The Vanderbilt Hustler 8-26-2015

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VOL. 127, ISS. 17

THE FIRST-YEAR DEAN

New Commons dean, Vanessa Beasley, reflects on how far Vanderbilt has come and how far it can go PAGE 2

LIFE

Interning in New York City The Hustler sat down with summer interns to find out what it’s really like to live and work in the Big Apple

PAGE 10

Words of wisdom for first years Upperclassmen offer advice to incoming ‘Dores, from making friends to balancing academic pressures and personal growth

SPORTS

Where are the Vandy Boys now?

Checking in on the Vanderbilt baseball stars from last season’s National Championship runners-up

OPINION

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news

Beasley finds new home on Commons Dean Vanessa Beasley shares her vision and goals for first-year students

By AADITI NAIK AND ZOE SHANCER News reporter, News editor --------------------

Dean of The Ingram Commons Vanessa Beasley couldn’t sleep the night before firstyear Move In Day. “It felt like Christmas Eve,” she said.

On Aug. 22, Beasley welcomed 1,600 new neighbors to the first-year campus, kicking off her five-year term as Dean of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. She will pick up where the inaugural dean, Frank Wcislo, left off.

Beasley grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and came to Vanderbilt as an undergraduate in 1984. She received her B.A. in speech communications and theater arts before receiving both her masters and Ph.D. from University of Texas at Austin in Communica-

tions Studies. She has worked as an associate professor of communication studies at Vanderbilt since 2007.

Beasley said Vanderbilt has changed a lot since she was an undergraduate.

“We had not just a fairly limited sense of racial and ethnic diversity when I was in school here, but we also had to my mind a sense of limited socioeconomic diversity, and I was somebody who really struggled with some feelings that I didn’t have the wealth and the resources that many other students around me had or at least that I perceived they had,” she said.

While Beasley acknowledges that the university still has work to do in terms of inclusion and diversity, she says the differences she has seen are significant.

“When I came back to interview in the spring of 2007, immediately, in the first

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couple steps on campus, I thought ‘Wow,’ it’s no longer that every Vanderbilt student looks the same way,” Beasley said.

Beasley met her now husband while at an orientation weekend the summer before her first year at Vanderbilt. According to Beasley, she and her husband were just friends for most of their time at Vanderbilt. He was the WRVU manager, and she was a DJ. “Then towards the end of our Vanderbilt career, a very large group of our friends was going to go out, I think for bowling,” Beasley said. “... and all of a sudden people were canceling left and right but we were among the people who said ‘well we will still go!’”

When Beasley and her husband got to the bowling alley, they were the only two there “and all of a sudden it felt a little bit more like a date,” according to Beasley.

“I met him when I was 17 years old,” she

ZOE SHANCER — NEWS EDITOR KARA SHERRER — LIFE EDITOR QUEEN STEVENSON — OPINION EDITOR BEN WEINRIB — SPORTS EDITOR

continued. “Pretty crazy.”

Beasley was also struck, both during her time as an undergraduate and as a staff member, by the level of faculty engagement at Vanderbilt.

“Vanderbilt was a place where I learned that I wanted to be a scholar even though I wasn’t really sure what that would mean,” Beasley said. “It was a place where the ideas and the intellectual discipline that I am now a part of were first introduced to me. So I had very engaged faculty at the time helping me to imagine that path.”

According to Beasley’s experience as a student, the integration of world class research faculty and undergraduates was present, but the university does an even better job now.

“Most places sort of treat it as the idea that the teaching side and the research side are not just oppositional, but they detract

JOSH HAMBURGER — MANAGING EDITOR BOSLEY JARRETT — DESIGN DIRECTOR ANNA BUTRICO — WEB EDITOR ZIYI LIU — PHOTO DIRECTOR WESLEY LIN — CHIEF COPY EDITOR COLLIN ZIMMERMAN — CHIEF WEB DEVELOPER MATT LIEBERSON — FEATURES EDITOR PRIYANKA ARIBINDI — AUDIENCE STRATEGIST KATHY YUAN —ASST. PHOTO DIRECTOR

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THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.VANDERBILTHUSTLER.COM from each other, and I’m really proud of the commitment that Vanderbilt has to keep those things in balance and that we want undergraduates to be in classrooms with researchers and with people who are leaders in their fields,” Beasley said.

Drawing from her background in race, gender and diversity in U.S. political rhetoric, Beasley has formulated some ideas about how to help The Commons become an even more welcoming and diverse community.

“We have an obligation to do a better job precisely because universities are some of the last places in the public sphere of the United States where we both value diversity and we say we are going to put diverse people together so they can learn,” Beasley said.

Beasley stated that sociology tells us that people tend to live with people who are just like them, or at least more similar to them than different. That’s where the living-learning experience of The Commons comes in.

