02.16.2018

Volume 115 Issue 19

Trinitonian Serving Trinity University Since 1902

7 Is celebrating Valentine’s OPINION Day cultural appropriation?

16

A&E

Poets talk heartbreak in Trinity Review contest

18

SPORTS

Fitness center opened to students The Bell Center premiers workout area after approximately a year of construction

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Softball hits a grand slam with 6-0 start to season

spotlighting

ACCESSIBILITY OPINION: A reflection on campus accessibility and accommodations CATHY TERRACE | NEWS REPORTER cterrace@trinity.edu

Sophomores SOPHIE WIKSTROM, left, EMILY CRUZ, center, and DANIELA MOLINA, right, try out the new treadmills. The workout facilities were opened to students Feb. 8. The center includes two-story weight and cardio rooms. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer

KENDRA DERRIG | SPORTS EDITOR kderrig@trinity.edu Construction on the new workout facilities in the Bell Center stopped on Thursday, Feb. 8, allowing Trinity students, faculty and staff to access the brand new, two-story weight and cardio rooms. The fitness center is outfitted with custom weight and cardio equipment to match Trinity’s color scheme.

Construction on Bell Center began early in 2017 with the plan to replace the old weight room and cardio room with two new facilities, one for athletes and one for general use. The athlete-exclusive facilities were opened over summer 2017, with limited access given to non-athletes. Meanwhile, the old equipment was moved to classrooms on the third floor for general use.

While some students complained that the new general-use fitness center was not opened

in a timely manner, Seth Asbury, associate director of athletics for facilities and event management, asserts that construction was smooth and on schedule.

“We’re still within the 15-month construction window that Dr. Anderson outlined in a campus-wide email Dec. 5, 2016, when we began construction. The fitness center opened in the spring semester 2018 instead of the fall 2017 because we had to reorder the steel used in the fitness center construction. It did not meet the correct standards. Other than that, we really did not have much construction issues in terms of delay,” Asbury said.

The construction was funded by donors primarily through the Chapman Trust, which was set up by James A. Chapman to benefit charities and organizations such as universities and medical centers in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Asbury pointed out some of the most exciting new features of the facility.

“The Life Fitness cardio machines have several different entertainment options for you as you exercise, from interactive courses to cable television,” Asbury said. “You can also log into your Netflix or Hulu accounts.

It has Pandora radio. You can read the news or even play sudoku. You can download an app called LF Connect to your phone and track your workouts. We still have three more treadmills and an elliptical machine that will arrive after spring break.”

Students were quick to take advantage of the new facilities. Sarah Gorban, sophomore president of TUfit, especially liked the open feel of the new facilities in comparison to the old, windowless weight and cardio rooms. continued on PAGE 20

Accessibility is one of the most important issues in my life. Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with a muscle disorder, one which causes me to experience barriers in mobility and chronic back pain. It’s not easy having to navigate the world with a disability, but recently, I’ve begun to appreciate the way it’s informed my understanding of the world.

That’s why I chose to take part in this series. In reporting on the resources (or lack thereof ) that the campus offers for mental health, physical disabilities, and addiction, my perspective is informed by my own experience here.

Personally, I chose Trinity because I thought it would be an accessible college – just judging by its size, I knew it would be easier to navigate than larger schools like UT Austin. But after living on campus for three years, I think the university could be doing better with how it handles accessibility.

Based on the interviews I’ve done over the course of my three part series, here are some recommendations I think the administration should be seriously considering: CAMPUS PLANNING The Master Plan ought to acknowledge that physical accessibility is an issue on campus. Yes, Trinity is ADA compliant. But quite frankly, it’s insulting that in all 270 pages of the Master Plan, the word elevator isn’t even mentioned. If the university plans on renovating buildings, that ought to be a priority, or at least acknowledged. Resources that are designated to establish study spaces, make apartment-style rooms and even build new dormitories should go towards improving the ones that already exist first. continued on PAGE 8

How does Trinity handle its debt? The plan for CSI Donors, investments will relieve Trinity of $113 million of debt BOBBY WATSON | NEWS REPORTER rwatson@trinity.edu According to Trinity’s financial statements, the university gained $50 million in additional debt in connection to the construction of the Center for Sciences and Innovation. However, Trinity has a 30-year plan to use tuition and donations to pay off its debt. This size of financial debt is not unusual for institutions like Trinity.

“We have taken on more debt as have almost all institutions, and actually that’s happened very much in the public sector as well,” said Gary Logan, vice president for finance and administration. “Because interest rates have been so historically low, it’s efficient for us to do that.”

According to Diana Heeren, associate vice president for finance, Trinity actually has a relatively low level of debt, reaching only $113 million as of 2017.

“Compared to peers, I’d say we are on the low end — on Trinity’s financial statements it shows long term debt,” Heeren said. “We like to use benchmarking against our peers to make sure that we stay in line, and we also have a debt policy, which is a guide to how much debt we think is reasonable.”

Though too much debt might have negative effects, at times it can be used strategically.

“Universities use debt to finance dorms.

Get the money for the dorms from room and board fees overtime, and you pay for it now.

Then you reap the benefits in terms of revenue later,” said David MacPherson, professor of economics.

Logan explained how large projects often raise donor interest in investment. continued on PAGE 20

In the construction of CSI, Trinity gained $50 million. The university plans to maintain its debt through a 30-year plan. photo by CHLOE SONNIER

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 •

NEWS

Previously, on SGA: It’s Easy as QEP This issue covers the SGA meeting on Feb. 12.

CONSTITUTION CHANGES Sophomore senators Benjamin Gonzalez and Juan Luevanos, who are heading the initiative to clarify conflicts of interest in the constitution, talked about their progress. Clarifying members of the cabinet as non-voting members of SGA allows them to be officeholders in other organizations.

Gonzalez and Luevanos proposed to put the judicial chair under an accountability contract, as well as to make it a non-officeholding position, so the member can uphold the constitution without bias. (Gonzalez is an opinion columnist for the Trinitonian.)

CAMPUS CLIMATE CHECK Sophomore senator Simone Washington raised concern about the difficulty international students find in trying to get U.S. jobs and internships. The senate decided to create a committee for international students; Washington, first-year senator Isabella Schag and junior senator Julia Shults, among others, expressed interest in the creation of the committee.

Senator Shults explained that the feminine products offered to students are of bad quality.

Junior senator Sarosha Hemani spoke to members of SGA about participating OFFICER REPORTS President Amulya Deva and vice president Rachel Daniel want career in TigerThon. She explained to senators that they must choose one group to participate with. Senators who are a part of Greek life cannot participate as part services to speak to senators about how they can play up their positions in the organization. Senator Hemani suggested that the group become more of their sorority or fraternity as well as SGA. aware of the resources on campus so they can better inform the student body. President Deva suggested SGA invite more students to attend GUEST SPEAKER Michael Soto, professor of English and associate vice president for academic meetings to speak about issues that concern them.

President Deva explained that Trinity Diversity Connection reached out affairs, spoke about the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), an initiative to improve the first-year experience for Trinity students. Soto asked the to SGA about funding the Black Panther screening event; in an informal senators to attend a meeting with the Southern Association of College and poll, many senators agreed.

Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the organization that grants accreditation to Southern schools, since Trinity is seeking accreditation with additional reporting by Bobby Watson, news reporter with its QEP. Soto hopes SGA will attend to represent the student body.

Tune in each week for Kathleen Creedon’s SGA summaries. SGA meets at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays in the Waxahachie Room in Coates University Center.

THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THIS ISSUE IN 1978. IN TODAY’S ISSUE, YOU CAN FIND A COLUMN FROM THE CAMPUS SQUIRRELS ON PAGE 6.

Image from the Trinitonian archives, selected by EVAN CHAMBLESS

Corrections •

In our Feb. 09 issue, “Women’s tennis” on page 26 was misattributed. The article was written by Antonio Pedraza, sports reporter.

• In our Feb. 09, “Not all rap has to be art” on page 8, guest columnist Madeline Chaput was credited as a sophomore. Chaput is a first-year.

Spot a mistake? Let us know at trinitonian@trinity.edu.

STAFF

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TUPD BRIEFS HARASSMENT On Thursday, Feb. 08, at 6:46 p.m., a Trinity student reported harassment by a non-student. The student lives off-campus and filed the report in person at the TUPD offices. The student was harassed on the phone by an unknown person.

PARKING WHILE INTOXICATED On Sunday, Feb. 11 at 1:41 a.m., a student was pulled over in Lot W

by Thomas Hall for drinking under the influence of alcohol. The student was alone and there were no open containers. However, a single beer can was found in the backseat of the car.

The student was not a minor and was sent to an off-campus detox center.

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NEWS • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

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Department encourages on-campus businesses Students affiliated with entrepreneurship sell merchandise, get around handbook policy NOELLE BARRERA | NEWS REPORTER nbarrera@trinity.edu According to Article O Section 3 of the student handbook, students are not allowed to sell merchandise, products or services on campus. However, the university permits students affiliated with the entrepreneurship department to run businesses despite this policy.

Generally, students who are looking to start businesses on campus can work with the entrepreneurship department and the university to make this possible.

“We encourage students who are interested in establishing businesses to do so, but it’s nice if they’re working under our umbrella because we can help steer them from directions which are clear violations of policy, and we can steer them in the direction where they are clear to operate,” said Luis Martínez, director of entrepreneurship. “We’re the easy one-stop center for trying to see where students are clear to operate.”

There are some restrictions on what students can and cannot sell on campus. For example, students who wish to sell food could encounter legal obstacles with Aramark, Trinity’s dining service that has the rights of selling food on campus. In addition, there are laws and safety regulations in the state of Texas surrounding food sales.

An entrepreneurial venture launched

by Trinity students in 2013, The Unlawful Waffle, once ran afoul of these rules. During a brief time, a group of students sold waffles in Beze Underground, and this business violated campus rules about selling food.

However, students who want to sell food may be able to do so if they meet with the entrepreneurship department and comply with university rules.

“Our job — if you come to us and say, ‘We want to operate a food service business,’ — we can guide them to what those regulatory requirements are and where they’re free to operate or not free to operate,” Martínez said.

This is also true for door-to-door sales, which are discouraged in the handbook but can be negotiated if students reach out to the different departments, like entrepreneurship and Residential Life.

LUIS MARTINEZ, director of entrepreneurship, speaks with senior MATTHEW MUNROE, an entrepreneurship student. Despite the policy in the student handbook that prohibits the sale of merchandise by students on campus, the entrepreneurship department encourages students interested in starting businesses to contact them. Students affiliated with entrepreneurship are allowed to sell things on campus through the department. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer

In recent years, the entrepreneurship department has shifted towards encouraging students to start businesses while on campus, most of which are startups.

Matthew Munroe, a senior entrepreneurship student, explained the difference between student startups and businesses.

“A startup is not necessarily a company — it’s something that works to become a company.

So a lot of time it’s just ideas, some people have products, some people have revenue, some people just have a logo,” Munroe said.

“So it’s not necessarily students selling stuff to students on campus, it’s students creating a company, or a startup that is trying to become a company.”

Students are free to sell items online, with caveats regarding what can be sold online legally.

Sophomore Alexandra Parris wrote about her online crocheting sales in an email interview.

“My business isn’t really a business, per se!

I make art, and sometimes people ask me to make them things, and I ask for some kind of compensation,” Parris wrote. “I’ve made less than $100 from my crocheting, and for me, it’s more about making the actual art than selling it. I’m just a girl who happens to have crocheted items sitting around my room sometimes.”

Not all students who sell items online would define themselves as having a ‘business.’

