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OPINION
APRIL 12, 2019
Serving Trinity University Since 1902
VOLUME 116 ISSUE 24
Guest columns: Responding to YCT president Isaiah Mitchell
16 Last mainstage show of the year ARTS features slew of literary heroines
15 TU Gaming competes in first SPORTS SCAC esports tournament
TDC offers campus Faculty assembly to vote new major and minor a Taste of Diversity on Major in global Latinx studies, minor in architectural studies wait for approval
JOLIE FRANCIS | NEWS REPORTER jfranci1@trinity.edu A proposed modern language major and art history minor are waiting faculty assembly approval on April 12 in order to become official courses of study. Both the major and minor have already gone through levels of approval, but the last step is to be approved at the faculty assembly meeting. “Big changes — changes to Pathways requirements or something as big as a new major or minor — go on what we call the ‘discussion agenda.’ That means that they will be brought as a motion to the floor of the next faculty assembly. Both the new architectural studies minor and the global Latinx studies major will be on the agenda for the next faculty LEFT: Sophomore SANDRA NGUYEN and junior ALEX MOTTER passed out cha gio, or vietnamese eggrolls, on Friday at the table for the Vietnamese Student Association. RIGHT: Juniors MANVEENA SINGH and KEZIA NYARKO were part of the team that organized the event. photos provided by SANDRA NGUYEN
Event showcases cuisines of campus cultural organizations MARIA ZAHARATOS | PULSE REPORTER mzaharat@trinity.edu Students sat listening to the performances of their musically-inclined peers, stood around the Coates Esplanade chatting and even tried foods which may have been foreign to them, such as Vietnamese egg rolls or snacks from an Ethiopian food truck. The Trinity community had many opportunities to explore a taste of diverse cultures at Trinity Diversity Connection’s (TDC) annual event, Taste of Diversity. The event was held last Friday, April 5, from 2 to 5 p.m. on the Coates Esplanade. Students and other community members enjoyed a variety of culturally diverse foods, live music, a photo booth and other free items such as mugs to decorate and tie-dye shirts advertising the event. “It’s about showing off one’s culture through food, and I wanted to extend it to include music and art,” said Kezia Nyarko, junior and president of TDC. TDC reached out to six student artists to perform at the event. Junior Leah Woehr was one of the performers. She sang original songs including “June” and “All That and More,” as well as a few others from singersongwriter artists like Sara Bareilles. “I think diversity can represent diversity of experiences, which can come from food but also from people, how they want to express themselves and the experiences that they’ve had. So there’s diversity in that,” Woehr said. “Ultimately the goal of this event is to bring people together so that they can learn from other cultures. Food and
music do that well, so them being together makes a super fun event.” A few rows of chairs were set up in front of the stage where the artists performed, while the tables offering a variety of culturally and ethnically diverse foods were set up along the back of the Esplanade. Alex Motter, junior and president of the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), expressed his excitement in participating in the event. VSA and TDC often work closely together and were happy to do so again as they’ve done many years past. “We helped serve food and decided to showcase Vietnamese egg rolls as our dish because they’re really tasty and you can combine them with all kinds of sauces,” Motter said. Over 200 students attended the event, as well as many parents and prospective students from Tiger Friday. Event shirts ran out within the first hour. Nyarko even recalled one prospective student telling her that she definitely wanted to come to Trinity based on seeing this event. Nyarko added that TDC is considering working with admissions to build up this event. “We’ve been trying to [create] more interactive ways of learning about diversity. I think Trinity lacks in having naturally diverse spaces,” Nyarko said, “Almost everyone was around each other and interacted, but it’s still very natural and you aren’t thinking about the diversity within it. It feels comfortable enough to see different cultures.” TDC, a University Sponsored Organization (USO), pulled from their funding to put up the event. This year, they used the whole of their annual budget on this event and more, focusing on making their signature events and programs bigger and better than ever. continued on PAGE 15
assembly meeting,” said Glenn Kroeger, chair of the University Curriculum Council (UCC). For a major, a group of faculty has to have an assessment plan ready and go through an accreditation process with Institutional Research and Effectiveness, the library and ITS in order to ensure that the university has the resources to support the major. Then, the major can be brought to the UCC. “Lots of things have to be checked off before the major can be brought to the UCC. It’s mainly just making sure all the ducks are in a row before the UCC looks at the proposal. Our job mostly is to look at the academic aspect of it, how it fits in with the mission of the university and the benefits that it will bring to students,” Kroeger said. continued on PAGE 5
Guest column: The humble beginning of the Trinitonian University historian dives into the past of campus journalism DOUGLAS BRACKENRIDGE GUEST COLUMNIST dbracken@trinity.edu
Our 150th anniversary celebration creates incentives to reflect on significant events in our history. One such event is the birth of the Trinitonian, now in its 119th year of operation. Apart from annual university catalogues, it is our longest lasting campus publication. While it has undergone format, content and frequency of publication changes over the years, it has remained the source of firsthand information about campus life and an outlet for student concerns and interests. The Trinitonian made its debut in December of 1900 when Trinity was located on the Tehuacana campus. Previous student newspapers had been short-lived but the Trinitonian staff hoped theirs would be long-lasting. The first issue of the Trinitonian was a 40-page magazine style monthly periodical measuring six and one half by 10 inches. It featured student submitted essays on topics such as “The Model Man,” “Our Mental Possibilities,” “The Educative Value of the Latin Language” and “Music: Its Place in Education.” The remaining pages were devoted to an editorial, campus news items and excerpts from peer student publications from throughout the country. Subscription prices were $1 a year or 10 cents for a single issue. Over time, June
The editorial board of the first issues of the Trinitonian published monthly, 40 page editions in a magazine style. The content was focused on sports and curricular innovation. FILE PHOTO
commencement issues served as forerunners of the annual yearbook, the Mirage, which appeared in 1919. The June issues included photographs of faculty, staff, graduates, student organizations and athletic teams and a narrative of the year’s events. continued on PAGE 6