4/3/2008 - Belmont Vision

Transcription

www.belmontvision.com
Eric Volz
challenges
news media
to be fair,
ethical
The student newspaper of Belmont University
Vol. 57, No. 10
April 3, 2008
So close, so very, very close
By Courtney Drake
EDITOR
Nashvillian Eric Volz, freed by a Nicaraguan
appellate court a year after he was convicted for the
murder of his former girlfriend, now reflects on the
media coverage of his case.
“I had no idea how far they would be willing to
go,” Volz said in an interview with Vision staffers
after he spoke to a Belmont media ethics class. The
Nicaraguan media, he said, launched a campaign
against him, calling him a “gringo murderer” even
after the court overturned his 30-year sentence.
According to a video on his MySpace page,
www.myspace.com/freeericvolz, Nicaraguan media
reported with a “fierce anti-American sentiment,”
using headlines such as “North American detained for
horrendous murder” and “What crown does Volz
have?” to rally support against him.
He even noticed a problem with the American
media, saying they wanted to
get the story quickly and easily, which ended in a “shallow” report. “We don’t get
objective and fair information
as a result,” he said.
Volz went on to explain
how his experience with
media has made him wary of
what he sees now.
“When I see stories, it’s a
Volz
lot harder for me to trust what
I see,” he said, coomenting
that he couldn’t believe the
Additional
recent story regarding New
stories,
York’s former governor, Eliot
page 4
Spitzer and the prostitution
scandal that forced him to
resign.
“I think that media is run by corporate interest,”
Volz said, which makes coverage too controlled and
even biased. And, he believes, it’s up to the individual
journalist to stop it.
“Media leaders need to be ethically motivated …
it’s a matter of the heart,” he concluded.
But media consumers can help combat this corruption of media, too. Volz advised the audience to
establish a trusted news source, check facts, cross-reference and write letters to editors.
“People listen to that, editors listen to that, because
you’re their public,” he said.
PHOTO BY CHRIS SPEED
The Belmont Bruins played hard in their third visit to the “Big Dance,” leaving them one point away
from pulling off the upset against Duke University. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AND STORY, PAGES 10-11.
Klay Kelley next SGA president
By Adaeze Elechi
MANAGING EDITOR/FEATURES
After days of campaigning, junior Klay Kelley emerged
as Belmont University’s 2008-2009 student body president.
"I appreciate the support of the student body during this
year's election,” Kelley said. “I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, and I am committed to bettering this
community to the best of my abilities.”
Kelley, who has been in the Student Government
Association since his freshman year, has already laid out
plans for the coming academic year, intending to keep the
students’ best interest in the forefront.
“As president, I intend to increase communication
between university leadership and the student body. It is my
goal to make sure that the students' voices are heard and
their concerns are addressed.”
Rising junior Wesley Rainer will be SGA’s vice-president. This year’s election was the first in which presidential
and vice-presidential candidates ran together on one ticket.
SGA Congress elections also took place. The following
students were elected to serve next year: Megan Adams,
Brittany Bartley, Kara Bellenfant, Catherine Canlas,
Spencer Carter, John-Michael Criswell, Eric S. Deems,
Tracy Goldenberg, David Grizzell, Ameshia Cross, Travis
Harvey, Christina Inman, Amy Kadish, Daniel R. King Jr.,
Sarah Mitchell, Zachary Moore, Annie Musacchio, Allison
Pellicciotti, James Ridley, Katherine Rote, Hayley Rose,
Tyler Schlandt, George Scoville, Margaret Shehan, George
Shifflett, Spence Tomlinson, January Utermahlen, Melissa
Wheatley, Allie White, Robert Woolsey and Adam Zinke.
Page 2
The Belmont Vision, April 3, 2008
Feelings mixed on CMT awards
By Jennifer Bauder
STAFF WRITER
Once again, the CMT Awards are being held at Belmont
University’s Curb Event Center. While the event brings yearly concerns about parking and building access for students, it
also brings opportunities for student participation.
Students who experienced the changes on campus during
the awards in previous years felt the impact of areas restricted for event use; Grace Wilson, a 20-year-old junior, recalled
that the “parking is insane,” and Ashley Weyhmeyer, a 22year-old senior, remembered that “for those students not
involved, it was a little intrusive, and I kind of felt like I was
being a nuisance in my own territory.” Weyhmeyer also
added that “it was a little annoying that throughout the day
students were not allowed in certain areas of our own campus
(which we kind of pay a lot for).”
However, despite the inconvenience that the awards show
inevitably seems to bring, both students were quick to point
out that they realized the show brought opportunities to
Belmont students. Wilson took advantage of the free wristband passes to attend the show in 2006 and enjoys Belmont
hosting the awards. Her experience was a good one.
“Being in that environment is exciting. There is so much
effort that goes into a four-hour show; it amazes me, the
technology. I would do it all again,” Wilson said.
Even Weyhmeyer saw pluses in hosting the awards. “It
probably looks good for connections in the music industry if
we hold big events. It also gives us opportunities to be
involved in the entertainment industry,” she said.
Ron Jackson, general manager of the Curb Event Center,
is aware of the concerns about parking and building restrictions.
“We are accommodating as much as we can be. There is
really only one day students are affected. Unfortunately, it’s
the cost of doing business,“ Jackson said.
He pointed out what he considers to be “intangible” benefits of having events like this and others that draw national
attention:
-Students work on the show.
-Rental revenue from CMT that goes back to the general
fund of the college.
-National exposure creates relationships in the city and the
United States as the NCAA Tournament has and the 2008
presidential debate will.
Finally, Jackson had this to say: “We don’t exist in a vacuum. It’s important for us in the city to have relationships in
the city with corporations like CMT or Healthways.”
Check BIC for updates on building and road closures.
Neighbors still oppose Rose Park complex
By Liz Hunton
SENIOR WRITER
The Organized Neighbors of Edgehill are challenging the Nashville Metro Council’s decision to allow Belmont to renovate Rose Park.
A hearing on March 28 aimed to dismiss ONE’s attempt to appeal the Metro Council’s
decision to approve the lease between Belmont and the Metro Board of Parks and Recreation
before it goes to trial, said Jason Rogers, vice president for administration and university
counsel.
Although Rogers doesn’t know when he will know the results of the hearing, he thinks it
went well. “We are expecting a favorable ruling.”
“We have joined in supporting Metro,” Rogers said. Belmont was present at the hearing to
support Metro’s decision.
Edgehill, a neighborhood that has faced all sorts of outside development, has been fighting
against expansion of areas like Music Row and the Gulch and institutions including
Vanderbilt University and now Belmont since the 1960s.
The problems with ONE began when Belmont proposed to renovate Rose Park, which is
wedged between Carter Lawrence Elementary School and Rose Park Middle School, in
January of 2006. Many residents feared that Belmont would take over the park.
Members of ONE voiced concerns throughout the following year concerning student safety and neighborhood use of the park, but the Metro Board of Parks approved Belmont’s plan
to upgrade the park and use it jointly with the neighborhood.
Belmont’s proposed renovations include baseball, softball, soccer and track fields (which
meet NCAA Division I standards), additional parking, locker rooms, rest rooms and concessions, all of which will cost about $7 million.
Metro approved Belmont’s plans in August of 2007.
While Belmont’s proposed development is said to be just as much for the neighborhood as
it is the university, many neighbors are doubtful and are trying to overturn Metro Council’s
decision to approve Belmont’s lease.
Construction is set to begin this summer. “The timing of the ruling and whether there is an
appeal will affect the decision about when construction starts,” Rogers said.
But Rogers is confident the case will be dismissed. “The legal standard for overturning a
decision is very difficult,” he said, “For that reason we are very confident that the decision
will be upheld by the court.”
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Page 3
Page 4
A life-changing experience
Eric Volz embraces freedom after harrowing imprisonment
By Melanie Bengtson
MANAGING EDITOR/NEWS
The relationship between the United States and Nicaragua has been tumultuous, often
more strained than strong. Anti-American sentiment is prominent on the streets of Nicaragua,
a country in Latin America with a landmass slightly smaller than New York state.
When Eric Volz found himself locked in a Nicaraguan prison and accused of murdering
his ex-girlfriend, being an American added challenges to his trial. The Nicaraguan press
played upon the anti-American feelings of the public, and
they responded with riots and death threats, among other
“I was set up...it
things.
was an effort to
Volz doubts that his initial conviction was based on his
nationality.
protect the iden“I was set up,” he said. “It didn’t have anything to do with
tity of the main
the fact that I was an American citizen as much as it was an
effort to protect the identity of the main perpetrator of Doris’
perpetrator of
murder.”
Still, American officials in Nicaragua had to balance help- Doris’ murder.”
ing Volz with the difficult relationship the U.S. already has
Eric Volz
with the country. Officials at the embassy “had to be very
careful,” Volz said.
The United States has a long history of intervention in Nicaragua. In 1856 an American
named William Walker took over Nicaragua. Though his presidency did not last long,
American forces returned to Nicaragua in 1909 to support a resistance movement against the
current president. American troops stayed in Nicaragua until 1933 (with a brief exodus for a
few months in 1925). The Sandinista National Liberation Front took control of the country at
that point, causing a break in all relations with the US.
Relations remained mildly strained until the Reagan administration, when Reagan cut off
aid to Nicaragua and imposed a trade embargo. In 1990, Nicaraguans elected a nonSandinista president. The U.S. and Nicaragua began a new era of stronger cooperation, until
2006, when a Sandinista candidate, Daniel Ortega, was elected as president. Ortega has pursued an anti-U.S. agenda and has allied himself with Chavez of Venezuela, creating tension
with the United States.
PHOTO BY LANCE CONZETT
Nashvillian Eric Volz visited a media ethics class at Belmont to discuss the lack
of ethics that surrounded coverage of his case and take questions from members of the class.
Volz says he holds no resentment toward Nicaragua
By Adaeze Elechi
Some may expect a year in Tipitapa, the maximum security prison just outside Managua, Nicaragua, would turn a person sour. But for Eric Volz, the reverse is the case.
“I don’t have any anger or resentment,” said Volz in an
interview with the Belmont Vision.
Even before the Nashville-native was convicted of a murder that evidence and alibis say he did not commit, the
Nicaraguan media began labeling him a murderer. The country’s sensational media painted him as someone who was in
Nicaragua, not to help make the country a better place, but to
steal and strip their culture as they stereotyped “gringos” as
doing.
But the American media, which began reporting the story
after he was convicted, didn’t do much better in the way of
giving an honest portrayal of him and his situation.
Volz said the American media painted him as the adven-
turous surfer kid caught up in a romantic tragedy, which,
according to him, was not accurate.
Volz’s friends and family formed a support team that
raised awareness about his situation, which, in turn got people taking action to raise money and even more awareness.
People who normally wouldn’t be connected worked together
for the success of his case.
