My Commons Life

News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here

Daniel Sak

Commons Cupdate 10/13

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Kickball cut short. No official victor. Commons Unplugged fast approaching. Here’s what you need to know about the latest developments in the Commons Cup.

Kickball Tournament

This past Sunday’s kickball tournament was the most shocking event of this year’s Commons Cup. The ten houses gave everything they had to fight for victory in this second – and final – athletic competition of the Fall Semester. (Don’t worry. There will be more athletic events in the Spring.)

Tournament Overview

The competition began with a fierce battle between Memorial and Gillette that lasted around 40 minutes – twice as long as the standard regulation. Although both teams gave it their all, Memorial edged out in the end with a 6-5 victory. The following game between East and Sutherland was also fought tirelessly, but after a discrepancy regarding the number of outs East had and a subsequent argument with the referees, the game was ended abruptly, handing Sutherland a 6-5 victory.

The second round did not see quite the same level of intensity as the first. It began with West beating Stambaugh 4-2, and was followed by North fending off Murray in a 7-5 victory. The largest story of the second round was the next game between Commons’ largest and smallest houses: Hank and Memorial. Although Memorial was coming off an early win, Hank crushed the house in a decisive 14-2 win. What followed this blowout was the closest game of round two with Sutherland barely holding off Crawford in a tight 6-5 victory.

The semifinals saw a familiar final four to the Ultimate Frisbee Tournament: Hank, North, and West – all semifinalists in ultimate frisbee – were joined by Sutherland to compete for the podium. The first match saw West take an early lead against Hank. While Hank did make a late-game comeback, West maintained the lead, winning in a tight 6-5 victory. The game between North and Sutherland saw the opposite happen with both teams spending most of the game neck-and-neck, and Sutherland then taking a substantial lead late in the game. North was unable to close the gap, and Sutherland won 6-3.

The championship match provided a chaotic end to a chaotic afternoon. The game began with West building a massive 5-0 lead. Sutherland, however, managed to close the gap with a four point rally. Then one of Sutherland’s players suffered a major injury. After some time, the game was declared a tie. Because of this, neither team was awarded first place.

The Podium

1st Place/2nd Place – Sutherland made their presence know. While their performance in Ultimate Frisbee saw them fall short of the semifinals, they did not fall short in kickball. It should be noted that Sutherland won three kickball games before the final match. This number of wins would have been enough for any of the other semifinalists to win the championship outright, but due to Sutherland’s position on the bracket, they needed to win one more game to take home the win. One thing is for sure: Sutherland should not be ignored.

1st Place/2nd Place – West is a force to be reckoned with. Though they barely missed the podium in Ultimate Frisbee, they still were a top team. While the final game ended early, West did hold the lead for the entire game. Don’t be surprised if you see this name on the podium again.

3rd Place – Hank is back for more. The Ultimate Frisbee Champion is the only house to make two podium appearances. Although they fell short of reaching the championship game, Hank still delivered a massive 12 point defeat to Memorial. With its strong performances in both athletic events, this house should be feeling pretty good right now.

Looking Forward: Commons Unplugged

Running from October 31st through November 6th is Commons Unplugged Week. This weeklong series of events focused on helping the environment consists of three major events: Green Activity, Green Forum, and Energy Conservation

Green Activity

This is an event where first-years can get practice working on campus sustainability. Attendance is tracked and counts for points. The details of this year’s Green Activity have yet to be released, but it will take place some time during Commons Unplugged Week. Make sure to be on the lookout for announcements from your house.

Green Forum

This is a lecture on conservation and sustainability that will take place on November 3rd from 7-8PM in the Commons MPR. Attendance is tracked and counts towards Commons Cup.

Energy Conservation

During this week, each house’s energy use will be tracked and compared to that same house’s energy use during Commons Unplugged week in 2019. The goal of each house is to reduce their energy consumption by as much as possible. Points are awarded based on how much energy each house conserves compared to 2019.

*Disclaimer: Daniel Sak, the author of this piece, is the Vice President of Hank Ingram House and was a member of the Hank Ingram kickball team.

