02.03.2017

Trinitonian Black Student Union 15 members of BSU travel to College Station for leadership convention.

Underground Art

Back on the field

O-Rec trip leads to senior artist’s exploration of underground graffiti.

Reigning national champions return to the field for another season.

PAGE 8 PULSE

PAGE 12 A&E

Serving Trinity University Since 1902

Volume 114 Issue 17

PAGE 13 SPORTS

FEBRUARY 03, 2017

Trinity community reacts Seize the deck Trinity English professor looks to Trump’s Muslim ban

Students write letters of encouragement to members of San Antonio’s Muslim community

back on his youth and reminds us that time is a fickle thing

BY DAVID RANDO

FACULTY COLUMNIST

Assistant Professor, SIMRAN SINGH (left), speaks with students while hosting an event encouraging Trinity community member to write cards to members of San Antonio’s Muslim community. photo by DANIEL CONRAD

BY ALEXANDRA URI

MANAGING EDITOR Shock, confusion and disbelief.

These were the general reactions of Trinity students to President Donald Trump’s executive order halting immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries including Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

The executive order came after Trump ran a campaign charged with anti-Islam rhetoric.

“I felt like it just exploded. I felt like all of the things that we’ve been talking about and all of the people that have been arguing and all of the things that have been yelled and said just came to a head in one moment,” said Adam Syed, a senior music major.

Amidst the shock, students like Gabrielle Racz, an undeclared junior, expressed disbelief at the new president’s actions.

“It doesn’t make any sense.

The whole idea of it seems super backwards and you wouldn’t expect it to be anything that enough people would approve for it to be allowed,” Racz said.

Yara Samman, a junior biology major, who immigrated from Syria, echoed Racz’s sentiments.

“Honestly it was a lot of shock.

When I came to this country I had a feeling of being very comfortable and very safe and all of a sudden we’re not welcome anymore. And it’s not just that we’re not welcome anymore.

A lot of my family can’t leave the country now because they

wouldn’t be able to come back into the country because they’re either on student visas or [they have] asylum status. This affects us all and it’s been very hard,” Samman said.

The executive order has left several students worried for their safety on campus. Samy Abdallah, a junior history major, said that his mother expressed concerns about him attending mosque, especially after the shooting of six Muslims who were worshiping in a mosque in Quebec.

“I was worried because I can’t imagine that happening to anyone I know and love. An hour after it happened my mother called me and she told me she doesn’t want me to go to mosques off of campus to perform Friday prayer, the Jumu’ah, which is arguably one of the most important prayer for any Muslim to do. It’s honestly ridiculous that I’m afraid to go to my place of worship and practice my religion. I don’t imagine any of my close Christian, white friends are really afraid to go to church or Mass or anything along those lines,” Abdallah said.

Syed’s mother also expressed concern about her Muslim son’s physical safety.

“My mom told me to shave my beard. She told me to go clean shaven. She said it’s just too much, it’s too crazy right now,” Syed said.

However, amidst the Muslim community’s fear for the future; there is some hope.

On Wednesday, Simran Singh, assistant professor of religion, hosted an event for members of the Trinity community to write cards of encouragement to members of San Antonio’s Muslim community to show them that they are not alone.

“I have two points and they’re basically at tension with one another. One is that there is real animosity against Muslims in this country right now and people are acting on those feelings and they should take them very seriously and they should be very careful. The second is that there is incredible empathy for those who are most vulnerable right now. There is a lot of support on campus for Muslim communities and [the cards] shows this,” professor Singh said.

Syed said that the card-signing event was indicative of the Trinity community’s spirit.

“I think this is amazing, the cards of encouragement that Trinity students, random Trinity students, came up and wrote and they’re going to be sent to mosques all around San Antonio.

I am continuously astonished and thankful and amazed and inspired by all of the support that Muslim students and Muslims in general have been getting here at Trinity’s campus. There are occasional people that you run into that may feel differently, but overall it’s been an overwhelmingly positive atmosphere of acceptance that I’ve felt,” Syed said.

My astronomy professor once turned our classroom lights off and slowly moved a laser pointer (a technological novelty in those horse-drawn carriage days) from left to right across the dark wall.

The red dot represented the present as it advances into the future. The idea, I think, was like a cosmic Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour: everyone alive right now just happens to be together on board that little floating dot. Behind and ahead is vast darkness. We are cosmic eyeblinks. I recognized this idea again a few years later, when The Flaming Lips sang, “Do you realize we’re floating in space?” and “Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die?” proving, I guess, that I pretty much could have skipped astronomy class (I kid! I kid!).

These things struck a nerve in me. When I was younger, I used to wonder whether more time in the universe had elapsed before I was born, or whether more time would elapse after I died. I was a weird kid. But mostly when I was

young, I burned with romantic ambitions to do and to make things. Mostly these things had to do with making art, but I suppose it is much the same for young people fascinated by science, politics, computers, business, sports and so on. I was so filled with these desires that sometimes it amazed me that people next to me on the bus couldn’t feel it radiating from me or that I wasn’t arrested for the fearful insurgency that my body felt barely able to contain.

Perhaps that’s another way of saying that I felt guilty about these feelings. Because the funny thing was that for all this ambition, rarely did I do anything to realize my dreams. Years later, I had another moment of recognition when I read the philosopher Bloch, who observes how easy it is for the young to talk about creating, but how hard it is for the young to create. And that’s the question I really want to address: why is it so difficult for some of us to do the things we want to do when we are young, even when we seem to have world enough and time to do them?

Continued on page 6

David Cameron visits Trinity campus Politics and public affair lecture series brings former British Prime Minister to speak to community

BY JEFFREY SULLIVAN

NEWS EDITOR Former British Prime Minister David Cameron addressed a crowded Laurie Auditorium on Tuesday as a part of the Flora Cameron Lecture on Politics and Public Affairs. Hours before, Cameron held a Q&A session in Northrup Hall attended by select political science, history and international studies students.

Cameron won two elections to serve as Prime Minister between the years 2010 to 2016. Last year he called a referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom would remain in the European Union, and Cameron resigned after the results showed Britain would

leave the Union. “As a believer in democracy, I will never regret asking the British people to take the sovereign decision about one of the biggest questions we face as a county,” Cameron said during the lecture in Laurie Auditorium.

As a part of the lecture series, visitors field questions asked by students on pertinent issues and experiences they may have had while in office.

“These leaders meet with groups of students providing them with the opportunity to ask direct questions of individuals who’ve experienced first hand, and often wrestled with, some of the modern world’s most challenging questions,” said Trinity University President Danny Anderson.

Continued on page 2

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 03, 2017

BRIEFS SGA On Monday SGA heard funding requests from O-Rec, Trinity Theatre Department, Alpha Kappa Psi and Tigers for Liberty. Funding request hearings will continue next week.

TUPD 01/30/2017 2:21 p.m.

Location: Dick & Peggy Prassel Residence Hall Offenses Against Property: Theft Compiled by Jeffery Sullivan

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• NEWS

David Cameron visits campus continued from Front The session opened with a question asked by political science professor Peter O’Brien on current populist trends. Other questions revolved around democratic political philosophy, the growth and meaning of nationalism, whether the E.U. is becoming a more centralized state, Scottish nationalism, NATO presence on the border of Latvia, European political culture, ISIS, Cameron’s total departure from Parliament, possibilities for other European countries leaving the Union and the United States as the world’s police force and the relationship between the U.K. and China.

No cell phones, recording devices or cameras were allowed inside the room. Students were permitted to bring notepads and pencils, allowing them to take as many notes as they pleased.

Cameron discussed how the parallels between Brexit and Trump were attributable to certain economic hardships mixed with imigration and multicultural policies. Yet he believed that those trends shouldn’t be so quickly misinterpreted as nationalism, a description that’s been turned into a pejorative, misrepresenting the values of some of British people hold for the nation state.

Cameron was particularly intrigued by a question on European centralization.

He predicted that Europe would become more centralized in the future due to the influence of Germany, France and Italy.

This caused tension between some of the European countries, particularly Britain

since it had different historical influences that made a centralized state far less attractive for its interests.

When asked about NATO forces building up on the Eastern border of Europe and Russia, Cameron stated he supported Trump when he said that Europe needed to pay a fairer share of its dues for the alliance.

European culture won’t change drastically and will maintain its traditional liberal democratic approach with like social welfare. The only difference, according to Cameron, would come if the hard right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen wins the 2017 election. He does not believe that the borderline racist candidate will win.

Cameron described the greatest regret of his Prime Ministership was losing a vote in parliament to enact more military intervention in Syria after the government crossed the infamous “red line” by using Chemical Weapons.

In a humbled and seemingly open tone, Cameron described his sadness at the early conclusion of his political career. However, he wasn’t referring to the end of his Prime Ministership but rather his departure from the back row of Parliament. He described the conundrum that would ensue pursuing a presence in the hall as a former Prime Minister. Voicing positive opinions would translate as slavish adherence to party rhetoric, negative opinions as vicious rhetoric and silence as a giant sulk. He stated that he would work to assure that the Conservative party doesn’t slip back to practices it engaged in before his ascension to power.

Paige Brown, a senior Chinese and international studies student, asked the last question related to the UK’s relationship to China. He described the relationship as extremely strong, with China calling the UK its best partner.

“I was really nervous and I don’t really remember exactly what I said,” Brown said in reference to the question she asked Cameron. “Before going in I Skyped with my parents, who live in Scotland right now, and asked if they had any interesting question to ask. They just wanted to know what he thought about Donald Trump being president, which was the first question he was asked anyway. After that I just restored to the topic I was familiar with”.

Cameron responded to most students who raised their hands to ask questions.

Despite the diversity in topic, some felt that they could have furtherd the scope.

“I hoped for questions that were a little bit more probing in the Q&A,” said Solomon Umana, a senior international studies and political science student.

“It would have been nice to hear about some of his other foreign and domestic achievements. I was surprised at his candor. I was surprised that he didn’t seem to be talking down to the people.

It was an actual conversation we were having, which I appreciated.”

The event lasted nearly an hour and concluded with Cameron being whisked through the bottom exit of the Northrup room, surrounded by advisors and his secret security team.

“He’s one of the leaders of the free world, if you want to say that,” Umana said. “It’s a really rare opportunity.”

