The Theater Philanthropist

Most people who act or perform in an improv comedy group think it’s all about them. They love the spotlight and quiver at the fear of being behind the curtain, or worse – an understudy.

However, Austin native Duncan Hall knows that it’s not all about him. In addition to being involved in Vanderbilt Theatre and Tongue N Cheek improv comedy group, he volunteers with the service group Manna, in which student take service trips to countries in Central and South America over spring break. As a Public Policy major and Spanish minor, he wants to work as an ambassador or diplomat to a developing Spanish-speaking country.

Over the course of several discussions (the first three attempts didn’t record), we chatted about what Vanderbilt students value, where they fit in our generation and where Duncan sees himself in the coming years. 

Millenials React on Facebook to the Election

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but these days, everyone is hoping their facebook status is worth a thousand likes.

I was and am absolutely fascinated by the facebook statuses posted after the election Tuesday night. The range in opinion, misinformation, wild accusations and actual thought provoking insights is vast, particularly among the millenial generation. The majority of my friends on Facebook are close to my age, so by just scrolling through my newsfeed this morning, I was able to do a little detective work during is an activity I do multiple (dozens??) times a day anyway.

In other mediated platforms like television or radio, it’s often the most extreme voices that are heard. However, on facebook, twitter and blogs, even those more moderately-minded have a place to state (type) their opinion. Facebook statuses are are microblogs with a captive audience (One might even call it a hostage situation.) Millenials choose the blogs and twitter accounts we follow, but it’s harder to choose your friends on facebook. Social implications abound when you ignore or unfriend someone on facebook, so if a Facebook friend is into political ranting and their opinion comes up on your newsfeed, there’s no where to run. I am of the camp to just keep scrolling and keep my opinions to myself, but most of my generation took to their keyboards when they saw the status explosion.

 Many of them indicated that they were sick of bipartisanship and ready to focus on the future as Americans, not political parties. 

Others were just sick of the complaining:

Matt and his commenters did an excellent job of mocking the predictable content of the statuses:

There were the excited supporters of President Obama:

 

And the disappointed (and sometimes vulgar, I found) supporters of Governor Romney

 

And those who had other, more pressing matters on their minds:

However, there was one status in particular that I wanted to sing “Amen” to. I felt that was the most thought provoking and I was actually appreciative of its lack of inciting words:

 The colorful commentary from his mother indicated that engaging in the political debate is not something that Steven typically does, but I think he makes an excellent point. So many issues are wrapped up into the platform of one candidate that it’s difficult to separate your personal opinion on the individual running and how you predict they will handle the problems facing the nation. The words “fiscally conservative, but socially liberal” are becoming a little cliché around Vanderbilt’s campus, but I feel like they have a point. Steven may have only received two likes for his comment (ad a comment from his mom), but that just goes to show that my theory about the loud voices is certainly disprovable. Extreme voices are often the most heard on TV and radio, and the extreme statuses are often the most seen on Facebook. As differently our news functions today as a result of social networking and blogging have brought about, I guess some things never change.

The Athlete

A day in the life of a Vandy football stud:

7:45-8:00 am: Awake. Kind of.

8:00-9:00 am: Class. (It’s worth noting that very few people in Vandyland have voluntarily submitted themselves to the torture of an 8 am class.)

9:00-10:00 am: Breakfast with some teammates.

10:00-11:00 am: Nap time! (Again, most Vanderbilt student are waking up around this time.)

11:00 am: Awake. Kind of.

11:03 am- 12:00 pm: Second class.

12:00-1:00 pm: Lunch.

1:00-2:00 pm: Nap time!

2:00-2:15 pm: Awake. Kind of.

2:15-7:00 pm: Football. Gets dressed, small meeting, big meeting, practice, gets undressed. (Vanderbabes everywhere swoon.)

7:00-8:15: Dinner.

8:15-“Late”: Spending time with friends, TV, videogames, homework.

“Late”: Bedtime.

(Special circumstances that would alter the last part of his daily schedule: a paper or a test the next day, in which he would not sleep, or a night out with friends, in which he would sleep very little.)

So before 2 pm, Vanderbilt wide receiver Chris Boyd has the schedule of an exhausted preschooler, from 2pm-8pm, that of a professional athlete and from 8 pm on, a hard-working yet social college student. The up and downs would be enough to push anyone to the edge, but Chris keeps himself sane by focusing on his school work, keeping ahead of the competition, and his opportunity to go to a school like Vanderbilt.

Chris majors in Human and Organizational Development on the Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness Track. Often referred to as the “coloring major” because of some professors’ propensities for making charts about feelings, HOD is mocked for being the easiest major on campus. It is also the most popular.  

Chris seems to be focused on the utility of the HOD major, though – knowing how individuals, small groups and large organizations function and interact. Furthermore, his track, LOE, consists of classes like Leadership Theory and Practice, in which Chris clearly does more than color. “I like HOD because there’s not really a right or wrong answer, but you can show how you would lead or organize,” he says. “There’s lots of leadership development that I think I can use a lot on the field and when I’m doing school stuff,” Chris says.

When asked what he wanted to do next year, Chris says, “I’m not really sure. I’d like to play football at the next level. But if I don’t, I’d like to be an entrepreneur, or in a business of some sort, maybe with fashion or something in that industry, but I’m not 100% sure.” He smiles. “Even though it’s a long shot, I just want to be a boss, to make my rules and lead others.”

Anchor down y'all.

Hailing from Roswell, GA, the wide receiver has an older brother and a younger brother, both of whom are 19 months apart from him. All three play college football. (That poor mother, I thought to myself. Chris responded to my subconscious saying, “Yea, my mom gave up on girls after that.”)

Their father raised the three boys to value leadership and hard work. He would frequently take them to work with him and insisted that they could have what they wanted as long as they set their mind to it. “He would reward us for doing little jobs,” Christ reflects. “Hard work was instilled in my mind. I want to have success like he did.”

Does he feel the pressure to go into business like his father? “Of I course I want to exceed what he’s done,” Chris says. “We’re all really competitive, we want to be ‘that guy.’ But it’s good because we all push each other.”

He fits right in with the academic competition at Vanderbilt, although he thinks his fellow students perceive him in a certain way. “I think people see me and people say I’m not here for the same reason they are, but I came here for the academic reasons too,” he reflects. “There’s life after football. I don’t want people to see me as just the jock football guy.”

At the same time, though, the millennial paradox of setting oneself apart and fulfilling expectations arises. Right now, Chris struggles with something very few students have to deal with: the decision to finish college as his parents, grandparents and older brother did – or to pursue football professionally. He redshirted freshman year and is considering a change. (For those who are athletically illiterate, he forewent playing time freshman year to extend his four years of eligibility in the NCAA.) 

“I’m junior in school, but after next season, I’ll still have another season of football,” he says. “I feel like I’ve come so far, so I’d like to stay and finish but with an opportunity to play professionally, it’s hard.”

However, despite the excitement of playing professionally, Chris reflects our generation in that he realizes the value of his education.

“The thing that gets me going is that I have opportunity in front of me that a lot of people don’t,” he says. “With a Vanderbilt degree, I feel confident. Vanderbilt is one of the best schools in the country and best conference in the country. As bad as waking up and all of the work is sometimes, there are people who can’t come to a school like this.  I want to bust my ass now so I reap the benefits when I’m older.”

Busting his ass indeed. Chris makes having a social life, academic success and athletic prowess seem like a walk in the park – but if you dig a little deeper, it’s more of a sprint than a stroll.