09.09.16

Trinitonian Humanities Under Attack

Alternate Trinity Publications

Recent Wells Fargo advertisement implies education in STEM is better than one in humanities.

A look at the various publications on campus that allow students to display their writing, editing and art skills.

PAGE 9 A&E

PAGE 10 A&E

Volume 114 Issue 4

Serving Trinity University Since 1902

John Jacobs says final goodbye to Trinity

Soccer Weekend Recap Tigers open season with impressive wins from both the men’s and women’s teams last weekend.

PAGE 11 SPORTS September 09, 2016

After two years as assistant director of Student Involvement, beloved staff member takes leave

BY EMILY ELLIOTT

PULSE EDITOR

John Jacobs completed his duties as the assistant director of Student Involvement on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The beloved staff member announced his departure from Trinity after finalizing the details of an offer from Northeast Lakeview College.

“I was offered the position of director of student activities and development. The campus has about 6,000 students, and their average age is 22, so I’ll be working with traditional students,” Jacobs said.

This position gives him the opportunity to lead and manage a menagerie of responsibilities. Though his time at Trinity provides him with the experience to handle familiar tasks with ease, his next job offers the chance to handle new functions.

“My job will consist of overseeing intramural sports, student activities, student organizations. Every first-year student has to take a one-hour course in time management and study skills;” Jacobs said. “I’ll oversee these classes as well. Their goal is to be at 15,000 students in the next 5-10 years, so I got a lot of work cut out for me.”

Although Jacobs was a supervisor, students who worked alongside him trusted him as a peer and friend.

“When I was having a mild panic attack about what to do with my life after graduation, he talked to me about it. He was unbelievably helpful and gave me some very positive advice,” said Caitlin Heller, a senior history and political science major and member of Student Involvement.

Jacobs had an observable enthusiasm to generate successful work with each organization he worked with, which made the daily responsibilities for student workers more enjoyable.

“Every interaction with him is a positive

one, but my favorite experience with him was when I was interviewing faculty members for my TigerTV segment “Gossip Guru.”

He got so into the whole process and made producing this package such a breeze. I asked him to let me know what celebrity couple he wanted to discuss in our interview, and not only did he come back with a preference, but he had such a thoughtful and insightful response. It was hilarious but, more than anything, I was grateful,” said Mackenzie Hill, a junior communication major and member of Student Involvement.

Although Jacobs enjoyed his time working with each club he oversaw, some memories maintained strong impressions on him.

“My favorite times are with the orientation team (O-Team), who I was fortunate enough to be with for three years. Just being around these exciting and crazy students who are much like myself was awesome, like when we did a ropes course this summer. I’ve had great moments with all the organizations I lead though; the most impactful times are ones that include students I can be friends with” Jacobs said.

Jacobs had a special connection with the O-Team that was also cherished by students.

“He was hysterically freaking out about the high ropes course, but mustered the courage to climb up the telephone polls and complete a trust walk. His overwhelming energy always pulled us to his level,” said Shane Bono, a junior finance and business analytics and technology major, who served as a member of O-Team this year.

Faculty members and students celebrated Jacobs and his time at Trinity with a farewell party on Wednesday, where advice was shared for his new job and memories were recalled about the impact he had on the Trinity community.

With additional reporting by Courtney Justus.

New student deputies

BY PHILIP MCKEON

NEWS REPORTER

Yesterday Trinity organizations hosted officials from the Bexar County Elections Department to deputize Trinity students to register voters.

Many organizations on campus came together in the coming months both to register new voters and to encourage students to vote on election day.

“We’ll be partnering with a variety of organizations, including SGA, TDC, BSU, Tigers for Liberty, Tigers for Life, PRIDE and the Texas Freedom Network for Voter Registration Day and throughout the rest of the election cycle,” said Nick Santulli, president of Trinity Progressives.

Santulli is excited that his organization will be working to deputize Trinity

students as voter registrars.

“The thing I’m most personally excited about is deputization, which will be this Thursday, September 8. And that’s a training that’s required for anyone in the state of Texas that wants to register voters,” Santulli said.

Jonah Wendt, chief financial officer and field director of Tigers for Liberty, expressed the importance of students being deputized.

“One of the things that led Tigers For Liberty to want to get involved with the voter deputization is that one of the foundations of our country is the idea of one person one vote and we should do what we can do make sure that every American has the ability to voice their opinion on who should lead our nation,” Wendt said.

Continued on page 3

JOHN JACOBS said his goodbyes at going-away party Wednesday afternoon.

photo by CLAUDIA GARCIA

Big changes to offcampus party policies

Committee makes following guidelines much easier for students

BY CHRISTIANA ZGOURIDES

NEWS REPORTER

Trinity University has changed the policy for off-campus parties. The new system abandons the enforcement of specific rules for off-campus parties and instead provides nine recommendations with the central goal of harm reduction.

The guidelines were initially developed by a subcommittee of students, including representatives from Greek Council Executive Board and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

“Once we identified that we wanted to see a change and that we needed a new approach, the students were given a lot of responsibility in crafting the specifics,” said Jeremy Allen, fraternity and sorority life coordinator.

The Safer Parties Initiative seeks to reduce harm in four key areas: over-consumption, drinking and driving, violent behavior, which includes fights and sexual assault and neighborhood disturbances.

From the student subcommittee, the proposed guidelines passed through the dean’s office and administration to ensure it was in compliance with Trinity’s existing alcohol policy.

The final version of the Safer Parties Initiative includes nine recommendations to reduce the risk of harm at off-campus

parties: ensure alcohol is not self-served and consumption is monitored, have alcohol served and monitored by a certified bartender, have a reasonable number of sober monitors, attend alcohol awareness training, ensure safe transportation, keep guests from congregating outside, limit guests to Trinity students, list alcohol ingredients used in mix ed drinks and post phone numbers for sober monitors throughout the venue.

The student subcommittee will remain active this year in an advisory role.

“It’s going to be more to help groups implement in a tangible way these recommendations, and serve as a resource for students to ask questions, give feedback,” Allen said.

Further explanation of these recommendations can be found on the Trinity website.

Jacob Spitz, men’s co-chair of Greek council and former president of Phi Sigma Chi, explained his role in shaping the policy.

“I went into [Allen’s] office and I basically described all the problems that Greeks were having with the policies in place, how burdensome they were,” Spitz said. “And I was like, people are chucking these out the window because we can’t manage this, it’s very unrealistic.”

Continued on page 3

2

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2016

BRIEFS SGA There is no SGA Brief for this week because there was no SGA meeting this week.

Professors take leave New leave program allows junior faculty members to focus on research before pursuing tenured teaching positions

BY PHILIP MCKEON

TUPD 09.02.16 1:56 a.m.

Location: Sector 2 Public Intoxication 09.03.16 9:36 p.m.

Location: South Residence Hall Theft and Possession of alcohol by a minor 09.04.16 1:59 a.m.

Location: Lot Y Public Intoxication 09.04.16 2:30 a.m.

Location: Lot O Possession of alcohol by a minor 09.05.16 10:42 p.m.

Location: Verna McLean Residence Hall Chapter 481 Texas Controlled Substance Act 09.06.16 7:35 a.m.

Location: Northrup Hall Burglary

• NEWS

NEWS REPORTER

Several departments at Trinity have seen a higher number of temporarily vacant positions this fall after many professors applied for academic leave.

Zeina Zayat, a Trinity junior and a chemistry major, claims that the chemistry department is one such department that has been affected by a smaller faculty size this semester.

“There were only three organic [chemistry] professors in the chemistry department to begin with. One took a leave of absence and Dr. Bachrach left Trinity for a different position at another school, so that left the chem department pretty thin, especially in terms of organics,” Zayat said.

According to Tim O’Sullivan, interim associate vice president for academic affairs, one cause for the increase in the number of professors on leave is a new program Trinity instituted for junior faculty.

“I can confirm that there will be a general increase [in professors leaving] both this year and next because we have a new leave program for junior faculty. At most of our peer institutions, usually in the fourth year, that faculty member will have the opportunity to apply for academic leave of a semester or a year. The idea there is to give them time before they go up for tenure to work on their research full time,” O’Sullivan said.

Sara Calvo, a Trinity junior and mathematical finance major, is supportive of the school’s program to help give junior faculty members an edge.

“I think the new program makes sense. It’s hard for professors to focus on teaching when they’re worried about

Compiled by Alex Uri

CLASSIFIEDS Truck for Sale 2013 Ford 150 X LT - 20,800 mi. Gently used in excellent condition. We have the title and an extended warranty. $22,500.

Contact: kmartin1@trinity.edu

INDEX News..................................................... 2-3 Advertisement ..................................... 4 Opinion................................................ 5-6 Pulse..................................................... 7-8 A&E..................................................... 9-10 Sports................................................. 11-12

getting tenure, and it’s hard for them to put in the work to get tenure if they’re focused on teaching,” Calvo said.

Faculty must apply for and be approved to take academic leave to pursue their research objectives.

“Faculty write up a proposal of what they’re going to do with their semester, and then that is reviewed by a committee of other faculty members. That committee, the faculty development committee, reviews those proposals and will then decide if they merit academic leave,” O’Sullivan said.

It is not out of the ordinary for faculty to take academic leave, nor is it usually problematic for the departments they work in.

“This is just a part of the life of the university. For the most part, because it is a cycle, departments can really plan ahead.

It’s not unheard of for the department to ask a professor to take their leave in the fall or spring semester, depending on what their regular course rotation is, or even to ask for them to take their leave in an entirely different year, depending on the teaching demands of each department,” O’Sullivan said.

Because faculty will usually take leave in a cyclical fashion, departments are typically able to plan in advance and make the necessary adjustments to prevent disruption.

“Chairs of departments know at least a couple years in advance what the likely pattern is going to be for professors going on leave within their department. There are different things that departments can do to adjust for professors on leave. Some can satisfy their pedagogical needs with their existing faculty in the department; many departments will apply to academic affairs for what are called visiting positions.

