Davidsonian 3-23-22

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Independent Student Journalism Since 1914

inside

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Dr. Tom H. Marshburn ‘82 comes to Davidson while in orbit

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Volume 120, Issue 15

March 23, 2022

The men’s basketball team ends the season with a close NCAA tournament game

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Artist Paul Stephen Benjamin celebrates Blackness in new exhibit at the VAC

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Spring breakers blow Daddy’s money: The Yowl explores financial responsibility

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Backlash at The Bungalows: Residents Speak Out Affordable Housing Complex in Davidson Riddled with Complaints, Code Violations HUNTER CALLAWAY ‘22 (HE/HIM) POLITICS CO-EDITOR IAN MACEL ‘24 (HE/HIM) POLITICS CO-EDITOR

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he Bungalows is a 32-unit affordable housing multiplex located on Jetton Street in Davidson, North Carolina.

Opened in 2000, The Bungalows was the first affordable rental complex built in Davidson in over twenty years.

Recognizing the need for affordable housing choices, the town of Davidson donated land for the project to Davidson Housing Coalition, a non-profit organization, and their partner, an experienced developer named The Affordable Housing Group (now Mosaic Development). In 2002, the two partners won the Fannie Mae Foundation’s Maxwell Award for Affordable Housing and an accompanying $50,000 grant. However, The Bungalows has changed a lot in the twenty years since that award.

Although Davidson Housing Coalition built The Bungalows, they are not the majority owners. The project is now owned through a partnership among Davidson Housing Coalition, Mosaic Development Group, and an outside tax credit investor.

The outside, anonymous investor has 99.9% ownership of the partnership to benefit from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

The LIHTC is a federal tax subsidy that awards a dollar-fordollar tax credit for any investments into affordable housing developments. Developers use limited partnerships–as in the case of The Bungalows–to structure property ownership so that an outside investor can claim the tax credit while local developers and management companies oversee the property.

Although neither Davidson Housing Coalition nor Mosaic Development Group are majority owners of The Bungalows, they hold responsibility for managing the property.

Residents end up at The Bungalows for many reasons, but they have one thing in common: they all want a safe, stable, and affordable place to live. The first resident we spoke to, Shelli Roberts, had no idea where to take her family after her husband passed away. A member of her church directed her to The Bungalows, which she thought was, “a beautiful place with affordable rent.”

Another source, who prefers to remain anonymous, became a single mother after a difficult divorce. For the past eight years, she has also raised her granddaughter alone. She said of her

The Bungalows, a 32-unit affordable housing multiplex. Photo by Hunter Callaway ‘22 experience, “I had to be her backbone, as well as the strength of a single mom and putting all the pieces back together.” For her, The Bungalows offered stability and a safe place to care for her family.

For another resident, the Bungalows is the first affordable housing unit they’ve lived in. After retiring and previously living in Davidson, they became interested in the “darling” units at the Bungalows and walked in to inquire about renting one. The Housing Coalition and property manager helped throughout the application process, and they’ve lived there since.

As time passed, some of the residents began to encounter problems with Jack Orr, their maintenance contractor. Shelli

thought that he was a pleasant man when he first began working at The Bungalows around 2013. She soon noticed a change: Orr became more abrasive towards residents while the quality of his repairs deteriorated. Another resident shared this anecdote about Orr: “I know he told the children once if he found their bike out in the yard that he would take it to the dump and they wouldn’t have a bike anymore. And I thought well, you just don’t tell little kids that you’re going to take their bike.”

That resident also complained about Orr’s tendency to enter units unannounced when he needed to make a repair. She

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Queers and Allies Club Share Coming Out Stories ISA DEGUZMAN ‘25 (SHE/THEY) STAFF WRITER

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oming out marks a drastic transition in the journey of queer students. However, many students experience fear or anxiety around coming out, due to uncertainty about how loved ones will respond or how they will be perceived. On March 8, the Queers and Allies (Q&A) club hosted a Coming Out Monologues event in the Student Union, offering a safe space for the queer community to share their coming out experiences.

The event was composed of several rows of folding chairs leading up to a stage and microphone in the center of the Union Atrium. The Queers and Allies Publicity Chair, Emma Shealy ‘22, commenced the event with a brief description of the shared emotional roller coaster of queer students who have come out.

She reminisced over the common experience of anxiety, doubts, and fears, then liberation, comfort, and freedom.

Volunteers took turns reading anonymously submitted stories.

One story detailed the experience of a trans student who offered a nuanced description of body dysmorphia: “Some people think dysphoria is wanting a new body, but my experience is wanting my body back.” Another student lamented that they would never feel comfortable explicitly coming out to their parents due to pressure to conform to heterosexuality and to be a “normal” daughter.

Dr. Melissa Gonzalez, a professor in the gender and sexuality studies, Hispanic studies, and Latin American studies departments, also took the stage. She recounted her experience coming out in college, and went on to share further reflections on the coming out experience. She explained that queerness is not necessarily all about being “born this way,” but rather “being brave enough to be honest and true to yourself in

public,” which is often an on-going process. She also revealed that in a recent survey of 440 Davidson students, 30% identified themselves within the LGBTQ+ community, a number that she predicts is growing as more students feel comfortable coming out.

Dr. Gonzalez was followed by several students, mostly upperclassmen, who shared their own personal experiences.

Although most of these students had participated in the event previously, their perspectives revealed the importance of the event. Maggie Cushman ‘22, Q&A Vice President, reflected, “I have noticed, at least for myself, the more that I accepted myself and who I am, the more comfortable I became with coming out… It’s almost like a muscle. I used to be really stressed coming out…and now it’s a part of myself I’m proud of.”

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News

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Residents Speak Out About Poor Living Conditions “But I have mold growing all around my windows in the front and all around the trim boards I can look out the window and see black all along the trim boards in front of the window.”

After twenty years, the neglected units in the Bungalows have fallen into disarray and disrepair. Photos by Shelli Roberts, collage by Brigid McCarthy ‘25

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 requested a lock change for her front door and, upon returning home one day, saw contractors already working on her unit. She said that she only knew about the repairs because she “happened to pull up at the same time, which was fortunate. I would have never known.”

Shelli also had a frightening experience with Orr; her 14-year old daughter was home alone and he tried to enter the apartment without prior notice. Shelli complained to the office manager without result.

Residents began speaking to each other as conditions at The Bungalows deteriorated. In May 2021, a group of residents wrote a letter to Excel Property Management stating that, “many residents of the Bungalows are not receiving the promise of quality, affordable, or decent housing.”

