Volume 116 Issue 05
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OPINION
Trinitonian Serving Trinity University Since 1902
Should you trust SGA with your money? A senator’s take
15 TUVAC, CSG volunteer at PULSE Texas immigration shelters
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018
17 Pop! Zam! Wow! Comics courses A&E bring scholarship to the genre
& Inclusion Coalition for Respect Diversity initiatives promote meetings put on hold student engagement Office aims to increase visibility through events, student board GABBY GARRIGA | NEWS REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu
graphic by ALEXANDRA PARRIS
JOLIE FRANCIS | NEWS REPORTER jfranci1@trinity.edu The Coalition for Respect will take a hiatus of indeterminate length due to low attendence by students at Coalition meetings. This announcement follows a trend of decreased student engagement in the previous few years. The process that handles sexual assault cases will not be on hiatus, and cases will still be heard and prosecuted. The Coalition for Respect works to reduce sexual assault and harassment that occurs on campus through educating Trinity members about sexual assault and misconduct — usually through the use of events, posters and guest speakers. The idea is to involve every part of Trinity in discussing the best methods of policy and education on sexual assault. While plenty of students show interest in the Coalition, with high numbers of students signing up to join, those numbers don’t transfer over to the meetings, which are dominated instead by faculty and staff. “I think in this past year, we got to the point where it was like, maybe the coalition has outlived its purpose,” said David Tuttle, dean of students and chairman of the Coalition. “There’s no question that sexual assault and Title IX violations are still an issue, there’s no question we’re going to address those and take those seriously. And
I don’t believe that students are indifferent about sexual assault, I think they still care about it, I think the question is how do we get students to feel like they’re partners in addressing the problems that any campus deals with.” While the Coalition is on hiatus, they will be trying to increase student engagement within the organization and work to see the structure of the group moving forward. “I hope we can use this time to gauge more interest in the organization and what it is we want to accomplish in the next few years,” said Simone Washington, junior member of the Coalition. According to Tuttle, if student’s engagement with the Coalition remains low, then a new type of organization will have to be created that will be more staff-based. “If we’re trying to talk about what is the climate out there on campus, what issues are out there, what would be effective education and prevention, and the people at the table are all staff members, then number one it’s not a coalition, and number two we’re missing out on the key element, which is student participation,” Tuttle said. “Do we continue to have a Coalition if it’s not really a coalition?” The Coalition has made offers to hold discussions with fraternities, sororities and athletic teams. There, the Coalition would answer
any questions about Title IX and Trinity’s policy and procedures regarding sexual assault. “We just weren’t invited. We were invited to one sorority meeting, and we were 15 minutes of their agenda and it was pretty obvious that they just wanted to check it off that we came and we spoke and they wanted us to leave,” Tuttle said. “Which was too bad, because we should have a whole meeting to really go deep and talk about things.” Tuttle is currently scheduling a meeting with the student athlete advisory council and will soon be contacting the Student Conduct Board, ResLife staff and Greek Council again. The plan is to solicit their support by having some members from these councils on the Coalition. “And see, the question is, do they want to do this? And if they do, then will they commit to having some representation when we have meetings,” Tuttle said. “And then if they say they do but they don’t show up, then I think that will be an indicator to us that maybe the Coalition’s time has come.” The Coalition is only in its fourth year. At its inception, the Coalition was intended to bring together the many members of the Trinity community to discuss sexual assault on campus. continued on PAGE 4
Since the creation of the office of Diversity and Inclusion in 2017, Alli Roman, the director for Diversity and Inclusion, has spearheaded new initiatives to promote campus diversity and to increase the visibility of Trinity’s cultural groups. This semester, Roman is excited for two new initiatives. The first, Flashback Fridays, began on Sept. 7. The sessions intend to improve inclusion and introduce the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s new location to the student body. The office is located within the offices of Student Involvement, where the bookstore used to be located. Flashback Fridays are times for students to socialize with one another, and the meetings provide a space for students to authentically express their identities. The themed parties will have games, music
and snacks and will create a casual environment for students. “Again, I think because the space is so new, we really want to make sure that people know that they can come and use the space — that they don’t necessarily, even outside of Flashback Fridays, they don’t have to have a reason to come here more than just wanting to be there. Based on conversations with students, they really just want that space to be able to bring their full identity and doing regular things,” Roman said. Flashback Fridays will be every Friday in the Diversity and Inclusion office from 1–3 p.m. The second initiative, the Student Advisory Board, promotes conversations about diversity among students and offers a chance for collaboration between student organizations. The Student Advisory Board is made up of about 15 student leaders from various culture groups on campus and student representatives from PRIDE, Student Programming Board, Greek life and the Student Government Association (SGA). Meetings will typically be held once a month for an hour and a half. continued on PAGE 4
The Diversity and Inclusion Office is located in the west wing of Coates Student Center. Students are encouraged stop by. photo by GENEVIEVE HUMPHREYS
graphic by ALEXANDRA PARRIS
Previously, on SGA: It’s ELECT-RIFYING! This covers the meeting on Sept. 12. CAMPUS CLIMATE CHECK Sophomore senator Noelle Barrera encouraged SGA members to attend the Campus Climate Action Meeting on Sept. 25 in CSI, which will host activists talking about how universities can contribute to the city climate action plan. President Amulya Deva, senior, asked if any members attended the voter deputization class that week. Senior senator Julia Shults responded, saying the class was informative. Chief-of-staff Cecelia Turkewitz, sophomore, agreed and added that she was surprised that there were so many people there. Deva encouraged the rest of SGA to attend the upcoming deputization classes at San Antonio College and the University of Texas-San Antonio. Advisor David Tuttle, dean of students, suggested that SGA partner with Trinity Progressives to educate out-of-state students on how they can vote. Tuttle also asked for volunteers to attend meetings of the Counsel for Advancement of Standards, which will be reviewing campus alcohol policies.
of this semester. Each of the five candidates were given two minutes to speak to members of SGA. The candidates then took questions from SGA as a group and were dismissed. SGA held an executive session to discuss the candidates and vote outside of the presence of the candidates. The Trinitonian was not permitted to attend the executive session. SGA elected seniors Chris Fanick and Frances Stone for the class of 2019 senator positions.
OFFICER REPORTS Deva explained that she and Tuttle discussed how to move forward with addressing the departure of Stacy Davidson from campus, which junior senator Simone Washington had brought up in the previous meeting. Deva suggested that they create a task force to design a poster for Davidson. Washington, Barrera and sophomore senator Mia Quintanilla volunteered for the task force. Vice president Rachel Daniel, junior, asked for feedback on the Student Activity Fee (SAF) annual report, a document that will be sent to the student body that summarizes how the SAF was allocated during the 2017-2018 school year. SPECIAL ELECTION Secretary Taylor Volzer encouraged attendence at SGA was looking to fill two senator positions for the Class of 2019, who will serve until the end Grill ’n‘ Chill this Friday, 3-5 p.m. on the Esplanade. Meetings are held every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Waxahachie Room. coverage by KENDRA DERRIG
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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 DOMINIC ANTHONY digital content creator KATHARINE MARTIN adviser CONTACT INFORMATION EDITORIAL email: trinitonian@trinity.edu ADVERTISING email: trinitonian-adv@trinity.edu ad office: (210) 999-8555 fax: (210) 999-7034
REPORTERS Noelle Barrera, Rafaela Brenner, Evan Brown, Jolie Francis, Gabby Garriga, Calliope Izquierdo, Kaylie King, Mathilde Le Tacon COLUMNISTS Evan Chambless, Maddie D’Iorio, Benjamin Gonzalez, Thomas Harvell-DeGolier, Kara Killinger, Kayla Padilla, Natalia Salas COPY EDITORS Christopher Fanick, Sofia Gonzalez Gonzalez, Corrin McCullough ILLUSTRATORS Kaitlyn Curry, Andrea Nebhut, Julia Poage GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alexandra Parris PHOTOGRAPHERS Matthew Claybrook, Elizabeth Nelson, Genevieve Humphreys BUSINESS STAFF Victor Stummvoll, Elizabeth Popov ADVERTISING STAFF Jordan Askew, Isaac Bartolomei, Jacob Hurrell-Zitelman, Regis Noubiap
MY GLASSES! On Tuesday, Sept. 4, at 9:35 a.m., two pairs of sunglasses and a radar detector were reported stolen from a student’s vehicle while it was parked in the gated area of the City Vista parking garage. There were no signs of forced entry. The items were not recovered. NO MONEY, MO’ PROBLEMS On Tuesday, Sept. 4, at 12:34 p.m., various credit cards and cash were reported stolen from a student’s vehicle while it was parked in the gated area of the City Vista parking garage. There were no signs of forced entry. The items were not recovered. HIGH ON A BALCONY On Thursday. Sept. 6, at 11:33 p.m., six students were
discovered in possession of marijuana and related paraphernalia in a City Vista room. They were spotted on their balcony by officers on patrol. GREEN OUT On Saturday, Sept. 8, at 4:45 p.m., a student called TUPD for another student who was exhibiting signs of illness. An ambulance was called, and the student was found to be having a negative reaction to marijuana. LOCK ‘EM UP On Sunday, Sept. 9, at 9:26 p.m., a student reported that their bicycle was stolen off of their balcony on the first floor of McLean Residence Hall. The bike was unsecured and not registered with TUPD.
Corrections •
On page 2 of the Sept. 7 issue, Cecelia Turkewitz was misspelled. Spot a mistake? Let us know at trinitonian@trinity.edu.
The Trinitonian [USPS 640460] [issn 1067-7291] is published weekly during the academic year, except holidays and final exams, by Trinity University, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200. Subscription price is $35 per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Antonio, TX. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Trinitonian, One Trinity Place, #62, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200. Student publications under the supervision of the Board of Campus Publications shall explicitly state in each issue that the opinions expressed therein are not necessarily those of Trinity University. The first copy of the Trinitonian is free; additional copies are three dollars each. ©2018. All rights reserved.
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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 •
NEWS
ResLife announces anti-littering campaign
New director Deb Tyson spearheaded initiative to stop trash from accumulating on campus
KAYLIE KING | NEWS REPORTER kking1@trinity.edu Deb Tyson, director of Residential Life, is planning to launch an initiative to encourage the Trinity community to pick up litter on campus. The initiative, called “Don’t Trash Trinity,” will start this October. Tyson explained that her inspiration for Don’t Trash Trinity was partially based on the experience that she had working at the University of Denver, where there was an expectation that everyone contributed to the success of the campus, including the appearance of the grounds. “It’s really all about our footprint and about how we in this community choose to want to contribute to what is happening around us,” Tyson said. Tyson noticed small pieces of trash around campus when she first visited Trinity. “It’s not technically micro-trash. This is more about small pieces of trash that don’t really draw attention but actually get embedded in the ground, get embedded in the grass, get run over by lawn mowers, show up in bushes and trees,” Tyson said. “So I started looking around saying, ‘This stuff doesn’t just drop out of the sky.’ Believing what I was being led to believe about Trinity students — that they’re active, caring and connected — I think that Trinity students would really buy into the idea that they are contributing to their own environment.” Tyson hopes to team up with the resident assistants on campus and run the program through the individual residence halls. “I want to do some supportive reminders — not just about Trinity, but that no matter where you go or what career you’re in, the idea
of leaving the place better than when you walked through it is something good to connect to,” Tyson said. “All I have influence over is how we as a residence hall community can see our impact on the grounds around us. I’ve not seen a lot of excess trash negatively impacting the environment here, but I still think that we want to launch that idea when we get a chance.” Tyson pointed out that facilities services and custodians already play a very important role in keeping Trinity clean. “It’s about how we contribute, not about how they don’t,” Tyson said. Don’t Trash Trinity will tie into concepts of sustainability and recycling. Sharon Curry, coordinator for sustainability and support services, explained the importance of litter pickup. “Many people see littering as a matter of aesthetics and I think most want the campus to look nice,” Curry wrote in an email. “From an environmental standpoint, litter often winds up in waterways, especially in flood events like we’ve recently experienced. Litter can impact water flow, clogging drains and causing unanticipated flooding. Litter can impact water quality. Litter picked up by stormwater can flow into nearby creeks and rivers flow downstream to the gulf becoming marine debris. The effects of plastics on marine life is well documented.” Although Curry believes that it is everyone’s responsibility to put waste in its proper place, she also highlighted those on campus whose jobs help with litter pickup. “Operationally, litter control falls to Facilities Services since they manage the day-to-day operations of campus facilities and
graphic by ALEXANDRA PARRIS
grounds,” Curry wrote. “However, Campus Planning and Sustainability does play a role by assisting with programming to encourage waste minimization. Less waste means less litter.” Katherine Jones, junior and president of Eco Allies, sees litter on campus, but doesn’t think it is necessarily a big problem at Trinity. “Picking up litter on campus is important because it demonstrates respect and concern
for both the environment and Trinity,” Jones wrote in an email. “Eco Allies teaches students about proper waste disposal procedures, such as what is recyclable vs. what must be put in the trash. We also do a plastic display in Coates Student Center every fall to raise awareness of how much waste people produce and how it impacts the environment.”
