10/17

The

Davidsonian

Independent Student Journalism Since 1914

inside

davidsonian.com Whistleblower policy provides forum for community members to report misconduct

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October 17, 2018 Retired student-athletes reflect on concussions, injuries, and missing the game

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Abbey Corcoran ‘19 shares an essay about her mental health experience at Davidson

Volume 114, Issue 6

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Davidson parents express disappoint in college’s lack of firstyear progress reports

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Recalibrating Religion

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SGA Chief Innovation Officer Jack Shumway ‘19 aggregates student calendars in his new academic heat map, a project he has been developing over the course of several months. Photo by Emma Brentjens ‘21

SGA, CIO Aim to Improve Student Schedules with “Heat Map” HARRIS ROGERS ‘21 STAFF WRITER

ules of the students they are hoping will attend.

t is no secret that Davidson students often struggle with a hefty workload.

Whether it is a rigorous academic schedule, club involvement, or athletics, day planners at Davidson are often filled. It can be difficult for students to find time to attend the many activities and events taking place on campus, frustrating both the students and event organizers.

Jack Shumway ’19 has set out to find a solution to this problem. Acting in his role as Student Government Association (SGA) Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), Shumway is currently developing a “heat map” that will allow administrators and student leaders to plan events around the busy sched-

It can be difficult for students to find time to attend the many activities and events taking place on campus.

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The heat map is an app that will consider individual class schedules to generate a color-coded schedule of availability tailored to each student participating. This schedule is intended to give students and event planners a better understanding of when students are the most available, allowing organizers to maximize attendance

at their events by having them correspond with times when the most students are deemed available by the program.

In the heat map, each day of the semester is assigned a score that is indicative of the workload that a student can expect on that day, as well as the difficulty of the assignment requiring completion. A long paper would receive a higher score from the program than a brief summary.

Each score is then assigned a corresponding color. Red will indicate a day with little free time to spare, while blue indicates a day students are more likely available for extracurricular activities. The program also includes a variation of colors

JACK DOWELL ‘21 STAFF WRITER

ver a century after Davidson’s Presbyterian founding, the office of the President is still restricted to Presbyterians, and the Board of Trustees only waived a requirement that all members be Christian thirteen years ago (two donors, John Belk ‘43 and Stephen Smith ‘66, stepped down in response). In the 181 years since Davidson’s founding, as the number of Americans identifying as religious has declined, how has religious life changed?

College Chaplain Rob Spach ‘84 sees the school’s Presbyterian background as a defining part of its ethos.

“The reformed tradition has always valued learning at a high level,” he said. “This tradition doesn’t believe it possesses the truth but rather so deeply wants to engage with people of other traditions.”

A report requested by the Board of Trustees about the college’s Presbyterian heritage was written in September 2017. The report, which Spach contributed to, supports his understanding of that link, saying that “the Reformed Tradition calls the College to be a community of rigorous study while encouraging persons to explore and practice their varied faith traditions and while valuing inclusivity and diversity.”

Spach also talked about other methods taken to welcome non-Presbyterian students in recent years, citing that “we have put in here in the Chaplain’s Office and in the Spencer-Weinstein Center ablution stations for Muslims … The nearest mosque is in Charlotte, so we’ve tried to provide an on-campus opportunity for Muslim students.”

He also acknowledged a wish for more diversity in the Chaplain’s Office. “In an ideal world, I’d really love to have a Muslim chaplain, and there are a few institutions that have humanitarian chaplains as well, and I’d love to do that… Practicalities are what are keeping us from having those chaplains. Philosophically we’d want them, but hiring new staff involves a great deal of funding.”

One definite step that the Chaplain’s Office has taken was the hiring of Dr. Grace Burford, an ordained Buddhist minister, as an associate Chaplain. Her long tenure at Prescott University as a religion professor and, according to Spach, “profound caring for each person,” made her an ideal candidate.

Discussing faith at Davidson, Burford explained, “I think that students are personally curious. They’re at

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Davidson Welcomes “Body Project” to Campus BETSY SUGAR ‘21 STAFF WRITER

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ccording to a recent study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, 13.5% of undergraduate women in college are struggling with an eating disorder, a category that includes anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. In addition, the number of eating disorders continues to climb each year, among both men and women.

In the age of self-care and body positivity, it is clear that our society is conscious of the prevalence of this medical threat, yet the numbers are continuing to rise.

The National Eating Disorder Associa-

tion (NEDA), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to combating eating disorders through education, formed the Body Project in 2012 as a way to combat the onset of eating disorders by addressing negative body image. NEDA doctors Carolyn Becker and Eric Stice spearheaded the initiative. According to the Becker and Stice, the Body Project is a “dissonance-based body-acceptance program designed to help high school girls and college-age women resist cultural pressures to conform to the appearance ideal standard of female beauty and reduce the pursuit of unrealistic beauty.”

The NEDA put forth a list of six objectives for the Body Project: “Define the ‘appearance’ ideal and explore its origin. Examine the costs

of pursuing this ideal. Explore ways to resist pressures to conform to unrealistic standards of beauty. Discuss how to challenge personal body-related concerns. Learn new ways to talk more positively about our bodies. Talk about how we can best respond to future pressures to conform to societal standards of beauty.” All of these aim to reduce body image concerns and thereby reduce the onset of eating disorders in women.

Elizabeth Allred, Davidson’s full-time campus dietician, initiated bringing the Body Project to campus after learning about it from local eating disorder recovery centers. She then worked alongside Julie Whittington, another staff dietician who focuses on eating disorders, and Lisa Labbon, a counselor on

campus who specializes in eating disorder recovery. The Body Project entails either two two-hour sessions or one four-hour session for women. The sessions consist of peer facilitator-led discussions about beauty standards and how to overcome societal pressures on women to conform to a singular beauty ideal. The sessions will address multiple facets of beauty standards that society pushes onto women and how to overcome those pressures.

Allred explained that “funding from the Eating Recovery Center and Davidson Resiliency Committee through the Duke Endowment allowed us to bring this to Davidson.”

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News

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Shumway Introduces “Heat Map” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

to indicate the extremity of the workload. The bigger the workload, the higher the score, the more extreme the color assigned to each day.

While the program allows for the inspection of individual student schedules, it also permits organizers to focus on particular target groups. A professor could potentially use the heat map to determine when it would be best to schedule an exam in order to maximize study time. Club leaders could use it to determine when the most members are available for meetings or club activities. Shumway explained that he wanted to create a program that “could by design be versatile” and hopes to see it used in “ways I wouldn’t necessarily anticipate.”

The idea for the heat map stems from Shumway’s own experience serving as Social Chair for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity, as well as difficulties he has faced as a Davidson student. Shumway often found that members of the fraternity could be over optimistic about their ability to attend events he had planned for the future. Shumway attributed this

optimism to a pattern he found within his own work schedule and that of others. He noted that Davidson students often have weeks with few assignments to complete, giving the impression of ample free time.

However, due to the structure of Davidson classes, students will also experience weeks that are exceptionally busy, as work accumulates over time. This fluctuation often gives students the impression of ample free time, and makes planning for the future difficult, forcing students to forgo activities in favor of time-sensitive classwork.

“If you had a better understanding of this at the beginning of the semester, you could plan more efficiently,” said Shumway of the inconsistency of work scheduling. Frustrated, Shumway decided to put his skills as a computer science student to use.

Originally, the heat map was Shumway’s idea for a computer science class project. However, after approaching Dr. Laurie Heyer with the idea, they both quickly realized the program’s potential for school-wide application.