Responding both to the above letter and other resident complaints, Mosaic hosted a June 9 tenant meeting at The Bungalows also attended by representatives from Davidson Housing Coalition and Excel. Lisa Lemos, an asset manager from Mosaic, facilitated the meeting. She stated at the beginning, “one of the primary reasons to come tonight was to discuss the resident grievance procedure.”

After outlining the proper method for submitting a grievance and appealing decisions by the property manager, Lemos turned to a section of the lease regarding entry into residents’ units to make repairs. From section 16-3 of the lease, Lemos read, “a request by the tenant for the landlord to enter and make repairs shall be deemed consent to access waiver of the 24 hour written notice.”

One resident responded that they had received no written notice before repairs or inspections in their units. Lemos disputed this at first, and argued, “that’s not been the

operation here.” However, several residents shared experiences that proved the opposite.

One speaker related an incident where Orr waited until she left to enter her unit—where her daughter was home alone.

“And as soon as I left, Jack was trying to get in my unit.”

The problems at The Bungalows go beyond interpersonal issues. Elements of the property are in severe disrepair. Although each unit has unique problems, residents uniformly agree that the exterior stairs are a safety hazard. Seven buildings at The Bungalows have second-floor units; residents who live on that floor reach their door by an uncovered stairway attached to the side of the building.

Shelli lives in one of these upstairs units.

In late 2021, unsatisfied with the progress of repairs to her unit, she requested a county inspection. The inspector identified several violations of the Davidson Minimum Housing Code, the first of which was, “exterior stairway to unit severely rusted and in urgent need of replacement.”

Despite the inspector’s report, Mosaic has been slow to permanently replace the stairwells. Mosaic retained the firm TiseKeister Architects to assess the exterior stairway; they reported that, “the stairs appear to be currently safe for use until such time as a schedule for replacement can be established.”

The letter with the architects’ conclusions is dated more than three months after the county inspection: March 3, 2022.

The Town of Davidson has been aware of the code violations at The Bungalows. In a September 28, 2021 public meeting, town commissioners heard from residents and community members about living conditions at The Bungalows. A few weeks later, Shelli requested and received the first county inspection for her unit. Word spread among

the residents. According to Eugene Bradley, the Town of Davidson’s Housing and Equity Director, the town noticed the uptick in inspection requests and said, “let’s just clear the air, let’s have all the units inspected.”

In public town meetings, commissioners have received updates on the situation from Bradley. In a meeting on February 8th, 2022, he informed the town that 20 of the 32 units had been inspected by the county. There were 36 code violations found, and 17 of them had already been corrected. Although he stated there was no set timetable for the corrections, Bradley was hopeful that all the violations would be fixed by the beginning of April.

Mayor Rusty Knox expressed pleasure with the results, stating “It’s good to see we’ve started moving forward on this.”

However, some residents are not so pleased with the inspection results. One resident spent months filing work orders for different kitchen appliances. When the inspector came to her unit, however, she felt that he paid no attention to the kitchen.

“I was there, I really didn’t see him inspect anything in the kitchen, not even open the stove, the microwave, you know, the dishwashers or fridge, you know, sinks, stove anything, he just kind of scooted right on through that room.”

Anothr resident does not believe the code violations are being adequately addressed.

When this resident had leaky windows in their units, the county only fixed one of four leaky windows.

“What they’re doing, that’s called a square filler. They’re checking the box that they fixed it, but whatever they say that they’re repairing, they’re doing half of the job.”

More generally, residentd feel as if they’re not valued by the Housing Coalition.

“The way they make us feel is that we’re

supposed to live in a crappy place because it’s 20 years old.”

In their opinion, The Bungalows are not treated like an apartment complex and management doesn’t care about the tenants.

The carpet in their unit, like many others, has never been changed. When the city came to dig up a tree that had fallen over, they left a pile of dirt and a hole in their front yard.

Infractions like these add up overtime, leaving residents upset with cheap fixes and square-filler solutions. Now, residents at The Bungalows are struggling to get even the most fundamental aspects of the complex repaired––like a staircase––20 years after the project was nationally recognized.

In early 2021, the Davidson Town Board approved a plan to build an 81-unit townhome development across the street from The Bungalows. Eight of the new units—under 10%—will be affordable to lowincome residents. The town has committed $400,000 from the affordable housing fund for this project. Across the street, however, the property managers of The Bungalows continue to cite lack of money to do basic repairs on residents’ units.

One resident shared that, if the property owners can “maintain what they have already got there in the community, that would be great. Building new stuff, I’m all for that too—restoring these old houses and stuff— but I think it speaks loudly of our whole town by taking care of the community.”

This is the first installment of a two-part investigation. The final installment will be published in next week’s edition of the Davidsonian, on March 30.

Club Encourages a Safe Space for LGBTQ Students CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 After the event, several of the e-board members shared their reflections. Caroline Capuano ‘22 explained: “I think it’s really important because it allows people a safe space to explore who they are and share their stories with people and not worry about backlash and just be met with understanding of what that person’s going through and what they went through.”

Capuano also offered ideas about how the college could improve the coming out experience for their students. They explained that “one big barrier [to coming out] is just not knowing what’s going to happen or how people are going to react and how they’re going to affect your life after that, because a lot of people, when they’re coming out, are very dependent on people for housing, food, tuition.” They suggested that the financial aid department could help alleviate this concern

by providing resources for students in case they are cut off from family finances.

Several students shared further concerns on how the school could foster a more accepting environment going forward. One common theme was the lack of awareness by professors surrounding gender and sexuality. Shealy mentioned that a previous professor had outed her in front of her class, asking her to speak on behalf of the queer community. Cushman explained that sometimes “professors get

gender and sexuality confused… or a lot of professors don’t understand pronouns.”

While students expressed appreciation for events such as Coming Out Monologues as important safe spaces for the queer community, there was a widespread sense that Davidson has progress to make towards creating a comfortable learning environment for all students.

March 23, 2022

Professor and Students Create Farsi Textbook

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SOHAN GADE ‘23 (HE/HIM) STAFF WRITER

uring the 2015-2016 academic year, students in Professor Rebecca Joubin’s class (ARB 240 Accelerated Persian for Arabic Speakers) wore many different hats.

They were translators, teachers, and writers. Together they

The cover of the Farsi textbook that Dr. Joubin and her students created. Photo courtesy of Dr. Rebecca Joubin

worked on a year-long project: a Farsi textbook for future Davidson students.

Farsi is spoken by around 110 million people, mainly in Iran, Afghanistan, and central Asia. Although the language is widely-spoken, Professor Joubin explained that there were not many high-quality, student-friendly, Farsi textbooks available.

