Talk:Vanderbilt University/Archive 1

message: Bravo, 129.59.26.63.  A very sensible rearrangement of the alumni list.  RivGuySC 05:08, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  Compliment from 2004 

message: Grameen Bank has been nominated to be improved on Wikipedia:This week's improvement drive. Vote for it there if you want to contribute!--Fenice 10:41, 12 August 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Improvement drive

message: I think faculty is just fine for the template.  For one thing, it's one of the option listed for the template.  Second of all, in the template talk for that template, there's all kind of discussion about which is the proper term of use.
--Ttownfeen 02:09, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  template 

message: I think it would be nice to have Alumni/Notable list to include just grads.  That would bump Gore and Amy Grant.  Nothing political, Gore just dabbled at the university, let's put him on the linked page.  You can bring back Tipper, she graduated.
How about using Tipper and Lamar Alexander.  And bumping attenders Amy Grant and Al Gore, Jr. to the Vandy People list.  Unless there is objection, I'm going to make the edit in about 2 weeks.
:If a free image of Mrs. Gore can be found and uploaded to Wikipedia, then I'll gladly agree to showcase her, an actual graduate.  As it stands, Gore and Grant are there to add instantly-recognizable faces (which, unfortunately, would most likely not be attributed to Robert Penn Warren or David Brinkley) to the article. --Ttownfeen 01:17, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I've argued with people (non-Wikipedians) about this before: including someone like Gore as an "alumnus" seems somehow disingenuous. However, the common definition of alumnus includes both graduates and former students.  So I guess Al's still entitled to call himself that if he likes, and it's technically quite correct for him to do so.  Esrever 06:09, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think we've accumulated enough notable people with a wikipedia picture to remove Gore and Grant.  Esrever, I agree that in some cases an alum can be a non-graduate, but I think it's in our interest to use the strict definition of alums as graduates only. --Ttownfeen 20:55, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

text: It doesn't matter that he didn't graduate, as I noted in my edit summary.  Al Gore doesn't have a Vanderbilt degree, either, but no one disagrees that he's an alum.  You'll notice the intro to that paragraph reads, "Among the notable people who have attended or graduated from Vanderbilt . . ."  As to whether he's famous or not, I don't think you can disagree that he's a notable person.  He does  have a Wikipedia page, after all.  :)  Esrever 21:03, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  alumni 

message: Like it or not, the official name of the building is now just Memorial Hall, so it makes no sense to label the picture as "Confederate Memorial Hall." Esrever 14:50, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Confederate" 

message: Please post a photo of any Vanderbilt memorial monument at the school.  Thanx!  Americasroof 02:28, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: About the only thing that comes close is the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt in front of Kirkland on West End. --Ttownfeen 23:08, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Unfortunately, school has ended and most everybody has gone home, so it might be a while before somebody will be able to fulfill your request. --Ttownfeen 17:11, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Photo of Vanderbilt memorial?

message: Are there any sources for the following:
* the school still retains a very distinctively Southern feel, much more so than Duke, Emory, Tulane, or Wake Forest, which represent Vanderbilt's closest "Southern" competitors.
:This seems like it would be a hard thing to quantify in any way.  I think it's got to be based much more on one's own perception (in which case I'd say it's largely true) Esrever 17:18, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think that you are right that it is a matter of perception.  However, having lived near all but one of these three, I can tell you that there are people at each who think that there school is the exception to a general rule that private Southern schools aren't really Southern.  What that means as far as how to edit here, I couldn't necessarily say.  Cka3n 19:01, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

text: No clue.  I doubt the tune to Dynamite is unique, though the words would almost certainly have to be. Esrever 17:18, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Does the article really need to note that the words about Vanderbilt are unique? Cka3n 19:01, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: No, and it doesn't say that.  It notes that the song itself—tune and words—is unique.  I don't know if the tune truly is, but that's how it reads to me. Esrever 18:45, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: My point was not that the current version reads that way.  My point was that, if the tune is not meaningfully unique, there is no need for language saying the song is unique in some trivial way.  Of course the "song" -- tune and words -- is unique:  virtually every college's fight song, I'd hazard, is unique.  Cka3n 23:26, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I've got no objection, really. Esrever 04:17, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

text: No, African-American greek organizations are recognized by the university under the umbrella organization, NPHC (National Pan-Hellenic Council). --Ttownfeen 16:15, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The text was edited accordingly. Cka3n 19:01, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sources 

message: I removed a recent edit that added information under Greek Life about "PSK."  I don't know whether the information is true or not (it needs a source), but it makes no sense where it's been inserted.  I think it's fine to add it back, so long as it has a citation and is put somewhere where it's relevant. Esrever 22:19, 8 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: PSK October 2006

message: As I added the link to the Chronicle article that talks about VU's newest ranking in faculty scholarly output, I realized that there's not really a coherent set of citations for the article.  With that in mind, I tried to standardize the citations I could find, with embedded HTML links in the article, and the use of WP's citation templates under References.  If I've screwed something up, please feel free to fix it. Esrever 18:59, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: As a followup to my own note, I think that all the external references are now properly cited in the References section. Esrever 20:48, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Notes and References 

message: Not to demean the list of notable Vandy Alumni, but there has to be more successful people that have graced the halls of Vanderbilt out there. I mean the list is compiled of a lot of famous drop outs or people somewhat associated with the school. This is supposed to be an ivy caliber school. What gives?
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.248.172.10 (talk • contribs) February 10, 2007
:Be proactive. Find a list of actual alumni who are actually notable. You don't need our permission to bulk up the article. --Ttownfeen 18:38, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Alumni List 

message: I know its a top 20 but is revered as a Southern Ivy League school like Duke or Rice? Does it have good alumni connections and recognition? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.252.167.85 (talk) 06:16, 28 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't think there's any debate that Vanderbilt is a respected, world-class institution.  I'm sure Vandy's alumni connections and recognition are as solid as Rice's, though Duke may perhaps be more recognizable now (a rape case will do that for you). Esrever 22:38, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

text: Whether it is or isn't is not the scope of this article or wikipedia in general.  There are many other websites where these types of issues are discussion.  A good one is talk.collegeconfidential.com. --Ttownfeen 01:44, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: How Prestigious is Vanderbilt