The idea began development in earnest when Shumway was appointed CIO by the SGA in the spring of 2018. SGA

President Itziri Gonzalez-Barcenas ‘19 first learned of the idea when SGA began searching for innovative pitches to improve student interaction with campus leaders and groups. Gonzalez-Barcenas sees the heat map as a way to demonstrate that SGA is interested in outreach and assisting students. “People can see that we care about doing things that are new and different and that we are really trying to do things that help students,” she explained.

Although the heat map initiative is still in the development stages, Shumway is optimistic about his ability to deliver the program in the near future. “It doesn’t seem impossible by any means to have this done by the end of the semester,” he predicted. “We’d certainly like to have it finished the middle of next semester.”

Within the school year, students and administrators will be able to take advantage of the benefits offered by Shumway’s innovative project to better understand availabilities and improve attendance at Davidson’s many worthwhile lectures, activities, and events.

Davidson Reacts to Diversity, Secularity CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 least partially motivated by things that have to do with religion spiritually.”

Burford is also the Coordinator of Interfaith Programs, a position created in conjunction with her hiring. She explained that “the whole position was new. There had been a trial balloon of year of this [interfaith] work done by a student who was a Fellow, Elizabeth Welliver, who was cast with figuring out if there was a need.”

Through this position, she has led a mindfulness program, which is “a secular practice... it’s a tool, a technique.” Reflecting on student attendance, she shared her belief that “people who come to that are clearly looking for a reason to be present in the world, to be more than just a list of things they have to do that day.”

Davidson’s body of student organizations has also become more diverse in the past twenty years, although the first non-Christian student organization, Hillel (formerly the Jewish Student Union) was not founded until 2001. Since then, a Muslim Student Association has also been established, and Davidson’s only non-Abrahamic religious group, Davidson Dharma, was formed in 2016.

According to statistics provided by the Chaplain’s Office, a slight majority of Davidson students, 58%, identify as Christians of some denomination — Catholicism being the highest. Presbyterians, as of the current school year, make up 8.8% of the student body. Non-religious students, those who identify as agnostic, atheist, or simply ‘none’, now make up 32.4% of the campus.

Recent national trends have identified increasing numbers of spiritual but not religious students. A recent Vox article de-

scribes spiritual people as those who feel connected to something greater than themselves, but do not take part in more traditional, organized religion. At Davidson, 2.4% of current students describe themselves as just ‘spiritual,’ although there is often overlap between this group and those who report their religion as none or agnostic.

Burford partially attributes this recent growth of students who are spiritual but not religious to “students not aligning to any particular tradition, but [having] questions, big questions.”

Spach agreed that the trend is visible at Davidson, saying that “in the West, more and more students are being raised without any exposure to religion, and so naturally they come to college not affiliated with any religion.”

Dr. Anne Wills, a professor in the Religious Studies Department, has observed that in her current classes. “There’s not a lot of knowledge [she] can assume students have about the most basic Bible story that’ll show up in a piece of literature,” she said.

Analyzing reasons for this change, she cited the current perception of Christianity in America: “A lot of what we hear nowadays is that religion is the fundamentalist style. Unless you know where to look, the popular picture of religion is not an attractive one, you’ve got all these Evangelicals who voted for Trump.”

She emphasized that the Chaplain’s Office only started tracking numbers of atheists and agnostics this year; “[that] tells you something...50 years ago, atheists would not have wanted to talk about [their identity], and 150 years ago they wouldn’t have been at a place like this.”

A growing number of students spend their Sunday mornings somewhere other than church.

Illustration by Richard Farrell

Program Reacts to Disordered Eating CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Some of the grant money was then used to bring a representative from the Body Project to train the staff, faculty, and student facilitators over a weekend in September.

Over the summer, Allred reached out to the student body offering the opportunity to apply to be a student facilitator. Out of many applicants, the eight staff and faculty facilitators on the Body Project chose thirteen women.

Those thirteen student, staff, and faculty facilitators then went through a two-day training process with a representative from the Body Project. They practiced leading the discussions they will be conducting with their small groups during the upcoming sessions. Allred explained that “people walked away from [the training] feeling not only empowered but

charged to just make some change and help us think more positively about ourselves.”

“My goal is to reduce the onset of eating disorders on campus.”

Elizabeth Millar ‘19, Student Facilitator, The Body Project Both Allred and Whittington also unpacked why this program will be so important for an institution like Davidson. Whittington explained that, “as with other academically rigorous colleges that attract very intelligent and

gifted students, the risk for disordered eating on campus is high.”

Allred also voiced concerns about the academic challenges students face exacerbating the risk of disordered eating, but she perceives Davidson’s atmosphere as a potential aid in addressing body image concerns. “Our students are so great about caring for others, but we’re not so great about caring for ourselves, and the standards that we hold for ourselves can be so different from what we hold to our peers and to our friends.”

Allred’s sentiment is exactly what the Body Project aims to achieve. Elizabeth Millar ‘19, a student facilitator for the Body Project, expressed her goal to establish a safe space for women to discuss these concerns. Millar hopes the Body Project succeeds in “forming a community amongst women because some-

times there can be a competitive environment surrounding females… the more that we can empower each other instead of competing against each other, the better results we’re going to have and the better we’re going to feel.”

Whittington expressed a similar outlook. “My goal is to reduce the onset of eating disorders on campus and foster an environment where anyone struggling with body dissatisfaction can learn to love his or her body and understand how to support one another,” she commented.

Overall, the thirteen student facilitators and those in the Health Center who have brought the Body Project to Davidson have an optimistic outlook on the implementation of the program. The sessions are listed on Wildcat Sync and open to any woman on campus to sign up and participate.

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October 17, 2018

Hotline Facilitates Reporting AJ NADDAFF ‘19 & EMMA PETTIT ‘20 CO-NEWS EDITORS

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n Wednesday, October 10th, students, faculty, and staff received an email regarding the “whistleblower policy,” which provides a hotline for anyone to anonymously report inappropriate activity concerning “suspected violations of college policies” of a fellow community member. The same email is sent out annually, as the program has long been in place. The policy is approved and overseen by Davidson’s Trustee Audit and Finance Committee, and it encourages community members “to make reports in good faith concerning suspected violations of college policies...without fear of reprisal or retaliation.”

According to the email, the whistleblower policy comprises a range of topics to include: “fraud or crime, sexual harassment, discrimination, safety or facility risk issues, security and internet policy abuses, workplace hostility, fraudulent financial or business practices, or any other questionable behavior.”

If a witness prefers to conceal their identity and feels uncomfortable reporting to a college official, they may call the anonymous hotline, operated by a third party. From this, an interview will be conducted anonymously over the phone and a summary will be sent to the college in the next two days. The anonymous service is offered in the event the reporting person is not comfortable directly reporting to a responsible college official, although the nature of the third party involvement makes communication and follow up more difficult.

If the administration requests more information from a witness on a certain allegation, they must also call the hotline and leave questions for when that individual may call back, identified only by the case ID number. While the policy has been in place for years and is common practice across U.S. colleges and universities, some students felt surprised by the email and uncertain about its details.

“I think it is a great policy. It basically puts the judgement into our hand. We have a policy that affects not only the community but the character of people that are in the community.”

Michael Wilson Union Station Manager Vice President and General Counsel Sarah Phillips ‘01 clarified that the policy is designed for reports by employees of suspected violations of college policy or illegal practices committed by fellow employees (e.g. supervisors) of the College; it was sent to students just to keep them aware that this policy exists. In an email to The Davidsonian, she wrote: “It

is not intended for reporting student misconduct, but if the college received such a report, we would refer it to the Dean of Students for investigation.”