Second best in the West: 26-year streak broken Santa Clara University bumps Trinity from top spot in US News and World Report ranking
GABBY GARRIGA | NEWS REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu Trinity lost its 26-year streak as No. 1 in the U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) “Best Regional Universities in the West” ranking this week. After a change in USNWR’s weighted methodology, Santa Clara University was ranked No. 1 and Trinity as No. 2 with scores of 100 and 99 respectively. USNWR uses the information that Trinity provides to the Department of Education to compute their scores. This year, USNWR gave additional consideration to one ranking category in particular, “outcomes,” over the five other categories — faculty resources, expert opinion, financial resources, student excellence and alumni giving. USNWR paid close attention to a school’s ability to promote social mobility and above average graduation and retention rates. Danny Anderson, president of Trinity University, sent an email to campus to address the results of the report, highlighting Trinity’s long-held goal to improve graduation and retention rates. “While we do not shift our institutional priorities to specifically meet ranking criteria, we will use this change as an opportunity to accelerate key initiatives begun in the last three years. For example, student retention and graduation rates are priorities for Trinity moving forward — and they are challenges facing higher education as a whole,” Anderson wrote. Tess Coody-Anders, vice president for Strategic Communications and Marketing, believes that rankings are helpful to gauge the success of initiatives and goals of an institution. “Rankings are a good lagging indicator. By that I mean you do what you do — you focus on the core objectives of the institution, and those rankings are a way to measure how that’s working for us,” Coody-Anders said.
graphic by ALEXANDRA PARRIS
Eric Maloof, vice president for Enrollment Management, noted that the graduation rate information used by USNWR does not necessarily reflect graduation rates of current classes. “When you look at graduation rates, that is based on a class from six to seven years ago — which was a strong class, but Trinity continues to
NEWS • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
be a better version of itself every year, and so we’re excited about where we are now,” Maloof said. Maloof does not see the new ranking affecting Trinity’s ability to attract incoming students. “I don’t see this affecting student recruitment in a big way. We should be proud of all of the rankings we do really well in, but realizing that our focus should be on the things that really
matter. That is, to attract and enroll students who are a diverse student body broadly defined, who appreciate the type of education we offer and who promote success within the institution and to help students reach their potential. That’s what we should be focused on, and if we continue to do those things, the rankings will all take care of themselves,” Maloof said.
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Bell Center dress code causes frustration Students are not allowed to take off shirts, but why?
KAYLIE KING | NEWS REPORTER kking1@trinity.edu When sophomore Isabella Rizzo was asked to leave Bell Center for violating the dress code, she was shocked. “I was wearing this outfit I had worn in my workout class in the Bell Center before, and other gyms back at home, too,” Rizzo said. “It was like this half tank top, built-in sports bra outfit with leggings. I didn’t think I needed to put on a shirt or anything because it was also really covering anyway.” Rizzo went to workout with her roommate on the evening of Sept. 5. She was asked to leave by a student fitness center employee on her way up to the cardio area. “The rule states you can’t show your midriff,” Rizzo said. “It wasn’t on the outside of the gym, but inside the gym it does say that that’s the rule. I was asked to leave unless I had a shirt to cover up, so I [left]. I had asked what the reason behind that rule was, and the employee was a student employee, so she didn’t know or necessarily agree with the rule, but she had to enforce it. She thinks the reason she was told is some kind of
Students work out in Bell Center. Under the dress code, everyone is required to wear a shirt in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aueus, also known as MRSA. FILE PHOTO
safety reason, but it was just kind of ridiculous to me. What is my midriff harming?” Sophomore Avery Tuggle was the student employee who informed Rizzo that she was violating the dress code. Tuggle believes that the dress code in the Bell Center is fair and has been well thought out. “The dress code has been decided with student’s safety in mind as
well as for the best preservation of the facility that we are so lucky to have available to us,” Tuggle wrote in an email. “This semester so far, I’ve asked only a few individuals to abide dress code. For the most part, everyone does well with the dress code.” After being asked to leave, Rizzo and her roommate decided to go for a run outside instead of working out in the Bell Center.
“Even though it’s totally safe here, if you’re arguing that my midriff is going to harm people or myself somehow, I think it’s more dangerous running around outside than in a gym,” Rizzo said. “People should be able to wear whatever makes them comfortable when they work out. I don’t see how that could be a safety issue whatsoever.” Seth Asbury, associate director of athletics for facilities and event
management, explained that fitness center policies are in place to ensure the safety of all users and to mitigate risk factors. “We don’t want people to get hurt,” Asbury wrote in an email. “All users in the fitness center are asked to wear shirts to prevent direct skin contact (your midsection/back) with the equipment. Wearing a shirt is the easiest way to prevent potentially contracting a communicable skin disease.” On Sept. 11, Asbury met with the university risk manager, head athletic trainer and university insurance risk accessor to discuss fitness center policies. “Our policies do follow best practices, and they are enacted to help prevent injury and illness,” Asbury wrote. “Communicable diseases like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) do spread in fitness centers. That’s why we ask everyone to wipe down the machines with disinfectant wipes. In the interest of preventing injury and illness while promoting health and well being, the rules of the fitness center were created. Everyone is expected to wear a shirt while working out in the fitness center, including males.” Following the incident, Rizzo reached out to the administration and received a response from Asbury, who gave her the same reasons for the policy.
Low student attendance leads to Coalition hiatus continued from FRONT “We needed to invite the community into the conversation and into the process in a lot of different ways so that people could see this wasn’t an administration versus student issue, that it was a partnership between students, faculty, staff, administration, to try to address issues of sexual assault, to try to do education, to try to do prevention,” Tuttle said. “So that
was kind of the backdrop of having the Coalition.” With the Coalition, Washington works to learn Trinity’s sexual assault policy and report back to the coalition about the campus culture around the issue of sexual assault. “When I first learned of the organization, I felt personally obligated to join. A coalition of faculty, students and community members that met for the express purpose of addressing sexual assault
Decide your future.
Tuesday
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on Trinity’s campus? I thought, ‘Sign me up!’ ” Washington said. As a student member of the Coalition, senior Holly Gabelmann attends the meetings with the faculty and staff to provide a student perspective on discussions about the issue of sexual assault. “I am careful to acknowledge that I cannot speak for the entire student body; I can really only speak to my experiences and understanding of this campus,”
Gabelmann. “I hope that more students will join to help diversify the perspectives heard at meetings.” The Coalition is responsible for programming for first-years during orientation that addresses sexual assault. This year, the orientation lecture was called Triage and it touched on sexual assault, shootings, mental health and alcohol. “We’ve gone through a number of programs and, to me, it’s just
partly the delivery method for upper-class students is a little more challenging,” Tuttle said. “They’re required to go to something that’s about sexual assault or alcohol, [and] a lot of students feel like they’ve heard this stuff before and a program has to be very engaging for students to pay attention to it.” Students are still welcome to join the Coalition for Respect; the first meeting will be scheduled when the Coalition is back from hiatus.
continued from FRONT
address. Just to help facilitate that communication,” Volzer said. Additionally, the Student Advisory Board serves as a time for organizations, specifically Trinity Diversity Connection (TDC), to collaborate together on events or projects. “Serving as the advisor of TDC, they talked about wanting to be connected more with cultural organizations, so that was something else that was also really important, and so I figured, let me help create that space,” Roman said. “I think sometimes we might over-program a lot of really great ideas or programs might conflict with one another, so instead of having one large or two large programs, we end up having these silos.” Although TDC can’t fund events for other organizations, they will provide monetary support if it benefits diversity or diverse conversations on campus. Kezia Nyarko, junior and TDC president, spoke about the intentional division in TDC’s budget. “Trinity Diversity Connection used to be the SGA for all the cultural
groups basically. The group is no longer an umbrella for cultural organizations. Instead, what we do is we collaborate with other organizations,” Nyarko said. “Our budget kind of anticipates the fact that we’re going to be collaborating with a bunch of other organizations, so there’s a section of our budget dedicated to collaborations and sponsorships.” The Student Advisory Board also affords an opportunity for students to discuss important issues concerning diversity on campus. Manveena Singh, junior and cochair for Student Advisory Board, feels it’s important to talk about the experiences of students from diverse backgrounds. “I do want to see things change, and I do think Trinity wants to do better, so I think there needs to be that accountability. Sometimes I don’t really feel like diversity is supported by the administration,” Singh said. “What are we doing for those students? What are we doing to make those students feel at home on campus?”
DIO introduces new programs Roman wanted feedback from students on the issues she should be tackling in her role, so this board helps her stay connected with student concerns. “The initial purpose of the advisory board was to have that really direct communication from students with various cultural backgrounds and identities and so the easiest way to do that was through connecting with the already existing cultural organizations,” Roman said. Junior Taylor Volzer, SGA secretary and one of the student representatives on the advisory board, hopes that the board will bring an opportunity to promote communication between students and SGA. “We are the Student Government Association, and this is a fantastic way to find out the needs of the students and then figure out what we can do for that. So if that’s being a resource or simply sharing information or letting our senators know if there are issues on campus that we are able to
WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 •
NEWS
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Opinion
COMMENTARY Have an opinion? Want others to hear it? For a chance to be featured as a guest columnist, please submit your article to trinitonian@trinity.edu by Sunday night to be in Friday’s issue of the paper.
SUBMISSION
FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK
Don’t be afraid to express yourself If you flip to page 11, you’ll find yourself browsing the Trini-Vogue-ian. The fashion issue is back by popular demand. Fashion — whether you love it or couldn’t care less for it — is part of our everyday lives. Fashion is how we express ourselves and show our personality. It’s also how we choose to give off impressions, whether it’s personal or professional. This year, we want to reflect on fashion over the last few decades and how the evolution has come to reflect a changing society. As ABBA once said, “The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself.” This seems to be true especially for fashion. Many of the trends popular today, including mom jeans, floral dresses, dad polos and sneakers, scrunchies, Canadian tuxedos and much more, were at the height of fashion in the 1980s and ’90s. The throwback look is becoming more and more popular across the country,
including on our campus, whether in the classroom or at a party. In our special section, you can get a glimpse of how fashion has impacted the lives of Trinity students.
People are dressing more to express their identities and straying from traditional gender norms in clothing. Read about the extensive shoe collections, the consequences of cultural appropriation and what students are learning about fashion from inside of the classroom.
At this age, we are getting ready to emerge in the adult world where we might be restricted to suits and single-colored blouses for the rest of our lives. We want to hold on to our creative freedom as long as we can so we can express ourselves with our cultures, talents and collections. We also want to reflect on how fashion has evolved over time to today. Consumers are more interested in shopping ethically and protecting vulnerable workers from the power of large fashion corporations. In addition, people are dressing more to express their identity and straying from traditional gender norms in clothing. As our world grows to become more accepting of different sexualities, cultures and identities, more people can dress in a way that makes them comfortable to be who they are. As always, let us know what you think, Trinity. Your comments and criticisms are always welcome.
Countdown to the 150th Triniversary ANGELA BREIDENSTEIN GUEST COLUMNIST abreiden@trinity.edu
CALENDAR YEAR First, let’s be sure you know the that the celebration starts Jan. 1 and ends in December — it’s a calendar year celebration, not an academic year. COMMEMORATE, ELEVATE, CREATE In 2019, we are asking our community to shape this anniversary year by joining in and commemorating the year, elevating annual events to have special 150th “flair” or elements and creating new events or creations for this special milestone year in Trinity’s history. We have had two 150th Planning Workshops and are holding the final one on Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. in the Tehuacana Room. Come learn how to get involved and about planning and promotional support the 150th Committee, Student Program Board, Student Government Association, Strategic Communications and Marketing and others have stepped up to
The Trinitonian is your public forum. Here’s how to start a dialogue and have your voice heard in print and online.
letters to the editor Share your quick reactions to Trinitonan coverage and opinion columns. Send 300 words or less to the head editors and Soleil Gaffner, the Opinion editor, at trinitonian@trinity.edu. She or Julia Weis, Trinitonian editor-inchief, will be in touch as soon as they can.
guest columns
JACOB TINGLE GUEST COLUMNIST jtingle@trinity.edu
Hopefully you’re aware that 2019 marks Trinity University’s 150th anniversary. From our humble beginning in 1869, we’ve grown from a small campus in Tehuacana, Texas, to an internationally-recognized institution in an amazing, culturally diverse major city. As the co-chairs, or cheerleaders-in-chief, we are excited to share with you some of what’s planned for calendar year 2019 and to highlight how YOUR student organization, academic unit or campus department can be part of the event.
