Lauren has the questions and Dean Gresalfi has the answers in this week’s Q&A segment, Chloe delivers the details on events coming up on campus in this week’s Commons Calendar, and Bri sits down with Brodie Labott for the Human of the Commons interview. Brodie is an Economics and Public Policy Studies double major from Tennessee, and lives in Stambaugh House.
CommonsCast Episode 153-February 28, 2024
On this edition of the official podcast of the Vanderbilt Commons Lauren asks the questions and Dean Gresalfi provides the answers in the Q&A segment, Sariha delivers the details about upcoming events on campus this week in the Commons Calendar, and Bri brings in Andre Mendoza for the Human of the Commons interview. Andre is from Chicago, Illinois and is majoring is Earth and Environmental Science. He lives in Stambaugh House.
CommonsCast Episode 149-January 31, 2024
Lauren sits down with Dean Gresalfi in this week’s Q&A segment, Sofia dishes the details on events coming up on campus in this week’s Commons Calendar, and Sariha brings in Souadou Barry for the Human of the Commons interview. Souadou is a first-year at Vanderbilt from Bronx, New York majoring in Political science and English with a minor in AADS.
If you haven’t been to the library yet, you’re not alone
As Vandy students, I think we throw around the term “imposter syndrome” rather carelessly. I’ve gotten into the habit of coating my most candid statements in a glaze of sarcasm, and “imposter syndrome” definitely gets a nice, shiny makeover whenever I say it. But I think for me, and for many people I’ve talked to this first week of our second semester, that insidious imposter syndrome has made itself a permanent residence in our daily routine.
So my question for you is, How many times have you been to the library?
Last semester, I avoided the libraries like my life depended on it. Stevenson? No, I’m only taking one STEM class this semester. Central? I might annoy people while I wander trying to find my way around. Peabody? Well, there are people doing group work there, and I’m not.
The bottom line is that I relied all too heavily on my earbuds to block out the noise of Commons last semester. And while I like how cozy Commons feels on rainy mornings, and the hominess of my dorm desk, and the people I chat with in the Crawford common room, these were all just justifications for my avoidance of the library.
I didn’t go to the library last semester because I didn’t feel like I belonged there. It’s a silly manifestation of the serious self-doubt that I think many of us still hold. At least I certainly do.
The library is intimidating for many reasons. For one, Central in particular is an actual maze. People talk about the names of every level and the elevators that each go to different floors, and it sounds an awful lot like the changing staircases at Hogwarts. Beyond the navigational unknowns, Central is also just huge. My high school library had one room. Central has, like, a lot more than that. For me, the silence was also intimidating. If you’re trying to avoid being noticed, don’t unzip your backpack in Stevenson.
How dramatic.
But seriously. I had barely been to a library since middle school.
By the end of last semester, I grew desperate enough to attempt Central a second time, after my first visit in August. I went to the seventh floor. It was 7 a.m. on a Friday morning, and the library was mostly vacant. I meandered until I found a seat I liked, opened my laptop to begin work on my Spanish essay, and noticed the sunny light of the window and the strange freedom of silence hanging in my earbud-less head. By 11 a.m. (thanks to a canceled class), I had had my most productive 4-hour study session since move-in. Thanks, library.
I recognize that most people will find this post ridiculous. And yeah, it is. But a fear of the library is a bit more than just, you know, a fear of the library. Coming to Vanderbilt was intimidating for many of us because it was the first time we had to worry about the possibility of being at the bottom of the class, falling behind, or struggling to make an entirely new set of friends. The list goes on for sure, and I know that at least for a small collection of us the list includes using the library.
But I want to tell you, it’s not about the library. It’s about wondering whether you belong here, deserve to be here, and are a legitimate student at Vanderbilt. Let’s set the record straight: you don’t have to be taking 18 credit hours, getting into a research lab, or making waves in a student org to make those statements true, so don’t let your mind tell you otherwise. If going to the library means confirming to yourself that, yes, I too am a talented, curious, and interesting student at Vanderbilt, then you should go.
This semester as you’re making your study schedule, fit in times to go somewhere new. Remind yourself that spaces are physical representations of our internal beliefs, and inhabit them with a bit less trepidation.
