vanderbilthustler WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
VOL. 127, ISS. 12
Anonymous faculty attack Zeppos
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Anonymous letter distributed across campus claims administrative priorities disregard faculty needs PAGE 2
CAMPUS
Beyond the 9.5 percent Professors question whether the university’s increasing selectivity translates to improved academic performance
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Campus foodies gain popularity on Instagram Many prominent Nashville-themed foodstagrams are run by students who have turned thier culinary explorations into popular pages
OPINION
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Rape and the legal system Guest columnist opens up about her experience with rape, honoring the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Month
LIFE
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campus
QUOTE OF THE DAY “A little more than 90 percent of the students we deny could come in and do the work just fine.” Douglas Christiansen, DEAN OF ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID
Anonymous letter raises ‘urgent faculty concerns’ Professors cast doubt on letter’s integrity due to its anonymity By ALLIE GROSS Co-news editor --------------------
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Faculty members across campus found envelopes in their mailboxes on March 25 containing an anonymous letter expressing concerns about the university administration. Signed only “Your concerned faculty colleagues” and claiming to represent the “combined interests of the faculty from each of Vanderbilt’s schools,” the letter outlined a host of complaints regarding the administration’s strategic priorities, funding for academic programs, bureaucracy and oversight. “We believe that Chancellor’s strategic priorities — including building increasing numbers of new undergraduate dormitories; supporting large-scale university athletics; committing to a massively expensive undergraduate financial aid model; and centralizing administrative functions that have served only to increase our bureaucratic burden — are entirely out of line with the academic priorities of many faculty,” the letter read. Among other criticisms, the letter claimed that Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos “has created a toxic organizational environment marked by fear and retribution for faculty and administrators who challenge the decision making of his Central Administration.” The authors criticized budget cuts and costly student financial aid for hurting academic programs, as well as the “centralization” and “unilateral decision-making” as stifling for faculty academic pursuits. The author(s) of the letter remain unknown, but many faculty have confirmed that they believe it to be authentic based on the intimate knowledge of the facultyadministration relationship that the accusations require. Still, a number of other faculty declined to comment on the letter, believing it to be illegitimate because of the anonymity of its authors. In a statement to The Hustler, Beth Fortune, vice chancellor for public affairs, said the university does not respond to anonymous letters. “While we do not respond to anonymous letters, we strongly affirm the deep commitment of Chancellor Zeppos, who is himself a faculty member, to recruiting and retaining world-class faculty and investing directly in their growth and success,” the statement read. “These faculty draw the very best students to Vanderbilt to pursue their undergraduate and graduate studies and conduct the transformative research that enables the
vanderbilthustler STAFF
TYLER BISHOP EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Through a series of drastic policy shifts over the past seven years, we believe that academic affairs and faculty autonomy are now under serious threat at Vanderbilt.
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university to have a direct positive impact on the most pressing issues facing society today.” Addressing the letter’s criticism of the financial aid policy, the statement continued: “Because of the generosity of donors, we were able to establish Opportunity Vanderbilt, which has allowed us to attract the very best students to our community, regardless of their ability to pay. At the same time, the university continues to invest in faculty recruitment, research support and facility upgrades.” Opportunity Vanderbilt is the program, which officially began in 2009, that ensures the university will meet 100 percent of every admitted student’s demonstrated financial need going forward. It replaced need-based student loans. Several faculty members denounced the authors’ decision not to sign the letter. Political Science Professor Bruce Oppenheimer called the letter “irresponsible and counterproductive,” adding that the anonymity means the letter may not be legitimate. “First, I have little respect for people who send unsigned letters, especially when they make such sweeping indictments. We don’t even know how many faculty members comprise this ‘concerned’ group,” Oppenheimer said. Centennial Professor of Philosophy John Lachs added that the letter was “too general,” and called the choice to remain anonymous “inexcusable.”
KELLY HALOM — CO-NEWS EDITOR ALLIE GROSS — CO-NEWS EDITOR PRIYANKA ARIBINDI — LIFE EDITOR MOLLY CORN — OPINION EDITOR ALLISON MAST — SPORTS EDITOR SAARA ASIKAINEN — MANAGING EDITOR KARA SHERRER — WEB EDITOR SOPHIE TO — CHIEF COPY EDITOR
“Criticism should always be upfront and absolutely transparent,” Lachs said. “I don’t like it when people don’t put their names to what they say. I’m sure that there’s an earnestness and seriousness in what these colleagues assert, but I’d like to know who the colleagues are and what specifically they are unhappy about.” Lachs noted that while the letter references an atmosphere of fear of retribution from the administration, if full-time tenured professors wrote the letter, they would have no need for anonymity because the biggest threat of retribution they face is “they’re going to move you from your bright office to a windowless cubicle in the basement.” “There isn’t anything to fear and it’s disgraceful to fear precisely because you’re protected by tenure,” he said. While some professors said the letter’s complaints had been discussed among their colleagues as real issues, others raised doubts about its claims. Oppenheimer said that contrary to the letter’s complaint, he felt the strategic planning process recently concluded by the administration was open and “included active faculty participation and a large number of open meetings that seemingly welcomed faculty input.” He also contested the letter’s complaint about the university’s extensive financial aid provided to students. “The decision to commit resources to student financial aid, especially meeting demonstrable need with grants instead of loans, has significantly improved the applicant pool and the quality and diversity of the student body,” Oppenheimer said. “Plus the decision during the financial crisis to delay construction projects and preserve faculty and staff positions strikes me as one that is in stark contrast to the charges in the letter.” Astronomy Professor David Weintraub, former chair of the Faculty Senate, said the letter’s criticisms of the Faculty Senate are misguided, in that the Senate’s power has not been diminished — rather, it never had any substantive power to begin with. “In fact, the Faculty Senate, by intentional design when its constitution was drafted many decades ago, insured then and insures now that the Senate has virtually no power or influence at Vanderbilt,” he said. “We have a voice, but not a seat at the table. That’s been the Vanderbilt way.” According to Lachs, a similar letter he authored was distributed around 1990. This letter was signed by 25 senior faculty members and called for the resignation of
BOSLEY JARRETT — PHOTO DIRECTOR JENNA WENGLER — ART DIRECTOR PHIL DANTA — CHIEF WEB DEVELOPER MADDIE HUGHES — FEATURES EDITOR ANGELICA LASALA — SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR BEN WEINRIB — ASST. SPORTS EDITOR KAREN CHAN — ASST. ART DIRECTOR QUEEN STEVENSON — ASST. OPINION EDITOR ZIYI LIU— ASST. PHOTO DIRECTOR KATHY YUAN — ASST. PHOTO DIRECTOR
DESIGNERS
COPY EDITORS
ZACH BERKOWITZ ZOE SHANCER KATHY ZHOU HAN DEWAN AADITI NAIK CHRISTOPH SPROUL SHARON SI BRIANNA GALGANO ASHLEY KATZENSTEIN