Commons Cupdate 9/29

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Cheering crowds. Hank victory. Kickball on the horizon. Here is all you need to know about the latest Commons Cup developments.

Ultimate Frisbee Tournament

This year’s ultimate frisbee tournament was not short of excitement. The first Commons Cup athletic competition, taking place this past Sunday under the glaring afternoon sun, was the first opportunity for the Class of 2025 to compete head-to-head against the other houses of the Ingram Commons for the Commons Cup.

Tournament Overview

In the opening round, West defeated Stambaugh by four points with a final score of 7-3. Sutherland beat Memorial by the same margin with the game ending 9-5.

The quarter-finals saw a bit more diversity in scores. Murray put up a tough fight against East in their opening match but ended up losing by a single point (final score of 7-8). That nail-biter was followed by Hank crushing Crawford with a final score of 9-3, the most decisive victory in the whole tournament. Gillette lost to West 4-6 in a tough fought match. Wrapping up the round was North’s come-from-behind 7-6 victory against Sutherland.

All four remaining teams – West, East, North, and Hank – fought passionately to secure their spots in the championship match. Natural rivals West and East House faced off in the first of these matches. This game saw elevated levels of roughness with multiple players being ejected. The game ended with East beating West 6-5, scoring the winning point in overtime.

The Hank vs North game was not short of surprises either. While the match started with the two teams trading points, North picked up some momentum built a commanding 7-2 lead against Hank. However, a late game rally saw Hank make a 6 point run, passing North and winning with a final score of 8-7.

After a long day of ultimate frisbee, the championship match between Hank and East began. While Hank managed to take an early lead, East closed the gap, leaving the score tied 4-4 at the end of regulation. The tournament ended as Hank scored the final, game-winning point.

The Podium

1st Place – Hank Ingram House is the house to beat. Not only is Commons’ largest house the ultimate frisbee champion, they also had the largest margin of victory (6 points against Crawford) and largest comeback victory (against North) in this year’s tournament. Their fan base – filling up both sides of the field – was nothing to scoff at either. If Hank can hold this momentum, they will be a force to be reckoned with this year.

2nd Place – East House is right on Hank’s tail. East was dominant throughout the tournament and only lost to Hank by one point. The question still remains: Will this loss demoralize or motivate East?

3rd Place – North is back for more. The traditional powerhouse and most recent Commons Cup victor has once again proven they are still a threat. While they did not make it to the championship game, third place should give this house a boost in points and enthusiasm to help propel them forward in this contest.

Looking Forward: Kickball

With ultimate frisbee over, it is time to move on to the next Commons Cup event: kickball. The Kickball Tournament is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 10th from 11AM-3PM. This is the second of four athletic events for Commons Cup. Like all athletic and academic events, houses can earn points not only for gameplay but also for fan support. Please note that fan support is only tracked during your house’s first game. Keep an eye out for more information from your House Vice Presidents regarding the Kickball Tournament.

Commons Cupdate 9/22

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Welcome to the first addition of the My Commons Life Commons Cupdate: your place to see all the latest developments and news related to the Commons Cup. Here is what you need to know:

Past Events

Kickoff – On Sunday September 12, the 2021-2022 Commons Cup began at Commons Center. Although attendance at this event counted towards the Commons Cup, participation was relatively low. This may, however, be due to the fact that house presidents (the people in charge of increasing event turnout) had yet to be elected.

HPAC Elections and Appointments – Over the course of the last few weeks, each House’s HPAC was assembled through a combination of elections (President and Vice President) and appointments (Public Relations Chair and Service Commissioners). This group will serve as the leadership for the house throughout the year, so make sure you get to know them.

Upcoming Events

Ultimate Frisbee – This first athletic event in Commons Cup will be held Sunday September 26, from 2-6PM. If you are interested in competing for your house in Ultimate Frisbee, reach out to your house vice president to sign up. If you are not competing, still come to Magnolia Lawn to cheer on your team! Attendance at Ultimate Frisbee, like all athletic and academic events, counts toward your house’s Community Involvement scores, so you can help the house win just by showing up.

