The Vanderbilt Hustler 04-09-14

vanderbilthustler WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

VOL. 126, ISS. 13

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BREAKING

THE BATHROOM

BINARY

VSG and McGill Hall have both taken steps this semester to increase the number of genderinclusive restrooms and residential floors on campus. See why this matters on page 2

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BOSLEY JARRETT

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

campus CORRECTION In the article “Understanding honor” published in the April 2 issue, the new Honor Code Statement was incorrectly listed as “The updated Honor Code” and was incorrectly described as an addition to the existing Honor Code Pledge. The Honor Code Pledge was neither changed nor updated in March of this year; rather, a new articulation called “The Honor Code Statement” was adopted by all 10 schools at Vanderbilt, including the graduate and professional schools. This statement now exists in addition to the Honor Code Pledge and does not change or replace that pledge. For clarity, both the new Honor Code Statement and the traditional Honor Code Pledge are listed below. The Hustler sincerely regrets this error.

THE HONOR CODE STATEMENT (ADOPTED MARCH 2014) Vanderbilt University students pursue all academic endeavors with integrity. They conduct themselves honorably, professionally and respectfully in all realms of their studies in order to promote and secure an atmosphere of dignity and trust. The keystone of our honor system is self regulation, which requires cooperation and support from each member of the University community.

THE HONOR CODE PLEDGE 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.

EVOLUTION OF MEDIA EVENT Willie Geist, David Plotz and Nick Thompson — three noted journalists and pioneers of new media — will discuss the state and future of their profession Friday, April 11 at the First Amendment Center.

“Changing the Story: The Evolution of Media in Print, on Television and the Internet” will be moderated by Amanda Little, a writer-in-residence in Vanderbilt University’s English department who teaches courses on investigative journalism and blogging. In addition, John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center and chairman emeritus of The Tennessean, will “set the scene” with an introduction to the wide-ranging discussion.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be from 7-8:15 p.m. with a reception to follow.

vanderbilthustler STAFF

ANDRÉ ROUILLARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

QUOTE OF THE DAY “If we have a university policy that says it doesn’t discriminate against students based on gender identity or gender expression, then we need to start acting on it and hold our community accountable to that standard.”

ROO GEORGE-WARREN, BLAIR COUNCIL PRESIDENT

BREAKING the

BATHROOM

BINARY

VSG recently passed a resolution that aims to increase the number of gender-inclusive restrooms on campus, while McGill Hall voted to add an additional gender desegregated residential floor for next year

By ANDRÉ ROUILLARD Editor in chief --------------------

Among the usual platform initiatives in this year’s Vanderbilt Student Government election — Commodore Cash expansion, VSG restructuring, dead week enforcement — was a new promise.

Ryan McKenney and Hannah Gacke’s platform listed their commitment to “Encourage inclusivity by converting all

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single-stall restrooms to gender-neutral restrooms.” And although McKenney and Gacke’s presidential hopes were dashed in the closest election in VSG history, their attention-grabbing initiative was gaining traction within VSG and elsewhere. On March 26, VSG passed a resolution urging administrators and Plant Operations to begin converting campus single-stall restrooms into a gender-inclusive setup.

The VSG resolution Blair Council President Roo GeorgeWarren drafted the gender-inclusive resolution that recently passed. The proposal was brought to the Senate floor, passing 27-2 with the assistance of Annie Daorai, Jasmine Larry and Allison Wisalowski, student presidents of Engineering, Arts & Science and Peabody, respectively.

“I drafted the VSG resolution after attending a Vanderbilt Lambda Association meeting and hearing Lambda members speaking about the lack of gender-inclusive restrooms and the very real effect it had on their life and wellbeing,” George-Warren said in an email to The Hustler.

“Roo approached me after the meeting and suggested that we draft a VSG resolution,” said Lambda member Adrian England in an email to The Hustler.

The resolution mandates that VSG — in cooperation with Lambda, LGBTQI Life and Plant Operations — complete a survey of restrooms on campus to determine which ones are genderinclusive, which ones are available to be gender-inclusive and what their occupancy capacities are. The resolution also urges Lambda and the Office of LGBTQI Life to begin dialogue with Plant Ops about converting specific restrooms.

“We have since had some dialogue with a couple of administrators, and they have been extremely supportive and have even offered their assistance with things like documentation of restrooms in certain buildings,” England said.

England is “very optimistic” about support from the administration going forward. The resolution also has the support of McGill Hall, according to McGill program coordinator Luke Nantz.

The renovations required for conversion, according to George-Warren, will be minimal.

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“I imagine that the vast majority of eligible restrooms will be single-use restrooms — one person at a time and a lock on the door,” George-Warren said.

“In those cases I would think all that is required for the conversion is changing the sign and updating our records.”

The signs will cost approximately $10, according to England.

An additional gender-inclusive floor in McGill For most students, the first they heard of the gender-inclusive topic was during the VSG election. However, McGill Hall began discussing the theme of genderinclusivity earlier this year, and certain changes to the living-learning community have already taken place regarding gender-inclusivity.

This academic year, McGill had one desegregated floor, the fourth floor, which was made gender-inclusive in 2001. The term “gender desegregated” refers to the fact that anyone identifying as any gender can live in any room on the floor.

Due to McGill’s construction as a women-only dormitory in 1946, restrooms on the fourth floor (and elsewhere) were adequately equipped and required only signage changes to make them gender-inclusive.

The third floor in McGill is genderinclusive, but segregated: half of the floor houses individuals who identify as male, and the other half of the floor houses individuals who identify as female. However, with the second floor of McGill being male-only, demographic changes in McGill sparked a conversation regarding expanding genderinclusivity.

“We had a much more balanced gender ratio than we have had in the past, which meant that the status quo needed to change,” Nantz said. Historically, McGill Hall had been male-heavy, which allowed the second floor to house much of the male population and left the two gender-inclusive floors to remain mostly balanced. However, the recent influx of women into McGill meant the gender-inclusive floors would have been composed almost entirely of those identifying as women.

“McGillite Devin Bird pointed out that the free flow of people of all genders is a beautiful aspect of McGill,” Nantz said.

“If the fourth floor suddenly became all ‘women,’ or we made the third floor all

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THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM ‘women,’ then McGill would lose something about its identity.”

McGill residents voted on several rounds of proposals regarding how to handle the demographic changes.

“People could vote to add a ‘women only’ floor, make the second floor split by gender and a number of other permutations,” said Nantz. Permutations that included the option to have gender-inclusive floors proved the most popular options. Eighty-six current and future McGillites of the 99 surveyed voted to add a desegregated floor as one of their ideal gender designations for next year. Next year’s residents voted 65-10 to desegregate the floor. The proposal was later approved by housing administrators.

Nantz said McGill residents cheered when they learned about the dual desegregated floors.

“As usual, the gender desegregated floors were the first to (fill up with residents) — though this time it was the fourth floor and the third floor that got filled up fast,” Nantz said.

However, Nantz also emphasized the importance of ensuring that all residents were comfortable with the changes.

“We want to welcome people that think or feel differently from the way that we do,” he said.