Basically, these are professors who are hired to teach at Trinity for a semester, a year, a given amount of time, but are not on the track for tenure here at Trinity,” O’Sullivan said.

Not all vacancies can be planned in advance, of course.

“The other issues that can affect this are of course that professors can be hired by other institutions, they may retire, these kinds of things. So there will be occasions when a faculty member needs to be replaced in short order,” O’Sullivan said.

Staff editor-in-chief: Julia Elmore managing editor: Grace Frye business manager: Dzung Vu ad director: Lauren Harris & Christina Moore news editor: Alexandra Uri campus pulse editor: Emily Elliott arts & entertainment editor: Dylan Wagner sports editor: Markham Sigler opinion editor: Daniel Conrad photo editor: Miguel Webber graphic editor: Tyler Herron layout editor: Katie Groke web editor: Abi Birdsell circulation director: Maddie Kennedy reporters: Michael Drozdiak, Chris Garcia,

Contact Us

Identification The Trin iton ian [ USPS 640460] [issn 1067-7291] is publ ished week ly during the academic year, except hol idays and f inal exams, by Trin it y Un iversit y, One Trin it y Place, San A nton io, T X 78212-720 0.

Subscript ion price is $35 per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at San A nton io, T X. POST M AST ER: Send address changes to the Trin iton ian, One Trin it y Place, #62 , San A nton io, T X 78212-720 0.

Corrections In the August 26 issue, an infographic that ran with the story on page three about the Quality Enhancement Plan misrepresented data. It indicated that Trinity had a higher percentage in the “7” or “excellent” category compared to other schools, when in fact they have a lower percentage. A corrected version of the infographic is available online.

In last week’s issue, the athlete spotlight on page 12 was mislabeled. The f irst photograph was of K ristin Canepa and the second was of Lauren Skrobarcyzk.

Spot a mistake? Email us at trinitonian@trinity.edu, and we will happily run a correction in the following issue.

Elise Hester, Courtney Justus, Sidney Hopkins, Elizabeth McEnrue, Haley McFadden, Philip McKeon, Jeff Sullivan, Christiana Zgourides columnists: Max Freeman, Mia Garza, Sarah Haley, Joy Lazarus, Gabriel Levine, Alexander Perkowski, Emily Peter, Callum Squires, Nabeeha Virani copy editors: Soleil Gaffner, Julia Poage, Julia Weis cartoonist: Michael Miller photographers: Noah Davidson, Claudia Garcia, Henry Pratt, Will Insill business staff: Sarah McIntyre, Krushi Patel advertising staff: Melissa Chura, Jordan Williams, Nick Kim adviser: Katharine Martin

Editorial

Advertising

Emai l . . ......................... trin iton ian@trin it y.edu Newsroom. . ................. 210 -999-8558 Editors........................ 210 -999-8557 Fax.. ............................. 210 -999-7034

Emai l . . ......................... trin iton ian-adv@trin it y.edu Newsroom. . ................. 210 -999-8558 Editors........................ 210 -999-8557 Fax.. ............................. 210 -999-7034

Onl ine......................... trin iton in.com Facebook. . ................... The Trin iton ian Twitter.. ....................... @trin iton ian

Opinions expressed in the Trinitonian are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Trinity University, its students, faculty, staff or the Trinitonian. Editorials represent the opinions of the Trinitonian Editorial Board. The first copy of the Trinitonian is free; additional copies are 50 cents each. ©2016. All rights reserved.

3

NEWS • SEPTEMBER 09, 2016 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Gardening class helps students grow

Olivia Roybal and Nikhil Patel lead hands-on learning in campus plot

BY MICHAEL DROZDIAK

NEWS REPORTER

Trinity has continued the student-led gardening class. The course, Practical Internship: Gardening in South Texas, is taught by sophomore Olivia Roybal, a biology major with extensive experience in local flora, and by junior Nikhil Patel. It currently counts as a one credit hour upper division biology elective.

The one-credit class focuses less on theory and more on learning the practical aspects of gardening.

“Most of what we are teaching is fairly basic,” said Nikhil Patel, one of the student teachers. “It’s meant to be an introduction with the primary focus on application — thus lots of doing.”

The class is also structured to highlight the unique gardening opportunities that are presented by San Antonio’s climate.

“The class is designed to be a highly experiential course that will transfer basic knowledge about planning and maintaining a garden in South Texas,” said Olivia Roybal, who teaches the course with Patel.

Though the class only meets once a week on Fridays, students are excited and already learning quite a bit about local gardening.

“The class has been informative, professional and efficient so far,” said Lavanya Hospeti, a junior sociology major taking the course.

“Olivia and her co-teacher Nikhil have already taught us new concepts.”

Both Patel and Roybal think that there are specific benefits to be had from learning from peers.

“When I was a student taking the class last year, it provided a really interesting and uniquely casual learning environment,” Roybal said, “The opportunity to learn from your peers is uncommon, but very worthwhile.”

Patel said he believes that students who choose to be student teachers, and therefore voluntarily take on enormous responsibility, do so primarily out of love for the course material. He believes this love is

naturally conducive to making great teachers.

“Students know the best teachers are the ones who love what they are teaching,” Patel said.

Grading for the class is based on students’ attendance taken by the student teachers.

“The class is purely based on participation,” Roybal said about the policy, “and attendance is submitted to the faculty sponsor at the end of the semester.”

Roybal believes that the way the class is structured will draw in interested students. This allows for accountablity without putting students’ grades in the hands of other students.

However, Roybal thinks that students who enroll in the class will show up regardless of the attendance policy.

“I think students that register for the course know what the pace of the class will be like,” Roybal said, “and they understand that it’s a very informal and practical class.”

Both of the student instructors took the class in a previous semester and had expressed notable aptitude which made them natural choices to lead the course.

New student deputies continued from front page Melissa Whiteman, junior and biology major, is also supportive of this new initiative to deputize Trinity students as voter registrars.

“I think it’s a cool thing that they’re doing. Being a voter registrar isn’t something that a lot of people really ever think of, or even know what they are, so it’s pretty neat that TProg is doing this,” Whiteman said. “It’s a pretty important part of the system, so I’m glad there are people on campus that are going to be a part of that.”

The decision to host a deputization seminar is new for Trinity, and hopes to increase the number of people who are ultimately registered to vote.

“This will be a big departure from years past, when we haven’t hosted deputization on campus, because now we’ll have a large bank of people who can help register voters.

We’re hoping for a large turn out,” Santulli said.

Deputization to register voters is a simple and relatively painless way to become involved with the

Olivia Roybal teaches students in her gardening class about working with plants

photo by Claudia Garcia

“I was involved with the garden last year and had worked closely with the previous teachers, Hayley Sayrs and Nathan King, in the past,” Roybal said. “I indicated an interest and had some experience, so I was given the position.”

Even apart from the specific necessities of teaching the course, the passion of the student teachers routinely shines through.

Roybal hopes to continue working with the gardening class

even if she doesn’t teach again.

“I would love to continue this position for as long as possible,” Roybal said, “and plan on being involved with the Trinity Community Garden my entire time at Trinity, whether or not I’m teaching.”

Students who wish to take the course but were unable to sign up this semester will have the opportunity to try to enroll in the spring of 2017.

Big changes to party policies continued from front page

political process before the election in November.

“I think we can all agree that this is a very important election year, and we should all do our part to be engaged in the process. This is an easy and meaningful way for students and people who are interested to get involved in the political process,” Santulli said.

It is important that members of the Trinity community take advantage of their civic duties and come out to vote.

“I think the right to vote is something that a lot of people take for granted, and it’s important that we get as many people to vote as we can. If you don’t vote, then you have no right to complain when you end up unhappy with whoever does end up getting elected,” Whitman said.

Noah Boriak, sophomore and business major, said he is concerned that student organizations would influence voters as they work to register them.

“I think it’s important that these groups, some of which openly

support one choice or the other, are extremely careful that they be as unbiased as possible when they start registering people to vote. Even if the group doesn’t endorse anyone, the person who’s registering probably already made their choice, so I think it’s important that they don’t try and influence people one way or the other and just focus on the job of registering them,” Boriak said.

Deputization of voter registrars is the first of many efforts by organizations on campus to increase voter turnout.

“This is only the beginning of our voter registration efforts, which will really center around National Voter Registration Day, which is September 27. It’s an initiative to raise awareness around the importance of registering to vote.

Ultimately, we’re out to get more voters to show up on election day, and this is a way to really center our efforts. We’ll of course be tabling all day on September 27, both on the esplanade and inside Mabee,” Santulli said.

Cycle Hub is a state-of-the-art indoor cycling studio dedicated exclusively to indoor cycling classes.

- Schwinn® A.C. Performance Carbon Blue bikes - Certified Schwinn® Indoor Cycling Instructors - Fun for all ages and fitness levels

First ride is always free Students $10 a class Teachers 15% off www.mycyclehub.com

Allen and Spitz both identified the BYOB aspect of the old policy as being particularly cumbersome.

“If I’m seeing something like that [policy] and thinking that it’s super unreasonable, then maybe my group’s not even going to try to follow any of the guidelines or policies,” Allen said.

This open dialogue was crucial in forming the Safer Parties Initiative.

In the past, Tuttle explained, students would often register parties and ignore the specific procedures, or would not register them at all.

“That kind of undercuts what we’re trying to do, which is to work in partnership to create student culture where students look after one another,” Tuttle said.

Organizations are no longer required to register parties under the new guidelines.

“We wanted to make sure that the recommendations that we do have officially are rock solid and tight,” Allen said.

Recommendations that did not have overwhelming student support were not included in the final initiative.

Greek life representatives expressed enthusiastic support for the new guidelines.

“Not only is it trusting the student body to kind of police themselves, but it’s also giving organizations the autonomy to run parties how they know they’ll run more efficiently,” said Zachary Wooten, president of Omega Phi. Some organizations plan to implement all nine of the recommendations.

“For us, we’re making them requirements because they’re just too easy not to. And, also, they do serve a good purpose, it’s to keep people safe at parties,” said Phillip Lopez, president of Kappa Kappa Delta fraternity.

