The Vanderbilt Torch

Greed for Green?

“See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime. Then abolish this law without delay, for it is not only an evil itself, but also it is a fertile source for further evils because it invites reprisals.” Frédéric Bastiat, The Law

It’s that time of year again, when your hard-earned AcFee-payer dollars head to the coffers of nearly every sort of organization you can imagine. That Vanderbilt currently funds special interest groups through mandatory activity fees will come as a surprise to nobody. Many of these groups bring worthwhile diversity to the cultural, political, and extracurricular scenes here at Vanderbilt. When groups representing a particular political agenda or ideological viewpoint receive funding, opposite and complementary groups are likewise funded to ensure that a viable marketplace of ideas exists. Consider, for example, that AcFee both funds the Torch, our conservative and libertarian commentary magazine, as well as Orbis, our progressive counterpart. Likewise, the Advocacy Council, which includes College Libertarians, College Republicans, and College Democrats among other groups, receives AcFee funding for the promotion of the marketplace of ideas.

Who Are You, VU?

“Those people who would argue that the Commons is intended to somehow or another to eviscerate ‘Old Vanderbilt’ are entirely missing the point,” [Dean of Commons Frank] Wcislo said. “The Commons actually is designed to leverage the very best strengths and traditions of ‘Old Vanderbilt’ and, in fact, intensify and enhance those strengths.”

–InsideVandy interview, November 26, 2006

As the legacy of former Chancellor Gordon Gee, the Commons has probably divided the Vanderbilt community as much as it has united it. By shifting the focus of freshman life away from main campus and onto a geographically distant location on the Peabody campus, the Commons seeks to create a new coherent residential college experience for incoming Vanderbilt students starting, with the class of 2012.

Congress, RIAA: Don't Tread on Me

For the 2007 fiscal year, the federal government covered 78.1% of the $411.1 million that Vanderbilt University received for its research. Of that, most of the money came from the Department of Health and Human Services and particularly the National Institutes of Health, according to Vanderbilt’s 2007 Financial Report, available online. The report describes the full breadth and depth of the research that Vanderbilt pursues: in the medical field alone, progress is being made in fields ranging from early cancer detection to AIDS treatment to malaria prevention. Federal monies also fund research on any variety of subjects, such as nanoscale engineering or school choice.

Nashville's Voting Booth Blues

After the recount debacle in Florida eight years ago, one would hope that election irregularities would be a thing of the past. With the media circus that ensued, it seemed reasonable to expect that election officials would keep a close on future elections out of the fear of potential national embarrassment, if for no other reason. Unfortunately, elections have become even more susceptible to corruption as the democratic process goes digital. While old-fashioned voter fraud still persists, newer, even more dangerous forms of election tampering have emerged across the nation.

You Have Joined the Syria Network

Facebook, the social networking site that quickly became a favorite pastime of college students the world over, recently found itself on the wrong side of the law—Syrian law. (That whooshing sound you’re hearing is sighs of relief from your fellow Torch readers outside of Syria at the moment.)  Reuters reports Syrian Facebook users have concluded that the Syrian government, under the direction of President Bashar Assad, shut down access to Facebook within Syria. The regime has been silent since the ban apparently came into effect.

Art Sale Benefits Fisk and Community

Art historian Michael Baxendall has argued that the pleasure of ownership drove the consumption of visual art in fifteenth century Europe, but his conclusion certainly applies to the ownership of art today. However, this pleasure of possession stems directly from displaying the artwork in question. A painting relegated to the storage closet is merely colored goop on canvas, to borrow a favorite phrase of my thesis advisor, and is of no use to anybody except as a store of value for the artist’s labor and talent.

F the F Lot

“We’re not a profit-driven group; we’re a break-even group.” –Cliff Joyner, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Real Estate

“The Office of Traffic and Parking sees students as a source of income.”
–College Prowler’s Vanderbilt Off the Record

The Vanderbilt Office of Traffic and Parking holds a special place in the hearts of Vanderbilt students, often right next to the officials at the Vanderbilt-Georgetown Sweet 16 game last March. In discussions with my friends who have run afoul of OTP, the “haterade” flows freely, and perhaps justifiably so. Eager to stand up for an embittered and indignant student body, I infiltrated the September 26th meeting of the Parking Committee in order to strike another blow for freedom through the power of investigative journalism.

Cross-Tastrope

Every year, the Collegiate Network, our fair paper’s parent organization, releases a list of the most heinous and ludicrous acts of political correctness and/or speech suppression that have occurred at universities across the country. The worst of the worst of these offenses receive Campus Outrage Awards, affectionately known as “Polly” awards, given to “shed light on the most outrageous instances of intolerance and intimidation on the part of college officials and to let conservative students know they are not alone in battling political correctness on America’s campuses,” according to Campus Magazine Online, the CN’s web publication.

State Should Tune Out

It doesn’t take a constitutional scholar to realize that the Founders did not write a single positive right into the constitution, and they most certainly did not include anything about the right to television programming. However, Congress, in its infinite wisdom (and boredom, and propensity to squander taxpayer dollars), has decided to take up a measure to ensure that older analog television sets can continue to receive broadcast signals after the Congress-mandated shift from analog to digital broadcasting in 2009. This subsidy for older televisions is estimated to cost American taxpayers some $1.5 billion—all to ensure broadcast access for people that may even already have cable.

Ten Reasons You Should Have Voted for McNish

Joe Hills and I were only able to take 2.6% of the student vote in the recent VSG elections. You personally might not have voted for us, but after reading this list, you’ll probably wish that you had. Without further ado, The Torch and I would like to present the top ten reasons you should have voted for Joe and me. I promise wacky hijinks, financial mismanagement, and general inefficacy.

10. Election signs are still littering campus at the time of this article’s writing. Take them down, please. As a former publicity director/flier-putter-upper for this austere commentary magazine, I know it doesn’t take that much effort.