“Some McGillites subscribe to religious systems that prohibit men and women sharing showers. Others feel uncomfortable using the same toilet as a person of a different gender identity. As an inclusive community, we definitely wanted to make sure these McGillites also had a space in

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

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But it’s not all as easy to do as changing a few signs: several roadblocks to restroom conversion have yet to be formally addressed.

“A few buildings such as the Blair School of Music have zero gender-inclusive restrooms and zero single-use restrooms,” George-Warren said. “But, the building does have one or two double-occupancy restrooms that could theoretically be converted with a sign change and a lock.”

Despite these potential obstacles, George-Warren believes strongly in the principle of the resolution.

“While I can’t speak on the cost, I do know that this is something that needs to be done on campus regardless of price,” he said.

“If we have a university policy that says it doesn’t discriminate against students based on gender identity or gender expression, then we need to start acting on it and hold our community accountable to that standard.”

ANDRÉ ROUILLARD / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

This restroom, located in Alumni Hall, is gender-inclusive. A VSG resolution has set a foundation for converting more bathrooms on campus to be gender-inclusive. our building where they could feel comfortable.”

Strides to be made The reasoning behind the push for gender-inclusivity is not always transparent for those outside of the debate, but was elaborated upon by England.

“Segregated bathrooms by the gender binary reinforces a faulty social construct

that excludes intersex people, trans* people, genderqueer people and other folks that don’t identify with the binary,” England said.

England continued: “We reject the idea that women should be separated from men or that they have inferior value. Gender desegregation is both a symbolic and tangible reflection of our belief in the equal value of all human beings.”

EDITOR'S NOTE The symbol depicted on the front page is generally representative of “gender neutral” causes and initiatives. It wll be up to the discretion of VSG, Plant Ops, the Office of LGBTQI Life and/or Vanderbilt Lambda as to the symbol used to represent “gender inclusive” restrooms on campus.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

CAMPUS

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‘If You Stay, Use a Tray’: A Dining debate over convenience HOD class initiative saves more than 100 Rand to-go boxes a day, but student opinion remains divided

By ALEX DAI

Chief copy editor -------------------When Sarah Hunt-Blackwell grabs a meal at Rand Dining Center, she makes sure to get her food on a plate.

It wasn’t always like that. Even when dining in, the sophomore student would sometimes ask for a to-go box.

“I always thought I’d have the potential to leave, but now I need to make the conscious decision to stay or leave,” she said. “If I stay, I usually get an actual plate.”

Since Vanderbilt Campus Dining unveiled an HOD group’s “If You Stay, Use a Tray” campaign in Rand, Hunt-Blackwell admits she now feels guilty when asking for a to-go box — and she’s not alone.

Over the course of the two-week campaign, which began March 24, 687 fewer to-go boxes were taken out of Rand Dining Center on weekdays during breakfast and lunch hours, a decrease of about 137 boxes per day.

Through posters, social media, stickers, to-go box signs and buttons worn by Dining workers, the initiative intends to promote awareness of sustainability by encouraging people staying in Rand to eat off of plates instead of using disposable boxes, said Morgan Frazier, team leader of the Ambitious

Advocates’ Alliance, the HOD 1100 group responsible for the idea.

A win-win-win Students in the Human and Organizational Development 1100 Small Group Behavior course divide into groups of seven to eight, identify a problem on campus and try to solve it by the end of the semester.

The all-freshman team responsible for the “If You Stay, Use a Tray” campaign includes Beau Baldwin, Kate Bentsen, Vivian Chong, Morgan Frazier, Laura Rice, Ben Sampson, Sammy Shipp and Katie Upton.

AAA’s initial idea was to reduce the usage of pizza boxes and salad containers coming out of Pi and Leaf in Rand Lounge. When they approached Campus Dining, however, Dining Sustainability Coordinator Suzanne Herron brought up the large amount of to-go boxes, called “clamshells,” used by people who weren’t actually eating outside of Rand.

“Initially I said if you absolutely want to do the Pi-Leaf thing, we can certainly do that,” Herron said, “but on a larger scale we could actually bring more awareness to the big picture, which is the clamshells, plus the (Pi) boxes — we can do both. So they sort of shifted gears.”

The timing was perfect. As early as February, Campus Dining had already posted table

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As part of the “If You Stay, Use a Tray” campaign, informative to-go boxes line trash receptacles in Rand Dining Center. An HOD group partnered with Campus Dining to launch the campaign. tents on napkin dispensers about the usage of takeout boxes in Rand, and, according to Campus Dining Director Camp Howard, the department had been planning to pilot a program in the spring to raise awareness about

sustainability. The members of AAA joined forces with this pre-existing movement.

Though Campus Dining provided the funds for campaign materials, the students developed the entire campaign plan, includ-

CAMPUS THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM ing the slogan “If You Stay, Use a Tray” and the talking to-go box logo. Beyond conducting countless meetings, the members also wore campaign T-shirts and spoke to students sitting in Rand from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the first week of the initiative — both a nerveracking and a rewarding experience.

“I thought it was cool that (the project) was face-to-face,” Sampson said. “It was a different take on the HOD project — instead of creating a website or something, or signs or whatnot. We were out there in Rand. (Doing) what Suzanne said about getting that faceto-face contact with the students, I think, was really key to the success to the project.”

Although the to-go boxes are biodegradable, the costs of producing them and tossing them into a landfill are substantial. On a Thursday prior to the start of the initiative, Campus Dining recorded that 971 boxes were used in Rand from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., but Herron estimates that many more was the norm.

“If you just wanted to estimate that, prior to this campaign there were easily 1,100 clamshells going out daily, easily, and let’s just estimate that maybe those clamshells cost around $0.25 each, that’s what’s going out the door,” Herron said. “Cost is important not just because we’re trying to save money ... it translates to how much the meal plan costs.

All financial aspects contribute to a bigger picture.”

According to Herron, since the campaign’s inception, the Dining staff has been instructed to use a reusable plate unless asked otherwise, even during dining rushes. At Leaf, workers also give customers planning to

dine in a salad without a plastic cover. To-go boxes, once piled up in blatant view of Rand customers, have now been placed to the side.

“Hopefully it’s a win-win-win,” Howard said. “The students are winning because they’re in this class and they’re going to accomplish and learn something through this process. Campus Dining is obviously — hopefully — going to benefit too because we can reduce the amount of paper that we’re supplying, and that’s a financial burden, and it’s also a burden from just taking the trash out … And it’s a win for the earth, because we’re putting less stuff in the landfill.”

The impact of the partnership was not lost on either side.

“Sometimes it’s hard for the administration to be on the ground and be the hands and feet and meet the students where they’re at,” Rice said, “and I think as a student group, by going to them, we kind of bridged that gap that can sometimes be scary, between the administration and the students and making change.”

Convenience vs. ‘the right thing’ On the first week of the campaign, March 24-28, Campus Dining recorded 4,599 boxes taken out of Rand Monday to Friday. The second week, 3,912 were recorded. Despite the decrease, student opinion remains divided.