ALEXIS BANKS ANDREA BLATT RACHAEL GRAHAM WESLEY LIN KATHY YUAN
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SUMMARY OF GRIEVANCES
then-Chancellor Joe B. Wyatt. While Lachs did not have a copy of the letter, he remembered raising concerns about Wyatt’s “poor leadership, inadequate fundraising ability,
embarrassingly weak intellect and a number of other things along these lines.” “We had a bill of particulars as to what the issues were,
• The Chancellor has created a “toxic organizational environment” marked by fear of retribution for those who challenge the administration • “Massive budget cuts to academic programs” — to fund the Chancellor’s administrative priorities at the expense of faculty’s academic pursuits • “Centralization of administrative functions” increasing the bureaucratic burden on faculty • “One of the most costly undergraduate financial aid programs in the nation” is a financial burden the Chancellor has failed to fund, forcing budget cuts for academic programs • Erosion of “the financial authority of the Academic Deans” and thus deans ability to support faculty endeavors • “The Vanderbilt Faculty Senate ... has largely become a bureaucratic instrument of the Central Administration” • “Increasing unilateral decision making of Central Administration” —Full text of the letter available on vanderbilthustler.com
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
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and we put our names to it so if you wanted to come and get any of us, ‘here’s our address,’” Lachs said. “I don’t like this letter because there may well be a basis for the unhappiness that it shows, but I’d like to know who wrote this.” Lachs said the Board of Trust rejected his letter, and Wyatt stayed on as chancellor for another five years, until his retirement in 1995. At its conclusion, the more recent letter called upon faculty to contact Vanderbilt Faculty Senate Chair Paul Lim, urged the Board of Trust to “investigate the status of faculty life” and encouraged deliberation among academic departments about the problems raised in the letter. At the spring Faculty Assembly on Tuesday night, Zeppos did not acknowledge the letter but did discuss some of the issues it mentioned — for example, Zeppos mentioned his efforts to reduce the burden of compliance regulations for higher education institutions at the federal level with Senator Lamar Alexander. In his semester address, the Chancellor also talked about the university’s endowment, Opportunity Vanderbilt, and the strategic plan. The Faculty Senate will convene on Thursday, April 2. Editor’s Note: The original source of the anonymous letter remains unknown. However, a number of conversations with faculty members made it clear that the letter required intimate knowledge of the faculty-administration relationship.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
Beyond the 9.5 percent
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Professors question whether increasing admissions selectivity translates to improved academic performance By KELLY HALOM Co-news editor --------------------
Just 15 years ago, in 2000, Vanderbilt University admitted more than half of those who applied for undergraduate admission. Even current seniors in the class of 2015 were admitted at 14.2 percent for regular decision applications. But for the incoming Class of 2019, the regular decision admittance rate dropped to 9.5 percent, according to the data released by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions last week. This means that while total admission rate is affected by waitlist offers and early decision offers, which will result in a higher overall admission rate, Vanderbilt is five times more selective than it was 15 years ago. According to Douglas Christiansen, vice provost for university enrollment affairs and dean of admissions and financial aid, Vanderbilt’s admissions trends suggest that the university is now competing against more top-tier institutions, including Ivy League schools. Vice Provost for Academic and Strategic Affairs John Geer agrees that these numbers are reflective of Vanderbilt’s new level of competition. “The remarkable thing about our gains is 10 years ago our competition was schools like Emory. That’s not true anymore. Our competition now is Stanford, Princeton and Harvard, and that’s a sea-change,” Geer said. While Vanderbilt’s increasing selectivity seems to be putting it in greater competition with the most rigorous schools in the country, several faculty members said that increasing selectivity in the past 15 years does not necessarily equate to better academic performance among students. Director of Neuroscience and Professor of Biological Sciences Terry Page said that while there might be a slight increase, he hasn’t detected a difference in academic achievement from when he came here in 1980. “From the first year I came here, there was always a group of students who could master any material I threw at them. And there was always, thankfully, a smaller group that didn’t learn anything. That hasn’t changed,” Page said. Associate Professor of the Practice of Mechanical Engineering Robert Barnett, who started teaching in 1993,
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The Vanderbilt Undergraduate Admissions office prepares regular decision acceptances to be sent to applicants on March 23, 2015, in the Admissions Office. said that he has not noticed as big of a difference as the statistics would indicate, as Vanderbilt has always had very strong students. “Even though the overall quality may have drifted up, by the time you get to the individuals, they’re not that much different,” Barnett said. “Once you get above a certain level, the differences are kind of random.” Christiansen said that in the world of admissions, what distinguishes one applicant from the other is no longer academic in nature. “A little more than 90 percent of the students we deny could come in and do the work just fine,” Christiansen said. When so many applicants look the same academically, he said that the admissions office has to begin looking for other differentiators, such as leadership, social engagement, personal essays and letters of recommendation. Professor in the Human and Organizational Development Department Andy Van Schaack said that by accepting students who have always been high-achieving both academically and in extracurricular activities, the university may be selecting students unaccustomed to setbacks and failure. “I think what we’re selecting against are things like resilience, the ability to accept and embrace failure and the risks associated with that,” he said. Van Schaack considers cultivating such resilience as critical to the academic experience. Senior Lecturer in Psychology Leslie Smith, who began teaching at Vanderbilt in 1991, said that students are not performing any better or worse today than they were before. Smith said that she typically teaches larger introductory classes and has kept her exams relatively the same throughout her time at Vanderbilt. She said the means of her test scores have been consistent from year to year. Smith, however, said that she has noticed a difference in the amount of extracurricular activities that students take part in. Involvement outside the classroom might actually be distracting from academic focus. “The need to increase the power of your resume by adding another major and minor and all this community