MCL Top 5: Ways YOU Can Affect Change in Campus Dining

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If you were to ask me what my largest qualm with Vanderbilt Campus Dining was, I would not say the lines or the constant closures or even the lack of choices. While I believe all of these are areas the administration needs to address, there is something I am even more disappointed to have witnessed:

Vanderbilt Campus Dining made us – the student body – feel ignored.

We can feel demoralized when the booming calls to improve our dining experience seemingly continue to go unheard. In spite of this feeling, we do have power. Still, it can be difficult and nerve racking to take a stand, so listed below are the MCL Top 5 Tips on how you can bring about change in Vanderbilt Campus Dining.

1. Identify Where Your Message is Going

Knowing whom you want to receive your message is vital to success. In most cases, you typically want you message to reach those who have the ability to make changes. It can be easy to see Campus Dining as a singular entity, but it is a organization of people with all different types of jobs. The dining staff we interact with every day is a very different group than those who are actually making the decisions. Complaining to those who are subject to Vanderbilt Campus Dining’s administrative decisions, like students and much of the dining staff, will have little effect. You have to direct your message to the administration itself.

2. Know What You Want

This seems like such a simple idea, but many of us forget to consider the end goal. Almost all of us want Vanderbilt’s dining experience to be better, but “making something better” is not a substantive policy change. Do you want shorter lines? More choices? Longer hours? Whatever it is that you want changed, be clear about it. If you are worried about a number of issues, state each one explicitly. Furthermore, offer suggestions when possible. Even if a solution to one of the dining problems seems obvious to you, tell them anyways. There is always a chance they have yet to think of that fix.

3. Assume Campus Dining is Acting Rationally

For my fellow social science majors out there, you have probably heard this one before. Vanderbilt Campus Dining is not operating with evil intent; they simply have an approach moving forward that many of us find detrimental. Always remember that there is a reason they are making these changes. We may think it is a poor reason, but it is a reason nonetheless. If you cannot figure out the rationale (or even if you believe you have figured it out), the best way to begin a conversation with them is to ask “why”. I know it may seem a little odd, but in most cases you get one of two types of responses:

  1. You get a reasonable response that makes sense. If what they say is reasonable, feel free to ask follow up questions and offer suggestions, but I would avoid being overly combative. It is also okay to let an issue go and move on to something else. Some fight are not worth having, and there are plenty of other issues that need addressing.
  2. You get a poorly developed response. This is the time explain you position. If you notice a flaw in their response, cordially bring it to light. In most scenarios, I would pose it in the form of another question, but it is up to your judgement call. However you choose to respond, proceed respectfully.

4. Acknowledge When They do Something Good

Not everything Campus Dining has done in the past few months has been bad. We can sometimes get into a mindset of constant combat and rebuttal, but sometimes one of the most effective strategies to affect change is through positive reinforcement. It is often easier for an organization to do more of something that they are already doing than to develop a whole new system. A compliment is also more likely to be stand out in the barrage of critiques Campus Dining is receiving.

5. Publicize Your Opinion

This is the key to any successful movement. No matter how upset we are, nothing will change if we fail to share our thoughts. Every email written, every post made, every petition signed brings us a step closer to the version of Campus Dining we want to see. The best part of this strategy is that everyone can participate to their own comfort level. It does not matter if you create a petition or just sign it, every little bit helps.

Final Thoughts

After writing this piece, I hope not to leave anyone with the wrong impression. I am proud to be a Vanderbilt student. It is exactly because of this pride I want to see this school become the best it can. Over the summer, Vanderbilt University required the Class of 2025 to read the book When Breath Becomes Air, in which it is stated “You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.” Although I have not been on campus for a full month yet, it is clear Vanderbilt is pushing us to hold ourselves to this standard. We should ask the same of them.

MCL Top 5: Alternatives to the Rand Lunch Line

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Let’s face it: waiting in the long lines for lunch at Rand can be a pain. Many students also have classes before and after lunch, so the time they have to eat is far more restricted than the other meals of the day. The Rand Dining Hall is one of the most popular places on campus for lunch, but it is far from the only one. Here are the Top 5 Alternative Lunch Spots, so you can spend your lunch break enjoying your food instead of waiting for it.

