Features

Price of Authenticity: Problems Faced by Meet Noodles

Price of Authenticity: Problems Faced by Meet Noodles

Photo taken by Sabrina Liang As international students from China, we frequently get questions about Chinese culture. One of the most common questions is “Are Chinese restaurants here authentic?”  The answer is usually a big shake of the head. American-style Chinese food is (I hate to admit but) great as an independent cuisine. If you are looking for authentic Chinese food, especially from the mid-South, inland region of China, there’s a restaurant called Meet Noodles (面对面) near campus that you should check out. There’s also more to it than its food - in November, after a deep conversation with one…
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Blackstar and The Benefits of Vanderbilt Student-Run Businesses 

Blackstar and The Benefits of Vanderbilt Student-Run Businesses 

anyaberkut via iStockPhoto Students' ability to get hands-on experience in a business can be extremely helpful in developing real-world skills. Through student-run businesses, students take the initiative to get experiences which can help them grow and develop in numerous ways. By running a business, students get exposure to challenges they may face in future work situations, they may use the experience to test out their career interests, and finally these experiences can be used to differentiate students from other future job applicants by showing genuine initiative and entrepreneurialism. Rather than just learning in a classroom, students are gaining invaluable career…
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Vanderbilt’s Rising Endowment: What it Means for the Institution

Vanderbilt’s Rising Endowment: What it Means for the Institution

SeanPavonePhoto via iStockPhoto What is an Endowment? A college endowment is a collection of assets that can be used to support the institution’s research, faculty salaries, financial aid, operations, and long-term goals. Endowments usually take the form of an investment fund managed by several investment analysts. The bulk of the funds are built through donations from alumni, philanthropists, and other supporters. Typically, only a small portion of the endowment, typically 4-5%, is spent each year to support institutional goals with the rest reinvested to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the endowment fund. A key sign that an institution…
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Luxury Brands Race to Nashville

Luxury Brands Race to Nashville

helloabc via iStockPhoto Nashville is one of the fastest growing cities in the country—a status that offers countless market opportunities for luxury brands. With rising tourism and a growing real-estate market, companies such as Hermès and Dolce & Gabbana have identified it as an ideal avenue to achieving higher sales. While luxury brands reap many benefits when they touch down in Nashville, there are also challenges and potential downsides for local businesses. Today, we’ll examine both.  The Rise of High-End Retail Recently, luxury retail activity in Nashville has been rampant. In mid September of 2024, TAG Heuer landed a shop…
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Story Behind a Stock: MicroStrategy (MSTR) — Business Intelligence Meets Bitcoin

Story Behind a Stock: MicroStrategy (MSTR) — Business Intelligence Meets Bitcoin

Vladimir Kazakov via iStockPhoto Introduction MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) is often associated with Bitcoin and is called by some as the next Gamestop for its rise in stock price of approximately 359% this year. However, what exactly does this company do, and why has its stock price soared? This article is part of a series exploring companies whose stocks attract significant market attention, focusing on what they do and the unique strategies that have captured market attention. The goal is not to make investment recommendations but to deliver insights into industries and market trends for Vanderbilt students. MicroStrategy’s Origins and Core…
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Vanderbilt University’s NYC Property

Vanderbilt University’s NYC Property

-Albachiaraa- via iStockPhoto Vanderbilt University recently acquired 13 buildings and 150,000 square feet of property in Chelsea, NYC via a 99-year lease with the General Theological Seminary. Chancellor Diermeier announced that this space will be part of an expansion plan across a number of states and countries to expand opportunities for Vanderbilt students, faculty, alumni, and supporters. Another goal of this expansion into NYC is to benefit the city and neighborhood. Making a commitment of this magnitude is exciting and the possible opportunities are almost limitless. Students might be able to use this space to explore new career opportunities, explore…
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The Regulations of the Southeastern Conference 

The Regulations of the Southeastern Conference 

Mike Powell via iStockPhoto Every year, college football thrills and delights millions of Americans with its wild tales of underdogs and excellence, and yet this year seems especially special. With the legalization of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), college football has become more equalized allowing smaller programs to more fairly compete with powerhouses. That has never been more apparent than in the last month. Vanderbilt’s historic upset over Alabama, Arkansas’s enormous victory over Tennessee, and to balance it out, Tennessee’s victory over Alabama as well. The last month of college football has been filled with continuous weekends of high-quality entertainment.…
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Vanderbilt Beat Alabama… Now What?

Vanderbilt Beat Alabama… Now What?

Photo taken by Ezra Wang “This is a whole new team. We got a team full of dogs who prepare every week like they wanna play on Sundays … the only person that knows who’s gonna win on Saturday is God.” That’s what Diego Pavia said in a press conference, just days before Vanderbilt shocked the world.  Before Saturday October 5th, Vanderbilt was 0-60 against AP top 5 opponents (which are the top 5 performers in a weekly vote taken by 62 broadcasters and sportswriters). Next on their schedule was number one ranked Alabama, which many analysts called the best…
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Research at Vanderbilt: The Money behind the Innovation

Research at Vanderbilt: The Money behind the Innovation

Totojang via iStockPhoto At Vanderbilt, students are constantly surrounded by the effects of research funding. From posters advertising new breakthroughs, emails detailing newsworthy projects, or even the paragraph-long official titles of professors. The research ecosystem of elite universities like Vanderbilt is constantly publicized. At innovative universities like Vanderbilt, research is a business. With national academic research expenditures totaling more than $75 billion, universities race to obtain maximum funding from as many sources as possible. Research success at universities attracts both students and faculty. Research experience is a critical component of many graduate applications, such as those for medical school and…
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