The Vanderbilt Hustler 04-02-14

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VOL. 126, ISS. 12

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STATE OF THE UNION A recent labor board decision has given football players at private universities the right to unionize. How could this change the NCAA? SEE PAGE 15

CAMPUS

Changes to Honor Code and Honor Council

A new clause was recently added to the Honor Code, and the Undergraduate Honor Council adopted several changes to its operational bylaws

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LIFE

‘How to Build a Forest’ transforms Neely A postmodern art installation borne from post-Katrina New Orleans was constructed and disassembled in Neely Auditorium over the course of 8 hours

OPINION

‘Hidden Dores’ brings unknown biases to light

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Vanderbilt students’ “Hidden Dores” initiative tackles campus racism — but more importantly, it tries to eliminate ingrained and latent prejudices

PAGE 8 ALLISON MAST / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

campus

“In fact the fall 2014 entering class will have the highest class rank, test scores, rigor of courses, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic diversity in Vanderbilt’s history.”, DOUGLAS CHRISTIANSEN, VICE PROVOST FOR ENROLLMENT AND DEAN OF ADMISSIOJNS

Understanding honor

By TYLER BISHOP

InsideVandy director -------------------It’s no secret that the Vanderbilt Honor Code and Undergraduate Honor Council tend to exist in the background of most undergraduates’ experience, despite its importance as an enforcement and educational body. When new students arrive in the fall, they spend an evening learning about and pledging to the Code. But outside of syllabus day and major exams and assignments, the Honor Code often isn’t on students’ minds.

This spring, however, an addition to the Honor Code and several minor changes to the operating bylaws of the UHC have tried to clarify the significance of honor at Vanderbilt and increase the visibility of the Honor System — in addition to raising questions about perceptions of honor on campus.

In early March, a team of leaders from Vanderbilt’s Honor System, including representatives from the councils of Vanderbilt’s

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undergraduate and graduate schools, adopted an addition to the Honor Code that explicitly articulates the importance of self-regulation in Vanderbilt’s overarching expectation of academic integrity from students.

“The purpose of this (new) statement is to unify the 10 schools of Vanderbilt under one statement promoting academic integrity,” UHC President Richard Twardzik said in a statement to The Hustler.

Both Twardzik and G.L. Black, assistant dean and director of the Office of Student Accountability, Community Standards and Academic Integrity, emphasized that the statement itself is neither a new concept nor a change to the existing Honor System, but rather an effort to better articulate the principles of the Honor Code. “(Self-regulation) has been a critical underpinning since the Honor System’s inception; however, it was reflected implicitly in the general expectations set for students with regard to responsible academic practices, the violation that may occur if a student fails to report

Overview of Undergraduate Honor Council outcomes

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0

20082009

20092010

Not Guilty Reprimand* Failure in course Suspensions^ Expulsions^

20102011

20112012

20122013

* Reprimand is accompanied by a recommendation of failure on the assignment. ^ Students who receive these penalties also receive failure in the course.

All students found guilty of an Honor Code violation must complete an Academic Integrity Seminar.

A look at recent changes to the Undergraduate Honor Council and Honor Code, including a new self-regulation clause

a known or suspected violation of the Honor Code and the nature of the Honor System as a student-run endeavor,” Black said.

The addition is part of a series of changes regarding honor and academic integrity at Vanderbilt resulting from a Faculty Senate report issued in March 2012. The report focused on matters relating to the understanding and execution of Vanderbilt’s honor policies, including fractured utilization of the studentrun councils and faculty engagement in the process of resolving violations.

For Twardzik, the new clause simply highlights the enshrinement of the principles already inherent in the wording of the Honor Code.

“Students should not only adhere to the Honor Code when other students or professors are present,” he said. “Instead, the honor and integrity of Vanderbilt students should hold them to their word in these matters.”

Though Vanderbilt’s Honor Code relies heavily on self-accountability, the level to which students understand the Honor System may raise questions about the role it plays in students’ day-to-day lives. In fact, in a random survey of 30 undergraduate students representing all four classes, only six were aware of the recent amendment to the Honor Code.

Though some might speculate that the lack of awareness could be problematic for integrity at Vanderbilt, it is also possible that it might stem from a perception that the campus does not have a problem with honor. The Hustler’s survey revealed that only nine out of 30 students perceived honor to be a problem at Vanderbilt, though statistics cited in the Faculty Senate’s 2012 report suggest that as many as 74 percent of students have witnessed an academic infraction of some kind.

Still, according to UHC statistics, an average of only 61.4 cases per year have been brought to the body in the last five years — meaning that less than .01 percent of students are brought before the council in a given year.

Regardless, the student-run Honor System seems to be overwhelmingly the most effective and preferred method for handling academic integrity on college campuses. The Faculty Senate report, after a three-month — Continued on PAGE 4

DATA PROVIDED BY OFFICE OF STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY, COMMUNITY STANDARDS AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

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 ALEC MYSZKA — FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

DIANA ZHU — DESIGN DIRECTOR JENNA WENGLER — ASST. DESIGN DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNERS DESIGNERS

ZACH BERKOWITZ KAREN CHAN ZOË SHANCER KATHY ZHOU ALEXA BRAHME WOODY GRIFFIN HAN DEWAN EMMA BAKER HOLLY GLASS

30 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS RANDOMLY POLLED

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Do you think there is a “problem with honor” at Vanderbilt?

