vanderbilthustler WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
VOL. 126, ISS. 7
Humanities
under
fire?
The value of the humanities has been at the center of a national debate in recent years. Students and faculty at Vanderbilt weigh in with their opinions about the field’s continuing relevance SEE PAGE 2
BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
OPINION
Reframing our approach to campus rape culture
A columnist pushes to add more positive facets to Vanderbilt’s method of taking on sexual violence PAGE 6
CAMPUS
On IMPACT’s 50th anniversary, a look back Former The Tennessean editor John Seigenthaler reflects on the IMPACT Symposium’s early years
PAGE 4 LIFE
Belmont: A day in the life
A Hustler reporter and a Belmont student traded places for a day to compare college experiences between the neighboring schools
PAGE 8
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
campus To be or not to be ... a humanities major By ALLIE GROSS
to provide leadership about the strength and power of the humanities.”
In recent years, news outlets ranging from the Chronicle of Higher Education to the Wall Street Journal have been flooded with headlines about the “crisis” of the humanities. Some people respond with impassioned defenses of the field — which traditionally includes areas like English, philosophy, history and languages — while others call for “death” to the humanities. Meanwhile, politicians from state governors to the president are urging students to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and condemning fields like anthropology and art history. Mona Frederick, executive director of the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities on Vanderbilt’s campus, said the humanities are and have always been at the core of university life, but become vulnerable to these kind of debates “from time to time.” “I think that we’re in a time of change in terms of education and how we’re thinking about educating young people for the future,” Frederick said. “I think that because the humanities represent the study of what it is to be human rather than the study of a tangible professional trade skill, somehow when we go through periods of change or flux in terms of how we’re thinking about educating young people, the humanities become more of a target for discussion.” But at Vanderbilt, the humanities have never been stronger, according to Dean of the College of Arts and Science Carolyn Dever. “I think that the humanities are very healthy here on our campus and we will lead the way in the national discussion when it comes to understanding what the humanities contribute in a positive way,” Dever said. “Here at Vanderbilt, we’re fortunate to have leading academic departments in the humanities and also high-quality interdisciplinary programs. Our Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and is acknowledged nationwide as one of the finest centers for humanistic study. Vanderbilt is well situated
Humanities under attack While Frederick agreed that the humanities at Vanderbilt are “thriving,” she also acknowledged that there are real threats to the humanities right now because of recent pedagogical, technological and economic changes. “Nobody was worried about the humanities pre-the market crash of 2008,” she explained. According to Edward Friedman, faculty director of the Robert Penn Warren Center, universities are run increasingly “using models from the world of business” that emphasize the “practical, the pragmatic and the economically sound.” “That’s understandable to a great extent, but I think one has to be very careful in discerning what is like and what is unlike the traditional business in a university so that it can’t just be about the bottom line financially,” Friedman said. “For example, certain languages are getting knocked out.” He attributed the loss of these language programs to limited funding and student interest. Frederick said that these types of cuts occur primarily at large public universities, where state legislatures determine funding, and that government officials often question the value of the humanities. She travels every year to Washington to lobby Congress on behalf of the National Endowment for the Humanities in response to government threats and efforts to cut humanities funding. “A really good example of this is the governor of North Carolina was saying that they thought that the University of North Carolina system…should charge more for students who major in women’s studies,” Frederick said. “Or charge more for students who major in humanities courses, because those are more obscure things, so they should have to pay more to get an education in that than somebody who’s majoring in nursing.” Humanities funding has frequently been a target for politicians critical of government spending. Last December, Senator Tom
News reporter --------------------
vanderbilthustler STAFF
ANDRÉ ROUILLARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
HANNAH SILLS — NEWS EDITOR KELLY HALOM — LIFE EDITOR ERIC LYONS — OPINION EDITOR ALLISON MAST — SPORTS EDITOR
BOSLEY JARRETT — PHOTO EDITOR
QUOTE OF THE DAY “The students who ran IMPACT, and Alex Heard as chancellor and the Heard administration, they were not afraid of controversy.” JOHN SEIGENTHALER, FORMER EDITOR OF THE TENNESSEAN
While administrators and faculty affirm that the humanities at Vanderbilt are “thriving,” data suggests the number of humanities degree graduates may have seen a slight decrease since 2004 PERCENTAGE OF A&S GRADUATES WITH A HUMANITIES MAJOR
60%
50%
40%
PERCENTAGE
2
30%
20%
10%
0% 2002
KEY
2003
2004
2005
2006
Single, double and triple major graduates with a degree in the humanities Single major graduates with a degree in the humanities
Coburn, R.-O.K., published “Wastebook,” documenting what he views as wasteful federal spending. He included the $914,000 spent by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ “Popular Romance Project,” which examines popular romance in culture. Coburn accuses the projects included in the Wastebook of “government mismanagement and stupidity.” The website of Tennessee’s own Phil Roe, the Republican U.S. Representative for the state’s first district, endorsed placing the NEH project in the Wastebook. In a speech given on Jan. 30, even President Barack Obama cracked a joke about the study of art history, provoking a response from the College Art Association. “A lot of young people no longer see the trades and skilled manufacturing as a viable career,” Obama said. “But I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree.” The president immediately followed up
DIANA ZHU — DESIGN DIRECTOR JENNA WENGLER — ASST. DESIGN DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNERS DESIGNERS
ZACH BERKOWITZ KAREN CHAN ZOË SHANCER KATHY ZHOU ALEXA BRAHME HAN DEWAN HOLLY GLASS
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Data provided by the Vanderbilt Institutional Research Group. All graduates represented in data are B.A. or B.S. degree recipients. by saying, “Now, nothing wrong with an art history degree — I love art history.” Nevertheless, the College Arts Association was quick to issue a statement in response: “The College Art Association has great respect for President Obama’s initiative to provide all qualified students with an education that can lead to gainful employment… However, when these measures are made by cutting back on, denigrating or eliminating humanities disciplines such as art history, then America’s future generations will be discouraged from taking advantage of the values, critical and decisive thinking, and creative problem solving offered by the humanities.” Humanities on campus For students graduating from the College of Arts and Science with a single major, 2012 and 2013 marked the lowest percentage of degrees awarded in the humanities since 2002, with 24.8 and 24.9 percent respectively. While the data fluctuates over that
ALEX DAI — CHIEF COPY EDITOR COPY EDITORS ALEXIS BANKS ANDREA BLATT KATY CESAROTTI LAUREN HEYANO
WESLEY LIN ASHLEY SHAN KARA SHERRER SOPHIE TO