However, students who want to start companies online or enhance their online revenue can

contact the entrepreneurship department for assistance and guidance.

“We want students who say, ‘I’m selling stuff online.’ Great! That’s where we come in. Are you charging sales tax? Are you paying a franchise tax? Do you have a sales tax certificate? There are all of these rules about selling online in the state of Texas,” Martínez said.

Trinity offers classes, such as Intro to Entrepreneurship — offered every semester — which can help students looking for entrepreneurial opportunities while at Trinity or in the future. Students don’t need to be enrolled in any entrepreneurship classes to ask for help in creating or managing a startup or business. For students interested, email lmartin6@trinity.edu.

“The items may be recovered, or [TUPD] recovers them. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that we recovered them because they were missing or lost. It may also be that they were stolen and recovered,” Santellan said. “For example, say, a pawn shop. If something stolen winds up in a pawn shop and we investigate, we can take it from the pawn shop and bring it back to the owner.”

Students generally feel safe on the university’s campus. Though crime is never at zero percent, the university has not had any major issue with theft in recent years.

“During my 17 years at Trinity, there has not been a period of time when there was a lot of theft on campus, thankfully,” said Wanda Olson, associate director for Residential Life.

Giselle Britt, a first-year, has experienced a general trusting attitude amongst students on campus.

“I don’t usually leave my stuff unattended, but if I were to leave my stuff, I feel as if I wouldn’t be afraid to ask someone to watch over it,” Britt said.

“In the library or in the CSI private study rooms, people will just leave their stuff there for hours just to reserve the rooms, but I haven’t really heard of anyone’s stuff being stolen on campus.”

The few thefts that do occur tend to have been committed by individuals outside of the Trinity community. Certain parts of campus are open to the public, and are therefore more exposed.

“Crime is low, but it’s not 100 percent, and it’s normally not student-to-student.

Sometimes crimes from the outside come in, and that’s when things tend to happen most of the time,” Santellan said.

Areas like the Bell Center are open to the surrounding community and have had

incidents occur in the past. This is when TUPD follow up with the theft as a crime.

If they are able to locate a suspect and gather enough information, they can take that to the district attorney’s office and press charges.

Reports of theft on campus proven to be unfounded

TUPD investigates missing items, finds many are just lost BOBBY WATSON | NEWS REPORTER rwatson@trinity.edu Thirty-two thefts have been reported and filed since the beginning of fall 2017.

However, most thefts reported on campus are unfounded, as many are the cause of misplaced or lost items.

“A complaint will be called into the police department dispatch. Dispatch sends out a patrol officer. The patrol officer initiates a theft report,” said John Santellan, TUPD lieutenant-investigator. “Also, you got to consider that sometimes they are not theft reports. Sometimes they turn out to be missing property, lost property.”

Often times students will momentarily leave their possessions, which may then be moved without their knowledge or forgotten about. Most of these students will call TUPD after a few days informing them that had found the missing item.

Trinity has very low crime rates, creating a safe environment on campus. However, this environment invites students to leave their valuables unattended, which can lead to theft.

graphic by LIZ DAY, graphics editor

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 •

NEWS

Students, faculty transcribe black history in library Dozens attend first Douglass Day historical event JORDAN BRUCE | WEBMASTER jbruce2@trinity.edu People came from all around the Trinity community to help make a difference and recognize the historical influence of Frederick Douglass. Claudia Stokes, chair of the English department and organizer of the event, believes that the value of Douglass cannot be overlooked.

“Frederick Douglass is one of the giants of American history. And in my field of 19th century American history, he is a towering, momentous figure of unrivaled significance,” Stokes said. “He and his impact deserve celebration.”

The event, which was held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Coates Library on Feb. 14, was the first of its kind held at Trinity to help digitize and make historical documents from the freedman’s bureau searchable. To provide transcriptions, users first read a scanned copy of the document on the Smithsonian’s website and type in their best guess as to the contents.

The transcription then enters a review pool where another user will have to verify the accuracy of the transcription before it goes to trained employees of the Smithsonian.

According to Ruben Dupertuis, associate professor of religion and co-director of the Humanities Collective, the event was designed to engage members of the Trinity community in something larger.

“Just being able to get folks from the community and getting students involved and actually doing valuable historical work is one of the great things about this event,” Dupertuis said. “We have members of the community. We have students, we have staff, we have faculty, and that’s really great.”

Students, faculty and community members joined Claudia Stokes, professor of English and organizer of the event, to celebrate Frederick Douglass’s birthday. To do this, participants transcribed historical documents. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer

Students in particular seemed to come for a variety of reasons. Melissa Porter, a junior, attended for extra credit. She found the shorthand that was used in the historical era to be confusing, but soon learned how to read it efficiently.

“It’s interesting, the shorthand that he writes in. Today, the shorthand he uses would be difficult to read, but back then a lot of business was conducted in shorthand,” Porter said.

Kanita Wiltshire, a community member from San Antonio, heard about the event from a friend at another school and came to engage with history.

“My hope is to contribute to the transcription of all the documents so everyone can read them. It is very difficult to transcribe old script,” Wiltshire said.

While Wiltshire was going to stay for the entire duration of the event, Dupertuis said the event was not necessarily designed that way.

“The event goes for 3 hours, and we expect it to wax and wane throughout,” Dupertuis said.

“You can drop in for 30 minutes, leave and have another person pick it up after you’re done.”

Carl Teegerstrom, a junior, heard about the event in one of Stokes’ classes. Teegerstrom’s interest came from a desire to learn more about the process and the people being represented.

“I think that the project is really interesting,” Teegerstrom said. “I have a lot of respect for Frederick Douglass, so the idea of Douglass day and the idea of transcribing manuscripts has really interested me for a long time.”

Throughout the day, 45 people checked in at the event. However, Stokes believes that many more came to help transcribe than signed in.

The Trinity edition of the event was just one of 44 held at colleges around the country.

The celebration of Douglass Day is organized by the Colored Conventions Project (CCP), which is a group dedicated to encouraging

community building in the spirit of the original colored conventions.

The CCP, in addition to connecting host sites, held a livestream with guest speakers that each satellite site aired during the event. Despite being projected on two screens in the event room, the stream was mostly ignored because participants were captivated by the transcription software.

Ultimately, all 10,000-plus people who participated in the event internationally played an important role in making important United States historical documents available to the public.

“We are so proud that Trinity was able to participate in this important national project of historical research,” Stokes said. “Every component of the Trinity community — students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members — was represented today, and together we made a major contribution to the collection and transcription of American history.”

Aramark, health services create option for sick Students suffering flu offered recovery meals BOBBY WATSON | NEWS REPORTER rwatson@trinity.edu Influenza strain A has been extraordinarily harmful this year in comparison to past years and has been highly contagious due to a lower rate of effectiveness of the flu vaccine.

“Every day in clinic we have a couple of flu cases,” said Anna Cavazos Tobon, university physician. “But we’ve been seeing lots of [influenza strain] B in the clinic, which is not the one that’s been causing all the deaths and terrible illnesses.”

Symptoms include headaches, dry coughs and body aches, different than those of a cold.

“The main difference between the common cold and the flu is that the flu comes on very suddenly. You’re fine two hours ago, then you’re not. Or you don’t feel sick, but then you’re very sick. And you’ll have typically severe body aches,” Tobon said.

In light of the recent flu outbreak, Aramark has been offering students recovery meals that are meant to help sick students recover from the illness, as well as keep others from getting sick. The meals normally consist of broth soup, a sandwich, fresh fruit and Gatorade, attempting to maximize hydration without upsetting the stomach.

“Jackie Bevilacqua ... brought the idea to our attention and we thought it was a great way to help those who might not be well enough to dine with us,” said Charles Robles, food service director of Aramark. “The recovery meal is a great way to help take care of students

Recovery meals are offered to students once health services diagnoses them with the flu. Meals include soup, a sandwich, fresh fruit and Gatorade. photo by AMANI CANADA, photo editor

who really need to rest and avoid being in the community because they might be contagious.”

To receive a recovery meal, students must be diagnosed with the flu by health services first.

“If they have a letter from us that says that they shouldn’t leave their room, and they let us know, then we will be in touch with somebody from the dining hall who can arrange for them to get one of those meals,” said Jackie Bevilacqua, coordinator of health services. “[The meal] can be picked up by a friend to take back to their room.”

The novelty of this program has caused some miscommunication and a general lack of awareness of its availability.

“The nurses told me that Mabee offered sick meals and that I could have someone pick them up for me,” said Cooper Cooke, a first-year student who had the flu. “They didn’t tell me what I needed to do in order to have these meals prepared for me though, and I really didn’t have the motivation to figure any of it out.”

Cooke explained that another reason he didn’t take advantage of the recovery meals was

because the sickness caused a loss of appetite, and he didn’t crave food from Mabee.

“I wasn’t really feeling like eating anything but saltines so I didn’t really need [the meals],” Cooke said.

Mabee and health services are attempting increase awareness of the option in the hopes of continuing to minimize the spread of the flu and other contagious illnesses. Those who have the flu and are interested in this option can stop by health services during business hours.

NEWS • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

5

Campus debt

continued from FRONT “If we raise money for a large project, people make pledges, and the pledges get over five years. So often times debt becomes a very efficient way of cash flowing those,” Logan said. “So that is not an unusual way to finance our projects.”

Trinity uses interests rates and various financial ratios like debt-burden percentage and debt-service coverage, which are monitored by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees and the finance department collaborate on every project to decide how to fund it and use debt as a liberating tool instead of an inhibitor.

This past semester, Trinity has released its Campus Master Plan that details the projects the university plans to fund for the next 10 years, including the renovation of Chapman Hall.

However, the university has no formal plans to accumulate any more debt for these projects.

“So right now our plan, even looking out to 10 years, Trinity is not planning to take on any additional debt,” Hereen said.

“So our goal is to either build the projects within the master plan through fundraising, so asking donors to support those projects, or using our reserves.”

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Students pose for photo outside the Majestic Theatre downtown San Antonio after seeing “The Color Purple” as a part of the program ¡Hola, San Antonio! The program intends to engage students with the local artistic community by bringing them to local performances. Last year, the program sponsored a a student night at a showing of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” The group consisted mainly of McNair scholars and their friends. photos provided by THOMAS JENKINS

Got a quick question? We’ll find the answer. Ask away: trinitonian@trinity.edu Does TUPD offer rides to students who are injured or disabled?

TUPD has no official policy for offering rides to those in need of assistance. However, officers sometimes offer escorts.

What is the most popular major at Trinity?

Communication is the most popular major at Trinity, with 6.5 percent of students majoring in it. In second place is engineering science with 6.2 percent of students majoring in it.

Have the number of graduate students increased or decreased in the past couple of years?

According to the Trinity factbook, Trinity had 158 graduate students in the 2015-2016 school year. In the 2017-2018 school year, Trinity has 116 graduate students.

How many new members of Greek life are there?

According to Ruthie Rubin, communications chair of Greek Council, 166 students joined Greek life this year.

Has the cost of room and board increased?

In the 2015-2016 school year, room and board cost $12,362. In the 2017-2018 school year, room and board is $13,136.

How much debt is Trinity in?

According to Diana Heeren, associate vice president for finance, Trinity has $113 million of debt.

How much is Trinity’s endowment?

In the 2016-2017 school year, Trinity’s endowment reached $1,200,924,275.

ANSWERS COLLECTED BY KATHLEEN CREEDON

Opinion Connect with us!

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The opinions expressed here are those of the individual writers, not of the whole newspaper staff. The editorial, found in the box marked “From the editors’ desk,” expresses the opinion of the Trinitonian. The section editors, managing editor and director of digital presence work with editor-in-chief Daniel Conrad on it each week.

