Volume 115 Issue 13
Trinitonian Serving Trinity University Since 1902
Show me the money, honey Club sees tripling of last’s years hive yields KENDRA DERRIG | NEWS REPORTER kderrig@trinity.edu The Trinity Bee Alliance gathered on the roof of the Center for Science and Innovation for their annual honey harvest. The group collected 80 small jars of honey that they will start to sell on Nov. 16. The Bee Alliance tends to the hives yearround while promoting the importance of protecting pollinators across campus in order to maintain healthy plants and ecosystems. Abbi Bowen, president of the organization and sophomore English major, commented on this year’s harvest in comparison to last year’s. “I would say the harvest went well. The harvest yielded 80 small jars of honey; about three times more than last year,” Bowen said. “It was more successful because we used a handcrank honey extractor, which helped us get the most we could from such small resources. The bottling process was also way more efficient than last year because the extractor had a controllable nozzle at the bottom so we could fill the jars straight from the extractor.” To process the honey, the Bee Alliance removes frames — the structure of the hive that holds the honeycomb — which are placed in an extractor. When cranked, the extractor spins the frame and the honey collects on the inside edges, which allows for faster and more efficient honey collection. The honey is then filtered and drained through a nozzle at the bottom of the extractor. Because of increased efficiency, the alliance only needed to harvest from three of the 10 frames. Bowen hopes that leaving so much honey for the bees to consume during the cooler months will allow the hives to flourish even more. Last year, the Bee Alliance sold their honey and donated all of the proceeds to a local pollinator nonprofit, but this year’s profits may be allocated differently.
November 17, 2017
Opinion: How cities should spend their money MICAELA HOFFMAN | OPINION COLUMNIST mhoffman@trinity.edu
Senior BETHANY RYSAK, left, and sophomore ABBI BOWEN, right, smoke the bees before removing the frames. The smoke inhibits the bees’ alarm pheromones, allowing the two students to open the hive without interrupting the bees. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer
“We are planning to donate most of it to a pollinator nonprofit. However, SGA expressed that they would like us to use our profits for supplies we might need in the future so we don’t have to do funding requests from SGA for them. So at the moment the club is trying
to figure out what percentage we want to donate and what percentage to use for our own supplies,” Bowen said. Bowen also discussed her vision for the club’s future. continued on PAGE 3
researching the best practices for developing learning centers and has found that successful programs provide three things: academic coaching, online resources and workshops. Davidson and the other staff members of the department of academic support realize the importance of workshops. The department hopes the workshops they provide inspire students to take control of their learning. Betty Curry, academic coach for the department of academic success, is in charge of the student success workshops this semester. Curry wants to destigmatize the resources students are offered. “Coming to a workshop does not mean that you’re a bad student; it means that you’re a good student because you’re trying to find a new way to be a better student,” Curry said. Curry held a workshop on Nov. 8 and spoke to 10 students about test anxiety and academic stress. Throughout the workshop, Curry engaged with students, asking what kind of
problems they were having with tests and how they were dealing with anxiety and academic stress. Curry gave short-term and long-term strategies for dealing with academic stress, such as meditation, tips for practice tests and sleep. Students attended the workshop for a variety of reasons, from getting class credit or because they wanted to improve their habits and their academic success. Chad King, sophomore and engineering science major, attended this workshop and intends to go to more. “This semester, I thought three hours of sleep and a 5-hour Energy was [the same as] eight hours of sleep… not exactly,” King said. One thing Davidson and Curry hope to focus on this year is student reaction to failure. Davidson’s research has shown that learning centers around the country need to teach students how to react to failure. continued on PAGE 6
In San Antonio we have an awesome festival every fall called Luminaria that just finished up this past weekend. It is a night dedicated to the arts, and it’s completely free and — in the usual San Antonio fashion — very family friendly. I was moved by a play entitled “Sanctuary,” and confused by some more avant-garde art that I am not sophisticated enough to understand. It is held downtown, at Hemisfair Park, and as I walked through the paths of stone, I remembered what it was like just a few years ago when I was a first-year. It’s amazing how quickly it has developed, with a playground for adults and other neat public spaces, and I began to be quite curious about how it looked even further back in time. Fifty years ago, San Antonio hosted the 1968 World’s Fair. It was called Hemisfair, located in this very park, the fair’s namesake. The dream was to hold it beneath a skyscraper, which we now recognize as the iconic Tower of the Americas. I had no idea it was built for the World’s Fair. In addition to the tower, the building that is today the Institute of Texan Cultures, the Courthouse and a huge convention center were built. The World’s Fair had over 25 different host cities at its peak in the 1930s, but over time the spread of these international celebrations has focused in on just a few cities each year. In 2015, for example, Milan was home of that year’s EXPO, as it began to be called in the new millennium. I remember when Milan was undergoing preparation for this event; the airport was updated, structures built — who knows how much was invested. continued on PAGE 6
Tiger Learning Commons offers success workshops Trinity aims to change the way students think of academic support
GABBY GARRIGA | NEWS INTERN ggarriga@trinity.edu Stacy Davidson, director for academic support, is changing the way Trinity approaches academic success, one workshop at a time. Hired in 2015, Davidson has been working to develop the learning center and make its resources more accessible to students. One way Davidson is doing this is through academic success workshops. The Tiger Learning Commons has been offering academic success workshops throughout the year on a range of topics, from time management to the importance of a growth mindset. Davidson has been
The Tiger Learning Commons opened earlier this semester and has been giving workshops for students since its premiere. FILE PHOTO
Sex Marks the Spot: Wellness Services talks about the Pill
Oh, Trinity! What great actors and actresses you have!
Tigers fall short on quest for national championship
This week, Katherine Hewitt tackles questions about birth control in the first of a two-part installment.
A review of “Into the Woods” discusses the highlights of Trinity’s fall musical production.
Soccer, volleyball, football and men’s cross country seasons come to an end.
PAGES 14 PULSE
PAGE 15 A&E
PAGE 20 SPORTS
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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 17, 2017 •
NEWS
Previously, on SGA: Business as Usual • Article 4 Section 3 explains the voting procedures SGA must follow in meetings. The section was approved. • Article 5 describes the standing committees of the senate. Sections 1, 3 CAMPUS CLIMATE CHECK and 4 were approved. Section 2 was not altered. Section 5 was changed SGA adviser Stephanie Ackerman followed up on a guest comment made at the meeting, so the senate must wait a week to vote. Sections 6 and at the Oct. 30 meeting concerning recycling on campus. Ackerman reached 7 were approved. out to Sharon Curry, sustainability coordinator for Campus Planning and Sustainability, who explained the reasons behind the lack of glass recycling on • Article 6 concerns the election process; sections 2 and 4 were approved. Sections 1 and 3 were not changed. campus. Ackerman suggested SGA invite Curry to a meeting to discuss and • Article 7, which details funding procedures, was approved. promote recycling on campus. President Nick Santulli raised the concern of a student about the lack of microwaves on upper campus and how that might affect students who live PRESENTATION Jamie Thompson, an SGA adviser and the director of Student off campus and may bring their own food. The senate decided to follow up with the student personally to highlight the areas on campus with Involvement, presented the proposed changes to Coates University Center. The reconstruction will allow more spaces for students to collaborate, and accessible microwaves. the changes will affect the bookstore, the Student Involvement office and Campus Publication spaces, among others. BYLAW REVIEW • Article 3 Section 1, which concerns the attendance policy that senators must follow, was approved.
This issue covers the SGA meeting held on Nov. 13
Tune in each week for Kathleen Creedon’s SGA summaries. SGA meets at 6 p.m. on Mondays in the Waxahachie Room in Coates University Center.
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The Contemporary hosts lecture on Syria David Lesch talks about his connections with the country and Bashar al-Assad BOBBY WATSON | NEWS INTERN rwatson@trinity.edu David Lesch, Ewing Halsell distinguished professor of history at Trinity, discussed his personal relationship with Bashar al-Assad — Syria’s head of state — and his work with the Syrian refugee crisis in a Nov. 9 lecture in the Chapman Great Hall. Lesch has authored several books on Al-Assad and done extensive research over the Middle East and Syria in particular. “We are speaking about Syria and its tragedy. It’s a beautiful country, with a beautiful people, with unparalleled historical treasures many of which have been destroyed. And it’s just a very very sad story,” Lesch said. “Estimates have ranged from 400,000–500,000 people have been killed since revolution began. Half the country, about 22–23 million people, is internally or externally displaced.” The event was organized by The Contemporary, a student-run online publication that focuses on public affairs and is dedicated to spreading global awareness through political writing. The Contemporary
reached out to the World Affairs Council, an education nonprofit that helps to bring San Antonio into the global community, to help run the event. Ron Nirenberg, mayor of San Antonio and Trinity alumnus, introduced Lesch. Other audience members included World Affairs Council members, such as Joseph Seiter, a Swiss man with global experience. “I’d certainly like to learn [about the Syrian conflict],” Seiter said. “It is very important to connect to the world.” Josephine Van Houten, sophomore and managing editor of The Contemporary, explained why the publication hosted this lecture. “The Contemporary and the World Affairs Council are very similar in that The Contemporary is about politics, but we mainly foster that for students, and the World Affairs Councils is mostly for the outside, general public,” Van Houten said. The lecture started off on a serious note, as Lesch emphasised the drastic and continuing turmoil within the country. Lesch was very involved with both the citizen opposition and the Syrian government, describing how he had friends on both sides who lost their lives. After events in Syria escalated to extreme violence, Lesch was no longer allowed to visit al-Assad, so Lesch and his team began a project to interview the opposition soldiers, an issue he felt people were ignoring.
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DAVID LESCH, Ewing Halsell distinguished professor of history at Trinity, spoke about the political strife in Syria, as well as his connections to the country and its leader, Bashar al-Assad. The Contemporary hosted Lesch on Nov. 9. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer
“We were there for three or four days because we only planned to talk to four [opposition fighters]. ... It was one of the most exhausting experiences of my life,” Lesch said. “They would call up their buddies and say, ‘Hey, these guys are serious, they’re actually listening to us.’ Because the European and U.S. governments are not listening to the actual fighters.” Lesch went on to describe how desperate these soldiers had become. Though the soldiers expected the government to fall when they first rose up and anticipated Western aid, neither
occurred. Instead, they found a bloody, drawn-out war. “One guy, symbolic of the change in Syria on a personal level, was a pediatrician before the war,” Lesch said. “I asked this man, ‘What’s going to happen to the 10 percent Alawites if you win the war?’ His message was he didn’t care what religion they are; they were the enemy and we was going to kill them. He went from saving lives to killing someone.” Lesch described how the conflict developed due to many miscalculations, focusing on how all of the soldiers wouldn’t have started this war if they had known the toll it
took, and all they needed to stop was any form of concession from al-Assad. Lesch believes al-Assad was the hope of the West in the Middle East, but Lesch saw how power and the Syrian Old Guard corrupted al-Assad, turning him into just another dictator. Lesch closed by repeating what a communist opposition soldier told him when he asked him why he was fighting: “I have found my voice.” These profound words impacted Lesch, who believes that the pain and horror of the Syrian war could start to end if only al-Assad could hear that voice, too.
continued from FRONT Bowen also discussed her vision for the club’s future. “In a year, I would like the club to have more events and be a greater voice on campus about environmental sustainability and campus policy,” Bowen said. “I would also like to be able to form an informative curriculum that would teach the public about beekeeping and pollinators in a more efficient and enriching way. Now that we have accomplished the goal to be more known and contribute more to campus with events and honey sales, I want us to make an effort in our community in a greater way.” Hannah-Elyse Konyecsni, junior member of the club and environmental studies and geosciences double major, is also looking forward to the club’s increased campus impact. “I’m most excited about the club becoming a bigger figure on campus. Every member is such a great person that everyone should have the privilege of being around. With that being said, come to our events!” Konyecsni said. “People should care about bees because we wouldn’t be here without them. If plants thrive, we thrive. It’s that simple.” The club also wants to develop their educational programming to focus not only on bees, but all pollinators. Hannah Braley, junior club member and religion major, discussed this. “I am looking forward to more fun educational events on campus focused not only on bees, but on all pollinators,” Braley said.
“Pollinators are important. We have bees at Trinity because we are passionate about taking care of our most important pollinators and educating Trinity and the San Antonio community about the benefits of bees and beekeeping.” Bowen also noted the importance of having pollinators on campus. “As a university campus, we don’t have an advantage of great amounts of pollinators as we would if we were in a more rural setting. All the bees you see on campus are from our own hives; without our hives there wouldn’t really be any bees around the area. It’s also important for people to know about all pollinators and that they are just as important as bees,” Bowen said. Bowen commented on the club’s current image as she strives to create a force of change. “I’m worried that we are seen as a cute and pleasant club that is just that,” Bowen said. “I want
people to know that there is a real cause that we are working for and that so much can be done in the community with our knowledge of beekeeping.” Bowen also wants to see increased engagement within the beekeeping community. “I want more people to become obsessed with bees to the point that they want to know everything and are willing to research on their own with books and websites,” Bowen said. “This is a lot to ask of people, so I don’t particularly ask this of them, but beekeeping is more than hanging out with Bee Alliance once every couple months. When someone consumes themselves with beekeeping is where the real impact can be seen.” Jars of honey are being sold for $5. To learn more about the Bee Alliance and get involved, or to purchase honey, email Abbi Bowen at abowen@trinity.edu.