After more than a year’s worth of tangoing between
Volz’s support team, the American media and the
Nicaraguan Appellate Court, Volz was released from prison
Dec. 21, 2007. He was then deported to the United States by
the executive arm of the Nicaraguan government.
Volz has been affected by his severance from the country
in which he invested his passion and years of his life, both as
an American adventurer who enjoyed the surf and scenery, as
a successful real estate agent and as founder and publisher of
a magazine that focused on the beauty of Nicaragua’s natural
environment.
“[Not currently being able to go back to Nicaragua] is
strange,” said Volz. “I miss my friends.”
While Volz is in the United States, his case is still being
processed in Nicaragua. But he’s not just sitting around,
waiting for the verdict. Volz is reworking the Web site that
was originally created by his support team to inform people
about his situation. The site, www.friendsofericvolz.com,
now has a full and detailed description of his case, the procedures, the injustices, pictures and a blog where he will be
able to share his perspectives and create a dialogue with the
interested public about similar injustices around the world.
He is also still pushing for justice for his murdered exgirlfriend, Doris Ivania Jiménez, who seems to have been
forgotten in all the din.
And after everything he has been through, Volz takes
resilience into his life as a free man.
“I don’t feel like [what happened] is unfair,” said Volz.
“There is a lot of beauty that has come from it.”
1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville TN, 37212
Phone: (615) 460-6433
E-mail: [email protected]
Editor:
Managing Editor:
News Editor:
Online Editor:
A&E Editor:
Photo/Graphics Editor:
Advertising:
Faculty Adviser:
Online/Graphics Adviser:
Courtney Drake
Adaeze Elechi
Melanie Bengtson
Lance Conzett
Andrew Cole
Sarah Mitchell
Karen Bennett
Linda Quigley
Angela Smith
Senior Staff: Chansin Bird, Ameshia Cross, Liz
Hunton
Contributors: Jennifer Bauder, Erin Carson,
Jason Hardy, Will Hoekenga, Abby Hollingworth,
Alana Kreegel, Tabitha Metcalf, Abby Selden, Joseph
Shelby
Page 5
‘Belmont is opening to change’
University chooses first black Homecoming queen in ‘08
By Adaeze Elechi
Brittney Mitchell’s hair is short and natural with tight,
unrelenting curls. But just a year ago, this is not what one
would have found when he saw her. The senior from
Memphis, Tenn., had chemically straightened (or relaxed)
shoulder-length, silky smooth hair before she decided to cut
it all off and start afresh. It was after this image-altering decision that she made history at Belmont University as its first
black Homecoming Queen in all its 57 years.
“I felt honored, happy to represent and a little undeserving,” Mitchell said of her Homecoming Queen nomination
from the Black Student Association.
After the nomination, she was among the Student
Government Association’s selected nominees to appear on
the Homecoming court during a basketball game on Feb. 9.
But even then, it wasn’t until people started coming up to
her, excited about her nomination that she began to “think
that this might actually happen.” And when it did, it got her
thinking about what this might mean on a grander scale.
“It opened my eyes to see how much Belmont has grown
and the way we think about society,” Mitchell said. “When
there is a prominent race, they tend to draw to their own race,
but the majority chose a black queen.”
According to CollegeforTN.org, a college-search engine,
Belmont is about 90 percent white, with approximately 7.5
percent shared by blacks, Asians (or Pacific Islander),
Hispanics, Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The other
2.5 percent represents unreported races.
This racial imbalance has come to Belmont’s attention.
The school’s students and administration have been making
some effort to remedy the situation. Over the past year, Phi
Beta Sigma (a black fraternity) and Delta Theta Sigma
Sorority, Inc. (a black sorority) have come onto campus and
have recruited black as well as white members into their
brother and sisterhoods. And other students are noticing.
“I think Belmont is opening [itself] to change,” said senior
Jocelyn Werst. “Belmont is trying to become a more diverse
campus. I’ve enjoyed seeing the changes that have taken
place, and I think, in the future, Belmont will continue to
embrace more diversity. I look forward to seeing this take
place.”
Mitchell has noticed the growth in the black community
as well and is grateful for it, but there are things attached to
her race and her identity that she has to work out.
“I went through this phase where I tried to find out who I
am as a black person on a predominantly white campus,”
Mitchell said. “So I made some changes: changes with my
hair, changes with speaking openly. My parents made me
feel appreciated and comfortable in my black skin… [but]
there are complexes and so much stuff fed to you through the
media.”
Werst also sees that while some individuals and institutions may be making an effort to embrace diversity, society
as a whole needs to catch up.
“Our society is not as far as it should be. Unfortunately,
we are not comfortable with race in our country,” said Werst.
“We like to pretend that we are secure in the different races,
but when we’re challenged, society proves that we’re not
comfortable.”
Mitchell wrestled with stereotypes surrounding black people and education. She has struggled to be the “perfect student,” overcompensating for the stereotyped below-standard
students, wanting to be able to think critically and “challenged like my white peers were being challenged.” But
that’s not all: she wanted to really see herself. In her quest for
self-discovery, she hacked off her relaxed hair.
“It was an unveiling of my natural self, seeing what was
beneath my permed hair,” Mitchell said. “I had never seen it,
never seen my true self.”
Mitchell says that Belmont has given her the space to
express herself freely.
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Brittney Mitchell
“I’m not the Homecoming queen type at all,” Mitchell
said. “That’s what I love about Belmont: they look at the person. They still chose me, flaws and all. It’s refreshing.”
Mitchell sids her journey to understand who she is
beneath the layers is far from over and is glad to help who
she can on her way.
“I’m not Miss America, but, in some way, I’m changing
Belmont. I hope being in this position helps open the eyes of
other minorities who didn’t think they had a chance,”
Mitchell said. “I’m trying to pave my own path regardless of
history and structures.”
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Page 6
Running: a beginner’s thoughts
Ten months, three days and four hours* ago, at the completion of a dear friend’s first marathon experience (and I
quote): “I will never have it in me to run like that.”
Four weeks, one day, and 13 hours* ago, far earlier than I
should have been awake (to myself): “Today you begin training for (dun dun dun) the half-marathon.”
What, you may ask, inspired such a drastic change in my
mindset on the subject? How, I ask myself often, did I manage to trade in a cavalier “marathons-are-for-maniacs” attitude for an optimistic “I think I can; I think I can” outlook?
The answer is three-fold: I found out the company I intern
with “strongly encourages” its employees to participate in the
Country Music Half Marathon. Translation: they would like
me more if I did it.
On top of liking me more, they said they would pay my
entry fee and there would be “additional incentives.”
Translation: this would be the only time in my life that anyone will pay me to run.
I suddenly found myself in dire need of a catalyst for
exercise. Translation: I want to be in the best shape possible
for a certain wedding in August.
So, I did it. I signed up for the race. I even weaseled two
roommates into joining me in my quest to the finish line. We
taped a “training schedule” to the wall by the door, to simultaneously encourage us with how far we’ve come and make
us feel terribly guilty if we skipped out on a scheduled run.
Since our inaugural scoot down Belmont Boulevard, I must
say we’ve come a long way. We can run longer and harder
with fewer breaks and far less cursing under what little breath
we have. I’ve gone from an ex-high school athlete who
vaguely remembers running after a soccer ball for fun to one
of those maniacs who runs, well, just for the heck of it.
Along the way, my running amigas and I have picked up a
few handy lessons off the well-pounded pavement of
Nashville. Share them? Well, okay. If you insist.
Anyone can run. Really it’s true. I didn’t believe it either
until I witnessed it firsthand. It’s not only the super fit, ironabs out there that take to the streets. One older man on West
End does a very entertaining combination run/dance. Moms
run, dragging babies along in super aerodynamic strollers.
Mullets run or rather bounce as the body they are unfortunately attached to runs beneath them. Instead of having to
fight our way into an exclusive running club, my roomies
and I discovered that the running community welcomes any
and all types. Bienvenidos!
Wardrobe choices are endless and inspiring. At first I was
a bit intimidated by the amount of super expensive, high-end
running gear I saw on the streets. It’s true, there are runners
out there in full body spandex suits and belts with endless
running supplies, but I quickly became more interested in
alternative
wardrobe choices.
ABBY HOLLINGSWORTH
Sweatbands, it
seems, can be used
for actual sweat and
not just as an Indie
accessory. Middleaged men wear
tights, and that’s
okay. Although
jean shorts don’t
strike my fancy as
the most comfortable choice, they
apparently are a
favorite of one avid
runner. Cold mornings inspire a personal preference for layers that unfortunately must end up tied around my waist in
true 90s middle-school fashion. All in all, the message here is
the same. Wear what you want. Be who you want. When you
run, you earn the respect to be yourself wardrobe-wise;
maybe that camo tank top is what gets you over the 5-mile
bump.
Big hills, big aches, big smiles, big muscles. As painful as
it is to remember, we’ve tackled a few monstrous hills. I
wish there were words to adequately describe the feeling in
my calves half way up the biggest hill I’ve ever seen. The
only words I can think of are either too vivid or too graphic
to share here, so let’s just say it burns! Interestingly enough,
the few big hill runs have been my favorite looking back.
The Belmont Student Government
Association wants to amend its
constitution by adding a Campus
Events Coordinator to Executive
Cabinet and by making the
Chaplain an appointed Congress
member. There will be a campuswide vote on this issue on
Blackboard April 7th and 8th.
Check out the full text of the amendment on our
website: campus.belmont.edu/sga
Accomplishment seeps from every pore as you realize- “I
really did that.” Maybe we can stretch this metaphor to apply
to other times equally strenuous physically, emotionally,
mentally or spiritually. Building muscles in all these areas is
hard work, but big hills make for biggie-sized feelings of
accomplishment in the end that are – dare I say – worth it.
Three really is company. There is something to this,
something bigger than Suzanne Somers and John Ritter could
have imagined. While running solo has its advantages –
peace and quiet, time alone, etc – it also carries with it the
intense temptation to stop whenever you feel like it, often far
short of your decided goal. Running in pairs is nice, I’m sure.
But I can’t help but feel forced into coupledom by the sideby-side situation. There is also an awkward bumping routine
that happens a lot with two people as they squeeze on a sidewalk, as if two bodies cannot propel themselves forward
without also being drawn magnetically to each other in an
attempt to throw off any rhythm each body has managed to
get into. No, two won’t do. Three, it seems, is the perfect
number of running buddies. A trio can take turns leading,
make cool shapes like triangles and other three-sided shapes,
and chances are someone always has enough energy to huff
out a word of encouragement. A group of three runners also
makes you look more official. Like you are the beginnings of
a team – people know not to mess with a trio.
You don’t have to jog in place at stoplights unless you
enjoy looking silly. This one is simple. It’s not required. You
may even dance at stoplights instead. I recommend it.
Drivers need entertainment in traffic.
Needless to say, I’m learning a lot. About running, about
dedication, about my roommates, about Nashville. I only hope
I can keep up the momentum as we sprint towards race day:
Five weeks, two days, and six hours from now*, with
muscles aching I am not now aware exist, perhaps in words
unintelligible to those around me: “I did it! Never again!”
