News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here
“My passion is in the art that I create and animation. I try to create from muscle memory or just try to create something impossible or top others who inspired me. I also have a passion for my family and the music that I choose. “
Yeah, we know, it’s not TECHNICALLY spring yet. But this winter the weather in Nashville has been unusually warm, which has put all of us at MCL into full fledged spring fever. And let’s not forget that spring break is next week y’all. So we thought it was time to compile a list of the Top 5 things to do this spring in Nashville, so here you go.
5. Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Art Museum
What better place to enjoy the spring awakening than a place that boasts 150,000 blooming bulbs. Tulips, dogwoods, dafodils, magnolias and more are on display as the warmer weather coaxes out nature’s beauty. As a plus you get a student discount for a $6 admission with your student ID. Weekend activities for their “Cheekwood in Bloom” festival from March 18-April 23 include tours, crafts, live music, and bunnies. BUNNIES!
Okay, so this event definitely caters to a specific type of fashion lover, but if that describes you, well you are in luck. You don’t have to jet off to Paris or New York to take a gander at the latest runway styles. This event is billed as “a city-wide celebration of Nashville’s thriving fashion and retail community and its vast array of creative talent.” And bonus, proceeds help benefit the philanthropic efforts of the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund.
3. The Wild West Comedy Festival
We have to be honest, we at MCL have no idea why the Wild WEST Comedy Festival is held in the Southeast, but we really don’t care. What an opportunity to see some of the biggest comedy stars in the world right in your back yard, if of course your back yard is the Ryman Auditorium or TPAC. But hey that’s just geography, the treat here is that this festival literally has a comedian to cover everyone’s comedy taste. Wanna “Get Er Done?”, then you can see Larry the Cable Guy (no, really). If you can quote Happy Gilmore by heart you can see Adam Sandler and his gang of comedy partners perform at the Grand Ole Opry (I bet they are a little more controversial than Minnie Pearl). And if you love alternative comedy, one of the kings of that subset is Patton Oswalt, who will be performing at the aforementioned Ryman. So if you play your cards right you can see both the voice of Mater and Ratatouille in one week … pretty awesome.
2. Nashville Sounds Baseball Game
They may be known as the boys of summer, but they start playing in the spring, just about a month from now. Home games for the Sounds (Nashville’s minor league baseball team, if ya didn’t know) begin on April 11. They have a shiny new stadium, just opened last year, and every seat is a good one. And say goodbye to those big league prices, too, as most tickets and concessions are reasonably priced. Check their schedule for some always interesting promotions. And hey, the scoreboard is shaped like a giant guitar, just in case you forgot you were in Nashville.
1. The Rites of Spring at Vanderbilt
Okay first-years, you know you can’t wait for your first Rites. I mean how many times did we hear about Rites, dream about hanging with our fellow Dores and soaking up some awesome tunes on Alumni Lawn? Well, the wait is almost over. With a line-up that spans different genres and performance types, there will surely be someone on stage during the two-day festival that will get you excited. And more than that, Rites is a tradition, a rite of passage if you will, for Vanderbilt students. Rain or shine, good performances or bad, these are the Vandy memories you can make that will last a lifetime.
Cortez gives us the low-down on the week before Spring Break!
“I’m very passionate about music. It’s always been a big part of my life, and there’s not a day that I have where I don’t listen to it.”
Cortez journeys to the campus Greenhouse with Serena. Anchor Down!
We often forget we are in a city of almost 250 years of history. A lot of people have come and gone during those years, and Music City has no doubt seen its own share of odd happenings. All these dead people and the mysteriousness of some of these deaths make a potent recipe for ghosts, which just happen to be the subject of this Top 5: The most haunted places right here in this fine city. Thanks to Haunted Places, Ghostvillage.com, HauntedPlacestoGo.com, and Ghosts of the Prairie, all sites that deal with reporting and detailing supposed paranormal experiences, I was able to get the inside scoop on which places in Nashville offer the richest haunted experiences. Get ready for some serious thrills, because we are going to go strange places that no Top 5 has ever gone before!
A railroad terminal that opened in 1900, Union Station is now a posh hotel just west of downtown Nashville. With such tragedies as the Great Train Wreck of 1918, resulting in the deaths of at least 101 people, and, according to A Gothic Curiosity Cabinet, the suicide of a young woman in Room 711, there are definitely same negative vibes floating around this place, man. According to internet posts of people who stay at this place, the squeals Phantom steam locomotives, loud thumps, and ghosts goofing around with the electricity are all hallmarks of Union Station. Throw in whispered tales of Satanic sacrifice, and you have yourself quite a paranormal stew. While not as suffocatingly frightening as other haunted hotels, it still has its grim mysteries lurking in the corners of rooms and darkened hallways.