Last semester I was pretty open about my irrational fear of the library, and most of the time I was met with either laughter or dismissal. But not every time. Although we’re all navigating this college experience with different compasses and different loads on our backs, you are not entirely alone.
It’s okay to still feel less than at-home here. But to prove to ourselves that one day this will feel more comfortable, more normal, we need to put ourselves out there sometimes, even if it’s just in going to the library.
Take care of yourself this semester.
(Here’s Sofia El-Shammaa’s article on how to get mental health support on campus.)
MCL Quiz: Which Campus Squirrel Are You?
CommonsCast Episode 140-October 18, 2023
This episode features Anyssa hosting the Q&A segment with Dean Gresalfi, Cynthia delivers the details on events coming up on campus in the Commons Calendar, and Lauren sits down with first-year student Divine Irakiza for the Human of the Commons interview.
CommonsCast Episode 139-October 11, 2023
On this edition of the official podcast of the Commons Cynthia hosts the Q&A segment with Dean Melissa Gresalfi, Sariha has the info on upcoming events in this week’s Commons Calendar, and Lauren sits down with Nelly Chavez in the Human of the Commons interview segment. Nelly is a first-year student from Houston who plans on majoring in Sociology.
CommonsCast Episode 136-September 20, 2023
On this edition of the official podcast of the Commons, Lauren asks the Q’s and Dean Gresalfi provides the A’s in the Q&A segment, Cynthia has the details on events coming up on campus this week in the Commons Calendar, and Sofia sits down with Sophie Hochberg for the Human of the Commons interview. Sophie is a first-year student from La Jolla, California who is majoring in Psychology.
MCL Top 5: Ways to Make Your RA Regret Living on Your Floor
Now that we are settled into campus and have decided on our classes for the first semester, we have just a few short weeks until the first round of exams are upon us. That means you don’t have much time before your social-emotional capacity is worn down, and now is the perfect moment to try out a few professionally certified techniques to drive your RA crazy.
Here are the top five ways you can make your RA regret their decision to live on your floor for the 2023-2024 school year.
5. Leave stuff in the hallways. RAs love tripping hazards, but they love fire hazards even more. Dump your scooters, shower caddies and shoes in the hallways so your RA knows you care about them every time they walk down the hall.
4. Put food in the bathroom trash cans. “It smells like used ramen combined with bathroom smells,” said Gillette 5 RA Will, which is basically just “ the smell of a landfill,” according to Crawford 6 RA Sarah. Rest assured, despite the signage, food in the bathroom trash is not just a roach issue, because seasoned RAs have often encountered (and wrought destruction upon) the sneaky little buggers before. The real issue is that the food stench percolates for millenia. If you tire of subjecting your RA to hair in the shower drains and toothpaste smudges in the sink, throw some noxious fumes in there and see what happens.
3. Don’t go to things and then complain about not being involved. All RAs have been through the first-year experience before, and they agree that with greater agency in college comes greater responsibility for each student to get themselves involved. Since RAs preach this at every floor meeting first semester, it warms their hearts to listen to their residents whine about being lonely when they haven’t left their dorm for an event since Founders’ Walk.
(If you are struggling to get involved, ask your RA if they have any suggestions for student orgs to join or consult AnchorLink for a full list of student organizations on campus. Start out with clubs with a low barrier to entry, and try to strike up a conversation while you’re there.)
2. Be disrespectful on the whiteboards. If your floor has one, your RA is probably making use of the white board to foster communication and low-stakes, low-reward community building on the floor. Since the floors are monitored by residential college system area coordinators (your RA’s boss) and open to residents’ visitors, it reflects really well on your RA when parents walk by on Family Weekend to a slew of EXPO-markered expletives.
1. Don’t like the GroupMe messages. When you leave your RA hanging, you subject them to the pinnacle of human psychological torture: isolation in the digital realm. “It’s like shouting into the void,” said Crawford 3 RA Derinique. In fact, this is the first thing RAs will scream when you ask them if anything bothers them about the job. If you haven’t ignored the GroupMe yet, it’s time to give it a try.
CommonsCast Episode 133-August 30, 2023
On this episode Lauren sits down with Dean Gresalfi for the Q&A with the Dean segment, Esha delivers the details on events coming up this week in the Commons Calendar, and Sofia brings in Alaina Harris for the Human of the Commons interview.