Sports.............................. 13-15

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NEWS • FEBRUARY 03, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Stumberg students and faculty reflect on post-competition work and advancement Trinity founded startups Country Club Organization and The Contemporary are only two to grow and consider prospects outside of the University

BY DANIEL CONRAD

NEWS REPORTER

Finalists of last year’s Louis H. Stumberg Venture Competition, a program of Trinity’s entrepreneurship department, continue to expand their organizations in new ways. Representatives from the department, The Contemporary and The Country Club Collection offer their reflections on the contest’s value.

The Louis H. Stumberg Venture Competition, run through the entrepreneurship department, is open to Trinity students and alumni within one year of graduation. Each spring, students of any major are invited to pitch business ideas — for-profit and non-profit alike — for a shot at being one of five finalists who are awarded $5,000 and the opportunity to work on their business during a 10-week summer accelerator program led by the entrepreneurship department. The program includes a curriculum tailored to teaching students how to build a successful business. During the fall, the spring finalists compete for a $25,000 grand prize.

In an interview conducted via email, Danny Oh, CEO of last year’s grand-prize-winning Country Club Collection online golf apparel store, said the competition was a boon to his company.

“It has provided me an opportunity to pursue my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and business person,” Oh said.

“The plethora of knowledge and education the program has provided me, is one of numerous examples of how Trinity is such a top-tier institution.”

Oh noted that the prize helped the Country Club Collection expand in new directions.

“We are scaling and expanding our operations with more country clubs and manufacturers,” Oh said.

The Country Club Collection was one of five finalists chosen in 2016. Benjamin Collinger, a sophomore history and international studies double major, was another finalist. Collinger is the founder and editor-in-chief of “The Contemporary,” a publication that was originally envisioned as a political science journal made by and for Trinity students.

“We decided to enter the Stumberg competition after realizing that The Contemporary is something we could

3

extend to other campuses across the country,” Collinger said.

“We thought there was a really big gap in the way that students engage with public affairs across college campuses. We saw an opening to make a more unified version of a publication that can reflect the vision of students across the country.”

Collinger praised the Stumberg competition and urges more students to consider integrating their studies with entrepreneurial principles.

“I think the Stumberg competition and the entrepreneurial mindset is really great for any organization that has any type of aspiration [to] grow outside of Trinity,” Collinger said.

“Whether it’s discovering new customers, figuring out what works, finding mentors — those are all things that only entrepreneurship can provide to people. People throw around ‘interdisciplinary’ a lot, but I really do think that having humanities people, business people and STEM people all together doing entrepreneurship is a really valuable creative collision. More people should consider it as a part of their Trinity experience.”

Four of last year’s five finalists participated in the summer accelerator program, putting their $5,000 to use and receiving advice from entrepreneurship experts.

“We had $5,000 to develop the business, which was very important in allowing us to continue to expand through the website, paying different people for advice, and other regular infrastructure things, including filing as a non-profit,” Collinger said. “Dr. [Luis] Martinez and the entrepreneurship department at large was able to connect us with a lot of different leaders in industry and business, whether that’s through Geekdom, Startup Grind, the San Antonio Entrepreneurship Center. All these resources [are ones that] the department pushed out to us, made sure that we were aware of, and asked us to take advantage of. That’s something a regular organization doesn’t get.”

Though “The Contemporary” wasn’t awarded the grand prize money, Collinger reports that the publication is advancing strongly.

“We’ve had the opportunity to connect with people at, so far, 11 campuses across the country,” Collinger said. “We’re adding people to our staff and we’ve just filed as a non-profit corporation in Texas, which means that we’ll be able to start receiving donations from individuals who want to support our cause and continue to make public affairs discourse better on college campuses.”

Luis Martinez, director of the entrepreneurship department, offers insight on how the other finalists are doing. He notes that Cloud Therapy’s CEO is working with IBM’s Watson and two major pharmaceutical companies specializing in child disease.

“That’s a real impact. GLO [Good Looking Out, a safety app] is in the process of putting their beta in global circulation,” Martinez said. “The Country Club Collection … is generating revenue every month; one of the things that impressed the judges is that they’re one of the companies that has been generating revenue since they started.”

Martinez that the summer accelerator program is akin to undergraduate research for students in the entrepreneurship program.

“Just like our colleagues do research in the sciences or scholarship in the humanities, in entrepreneurship, students are building their businesses.”

Martinez also pointed out that every Stumberg finalist that participated in the summer accelerator program has stayed in business. He explains the program’s benefits.

“With the exception of Cloud Therapy, which is run by an alum, the other teams spent the summer with us working on filing their paperwork, establishing their corporate bylaws, developing their operating agreements, figuring out who their customers were, figuring out what their minimum viable product would be and building their business,” Martinez said.

Because Stumberg finalists and grand prize winners serve clientele outside of Trinity University, students may not see the companies’ impact, but Martinez assures: “Here in entrepreneurship, if you’re committed to building something for real, we’ll help you build it,” Martinez said. “[The finalists] all have real customers and real sales.”

Martinez says that participation in the Stumberg competition is a great way for students to prepare for other venture competitions run out of the University of Maryland, Rice University, Washington University in St. Louis, Texas Christian University, and other top schools.

But there are several features of Trinity’s competition that set it apart from others.

“You, as a student, own your company 100 percent. Trinity doesn’t own any equity in your company when you win money from us. Students get to own all of the intellectual property that’s generated in their company; that’s something that’s unique to our competition, that other competitions don’t have. … We’re giving you $30,000 of real money. You’ve got to spend it on your business and tell us how you spend it on your business, but it’s actually $30,000 plus all of that mentoring.”

Applications for students and recent alumni interested in participating in the third annual Stumberg competition are due Feb. 10 at the following web address: tustumberg2017. startupcompete.co. Applicants for the 2017 competition will know which 10 to 14 teams will participate in this spring’s pitch competition by Feb. 10.

countries were arriving, so that conditioned their experience,” Fernández said. “One distinctive thing about the Spaniards in contrast with other Europeans is that they were mingling and, in some cases, competing with or collaborating with Latinos — Spanish speakers from other countries.”

Fernández suggests that the tale of Spanish migration to the U.S. can teach us about contemporary political developments.

“There was a lot of xenophobia directed against them.

There were campaigns to ban the immigration of Spaniards,” Fernández said. “Legislation between 1924 and 1934 basically shut down entrance of Spaniards to the U.S. … I begin [my lecture] with a quotation from a U.S. Congressman from 1920, where he says that Spain is a seething mass of anarchy and the country is dumping its worst citizens on us. When you hear that today in 2017, it really resonates, and when you realize that he’s talking about your grandfather, it resonates even more.”

This year’s Alvarez Seminar, titled “Contemporary Spanish Culture: Encounters and Transitions,” was organized by Debra Ochoa, associate professor of Spanish in the department of modern languages and literatures. She reached out to several prominent scholars studying Spanish culture and invited them to present for the seminar series.

“I knew I wanted to focus on contemporary Spain, and I knew that I’d be teaching a special topics course that would compliment that [topic],” Ochoa said. “I thought, ‘Well, these are the people I would really like to invite to Trinity,’ and they all accepted! I was very happy.”

Ochoa invites all readers to attend the events and notes that the second and third lectures will be in English.

This is the seventh year of the Alvarez Seminar; past seminar topics have concerned Mexican art, Caribbean culture and more. The series is funded by donations by Carlos and Malú Alvarez, who also provide funding for cultural events and scholarships for internships and studying abroad.

Rosana Blanco-Cano, also an associate professor of Spanish in the modern languages and literatures department, is the director of the MAS program. Blanco-Cano explains why the MAS program is excited to sponsor the Alvarez Seminar.

“The MAS program has a very broad mission: to bring MAS to Trinity, and to take students to the MAS context,” BlancoCano said. “The Alvarez Seminar is really an opportunity for us to have this long, serious, profound conversation about certain issues.”

Blanco-Cano offers some insight on the importance of this year’s seminar topic.

“We will be seeing lectures and events in which the very stereotypical notions of Spain are under revision, and I think that’s very powerful,” Blanco-Cano said. “There is a lot of discussion of Spanish immigration into the Americas — Mexico, Argentina — that’s historical. But not into the U.S. Where are they? What happens to them? What are they doing? It really enriches our understanding of who we are in the U.S., but also how Spain has historically been a country of people who need to migrate.”

Blanco-Cano also expresses her enthusiasm for the upcoming Alvarez lectures, including a feminist perspective on renowned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, a reflection on the precarity of Spain through the national development process, and a speech on pioneering female filmmakers in Spain.

First Alvarez speaker presents recent book Dr. James Fernández was the first of four 2017 Alvarez Speakers

BY DANIEL CONRAD

NEWS REPORTER

James Fernández, professor of Spanish and Portuguese at New York University, delivered a lecture Wednesday titled “Invisible Immigrants: Spanish Immigrants in the United States.” The talk was the first of four that together compose the 2017 Alvarez Seminar, an annual series of lectures hosted by the Mexico, the Americas and Spain (MAS) program.

Fernández offers a summary of his lecture, which was based on his recent book co-authored with Spanish documentarian Luis Argeo titled “Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the U.S. (1868-1945).”

“For the last 10 years I’ve been studying an unknown episode in U.S. immigration history: the immigration of people from Spain into the U.S. by the tens of thousands,” Fernández said.

“Significant numbers of Spaniards came to the U.S. in the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th, and they settled all over the country — from Maine to California, in these tight-knit ethnic conflicts. Nobody has really ever studied them.”

Fernández explains some surprising aspects of Spanish immigration to the United States that sets it apart from the immigration of Italians, Irish and others during this time period. “[The Spaniards] arrived to the U.S. at the same time that much larger numbers of Spanish speakers from other

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 03, 2017 •

NEWS

Plants deteriorate M. Norris to visit

Cold weather kills swathes of foliage across campus spots

BY KATHLEEN CREEDON

NEWS REPORTER

Over winter break, temperatures in San Antonio dropped greatly. Though freezes are rare in South Texas, the low temperatures damaged many of the plants on campus.

Because of the expectation of extreme weather, Trinity makes plant selections that, for the most part, will be able to survive in such a climate. However, the number of plants that died left the community wondering why no action was taken to protect the plants.

“With few exceptions, our campus plant palette consists of primarily native or adapted plants that are known to be hardy in the San Antonio area. Because of the vast number of acres on campus, it is not feasible, not is it the intent, to cover plants as a residential homeowner might do,” said Leopoldo Vasquez, grounds supervisor.

Covering every plant on campus would be inefficient, both in terms of cost and labor, and it is much cheaper to replace the plants with newer ones instead.

“I think that covering plants is an attempt to create an artificial environment, and it’s a huge waste of labor,” said Richard Reed, professor of environmental studies.