GUIDELINES
Former student and SGA president ART SUNDSTROM, left, and former president JAMES LAURIE, right, hold up a flag celebrating Trinity University’s 100th anniversary in 1969. According to the Trinitonian archive, preparations began in early 1968 for the centennial celebration. FILE PHOTO
provide. You can also learn about how to access the $250 seed grants we are providing for events and creations and the proposal form. We will distribute these until we run out! It’s important to note that we have a deadline for a print calendar of Sept. 28. While there will be electronic calendars and lots of other media and PR for events, now’s the time to get your event scheduled for inclusion in that calendar which will be included with the IMPACT magazine. We are enthusiastic about the responses from so many in our community thus far, including contributions such as a Choral Reunion, an exhibit and art walks from Art and Art History, a special Trinity Night Out with TUPD, an Anniversary Garden from students in Environmental Studies, a new Trinity Black Alumni Reunion — and that’s just a very small sample. KICK-OFF EVENT Soon you’ll be hearing more about the KickOff event on Feb. 1, 2019 — we can only provide a teaser here — but we want to give a HUGE shout out to the amazing committee co-
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
chaired by Esther Kim and Scott Brown that has been working all summer to plan an afternoon of service followed by a big campus celebration! As Trinity alumni and faculty, we are especially proud to help the Trinity community find ways to Commemorate, Elevate or Create events for the 150th anniversary. We are eager to engage students, staff, faculty, alumni, families, San Antonians and also friends and collaborators far and wide. As Trinitonians, 2019 is going to be an amazing time for us to look back and to think about what the next 150 years might look like and your involvement is key. Let us use our Wonder Twin powers to get your planning started and help you think about how to be a part of this anniversary! Please reach out to us or anyone on the 150th Committee. That’s it for now — we will provide an update later in the fall and are saving more to reveal as we get closer to January.
Can’t keep it to a few hundred words? Pen a guest column and let your views be known. Please keep it between 500 and 700 words, and give us time to prepare. If possible, submit by Sunday at noon to be in the Friday edition of the paper. Email it to opinion editor Soleil Gaffner at LGaffner@trinity.edu.
please note! The Opinion section editor and the Trinitonian copy editors will fact-check your work and edit for clarity, legal concerns, grammar and style, but we will not alter your argument. Also, please include your graduating year and major or your position at the university.
Jacob Tingle and Angela Breidenstein are the co-chairs of Trinity’s 150th Anniversary Steering Committee.
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SGA has an existential problem Uneven debate
is today’s reality
MADDIE D’IORIO OPINION COLUMNIST mdiorio@trinity.edu
When I first considered running for Student Government Association (SGA) last October, I must admit that I didn’t really understand what it was. I certainly was not aware of the fact that SGA manages nearly three-quarters of a million dollars every year. $150 a semester, per student (that’s $1200 out of your pocket for your entire four-year stay at Trinity, by the way) is what makes up the Student Activity Fund (SAF). And who decides how to spend these funds? Fifteen college students with no formal financial training. On the surface, this might not really seem like an issue. SGA senators are voted on by the student body, so theoretically, how SGA decides to spend their money should then be an extension of the student body’s desires — right? Sadly, this is not the case. Voting turnout for SGA is next to nothing (fewer than one hundred of my peers voted me into office last November, and probably even fewer for classes of 2020 and 2019 senators), and although our meetings are always open to the public, it is extremely rare that we actually get student interest into what we’re doing. Students will spend all day complaining about how their meal plan dollars are spent at Mabee, but can’t take it upon themselves to attend meetings which decide how their SAF dollars are spent.
There are other issues besides apathy, however. SGA is simply designed to spend too much, which is what it has historically done. There are other issues besides apathy, however. SGA is simply designed to spend too much, which is what it has historically done. University Student Organizations (USOs) requested a 14 percent increase in funds this spring from the five-year average, and even though we were
ISAIAH MITCHELL GUEST COLUMNIST imitchel@trinity.edu In response to Ben Gonzalez’s column “Debates require fair conditions to be effective.”
RACHEL DANIEL, senior and vice president of SGA, presents on the statistics from 2017 to 2018. SGA meetings cover everything from funding allocations to addressing student concerns and are held every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Waxahachie Room. photo by GENEVIEVE HUMPHREYS
luckily able to trim a lot of the fat, this system of over-requesting takes funds away from Registered Student Organizations (RSOs). Part of the reason for this is three USOs — the Trinitonian, the Mirage and Recreational Sports — are all required to be funded at least their five-year average. Meaning these groups can only increase their funding over time, never decrease. Another issue is that SGA has gotten the reputation that we’ll “fund anything,” leading USOs and RSOs alike to ask for more than they actually need in hopes that we’ll give it to them. We try to cut every request that comes in front of us (which I think our current senate has done a very good job of, on the whole), but it’s difficult when student groups see us as a never-ending money pot, which we are not. Luckily, these problems have solutions. First we need to rethink the five-year average rule and consider changing it to requiring SGA to only fund a percentage of the five-year average, instead of exceeding it. Also, giving a bigger role to our faculty advisers and adding an adviser with financial and accounting experience would be extremely helpful. We could allow this person — who understands finances and budgeting much more than 15 college students — veto power to be used when he or she feels that SGA is treading on a dangerous path. This would allow the
students to still have a voice, but also be provided a safety net. In addition, general education about SGA is necessary. Students at Trinity need to rethink how they see the SAF — it is not endless, and it should not be the first place you go to look for funds. Consider memberships dues, sponsorships and going to outside organizations before submitting a request to the senate. And (seriously!) go to SGA meetings. They might not be the most exciting way to spend your Wednesday evening (6 p.m. in the Waxahachie room), and if you can’t make it, the Trinitonian always publishes summaries. The senators on SGA work hard to make the best financial decisions for Trinity students, which is not an easy job. I do not mean this article as any sort of indictment on our work because I am constantly amazed at how much everyone on SGA cares and wishes to make the most prudent decisions for our student body. It is the structure of SGA itself that I take issue with and the simple fact that no one seems to care about the most powerful student group on campus. We’re the ones spending your money, after all. Get educated, talk to your senators and — most importantly — vote this November. Maddie D’Iorio is a sophomore economics major and an SGA senator.
In the last issue of the Trinitonian, Ben Gonzalez wrote a piece arguing that internet-famous conservative polemics like Steven Crowder and Ben Shapiro set up unbalanced arenas of discussion. Gonzalez’s idea of a ‘power imbalance’ got a little more tenuous with each new example — picking a topic is also necessary for fair discussion, and I don’t see how Steven Crowder’s spontaneous appearances could compare to Ben Shapiro publicly challenging Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to an organized debate — but for the most part, his point was one that I’d been wanting to make for some time. I was just surprised to see that this article was about conservatives.
Conservative students rarely have the luxury of being Steven Crowder, who gets to pack up and leave the campus after a day’s work with a million new views in his pocket. Gonzalez is right about fair conditions making for better debate. However, the ‘power imbalance’ which Crowder sets up as an individual hardly outweighs the imbalance from which liberal universities like Trinity benefit as institutions. If a biased crowd is unfair, then I hope I could get a little sympathy from Gonzalez every time we have a public debate and I’m pitching assault rifles or a border wall to a sea of millennials. Crowder’s demonstrations and others like it are meant to punch through a greater existing imbalance on college campuses. Conservative students rarely have the luxury of being Steven Crowder, who gets to pack up and leave the campus after a day’s work with a million new views in his pocket. He never has to engage those students ever again. The right-wingers who actually go to college get up the next day to face liberals who give their grades, fill their classrooms and write about the deep unfairness of Crowder in their school newspapers. This phenomenon is inevitable and isn’t as bad as Gonzalez makes it seem. The playing field will never be level, and we just have to be prepared for that. With all that in mind, I’d like to announce that I’ll be sitting down to discuss weapons on Trinity’s campus all this week — all in anticipation of a super-secret Tigers for Liberty event which the campus will learn more about soon. Look for my table in Coates. I promise no camera crews or emotional belittling. I won’t even have a sign. Just look for the lanky guy drinking a strawberry Fanta and probably eating Taco Taco. Those who are interested in debating the topic can prepare as they wish and rest assured that the discussion will be quite casual and not spontaneous. Isaiah Mitchell is a junior English major and chairman of Tigers for Liberty.
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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 •
OPINION
Discovering my identity
through culture, roots OLIVIA RACHWOL GUEST COLUMNIST
Who am I? And if so, how many? When I first saw this title in a German bookstore, I felt like I had heard that phrase for a millionth time in my mind, repeatedly displayed, from my childhood on until now. When I tell people where I come from, they normally never question whether I am German or not. Blue eyes and blonde hair, “typically German,” I have been told so many times. What does that mean anyway? At least nobody normally seeks for further explanation when I reveal that I am from Germany. Sometimes I just wonder if things would have gone different for me if I had black hair and darker skin like my dad. Or a Polish accent like my mother. Would I feel different? Less accepted? What is the point of judging somebody by their outward appearance anyway? Epistemologically, the term “identity” refers to the Latin word “idem,” which means “the same.” Identifying with a country or nationality can create a strong sense of belonging. As human beings, we all seek some amount of acceptance.We naturally wish to become part of a community, whether it is with our family, friends or other parts of our society. When we identify with someone or something, we feel comfortable and connected with certain values, norms, traditions. But as “identity” can bring people together, it has also the power to exclude. National identity can create a sense of belonging, and — simultaneously — it can rip people apart. When talking about my migrational background, I have often been asked about my life in Germany: “Where do you feel at home? Germany or Poland?” What if there was no home
for those who simply do not know how it feels to be part of only one country? My family has migrational background from all over Europe. In my family, we all look very different from one another. How can you tell from looking at somebody’s outward appearance who they are inside, how they feel, what they think? “We contain multitudes,” Walt Whitman said once. Wherever I go, I still often feel the variety of cultures inside of me. How come there is still so little awareness about the falsity resulting from stereotypes? How come they are still so present although it is just too obvious that prejudging somebody may eventually turn out wrong? Although meant to protect us from danger — and thus useful in some rare occasions — stereotypes are basically filled with unnecessary and misguiding prejudice. What we carry outside projects only a small amount of ourselves. It creates an illusion of where we belong and who we identify as. Our real inner selves — who we really are, what we believe — remain in the background of social interactions way too often. Would you have guessed that I have been struggling with my national identity ever since? As a Fulbright student, I have come to the United States to not only follow the very roots of American immigration, but also to learn and to understand how different cultures have enriched and destroyed each other throughout centuries. As a Fulbright student, I have also come to raise awareness and to strengthen discourse through any means to help create a change. I have come here to stress topics I am personally concerned about — not only as German citizen but also as child with migrational background. I am afraid of stereotypes that have recently come up in discourses about national identity, both in Germany and the United States. continued on PAGE 9
TU through a European lens NIKOLA TSARIGRADSKI GUEST COLUMNIST An institution of learning on highest level — that is a formal definition for a university. For someone enrolled at a college, this may seem like a very narrow definition. There are so many distinct experiences — the classes and professors, life with roommates in dorms, Greek life, college sports, et cetera. What I have come to experience is that all of these aspects are just a specific interpretation of the concept of a university. I myself am enrolled at the University of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, Germany, where I am majoring in Cognitive Science and Mathematics — although for me it makes little sense to even speak of “majors.” My underlying image of university looks like this: After graduating from school, you pick a subject you’re interested in and apply for a bachelor’s course in that subject at every university you would be interested in studying at. Hence, there’s no majors. There is only one subject, and you focus on that right from the beginning. Then, once you get accepted, you have to move there. This means that you must research the housing market of the city you will be studying at; you have to decide on whether to live alone or to share a flat with other people; finally, you have to sign a lease and rent a place. Studying means, for the most part, attending two-hour lectures with hundreds of people twice a week for each subject and then handing in your assignments. And if you don’t feel like attending a lecture? Not a problem, you just watch the recording of it afterwards. Outside the U.S., American college life is often portrayed as a cultural heritage; that’s why I was sent by the German-American Fulbright commission to Trinity with 20 other students:
To study here for a month and physically experience that culture. Seeing competitive college sports, many of the students organizing themselves in clubs or fraternities/sororities and the circumstance that there is a college-owned and entirely student-made newspaper like the Trinitonian transmits the feeling of a strongly knit community on campus. I’ve heard some people call it “living in a bubble,” but in my opinion, having your average conversation partner be a random college student allows for a more diverse discourse than having them be a student from your own field of study as I am used to. I perceive the campus as a very nurturing place, both academically and personally. There is, however, one thing that I look forward to upon returning to my German university: Going home after classes end. In my perspective, having a space called home that isn’t labeled by the institute you’re enrolled in is very important to find balance. While the accessibility of the university — like the athletic center, library, music facilities and so on — is certainly beneficial for students to succeed in their goals, I think that in times where one is in conflict with things at college, it can feel stifling when one’s living space is an imminent reminder of those things. Now that my time at Trinity is about to come to an end, I have the strong feeling that I will miss it. I was privileged to enjoy highly interesting courses, explore the culture and society of South Texas and most of all get to know amazing people who will leave a lasting impression on me. All I am left to share is the wish that every student at Trinity shall be able to appreciate their environment here and make the most of the opportunities that come with it.
Welcome to Trinity! Reverend San Williams is serving Trinity University as Interim Chaplain. San was Senior Pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Austin for twenty years. Prior to coming to Austin, San served churches in Corpus Christi and Houston. Most recently, he served as Interim Pastor at University Presbyterian Church in San Antonio. This fall San will be working with other religious leaders to coordinate and strengthen the religious life on the Trinity Campus. He is open to meeting and visiting with students in group settings as well as individually. Please feel free to contact San at ewillia3@trinity.edu.
Nikola Tsarigradski is a Fulbright scholar visiting from Germany.