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Are you aware that there was an alteration to the Honor Code this year?

6

9

Are you regularly reminded of aca- 21 demic integrity in your courses?

No

Yes

Of the 30 students polled, nine were freshmen, eight sophomores, six juniors and seven seniors.

ALEX DAI — CHIEF COPY EDITOR COPY EDITORS ALEXIS BANKS KATY CESAROTTI WESLEY LIN

BRITTANY SHAAR KARA SHERRER SOPHIE TO

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— Continued from PAGE 2 Faculty Senate report, after a three-month study, concluded that the “peer-led Undergraduate Honor Council is both important and effective.” A vast majority of Vanderbilt’s peer institutions also utilize studentled honor councils.

At Vanderbilt, each case that is brought to the Office of Student Accountability, Community Standards and Academic Integrity is investigated by a member of the office and one or two UHC members. After the investigation process, the president of the UHC determines if the case has enough

evidence to be taken to a hearing, in which six UHC members comprise a panel that will determine the guilt and penalty for violations.

According to the UHC, the vast majority of guilty verdicts, 69 percent, result in course failure as punishment, but other possible penalties include a reprimand, suspension or expulsion.

During the February Honor Council elections, an amendment to the bylaws that requires only a majority of the six panel members — rather than five — was passed.

THE UPDATED HONOR CODE I pledge to pursue all academic endeavors with honor and integrity. I understand the principles of the Honor System, and I promise to uphold these standards by adhering to the Honor Code in order to preserve the integrity of Vanderbilt University and its individual members.

Right: Each fall, new students sign Vanderbilt’s Honor Code in a ceremony also designed to educate students about the Honor System.

CHRIS HONIBALL / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Balancing act: Life as a student and Army ROTC cadet

By COLLIER BOWLING News reporter --------------------

While many freshmen students are still deciding which major to pursue, Ryan Sullivan had already made one big decision affecting his Vanderbilt career before setting foot on campus in August: he joined the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program on scholarship.

“I wanted to be in the army for a long time and I thought that being an officer would be the right move,” said Sullivan, a San Francisco Bay area native. “Also, the assistance with tuition is pretty big.”

Sullivan says that the Army ROTC program has taught him how to do several interesting tasks like shooting, rappelling off of Stevenson and military tactics. During a typical week, he has to be ready for physical training — involving circuit training, body weights and other exercises — on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. On Thursdays he is in uniform because the program does a two-hour lab involving situational tactical exercises.

“ROTC is pretty good at doing physical stuff that helps your confidence,” he explained. “(Two weekends ago), we were up in Wendell Ford Training Center in Kentucky and had four days of stick lanes, platoon operations, and then on the last day we did a confidence course, which is basically an Army confidence course (obstacle course).”

Sullivan has also been able to be a team leader in the Army ROTC program, held accountable for three other cadets. Despite the time commitment required, Sullivan says that so far he’s been able to balance

his other responsibilities and activities with Army ROTC. For instance, in addition to Army ROTC, Sullivan is a brother in Sigma Nu and is philanthropically involved.

“I run a small non-profit called Village to Village where we build small houses in Southeast Asia,” Sullivan said. “I’ve been to Southeast Asia many times throughout high school, and (Village to Village) is pretty small, but I do it with a friend who is Thai who lives in a small village and basically we build houses. We’ve built two houses in a little town in Thailand and right now we are building a sewage system for a school in Laos.”

In addition to his community service, Sullivan hopes to have other experiences abroad through his work with the Army.

“I think it would be cool being stationed in Hawaii or something — one of those cool places,” he said. “I love to travel, so I am excited about hopefully getting the opportunity to do that. I am going to Africa this summer through (an Army ROTC) program called CULP, which is Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency Program. I am going to Senegal and I think I am probably teaching English there. They put you on active duty and you get paid and you get to travel, so it is a win-win.”

Not only has Army ROTC given Sullivan the opportunity to build tactical and leadership skills he will use later in the Army, but his involvement has also helped him with his academic career at Vanderbilt.

“It’s definitely made me more organized and it’s definitely kept me balanced and kept my priorities in line, just because it is this commitment I can’t break,” Sullivan explained. “So it kept me grounded during my first year in college, and beyond that it is a

KEVIN BARNETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Vanderbilt’s Army ROTC practices their repelling skills off of the Stevenson Building in 2011. great opportunity to serve in the military.”

While Sullivan is still only in his first year at Vanderbilt, he already has ideas of what he hopes to do one day in the Army.

“I’m hoping I will get commissioned on active duty,” Sullivan said. “I’ve wanted to do infantry for a really long time, but that’s really competitive so we will see what happens. Maybe something like aviation or armor would be cool too.”

But for Sullivan, the Army ROTC program gives more than just physical training or vocational training.

“At the end of the day, it’s a pretty cool feeling realizing that you will be an officer in the army,” he said. “It makes you feel pretty good.”

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SCNO final presentations April 3 Regular decison sees 1,547 fewer applications than last year

By BRYAN STROMER News reporter --------------------

Members of Vanderbilt’s Students Consulting for Nonprofits will host their 2014 Final Presentations on April 3 at 5:30 p.m. in Sarratt 220. The event is a celebration of the consulting work that the SCNO student teams have been doing throughout this year for local Nashville nonprofits.