Bee Alliance harvests honey
The honey is taken from the frames of the hives and processed through an extractor. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer
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SGA constitutional amendments approved Students vote to pass revisions of document KAYLIE KING | NEWS REPORTER kking1@trinity.edu Following the election of a new group of Student Government Association (SGA) senators and a new president and vice president, the Trinity student body was able to vote on SGA’s proposed constitutional amendments. On Nov. 13, SGA announced that all of the proposed constitutional amendments have been approved, most by 80 percent or more of the vote. Over the summer, four SGA members who formed the constitutional review committee met once weekly and worked to make changes to the SGA constitution. Nick Santulli, sitting president of SGA and senior political science major, chaired the constitutional review committee. “We’re really excited that all the amendments are finally up for a vote,” Santulli said. “We’re really happy with the revisions we’ve attempted to make. We’re actually making substantive structural changes that haven’t been made in a while.” Smaller changes are generally made every year, but do not usually change the way that SGA operates overall. This year, a need for underlying changes presented itself. Along with Santulli, senators Callie Struby, junior political science and sociology double major, and Amulya Deva, junior finance and business and analytics technology major and SGA president-elect, also headed the constitutional review committee. “Based on timeliness alone, it’s been so long since something like this was done that a lot of the things that are in [the constitution] are not going to be relevant anymore,” Struby said. “There’s things in the constitution that SGA in the past hadn’t used in 10 years, which is just unnecessary. It’s a lot more relevant for
us because last semester we had a whole issue with Greek Council, and it became this kind of thing where no one really knew what the rules were.” Some of the most important revisions to the constitution were concerned with the judicial chair, the student activity fee and the demerit system. “We’re going to have a judiciary, so we’ll actually have a third branch of government,” Santulli said. “We’re trying to establish an independent judiciary that will be called ‘council review’ and be composed of conduct panel members plus SGA’s faculty advisors. Whenever a potential violation of the constitution is discussed and it can’t be resolved internally, that body will help hash out whether the constitution was violated and, if so, what steps should be taken next. It will be able to overturn any action that SGA takes.” Santulli also explained the importance of updating the constitution in terms of the student activity fee. “There’s a section on the student activity fee, and that was meant to protect USOs [university sponsored organizations],” Santulli said. “As a funding body, we fund multiple organizations all the time and the really big USOs, those are integral to the way we live our life on this campus. Defunding them or not giving them their full budget is a really huge decision, and we wanted to provide some context for that.” Deva elaborated on some of these changes. “We want to have an ethics side of things, so we implemented a judicial chair, and that goes along with the demerit system, which is a system to keep senators accountable,” Deva said. “There had to be some definite consequence for people who violated things like the dress code or just basic things like respecting another senator. Depending on what you do, you get a certain number of demerits. If you get a certain number of demerits within a semester, you are up for impeachment. Again, this impeachment is voted on by the senators.” Senator Juan Luevanos, sophomore international business and finance major,
was part of the constitutional committee over the summer, and assumed an advisory position during the fall. He explained why the constitutional changes that have been made are relevant to the student body. “The constitutional changes should matter to the student body due to the fact that these changes not only impact how their representatives act on their behalf, but also how future SGAs will function,” Luevanos wrote in an email interview. “The senate had the student body in mind during the arduous task of revising the constitution and it was a product of intense negotiations. Many senators provided substantial feedback and we
addressed the problems we, as well as previous SGAs, faced.” Deva also explained why the SGA constitutional changes should matter to students. “Not a lot of people know what SGA does, and one of the things that we do is funding for everything,” Deva said. “We represent student interests. If we are not acting in a way that would make students proud, that’s not OK. The constitution governs the way we should act and what our goals should be and who we should represent.” The SGA constitutional revisions will go into effect in January.
SGA CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES confirmed Nov. 13
JUDICIARY CHANGES Addition of the judicial chair to increase transparency and accountability.
NEW DEMERIT SYSTEM When a senator violates SGA conduct code, they receive a demerit. Over five demerits in one semester triggers automatic impeachment proceedings.
STUDENT ACTIVITY FEE SGA must allocate university sponsored organizations’ annual funding that is adequate for them to fulfill their designated roles in campus life. graphic by TYLER HERRON, graphics editor
NEWS • NOVEMBER 17, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
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Ezra Klein visits as annual Maverick lecturer Founder of Vox speaks about 2016 election, US political climate
KAYLIE KING | NEWS REPORTER kking1@trinity.edu The Stieren Theatre overflowed with people and excitement on Nov. 13 as students, faculty and alumni filed into their seats to listen to Ezra Klein speak as the annual Maverick lecturer. Klein is a journalist and the founder of Vox, a news website. Many people were turned away once the theatre hit its capacity; luckily, the event was livestreamed for those who weren’t able to score a seat. During the lecture, Klein gave insights into what happened during the 2016 presidential election and the current political climate in the United States. He began his lecture by quoting Julia Azari, a political science professor at Marquette University who writes for Vox: “The defining characteristic of our moment is that parties are weak while partisanship is strong.” This summed up much of what Klein covered in his talk. “You’ve probably heard a lot of commentary about how unusual the 2016 election was,” Klein said in the lecture. “Donald Trump
EZRA KLEIN focused his lecture on a quote from Julia Azari, a political science professor at Marquette University who writes for Vox: “The defining characteristic of our moment is that parties are weak while partisanship is strong.” photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer
was so unpopular; Hillary Clinton was so unpopular. The whole thing felt bizarre. What I want to do is persuade you that the 2016 election was perfectly normal.” Klein then compared exit polls from the 2012 presidential election and from the 2016 presidential election, showing their staggering similarities. Dozie Nwaneri, junior political science major, attended the Klein lecture for a few reasons and found the talk to be very interesting. “I always like to learn more and I can’t have an opinion on these kind of things without learning from and listening to people who actually have a very solid understanding of what’s going on,” Nwaneri said. “I read his articles online and see his videos, so it’s cool to see him in person. One of the most interesting things was when he talked about how normal the election actually looked, but actually experiencing the election and being part of it was hectic and crazy. All the numbers seemed normal like any other election, so that definitely hit me.”
Elizabeth Cave, a Trinity alumna who graduated in 2004, was also in attendance at Klein’s lecture. Cave attended Amy Goodman’s Maverick lecture in 2014, and decided to attend this year’s Maverick lecture because she recently discovered Vox and was interested in hearing Klein speak. “I discovered Vox during the elections and found a lot of solace in what they were saying,” Cave said. “The highlight of the lecture tonight is that we’re having these conversations. The fact that it was so wellattended — it gives me hope. The population of the Amy Goodman lecture versus here, it seems that this one was more full. The Amy Goodman lecture was pre-election, and this was post-election, so just kind of seeing people more willing to engage was helpful. That was a highlight.” Cave also highlighted the importance of talking about the weak parties and strong partisanship that Klein discussed. “This whole partisan thing — that’s so true, and I’m so glad that that’s being articulated,” Cave said. “And I’m seeing that. Derogatory
statements towards people of different political beliefs, that’s very new for me. I think one of the most important steps for change is naming things, and the fact that that’s being named and being talked about, I really appreciate.” Before his lecture, Klein was available to meet with the student body and for an interview with student press representatives. In a personal interview, Klein spoke about several things, including why he started Vox. “I started Vox because I think that the news does not do a good job of giving people the necessary context to understand what just happened,” Klein said. “So if something new has happened in the Syrian civil war or the Affordable Care Act, we cover that really well but we don’t do a good job going backwards, saying, ‘Here’s what the Syrian war is about,’ or ‘Here’s how the Affordable Care Act works,’ and so people [are] made to feel stupid and uninformed. For a long time there was not a lot we could do about that because the technology did not allow us to change it up, but the internet does change that.” continued on PAGE 6
Trinity debaters on track for national tournament Pair of sophomores show up Harvard, Dartmouth and more KENDRA DERRIG | NEWS REPORTER kderrig@trinity.edu Last weekend, Trinity’s policy debate team made its second showing in the elimination rounds of national tournaments this season. Of 133 entries, sophomores Ian Dill and Ansh Khullar nabbed the No. 22 ranking at the Franklin R. Shirley Classic held at Wake Forest University, held Nov. 11–13. Trinity participates in policy debate, a format that squares two teams of two against one another for matches that can exceed two hours in length. The team is stocked with upand-coming competitors. This semester, the Tigers have faced powerhouse pairings from Harvard, Northwestern, Emory, Michigan State and the University of Texas at Austin. They boast a national ranking — hovering around No. 20 — a great improvement from their final ranking of No. 58 of last year. Dill, a sophomore and an environmental studies and economics double major, has
been debating with his partner Khullar, an economics and political science major, since their first year at Trinity. “Our school has really shifted generationally, as the last wave of debaters who saw national tournament success graduated before [Khullar] and I arrived,” Dill wrote in an email interview. “This was good for us though, as Ansh and I came in getting a lot of dedicated coaching time. ... Because of all that focus, we have made a lot of progress.” The team has taken students to tournaments hosted by Georgia State University, the University of Kentucky and Gonzaga University in addition to the Wake Forest tournament. Collin Roark, one of the team’s two debate coaches, commented on the season thus far. “It’s been an excellent season thus far. Our top team of Ansh Khullar and Ian Dill have consistently been ranked in the top 20 nationally, with wins over teams from prestigious schools such as Harvard and Dartmouth, which is quite rare for a sophomore-sophomore team,” Roark wrote in an email interview. “It’s been really great working with them along with our younger teams who continue to improve and rise through the ranks.”
Roark also addressed visions of a strong future for Trinity debate. “We’ve been incredibly happy with the direction things are heading — Trinity debate has become a place for students to engage on complex political issues,” Roark wrote. “I personally have a habit of getting into ‘Rocky mode’ and bringing some intensity towards the national competitions and hope we can continue to climb the national ranks.” Dill echoed Roark’s ambition. “While our goal was to be in the top 16, we have noticed that we are on track to be in the top 10, or perhaps top five by the end of next year. This is a lofty goal, but I think the progress we’ve made so far this year demonstrates that they are within our reach,” Dill wrote. Due to the team’s smaller size, they receive comparatively less funding than the bigger schools that they face. Dill pointed out that while teams from bigger schools may receive more funding, Trinity’s debate team is in no way struggling to operate at its current size. “The funding question for debate is super complicated, because it’s hard to compare to other on-campus organizations,” Dill wrote. “Emory has a budget four or five times bigger
Sophomores IAN DILL, left, and ANSH KHULLAR, right, have been debating since their first year at Trinity. photo by STEPHEN SUMRALL-ORSAK, staff photographer
than ours. However, Emory also has several more coaches, flies many more debaters across the country to tournaments than we do, and offers seven or eight full-ride scholarships per year. We are not really short on money for our current travels and team size.”
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NEWS
Wendy Rigby talks about research journalism Alumna, biomedical reporter shares lessons from her career KENDRA DERRIG | NEWS REPORTER kderrig@trinity.edu
Wendy Rigby, biomedical reporter and alumna, addressed approximately 15 Trinity students — most of whom were members of the Chemistry Club — on Wednesday evening. Rigby focused on how to communicate scientific research to the public. Rigby’s appearance was made possible by the Trinity Chemistry Club and the department of communication. Rigby boasts a 25-year career in broadcast journalism, of which she spent 20 years at KENS-TV, the local CBS affiliate, where she covered health and medical news. She reported on the same subjects for Texas Public Radio for five years, before taking a job with Texas BioMed as the media and communication specialist this September. Rigby graduated from Trinity summa cum laude in 1983 with a degree in print and broadcast journalism. Yesterday, she announced that she was accepted to an online program at Johns Hopkins University to receive her master’s degree in communication. Rigby had a lot of advice for students majoring in a science who may need to talk to journalists about their research some day. “For a scientist, you need to turn your writing background around. When you’re trying to get your message out to the public, you need to reverse how you might write a research paper and start with the results and then move on to the details,” Rigby said. Rigby recommended that researchers “speak English” when describing their research, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging the public’s intelligence. “Don’t underestimate what people want to know because listeners and viewers are more
A panel of faculty gathered to help students feel more comfortable with failing and to help them see it as a stepping stone rather than as a setback. photo by STEPHEN SUMRALL-ORSAK
Left to right: Senior CLAIRE STEINMAN, and juniors EMMANUELLA ODUGWA and ENRIQUE GARCIA listen as WENDY RIGBY speaks about her 25-yearlong career as a biomedical journalist. Rigby has worked for KENS-TV and Texas Public Radio, and now she works with Texas BioMed. Her lecture was hosted by the Trinity Chemistry Club and the department of communication. photo by AMANI CANADA, photo editor
educated and interested than ever before. You have to make it understandable, but don’t talk down,” Rigby said. Julia Matsuo Dapaah, senior biochemistry and molecular biology major, found these aspects of Rigby’s talk very helpful. “Communication and science is something we should be mindful of, because you can have all the science but you need someone to be able to tell the public,” Matsuo Dapaah said. “But it’s a challenge. You never know how much detail to go into, how much you should dumb down the science.” Maya Ewens, sophomore psychology major and vice president of social media for the chemistry club, also found Rigby’s talk informative.
