INSIDE What’s it like to balance In the Bubble 2 marriage and Opinion 4 college life? Sports 6 THETHE VOICEVOICE OFOF VANDERBILTVANDERBILT SINCESINCE 18881888 Life 8 page 8 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2006 • 118 TH YEAR, NO. 49 Fun & Games 12 SPECIAL REPORT CHARITY Alumni end 5,000-mile ride on campus Diversity at Vanderbilt is an eight-part series appearing in every Monday and Friday issue in September. With this series, we are attempting to bring diversity to the forefront of campus discussion. The profi les are not meant to showcase one group over another but to demonstrate the depth of the Vanderbilt community. While the series will offi cially last for one month, it is meant to demonstrate The Hustler’s commitment to consistently represent the entire Vanderbilt community. Chancellor’s Scholarship opens doors for diversity Awards given to 25 new students annually. By Allison Malone EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Each year, the Chancellor’s Scholars Program awards full scholarships to 25 incoming students who have demonstrated a commitment to leadership, diversity, citizenship and scholarship. Th e Chancellor’s Scholarship has aff ected diversity at Vanderbilt by addressing stereotypes and reaching out to underrepresented communities. BRETT KAMINSKY / The Vanderbilt Hustler Austin Bauman visits with a young oncology patient during his trip to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt on Thursday. “Th e biggest problem with diversifying the student population, Alums bike across America to raise money for cancer research. RALLY ACROSS AMERICA FINALE from my personal experience as a Vanderbilt student in the late By Allison Smith WHAT 1960s, when there were three ASST NEWS EDITOR Parthenon in Centennial Park starting at the Children’s Hospital here. men to every woman and only a 9 a.m., followed by a celebratory event “It’s almost over,” Bauman said, letting 20-mile bike ride to conclude 5,000- few African Americans, you must at Outback Steakhouse on West End out a big whoop and raising his hands mile journey across America overcome the public’s perception One hundred days after two alumni set Avenue. over his head. “It’s incredible. Tom didn’t of the school,” said Sandy out on a cross-country journey to raise It’s hard to explain how I feel,” Bauman think it would happen at fi rst. He was a WHEN Stahl, director for Community, money for childhood cancer research, said at the Children’s Hospital Th ursday. realist. We weren’t cyclists. Th e odds were Leadership, Intercultural the spandex-clad duo pedaled their way “After riding 5,000 miles and fi nally against us.” Saturday, Sept. 9 at 9 a.m. Programs and Services. onto campus. Austin Bauman, 22, and getting here, it’s a weird feeling.” Bauman and Reardon made the “Th ere must also be a critical Tom Reardon, 22, were not experienced Th e pedaling pair has spent the last Children’s Hospital their last visit on WHERE mass of students of diverse cyclists before facing this challenge, but three months holding rallies and meeting Th ursday. The Parthenon in Centennial Park backgrounds. We bring in 25 5,000 miles and $130,000 later, they are with more than 300 children with cancer Kimberly Best, the mother of a 9-year- students a year for 21 years who experts. in the 20 cities they visited, as part of Rally old cancer patient at the hospital, said go back home, tell others about A visit to the Vanderbilt Children’s Across America, the primary fundraising she contacted the pair through e-mail The bike ride will be followed by a their experience at Vanderbilt and hospital on Th ursday marked their eff ort of Th e Rally Foundation, a when she heard about their bike ride and fundraiser at the Outback Steakhouse on make the school more appealing homecoming to Vanderbilt. On Saturday, nonprofi t organization based in Atlanta. told them about her son’s struggle with to subsequent groups of students.” their fundraising festivities will conclude Th e foundation donates all of its proceeds cancer. West End Avenue from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please see DIVERSITY, page 3 with a 20-mile bike ride beginning at the to pediatric cancer research hospitals like Please see RALLY, page 3 GREEK LIFE HOMECOMING NPHC Homecoming Outstanding Senior award replaces Week concludes King and Queen distinctions for second year tonight Renaming meant to give all students equal access to award. By Emily Schweickhardt “Th ere comes a time in which tradition new name for the award, that might include CONTRI BUTING REPORTER needs to be amended and moved forward to the words “Homecoming” or “Commodore,” being more applicable to the current state of but they cannot make any promises quite yet. Vanderbilt has decided to continue with last our society and institution,” Hataway said. However, it