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Who do I send them to?

Letters to the editor should be 300 words or less. They are due Sundays at noon. Email your thoughts to trinitonian@trinity.edu and opinion editor Soleil Gaffner at lgaffner@trinity.edu. She or the editor-in-chief will get back to you.

How long should guest columns be? When are they due? Who do I send them to?

Guest columns should range between 500–700 words in length and are due Sundays at noon. Email your opinions to the opinion editor, Soleil Gaffner, at lgaffner@trinity.edu.

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Have an opinion? 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.

FROM TH E EDITORS’ DESK

Trinity and trustees: Hear us out This week, the 36 members of Trinity’s Board of Trustees convene on campus for the first of their three tri-annual meetings this year.

For those unfamiliar with our university’s leadership structure, president Danny Anderson and the five vice presidents aren’t really in charge of the school. They bear that responsibility in tandem with three other administrators and 30 other members of the board, many of them Trinity alumni who have graduated as recently as 1999 and as long ago as 1961.

The board sets the university’s agenda. It forms and oversees committees and represents the institution at bigwig functions. Some of the members have buildings named after them in recognition of their contributions to the school.

The trustees dedicate their time to this school because they care about its future.

We sympathize. To commemorate their important visit, the Trinitonian would like to float a few ideas to the board as well as to the community at large. Maybe these mildly refined suggestions could inspire some real improvements to the Trinity experience.

TRUSTEE ENGAGEMENT Our first suggestion is directed toward the board. We get the sense that much of your work

is vitally important to university governance and the direction that Trinity is heading in the long term.

For as influential as we know your work is, however, we can’t say that we’re familiar with exactly what you’re working on — or who you are, even. We would love to have an opportunity to hear from and engage with you.

By its nature, administration occurs in the background, out of students’ sight. And we don’t expect that students’ myriad complaints and other feedback would weigh terribly heavily in your decision-making. Plus, we understand that you’re busy and are already using your limited time on campus as efficiently as possible.

But even a ‘town hall,’ meet-and-greet or open-door Fiesta Room presentation during your few visits on campus would be a welcome gesture of open communication and transparency.

STUDENT-HEADLINED CONCERTS This one is for the Student Programming Board, prompted by last week’s request for Welcome Week Concert recommendations: Why not involve student bands?

There are plenty of students who perform with one another and other San Antonians, and

they play great music. It shouldn’t be difficult to find students willing to open for a headlining act, or even save some of the $90,000 budgeted for a popular artist and let students play the entire show.

You’d be able to put on a fantastic show at a much lower price, perhaps enough to throw a — student-headlined? — Spring Concert, a la Cherub’s 2016 performance.

Logistics are one concern. Preparing over the summer could prove difficult for student performers, for instance. However, an early start on the talent search could get some of these hurdles out of the way.

Additional, Strategic Marketing and Communications would be able to promote the event as a showcase of Trinity’s talent. It’d be a PR heyday.

GIVE THAT KOI A FRIEND Behind the Murchison dorm is a small grove featuring a tiny pond and one single koi fish.

Why is that koi all alone? Did its koi pals pass away? Who takes care of that koi, and how long has it been there? We’re scratching our heads.

The Trinitonian would appreciate any leads or tips regarding the lonesome koi.

Humor: The squirrels want to talk SQUIRRELS OF TRINITY GUEST COLUMNISTS squirrelsoftrinity @gmail.com Hello Trinity, it’s us, the squirrels. We haven’t talked much; however, we need to chat. We see you walking by, going about your day, in and out and in, and out; yet, rarely do you engage us; rarely, do you take the time to sit down and enjoy this beautiful campus … and more importantly, the majestic natural creatures that inhabit its trees.

We squirrels are the marvel of the campus. We jump through the trees, we scamper through hills, parking lots and wooded areas. In sum, we live here too.

However, it seems we do not get the recognition we deserve. You feed the Trinicats, you walk your dogs, you chat with your friends, you pet the cats, and this is all fine and dandy; yet, you do this while ignoring the squirrels; where are our snacks? #FeedTheSquirrels.

With this said, we have some points that we want to make about how squirrels should be treated on this campus.

To start with, at Vassar, they have a myth that the squirrels are the ghosts of the unemployed English majors, and while we Trinity squirrels are made of tougher stuff (at the very least, we majored in history before failing at the job market), this seems to show an acknowledgment of squirrels not just as animals scampering to and fro among the grasses, but as quasi equals.

This would be a nice start to redefining the relationship between the humans of Trinity and its bushy-tailed residents.

However, this status of equality is not enough for us Trinity squirrels. We are more than just the equals of the human residents of the campus; rather, we are, much like the Trinicats, your superiors and we demand to be treated with the due deference that this inherent superiority

illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT, staff illustrator

entails. #AppreciateUs. While we do not expect to be waited on paw and tail, at the very least, give us a tribute and offering of food, preferably unsalted nuts . This would help us feel appreciated and would fill our adorable tummies with delicious protein.

Second, we have noticed the favoritism shown to the cats of Trinity and, while respecting the synergy between cats and the Tiger mascot of Trinity, we have been a bit miffed about the lack of an attendant club to cater to, and feed, the squirrels.

The University of Michigan has a Squirrel Club, where faculty and students come together to feed their squirrels. What we, the squirrels of Trinity, want to know why can’t Trinity form a Trinity Squirrel Alliance and provide us with enough food to lay around contentedly rather than scurrying around in a constant search for food? Are we not cute enough? Are our tails insufficiently bushy? Are you so intimidated

by our majestic whiskers that you cannot make yourself approach us without of the fear a stray glance will knock you down?

We the Trinity squirrels call for the formation of a squirrel alliance or, at the very least, more of you to feed us.

Finally, with this message we hope to change the culture of this campus and create an environment where the students, faculty, staff and — most importantly — the squirrels are recognized, appreciated and are able to enjoy the benefits of this beautifully majestic campus that has repaired the frayed relationship between the humans and the squirrels.

You can follow us on Twitter at @trinitsquirrels and Instagram at @Trinitysquirrel. We hope to interact with you on the World Wide InterNut. Also, a spot on university committees would be nice. So long, and don’t get too nutty on us.

OPINION • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

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St. Valentine and religious misapproriation illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator

ANDREW KINNEY GUEST COLUMNIST akinney@trinity.edu

Arguments on cultural and religious appropriation are a popular topic at Trinity and have been featured multiple times in the Trinitonian. Questioning the circumstances in which one can wear dreadlocks or adopt some other cultural practice, particularly if that culture has experienced oppression, is an important conversation to have.

But, if I am to be entirely honest, the specifics of this ethical question are beyond me. What if you have been adopted into the culture, or are an anthropologist doing field research, or it’s done out of respect and appreciation? I feel generally unqualified to address these topics and would be much happier to leave it to our anthropologists and sociologists.

It seems to me, however, that there is one clear line that ought not be crossed: taking some tradition and appropriating it in a way that is entirely antithetical to its original purpose. This is what I feel has happened to St. Valentine’s day, a long-standing holy day in the calendar of the Catholic Church.

Few facts are known about the historical St. Valentine, but all sources agree he was martyred and beheaded by the Romans around A.D. 270. His skull is on display for veneration in Rome to this day. Most accounts show St. Valentine as a priest or bishop, so he was likely celibate.

There are various accounts that the thenemperor of Rome had banned marriage on

the basis that unmarried men would make better soldiers; other sources contend that it was simply a licentious and polygamous society. The common theme among these stories, however, is that St. Valentine promoted the Christian view of marriage and chastity, helping young couples get their marriages blessed in the Church.

St. Valentine’s day, as a holy day, was officially added to the Catholic calendar

by Pope Gelasius I. Whether or not St. Valentine was martyred on February 14th is unverified. The common theory is that Pope Gelasius added the celebration of St. Valentine to counteract the still-prevalent Roman celebration Lupercalia — a fertility festival that featured whipping the crops and the women and pairing couples for sex through a random drawing. The pope’s idea was to retain a celebration of romance, marriage and chastity while removing the fornication and brutality. This holy day

Meet the section editors

illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator

has long been a celebration, for Catholics, of God’s blessing on human love, marriage and sexuality — all in light of the sacrifice that true love incorporates, as shown by St. Valentine’s actions and ultimately by Christ’s death on the cross.

It is a frustration to me, then, when one of my church’s holy days is misappropriated, year after year, as a time to sell sex toys and celebrate casual sex. For non-Catholic couples to celebrate St. Valentine’s day with a romantic date is one thing. For the Trinitonian itself to encourage “healthy, casual sex” throughout much of last week’s “Love and Sex” issue is quite another.

Catholics love romance and sex — just look at how big our families are — but we also love marriage and sacrificial love, and St. Valentine’s day is our celebration of bringing all those things together. To take some of those things without the others is a direct contradiction of the original intent of

St. Valentine’s day, and a misappropriation of our religious tradition.

The article from the editor’s desk last week expressed how difficult it was for members of the Trinitonian to talk about love, and how much easier it is to simply talk about sex. The editor even issued a challenge to Trinity: to “get emotionally naked” with someone.

It is a frustration to me, then, when one of my church’s holy days is misappropriated, year after year, as a time to sell sex toys and celebrate casual sex.

In response, I am extending an invitation: come to Mass or to Alpha and talk to us about love. We would be more than happy to tell you about the one who died naked on a cross for love of us, to tell you about the saints who spent their lives loving him, and even to speak of the love we hope to give to our future spouses and to the community around us.

Andrew Kinney is a sophomore philosophy and economics double major.

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 •

spotlighting ACCESSIBILITY

Campus inaccessibility is everybody’s problem continued from FRONT This is because while accessible housing is provided to students with disabilities, inaccessible housing still affects the community. Family members may also be affected; not having elevator access in buildings like South Hall means that disabled parents are always already excluded from their children’s lives. Why is that not something that the university takes into account?

Another goal included in the Master Plan is to establish a “pedestrian priority;” this will happen as the campus will “remove parking and vehicles from the campus core.”

Handicap parking is already a challenge for students and visitors to access regularly.

Removing proximal parking and replacing it with parking structures will distance those much needed spots, making the campus even more difficult and inaccessible.

The Master Plan Committee needs to seriously re-think their unintended consequences, and who gets excluded because of what is and is not included. Your silence on this issue speaks volumes.

Many disability scholars refer to people without disabilities as ‘temporarily abled bodies’ — this is because everyone has the potential to become disabled, and, at some point in their lives, most likely will be.

STUDENT LIFE More resources ought to be provided to students on campus, from regular therapists to counselors who are equipped to assist those dealing with addiction. Many students don’t have cars, making accessibility of off-campus resources extremely difficult.

Following the publication of the article on accessibility, Dean Tuttle sent out a campus-wide email addressing an alcohol support group which he plans to reinstate. This is an important step for improving student life; not everyone is ready for, or comfortable with, going to AA, but having an on campus group could be an essential resource.

The campus should also re-evaluate how it deals with students who have a history of drug and alcohol abuse. Removing students from living in the dorms may protect the campus from a liability standpoint, but it puts the student at greater risk.

When all of their friends have to live on campus due to the three year residency rule, it means they are left alone. Students who live off campus are still students — and the university should be doing more to ensure their safety and well-being.

In prioritizing student interests, the administration should also consider concerns about addiction and drug use seriously by bringing Narcan to campus. This life-saving drug helps students who are overdosing — even if it just saves one life, campus staff such as TUPD, Health Services, and ResLife should be equipped to administer the drug in case of emergency.

CAMPUS AWARENESS An important step in achieving accessibility is visibility — which means making all parts of campus aware of disability.

