Objectively Vandy

katherinemiller September 25th, 2008

In a shocking, shocking development, a new study by NYU professor John Jost reports conservatives have neater, more traditional rooms:

“‘Conservative rooms tended to be cleaner, more brightly lit, better organized, less cluttered, and also more conventional and ordinary in terms of decoration,’ Jost said during a panel discussion on “The Neuroscience of Elections and Human Decision-Making” at NYU, adding: ‘Conservatives’ rooms were rated by independent raters as better organized and tidier in general.’

“Specifically, individuals who reported a more conservative ideology also had bedrooms that contained more organizational and cleaning supplies, including calendars, postage stamps, ironing boards and laundry baskets. Liberals’ rooms on the other hand were marked by more clutter, including more CDs, a greater variety of CDs, a greater variety of books and more color in the room in general.”

Having read this, I popped in at my place of residence and took a few photos, hoping to gauge just how conservative my room actually is. It’s on like Donkey Kong, y’all. (Full disclosure: I believe photos make this blog, or any other personal blog about nine times better, so get ready for an image blast after this weekend. Hustler Editor Mike Warren and I are going on a journalism conference trip in New York this weekend. Good times.)

I maintain that I am a contradiction in terms. Calendars and order, say ye? Take this:

But does the Batman lamp cancel out the McCain sticker? What now, Jost? And here we have the J. Crew madras attack known as my comforter, but ha ha ha, we also have the Ed Hardy poster:

And finally, just to balance it all out we’ve got the three fine posters that hang on my wall:

While I may look somewhat bipolar, now, John Wayne watches over me every night. Does he do that for you, Jost?

That’s what I thought.

• Campus , Metaposts
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katherinemiller July 30th, 2008

Between a busy week at work and the exceptionally frustrating experience of the WiFi crashing for the first time in three years, I haven’t gotten the chance yet to post here. So, I’m starting this blog off right — on my front steps, stealing my neighbor’s wireless.

Anyway, just to be clear, I plan on blogging in this space twice or thrice a week. Within one of those posts every week, I’ll pick a topic of general interest on campus (like Greek life or housing) and expound a bit on that, hopefully clear up some of the ol’ Vandy mystique that might surround the topic.

To put a less meta spin on this post, though, I am currently interning in the press office at the RNC (Republican National Committee, that is). There, I’m actually joined by two other Vandy undergrads (a Nashville native and a Tri Delt) out  of about forty-five interns. Meanwhile, of course, our nation’s glorious capital is bursting with Vandy students from all over the country interning on the Hill and elsewhere, with some pretty incredible opportunities — one, for instance, is at the online division of the Washington Post, and another had a byline on the third page of the Washington Examiner (a newspaper that’s a popular read on the Metro) this morning.

That sort of variety of summer experience was reinforced about a month ago, at an event for Washington area students and alumni with Chancellor Zeppos on the absolutely gorgeous terrace overlooking the Capitol at the brand new Newseum. I ran into several people I hadn’t even realized were in the city for the summer, all we’re doing exciting, interesting stuff — and I don’t think that was a coincidence. Although it was definitely a Washingtonian crowd, as my Georgian friend lamented and I loved, it was also Vandy to the core: a mix of sharp business and politics-focused discussion balanced with the casual charm of life outside work.

From what I’ve heard of the Vandy crowd in New York this summer (and seen during a visit to the city two weeks ago), ranging from Wall Street to publishing houses, they’ve had a similar summer existence — experiencing a city, and doing it accompanied by their friends from school.

• Metaposts , Summer
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