Moreover, Phillips said that the policy was devised largely as a platform for employees to report suspicions of fraudulent financial gains by their supervisors.

Union Station Manager Michael Wilson said the whistleblower policy is discussed with prospective employees in the hiring process during interviews, and there is also a section provided in the employee handbook.

“I think it is a great policy. It basically puts the judgement into our hand,” he said. “We have a policy that affects not only the community but the character of people that are in the community.”

Prior to Davidson, Wilson worked as a sports store manager. He said there is something unique about the atmosphere at Davidson among employees and students who mainly circulate the Union Davis Cafe service. “It kind of gives you a sense that the community is watching everyone’s back, but in a good, vibrant way.”

Dr. Debbie Thurtle-Schmidt, a professor in the Biology Department, arrived at Davidson in 2017 from the University of California, San Francisco, and received her PhD from University of California at Berkeley. She said that UC schools had a whistleblower policy similar to that of Davidson. Yet, the recent email was the first she heard of Davidson’s policy.

“In new faculty orientation in August, I don’t recall going over it, but it might have been because we had so much going on,” she

said. “I feel like Davidson is a lot safer than the UC schools; there is a lot more accountability, and people know each other.”

Despite Wilson and Thurtle-Schmidt’s positive response to the whistleblower policy and culture of honor and integrity, they both saw peer-reporting as a last resort. Wilson discussed what he called the “line drawn in the sand” where employees “have to use [their] best judgement” to evaluate cases before reporting.

“I feel like Davidson is a lot safer than the UC schools; there is a lot more accountability, and people know each other.”

Dr. Debbie Thurtle-Schmidt Biology Department Thurtle-Schmidt understands the gravity of reporting an offense and would prefer to address the incident and the individual involved in person before contacting the administration.

Philips, who sent out the email, clarified that she may have to follow up to make sure that students understand the policy is not new but rather is standard protocol that transcends institutions across the U.S.

Crime Log LIZZIE KANE ‘22 SGA CORRESPONDENT

Agenda Takeaways Attendance

Jill Lowe in the Residence Life Office said she is willing to give vans to bus people back and forth to the airport. It would cost $300 to rent them, but the SGA thinks it would still be cheaper than the ride services that students are currently taking. The SGA is looking in the archives at the SGA bylaws, and a report is going to be written by a member of the organization that will summarize what the SGA needs to be doing that they currently are not. The SGA is having a retreat on campus within the next couple of weeks.

The BoT was updated on the four plots of land behind Vail Commons that are going to be given to the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations; these organizations are historically African American sororities and fraternities. wwThe SGA did a lot of self-reflection on their purpose as an organization and whether or not the student body knows how they spend their time. Two meeting attendees appeared to be disengaged, interacting on their computers instead.

or

Description/Location

10/07/18 at 1610 hrs

Larceny Misdemeanor Tomlinson, Further Investigation

1. Mid-Year Budget Requests 2. Board of Trustee (BoT) Update 3. BoT Plenary Feedback 4. SGA Feedback

97%

Time Reported

32 33

Absent: Juan Diaz Mercado (Excused) Left Early: Nilay Ghatlia (Ex.) and Kate Bock (Ex.)

10/11/18 at 1822 hrs

Impaired Driving Patterson Court, Further Investigation

10/11/18 at 1855 hrs

Hit and Run

10/13/18 at 2230 hrs

Underage Consumption

10/12/18 at 1730 hrs

Poss. Of Alcohol Underage

10/13/18 at 2145 hrs

Underage Consumption x4

10/14/18 at 0110 hrs

Underage Consumption x3

10/14/18 at 0230 hrs

Underage Consumption

Baker Drive, Further Investigation

Belk, Dean Referral/Medic Transport

Chidsey, Dean Referral

Watts, Dean Referral

Duke, Dean Referral

Richardson, Dean Referral

Perspectives

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Public Engagement Outlook Invite Dates KAYLA EDWARDS ‘20 All of my conversations about Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court have happened in private spaces: on a walk past the graveyard on campus, in a corner of Toast during Hurricane Michael, and over text after listening to the “658: The Unhappy Deciders” episode from the This American Life podcast. Conveniently, these conversations all happened with people, who through hours of discussions about the existential and moral dilemmas of college over the past 2 years and 8 weeks, generally believe me to be a rational person with a soul. These conversations occurred in the most protected spaces. However, Davidson’s purpose of “developing humane instincts” in students such that we may live lives of “leadership and service” necessitates having high stakes discussions in places where we feel less individually secure.

To be sure, I didn’t think I needed to publicly weigh in on the Kavanaugh hearings. For the last several weeks, I’ve had at least 10 different New Yorker articles opened on my computer related to the confirmation. I wasn’t going to contribute anything to the public discourse that Jia Tolentino and Masha Gessen hadn’t already said with better vocabularies.

Even ignoring insecurity about my writing, I understood that victims of sexual assault had become involuntary consumers of everyone’s opinion through the constant updates on Twitter, The New York Times, and Instagram Stories. The debate quickly centered around moral frameworks.

The stakes were too high. Nothing I was going to say would fix the systematic problems that had existed long before Anita Hill appeared before the Senate in 1991. Then, I was forced to confront my silence by a quickly approaching deadline on my calendar.

Dr. Natalie Delia Deckard, MacArthur Assistant Professor of Sociology at Davidson College, has this inconspicuously radical assignment on the syllabus for her course “Refugees, Migrants, and the Stateless.” It reads, “Opinion Piece-15%: We have a compelling mandate to contribute knowledge to the public conversation. Your opinion piece should range from 700-900 words, and respond to a piece of news regarding migration and migration policy that is fewer than 2 days old...

You will submit for publication in print media like Time and the Wall Street Journal or internet outlets like Slate and Salon.”

This “compelling mandate to contribute knowledge to the public conversation” is deeply rooted in Davidson’s call for students to take on “lives of leadership and service.” As the Perspectives editor of The Davidsonian, I firmly believe in the power of words to initiate new ideas and expand our idea of possible realities. And yet, even I need to be reminded that pursuing leadership and service necessitates clearly communicating our ideas (supported by evidence and rigorous editing).

How can we lead or serve others if we don’t publicly communicate who we are or how we believe

we can improve our communities?

Dr. Deckard’s assignment gives students permission to engage in discourse about issues outside of Davidson’s zip code--fully recognizing our responsibility as young adults supported by the immense privilege of a liberal arts education and access to professors and students who can challenge our beliefs. Davidson professors can, following the lead of Dr. Deckard and others, encourage this type of learning by assigning opinion pieces in their classes.

How can we engage on an issue when so often, many see the debate as a clear moral question? When the lives of vulnerable individuals are on the line, how do we debate policy?

And yet, there is still a deterrent to participation: the issues we are publicly debating feel inaccessible. How can we engage on an issue when so often, many see the debate as a clear moral question? When the lives of vulnerable individuals are on the line, how do we debate policy? There is no “right” answer to these questions.

In her opinion piece “Time For A Detox: How The Sugar High Of Certainty Impairs Speaking About Speech,” recently published by Forbes, President Carol Quillen provides an initial entry point to navigating these dilemmas. She encourages the proponents of free speech on college campuses to “examine with [young people] how the noblest of aspirations can morph into rigidly oppressive ideologies” and to “explore how intricate conflicts get reduced to a stark either/or choice, and how complex human beings come to be defined by or identify with only one attribute that then rationalizes their marginalization.” She challenges readers to resist discussing issues as if they have one “correct” answer and to recognize how assuming there is one answer has historically limited our collective worldview.

