongoing conflicts globally. To do so, he stressed that a liberal arts education has the power to induce the ability to ask questions and resist.

“A good liberal arts education is subversive in the sense that it gives you the tools to examine structures of power, to challenge social, cultural, political assumptions,” Hedges asserted. One such instance of subversiveness that he referred to was the encampments constructed by students at various colleges and universities protesting the war in Gaza and demanding that universities divest from companies supporting Israel. “I think we saw that [subversiveness] with those encampments, and I think that that was the first step towards the repentance we have to take.”

Politics

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Former governor weighs in on the future of DEI at Davidson JAMES (JIM) MARTIN ‘57 GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

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s a loyal alumnus, I love Davidson College. There are few things here that I don’t love. Perhaps you feel the same, for similar or different reasons.

While privileged to teach chemistry here for twelve years, I got into politics as a Mecklenburg County Commissioner.

For five decades, since retiring from the faculty to become a member of the U.S. Congress, I followed Davidson mostly in passive ways. My annual giving was modest until I was in a position to increase my donation and deliver a significant gift from Duke Energy while on its Board.

This and generous friends endowed former Professor Malcolm Campbell’s multidisciplinary Genomics Program and a chair in chemistry honored to support Professor Erland Stevens. While governor of North Carolina, I received an honorary degree and spoke at graduation.

All of this is a self-aggrandizing way to say I’m part of Davidson College and fully committed to helping it become the best it can be.

This was tested when our trustees decided that the president and the majority of trustees need no longer be Christian. I joined eleven other former trustees in a statement objecting to what we believed would undermine Davidson’s tradition and Statement of Purpose. This angered some alumni, especially recent graduates. You might be amused at how many defended the change simply by denouncing us as “old white men.”

This trifling trifecta of accursed identity was true but ignored thoughtful reasoning.

This drew me to an even smaller, unofficial group of concerned alumni: Davidsonians for Freedom of Thought and Discourse (DFTD). Since 2018, its founders have petitioned Davidson College to adopt the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression. Pleading from a conservative viewpoint, they got little respect. Even with support from hundreds of alumni representing a wider range of interests, ages and viewpoints, DFTD continued to be disregarded.

In 2021, President Carol Quillen heeded a similar appeal from several faculty members whose interests weren’t aligned with ours. She appointed me to a group of six, chaired by Professor Issac Bailey, to compose a Davidson vision for academic freedom of expression reflecting Davidson’s commitment to ideals of diversity.

The resulting document containing every element of the Chicago Principles was deferred until the arrival of President Doug Hicks. With his calm inspiration, earnest discussions among faculty won growing acceptance. In early 2023,

Former Governor Jim Martin ‘57 speaks at a University of North Carolina Institute of Politics forum in January of 2020. Photo from AP Photo.

“Davidson’s Commitment to Freedom of Expression” was affirmed by a nearly unanimous vote.

DFTD found ways to support a greater diversity of viewpoints on campus. A student chapter of the Free Speech Alliance was founded and DFTD was pleased to provide funding for their and others’ invited speakers. This led individual students to entrust us with suspected violations of their academic freedom.

Most alarmingly, we heard about several dozen academic courses with syllabi requiring students to confess themselves “oppressors,” repent and atone, religious conditions irrelevant to the subject matter. Ironically, DEI is Latin for “gods.”

We learned from other students about an astonishing “mandatory” order that all Davidson athletes attend a onesided, provocative documentary entitled “I’m not Racist… Am I?” Its message? If you are white, you are racist. If you’re nonwhite, you can’t be racist. Melanin matters.

While we don’t object to anyone studying such controversial notions, we protested the coercive way highly partisan objectives were imposed as a condition for participating. After several months with no assurance that our concerns were taken seriously, we reported this to our subscribers. Our purpose was

Lifestyle Q: I found out that all my friends have spring break plans and I don’t. What should I do?

Dear Reader,

First of all, I want to acknowledge that this is a tough situation to be in. The concept of spring break is so commercialized and puts a lot of pressure on all of us to do something fun or trendy. I don’t even know how many spring break montages I’ve seen in movies or on TV shows.

My hot take is that we should normalize doing nothing during breaks. Actually take a break! Most students— especially at Davidson—are feeling at least partial burnout at this point in the semester. Spending a week with friends is not always the best way to ensure you’ll come back to campus feeling fresh and ready for the second half of the semester.

But never fear, your spring break can still be a lot of fun! Maybe take the week to spend quality time with your family. It’s probably been at least a month and a half since you last saw them and chances are they miss you a lot.

You should also see when your friends back home have spring break. If they have the same break and are home… perfect! But if they don’t have a break the same week you do, it could be a great opportunity to visit them wherever they go to school, even if it’s just for a weekend.

On a less fun but equally important note, you could take time during spring break to get ahead. Plan out the rest of

the semester, work on assignments you’ve fallen behind on, apply for summer internships if you haven’t already, finally tackle whatever project you’ve been putting off.

Being productive during this break could mean a smoother and less stressful end to your semester.

I would also definitely recommend having a conversation with your friends. Did they make plans without you, or is everyone just doing their own thing? Miscommunications and assumptions about people’s intentions can definitely lead to misunderstandings, so it would be worth clarifying.

If you were intentionally left out, you may need to take time to reflect on those friendships. Do they really value you? Is this exclusion a pattern? If it is, these may not be the people you should be investing your time and energy into. Everyone deserves friendships that are supportive and reciprocal.

At the end of the day, be flexible and open-minded!

Sometimes the best things happen when you don’t have any plans at all. And if nothing happens, just relax! Pretty soon you’ll be back on campus and that won’t be an option.

Wishing you a restful week away, Annabel Groseclose ‘27

to bring about a remedy, not to punish or accuse any individual like those making national headlines at other schools. We figured some may have felt they were doing what was expected of them.

