11.18.16

Trinitonian Trinity to go tobacco free Health and wellness services and Trinity Progressives host town hall informing students of campus-wide decision.

PAGE 4 NEWS

Volume 114 Issue 13

Diwali celebration

Women’s Basketball

Students put on dance performances for annual festival of lights.

Team wins first game of the season at home against McMurry University.

PAGE 13 PULSE

Serving Trinity University Since 1902

PAGE 18 SPORTS

November 18, 2016

Vulnerability in action Trinity women express sincerity through comedy in student-created show, “Between Worlds: A Devised Piece”

The cast of “Between Worlds” performs in a scripted sketch. The performance centers around nine women as they explore human emotions in a novel, theatrical way that connects with the audience’s shared history. photo by CLAUDIA GARCIA

BY SOLEIL GAFFNER

COPY EDITOR

BY JULIA POAGE

COPY EDITOR

The creators of “Between Worlds: A Devised Piece” breathe life into their work. As the performance begins — and, again, as it comes to its conclusion — the cast of nine women inhale and exhale, move in unison and lie on the stage as the stage lights brighten and dim. This dance is a succinct representation of the cast’s strong sense of community and vulnerability. They breathe slowly, gathering strength to perform this intimate piece.

There are two sets of footlights on the Stieren Theater stage for this performance: a set facing the actors, where they are expected to be, and a set facing the audience. The stage is a space separating the world of the audience filling the seats from an imagined audience at the back of the stage. To address this latter world, the performers must turn their backs on the Trinity students and guests

in attendance. By eschewing the traditional theatrical practice of always facing the present audience, the cast of “Between Worlds” sheds their actress personas and reveal their unfiltered emotions.

The power of this work is primarily owed to its status as a devised piece, which Yesenia Caballero, junior English and theater double major and one of the creators of “Between Worlds,” explained as “a creation of everything that everybody loves.” In the program, the cast is listed as writers, creators and performers — since September, they have come together to share their experiences and inspirations with one another, aiming to build a comprehensive performance that represents all of their identities.

Several key themes emerge through their collaboration, such as the importance of expression, the duality of interpersonal relationships and a focus on abstract thought.

Clear references to Tim O’Brien’s short story collection “The Things They Carried” and the film “The Wizard of Oz” structure the

performance. These combined inspirations are what make the play a devised piece.

Caballero also described the show in a more informal way.

“It’s nine girls playing dress-up for an hour and a half. But if I were to sell it, it’s so much more: if you love zombies, ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ singing, slam poetry, stand-up comedy, it is basically the grooviest open-mic night you will ever go to,” Caballero said.

Though there are elements of comedy and absurdism in the work, the performers’ main goal is to express their serious feelings through diverse methods of communication.

Some moments are abstract, with messages sent through symbolic song and dance, while other scenes are spelled out clearly, with performers talking directly to the audience in a stand-up routine. The immediate effects of the piece can be overwhelming.

Jackson Beach, a property manager for the performance, was left uncertain of his emotions.

“It’s a lot of feelings all at once, and I think that’s maybe the point,” Beach said. “I’m

between all my emotions, just as the show is about this space between worlds.”

“Between Worlds” places a thematic emphasis on the cast’s vulnerability. The performers revealed their emotional burdens via improvised interviews, spoken word poetry, song and dance, stand-up comedy and scripted sketches. The creative collaboration between the performers brings a level of authenticity to their work that is unique among Trinity productions. “[‘Between Worlds’] was very personal — I think that’s something that not all of the Trinity performances have,” said sophomore audience member Elizabeth Metzger. “This fall season has been extremely personal, having things about sexual assault on campuses … along with things like this, written by actual performers. You see a lot of the actual students themselves, and that’s when they’re the best versions of actors, because they are relatable.”

Continued on page 3

2

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 18, 2016

QEP continues creating new programming for first years Advising, teaching and academic support resources work in tandem to ease transition from high school to college

• NEWS

BRIEFS TUPD

11.10.2016 9:12 p.m.

Location: Dick and Peggy Prassel Residence Hall Chapter 481 Texas Controlled Substance Act 11.13.2016 12:23 p.m.

Location: Verna McLean Residence Hall Offenses Against Property: Theft

SGA SGA did not have a meeting this week.

Their next meeting will be Monday November 21.

Compiled by Alex Uri

CLASSIFIEDS Want s’more?

DIANE PERSELLIN and JOHN HERMANN talk to students about the progress the Quality Enhancement Program has made.

Come get seasonal and make some s’mores with the Alpha Chis and I chis this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Murchison Fire Pit.

photo by CLAUDIA GARCIA

BY KATHLEEN CREEDON

NEWS REPORTER

Earlier this year, a team of faculty and staff joined together to create a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP).

The idea behind the plan is to improve the first-year experience at Trinity by changing the way teaching and advising is presented to first-year students.

The QEP committee contains three sub-committees: teaching, advising and academic support resources.

Each committee works to strengthen their field, and together the committees create a stronger support system for students.

“The important thing about the Quality Enhancement Plan is not that it’s a temporary thing; we want it to be an enduring change in the Trinity academic culture,” said John Hermann, the chair of QEP. The QEP aims to accommodate all Trinity students and does so by involving a diverse group of professors in each committee and discussing topics with students.

“We want to not treat students as sort of a onesize-fits-all. We have broad, diverse groups in each subcommittee that all units can be spoken for. We don’t want it to be narrowly tailored for one type of student at Trinity,” Hermann said.

Hermann wants the QEP to recognize the different types of services on campus, whether it’s counseling services, career services or student accessibility services.

“The more knowledge that faculty has as professors and advisors, the better off we’ll be,” Hermann said.

The QEP focuses on combining the role of faculty as both professors and advisors. Rather than distinguishing between the two, there should be a seamless understanding that the roles are co-dependent.

“We need to coordinate, and we’re a small enough school that we can. One of the values and virtues of a school like Trinity is that we keep our classes small,” said Victoria Aarons, co-chair of the teaching subcommittee.

The QEP intends to improve the connections advisors have with professors.

“In order for incoming​students to have a smoother transition from high school to college, first-year teaching, advising and academic support resources need to be strengthened. The QEP is Trinity’s effort to improve these three areas,” said Diane Persellin, chair of the advising subcommittee.

The belief that drives the QEP is that a student with a strong first year will continue to be successful later in their college career.

“I would love, after our QEP, for Trinity to be a role model on how we teach and advise first-year students.

If they do well in their first year, they’ll be better equipped to do well in the year after. It’s our hope that we have less students struggling and more students performing well so that they can reach an even higher level by the time they graduate,” Hermann said.

The teaching subcommittee is analyzing first-year courses to understand how they are taught and how they can be improved. In these classes, they want to introduce skills that will help all students — analytical and argumentative writing skills, college-level reading, critical and independent thinking — without disrupting the discipline of the course.

“Now that we’ve identified certain problems, with workload or in terms of helping students be able to locate areas where they know they need assistance, we can create the conditions for students to do it themselves. We’re going to see tightening up of all of these aspects of the first-year experience, and it’ll happen much sooner than a couple of years,” said Aarons, chair of the teaching committee.

The advising subcommittee plans to strengthen the first-year experience by increasing their support of the diverse community at Trinity. They intend to be able to help students of various backgrounds and differing challenges and educational opportunities.

“First-year advising must accommodate these differences. Through the QEP, our first-year students will benefit from additional feedback about their progress in class, from more proactive advising and from greater access to academic support services.

Connecting to all students through caring academic advisors can be vital to student success,” said Persillin, chair of the advising committee.

The committee is currently surveying peer universities on their methods of advising and registering in order to get a better understanding of effective practices.

“Our goal is to improve the quality of interactions between first-year students and their advisors. This will lead to increased confidence and self-sufficiency.

Students may then have a better understanding of Pathways, registration procedures and requirements for graduation in their potential majors,” Persellin said.

Corrections

Want to take out an ad?

Classified Ads are free for Trinity students. For nonstudents each ad is $25.

Send your ads to trinitonian-adv@trinity.edu

Staff editor-in-chief: Julia Elmore managing editor: Grace Frye business manager: Dzung Vu ad directors: Lauren Harris & Christina Moore news editor: Alexandra Uri 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: Kathleen Creedon, Chris Garcia, Elise Hester, Courtney Justus, Haley McFadden, Alexander

Contact Us 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 Ad Off ice.........210 -999-8555 Fax.. ..................210 -999-7034

Onl ine: trin iton ian.com

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

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.

Motter, Jeffrey Sullivan, Christiana Zgourides columnists: Alejandro Cardona, 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, Osvaldo Veloz business staff: Sarah McIntyre, Krushi Patel advertising staff: Melissa Chura, Rebecca Derby adviser: Katharine Martin

Facebook: The Trin iton ian

Twitter:@trin iton ian

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.

NEWS • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

3

Greek organizations raise money with chili XBE and Bengal Lancers host event benefiting Rape Crisis Center

BY CHRISTIANA ZGOURIDES

NEWS REPORTER

The annual Chili Cookoff, hosted

by Chi Beta Epsilon (XBE) and the Bengal Lancers, was held on the Coates Esplanade on Thursday, Nov. 17.

The event included several teams representing various campus organizations; each team brought chili made from their own unique recipe to be judged by a three-person panel consisting of Britt Allemann Taylor, XBE alumna, John Mase, Bengal Lancer alumnus and Danny Anderson, president of Trinity.

For Brianna Azua, Chili Cook Off chair for XBE, and Dayton Ames, Chili Cook Off chair for the Bengal Lancers, Anderson’s participation is very exciting.

“That’s really big for us, we haven’t had him on campus doing that event — or I don’t think we’ve had a president judge it for a long time. So that’s exciting,” Ames said.

First and second prize were

awarded for the ‘best’ and ‘most creative’ chili, respectively.

“Right now we’re looking at getting a pizza certificate for first prize, for best overall chili cookoff table,” Azua said. “The second prize will be most creative, and we are designing an apron as that prize.”

At the time of publication, registered teams included Zeta Chi, Gamma Chi Delta, Student Involvement (‘Sweet Heat’), Phi Sigma Chi, Iota Chi Rho (‘Off Constantly’) Alpha Phi Omega, Chi Delta Tau, Alphi Chi Lambda, Omega Phi, Chi Beta Epsilon (‘Beta than your chili’) and the Bengal Lancers.

Jeremy Allen, coordinator for Fraternity and Sorority Life, recalled the variety of chili at the event last year.

“Last year there were some really interesting versions,” Allen said.

“There was a vegan chili from TUFit, the Lancers had a really good chili.

You see everything, from teams that will provide sides like cheese and sour cream and crackers — to really soupy chilis, some more meat-based chilis, to spicy chilis. It’s fun to like try all the different kinds.”

Gamma Chi Delta’s team served green chili, keeping with their organization’s colors.

“We thought it would be a different spin from what everyone else is doing,” said Olivia Thomas, Greek Week and On-Campus Events coordinator for Gamma.

“And because we know some people have religious meat restrictions, we are doing chicken as our meat. Our spiciness is going to be a surprise.”

Zeta Chi is also excited to be participating in the event.

“We love that the Betas and the Lancers do this every year and think it is a great way to raise money for the San Antonio Rape Crisis Center,” said Abby Stigler, vice president of Zeta Chi. “Plus, the more active everyone is in helping each other, the more money can be raised for some really great causes.”

Allen will make his “Cowboy Chili” on the Student Involvement team.

“My recipe has gone through a strict vetting process to find the best balance among ingredients,” Allen said. “So it’s usually pork and some sirloin and some steak, and then I do carrots and corn and different types of beans, like black beans, pinto beans, red beans. And then the spices are always a little bit different but I have my go-to spices that I rely upon.”

Members of XBE and the Bengal Lancers advertised the event all week at their tables in Coates. They

sold t-shirts as well as tickets to the event, which included unlimited chili samples.

All proceeds from tickets and t-shirts, as well as team fees for competitors, went to the San Antonio Rape Crisis Center. Donations were also requested from staff and alumni leading up to the event.

“We’re going to have about 12 to 15 tables set up, and so whenever you come in you will get a stamp on your hand and you will be able to try every sample of chili that the teams have set up. And then at the end of the row of chili tables, you’re going to have a table with representatives from the Rape Crisis Center,” Azua said.

“The reason that we have chosen it as our philanthropy is because one of our values within our sorority constitution is empowering women,” Azua said. “They have volunteers that are on-call all hours of the day to help people who have been sexually assaulted and they have several programs that make sure that any woman that feels threatened can call them and go to them, and they can have the proper medical attention and proper physiological attention.”

In past years, the cookoff has raised considerable funds for the

Rape Crisis Center. Azua and Ames aimed to match or beat last year’s fundraising of $1,300.

“I think it’s up to the teams that are participating to really kind of make it their own and communicate that to their members, you know it is a fun event, it is something that we can do on campus, but it’s also a way that we can be part of this larger initiative and help give back to the community through the funds that we raise,” Allen said.

The Chili Cookoff has a long history at Trinity. “It’s always been something that Greek organizations and other organizations on campus can use, just to kind of like get themselves out there and kind of get known on campus,” Ames said.

“I know the Kappas had a team for at least a couple of the years that I was here. I don’t think we won anything officially, but we definitely participated,” Allen said.

Allen estimates that the Chili Cookoff has been happening on campus since about 1979.

“Actually Dr. Grissom, my English professor, was telling me how she judged the Chili Cookoff when she was dean of students,” Azua said. “So that was pretty exciting to hear how professors have like seen it develop throughout the years.”

Tiger Walk program started in Between Worlds wake of post-election worries continued from Front

New initiative designed to make students feel safer walking around alone on campus

BY JEFFREY SULLIVAN

IN-DEPTH REPORTER

Following the presidential election, a group of Trinity students and professors have initiated the planning process for a new safe-walk program under the pending name Tiger Walk.

The program is currently being headed by Benjamin Stevens in the classical studies department.

“Tiger walk will help to pair any one who feels unsafe, or uncomfortable, walking around campus with someone who will gladly walk with them,” Stevens said. “An official organization is not yet in place.”

Details have yet to be solidified, but the group has a planned structure for the new system. Students will consist of a body of volunteers that offer to walk students from point A to point B within confines of the campus’ grounds.

“What we’re doing right now is collecting a core of volunteers who, for example, will be able to make their presence known at the end of a given class saying that if anyone needs a walk back to a certain dorm or walk across campus, the volunteer is there for that purpose,” Stevens said.

Volunteers will walk with students who feel unsafe walking alone on campus.

“We imagine the core of volunteers helping to staff after-hours events on

campus, whether these are public events or private parties. We’ll have in place social media options and other communication options so that anyone who is interested in having accompaniment at a given moment, or even hopefully sort of developing regular access to someone to walk with them, will be able to arrange that.”

