04.27.2018

Volume 115 Issue 26

9

OPINION

Trinitonian Serving Trinity University Since 1902

TU should offer paid leave for both faculty and staff

24 Retiring faculty and staff PULSE share Trinity memories

APRIL 27, 2018

26 Opinion: This year’s blockbusters A&E represent change in film industry

Earth Week TU aims to limit food waste, including 4.23 promotes tons of trash that Mabee creates weekly sustainability Dining Services looking to become a more sustainable part of campus

Trinity celebrates Earth, environmental friendliness GABBY GARRIGA | PULSE REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu

Trinity’s Stand Band blared their horns to help attract students and professors to the Earth Week Festival last Friday. Once they arrived, Eco Allies members taught professors and students how to recycle, giving out free plants and reusable shopping bags. Before attendees left, members of TU Progressives made sure they were registered to vote for politicians who would support sustainable legislature.

This year’s earth week offered a range of opportunities for the Trinity community to learn about sustainable living and climate change. The festivities began with Nacho Hour on Wednesday, April 18. They continued with Sustainabili-TEA on Thursday, where the sustainability office discussed what it means to be sustainable on campus and how students can help. Friday’s Earth Week Festival included organizations from across campus who talked about their perspective on sustainability, and Eco Allies also led a sustainability-themed trivia night on Friday evening. Earth week concluded with Garden Work Day on Sunday, April 22, when students met to garden native Texas plants.

Eco allies — an organization focused on raising awareness of environmental issues on campus — was the primary group organizing earth week festivities. “[Sustainability] is something that everyone kind of knows about in the back of their head, but they don’t really think about it on a daily basis,” said Katherine Jones, sophomore geoscience major and president of Eco Allies. “So Earth Week is our chance to draw people’s focus to environmental issues in maybe a more positive way than we see all the time.” continued on PAGE 24

According to an Einstein’s Bros. Bagels employee, employees are required to dispose of bagels after four hours, as they may become stale. Although there is much food waste on campus, Dining Services is trying to become more sustainable. photo by JORDAN BRUCE, webmaster

BOBBY WATSON | NEWS REPORTER rwatson@trinity.edu According to Sharon Curry, sustainability coordinator, Mabee alone produces about 4.23 tons of trash weekly, and much of that is food waste. In the process of providing multiple food vendors and an open buffet for Trinity’s 2500 students plus faculty and staff the university produces a substantial amount of food waste.

However, Trinity and Aramark have several processes that attempt to minimize their

contribution to landfills, including a compost and recycling system.

“We are very mindful of what’s going on. One thing is you know people are always concerned about the amount of food waste that we have [at Mabee dining hall], but for an all-you-caneat kind of program, there’s always going to be a little of waste just because if we had zero waste we wouldn’t have any food out,” said Charles Robles, food service director of Aramark.

Mabee creates blank amount of preconsumer food waste. To minimize this,

Trinity uses a compost and recycling system with large bins called earth tubs. The compost is used throughout the campus in the soil to promote green life. Not only is this more eco-friendly, but if done correctly, it is more cost-effective.

“They put into the earth tubs approximately 125 pounds of pre-consumer food scraps daily. That is composted. It is held in the machine for 30 days,” said Sharon Curry, sustainability coordinator. “We take it out finish it elsewhere on campus, and then it’s used around campus.”

Several students have also attempted to contribute to Trinity’s progressive policies, though with varying results. Former Trinity student Madelyn Gaharan reached out to Aramark and worked with Robles to make Mabee dining more sustainable and environmentally aware.

“Most of the food was coming from really far away,” Gaharan wrote in an email interview. “So the first priority, along with Charles Robles in Mabee, was to find local food alternatives for the dining hall, which is primarily a much more sustainable food proactive, and second, usually tastes better.

Additionally, composting became a more practiced sustainability option.”

Gaharan added that dining services goes beyond just composting food waste.

“Also, all oil has to be specially disposed because it’s really dangerous to just throw it away,” Gaharan said. “Last year, Mabee started collaborating with a company that actually uses the oil from the dining hall and converts it to bio-fuel, which is kind of cool.”

EcoAllies, an environmental awareness group, has also tried to aid in minimizing food waste by making the student body more aware. In recent years, the group has taken a more passive stance on the issue by placing informative posters on food waste throughout Mabee. continued on PAGE 7

Trinity to begin drug-testing athletes Athletics department will administer tests in the fall

KENDRA DERRIG | SPORTS EDITOR kderrig@trinity.edu A memo from Deneese Jones, vice president for Academic Affairs, announced on Wednesday that a new policy regarding athlete drug testing will be instituted this coming fall. Athletes will now be subject to random tests for performanceenhancing drugs (PEDs) as part of a “PED initiative” that Jones, Bob King, director of athletics, and Trinity coaches are in the process of developing.

According to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) guidelines, after one positive test, athletes will lose one full year of eligibility. A second offense will result in the loss of all remaining eligibility.

Currently, NCAA Division III policy does not require any drug tests at the DIII level unless

a team is participating in national playoffs.

Trinity’s new random tests will test for PEDs, such as amphetamines and anabolic steroids.

The tests will also apply to some over-thecounter drugs. Trinity will continue to not test for recreational drugs.

“Because Division III programs are generally smaller and the student athletes do not receive scholarships, regular season testing has not been mandatory in the NCAA. However, in postseason, we are subject to testing,” King said.

In an anonymous survey conducted by the Trinitonian, 21.8 percent of athletes admitted to using recreational drugs while in season, and 2.3 percent admitted to using PEDs. These numbers are similar to those reported by the NCAA for DIII at a national level. While DIII schools are not required to test for drug use, DI and DII athletes are regularly subjected to tested. This is reflected in the numbers. continued on PAGE 28

Deneese Jones, vice president for Academic Affairs, announced that a new drug-testing policy will be instituted this coming fall. Athletes will now be subject to random tests for performance-enhancing drugs, as a part of an initiative that is currently being developed. FILE PHOTO

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

NEWS

Previously, on SGA: The Long and Winding Meeting This issue covers the SGA meeting on April 23.

CAMPUS CLIMATE CHECK Junior senator Julia Shults, member of the committee created to find a new First-Year Experience coordinator, asked SGA members to reach out to her with any concerns that they might want her to raise at the next committee meeting.

BUDGET FUNDING Each spring, university-sponsored organizations (USOs) present budget proposal requests to SGA. Unlike registered student organizations (RSOs), which receive funds from the student activity fee (SAF) on a request basis, USOs receive a yearly budget that is funded once for the entire year.

Senators considered how much money would be left for RSOs after funding USO budgets, estimating that the total SAF allotment would be roughly $670,000. After three hours of discussion, SGA senators made their final decisions.

Greek Council requested $34,875, which is $1,200 less than it requested last year. SGA approved the amount of $31,875, cutting $1,000 from their conference budget and $2,000 from their guest speaker budget.

Student Ambassadors requested $30,422, which is $3,580 more than it requested last year. SGA approved the amount of $27,622, decreasing the proposed budget for conferences, cutting $1,000 for I Heart TU week and $200 in the budget for first-year gifts.

Student Programming Board (SPB) requested $216,202.92, which is over $37,500 more than it requested last year. SGA approved the amount of $173,847.92, which includes no funding for the proposed Spring Concert but makes up the $10,000 difference of SPB’s five-year average funding. They denied the $4,500 line-item for shirts.

Trinity Diversity Connection requested $35,042.92, which is the exact amount it requested last year. SGA approved the amount of $32,609.92, reducing the programming budget by $1,500 and Diversity Dialogues budget by a third, $933.

Trinity University Volunteer Action Committee (TUVAC) requested $22,850, which is $1,400 less than it requested last year. SGA approved the amount of $22,350, cutting the costs of shirts in half, $500.

Unlike the previous organizations, Recreational Sports and Campus Publications — including the Trinitonian and Mirage — are not technically USOs. The SGA constitution requires the senate to fund Recreational Sports and Campus Publications at least their five-year average.

The Trinitonian requested $46,650, which is $6,580 more than it requested last year. It also requested an extra $10,000 to pay for advertisements for RSOs. SGA approved the entire budget but did not approve the extra $10,000.

Mirage requested $46,200, which is $4,257.20 more than it requested last year.

SGA approved $42,042, reducing the proposed budget by 9 percent.

Recreational Sports requested $213,263, which is $12,242 more than it requested that year. SGA approved $192,435.86, halving an increase in the Club Sports budget from $10,000 to $5,000 and decreasing Outdoor Recreation funding by $1,000.

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

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Corrections • In the April 20 issue, the article “USOs request $636,961.84,” implies

that SGA cannot cut line items for USOs and that they must grant each USO at least their five-year average. This information only applies to Campus Publications and Recreational Sports.

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

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NEWS • APRIL 27, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

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A year of City Vista: Trials, triumphs and trash Off-campus housing leaves students with mixed emotions

Trinity purchased the City Vista apartments in January 2017, and this spring semester marks a full year of Trinity students living in the off-campus complex. Students noted the benefits of living in the apartments, including increased independence and close proximity to campus, but students also found challenges in the new living space. Despite maintenance issues and the large expense of living at City Vista, students found overall experience to be good. Many of the issues this year have been resolved by the Residential Life staff. FILE PHOTO

NOELLE BARRERA | NEWS REPORTER nbarrera@trinity.edu May marks the end of the first year of Trinity students living in the City Vista apartments on the corner of Hildebrand and Devine.

Trinity purchased City Vista in January 2017. In an email to the campus community, Danny Anderson, president of the university, explained that the university prioritized student feedback when making the decision to purchase the apartments.

“Since I became president at Trinity, I have listened to students. One message that I heard was that students liked the residential living experience and they wanted additional options with greater independence,” Anderson wrote. “The campus master planning process included student surveys and student focus groups. A key finding there was the interest in apartment-style living opportunities on campus to provide more privacy and independence.”

Melissa Flowers, then the director of Residential Life, thought that City Vista’s more independent living arrangement would benefit students’ personal growth.

“Providing students with increased autonomy in their living environment as they progress through their time at the university better prepares them for productive and successful lives after graduation,” Flowers told the Trinitonian last January.

David Tuttle, dean of students and interim director of Residential Life, spoke about why City Vista is currently in high demand from juniors and seniors.

“The benefits, I think, are the proximity to campus, the fact that upperclassman students are living with other students who they’ve already established a relationship and community with, the facility itself was built as a luxury apartment building,” Tuttle said. “And so I think it’s just a really nice apartment, and it gives students an opportunity to be off the meal plan and to do their own cooking.”

Tuttle said that City Vista’s first year has gone well overall, and that more seniors have signed up

to live in City Vista next year than did last year.

However, life at City Vista hasn’t been without its challenges. On April 9, Tuttle sent an email to City Vista residents reporting incidents of vandalism, theft and “trashing” of the apartment building over the previous weekend.

“I think we have an unwritten social contract with students, sharing our mutual desire that City Vista remain nice for current and future residents,” Tuttle wrote in the email. “Additionally, we are all hoping that the students there, all juniors and seniors, can live maturely and autonomously without intrusion from the staff. In order to strike this precarious balance I ask that you care for the facility and respect your neighbors.”

According to Tuttle, this situation is rare at City Vista.

“That email was sent just to encourage people to take care of [City Vista] and to let them know what the consequences would be if people were found to be damaging property, committing vandalism or theft or disrupting the facility,” Tuttle said. “We want this facility to be taken care of for future generations of students. It’s not just about people that are there now; it’s about making this an attractive option for students next year, in five years, 10 years from now.”

Laura Twomey, a junior currently living in City Vista, enjoys the apartments’ proximity to Trinity.

“I really enjoy kind of getting the off-campus experience while still being really close to campus,” Twomey said. “It’s a really nice walk there and back, and it’s a quick drive too, but still off-campus — like you have your own apartment, your own space, there’s a little less regulation there — but it’s still in the Trinity community.”

Twomey said that a drawback to living at City Vista is that maintenance issues can be slow to resolve.

“One of the things that I’ve noticed is the maintenance isn’t always taken care of super quickly, although the maintenance people are very nice and very helpful,” Twomey said. “When we first moved in this semester, people had just been living here, so there were a lot of issues like mold in the dishwasher. ... The latest thing is that the

apartment above us flooded because their washing machine broke, so we had water leaking from our ceiling, but they fixed it up, and it stopped.”