Address: 1001 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
Phone Number: (615) 726-1001
Ryman Auditorium, also known as the Grand Ole Opry House, is an ideal ghost habitat, considering that this building has been standing since 1892, and its history as the “Cathedral of Country Music.” According to HauntedPlacetoGo.com, sightings include the wizard of country music, Hank Williams Sr., whose short and troubled, means that he just HAD to become a ghost once passing through the veil. There are also many sightings of a mysterious Gray Man, a special entity who is often observed sitting seen sitting in the balcony area, watching the stage. Usually only seen by maintenance workers and security guards, it makes its appearance long after the performance has finished and the audience has gone home. In general, people have reported incidents of poltergeist activity, and the original Captain Ryman is still said to wander around keeping a watchful ghostly eye on the place.
Address: 116 5th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37219
Phone Number: (615) 889-3060
A former correctional facility located on Bomar Boulevard, Tennessee State Prison was opened in 1898, and stayed open for almost an entire century, before it closed its doors in 1992. A majestic building in its own right, the description and the comments for this place at Haunted Places contains many instances of unexplained sounds, such as doors slamming, voices, and footsteps, no doubt caused by the restless spirits of prisoners, who are still imprisoned in this plane of existence. Thrill seekers occasionally catch sight of these prisoners, ghostly apparitions whose violent lives in prison have left them wandering around, seeking some sort of mysterious justice. Unfortunately, due to structural instability, one cannot actually visit the prison, but still it has to be include as a place of significant paranormal activity here in Nashville. As you might have guessed, there is no contacting this place by phone, and if you are the sort of person who likes to live dangerously, a visit here would preclude getting pass the guards, and after hoping the structurally unstable building does actually collapse on top of you.
Address: 100 Bomar Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209
4. 2 Rivers Mansion and Golf Course
A historic mansion located North of Nashville International Airport with various amenities, such as tennis courts and, of course, a golf course, attached to it, 2 Rivers Mansion was built in 1859 and in the intervening 158 years, it has developed an intriguing amount mysterious activity. According to the description on Haunted Places, the golf course is supposedly on the site of what was a civil war battle ground and a Native American burial ground, so it’s no wonder that at least according to the testimonies on that website speak of shadow figures often wandering around the golf course in the middle of the night. Strange noises and orbs are often reported as being heard and seen around both the mansion and the golf course as well. On top of all this, unexplained difficulties with modern electronic equipment is apparently a common motif here. This is a place that is inconvenient as well as fright-inducing.
Address: 3130 McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN 37214
Phone Number: (615) 885-1112
The Tennessee capitol building has a place on this list more for its history than for its ghosts, but still there are many rumors of a particularly interesting sort of haunting. Completed in 1859, the Tennessee State Capitol stands atop the highest summit in the city, this building is home to a never-ending argument between the ghosts of William Strickland and Samuel Morgan, who were not the chummiest fellows when they were alive. What makes it odder was they were not even politicians, Strickland was the architect who built the Capitol, and Morgan was the overseer of the operation, and was supposed to keep Strickland within budget. Haunted Places states that they decided to take their very many arguments about the construction of this iconic building into the afterlife. It does not really help that these two are buried on the property.
Address: 600 Charlotte Ave, Nashville, TN 37243
Phone Number: (615) 741-2692
Olivia: “I am passionate about my friends. I enjoy spending time with others and surrounding myself with those who make me happy. I pride myself on being a good friend.”
Liv: “Education! Working hard and balancing that with fun!”
Lauren: “I am passionate about Relay for Life. I did Relay throughout high school and continue to participate at Vanderbilt. I love raising money for such a great cause and instilling hope in the lives of so many.”
In this episode of IQ, we gather first-years’ opinions on the pledge of allegiance: should it be mandatory in schools, or not?
Claire tells us what we missed this past weekend and what to look out for this upcoming week. Attend ANYF 2017: The Year of the Phoenix and Vandy Spoken Word’s Incognito Mode Showcase and a celebration of cultures at the Commons Center!
“I am passionate about music and how it can be used to shape the world around us. I grew up listening to a variety of music and also learned to play piano, clarinet, and saxophone along the way. In my experience, music is a form of emotional expression that musicians can share with their audience. I am passionate about using my musical abilities and talents to express what I see and feel in my surroundings and share it with those around me.”