The new recommendations, which apply to all off-campus parties, will not be strictly enforced.

“This is kind of a contract we’re making between students and staff, and we’re saying to students, if you do the right thing and you don’t create these problems, then it’s your private business off campus,” Tuttle said. “But if you create these problems, there will be serious consequences.”

Enforcement will take into account whether or not the guidelines are being followed.

“There’s nothing that anyone has to do,” Spitz said. “That being said, if something happens at your event and you’re not following any of the recommendations, that’s not going to be very good for you.”

“If there was a fraternity party and something bad happened and we investigated it, and the people from the fraternity came in and said, look we followed these steps, we made our best effort at this and we want to continue to do this and to work with you, I think we’ll be very open to that as long as we have ongoing dialogues,” Tuttle said.

Some members of Greek life laud the new guidelines because they felt the old policy was unfair to their organizations.

“There were basically twice as many rules for what Greeks had to follow, which seemed very unfair.

We had to jump through a bunch of hoops,” Wooten said.

Tuttle explained that having separate rules for Greek life organizations caused tension between Greeks and athletic teams.

This factor contributed to the decision to focus more on individual rather than group accountability.

“We can say all we want that these are individual students, and they may be living in a house as individuals, renting as individuals,” Tuttle said. “But to the outsider, if they look like an organization and they’re hosting a party, and people are calling it an organization party, can we really distance ourselves from that?”

4

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2016 •

ADVERTISEMENT

Welcome Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Questioning Students!

We are a sample of the many LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly

Welcome (back) to Trinity University Academic Affairs Lisa Jasinski Tim O’Sullivan Academic Technology Sophia Abbot Wendy Apfel Thomas Jenkins Jessica Tamayo Admissions Nicole Fratto Lauren Ghishan Kindel Hollis Gail Roberson Alumni Relations and Development Mary Kay Cooper Michael Lawrence Christine Martinez Lexi Read Alta Compton Art & Art History Kathryn O’Rourke Denise Wilson Athletics Ross Burt Brant McAdams Biology Michele Johnson Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success Scott Brown Erin Hood Laura Kalb Katie Ramirez LadyStacie Rimes-Boyd Jacob Tingle

Center for International Engagement Nancy Ericksen Center for Sciences and Innovation David Lopez Chemistry Christina Cooley Corina Maeder Adam Urbach Classical Studies Erwin Cook Nicolle Hirschfeld Sira Schulz Coates Library Alex Gallin-Parisi Anne Graf Jason Hardin Benjamin Harris Maria Mc Williams Chris Nolan Jen Sugars Diane Graves Communication Aaron Delwiche Jennifer Henderson Robert Huesca Patrick Keating Camille Reyes Computer Science Seth Fogarty Matthew Hibbs Paul Myers Conference and Special Programs Julio Avila Justin Michaelson Bruce Bravo

Counseling and Health Services Gary Neal

History Jason Johnson Linda Salvucci

Religion Ruben Dupertuis Simran Jeet Singh

Counseling Services Richard Reams

Human Communication and Theater Rachel Joseph William Mosley-Jensen

Residential Life Stephanie Ackerman Paul Carey Melissa Flowers

Modern Language and Literature Nina Ekstein Debra Ochoa Heather Sullivan Rita Urquijo-Ruiz

Sociology and Anthropology Sarah Beth Kaufman Alfred Montoya Amy Stone Jennifer Mathews

Dean of Students Office Yvonne Gonzales Megan Kruse David Tuttle Economics Nels Christiansen Education Angela Breidenstein Rocio Delgado Heather Haynes Smith Engineering Science Wilson Terrell English James Ivy David Rando Michael Soto Claudia Stokes Betsy Tontiplaphol Facilities Services Robert Salas Finance and Decision Sciences Carlos Natividad Licón

Music Ken Greene David Heller Diane Persellin Parker Chapel Stephen Nickle Philosophy Curtis Brown Shirley Durst Rachel Johnson Andrew Kania Steven Luper Judith Norman Physics & Astronomy Niescja Turner

Financial Services Center Ray Sanchez

Political Science Peter O’Brien Sussan Siavoshi Katsuo Nishikawa Chávez

Geo-sciences Diane Smith Ben Surpless

Psychology Carolyn Becker Harry Wallace

Health Care & Services Jackie Bevilacqua

Student Accessibility Services Alyse Gray Catherine Morell-Nickle Student Involvement Esther Kim Katharine Martin Jamie Thompson Jamie Ward Trinity University Press Sarah Nawrocki Tom Payton University Marketing and Communication Vee DuBose Carlos Anchondo Abel Ramos Michelle Bartonico Wellness Services Katherine Hewitt

Opinion EDITORIAL

Changing our days

As we wrap up the third week of the semester, students’ routines have been set and we have somewhat figured out what is going on in our day-to-day schedules.

The Trinitonian staff has been getting into the swing of the new year as well. We’ve made quite a few behind-the-scenes changes, including hiring a new layout artist to improve the overall appearance and consistency of our paper. Our Opinion section now has its own editor who has enthusiastically planned and organized this section each week. We’ve rearranged all our files online and are in the process of revamping our website.

Aside from trying to make our lives easier and our production nights shorter, we have set some goals and worked to make changes to make our paper more uniform, informative and entertaining for you, our readers. A more consistent style, clean and concise copy, and informative graphics have been recent additions that have improved our publication. Readers with classmates, roommates or friends on staff might have also noticed that we have stopped complaining about how late we have stayed up producing the last two issues. Okay, maybe we haven’t stopped, but we have gotten much faster at editing and designing pages in the last three weeks. If you don’t know one of us, perhaps you have noticed that our last two issues have been significantly shorter.

It really is hard to be sad about having less work to do until the

crack of dawn on a Thursday morning. When we find out that the paper will only be 12 pages, it means that we might actually get more than two hours of sleep before class or that we will not have to forfeit finishing homework in order to finish our pages. But no matter how much later our bedtimes will be pushed or what homework assignments will go undone, we hope and pray for more pages each week. We hope to bring our readers more stories, photos and advertisements in the coming week, especially as we prepare for next week’s Health and Wellness issue, which is always a campus-wide favorite.

Although we hate that we have had two short issues, we are excited that we have been able to have them on stands on time. Last year, there were weeks when the red racks around campus were empty until 6 p.m. on Friday evenings because the turnaround from exporting our work to the paper being printed was too rapid and the printer was unable to have it back to us so quickly. We now put everything together a day earlier, leaving ample time for printing and ensuring that our publication is on stands by 8 a.m. on Friday, in time for you to catch up on reviews or previews of important campus events. We are excited, encouraged and optimistic that these changes will provide an exciting and informative product that students, faculty, staff and the Trinity community off campus will make part of your weekly routine.

COMMENTARY Have an opinion? Want others to hear it? For a chance to be featured as a guest columnist, please submit your article to trinitonian@trinity.edu by Monday night to be in Thursday’s issue of the paper.

Trinity: Let there be liquor!

It’s time to 21st-amendment Trinity’s ban on hard alcohol College bans on hard alcohol have risen in prominence recently. In just the last GABRIEL LEVINE year, both OPINION COLUMNIST Dartmouth and Stanford have introduced bans of some form.

Other colleges have implemented similar bans in previous years.

In this atmosphere, it is appropriate to reconsider Trinity’s existing prohibition of “hard” alcohol in upperclassmen residence halls is appropriate. Currently, students 21 and older are only allowed to possess beer and wine in their rooms. This policy of prohibition is ineffective and it should be abolished.

It’s necessary to consider why hard alcohol is prohibited in the first place. Trinity’s alcohol policy web page does not indicate the rationale behind the ban, so I’ll put forward two reasons that I think are fair. One, hard alcohol, by virtue of its greater alcoholic content, better facilitates heavy drinking and intoxication, whether deliberate or accidental, and all the mental and physical issues that follow. Two, hard alcohol is more likely to produce situations that lead to sexual assault.

The first reason really misunderstands the mindset of college students. If I want to get drunk and only have beer, then I’m going to drink a lot of beer, even if I’d prefer hard alcohol. I know people,

including myself, who get just as irresponsibly drunk from beer or wine as from liquor. It’s like having a class in Chapman instead of Marrs McLean. It may be harder for me to get there, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to skip class.

The second argument is flawed for the same reason as the first. Students will still get drunk off of beer and wine and blurred lines of consent will still be an issue. Moreover, sexual assault is a product of a twisted mindset that exists within a person, with or without hard alcohol. Indeed, while one-half of all sexual assaults is associated with alcohol, one-half of all violent crime in general is associated with alcohol.

Hard alcohol is no special culprit here. The better approach, which the school has already implemented, is sexual assault awareness and active bystander training.

Of course, the biggest issue with the hard alcohol ban is that it doesn’t work! In my time at Trinity I have never met a single person in the upperclassmen residence halls (and underclassmen residence halls, for that matter), 21 or otherwise, who doesn’t keep hard alcohol for fear of breaking the university’s prohibition.

The most that happens is that I make more frequent trips to the liquor store instead of buying in bulk, just in case I get busted. At that point the only real effect of the hard alcohol ban is making me spend more money on gas and more of my time buying booze instead of studying. It’s bad for the environment and productivity!

Unfortunately, long-term studies on the actual efficacy of hard alcohol bans don’t exist yet, but Aaron White, senior scientific advisor to the director of the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, has said that the best policies are those that restrict access or increase the price of alcohol.

Trinity’s prohibition on hard alcohol has no effect on the prices at the liquor store (or Don’s and Ben’s handy student discount) and in no real way restricts students’ access to hard alcohol.

Lastly, let’s consider the fact that many students consume hard alcohol casually and not to excess. It can be just as nice to have a strong drink after a test as it is to have a cold beer. Other students of legal age may enjoy learning how to make various cocktails and mixed drinks in their dorms. After all, you can’t make a White Russian to go with “The Big Lebowski” without vodka.