The Vanderbilt chapter of SCNO was founded in 2012 and is part of a larger national organization has eleven active chapters at colleges across the country. The national organization is currently led by Evan Curran, who is a Vanderbilt graduate and the former president of the Vanderbilt chapter.

Each year the organization solicits applications from local nonprofits that would benefit from the help of Vanderbilt students.

Last year, one of the organizations that Vanderbilt SCNO partnered with was the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. A Channel 5 interview spotlighted the project, in which Vanderbilt SCNO compiled and analyzed data from surveys that the Nashville Shakespeare Festival distributed to their audiences throughout the festival.

“We gained so many insights,” said Nicole Sibilski, a director with the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, in the Channel 5 story.

Hunter Hollis, director of publicity for Vanderbilt SCNO, said that the student participants are able to gain real world skills and give back to nonprofits through their work on these projects.

This semester, SCNO had nine teams that each worked with a different nonprofit organization on a project. Nonprofit partners included the local chapters of Teach for America and the American Cancer Society, among others.

These partners will be in attendance at the final presentation to hear the solutions the student-led teams have proposed for their organizations. The nonprofits’ leaders will decide later if and how they will implement the students’ ideas in their operating model.

Diana Whitmore, the outgoing president of SCNO, stressed how the experience of working together with a team on a solution and presenting it prepares students for careers in consulting.

“This is why firms like Deloitte choose to partner with SCNO,” she said, referring to a recent recruiting event for which Deloitte collaborated with SCNO.

Vanderbilt students interested in joining Vanderbilt SCNO can visit http:// my.vanderbilt.edu/vandyscno/ to learn more.

By ALLIE GROSS

Senior news reporter -------------------The Office of Undergraduate Admissions posted data about the admitted Class of 2018 on its blog on March 28 following the release of regular decisions to applicants on March 29.

According to the blog, there were a total of 26,293 regular decision applicants this year, which was 1,547 fewer than there were for the regular decision applicants for the Class of 2017. 126 fewer students were admitted in the regular decision group, and the group’s admit rate rose slightly from 10.84 percent for the Class of 2017 to 11 percent for the Class of 2018.

Douglas Christiansen, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions, said the slight drop in regular decision applicants will not affect next year’s class.

“In fact the fall 2014 entering class will have the highest class rank, test scores, rigor of courses, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic diversity in Vanderbilt’s history,” Christiansen said. “It is truly amazing how each year the applicants get stronger and stronger in all areas.”

Christiansen added that, from a broader

perspective, the application count has increased 128 percent since 2007.

Middle 50 percent SAT and ACT scores remained the same from last year’s numbers for regular decision applicants. The middle 50 percent SAT verbal score was 740-800, the middle 50 percent SAT math score was 750800, and the middle 50 percent ACT score was 33-35.

The amount of students who held major leadership positions or received significant awards during high school was a hundred percent, the same as the regular decision admitted Class of 2017. The percentage of admitted students who held a leadership role in a non-athletic organization rose by 4 percent, from 67 percent for the admitted Class of 2017 to 71 percent for the admitted Class of 2018.

Regular Decision Statistics Total applications: 26,293 Admitted: 2,892 Admittance rate: 11 percent Middle 50 percent critical reading SAT: 740-800 Middle 50 percent math SAT: 750-800 Middle 50 percent ACT: 33-35

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

opinion LETTER TO THE EDITOR

A commitment to students CINDY GREENE, LCSW is a staff therapist and group co-coordinator at the Vanderbilt Psychological and Counseling Center. She can be reached at cynthia.w.greene@vanderbilt.edu.

MICHAEL DIAMOND, CLASS OF 2015

When is ‘adequate’ no longer ‘adequate’?

Society must stop stigmatizing mental health disorders LEAH SPANN

I wanted to thank The Hustler for bringing awareness of disordered eating to the Vanderbilt community and addressing the need for services for those who struggle with this issue (“A culture of disordered eating,” March 26).

However, I want to emphasize important information about the PCC treatment options for students with eating disorders. The PCC has a carefully designed protocol, developed from evidence-based practices, that includes collaborative care with Student Health Center and nutritional services. We are very concerned about the students who face this challenge and take seriously our responsibility in caring for them.

Our protocol consists of a four-phase treatment process. The first phase is concerned with assessment of the acuity and duration of the disordered eating, along with work to stabilize the client physically and emotionally. The second phase is concerned with harm reduction. During this phase, a clinical team is put together with clinicians from the PCC (therapist, medication provider) and the Student Health Center (internist, nutritionist).

These team members work together to make sure that the client receives information from experts in the various areas of life impacted by the disordered eating. The third phase consists of evidenced-based treatment for disordered eating. In most cases, clients will participate in a combination of services with members of his or her treatment team. The final phase of treatment involves consolidation of treatment gains to facilitate the transition from the end of treatment to greater engagement with self, relationships and school. If at any time it is evident that the client needs a higher level of care, appropriate referrals are made to community providers who can partner with the PCC group resources in providing care.