More important than cost, some suggest that the plants that could not withstand the cold may not be the right species for our area.

Selecting more native species may avoid too many plants dying.

“Maybe it protects plants that we shouldn’t have. In other words, if they can’t survive in

our climate, maybe we shouldn’t be trying to propagate them,” Reed said.

It’s standard practice to plant annuals, plants that perform their life cycle within the span of a single growing season, and replace them with newer plants once they die. However, planting perennials, plants that live for many seasons, is more suitable.

“Ideally, you would plant perennials that are suited for this climate, so you wouldn’t have to replace them very often,” said Kelly Lyons, professor of biology.

There has been a shift of climate in South Texas, and because of it, winters may become more mild.

“Our climate is becoming more Mediterranean in a way where we have these really mild, wet winters. We’re seeing more Mediterranean species come in. We can get ahead of this as a university,” Lyons said.

Lyons suggests that the Trinity community become more focused on staying true to our region, and in doing so we will be able more easily to maintain the plant life on campus.

“What I would like to see happen here is that we begin to embrace place. Students are coming to school in South Texas; the school doesn’t have to look like New England,” Lyons said.

Though the freeze killed off many of the plants, Grounds Staffing is able to rejuvenate areas that have become overgrown from longer growing seasons.

“While the damage is certainly visible and unappealing at this time, we have every expectation that most, if not all, plants that are showing damage will rebound in the upcoming weeks and months, and that the Trinity campus will continue to remain one of the most beautiful campuses in all of Texas,” Vasquez said.

Perished plants in front of the Fiesta Room and Coates University Center. photo by NICK SMETZER

The national journalist speaks on a signature initiative through NPR

BY MONTY McKEON

NEWS REPORTER

Michele Norris, award winning journalist and founder of Thew Race Card Project will speak at Trinity on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. The lecture is sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in partnership with NPR’s Dare to Listen campaign and was coordinated by the office of Academic Affairs.

Sharon Schweitzer, assistant vice president for External Affairs, described the impetus for asking Norris to speak at Trinity as arising from Trinity’s commitment to open discussions on difficult topics.

“It kind of sprang out of a lot of conversations about continuing to have some dialogue around race, around civility and around some of the divisiveness that we experienced throughout the presidential election. I think inviting Michele Norris is a public way that we want to show that the university is committed to an open dialogue about things that are sometimes very difficult to talk about, and to do it in such a respect that we can have a difficult discussion about difficult topics and to do them in a respectful and civil way,” Schweitzer said.

Norris developed the Race Card Project during a sabbatical from her NPR show, “All Things Considered.” Susie Gonzalez, senior manager of public relations, summarizes its development.

“In 2002, Norris began as co-host of National Public Radio’s newsmagazine All Things Considered, public radio’s longestrunning national program, with Robert Siegel and Melissa Block. During a sabbatical from that program during the 2012 presidential campaign, Norris traveled the country and developed two successful initiatives: The Race Card Project, which captures people’s views on race in six-word sentences, and NPR’s Backseat Book Club for junior brainiacs,” Gonzalez said.

The Race Card Project asks people to assess their experiences with race and summarize them into a six-word sentence. Morris discusses the concept below.

“I asked people to think about their experiences, questions, hopes, dreams, laments or observations about race and identity. Then, I asked that they take those thoughts and distill them to just one sentence that had only six words. People took the cards with them and mulled over the assignment. I hoped that a few might send them back to me

via email or through the U.S. Postal Service.

I tried to be realistic, set low expectations and then held my breath. Well, much to my surprise an awful lot of people took the bait,” Norris wrote.

The Race Card Project offers the opportunity for people to see how race is experienced around the country, and this will be the focus of Norris’ lecture.

“I really think that she’s probably going to focus a great deal of her presentation about the Race Card Project and what motivated her to start it. The Race Card Project really encourages people to condense their experiences about race to one sentence using six words. I think that what this has done is that it has opened a window for people to see how race has been experienced around the country. She’s an African-American reporter, so I think this is a topic that’s rather close to her person. I would imagine that a lot of her presentation would be about that aspect, but about her journey in becoming a well known journalist and radio host,” Schweitzer said.

Part of the purpose of this lecture is to help people feel comfortable in their ability to defend their values and understand the views of those different from them.

“I hope that what they get out of this is that they will find a comfort level to lean into these discussions rather than pull away about the divisions and the polarizations that our country is experiencing in how we talk to one another, how they interact with one another.

We really hope that they come back armed with ways that they can feel grounded in their values to be able to speak out about something or talk to someone else who’s different than them and open their eyes and ears a little bit to listen and to create understanding for people who are different from them or have a different opinion from them themselves,” Schweitzer said.

One hope for those attending the lecture is that it will help people in having a conversation with one another in such divisive times.

“I don’t think the polarization has gone away since the election. We’re in the midst of a polarizing conversation around the country.

We’ve seen the protests around the country occurring because of an executive order or two from President Trump. I think it’s really important that we understand that we have these opportunities by someone that’s willing to put themselves out there, particularly someone like Ms. Norris who put themselves out there in a way that helps us learn how we can best have a conversation with one another over things that we disagree about in this country,” Schweitzer said.

Fliers advertising the event can be found posted around campus. photo by JEFF SULLIVAN

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Opinion

Read it and Wepa You still belong here EDITORIAL

Back in August, we started the school year with our NSO edition. The theme was “You Belong Here.” In November, Donald Trump was elected. Last month, he was inaugurated.

This week, he issued an executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia — from entering the United States for 90 days and blocking new refugees from entering for 120 days.

The justification used for the order is that the policy aims to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.” In 2015, President Obama placed some restrictions on travel from these countries — however, Trump’s order is much broader.

It creates questions about the legitimacy of green cards and visas in the future. Many have also questioned the logic behind the ban, because far fewer people who have committed acts of terrorism on U.S. soil have come from the seven countries on the list than countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which are not on the list. Probably not coincidentally, Trump reportedly has business interests in the last two countries, so including them on the list would be personally detrimental.

Perhaps the most immediately concerning aspect of the whole situation is the islamophobic and xenophobic attitude it is perpetuating. As someone who is not currently being subjected to this kind of discrimination, I cannot begin to understand, much less explain, what members of our Trinity community and our nation who hail from these countries are experiencing right now. Our cover story includes voices from students and faculty who can. We hope the Trinitonian can bring these voices to the forefront of the conversation so we can celebrate the diversity on campus and around the world.

A thank you note Opinion columns are bound to be controversial, but personal attacks aren’t valid arguments There’s an old saying by American writer and philosopher Elbert Hubbard, frequently misattributed to Aristotle: To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, SARAH HALEY be nothing. In the OPINION COLUMNIST case of this semester’s first Trinitonian issue, I chose to say something.

I’m no stranger to having unpopular opinions or experiencing name-calling and attempted character assassinations for holding a belief that is not universal. In middle school, I was called “liberal babykilling bitch” for supporting women’s right to choose. In high school, I was called “n-word lover” for supporting Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections, and refusing to buy into the racist birther conspiracy that our regrettable current president was so keen on. These sorts of insult-fueled critiques of me as a person didn’t speak to the merits of my argument, or present legitimate counterargument. They did, however, reveal the hate and prejudice held in the hearts of those so hopelessly slinging mud.

In the same way, an untrue rumor got back to me via a concerned Trinity alumni this past week that I was planning some sort of arson, in which I would “destroy” and “deface” property of a certain Greek organization on campus, as a result of my article in the Trinitonian a few weeks ago which argued that the benefits of social Greek life can also be found by other means on Trinity’s campus. This is not to say that being accused of planning to burn items related to Greek life is on par with being on the receiving end of name-calling involving anti-black racial slurs. It is not. The comparison is that in both cases the personal attack fails to address the actual topic or argument at hand, and resorts to personal critique rather than engaging in discourse. In both situations, I did not toe the line a specific group of peers expected me to. All of this is to say: bring on the arsonist gossip! It’s not the worst thing I’ve been called, and it’s less cruel in a number of ways than previous things that have been thrown around as a result of me espousing a nonuniversal stance. Although I don’t appreciate

it, I’m used to criticism that doesn’t actively engage the real topic at stake. This type of criticism did not surprise me, even if it was disappointing.

I was surprised, however, by the support I received. I didn’t expect the argument that the benefits social Greek life offers are not unique to recieve the positive reaction it did.

I thought it was an unpopular opinion. I was surprised that even individuals within social Greek life expressed their support to me and enjoyment of the article. This is what makes Trinity great. And thus, I have a thank you note to write.

To the kind girl who stopped me after religion class to tell me she enjoyed what I had written: thank you. To the other Greek life members who took a moment to chat with me by the Magic Stones, and express that they had come to feel similarly over their years of involvement: thank you. To those who sent me supportive messages, thanking me for saying what they were thinking and letting me know they “needed that” during a tough week: thank you. To our colorful dean who sent me a supportive, reaffirming email when I had reached out to him after being struck by the negative backlash from alumni who didn’t even read what I had written: thank you. To the lovely angel on the Trinity Debate team who reassured and comforted me when I felt my attempt at diplomacy had fallen on deaf ears: thank you. And to the always cheerful math major who introduced me to Kurt Vonnegut’s word “granfalloon” and its relevance to social Greek life: thank you.

While criticism of an individual dispelling a dissenting opinion is to be expected, I didn’t genuinely expect this multi-layered support from a host of people ranging across all different aspects of Trinity’s campus life.

I do not for one moment take the support of kind strangers and peers for granted. And as always, I remain open and interested in a defense of social Greek life that responds to my argument of non-uniqueness.

The Trinitonian is a phenomenal way to spark lively discourse on campus, even if sometimes instead it sparks silly rumors about its opinion columnists.

Sarah Haley is a senior theoretical economics and environmental policy double major with a minor in mathematics.

2:10 p.m. I have a class in 20 minutes.

I haven’t had time to eat anything.

Halfway through filling out my Freshii order form, I realize I need to print out something EMLYNN SMITH for Global Politics.

GUEST COLUMNIST I take the walk up to Coates at more of a leisurely stroll, knowing my tried and true printing system will be there for me.

Even as a technologically inept first year, the old system took me all of about five minutes to figure out during my first weeks on campus. But what’s this? A new touchscreen monstrosity, cowering next to its predecessor. To be fair, I’m not one for reading the instructions, but how could printing need a crash-course?