The initiative is in response to the changes noticed since the presidential election.

“I have received emails from members of the community saying that they have started to feel less secure then they would like to, or not feel as secure as they would like to in their identity and their diversity,” Stevens said. “Not for any particular concrete reason, but just in light of general cultural changes given the election. The feeling of fear is very real. So this is a way of trying to address that.”

Anthropology and communication senior Faith Byrne is one of the student Tiger Walk volunteers that was affected by the election results last week.

“On Tuesday night there was a lot of chanting about ‘build the wall’ and ‘Trump 2016’, which made a lot of international students very uncomfortable,” Byrne said.

“There was also graffiti Wednesday morning on campus. I personally saw on the Trinity tower someone had written ‘Trump’ in big letters.

On the Coates Library sign it said ‘Coates library wants you to make America great again’, things like that. These aren’t necessarily sorts of hate speech but what’s associated with that kind of speech is not necessarily the best and doesn’t make people feel very comfortable.”

Student advisors in the initiative

pushed for a social media presence in the program.

“The public face for the program, the means by which community members will be able to request walks, we will have a closed Facebook group,” Stevens said. “It’s sort of along the lines of Overheard at Trinity, but also monitored and moderated by me as faculty advisor and by other leadership of the program just to make sure that group stays on focus.”

Student representatives, hesitant to label themselves as walkers, serve the basic function of escorting students around the campus. While TUPD has monitoring systems in place through their E-Alert program, this new initiative offers a different sort of assistance.

“Dr. Stevens wants to start something that can work with TUPD, but this is more on its own,” senior biology major and Tiger Walk volunteer Julian Burgos said. “TUPD offers the virtual escort thing. This is more of a physical support. I’m a person with you. I feel like it would be nice if you feel unsafe walking around campus.”

The program will vet students through the University’s standard background checks and sensitivity trainings. Planning how volunteers may interact with those seeking walks is a current dialogue in the initiative.

“I think that one of our goals is for walkers and other volunteers to have regular conversations with each other exactly about walking and about the sorts of interaction and engagement they’ll have,” Stevens said.

The group’s Facebook page may be found by searching “#TigerWalk at Trinity University.”

Props are used sparingly, and the stage is completely free of any backdrops or permanent fixtures.

This intentional decision by the production staff enhances the emotions expressed by the performers.

“I think [the set design] definitely helps convey that sense of creation — the show is presented in a way where anything can happen,” Beach said. “I think it really accentuates that untapped creative potential that the show is going for. It’s a very creative space, where any idea can come up and take hold.”

The performers also use sound to enhance the performance. Danielle Couch, the sound technician for “Between Worlds,” emphasized the

amount of creative discretion the performers have during each showing.

“They were allowed to play with how close and how far they held the [microphones], which is very different from having a body mic on, which would just constantly be at the same level, and they’d have to use their voice. So it was interesting to see them play with a handheld mic to make artistic choices,” Couch said.

The cast has become palpably close, a feature of the performance that several audience members commented on. “[The cast’s community] is very strong, and I think you need that in a show like this, [which is] very abstract,” Beach said.

The last shows are Friday, Nov. 18, and Saturday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. at Stieren Theater. Tickets are $6.

BUY • SELL • TRADE • GUITARS, AMPS AND MORE

Join us for big savings on Small Business Saturday 11am–6pm 15% DISCOUNT ON ALL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Krazy Kat Music, one of San Antonio’s oldest music store, is now St. Mary’s Street Music. Check out our great selection of guitars and amps. Stay for our Grand Opening Party, 6pm to midnight, in the new Krazy Kat Garden Patio.

Free beer, pizza, and live music!!! (while it lasts)

HOURS: TH 11–8, FRI & SAT 11–6 3020 N ST. MARY’S ST Like us on Facebook

IG: @saintmarystreetmusic

4

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 •

NEWS

Trinity to become tobacco-free in fall 2017

Panel held to let students know about impending change and how it will affect daily life on campus

BY KATHLEEN CREEDON

NEWS REPORTER

As Trinity prepares to make the shift to a tobacco-free campus, health and wellness services and the Trinity Progressives hosted a town hallstyle forum on the change. The meeting was joined by an information panel — Robert Blystone, Connor Lenihan and Katherine Hewitt — and was moderated by President Danny Anderson.

Though the plan to make Trinity tobacco-free was inevitable, according to Hewitt, the sponsors wanted to inform people about the policy and the health benefits of enacting such a policy and answer any questions the audience may have about the proposal.

“The purpose of having a tobacco-free campus is to make it harder for that culture to initiate and propagate on campus. The side effect is that smoking affects other people, too. There is no safe limit of secondhand smoke,” said Connor Lenihan, senior and president of the TUFit club.

The panel emphasized the consequences that smoking has on every individual. Trinity is becoming tobacco-free to encourage current users to quit and to prevent initiating tobacco use.

“For every smoker, the life expectancy of that person is ten years less than that of a nonsmoker.

Just thinking about the time and energy and effort our students put in here at Trinity, it’s a shame to think that, if they were a smoker, ten years would be shaved off of their life,” said Katherine Hewitt, wellness coordinator.

Rather than being merely smoke-free, Trinity intends to prohibit all tobacco products by Aug. 1, 2017. Students at the event questioned

DANNY ANDERSON moderates the panel consisting of KATHERINE HEWITT, CONNOR LENIHAN and ROBERT BLYSTONE over the Tobacco Free Trinity initiative. photo by HENRY PRATT

whether the introduction of this policy would hinder students’ right to smoke or use tobacco products.

“Yes, we’re imposing our will on another person, presumably for the greater good.

Why campuses go tobacco-free: cancer kills.

Smoking causes cancer,” said Robert Blystone, professor of biology.

The panel reinforced the guidelines of the policy. Though students may not smoke or use tobacco products on campus, they are free to do so off-campus.

“This policy doesn’t necessarily mean that we prohibit you all from using tobacco products.

You can choose to do that, but you can’t choose to do that on our campus,” Hewitt said.

Trinity wants to inform the community of the harmful effects of tobacco and raise awareness of the services provided to help people overcome addiction. The audience was concerned about students that may have started smoking before coming to Trinity and how the proposal would accommodate them.

“If you’re thinking about quitting or looking for some cessation resources, we can help with that; we can provide plenty of resources. Part of the reason we’re doing this is for the Trinity community,” Hewitt said.

Some questioned how Trinity planned to reinforce this policy, what repercussions would take place if one was caught neglecting the policy and how they would create the physical boundaries of this policy.

“We have looked to other schools to see what they have done. A lot of schools pass out referrals to someone in violation to the policy.

Instead of having an awkward conversation with the person, maybe you can just hand over a referral card,” Hewitt said.

There will be signs placed around campus and information sent out, so people are aware of the changes made. The Safety, Security and Health Committee expect no hostility towards this policy and hope the culture behind it reinforces it. Trinity will also be removing the ash disposals that are placed throughout campus.

“Part of going 100-percent tobacco free would involve the removal of the containers where people extinguish their cigarettes, so those people would need to find an additional place to smoke or use tobacco,” Hewitt said.

Rather than just emphasizing the removal of tobacco on campus, the audience suggested the committee highlight preventative measures as well.

“It comes back to the point that human health and safety trumps everything else,” Hewitt said.

The purpose of the tobacco-free policy is to establish guidelines that prohibit the use of tobacco products at Trinity. The policy intends to create a safer environment for students, faculty and visitors to the campus.

Though the policy will not be enacted until next fall, Health and Wellness Services is sponsoring 1DayStand, a campus-wide, tobacco-free day, on Nov. 17.

New policy for more affordable study abroad Trinity looks to make travel cheaper for all

BY AUBREY PARKE

NEWS INTERN

College and international travel are both expensive, but Trinity has implemented changes that faculty and administration hope will make both more accessible to students.

“We are trying to make it as easy as possible for students to go abroad,” said Katsuo Nishikawa, director of the Center for International Engagement. “It shouldn’t be the ‘Trinity Plus’ package; we want everyone who comes here to be able to go abroad.”

Under the new policies, students participating in a pre-approved semester abroad program will continue to pay tuition and room and board to Trinity while the university pays for the program.

Nancy Ericksen, assistant director for Study Abroad, and Andre Martinez, Study Abroad advisor, worked over the summer to compile a list of over 160 approved programs.

In the past, only 35 percent of Trinity students have been able to study abroad. Those who could study abroad often selected the cheapest programs.

“Students were selecting the program because of the price, not the quality of the program,” Nishikawa said. “They would basically get a check for Trinity aid and whatever was extra to the cost of aid could be used for other things.”

The study abroad policy changes mean that two students with the same financial aid package will pay the same amount for different semester abroad programs, even if one program actually costs more than another.

“Many students expressed that they thought this is just about Trinity ‘making more money,’” said Brenna Hill, president of the SGA. “Some are more expensive, some are

less expensive,” Nishikawa said, speaking of mismatched study abroad costs. “The connection shouldn’t be, though, ‘I only pay for what I’m getting.’ What we need to explain is, you’re a Trinity student, you’re doing a Trinity program. When you’re abroad you have a whole set of people and offices that are helping you. The key thing to explain is that students are paying for Trinity credit.”

The new study abroad policies also seek equality for students of all financial backgrounds.

“Before, students who needed more aid didn’t get to go abroad,” Nishikawa said. “You got your Trinity aid and some federal aid but you couldn’t use state aid.”

“SGA had the opportunity to provide feedback on the changes,” Hill said. “I believe these policies will give more students the opportunity to study abroad due to additional scholarships and grants.”

Trinity administration sees the goal of the changes not as financial, but as academic.

“When you’re going abroad, you can pick a place that fits your academic, personal and professional goals and not have to worry about if it’s going to be too expensive,” Ericksen said.

“I think this makes an opportunity that lets students make decisions based on goals, based on the academics.”

To make these changes financially possible, Trinity is developing partnerships with universities in popular study abroad locations.

Last week, Trinity hosted two guests from Kikkyo University, an elite private school in Tokyo, to discuss a partnership.

“These are exchange relationships,” Nishikawa said. “We can swap students. So the student that’s here is basically paying for the student that’s going there.”

Trinity hopes to reinvest savings from these institutional partnerships in the study abroad program, especially to create more programs lead by Trinity faculty.

...

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.

Opinion

EDITORIAL

Do you approve this message?

“An on-campus speaker gains a certain amount of privilege: they are given a platform where their ideas can be heard and respected.

The political science department has extended this privilege even further, granting a wider audience and a degree of approval from a Trinity institution. When a part of the university sponsors Anderson, it follows that the department and the university believe those views are legitimate and worthy of consideration.”

This excerpt comes from a column in last week’s issue submitted by Madeline and Brendan Kennedy in light of Thursday’s lecture

by Ryan Anderson on religious liberty and gay marriage. Madeline expressed disappointment in the decision to sponsor Anderson because she felt that the department that she calls home was allowing someone to argue that some of its own students should not enjoy equal rights.

In the week since, David Crockett, the chair of the political science department, brought a flaw in the Kennedy’s piece to our attention: the political science department did not sponsor the Anderson lecture.

Obviously, the Kennedy siblings did not just

make this up. So why were they, and presumably other students, under the impression that the political science professors were sponsoring someone so upsetting to them?

Some of the advertising materials blatantly listed the Trinity University Department of Political Science as a sponsor of the event. The promotional information circulating students’ personal Facebook pages and “Overheard at Trinity” include a link to an EventBrite page that says the Anderson lecture was sponsored by “The Institute for Humane Studies, John Templeton Foundation, [and] The Political Science Department of Trinity University and Tigers For Liberty.” An advertisement promoted the event in last week’s Trinitonian; its contract caused some confusion for us as well. The name on the contract was the Department of Political Science, though the account the ad was purchased through was not the department’s.

After investigating this discrepancy and attempting to determine what to believe about the department’s alleged sponsorship of the event, we are only certain that we are still uncertain. Crockett made it clear that, while

he had a role in organizing the lecture, it was only in his role as a faculty sponsor for Tigers for Liberty, not as the chair of the political science department. It seems that the confusion in the purchase of the Trinitonian ad was due to Crockett being off campus for several weeks.

The money did not come from the department.

Yet even though those involved were aware that the promotional materials were misinforming students, they didn’t do much to set the record straight. Some students remained under the impression that the department to which they belong sponsored a speaker that promotes an ideology harmful to them. By not making an effort to clarify this misunderstanding, the political science department did little to quell the fears of its students. Whether it was an honest misunderstanding or those Wendt twins were trying to deceive us all, someone spread false information and little was done about it.

We think it is important to be accountable to readers by printing corrections when mistakes occur in our paper; we hope that other organizations on campus will do the same and claim responsibility for misinformation to avoid such debacles in the future.

An official clarification

DAVID CROCKETT

“I want to clarify to the university community that the Department of Political Science had no role in sponsoring the lecture

by Ryan Anderson on religious liberty. The Anderson talk was supported by a grant from the Institute for Humane Studies [IHS] and the John Templeton Foundation. Tigers for Liberty is the student group that served as the official sponsoring entity at the university. I served as the liaison with IHS to secure the grant — but only in my capacity as a faculty member, not as department chair.”

David Crockett is the chair of the political science department.

We received three responses to Alexander Jacobs’ op-ed, “Yes, Jesus was a conservative.”

MITCHELL PALERMO Jesus was not a conservative. Jesus was also not a liberal. Contrary to what some might tell you about the lord’s position on politics, God has not aligned himself with any political party. Last week, an article was published that strongly argued for Jesus being a member of the GOP. The author, Alexander Jacobs, explained how God disapproves of stealing and therefore disapproves of wealth redistribution, which is generally considered a liberal economic policy.

On the point of God’s condemnation of stealing, I completely agree with Alexander

Jacobs. Now, the trouble with his viewpoint lies in his understanding of wealth redistribution. We don’t live in an era where Robin Hood vigilantes roam the earth looking for opportunities to help out the little guy. The kind of wealth redistribution that is lauded by liberals does not amount to stealing.

The concept of wealth redistribution that we are familiar with often comes in the form of taxation or legislation, which Jesus directs his followers to abide by. In Mark 12:17, Jesus is confronted by his critics and asked whether it was lawful to pay taxes to the ruler of the time. Jesus answers them

by saying, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

By affirming the paying of taxes, we can only believe that God desires that we participate and respect the legislation of our government.

In the book of Romans, Paul’s divinely inspired words take this concept further. Romans 13:12 says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”

In light of these Scriptures we must accept that legislation with the aim of wealth redistribution is not evil or stealing; it is simply the product of our government and as such, we must submit to it.