Students should have some kind of space to be able to talk about their experiences with disabilities, whether that’s a support group for the community, or a forum where we can discuss how to improve accommodations.

Every student’s experience with disability is different — this is a fact that the administration and faculty involved in student life needs to be aware of. Students shouldn’t have to deal with skepticism from professors — whether that be for absences, extensions, or keeping up in class.

Reducing grades is, as one student put it, an unnecessary punishment; missing class already puts students at a setback — they’ve missed out on a full day of instruction. No one should feel like they have to fight for their accommodations, but many of the students I talked to feel as though they do.

In these cases, SAS needs to do a better job at being an intermediary and advocate for students. This also means that communication between the departments who deal with disability and students needs to be improved.

One thing I believe the department needs to be doing better is alerting the campus when elevators break down. When so many departments are involved (ResLife, SAS, Facility Services), accessibility is everyone’s issue — but instead it falls between the cracks.

It doesn’t matter if an elevator is “only” broken for a day or two — for some students, that’s an impossible barrier to overcome.

I’m registered through SAS, and yet I have never once received an alert that an elevator is broken.

And I get it — the administration is trying, and progress is being made. Moving SAS, and planning to move Counseling Services out of Halsell, the farthest building from all residence halls, is an important step.

But the campus should be doing more.

Accessibility is everyone’s issue. Many disability scholars refer to people without disabilities as ‘temporarily abled bodies’ — this is because everyone has the potential to become disabled, and, at some point in their lives, most likely will be.

If you are not up in arms about this issue, you should be. All types of accessibility matter, and it’s something that this university should always be trying to actively maintain and improve in all parts of campus life.

This column marks the conclusion of a four-part series addressing campus accessibility. However, the discussion is not over. Readers interested in continuing this discourse are invited to contact this reporter at cterrace@trinity.edu.

Cathy Terrace is a junior anthropology major.

OPINION

Love, loss and support with the Trinity family THERESA HO OPINION COLUMNIST tho@trinity.edu

I watched my grandpa die over winter break. It might seem morbid talking about death and loss only a couple of days after Valentine’s Day, but I don’t think it’s morbid at all. In fact, I think that there are quite a few students at Trinity who have experienced loss, perhaps multiple times, and I think that this story is still about love.

It’s just not about romantic love.

During the fall semester, my grandpa’s health rapidly deteriorated. A month into the semester, his kidneys started to fail and my grandparents started living with my family so that my mom could take care of him full-time.

Stage three cancer quickly turned into stage four. A week and a half into the break, my grandfather would have moments of delirium where he stopped being able to talk, wouldn’t recognize us, and would start tapping on things just for the feeling and sound of it like a child.

We moved his bed into the dining room so that more people could be around him at once.

And then the night before I was supposed to fly back for class, an aunt heard him gasping for air and screamed. There wasn’t anything we could do. He died in two hours. I cancelled my flight.

As soon as I could, I emailed all of my professors to let them know what was going on and asked if they thought I would be able to catch up if I was gone for the next two weeks, and if I could have extensions on assignments until I got back.

Some of them thought I could. Some of them gently suggested I either take their class next semester or fly back for some classes and then fly back to Colorado again for the funeral for fear I would be behind all semester. I appreciated their honesty.

I dropped two classes so I could have less catching up to do.

When I first got back, I could tell my friends were watching me pretty carefully.

Four of them came just to pick me up from the airport. I would wave my hands and quickly laugh, assuring them that everything was okay.

I didn’t mean it to say that I didn’t love my grandfather. I did. But his death was peaceful, and I know he’s in a better place now. If anything, life — and the people in it — can hurt more than death itself.

Even now, it’s hard. Sometimes, I’ll completely tune out of a conversation only to check back in at the very end. I’ll stare illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator

at my homework and watch the words blur together. During tests, I’d blank out a couple of times. I don’t even know what I’m struggling with half the time. Half the time I do, but I don’t want to say it out loud.

And yet I would do the same things all over again if I could. I learned a lot about love this semester. There was something beautiful about the way my aunts would feed grandpa and pat his mouth with a napkin when he was delirious, or how my brother would give grandpa his meds and heat up his water every four hours so my mom wouldn’t have to get up and do it.

I saw love when my friends quietly offered to listen if I ever wanted to talk to them about anything. My section editor has also been supporting me by giving me as much time as I need to get my act together and start writing articles again.

There was something beautiful about the way my aunts would feed grandpa and pat his mouth with a napkin when he was delirious, or how my brother would give grandpa his meds and heat up his water every four hours so my mom wouldn’t have to get up to do it.

I know that at least some of my professors are keeping an eye on me. I am keenly aware that I’m struggling in, well, most of my classes, if I’m being honest with myself.

But I also know that if I muster up the courage to just go to office hours I would get the help I need. And I will. Probably by the time this article comes out, even.

Life can be painful if only for the fact that it continues on whether we’re ready to or not. But we get to learn about sacrifice, and humility, and how selfless love actually is. I think that’s what’s keeping me going right now.

Theresa Ho is a sophomore neuroscience major.

OPINION • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

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World-wide concerns for int’l students at Trinity ROBERT SEESE UNIVERSITY STAFF COLUMNIST rseese@trinity.edu

As of the 2017 fall semester, Trinity enrolled 141 international students from 42 different countries. International students, in this case, are students who are citizens of other countries and are studying in the U.S. All Trinity students have a lot to think about, but international students have more to think about than most U.S. students do.

U.S. federal regulations have a significant influence on what decisions [international students] can and cannot make.

U.S. federal regulations have a significant influence on what decisions they can and cannot make. A primary task of the Trinity International Student & Scholar Services office (ISSS) is to help international students successfully wade through these regulations.

The list of international thoughts is quite long. Therefore, I will just scratch the surface on a few of the more significant thoughts here. As you read, try to imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes!

All students tend to be under a fair amount of pressure when they begin as

first-year students. For one, international students are more likely to be stressed than U.S. students are. Undergraduate international students may drop below 12 credits only one time because of academic reasons during their studies at Trinity and still maintain legal status in the U.S. Thankfully, the federal regulations are much more lenient if a documented illness is involved. Most of us would admit to having at least one bad semester when things do not go as planned. The federal regulations hold international students to a much higher standard in this regard than most U.S. students.

In the second semester of sophomore year, most students declare majors.

International students may struggle with whether or not to choose a STEM major.

Why? Unlike U.S. students who flow freely from graduation to the U.S. job market, international students take additional steps and live with more limitations. The first step is to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), at the ISSS. Once granted, OPT provides work authorization for up to one year. Their employment must directly relate to their majors.

Here is where the STEM issue comes in.

Students with STEM majors may apply for two additional years of employment. So, as you can see, there is much more involved when choosing a major and planning a career for an international student.

Obtaining a summer or semester internship is on the minds of many third-year international students. They know that having previous employment experience will make them more competitive in the global job market. In addition, they know that an internship with a company before graduation may lead to employment with the same company following graduation.

Enter the federal regulations.

They require international students to enroll in an internship course and that the internship employment relate to their majors. In addition, students have to obtain employment authorization called Curricular Practical Training (CPT) at the ISSS. The good news is that this process takes only one to three days.

Graduating international students have to set their clocks to 90 days before graduation. During this time they may apply for OPT, which I mentioned above.

The earlier, the better.

Why? It usually takes two to three months to receive the OPT employment authorization. A limitation is that students should normally avoid travel outside the U.S. between graduation and when the OPT arrives. As a result, instead of going home or on vacation right after graduation, some international students wait in the U.S. until their OPT is approved.

The plethora of federal regulations governing international students is complicated and far from perfect. Contrary to what we sometimes hear in the media, the U.S. is among the best countries for international students to enter the job market and eventually obtain permanent residency and citizenship.

Many successful Trinity international alumni who are now entering or are on the other side of the immigration ladder are proof that the system works. All this to say that the next time you speak with a Trinity international student you will know more about what they are thinking.

This column is the beginning of a three-part series exploring international students’ needs and the resources available to them.

Robert Seese is the assistant director for International Student & Scholar Services.

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Porn, casual sex and the #MeToo movement MADDIE D’IORIO GUEST COLUMNIST mdiorio@trinity.edu

Co-signed by Luke Ayers.

When the stories of sexual assault, harassment and general impropriety began to surface, often with #MeToo, neither of us were particularly surprised. We really, really wanted to be. We wanted to be shocked that figures representing films and television series we enjoyed could be guilty of such horrendous offenses, but we weren’t, not in the slightest.

It’s difficult to be surprised about #MeToo when we are living in a culture that does not encourage respect for human dignity in sexuality. A culture that is saturated with things such as pornography and casual sex, diminishing the value of intimate relationships.

This has led to people, especially men in positions of power, believing that they have the right to sexually take advantage of women without repercussions. If we don’t expect people to stand for human dignity in public, why should we expect them to do so in private?

By this point, if you’re someone who consumes pornography or has casual sexual relationships, or you’re at least someone who doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with

doing these things, you’re probably getting a little peeved and are thinking we’re a couple of prudes who need to get our minds out of the 1300s. While you aren’t entirely wrong on our preferred century, the problems with the attitudes that accompany a flippant use of pornography or consistent participation in casual sex are well documented. The harmful effects of pornography in particular are well documented by psychologists and behavioral scientists.

A culture that is saturated with things such as pornography and casual sex, diminishes the value of intimate relationships.

In case you’re doubting the truthfulness of this claim, we’ve selected just three of the worst effects that pornography has been shown to have. There are many, many more to be found.

S.B. Boeringer’s 1994 study “Pornography and Sexual Aggression: Associations of Violent and Nonviolent Depictions with Rape and Rape Proclivity” suggests that even non-violent porn makes men more likely to use violence, drugs, and alcohol to coerce women into having sex with them.

Porn is addictive in the same way that drugs are, because of the release of dopamine in the brain, sending users on a destructive path towards more and more dehumanizing porn to satisfy their addiction. This is according to “Pornography Addiction — A Supranormal Stimulus Considered In The Context Of Neuroplasticity. Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology”, a study from D. L. Hilton.

A 2012 study by by R. Peters. W., Lederer, L. J., and S. Kelly, “The Slave and the Porn Star: Sexual Trafficking and Pornography”, suggests that porn contributes heavily to the sex trafficking business, with even many of the women who do consent often being coerced into doing things they don’t feel comfortable doing.* The second attitude that contributes to the acceptability of sexual offenses like those highlighted by #MeToo is the prevalence of hookup culture and an assumption that sex can or should be casual. Admittedly, some of our issues with extramarital sex are religious in nature, and to hide that would be disingenuous. However, even allowing for sex outside the context of marriage, the fact remains that hookup culture approaches a person as a mere means to an end. It degrades a human person to simply a tool that provides sexual pleasure. While these fleeting relationships do have the important aspect of consent, no amount of consent to an activity can change the attitude that one or both parties approach it with.

There is a whole host of issues that come with our generation’s hookup culture, in

which 80 percent of today’s college students take part. According to the Kinsey Institute, having a high amount of previous sexual partners is one of the top five factors leading to infidelity in adults. It also increasing your chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, which is one of the reasons that 23 percent of American adults have some form of HPV. Consequences of having casual sex spill out into your emotional life as well — as a study from Durham University shows that 80 percent of men had overall positive feelings the morning after a one night stand, while only 54 percent of women felt satisfied.

Rape and other violations of a person’s bodily autonomy ultimately originate because the perpetrator does not truly believe in the dignity of the person they are attacking. This is not to say that everyone who uses porn or has casual sex will be a rapist — neither logic nor the statistics supports this.

