04.07.2017 by Trinitonian

Trinitonian

Senior Dreams

Dr. Heather Haynes-Smith

Tigers devour ETBU

Trinity alumna returns to teach class about teaching children with exceptionalities.

Woman’s tennis team travels to Marshall, Texas for match against East Texas Baptist University

Senior Joy Lazarus wonders whether seniors can keep dreaming even after they graduate and enter working world. PAGE 8 OPINION

Volume 114 Issue 24

PAGE 12 PULSE

PAGE 20 SPORTS

Serving Trinity University Since 1902

Trinity goes tobacco free

APRIL 07, 2017

Sexual Assault: A closer look Policies have changed over time, what it means for students BY ALEXANDRA URI

MANAGING EDITOR BY EMILY ELLIOTT

PULSE EDITOR This story discusses the topic of rape and sexual assault. Please be advised that this material may be triggering. Reader discretion is advised.

New tobacco-free policy to take effect Aug. 1, 2017 BY PHILLIP McKEON

NEWS REPORTER Jackie Bavilacqua, coordinator of Health Services, explained that part of the reasoning behind the policy is to benefit student’s health in the long term.

Tobacco Free Trinity policy will begin in August before students return for fall 2017 semester. photo by CLAUDIA GARCIA “This is about protecting your lifelong health. When I think about our students, and my own daughter was a student at Trinity, and the kind of education they’re getting, and the potential they have in their life to contribute to the satisfaction of the world … those who are using tobacco are cutting that potential short. They are limiting what they can do with their lives, and we want to change that. We know from

information provided by the surgeon general that outlawing tobacco products reduces the number of people that smoke. So it’s not just about outlawing it on campus, it’s about reducing the number of people that smoke,” Bevilacqua said. Katherine Hewitt, coordinator of wellness services, said that the policy is not meant to target those who smoke regularly. continued on PAGE 5

Senior plans to attend Yale in the fall Nico Dwarica will pursue chemistry Ph.D. from prestigious university BY JULIA WEIS

PULSE REPORTER After four years of working hard in our department of chemistry, senior Nico Dwarica will enter Yale University’s Ph.D. program in chemistry in the fall. It has been a long journey for him to get to this point, so now he can sit back and reflect on what helped him get here. “I started thinking about going to grad school when I was a sophomore. I’m a

chemistry major, so I was like, ‘Alright, I need to have a plan for what I’m gonna do afterwards.’ Junior year, my advisor gave me some advice to look at top 50 schools in the U.S., and then the summer after my junior year, I wanted to narrow it down to 10 or less schools. The applications are a lot of work, so what I would do would be look up each school and program, see what kind of classes they offer, how long it takes and see what kind of work the professors are doing, because a Ph.D. program in chemistry is primarily

focused on research. So I looked around a lot, and then by the end of the summer, I decided to apply to Northwestern, Berkeley, Columbia, Rice, University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania and University of Pittsburgh,” Dwarica said. According to Dwarica, Yale wasn’t even on his post-graduation radar until he attended a seminar earlier in the year put on by Trinity’s department of chemistry. continued on PAGE 11

Almost 20 years ago Rachel Pineda, then a sophomore communication major from a small town in Texas, thought she was getting the internship of a lifetime with an independent filmmaker. She had always had a passion for acting and was involved with theater and the campus television station immediately after arriving to Trinity. What happened to Rachel after taking the internship is something that happens to too many students. It was during Valentine’s Day weekend in 1998 that Pineda’s mentor took her to a strip club, got her drunk, took her back to his house and raped her. “Somehow he ended up behind me, and I tried to crawl away, and I said, ‘Don’t! Stop!’ and he whispered in my ear, ‘Everything will be okay.’ And then he raped me. He had sex with me from behind and it was awful, I kept trying to crawl away, and I passed out. I don’t remember anything after that. I woke up periodically, and he was still having sex with me,” Pineda said. Pineda became trapped in the relationship with the significantly older man for about a year. She didn’t have the words to describe what was being done to her at the time, but it was like she was being forced to be with him. “I ended up dating him for a year and a half afterwards; looking back now, I was some sort of sex slave. He had me fly to places to go meet him, and we’d have dinner, alcohol, a massage in his bedroom and then we’re having sex. Every single time, it was like that, the same repetitive pattern. At the time, I wasn’t thinking; I was being groomed for him,” Pineda said. Rachel felt isolated; in addition to her advisor being on sabbatical and her roommate frequently being out of their room, no one on Trinity’s campus ever explained to her what rape or sexual assault was. continued on PAGE 3

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BRIEFS TUPD 04/04/2017 7:44 p.m. Location: Albert Herff-Beze Residence Information: Fire Alarm 03/31/2017 11:08 p.m. Location: Thomas / Lightner Residence Incident: Consumption of Alcohol By a Minor Incident: Possession of Alcohol By a Minor Incident: Purchase of Alcohol For a Minor 03/30/2017 2:33 a.m. Location: Dick & Peggy Prassel Residence Incident: Consumption of Alcohol By a Minor Information: Injury / Illness Compiled by Jeffery Sullivan

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Tennis player 4.0 level or better willing to hit with an old geezer for $25.00 per hour at Trinity or McFarlin Courts. Text at 512-585-9151. Computer science or related field upperclassman sought to assist in various media projects. Send resume and university transcripts to Donald McCarthy, 702 W. French Place, San Antonio Texas 78212

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NEWS • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Sexual assault: a closer look

continued from Front “There was a safer sex forum, and I won, in some sort of raffle, a strip of free condoms. So Trinity is all about safer sex, and here’s some condoms, but by that point, I had still never heard of rape or sexual assault,” Pineda said. In the nearly two decades that have passed since Pineda’s graduation, the way sexual assault is approached at Trinity has changed; signs in every bathroom on campus instruct individuals what to do if they are raped or sexually assaulted, and the school frequently hosts various forums regarding sexual assaults on campus. In the spring of 2014, Trinity also started the Coalition for Respect in order to create a broader campus-wide approach to sexual assault policies. “We started the Coalition to really try to mobilize broad campus support from students, faculty and staff on this topic and to give people a forum where they can come to and voice their frustrations and opinions. It gives us a place where we can vet our policies more and where we can do more educational programs. You know, I think that has increased institutionally the presence [of sexual assault awareness],” said David Tuttle, dean of students. According Timothy O’Sullivan, assistant vice president for academic affairs and Trinity’s Title IX coordinator, many of the changes to Trinity’s policy were spurred on by the “Dear Colleague” letter released by the Office of Civil Rights in 2011. However, the university had already started working on their policy before the letter was released. “Even as an outsider, before I took on this role, it had been my impression that greater and greater efforts had been put into finetuning our sexual misconduct policies. Part of this, of course, was in response to the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter of 2011, issued by the Office of Civil Rights. But from my understanding, we started a lot of these policies before that letter was issued. In other words, I think that letter was issued as a part of a national effort to bring a renewed interest in how colleges handle this issue,” O’Sullivan said. A lot of the changes to Trinity’s policy are about the approach the university takes in dealing with sexual misconduct cases. “I think probably the biggest thing we’ve changed is we’ve gone to this investigator model. Before, it used to go through this conduct-board model or an administrator, the dean of students. I think that we have approximately 20 trained investigators out there that serve as advocates and hearing panel members when they’re not serving as investigators,” Tuttle said. “I think that has added, at least for me, some sense of community responsibility for handling sexual assault cases.” Tuttle believes this has allowed for a more impartial approach to cases of sexual misconduct.

“Now it’s a very thorough process of trying to uncover evidence, and that can be a number of different things whether it’s direct testimony, direct evidence or indirect evidence, outcry activity, medical reports and different things like that. On a fairness standpoint, I think it’s a better process and more thorough and less impressionistic. It’s more about what we know and less about how we feel or think,” Tuttle said. Furthermore, Trinity has worked to create a policy that is clear and practical. Tuttle believes that this is what sets Trinity’s policy apart from other university’s sexual misconduct policies. “When you do look at some policies from other schools like the University of North Carolina, who is considered to have a really strong policy, or the University of Virginia, their policies are extremely complex. They’re written in legalistic terms and are extremely lengthy,” Tuttle said. “One of the things that has been important to me, and I think institutionally, is that we have a policy that is accessible in terms of language. So that people can read it, it’s plain-spoken, it’s clear and succinct, and that our policies and procedures are transparent. Those are the things that guide the work that we do on our policies.” Furthermore, through the Coalition for Respect, the university actively strives to keep their sexual misconduct policy up to date with what the Trinity community feels is important. “We make revisions every year and a lot of those revisions happen as a result of conversations, particularly held amongst investigators given their experience with their investigations and their hearings, but also conversations with the Coalition for Respect and other campus constituencies,” O’Sullivan said. Even though Trinity has worked to achieve an impartial process of handling cases of sexual misconduct, people who have been through the system can still feel that not enough was done for them. “In a student versus student case, people will walk away feeling dissatisfied on both sides, which is hard and frustrating,” Tuttle said. Some students have echoed this sentiment. Senior theater major Katie Farrell has been talking with sexual assault survivors on Trinity’s campus over the past year for her theater capstone project. Farrell, who is also a sexual assault survivor, has used the project to help recover from her assault by interacting with other survivors. “I come to theater as a whole for a sense of community. I kind of, in the process of healing after my own assault, want to own that place in society and make sure that other people like me are getting their voices heard,” Farrell said. “But, also, on the other side I wanted to meet people who are going through this as well because I think that’s really important.”

Farrell’s capstone is an interview-based play that is based on some of the experiences of the Trinity students who are victims of sexual assault she’s spoken with. As the compiler of these interviews, Farrell has felt both touched and troubled while reviewing the various stories she’s heard. “It’s one of those things where it breaks your heart and makes you feel amazing and valued at the same time to just know that there are other people out there and you’re not the only one going through this,” Farrell said. “There are people who want to listen to you. There are people who want to learn how to support you better and just knowing and constantly reminding yourself that there are these resources and there are those people and that care is out there is just a crucial part of healing. I don’t think I would get by without it.” Through her interviews Farrell has gotten a look at how the Trinity community talks about issues surrounding sexual misconduct. Overall, she believes that it is important for campus to continue to have conversations about the issue. “I think it’s really progressing in the right direction … In a lot of ways I do think all of the speakers that we bring in during orientation are really good and that needs to continue. I know that working with the Coalition for Respect they’re always interested in evolving their curriculum and working with victims of sexual assault. I think that’s really good,” Farrell said. Based on what students have told her, Farrell believes that, for the most part, students don’t really know about Trinity’s sexual misconduct policy and those who do have mixed feelings about it. “You have other people who say things like, this happened to me, I went through the system at Trinity and the person who assaulted me got off and is still walking around. I’ve seen a fair amount of those cases,” Farrell said. “I’ve seen even fewer where it was like Trinity handled my case really well and it was great. So you see a little bit of everything but I would say the vast majority kind of have no concept and kind of haven’t even started to really think about it.” Through her interviews Farrell learned that many students don’t report their assaults. Junior history major, Jillian Howell, is one such student on Trinity’s campus who didn’t report her sexual assault. “I chose not to report my sexual assault because I was afraid that I would not gain justice from the process, but be further violated. I have heard too many times about women consenting to engaging with their assailant, changing their mind during, being forced to continue or not allowed to leave, then when they report their stories they’re either not believed or told that they ‘won’t get anything’ from pressing charges,” Howell said.

Farrell found that many students who don’t report their assaults do so for reasons similar to Howell. “On Trinity’s campus it’s only ever for two reasons I’ve found. They didn’t even know where to go or what to do because they’ve never heard anyone talk about it. The other reason is that their friends told them, no don’t report it, such and such thing happened to me and then nightmare stories get passed around,” Farrell said. Farrell doesn’t blame the administration. She believes that it should be on the students to create a dialogue around the issue of sexual assault on campus. “The administration can only do so much and then it falls on us, the students who are the majority of the population at Trinity, to make sure we’re having those conversations in the hallways and in our dorm rooms and here,” Farrell said. Farrell believes that starting and continuing conversations is the best way to create an environment that is designed to help sexual assault survivors. “I think we just need to keep talking about it as students, and not just in the context of how do we prevent it. I think we need to have that difficult realization that there is evil in the world and this is not something that we’re ever going to be able to stop completely. However, we all can do something to help heal,” Farrell said. “I think education on how to help survivors, even if you don’t have that experience yourself, is crucial and should be the direction that we need.” O’Sullivan believes that the Coalition for Respect provides a venue for students with concerns about Trinity’s sexual misconduct to have their thoughts heard. “I would encourage students to take part in the Coalition for Respect. There are lots of different ways that students can get involved with this issue so that’s not the only avenue. But that’s a great opportunity to get around a table with a lot of the stakeholders in these issues and people who are actually on the ground and running these investigations,” O’Sullivan said. Farrell believes that it doesn’t matter where the conversations take place as long they’re taking place at all. “It happens to all of us by all of us and it’s a conversation all of us have to have,” Farrell said. Farrell plans on continuing to develop her play after her capstone ends, and hopes to interview other victims about their experiences with handling their sexual assault cases. If you are interested in talking with Farrell, contact her at kfarrell@trinity.edu. If you have been assaulted there are many resources on and off Trinity’s campus. You can contact TUPD, Health Services, the dean of students and the San Antonio Rape Crisis Center. The contact information for these resources is below.

graphic by Tyler Herron

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 07, 2017 •

NEWS

CURE labs give real research experiences BY KATHLEEN CREEDON

NEWS REPORTER

Last year, the biology department implemented a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience lab (CURE). This type of lab focuses on the importance of field research and often takes students outside of the classroom to collect data. “The idea is that you’re asking questions that are pertinent to what is happening in the world, and the data from students is actually publishable,” said Kelly Lyons, the professor in charge of the lab. The lab involves the study of monarch butterflies; students collect data when the pollinators migrate, and use that information as the basis of their research.

