A waiter who works long hours to support their blossoming music career. A stay-at-home mom who runs an Etsy shop. A boy with supernatural powers who is a student by day and fights local crime by night. The store clerk who moonlights as an Uber Driver. A high schooler who runs a seasonal shoveling business in their neighborhood.
What do they have in common? A Side Hustle.
A Side Hustle can certainly be a means of supplemental income or necessary support, but it can also be something that invigorates and excites a person. It can be how we spend the time that is only our own; what we do after our classes or our 9-5s. I am thrilled to announce that The Vanderbilt Hustler will be welcoming a magazine section starting this academic year. Embracing our position on the “side” of The Hustler, we will be known as “The Side Hustle.” If The Hustler is your traditional 9-5, we’re the bakery you run out of your garage.
We aim to be a place for writers to incorporate a personal element in their writing—an outlet for creativity and stylistic flexibility. We will publish monthly issues centered around a core theme, with each year representing an edition of our publication. The magazine consists of four key areas: Campus, Arts & Culture, Features and Personal Essay.
Our Campus section will be known as “On the Clock.” For students, our classes and campus life constitute a “job” where we are clocked-in to our schoolwork, which tends to take up most of our day. Therefore, anything pertaining to the “Vanderbubble” will fall here—think pieces about student advocacy organizations, campus spaces and the different interests of our student body.
Our Arts & Culture section will be known as “Time Off” and will be a representation of just that: how our writers spend their down time. Here you will find in-depth album reviews and profiles of local and campus artists, be introduced to new musical niches and hear about our writers’ favorite shows and movies.
Our Features section will be known as “Overtime” and is home to narrative journalism and long-form pieces. Our writers will research and dig deep into issues they care about to present them to you in a digestible way.
Our Personal Essay section will be known as “My Side” and will allow writers the ability to share personal stories and experiences as well as to explore the different facets of their identity. Expect to hear anecdotes from writers’ adolescence, advice for your four years on campus and otherwise, as well as to learn a little more about the people who sit next to you in class or stand behind you in the Randwich line.
Our four core sections will also be supplemented by “The Break Room.” You can visit the break room to take a look at our Watercooler Gossip: Overheard at Vandy graphic that features quips overheard from different corners of campus. Also found in the Break Room is a satirical cartoon as well as campus-centered would-you-rather questions, hot takes and a “smokebreak soundtracks” playlist matched to each issue’s theme.
Putting this first edition together has pushed us to find our footing and carve out a new place at The Hustler. At the same time, our writers have looked introspectively at the different physical and mental places they occupy. Thus, our theme for this first issue embraces the idea of occupying new spaces and experiences. Our first issue is The Roads We Travel.
Looking at space in its most literal sense, a few of our writers decided to examine the different places they have visited and their effects on them. One My Side writer describes all of the American cities in which they’ve lived to discuss the reality of a childhood spent moving around. From there, an Overtime writer takes you to explore the mountains of Wyoming, where she jumps through a collection of her memories to highlight how visitors to the area have impacted the wilderness she remembers from her first visits there. Another Overtime writer welcomes you on her journey to France and explains her newfound understanding of American identity.
A Time-Off writer takes a look at the show “Atlanta” and considers the fictitious portrayal of a real city and how the show builds a world where Black reality takes on different dimensions. Another Time Off writer investigates one particular space—House of David, comparing its current state to that of 25 years ago as part of his examination of Yo La Tengo’s album “I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One.” An Overtime writer takes a look at spaces even closer to our campus, detailing the history of student publications at Vanderbilt and how students fought to carve out outlets where they can freely express themselves.
Check these out and more in the first edition of Vol. 1 of The Side Hustle. As you gear up for finals in a post Thanksgiving Break haze, we encourage you to procrastinate wisely with us.
Charlotte Mauger
Magazine Editor