OPINION • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
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A F E S T I VA L F O R A C AU S E
Notes from abroad:
Experiencing Edinburgh
Kara is starting her semester abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is discovering that the city is different from San Antonio, but the people feel familiar. photo provided by KARA KILLINGER
KARA KILLINGER OPINION COLUMNIST kkilling@trinity.edu
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So, I’m here! I made it! And Edinburgh, Scotland — surprise, surprise — is different from San Antonio. Here they say “sitting in or take away?” instead of “for here or to go?” Oatmeal is porridge. Bandaids are plasters. 18-year-olds can drink, so you see sights like a small freshman girl moving into her flat with cute pink bedding, fun posters and a huge box of vodka bottles. You know, the usual. When you look up in Edinburgh, you see 200-year-old buildings — brown against a gray sky — and when you look down you see a cobblestone sidewalk littered with flattened cigarettes. Edinburgh is a place of contradictions. It’s not uncommon for anyone and everyone to smoke on public sidewalks, and I’ve seen multiple 13-year-olds doing it. Yet sustainability is also big: Buses are a convenient and popular way to get around. There is a bike lane on every street. Plastic bags cost extra, so you bring your own reusable ones. You can get 25 to 50 pence off at pretty much any coffee shop if you use a reusable cup. This juxtaposition of caring for the planet but not caring for your own lungs is a tad jarring. But hey, sameness is here, too. Cultures overlap. The portion sizes at restaurants are still very big. Coffee is just as, maybe even more popular here: There is a coffee shop around practically every corner, and I can’t wait to explore all of them and find which one fits my vibe the most. Scottish people roll Rs, but their pronunciations and idioms do not generally resemble Scottish Twitter. And Scottish accents — to me, anyway — seem more similar to American accents than English ones do. Even being new here feels somewhat familiar. I’m writing this now in the kitchen of my flat, but for a couple of days before I moved in, I had program orientation. This was when a bunch of students — all set to study abroad at the University of Edinburgh through Arcadia’s study abroad program — lived in a hotel. We sat in a room for a few hours a day listening to talks about Scottish academics, laws and even
film. When our program leaders were done talking at about 2 p.m. each day, they let us loose in Edinburgh. The whole thing felt like Trinity New Student Orientation all over again, from the newness of the city, to the excitement of trying new things, to the pressure of pretending to be a less shy version of myself. Something that struck me during orientation, though, was that the same passions are shared by many, many people. On the evening of day two, I found myself in a small group of kids who barely knew each other — some from Houston, others from Nashville, Minneapolis, Boulder. Yet we all agreed that Thai would be the best way to go for dinner; we all shared sips of a fancy beer one of us ordered and agreed it was amazing; we stood in a line at Tesco’s squinting and rubbing our chins as we wondered first which bottle of wine to purchase and, subsequently, how to evenly split the cost.
Vanessa Carlton can make her way downtown in any city in the world. We finished out the night back in our hotel, doing what Trinity kids might have done. Sitting on the beds. Pouring relatively cheap wine into mugs. Singing along to important songs such as Snail Mail’s “Thinning,” Beyonce’s “Halo,” Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” and of course, Vanessa Carleton’s absolute bop “One Thousand Miles.” It didn’t really matter that all of us were from vastly different schools in vastly different states. Vanessa Carlton can make her way downtown in any city in the world. Thinking about this in bed the night after hanging with those new friends made me hopeful that it’ll be like that here in Edinburgh. Though I’ll encounter certain cultural differences, I will tend to have more in common with people than I expect. I’ll report back in two weeks and let you know how it goes. Kara Killinger is a junior English major.
WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 •
OPINION
Watergate and Fox News: Echoes of the past? illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT
THOMAS HARVELL-DEGOLIER OPINION COLUMNIST tharvell@trinity.edu Shocking revelations and event after event revealing duplicities from the White House that leave the nation glued to their screens watching investigations unfold — though these details correspond with the present Trump drama, this account is about Richard Nixon. Reading Stanley L. Kutler’s “The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon,” one is struck by the sheer length of the investigation and the sheer effort put forth by the Nixon administration to cover up the burglary. Early on, the idea that Nixon was an accomplice or even knew of the details of the burglary seemed inconceivable to many Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate. Only through FBI investigations and congressional investigations did the pressure grow sufficient enough to demand the appointment of a special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. Cox’s appointment reflected a breakthrough in the investigation and the realization that — despite the work of the Department of Justice in investigating Watergate — it was necessary for the investigation to be less connected to the president. Congressional Republican leaders only fully began distancing themselves from Nixon after Alex Butterfield, an aide to Harry “Bob” Halderman, revealed on July 13, 1973, that Richard Nixon had maintained a taping system in the White House and had recorded most of his conversations. This revelation forced Republican leaders — such as Senator Howard Baker (R-TN) — to demand release of the tapes following Baker’s previously stated mantra that the goal of the hearings
was to reveal “what the president [knew], and when he [knew] it.” The tapes possessed the ability to either condemn or exonerate Nixon. Due to this, Nixon fought against the release of the tapes. When Cox requested the tapes, Nixon sacked the attorney general and the assistant attorney general when they would not fire the special prosecutor. Finally Robert Bork, then the Solicitor General, fired Cox. This became known as the Saturday Night Massacre. Eventually Nixon’s duplicity, his tumbling approval ratings and his contempt of
congress caught up with him. When a tape revealed that Nixon knew of the cover-up from the beginning, his position became untenable, and he lost support in Congress that would have prevented impeachment. Thus, Nixon eventually resigned. Throughout all of this, Nixon and his affiliates called the press their enemy. Moreover, during the Watergate controversy — according to “Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics” by Nicole Hemmer, assistant professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center —
right-wing media concluded that the issue was not Nixon’s too-powerful presidency, but an all-powerful press that could topple a presidency for what right-wing media considered to be a liberal conspiracy. While the conservative press attacked Nixon following his resignation, they — like the Nixon administration — blamed Watergate on liberal institutions, though the conservative press included Nixon’s administration in the liberal mix. Conservative media in the 70’s was not as influential it is now, and their defenses of Nixon did not work. Nowadays, we have Fox News, the Weekly Standard, Breitbart, One America News Network and a plethora of other conservative reactionary media sites that both protect Trump and spread conspiracies about Democrats and liberal causes. Alex Jones, host of the far-right podcast “InfoWars,” promoted “Pizzagate” and the idea that Sandy Hook was fake — an idea that has prevented parents from visiting their children’s graves. With the release of these conspiracies into the wider media environment, one wonders whether Nixon might have survived in today’s media landscape and whether Donald Trump — the current president of the United States — would still be president in the 1970’s media landscape. Perhaps the recent plea by Michael Cohen will, with the help of Fox News and our modern media environment, be reduced to a liberal conspiracy. Perhaps instead the plea will be a pivotal point in the investigation of criminality during the 2016 presidential campaign. But with an administration engulfed by scandals and multiple aides pleading guilt — such as Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort — parallels with the Nixon presidency and its scandals certainly exist. One must hope that, like in Watergate, the truth will come out. Thomas Harvell-DeGolier is a senior history major.
Fulbright Dressing “gay” when you look “straight” discovery
continued from PAGE 7 It is just too easy to assume that your skin color or looks or behavior or whatever appears on the surface determines who you will become. Although we are all very different, we as Fulbright Diversity Initiative students have all experienced that struggle of seeking for identity while being on the fence. Every one of us carries a story. We are in some ways very different, but in the end, there is something we all have in common: We can raise awareness about what it means to be somewhat divided and not knowing where we actually belong. We have never been so free before to get to visit unknown places and spaces around the world, get to know each other, exchange experiences and thoughts and change our own identity. Especially in the last decades, national identity has appeared to not be predestined. It is not something static you are born with and end up with for the rest of your life but something that will change depending on where you get to live in your life. Along with globalization, boundaries between national identities will eventually fade. I wish for a society which starts turning this global development into an opportunity with all the struggles it comes with. As part of the Fulbright program, I have just started to turn my wishes into reality. Olivia Rachwol is a Fulbright scholar visiting from Germany.
KAYLA PADILLA OPINION COLUMNIST kpadill1@trinity.edu
Within my first few weeks at Trinity, I realized I didn’t feel any pressure to like men, so I didn’t. It wasn’t until months later that I realized I was a lesbian. First I came out to myself, then to my friends. My family still doesn’t know I’m a lesbian, and — quite frankly — I was hesitant to write this for that reason. I have, however, decided not to let fear rule my life — although not coming out to your homophobic family is just as valid. I started telling everyone I knew, “Did you hear, I’m gay!” and I was met with nothing but love and support from the Trinity community. Then I called my lesbian friend from back home — we’ll call her Sarah. Sarah has always had a very “lesbian” look; all the queer women knew she was gay. She wanted to be a police officer, and all the men felt intimidated by her. Then there was me. All those years of tennis had hardly made my wimpy arms any stronger; I didn’t want to be a police officer but rather a writer; I liked to wear skirts and cute shoes. To be honest, I felt intimidated to tell her that I was gay. What if she didn’t believe me? I called her anyway and yelled into the phone, “GUESS WHAT? I’m GAY.” She began laughing and said, “Really?” I suddenly felt like a 14-year-old boy trying to prove myself. “Yeah man, women are so hot.” By the end of the night, that phone call left me feeling very … Straight.
OPINION • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
Then I met my other friend, Emily Bourgeois. We work together in the Diversity and Inclusion office, and that’s where our queer-bonding friendship began. Emily is a queer girl who, despite my knowing her for a relatively short period of time, has had a huge impact on my selfacceptance journey. When I first met Emily at work, she had long brown hair. Then summer approached, and she decided to cut off most of it. Her hair looked so good, so fitting and so … Queer. I felt inspired. I decided to get my hair cut a little above shoulder-length, but I felt that I still didn’t look “gay.” I just looked like a girl with short, cute hair — not gay hair. In hindsight, this all sounds ridiculous — “gay hair,” “gay face.” What does that all even mean anyway? Queer visibility is important because it’s how queer people spot each other and become friends or lovers. I love to dress the way I do, but above all, I want to be loved and acknowledged as a valid member of the LGBTQ+ community. I love my dresses, but I don’t love the heteronormativity that comes with them. Fashion is important to me. When I wear my poncho, I wear it proudly at a school where Latinos are a minority. When I wear my vibrant jackets or yellow painted nails, I’m expressing my joy of being alive. Yellow has always been my favorite color. When I wear my orange tennis shoes, I’m sharing my love for the color orange in a world that discourages vibrancy. My dresses are flowy and complex like the never-ending thoughts that consume my days. I walk around in clothes that scream I love bright colors. They scream I’m Latina. But too often, I find myself wondering if they scream that I’m a lesbian.
illustration by JULIA POAGE
But why must we all look one way? Femme lesbians are considered straight because we’ve been trained to believe that women who wear dresses do so for men. Lipstick is for men. Long hair is for men. To be honest, my dresses aren’t for the gazes of men or women — they’re for me. My invaluable friend Emily helped me realize that the way to dress gay is to dress as I am dressing right now. My dresses are gay because they belong to me. My hair is gay because it’s on me, and every breath I take is gay because I’m the one breathing it. Other people may not know or think I’m gay, but I know I’m gay. My friends know I’m gay. Above all, the woman I marry will I know I’m gay. Kayla Padilla is a sophomore English and anthropology double major.