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM UNEMPLOYMENT RATES OVER TIME
9.4 8.2
10
PERCENT UNEMPLOYED
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
7.5
9
6.1
8
5.6
5.4
7 6
4.1
3.9
7.4 5.4
4.9 3.9
4.4 3.4
5
2.2 1.9
1.9
4
5.3
3 2 1
Humanities and liberal arts
Computers and mathematics
Education
Engineering
Health
Business
SALARY EARNINGS OVER TIME EARNINGS (IN THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS)
100 100
91
90
65
70 60
50
50 40
63 56 46
63
55
43
43
39
33
31
30 20 10
Humanities and liberal arts
KEY
84
81
81
76
80
Computers and mathematics
Recent college graduates Experienced college graduates Graduate degree holders
12-year period, ranging from 38.2 to 24.8 percent, 2008 marks the last time more than 34 percent of single major Arts and Science students graduated with a degree in the humanities. These numbers lend credibility to the idea that, since the market crash of 2008, students have viewed a single major in the humanities as slightly less desirable. Several students said that humanities majors are often questioned about how they expect to turn their majors into careers, given the national focus on STEM education and a job market that favors STEM students. They also noted that the humanities are often perceived as being “easier” than STEM disciplines on campus. Still, students said the Vanderbilt administration and campus community overall are supportive of the humanities. Sophomore Charlie Woodlief, a philosophy major and English minor, said that there is definitely a debate about the value of the humanities in a period of mounting tuition costs and difficult job market. He also acknowledged that stereotypes about the humanities disciplines persist on campus. “There’s the stereotype of the philosophy major that, if you major in philosophy, you’re just sitting on the couch smoking weed all day, and after college if you’re not going into academia, you’re going manage a McDonald’s or something,” Woodlief said. “There’s this joke people always tell, that if
Education
Engineering
Health
Business
Data provided by “Hard Times: College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings,” a 2012 report by Georgetown University. The information was collected from the 2009-2010 American Community Survey. Recent college graduates are 22-26 years of age, experienced graduates are 30-54 years and graduate degree holders are limited to 30-54 years of age. Percent unemployed are computed based on total employed and unemployed. Earnings are based on full-time, full-year workers. you’re not going into academia, all you can do as a philosophy major is ask people why they want fries with that.” Woodlief added that, despite the existence of some people on campus with a “narrowminded idea that the central purpose of life is being an investment banker” and the “judgmental looks” that he has received because of his choice of major, he feels that Vanderbilt overall integrates and respects the humanities. Mack Clair, a freshman chemical engineering major and Russian language minor, said he thinks the trend of the humanities declining is “universal.” “Everywhere, it’s not necessarily abandoning the humanities, but it’s just kind of the realization that while you’re at college you need to be working towards some future career, or at least that’s how I look at it,” Clair said. “Yeah, you enjoy the years you’re here, you take classes to expand your horizons, but at the end of the day you have to be looking for a job.” “So you kind of ask, ‘why are you spending the 60 grand a year if you’re not guaranteed a solid job?’” Clair said. Several other students expressed similar concerns that studying the humanities might leave students with lesser job prospects than their STEM peers, especially when a humanities discipline is a student’s sole major. According to Cynthia Funk, director of the Center for Student Professional
Development, it is important for students to study what they are passionate about, but they should also be “practical.” “Being at Vanderbilt, we have employers that come and hire our Arts and Science students,” Funk said. “But the Arts and Science students who are competitive typically are those who actually have had some kind of internship, they also have some kind of business savvy. They’ve done some things to build their knowledge base of the work world. I’m a big believer of, if you like English, you should study English. But you also need to think about — how can I, if I really like this, how can I really parlay that into how I could get paid for it?” Funk added that some liberal arts majors take more time to get their footing in the job market if they have less of an idea about what they want to do with their degrees and haven’t taken steps to develop “professional competencies.” Starting early to gain experience with internships or research and “working to identify where their interests fit in the world of work” helps later on in a career, she said. A new era of humanities: evolving and adapting Friedman emphasized that the humanities must evolve to maintain relevancy and student interest, as well as to remain practical in a changing economic and cultural climate.
3
However, Friedman hopes to see this change without compromising the humanities’ fundamentals and traditions, which he feels offer skills that are “essential ingredients” to any education, including reading, writing, analysis, evaluation and commentary. “We should not be thinking about dropping any branches of the humanities from the curriculum, but rather about finding ways to integrate and expand the horizons of the educational process,” Friedman said. “Technology has advanced the humanities; it will never render them obsolete. Interdisciplinarity and globalization cannot disregard the humanities, nor can they be considered solely as complements. The humanities are at the center of things, and if we forget that and become exclusionist in any way, we are ignoring the lessons of history and the objectives of a true and meaningful education.” Frederick also emphasized that the humanities are important for students of all majors. “All of our undergraduates at all of our fine institutions of higher learning who major in other things are required to take humanities classes because the humanities form a very important basis for a good, well-rounded education in teaching people to think critically and to have empathy,” Frederick said. “And that’s what the humanities gives us, is the larger understanding of what it is to be human,” she added. “You can’t be a successful engineer if you can’t communicate your ideas and if you can’t, particularly in our new global world, interact with people in a global way.” In keeping with the theme of evolution, Frederick said that new, exciting fields of the humanities have emerged recently, such as the digital humanities — which use technology to rethink humanistic research questions — and the public humanities, which aim to foster interaction between the public and the humanities in everyday public life. She also warned against looking at majors and education in terms of potential income and job attainment, advising against the “monetization and capitalization” of education. “Twenty years ago, no one was teaching Arabic any place. We had a few courses that we offered here,” Frederick said. “Then, as soon as 9/11 hit, suddenly everyone was offering Arabic and anybody who can speak an Arabic language or Farsi was being recruited by the government. “We never know when these components of our education, which are always valuable, will then suddenly become pragmatically useful in terms of American foreign policy or changing global needs,” she added. “So it’s so important that we don’t let area studies disappear just because at the moment they don’t seem valuable in a monetary way.” According to Frederick, the humanities remain strong despite the continuing debates over their future, which she called “healthy.” “If the humanities didn’t matter, it wouldn’t make the news,” Frederick said. “The fact that it makes headlines is demonstrative of how important the humanities really are.”