2:15 p.m. I try my first attempt at printing. A pop-up appears telling me something about a “wepa code,” which I never receive. After watching the guy before me print out what could have only been multiple copies of some sort of dissertation, I realize I can log in on the actual machine itself. Seems easy enough, although I immediately notice the screen is one of those touchscreens that really serves no purpose — its lagging touch response makes it even less time efficient than logging into both computers, as with the previous system. After a few typos and screen freezes, I finally get access to my Trinity Google Drive and try to find my document. Here, I run into my next problem. The system seems to be using an outdated version of my Google Drive, so all of my recent documents, including what I needed for class, are not available.

2:20 p.m. Admittedly frustrated and feeling pressed for time at this point, I internally resign and form the opinion that I hate the new system. Perhaps a premature judgement, but Dr. Burke does not tolerate tardiness and something so simple should not be so complicated. I give it one last shot and am able to print what I needed by logging back onto a separate computer, moving the file I needed to an older folder in my drive and relogging onto the printer.

2:25 p.m. After grabbing my paper, fresh off the presses, I notice a gruesome sight. Printing black and white pages has increased from $.08 to $.10. A difference of two cents? Even to a poor, frugal college student this shouldn’t make much of a difference, right? Wrong. Let’s say I print an average of 10 pages per week, with an increase to 15 during the weeks of finals and midterms. (Personally, I am a very tactile learner and like to have the physical copies of a reading or slideshow presentation to take notes, annotate, use to wipe my tears, etc.) 32 normal weeks and four finals weeks amounts to $38 spent on printing under the new system. The old system would have cost you just $30.40 Sure, it’s a difference of about eight dollars, but when textbooks are gauging your pocketbook for all you’re worth and more, why should we sacrifice the cost of a Chipotle burrito (+ guac!) to pay for a machine that sacrifices efficiency and function for the facade of high-tech innovation?

Throughout this highly stressful 15 minute ordeal, I couldn’t help but hear echoes of my father’s favorite adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

2:32 p.m. I was late to class and still hungry.

I’ll be the first to say it — the new Wepa printers are one of the best things Trinity’s ever invested in. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love those machines.

While they’re not perfect (that .02 JULIA WEIS cent price hike is GUEST COLUMNIST really horrific, I know), they’re a huge improvement to my stressful, paperdependent life. Let me explain.

The new Wepa printers offer you a whopping SEVEN different ways to satisfy your printing needs. That means you can log into your Google Drive, plug in a USB stick, email your document to print@wepanow. com, use the Wepa Print app, upload it to their server at http://wepanow.com/ webupload, take advantage of a computer in your lab or install their software and use your own computer.

The main complaints I’ve heard from the haters is that the screens aren’t responsive enough to typing, the cost has gone up and that it’s confusing. Well, I’m going to refute all of those arguments.

For the people complaining that the screen isn’t optimal for typing in your Tmail login — have you ever considered this to be a problem with your fingers and not the screen?

Just kidding, I’ll admit that the touchscreen has some room for improvement. But accessing your papers through your Google Drive isn’t the best way to go about this. I’d argue the one of the other six methods of printing is more convenient when you’re in a rush.

If you use a USB stick, it will literally take you less than two minutes to print out your paper. I timed it. You just plug in your USB and press print. That’s it. I promise.

I’ve used almost every method of printing and I can tell you that there a lot of very efficient ways to use those things. The app, for instance, lets you take a photo of a document and then print that photo. Or when you email them the document you want to print, they’ll send you your 5-digit Wepa code back in less than a minute. Then you just print it!

I understand the confusion with the Wepa codes that people have, but if you read the flyers that have so conveniently been circulating around Mabee, Coates and CSI for the past month, it’s pretty clear how the system works. I, too, would be confused if I just walked up to the printer with a few minutes to spare before class and hoped for the best. I carefully studied the instructional flyers before deciding to approach the daunting machines.

The real convenience of the Wepa printers is that they’re located just about everywhere on campus. While I used to have to hike up to the library or infiltrate some random study lounge to print my homework, I can now do it while eating my Frosted Flakes at Mabee in the morning or while I’m studying in CSI. I can’t think of more convenient places than these, other than right in my dorm room, but I’m sure Trinity doesn’t want to pay for that.

Now for those of you who think it’s too expensive. It’s. Two. Cents. Have you ever looked at how much a nice printer costs? In all seriousness, I think the benefits outweigh the cost. With the speed and convenient locations that you can get if you do it right, those printers are going to save me time, and time is money, right?

I understand the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality that printer-opposers have been using. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with the old printers. But this is just one of those things that makes you realize how much your life sucked before you had it.

Emlynn Smith is a first year business and political science double major with a minor in economics.

Julia Weis is a sophomore communication major with minors in Chinese and communication management.

6

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 03, 2017 •

OPINION

Seize the deck

Use your ballot

continued from FRONT

What’s the connection between Donald Trump and the San Antonio elections on May 6? The potential to influence his decisions JEFFREY SULLIVAN by casting a ballot GUEST COLUMNIST here, at home.

The President actualized some substantial campaign promises in January. His executive orders have frightened some, but invigorated many others. Demonstrations against a border wall and the detaining of travelers from seven Middle Eastern countries followed a weekend of marches standing for the goals of women in opposition to Trump. One of the questions asked at the end of each march across the nation was, what happens now? These demonstrations and protests are highly visible, but largely unforceful.

The effects of protest can be short-lived. A vote leaves a permanent impression.

While it’s too late to change the outcome of the Presidential election, it hardly means that the time for political participation is over. In four months those that are eligible may register and vote between three mayoral candidates, their respective city council candidates and whether or not to support the $850 million 2017 municipal bond.

Why would any of this influence Trump?

Because voting at home is another act of civic participation. It is not a largely influential one, but it is a ballot that is received and recorded as an act of political will. It allows people a voice in the decisions of the city, but more principally, I believe it develops or strengthens a habit of voting.

The makeup of Trumps’ protesters and resistors is diverse, but a common characteristic apparent in their composition is youth. This is not to discredit the work and presence of older activists, but to highlight the reality that many young people are unhappy with the country’s Presidential selection.

Unfortunately there’s a problem amongst young people, and that’s the rate at which they vote. KQED News published an article written by Matthew Green titled “How Millennials Voted in the 2016 Presidential Election.” He showed that only half of eligible millennial voters, or those aged between 18 and 29, voted, which is much lower than the average voter turnout; another rate that hardly

I think the answer lies in the red dot.

Although as a young person I was filled with ambition, the reason I never got much done is that I did not yet appreciate time. Time is an acquired knowledge, and not everything about acquiring it is pleasant. You kind of catch on to time when people you love die, but also when you have children and watch them grow, or when, like the poet Borges, you can write a line like this: “haber envejecido en tantos espejos” (“to have grown old in so many mirrors”). But when you’ve only just torn off the cellophane from a fresh pack of cards and you’re still dealing out diamonds from the top of the deck, it feels like the fat stock of days will never dwindle. And that’s the unproductive illusion.

A Buddhist proverb says that we are like fish swimming in ever less water. Day to day, it’s not so easy to recognize the way the water evaporates. The present feels like a spacious pool whose hours we swim through with such ease. Yesterday never seems to get too far away from us, the next day is never too far ahead of us, and any day seems much like another.

But every so often you stop and realize that suddenly you are in a new epoch of your life, and the last one, which seemed so present and so accessible for so long, is now closed. These are the tricks that time plays. But maybe we play along because it helps us to forget that the water is running out.

So I’m saying this: distrust romantic ambition. There will never be a time when you are swept up in the gale of inspiration that magically carries you to the end of your goals. So don’t wait for it. I’m also saying this:

“seize the day,” but without any romantic inflection. Maybe it’s better to say seize the deck. It’s stacked against you, and the house is going to win. Realize that the cards are limited and play each one carefully and deliberately.

Cultivate daily habits. Near the end of his life, Michelangelo apparently told his apprentice “Draw, Antonio, draw, Antonio, draw and do not waste time.” Nietzsche wrote that the philosopher or artist who has really put himself into his work can take “malicious joy” when he sees his body and mind being broken down by time because it is like watching a thief cracking a safe that you know has already been safely emptied of its treasures. Life is a breakneck, deadly race to somehow let the best things inside of us out through our thin skins and thick brains and into the world, where they might do someone some good.

If you work daily, it doesn’t matter if you have a bad day or a string of them. Some inspired days yield nothing. Some days you already feel defeated but you push on and maybe have the big breakthrough. It’s unpredictable, uneven, infuriating and unmasterable. There is no shortcut. The good news is that all that is really required from you is to be there, working, doing a little bit at a time, each day. The magic can’t happen if you’re not working, even for just an hour at a time. Do it because the unstructured life is not worth living. Because every once in awhile you’ll be rewarded even though you’ve done nothing to deserve it but having persevered. And do it because it’s the best chance of accomplishing all the things you want. Just not all at once.

David Rando is an associate professor of English.

merits applause. Now pair those facts with a study conducted by researchers at Portland State University titled “Who Votes for Mayor.”

It shows that only 11 percent of eligible voters in San Antonio vote in mayoral elections, and the median age of those voters is 63.

The hypothesis I create from the data is that younger people could vote more, and they could certainly vote more locally This matters for three reasons. First is the opportunity local elections provide people to influence schools, parks, housing, libraries, police and transportation. The allocations of money within the municipal bond have been decided through months of debate and deliberation between city council members and active community citizens. With all of this work San Antonians still have to vote the bond into action before the money may be spent on exciting new developments, like the Hardberger Land Bridge. I predict it will pass with ease, but are we really in the political climate to give ourselves such lax assumptions?

Second is selecting a mayor. While San Antonio runs on a council-manager style government, meaning the entire council and mayor selects and contracts a single city manager to run the day to day operations of government, it doesn’t mean that it’s a position unworthy of our attention. San Antonians have the capability to choose who they feel is most attuned to their general political sentiments, needs and desires.

The third, and I believe most important reason, is the ability to participate in the act of voting. It will show our leaders, locally and abroad, that we understand and practice the democratic process. We’re prepared to cast ballots against politicians and parties that do not represent our belief systems. While I have my political preferences, this message is true for all Americans.

Protests and demonstrations are worthwhile for their ability to show solidarity, frustration and collectivity. But in our democracy, voting removes people from their places of power.

View local elections as a presentation to not only the local community, but to the leaders who believe that you won’t vote.

Jeffrey Sullivan is a political science major with a minor in English.