*all times estimates, based in a round-about way on the time
you may be reading this, approximately
Abby Hollingsworth is a junior English writing major.
E-mail: [email protected].
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Page 7
Let us know what you think. Send a signed letter, 400
words maximum, with your local telephone number, to
The Editor, Belmont Vision, 1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville,
TN 37212. E-mail submissions are also accepted; send
them to [email protected]. This issues’s letters are
on page 8.
E
Latest homecoming queen
Foundation
for journalism inspires racial healing
must be ethics
When Eric Volz walked into the media ethics classroom, he
seemed like any other guy. Jeans, a long-sleeved sage shirt and
gold chain around his neck. Okay, maybe there were more people
fussing over him than your average person, but on the outside he
looked like your regular Joe.
But Volz has had more than his fair share of media coverage in
the past year and a half, especially that of one-sided, biased reporting. He was arrested in Nicaragua for the murder of ex-girlfriend
Doris Jimenez and sentenced to 30 years in jail in 2007, despite 10
witnesses that placed him more than two hours from the crime.
Since then, a Nicaraguan appeals court overturned the decision
and he was free to leave the prison where he’d spent more than a
year, but not before most of the Nicaraguan media labeled him as
the gringo murderer, refusing to show the possibility he could be
innocent.
In an interview with Vision staffers, Volz said, “I had no idea
how far they’d be willing to go,” responding to what he believed
to be unfair media
coverage of his trial.
COURTNEY DRAKE
Sounds like he’s talking about tabloids and
paparazzi, not professional media that’s
supposed to be fair
and unbiased, reporting only the facts and
not the writers’ opinions.
During the interview, I couldn’t stop
thinking about how
horrible it was that
media would disregard
ethics so they could
make a story sound the way they wanted it to. And few media outlets, Nicaraguan or American, even interviewed his family to get
the other side of the story.
I’m not writing this to argue why Volz is or is not innocent;
rather, I’m responding to the lack of media ethics that surrounded
the case. There is no contract to sign when you become a journalist
stating you agree to abide by the Society of Professional
Journalists’ Code of Ethics, which state a journalist should seek
the truth and report it, minimize harm (treat people with respect, in
other words), act independently and be accountable. It’s on an
individual basis to uphold those values, and for the most part, there
are no consequences if you screw up (although the editor of
Vanderbilt’s student newspaper, The Hustler, was recently fired
for fabricating poll results).
For the most part, the media that covered Volz’s case did not
maintain these ideals. According to them, the truth was that Volz
was the murderer; there were no ifs, ands or buts. But what about
the other side of the story? Volz’s family, friends and coworkers
who may have been able to shed light on Volz’s real personality?
I guess reporters just didn’t feel like doing any more work.
When media no longer care to tell a balanced story, when
they’re too lazy to talk to people who have a different way of seeing a story, there’s something very wrong. Journalism is about presenting facts and letting people make up their own minds, not
declaring which set of facts will present the truth.
I’m worried about where the media is headed when it comes to
ethics. It’s no wonder the majority of people don’t trust the media
based on their recent actions in letting the standards of journalism
slip. Overall, I think the values listed in the Code of Ethics are
being put on hold while other principles, like profit, take the front
seat, which is very disappointing to me.
As Volz said, “It’s a matter of the heart” when it comes to
being ethical in today’s society. I just hope there are more people
out there who have the heart to make the right decisions and start
getting journalism back on the right track.
Courtney Drake is a junior journalism major. E-mail:
[email protected].
I have a sickness that has festered and metastasized inside me
ADAEZE
since childhood. I picked it up
from living in society and no
matter how much I try, I can’t
seem to cure myself of it. I like
to call it the “Black Woman
Complex” (or BWC for short). It
is the societal cancer that makes
me self-conscious when I walk
into a room full of white people
(which is every day, several
times a day). It is the disease
that makes me first question race
in everything. It is the monster
that has made me believe that
mine is a cursed race as far back as I can remember.
It began when I was a child growing up in
Holland, when I realized that the blond-haired and
blue-eyed girls were generally considered prettier
than me no matter how straight Mama’s hot-comb
made my hair. It began when I realized that I had
the hardest time making friends on the playground,
not necessarily because of anything I did, but
because of something I had no control over.
Then I began noticing it in the media. I saw it in
movies, on TV, in magazines: the thin white woman
with long flowing hair and azure eyes who was the
epitome of everything beautiful. And those women
who were not quite as white as they could be were
airbrushed and done up so they would fit the mold.
From then on I would look at myself in the mirror
and it would hit me time and again that I would
never be beautiful to the world. And so the epic battle with my image began and to this day, has not
ended.
I have fought with my hair: I have tried to love it
in all its nappy glory, but even I have noticed that I
get more compliments when it is straight and looks
more Caucasian. I have struggled with my frame: I
know in my heart of hearts that I will never be
toothpick-thin: I will always have noticeable curves,
but it doesn’t stop me from fantasizing about it,
hoping that maybe one day, I could be thin enough
to be magazine-beautiful. I have struggled with
everything on my body, but the greatest struggle of
all is with my skin.
But I know I’m not the only one. In Nigeria
many women are so deep in battle that they have
taken to a strange habit: bleaching. It is the process
of making oneself lighter in complexion by applying bleaching cream to the skin regularly. Bleaching
creams contain acids that gradually burn off the dark upper layer of
the skin, exposing a lighter layer
underneath. While they know that
this makes them prone to skin
cancer, orange-looking skin after
some time, and flesh so weak it
will not hold stitches after
surgery, the sacrifice to them is
worth it.
As bizarre as this sounds, I
understand where they’re coming
from. I would be a liar if I said I
haven’t wanted at some point in
my life to be white, or at least
want to know what it felt like,
just for a minute – the strange inherent power that
comes with it, the security, the feeling of being part
of the majority and not having to hide or tone down
your race or ethnicity. I would have the absolute
freedom to flaunt my identity without fear of being
ostracized.
Then along came Brittney Mitchell. Brittney is
Belmont University’s first black homecoming
queen. While this is an amazing fact in itself (she’s
made history), this is not what struck me about her.
It was the fact that Brittney stood in the Curb Event
Center in front of a crowd of Belmont students
(whose black population you could maybe count on
two hands), baring her race on her sleeve, and people not only rooting for her, but loving her. When
she won, it got me thinking: perhaps the age of
white-equals-good, black-equals-bad is ending. If
Brittney Mitchell, with her hair rich, black and natural and her skin dark and glowing, could stand
proud and secure in front of Belmont with all her
guards down, perhaps there is hope yet for women
like me.
Brittney does not hide that she has struggled
with her image as a black woman (perhaps not
exactly as I have struggled; every woman’s fight in
life is different) and has had to make peace with
herself. I know that because in today’s world, with
the media constantly hammering concepts into our
minds, this is easier said than done, but now, I am
able to tell myself, “If Brittney Mitchell could do it,
why should I continue to fight and damn myself for
the way I was created?” Now is the time to make
peace with our bodies, with our skin and with our
self image. Now is the time to end the war.
Adaeze Elechi is a junior journalism
major. E-mail: [email protected].
ELECHI
What others are saying
Here are topics other college newspaper columnists are dealing with, from political power to romantic films.
“Political power is an aphrodisiac. It’s probably always been this way, from Cleopatra to Clinton. There’s a devastating problem that lies beneath the surface of promiscuous politicians, and it’s one we haven’t solved yet.”
– The Tiger, Clemson University
“In the rush to stamp out illegal immigration, we cannot lose sight of the common sense ideas and freedoms that
make living in America so wonderful. Illegal immigration is a problem that must be dealt with, but it must be
combated with a rational and reasoned response.”
– The Crimson White, University of Alabama
“Romantic films, one of the most durable of film genres, has evolved from its beginnings in the battle of the
sexes to a noticeable penchant for sexual conquest. Apparently, as women’s liberation declares victory, films
progress in the opposite direction.”
– The Daily Reveille, Louisiana State University
Page 8
Letters to the Editor
A note from
an adjunct
professor
To the editor:
As an adjunct faculty member who dearly
loves teaching at Belmont, I am once again
proud of our students. Bravo to the the
Vision and to writer Liz Hunton for your article on the university’s use of adjunct faculty
members. The mathematic calculation of the
budgetary advantage we provide was a bold
move.
The dependence of American universities
on hosts of part-time professors at a time of
rising enrollment is a complex issue affected
by various factors. Those factors include a
fluctuating student demographic and the high
cost of the excellent benefits already extended to full-time faculty and administration
(medical, dental, retirement, college tuition
credits for children). That said, I must add
that the exploitation of teachers by a school
has no good excuse.
At least as qualified and experienced as
their colleagues in the nearby halls, the
adjunct faculty who teach many of the
required BELL Core courses carry the business of the university on their backs. With no
certainty of employment semester to
semester, paltry pay and no benefits in sight,
we are a quiet labor force of teachers who
can be easily, quickly and cheaply replaced
by other teachers needing work. As much as
I would enjoy it, an uprising would do us little good.
Let us consider academic dissent for a
moment. In the sixteen years that I taught in
Georgia, I saw from afar two professors take
stands against injustices they saw at their
universities. One is now running a pizza joint
in South Carolina and the other is teaching at
a secretarial school — hardly the dreams that
got them through graduate school. I observed
in these examples that while academics
praise acts of civil disobedience, they often
squash those who expose an ugly underside
of the school biz. (Barista work at the coffee
counter may be in my future.)
Plugging inexpensive adjunct professors
into multiple sections of required courses has
become a national bad habit. Belmont is far
from the worst offender. Occasionally,
Belmont extends a full-time semester offer to
members of the adjunct ranks, this member
included. For these opportunities and for my
colleagues who advocate for them, I am
appreciative. May my words here not ring
with ingratitude.
Unfortunately, universities have no incentive to break the adjunct habit. Many capable, well-educated career teachers do not
land in the few open tenured positions —
and for myriad reasons. The teachers at the
bottom of this caste system are swept into
the bargain buy that is the adjunct pool; they
are not lawyers, music producers or
financiers in their “other lives.” Teachers are
the ultimate “for the love of the game” players. That a university with its own lofty
goals, values statement, a mission, even, cannot take steps toward equity in the teaching
arena — the heart and soul of a school —
stuns me.
Ghandi once said that no great cause
could survive without a journal, a paper; I
know you all join him and me in our fervent
belief in the power of the pen. Thank you
again, Belmont Vision, for the public forum
in which you raised an issue no one wants to
own.
Keep brandishing those pens.
Wyeth O. Burgess
adjunct faculty, department of English
Proofreading
questioned
To the editor:
For quite some time I have been disappointed in the lack of attention the Vision
writers and editors have given to proofread-
ing the paper. I am speaking specifically of
the February 28, 2008 issue, sporting the
conspicuous page 6 headline: “Ring show
promise to remain chaste.” I do understand
that a newspaper staff sometimes must be
creative in choosing words to fit a particular
space, but elementary subject-verb agreement should apply despite space constraints.