What I don’t want you to hear is that we must wholly commit to support the actions of governmental leaders or institutions. However, we must be wary of using Jesus’ words out of context to support our political convictions.

TYLER USSERY I am not concerned with Jacobs’ characterization of liberals and their policies. My main qualm is with the supposed idea that Christ is partisan in any regard. The Christian theologian and pastor Timothy Keller argues that “neither party can fully encompass the full range of the Christian socio-economic dogma.” Listen to any of his sermons long enough, and he time and again brings up where each party falls short.

If we are to look at governance and taxation through the lens of Jesus’s words, then let’s first turn to how he addresses taxation. Matthew 16:24-27 deals with the temple tax. Luke 20:20-26 deals with paying taxes to Caesar.

In the first scripture, Christ doesn’t view the domestic tax imposed on the Jewish people for the maintenance of the temple, and the social welfare projects that it conducted, as stealing. In the second scripture, Christ doesn’t condemn the taxes imposed by the occupying Roman empire,

which many Jews thought were improper.

The argument that money demanded by the government for the execution of government matters is stealing and thus violates the Eighth Commandment is preposterous. If that were true, Christians would have to be conscientious objectors to all government, which is not exactly a conservative value.

Our culture is becoming polarized on a whole spectrum of issues and beliefs for a number of reasons. The poison of polarization has crept into almost every facet of our lives. Christianity is an easy target for either side to justify why they do something. When your chosen political party’s platform doesn’t line up with your chosen religious preference, a sort of cognitive dissonance forms, and something must give.

The easiest course of action is to take scripture out of context to justify what you already believe instead of basing your beliefs on what scripture actually says.

Jesus Christ would not be a Republican nor a Democrat. He might support legislation for either party, but more likely he would be too busy healing the hurt caused by all sorts of diversionary titles. There is a fatal flaw with trying to use Christianity to justify your chosen identity. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross and follow me.” Being a Christian has cost many their lives, but for most western Christians free of religious persecution, this verse demands you to put aside all previous notions and identities and view everything through the lens of Jesus’s teachings.

Jesus is concerned with revealing the love and grace of God his father. His goal is to bring the Kingdom of Heaven nearer. In John 4, Jesus rejects the social stigma of speaking to a woman who belongs to a shunned group. In Mark 2:15, Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus associated with a known promiscuous woman in Luke 7:36-50. The 12 disciples were a motley

crew of rich, poor, religious and doubters. His followers went on to start churches that valued people of all races and backgrounds, united under one creed.

I encourage anyone curious about any of this to seek out one of the many on-campus ministries and see for yourself by reading a Bible. Don’t go into it viewing it as something the “religious right” pushes, or by focusing on the “liberal doctrine” that some extract, but instead read it looking at the barriers broken down through the Gospel. There will be challenging sections that you won’t understand, naturally, because you are reading passages written thousands of years ago to an audience that understood their own culture. Give it a chance, and if you are a “Christian” adhering strictly to another identity, I urge you to reconsider.

SAVANNAH WAGNER Imposing American political ideologies on a 2,000-year-old Jewish Middle Eastern man is necessarily anachronistic. I admit that an argument framing Jesus as a fiscal conservative is something I’ve never come across before; it speaks to the exciting range of possibilities for interpretation of Scripture. If liberal Christians were uncomfortable with that reading, they could turn to Matthew 5:42, in which Jesus says, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who

wants to borrow from you.” The verse could be applied to both the needy and the government when it collects tax dollars. They could turn to Matthew 22:21 as well, in which Jesus states, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,” and make the argument that our earthly money should be returned to its earthly creator — the government.

Ultimately, trying to change people’s perspectives on politics and religion is far from easy, and opposing opinions too often lead to attacks on the other side instead of

constructive discourse. Coming after liberal Christians for their political beliefs by way of their interpretations of Christ is not going to accomplish anything aside from putting more people up in arms. At this highly politically polarized time in American life, attacking the other side — regardless of the side you are on — is the last thing we need to do.

I feel that most people are aware that hostility and contempt will solve nothing, as both conservatives and liberals have experienced people they disagree with trying to push

religious views on them. Such actions are never meant to be deceitful and are believed to be sincere, but the offending party would still do well to acknowledge that their actions are perceived as disrespectful. Perhaps insistence on respect for their religious beliefs is something liberals and conservatives can come together over. Don’t worry, there is enough room in the Bible for anyone who wants to find a home there.

Mitchell Palermo is the media services technician for Academic Technology.

Tyler Ussery is a junior business major with a minor in theatre.

Savannah Wagner is a senior religion major.

6

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 •

OPINION

How to deal with disappointment I used to think that if something walked like a duck, and quacked like a duck, then it was JOY LAZARUS duck.

OPINION COLUMNIST a But now I’m not so sure. Appearances are deceiving, and often enough, when something seems inevitable, it ends up morphing into an unpredicted outcome. It just hits you out of the blue, suddenly, like a sinking feeling in the stomach. It’s like

you’ve just ingested the world’s largest problem, and it’s just sitting there for the next four years.

There will be calls to action.

There will be an attempt to rationalize and understand what has happened. There will be many prayers said. Lots of questions and studies, research conducted. But let’s talk practical, less drastic forms of disappointment.

In terms of any disappointment, there are two things at play: expectations and reality. When expectations don’t meet reality, inevitably, disappointment will result. Disappointment can linger

and manifest, turn into sorrow and anger. Or numbness, just pure numbness. And that doesn’t really do anything for anyone.

Disappointment is a dangerous feeling. It sucks you dry and can change you into the ugly stepsister of disappointment, the one with brittle hair and too much mascara.

I don’t think there’s a cure for disappointment. I don’t think there’s a cure for most things, actually. But there are coping mechanisms to ease the transition.

Perspective (with a capital P) helps immensely. It eases the pain when a broader picture is painted.

When expectations are too high, the disappointment that results is much more taxing, causing a very lowly digression into sadness.

There’s one sense of relief that I rely on: the fact that time continues to move. Know that other things will happen, too. If found that time gives enough space to heal some wounds. Not indefinitely. But it at least provides some perspective.

There’s always the alternative. You can just absolutely fall apart when an unexpected outcome arises. Just take it really hard and, instead of ‘moving on’ like the general public encourages, you can revolt by doing

absolutely no moving whatsoever.

Just lay down and muse. For days, weeks, months, years. Soak up the dissatisfaction and eat a few bon bons. Watch the days escape you.

Sometimes, when I’m deeply dissatisfied with the events of life, I believe that life and time has ultimately stopped. Life has ended because I’m unhappy, when really, that’s not the case at all. It continues onward, with or without me, and hopefully I’d make the decision to not let it slip away.

Joy Lazarus is a senior art and communication double major.

Dear fellow Republicans Disagreement

LUKE AYERS

GUEST COLUMNIST In the wake of the election, I’ve heard the stories of countless people who are terrified of what the next four years will bring for them as minority members of our American community. I’ve heard from countless conservatives that these fears are nothing more than liberal media bias encouraging unfounded accusations against Donald Trump.

I’ve heard my fellow conservatives tell our liberal peers to “stop crying.”

Such exhortations are not only unproductive, but harmful.

It matters less whether you think these fears are rational or not.

Personally, I think they’re at least somewhat valid, given the nearly 7 percent increase in hate crimes in 2015 (primary season) from 2014, including a 67 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes, according to the FBI’s website. You have friends, classmates, maybe even family members, who are scared.

There are people that I love and care about who have been forced to relive past traumas as a result of the election that they may not have otherwise had to face. There are people I love and care about who aren’t sure how they’re going to get home for

Thanksgiving because they don’t want to step foot in an airport. There are people I love and care about who don’t feel safe walking across campus alone. Regardless of whether Trump’s campaign had anything to do with the uptick in hate crimes, regardless of whether his victory on Nov. 8 had anything to do with an increase in reports of bullying of Hispanic, black and Muslim students, don’t get so lost in celebrating political victory that you forget to be a decent person.

When describing why Trump won, a friend of mine told me, “Not much else matters when you can’t put food on the table.” People across this country who are facing economic hardship made the judgment that Trump’s policies have a better shot at improving their station in life than Clinton’s would have. I hope they’re right, and I’m inclined to agree. People made the call that their economic well-being is more important than the indefensible comments Trump has made about women, Muslims and other groups.

Say what you will about him not being “politically correct” or there being media bias, but I don’t see there being any argument against the fact that he’s made comments and expressed policies which we, as a nation (and as a party), should not

The Trinitonian wants to hire you!

The Trinitonian is looking for a new off campus advertising executive. You would be in charge of gaining new clients, working with them, and putting advertisements in the newspaper.

This job has very flexible hours, and is great for someone who enjoys working with people and wants something on their resume showing the knowledge of business, marketing, and communication.

Please email Lharris@trinity.edu to set up an interview or to get more information.

stand for. Just because you don’t see these aspects of his character (which I hope you oppose) as being dealbreakers with regards to voting for him, others do not feel the same way.

Put yourself in their shoes. Their life experiences have led them to come to extremely different conclusions about the threats they face in the coming months and years. Just because someone has had different life experiences than you, doesn’t mean their experiences aren’t valid. If you have friends experiencing any degree of fear, see if they’re willing to share their stories and reasoning with you.

I hope you’ll both come out of the conversation more compassionate and informed. Personally, I’ve found great value in listening to my fellow Trinity students.

While I know the notion of “privilege” is contentious on our side of the aisle, my station in life (as a middle-class, white, straight, Christian male) initially made it difficult to understand why people were scared. I will admit, when I first heard the reactions some people were having, my reaction was similar to much of what I’ve heard.

“Why are you crying? It’s only an election.” “Since when is enforcing immigration law racist?” Now my perspective is much different. My policy positions remain the same on the importance of secure national borders, the need to reform our tax code, the flaws of the Affordable Care Act, but I articulate my beliefs differently and am constantly on the watch for what could inadvertently harm minority communities.

I’m not telling you that you must accept the validity of everything our friends on the left are saying. I think there’s more validity than a lot of people want to admit, but how much is up for you to determine. What I am telling you is that to discount these fears without trying to understand their origin is intellectually dishonest and uncompassionate. If some of our fellow Americans feel unsafe, or that they aren’t welcome in our wonderful country, we’re all worse off. Human decency is nonpartisan.

I want to convey my sincerest gratitude to Student Involvement for facilitating the Nov. 9 discussion of the election, as well as to Dr. Singh in the religion department. They have been invaluable to me (and I’m sure many others) in growing my understanding of the results of the election.

isn’t discrimination

ALEXANDER JACOBS

GUEST COLUMNIST

Once again, the left has demonstrated that the best way to win an argument is to employ logical fallacies. Exhibit A: last week’s Trinitonian article titled “Promote free speech, not free discrimination,” written by Madeline and Brendan Kennedy.

One of the main problems in their article is the idea that, if an institution provides the opportunity for a person to voice his or her views, the institution must agree with those views.

But this argument makes no sense. If an institution provides the opportunity for multiple contradictory viewpoints to be heard, it cannot agree with them all. For example, if Trinity allows some people to say they agree with religious liberty and others to say they do not agree with religious liberty, Trinity itself cannot simultaneously endorse religious liberty and its opposite.

That would violate the law of noncontradiction.

In the article they argue, “When a part of the university sponsors Anderson, it follows that the department and the university believe those views are legitimate and worthy of consideration,” and “I am disappointed that one of our academic departments, and by extension the university, would support this speaker and perspective, endorsing the idea that a subsection of the Trinity community should be denied equal rights.”

This is preposterous. Trinity has two main political clubs: Trinity Progressives and Tigers for Liberty.

Does supporting both clubs mean that Trinity as a university agrees with both of them simultaneously in the same sense? Hopefully you see my point by now.

Another rhetorical tactic the Kennedys employ is to misframe their opponent in a way that is so extreme that no one could possibly agree with him. This fallacy is known as a straw man. For example, they state, “Anderson’s work makes it clear that his views on ‘religious liberty’ are based on a belief that LGBTQ

people are lesser.” The authors try to define Anderson as someone who believes that people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer are less than human.

Quite an accusation — with no supporting evidence.

Perhaps the most important problem in the article is how selfcontradictory it is when it comes to free speech. The title includes the words “Promote free speech.”

The article includes the phrases “I want to encourage a dialogue by challenging that decision” [to allow Anderson to speak on campus] and “I encourage you to attend Anderson’s lecture if you feel comfortable.” So why is the author so all over the place if the point made in the article is sound?

Because the point being made in the article is NOT sound. The author only believes in free speech when people are not offended.

That is not free speech. Free speech means you can say what you want.

It means you are free to mention facts or lines of argument that may offend certain people, and whether someone is offended by what you say is not relevant to your right to say it.

This is the real world. College students are adults, not toddlers.

If you are offended by someone’s argument, you should be offended because the argument uses unfair tactics and logical fallacies, not because the conclusion of the argument isn’t what you wanted.

Just because someone believes and thinks differently from you about how to define marriage and what religious liberty is does not give you the right to silence them and frame them as someone who thinks that homosexuals are less than human beings. I would recommend everyone go on YouTube and search “Ryan Anderson debates gay marriage with Piers Morgan” if you want to get a feel for Anderson.

And I hope Madeline and Brendan showed up to Anderson’s event and challenged him with logic and reason, not with an appeal to emotion and with claims that he is some sort of evil person who thinks LGBTQ people are “lesser.”

Alexander Jacobs is a first-year economics major.

OPINION • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Republicans: I’m with you!

7

What’s next?

Democrats: Please stop terrorizing your local conservatives Progressives should channel their MANFRED WENDT For all the non-progressive students election anxieties into positive energy Party, a public event open to all GUEST COLUMNIST

Calling all Trinity conservatives, Republicans, libertarians and deplorables: This article is probably the only article that you want to read in this edition of the Trinitonian.

Following the shocking results of the presidential election, colleges all over the country have turned into oversized day cares. Administrators have been working overtime to come up with ways to console our leftwing classmates. Of course, we all know that if Clinton had won, there wouldn’t be any of this coddling for conservatives. Instead, there would have been university-sponsored events celebrating the election of Hillary Clinton — spending our tuition and student activity fee dollars, most likely. However, in the upset of the century, Donald Trump is the president-elect.

Following this momentous upset, the Democrat Fear Machine is in full swing. Of course, nonprogressives on this campus know fear all too well. When I showed up at the Trinity Election Night Watch

Trinity students, I was immediately accosted by a progressive student who threatened, “You have a lot of nerve showing up here” — as if I weren’t a member of the Trinity community and had no business attending the event. This is the attitude many non-progressive students feel that a significant amount of students on campus have toward them. In this case, this student who was enraged by the election results had enough cognitive thinking ability to realize that it’s probably not the best idea to fight someone 6 inches taller than you and 50 pounds heavier.