In effect, we should avoid both the temptations and restrictions imposed by a requirement of certainty--giving ourselves the permission to be wrong about things. When we recognize our inability to fully know anything and choose to speak anyway, we recognize the validity of our voices as part of a larger historical conversation. In acknowledging the high stakes nature of our current debates and the real lives that exist beyond our hot takes, we are, as President Quillen writes, invited “to use language with care, to recognize crucial distinctions, to base claims on facts and to put forth analytically rigorous, nuanced arguments.”

We start using our language to lead.

Kayla Edwards ‘20 is a Political Science major from Davidsonville, Maryland. Contact her at kaedwards@davidson.edu

The

Davidsonian Staff

Editors in Chief News Editors Perspectives Editor Arts and Culture Editor Sports Editor Photography Editor Yowl Editors Design Editor Web Editor Art Editor Copy Editors

Laura Dunnagan ‘19, Olivia Daniels ‘19 AJ Naddaff ‘19, Emma Pettit ‘20 Kayla Edwards ‘20 Lucas Weals ‘19 Sam Thomas ‘20 Elayna Daniels ‘21 EJ Kelley ‘20, Katie Walsh ‘20 Sebastian Sola-Sole ‘21 Hope Anderson ‘22 Richard Farrell ‘22 Sarah Austin ‘21, Lindy Bustabad ‘21, Susannah Cate ‘20, Yashi Gunawardena ‘19

EMILEE LORD ‘19 Midterm season is winding down and we all know what that means—semi season. For those of us who have not made some pact of eternal love in the shadow of the kissing well, we’re trying to figure out who we should take. A friend? A crush?

Someone we know is less cute but has a really good personality or a moody troll with a sexy bod? If you’re anything like I used to be, you throw your hands up and submit yourself to a blind date.

I’m writing this as a PSA: friends and cohorts, blind dates are a thing of the past.

Outlook invites are the future. Before entirely dismissing this suggestion as the nonsense of a washed-up senior, I beg you to hear me out and more importantly #get #outlook #trending.

The past few weeks, I have served as the guinea pig for my theory, sending out well over 15 missives via Outlook Invite for coffee. To contextualize a bit more, these invites are usually for meetings in the morning (before 12:30pm) on my front porch, weather permitting of course.

I’m a Southerner at heart, and I love having guests over. Just chatting and sitting a spell is in my nature so I have opted against the Nummit route, though I would recommend it to those of y’all who are so bad in the kitchen that you routinely burn water. Regardless of location, the following are my thoughts on the merits of Outlook invite dating.

1. Why waste time committing an entire night out to some rando? Figure out if you like them or not in 30-45 minutes over coffee.

2. Coffee dates are wholesome and noncommittal. Getting coffee with someone in no way has sexual implications…unless the parties involved mutually initiate it, in which case the Outlook invite has gone above and beyond its original purpose. #ConsentIsSexy 3. What’s the worst that could happen?

Your invite goes ignored? Your crush knows your name? Y’all meet and you realize you don’t have that much in common so you gain a new friend and move on to the next coffee date? The stakes are so low.

4. If you need further encouragement, I’m currently operating at a 70% success rate. Also, once word gets out that you’re open to Outlook inviting, people actually start sending them to you first! So many new pals!

On a more serious note, we’re Davidson students. We are all busy people, but we’re humans who crave connection and friendship. It’s this realization which pro-

pels me to offer up Outlook Speed-Dating to campus. At worst, it’s a good exercise to develop your self-confidence and social skills. It keeps you humble too. Though if you’re goofy enough to send the invite and someone ignores it, do you really want to be friends or try and have a relationship with that person? Because clearly they lack the fundamentals of good humor.

Outlook invites for coffee are objectively funny. They give you the chance to actually get to know someone, and they leave the window open for a follow-up invite to

We are all busy people, but we’re humans who crave connection and friendship.

It’s this realization which propels me to offer up Outlook Speed-Dating to campus. At worst, it’s a good exercise to develop your self-confidence and social skills. ask your crush to wave at you F…and who knows where that could lead.

If you’re still nervous, I invite you (pun intended) to consider my personal governing principle, an idea which applies to Outlook dating just as much as it does to the rest of life. This principle is best understood through two questions. First, if you do this thing, whatever the thing may be, what’s the worst possible outcome? Second, what is the probability that the worst of the worst actually happens? If you can live with that answer, I say do it… Get out there. Talk to that crush. Make a friend.

Meet your person. Fill your email with coffee dates, not your life with regret. The way I see it, we’re all going to be graduated in the next three years and then we will have to PAY for Outlook. So getting started on those invites today is really the economically sound decision. That’s why I say #fullsends only.

Emilee Lord ‘19 is a History and Hispanic Studies double-major from Swannanoa, North Carolina. Contact her at emlord@ davidson.edu

Sports

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Cross Country Starts Strong in A-10 Competition ANDREW ERLER ‘22 SPORTS WRITER Recently ranked as the 11th best team in the Southeast -- which consists of all schools in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky -- Davidson women’s cross country is looking to outrun Atlantic 10 competition this season. Conference rival Richmond was ranked two slots higher at 9th providing motivation for the team to outshine their opponents in upcoming meets.

During the Greater Louisville Challenge a week ago, Davidson placed 7th and beat a multitude of ranked teams including Auburn and Louisville. Senior Caroline Yarbrough earned All-Invitational Honors with a 23rd place finish and gave a positive outlook on the team’s young additions. “Our [first-years’] dedication to the sport and ardent desire to improve inspires each of our teammates to likewise emulate their hard work ethics, and their joyful, caring, and hilarious personalities are such a blessing to our team!”

Rachel Shapiro ’22 added to Davidson’s score finishing the 5k race at 18:53.3, demonstrating the instant impact both in training and competition that Yarborough ‘19 discussed.

This past weekend, the team took home the win at the Royals XC Challenge. The race was highlighted by personal bests from both Yarbrough and Sophia Mills ‘19, who ran 17:04 and 17:38 respectively which was good for third and twelfth place. Shapiro, Katie Macturk ‘20, and Paige McKinney ‘20 rounded out the top five for the group.

As the season progresses, the team turns their eyes to the conference meet on October 27th, where all fourteen A-10 teams will battle for the conference title. Beyond this lies the Regional and National meets.

The team works diligently to prepare for these key

races. Yarbrough noted that “while we each have individual targets related to time and finishing place, at the end of the day, cross country is a team sport, so we can only improve by collectively pushing each other to be the best version of ourselves each day.”

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, seeing as the preseason coaches’ poll predicted Dayton to repeat a win of the A-10 conference title, Davidson men’s cross country has set their eyes on the Flyers as the team to beat.

From the first meet of the season, the Spider-Alumni Opener, was a display of Davidson’s young potential. Coleman Mitchell ‘22 led the Wildcats with a 5th overall finish, earning him an A-10 rookie of the week honor. Trent Turbyfill ’22 was the second Wildcat with a top-10 finish placing 9th.

Senior harrier Dylan Carmack commented on the first-years’ impact stating that, “while we have a number of fast returners, the freshmen have really stepped up and challenged everyone to perform their best week in and week out.”