4
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
CAMPUS
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
IMPACT ’67 and ‘68: Stories from the early years
Vanderbilt’s annual IMPACT Symposium celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. In honor of the milestone, The Hustler sat down with Nashville luminary John Seigenthaler to hear about the excitement of the event’s first few programs By HANNAH SILLS News editor --------------------
March 22, 1968 — outside of Memorial Gym, it’s a rainy night. Inside, the building is packed with a large crowd of spectators. And at the Nashville airport, John Seigenthaler and student members of the IMPACT committee have just learned that Bobby Kennedy is going to be late. Senator Kennedy, who had announced his candidacy for president of the United States just days earlier, was one of three speakers chosen by the student-run IMPACT committee to appear at the 1968 symposium. Julian Bond, a leader of the civil rights movement and founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, along with William F. Buckley Jr., founder of the conservative magazine National Review, were the other speakers that year. Kennedy had spoken in Tuscaloosa, Ala., earlier that day, and his trip back to Nashville was running behind schedule. Seigenthaler, who had been an assistant to Kennedy during the latter’s tenure as U.S.
attorney general, had gone with members of the IMPACT committee to greet Kennedy at the airport. He recalled the difficult situation in which he and the students found themselves. “So we know we’ve got a packed house at Memorial Gym,” Seigenthaler said. “And we also know that it’s not likely many of them will sit around there 45 minutes to an hour twiddling their thumbs on the possibility that (Kennedy) is not coming.” Fortunately, Seigenthaler had an idea. About two weeks before the symposium, country music entertainer George Hamilton IV had contacted him because his wife was working as a volunteer for Kennedy’s campaign, and Hamilton was hoping to bring her to the IMPACT speech. Frye Gaillard, that year’s IMPACT chair, had been able to arrange front row tickets for the country star and his wife. “Now we know we’re going to be an hour late,” Seigenthaler recalled, “and I said, ‘Frye, is there any way you can contact anybody at Memorial Gym? We don’t need to let that crowd slip away.’” They were able to contact a member of the IMPACT team at Vanderbilt, who was then sent to try to find
Hamilton. “And, sure enough, in a few minutes, George comes to the phone,” Seigenthaler remembered. “And I said, ‘We’ve got a problem. Is there any way you could help entertain this crowd for about 45 minutes, because it’s going to be at least that long before Bobby gets there. And he said, ‘Well it just happens I have my guitar in my trunk. And I’ll go out.’” Hamilton performed for the IMPACT crowd for about an hour before Kennedy finally arrived and gave his much-anticipated speech. 1967: A controversial year As stressful as it may have been to have a star speaker running late, the Kennedy episode was nothing compared to the events surrounding IMPACT’s 1967 program. The lineup? Martin Luther King, Jr., Allen Ginsberg, Strom Thurmond and Stokely Carmichael. King was, at the time, the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a key figure in the civil rights movement, known for his philosophy of nonviolent demonstration. Carmichael was an ad-
vocate of the black power movement, which condoned the use of violence in cases of self-defense. He was a leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee at the time of the symposium. Thurmond was a U.S. senator from South Carolina famous for his pro-segregation views, displayed to the nation during his unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1948 as the Dixiecrat candidate. Ginsberg was a renowned poet associated with the Beat movement in literature and with counterculture. As Seigenthaler noted, the speakers represented quite a range of positions on several key issues, such as civil rights, making for an intriguing combination. Many people, including members of the Tennessee Senate and several members of the press, condemned the decision to bring Carmichael in particular to campus. But those who had anticipated he would deliver a violent call-to-arms speech at Vanderbilt were destined to be disappointed. “The interesting thing about Stokely that day was, everybody was waiting for the moment when he advocated violence, and it never came,” Seigenthaler recalled. “The most controversial thing he said, and this is
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM CAMPUS a paraphrase, so it’s not exact, but it was: ‘If a white man lays his arm on me, I’ll break it.’ Which is a perfectly rational self-defense statement, he’s entitled to say that … it says if he assaults me, I’ll defend myself.” “I think everyone thought that it was an extremely rational (speech) … and that’s why I think that he got a standing ovation,” Seigenthaler said. “I would say, thinking back on it after all these years — I probably ought to review Strom’s speech before I said it — but for a lot of people there, Stokely made more sense than Strom Thurmond, because Strom … still labored under the memory of the racist rhetoric that characterized the 1948 presidential campaign.” But that Saturday would not be remembered for the moderate nature of Carmichael’s speech, but rather for the riot that broke out that night in the North Nashville area. No one was killed, but newspaper accounts from the time stated that gunshots were fired. The riots reportedly continued the following night as well. “It was frightening,” Seigenthaler recalled. In addition to his speech at IMPACT, Carmichael had also spoken at Fisk University and Tennessee State University during his time in Nashville, and the Associated Press reported the content of these speeches as more inflammatory and inciting than the Vanderbilt address he had given. While it is unclear what role, if any, Carmichael played in the rioting, many people at the time nevertheless laid the blame for the riots at his feet.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
5
“After that session, the Board of Trust was up in arms — (there was) some question about whether IMPACT would end right there,” Seigenthaler said. According to him, several members of the board blamed the IMPACT committee and Chancellor Alexander Heard following the riots for bringing Carmichael to Nashville. In the end, of course, the symposium and the chancellor would survive unscathed. Asked why he thought the IMPACT committee chose to bring such a controversial group of speakers to campus, Seigenthaler responded that he thought the students wanted to reach all parts of the community and have a balanced program. “It’s a tribute to those students who ran IMPACT when you look at the lineups each year, you can tell how much thought went into it, and how much discussion and debate went into, ‘Shall we take this person, shall we take that person, if we take this person, do we need to balance it with somebody else?’” he said. “Impact” of student leadership The student members of the IMPACT committee often came to visit Seigenthaler at The Tennessean, where he worked as editor, to discuss their plans for the symposiums’ lineups, a ritual he described as “a joy every year.” “What I thought didn’t matter a damn; they were going to do it anyway, but you just look at the lineup every year, and it’s astounding,” he said. For Seigenthaler, one of the best parts of
PHOTO COURTESY OF VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Stokely Carmichael, center, and Allen Ginsberg, far right, at the 1967 IMPACT symposium. IMPACT was the fact that it was studentrun. “The students who ran IMPACT, and Alex Heard as chancellor and the Heard administration, they were not afraid of controversy,” he said. “They anticipated there would be some controversy that would emanate from the programs at IMPACT. It was part of what the academy was supposed to be about.”
While the events of the ’67 program are memorable, Seigenthaler noted that a portrait of the earlier IMPACT years would not be complete without recognizing that the symposium routinely “elevated the intellectual interests of the total community.” “Vanderbilt filled that gym with an awful lot of good basketball teams,” he said, “but it also filled that gym with some wonderful IMPACT programs.”
6
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER ◆ WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
opinion RANT Focusing the blurred lines O
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Humanities deal with … critical thinking about the way that the world works, the way that history works … issues really relevant to everyday life ... whereas STEM fields can be more valuable for, say, helping people live more healthy lives and problem-solve.”