In short, the PCC is committed to treating students with disordered eating and body image concerns, and we work with a variety of campus partners in doing so.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “When people make inappropriate remarks, the true test is not whether they meant to offend but whether they ever thought critically about others’ experiences and feelings in the first place.“

is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at leah.m.spann@ vanderbilt.edu.

vanderbilthustler EDITORIAL BOARD ANDRÉ ROUILLARD

TYLER BISHOP

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF editor@insidevandy.com

INSIDEVANDY DIRECTOR director@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

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

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ast week, The Hustler published an article examining the prevalence of eating disorders on campus (“A culture of disordered eating,” March 26). The article highlighted the high stress college environment that compounds with body-image issues to produce a struggle that is both physical and mental. The article concluded with a section examining whether or not Vanderbilt is equipped to handle these issues (conclusion: it isn’t) and addressed what seems to me to be a fundamental problem underlying campus life: the growing struggle of providing support for students suffering from mental health issues.

This article was not the first time I had seen concern expressed over the services offered for struggling students on campus. Many of my peers have turned to the PCC for a variety of reasons, and while some have reported success, many have also expressed dissatisfaction with the way their concerns were handled. As the eating disorders article suggested, many have sought off-campus options for treatment when their needs could not be met here. However, this option is not available to many students due to financial concerns and lack of transportation.

I understand that struggle. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Though the severity had lessened over the years, during my first year at Vanderbilt, I experienced a few lapses and decided to contact the PCC. During my initial visit, I talked with a therapist who discussed a couple of different treatment options; however, she repeatedly emphasized that group therapy for stress management was the preferred option.

As a strongly introverted individual, I was not sure that group therapy would be ideal, but I put my trust in psychological professionals. However, at the same time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was just

another folder to be filed away.

During therapy, I found that the techniques and topics they discussed were things I had already heard. Stress management is a valuable skill, but it did not address the core of my problem.

After a few weeks, I stopped attending, and there was no follow-up. Though I saw improvement with my own anxiety, this natural reversal does not go so well for each individual. Many sufferers of mental health issues enjoy periods of relative stability, only to find themselves diving into worse relapses.

Now, don’t get me wrong — brief observational data and anecdotal evidence do not constitute a fully substantiated, scientific claim. But it seems, given the evidence, that Vanderbilt is not alone.

The increasing prevalence of mental health issues among college students around the country has been a source of major concern in recent years. A June 2013 Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors survey examined the incidence of students reporting anxiety, depression and other psychological problems. Of the directors surveyed, 70 percent reported an increase in students experiencing severe

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.

mental health issues. More importantly, 19 percent also reported that the services offered by their institutions were not sufficient to meet the needs of the campus population. Perhaps the most staggering of these statistics came from a report issued from a 2012 National Alliance on Mental Illness survey: Of those experiencing mental health concerns, nearly three-quarters experienced a crisis on campus, yet 34 percent did not disclose their struggle to their college. Of those who did, the majority expressed the view that their college’s response was only “good” or “fair.” Few categorized it as “excellent.”

The student response to mental health services here on campus shows a disturbing distrust of the organizations meant to provide outreach and support for struggling students. The fault lies not with the organization itself, but with the culture that stigmatizes mental illness and brushes it under the rug, not realizing the impact it has on students’ ability to succeed and prosper as mental health resources continue to be underfunded.

As top-tier students at a well-respected university, we are one of its most precious resources. But if we allow these struggles to go unnoticed and these cries for help to go unanswered, we are losing the potential of many bright, dedicated students who need just a bit more time and attention to get back on their feet.

With more than 12,000 students in a high-stress environment like Vanderbilt, students are bound to have their ups and downs, moments of panic and triumph, in equal measure. But when this natural cycle is put out of balance, it falls to those in power to recognize that needs are not being met. Vanderbilt boasts one of the leading medical facilities in the country. It is time that our commitment to health and wellness was turned toward improving the mental health of the student body and assuring that they receive the support they need.

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.

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It’s not strange to talk to strangers

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DAVID SHUCK is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science and a member of the Vanderbilt debate team. He can be reached at david.j.shuck@ vanderbilt.edu.

ne summer in Green Bay, Wis., just before my senior year, a friend and I parked in a Target parking lot and began greeting people before they hit the automatic door. I had great intentions. Walmart has plenty of greeters, I thought, and most of them aren’t as spry and chipper as I am, and if they could do a decent enough job of it to warrant a minimum wage job then, hell, why couldn’t I for free? Little old greeters make everyone happy, and I imagined Target would want to thank me for being one for them.

One of the first people I approached was Target’s cart boy, whom I kindly introduced myself to and whom I told to have a spectacular day. Startled, he shuffled through the cart door as I made my way to the door for people and began my how-dee-dos. I got through about seven sets of customers before the little cart boy was back with a face less chipper than mine. His face matched the faces of a few of the couples I’d wished a very nice Saturday. He told me that I had to leave. I asked him, “Why?” Wasn’t I a joy to be around? He said, “No, sorry. See, my manager doesn’t think it’s okay for you to do this.” There she was, in her red and khaki uniform, sweating about this head-case with an employee. More words were exchanged, he timidly threatened me and I jumped in my friend’s car to head to Walmart, where no one gave a shit.

Two weeks ago in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a likeminded gent by the name of Richard Wright went on a rampage handing out $50 and $100 bills to strangers along the street. Rampage might not be as appropri-

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I live in a world in which it is more reasonable that someone approaching me is trying to knife me than offer me a kindness, even to just say hi.

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ate a word as “giving spree” but may have been the word the local police were using, as within a week he was arrested and shipped to a nearby mental health facility to undergo a mental health assessment. He has yet to be released, his family finds no basis for his being detained and his daughter launched a “Free Richard Wright” Facebook page to gather support for her father. He’d been saving up the money for some time to do some good deeds, and so while on vacation in Halifax, he merely hoped that his random acts of kindness would be appreciated — though I suspect he might be nervous to do so again. He reportedly told residents to “thank God” instead of himself and to “pass it along” if they themselves could not use it.