Rachel Shepherd, a Trinity alumna who graduated in 2017, lived in City Vista.

“City Vista was more expensive but my roommate and I liked the amenities, so we did some crunching and decided that we could afford it,” Shepherd said.

Despite the cost, Shepherd thinks City Vista lives up to its value.

“I liked how spacious the dorms were compared to the dorms in Lightner Hall, where I lived the prior year,” Shepherd said. “Because I like to cook, I also enjoyed having a full kitchen, which made it easier for me to cook food. Not having to eat campus food made it easier for me to control my food choices.”

“I think we have an unwritten social contract with students, sharing our mutual desire that City Vista remain nice for current and future residents. ” DAVID TUTTLE DEAN OF STUDENTS

Stephanie Ackerman, assistant director of Housing Operations, and Jamie Ward, property management coordinator, oversee City Vista’s daily operations.

In September, the Trinitonian wrote an article about City Vista’s struggles with trash pickup.

Students had been leaving trash in their stairwells, instead of placing their trash cans in their hallways

in accordance with City Vista trash pickup procedures.

According to Ackerman, the trash pickup issues at City Vista have been resolved.

“GCA now manages the valet trash service. While there is certainly still litter scattered throughout the property, I’ve seen a significant decrease in trash bags being left in stairwells or next to non-designated trash bins,” Ackerman wrote in an email interview. “We were communicating quite often with students regarding these issues at one point, but I believe the changes made to the trash policy have remedied some of our issues.”

Ackerman responded to complaints that City Vista is too expensive compared to off-campus apartments.

“I don’t know that students necessarily take into consideration that the cost of living at City Vista includes cable, internet, utilities, light furnishings, campus resources — including oncall facilities staff — on-site parking, access to amenities, a washer/dryer in-unit, etc.,” Ackerman wrote. “Students can essentially live ‘off’ of main campus, yet still take advantage of the resources the university provides.”

Residential Life held focus groups in the fall semester for potential changes to City Vista, and some changes have already been implemented.

“We’ve extended the hours of the lounge and the game room and have adjusted the valet trash service to better accommodate student schedules,” Ackerman wrote. “We also added a recycling option on every trash service day — before, there was only one day designated for recycling.”

Ackerman wrote that Residential Life plans to improve the City Vista experience next year.

“We’re planning on providing more opportunities for community building next year, and hosting programs that students have stated would be most helpful to them — i.e. how to do taxes, how to budget,” Ackerman wrote. “We’re still in a period of transition, therefore I highly anticipate making changes that will improve student experiences throughout the next several years.”

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

NEWS

1869 Scholars program runs for second year

Faculty, staff met for two years to create program for students, alumni SKYLR MCCORMICK-ISOM | NEWS REPORTER smccorm1@trinity.edu The 1869 Scholars Program pairs alumni with students to help them develop essential professional skills for their future careers and college studies. It is currently funded through the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education grant (NetVUE) from the Council for Independent Colleges. It will run through May 2019, when the grant expires.

The program was kicked off in the summer of 2016 with a trial group and was followed by a pilot program in Spring 2017. Trinity faculty members such as Experiential Learning director Jacob Tingle, Student Involvement director Jamie Thompson, former Resident Life director Melissa Flowers and Career Services director Twyla Hough — all of whom are alumni — met for approximately two years to develop the program. This academic year was the first official year the program was in place.

To get involved, students fill out an online application. As part of the application process, students must submit a resume and two samples of their written communication skills — one that provides a biographical summary of their educational background, professional experience and other academic qualifications or activities, and one that serves as an introduction to a potential employer.

TWYLA HOUGH, director of Career Services, is an alumna of Trinity and met with a group of faculty and staff members to develop the 1869 Scholars program. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer

A student is chosen for the program based on these samples and on the student’s resume. On the webpage for the program, there are multiple resources available to assist with being accepted into the program such as a resume guide, a cover letter guide and LinkedIn profile resources.

Those who are of the chosen 120 applicants are assigned to a certain track depending on their year. Sophomores are placed in the

vocation track, juniors are placed in either track depending on their curricular experiences and application responses, and seniors are placed in the skills articulation track to further prepare them for post-graduate opportunities.

Each track involves being partnered with an alumni mentor. However, students in the vocation track are paired with mentors who may or may not be specialized in the same field they are studying.

“This is intentional as we want students to be able to think outside of the box as they explore open-ended questions,” said Jamie Thompson, director of Student Involvement.

According to Jamie Thompson, skills articulation track participants will be matched with an alumni that specializes in the same field next year. Although this will mean the alumni mentor recruitment will take place after interested students are identified, this will help the mentors assist the graduating students with networking, advice and more.

To train to be a mentor, recruited alumni participate in a nearly hour-long webinar. The content of the training includes a program overview, information and expectations about the two tracks, what the mentors can and cannot do and time for a question and answer session.

The program focuses on developing eight specific skills: effective communication, engaged citizenship, teamwork, problem solving and innovation, planning and organization, information literacy, digital literacy and quantitative reasoning. Academic Affairs and Student Life decided on targeting these skills after researching the Pathways curriculum, the Trinity alumni survey, the National Association for College Employers skills, among other things.

“The program doesn’t teach the skills.

Rather, participants in the skills articulation track are expected to make direct connections between their experiences at Trinity and these skills,” Thompson said. “One of the activities includes story-telling. The student shares a narrative, such as one would do in response to a behavioral interview question, and the alumni mentor provides feedback.”

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Thalia Cedeno

NEWS • APRIL 27, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

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Trinity proposes changes to protest policies Free speech, event policies reviewed SKYLR MCCORMICK-ISOM NEWS REPORTER smccorm1@trinity.edu Trinity University policies are currently undergoing changes that may be implemented next semester.

According to Jamie Thompson, director of Student Involvement, a committee made up of faculty and SGA senators is reviewing existing policy related to free speech, events, facilities use and more. They are considering potential new policies that would tie together certain polices and procedures.

In the fall, Danny Anderson, president of the university, convened an ad-hoc committee to look over the university policy that the SGA senators are reviewing.

The committee was led by faculty emeritus Don Van Eynde and consisted of several other staff members and one student.

After reviewing in the fall, the committee decided that policies regarding free speech and organizing events was in need of revision and drafted some suggestion policies. This revision project has been handed off to a new ad-hoc committee made up of new and old committee members who will look over and revise the work of the previous committee.

This committee includes two SGA senators and a range of faculty: the list includes Jennifer Adamo from Risk Management; Justin Michaelson from Conferences and Special Programs; Tess CoodyAnders, vice president of Strategic Marketing and Communication; Don Van Eynde, professor emeritus; Duane Coltharp, associate vice president for Academic Affairs; David Tuttle, dean of students and Jamie Thompson from Student Involvement.

Thompson believes the committee will consist of faculty and one or two students. Their work

City Vista continued from PAGE 3 For instance, according to an Einstein Bros. Bagels employee, policies require them to throw out their bagels after four hours due to them becoming stale. The lack of composting is due mainly to lack of space in Trinity’s composts on the Mabee loading dock and the inability to transport food waste from Coates to lower campus without contaminating the food.

“We don’t have the space. It is a space limitation. That’s out biggest challenge right now, is space. There’s also [finances needed] to set up a program,” Curry said. “You have to have bins you have to have all of that, so there’s an investment that goes into that. So when you add space plus the financial outlay and the terms of payback, we’ve been going after lower hanging fruit.”

Aramark and Trinity have hopes for growing their food management programs and continue to make Trinity an eco-friendly campus.

will take place over the summer, where they will review suggestions from last fall and develop a plan for implementing revised policy concerning free speech and campus safety. They are unsure when this process will be complete.

Some policies that are specifically being reviewed include the use of Trinity University facilities policy that appears in the Faculty and Staff Handbook and the Student Organization Handbook — specifically the event-planning process relating to external speakers, the open flames policy and the weapons policy.

“This is a general best practice — to review and examine policy on an ongoing basis to ensure policy still meets the needs and culture of the organization,” Thompson said.

According to Thompson, many universities across the U.S. are implementing policy that ensures the safety of their campus while still encouraging free speech and learning opportunities, and Trinity is following in suit.

“This work is about updating and tying together existing policies related to the statement on student rights and responsibilities, rather than the wholesale creation of a new ‘protest’ policy,” said CoodyAnders. “This all falls under the umbrella of ensuring the university is intentional and clear about its efforts to protect free speech on our campus and yet provide safeguards that ensure the safety of our campus, particularly from the potential of outside groups.”

Currently, the statement claims the right for students to “hold demonstrations, distribute information and express opinions,” so long as the expressions don’t disrupt the regular operations of the university.

According to the current policy, organizations who want to sponsor speakers, to schedule events or to reserve university facilities must follow approved procedures, and these policies and regulations do not restrict the content of the

illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT, staff illustrator

speaker’s message.

“In my opinion, the proposed new polices or modifications to policies will provide guidance that elaborate on and contextualize

the statement on student rights and responsibilities,” Thompson said. “[This committee]z is a great group with an important task.

Ultimately, we’re examining policy

that will enable the entire campus community to host informative, educational and engaging events while at the same time mitigating risk through a streamlined process.”

p o t s n a c e r fi o N

! o h c a M e th

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

NEWS

The importance of reading days

Students, faculty fans of dedicated study time NOELLE BARRERA | NEWS REPORTER nbarrera@trinity.edu Reading days this year extend from next Monday to next Tuesday. These days give students a chance to prepare for finals without the interruption of classes.

According to the Student Handbook, no assignments can be due and no exams can be given on these days or the two class days that precede reading days.

“Since reading days are for the purpose of providing students with study time prior to final examinations, no classes are held, no graded assignments or projects are due, and no examinations are given on those days,” the handbook reads. “Major papers or examinations are defined as papers or examinations that count for more than 10 percent of the total course grade. Laboratory quizzes and performance examinations are excepted from this stipulation.”

However, exceptions may be granted by Michael Soto, associate vice president for Academic Affairs.

“There have been rare instances where, for a variety of reasons, a professor has to be allowed to have work worth more than 10 percent of the final grade due during the last two class days of the semester,” Soto said. “In those cases, I would be the person to review the request and grant the exception if granting the exception is in the best interest of the students in the class.”

According to Soto, these exceptional circumstances are pretty common.

“There have been cases that happen virtually every semester,” Soto said. “Usually it’s something analogous to the automatic exception for lab quizzes and performance requirements, and so oftentimes an oral and visual communications Pathways course, for example, will require students to deliver a major presentation at the end of the semester.”

Sophomore Kali Wilson said that the academic policies surrounding reading days have made her life more stressful because assignments are accumulating just before Thursday and Friday, where work cannot be assigned.

“Reading days are awesome, but this whole ‘don’t assign anything worth more than 10 percent’ rule has made the last two weeks, last three weeks even, very stressful,” Wilson said.

“I’ve had days where I’ve had multiple papers, multiple presentations, multiple exams on one day, and it’s a lot all at once. ... Having it all due this last week or the week right before is not helpful.”

However, Soto felt that the benefits the policy provides outweigh the possibility of assignment accumulation.

“Very often, term papers will be due during the final exam period, which is perfectly allowable within the university policies, but that doesn’t mitigate against a case where an individual student has a large number of assignments and exams due at the same time, and so there’s no way for a policy to completely rule out a scenario in which a student has multiple papers due at the same time as an

illustration by LIZ DAY, graphics editor

exam,” Soto said. “What the policy does allow for is a chance for students to have enough time to gear up for finals.”

Gina Pieters, assistant professor of economics, addressed students’ concerns, explaining her understanding of both the benefits and disadvantages of reading days.

“I think all [the concerns] are important, and they all are relevant points because I think that, on one hand, students will delay [doing assignments], and on the other hand the structure of the calendar means that all of the courses are going to have a big assignment due on the last day,” Pieters said. “They’ll all have a final assessment that happens that tends to be a lot of the students’ grades.”

According to Pieters, better placement of due dates may help relieve students’ workloads.

“I think a possible policy change is to say if it’s a regular assignment it must be due

1869 Scholars prog.

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on the final exam day, and if it’s two major assignments then one due before reading days and one after reading days is fine,” Pieters said.

Aaron Delwiche, professor of communication, understands why readings days can be stressful for students.

“I talked to advisees who were super stressed out because they had so many things landing on a Wednesday, and I totally understand that,” Delwiche said. “Ideally, professors could construct the syllabus so that there’s sort of a steady flow of work and then something during finals week. But it’s always easy to say that in the abstract, so I wouldn’t judge any professors.”