Hard alcohol has a recreational purpose beyond excessive intoxication and students of age shouldn’t be denied their legal right to it. Taken together with the fact that Trinity’s prohibition doesn’t solve the problems that might warrant its existence and doesn’t actually stop students from possessing hard alcohol, it becomes clear that the policy is both ineffective and somewhat harmful.

Trinity should restore full alcoholic freedoms to students of age and end the prohibition against hard alcohol in upperclassmen residence halls.

Personal values trump political affiliation

A Trinity professor’s reflections on the importance of compassion and empathy in spite of difference AARON DELWICHE

FACULTY COLUMNIST He was everything I wanted to be when I grew up. His name isn’t important. Bobby? Jerry? Jimmy? It doesn’t matter. I looked up to him.

Back in ’87, he was a fixture at campus demonstrations against U.S. intervention in Central America.

Articulate and ruggedly handsome, he had a way of pushing to the front of the line, seeking out the cameras and directing the action. He burned with righteous indignation about the atrocities unfolding in Central America at the hands of our allies.

One of several activists who ripped train tracks out of the ground at a local naval base in order to stop munitions from reaching Central America, Jimmy was a local celebrity among the student left. His legal troubles only added to the mystique.

I fantasized about hanging out with him and plotting strategies for changing the world.

The pedestals upon which we place our heroes never bear the weight.

In 1988, I joined tens of thousands of peace activists in a non-violent march through the streets of San Francisco. Our movement was finally gaining attention. I had

paused to rest near the old Bank of America building on Market Street when I noticed that a handful of demonstrators had split off from the crowd. Their faces were obscured with scarves — a sort of radical chic that was fashionable among student activists — but I recognized the muffled voice of the group’s leader. It was Jimmy. He and his friends were digging through bottles and bricks that they had hidden behind a trash can. As they filled their pockets, I realized that they planned to attack the bank.

Before I knew what was happening, I rushed up to the group and challenged my hero. I reminded him that this was a peaceful protest.

I realized that the global banking system was complicit in U.S. foreign policy, but this was a terrible strategy.

If they started breaking windows, they would discredit the tens of thousands of nonviolent activists who were armed only with a message of peace. The broken glass is all that anyone would be talking about the following day.

“Shut up, kid,” he growled. He and his friends surrounded me, moving ever closer. “Get out of here or we’ll beat the shit out of you.” Paralyzed by cognitive dissonance, living out

a scene that was the exact opposite of my fantasies, it occurred to me that one should probably avoid confronting a group of angry people with weapons in their hands.

Thankfully, Patty came to my aid. She was a physically imposing woman. Fully in the throes of her Sinead O’ Connor phase, she wore spiked blonde hair, a Ramones-style leather jacket and actual combat boots. Jimmy took a step back. A middle child from a family of seven siblings, Patty scolded Jimmy and his friends with the furious tone that an older sibling might direct toward a child who had been very bad. “You ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” she yelled. I don’t remember the rest of what she said, but I do remember Jimmy wilting in the face of her onslaught. Glancing nervously at the crowd of onlookers, he and his crew melted back into the crowd. The confrontation was over. * * * * * * * * * * * * * He was the last thing I wanted to be when I grew up. For one thing, he was super old. At least 50. And he was boring. His name is important. He was Professor William K. Muir, and he was the chair of the department of political science. Those who knew

him called him “Sandy.”

I approached his office with trepidation, clutching a tattered form in my hand. The university had a program in place that allowed undergraduates to design and teach college courses for three hours of pass/fail credit. I had convinced my friends to help me develop a course on propaganda, but we needed Professor Muir’s signature.

Unfortunately, he was a notorious Republican who had served as a speechwriter for Vice President Bush. My chances seemed slim.

Much to my surprise, Professor Muir greeted me warmly and sat down to discuss the course. Clearly sharing my enthusiasm for the topic of propaganda, he asked to review the syllabus. He read every word, correcting a few typos (as teachers do) and adding notes in the margins.

Handing the syllabus back to me, he gently observed that all of the course readings seemed to share the same political point of view. As he signed the form, he recommended (but did not require) that I consider incorporating at least one or two readings from conservative propaganda critics. He jotted down the names of a few good sources and allowed me to borrow a rare

book on propaganda that had been published shortly after the second world war. This was the book that had stimulated his own interest in propaganda; he wanted me to read it.

This was the only conversation that we ever had — he died last year — and I think about it often. Professor Muir could have come up with any excuse to avoid signing the form, but the thought never occurred to him.

On most political issues, I agreed with ruggedly handsome Jimmy.

We were supposed to be on the same side, but we weren’t. He was a bitter human being who channeled indignation into rage. He practiced the politics of anger. His way was a dead-end.

On most political issues, I disagreed with Professor Muir. He was supposed to be the enemy, except he wasn’t. He practiced the politics of empathy and compassion, and he understood that these things transcended all of the other differences. As I face my rapidly approaching middle years — and as I glance at the spine of the book that I never returned — I know that Sandy Muir is one of the people I want to be when I grow up.

Some things are more important than politics.

6

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2016 •

OPINION

Fly into the future Sports, social justice, or both?

ALY TUKAN

GUEST COLUMNIST

Being a student of the martial arts for 17 years has taught me that karate is much more than punching and kicking. Rather than being solely an aerobic activity, karate has a non-physical aspect in which every physical technique has a lesson that can be applied to daily life. One example is the flying side kick, and its philosophical teachings are especially important for college students.

I was at a karate class over the summer when my sensei led his students in a rather acrobatic drill to practice the flying side kick. The exercise involved a forward roll over an obstacle, followed by a flying side kick into the bag. If our kick sent us sailing off the cliff (also known as the edge of the mat), we were “invited” to perform 25 mountain climbers to make our way back up the mountain. Despite our best efforts, many of us found ourselves flying too far forward and landing off balance in an attempt to reach the bag and throw a strong kick.

This tendency to put our minds on the end result rather than focusing on moving from a grounded stance

reflects our preoccupation with the future, both in the dojo and in daily life. We tend to worry about upcoming tasks while making plans and to-do lists. As a college student, I am constantly writing and checking notes in my planner for assignment due dates, meetings with professors and on-campus events. While this practice enhances my success as a student, it pulls my mind out of the present moment and into the future.

What I learned from the flying side kick is that when I feel myself being consumed with thoughts of the future, I need to bring my attention inward and find my stability. This can be accomplished by pausing to take a few deep and mindful breaths.

When we practice being present, we can appreciate the full experience of life while feeling calm and grounded.

As the busyness of school sets in, I encourage you to consider the lessons of the flying side kick and allow yourself time every day to slow your breath and appreciate the beautiful present moment.

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design in the present.” – Jim Rohn

Serving up life, lawyer-style

Despite my best efforts, I found myself unemployed two summers ago. Besides occasional babysitting JOY LAZARUS and OPINION COLUMNIST stints dog walking, I read, painted, slept an unhealthy amount on my couch and watched, when I was lucky, four hours of Judge Judy Monday through Friday.

In my hometown, Judge Judy airs twice a day, once at 1 p.m. and again at 4 p.m. The show lasts 30 minutes, two cases per episode, so I could watch eight cases unravel per day. The episodes were fascinating.

Judge Judy, legally named Judith Sheindlin, has had her own reality court show since 1996. It’s the only court show that’s had a long-term run without any cancellations or temporary endings. Prior to her television debut, she published a memoir entitled “Don’t Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It’s Raining,” which, even without context, reveals her nononsense personality.

She’s a phenomenal lady. Fierce and intelligent, she makes her audience look at her when she’s speaking, yells promptly when the plaintiff and the defendant speak over each other and bangs her gavel from a raised bench.

Her authoritative, commanding voice and desperate search for the truth is admirable. A favorite slogan wielded in her courtroom is “Beauty fades, dumb is forever,” a pointed phrase too harsh and drab to be held as a universal truth, though it does get to the root of the matter. Small claims court has never been so real, especially within the confines of reality television.

Good things take time. My dad watched the show enough to spot the

same pretty blonde in the audience portion of the each episode. A skeptic daughter, I didn’t believe him at first, but there she was: a doe-eyed model looking blindly into the back of the plaintiff’s head, bored and probably a little hungry. She’d pop up again in the following episode, wearing a more colorful outfit with crimped hair. Soon our daily watching of America’s televised justice pursuits turned into “Where’s Waldo.” The support and awe for the show was made clear by our honed-in interest in the details of it. We didn’t have story arcs to muddy our minds.

There were only three constants: A frustrated Judge Judy, her bailiff and some blonde playing musical chairs between episodes.

Our attentiveness was not unique.

The internet is riddled with inquires of the girl’s identity. A Reddit post about “Judge Judy Lady Mystery” claimed that extras are paid $25 to fill seats and sit in the audience for six hours, explaining Lady Mystery’s apparent disinterest in every episode.

The post was from 2009, which reminded me of how desperately I needed to find a stable job. She was a paid extra! I was shocked!

A community did find its way to my computer though. Through these chat rooms, more Judge Judy fans and haters emerged. It was an online smorgasbord of hate, adoration and other extreme degrees of emotion for an Emmy award-winning judge and TV personality. I realized how far her fan base extended and how happy I was to be one of her many viewers. The community was brought together by a quest for the truth of some sort. In an odd way, community found its way to my couch; although it wasn’t something I was necessarily seeking, it helped me assess how the search for truth unites people.

Football star’s statement causes political and racial quarrel

At a preseason g a m e , quarterback C o l i n Kaepernick of the San NABEEHA VIRANI Fr a n c i s c o A&E WRITER 49ers caused controversy by staying seated during the national anthem.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said.

As expected, Kaepernick was met with opposition, but had supporters as well. Some accused him of being unpatriotic and said his action insulted the military, but many veterans disagreed. #VeteransforKaepernick started trending on Twitter and retired soldiers expressed their support for Kaepernick. Army vet Charles Clymer tweeted, “Do not use my service — or that of any veteran — to justify the silencing of black Americans. Not on my watch.”

Kaepernick has made it clear that he is not trying to disrespect America or its veterans.“I’m not anti-American,” Kaepernick said at a press conference. “The message is that we have a lot of issues in this country that we need to deal with.”