One of us mentioned this campus issue in an interview on Fox News. This exploded into far wider circulation than we had foreseen or intended. Faculty and administration were flooded with vile communications from hundreds of anonymous individuals. At the time, this threatened to damage the reputation of Davidson College as well as DFTD, likely among opposing factions. I see no consequent injury against the College today, and DFTD’s standing has become either more respected or tolerated, even among some who dispute us.

We made a point to welcome Dr. Chloe Poston as DEI vice president at Davidson. She listened to our encouragement to explore ways to reform those abuses. Was it fair, in the cause of including diversity, to blame students for past discriminatory practices for which they bore no personal responsibility?

We were pleased to discover, not long after the fall term began, that every course whose syllabus had defamed students as “oppressors” had dropped the insulting indoctrination. To us, this was good news, reflecting a less divisive and more welcoming attitude on campus.

We commend those among faculty, administration and students whose thoughtful contributions led to these corrections. Other reforms may need attention. Do any departments still require DEI allegiance in ways that filter out conservative scholars?

Do students or faculty still feel obligated to self-censor their thoughts and questions? Will Davidson adopt institutional neutrality for ideological controversies?

There’s now the question of whether Davidson‘s more welcoming, less doctrinaire approach to inclusion of a wider diversity of attributes, cultures and viewpoints will survive the national backlash against DEI. The federal government has declared a campaign to eradicate any trace of it.

Among our DFTD membership we’ve learned to respect divergent views among friends, but I can tell you there is division over this. Some are convinced the same old divisive malpractices will simply be continued behind new titles, concealing the enforcement of identity politics. Others trust that Davidson’s new approach can be a positive model for others.

Davidson can demonstrate a standard of healthier assurance that every student, without regard to their culture, religion, attitude, politics or appearance, will be genuinely welcomed and encouraged to grow intellectually, socially and spiritually.

Large universities with massive DEI staffing must choose to fold or fight. If Davidson can restore diversity’s original ideals without the partisan excesses, other elite colleges might choose to defend this more sensible approach.

Looking for advice? We’re all ears!

Scan the QR code above!

Perspectives

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Where will you be in five years? Hopefully not answering this question

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SOPHIA REES ‘27 (SHE/HER) PERSPECTIVES CO-EDITOR

here do you see yourself in five years? As I partake in another season of interviews for summer internships, I brace for this inevitable question. It’s a staple of practically every interview, as predictable as the questions about “a challenging moment in your life” or “your greatest strengths and weaknesses.” Over time, I’ve perfected an answer. I usually say something along the lines of, “I hope to live in Washington, D.C. where I will work for a think tank or congressional office” and then tailor the finer details to suit the specific position I’m applying for. But last week, during one such interview, the question irked me more than usual. Nonetheless, I provided the interviewer with my rehearsed answer and masked my inauthenticity with a smile.

Truth be told, I have no idea where I see myself in five years. Some days, I picture myself as a legislative correspondent for a congressperson or as a research associate for an education reform nonprofit. Other days, I dream of becoming a script writer for “Saturday Night Live” or the person who gets to decide which products make it on “Shark Tank.”

But I don’t even know if I want to pursue any of that— although I’m less likely to stray away from wishing for the latter two. Quite frankly, I find comfort in the unknown. I believe that I would feel more stressed with a concrete five-year plan than my current situation that’s full of “I-don’t-even-knows.” The only thing that I can confidently see for myself in five years is a dachshund named after Kirk from “Gilmore Girls.” I’d be more shocked if this plan changes than if I end up working as a SoulCycle instructor.

I hope that interviewers see my ambition to apply and enthusiastic explanation as to why I hope to work there

as sufficient indicators of my interest. Each specific position that I’m currently applying for aligns with my five-month plan, reflecting the fields that interest me most at this point in my life. I envision these internships as opportunities to inch me a little closer to what I hope to do—or not—with my career.

I’m not saying that one should not have long-term goals or aspirations. I just believe that, as a society, we need to embrace the present more, which starts with replacing the exasperating questions about our future goals and plans. Our unhealthy fixation with thinking far into the future seems like a relentless cycle. As a freshman in high school, I was overridden with questions about where I wanted to go to college that made me feel guilty whenever I chose a social event over an opportunity to polish my Early Decision application. Now, the obsession is over my post-graduate life, a weight just as heavy and familiar. Five years from now, the question will evolve again. People will ask me if I plan on settling down anytime in the coming five years but will also paradoxically overwhelm me with advice to savor my 20s.

Over winter break, I attended several holiday gatherings where my parents’ friends asked the same infamous question: “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Sometimes I opted for my professional, yet false, answer. Other times, I offered a more honest response.

Regardless of what I said, their reactions were strikingly similar: “When I was your age, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.” Afterward, they launched into stories about how their college major had nothing to do with their current job. These adults are some of the most accomplished people I know. However, they didn’t map out their futures with seemingly any degree of precision. And what do I think played a significant role in contributing to their success? Not knowing where they saw themselves in five years as college sophomores.

In five years, I don’t know what my health will be like.

I don’t know what the state of the world will require from college-educated individuals. I don’t know anything, other than Kirk’s addition to my life. That being said, I understand the intent behind the question. After all, it’s a job interview. Employers must differentiate candidates somehow.

The question isn’t meant to pin us down and my interviewer won’t hunt me down in five years to shun me for not following the path I envisioned. However, I think that we can replace the question with something less daunting that focuses more on the present. For example, “how will this internship complement your current projects and activities?”

Thankfully, most of the other questions asked during interviews accomplish exactly that.

Sophia Rees ‘27 is a political science and history major from Washington, D.C. She can be reached for comment at sorees@davidson.edu.

The hardest conversations I’ve ever had—and why my major requires them

I

NATALIE RUSSELL ‘25 (SHE/HER)

believe that my major is one of the hardest at Davidson.