So, he fled.

The next day, the amount of love and support that I received from the underground non-progressives on campus was amazing. The number of students who came up to me terrified, looked around to make sure no one could see and gave me a hug was astonishing. The number of students who came up to me and told me that they had been exiled from their friends and felt alone on campus was shameful.

on campus, my message is simple: “I’m with you!” You want someone to get coffee with you and talk about how corrupt Clinton is and how America dodged a bullet? Text me, email me, Facebook message me and I’ll be there. Want someone to spike the football and chest bump you?

I’m with you! Want a shoulder to cry on because your friends have turned on you? I’m with you! Want to get active on this campus and create a better environment for people like us? I’m with you! We will be your support team for this entire campus.

I will be your champion and I will support you. Most importantly, on this campus, “I’m with you!”

To the progressives on campus who get the urge to go after someone because of this election — leave your non-progressive friends alone. Come after me, I’m the one you want.

Come and take it.

Manfred Wendt is a sophomore political science major. He’s also the president and chairman of Tigers For Liberty. Follow him on Twitter @wendtmanfred

What you see isn’t always what you get MELISSA FLOWERS

GUEST COLUMNIST

I am Melissa Flowers, director of Residential Life. I am also living, breathing proof that not all Trumpsupporters are sexists, racists and share my political affiliations during the election season. The remainder of this article might be more approachable for some if I now say I supported Bernie and eventually voted for Hillary Clinton. I hope you aren’t feeling duped by my opening sentence because I promise it is true.

Just read on.

I am the daughter of Patricia and Donald Pinchback. Patricia is a Caucasian, full-blood Irish, Catholic woman. Her parents told her and her three sisters that they should find husbands, have babies and stay at home to raise them and maintain the house. This was not the path for Patricia. When her parents refused to help fund her college education — her brothers belonged in school, they said, but she did not — Patricia worked various jobs and saved her money, bit by bit, and eventually had enough to go to school. Upon graduation, she entered a maledominated field. Working at a juvenile detention center for young men, Patricia supervised a team of six men. The men talked over her in meetings and made her the butt of jokes. She never felt valued or respected. “It was Hell, but it was also hilarious,” my mom recalled recently. When her colleagues spoke to her disrespectfully, she reported and documented it. If it happened again, she placed them on unpaid leave. If it happened a third time,

they would be dismissed. Patricia never allowed herself to believe that she was less than anyone because she was born a woman, and she used what power she had to make change.

In essence, she taught herself what her parents had not — my mom is not a sexist.

One day a new case manager, Donald Pinchback, joined the team.

Donald, an African American man, and Patricia fell in love and married during the height of the civil rights movement. My mother vividly recalls moments when her own parents and siblings were confused, disappointed and even disgusted by her decision to marry my father. She chose to marry him despite their lack of approval.

She chose to raise children with him — my mom is not racist.

My father had two daughters from a previous marriage, and his oldest daughter, Yvette, came out as a lesbian in the 1990s. When I saw my sister called a n- f-, I asked my mother why other people cared who my sister loved. “The world may never know,” my mother replied, tears forming in her eyes. My mother opened her heart and her home to help her step-daughter feel safe, loved and celebrated in the environment — my mom is not a homophobe.

On Nov. 8, Patricia cast her vote for Donald Trump. She openly admits that he wasn’t the “perfect candidate,” but she preferred some of his policies in comparison to those of Hillary Clinton. She appreciated the proposed tax reductions, his commitment to the Second Amendment and his proposal to repeal or significantly amend Obamacare. She did not appreciate

his dishonesty. She did not appreciate his bigotry. So, as promised, I am living, breathing proof that not all Trump-supporters are sexists, racists and homophobes.

For those of you who voted for Trump, I hope you know I love and support you just as I love and support my mom. For those of you who voted for Clinton or a third-party candidate, I urge you to open your mind to the possibility that there are more Patricias out there than you think. I’ve spoken with some on our campus this week. A vote for Trump was not a vote for racists and homophobes. It was a vote. And until you learn more about that person’s motivations to cast their ballot for Trump, do not make assumptions — they will consume your thoughts with negativity and inaccuracy.

If you feel you have been the victim of or have witnessed racist, sexist or homophobic actions, tell us. Tell me. Tell Dean Tuttle. Tell President Anderson. Tell Dr. Tynes. Tell Dr. Dee. Tell TUPD. Tell an RA. Tell a friend. Tell a faculty member. Tell the Chaplain. Tell a counselor. Tell someone, because that behavior will not be tolerated on this campus. (Pro Tip: If you have nothing to report, but you just want to talk, we’re all here for you too). Call TUPD if you don’t feel safe and would like an escort to or from any spot on this campus, but as you walk through the parking lots do not live in fear that every Trump sticker was a vote for bigotry, because what you see isn’t always what you get.

Melissa Flowers is the director of Residential Life.

There has been much written about this election.

Go to any social media site and it’s ALEX PERKOWSKI staring the OPINION COLUMNIST reader in the face. Visit any news website or crack open a newspaper and the same is true.

There are a huge number of words I could put to paper, which many people, who are smarter and better writers than I, have already written and published. When deciding on a topic for this week, I wished to avoid the whys of the election, and instead focus on the hows of moving forward.

Allow me to indulge myself a little by saying this: Hillary Clinton lost because of the problems she always had, not the problems she gained.

No, James Comey did not change the election results. In the end, voters believed Hillary Clinton was corrupt, a part of the Beltway and Wall Street intelligentsia, unexciting and untrustworthy. These faults led to a depressed turnout amongst Democrats in key swing states.

Although it is easy to distinguish policy from person, who the candidate is does matter. Donald Trump excited people who were not racists, not deplorables, not stupid and loathed being called these words.

The collective liberal meltdown to be had on Trinity’s campus this past week has made these thoughts especially poignant. It was incredibly easy to place myself in the Trinity liberal bubble and be surprised at the results of the election. It was incredibly easy to dismiss the opposition as a small group of people who held the wrong view, and would be punished by the electorate. But, as the election results show, that group is not small. It makes me wonder,

what more can I do to help my party and what more can everyone else do?

To be sure, I do not mean to dissuade or insult anyone reading this. If you voted, great job, you’re already doing more than many Americans (about one hundred million of them). But it takes a larger effort if you want to win.

There are literally thousands of ways to get involved with the democratic process. It does not have to be political. You can help register people to vote with a local organization. One local organization for San Antonio is called MOVE San Antonio. There are also many nonprofits which take political action. Or if you want to go through political angles, there are local parties at the county level.

Furthermore, within those groups, there are sections created specifically for students and young activists.

There are plenty of ways to get involved, the one factor affecting it above all else, is you.

It’s easy to share something on Facebook. It’s easy to talk to your likeminded friends about your political views. It’s easy to vote. And it’s easy to be out there. Before you criticize those who do not vote, or those you believe made the incorrect decision, consider doing more than sharing a post. Consider volunteering, taking a packet, knocking on doors and making phone calls. The smallest democratic unit is the voter.

Spending four hours of your time on a weekend could translate to at least a dozen extra people mobilizing themselves to vote. If you want to see a change, then go out and make a change.

(For those interested in making a change in our area, visit movesanantonio.org to inquire about volunteering, fellowships, and internship opportunities.)

Alex Perkowski is a junior political science major. He’s also the president-elect of Omega Phi.

Best For Trinity is almost here!

Get ready to vote for your favorite places in SA Ballots will be distributed at the midnight breakfast

THE FOOD & DRINK ISSUE

9

photos by DANIEL CONRAD

Coffee shop chronicles

BY COURTNEY JUSTUS I was pretty excited to visit a few different coffee shops earlier this week. Oddly enough, I don’t actually drink coffee, unless you count Starbucks frappuccinos, which I don’t. Most of the times I’ve been to coffee shops here in town with my friends, I’m usually the only one who doesn’t get some kind of coffee or caffeinated beverage.

The truth is, I shouldn’t even have caffeine after 4 p.m. because, if I do, it will mess up my sleep schedule.

But these difficulties haven’t kept me from spending time at coffee shops, enjoying the various foods and beverages they have to offer.

Whenever I go to a coffee shop or cafe, I usually search the menu for some kind of decaffeinated tea, hot chocolate or fruit smoothie. Teas are usually the first item I search for on the menu.

If you have ever felt weird about going to a coffee shop by yourself, I must tell you that you shouldn’t.

I went to Summermoon Coffee Bar for the first time ever by myself this past weekend and really enjoyed it. The laid-back, well-lit space was perfect for me to enjoy a quiet lunch and read a book. Others around me were also either reading or working on their computers. If it hadn’t been for my other obligations that afternoon, I could have stayed there all day, just reading my book and ordering another smoothie or two. The quiet, tranquil atmosphere made it the perfect place for me to catch up on some work while also enjoying the clear skies on a sunny day.

It felt a bit strange at first to be taking my homework into a coffee shop because I’m so used to working in the library and my own room.

But the change of space was super helpful and I appreciated all the work the employees of Summer Moon had put into creating such a comfortable environment. They are also super nice and very appreciative of your patronage, which is always good to see in the food industry.

Candlelight Coffeehouse has always been one of my favorite restaurants because of its cozy environment. In addition to several types of coffee and a great hot chocolate, you can get really good sandwiches and

pasta. In the past, I’ve been there to get actual food more than just their hot chocolate. The prices are pretty decent and, like Summermoon, it is conveniently located within walking distance of Trinity. When it’s not super crowded, Candlelight is a great place to read and study. You can feel perfectly comfortable there whether you’re hanging out with friends or digging into a good book.

If you prefer not to be around large crowds, then it’s probably best to aim for a visit to one of these coffee shops during either the early afternoon of a weekend or the late afternoon of a weekday. Earlier this week, I went to Commonwealth Coffeehouse and was able to avoid the snaking line I had been met with the last time I went there. Still, whether you have to wait in a long line or not, the hot chocolate and pastries are definitely worth it. Again, I felt comfortable bringing out my book because most of those at Commonwealth that afternoon were also either reading or on their computers.

One thing that always catches my eye almost immediately when I walk into these places is the tip jar.

In all three of these places, you go up to the counter to order your food and have the option of giving a tip at any time. Having worked in the food industry myself, I know how important it is to get tips, since they can significantly affect the amount of money a worker makes. At the establishment where I worked, we had tip jars in front of each of the cash registers and I would always get a little excited whenever someone put money in there, even if it was just a few spare coins.

Wherever you go to get your coffee (or, alternately, your non-caffeinated hot beverages), make sure to treat your servers and those around you with respect. Be sure to say thank you to your server; people who are in the food industry often work long, sometimes strange hours and are relying on your generosity. Coffee shops can be a great place to clear your mind and I am grateful for all the times that I have been able to do so thanks to good food and the respectful attitudes of those present.

It made the experience worthwhile every time.

Coffee shop etiquette tips from behind the counter “Don’t order a caramel macchiato.”

“If you see chairs stacked, please understand we have to go home too.”

“Just say thank you.”

- Alicia Riggs, Local Coffee Barista

999 E Basse Rd #193, San Antonio, TX 78209 Shops at Lincoln Heights orderup-sa.com

Sleepy?

Wake up with us We take Tiger Bucks!

Breakfast served 7-11a.m.

10

THE FOOD & DRINK ISSUE

Battling the beast: A first hand account of living with anorexia

BY CALLAN HUDSON

Last night I shared a sleeve of Oreos with my boyfriend. We ate them mindfully, dipping each one in almond milk to achieve the Perfect Soak, and delighted in every bite.

My eating disorder started when I was about 13. High school started that year, and I was the strange girl from 5,000 miles away with an unfortunate haircut. My mother started to worry about me, telling me to eat more calories, but I shrugged away her concerns.

I knew I was sick, but anorexia is a disease of secrecy, lies and silence. I lost my mind in a spiral of obsession and self-hatred. No one knew beyond suspicion what was happening to me until my first suicide attempt in February of 2014. My roommate saved my life by taking me to the hospital, but I had no regrets about what I had done. My concerns were with my mildewing sheets in the washing machine. When I returned to campus to pick up my things, she had washed them and made my bed. I hugged her hard and went to my first treatment.

One in three people being treated for an eating disorder will relapse within about two years from his or her discharge. I did alright for a few weeks, but the thoughts started to seep back and a slow spiral back into my illness began.

A summer came and went, and it was time for school to begin. I convinced my parents to let me go back to Texas to continue my education, but what I really wanted was to be free of their

protection so that my illness could completely take over. My family had conditioned that I had to continue to pursue treatment on an outpatient level while at school. I showed up for a consultation, they took one look at me, and told me that I needed to go to inpatient.

I struck a deal with them, posturing that my education was too important to me to be put on hold by yet another hospital, and they allowed me to join their partial program with a couple of hours off a week to attend a few classes. As I continued to lose weight, they took away my privilege of attending classes, and from then on, I pointlessly lived on campus and spent 11 hours a day at partial.

I wasn’t ready to get better, and the efforts of my team to get me healthy frustrated me to no end. I went nuts when the low-calorie bread I had snuck into my locker was replaced with normal bread, and fought my nutritionist at every meal over everything from portions to the size of my spoon. One September night, my therapist told me I was to be on a plane to Colorado the next morning to go to inpatient.

My closest friends came over to help me pack, and the next morning before the sun was up, I was off to my second treatment.

The next morning, I arrived at a zoo. That morning somebody had been discharged to the psych ward for threatening to self-harm with a broken spoon, and when they emptied her locker they found a mesh bag lined with her clothes filled with vomit. “Oh dear,” I thought.

I still was not ready to get better, but I went through the motions and two months later, I stepped down to partial hospitalization. I lived in an apartment belonging to the hospital with three close friends, and as my body changed, I quietly plotted my next attempt. My therapist told me she didn’t take my suicidal ideations seriously since they were so constant, and in February of 2015 I overdosed on my medications in my apartment. My roommates tried to wake me in the morning, but I wouldn’t budge so they let me be. The hospital sent a cop to find me later that morning, and two days later, I woke up surrounded by my parents and my best friend. The treatment center had discharged and cut ties with me for fear of being sued, so I gathered my things and went home to Arizona.

Most people with eating disorders can tell you that every relapse is worse than the one before. This time, I finally hit rock bottom. I was ready to recover. My weight plummeted, and my depression was at an all-time high, and there was nothing I could do to stop it — the urges were too strong, and I needed help. My family and I frantically searched for somewhere that would take me despite my recent suicide attempt, and two weeks later, I was at my third treatment in the suburbs of Boston. This would be the hospital that would save my life. Eating disorders are pernicious and parasitic, and tend to come with comorbidities like depression and anxiety. The

treatment teams there were equipped to tackle every facet of the disease. My psychiatrist prescribed me new drugs that allowed me to further accept the changes I would undergo physically and mentally. Many therapies were offered, from art therapy, which I loathed, to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which I loved. I attacked my fears with logic, and taught myself a new reality in which I wasn’t valued for my appearance but for who I am. Affirmations helped me to re-wire my brain, and although it felt silly and awful at first to tell myself that I am beautiful, or loved or valuable, eventually, those statements became my truth.