Since Delwiche understands the difficulty of planning around reading days and students’ busy schedules, he’s adopted a helpful way of alleviating students’ stress.

“I always have something due during finals week, or during the finals period. So in two of my classes this semester, students have final projects, and we’re all meeting and they’re delivering their projects and we’re eating breakfast tacos,” Delwiche said. “And so, I like that because it doesn’t try to concentrate all of the work in the school year itself — it pushes it into the final exam period.”

Despite some issues, Delwiche said that the reading days policy helps protect students from being overwhelmed by assignments during finals week.

“I think that, you know, it’s always going to be impossible to have a perfect system, but the thing I like about this system is that it’s putting more space between deadlines and the end of the semester, which gives students more of a chance to catch their breath,” Delwiche said.

are used to help hone these skills in the vocation track’s curriculum CLIENT: include: discussing the importance of personal SMU values and goals, watching Ted-talks and AD NAME: discussing Origami Sharkthe role failure plays in success, Newspapera “wandering map” that illustrates creating PUBLICATION: the connections between the mentee’s Trinity Trinitonian experiences and vocational possibilities and INSERTION DATE(S): generally 1/26/18 developing trust between the mentor and mentee.

TRIM: 5 xThe 8 skills track focuses more on preparing the LIVE:student for interviews and developing N/A effective communication skills. Some activities BLEED: conversing with the mentor about include N/A curricular experiences and skills built from COLOR: them 4cp and exploring which skills are most relevant to the student that employers are QUESTIONS: looking in new hires.

Kathleen for Pendergast 214-891-2918 “Due to the large response last fall, we are doing early applications beginning next

week and ending in mid-May,” said director of Career Services Twyla Hough. “More information will be posted in LeeRoy, on the CELCS Facebook page and through other sources.”

The Trinitonian contacted Laura Kalb, the interim assistant director for Coaching and Professional Development. She said out of 32 respondents, 84.4 percent agreed that their mentor experience was positive, 90.7 percent agreed that their mentor provided support and encouragement, and 78.2 percent would be interested in participating in the program as an alumni in the future.

“The response from to the 1869 Scholars program has been overwhelming. With nearly 70 students and 70 alumni participants in 201718, I know 1869 Scholars has had a positive impact on alumni and students alike,” said Jacob Tingle, director of Experiential Learning.

The deadline for spring applications is May 4.

NEWS • APRIL 27, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

7

TU finds new ResLife director Food waste Following a semesterlong search, university committee fills Residential Life position JULIA WEIS | MANAGING EDITOR jweis@trinity.edu The long-awaited search is now over. The committee in charge of hiring a new director of Residential Life has hired Deb Tyson as a replacement for Melissa Flowers, who left Trinity in December after receiving an offer to work at Brown University.

The search began after Flowers announced her departure last fall, and the committee hoped to hire a candidate by the end of the spring semester. In the meanwhile, David Tuttle, dean of students, served both the interim director of ResLife and the chair of the search committee.

“We had faculty, staff and student representation on the committee, and we advertised nationally, and we did some interviewing at a national placement exchange, which is where we ended up identifying this candidate that was selected.

We had a lot of applications,” Tuttle said. “We brought four great candidates to campus.”

The search committee consisted of staff and faculty members Stephanie Ackerman, Rachel Boaz, Esther Kim, Michael Soto and

Jacob Tingle, as well as students Khaniya Russell and Silas Strawn.

“Deb Tyson is going to make a tangible difference at Trinity. Her references positively glowed about her professionalism, work ethic, competence and mentoring.”

SHERYL TYNES VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT LIFE

While the committee conducted interviews and narrowed down the applicants, Sheryl Tynes, vice president for Student Life, was the one who ultimately picked Tyson to succeed Flowers. In an email addressing the Student Life staff, Tynes wrote that the committee was impressed with Tyson and felt that she would be a great fit at Trinity.

“What most impressed all of us was Deb’s

laser-sharp focus on a job at Trinity. She had other opportunities, but was intentional in her desire to work here,” Tynes wrote. “Deb Tyson is going to make a tangible difference at Trinity. Her references positively glowed about her professionalism, work ethic, competence and mentoring.”

According to Tynes’ email, Tyson will begin in mid-June, after moving into the apartment in the Miller residence hall.

Ackerman, a ResLife coordinator and one of the staff members on the committee, looks forward to Tyson joining the staff.

“Deb is experienced, poised, passionate and collaborative. She understands the work of Residential Life and is passionate about working with students. Taking into consideration how impressive she is, Deb is also personable and approachable,” Ackerman wrote in an email interview. “She showed a genuine interest in Trinity, our students and our colleagues and was able to connect with these individuals during her short time on campus. Her experience combined with her work ethic make her an asset to not only our department but to Trinity.”

Ackerman wrote that the transition period for Tyson should be smooth, as most of her time in the beginning will be spent observing the department and becoming accustomed to the Trinity environment. Tuttle added that he hopes Tyson will be able to assist with the search for an assistant director and a fourth ResLife coordinator.

continued from FRONT “Last year there were signs at the conveyor belt in Mabee where people drop off their food, and they said something like, ‘This percent of food is wasted,’ and things like that just to make people think about how they were taking more food than they were eating,” said Katherine Jones, sophomore and EcoAllies president.

Though Mabee has a very progressive and comprehensive compost plan, none of the the food options in the commons takes part in it.

This can be particularity wasteful due to the amount of food the vendors throw out.

According to an Einstein Bros. Bagels employee, policies require employees to throw out their bagels after four hours due to them becoming stale. The lack of composting is due mainly to lack of space in Trinity’s composts on the Mabee loading dock and the inability to transport food waste from Coates to lower campus without contaminating the food.

“We don’t have the space. It is a space limitation. That’s out biggest challenge right now, is space. There’s also [finances needed] to set up a program,” Curry said. “You have to have bins, you have to have all of that, so there’s an investment that goes into that. So when you add space plus the financial outlay and the terms of payback, we’ve been going after lower hanging fruit.”

Aramark and Trinity have hopes for growing their food management programs and continue to make Trinity an ecofriendly campus.

The Trinitonian congratulates the Trinity University Class of 2018!

(remember to subscribe to the Trinitonian newsletter!) trinitonian.com/weekly

Opinion 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?

Who do I send them to?

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

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

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

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.

Will you edit my guest columns?

The opinion section editor and the copy editors review guest columns for clarity, libel and style, but will not alter your argument.

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

Let’s #SaveStudentNewsrooms Hundreds of student media outlets across America are standing together in support of our shared mission, and the Trinitonian is proud to add its voice to the chorus. #SaveStudentNewsrooms is a call to action kicked off by student editors at the University of Florida’s daily student newspaper, the Independent Florida Alligator, to draw attention to the unique value that student journalism provides and the precarious situation too many college journalists find themselves in.

The student newspaper at Southern Methodist University, the Daily Campus, announced this month that after nearly 90 years of operation, its student-led publishing company would dissolve, the paper would cease printing and the journalism department would take over the Daily Campus’ operations.

Frankly, that’s terrifying. Student journalists work hard to bring you information that nobody else wants to. Take the Trinitonian, for example.

We file open-records requests, meet with TUPD officers weekly and recap Student Government Association meetings to keep you in the loop. Our reporters find the campus’ most interesting figures, interview

the administration and ask hard questions to get the truth on the record and online.

All this, from 40-something full-time students, many of whom work elsewhere as well. All this and more: this year we’ve rolled out a new website, renewed our social media presence and begun producing video content for you to enjoy.

Student journalists elsewhere are no different. We all find and share the truth about our campus communities, information you can’t get anywhere else.

But it costs a lot of money to pay a staff, run a website and print a newspaper. At the same time, advertising — the Trinitonian’s primary source of revenue, pulling tens of thousands of dollars each year — is tough work, and not everyone has been able to adapt to slowing ad sales.

Just ask the Daily Campus, or the Sunflower at Wichita State University. Their student government slashed its funding by half this February.

It’s truly an honor to serve this campus, and the Trinitonian is lucky in a lot of ways.

We’re lucky that Trinity University gives us an office space and utilities, free of charge, and never attempts to exercise editorial control

over our content. We’re lucky that the student activity fee funds about 35 percent of our annual operating budget each year.

We’re lucky to have such an attentive readership, too. Each week, 60–80 percent of the 2,200 newspapers we print are either sent in the mail to our subscribers or picked up from the racks on campus. (We donate the rest to the Animal Defense League.) And each week, between 1,000 and nearly 10,000 unique viewers visit our website.

We are grateful that Trinity University — not just the administration, but the students, alumni, parents, faculty and staff that we serve — shares our commitment to free inquiry and public debate.

Howcanyouhelp#SaveStudentNewsrooms?

If you’re a student, you’ve done your part; a small portion of your semesterly student activity fee keeps us in business. But you can still sign up for our newsletter, join our reader advisory board and ask us questions you’d like to see answered.

Those admiring from afar can also visit our Support Us page and donate or subscribe.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading us this year as much as we’ve enjoyed working for you.

Good luck with finals and enjoy the summer.

Reducing shock of reverse culture shock BOB SEESE GUEST COLUMNIST rseese@trinity.edu

In general, the extent of reverse culture shock (RCS) one experiences is directly proportional to the amount of time spent in another culture and the degree to which that culture differs from the home culture. A first-year student who did not frequently return home during the school year experiences RCS. Trinity culture is different from her home culture. Consequently, after completing her first year, she may arrive home in May and discover that her younger sister has taken over her bedroom or her parents have rearranged the furniture.

The point is, she changed because of her immersion in the Trinity culture. At the same time, things at her home changed while she was at Trinity. Consequently, the changes that she underwent while at Trinity and the changes that occurred at her home can magnify the experience of RCS. Students who study abroad experience RCS upon their return. For example, Emma MacEachern, a senior in Business Analytics and Technology, shared her RCS experience at Walmart after studying abroad in Italy. According to Emma, the stores in Italy were “super tiny,” the customers paid with cash and bagged their own groceries.

Emma relates: “So, upon my return, I decided to get some things for my mom for dinner later that night. As soon as I stepped in the massive fluorescent lighted [sic] Walmart, with its rows and rows of aisles and massive frozen food section with motion censored

[sic] lights I was in awe. I spent a good hour just walking up and down the isles.

“In Italy, they have a lot of varieties of cheese, meat and pasta, but everything else is pretty minimal. Well, Walmart has at least 10 different varieties for every item.

“Then when I got to the checkout, I had two people bag my things and had to just simply insert my card into the card reader once all my items had been scanned.

The changes that [an international student] underwent while at Trinity and the changes that occurred at [their] home can magnify the experience of RCS. “I stood at the card reader machine, twiddling my thumbs awkwardly as I waited for people to work for me, scanning and bagging my items. It was a really weird sensation.”

International students often experience the most pronounced RCS. Sajoy Pottian, a rising senior majoring in geosciences and environmental studies from Tanzania, first returned home in 2016. He had to adjust to more free-flowing traffic patterns in contrast to the more linear patterns he had become accustomed to in the U.S. He was quite anxious to travel by

car for the first few days. On one occasion, he and his family were preparing to attend a wedding.

Sajoy relates: “The itinerary stated that the reception will begin at 6:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m. By 5:00 p.m. I was already dressed up and ready to go whereas the rest of the household was just waking up from a nap.

“Out of concern, I asked my mom whether we would be late and calmly she reminded me that this was “African time,” whereby we don’t really keep to the time stated and arrive at least half an hour after.

As a result, the reception will go on for hours and instead of ending at 9:00 p.m. it will end at midnight.

“This is because we move at a very slow and worry-free pace. In addition to this, things like fellowship and gatherings tend to go over time because we tend to have a sense of community and value spending as much time with family and friends as much as we can.”

Whether you stay in another culture or country for three weeks or three years, you will experience RCS. The tools used for successful encounters with RCS are similar to those used when entering another culture for the first time.

Anticipate, prepare and be flexible.

Have realistic expectations, learn from your mistakes and never lose the ability to laugh at yourself! Also, keep in touch with friends who have had or who are going through a similar experience. If your encounters with RCS really gets tough, see your doctor or a licensed counselor.

Enjoy your summer break and learn from your RCS experience, wherever it may be!

Bob Seese is the assistant director for international student & scholar services.