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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 •
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Think twice before you start shopping Tips and tricks to be a better consumer on a college budget NOELLE BARRERA | PULSE REPORTER nbarrera@trinity.edu In the cinematic masterpiece “The Devil Wears Prada,” fashion connoisseur Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) reminds Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) that her dowdy blue sweater “represents millions of dollars and countless jobs.” While the movie is generally regarded as a frivolous if well-liked rom-com, this quote is surprisingly relevant in regards to the relationship between the modern consumer and the fashion industry. I’ve long been skeptical of the idea that our clothing styles express something about our identities — mainly because I’m a busy college student whose “fashion identity” boils down in material (ha!) reality to “what I can find in my closet that does not have a ketchup stain on it.” But in reality, what we wear isn’t separate from the ideas we espouse, or the people who stitch the threads of our shirts and shoes. Companies will frequently take political stances, either intentionally or unintentionally. For example, when the vice president of the New Balance shoe company made a vague statement supporting Trump’s presidency, neo-Nazi social media users claimed that New Balance was their official shoe. New Balance was horrified and condemned their unwanted Nazi fandom. In addition, Nike recently made Colin Kaepernick — the former NFL player who “took a knee” against police brutality — the new face of their “Just Do
It” marketing campaign. While relatively inoffensive, taking a knee remains controversial. An athletically esteemed brand like Nike taking Kaepernick’s side can drastically shift the public narrative surrounding football players’ protests; Kaepernick has sacrificed both his career and many of his fans to protest, so he does deserve this honor. However, does this choice mean that Nike suddenly has the moral high ground? Nike has a record of controversy related to workers’ rights, dating back to the ‘90s when college students protested the company’s use of sweatshops and child labor. While Nike has made numerous steps to clear their reputation — their website boasts pictures of clean factories and smiling workers — Nike’s current record leaves much to be desired. A June 2018 report by the Clean Clothes Campaign accused Nike of doubling and Adidas of tripling sponsor contracts with various soccer teams (the German team will receive $65 million this year from Adidas) while simultaneously paying their mostly-female workers in countries like Indonesia and China poverty wages. This “Foul Play” report found that workers receive 30 percent less of the production costs from Nike and Adidas shoes than they did in the 1990s — when protests against sweatshops were at their height. Being an ethical consumer means prioritizing intersectionality — for example, Nike’s anti-racist campaign is undercut by the fact that the company doesn’t pay the people of color who make its shoes overseas a living wage. The same dilemma occurred with Emma Watson’s “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like” T-shirt line, made from the labor of women
overseas who were working 45 hours a week to earn the equivalent of $1 an hour. Opposing unjust labor in the fashion world is an anti-racist, feminist and anti-imperialist project. Fashionable and forward-thinking students should consider shopping at local San Antonio thrift stores as an easy way not to give unjust companies your money. Two thrift stores by Trinity are Boysville, which sells cheap and vintage clothes alongside antiques, and Buffalo Outlet (a personal favorite), which has a variety of clothes with cute patterns and colored price tags to denote clearance items — making it possible to buy an outfit for under $5. Goodwill is also a good option for thrift shopping; Trinity also holds several clothing exchanges throughout the year. If you want to see how your favorite fashion brand is doing ethically, website and iPhone app Good On You rates more than 2000 brands by categories like environmental impact, labor conditions and animal welfare. The Clean Clothes Campaign website is also a good way to track how companies behave in real time. For people who want to take more direct action, you can write letters or emails to companies who use unjust labor tactics or become involved with United Students Against Sweatshops, a student organization that was founded in 1998 to protest unjust working conditions. The organization is currently promoting an online petition called “Nike, Respect Garment Workers in Indonesia!” that anyone who cares about this issue should sign. While everyone enjoys beautiful fabrics and aesthetics, it’s not worth it if people are hurt in the process. One person’s individual
I took sewing classes when I was really young at some community thing, so it was a lot of self-taught things,” said Jones-Waddell. “I think by taking her class I have learned a lot about that professional aspect.” Karjala, Costume Construction professor and costume designer, described the goals of the class. “Through learning both the art and skill of costume construction, students not only learn sewing, but also learn how to design a garment, project planning and creative problem-solving. Students explore artistic creativity through the medium of fabric. In some respects, you can think of making clothing as a form of sculpture: you take a 2-D object — fabric — and manipulate into a 3-D form — clothing — that will fit the human body,” Karjala wrote in an email interview. The class isn’t the only way to get involved in fashion in the theater. Alexis Jarrett, peer tutor for Costume Construction and costume studio employee, helps create costumes for Trinity productions with Karjala. “For the shows, there are production meetings where all of the different designers meet with the director, and so that’s how the process starts. Usually, Jodi will do the costume design and she will sometimes have a student
assistant. Basically, they work with the director on the designs, the actors come in and get measured and we make the clothes based on her designs,” Jarrett said. The student-run aspect of the costume shop and the theater department as a whole allowed Jarrett to branch out and learn new skills when she got to Trinity. “I think the whole theater department is just really great in the way that it gives everyone hands-on experience because when I came to Trinity, I didn’t know how to sew. I actually learned from working in the shop before I took the class,” said Jarrett. “It’s a really great skill to have.” Holly Gabelmann, senior theater major, took Costume Design her sophomore year. Gabelmann thinks that the class helps students become more sustainable in their daily life by learning to repair and reuse your clothes in addition to giving students a sense of appreciation — especially for theater. “I think it’s important that everyone appreciates the work that goes into theater because when you walk into a theater space and you see the actors and you see the set in your mind, kind of unconsciously, it’s always been there,” Gabelmann said. “But to take costume construction and to appreciate
graphic by ALEXANDRA PARRIS
choices may not change much, but when united with a larger group of conscientious consumers, we
have the power to create a fairer fashion industry.
Creating costumes behind the seams
Costume construction class teaches students sustainability and how to create new garments GABBY GARRIGA | NEWS REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu
Even though it’s 8:30 a.m., Kate excitedly sipped her morning tea, ready to continue working on her apron. She’d been thinking about the pattern all night: the ruffles she’d add, the last minute alterations she wanted to make, the new theme she finally settled on — Star Wars. Kate slouched over her table in Ruth Taylor Theater wildly threading, chaotically cutting her fabric and frantically calling for her professor — Jodi Karjala — to help. Kate Jones-Waddell, senior theater major, took Costume Construction two years ago and left the class with an “out of this world” Star Wars themed apron for her dad along with a pants pattern. JonesWaddell had some previous sewing and clothes construction experience, but she improved in her skills through Costume Construction. “I made this fun apron for my dad — this frilly Star Wars apron — so that was really fun and cute. I’ve always loved art and sewing.
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illustration by KAITLYN CURRY
the hours and hours that go into just the garments alone — not even the rehearsals, not even the
scene building not even the design, just the sewing — I think it’s really important to appreciate that.”
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FASHION
Fashion? Or cultural appropriation? Weighing in on cultural assimilation in current fashion clothing trends KAYLA PADILLA | OPINION COLUMNIST kpadilla@trinity.edu I’ll begin by saying this: It’s culture appropriation if the community as a whole hasn’t given you permission. I love when people want to learn about my culture, but it’s disrespectful when non-Mexican people wear traditional blouses without acknowledging the history and culture behind them. My ancestors weren’t slaughtered by colonizers just so a white sorority girl can wear a sombrero as a joke. If you disagree with me on this particular issue, it doesn’t really matter because this is my culture, my ancestry, the sufferings of my people. For too long we’ve been told what we should think, but now I ask you to listen. There are instances when certain people are allowed to wear cultural clothing. If an anthropologist has been living with Mexican people, and the people allow them to wear a sombrero, then it is okay. If one respects and understands the culture, if one is allowed by the people to wear it for a special event, then it is okay. People who have learned about us, people who speak our language and have used their privilege to advocate for us. Those are the people who can wear what we wear. Of course, being as empathetic as they are, they know to ask anyways. When a white person wears a poncho, it’s pretty. But when we wear it, we’re stared at. My family and I can only wear “regular” clothing when we cross the checkpoint on our way to San Antonio. I have never worn my poncho, I have never worn the blue and white dress my mother got for me. The Border Patrol agents glare at us, racially profile us and make us shed our Mexican
identity. Time and time again they ask my mother if we are, in fact, her children. When I came to Trinity to begin my sophomore year, the border patrol agents detained us and searched through all my belongings. So I had to act white — we all did. The difference is that non-Mexicans are acting Mexican for an aesthetic, and we’re acting white to survive. You are benefiting from our oppression. You only love our culture when it benefits you, when it’s cute and stylish. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen — who openly supported the separation of undocumented children from their parents — was eating at a Mexican restaurant while she was advocating for her atrocious cause. It is this hypocrisy, this blatant disrespect and disregard for ethnic lives that makes culture appropriation so distasteful. The truth is, I’m afraid to be Mexican at times. I’m afraid that one day the government will decide I’m not American enough. It’s already happening to people in the Rio Grande Valley, where people’s citizenships are being questioned. The same people who say we are animals are the same ones wearing our clothes, eating our food and vacationing in our country. Since everyone wants to be Mexican, here are the rules: I’ll let you wear our blouses if you learn our history. You can speak Spanish if you treat it with the same respect and admiration you treat French. You can eat our food if you speak up about our children in detention camps. You can listen to our music when you use your privilege to help educate your racist family members. If wearing our blouses is so pretty to you, you can start wearing them when we stop getting shot by border patrol, like 20-year-old Claudia Gomez Gonzalez. You can wear them when we abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement and when we abolish Border Patrol.
Illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT
When we stop getting told to go back to Mexico, when a Mexican child or person never has to worry about hate crimes or getting
killed, then — and only then — can you can wear our traditional, beautiful and culturally significant Mexican dresses.
Sole-searching for sneakerheads
These two students own 200 + pairs of sneakers
KATHLEEN CREEDON | EXEC. PRINT EDITOR kcreedon@trinity.edu Two students. 200+ pairs of shoes. But, sophomore Christian Lee and senior Pyar Seth consider themselves as more than just people with a lot of shoes. “It’s definitely a collection,” Lee said. “I have pairs that I will never wear, that I’ve never put on, and I’m not going to. I just have them because I like them.” Though Seth intends to wear every pair of shoes he owns, he also has a couple that he’s more cautious with. “I do wear them all. I have worn them all, but there are some that I’m particularly careful about,” Seth said. “So if it’s raining, you know, you won’t see me wearing my 11s.” Both students have larger-than-average feet — Seth wears a size 13, and Lee a size 16 — so sole-searching can be hard. However, their love of shoes has kept them collecting. According to his count, Lee currently has 24 pairs of sneakers with him at Trinity. However, he says he owns 130 pairs altogether. The ones he keeps at home include older pairs that he wears less often. “A decent amount of the ones I have with me are just the ones I wear the most, and then there’s a couple of workout shoes and stuff like that,” Lee said. “But usually it’s just whichever ones I wear the most.” Seth’s mother helped him decided which of his pairs to bring to campus. In total, he has roughly 70 pairs of sneakers, but Seth only brought 43 with him to Trinity. “I think a big thing for me as far as picking
FASHION •
PYAR SETH shows off his Black History Month edition Nikes, one of his 43 sneakers that he brought to campus this semester. Seth aims to wear different pairs every day of the month. photo by MATTHEW CLAYBROOK
shoes or when I go shoe shopping is versatility, if I can wear it with multiple outfits,” Seth said. As for how they make sure their shoes get equal attention, both “sneakerheads” — as Seth calls himself — attempt to wear a new pair every day. “I never wear the same pair twice,” Lee said. “That’s the big thing.” Seth agreed, but took that idea one step further. “My goal is to wear a different pair of sneakers every day of the month,” Seth said. “There are thirty days in a month. Can I do it without doubling up?” As for how successful Seth has been in that endeavor, he said he’s had people notice his daily switch-up. “There was actually a student who I had never had a conversation with, but whose schedule lined up with mine, and I always saw them as we casually walked through campus,” Seth said. “And she came up to me and said, ‘I don’t know you,
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
but I wanted to say that I’ve never seen you wear the same shoes twice,’ and I just kind of laughed.” Lee said that, though his shoe collection takes up a large portion of his closet, his roommate and friends don’t seem to notice or care. “I don’t think my roommate really cares,” Lee said. “I think he thinks it’s kind of weird, but he knows that it’s kind of a common thing now.” Junior Ryann Williams, a friend of Seth’s, is a fan of his collection. “I think it’s pretty fantastic. It’s kind of an addiction at this point, but I don’t think it’s crazy,” Williams said. “Well, I do think it’s crazy, but when I see his shoes, I get it.” According to Seth, his collection is a large part of his stylistic identity. Williams agreed with this. “It absolutely encompasses the particular way he likes to present himself, and his shoes go a long way in that presentation.” Seth explained that the start of his craze with shoes was in high school.
“I think it was more of a cultural thing at my high school, and I think growing up in that sort of environment sort of carried on, and I just sort of adopted it,” Seth said. “I went to a predominantly black high school, and I would say the Jordan sneaker is a representation of black identity.” The shoe that first got Lee hooked on collecting was a pair of Nike Hyperdunks that he got in 2010. Like Seth’s, Lee’s connection with his sneakers is far from superficial, and he noted that many of his shoes are connected to specific memories of this. “I remember with my shoes. I have special moments with them, so like the first time I ever dunked, I still have those shoes, stuff like that,” Lee said. Lee also still owns the pair of shoes he wore to his high school graduation and intends to wear them when he graduates from Trinity as well. Since sneaker-collecting can get rather expensive, both Lee and Seth look for deals when buying shoes. Seth often uses sneaker exchange websites to find what he’s looking for. “There are a few different websites. I personally use GOAT. Sneaker exchange websites are good if you’re looking for unique sneakers,” Seth said. “I think a big thing with sneakerheads is sort of the diversity of your collection, so if you’re looking for funky, hip, new stuff or stuff that’s different you could go on some sneaker exchange website.” Lee has a different method. “I have a shoe guy. I’m not allowed to say what his name is, but he gives me good deals on shoes, so I talk to him sometimes,” Lee said. Ultimately, Lee and Seth agree that anyone interested in starting a sneaker collection should be true to their style. “Wear stuff that you like, not what other people think is cool,” Lee said.
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HAVE A STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE TOLD? Know a professor or student who embodies what it means to be a Tiger? Email us at trinitonian@trinity.edu to let us know about the people and events that should be covered in an upcoming issue of the Trinitonian.
Pulse
School's in session: Faculty, staff in class It's never too late to learn something new NOELLE BARRERA | PULSE REPORTER nbarrera@trinity.edu Most students enrolled in Trinity classes are between the ages of 18 and 22, but there’s no time limit to learning. Several Trinity faculty and staff members are enrolled or have been enrolled in undergraduate classes, with the sole desire to enhance their knowledge of the world. During her time at Trinity, Sheryl Tynes, vice president of Student Life, has taken more than half a dozen Modern Languages and Literature courses taught by professors Thomas Jenkins, Nina Ekstein and Nanette LeCoat. Tynes said that she relishes bringing her sociological perspective to the study of language. Tynes cited Ekstein’s French Cinema class as an example of how language study intersects with sociology. “Dr. Ekstein talked about how — if you think about U.S. cinema — we love happy endings, and she said to us [that] in French cinema it's not meant to be a feel-good kind of thing, it’s meant to make you think and ponder,” Tynes said. “You learn a lot about history and culture when studying languages.” Many students struggle with textbook costs. Tynes said that her recent undergraduate experiences have illuminated this issue.