I’ve never had a class with an embedded tutor, I haven’t touched my TI84 since high school, and if you put me in a lab coat, something would most certainly blow up. My hours in Cunningham or the VAC aren’t tracked, I usually prefer the movie to the book and differentiating between “ser” and “estar” almost knocked me out when I was fulfilling my language requirement. There are a lot of really hard majors on our campus, and every discipline presents its own unique challenges to overcome. I’m constantly in awe of every one of my peers who commits themself to their major, and I think my own major’s difficulty is deeply misunderstood.

Even though it doesn’t involve concepts that are often equated with “the hardest classes,” majoring in communication studies is one of the most difficult things I’ve done. Coming into college, I’d never considered the field, holding the belief that “I already know how to communicate.” I knew that my writing and speaking skills would be developed within every course on campus, no matter the department.

Therefore, there was no need to take a communication course. However, I have since learned that studying communication gives students the unique ability to go beyond theories and challenge the very foundations of what you believe. This major has placed me in some of the most emotionally, intellectually and morally difficult conversations during my time at

Davidson.

While there are various components of this discipline, most of the courses I’ve taken for my major have catalyzed intense discussion, and those conversations have been among the most challenging experiences of my college career. I’ve also never taken a course within my major where every student has been politically or ideologically similar.

One of the earliest exercises in my first communication studies course revealed our class to have a roughly even split between pro-life and prochoice identities—therefore, abortion became the guiding topic of our semester.

Throughout that fall, I learned to speak without a quiver in my voice about the rights to my own body. I developed the ability to keep my heart rate relatively normal when disagreeing on something that is foundational to who I am. I learned to vocally advocate for what I believe in, even when surrounded by people who fundamentally disagree. And throughout all these moments of incredible growth, I own that I still occasionally cried in the Chambers bathroom in the middle of class, because—even as I’m advocating for it—this shit is not easy.

My communication studies courses have been some of the most politically diverse spaces that I’ve ever existed in. At times, that has been a frustrating experience, one that I’d bet each of my classmates has also struggled with, no matter their beliefs. But these experiences have forced me to think critically about what I believe, pushing me out of the comfort that comes from agreement. I have been forced to refine

my arguments, question my knee-jerk reactions and rethink the foundations of what I believe. I’ve had my own ideologies and beliefs rightfully critiqued and I’ve been called out on erroneous assertions and statements I couldn’t back—a practice that I hope has gone both ways.

I believe in the need to set boundaries with people who disagree with you.

It is entirely valid to not engage in conversations with people whose beliefs fundamentally oppose your own humanity.

Your feeling of safety is critical, always, and that takes priority over the need for deliberation. Simultaneously, through studying communication, I’ve learned that, whenever possible, embracing opportunities to engage across ideological boundaries can lead to great personal growth.

The process of deliberation has made my beliefs stronger, giving me unprecedented opportunities to check my inherent biases and refine my stances. I don’t know if everyone in my major feels this way, but for me, these conversations have been some of the most formative learning moments. Taking the effort to thoughtfully and thoroughly disagree with someone is one of the most respectful things you can do. I’ve built friendships with students who I would have otherwise never spoken to and engaged with peers across an array of backgrounds and beliefs, making me a better classmate, community member, advocate and person.

We are not required to give deference to beliefs that contradict our own, and having the right to speak freely and publicly does not guarantee the right to an audience.

However, when that practice excludes communicating with upwards of half of the population of the United States, this search for comfort in similarity fuels polarization. It is true that even after every experience I’ve had in my major, I find comfort in people who share my values—but knowing when and how to push myself out of that familiarity is one of the most valuable (and difficult) skills I’ve been taught to cultivate at Davidson.

Each and every major at Davidson is intellectually challenging, but I have yet to cross paths with another discipline that guides students through these forms of ideological discomfort in such a transformative manner. I firmly believe that every student at Davidson should thoroughly consider the extent of their ideological echo chambers, and the communication studies department is a great place to start—test for yourself how easy it is.

Natalie Russell ‘25 is a communication studies major from Durham, NC. She can be reached for comment at narussell@ davidson.edu.

Sports

5

Introducing a new era of Davidson football

ANNA MORROW ‘28 (SHE/HER) SPORTS WRITER

I

n late Nov. 2024, Davidson’s head football coach, Scott Abell, and many of his staff members left the program. The search for the 29th head coach in program history ended with Saj Thakkar. On Dec. 17, 2024, after spending the past two years as head coach for the Division II football program at Bentley University, Thakkar was hired to lead the Wildcats. Like many football coaches across the NCAA, Coach Thakkar began his career as an athlete, playing both quarterback and wide receiver at Fitchburg State University in his home state of Massachusetts. “I had a great playing experience. [I] played at a small school in the Northeast, and they always say the best coaches aren’t always the best players. I was someone that had to work for everything, every little thing [...] but really fell in love with the process and all that goes into having a successful football team. And that’s where I really developed my passion for coaching,” Thakkar said.

After Thakkar finished playing in 2012, he coached the running backs at his alma mater for two seasons and then spent three seasons at State University of New York Maritime College, where he was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He headed back to Massachusetts to Harvard University where, from 2018-2022, he served as the running backs coach. He then served for two years as an NFL Bill Walsh Fellow,

participating in a program that intends to give minority coaches the opportunity to gain experience at the highest level by observing and gaining knowledge in offseason practices and workouts. “You’re a sponge when you’re in those situations—just trying to soak in as much knowledge as you can and different ways of doing things, whether it’s on field, off field, player development, running [an] organization,” Thakkar said when reflecting on his experience.

Post-fellowship, Bentley hired Thakkar as its head coach. Thakkar provided insight on this new role. “You’re in charge of everyone. So now it’s not just forming relationships or close relationships with the guys in your room. You have to develop close relationships with everyone who plays for you, everyone works for you: alumni, campus-wide relations, community. So there’s a lot more involved there,” Thakkar said. “I was prepared for what it was going to take. I wouldn’t say a lot really caught me by surprise or anything like that, but there is a different sense of responsibility, different things that are asked of you in that seat than when you’re a position coach.”