OPINION • APRIL 27, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

Addressing the need for paid staff parental leave JEANNA BALREIRA GUEST COLUMNIST jgoodri1@trinity.edu

To the Editor: I appreciated the opportunity to give some thoughts and feedback as a part of the article from last week’s issue, “New Parental Leave Policy for Trinity Faculty.”

While I thank Trinitonian for addressing such an important issue on campus, I do feel that the central message of the article was lost: There is a conspicuous inequality at Trinity University when it comes to the stark differences between faculty and staff paid parental leave policies — namely, that the staff here don’t have one.

Certainly I enjoyed twelve weeks spent with my husband and my son (who, by the way, is the cutest and most adorable and most perfect baby in the world — it has been scientifically proven by real scientists). Who wouldn’t enjoy that?

But that’s not the meat of the issue. Federal law mandates that, through Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), I am allowed 12 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave from my place of employment with a guarantee that I will still have a job upon return.

The keyword here? Unpaid. The United States does not require employers to pay their employees for time taken under FMLA. Employers choose whether or not to offer a paid benefit to new parents or to families taking in a dependent; currently, Trinity chooses to offer that benefit to its faculty but not to its staff.

Instead, Trinity requires that to receive pay while on leave, a staff member must exhaust her or his entire allotment of vacation and sick leave hours. When they’re out, they’re out; the employee must spend the rest of her or his leave without receiving any sort of compensation.

Fairness and equality of faculty and staff aside, I am concerned by three major issues here: First, financial stability is an incredible concern when making a family addition.

When faced with the decision of spending time at home with a newborn versus going back to work to continue receiving a paycheck, many parents choose the latter.

Research shows longer leaves result in multiple health benefits for babies and parents,

including longer time spent breastfeeding, an increase in the delivery of immunizations and a decrease in postpartum depression symptoms in mothers.

Second, returning to a job with no immediate options for additional leave can lead to parents not being able to take time off for postpartum doctor appointments, regular infant check up appointments, or “mental health” days — which, trust me, are absolutely necessary after eight straight nights of no sleep.

Third, how do we expect to compete for top-level staff talent when companies such as Netflix and Amazon offer a year or more of paid parental leave?

What could be an enticing recruitment tool turns out to be a source of frustration for many staff recruits who are of age to begin families.

By my calculations, new staff members have to work at Trinity for at least 3 years and 2 months and never take a single sick day in order to have enough leave saved up to take 12 weeks off using sick and vacation. Try selling this math to our next security analyst or donor relations officer — it will send her running!

Paid leave is a part of a large national conversation, and I applaud the Faculty Senate for seeing and responding to the need for a new leave policy for faculty.

In no way am I suggesting that since staff don’t have paid leave, faculty shouldn’t either.

Rather, it’s the other way around. Last spring — more than one year ago — the Trinity Staff Engagement Committee (TSEC) submitted a proposal for paid staff parental leave to President Danny Anderson.

The proposal cited 31 sources and outlined the policies of more than 30 comparable and aspirational educational institutions.

TSEC conducted hours of qualitative and quantitative research to put together a wellrounded and logical policy proposal — but where is the university’s response? We’re back to inequality again, as the Faculty Senate was able to get their revised policy approved and implemented in less than a year.

Trinity claims to offer a “21st century liberal arts education.” We also claim “the individual” and “community” as two of our five core values. Unfortunately, the university cannot fulfill these claims until we treat all of our individuals and our community with the compassion, care and equality that the 21st century demands.

9

Embracing my identity;

standing up to hatred ARIANNA SIDDIQUI GUEST COLUMNIST asiddiq1@trinity.edu

You think that being a Muslim girl living in Texas would pose problems.

However for much of my life, it honestly didn’t. I grew up, seemingly like everyone at Trinity, in Houston. Houston is probably one of the most diverse cities in America, and often on weekends, my mother would drag me to Hillcroft or Sugar Land for some sort of Indian-Pakistani event. In those areas, dubbed “Little India,” store signs and adverts transitioned from English to Hindi, and white smiling models were replaced with Indian ones.

At school it was the same story. I went to an international school where being white was often the exception — I lived in this wonderful bubble of acceptance and didn’t even notice.

That bubble burst when I came to Trinity.

I was in Mabee sitting with new friends when a person I had just met that day engaged in the topic of religion with me. Without hesitation I told her I, like my family, was Muslim. She then proceeded to ask me how I felt about the Prophet Mohammed raping little girls.

It was like someone stabbed me in the heart.

Yes, Islam is complex and often twisted by others to perpetuate the marginalization of entire groups and to spread hate. But that’s not what Islam is to me. Growing up, going to Sunday school, I was taught that Islam — like Christianity — can mean different things to different people, but it should never be used to spread anything other than peace.

My faith was there for me when I faced academic struggles, when my grandfather died and when I was forced to repeat a year of school due to a traumatic brain injury.

To have someone say such despicable things while my new friends cautiously watched on, not saying anything, was something I had never encountered before.

I didn’t know what to do, I looked for support from the people around me and all I found was awkward silence. I then went to my room and cried. This was not just a disgusting, untrue, ignorant statement, it felt like a visceral rejection of my identity and, frankly, a complete rejection of me. In my

bubble at my high school, my friends, even those who did not understand the nuance of my religion, listened as I explained what my faith meant to me.

It did not stop there. During our discussion of Islamophobia in my social justice first-year experience class, someone I considered a friend pulled out a physical copy of the Quran to quote a passage he believed to demonstrate, unequivocally, that Islam is a religion of hate and intolerance. Throughout the week I was forced to defend my religion while my entire class looked on as the same student spewed intolerance and ignorance.

That day I started my transfer application.

I eventually told my peer tutor my plans when she kindly emailed me to see how I was doing. After assuring me that things would get better with time, she advised me to talk to my FYE professors.

After doing so, I found my first allies.

Dr. Naqvi and Stacy Davidson, my wonderful professors, urged me that the best way to cope with intolerance was to listen, but to also set boundaries. They advised me that some things are absolutely unacceptable to say and I had to be clear when people crossed that line.

My incredible friends, who pulled me aside when they saw I was upset, told me that they would always be there for me and offered a support system I would come to rely on.

I am writing this because I am sick of being ashamed. I am sick of, when people ask me what religion I am, automatically downplaying my faith. I’m done with prefacing my answers with “yeah, but I’m not that religious.”

This is also, cheesily, for my parents.

It’s for my dad who got his teeth knocked out growing up in London because he was the only brown kid in military school. This is for my mother, who at seventeen years old emigrated from Pakistan to start her senior year alone. I am sick of feeling embarrassed and ashamed for something that is integral to my identity.

Whatever sets you apart, makes you different and interesting and unique, you are not alone.

Let’s start changing campus dialogue to intellectual discourse rather than conversations filled with hate and bigotry.

After all, as the cliché goes, diversity is something to be celebrated.

Arianna Siddiqui is a first-year political science major.

Jeanna Goodrich Balreira ‘08 is the associate director for creative communications.

The Balreira family smiling proudly in Trinity gear. photo provided by JEANNA GOODRICH BALREIRA

illustration by NOELLE BARRERA, news reporter

10

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

OPINION

Breaking from Trinity’s University chaplain’s role

dogmatic liberal slumber in the 21st century at TU BEN GONZALEZ OPINION COLUMNIST bgonzale@trinity.edu

The final issue of the 2017-2018 Trinitonian is here, and as expected it’s full of bittersweet nostalgia as seniors reflect on their memories at Trinity. However, that reflection doesn’t have to start and end with those who are about to graduate.

We, who will be staying behind to finish our studies in the upcoming semesters, should take a moment to look at our accomplishments so far and see what we can do to enhance those strides in the future.

As I reach the halfway point of my college career, I feel the need to join the bandwagon of reflection and think about how my role here as an opinion columnist has influenced my perspective so far on campus.

I joined the Trinitonian team last fall in the height of the controversy surrounding an oped titled “TU conservatives are beating liberals at politics.” The editorial brought a significant amount of online student animosity towards the paper, since many felt like it ignored the significant effort that liberal student activists had been putting into making issues heard on campus.

While some took shots at the relevance of the paper itself, the conversation generally focused around the fact that the editorial had failed to recognize many events and efforts put on by progressive student groups.

However, when I navigated through the flurry of Facebook comments demanding that the Trinitonian editorial staff do better journalism, I couldn’t help but feel that I, on a personal level, was one of those progressive students who had fallen into what the paper had called a “dogmatic liberal slumber.”

While I fully recognized that plenty of progressive activism events on campus had not been entirely represented, I wondered if hearing about and attending those events had made me more complacent than active. Sure, I thought, there are plenty of progressive events, but what change had I actually enacted on my campus?

I was proud to call myself a progressive person, but what good does that do when I hadn’t even helped enact many of the changes I supposedly believed in? In short, I felt like many commenters had missed the point that the editorial staff had been trying to make: it’s not just about having more events, it’s about devoting your time, your effort, your livelihood to a cause that matters to you. While there are progressive students on our campus who absolutely embody that principle, there is also a silent mass of those who love simply watching it happen, who leave their likes on Facebook and call it a day.

I saw myself as one of those bystanders, and I knew I wanted that to change. I applied to the Trinitonian that evening.

My time here since applying has been a rapidly accelerating but exhilarating ride: I learn new things about the campus I live on, I meet amazing people who devote their spirit to this publication and I get to challenge myself to think critically about my beliefs and hold them up to opposition.

However, I’m not explaining all of this to ask for congratulations on my transformation as a person. Obviously, I still frequently find myself stuck in the bystander position on a lot of things I care about.

Other experiences, such as my short time abroad, have helped to enliven my actions, but I still think there are plenty of ways I can take a far more active role in my passions.

I don’t mean for this to just be a story about being more active with progressiveness.

Whether you devote your life to politics or cover your ears to every single mention of the news, find the things you care about and hold on to them.

Too often we conceptualize our university as a degree factory: four years and then you’re equipped with a piece of paper that lands you a job. Instead, challenge yourself to embrace interests to a new level. Take that chance, whether it falls under your career plan or not, to jump out of that bystander role, and you might realize that you should’ve done so much sooner.

Ben Gonzalez is a sophomore anthropology major.

DANNY ANDERSON GUEST COLUMNIST danderson@trinity.edu

Transitions are complex moments. They include mourning for what is left behind and excitement for what is to come. This spring we will experience a transition as Stephen Nickle, University Chaplain and the Everett H. Jones Chair of Ministry, retires to begin a new chapter in his life after eighteen years of dedicated service to Trinity. I am grateful for him.

I am also excited to embrace the opportunity created by searching for Trinity’s next chaplain.

I invite you to consider the centrality of this position for our traditions. It is a role that must constantly evolve to meet the needs of the present, yet it is a role that remains constant — even rooted — in our Presbyterian traditions.

In a sense, the chaplain embodies our tradition. Trinity was founded by Cumberland Presbyterians in 1869. Most of my eighteen predecessor presidents were ministers and many considered themselves chaplains. Today the University has a covenant relationship with the regional Presbyterian synod that affirms our historical connections. A national search will identify the next Presbyterian minister who will continue this tradition.

As a student-centered university, we place a strong emphasis on the holistic student experience. This emphasis includes spiritual and religious life. A university chaplain guides faith development and discernment among students; they also provide pastoral care and counsel to students, faculty, staff and alumni. As a studentcentered university, the next chaplain will report directly to the vice president for Student Life, which gives this individual direct connection with Student Life peers to embed this position seamlessly with our other co-curricular initiatives.

This contact keeps the chaplain engaged with the best and most innovative practices in Student Life as a way to meet the needs of our community.

My own experience is that a chaplain can be supportive in ways individuals do not expect. As an undergraduate at Austin College — also founded by Presbyterians — contact

with the chaplains and participation in the chapel programs I selected gave me spaces to understand and deepen my faith independent of my family. We all have to learn to believe on our own. Chaplains can create spaces and occasions to reflect on our beliefs and our sense of meaning. One college chaplain, Lucy ForsterSmith, describes this kind of reflection as taking “students into the territory of the human soul where dreams reside.”

Perhaps less visible to the community at large because it is personal and individual, chaplains can be trusted and confidential thought partners during what one scholar of adult development calls the “shipwreck times” of college life (Sharon Daloz Parks). Young adulthood often includes experiences of personal loss and disappointment, which force us to rediscover gratitude and amazement. Chaplains bring the tools for reflection and discovery that support us in these difficult moments.

