TODAY’s Weather
opinion
Sports
See page 4
See page 6
Two takes on recent Beta Upsilon Chi allegations
Sunny, 68 / 39
A look back at Vanderbilt’s latest football loss
chris phare/ The Vanderbilt Hustler
chris phare/ The Vanderbilt Hustler
The Vanderbilt Hustler T h e
v o i c e
o f
monday, November 8, 2010
Va n d e r b i lt
s i n c e
18 8 8
www.InsideVandy.com
Gator bait game day: Florida 55, vanderbilt 14
122nd year, no. 60 campus news
Common App considers asking questions about sexual orientation and gender identity charlotte cleary Staff Writer
chris phare/ The Vanderbilt Hustler Florida running back Mike Gillislee passes by would-be Vanderbilt tacklers in their resounding victory over the Commodores. Vanderbilt went into the half down 41-0 and finished the game with 109 total yards of offense on the afternoon.
campus news
Former captive, global human rights activist to speak at Vanderbilt on Nov. 16 kyle blaine News Editor Ingrid Betancourt will give a public lecture at Vanderbilt’s Student Life Center on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. Tickets are free to Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff and must be picked up in advance at the Sarratt Student Center Box Office. Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped by guerillas belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, while campaigning for the Colombian presidency in 2002. Betancourt was liberated in 2008 with other hostages in a rescue staged by the Colombian army after being held captive for six years in Colombia’s rain forest. Betancourt will sign copies of “Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle,” her newly released memoir, at the Vanderbilt Bookstore from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Betancourt is the longest female hostage held in captivity and has become a global human rights activist, meeting with world leaders and campaigning for the release of more than 700 hostages still being held captive by FARC. “I will not feel totally free, not happy, as long as one of my companions remains jailed in the jungle,” she has said. Betancourt was a critic of FARC during
Getting the Ticket • Tickets are free to Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff and must be picked up in advance at the Sarratt Student Center Box Office. Only one free ticket is available per person with Vanderbilt ID. • Tickets are $5 for non-Vanderbilt students with valid school or university identification; these tickets are available at the Sarratt Student Center Box Office and Ticketmaster outlets.
betancourt
• General public tickets for the event are available through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com. General admission tickets are $10. • For more information, call 615-343-3361 or 615-322-2471 or visit www. vanderbilt.edu/studentcampusevents.
her presidential campaign, and she built her platform on the promise to curb drug trafficking, corruption and the FARC’s methods of kidnapping innocent people. She met with FARC leaders to encourage them to end these practices before she became their hostage. Betancourt has received many international awards, including the French National Order of the Legion of Honor, the Prince of Asturias Prize of
Concord, the Prize Grinzane Cavour, and she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She received the first Woman of the Year Award in 2008 from the World Awards Association for her commitment to democratic values, freedom and tolerance. Tickets for the lecture are on sale now. The university’s Speakers Committee, a student-run organization, is sponsoring the event. ■
The Common Application — used by over 400 colleges and universities, including Vanderbilt — is considering adding optional questions about sexual orientation and additional options for gender identity to the application. The Common Application Board will meet in January to discuss adding optional questions to indicate sexual orientation, as well as an empty box alongside male and female to indicate gender identity. The current application includes the option of indicating whether one is male or female and asks no questions about sexual orientation. According to Vice Provost For Enrollment and Dean of Admissions Douglas Christiansen, Vanderbilt is still in the stages of determining its stance on these issues. “We are still waiting to see what the Common Application Board decides to do, but what is of most importance to us right now is determining what we would do with this information in the admissions process,” Christiansen said. “We want to make sure that all students know that they are welcome here, and we try to publicize all of our different student organizations to applicants.” According to Christiansen, once the Common Application Board makes a final decision, Vanderbilt will then be in a position to determine whether it wants to continue using the application. Schools such as Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania currently ask questions about sexual orientation on their supplemental application. They admit to actively recruiting gay students in an effort to increase student body diversity. In response to whether Vanderbilt actively tries to recruit gay students, Christiansen said it is a caseby-case basis. “If someone discusses something such as their sexual orientation in their application, we look at what they are communicating about this and how this has given them greater insight,” Christiansen said.
Nikky Okoro The Vanderbilt Hustler The Rainbow Flag Campaign, above, is one of many campus initiatives that “sends a message of tolerance ... to students.” “We want to be sure that we are sensitive to applicants in regard to this issue, and while applicants may discuss their sexual orientation in their application, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are prepared for more information about the resources available on campus. We want to be careful about privacy, and we don’t want to inadvertently create a hardship for someone.” Junior Jason Elmer, president of Vanderbilt’s recently founded chapter of Delta Lambda Phi fraternity for gay, bisexual and progressive men, believes that adding a question about sexual orientation may be a step in the right direction. “Thinking back to when I applied to college only a few years ago, I made no mention of my sexual orientation, fearing that it would make me a less attractive applicant, or even eliminate my chances altogether,” Elmer said. “Perhaps, some words of encouragement may have compelled me to decide otherwise. This question demonstrates the progressive and inclusive spirit of the times, sending a message of tolerance and acceptance to students.” According to Nora Spencer, director of the Office of LGBTQI Life, it is not likely that the change will actually take place for several years. According to Dean Christiansen, Vanderbilt’s priority is to be respectful to all viewpoints and think about all of the issues that must be considered. ■