“None of the biology professors study monarch butterflies, but we know pollinators are in decline, and a lot of people care about them, so it’s a segue into good questions and science. Students ask questions that are compelling, so they learn a lot of biology and become better researchers,” Lyons said. The course is heavily data-driven and requires students to write papers about their research at the end of the semester. This practice, along with the importance placed on literature in the course, allows students to experience a little bit of what it’s like to do real research. “Students seem more willing to engage with facts on a day-to-day basis, build more report. I think they begin to realize how hard

Research symposium showcases students In its first year, forum highlights arts and humanities work BY HANA KRUGER

NEWS INTERN

The Humanities Collective hosted its inaugural Humanities Undergraduate Research Symposium in the William Knox Holt Center last Thursday. Presenters at the symposium included winners of the Coates Library Undergraduate Research Awards, students involved with the Medieval and Renaissance Student Colloquium and summer research projects funded through the Mellon Initiative. “One of the things that we tried to do with this humanities symposium is have a place for students to present their work that they’re doing in the humanities during the school year and on campus so other people can see it,” said Rubén Dupertuis, co-director of the Humanities Collective and associate professor of religion. “This is something we hope to do every year in the spring.” Heather Sullivan, one of the co-directors of the Mellon Initiative and professor of modern languages and literature and international studies, hoped the symposium would give students experience presenting in a formal situation in preparation for future conferences on a much larger scale. “The goal of the symposium was to highlight the outstanding research done by undergraduate students in the arts and humanities and to show, not just what they’re doing, but the quality of the work, and to give them an opportunity to present,” Sullivan said. “We also want to encourage more undergraduate research in the humanities and encourage them to consider presenting at more formal local, national and regional conferences … For example, very soon, we have the NCUR, which is the National Conference on Undergraduate Research … We wanted a campus event where students could not only present, but prepare themselves for that national event.” One of the winners of the Coates Library Undergraduate Research Awards and presenters at the symposium, Aubrey Parke, a first year studying anthropology and communication, felt that the symposium was successful in this aspect. “I think the idea is really good because it gives students a tangible chance to apply presentation skills,” Parke said. “It’s a wonderful idea because Trinity really encourages students to take initiative. I’m just a freshman, but just the fact that I had the opportunity to do this research, expand on this research, enter it and speak about it is a really cool thing … I think it’s worthwhile to encourage students to do

the research and encourage students to listen to others’ research.” The symposium is part of a cumulative effort led by faculty to coordinate arts and humanities research, events and programs on campus. This effort is supported by the newly founded Humanities Collective, as well as the programs it oversees. “The Humanities Collective is a new program that started this year and the goal is to promote, support and coordinate a lot of our existing humanities programs,” Dupertuis said. “We’re also creating a few new programming ideas, and one of them is this undergraduate research symposium.” The Humanities Collective marks a new era for humanities and arts at Trinity after receiving a five-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2012 for undergraduate research and money from the university itself, adding up to over one million dollars. “In my own past, I worked with numerous students in the summers before we had any funding and I would desperately go and get $100 or $200 here and another $50 there just so those students could have enough money to live on during the summer,” Sullivan said. “Just enough to pay, say, part of their rent and that was it. So, this was a wonderful and culture-changing application when we got the funds for the Mellon.” The additional funding has allowed many students to pursue summer research through the Mellon Initiative and collaborate with faculty as the program continues to grow. “It started off with something like eight people, eight faculty and students the first summer, and now we have had so many applications, up to 40 this summer, that we had to turn down a lot of them,” Sullivan said. “It’s been wildly successful. Students are getting into graduate schools, they’re getting career opportunities, they’re getting internships and they’re getting that hands-on experience at the highest level for knowledge production and high-level research, both in the community and in academics.” In addition to the summer programs, the funding has allowed for student fellows to conduct research this coming fall semester. “What we’ve developed is the summer program for arts and humanities students, now we want to extend that out during the year,” Sullivan said. “We have funding to sponsor three student fellows in the humanities and arts. Those students will have a stipend and a space in the library and special library privileges, like faculty, and they will get that support to further their work, doing some research during the year, working with faculty, but also being, in a way, supported like the scientists are.” There are plans for these fellows to present at the Humanities Undergraduate Research Symposium next year as efforts to unify the humanities programs at Trinity continue.

it is to collect good data and publish a paper. They learn how hard it is to really do it right and how many questions there are, and how much work it is, and how many decisions you need to make,” Lyons said. Some students who took the lab in the past looked forward to the experience they had gained from the research-driven format of the course. “I am more interested in ecology than the other biology routes, so to be able to be in a lab where you can investigate those techniques was really interesting to me. I had already taken a class with Dr. Lyons, and I really enjoyed that. I heard that the class would be more field-oriented, so we would look at collecting data in the field, not just in

the lab, so I was excited going into it,” said Olivia Roybal, a sophomore who took the lab last spring semester, Her experience with the lab involved studying the structures of insects inside the classroom, as well as capturing insects outside with large canvas nets and pinning and preserving them. Her class also took a field trip to the Riverwalk, where they collected data from patches of milkweed that the San Antonio River Authority planted. “As a class, we collected all the raw data and from that generated a research question. I was surprised that it was so independent that we actually generated all the data we would use in our paper,” Roybal said. continued on page 5

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Contact trinitonian-adv@trinity.edu to include your seniors in the Margaret Farris Recognition for Exemplary Service.

If you are looking for a fun and creative work environment we have a place for you! The Mirage offers the opportunity to work at home during the hours that best suit you. We are currently seeking writers and designers for the 2018 school year. To apply visit goo.gl/7VMKx9 or contact jflexner@trinity.edu.

NEWS • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Tobacco continued from Front

“Our percentage of daily smokers on campus is pretty small. We had a feeling that this was the case, but we just got survey data back confirming that. Tobacco use is pretty low, it’s almost like it’s phasing out, so we know that we’re on the right track and that this policy should be sustainable,” Hewitt said. Hewitt continued to explain that administrators are hearing positive feedback from former tobacco users. “We have a lot of people who are excited about this policy who are former smokers, former tobacco users, so it’s great to see support from that angle,” Hewitt said. On the other hand, some students, such as junior Katie Simms, are against the implementation of the policy. “I know that it means well, but I feel like that’s going to be particularly unpleasant for those who smoke with frequency, especially rising seniors and juniors. I also saw a really good point about how the people who smoke more tend to be of a lower socioeconomic

status, LGBT or are more likely to be affected by any number of mental issues, and smoking can be a kind of coping mechanism, and they’re smoking as a way to help deal with that. That’s definitely what it is for me and some other people that I know, so I’d say it’s a well meaning step in the wrong direction,” Simms said. Simms explained that she believes the policy is overstepping. “We’re all adults. Everyone here, with the exception of a very small percentage of people who aren’t 18 yet are old enough to purchase cigarettes, and I don’t think we need to be babied into things like this. We’re adults, we can make our own decisions and we don’t need someone holding our hands to make healthy or unhealthy choices,” Simms said. The policy will be enforced by a task force of students and faculty. “We will not have our TUPD officers issuing citations for this. That’s not the goal. It’s primarily that we want to be educational about it. In terms of enforcement, we’re developing a task force, which is very similar to what other campuses are doing to ensure that people are abiding by the policy. It’s just a handful of students, faculty and staff that will come together and will have some sort of

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general script that we’ll review to make sure that they’re comfortable approaching people and initiating that discussion. It’ll more or less look like a conversation about the policy with that person. It’s not going to be judgmental, it’s not going to be very biases, it’s just going to be them introducing themselves, making them aware of the policy, and the reasoning behind it. They’ll then give out a referral card with resources for the policy. To be fair, if people are not abiding by the policy, after a couple of discussions with the same individual, there will be a referral to conduct board. Hopefully it doesn’t get to that point, but there has to be a way to make sure that the policy is being abided by,” Hewitt said. Simms found the notion of a task force to be misguided. “That just doesn’t sound helpful. There have been plenty of times when I’ll be smoking a cigarette and someone will come up to me and tell me that it’s unhealthy and that I should quit. That hasn’t made a difference for me or really any of my friends. If anything all that happens is we walk away and light another cigarette somewhere else,” Simms said. The goal is to discourage the use of tobacco, but some have expressed doubts that it will help people quit smoking.

“I’m probably not going to be living on campus next year, so maybe it’ll help me quit, but it’s definitely going to be a thorn in my side, especially when I’m stuck on campus on the really busy days and can’t stop to take a cigarette break. It’s a nice time, and often the only time that some of us are able to get up and get away from our work, and our computers, and things like that. Really to just have time away from a screen,” Simms said. Bevilacqua explained that she sees it as an issue of helping students maximize their potential. “Generally, young people who smoke aren’t going to experience a lot of problems with it — as a young person. It’s as they get older that the prolonged effect of nicotine and the carcinogens that come along with tobacco smoke and that kind of thing that they start to see these problems. For every person that dies from a smoking problem, thirty thousand people live with a chronic illness because of it. Emphysema, heart disease, liver disease, all kinds of cancers are connected to tobacco usage,” Bevilacqua said. The policy will take effect on Aug. 1, and will include all cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and nicotine vapes and e-cigarettes.

CURE labs & research continued from page 4 Roybal found that the lab prepared her for the research she did in Lyons’ lab that summer, as she was familiar with the true research experience. “I feel like people in the CURE lab have a lot of practice in reading primary literature and also in writing papers in the form of scientific papers. I definitely feel like I had a lot of practice reading primary literature, so when I got to upper-division classes and was expected to get information from the articles, I didn’t have to focus so hard on how to read them because I had so much practice already,” Roybal said. Some students were unaware of the implications of a CURE lab. First-year Theresa Feller didn’t know that it was different from the other labs until her professor explained the research her class would be doing with plants and butterflies. “I think it’s fun to do actual research that hasn’t been done before. It shows you that research isn’t this super hard thing that you have to be an older student or professor to do. It’s been really cool to go through the entire process of figuring out what questions we’re going to ask and gathering the data,” Feller said. Feller explains that the CURE lab allows her to see and be a part of the research that

is being done in her field of study. Unlike normal labs that may just introduce you to the research, CURE labs focus on involving undergraduate students in the process. “It exposes you more to the scientific world. In typical labs, I feel like the experiments are already set up for you, and a lot of times there are things that have been done before, so your whole protocol is written out for you. The CURE lab makes you think more like a scientist and you get to experience more of what it’s like to work with real-world science and research,” Feller said. The CURE lab intends to show students how fun and interactive studying science can be and will help students appreciate the work that scientists do, as well as inspire them to continue their own research. By reinforcing the importance of primary literature, the lab helps direct students towards a true research experience. “It helps to work backwards. It’s important to be able to understand primary literature. It’s one thing to be able to read and understand a scientific article but it adds another layer of understanding if you have experience in generating your own questions and from those questions, synthesizing data and then writing your own paper. It helps you dive into it in the traditional way after you’ve already broken it apart,” Roybal said.