However, the prevalence of these two things, among our age group and in society as a whole, certainly do not help decrease the number of these violations. Offenses against the dignity of one person are offenses against the dignity of all — we should all take issue with the way that women and men are portrayed as mere vehicles of sexual pleasure if we wish to truly be a society that cares about the rights of each person. *Full source citations and other resources can be found at http://learn.ftnd.org Maddie D’iorio is an undeclared first-year.

Luke Ayers is a junior economics major.

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 •

OPINION

Chip Roy: The Buckley Republican candidate illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT, staff illustrator

MANFRED WENDT OPINION COLUMNIST mwendt@trinity.edu

In my time in politics, I have seen lots of interesting things. One of the most interesting things is the people it attracts. It attracts a wide spectrum of people, ranging from those who exemplify virtues to those who exemplify vices. One virtue I always look for in candidates I support, and is mandatory for candidates I work or volunteer for, is integrity. Politics as a field is notorious for lacking this virtue. Integrity is defined as a great many things, often times it ends up on a locker room wall. What I look for is genuine honesty and stringent moral principles. That combined with a foundation in conservative philosophy and principles along with competence will earn my support.

Texas’s 21st Congressional District’s Representative to the US Congress will be a Republican. The question is what kind of Republican? Well, almost all of the types of Republicans under the sun are running.

Of course, they all claim the mantle of conservatism and the name “conservative” along with it.

There are 18 candidates from different walks of life with different experiences and skills. It is my duty as a Buckley Republican to go as far to the right as you can go and still win in that specific election while at the same time remaining faithful to my philosophy.

The man who fits this description to a T is Chip Roy.

Chip Roy has a vast amount of experience in politics and the conservative movement.

He has served under Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, John Cornyn and Ken Paxton. He has held positions ranging from Senior Adviser to Chief of Staff to Vice President of Strategy for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. It is often

argued that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. With how strong Chip Roy’s past has been, his future if he goes to Washington is brilliant.

Chip Roy also has picked up a large number of strong endorsements. He has been endorsed by Ted Cruz, Rick Perry and Mike

Lee, just to name a few. Ted Cruz is one of the two current sitting Senators from Texas.

Rick Perry is the former governor of Texas and current Secretary of Energy. Mike Lee is a sitting Senator from Utah. All three of these men are stalwart members of the conservative movement who rarely give endorsements.

When they put their name behind someone in the primary, they mean it.

What stands out to me most in the time that I have known Chip Roy is his honesty and his integrity. Whenever you ask Chip a question, you know he will give you an honest answer instead of attempting to talk his way around the question.

I witnessed this at a meet and greet where he took open questions, a perilous situation for some candidates, as you never know what is going to be asked or if you even have the information to make an informed statement.

Over the course of five minutes, he was asked questions ranging from healthcare to immigration to gun registry. He handled each question with ease.

In addition to his honesty, his integrity also stands out. When ever Chip speaks, he gives off an aura of someone who has been to Washington but hasn’t been changed by it. One of the concerns that activists on both sides of the aisle share is that the person they send to Washington never seems to come back. When the congressman comes back, they are a changed person. Chip has already been to DC, and he wasn’t changed by it. That by itself speaks volumes to Chip’s character.

I am proud to endorse Chip Roy for Congress.

Manfred Wendt is a junior political science major.

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.

Pulse

Executives prepare for TigerThon event Students gear up for first-annual campus charity dance marathon

MAGGIE LUPO | PULSE REPORTER mlupo@trinity.edu Ladies and gentlemen, get out your glow sticks. On Feb. 24 in Webster Gymnasium from 5–9 p.m., Trinity will be hosting a rave.

However, this isn’t your typical rave.

The rave in question is part of a bigger dance marathon, called TigerThon, and it’s all to benefit the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, through an organization called the Children’s Miracle Network.

Junior Sarosha Hemani first heard about dance marathons through social media, when she noticed some of her friends from the University of Texas at Austin posting pictures from their own dance marathon event with the hashtag #FTK — for the kids.

Hemani looked up the hashtag, found out about the Children’s Miracle Network, and immediately decided that she wanted to start a dance marathon event at Trinity.

“I fell in love with the idea,” Hemani said.

Hemani sent an email to the Children’s Miracle Network and quickly got a response from one of the central directors of dance marathons with more information and an invitation for Trinity to start a marathon on campus. That’s exactly what Hemani did.

Trinity’s dance marathon, called TigerThon, will be the culmination of the Trinity community’s fundraising effort for the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. The hospital falls under the Children’s Miracle Network because it treats all children, regardless of socioeconomic status. The funds that Trinity raises will go directly to

JORDAN MINARELLI, MARINA SCHWEITZER and REBECCA HAYES table to raise money for the children’s hospital. photo by ALLISON WOLFF, staff photographer

Dance marathon executives visit Children’s Hospital of San Antonio for training with hospital staff. photo provided by ALLISON WOLFF, staff photographer

the hospital, to help offset the budget deficits it accrues due to its no-turnaway policy.

The event itself will include free food, free t-shirts, entertainment, and of course, dancing, though dancing the entire time is not required. There will also be a friendly competition among all the attending registered student organizations, university sponsored organizations, Greek organizations and athletic teams. The teams in each category will play against each other, and each category’s winning team will get a trophy and bragging rights — until next year’s event, when they’ll have to defend their titles.

First-year Logan Muzyka said she first heard about TigerThon at the student involvement fair last fall. She went to the informational meeting, signed on to be part of the executive team, and is now the dance relations committee chair.

Her main job is to recruit people to sign up to come to the event; she has been working mainly with Greek

Sophomore Kelsey Kohler is the event coordinator that works on these behind-the-scenes preparatory tasks. She mostly deals with logistics, like designing the layout of the gym on the day of the event, coordinating sponsors and donors for food as well as reserving proper equipment and spaces.

“There’s stress in planning any event, making sure that everything is going how you hope it would and all the parts are working together, but I think the excitement overwhelms those fears, just because we have the potential to make a big impact, and any time you have that opportunity I think it’s exciting,” Kohler said.

Hemani echoed Kohler’s sentiments, adding that she’s especially looking forward to hosting some of the families who have benefitted from the hospital.

“We’re having a couple of families come to the event and they’re a lot of fun, and they’re going to talk about how the hospital and how Children’s

organizations and registered student organizations so far.

“We actually have made a lot of headway, because it’s [been] added to the sorority and fraternity standards as something they have to do,” Muzyka said.

The main problem, as Muzyka explained, is trying to get people to pay the $10 registration fee. This fee also allows participants to sign up for a fundraising account on the Miracle Network dance marathon website.

Family and friends can donate to account’s page, which helps Trinity towards the goal of raising $5,000 for the hospital. People can sign up as individuals or as a team, though every person signing up must pay the $10 fee. The money is essentially a direct donation.

“The $10 goes directly to the hospital. We don’t even see that money,” Muzyka said.

The team has been hard at work soliciting donations, organizing the event and recruiting participants

Miracle Network have helped them.

So I’m excited to have everyone who has registered and who does come to the event hear their stories and make that impact on their lives, just like the hospital did on the families’ lives,” Hemani said.

Though Trinity’s marathon is relatively small this year, Hemani has high hopes for the future.

“My vision is to see this grow bigger and better every year,” Hemani said.

In fact, according to Hemani, other schools Trinity’s size have raised as much as $50,000 for their beneficiary hospital.

However, because this is the first year that Trinity will be hosting TigerThon, the goal has been set at a more modest $5,000. Toward the end of the evening, the total amount of funds raised will be announced. Then, for the last hour, the moment everyone has been waiting for — the rave.

TigerThon will be on Saturday, Feb. 24 from, 5–9 p.m. in the Webster Gymnasium.

Audio Production class pivots to podcasting Course changes focus from music tracks to episodes

GABBY GARRIGA | PULSE REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu

The semester is finally starting to gain momentum and classes are getting harder. The homework is back, tests are starting and clubs have begun their weekly meetings.

Trinity students across campus breathe a sigh of relief when the weekend finally rolls around.

Students pile into friends’ cars, excited to get off campus. Once in their cars, they reach for the aux cord. According to a 2016 Pew Research Center summary, in a month, 24 percent of students will start listening to a podcast while the remaining 76 percent will play music.

KRTU, the commercial-free jazz and indie rock radio station based in Laurie Auditorium, noticed this rise in demand for podcasts and decided to offer a course in podcasting.

In previous semesters, students enrolled in the course learned how to record live bands’ music and master song tracks. This semester, Audio Production students will learn audio production for digital media more generally.

Jaime “JJ” Lopez, general manager for the KRTU studio and instructor for Audio Production, believes this skill set will be valuable to students in the future.

“Students learning how to produce audio for podcasts will learn a very versatile and important skill applicable to broadcast journalism, radio and digital media,” Lopez wrote in an email interview.

One student who has already seen the benefit of the new Audio Production class is sophomore

DOMINIC WALSH speaks as ANGELA GARCIA records his voice for an Audio Production podcast. photo by STEPHEN SUMRALL-ORSAK, staff photographer

Dominic Walsh. Walsh took this class in the fall semester and is taking it again this spring semester.

He believes the course, now that it is centered around podcasting, allows him to utilize his creativity in a different way than he was

able to when it previously focused on music.

“Podcasts are more constructed,” Walsh said. “Basically, with a band you just have song. The podcast class expands to make you think of narrative, scripting out the

podcast. It gets more into the writing and planning side of audio production. In this one, you have to create the content and produce it.”

As their final project, students will get into pairs and produce a five-minute podcast that will showcase what they’ve learned. So far, students have been learning the basics about Adobe Audition, the program students will use to record and edit their audio, and about the studio space on campus.

“Students can expect a quick introduction to audio editing software and hardware [in addition to] audio production, including recording, mixing and multitracking, editing and mastering,” Lopez wrote. “Students will then be encouraged to produce a sample segment, develop their own voice and style, while also learning practical skills necessary for working in radio, public media and podcasting.” continued on PAGE 13

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 •

PULSE

Mocha Month celebrates black history and culture Black Student Union packs coming weeks with activities MAGGIE LUPO | PULSE REPORTER mlupo@trinity.edu Picture this: Soul food on Superbowl weekend. That’s how the Black Student Union (BSU) kicked off this year’s Mocha Month, a series of events meant to inspire a larger dialogue around Black History Month and the experiences of black people today. The soul food was part of BSU’s Soul Food Rent Party, hosted by Mrs. Kitchen Soul Food Restaurant and Bakery on Feb. 4.

Senior Maia Ogembo, the BSU president, single-handedly organized Mocha Month this year. She has worked to expand the number of events offered and made a push to add information about the events and start the Hidden Black Figures series on the LeeRoy newsletter.

“BSU originally only had Mocha Life and poetry during Black History Month, but I thought it would be cool to have a series of events,” Ogembo wrote in an email interview.

As it stands, the list of events includes spoken word poetry, a Step Afrika performance and a church event. Khaniya Russell, junior and BSU vice president, characterized the events as both informative and entertaining.

“It’s a really beautiful hodgepodge of culturally relevant talks, documentary screenings, entertainment and talks with the members of BSU about hot topics relevant to Black History Month,” Russell said.

Russell emphasized that the goal of the program is to celebrate and inspire dialogue about Black History Month outside of BSU. “Any little way that we can try to interact with the larger Trinity community and tie it back to Black History Month is what all of these programs are designed to do,” Russell said.

Several events, such as the rent party and a screening of the documentary “Teach Us All,” have already happened, but Ogembo and the other club officers are all looking forward to the Mocha Life celebration the most. Kezia Nyarko, sophomore and BSU community chair, loved Mocha Life last year and will be performing with the African Student Association at the event this year.