1. Kissam Munchie Mart

This Munchie Mart located in Kissam is a great place to stop for lunch, especially for those with classes in Wilson and Furman Halls. Open all day from 7:30 AM until midnight on weekdays, the Kissam Munchie Mart allows for much greater flexibility than the traditional dining halls that only open for certain meals. Moreover, unlike some Munchie Marts, Kissam’s offers a large dining space with plenty of tables to meet up with friends.

2. E. Bronson Ingram

For those who attempt to eat at Rand, but find upon arrival that the line is too long, EBI is a perfect alternative. Located near Alumni Lawn, getting here is only a brief walk from Rand. Beyond convenient location, EBI has a few distinct advantages. Unlike most of the other options on this list, Bronson offers a hot, freshly-prepared lunch; however, the lines tend to be shorter here than at Rand. This is also one of the few places on campus that offers an all-you-can-eat style buffet. Just keep in mind that EBI is open for lunch from 11:00 AM through 2:30 PM, so it might not be the best option for those who deviate significantly from a traditional meal schedule.

3. Rand Grab & Go

While the line for a Randwich may stretch out the door, there’s rarely a wait at the Grab & Go stationed near by. Located to the right after walking through the main entrance, the Rand Grab & Go is much faster than waiting for food in the main Rand cafeteria. It is also much better suited for those with nontraditional eating schedules as it is open nonstop on weekdays from 7:30 AM through 7:00 PM (except for Fridays when it closes at 4:00 PM).

4. Suzie’s Central Library – Food For Thought Café

Many first-year students are not even aware of this small café at connected to Central Library; however, it can be a great place to grab lunch or a midday pick-me-up. Open 8:00 AM to 7:00PM weekdays (except Fridays when it closes at 3PM), Suzie’s Food for Though Café offers a soothing contrast to the commotion of Rand. Its location attached to Central Library also makes this a prime lunch stop for those looking to do some studying before or after lunch.

5. Save Food from Commons the Night Before

This one takes a little bit of planning but can be a lifesaver. Some class schedules do not lend themselves well to stopping at any Dining Hall or Munchie Mart for lunch. Thanks to the way the meal plan is set up, an extra meal can be purchased the night before, thrown in the fridge (which most students already have in their dorms), and saved for the following day’s lunch. This option offers the most flexibility in meals as all the options from the Commons Cafeteria and Munchie Mart are available. Saving food from the night before is also the most accommodating to those with difficult schedules as they can eat those meals whenever they want.

Bonus Meal Money: A First Year Perspective

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  • Ashton Helveston
  • Maya Anderson
  • Jonathan Wilson

After a rocky start to the new school year, Vanderbilt Campus Dining announced a fifty dollar Meal Money credit for students that would reset daily August 24th through 29th. While this may have been nothing more than a policy decision for Campus Dining, one could not help but notice a change in the atmosphere among the student body. This change was especially significant for first-year students who were still adjusting to campus life.

At a time when their schedules were packed with mandatory orientation events and new classes, the Class of 2025 received some freedom and flexibility from the bonus Meal Money. While most first-years would typically eat a majority of their meals at Munchie Marts, the Commons Center, and Rand, this policy opened up opportunities for these new students to try restaurants around the city they just moved to. In their first week on campus, first-years were granted a risk-free opportunity to try everything from Taco Mama’s to the Grilled Cheeserie.

The additional funds worked to shorten waits in the dining halls as well. Prospective Biology major Ashton Helveston noted, “I actually went to Rand for breakfast one day when we still had the fifty dollars and I got through the line super quick and got to my class with no worries or stress.”

Many students worked to optimize this opportunity. Helveston was one of these students: “I made sure I spent every penny every single day.” However, not everyone felt the same way.

Jonathan Wilson, a first-year Mechanical Engineering major, pointed out that the daily expiration of the Meal Money “provided this incentive to spend all $50.” In spite of this, Wilson only spent all fifty dollars once in the six day period, stating, “I don’t really need all that extra food anyways.”