“I was interested about hearing about the research that she does, as well as the journalism that goes into it, which we don’t hear much about,” Ewen said. “I took away that writing is more important than people think in science. It’s not just research.” Rigby also had advice for aspiring journalists. “It’s important to use writing, video and audio. You can just be a writer, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have to speak to people. The more you know how to do, the better off you’ll be in the future,” Rigby said. “You have to communicate with people from the CEO to the homeless man on the street. You can’t bring your own bias into it. I’m not Wendy Rigby; I’m Texas BioMed.”
Despite her presence in the science field, Rigby does not have a science background, and she does not think that a background is necessary. “I don’t think a science background is necessary for scientific reporting. I think it’s necessary to have good communication skills, basic understanding and a need to learn. Eighty percent of what I’ve learned has been on the job. It’s like getting a degree while I work,” Rigby said. Rigby also promoted the benefits of a liberal arts education. “You need to find a way to combine your strengths and skills with your passion. I loved my liberal arts education because it allowed me to walk into a newsroom at the age of 21 and say ‘I know about that,’ ” Rigby said.
Klein visits as Maverick lecturer TLC aims continued from PAGE 5
Klein saw a necessity for explanatory journalism in a world that was more dedicated to breaking news and investigative journalism. “There actually wasn’t anybody devoted to explanatory journalism, and so we thought there was space for that,” Klein said. “Luckily I think we were right, but in any organization you have to design yourself to do the thing you are doing well [better], and that means making certain tradeoffs. We are willing to make tradeoffs to not be the best at some other things, to really do a great job explaining what’s going on for our audience
and we think there’s a place in the news ecosystem for that.” Klein also spoke about the advantages of having an online-only publication like Vox. “Print is a bad technology,” Klein said. “It gets heavy, dirty; it’s expensive to print; you need an army of child soldiers to give it to people. Digital information and text is just incredibly flexible and efficient. It was only 25 years ago we began putting color photographs in newspapers. Now I can put a 25-minute beautiful video in the middle of an article.” Klein is not concerned with the digitalonly platform failing to reach a wide range of audiences.
EZRA KLEIN spoke about journalism and policy. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer
“Of course it’s true that older Americans are somewhat less online than millennials or Generation Z, but it’s actually not the case that even older generations are offline at this point,” Klein said. “Vox has a pretty healthy readership that is distributed all the way across the age range. You’re really not that limited now in terms of who you are reaching. I don’t want to say there’s no one, but we’re building for the future.” Klein also commented on how the current political climate has affected journalism, including a move away from ‘objective journalism,’ and how Trump specifically has changed the way that news is reported. “I think Trump has done some deterioration of the discourse,” Klein said. “When the president is tweeting schoolyard insults, then journalists are tweeting schoolyard insults and I think the whole thing has become coarser and nastier. I think that there’s also a lot more confusion and to some degree more humility. American political journalism did not at all call the Republican primary or the general election correctly, and so I think the aftermath has included a lot of trying to figure out how we got it so wrong.” However, Klein believes that for the most part, journalism has stayed the same. “What has stayed the same is far more profound than what has changed under Trump,” Klein said. “This has been a period of time in which day-to-day investigative journalism has returned bountiful benefits and I think journalism has in many ways been at its best when it’s followed some of its most core values. Journalism has been a tremendous check on the presidency in this era and I think there is a lot to be said for it and a lot that did not have to change.”
for success
continued from FRONT “Educators are finding that students don’t take failure well and that they need to learn how to respond to challenges by trying harder instead of feeling defeated,” Curry said. Not only will Davidson and Curry take this research into account when planning next year’s workshop schedule, but will also think about the statistics they have gathered this year. According to the department’s statistics, first-year students attend the majority of the workshops offered. The most attended workshop is the one that covers time management. Each student success workshop averages about 10 students. Because Davidson came to Trinity with this year’s junior class, many upperclassmen are not used to utilizing the facilities. There is usually a low turnout of upperclassmen at these workshops. However, Davidson believes that students can always improve. “We’re not ever talking about how smart students are. You guys are smart, but sometimes you need to be accountable to someone else or sometimes you need a little extra motivation,” Davidson said. A new development in the department of academic support is the creation of jumpstart workshops. The department provides workshops for large groups of students including certain classes, Greek life and other organizations. Appointments with the department of student success can be made through their website or by visiting the Tiger Learning Center on the third floor of the library.
Opinion
LET’S HEAR YOUR VOICE.
...
Have an opinion? To be featured as a guest columnist, please submit your article to trinitonian@trinity.edu by Sunday at noon to be in Thursday’s issue of the paper.
FROM TH E EDITORS’ DESK
Support your university staff! Last Monday, Nov. 13, was World Kindness Day. Since 1998, the World Kindness Movement has worked to promote niceness across the globe; the easiest way to do this is to take time out of the day to perform a little act of kindness for someone.
“Space doesn’t permit us to continue listing the people whose work we appreciate.” We figured we would chip in and offer some kind words of our own to the folks that make our time at Trinity as great as it is. Students really can’t be grateful enough for the work that the staff on university payroll, at Aramark and with GCA Services Group put in for our sake. It takes a lot of effort to make our campus as nice as possible. Beautification, bureaucracy, custodial and food services, mailing and packages — the list goes on. All the amenities that drew us to Trinity when we were mere high school seniors are made possible by others’ hard work. We’re a viable university because we have nice things, and their work is our benefit. It’s too easy to not pay attention
to the people who help us, but they do so much. It’d be irresponsible and rude to ignore them. So, during production night, the Trinitonian editorial staff traded stories about our favorite staffers. Of course, this is inherently unfair: There are too many workers whose efforts are hidden far behind the scenes, so of course we don’t encounter them on a regular basis. (The people in the physical plant, for instance, come to mind.) Nevertheless, we have a few nice things to say, so here they go. Our social media guru shared a story about the time he had realized that, despite the fact that GCA had sent the same cleaning staff member to clean his room three times, he didn’t have a clue what her name was. He felt bad for never asking despite the repeat visits, so the next time she came through, he asked and chatted a while. “That’s a valuable thing, knowing the people who help us.” On that note, let’s remember that college students are adults. There’s really no reason that we should have other people cleaning our bathrooms. We could do that ourselves. But their help is definitely noticed. Also, there are many who maintain the university’s grounds, week-in and weekout. Shout-out to the guys who pause their leaf blowers and other machinery when students walk by; we’re sure it’s annoying for you, but it’s an appreciated kindness. Several editors had praise for the workers who handle our food in the Commons and
at Mabee. Kathryn and Candice are staff favorites. Jana and Richard in the omelette line are friendly faces; Ginger is hilarious, as is Randy, and everyone loves Tommy and Yolanda. Thank you all for your cheerful attitudes and constant help! Some of our stories were a bit more confessional in nature. An opinion columnist confessed that he been hanging around with his roommate late one night during their first year. In the midst of their roughhousing, the roommate threw a glass bottle at a wall outside of Witt-Winn, but our writer felt bad about the mess immediately afterward. “As funny as it can be, maintenance has to clean that up. Think about who’s responsible for the pranks you pull.” Consensus settled across the room when we vented together about the people who urinate in the Thomas elevators and punch out the ceiling tiles in Thomas and Lightner hallways. To the people who are tasked with cleaning after and undoing these rude, unthoughtful pranks: We are so grateful for your work. Space doesn’t permit us to continue listing the people whose work we appreciate, and we know that there are plenty out there whose efforts go unnoticed. The best we can do is ask this: Next time you have the chance, smile and wave at the people who work so that we can enjoy the Trinity experience, or strike up a friendly conversation. Together, we can each introduce a little more kindness to the world.
Building for the world v. locals continued from FRONT According to Hemisfair’s website, a majority of what was built for the fair has been demolished. A beautiful sculpture by a Trinity professor, Bill Bristow, is now a flowerbed. Hundreds of buildings designed by over 40 architects were abandoned or demolished. In a Trinitonian article on April 5, 1968, it was noted that over seven million visitors would be coming to San Antonio for the 250th anniversary of its founding. Does it strike you as much as it does me that some of our most significant city buildings were developed for the world stage and not the local inhabitants of the city? Even now, the divide between visitors and locals persists, as do the slanted decisions being made about development. In 2020, only one city has been announced for the EXPO, and that is (unsurprisingly) Dubai. They at least have the amount of capital needed to make this thing happen. At the time, 1968, the city of San Antonio invested over $150 million to the project of hosting this momentous fair, equivalent to $1.06 billion today. That’s a lot of money to invest to be a host of an event… what else sounds like this? Well, the Olympics, you might say. But some would say competing for Amazon HQ2.
Over 250 cities applied to get the HQ2 designation from the $150 billion revenuegenerating giant. San Antonio was not one of them, even though it promised 50,000 new jobs. My personal jury is still out on whether this was a good or bad move, but I can see both sides.
“Some of our most significant city buildings were developed for the world stage and not the local inhabitants of the city.” The difference is that once invested in developing San Antonio for the bid, the infrastructure would not simply be abandoned, but would be useful every day for employees and residents. Unlike these one-off events that are extremely capital intensive — including
the upcoming tri-centennial celebrations — improving our city to host Amazon seems like a good long term investment. Especially when we consider the number of retail related jobs that Amazon is disrupting. Additionally, Amazon’s tech-focused city would draw international attention and competition to the city. But think how that might affect the fabric of the local life. How would the identity of San Antonio change? Would it be for the better? Why spend all that money on things that are, once again, for an international stage instead of focusing on those who live here? It’s honestly a moot point, because deep in our hearts, though we love this city, we know we would never beat out metropolitan areas like Dallas, Chicago or Atlanta, so throwing a bunch of money at this attempt really isn’t wise. Fun fact: Included in the sights and activities of Hemisfair was a “classroom of the future” by which “users were encouraged to use unusual electronic equipment, play unknown games, and to dance.” We’ve come a long way in just 50 years, as I type this on my laptop computer in Google Drive, but the age-old question of how to stimulate urban revitalization is still here. Micaela Hoffman is a senior business analytics and technology and urban studies double major.
Connect with us! Frequently Asked Questions
Are the opinions on these pages held by all of the Trinitonian staffers? The opinions expressed here are those of the individual writers, not of the whole newspaper staff. The editorial, found in the box marked “From the editors’ desk,” expresses the opinion of the Trinitonian. The section editors, managing editor and director of digital presence work with editor-in-chief Daniel Conrad on it each week.
How long should letters to the editor be? When are they due? Where do I send them? Letters to the editor should be 300 words or less. They are due Sundays at noon. Email your thoughts to trinitonian@trinity. edu and opinion editor Julia Poage at jpoage@trinity.edu. She or the editor-in-chief will get back to you.
How long should guest columns be? When are they due? Where do I send them?
Guest columns should range between 500–700 words in length and are due Sundays at noon. Email your columns to the opinion editor, Julia Poage, at jpoage@trinity.edu. Students, please include your graduating year and declared or intended majors and minors. Faculty and staff members, please tell us your job title. Alumni, please describe your current occupation and include the year you graduated from Trinity as well as the majors and minors on your degree. If relevant, please attach photos related to your guest column. We also have staff illustrators who can create a graphic if you describe one.
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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 17, 2017 •
OPINION
American Tigers in Paris: Gaffner travels SOLEIL GAFFNER COLUMNIST lgaffner@trinity.edu
When you’re abroad during the fall semester, there aren’t any big vacations that you can take. The Madrid Institute for International Education for Students (IES) schedules all classes Monday through Thursday, which theoretically gives you Friday to travel. What they fail to mention is the fact that we have to make up every canceled class — on Fridays. These start to add up, especially after your professor gets the flu, misses a whole week of class and then has to make the students recuperate the lost hours. But, through lengthy planning and sophisticated communication throughout all involved parties, a group of friends and I scheduled a trip to Paris, France. I wasn’t exactly interested in Paris, but more than half of the Trinity group was going, and I didn’t want to miss out on the fun. Traveling with friends is always a fun experience, even if the shit hits the fan on occasion. Some background about traveling while abroad in Europe: A system called the Schengen Zone allows you to travel within certain countries in Europe without needing to go through customs each time. As a generally ignorant American who had never traveled to Europe in my life, I was completely unaware of this. When I landed in Paris, they let me walk off the plane and into the country without so much as a suspicious glare. I flew through Transavia, one of many cheap airlines that runs throughout Europe. While trying to find cheap flights to travel while abroad,
I used the Skyscanner website, which has now become my best friend. This service tracks flights and will give you the information to determine where the cheapest flights are, or when your flight is cheapest. While Europe has an abundance of cheap airlines, they all come with their own baggage of problems. Recently, Ryanair has been forced to cancel many flights due to massive strikes over working conditions. While I sympathize with these workers, it’s frustrating to have your flight cancelled a week before you take off. (They refund you, but your trip is still cancelled.)