It is a work ethic such as this that gives the Wildcats a chance to knock the reigning Dayton Flyers off the A-10 throne. On October 27th the A-10 conference meet occurs at Pole Green Park in Virginia. The meet, hosted by Richmond, pits all A-10 teams against each other on a course that is notoriously fast, increasing the competitiveness of the race.

“We are a really talented and young team, so other teams may not view us as much of a threat,” emphasized Carmack. With promising new additions, Davidson is looking to use its combination of seasoned experience and young talent to make a push for the A-10 conference title.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams have an opportunity to show off their potential. Photos courtesy of Jeff Sochko/DavidsonPhotos

Life After Sports: Retired Athletes Share Stories DREW EASTLAND ‘21 SPORTS WRITER

Weekly Sports Update

According to the Davidson College Athletic Department, Davidson welcomed 135 firstyear athletes to campus in the fall of 2015.

Today the Class of 2019 only has 72 student athletes. 42 percent of those once first-year athletes have retired, quit, or transferred.

Jumping to the conclusion that athletes quit because of the workload or use sports to get into Davidson fails to delve into the complexity everyone’s situation. Athletes retire from their sport for a variety of reasons, but injury often plays a large role.

Jan Brentjens ’21 played football at Davidson for one year until myriad injuries forced him to retire. Last season, he sustained a back injury that ended his career. Timmy Douglas ’21 retired from the football team the second week of practice of first year at Davidson. He had not sustained any injuries, but he had lost his love of the game in high school, and college hadn’t brought it back.

Jennifer Thompson ‘20 left the track team after two years because she believed that she could not live up to her own expectations.

This season will be her first in nine years not running track. “I felt as though I wasn’t doing it as much justice as I could’ve been,” Thompson said. “I knew what my potential was, and

I wasn’t fulfilling it.”

Adrian Mayans ‘19 came to Davidson in the fall of 2015. He planned to be part of the growing baseball program; however, those hopes were dashed when he sustained an injury wakeboarding the week before. “I felt something weird and I heard something pop or crunch… initially out for four weeks… I was pissed about that,” Mayans said. “I planned as starting as a [first-year]; I had pretty high aspirations… Four weeks turned into forever.”

“I felt as though I wasn’t doing it as much justice as I could’ve been.

I knew what my potential was, and I wasn’t fulfilling it.”

Jennifer Thompson‘20 Last season, soccer player Coleman Richards ‘19 sustained an in-game concussion. He hoped to be back on the field for his senior year until a car accident blindsided him with another concussion. Richards was medically cleared to play; however, he still had symptoms, and when he separated himself from the

team this summer, he realized he wouldn’t be ready to come back.

Fellow soccer player Shannon Ballard ‘19 suffered a similar situation. Last season, she battled to come back from a concussion but kept feeling symptoms. “When I stopped going my symptoms went away.” Ballard said, “It was kind of like my body saying thank you, can we not do that again?” Ballard also highlighted that the grind of a Davidson scholar athlete probably took a toll on her and made her recovery harder. “If you think about it there are a certain number of hours in our days that are no longer ours… For me [soccer] took away the down time my brain needed.”

Some of the injuries that players sustain never go away. Richards still feels symptoms from his injuries. Likewise, Mayans’s injury still bothers him today. “I have to sleep on my right side…if I sleep on my left side I’ll wake up with cramps down the left side of my back,” explained Mayans. “I’ve learned to live with it, but… just talking to you right now I can feel it.”

For some athletes, dropping a sport has opened new opportunities. Mayans started his own company, Lucid, LLC. The company uses drones to clean buildings. Douglas has become a leader with Davidson’s Young Life organization. Thompson is on the e-boards of

Game of the Week Soccer (M) Davidson men’s soccer is at home twice this week, but the biggest matchup is next Tuesday night at 7pm as the ‘Cats host the Hokies of Virginia Tech. This will be the third and final, and perhaps most favorable, ACC matchup for the men’s soccer team this season thus far following close matchups with No. 3 UNC and No. 1 Wake Forest. Davidson currently has a spot in the A-10 conference tournament, a golden opportunity to add a signature win to their already impressive resume on the season!

both the Black Student Coalition and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Most athletes still maintain a strong relationship with the team. Richards and Ballard both remain involved with their teams and work with the players directly, and the other athletes are still friends with former team members. “They’re still all my friends,” Mayans said. “I still train with them… I went to war with them; it’s a brotherhood that doesn’t really change.”

“[My former teammates] are still my friends.

I still train with them. I went to war with them; it’s a brotherhood that doesn’t really change.”

Adrian Mayans ‘19 For many retired athletes, the hardest part is seeing their former teammates suit up to play games. Brentjens reminisced: “You get that adrenaline rush; you’re about to step on the field and you’re about to play 60 minutes of football.”

Wildcat Standings: Volleyball Team VCU Dayton La Salle George Mason Davidson Duquesne Saint Louis Fordham GW Rhode Island

W 7 7 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 1

L 0 1 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 6

St Pct. W7 W4 L2 L2 W2 W2 W2 L2 L3 L4

1 .875 .571 .571 .429 .429 .375 .286 .286 .143

Arts and Culture

6

On the Artwork of Yinka Shonibare YASEMIN TEKGURLER ‘19 ARTS CORRESPONDENT

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s the Van/Every Smith Galleries celebrate their 25-year anniversary, we get to enjoy yet another marvelous sculpture through the efforts of the gallery staff. The world-renowned artist Yinka Shonibare’s work illustrates the beauty of immigration and, in a way, celebrates the inheritance of different cultures. His use of vivid colors and texture fascinates me, while being a continuous reminder of the past—of our own backgrounds, how they come together to form our current world. Regardless of the painful and unforgettable histories of colonialization, slavery, and forced integrations, Shonibare acknowledges the outcome of those events as creation: of multi-national and borderless cultures, in which Dutch wax fabrics—with textiles that are quite often considered African—can transcend a traditional colonial ship into something celebratory. In many of his sculptures, Shonibare uses these particular symbols—ships, sails, Dutch fabrics, and African textiles—to collide the colonizer and the colonized, and create such powerful pieces.

One of the perks of being a gallery intern is, of course, getting to know our amazing gallery director and curator, Lia Newman. As I was writing this piece, I wanted to provide you all with some insight on the effort and the thought process that went on behind the scenes, with both the Wind Sculpture piece and the upcoming exhibition at the Van/Every Smith Galleries (Soft Opening on October 25th). Lia was so kind to answer some burning questions!

YT: How does the process of bringing his sculpture on campus work? When did you start talking to Shonibare? Why did you and the arts commission committee specifically want that piece? What made Shonibare and the Wind Sculpture stand out from other artists and artworks?

LN: I have long been interested in his work— probably since he first made a statement in the exhibition Sensation (I think that was 1997?).

We have a list of potential sculptors that we keep in mind and we continually add names.

Shonibare rose to the list with his first generation of Wind Sculptures because of the ideals/ concepts his work represents. It’s also important to me that the sculpture collection is diverse in terms of media, style, and the artists’ backgrounds. Shonibare (and the work) brings all of that to the table. We want to add works by significant artists, those who have cemented their careers because (more or less) these works are permanent. When we started talking to the James Cohan Gallery there was one edition of the first generation of Wind Sculptures available...but once we saw the rendering for the new design it became obvious that this work was the one for our campus. It’s so dynamic. The Public Art Fund in NY was also talking with Yinka and the gallery about the commission so the conversation had to include all entities once we became serious about the purchase.

