The Slant

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For other uses, see 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.

[edit] 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 Chancellor Gordon Gee. The hoax received some attention from national media, including an appearance on the Drudge 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 that Ben 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.