For many, the initiative addresses an important issue but does not do enough.

Several students believed taking to-go boxes out of Rand altogether would better solve the issue, also citing larger concerns such as the amount of water put into producing the

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

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plastic products Campus Dining provides.

Others noted that installing another tray return would save time spent walking to and waiting at the single tray return in Rand, a primary reason for taking a disposable box.

These students also said they had arrived late to classes as a result of the waits.

Herron maintained that convenience should not be students’ top priority.

“I always tell people doing the right thing for the environment, in terms of whatever it may be, recycling or whatever, it’s not convenient,” she said. “Often doing the right thing is not about convenience, it’s about simply doing the right thing.”

message will never fade.

“I think this project is bigger than the class,” Frazier said. “It’s truly making a difference in the way things work in Rand. We went into this project thinking, let’s do something that will actually make a change — that’s actually a problem, that’s not something that will go away next year.”

“Every time I see someone get a tray at Rand, I feel a sense of pride because I think my project might have influenced their decision,” Chong echoed. “Overall, the impact can be a lasting one on students’ mindsets.”

— Melissa Marts contributed to this report.

Looking to the future Though the members of AAA presented their HOD project on Tuesday, the initiative to spread awareness of sustainability in Rand will continue.

Howard hinted at “a more convenient way to use washable wear” coming in the fall.

“We’re going to launch something next semester; it may or may not be called (“If You Stay, Use a Tray”). This may stick, it may not, I don’t know; our management team will discuss it over the summer,” Howard said, “but I think we do need to continue the awareness, and we do have plans on creating a more convenient way for students to drop off washable wear.”

HOD 1100 intends to teach students how to work well in a team, and while the members of AAA agreed that this part of their experience was valuable, they have particularly enjoyed contributing to a campaign whose

TOTAL TO-GO BOXES USED 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WEEK 1 (MARCH 24-28) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday TOTAL:

1,094 1,240 941 824 500 4,599

WEEK 2 (MARCH 31-APRIL 4) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday TOTAL:

860 1,267 643 626 516 3,912

DATA PROVIDED BY VANDERBILT CAMPUS DINING

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

opinion THE

RANT 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.

Check out this week’s Rant on our Twitter account @InsideVandy.

All-Greek white male VSG Exec Board? “One Vanderbilt” indeed.

Why does student health make you check in with touch screen kiosks?

Do they want to guarantee the spread of germs? Why don’t I just lick all the sick people in the room?

I’m all for conserving resources, but perhaps prior to mounting an “if you stay, use a tray” campaign Vanderbilt might want to consider that having a single, minuscule tray return is likely the primary cause of increased student reliance on to-go containers.

Adding an extra tray return would reduce cardboard use much more than decorating Rand with smiling to-go boxes.

Gender-neutral bathrooms? What is the world coming to?

I hate it when guys are grossed by girls pooping. Yes, I am in fact a human.

Loud music, no outlets and limited food options: Is there anything else Vandy can do to make sure we don’t use Rand after lunch hours?

The fact that the weather for Rites weekend is supposed to be nice makes me deeply concerned about an impending apocalypse ...

QUOTE OF THE DAY “What does it say to the world that wallets across the country contain $20 paper murals to Andrew Jackson (...) Yet we still have no memorials to his victims except for a few signs along the Trail of Tears.”

ROO GEORGE-WARREN

Opening the classroom door

Academia should stop encouraging desensitization to sexual violence

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arning: Contains graphic content that may be triggering to some readers.”

You’ve probably seen similar trigger warnings affixed to the beginning of news articles and blog posts all over the Internet. For those of you who aren’t familiar with trigger KARA warnings, a “trigger” is anything that can SHERRER prompt someone to remember or relive is a sophomore a traumatic experience. Since triggers in the College of are based on associations unique to Arts and Science each individual’s experiences, even the and social media director for most innocuous objects can be triggers Vanderbilt Student for some people. However, trigger warnCommunications. ings are usually reserved for content that She can be reached has clear associations with a traumatic at kara.n.sherrer@ event, like an explicit description of vanderbilt.edu. assault.

Personally, I know trigger warnings can be quite helpful. As someone who was sexually abused as a child, they let me know that if I’m especially stressed out or otherwise more emotional than usual, then maybe I should wait to read this or that article at a time when it’s less likely to trigger me. Yet trigger warnings are missing from one very important part of my life: my books for and discussions in my classes here at Vanderbilt.

Liberals arts courses, particularly in the more artistic disciplines, often deal with sexually triggering content of various kinds. As an English major, I’ve had to become used to reading and then candidly discussing texts that are full of such content without so much as a nose wrinkle. (Case in point: A. M. Homes’ speculative short story “A Real Doll,” which is full of triggering content.)

In fact, I can’t count the number of times I have heard professors admonish a reticent class with a statement like “Come on, we’re all adults — we should be able to candidly discuss sex (or sexual assault, or rape, or any number of related issues).” To some extent, I understand the rationale behind this

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‘‘

It is insensitive and even unfair to require students to read or view such graphic content without warning, then make them discuss it in purely intellectual terms.

’’

statement and firmly agree that speaking in euphemisms prevents us from engaging in constructive dialogue about such subjects. I neither expect nor wish to be overprotected — I knew what I was getting myself into when I declared my English major.

But this “we’re all adults” statement assumes that not being able to candidly discuss potentially triggering content is childish, and invalidates any squeamish reaction, whatever its cause. In academic situations, I feel weak, even ashamed of myself, whenever a description of sexual assault or rape triggers me and knocks my emotional equilibrium off balance.

For example, on a recent night before I had a major presentation, I was reading a novel for one of my English courses, which focuses on the intersection of science and literature. The book sounded harmless enough from the description on the back cover, and I cracked it open anticipating a fast-paced, enjoyable read. So I was taken completely off guard (and subsequently triggered) when the last section of the assigned reading was dedicated to describing a character’s past as a child prostitute in fairly significant detail — which had nothing to do with the ostensible themes of the course.

My professor didn’t mention this part

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.

of the book to the class, which implies that such content shouldn’t be a big deal for students, or any deal at all. However, I would argue that it is insensitive and even unfair to require students to read or view such graphic content without warning, then make them discuss it in purely intellectual terms, without recognizing that it may upset some of them.

I realize that disturbing the reader may very well be the author’s aim. However, my point here is that this reaction is not allowed in most academic discourse.

Furthermore, I was most likely not the only person in my class who could have been triggered by that book. According to a report prepared for the National Institute of Justice in 2007, one in five college women are affected by rape and sexual assault. That’s 20 percent — hardly a negligible number.

This number may sound familiar, as it’s one of the many statistics that has been cited in the months since four ex-football players allegedly raped a female student in a dorm over the summer. While Vanderbilt has taken steps to improve resources and programs outside of the classroom, the current style of academic discourse continues to contradict these efforts. We’re supposed to wear Green Dots in the football stadium to protest sexual assault and then discuss that very same topic in class with a poker face, like it doesn’t bother us at all.