Symptoms of a psychopath, clearly.

One Halifax resident, in response to Mr. Wright’s “Hey, I got something for you,” reported, “At first I thought he was going to stab me or something but then he handed me a $100 bill and two 50 cent pieces, one from 1960 and the other from 1951.” Which, to be

clear for readers and the police of Nova Scotia, does not fall under the assault and battery charges of “stab me or something.” I think it’s pretty interesting that I live in a world in which it is more reasonable that someone approaching me is trying to knife me than offer me a kindness, even to just say hi. I’m not saying this is impractical or statistically unendorsed, but that it’s awful. Just god-awful.

I’d like to think I won’t, but I’ll probably tell my children not to talk to strangers. My parents told me that, most parents tell their children not to, and most people don’t. Because of the anxiety others and I have about getting stabbed, getting robbed, getting guilted with a money plea or whatever, we perpetuate a world in which the ability to walk up to another person with good intentions is compromised. Just off campus, all the time there are people who approach another person they don’t know for any number of reasons, all to no avail. One such approach is commonplace and one of the saddest things I can think of seeing: impoverished and homeless populations holding signs by cars, offering passersby a copy of The Contributor or pleading only to be turned down or ignored.

Even just on campus, attempting a kindness by smiling at people I don’t know is hardly an appealing gesture — rarely can I even reach out that far to wish someone a good day. I wish the stories above were unheard of and that “stranger danger” was no longer the law of the public sphere. I don’t think this hope needs to be naive, but I might think naive the claim that things couldn’t be otherwise.

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

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Hidden biases

Vanderbilt has come a long way but still needs to confront underlying prejudices

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idden Dores has opened up a much-needed dialogue about the place of minorities on campus. To explain why said dialogue is “much-needed,” look no further than this quote by Vanderbilt junior Robb King: “I’m not here because I’m black, I’m here because I’m smart.” I restrict myself here to focusing on white and black students not because other groups are less important, but merely because I can only accomplish so much MICHAEL with 750 words.

DIAMOND The idea that blacks are lazier or less hard-working is a junior in the than other groups is widespread in American public College of Arts opinion. In the 1992 National Election Study, responand Science. He can be reached at dents were asked to rate, on a scale from 1 to 7, how michael.s.diamond@ hard-working (closer to 1) or lazy (closer to 7) whites vanderbilt.edu. and blacks were in general. Only 26 percent of respondents rated blacks as more hard-working than lazy, whereas 60 percent of respondents rated whites as more hard-working. Conversely, 33 percent of respondents rated blacks as more lazy than hard-working — only 8 percent rated whites the same. As it turns out, this basic stereotype runs all the way back to the antebellum period.

According to research by Martin Gilens, however, this result does not necessarily reflect antipathy toward blacks. Instead, the idea that blacks are lazy stems from the assumption that the American economy is fundamentally fair, and that there are sufficient opportunities for blacks to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. As The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote in a recent column, “only if black people are somehow undeserving can a just society tolerate a yawning wealth

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The specific demographic makeup of Vanderbilt exacerbates misperceptions here.

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gap, a two-tiered job market, and persistent housing discrimination.” Given the faith many Americans have in the fairness of our markets and our society, some perceived character flaw in poor blacks must be responsible for their inability to raise themselves out of poverty. Unfortunately, skewed media portrayals only reinforce this notion, despite the fact that there is no evidence to suggest that blacks are less committed to working than any other group.

I would hazard a guess that the specific demographic makeup of Vanderbilt exacerbates this misperception here. Many of us, myself included, have been fortunate enough to grow up in a financially stable household, and as a white male, overt or subtle discrimination has not even been a secondary concern. It would be great if everyone could live in such an environment, but we do not.

For the privileged, the economy seems incredibly fair. It is understandable, to a degree, for someone in such an environment to struggle to understand the experience of the less fortunate. Yet there is no excuse for not even attempting to look beyond the stereotypes.

Initial ignorance is not a sin, but a refusal to learn is.

At the same time, the inquiry must be sincere. One of the Hidden Dores students, senior Kerina Dodd, recalls

a “friend” from freshman year asking her, “Explain Affirmative Action to me. WHY ARE YOU HERE?!” Political correctness is overrated, but basic decency is not.

Popular misconceptions about black people are not limited to work habits. Ghetto overrepresentation in the media is another problem — even though poverty in inner-city ghettos is what makes the news, only 6 percent of all poor Americans are blacks living in urban ghettos. Thus it is disappointing, but not surprising, that someone would have asked one of the Hidden Dores students to explain “how ‘ghetto’ people act.”

It is important to keep in mind that Vanderbilt has come a long way on issues of race, ethnicity and diversity more generally. We also still have a long way to go.

It is reasonable for minority students to be impatient with the sometimes fitful rate of progress. As Malcolm X said, “If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress. If you pull it all the way out that’s not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made. And they haven’t even pulled the knife out, much less heal the wound. They won’t even admit the knife is there.” We are at least ready to acknowledge that the knife is there. I hope we are ready to begin healing the wound.