Prominent athletes have a long history of taking stands on sociopolitical issues. In the 1968 Olympic

Games, Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists doing the Black Power salute during the national anthem after they won gold and bronze, respectively. Their raised fists brought attention to racial injustice present in the U.S. at that time. Though they were representing their country and treated equally in the Olympic Village with other American athletes, back in the U.S. they were still facing discrimination and fighting for racial equality.

Just earlier this year, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul made a speech at the ESPYs on similar issues. They called attention to racial profiling and police violence, with James ending the speech, “We have to do better.”

Also calling attention to police brutality, the Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury WNBA teams wore #BlackLivesMatter warmup shirts back in July.

Protests are nothing new for people of color, especially black Americans.

We’ve seen marches and silent protests against police brutality for years and have read in history books the protest of segregation. What’s similar throughout the course of American history is the response to these protests by white people.

Hub Arkush, editor of Pro Football Weekly, said Kaepernick should be lucky he’s in the position he’s in; Donald Trump said that Kaepernick

can find another country that “works better for him.”

Kaepernick shared a tweet by @LeftSentThis criticizing this view: “If a black athlete or entertainer says something political along the lines of ‘I support the troops’...America LOVES it...But let a black athlete or entertainer say ANYTHING hinting towards the horror that Black folks experience in America...

America don’t love you no more.”

I think it’s brave of Kaepernick and other prominent figures to use their platform to bring awareness to issues that are swept aside by many. When athletes and celebrities choose to voice their opinions on social matters, it doesn’t define their athleticism. It defines their character.

Kaepernick is also getting involved.

He’s donating the first million dollars he makes this season to underprivileged communities.

“I have to help these communities.

It’s not right that they’re not put in the position to succeed or given those opportunities to success,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish of me to look the other way.”

ESPN reports more Kaepernick jerseys in the past week than over the last eight months. His message is garnering attention and support.

Athletes can play the sport they love and possibly cause real change. If they aren’t taking advantage of their celebrity, what use is it?

Come see us. We’re here to help.

Counseling Services Free & Confidential Short-term Counseling for: Depression - Anxiety - Stress - Relationship Concerns And more...

Learn what we can offer you at Trinity.edu/counseling To schedule an Initial Consultation call 210-999-7411, or see the on-duty counselor between 3 and 4:30 on a weekday afternoon without an appointment (first-come, first-seen). All subsequent meetings are by appointment.

Halsell Center, Suite 201 210-999-7411 trinity.edu/counseling

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT “I think the one thing that is really important for students, especially first years, to do is take time for themselves. You’ll be more efficient at your schoolwork if you do.”

Aaron Pratt, professor of English

P

ulse

Junior Yesenia Caballero directs first-year students Alexandra Parris and Emily Rech in “Queen of the Sandcastle”, a piece she wrote as a project over the summer that will be performed as part of the FYPOT photo by Claudia Garcia

Lights, camera, action: first-year students prepare for stage debut New performers wrap up final night rehearsals for their opening performances

BY SIDNEY HOPKINS PULSE REPORTER This weekend, the first years and new students of Trinity’s theatre department are putting on FYPOT, or “First Years Putting On Theater.” Each year, the tight-knit department puts on this show to

create a collaborative environment for everyone involved from the beginning of the year.

The show consists of several short, ten-minute scenes written and directed by several theatre department upperclassmen.

“I am a director along with Mindy Tran,” said sophomore Laura Twomey. “She wrote our scene over the summer and we casted it during auditions, and have directed it together over the past few weeks.”

The scenes are short, and don’t require an immense amount of memorization, but allow the first years to have more fun in theatre.

“I was in a FYPOT scene last year, and for me it was a way to be a little involved in theater, sort of get a taste for it and have some fun, without it being a huge time commitment,” Twomey said.

Some students involved last year are returning with a more authoritative role this year.

“I was a participant last year and now I’m a producer. I play a managerial role alongside Holly Gabelmann, so I’m ensuring that our student writers and directors had a smooth process and eventually introducing the first years into that process,” said Nico Champion, a sophomore who has

been actively involved with the theatre department.

Students who have had no experience with FYPOT, however, have found ways to get involved with the program, too.

“I was too nervous to do it my freshman year, but it enables a very collaborative and fun atmosphere.

It was a very low pressure process.

I think it’s a good opportunity for freshmen to just have fun as a larger theater collective,” said sophomore Liz Metzger, who will perform alongside the first year students this time.

Each member of FYPOT finds that this production is a unique

method to get new members accustomed to the changes that accompany collegiate theater.

“It’s a phenomenal way to introduce the newest members of the theatre department to Trinity theatre and the community we create. As both a participant last year and a producer this year, it’s easy to see that these shows lay the foundations for valuable and lasting relationships that will be endlessly beneficial for one’s time here.” Champion said.

FYPOT will be held on Sept. 9 at 8:30 p.m. and Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Attic Theater.

Scott Kelly comes in peace to deliver his lecture Visiting astronaut to tell stories about his experiences from a year in space

BY COURTNEY JUSTUS PULSE REPORTER On Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m., Captain Scott Kelly will give a Distinguished Lecture in the Laurie Auditorium about his various achievements and

experiences from his time spent living in outer space.

“I think it’s exciting that we will get to hear him share his experience as his life as an astronaut and an engineer,” said Paola Gutierrez, a junior neuroscience major.

Members of Trinity’s various STEM departments are also excited to hear about Kelly’s experiences.

“He has really done such a unique thing to have gone on these missions, on a space shuttle, on the Soyuz capsules, for so long.

He is going to have a truly unique perspective.” said David Pooley, professor of physics and astronomy.

Kelly’s lecture presents a unique opportunity to learn about experiences that were once considered implausible.

“He’s going to have a perspective and insights that are truly unique and I think would be very valuable for students to hear, to understand why is it that we do this sort of thing. What do we learn when we go to space? What can we learn about ourselves? I can’t think of anyone better than Astronaut Kelly to share that wisdom that he’s learned,” Pooley said.

Pooley will help lead a discussion with students and Kelly on the

same day from 4 to 5 p.m. in Northrup Hall 040. All students are welcome to attend.

As an astrophysicist, Pooley has his own set of questions for Kelly and is excited to both lead a group discussion and learn more about Kelly’s experiences in outer space.

“I’m really interested to hear his perspectives of American and Soviet technology after the experience of being on a space shuttle versus a Soyuz capsule. Could he tell big differences in the technologies or the design ideas that were used for those two? So kind of the more practical aspects of getting up into

space. I’d also be interested to hear why he chose to do such a thing, to go into space,” Pooley said.

Kelly has made several significant contributions to astrophysics through his work on different space capsules.

“On one of his missions, he was on one of the servicing missions for the Hubble Space Telescope and, as someone who uses a lot of Hubble Space Telescope data, I think that’s an amazing thing,” Pooley said.

Astrophysicists maintain a great deal of responsibilities at NASA, and Kelly’s achievements in this field are revolutionary.

Continued on page 8

8

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2016 •

CAMPUS PULSE

Groups take new steps to share the faith Various religious organizations spread their knowledge on differing beliefs and traditions through interfaith dialogue

BY COURTNEY JUSTUS

PULSE REPORTER

graphic by Tyler Herron

Members of different religious organizations at Trinity are making an effort to get closer to one another through interfaith dialogue, which is a fairly new practice.

“We realized that all of the religious organizations aren’t really communicating with each other that much,” said Adam Syed, a senior music composition major and co-president of the Muslim Student Association.

“We wanted to get people together to discuss other viewpoints and share their perspectives, as well as see how different perspectives can be similar even when they’re from different faiths,” Syed said.

Religious organizations such as the Muslim Student Association, Jewish Student Association and

Catholic Student Group, engaged in their first interfaith dialogue session on February 15, 2016.

“I think people really enjoyed sharing opinions and hearing other people’s thoughts in a faith environment. It would be really good if this occurs consistently so that people have this outlet to share,” Syed said.

The interfaith dialogue event back in February was not only a great way for students to share their thoughts on their own perspectives, but also for them to learn more about religions that are totally different from theirs.

“I thought it was a success. We were at a table with some Catholic Student Group members. They were all curious to know about the

Jewish culture and we asked questions about Christianity,” said Ruth Lavenda, a junior psychology major and president of the Jewish Student Association.

Maintaining a space where different organizations can engage in interfaith dialogue has proved beneficial for students of several different religions.

“I have a varied religious background myself, so I have a really good sense of those differences and similarities between different approaches. I also see that every religion I am familiar with thinks helping and respecting others are good things,” said Luke Ayers, a sophomore economics and religion major and member of Catholic Student Group and Intervarsity.

Although not every religious group on campus was present at the February session, many of them still welcome the opportunity to discuss different religious traditions with the hopes of finding a sense of unison with each other.

“Interfaith dialogue is important to RUF, and we welcome the opportunity to discuss with different religious traditions and groups on campus. We have not had much opportunity to engage in interfaith dialogue with other groups at Trinity, but we welcome ideas and invitations to dialogue,” said Erika Hochstein, a senior biology major and member of Reformed University Fellowship.

Even before this first interfaith dialogue gathering, some religious

organizations did work closely with each other, such as Intervarsity and Catholic Student Group, to accomplish a mutual goal.

“Last year we were able to partner up with Intervarsity. There was a 24-hour prayer session, so people would go into Lightner Tea Room and there would always someone in there praying for something,” said Janett Muñoz, a junior biochemistry and molecular biology major and member of Catholic Student Group.

Trinity Diversity Connection has a number of events planned for the future, including discussions, so that organizations can continue sharing their beliefs and traditions with one another and spread religious knowledge.

Ph.D. candidates discuss their experiences of simultaneously teaching and researching

finally defend his dissertation this upcoming May. “I study basketball Twitter which is subculture that includes fans, players, journalists, team accounts and anyone who tweets mostly about basketball, specifically the NBA. I use what is called a Serious Leisure Information Practice framework from Library and Information Science to show how much work these amateurs or hobbyists perform related to their passion around NBA culture.”