Looking ahead through our lens of diversity and inclusion, Trinity’s chaplaincy in the 21st century must be characterized by a rich and multifaceted ministry. The chaplain is an officer of welcome, inclusion, hospitality and advocacy.

Our community includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and other faiths. We are atheists, doubters, seekers and believers. Our ecumenical tradition will continue to require a chaplain who serves all individuals of all traditions, beliefs and practices as they seek their own path for their Trinity journey.

A new chaplain will bring change and should bring change. Chaplains are not repetitions of their predecessors, however beloved. Each alumni generation is deeply attached to the chaplain who served them, yet chaplains are charged with serving in the present to the best of their abilities. Each chaplain has different gifts, talents and abilities to bring to us. It is our role to be open and receiving to the grace of the present.

A faithful group of Cumberland Presbyterians intentionally set out to build a university of the highest order. Trinity has changed a lot in its almost 150 years. Today we may have a wider variety of beliefs, theologies and worldviews. We still hold true to this original intention, and it includes a chaplain who can be our partner on this journey.

Danny Anderson is the university president.

The Trinitonian thanks the entire Trinity community for a great school year. The Trinitonian especially thanks . . .

illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator

Paul Wright, Bruce Bravo, and the Tigercard office for talking with us for multiple stories and helping manage access to the newsroom; Tess Coody-Anders for engaging with us, and cookies; Facility Services for all that help after the flood and so much more; Yvette, Angela, Tammy, Maria, & Denise for a wealth of business support; Casey Fuller, Bladimir Ruiz, Gina Tam, David Pooley, Bob Seese for being our faculty and staff columnists; Chiara Pride for her Politics with Pride series; Jacob Tingle for the retweets and shoutouts; Roland, Eric, Larry in ITS for coming to our rescue; Chinyere Stallworth for enforcing the Posting and Promotions Policy; President Anderson for embracing the Trinitonian as a community forum; Mail Center for taking care of our subscribers; Central Receiving for delivering important packages to us; Melissa McMullen for multiple design training sessions; David Tuttle for talking to us multiple times a week, even when we should probably talk to someone else; Board of Campus Publications led by Susie Gonzalez for constant support; Jamie Thompson for trashing that flood-soaked blue couch; Michael Soto for being available for interviews; Jess Neal for making digital archives available to the Trinity community; Sharon Jones Schweitzer: “We called her at 11:30 p.m., and she picked up.”

Eric Maloof : “He’s talked to us a lot.”

OPINION • APRIL 27, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

11

In defense of dead white literature We don’t need more dead white literature ISAIAH MITCHELL GUEST COLUMNIST imitchel@trinity.edu

CARL TEEGERSTROM GUEST COLUMNIST cteegers@trinity.edu

Responding to complaints about not reading enough dead white guys by using the work of a dead white guy: In the last issue of the Trinitonian there was a column bemoaning how the Pathways curriculum does not have a required cluster for “great books,” namely ones by Plato and Shakespeare. As if, in the 4,000 years of literary history, the only “great” authors are two European men who lived 1,000 years apart, spoke different languages, and one — Plato — would probably regard the other — Shakespeare — as an illiterate barbarian.

I have seen similar complaints before.

Usually, these complain that schools are not teaching an uncritical appreciation of a canon composed of rather homogenous authors.

I am not saying Plato or Shakespeare have nothing important to say. But, I believe it is naïve to claim that a good education, a good life, requires reading a canon of dead white men.

If you do not believe me and think I am a soulless postmodernist, then do not listen to me. Listen instead to a dead white guy.

Michel de Montaigne was a sixteenth-century French philosopher who wrote the essay — blame him for all your woes — titled “Apology for Raimond Sebond.” Montaigne plainly states: “But as to effects, a thousand little countrywomen have lived lives more equal, more sweet, and constant than [Cicero].”

Montaigne’s point in his essay is that while book-learning is useful, it can be valued too highly.

At times we must remember that despite all the pomp and pretension we give to Cicero, Plato and Shakespeare there are people who have lived sweet, content and fulfilled lives that have never read a dialogue of Plato or seen a play by Shakespeare.

So, before complaining about how there are no courses requiring the reading of dead white men, listen to this dead white man and learn to be wary of being too pretentious about book learning.

Carl Teegerstrom is a junior English major.

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My good friend and archenemy Manfred Wendt wrote an article a couple of Trinitonians ago calling for another mandatory great books course, namely with more Plato and Shakespeare (assumedly metonymically, with Plato and Shakespeare standing in for a wide range of great Western authors).

I typically would think that a response to a response to an article is stretching it a bit because I don’t want to treat our school newspaper like a Facebook comment section. Also, I tend to keep my literary distance from Manfred, partially because of the smell, but mainly because he’s a smart, mostly alive guy who can defend his own opinions. Shakespeare, on the other hand, is less able to defend himself, so I thought I might interject.

The whole “hey-hey, ho-ho, Western Civ has got to go” thing has been going on since at least the eighties, so I feel that that there aren’t many new arguments to be made about it at this point.

Evidently, Carl Teegerstrom feels the same way, as he relies on the tried-and-true “dead white guys” argument.

I get that the racial argument may be tonguein-cheek, but it’s nonetheless the only argument he provides. There is no criticism of aesthetic value, and no offered alternatives of what to read.

There is only a vague suspicion that inclusion of

“dead white guys” must mean exclusion of — well, something. He doesn’t say what, or how.

What Teegerstrom does offer is a single sentence from an essay by Michel de Montaigne, whose essays — I must admit — I had never read before: “But as to effects, a thousand little countrywomen have lived lives more equal, more sweet, and constant than [Cicero].”

If you open his link, the first thing you’ll see in the header is a picture of Plato and Aristotle in detail from Raphael’s “School of Athens,” so that’s good for a laugh. More substantially, I looked into the essay, which begins by analyzing a quote from Lucretius’ “De Rerum Natura: nam cupide concultatur nimis ante metutum.” Roughly, it means, “For that which was excessively revered before is eagerly trampled.”

Teegerstrom’s linked translation — which nowhere includes the quote he cited — translates it: “For people eagerly spurn that of which before they were most in awe.” I found it remarkable happenstance of sentiment — Teegerstrom joins the ranks of many in American universities who would trample the foundation of knowledge and beauty which upholds them, a literary foundation which we once revered. I can only hope Teegerstrom intended for the scrutinous reader to stumble across such a coincidence.

The original text of the essay can be found here, the quote in section 489: “Et, quant à l’effect, mille femmelettes ont vescu au village une vie plus equable, plus douce et plus constante que ne fust la sienne” (Teegerstrom’s linked translation is accurate). Like I said, I have no extensive knowledge about Montaigne, so I’m treading on thin ice, but he does seem to be making the argument, at least in that paragraph,

that we can learn about religion and morality from nature. That is a far cry from the claim that “we don’t need more dead white guys’ literature,” which Montaigne seems to greatly appreciate, referencing Seneca, Epictetus, Homer and even Lucretius (again) directly after Teegerstrom’s quote. I’m sure any classics major would agree that Cicero’s dryness doesn’t mean Western literature isn’t edifying.

Also, bewilderingly, the description of Plato and Shakespeare as disparate sits right next to the criticism that they are “rather homogenous.”

I tend to agree more with the former assessment, especially since I really feel for Ben Jonson — maybe it’s just because I’m a middle child — who bragged that Shakespeare had “small Latin and lesse Greeke,” indeed making him an “illiterate barbarian” to Plato. Also, it’s true: the breadth of the Western canon is diverse, though I will admit that Teegerstrom is responding to a common tendency to homogenize.

On the racial side of things, Plato was probably as swarthy as any Greek, while Shakespeare was pretty pasty — but hey, they were both bald and European, so they’re basically twins. On the literary side of things, anyone who has read or seen the simple, fast-driven Greek tragedies knows that Shakespeare’s varied plot lines make them look like Teletubbies episodes. Despite this, admirers and haters both tend to homogenize, and here they are both wrong to do so. The Western canon — from Plato to Shakespeare and all in between — deserves more than the reductive labels of old, dead and white.

Isaiah Mitchell is a sophomore English major.

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OPINION

A personal journey balancing health and academics DULCE DAVIS OPINION INTERN ddavis1@trinity.edu

I am in the Class of 2019, but I first came to Trinity in 2011. I was out of school for several years due to mental and physical health issues. I wish that I could say I left as soon as I noticed something going on with me, but that is not the case. I knew that things weren’t right, but I was always so confident that I was going to get myself under control. It eventually took me flunking out of an entire semester — classes I have blessedly, retroactively, medically withdrawn from — before I left Trinity.

When I left Trinity I started seeing a nutritionist and took a blood test that proved I was allergic to wheat and cinnamon. I had never noticed the connection between these food items and the inflammation in my body before. The inflammation slowly started to fade, my digestion started improving and I began to sleep better. I was able to exercise more and even became a certified yoga instructor.

I paid far more attention to the connections between my mental and physical health and was able to get off of the anti-depressants I had been taking for years. I also stopped taking all of the medications my rheumatologist had prescribed me, because the autoimmune issues that had been plaguing me were brought back into balance through diet, exercise, adequate sleep and stress management. I finally felt alive again and enrolled at Trinity for a second time.

Since I have been back, I am seeing a lot of people suffering the way that I suffered. I see strung-out college students drinking coffee, pulling all-nighters, eating candy from vending

machines in class and talking about how stressed they are. I talk to so many other students who have been put on medications for depression and anxiety but aren’t feeling any better. Worse yet, I talk to students who are so stressed and unhealthy that they truly want to take a break from school but feel ashamed at the thought of slowing down their education.

College is hard. Workloads are heavy, schedules are erratic and responsibility is high.

Sharing a room is difficult. Not having a kitchen is definitely difficult. But there is so much that you can still control!

An all-nighter will not prepare you for your exams more than a few hours of study with a night of sleep. And extra coffee in the morning will not keep you going all day. In fact, it will deplete you further over time. And that extra dose of sugar in the afternoon will definitely not be doing you any favors.

Serotonin and dopamine — the chemicals we need to keep in balance to stabilize our moods — are made in the gut. So proper digestion and nutrition are critical for both your mental and physical health. Instead of pounding the coffee and sugar, make sure than you are sleeping and eating properly. Add more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Subtract processed and fried foods, as well as caffeine and refined sugars.

Exercise and sunshine are also critical.

We have a beautiful campus on the edge of a beautiful neighborhood. Pause that next episode on Netflix and take a walk! The Meditation Garden in the Chapel is a great getaway. TU Fit also hosts some amazing (and free!) yoga and meditation classes on campus. Check out their schedule next semester!

And remember that what’s best for you is what is tailored to you. Don’t be afraid to take a break from school if that is what your body and your mind are calling for. I am 25 years old and finishing my bachelor’s degree with a better

illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT, staff illustrator

major and far better grades than I would have if I had graduated in 2015. I was reluctant to make this decision for myself, but there are some truly wonderful faculty members and admins at Trinity. It is their purpose to be helpful to you, so take advantage! Your professors, Dean Tuttle, the Registrar staff and Reverend Nickle are all

great resources outside of Counseling Services.

Regular meetings with Stacy Davidson also did wonders for me. But the important thing is that you talk to people. It is better to reach out soon rather than too late!

Dulce Davis is a junior art history major.

GRADUATION

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Perseverance will lead you somewhere PAIGE PEREZ | GUEST COLUMNIST pperez3@trinity.edu

PAIGE PEREZ has pushed herself to be involved on campus. photo provided by PAIGE PEREZ

I am not going to lie: my first day at Trinity, I was a mess. I got locked out of my room. I cried in Mabee when my parents left. While playing icebreaker games on the lawn by Miller Fountain, I almost got heat stroke and had to leave the group and go lay down. New Student Orientation was the frustrating preface to what would become the most difficult year of my life. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, I lost my Tigercard countless times, almost never left campus and only joined one student organization — all the while heavily considering transferring schools. When school ended, I was convinced that I was packing up and leaving for good. I could fill out my transfer paperwork over the summer.

I honestly don’t know what happened to that plan. It turned from a definite to a possibility to something left behind me. I hated Trinity, but I hated even more the idea that if I left, I would

lose. I’d lose the opportunity to grow here. I’d lose my place to plant new roots. I’d lose the chance to know what would happen had I stayed. So I did.