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One of the labs inside of the Center for Sciences and Information (CSI). photo by JEFF SULLIVAN

Opinion

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

The value of keeping your mouth shut

Growing up, my sister always complained that my parents favored me. It wasn’t true, but admittedly, I can see why she felt that way. When we JULIA ELMORE were younger, we got GUEST COLUMNIST spankings when we disobeyed. I would usually calmly and quietly accept the baseline punishment of one swat, it would sting for a bit, but then it was over; she would run through the house, shouting at my parents in protest and racking up another spanking each time my mom said, “I’m going to start counting” and slowly made it to three. As we got older and our first cell phones became our most prized possessions, our punishment when we disobeyed was getting the phones taken away. I would grit my teeth, roll my eyes and obediently, if still reluctantly, give it to my parents for whatever amount of time they felt atoned for my infraction. My sister, on the other hand, usually through hot tears and with a red face, would list reason after reason why the punishment was unfair and would grow increasingly heated as the argument went on. Not surprisingly, her pleas didn’t work. In fact, they had the opposite effect from what she had hoped; the longer she went on begging and fighting, the more hours, days

or weeks my parents would add on to her grounding sentence. Of course, my parents don’t have a favorite. With all the stories about my childhood punishments, you’re probably thinking, “It sounds like your parents hated you both equally.” (I have no doubt that I fully deserved whatever I got and I’ve made it to adulthood unscarred, untraumatized and better for it.) The point of my story isn’t to shame my sister or to boast about my obedient submission. Instead, it is to point out the often underappreciated value of knowing when to shut up. Don’t get me wrong, standing up for your convictions and passionately advocating for your beliefs is vital to progress in any sphere. There are so many students, faculty and staff who I admire for their tact, passion and persistence in unapologetically expressing their opinions. I envy those who can intelligently articulate their positions on issues, because I am so clumsy and nervous when it comes to doing so. I am proud to go to a school where everyone is given a voice and being here during a time of so much social and political discourse has really illuminated to me how much my peers care about the world around us. However, it has also brought to light the polarization, anger and even hate that resides on our own campus. How many formal lectures, dialogues, town halls and other synonymous gatherings have we had this year? I lost

count. How many class discussions have centered around polarizing topics? So many. Again, those opportunities for disagreement and the exchange of ideas are so important and I do not want to underscore their value. But how many of times has a representative from one side of an issue purposely provoked an opponent, leading to defensive, offensive and emotionally-charged arguments that are upsetting and unproductive? Enough for me, a conflict-averse person to feel compelled to speak up. Like my sister’s attempts to avoid being grounded, there are some battles that are not even worth fighting. Realizing this can save you a lot of time, energy and stress. Other battles can be won if you to take a step back and assess your strategy. There are times when you can say more by saying nothing at all. Conceding when you are wrong, or acknowledging that an argument is becoming unproductive or disrespectful is not a sign of weakness, rather of maturity and self control. Perhaps suggest taking a break so that each party can cool off and collect their thoughts to provide a chance to think through your own argument and your opponents, then return to the discussion with a more reasoned, less emotional composure. For people of privilege, I think it is especially important to recognize when our opinions, or even facts and statistics that support our argument, will never

outweigh others’ lived experiences. It is embarrassing and disrespectful to try to debate a claim about challenges we have never had to face and therefore couldn’t possibly fully understand. I challenge those who may be prone to provoke to refrain from engaging in unproductive arguments every now and then. The beauty of Trinity is that there will (probably) always be another chance to air your opinions, another opportunity for your voice to be heard. I would never want to imply that students should stop speaking up and advocating for causes they are passionate about, rather I would like to ask students to consider whether their words are appropriate, constructive and considerate for a given context. I applaud the efforts toward civil discussions between those of opposing viewpoints that have taken off this year. I admire the students who are making a positive impact by standing up for what they believe in. I appreciate our administrators who have helped establish safe spaces in which students are able to air their concerns. But I am also annoyed by inappropriate, uninformed and disrespectful arguments. I hope that my peers from any group or cause will never give up the fight, but will be more prudent in picking their battles.

Julia Elmore is a senior communication major with a political science minor.

EDITORIAL

Liberal artists Trinity has several selling points that we hear throughout our experience here; first, as high school seniors, we saw that Trinity offered small class sizes, generous scholarships, a diverse community and, of course, a liberal arts education … whatever that meant. Once on campus, we continue to be drilled with statistics about our student-professor ratio, competitive academic programs, financial aid and how taking classes that have absolutely nothing to do with our interests or majors are all part of that magical liberal arts education. Those who have reached senior status are praying to whatever god they studied in the required religion class to complete the “understanding cultural heritage” category of common curriculum that the words “liberal arts education” on their resumes will put them ahead of the competition when it comes to finding jobs after their imminent graduation. As cliche as they might have grown, those selling points really are some of the coolest things about our school; getting to form meaningful relationships with professors because of the small class sizes, having our eyes opened to cultures other than those we were raised in and taking seemingly random, or even pointless, classes

all play a part in transforming our knowledge of and attitudes toward the world around us during our time at Trinity. As registration approaches, think about how those requirements can be rewarding. As a communication major, you can take Volcanology and learn that science isn’t as scary as it seemed during your first semester when you had every intention of being a biology major. As a biology major, you can take Media Interpretation and Criticism and 1.) learn the difference between communication and human communication and 2.) learn that there are important societal impacts of each. A finance major can learn about the sociopolitical effects of sports on society in Ancient Athletics, an urban studies major can take a field trip with her Oceanography class, a political science major can learn basic computer science — and the list goes on and on. Oftentimes, these seemingly random classes are some of the most fun, interesting and memorable. Instead of trying to find the ones you can complete with the least amount of effort possible, seize the opportunity to get outside of your academic comfort zone and try something new. After all, you have to take them anyway, might as well make the most of it! cartoon by JULIA POAGE

OPINION • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

The poetic world of the squash court

BY DAVID RANDO

FACULTY CONTRIBUTOR I started playing squash in grad school because my dissertation director told me to take up a sport. Squash is a racquet sport of precision, strategy and stamina played by two people on an enclosed court. The ball is smaller than a golf ball, rubber and stubborn. Before you learn to play properly, and on bad days, it is shockingly difficult to get the ball to do anything you want it to do. Even though I’ve played for well over a decade now, squash remains a second language for me. When you watch players who learned as children, you instantly see the training in their limbs. They move like they were born on squash courts. It’s the difference between learning a language when you’re young and trying to pick it up later by practicing it twice a week. Squash poses for me what the poet W.B. Yeats called “the fascination of what’s difficult.” It is satisfying to become good at something new and to make incremental advancements over a long period. Like good poetry, squash does have a kind of lyrical grace when played well. And, like a poet, the squash player discovers little things, makes minor adjustments and hoards a store of technical knowledge that makes his or her display appear natural and unpracticed. In academia, it’s easy to become a walking brain, but when I play squash I am aware that I am a body. On the court, I feel my heart beating and sweat pouring. I can clear my mind and focus on sheer movement, as

close, perhaps, as I’ve come as an adult to what Wordsworth called the “glad animal movements” of children. Squash also reminds me of my limitations. Not only is there always someone better, but injuries remind me that my body is contingent and that ultimately it will fail. Limited by weak lungs, imperfect fitness, insufficient time and less than total drive, I’m probably about as proficient as I will ever be. The few times I’ve been fortunate enough to get on the court with a professional player, it felt as though the pro was not just more skilled than I was, but enjoyed access to an extra dimension or two. I’m out there trying to draw a straight line with a shaky hand, and the pro is working out some next-level geometries, all strictly nonEuclidian. The top professionals are leagues above the regular pros. Their performances have the allure that all elite athletes have for us. Many human dreams have to do with overcoming death and the limitations of our bodies. Elite athletes draw us, in part, because their performances are wish images of what the body can be; they show the thing that those who watch sports never tire of seeing: that the human body can do more than we supposed. The good and the bad in personality come out on court. The easy-going person will eventually smash his hand against the wall in frustration. The truly generous person will beat you with such magnanimity that you wind up admiring her more for her openhandedness than for the skill with which she wiped the floor with you. The

apparently confident player will expose himself as deeply insecure, and you’ll see that he is not just trying to win a game, but also anxiously reassuring himself of his whole precarious standing in the world. Accordingly, I know many of my squash partners better than I do people whom I’ve known off the court for a longer time. But one comes not just to see the other more clearly, but also the self. I am sometimes forced to confront the elements of myself that I like least, but I’m not going to expose them here. (Nice try, Trinitonian.) The people I play squash with probably know what they are.

Players are not just competing but also performing a dance together. Squash friendships are different from other friendships. Players face one another with a frankness seldom found in the social world. It is not really necessary to share the contents of one’s mind or learn a lot about a person’s life or job or family before you know him or her well. And this, for me, leads to camaraderie of a peculiar kind. I feel a special affection for those relative strangers whom I meet once or twice a week, year after year, on the court. It is a fellowship unavailable, perhaps,

between mere colleagues, because our labor structures our leisure hours as much as it does the workday. It’s the difference, I guess, between people who work together and those who play freely together. Finally, for me, squash contains an allegorical image of the existing world as well as a wish image of the better world it is possible to imagine. Under capitalism, we are forced to compete for a limited set of resources that are distributed unequally. Squash, like all capitalist sport, revolves around competition; it is a cultural reflection of an economic ideology. But I understand squash to show something more than this. Unlike tennis, squash players share the same space. Because of this, if you look at it in a certain way, players are not just competing but also performing a dance together. This image not only reminds me that an extraordinary amount of cooperation and sharing goes into what we think of as “competition”; it is also a vision of a better world that inheres within but might also emerge from our own. If we mentally remove the competition from the game when we play or watch it, what is left is an image of gracefully moved bodies. It is a wish image of the body moving (truly) freely that would remain when the constraint of competition is lifted. Of all the reasons I’ve mentioned, it is perhaps best reason to keep playing the game.

David Rando is an associate professor in the English department.

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 07, 2017 •

OPINION

What we can learn from artificial intelligence

A critical component in modern plastics manufacturing is the Phillips catalyst, which is used to produce 30 million GABRIEL LEVINE tons of high-density OPINION COLUMNIST polyethylene every year. We wouldn’t have milk jugs without it. Despite its importance, though, the Phillips catalyst has been around for 50 years, and chemists still don’t know how it actually works at the atomic level. This might seem surprising. How could scientists have created such a useful tool without knowing how it functions? Yet, this sort of situation is relatively common in the sciences and is an example of the gap between experimental and theoretical understanding, the knowledge that something works without knowing how or why it works. Interestingly, every human operates the same way to a certain extent in all aspects of our lives. When learning to ride a bicycle, children intuitively figure out how to balance their weight without ever calculating torque and weight distribution. Most adults vote for political parties and candidates without ever delving deep into the roots of their ideology or performing rigorous economic analyses of policy plans. In most cases, this is fine. A full theoretical understanding isn’t necessary in everyday life or in science to get things done. However, we can often do things better with a developed theory.

Scientists, in attempting to describe the world, build models that are refined over time. The hallmark of a good model is that it matches what is observed experimentally in the world and, more interestingly, that it can be used to predict what will happen in the future.

It has become clear that free will is in all likelihood an illusion. From the earliest days of our species, humans have built different models and theoretical frameworks, in an attempt to determine how to live a good life. We call these models religion and philosophy. Just as scientific theories are refined and new models are proposed that more accurately reflect the observed world, so too have religion and philosophy evolved over time to better reflect what seems to make for a good life. For example, we no longer take literally the Bible’s injunctions to sacrifice animals. However, the common limitation of these human models is that they have lacked a sound theoretical, scientific basis for determining what a good life is. Experimental science has been deployed, as in the case of psychological studies of the results of various approaches to child-rearing. However, experimental

observation and extrapolation is no substitute for having a true understanding of what, scientifically, defines a good life. On the surface, it seems like this might be an impossible question to answer but theoretically, there is no obstacle. As our understanding of the brain has improved, it has become clear that free will is in all likelihood an illusion. In addition to experimental evidence from psychologists like Paul Bloom, one can arrive at this conclusion purely logically. Each thought and action that we have is in response to some form of stimulus that predated that thought or action, all the way back to the moment of our birth. Whether one attributes our brains’ response to these external stimuli to be deterministic or quantum-mechanically probabilistic (neurons function via electrical impulses and electrons exhibit probabilistic quantum mechanical behavior), free will is clearly impossible. With this scientific understanding of how the brain works, it seems possible, given sufficient computational power, to simulate a human brain and possible stimuli to the point that we might have a reasonable understanding of what situations lead to optimal happiness. We might be able to tweak intelligence levels, exposure to hardship and so on to mathematically, quantitatively maximize happiness and enjoyment of life. While such capability is likely very far off, we may develop less robust but no less quantitative techniques for predicting how to maximize the well-being of conscious

entities like ourselves soon and they will be sorely needed. For example, if neuroscience and medicine advance to the point that genetic adjustments can be made to fetuses in the womb, there will be serious questions as to what adjustments will be ethical. A scientific understanding of what initial conditions of a child will improve its life would therefore be useful. If machine-human interfaces become sufficiently sophisticated that digital existences akin to the matrix are possible, it might be worth considering whether it is more moral to live a digital life optimized to promote happiness than to live in the real world. If our ability to create artificial intelligence progresses to the point of creation of new consciousness, it would seem necessary to consider how we could create such a consciousness that is greater than ourselves, and therefore more able to enjoy and appreciate its conscious existence. These are difficult questions that will likely need answers in the coming decades. To answer them, it will be necessary to move beyond humanity’s past experimental, qualitative approach to determining theories of a good life. It will be necessary to strive for quantitative models of conscious systems that will enable us to predict how to optimize the well-being of conscious entities, human or artificial.

Gabriel Levine is a junior chemistry major.