YT: How does Shonibare’s work fit in a college campus? Especially regarding the sculpture, what would you say it provides the students with/what can the students learn from experiencing it?

LN: I see them as being a great public art work because at first glance it’s quite accessible. It’s a beautiful work—a monument to wind, something we can’t see but experience through other senses. Yinka connects this work to a piece he made called Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle. This is the pared down version: one sail, basically.

If you dig deeper, and understand how Yinka uses the Dutch wax textiles in a subversive way, that the piece is a great fit on a college campus, and certainly one focused around the liberal arts, because through this simple gesture Yinka is really talking about colonialism, authenticity, identity, the movement of people and ideas… This sculpture is representative of our community. I also think the color, pattern and form will allow us to grow and expand the campus sculpture program in ways not possible before (I think this true of both the Beer bench and the Shonibare).

Yinka Shonibare MBE, The American Library, 2018, Hardback books, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, gold foiled names, headphones, interactive application. Photo courtesy of Field Studio ed because they seem to relate to the overall YT: What is your favorite piece/one of your project in their emphasis on knowledge and favorite pieces in this exhibition? truth—seemingly under attack right now in this binary moment of us vs. them, when irraLN: I built the exhibition around The Amer- tional fears guide decisions. ican Library, his newest installation, which premiered this summer at Front Triennial in As the gallery continues to unpack these beauCleveland. I thought it was important to exhib- tiful pieces and put The American Library it his work in the gallery at the same time that together, I would love for you to visit this his sculpture was installed as a way of provid- exhibition and think about what it stands for ing more context for his work. The American and what it means to you personally. To me, it Library is a timely work that celebrates the is another reminder that this is an immigrant contributions of several generations of immi- country; and immigrants don’t mean borders grants to the US, even recognizing the fact that or passport-checks: immigrants mean culture, some individuals arrived here through forced creating something new together; they means immigration, including slavery. It’s an acces- learning about each other and enjoying these sible work and visualizes immigration in a moments of the unknown and the unfamiliar. completely different way than we are current- Immigration is beautiful and every person has ly experiencing it through the media—such as a story to contribute into the whole. Everyone thinking about the current policies separating creates their own book in the library, one that families at the border. This chooses to be more we should all pick up and cruise through. celebratory, to remind us of the positive impact of immigration. Our country for founded Yasemin Tekgurler ‘19 is a Sociology and Stuon immigration, although it’s often been con- dio Art double major from Istanbul, Turkey. tested. The other works —The Sleep of Reason She can be reached for comment at yatekgurlProduces Monsters series, the two sculptures, er@davidson.edu. and the film Odile and Odette were includ-

Restaurant Review: Sabor MICHAEL HALL ‘19 FOOD CORRESPONDENT

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oming in hot off of a human trafficking scandal, the Harris Teeter parking lot is being revitalized by Sabor Latin Street Grill.

Dropped cellular shades are best enjoyed on the inside—where they filter light pollution to emphasize the bright colors and sports highlights—than from the outside, where one is likely to perceive the restaurant as closed.

My friends and I snaked between sleek booths and under hanging light fixtures to the rhythm of Porro Bonito

by Orquesta Ritmo de Sabanas (read: song from Narcos). Sabor lives up to the name, incorporating Venezuelan (or Colombian, depending on who you ask) arepas, Mexican gorditas and elotes, and other Latino staples such as empanadas. Strolling in on a lazy Sunday afternoon, our group decided on each ordering an array of tacos and then bolstering the table with a gordita and an arepa.

While my workload prohibited me from enjoying a personal favorite of mine—Modelo Negro—I was entranced by two well-stocked merchandisers that included a tamarind-heavy selection of Jaritos, and canned Inca Kola, a bubble-gum flavored soda that

I haven’t been able to procure since leaving Peru.

I ordered two chicken “Autentico” tacos, one grilled, one shredded, and one tilapia taco adorned with a curtido slaw, a vinegary cabbage slaw I’ve only ever had with Salvadoran pupusas (a missed opportunity to not include on the menu). By the time I carried over samples of each of the six salsas our food had arrived. Half the salsas were forgettable, neither disappointing nor particularly engaging. The “pineapple habanero” salsa fell flattest, incorporating no heat into the morass of pineapple. The “salsa arbol” salsa tasted as though it had ketchup, something that wouldn’t surprise me when I found out that the “rosada” salsa was simply a ketchup-mayonnaise sauce. Best of the bunch, the “charred habanero” salsa was worth smuggling out of the restaurant: spicy, smoky, and a complement to every taco we ordered.

All tacos were served on two tortillas—something I’ve never encountered before, in the U.S. or Mexico— fundamental to transport the hefty portions given the price points. The “Curtido Talapia” taco had a strong sear, but the slaw’s muted flavors were outdone by the shredded chicken “Autentico,” by far the most flavorful we tried. The grilled chicken “Auten-

tico” was less pleasant: dry, half-inch cubes of chicken begged for an additional two lime wedges.

After giving an elevator pitch on the ethereal maize-dough of arepas, I was disappointed to see the dough fried.

This left me in an unfamiliar middle ground between thin/crispy and thick/ velvety that was only made more unsettling by a heavy dosage of the “rosada” salsa.

Overall the tacos were solid, but raw onion and cilantro didn’t bring the invigorating freshness I anticipated, and the arepa brewed a mayonnaise-ketchup-cheese trifecta that would have left Pepto-Bismol as the ideal dessert. The gordita, nonetheless, was phenomenal.

Black beans meddled with sour cream to create a comforting base for spiced shredded chicken and slivered iceberg lettuce; the gordita is reason enough to go to Sabor, and lathering it in the charred habanero salsa—for those not adverse to spice—leaves a product I could see a group of students devouring before, during, or after a frolics-level hangover.

Michael Hall ‘19 is an Economics and Latin American Studies double major from Savannah, GA. He can be reached for comment at mihall@davidson.edu.

Top: Three tacos served with lime; bottom: Inca Kola soda and several salsas. Photos by Michael Hall ‘19

Et Cetera

7

A Violent Reality of Mental Health at Davidson Personal Essay: Abbey Corcoran ‘19

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llow me, in these paragraphs, to be your Virgil. Our Hell? The rampant problem of how surveillance and liability-centered discourse permeate frameworks dealing with mental health at most US institutions. Davidson provides an example of the widespread problem and, while it’s certainly complicit in these systems, it doesn’t have to be.

It all began in January when, toting my new official depression diagnosis like a precious newborn, I tottered nervously into the Dean of Students Office and, like a handwritten sign in the window of an understaffed store, announced that I needed help. I told the Dean (henceforth known as Dean #1 for, it gives me great pleasure to reduce the Deans to mere numbers as they have done unto me many times) that my poor mental health (read: swirling abyss of hopelessness preventing me from getting out of bed) was making it hard for me to concentrate. I was being proactive: I hoped that they’d grant me a mental health withdrawal from a class to help me get back on my feet. They listened with the unfeeling eyes of a marble bust as I explained all of this and, when I finished, they sat back and, in one breath, told me that they didn’t think my experience was “catastrophic enough” to grant a withdrawal. Sometimes I think back to that moment with a dark irony. What would have been catastrophic enough for them?

My physician, recommending in-patient treatment, said Davidson had a protocol in place: this “protocol” was an escort by campus police to a hospital without a psychiatric facility, where I conducted Skype interviews with counselors at other hospitals.

some dangerous binge drinking. Those are behaviors I must and do take responsibility for but that must also be considered in the context of obsessive and painful thoughts, which I now know to be a product of my then-undiagnosed Borderline Personality Disorder, which forced their way into my head and danced merrily on the underside of my eyelids with each and every blink. My mind was a prison and I wanted out. I wanted to die.