“All of the events are fun, but Mocha Life blew me away last year! It was so much fun and I enjoyed every bit of it,” Nyarko said.

According to Ogembo, Mocha Life is a showcase of black arts through singing, dancing and poetry. Several Trinity organizations will be performing, such as Loon-E Crew and the Prowlers, but there will also be outside groups coming, like the Sam Houston High School band.

Ogembo is looking forward to seeing the fruits of her labor at Mocha Life, as she has been its primary organizer.

“I try to make Mocha Life entertaining and am excited to see my hard work go well,” Ogembo said.

The Mocha Life showcase will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23 in Laurie Auditorium.

Russell said she hopes that, after experiencing Mocha Month, people will take away a more complete idea of the goals and the spirit of BSU and the black community as a whole.

“From all the programs in Mocha Month I hope people get a great sense of the cultural roots that BSU is here to represent and bring to the larger Trinity community. Just to see the fun side and really see some issues that hit home for black community but are not only relevant to the black community ... We don’t always like to have really serious dialogues, or dialogues that are really closed off to just black people. We [also] like to have fun events on campus that engage the whole community, so Mocha Month is really just an extension of that,” Russell said.

Questions about Mocha Month? Contact Maia Ogembo at mogembo@trinity.edu.

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Students from Trinity and the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education listen while DANTE SUAREZ describes the history of the Palacio del Obispado. photo provided by DANTE SUAREZ

Languages Across the Curriculum gains popularity Program allows students to take broad range of courses in target languages GABBY GARRIGA | PULSE REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu Dante Suarez, associate professor of finance and decision sciences, teaches a course titled “Doing Business in Latin America.”

In this class, students listen to lectures on international business laws, learn to interact with team members from other cultures and create a plan for a hypothetical business.

The class is three credits, and students travel to Monterrey, Mexico to present their business proposals.

And, Suarez teaches the class completely in Spanish.

Doing Business in Latin America is a Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC) class. This means the class is taught in a foreign language and students speak to each other and their professor in a foreign language.

The LAC program was formed 24 years ago. Nanette LeCoat, associate professor of modern languages and literatures, and Alida Metcalf, history professor, created the LAC program through the National Endowment for the Humanities Focus Grant. This grant enabled them to create a new program in language teaching through collaboration with her colleagues. Metcalf no longer works at Trinity, but LeCoat still serves on the LAC committee.

“We really wanted students to feel that this was something that would help them learn about a culture [and] about history, [and also to] be professionally useful. So we wanted to offer classes that were not the traditional offerings of the language and literature program, but rather focused on topics of interest,” LeCoat said.

Since its creation, LAC has expanded immensely. Professors teach one-hour LAC courses as an overload, an additional class on top of the required classes they teach.

Because of this overload, professors receive a small stipend from LAC in order to encourage the expansion of the program. They develop courses on interesting topics in order to gain support and interest from students.

Bruce Holl teaches a course called Peoples of Russia as a one-hour credit class.

He has seen improvement in students after taking LAC classes.

“I think it’s popular and I like it because it’s a response to student desire to apply their language to a broader range of subjects. That’s one reason. The other reason, and I’ve done some research on this, is that it’s been shown that once you reach a certain level in language training and then you take a content course … your language improves,” Holl said.

LAC is implementing a new aspect to the program called collaborative online international learning (COIL). COIL allows professors to connect and collaborate with classes across the world. The program pairs classes across the world that are studying the same topics, and enables them to communicate through their online class.

LAC pioneered this program at Trinity, becoming the first department to use COIL. Because of the program, Suarez is not only able to connect with a class in Mexico online but also to take his students to Monterrey to meet with the class in person.

“I think sometimes we can have too much of an ethnocentric approach to the world, especially being Americans. Even if you’re not in the world of business, even if you’re not going to be dealing with people from other parts of the world, you probably will be dealing with people from different cultural backgrounds in any kind of situation. I think learning another language helps you understand the different cultural backgrounds that people have and understand their actions and behaviors,” Suarez said.

Over the yewars, LAC has seen an increase in student interest because students often find the classes more interesting than the typical language class.

Junior Vladislav Chalenko is enrolled in Holl’s Peoples of Russia class this semester.

He likes the unique subject matter that LAC classes offer and appreciates the opportunity to practice his Russian.

“We read historical documents, so you kind of see how the language has changed a little bit; they sort of write differently. It’s mostly primary sources in the LAC classes.

It’s almost like a history class in a way, but you also get to practice your language,” Chalenko said.

Overall, LAC classes are meant to give students the ability to practice their target language while learning a subject that interests them.

“Language is not the subject; it’s the tool,” LeCoat said.

PULSE • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Sidewalk Symposium What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at Trinity?

“It was my friend’s birthday, not my birthday, and I got in the fountain and it was very cold and I got sick afterwards. I had a cold.”

Jackson Gasperecz Class of 2021 Neuroscience

“It rained really hard one day so my roommate and I went out in the rain and played in puddles.”

13

Students hone podcasting skills continued from PAGE 11 One student who has already seen the benefit of the new Audio Production class is sophomore Dominic Walsh. Walsh took this class in the fall semester and is taking it again this spring semester.

He believes the course allows him to utilize his creativity in the production of podcasts in a different way than he was able to with music.

“People listen to podcasts, they don’t watch. Theater of the mind to the rescue.”

JAIME LOPEZ

AUDIO PRODUCTION INSTRUCTOR

“Podcasts are more constructed,” Walsh said. “Basically, with a band you just have song. The podcast class expands to make you think of narrative, scripting out the podcast.

It gets more into the writing and planning side of audio production. In this one, you have to create the content and produce it.”

As their final project, students will get into pairs and produce a five-minute podcast that will showcase what they’ve learned. So far, students have been learning the basics about Adobe Audition, the program students will use to record and edit their audio, and about the studio space on campus.

“Students can expect a quick introduction to audio editing software and hardware, and audio production including recording, mixing and multi-tracking, editing and mastering,” Lopez wrote. “Students will then be encouraged to produce a sample segment, develop their own voice and style, while also learning practical skills necessary for working in radio, public media and podcasting.”

Students in the Audio Production class believe that podcasting is an important and effective form of communication. Senior Paige Perez believes that this class has taught her how to deal with this new and increasingly popular wave of communication. Perez especially enjoys the narrative aspect of podcasts.

“There’s a lot of podcasts of people talking about their personal experiences. There’s so much out there with this format you could find anything. When you’re making a podcast, it’s more about emphasizing a story or the story you want to tell,” Perez said.

Other students attribute the increasing popularity of podcasting to its accessible nature.

“It’s very easy to distribute,” Walsh said. “It’s a little more accessible. You can listen to it on the go — there’s a lot of variety. It’s gaining in popularity and super easy to produce. I think that’s what really sets it apart.”

Lopez believes both the story and mobility of the podcast make it a valuable tool in human communication.

“Since the invention of the TV, radio has always faced (and championed) this predicament. However, I believe that for podcasting, the power is in mobility. People listen to podcasts, they don’t watch. Theater of the mind to the rescue,” Lopez wrote.

You can work for the newspaper or yearbook

& get paid!

Caroline Haggard Class of 2020 Computer Science

“It has to be my 2 a.m. late nights at CSI where you kinda just study and have the whole place to yourself and you can be loud and obnoxious.”

Info Session Tuesday February 20

Casey Aiello Class of 2021 Political Science

5-6 p.m.

Northrup 303 “We had to do monologues in theater … I found this monologue about this dude who talks about what a slut he is and [how] he does drugs ... There were all of these funny lines in it like, ‘Some people think I’m a sex maniac.

They are right’ ... It was a riot.”

Sam Reuter Class of 2021 Neuroscience

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Louvre displays art stolen by Nazi forces during WWII

Sony faces heat for bizzarely intense scene in “Peter Rabbit”

The French museum exhibits these pieces not only to reveal them to the public but also to find the original owners of the pieces.

Spoilers ahead, folks have taken issue with a scene in the film in which the rabbits purposefully send a man into anaphylactic shock. Yikes.

AE &

TDC asks “Who gets to be the Hero” in comics The Trinity Diversity Connection discusses race and gender inclusion and representation in hot anticipation of Marvel’s “Black Panther” film CATHY TERRACE NEWS REPORTER cterrace@trinity.edu

In anticipation of the opening of “Black Panther,” the first major film featuring a black superhero protagonist, Trinity Diversity Connection (TDC) hosted a diversity dialogue called “Who Gets to be the Hero?” on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

Allison Roman, director of diversity and inclusion of student life, explains the context for the discussion.

“We’re hosting a private screening for the Trinity community on Feb. 22 — we’ve had a really great response, so we’re over capacity and then some,” Roman said. “We’ll be taking students, faculty and staff to go watch the film, and afterwards we’ll have a very brief discussion around initial reactions, and what does this film mean to you, because a lot of people will be able to see themselves represented in a major Marvel film.”

Kezia Nyarko, sophomore and president of TDC, described the significance of the

film, whose viewing will be hosted by a variety of organizations on campus.

“For specifically black people in America, there’s never really been a representation of black super heroes,” said Nyarko. “Especially with Black Panther being from Wakanda, which is a technologically advanced isolationist fictional African country, it represents everything people of African identity hate about what colonialism did to a lot of African countries — it took them away from that prospective future.”

The film opened on Feb. 16, with showings available across San Antonio.

Cindy Chiev, sophomore member of TDC’s public relations team, agreed with the importance of discussing the film’s potential influence beforehand.

“This event is part of the ‘Black Panther’ movie showing that TDC is also having; the title of this talk is ‘Who Gets to be a Super Hero?’, so we’re going to discuss representation of race and gender in superheroes, and how society is impacted by who gets to be called a superhero,” said Chiev. “I think it’s super important with how Hollywood and media is getting more representation of minorities, and I think it’s important to discuss it, especially at a school like Trinity, which is majority white.”

About 15 people attended the discussion.

Nyarko opened the event.

“This is our first discussion of the semester and we wanted to focus it on ‘Black Panther,’” Nyarko said. “We wanted to make sure people understood the meaning why there’s such a craze behind Black Panther and why it’s being produced by primarily a black team.”

Michael Hughes, librarian liaison for Coates University, led the discussion. As a

lifelong comics fan, he too expressed interest in the upcoming film.

“I am excited about this movie in a way I haven’t been in ages. … Just when I thought I had super hero fatigue, it comes out,” Hughes said. “I think we’re on the precipice of a really exciting time.”

Hughes’ presentation focused on the history of comics, and specifically the portrayal of black superheroes in the industry, going back to the Jackie Ormes comics from 1937.

Hughes noted the racial history of representations in comics, from Whitewash Jones in “Young Allies” and Ebony White in “The Spirit,” both created by white writers, and reflecting dominant racial ideologies of the time.

Joy Umoekpo, sophomore treasurer of TDC, finds the lack of diverse representation in all mediums problematic.

“I think it does matter because I think a lot of white people might not know black people,” said Umoekpo. “Just seeing them on TV might break down those stereotypes.”

Other students present at the discussion agreed with Umoekpo’s sentiments.

Black presence in the comics industry evolved in the following decades, with Black Panther’s first appearance in the Fantastic Four comics in 1966. These representations still tended to have racialized undertones, such as Luke Cage: Hero for Hire, which started running in 1972.

“Basically it was what white people imagine black people sound like .... It’s a step forward from the images we just saw [Whitewash Jones], but not what we would think of as a powerful and empowering images,” said Hughes. “Structural racism is real, and it’s real in the comics industry.”

Even now, when writers do try to include racial minorities in comics, they are met with backlash, especially from many of the fans that have long followed the characters, a movement known as #ComicsGate.