“I had imagined beautiful skylines, impeccably dressed passers-by and wine raining down on the streets.” Transavia had its own set a problems. My friend and I were allowed one carry-on luggage included with the ticket. “That’s a great deal!” I thought, “We’re so lucky!” I assumed. Yet I didn’t read the size 6 font detailing the fact that we weren’t allowed a personal item, like a purse. This might not seem like a big deal, but after shopping for souvenirs in Paris, my bag didn’t really have room to hold my tiny purse anymore. Instead, I hid it underneath my coat
and hoped the flight attendants didn’t notice my abnormally large hump. Once in another European country, you will need an affordable and clean place to sleep. In my case, I prefer to stay in Airbnbs while traveling. But in Paris, during a long weekend? That was impossible, unless I wanted to pay in gold bars. Instead, we all found some hostels, which aren’t nearly as terrible as Americans make them out to be. Hostelworld.com is by far the best service I’ve found for finding cheap and quality places to stay. The hostel I chose was listed as having “excellent cleanliness,” which was really all I wanted. The sheets were clean, my pillow flat and the bathrooms cleaned daily, so I was happy. They didn’t mention the fact that my hostel was also a club, and actually had a line to get in after 9 p.m. It was funky. They had a live musician singing 2000s pop on Friday. My impression of Paris, however, was not what I expected. I had imagined beautiful skylines, impeccably dressed passers-by and wine raining down on the streets. Instead, I was shoved by multiple strangers, served overpriced food and drink, and a man on the metro coughed on me. Honestly, I had a culture shock just realizing that Paris was a real city, and not something out of a fairytale. Also, the rats on the metro were not cute. But traveling is an experience, and if you have the money, time and energy, you should always take advantage of going a little further outside your comfort zone. Even though I didn’t particularly enjoy Paris, I still enjoyed my friends. I also ate a macaron on top of the Eiffel Tower, for the bragging rights. Soleil Gaffner is a junior communication and Spanish double major.
The highlight of SOLEIL GAFFNER’s weekend trip to Paris was this macaron she ate on top of the Eiffel Tower. photo provided by the author.
OPINION • NOVEMBER 17, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
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What’s the beef? Ending food antagonism BENJAMIN GONZALEZ COLUMNIST bgonzale@ trinity.edu
Nowadays, terms such as ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ carry loads of connotations along with them. It’s become a common joke, but the stereotype of the ‘preachy vegan’ often pops up in popular culture. While I find these jokes pretty entertaining, even as a illustrations by ANDREA NEBHUT
vegetarian myself, I can’t help but wonder why we often pit meat eaters and non-meat eaters against each other. Part of this characterization of nonmeat eaters is due to methodology of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The organization is often portrayed as the epitome of the fanatic animal rights activist stereotype — their advertisements are often aggressive and provocative, comparing anyone who eats meat or supports the meat industry to murderers. While I’m sure not every member of PETA has an actual hatred for those who consume animals, the messaging they use paints a clear message: Meat eaters beware, we’re coming for your lifestyle. The problem with this approach to the argument is that it often fails to educate those who are not vegans or vegetarians about the practical and moral reasoning behind our decision not to consume animals. Sure, if someone were to look through the PETA website, they would find plenty of constructive information on why a life without meat consumption is a good decision, but it’s pretty unlikely that their website will be visited by people who feel they are being personally attacked by the organization. The second main factor that turns a lot of people from the idea of vegetarianism and veganism is the idea that non-meat eaters are prioritizing other species before their own.
An example of this is when people say, “It’s only natural that we eat meat because of the food chain.” The idea that non-meat eaters are doing something unnatural, or that they are somehow betraying the human race by focusing so much on the well-being of other species, furthers the perception of an ‘usversus-them’ mentality, in which meat eaters feel the need to defend their way of life from vegans and vegetarians. While I cannot rightfully speak for all vegetarians — and certainly not all vegans — I can pretty confidently reassure my meateating friends that we’re not all constantly trying to get you to change your diet. While we would love to see a world free of animal consumption, we recognize that switching to a plant-based protein diet is not the most appealing idea to those who’ve grown up eating meat. We know this because many of us have been meat eaters ourselves at some point in our lives. I only stopped eating meat towards the end of high school, and I still find myself craving a burger every once in awhile. Secondly, most of us don’t see our diet as putting other species before our own. In fact, not eating meat can have some significant benefits for us humans: the agriculture industry makes up a major part of greenhouse gas production, and a meatfree diet helps cut down on those methane emissions produced by cows and other animals. We see our vegetarianism and
veganism as a way for us to live healthier lives on a healthier planet. So the next time you see that preachy vegan or vegetarian commenting about animal consumption, hear them out. I promise we’re usually rational people trying to make a difference, and if our activism comes off as aggressive, it could be largely out of frustration from not being taken seriously. Then feel free to tell us your concerns or counterarguments, and we’ll all walk away a little more informed. Benjamin Gonzalez is a sophomore anthropology major.
Looking for a caffeine-fueled ‘third place’ MAX TOWERS OPINION INTERN mtowers@gmail.com Last Thursday I arrived at the Alamo Quarry Starbucks, intent on getting my calculus homework out of the way. To the dismay of both me and my dead computer, every seat adjacent to an outlet had been taken. I reluctantly forked over the price of a venti iced coffee and sat at a high table, limited to busywork that didn’t require a computer. After about 45 minutes, one woman packed up her things and left, leaving a coveted empty seat next to an outlet. With glee I flopped into it, a deserved reward for my patience. In the following two hours I completed my calculus homework and even got a jump start on an essay for my First-Year Experience. In all of this time, however, I had only ordered a single coffee. I felt somewhat guilty for not being a better patron of the establishment, but as a college student on a budget I had no intention of ordering a second overpriced coffee. In an attempt to validate these concerns, I called coffee shops around the area. The first store to pick up was Local Coffee in the Pearl, and the barista on the other end introduced himself as Kyle. To my surprise, Kyle reassured me that Local loves students who come and work for however long they need. Having used Local Coffee to get work done before, I was relieved that my long visits were not viewed by the employees as nuisances. Knowledgeable Kyle, sympathetic of students everywhere, even explained to me the philosophy of an urban sociologist named Ray Oldenburg and his study of “third places.” He described them as “homes away from home,” where the community can come together and enjoy each other’s company. To all Trinity students who might feel guilty about claiming a spot next to the charging stations at Local for hours on end, Kyle wants you to know that he hopes his third place is warm and welcoming. My conversation with Kyle drove me to seek out more information about the idea of a “third
place.” On the Project for Public Spaces’ website, I found the following quote that I felt accurately reflected Kyle’s sentiment: “The character of a third place is determined most of all by its regular clientele and is marked by a playful mood, which contrasts with people’s more serious involvement in other spheres. Though a radically different kind of setting for a home, the third place is remarkably similar to a good home in the psychological comfort and support that it extends … They are the heart of a community’s social vitality, the grassroots of democracy, but sadly, they constitute a diminishing aspect of the American social landscape.” The best part about this definition is the room for flexibility in its interpretation. Everyone reading up to this point probably has their own third place in mind already, a place bound to be different from that of everyone else. Whether your third place is as close as a corner in Coates Library or as far as the local coffee shop in my hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, you can find all of the psychological comforts of home within it. So the next time you feel that all too familiar urge to get out of your dorm room, seek out somewhere that offers you the ability to focus comfortably. Personally, I recommend Rosella Coffee Company. The cozy atmosphere and proximity to campus make it a personal haven where I can comfortably construct tense thesis statements and evaluate complicated integrals. Plus, I can order a bottomless coffee — for $3.03 with tax — and eliminate all guilt of using an outlet at length with an empty cup. Regardless of the sanctity of your optimal third place, I encourage you to share your findings. As a first-year who came here from out of state, all of my knowledge about local hotspots has come from other Tigers. Without all of the varying suggestions from students about the best places to hunker down and work, I fear that I could have been doomed to study in my dorm room. So please do your part in saving the fate of a classmate’s paper by informing them about your favorite third places. You could be the key to rescuing someone from cabin fever, all with a little help from a local barista like Kyle. Max Towers is a first-year business major.
illustration by YESSENIA LOPEZ
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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • NOVEMBER 17, 2017 •
OPINION
Civil society is true survivalism illustration by YESSENIA LOPEZ
GABRIEL LEVINE COLUMNIST glevine@trinity.edu
The world feels unstable. Domestically, political and social divisions are at a higher pitch than ever in my living memory and perhaps since the tumultuous years of the 1960s. I’ve felt a distinct loss of political control as social retrogrades, cultural revanchists and scientific ignoramuses gain ground in legislatures around the country. Simultaneously, there is the broadly covered civil unrest in the United States and worse situations abroad, such as far-right parties coming to power throughout
Europe and the worrying specter of repressive countries like Russia and China asserting their power. Observing all this, I’ve become distinctly aware of the fragility of the global and national systems of government and trade that sustain my lifestyle of relative prosperity and physical security. As a result, in the last few weeks I’ve felt a strange desire to bolster my ability to live independent of these systems. Essentially, I’ve been talking myself into becoming a survivalist. It’s a compelling line of thought that appeals to a very fundamental sense of individualism and desire for self-sufficiency. In fact, though, it’s too compelling. Before I knew it, I found myself making dubious logical leaps about the need to secure my own self-sufficiency that went from the prudent to the paranoid.
For example, I began to seriously consider buying firearms, perhaps a concealed handgun and a military-style rifle like an AR-15. After all, owning firearms is a constitutional right that Americans exercise every day. In the event of a robbery, whether while out and about or at home, having a firearm would seem to guarantee a means of self-defense. Fortune favors the prepared, right? But wouldn’t owning a firearm also prepare me for something more serious? I began to buy into the idea that owning firearms would help me stay safe in the event of widespread civil unrest or enable me to confront an increasingly tyrannical domestic government headed by, possibly, far-right ideologues. It can always happen here, right? Of course, to be intellectually consistent about self-sufficiency, simply owning a firearm or two is insufficient. Shouldn’t I also be prepared to support myself as well as defend myself? I began to consider stocking up on water and looking up which types of preserved foods last the longest and provide the optimum combination of nutrients. Just to be prepared, surely I should also start learning how to hunt and cook game, how to distinguish edible from poisonous plants and how to administer first aid. This was all decently paranoid and unrealistic, but in the moment it made perfect sense to me, as it does to millions of Americans. The New Yorker has reported that wealthy Americans are investing in sophisticated doomsday bunkers, and NPR has reported that the demand for survivalist properties and estates in the Pacific northwest has grown by 50 percent in the last few years. In short, these millions of people, and briefly me, aren’t completely wrong, we just
went a bit too far. Certain elements of a preparedness mentality are good. It’s wise to know basic first aid and wilderness survival, to have some supplies available in case of a natural disaster of some kind, and to know basic self-defense and have some implements to supplement such defense. However, going too far down the rabbit hole is a bad idea. Consider firearms. CDC data shows that a gun in the house is far more likely to be used for suicide than home defense. At that point, it probably makes more sense for me to buy a taser, a baseball bat and a strong lock than to put myself at risk if ever my life takes a turn for the worse. It’s also a fantasy to imagine that private gun owners in the modern era would present any meaningful resistance to governments armed with tanks and fighter jets. The bottom line is that the modern world is large and complex and the most effective means of securing liberty and self-sufficiency is to do the hard work necessary to sustain the global governments and trade networks that support modern society. Instead of spending thousands of hours learning intense survival skills and hundreds of thousands of dollars on self-sufficient real estate and firearms, a better use of that money would be supporting charities that fight societal ills that cause instability and a better use of that time would be meeting one’s fellow citizens and getting involved in local and national government. Total individualism is unrealistic in the modern world and a fatalistic survival mentality will sap the motivation to work to sustain governments. Gabriel Levine is a senior chemistry major.
American bustle CAMILLE REYES FACULTY COLUMNIST creyes3@trinity.edu
The recent sexual assault and harassment scandal concerning Harvey Weinstein has propelled the issue back into the spotlight, one only widened through remarkable, grassroots social media movements such as #metoo (beginning in the U.S.) and #outpig (centered in France). The different foci between these two movements are fascinating. In the American context we have a plethora of voices courageously coming forward to publicly share their pain. In the French case the sharing is less about the pain and more about shaming the perpetrators. I’m here for both. However, since my understanding of French culture is limited to my struggle asking for mustard on a sandwich in Paris, I’ll keep my remarks closer to home. In a Buzzfeed article from Oct. 9, 2017, the reporters summarize the accounts of 70 (!) victims, many celebrities, of Harvey Weinstein. The accounts are stunning in their creepy similarities from the open bathrobe to the coerced massages and more. Perhaps due to the sheer number and the similarities, I started to feel numb. However, one voice stood out among the almost interchangeable horror: Mia Kirshner. (Kirshner is best known for her role as Jenny in Showtime’s “The ‘L’ Word.”) Her contribution is notable for a practical step to help stem the tide of misogyny in her field. Kirshner suggests that the largest trade unions in Hollywood ban the practice of taking meetings in hotel rooms. Think of how this one move might force a public light on so many cowardly Weinstein’s who take to closed doors to wield their power
for ill. Hopefully, the unions will intervene to help change a toxic culture, but there is no reason why similar steps could not be taken in other industries. No, really, think about it. What could you do, regardless of your gender or your position, to change the structures of harassment? The spate of high-profile firings from the late Roger Ailes to Bill O’Reilly to Harvey Weinstein to Kevin Spacey to Michael Oreskes (the former head of NPR News) is surprising given that the President of the United States was caught in a recording bragging about sexual assault and still won the highest office. One would think that in a culture where many people dismissed Trump’s vile words as “locker room language,” we might not see the current wave of support for speaking truth to power.
“What could you do to change the structures of harassment?” Then again, one could point to numerous trends in the other direction, where the downtrodden, from immigrants to those without healthcare, continue to struggle largely in silence. Maybe I do not understand American culture as well as I thought. Regardless, I will take the victory here, and look forward to the kind of structural changes that Kirshner suggested so that we move from powerful, collective words to even more meaningful actions. The new global rhetoric empowered by the aforementioned social media movements is a source of hope in a bleak time. Oh, and #metoo. Camille Reyes is an associate professor in the communication department.
