Spring Semester at Vanderbilt
Spring at Vanderbilt is one of my favorite things. The campus blossoms with flowers, each day gets a little warmer, and, most of all, there are so many fun events on campus and in Nashville. I wanted to make a little post about what I’m looking forward to the most this spring because it is currently in the mid-20’s here in Nashville and I am dreading leaving my room to go back into the cold.
Two of the best events of the spring in my opinion, Rites of Spring and the Impact Symposium, are both put on by the Vanderbilt Programming Board. Rites of Spring is Vanderbilt’s music festival, where multiple acts come to campus and perform for a weekend. Acts last year included Rae Sremmurd and the Shins, and it is awesome to be able to see such big acts up close and personal with your friends (and at a way cheaper cost than most conventional music festivals). The Impact Symposium is also a really cool feature of the spring semester at Vanderbilt, and has been a tradition on campus for decades. The Impact Symposium invites leading thinkers and public figures to speak to Vanderbilt students about their ideas and the world we live in. Last year, we saw the likes of Van Jones, Ezra Klein, Shaun King, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Like the Rites of Spring, this affords students the opportunity to experience something awesome in a much more intimate setting.
Another fun part of spring semester is the number of events happening in Nashville. With the weather warming up, there is plenty to do outdoors including visiting food trucks in the park or going on art crawls to various spots in town. My personal favorite spring activity is making the trek to Jeni’s Ice Cream for seasonal spring flavors with friends. No matter when you’re looking for something to do, Nashville always offers an abundance of activities especially when hosting events outdoors becomes possible as it warms up.
There are so many different ways to spend a spring day in Nashville or at Vanderbilt, and I can’t wait to share many new experiences with my friends here. If you have any recommendations for spring activities, or any questions about life at Vanderbilt, please contact me at alex.rains@vanderbilt.edu