STACY YANOFSKY, CLASS OF 2014
THE
Something got you peeved? Irked? Honked off? The Rant is your place to anonymously vent your spleen on any issue you want. To get your rant on, visit the InsideVandy.com Opinion page.
How we should modify our approach to campus rape culture
Check out this week’s Rant on our Twitter account @InsideVandy.
Why does Calhoun always smell like a dirty fishbowl? And why does Benson always smell like old radiation? The Melodores annoy the hell out of me. There, I said it. Why does Phi Psi need that much parking? Do they even have that many members?
TYLER BISHOP is a junior in the College of Arts and Science and the director of InsideVandy.com. He can be reached at tyler.l.bishop@ vanderbilt.edu.
Vandy dining workers are nice... except for you, mean man at the taco station. You know who you are. Can someone tell that one sorority that they’re trying too hard ... and it shows.
n a Tuesday in mid-January, I was walking into an afternoon class when I overheard two guys talking about the previous night out, which just so happened to have been “Black Monday” — the day after sorority recruitment when (supposedly) many Vanderbilt students go out: “Dude, I went back with this hot-as-shit girl last night. She was drunk as fuck, though, so I ended up just going back to my dorm after we got her back to her room.” A common reaction to this exchange might initially be to write off these guys as a typical “douches.” After thinking about it for a while, however, I started to think about other ways the conversation, and the previous night, could have gone. It could have ended like so many others do: in a blurred situation that is indeed defined as sexual assault. Luckily though, this instance was different.
Why it (still) matters Following the high-profile incident in Gillette Hall in June, the dialogue on sexual violence rightfully increased on campus last semester. Columnists in The Hustler and on InsideVandy.com wrote about it, and a host of student organizations took action against campus rape culture, including Take Back the Night’s march across campus and Vanderbilt Students of Nonviolence’s list of demands delivered to the administration. We saw the university make subtle attempts — the Green Dots campaign in the Athletics Department — and not-so-subtle attempts — the Dec. 2 forum called for by Provost Richard McCarty — to stress the issue on campus. At the forum on the university’s “Efforts to Address and Prevent Sexual Misconduct,” the Provost challenged the few students who at-
“How to paint a cooler like a pro” needs to stop trending now. PLEASE. It’s February, people.
tended to communicate with the Vanderbilt administration about ways that the university can respond to sexual violence. He said it was clear that something needed to change, but that students also must to play an integral role in bringing it about. Specifically, he solicited advice and recommendations on how the university should address the issue going forward. After the forum, I spent a lot of time contemplating ways that the university could approach the issue differently. However, based on the attitudes I observed in those around me, I realized that people, generally speaking, had grown tired of hearing and reading about sexual violence on campus. As a result, I admittedly put the issue on the back burner of my mind as well, and never personally answered the Provost’s call for suggestions. It was not until I overheard this exchange last month that the issue resurfaced at the front of my mind.
DO MY UPSTAIRS NEIGHBORS OWN TWO ELEPHANTS? What is it with people always walking around with their shoes untied? There is a special place reserved in hell for those professors who upload the syllabi as a Word doc rather than a PDF. Y’all need to pay more respect to custodial workers; they’re people too.
vanderbilthustler EDITORIAL BOARD ANDRÉ ROUILLARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF editor@insidevandy.com
HANNAH SILLS
KELLY HALOM
NEWS EDITOR news@insidevandy.com
LIFE EDITOR life@insidevandy.com
ERIC LYONS
ALLISON MAST
OPINION EDITOR opinion@insidevandy.com
SPORTS EDITOR sports@insidevandy.com
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 InsideVandy.com. The views expressed in lead editorials reflect the majority of opinion among The Hustler’s editorial board and 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@insidevandy.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 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The editor 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 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.
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER ◆ WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
‘‘
Sexual violence is naturally not a positive issue to address, but bridging the gap starts with emphasizing what good decisions look like. To put it simply, how can we change if the only thing that we collectively see is a cloud of negativity?
Ironically, it was right around this time that Project Safe, the university’s new organization devoted to providing support to victims, launched its “Sex without consent is sexual violence” poster campaign. The more I thought about the conversation and highly visible new posters, the more I realized where our approach to sexual violence might be missing a link. At the risk of stating the obvious, the major efforts against sexual violence that we currently see and hear have something fundamental in common: They are all rooted in negativity. We are continually reminded that sexual misconduct is wrong (and illegal). Students are encouraged to understand and articulate why perpetrators of sexual violence are harmful. Even further, we are warned of behavior to watch out for and signs that situations are going downhill. It goes without saying that all of these approaches are warranted, justified and absolutely necessary. In general, however, people don’t like to be constantly reminded of the troubles around them, regardless of what they might be. They especially don’t want to continuously hear about problems that might not be of central importance to them. There comes a point when the negative rhetoric leads to the shutting of ears and minds. On the issue of sexual violence, I fear that is what has happened at Vanderbilt. The question that should naturally follow, then, is “How else could such a terrible issue be framed?” The modified approach Nearly every successful social movement in history has relied on multifaceted approaches. The campaign against sexual violence on college campuses should be no different. The fact that a vast majority of approaches to the problem are so deeply rooted in negativity might be hindering actual progress. More facets that rather emphasize something positive could be the link to balance the current effort. While it is sad that we live in a culture in which it seems necessary to praise acceptable behavior, that seems to be the reality. If my argument here seems simple, that is probably because it is. People respond better to balance. Balancing the approach to sexual violence on campus might just pay dividends. In a way, part of the ostensible mission of the Green Dots campaign, which is “to decrease power-based personal violence on campus by utilizing education, outreach, and staff development,” is actually at the heart of my argument. In theory, an effective framing of this initiative could
’’
emphasize positive aspects of the dialogue on sexual violence, and at times, it does. This week happens to be Green Dots Awareness week, and it is encouraging to see so many people pledge to take steps to prevent future violence. However, if you examine the testimony and examples that Green Dots highlights, the situations are nearly all responses to extremely negative situations and rarely highlight what a positive conversation about the issue might look like. Simply put, it plays directly into the negative rhetoric to which many have shut their ears. So in practice, the negativity of the issue still prevails, even in a more proactive facet of the current advocacy against the problem. Sexual violence is naturally not a positive issue to address, but bridging the gap starts with emphasizing what good decisions look like. To put it simply, how can we change if the only thing that we collectively see is a cloud of negativity? Modifying our approach such that it is not so one-sided is an important step. Unfortunately, though, I don’t have a clear answer on the best way to do that. But what if advocates on campus — and on campuses across the country — put forward their ideas on how to balance the approach? I have a feeling it might help to create a more effective campaign, and potentially even open the minds of people who previously were turned off by the movement. The Provost recently called for two additional forums addressing sexual violence with students: One was held on Wednesday, Feb. 12 and the second will be Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m. Following the first forum, it is clear that the university is now more willing to openly embrace its responsibility in bringing about change, and McCarty has certainly been right about at least one thing: Students must have a hand in it as well. Anyone, advocate or not, who might have a thought or idea on how to advance or balance the approach should not hold it in. Sometimes the most effective ideas come from the least expected places. Regarding facets of the existing approach, the depictions and images of and from victims are powerful. The displays of support for those affected are meaningful. Finding more effective ways to discipline perpetrators and educating people about the problems associated with sexual misconduct and handling instances of violence are important steps. But similarly important is a balancing approach that emphasizes the positivity in good decisions that are made every day — even by douchebags from whom you might not necessarily expect it.