But we should be bothered by rape and sexual assault and abuse. In fact, we should be more than bothered, because such things do indeed exist beyond the safe, intellectual environment of book pages and classroom walls (as the summer case so potently reminds us).

It’s time for academia to stop acting like there’s no room in scholarly discourse for our disturbed reactions to rape and sexual assault — because if anything, the exact opposite should be true.

Lengthy letters that focus on an issue affecting students may be considered for a guest column at the editor’s discretion.

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7

Happy (social) mediums Balancing technology and connectivity

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MOLLY CORN is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at molly.e.corn@ vanderbilt.edu.

herever you are on Vanderbilt’s campus, if you look around for a moment, it is pretty likely that you’ll see at least one person check their phone within a 500-foot vicinity.

Of course you’re not surprised: As a generation, I think we’re all pretty aware of how plugged in we are with music, apps and social networks at our fingertips. We’re used to older generations telling us that we’re too plugged in, we don’t know how to communicate in real life and we’re having less face-to-face contact with each other. You might even be reading this on your phone.

None of this is particularly new, but recently three separate projects have shed new light on our media addictions. You might be familiar with the “After I Saw This, I Put Down My Phone And Didn’t Pick It Up For the Rest Of The Day,” or “The Innovation of Loneliness” videos or UNICEF’s Tap Project app which donates a day’s worth of water to a child in need if you can go ten minutes without touching your phone.

The great irony is that these projects all went viral, being shared across the very social media platforms they critique.

I do think that we could all benefit from technology fasts, whether it’s giving up Facebook for Lent or turning your phone off for the weekend.

I personally had my iPhone stolen two weeks into my semester abroad.

Despite the initial panic, I survived

the next four months with no smartphone. I learned to improvise, plan and read maps better. I read books where I might have before listened to music, and I checked my email a little less frequently. While I think it was a valuable experience to be a little less connected for a semester, I was definitely glad to be back when I got a new phone during the holidays.

In spite of everything, I think that our connectivity and social media savvy have positive aspects. While our constant texting and instant messaging may sacrifice some real time authenticity, perhaps our habit of choosing our words carefully in text messages could be expanded to create more respectful debate and cordial conversation in real life. Although most people have far more “friends” online than they can really maintain meaningful connections with, the massive circle of acquaintances and “connections” we maintain gives us many opportunities we wouldn’t have otherwise. Whether it’s visiting the family friend who moved to Berlin eight years ago or being introduced to someone with similar interests by a mutual friend, the possibilities of whom you form close social bonds with are no lon-

ger restricted by geography or lack of contact. Blogs can be used as a way to share interesting moments in your life with family, friends or anyone in the world who might not have the same opportunities as you.

However, some social media, like the infamous Vandy Makeouts Twitter account, brings out the worst of our voyeuristic tendencies, but can also function as a sort of virtual panopticon — modifying people’s behavior as they become aware of being watched, or the possibility of ending up online. Whether this “Big Brother is watching” manner of policing behavior is a good or bad thing is up to you.

Social media has changed how we live in the world, as TV, music and print media all did before. Every young generation has been told that their flouting tradition and new ways would be the downfall of society, and social media is the current incarnation because young people use it with an intuition that cannot be taught to our parents. Despite our parents’ warnings that technology has ruined our communication skills, I’ve seen some of my peers use excellent written and verbal rhetoric in a variety of situations throughout my college career. As with most things, a lack of moderation can be a problem with technology use, but it’s our fault, not our phones’.

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

LIBERTY

2008 D

LIBERTY

TWO CENTS:

2008 D

Compiled by DAVID SHUCK --------------------

1) Are you going to this year’s Rites?

2) Who are you excited about seeing, or would you be were you attending?

3) How does this year’s line-up compare with last year’s?

4) Who would you like to see in the future?

Kion Sawney, Class of 2014: 1) No. I’d rather spend the nice weather some other way.

2) 21 Pilots.

3) Worse: Steve Aoki was really cool 10 years ago. 2 Chainz doesn’t have his own music by himself — he’s only good with other artists. He’ll play a lot of recordings.

4) OutKast.

Jeremy Price, Class of 2016: 1) Yes. 2) 21 Pilots.

3) Much better.

4) My fave, Avenged Sevenfold. Or Pendulum. More rock stuff, like heavy or pop-punk.

Courtney Squires, Class of 2017: 1) Yes. 2) 2 Chainz.

3) I wasn’t here, but better!

4) 2 Chainz. People don’t understand how hard it is to get artists here. I think Vanderbilt should get some credit.

Almaz Mesghina, Class of 2016: 1) No. 2) 2 Chainz.

3) It seems like people are less angry about it.

4) Justin Timberlake, the Lonely Island.

Galeesa Murph, Class of 2016: 1) No. 2) Absolutely no one. 2 Chainz is full of crap.

3) Not exciting. Granted last year’s wasn’t either.

4) Carrie Underwood.

Nikhil Ramaprasad, Class of 2016: 1) Yes. 2) Steve Aoki.

3) It’s much better. I know more groups.

4) Eminem.

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Only one side to genocide Reexamining Andrew Jackson’s legacy ROO GEORGEWARREN

D

GUEST COLUMN

on’t get me started on the goddamn Indians” was the unofficial is a senior in the tagline of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Blair School of Jackson,” which premiered last Music. He can Thursday as the final production of Vanderbe reached at delesslin.e.george- bilt Off-Broadway’s 2013-14 season. The warren@vander- show, which has garnered wild success on bilt.edu. and off Broadway, is a satirical musical by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers that reimagines Andrew Jackson as an emo rockstar.

It’s hilarious, irreverent and catchy — everything required of a successful contemporary musical — and VOB’s realization was the most proficient and engrossing student production I have witnessed during my four years at Vanderbilt. But as an American Indian student and a member of the Catawba Nation, I left the theater troubled.

While the musical never once shies away from Jackson’s part in the genocide and relocation of tribes or his active support of slavery, it also highlights the rebelliousness that made him a popular hero for white Americans during his day. Why do we continue to insist that Jackson’s contributions to the U.S. somehow outweigh or complicate the atrocities he perpetrated against American Indians? Like Jackson, most perpetrators of violence on a Jacksonian scale also contributed to the societies that put them in power.

As the show mentions, many people consider Jackson an “American Hitler,” yet it would be inconceivable to allow Hitler or any other perpetrator of genocide the same luxury of the “complicated” legacy that we afford Andrew Jackson.

The “American Hitler” nickname is certainly the one I encountered most often on my reservation, but I believe equating Jackson to Hitler does more harm than good by obfuscating the specific horrors of both national leaders’ legacies. Still, it’s easy to see where the analogy came from. Andrew Jackson arguably had the largest individual role in the centuries-long genocide of native North Americans. It was a process that began with Christopher Columbus’ 1492 invasion of the island he called Espanola and his 1493 massacre of the island’s inhabitants. Centuries later the newly-formed U.S. government continued this process by unlawfully breaking treaties with tribal nations and killing, relocating and dehumanizing native peoples.

This violent phase in U.S. history reached its terrible height during Andrew Jackson’s large-scale relocation of Southeastern tribes.