Thakkar’s 14-6 overall record at Bentley was strong, finishing second in the Northeast-10 regular season in both of Thakkar’s years. Along with team success, twenty-four players earned all-league honors and the team led the Northeast-10 with the most academic all-district selections.

With Thakkar came seven new staff members, including Keegan Kennedy who

spent the season prior at the University of Richmond before joining the Davidson staff.

Prior to Kennedy’s fruitful coaching career across the NCAA, he played on the offensive line at Northwestern. “​​ I was awarded the Randy Walker Wildcat Warrior Award, which goes to the two toughest players on the team.

And that’s something that I take great pride in and it’s something that’s carried over to my coaching career. Something that I coach every day is mental and physical toughness,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy overlapped with Thakkar at Harvard. “When I got [to Harvard] in 2019, [Coach Thakkar and I] clicked. He was coaching the running backs, I was coaching the offensive line. So there was a lot of carryover,” Kennedy described. He has a familiar face among the staff as they prepare for the 2025 season.

Miles Ahles, Davidson’s new defensive coordinator, traveled directly from Bentley with Thakkar. Ahles was a linebacker at Chapman University, where he received a degree in biochemistry. He then worked in the biotech industry for eight years and served as the defensive coordinator at a local high school in Southern California. His job led him to Boston, where he was eventually led back to coaching at Bentley with Thakkar. “I worked in product development when I was doing biotech, so I think that there’s a very organized kind of workflow. You try to build what the customer wants, you test, make sure you built what they wanted. And I kind of approach football somewhat similarly,”

Ahles stated. “Each week you have to deliver a product on Saturday. Understanding what you want it to look like on Saturday, actually putting practice together to build what you want it to look like, is important.”

The remaining members of the staff under Abell recognize the new energy that has entered the building. Quinn Suber, a defensive assistant, has seen the players responding to this enthusiasm by taking greater charge. “All great teams are playerled teams, and I think we’re pushing towards that way to where the players are taking [more] precedence over the coaching staff.

When it comes from a discipline standpoint, they understand what is asked of them and what they should be doing,” Suber claimed.

Davidson is incorporating new schemes under Thakkar’s supervision. “We’re more spread-based, more balanced as far as the run-pass attack. So it’s a really fun brand of football to watch. But we can only go as far as our players can take us. So it starts with the coaching and the teaching and building the foundation, which we’ll do through the winter and the spring and grow from there,” Thakkar explained.

Above all, the Davidson football staff plans to emphasize tenacity going forward. “We want to be the toughest football team in the country physically, mentally and emotionally.

So, our off-season program has been hard and difficult, but because we’re building strong connections we’re creating a really positive working environment [...] even though it’s hard, they are having fun,” Thakkar declared.

16 football transfers highlight a period of turnover for ‘Cats

W

BEN PEAKE ‘25 (HE/HIM) CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

hat goes on behind the scenes when a Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school transitions to a new head coach? For Vice President and Director of Athletics Chris Clunie, scholar-athletes are still at the forefront of every decision being made.

In an interview with The Davidsonian, Clunie was quick to mention the overall stability that Davidson has within its coaching ranks. “We don’t have a ton of transitions. [...]

When it does happen, first a couple things go into place. You want to make sure you communicate with scholar-athletes.

And as quickly as possible, you want to make sure you’re communicating with recruits that have committed to Davidson for that sport.”

Before Scott Abell, former head football coach of the Davidson Wildcats, was announced as the new head football coach of Rice University, Davidson had to ensure relevant stakeholders within the College were aware and given the ability to respond accordingly. “We named an interim head coach to lead us through the transition,” Clunie stated. “I put together a search committee of a bunch of different folks across [Davidson]. [...] Job posting goes out, and then the process gets rolling. So there’s a number of different communicative points, and then internally putting a framework in place for the search and then moving from there.”

Clunie was relatively tight-lipped when asked about the heading coaching candidates that lost out to Saj Thakkar, the new head football coach of the Davidson Wildcats. “It was a deep pool of candidates. We had over 150 people apply, across NFL assistant coaches and Power 5 assistant coaches and FCS head coaches. So the interest was incredible.” When asked for specific names, Clunie declined to comment. However, individuals from the Davidson community, including a faculty

member, stated that Baltimore Ravens legend and Hall of Famer Ray Lewis was among those in contention. Clunie, who did not seem shocked by the question, again declined to comment when asked if Lewis was a candidate, instead claiming that the linebacker “never officially applied” and that if he had, Clunie would have “hired him on the spot.” He finished by emphasizing that “it’s a little bit of fake news.” The official status of Lewis as a candidate remains unconfirmed.

The arrival of Coach Thakkar caused multiple players to transfer, a common situation in this era of college athletics.

“The coaching change made it easy for me to leave,” TJ Magee, a cornerback who transferred to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote in an Instagram direct message. “[UMass Amherst] is a much bigger university and they play on the FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision] level [...] while also still being good academically.”

Henry Dolan ‘25, a slot receiver graduating from Davidson in May, stated that the lack of scholarship opportunities here and the ability to become a graduate transfer elsewhere are hard to turn down. “That’s just the reality of it. Some of those guys were definitely out, maybe no matter what, whether it’s financially or they want another opportunity.” While not a graduate transfer, Magee did receive a scholarship from UMass Amherst.

As of now, 16 players have transferred. Dolan remarked that remaining players questioned why upperclassmen would leave, especially considering the weight of a Davidson degree. “[Those players said] it’s either not about the degree, just highlevel football, or still considering the degree and going to an ‘even playing field.’”

Clunie noted that the transfer numbers were a bit misleading.

“There are some students who are going to graduate. And so they are graduate transfers [...] They’re getting their Davidson degree. We don’t have a grad school.” Of the 16 transfers, six of them are graduate transfers.