Anyway: when I was released, I stumbled out of the hospital like a nascent foal, my hair just as mussed because I had not been allowed a hairbrush. I felt the concrete, lumpy like cottage cheese, beneath my bare feet and I couldn’t find it in me to be surprised when my parents, who had flown up from Colorado, told me that I was banned from Davidson’s campus until I met with the Dean: I would be staying with them in their hotel. It had been five days since I had worn pajama pants (not allowed because of the drawstring) and now, if I wanted some, I had to be escorted by someone from RLO because the Dean’s Office had cut off my CatCard access. I was literally and metaphorically unmoored from my life as it had been pre-hospitalization.

This sense of being adrift was only exacerbated by the fact that, upon my return, many of my friends had determined (in some cases, reasonably) that my mental health, and subsequent behavior was too weighty a responsibility. I was alone. The Dean I was supposed to meet with was new to me: Dean #2, if you will.

In our meeting with my parents, they fixed me with an unsympathetic gaze and launched not into questions about my wellbeing but into accusations meant to shame me for my suicidal

As a trained Hall Counselor, I did everything I would have told a resident to do. I was proactive but was told it wasn’t catastrophic enough. Then, it was too catastrophic to be allowed on campus.

I followed the plan I’d made with the Dean almost exactly and it didn’t matter.

With the help of the registrar I managed to drop the class anyway. Despite the utter invalidation I’d felt in the Dean’s office, I was determined to keep trying. I attended weekly therapy and set up a meeting with someone from the office of Academic Access and Disability Resources. However, furthered by said meeting—during which they told me they weren’t really sure how to help me—things, as they often do for those of us who struggle with mental health on Davidson’s campus, got worse. The pain that had seemed too abstract for Dean and Disability Office alike began to manifest itself in short sharp cuts crisscrossing my wrists and

ideation. They told me that I’d damaged my parents, despite just meeting them. They followed that up by reading out-loud confidential Student of Concern Reports they’d received about me-- still in front of my parents. I have no doubt that this moment, to which I didn’t consent, forever altered our relationship, something Davidson should never do.

Then, weeks later, came the worst panic attack yet. Somehow, I made it to my therapist’s office. She thought I could return to campus but with a friend, just in case. My friend arrived, but with her came RLO and the Counselor On-Call. They told me that I wasn’t wel-

come on campus: I had nowhere to go. Then, the Counselor declared that he was going to call the police to take me to the hospital. I was taken, for a moment, back to my sexual assault. He wanted me off campus because--at that moment--I was merely a liability.

garded. My voice was so diminutive and unimportant in the eyes of Davidson College that I needed doctors to speak for me.

As a trained Hall Counselor, I did everything I would have told a resident to do. I was proactive but was told it wasn’t catastrophic enough.

MY MIND WAS A PRISON AND I WANTED OUT. I WANTED TO DIE. The next morning, I met with Dean #2. They said that I couldn’t stay on campus (despite the fact that I already had stayed the night) and that I had two options: since I was in good academic standing (mental health doesn’t actually mean anything about one’s capacity or intelligence), the benevolent Dean #2 would allow me to go on a “voluntary” medical leave and finish my finals at home or, if I refused, the college would pursue a mandatory leave (and my semester-worth academic work would be erased). That is not two options. That is one: go home so Davidson isn’t liable. Consent can’t be given if there’s coercion. I protested (it was too expensive to have my parents come out again, there was still one unit left in my Biology class that would be on the final and I’d have to teach myself, and--finals approaching—I didn’t have the four days it takes to drive to Colorado and my doctors were in Davidson) but this was, of course, ignored.

For what it’s worth, I took my finals and I aced every one, even biology.

Before we left, my mom and I had a final meeting with Dean #2. During that meeting, they found it in themselves, for a moment, to care (or maybe they were just trying to save face but, either way) and they asked for feedback. I was honest. I told them that the Dean’s Office and the Counseling Center had not treated me like an autonomous person and had, instead, reduced me to potential damages, had preached the values of community, but a community that didn’t include people with depression, with anxiety, with BPD, with insomnia. It didn’t include me. In that meeting, we inquired and Dean #2 told us that I would be welcome back in the fall, as long as I continued to seek treatment over the summer. However, as if to illustrate my feedback, when I finally arrived home I received an email from Dean #2 outlining the conditions of my return in the fall, to which I had agreed in our last meeting. Weaved in with the requirements I had agreed to was a new, never before seen stipulation: Dean #2 wanted my doctors to confirm to them my “readiness” before I was to be allowed back. Oh how I fumed! I was not just upset because they had very plainly fabricated a condition I had not agreed to after the fact (a move that is sketchy at best in light of the values supposedly taught by the Honor Code) but that, once again, my own voice and my own ability to self-determine was disre-

Day 2

Then, it was too catastrophic to be allowed on campus. I followed the plan I’d made with the Dean almost exactly and it didn’t matter. The systems that are purportedly set up to keep students safe weren’t. They were surveilling me, waiting for me to make a mistake and when I did, it was over.

Let me be very clear: I am not the sum of my diagnoses. I am not defined by what my doctors think about me or what the Director of any office at Davidson reports about me. I get to decide when I’m ready. I am not just a liability, I am a human person. For months, Davidson College treated me otherwise. The purpose of this essay, however, goes beyond condemnation or reprimand. There are things I did and said last semester that I am not proud of and I by no means intend to obscure my mistakes in a scathing critique of the institution. I hurt people and, to those people, I am so sorry: I will carry with me guilt and sorrow for what I did for the rest of my life. No, this essay isn’t for my absolution, it is a plea, a shout, the inaction of a promise I made in the psych ward to get out and change the world. I also by no means intend to condemn just Davidson: I know that liability is built into the systems that govern most institutions for higher education.

As I imagine any pre-law student would attest, it makes sense.

However, I’m asking for Davidson (faculty, administration, staff and students) to look at the treatment of the individual within that system: because this is bigger than Dean #1 and Dean #2 and a comically incompetent counselor. Student perspectives are sodden with the language of the institution. There’s little difference between the administration’s grammar of liability and a friend telling you that she can’t care about you because she “doesn’t have the resources.” What resources are needed for compassion? Where’s the policy that elevates loving consideration over legal consequences?

Administrators, consider the ways your disregard for student autonomy in the face of mental health encourages students to do the same. Students, consider how you are influenced by Davidson to see mental health as a problem. Davidson is only one of many institutions complicit in the dehumanization of folks who struggle with mental health, but we aren’t beholden to the systems of oppression they model. It’s time we break this proclivity for unforgiveness and do something different.

Day 4

Rafael Oettl ‘22 What I wear is a reflection of where I come from and what makes me comfortable. It just feels good to uniquely express myself through what I wear. Style is personal to everyone and what you wear might even inspire others to change their look. I shop at stores such as TJ Maxx, Macy’s, Urban Outfitters, and Footlocker. They have really good deals and a variety of brands to choose from.