service and being on this committee and that sorority and so on — you can’t do all things well,” she said. “So maybe that all gets in the way of academic performance, because you would think with the numbers skyrocketing in the statistical data that performance would skyrocket too.” Other faculty members felt that Vanderbilt’s top performers have remained consistent in academic achievement from year to year, but many hypothesized that the pool of top performers has grown over time. Associate Professor of Physics Shane Hutson said that more than a third of his Introductory Physics class is now receiving over 90 percent on exams, which he feels is a significant increase from when he first came to Vanderbilt in 2003. “If I just look at the distribution of the class, that distribution has shifted,” Hutson said. “It’s sort of piling up on the high end of the scale now,” he said. Christiansen said he believes the intellectual conversation is very different at Vanderbilt today. “I really believe that I see a difference in students in that level of analysis more today than I saw 10 years ago,” he said. “I see a difference in the questions I’m asked — much more penetrating and deeper.” Professor in the Practice of Civil Engineering Sanjiv Gokhale, who has taught at Vanderbilt since 2001 and has also served as a Faculty VUceptor for the past three years, said that the biggest difference he sees in the undergraduate population today is an increase in diversity. Gokhale, who was a graduate student at Vanderbilt in the 1980s, said that it is refreshing to now see an undergraduate population that includes people of different ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds. Gokhale said that increased diversity on campus is particularly important for preparing his engineering students to learn how to work with different people of different cultures and backgrounds. “We can talk about things that we weren’t able to talk about in the past,” Gokhale said. “We can talk about international projects, but not in the abstract. We have people from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, who can talk about how these projects came about in their country
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REGULAR DECISION APPLICANTS
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Year and give that perspective.” Christiansen said that the decreasing admission rate might be the result of the country’s recent economic strife. Undergraduate students might be seeking a degree that will have more weight in the professional world. “Broadly speaking, in our world today, the educational brand of Vanderbilt is so strong that that carries to the workplace later,” he said. Several professors noted that students at Vanderbilt are more focused on their future than in years past. English
Department Chair Michael Kreyling said he sees students as already trying to build careers since high school. “I cannot imagine what it is like to be in high school and to be so self-conscious that you’re assembling a resume that will get you into college,” he said. Chair of the Department of Musicology and Ethnomusicology Jim Lovensheimer, who joined faculty in 2002, said that increasing applications means that Vanderbilt now has a choice in the type of student body that it constructs more than ever before. “I’ve talked to people who have worked in the under-
graduate school for years, who have said, ‘Yeah, when I got here, this used to be basically a finishing school for rich white southerners,’ not that long ago, well look around and it’s certainly not that anymore,” he said. “It’s a much bigger experience than just that.” — Managing editor Saara Asikainen contributed to this report
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opinion
QUOTE OF THE DAY “Despite what the university’s housing guide states, we learned afterward that there are quotas for male and female housing groups that undermine the publicized process of fairness and seniority.”
Rape and the legal system
ELIOT MARTIN, SOPHOMORE
Senior opens up in honor of Sexaul Assault Awareness Month Trigger warning: The following includes content pertaining to sexual assault. It may be triggering to some readers.
EMMIE ARNOLD
GUEST COLUMN
is a senior in Peabody College. She can be reached at emily.f.arnold@ vanderbilt.edu
D
espite the general awareness that sexual violence is wrong, “rape culture,” or an environment that insidiously encourages sexual violence and discourages survivors from speaking up, continues to prevail. We routinely use phrases that trivialize assault, encourage men to be unrelenting in their pursuit of women and remind women not to get raped, while telling men that they can’t be raped. Instead of recognizing the sexual violence befalls all types of innocent people, we separate ourselves from the possibility by searching for some sign of provocation or justice that simply is not there. This is my story about the mess that my assault and the legal system made of my life from July 2014 - February 2015 and how we can all learn from it in order to make the world more supportive of survivors. I was raped by a man I met at a fraternity party in Washington, D.C., while visiting an old friend. I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t rape, but the next day, it was undeniable. I wanted to crawl out of my own skin. I didn’t want to go forward at first; my senior year was just about to begin. However, due to the encouragement of friends, I went and had a rape kit done just to keep the door open if I wanted to report to the police at a later date. When I told my story from beginning to end, I realized that I wanted justice from the system that I had learned to trust in elementary school. I went to the station, armed with a trash bag full of evidence, and met the detective I was assigned to. With an advocate in the room, I told my testimony. My detective seemed charming and caring, assured me that he would keep me updated about every step and left me feeling that he would relentlessly pursue the justice I deserved. Two months passed without a word. Then came the phone call that he was done with his entire investigation and that he had passed everything off to his supervisors to make the final decision about prosecu-
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KELLY HALOM
PRIYANKA ARIBINDI
NEWS EDITOR news@vanderbilthustler.com
LIFE EDITOR life@vanderbilthustler.com
MOLLY CORN
ALLISON MAST
OPINION EDITOR opinion@vanderbilthustler. com
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tion. I hadn’t even given the police station permission to access my rape kit yet. Flustered, I asked, “Don’t you need my rape kit?” “No, I don’t think so.” “What’s your guess about whether they’ll choose to prosecute?” Without any remorse in his voice, he said, “I don’t think they will.” I knew from there that I would have to raise hell in order to be listened to. The police report’s one-sentence summary said that I had had sex, not that I had been raped. It also said I had no injuries, which I had told my detective were detailed in the rape kit. The next few months were consumed by asking him to step up and do his job. He played hard to get, but eventually picked up the phone two months later. I had a list of notes in my hands, shaking, and told him to stop letting his biases against survivors get in the way of my shot at justice. That’s when he said, “I wrote on your police report that you had sex because you never told me you were assaulted.” He then tried to use words from my own testimony against me. Because I had never used the r-word or the s.a.-word (a common thing for someone who is beginning to cope with the fact that they have been sexually assaulted), he thought I had come to tell him about a one-night stand. After having been very calm, I yelled, “Just because I thought he was attractive doesn’t mean I gave him consent at any point, or that he ever asked. If you didn’t hear me the first time, I’m going to have to say it all again.” I was given a second chance to give my testimony. Despite ferocious efforts, the police report remained the same, and he threw a stink about having to pick up my rape kit. When my case wasn’t picked up for prosecution, I wasn’t at all surprised. What may be the most insidious aspect of rape culture is the retraumatization that survivors can experience when they look to the “justice” system for help and are not taken seriously. Rape culture pervades police stations. In the end, the legal system did more damage to me than my rapist ever could have. The scariest thing is that my story is not at all unique. I know a lot of people with different details but similar disheartening and dehumanizing experiences. So, let me ask the question again: Why don’t survivors report to the police more often? Because of things like this that can happen behind closed doors. I am not trying
The Vanderbilt Hustler Opinion page aims to stimulate discussion in the Vanderbilt community. In that spirit, columnists, guest columnists and authors of letters to the editor are expected to provide logical argument to back their views. Unreasonable arguments, arguments in bad faith or arguments in vain between columnists have no place in The Hustler and will not be published. The Hustler welcomes reader viewpoints and offers three methods of expression: letters to the editor, guest columns and feedback on vanderbilthustler.com. The views expressed in lead editorials reflect the majority of opinion among The Hustler’s editorial board and may be supposed to represent the opinion of The Vanderbilt Hustler at the time of publication. They are not necessarily representative of any individual member. Letters must be submitted either in person by the author to The Hustler office or via email to opinion@vanderbilthustler.com. Letters via email should come from a Vanderbilt email address where the identity of the sender is clear. With rare exception, all letters must be received by 2 p.m. on the Sunday prior to publication. The editor
to dissuade you from reporting if something awful has happened to you; I am saying that if we are going to continue criticizing survivors for not reporting, there must be better reporting processes and more sensitivity training. Three great things did come out of choosing to come forward, though. First, I got Crime Victims’ Compensation money that helped pay for my hospital visit, therapy appointments and related expenses. I also received an advocate and a lawyer who fought tirelessly for me and constantly reminded me that what had happened to me, both that night and every time I interacted with my detective, was not ok. Second, I learned that justice comes in various forms. My case was not prosecuted, but I hope I sufficiently scared my rapist into never perpetrating such a senseless act again; that would be justice. When I get to help others cope with their own traumatic experiences because I have the kind of empathy that comes from having been down in the trenches of darkness personally, that is justice. When I walk across the stage this May, graduating with honors and a bright future despite the obstacles I have faced, that will be justice. Third, I had the opportunity to voice my concerns and ideas for improvement about the police station I worked with to a victim specialist, who told me that I had a chance of making someone else’s experience better in the future. That was worth everything. The reason I share my story is that I want people to know they are not alone in this. Yes, I’m a different person from who I was in July 2014. I’m wiser about the world, but I decided a long time ago that I was not going to let the ugliness I faced that night and throughout the following months harden me. “Survivor” is now an aspect of my identity that I am proud of. I have since forgiven my rapist and my detective, but that doesn’t mean the fire in my soul is ever going to burn out. I’m more passionate about the social work field, where I’m going after graduation.
Editor’s note: the above has been abridged for print; for more, visit www.vanderbilthustler.com
reserves the right to edit and condense submissions for length as well as clarity. Lengthy letters that focus on an issue affecting students may be considered for a guest column at the editor’s discretion. All submissions become the property of The Hustler and must conform to the legal standards of Vanderbilt Student Communications, of which The Hustler is a division. The Vanderbilt Hustler (ISSN 0042-2517), the official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University, is published every Wednesday during the academic year except during exam periods and vacations. The paper is not printed during summer break. The Vanderbilt Hustler allocates one issue of the newspaper to each student and is available at various points on campus for free. Additional copies are $.50 each. The Vanderbilt Hustler is a division of Vanderbilt Student Communications, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Vanderbilt Student Communications.
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Losing the housing lottery An open letter to Vanderbilt housing and administration ELIOT MARTIN is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at eliot.m.martin@ vanderbilt.edu
GUEST COLUMN
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wo weeks ago was the balloting period for one of the more desirable housing options on Vanderbilt campus — the four-person, stand-alone townhouses called Chaffins. It’s hard not to want one of these apartments, complete with a full kitchen, living room and balcony, when many of the other housing options on campus more closely resemble walk-in closets than living spaces. My friends and I were among those hoping to live in one of these Chaffins. At Vanderbilt, upperclassman housing assignments are made using a seniority-based point system: Sophomores, juniors and seniors receive two, three and four points, respectively. So traditionally, Chaffin ballots consist mainly of juniors and seniors. Then, starting with the groups with the most points, ballots are randomly drawn until units are filled. Based on statistics provided by Residential Education, groups with 14 points or more (16 being the maximum points possible) should have felt secure about their odds of getting the housing they desired. Therefore, many of these groups did not feel a need to navigate the confusing rules related to applying for backup housing options and feared trying since any mistake in that process might jeopardize the near-certain Chaffin opportunity. But unfortunately, we learned that this sense of security was based on a false premise we had gleaned
from the Residential Education guide section titled “Procedural Fairness.” This section clearly states that every ballot with the same number of points has equal odds of being chosen. However, those of us who believed the “Procedural Fairness” outlined in the guide are now suffering from procedural unfairness — stuck with cramped singles and doubles in inferior buildings intended for sophomores instead of junior/ senior suites. Why? Because despite what the university’s housing guide states, we learned afterward that there are quotas for male and female housing groups that undermine the publicized process of fairness and seniority, all for the sake of filling undesired single-sex dorm buildings. My group, and several others with 14 points, were designated to this fate while at least three all-female groups with 13 points or fewer received the apartments that we should have gotten. Furthermore, this whole debacle is part of a much greater problem that the university should address to give students more reasonable options. There is a great inequality in the quality of housing options on campus, and yet all students must pay the same for housing — just one of the problems we face due to our university’s monopoly on housing. It seems unreasonable to pay the same for a moldy 120-square-foot double and a 500-plus-square-foot Chaffin apartment, or an equally massive, brand-new apartment in Warren or Moore. A simple, short-term solution might be to allow unrestricted opportunity for upperclassmen to live off
campus until the university can provide better housing for everyone, or at least to remove the quotas so the ballot process is truly fair. Currently, the university refuses to let juniors live off campus, and only lets a handful of seniors live off campus if they apply before the on-campus housing selection process begins. This leaves many junior and senior students like us stuck in the same dreary sophomore housing for yet another year, with no options and little enthusiasm for returning to school in the fall. Not only are these living conditions unjust, but the price we pay, $9,392 for eight months of housing, is also indicative of the monopolistic nature of Vanderbilt. The cost of university housing is hundreds of dollars more, per person per month, than for most nearby apartments — which happen to be newer and better furnished than housing found on campus. Those of us affected by this housing fiasco request the following: We ask Vanderbilt to make the balloting process more transparent. We ask Residential Education to reconsider their unfair use of quotas and inappropriate single-sex dorm designations. And most importantly, we ask for the approval to live off campus to save money and to live in the same quality housing as the “lucky” juniors and seniors, until there are more equitable options for all on campus. It’s time to end Vanderbilt’s unrighteous monopoly on housing and the financial and psychological burdens that accompany such a distorted policy.
Admitting defeat
An open challenge to declare your failures ANDREW BRODSKY is a first-year in Peabody College. He can be reached at andrew.l.brodsky@ vanderbilt.edu
GUEST COLUMN
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he problem on our campus is that everyone here is just too wonderful. The fact is, there is someone here who is better than you at everything, and without effort. And while they’re being better than you, they’re also double majoring in chemical and biomedical engineering, studying abroad and simultaneously feeding 2,000 starving children at a food bank in Tanzania. As for you, the past two weeks have been hell. You got declined from that internship you really wanted. You got a C on a test you stayed up all night studying for. Also, all your friends partied without you (that Thursday night while you were studying). Now you find yourself questioning every choice you’ve made since you got to college. The worst part? You didn’t tell anyone. You mentally screamed for mercy all while smiling in public. Our problem: we don’t want anyone to see us struggle. What do we do then, if we don’t put our feelings and failures out in the open for others to identity with? We instead bottle them up, giving them agency to grow slowly and devour our sanity. We bottle them up because we go to the happiest school in the nation and must keep up appearances. We bottle them up to evade weakness, afraid that this weakness will scare off the friends we work so desperately to hold on to. And at what price does our bottling come? It comes with the isolation, insecurity and depression of our fellow students and ourselves.
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What do we do then, if we don’t put our feelings and failures out in the open for others to identity with?
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So Vanderbilt, my challenge to you: uncork that bottle and let your story pour out. Here, I’ll go first. My name is Andrew Brodsky, and I’m a first-year student, currently double majoring in HOD and communication studies. Of course, that’s my spiel to people because I don’t want to admit that over the past semester, I’ve actually changed majors 17 times, twice entertained the idea of dropping out (once to be a florist, the other to be a cab driver in New York) and had four different mental breakdowns because I seriously have no idea what I’m doing with my life. I’ve been to several appointments with the PCC; I’ve cried, alone, in my bed for 10 minutes straight because I simply looked at the PCC website to make an appointment, thought about all of the negative stigma associated with it and convinced myself that there was something wrong with me because no one else I knew had to go there. I’m in the alternate pool to be an RA, I applied to be on
Honor Council but didn’t even get an interview and was rejected from ’Dore for a Day and, more recently, Tour Guides. In September, I auditioned for the Melodores. I guess I was especially forgettable, though, because they forgot to send my letter of rejection until two weeks after they announced who had made it. I barely made a C in Chem 102 last semester and withdrew from Math 150 because apparently I’m not nearly as good at those subjects as high school had led me to believe. But I still have to constantly placate myself, because I’m still awesome and proud of what I’ve experienced, and everyone I know goes through those exact same struggles. Well, that’s it. That’s me. The metaphorical ball is in your court now, Vandy. I’ve shown you mine, now you show me yours. Swallow your pride, Vandy. Step out from your facade of felicity and expose the insecurities and doubts and worries that keep you up at night. Display them proudly, like the battle scars they are, and not like the mortal wounds you perceive them to be. Don’t let these so-called failures and deficiencies tear you down in silent solitude. It will be a comfort to many to know they aren’t facing these challenges alone. Take this challenge Vanderbilt, and not only will we overcome this plague of perfection pervading our student body, but maybe, just maybe, we will actually be the happiest school in the country.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
life
GO DO
THIS
Music City Munchies: A Taste of Nashville Saturday, April 4, 1-4 p.m., Commons Lawn
This Saturday, Stambaugh House is serving up a number of Nashville-themed favorites for free on the Commons Lawn, including meats from Martin’s Bar-B-Que, vegetarian appetizers from Pinewood Social, sweet treats from Legato Gelato, Goo Goo Clusters and more.
Campus foodies
Instagram plays host to thousands of accounts devoted solely to showcasing food in different cities, and when it comes to the Nashville-themed accounts, it turns out that the creators of many of the most popular pages are Vanderbilt students. The Hustler caught up with the students behind four of Music City’s most-liked foodstagram accounts to hear how they rose to Insta-fame: @nomcitybetch @nomcitybetch is a food Instagram that promises “full plates, full hearts,” and is full of sass. To date, the account has posted more than 400 mouthwatering, humorous posts that will either leave you hungry, laughing or both. Three of the seven friends who co-operate the Greenwich, Connecticut-based account are Vanderbilt students. Peaches Memishian, Posey Memishian and Kippy Ball explain that their idea to start the “foodstagram” started from a fad within their high school. “We were main contributors to another food Instagram and we realized we could do a better job if we made our own,” Ball said. Beginning their junior year of high school, @nomcitybetch was born. Creating a food-inspired Instagram came easily, as all three consider themselves longtime foodies who enjoy cooking as much as eating the meals they photograph for the account. “We bake a lot. Slutty brownies are our favorite to make,” Posey Memishian said, referring to the popular combination of Oreo cookies baked into brownie batter. Though they are carried by their love of food, running @nomcitybetch hasn’t been an easy commitment. The trio explains that because they started the foodstagram in high school, they must remain in constant communication with the other contributors. “We have seven people in a group chat and are constantly posting pictures. Other people in the account are usually taking the photos but Kippy, Posey and I approve the final picture to edit and caption,” Peaches Memishian said. Photos that they say typically make the cut are of the most enticing food items that they enjoy. “We look for stuff people would typically like — it’s normally unhealthy like pasta, burgers and desserts,” Ball said. Among the many things they’ve posted, the three share overlaps in taste, citing Italian food and anything fried as some of their favorites. All three especially rave about popovers, a light, flaky baked roll. Their strategy to build their following of more than 4,000 has been anything but “betchy” — the group cites spreading the love, frequently complimenting other blogs and liking others’ pictures of food they enjoyed, helping one another grow. When it comes to starting foodstagrams, it’s something that, according to Ball, you should only do for yourself. “You also have to put in a lot of time in the beginning, and don’t repost from people you don’t know just to gain more followers.”
—Michelle Phan, Life reporter
PHOTO COURTESY OF @NOMCITYBETCH
@everybitewetake Vanderbilt is the land of “foodies.” Students run to food trucks and events with free dessert, and stand in long Tortellini Tuesday lines in Rand. Naturally, Jess Eichner, a Vanderbilt class of 2013 alum, shared this campus love for food. Her food Instagram, “@everybitewetake,” has 5,557 followers and counting. Eichner started the Instagram after graduating from Vanderbilt in 2013. “I was transitioning into post-grad life from Vanderbilt. I had graduated in May of 2013, and I was adjusting to life in a corporate, social media position, just not in a very creative environment. It was very cut and dry. And I wanted to do something to explore a creative outlet.” Homesick and missing both her Vanderbilt friends and family, Eichner teamed up with her mother to create this Instagram account. “It’s kind of been a way for us to do something together despite being a thousand miles apart. Food has always been an event in my family, whether it has been meal prep or the feast itself, so we’ve had a lot of fun doing it together,” Eichner said. Eichner and her mother love to bake. Their Instagram specialty, Eichner said, is dessert. Desserts are a good go-to dish because of their photogenic nature, “Your cream spinach won’t get the best response, versus the chocolate cake,” Eichner joked. Typically, Eichner and her mother take turns cooking, taking pictures and posting. “It’s a day-by-day thing. We’ll upload the pictures, not necessarily the day that we eat it, or the day that we make it. It’s as we go,” Eichner said. Eichner’s experience in social media has helped her in promoting her account. “I try to use a lot of the analytics that I learn in work, and try to apply it through this Instagram, just to see what works, what doesn’t. That’s how I think we’ve been able to organically grow to 5,000 people in little over a year. I play with it, to see peak times for posting, or hashtags that allow interactions the most. It kind of has been like my baby,” Eichner said. Eichner has had a lot of success with her food Instagram in the short year it has been active. “We’ve been featured on Travel + Leisure’s Instagram, (and in) Southern Living. We’ve been regrammed by Abercrombie & Fitch, which was kind of funny — my inner 13-year-old screamed when I saw that. It’s been really fun. I’ve met a lot of people, and have connected with people in the foodie world, which is fun. A lot of friends have turned into foodies. You know, we go out and everyone knows, ‘Don’t eat! Jess needs to take a picture first!’ It’s been fun to see everyone develop in helping me with it.”
—Anna Butrico, Life reporter
PHOTO COURTESY OF @EVERYBITEWETAKE
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@nashvilledelicious It’s rare to find a foodstagrammer who only posts foods she has eaten herself — instead, we most frequently see post submissions from friends and followers for more likes and follows — but Aggie Bell is one of the few who doesn’t. Bell, a sophomore, runs the popular foodstagram @nashvilledelicious, where she posts photos of foods from around Nashville that she’s sampled and enjoyed on her own. Hailing from New Orleans, Bell grew up loving the famous food scene in her hometown, and this love of food was one of the reasons she chose to attend school in Nashville. At the beginning of her first year, with the help of her older sister Leighton (who graduated in 2014), Bell created the account after the two were inspired by a similar account of eats based out of Dallas, Texas. The sisters originally intended for the account to be for their closest friends, but within months they had received hundreds of follow requests. Since then, the pair has reached 2,600 followers and more than 300 posts. Bell has now had more than a year of experience with her Instagram account, during which she has been able to learn the ins and outs of food Instagramming. She commented that healthy foods typically don’t receive the same amount of likes as unhealthy options like desserts. “I once posted a Bread & Co. salad and that didn’t do so well,” she said. “I mean, they’re delicious, but unfortunately they never really get the most likes.” Her experience with @nashvilledelicious has motivated her to try many restaurants around Nashville, and while her current favorites are the barbecue chicken pizza from Whiskey Kitchen and the Singapore stir fry from Tavern, she can remember the details of nearly every meal she’s featured on the account, including the plate, flavors and ingredients. Though the account has called Nashville home since its beginnings, Bell will be studying in France in the fall, and is looking forward to sharing the meals she enjoys abroad as well as eventually creating her own food blog.
—Eliza Yass, Life reporter
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
9
Fix up your
foodstagrams Use these tips from Nashville’s most popular foodstagrammers to filter your snapshots to perfection: @nomcitybetch – Use a purple tint on photos – Only start with pictures that have good, bright lighting — avoid anything dim or candlelit – Use VSCO Cam and Afterlight to edit – Sharpen and clarify the pictures a lot – For captions, find song lyrics and think of puns (repeat words over and over again to think of what else they sound like) – Take the picture closer up PHOTO COURTESY OF @NASHVILLEDELICIOUS
— Continued on PAGE 10
— Continued on PAGE 10
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LIFE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015 —continued from PAGE 9
@nashvilledelicious – Get natural lighting – If you’re eating with friends, get the other person’s food in the frame to fill it and make the photo more interesting – The phone makes all the difference! iPhone 6 takes the best photos – If you’re chasing likes, stick to dessert @everybitewetake – Natural lighting is always the best – Use the HDR settings on iPhones to try to take the most crisp picture possible – Try unique angles – Don’t be afraid to get up close and personal with the food – Play with your filter — it depends on the lighting to begin with
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—continued from PAGE 9
@day_in_nashville What is now a foodstagram with more than 2,700 followers began as Dana Alloy’s simple solution to providing a social media account for a job application. With no background in photography and no intentions of becoming an Instagram sensation, Alloy started @day_in_nashville exactly one year ago. Then, because she and her friend Margaret never had class on Thursdays, they made it a tradition to try a new restaurant every week and Instagram their meals if they enjoyed them. Thus, what began as two friends in search of a more fulfilling lunch than a generic “Randwich” evolved into Alloy’s very own Nashville food diary — a diary which now boasts thousands of followers, many of whom double tap her posts in approval of the unique Nashville items she’s managed to track down. When it comes to foodstagrams, @day_in_nashville is an account that favors quality over quantity. While many similar accounts post hyperedited pictures as many times a day as possible, Alloy takes a very different approach: She has only posted 105 times in the past year, and rather than worrying about which filter to use or getting the best angle, she is much more focused on the picture’s caption— often including menu suggestions or hacks. For example, Alloy recently revealed to her followers that chicken and waffles was available off-menu at the popular brunch spot Pinewood Social, sparking comments of surprise from her followers. “As a tour guide, I always get asked about the best places to eat, which is why I showcase my ultimate favorites, rather than just posting every day,” she said. With no background in photography, Alloy is far more concerned with the food’s taste instead of its appearance. She recently featured simple cookies she had for dessert at Adele’s because, while they weren’t necessarily the most photogenic, she believed they were the best part of her meal. “Obviously my gnocchi was presented better, but the cookies were delicious and I want people to actually try them,” Alloy said. Finally— a foodstagram that cares more about satisfying taste buds than about maximizing likes. Check out @day_in_nashville for tried and true quality food.
—Abbey Fernandez, Life reporter
PHOTO COURTESY OF @DAY_IN_NASHVILLE
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Month in music: April PHOTO COURTESY OF J. COLE
PHOTO COURTESY OF SYLVAN ESSO
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
11
This month Music City will host artists from J. Cole to Stevie Wonder, and The Hustler has compiled five can’t-miss concerts to help you decide which to catch By Charlie Obrecht, Life reporter
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVIE WONDER
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DECEMBERISTS
PHOTO COURTESY OF SMALLPOOLS
J. Cole (April 1 at Marathon Music Works)
Sylvan Esso (April 1 at Cannery Ballroom)
Stevie Wonder (April 7 at Bridgestone Arena)
The Decemberists (April 13 at Ryman Auditorium)
Smallpools (April 21 at Exit/ In)
J. Cole spits rhymes on par with his hip-hop idols, Nas and Tupac. An aesthetic alternative to the generic, self-aggrandizing “pop” hip-hop music that has recently taken over radio waves, Cole’s music interweaves nostalgic selfallusion and complex wordplay into his powerful lyricism. His most recent album, “2014 Forest Hills Drive,” peaked at number one on the Billboard Charts and according to many critics represents his best work yet.
This electropop duo broke onto the scene last year with an eponymous debut album last May. The album provides smooth and rolling beats, and brings a fresh sound to the electronic scene that has so long been dominated by EDM acts with heavy bass. While the duo lacks an extensive song repertoire, strong recent singles such as “Coffee” and “Could I Be” are still enticing listens, and the music’s upbeat energy is infectious.
One of the most innovative and beloved artists of the 20th century, Stevie Wonder stands as the most awarded male artist of all time. His music transcends generations, and the funky grooves of “Superstition” and Motown sounds in “Sir Duke” have inspired generations of artists who’ve followed him. Wonder is an icon of American music, and with a huge venue like Bridgestone it shouldn’t be hard to catch the show, even if it’s from the nosebleeds.
This indie folk rock band from Portland puts on an unique concert experience, including audience involvement, comedic interludes and playful acting out of their songs, which is sure to be enhanced by the Ryman’s intimate environment. Ripe with historical allusions and complex metaphors, the Decemberists’ music along with their small-town country sound has had the group consistently standing at the cutting edge of folk rock.
A performer at last year’s Rites of Spring, Indie pop band Smallpools has put out a number of hit songs since coming together in 2013. Incorporating live instrumentals into their songs, Smallpools meshes indie rock with electronic dance music. Although they have yet to release any studio albums, singles such as “Dreaming” have caught on quickly, topping charts on blogs like Hype Machine last year.
Must-listen: “Lost Ones”
Must-listen: “Coffee”
Must-listen: “Superstition”
Must-listen: “On the Bus Mall”
Must-listen: “Dreaming”
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
sports
THE BIG STAT Percentage of people who need a bone marrow transplant, but do not recieve one.
60
COURTESY OF VUCOMMODORES.COM
Steve Keith finds his match
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Cross country and track coach’s battle with leukemia led him to be an advocate for Be The Match By JOSH HAMBURGER Sports reporter --------------------
In September of 2013, Steve Keith (class of 1981) relaxed as he listened to a music playlist he had just made echoing throughout the room. Meanwhile, a life-saving procedure was going on at the same time. Awake and excited, the Vanderbilt cross country coach and alumnus was receiving a 50-minute bone marrow transplant from a stranger thousands of miles away in Germany. Just a few months prior, Keith had received a diagnosis that he could never have expected: He was suffering from Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), which later developed into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Essentially, these aggressive conditions had destroyed his healthy blood cell counts, leaving hardly any white blood cells remaining. “Everything was bankrupt. I was ready for a good virus to come in and just have fun,” he said about his body. In the year leading up to the diagnosis, he noticed some differences in how he was feeling, but he attributed the change to a less active and healthy lifestyle. “I had a general spiral downward of some fatigue, but I thought I was out of shape. Classic ‘guy kind of neglecting the signs.’” He noticed some bruising and scratches that would not stop bleeding — but only in retrospect would he have thought to seek help. However, while he was coaching at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Arkansas, a virus invaded his body, which was already suffering from a depleted immune system. Immediately rushed to the hospital there, Keith quickly understood just how deadly this virus could be, as doctors raced to stabilize him for a return trip back to Nashville. After his disease continued to progress for the worse, he joined the national marrow registry, hoping for a match. The odds were against him, as only about 40 percent of those in
When you talk about cancer, cure is a pretty significant word for somebody who has it.
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need actually find a match. However, four weeks after being placed in the system, Be The Match found his donor: a 27-year-old German male. Thus, over the course of the summer, Keith prepared his body for this hopefully life-saving procedure. The road there, however, was gruesome, tiring and seemingly everlasting. Keith regularly spent time in the hospital, going through aggressive chemotherapy regimens. “It took the whole summer to put the disease into remission, to clean out all my bad cells to where I was able to have the transplant.” For many with AML, this time really marks the make-it-orbreak-it moment — whether one can successfully receive a transplant or not. During the week of surgery, they take the final step of preparation by killing almost everything in the body. “It’s like pushing all in, in playing poker,” he said about this last event. Unlike many other cancers that require extensive, invasive and dangerous surgeries, the treatment for AML simply consists of a transfusion of two bags of 8 million stem cells over a 50-minute period. In reference to this transplant, he joked,
“It’s kind of anticlimactic for a rather climactic event.” On March 3 of this year, Steve Keith lobbied as “Exhibit A” as part of a campaign to congressmen, including Vanderbilt graduate and Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander, to raise funds for the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match. He preached the importance of expanding the number of donors on the national registry to ensure that the thousands who need marrow transplants can quickly find a perfect match. His presence was two-part: to be a prime example of a near-perfect treatment and an advocate to increase national awareness. During his time on Capitol Hill last month, Steve Keith emphasized to politicians the ease of joining the list and ultimately donating marrow. The impact an individual donor can have is monumental, and he cited his own health as a result of the registry’s importance. “I think the biggest thing is just that people don’t know that it can be a cure,” Keith said. “And when you talk about cancer, cure is a pretty significant word for somebody who has it.”
BY THE STATS Each year in the U.S...
19,000 people are diagnosed with MDS 15,000 people are diagnosed with AML MARROWTHON Proceeds will provide bone marrow transplants. — Friday, April 3, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. in Sarratt 216/220 — Sunday, April 5, noon - 4 p.m. at the AEPi House
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
13
Vandy loses one star and retains another Robinette decides to end career and enter medical school while Jones will return to basketball team for junior season By ALLISON MAST Sports editor --------------------
Redshirt junior quarterback Patton Robinette has decided to end his Vanderbilt playing career. After suffering multiple injuries, Robinette believes that it is in his best interests to quit football. This
decision also allows him to enroll in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine this summer, where he plans to study orthopedics. “This has been a very difficult decision to make,” Robinette said Friday. “This team means the world to me, and I love playing football more than anything. It’s been tough coming to a decision that is right for my family and I and protects my health and future. “I’ve been very deliberate in coming to this decision. It’s difficult but I’m really excited to move forward to the next chapter of my life and really to see what the field of medicine has in store for me,” Robinette added. The Maryville, Tennessee native was expected to compete for the role of starting quarterback this season, alongside redshirt sophomore Johnny McCrary, sophomore Wade Freebeck, redshirt freshman Shawn Stankavage and incoming freshman Kyle Shurmur.
BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
October 19, 2013: Patton Robinette (4) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the game against Georgia. Robinette lead the Commodores to a 31-27 win in the game. Robinette experienced success in his first season, leading Vanderbilt to a victory over Tennessee. He started last season at the helm before being sidelined with a knee injury and a concussion. “People have made a big deal about the concussion thing, and that’s certainly a factor, but more than that I’m looking forward to moving forward in my medical
career and seeing where that takes me,” Robinette said. While the football team will be without its most experienced quarterback, the men’s basketball team will benefit from the return of star Damian Jones, who an— Continued on PAGE 14
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SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
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— Continued from PAGE 13 nounced on Monday that he will remain on the team for his junior season. Jones was named to the Southeastern Conference First Team after a strong sophomore season in which he led the team in both points and rebounds. As one of the best centers in the country, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana native was attracting some national attention throughout the season and is expected to be a first-round NBA draft pick at the end of his college career. “We’re thrilled that Damian has decided to return for his junior season,” said Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings. “This was a process that he and his family took very seriously, and we’re happy that he came to this decision. Damian has the potential to be one of the top big men in the country next season, and we’re excited to see him work with a promising group of returnees and outstanding incoming players this spring and summer to see that come to fruition.” On May 8, the Commodores will lose only three players to graduation and only one starter, forward James Siakam. In addition, Siakam is the only scoring threat who will be absent from the roster next season. Siakam, Josh Henderson and Shelby Moats will be replaced by the No. 21 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com. “After consulting with my family and Coach Stallings, I felt it was in my best interest to return to Vanderbilt next season,” Jones said. “I love it here at Vanderbilt, and I am extremely excited about our team. I can’t wait to start working toward making our team better this spring.” Vanderbilt was eliminated from the National Invitation Tournament in the quarterfinals and looks to build upon its success with the help of incoming freshmen Camron Justice, Joseph Toye, Samir Sehic and Djery Baptiste. Jones will provide leadership as one of the most experienced players, along with fellow sophomore Luke Kornet.
JAMES TATUM / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team defeats the Missouri Tigers 78 to 75 in Memorial Gymnasium. Kyle Fuller and Rod Odom combined for a total of 46 points, and both played the entire 40 minutes to lead the team over Missouri.
STATS: ROBINETTE Games
Pass Attempts Completions
STATS: JONES
Yards
TDs
Games
Points Rebounds
Assists
Blocks
2013
10
88
46
642
7
2013-14
31
349
176
7
43
2014
6
67
43
454
1
2014-15
35
506
227
26
70
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
15
Dores shut out Wofford to start two-game series Three Commodore pitchers combine for a seven-hit game and four batters collect multiple hits in 6-0 victory
Reynolds poked a single to left field. Vanderbilt finished the first inning with a 2-0 lead. Delay’s homer in the fifth pushed the Commodores’ lead to 4-0. An RBI single in the sixth inning — also courtesy of Delay — sent freshman Will Toffey across home plate. That edged the Commodores’ lead to 4-0. Vanderbilt opened the top of the seventh inning with a walk from Wiseman. A triple by Swanson drove in the run for a 5-0 lead. Swanson then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 6-0 game at the end of the seventh. A strikeout ended the game with Vanderbilt taking a 6-0 win. The Commodores take on the Terriers today at 5p.m. at the Hawk.
By VIRGINIA NORDER Sports reporter --------------------
Tuesday night — 24 hours after returning to the No. 1 in the polls, the Vanderbilt Commodores shut out the Wofford Terriers with a 6-0 win at Hawkins field. It was the first time this season Wofford has been shut out. It was a stellar night for the Commodores — especially the pitching staff. Freshman pitcher Kyle Wright (3-0) came out strong in his first start in a month. Wright pitched five shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out five, before red shirt junior Philip Pfeifer took the mound at the top of the sixth. Pfeifer threw two scoreless innings with one hit and five strikeouts until the top of the eighth when junior Tyler Ferguson stepped in. Ferguson worked the final two innings and allowed one hit with four strikeouts. By the time a strikeout ended the game, the Terriers could only notch seven hits against Vanderbilt’s formidable pitching lineup. Other star Vanderbilt performances came from sophomore catcher Jason Delay who hit his first career home run and sophomore Bryan Reynolds who stretched his 13 game hitting streak to 14. Dansby Swanson led the Commodores
EMMA MAGID / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
Freshman Kyle Wright pitched for five innings against Wofford on March 31. The Commodores won 6-0 in the first game of a two-game series. going 3-for-4 with an RBI triple. The Commodores started strong right away in the first inning. Vanderbilt’s three leadoff batters reached base and red shirt junior Zander Wiel brought in a run home on a double-play groundout. Rhett Wiseman ran home when
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR Delay became the second Vanderbilt catcher in the last week to hit his first career home run. Fellow sophomore and catcher Karl Ellison hit his first career home run March 24 at MTSU followed by a grand slam versus Tennessee on Sunday. Maybe history will repeat itself and Delay will join Ellison in hitting a first career home run and grand slam in the same week.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
backpage TODAY'S SUDOKU
TODAY'S CROSSWORD
Answers to last week’s puzzle
Answers to last week’s puzzle
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
Students walk from the AEPi house to Kirkland Hall on March 30 to protest antiSemitism after three swastikas were found painted in the basement on March 14.
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