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
SAMMYE JOHNSON, distinguished professor emerita of communication, poses outside of Laurie Auditorium in preparation for the upcoming semester. photo by AMANI CANADA, photo editor
Sammye Johnson returns for comm. course Retired professor emerita for final section of beloved communication class DOMINIC WALSH PULSE REPORTER dwalsh@trinity.edu In May 2016, Trinity said goodbye to Sammye Johnson, distinguished professor emerita of communication, as she retired after 35 years at the university. But a few lucky students will have the chance to take Johnson’s Arts Criticism course, as this spring she is offering one last section. After receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University, Johnson began a celebrated career as a journalist and editor. After graduation, she stayed in Chicago and worked for the Chicago Tribune as a feature writer and eventually as the editor of its
Sunday magazine, Trib Magazine. Upon joining the communication department at Trinity in the 1980s, Johnson continued writing as a freelance journalist and editor, publishing over 450 articles in various newspapers and magazines and receiving multiple writing awards. At the same time she taught courses in the Communication department including Arts Criticism, Magazine Editing and Magazine Writing. Even after her recent retirement, Johnson has continued her freelance work. Her most recent project was editing the book that accompanies the current exhibit at the McNay Art Museum, “Chuck Ramirez: All This and Heaven Too.” Johnson is currently working on the book that will accompany an exhibit opening in February 2018 surveying the work of African American artists. Johnson hasn’t just been writing during her retirement — she’s also been reading. “I’ve read 79 books since officially retiring,” Johnson said.
In addition to reading books within her favorite genre — mystery and suspense thriller authors Louise Penny and Patricia Cornwell are two of her favorite authors — Johnson has used her newfound time to catch up with authors of award-winning fiction, such as Abraham Verghese's 'Cutting for Stone' and Emily St. John Mandel's 'Station Eleven.' Aside from writing and reading, Johnson has been enjoying one of her favorite activities that had previously been restricted to the summer months — traveling. “If I had wanted to travel, it had to be during the summer months with hordes of tourists jockeying to see a cathedral relic. I don’t like to feel stressed, surly or sweaty, so I’m delighted to walk the cobblestone streets of Europe primarily in the spring and fall months,” Johnson said. In the months following her retirement in 2016, Johnson travelled to Italy, vising Rome, Florence and Venice.
Johnson says the highlight of this trip was Rome, where she was able to avoid the crowds at the Sistine Chapel as part of a small group that was allowed to visit after hours. The trip was so enjoyable that Johnson decided to visit again.
"I've missed teaching, particularly the interchange that occurs in the classroom." SAMMYE JOHNSON
“I enjoyed Italy so much that I returned a year later in May 2017 to spend 12 days on the Amalfi Coast, primarily in Sorrento and Capri, with trips to the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum. ... I love the ability to travel when
I want to now that I’m retired,” Johnson said. Johnson is returning to Trinity for a love greater than that of travel — the love of teaching. “I’ve missed teaching, particularly the interchange that occurs in the classroom and the excitement that comes for those ‘Aha!’ moments when students have a sudden insight or realization,” Johnson said. The Arts Criticism course is one of Johnson’s favorites. The seminar class focuses on the arts and society, with special attention paid to processes used to analyze, discuss, review and write about the arts. Johnson isn’t going to let her return to teaching prevent her from continuing her travels. After the 2018 spring semester ends, Johnson will be on her way to Paris and Barcelona. Arts Criticism is currently waitlisted. For more information on the upcoming communication course, contact Sammye Johnson at sjohnson@trinity.edu.
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Religion for Atheists: Seniors start UU club Mackenzie Hill and Claire Burrus bring Unitarian Universalism to campus KARA KILLINGER | PULSE REPORTER kkilling@trinity.edu Mackenzie Hill and Claire Burrus both identify as atheists; they are also both thoroughly invested in their church. This semester, the two seniors are starting a religious club on campus, focused more on group discussion and service to the community than on a specific creed. So, what is this religion without a doctrine? Why, in a time of rapidly declining religious involvement for young adults, are these atheists so involved? According to the official website, Unitarian Universalism (UU) is “a force more powerful than one person or one belief system.” The church accepts individuals from multiple religious backgrounds and encourages the responsible pursuit of truth. Different members of the church have different ideas about life, death and the existence of God. “We think of faith as being lived through deeds. That’s something that my minister at my home church says a lot, ‘Deeds not creeds,’ ” Burrus said. Members may differ in their beliefs, but they all follow the seven Principles, which are values and moral guidelines they believe will enrich their lives. Among other ideas, these Principles include the inherent worth and
Illustration by YESSENIA LOPEZ
dignity of every person; justice, equity and compassion in human relations; and respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Burrus, who has been a Unitarian Universalist all her life, recognizes how UU could be considered more of a philosophy than a religion. “For me, I would be comfortable with calling it a philosophy, but I think people like the church community and what that offers. It’s also just sort of socially acceptable to say,
‘I’m going to church.’ Quakers get flack for saying, ‘I’m going to a circle gathering,’ ” Burrus said. Most Unitarian Universalists have experience with other religious traditions. Burrus explained that plenty of UU members joined after they became disillusioned with the strict limitations of their church’s dogma but did not want to give up the fellowship, community and moral guidance that religion often provides. Unitarian Universalism provides the comfort of church without the confines of doctrine.
“I think a lot of people turned to Unitarian Universalism because they felt uncomfortable in their congregation before. We have a huge LGBT community, people who felt like they were rejected by their faith growing up, or for whatever reason just felt like they didn’t belong,” Burrus said. Even if they do not come from another church, UU members have probably looked around. Hill’s childhood was rife with exploration. continued on PAGE 13
Making Connections reconvenes, bringing networking opportunities for students Trinity professionals network with alumni and faculty for future jobs VICTORIA ABAD | PULSE INTERN vabad@trinity.edu Last Thursday, Nov. 9, students, faculty and alumni arrived at the City Vista Apartments in business attire, kicking off an evening of networking for Trinity professionals. Making Connections is the concerted effort of the Student Ambassadors, the Center for Experiential Learning and Alumni Relations to give Trinity students access to the broad job networks that Trinity alumni have to offer. The San Antonio chapter of Making Connections is a widely anticipated gathering sponsored by Trinity alumni where students get the opportunity to meet people that have found careers in fields they are interested in. Making Connections is an opportunity to engage with the local Trinity community organized by Alumni Relations and the Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success. Around 50 Trinity alumni and students enjoyed an elegant gathering with a scenic view of downtown from the fourth floor of City Vista. The purpose was to encourage current students and alumni to meet each other in order to expand their contacts within Trinity community. “The purpose of the event is to have a support system [for students] once they leave Trinity,” said Elizabeth Ford, alumni volunteer coordinator for of Alumni Relations. The organizers of the event were eager to offer students the opportunity to meet alumni in a casual environment.
Participants mingle at Making Connections. photo by STEPHEN SUMRALL-ORSAK, staff photographer
“[In Making Connections] students can put into practice what they have learned in college. It can help them become wellrounded conversationalists and be interesting to talk to — a person needs to be both to have a meaningful dialogue,” Ford said. “It’s a ‘networking practice’ in an intimate gathering,” said Ladystacie Rimes-Boyd, assistant director of programing and marketing at Career Services. The event was fairly structured. For the first hour, students and alumni were split in two groups. Next, they merged for another hour, and ended the evening splitting according to majors and interests. Students gathered in the North room to get advice on how to start conversations, good questions to ask and how to break the ice. Alumni, on the other hand,
gathered in South room, where they could meet each other and get drinks from the bar. Derick Rodgers, member of the Board of Trustees and class of 1992, conducted the event and guided students. Soon the room was filled up with clusters of people and loud conversations. “One motive for me [to come] was to talk to people to see who is in a business analytics related field and see what sort of experiences they’ve done with that major,” said Shane Bono, a senior business analytics and technology major with an economics minor. “Even though it’s an awkward experience, it’s worth it because you never know who you will meet,” commented Cameron Carlin, sophomore communication major and sports management minor. “I would recommend this event to any student that would like to get a
job, because it’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know.” Making Connections lasted around three hours, and the organization was especially beneficial for those who were able to stay for the entirety of the event. “I didn’t quite realize how much warm-up there would be before actually meeting the alumni. I only got to talk to one and a half people, which is unfortunate. But the one I did talk to for a while seemed really interested in what I was studying and hopefully she will be able to connect me to someone,” said senior Chinese studies major and English minor Annie Belleville. “The alumni are great, I just wish we had moved on to that process sooner.” Several alumni also commented on their experience and their involvement in this type of events. “I think Making Connections is growing and is moving in a positive direction. You can always have room for improvement, but I’ve slowly seen the number of students rise up,” said Eric Schluter, class of 2015 and member of the Alumni Board of San Antonio. “I wanna give my perspective to students, help them succeed and go beyond what I did.” “I’ve been to this event in the past, and it’s a very meaningful experience to help the students and talk to them,” commented Walter Thorman, attorney and class of 1975. Ellen Patterson, non-alumni who attended the event, said “It’s good to give people a leg up. Once they graduate they need a place to go, they need a profession to follow and it’s good to talk to somebody who has some experience.” Patterson is a local attorney in town. There are other cities, such as Houston, that host larger Making Connections events where students will be able to meet alumni near their hometowns. Most Making Connections events happen over winter break. For more information on future dates, go to hireatiger.trinity.edu.
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Unitarian Universalists create presence on campus continued from PAGE 12
“I grew up in a family with a pretty religious background, but neither of my parents, really, were interested in organized religion. So, when I was about seven, my dad took me to a lot of different types of churches. The Unitarian Universalist church that I ended up going to in Houston was the one I liked the most,” Hill said. Because Hill liked this church, her father continued to take her back. However, her time exploring religions did not end when she chose UU. In her time at Sunday school throughout middle school and high school, Hill visited a multitude of different churches, discussed her convictions with a mentor and was required to give multiple speeches about her own beliefs. “Having sort of a background knowledge of how that part of the world works has helped me think about things in different ways,” Hill said. Now, Hill firmly believes in the value of religious education. So, when David Rodriguez of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio asked Hill if Trinity students might be interested in having a gathering on campus, she was interested. “I knew David from Unitarian Universalist events throughout high school, and we always had a good relationship. He approached me in January, and I was so swamped that time last semester, so we sort of just planned, discussed, and nothing ever came to fruition. But then, over the summer, I was like, ‘David, I really want to do this. I know Claire wants to do it as well,’ ” Hill said.
Hill and Burrus are the president and vice president of the club, respectively. The club will meet about twice a month, and each meeting will include readings, worksheets and discussions revolving around a central theme. In their first meeting, members discussed the meaning of ‘covenant.’ “Covenant is basically any commitment or agreement you make with another person. So, a covenant group has a covenant of being respectful, letting everyone speak, those are the agreements. But then, you also have covenants with literally anyone in your life So, we started discussing what covenantal relationships are, and what they mean to us, all that kind of stuff,” Burrus said. Hill and Burrus hope that the UU club remains active on campus after they both graduate in May. They want the organization to grow, to engage in service projects to benefit the local community and to help facilitate that slow search for truth for all Trinity students who attend. “I hope that people fall in love with the community aspect and the sharing aspect of it that I have for my life,” Hill said. Communication professor William Christ, faculty advisor of the club, has been a Unitarian Universalist for about 30 years. He believes the new club will create a fundamental support system. “The importance of this club is that it provides a safe space for those challenging their own religion, those who want to pursue the idea of spirituality,” Christ said.
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PULSE
graphic by TYLER HERRON
You asked. Wellness Services answered. Brought to you by Katherine Hewitt.
WHAT’S THIS?
Katherine Hewitt, coordinator for Wellness Services, asked students to anonymously submit their questions about sex and sexual health during late October’s Sex Week. Have any questions or suggestions? Reach out to Katherine Hewitt at khewitt@trinity.edu Q: What are the costs of birth control if obtained through student health services? Which birth control is most effective? A: According to TU Health Services, students can receivea prescription for birth control, but need to see one of the university physicians. The charge to see the physician is $20. Depending on the patient’s age and other factors, laboratory testing may be necessary and other small feels may apply. Most insurance will cover the testing if the student provides a copy of their insurance card. The cost of the prescription depends on the student’s personal insurance.