Day 1

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The

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inside

Irreverent student journalism since 2004. Castigat Ridendo Mores. ∂avidsonian.com The Foxy Issue October 17, 2018 Lonely Student Found Spooning Large Oblong Pillow In Wall Permanently Banned From Vicinity Page Companionship

Free Spirited Student Working on Chambers Lawn Found To Be 100% Unproductive Pages 100

Local Psychopath Sole Buyer of Carrot Cake and Veggie Sticks From Tommy Vending Machine Page 29.5

Carrel with 26 Books on Shelf Intimidating as F*ck Page 26

Student’s Estranged Uncle Sends Relatable Steph Curry Text to Break the Ice as Basketball Season Nears Page 30

Abroad Junior Still Yet to Find Self as Methods Grow Increasingly Extreme

Harrison and friends (L-R) Stacy, Marie, Laurie, Laura, Mary Ann, Mary Beth, and Donna

Mother of Freshman Shocked To Discover: “No They Don’t Give Out Progress Reports, Mom!” CHEVY CHASE, MD — Patricia Harrison, mother of Robert Harrison ‘22, waited in vain with bated breath yesterday to receive her son’s progress report.

Witnesses (the family dog) overheard Harrsion last Tuesday, pointing enthusiastically to a middle school portrait of her son sporting a bulbous bowl cut, “Bobby was a fantastic student in school. Stellar! Stellar marks!

I’m always proud to print his progress reports out. No, they may not be a real report card. But they still count!

Anything to show Bobby off goes on the fridge!”

Harrison was then shocked to hear last Friday on her daily phone call with “Bobby” that Davidson College does not issue formal progress reports, and worse, that her sweet Bobby boy has yet to receive a single solitary grade this semester.

Harrison was later overheard consulting her monthly book group, stating “What kind of slap-dash, organization is Carol Quillen running? How am I supposed to know how Bobby’s fairing? Ridiculous!”

In an effort to quell parental panic, Harrison requested a conference with Bobby’s political Science Professor Tenthouse to discuss the cryptic lack of grades or

information disseminated to parents. In her email (pattyhatty45@aol.com), wrote, “It is one thing to not have received even one copy of the syllabus, nor to have been invited to a single Parent Open House, but it is another thing to be completely left in the dark about my son’s grades. This blatant inattention is absolutely despicable.”

Professor Tenthouse refused to comment on the matter.

“‘What kind of slapdash organization is Carol Quillen running? How am I supposed to know how Bobby’s fairing? Ridiculous!’”

Harrison would make a trip later that week to ensure her son’s laundry was done. To her horror, Harrison was shocked to discover two half empty bottles of peppermint schnapps and one condom given out by the Health Advisors.

Witnesses say Harrison questioned Bobby as to whether or not “he was really ready for big boy school.”

Harrison was later spotted that day removing Bobby’s XBOX in a violent altercation with her 19 year old son.

COPENHAGEN— Not feeling even an ounce of emotional fulfillment after spending nine hours scaling an area mountain in hopes of undergoing an outof-body experience while looking out past the sublime lowlands of the Danish countryside, Gregory Winkleton ’20 came to the realization that despite constant soul-searching, he may never find himself while abroad.

In an exclusive Skype interview with The Yowl’s International Team, a visibly broken Winkleton buried his head in his hands and muttered, “I’ve tried everything. Every freaking mountain, every river, all those old-ass churches, that all-you-can-eat pudding place. All of it for nothing.”

Winkleton said he started to grow weary about his personal journey toward self-realization when his friend Amanda Clarke ‘20, who is currently studying abroad in Barcelona, announced via Instagram that she had found herself before August even ended.

Clarke’s Aug. 28th picture at Park Güell includes a caption that corroborates Winkelton’s statement and reads, “Having a pretty Güell time in Spain so far! Already found myself! Only 10 days in!” As more and more of his classmates scattered across Europe have started making similar announcements, an emboldened Winkleton has begun seeking out increasingly extreme methods to find himself.

Explained Winkleton, “I bungee-jumped off a freaking bridge and I’m completely terrified of heights. The ‘company’ I did it with ran the whole operation out of an old van and forced me to sign this form that was written on a napkin in Danish. Guess what? Didn’t feel a fucking thing!”

The soul-searcher continued, “The next day I went skydiving with the same company! I’m almost positive they stole that plane. Either way I felt absolutely nothing. I was literally f*cking flying! If I can’t find myself while flying, then what the hell am I even doing?”

Following a “really strange week” spent unsuccessfully trying to bring about a spiritual awakening while living among local monks, Winkleton said he just about hit rock bottom during a cocaine-infused solo weekend trip to the Red Light District of Amsterdam, which ended with him crying in a prostitute’s arms and establishing no greater sense of self.

At press time, eyewitnesses reported seeing Winkleton with Danish life coach and scam artist Bjørn Jensen, who will ultimately convince him that the only way to truly find himself is to acquire “infinite wealth” through large investments in Jensen’s Danish company, Danish Danishes, which is just as fraudulent as it sounds.

Author of “Had a semi good time” Instagram Caption Hailed as Creative Visionary DAVIDSON, NC –– Describing the succinct line of prose as an example of “extraordinary wit and flawless lexical command not seen since the likes of Mark Twain,” the Davidson College English Department issued a statement on Monday applauding the creative genius of Amanda Banks ‘21, author of the renowned “Had a semi good time” Instagram caption following Warner Hall’s Semi-Formal this past weekend.

English Department Chair Ralph Snyder praised Banks’ work, referring to the sophomore as “a visionary” and extolling her caption as “a transcendent piece of literature.”

Snyder went on to add that he believes Banks

The

Yowl

has the potential to become the voice of her generation should she continue to captivate her followers with relatable, eloquent words of wisdom that “truly capture the zeitgeist of Generation Z.” Banks’ classmates were quick to echo Snyder’s praise.

Remarked Kyla Jackson ‘21, “I honestly don’t know how she did it. I took a good 45 minutes to come up with a caption and all I could think of was ‘Candid!’” I just wish I had half the sensitivity and ability to access the human condition that Amanda has. That woman is a wordsmith beyond her years. A future Poet Laureate.”

General Horoscope Regardless of Astrological Sign

Your love life is taking a spooky turn this week! You never know when your new vampiric lover could be just around the corner.

With Jupiter circling Venus’ 70th moon, be wary of your bowel functions, especially on Thursday (stay away from those Union quesadillas you!). October is a busy, bustling month for you, so make sure to unwind with a bottle of rosé and the Pride and Prejudice T.V. Movie Box set. Nothing says happily ever after like getting wine drunk alone!

Banks, author of other acclaimed literary works such as, “flinging into fall,” “juuling with my jewels,” “came for the formal stayed for the bread,” and “the scariest thing this Halloween was how much work I didn’t do,” is set to give the annual Conarroe lecture during the spring semester.

Dr. Snyder commented on Bank’s rise to literary fame and legacy, “She’s in the running for a National Book Award that’s for sure. I wouldn’t rule out a Pulitzer Prize in her stars either. She’s a credit to the department, and frankly, to humanity.”

Despite her recent feats that have established her as a literary titan in the academic

community, Banks told The Yowl that her true goal is to become a “social media influencer, kind of like Kylie Jenner.”

“Banks, author of other acclaimed literary works such as, ‘flinging into fall,’ is set to give the annual Conarroe lecture during the spring semester.”

At press time, sources told The Yowl that Banks was considering leaving her budding literary career behind and dropping out of Davidson to pursue a career in paid follower campaigns and tweetdecking.

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THE BOX

Unnamed Area Woman, Unnamed Area Man

Quote of the Week: “I am less asking for permission and more advising that I won’t be bringing ravioli.”

- Local Food Critic

Note: The Yowl is a satirical supplement to The Davidsonian. Hence, nothing in it should be taken as truth. We don’t make the news, we fake the news™.