Hidden biases underlie the problem that Hidden Dores is finally bringing to light. When people make inappropriate remarks, the true test is not whether they meant to offend but whether they ever thought critically about others’ experiences and feelings in the first place. In general, the thought is not problematic. The lack of thought is.

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life

GO DO Vanderbilt University Theatre presents ‘The 24-Hour Production’

THIS

Beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, Vanderbilt University Theatre students will work together to create an entire show in the span of 24 hours. Starting from nothing, the students will become playwrights, directors, designers, technicians and actors to produce a completely original show. The resulting play will be performed at 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 6, in Neely Auditorium; it is free and open to the entire Vanderbilt community.

WHY THEY BUILT THE FOREST

BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

The performance installation ‘How to Build a Forest’ kicked off Vanderbilt University Theatre’s Festival of New Works on Friday. Inspired by artist Lisa D’Amour’s experience during Hurricane Katrina, the work looks at the way humans experience and affect nature

By SAARA ASIKAINEN Life reporter --------------------

With the performance installation “How to Build a Forest,” Lisa D’Amour did not only want to work through her personal experience of loss during Hurricane Katrina; she also wanted to get audience members to contemplate their own relationships with nature. PearlDamour, a due of New Orleansbased interdisciplinary artists Katie Pearl and D’Amour, produced the forest that was inspired by the havoc D’Amour witnessed in

the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Two performances of “How to Build a Forest” took place from noon to 8 p.m. on March 28-29 in Neely Auditorium. Starting with a blank stage, D’Amour and Pearl, as well as visual artist Shawn Hall, constructed a representative forest out of fabrics and other materials. With the help of students and volunteers, the set was built over the course of 6 1/2 hours and left standing for 30 minutes, only to be taken down during the last hour.

“At the end of the eight hours, there’s nothing in the theatre again,” D’Amour said.

After D’Amour evacuated to a family home north of Lake Pontchartrain during Katrina, many of the 100-year-old pine trees surrounding the house came crashing down, inspiring the transient piece that was displayed in Neely this weekend.

“No one was hurt, which is kind of amazing, but the landscape of the house was entirely changed — it didn’t even look like the same piece of property — which was a really emotional experience for my family, so when Katie (Pearl) and I — my collaborator — were starting to think about what kind of piece we wanted to make, we said, ‘Wouldn’t

it be amazing to rebuild those trees on stage?’” D’Amour said.

The nature of the installation evolved as the artists continued to work on it.

“As we started to work, we realized, ‘Wow, this piece is about a lot more than those trees,’” D’Amour said. “It starts to speak to issues about climate change, about coastal erosion in Louisiana and in general humans’ relationship to nature.”

D’Amour and Pearl decided to include Hall in the creation process early on in development.

“We knew Shawn as an artist in New

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM Orleans whose work was very inspired by nature, so we invited her to become a collaborator. And then for the next year, year and a half, we worked really closely together, all three of us, to realize the whole forest,” D’Amour said.

The forest was executed mostly through salvaged materials out of which the artists and the participants assembled a multicolored forest by draping different fabrics around the stage and on metal wires. According to D’Amour, the process of constructing the forest is basically the same each time regardless of the performance space, although the exact placement of materials had been determined during rehearsals in the preceding days.

“How to Build a Forest,” which first premiered in New York City in 2011, found its way to Vanderbilt through theatre department chair Leah Lowe after assistant professor Christin Essin brought it to her attention.

“We were intrigued by the way that the piece addressed environmental issues and the way in which it involved the visual arts,” Lowe told The Hustler. “It seemed like a piece that could speak to many different audiences on campus.”

In addition to the experience the performance provides audiences, it also gives students the chance to become involved.

“We love bringing this piece to universities because there’s so many opportunities for students to get involved, so I think we have an additional 25 students, faculty and community members participating,” D’Amour said.

The artist lauded Vanderbilt’s appropriateness as a setting because of its status as

an arboretum, an asset the performance emphasized by including expert-led tours of the trees on campus.

In addition to touring the campus, people could also spend time simply exploring the forest itself as “builders” put it together.

“People do everything in the forest from lie down and take a nap to walk around and experience the different materials, so it’s very much a contemplative experience,” D’Amour said. “It’s a contemplative experience and it’s also a time to explore and watch a landscape slowly evolve.”

Freshman Evan Blum used the forest to get a break from a hectic day.

“I came in here because I had a break and I had a pretty stressful day and just wanted to just kind of sit and look at something happen and not have to worry about, like, things that I had to do,” Blum said.

Junior Casey Costello stayed at the theatre for an hour.

“It was very calming. I liked being there,” she said. “It was silent, and you’re just watching people slowly work away and get things done.”

Costello focused on the work’s temporary quality when explaining her interpretation of its purpose.

“Things take so long to get the way they are, to grow and develop and then … it’s so easy to destroy them and get rid of them because, I don’t know, I’ve heard that they’re going to take it down in like half an hour, at the last half hour, so obviously that says something,” Costello said.

“How to Build a Forest” kicked off VUT’s Festival of New Works, which will continue for the rest of the semester.

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BOSLEY JARRETT/ THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

In “How to Build a Forest,” “builders” construct the set out of salvaged materials over the course of 6 1/2 hours. As part of the production, builders take breaks to review their work.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

sports BASEBALL After their series loss to Mississippi State, the Commodores came back home to face No. 17 Kentucky for another SEC showdown.