Can seniors dream? Of all the memories I had with my aunt in Florida, the strongest ones are when I was younger, when memories were few JOY LAZARUS and far in between. OPINION COLUMNIST You must have dreams, she would say. Her emphasis was always on the “must” as if it outweighed the word “dreams.” She instilled it in me quite often, so much so that I could predict what time of day she would wax poetic (4 p.m., around tea time, or late at night when philosophy has no limits.) My life was built on a dream — an American dream. The daughter of an immigrant and American school teacher, my parents bought a small home and grew their family, filling all three bedrooms with goofy kids and memories. So I don’t know why having dreams seems out of the ordinary now. If it happened for my parents, it could happen to me. The initial “happy dream” part. The gooey “striving for something and eventually your hard work ethic paid off” part. The “being able to own your own house” part. Sometimes I wonder, as I look up at the stars or read a really great sentence or just stare at a painting and let the color seep into my eyes, what the purpose of dreaming is. I wonder what we are doing with our time, the one thing we kind of own. Like I can condense it all into events — a succession of day-to-day activities — and then conclusively I know what I’m doing: breakfast, work, class, lunch,

class, dinner, sleep. Those are tasks on a list. Besides the monotonous routine, our days add up to fairly insignificant passages of time, and time has a way of escaping us. For dreams to be attainable, and less fleeting than time, they need to be built on more than gaining money and prestige, because those are just means to an end. There’s more to life than watching your bank account grow. What I find alluring is this glowing potential revolving around dreams. Even the word itself has this magical, enigmatic quality. Ask anyone, regardless of age or generation, they know exactly what the word entails without knowing the personal distinction of it. The connotation of the word has a youthful quality to it because it feels as if the youth have a chance to make their dreams a reality. And some of my friends are that — free and fresh-faced and young. But some of them aren’t. In college we’re taught to be skeptical, to question everything. Do your research, get the right source, really dig deep and find the true meaning or solution of a problem. The skepticism that results, though highly thought provoking and necessary for growth, can lead to questioning yourself. There’s the “who am I” question that all individuals face at one time or another and there’s the “what do I want” question with an answer that is dependent on a life stage.

continued on page 9

OPINION • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Pro wrestling: a guilty pleasure Dream? Everyone wants to be cool, right? Most of the time. If reading books had been cool when I was six, I would have a much higher regard for the works of CALLUM SQUIRES Shakespeare, and a OPINION COLUMNIST much lower regard for the art of collecting Pokemon cards. Ah, well, that’s the way things go sometimes. But what about those things that you know aren’t cool, and yet constantly and unequivocally watch, follow and are interested in? I’m talking, of course, about guilty pleasures. They keep us happy, even if we don’t tell other people about it. Usually. But here goes: my guiltiest of guilty pleasures is professional wrestling. Look, I know it’s not “cool.” It’s big sweaty men, and some slightly smaller and less sweaty women, in spandex tights pretending to hit each other whilst fighting over a championship, with a pre-determined result. Someone else has already chosen who is going to win the match and how. As everyone always likes to say, it’s “fake.” But despite all this, it’s incredibly entertaining. Here’s why. I’ve spent the entire year being laughed at by my housemates when I get home on a monday night and turn on the USA Network and watch Monday Night Raw. But you know what? After a typically stressful day of academics and athletics and everything else in between, it’s nice to be able to suspend reality for a little while. The larger than life characters in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) are fun to watch. Throughout history, there have been some questionable character choices, including a man wearing a chicken

suit who hatched from a giant egg, as well as a pair of African-American wrestlers called “Cryme Tyme” who went around scamming people (most definitely inappropriate) all the way to the single greatest character of all time, The Undertaker. I would hazard a guess that even if you’ve never watched a full WWE match in your lifetime, you’ve heard of The Undertaker. He’s a household name like Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. And we’ll come back to The Undertaker later on. But the characters are what make the show. And I feel like a big stumbling block for some people is that they are characters, not “real” fighters. The boom of UFC in the past decade shows us that combat sports are still remarkably popular and are growing. Boxing has even had a bit of a renaissance in the past few years, though they have yet to replace Floyd Mayweather as the world’s biggest draw. I, for one, am still hoping for the Conor McGregor versus Mayweather super fight. But how does this link to WWE? Well, WWE frustrates some people, because it promotes itself and its matches as if they are legitimate athletic competitions. They are not. They are, for want of a better phrase, exceptionally elaborate dance routines. And who’s ever complained about going to a dance show and seeing dancing? But this isn’t a dance show. It’s “wrestling.” People who don’t typically watch this product expect hardhitting, ultra realistic fighting, because that is what’s usually in the mainstream media. UFC and boxing dominate the combat sports coverage for the most part. But WWE operates outside of this realm. They aren’t a legitimate combat sport. But why should that mean they aren’t “real?” To quote

the late, great Albus Dumbledore: “Of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean it’s not real?” WWE tell stories. Not the masterpieces of literature like J.K. Rowling wrote, but enthralling (at times) stories nonetheless. There is incredible athleticism on show, and the electricity of a big crowd reacting together is something you cannot put a monetary value on. It’s an experience. And THAT is why it’s my ultimate guilty pleasure. It’s an escape into a reality where not everything has to be serious. Where a man who has literally been “buried alive” more than twice throughout his career can “rise from the dead” and be one of the all-time greats of the business. I’m back to talking about The Undertaker. After a career spanning more than two decades, The Undertaker wrestled his last match at Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando this past Sunday. It was an emotional moment, as I’ve literally grown up watching this man wrestle. And I’m not alone in that. It’s a ridiculous thing that 75,000 people were in attendance in the Citrus Bowl and nearly two million subscribers watched the show on the WWE Network, but that many people says this show has an appeal — for whatever reason. So here’s my suggestion: If you’ve never watched a WWE match before, check it out. It’s more fun than you think. And I think I’ve learned some good life skills from being a fan. Don’t take yourself too seriously, have fun, embrace your imagination, laugh and always seek out a good story. It’s not a bad way to live your life.

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Callum Squires is a German studies major with a sports management minor.

Joy Lazarus is a senior art and communication double major.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that as college students, we feel like we know a lot. For four years we run head first into a mystical realm of studying, reading books and writing papers, conducting experiments, taking exams. I’m grateful for the opportunities and the knowledge I’ve received from higher education. I really am. But honestly, I’m slightly terrified by what reality means for my dreams because most dreams don’t hold up to reality. They fall flat on their face without the confines of a utopian university setting.

There’s more to life than watching your bank account grow. You have to have dreams. You have to have goals. You have to work towards something. Because, I think ultimately, you have to have something that matters to you, that you think is important, that you can devote some of yourself or time to. Maybe this is obvious. But I forget the obvious quite often and instead focus on the routine. As I come closer to graduation, I realize that I want something even though I’m not sure what that something is.

Pulse

HAVE A STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE TOLD? Know a professor or student who embodies what it means to be a Tiger? Email us at trinitonian@trinity.edu to let us know about the people and events that should be covered in an upcoming issue of the Trinitonian.

SARAH FORIN and JAMIE PROCTER discuss the details of their lightweight, portable hammock as they promote their business, RADD, with guests at the Stumberg Competition. photo by HENRY PRATT

Young entrepreneurs compete for a $5000 prize in Stumberg Competition Annual event presents monetary reward to five finalists who have spent months developing businesses BY ELIZABETH SANCHEZ PULSE REPORTER As graduation nears, some college students plan to pursue graduate school, or enter the traditional workforce at entry-level positions. However, this is not the reality for the majority of students who’ve won the seed round of the Louis H. Stumberg Venture Competition. These students defy the typical firstjob-out-of-college experience and will work as their own bosses right after graduation. “[The Stumberg competition] runs year-long [and] in the spring we have an open call to all Trinity students and alumni within one year of graduation,” said Luis E. Martinez, entrepreneurship director. “During the winter and sort of the spring, you have an opportunity to submit your idea or company that gets evaluated by a sort of tier of judges that determines whether or not there’s a sort of ‘it’ there.” This first round of competition

allows undergraduate students and one-year alumni to pitch their business ideas to a panel of five judges. The judges then choose five winners from this year’s pool of 16 teams that are categorized as one of two tracks: international or national businesses. After the final five teams are chosen, they work tirelessly over the summer with mentors and Trinity faculty to perfect their business models and to turn their dreams into reality. “This is [these student entrepreneurs’] thing. There are athletes, social club members, artists and for these students, their ‘thing’ is entrepreneurship.” Martinez said. “Some of the teams that competed in this year’s 2017 seed round include the fashionable ‘frockets’ (front-pockets) designed by POK-IT, affordable ways to eat out provided by EatsInTown and customizable cake pop arrangements made by Baking Brittney. These were just three out of 16 teams that competed.” The 5 teams who won the Seed Round of this spring semester include Baking Brittney, POK-IT, Dbuntu, Modern Knights and Rapi Renta. These teams will receive a seed prize of $5,000, shared office space of $1,200 and the Summer Accelerator of $8,164. The teams will work on the Trinity campus

throughout the summer with Trinity professors and community mentors who are actively engaged in San Antonio’s business community. One of the winners, Brittney Bowman, a senior accounting and entrepeneurship double major, had an advantage, as she had worked on her company since high school. “I started making cake pops in high school and officially titled the business ‘Baking Brittney’ my sophomore year of college, but I have never done it full time because it’s hard to manage a business where you have to make orders the day before they are due but then juggle that schedule with being a fulltime student and being involved on campus.” Bowman said. “So I’ve really just done this on the side with the plans to fully launch after I graduate, which will be this May.” Bowman plans to use the $5,000 to help her develop an online business. “I plan on using the money to rent commercial kitchen space. Currently I am operating under Texas Cottage Law, but the biggest restriction to this is that I have to do face-to-face transactions. Using a commercial kitchen would allow me to do all my transactions online, which is the other thing that I would use the money for which is to develop my website,” Bowman said. As an entrepeneurship major,

Bowman has been exposed to Stumberg before; her experience was beneficial and reminded her about her passion for the program. “I’ve worked for the department since freshman year and I’ve helped build it into what it is today. It’s kind of nice that I was able to go out my senior year as one of the winners in the competition that I saw be built in front of me. I was able to see this department grow and I gave my heart and soul to it, so it was fitting that it gave something so special to me,” Bowman said. The founder and CEO of POKIT, Diego Trevino, described the significance of this competition as one that prioritizes building a stronger entrepreneurship community within Trinity. “The people who care were very nervous. If you care, you notice how very important this is. The $5,000, of course it is very important, but also being able to stay here [at Trinity] over the summer, being paid to do work for your business, getting your dorm paid for is so much easier [than managing the money and company on your own]. The chance to have your team work together [at Trinity], it’s so helpful,” Trevino said. After this seed round, the seed prizes were awarded, which will allow the teams to prepare to compete for the largest prize

($25,000). This prize is a grant given by the Stumberg Competition’s donors and supporters. The prize money from both rounds of the competition has benefitted all of the past competitors. “Currently, all of the finalists in the previous years are still functioning businesses.” Martinez said. “Last year, all five Stumberg prize finalists are currently all still operating.” Trevino believes that the fresh slate college offers is the best chance to explore the possibility of establishing a new business. “College is the perfect moment for someone who is trying to open a business.” Trevino said. “The learning experience you get from opening your business in college is more important than the failure.” Many students and recent graduates who plan to pursue their business ideas right now are not weighted down by the various responsibilities of the real world. Some are supported by parents and are not engaged in full-time jobs, which makes college the perfect time for the pursuit of a dream. “My faovirte quote is, “The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers, but most of all the world needs dreamers who do. I think this sums up the Stumberg competition pretty well,” Trevino said.

PULSE • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Five students selected as winners for their undergraduate research papers The recipients of the awards were selected out of 22 participants and received various amounts of prize money as compensation LEAH WOEHR PULSE INTERN

The assignment of a research paper is often viewed as a daunting task that may involve long nights grueling over a computer in Coates Library with several cups of coffee

nearby. However, for some students, this is an opportunity to ask questions about the world, explore various topics of interest and create a substantial product that documents one’s genuine curiosity. Some of these students include the recipients of the Undergraduate Student Research Awards. This competition, hosted by Trinity University’s Coates Library, recently awarded five students for their achievements in conducting research using library and information services. The winners received awards ranging from $100 to $1,000 and were invited to present at the Humanities

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Collective if their selected project focused on topics relevant to humanities research. These students ranged from a number of different grade levels and covered a variety of topics; some of these projects included a study of romantic poetry to the 2001 authorization of military force in the United States. All of these papers, along with past awarded works, are available for viewing on the Trinity Digital Commons website. For many, this process began through some research assignments in different classes; these papers were later submitted as competitors into this event. “I was in Dr. [Alfred] Montoya’s Intro to Anthropology class last semester, and we were assigned to write a 10-page ethnography, which is a study of a people group, as a final project at the end of the semester. So I chose to do my field work at Casa RAICES, which is a shelter for migrants from Central America. It’s predominantly asylum seekers, women and children who are fleeing gang violence in Central America,” said Aubrey Parke, first-year anthropology student. Many of these students worked closely with their professors in order to get the best feedback and guidance available while they were conducting their research. Samantha Heffner, a senior English and history double major, started her research for her topic at the beginning of the fall semester. She frequently reached out to her advisor for assistance as she wrote the paper. “I worked very closely with Dr. [Betsy] Tontiplaphol in the English department. She was my thesis advisor and academic advisor and we met once a week, every week and we would go over what I had worked on up to that point,” Heffner said. For senior history major, Katie Funderburg, this was not the first time her research had been commended. She wrote her paper, “Barons and Yeomen, Venison and Vert: A Comparative Analysis of the Magna Carta and A Gest of Robyn Hode in the Context of Forest Law” during the spring of her junior year. During that semester, her work was awarded the Francis Callum Hendrix Award for history. This paper is also being published in the Expositor Journal of undergraduate humanities research. Her previous rewards for this paper encouraged her to enter it again. “I was already happy with that paper and knew it was going over well with people, since it won the history award. It was fortunate that since I submitted it for that award, I got some more editing feedback from my professor after it had been graded.”

