- The Slant
"The Slant" is the humor and satire magazine of
Vanderbilt University . Founded in 2000, it is a member of Vanderbilt Student Communications. Originally published only online, "The Slant" publishes a new print edition nearly biweekly during the school year. The magazine distributes approximately 60,000 total copies on campus throughout the year.Pranks
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 ChancellorGordon Gee . The hoax received some attention from national media, including an appearance on theDrudge Report . Gee's office responded to the hoax by releasing a photo of him holding a copy of the fake issue (with Gee smiling). 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. Gee discussed the hoax in his 2003 commencement speech and even Laura Bush mentioned the prank in her commencement speech in 2006.In the spring of
2006 , "The Slant" created a fake poster for Rites of Spring, Vanderbilt's annual outdoor music festival. The posters, hung around campus, falsely claimed thatBen Folds would be headlining the festival. The "Hustler" published the erroneous news as fact and was then forced to retract the announcement in its next issue. In an ironic twist, Ben Folds, who had previously been approached by Rites planners and was apparently unaware of the prank, soon thereafter agreed to headline the festival, forcing the "Hustler" to once again announce a Ben Folds-anchored lineup.References
*Berger, Meredith. "Slant hoax ends in apologies", "The Vanderbilt Hustler",
March 14 ,2003 . Retrieved onDecember 05 ,2005 .
*Hood, Joey. "Campus Media", "The Nashville Scene",August 25 ,2005 . Retrieved onJune 3 ,2007 .External links
* [http://www.theslant.net/ TheSlant.net]
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