Students can receive a prescription for birth control pills, vaginal rings, e.g. Nuva Ring, and shots, e.g. Depo-Provera at Health Services. Health Services does not provide patches, e.g. Ortho Evra, intrauterine devices or IUDs, e.g. Miren, or implant, e.g. Nexplanon. But they can make referrals for off-campus providers who have these available. Some methods, like pills, may be available free of charge. Local sex educator and therapist Cay Crow says the most effective birth control option is the one that is most effective for you. If you have a poor memory, maybe taking a daily pill won’t work, so try a semi-permanent option, like an IUD. Planned Parenthood has an online quiz to help you chose a birth control method that’s right for you at bit.ly/PP-BC-quiz. Q: Are there dangers associated with taking birth control? A: With any medication, there are risks involved. Depending on the type of medication, there may be side effects including intermenstrual
spotting, nausea, breast tenderness, headaches, weight gain, mood changes, missed periods and decreased libido. If you have persistent side effects, you can always carefully switch methods with assistance from a health care provider. There are also some restrictions on birth control methods depending on your age and any health concerns including breast cancer, blood clots, smoking, heart problems, pregnancy, high blood pressure, severe diabetes or liver disease, all of which need to be reviewed with a health care provider. Q: How do IUDs work (hormonal)? Why and can they stop periods? A: An IUD is a little, t-shaped piece of plastic that gets put in your uterus to interrupt the way sperm can move and prevent them from fertilizing an egg. IUDs offer years of protection between three and 12, depending on the version you get. And if you want to get pregnant, you can have the IUD removed at any time. There are four hormonal IUDs
available in the U.S. Mirena, Skyla, Liletta and Kyleena. All three are made of plastic and release a small amount of the synthetic hormone progestin which thickens your cervical mucus to keep sperm from reaching the uterus. Hormonal IUDs can cut down on cramps and make your period much lighter. Some people completely stop getting periods. Hormonal IUDs can help treat people who suffer from severe cramps, really heavy periods and anemia, and can last three to six years. There’s only one IUD without hormones available in the U.S. It’s called ParaGard and it’s made of plastic and a small amount of natural, safe copper, but be careful of allergies. ParaGard doesn’t affect your periods and can work for up to 12 years. Special thanks to Trinity Universtiy Health Services, Cay Crow, goaskalice.columbia.edu, plannedparenthood.org, and bedsider.org for their assistance answering these questions!
Richard N. Zare lecture addresses dangers of alcohol Stanford professor talks wine, human alcoholysis, and the science behind drinking KARA KILLINGER | PULSE REPORTER kkilling@trinity.edu Wine cries. People who drink wine have probably noticed the small drops that form around the side of the glass. In a sped-up recording of this phenomenon the droplets look like they are bouncing off the surface of the wine, crawling back up the glass and dripping down again. Why does this happen? It has to do with surface tension, which is the amount of pull one liquid has on other liquids nearby. Wine is made up of mostly water and alcohol — alcohol has a lower surface tension, or a lighter pull, and also evaporates more easily than water. What’s happening with those droplets? The alcohol is evaporating where the wine is thin on the side of the glass; the drops of wine become more water than alcohol. Because they no longer have the same surface tension, the droplets can no longer slip back in with the rest of the wine. Instead, the drops form, fall and reform aimlessly. So the wine cries. This information comes from a video that Richard N. Zare of Stanford University showed the audience at his lecture last Wednesday, November 8. This lecture was advertised as being centered around ‘human alcoholysis,’ the chemistry behind drinking to excess, but actually discussed a wide range of topics concerning alcohol. Zare described that women’s blood alcohol level rises faster, which results in faster intoxication in women than in men who imbibe the same amount. He also described different effects that alcohol can have on people of different cultures and ethnicities — for cultural and religious reasons, alcohol consumption per capita is low in India.
illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT
Finally, he talked about the causes of drinking problems — drinking releases endorphins in the brain — as well as some solutions: some medicines may be able to make drinking much less enjoyable by helping with cravings or blocking the high. To make his points, Zare utilized evidence that ranged from chemical equations to personal anecdotes. “This is real stuff, and yet it’s grounded in multiple things — in chemistry, in biology … I needed math to figure this out — even physics. This doesn’t belong to just one discipline,” Zare said about the body’s response to alcohol. Christina Cooley, assistant professor in Trinity’s chemistry department, has admired Zare since her graduate school days at Stanford University. She returned to Stanford this past summer to speak at her Ph.D. adviser’s birthday dinner, and reconnected with Zare at that event. They stayed in touch through email, and later on, when Trinity was looking for a science lecturer, Cooley knew just who to suggest. “He is an amazing scientist and is very well known. For, his biggest achievement, which was the discovery of laser-induced fluorescence.
Every year when the Nobel Prizes come around, people are always putting bets on who’s going to win the Nobel Prize, and his name always comes up,” Cooley said. In addition, Zare is passionate about education and has pushed for protections of women in the sciences. “The real reason why I wanted to bring him in particular is that he doesn’t just have notoriety for being a really good scientist, but he has notoriety for being very interested in chemical education and interested in teaching chemistry to people. He’s also become more famous in recent years for being a champion for women’s rights in science,” Cooley said. “That was actually how my conversation with him started: I was thanking him for some very groundbreaking measures he did, like he was the first person to institute a pregnancy policy for graduate students in the chemistry department.” Camille Potts, junior biochemistry and molecular biology major who introduced Zare, was equally excited to have an advocate for women in the sciences brought to campus.
“I think it’s really important that we bring in people who show not only amazing science, but also other values that Trinity holds important. Dr. Zare was an amazing person to bring in, not only because he gave a very good talk about science to the general public, but also because he has been a champion of women in science and of the rights of women and minorities in science. To be able to see someone who has been nominated for a Nobel multiple times fight for these kinds of values and to get to meet him in person I think is awesome,” Potts said. In addition to his Wednesday lecture, Zare also talked to students — some of whom were able to present their research to him — and gave an additional chemistry seminar last Thursday regarding his primary research. Zare’s lecture was part of the Distinguished Scientists Lecture Series funded by a gift from the Walter F. Brown family of San Antonio. The next lecture will take place Dec. 4, when Tyrone B. Hayes of the department of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley will give his talk titled “From Silent Spring to Silent Night: A Tale of Toads and Men.”
Texas’ local music industry skyrockets since 2015
Blake Shelton voted ‘sexiest man alive’ by People magazine
According to the Texas Music Office, Texas’ local music scene accounts for almost $9 billion in annual revenue. Rock on, Texans!
Seriously, couldn’t all the eponymous ‘people’ of said magazine think of one sexier man? In a world where Jason Momoa lives, the answer is yes.
AE &
Review of ‘Into the Woods’: What great plays you have! AUSTIN DAVIDSON A&E CONTRIBUTOR adavids1@trinity.edu
I had the great pleasure of going to see the preview showing of Trinity University Theatre Department’s fall musical production of “Into the Woods.” To put it simply, I was blown away. From its magical set design to its awesome direction and incredible individual performances, it could be one of Trinity’s best shows and, is by far the best I’ve seen at the school. I wasn’t alone in this flowing of praise for the musical. “I loved it,” said Jess Jennings, a sophomore urban studies major. “Every time Kerry Madden was on, it was even more wonderful.” Madden, a junior, played the mean and humorous Stepmother, amd she did an excellent job. The show had many highlights. I could fill a whole newspaper with specific and overdrawn praise, but there are a few key aspects that deserve that highest of praise. First of all, the set design and execution was perfect. The show itself requires a revolving set, which added an otherworldly characteristic to each scene. While the characters sang, danced and roamed through the woods, the set itself moved, taking the characters to new areas and shifting the dynamic of the scene. The designers did a great job of making a minimalist set design, prompting viewers to imagine the wood planks as gnarled, black trees and the moving centerpiece as either a foreboding tower, albeit with a distinct lack of doors, or a tightly knit grove. By keeping the set simple, the actors were given freedom to roam around and were pushed to make the scene through their acting; to embody the mood for the audience. Believe me when I say the actors did a stunning job in capturing the mood of the musical and mesmerizing the viewer with humor, music and movement. Every single person who was
LEFT: Sophomore LEAH WOEHR plans a festival during a scene in the play. RIGHT: Junior NICO CHAMPION and sophomore ALEX OLIVER as the Baker and the Baker’s Wife, respectively. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer
in the cast really did an amazing job, though a certain few stood out from the rest and delivered some tear-jerking performances. Jackson Beach, junior, played both the Wolf and Cinderella’s Prince. Each time he took the stage, he filled it with energy and passion. While the Wolf ’s character is only on for one song and part of a scene, the way Beach truly dedicated each of his movements and cues to embodying the Wolf was impressive and hilarious. To top that off, his performance of Cinderella’s Prince was also fantastic. From his run to the duet with his brother, no moment with Beach on the stage was dull. His dedication to the roles and his obvious talent made for a performance I hope others will appreciate, too.
Another actor who blew me away was Nico Champion, junior, who played the Baker, a very integral role that requires an incredible voice and an ability to adapt to each scene. He performed the role with ease and panache. His duet with the Mysterious Man was somber and beautiful, and the dynamic he was able to achieve with each of the other characters was a joy to watch. But the standout performance was the Baker’s wife, played by sophomore Alex Oliver. She claimed to not have a good voice, but her solos and duets shone above the rest. Her ability to play off of others, to be the star of the scene and have the skill to share it, was really something else. She carried herself like a true professional
in every scene. I could continue to compliment, but the only way to truly appreciate her performance is to go and watch her in action. The cast of “Into the Woods” did an outstanding job. They tackled a difficult musical, pushed through the grueling rehearsal hours and created an enjoyable production that everyone should see. There will be performances until Nov. 18 at the Stieren Theater at 8 p.m. Projects and papers galore keep us all busy at this time of year, but nothing ends a week better than having some talented actors and actresses transport you to a world filled with music, love and magic instead of deadlines, stress and school.
The cast of “Into the Woods” takes a bow after a performance. A time-consuming production involving hours of rehearsal, intricate costume design and stage choreography, the play’s revolving set and earnest acting resonated with the audience. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer
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The
Nutcracker November 24-26, 30 December 1-3
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
What does it take to go ’Into the Woods’?
Theatre production staff discuss the props, costumes and technical aspects of putting on show
GEORGIE RIGGS A&E CONTRIBUTOR griggs@trinity.edu
The theatre department debuted “Into the Woods” last Friday, but preparation for this semester’s mainstage show has been ongoing since auditions were held in August. The production staff spent the past two months assembling a complicated, challenging, yet ultimately rewarding piece of theater. “This year is different because ‘Into the Woods’ is such a well-known show,” said Casey Deal, junior theatre major and assistant costume designer for the production. “To make it different from what has been done before and what people have seen before is more challenging.” With costume sketching starting at the end of August, Deal worked under the tutelage of Jodi Karjala, costume designer for the theatre department. As with past shows, part of the costuming was sourced from secondhand stores like Goodwill and then tailored to fit the characters. Impressively, this was done to fit a wide range of quite specific needs, such as sewing fur onto second-hand clothing to create the Big Bad Wolf ’s costume. Other looks were, by necessity, sewn from scratch, including that of the show’s most iconic character. “One thing that was really important for me was to have the instant recognition of Disney’s Cinderella with blue dress,” said Deal. “In most productions of ‘Into the Woods,’ Cinderella has a gold dress. Ours doesn’t look
like the animated Cinderella, but it does have that recognition of the Disney version.” Another iconic character look required more than a month of work to perfect. Rapunzel’s wig, often consisting of yarn, was sewn from multiple wigs to give the hair a more realistic look. “They’re real people caught in a very unrealistic situation,” said Mindy Tran, junior theatre major and production stage manager. The many magical elements of the show caused a few creative challenges. Some, like the prop chicken Hildegard, were small; the revolving centerpiece on stage was a more difficult task. Tran spoke of the logistic difficulty that these elements presented, as there had to be more than a handful of cues called at once. This musical, unlike Trinity’s 2015 production of “Threepenny Opera,” utilized microphones to ensure that the singing was as audible as the music. Microphone cues added to to cacophony of those unique to “Into the Woods,” like turning the revolving stage or releasing the fake chicken tied to a remote-control car. Lighting also played a role in creating the magical atmosphere for the show. Allie Butemeyer, senior theatre major and assistant lighting director working under Tim Francis, discussed a few of the small details that amalgamated into the fairy tale mood, like the ‘blue’ moon, which symbolizes the passage of time. In order to create the realistic light behind the structure, 10–15 bulbs are slowly lit underneath a layer of plastic. Other times, things as simple as keeping the beanstalk on stage lit with a downlight during the intermission helps keep the mood of the piece alive. “Most people will walk into the theatre and see how cool the set is, but may not realize how many hours go into these sets,” Butemeyer said. “The entire cast and crew put so much effort that is hidden when we actually have an audience. I love the moments when the audience is blown away by a light cue and you can hear it. The audience’s reaction to the entire show makes me love what I do and know that’s it not lost on people.” illustration by YESSENIA LOPEZ
BOLD & Beautiful H-E-B PERFORMANCE HALL AT THE TOBIN CENTER 100 AUDITORIUM CIRCLE | 210.223.8624 | TOBINCENTER.ORG
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • NOVEMBER 17, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
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‘China Pop in Globalization’ course to come in 2018 New special course in Trinity communication department to be taught by professor Zhaoxi Liu ABIGAIL WHARTON A&E CONTRIBUTOR awharton@trinity.edu
Students in modern America are exposed to the cultural products of countless places; it only makes sense that the same is true for people on the other side of the globe. China Pop in Globalization is an upper division special topics in communication media course to be offered in the 2018 spring semester. The class will be led by Zhaoxi Liu, assistant professor of communication. “The goal of this class is threefold,” Liu said. “First, to allow Trinity students to gain a deeper understanding of pop culture in China and also of the culture and society of today’s China in general. Second, the class intends to examine global influences on Chinese culture such as Hollywood, Bollywood, K-pop and J-pop. Amid all these global influences, did Chinese pop lose its Chinese identity? Third, the class aims at providing an in-depth case study of cultural globalization. Using Chinese pop as a specific case the class analyzes how indigenous and global cultural elements interact, how tradition and modernity negotiate and what globalization means for the culture of a centuries old nation.” While this course may seem more like a sociology seminar or an East Asian studies
illustration by YESSENIA LOPEZ
class than a communication course, Liu plans to emphasize the role of mass media in these concepts. “The course focuses on mass media, their content and meaning. It is more of a cultural critique of media and cultural globalization as manifest in China. Of course, it is very likely that some course material, such as some readings, will come from art, sociology and anthropology — which makes the course even more interesting due to such interdisciplinary aspects. But the main focus is still media messages and their meanings, which is an inquiry of communication studies,” Liu said.
