Student calls for pursuit of 'different Vanderbilt'

by Julie Park

Over the past two weeks, my life has been flipped upside down by the racist graffiti in Lewis and Carmichael Towers, particularly the Jan. 30 incident. In between coordinating visits to 17 Greek houses to raise awareness on the issue, working with Vice Chancellor David Williams to get a new course on the experiences and battles of ethnic Americans in universities, and even hearing myself be compared to Louis Farrakhan, I'm wiped out.

Although my work is tremendously rewarding and the most educational experience of my Vanderbilt stay to date, I think one mistake that I've made is forgetting to stress that on top of what I and my dedicated peers are, our first and foremost role is as students. Change at universities is a two-way street and sometimes student leaders are quick to attack that incomprehensive body known as "the administration."

Thankfully, at Vanderbilt, we have a tremendously accessible administration. When I tell my friends at other universities that our Chancellor knows me by my first name and that he holds regular office hours, they're floored. Larry Dowdy, special assistant to the vice chancellor for student life, and Mrs. Dowdy graciously open their home to students, fix us waffles and even auction off their parking spot to raise funds for charity. If a problem hits, I know who to call. From that last example of good will ironically springs the problem I can pin on "the administration."

In regards to diversity issues, we have an administrative support that has been trained to respond, rather than be proactive. When I've brought up this subject in regards to the racist graffiti incidents, I was told that the administration was the one who broke the news on the Jan. 30 incident, but does that action, significant as this, shine as brightly in lieu that the previous five incidents had been covered up? The problem with only playing defense is that if the momentum of the current activity dies down -- either from lack of energy, resources or motivation -- Vanderbilt lacks the administrative structural support necessary to keep diversity planted on the agenda beyond rhetoric. Students go in and out in four-year cycles, and although I have no doubt that 2006 and beyond will be in the best of hands, I hate to see them have to keep "reinventing the wheel."

No one ever urged me to research the Black Manifesto, the Curriculum Diversification Committee or any of the other past undergraduate movements. I did so not only because such study reminds me that activism, believe it or not, has a legacy on a campus where "no one cares," but also to see how individual events have had a rough time building off of one another in order to push forward what's at stake. Do we even need to waste time addressing why the Jan. 30 incident is troubling? Can't we take it for granted that we need to act? We've satisfied ourselves with the status quo for too long; now is the time to go above and beyond the call of duty because we have an issue that deserves the attention.

We need to be more aggressive, not only combating the situation at hand, but in going on the attack in regards to investing innovative solutions to create a different Vanderbilt. Luckily, we already have seen a taste of this with Chancellor Gordon Gee's vision of the residential college system that will eventually draw a different type of student to Vanderbilt. Recognizing that we need to draw a different type of student here is a critical first step in the right direction, but we can't afford to wait for these messiahs. In terms of the here and now, this community needs to stop looking over its shoulder and start playing offense.