Some students went even further, noting it caused them some minor stress. “I felt more of a pressure to spend [the money],” shared Maya Anderson, a first-year studying Neuroscience and Asain Studies. Anderson further explained her feelings, saying she felt that she was “letting all this money go to waste.” Her feeling towards this did change as the week progressed: “Towards the end, I realized it’s not like I have to use it.”

Even though some students may have felt obliged to use this money, those feelings were only a small portion of this story. Some would argue that the money and what it was spent on were overshadowed by something far more important: community.

Anderson also shared about how the bonus Meal Money served as a basis for establishing connections on campus: “[My friends and I] ordered a bunch of food. We ended up sitting with our RA and my roommates and we played card games.” She accredits the bonus Meal Money as the cause for this fun evening with her friends on her floor.

While not perfect, these six days of fifty dollars of bonus meal money offered unique opportunities for the Class of 2025 to adjust to campus life by providing them with a sense of security in their ability to get food, encouraging them to try different cuisines around Nashville, and allowing them to form memories with their new classmates.

Which Lawn Am I On?

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Vanderbilt’s campus has so many lawns it can be hard to keep track. With many events taking place on these various patches of green, it is important to know where you are. Since all of these lawns are mostly grass, they can all start to blend together pretty quickly. With that in mind, here are some landmarks to help you identify which lawn you are on.

Peabody Lawn/Esplanade

This lawn is massive, but there’s only one thing to look for: Peabody College. The domed building, one of the most beautiful on campus, sits atop this long stretch of grass. With something this unique and prominent, you’ll never be lost on Peabody Esplanade.

Commons Lawn

Between Peabody Esplanade and the Commons Center sits Commons lawn. When standing on this lawn, try to spot these statues. If you can see these people dancing (left) or this anchor (right), you will know you are in the right place.

Lower Quad

If you stand on the front porch of the Commons Center (left), you’ll find yourself gazing upon the Lower Quad. This multi-tiered lawn is surrounded by Hank, Stambaugh, and Memorial Houses. Also bordering the lawn is the Dean of the Ingram Commons Residence (center). Finally, make sure to look for the statue of Martha Rivers Ingram (right), namesake of the Ingram Commons, in the center of this lawn.

Upper Quad

On the other side of Stambaugh, sits the Upper Quad. While it may be much smaller than Lower Quad, one thing about this lawn is striking: its symmetry. There may not be any statues, but the way the paths lead from the front of each house to form perfect right angles in the center of the lawn serves as a landmark on its own. Along with Stambaugh, Upper Quad is enclosed by Murray, Sutherland, and Crawford Houses.

East Lawn

Like the Upper Quad, East Lawn lacks identifying statues, but the charm of the historic Gillette, Memorial, and East Halls distinguishes this patch of grass. An easy way to figure out if you are standing on East Lawn is to look for this grand staircase to Gillette.

West Lawn

Across Peabody Esplanade from East Lawn is the aptly named West Lawn. Resting between the final two Commons Houses, North and West Halls, West Lawn is the last spot on Peabody Campus that will be covered in this series. The best way to see if you are standing on West is to look for this solitary lamppost in the center of the lawn.

Bridge Between Main Campus and Peabody (Honorable Mention)

While this may not be a lawn, this bridge is one of the most important walkways on Campus. The bridge, which passes behind the medical research building, can be difficult to find at first. If you are coming from main campus back to Peabody, look for this marble statue (center) and follow the sidewalk around the Medical Research Building.

Library Lawn

This is the lawn you will pass through to get from the bridge to the Sarratt Student Center/Rand. Filled with paths heading in every different direction (center), it can be easy to get confused. To orient yourself, use these two statues: Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (left) in front of Buttrick Hall and these blocks (right) which are on the path to Sarratt/Rand.

Alumni Lawn

The final location in this series is Alumni Lawn. This famous lawn home to many ceremonies on campus is located behind the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The best way to tell see if you are standing on Alumni is to look for the massive flagpole standing atop the lawn.