These award winners were selected from a competitive pool of 22 entries and were chosen by the Undergraduate Student Research Awards Evaluation Committee, which is chaired by head of instruction services, Benjamin Harris. “It is always thrilling to reward the efforts of our students, and this year’s recipients were more than deserving. I hope that their work inspires future students to see the potential of their class assignments. Whether you are conducting research for a paper or a presentation, that’s an opportunity to really create something, to do something that has a life beyond the grade and beyond the class. I truly can’t wait to see next year’s submissions,” Harris said. After all the work these various students put into their unique research projects, they are happy to see that their work would be recognized. Sophomore history and international studies double major, Benjamin Collinger, recognized the intensity of the competition, and is grateful that he was chosen as a recipient. “I feel really honored to be one of the few people chosen, especially in a school like Trinity. There’s a lot of fantastic researchers and writers and I feel honored to be a part of that,” Collinger said. Junior philosophy major Daniel Conrad was excited to have his discipline’s research process recognized in the competition. “I was almost surprised to see that my summer research on the philosophy of artworks and games had been selected for an award,” Conrad said. “I was honored to work on my research this past summer under the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program hosted by the Mellon Initiative, so I was working in the library daily.” Conrad explained the various resources that were available to his research. “I was able to receive inter-library loans to find books that our library didn’t own in print,” Conrad said. “One of the library liaisons, Michael Hughes, was particularly interested in both the philosophical and the game aspects of my research, and he would send me relevant article citations for my use. And the Mellon Initiative funded my travel to present work at a conference on aesthetics and games philosophy last October, which was an incredible experience in itself but also allowed me to discuss my ideas with professionals and even the scholar my paper primarily disagreed with.” Staff disclosure: Daniel Conrad is a news reporter for the Trinitonian.

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The five winners, BENJAMIN COLLINGER, AUBREY PARKE, SAMANTHA HEFFNER, DANIEL CONRAD and KATIE FUNDERBURG pose with the certificates they received to commemorate their winning papers from the Undergraduate Research Awards. photo provided by LEAH WOEHR

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 07, 2017 •

PULSE

Trinity alumna returns to raise awareness for teaching students with exceptionalities Heather Haynes Smith, associate professor of education, has enjoyed working at her alma mater BY CLAIRE NAKAYAMA PULSE REPORTER In room 203 of Storch Memorial, you will find art created by Trinity alumni, pictures of family and friends and the welcoming invitation of Heather Haynes Smith, who graduated from Trinity in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in humanities and a Master of Arts in teaching a year later. She was in Chi Beta Epsilon, a cheerleader and an intramural office employee. Today, Smith is better known for her work with students who have learning disabilities. She teaches a course called “Understanding Learners with Exceptionalities in School and Society,” in which students volunteer for fifteen hours to receive hands-on learning outside of the classroom. While the lecture informs students of various disabilities, volunteering gives them a chance to learn directly about exceptional kids. “You can’t just think about the theories. You have to see things in practice so that you can ask the tough questions and see things that challenge your own assumptions,” Smith said. Yesenia Caballero, a junior English and theater double major, enjoyed the class, as well as the chance to teach exceptional students. “She kept everything fresh when she taught it, which made the class fun and engaging,” Caballero said.

HEATHER HAYNES SMITH lectures students in one of her “Understanding Learners with Exceptionalities in School and Society” sections about facilitating lectures for students with disabilities. photos by CLAUDIA GARCIA

Caballero worked with a local charity, Providence Place, and taught students different types of dances. “You go in with an attitude that it’s something that fulfills a requirement, but it proved to be a rewarding experience, and it solidified my passion for teaching. I’m now dead-set on getting my master’s degree,” Caballero said.

Kendall Hayes, a junior Spanish and Chinese double major, found Smith to be an extremely helpful advisor as she questioned what to do with her majors. “She has this vast network set up, so I told her about my linguistic interests and how much I love people. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life, but she helped me

find venues where I could practice or do an internship or just get experience,” said Hayes. Smith and her students have made great strides in the department; her three sections of the Learners with Exceptionalities course taught in 2016 were also nominated for the 28th annual United Way Volunteer of the Year award. Together, they contributed over 1,000 hours of volunteer service. “The award ceremony is coming up and I am so excited. This shows the students that life can be interconnected. You can integrate life skills into any piece of curriculum to benefit students,” Smith said. The passion behind Smith’s work stems from her exposure to disabilities early on. “My father was the American with Disabilities Acts specialist for the governor’s office for years. He was in a wheelchair due to an accident that caused him to become paralyzed. He went back to school, studied urban studies and became an advocate for access for people with disabilities,” Smith said. Smith has continued to prioritize fighting discrimination of the disabled. Growing up there was a lot of discrimination, and we definitely felt it. I wanted an inclusive experience where people didn’t feel different. I want everybody to feel included and realize that everybody has differences,” Smith said. Now, students in Smith’s classes want to make sure she gets the recognition she deserves for the promotion of disabilities awareness. “She has a lot of experience in the field for what she does, and she’s been in this field of higher education about students with disabilities for a long time. She really deserves a lot more credit than she receives,” Hayes said.

Various departments offer several new courses for the upcoming fall semester Philosophy for Children, Genres in Creative Writing and Afterlives of Antiquity are a few new choices BY CLAIRE NAKAYAMA PULSE REPORTER The upcoming fall semester will allow students to enroll in previously unoffered classes in a variety of departments; two of these new courses involve going out into the community and tying their experiences back to the subject of the class. Philosophy For Children, taught by Judith Norman, professor of philosphy, as well as Genres in Creative Writing, taught by Norma Cantú, Murchison professor of humanities, will both involve visiting various areas in San Antonio “[Philosophy for Children] is a servicelearning class where we go to a local elementary school and have philosophy classes with the children there. Part of the reason why I want Trinity students to experience it is because kids know a lot; they have a valuable perspective to offer, and they have no filter. The diversity between a child and an adult’s perspective isn’t something where one is right and the other is wrong, but instead both learn from each other,” Norman said. Cantú will have students in her course take field trips in order to gain insight on various topics; students can then choose to write about their experiences in English, Spanish or a combination of both. “In the class, we will do a lot of reading, experiencing things and then writing about them. For example, we may take a field trip to the flea market and write about that cultural

scene,” Cantú said. “The thematic focus will determine which field trips we go on; if we are doing nature writing, for example, then we will probably go to a park or even just walk around on campus.” Benjamin Stevens, visiting professor of antiqiuties, is also offering a newly redesigned Afterlives of Antiquity class, which has been organized to make students contemplate the relationship between art forms and the ideas of afterlife and death. “Journeys into the underworld and thoughts about the afterlife more generally form an important, recurrent trope in literature, film and other art forms. This course gives students materials and methods to raise important questions about how art deals with some of our most fundamental questions by tracing a main line in that tradition,” Stevens said. “It’s also an extension of my scholarly research into how ancient underworlds exert an influence on more recent literature and film.” Many professors prioritize integrating new courses into Trinity’s curriculum is important, as these new classes reflect changing issues around the world. “I really believe that the curriculum is an ever-changing animal. It has to change with the times, and it has to change according to the needs and desires that students bring to the university,” Cantú said. “I think that society as a whole in the United States is being transformed right now, and there are many more Spanish-speaking people, there are many more Spanish-speaking readers. Therefore, I think that we need to have more writers who write in Spanish as well.” These new courses also show how a certain subject can be relevant in a modern setting. “Classical receptions is a growing and exciting area, and it can be wonderful for

The registrar’s office provides various resources for students preparing to enroll in courses for the upcoming fall semester, including course offerings and requirements for all degrees. photo by CLAUDIA GARCIA

students to feel that they are part of research happening right now,” Cantú said. Norman also believes that philosophy deserves more recognition. “Philosophy belongs in the university, but it also belongs in the community, where people should be engaging in critical analysis and ethical questioning. This is part of an attempt to put philosophy into the schools and out into the community where it can be doing

work and helping people develop relationships and knowledge.” All three courses will ultimately allow students of all majors and disciplines expand their knowledge about the world around them. “Classes like this help grow connections between Trinity and the community. Students can start to think of themselves not only as a part of Trinity, but as residents of San Antonio,” Norman said.

PULSE • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Several students attend annual Senior plans chemistry conference in San Francisco to attend Some attendees were able Yale to present on their research completed at Trinity over previous summers BY KAYLIE KING PULSE REPORTER

Students and professors had the pleasure of leaving the hot Texas weather to attend the 253rd national meeting of the American Chemical Society in California. This meeting focused on several topics, including advanced materials, technologies, systems and processes. “The American Chemical Society Conference is basically a giant get-together of research groups from around the country. It’s a place where we can all share our research with each other while getting to explore an awesome city like San Francisco,” said Meagan Pollock, a senior chemistry major. Pollock and her lab partner, Christine Peterson, were able to present data collected from research for the past two summers.

“It’s exciting because we were able to make an impact and contribute new information to the research that our lab group has been working on for years,” Pollock said. Besides presenting, there were other points of interest for Pollock at the conference as well. “I was also looking forward to seeing what topics are covered during some of the lectures. It’s a really fun trip for my lab group because we have all gotten pretty close over the last couple of years,” Pollock said. Aamuktha Karla, a first-year neuroscience major, also had the opportunity to present her research at the conference. “I presented my research from last summer. I looked at cucurbiturils, which are a specific type of molecule, and how it interacts with different peptides and proteins. I had my own project, so it was unique that I could present it,” Karla said. Todd Whittaker, senior chemistry major, was also supposed to present at the conference, but unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out. “I’m attending this conference because I was scheduled to give a talk in the Catalysis

Division,” Whittaker said. “However, I had to withdraw my presentation due to timing. While this was a shame, I also got the opportunity to attend many lectures to learn and meet some of the top advisors for graduate programs, as well as network potential internship opportunities.” Despite not presenting, Whittaker enjoyed supporting the other attendees he traveled with while learning about potential opportunities to attend graduate school. “I’m most excited about learning more about what I want to do in grad school and meet the people conducting the very best of that research all across the country and in fact the world,” Whittaker said. Pollock also appreciated the opportunity to learn about potential post-grad plans from other participants who share the same passion as her. “I would say one of the biggest highlights was seeing how many people attended the conference. It’s refreshing to know that there are so many people interested in pursuing chemistry,” Pollock said.

Continued from front “During the semester, there was a chemistry professor who came over from Yale to give a talk on his research and stuff. I hadn’t really considered applying there before and then he came in, and my advisor, Dr. [Bert] Chandler, said, ‘You should go have lunch with this guy and talk to him.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah sure, I’ll think about it,’ thinking I don’t really have time for that. I ended up actually going to the lecture and it was really interesting to listen to. He showed us a bunch of pictures of the campus and the research that other professors are doing. I had never really thought of looking in there. After the lecture, I left and went back to my lab, and my advisor came in and said, ‘Get out, go talk to him.’ So I went and talked to him and we just like chit-chatted about school and research work, stuff like that,” Dwarica said. The seminar sparked his interest in Yale, so Dwarica ended up applying, thinking it could be another reach school for him. He sent in his seven applications right before winter break and waited in silence for a few months. Dwarica ended up being accepted into most of the schools he applied for. He was surprised to find out that he was rejected from Columbia, as he was able to meet with chemistry professors there and discuss research ideas. “With these kinds of things, you have to have backup plans. You can go in with a mentality or a plan, but shit happens. Anything goes after you apply. You never know. Sometimes the people who are reviewing your application could be having a bad day. For people who are thinking about or applying to grad school, I guess the best advice I could give is to do a lot of research on your school, and if you have opportunities to meet professors, then take them. And if you don’t have opportunities, then make opportunities,” Dwarica said. Because of his impressive accomplishments, students who know Dwarica say they look up to him. Christian Correll, an undecided first year, is one of Dwarica’s fraternity brothers. According to Correll, the fraternity brothers see Dwarica as a father-like figure. “Nico is the definition of dad. While he makes a bunch of stupid jokes that make you hate him at times, he is much wiser than you will ever be and holds himself to very high standards. It’s very inspiring for me as a freshman. Also I feel like he would be a really great coach if this whole Yale thing doesn’t work out,” Correll said. In addition to support from friends and academic advisors, Dwarica was also grateful for having his roommate, Juan Carlos Suarez, to work on applications together. Suarez, a senior engineering major, found that it made the process more enjoyable. “It was pretty fun. We spent all summer looking into and comparing different graduate programs. Every week or so we’d talk about what programs we found and why we liked them. When it came to actually applying, we revised each other’s statement of purpose. We both found that having a friend’s perspective on your undergraduate experiences and achievements was really helpful — sometimes you miss or forget things that your friends don’t,” Suarez said. Both Suarez and Dwarica advise students interested graduate school to plan early. “Start looking into schools now. Take the GRE as early as possible [like the] summer after junior year. Apply to scholarships and fellowships, reach out to professors and find connections at your schools of interest, ask peers, co-workers and professors that have worked with you throughout college revise your statement of purpose. Lastly, while you may think that networking isn’t important for graduate school, it is.” Suarez said.