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THE BIG STAT Number of career high school points by Rebekah Dahlman, making her the first player in Minnesota history to score above 5,000

5,060

Basketball in her blood Freshman Rebekah Dahlman only played in 9 games this season, but proved her potential to be one of the next great Vanderbilt women’s basketball players

By ALLISON MAST Sports editor --------------------

3 UP 3 throws

Sophomore righty Carson Fulmer, who has become the regular closer for the Commodores, needed just three pitches to strike out Kentucky’s star, AJ Reed. In the eighth inning on Sunday with runners on first and third and with two outs, the Commodores brought in Fulmer to face Reed, who leads the SEC with nine home runs. Two off-speed pitches followed by a 95-mile-perhour heater left the SEC superstar befuddled.

By MATT LIEBERSON

Johnny cashes in

Sports editor --------------------

It hasn’t been the best year for junior outfielder Johnny Norwood. He started the season in right field, received some bench time and found his way back into the lineup at center field. On Sunday, he elevated his average to .200 with a two-run blast over the left field wall in the fifth inning, bringing home catcher Jason Delay and giving the Commodores a 2-1 lead.

Dansby on base

The Commodores has struggled offensively at times this season, but it certainly hasn’t been the fault of sophomore second baseman Dansby Swanson. The position player has reached base safely in all 29 games this season and has put together a 10-game hitting streak. On Saturday, Swanson went 4-for-5 with two singles, a double and a two-run home run.

3 DOWN Ruh Ro

Despite receiving at bats regularly, freshman designated hitter Ro Coleman has yet to prove himself.

He went 0-for-9 at the plate this weekend, dropping his batting average to .156. Coleman’s on-base percentage of .276 is far too low for him to be an effective leadoff man, and the 5-5 switch-hitter fails to take advantage of his relatively small strike zone. Some more changes to the lineup could be coming soon.

Beede off beat

Sophomore hurler Tyler Beede’s slump looks familiar to Commodore fans who suffered through Vanderbilt’s postseason stint last year. After giving up 11 runs to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Beede allowed five hits and three runs in his Friday start against the Wildcats.

Although he lasted five innings, he lacked command, walking three batters and hitting three with pitches en route to a 4-2 loss, his third loss of the season.

Turner vs. The turf

Hawkins Field’s artificial turf hasn’t been kind to sophomore third baseman Xavier Turner this season.

In the first inning of Game 3, Turner tagged up from second on a Swanson sacrifice fly. He reached third base in time, but he was tagged out after he slid past the bag.

Turner has also not had the same quality jumps as he did last season. He is currently 7-for-12 in stolen base attempts.

BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Rebekah Dahlman barely recalls her first basketball memory.

“My grandfather was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame when I was a baby,” the freshman guard said with a smile.

“He has the best stories about basketball. He knows everyone.”

That man with the stories is John Kundla, who coached the Minneapolis Lakers from 19481959, leading basketball legends like George Mikan to five league championships. Kundla also introduced his grandaughter to people like Clarence “Big House” Gaines, the only African-American coach inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Along with introducing Dahlman to basketball royalty, Kundla was a great resource on the game. “I’m lucky I still get to talk to him,” said Dahlman, now a starting guard for the Vanderbilt Commodores. “He really knows everything there is about basketball.”

But Kundla was just the beginning of the basketball bloodlines that led Dahlman to become the SEC-leading 3-point shooter for the opening months of the 201314 season.

The Dahlman pickup games in Braham, Minn., were likely barnburners, since Rebekah’s five siblings have all had success in the sport as well. One of her brothers, Noah, played at Wofford for four years and was named the Southern Conference

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM Player of the Year in 2010. He currently plays professionally in Bulgaria. Her other brother Isaiah set state scoring records in high school and ultimately played at Michigan State. There’s a little tension, though, since her youngest brother Zach may play football in college. “It’s a little awkward,” she joked, “but we’ll get through it.”

Braham High School, even with graduating classes of 60 students, was known for its basketball prowess. “It’s a small town,” Dahlman said. “There really wasn’t anything to do, but we were just known for basketball.”

Dahlman led the Braham Bombers to the Minnesota state tournament each of her four years of high school but only won the tournament as a junior in 2012.

“The losses drive me still,” Dahlman said.

“Those motivate me every day.”

The 5-9 guard created a prolific resume at Braham, becoming the only girl in state history to score more than 5,000 points in a career. Consequently, she also became the first Braham girl to play Division I basketball, joining the Vanderbilt squad this season.

At the beginning of her freshman campaign, Dahlman caught fire. In her nine starts, she averaged 11.4 points and led the SEC in 3-point percentage (51 percent). Her success beyond the arc even caught Dahlman by surprise. “The weird thing is I never was a sharpshooter in high school like that,” she said. “I was more used to attacking the basket.”

However, after arriving on campus, Dahlman drew motivation from the seniors,

BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Freshman guard Rebekah Dahlman (1) dribbles the ball past a defender during a preseason exhibition game against North Alabama on Nov. 2.

The Vanderbilt Commodores cruised to a 103-50 victory, and Dahlman scored a game-high 21 points.

PHOTO COURTESY OF REBEKAH DAHLMAN

Legendary coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines, the only African-American coach in the Basketball Hall of Fame, holds a young Dahlman.