Davidson does not want to lose any players to the transfer portal. “We want everybody to stay,” Clunie declared. “Folks

Women’s Basketball Standings Team

Standings Update

Richmond George Mason Saint Joseph’s Davidson Rhode Island UMass Dayton Duquesne Fordham VCU Saint Louis

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.938 .765 .750 .750 .688 .588 .562 .500 .500 .375 .375

felt like there’s uncertainty in the transition, and that’s fine. We want to respect that. [...] The ones that decided to leave, no ill will, and we wish them the best as they move on.” According to Clunie, some players decided to enter the portal with the intention of meeting Coach Thakkar first before making a final decision. While not providing a specific number, the administration was eager to support these scholar-athletes and then welcome them back. Magee, when asked if there was anything Davidson could have done to ensure he stayed, claimed that the College “could have taken sports a little more seriously, especially football.”

For the remaining players, a new head coach means a new opportunity to prove themselves, but it can be tough to acclimate to a new coaching regime after becoming fully familiar with the outgoing staff. “Guys, ultimately, are excited,” Dolan said. “They’re open to another opportunity, but the hardest part is building relationships with the new coaches.”

For some players, it is hard not to feel a sense of abandonment when reflecting on Coach Abell’s departure. “[I thought] Coach Abell was going to be here for a long time,” Dolan commented. “He obviously had an opportunity that came that [...] he had no choice but to take it, but I would say there’s definitely some betrayal, considering he brought this [program] up from nothing.” Dolan later clarified that there were some “shaking heads [more so than] betrayal.”

Magee stated that he was happy for Coach Abell. “Personally I did not feel betrayed. Coach Abell was a great coach and deserved it!”

In the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era of college athletics, opportunities for a change of scenery are abundant, something both coaches and players have to be conscious of.

“NIL does have an impact!” Magee explained. “With the way college ball is going right now, it’s run very professionally.

There are just too many opportunities to pass up.”

Arts and Entertainment 6 Step into the life of Stuart Weitzman

CLAIRE KELLY ‘25 (SHE/HER) CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

T

ennis player, collector, philanthropist. These might not be the first words that come to mind when one thinks of Stuart Weitzman, who since 1986 has built a shoe empire on the model of being “a little obsessed with shoes.” But his work is not the only piece of his life that defines him. On Feb. 25, Weitzman strolled into the Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Hurt Hub) seemingly like any other person. He wore a blue plaid shirt and khakis. But one thing set him apart: his Stuart Weitzman silver, glossy pair of sneakers with a white three-inch sole.

In an interview with The Davidsonian and a conversation sponsored by the Matthews Center for Career Development and the Hurt Hub titled “A Designer’s Entrepreneurial Journey to the Road Less Traveled,” Weitzman reflected on the truisms of his career, relationships and the luck that got him to where he is today.

Born in Long Island, New York, Weitzman worked summers at his father’s shoe factory, Mr. Seymour Shoe Factory, in Massachusetts.

Weitzman described how, business instincts aside, he was always struck by his father’s artistic abilities. “My father was very artistic.

I mean, he could draw you right now in two minutes. That’s a good skill.”

Eventually, he made his way to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), where he found his calling.

“One of the kids in my fraternity, his father had a shoe factory. He said, ‘You draw so nicely, you should draw some shoes for my dad. [...] He brought me his catalog so I could see what type of product the man was making. [...] And I drew 20 sketches, presented them, and he bought them,” Weitzman stated.

Weitzman narrated how high risk meant high reward. After college, Weitzman took a third of his capital to run a factory that produced one shoe at a time. Each shoe was given to different celebrities for free, which notably paid off when Aretha Franklin won an award at the 1983 American Music Awards and held up her Stuart Weitzman shoes, thanking him.

“Thirty million people on television saw that. That was a risk worth taking. Within six weeks there wasn’t a stylist in Hollywood who didn’t call us up.”

Weitzman was right—his company grew, soon featuring notable campaigns with Kate Moss and, much later, Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

Still, there were challenges along the way, such as expanding his company’s base. “The interviewers on the red carpet never asked

Crosby Boe ‘25, Stuart Weitzman, Anna Carroll ‘25 and Sasha Behrens ‘26 pose in Weitzman’s signature shoes.

Photo by Bimal Shahi ‘25. about shoes. So we had to come up with a solution.”

One such solution involved making the most expensive shoe ever—a one-million-dollar diamond encrusted pump worn by Laura Harring at the 74th Annual Academy Awards.

Amidst his company’s exponential growth, Weitzman grew to appreciate the ever-changing nature of his industry. “It is a fun industry. You can’t be bored in it, right? It’s challenging because we’re being judged by thousands of consumers [...] it changes every three, four months, six at the most. You’re always doing something new. It’s not doing the same thing,” Weitzman described.

Despite his countless designs, Weitzman has certain ones he’s particularly proud of. “I do have favorites, but they’re favorites for different reasons,” Weitzman said. “I created a shoe, a boot, that added a whole new style to the shoe industry that has been here for hundreds of years [...] and that was my thigh-high boot [...] That’s a favorite because it started a whole new industry.”

In addition to the thigh-high boot, Weitzman broke into the bridal industry. “Maybe the most special [design] is the shoe I won my first design award for, which was a bridal shoe. At weddings [...] many

years ago, gowns almost went to the floor, and they covered the shoe. [...] I said, ‘If someone made a gorgeous bridal shoe, maybe women would buy it.’” With this idea in mind, Weitzman made a bridal shoe that deserved to be shown off with the rest of the outfit, becoming renowned in the bridal industry.

For a man who seemingly has it all, Weitzman emphasized the importance of philanthropy in his discussion. In 2017, he partnered with Gigi Hadid to create the shoeline EYELOVE. Profits made from this line went to Pencils of Promise to create schools in Ghana, Guatemala and Laos.

Another philanthropic campaign came about from a hobby of his.

Weitzman described himself as someone who likes to collect “one of a kind items, unique items.” But when he acquired rare stamps—the 1918 USA Inverted Jenny, the 1933 Doble Eagle Coin and the 1856 British Guiana—he sold them and donated these profits to charity.