Sanchez received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin in management information systems and his master’s degree in instructional technology. He then went on to Rutgers University to pursue a doctorate in library and information science. Sanchez teaches the Media Interpretation and Criticism course as well as a class on media and technology.

“Undergrads take in information.

Masters you have to make some

decisions like, ‘Is this good knowledge? Is this bad knowledge?’

And then the level above that [Ph.D.], I read a lot of stuff, but I also have to produce my own stuff. It basically just builds on each other. I’m not just making decisions, I’m also creating new knowledge,” Sanchez said.

Jesús Castro-Gorfti, a professor of Spanish, is studying theory of mind within detective fiction in Spanish literature. He will explore the works of Francisco García Pavón and Lorenzo Silva. CastroGorfti is beginning the editing process of his dissertation. He expects to defend it this December.

“I am actually the first person in my family to go to college.

So when I came to the States, I wanted to learn English and to go to college. So I started with a community college in Virginia, then I eventually transferred to a four-year degree university called James Madison University,” Castro-Gorfti said.

Castro-Gorfti had been offered a teaching position upon his arrival.

“So that was my first time teaching ever. No experience, no degree related to the field. And by the end of the semester, I loved teaching. I was planning to go there for computer science, and after that experience teaching I decided just to switch careers and switch degree plans and go into teaching,” Castro-Gorfti said.

Castro-Gorfti received his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from James Madison University and his master’s from Loyola University Chicago. He teaches intermediate Spanish I and advanced conversation and composition “My favorite part of research is that it’s not as structured as an undergrad, so you have freedom to pick what to focus on, which is always a plus. This is your topic to work on.”

The decision to earn a Ph.D., however, isn’t as straightforward for each student.

“I knew my senior year in college that I wanted to be a college professor. But I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do: it took me about 10 years to figure out what I wanted to do,” said Jarrod Stringer, an adjunct First Year Experience professor.

Stringer is pursuing his Ph.D. in 19th century American literature from the University of Texas, Arlington. He blieves that speaking to a variety of experienced professors can help inquiring students determine the best path.

“My general recommendation is to talk to people in your field. Talk to your professors. Ask them, based on your relationship with them and what it is that you want to do, what they would recommend. Every field is different. Every person is different,” Stringer said.

Stringer currently teaches “What We Know Ain’t So,” a course that explores how our brain is programmed to see patterns and determine how people value different things.

Professors with a student perspective

BY ELIZABETH McENRUE

PULSE REPORTER

Not every student forays into the job market upon graduation. Some students choose to pursue one or more graduate degrees. During graduate school, teaching positions are available to graduate students.

“In Ph.D. world, you have the ability to research what you love, what you’re most interested in,” said Jacob Sanchez, a visiting instructor in communication.

Sanchez is conducting a virtual ethnography of the online culture of basketball Twitter. He hopes to

T Heads Up! Did you know the Trinitonian publishes on Thursdays now?

Be sure to reserve your ad earlier so you can get in the issue!

Captain Kelly lecture continued from page 9 “As astrophysicists, we owe a debt of gratitude to all of the astronauts that have put the NASA satellites up into space, Hubble, Chandra, all of them. I’d be interested to hear what he thought of the science aspect of going into space and other experimental things on the space station, to hear what he thought was memorable and meaningful.”

Pooley said.

Staff and faculty members see Kelly’s lecture as an opportunity for the Trinity community and have planned and coordinated his visit carefully.

“Here is an astronaut that has just been on a one-year epic journey in space. It’s just a rare opportunity to have an astronaut in our current time be able to come and tell such

an incredible story,” said Sharon Jones Schweitzer, assistant vice president for external relations.

Part of Schweitzer’s job is to spread the word about Kelly’s visit and make sure that his visit goes smoothly. She also hopes that others will be inspired by his story.

“I think that [students and faculty] will gain some insight into the type of career and life he’s led,” Schweitzer said. “Hopefully, maybe years down the road, they will come to appreciate the opportunities that as members of this community we have to meet with some of the leaders of the world who come to our campus.”

Captain Scott Kelly’s lecture is free, and all members of the Trinity and San Antonio community are

AE &

“Hiddleswift” couple name retired, world collectively relieved The awkwardly artificial Taylor Swift-ex-Tom Hiddleston couple fell apart this week, leaving the two grieving celebrities to get gold tear-duct injections, or whatever ageinappropriate celebrity couples do when their engineered love goes out of style.

IPhone 7 removes aux jack, alienates all users who like sick beats Apple is raising the bar as usual. This time, innovation comes in the form of removing the only way of plugging in headphones, replacing this annoying “useful” feature with a pair of marbles cleverly disguised as wireless headphones.

Wait, where did they go? compiled by Dylan Wagner

A look at the creator behind “Obstacle”

Debuting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept.

7, Swedish artist Patrik Elgström b r i n g s DYLAN WAGNER “Obstacle,” A&E SECTION EDITOR his blackand-white photographic journey of Berlin, to the Michael and Noemi Neidorff Art Gallery located in Dicke-Smith Building. Collaborating with the Blue Star Contemporary Arts Museum, Trinity’s Art History and Art departments helped bring his work to Trinity, however briefly.

Elgström, a quietly charismatic Swede with shoulder-length blonde hair, was happy to talk briefly about his work, including inspirations

in conceiving “Obstacle” and his experiences executing the project. He also spoke about both photographing Berlin and about his brief time in San Antonio.

As his exhibition was still being finalized (complete with power drills and showering sawdust), we took a seat in an adjacent cleanup room for a quieter space.

Comfortably sitting on a wooden box and sipping plastic cup of wine (“My voice, it’s rough,” he explained), he started the interview by explaining the thought process behind his choice of subject: smallscale shots of urban Berlin.

“I use architecture to project personal thoughts or feelings and so on,” Elgström said. “If you have been to Berlin, you have seen everybody claims the space in some way with graffiti or something, so it was really hard to find those places where you could have a special kind of relationship.” When asked more about this relationship, Elgström took a moment to collect himself. His shoulder-length blond hair shaded his face as he tilted his head forward, trying to find

the right words. A Swedish native, his English is impressive but runs into rough patches when he tries to convey more nuanced expressions, especially about his own work.

We moved onto the theme of his piece: obstacles. He explained that the focus of the piece actually came from the same idea that sparked his earlier work, “Blocked.” Elgström explained that his original idea was to take pictures from both sides of a bridge in Gothenburg, Sweden, but that he could not gain access to the spot from which he wanted to take his photos.

“So, I started focusing on those things that were blocking my view, so I was focused on the obstacle.

That’s the basic idea of the show ... But also, it’s not just about the obstacle. I have to have kind of a personal experience with it.

“That’s also the way I’m installing the images, it’s very important.

As if you could just focus on one thing at a time, and it could be like a private meeting with this image. That’s why I have the size of the prints, they’re small, intimate, almost like a face. It’s like a one-

Wells Fargo recently circulated promotional brochures for their Teen Financial EMILY PETER E d u c a t i o n Day that A&E WRITER will be held later this month. In a burnt-orange box featuring two adolescents performing scientific experiments, the tagline reads: “A ballerina yesterday. An engineer tomorrow.”

Another advertisement expounds: “An actor yesterday. A botanist tomorrow.” Both advertisements concluded with the phrase “Let’s get them ready for tomorrow.”

Many supporters of the arts have scrutinized the message that the bank is aiming at the minds of tomorrow through their sole encouragement of the sciences.

Wells Fargo is not the first big company to cast the arts in this light, playing it against other potential areas of interest and overtly suggesting one is more rewarding than the other. AT&T ran an ad on Twitter, now removed, advertising

their work with DirecTV that undermined and diminished the value of a theatre experience. The commercial contained the phrase, “Flip between the fight, the game and the ballet you didn’t want to go to” implying that the ballet had less experiential value than that of the two athletic events. Additionally, Old Navy printed two shirt designs that would be hung in children and infants departments that read, “Young Aspiring Artist” but artist is crossed out and replaced with the word “Astronaut.” In both cases, the value of the arts is diminished in contrast to another career field.

In the midst of weaving a new texture for higher education today, critical questions continue to be raised about the value achieved from a liberal arts education.

There is a pervasive voice that maintains that STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering and math — are far more useful and beneficial in today’s digital world and economy than a liberal arts major, such as history or English. This voice begs us to ultimately take a stance. I believe there is a need for the humanities,

the arts, social sciences and STEM to communicate across boundaries effectively and to draw upon individual strengths.

No one department is maximized without the consideration of the other. Would experiences in the sciences not enable students in arts and humanities to integrate experimental thinking and logic-based analysis into their curriculum? Conversely, would students in the sciences not become more creative and abstract thinkers after pondering the subject matter studied in arts and humanities departments?

As a Trinity student, I am lucky to attend a university that values the interdisciplinary approach to education and employs many methods to reach this goal such as the Pathways program, flexible majors and the communication between many on-campus programs and organizations.

Trinity states on their website that “students are challenged and supported in a community that encourages pathways to discovery … the University is committed to ensuring that all Trinity undergraduate degrees represent a liberal arts and sciences education.” Trinity students are fortunate to learn and grow in a space with people who nurture our abilities past the walls of a department, encouraging us to think scientifically and artistically.

When we begin to examine the content of the recent Wells Fargo advertisement, it is important that we look beyond a career-centered outlook on education. Not only are we able to follow our dreams in whatever field sparks our passion, but we are not confined to one way of thinking: scientific or artistic.

New photography exhibit examines public spaces and mindfulness

to-one experience, it’s not like a collective experience where you all stand before a large print and just ‘wow.’ When asked why he chose public spaces as a subject and the sizes for his prints, he had a great reply: “isn’t that what public spaces are for? To have a sort of private relationship, among others?”

Elgström was very clear about his role as an artist, and to him that means keeping his relationship to his work separate from others’ reactions to the work. “I don’t want it because it’s ‘my stories,’ but it’s kind of collective, in that sense that everybody can see something in the image, I think, I hope,” he said.