“It was almost 200 dollars for the paperback version of a textbook, and I remember thinking it felt like highway robbery,” Tynes said. “That’s why I love this work that SGA’s doing on affordable textbooks.” Tynes also said that taking Trinity classes helped her empathize more with students’ workloads. "I remember one semester in my Latin class there was a student who was in another class that I was teaching, and I jokingly said to her, 'I can't believe you're in this class and my class, too,' because I was thinking of the workload of those two classes,” Tynes said. “She laughed and said, ‘I'm also in three other classes.’ I just gained some understanding of what it's like to carry a Trinity load.” Assistant swim coach Kimberly Jones is currently enrolled in Randy Wallace’s Painting III class to revisit an old passion — studio art. Before becoming a swim coach, Jones graduated from Louisiana State University with an MFA in studio arts and an emphasis in photography. After graduating in 2015, Jones moved to Houston and worked with art nonprofits. However, the experience left Jones drained. “It was very stressful for me as far as trying to continue my own work. When I came home I didn’t want to be creative at all,” Jones said. Jones had prior experience with Trinity: Her brother had attended Trinity and had been on the swim team. In addition, Jones knew the previous and current head coaches from her childhood when she swam on a competitive San Antonio club team. When a
position opened up for assistant swim coach at Trinity, Jones took it. "It's actually been really great because I'm able to have the flexibility to do and continue my own artwork as well as being a swim coach,” Jones said. Jones said that Wallace’s painting class gives the opportunity to work with new media. "I've been able to do a couple things I've never worked with before, in particular a couple of acrylic mediums that you can add, and [it] gives texture to the paint and stuff like that," Jones said. While Tynes and Jones have enrolled in classes related to their fields of interest, most undergraduate classes Ekstein takes are in the mathematics department as a break from sabbaticals spent researching literature. "During a sabbatical, I'm not teaching, I have no responsibilities except to do my scholarship, and I love learning new things," Ekstein said. Last semester, Ekstein took Modern Algebra, taught by Brian Miceli, along with Curtis Brown’s Symbolic Logic course, which she found challenging. "Boy, that ate my lunch. That was tough, but [Brown’s] a marvelous teacher. I really enjoy seeing how good my colleagues are,” Ekstein said. While most courses Ekstein has taken are math-related, she has had seven sabbaticals since she came to Trinity in 1980 – plenty of time to explore diverse subjects. The first class Ekstein took at Trinity was Beginning Piano, during her 1993 sabbatical.
KIMBERLY JONES, assistant swim coach, talks about taking a Painting III class at Trinity. photo by MATTHEW CLAYBROOK
"I went on to take private piano lessons for 15 and a half years, during which time I never once actually made music. I'm not good at music, but I've got a lot out of it," Ekstein said. While Ekstein is treated the same way as her younger counterparts in classes, humorous incidents have arisen interacting with students. "I had five kids in the modern math class who had been my students, so that was kind of fun, and one of them sat next to me the whole semester. He was so thrilled about the one exam [where] he did better than I did," Ekstein said. "I have no problem with that. I'm happy to be an undergraduate."
How to prepare for the first tests of the semester
Column: Ways to start studying for exams with less stress and last-minute panic
MATHILDE LE TACON | PULSE REPORTER mletacon@trinity.edu As the semester picks up steam and students settle into their classes, some may find themselves soon facing the first tests of the year. For anyone who needs a fresh reminder of how to do well and crush exams, stay tuned: There are plenty of resources that Trinity has for students to take advantage of. START EARLY AND GET AHEAD I know — it's the cardinal rule and the one that almost no one ever follows, yet arguably, it's one of the most effective ones. Luckily, it's not impossible to break a streak of procrastination. Change starts today. If a student's test is next week, they should spend a bit of time each day before the test looking over the material. Not only is it easier to learn chunks every night than to learn five chapters in one night, but it also sticks better. Studies have found that cramming the night before is far less effective than a week-long retention period and should only be used as a last resort. Sophomore Victoria Seliger, a finance and accounting double major with a minor in economics, has already finished her minor and has consistently done well on difficult exams. She has particularly excelled in her macroeconomics and banking classes. “I make flashcards and carry them around and run them when I have time, like at Mabee,” Seliger said. “If you spread out the studying, it’s much more likely to stick than if you stare at the page for three hours and expect things to be memorized.”
First-year SAM HENRY, left, discusses a paper with junior and Writing Center tutor TIFFANY NGUYEN, right. Trinity offers many different ways for students to get help on their classwork via peer tutors, academic workshops, and professor office hours. photo by ELIZABETH NELSON
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
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TUVAC & CSG volunteer at immigration shelter Student groups come together and offer Trinity students an opportunity to give back NOELLE BARRERA | PULSE REPORTER nbarrera@trinity.edu Every year during Welcome Week, the Trinity University Volunteer Action Community (TUVAC) hosts a service event aimed at first-year students. Last week on Saturday, Trinity’s Catholic Student Group (CSG) and TUVAC co-sponsored a volunteer event where students spent time with children at a local immigration shelter. “We went over [to the shelter] and just hung out with the kids — we played sports, we played games,” said Juan Kamel, junior and public relations chair of CSG. “Most of them are from Central America and South America, but some of them are also from India and Bangladesh and China.” Kamel facilitates biweekly volunteering opportunities at the immigration shelter for CSG members and anyone else who wants to join. These trips to the shelter began two years ago under the guidance of Maria Teresa Alva, former minister of CSG. When Alva moved to Peru last year, Kamel took over the role of facilitating volunteer events. CSG typically schedules its first trip to the shelter before the school year starts; first-year football players, students enrolled in the Summer Bridge program and other students residing at Trinity over the summer are encouraged to participate. When the event was delayed, TUVAC reached out to CSG members to incorporate the trip into the annual New Student Orientation (NSO) service event. Joshua Lee, junior and president of TUVAC, explained the goals of the annual service event. “For new students who are coming into Trinity, it’s a way for them to get connected
with the community, but also with other students,” Lee said. “In NSO, we’re usually focused on recruiting as many volunteers as we can, around 50 to 60 students, and we take them to different parts of San Antonio.” Lee estimates that there were about 40 students in attendance and around 10 leaders of CSG who helped to facilitate the event. Kamel said that the higher turnout was beneficial. “Usually, we can get three or four people to like 10 people, so this was a lot more than usual,” Kamel said. “We got to see a lot of kids because they’re separated into different houses [in the shelter]. The more people we have, the more we can split up and visit the kids.” Lee appreciated how the two organizations were able to bring their different strengths to the service event. “It just happened that [the CSG leaders] were very experienced and most of them are Spanish-speaking leaders, and so we were just able to combine and work together very well,” Lee said. Though the children were from all over and spoke a variety of languages, Lee said that language barriers did not impede the group from bonding with the children. “I think my favorite aspect was that we were able to communicate and help out and socialize with these amazing children at the immigration shelter regardless of whether we spoke their language,” Lee said. “It was so amazing how everybody was able to get along very well regardless of differences in language.” TUVAC has three different sectors of volunteer opportunities: health and wellness; environmental and animal shelter awareness;
illustration by KAITLYN CURRY
and education and children outreach. This event fit into the last category, and Lee said that TUVAC will host similar events in the future. “We do plan to do a lot more [events] focused on the immigration shelter and children in general,” Lee said. CSG will also host more volunteer events for this upcoming semester, both at the immigration shelter as well as at other locations in San Antonio. “We just try to be there for people who need help,” Kamel said. “If anyone wants to come, they’re more than welcome to contact me or anyone else in the Catholic Student Group, and we have a sign-up list to sign up for other events. Every other week we go there, so the more the merrier.” Victoria Bell, a first-year and TUVAC member, heard about the event during orientation week and decided to sign up.
“I did arts and crafts with a bunch of the younger girls and it was really fun,” Bell said. “There was a bit of a language barrier because the majority of the girls only spoke Spanish. ... besides that, it was such a great experience to be able to interact with those girls and just let them know that they’re loved and appreciated, you know? I thought that was really important.” Bell said that she signed up with TUVAC for the next visit to the immigration center, on Sept. 22. Students can contact Susanna Nieto at snieto@fraternas.org to be added to the CSG emailing list; students interested in TUVAC volunteering opportunities can email tuvac@trinity.edu to receive TUVAC’s monthly newsletter. Future TUVAC events include volunteering to assist patients at the San Antonio State Hospital and helping with the upkeep of Headwaters, a local nature sanctuary.
How to prepare for the first tests of the semester continued from PAGE 14 Junior Hailey Taylor, a peer tutor for Organic Chemistry I, agreed with this sentiment. “Give yourself time to study,” Taylor said. “Most of us need way more time than we think to absorb all of the information. Especially for the sciences, it is like learning a new language because everything builds off what you previously learned. This way, you can relax the night before a big exam and get plenty of sleep.” So as soon as you know that a test is coming up, make a plan and stick to it. Your future self will thank you for it when you’re not awake the night before trying to learn a semester’s worth of course content. GET HELP Peer tutors are an integral part of Trinity University’s academic structure. Their job is to help students, so never feel afraid to ask them questions. It’s infinitely better to ask for help than to resign yourself to failure. “If you have questions and you don’t clear them up, it’s just going to compound in the material because that’s how most classes are designed,” Seliger said. The same applies to professors: Trinity professors are all hired to bolster student success, so if you have questions about chapter content, ask them — preferably before the last minute. Willis Salomon, associate professor of English, shared some general advice for staying on top of one’s classes. “I advise first-year students generally, from day one, to be sure not to miss any class, to check their TU e-mail regularly, to attend to the details of the syllabus in every class, and to make their First-Year Experience the place where, should any issues of any kind
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arise, they make contact with a professor or peer tutor who can steer them to specific counsel regarding that issue,” Salomon said. Getting that one-on-one help can make all the difference leading up to testing periods. If you prepare your questions well and know what you’re struggling with, the professor can pinpoint strategies to help you most accordingly — leading to the next point. STUDY STRATEGICALLY Trinity is a diverse campus, and that includes the way students learn. Everybody is different. What may work for some may be ineffective for others, and learning strategies span far and wide. There is no shame in having a hard time learning from straight lectures or if flashcards don’t do anything for you. Find something that does work, develop it into a legitimate strategy and keep evolving it every year. “One of the most critical aspects of my strategy involves what I call the double absorption method. What I do is I take notes by hand in class because it’s quicker and gives you more flexibility, and then I get home from class, re-read and type up my notes so I can reference them easier when I’m studying,” Seliger said. “They absorb twice — through writing once and then retyping them.” James Shinkle, professor of biology, had a study strategy of his own to share with students. “One place to begin is to prepare from the top down, not the bottom up. Bottom up would be memorizing lots of terms and highlighting huge sections of text to reread. Top down is identify the big ideas — both for the class as a whole — and any given day or assignment, figure out how to explain those
ideas. That will tell you what vocabulary you really need,” Shinkle said. BE PRESENT It sounds obvious, but it’s also the most valuable tip here. Attend your classes. Even the most grueling 8:30 a.m. deserves your presence. It’s a lot harder to learn the material when you’re not in class, and the best way to make sure you’re motivated to go to class in the morning is to set yourself up for success the night before. “I also advise first-year students to get enough sleep — even if it means kicking people out of your room — to eat wisely and to beware of the allure of an over-use of intoxicating substances,” Salomon said. Of course, it’s different when you’re sick, but if it’s a matter of a few hours in bed versus learning what you’re paying for, choose the latter. You’ll see the beneficial results in your GPA. And now, for the dreaded moment, but perhaps the one that’s just as important to think about: What happens when you don’t do well on a test? While it can be extremely demoralizing to get a bad grade back, there are strategies to learn and overcome that, too. YOU’RE NOT ALONE Everyone struggles at one point or another. It can be hard to struggle in a class when everyone else seems like they have it down, but others aren’t necessarily as put together as they seem. Many students before you have tripped up on exams or quizzes. They’ve done worse than they thought they would but have dragged themselves back up. Your journey to a bright future is not a competition with others. FORM A PLAN Understand where you went wrong. Did you run out of the time on the test? Were the
study strategies you used the wrong ones? Did you procrastinate and try to cram last minute? Figure out where you slipped and make a plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Seek out the resources that address the specific problems you experienced during your test, whether it be not grasping the course content or not employing the right techniques to apply it. For example, Aamuktha Karla, peer tutor for Organic Chemistry I, knows that sometimes there can be a disconnect between the information students study and what they can actually retain and explain on an examination. “Write out or talk through important concepts from memory. When reading the textbook or going over notes, it’s sometimes easy to have a false sense of security about what information you really understand,” Karla said. “Testing yourself without the information in front of you can help in figuring out what you know or don’t know, and that can help you better plan out the rest of your study time.” Andrew Hansen, professor of human communication & theatre, supported this statement with one of his own. “When you study, don’t just understand the material generally; know it so that you might teach it in detail to another,” Hansen said. IMPROVE Use the tips from earlier in the article to get back on track, and don’t fall into the same cycle of errors that led you to the bad grade in the first place. Not doing well on a test isn’t the end of the world, but it’s only a learning opportunity if you actively make it one. Next time, give yourself your best chance.
WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 •
PULSE
AE &
Cardi B and Nicki Minaj upstage boring clothes at New York Fashion Week, now New York Feud Week
The Mountain Goats conquer Paper Tiger
Timothée Chalamet cut his hair, now looks like hot version of Coconut Head from “Ned’s Declassified”
Chamber recital takes audience on a journey Thoughtful choir performance exhibits range of music dept. RAFAELA BRENNER A&E REPORTER rbrenner@ trinity.edu
illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT
“The air was heavy and the sky was alive” at Paper Tiger last Friday night CALLIOPE IZQUIERDO A&E REPORTER jizquie1@ trinity.edu
Indie-rock band The Mountain Goats — headed by John Darnielle — performed at Paper Tiger to an enthusiastic crowd last Friday. The band played a variety of songs, shifting from widely familiar to more obscure before ending with their hits in response to an encore chant. The Mountain Goats’ fans are generally the kind of people who are willing to contend with a humid, low-ceilinged venue and a persistently noisy air conditioner clicking intermittently in the background. As someone who spent most of her high school years listening to Darnielle’s voice looming over the sound of him punishing his guitar’s strings, the endearing intimacy of Paper Tiger’s atmosphere — perspiration and all — completed the aesthetic. The concert itself opened with Al Riggs, whose gentle folk-rock and vaguely familiar voice warmed us up nicely for The Mountain Goats’ performance. This warm up was especially notable given the transposition of Riggs’ varied, soft
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instrumentation to a boisterous four-person rock band setup. While Riggs’ live setup was different from usual, they did retain their lyrical emphasis on seeking shelter from hardship and dour circumstances. Darnielle almost followed a similar pattern as he performed songs with his band that were originally recorded solo — though only two of the songs were “old enough to vote,” to borrow a phrase Darnielle used during the concert to introduce “New Star Song.” Darnielle said numerous pithy statements to introduce songs, such as when he introduced a duo piano version of “Wear Black” with an anecdote from his youth and “In Memory of Satan” with a short speech about collecting oneself after a long time of misguided solitude. Darnielle has always focused on the ways different people cope with personal issues through his music. More recently, this theme had manifested in explorations of subcultures based in media, like watching professional wrestling or being young and goth — the latter being the basis of The Mountain Goats’ most recent LP, “Goths.” It makes sense that, a year after the release of “Goths,” The Mountain Goats’ “No Shield Except the Skin” tour would retain the vibes that “Goths” had celebrated. This encompasses, namely, the Blackletter typeface of the merch, the metal music that played as the band entered the stage and the subsequent initial emphasis on rock songs that resolved on minor chords and made persistent reference to enduring internal turmoil.
The thing about this setlist is that only one song is off the album “Goths.” Of the 19 songs played, 12 different albums were represented. Approaching this setlist as an intentional curation of Darnielle’s vast oeuvre results in an essay contrasting the paranoia of dying and being forgotten in “The Diaz Brothers” with the trauma of growing out of an abusive situation in the preceding “Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod.” The energy that was most palpable during The Mountain Goats’ performance was of fun in the face of darkness. Throughout the concert, Darnielle smiled repeatedly as the crowd sang along with his dark and morose lyrics. When you’re swaying along with the crowd, the inherent humor of a roomful of people joyously screaming, “Sink my teeth into your scalp, take a nice big bite / Save nothing for the cameras, play the angles all night / One of these days my legs will both snap like twigs / If you can’t beat ‘em make ‘em bleed like pigs,” becomes almost overwhelming. That Darnielle introduced the famously pessimistic “No Children” as a song “about hope” to close off the show plays up the tonal absurdity of this concert even further. Usually, playing The Mountain Goats is seen as one of those things you do when all your friends are having a good time with you and you want to change that. But if you came out for this concert, I hope you enjoyed watching four dads in business casual shouting and sweating profusely as much as I did.
Trinity University’s department of music brought both faculty and guest performers to Ruth Taylor Recital Hall for this past Sunday’s Chamber Recital. The concentrated group of artists included guests Lydia Beasley, soprano vocalist, and clarinetist Gary Fair along with music faculty members Joseph Kneer, violinist, and pianist Zachary Ridgway. Although this was a small group of performers, they quickly caught my attention. I was not very familiar with each of the songs listed on the program, but I left the recital hall intrigued by the way in which each of the chosen music pieces was represented and captured by the artists. I had the impression that the performers were very in tune with the audience. Before each song performance, one of the musicians gave the audience a brief introduction to it, allowing us to focus in on the emotion portrayed in each piece and providing relevant background information on the composers.
“Each told a unique, evocative story with the piano accompaniment complimenting the emotional delivery of the lyrics.” The recital started off with “Sicilienne and Rigaudon,” composed by Fritz Kreisler. This piece had a magnetic charm to it, and I enjoyed the back-and-forth between the piano and violin sections as it moved flexibly through the song’s variations on motifs. After this song came Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Sonata in E Minor, K. 304.” This piece was divided into two parts and explored
a period of mourning in the composer’s life after the death of his mother. The musicians were able to powerfully portray the emotion within this piece, which went through sudden spells of grief with a steady violin section followed by startling pangs of the piano. The piece started off in the slower allegro style, and moved along carefully before progressing to a more frenzied ending. “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D. 965” (“The Shepherd on the Rock”) by Franz Schubert was performed skillfully with an especially affecting performance by Soprano Lydia Beasley. The song’s lyrics — focused on longing and misery — paired well with the clarinet, which seemed at times to give off an echo and cry out in response to the sublime imagery of the text in which a mountain shepherd gazes into a valley. An especially compelling composition by Alexander Scriabin, “Nocturne in Db, Op. 9 No. 2,” was performed after the show’s intermission. In his introduction, pianist Ridgway let us know that this song was a favorite of his, and his enthusiasm for it showed in his performance. This piece, composed by Scriabin after facing the loss of his ability to use his right hand, was written to be played by the left hand only. The piano went through a journey of reflection throughout the song, following along a thoughtful, balanced progression with points of contrast during sections that went into a darker, lower pitch. The final piece, “Vier Letzen Lieder” by Richard Strauss (“Four Last Songs”), was played in a continuous, 24-minute flow by the performers and featured lyrics based on poems by Hermann Hesse and Joseph von Eichendorff. I was pulled along by the narrative sequence of these songs and felt that each told a unique, evocative story with the piano accompaniment complimenting the emotional delivery of the lyrics. As a venue, The Ruth Taylor Recital Hall was well-suited to the energy of the performances. The few artists on stage at a given time contributed to the warm and close atmosphere of the recital. The audience seemed to include a decent variety of students, educators and the public. The inviting character of the venue allowed us to focus our attention and lend our ears to the performers. The music department presented an impressive program of performances for this chamber recital, and it was captivating to watch the versatility and collaboration between the faculty and guest artists. Each performance was distinct and gave the audience the opportunity to meditate on what we had just heard. For a list of upcoming events in Trinity’s music department, visit trinity.edu/music.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
Comics courses crash onto campus Graphic novels have always been significant literary modes, professors explain CALLIOPE IZQUIERDO A&E REPORTER jizquie1@trinity.edu
A lot goes into the study of literature and of communication, and both involve studying how different media change and evolve over time, especially as expression moves beyond the written text. That’s why Trinity offers classes such as the Jewish Graphic Novel and the Marvel Transmedia Universe. Victoria Aarons, professor of English, teaches a class on the Jewish Graphic Novel that was brought into existence at the request of students in her Holocaust literature class. The latter course covered, among other things, Art Spiegelman’s “Maus,” which was the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize and led a high number of other Holocaust survivors to tell their stories through the graphic novel. “[‘Maus’] raises a number of questions with Holocaust representation and the expression of art and atrocity and issues of genre,” Aarons said. “My students’ interest in Holocaust graphic novels made me think about Jewish graphic novels in general because Jews really kind of invented the comic strip in the United States and certainly the graphic novel, with someone like Will Eisner, one of the pioneers, if not the pioneering graphic novelist. In fact, Will Eisner coined the term ‘graphic novel.’ ” While describing how she begins the class with Eisner, Aarons emphasized the role of Jewish people in establishing comics in American culture, citing superheroes, such as Superman, as an example of the early Jewish American cartoonists using the medium to respond to the issues of Nazism, modern diaspora and the expression of Jewish myth, as manifested by the presence of the golem. “A graphic novel is a sequential unfolding hybrid genre, and what’s so interesting about the graphic novel is its hybridity,” Aarons said, talking about how cartoons have always had serious political history. “I’m also looking at some graphic adaptations of works of fiction,” Aarons said. “For example, we’re reading Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis.’ Kafka who is of course a major Jewish novelist, but also the beginning of modernist fiction in general. So we’re reading ‘The Metamorphosis’ but also, we’re reading Peter Kuper’s graphic adaptation
illustration by JULIA POAGE
of ‘The Metamorphosis’ because one of the questions I want to ask is ‘what’s gained in the graphic form, this hybrid form, and what’s lost?’ ” Jennifer Henderson, professor and chair of the department of Communication, teaches the Marvel transmedia universe class, which was brought about from Henderson’s background in teaching the intersection between fandom and storytelling that extends beyond a particular medium. “The course is divided into three foundational areas, just like the department of Communication, and so we’re studying the industrial structure of Marvel and how it’s obviously owned by Disney and how that conglomeration and those choices are influencing the transmedia story,” Henderson said, describing the organization of the class. “We’re looking at the texts themselves, and investigating the movies, comic books and novelizations of Marvel. And then we’re looking at the audiences as well, and so how fans are behaving with this transmedia universe.”
Henderson talked about her rationale for focusing on Marvel in particular, noting the efforts to connect the canon across media, as well as students’ interest in exploring this universe with which they grew up. In Henderson’s eyes, Marvel’s familiarity gives students who are less familiar with comics a chance to discuss media. “One of the basic foundations of studying transmedia storytelling is that you’re supposed to use the medium that fits that portion of the story best,” Henderson said while discussing how studying the intersection of comics and other media should be approached. Aaron Delwiche, professor of communication, has a background in studying and teaching comics and other media and has taught classes at Trinity concerning comics’ effects and reflections on American culture. “The fact that we are even able to teach comics in an academic setting in higher education is pretty remarkable, and it’s partly because of a handful of books that came out
in the 1980s that were seen as completely legitimizing the medium,” Delwiche said. Delwiche referenced graphic novels like the aforementioned “Maus” by Art Spiegelman, “Watchmen” by Alan Moore and “The Dark Knight,” a Batman anthology, as examples that indicate a maturity in the industry. Delwiche’s hope in classes that focus on comics and graphic novels is that people with and without experience in engaging comics can participate in the prevailing discourse freely. Students interested in investigating and thinking critically about comics as a whole can email the corresponding professors of these classes. Given that Aarons’ classes invite students to try their hand at the form and Henderson especially emphasizes producing works of formal scholarship on the subject, students should be excited to see what they can contribute to the study and practice of comics and graphic narrative.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT •
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
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College campus? More like collaged campus A closer look at the many works of art lining Trinity’s hallways RAFAELA BRENNER A&E REPORTER rbrenner@trinity.edu
At Trinity, it’s nearly impossible to get from Point A to Point B without catching a glimpse of the various works of art on display throughout campus. Barbara Hepworth’s “Conversation with Magic Stones” near Coates Library is hard to miss, giving off a certain thrall to passersby to walk up and take a closer took. There are also pieces by renowned artists, such as a piece by Robert Rauschenberg, located in Northrup Hall, and recently graduated students’ work has been showcased in Coates Library. Much effort has gone into creating this selection of pieces located around campus. Lisa Endresen, visual resources creator in the Art and Art History department, has made it her goal to create more awareness of the art that’s displayed. “Starting next year for Trinity’s 150th [Anniversary], we’re going to implement these things called Art Walks where we can walk through the campus and say, ‘Do you know who this is? This is the most amazing [piece],’ ” Endresen said. Trinity’s art collection has been built up primarily through purchases made by the university and donations by benefactors such as Jane and Arthur Stieren and Jim and Janet Dicke. “A lot of the work is through donations, and then [there’s] the Dicke-Smith collection,” said Randy Wallace, studio manager in the Art and Art History department. “I think a lot of those [pieces] were on long term loan.” Along with these means of collection, commissioned works by members of Trinity’s faculty can be spotted in academic
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buildings on campus. Work by art professor Kate Ritson can be found in the Center for Sciences and Innovation building and work done by art professor Liz Ward is on display on the first floor of Coates Library. Areas of Coates Library also feature works of art by recent Trinity graduates as part of a program to purchase and collect student work. One such collection of five pieces by Katy Freeman, who graduated in May 2017, can be found on the second floor of the library. Head of Instruction Services Benjamin Harris is one of the Coates Library staff members working on the program to display student work. “The art purchase project started about five years ago. The goal was to collect student art and to celebrate student art by adding it to the library’s collection. We buy several [pieces] a year,” Harris said. “What we do right now is we go to the Senior Show, and we get to hear from each of the artists, look at the works and select pieces for the collection.” As more art is put on display around campus, Endresen has focused her efforts on allowing greater access to information on Trinity’s art collection. “We don’t have that quite yet. But that’s what I’m actively working for,” Endresen said. “We have a list of everything that we have and the values, but I’d like something that students could look up, and say, ‘Oh, I’m actually doing a paper on such and such. I had no idea we had this on campus!’ … So not yet, but hopefully.” Even while Endresen is still hard at work on creating such a database, there’s still a diversity of art left to discover on campus for those who go searching. “What Trinity is good about doing is putting up signs,” Endresen said. “For instance, if you walk into Northrup [Hall] it’ll say that ‘this long piece on the left is by Ansen Seale.’ We’re trying to get better at labeling the art and mostly to just notice when you walk by and say, ‘Oh, that’s by so and so!’ but it does make for these little treasures so that you walk around the corner and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, Robert Rauschenberg! Holy cow!’ ”
This work “Bern Series” by Robert Natkin by hangs on the second floor of Northrup Hall. The artwork is one of many that are displayed around campus. photo by GENEVIEVE HUMPHREYS
WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 •
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE GAMES CONTINUE:
• Volleyball vs. Centenary College, Friday, Sept. 14, 5 p.m. • Football vs. Millsaps College, Saturday, Sept. 15, 1 p.m. • Women’s Soccer vs. Austin College, Friday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m.
