Within moments of the campus-wide email detailing the rebranding of the Vanderbilt logo, the collective student body in my class made their displeasure known. Under the official Vanderbilt Instagram post, hundreds of comments further make known the disapproval of the new logo. An apparent two-year move by the administration that included dozens of meetings and hundreds of surveys somehow resulted in a brutalist, unwelcoming, and faux-Ivy rebranding to depict "our story" as a Vanderbilt community. Who is our community? The students? I was never asked to complete a survey nor engage in a meeting. Nor were any of the students active in campus-wide forums made aware of such opportunities. That begs the question: who did all the talking? 

Administration, the Board of Trustees, and similar monetary interests at play have gone too far this time. I am proud to be a Vanderbilt student because I worked my ass off to get here and stay here. I pay a great deal of money every year to fund the operations of Vanderbilt. I find it fair to expect a level of transparency between my administration and my student body. When the Vanderbilt logo that I proudly endorse is defaced without student representation, I should rightfully feel offended. I can confidently say that a majority of students feel the same way. I petition our student body and Vanderbilt community to make your voice heard here. We want our old logo back until we claim a fair representation in the committee meetings that will decide upon a better, more inclusive logo, if one is necessary at all. There are better uses for our money, Chancellor Diermeier. 

Sincerely,

Shadow VSG