LIBERTY
TWO CENTS
2008 D
LIBERTY
2008 D
Compiled by DAVID SHUCK --------------------
Do you think that STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) majors are more valuable than humanities majors? Kern Vohra, Class of 2016, Economics and Mathematics I would say yes, that the STEM fields are, I wouldn’t necessarily say more valuable, but in today’s society perhaps more practical, especially when attempting to find employment post-graduation.
Jordan Zauderer, Class of 2014, Economics I think the STEM subjects are more important than the humanities because they’re more applicable in nature to real-world jobs and in terms of preparing students for life after college.
Almaz Mesghina, Class of 2016, Child Development I think that they are both valuable, and you need one to have the other, and they really aren’t exclusive.
Sergio Cabrejo, Class of 2015, Mechanical Engineering Specifically engineering, I think it’s very valuable because it proves to employers that you have a certain way of thinking, of problem-solving, that to them is much more valuable than your knowledge that you’ve attained in your major. However, there is a caveat — definitely here at Vanderbilt the STEM fields are much more rigorous and demanding. There’s sort of a trade-off, because employers also want to see that you did well in school … I think in the long run you’re better off in a STEM field than in the humanities. Charles Gagne, Class of 2016, Civil Engineering I do think that the STEM fields are more valuable than the humanities, because to solve a lot of our environmental and design flaws we need engineers and scientists rather than English majors and other humanities majors.
Kristi Moy, Class of 2014, Elementary Education I think they are both equally important because you can’t look at the world at one angle and that goes for both sides — they just need to work together. And especially in elementary education, you can’t just base your progress on tests. You also have to look at children — how they’re thinking, how they’re learning. Stacy Yanofsky, Class of 2014, Neuroscience, English Minor You can’t say that one field is more valuable than the other. They operate with different methods, different types of analysis, different types of issues. STEM fields deal with things that can feel more concrete ... and humanities can feel, to STEM people, more wishy-washy, but I don’t think that they are. Humanities deal with extremely important issues such as critical thinking about the way that the world works, the way that history works, illusions of progress … issues really relevant to everyday life and human interactions, whereas STEM fields can be more valuable for, say, helping people live more healthy lives and problem-solve.
7
8
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
life
GO DO
Commodore Orchestra inaugural concert THIS Vanderbilt On Saturday at 3 p.m., in Ingram Hall, the Vanderbilt Commodore Orchestra will give its first performance. The concert will explore the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by relating the pieces to Vanderbilt’s history. The orchestra will play several masterpieces by Felix Mendelssohn, Frank Martin, and Antonin Dvoak. Admission is free, and donations will go to the W.O. Smith Music School.
OUT OF THE VANDYBUBBLE
TRADING
SPACES: SPENDING A DAY ON BELMONT’S
CAMPUS
ALEC MYSZKA / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
Hustler reporter Priyanka Aribindi spent a day on Belmont’s campus (pictured above) to discover what life is like on campus.
At just over a mile and a half away, Belmont University is not geographically distant from our campus. With only 6,918 undergraduates and a focus on small classes in music, humanities, sciences and education, it is fairly similar to Vanderbilt. However, a large part of the Belmont experience is very different from our own. Hustler reporter Priyanka Aribindi stepped into the shoes of Belmont sophomore Gracie Helms for a day to uncover the key differences By PRIYANKA ARIBINDI Life reporter --------------------
CAN I HAVE SEX ON CAMPUS? Belmont’s affiliation as a nondenominational Christian university sets the tone for the attitudes the administration takes toward the sexual conduct of students. Among the Community Commitments listed within Belmont’s student handbook is the tenet of “self-control.” According to the guide, “as members of the Belmont community, students can expect reasonable actions will be taken to ensure that their experience is free from behaviors that compromise this commitment (to self-control). Such behaviors include, but are not limited to: … sexual conduct.” In signing the Community Commitment Pledge, an act required of all students who matriculate to Belmont,
students pledge to abstain from sex during the extent of their undergraduate experience. However, not all students at Belmont honor this pledge. According to sophomore Hadley Sintic, “people break the rules all the time … Usually RAs just let it go.” If a student is found not practicing “self-control,” according to Helms, they “have to write a one-page essay saying ‘I broke the rule, and I realize that breaking the rules is wrong.’” Consistent with this tenet of Belmont’s Student Handbook is the fact that condoms are unavailable for purchase anywhere on campus — a stark contrast from the diverse selection found at Vanderbilt’s Munchie Marts.
IN THAT CASE, WHAT ARE VISITATION RULES LIKE? Aside from Cole and Tolman Halls, Vanderbilt dorms are all co-ed, with sexes commonly divided by floor. Com-
modore Card access is available throughout the dorm to residents of all floors between noon and midnight. At Belmont, dorms and card access work similarly, but they have a specific set of visitation rules for non-building guests and members of the opposite sex. The handbook for residential living states “students are not permitted in rooms, suites, or halls designated for members of the opposite sex except during approved visitation hours (between noon and 11 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday and noon and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday). Students residing in co-ed residential halls are required to check in and out of rooms of the opposite sex within their own residential facility. Noncompliance will result in disciplinary action.” While card access to every floor is not available to all Vanderbilt dorm residents between midnight and noon, the presence of members of the opposite sex on these
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM floors is still allowed, which is not the case at Belmont. Belmont students like sophomore Drew Miller feel their visitation rules contribute to the culturally Christian atmosphere of the university, but in Miller’s mind it’s not enough. “There’s no evidence of Christian things other than being dry and having visitation ... I personally wish we didn’t have visitation,” he said.