Sports
Trinity men’s and women’s golf on par The team collectively dominated on the course; the women clinched first and the men claimed fifth REBECCA DERBY | ADVERTISING DIRECTOR rderby@trinity.edu Earlier this week, Trinity men’s and women’s golf teams headed east to Starcke Park Golf Course in Seguin, Texas. The women’s golf team earned their first victory of the year at the Lady Bulldog Fall Classic, while the men’s team came in fifth at the John Bohmann Memorial Invitational. The tournament marks the fall season opener for both teams. “To win the first tournament was so exciting, especially with such a young team,” said senior co-captain Emilee Strausberg. After a first round team score of 319, the Tigers improved on Tuesday with a second round score of 315. The Tigers increased their lead during round two by “staying calm and playing shot by shot,” said senior co-captain Elizabeth McGillivray. “It can be difficult in the moment on Tuesday to not worry about score or the outcome of each shot or even the day, but I think that is why we were able to win because we really stayed present and just took it one step at a time,” McGillivray said. The closest team, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, finished 16 strokes behind Trinity. Tournament host Texas Lutheran University finished fifth with a two day score of 351.
With only three returners from last season, the Trinity women’s team now starts three first-years. The new-comers include Raquel Hill, who carded 79–84 for a tie for eighth, Jordyn Jasperson and Sarah Buss. Sophomore Delaney Kelley shot a collegiate personal record of four over 76 on Tuesday to help the Tigers claim victory. Kelley’s performance on day two was also the low round of the day on Tuesday. Strausberg shot seven over 79 in the first round followed by a five over 77 on Tuesday to finish second individually in the Tournament. Her performance earned her SCAC Women’s Golfer of the Week, an honor she has won five times before. “One goal I have for the semester is just creating a good team culture that everyone can support each other on good and bad days.” With another first place tournament plaque added to the walls of women’s golf coach Carla Spenkoch’s, the Trinity women’s golf team looks forward to a strong fall season. “[The win] sets the tone and expectations for the rest of the season,” McGillivray said. The Tigers head out to Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston next for the Division III National Preview hosted by University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Sept: 24–25.
Members of the women’s and men’s team pose while they get ready for their respective tournaments. While golf is an individual sport, they work as a team to win the tournament. photo provided by REBECCA DERBY
Their home tournament, the Alamo Classic, will be held October 15–16 at The Quarry Golf Club to conclude the fall season. On the men’s side, the Tigers shot team totals of 305–300–286 to finish fifth overall. Led by first-year DJ Springer, who turned in 73–76–69, the Tigers improved from the seventh place position after round one to move up two spots as a team.
Host Texas Lutheran University finished at five over par behind Southwestern University, who shot a three-round total of two under par. Next up for the men’s team will be the Crusader Collegiate Invitational hosted by University of Mary Hardin-Baylor October 1–2 at Wildflower Country Club in Temple, Texas. The men’s team will also host the Alamo Classic at The Quarry on October 15–16.
The dilemma of adding competition CROSS COUNTRY Men and Women each beat Our Lady of the Lake University at the Collegiate Invitational Saturday. WOMEN’S SOCCER The Tigers lost 2–0 to Hardin-Simmons. They hold a 2–1–1 record. MEN’S SOCCER The Tigers defeated Hardin-Simmons 3–0. They hold a 2–0–1 record. VOLLEYBALL The women come out of a four game weekend with two wins and two losses, with wins against La Verne 3–1 and Concordia (Tex.) 3–0 and losses to Claremont-M-S 3–2 and Texas-Dallas 3–2. They still hold an impressive 7–2 overall record. FOOTBALL The Tigers lost 42–33 to Hardin-Simmons. They hold a 1–1 record.
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Opinion: Realizing that there’s more to the game of baseball than winning AUSTIN DAVIDSON SPORTS EDITOR adavids1@trinity.edu
Sports are a hard thing to define. They can mean varying things to different people, from passion to profession — even a mix of both. For me, baseball was the sport that helped me grow up; I loved it. Loving a sport is something unique to each individual. The reasons behind loving the sport and the way a person was introduced to it shape what that sport means to them. That love should never be tampered with; it’s personal and sacred. Unfortunately, my love for baseball was corrupted. This situation is not endemic to baseball. Corruption of passion for a sport is an issue whenever competition is introduced too quickly to a game that is about more than winning for the kids playing. Growing up, I was a rather plump kid. Up until about high school, I looked like Ham from “The Sandlot” — minus the golden locks. Due to my size, I was limited in the games I wanted to play. While most of my friends growing up started playing soccer, I began playing baseball at age five. The first team I ever played for was the Boston Red Sox. It was tee-ball, so everyone played every position. My favorite was right field because I could spend the innings filling
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
my glove with grass and then, while I ran back to the dugout, throw it in the air like it was confetti. Suffice to say, I was the best on the team. I continued to stick with the sport as I grew older. While I was never bad at the game, I was never the best either. Playing was fun, but the best part was the team sitting in the dugout and cheering one another on. Some of my fondest memories from childhood were playing baseball with my friends and then promptly getting back to “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.” At the time, this was what it meant to play sports. To me, baseball was a unifying game. It was a catalyst for friendship, and it holistically represented my childhood. But when what naturally comes with growing better at a sport is added— competition — the beauty of the game begins to dwindle. If competition is introduced too early, it can alienate the kids who are playing the game for more than just winning. For me and most of my friends, we played baseball to be together. Once competition was introduced, that aspect of the game was ruined. That isn’t to say it’s wrong to have competition in sports; it’s a natural aspect of the game. But in my case, that wasn’t what baseball was for. To me, baseball is the sport that gave me confidence, helped me overcome bullying and enlightened me to the greatest snack food ever made — nachos. Sports can be an outlet to becoming a better person, to being a part of something larger than oneself. While baseball did help me grow, it wasn’t about winning. I believe I would have achieved a duality of loving baseball and being competitive if not for a certain instance that ruined my love for the game. I could have naturally fallen out of playing and done what I planned to do —
eventually teach to my children the game I’d always loved. Instead, a group of players and a coach corrupted the game. They bullied one of my friends on the team, made him feel lesser and weak. The breaking point was when I saw that even the coach was bullying him. My friend and I quit, and I turned my back on the game that had done so much for me. This is my experience, my situation with baseball. I have nothing against baseball; I still respect the game and all involved, but my love for it has subsided. To me, that is the saddest part: The game that I truly think made me the person I am today now just reminds me of a sad past. Loving the sport you play is a beautiful and unique thing. For some, competition multiplies this love and gives them the drive to pursue the sport. However, when competition is introduced too early into a children’s game — by either the coach or overeager parents — it can create environments like the one I was in. It can lead to arrogance, alienation and, ultimately, the loss of love for the game. While there are various reasons as to why this happens, what matters above all else is awareness that — for many — sports are about more than just winning. There is a “loser” in every baseball game, but the true prize of the sport is being with your teammates and doing something you love together. Unity is a rare thing in this age, and it should be cherished when you find it. This is what sports mean to me; this isn’t doctrine that should be adopted by everyone. All I hope is that you take away another perspective about something as universal as sports and, the next time you play your sport, reflect on how lucky you are to be playing the game you love.
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Trinity football suffers first loss of the season After a resilient first half, the Tigers weren’t able to weather the Cowboys’ overpowering offense and stalwart defense EVAN BROWN | SPORTS REPORTER ebrown4@trinity.edu
Trinity’s football team suffered a tough loss in their home-opener on Saturday, Sept. 8, against No. 10 Hardin-Simmons University (HSU). Despite a solid offensive showing, Trinity’s defense struggled to slow down HSU’s electric offense and lost the game 42–33. Trinity came into the game undefeated, fresh off a dominating victory over McMurry University where the Tigers beat the War Hawks 44–0. HSU had yet to play a game this year and was eager to get their cleats dirty. The Tigers knew of HSU’s reputation as a dominant football powerhouse. HSU finished last year ranked No. 11 and ended the season with a playoff spot. “The game was a great test for us to see where we are as a team and see where we stack up against one of the best ranked teams in the nation,” said Chris Stewart, sophomore and one of Trinity’s starting wide receivers. HSU began the game quickly with a touchdown drive that ended with a 44-yard touchdown pass. Trinity’s first drive almost ended with a pick-six when Cowboy senior cornerback Tim Ismail took the ball to the house for a touchdown. Thankfully for the Tigers, HSU committed a defensive pass interference penalty on the play, erasing the points. Trinity also committed an unsportsmanlike penalty on the play, forcing both teams to replay the down. Trinity would later capitalize on HSU’s mistake with a 19yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Wyatt Messex to junior wide receiver Matt Thompson. On the next Cowboys drive, HSU went straight to the run game. HSU brought out two extra offensive lineman at the Trinity 11 yard line to run behind. The Cowboys ran up the middle essentially untouched for the touchdown to put HSU up 14–7. The Cowboy defense continued the momentum by forcing Trinity to punt from the Trinity 38. On their next drive, HSU marched on a 12-play drive that ended with a Cowboy running back trotting into the end zone for a 9-yard score to put HSU up 21–7. On the ensuing kickoff, Trinity sophomore cornerback Mike Edmonson returned the ball 35 yards to midfield. HSU committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the kickoff, giving the Tigers the ball at the HSU 35. Sophomore running back Charles Davis received seven touches throughout the drive and finally scored on fourth and goal from the 1-yard line to make it only a one possession game. HSU responded with another touchdown drive dominated by the run game giving the Cowboys a 28–14 lead. The Cowboys left only 59 seconds in the first half for Trinity to attempt to score. The Tigers received great field position for the second drive in a row after HSU kicker Jamie Pogue was penalized for kicking the ball out of bounds on the kickoff. Trinity cashed in on the great field position with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Messex to sophomore wide receiver Cash Crane with 19 seconds left. After Trinity missed the extra point, the Cowboys led 28–20 going into halftime. Following halftime, the Tigers came out hungry. The Tigers began the second half with two passes to Stewart, including a 43-yarder.
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“It was a play call for me to run a go route. He was playing about 10 yards off, so I wanted to come off the ball hard. I stuttered at eight yards to make him think I was running a hitch,” Stewart said. “When he stopped his feet, I ran past him, and Wyatt [Messex] threw a perfect ball where I could just go out and get it.” Following the 43-yarder, Messex scrambled to the left for a 10-yard TD run. He beat the defense to the edge and lunged out to reach the pylon with his right hand. HSU quickly responded with a six play, 65 yard drive to take a 35–26 lead. While plenty of time remained in the game, Trinity needed to score to get back in the game. On fourth down from the Trinity 47, Trinity decided to run a fake punt to surprise the defense. Junior backup quarterback Timmy Ware took the snap, catching the Cowboys off-guard and picking up the needed first down.
“Moving forward from the loss, we learned a lot about ourselves.” CHRIS STEWART SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER
Trinity’s gamble would pay off when Messex threw a seven yard touchdown pass to Thompson for his second receiving touchdown of the day. Messex found Thompson on a post route uncovered in the end zone closing the gap to 35–33. Trinity’s defense stopped the Cowboys twice on fourth down deep in Tiger territory to keep the game within one possession. Both drives ended with incomplete passes on fourth down and four. “If they would’ve scored on those drives, it could’ve really put us in a tough situation,” said Adam McGuire, assistant football coach of the defensive backs. “I thought our guys did a good just rising up in that situation.” Neither team scored in the fourth quarter until the Cowboys scored in the final minutes to put the game away. Trinity failed to score again, and the game ended with a score of 42–33. HSU amassed an impressive 560 yards of total offense, yet still only beat Trinity by nine points. “They are a physical team that hangs their hat on running the ball,” McGuire said. “They are good at what they do. Our guys did a great job defending against the run at times, but good teams will find a way to make plays.” Trinity will play their first conference game of the season against Millsaps College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15. Trinity players have high confidence after the hard-fought game against the 10th best team in the nation and look forward to playing a conference foe. “Moving forward from the loss, we learned a lot about ourselves. We held our own and had plenty of opportunities to win that game, so our confidence is high,” Stewart said. “[Millsaps is] a team that we are really familiar with. We know what they like to do, and they know what we like to do. It’s just going to come down to who can execute.” WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 •
SPORTS