After securing most of the land from Indian tribes, the American public grew intolerant of the bloody massacres that had decimated native populations. In response, the U.S. government switched to a strategy of assimilation by dictating all aspects of tribal life and re-educating native youth at Indian boarding schools — a strategy that still haunts many native people today.

My great-grandfather was one of the victims of this forced re-education program.

It was through physical and psychological abuse at the Haskell Institute that he learned

‘‘

Why do we continue to insist that Jackson’s contributions to the U.S. somehow outweigh or complicate the atrocities he perpetrated against American Indians?

’’

English, lost his native tongue and learned that the “Catawba way” was the wrong way.

It is against this history of violence and oppression that Native Americans exist today — an existence marred by disease, substance abuse, sexual violence, low graduation rates, low life expectancy and the highest rates of teen suicide.

Words and images matter: They are how we affirm to ourselves and broadcast to others what we believe and care about. So why do we continue to honor a man who had a significant part in this bloody legacy? What does it say to the world that wallets across the country contain $20 paper murals to Andrew Jackson, portraits of him adorn government buildings across the U.S., and thousands of visitors journey to The Hermitage every year to learn about his “rich life.” Yet we still have no memorials to his victims except for a few signs along the Trail of Tears. We pretend that the destruction of American Indian societies was a footnote to our history instead of the main mechanism by which the U.S. and its predecessors attained land and expanded territory.

American Indians aren’t simply ignored by our culture; they are actively ridiculed by racist and demeaning stereotypes. Even VOB’s production of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” relies on redface throughout: In almost every scene featuring “native” characters, the actors were dressed in cartoonish headdresses, feather headbands and buckskin shawls. These sorts of costumes can be seen at practically any Halloween party or Cleveland Chiefs game worn by people who remain ignorant of what these images signify and the bloody history they obscure.

Growing up on a reservation, I was educated in traditions that are devalued by mainstream representations of Indians. Those images do nothing to honor people like my grandfather, who fought for my tribe’s treaty rights throughout his entire adult life, or my Great Aunt Evelyn, who dedicated her life to preserving our pottery tradition that survived almost 500 years of famine, disease and violence. When will mainstream representations of native people stop mythologizing our past and ignoring our present? When will we stop honoring Andrew Jackson and start remembering those people and nations who, despite all odds, survived him?

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life Alumni Spotlight: From Vanderbilt to Rolling Stone GO DO

THIS

By SARAH VOLLMAN Life reporter --------------------

Rolling Stone writer and cofounder of Rolling Stone Country Beville Dunkerley, Vanderbilt Class of 1997, returned to campus on Saturday to speak at StamJam, a concert hosted by Stambaugh House. Dunkerley spoke with The Hustler about her work at Rolling Stone and her path to country music after graduating from Vanderbilt.

Growing up listening to bands like Bon Jovi and Skid Row, Dunkerley was never much of a country music fan, but that seemed to change when she came to school in Nashville.

“Even growing up in Alabama I didn’t like country music, but going to school in Nashville and being surrounded by the country music scene, I developed an appreciation for it. I would have never thought in a million years that I’d be working in the country music industry but it’s funny how things happen,” Dunkerley said.

Living in Nashville and frequently freelancing for Rolling Stone, Dunkerley was hired as a staff writer before she was asked to help found Rolling Stone Country, the magazine’s country music sister site that is scheduled to be up and running in 2014. “[Rolling Stone’s] commitment to country music has surprised me in such a wonderful way,” Dunkerley said. “Although it does make a lot of sense because country music is actually making money while other genres are losing money, but it really surprised me that they would take such a leap and make such a big commitment to Nashville.”

Dunkerley has always been drawn to the

Harmonic Notion Spring Concert

On Monday, April 14, the a capella group Harmonic Notion will have its first-ever full-length spring concert at 8 p.m. in Sarratt Cinema. The group will be performing songs by Bon Iver, Walk the Moon and more.

The free event will also include an intermission performance by Nach Vandy, Vanderbilt’s Bollywood fusion dance team.

magazine’s pure focus on the music, regardless of genre.

“I love that Rolling Stone is for music geeks.

They’re all about the music and the stories behind the music, not so much the tabloid aspect of celebrity,” Dunkerley said. “For example, when I interview Keith Urban, I’m going to interview him on his guitar collection and not about how he wooed Nicole Kidman.”

Dunkerley finds that by not focusing on the private lives of the singers, the interviews tend to be comfortable and meaningful.

“The artists appreciate that you care about the production of the music because they put so much of their heart and soul into their music, so that’s what they want to talk about,” Dunkerley said.

Talking to country’s royalty has led to some pretty interesting encounters for Dunkerley.

“My favorite story I’ve written is when I interviewed Dolly Parton for the first time because she writes the story for you,” Dunkerley said. “She is full of one-liners and quips and funny anecdotes, and she’s one of the loveliest human beings you will ever meet.”

Dunkerley acknowledges the role that Vanderbilt played in leading her to her career in music journalism today. An HOD major and Communications minor, she completed her HOD internship senior year at Channel 5, the CBS affiliate here in Nashville.

“It’s so important to pick an internship that you can see yourself working at after college,” Dunkerley said. “I fell in love with entertainment news while I was working at Channel 5.”

After graduation, Dunkerley was hired as an associate producer for Channel 5, working the “vampire shift” from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. until finally working her way up to weekends and

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Beville Dunkerly, founder of Rolling Stone Country, speaks at StamJam concert Saturday. later weekdays.

“I absolutely loved it. The rush of a deadline was just so cool to me. I would have never pursued that job if Vanderbilt hadn’t helped me pursue that internship,” Dunkerley said.

From Channel 5, she went on to work a job in radio at WSM-FM and WWTN, leaving for New York City when WSM-FM was sold.

“As any rational Vanderbilt grad would do, I moved to New York City — without a job,” Dunkerley said. “But that’s where I ended up finding a job with AOL.” While in New York City, Dunkerley co-founded two websites for AOL: Spinner, a rock site,

and The Boot, a country site — marking the beginning of her serious country coverage.

For any Vanderbilt students aspiring to work in entertainment, Dunkerley has a word of advice.

“Don’t be afraid to knock on doors,” Dunkerley said. “A lot of the entertainment industry in this town is who you know. And if you’re not from Nashville that’s really hard, so you have to immerse yourself in events and get to know people. A lot of times your resume doesn’t get you a job; it’s your face — meaning a familiar face gets you the job.”

A look at Nashville’s first izakaya: Two Ten Jack

By KELLY HALOM Life reporter --------------------

Although the ramen trend first hit big cities like New York and Los Angeles years ago and serviced foodies in towns like Portland and Austin soon after, Nashville’s first ramen house began serving up noodles early this spring at the widely anticipated Two Ten Jack. Inspired by the typical Japanese neighborhood pub, or izakaya, Two Ten Jack’s menu delivers everything from sushi to Japanese-inspired pub food that incorporates local, Southern ingredients.

Though the new shop — situated in East Nashville by The Silly Goose and Jeni’s — touts itself as a ramen house, the strength of its menu also lies in its small plates and cocktails.