ADVERTISEMENT • FEBRUARY 03, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

7

Pulse

Business fraternity hosts annual leadership conference

Delta Sigma Pi welcomed over 100 attendees to visit with various recruiters

BY JULIA WEIS

PULSE REPORTER Young businessmen and women from across the country gathered on Trinity’s campus last Saturday to learn from experts in the business community. The Pi Omega chapter of Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity hosted the Gulf Western Regional Conference right here on our campus with various speakers presenting on business-related topics. The conference was open to all Trinity students and community members to attend.

“All of the speakers had such great insight to share and in return, the audience was attentive, engaged and curious. I strongly believe that the conference was worthwhile and rewarding to not only the attendees, but also to the speakers and recruiters who were present,” said Joon Kim, senior finance major.

Trinity students in Delta Sigma Pi had been planning the conference since October. Paulina Pastrana, senior business analytics and technology major, is the event coordinator of the business fraternity

and was responsible for organizing the event in its entirety.

“We jumped on the opportunity just because the chapter here at Trinity is the newest one, so we haven’t been able to be as involved as we wanted to. We wanted to share it with our fraternity, but we realized that the connections we’ve made as Trinity students are valuable, so we wanted to get the whole campus involved as well,” Pastrana said.

Delta Sigma Pi members were expecting over 100 attendees at the event, varying from brothers of the fraternity, to any Trinity students interested in business, to the general San Antonio community.

“We’re having a series of guest speakers from anything from Argo Group, an insurance underwriter here in town, Morgan Stanley, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. It’s very business-themed, but it’s open to all majors, because there are different things you can do like networking, or maybe communicating, and it just helps put your feelers out there into different industries,” said Julian Biles, junior finance and German studies double major and president of Delta Sigma Pi. Members of the business fraternity found the speakers to be very enlightening and remarked on what information they will take with them from now on.

“We know Mark Rose now as a very successful CIO of Argo

Attendees observe a lecture offered by one of the many recruiters and business people who were featured at the national conference.

Photo provided by MUSANNA AL-MUNTASIR.

Investments, but to learn the road he took to get there and the many hardships he faced were remarkable.

He used his personal experiences to show how you can also be a leader of their own life,” said Christian Citta, junior business and German studies double major.

One emphasis of the conference was to show students skills they can use in the future.

“A few important things I left the conference with are one, not to be afraid to leave your comfort zone, two, staying globally informed can only help you, your investment strategy and your career and three, nothing beats face to face communication,” said Diana Riddle, junior mathematical finance major.

Students say they value the chance to learn outside of the classroom.

“Sometimes you just need to learn from somebody who’s been there, because you can only learn so much from your teachers. In this way, whether you’re a student organization leader or whether you are head of a sorority, I think that you can always learn applicable skills that help you develop further, so hopefully that’s what this conference does for people,” Pastrana said.

Black Student Union attends convention The organization attended a gathering of other groups in College Station to attend lectures and converse

BY JULIA WEIS

PULSE REPORTER Fifteen members of Black Student Union, a three hour bus ride to College Station, a weekend full of empowerment and leadership. This was the Southwestern Black Student Leadership Conference, which some Trinity students had the opportunity to attend two weekends ago.

With topics varying from developing your elevator pitch, to growing in your community, to becoming a stronger leader, men and women of color gathered to engage with students and speakers from across the country.

“It was a good opportunity to just network and get to see some Black excellence, as they called it,” said Simone Washington, first year international studies major.

The conference moved participants in many different ways, whether it was inspiring them to improve

themselves in the workplace or in their personal lives.

“The workshops that I went to were more on job stuff, so like networking, how to make yourself seem more appealing to potential people who hire you or what you should do once you get a job. They held workshops and gathered a group of people to just better themselves,” said Yanina Soudaly, senior business major.

Some of the highlights were the notable speakers as well as the engaging social events.

“Angela Rye, a political commentator for CNN came and gave us her agenda, what she thought about the black community and what we should be doing and how to organize. Because we love going to conferences and going to dialogues and things like that, and that’s all good and everything, but at the end of the day, you want to activate the vision, and that was their message for this conference. So she gave us some really helpful takeaways from the conference,” Washington said.

Although there were several highlights, attendees also noticed some issues that had occurred during the conference.

“So they had a bunch of workshops, the only kind of bad part about it is that if you wanted to go to two

different ones, one conflicted with another,” Soudaly said.

“There was a little ‘90s themed party that the Conference threw. It was cool, because you see everybody dress up and everyone just dancing and messing around. There were photo booths, food and drink and stuff. It was really cool. And then meeting a lot of people. It’s a great way to network,” Soudaly said.

Trinity’s faculty advisor of BSU, Stacy Davidson, thought the conference was especially meaningful for how it impacted the students who attended.

“They describe the experience as empowering, transformational, developmental, motivational, etc.

Each participant was required to share what impacted them the most at the BSU meeting the week after they returned so that the members who did not attend could learn from the experiences of those who did. These are the words they used to describe their own experiences,” said Davidson, who is also Trinity’s director for Academic Support.

Since returning, Davidson has already observed differences in the attitudes of BSU members.

“They already feel compelled to be better leaders, to work more intentionally in their communities

and to have a positive impact on Trinity’s campus. My work as a student affairs professional has always been about providing these opportunities for students to grow and develop their own interpersonal and leadership skills. Seeing this happen with this group of students is extremely rewarding to me,” Davidson said.

Davidson had previously attended the conference, but each visit makes her feel as grateful for the opportunity to learn as the last.

“This is my second year attending.

It is a affirming and rewarding experience to see young men and women of color, but predominantly African-American students, gather together to develop their leadership skills, to learn how to become active in their community, to network and to meet other like-minded students.

It makes me proud to see Trinity students engaging in meaningful ways with each other, students from other universities, and speakers from across the country who have knowledge and experience to share with them,” Davidson said.

Despite this being the first conference for some, the benefits of this event are already observable. ““I think that you can never start too early with things like this

conference. It’s always good to just get out there and start networking and getting numbers and at least learning who you’re supposed to be talking to and what you’re supposed to even be thinking about at this time. I thought it would be beneficial to just get out there early, I guess,” Washington said.

Some of the students who attended are hoping to deepen their involvement on campus.

“I’m already going to more Trinity Diversity Connection meetings and definitely signed up for the different cultural clubs here on campus. I’m excited about just getting involved with those communities and seeing what I can do as an [SGA] senator, as a human being, just doing my job and being an advocate for those groups,” Washington said.

All Trinity students are welcomed

by BSU at their meetings and events.

They are also welcome to attend upcoming events in celebration of Black History Month.

“We have an educational and entertaining month of activities scheduled for Mocha Month.

Having the opportunity to engage students in meaningful ways around diversity and inclusion issues makes my experience at Trinity that much more rewarding,” Davidson said.

PULSE • FEBRUARY 03, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

9

Welcome back: professors return from their leave Faculty members share the varied benefits and consequences of taking time off from teaching

BY JULIA WEIS

PULSE REPORTER Whether they are writing short stories, taking care of their newborns or researching wars in Europe, Trinity professors keep busy while on leave. Now, they are back on campus and readjusting to new schedules.

Although you may have seen him walking in between Northrup Hall and the library, Andrew Porter of the English department was on academic leave last fall. He chose to focus on writing his second collection of short stories and found his quiet office, which is stacked to the brim with books and art, to be a more productive work space than his home with two young children.

“Well on the one hand it’s nice; it’s always nice to be back in the classroom after a break.

There’s a period of adjustment because you’ve been spoiled a little bit and you’ve gotten used to waking up in the mornings and just being able to concentrate on your own work.

It’s a bit overwhelming the first week or two,” Porter said.

Kelly Carlisle, also in the department of English, just returned from a different kind of leave: maternity. After the initial recovery, she was able to spend some time working on finishing the book she is writing as well.

“The only weird thing is trying to get into a schedule with having still a young baby at home that needs feeding. I have to rearrange my work schedule and often end up working nights. But I think once I get a system for that, I don’t think it’ll be so bad,” Carlisle said.

While Porter and Carlisle remained at home in the San Antonio area, Rosa Aloisi of the department of political science ventured to Bosnia and Herzegovina to complete research.

“One of the things I wanted to look at was how places that had been indicated as sites of atrocities and mass crimes are now being used by the government,” Aloisi said.

Aloisi traveled throughout the regions of former Yugoslavia with political science student Maria Protić to examine genocide memorials and speak the Muslim community.

“Some of the towns that we have visited are empty. There are houses that are brand new with colors like pink, orange, vivid blue, but no one lives there. One of the survivors told me that he thinks the people rebuilt their houses just to make sure that the government knows they have survived, but then they don’t want to live there because there is still a bit of persecution,” Aloisi said.

Jason Johnson of the department of history also traveled to Europe to complete his research in a small village in central Germany.

“It’s a village of 50 people, sort of halfway between Munich and Berlin. It happened to be on an old German state border. And over the years, that old state border became the Iron Curtain. So there was roughly 25 people in the east, 25 people in the west. Their lives were totally disrupted from division,” Johnson said.

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ANDREW PORTER is one of several professors who has returned this semester after taking the fall term off; he spent his time working on his newest novel, and plans to incorporate his experiences writing into his classes.

Photo provided by ANDREW PORTER.

While researching the story behind this mini-Iron Curtain, Johnson was also able to work on finishing his book.

“For historians, being able to discuss our research and show them what we’re doing in class is really engaging. It’s just sort of completing of the circle when we’re able to use our own work in class,” Johnson said.

Similarly, Porter plans to use lessons from his academic leave in the classroom.

Say “Benvenuto!” to a new organization The Italian Club has been reformed by several international students after inactivity

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“I designed a new course while I was on leave, and it’s on linked short story collections. I probably wouldn’t have had the time to design it during a typical semester,” Porter said.

Now all that is left is for the professors to get acquaintied with their new students.

“I really missed teaching while I was gone.

Some things I didn’t miss, don’t get me wrong, like grading papers, but I really missed being around students,” Carlisle said.

BY EMILY ELLIOTT PULSE EDITOR Smells waft through the air of the dorms as pasta boils and sauces simmer in one of the many kitchen units of the first-year living area. As the food cooks, friends begin setting out plates, cups and utensils on a nearby table, while drinks are poured at each of the placements. Once the food nears completion, the friends begin serving it to one another, conversing in Italian throughout the evening; as the conversation develops, so do discussions about the possibility of developing a simple pasta night into an organization to celebrate and discuss a revered culture.

This semester, a new club has been established to commemorate the culture, traditions and cuisine of Italy. The Italian Club was founded

by Carlotta de Bellis, Micaela Hoffman, Thomas Johnson and Jordan Minarelli; the students all come from Italian heritage.