Today, it’s hard to imagine that I came so close to declaring myself a failure in those initial moments of weakness. Now with only a few days left at Trinity, the time where the journey seemed lost to me is a distant memory.

Instead, I wish I could reclaim that time and do more with it. I’ve found myself thinking increasingly about the things that I wanted to do but never got around to: I wish I’d gotten into volunteering earlier; I wish I’d taken trips with O-Rec, gone to local museums more than just a handful of times, used the video recording equipment at the Center for Learning and Technology more often. What the heck was I doing with all my time?

Persevering, that’s what. I’m ending my college career at Trinity with a degree in communication, experience with real television production and media writing under my belt,

look but my dad made me. He said, “Trinity has everything you want,” so I said I would give it a look. Who would have thought that I would walk off campus knowing that I found what I was looking for. Parents really do know best.

When I told people I was going to Trinity, my family was ecstatic. I would be the third generation coming to Trinity and, let me tell you, I had some big shoes to fill. My grandpa graduated with high honors and later went to medical school. In August, he will have been practicing medicine for 50 years. My uncle graduated from the accounting program and is now a chief financial officer. He was one of the founders of one of our local fraternities. For me, well, all I knew was I wanted to play golf and get an education.

My first year was filled with lots of trials and errors. I tried a class in so many different departments to attempt to find my place. It was not until the end of my sophomore year that I wanted to major in communications.

I then figured out I wanted to do the sports management minor. I wanted to combine my love of sports and communication into one.

Very different from what my family did, but this is my book to write.

College is just another small chapter in my life. There is so much more ahead of me that I cannot even begin to think about what it will contain. After Trinity, my grandpa and uncle wrote several new chapters in their own lives.

They are a constant reminder that my life is just now beginning. They both talk about how Trinity set them up for success, and I hope that is true because now it is my turn to test it out.

There are so many people that helped me get to where I am today. Thank you to my friends from golf, campus publications, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, intramurals, classes and everyone else. Thank you to Katharine Martin for always pushing me to be my very best. Thank you to my coach, Carla Spenkoch, for never giving up on me. Thank you to my professors for putting so much time into your teachings and guiding me throughout my time here. Most importantly, thank you to my family for giving me the opportunity to attend this amazing school. And, as sad as I am to turn the page on Trinity, I am excited to see what the following pages will hold.

College is just a starting point SHELBY DEVORE | GUEST COLUMNIST sdevore@trinity.edu Most people are ready to graduate and move on to bigger and better things. I am the person that is dreading graduation, and that is because I have loved my time here at Trinity so much — I don’t want it to end. I have learned more than I ever thought I would.

I learned a lot from my textbooks, but I also learned a lot about myself. Thanks to Jennifer Jacobs Henderson, I learned how to write a paper and give presentations. I also learned about my personality type in Jacob Tingle’s class, along with how to work with different types of people. When I think about my studies, I have taken away something from each of my classes and professors. I am so incredibly thankful for that.

What most people do not realize is that I come from a line of Tigers. When my dad remarried, I gained an entire new family. This family had two generations of Trinity grads and, truth be told, I never thought I would be the third. When I tell the story of how I ended up here, I tell people that I never wanted to

SHELBY DEVORE follows the legacy set by her grandfather CAROLTON THOMPSON and uncle TRES THOMPSON. photo provided by SHELBY DEVORE

and an entirely new group of friends and set of experiences that I couldn’t have dreamed of if I hadn’t stuck around to find out. My mistakes showed me what I was doing wrong, so that my next year I could do more things right.

So here’s my parting wisdom: I encourage you all to not focus on the things you didn’t do as you reflect upon your time at the school, but instead revel in the things that you did. I couldn’t go volunteer because I was already volunteering at the TigerTV studio, which later became my on-campus job. I couldn’t go to museums because I was attending concerts with friends. I wasn’t filming videos on the weekends because I was taking trips to Austin, or writing for the Trinitonian. I couldn’t jump right into my first year because I wasn’t ready yet.

Even if you feel like you’re wasting time, I promise you that you’re not. You, too, are doing things and going places, even if you don’t know it yet.

Keep going. Persevere. It will lead you somewhere.

Journalism: Not for nerds

GRACE FRYE | DIR. OF DIGITAL PRESENCE gfrye@trinity.edu

Where do you find your crew on campus?

Is it a sports team? An academic department?

Maybe it is a registered student group filled with like-minded peers. At Trinity, I found mine in the student-produced weekly, the Trinitonian. And as a graduating senior I can say that beside studying abroad, joining this weird group of dedicated journalists was my best choice in college. And it can be yours, too.

I know what you’re thinking. “Why work for the Trinitonian if I don’t want to become a journalist?” Great question! The Trinitonian is not a place exclusive to New York Times groupies and Washington Post devotees. Rather, it is a community of people interested in what’s going on, why campus decisions are made and how students respond to their surroundings. Ever wonder what a stand up comedian majors in?

We’ve covered it! Want to know why South Hall smelled so bad? We’ve got your back. At the core of what we do — and what you could do, too — is build relationships and tell stories.

Trinitonian is a refuge for those looking to spend time with friends and contribute to something much bigger than themselves. I first joined the Trinitonian as an eager sophomore. I had never written for an arts and entertainment section, but I had and interest in learning more about the artists on campus, and my section editor took a chance on me. The first thing that surprised me was the fact that my fellow contributors did not come from the communication department but from biology and political science. I had expected that everyone around me only had eyes for national by-lines — instead they too wanted to explore local concert venues and talk to Trinity performers. The next year I moved up to managing editor working alongside senior editorin-chief Julia Elmore. The kicker? She didn’t even want to pursue journalism as a career.

Campus Publications are a real life look at a working environment. You have a boss you won’t always agree with, peers you spend weekends hanging out with and deadlines that are sometimes tough to meet but an important part of working life. And while I still don’t know if journalism is my path, I’ll cherish my time spent among my friends, my crew at the Trinitonian.

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GRADUATION

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Trinity’s tough, but the road to graduation is rewarding MARY MINOR | GUEST COLUMNIST mminor@trinity.edu Graduation. The big moment when your friends and family members get to watch you walk across the Laurie Auditorium stage with a big smile on your face. It’s the crowning achievement of all you have worked for.

When those credit hours, long all-nighters and sleepless nights come together and culminate in your diploma. Because after being at Trinity for four years, you can finally go out into the world and make a difference.

During my time at Trinity, I’ve grown as a person and become more confident about who I am.

As a first-year, I worried about the possibility of failing out of Trinity — I had never seen so many Cs listed on my transcript. I got my first job as a physics shop aide assistant where I still work to this day. I had never even had a roommate until freshman year, so living with someone was both exciting and terrifying.

Sophomore year was filled with more adventures and more time to grow. My best memories were those with my roommate who was an exchange student from Korea. We spent all of fall semester having late-night chats about school and life. It became a running joke that our room light was on 24/7, as most nights she

would go to sleep at 3 a.m. while I would wake up at 2 a.m. to finish homework ­— FYI, I don’t recommend doing this! This also was the year I met my boyfriend, who continues to support me in everything I do.

Junior year was full of change. I went from someone who was afraid to do most everything outside of my comfort zone to someone who flew across the globe to study abroad in China. I made great friends there, had an amazing roommate and quickly realized I have the Chinese speaking ability of a two-yearold — despite all the Chinese courses I had under my belt.

Senior year flew by, and now I’m already reminiscing about the good times I had in college. Nothing comes close to ordering Whataburger at 3 a.m. with friends, or getting thrown willingly in the fountain for my birthday my first year, or to the late-nighters where I swear I had newfound inspiration waiting until the last minute to do my assignments, or studying in the library for hours on end and finally making the Dean’s List — a huge accomplishment given my firstyear GPA of 2.6 — or doing an education practicum and having pre-K students all rush to hug me in the morning.

I couldn’t have done it without the support of family and friends. Thank you to my parents,

especially my mother, who was my rock. From those late-night frantic phone calls about essays due the next day to worrying about tuition payments, my mom took care of it all. As for not letting me quit Chinese, maybe later I’ll be thankful. Thank you to my friends who were

there when I needed help or someone to talk to. Thank you to my professors for teaching me all there is to know about sociology and other subjects. Thank you to Trinity for giving me a chance to excel. And thank you to Rudy, who I love with all my heart.

MARY MINOR believes Trinity has prepared her for post-grad life. photo provided by MARY MINOR

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Quite a few thanks JONAH WENDT | GUEST COLUMNIST cwendt@trinity.edu Well, I did not think that I would end up writing one of these, but here I am.

I guess I should start by saying thank you.

Thank you to my parents, Tim and Erika, and grandparents, Chuck and Judy, for all the sacrifices that you made while Manfred and I were growing up. There was never a lot, but there was enough and we always made ends meet. Thank you Oma Jacky and Opa Fred.

While you won’t be here to see me graduate, I know you’ll be watching. Thank you, Manfred, for all of our adventures in life. I’m certainly glad to know that you’ll always be by my side, unless you get lost — and yes, you get lost all the time, but it is okay because I’ll find you.

Thank you to David Crockett for putting up with all of Manfred’s and my malarkey.

Thank you to Keesha Middlemass for advising me, despite our common quarrels. Thank you to David Tuttle for our well-natured Twitter banter, despite the fact that the campus progressives clearly do not understand the level of common bro-ship disposed on both of us merely by being champions of the green and gold.

Thank you to the Trinitonian for covering all of Manfred and my shenanigans — though if we had not provided that bit of excitement on campus, y’all would’ve closed down years ago.

Thank you to ResLife for never sending me to conduct board despite my sometimes juvenile behavior. Thank you to the department of Spanish — you know what you did.

Thank you to Luke Ayers for putting up with all of my well-intentioned life lessons — just remember that I’m just making you a better man. To the members of Tigers for Liberty, thank you for trusting Manfred and me to guide the ship, lead the charge and topple the barricades of progressive totalitarianism that covered our campus prior to our arrival. To the future leaders of Tigers for Liberty — you are prettier than them (even you Isaiah), you are tougher than them and you sure as hell will win, just keep up the fight.

To David Guenthner, thank you for reaching out and taking Manfred and I under your wing when you saw that we were fighting the good fight. To everyone who passed me, thank you.

I guess in conclusion, thank you for the memories, thank you for the challenges and thank you for the life lessons that made me who I am today. Thank you Trinity — while I won’t donate to you — not yet at least, and until David Crockett is named president of the university, my money will go to Tigers for Liberty. Oh, and last but not least, thank you to the endowment and financial aid department for making it possible for me to attend such a great university despite not coming from the six figures suburbs of Houston, Dallas or Austin.

Thank you to Brad Durschlag for being my admissions counselor, accepting me and staying in touch through all the trouble Manfred and I surely got him in for letting us in.

And a special thanks to Adrienne and Carolyn for all the prayers ­— even when I didn’t deserve them you never gave up on me. Oh — I promise this is the last one — but thank you Chip Roy for providing employment after graduation.

Thank you Rebecca Derby!

The editorial team cannot thank you enough for all of the time, dedication and care you put into your job as ad director. The Trinitonian would not be the quality product it is without you and your staff’s tireless work to fund the publication.

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GRADUATION

The different epochs of Trinity, according to Gabe GABRIEL LEVINE | OPINION COLUMNIST glevine@trinity.edu

GABRIEL LEVINE has had fun with facial hair in college. photo by DANIEL CONRAD, editor-in-chief

It’s difficult to say anything original about my time at Trinity in under 600 words. There are the fond memories, the formative classes, the enduring friendships and so on. Everyone has these aspects of the Trinity experience and listing mine wouldn’t be original.

Instead, it’s worth asking why the Trinity experience actually seems so meaningful and valuable at the end of four years. Thinking about this question, I made a strange observation: whenever I’m asked how it feels to be at the end of my Trinity experience, my first instinct is to say that it’s all gone by so quickly that it hardly feels as if any time has passed at all. It’s as if the totality of the experience is so broad and deep that any immediate attempt to recall it all is impossible. Then, once I start thinking about the last four years, I rapidly go down a deep rabbit hole of memories.

To explain this, I like to think of my time at Trinity in terms of nested epochs, each with a distinct overall feel. The obvious example of these epochs would be each academic year and the semesters within them. But there’s more than that.

There are the “Fallout: New Vegas,” “Fallout 4,” and “Fortnite” videogame epochs of my first, sophomore and senior years, respectively. There are the epochs where I took a spread of English classes and where I took three semesters of computer science.