! N I D E G G GET PLU
Liu was born and raised in Kunming, China and has worked as a journalist in Beijing, Hong Kong and the United States. Her research areas include the cultural meaning of news and mass media content, journalism as an occupation and a culture, comparative studies of journalism and mass media, as well as media systems and changes in China. Her interests and experiences were key to bringing this course into Trinity’s catalog. “I offer this class mostly out of my own research interests. In addition, I have been teaching a First Year Experience class, Being Young in Asia, which touches upon pop
culture in China. Students in that class were very interested in learning about Chinese pop culture. This new course would provide more through an extensive study of Chinese pop culture,” Liu said. Through study abroad summer programs in China, Liu has observed the enthusiasm Trinity students have for learning about Chinese culture. She believes there is a significant demand for a class that takes a deeper and broader look at pop culture outside of what is familiar here in the United States. In terms of class structure, Liu moves from abstract concepts to more specific ones and from communication theories to concrete case studies. “Students will read theoretical discussions about cultural globalization and then apply those ideas to analyze specific cases of China pop, such as TV drama, Chinese rock stars, Chinese movies, reality TV shows and even trends in Chinese food. That way, students gain theoretical guidance and analytical tools from the readings, but also get to survey some of the most prominent pop stars and media products in recent China,” Liu said. While the course fulfills the media studies requirement for communication majors, Liu believes that anybody interested in Chinese culture or globalization will find this course fun, exciting and insightful. “I hope students walk away with a new appreciation and deeper understanding of China’s pop culture which also helps them to understand Chinese culture in general, a better understanding of the process and dynamics of cultural globalization, and hopefully they also have a lot of fun,” Liu said. China Pop in Globalization (COMM3325-1) is offered Monday and Wednesday from 2:30–3:45 p.m. during the spring 2018 semester.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Small school, big voice: Chamber Singers go national NOELLE BARRERA A&E INTERN nbarrera@trinity.edu
Trinity’s Chamber Singers were chosen to perform for the National Collegiate Choir Association in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The students and conductor Gary Seighman performed the program “Ring Out Ye Northern Ecstasies!” for a large audience of choir members. The students performed the morning of Friday, Nov. 3. The experience was stressful at times, with a long bus ride from San Antonio to Baton Rouge. “It was a whirlwind, because we were gone for 36 hours, 16 of which were on the bus, and 8 or so were asleep,” said senior Shane Bono, who recently took second in the Rosalind Phillips Vocal Excellence Competition. “It was definitely a whirlwind, but it was a lot of fun.” Seighman, who directs the choir, says that the conference strengthened his relationship with his students. “Preparing for our featured performance at this conference, we spent countless hours refining our technique and exploring the artistic essence of each piece we performed. And because our voice is our instrument, singing is a very personal form of artistic expression. So when we are charged with trying to achieve a unified sound among 44 singers, one cannot help but connect on an emotional level with those around us,”
Seighman said. “What continues to amaze me is how much grit our students show in every rehearsal. Their constant attention to detail and willingness to take a chance is truly inspiring.” First-year Trace Glorioso called the trip a magical experience. “Sitting down and going through the music the day of the concert, there were a lot of butterflies but I got through it and then we got on stage, we kicked some butt, we sang some really good stuff,” said Glorioso. “I feel really honored to be a part of it.” The convention was held in an intimate setting that lent itself to powerful performances. “It was a small venue. It was in a little church, but all the people who attended were important people, like my choir director’s old teachers and professors,” Bono said. “So a lot of noteworthy people were in attendance, and only 12 choirs from around the nation were asked to sing. And our director was just so moved, and when we were singing our final piece you could tell he was starting to tear up during the performance.” For Glorioso, the experience was a reminder of music’s cultural importance. “I really learned that music is not just about performing it. I really learned that it’s a connection between people,” Glorioso said. “We were singing songs in Latin and German and Estonian and ... it didn’t matter what we were saying — there may have been a language barrier between the audience and us, but there was a universal message.” continued on PAGE 19
The Trinity Chamber Singers rehearse after the National Collegiate Choir Association’s conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Trinity was the smallest school to attend the event. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer
Latest Lennox Lecture: Tim Whitmarsh speaks ABIGAIL WHARTON A&E CONTRIBUTOR awharton@trinity.edu
The latest of this year’s Lennox Seminar lecture series brought another lauded speaker from the University of Cambridge to Trinity. On Monday, Nov. 6, Tim Whitmarsh gave a seminar entitled “Lion-hunting with Hadrian and Antinous.” Whitmarsh has taught Greek literature at Cambridge since 2014 and has previously worked at the universities of Oxford and Exeter. Whitmarsh conducts research in Greek literature and culture, but takes particular interest in the Greek world under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Roman emperor Hadrian ruled from A.D. 117–138 and championed both Greek and Egyptian culture. Hadrian took particular interest in history, antiquity and culture and made many efforts to preserve places, stories and traditions. In A.D. 130 he visited Egypt, and soon after began promoting faith in the universal god Serapis. During this same visit, his beautiful Greek lover Antinous drowned in the Nile River. Hadrian founded a new city called Antinopolis on the site and venerated the boy as the god Osiris-Antinous, also known as Antinous-Dionysus to the Greeks. Images in his likeness were raised across the empire. Whitmarsh began his lecture with a brief discussion of the Nile and its importance to the Egyptians. Once a year the river floods, and while there were both rational and mythic explanations for the phenomenon, Egyptian
life consistently relied on the Nile as it supplied water, food and transportation. The late 19th century saw an immense interest in Egyptian antiquity, particularly from the European countries. Fragments of papyrus were discovered in the village of Oxyrhynchus, which reveals portions of a poem dedicated to two men on a lion hunt in Egypt, art memorializing and lauding both Hadrian and Antinous. “Hadrian’s defeat of the lion is comparable to Zeus’ defeat of the Titans. He is standing as an icon of order against destruction brought by the natural world. He is shown as having stewardship of humanity,” Whitmarsh said. This heroism however, suggests Whitmarsh, is fused with tragedy. Red lotus flowers are said to have sprang on the bank of the Nile, where the slain lion bled. The symbolic significance of the Nile’s flowing water, lionslaying and the blooming flower are artfully twined together. “The flower is, in a sense, Antinous,” Whitmarsh said. The same flowers crowned the winners of the Greek-style games held in Antinopolis. “But it was the wetness that is the theme of the poem,” Whitmarsh said. The water of the Nile brings life to Egypt. To many Egyptians the seasonal flooding represented the death of Osiris and the tears of Isis, the palpable presence of the gods. The water took away Antinous, but gives life to his flower, which is brilliantly colored by the blood of Hadrian’s slain lion. While we may never know precisely who put pen to paper for Hadrian and Antinous’s poem, or what the story looks like in its entirety, we do possess a great deal of interconnected literary ideas that form unique connections between Roman, Greek and Egyptian traditions.
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Chamber Singers return YOSA Gold Series wows continued from PAGE 19 Seighman shared his amazement that the choir had been invited. “Most of the choirs invited come from schools 10–20 times our size and having conservatories with hundreds of music majors,” Seighman said. “What I didn’t expect was to be approached by a number of other choral conductors at small liberal arts schools who said that our invitation gave them renewed spirit — that we proved it was possible to reach this performance level with a choir full of different academic majors. I’ve said this before, but it is the equivalent of being invited to one of the major college football bowl games and being among all Division I schools.”
He also shared his favorite song from the conference’s program. “Personally, my favorite song would probably have to be ‘Singet dem Herrn,’ a setting of Psalm 98 by the early 20thcentury German composer, Hugo Distler,” Seighman said. “It is about six minutes of virtuosic acrobats with key modulations every few seconds, countless meter changes, and requiring the finest mental and vocal stamina just to get through the a cappella piece, let alone allowing the artistic expression to truly come out.” The choir’s participation in the conference was unexpected, but shows that small schools are not ignored.
The Trinity Chamber Singers perform in Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Normally reserved for larger colleges, the average group present came from colleges with hundreds of music majors. photo provided by GARY SEIGHMAN, associate professor of music
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If it weren’t for Troy Peters’ conducting, I wouldn’t have known that the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio’s (YOSA) Philharmonic were nearly finished with the piece. Top to bottom, the arrangement had been soft, meandering — calming, maybe, but unexciting. The strings were barely at a whimper, and they were mellowing still, petering out, until there was no more noise leaving the stage. Only the muffled sounds of shuffling audience members remained. Peters remained hunched over the violists. He stood still for a few seconds, hands closed, frowning slightly. Nobody moved. We were quiet, our collective gaze fixated on his podium. Abruptly, Peters stormed offstage. And the audience erupted in applause. YOSA Philharmonic had just finished performing the premiere of YOSA alumnus Niccolo Athens’ “Out of the Forest Primeval” as part of their first Gold Series performance, “Star Wars and Other Epic Adventures.” It wasn’t until this moment that I understood Athens’ point. In his contribution to the event’s program notes, he casts his work as a meditation on the aesthetic value of biodiversity. But that’s not the whole picture. Athens did use these arrangements of sound to celebrate and represent natural beauty. He also used silence to force us to realize where we were, who we were around and the relations between each of us seated in the Tobin Center that night. That brief moment of quiet contemplation, of suddenly being aware of our presence in the midst of others, did the trick. It was astounding. It was astonishing for another reason: I couldn’t believe we’d been treated to this reflective exercise in the middle of a concert dedicated to “epic adventures.” The preceding performances — first of Carlos Chávez’s “Sinfonía India,” then of Alexander Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” — certainly fit the bill. Chávez’s symphony, which comprises three melodies inspired by the music of native Mexicans in the nation’s northern region, felt like an Odyssean journey: Excited, quick themes accompanied by what some might call ‘world music’ instrumentation took the audience on a flight through the continent before making way for piccolos to lead us through periods of reflection. One instrument would pick out a melody, then all the strings would join,
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resounding together in repetition as the brass and percussion sections contributed texture. This method would itself be repeated again, with a new solo instrument and a new tune to exalt. The adventure ended on a hopeful note. Borodin’s work, written for his unfinished opera “Prince Igor,” is definitely Russian. Its first movement is swift, thanks in large part to the strings’ tremolo underneath a soaring flute accompanied by sparkling triangle and tambourine action. Even the comparatively solemn second movement is marked by a sense of intentionality and preparation: a determination unburdened by sadness or trepidation. The clarinet moves us forward while violins hum lowly, then the brass introduces a tone suggesting tension, even as the woodwinds drive forward. That’s where I was when Athens premiered his work, when we were asked to settle down and contemplate the rich spirituality latent when we interface with nature. Off-topic, maybe, but it worked in lieu of a more traditional intermission. Having been stunned by Athens’ judicious use of silence and sound, Peters finally led the Philharmonic into the headlining performances. The orchestra played a “Star Wars Suite” that hit every note a fan could ask for. As someone who grew up watching VHS tapes of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, I was impressed by how well the orchestra navigated John Williams’ scores. The lineup included the series’ main theme followed by the leitmotifs accompanying the characters of Princess Leia, Darth Vader and Master Yoda, then ended with the “Throne Room” music featured in the original film’s final sequence and closing credits. Listening to the full-length version of the main theme was a trip. The film’s final cut doesn’t include the entire track, so listening to the full composition was equal parts nostalgic and fresh. Hearing it live was even better — a chill ran down my spine as I heard each of the twinkling stars and whistling asteroids, the snares and brass of the “Imperial March.” The tunes are so familiar as to not require recapitulation; suffice it to say that a live performance of even these recognizable works is absolutely the best way to experience the music. YOSA’s first Gold Series performance of this year’s season was excellent. The performances were impactful, intimate and innovative. Peters paired a unique premiere of an up-and-coming composer’s music with the well-trod works of Williams, and it was a smart decision. As I left the Tobin Center, I couldn’t help but wonder: When’s the Philharmonic’s next concert?
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Sports
LET THE GAMES BEGIN: • Women’s Cross Country @ NCAA Championships, Nov. 18, in Elsah, IL • Swimming & Diving Tiger Invitational Meet , Nov. 17–19 • Men’s Basketball vs. Howard Payne University, Nov. 21, 7 p.m.