Italian organizations had previously existed on campus, but have since died out.

“As soon as we got here we would do pasta nights with a lot of friends. Professor Michael Ward was really excited about having an Italian group again, so when we got back, we were like, ‘Why not make an Italian club?’” said Minarelli, a first-year biology major.

Although the idea of forming a club seemed daunting, the students were surprised to receive the support of the Trinity community.

“I was very surprised that there were four students who are half Italian on such a small campus with other Italian professors as well. Dr. Rosa Aloisi in the political science department, Dr. Maria Paganelli in the economics department and Dr. Roberto Prestigiacomo in the theatre department are Italian as well and excited for us,” said de Bellis, a first year communication and art history double major.

As the founders of the club begin establishing their goals and events for their first semester, they have discussed the benefits of their club for potential new members.

“Italy is just awesome. If people join, we can push for more Italian classes, events and study abroad opportunities. There is so much to see and discover, there can’t be a limit to knowledge and learning about something new. We’re trying to make this knowledge accessible, to make it personal,” Minarelli said.

In order to promote the spread of Italian knowledge, the founders have begun discussing events they plan to hold.

“We have always done pasta nights, so now we want to do cooking classes, watch soccer games and have movie nights,” said van Zandt, a first-year communication and classics double major.

Other potential plans include a movie night featuring “La Vita Bella”, as well as an Italian happy hour.

“Our dream project for the semester is to host aperitivo, which is basically a happy hour. You meet with a bunch of friends before dinner for fun drinks. It’s pretty much established by all the young people,” Minarelli said.

Information for the first meeting of the Italian Club will be shared at their table during Chocolate Festival on Friday, Feb. 10th.

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PULSE

How do you feel about the new drink machine in the commons?

“Who drinks V8? Why would we switch to a less popular drink?”

Jade Schoenberger Sophomore

“I don’t hear about V8 much, Jamba Juice seems to be more well-known.”

Yessenia Lopez Sophomore

“I miss the Jamba Juice machine.”

Katie Simms Junior

Grizzled Hollywood veteran John Hurt dies

J.K. Rowling unfazed by retaliatory book-burning Apparently not even “Harry Potter” is safe from partisan angst, as Trump fans react poorly to Rowling’s anti-Trump tweets by burning Harry Potter books and... DVDs? That symbolic gesture might be a little outdated.

The 77-year-old actor best known for his character studies such as the titular role in “Elephant Man,” wandseller Ollivander from “Harry Potter” and the man with the world’s worst indigestion in “Alien,” died last Tuesday in his native England.

AE &

Wait a few years to Nonwhite awards start the backpatting increasing, good sign The Oscars don’t matter — we know.

They are a political, selfcongratulatory, imperfect ceremony which absurdly aspires to rank works of art, as if any objective could be ALEJANDRO CARDONA consensus reached.

And still, each A&E WRITER year millions tune in to watch as Hollywood makes its pick of the year’s best films. And that’s okay — as The New Yorker’s Richard Brody explains, “It isn’t the movies that don’t matter — it’s the Oscars.”

Unsurprisingly, diversity has been at the foreground of this award race. The 2016 Oscars were the peak of the #OscarsSoWhite movement, leading to calls to boycott the awards after two years of a notable lack of inclusion in several major categories. This year, the Academy sought to redeem itself by swinging the pendulum far in the opposite direction, issuing numerous nods to films with diverse casts and creators.

The lineup of nominees who are people of color is indeed impressive. The afro-centric “Moonlight” received eight nominations and “Lion” received six, while “Fences” and “Hidden Figures” received four nominations apiece.

“Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins is the second black man to receive a nomination for Best Director, following Steve McQueen’s nomination for “12 Years a Slave” in 2012.

“Moonlight” served to break another glass ceiling by making co-editor Joi McMillon the first African-American woman ever to be nominated for Best Film Editing.

This season’s Oscars have already broken several records. “La La Land” has tied “Titanic” and “All About Eve” for most being nominated for most awards, with a total of 14 nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress. “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle was behind 2014 Best Picture nominee “Whiplash,” which is a tonally different yet equally impressive ode to jazz music.

Another record was broken as six non-white actors, including Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Ruth Negga, Mahershala Ali, Dev

Patel and Octavia Spencer, were nominated across all acting categories. This is due in part to the fact that several of this year’s top films deal with issues of race relations and discrimination: “Moonlight” is the story of a young black man’s coming of age in Miami, “Hidden Figures” highlights the black women who were instrumental to the success of the Apollo missions and “Fences” is an exploration of race relations and the AfricanAmerican experience.

Similarly, three of the Best Documentary nominees, “I Am Not Your Negro,” “O.J.: Made in America” and “13th,” directly take on the topic of race in America. “13th” is also noteworthy for having a black woman as director, and for landing Netflix a spot in the Oscars race for the fourth consecutive year. “O.J.: Made in America” is a strong contender for the award, which irked those who believed that the sevenhour-long, made-for-tv documentary should not be eligible in the first place.

Despite this noteworthy burst of inclusion across the top awards categories, we must be weary of letting the Oscars become a blackand-white issue. For that matter, it’s dangerous to let the awards be a barometer for the diversity of the industry in general. Latinos, the largest ethnic minority in the U.S, account for 17 percent of the population, but receive only 5.8 percent of speaking roles.

Best Supporting Actress nominee Octavia Spencer highlighted the monochromatic and gender bias of the awards. “[...] There are a lot more people of color than African Americans [...] There’s so much more to diversity than being black or white,” she wrote in an email to USA Today. “I’d like to see diversity in directing — there are brilliant women directors and cinematographers.”

The 2017 Oscars should serve to remind us that we must not become complacent when it comes to asking for inclusion and equality in every institution. It is an important lesson in the face of the Trump administration. We must not allow ourselves to become content when presented with some grandiose display, but to read between the lines and look for the systemic problems that still prevent some from dreaming of, say, an Academy Award.

After two years of backlash and outcry over the lack of diversity within Academy Award nominations, there has been a slight increase in racial NABEEHA VIRANI diversity within the A&E WRITER four acting categories.

Seven out of the 20 nominees for Best Actor and Actress and Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role are people of color (POC).

These actors include Denzel Washington for “Fences,” Mahershala Ali for “Moonlight,” Dev Patel for “Lion,” Ruth Negga for “Loving,” Viola Davis for “Fences,” Naomie Harris for “Moonlight” and Octavia Spencer for “Hidden Figures.” This is unlike last year’s nominees in these categories, who were all white.

According to Entertainment Tonight, this year’s black actors are nominated in every acting category in Oscars’ history. With these nominations, many are satisfied with this slight recognition towards equality. While it’s great that there has been a positive response to the backlash the Academy has received, seven POC out of 20 nominees overall still isn’t considered equal, especially when comparing how many POC have been nominated for Academy awards in the past.

For instance, Patel is the third Indian actor to receive a nomination. He’s also the only Indian to be nominated for an Oscar this year. The other six people of color who are nominees are black. Thirteen Asian and Asian-American actors have been nominated in the 88 years the Academy Awards have been held. Recognizing

that racial diversity isn’t only about the inclusivity of black people is an important step for the Academy to take, and one it hasn’t done very well.

However, the beauty of diversity is that it isn’t restricted to one category. While race plays a large role in how we react to and talk about diversity, we need to recognize that there are different areas, such as gender, sexuality, religion, etc.

It’s great that we’ve seen women in influential and powerful roles. Movies like last year’s “Ghostbusters” and next year’s “Ocean’s Eight” include all-female casts, which is so important for younger girls to see and for society to recognize as normal.

Stepping away from what we’ve accepted as “normal” and “right” in terms of the types of characters we see on screen is crucial.

Diversification of roles in multiple categories gives people watching a sense of comfort and acceptance, and introduces society to different and maybe unfamiliar things.

I believe that one way we can continue to influence who we see in movies and on TV is to demand diversity. The representation of people of color on the big screen is something we, as consumers, should demand. For once, I would love to see someone who looks like me have a lead role in a powerful movie, instead of being cast as a background actor with a few lines that perpetuate popular stereotypes.

We’ve seen the impact hashtags and protests have done for Hollywood. #OscarsSoWhite sparked conversation and made the Academy see how consumers really felt. Let’s not forget how powerful we are when we demand equality. Continue to fight for it.

graphic by TYLER HERRON

Run the Jewels 3 is an energetically defiant hip-hop epic unlike any other industry rival JACOB ROSSITER

A&E WRITER

Run The Jewels have returned with their third collaborative Album: “Run the Jewels 3.” The duo, made up of legendary underground-New York producer El-P and Georgia-emcee Killer Mike, have done the seemingly impossible by outdoing themselves and delivering one of the most socially and politically relevant hip-hop albums in years. We live in tumultuous times, and this album is a reflection of the turbulent atmosphere of our nation. El-P and Killer Mike speak on behalf of the working class and the trod on, delivering lines that challenge the corrupt and the oppressors of society with

boisterous disdain. Rather than accept their lot in life, the duo viciously challenge the systems that they view as keeping common people subservient and in the dirt.

“Down,” the first track of the album, gradually brings the listener in and ominously hints at what is to come. The track recalls each artist’s past, where they came from and the hardships they endured. Whether it was selling drugs in Atlanta, or in the case of El-P, dealing with depression as a young, starving artist in New York, the opener is a celebration of how far they’ve both come. El-P’s production throughout the entire album is masterful. The instrumentation throughout the entire album is incredibly layered, so much so that even

after many listens, it’s likely that one will find something new.

The next track, “Talk to Me” is one of the many songs where the group is at the height of bravado. The beat for this track can only be described as energetic, as Killer Mike at one point says “I told y’all suckers …

I told y’all on ‘RTJ1,’ then I told ya again on ‘RTJ2,’ and you still ain’t believe me. So here we go, ‘RTJ3.’” Some tracks that have a similar vibe are “Legend has it,” “Call Ticketron” and “Panther like a panther.” The chemistry between the two emcees is superb.

These guys seamlessly trade bars with one another, building off each others’ energies and delivering lines that are simultaneously

hilarious and chilling. A few standout lines include “I don’t know how to not spit like a lout / I’ll spill a pound of my kids on your couch” and “I hold the door for old ladies, run into fires and save babies / I went to school in the 80s, taking the train with the crazies.”

With that in mind, this album is so much more than an excuse for these two to be braggadocious or to boast throughout the whole project.

Instead, “Run the Jewels 3” takes a sharp critical look at the injustices and hypocrisies that exist in the world, especially in the current socio-political atmosphere.