I discharged in May of 2015. My hatred of food became love, and I have discovered a zeal for cooking. Last December I ate a edible dessert balloon that tasted like apples and it changed my life. Food has the capacity to change your perspective, and food always brings unity, warmth, and love. I have since worked in a kitchen, and hope to attend culinary school to study pastry. In the meantime, I will play and learn in my kitchen, and continue to overcome any remaining fears I may have. I have finally learned to be me. I celebrate and decorate my body by fearlessly doing exactly as I please with it. I have learned to revel in my existence, to be grateful for everything and to be plain about what is important. My eating disorder destroyed my life, but the joy and gratitude I feel negate the pain. Recovery is real, and recovery is possible.

Food for thought: beyond physical health THE RICHARDS GROUP TRG JOB #: SBU-16-0050 CLIENT: SMU

COX. CONNECTED. A Year Of Investment.

A Lifetime Of Returns.

Earn A One-Year Master’s Degree.

Management Maximize your market value with a solid business foundation.

Business Analytics Launch your career in big data, marketing or consulting.

Finance Attain success in corporate finance, investment management and consulting.

Accounting Enhance your skills, prep for the CPA exam and jump-start your career at a top global accounting firm.

Sport Management Join the only sport management master’s program in DFW, the #5 sports market.

Hone your professional skills. Access 40,000 alumni in 80 countries. Jump-start your career.

Learn more at coxmasters.com.

SMU does not discriminate in any program or activity on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

SBU160050 Mstrs_Trnty_Trntn 6x8.indd 1

TITLE: Master’s College Print

PUB: Trinity University Eating is one of Trinitonian

BY RYAN REYNOLDS

the most crucial behaviors that we as people reinforce day in and day INSERTION: 2016 out. ItNovember is an incredibly rewarding thing to do TRIM: because it makes you feel so satisfied; not only 6" x 8" physically, but often emotionally and socially COLOR: CMYK as well.

In today’s day and age, eating is so LINE SCREEN: much SNAP/85 more than simple nourishment. It has evolvedFORinto a complex social ritual. We eat in QUESTIONS groupsCALL: to bond with our friends, and this social Kathleen Pendergast atmosphere 214.891. can 2918 often be very stimulating for our psychological health. When we eat a very clean diet, we often feel unstoppable and full of energy. When we’re stressed or hurt we crave certain foods, sweets and other “junk food” that we associate with feeling better.

Just as much as food influences how we feel, how we feel affects the kinds of food we choose.

It sounds cliche, but if you think about it for a moment, it’s true. That association between food and feeling better is very real, and for a person like me, that association can be overwhelming.

I was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD for short, about a year ago.

Usually when people hear OCD, they think about someone who checks that their door is locked seventeen times, or someone who can’t focus on their homework if the clock is on an odd number. But the reality goes so much further beyond that, and springs to life when it comes to food and eating. For me, eating food is often a way that I can calm myself down or navigate a social situation. It would be more accurate to say that I often need certain foods than to say that I merely crave them.

Sometimes, I’ll need the feeling of eating a certain food so badly that I’ll only eat that for a few days, which is really awful for dieting when all you crave is Chick-Fil-A. It can be a derailing effect when trying to eat different foods or trying to have a cleaner diet. As soon 11/7/16 3:01 PM

as I cut those foods that I feel I need, my energy levels bottom out and my productivity plummets. My eating habits are affected in an equally powerful way.

Sometimes the desire to feel full will be so overwhelming that I’ll be snacking all day long, eating way more than I need to. Conversely, I know I have gone multiple days without eating anything because I didn’t feel that natural incentive to seek the satisfaction of a full stomach. I have to work to eat regularly and in a relatively healthy manner.

So what’s the point, you might wonder. The point is that food and eating not only reflect our physical health, but our mental and emotional health. The point is that eating symbolizes so much more than filling your stomach with some carbs. Eating drives our social encounters. Eating certain foods changes how we feel throughout the day. The way someone eats and the food someone chooses to eat don’t just have to do with their taste in food or the diet they choose to pursue. For some people it’s not just difficult to eat healthy, it’s like trying to stay awake when you’ve pulled an allnighter. It makes you feel drained and terrible.

Simply put, eating means a lot more to some people than you’d ever expect.

That doesn’t mean you need to accommodate your friends’ every strange craving when looking for restaurants to eat at, but it does mean you should be more understanding of why that decision might mean a lot to them.

As is true of many things, it does you no good to push yourself towards an unrealistic goal of what you want your eating habits to be. Rather than try to conform to the eating habits of those around you, I encourage you to seek a balance between your physical health and mental comfort that you feel you can control.

THE FOOD & DRINK ISSUE

Fresh-squeezed please

11

BY NHI NGUYEN Last spring, I worked for a cold-pressed juice vendor at Trinity Farmers Market. On the first day of work, my boss explained to me how he made cold-pressed juices and why people should drink it. First, because it is made by hydraulic cold juicers that crush and press fruit and vegetables for the highest juice yield without producing as much heat, cold-pressed juice can retain essential enzymes and nutrients. This method improves the traditional juicing method that leaves the ingredients exposed to heat and oxygen and destroys nutrients in them, especially vitamin C. Second, cold-pressed juice is not pasteurized and not added with extra additives and chemicals, so the juice guarantees its original freshness.

I delivered the exact same information to the customers.

The sales were going well at first, but they declined later. Even though many people were delighted at the nutrient contents and the deliciousness of the samples I gave, they also expressed their hesitations of buying due to the prices: $8.5 to $10 per medium bottle. That made me wonder whether or not coldpressed juice is worth its cost.

To answer this question, I did some research on the internet to see opinions and academic articles on this. The difference of quality in juice made by traditional-blade juicers and coldpressed juicers is real: cold-pressed juice has more nutrients and also tastes much better than the former one. However, compared to the original cost put in one bottle, the price is way more expensive. Besides, cold-pressed juice leaves out the fiber, which eating whole fruit may be better. There are also no peer-reviewed academic research on the significant difference between cold-pressed and traditional juicing, so I am not quite sure if the information provided online is sponsored by juice industry that amplifies its benefits.

Thus to answer whether or not cold-pressed juice is worth it, I

photo by DANIEL CONRAD

URTH JUICE BAR is located in Southtown in the King William District. Customers can purchase juices, smoothies and other items.

will say it depends on each person and their budget limitation.

To me, it is always worthwhile to invest in your health, but it should also be harmonious with economic capacity. Coldpressed juice requires consistency to see the effectiveness, but buying bottles of ready-made cold-pressed juices regularly will cost a lot.

If you have lots of money, it’s worth it to buy those instead of spending on other wasteful activities. For those who cannot afford this lifestyle, I find it also possible to buy a coldpressed juicer and make the juice at home. This way will help you save money, and it also allows you to control your proportion and be creative with your drink.

Horrible bosses Juice shop experience leaves student with a sour taste

BY SARAH HALEY Working in the food service industry in the United States is, generally, a nightmare. We underpaid, overworked verbal punching bags have horror stories aplenty to share. For some, one experience stands out as particularly awful. This is mine.

Names have been removed and changed so I don’t get sued for libel.

This past summer, I moved into my first non-dorm living situation of college. With the realization that I would be paying rent and utilities monthly instead of in a lump sum as part of my tuition, I wanted another source of consistent income during the summer. A friend of mine tipped me off that there was a new juice shop opening up in San Antonio. They were hiring. I wanted another job, so I applied.

Resume sent, sit-down interview complete, I got hired as the front cashier slash fruit cutter slash smoothie maker. The job description was vague from the start, but I was making a little bit over minimum wage, plus tips, so I was willing to deal with a little ambiguity.

But the manager seemed a little bit sketchy from the start. It was his first time opening and operating a restaurant. The first time we met, within 15 minutes of meeting me, he confidently told me that he would hire me out of college to manage his second location — that he was sure to open because he was sure he had the perfect target market and the perfect product — with a starting salary of about double the median household income of San Antonio. Never mind the fact that over half of restaurants fail, and many in the first year. Never mind the fact that he had never done this before.

I was highly skeptical, but in food service, $9 an hour is nothing to give up on easily, so I shrugged off my gut instinct that something was wrong and tried to stick with it. I started working most days in the week, making decent tips from area moms who would buy the absurdly overpriced glorified sugar bombs on the menu.

Yet each time I inquired when I would sign a W-9 — the form that legally requires the business to pay me for my hours worked — the manager would say he would get it to me “next week.”

He was paying me out daily, tips and hourly wage together, in straight cash taken from the register. I noticed that items we would sell were not being properly taxed; he just told me that I was perceptive but did nothing to resolve it. There were notproper sanitation procedures in the kitchen in the back, to put it lightly. There were no recipe cards for the menu items and I was encouraged to “eyeball it.” The menu item descriptions literally said the smoothies and acai bowls included ingredients that they did not ever keep stocked in the fridge. It was overall

an extremely hectic, disorganized, dangerous, unsanitary place to work. Yet perhaps most troubling, I started to notice that I was sort of implicitly expected to also be taking care of his three year-old child while on the clock. Let’s call the kid Jonah.

It was evident since the beginning of my time there that family was a priority for the manager and his wife. They treated Jonah like a prince, and had another on the way. They posted on the juice shop’s Instagram pictures of Jonah with captions suggesting he “ran his own juice shop.” I figured it was a cutesy sort of thing where they pretended he was a grown up, or something. I didn’t want to be too judgmental, as my personal ideas about how to raise a child to be a decent human being don’t necessarily have to match up with those of the manager of a juice shop I work at. But the lack of discipline and boundaries with this kid started to become a serious problem.

I would be single handedly serving a long line of customers, as I was only one of two employees at the shop, handling large knives and produce with Jonah running around me and trying to have my full attention. I would tell him to stop or to go play in his room, and he would not listen. His father would rarely, if ever, step in to reprimand him. The kid would hold his toys in front of me, poised to break them, and say to me, “tell me no!

Tell me not to break it.” If you told him no, he would break it right in front of you to display his defiance and dominance. He would block doorways when I was trying to serve customers and ask for made up passwords, and when there were no customers, I was expected to play with him and entertain him instead of rest or clean.

My friends who nanny and babysit usually make over ten dollars an hour. I was fine with dealing with the bratty kid if my pay reflected the fact that I was dealing with a bratty kid.

Like a college student with not much to lose, I brought it up to my manager. I told him I needed to talk to him. “Step back into Jonah’s office and let’s talk,” he said. Again, I found it odd they talked about their business and it’s office as if a three-year-old child was in charge, but I again brushed it off.

As I sat across from the manager to discuss my pay and my concerns, Jonah sat in the corner watching some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stuff on YouTube. I tried to phrase my concerns very delicately and diplomatically, as it was clear this kid was the center of his dad’s universe. I didn’t want to criticize the center of the universe. Also, Jonah was known to turn angry and unpredictable at a moment’s notice, and I didn’t want to provoke him.

When I told Jonah’s dad I felt that I was required to do childcare but was not paid like someone who did child care,

he said that the juice shop would “always be a family-friendly place,” and that if I didn’t like that, maybe I wasn’t the right fit for the job. I had the urge to blurt out some sassy retort like “good luck finding someone to deal with that demon and customers for barely above minimum wage,” but I resisted.

Having lost that battle, I brought up what was possibly more reasonable as it affected the business in general as well: safety concerns. Jonah had tried to trip me and push me while I was carrying very large very sharp knives. I told him to stop and he would not. I brought these concerns to Jonah’s dad, framing it as a risk to my safety while working there. Surely, he wouldn’t want a worker to be severely injured on the job.

Jonah’s dad placed his hands together as if he were praying, and brought them up underneath his nose, as if he was pensive and contemplating my concern.

“I hear what you are saying and that is concerning; he could’ve been hurt,” he said. My safety was clearly irrelevant. Looking me straight in the eye, completely straight faced and stone-cold sober, he continued: “But the thing is, this is Jonah’s business and he can do anything he pleases.”

In that moment I realized that Jonah’s parents did indeed legitimately consider him to be the owner and primary decision maker at the business. They really did think he ran the joint.

They really did let him act like my boss because he was, for all intents and purposes, the boss.

The one other employee burst into the office, as a rush of customers had just arrived and she couldn’t handle them on her own. Semi shell-shocked, I stepped out and helped her serve them. After the customers were all gone, without saying another word, I clocked out, drove home, and called in to quit.

He begged me to stay, citing that Jonah would soon be in school and not around as much. At that point, there was nothing he could’ve possible said short of $100 an hour that would make me step foot in that establishment ever again.

And that’s how I ended up working for a restaurant run by a three-year-old. It took me about two weeks to realize, mostly because it simply seemed too absurd to be true. I felt like I was living and working in a “Twilight Zone” episode. But after I realized how accurate my bizarre intuition had been, the rest of the working conditions made sense. Of course there was no cleanliness, organization or structure to working there. It was a business run by a three-year-old.

And if you asked any given three-year-old, “What business would you like to start?” it is not hard to imagine them blurting out, with their small brain working at full capacity, “I want JUICE!”

THE FOOD & DRINK ISSUE

12

Beer trend brewing in San Antonio

BY JOY LAZARUS

According to the Brewers Association, “craft beer must be small, independent and traditional.”

By small, it means that the brewery doesn’t distribute more than six million barrels of beer annually. By independent, it means that less than 25 percent of breweries are owned or controlled by an alcohol industry member. And by traditional, it means that their flavors come from innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation process.

IPA stands for India Pale Ale. If a beer contains high levels of pale malt, then it’s typically more bitter and has higher percentages of alcohol in it. Usually, high IPA’s are characterized by the amount of hops used. Hops can affect aroma, bitterness and flavor. And beers with high IPA content smell like pine, citrus or flowers. The volume of alcohol is between 5.5 and 7.5 percent.

Ranger Creek Brewery on 4834 Whirlwind Dr. and Alamo Beer Brewery on 415 Burnet St are two well-known breweries in San Antonio.

Kyle Argueta, a senior communication major, likes to venture out and try different kinds of beer.

“If you’re going to pay $5, $6 for a beer, I think it’s important that you at least try the different things on tap.”

He’s a big fan of pale ales, saying that he prefers them over seasonal beers. “A pale ale is a good, nice beer that I can drink in any season.”