He cited people such as John C. Wright and Vox Day, both of whom criticize Marvel and DC for promoting social justice, saying that it supersedes being able to tell a good story in line with the comic’s origins.

“Characters come to us with decades of history, and all kinds of legacies that creators feel they need to attend to ... [like] taking Peter Parker out of the game and making Spider-Man Miles Morales,” Hughes said.

“You do have creators who are doing their best to diversify the space, and you have their fans who are trying their hardest not to let them.”

Hughes concluded his discussion by showcasing Lion Forge Comics. This new comics platform included titles that are interconnected, and which are attempting to bring more diversity to comic book worlds by showcasing heroes who are queer, disabled or racial minorities, among other less-represented identities.

After the talk ended, Nyarko reflected on the importance of open discussions like this one.

“I wanted to have an event that came before it that helped people understand the importance of Black Panther — going to watch the movie is great, but if you don’t know why people are obsessed about it, then you don’t understand the significance of a movie like that,” Nyarko said. “More people need to show up to TDC — if you’re going to be liberal, and talk about liberalism on campus but you’re not showing up to events that talk about things, you’re fake.”

KEZIA NYARKO, president of TDC, kicks off the discussion of gender and race in comic books. Comics have often resorted to stereotypes and charicatures of minority groups in the past, and while there have been many recent efforts to rectify this pattern by the industry, a notable portion of the consumer community resents these changes. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 •

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Poets straddle line between love and anti-love

Trinity Review tackles the negative perspectives of romance during this Valentine’s season GEORGIE RIGGS A&E CONTRIBUTOR griggs@trinity.edu

“Personally, I believe the boundary between love and anti-love is always fluctuating,” said Courtney Justus, senior and event planner in charge of the Trinity Review’s Love & AntiLove Poetry Contest. “Even in love poems or songs, you get a reaction to a negative event.

Sometimes love poems are downright sad, but sometimes you get a glimmer of hope.”

The contest brought an intimate group of performers and spectators together last Friday in the Chapman Gold Room. The poems ranged from longer form, slam poetry to shorter, less performative pieces. Seven poets participated but only one contestant, Emily Bourgeois, was chosen by the audience as a winner.

“With anti-love poem, there is still a longing for love,” Bourgeois said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard an anti-love poem that wasn’t a reaction to love.”

Bourgeois’ winning poems, as well as those of other contestants, reflected this idea, with many not falling under a clear category of love or anti-love. Instead, they seemed to encompass an idea of bittersweetness with both humor and cutting honesty.

“I’m not much of a love poet, but if I were to decide to wake up one day and write a love

illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator

poem, the first thing I’d write about is you,” said first-year Gavin Buchanan, reciting from his own poem.

The performances were notable for being more active than simple poetry readings. “I would like to get more performative poets without discouraging less performative poets,” Buchanan said.

“I was pretty excited about this event because it’s one that we brought back last year,” Justus said. “People seem to really enjoy it. Miriam Cone and I brought it back last year when we were editors.”

Though the group at Friday’s event was small, enough to fill half of the Gold Room, the event felt like the right size since almost all the attendants shared their work after the

contest was over. The theme of the contest carried into the open mic in the second half, informing the poems that was shared, many of which were works in progress.

“Open mics are fun, but this event has an incentive in its topic,” Justus continued. “I enjoyed all of the poems that were read, each of the poets have their own voice and you can really hear that with how they read their own poems. I just like the level of honesty and intimacy of these poems, and how open people were with these poems.”

At the end of the contest and before the open mic portion started, a jar of chocolates was awarded to the audience favorite Bourgeois, though understandably the results were closely contested by the crowd.

“A lot of people love to just share their work with others but it’s nice right before to Valentine’s Day to have a jar of chocolate,” Justus said. “I noticed at this year that there were several people that I didn’t remember seeing at other events of ours, which shows that we are appealing to a larger group of people,” she said.

Bourgeois, however, ended up giving that jar of chocolates away to a friend after the event.

“In high school I did slam poetry competitions,” Bourgeois said. “I like the open-mike nights because I can get feedback on new work. Poetry is really a way for me to hammer out my thoughts.”

Although the event was anti-love, art and beauty was still present in the poets’ words.

SIDEWALK SYMPOSIUM What’s your favorite film of the season?

“Logan, because it was unconventional.”

— Jazmin Avellaneda sophomore biochemistry major

“Wonder Woman, because Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins were badass.”

— Ann White junior music education major

“Coco, because it finds a healthy way to talk about death.”

— Janet Muñoz senior biochemistry and molecular biology major

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Behind Trinity’s Music DAVID MENCHACA A&E CONTRIBUTOR dmenchac@trinity.edu “Maybe I shouldn’t have worn a sweater today,” said Joseph Kneer, conductor of the Trinity Symphony Orchestra. He lifted his baton and began another run of the fast and regal “Awake the Harp” movement.

Despite the orchestra’s resonating, clear and bold sound, Kneer halted the piece midway through to correct an error. He uttered a profanity, removed his sweater from over his shirt and tossed it to the floor below.

In response to the unexpected performance, Gary Seighman, director of the Trinity choirs, let loose a wolf-like howl from the otherwise empty audience seating. Kneer delivered another cue and the orchestra once again roared to life, performing the piece with enough energy to light up the recital hall.

This strange and silly scene captures not only the efforts put forth by the Trinity Symphony Orchestra but also the excitement of Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Die Schöpfung” oratorio, better known in English as “The Creation.” This oratorio, which premiered in 1799, is a loose adaptation of the Book of Genesis, with additional influences from biblical psalms and even John Milton’s famous poem “Paradise Lost.”

“This work has been something we’ve had on our radar for a number of years. It was just a matter of finding the right year when we thought that the choir would be able to tackle it,” Seighman said.

This ambitious project, the Choral Union concert, was first teased in 2017’s spring concert when the Trinity Symphony Orchestra and the Choral Union performed the oratorio’s finale with featured performances from then-seniors Mariana Lopez-Levi and Matthew Reynolds, the two winners of that year’s Rosalind Phillips Vocal Competition.

The orchestra and choir then performed the aforementioned “Awake the Harp” movement at this past year’s Christmas concert under Seighman’s direction.

Although the concert would not take place for another six months, Kneer and the orchestra began work on “The Creation” almost as soon as rehearsals started in late August, dedicating short portions of each rehearsal to learning the piece.

Of course, a work of such a grand subject is not without its challenges. Both the orchestra and choir need to work around various issues regarding their numbers: The orchestra not always having enough musicians and the choir having such a large number of singers.

“No matter how well the people up front play and prepare, it’s tough to play with only two or three people around you playing the same part,” Kneer said.

Seighman discussed his perspective from the other end of the spectrum.

“Because we have so many singers, one aspect we focus on with the choir is preparing them to sing with the orchestra.

It’s a very different kind of beast than singing with a piano or a cappella,” Seighman said.

“Performing this extended work is a large undertaking, one that most schools our size would not attempt. It requires a lot of stamina, an understanding of 18th century musical style and quite simply, it’s a heck of a lot notes to learn,” Seighman said.

“Because it’s such a large, multi-movement work, we’re trying to get a sense of the whole piece so when we put it together it’s not so fragmented. We often work through a lot of transitions between movements so that the singers have a sense of the whole piece and what the text is about.”

Kneer also noted the piece’s remarkable overall difficulty.

“It’s harder than most things that we’ve played and even longer by far. It’s an hour …

30 minutes at least,” Kneer said. “In Haydn, there’s so much going on all the time. He fills up all the space with something and it’s genius, but it’s also a lot.”

In spite of the numerous challenges the ensembles faced, both directors were very pleased with the progress they had made over the year.

“The ‘Sunrise’ was really beautiful. It takes a lot of work to play beautifully in classic-era style. Even if you’re a specialty professional you have to do it all right. We’re not a professional group but I think we can do a lot of nice things,” Kneer said. “We set this year as kind of a goal to do it and I’m really happy with how it’s been going.”

The musicians themselves find the repertoire challenging as well.

“It’s an incredibly challenging repertoire and the orchestra is doing its best to keep up with it. But there are areas where we could definitely use improvement, especially in terms of style because the classical style is just incredibly idiosyncratic,” said Blue Mohr, junior cello player.

However, they are also quite pleased with the progress they have been making.

“It’s going pretty well. There’s obviously work to do but it’s progressing. It’s nice to hear it all come together,” said Lily Slemp, first-year and principal second violinist.

The Choral Union concert will take place at the Margarite B. Parker Chapel on Friday, Feb. 23.

JOSEPH KNEER, center, conducts Trinity’s orchestra during one of its many rehearsals. Despite not always having enough musicians, the orchestra has tackled many challenging pieces such as Franz Joseph Haydn’s “The Creation.” photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer

17

Sports

LET THE GAMES BEGIN:

• Baseball @ Clements Fluid Classic, Feb. 16–17 • Track and Field @ A&M Twilight Meet, Saturday, Feb. 17 • Men’s and Women’s Tennis vs. St. Edwards, Saturday, Feb. 17, 4 p.m.

Softball kicks off season with 6-0 streak

Young team jumps to No. 1 in SCAC, puts last year’s losing record, team tensions behind them

ANTONIO PEDRAZA | SPORTS REPORTER apedraza@trinity.edu The Trinity softball team has started its campaign in exuberant style, winning all of its first six games of the year coming off of last year’s losing season. This past weekend, the team played Concordia University in a thrilling doubleheader.

The first game was an exciting 6-4 victory which saw the Tigers, powered by senior Sarah McCarty and juniors Hailey Wilson and Riley Goldwait, fight to come from behind and take the victory. (Wilson is a sports reporter for the Trinitonian.)

In game two, the Tigers fell behind early on again, but they came back, fighting hard to a tie at the end of regulation. The game went into extra innings, but not for long, as Wilson’s RBI triple allowed her to later score on a throwing error. The Tigers finished 6-5.

Wilson reflected on her pivotal hit.

“It felt really awesome. I just really wanted to do whatever I could to put my team in the position to win the game, and I happened to place the ball in the perfect place for that to happen. We couldn’t have won without Sara’s leadoff hit and stolen bases, Becca’s three-run triple, and so on. It really was a team effort and an amazing team win,” Wilson said.

Goldwait commented that one reason for their new success is the change in team dynamics.

“Overall, we are more positive and supportive and excited. We’ve been putting in a lot of work. We’ve been earning our results instead of expecting them,” Goldwait said.

Junior Marissa Trevino believes that the new faces are what has really helped them to achieve success at this early part of the season.

“One of the biggest things that is different is our team dynamic. Ten freshman is a huge class and they’ve added a lot of diversity to our team, but I think as a whole we blend really well together and play great as a unit,” Trevino said.

While introducing 10 new players into the program has diversified the talent pool, head coach Brandi Dolsen asserts that what has really helped the team is good leadership to help the new faces get acclimated to their new environment.

“This year we have really great senior leadership. Our girls worked hard in the

Members of the softball team huddle on the mound in a game versus Concordia University on Feb. 10. photo by ALLISON WOLFF, staff photographer

offseason as a group, which has not been the case in years past. A lot of credit goes to our returners for making the first years feel at home and a part of this program,” Dolsen said.

Trevino agreed with her coach.

“I am so excited about this team. We have great leadership from people in all classes and have incredible energy. I think that our freshman have done a great job of stepping up when we need them, and I am hoping that we are able to continue the momentum that we have when entering into conference,” Trevino said.

Goldwait also commented on the role of the new first-years.