In the same article, following a highlighted quote, Todd Lake’s title is missing not
only its capitalization, but also the “d” in
“development.” This lack of attention is lazy
at best and demonstrates a fundamental disregard for both the conventions of the
English language and the small details that
really are important. In a publication produced by an educational institution, this is
inexcusable, especially with all the spelling
and grammar checks available in the 21st
century.
Pamela Howell
call center director, Admissions
Editor’s note: This is not to minimize the
other errors that you called to our attention.
Regarding the capitalization issue, however,
our newspaper follows the Associated Press
Stylebook, the standard for newspapers. For
academic titles, the rule is to “capitalize formal titles such as chancellor, chairman, etc.,
when they precede a name. Lowercase elsewhere.”
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Page 9
sports
Athletes
successful
in classroom
Belmont basketball senior Justin Hare was named
Honorable Mention Mid-Major All-American by
CollegeHoops.net. Hare will graduate in May as the most
decorated student athlete in Belmont history and plans to
attend medical school.
Bruins, you made us proud
By Shardé Burkhead
STAFF WRITER
This year Belmont student athletes have made history with one of their most successful semesters in the
classroom. The department of athletics registered
Belmont athletes as having a GPA of 3.254 last
semester, the highest GPA in the department since
Belmont moved to NCAA Division I in 1997.
Not only is it the highest GPA in the department,
but it is also one of the three highest GPAs since spring
2002. At the top of the list with GPA averages were
women’s cross country with 3.619, women’s golf with
3.538 and men’s golf with 3.503.
“It’s all about time management and staying
focused in what you’re doing,” said Mollie Schlarman
a junior member of the women’s cross country team. “I
have to remember it’s not athlete-student, it’s studentathlete, so doing well in class is always my first priority.”
Student athletes at times find it hard balancing
sports and academics with games and being on the
road. Athletes are forced to miss classes due to traveling.
“Being an athlete you have to stay ahead in your
classes because once you get far behind its too hard to
catch up,” said Brooke Sunday, a senior on the
women’s basketball team, whose GPA this semester
was a 4.0. “Now that I am a senior, the advice I would
give to other student-athletes is making sure to bring
homework on all your road trips and always ask your
teachers for the work you might miss.”
As Belmont students continue their journey of success, the athletic department is in hopes of continuing
what is now a new beginning of a higher standard for
Belmont students and student athletes to follow.
“To help keep our GPA high, requiring our athletes
to attend study hall is very important,” said women’s
cross country coach Seth Sheridan. “Keeping our athletes eligible is a must.”
PHOTO BY CHRIS SPEED
The men’s basketball came close to beating Duke University in their third consecutive appearance in the
NCAA. However, in the last seconds of the game, Duke scored, leaving the Bruins trailing by one point, with
a final score of 71-70.
Brett Favre a hero on the field and off
March 6, 2008 will live on in the memory
of NFL fans everywhere as the day the
league lost one of its most beloved players to
retirement. Everyone had an inkling that
Favre would retire at some point; we were all
just hoping that that day would never arrive.
As a Mississippian raised on country food,
country music and football, I felt an innate
heartache when Mississippi’s own Brett
Favre called it quits. But instead of dwelling
on that seemingly disastrous moment, I
would like to remember the former Green
Bay Packers quarterback for not only his
football glory, but his humanitarian efforts as
well.
Looking at me, most people don’t see an
avid NFL fan; but those who know me know
that I live for the game. One of the main reasons I became attracted to the sport was my
love for Brett Favre, who became a hero to
me early on. Growing up in small-town
Mississippi, kids seek heroes, and Favre was
mine. He established the Brett Favre
Forward Foundation in 1995. The foundation
works to provide aid to disadvantaged and
disabled children in Mississippi and
Commentary
Wisconsin. Growing up in a house with a
disabled older brother, I felt a special connection with an organization that provided
help for children like my brother.
Brett Favre was the epitome of strength
not only as an athlete, but as a man, a father
and a husband. He became a dad while
attending the University of Southern
Mississippi and playing football for the
Golden Eagles. It had to be difficult managing family life, school and playing hard as
hell in order to make it to the NFL. But
through hard work and perseverance, he did
it all. Brett married his high school sweetheart, Deanna. But good times were often
sporadic in Brett’s life.
On July 14, 1990 he nearly died from a
car accident. After the accident, many doctors told him he’d never play again, Favre
refused to accept that prognosis. He became
heavily dependent on pain killers and his
addiction nearly cost him his life and his
marriage, but Favre pulled himself together.
Having lost a parent, I can understand the
heartache Favre felt when his dad died. Irven
Favre died December 21, 2003 in a car accident near the same place Brett had crashed
years earlier. The event became one of
Favre’s most defining moments. The very
next day he played in a finals game against
the Oakland Raiders. He was recorded as
saying, “I knew that my dad would have
wanted me to play. I love him so much, and I
love this game. It’s meant a great deal to me,
to my dad, to my family, and I didn’t expect
this kind of performance. But I know he was
watching tonight.” If that isn’t the mark of
true character, I don’t know what is.
Just ten months after the death of his
father, Favre’s brother-in-law was killed in
an ATV accident. Appearing battered and
broken emotionally, Favre somehow mustered the strength to carry on. Just when it
seemed he’d gotten through the worst, in
mid-2004 his wife was diagnosed with breast
cancer. Favre handled the situation with the
uttmost care and respect, even helping
Deanna create the Deanna Favre Hope
Foundation supporting breast cancer education and early detection.
I had the joy of traveling to Mississippi
after Hurricane Katrina, and the first place I
stopped was the home of my favorite football
player in Kiln. The city had been ravaged,
and the only thing really left standing was a
statue of Brett in the courtyard. His family’s
home was now a distant memory amassed in
debris. Favre worked alongside Mississippi
Gov. Haley Barbour to rebuild the place that
reared him.
People can talk for days about the awards,
accolades, touchdown passes and quotes
made by Brett Favre; even though all those
things are worth noting, I believe that it is
more important to look at the man for more
than his football record. Favre’s life is a true
testament of faith and courage in the face of
adversity, and even though I won’t see his
bright smile and enthusiasm on Monday
Night Football next season, I am still satisfied in calling him my hero.
Ameisha Cross is a junior political science
major. E-mail: [email protected].
Page 10
“ I told the guys as far as game
pressure goes, this had to rank in
the top three or four, and hopefully,
the people at Belmont take that as a
real compliment because they
should be complimented.
”
—Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski
With all due respect, Blue Devils and legendary Coach K, Belmont and its unheralded crop of bluecollar players led by humble coach Rick Byrd, on the 20th night of March 2008, belonged to a Bruin
nation. Belmont suddenly became everybody’s favorite team for at least 40 minutes. Make no mistake;
Belmont didn’t get lucky draining treys and catching Duke
on a bad day. The Bruins stood toe to toe with a cast of AllAmericans, and by the end of the game, Duke was the
lucky team.
Belmont certainly had a believer in the all-time winningest coach in the NCAA Tournament, Coach K. “I’ve
coached in 89 of these games now,” he said. “I told the
guys as far as game pressure goes, this had to rank in the
top three or four, and hopefully, the people at Belmont
take that as a real compliment because they should be
complimented.” This statement came from a man whose
team is a staple in the deep rounds of the tournament.
The atmosphere was nothing short of surreal at the
game. The Vision’s sports videographer, Rudy Lindsey,
and I were sandwiched between Duke Basketball–behind
Coach K and his posse of cookie-cutter coaches in training
and in front of the entire Krzyzewski family. Rudy and I
tried our best to contain our emotions for fear of a late
night knock on our apartment doors and our friends and
family seeing only a red rose left behind– courtesy of a
mob that would put fear in our hearts. Needless to say,
however, it quickly became apparent that we were Bruins. It also became apparent that the entire arena
– minus the Dookies – were Bruins. When Andy Wicke drained a three from the baseline to pull the
Bruins within one with two and a half minutes remaining, every single sports fan in the world suddenly
had a second favorite team. From every little sports bar in the Caribbean to YMCAs to maybe even the
Southern Baptist Convention’s lobby, people crowded around the television to witness a little piece of
magic. It only got better when Belmont took the lead on free throws by Justin Hare– in what turned out
to be his last college game before he heads to med school– and peaked when Henry Harris grabbed a
Duke miss with less than a minute left.
Of course, the balance of power shifted to the team everybody loves to hate, Duke, at the bitter end.
Crushing disappointment showed in every Belmont player and coach. I hate to play the “what-mighthave-been” card, but a Bruin jersey would have graced every major newspaper and Web site’s front
page– if only Hare’s mid-court prayer had been answered as time ticked away.
But this game and this Belmont team will be remembered forever as the catalysts for something
special brewing. It is no stretch of the imagination to look up when the brackets are revealed to see the
Bruins as a No. 11 or 10 seed. It just so happened that the No. 10 seed Davidson was one shot from
going to the Final Four this year.
And next year, Belmont will gush with experienced talent. From electrifying guard Alex Renfroe to
A-Sun Tournament MVP Shane Dansby, the Bruins will be the clear-cut choice to make four straight
NCAA Tournaments and perhaps pull the upset. Throw in seniors Andy Wicke, Matthew Dotson and
Henry Harris, and you’ll have a senior section that could start for most mid-major teams– maybe even
major teams. The younger Bruins will have another year under their belt as well. Yet, maybe the best
news for next year’s team is the addition of 6-foot-9, 225-pound Mick Hedgepeth. Word is that the
power forward is an absolute beast. If he can be a force down low, the puzzle is complete for the
Bruins.
I am not only excited for next year but for the next five, 10, 20 years or so of Belmont Bruin basketball. When the seniors graduate, the Bruins will probably re-load with even better talent. Think about
it. If you are a high school player who is a half-inch or five pounds from playing for Vanderbilt,
Memphis or UT, wouldn’t you want to come to a school that’s making the NCAA Tournament on a
yearly basis to show that you really do belong? The only thing that could hold Belmont back is losing
their hunger and getting cocky. But, under the guidance of Coach Byrd and the near taste of worldfame turned sour from the last trip, there is zero chance of that happening. The sports world has only
glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.
Jordan Drake is a junior entrepreneurship major. Email: [email protected].
JORDAN DRAKE
PHOTOS BY CHRIS SPEED
Page 11
PAGE 12
APRIL 3, 2008
Belmont’s going
GREEN
‘Going green’ part
of new dorm plan
By Erin Carson
STAFF WRITER
When Belmont made the decision to build a new residence hall
behind Hail Hall, the new era
called for an updated element of
construction to take under consideration: going green.
The dorm, set to open in the fall
of 2008, will house freshmen.