I faltered at one point when it seemed he had more answers than I had questions, so he suggested his own. “What techniques do you use,” he asked with a smile, gesturing to help me along.

Relieved, I repeated the question.

He became serious again in a heartbeat, thinking about the question for a moment.

“I work with 4x5 camera, analog, large form camera. Silver, blackand-white prints. I do all my prints

myself. Ah, that’s how I do it.”

My interview partner, Michael Miller, contributed the last question to Elgström: if there is anything that we could take away from this exhibition, what would it be? He seemed mildly confused by the question, as if the previous 30 minutes should have been answer enough. But after a few moments he found a reply.

“If you just could stop and be present, I think that’s a good thing.

To not just always be on the run, to be engaged with yourself and in society ... I would be really glad if someone came to the exhibition and sees an image that gives them something, a thought, an experience. In a way, I’m not particularly interested in my images, it’s more interesting in the effect the image gives.”

Whatever the effect of the exhibition on the audience, the combination of makeshift chairs, construction noises, and the always poised Elgström made sure there was no obstacle to my appreciation of a fascinating, talented and introspective artist.

For the linguistically inclined, many outlets exist that accept student submissions and some are even student-run

Trinity’s community that existed.

Specifically for students interested in developing and publishing their writing, there are multiple organizations to which students can contribute and work as editors during the school year.

One publication that allows students to both edit and contribute content is “The Trinity Review,” an undergraduate literary art journal published once a year during the spring semester. While it is completely student-staffed and run, Jenny Browne, a professor of many poetry-related classes here at Trinity, helps advise the student editors as the “Review” is put together.

Browne explains that the “Review” aims to “give students an outlet for performing new creative work.” This idea develops into prose, artwork, poetry and photography every spring when students submit their content in hopes of expressing their voices to the world. And because it is a meritbased publication, students from any major can have the chance to be printed in the magazine if their work makes it through submission process.

“The Review” also encourages student-led creative expression at open-mic nights. Currently, the “Review” only hosts two annual

Humanities under attack Writing outlets for students you might not be aware of

graphic by Tyler Herron

A large part of the liberal arts education involves learning how to write well, MAX FREEMAN no matter A&E WRITER what field you end up pursuing. It’s difficult to be a good writer without being passionate about the writing subject, which is sometimes the case in classes that students take to fill Common Curriculum or Pathways requirements.

However, there are other opportunities where students can enthusiastically create ideas and express them for an audience larger than a dozen students and a professor.

As a sophomore, I was unaware of all the opportunities within

continued to page 9

y

10

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2016 •

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Trinity student’s fast food rap defends Texas classic Whataburger against In-N-Out Burger Sophomore’s video gains attention on campus, Twitter After sophomore Isaiah Specks’ became Twitterfamous and a Trinity legend DYLAN WAGNER with his proA&E SECTION EDITOR Whataburger/ anti-In-N-Out rap, I had to get the real story on how one of our fellow students made such a splash. I managed to push through the crowd of fans for a short interview with Isaiah, better known by his Twitter handle @SwagginSpecks.

What made you want to make the rap?

Well, I have a few friends ... who

Outlets continued from page 9 open-mic nights, but they are working to create more events in the near future.

“The Trinity Review” is not the only option for students looking to put their work into the public eye. “The Expositor” is a journal of undergraduate prose that seeks “to show off the high quality research being done by undergraduates in the humanities,” said Andrew Kraebel, one of the leading professors behind “The Expositor.”

“The Expositor” is a promising organization for students seeking to gain real-world publishing experience. It looks and works like a real academic journal, following many of the same procedures as the journals in which Trinity faculty publish their own research. There is a revision process for accepted submissions in which six faculty members work with the writers to polish the final drafts.

Students looking to get involved in this process without submitting their own writing can intern in the spring for one to two English credits copyediting “The Expositor.” You do not have to be an English major to apply for the internship.

In addition to “The Expositor” and “The Trinity Review,” “1966” is a literary magazine made up of student editors, but independent from Trinity University. The online journal contains works of creative nonfiction from sources around the world and within Trinity.

Though it’s more common for students working for “1966” to be English or communication majors, it is not exclusively limited to students of a certain major.

Students can apply during any year to work as an editor and earn one credit hour for their work.

Senior Nipuni Gomes, an editor for “1966,” says working with the magazine rewards students with insightful and useful knowledge about the “publication process, social media management, public relations and communication in a professional setting.”

are from California, and they told me that they thought In-N-Out was better.

But why a rap? Why not just tell them the obvious truth?

Anything I said, they came back again, and I knew they couldn’t come back if I made a rap. And it was just fun and I saw the challenge on Twitter, so I was excited to do it.

What makes you like Whataburger better?

It’s what I grew up on. After every football game, after every basketball game, before every basketball game, after parties, I went to Whataburger.

Are you looking into going into fast food as a profession? (laughs) Hopefully that’s not where I end up with this Trinity education.

Where do you think you are headed after Trinity?

I’m looking to be a sport psychologist, that’s what I’m looking toward being. Maybe go

into coaching, basketball, maybe teaching, but right now I really want to be a sport psychologist.

What do you usually get from Whataburger?

I usually get the honey butter chicken biscuit...[but]I’m trying to eat healthier, so I haven’t been going so much.

How long have you been a “professional” Twitter rapper? (laughs) Professionally? About a week. Actually, I did a rap about a year ago when I graduated from high school, actually it was called the Head-Ass challenge, but it didn’t blow up like this one did.

I’ve been freestyling since I was a little kid, just messing around.

I heard you might be making a rap about Trinity? Is that true?

Actually, I just got finished recording it in CLT, that’s where I was at, I was doing the Trinity one. Hopefully there’s no errors or anything that goes wrong, but as far as I know it’ll be done tomorrow.

ISAIAH SPECKS snaps a photo, showing his loyalty to Whataburger. photo by Claudia Garcia

There’s nothing more amazing than seeing a campus success story with my own two eyes. Keep your eyes peeled for @SwagginSpecks’ new rap about Trinity, to be released in the near future. If you haven’t seen the rap that started all of this off,

you can find it by searching “Isaiah Specks Trinity rap” on Google and he’ll be the first one to show up.

We wish him all the best in his next rapping endeavor. If we’re lucky, he’ll do a rap about how “gif ” is pronounced “jiff” next.

TRINITY UNIVERSITY DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES presents retired NASA astronaut

Capt. Scott Kelly

Thursday, September 15 7:30 p.m., Laurie Auditorium

The Trinity University Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by an endowment gift from the Walter F. Brown Family of San Antonio.

@Trinity_U #TUKelly

Sports

On this day, a child was born Don’t tell ‘Melo, but Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith each won an NBA ring with the Cleveland Lebrons this year. Speaking of J.R., he turns thirty-one today. In case you missed it, J.R. made headlines for his celebratory antics following the Cavaliers city-wide parade. After misplacing his shirt while partying in Vegas directly following their Game 7 victory over the Warriors, J.R. remained shirtless for Cleveland’s glamorous fiesta in a state of inebriation that reporters, fans, and colleagues alike took great pleasure in observing. Happy Birthday J.R. Keep doing you.

The soccer teams began their respective seasons on the right track last weekend. They will be in action today as well, with the women playing at 6 p.m., and the men following with a match scheduled for 8 p.m. photo by Noah Davidson

Trinity soccer victorious in openers

Women roll 8-0 vs. OLLU, while men earn last second win in hard-fought match vs. Hardin-Simmons

BY HALEY McFADDEN SPORTS REPORTER Sept. 1 marked the first game of the regular season for the Trinity men’s and women’s soccer teams. Both teams started out the season strong at home against non-conference rivals, with the men winning against Hardin-Simmons and the women beating Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU).

The women dominated in their match, taking a 8-0 victory.

Trinity controlled the entire game, scoring four goals in the first half and four in the second. Their first four goals were scored by junior Julia Kelly, junior Colleen Markey, sophomore Chelsea Cole and senior Yasmeen Farra, and the final four scored by junior Meredith Licata, senior Allison Carter, sophomore Katie Peth and junior Abby Tisdale.

The women’s team has a long-standing history of winning their season opener, and this marks their ninth consecutive season opener win. This win, however, was more decisive than in recent years, with the women winning 1-0 against

OLLU in 2015 and 7-1 against St. Scholastica in 2014.

It also marked the first victory for new head coach Dylan Harrison, which bodes well for a strong 2016 season.

The Trinity women’s soccer team is currently ranked No. 7 in the national Division III rankings. Their next game will be this Friday, Sept. 9 at home against Claremont-MuddScripps. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

The men’s season kickoff was much more tightly-contested, with the game going down to the wire. The men’s soccer team faced Hardin-Simmons and came away with a hardfought 2-1 victory.

The Trinity men came out strong in the first half of the game.

The first goal was scored by sophomore Austin Michaelis in the eleventh minute of the game, and the rest of the half was controlled by the Tigers. At halftime the score remained 1-0.

In the second half, Hardin-Simmons fought back. The Cowboys’ goalkeeper blocked a total of nine shots, and with about 25 minutes left in the game, Hardin-Simmons tied the score 1-1. The score remained tied for the rest of the

half, until, with only 12 seconds left on the clock, the ball was loose in the penalty box. Michaelis managed to kick it in, getting his second point of the game and securing a Tiger victory of 2-1.

Throughout the game, the Tigers rallied together and worked well as a team to get the victory. The Tigers goalkeeper, senior Todd Whittaker, totalled two saves during the game, effectively preventing Hardin-Simmons from moving ahead.

Much like the women’s team, the men have a habit for winning season openers, winning five within the last six years. The men are currently seeded at No. 5 in the Division III rankings based on their strong finish at the NCAA Quarterfinals last season. After winning both their preseason scrimmage against St. Mary’s and their season opener, they are looking strong, thus far meeting their fans’ expectations.

The men’s team is scheduled to face Hardin-Simmons again at home this Friday, Sept. 9 at 8 p.m., followed by another game this Saturday, Sept. 10 against University of Texas at Dallas at 7 p.m.