“My kids said to me, ‘Daddy, what are you going to do with these stamps? We don’t want them. We don’t know what to do with them.

They’re your passion.’ [...] So I decided they’re right. I put them up for auction and I built a museum with the money [today this Philadelphia museum is called “The Weitzman” in his honor].”

In a Cinderella-esque move during the presentation, audience members with the right size foot were selected to pose in the front of the room in some of Weitzman’s original designs.

Crosby Boe ‘25 was one of three students to walk the Weitzman runway. She did it in eight-inch heels designed for Cara Delevingne.

“I’ve been super inspired by the creative world and to see it transform in a version that we see everyday, but don’t necessarily recognize as one of the peak creative avenues, was really inspiring and definitely had an impact on what I’m looking for in my future and how I want to pursue the creative aspects of my life,” Boe said after the event.

Annalee Stuardi-Drumm ‘27, who did not walk but attended the dinner after the talk, learned a lot from Weitzman. “The biggest takeaway is that half the battle in any field is who you know and building out those relationships. [As Weitzman said,] it’s important to have giants in your life whose shoulders you can stand on.”

In the past year, Weitzman has shared his experiences with 30 different colleges and universities. Before coming to speak at the Hurt Hub, he played tennis at River Run and strolled around the streets of Davidson, getting a sense of the people who make this place unique. As he concluded his talk on Tuesday night, Weitzman reminded the community of the importance of kinship. “A lot of what I’ve done in our company has to do with the way we live our lives. You’ve got to think that way in business too,” Weitzman said.

“I like students here at Davidson because you are smart and driven.

You will not have any more fun than doing something that [involves] your community.”

Don’t stop the beat: Hip hop’s place in education HENRY RENDLE ‘27 (HE/HIM) STAFF WRITER CLARA OTTATI(SHE/HER) ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT CO-EDITOR

O

n Feb. 21, Davidson hosted several high-profile educators and community activists that focused on the debate surrounding hip hop’s inclusion in both K-12 and collegiate education.

Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Dr. Mark Katz, Director of the Urban Master’s program at Simmons College Daren Graves and Charlotte Hip Hop Educator David Spellmon Jr. led the discussion. Together they shared a common goal: convince the audience that hip hop has a transformative power.

To start the evening, Graves wanted to emphasize that hip hop is more than just a genre. “We want to think of hip hop as a culture [...] I think sometimes we hear hip hop and we think of maybe one of the cultural elements of hip hop, which are usually emceeing or rap [...] And or maybe DJing, which is another element of music—making and the curating of sounds. But there are other elements too,” he stated.

Katz added on with real-life examples from his experience interviewing hip hop artists around the world. “They will say, ‘It’s the way I walk, it’s the way I dress, it’s the way I think, it’s the way I carry myself, it’s my inner voice, it’s my inner monologue.’ Multiple times I’ve heard the phrase, ‘Hip hop saved my life.’”

The speakers continued by introducing the audience to hip hop lines that caused them to fall in love with the genre. Spellmon spoke about the track “Check the Rhime” by A Tribe

Called Quest. “This line was the moment I realized the power hip hop could have over young people like me.” The line is as follows: If knowledge is the key then just show me the lock Got the scrawny legs but I move just like Lou Brock With speed I’m agile plus I’m worth your while One hundred percent intelligent black children Moving with the lyrics, the conversation then shifted toward what hip hop would be able to do for education in America. Graves touched on the historical significance of studying hip hop. “As neighborhoods of black and brown folks were literally burned to the ground [...] hip hop grew out of those spaces, out of the paradox of those narratives,” Graves said. “There were pretty truths, ugly truths, empowering truths. [...] They could tell the truth about folks’ lived experiences and try to tell truths that were countering many of the narratives that were being given to all of us.”

To Graves, hip hop and education are inevitably intertwined. “To me, hip hop and education are the same thing. [...] The teacher [is a] way more important and powerful figure than the king—this person who has all the glory [...] Being an emcee and being a teacher was the same thing to me.”

While taking questions from the audience, the conversation shifted to how hip hop can be misconstrued as something to be associated with violence, misogyny and other negative issues. Yet Spellmon argued that this belief in itself can be educational. “Helping young folks start to be critical evaluators of the media they’re taking in [is important]. So why are we seeing Kanye [sic] all the time? Who the hell made that decision?” Spellmon asked.

“Everything you watch, everything you listen to [...] we always have to be critical consumers of our media [...] and definitely help our young folks with that process as well.” In this way, studying hip hop opens a path for young people to understand the importance of evaluating the content they are consuming.

“Just because hip hop contains problems does not mean that these pieces of art cannot be analyzed in an academic setting,” Katz added. He drew parallels to other problematic historical figures that are often discussed in educational spaces. “How do we talk about [Pablo] Picasso, for example? There’s this question that people have been debating for a long time and we can enter into that: ‘What do we do with the art of monstrous artists?’ [We can] use it to think critically.”

Several Davidson students provided their feedback on the dialogue. Rishi Sharma ‘27 agreed with the speakers’ message. “The value of hip hop in the classroom can, in many ways, be equivalent to that of jazz, rock and modern pop music.” Unlike most students, Sharma has taken classes that incorporate hip hop into the curriculum, including an African American Music course taught by Assistant Professor of Music Dr. Marcus Pyle, which Sharma called “one of my favorite classes yet.” All aspects considered, Sharma believes that “the involvement of hip hop in education would be greatly beneficial to students [...] hip hop lyrics are ultimately poetry, though some verses can be deep and meaningful and others may have negative aspects to them.”

Silas Garrett ‘27 also admired the panelists’ hope to grow hip hop’s involvement in education. “Courses on hip hop would be a unique opportunity to educate students on an art form that has historically been marginalized and kept out of education,” Garrett stated, acknowledging the discourse around including the genre in academics. “Like any genre of art,

there are always questionable artists and hard topics discussed. Just because there are some bad apples does not mean that the entire genre is evil, especially when there are so many moving and beautiful words.”