According to the university Provost
Dan McAlexander, it will cost
approximately $12.5 million.
Part of this cost comes from
more environmentally sustainable
choices, such as the heating and
cooling system of water source
heat pumps. According to
McAlexander, that reduces energy
consumption and is the most significant feature in making the
dorms green. When it was settled
upon, the expected cost of the system was a half million dollars.
Though the decision has not
been made yet, the new system
does provide the opportunity to
switch over to thermal heating and
cooling down the road, making the
air easier to heat or cool given a
more “normal” temperature around
55 degrees.
McAlexander also discussed the
“significant attention paid to storm
water runoff,” explaining how the
water will be routed to pre-existing
pools instead of washing whatever
is on the asphalt into the sewer.
“We will look at green for
everything we do and try to do the
responsible thing in each one,”
McAlexander said.
As far as building materials
themselves, McAlexander said they
tried to use “materials from recy-
clables or less polluting materials.”
The insides of the dorms will be
painted with low emission paints
and green materials will be used
for the flooring and carpeting.
“The university recognizes the
appeal of environmental issues as a
criteria for students to come here,”
said residence life director
Anthony Donovan. A green university will “become more of an
expectation” and as that happens, it
will be “easier to justify the cost.”
Donovan also went on to
explain the idea of “saving on the
backend” with regards to paying
more now in favor of long term
savings.
Judy Skeen, a professor in the
School of Religion, has been active
in the push to get Belmont to go
green after reaching ‘enlightenment’ while on sabbatical. She
came back and taught a class on
environmental justice and formulated a five-year plan with the class
to present to senior leadership.
According to Skeen, the question was whether “Belmont [was]
willing as an institution to take a
stand and change [its] behavior.”
Skeen referenced discussions
about possibly trying to retrofit the
dorms already built with electronic
thermostats and light switches with
motion detectors that would turn
off the lights if there was no movement for a while.
As for the new dorms, Skeen
talked about “start[ing] them off
more green” and anticipating that
the next dorms to be built “will be
even more green.”
While constructing an environmentally sustainable building
remains in the hands of administration, students on campus have
taken it upon themselves to bring a
little green to the housing that
already exists.
Drew Belk, residence director
for the Belmont Commons, said
environmentally friendly practices
have been in place for the past year
and a half.
“The fall 2006 RA staff, namely
Sarah Willadsen, had a recycling
dumpster brought onto campus.
This was the second recycling
dumpster brought on after the
Beaman dumpsters,” Belk said.
The same year, “Nicole Loveless
worked with Lowe’s to arrange a
discount to have recycling bins
placed in every apartment in the
Commons and Compton Avenue
houses.”
The most recent addition has
been that of a clothesline outside of
the Commons clubhouse to “offer
an alternative to using dryers to dry
clothes,” Belk said. Even their bulletin boards “have almost exclusively dealt with issues surrounding recycling, energy use and new
sources of energy.”
Skeen has also been active in
the effort to get a campus-wide
recycling program established,
hoping that by the fall “it will just
be a part of life at Belmont.”
With reference to the dorms as
well as the effort to engage students in green practices like recycling, Skeen said, “We realize that
it’s not just what we build with and
how we build it, it’s the people
VISION PHOTO
who live in it.”
A new freshman residence hall is on schedule to open in fall 2008. The
building, adjacent to older dorms, is part of a plan to house all freshmen in
the central campus.
Celebrate Earth Day
with festival, tour
By Tabitha Metcalf
STAFF WRITER
Earth Week 2008 is April 21- 25 and
there are many ways you can get
involved both here at Belmont and in the
Nashville community as the global effort
begun with the first Earth Day in 1970
continues.
On April 19, Nashville Public Works
will host the annual Nashville Earth Day
celebration at Centennial Park – the actual worldwide Earth Day is April 22,
although the biggest celebrations in the
United States are on Sunday, April 20.
“This Earth Day, it’s time to change
the forecast for global warming,”
Kathleen Rogers, president of the inter-
national Earth Day Network, said in a
press release. “Climate change must rise
to the top of the national agenda this
election year. On April 20th, Americans
will be hearing our global warming message and we will be mobilizing support
for solutions.”
The theme for this year’s celebration
is "Local Living for Global Change – It
all starts with me!" As part of the celebration in Nashville, there will be informational booths, children's events, entertainment and food.
Visit www.nashville.gov/earthday for
more information about the festival and
to learn how to volunteer. Volunteers
are needed for event set-up, T-shirt sales,
recycling and clean-up. Volunteers will
receive a free T-shirt.
If you’re looking for a Belmont
event, a group of students will be traveling to Summertown, Tenn. for a tour of
an eco-village on April 26. Part of the
“Hillside Goes Green” initiative, the tour
will be led by Albert Bates, director of
the Ecovillage Training Center.
So whether you want to rock out with
fellow Nashvillians in Centennial Park
while celebrating Mother Nature or pull
some exotic plants, make sure you get
involved.
Page 13
Environmental issues O.N.E. club’s focus
“We’re looking to help make Belmont a
more environmentally friendly campus and
also to provide the students a place to learn
Before Belmont even went “green” last
about environmental issues,” said senior
year, there was a group of environmentally
biology major Jill Neblett, the president of
concerned students who met regularly to
the club.
discuss current environmental issues and
The group formed in the fall of 2004,
how to become involved in solutions to
and their biggest accomplishment is the
environmental problems. They’re called
progress they’ve helped make with recyO.N.E., Our Natural Environment, and they
cling on campus. Each week O.N.E. club
still meet each month.
students
empty the
recycling
bins from
Hitch and
Wheeler into
the recycling
dumpster. A
fraternity
takes care of
the recycling
in Thrailkill
and some in
the library
and Massey,
while other
dorms and
apartments
are independent.
Before
the O.N.E.
club, C.
Steven
Murphree, a
professor in
VISION FILE PHOTO the biology
department,
The O.N.E. club is responsible for emptying the recyhad been
cling bins from Hitch and Wheeler into the dumpster.
doing recyBy Chansin Bird
SENIOR WRITER
cling of aluminum cans on campus for
years. He had students from the Tri Beta
club, a biology honors society, help him.
“Then the O.N.E. club put the rest of the
bins in Hitch and Wheeler,” Neblett said.
“We’re the ones who got the dumpster out
here and the ones who have been able to
recycle cardboard and plastic and cans and
paper.
Recycling takes a lot of the focus of the
club because it is time consuming. The
eight bins have to be taken out at least once
a week.
“It takes a couple hours a week which
may not sound like a lot, but it is when
you’re busy and you don’t have a lot of
workers,” Neblett said.
There are about 10 active members in
O.N.E. The club and other professors are
working on getting recycling institutionalized so that the university and not the students carry it out. It has been a slow process.
“We don’t have dates when that is actually going to happen, but it is something the
university is working on,” Neblett said.
She hopes this can happen so that
O.N.E. will be able to concentrate on other
issues.
“I think it would be good if we could
focus more on events that more students
could be involved with – like having more
speakers come and more educational events
on campus,” Neblett said.
Her favorite event with O.N.E. has been
volunteering at the Nashville Zoo with
Ghouls at Grassmere. The members passed
out candy, helped with the hayride and did
face painting.
They also host several convos through-
TIPS FOR LIVING ‘GREEN’
Adapted from thegreenguide.com by
National Geographic
-When reheating leftovers in the
microwave, always put them in glass dishes. This eliminates waste from plastics
prevents chemicals from plastic packaging
leaking into your food.
-When it is cold outside, don’t let your car
warm up before you drive – it wastes gas.
Always scrape ice and snow off and don’t
wait for your defroster to do it for you.
-Use powder laundry detergent instead of
liquids, which can contain up to 80%
water. Powders save packaging and shipping.
out the year. One recent convo was about
environmental issues in voting and in government policy.
“We also had a speaker come talk about
being an environmental Christian and someone come talk about global climate
change,” Neblett said.
Whether taking out the recycling bins or
having discussions about fossil fuel consumption, the O.N.E. club would love to
have more members.
“We could always use more help,”
Neblett said. “Right now help with recycling is a big deal. But in general, it’s good
to have more people involved.”
To get involved with O.N.E., attend their
meeting on April 7 at 10 a.m. in HSB 409
or talk with a member at any of their convocation events.
Page 14
One man hopes to bring healing
to small West African village
all their food, their mattresses, their home, everything, and
now they had nothing and didn’t know when they would be
traveling. So they borrowed and asked friends for help until
Sept. 26 when word came that it was time for them to go to
America.
“I didn’t know we were coming to Nashville until we got
to immigrations,” Kabia said. At the Nashville airport,
Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. received them.
“Catholic Charities helped us find a place to stay and a
job for three months,” Kabia said. After that they were on
their own.
They helped Kabia find a job at Belmont University
working in landscaping. He met Belmont’s director of international education, Kathy Skinner, who was able to have his
college credits transferred from Sierra Leone to Belmont for
him to do his undergraduate studies in business administration. Beginning in 2002 when he began his classes, he has
helped tend Belmont’s gardens. Belmont paid for his undergrad studies, a benefit to university employees.
“[The job] serves a dual purpose for me,” Kabia said. “It
is a job I get paid for, and it allows me to go to school here: I
wouldn’t be able to pay [the fees] otherwise.”
Kabia says his boss is also very flexible with his hours,
which helps him juggle school life as well as home life.
Kabia is also grateful to be working outdoors because he
always worked indoors as a teacher back home and he appreciates the different environment.
By Adaeze Elechi
Getting There
Samuel Kabia drags a buggy behind him full of soil,
plants and trash bags. Smiling, he goes on his way to tend to
Belmont’s landscape. He is slow and gentle as he passes the
Pembroke boys throwing a Frisbee in the quad and the girls
lying on blankets in the early spring warmth. Kabia passes
these students unnoticed, but on another side of the world, in
another country, in the village of Rufoindu, Sierra Leone,
Samuel Kabia is more than noticed: he brings hope; he brings
change. But be sure to note that he didn’t achieve this status
on an easy road.
Sierra Leone, 1991
The diamond-rich nation had imploded into a civil war
between the Revolutionary United Front rebels and the military government over control of the diamond mines (which
meant control of the country’s economy and eventually, the
nation as a whole). The RUF went on a murdering, mutilating rampage, leaving their signature mark on the villages and
communities they attacked: severed limbs, lips, ears and the
recruitment of child soldiers.
The war would last until Jan.
18, 2002.
In the meantime, tens of
thousands of people would be
slaughtered and approximately two million people (more
than a third of the nation’s
population) would flee their
homes and become refugees
in neighboring countries.
Kabia, a high school economics and geography teacher at the time, and his wife
Kabia
and child were among the
two million.
“In a war situation, everyone moves for their lives,” Kabia
said.
The young family took what they could and fled by foot.