Continued on page 12

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JEWELS Continued from page 11

Mike has distinguished himself for years as one of the most prominent working figures in hip-hop. In reference to his meeting with Bernie Sanders in December 2015, Mike raps “Sat with potential presidents and said the p should be legal as reparations / For what this nation has done to my people.” On the track “2100” as well as “Thieves,” the group touches on riots, protests and police brutality, going as far as to sample an excerpt from a 60 minutes interview with Martin Luther King Jr. On the final track, “A Report to the Shareholders / Kill Your Masters” Mike and El-P weave together an anthem that warns of the working class rebelling against those that are ostensibly the oppressors. The pain in Mike’s voice is palpable as he spits bars such as “It could all be over tomorrow, kill our masters and start again / But we know we all afraid, so we just simply cry and march again.”

That frustration is used as a catalyst to deliver one of the greatest album closers I’ve heard in recent memory.

If you’ve never heard of Run the Jewels, give this album a shot. If you’re familiar with the group, most definitely listen and support this project. If you think you don’t like rap, I’d still highly recommend you give it a chance. I promise you’ll at least walk away having learned something new.

10/10.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Senior investigates cave, confirms art is best in underground scene O-REC led a trip this weekend to the Robber B a r o n C a v e MICHAEL MILLER this past A&E WRITER Saturday.

Thirty feet below the surface, cramped in a narrow tunnel, stuck with only my feet mobile, I came to realize some things about life.

I signed up for this trip with the image of Natural Bridge Caverns in mind. For those of you who haven’t made it out there, imagine a cave with walkways, lights, cafe and gift shop, and now you’ve got the idea.

This was in no way a show cave.

After locating the rather inconspicuous site, we parked in the adjoining alleyway, met the guides, and were split into two groups. I was with Mike Harris, the assistant preserve manager, while the other group was put with Mike the Survivalist, the rough-skinned, bandana-wearing badass who claimed to have fought a mountain

lion with his bear hands. As we were given the run down, I soon came to understand what I had gotten myself into — helmets, flashlights, kneepads and gloves were laid out on the table — this would be a rough morning, I thought.

After a run down of the fascinating history of the cave (once a speakeasy during prohibition), everyone squeezed inside. We were instructed to watch for bats and follow Leah, our other guide. Shortly into our crawl we heard a noise ahead from one of the dark-side passages.

Everyone went silent. Leah called out to whomever (or whatever) may be in there. There was no reply. I grabbed a rock ready for whatever was to emerge. A loud noise echoed out. A large figure suddenly emerged, shouting then laughing at our shock … it was Mike. His dad likes pranks and jokes made for a lighthearted time — especially his flawless impression of a bat flying inches from your head.

With the jokes aside, he was also a plethora of knowledge

and guidance, especially of the caves inner workings and proper caving techniques. For the next two hours we made our way around the different humorously named passages and rooms — Fat Man’s Misery, Bitch Passage, the Dinosaur Room just to name a few - with varying levels of difficulty. My favorite, the plainly named Graffiti Room, had a large collection of graffiti from 1800 etchings to 1960s spray paint, composed of poems, pictures, names and dates. I’ve always loved graffiti for its subversive, inyour-face antics. It’s the original anonymous comment thread, the rebel’s folkart. You didn’t ask for it, you may not even like it, but thank God it’s there. Give it a try (even chalk counts).

The most impactful part was what they called “The Tube,” a long tunnel just wide enough to squeeze in headfirst. It was quite a humbling experience to fully submit myself to the earth in that way. However, about 10 feet into this narrow tunnel, a worrying thought crept in my

mind about the earth above me, all its weight and how it would crush me instantly if it were to shift, or worse, entomb me. I began to panic, but I couldn’t go back, it was far too tight.

I had to figure out a way to calm myself. Outside of the cave, I get anxiety from feeling trapped in my life, so I calmed myself the same way. I thought how the length of the tunnel could be looked at like time, and the width are my current options, which were limited. Just like my life at times, I only had one option, to continue inching forward in my given space in hopes of a better, wider place.

To get involved in an outdoorsy, adventurous, possibly existential trip, keep an eye out for the next email Orec sends out, and be sure to register quick, the spots fill up like wildfire.

If caves sound like your thing, there are a plethora of them surrounding the city. To find out more about this hidden world, go to a Bexar Grotto meeting, join and learn all the ins and outs of the dark world of caving.

Advertise in the Trinitonian Email us at trinitonian-adv@trinity.edu

Sports

The Babe and Hank Aaron FEB.

3

One of baseball’s strangest coincidences is the utter nearness of the two untainted home run kings’ birthdays. Babe Ruth was born in 1895, and ended his career with 714 dingers. Considered by some the most beloved star of all time, Ruth passed away in 1948 — when his eventual successor as the game’s home run leader, Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron, was 14 years old. A model of hard work and grit, he finished his career with 755 homers. Now 82, Aaron lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Defending champs ready to step up to the plate Baseball team seeks to overcome loss of key graduates, look to incoming freshmen to build continuity

The Tigers baseball team is back on the field as a team for the first time in months. Players at work are a common sight, as pictured here in a live ball scrimmage setting. photo by OZVALDO VELOZ

BY SHELBY DeVORE

SPORTS REPORTER

The defending National Champions have returned to the dirt field and batting cages in an effort to prepare for another successful season. After arriving on campus early from winter break, these players have worked for weeks to get ready for their upcoming games, and are hoping to defend their title at the end of May. Last season, the Tigers made it all the way to the final round of the NCAA Division III championship. Playing in a best out of three series, they swept Keystone College by winning the first two games. Several former standout players such as Jeremy Wolf, Nick Jewett and Carter McEachern are now playing professionally. Despite the loss of these three and other key seniors, this team does not plan on relinquishing the title.

“It was definitely difficult losing all of the guys last year,” senior pitcher Al Higgins said. “Without their leadership, the championship run would have been more difficult. With that being said, our team this year is as strong as it was last year. The seniors last year passed down their wisdom to all of us and we now know how to win, which is half the battle.”

The current team roster consists of returning players with promising potential and new players who are eager to play for a winning team.

“We have a really tight-knit group of guys this year. Our pitching staff may be as talented and deep as it has been since I came to Trinity. We have a strong group of seniors who have made it a point to teach the younger guys what it’s like to play winning baseball. I also believe that our defensive play is going to be a real strength this year. The infield doesn’t make errors and the outfield has tons of speed and range,” Higgins said.

Although it may excite some players to play for a successful team, the new season will include challenges and situations last year’s team never encountered, creating a different experience for all players of the current team.

“It’s going to require a number of young guys to step up and put together a solid team, but we have to know that we aren’t going to be able to play with the same identity as last year’s team,” junior pitcher Blake Frampton said.

Head Coach Tim Scannell has returned for another season.

This past season, Scannell’s leadership lead him to receive the Division III Coach of the year. Not only did he win the title in last year’s tournament, he also gained his 600th career win.

The team has won four consecutive SCAC championships and could well be on the road to a fifth. Since Trinity University joined the SCAC conference in 1988, the baseball team has won 12 championship titles. After several weeks of sweating, practicing and creating their own team chemistry, they are ready to steal as many wins as they can.

“I’m looking forward to proving ourselves as National Champions and following up last year with a strong season in 2017,” senior pitcher Dylan McGee said. “All the teams we play against know that we are National Champions and we are going to have people coming after us. Our team knows we have to prove ourselves, and I think guys are preparing for the season with this in mind. We have been practicing hard every day and getting our minds in the right place to make a strong statement early in the season.”

The team will continue to practice on the field, in the batting cages and in the weight room to be the best they can be for the upcoming season. Their first game is scheduled to be on Feb. 10 in Jackson, Mississippi. Their first home game will be against Babson on Mar. 3.

than others. Since neither teams are in-state, loyalties may not be as strong this year, although many have still picked a side.

“I have never actually followed either team super strongly,” said first-year Christian Cottrell. “But I do hate the Patriots, so I’ll be rooting for the Falcons for sure this round.”

Another major aspect to every Super Bowl weekend is food.

Everyone knows that the main reason Super Bowl parties exist is because people feel less guilty consuming loads of junk food in groups. According to the National Chicken Council, about 1.3 billion wings are consumed during the Super Bowl, along with 11.2 million pound of potato chips, 139 million pounds of avocado and 14 billion hamburgers. For many, food may actually be a major, if not the sole reason, for being excited for the Super Bowl.

“Wings are obviously the best part of the super bowl,” said sophomore Ben Matthews. “Wings are the best part of the Super Bowl, and possibly the only reason worth going to a Super Bowl watch party.”

This Super Bowl will also be a big one for Texas. Sadly not because of our beloved Dallas Cowboys (R.I.P.), but rather because the game itself will take place at NRG Stadium in

Houston, Texas. While for many this fact may sound exciting, plenty have expressed skepticism over how the weekend will actually go.

“I’m personally not a huge Super Bowl fan, but I can say I think it’s kinda funny that it is being held in Houston,” said junior Melissa Whiteman. “I mean Houston is kinda just not a great city. It’s really hot and muggy and already really overcrowded. I feel like this is just a bad weekend to be in Houston.”

Ignoring the fact that the Super Bowl will bring in a lot of undesirable things, such as even more traffic and around 70,000 football fanatics, about 35,000 of which will leave the stadium very, very upset, the game is highly anticipated for monetary stimulus. Overall, Super Bowl LI is expected to bring in an upwards of $500 million for the city, which would be a much welcome economic boost, as well as a little bit of fame.

Regardless of opinion, the Super Bowl is a major cultural event in America. While the different teams can lead to arguments over who is really the best, at the end of the day, nothing brings us together like the enjoyment of watching a group of huge men fight to see who will be the most successful at getting an oval ball into the end zone.

An obligatory preview of the Super Bowl

BY HALEY McFADDEN

SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR

It is undeniable that many Americans have a football obsession.

While baseball may get the cute title of “America’s pastime,” almost twice as many Americans rank football as their favorite sport to watch. This Sunday, Feb. 5, marks a major day in American culture. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the 51st annual Super Bowl.

This year the New England Patriots will be taking on the Atlanta Falcons for the chance to be the best team in the nation.

About 115 million Americans will tune in on Sunday, all with different motivations. While the majority of these views are actually fairly invested in the outcome, there are more reasons to watch the Super Bowl than just football. Many people will tune in to see what company has the funniest commercials and which companies’ commercials can bring us to tears. And with Lady Gaga singing at the halftime show, I am sure that we are all just a little hopeful to hear “Bad Romance” sung live to about 70,000 football fans.