“Cards Against Humanity”vows to purchase politican’s histories Creator of the popular adult card game wants to lampoon the controversial bill that would allow companies and individuals to buy internet histories by pay for the responsible parties’ histories.

Trump’s right hand shrinks after being booted from National Security Council Chief strategist Steve Bannon was removed from his role in an attempt to, among other things, neuter his ability to lead efforts to oust allegedly disloyal elements within the Council. He retains his job as chief strategist.

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Welcome, “Wubbalubbadubdub!” bubs In an April Fools antiprank, creators of popular cartoon “Rick and Morty” air new episode of Season 3 “Rick and Morty” fans became a confused, manic mob when the first episode of the show’s third season surfaced on April 1. That’s right: without warning, Adult Swim ALEJANDRO CARDONA dropped the episode on April Fool’s Day, A&E WRITER which made fans (myself included) skeptical that the show’s release wasn’t an obnoxious prank. The episode was the real deal, and some noted that it was a promise fulfilled. In the season two finale, Mr. Poopybutthole promised fans would

wait one year and six months, which was almost exactly the amount of time it took for the new episode to air. Oddly ironic, seeing as in the show, Mr. Poopybutthole’s near-death happened because Beth did not believe in him. We should have known better. Successful as it was, show creators weren’t exactly involved in the process. During the latest episode of his podcast, “Harmontown,” creator Dan Harmon jokingly called the release “an elaborate, misguided April Fool’s prank,” going on to quip,“I don’t get it.” Adult Swim gets all the credit for the impromptu online stream which played the episode on a 24-hour loop. Despite the creator’s lack of involvement, the episode seemed to have been constructed to be played on a loop. No spoilers, but the episode begins in such a way that a viewer could jump onto the stream at any point, and there would be some sense of narrative continuity. The release has made waves on social media. One of the episode’s most memorable jokes, Rick singing the praises of a discontinued

1988 McDonald’s szechuan sauce has already inspired action in our own dimension. Fans and creators of the show has been ceaselessly tweeting at McDonald’s, asking for the return of the (allegedly) delicious McNuggets dip. And it might happen. McDonald’s corporate twitter account, as well as one of its top chefs, have sent out tweets acknowledging the outcry for the lost szechuan sauce. This new episode offers a glimpse into the show’s direction for the next season. Previous seasons would use and discard a sci-fi trope each week, allowing episodes to be largely modular. “The Rickshank Redemption” already has far greater integration than fans of the show have ever seen, folding in the Cronenberg-verse, the Council of Ricks and the Galactic Federation into a cohesive narrative. Although the show is eclectic and unpredictable by design, the arc of the seasons has tended towards embracing the dark, mindbending consequences of Rick and Morty’s sci-fi escapades. In the first season, Morty has to bury his own body and replace himself in a

different dimension, which makes him aware of the futility and meaningless of existence. This is the direction being promised in the new season, which features a much darker Rick, and a less naive Morty both of whom have been changed by the often cataclysmic consequences of their adventures. Creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon are not just interested in quoting sci-fi and playing out narrative tropes for easy laughs. They are using narrative cliches to explore a real reaction from a character, as with Morty’s bizarre confrontation with death-by-proxy. Say goodbye to modularity Rick and Morty can no longer walk away unscathed from their mistakes. This might be a cartoon, but there are consequences. Sadly, no more episodes will stream until mid-summer, as Adult Swim originally promised. Until then, fans can only speculate and wait, and newcomers get a chance to jump aboard the hype-train. Please, don’t let this be the universe where you never discover “Rick and Morty.”

On the merry merits of tabletop gaming NICHOLAS SMETZER A&E CONTRIBUTOR I spent the last weekend at the beach. Having lazy thoughts on the sand, trying to chase waves back into the sea and dropping my phone in the water — it was a lovely, lovely time. Ocean-side towns are like little alternate dimensions; it’s easy to lose track of what’s happening in the world around you. Funny enough, ideas of these sorts of different dimensions have been occupying my thoughts recently, though not in the mathematical or philosophical sense. Rather, for the better part of this month, I’ve been either playing, designing or at least thinking about tabletop games. I know, I know. Nerdy shit. But seriously, it’s hard to even talk about the geeky wonders of tabletop gaming without sounding like a madman. Understandable — if there’s one thing that a level nine paladin and a paranoid delusion of lizard people have in common, it’s that they both exist entirely in the world of make-believe. But therein lies the charm, there’s no limit to where the game can go, provided you’re playing with a like-minded group. No board, no screen and hell, even the rulebooks are more like big collections of suggestions, instead of firm stipulations and requirements. Part of the magic is how little physical substance there is to them, just enough bits and pieces to keep the players tethered to the same fantastic, imaginary realm. The true merit to these games though, beyond the bizarre settings, the wishfulfillment or the sweet loot, is the collaborative storytelling that these games enable. While video games these days might be able to render beautiful graphic vistas, they are finite — or if they truly are infinite, they simply combine and recombine from a set pool of resources. A roleplaying campaign unfolds organically, naturally adjusting its world to the actions of the players, in potentially infinite directions. You can go from a medieval warscape to a distant planet in the same game, and you can do it without worrying about programmed invisible walls or characters with endlessly looping dialogue. Just as there is no limit to the world, there is no limit to your character. These games

graphic by TYLER HERRON

test your luck and strategy, but they also test your ethics, your worldview, your empathy and your eloquence. As you play, you find

yourself slipping into the mindset of your character, approaching situations not as a college student, but as an effeminate,

dwarvish bard or as a homophobic, closeted orc. You begin to internalize your made-up character’s experiences, and their traumas and triumphs, though imaginary, begin to feel like your own. And after a night of conquests and heartbreaks and impossible shenanigans, you can head with your adventuring party to go grab some tacos. It’s easy to be dismissive of these games, and even easier to be too intimidated to get started; these are problems that this little corner of the gaming world has had for a long time. Between the close-knit exclusivity of pen-and-paper roleplaying groups and the almost prohibitively expensive costof-entry to miniature wargames, it can be difficult to gain a foothold into this rich little community. Luckily, it seems as though we’re in the midst of a bit of a tabletop renaissance. Between folks like Stephen Colbert, Tim Duncan or Vin Diesel — a man so geeky that his film “The Last Witch Hunter” was based his Dungeons and Dragons character — there are no shortage of nerds in the public eye. Hell, Wil Wheaton’s post-”Star Trek” career has consisted largely of being a kind of tabletop gaming ambassador, shedding light on games that would otherwise remain trapped in the proverbial mother’s basement. Even if you wind up in some basement, playing these games not only introduces you to all sorts of people you’d likely never meet, but gradually introduces you to the complexities and sensitivities of your gaming group. It’s surprising how close you become to a group of random strangers after a night of slaying bugbears and opening treasure chests together. While it’s not as perfectly accessible as we’d like, the world of tabletop gaming is opening up more and more each day. Find a group of friends who play, or even better, start your own group of newbie, soonto-be adventurers. Make yourselves into brooding warriors, absentminded wizards or crossdressing space-marines. I think you’ll find that with a little bit of faith, these games will become a fantastic opportunity for friends, foes and fun. And if it turns out they just aren’t your thing, that’s fine. More dice for the rest of us.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

O’Reilly loses sponsors after scandal In one respect, the recent sexual assault allegations leveled at Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly aren’t incredibly surprising. To name just two others, DYLAN WAGNER Bill Cosby (whose A&E EDITOR trial is coming up on June 5) and our sitting president Donald J. Trump have been accused by multiple women of sexual assault in the last year. While Trump’s situation is anomalous

because no one really believed he could bounce back from an audio recording of him admitting to groping women, Cosby’s was more of a “bigger they are, the harder they fall” scenario, forcing advertisers to play more on the defense. What’s interesting about Bill O’Reilly’s case is that at least 12 advertisers, including heavy-hitters like BMW and Hyundai, chose to remove their ad spots from his show very quickly after these allegations snowballed, exposure-wise. Celebrities seem to bounce back from scandals like rubber, but BMW is playing it safe.

But when large companies pull ads from hyper-popular shows like “The O’Reilly Factor,” higher-ups at FOX probably sweat through their fancy ties. Why? For money, that’s why. O’Reilly’s show is worth about $446 million in ad revenue to FOX. O’Reilly has only paid out about $13 million in settlements for his five sexual assault cases, and he rakes in $8 million a year. No one needs reminding that it takes advertisers pulling out to grab people’s attention. But I’m anxious to see how O’Reilly defends himself and how far FOX is willing to stick out its neck to save a greasy golden goose.

“Queer Vibes” brings LGBTQ perspective to Trinity airwaves KRTU’s fairly new segment, “Queer Vibes,” broadcasts music from exclusively LGBTQ artists. Chris Conde, a gay rapper, is the founder NABEEHA VIRANI and host of the show. A&E WRITER He pitched the idea of this show to KRTU because he wanted a place for this genre within the local community. “There wasn’t kind of any LGBTQ representation on the radio ... save a few podcasts here and there, but nothing on FM radio in San Antonio so I pitched this idea.” I did this because it hadn’t existed yet. I [also] felt like there was an audience for “Queer Vibes” and as it gets bigger and as listening audience grows, I think that it’ll prove that there is a role to play in the broadcasting world,” Conde said. The process of Conde’s idea becoming a reality took around eight months, with the main issue being the number of LGBTQ artists who have released good music.

“Their biggest concern was whether or not there was going to be enough music,” Conde said. As it turns out, there are enough LGBTQ artists that exist and are spread out throughout all different types of genres. Furthermore, not only do these artists represent a different perspective through music, they also hold a presence that hasn’t been filled across the country and within the community. “I think it’s important to have that [representation] especially in the political climate that we’re in, to let viewers, listeners and audiences in SA know that LGBTQs exist in all different places in society and art and that the music that they write is a vast spectrum of genres,” Conde said. Currently, “Queer Vibes” just plays music, but Conde hopes to expand the show. “The whole goal is to play music from LGBTQ musicians and artists and eventually interview people that are on tour or authors or public figures that are active in the [San Antonio] LGBTQ community,” Conde said. “I think this is a very unique thing to San Antonio and is interesting. I’m definitely going

to check it out,” said Samsara Davalos Reyes, co-president of Trinity Diversity Connection. One critique of “Queer Vibes” is the question of whether or not labeling these artists as LGBTQ is important. “People have asked if it’s necessary to say ‘this is a gay musician’ and LGBTQ people too are like, ‘Hey I’m not a trans woman, I’m a woman,’ but I think that for right now, [we have] to let people realize we exist and that it’s okay,” Conde said. “Some people find comfort in labels but I think especially right now, it’s important to know that LGBTQ people exist in this area,” Davalos Reyes said. “I think people in general are taught to focus on differences ... I think when we’re granted a moment to be able to connect to something similar, it’s awesome and it’s something to be celebrated,” Conde said. Catch “Queer Vibes” every Sunday night from 11p.m. to midnight on KRTU. Playbacks are also available on KRTU’s website. To request specific artists, call in during the show. For more information, follow the username @queervibes91.7 on Instagram.

“Endzone” brings sports news to TigerTV as a feature show BY JACOB ROSSITTER A&E WRITER For students and faculty who are on the lookout for a brand new sports show on campus, look no further than the recently approved “Endzone.” This Trinitonian writer had the opportunity to sit down with Benjamin Gomez, stage manager at TigerTV and one of the architects behind the creation of “Endzone.” The following is a brief interview with Gomez, in which he makes a case for why “Endzone” should be on any Trinity sports fan’s radar in the weeks to come. When asked how the idea for this show came about, Gomez explained, “It came as an idea late last semester. One of our staff members who works on Tiger Network came to me with the idea possibly working with KRTU on a podcast, or maybe something in the studio.” Gomez admitted that initially he had his doubts, but later warmed up to the idea. “[At first], I thought that might be kind of hard,

but [on second thought] it would be cool if we actually started a weekly sports broadcast.” Gomez explained that putting on a show of this kind is a new venture of TigerTV. “We really don’t do too much now in the way of sports. We have a small segment of ‘Newswave,’ which is our Friday news show, that focuses on sports, but it’s only like a two minute [segment]. I definitely think that if you look at all the major networks in television, sports is a big market.” Not to mention, a surprisingly large number of Trinity alumni graduate and later pursue careers in sports broadcasting. According to Gomez, “[Trinity] has so many [communication] majors with an additional sports management minor, who go on to do sports broadcasting. With that idea, I pitched it to James, our staff advisor, [who] thought it would be a great idea. Now executive Producer Rosie Van Vliet and I later pitched it to the [communications] faculty, who loved it.” On how exactly the show’s format would

play out Gomez said, “We currently hope to develop it into the same format as all of our other shows: 28 minutes once a week. Currently, it takes place on Wednesdays and we’re running it as a trial period. We just started this past semester, where up till spring break we ran it every other week. Right after spring break, we got approved to run the show weekly, and now we’re running it on a weekly basis at 15 minutes. The hope is by next semester we’ll be running it at a full 28 minutes.” Gomez went on to explain the scope of news to which he and the rest of the showrunners hope to cover on “EndZone,” “We currently focus a lot on Trinity sports. We want that segment to be represented as best we can because we air it live on campus. It’s later re-aired on public access. We want to focus primarily on Trinity sports, but definitely cover national and international sports. We plan to cover everything from the Spurs to Manchester United.”