They walked through the day and through the night in the
The village of Rufoindu is a small community, a
few miles from the capital of Freetown, in Sierra
Leone in West Africa. The country, rich in diamonds, was devastated by a civil war that began
in 1991 and was resolved in 2002. Belmont
staffer and graduate student Samuel Kabia’s
family still lives in the village that he left as a
refugee from the war. He is using donor
resources as well as money he earns working two
jobs to establish a school in the village.
A benefit rock concert will allow Belmont students to sing, play music and raise money for the
orphans in Rufoindu in West Africa. The show
will be held in the Curb Café from 8-9:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 10.
bush for months until they reached the small peaceful nation
of The Gambia. Here, because the Gambians couldn’t tell
who was a rebel and who wasn’t, Kabia’s family was scrutinized and questioned before being put in a refugee camp with
about 300 others like them. Even here, things would not be
easy.
“In the camp, you had to fight for your food. You had to
go into to the bush and hunt to feed your family,” Kabia said.
A while later, the United Nations recognized and registered the camp and began sending food, but 50 bags of rice
for 300 people was still not enough.
Kabia continued to teach, this time in The Gambia at
Hermitage High School, the only government-funded high
school in the country.
In 1995, Kabia applied to Catholic Charities of Tennessee,
Inc., a humanitarian organization that had been helping
refugees in The Gambia, for relocation to the United States.
It took six years, five interviews and a barrage of health
screenings before they approved the Kabias, who had added
one more child to the family.
Sierra Leone, 2005
In 2005, he graduated and decided to go back “to visit my
people.” What he found in Rufoindu in Sierra Leone was not
the village he remembered.
“[The rebels] had burned the whole village… [and] many
children had become orphans,” Kabia said. The war had left
the people with nothing but “extreme poverty, diseases” and
little or no educational resources. The Catholic Charities had
built some houses for some families, but one fact was clear:
The village would never be as it once was.
Kabia decided to do whatever he could to help the
orphans who had survived the war. So he returned to
See VILLAGE, page 15
America, 2001
And on Sept. 11, 2001, the Kabias waited in the Gambian
airport to catch a flight to the United States. Of course, the
series of terrorist attacks in America that day would not allow
them to travel.
“It was the worst time I had experienced in my life,”
Kabia said. “I have no words to describe it.” Before they left
the camp, certain they would not be returning, they had sold
SWEDEN
RUSSIA
FINLAND
ESTONIA
North Sea
DENMARK
Labrador Sea
Hudson Bay
North Atlantic Ocean
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
NETH.
CANADA
IRELAND
POLAND
U. K.
BELGIUM GERMANY
LUX.
CZECH
English Channel
Bay of Biscay
BYELARUS
SLOVAKIA
UKRAINE
AUSTRIA HUNGARY MOLDOVA
SWITZ.
SLOVENIA CROATIA ROMANIA
ITALY
BOSNIA SERBIA
Black Sea
BULGARIA
MONTENEGRO
MACEDONIA
KAZAKHSTAN
Caspian
Sea
FRANCE
PORTUGAL
GREECE
SPAIN
U. S. A.
Aral Sea
GEORGIA
ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN
UZBEKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN
TURKEY
KYRGYZSTAN
TAJIKISTAN
ALBANIA
A t l a n t i c
O c e a n
SYRIA
CYPRUS
TUNISIA
N o r t h
IRAQ
LEBANON
Mediterranean
Sea
MOROCCO
AFGHANISTAN
ISRAEL
JORDAN
Canary Islands
ALGERIA
IRAN
KUWAIT
PAKISTAN
EGYPT
THE BAHAMAS
Gulf of Mexico
WESTERN
SAHARA
LIBYA
QATAR
Gulf of Oman
U. A. E.
SAUDI ARABIA
CUBA
Red
Sea
JAMAICA
BELIZE
HONDURAS
HAITI
SUDAN
BURKINA
GUINEA BISSAU
GUINEA
PANAMA
COSTA RICA
Conakry
VENEZUELA
GHANA BENIN
TOGO
SIERRA LEONE
Gulf of Aden
DJIBOUTI
NIGERIA
IVORY
COAST
GUYANA
SURINAME
YEMEN
ERITREA
CHAD
GAMBIA
NICARAGUA
OMAN
NIGER
MALI
SENEGAL
Caribbean Sea
TEMALA
EL SALVADOR
Arabian Sea
MAURITANIA
DOM. REP.
CAMEROON
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REPUBLIC
ETHIOPIA
FRENCH GUIANA
SOMALIA
LIBERIA
COLOMBIA
UGANDA
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
ZAIRE
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE
ECUADOR
SIERRA
LEONE
KENYA
RWANDA
GABON
CONGO
BURUNDI
PERU
Freetown
TANZANIA
I n
ANGOLA
BRAZIL
ZAMBIA
BOLIVIA
NAMIBIA
ZIMBABWE
MALAWI
MADAGASCAR
BOTSWANA
PARAGUAY
MOZAMBIQUE
CHILE
SWAZILAND
ARGENTINA
SOUTH AFRICA
URUGUAY
S o u t h
A t l a n t i c
LIBERIA
Ruofindu
FALKLAND ISLANDS
SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND
Monrovia
O c e a n
LESOTHO
Page 15
VILLAGE, from page 14
America, began graduate school at Belmont, and founded the non-profit organization, “Rufoindu Education
Project for Orphan Children.” Its mission is to “provide
functional literacy for orphans and vulnerable children
and educational resources to communities in Africa.”
Essentially, Kabia would start a school in Rufoindu from
American soil with the help of the American people. The
first group of people Kabia turned to for assistance was
the Belmont community.
Belmont gave him chairs, tables and school supplies
to fill 10 suitcases. But the problem came when he didn’t
have enough money for shipping. Kabia went into overdrive, working in landscaping from 7 a.m.- 3 p.m., then
from 4:30 p.m. to midnight, he would work at Burger
King and then deal with homework and class projects
through the wee hours. “I would sleep between one and
three hours a day, sometimes I didn’t sleep at all,” Kabia
said. “All I could think of was getting the money to pay
for the shipping.” In 2006, he shipped the supplies.
He wrote letters to people and organizations that he
thought could help, trying to get them to understand the
situation in Rufoindu and the importance of education
for the orphans in a few paragraphs. He worked hard to
get the organization approved as a non-profit with
501(c)(3) status so any funds donated to its cause are
tax-deductible. In the letters, he coaxed people with this
fact; he let them know exactly where their money was
going and what it was being spent on. Any extra money
he made, he sent to the development of the school.
Rufoindu provided labor to build what is now a fiveclassroom school, and he provided the money for the
material that would be used, food, and other needs. The
current project on the site is a library.
Kabia acknowledges that it is a challenge to keep this
up and running, but he is willing to make the sacrifices
because he realizes the importance of education.
“I want to make [the orphans] self-sufficient,” Kabia
said. “If somebody is hungry you do not just send food
to them all the time, you teach them how to make food.”
A family’s future, 2008
Kabia also uses this project to remind his three children – the last was born in America – of where they
come from.
“I don’t want them to forget about Africa. I always
want them to remember that we came from a poor family. I want to give them culture and responsibility and let
them know that America is not everything: there are people suffering in the world.”
Kabia hopes that one day he will be able to take his
children to Rufoindu to see their home for themselves.
But these are not the only people he hopes to take to the
once-crippled village. He is trying to organize an
exchange program where people interested in teaching as
well as people who have contributed to the school in
some way will be able to visit the school.
“It is important for them to see where their money is
going,” he said. This is still in the works.
Now he is trying to raise money to ship the 20 computers Belmont donated to his school. Then a Belmont
student from Kenya, Kipkosgei Magut, got involved.
“I helped Samuel with coming up with ideas for the
fundraising event, we had many meetings on deciding
what was a good event for [the] Belmont community,”
said Magut. “At first we thought of having a running
competition, but that didn’t sail through. We wanted
something that would capture the talent in Belmont and
would also enhance its learning.”
They settled on a rock show scheduled for April 10
where Belmont students will be able to sing, play music
and raise money for the orphans in Rufoindu. Magut and
Kabia are trying to make it so that students can get
convo credit. For Magut, this project is more than a pastime.
“I got involved with this program because I was so
touched by what Samuel Kabia is doing,” said Magut. “I
felt that the orphan children of Sierra Leone need someone to stand for them. They need me… and they need us:
they need [all] of Belmont to help them attain their goals
in life.”
As for Kabia, as he still tries to scrub images of the
war from his memory, he does what he can to make the
memory of the war fade for the orphans as well.
“I am alive and that is all. There is no point in carrying the sorrow of it on my head,” he said. “Many people
are dead now and those people who have been killed suffer more than I do because they cannot help make the
world better. Now is the time to move ahead. All I can
do now is help those who are alive.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAMUEL KABIA
Members of the village community in Rufoindu, just outside of Freetown in Sierra Leone, surround Idrisa
Kabia (front right). Kabia is the older brother of Samuel Kabia, a Belmont graduate student.
The school building that has been built in Rufoindu has been created by community labor, which includes
making bricks from a combination of clay, sand and cement, the latter sent from the United States. Samuel
Kabia, who founded the school to help his native community, uses his money from his job and from donors
to send supplies – nails, for example – that are simply unavailable in the village.
The village community school provides education for students in grades 1-6, but Kabia’s hope is that high
school classes can be added in the future.
Page 16
a&e
iTunes Top Downloaded Songs
1. “Touch My Body” - Mariah Carey
2. “4 Minutes” - Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
3. “Bleeding Love” - Leona Lewis
4. “You’re Gonna Miss This” - Trace Adkins
5. “Lollipop” - Lil Wayne
Dual ‘Millies’ shine with style
By Andrew Cole
A&E EDITOR
For Millie Dillmount, arriving as a freshfaced young woman on the streets of 1922
New York is a thrilling, if daunting, first lesson in the art of making it big. The experience is very much the same for Paige Salter
and Mallory Gleason, who share the title role
in “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” the latest
PHOTOS BY SARAH MITCHELL
Paige Salter,, above, and Patrick
Shaw, far right, rehearse a scene
from “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”
The musical plays in the Troutt
Theatre April 5-6 and 10-13.
offering from the Belmont musical theatre
program opening this weekend.
“I can relate [to Millie’s journey] because
I am from Chattanooga which is a fairly
small town,” said Salter, who plans on pursuing musical theatre professionally after graduation. She looks forward to the day she can
make her own mark on the Big Apple, very
similar to the first scene of the show in
which Millie arrives in Gotham.
Gleason, who fills Millie’s tap shoes on
alternating nights, can also see herself in the
musical’s familiar storyline.
“I strive for what is above and beyond
what is normally expected of people that
come from where I am from,” said Gleason
of Millie’s journey. “I know that feeling of
having a lot of strength and then having a
reality check when it really doesn’t pan out.”