CAN I DRINK ON CAMPUS IF I AM 21? Along with Belmont’s policies on sexual misconduct, another substantial difference lies within our campuses’ respective policies on alcohol. Belmont’s entire campus operates like The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt in this respect — that is, it is “dry.” The Belmont student handbook prohibits any oncampus gathering with alcohol or other drugs. Even if a student is present but not in possession or consuming the alcohol, he or she can be disciplined, regardless of age. Even paraphernalia, such as empty bottles, posters, and shot glasses, that support or promote usage of alcohol or drugs are strictly prohibited. Though these policies exist and are enforced, according to sophomore Katie Serena, many students go to bars on Demonbreun and in Midtown. Clubs like Play, and even Vanderbilt fraternity houses are also popular spots for some Belmont students on weeknights and weekends. These regulations seem to incentivize students to move off campus. Like Vanderbilt, first-year students at Belmont are required to live on campus. After that, many upperclassmen either meet the criteria to move off campus,or lie to say they do. “(Outside of class) no one really spends time on campus,” Serena said.
IS BELMONT A DIVERSE CAMPUS? The starkest contrast between attending classes at Vanderbilt and Belmont was the relative lack of diversity within Belmont’s student body. According to Belmont freshman Audrey Aavik, “Belmont is very Southern and there’s not much racial diversity — everyone here is white.” According to a report by Forbes in 2013, Belmont’s campus was more than 85 percent caucasian. However, students acknowledge a lack of ethnic diversity is countered with religious diversity. Though Belmont is a Christian school, it accepts students of any religious background. According to sophomore Gracie Helms, there’s a large Muslim population, a decent-sized Jewish population and atheists and agnostics on Belmont’s campus. “Belmont is a very accepting school,” Helms said. “People are who they are.”
ARE TEACHERS RELIGIOUSLY DIVERSE? From an institutional standpoint, the most significant difference between
Belmont and Vanderbilt is the religious affiliation of the former. As stated in the university’s mission statement, “Belmont University is a Christian community. The university faculty, administration, and staff uphold Jesus as the Christ and as the measure for all things.” Though this statement doesn’t apply to students, who may be from any religious background, according to Professor Dorren Robinson, who was hired in 2005, “all the teachers have to be Christian at Belmont, and before they are hired they have to write a statement of faith.”
IS EVERYONE AT BELMONT IN A BAND? Some Belmont students do feel the stereotype of the school is a “hipster music school,” and in some ways that stereotype is based in truth. “I remember when I first got here I could hear at least four different groups of people playing music at midnight,” Aavik said. In addition to the School of Music, one of Belmont’s biggest draws is the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Music business is one of the most popular majors on campus alongside nursing. Due to the over-saturation of musicians and music-savvy students on campus, sometimes there is less support among students for each others’ groups and musical endeavors. “There are bands everywhere but not everyone has that loyal following,” Miller said. “It’s hard to sift through.”
DO STUDENTS THINK THEY MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE? Though Belmont and Vanderbilt have a lot of differences, for the most part, students at Belmont have a lot of pride in their institution, coupled with negative sentiments toward Vanderbilt. “I’m happy I go to Belmont,” said Helms, in the wake of her day at Vanderbilt. When asked how Belmont students stereotypically see Vanderbilt, sophomore Sam Denlinger replied “pretentious prats.” The strict nature of Belmont’s campus compared to institutions like our own does not go unnoticed by the students. But in Helms’ opinion, there isn’t one consensus on the rules among the student body. “Some people care, some don’t,” she said. According to Robinson, a large draw for students and parents are the rules, as they create a perception of a safe Christian school without drinking or sex on campus. “The majority of students knew what they were coming into,” Aavik said. To read what Belmont sophomore Gracie Helms uncovered about Vanderbilt students, check out Inside Vandy.com later in the week for the updated story.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
9
10
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
LIFE
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
‘The Winslow Boy’ wins over audiences By SAARA ASIKAINEN Life reporter --------------------
In its first production of the spring semester, Vanderbilt University Theatre attempts to turn Neely Auditorium into Vanderbilt›s very own West End as the company takes on Terence Ratigan’s “The Winslow Boy,” a British period drama that originally opened in 1946. “The Winslow Boy” takes place in a turn-of-the-century London townhouse populated by all the usual stock characters of the ostensibly well-to-do, upper-middleclass British family — the fussy mother, the brusque father, the dopey brother, the clever sister and the baby of the family. The story hinges on the youngest being accused of stealing money at his military boarding school. The father drives the rest of the family into taking up the cause of defending the younger son›s innocence in what turns into a high-profile court case. Junior Duncan Hall plays Dickie, the witless older brother with an appetite for modern conveniences, while sophomore Nick Mecikalski plays the younger brother Ronnie to his diminutive frame, bringing back the nervous mannerisms of many of his past roles. The two brothers spar verbally as their socially conscious suffragette sister Catherine, played by junior
Madeline Mooney, is caught in the middle. This dynamic is difficult to pull off, but the siblings come across as credible as they storm around the beautifully staged living room. Though the title of the play may not suggest it, “The Winslow Boy” turns up the character of the father, played brilliantly by senior Nathan Rose, who breaks the character away from the trope of the old curmudgeon. We come to sympathize with his attempts to pursue justice even as his physical deterioration increases alongside his self-doubt about pursuing the case. His character turns “The Winslow Boy” into an exploration of the costs of idealism, which lead to the fragmentation of the family and its isolation from the rest of society in the quest to exonerate Ronnie. More appealingly, though, and almost as a surprise, a romantic plot emerges towards the end of the play. The opening of “The Winslow Boy” on Valentine›s Day becomes more fortuitous towards the end of the second act as the play takes on a tone decidedly reminiscent of “Pride and Prejudice.” After being ditched by her soldier fiance as a result of the prolonged scandal, Catherine finds her intellectual match in the family›s barrister, Sir Robert Morton, played by Jacob Abell. Abell’s performance guides an impressive transition from obnoxious to charming in titillating
BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
Nick Mecikalski (right) and Nathan Rose (left) star in Vanderbilt University Theatre’s ongoing production, “The Winslow Boy.” scenes of unfulfilled romantic potential. The triumph of the love story guarantees that “The Winslow Boy” ends on an uplifting note. As for the accents, Charlotte Kimball Otremba’s performance as the family’s housekeeper and the play’s underutilized comic relief Violet gives Aubrey Hepburn
(pre-vocal coaching) in “My Fair Lady” a run for her money. Meanwhile, the other cast members try their hand at emulating BBC America’s primetime programming to incongruous effects. Nevertheless, the hiccups do not detract from the fact that “The Winslow Boy” as performed by VUT is definitely a play worth seeing.