Two Ten Jack’s drink menu is extensive, with

everything from shochu (a Japanese alcohol), bourbon & spice beer, house cocktails, wine, sake and various beers on tap. Apart from its lengthy draft selection, Two Ten Jack lists 10 reserve cocktails, each complex and distinct. A fan favorite at our table was the “dutch on the run,” made from Batavia Arrack van Oosten, coconut cream, lime, cardamom, rose water and nutmeg. Though the drinks can be a bit pricy, the bang is worth the buck. You might only need one to feel pretty good for the rest of the evening.

Though the main attraction is the ramen, Two Ten Jack also features a variety of other items including other noodle dishes, yakitori (skewers and grilled items), sushi and salads.

These dishes are delicious, but Two Ten Jack finds its niche in its small plates and ramen.

Described as a “hush puppy” on the menu, the

takoyaki, filled with octopus and an array of other ingredients, is hot, melty, savory perfection. The Australian wagyu short rib is tender and succulent with a smoky sauce that is divine.

Last but certainly not least, ordering ramen delivers noodle soup to warm your soul on a cold day. The menu only offers three choices — pork, chicken and vegetable — nevertheless each one delivers subtle flavors that will leave you wanting more. If you want to add a little spice to your broth, Sriracha and chili oil are available upon request.

Two Ten Jack’s space fits the pub style well, with a large bar in the center of the restaurant, booths surrounding it, and small tables and community tables filling the rest of the area.

The exposed kitchen adds to the cozy vibe, as smells of the dishes waft throughout the restaurant.

Two Ten Jack is open Monday through Saturday. The bar opens at 4 p.m., and the kitchen is open 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

Small plates: $6-14 Cocktails: $9-12 Ramen: $12-14 Yakitori: $4-8

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‘Mighty Orphan Power Rangers’ improv show debuts at Bongo Java

By KELLY HALOM Life reporter --------------------

Atop Nashville’s oldest coffee shop on Saturday night, in the Bongo After Hours Theatre, sat nearly 30 people — mostly Vanderbilt students — laughing raucously at the Mighty Orphan Power Rangers. The comedic duo of Vanderbilt seniors Dan King and Peter Linck gave its debut performance this past weekend, delivering both long-form improv as well as semiscripted sketch comedy.

An intimate venue that seats only about 40 maximum, Bongo After Hours Theatre has a history of providing space for Vanderbilt students, including comedian Zhubin Parang, one of the earliest Tongue ‘N Cheek members, who now writes for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

Parang and other TNC alumni met with current members over Homecoming weekend to share their advice on all things comedy, offering motivation to members to pursue their comedy wholeheartedly.

“A lot of what they told us was along the lines of ‘Alright, you know what you like to do: it’s comedy stuff. Now go out there and make opportunities for yourself to do that,’” King said.

Both King and Linck took that notion to heart, seeking out Bongo Java as a place for them to showcase their improv.

Their 90-minute show included both long-form improv and semi-scripted sketch comedy, a departure from the

short-form work the two do with Tongue ‘N Cheek.

In the long-form first half, King and Linck jumped from scene to scene in a montage format, with interspersed monologues and standup throughout. Though some versions of long form can be fairly directed, King and Linck merely flowed from scene to scene.

“Ours was a lot more free-form. Whatever we see, just follow it,” King said.

That free form left room for a lot of interesting bits, from obsolete lugers begging for change to commentary on social media’s role in today’s dating relationships.

While the second half of the show was sketch comedy, King and Linck prepared by acting out ideas repeatedly and critiquing them, but never actually scripting them out.

“For nothing did we actually sit down and write out a script. It was we know where we want to be, who we want to be, what we want to be doing and then we would know certain beats that we want to hit,” King said.

Though it may seem like the duo comes up with everything on the spot, a lot of practice went into the performance.

“We spent so many hours of just us in a classroom or some random room and we are putting on a show for no one. We do it all the way through and then we talk about what we liked and didn’t like,” King said. “It’s just us and it’s dead silent.”

Having worked together through Spoken Word, TNC and even “The Slant,” the

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Peter Linck (left) and Dan King (right) debut their improv duo “Mighty Orphan Power Rangers” at Bongo After Hours Theatre. two have built a relationship that lends itself to improv.

“A lot of people say that improv isn’t standing up there and making jokes per se — what you really want to do is make a relationship and discover things about each other, and the audience likes to see you discover stuff and go on an adventure,” Linck said.

But no matter how much practice goes into the show, there is always the risk of

the failed joke. And unlike TNC, the two have only each other to rely on.

“There’s nowhere to hide, so we got to make something between the two of us,” King said.

Mighty Orphan Power Rangers has two upcoming shows in Nashville. The first is Saturday, April 26, 8 p.m. at Cafe Coco, and the second is Wednesday, May 7 at 7 p.m. at Bongo After Hours Theatre.

Despite strong performances, ‘Bloody Bloody’ suffers from weak script

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

To be clear: “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” is not a musical about President Andrew Jackson as a historical figure. Performed by Vanderbilt Off-Broadway at Sarratt Cinema, the musical merely rushes its audience through the biographical details of Jackson’s life — the story of how he became an orphan, his marriage to a woman already married to someone else, his elections and his time in Washington — not giving the audience too much time to reflect on any of it.

“Bloody Bloody” is a production most heavily concerned with providing social and political commentary on the Jackson Era. The piece finds fault with Jackson’s style of populism as well as his treatment of Native Americans, providing satire that remains relevant to our country’s political state today. The musical ultimately presents the audience with a version of the president as a misguided, myopic adolescent who carries his entitlement — and his James Dean-inspired wardrobe of tight jeans and a white t-shirt — into his adult years, bemoaning his responsibilities.

A sympathetic character Jackson is not, and Connor Henderson portrayed his shallowness successfully. Henderson sang his way admirably through a variety of musical numbers, but despite his impressive voice, the songs were mostly unmemorable as they were oddly short and not particularly catchy.

Even Maddi Brown’s lamenting solo as Jackson’s wife Rachel fell short of being poignant due to its brevity in the musical. Though her voice was very strong, the moment seemed cut short in the musical.

From the slew of minor characters, Michael Greshko and Jonathan Larson especially stood out with their flamboyant performances, enhanced by Henry Clay’s (played by Greshko) ridiculous white fur coat.

Despite the cast’s best efforts, “Bloody Bloody” felt much longer than its 90 minutes because of the narrative incoherence especially apparent in the second act. Its real problems stemmed from the script. Rather than seeing Jackson’s developmental arc, his character was particularly linear, with an out-of-character incline in the last 20 minutes. Though Jackson was static for most of the musical, his self-reflection over the death of his wife and governance over the native population in the second act of the musical seemed out of place.

As a satire, “Bloody Bloody’s” political perceptiveness and timely commentary on populism and democracy came at the cost of its ability to really engage the audience. As another cathartic rock musical that deals with adolescent angst in the 19th century, the show makes for an easy and unfavorable comparison to “Spring Awakening,” the truly memorable

rock musical performed by VOB last spring.