Millie is a girl of modern sensibilities – as
modern as her 1922 setting will allow. She
decides to marry for money instead of love
and finds herself in the employment of the
wealthy Trevor Graydon, who puts her on a
tongue-twisting stenography speed test
before even hiring her. The addition of
another suitor, Jimmy Smith, provides for a
juicy love triangle. By the time Mrs. Meers,
a hotel owner running an underground white
slavery ring, is thrown into the mix, the plot
is thick with great comedic potential set to a
backdrop of prohibition-era flappers and
speakeasies.
Part of relating such a big story to the
audience is having a cast that can tell it with
energy to spare. For that, director Marjorie
Halbert double cast many of the principal
roles. Those performers have learned at least
two completely different tracks since the production started rehearsals in January. This
means that in addition to learning the songs,
lines and choreography of one major role in
the full-scale musical, all of these students
have also learned an entirely different role
they will perform the next evening.
“We get half the rehearsal time we normally should,” said Gleason. “Having to
develop four minor characters and a major
character [is] definitely a challenge.”
“It’s been pretty crazy at times,” said
Salter. “Sometimes I’ve felt kind of lost on
stage.”
However, all of the actors involved are
grateful for the process in the long run as it
allows more people to have key roles on
their resumes before entering the professional world.
“I think we’ve got some really talented
singers and the choreography that Anne
[McAlexander] has done is incredible,” said
Salter. “It has been really challenging but I
think that it will make the stage explode with
movement and energy. It’s going to look
great.”
“Millie is the hardest role I’ve ever
played in that she’s an ingénue but not your
typical ingénue because she has a lot of
spunk,” said Gleason. The show, which took
home six Tony Awards in 2002, has a handful of complex songs, difficult both for the
musicians who play them and the performers
who sing them.
“My favorite is the song ‘Gimme,
Gimme,’” said Salter, “which is really the
climax for Millie’s character. It’s the point in
her journey when she makes a definite deci-
sion and she finally knows what she wants.”
“Gimme, Gimme” also inspired the nicknames (“Fly Dove” and “Sing Sparrow”) the
two casts have dubbed themselves in order to
keep straight which roles they are responsible for at each performance. It’s an intricate
system that ought to provide an increased
layer of enjoyment for audience members
who decide to see both casts interpret the
show.
The entire experience has been a rewarding process for the actors.
“It was really wonderful working with
Paige,” said Gleason, who counts collaborating with her talented peers as the most satisfying part of the production. “I share the part
with her [. . .] and we can both relate to the
experience. We are both there and we are
both doing it.”
Lórien plots next career move
By Will Hoekenga
STAFF WRITER
Lórien and Belmont University have
always seemed to have a symbiotic relationship. All five band members (Kaleb Jones,
Thomas Doeve, David Deaton, Chase
Gregory and Cara Pollock) attend Belmont
and began playing together two and a half
years ago. Their first show was the 2005
Pop/Rock Showcase.
“It was kind of a disaster, but no worries,
it got better as time went on,” said singer
Kaleb Jones.
And it appears things have become better
for them. Since their formation, they have
had many accomplishments, including the
recording and self-release of a six-song EP
entitled “The Ghost in the Parlor.” Most
recently, they were named the winner of the
2008 Rock Showcase.
Of course, the fact that they are all fulltime college students doesn’t make things
any easier, especially when trying to plan
tours.
“For any kind of extensive out-of-town
[touring], we just wait until we have a good
block of time off from school and then we
cram as much into that as possible,” said
Jones.
The time they do spend in class is still
mostly devoted to music. Jones, Gregory and
Deaton are all majoring in music business.
er, is not the case with Lórien; they plan on
are self-producing the album with Doeve
Pollock is a commercial music major and
focusing all of their effort on the band.
engineering the recording sessions at Paper
Doeve an audio engineering technology
“After we graduate, our two main goals
Swan, the band’s home studio, and
major.
are to finish the record, make it as perfect as
Starstruck Studios on Music Row.
While Jones did admit that his education
we possibly can,” said Jones. The band also
Although the band has traded e-mails
has taught him quite a bit about what not to
plans on devoting several weeks to developwith different labels and participated in varido in the music industry, he also said, “I’ve
ing their live show and turning it into a true
ous showcases, they are not making a record
learned more about the music industry being
in a band and taking it seriously and being
professional about it than I have sitting in
class. [. . .] I think the best experience is just
doing it and going out and making it happen
yourself.”
Using a combination of the knowledge
they have gained from experience and from
the classroom, Lórien have started recording
a new, full-length album entitled “Esque.”
“It’s based on the whole idea that all of
our music is this amalgamation of experiences and reactions and interactions and we
can’t really be without being a product of
PHOTO BY FANTASTIC PHOTO
everything around us—our experiences and Lórien, from left, Cara Pollock, Chase Gregory, David Deaton, Kaleb Jones and
our friends and our loves and hates. Our
Thomas Doeve. Their next gig is the Best of the Best Showcase on April 5.
music is basically just a reflection of everyproduction, citing bands such as Mute Math
contract their top priority at this time.
thing we see and react to,” said Jones.
and Muse as examples.
“Right now, labels can only do so much
With “Esque,” Lórien plan to join the
Whatever the future holds, Lórien seem
that we can’t do for ourselves, so we’re
ever-growing population of independent
determined to continue and better what they
going to build our equity for as long as posartists exercising complete control over their
are doing.
sible until people are lining up for us,” said
music. They are no longer working with
“After [the album’s completion], we’re
Jones.
Andy Hunt, who produced their “The Ghost
going to jump into touring and get part-time
It’s not unusual for a college band to
in the Parlor” EP and who has also worked
jobs and be poor [. . .] and then go on the
break off from one another and go their own
with well-known artists such as Jars of Clay,
road.”
separate ways after graduation. This, howevBuddy Guy and Smash Mouth. Instead, they
Page 17
De Novo Dahl has major label CD
By Lance Conzett
ONLINE EDITOR
When the band was founded in 2001, it is highly unlikely
that anyone in De Novo Dahl expected that seven years later
they would be signed to one of the most prolific metal labels
in the business. Considering that Roadrunner Records is
filled with bands named things like “DevilDriver” and
“Cradle of Filth,” it would surprise anyone that a quirky pop
quintet from Nashville would be anywhere near their radar.
Nevertheless, De Novo Dahl was signed to the label in
2007 in an attempt to diversify the label’s output in a bout
of signings that included non-metal acts like Airborne,
Dresden Dolls and New York Dolls. They have since gone
on tour supporting Hot Hot Heat, played at Next Big
Nashville, made two music videos, released an EP entitled
“Shout,” and performed at an official Roadrunner showcase
at the annual South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas,
all hot on the heals of their major label debut.
Bassist Keith Lowen, a former Belmont student, spoke
with The Vision about their first fully produced music video
and the explosively hateful reaction to it from metal fans.
Vision: Since you’ve been on this big tour, how is the
world outside of Nashville treating the band?
Keith Lowen: The world outside of Nashville has been
treating the band very well. Every show we play, I think,
goes over really well. We haven’t been selling our new
album yet, obviously, but all the stuff we’ve had to sell has
been selling well. We’ve been getting a good reaction; people are always surprised that we’re from Nashville because
we’ve got that country stigma to it. But, yeah, its been going
over really well.
Vision: The metalheads online are really not happy about
De Novo Dahl or the “Shout” video. Did you expect that
kind of reaction?
Lowen: I don’t know. We’re on a metal label, it’s been a
very traditional metal label with very hardcore metal fans—
of the label itself—that have been trained that anything that
comes out of Roadrunner is going to be metal and it’s going
to be hardcore and its going to be good—good metal. And
we’re kind of the opposite of that, so it’s not surprising at all
that there’s a reaction. We’ve been kinda going around as a
joke saying, “March 25 is the day that metal is going to
die.” When we’ve got all these metalheads around we talk to
them about the album and it’s that old saying that “no publicity is bad publicity.” We’ve definitely used their hate to
our advantage.
Vision: There’s some other bands on Roadrunner that
aren’t metal bands like Dresden Dolls. Do you know if
they’ve faced the same kind of anger.
Lowen: Not Dresden Dolls, really. They’re scary enough
that they get respect, I think. But I think that since we’re
clearly the most different, we get more heat than anybody
else. But I think a lot of those real hardcore Roadrunner fans
are just mad in general about the change in direction of the
label and it’s just that De Novo Dahl is the most clear example of it.
Vision: There were also a lot of nice things said by supporters, so there is a balance.
Lowen: When you get anybody passionate about anything, that’s a good thing. If you can make someone hate
something enough, there are probably going to be people out
there that are going to love it.
De Novo Dahl’s major label debut, “Move Every Muscle
Make Every Sound” released on March 25 at most major
record stores including Grimey’s. The band also plans on
performing live throughout the summer, including festival
appearances at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and All Points West.
READ MORE
For Lance Conzett’s complete interview with De Novo
Dahl, go to BelmontVision.com.
PHOTO BY LANCE CONZETT
De Novo Dahl bassist and Belmont alum Keith Lowen performs at a recent Grimey’s in-store appearance. The band’s
first major label effort released last week.
,
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re
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rien
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ly cancel out any angry-fathe
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of rock music will automatical
to stifle my fun at the U2
your ranks. The behavior I
tried
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fans
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ind
elf
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make of those around you.
ing from Edge’s guitar and Larr
we’ve lost touch with what rock
sage of righteous rebellion com
nings
have seen is appalling. I feel like
mes
groa
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y
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that
mp
cert
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con
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me. Rock music is rebellious.
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makes me sad.
from
of
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she
be rebelled against.
is not the chief of sinners. He/
of the major differences between
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ate
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find absolutely inexcusable
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that, my
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who insist on looking “cool”
bang your head to the beat. And
and
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the rest of us.
friends, is exactly what you shou
instead of participating with
was shocked to see so many
al events, meaning that the
at the Ryman on March 2, I
play
o
You see, rock concerts are soci
Wilc
saw
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be
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erly.
ughout the entire show.
prop
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their seats in the balcony thro
in
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call
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audience participation is essentia
requisite
age
to
my
people
hipster gentleman wearing the
this because we’re always listening
for example, was the perfect
me,
sat in
have a hard time understanding
ind
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ted
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music in the isolated world of our
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shirt and sporting glasses that
infe
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rock
rl-sn
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pea
eve
ic.
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.
mus
of
cert
ce
con
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re
our expe
throughout the enti
concept of social interaction from
his seats with his arms crossed
posed stasis.
experiences from listening to an
music expert from his self-im
this
stir
ld
cou
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concerts are categorically different
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tle
g,
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t
alon
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iPod—experiences that require
because
ple,
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have
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ly,
w you like what you’re hearing
ience members. Unfortunate
ping your fist to the beat. I kno
and interacting with fellow aud
pum
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feet
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let
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can’t be happy sitting
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and
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petitioned me to sit my buttocks
s
mu
al
arm
the
arriv
the joy
flail my scrawny
stood up to welcome the band’s
ws I look like an idiot when I
back down in my seat after I had
to look sophisticated. God kno
ests from audience
ing a better time than you
requ
hav
lar
I’m
simi
d
that
tere
tee
oun
ran
enc
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onstage. Since then, I have
top of my lungs, but I can
out,
the
at
me
r
sing
hea
,
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d.
nde
atte
s I have
members over 40 at other concert
e at
words have
are.