LIFE THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
AROUND CAMPUS
Only good
vibes
V
anderbilt’s premier hip-hop dance group, Vibe, performed last Sunday in Sarratt Cinema. The show, “Snapshots: Capturing the Movement,” featured high-energy dance routines choreographed by members of the group. Bhangradores and Tongue ‘N’ Cheek also performed during the showcase; additionally, there was a special collaboration between Vibe and Momentum. Senior Dan King hosted the event, providing comic relief in between some dance numbers. -Bosley Jarrett, photo editor
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
11
12
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
sports
THE BIG STAT Number of earned runs forfeited by the Vanderbilt bullpen during all 27 innings of the opening series against Long Beach State
Touching base
11.7
Each week, the Hustler sports staff will recap the baseball team’s weekend series in preparation for the midweek matchup.
By BEN WEINRIB Asst. sports editor --------------------
scholarships
3 up
Bryan Reynolds Reynolds was the beneficiary of Rhett Wiseman’s shoulder injury when he saw action in all three games and likely secured a starting job for the foreseeable future. The freshman from Brentwood, Tenn., went 6-for-10 with two doubles, a run scored and four RBI and capped off the weekend with a diving catch in Sunday’s game that saved two runs. Dominant rotation Although all three starters were held to 75 pitch limits, they were absolutely dominant, giving up just three total hits and no earned run in 16 1/3 innings. Tyler Beede didn’t allow a runner in his final four innings while striking out seven, Jared Miller retired 14 straight batters and Tyler Ferguson retired 11 straight batters. Deep bullpen Vanderbilt’s pitching staff is a veritable treasure trove. Sophomores Walker Buehler and Carson Fulmer would be weekend starters for most teams, but head coach Tim Corbin had each throw three innings of relief in the first two games. Together with Adam Ravenelle and Brian Miller, they combined to allow just one earned run and nine hits over 10 1/3 innings while striking out eight and walking two. Pecoraro wild A pre-season candidate to be one of the team’s starters, T.J. Pecoraro did not look good in relief. In his lone appearance on Sunday, he could not record an out, issuing two four-pitch walks and giving up a single, while allowing both runners he inherited to score.
3
down
Freshman struggles Leadoff hitter Ro Coleman hit just .167 against Long Beach State, and Nolan Rogers wasn’t much better at .200. Each also walked once and Rogers was hit by a pitch — giving them a combined .280 on-base percentage, which still isn’t great — but it’s way too early to draw any conclusions. Swanson caught twice Dansby Swanson had a very solid series with three runs and two RBI — he also turned two double plays defensively — but he was caught stealing in two of his three attempts. It really isn’t a huge deal; you know the series went well when we’re quibbling over two caught steals.
That’s how we play ‘Moneyball’ By ALLISON MAST Sports editor --------------------
College baseball is a game of numbers. The strength of a team is determined by its win-loss record, batting averages, ERAs, hits, runs and strikeouts, to name a few. The positions have numbers, the players have numbers and the coaches have numbers, making the “BB” on the back of a batboy’s jersey a welcome sight. But long before the batboys and players lineup for the National Anthem on Opening Day, a college baseball coach must focus on one number: 11.7. Starting in 1991, the NCAA allotted Division I schools 11.7 baseball scholarships per year, forcing teams to spread the money across their entire rosters, which usually max out at 35. After the carving and dividing are finished, players are often left with as little as 15 percent of a full scholarship. Usually, this can dissuade a high school player from passing up a professional contract for three to four years on a college campus, but Vanderbilt’s additional resources allows head coach Tim Corbin to maximize his recruiting. Athletic scholarships can only be divided among 27 players, but academic scholarships and financial aid help round out the roster. With these three resources, Corbin can usually ensure that no player pays full tuition, but there are still members of the team who do not qualify for financial aid and therefore pay the bulk of college expenses. “I would say on our roster right now, it’s probably split between somewhere between 20 and 22, and then I would
BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
say the remaining kids are on financial need or are paying the root of the money themselves. It is an investment regardless of baseball scholarship or financial assistance, these kids are paying money to come to school here. The full scholarship notion that you have with certain athletes doesn’t stand true with our kids because that just doesn’t happen,” Corbin said. In most cases, teams entice talented players with the promise of a partial athletic scholarship and give the remaining spots to walk-ons. For the most part, the resources available at Vanderbilt allow Corbin to fill all 35 spots with recruits. Corbin explained, “We’ve had some walk-ons in the past, but those are few and far between. In my past experiences, you know at Clemson which is a state school was at least half the cost, and you would get walk-ons, and they would turn into pretty good players. But that’s not the case here.” In the past, the combination of Vanderbilt’s generous financial aid and the Commodores’ success on the field has led to name-calling and mudslinging. Critics have called Vanderbilt’s recruiting unfair, but Corbin insists that schools like Florida, Tennessee and LSU have their own advantages. Larger state schools have instate grants to lessen an already relatively cheap tuition, while Vanderbilt must use its resources to whittle away at an enormous bill. “We’re twice, maybe three times the [cost of] schools that we’re playing against, and even though we do have those resources, I would propose that our kids are paying more money to come to school than the kids that are there,” Corbin said.