“When I added Farsi [to the curriculum], we were dealing with very few resources. There was really only one textbook— it’s a decent textbook—but it’s not for visual learners. There are no conjugation charts, there are no stories or creative activities,” said Professor Joubin.

The textbook covered several topics in everyday life and incorporated traditional proverbs in its teaching methods, differentiating it from any other Farsi pedagogical resource.

“I really love proverbs and idioms,” said Professor Joubin.

“One thing is knowing the language, but if you don’t know the culture, you don’t really have the cultural clues when you go overseas.”

Recognizing this opportunity, the class embarked on the monumental task of providing future Farsi learners with a better textbook. In doing so, each student enrolled in the course wrote a couple of chapters in their own name and also contributed to the chapters of their classmates. Austin Gray ‘16 was one of the writers with three chapters in his name.

“I had chapters on food, travel, and perhaps medicine. All topics are very dear to me and into which I was happy to pour my passion to flesh out the content in an engaging way for future students,” said Gray.

Gray also explained a unique issue that he ran into during the writing process: playing the role of a student and a teacher at the same time.

“I found it much more challenging than I expected to flip around from the perspective of a student to the perspective of a teacher, such as in writing grammar and vocabulary drills for the textbook,” said Gray.

Alex Soltany ‘18 also worked on the textbook as a sophomore and contributed two chapters in his name.

“I authored a “Holidays and Travel” chapter as well as an appendix on colloquial Persian. I demonstrated an interest in writing [a section on] colloquial Persian, since I was used to

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the more informal, conversational form spoken by my family,” wrote Soltany via email.

Soltany, who is of Persian heritage, was a self-designed interdisciplinary Middle East Studies Major. He explained that the course allowed him to make a stronger connection with his culture.

“While I had a working understanding of Persian, it always bothered me that I was not fluent. My parents briefly enrolled me in a weekend Farsi school as a child but took me out after just a few weeks. I thought I wouldn’t get another chance to formally learn the language of my cultural background.

Taking part in Dr. Joubin’s accelerated Persian courses during my sophomore year afforded me such an opportunity,” wrote Soltany.

Professor Joubin lauded the students’ wide variety of majors, career paths, and academic interests. When it came to writing the textbook, she highlighted that no one particular way of thinking was the correct one.

“They were able to bring their own perspectives because they were all from all different departments. There was middle east studies, economics, art history, [and more],” said Professor Joubin. “[One student is currently in] medical school, one of the students recently graduated from business school, one of the students is working in a bank, and two are currently in doctoral programs - one in art history and another in religion.

They’re all doing completely different things. ” The textbook is being used by Professor Joubin’s current Farsi classes. Josef Milstein ‘22 expressed appreciation for the textbook’s ability to cater to different learning styles and provide cultural exploration.

“This Farsi textbook incorporates meaningful cultural anecdotes, memorable Persian sayings, contextualized vocabulary, and lots of helpful illustrations to enhance our comprehension,” said Milstein.

Milstein also praised his professor and the great learning experiences he had while learning Farsi at Davidson.

“Dr. Joubin is an absolute treasure who always guides her students. Farsi holds an especially close place in her heart and, while the class is fast-paced and challenging, it is undoubtedly one of the best at Davidson,” said Milstein.

Out of This World: Astronaut Alum Dials in to Campus From ISS KEVIN GARCIA-GALINDO ‘24 (HE/HIM) STAFF WRITER

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n Tuesday March 8th, alum and astronaut Dr. Thomas H. Marshburn ‘82 took time out of his busy schedule to talk to Davidson students about his current space mission and his Davidson experience from approximately 250 miles above Earth. From the International Space Station (ISS), Dr. Marshburn was able to answer a multitude of questions from Davidson students. The event was available to be watched from either the Union 900 room or on a Zoom call which was attended by hundreds of Davidson alumni, faculty, staff, and students.

Dr. Marshburn is currently on top of the ISS in his third mission to space, his first one being in 2009 on the space shuttle Endeavor and his second one three years later in the Russian spacecraft called Soyuz. He has been in space since November aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon along with three other astronauts and is planned to return by April of this year.

Dr. Marshburn received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Davidson in 1982. Later on he also obtained his Master’s in Engineering Physics from the University of Virginia in 1984, his Doctorate of Medicine from Wake Forest University in 1989, and his Masters of Medical Science from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1997. He was first selected by NASA in 2004.

One of the first questions of the event asked him how he thought that his Davidson education had impacted his daily life in space and where he thinks that it has made a difference. He answered by saying that because being an astronaut involves communicating with many creative people, strong and genuine interaction is “essential for a team to survive and to work

Crime Log

up here in space.” Dr. Marshburn talked about how the skill of effective communication given to him via his liberal arts education “is something that I use every single day in order to be part of an effective team” and has allowed him to “contribute to the cohesion of the whole group and to bring something to the table” that not many other astronauts have, especially when it comes to talking about the implications of where we are [and]

“We are aware of events on the ground. We don’t talk about them. […] In general, in spaceships, politics is not a good thing to talk about. We remain very good friends and very good colleagues, relying on each other for our lives, really, to survive up here.”

- Dr. Thomas H. Marshburn ‘82 what we’re doing.”

Another topic that Dr. Marshburn talked extensively about was the kinds of experiments that he was overlooking currently onboard the ISS. Dr. Marshburn alongside his crewmates are executing some 200 different experiments. Some examples include the monitoring of skin cells for the effects of radiation and zero gravity, studying the movement of microliters of water, and capitalizing on the cold space to monitor how atoms behave at near absolute zero.

When the topic of the current Ukraine and Russia conflict was brought up, Dr. Marshburn said that current events are rarely ever discussed openly on the ISS and that they would never let a conflict on Earth tear between the great relationship American and Russian astronauts have.

“Our cohesion remains very strong,” he said. “We are aware of events on the ground. We don’t talk about them. … In general, in spaceships, politics is not a good thing to talk about.

We remain very good friends and very good colleagues, relying on each other for our lives, really, to survive up here.”

Dr. Marshburn, like many other modern American astronauts, has had a great relationship with Russia and Russian culture.

Altogether he spent around two and a half years training and living in Moscow and its surrounding towns training to become an astronaut. He remembers those years he spent learning the Russian language and training in Russia fondly. He pointed out how much care the Russian federation showed toward Americans by making sure that they were absolutely prepared to take flight. As he said “they will not let us fly up here unless we know what we’re doing and they will put us through the paces until we do.”