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ple.
peo
old
on
ing
pick
not
am
of that said, dear audience,
I
all
. I am deeply
With
love
they
in
h
ts,
trut
even
al
the
ak
soci
concerts are
insult, but rather to spe
to
aim
not
do
I
any concert I attend. Since rock
sh.
I know that
har
ing
too
and
n
Hav
bee
of artistic expression,
rent backgrounds together.
er of rock music as a means
pow
the
function to bring people from diffe
place.
to
ed
first
nec
mitt
the
con
in
com
f
my
es
stuf
forc
this
ion beside me rein
er the reason we liked
someone from a different generat
too. So please, let’s rememb
to us.
And I
are
up
ism.
It’s
you
tion
d.
isola
dea
not
iPod
is
bats
rock
com
thus
show the world that
tion with the culture at large and
Let’s get out of our seats and
the whole concert might not be
y,
understand that standing up for
erel
for
Sinc
ul body. I don’t look down on you
possible for your less-than-youthf
Jason Hardy
sitting down to rest.
I
as
,
that
t
ticke
your
hase
purc
major with a music minor.
But please, understand when you
people
on is a junior English writing
the
Jas
and
,
tion
icipa
part
l
sica
phy
have said, rock concerts involve
Page 18
Bradshaw relies on talent, not name
By Amanda French
STAFF WRITER
She’s a 20-year-old blue-eyed blonde
who drives a Mercedes CLK350; she’s an
aspiring country music singer and cast
member in the reality show “Nashville”; her
dad, Terry Bradshaw, is a former Pittsburgh
Steelers quarterback and “FOX NFL
Sunday” co-host; the Google search engine
generates over 24 pages of press releases,
photo galleries and stories about her life.
But beneath all the glitter and glam, Rachel
Terry Bradshaw is a small-town girl with a
heart for adventure.
“I moved to Nashville from my hometown of Westlake, Texas, right out of high
school, and when I got here I didn’t know
anyone. I was overwhelmed thinking,
‘Where do I begin?’” Bradshaw said.
Currently a junior at Belmont University,
she’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business while working at RCA Records under
A&R representative Jim Catino. “I spend
most of my time playing guitar, taking voice
lessons and writing songs,” she said. “It’s
been my dream since I was 10 years old to
be a performer.”
Bradshaw took lessons from her first
vocal coach, Pat Borden, until she passed
away in 1999. “I’ve wanted to keep singing
for her,” Bradshaw said.
Her father also had an aspiration to sing.
The two have done some duets in the past
including “Crazy” by Patsy Cline. Bradshaw
said her favorite artists are George Strait,
Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert.
“They’re in the business for all the right reasons,” she said. “It’s about authentic music.”
Erin Bradshaw, 18, remembers when her
older sister learned how to yodel to LeAnn
Rimes. “Rachel blew us all away with it,”
she said. “I have no doubt in my mind that
in 10 years she will be singing in big stadiums and taking home CMA awards.”
Aside from working hard to achieve her
dreams, Erin says Rachel enjoys spending
time with friends and family. “She’s a social
butterfly, I guess you could say,” Erin said.
“But when she comes home to visit, she
wants to spend all her time with our family.” The Bradshaw sisters have a tradition of
watching Rachel’s favorite TV show,
“Friends,” and talking about their lives.
“She’s my best friend,” the two said of one
another.
Growing up in a family that was always
in the eye of the media, Rachel and Erin
Bradshaw remember times being difficult.
“Just because of our last name, people
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also email us at
[email protected].
“I spend most of my
time playing guitar,
taking voice lessons
and writing songs. It’s
been my dream since
I was 10 years old to
be a performer. ...
When people hear the
name ‘Bradshaw,’
they definitely turn
their heads. But it just
means that I have to
impress them twice as
much because they
already have high
expectations.”
Rachel Bradshaw
Belmont junior
would say we were ‘snobs’ in middle and
high school,” said Erin. “We never really
understood the impact our dad’s fame had
on our lives until we started getting judged
like that.”
Rachel said, “It’s still hard a lot of times
because many people are fake, and I can’t
tell if they want to be friends with me for
the right reasons.”
Bradshaw says her dad is supportive of
her dream to succeed in the entertainment
industry. “He gives great advice because he
knows so much,” she said. “I’m so proud of
him; he’s worked so hard to get to where he
is today.”
It is a common presumption that it is
Rachel’s last name that has influenced her
success thus far. In response, Rachel said,
“When people hear the name ‘Bradshaw,’
they definitely turn their heads. But it just
means that I have to impress them twice as
much because they already have high expectations,” she said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX
Rachel made a splash on reality TV last fall as a cast member of the shortlived “Nashville” on Fox.
As a child, Bradshaw grew very close to
her mother in the time her dad was working
and traveling. “My mom and I have a great
relationship,” she said. “I can talk to her
about anything.”
Young Bradshaw sang at Texas fairs and
weddings, rode horses, participated in several sports including basketball, volleyball,
cheerleading and track. But, according to
her sister, Erin, their favorite memories
were made going on family vacations.
“I’ve learned so much from my sister,”
Erin said. “She’s taught me how to stand up
for myself and my family, and how to work
hard to achieve my dreams.” Erin described
Rachel as independent, fearless and strong.
“She’s a lot like our dad,” she said. “In
watching her over the years she’s taught me
not to be afraid to venture out and achieve
my dreams. She’s always had a ‘get out
there and accomplish it’ attitude.”
Bradshaw recently got a lot of publicity
starring in the reality show “Nashville,”
which aired last September.
“It was kind of unexpected that I was
Research Study of the
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Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are conducting a research study to see how genes affect the function of the brain. There are two parts to the study. Subjects
participating in the first part of the study will have their
blood drawn for gene analysis and will answer brief questions
about their mental and medical health. The results of the
first part of the study will decide eligibility for the second
part. If eligible, you will be asked to take part in a second,
more extensive study. The first visit takes about 30 minutes. We are recruiting healthy females age 18-25 who are
not using hormonal birth control and who do not smoke.
You may earn up to $25 for the first part of the study and
up to $225 if you are eligible for the second part.
Please call Casey 936-1013
chosen,” Bradshaw said. “I auditioned for
the part after I heard about it from my agency and surprisingly they called me back.”
Bradshaw enjoyed being on the show, but
said she does not feel it portrayed her as the
person she really is. “I was shown as the
mean girl,” she said.
She has also done guest appearances
with her father at the premiere of “Failure to
Launch,” “The Tonight Show with Jay
Leno” and “The Best Damn Sports Show
Period.”
As her career continues to escalate,
Bradshaw is holding on to her dreams of
singing to sold-out arenas in luminous spotlights. “I want to use fame to raise money
for people in need,” she said. “My grandpa
has cancer, and it is my hope that I can
honor him and other patients by contributing
to cancer charities.”
With a passionate love of music, a strong
work ethic and a heart for helping others,
Bradshaw has hopes for the future. She carries her father’s name with pride and is
determined to let it shine.
Lil John, Spoon headline
Vandy’s Rites of Spring
Vanderbilt’s Rites of Spring
will bring everything from crunk to
folk to Nashville, as the annual
event brings another eclectic lineup to its stage.
This year’s festival, scheduled
April 18-19 on the university’s
Alumni Lawn has indie rockers
Spoon at the top of its line-up for
Friday’s show and rapper Lil John
on Saturday.
Other acts include Colbie
Caillat, Old Crow Medicine Show,
Feist, Hill Country Revue, the
Avett Brothers, DJ Kool, Jeremy
Lister, Randy Rogers Band, HBeam and Grace Potter and the
Nocturnals.
Rites of Spring, an effort of the
Vanderbilt Programming Board’s
Music Group, told inside-
vandy.com, “I think Lil John will
bring a fantastic level of energy for
the Vanderbilt student community
as well as the greater Nashville
area that hasn’t been seen on
Alumni Lawn. And Spoon will
bring a twist to the rock ’n’ roll
sound I think everyone will enjoy.”
Tickets are available at all
Ticketmaster locations at ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets
throughout Nashville. Tickets may
also be purchased by cash or
check, with no service fees, at
Vanderbilt’s Sarratt box office.
Admission on a one-day pass is
$35; a weekend pass purchased in
advance is $45; and a weekend
pass purchased April 18 is $55.
-- Staff reports
Page 19
The College of Business Administration and The Mike Curb College of Entertainment
and Music Business congratulate the 64 students who were recently inducted into
Beta Gamma Sigma – the international honor society for students enrolled in programs
accredited by AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business). Beta Gamma Sigma is the business equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa (liberal
arts honor society) and membership is the highest honor bestowed upon graduate and
undergraduate business students at these institutions. To be eligible for membership,
the academic ranking of those being considered must place them in the upper 10
percent of the junior or senior class and the upper 20 percent of the graduating
master’s class.
Congratulations to the 2008 BGS Inductees
Jacqueline Marie Allinder
Erik W. Anderson
Jennifer M. Bischoff
Jonathan L. Bradberry
Connie L. Brais
Kelsey E. Breault
Sierra M. Briggs
Ephraim T. Brown, IV
Lindsay E. Browning
Evelyn (Betsy) E. Bruington
Adam S. Bryan
Karisa N. Butler-Hurst
Charles M. Canon, IV
Allison P. Champagne
Beth A. Clayton
Nicholas A. Connell
Lauren E. Cooper
Joshua C. Curd
Katherine Nicole Curtis
Maurissa G. Davis
Elizabeth L. Dawson
Rachel M. Dooley
Matthew P. Durdel
James I. Elliott
J. Seth Estep
Jennifer H. Foster
Kenneth N. Gaines
Thomas J. Gephart
Mara B. Greenberg
Christopher Chase Hamby
Keena C. Harris
Clinton D. Hill
Joseph V. Hofflinger
Adam J. Hogan
Sarah C. Irby
Benjamin S. Kann
Nathan J. Klages
Stephanie W. Lambring
Kristen M. LaScola
Kari E. Lennon
Christine M. Lewis
Danara D. Lowery
Ryan T. Malloy
Andrew E. Mills
Matthew P. Nicholson
Ryan H. O’Hern
Allison M. Pellicciotti
Dain C. Penzhorn
Merrick M. Pickens
Laura A. Rathgeber
Libby A. Reed
Matthew J. Robinson
James M. Rosano
Tanner A. Scott
Amber M. Slifer
Matthew R. Spiess
Tessa B. Stratton
Blake M. Tidwell
Mary Lauren Walden
Katherine N. Williams
Lauren A. Williams
Laura E. Wright
Julie E. Zaloba
Adam C. Zinke
Page 20

4/3/2008 - Belmont Vision

Transcription

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