Gaines was one of the many basketball legends connected to Dahlman through her grandfather, John Kundla, also a Hall of Fame coach.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

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particularly sharpshooter Christina Foggie, but as a player, the focus for Dahlman was never scoring.

“I love defense,” Dahlman said. “Anyone can go score, but defense is really my thing.

I love trying to lock someone else down.”

The freshman’s season was cut short in December, though, after a blood clot appeared in her shoulder. “I kept grabbing it one practice,” she recalled. “Coach Balcomb was getting on me a bit after I had air-balled a couple shots, which I never do. I went to the trainer, who was smart enough to take me to the ER.” The diagnosis was serious. Questions arose about whether or not Dahlman would get to play again at all. “I’ve never had sur+ever had to go through, especially with all of the uncertainty of my basketball future,” she said.

But her family and teammates got her through the multiple surgeries, and Dahlman is rehabbing for the upcoming season.

Since she was able to redshirt this year, Dahlman has a full four years of eligibility left, and her potential contribution to the Commodores looks promising. “My rehab has gone well,” she said. “I was able to practice at the NCAA tournament. I need to get myself in shape, but I was just thrilled to be out there playing some defense.”

Clearly ready to return to the court, Dahlman lights up when the 2014-15 season is brought up. “Oh hell yeah,” Dahlman said, before composing herself. “This year seemed like a lost year, but I learned a lot.

I’m ready to go play ball.”

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

SPORTS

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COMMODORES TAKE THE ICE

Vanderbilt’s club hockey team competed against Tennessee in the I-40 Classic at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday, taking down the Volunteers 6-2.

PHOTOS BY BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Above: Freshman John Longman (right) controls the puck against a Tennessee skater on Sunday afternoon during the annual I-40 Classic.

Below: Mr. Commodore takes the ice before the game at Bridgestone Arena began.

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SPORTS

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NLRB: Northwestern football players earn right to unionize NLRB ruling could change landscape of private school athletics for near future

By BEN WEINRIB Asst. sports editor --------------------

In the late 19th century, George Pullman ran a railroad company out of a town he established on the outskirts of Chicago. His workers were required to rent company-owned housing and were paid below-subsistence wages in Pullman Company scrip, a currency that could only be exchanged for goods at company stores at gouged prices.

In 1894, the workers formed a strike to protest that unethical treatment.

One hundred twenty years later, less than 30 miles north in Evanston, Ill., a strikingly similar situation is going on at Northwestern University.

The connection between the Pullman Company and Northwestern goes back to people with power controlling people who have talent.

Pullman paid his workers below-subsistence wages in a currency they could only spend at his stores. Northwestern “pays” studentathletes at below-market-value wages in a

currency they can only use at the university: a scholarship.

On Wednesday, March 26, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that Northwestern football players are employees of the school and have the right to form a union if they wish. While it may take years for this ruling to take ubiquitous effect, it is effectively a fatal blow to the NCAA’s idea of amateurism.

NLRB regional director Peter Sung Ohr came to this ruling for a variety of reasons. Players dedicate more than 50 hours per week to the football team. Additionally, Northwestern admits student-athletes based more on football skills than on academic ability, and the rules of the football team hold back student-athletes from fully achieving success as students.

Of course, the NCAA disagrees with the notion that student-athletes are employees.

Keep in mind that the NCAA created the term “student-athlete” in the 1950s to avoid paying workers’ compensation to injured athletes.

After the ruling, the NCAA released a statement that read, “We frequently hear from studentathletes, across all sports, that they participate to enhance their overall college experience and for the love of their sport, not to be paid.”

But earning an education and earning a wage are not mutually exclusive; a student can work 50 hours per week with Vanderbilt Dining Services and still earn an education. The same idea applies to athletes — assuming the school is willing to provide a proper educational environment for these athletes, which is not always the case if one looks at how North Carolina

recently handled grading student-athletes.

The idea here is that academics are not the primary concern for universities, and athletes’ scholarships are for athletic performance. With such a large time commitment, there’s no other way to look at college football than as a job.

The NLRB’s ruling would only affect scholarship students at private schools, should they choose to unionize. Vanderbilt is one of 17 Division I private schools and the only private school in the SEC. Still, the NLRB’s ruling will have to pass through several higher courts when the NCAA inevitably appeals.

“In some ways, what’s happened here is that the NCAA has waited a little too long to make some important changes and now the outside forces are taking over,” said David Murphy, one of the top experts in the country on unionrelated disputes. “If the NCAA doesn’t do something on their own here, others will come in and do it for them. Although one regional director’s decision doesn’t set the rule for the whole U.S. right now, it does have the potential to lay the foundation for the future law of the land.”

Still, athletes at private schools won’t have much bargaining power until all athletes can form unions because their only form of leverage is striking, which is hard to do with just 17 unionized schools.

The ruling has brought up questions about its potential future impact, and Vanderbilt has hired lawyers to figure out those answers.

These questions concern if students can be taxed, how the ruling affects students with

IMAGE COURTESY OF MCT CAMPUS / NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

partial scholarships, how Title IX fits in, how minimum wage will be treated, if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would be asked to investigate a sport’s safety and how advertising using players’ likenesses would change.

But just because not all questions can be answered at the moment does not mean the ruling is shortsighted. All the Northwestern football players are looking for is a voice with which to bargain, although payment is likely coming down the road.

After all, these players are only fighting for the ability to bargain for themselves instead of being ruled by the, until now, all-powerful NCAA.

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