Women’s Tennis set for season to begin After jumping out to a20-3 first half lead, Trinity holds off Redlands to start season on winning track

BY HALEY MCFADDEN SPORTS REPORTER The women’s tennis team recently began practices for their 2016 fall individual season. The team is coming off of a successful spring doubles season where they won their fifth consecutive SCAC championship and made it to the second round of NCAA regional playoffs, and is looking forward to continuing this tradition of success, and going even further.

Last spring was a strong season for the Tigers. Senior Liza Southwick and junior Marie Lutz won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Southwest Regional Doubles Championship for the second year in a row, and are back to defend their title. At NCAA Playoffs, the Tigers won their first round against University of Texas at Tyler, but were eliminated in the second round by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College. This year, the team is ready to take the next step.

“We always get out the same round of regionals. There’s three rounds you have to win and we always get out on the second, so our goal this year is going to be to win that second round at regionals,” said Blair Porter, junior. “We always end

up playing a No. 1 ranked team the second round, so if our ranking improves throughout the season, we won’t end up playing such a highly ranked team so early on. We’re ranked 24th right now, and we definitely want to get into the top 20 [in the national ranking.]”

This season, the women’s tennis team is welcoming a huge first-year class. The team is now half first years, with a total of nine new players. Returners are thrilled by the energy and excitement that the rookies bring, as well as the new strengths they are certain to contribute.

“We’re already a lot better because we have nine new players, and just their enthusiasm about Trinity and the new energy of having some good new players is going to be very helpful,” said Gretchen Rush, head coach. “We have a couple of girls from California that we are very excited about, Zoe and Mary. They’re an accomplished doubles team, and they are twins so they’re used to each other, so just having them as a doubles team will be helpful.”

Additionally, the larger numbers allow the team to train in ways they previously were not able to.

“The large class is definitely making us stronger because we

now have groups at different levels. So we now have so many people at every level that everyone can train with someone,” said Caroline Kutach, sophomore.

“It’s different because my first year, we had a total of eight people on the team, and now we have 18, so it’s making us stronger because we can play drills against our own level and we can separate off into training groups,” Porter said. “In the past you would have to drill with people of different levels so it wouldn’t always work out very well.”

The tennis team begins their singles season this Friday, Sept. 9, with a practice tournament. The team will then go on to the UT San Antonio/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional, where they are looking to win their third consecutive doubles graphic by Tyler Herron championship.

12

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2016 •

Tigers tame the Bulldogs Football jumps out to 20-3 first half lead, withstand late push for big win

BY CHRIS GARCIA SPORTS REPORTER With their eyes on a national ranking, the Tigers football team opened the season with a close battle vs. the Bulldogs from Redlands University. This year, Trinity football is poised to make a run at national prominence and has acquired serious attention from their SCAC opponents. With great senior leadership on defense, the Tigers are very optimistic about this season.

The Tigers are hungry for improvement, following an eight win season in 2015. First year starting quarterback Austin Grauer spoke to the potential this squad has.

“I think we had a really good off season.

Guys really came together and pushed it in all of our workouts and I think it paid off,” Grauer said. “I think we’re a really tight group, and I think it shows when we play.

Our team chemistry is one of our biggest strengths. This first game we’re just trying to focus on us, and I think that we are much better when we stick to what we do best.”

It took everything they had, as they squeaked out with a win, 34-27. The offense was firing on all cylinders, made evident by the 34 points scored over the course

of the game. With 110 rushing yards and 217 passing yards, the Tigers’ offense was balanced and efficient. Their run defense was stout, only allowing 59 rushing yards, but the secondary struggled. Redlands had 385 passing yards, accounting for nearly their entire offensive output. Fortunately, the Tiger defense had enough stops by the end of the game, earning that crucial season opening victory.

The Tigers started strong, jumping out to a 20 to 3 lead in the first half. It was clear they were locked in, but they may have let the foot off the gas as the game got much tighter during the second half. Senior defensive back Brad Hood liked the way they started the game, but recognizes the a clear need for improvement.

“For this upcoming week we have to improve on special teams. We had several mistakes that really affected field position but those mistakes are easily correctable.

There are some very athletic young guys that I have complete confidence in and I expect that several older guys who are key leaders on special teams will step up and get those errors fixed,” Hood said.

At the same time, he is impressed with how the guys played on both sides of the ball.

He believes achieving a quality balance is of

paramount importance in the playoff hunt.

“As a team, our biggest strengths are our speed, discipline, and chemistry. Offensively, we were able to meet one third of last year’s total for explosive plays in just one game.

Defensively, we’ve had a core group of guys playing together for several years. Provided that, our communication and confidence in each other allowed us to play fast and set the tone for a great year,” said Hood.

Senior linebacker and preseason all American Julian Turner shared this sentiment with Hood.

“Coming into the game, we were confident that we were prepared and ready to come out with a win. We have a lot of returners and leadership on our team. We know what we need to do, but as for what we can improve on, I think we need to focus on getting our young guys acclimated and executing on special teams,” said Turner.

With this win against Redlands, the Tiger football team has now been victorious in 24 of their last 25 home openers, going all the way back to the 1992 season. This upcoming week, the Tigers will be tested in enemy territory. They are traveling to Jackson, Mississippi to take on Millsaps college at 1 p.m. this Saturday in an effort to achieve a winning streak early in the year.

Cross Country races to victory Promising spring season translates into early season success for Tiger XC

BY CHRIS GARCIA SPORTS REPORTER There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Trinity cross country team coming into this season, as they feel this is one of their most diverse lineups in years. Their season began well as they were able to come away victorious at their first meet.

This year’s cross country team is coming off of a splendid 2016 Track and Field season, and expectations are noticeably high. In fact, junior runner Michael Erickson feels this could be the best season of his career.

“I have never been more excited for cross country season. Usually with cross country runners, there’s a divide between track and field and cross country. I generally enjoyed track and field more, but the lineup this year for both the men and women team is exciting. I think this could be the best men’s team ever in Trinity history. This is one of the highest mileage summers, if not the highest, the team has done collectively.

Generally, more miles have positively correlated to better performances so this is a huge improvement from last summer,” Erickson said.

Playing a huge role in the Tigers’ confidence is the hard work they put in during the offseason. Thanks in part to the training schedules provided by their coaches, these runners believe a trip to Nationals is within reach. Senior runner Austin Brown changed some things up this offseason and is anticipating that these changes will lead to the success they are looking for.

“This summer I actually followed Coach Daum and Reich’s summer training by doing easy runs, workouts and core. In fact, a lot of the guys followed the Coaches’ summer training plan because a lot of us don’t want to repeat getting third at regionals. We want first or second, so we can go to Nationals as a team. Last summer, myself and a lot of the guys only did easy runs which really set us back,” Brown said.

As athletes on Trinity’s campus settle into dorms and sink into routine, a ton of emphasis is put on time management.

While both the men and women’s Cross Country team share in the anticipation of

SPORTS

Athlete bloopers

COMPILED BY ELISE HESTER

graphic by TYLER HERRON

Sports are full of inspiring moments, but they’re also full of humiliating ones. I know I have some pretty funny stories of my own that involve sports and I figured other people would too. Whether or not they play sports now, played them in the past or simply enjoy them as a spectator, Trinity students have some funny stories, quotes and anecdotes about moments in the game that made them laugh. Here are the highlights.

Aaron Knopp, junior “In high school, me and my buddy had a joke where whenever someone would cramp up in practice, we would punch it to undo the cramp. During one of our biggest games, I dunked the ball, and as I was dunking, my calf cramped up and the first thing I did was yell his name. He ran off the bench and started punching my calf.”

Blake Lieberman, first year “I’m a goalkeeper. I’ve had a ball that was shot go over my head, hit the crossbar, hit me in the back of the head and then go in the goal.

Andrew Hoffman, sophomore “I got hit in the face with a cake by the Houston Rockets’ mascot.”

Trent Locklin, junior “I was playing basketball with Dean Tuttle.

I pick off the pass and drive it to the other side of the court and go in for a layup and he blocks me and I just freak out cause Dean Tuttle’s like 85 million years old. It’s a joke, obviously, ‘cause he’s very fit. Anyway he and I just get into this huge argument about the ethics of basketball. I get an email later that week and he was just like “Dude I’m sorry I took your pride from you.”

Cross country season has arrived once again. Often seen running in circles around campus, the runners are beloved for their short shorts, impressive work ethic, and commitment to excellence. photo by HENRY PRATT

what is shaping up to be a memorable year, each of them is also constantly reminded of the challenges and rewards of playing a varsity sport for Trinity. There is a consensus among the team that if they want to be successful, they will have to be disciplined with their time in and out of the classroom.

“Our biggest obstacle is usually just time management. We’re all taking heavy course loads and so of course balancing school and cross country and sleep is always a difficult task. But overall, our team is very good at excelling in both school and cross country”, said junior runner Rachel Hanes. “I think the most rewarding thing about running for Trinity cross country is pushing yourself to be the best you can be but also seeing every single one of your teammates do the same. It’s really rewarding to see the team

accomplish so much every season.”

Whether or not the team can live up to the hype remains to be seen. They continue the season with a meet this Saturday, where Trinity will compete at the Our Lady of the Lake Collegiate Invitational, hosted by the Windcrest Golf Course, on Sept. 10.

Kevin Owens, sophomore “My high school basketball coach told me ‘if you don’t foul, you don’t foul out.’”

Sierra Spurlock, sophomore “On senior day, the seniors pick our walk up songs based on inside jokes. Haley Garza, who is now a junior, always gets hit by balls during bullpen or pitching and in practice so her walk up song that day was Hit Me With Your Best Shot. The pitcher, on the first pitch, nailed her.”

UPCOMING EVENTS SEPT. 9 Vball at 3 pm, 7 pm WSoccer at 6 pm MSoccer at 8 pm

SEPT. 10 Vball at 1 pm, 5 pm MSoccer at 7 pm SEPT. 11 WSoccer at 11 am