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The Slant is the humor and satire magazine of Vanderbilt University. Founded in 1886, it is a member of Vanderbilt Student Communications.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2016) |
The Slant is the humor and satire magazine of Vanderbilt University. Founded in 1886, it is a member of Vanderbilt Student Communications.
The magazine's content and staff pranks have often led to controversy at Vanderbilt.
On March 11, 2003, The Slant ran a complete mock-up of The Vanderbilt Hustler entitled The Vanderbilt Huslter, with the headline "GEE DEAD," referring to then-Vanderbilt Chancellor Gordon Gee. The hoax received some attention from national media, including an appearance on the Drudge Report. [1] Gee's office responded to the hoax by releasing a photo of him holding a copy of the fake issue (with Gee smiling). [2] Despite Gee's good humor about the prank, the ensuing controversy led to the removal of The Slant's editor-in-chief from his post for inappropriately expropriating the Hustler's news racks in violation of Vanderbilt Student Communications regulations. [3] Gee discussed the hoax in his 2003 commencement speech and Laura Bush mentioned the prank in her commencement speech in 2006. [4] [5] [6]
In spring 2006, The Slant created a fake poster for the Rites of Spring Music Festival, Vanderbilt's annual outdoor music festival. The posters, hung around campus, falsely claimed that Ben Folds would be headlining the festival. The Hustler published the erroneous news as fact, later retracting the announcement in its next issue. Ironically, Ben Folds, who had previously been approached by Rites planners and was apparently unaware of the prank, soon thereafter agreed to headline the festival, prompting the Hustler to once again announce a Ben Folds-anchored lineup.
On November 16, 2007, the final day before Thanksgiving break, Slant staff members placed signs on the doors of dozens of classrooms across campus, informing students that their respective classes would instead be meeting in the Furman lecture hall for the day. As students from several different classes confusedly entered the same room, they were greeted with a breakfast of doughnuts, orange juice, and a screening of A Charlie Brown Christmas .
On February 5, 2009, The Slant ran a second The Vanderbilt Huslter, this time with a headline reading "Goodbye Greek life: Greek Life to be Kicked off Campus in Fall 2010". Although coming out on a Thursday, a day on which The Hustler does not usually print, and being put in The Slant newspaper racks, the paper still fooled many students. There were several clues in the 2009 version of The Huslter, including several obviously ridiculous stories, "Thes Lant" being announced as a possible opener for Vanderbilt's annual "Rites of Spring" music festival, the Slant editorial staff's presence on the editorial board, fake advertisements, and a straight out admission on page 4 in the opinion section's "Verdict": "As you may have guessed by now, the Slant published a DAMN good Hustler."
The Drudge Report is a U.S.-based news aggregation website founded by Matt Drudge, and run with the help of Charles Hurt and Daniel Halper. The site was generally regarded as a conservative publication, though its ownership and political leanings have been questioned following business model changes in mid-to-late 2019. The site consists mainly of links to news stories from other outlets about politics, entertainment, and current events; it also has links to many columnists.
Joey Skaggs is an American prankster who has organized numerous successful media pranks, hoaxes, and other presentations. Skaggs is one of the originators of the phenomenon known as culture jamming. Skaggs has used Kim Yung Soo, Joe Bones, Joseph Bonuso, Giuseppe Scaggioli, Dr. Joseph Gregor, and the Rev. Anthony Joseph as aliases.
Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. Smith is also a member of the Five College Consortium, along with four other nearby institutions in the Pioneer Valley: Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst; students of each college are allowed to attend classes at any other member institution. On campus are Smith's Museum of Art and Botanic Garden, the latter designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Vanderbilt University is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million endowment in the hopes that his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the Civil War. Vanderbilt is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and has been the conference's only private school since 1966.
Elwood Gordon Gee is an American academic. As of 2023, he was serving his second term as President of West Virginia University; his first term was from 1981 to 1985. Gee has held more university presidencies than any other American. He was head of University of Colorado Boulder from 1985 to 1990, of Ohio State University from 1990 to 1997, of Brown University from 1998 to 2000, of Vanderbilt University from 2000 to 2007, and of Ohio State University for a second time from 2007 to 2013. Time rated Gee one of the top 10 college presidents in the United States for 2010.
