Archives for February 2019

Hey y’all welcome to our new blog on MyCommons Life! We’re just a couple of Vandy students who love to explore Nashville in our free time. We’ve noticed throughout our first year on campus that it can be difficult to budget time and money to explore our city, but our goal is to minimize those problems by finding affordable, time-conscientious activities that anyone can try. Some categories we’ll be exploring are:

• Figuring out the darn bus system
• How to spend $5 or less on a day in Nashville
• Exploring beyond downtown Nashville (12 South, East Nashville, West Nashville)
• Finding new places within reasonable walking distance

Hopefully through these adventures we can inspire you to venture off campus or out of your apartment in ways that don’t break the bank or your patience!

Walker House

Howdy! I am a first-year studying Biochemistry in the College of Arts and Science. I’m currently involved with Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science, Nashville Navigators, and Alternative Spring Break. My life here at Vandy can become crazy demanding at times, but I want to make time to explore the unique culture of Nashville without forking over my bank account. Moving to the Music City has been an amazing experience so far and there are many more fun (and inexpensive) adventures yet to come!

MacKenzie Gleason

​I am a freshman studying Human and Organizational Development with a minor in Business. I’m involved in Original Cast, Nashville Navigators, and Vanderbilt Recording Studio on campus, and I love to play music in my free time. Living only a couple of minutes away from downtown Nashville, I believe that there’s so much opportunity for Nashville college students to explore the beauty of the city that they’re in, even on a budget. My hope is that we can help simplify your Nashville experience and make getting off campus a feasible option during the week!

In honor of VandyRadio’s upcoming Valentine’s Day broadcast, we sat down with Ben Dabney, the student station manager, who is here to answer all of your burning questions about this student organization.

What is VandyRadio? 

VandyRadio is Vanderbilt’s premier popular music station, playing all over campus. It is entirely student-run and operated, with shows covering everything from classic rock to live sports coverage to bad movie reviews.

What is your role at VandyRadio and how did you first get involved at the station? 

I’m the Station Manager, so my job is to make sure all of VandyRadio’s moving parts are working properly. I work with an exec board to keep everyone’s shows running smoothly and collaborate with other student groups. I was…aggressively recruited my freshman year at the org fair and I’ve been involved every year since! 

How may Vanderbilt students participate as DJ’s/hosts at VandyRadio?

 Currently we have almost 35 students doing weekly shows, with 4 trainees in the works. This semester especially has had a lot of new people interested in [VandyRadio]. 

How can students listen to VandyRadio?

 You’ve probably heard us somewhere already! We play in Rand, Commons, EBI, and the Pub. Off-campus, we have a livestream on our app and website (vandyradio.com), as well as an Alexa skill on the Amazon store. 

Why should students tune in to VandyRadio instead of Spotify or other listening choices? 

Unlike Spotify or Pandora, VandyRadio content is managed by college students, for college students. Everything from the music to the news coverage is designed to appeal to that audience, because it IS that audience! That level of involvement just isn’t there with a corporate streaming service. 

Tell everyone about your upcoming live Valentine’s broadcast? 

 On February 13, from 6-9 PM, we are doing a show live in the Commons Atrium. We’ll be playing music and giving out chocolate, but most importantly we’ll be reading notes submitted by students for their special someone. If you’ve been looking to tell them how you feel, this is your chance! (We all know everything sounds better in a “radio voice.”) 

How can Vanderbilt students be a part of this live broadcast?  

We need your notes! There are heart boxes in Commons Center, Branscomb Lobby, EBI Lobby, and Local Java to collect them. Leading up to the broadcast, we should also have an online form for last-minute entries. The day of, you can come visit us or just tune-in for the show! And don’t forget to tweet song requests to @vandyradio, we need some good love ballads. 

Does VandyRadio take requests all the time, or just for this live event? 

We take requests at most live events, but we let hosts manage their own playlists. If there’s something you want to hear, you can always call into the station during a show, or maybe try the booth yourself! It’s your hour; what you do with it is up to you. 

Any other special upcoming broadcasts or events that you’d like students to know about?

 Most importantly I want everyone to know that VandyRadio is always looking for new hosts! Training is a year-round event, and no experience is required. You could be up and running in less than two weeks as part of the soundtrack of campus life. Coming up, we are providing the music for the VALE Awards ceremony, and we may or may not be planning something special for St. Patrick’s Day. Stay tuned!