There are epochs of different friends, friend groups and people who were more than friends. There are epochs of different anxieties about social status, a bad knee and the first hint of a receding hairline.

There were the epochs of political apathy and hardcore atheism followed by the current epochs of intense interest in politics and philosophy and religious curiosity informed by atheism. There are epochs where I thought I wanted to be a professor, then an industry researcher and then a politician.

Now I’m content being uncertain.

These epochs extended for different lengths, ranging from weeks to years. Many overlapped, while others faded into each other. It is the totality of these epochs and the ways in which they reflect the important parts of my life over the past four years that explain why the Trinity experience has been so meaningful to me. Why do these epochs occur and overlap and fade into one another in the first place, though?

I think that they can be explained as emergent properties of the network of people, things and events that has been continuously evolving in time over the last four years. Some of these components of the network would happen without Trinity: external political events, deaths of grandparents and the general maturing of the brain that is known to happen as human beings age from 18 to 22.

However, Trinity has provided a great many components that I would not have experienced without it: exceptional professors, transformational classes, resources and clubs and opportunities.

The nature of the campus’s size plays a role, too. Often, people I knew in my first or sophomore years totally vanished from my radar, only to pop up two years later much changed, in the same way that two years changed me.

Could other universities have provided substantial parts of this experience? Probably, and there are some students who have understandable problems with Trinity.

However, after visiting other schools and talking to friends that attend them, I can confidently say that Trinity is unique in ways that made coming here the right decision for me. After spending four years of my life here, that’s high praise.

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A farewell to arms MANFRED WENDT | OPINION COLUMNIST mwendt@trinity.edu

Well Trinity, it is time to say goodbye.

I showed up on this campus three years ago, having no idea what I wanted to do, nor what I would do. I simply expected to walk through the doors that were opened for me. That I did. I never expected that I would be graduating in three years instead of four or that I would somehow be the leader of the conservative club on campus for the majority of my time here. Arriving at Trinity, I never expected to accomplish all that I have accomplished.

When I arrived, I was told that there would not be and could never be a conservative club on this campus. There was simply a Facebook group. The atmosphere was too acidic for our existence and we simply didn’t exist in the student body.

Trinity Progressives was considered the popular institution that would perennially dominate this campus. Fast forward three years and Trinity Progressives is a shell of its alleged former self and The Young Conservatives of Texas at Trinity University drive the discussion on campus.

Now it’s time to give thanks. Of course, the primary thanks must go to God, he has put me through many trials and tribulations to mold me into the person that he wanted me to become. Secondly, to my parents and grandparents. We didn’t have much growing up, but we had each other. Growing up under your hands, besides God’s influence, was the greatest influence on my life. You taught me to do what is right, regardless of the consequences. You taught me that no matter how dark life gets, no matter how desolate it seems, no matter the wasteland that you perceive to be in front of you, you can always walk forward. As I reach graduation, I feel as if I finally can see the

dawn. The end that all of us have been working toward for over twenty years. I hope that my children will live a better life than any of our three generations have lived, because of the sacrifices you made for me.

You took an ADHD chemical nightmare of a child and forged him into something. My children and I will never forget the sacrifices that you made for us. I hope we never have to endure what we, as a family, endured to get here, but I will ensure that they never forget. You each made sacrifices that are unimaginable to most of Trinity, but you did it for me. We made it.

I would also like to thank David Guenthner, Amy Clark, Derek Cohen, Haley Roddie and many others for your mentorship and the interest you took in me.

To Dr. Crockett, I hope you always consider me the child you did not want but ended up with.

To the Lax Bros, thanks for letting me be a third line grinder.

To the progressives at Trinity, a parting jab. I found you to be a spineless lot that lacked the courage of your convictions to be a witness for your beliefs. Your rebuttals to my articles in the Trinitonian were either non-existent or weak. If you truly wish to consider yourself a progressive perhaps spend sometime with books this summer and see if you truly are.

To the conservatives at Trinity who are afraid to come out. I understand, being the outed conservative on this campus has had a significant negative effect on my campus life. I found many people had preconceived notions about what we believe and who we are that fall flat on their face after a conversation. I hope that I made life easier for you on campus and that Trinity is slowly becoming a more accepting place for it.

Signing off for the last time, Manfred Wendt

illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator

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

Committees choose award-winning

FYE and student research papers Hard work pays off for several winning students GABBY GARRIGA | PULSE REPORTER ggarriga@trinity.edu With finals fast approaching, the library is beginning to fill with more and more students devoting countless hours to their final projects and papers. As the days drudge on, many may question why they dedicate so much time and energy to essays that their professor may only read once. The people who lead the First-Year Experience (FYE) Writing Awards and the Undergraduate Student Research Awards sympathize with students across campus and hope that their awards motivate and remind students that their efforts are meaningful.

The process of choosing award-winning FYE papers is long and thoughtful. First, Jennifer Rowe, HUMA professor and director of the Writing Center, removes the identifying information — including name and student ID — from papers and creates binders with the edited essays. Then, a group of student and Writing Center employees cut down the number of papers from the original group of 150 submissions to a “short-list” of thirteen.

The faculty committee then chooses four winners who receive $200 visa gift cards and up to four honorable mentions who receive $50 visa gift cards. The awards are funded through the FYE program.

“We have this lengthy, in-depth discussion about the merits of each and what kind of promise we see in all of the young writers.

At the end of the process, I read off the final list and if anyone has any objectives they raise them. If not, I go home and I get to write the

WILLIS SALOMAN discusses what he looks for in award-winning FirstYear Experience papers. photo by CHLOE SONNIER, staff photographer

exciting emails to the winners,” Rowe said.

The committee attempts to choose papers that represent both the wide range of paper styles — research, short story and argumentative, to name a few — and the different FYE classes.

Thus, the criteria for the papers remains flexible.

Willis Salomon, associate English and HUMA professor, was on the faculty committee that chose the winning papers. Salomon spoke about the criteria he had in mind.

“I was looking for essays that exemplified the learning outcomes pertaining to writing in the FYE. Is it clear? Is it well structured?

Is it interesting, developed? Does it teach me something I didn’t know?” Salomon said.

Like the FYE Writing Awards, the Undergraduate Student Research Awards also are given out every year to writers of exemplary papers. However, the Undergraduate Student Research Awards are reserved for authors of research papers. From the group of winners, one student is awarded a

Strategic Communications and Marketing works to tell Trinity University’s story MAGGIE LUPO | PULSE REPORTER mlupo@trinity.edu Tucked away in an upper corner of Northrup Hall, Strategic Communications and Marketing is Trinity’s powerhouse of promotion. The university marketing department is involved with almost every aspect of Trinity’s public presence, from social media and the website, to admissions marketing, to the Trinity magazine and newsletters like Tower News and Tiger Pride, to the Tiger Network.

With this diverse assortment of responsibilities, life in the marketing department is never dull. Michelle Bartonico, director of Strategic Communications and Marketing, explained that her day — which usually lasts from around 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. — can consist of many different things, but usually she deals with general oversight and project management.

“Most of my day is just operations; it’s making sure that everybody on the team can do their work and has the resources to do their work, and I can block and tackle for them if

MICHELLE BARTONICO works in her office to make marketing plans. photo by STEPHEN SUMRALL-ORSAK, staff photographer

they’re having trouble or not getting answers for something,” Bartonico said.

Bartonico managed operations one particular day with a “production” meeting, where she and her colleagues Jeanna Goodrich Balreira and Joshua Moczygemba did organizational work on sports marketing

POUYA MOHAMMADI won an award for his paper, “Harnessing the Energy of Hurricanes.” photo by STEPHEN SUMRALL-ORSAK, staff photographer

$1000 visa gift card, two students get $500 visa gift cards and three students get a $100 visa gift card. Additionally, award-winning papers are preserved in the library archives. The competition is headed by the library staff who hope that the awards inspire others to do thoughtful and high-quality research.

Benjamin Harris, professor and head of Instruction Services, spoke about this goal.

“Not only are students doing this amazing work, finding things, coming up with amazing arguments, bringing information together in their projects, but you can do it too. I hope people are inspired when they see these papers. It’s thrilling,” Harris said.

The FYE Writing Award winners included Ty Krieger, Erin Cha, Pouya Mohammadi and Avani Sastry. The Honorable Mentions were Luke Eakin, Alexander Lowen, Wilfred Nelson and Sam Reuter. The Undergraduate Student Research Awards went to Nhi Nguyen, Thomas Harvell-DeGolier, Zabdi

Salazar, Beth Legg, Margaret Chase, Malcolm Conner and again, Avani Sastry.

Sastry, first-year, remembers spending weeks on her dual award-winning paper, “A Legacy of Fear: The Fusion of Fascism, Futurism, and Cold War Mythologies in Nuclear and Spatialist Art”. Her paper explored the cultural and political facets of spacial and nuclear art. She looked at how fascist ideologies and other influences were manifested in the art.

Sastry appreciated the opportunity to write about her passions.

“I was in an art history class and I was thinking about doing an art history major. So, I thought it would be cool to do something about art history and science fiction. It was kind of a 'for fun' thing for me. It took a while, but I think it was worth it,” Sastry said.

It's a win-win for both parties. Students enjoy receiving awards and faculty members have a good time choosing them.

projects; they also worked on implementing some new processes and workflows.

“As we take on more work for the university, we need to be more agile and nimble and able to accept projects and be able to sort those projects based on priorities for the university, so I can make sure that we’re spending our time and our resources and money on things that matter,” Bartonico said.

Trinity is currently working toward a new branding campaign, so another big part of that workday for Bartonico was taken up with a branding workshop. In this workshop, Bartonico and the other participants discussed the experience that Trinity delivers to first-year students as part of a “stakeholder experience mapping” process. “[That process involves] finding out what the experience is like and if that matches what we say we’re going to deliver, because the worst thing we can do in marketing is to say ‘Hey, here’s what our product is’ and then have it not match with that brand promise,” Bartonico said.

Though her work is often analytical, Bartonico’s job also requires managing people.

“I really care about department culture, and it’s really challenging to maintain — especially when you’re hiring new people — so guiding principles are definitely part of the way to kind of maintain that,” Bartonico said.

Those guiding principles include statements like “foster an atmosphere of creativity, togetherness and fun,” and “be flexible, adaptable and accountable.” To promote these ideas, Bartonico has set up several programs for her staff. One of these programs, Cre8 days, allows everyone in the department to take up to eight hours a month to do something creative.

“If I have a full week of super operationsheavy, process-heavy administrations stuff, I have to find some creative time. I know that about myself: I need to be more empathetic, so if I have full weeks of that, I go total business-minded, and I have to come out of that,” Bartonico said.

According to Stephanie Enoch, senior manager of Web Development, Bartonico's efforts have paid off.

“Knowing that I can come to work, be myself and work with others in the office that genuinely care about each other and are passionate about what they do, keeps me coming back to work every day, ” Enoch wrote in an email interview.

Jeremy Gerlach, brand journalist, also enjoys working on creative projects. His job centers around stories: finding them, producing them and then figuring out what audience would most appreciate them.

“It’s like detective work, and you have to put yourself in the mind of a reader,” Gerlach said.

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

Margaret Farris

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recognition for

Exemplary Service Office of Admission

Alexandra Faust - Rockstar Tour Guide/TDR member!

Andrew Cable - Awesome TDR member and Intern!

Annie Barahona - Dedicated TIGER Assistant, Genuine, Exceptional!

Ben D’Aurizio - Talented Rockstar Tour Guide!

Britney Sullivan - Phenomenal TDR member!

Catalina Andazola - Exceptional Tour Guide, Passionate Intern, Genuine!

Charles Clark - Funny, Intelligent, Driven Intern, Introspective!

Claire Warkentin - Phenomenal TDR member!

Daniel Smith - Dedicated TIGER Assistant, Quirky, Kind!

Davis King - Rockstar Tour Guide/TDR member!

Destiny Hopkins - Rockstar Tour Guide/TDR member!

Elizabeth Legg - Phenomenal TDR member!

Inka Boehm - Rockstar Tour Guide Intern/TDR! Jacob Connerly - Compassionate Rockstar Tour Guide!

Janett Munoz - Phenomenal TDR member!

Katie Middleton - Phenomenal TDR member!

Tahlar Rowe - Involved Rockstar Tour Guide!