1
for
34 players
from
14 states
In order to divide scholarships perfectly and maximize the assistance provided by financial aid, Corbin and his assistant coaches recruit players from east, west, north and south – players from different backgrounds who recognize the unique opportunity that Vanderbilt provides. The financial aid in particular allows the basetball staff to recruit highlyranked players from low-income families. Corbin prides himself on the diversity of his team, which provides a great learning environment for young men who would never have a chance to meet in any other situation. “I do like the fact that we have white, black, Latin and Jewish, Italian kids on our team, and I bring that point up many times because I think that is a byproduct of a diverse university and one that allows us, from a baseball standpoint, to match the same type of culture.” It’s not always easy for such different players to get along, but they spend a lot of time working on team cohesion. In the end, the clubhouse contains a variety of personalities who consistently work together to set the national standard. When the season starts, 11.7 expands to 34 but all 34 have one goal: a trip to the College World Series. With another top 25 recruiting class, the Commodores are in contention for a trip to Omaha. “I think kids become accepting of different backgrounds. They become accepting of different economic backgrounds — poor, middle class, rich. It just shows that those types of kids can blend together if they’re given the opportunity to and if leadership
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
13
Call him Dr. Strangeglove Georgia-native Aubrey McCarty takes the rodeo to Nashville with his switch-playing By KATIE WALDEN Sports writer --------------------
On the Vanderbilt baseball roster, Aubrey McCarty’s name is about as conspicuous as a stray cat in the outfield. In the roster’s bats-throws column, most players have some combination of right and left, depending on which side of the plate they hit from and which arm they use when throwing. The two position players who hit from both sides of the plate are listed as switch-right. That leaves McCarty, listed as switch-switch. No need to blame an intern for a lack of baseball knowledge, because it’s not an oversight. Aubrey McCarty is a two-way player who hits from both sides of the plate and pitches with both arms. A Georgia native, he grew up with a father who was a former professional rodeo cowboy. Since being right-handed was an advantage on the rodeo circuit, Frankie McCarty BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
taught his naturally left-handed son to work with the other arm. “He had to teach me everything right-handed, and I started playing baseball. So I always played baseball righthanded,” McCarty said. He chose baseball over rodeo and started to experiment with throwing using his left arm when he was 11. A few years later, an injury to McCarty’s right arm increased his efforts on developing his lefthanded throwing motion. McCarty began his freshman year at Colquitt County High School known as both a switch-hitting first baseman and an ambidextrous pitcher. Coach Tony Kirkland took over the Colquitt County program McCarty’s freshman year but had little previous knowledge of McCarty’s talents. “I got a chance to see him play a little bit during the summer,” Kirkland said. “But as far as his ability level, I had no idea how special he was until I got to see him in person.” During McCarty’s high school career, Colquitt County won back-
to-back Region I-6A championships and advanced to the Class 6A Elite Eight his senior year. He picked up a slew of accolades after the 2013 season, being named a Region I-6A first team infielder, second team pitcher, hitter of the year and scholar athlete. On what it was like to coach McCarty, Kirkland said, “Instead of being A. McCarty for Aubrey, he was L. McCarty and R. McCarty, actually two players in one. We had to treat him as really two players.” McCarty signed a letter of intent with Vanderbilt the fall of his senior year. In June, he was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 35th round but turned down the offer to be part of Vanderbilt’s top-20 recruiting class. “We’ve got him at first base and hitting,” said Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin. “He’s going to be a very good hitter. You can see it every day. He spends an inordinate amount of time in the cages by himself, and it’s — Continued on PAGE 14
14
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
SPORTS
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
— Continued from PAGE 13 starting to pay off.” Though currently focused on making an appearance in the infield, McCarty wouldn’t be the first Commodore to trade a spot on the base paths for the pitcher’s mound. Sophomore Kyle Smith was recruited as an infielder but pitched in a few late-inning appearances last season. In the fall Black and Gold intra-squad series, McCarty started at first base and designated hitter. He went 2-for-4 in Game 2 with a double and three RBIs. At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, McCarty provides depth at first base behind starter Zander Wiel but could also get his first plate appearances as a designated hitter. When asked about switch-hitting role models, McCarty immediately mentioned Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones. Switchpitching role models, however, are much harder to come by. Baseball-Reference.com records identify four switch pitchers since the late 1800s, but only one was a significant threat at the plate. Greg Harris pitched for eight major league teams in the late 1980s but was only allowed to throw from both sides in his penultimate game. And in 2008, the New York Yankees drafted switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from Creighton University in the 20th round. After seeing videos of Venditte, McCarty contacted him with questions about specialized gloves. Venditte directed him to Mizuno, a sports equipment company that makes a custom ambidextrous glove. McCarty’s glove,
JOE HOWELL / VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
Aubrey McCarty takes a lead during the 2013 Black and Gold series. The ambidextrous player went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs in Game 2. Mizuno’s GMP1A, is a 12-inch, six-fingered glove with a thumb on each side. Given the rarity of McCarty’s skill set, opposing players and coaches have varying reactions. “Most of them think it’s actually a different guy out there,” McCarty said. “They
go up, and it’s me. It just really surprises them — that shock factor.” McCarty may have some ways to go before seeing game action, but his versatility as a player has not gone unnoticed. He has already earned him the Twitter hashtag
“#AmphibiousOne.” As Corbin put it, “How unique of a baseball player is he? He throws left-handed, he throws right-handed. He hits left-handed, he hits right-handed. You don’t see those guys every day.”
SPORTS THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
Peters hopes to bring Irish luck to Commodores By JOSH HAMBURGER Sports writer --------------------
In more ways than one, Caroline Peters knows all too well that “it’s good to be gold.” Before donning the Vanderbilt colors, the freshman midfielder competed for gold as a member of the Irish national women’s lacrosse team. In both 2012 and 2013, Peters made the team after tryouts, where she proved herself worthy not only of a spot on the team but also as a starter. It was playing for the Irish where Peters, one of only a few Americans on the team, acquired a mature understanding of the game. The Maryland native’s dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland, stemming from her mother’s side, allowed her to join the team, a process that made Peters travel abroad to Ireland during the fall, for both years she played, to showcase her skills. There, she competed against more than 30 players to capture one of only 18 available spots. As the youngest player, at 17, on a roster whose players were as experienced as 29,
JAMES TATUM / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER
Midfielder Caroline Peters (32) cradles the ball against UMass on Feb. 9. After playing for the Irish national team in 2012 and 2013, Peters is looking to shine in her first year as a Commodore. this situation brought a unique challenge. About Peters, Lauren Schneider, head coach of the 2012 Irish team, remarked, “A lot of the team looked up to her, and she was only in high school at that time.” Indeed, Peters’ ability on the field showed maturity and talent few others had as she led the team in goals scored in both 2012 and 2013. “She leads by example, giving the team every last drop of energy and heart,” said Sarah Walsh, Peters’ former teammate on the 2012 team.
During her first year competing at an international level, Peters played with the team at the European National Championship in Amsterdam, where she posted an impressive 19 goals in only seven games. Her leadership on the team paved the way for Ireland’s strong run through an incredibly competitive field. “Playing against caliber at that high of a level helped me now coming into the collegiate level,” Peters said. After 2012’s successful campaign, Peters
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
15
returned to the Irish team the following year in the 2013 Lacrosse World Cup in Ontario, Canada. Once again, she led the experienced team in goals, scoring 14 and adding an assist as well. Her coach, Meghan McNamara said, “Caroline’s passion and pride for Ireland and her teammates created an environment that was so positive and exceptional,” citing her leadership amongst the older players. While Peters began lacrosse at a young age in the United States like many of her teammates at Vanderbilt, she noticed a difference overseas in terms of age and experience. “It’s not really a young sport,” Peters said. “It’s still growing. You’re in college doing it and out of college, so a lot older.” Peters experienced this directly as just a junior in high school playing alongside many in the workforce. Participating in two international events has provided Peters with invaluable experience as she transitions into the collegiate level of play. Her proven success with some of the world’s best athletes should provide a smooth transition into college, which showed right away in a two-goal performance in the 20-5 season opener win against Kennesaw State. Although Peters hasn’t spent much time in the Vanderbilt black and gold, her former coach’s praise assures lacrosse fans that the freshman midfielder will be a great asset to the team. McNamara said of Peters’ performances, “She has a heart of gold, and it showed out on the field.”
16
THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
backpage TODAY'S CROSSWORD
TODAY'S SUDOKU
Answers to last week’s puzzle
Answers to last week’s puzzle