The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos. Through various actions, the Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about problematic social and political issues. To date, the duo have produced three films: The Yes Men (2003), The Yes Men Fix the World (2009), and The Yes Men Are Revolting (2014). In these films, they impersonate entities that they dislike, a practice that they call "identity correction." The Yes Men operate under the mission statement that lies can expose truth. They create and maintain fake websites similar to ones they intend to spoof, which have led to numerous interview, conference, and TV talk show invitations. They espouse the belief that corporations and governmental organizations often act in dehumanizing ways toward the public. Elaborate props are sometimes part of the ruse, as shown in their 2003 DVD release The Yes Men. The Yes Men have collaborated with other groups of similar interest, including Improv Everywhere, Andrew Boyd and Steve Lambert.
The Kinkaid School is a PK-12 non-sectarian school in Piney Point Village, Texas, United States in Greater Houston.
Slope Day is an annual day of celebration held at Cornell University historically during the last day of regular undergraduate classes, but has moved to the following day as of 2014. The Slope Day Programming Board (SDPB) is responsible for organizing the event, selecting artists, and managing the Slope Day's execution. Though Slope Day has gone through many phases, in recent years focus has shifted to live music and catered food and beverages on the Slope.
A capping stunt or capping is a New Zealand university tradition of student pranks wherein students perpetrate hoaxes or practical jokes upon an unsuspecting population. They traditionally take place in May during graduation.
Dillo Day is an annual all-day music festival at Northwestern University that takes place at the end of spring quarter on the Lakefill. Started in the 1972/73 school year, it is organized by Mayfest Productions, a Northwestern student group, and is the largest completely student-run music festival in the country. Northwestern lists Dillo Day as one of its most notable traditions.
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort. A person who performs a practical joke is called a "practical joker" or "prankster". Other terms for practical jokes include gag, rib, jape, or shenanigan.
A practical joke device is a prop or toy intended to confuse, frighten, or amuse individuals as a prank. Often, these objects are harmless facsimiles of disgusting or terrifying objects, such as vomit or spilled nail polish. In other instances, they are created as seemingly harmless items designed to humorously malfunction in such a way as to confuse or harm the target of a prank. The devices are frequently sold in magic or specialty shops, purchased over the Internet, or crafted for oneself. Perhaps the most notable such device is the whoopee cushion.
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved with these pranks, which may be revealed as such the following day. The custom of setting aside a day for playing harmless pranks upon one's neighbour has been relatively common in the world historically.
The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal is an annual medal that is awarded by Vanderbilt University. The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal is awarded to those persons who define the 21st century and exemplify the best qualities of the human spirit. The Medal is awarded on each Senior Class Day to persons chosen by Vanderbilt's Chancellor with the advice of the faculty and students. Senior Class Day is the day before Vanderbilt's spring undergraduate commencement. In 2020, Senior Class Day was renamed Graduates Day to be more inclusive to all Vanderbilt students, including graduate, professional and undergraduate students, who will earn a degree the following day. The Medal includes a cash award and is one of the university's highest honors.
A prank call is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances.
The Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores have never won the regular season SEC championship, although they have won six SEC tournament titles ; the SEC has awarded its official championship based solely on regular-season record since the 1985–86 season. The team is coached by Shea Ralph, entering her third season, following an abbreviated 2020-21 season that was canceled after eight games due to COVID-19 issues, opt-outs, player injuries and transfer requests under fifth-year head coach Stephanie White.
A death hoax is a deliberate report of someone's death that is later proven to be untrue. In some cases it might be because the person has intentionally faked death.
The college rivalry between the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is stemming from the colleges' reputations as the top science and engineering schools in the United States. The rivalry is unusual given the geographic distance between the schools, one being in Pasadena, California, and the other in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as its focus on elaborate pranks rather than sporting events.
Spring Weekend is a student-organized music festival hosted annually in April at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Spring Weekend was officially founded in 1950, though is rooted in a late 19th century spring festival tradition known as Junior Promenade. Celebrity artists were first brought to campus starting in the 1960s.