“We have a lot of freshman so there is a lot of new energy and having a big underclass means that people constantly pushing each other. This year is a new vibe and everyone is positive. We pick each other up,” Goldwait said.

Dolsen also noted that the team seems to have found a new swagger that they have lacked in past seasons.

“Our girls have more confidence than they ever have. I think this is mostly due to all of the time they committed for offseason workout and training. They are seeing the ball offensively really well right now. We have a great group of pitchers that allow us to get different looks in the box, we are grateful to them for throwing to our hitters each week,” Dolsen said.

Overall, the team seems to be extremely positive about the rest of their season, but wants to make it clear that they have a long journey between now and the postseason.

“We are taking it one game at a time and focusing on short-term goals to achieve our long-term goal of getting to the SCAC champonship,” Goldwait said.

Trevino reiterated this mindset.

“We have an end-of-season goal to make it to the SCAC tournament, but in order to do that we know that we have to take it pitch by pitch, game by game,” Trevino said.

Wilson commented on how they need to build on their current dynamic.

“We are looking to keep practicing hard and take things one game at a time. When you get hot, it’s easy to get cocky and complacent, so we’re really focused on continuing to do the small things correctly,” Wilson said.

Dolsen also made this claim.

“We just need to continue building on what they have started. Their chemistry and will to win is something I haven’t seen from our program in a few years. It is really exciting as a coach to watch them find success in all of their hard work,” Dolsen said.

Goldwait agreed.

“Our saying is, ‘Feed the machine, and everyone is part of the machine,’ ” Goldwait said.

The softball team will face off in a doubleheader away game against University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Tuesday, Feb. 20. Their next home game will be March 16 in a series against Schreiner University.

Men’s lacrosse roster grows to 36 in fourth year Team adds new skill to deep lineup SAUL MALEK | SPORTS REPORTER smalek@trinity.edu Three years ago, former high school lacrosse player and then-first-year Ben Mulford decided that Trinity’s athletic scene needed a change. Sure, Trinity had its basketball teams and its football teams and even its intramural teams, but it was missing something big: a lacrosse team. Mulford, along with some of his friends, decided to bring the idea of forming, or rather, bringing back a club lacrosse team to the athletic department.

“There was actually a lacrosse team started at Trinity in the 1980s, but there was a hiatus,” Mulford, now a senior, said.

Three years later, Mulford’s club lacrosse team boasts a 36 man roster and plays in a club league that features Division I schools such as Baylor and UTSA. “We actually won our league the first year we played, and now we’ve moved up to the Lone

Star Alliance,” Mulford said, referring to their new conference.

Senior Zach Davis believes that the team draws such an impressive attendance due to its inclusivity.

“We welcome all skill levels. A lot of the team is relatively inexperienced, but we have a lot of new guys recently that will help,” Davis said.

One of these relatively inexperienced players, senior Chris Tate, is already getting acclimated to playing on the team.

“I just started playing this spring,” Tate said. “I go to practice three days a week and lift on our off days.”

Senior Matt McKelvey follows a similar workout schedule, which he believes the majority of the team follows.

“A lot of guys work out, admittedly some better than others,” McKelvey said.

For those that stick with the workouts and practices, success seems to come sooner rather than later.

“I started playing as a sophomore. You get really good really fast,” McKelvey said.

BEN MULFORD, captain, warms up for practice on Feb. 14. photo by AMANI CANADA, photo editor

The team has only played three games so far this season, but there seems to be reason for optimism.

“We had two close games that we lost and one blowout that we won,” Davis said. In that win, the team scored 24 goals.

Davis also explained why he joined the lacrosse team.

“I wanted some extra activity and I have always enjoyed playing,” Davis said.

Trinity club lacrosse will be on the road against St. Edward’s University on Feb. 17.

SPORTS • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

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DeVore drives to success, on and off the course Golfer named SCAC Character & Community Women’s Athlete of the Week for the second time HAILEY WILSON | SPORTS REPORTER hwilson@trinity.edu For the second time in her Trinity career, Shelby DeVore, a senior on the women’s golf team, was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Character & Community Women’s Athlete of the Week.

Each week, the SCAC gives this award to one male and one female student-athlete in the conference who excels not only in their sport, but in their community as well. DeVore first won this honor in the spring of 2016.

“It’s an honor. The fact that I have been able to win it twice is really special to me,” DeVore said. “The fact that the athletic department wants to recognize me and the work that I do for the community means so much.”

When not chipping away on the golf course, DeVore spends her time volunteering at a few different nonprofits in the San Antonio area.

Over the past year, she has devoted time to tutoring at Sunshine Cottage, a school in San Antonio for deaf children.

“I tutor over there twice a week. I help the kids with reading, math and writing. It’s just so much fun and it’s a great way for me to get away and have some fun off campus,” DeVore said.

She also helped run a golf camp with Kinetic Kids, a sports organization for children with intellectual and physical disabilities.

Each week, DeVore was paired up with a different student and practiced golf with them one-on-one.

“It was cool because I got to know the kid, but also help him or her with the game that I love,” DeVore said.

Sara McCarty, DeVore’s roommate from last year, has always looked up to her “Shelby has always gone out of her way to volunteer on a weekly basis and I can tell that she really cares not only about herself but the community as well,” McCarty said.

When hurricane Harvey hit Houston last fall, DeVore was devastated but determined to find a way to help out those who had been affected. That’s when she came up with Holeing Out for Harvey, a fundraiser aimed at helping those along the Texas Gulf Coast.

“We asked people to sponsor us and pledge a certain amount of money for each birdie we made at our tournament. After our tournaments, we contacted our sponsors and they donated the money,” DeVore said.

The team raised over $5,500. Shortly after the fundraiser, the team took a trip down to Rockport and gave the money to families who were directly affected by the storm.

Over the summer, DeVore usually serves as a camp counselor at Camp Olympia in Trinity, Texas. Camp Olympia is a summer camp for kids and has a golf academy component that DeVore helps out with.

On campus, DeVore is editor-in-chief of the Mirage and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and she helps facilitate intramural sports.

Claire Munro, Devore’s coworker at the Intramural program, noted that DeVore puts in a great deal of effort in all that she does.

“Shelby is always looking for ways to improve the intramural program and is always helping out wherever it is needed,” Munro said.

SHELBY DEVORE was awarded by the conference. photo by ALLISON WOLFF, staff photographer

DeVore stressed the importance of studentathletes finding time to volunteer and give back to the community.

“As Trinity athletes, the San Antonio community does so much for us, so it’s important to give back,” DeVore said.

She suggested asking around to find volunteering opportunities, whether it be for yourself as an individual or for your team. She emphasized the importance of finding a place that suits your interests.

“I’ve always been interested in golf and kids, so I was able to start there and research different areas that would suit me best,” DeVore said.

As for advice for those looking to get involved with volunteering, DeVore explained that finding something that aligns with your passions is key.

“Find something that you love to do — that way it’s not a chore. Find something that you can truly enjoy,” DeVore said.

Intuition trumps algorithm in predictions survey Third year of Oracle NFL challenge run by math professor puts people head-to-head against program SAUL MALEK | SPORTS REPORTER smalek@trinity.edu It doesn’t take world class computer to let you know that the Golden State Warriors are probably going to stomp all over the Phoenix Suns. A high powered offense of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant has no chance of being stopped by what is essentially a multi-million dollar G league— development league—team. Unfortunately, not all matchups are so cut and dry. That’s where Eduardo Cabral’s computer program comes into play.

Cabral, an avid enthusiast of sports and sports analytics, and an associate professor of mathematics at Trinity, decided to work with colleagues to design a computer method known as the Oracle in an effort to make accurate sport predictions.

“I developed this computer method, known as the Oracle, with Brian Miceli [Trinity associate professor of mathematics].

The Oracle takes into account information about each team’s athletes, their opponents and so on,” Cabral said.

Because of the algorithm’s depth of analysis in considering strength of schedule, it is able to solidly predict upsets.

The Trinitonian caught wind of Cabral’s program at the beginning of 2016 and decided to stack up his model against a few faculty.

Jacob Tingle, Danny Anderson and David Tuttle were paired against the model. Now, in 2018, Cabral boasts of having over 100 competitors in his NFL Oracle rank challenge; the results of this challenge can be found on Cabral’s website, rank.balreira.com.

In order to make things easier for competitors, Cabral developed a code in Matlab that offered a survey to make picks.

The survey was emailed out over a mailing list to competitors, who filled it out by simply picking the teams they thought would win that week.

infographic by LIZ DAY, graphics editor

Surprisingly, the results showed that maybe technology does not always know best, and that human intuition can be just as useful as advanced data analytics. This past NFL season, students picked at 64 percent accuracy, alumni picked at 62 percent accuracy and the computer picked at a measly 60 percent accuracy. Unfortunately for human participants, the Oracle was still able to win the playoffs after predicting the Super Bowl correctly.

Will Farner, senior, reported a prediction accuracy of an impressive 67 percent for the season.

“I did do research each week and looked at the calculated odds by statisticians to make my picks,” Farner said.

In addition to developing a fun way for students and alumni to predict matchups of their favorite sports teams, Dr. Cabral has brought a meaningful learning opportunity to a classroom setting. Cabral’s mathematics 2117 course, known as STAT (sports, technology and analytics at Trinity), teaches students about predictive analysis in sports. In the class information, Cabral encouraged those of all backgrounds to participate and immerse themselves in the world of sport predictions and analytics.

“One does not need to be a math major or sport management minor to participate. You just need to be enthusiastic about sports and

interested in learning about sports analytics,” Cabral wrote on the Trinity website.

Jacob Tingle, director of experiential learning and graduate of Trinity in 1995, sees the NFL ranking competition as a way to connect with other alumni, as he has spread the word of the competition through his alumni network.

“I see this challenge as a way to engage with alumni. The mix of students and faculty participating in this competition can open the door to internships or other opportunities,” Tingle said.

To participate in the challenge in the upcoming NFL season, visit rank.balreira.com.

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Fitness center reopens

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 16, 2018 •

SPORTS

continued from FRONT Students were quick to take advantage of the new facilities. Sarah Gorban, sophomore and president of TUfit, especially liked the open feel of the new facilities in comparison to the old, windowless weight and cardio rooms.

Gorban added that the openness of the center is one of her favorite aspects.

“It feels very open and friendly and I like that it overlooks the outside of the Bell Center,” Gorban wrote.

Matthew Miller, sophomore, agreed.

“I like the vast variety of machines. They have a lot of different machines for a lot of different kinds of workouts. There’s a whole upper deck with a cardio workout area with a really good view of campus. The new facility really makes you want to go in and work out.

The previous workout room was on the first floor and it felt like you were in a trench in the ground, and this one has glass windows all the way around and it feels a lot more high-tech and more fun to work out in,” Miller said.

Asbury previewed what’s next to come for athletic renovations.

“Next, in terms of facilities improvements, we look forward to working with the Campus Master Plan to enhance the football and baseball facilities, again through donations, to better the game day experience for our students, their parents and our alumni,” Asbury said.

Asbury hopes that students will utilize the new center.

“We’re looking forward to students, faculty and staff utilizing the new fitness center. We wanted to revitalize the Bell Center for our campus community. The wellness, health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is important. I hope we have something for everyone to meet your strength and cardio fitness goals,” Asbury said.

TOP: A Trinity student utilizes the bench press in the new fitness center. The fitness center opened on Feb. 8 after over a year of construction. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer MIDDLE: The new fitness center is two stories tall, with weights on the bottom floor and cardio on top. The center features large windows for a view of campus. photo by AMANI CANADA, photo editor BOTTOM: The machines in the weight room are custom-designed, painted a cool gray to match Trinity’s color scheme. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer