Volume 116 Issue 13
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OPINION
Trinitonian Serving Trinity University Since 1902
Discovering the downfalls of volunteer-based journalism
9 Sophomore Carson Bolding: PULSE A voter registration expert
NOVEMBER 16, 2018
12 Rare and classic film fans A&E mourn the loss of Filmstruck
allows Men’s Soccer dominates at home UCC revisions to
Two weekend wins send the team to Chicago for Sweet Sixteen EVAN BROWN | SPORTS REPORTER ebrown4@trinity.edu The Trinity Men’s soccer team advanced to the Round of 16 of the Division III National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament on Sunday, Nov. 11, after the defense registered their ninth and 10th shutouts of the season over Chapman University and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) with two straight victories of 3–0. Trinity earned the right to host the first two rounds after being ranked No. 5 in the nation and clinching an automatic postseason birth by winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) tournament. In the first round, Trinity faced Chapman, who entered the matchup as the underdog. The Chapman Panthers surprised many by rallying to win the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) tournament to preserve their spot in the NCAA tournament. Throughout the year, they relied on their defense to win games, as the offense averaged only 1.35 goals per match. continued on PAGE 16
Curriculum altered to help students who study abroad JOLIE FRANCIS | NEWS REPORTER jfranci1@trinity.edu
single rooms, much like the North format, and they will be larger rooms,” Baker said. Additionally, Baker plans to add a shared kitchen space for North and South. “The common space is now in the North/South foyer. There’s not going to be another common room. There’s going to be a dual kitchen with lockable storage in the refrigerator and lockers for dry goods storage, and that will be in the foyer,” Baker said.
The University Curriculum Council (UCC) approved revisions to the Pathways curriculum in order to help students who wish to study abroad but feel the experience may delay their graduation. Starting in spring 2019, courses taken abroad will be eligible to count towards the Interdisciplinary Cluster. The UCC also approved a brand new cluster that requires participating in a faculty-led study abroad program. The Interdisciplinary Cluster has been a point of concern for many students as they attempt to complete the Pathways curriculum. Glenn Kroeger, chair of the UCC, proposed the idea after consulting with Katsuo Nishikawa, director of the Center for International Engagement, and Andre Martinez, the assistant director for Study Abroad, to maximize study abroad use in Pathways as well as to improve the completion aspect of clusters. “We’re making other changes to try to streamline the way students can count study abroad in Pathways in general,” Kroeger said. “What we did is we changed that rule [that all cluster courses had to be taken at Trinity] to allow one course from study abroad to count. The [updated] rule can apply to any cluster, it’s just that you have to make a case for why it fits.” For a course taken abroad to receive credit, the student must make a proposal to the Interdisciplinary Cluster Steering Committee within the UCC that justifies why the course should count. “Most students go abroad before they’ve completed their cluster, and they’re anxious about being able to fulfill the cluster requirement when they return,” said Betsy Tontiplaphol, professor of English and member of the Interdisciplinary Cluster Steering Committee. “Under the new policy, students might be able to use some of their coursework from abroad to push forward on the cluster while they’re away from Trinity. I emphasize the ‘might,’ however. At the core of the cluster requirement is coherence, and students will have to demonstrate to the faculty in their chosen cluster and to the members of the Interdisciplinary Cluster Steering Committee that the course in question truly fits with the rest of the cluster.”
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Junior center back BRADY JOHNSTON takes a shot on goal to put the Tigers up 1–0 in the first half against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Tigers went on to win 3–0, then took on Chapman University the next day for another 3–0 win. They will travel to Chicago to compete against UChicago in the next stage of the tournament. photo by JORDAN BRUCE
Res. hall renovations set for summer
South, McLean, Beze and Herndon slated for updates ahead of schedule
LEFT: Students work in a study lounge in Verna McLean Residence Hall. The lounges will be one of the areas of the dorms that will be updated over the summer. RIGHT: Beze Residence Hall will also receive interior updates. The building’s exterior will not be modified due to its historic status. photos by ELIZABETH NELSON
GABBY GARRIGA | NEWS REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu Residential Life is planning the most extensive residence hall renovation yet. This summer, South Hall, Verna McLean Hall, Harold D. Herndon Hall and Albert-Herff Beze Hall will receive various renovations that range from new air conditioning systems to new kitchens to visual finishings. In total, the project will cost an estimated $24.2 million. Deb Tyson, director of Residential Life, will head this summer’s
Pathways
renovations as project chair. Two months ago, Tyson brought the plan to renovate all four residence halls to the leadership team made up of the vice presidents across campus. “These buildings needed to be upgraded. It impacts overall student satisfaction and appreciation for their living space, which we believe firmly impacts a student’s academic experience when they come back to a space that’s well maintained and clean. So when we took it forward, we asked that the institution consider that, and they did,” Tyson said.
Jim Baker, director of Facilities Services, will handle the specifics of the building renovations, all of which will take place simultaneously this summer. The biggest renovation will be to South Hall, where the plan is to expand room size. “South is a contributor to the historic district, so it limits some of what we can actually do. We’ll leave the basic floors of each building, and the bricks and everything else will be bulldozed out of the building and we’ll start over. They will be
graphic by ALEXANDRA PARRIS
Previously, on SGA: JUST ADMIT IT The following covers the meeting on Nov. 14. CLIMATE CHECK Sophomore senator Maddy D’Iorio asked if student organizations are allowed to endorse candidates for SGA, as Trinity Diversity Connection (TDC) had endorsed two first-year candidates. Senior Amulya Deva, president of SGA, said that she had told TDC that this was okay because there is no rule against it and because she did not want to limit their freedom of speech. VICE PRESIDENT SERIES In this week’s installment of the Vice Presidents Series, Tess Coody-Anders, vice president for Strategic Communications and Marketing; Eric Maloof, vice president for Enrollment Management; and Michael Bacon, vice president for Alumni Relations and Development, addressed the members of SGA. Maloof explained that the goal for Trinity class sizes will not change, but that the number of students who decide to apply and commit to Trinity is increasing, which his department must learn to adjust to. Maloof reported that they have received 1,000 more applications than they had at this point last year. He expects Trinity’s admission rate to be below 30 percent for the class of
2023. Maloof explained that as Trinity becomes more selective, the application review process has become more holistic, meaning criteria like extracurriculars and teacher recommendations are taken more into account. Maloof and Coody-Anders talked about how Marketing and Admissions work closely together in recruiting applicants. This includes altering Trinity’s brand awareness both regionally and nationally. Maloof stated that they try to focus admissions outreach in Texas and on the West Coast, and that the East Coast is tough to draw students from due to the high density of liberal arts institutions in the Northeast. Maloof and Coody-Anders also addressed Trinity’s national image and US News and World Report ranking. Coody-Anders explained that Trinity is not recognized in a national context, but that this is true of many similar institutions. Currently, Trinity is ranked No. 2 among regional colleges and universities in the West, but Trinity has the option to petition to be put on a list of national liberal arts institutions. Senior senator Julia Shults pointed out that being compared on a national scale could help with Trinity’s brand on a national context, whereas Deva liked the regional ranking because as a student from the West Coast, she could compare Trinity to other universities in the west that she was familiar with.
Meetings are held every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Waxahachie Room. coverage by KENDRA DERRIG
STAFF JULIA WEIS editor-in-chief JORDAN BRUCE executive digital editor KATHLEEN CREEDON executive print editor JONAH NANCE business manager REBECCA DERBY ad director KENDRA DERRIG news editor THERESA HO pulse editor GEORGIE RIGGS a&e editor AUSTIN DAVIDSON sports editor SOLEIL GAFFNER opinion editor CATHY TERRACE special sections editor HENRY PRATT visual editor PABLO TRAVERSARI web editor SHUBHANKAR SINGH webmaster KATHARINE MARTIN adviser
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REPORTERS Noelle Barrera, Rafaela Brenner, Evan Brown, Jolie Francis, Kaylie King, Gabby Garriga, Calliope Izquierdo, Wolf Robinson, Maria Zaharatos, Megan Flores COLUMNISTS Evan Chambless, Maddie D’Iorio, Ben Gonzalez, Kara Killinger, Kayla Padilla, Natalia Salas, Thomas Harvell-DeGolier COPY EDITORS Corrin McCullough, Addie Coldiron, Sofia Gonzalez Gonzalez ILLUSTRATORS Kaitlyn Curry, Andrea Nebhut, Julia Poage GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alexandra Parris DIGITAL CONTENT CREATORS Thomas Van Zandt Johnson, Dominic Anthony PHOTOGRAPHERS Matthew Claybrook, Elizabeth Nelson, Genevieve Humphreys BUSINESS STAFF Victor Stummvoll, Elizabeth Popov ADVERTISING STAFF Jordan Askew, Isaac Bartolomei, Jacob Hurrell-Zitelman, Regis Noubiap, Kailey DeLuca, Abigail Lipe
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TUPD BRIEFS STOP! THIEF! On Thursday, Nov. 8, at 3:22 p.m., a student reported that their artwork had been destroyed in the Dicke-Smith Building. It was found that the artwork had fallen from the wall, and that the housekeepers had disposed of it, believing that it was trash. The art was returned.
LIT-WINN On Friday, Nov. 9, at 11:01 p.m., a student on the second floor of Witt-Winn Residence Hall called TUPD on another student who was intoxicated and unconscious. The students had been drinking at an off-campus party. Following an evaluation from EMS, the student was taken to Baptist Medical Center for observation.
CALL ME MABEE On Friday, Nov. 9, at 1:25 p.m., an employee at Mabee Dining Hall reported that their Samsung Galaxy 5 phone had been stolen from the charging station. The phone was not recovered.
LITTER-WINN On Sunday, Nov. 11, at 3:36 a.m., a student on the second floor of Witt-Winn Residence Hall called TUPD on another student, who was intoxicated. The students had been drinking at an off-campus party. The student was taken to detox at the Center for Health Care Services.
CLASSIFIEDS Join the Swing Bums for Yule Ball on Monday, Dec. 3, 8 – 11p.m. in the CSI Atrium. Free admission, free food and performances by the Trinitones and Acabellas.
Want to take out an ad?
Classified ads are free for Trinity students. For non-students, each ad is $25 for 25 words. Send your ads to: trinitonian-adv@trinity.edu
TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2018 •
NEWS
How does Trinity manage its endowment? A committee of trustees decides where to invest most of the $1.2 billion JOLIE FRANCIS | NEWS REPORTER jfranci1@trinity.edu Managing Trinity’s $1.2 billion endowment is no small feat for the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees. The endowment staff helps to support and carry out their investment operations. As of the 2016–2017 Endowment Report, Trinity’s endowment has a market value of $1.2 billion. “[The endowment] can change two ways: New gifts coming in and investment returns,” said Craig Crow, director of investment for Trinity in the Office of Finance and Administration. “The value will fluctuate. Year-to-year markets can be what we call volatile, so they can go up, they can go down. Our market value will vary based on that.” The endowment distribution supports 35 percent of Trinity’s operating budget, which is almost double the amount of what similar private universities’ endowments supports. “Operating budget is comprised of annual revenues and expenses to run the university,” said Gary Logan, vice president for Finance and Administration. “Revenues
include student net tuition, room and board, as well as a portion of endowment used to support the one-year budget, as well as all operating expenses of the university.” Along with supporting the operating budget, the endowment is invested to generate revenue. The Investment Committee meets quarterly and Crow looks at the investment operations daily to figure where to allocate funds. “Trinity’s endowment, like most modern endowments, is more heavily weighted to various equity investments than to fixed income investments,” Logan said. “Equity investments include U.S. and non-U.S. public equities, private equities, venture capital, minerals and real estate.” The aim of the investment committee is to invest about 50 percent of the endowment in stocks and about 10 percent in real estate, though these numbers can vary. “We have our targets, and then we have ranges. And the ranges are pretty wide, so we can allocate or reallocate investments based on those ranges depending on where we’re at on certain parts of the market,” Crow said. Although stocks are a good investment for the long run and have a higher rate of return than real estate. David Macpherson, chair of the Department of Economics, said that stocks can be tricky in the short run due to frequent fluctuations. “Since the returns of real estate and stocks are not perfectly correlated, it makes sense to invest in both real estate and stocks since such diversification can reduce the risk in an investment portfolio,” Macpherson wrote in an email interview.
Halls to be renovated in summer of 2019 continued from FRONT McLean has a dual-pipe system, which means only hot water or only cold water can run to the building and that the building’s air conditioning system does not dehumidify the rooms. Baker said the renovations will revamp the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. “These are the things that students don’t see but are really expensive parts of the project and imperative to the sustainability of the life of the building and the quality of the experience,” Tyson said. Along with new flooring, furniture and bathroom renovations, Facilities Services will install fire sprinkler systems in South and McLean. “We always say fire alarms save lives and fire sprinklers save property. If I can get you out, it’s OK that the building burns to the ground because you’re out. That is a major commitment and every residence hall has it now,” Baker said. Beze and Herndon will receive additional exterior renovations to make the buildings look nicer. Additionally, there will be interior updates to flooring and bathrooms. “Beze and Herndon are also historic buildings. We have to be sensitive with how we do those repairs [so] that we don’t alter the current state of the building,” Baker said. Gary Logan, vice president for Finance and Administration, will handle the budget of the project. Right now, Logan estimates that the South renovation will cost $11.7 million. McLean, Herndon and Beze will be treated as one project, costing $12.5 million. “We’ve been saving for a while for these projects. We’ve known they were coming. Initially, we weren’t planning on doing them all in one summer. We just made the decision to compress them and go at
NEWS
one time because we felt like we had an opportunity in our schedule to do that. We also felt like from feedback from students there was a desire for us to get on with renewing these facilities, so we decided to do that,” Logan said. Sometimes, a building renovation may be funded by its endowment, a project gift or by bond issues. After that, the operating budget will cover the remainder. These residential hall renovations will be completely funded by the depreciation set-asides. “The university’s depreciation expense each year is about $11.5 million. Trinity sets aside that much money every year in our operating budget, which is really best practice in institutions. That’s just out of general revenues that come in out of all sources, so that includes the student tuition, the room and board payments, the endowment income [and] the gift income,” Logan said. The operating budget is used for various university expenses. “All of that money flows into the operating budget and then we pay salaries and financial aid and various things out of that. A piece of that, $11.5 million, goes to repair and renew our facilities, including equipment and buildings,” Logan said. Following these renovations, all buildings on the east side of campus will have been completely renovated in the last 10 years. Tyson stressed the importance of upkeep in the residence halls. “Outside of the talents of the people, your infrastructures are your biggest physical assets, and there’s a lot of money in them. If you don’t upkeep your structures on a cycle, then you find when you do get around to them that it costs more than it would have to just to upkeep them to begin with,” Tyson said.
• NOVEMBER 16, 2018 • TRINITONIAN.COM
graphic by ALEXANDRA PARRIS
Over the past 10 years, the endowment has stayed above $800 million and is now $1.2 billion, its highest number yet. As a major source of continued revenue, the endowment directly affects Trinity life and resources.
“All that stuff that makes Trinity special, the endowment helps do that,” Crow said. “Our job here, my job here at the endowment is to earn the best return we can with the right amount of risk to be able to support everything that this school has going on.”
2019-20 COHORT
NOW Accepting Applications for Trinity's
Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program https://new.trinity.edu/apply-now
Scholarship information will be sent upon completion of program application. Questions? Contact Dr. Laura Allen (lallen@trinity.edu)
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What do Props A, B, C mean for San Antonio?
SIDEWALK SYMPOSIUM Did you vote for or against Props A, B and C?
graphic by ALEXANDRA PARRIS
Professors discuss the potential effects of local election results GABBY GARRIGA | NEWS REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu San Antonio community members voted on Propositions A, B and C when they went to the polls for midterm elections on Tuesday, Nov. 6. The three propositions were spearheaded by the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association and sought changes to San Antonio’s City Charter. Proposition A would decrease the number of signatures needed from 70,000 to 20,000 signatures. According to Ballot Pedia, it failed 45.78 percent to 54.22 percent. Proposition B passed, 59.19 percent to 40.81 percent. This proposition will limit the city manager’s term to eight years and salary to 10 times the lowest paid city employee. Proposition C, passed 50.78 percent to 49.22 percent, will allow the firefighters union to use binding arbitration in labor contract negotiations with San Antonio. 550,786 people took to the polls, totaling 49.86 percent of registered voters according to Bexar County’s website. David Crockett, chair of the Department of Political Science, believes the firefighters association grew frustrated after being unable to negotiate a new contract with the city. The union has been without a contract since their last contract expired in 2014.
“This is all a fit of pique by one interest group against the city establishment.” DAVID CROCKETT
CHAIR OF THE DEPT. OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
“This is driven by an animosity for the city council, so the drive was to relax what is required to take city council decisions and put them on the ballot for the citizens to decide. It’s an attack on the city manager — not the current one, but it limits what the city council can do. Proposition C makes the city deal with the firefighters union on their contractual issues. This is all a fit of pique by one interest group against the city establishment,” Crockett said. After the results came in, Crockett was shocked that the decision on the propositions was split.
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“It was interesting to me that it was a split decision. I would have thought that either all three would have passed or all three would have failed, and that didn’t happen. So, people do I guess read the ballot measures and make their own decisions. Not everyone was persuaded by the ‘vote all yes’ or ‘vote all no,’ ” Crockett said, referring to the “Go Vote No” campaign encouraging voters to vote against each proposition and the rival “Vote Yes” campaign. Crockett believes citizens may not have been aware of the ballot measures until they arrived at the polls. “If you don’t consume a lot of news and you don’t read a lot of pamphlets that bombard your doors and you don’t pay a lot of attention to yard signs, this might be the first time a lot of voters actually confronted these propositions, and they have to read it for the first time. It wouldn’t surprise me that voters made decisions on the fly,” Crockett said. Christine Drennon, director of urban studies and professor of sociology and anthropology, foresaw potential problems with Proposition A if it had been approved by voters. “We elect representatives who we feel would do a good job representing us. We do not vote on every single issue and to have 20,000 people able to put an issue on a ballot is a really low number and a really low threshold, so it turns us almost into a populous-type governing body. The other argument is that special interests could easily buy it because in order to collect signatures, they usually pay canvassers,” Drennon said. Before Proposition A failed, Drennon was concerned about San Antonio’s future bond rating. With the passing of Propositions B and C, Drennon believes there is less cause for concern. Currently, the city maintains a AAA bond rating, demonstrating low risk for potential investors. “We are one of the lowest risk cities in the country, and that is due to the fact that our city manager is extremely conservative financially. The rating agencies are much more favorable to things like investment in the physical landscape versus investment in human capital,” Drennon said. To maintain this rating, the city focuses on physical investments into buildings, infrastructure and land. Due to the low-risk rating, the city is able to borrow more easily. “So we have these enormous bond referendums where we go to borrow 80 million dollars in the bond markets in order to have physical improvements in the city. Theoretically, that frees up our own money to put into social services. Are we doing a good job? That depends on who you talk to,” Drennon said.
“I voted for. I think overall government is really just inefficient, so I wanted the firefighters to, that would have given them more power to just continually have their voice. It would give the firefighters the right to force the city into constant arbitration, to kind of get a greater point across than what they had been doing.” ELIJAH RUDOLPH SENIOR
“I voted yes for Prop C. It seemed like a fair deal for everyone.” ALEXANDRA BAKER FIRST-YEAR
“I voted for all of them. It seemed like they would be beneficial to more people.” CAMILLE GILBAR FIRST-YEAR
“I voted against. I think that the referendums really put the power in the hands of a small minority and I think in San Antonio because of how our city works, a lot of our far right voices tend to be a very loud minority. I think it’s unnecessary for them to have more power than they need to.” EMILY BOURGEOIS JUNIOR
“It was a mixture. I voted for the one that was limiting the city manager’s salary.” CONNOR LINGUIST JUNIOR
“I saw a sign at Princess Pass that said “Vote No on Prop A, B and C.” And I trust Princess Pass.” JESS JENNINGS JUNIOR
continued on PAGE 5
TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2018 •
NEWS
UCC makes updates to Are you particularly Pathways curriculum continued from FRONT UCC introduced a new Interdisciplinary Cluster, “Beyond Globalization,” for this spring. This cluster includes more options than any other cluster and has a focus on international issues with a requirement that at least one course taken must involve a faculty-led study abroad program. “We would want any interdisciplinary program to ask themselves, ‘Is there a cluster version of what we have to offer?’ ” said Duane Coltharp, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, concerning curriculum and faculty development and a member of the UCC. “Beyond Globalization comes out of a lot of faculty members who are interested in international stuff and so it’s not a surprise that they would put something together.” Dante Suarez, an associate professor of finance and decision sciences who proposed the new cluster to the UCC, believes in the importance of international awareness and human interactions. “Globalization is here to stay. A graduate of this cluster will potentially benefit from a deeper awareness of the multicultural realities we encounter and the way our own views are affected by the social context we inhabit,” Suarez wrote in an email interview. “This cluster directs students to different ways in which they can academically contextualize their thoughts, knowledge and international awareness of themselves.” Earlier this year, 78 seniors were concerned with graduation because they had
not fulfilled their Interdisciplinary Cluster requirement. Kroeger predicted that this number has gone down, as students have worked with the Office of the Registrar and Michael Soto, associate vice president for Academic Affairs concerning student academic issues and retention.
“A graduate of this cluster will potentially benefit from a deeper awareness of the multicultural realities we encounter and the way our own views are affected.” KATSUO NISHIKAWA
DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT
“We’re looking at other adjustments to clusters — in fact, we’re looking at other adjustments throughout Pathways to make it easier for students to accomplish, but to accomplish the same goals. We’re not just trying to throw things away and make it less meaningful,” Kroeger said.
Professors explain Props A, B and C continued from PAGE 4
With a lower bond rating, Drennon believes there could be cuts to social services, affecting families across the city. “A lot of our social services, especially for limited-income families, are paid for but with public dollars versus private, not through the market. If our bond rating changes and we have to reorganize our budget, that might mean that social services are probably one of the first things to take a hit,” Drennon said. John Huston, economics professor, is concerned with how Proposition B could affect the search for a new city manager.
“That might mean social services are probably one of the first things to take a hit.” CHRISTINE DRENNON PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
“I don’t know what the future market is going to look like for city managers, but to get somebody good, you may have to pay more than this cap. Now you’re asking someone to come for what could be a salary below what you’d expect to get someplace else and to have a limited time. If you’re moving a family, it may be tough to get really good people to take the job,” Huston said.
NEWS
To combat this, Huston thinks this may change the city’s incentives to contract out low-paid jobs. “One way to get around this is not to have really low-income people on your payroll. So what they’re hoping for, of course, is you raise all their wages. But another possibility is if those low-income people are say, custodial people, that you now contract those out. I’m contracting with a company, I’m not paying them directly, so they’re not on my payroll,” Huston said. Additionally, the city could choose to hire fewer low-wage workers. “There could be a low-income initiative. Say students of Trinity University are given internships where they’re paid very little, but the idea is they get a great experience. The city might not want to do that because if they’re paid a low hourly wage, that then limits what they can pay the city manager,” Huston said. Huston foresees Proposition C will potentially have unfavorable effects from the city’s point of view. “It gives them a tool that the city doesn’t have in bargaining with them. That is they can go to binding arbitrary immediately without having been required to bargain in good faith to start with, so that really gives them an upper hand in negotiations,” Huston said. Because the city has limited resources to allocate, inability to decide the allocation of resources could be frustrating. “The other thing is this is a budgetary issue. I’m sure the city council would like to pay [fire department employees] more. But this then puts that into the hands in some external arbitrator, and from the city’s point of view, it might not like the outcome of that. So it’s got budgetary impacts is the idea,” Huston said.
• NOVEMBER 16, 2018 • TRINITONIAN.COM
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FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK
With your help, SGA can be great The U.S. just saw the greatest voter turnout for midterm elections in over a century. People are starting to come out to the polls in waves like never before. This amount of civic engagement is exciting across the board. We can only hope that this energy persists into future elections. While we’re still caught up in the fever of the midterm elections, let’s not forget about the ongoing elections happening right on this campus: our Student Government Association (SGA). SGA elections have been going on this week, and soon the winners will be announced. Some ran unopposed, while others had almost a dozen competitors. We hope that, if you haven’t already, you take advantage of the opportunity to let your voice be heard. Trinity students are notorious for complaining about this school — whether it be the food, classes or resources, to name a
few. If you want the administration to listen to you, use the system put in place for it. It is much more productive to cast a vote for a student who wants to help you make sure your best interests are understood by the school than it is to voice your complaints online or among friends. These elected students act as liaisons between the student body and admin. Consider the motivation a student would have for running for SGA. The positions aren’t paid. It’s a lot of time, week after week. And like many jobs on campus, there’s a lot of effort, with minimal recognition. Few people outside of the group understand all the work that goes into what they do. Unless you’re friends with a senator or cabinet member, you probably don’t know that they meet multiple times a week — often for hours — for the sole purpose of helping you. This is not to say the organization is perfect. As others have said before, there are
flaws and certainly areas where the students and faculty advisers who represent us could do more. We are lucky to have several members on our staff who have been part of last year’s SGA, which often gives us insight into how the organization operates. They’ve written opinion columns about it, too. Our news editor, Kendra Derrig, also reports on their weekly meetings — which you can find on page two if you want to be more in tune with what is discussed each week. All of this is to say, SGA is only as good as you make it. If you don’t voice your complaints and concerns to the students who represent you, you’re likely to be left alone in your echo chamber. If you haven’t cared about SGA in the past, here’s a chance to get to know the new faces who have just been elected and see what they can do for you.
In defense of TFL and free speech LUTFI SUN GUEST COLUMNIST lsun@trinity.edu
In 1759, French authorities prohibited the book “De l’esprit” (On the Mind) by philosopher Helvétius and ruled that it was full of the most dangerous doctrines. His old friend Voltaire defended Helvétius, saying “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” In a very similar spirit, Thomas Jefferson — who wrote “every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty” — defended Baptist priests for their rights to preach the gospel. These principles were the reasons I always looked up to America as an exemplary country. I was able to pray to any God here and not be persecuted for it. I was able to criticize any religion and not be shunned for blasphemy. I was able to speak against the president and not be locked up as a traitor. This was the place where differences were always welcome, where individual liberty was held above all and where ideas flowed freely. Where I felt like a real player with options in deciding what to believe and what to say. On the other side of the globe, however, the narrative was already defined and given. You either prayed as suggested or practiced your religion in the dark. The state was sacred, and the president was infallible. In my government-issued textbooks, Greeks were invaders, Armenians and Kurds were terrorists, Arabs were rebels, Europeans were imperialists. But Turks … Turks were always great but never unfair, always the hero or the victim but never the villain. The moment we disagreed, we joined the bad guys club. In one week, six people in my family were labeled as terrorists. In one month, three of them were jailed for baseless political charges. The passport I currently have will be seized by the Turkish government the moment I enter my country. But you know what? I don’t care. Now, one of my best friends at the London School of Economics is Armenian and another is Greek. When I feel that freedom of thought, I say the passport, the money, the respect were all damn worth giving up. I am completely content with being stateless as
long as I am free to choose the narrative I want to believe in. I do fear, however, that these liberties are threatened by two forces in the current political climate of the US: poverty of expectations and polarization. By poverty of expectations, I refer to the lower standards of respect and tolerance we apply to people of color and different religions. When someone condemns Hitler or Mussolini, we rightfully do not ask the question whether any German or Italian is being offended. When the condemned is Mao, however, the act suddenly becomes racist. When someone makes fun of the Christian God or criticizes the Bible, it is freedom of speech. But when it comes to Allah or the Quran, we regard it as Islamophobia. We do not accept homophobia and polygamy here, but we put a blind eye when it is in the Muslim majority countries.
If you think you are always the hero or the victim, then it is likely that you are becoming a villain. As a person of color and practicing Muslim, I hate these double standards. They make it harder for us to acknowledge and combat the issues in our own communities. And, their very existence relies on the assumption that we are not capable of respect and tolerance as anybody else. I am not saying racism and Islamophobia are not real. They indeed are. But we make it harder to fight real racism and Islamophobia when we make it easier to label anything as such. Another current threat to individual liberty is polarization. There is no room for different opinions anymore. Everything and everyone is already defined: either blue or red. Whenever I try to defend one side, I am alienated by the other. When I say it is important to remain friends despite political disagreements, people tell me it is such a privilege to be able to not care about politics, or it is selfish to think friendships are more important. No, to avoid politics is not a privilege. It is, indeed, the opposite. The richer you are, the
more politically invested you become. And no, to value friendships is not selfish! The social links between otherwise-polarized factions are the very fibers that hold a society together. I lost all my high school friends except two because of politics. One was in Brazil and the other in China when the coup attempt happened in Turkey. Thank God they were not subject to the brainwashing of the government-controlled Turkish media. Families were torn apart because of polarization, because of the exaggerated and twisted views of the other side. Thousands of minors and more than 700 babies are in jail alongside their mothers right now. Why? Because their grandparents and relatives refuse to take care of a traitor’s bastard! You think this cannot happen here? What do you think will happen if you treat all the Republicans as racist monsters and refuse to listen to them today? In the worst (but possible) case, a persecution, will you defend their rights or will you say they deserved it? And the same goes for any Republican who sees all the Democrats as communist thieves or atheist traitors. That is how the German people tolerated the Holocaust. That is how my classmates and neighbors tolerated more than a hundred thousand people being sacked in Turkey. If all your friends agree with you, that doesn’t mean you are right. It means you are trapped in a single-sided approval network. If you only talk to people who will like your Facebook posts and retweet your tweets, then you demand selfaffirmation, not friendship. If you think you are always the hero or the victim, then it is likely that you are becoming a villain. But don’t worry, I have a remedy for you: crack your shell and let some light in. Surround yourself with alien ideas, with what makes you uncomfortable. Only then, will you leave room for change in your narrative and not take the strongly defined one. Only then, will you be brave. Because bravery is to listen and respond with respect, not to silence and deem everything you disagree as racism. I couldn’t disagree with TFL more, but I will defend their rights to speak what they believe in. Because that is the America I look up to, not one where people silence and demonize the other based on the slightest discomfort they can find. Lutfi Sun is a junior economics and mathematics double major and is currently studying abroad in London.
TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2018
Classes on diversity, social justice are necessary NATALIA SALAS OPINION COLUMNIST nsalas@trinity.edu
It’s no secret that the U.S. education system is fundamentally flawed in more ways than I can write in one or even thousands of columns. From our shameful teacher salaries to our overwhelming need to put kids into boxes and reduce them to numbers based on standardized test scores, the U.S. has a lot of work to do. Besides our overemphasis on testing, there are other aspects of the curriculum that we fail to recognize as enormous defects.
You’d think that compassion and empathy are qualities we don’t need to be formally taught in a classroom. Classes and lessons on diversity and social justice should be required in all schools. I didn’t realize until I got to college that I had never taken a class or been formally taught through a public school education the
importance of diversity and inclusion. This is most definitely a problem. Thankfully, I had other ways of learning about the inherent injustices that minorities experience in this country in their everyday lives, but not everyone can say this. Even though Trinity has an understanding diversity requirement in Pathways, it may not be enough. A lot of us just look at Pathways as classes to check off a list. Classes on diversity should be much more than requirements that we check off a list. For example, I took Social Justice as my FirstYear Experience, and I couldn’t help but think that the lessons we were learning in there were necessary for all students to learn. Granted, most of the students who choose to take Social Justice most likely have a basic understanding of the injustices faced by minorities in this country, and it was very hard to find people with opposing views — at least in my class — but that’s precisely the reason classes like these should be more widespread and even required. There’s also a problem with the fact that we aren’t taught classes on understanding diversity until we get to college. We should be teaching kids way earlier in life about privilege — especially that minorities can’t just try harder to get ahead. College is way too late for people to be learning this for the first time. This isn’t to say that a college education comes with an education on social inequalities. Most schools don’t require it at all, and they should. We are privileged just to be here, as only 30 percent of the U.S. has a bachelor’s degree — so let’s start recognizing our privilege
illustration by JULIA POAGE
and educating ourselves on statistics like that one. Education is extremely important to me as it is to most of the people at this school, so let’s stop taking it for granted. Branch out, take a sociology class, take an urban studies class, learn about people unlike you. Since every single one of us is at least privileged enough to get an education at a private university — no matter where we came from — let’s get out of this bubble and understand
that there are less privileged people out there who are important to understand and listen to. You’d think that compassion and empathy are qualities that we don’t need to be formally taught in a classroom, but you’d be surprised at how many people get to college — even one like Trinity — and still think that poor people are just lazy. Natalia Salas is a sophomore communication major.
The troubling effects of volunteer journalism KARA KILLINGER OPINION COLUMNIST kkilling@trinity.edu When I first arrived at the University of Edinburgh for my semester abroad, I knew I wouldn’t have time to get involved in many clubs — or “societies,” as they say here — since I would be using most of my weekends to travel. But I also knew that if I was going to join anything, it would be the student newspaper. I wanted to meet local students who were also interested in reporting and see what it was like reporting for a larger school. As of this week, I’ve written four articles for The Student, been paid zero pounds and zero pence and learned a lot about a paper that is very different from the Trinitonian. A bit of background: the University of Edinburgh’s newspaper, The Student, was founded in 1887 by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is the oldest student newspaper in the United Kingdom and boasts impressive alumni, such as the former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Head over to The Student’s Wikipedia page, and you can read about all the waves the paper has made in over 130 years of existence. One notable example occurred in March of 2008, when The Student interviewed none other than J.K. Rowling. However, The Student isn’t all big stories and significance. Though the paper serves a student body of over 33,000, it only prints and distributes 2,500 copies of its biweekly issue. In contrast, the Trinitonian serves a community of about 2,600 students and prints 2,200 copies of the paper every week. More than any other aspect — more than the sheer size of the university — more than the paper’s impressive history, more even than the culture of Scotland versus America, the lack of payment is what makes The Student fundamentally different from the Trinitonian. Whereas nearly everyone involved in producing the Trinitonian gets paid, everyone
working on The Student is a volunteer. four stories of about 700words each. The Since there is no limit on how many people topics of these stories are the anti-sexual assault The Student can afford to pay, it can create as campaign #NoExcuse, World Mental Health many unpaid positions as it wants. Thus, Day, a series of events revolving The Student always has two editors-inaround Black History Month chief and two head copy editors. and a debate tournament There are always two section held by Edinburgh editors for each of the Wom*n’s society. paper’s ten sections. The Each story is wellpaper has also created written and contains positions such as society at least three president, secretary, sources, which is social secretary, also the standard training officer for Trinitonian and welfare officer. news articles. Also, instead of hiring There is, however, a few trustworthy an astounding writers to commit scarcity of to a specific section investigative for a semester or reporting for The more, The Student Student despite the lets anyone who lack of university shows up at censorship it faces. weekly meetings In contrast, write for Trinitonian whatever section news editor they want. This Kendra Derrig is a great works tirelessly opportunity to ensure that for student every important journalists event on who want campus is versatility covered and options, and oversees but it also the production means they can’t be of about six held as accountable pages of news for their work. weekly. The news Writers also do not section celebrates develop a strong working Trinity often but relationship with section also covers stories editors or hone in on a that the university specific style of writing. might not want it to, I would argue this causes the paper such as Stacy Davidson’s to suffer, and nowhere is this more illustration by JULIA POAGE unexplained termination apparent than in The Student’s news earlier this semester. The section. In the most recent issue of The Student, news section even publishes a weekly the news section is three pages long, containing summary of every Student Government
OPINION • NOVEMBER 16, 2018 • TRINITONIAN.COM
Association meeting. Yet the Trinitonian is sometimes lacking: we miss things, and we get things wrong, and we cannot possibly report on every controversy and person and club that makes Trinity what it is. This might be next to nothing compared to how much the University of Edinburgh’s paper misses, however. It upsets me that in a university of 30,000 plus students, including thousands of post-graduates conducting world-class research in a variety of fields, The Student only publishes about four news stories every two weeks. The rest of the newspaper is even more broad. Most of its 32 pages are consumed by writers’ thoughts on the world. The science and technology section primarily discusses recent discoveries; the comment section features articles about climate change and American politics. These are useful and interesting topics. I think, however, that a student newspaper has the unique ability — and really, the unique obligation — to report hyperlocally. Writers will tell the story of Brett Kavanagh’s nomination to the Supreme Court a thousand times in a thousand different ways, but if a student newspaper does not report on a local society that helps the homeless or a student doing important cancer research, it is likely that no other publication will. I don’t mean to attack The Student. Many lovely people have devoted hours of their lives to this newspaper despite the stress it likely causes them and the total lack of compensation they receive in return. If it were not for their commitment and sacrifices, the university would not have a paper at all. But being on the staff of The Student makes me worried about the future of journalism and the demise of local coverage. If we don’t somehow scrape up the funds to keep local publications going strong, a lot of history will be lost. Kara Killinger is a junior English major.
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Pulse
Engaging, civically and Twitter-ly: Carson Bolding leads the charge
Trinity sophomore registered roughly 75 voters while balancing her full-time schedule MARIA ZAHARATOS | PULSE REPORTER mzaharat@trinity.edu This year, sophomore Carson Bolding registered approximately 75 voters, has promoted civic engagement and affected change, all between being a full time student and being a public relations officer for the Trinity Progressives (T-Prog). She is currently pursuing a communication and economics double-major and a potential minor in education, and would like to eventually work on education policy in the future. "I got really involved in politics right after the 2016 election. I missed being able to vote in that election by two days ... so I got really involved after because I realized I felt helpless and wanted to be able to do something that was effective and could actually create change," Bolding said. "So my senior year in high school, I got really involved and started a group of high-schoolers to encourage people to get involved in local politics. We volunteered in campaigns and things like that." She has also worked on campaign races here in San Antonio in addition to her efforts on campus. "I worked on the Gina Ortiz campaign, who is the Democrat running in the swing district in San Antonio," Bolding said. "And over the summer I worked with "Battleground Texas," which is an organization that registers voters across the state, with the idea that the more voters you register in Texas, the bluer it is going to get and [eventually] become a battleground state." According to Bolding, last year she and other T-Prog officers became deputized in Bexar
County to register people to vote both off and on campus. "Today's Stats — doors knocked: 119, steps taken: 25,688, old people who told me they were proud of me: 3," Bolding tweeted on Nov. 4. Austin Dolan, junior and T-Prog treasurer, described what it's like to work with Bolding. "I view her as, like, the positive team mom. She probably gets tired too, but she never shows it as far as I've seen. She always has so much energy, so much motivation, and she just makes everyone want to do more," Dolan said. According to Dolan, Carson always offers words of encouragement to the team, pushing past fatigue to get things done and help more. On campus, the T-Prog team worked hard this past election season to ensure Trinity students were registered to vote. T-Prog, MOVE and the Student Government Association registered 206 voters on campus on National Voter Registration Day and 72 registrations on the day of the voter registration deadline itself, according to Bolding. Regardless of the results of the midterm election, Bolding claimed there has been a lot of progress politically and sees the large voter turnout for youth as a good indicator for the future. Professors also bear witness to students getting involved politically and engaging with the community. Bolding is, however, a student who not only is active but also affects students around her. "I first met Carson when she was in my Mass Media class, and from the beginning of class, she always was really insightful about everything and was paying attention to what was going on in the
Sophomore CARSON BOLDING, communication and economics double major, dedicated herself to political engagement this election season by registering approximately 75 voters and serving as a public relations officer for the Trinity Progressives. photo by GENEVIEVE HUMPHREYS
world," said Jennifer Henderson, professor and chair of the Department of Communication. "It's been great to see her engaged in activism on campus, especially in getting people to vote and registered to vote." According to Henderson, students in the past few years have become more aware and engaged in what's happening in the world, and she sees Bolding as one who has taken initiative and led this effect. "Her enthusiasm and civic engagement, engagement around social and political issues,
really have made people excited to [do the same]. It's just her energy that really makes me proud of her," Henderson said. According to Aaron Delwiche, professor of communication, Bolding is very creative, engaged and optimistic. He also enjoys her tweets. "As anyone who follows her on Twitter can attest, she is also very funny. In fact, I think I already know which presidential candidate I'll be backing 18 years from now. Vote Bolding in '36," Delwiche said.
Is it double (even triple) the trouble? Students who have multiple majors weigh in on whether the extra stress is worth it RACHEL POOVATHOOR | PULSE INTERN rpoovath@trinity.edu As a first-year, the phrases “double major” and “triple major” elicit simultaneous awe and puzzlement from me. How do these double and triple majors do it? How do they stay calm under all the pressure they must feel? Caroline North, a sophomore accounting and finance double major, first came to Trinity, like most students, indecisive and unaware of what she wanted to study. After taking a few business courses, she found the accounting and finance majors most interesting. “I ran my degree audit, and I realized I could make both of them work, so I just decided it’d be cool to do both,” North said. It seems that the ease in double-majoring comes from, in North’s case, the overlap between the majors. Elyse Andrews, a junior triple major in art, communication and Spanish, found that there was also enough overlap between her majors and the Pathways requirements. continued on PAGE 9
TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2018
Students with multiple majors Number of majors awarded
Number of graduates
Number of students with multiple majors
119
582
460 Data from Trinity University Factbook for 2016-2017 year
graphic by JORDAN BRUCE
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Getting to know the Honor Council
Members of the Academic Honor Council explain what they do and why they do it KRISTIAN ADAMS | PULSE INTERN kadams@trinity.edu Since 2003, the Academic Honor Council has written the Honor Code and heard numerous cases pertaining to violations to uphold academic integrity on Trinity for over a decade and a half, but who are the members in the Honor Council? According to Michael Soto, associate vice president for Academic Affairs concerning student academic issues and retention, Trinity’s Association of Student Representatives (the predecessor to Student Government Association) developed, debated and ultimately passed the Academic Honor Code. The code was then approved by the Faculty Senate, the Faculty Assembly and the Board of Trustees. The Honor Council is made up of students who do many things pertaining to preserving and enforcing academic integrity. “The students who make up the Academic Honor Council are in charge of writing the code, setting Trinity’s policies on academic integrity and adjudicating all academic integrity cases when violations occur,” Soto wrote in an email interview. According to Soto, since the inception of the university, the Honor Council’s singular mission has been to provide a transformative liberal arts and sciences education where academic integrity plays a prevalent role. “It’s what underwrites the value of a Trinity education. The Honor Council’s primary purpose is to serve the mission by upholding academic integrity,” Soto wrote. According to Jordan Koeller, internal chair of the Honor Council, there are currently 21 members on the honor council representing all four graduating classes of students.
As the internal chair, Koeller has two primary responsibilities. “[My job is] leading initiatives to improve Trinity’s Academic Honor Code, as well as scheduling hearings when an alleged violation is reported to us,” Koeller wrote in an email. Koeller also works closely with Alice Von Ende-Becker, the external chair of the Academic Honor Council, in which they both run Honor Council meetings and help to choose members. According to Koeller, becoming a member of the Academic Honor Council requires the applicant to fulfill several qualifications and to go through a multi-step process. Koeller, Von Ende-Becker and a representative from Trinity’s Student Government Association select and interview applicants after surveying the pool of applications. Students that do well on the interview have their applications presented to the president of the Honor Council, who must also approve the student before he or she can be given a seat in the Honor Council. Koeller believed serving on the honor council is a commitment. “We don’t have a hard-set criterion that an applicant needs to meet to be selected as a member. What we look for, though, are people that we feel confident that could be objective in ethically charged situations, as well as those that we believe are motivated to continually improve the culture of integrity at Trinity,” Koeller wrote. According to Koeller, the Academic Honor Council hears around 50—60 cases an academic year. This semester, they have heard 2—3 violations per week since the very first week. Koeller also added that the Honor Code gives employers and graduate schools confidence that a student’s accomplishments from Trinity were their own. The Honor Code
MICHAEL SOTO, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, explained that the Honor Council’s mission is to maintain academic integrity according to the Academic Honor Code so that students may safely pursue a liberal arts and sciences education. photo by GENEVIEVE HUMPHREYS
makes sure that students found responsible of a violation are treated fairly and consistently. It also ensures that consistency is provided to what happens when a student is found responsible for a violation. “We provide a buffer between students and the faculty, to make sure that what happens to students responsible of a violation is agnostic to what class they were in or what professor they had,” Koeller wrote. Von Ende-Becker also emphasized how important the Honor Code is in encouraging integrity and higher learning among students. “The primary concept of integrity behind the Honor Code provides each student with
a richer learning experience and allows all to strengthen and progress their individual thinking,” Von Ende-Becker wrote in an email. According to Von Ende-Becker, the Honor Council is much more than an organization that determines whether or not a violation of the honor code has occurred. The Honor Council is an organization that is a resource to students. “By holding each other accountable and encouraging all students to complete their work, we facilitate a more rewarding academic experience and create an environment of trust between students and professors,” Von Ende-Becker wrote.
“Explore your interests and if you find two things that are really exciting to you, go for it,” North said. Andrews adds that you won’t enjoy life as a double or triple major if you are not passionate about your majors. “I fully love all three of my majors and everything I do, so if I didn’t like it, I guess I would be more stressed,” Andrews said. It seems as though the general consensus is this: pursue multiple majors if they align with your genuine interests, if the necessary classes for each major have some overlap, or if some classes can also count towards Pathways credit. While these students recommend double-majoring, they also emphasize not to feel bad if you are pursuing a singular major. “There’s nothing wrong with only having one major,” Andrews said. James Shinkle, pre-med advisor and professor of biology, agreed with Andrews, explaining that multiple majoring works for some students and not others. “Just because you start that second major doesn’t mean you have to finish it.
You can mine out a lot of good. Majors are designed to have a student have a set of experiences in that discipline that will give them qualifications and insights into how scholarship works in that discipline,” Shinkle said. Most health professions students, for example, are advised to pick one major and then take classes that interest to them to increase their skill set. “We have people come in thinking they ought to be a business major because medicine has gotten to be business. Our Business Department offers courses that would help someone who is going to be a physician navigating the business world. But I would say that would take about four classes. There are a lot of places to grab a course at a time and put together a package that really makes sense,” Shinkle said. Students that are interested in double or triple majoring should start out with taking a couple classes in the area of interest. After trying out a couple of classes, students should then speak to their advisor for some more consultation.
Is it double (even triple) the trouble? continued from PAGE 9 Andrews felt that those classes were unique to the Trinity education. She did find it difficult to fulfill some of those Pathways requirements. “With all my overlap, I’ve been able to get around my Written Communication and Oral Visual Communication requirements, no problem, but the cluster and Upper Division Pathway requirements are harder [to fulfill],” Andrews said. So why pursue multiple majors? For Andrews, she felt like the triple major would help her in her future career. “It sounds wild, but I’ve been lucky to know what I want to do, which is graphic design. I knew I needed something to make my skills more marketable, so I took a communication class, and I fell in love with that,” Andrews said. Her interest in pursuing her Spanish major came from a love of language and motivation to keep using it. “The reason why I also made Spanish a major is like, to me, what’s the point of getting
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a minor in a language and then not take any more classes or keep learning it for the next year and a half at school ... I want to be fluent and understand the culture,” Andrews said. Andrews hopes to put what she’s learned in working towards her Spanish major to the test when she goes to Madrid this summer. Alice Von Ende-Becker, a junior art history, mathematics and economics triple major, explains how much work goes into her pursuing three majors. “I’ve taken 18 or more hours every semester since my freshman year and I’ve done summer school every summer,” Von Ende-Becker said. Becker also gave some insight as to how she managed to complete multiple majors. “I guess it’s just time management. And I’ve always been a person who likes to keep myself busy,” North said. “I like what I’m doing so it makes it easier to work hard,” North said. North encourages anyone considering double-majoring or triple-majoring to talk to their advisors and reach out to the chairs of different departments.
TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2018 •
PULSE
31, 35, 39 years: Teaching at Trinity Some of Trinity’s longest serving professors weigh in on Trinity’s changes over the years ARSA SPAHR | PULSE INTERN aspahr@trinity.edu In 1980, Jimmy Carter was president of the United States, the Berlin Wall was still standing, and Nina Ekstein had just started teaching at Trinity. Nina Ekstein, professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, was on the original committee for HUMA, is approaching her 39th year at Trinity. In her time here, Ekstein said she has found the changes in the attitude towards education most worrying, especially the overuse of technology. “There are enormous changes. There have been a number of them. The things that strike me the most violently, I'll use that word, is technology — and not so much the computer as the cellphone and social media — as being a very problematic force. I used to walk into the classroom — they'd shut up cause they've been talking to each other, probably about me. Nobody in my classes are talking to each other; they're all on their phones. I think that's really sad,” Ekstein said. Ekstein also believes that both the importance of money in college and the way education is becoming a profitable business negatively impacts the mindset of students. “The other thing that has really changed is the role of money. Money is way too important in college right now," Ekstein said. "You’re paying so much. It is really hard to remember as a student what it is you’re paying for, and you start feeling like, ‘I'm paying for this education, I need to get good grades, I need the credit,’ instead of, ‘I'm paying for an opportunity.’ Instead, our whole culture has turned things that shouldn't cost anything into sources of money making.” Ekstein's advice to students was to think critically. “Question everything — not really,
but question everything. Think, use your brain, ask why — why are we doing this? Why is this important? And work hard,” Ekstein said. Willis Salomon, professor in the Department of English, also teaches HUMA and has taught at Trinity for 35 years. He started teaching at Trinity because he found the small liberal arts environment appealing. “Academic jobs in the humanities have been extremely difficult to get for the past four-plus decades. I considered myself extremely fortunate at the time to be offered a job at such an appealing, smaller liberal arts university, and I have considered myself extremely fortunate to be here ever since,” Salomon wrote in an e-mail interview. Salomon's advice to students was to participate and be involved in academic activities as well as social activities. “Never hesitate to ask a question of anyone: faculty, staff, each other. Also, do your work on time and don't miss class; college is really all about ‘showing up,’ with all that metaphor implies,” Salomon wrote. Salomon's advice for new faculty was to broaden the perspective of research being done and to focus on teaching, as teaching causes one to shift views of a subject. “For new faculty, I would say focus primarily and most intensely on your institutional role as a teacher [and] scholar. Allow yourself to see how your research, broadly conceived, makes you more challenging and effective in the classroom and how the demands of teaching can provoke in you new ways of seeing your intellectual work,” Salomon wrote. James Shinkle, professor in the Department of Biology, occasionally teaches the Science Fiction First-Year Experience course and has taught at Trinity for 31 years. He started working at Trinity because he believed that the expectations suited him. “I went to a similar small college myself; I went through graduate school watching
PULSE • NOVEMBER 16, 2018 • TRINITONIAN.COM
WILLIS SALOMON, professor in the Department of English, encouraged students to actively participate in academic and social settings. He also suggested that new faculty to focus primarily on teaching as opposed to research since teaching influences intellectual work. FILE PHOTO
very fine professors barely making it through tenure because they were at the mercy of how their research was going, and if you ended up at the end of your sixth year just short of a major discovery — even if it happens three months later — you were gone. And I like doing research, I wanted to do it well, but I realized that a place that has a balance between teaching and research would give me a chance to develop a skill set that I was more under control of the outcomes than just whether or not I cross the finish line by a fairly arbitrary standard,” Shinkle said. Shinkle believed that Trinity was the right choice for him, as the standards of professors' evaluations fit his perspective of a professor. “[Trinity values] multiple types of accomplishments. It certainly wasn't the case that I did not have to be productive as a scholar — it was just that the standards were
you have to be a good scholar, not that you have crossed some particular boundary. There were more ways to demonstrate capability than the very narrow ‘get x number of papers out and bring y numbers of billions of dollars of grant money in.’ Being able to be more involved with teaching was also very attractive,” Shinkle said. Shinkle urged students to explore and take classes that match their interests as opposed to limiting themselves to specific courses to progress in a major. “Find ways to get out of your silo … Instead of [confining yourself in a major or even a double major,] you should just not see opportunities as necessarily fitting into a box — just as something you care about. Be more openminded to begin with but then be more definite about what you personally want as opposed to [following the general trend]," Shinkle said.
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AE &
“Widows” Peak Steve McQueen’s film released this weekend, ending dry spell of Gillian Flynn content since “Sharp Objects” left our screens
Deep Depps of Hell “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gridelwald” sequel released this weekend, but we’re all better off waiting for “Harry Potter” weekend
Dawn of the Dead for FilmStruck Trinity community involved with film studies weigh in on streaming site’s end RAFAELA BRENNER | A&E REPORTER rbrenner@trinity.edu A sad day is soon to come for movie buffs: on Nov. 29, 2018, the film-streaming subscription service FilmStruck will be discontinued due to the decision by WarnerMedia — recently merged with AT&T — to cut the service. FilmStruck was known for its selection of independent and classic movies provided by Turner Classic Movies and the Criterion Collection. The announcement of the streaming service’s closure has struck a hard blow to its users, who have only a few weeks left to cross its selection of films off their watch list before it goes. “It’s a real shame, what’s happening. Here was easily the richest and best-curated repository of films alternative to mass-market Hollywood material — which is not to disparage that material — gathered in one place, beautifully presented, annotated and available
on a subscription model. Now purchased, written off as a loss and in the process of being dismantled,” said Benjamin Stevens, classics professor and faculty advisor to the Trinity University Film Club. Although FilmStruck users have turned to a Change.org petition — which has now gathered over 50,000 signatures — in an attempt to save the streaming service, the aftermath of its discontinuation has brought up a question: what will this mean for film preservation and access from now on? Patrick Keating, communication professor and chair of the film studies minor, saw a vague future for the content made available via FilmStruck. “I expect within a year most of this content will be available somewhere. Maybe Criterion will strike another deal with Hulu, or maybe they’ll set up their own thing, but clearly Criterion would like this content to be out there somehow. As for the Turner Classic Movies collection, hopefully that will find a home somewhere,” Keating said. While alternative streaming services exist, it was FilmStruck’s selection and curation of movies that drew in many loyal users. Junior Connie Laing, communication major and film studies minor, has
illustration by KAITLYN CURRY
observed a gap left in the world of streaming. “It’s getting inaccessible movies to people, movies that are really difficult for low-income people [to access] or even just having the money to invest in them. It’s really an investment. I think it was more valuable to me than Netflix and Hulu because of that,” Laing said. In the absence of FilmStruck, while it’s possible to turn to more mainstream streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, cinephiles may not be aware that Trinity also offers
access to the Coates Library-linked services Kanopy and Hoopla. Liaison librarian Michael Hughes emphasized the value of having access to these services, but also noted some limitations. “What they lack is the comprehensiveness and the curation. I can’t really distinguish the presence of … a person who’s educated in the history of cinema who’s making decisions about what to present and why. And so when you get a channel on FilmStruck that is bringing attention to the overlooked
films of women directors, that’s not something that Kanopy and Hoopla are doing to the best of my knowledge. … There’s a real effort [with FilmStruck] to help people make discoveries among all these titles so you aren’t paralyzed by choice alone,” Hughes said. Although the future of accessing classic and independent films may appear bleak with the announcement of FilmStruck’s shutdown, Hughes is currently working to maintain and grow the collection of DVDs available to Trinity students and faculty in Coates Library. This selection includes various Criterion Collection titles and Best Picture winners, which corresponds with some of FilmStruck’s offerings. For students interested in viewing and discussing film, Stevens emphasized that the Trinity University Film Club, which is up and running as of this semester, is looking to provide these kinds of opportunities. “Not to recommend illegality, but ... to recommend finding other people who like these sorts of things and asking them. It’s within your rights to screen films for private consumption, and people should do that with each other and share the things that they really love,” Stevens said.
Ensemble brings the jazz with annual fall concert A closer look at last Wednesday’s jazz ensemble concert RAFAELA BRENNER | A&E REPORTER rbrenner@trinity.edu Trinity University’s Jazz Ensemble gathered in Ruth Taylor Recital Hall this past Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m., to put on a set of both jazz combos and big band pieces for their annual fall concert, an evening of toe-tapping tunes. The selection of songs for the concert reflected a wide variety of jazz under the tutelage of Dustin Jessop, director for Trinity’s jazz ensembles. The concert’s nine pieces included jazz standards such as Alberto Dominguez’s arrangement
of “Frenesi” and Thelonious Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser,” as well as more eclectic selections such as a rendition of The Beatles’ “She’s Leaving Home” arranged for a big band ensemble. According to Jessop, the concert’s first half featured a new creative challenge for ensemble members through the selection of jazz combo pieces. For these songs, rather than going through a typical, straightforward rehearsal process as preparation, the musicians focused more on improvisation and building a conversation between the few select players within each song. “We rehearsed the big band tunes pretty much how a typical ensemble would rehearse, but then we started playing the combo tunes at the start of the semester, too.
And those were really interesting to put together because when we first approached those tunes, [it was] just like, here’s a melody, here’s some chords, figure out how you’re going to put this together,” said Sam Vincent, junior pianist and ensemble member. The ensemble also brought in four guest musicians for their trombone section— including professional trombonists and high school students from the San Antonio area — to form a full jazz band for the concert’s second half. “We had stacked saxophones, really good trumpets, a great rhythm section, but we had zero trombones,” Jessop said. “We really put the trombones together with the band in the last two rehearsals. So trying to know how it’s going
to sound without trombones at the very last bit is really challenging, but they all rose to the occasion.” The concert’s final songs included energetic, fun jazz classics such as Monk’s “Well You Needn’t” and Eddie Harris’s powerful piece “Cold Duck Time.” Junior and trumpet player David Richards — who performed the solo for “She’s Leaving Home” — was excited to prepare this arrangement, which came as a lively surprise during the latter half of the concert. “It was definitely different from a lot of other things we do because we don’t typically think of Lennon and McCartney as doing a lot of jazz. But I thought it was a really cool arrangement. It was a lot of fun to play. I’m a really big Beatles
fan, and it was a nice surprise to be able to play that,” Richards said. If you couldn’t make it to this Fall Concert or it left you wanting to hear more from Trinity’s Jazz Ensemble, be on the lookout for future performances by the group at Trinity’s Christmas Concert and at their Spring Concert next semester. “We’ve taken a huge jump every semester, so I definitely think our [Christmas Concert] combos are going to be really fun,” said Ty Krieger, sophomore and tenor saxophone player who was featured as a soloist on the song “Well You Needn’t.” “I think that the band should be a bigger deal in the near future because we’re doing some cool stuff, and it’s always really cool to come in to rehearsal and play with a band that’s always improving and getting better.”
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The Internet Aztec Theatre 7 p.m.
Electric Feels Paper Tiger, 9 p.m.
Holiday Market Hemisfair, 10 a.m.
Sports Paper Tiger, 8 p.m.
Rowdy Screening of “Twilight” Drafthouse, 7 p.m.
Finally finish “Barry Lyndon” on FilmStruck
Spend your pie-induced coma watching “Ratatouille” on Freeform
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TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2018
Something sinister this way comes Feminism and witches meet in Luca Guadagnino’s “Suspiria” remake NOELLE BARRERA PULSE REPORTER nbarrera@trinity.edu It’s a familiar story for fans of the 1977 film “Suspiria.” A naïve American girl named Susie Bannion joins a secretive and secluded dance academy that just happens to be run by witches, including the enigmatic Madame Blanc. Maggots rain from the ceiling, girls faint from nightmares of creatures disfigured beyond recognition, an unearthly shade of red pervades director Dario Argento’s cinematography and absolutely no one knows what is happening at any moment. Upon its release, the original “Suspiria” was derided by New York Magazine critic John Simon as “a horror movie that is a horror of a movie, where no one or nothing makes sense: not one plot element, psychological reaction, minor character, piece of dialogue or ambience.” But as I discovered when I walked into a sold-out movie theatre for the 2018 remake on Halloween night — reader, I bought the final ticket — that’s why it’s a cult classic. The film is beloved for its whimsical oddness — such as the MC Escher-based architecture — more than anything. Director Luca Guadagnino, known for “Call Me by Your Name,” f leshes out the remake both historically, by setting the plot in 1977 West Berlin, and structurally, by giving the characters more depth and increasing the runtime to a terrifying two and a half hours. It is, however, the atmospheric qualities Guadagnino brings that
illustration by JULIA POAGE
elevate the remake far beyond the original. With a gloriously convoluted plot structure called “Six Scenes and an Epilogue in Divided Berlin,” the 2018 remake attempts to add historical allegory, analogizing the secrets of the dance academy with similarly unacknowledged historical atrocities in Germany. Patricia, a student who runs away from the academy in the original, is reimagined as a member of the leftist Red Army Faction, and the climactic dance sequence is called “Volk,” a reference to German populism. The historical elements are oddly handled. I appreciated the emphasis on believing women’s experiences (the witches’ coven has been interpreted by critics as a dispensary of vigilante justice and a reimagining of the ‘divine feminine’ as a respite from fundamentally broken institutions), but I was disappointed by the Holocaust and German history’s relegation to a side-plot; the directors seemed to have good intentions, but it felt
borderline disrespectful at times. The film shines where it analyses womanhood and the revolutionary power of female rage.
Guadagnino succeeds in creating unnerving aesthetics, where disturbing elements literally ooze from seemingly innocuous surfaces. The original film’s Italian “giallo,” or detectivethriller, genre provides a refreshing change from the
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • NOVEMBER 16, 2018 • TRINITONIAN.COM
typically sexualized nature of female-focused horror — there’s minimal romance, and Susie is an active agent in solving the mysteries at her school. The new version displaces some of the action onto a male character but adds an arguably romantic subplot between Susie and Madame Blanc and subverts the audience’s ideas about whose side we’re on — dancers versus the witches — instead of demonizing powerful women, something a lot of horror films fall into. The 1977 “Suspiria” is an abstract dreamscape, but it’s also known for one of the most violent scenes in horror movies. The remake matches the original’s violence in one of its early scenes in which Susie, played by Dakota Johnson, is manipulated by the witches to torture a fellow dancer. I had to look away for the duration of this scene; if you’re easily disturbed by body horror, make sure you you don’t order something heavier than popcorn. Beyond this scene, however, the new “Suspiria” has been
dismissed by critics as not very scary. As a Slate review laments, “Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich’s addition of a plot involving West German terrorists and, sigh, the Holocaust underscores how much more terrifying humanity is compared with a group of women barely running a dance school with a terrible attrition rate and an accidental, last-minute star performer.” While I agree with this review somewhat, I think that this review fundamentally misunderstands the nature of Suspiria’s horror. The new film may not be frightening in the traditional horror-movie sense, but Guadagnino succeeds in creating unnerving aesthetics, where disturbing elements literally ooze from seemingly innocuous surfaces. Madame Blanc, played by Tilda Swinton, tells Susie in one of the film’s most effective scenes, “There are two things that dance can never be again: beautiful and cheerful. Today, we need to break the nose of every beautiful thing.” Furthermore, the new film and the original both revel in “camp” aesthetics, which is most evident in the new film’s treatment of the witches, who do crosswords, cackle mysteriously, and stare at each other intensely across tables at fancy restaurants. Personally, I loved that. Finally, they create a dichotomy between more experimental, art house horror and more traditional, jump-scare-reliant horror that doesn’t give enough credit to the genre’s versatility. The 2018 version of “Suspiria” is still showing in several San Antonio theaters, and you can find the original for free in Coates Library. If you like horror and are also a bit of an art house film nerd like myself or are just looking for something new, I would highly encourage you to watch it. It might just cast a spell on you.
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Sports
THE PLAYERS KEEP PLAYING:
• Men’s Soccer at The University of Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m. • Men’s Basketball at Christopher Newport University, Saturday, Nov. 17, 3 p.m. • Women’s Basketball at Pacific Lutheran University, Friday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m.
A fan’s ode to football and its impact Column: Elise Hester reminisces about the sport and players who have been a major part of her time at Trinity ELISE HESTER SPORTS REPORTER ehester@trinity.edu Trinity Football, you will always hold a special place in my heart, right next to Visine eye drops and Smarties candies — generally nice things that I have no particular passion for, but that have brought me experiences ranging from average to good. I once had a panic attack filming one of your games, and during halftime of that same game, consumed my very first alcohol that was not GermX in middle school. You are either a sweet, perfect church boy who will probably be the president of Dell in 10 years, or you think sitting on a tree while drunk counts as a personality, but the one thing you all share is an overabundance of shirts featuring long, confusing acronyms. Fellow seniors, you have forever said goodbye to playing the beautiful, brutal sport you love, unless you decide to pull a Jay Foster and get some more of those sweet 6 a.m.’s. Regardless, your senior season has truly been better than any other season you have experienced here. Last year, you guys were remarkably decent. Almost every other game in the 6–4 run was won in overtime. Those tense games were almost as entertaining as trying to guess what the hell those “Trinity?” shirts were supposed to mean.
WOMEN’S SOCCER The Tigers won in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, defeating Occidental College 1–0. On Sunday, they lost in the second round to Hardin-Simmon University 3–0. They finish the season with a 17–2–1 record. MEN’S SOCCER The Tigers won both of their NCAA games, with a 3–0 win against Chapman University on Saturday and a 3–0 win against University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Sunday. Read about it on page 1. VOLLEYBALL The Tigers lost to Aurora University 3–0 on Friday. They finish the season with a 25–7 record. FOOTBALL The Tigers defeated Berry College 21–17 on Saturday. They finish thier season with a 7–3 record. Read about it on page 15.
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This year, you were better by exactly one game. You ended the season by defeating an undefeated team. This and other victories of the season are not the result of dedication and teamwork but of one single man. “Tommy Lavine is the reason we win games,” said senior offensive tackle Brad Long. Other factors may also play a role, but it is mostly junior wide receiver Tommy Lavine. “99 percent of our victory is Tommy,” said senior offensive lineman Joel Holmes. “The other one percent is Matt Willis.” In addition to carrying the entire team on his back, Lavine has also tied with little baby sophomore wide receiver Peyton Tuggle and aggressively friendly defensive back Jordan Williams for friendliest smile in a survey of only myself. Jerheme Urban, former NFL player and current Trinity head coach — who is a better athlete than everyone on the team — wrote in an email about his pride regarding the season. “I am really proud of the perseverance and the unity that this team showed,” Urban said. “They stuck together and constantly competed to the end of every game and never thought that they couldn’t win a game.” Despite what you thought, there were exactly three games you could not win. The worst defeat saw Millsaps College finally get revenge for that decade old Mississippi Miracle in which Trinity won a football game by playing rugby, which is apparently legal. The Mississippi Miracle is the greatest
illustration by JULIA POAGE
thing your team has ever done, and that’s counting those “Trinity?” practice shirts. Seeing 50 of those confusing shirts every morning in Mabee was one of my most defining college experiences, right up there with coming out of the closet and making a mixtape with Joel Holmes. Your last match with Millsaps was the opposite of a miracle, but let’s celebrate the real MVP of this 12 turnover game and title of a hypothetical country song: Kentucky Rain. In conclusion, Trinity Football team, yes. Your games may be kind of annoying. TUPD emails me to move my car into a spot that does not exist so that one of the first-year benchwarmers’ girlfriend from high school, who he is planning to dump
over this upcoming Thanksgiving Break, can park her car to watch the same highlight video play on a giant scoreboard on loop from 10 a.m. until the game begins at 6 p.m. the next day. “I am very proud of these young men,” Urban said. I am also proud. Not just for the games you won, but for the games you had no chance of winning but in which you never stopped trying to win. I am proud to call some of you classmates and some of you friends, though in reality you are really more acquaintances that I know from church or class or mixtape making. You played your heart out, but you also did something even greater, something no one else in all of Trinity has ever done before. You actually learned the words to the Trinity fight song.
you’ll lose. This was a new experience for me. My games had been solely dependent on me, I didn’t need others to play or win. But LoL forced me to join a new virtual community. This also opened up the possibility for my friends in the real world to play with me. After school I would come home and instantly start playing LoL. As more of my friends started to play, the more fun the game became. They would come over to my house or I would go over to theirs, and we would play LoL for hours. I’m talking six to seven-hour LoL sessions. While that much time planted in front of a screen isn’t great for the eyes or back, the game bound our group together. Every weekend from eighth grade till eleventh my friends and I would gather to play LoL. We would break up the multiple hours of gaming by playing soccer in my backyard or walking to my elementary school and playing capture the flag. I will never forget how much fun I had those years. Without LoL, my group and I would still be close — but I know that it made us the family we are now. While this idea of a video game bringing people together may seem strange to someone who isn’t an avid gamer, it’s more common than one may think. Video games are enormously popular across the planet. Games ranging from “Fortnite” to League of Legends each have millions of players, and each of community is filled with communities and friendships. League of Legends also has almost 10 professional leagues where players are paid
handsomely for their prowess in the game. League of Legends is the most played video game in the world, and one connects to a community of nearly 80 million people when they play. While I may not know all 80 million of those players, we all share a common love for a game that has brought all together. While sadly my family doesn’t play LoL — or really any video games for the matter besides my sister’s never-ending love for “Nintendogs” — my extended Trinity family plays video games. Most of the time I spend with my friends here is us sitting around, making fun of each-other and playing FIFA, a simulation of soccer. Personally, FIFA isn’t my favorite game. Before coming to Trinity, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. But what I do like is spending time with my friends, spending hours losing six and seven nothing to my friend Jonah. While losing is an awful feeling (I am incredibly competitive), Trinity wouldn’t be the same without the friends I’ve been lucky enough to make here. In my life, video games have been an integral part in connecting me to the outside world and building long lasting friendships I hope to have for as long as I walk this big blue marble. Without them, I may still be skipping recess to play chess against my teachers. While video games have their negatives, they have the capability that all hobbies and sports have: to build communities and friendships. And for me, that’s all that matters.
How video games can unite people Opinion: Gaming has the ability to create communities and long lasting friendships
AUSTIN DAVIDSON SPORTS EDITOR adavids1@trinity.edu I was 14 years young when I found “League of Legends,” an online video game where teams of either 3 vs. 3 or 5 vs. 5 battle to destroy one another’s bases. I had been playing video games all my life, dedicating hundreds of hours to “Pokémon Emerald” and tearing my hair out trying to defeat Ganondorf in “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.” But the majority of the games — with the exception of “Mario Kart Wii” — were single player games. I would usually come home from school and play these games while my sister would be playing with her “stuffies.” These activities would isolate me from the real world and transport me into one I wished I was in. For the majority of my childhood, video games and books were ways of me escaping the issues I dealt with in real life. But this unhealthy reliance changed when I found “League of Legends” (LoL). LoL requires you to play with other people, to work together to win — or else
TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2018
Trinity Football ends its season defeating Berry
The Tigers rallied to win 21–17 against the previously undefeated Vikings and finish with a 7–3 record MEGAN FLORES | SPORTS REPORTER mflores8@trinity.edu
In their final game of the season, the Trinity football team made a late comeback to upset the Berry College Vikings. With their 21–17 victory, the Tigers handed the Vikings their first regular season loss in over two years. Although neither team was able to score in the first quarter, Trinity was the first team on the board after a successful 42-yard field goal attempt by first-year kicker Charlie Sheppard with 8:27 left in the half. “I was nervous to get onto the field for my first college kick, but I knew that I could make it. I just focused on the ball and made sure to repeat what I’d practiced all week,” Sheppard said. Immediately following Sheppard’s field goal, the Berry College team was able to complete two touchdown passes in the second quarter, giving the Vikings a 14–3 lead heading into the third. Despite strong offensive drives by the Tigers, including a 43-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Wyatt Messex to first-year wide receiver Tanner Lacy, Trinity was unable to score again until another field goal attempt by Sheppard. With a successful kick from 28 yards out, Sheppard brought Trinity within eight points. “Charlie was fantastic during the game. I was really proud of the way he attacked the challenge to come in and kick some crucial field goals for us, especially considering the circumstances, with us losing our starting kicker at practice this week and Charlie just coming back from a previous injury himself,” Messex said. On their final drive of the third quarter, the Tigers completed a 74-yard catch-and-run from Messex to Chris Stewart to cut the Vikings’ lead to 14–12. To tie the game, Trinity completed a
two-point conversion on a pass from Messex to junior wide receiver Tommy Lavine. “In my opinion, that was just the spark we needed. We had some incredible talent all around the field, including Tommy and Chris. I saw Chris at the top of his route with leverage on the corner and just gave him a shot. He did some magic and put the ball in the end zone,” Messex said. The Vikings reclaimed the lead with a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Although the outlook of the game was looking grim for the Trinity team, the Tiger offense excelled under pressure as Messex completed a touchdown pass to sophomore wide reciever Peyton Tuggle with less than a minute left on the clock. “I was ecstatic after Peyton’s catch. What made this win so awesome was the fact that as a team, we felt like we should have won last year’s game against Berry, so we had quite a bit of built up anger. I wanted more than anything to give the seniors a win over Berry as they went out,” Messex said. Head coach Jerheme Urban believes that Tuggle’s catch was the perfect way to cap off the season. “I think most of the guys would tell you that I’m an emotional person, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t holding back a few tears. I can’t overstate how proud I am of this team. We had one of the highest strength of schedules and hardest road game stretch of any team in the country, so for them to continue to fight, compete and come out with a season ending win against a top ten team was just amazing,” Urban said. With this victory, the Tiger extended its win streak to four games. The team finished the season with a 7–3 overall record and 6–2 conference record.
Sophomore quarterback WYATT MESSEX slings the football downfield to one of his sprinting recievers. His offensive line works hard to protect him from the opposing linebackers and linemen. photo by MATTHEW CLAYBROOK
For the class of 2019, this game was their last in a Trinity uniform. Among this year’s graduating class are Jay Foster, Justin Ventura, Evan McDowell, Gavin Huse, KaDarius Lee, Jordan Williams, Vail Miesfeld, Brock Brown, Garrison Meeks, Robert Kuhne, Chris Fanick, Starjjil Shelvin, Brad Long, William McElvogue, Joel Holmes, Brady Blanton, Caleb Madole, Elliott Blott and Michael Inco. “There are so many seniors that have made a significant impact on my time here at Trinity, whether that be in terms of football, school or my personal life. This year’s senior class was one of the first that coach Urban recruited, and was a key factor in the program’s advancement. Coach Urban pushes for a ‘family first’ atmosphere among the team, and this group of guys shows nothing less than that,” Messex said. Urban explains that this talented group has a special significance to him both on and off the field.
“The class of 2019 was the first true recruiting class that we put together as a new staff. These guys were the first class where we limited our numbers and were very intentional in laying out our expectations for our players. I’ll forever remember Joel Holmes being my first-ever home visit on the recruiting trail and sitting down with him and his parents, asking them to entrust their son to a young head coach who had a vision but not much of a résumé. Evan McDowell chose to be a Tiger over an opportunity at Southern Methodist University, and Brady Blanton chose Trinity over some strong DII scholarship opportunities. These are just a few examples, but all of the young men took a leap of faith. The class of 2019 has seen their efforts change a culture, raise the team GPA above a 3.0 and help recruit talented classes behind them. In the end, they finished with a win against a top 10 team. I think it’s definitely safe to say that they have left their mark on the program,” Urban said.
The unique experience of living with your teammate
Sitting down with athlete roommates and getting to know what it’s like to share a locker room and dorm room MEGAN FLORES | SPORTS REPORTER mflores8@trinity.edu Although Trinity sports fans often see the Tigers working together in a competition setting, there is a unique side to this dynamic that goes unnoticed: their relationship as roommates. Certain sports, such as football or soccer, require first-years to move in early to accommodate the team’s early-season practice schedule. These sports assign roommate pairings to each player, allowing them to get to know each other long before classes have begun. First-year football players Connor Macias and Michael Jewett currently live together in Albert-Herff Beze Hall. Although their living arrangement was selected for them, they have found success in their experience as roommates. “The coaches don’t really explain much of the roommate selection process to us, but I think they make the roommate assignments pretty far ahead of time. I got an email saying that Michael would be my roommate, so I contacted him and met him on move-in day,” Macias said. After getting settled at Trinity, Macias and Jewett quickly became comfortable with each other due to their similar routines. “Since there weren’t many people on campus when football arrived, we spent a lot of time together for the first few days. I was with Connor for most meals and practices, which gave us a good chance to get to know each other,” Jewett said. Even with the addition of a strenuous academic workload, Macias and Jewett have nearly parallel schedules. “We have the same football schedule, so we ended up registering for similar class times. We both get up for 6 a.m. practice, then go to our 11:30 classes together on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or 9:55 classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s great to have someone there to hold you accountable for
SPORTS
waking up and getting to practice or class,” Macias said. Jewett also believes that there are many advantages to rooming with your teammate. “If you get along, rooming with your teammate as a first-year is a great way to make a quick friend. There’s quite a few upperclassmen on the football team that are still rooming together. I’m glad I’ve had a positive experience with Connor,” Jewett said. For sports teams that don’t require firstyears to live together, the student-athletes are subject to Trinity’s roommate matching criteria. After living with a random roommate for their first year at Trinity, Tiger athletes are free to choose their roommates for the rest of their time on campus. Sophomore softball players Gina Monaco and Allie Holbrook are rooming together for the first time in Dick and Peggy Prassel residence hall. “Allie and I met through softball. Since both of us were freshmen, we were always hanging out or grouped together. Rooming with your teammate is great because you’re typically both on the same schedule. Right now we have weights early in the morning, so it’s easier to have us both getting up at the same time rather than having to be quiet and courteous if our roommate wasn’t a softball player,” Monaco said. Monaco explains that the experience of rooming with your teammate is completely unique. “I’d definitely recommend rooming with your teammate. If you get along well, you’ll be able to work hard together, have someone to walk to workouts or practices with and know that there’s always someone going through the same experiences as you,” Monaco said. Sophomores Annie Wise and Paulina Garcia, who are members of Trinity’s women’s tennis team, also live together in Prassel.
• NOVEMBER 16, 2018 • TRINITONIAN.COM
FROM LEFT: Athlete roommates GINA MONACO, ALICE HOLBROOK, ANNIE WISE, PAULINA GARCIA, CONNOR MACIAS, and MICHAEL JEWETT all pose in front of the Bell Center. photo by MEGAN FLORES
Wise explains that she met Garcia long before their time as teammates. “You might think that Pau and I met on the tennis court during a preseason practice, but we actually met at the Playfair activity during New Student Orientation week when we were put in the same group. My coach had already told me that there was another tennis freshman, so when I actually met her, our Playfair group thought we were crazy because of how excited we were,” Wise said. After enjoying a full year of team activities, Wise recalls that rooming together as sophomores was an obvious decision for the pair. “Honestly, I can’t even remember who asked who to room together, so I guess it was just meant to be. The best thing about living with your best friend and teammate is that your schedules are the same. We can come back to the dorm after a practice and have so many inside jokes about what happened that day on the court. It’s also
way easier to wake up for early morning lifts if you have someone waking up with you, and it’s great to know that I’ll always have someone to help me get through life at Trinity,” Wise said. Garcia believes that the pair has found success as roommates because they genuinely care for each other’s well-being. “Rooming with Annie is obviously one of the best decisions I have ever made. Annie and I are in the same boat when dealing with school, coaches, teammates and classmates. We understand each other very well, and know exactly how to cheer each other up. We consistently motivate each other to be better, whether on the court or in the classroom. Most importantly though, we both value our relationship. It’s important to live with someone who always wants what best for you, and simply has your back in both the good times and the bad. I know for a fact that Annie always has mine, and I will always have hers,” Garcia said.
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Trinity Men’s Soccer books a ticket to the Sweet 16 continued from FRONT Even though Trinity had the advantage on paper, the Panthers kept the game close through the first half by only allowing one goal to Trinity sophomore midfielder Jacob Hallenberger in the 30th minute. Hallenberger received a pass from senior co-captain and forward Austin Michaelis that just missed another player cutting towards the goal. Luckily for Hallenberger, he was in the right place at the right time. He rifled the ball into the back of the net with a left foot strike. In the 69th minute, Hallenberger and Michaelis teamed up once again for a score. This time, Hallenberger booted his corner kick to junior defender Brady Johnston, who headed the ball towards Michaelis. Michaelis made an athletic play to tap the ball past the goalie with the back of his left heel. Junior forward Vetle Masvaer Halle joined the scoring fun when he knocked home a penalty kick in the 81st minute. The Panthers took 15 shots and had plenty of fair chances throughout the game but couldn’t get anything past junior goalkeeper Blake Lieberman. Lieberman felt that the 10 players in front of him did just as much, if not more, to keep the Panthers scoreless. “Personally, I thought my distribution was pretty poor,” Lieberman said. “Full credit to the 10 guys in front of me. The defensive pressure started with Andrea [Codispoti] doing a fantastic job of closing down high up the field. That set the tone for the midfielders taking care of their assignments. Both of our outside backs had an incredible weekend, and as always the two center backs were absolutely phenomenal.” Trinity advanced to play UMHB in the second round, again at Paul McGinlay field. In the first round, UMHB beat Southwestern University 2–0 to move on to the Round of 32, setting up a revenge game for Trinity.
Last year, UMHB upset the Tigers in overtime of a second round game to cut Trinity’s season short. Once the Tigers knew they would meet UMHB in the second round again, they immediately remembered last season. “We were not expecting to lose that game last year, and when we did, it left an awful taste in our mouths,” Hallenberger said. “[Today] we played the same program, in the same round, at the same field and in the same weather. Before the game, we all looked at each other and said that this is an identical redo from last year.” This matchup paired the solid back line of UMHB against one of the best offenses in Division III. UMHB senior defenders Steven Dang and Carl Vandergriff received first team all-conference selections, while senior goalkeeper Travis Aday received a second team nomination. However, coming into the game Trinity had the fifth best scoring offense in Division III with 3.65 goals per game. For the first 20, the two teams traded shots with each keeper, making athletic plays to keep the game scoreless. Finally, in the 26th minute, the Tigers got one on the board. Hallenberger perfectly placed a corner kick to sophomore co-captain and midfielder Quentin Van Der Lee who headed the ball towards the goal, but Aday blocked it. The ball bounced around inside the box from player to player in a heap of confusion. Eventually, Johnston found the ball and booted it past the keeper with his left foot. Trinity headed into halftime with a one goal lead. UMHB began the second half on an aggressive push. Within two minutes, Lieberman made two impressive plays, including a diving save in the 50th minute. As soon as he could, Lieberman threw the ball to an advancing Trinity player to begin the counterattack.
First-year left defensive back JACOB GALAN, right, sprints down the wing in front of the cheering student section, his opposing UMHB defender working to push him away from center field. photo by JORDAN BRUCE
After a few minutes, Van Der Lee found sophomore midfielder Ethan Moore about 10 yards from the box. With no one around him, Moore sent a laser with his right foot. The ball took an unexpected bounce, fooling the keeper and finding the back of the net in the 52nd minute. UMHB never reestablished their offense going after Moore’s goal. To add insult to injury, senior defender Liam Looney added another goal in the 75th minute. Aday could have saved Looney’s shot from 10 yards outside the box, but the ball rolled off his hands and into the goal. Trinity will move on to the Sweet Sixteen to face No. 3 University of Chicago in Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 1:00 p.m. Trinity played
University of Chicago earlier this year on Sept. 2. That game ended in a 3–3 tie after two overtime periods. However, this game cannot end in a tie, as it is a postseason game. The Tigers feel that their previous game with UChicago will help prepare them for the tournament game. “By playing them once, we have an idea of how they play and who their dangerous players are,” Hallenberger said. “They are a very good team and we must be physically and mentally ready.” The Tigers also feel like a different team since their September encounter with UChicago. “We have a new formation and new personnel on the field as well as the warrior mentality to fight for each other and give everything we have for our team,” Johnston said. “It is this mentality that has lead to our success.”
Thanksgiving Service and Pumpkin Pie Fest Margarite B. Parker Chapel Tuesday, November 20, 2018, 12:00 p.m. Trinity students, faculty, and staff are invited to a brief Thanksgiving worship service in the Chapel to be followed by pumpkin pie in the courtyard. Before we go our separate ways for the Thanksgiving holiday, let’s join together as a Trinity family in a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving. During the service, monetary donations for the San Antonio Food Bank will be received. 16
TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2018 •
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