“So what we are doing when we are saying we intentionally want a diverse community is asking people to do something they probably don’t have a lot of experience with,” Beasley said. “One of the things we are going to have to recognize is that we are all going to have to want to try to do something we are not good at, and we are all going to have to understand the value that it brings.”

According to Beasley, it is important to stop and listen to one another because everybody at Vanderbilt has something to say and everybody has the ability to say it well.

“Because I study communication, I know a lot of the literature about social persuasion and interpersonal persuasion and I think sometimes we see discussions about diversity and inclusion as almost like a battle metaphor where somebody is gonna win and somebody’s going to lose,” Beasley said. “So something that we have to learn is that that’s not all that productive of a metaphor.”

Beasley plans to begin by building trust — what she calls “the most precious element of a diverse community.”

“You have to build (trust), you have to nurture it, and the first step is just showing up, just really being there and being present,” Beasley said.

One of the ways in which she will accomplish this is by making it a priority to attend a different house’s signature event every week, especially during the first semester. In this way, Beasley also hopes to show the university the importance of the unique culture of each house and to show her support for the faculty heads of house.

Beasley also wants to ensure that the opportunities offered on The Commons for relationship building are offered to all students, and not just the ones who sign

up for events like Dinner at the Dean’s or participate in the House Advisory Councils. Beasley is interested in “putting the student experience first.”

“As a culture, we are asking a lot of you guys, and I want to make sure that we are always as an institution providing both the safety net and the challenge,” Beasley said.

Beasley’s vision is that Vanderbilt continues to teach students the importance of other perspectives.

“This idea of having a welcoming and diverse community, I know that sometimes it sounds like it’s a bumper sticker, but actually it’s the most important job we have,” Beasley said.

As the new dean of The Commons spoke to VUceptors during training last week, she was asked how she keeps doing what she does when faced with the weight of all the issues facing society today. With a laugh, Beasley answered that it is her belief in the students that continues to inspire her.

“It’s because I have hope that your generation can solve some of the problems that my generation has left unsolved,” Beasley said. “I truly believe that’s the goal of the kind of education we are offering at Vanderbilt. And that means we have an obligation to make sure that every single student is able to live up to their capacity here.”

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AROUND CAMPUS “She really makes you think critically about the world around you, which is a great quality to have as a dean.”

— JACQUELINE SCOTT, VUCEPTOR “She seems to want to be very hands-on as dean of The Commons, particularly in her first year, to get a gauge on the first year experience to inform her vision for the future of The Commons.”

— BRADLEY FASKOWITZ, COMMONS RA “She is full of energy, hope and intellect, and she views The Commons as a community that can confront the hard issues. She is bringing a fresh perspective to The Commons, and I have full confidence that The Commons will continue to grow and evolve under her leadership.”

— KATIE REYNOLDS, VUCEPTOR

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Vanderbilt Student Government: The year ahead

In response to student complaints during last year’s election, VSG hopes to better serve the student body

By ZOE SHANCER News editor --------------------

Student body president Lizzy Shahnasarian knows many students aren’t thrilled with their student government.

“It’s something that we saw last year, especially with the election, that students aren’t happy with the level of transparency,” Shahnasarian said. “... and students aren’t happy with the way VSG is spending their money.”

That’s why Shahnasarian wants to let student needs and opinions inform her plans for the upcoming school year. As a result, budget changes have been made and plans to better inform students of Vanderbilt Student Government (VSG) actions are underway. Additionally, Shahnasarian is leading plans for the creation of new campaigns and initiatives that she hopes will encourage communication among the student body and provide new educational opportunities.

BUDGET CHANGES In response to budget concerns, VSG has increased funds for their committees — which include Academic Affairs; Campus Life; Community, Outreach and Diversity; Residential and Environmental affairs; and Student Health and Wellness — from 8.4 to 11 percent, according to

Shahnasarian. This new budget plan is pending the approval of VSG Senate.

“The reason we increased funding is that the committees directly impact students and the student experience, whether that’s getting a free Chick-fil-A sandwich before game day or picking up a ticket or taking a Vandy Van,” Shahnasarian said. “I think that students are really impacted by the work of the committees, we just don’t realize it on a day to day basis.”

The Sexual Assault and Prevention Awareness committee, which is currently a temporary committee, has been added to the budget and funded.

Shahnasarian is pushing for this committee to become a standing committee, also pending approval by the Senate.

VSG co-sponsorships have also been increased by about $5,000 because Shahnasarian wants other organizations to feel empowered by VSG. Shahnasarian plans to provide financial incentives for campus organizations to engage with one another.

VSG has created a new Collaboration and Innovation Fund, which will be $12,000 specifically meant to foster collaborative programs between different student organizations.

“If you are collaborating with another organization you will get more money, and I think that that ultimately is going to result in a more cohesive

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VSG will have a Commons Interest Meeting on Sept. 6 from 6-8p.m. in Commons MPR and an Upperclassmen Interest Meeting on Sept. 8 at 7p.m. in Kissam C210 and 9 p.m. in Sarratt 325/327. student body and hopefully better relationships all around and more creative and more worthwhile programming,” Shahnasarian said.

NEW CAMPAIGNS AND INITIATIVES To further increase communication and conversation among students on Vanderbilt’s campus, Shahnasarian is planning a school-wide

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.VANDERBILTHUSTLER.COM campaign called “Own it.” Shahnasarian says that students are “often made fun of or ostracized for their differences,” and that this campaign will combat this practice by celebrating differences among students.

Another area which Shahnasarian would like to improve is career development. VSG will be partnering with the Center for Student Professional Development to offer an “externship” program for students, which will allow students to shadow or take an outside class for a couple of days to test out various careers.

“I think one of the great things (about Vanderbilt) is that we are a liberal arts school so we have a very balanced undergraduate experience,” Shahnasarian said. “But we also don’t have that many advertising classes or classes that are really geared at a specific profession, so it’s a chance to kind of try a profession. That’s going to be aimed more towards freshmen and sophomores who are trying to figure out what they want to go into.”

Other initiatives include moving the Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Disability Services (EAD) office to a more accessible location for students as well as spearheading several mental health initiatives, including working on ways to destigmatize the Psychological Counseling Center (PCC) and bringing PCC services directly to residence halls.

TRANSPARENCY VSG hopes to increase transparency this year, according to Shahnasarian, so that students know what VSG is doing and can contribute to it when they want to.

Members of VSG will hold office hours in the dining halls at nights, so as to be visible to students who have problems or ideas to discuss. Shahnasarian hopes this will encourage students to be more

interactive with VSG. “We need to be (saying), ‘Here’s our door. Please come talk to us,’ instead of, ‘You can talk to us if you want’,” Shahnasarian said.

NEW WEBSITE To further increase transparency, Phil Hawkins, Director of Technology for VSG, has recently launched a new website for VSG, which can be found at vandystudentgov.squarespace.com.

“The look is different, there are a lot more features, and it’s more about being able to get in touch with VSG and updates on what VSG is doing at any time,” Hawkins said.

According to Hawkins, the new website features a video presentation about how VSG works, describing the various branches and positions. There is also a new page called “projects and initiatives” that lists the projects different leaders are working on and allows students to contact those leaders.

“If you aren’t explicitly part of VSG you can still get involved with an initiative that you are passionate about and this website allows you to do that,” Hawkins said. “So I think I’m hoping that it will empower people to get involved with the organization.”

Another useful tool is the WTF (“What to Fix”) section, which is an open submission form for students to tell VSG what problems they see on campus and what they would like them to address.

“I would just encourage (students) to at least look at it,” Hawkins said. “There are a lot of new things, and I think that if you just spend a little time on it you’ll see how much VSG is trying to do and how much we are willing to look into new things on behalf of the student body.”

All first-years to complete sexual assault prevention training Dean Beasley: ‘This is information they need’

By MATT LIEBERSON Features editor --------------------

For the first time, all first-year students at Vanderbilt will take part in a mandatory sexual assault prevention seminar on Aug. 30.

The seminar, titled “The Commons Addresses Sexual Violence,” is one that new dean of The Ingram Commons Vanessa Beasley thinks is vital for first-years as they enter a college campus for the first time.

“We received positive feedback to the HAVEN Module, the new sexual assault online module that we used this summer, but there’s a difference between doing that in your home and doing that when you get to campus,” Beasley said. “We want to get students talking to each other. It’s our responsibility throughout higher education … to make sure that this is an ongoing conversation.”

The seminar, while not full Green Dot training, seeks to provide strategies for avoiding situations involving sexual assault. The program will stress the creation of a campus dialogue among groups of students who are likely to be going out together, such as people

on the same floor in a dorm.

“I didn’t want just an hour of talking heads,” Beasley stressed. “I was grateful that G.L. Black and Cara Tuttle Bell had a program that has been effective in the past with other campus leaders, so we knew that we have a way to do this.”

Beasley hopes this seminar is the first step in the conversation about sexual assault on campus.

“One thing we want to convey is that one message isn’t enough,” Beasley said. Beasley wanted to be sure the seminar gives the kind of information that makes clear where the resources are on campus.

While Beasley knows how much information is given to first-years in their first few weeks at Vanderbilt, she emphasized how important this particular seminar is. Beasley underscored that now that first-years are getting to know each other, this seminar is vital.

“It’s important to do this now,” Beasley said.

“We know that they get so much information when they arrive, but maybe we need to think about the information they get being the information they need. This, though, is information they need. This is a priority.”

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

opinion

“You’re going to learn a lot of names (and forget most of them). And you’re going to find that searching for your new best friends is going to require a lot of trial and error.”

YOKO KANAI

WORDS OF WELCOME: UPPERCLASSMEN ON WHAT THEY WISH THEY HAD KNOWN AS FIRST YEARS

Qualifications fail in the face of character Don’t only focus on doing well — do good

C

RYAN KENIGSBERG is a sophomore in the School of Engineering. He can be reached at ryan.g.kenigsberg @vanderbilt.edu.

ongratulations is a significant word — it means a person has done something worthy of recognition. You have probably heard it quite a lot lately: “Congrats” for graduating high school! “Congrats” for making it into Vanderbilt! We upperclassmen laud you as well: “Congratulations! We are so glad you are here.”

As you arrive, you’ll begin to wonder something many of us still wonder: What, exactly, are we being congratulated for? Are we worthy of this praise? We all worked hard to get here, but if we continue with the performance-based standard, true success will remain elusive.

Fortunately, there is a better way — success at Vanderbilt should be measured not by accolades, but by character.

While we tend to think that our personal character and external accomplishments are two separate entities, in an interesting way, the former actually informs the latter. While we Vanderbilt students have undoubtedly worked hard to get here, sometimes things that were challenging to others naturally came easily to us. We have always been called “gifted” and were herded into advanced classes. We studied for tests the night before — or even ten minutes before — and aced them.

By the time we arrived at Vanderbilt, we had been conditioned to think that the important thing — the thing that made us deserving of praise — was our academic and extracurricular accomplishments. However, while you can collect good grades and leadership positions, you can’t as easily collect diligence, respect or kindness, and these are the qualities that produce long-term results in both community and

vanderbilthustler EDITORIAL BOARD ALLIE GROSS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF editor@vanderbilthustler.com

ZOE SCHANCER

KARA SHERRER

NEWS EDITOR news@vanderbilthustler.com

LIFE EDITOR life@vanderbilthustler.com

QUEEN STEVENSON

BEN WEINRIB

OPINION EDITOR opinion@vanderbilthustler. com

SPORTS EDITOR sports@vanderbilthustler.com

“

The reality is that you can have the best resume in the world and never have helped a single person.

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career.

At some point during your time at Vanderbilt, you will realize that only being smart isn’t going to cut it — you will learn to ask for help, plan a schedule, and actually care about the material.

The commonality in all of this is people — you’ll get help from an upperclassman tutor, cultivate time management with a study skills advisor, and connect with your professors on subjects that move you.

It would be reckless of us to base our character solely on what we objectively accomplish by ourselves, because we all need help. In turn, we stop and help a friend because, after all, isn’t the whole point of a good score so that we would be able to help people? When we choose to prioritize positive associations and contributions as much as we do individual accomplishments, we become free to define ourselves by

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.

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who we are and how we connect rather than what we do academically.

We escape the fluctuating nature of grades and the constant snare of having to compete with others, because when you have done your best, another person’s outcome doesn’t make yours any more or less valuable.

When we operate out of our genuine selves, we have more positive influence. Society tends to presume that a successful person is the one with the highest grades and the most lucrative job, but we forget that the most successful person is actually the one who helps others. The person who takes a break from studying because his friend needs to talk, or who pauses to thank a professor for their help, or even the one who plans ahead so as to make time to attend a mentee’s special performance or presentation.

The reality is that you can have the best resume in the world and never have helped a single person. Acing exams and leading organizations — these feats are insignificant by themselves. If all we do is acquire achievements with no concern for who we are inwardly, we will be little more than automatons traipsing through a four-year journey of campus domination. But if we learn what it is to be good and to do good, we leave something a lot more meaningful behind. Here at Vanderbilt, character is a more valuable currency than qualifications, and, with that knowledge in mind, you’re bound to spend wisely all four years here.

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On forging friendships the first year Don’t fall into the anxiety trap and rush socialization

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ou’ve trekked to Nashville, survived move-in and said goodbye to your parents. You might have even had the celebratory dinner at Puckett’s or Loveless. You got your key, welcome packet and your shiny new Commodore Card — you’re officially a ‘Dore, and let’s admit it: You’re a bundle of nervous excitement.

YOKO KANAI And then you realize that you don’t know anyis a junior in the body. Like, maybe you’ve gotten in touch with School of Engineering. your roommate, or know a random dude from She can be reached your high school. It’s like you got so pumped for at yoko.m.kanai@ college that you forgot to pack your entire supvanderbilt.edu. port system. And that realization is frustrating at best and paralyzingly terrifying at worst.

But you know what the truth is? You’re not going to find your best friend on Day 1. Okay, some people find an instant eternal soulmate in their roommate, but it’s rare. Luckily, the entire freshman class spends the first two months frantically trying to meet as many people as possible. You’re going to learn a lot of names (and forget most of them). And you’re going to find that searching for your new best friends is going to require a lot of trial and error.

Strangely enough, it’s something that no one really told me before coming to college. And

honestly, I struggled a lot. Living 24/7 in an aggressively social environment meant that I felt like I had to spend every meal with a friend and every weekend with a crew. When I stopped by hallmates’ rooms to chat a little, I often wondered if I was intruding. More than once, I called my best friends from home while crying because, as much as I already loved Vandy, I still felt lonely.

Making friends is a slow process. You meet someone you know absolutely nothing about, and slowly get to know them inside and out. You learn their passions and their values, what gets them excited and what makes them tick. And, for better or worse, this is a process that has no shortcut, and trying to fast-track it will only make it feel stressful and unenjoyable. Anyway, how well can you get to know anyone while speed-dating your way through the freshman class?

But the best part of meeting so many people?

The sheer diversity of humanity that you will encounter. I know it’s a little cliche, but college is an incredible time to expose yourself to backgrounds, cultures, and opinions other than your own. What better time to do that than when everyone else is doing the same? Enjoy the time

you spend doing icebreakers and making small talk; you don’t necessarily have to find your new best friends for the experience to be worthwhile.

I’m a junior now, and I have the best friends ever. They’re funny, caring, opinionated, ambitious and absolutely ridiculous. But, I didn’t get to know a lot of them until my second year.

Cultivating close relationships takes time, and although I do wish I met them sooner, I don’t regret the time I spent playing friendship musicalchairs. I’ve met so many incredible people who have taught me a lot about who I am and where I come from, and just because they’re not the first ones I text on a Friday night doesn’t mean that the time I spent with them was wasted.

My advice? Do the freshman thing. Meet too many people, learn too many names, spend too much time in your floor common room. Join organizations that you’re passionate about, or try a new one. And don’t forget about upperclassmen; we don’t bite. Ask someone new to lunch — but forgive yourself if you don’t spend every single meal with someone else. And most of all, remember that you’re in no hurry. You have four years at the happiest college in the country to find your friends — and you will. All in due time.

First years, remember that consent is key

Avoiding power-based violence is paramount to ensuring a healthy and positive experience for all students

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ERIN LOGAN is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at erin. logan@vanderbilt. edu.

ollege is one of the most exciting times of your life. For many of you, having limited financial commitments and very little parental oversight gives you a sense of autonomy and independence. This freedom will allot you the opportunity to discover who you truly are. You will debate your lifelong personal and political beliefs as well as meet people who are nothing like you.

You are bound to mess up, fail and make mistakes — this is what makes us human. However, some choices, choices that were also made by students who came before you, are wholly harmful to others and completely and totally avoidable.

Some people make the horrid choice to rob a home; this is a choice that can be avoided. Powerbased violence against women is a form of robbery.

The damage done to the property being robbed is both staggering and unnecessary. Likewise, the trauma forced upon the victims of sexual assault is untolled and avoidable. (I hate to use this analogy, which, in essence compares women to an inanimate object. But, for many perpetrators or potential perpetrators who have or may show a misanthropic attitude towards the opposite gender, this is an acceptable alternative).

So often, society blames the victim for the actions of the transgressor. If that logic were kept consistent across violent activity, then one should blame the victims of the Charleston massacre for their own deaths. Until very recently, VU PETSA was in line with the societal inclination to indict the victim for their own incursion. The arraignment should be left for solely the attacker. The tendency to blame the victim can also lead to assumptions of false accusations. This victim-blaming, which is steeped in rape culture, is common throughout the world, despite the fact that less than 10 percent of reported rapes are false.

While the percentage of potential perpetrators among the class of 2019 is likely to be low and mostly male, the damage that could be propagated by their hands is overwhelming. Due to the laxity displayed, in the past and the present, by both this university’s administration and the college administrators across the country, sexual assault is an epidemic on college campuses.

While violence against women is already occurring around the world at an alarming rate, the rate increases when a woman enters college. 1 in 4 of women attending college will, at some point, will

be sexually assaulted. While the trauma, from both attempted and completed assault, affecting the survivor is alarming. For the rest of her life, she will be subject to post-traumatic stress disorder and potential self-harm.

The choice to not assault a woman is simple — don’t do it. Attempting to coerce a human being to do something that they refuse is unsought, barbarous and uncivilized. The intentional causation of harm on another one of your fellow students resembles behavior deplorable to even the lowest of brutes.

Furthermore, victim-blaming is not only unhelpful, but hurtful. Wearing attractive clothing, or, in the words of others, “provocative clothing,” does not hand over the authority of a woman’s body. It does not release her from self-jurisdiction. “No” actually and definitively means no — period. It does not invite an opportunity to convince otherwise.

If you or someone you know is contemplating the choice to perform power-based violence on another human being, please consult Project Safe, located near the KC Potter Center.

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special feature: Intern

l fe

Getting a professional taste of the Big Apple

By Mackenzie Smith, Life reporter

From the bright lights of Times Square to the enchanting landscape of Central Park, there is no denying the attractive pull of one of the most sought after cities in the world.

More than eight million people pour into New York City every day, hoping to fulfill their dreams in Manhattan.

During the summer, thousands of students from schools all over the country — including Vanderbilt — joined those eight million people already living and working in NYC. New York City is one of the most popular summer internship destinations for college students, due to the sheer number of companies with offices there, as well as the thriving social and entertainment scene.

During the summer of 2015, Vanderbilt students worked at a variety of companies across a range of industries, including Goldman Sachs, Viacom MTV Networks, Bloomberg Business, Citi Bank and many others. We caught up with a number of Vanderbilt interns to find out what’s it’s really like to intern in the city that never sleeps.

Vanderbilt’s reputation for academic prestige attracts very ambitious students, so it’s no surprise that professional work opportunities were one of the major reasons students said they were drawn to intern in the city this summer.

“The thing that is most unique about New York is that no

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It’s all on you to make the most of your own career, but New York is the best place in the world to find other people to help you do that.

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matter what you want to do, across any spectrum, in any industry, there are a bunch of other people here who want to do something along the same lines as you,” says Dominic Plageman, a summer intern at Entrust Capital. “Anyone you strike up a conversation with could end up being someone that is able to help you out.”

“You will always have peers to help you gain experience and knowledge in the area that you want to conquer, but you will still have the opportunity to differentiate yourself with your own unique vision,” he says. “It’s all on you to make the most of your own career, but New York is the

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ning in New York City

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In the busiest of cities you can still feel comfortable knowing you’re surrounded by people looking out for you. I did not expect to have so many small world stories in such a big city.

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BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

best place in the world to find other people to help you do that.”

However, Vanderbilt students’ motivations to intern in NYC weren’t all work and no play. Other interns cited a variety of different reasons for choosing the city, including the hustle and bustle of the streets, the iconic food scene and the city’s infamous reputation as one of the most famous cities in America.

Tori Mahon, a senior who spent her summer working to develop fragrances for several of Estee Lauder’s major brands, says that she felt like she should really experience what life was like in NYC while she was in college.

When asked to pick her favorite thing about Manhattan, she said “I loved that in the crazy busy streets of Manhattan you can still quite literally run into a friend in the middle of the street. In the busiest of cities you can still feel comfortable knowing you’re surrounded by people looking out for you. I did not expect to have so many small world stories in such a big city.”

Mahon also says that living in the city didn’t fulfill her expectations, but in a good way: “I expected the hustle and bustle of the city to overwhelm me, I expected to feel really small in such a big city, and I expected for 10 weeks to be about the maximum amount of time I could handle...those

three things changed.”

John Voestch, a member of the Vanderbilt Men’s Golf team who worked with Cantor Fitzgerald and Morgan Stanley, says that he was drawn to the competitive atmosphere of NYC as a student-athlete. Voestch believes that the two most unique things about NYC are its people and the amount of opportunities.

“There are so many people in NYC and all of them are incredibly unique in their own ways,” he says. “Second, the amount of opportunities is incredible. Whether it’s work opportunities, eating opportunities, or entertainment, NYC offers something for everyone. There is always something to do every single day, and that is what makes this city so special.”

After having a firsthand experience of the city, it is clear that the Vanderbilt title is well received. Many students leave realizing just how great of a weight the Vanderbilt name carries as students continuously prove to be successful. Having interned in NYC themselves, they realize how daunting the process can be, and have advice for those considering interning in New York City in the near future (or even moving there permanently after graduation).

Annie Vreeland, a member of the Vanderbilt Women’s lacrosse team who interned with American Express, says that when it comes to living situations, students should “pick somewhere to live with a good location. I was right in the middle of the scene I wanted to be into.

She also recommends that students compile a bucket list — hers included walking the Brooklyn bridge and getting artichoke pizza. “You can get Netflix at school,” she said.

She could also check off attending comedy shows of Sarah Silverman and Ray Romano.

Voestch recommends finding friends to live with in order to split the rent and also have a more social, fun experience. He also suggests trying out events beyond your usual interests: “NYC offers so much in almost every genre of entertainment...I believe that branching out and seeing it all will always be fun, and may introduce you to a new passion.”

New York is the city that never sleeps, the city that just about anyone can find a place in, the city of endless opportunity, and the city that is so renowned that even Jay-Z and Frank Sinatra can’t help but sing about it. No wonder Vanderbilt students are constantly finding chances to work in NYC — and find those opportunities hard to turn down.

There’s no denying that the experience of interning in NYC is valuable, even if students choose not to move there permanently after graduation. One thing is for sure: Vanderbilt has a strong presence in New York City, and New York City leaves an impression on every Commodore who spends even a few weeks in the Big Apple.

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Photo courtesy of Annie Vreeland

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Live On The Green brings free music to Public Square Park Sponsored by Lightning 100, the Nashville music festival kicked off its seventh annual season last week By Kara Sherrer, Life editor

Whether it’s a concert at Bridgestone, a Predators game or a country music awards show, there are endless reasons for the traffic that regularly plagues downtown Nashville. While it’s sometimes debatable whether or not the event is worth the hassle (looking at you, Titans fans) there’s one music festival that’s definitely worth braving the crowds for — Live On The Green.

Live On The Green (LOTG) is a free series of concerts that takes places in September and October right in the heart of downtown Nashville in Public Square Park. Tens of thousands attend each concert, so grab a cab or Uber to avoid the traffic and exorbitant parking fees downtown.

Attendees are allowed to bring small picnic blankets or beach towels and collapsible chairs into

the park. However, these can become hard to manage later in the night, once there’s standing room only for the headliners. Applying bug spray before you leave is also a good idea if you’re susceptible to mosquitoes.

There are food trucks near the entrance to the festival and drink tents in the park itself, so bring cash if you don’t want to eat beforehand. ATMs are also available on site. For those of you who are of age, beer is also available for purchase with a valid photo ID. Sponsored by independent local radio station Lightning 100 (among others), LOTG kicked off its seventh annual season last Thursday with opening performances by Elliot Root and Shakey Graves and headliner Lord Huron.

The concert series continues tomorrow, and the three bands will each showcase a different strain of rock music. Indie blues rock band Cold War Kids will headline, while Americana folk rock band Houndmouth and southern rock band J Roddy Walston and the Business will open in that order.

A conflict may arise for students next week as Vanderbilt football kicks off its season with the opening home game against Western Kentucky on Thursday, Sept. 3. However, students should be able

to attend the first half of the game and then take an Uber to Public Square Park in time to catch headlining jam band Moon Taxi play its set at 9:30 p.m.

The week after that, LOTG wraps up this year’s season with a three-day concerts series that spans Sept. 10-12. Mexican acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela will headline Thursday, indietronica “band” Passion Pit will perform Friday and singersongwriter and pianist Ben Folds will close the Festival on Saturday.

During the three day festival, music begins much earlier than LOTG’s usual start time of 6 p.m., especially that Saturday, with performers taking the stage just after lunch. However, if students wish to attend the second home football game against Georgia at 2:30 p.m. that Saturday, the blowout (er, game) should be done in plenty of time to make it to Ben Folds and even some of the later openers.

From rock to folk to acoustic tango music, Live On The Green brings artists of all genres to the residents of Nashville, and students are sure to find at least one headliner this season that appeals to their tastes.

And even if you don’t recognize any of the artists, LOTG is a great way to discover new music — for free.

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sports

THE BIG STAT Vanderbilt’s rank out of 293 Division I schools in the Directors’ Cup, an award which determines which college has the most success in athletics each academic year

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up with the 2DRILL Catching Vandy Boys MINUTE

Soccer struggles through opening weekend

By MAX HERZ Sports reporter --------------------

Since the day Darren Ambrose was hired as Vanderbilt’s new soccer coach in February, he has stressed a defense-first mentality, emphasizing accountability in all areas of the field.

As the Commodores prepared for their first two matches last week, the team’s makeshift back line of three converted midfielders and a transfer making her Vanderbilt debut posed the biggest question mark for the club’s opening weekend against Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati.

After falling 4-3 in an exhibition match to Alabama a week prior, it was reasonable for Ambrose and his team to expect some high scoring tallies early in the season, and that the goals would certainly come for a Commodore team whose most pressing concern was defense.

Through two matches, both 1-0 losses, the opposite issue has emerged. Vandy remains without a goal through its first two contests, but held Miami and Cincinnati to just one goal apiece as the team bought in to Ambrose’s ideals of defensive accountability.

Led by third-year captain Erin Myers, starting at center back for the first time as a college player, the Commodores limited Miami to just eight shots on Friday and dominated possession on their home field.

In the eighth minute, forward Simone Charley broke in one-on-one and beat Miami goalkeeper Vic Maniachi but hit the post as the game stayed scoreless. Twenty minutes in, Charley headed down a corner kick towards Claire Anderson who nearly forced the ball over the goal line before it was swept away by a Redhawk defender. With 10 minutes left in the first half, Charley set up Lina Granados with a clean look on goal, but her shot was, once again, cleared off the goal line by a Miami player.

Despite outshooting Miami 16-4 through 45 minutes, the Dores went into halftime without a goal. A tired group of Commodores had trouble generating as many chances in the second half, surrendered an 80th minute goal, and fell 1-0 on opening night in a game they had every right to win.

“For a team that’s trying to gain confidence and belief in what they’re doing, the result doesn’t suggest the way they played,” Ambrose said after the loss. “I thought we were good, and it sucks that we were on the wrong end of the score line tonight.”

Sunday’s match at Cincinnati served as an extension of Friday’s second half. The Commodores struggled to gain traction on offense, slowed down in the second half while being outshot 12-1, and allowed a late goal off a loose ball, once again losing 1-0.

“We’re tired; our legs are heavy because we lack depth on the team,” Ambrose said Sunday. “We’ve got a lot of kids playing a lot of minutes in the second game of the weekend who played a lot of minutes in the first game because, frankly, we don’t have the depth.”

The team’s depth was further tested on opening weekend due to the absence of senior defender Kelsey Tillman, who missed both games with a hip flexor and could return next weekend. As the minutes wore on, the frequency and quality of scoring chances waned, and the energy present in the first half at home on Friday quickly disappeared.

For more, read the full story at vanderbilthustler.com.

Vanderbilt’s baseball season ended with a bit of disappointment in June when the Commodores lost the National Championship finals, but eight former Vandy Boys have continued their baseball careers in Minor League Baseball this summer.

The eight players were drafted in June’s MLB First Year Player Draft but didn’t sign until after the College World Series – with the exception of suspended third baseman Xavier Turner. They collectively signed for over $12 million in signing bonuses.

Although most of their seasons won’t end for a few more weeks, here’s a brief check in on how their seasons are going.

By Ben Weinrib, Sports editor ZIYI LIU / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Dansby Swanson

Carson Fulmer

Eighth overall draft pick Chicago White Sox $3.47 million signing bonus

Walker Buehler

Philip Pfeifer

First overall draft pick Arizona Diamondbacks $6.5 million signing bonus Swanson signed his first professional deal, the sixth largest in draft history, right at the July 17 deadline and got another unfortunate delay to his professional career. In his first day at extended spring training, he was hit by a fastball in the face during a simulated game; he suffered a mild concussion and needed 14 stitches. Swanson is now playing for the Low-A Hillsboro Hops, wearing a helmet with a guard to protect his jaw, and is hitting very well with a .289 batting average and a .578 slugging percentage.

The White Sox are known for being aggressive about promoting their young players, and Fulmer is no exception. After one appearance in rookie ball, he was called up to High-A Winston Salem, where he has pitched very well. In seven starts — none more than three innings — he has a 2.65 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 17 innings.

Like Swanson, Buehler also waited until the deadline to sign his deal, although his was for an unfortunate reason. The Dodgers signed him to a below-slot deal because of concerns over his physical, and ultimately he underwent Tommy John surgery. He should begin his professional career some time around next July with an expected recovery time of one year.

Pfeifer has only made one appearance this season for the Dodgers’ rookie ball team, going 1 2/3 innings without surrendering a run and striking out two. He has been shut down temporarily with elbow soreness.

24th overall draft pick Los Angeles Dodgers $1.78 million signing bonus

Third round draft pick Los Angeles Dodgers $222,500 signing bonus

Rhett Wiseman

Tyler Ferguson

Zander Wiel

Xavier Turner

Wiseman is playing in the New York Penn League for the Low-A Auburn Doubledays, and he has been playing well in right field.

He’s hitting .256 with a .322 onbase percentage, four home runs and six steals in 41 games.

Ferguson has pitched in relief for the Rangers’ rookie ball team with mixed results. He hasn’t pitched for more than an inning in any appearance and has a 13.50 ERA, but his five strikeouts on 4 2/3 innings is encouraging.

Wiel is playing for the Twins’ rookie ball team and is off to a slow start. Although he hit a home run in his second game, he is only hitting .133 with a .263 onbase percentage.

Turner was recently promoted from the Rangers’ rookie ball team to their Single-A affiliate Hickory Crawdads. Between the two levels, he is hitting .283 with a .342 onbase percentage and a pair of home runs and five steals. He has been shut down, though, after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Third round draft pick Washington Nationals $554,100 signing bonus

Sixth round draft pick Texas Rangers $200,000 signing bonus

12th round draft pick Minnesota Twins Signing bonus not disclosed

19th round draft pick Texas Rangers Signing bonus not disclosed

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Move-in weekend in photos

Photos by Ziyi Liu, Kathy Yuan and Bosley Jarrett

For more move-in coverage, visit vanderbilthustler.com