Another perk about craft beer is the variety of flavors offered.

Sour beer is a great example of this. It’s a mix of sour and tart, with

a smooth combination of ale that really makes the taste linger.

While sour beer isn’t common in San Antonio, The Friendly Spot in South Town sells it on tap.

Sarah Farrell, a senior, is also a fan of beverage diversity. Farrell enjoys frequenting Southerleigh at the Pearl because of its local flavor.

Farrell’s love of craft beer started when she studied abroad in London.

She rarely bought a bottled, popular brand beer because of the excessive amount of good beers on tap.

To Farrell, places like Central Market that sell individual bottles are fun to peruse.

“For me, it’s really like an adventure.

You never know what you’re gonna get with each one,” Farrell said on the beer selection offered there. “No two craft beers are the same, which means you get a lot of diversity and can try a lot of different flavors every time.”

HEB offers a make your own six-pack deal where people of legal age can choose from a range of beer and curate their own drinking preferences. Prices, per beer, start at $1.99.

Beer is a highly consumed beverage, especially in the south. The saying goes, if you live in Texas, you’ve had Dos Equis or Shiner. Maybe even Heineken.

According to Argueta, “good craft beer lends itself to good conversations about the beer itself.”

Treat drinking craft beer as an experience, one that brings people together in a welcoming manner.

Not one that you can get the most buzz from. If you’re going to gain weight from the caloric intake, make sure the beer tasted good on the way down.

TOP: Southerleigh Brewing Company bartender, JOHN VICINAIZ talked with reporters from the Trinitonian about the process of brewing beer and the layout of the brewery and restaurant. “After the Pearl stopped brewing the place stood vacant for several decades. We just kind of moved in and put in small craft stuff that was custom fit,” Vicinaiz said. The restaurant is housed in the old Pearl Brewery. They opened in April of 2015. The bottom of the building houses a restaurant that serves classic Texas cuisine with a modern twist. The top half houses the brewery.

BOTTOM: The selection of beers Vicinaiz chose for a sampling flight. From left to right: Le Chateau, Oktoberfest, Pass the Gravy and Don’t Squeeze Me. All of the beers are brewed on location by LES LOCKE, head brewer at Southerleigh. The bar offers 21 different beers on tap.

Photos by DANIEL CONRAD

Paid positions available!

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT “Theatre is the ultimate reality show. It’s done with real people in real time and anything can happen. The only difference is you don’t feel intellectually void afterwards.”

Scott Neale, assistant professor of scenic design

Pulse

Diwali performers shine in festival of lights Students participate in songs and musical numbers for annual show hosted by student-run group

BY COURTNEY JUSTUS

PULSE REPORTER

As exciting music blasted through the speakers of Laurie, the feet of audience members tapped along to the beat, while dancers performed to the same tune on a colorful stage. Students have gathered in the auditorium with other members of the Trinity community in the audience to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. This is a festive celebration that is commemorated all over the world; this year, students gathered on Nov. 12 to celebrate.

“We decided to tell the story of Diwali this year not just to educate the audience on the religious backing of Diwali but also to teach the lessons that we learn from our religion,” said Pooja Bollampally, a senior chemistry major and president of the Indian Student Association. “We hope that the audience was not only entertained by the performances and the show but was also inspired by the morals of our story.”

As president of Trinity’s Indian Student Association (ISA), Bollampally was in charge of coordinating the different parts of Holi in the spring and Diwali this fall, ensuring that everything ran smoothly. She has also performed in the festivals.

“My main goals for the show was to bring a diverse group of students together and encourage them to step out of their comfort zone and embrace this festive culture as well as put together a cohesive, entertaining, but also educational show,” Bollampally said.

ISA seeks to include students of all cultural backgrounds in their celebrations to create a greater sense of unity between students.

“The fact that students themselves can put on this celebration with our own initiative and passions shows how Trinity embraces diversity and celebrates that not everyone is the same,” Bollampally said.

Bollampally has participated in Diwali during all four of her years at Trinity and she says she has gained a lot from her experiences as a dancer and choreographer. “[Diwali and Holi] really embody the festive nature of the Indian culture and give diverse students an opportunity to experience and participate in these festivals and celebrations that were so instrumental to the childhood of the students who identify as Indian,” Bollampally said.

Participants started preparing for their Diwali performances several

weeks in advance, starting in September. They worked tirelessly all throughout September and October to make the show a reality.

“The most difficult part of the process would be the amount of time we expended in planning the show. The process itself was a lot of fun because I planned with friends but getting myself to distance myself from school work took a deal of not panicking,” Desai said.

Several students got the opportunity choreograph their own dances. The dancers had a range of experience levels but were all grateful for the opportunity to participate in the show.

“It’s my second time choreographing specifically for Diwali, I jumped at the opportunity to do it my freshman year and I loved it so much I wanted to do it again,” said Sneh Lalani, a sophomore psychology major.

Each of the dances and songs had a specific theme, including determination, betrayal, jealousy, triumph and celebration, that the composers and choreographers had to work with while creating them.

“I feel the toughest part is probably getting comfortable with your dancers; sometimes I’m worried I’m being really picky with them when they’re doing something wrong. But once that comfort barrier is broken, it’s honestly a great experience,” Lalani said.

Students of diverse cultural backgrounds and various student organizations participated in Diwali.

The event, which took place last Saturday in Laurie Auditorium, featured musical performances and dances separated by skits that told the story of Diwali.

“The most rewarding part [of Diwali] was hearing from friends who to came to watch that they loved the show. It is gratifying to know that all the hard work you put in has a positive end result. It is also extremely rewarding to expose the real story behind Diwali to those who attended,” said Shivani Desai, a sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology major and Logistics Chair for ISA. Hundreds of students went to see the show and support their friends.

Afterwards, everyone got to enjoy free Indian food.

“The world is so diverse and opening up and seeing all that it has to offers makes it more easier to make lasting memories. If you participate you create closer bonds with your fellow dancers and captains and have fun. If you attend, you get to see your friends dance and cheer them on,” Desai said.

ISA is grateful for all those who came to Diwali and participated in the show. They look forward to hosting Holi, the festival of color, next semester. More information and photographs from these events can be found on the Facebook page.

TOP: A variety of performers line up on stage as they perfect their choreography and rise with each other to the beat of a fast-paced song in the annual show.

BOTTOM: POOJA BOLLAMPALLY and AMULYA CHERALA keep their bodies in sync with each other and shake their ankle bracelets as they dance along to the beat of ‘Never Be Like You’, by Flume. photos by DANIEL CONRAD

14

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 •

PULSE

Fall Frolics hosts exciting performances The fundraising event presented by SPURS sorority and Bengal Lancers featured dancing and singing EMILY ELLIOTT PULSE EDITOR WITH ALEXANDRA PARRIS

PULSE REPORTER

As the temperature finally drops and the sun goes down before 6 p.m., it is starting to feel more and more like fall on campus. SPURS sorority and Bengal Lancer fraternity got into the spirit of the season by hosting their annual Fall Frolics event on Nov. 15.

Fall Frolics is a talent show the two Greek organizations host to benefit their respective philanthropic organizations; their goal this year is to raise $1,500.

The event is headed by sophomore SPURS members Natalie Geisler, psychology and Spanish double major, and Natalie Boucard, international business major.

“Fall Frolics is an awesome way to be involved in campus life. It’s an event that brings the whole campus together and each year proves to be extremely entertaining for, not only those that participate, but those that come to watch as well,” Geisler said.

Geisler and Boucard have been working to bring attention to Fall Frolics and get the word out this semester in order to raise the most awareness and donations.

“We recruited different sports teams, sororities, fraternities and clubs to come to our event. We created a Facebook page and a GoFundMe. We also requested a table in Coates so that we could sell tickets for the event,” Geisler said.

The organizations hope that their event brings attention and donations to their respective charities.

“Fall Frolics is benefiting Haven for Hope, a homeless shelter providing housing, clothing, food and educational and employment training to San Antonio’s homeless as well as Fisher House, which provides free housing to military veterans and their families while receiving medical treatment,” Boucard said.

Jane Thompson, senior neuroscience major and president of SPURS sorority, is especailly looking forward to Fall Frolics.

“I’m very excited for this event. It is something we do every year and end up raising a lot of money for our philanthropies doing. Our new members usually participate so seeing them come together to perform is always a ton of fun for the rest of us, as well as the creativity of the other clubs. We always know to expect everyone to bring their best act, because Fall Frolics is always well executed and a fun night together,” Thompson said.

Other members of SPURS sorority anticipated the members of other organizations would put on the most entertaining acts.

“I’m looking forward to seeing all of the performances. We encouraged everyone in Greek life to participate, but there might be performances by others, including faculty, which should be fun,” Boucard said.

Fall Frolics featured performances by Evan Merriwether, Mel Du, SPURS sorority, Sigma Theta Tau and Bengal Lancers; each of the Greek organizations presented performances with members from their new active class.

“It’s a great way to help our Greek community and students. It’s open to everyone and brings people together,” said Luke Packard, senior economics and business administration double major and member of Bengal Lancers.

EVAN MERRIWETHER, junior, performed an original piece inspired by the songs of Michael Jackson at the annual fundraiser photo by MIGUEL WEBBER

This event helps the Bengal Lancers support their philanhtrophy.

“It benefits Fisher House, which provides free housing for the military and their families while they receive medical help,” Packard said.

Although some members of the organizations were concerned about getting enough participants, the performers who appeared put on exciting acts.

“We weren’t too worried about it because of the good turn out that we had from the event last year. Trinity is just a great community so that makes planning the event a little less worrisome when it comes to its turnout. I think that Mel Du’s performance of Johnny Cash’s ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ far and away was the winner for the night for me,” Packard said.

As the break approaches, students anticipate participating in their family traditions

they were watching some ABC Disney special thing. ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ from Pinocchio was playing on the TV and my dad proposed to my mom by the Christmas tree,” Kajs said.

Like Kajs Emily Lupo, a sophomore history and anthropology double major, has several Thanksgiving traditions.

“My grandma and I, we always make apple pies together because I’m really bad at it. It’s a tradition and [my grandma’s] hoping that the practice will one day pay off. We always get apples from my backyard,” Lupo said.

Lupo lives in New Hampshire, but last year she visited her grandparents in Florida and experienced a new tradition.

“We raced golf carts on Thanksgiving. That’s not something I’ve done before. All the old people [there] race each other. I don’t know why, but I think one year it started because someone was running late and didn’t want to be the last one there and someone else was [running late too],” Lupo said.

Reese Carlos, a sophomore communication major, also has a fair number of Thanksgiving traditions, such as his family serving a ham, not a turkey.

“As I was growing up, I would try the turkey but it was always super dry so I would just eat bread. I wasn’t a brat about it, I just only ate the bread. But at Christmas, when ham was ‘acceptable’, I would just eat [the ham] up. My grandmother, being such a sweet lady, was like ‘hmm, let’s just see what happens if I bring a ham to Thanksgiving’ and I ate that [ham] up. So my grandmother started bringing ham every year. Everyone would always eat ham over the turkey so eventually we stopped making turkey,” Carlos said.

Classes are canceled from November 23 to the 25 for students to enjoy their favorite

Thanksgiving customs can’t be quit cold turkey

BY MIRIAM CONE

PULSE INTERN

We are well known for our wood fired coffee beans and our house made moon milk that we use to sweeten our lattes! We have a spacious study area, we are one exit away from Trinity and Incarnate Word off of 281, and we have a drive thru.

Summermoon Coffee Bar 3233 N. St. Mary’s St. Monday-Friday 6:00 am-9:00 pm

Saturday-Sunday 8:00 am-6:00 pm

With Thanksgiving break just around the corner, many students reminisce and fantasize over past meals and fun times with their families and friends.

For Danielle Trevino, a sophomore communication and art double major, food isn’t the highlight.

“Every Thanksgiving, my family and I go to Lost Maples which is this really pretty hiking area by Utopia, Texas,” Trevino said. “One year we saw them film ‘Utopia’ at Utopia, Texas and we bought stuff from them. It was the most ridiculous show because they had like 24 random people, made a colony, put a fence around them and wanted to see if they’d survive. They filmed for a year, but the show got canceled like two months in,” Aida Kajs, a sophomore biology major, enjoys Thanksgiving, but the day after is when her favorite tradition begins.

“On my mom’s side of the family, we all go out and buy a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. People will come back from Black Friday shopping and just go straight to buy a Christmas tree. It’s really fun,” Kajs said.

The family tradition has even been a part of bigger family moments.

“The first Thanksgiving my dad spent with my mom’s family back when they were dating, they had decorated the tree and it was all lit up. My cousin was one or two at the time so

PULSE • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

15

Math department isn’t divided by their diversity Staff and students reflect on their experiences working with the most assorted section on campus

BY ALEXANDER MOTTER PULSE REPORTER Trinity’s math department prides themselves on being one of the most diverse departments at the university. The department have named themselves as “The 985” because their department is made up of nine faculty members from eight different nations, spanning five continents.

Peter Olofsson, the chair of the department, arrived at Trinity with an already established diversity presence as the Swedish member from a team of Vietnamese, Swedish, Palestinian, Cameroonian, Croatian, Brazilian, Mexican and American faculty.

“After I was hired, we have hired two new faculty, one from Cameroon in Africa and one from Vietnam in East Asia,” Olofsson said.

This newly enriched department serves as a stark change from the math department of several decades ago, in which everyone was not only American but also Texan.

“It’s not a deliberate effort to get this global diversity, it’s just something that has happened when we try to employ the best people for the job,” Olofsson said.

Hoa Nguyen, a professor from Vietnam, one of the most recent hires, anticipated the diversity of Trinity when she initially applied.

Nguyen found math’s universality to be one of the uniting factors of these varying cultures.

“Math faculty can easily look over each other’s background, native language or skin

color to focus on what we think are important in math education and in our own research fields,” Nguyen said. “Some students find it comforting to relate to an instructor’s origin.

Other students just enjoy learning about new ways to think or see math concepts from different perspectives.”

A heightened diversity has sometimes helped bring awareness of cultural differences on staff.

“It helps to keep in mind that we should all act professionally to create a positive environment in the department and for our students,” Nguyen said.

Senior math major Ellen Liaw has gained various perspectives based on her experiences within the math department. For example, Liaw recounted a story from her personal educational experience that highlighted the positive impact the diversity of the department had on her education.

“Dr. Macura was telling us in our Modern Algebra class about how in Croatia she had to learn real analysis her first year of college.

It’s not always how it’s exactly put into their teaching method, but how they inspire and support us to move forward using their culture,” Liaw said.

For Liaw, the math department is like a family, and she looks at the future of a campus which shares in this tight-knit diversity with cautious optimism.