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 07, 2017 •

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

“Meet the Press”

Find out what the editors of the Trinitonian have to say about current events and pop culture trends. If you could make your worst enemy play a board game forever, which would you choose?

10/10. “Candyland” SOLEIL GAFFNER COPY EDITOR

“Pictionary.” TYLER HERRON GRAPHICS EDITOR

“Checkers.”

“Hungry Hungry Hippos”

JEFFERY SULLIVAN NEWS EDITOR

KATIE GROKE LAYOUT EDITOR

“The Farming Game.” DYLAN WAGNER A&E EDITOR

“The Game of Life.” NICK SMETZER COPY EDITOR

“Monopoly.”

JULIA ELMORE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name.” We Believe He has Risen Jennifer Adamo (Risk Management) Laura Allen (Education) Debi Arbuckle (President's Office) Lettie Argueta (Info. Res., Mktg. & Comm.) Jeanna Balreira (Univ. Mktg. & Comm.) E. Cabral Balreira (Mathematics) Jackie Bevilacqua (Health Services) Brenda Black (Student Life) Oralia Carrillo (Tiger Card) Lisa Chapa (Residential Life) Janie Childers (Psychology) Lisa Citta (Alumni Rel. & Development) Christina Cooley (Chemistry) Nelda Cortez (Parker Chapel) Melanie Coulson (Career Services)

Denise Covert (Human Resources) David Crockett (Political Science) Stephen Curry (Class of 1984) Thomas Dimitri (Athletics) L. Paige Fields (School of Business) Susie Gonzalez (Univ. Mktg. & Comm.) Arleen Harrison (Political Science) Sandra Hernandez (Laurie Auditorium) Tom Hicks (Computer Science) Twyla Hough (Career Services) Laura Hunsicker-Wang (Chemistry) Hanna Soren Kuykendall (School of Business) Carey Latimore (History) Carl Leafstedt (Music)

Luke 24:46 (the words of Jesus) Gary Logan (Finance and Administration) Brittany Long (Chemistry) Clayton Mabry (CSI Admin. Support) Janice Madrigal (Facilities Services) Grace Martinez (Purchasing Office) Monica Martinez (Major Gifts) Brant McAdams (Athletics) Russell McMindes (Athletics) Paul Michalak (Athletics) Sonia Mireles (Education) Seth Nelson (Music) Butch Newman (Athletics) Stephen Nickle (Parker Chapel) Allan Novak (IT - retired) Wanda Olson (Residential Life) Lupita Puente (Human Comm. & Theatre)

Chris Pursell (Chemistry) Linda Ramos (Finance and Administration) LadyStacie Rimes-Boyd (Career Services) Karen Risley (Admissions - retired) Valerie Schweers (Admissions) Bob Seese (Int. Student & Scholar Serv.) Patrick Shay (Health Care Administration) Maria Soto (Human Resources) Linda Specht (School of Business) Olga Trejo (School of Business) Jerheme Urban (Athletics) Matt Uzzell (Athletics) Lei Wang (ITS) Dena Warneke (School of Business) Mike Wilkins (School of Business)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK Relaxation Yoga

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Sports

When March Madness Ends APR.

As expected, Monday night’s showdown between Gonzaga and North Carolina has received mixed reviews. For every person lamenting the game’s lack of flow and the constant calling of clouds, another exudes praise for the sheer effort both team’s brought to the occasion; a sense of effort many feel is missing from the professional realm. One thing is certain: While the game’s aesthetic pleasures ebb and flow, and a certain amount of logistical fine-tuning could go a long way to make the viewing experience more worthwhile, the players’ talent level steadily rises every year. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Top: First-year ANDY GARZA performs the long jump. Bottom left: Sophomore MAKENNA BENTLEY does the high jump. Bottom right. Junior CHRISTIAN ALEMAN sprints to the finish. photos by OZVALDO VELOZ

Trinity Open runs personal bests and Tiger wins

First place finishers include sophomore McCullough in the 1500 meter and the men’s 100 meter relay BY SHELBY DeVORE

SPORTS REPORTER

This past Friday, March 31, the track and field team hosted the Trinity Invitational. Schools from all over such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Queens and Hendrix College traveled to San Antonio to compete in the meet. The Tigers took home some wins and some even broke some personal bests. “We worked really hard,” said junior Elizabeth Peters. “I felt like we were united as a team and came together to compete.” In the women’s field, junior Nkolika Nweke took second place in the 100-meter dash and second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.25, making it a record speed for the sprinter. First-year Laura Taylor placed fourth in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:27.32. Sophomore Molly McCullough took home the gold in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:55.32. This was her personal record for the race. In the 5000-meter run, junior Haley McFadden placed third with a time of 20:08.08. In the hurdles, sophomore Abigail Schneebeck placed second in both the 100-meter and 400-meter. She set a personal best

in the 400-meter with a time of 15.28. First-year Andy Garza placed fourth in the 400-meter with a time of 1:08.39. The Tigers’ relay team won the 4-x-100 meter relay with a time of 49.51. Members of the relay were Nweke, Peters, firstyear Androniki Deftarios and junior Britney Sullivan. In jumps, Sullivan placed fourth in the long jump with a distance of 5.38 meters. Sullivan also placed second in the triple jump with a distance of 11.49 meters; right behind her was first-year Ayriel Coleman with a distance of 11.07 meters. Moving into the men’s field, sophomore Blair Walker placed second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.24, a personal best. In the 800-meter run, sophomores Elliot Blake and Benjamin Creasy placed first and second with times of 1:58.73 and 1:59.18. Senior Austin Brown placed third in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:09.54. In the 10,000-meter run, sophomore Brian Wongchotigul won gold with a time of 33:04.05, followed by sophomore Andy Cottrell. “It felt amazing to break my [personal record] by so much,” Walker said. “I’ve sort of been in a slump with chronic injuries since high school, so this was really a break-out meet for me. I was so surprised with my time that I honestly didn’t believe it

until the official times came in.” Junior Trent Walker took third in the 110-meter hurdles and fourth in the 400-meter hurdles. In the 3000-meter steeplechase, junior Daniel Henkes placed third with a time of 11:04.62. The Tigers took another win in the 4-x-100 meter relay with a time of 42.82. The members of the relay included senior Adam Saunders, junior Cody Hall, first-years Jon Sorey and Raphael Martin. In throws, junior Matt Love placed first with a throw of 48.32 meters. First-year Brian Guerrero took third in the javelin throw with a throw of 40.66 meter. “I think having a team like MIT come to our home meet really brings out our competitive spirit,” Matt Love said. “We don’t normally compete against many schools from outside of Texas, so when we do get a chance like that, it gives the meet a special feel that motivates us all to turn in good performances.” The next meet the team will compete in is Fri. April 7-8 at University of Incarnate Word. They will then get ready for two more meets this semester until conference. Conference is Fri. April 28 and 29.

SPORTS • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Rugby team gauge success Fair and square? at premier season tourney Not quite

Tigers reflect on their first taste of competition, former professional rugby player’s influence on team BY ELISE HESTER

SPORTS REPORTER Trinity rugby played in their first tournament this past weekend. The club, which was established in the fall of this school year, has grown over the past semester. Club founders Simba Machingaidze and Calvin Usiri played rugby together in high school, where they attended the same Kenyan boarding school. For Simba, who is from Zimbabwe, and Usiri, who is from Tanzania, getting to share the sport with their peers has been an incredible experience. The team has been allowed growth in part due to a partnership with the San Antonio Rugby Football Club (SARFC). It was through the San Antonio RFC that they started being coached by former professional rugby player Timana Tahu. Tahu, who serves as director of rugby operations for SARFC, has helped the club from the start. “Timana Tatu played professionally for the Australian National team and is actually like really well known in the Wallaby Club and nobody really realized it until a friend of our’s brother came from Australia and he’s like, ‘There’s no way Tahu is coaching y’all. He’s like my childhood hero,’” said sophomore computer science major Austin Gieselman. “He’s been coaching us from the get go. He’s helped us come along quickly and with the help of like the club we’ve progressed further than I thought we would in one semester’s time.” Through help from the local club

and through their own personal dedication, members of the team have proven their talent. “There are some [guys on the team] who have just picked up the game and they’re better than I am,” Machingaidze said. “We’re just trying to learn together and I’m learning from them as well, but it’s certainly not the case that I’d know everything.” Many members of the team have experience with American football, which despite a shared ancestor, a similarly shaped ball and the distinction of being called contact sports, has many key differences from football. Among those distinctions is that in rugby, like in soccer, the clock never stops, making for a more exciting game. “Unlike football where there are dead-balls, in rugby if you get tackled, it’s your responsibility to get the ball for your teammates,” said sophomore business major Dayton Aimes. The fast-paced and physical nature of the game is exciting for those who have never played it before. “There’s a lot of passion that goes behind [rugby],” Gieselman said. “Especially sevens ‘cause you’re counting on your team to put themselves out there, sacrifice their bodies for you ‘cause they know you’ll do the same cause if you don’t make that tackle like in sevens, it’s a breakaway and they’re gonna be gone. You really just gotta put yourself on the line.” “One big thing about both rugby and football is that when you play sports with that much contact,

you really build bonds between you and your teammates,” Aimes said. “I’m definitely probably in the honeymoon stage with rugby, but I’m definitely enjoying it. I’m having a lot of fun with it.” The team saw a long day of rugby out at San Antonio’s Wheatley Field, where teams competed in round-robin matches of rugby from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Among the six teams at the tournament were two San Antonio club teams, as well as collegiate club teams from Abilene Christian University (ACU) and Sam Houston State University (SHSU), the latter of which the Tigers lost to in the semifinals. SHSU is home to established men and women’s rugby clubs boasting talented players. “It was good to play someone with that much experience to see how far we’ve come, but still how far we have to go,” Gieselman said. Despite falling to the Bearkats, holding their own in a game against the established SHSU men’s rugby team was a marker to the Tigers of how far their club has come. Members of the team see the events of the past weekend as proof that the team is here to play and here to stay. “It’s moe about the success of the program in the long-term than individual victories,” Machingaidze said. “We hadn’t had many scrimmages before that. It was good to get experience and it was also good to show the university that we are an experienced club. We’re here to play.”

BY HALEY McFADDEN

SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR

Recently Nike has once again shaken up the distance running world by announcing that their runners wore a special shoe during the Olympic Marathon Trials, one that is only now being released to the public. For those of you, and I would assume this is the majority of you, this seems like nothing. I mean, it is a just a shoe. But to some professional, non-Nike runners, this was blasphemous, and almost immediately people called for investigations on if this shoe gave the runners an unfair advantage, some even calling for apologies from Nike athletes. All in all, I would have to say that I agree with the former group. It is just a shoe. The amount of effect that a shoe can have on the outcome of a marathon is likely minimal. However, it brings up an important discussion that has always been a hot-button topic in athletics — how do we determine what is fair? Fairness is something that athletes crave. This can be seen in the intensive anti-doping campaigns that extend into monitoring even prescription medications that athletes are taking. Some sports have major and minor leagues that do not play each other, because that would be an unfair talent advantage. In races we have men and women separate, because to expect both genders to hit the same standards would be unfair. Last semester in my genetics class, we discussed the possibility of humans genetically choosing their children to be athletically dominant, and nearly everyone in the class was in agreeance that this would undoubtedly be wrong, because that would be unfair.

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However, though many may not see it this way, I would argue that sports are not fair, and can literally never be that way. There will alway be talent, body type and other genetic factors that we can not (or arguably should not), control. For example, I am a girl who is (sadly) only 5 foot 2 inches. No matter how obsessed with football I am, and no matter how hard I work and practice, I will never be a defensive tackle in the NFL. Going back to our Olympic marathon friends, if you took a picture of the women on that line, they would all be about the same height and have a distinctive low body fat to lean muscle ratio that just is not healthy for many women to reach. In any sport you look at, there will be situations like these that the athletes, just happened to have the right traits. Now is it fair, per say, that because of my chromosomes I will never be in the NFL? I would say no. But sports are unfair, and that is part of what makes them cool. If anyone could really do any sport they wanted, and if hard work really did beat talent, then we would not be able to watch in awe as these athletes did amazing things like throw balls at 90 mph or swim for a continuous mile, or run 26.2 miles at 4:45 minutes per mile pace. Of course I’m not advocating we throw away our anti-doping standards and just let sports be a free for all. Some rules and regulations are good. What I am saying is that a shoe is a shoe, and sometimes things are just not fair. Instead of aiming for this subjective fairness, we should aim for our sports to be natural. If we can stick to natural talent versus other natural talent, our sports will remain fun to watch, clean and as fair as humanly possible.

