The Doctor of Philosophy

Collected by Paulette Hurteau (paulette.j.hurteau@vanderbilt.edu)

Summary: One of Vanderbilt's philosophy professors is mentioned in an Indigo Girls song

Text:  "One of the Indigo Girls went to school here at Vanderbilt for a little
while, hated it, and ended up transfering. The song 'Closer to Fine' is
about her trying to cope at Vanderbilt. And you know how it mentions a
doctor of philosophy? Well, it's talking about Dr. Lachs."

Notes  I, too, heard this story for the first time when I was a freshman from
the girl who lived across the hall from me. I have heard it many times,
however, in some versions it is not Dr. Lachs who is supposedly
mentioned in ths song, rather Dr. McKentire, a philosophy professor who
used to teach at Vanderbilt but is now a professor at some other
university.

CONTEXT
A. Brief Summary: One of Vanderbilt's philosophy professors is
mentioned in an Indigo Girls song
B. Tale type: University tale
Motifs: Celebrities and a renowned professor
C. Comments on tale: I did a little research and found that one of the
Indigo Girls, Amy Ray, did actually attend Vanderbilt for a short time,
but did not particularly like it here and transfered to Emory.
D. Approximate date informant heard the tale: sometime his freshman
year in 1995
E. Relationship of informant with the individual from whom the
informant heard the tale: Acquaintence
F. Circumstances when tale was first heard: In casual conversation
G. Informant Information:
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Place of Birth: Georgia
Ethnic Group: Caucasian
Languages Spoken: English
Religion: Athiest
Year in School: Senior
Extracuricular Jobs: none
Date Collected: September 16, 1998