Student-athletes are a huge part of campus life at any university, but especially here at Vanderbilt. In this episode of VandyVox, undergraduate Max Schneider tackles the implications of the NCAA Fair Pay to Play Act in California by interviewing USC defensive tackle, Trevor Trout, through his sports podcast Flag on the Play. Max dives right in, allowing Trevor to immerse the audience in the day-to-day life of a college athlete and the double-standards that accompany that contract. Not afraid to address controversy head-on, Max creates a space that allows Trevor to speak freely about his experience with the NCAA that brings a sense of gravitas, frustration, and authenticity to the topic.
Max, who is also involved with Hustler Sports 30 and 615 Sports Drive on VandyRadio, used Flag on the Play for a course in Communication Studies taught by professor Claire Sisco King. The following is an excerpt from her syllabus for the course that outlines the expectations of the students’ multimedia projects:
“The study of communication emphasizes the inextricable link between theory and practice, form and content, medium and message, style and substance. That is, the study of communication tells us that what we communicate cannot be separated from how we communicate. The purpose of this Design as an Immersive Vanderbilt Experience (DIVE) course is to help students reflect on core concepts in communication studies while creating their own public-facing communicative artifacts using human-centered design thinking. In addition to reading key texts in communication theory, students will have an opportunity to immerse themselves in research related to your interests and to produce multimedia projects related to this research. From digital films to social-media presences to websites, interactive maps, 3D-printed objects, and more, student-designed projects will put into practice theories of communication and, in turn, reflect back on our collective understanding of communication. The semester will culminate with a public presentation of projects at a public symposium and a discussion of how the process of design and “making” shape the communicative dimensions of our world. Students will submit a multimedia project designed to address a question, need, or problem related to their immersive research. The aim of this project is to explain this research to a non-expert audience and to demonstrate the ability to use communication and media with intentionality and creativity.”
While this episode of VandyVox only featured Flag on the Play Episode 4 with Trevor Trout, the full set of Max’s Flag on the Play episodes as well as some audio from Hustler Sports 30 can be found on his Sound Cloud via the following link: https://soundcloud.com/max-schneider-473587844