Lastly, Dr. Marshburn answered the question of what he would recommend current Davidson students should do if they want to pursue becoming an astronaut. On this Dr. Marshburn said that the field is now more open than ever. “It used to be, you’d have to be a test pilot, [but] that’s not true anymore,” above all he said that you should strive to be an intensely curious person, fall in love with whatever you’re curious about, put yourself in “positions where you have to make decisions that have consequences,” and above all else “take good care of yourself and enjoy your liberal arts education.”

Time Reported

Description/Location

03/16/2022 at 0946 hrs

Vandalism Graffiti Richardson Stadium, Inactive

03/16/2022 at 1507 hrs

Larceny Misdemeanor (iPad) Union, Further Investigation

03/18/2022 at 0127 hrs

Injury to Property (Picnic Table) Admissions, Inactive

Perspectives

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Debunking Davidson’s Title IX Process The Inadequacies From the Perspective of a Survivor ERIN MARTIN ‘23 (SHE/HER)

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Davidson College is committed to creating and maintaining an environment that is free of sexual misconduct, stalking, and relationship abuse and violence, and that promotes a healthy spirit of responsibility, dignity, and respect in matters of sexual conduct and interpersonal relationships. The college does not condone and will not tolerate sexual misconduct, stalking, or relationship abuse or violence.”

When I first saw Davidson’s commitment to survivors of sexual assault, I naively believed it. The school markets itself as a progressive, caring community that puts effort towards justice for survivors. Last spring semester in 2021, I filed a formal Title IX complaint against a male student who assaulted me. The commitment that’s listed above is incredibly far from the experience that I had. My intentions with this article are absolutely not to dissuade anyone from coming forward and reporting assault. However, there are many nuances to Title IX at Davidson, and I would have wanted to know them before beginning my grueling, six month process of a formal complaint.

I was assaulted twice by the same person. I reported it the day after the second assault, with no idea what lied ahead of me. When I logged onto the Zoom call, the Title IX office threw a mass amount of information at me about my options.

The only option in which my assaulter would be labeled as “responsible” was for me to file a formal complaint—a process which included investigations, reports, a hearing, and most importantly, a cross examination. The only way that the school could consider any consequences for my assaulter would require me to be cross-examined by someone of his choosing. I sat there alone in my room having left the Zoom meeting with Carley Dix, the Title IX officer, feeling completely and utterly lost. I had to make the decision to pursue justice for myself, no one was going to do it for me. To do this, I ultimately chose to proceed with a formal report. This was a student who had

multiple accusations against him; I knew it was never going to stop unless someone decided to throw themselves at the mercy of the Trump Administration’s Title IX policy.

Of course, just like in any legal matter, equity problems arose. I could not afford an attorney, while he could. Davidson gave me the help from a few law students who were helping me on a volunteer basis, had to simultaneously study for the Bar Exam, and had graduation for which to prepare; it was me and them against my assaulter and his expensive and experienced Title IX attorney. The odds were not in my favor from the very beginning, despite the fact that I had evidence and witnesses.

Thus began the extensive investigation meetings that felt more like interrogations.

The Title IX office chose a prominent member of the RLO community as one of the two investigators. To this day, I receive regular emails from them and am forced to constantly

Davidson needs to work harder and faster to give every student a person to believe and support them. read the words of the person who questioned me on the most intimate details of my assault. The Title IX office set me up for a situation in which I am constantly triggered by something as simple as an RLO email. The nonchalant choice in who investigated me had implications that no one seemed to consider. Two Davidson faculty members, who each received a mere 10 hours of training each year, were tasked with the job of accurately reporting my experience.

Unfortunately, Davidson’s Title IX coordinator, Carley Dix, was unable to be present the few months that I was moving forward with my formal complaint. From the moment Carley left, to the moment she got back, absolutely nothing was done to move my case along. When I first entered into the formal

complaint process, I was told it would take about two months.

The interim Title IX coordinator that Davidson had hired paid no attention to the communicated deadline for Title IX cases.

For five months, I was promised new progress every week that passed without incident. No one gave me updates unless I harassed them with multiple emails. The Title IX experience leans very heavily on what the student can do for themself rather than what the school can do for the student. A victim should never be in this position.

The Title IX process was equally as traumatizing for me as my assault. Many people raised doubts and invalidated me.

Other than my chosen support person, Georgia Ringle, not a single person told me that they believed me and they would help me. The school has yet to hire someone for Georgia’s position and I can’t imagine how I would have gotten through my experience without her. Davidson needs to work harder and faster to give every student a person to believe and support them.

I want to call on the school to be more intentional about how they proceed with their Title IX investigations. Decisions that they may see as mundane truly affect those going through the process. It is absolutely inexcusable that Davidson has not prioritized the hiring of a new health educator when it is known that Georgia Ringle has individually helped so many victims of assault. I cannot imagine getting through the process without her and Davidson is well aware of the significance of that role. Additionally, I propose that Davidson very rapidly hire an independent, trained person to conduct investigation interviews. Sensitivity is of the utmost importance when investigators question victims of sexual assault, and we need someone who is experienced with that. The Title IX process for faculty at Davidson is a 9-5 job; for victims of assault, it is their entire life. The school must work harder to treat it accordingly.

Erin Martin (she/her) is a political science major and intended philosophy minor from Raleigh, North Carolina. Erin can be reached for comment at ermartin@davidson.edu.

The

Alternative Avenues for

Support

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Counseling more student control; less paperwork

Davidson Police immediate; move to press charges

Dean of Students Office for personalized options & guidance

Sexual assault survivors have options for support in addition to the services offered by the Title IX office on campus. Infographic by David Sowinski ‘25

Davidsonian Staff Editors-in-Chief News Editors Features Editor Senior Political Correspondent Perspectives Editor Arts and Culture Editor Sports Editor Living Davidson Editor Yowl Editors Photographer Web Editor Cartoonist Multimedia Editor Social Media Manager Business Manager Design Editors

Brigid McCarthy ‘25, Katie Stewart ‘23 Anika Banerjee ‘23, Georgia Hall ‘25 Samantha Ewing ‘23 Ian Macel ‘24, Bilal Razzak ‘25 David Sowinski ‘25 Campbell Walker ‘25 Andrew ElKadi ‘23, Varun Maheshwari ‘23 Nora Klein ‘24 Emma Begley-Collier ‘25, Josie Hovis ‘23 Bailey Maierson ‘25, Sydney Schertz ‘24 Ben Gordon-Sniffen ‘23 Richard Farrell ‘22 Bailey Maierson ‘25 Sahana Athreya ‘25, Hailey Tsuda ‘24 Landon Schabes ‘22 Isabelle Easter ‘25, Bailey Maierson ‘25

The Davidsonian is currently recruiting new writers to join its staff!