“Bloody Bloody” remained satirically shallow whereas “Spring Awakening” succeeded in really captivating the audience. Unfortunately, VOB’s final musical of the semester failed to live up to the high standard set by last year’s performance.

COURTESY OF ADAM RAHMANI

Vanderbilt Off-Broadway performed “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” this weekend. Connor Henderson (front) played Andrew Jackson.

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sports

THE BIG STAT Number of days until the first football game of the season.

Vanderbilt will be taking on Temple at home on Aug. 28.

141

BRING ON THE SPRING

By BEN WEINRIB

Quarterback Johnny McCrary (left) and Patton Robinette will be splitting snaps at quarterback, although they play very different styles. Robinette, a sophomore, currently has an edge in terms of knowing the playbook, although he doesn’t have ideal arm strength for Dorrell’s offense, which features plenty of downfield passes.

The redshirt freshman McCrary is more athletic with a very strong arm, but he needs to get a better grasp of the offense if he wants to become a starter. McCrary should be fun to watch since he’s such a playmaker, although he can run into trouble when he trusts his arm too much and forces passes into tight coverage.

Asst. sports editor --------------------

Vanderbilt football is wrapping up spring practice with its annual Black & Gold Spring Game on Saturday, giving an opportunity for fans to look at young players and the new coaching staff’s scheme.

The big change to this year’s Spring Game is that it will pit offense against the defense instead of the regular split squad scrimmage. The main reason behind that change is that because the schemes on offense and defense are changing drastically, but the team also lacks depth right now due to injuries.

Kyle Woestmann, Kris Kentera, Josh Grady, Andrew Bridges, Stephen Weatherly, Derek King and DeAndre Woods will all miss the game because of various injuries, leaving the Commodores with just five scholarship wide receivers, four outside linebackers and nine offensive linemen.

In terms of schemes, there’s a lot changing on both sides of the ball.

New offensive coordinator Karl Dorrell runs a West Coast offense, which is much different than former offensive coordinator John Donovan’s multiple set offense. The big difference is that Dorrell’s offense will focus more on passing than establishing the run.

It features tight ends and running backs playing a bigger role in the receiving game.

The more drastic change is on defense, where head coach Derek Mason uses a 3-4 scheme. This change has shifted all the defensive ends to outside linebackers and allows the defense to better cloak its blitzes.

But because the players are still adjusting to the new systems, the most intriguing aspect of the Spring Game is getting to see the young players who didn’t get a chance to play last year. The 20 redshirt freshmen on roster come from the best recruiting class in Vanderbilt history — ranked 19th in the nation according to Rivals.com.

What follows is a position-byposition breakdown of who to look out for in Saturday’s game with input from several talent evaluators close to Vanderbilt:

Running back Last year’s starter Jerron Seymour has been injured for parts of spring practice, although he will play in the Spring Game, but two of the other running backs have stepped up in the mean time. Redshirt freshman Ralph Webb has impressed thus far in practice — enough so that he’ll probably play a significant role in the fall — but Brian Kimbrow has taken a big step up from last season. This coaching staff will mostly run between the tackles, but Kimbrow has been used on sweeps more than the other backs have, which allows him to show off his speed. Kimbrow also appears to running more aggressively and initiating more contact than he was last year, which would be nice if he becomes the feature back.

PHOTOS BY VANDERBILT CREATIVE SERVICE PHOTOGRAPHY

Wide receiver With Kris Kentera missing the Spring Game, the wide receiver corps consists of just senior Trey Wilkins and five Class of 2013 recruits. But although they lack experience, this group has several interesting players. Jordan Cunningham was the team’s third leading wide receiver last year, and Latevius Rayford is an explosive athlete but didn’t have much production last year because of injuries and shaky route running.

Another very intriguing name is C.J. Duncan (right), who played quarterback in high school and was listed as an athlete last year. Duncan has impressed this spring in practice, although his hands need to get better.

Tight end Steven Scheu was very solid last year and will be an integral part of the young receiving corps. Dorrell likes to use multiple tight end formations, so look out for a trio of freshman tight ends: Mitch Parsons, Mack Weaver and Nathan Marcus.

Parsons was the most highly-recruited, but because he didn’t come to school until the spring semester, he’s a bit behind the eightball. Weaver is a huge target as a former defensive end at 6-5, 260 pounds, but he’s very raw. That could open up things for Marcus step up, especially at this point in the off-season.

Offensive line Even without First-Team All-SEC left tackle Wesley Johnson, the offensive line will be one of the biggest strengths of the team. Sophomore Andrew Jelks will shift over to replace Johnson and should soon be the best lineman on the team. Otherwise the offensive line will look the same with the entire line starting at least nine games last year other than Andrew Bridges, who started the first three games of the season before the injury bug bit him. One young player to watch is Delando Crooks, the heaviest lineman on the team at 315 pounds, who may push for a starting job at either left or right guard if he improves his handwork.

Defensive line Because Mason shifted all the defensive ends to outside linebacker, there are currently only six defensive linemen on the roster. That number should expand to as much as eleven once the incoming freshmen get to campus in June. It looks like Vince Taylor will be starting at nose tackle with Adam Butler and Barron Dixon flanking him as the other two defensive linemen, but perhaps the most interesting name is Jay Woods. The redshirt freshman is the most athletic and explosive lineman on the team and could be starting at defensive end by the end of the season.

Keeping score This weekend's spring game features a new scoring system that pits offense against defense.

Points Offensive play 6 Touchdown 3 Field goal 2 2-Point conversion 1 Extra point 1 Play of 15 yards or

more Points Defensive play 12 Defensive TD (TD +

turnover)

Defensive turnover

(fumble or INT) 3 Missed field goal 2 Unsuccessful 2-point

conversion 1 Sack 1 Three-and-out Outside linebacker Mason often uses his outside linebackers as fourth and fifth defensive linemen, which works well with this team since all the outside linebackers are former linemen.

Caleb Azubike has looked good in practice since his leg injury against Kentucky, and he even looks like he’s trimmed some weight so that he can be more mobile when he drops back into coverage. Redshirt freshmen Landon Stokes (left, 99) and Jonathan Wynn (left, 49) have both been quick to pick up Mason’s new defense, and at 6-4, 235 pounds and 6-4, 238 pounds respectively, they should both make large impacts next season.

Inside linebacker Darreon Herring is a lock to start, but then things get interesting. Fellow junior Jake Sealand saw plenty of playing time, but redshirt freshman and former four-star Nigel Bowden should push Sealand for a starting role. Sealand has been quicker to adjust to the new defense; however, Bowden is much more athletic.

Redshirt freshman Zach Cunningham is another intriguing player to watch, although he still needs to add 10 to 15 pounds to his frame.

Defensive back Vanderbilt will have to replace its entire secondary, but the team still has plenty of experience and talent. Sophomores Torren McGaster and Paris Head should both get starting roles, although Head may shift to safety after playing cornerback last year.

Tre’ Bell (right) may be one of the best players in the redshirt freshman class with long arms and a knack for making plays on the ball. Oren Burks is another player to watch, and he’ll be playing a hybrid linebacker-safety position, similar to what Karl Butler has played recently.