“It is possible to expand diversity to the entire school but it’s going to take a lot longer to do that because we’re fortunate to have so many faculty from all over the world. It’s impossible for Trinity to look for specific races and countries when filling jobs,” Liaw said.

Those looking to get more involved with diversity on campus are encouraged to contact Olofsson or another member of “The 985.”

Some students live in HOPE Hall by a happy mistake Although a few residents did not anticipate joining, they enjoy the benefits of the service dorm

BY MIRIAM CONE PULSE INTERN The Homeless Outreach Pursuing Education (HOPE) Hall is known around campus for its service to the San Antonio community and its location in Murchison Hall next to cardiac hill, but it is not as well known for some slight housing related confusion.

Last year, HOPE Hall extended onto one floor of Calvert Hall. Current Murchison HOPE Hall resident, Madeline Grimes, a sophomore English major, was one of the affected students last year.

“We’d go to all of the meetings and do the volunteering,” Grimes said. “This year I definitely feel more connected to the people in the hall than I did last year. I know everybody a lot better since they are my hall mates.”

Like in prior years, some first years got placed in HOPE Hall without fully understanding what they were signing up for or knowing that they would even get in at all. For Cameron Carlin, a first-year communication major, it came as a happy surprise.

“I’m from a household of two teachers, so I’ve always volunteered,” Carlin said. “I’m on the leadership team. If I was never placed in it, I would’ve never been able to volunteer like this so it’s been a really great experience.”

Although he hadn’t signed up for HOPE Hall, Carlin is enjoying the residence hall.

“My favorite thing about HOPE Hall is everything, the people are awesome. I started volunteering once a week at a children’s shelter, but I liked it so much that now I go three times a week. Playing with the kids and being a mentor for them is super,” Carlin said.

Tahlar Rowe, a junior political science and science double major, is the hall manager of HOPE Hall and had a similar experience to Carlin her first year.

“When I was a first year I literally just clicked a button not knowing really what it was and because I thought I had to. But once I got to the hall and I understood the mission and the requirements, I thought,‘Oh, this is fine!’ And I think that’s the thing about it: when you get to the hall and you hear it’s a service hall, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, what did I get myself into?’ But then we tell you that you’re just volunteering two hours minimum a week and it’s fun,” Rowe said.

She also is the HOPE Hall coordinator, which means that she completes the many other aspects that keeps the hall running.

“It’s easy to fall into. As a first year you get introduced to the idea of volunteering so they just start volunteering and whenever we have hall events, it’s not hard,” Rowe said.

Regardless of whether or not students knew exactly what they were getting themselves into, on average, they typically do reapply due to the unique experiences HOPE Hall offers.

“My favorite thing about living in HOPE Hall is getting to make those connections both with the people we volunteer with. You get to share those experiences with the other people in the hall,” Grimes said.

Students interested in learning more about HOPE Hall should speak to a current resident or contact Rowe. Applications to HOPE Hall for the 2017-2018 school year will be available in the spring.

Interested in study abroad in Asia, the environment and Earth history?

Field Geology in China GEOS 3319.

This summer, May 30-June 20, a 3 week study abroad adventure across the beautiful mountainous terrain of south China (Guizhou, Guangxi and Yunnan). Led by Dan Lehrmann (GEOS), Zhaoxi Liu (COMM) and Thomas Adams (Witte Museum).

Satisfies interdisciplinary cluster requirement for the “Ecological Civilization” in Asia cluster of the Pathways Curriculum.

Cost estimate $4875 includes tuition and most program costs (including international airfare). For more information regarding the program and the application process, visit the Study Abroad website.

GEOS-1307 Geology and Environment of China

Enroll and learn about China its unique geology, resources and environments.

Satisfies Interdisciplinary cluster requirement of the Pathways Curriculum (Ecological Civilization in Asia).

Discussion topics will focus on the unique geological features of China, the resources, and the unique environmental challenges China faces as a result of rapid economic development.

Registration: Monday, Nov. 7 through Tuesday, Nov. 24.For more info: contact: Dan Lehrmann: dlehrmann@trinity.edu

AE &

Biden-Obama memes do their best to mitigate election damage

Leonard Cohen Dies

If you want to cry tears of joy for a change, check out the huge collection of recaptioned pictures of Joe and Barack just hanging out, as bros.

Legendary songwriter and poet Cohen dies on Nov 7.

Cohen was arguably best known for his song “Hallelujah,” although many have probably heard different versions (although Jeff Buckley’s version sails above the rest).

“Before the Flood” allows Leo DiCaprio recontextualize climate change issues Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest film, the “Before the Flood,” attempts to rejuvenate MAX FREEMAN t h e A&E WRITER discussion of climate change among popular audiences by documenting DiCaprio’s own work to reduce the effects of climate change.

I recently had the chance to spend an hour and a half of my time watching the free-to-view National Geographic documentary.

It opens with a DiCaprio narration describing Hieronymus Bosch’s painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights.” Throughout the course of the film, DiCaprio looks back at the painting that he has known since he was a child and uses it to help himself comprehend the direness of climate change. With a Christian influence, the painting illustrates three phases of humanity, a paradise before sin, the current world we live in and the ugly, disastrous future.

In the documentary, DiCaprio cuts in and out between himself as the narration talking about the painting’s relevance and the reality of the effects climate change has had on different parts of the world.

There are other moments in which he meets with various people who have connections to climate change, either because they are leading

efforts to combat it or because they represent the people who have suffered the consequences of it.

It seemed weird to me that DiCaprio was making this movie, and, to a degree, it still is. But as mentioned in the movie, DiCaprio is a United Nations Messenger

of Peace with a “special focus on climate change,” which gives him some authority as a contributor to the endeavors to reduce and prevent further problems within Earth’s environmental systems. Because of his role as Messenger, in the movie he is shown speaking at the UN

Paris Climate Change Conference last December.

While he commends the resolutions and agreements made at the conference, DiCaprio worries that even if every country involved fulfills their promises, there will still be more to do. Climate change is

My recent obsession with “Westworld” got me thinking about what sets apart a good ALEJANDRO CARDONA t e l e v i s ion A&E WRITER show from a show that will turn audiences into an obsessive horde. Of course, some basic elements must be accounted for, such as interesting stories, performances, and visuals. But beyond these essential ingredients, there is some secret sauce fantasy that might shed some light on to how modern television addresses our anxieties as a means to keep us engaged.

There has been a rise in the number of dystopian novels, TV shows and films over the past couple of years.

In film, “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent,” “The Maze Runner,” and “Mad Max” are notable examples, while television boasts of “The Walking Dead” (with all its imitators) and the comedic “The Last Man on Earth.”

Dystopian or post-apocalyptic narratives begin long after the collapse of society, and often present us a world where rules are simple and tribalistic in nature. “The Walking Dead,” for instance, often features characters faced with profound moral dilemmas, which they have to resolve without the help of society and laws. These kinds of narratives also play on apocalyptic anxieties, by having mankind itself be at risk every step along the way.

“Game of Thrones” and “Westworld” can also be classified as dystopian worlds. “Game of Thrones” debunks the idea of a romantic knight’s tale, and “Westworld” isn’t shy about showing how gritty and dangerous the idyllic wild west would really be — or how nasty its “heroes” can be.

To that effect, Charlie Jane Anders of online sci-fi mag “io9” writes “Game of Thrones captures the real anxiety at the root of our apocalyptic fascination — the sense that disaster is coming closer at an almost imperceptible rate, and we can never really know when it will arrive.” In a similar vein, magical

realism has come to the foreground within shows like “Stranger Things” and arguably, “Game of Thrones.”

Although magical realism refers to a very specific style of Latin American literature of the 20th century, for our purposes we will use the term to describe a series which focuses on the realism of its context to explore human reactions to extraordinary situations — while peppering in fantastic elements.

Whether the context is 1980’s Indiana or the fictional middle-ages Westeros, audiences and critics have celebrated “Stranger Things” and “Game of Thrones” for their realistic, uncensored portrayals of what it was like to grow up in the 80’s or what it was like to live (we assume) in the middle ages. All this to radically suspend our disbelief and get thrills from seeing a kid be trapped in a different dimension or see a princess ride dragons into battle.

It’s a blatant double standard, and one rooted in a sort of skepticism of fantasy and science fiction. It seems as if we can only enjoy “nonrealistic” elements when they are snuck into the show inside a Trojan

horse built from horrific drama and dead protagonists.

Both dystopian and postapocalyptic narratives offer an escapist satisfaction to the rising levels of anxiety in modern society.

Whether it is based on reality or not, multiple studies allude to increased levels of anxiety and suicide rates, and a growing belief that things are generally worse than they used to be, and ought to be “made great again.”

On one hand, dystopias can help us cope by offering a reality so bleak that our problems seems small by comparison. On the other hand, the rise of magical-realist and apocalyptic narratives both reveal a desire for simplicity — for an erasure of the social norms and regulations that repress and bind us. They offer escapist, impossible solutions, since many of Rick Grimes’ problems can be solved by shooting enough zombies in the head, and all is well whenever Daenerys scorches the earth on which her enemies once stood.

This, of course, is only a part of the equation. It’s impossible to ever address what makes a media

graphic by TYLER HERRON

presented in the film, as it usually, as connected to energy use. According to DiCaprio (and presumably his sources), the main underlying problem is that fossil fuels are emitting higher amounts of carbon dioxide into Earth’s systems than recent years have seen (relative to the age of the Earth).

One of the best solutions to solving this issue, according to the documentary, is to impose a carbon tax so that the use of fossil fuels decrease in light of higher costs, effectively increasing investments and uses of cleaner energy sources.

Yet, this raises another issue, that unfortunately inefficient process which is the law-making process.

With people and businesses like the Koch brothers to lobby and fund representatives, it is almost impossible for the evidence supporting climate change to move politicians in a common direction for any real change.

As an Arts and Entertainment writer, documentaries like “Before the Flood” are the only ways I have to discussing climate change.

So I can’t delve into the policies countries have set on climate change or the relationships governments have with the fossil fuel industry.

Still, DiCaprio’s film, though it may not be the most critically acclaimed work, brings about questions of international concern to everyone’s attention, if only slightly to remind them of how big a deal climate change is.

Dystopian anxiety, or how I learned to stop worrying and love magical realism

product resonate as profoundly with its audience as these shows and films have. The ultimate point is not to create a cooking recipe for the next hit show, but to learn what our viewing habits tell us about ourselves. The next step would be to figure out what’s bothering us so much that we’d rather have zombies at our doorstep than face our current situation. Because that’s when you know things are bad.

What exactly IS a dystopian future?

-translated as “notgood-place” from its original Greek, a dystopia is a (usually) fictional world based on some part of our real world that shows how bad things could get.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

17

Food shaming and the dangers of judgmental corporatism infiltrating our nutritional choices No one should actually care if you order the seven cheese pasta sandwich.

We live in a world where the decision of what to eat becomes much more than a EMILY PETER simple question of A&E WRITER how one is going to get the nutrients they need to survive. This is great because there are many options to explore, whether it be through preparing the food yourself or having someone else prepare it for you. However, the pressure to conform to the societal image of physical attractiveness, standardized as a range from thin to fit, is pervasive in the world of food and how people choose to consume it. This seems like enough of a nuisance, but you may also be foodshamed.

What is food-shaming you may ask? Even if you have not consciously acknowledged being food-shamed (or food-shaming), you have most likely encountered (or committed) the act. Food-shaming is the act of judging someone by commenting negatively, whether explicitly or implicitly, on their food choices.

Whether it be intentional or not, it is often detrimental to the receiver.

Asking someone “Should you really be eating that?” when you are not a dietitian looking out for the other person’s best interests can be harmful to a person’s health and self-image.

These kinds of comments may shame the person into questioning their choices, often to the point of reflecting on their body image.

They may also be seen as just unwanted and

graphic by TYLER HERRON

judgmental, and the receiver may simply ignore the comment. Although these situations may seem trivial, food-shaming itself permeates through society on different levels.

First, food-shaming is a culturally ingrained phenomenon. Assuming you have ever been in a supermarket, you have probably noticed the variety of products trying to convey that they are “healthier,” or have fewer carbs and fewer fats than their competitors’ options.

This is an acceptable, commonly used practice.

However, some companies have approached marketing their products with a unsettling language: branding their item as “skinny.”

There is “skinny” popcorn, scones, ice cream and even bread.

Companies are jumping on the foodshaming bandwagon, focusing in on a term that is highly body-centric. Although most people don’t put too much faith in a product marketed to make them “skinny,” the buzzword does create a chain reaction. These companies

are making money off of people’s insecurities.

They are attempting to food-shame consumers by saying, “This product will make you skinny so you should buy it.”

This language creates a society concerned with nutrition facts for it’s effect on their own weight, not their health. Food-shaming can be under the guise of promoting a healthy lifestyle when it comes to marketing or even advice from a friend. Clothing, makeup and various other brands take advantage of insecurities, and it’s a shame that something so necessary as food is thrown into the bodyshaming equation.

In many cases, the type of food-shaming mentioned above is hard to avoid or confront.

The last type of food-shaming, food-shaming as bullying, may be a little easier to spot. This is the most basic form of the act, literally shaming someone for the food they decide to eat or not eat. Looking back at the standard, the “Should you really be eating that?” question, it is almost never the inquisitor’s place to derive an answer. One could easily live a healthy lifestyle while still giving in to certain cravings. Passing explicit judgment on someone or even pointing out the one person who orders a pasta dish instead of a salad with the dressing on the side is spreading bodycentric culture.

If you are being food-shamed, it is not petty or pointless to call for it to stop. If you are a foodshamer, just know that you are contributing to a cycle of negativity that is propagated and has been deemed the norm. As James Beard once said, “Food is our common ground, a universal experience”. And by extension, it should be a universally positive experience for us all.

Sports

Trinity Soccer Update NOV.

18

The men’s and women’s soccer teams are moving on to the next round of the Division III playoffs.

This past weekend, here at Trinity, the men defeated Whitworth University 3-0 and Chapman University 2-0, both victories coming in convincing fashion. Playing in Bloomington, Illinois, the women’s team received a bit more of a challenge, but emerged with solid wins. They defeated Mount Union University 2-1, and Hanover University 3-1. While the men will be traveling to participate in the next round vs. Kenyon University, the women are at home this Saturday, playing Penn St. Berks University at 11 am. Go Tigers!

Women’s basketball wins opener Volleyball Tigers jump out to 42-25 halftime lead, roll to 72-53 victory versus McMurry

Season ends at regionals

BY HALEY McFADDEN

SPORTS REPORTER

(Above) Senior Monica Holguin goes for a lay up.

(Top right) First year Abby Holland advances across the court.