For many Texas fans, this Super Bowl may hold less significance

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SPORTS

Spotlighting two of Trinity basketball’s standouts

BY ELISE HESTER

SPORTS REPORTER After two difficult years playing Division II basketball at Texas A&M Kingsville, Micah Weaver transferred to the University of Texas at San Antonio, thinking she would never play again. It was her first year without the game since age five.

“Last year was really difficult for me,” Weaver said. “[Giving up basketball] made me realize how much I loved the game.”

On Dec. 5, 2015, a Saturday like any other Saturday, Weaver sat in Sam’s Gym. “I was there to watch Incarnate Word and by the end I was watching Trinity,” Weaver said.

“I just fell in love with the way Cam [Hill] coached the girls.”

During one of countless daily commutes home from UTSA, Weaver passed Trinity.

Weaver had probably driven by the red brick campus a hundred times, but on that January day, something stirred inside her.

“A light bulb kind of went off,” Weaver said.

“I called my dad immediately and said, ‘What if I transferred to Trinity?’”

Long story short, she did.

What’s your favorite basketball team?

The San Antonio Spurs have been my favorite team growing up and now and they always will be my favorite team.

What’s your favorite basketball movie?

“Just Wright.”

How do you think basketball relates to real life?

I think [basketball] sets you up for life.

It has a lot of structure in it. You get to be around other people and you have to work on teamwork.

If you could be anyone at Trinity, who would you be?

As far as students ... Monica [Holguin] on our

team. I absolutely adore her. She’s an amazing person and on top of that she’s amazing at basketball ... A step back 3 pointer for a girl is unheard of ... and she does it consistently.

For faculty?

Coach Cam. He’s a great guy. He’s a great coach. He’s a great dad and he can dunk the ball.

What’s a word or phrase for each teammate?

Jillian Cready. Pie. Ashley Alexander. Smize.

Victoria Trabysh. Ronda Rousey.

Grace Horn. Hilarious and Witty.

Rebecca Gordon. British.

Abby Holland. Brave.

Monica Holguin. Money Mo. Alex Duncan. Die Antwoord.

Rachel Chavez. Cha-cha.

Kelsi Ballard. Toughest.

Kate Irvin. Quiet funny.

Mollie Hughes. Smile.

Elizabeth Balido. Bully.

Allison Staley. Threes.

Emily Reed. Quiet funny.

Matt Jones has played basketball since he was four or five in Kinderhoops. Something about the game always drew the 5-foot-10 junior back. Jones played baseball, basketball and football growing up, but after his freshmen year of high school at Austin High, with a larger population than Trinity, he decided to focus on basketball alone. This decision paid off, as this year the point guard has started in every single game. A finance and communication major, who counts reading as a big hobby — his favorite book is “Ivanhoe” —Jones hopes to one day become a basketball coach.

“I don’t know what I’d do without basketball everyday,” Jones said.

Jones reflects a calm energy both on and off the court. As he speaks he considers his options

much like he considers his options as he brings the ball down the court, then choosing a path, he shows no hesitation in executing his play, nor shyness in expressing his thoughts.

What’s it like being the best leprechaun basketball player in the world?

I don’t know if I’m the best leprechaun basketball player in the world though. You’ve got Brian Scalabrine, Matt Bonner.

You can’t be a leprechaun if you’re over 6 foot.

It’s definitely a challenge being a smaller player.

What’s your favorite basketball team?

My favorite college team is North Carolina.

Wrong it’s Trinity.

Well besides us. I like to watch North Carolina, and then professionally I like the Spurs. I like the University of Texas too, but that’s cause I’m from [Austin].

What’s your favorite basketball movie?

“Space Jam.” Not “High School Musical 3?”

In high school I was in a male beauty pageant and I modeled everything after Troy Bolton from High School Musical. I actually won.

For my talent I performed “Getcha Head In the Game” with the basketball. I dressed like him. I wore a jacket, pants and converse like he always does, and then for swimsuit I dressed like he did when he was a lifeguard in the second [movie].

How does basketball relate to real life?

In real life you are constantly working on teams, whether it be with your family, in class projects, you’re always working with other people and basketball teaches you how to do that. It also teaches you how to lead, how to follow, how to take constructive criticism, how to deal with different types of people, how to deal with adversity.

If you could spend a day as anyone at Trinity, who would you be?

Javan Stalls. He’s pretty cool, or I’d be [assistant women’s basketball coach] Joe Shotland. Joe has the life. He just does whatever [head women’s basketball coach] Cam [Hill] tells him to do, which mainly is play him in tennis or horse or home run derby or lifting or pool.

What’s a word or phrase for each teammate?

Nik Oakes. Ears Taylor Kim. Cali Swag.

Colin Jones. Oouah.

Brooks Mays. Ah hell yeah.

Tyler Sawyer. Sauce.

Matt Jones. Leprechaun.

Tyler Peavy. Soft.

Danny Rivera. Angry.

A.J. Puliam. Look out!

Aaron Knopp. Goofball.

Isaiah Specks. Target.

Kevin Owens. (laughs).

Jayden Holden. Hercules.

Karthik Reddy. Ready?

Matthew Colliflower. Broccoli.

Josh Ingram. Big Chief.

Fencing club adds to sporting options Organization brings athletic diversity to campus

BY HALEY McFADDEN

SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR

When you think of Trinity University athletics, what comes to mind first? Maybe soccer or basketball, tennis or even track and field. Whatever it is, it probably is not fencing, although a group of Trinity students is currently working to change that.

The fencing club aims to give students the ability to practice and develop their fencing skills on a regular basis. While the club is not necessarily instructional, some of the more experienced fencers are more than willing to work with students who want to learn.

“Our primary purpose as a club is to just provide a place for people to practice their skills,” said sophomore Collin Gillespie.

“We’re not really educational in the sense that we aren’t ‘Come here and we’ll teach you how to fence’ so much, but we can do that individual to individual and then at our open fencing events, which we try to host one or two of per semester.”

“Typically, you would come here, get your equipment, which we provide, and you can come and practice, if you’re new with one of the more experienced fencers so they can give you tips. And that’s about it. You just come and you bout for however long you like,” Gillespie said.

Gillespie, who is also one of the founders of the fencing club, primarily fences sabre, one of the more popular fencing swords due to the fact that it is, debatably, the coolest. Somewhat popularized by Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first ever Muslim-American woman to wear a hijab in the Olympics, the sabre differs from

it siblings foil and epee in the fact that it is the only sword the user can slash.

“I tend to like sabre more,” first-year Sebastian Pretio said, who took up fencing when he arrived at Trinity through the fitness education class. “It feels more fluid, and really feels like what you would do if you had an actual sword. With epee and foil, you’re restricted while with sabre you can can make thrusts but you can also slash.”

“I’ve been fencing for eight years now and I just really love it,” first-year Ben DeBauge said. “I do sabre mostly and it’s just a lot more fun, mostly because you actually get to slash people.”

Beyond just the obvious ‘Wow, cool!’ aspect of fencing, there are some actual serious benefits to taking up the sport. Not only does fencing engage multiple sets of muscles at the same time, leading to a great cardiovascular workout, but over the years it has gained the nickname of “physical chess,” for the sport’s ability to be just as mentally engaging as physically. (Note: that may be the nerdiest thing I’ve ever written). The sport requires the player to be constantly “en garde” for their opponents attacks and blocks, and has been shown to aid in maintaining or augmenting mental sharpness.

“It’s a great outlet and workout,” Pretio said.

“I feel my legs getting stronger from all the footwork, and with everything being so busy at Trinity as it is, it’s a good way to just kind of let off some extra steam.”

The fencing club meets every Saturday at 1 p.m. in Webster Gym, and anyone who is interested in fencing is encouraged to come out and give it a try.

SPORTS • FEBRUARY 03, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Intramurals begin for non-athletes

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Basketball, soccer seasons underway, with new additions to the website and old traditions remaining

BY SHELBY DeVORE

SPORTS REPORTER

Junior BRIAN BLUM hoists a jumper from the left corner in a men’s league game on Jan. 22. He is defended by seniors MARKHAM SIGLER and ADAM SAUNDERS.

Last week marked the first week of the intramural basketball and outdoor soccer seasons. Intramurals is a resource on campus for those who are interested in competing in sports outside the varsity or club level. It gives people the chance to compete and play the sports they love without having to play at a higher level. For the next several weeks, teams will be competing on the basketball court or on the soccer field in hopes to win a t-shirt and a Bombay Bicycle gift card.

“Intramural sports are ‘non-varsity’ competitions between the Trinity Community” said Kristen Harrison, director of Internal Affairs and Recreational Sports. “They are fun, friendly but challenging competitions which require no outstanding athletic skills. They are designed and offered to ‘everyday athletes.’

Only a positive attitude is required to play.”

Besides getting some exercise, IMs allow students to compete with friends, take a study break and release some stress.

“I think IM’s are just a great way to meet new people and get away from the academic side of school,” senior Adam Saunders said. “They’re meant to be fun and it’s good for people to sometimes take a break from their daily work flow and just go enjoy themselves.”

It is available to anyone on campus including faculty. Games take place in the evenings and there are different leagues to choose from such as co-ed, men’s league and women’s league.

Some teams get into the spirit and bring their own spectators or wear similar t-shirts or jerseys. This season the faculty soccer team wears gray shirts that say “It’s in the syllabus.”

There is no other league that allows students to

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have the opportunity to compete against their own professors.

Intramurals consists of a web of students that help run the program. There are program assistants, such as Saunders and senior Sarah Thornton, who help Harrison with running overall seasons and tournaments. There is also a large group of supervisors and referees who attend the events, set up, take statistics and ensure the games runs smoothly. This semester the staff is creating one-day tournaments that include games such as spikeball, disc golf and slow pitch softball. This year, students have started implementing some new ideas.

“Something specific to basketball is we’re now taking statistics, so players can see how many points they have each game,” Thornton said. “I didn’t expect this to have such a big impact, but it was fun to see a guy at the IM’s bragging to his friends that he was leading the league in threes.”

The supervisors keep track of who scores and will tally up at the end of the season to see who has the leading record.

The second part of the semester consists of different leagues of sand volleyball and flag football. Registration ends Mar. 8 for those sports and the season will begin after spring break. If anyone is interested in playing but can not create a full team, then they can contact Kristen Harrison at kharris3@trinity. edu. For more information about creating a team for future events or competing in one day tournaments, visit IMLeagues.com/Trinity.

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 03, 2017 •

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