Email Brigid McCarthy at brmccarthy@davidson.edu or Katie Stewart at kastewart@davidson.edu for more information on how to put your own pen to paper.

Sports

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Davidson Loses in First NCAA Tournament Game Since 2018

Left: Sam Mennenga ‘24 puts up a shot over Michigan State’s Joey Hauser. Photo courtesy Davidson College Athletics

ANDREW ELKADI ‘23 (HE/HIM) SPORTS CO-EDITOR “It was a hell of a basketball game … It was a little bit of a rollercoaster but that’s a hell of a team we beat,” Michigan State Spartans Head Coach Tom Izzo remarked in his postgame press conference following his team’s 74-73 victory over the Davidson Wildcats in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The contest saw eight lead changes and eleven ties as the two squads fought for the opportunity to face off against Coach K’s Duke Blue Devils in the second round.

The game was hotly contested from the outset, with Michigan State jumping out to an early 8-2 lead before the Wildcats responded with an 8-2 run of their own to tie it up. A second foul early in the first half by Davidson’s Luka Brajkovic ‘22 kept him on the sideline until the start of the second half, but other pieces stepped up in the A10 Player of the Year’s absence. Sam Mennenga ‘24 stayed hot from beyond the arc and was also a menace inside. Grant Huffman ‘24 was flying across the floor blocking shots and intercepting passes. Davidson’s corps of skilled offensive players was able to hit key shots and keep pace with their power conference foe as Brajkovic watched from the bench–the ‘Cats trailed by 1 at the half.

With Brajkovic back on the floor in the

second half, Davidson looked to him often when they needed a bucket. Brajkovic didn’t miss a single 2-point shot in the second half.

He made scoring in the post against Spartans 7-footer Marcus Bingham Jr. look easy and, with the shot clock running down midway through the second half, hit a memorable shot just inside the arc to put Davidson up 5249. On Davidson’s effectiveness inside, Izzo explained, “We didn’t cover the post as well [as Davidson’s outside game], but it was kind

Right: Foster Loyer ‘24 handles the ball against Michigan State. Photo courtesy Davidson College Athletics following a missed Mennenga free throw, gathered himself and put in a layup to extend Davidson’s lead to 56-51. Michigan State scored the game’s next 10 points. Davidson Head Coach Bob McKillop reflected after the game, “They got into transition… I think [that spurt] was the critical juncture of the game.”

Michigan State’s lead ballooned to 8 in the final minutes; Davidson was able to hit shots late to cut the lead to 1 but it was not enough.

Brajkovic spoke on the team’s mentality

“We always thought we were right there until the last second, I always believed we can win this game [...] we really gave everything on the court, we played so hard, and it just sucks to see that we can’t play another game.”

- Luka Brajkovic ‘22 of what we were trying to do, we were making sure we were running guys off threes because that’s the way they seem to beat most people.”

Davidson’s typical three-point assassins were held in check and kept below their season scoring averages–Foster Loyer ‘24 made just 1 three and scored 12 points, Hyunjung Lee ‘23 scored 11, and Michael Jones ‘22 was kept to just 8 points.

With just under 7 minutes to go in regulation, Brajkovic grabbed an offensive rebound

during his final game in a Wildcat jersey: “We always thought we were right there until the last second, I always believed we can win this game … it’s hard, we really gave everything on the court, we played so hard, and it just sucks to see that we can’t play another game anymore – that’s the last game this team will play.”

Post-game, a disappointed McKillop was proud of his squad’s tenacity throughout the course of the game, saying, “I’m heartbroken

for our guys, we got into the center of the ring and we fought, we got knocked down a few times but we stayed in the center ring and kept fighting, we just ran out of time, I could not be more proud of our guys.” Mennenga echoed McKillop’s words, “I thought that we fought throughout the whole game… we always believed. A couple plays at the end didn’t go our way and that was the game, but I thought we did such a great job of fighting.”

With the game being held in Greenville, SC, just 2 hours from Davidson’s campus, many in the Davidson community were able to make the trip. Brajkovic commented that the atmosphere created by the fans did not go unnoticed by the players. “The crowd really helped us… it was my first time in the NCAA Tournament so I wasn’t sure how many Davidson people were going to travel, but it was just awesome to see how many fans traveled and every time we made a run and they were loud it was just awesome. [It] gave us so much energy and I can’t even tell you how much we appreciate our fans for traveling, it really means everything.”

Davidson Basketball’s best season this decade ended with an overall record of 277. Thinking back on a season filled with excitement and high-level basketball, Coach McKillop said, “what a joy it’s been to coach them this year… they’ve left me with a treasure chest filled with memories.”

Davidson Basketball Reaches Conference Championship Game in D.C. VICTOR TAYLOR ‘24 (HE/HIM) SPORTS WRITER

D

avidson men’s basketball entered last weekend in Washington D.C. as the Atlantic 10 regular season champions and the top seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

With fans traveling from Davidson and all across the country to Capital One Arena, the ‘Cats turned in three well played games, handling Fordham and Saint Louis with ease, but falling to Richmond in the last minute of the championship game, rounding out a wildly successful conference season.

The ‘Cats rolled into town as one of four teams who received a double bye, meaning they began play on Friday in the quarterfinals against Fordham. The ‘Cats had beaten the Rams at home by a score of 66-45 in their

penultimate regular season game, and Friday afternoon was much of the same. Fordham’s I and 3 defense didn’t work to their advantage, as players they guarded less tightly such as Sam Mennenga ‘24, Des Watson ‘25, and Grant Huffman ‘24 carried the load for Davidson, scoring 15, 13, and 9 points respectively as the Cats led almost wire to wire in a 74-56 win.

The next day welcomed a rematch with Saint Louis, who Davidson shot the lights out against en route to a 79-58 win on Black Out Belk day. The Billikens had just beat St. Bonaventure in a tight matchup in the game after Davidson’s on Friday, and the ‘Cats pounced quickly. Luka Brajkovic ‘22 scored a nifty post move and Foster Loyer ‘24 scored his first 3 of 21 points on the day on a long jumper to get Davidson off to a 5-0 start, and from there they never trailed. Huffman once

again had a brilliant day, adding 12 points on perfect 4-4 shooting, and Hyunjung Lee ‘23 added 16 to pace Davidson into Sunday, where they found that they would face surprise finalists Richmond.