is their priority to make sure that fall’s change to the Homecoming program, Yet, students, such as junior Haden Oswalt, they get student feedback on the new name of designating a student as Outstanding Senior, expressed frustration and sadness in losing the award, and they are currently working on instead of bringing back the traditional titles the King and Queen tradition. a system that would allow students to vote on of Homecoming King and Queen. “Vanderbilt has lost all its values for the new name. “Th e Outstanding Senior award is more traditions and culture,” Oswalt said. “I feel As part of the 2006 Homecoming representative of the Vanderbilt student body like I go to a bland institution sometimes, not festivities, there will be an Outstanding Senior academically and socially,” said senior Lizzy a college.” brunch on game day for the 10 fi nalists, Strom, Homecoming co-chair. “We do not see change as giving in to the their families, Chancellor Gordon Gee and Strom shares the position with junior gender controversies, but we see this change other administrators. Th e fi nalists will also Breanne Hataway. as being inclusive and inviting and making ride in the Homecoming parade and will be Th e chairs said they believe that Outstanding Vanderbilt a safe place,” Hataway said. presented at Commodore Quake. Senior is a more appropriate award for the Strom acknowledged that the title of By special permission from Athletics, the Vanderbilt campus, as the student body has Outstanding Senior will not become an fi nalists’ profi les will also appear in the game- become more talented and diverse in recent “instant favorite overnight,” but after speaking day program. years. with Interhall Wednesday night, she feels Applications for Outstanding Senior are Th e main reason for changing the title, confi dent that students will have more of an now available and can be found in Sarratt 207 says Trey Truitt, assistant director for student open-minded and accepting outlook once or online at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/vpb/ activities and Homecoming adviser, is that they are informed and educated about the homecoming. Th e applications are due Friday, ■ the defi nitions of gender and sexuality are issues behind the decision. Sept. 15. becoming more blurred. Th e award also has new requirements for “Gender identity is a hot topic at all potential candidates. Th ere is a minimum Are you an outstanding senior? campuses now, and it has become even more GPA of 3.0 and a certain level of campus Applications for this year’s Outstanding Senior of an issue at Vanderbilt within the last four involvement that each applicant must attain. JONATHAN DIETZ / The Vanderbilt Hustler years,” Truitt said. Outstanding Senior is the only award that award are now available. They can be picked Hataway and Strom said that by eliminating is both merit-based and student-selected, and up in Sarratt 207 or found online at http:// Charleson Bell from Kappa Alpha Psi performs in front of Sarratt during NPHC Week Thurs- day afternoon. To end the week, there will be a “School Daze” party tonight in the Student the King and Queen titles, Vanderbilt is being it is the Homecoming chairs’ goal that the www.vanderbilt.edu/vpb/homecoming. Life Center at 9:30 p.m. proactive and is addressing these gender issues award gains enormous prestige in the near Applications are due Friday, Sept. 15. by attempting to rid Vanderbilt of gender future. categorization and discrimination. Th e co-chairs are working on creating a 2 | NEWS The Vanderbilt Hustler | Friday, September 8, 2006 NOTABLE QUOTABLE WEATHER FORECAST Some Web sites struggled to keep up with demand after Steve “But the case is so unusual, because this was such a popular book. And the TODAY Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter,” was pronounced dead on Monday. settlement sounds quite reasonable–if there is fraud, you refund the money.” Sunny, 87/65 The Web site www.crocodilehunter.com increased in popularity quite substantially. It became the No. 1 entertainment personality —Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild, whose Web site in Australia yesterday, and in the United States it became the organization represents thousands of published authors SATURDAY third most popular. Sunny, 88/68 Under a tentative legal settlement, readers who said they were The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s site (www.abc.com.au) defrauded by James Frey’s best seller, “A Million Little Pieces,” can had to temporarily shut down, posting a notice Monday that it was claim refunds, an agreement called unprecedented–and SUNDAY understandable–by a leading publishing attorney. experiencing higher than normal traffic. Partly cloudy, 89/68 It resumed soon after in a low-bandwidth format to cope with hun- dreds of thousands of hits.