Tigers fall short on quest for national championship After hard-fought season, Tiger volleyball, soccer, football reach an end; Cross-country carries on HAILEY WILSON | SPORTS REPORTER hwilson@trinity.edu Regional play began this weekend, and all Tiger teams did a fought to represent Trinity on the court and on the field. Volleyball The No. 4-ranked Tiger volleyball team fell short to Pacific Lutheran University in the opening round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) playoffs on Nov. 10. The Tigers dropped the opening set 25-16, but came back with a huge 25-19 to even the match 1-1. Pacific Lutheran kicked it into gear and capped off the win with two straight victories, 25-23 and 27-25. The Tigers finished 27-8 this season and will be losing three seniors: Rebecca Hayes,
Madeline McKay and Kirby Smith. Hayes, McKay, and Smith all made a lasting impact on the volleyball program both on and off of the court, as all three accumulated several All-SCAC recognition several times throughout their careers, as well as All-Region recognition. Smith was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All American her junior year. Soccer The Tiger women’s soccer team opened up region play on Nov. 11 with a matchup against The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Tigers shut out Mary Hardin-Baylor with a 2-0 win. Goals from Chelsea Cole and Julia Kelly put the Tigers on top. After advancing to the second round, the Tigers fell short to the Hardin-Simmons University 3-2. Trinity scored early in the
game when Hardin-Simmons made an own goal, followed by a goal by Cole. Meredith Licata scored a goal in the 33rd minute to put the Tigers up 2-1. Hardin-Simmons scored a goal in the 82nd minute and another a few moments later to secure the win to advance to the next round. Trinity bids farewell to nine seniors. For the past four years, the Tigers have been led by Kalli Douma, Jordan Bethea, Hannah Booher, Julia Camp, Meredith Licata, Colleen Markey, Tierney Thomison, Abby Tisdale and Julia Kelly. The seniors gathered many All-SCAC honors, Academic All-American honors and All-Region honors. The men’s soccer team hosted the first and sound round of regionals at Paul McGinlay Field on Nov. 11 and 12. The Tigers began the tournament with a win against University of
Texas at Tyler, 5-1. Junior Austin Michaelis led the Tigers with two goals, and sophomore Blake Lieberman guarded the net with three saves. “We got a lot of opportunities going just through playing the way we play and sticking to our game plan,” Michaelis said. Head coach Paul McGinlay was extremely satisfied with the team’s performance on Saturday. “We really had a tremendous first half. You take 12 shots on goal and limit the opposition to three … it was the quality of the opportunities we created,” McGinlay said. The Tigers advanced to play Mary HardinBaylor on Sunday evening, but were eliminated from the playoffs with a 3-2 loss. The Trinity offense was led by Brady Johnston and Quentin Van Der Lee, each scoring a goal. Mary-Hardin Baylor was able to sneak in a goal towards the end of the first half, and the game remained scoreless from then on. “It was a contest worthy of a final,” McGinlay said.
“It was a contest worthy of a final.” PAUL MCGINLAY MEN’S SOCCER COACH
TOP: CHRISTIAN SAKSHAUG, left, QUENTIN VAN DER LEE, back right, and DANIEL RUANO, front right, fought valiantly for men’s soccer this season. BOTTOM: Women’s cross-country is the only fall sport headed to the NCAA National Championships. photos by ALLISON WOLFF, staff photographer
The Tigers will lose seven seniors. Guy Harris, Cooper Fyfe, Daniel Ruano, Brent Mandelkorn, Daylon Gordon, Chris Madden and Kellen Reid have led Trinity for the last four seasons. The senior class made the Tigers proud with many All-SCAC honors, All-American honors and All-Region honors. Cross-Country The women’s cross-country team competed in the South/Southeast Region championship on Saturday Nov. 11, and snagged the championship with a score of 80 points. The women have qualified for the Division III championships that will take place this weekend in Illinois. Junior Molly McCullough led the Tigers with a third place finish among the 240 runners, followed by Haley McFadden and Laura Taylor, who finished fourth and sixth, respectively. The men’s team finished fifth among 31 teams, led by first-year Harry Bellow. Senior Austin Brown finished in 32nd place and was able to capture an All-Region honor to finish the season strong. “I think we all felt pretty great. The cool weather really got me pumped and I think everyone went out and gave it their all,” Bellow said. Despite setbacks Bellow faced throughout the season, he was glad to go out, compete and finish the season strong. “I was injured for most of the season so that got me pretty bummed, but coming back and scoring points at conference and regionals has me thrilled to see what our team can do in the future. The highlight of the season was taking back the crown from Colorado College at the conference. We are looking to keep the crown in San Antonio for good,” Bellow said. Football The Tiger football team wrapped up their season with a close loss to Berry College, 24-21. Trinity put up a stellar effort all game long and tied the game at 21 early in the fourth quarter, but Berry was able to seal the win with a touchdown drive that ate up the remainder of the clock.
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OREC allows students to explore nature The Outdoor Recreation organization offers hiking, camping, canoeing and other adventures HAILEY WILSON | SPORTS REPORTER hwilson@trinity.edu For the last 25 years, Trinity’s Outdoor Recreation (OREC) group has been giving students the opportunity to explore not only the state of Texas, but the entire country. OREC is a student-led organization that centers around taking students on outdoor excursions, ranging from hiking, swimming, backpacking to canoeing and more, in the hopes of relieving some stress and learning about nature. This semester, OREC has already been on quite a few trips. The club went tubing and canoeing on the Guadalupe River, jumped off of cliffs at Pace Bend and even volunteered by walking dogs while partnering with the New Braunfels Humane Society and Shelter. The group also went horseback riding at Rancho Cortez in Bandera, hiking in Pedernales Falls in Johnson City and Lost Maples Natural State Area, camping at Sulphur Springs on the Colorado River and biking along the Mission Trail on the Riverwalk. David Spindel, a sophomore business administration major, led the Sulphur Springs camping trip and the biking trip along the Mission Trail. Spindel is serving as one of the OREC trip leaders this year. “My favorite part about being an OREC trip leader is having the opportunity to continue my outdoor adventures while also taking a leadership role and educating others,” Spindel said. Spindel is an Eagle Scout from Portland, Oregon and believes in everything OREC has to offer. “I find nature to be a very relaxing and therapeutic contrast to our stress-filled daily lives,” Spindel said. Other leaders for the 2017–2018 year include Julia Weis, Madelyn Gaharan, Liz Sanchez, Maddy Walshak, Shane Bono, Matt Brant, Alejandro Esparza and Ian Witecki. (Weis is the sports editor and Gaharan is the pulse editor for the Trinitonian.) OREC leaders are trained and prepared for anything — they recently all became wilderness first aid certified through a course
with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Austin. Shane Bono, a senior business analytics and technology major, led the canoeing trip this semester. Bono was in OREC last year, and is in the process of planning a spring break ski trip to Colorado. He feels that all the leaders of OREC really have an impact on the trips. “We come from many different backgrounds, but we all get pumped about nature. I feel like we could be your stereotypical crazy, nerdy and energetic camp counselors, but that’s what makes spending time with OREC so meaningful — it’s always an experience,” Bono said. Liz Sanchez, a senior English major, also emphasized the bonding experience that comes with OREC. “I really enjoy having the opportunity to get to know students outside of the Trinity bubble,” Sanchez said. “One of my favorite parts about OREC is the bonding that happens when you take an awesome group of people outside and do some outdoorsy things.” OREC also rents out tons of gear and has tips and tricks to help make your outdoor excursions easy. Stop by the OREC office in the William H. Bell Athletic Center to rent tents of various sizes, backpacks, sleeping bags, tarps and more. There is only one more trip coming up this semester. The team will embark on a four-day Thanksgiving trip to White Sands National Monument and Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. Over winter break, they’re going to be training their new trip leaders through a backpacking trip in Big Bend National Park. You can catch the OREC team during ‘SlackCity,’ a weekly event OREC holds, next to Miller Fountain. You can stop by from 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. on Fridays to chat with leaders about upcoming trips, or give slacklining, similar to walking a tightrope, a try. They are also hiring new trip leaders for the spring semester, so if you’re interested in working for OREC, or you want more information about trips or renting equipment, you can email orec@trinity.edu.
TOP: OREC went on their first camping trip in the Sulphur Springs by the Colorado River. BOTTOM: First-years EMMA POOL and MORGAN PRESTON climb up. photos provided by OREC
LEFT: OREC went hiking in the Lost Maples Natural State Area last weekend. RIGHT: OREC Trip Leader MADELYN GAHARAN led a trip on horseback riding on Rancho Corez. photos provided by OREC
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SPORTS • NOVEMBER 17, 2017 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
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Getting to know the Noon Ballers Several Trinity students and professors often meet up on Fridays to play some casual basketball
everyone to come together to play; all players know the drill. Without Noon Ball, players are left hoping to find other people to play with during free time in their schedule, which does not always line up accordingly. Alexander is unable to play a lot during the week outside of Noon Ball.
SAUL MALEK | SPORTS REPORTER smalek@trinity.edu 12 p.m., Fridays, in Webster Gym. When these students aren’t working, trying to catch up on sleep or missing meals, you can find them on the basketball court, facing off against professors in the weekly Noon Ball game. Tigers play casual pick-up games throughout the week, usually featuring teams of four or five, with the teams playing full court to 12. This informal setup usually happens throughout the week until Friday, when the Noon Ball players come out for their weekly pick-up game. A long-standing Trinity tradition, the game pits professors and students against one another. The rules have stayed constant for years: full court, teams of five, and the first team to seven baskets wins. For hard-working students, it can be tough to find solace away from the classroom. Many find Noon Ball to be a fun way to engage with professors and relax on a Friday afternoon. “Noon Ball is cool ’cause we play slightly different rules [from the rest of the week] and the professors come, which is fun,” said senior Mac McCrory. “Sometimes Dean Tuttle [joins]. He calls me ‘The Assassin.’ ” Getting involved with professors on a competitive and personal level certainly draws students into Noon Ball. “The games are fairly competitive and everyone has a good time,” said sophomore Dylan Alexander. “It’s nice to meet professors you wouldn’t have [met] otherwise.” A fun way for students to interact with professors, Noon Ball is also beloved among students because it’s a consistent way to relax at the end of the busy week. There is no difficulty with coordinating a time for
“Sometimes Dean Tuttle [joins]. He calls me ‘The Assassin.’ ” MAC MCCRORY SENIOR NOON BALLER
First-year SAM GUSTAFSSON enjoys balling out. photo by ALLISON WOLFF, staff photographer
“[I play] usually once or twice a week,” Alexander said. “During IM basketball season, I usually play a lot more.” For basketball aficionados, the sport is merely one way of staying active during free time. A lot of players find themselves looking for other activities to engage with when basketball games are not taking place. “I analyze sports and play other sports in my time that isn’t spent studying,” McCrory said. Sophomore Mason Dunn also finds other ways to get involved. “[I play] some soccer, participate in my fraternity, and study a lot,” Dunn said. Whenever they’re not studying, Tigers can find comfort knowing that eventually it will be noon on Friday again, where surely, in Webster Gymnasium, a ball will be dribbled up and down the court as professors and students alike come together to engage in an activity they both love — basketball.
Sidewalk Symposium Fall Athletes: What has been your favorite moment of the season?
“Showing up at a conference meet where everyone did their job and bringing home a conference championship trophy on both men’s and women’s teams.”
— Colton Hawkins, sophomore, men’s cross-country
“Immediately after we [lost a game in California,] we had a game against Cal Lu, who was ranked like 6th in the nation, and we really came together as a team and took care of them.” — Maggie Linker, sophomore, volleyball
“I would say the team. Everyone’s very friendly and focused and respectable.”
“Whenever we beat Chapman. The emotions during that game were crazy.” — Charles Davis, first-year, football
— Megan Mardashti, junior, women’s cross-country
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Intro to Intramurals Rec Sports director Kristen Harrison gives the lowdown on this season’s recreational teams ELISE HESTER | SPORTS REPORTER ehester@trinity.edu Intramural sports, also known as IMs, have a great place in Trinity history. , from NCAA athletes to the least athletic among us, Trinity students can enjoy the wide variety of IMs offered. “No skill is required and only a great attitude is needed,” said Kristen Harrison, Recreational Sports director. “Everyone’s out there for fun and competing to win that intramural t-shirt at the end of the semester.” Here’s a quick look at this season’s line up of intramural leagues, including an inside scoop on each from Harrison herself. The best team names were decided by the author and reflect her personal opinion. Dodgeball Location: Webster’s Gym Gameplay: Teams are restricted to one side of the court, from which they must eliminate members of the other team by hitting them with 6–7 inch diameter foam balls. Games are five minutes long and the first team to win three games wins. “The fun part is when we get down towards the end of the game,” Harrison said. “If there’s 30 seconds left in the game, there are no boundaries.” Best team name: Schweddy (Dodge) Balls Inside Scoop: “Everyone just enjoys playing cause they’re reminiscing about their elementary school days and how much fun they used to have when they were kids and they still want to have that joy and take a break from studying and classes,” Harrison said. “It’s just reliving the glory days of elementary school.”
Soccer Location: Intramural Field Gameplay: A typical game of soccer, but with fewer players, smaller nets and a smaller field. Best team name: Scrappy Casual Inside Scoop: “We adjust it to how many players show up just ‘cause we want to have games,” Harrison said, “Typically we’d like to have 7-on-7, but if teams have eight or nine players we’ll allow them to play with less, sometimes even 4-on-4.” Slow Pitch Softball Location: Softball Field Gameplay: A typical game of softball, but the ball is pitched much slower. Best team name: Basic Pitches Inside Scoop: “[Intramural] softball has always been a tradition at Trinity. It kind of went on a little bit of a hiatus, I guess, so we brought it back as a tournament last year. It was very popular for those two days that we had it so we decided to try and make it an actual league and we have eight teams signed up,” Harrison said. Throughout the semester, Recreational Sports is also offering one-day tournaments for ping pong, pickleball and yard games, and also hosted the Turkey Trot this past Thursday, on Nov. 16. IMs are a fun way for students to participate in sporting events without the pressure of club and NCAA teams. Follow IM Sports on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram for more updates — or just to see all the funny names of the teams.
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