The Wildcats and Spiders fought a heavyweight battle earlier in the season, that was won by Davidson in the last five seconds by a long Michael Jones ‘22 three as part of a career night, and Sunday’s matchup was more of the same. After Richmond jumped out to an 11-2 lead early in the first half, Davidson made its own run in the last 4 minutes of the half. Jones had his own 5-0 run, and Mennenga added his second three of the game to take the ‘Cats into the locker room up 26-25. The second half was more of the same, with Jones and Mennenga having every answer to Richmond’s Jacob Gilyard

and eventually building a 6 point lead on a huge Brajkovic slam late in the second half.

However, the Spiders scored 10 of the last 12 points, and a Jones three pointer was short at the horn, giving the Spiders a 64-62 win, and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

While Sunday’s loss was disappointing to a team that had title aspirations from the beginning of the year, their work was rewarded with an at-large bid to the tournament, where the ‘Cats received a 10 seed in the West region and a matchup with Michigan State.

This team, regular season champions and runners up in the conference tournament, far outperformed outside expectations of a 6th place finish and showed their toughness to the entire conference.

Arts and Culture

6

An Exploration of Black Joy An Artist Talk with Paul Stephen Benjamin

OLIVIA NORTEN ‘25 (SHE/HER)

“Being an artist is a performance, creating is a performance, and most of the time no one is there to see it.”

- Paul Stephen Benjamin

T

his sentiment is at the core of the newest art exhibition on display in the Van Every/Smith galleries in the Belk Visual Arts Center. Paul Stephen Benjamin, an Atlanta-based visual artist, created his newest collection of works as an internal exploration of what Blackness means to the senses: what it looks like, sounds like, and how it feels to those who experience it. His exhibition, Black Form, utilizes a variety of mediums to reflect how Benjamin has meditated on the meaning of Blackness within himself and how its multifacetedness can be captured and displayed.

His artist talk on the evening of March 10th opened with an unplanned performance within the piece “Black Gold,” housed in the side room of the main gallery. This piece featured an arrangement of black lights on the wall, shining down on a floor covered in broken shards of tempered glass. Benjamin, using only a straw broom, spent many minutes silently and carefully sweeping the glass, taking obvious special care to make sure that every part of the piece was affected. When asked about the significance of this action, Benjamin explained how “there is beauty in labor” and that the detailed upkeep of his piece allows him to enter a very intense and focused creative headspace. Additionally, his sole presence in a space that was off-limits to all other visitors resonated as an act of reclamation within a piece focused on persisting barriers.

The theme of performance and perception continued through the other works present in the exhibition, most notably in

the central auditory piece “Sonata in Absolute Black: All the Black Keys.” The piece consisted of 36 flat screen TVs, each displaying an individual looped video of Benjamin frantically playing one of the black keys on a piano. Within this work, Benjamin sought to explore the question of what the color black could sound like while also incorporating elements of his meditative daily routines. Benjamin shared stories of his habits that developed during the COVID-19 pandemic that inspired him to create a work every day. The main foyer of the gallery hall had the words “black is beautiful” covering the walls in reference to Benjamin’s daily meditative practice of spending several hours typing those same words repetitively on a typewriter. Benjamin stated that this practice helps him to “create at least one new work a day” to not only stimulate his artistic process, but also to celebrate his Blackness in an extremely personal way.

As a viewer, it was obvious that Black Form is an exhibition centered around growth, curiosity, and joy within oneself. The frequent use of text displaying positive messaging around the black experience, especially within the piece “Black Haiku,” seemed to capture how the use of affirmations and positive, repetitive self-talk can transform how a person of color can come to understand and love their unique experience. Powerful and thoughtful pieces such as “Black Flag #1” and the collection of different versions of the color black confronted the complicated nature of identity and further highlighted how joy can persist amid struggle. Benjamin’s exhibition is a triumphant exploration of identity and there is no doubt that it has already cemented a very important place within the legacy of the Van Every/Smith galleries at Davidson.

Olivia Norten ‘25 (she/her) is an intended psychology major from Rochester, NY. Olivia can be reached for comment at olnorten@davidson.edu.

Paul Stephen Benjamin, detail of “Black Thought,” 2022, one hundred silkscreens, one Stonehenge paper, 14 x 11 inches each. Artwork courtesy of the artist, photo by David Ramsey

A Review of The Batman BEN PEAKE ‘25 (HE/HIM)

I

This article contains potential spoilers t’s not a secret to comic book fans that the DC Extended Universe (the DC Comics version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) has been a complete and utter failure. When compared to the absolutely massive Marvel machine, Warner Bros. has been unable to deliver a standout DC Comics movie that can compete with an Avengers: Infinity War or even its previous The Dark Knight trilogy.

Recent successes like The Suicide Squad (2021) have done little to keep the attention away from the likes of Tom Holland or Benedict Cumberbatch dominating the screen with their respective Marvel heroes. It is only when Warner Bros. sheds its dreams of the said extended universe that it has been able to find both critical and financial success. The studio found it with 2019’s Joker and, finally, has found it again with director Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

Many reviewers and moviegoers will undoubtedly compare this movie to The Dark Knight. And while I can’t say I haven’t done the same, I believe that it is unfair to do so.

The Batman is the first movie in what will be, at the very least, a trilogy of Batman movies.

Although it is not an origin story, there is still a fair bit of setting up to do with regards to our title character and this version of Gotham City and its inhabitants. The Dark Knight already had a predecessor and didn’t have to do any of that heavy lifting. Second, and probably more important, The Dark Knight is a crime thriller that happens to have Batman characters in it. It is a palatable and safe experience for most viewers containing one of the greatest

villain performances of all time in Heath Ledger’s Joker. There is almost no background knowledge needed for the trilogy. The Batman is a decidedly Batman movie and, as such, is more polarizing. Audiences will need context, and casual viewers might groan at the almost three hour runtime and grow tired of its slow pace. Hardcore Batman fans, however, will absolutely adore this new rendition of the character for its references and obvious love of the source material. I am most definitely in the latter.

From the jump, it’s clear that Robert Pattinson has put a spin on Bruce Wayne that audiences have not seen before. While Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne has an undeniable swagger and exudes charisma, the extremely pale Pattinson is a weirdo who limps around and speaks to almost no one except his loyal butler, Alfred.

Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne is a bit weak due to little screen time, but his Batman is absolutely fantastic. The actor probably spends about 85% of the movie in his suit, eye black and all, and little care is given to his alter-ego.

Matt Reeves seemingly has no interest in exploring Bruce Wayne, content to solely display Pattinson in the suit amid the beautiful dreariness of Gotham. And it truly is beautiful.

The cinematography is gorgeous, and there are so many shots dedicated to the alluring darkness that the city holds, accompanied by an outstanding score.

The Batman is a gritty, gruesome, and grounded detective film, first and foremost, which is something that few Batman movies have ever delved into. The world’s greatest detective actually spends a lot of time solving the Riddler’s puzzles, which overshadow the forgettable action sequences outside of

Robert Pattinson in The Batman. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Olley, Warner Bros. one exceptional Batmobile chase. Paul Dano is incredible as the cling-wrapped villain, and his antics are truly terrifying, despite a confusing end goal. Obsessed with bringing Gotham’s most powerful players into the light to face their own corruption, the Riddler plays a cat and mouse game with Batman for most of the movie, forcing him to interact with standout side characters like the Penguin, Jim Gordon, Carmine Falcone, and Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman. Seriously, some of the Riddler’s actions are horrifying, but the movie is all the better for it. The character isn’t afraid to play with the lives of Gotham socialites in delightfully morbid ways.

The Batman leaves the door open for a sequel, as it contains a frighteningly recognizable character near the end, but make no mistake, this movie can more than stand on its own. It could have been a masterpiece for Batman fans had it been R-rated and contained a more satisfying end to the Riddler plotline, but as it stands, it’s a wonderful addition to the live action mythology that gives us something we’ve never seen before.

Ben Peake ‘25 (he/him) is an intended communication studies and English double major from Baltimore, Maryland. Ben can be reached for comment at bepeake@davidson.

Living Davidson Stretching the Obvious Crosswords by Victor Fleming ‘73

Across — 1 Curly-tailed dog 6 Iroquois cousins 11 Vicious or Caesar 14 Fork over, as a payment 15 Permissible by law 16 Docs’ grp.

17 Assertive personality 18 Lyric lamentation 19 Chop (off) 20 Fast-food window 23 Phrase that can be interchangeable with what’s stretched through 20-, 36and 52-Across 26 Best of the hits 27 Sub commander of fiction 28 Dragonlike 32 Descartes or Lacoste 33 Fishbowl accessory 34 Tickle the funny bone of 35 Demolish, in Devon 36 It’s well below the Mason-Dixon Line 38 Bryn ___ (Pennsylvania college) 40 Lustrous velvet 41 “Love ___ neighbor” 44 Window part 45 Sopwith ___ (Snoopy’s plane) 46 Ancestry.com diagram 47 Heat to remove stress from, as glass 49 Op eds, often 51 Shift gears while pumping twice 55 Tippler’s road offense, briefly 56 Spa town near Lake Geneva 57 ___ Olay (former face cream brand) 61 Have brunch 62 Kind of fashion that’s “back”

63 Big name in designer handbags 64 Alcohol-free 65 Difficult expeditions 66 “And the following” (Lat.) Down — 1 Some hang-ups 2 Lock partner 3 Mischievous sort 4 Connected with 5 Classic gaming developer 6 Alt. synonym 7 Agitate 8 “Body Count” rap star 9 Four score 10 Lead to foam?

11 Acknowledges an officer 12 Comic Coca 13 Jane’s role on ‘Frasier’ 21 Self-identifying response 22 Ms. Winfrey 23 Rustic stopover 24 “Aw” follower 25 Hwy. mishap respondent 29 Tea serving, in Britain 30 Area of India 31 Sierra ___ 34 ___ Lingus 35 I-85 or I-77, e.g.

36 Dork 37 Available for occupation 38 1920 Preakness winner 39 Lump sum alternative 41 “___ la la” 42 Tripled, a 2017 Katy Perry song 43 “Affirmative!”

44 Like baseball gloves 45 Ingenious 46 Casual garment

LIBBY MITCHELL ‘23 (SHE/HER)

‘23 shared her thoughts about why DO is so important to her and to our community. “PreDO, I had never seriously engaged with the outdoors and would have never considered camping fun. But the crew of people and the culture of ‘challenge by choice’ made going outside my favorite thing to do. DO has taught me problem-solving, from dealing with storms in the backcountry to dealing with last-minute changes in my everyday life.”

Personally, I began my involvement with DO before even being a college student with Odyssey. To this day, the people in my Odyssey group are still the people that I consider to be my Davidson family. I believe that being outdoors with a group of people bonds you in a way that is unique and difficult to find elsewhere.

A couple weekends ago, I led a backpacking trip in South Mountain State Park. This is a stressful time during the school year, and leading a trip is a time-consuming process.

The week before the trip, my co-TLs and I spent hours organizing gear, ordering food, and planning our hiking route. All of the stress went away as soon as we started hiking. Being off campus with a group of people who want to experience the outdoors is very grounding and refreshing for busy Davidson students who don’t often make time for breaks. I am so grateful for the community and the skills that Davidson Outdoors has provided me throughout my years of college.

Be sure to look out for trip sign ups on Wildcat Sync as this semester continues so that you can experience the outdoors through Davidson as well and make some new friends!

H

48 Vigilant 50 Aiming aid 52 Give a quote from 53 Bird symbolizing happiness 54 Juan’s ones 58 “Leaving ___ Vegas” 59 “___ on a Grecian Urn” 60 Browsers’ assistance abbreviation

Last Week’s Answers:

Crossword

7

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1 < / 2 < $ 7 $ 3 5 ( 5 $ 6 3 ( 3 ( 1 ( ( $ 5

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/ 2 : ( & 2 7 $ 7 2 1 & (

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Davidson Outdoors: Camping and Community

ave you ever camped under the stars in the North Carolina backcountry?

Or gone whitewater rafting down the French Broad River? These are just a few of the activities that Davidson Outdoors (DO) offers to students, among adventures such as rock climbing, day hiking, and s’mores making. DO adventures are truly unforgettable experiences, no matter what you choose to partake in.

Something that is really special about DO is the fact that any student can participate in trips or become trip leaders. The range of experience coming into trips is fairly large, and this gives so many perspectives as different people lead trips. Also, students participate in trips at different points in their Davidson careers: some experience DO before they even begin being a college student as they embark on Odyssey, a pre-orientation trip that DO leads for first years before school starts, and others might not go on their first trip until senior spring. Others might participate in or lead trips every semester they’re at Davidson.

DO places a strong emphasis on inclusivity in the outdoors. Nature is something that exists for everyone to experience! Because not everyone might have had many opportunities to experience the outdoors growing up and because many outdoor spaces remain fairly exclusive, DO is actively working to make the space comfortable for everyone to experience.

Check out the BIPOC climbing trip that’s happening April 8-9—sign-ups on Wildcat Sync soon!

DO Vice President Addie McDonough

Students enjoying DO trips. Photo courtesy of Ellie Riggs ‘24 and Libby Mitchell ‘23

* , 1 6 8 6 : 2 2 1 / $ 3

The

Yowl

Irreverent student journalism since 2004. Castigat Ridendo Mores.

inside

yowl.com/titsout4sun

How the Union Counter Ranch Doesn’t Go Bad and Other Mysteries of Life Explained Page Free in every sense Page There is a reason it is free of the word Why My Frolics Outfit Is Actually Just Me Naked

Oh Yes the Basketball Game! Something About That, Too Page 73-74

Daddy’s $$ Running Low

G

reat weather, sunshine, cocktails, and afternoons at the pool at the all-inclusive resort looked so fun, according to all of the Instagram photos taken in 0.5x we’ve been seeing over break. Unfortunately, it’s back to the NC 35 degree mornings and 70 degree afternoons that make you unsure of how to dress, the late nights spend at libs with that paper you said you’d work on over break but never did, and the Commons menu.

Although Spring Break was fun, after interviewing multiple students who took trips to paradise, “their” funds are running low. Here we have a few statements from students.

“I kept getting Margaritas at the bar until my mom called to tell me that the resort we stayed at wasn’t all-inclusive.

What kind of resort is that? Now I don’t know how I’m going to buy my Little that $80 makeup palette I was going to put in her Tuesday basket for Big-Little Week. It’s so embarrassing.”

Spring Broke Issue

March 23, 2022

“I decided to save and just go to Florida. But when I got back from the long trip, Daddy told me I had to get my Range Rover serviced, and I ended up having to get the tires rotated. What does that even mean—don’t tires rotate when you drive all the time? But now I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get my Nummit iced oat milk latte with vanilla syrup and extra expresso every morning. How will I get through the day?”

We found a student who took a trip to Paris that didn’t quite go his way.

“My parents didn’t think I should go to Europe to visit my girlfriend of three months, but I promise, we’re definitely in love and getting married. So I went anyways, but I didn’t want them to know, so I just paid for everything in cash so they couldn’t track me. Except I got pick pocketed! I knew keeping 500 euros in my wallet probably wasn’t very smart.

And turns out my girlfriend’s been seeing some hot French man, so it’s honestly been a terrible spring break.”

We also tracked down an SAE: “It was fun and all. I honestly don’t remember much of the week, but I blew like 300 dollars on alcohol. I’m literally an econ major; aren’t I supposed to be learning how to not do this?”

YAF and Planned Parenthood WWE Fight Scheduled Next Week at Flagpole Page This Fetus Fights

Emotionally-Stunted Men: A Field Guide

U

pon arriving at Davidson, I was given my all-time favorite possession: the field guide to Davidson College, a simple handbook which has allowed me keep track of the my peers and document their stupid decisions throughout college.

While I believe Mike Goode and the folks in the Student Activities office did a phenomenal job with this field guide, as a second semester junior, I have found that it has some gaps in information. I am here to fill in this gap. Based on information I have gleaned myself through personal experience, and knowledge collected by my close peers, I present to you, humble readers of the Yowl: The field guide to all the locations with emotionally stunted men. Arranged by activity for reader’s convenience.

Living: Cannon Watts Belk Richardson Sentelle Little New Dorm Tommy

Another student was given her monthly check from mom and dad, and despite attempts to save, she’s still running low.

E*ting D*sorder Starter Pack Provided Free of Charge

by Davidson College Over Spring Break Page “One French Fry a Day is PLENTY”

Duke F Flowe Davis Hart B Jamie Ryburn Aikers Irwin Knox Depot (this one’s probably got the largest infestation in any given year) Other varying off campus housing options

Studying: Library Chambers The union Wall Dana Watson Sloan/music library Cunningham? (Probably if people study here) Extra-curricular: Soccer field IMACS Football field Baker Golf course? Do people use the golf course?

Swimming pool Union Gym New Dorm Gym That other gym in Baker that nobody realizes exists

The varsity gym Old tennis court New tennis court Depot, but the place where the school bands go to practice, not the apartment DCPC

Misc: Outside generally/those hammocks people use Ksig basketball court (!!)

Other frat houses Patterson court house number 12 which should have been reallocated by now The disc-golf course Phi Hall Eu Hall The Guest House?

Commons Den Nummit The area directly outside Nummit where people sit on Fridays Summit The sidewalk Satellite Gravellite Stowe parking lot New Dorm parking lots Other parking lots The street Stay safe out there y’all <3

1

What To Do When You Walk In On Your Roommate . Join in.

good time to make new friends!

2. Snap a selfie. Take a BeReal.

3. Applause.

4. “That’s the position you’re using?”

Give them a few pointers.

5. Scream.

6. Grab some popcorn and take a seat.

7. Make direct eye contact with both of them, one eye on each. Staring contest.

8. Dap ‘em up, and leave.

9. Introduce yourself if you don’t know the other person in the room. It’s always a

The

Yowl

10. Ask your roommate about their rash.

11. Start cleaning. The mirror, the sink, maybe even do some dusting. Let the only dirty thing in the room be what the other two people are doing.

12. Politely request them to get off your bed (this is not at all from personal experience, I’m just saying in case it were to be the case).

13. Spread the news on Yik Yak. You’re roommate scored! Hype them up.

14. Say, “Yikes, does [insert your roommate’s other sneaky link] know about this?

Because that is going to be messy. Sooooo

WRITERS Someone named Ben Pall Mall Anne, for long

messy. Like I wouldn’t even want to be in the middle of that right now. Anyway, hope you can still orgasm with that on your mind!”

15. Critique their music taste. Honestly, if they’re listening to Taylor Swift to “make love,” they deserve a little bit of heckling.

16. If you critique their music taste, you’ll probably feel a little bit bad about it. Make it up to them by singing something to get them back in the mood—you can’t go wrong with an a capella rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” 17. Make it an orgy! Text in your hall groupchat to have everyone come on down to your room and... get it on.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Long dresses are for formal! Like, obviously. You wear short dresses for semis and crush. Except, actually, you might wear a long dress for crush depending on the theme.”

--Eating house member expounding on natural laws

A Place of One’s Own

White people: do you feel like there’s no space on campus for you? Sure, you dominate just about every social sphere and probably just went on spring break with a group of 99% caucasians, but do you need a place that for as long as any of us can remember, has been really truly only white people? Oops!

Improv Comedy is the affinity group you’ve been looking for!

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

Hence, nothing in it should be taken as truth.