The pre-2008 “Top Colleges” books described a different Vanderbilt. They described a university still wrapped in Southern tradition with a chancellor who hit up frat row and distributed bow-tie cookies. They described a school that was known for being a challenge but also full of students that liked to have a little fun. Just like Cornelius Vanderbilt, their founder, the majority of its students held a “work hard, play hard” mentality.
Parts of the Vanderbilt they described still exist. Rand still sells sweet tea and grits in the morning, country music still blares from Greek row at 5 p.m. on Fridays, and some guys still wear button downs to class while girls sport the sundresses with cowboy boots. Of course, they are joined by many more for the Saturday football games.
Despite these small remnants, things here at Vandy are changing, and The Commons deserves most of the blame.
When upperclassmen were college-searching, The Commons wasn’t really a part of the mix. Now it’s everything. It’s constantly showcased to prospective students. It’s all over the website, and now, campus tours spend a good amount of time on Peabody campus and skip other parts, like Frat Row.
The Commons has also become the way of life for new students. Rather than becoming immersed in Vanderbilt culture right off the bat (like the minute they step out of Branscomb their first Friday night), they get a year to develop relationships with their classmates and develop their new college identities that might not end up being too different from what they were in high school.
Well, it’s working. With this huge undertaking, Vanderbilt has been able to offer prospective students something more. As a result, Vandy has attracted the crème of the crop that has our academic reputation climbing up in the rankings. Classes have become more challenging, Rand is full of late night studiers, and thoughtful student organizations have become louder.
The Vanderbilt community has also become more diverse — economically, geographically and culturally. The long shirt and leggings with Tory Burch shoes has become a more popular style than the sundress with boots. There are just as many stereotypically northeastern Greek houses as there are Southern. Everywhere you turn, there is another student that is receiving some sort of financial aid (perhaps the coolest thing about Vandy). The Wall is laden with different cultural groups making a name for themselves, and the group that juggles on Alumni Lawn every Friday afternoon gets bigger and bigger every week.
Vanderbilt is opening up in so many ways, and it’s also becoming tougher. Professors are beginning to expect more because standards are set higher. This is wonderful, because in the end, we all look good. Our experience will become more valuable and our degree something to brag about. It doesn’t hurt that the job market will be easier on us. But let’s proceed with caution.
If we lose everything — the Southern appeal, the fratty Fridays, the whole “work hard, play hard” mentality — we will become Duke. Competition and constant work will become the new undergraduate experience. That’s not what we signed up for.
—Frannie Boyle is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at mary.f.boyle@vanderbilt.edu.