Spellmon touched on the idea of “bad apples” during the talk as well. “Us as humans experience dichotomies throughout life. [...]

It’s the human experience, we can be equal parts good and bad at different times in our lives,” he stated.

Hip hop is a fitting art form to explore these different parts of ourselves. “The fifth element of hip hop is the knowledge of self,” Graves explained. “You might be doing some of the elements of hip hop, but [without the self], you aren’t doing hip hop.”

Dr. Daren Graves sits in front of the audience at “The Transformative Power of Hip Hop” talk. Photo by Henry Rendle ‘27.

Henry Rendle ‘27 is a physics major from Philadelphia, PA and can be reached for comment at herendle@davidson.edu.

Clara Ottati ‘27 is an English major from Chicago, IL and can be reached for comment at clottati@davidson.edu.

Living Davidson

7

Tell me about your midterms and I’ll tell you how your spring break will go!

Hello and welcome back, my dear readers, to what you must have missed more than you could ever possibly tell me. I mean, given that no one has mentioned my absence at all, I am assuming that’s why. But fear not, for I have returned and am once again ready to give you completely unsolicited and unfounded predictions about various upcoming Davidsoncentered events. To ease you back into my quizzes, today is an easy one—just answer some questions about your midterms and you can know how your spring break is going to go.

How many upper level (300- and 400-level courses) are you taking?

Given that we are officially six weeks into the semester, I think it’s a good time to ask—how are your classes treating you overall?

A - You’d rather not talk about it.

B - I mean… So far, so good. You’re a little worried about what’s to come though.

C - Kind of awesome? (I hate you just a little, by the way) D - You’ll pass. Anything else is up in the air at the moment.

How will you be tackling your midterms?

A - Four (and I wish you the very best of luck with that).

B - Two (struggling, but you’re doing alright).

C - Zero-One (possibly a freshman, possibly just a weirdly lucky upperclassman).

D - Three (Are you getting enough sleep?).

A - You’re fighting for your life just getting in what’s due tomorrow.

Those will be future problems.

B - Oh, you’ve already been Do you even know which of your assignments studying/working on them for a little are “midterms” and which are just regular bit. Getting ahead is key. assignments?

C - Frankly, you have a color-coded, A - Who knows? Everything is getting done the day it’s due by-the-hour study schedule already anyway. done.

B - Does Davidson even do “midterms”? You just know you D - You’re pretty sure you know the should study hard for the review you have next week. due dates of your big assignments.

C - I mean, yeah? Guys, it’s on the syllabus.

D - You think so… But you’re treating everything like it’s life or death, just to be safe.

Mostly C’s:

Mostly A’s:

Mostly B’s:

You will be taking some time to decompress: However you would like to unwind from the horror that is your next few weeks on campus is your prerogative, but you definitely will be finding some time to stare at a wall and talk to no one during your week off.

It’s party time!: You’ll finish up your midterms, decide there’s nothing you can do about them now and have an absolutely lovely spring break. Maybe you’ll make it to a beach, maybe you’ll go skiing. Whatever it is, you will fully appreciate your well-deserved break.

Crime Log Time Reported

Description/Location

2/18/25, 13:51 hrs

Larceny Offenses: Misdemeanor Larceny Chidsey, Further Investigation

2/22/25, 00:08 hrs

Alcohol Offenses: Consume by Person Under 21 Knobloch, Further Investigation

After getting through the last weeks before break mostly unscathed, the free time you will have over break will somehow get you questioning whether or not you did enough. As your friends worry about how they did on their assignments, you’ll wake up in a cold sweat, swearing you forgot to turn something in on Moodle.

I’m really sorry about this, but unfortunately, it’s your penance.

Mostly D’s:

After a hectic schedule that left you with one too many Celsius in your trash can, you will be taking so many naps over this break your parents will force you to go to the pediatrician (who you are definitely growing out of) to make sure you aren’t sick. You aren’t, but you’ll probably spend your few waking hours looking for a “grown-up” doctor.

SGA Updates

Accessibility and Academic Affairs: We are co-sponsoring an accessibility signmaking event with DDA on March 26.

Spring break shuttle times have been announced. New initiatives include safe ride van flyers, parking pass pricing, meal swipe donations, more dorm water fountains, a covered bike storage area and a Writing 101 review.

Food and Housing: We are finalizing the new PCC dining plan, coordinating with RLO to take part in “A Celebration of Honor” and advocating for expanded spring break dining options.

Campus Outreach: We planned videos, graphics and flyers for “A Celebration of Honor” and secured EDU credit for the event. The first SGA Instagram update was posted, and we are organizing a tabling event and providing cookies to boost panel attendance.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: The DEI Committee met with participating organizations to discuss Diversity Week and upcoming efforts that are needed for it. A DEI member has been designated for each day to organize information and start planning these daily events. Additionally, we met with Dr. Chloe Poston to discuss faculty involvement and participation in this event.

Other Updates: From March 3-7, SGA and the Honor Council will be hosting a series of programming called “A Celebration of Honor.” On March 4 at 7:00 p.m., a panel including Mary Tabb Mack, Dr. John Kuykendall and Boris Henderson will share perspectives on the Honor Code and how it has continued to act as a guide in professional settings at the Duke Family Performance Hall.

The

Yowl

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Irreverent student journalism since 2004. Castigat Ridendo Mores. yowl.com/fiveeds

inside

Mecklenburg County overwhelmed by annulment requests after weekend of Marriage Pact weddings.

Page Always Next Time

D

February 26, 2025

Report: Next cold email to a random company is going to be the one that finally works out, I just know it.

Page Adulthood

Union Board takes a scary turn toward authoritarianism

ear reader, We live in harrowing times: war, famine, political unrest, the list goes on. Across the globe, we have seen far-right authoritarian leaders elected and stain the marbled pillar of democracy. While these issues feel so far away, they could not be closer.