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Tigers devour ETBU

Sporting events 101

How to enjoy the Trinity sport’s sights and sounds

BY SHELBY DeVORE

BY ELISE HESTER

Despite the weather, the women’s tennis team was able to play in one of their two tennis matches this weekend. On Saturday they traveled to Marshall, Texas to compete against East Texas Baptist University (ETBU). The Tigers took home the victory 7-2. “Going into this tournament we felt very confident having played a lot of matches over spring break,” said first-year Mary Kaffen. “Our communication with each other on the doubles court was stronger than it has been in the past.” Starting off in the singles category, the Tigers won five out of the six matches. In the first seat, senior Liza Southwick defeated the ETBU player 6-4 and 6-3. In the second seat, sophomore Caroline Kutach won 6-2 and 6-1. Junior Marie Lutz was defeated 6-4 and 6-4. First-year Zoe Kaffen won 6-1, 6-3. Sophomore Andrea De Leon defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-4. In the last seat, M. Kaffen won her match 6-2 and 6-1. “Our team is really close and a strong group of individuals,” Southwick said. “When we come together we all make up a talented team. We had a really long drive the night before, but we stepped up and had another good win against ETBU. I am so proud of each of our girls, especially with how the freshmen have

SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR As a wise American songstress, Hannah Montana once said, “life’s what you make it.” The same could be said about sports, especially from the position of a spectator. One of the most fun things to do at Trinity is to watch sports. Here is a foolproof guide to having a blast at Trinity sporting events. The first thing you’re going to want to get is snacks. The booming voice of James Hill will tell you to visit the Tiger Concessions Stand. Don’t listen to him. The apples are overpriced and you can just steal them from Mabee. Pop your own microwave popcorn before games. Pack your backpack full of ice pops, gushers, Doritos, crackers and cookies.If you’re going to a game which will feature concrete seats, specifically soccer and softball, bring a pillow to sit on. Bleachers are also not that comfortable either so bring at least one pillow to every game. Sometimes games are cold, so bring a blanket as well. Set up all your snack, drink, pillows and blankets until it’s basically like your own living room. At football games sit on the side of the field closest to the Bell Center so you can really spread out. If you want to really go crazy, bring your stuffed animal, but only after you’ve sewed him a little Trinity jersey. Games are more fun with the right people. Perhaps your friends won’t go to games with you. Well, buster, it may be time to get some new friends. Tell your sport-hating nerd friends to scam. Ditch them and only talk to people who get that ball is life. If those dumb jocks don’t want to hang out with you, well that’s their loss. Go to a game and become best friends with the parents of that one athlete from your German class. Get yourself invited to Thanksgiving. Terry gets you, and it’s not at all weird to be best friends with her and not know her daughter at all. Learn to heckle. Heckling is why sports were invited. If you want to be a great heckler, you have to find an inspiration, a role model if you will. If you’re at a softball game, you’ll want to find Callie Struby and watch her heckling. Struby’s heckling is honestly an art form and she puts a lot of thought into it. At women’s basketball games look at for Hillary Hoffman and prepare to be amazed. You probably won’t be as great at heckling as these two individuals, but you can always try your best. Heckling other players is actually really easy, thanks to the invention of the internet. All you need to do is find the other school’s athletics website and reach the roster of whatever sport team is playing. Then find the name of the individual name of the athlete you wish to heckle. This is easiest in sports in which the players have numbers. Once you find their

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stepped up and made this team stronger.” Moving into the doubles round, the second and third seat of the doubles were won by the Tigers. Lutz and Z. Kaffen lost 8-3. Receiving a point for the team, Southwick and M. Kaffen swept up the win 9-8. In the third set, Kutach and De Leon beat the other ETBU players 8-2. Unlike some other Trinity sports, tennis competes against higher leveled universities such Division I and Division II. Despite the difference, the Tigers have managed to have a 12-7 season overall. Kutach and De Leon have now won their 10th doubles match and have only lost one this season. Southwick and M. Kaffen have a record of 12-3 singles victories. “We have a couple of weeks before we compete again, so working on our doubles will be one of the most important things for us,” Kutach said. The No. 14 ranked team has worked hard and it has shown in their successful season. They have been competing almost weekly since the beginning of February. It’s hard to believe the season is wrapping up. The team will play at home on Friday, April 21 against Southwestern University and on Saturday, April 22 against Colorado College and Austin College. They will play the SCAC championship Friday, April 28 through Sunday, April 30.

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HECKLE!

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SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR

profile, you can shout at them things such as, “Bob Jones will miss this free throw!” or “Hey Sally Smith, why don’t you suck an egg?” or “Mary Williams you are a terrible pitcher.” Throw an actual egg at Sally. This may seem mean, and it is. Don’t do it, but if you do, make sure to find the athlete on instagram and DM them after the game to let them know it was all good fun. They’ll understand. If you want to heckle the ref or ump, what you’re going to want to say depends on the sport. Usually “bad call” or “missed call” will work. If it’s softball or baseball, you can call the ump “blue” no matter what color he or she is wearing. It’s a reference to the classic cartoon “Blue’s Clues” because in season 16, episode 13, “The Search for the Strike Zone,” the titular dog, Blue became a referee to teach her owner Steve about baseball. You don’t have to learn a ton of things about sports to cheer for your team. Just cheer for what everyone else is cheering for. If you’re not sure if something is good or not, just ask the person next to you, “Was that good?” Honestly, it doesn’t matter how you do it, just go support your Tigers. Also don’t throw eggs. Eggs are eating not for throwing.

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Junior MARIE LUTZ and first-year ZOE KAFFEN play against Linfield College. photo by OZVALDO VELOZ

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SPORTS • APRIL 07, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

For the love of the game: growing through sports

BY ELISE HESTER

SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR Softball One Saturday in the spring of my senior year, the softball team, which had only 7 girls this particular day due to sickness, club volleyball, and college visits, convinced me to play with them. On the way to Belville, while sitting in the back of a rundown van, Renay drew out on an envelope a diagram of the field and taught me the basics of the game. While we were in the stone dugout, I pulled my SONY handycam out of the navy Eastsport fanny pack which I wore throughout my senior year and filmed people hitting. “Elise, you’re on deck,” someone said. I recognized this expression from numerous speech meets. I pulled the youth sized helmet over my tightly wound braid. I stood in the practice spot, as Sasha and Renay tried to verbally teach me how to swing a bat. I stepped up to the plate, arranging my lime green soccer cleats in the manner which Renay had shown me, and held up the bat, attempting the best batting stance I could manage, extending my elbow not nearly enough. The pitcher, in her black and blue uniform, glanced to the side before swinging her arm around and propelling the ball like a stone from a slingshot into the strike zone where I, either out of some natural instinct just now discovered or out of sheer dumb luck, anticipated the

moment and swung the metal bat. Clink! I opened my eyes, which I should never have closed, and saw that the ball had flown somewhere near first base. Dumbfounded, I realized that I was supposed to run. The first baseman tagged me out with ease afforded to her from years of practice. As I ran back into the dugout, my teammates were laughing out of surprise. Renay had my camera and the footage is super shaky because she was jumping up and down, but they made me put it in the school semester highlights video. “It’s literally the highlight of our season,” Renay said later in class, laughing at the concept of awkward actress turned accidental athlete Elise Hester getting an RBI on her initial attempt. (I didn’t know what that meant.) I joined the team and had a lot of fun that season, but there is no story here about me becoming an amazing athlete. No, I never even learned how to throw properly. I did learn the answer to a question I had always wondered — how people could love sports. That feeling came in my last game, when I got my only hit of the season. Our last game of the season was against Orange Community Christian school. “Elise, you don’t skip up to the plate!” Rick Smith, a kindergarten teacher’s husband and the father of a softball alumna, yelled from the stands with a cackle. Without looking behind me, I yelled, “it don’t matter long as I hit

it,” despite the fact that I wasn’t a good enough hitter to talk back. Orange’s pitcher swung her arm around and released the ball. As I swung I heard the clink of the metal bat against the ball, and a surprised cheer from the crowd. “There you go!” said Coach David DeShaw when I reached first base, “that’s a base hit! Good job Elise” “Ok,” I thought to myself, as I laughed aloud, “this is why people like this.” I gave David a high five and prepared for my teammate to hit the ball. That was the last time I ever played softball, but in my mind, it’s best to go out with a bang, a skip, and a hit. Soccer My senior year, one day I went to film soccer practice, running down to the football field wearing a hoodie and my plaid uniform skirt. The field, which was primarily used for football and track despite the lack of a track, was rugged and overgrown, without official soccer lines painted on yet. It had trees on every side and sat down in a ditch. The soccer net hung underneath the rusted football field goal. My friends, who made up a team with barely enough players, asked me to scrimmage and I did. I had so much fun that I almost wanted to play but I was filled with trepidation due to my lack of athletic ability as well as previous experiences with team sports, which had been traumatic to say the least. The coach, Mariah Herrington,

No rest for the weary: fall sports looking ahead

a young, tall, skinny third grade teacher who also coached basketball and volleyball, said she had to know if I was playing by the Wednesday before their first game. That gave me a few weeks to decide during which I came to every practice. The Tuesday before I had to make my decision my friend Renay, the only girl on the team, drove me home from practice, which I had gone to for the past two weeks while contemplating joining the team. We talked about whether or not I should play and she thought I shouldn’t. “It’s hard and you said you’re scared,” she said, with the logical reasoning one could expect from the beautiful brainiac who would eventually be our sixteen year old valedictorian, “We need players, but if it’s not the right thing for you emotionally, you shouldn’t do it.” “But I want to.” I said. “Then do it,” she responded, rolling her eyes. “I’m doing it!” I said. As I walked down my long driveway, my gut filled with fear and I decided against playing. Wednesday in class I told Renay and Ferguson (her then boyfriend who was also on the team and one of my best friends) that I wasn’t playing, but the period before the practice after lengthy discussion, and writing out a pros and cons list on the whiteboard, I decided to play. So I visited my mom’s classroom, where she said I shouldn’t play. “You’ll get hurt,” my mother said. “You’re so tiny Elise and you’ll be

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Workouts, drills aim to prepare teams for next season BY HALEY McFADDEN

SPORTS REPORTER

For most athletics, competition is not a year-round job. The vast majority of studentathletes will have at least one semester a year that is considered to be an off-season. However, despite the misleading nature of the name, the off-season is certainly not “off,” and requires individual training and focus to ensure that the athlete will be ready to compete. Right now, football and volleyball are two of the sports that are stuck in the awkward inbetween time. For football, the regular season lasts from late August or early September with scrimmages, and can run anywhere from early November to mid-December, depending on how far the team progresses in the NCAA championship bracket. While team practices start in early August, going from December until then is still a long time, and would seem to leave the players ripe to become out of shape or unmotivated. Some athletes offset this effect by training more intensely than before, trying to be as fit as possible come regular season. “A strong training regimen is everything when preparing for an upcoming season. Unless you train like you’re in a game and giving max effort on every rep you’re not preparing for the season. In addition, you can never overtrain in my opinion so multiple workouts a day are what I like,” said first-year Michael Goodwin. For many teams, keeping all team members motivated, focused and together is a challenge during the offseason. Due to NCAA regulations, the burden of staying healthy and focused

falls primarily, if not entirely, on the players themselves, which can be hard to manage with academic duties. Luckily, the Trinity football team has found ways to work around this offseason slump, by ensuring that they continue to spend time together and train together during the offseason. “Motivation does not lack as it might seem,” said junior William Rutan. “Having some sort of event everyday with the team, whether it is a lift, practice or meeting keeps the competition level high and always drive me to be better.” The off-season can also serve as a good time to reflect on the competition season to see what went well and what went wrong. It can also give athletes a good time to get a mental break from the stresses of balancing practices, games and school, which can allow them to be more objective and emotionally detached from the results of the previous season. Many athletes find this break allows them to look forward even more to the season ahead, and set some early goals for what they wish to accomplish. “Of course a goal for us was to win regionals as well, but I now think regardless of what happened there we have a lot to be proud of. We had a successful season,” said junior Kirby Smith. “I think since we will have our whole team back except Erika, we have a great shot at going further in the tournament than we did this year. We will be focusing on being an even better team than we were this year. We will have lots of experience and confidence. And I think everyone is looking forward to winning another conference championship.”

playing against boys. Big boys.” Dylan, one of the players who was in my mom’s class argued back. “Miz Hester,” Dylan said, “we ain’t gonna let Elise get hurt. I promise.” I returned to my class having decided against playing. I sighed and said, “but I want to play...” “Then play!” said Ferguson, with the classic grin of a nice Catholic country boy. “But I’m scared.” I said, my voice accelerating with nervousness as I continued, “every time I’ve played a sport it’s been awful and I was so bad and it made me feel like a failure and I thought it would be different with basketball and it wasn’t and — ” “Elise.” For the first time in the conversation, Ferguson stopped playing with the Costa lanyard hanging from the pocket of his uniform khakis and looked me straight in the eyes. “We’re not Robbi or Kendall or Dorcie or any of those girls who screwed you up,” he said with the slightly annoyed tone of a parent reiterating a crucial point for the hundredth time, “We love you. We’re your team. If you want to play, then play.” So I played. I went on to be our team’s top scorer. Not really. I was terrible and our team never scored a single goal. But I never felt like a failure. I found encouragement and support from my team. It was hard, it was cold, and I was scared to death, but I played.

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