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Vanderbilt stars take mound in the big leagues

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

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By JOSH HAMBURGER Sports writer --------------------

David Price David Price looked sharp as the Tampa Bay Rays’ starting ace in a coveted opening day matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays’ RA Dickey. Earning the win in dominant team fashion, Price pitched 7.1 innings, allowing just six hits and two runs, which came in his final inning of play on a two-run home run. He was in clear control of the ball from start to finish, walking just one batter and retiring the first six batters of the game in only 20 pitches.

Sonny Gray

In Sonny Gray’s first career Opening Day start, he proved his worthiness as the Oakland Athletics’ ace, pitching six shutout innings against the Cleveland Indians. He struggled early with command with a 29-pitch first inning. However, Gray quickly overcame new-season jitters, allowing just five hits and three walks, while striking out seven. In the sixth inning, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a hard grounder that deflected off of Gray’s ankle; however, he remained in the game.

In the end, Gray recorded a no-decision, after the Indians broke the scoreless game in the ninth inning.

KENT NISHIMURA / TAMPA BAY TIMES/MCT

ARIC CRABB / BAY AREA NEWS GROUP/MCT

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

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Finding a bit of southern comfort Junior AJ Austin has found his place playing college tennis. Now he aims to build on his Vanderbilt career and break the national Top 5.

AJ Austin and the men’s tennis team takes on the Michigan State Spartans on Jan. 20, 2013.

By MATT CITAK Sports writer --------------------

Gonzalez Austin did not play on your ordinary tennis court. Growing up in South Orange, N.J., Austin — commonly known as AJ — was forced to begin his career on a public, run down court. When he started playing tennis at age 2, his family was dealing with financial difficulties, so the aged courts were the only ones he knew.

“At the time I didn’t really understand it, but when I went back there, I saw it was a pretty rough area. It’s pretty funny to take a look back at it 10 years later,” Austin said.

A few years into Austin’s tennis career, his family moved down to Miami, Fla., where Austin entered the local public school system until seventh grade. It was then that he had a life-altering encounter.

“I met this really, really generous family when I was 12 or 13, and they helped me get into this really great private school in Miami,

which you know my parents couldn’t really afford it. I didn’t even think of it as a real option before then,” Austin said.

The generosity of this family did not end with just Austin’s education; they also helped financially support his interest in tennis, covering training, travel expenses and more.

“I definitely would not be at Vanderbilt today if it weren’t for them,” he said. “A lot of my development as a tennis player and a student really … they were a big part of that.”

The family continued to support Austin as he climbed amateur rankings. After winning a national championship at the age of 16, Austin decided to play tennis full time.

He stopped going to high school in favor of home schooling. However, he regretted the decision. While he enjoyed getting to practice every day, being homeschooled did not give him the opportunity to spend time with his friends. After a year at home, Austin joined the IMG Tennis Academy for his senior year.

It soon became apparent that the Academy had many of the same flaws as home schooling. Instead of driving to a friend’s house after a school day, with a busy schedule Austin was forced to return to his dorm room alone. When he was not playing tennis, he was in his dorm doing schoolwork.

“Overall it was not a fun experience, so I decided that I wasn’t going to go pro right after high school and I ended up at Vanderbilt,” Austin said.

In the long run, his time at IMG actually hindered his development, according to Austin. While the academy provided him with amazing training, he found it difficult to become successful at something when he was unhappy.

“I don’t think you can get better if you’re not happy where you are, and I feel like my game now is so much a product of the coaching staff here at Vanderbilt and playing college tennis,” Austin said.

Austin has transformed his game and is now the No. 17 men’s tennis player in the

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country. Coming into college, he had no expectations of where his tennis career could take him. In fact, he had absolutely no plans on becoming a professional tennis player during his freshmen year. It was not until he started winning more and more matches that he realized becoming a professional tennis player was an attainable goal. Currently, Austin and teammate Ryan Lipman form the No. 4 doubles team in the country.

“I feel like this is the year that I can emerge as one of the top five players in the country. At the end of the fall I was ranked ninth, and I feel like this is definitely the year I can make the big push into the top five,” Austin said.

While making it into the top five would be an accomplishment for the player who began his career on the broken courts of South Orange, N.J., the biggest goal of all is one he shares with his teammates, along with the rest of the Vanderbilt community, and that is a new SEC championship banner hanging in the Currey Tennis Center next fall.

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SPORTS

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3 Up, 3 Down vs. No. 21 Tennessee The Commodores took on the Volunteers, losing their second series of the season and dropping to a 6-6 record in conference play. Here’s a recap of the weekend.

3 UP Conde on fire Vince Conde was a nightmare for Volunteer pitching, racking up seven hits in 13 plate appearances. The junior shortstop’s weekend included a career best 4-5 performance on Saturday that was highlighted by a deep home run off the batter’s eye in straightaway center field. The Commodore slugger also drove in four of the team’s 15 runs in the series, raising his batting average above .350 in the process.

Beede bounces back When Vanderbilt ace Tyler Beede gave up a three-run double in the bottom of the first, it appeared as if he might have been headed for a second rough outing after his past three starts. Beede then proved why he is the Commodores’ top starter, giving up just two hits over the next seven innings. When the righty exited after the longest outing of his career, he handed the ball straight to closer Carson Fulmer to seal a 6-4 victory.

Stone rocks

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First baseman Zander Wiel (above) jammed his elbow in Saturday’s game against Tennessee. Wiel did not play for the rest of the series, or in Tuesday night’s game against Indiana State.

There weren’t many bright spots on the mound this weekend for the Commodores, but freshman Hayden Stone was certainly one of them. Stone came in to relieve Jared Miller on Saturday and, after struggling with command in the first, he pitched three more innings of shutout baseball.

Stone struck out two Vols and was in line for the win until Fulmer blew his first save of the season.

By PATRICK GIVENS Sports writer --------------------

3 DOWN Injury bug The Commodores lost more than the game in Saturday’s 10-9 walk-off defeat with infielders Zander Wiel and Xavier Turner along with freshman catcher Jason Delay all suffering injuries. Wiel appeared to jam his elbow in the bottom of the third attempting to field a wild throw from pitcher Jared Miller, and Turner was hit in the head late in the game.

There is no word on the extent of any of the injuries.

Pitching woes

Commodore starters Jared Miller and Tyler Ferguson suffered through short outings on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Miller was twice spotted three-run leads, but he couldn’t get out of what turned out to be a disastrous six-run third inning for the Vols. Ferguson gave up seven runs (five earned) in only 4.1 innings of work on Sunday, easily his highest total of the season.

Miscues galore

Vanderbilt had an uncharacteristically poor weekend on the field. The Commodores committed seven errors and threw seven wild pitches, leading to eight unearned Volunteer runs.

On Saturday, Vanderbilt pitchers were twice given automatic balls for touching their mouth before executing a pitch, the latter of which put the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth. Catcher Chris Harvey was called twice for catcher’s interference on Sunday as well, giving the Vols two free base runners.

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