As activists and journalists, The Yowl must stay vigilant and protect Davidson students as a crucial whistleblower. To that end, chilling events have been moving in the shadows here at Davidson, as the Union Board has taken a terrifying authoritative shift.

Many readers might not have even noticed that Union Board leaders have been chosen right under our noses. It was done without fanfare, without publicity, and it was the first year in this journalist’s tenure that it was done without a vote. Sadly, we ignored previous years’ signs of this authoritative shift: only one party on the ballot last year, the militarization of trivia hosts, the announcement of this year’s Frolics theme as “Obedience and Servitude” and surveillance cameras being planted in the Build-A-Bae animals.

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Phi Delt, SAE and Connor threeorganization wedding officially creates largest polycule on campus.

Page Belk Throuple

This silent coup should scare the public. Our way of life and our representation is facing an existential threat. We must keep the faith and fight back when we see this power being used to oppress students. At Union Board’s after-midnight sweatshop next week, create your own bracelet ideas and not just the Disney power bands they want you to make.

At karaoke this Live Thursday, even if the only available song is the Union Board “Peace for All” anthem, sing that song you don’t know the words to. Put up posters in the Union even if they aren’t approved. And DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT, attend this Wednesday’s panopticon event (even if they serve Milkbread). They subdue and placate the masses with Milkbread.

We can only eat true Milkbread once we are all free.

I wish I could say more, but I fear I must end this article. My bonsai tree from the DIY bonsai event is starting to emit a whirring sound as it sprays a green mist. Be safe out there Davidson students... and fight the power!

The Yowl declares beef with literary magazines

riends, Romans, Countrymen — Lend me ye ears! We write in defiance against all subordinate literary publications on campus. We come not to praise or support Hobart Park but to bury it. And Libertas and New Mag and that very short-lived music magazine too. The Yowl (and I suppose by extension the rest of this paper) is the only group publishing every single week.

These cowardly organizations take a full office and a full semester to publish one publication. They have haughty budgets and no idea what to do with it. A Nummit open tab? A spelling bee? Silly excuses to run up a tab paid for by student fees to be able to add another two months to their timelines to publish.

We are officially announcing our attempts to consolidate power. The Yowl finds itself in the most important literature movement competition on campus. The other magazines are relics and dinosaurs, taking several weeks to publish only to have a couple of their friends submit stories. Here at The Yowl we have nobody submit stories despite asking for them constantly. Ah ha! That shows you our reach and power on campus right there.

Frankly, the idea that publications run on these vague deadlines and curation

The

Yowl

practices and do not just simply flood the zone with sheer volume of writings with the hopes that one single joke lands is ludicrous! You don’t need that office to lay out a paper once a semester. You don’t need that Nummit tab to promote a publication coming out in three months. You don’t need a puff piece in The Davidsonian on your organization.

We shall take over the waste that these organizations feed on, I say! We are annexing the Libertas and Hobart Park office. We need the space for vague, nefarious purposes. We shall take the tabs and money to come up with various ludicrous purchases that we really could not justify. We are taking the space of the other publications we forgot to mention simply just to take up even more space on the campus writing scene in order to heckle people with no clear end goal or punchline. If you can not publish multiple times a semester you will be absorbed into the satire industrial complex. The print version of creating content for clicks will consume you.

WRITERS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The Yowl Antitruthers Mr. Napolean Complex

“It smells like hay or warm grass” - Person walking outside of SAE

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The Fascism Issue

DODE (Department of Davidson Efficiency) announces tour guide cuts: “Just look it up yourself.”

Page Closing Library Next

Brazilian Horse Flu story retracted after criticism from professor Instagram post.

Page I Made it Up

Rejected advice column submissions

he Davidsonian has started an advice column in order to not leave a gaping hole on one of the pages due to the lack of newsworthy things that go on around here at Davidson. Unfortunately, the requests have been a bit strange. Since The Davidsonian has to keep in mind all the old geezers that might read this, they have to choose advice requests that are relatively tame.Fear not, though! The Yowl has scavenged the bottom of the trash can to find the discarded submissions and will answer your strangest, weirdest, grossest questions here.

Q: Me (21F) and my friend (21F) have roomed together for the last four years. Last Friday, my friend and I took care of a drunk guy at F and he ended up spending the night on the couch. I think he hooked up with my friend. I hate him, but my friend thinks he’s cute and has bright, sharp blue eyes. He killed a moth and she thought that was “so hot.” Now she wants to be official with him. Is she moving too fast?

A: No speed is over the limit when it comes to love. Remember that when you’re on your third divorce.

Q: I (59M) accidentally ran over a student with a golf cart. I work for Much Ado

Catering and was rushing to get the shrimp cocktails and tuna steaks over to a lecture on overfishing hosted by the biology department. I was already running late, so I just chucked the kid into the ice and said I’d deal with it in the morning. Well, it’s been several mornings and the ice is almost melted. Should I confess or throw them in the pit for a bunch of drunk students to find?

A: The Honor Code is dead. Pit Party 2.0.

Q: My (19F) and my friend (19F) will be roommates next year and get lunch together almost everyday. Last week, she ate an entire raw onion like it was an apple. I’ve never seen her do this before and honestly it’s a major turn-on. Her jaw strength is deeply attractive and her onion-breath smell isn’t even that bad. I can’t even imagine what her mouth can do… down there. But we’re going to be roommates. I want to make a move, but I also don’t want things to be awko taco, but I’m also just a girl who wants a messy sapphic college relationship.

What should I do?

A: You should keep this to yourself. We should all know less about each other.

Culture and Fashion

Incidents of the Week:

- The Korean Student Association presents to

you: A white Morman man!

- Man calls The Yowl ‘vaguely funny’ then proceeds to bomb and not make women laugh - Nothing like sitting outside in February drinking banana milk because your dining hall has run out of food and seating

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

Hence, nothing in it should be taken as truth.