(Bottom right) Junior forward Kate Irvin hoists a left-handed shot from in front of the basket.

Photos by OZVALDO VELOZ

BY CHRIS GARCIA

SPORTS REPORTER

The hard work is paying off so far. Following a long offseason, the Tigers entered the season with high spirits and a new team motto: “Together Tigers.” During their first game of the season this past Tuesday night at Sam’s Gym, they smoked McMurray University 7253. They started the game hot, outscoring the Warhawks 42-25 and entering halftime poised and confident.

The offensive output did not slow in the second half, but McMurray came out with a chip on their shoulder and fought hard. The game’s intensity took a step up in the second half, as an extra push of effort seemed to be built into each possession. Although the Tiger lead would extend to almost 20 points as time grew short, the level of focus from both squads did not waver. Head Coach Cameron Hill and his team were able to maintain focus for the entire game.

“We have very competitive practices every sngle day and the enthusiasm for playing is high always. I think it’s great. You find yourself in a situation like this as a coach and you’re always proud that your girls are able to get control of the game. We were also able to give a chance to other girls to get experience. Later on in the season that is going to become valuable.

You never know what is going to happen later on in the season,” Hill said.

Simply put, the Tigers were able to execute.

They capitalized off the Warhawks’ mistakes and turnovers, and the lead continued to grow steadily until the final buzzer. Defensively, the Tigers played aggressively, racking up steals and applying pressure. One of the key players in this first home win was preseason All-American Monica Holguin. She scored 17 points and had 3 assists, leading the team in both categories.

“It was a great first win. It’s always exciting to see that what you work on during practice is effective in games. Everyone on the team was

excited and ready to play, and that’s the kind of mentality that we need moving forward.

When the whole team locks in and we play as a unit, it’s hard not to have a good individual performance,” Holguin said.

Regardless of the big win, Assistant Coach Joe Shotland believes there is always something to improve on.

“Well, we shot 18 of 30 from the line, so we can always improve there. We were pretty good in the first half limiting turnovers, but we got a little sloppy in the second half. We finished with 19 [turnovers] and we always want to keep it under 15. The good news is we won, but there is a ton of stuff to work on,” Shotland sai.

Opening the season with a win is ideal, but the season is long and it’s good to have a measured response like Shotland’s. The Tigers will continue the season on Nov. 20 at home vs. LeTourneau.

The Trinity University volleyball team has wrapped up another successful season. Among other victories, the team came away with a SCAC championship, their 18th overall and third in the last four years, beating nationally ranked teams such as No. 6 Colorado College and No. 5 Southwestern University.

The women started off their season strong, going up against multiple nationally ranked teams and sweeping tournaments like the Trinity Fall Classic, in which the girls finished with four 3 to 0 sweeps. Despite having a relatively young team, the girls felt improved compared to years past.

“I think a huge improvement from years past was balanced scoring. We had players in every position contributing to the team’s kills versus relying solely on one or two players,” said senior setter Erika Edrington.

Going forward in the season, the girls split matches at the University of WisconsinOshkosh invitational, narrowly losing 3-2 to No. 12 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The girls then took second at the Trinity National Invitational behind Univeristy of Massachusetts at Boston.

The volleyball team peaked at the SCAC championship, where the girls swept through the competition leading up to their final match against No. 5 Southwestern University. The girls started the game off with a tight loss in the first set, and after closing a five-point gap midgame, Southwestern won 25 to 18.

In the second match, the Tiger’s made their comeback. The team started off down 16-13, but came back strong to win the set 25-23.

After that set, the girls continued the streak, winning their third set 25-14, and their fourth set 25-20.

After their SCAC championship, the girls traveled up to UT Dallas for the NCAA Division III Regional matches. Their first match was against Hendrix College, where the Tigers came away with a 3-1 loss. The Tiger’s lost their first set 25-21, but came back fighting the second set, winning 25-18. However, Hendrix College came back stronger the final two sets, taking the win with a hard-fought 25-15 third set, and a 25-22 fourth set.

Despite the loss, the team had an overall successful season. The Tigers feel they have met many of their goals, and that there is a lot to be proud of.

“Our main goal this year was to win a SCAC championship which we did accomplish. Of course, a goal for us was to win regionals as well, but I think regardless of what happened there we have a lot to be proud of. We had a successful season,” said junior Rebecca Hayes.

Aside from just team accomplishments, the girls had many strong individuals. Head coach Julie Jenkins was chosen as SCAC cocoach of the year. Four girls received all-SCAC honors, including senior Erika Edrington and juniors Madeline McKay, Kirby Smith and Rebecca Hayes. The success of the individual players, especially that of the juniors who will be returning for next season, leaves the team hopeful and excited about seasons to come.

“I think since we will have our whole team back except Erika, who we will miss, we have a great shot at going further in the tournament than we did this year. We will focus on being an even better team than we were this year. We will have lots of experience. And I think everyone is looking forward to winning another conference championship, which is the plan,” said Smith.

s

SPORTS • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

19

Learning sport as a second language

BY ELISE HESTER

of the school as a two-sport athlete receiving the Live On 11 scholarship. It was through these circumstances my calling was revealed to me.

In regard to sport videography, I am talented, I am passionate and I don’t know crap. I learn every day through writing for the sports section, taking sport management classes, making videos for Trinity and simply hanging out with athletes. Part of why I am learning

at such a fast pace is because I have years for which to make up.

I have roller skated since age six, and skating is now as natural as walking. Understanding sport is the same way. Patterns are formed in the mind, just like a new language, becoming second nature over time. Sport natives take for granted the fluency given to them by watching and playing from an early age and often expect the same fluency from outsiders. However, to

an outsider even a simple aspect of a relatively simple sport can be convoluted. For instance: “When a player is fouled — assuming you understand fouls — two shots are taken from 15 feet back, all alone. You earn one point for each shot. Some baskets are two but outside of the rainbow-shaped line they’re worth three.”

Confusing right?

I will soon be able to pass as a sport native but sport will always be my second language. I have experienced my time on centerstage and in centerfield, but those places are not where I belong. Through telling other people’s stories I am able to manage my own selfishness. It is hard giving up the spotlight, but I am not the star anymore. I am the telescope. That is a terrible metaphor.

I do not love sport despite the pain it caused, I love sport because of the beautiful — and often painful — way it shaped my life. Every laugh and taunt, every night spent crying myself to sleep, developed my character just as gold refined through fire — better metaphor, not original. I have been blessed with challenges that gave me compassion, perseverance, a thick skin and a quick wit.

I am unafraid to discover, grow and become — shout out to university marketing — but part of me will always be an outsider. No matter how integrated I become in the world of sport, I will never lose my accent because I speak sport as a second language.

find it sort of odd. Not odd like the number seven, or your eccentric but loveable Aunt Kelli. Odd like the kid who doesn’t like tacos.

Nonsensical. Misguided. Do you understand that in the real world people like you should no longer exist? There’s NFL to be watched, and classes to be aced. Pickup soccer on the IM fields and resumes to be polished. It follows then that those who stick with disc golf through the confused double-takes (you mean Ultimate Frisbee?), and frustrated looks from elderly couples taking their evening stroll, are of a particularly abnormal variety.

And we trek on. I returned from Argentina on a Saturday evening in late July. The summer heat in south Texas is legendary, and generally speaking, one spends as little time as possible outside between noon and 1800 hours. The older I’ve gotten, the more I abide by this norm when I return home during the warmest season. But my love had been missed — Buenos Aires didn’t even have outdoor basketball courts (that’s not true, they had basketball courts; however, they’d been transformed into makeshift soccer grounds), much less disc golf parks. So that Monday, me and my brother Russell packed up our sizeable collection of discs, and drove thirty minutes out to West Guth park, stopping along the way at Valero to purchase an oversized bag of sunflower seeds and Powerade.

West Guth is comparatively a large park, with wide, open spaces, red tees that mark the regulated course and blue tees that mark “ladies’ tees.” Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a lady play disc golf unless she’s with a dude who is either loved very much by this girl, or trying to get creative with an early-on date. Anyways, the “ladies tees” are mostly used by small children or newcomers to the game. On our way to the first tee, Russell and I are stopped by a bearded fellow with a backwards Yankees hat. He asks if we know the course, him being from out of town and never having heard of West Guth until he checked UDisc earlier today.

Awkwardly, because we’re socially goofy when unsuspectingly engaged in conversation, we inform him that yes, we do know the course. Less goofy disc golfers would’ve

immediately invited a lone, itinerant disc golfer to accompany them, but we didn’t.

We stood stiffly, waiting for him to make the inevitable next conversational move.

“Y’all mind if I chuck with y’all?”

“For sure man, let’s do it,” I reply, relieved.

The next two hours are spent under the sweltering Corpus Christi sun, pale skin steadily baking, teeth steadily chewing, shit steadily shot.

The bearded dude is from Odessa, a 30ish year old salesman named Houston. He’s shorter and somewhat chubby, to the naked eye not nearly as athletic as my brother and me. But he’s a true disc golfer. He, carrying twice as many discs as us, of beautiful makes and models. He’s got a stereo built in to his backpack, playing easy, alternative rock. He chain smokes Marlboro Lights, and towards the middle of the course offers us some ganja (we politely decline).

West Guth is quite the hike, and shade is sparse, meaning golfers with booming arms don’t have to worry about throwing through the trees, but more technical players with mediocre arm strength do, indeed, have to put mustard on their drives.

The course is notoriously windy, however, and over-mustared drives are more likely to succumb to bursts of rising wind, leaving the disc literally hung out to dry and probably taking a swift and painful nose dive fifty feet sooner than you’d originally hoped. You need a smooth, seasoned motion to execute a quality distant drive in these conditions. Houston is very good at this.

Russell and I are solid players, ever improving. In many ways, we are striving towards Houston’s current level. Throughout the hike, he throws out unsolicited but much appreciated and keenly listened to advice on getting extra yardage in your throw, banging home long putts and beating the heat (despite his girth and hairy face, he hardly sweats, and doesn’t show much fatigue compared to us.) On the back nine, I lose a driver in an impressive tree (sometimes I wonder if the park creators and disc-crafting corporations are in cahoots, putting tiny but powerful magnets in the discs and strategically placing magnets

in select trees, increasing discnappings by seemingly harmless trees and also increasing demand for discs). We search for the lost disc.

Houston doesn’t appear restless; it is clear he has lost his fair share of discs and wants nothing more than to prevent this discing tragedy from befalling a fellow chucker. When Russell tells him the two of us are brothers, he smiles for the only time that day. “I used to play with my brother too, man. Those were the days.”

We finish the last hole, the three of us not cognizant of our final score totals, those numbers lost in the mess of narrowed focus, pure enjoyment and heat. Houston had the best score, handily, but somehow that didn’t matter. Although conversation usually flows organically once ex-stranger disc golfers take the course, a conventional goodbye seems forced. You know you’ll never see them again, and you know that’s not significant, the course was fun while it lasted.

I manage a weak-willed, “Thanks for teaching us a thing or two.” (Immediately I question my upbringing. A thing or two?)

Houston grunts. “I’m not sure I taught y’all anything really.”

And that’s it.

Unrefined humility is rare, but it’s one of the interesting parts of the disc golf culture. The sport brings it out its participants, whether or not they realize it. Houston doesn’t pressure himself to dramatically improve each time he plays; I’m not determined to out-putt Russell or die trying, etc. There’s something special to it. My own high school experience with basketball and baseball, and the sense the audience receives from athletes at all levels, is that playing the game is about victory — joy at the expense of your opponent’s dismay. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that mindset in healthy doses. In many ways it’s built into our goal-achievement culture. But there’s something special about a game not preoccupied with competition with others, but union with others in a quest for selfimprovement, pure enjoyment and, well … fun.

SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR There are ten qualities that make a great athlete. I have three: dedication, passion and stamina. Despite lacking the seven other qualities — agility, aggression, coordination, focus, speed, strength and strategy — my calling is sport videography. I love sport, but have not always. At a young age, sport was the medium through which my greatest insecurities were learned. I was afraid to blame people for their mistreatment of me, so instead I blamed sport since it was the environment in which the incidents occurred. For five years I carried an unspoken bitterness towards sport until the day I chose to forgive. The act of forgiveness was a turning point.

My senior year of high school was another turning point. I began making videos that August and slowly fell in love with videography as I also fell for sport. The two were intertwined from the beginning. That year I ended up playing softball and boys’ soccer, so the teams could have enough players to compete. It was also that year on Christmas Eve a former classmate and talented athlete, Lane Smith, was killed in a car crash. His parents established a scholarship in his memory for which applicants must have played two sport their senior year.

I started the school year with no intention to play any sport and no knowledge that our community would suffer such a devastating tragedy, but ten months later I stood in front

ELISE HESTER has discovered a passion for sports videography.

Why disc golf is the special something

BY MARKHAM SIGLER

SPORTS EDITOR

Soon, some of you upperclassmen will leave to travel abroad. It’s a great time. You’ll learn a lot about yourself and the people you share the world with. It won’t all be roses and blissful drunken nights — it’s only natural to miss some parts of home that cannot translate into another culture. It may be a significant other, or your family. Maybe you’ll miss Whataburger, English or the ability to walk around your home freely, with only boxers and no shame cast from your host parents.

Everyone longs for that special something that only home has.

I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a decent amount of time abroad in the past year. During the fall semester of 2015 I lived in Beijing, and this past summer I spent two months in Buenos Aires. I lit up whenever my friends and I discussed my special something in Beijing, and I still remember enjoying this special something the morning preceding my afternoon flight to Argentina at the end of May. You see, my special something is disc golf.

It’s a cultish game. Cultish because those who experience it fully feel they have finally discovered a pure love. A relationship, which, if treated patiently and gently, yet studiously and with a level of sacrifice that is not insignificant, is an endless reward. True freedom, of course, cannot be achieved without true sacrifice.

As one author notes, “The truth will set you free. But not until it has its way with you.”

The best disc hurlers have been through the most painful fires—they’ve short armed key approach shots; lost beloved discs to the deep, dark and unforgiving forest; watched with hardly-contained horror as a beginning friend, unaware of the difference between Innova and Discraft, sinks a 25 footer on the first putt of their life. Yet in the end, these past trials are made mute. Glory waits with open arms, overjoyed you have made it to the promised land. Become a true disc golfer. I’m not there yet, but I know if I stay the path I will find it.

It’s cultish because those who don’t know it

20

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 18, 2016 •

ADVERTISEMENT

The Quarry Golf Club Restaurant and Patio Now open from 6:30am-8pm Live Music on Friday Nights Draft Beers - Frozen Margaritas - Dos A Ritas Trinity Student Twilight Golf Rates Coming Soon!