Kendall Hayes - Rockstar Tour Guide Intern/TDR! Kevin Moss - Rockstar Tour Guide/TDR member!

Lena Dennington - Rockstar Tour Guide/TDR member!

Lorene Sugars - Phenomenal TDR member!

Maria Protic - Leader, Motivated Intern, Creative, Enthusiastic!

Matthew Jenkins - Phenomenal TDR member!

Michaela Lieb - Caring TIGER Assistant, Empathetic, Focused!

Nick Santulli - Enthusiastic Rockstar Tour Guide!

Rebecca Andruzzi - Dedicated Rockstar Tour Guide!

Samy Abdallah - Phenomenal TDR member!

Shane Bono - Quirky, Passionate, Phenomenal TDR/Intern!

Spyros Defteraios - Thanks for being awesome!

Taylor Devlin - Phenomenal TDR member!

Thomas Oster - Phenomenal TDR member!

William Farner - Phenomenal TDR member!

Yvonne Torres - Thank you for 3.5 years!

Campus Publications

Daniel Conrad - Trinitonian, 3 years Katherine Devney - Mirage, 1 year Shelby DeVore - Mirage, 3.5 years Grace Frye - Trinitonian, 3 years Micaela Hoffman - Trinitonian, 1 year Danielle Kao - Mirage, 3 years Bonnie Kenkel - Mirage, 1.5 years Gabriel Levine- Trinitonian, 2 years Sarah McIntyre - Business Staff, 2 years Claire Poland - Mirage, 3 years Hannah Ventola - Mirage, 2 years Manfred Wendt - Trinitonian, 1 year

Coates University Center Student Workers

Raghad Akrouk - reliable, kind, consistent, persistent, accurate Mackenzie Hill - hilarious, gentle, consistent, adaptable, compassionate Yara Samman - straightforward, strong, empathetic, passionate Matthew Sobczak - diligent, impartial, helpful, rational, sincere David Thai - open minded, witty, easy going, happy, adventurous

Margaret Farris

(second from left) posed with other members of the Trinity community at the Martin Luther King Jr. March in January 2006.

Department of Education

Dillon Bishop - Incoming MAT/TEACH Camila Borrero - Outstanding Senior in Education/ Incoming MAT/SME/TEACH Reilly Brown - Incoming MAT/TEACH Lindsey Burton - Incoming MAT/TEACH Yesenia Caballero - Incoming MAT/TEACH Margaret (Meg) Chase - Incoming MAT/TEACH Jacob Connerly - Incoming MAT/TEACH Mollie Hughes - Incoming MAT/TEACH Caroline Kerley - Incoming MAT/TEACH Destiny Hopkins - Incoming MAT/TEACH Camilla Manca - Incoming MAT/TEACH Cindi Marin - Incoming MAT/TEACH Andrea Martinez-Abrego Cantu - Incoming MAT/SME/TEACH Yvette Pena - Incoming MAT/TEACH Jessica Phillips - Incoming MAT/TEACH Natalie Rochen - Incoming MAT/TEACH

Department of English

Julia Camp - editor of 1966 Malcolm Conner - New York Times Modern Love college prize Jennifer Jussel - editor of Trinity Review Courtney Justus - editor of Trinity Review Faith Poyner - editor of Trinity Review

Information Technology Services

Judson Nguyen - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Camila Borrero - Valuable Member ITS Office Team Britney Sullivan - Valuable Member ITS Office Team Samuel Ang - Valuable Member ITS Helpdesk Team Shivali Kansagra - Valuable Member ITS Helpdesk Team Cameron Hayes - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Brett Skogman - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Brent Oakes - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Danielle Kao - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Jada Codwell - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Jessie Burnett - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Michael Newton - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Colby Doyle - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Mitchell Globe - Valuable Member ITS USS Team Etim Asangansi - Valuable Member ITS AT Team Isidro Davalos - Valuable Member ITS AT Team Davi Dias - Valuable Member ITS AT Team Camila Londono - Valuable Member ITS AT Team Matheus Righes - Valuable Member ITS AT Team Hannah Ventola - Valuable Member ITS AT Team

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23

Trinity organizations and departments recognize these graduating seniors for their contributions to the Trinity community. Margaret Farris worked in Student Affairs for 26 years before retiring in 2009.

International Student and Scholar Services Regis Noubiap - excellent leader, self-sacrificing, good communicator Bella (Ha) Nguyen - detail-oriented responsible, courageous Jemima Sackey-Addo - wonderful sense of humor, bright, responsible Jose Roberto Andres - “mover and shaker,” thoughtful, resourceful Chinmay Chohbe - organizer, facilitator, servant heart Rodrigo Zurita Apellaniz - enterprising, confident, congenial Alvin Mbabazi - ambitious, collaborator, inspirational Camila Borrero - adventurous, scholar, industrious Susan (Szu-Yun) Lo - musical, educator, caring Raghad Akrouk - pleasant, ambitious, vocalist

Library

Rachel Lawson Cindi Marin Maia Ogembo Connor Phillips Lorene Sugars Janett Munoz

Orientation Team

Elizabeth Broussard - positive and relational captain Stacey Debner - committed and empathetic team player Courtney Justus - strategic and informative captain Joseph Khalaf: - funny and kind team member Janett Munoz - inclusive and inspirational captain

Student Ambassadors

Ben D’Aurizio - 2 Years of Service Rachel Hanes - 3 Years of Service Davis King - 3 Years of Service Emma MacEachern - 3 Years of Service Christine Peterson - 2 Years of Service Yara Samman - 3 Years of Service Cristian Vargas - 2 Years of Service Melissa Whitman - 3 Years of Service

Student Government Association

Samy Abdallah - 2016-17 Senator, 2018 Senator Emeritus Rebecca Andruzzi - 2016 Senator John Croxton - 2017 Senator Lena Dennington - 2016-17 Senator Nathan Dullea - 2015-16 Senator Lavanya Hospeti - 2017 Senator Joseph Khalaf - 2017 Vice President Katie Middleton - 2017 Senator Isaiah Mora - 2017 Senator Shivani Parmar - 2015 & 2018 Senator, 2016 Vice President Alexander Perkowski - 2016-17 Senator Maria Protic - 2016-17 Senator, 2017 CoS Gabrielle Racz - 2017 Senator Tahlar Rowe - 2017 Secretary Nick Santulli - 2017 President, 2018 Senator Emeritus Zeina Zayat - 2018 Judicial Chair

Phi Sigma Pi

Victoria Ramos - Dedicated, Cheerful, Presidential. Good luck!

Suzanne Roberts - Motivating, Brilliant, Sweet. Good luck!

Natalie Rochen - Passionate, Genuine, Bright. Good luck!

Annie Belleville - Friendly, Charismatic, Witty. Good luck!

Residential Life

Haile Duplantier - friendly, dependable, passionate, stellar, open-minded Delia Zacarias - positive, creative, fun, enthusiastic, trustworthy Addison White - intelligent, hard-working, fair, grounded, responsible Yara Samman - empathetic, thoughtful, honest, sincere, inclusive Shinvani Desai - bright, humorous, authentic, easy-going, adventurous Meg Chase - selfless, dedicated, consistent, giving, patient Casey Pfister - warm, kind, considerate, reliable, calm Ben D’Aurizio - thoughtful, funny, perceptive, individualist, Luddite Daniel Sunderland - authentic, selfless, dependable, proactive, industrious Maia Ogembo - creative, generous, humble, hard-working, consistent Sophia Arriazola - responsible, kind, witty, caring, genuine Tahlar Rowe - leader, compassionate, poised, mature, positive Yvette Pena - dynamic, big-hearted, driven, passionate, bright Raghad Akrouk - motivated, ambitious, honest, shrewd, conscientious Robbie Andres - inquisitive, exuberant, resourceful, thoughtful, sedulous Rebecca Berreth - driven, organized, succinct, effective, cooperative Shane Bono - creative, witty, proactive, cheerful, jaunty Aidan Burke - supportive, caring, respectful, dedicated, communicative Andrew Cable - leader, respectful, reliable, intuitive, influential Faith Deckard - passionate, persistent, sensible, intelligent, determined Austin Guerrero - adaptable, prudent, decisive, devoted, perceptive Saraly Guerrero - compassionate, friendly, inventive, original, dependable Kassie Kelly - collaborative, personable, responsible, mature, dependable Liam Knippenberg - efficient, candid, diligent, practical, methodical Emma MacEachern - considerate, ardent, bold, authentic, affable Nick Morrison - agreeable, pleasant, involved, harmonious, receptive McKenna Parr - empathetic, gregarious, approachable, sincere, demonstrative Britney Sullivan - amiable, optimistic, perseverant, humble, knowledgeable Victoria Ramos - exceptional, friendly, dedicated, genuine, loyal

Student Accessibilty Services

Ricardo Perez - All-star SAS Student Worker

Student Involvement Student Activity Mentors

Aroosa Ajani: hilarious, genuine, dependable, adventurous Shivani Desai: hardworking, kind, positive, sincere Katie Devney: intelligent, strong, helpful, ambitious Saraly Guerrero: creative, role model, servant leader

Student Programming Board

Aroosa Ajani - Dazzling Director Bryan Fowler - Amazing Accountant Lorene Sugars - Magnificent Membership Chair Wyatt Allgood - Extraordinary Entertainment Chair

Trinity Diversity Connection/Diversity and Inclusion Office Tahlar Rowe - Outstanding leadership and service, BSU Maia Ogembo - An innovator and leader, BSU Maia Ogembo - Outstanding work wthic & commitment, GHI Cristian Vargas - Advocate for health, GHI Madeline Hanes - Exceptional dedication & dependability, GHI Jemima Sackey-Addo - A strong leader and supporter, ASA Maia Ogembo - Outstanding dork ethic & commitment, ASA Haile Duplantier - Strong mentorship, BSU

Trinity University Press

Emily Wood - intern, assistant to the director Olivia Mulder - intern, graphic design and marketing

Writing Center

Sarah Billman - 1 year of exemplary service Ainsley Escobar - 2 years of exemplary service Jessica Phillips - 2 years of exemplary service

24

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

PULSE

Retiring faculty and staff share memories Professors, staff reflect on time serving Trinity AMBER ADICKES | PULSE INTERN aadickes@trinity.edu

As we near the end of the spring semester, graduating seniors are closing the book that is Trinity. Many faculty and staff on campus are doing the same. The Trinitonian asked retirees about their future plans and their favorite Trinity memories.

SHARI ALBRIGHT Shari Albright, chair of the Department of Education and Murchison Professor of the Practice of Education, plans to retire Aug. 1 of this year. Albright has served Trinity University for eight years.

Albright plans to relocate to Austin, Texas to lead the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation in her retirement. Through this nonprofit organization, she hopes to help improve public education conditions to benefit students.

Albright hopes to stay involved at Trinity as an alumna.

JACKIE BEVILACQUA Jackie Bevilacqua, coordinator of Health Services, plans to retire June 4 of this year. She has been serving Trinity students for nearly 25 years. Bevilacqua primarily oversees the day-today operations of Health Services, including supervising nurses and assisting physicians.

Bevilacqua plans to volunteer with her church community and spend time with her family in her retirement. She also looks forward to spending more time quilting.

Bevilacqua found fulfillment in making an impact in students’ lives.

“I screen the students almost every time they come in for tobacco use, and if they use tobacco, I do a brief intervention,” Bevilacqua said. “I did a brief intervention with a student, and then I saw him six months later for something else, and again, I did that brief intervention, and he goes, ‘No, I quit. I quit six months ago right after you told me to quit.’ I thought, ‘Yes!’ That’s a wonderful memory.”

C. MACKENZIE BROWN Religion professor C. Mackenzie Brown will retire May 31 of this year. He taught religion classes, including Asian religion and First-Year Experience courses, at Trinity for 45 years.

Mackenzie Brown felt as though he fully lived out his role as professor. He plans to serve as a volunteer for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in his retirement.

In November 1977, the Trinitonian published a story about C. MACKENZIE BROWN’s philosophy of simplicity. file photo

JACKIE BEVILACQUA takes a student’s blood pressure in September 2002. She has served the Trinity community for 25 years. file photo

STEPHEN NICKLE and CATHERINE MORELLNICKLE plan to move to Tacoma, Washington this coming sumer. file photo

Mackenzie Brown considers working with Trinity student Nuper D. Agrawal on research about rape in India as one of his fondest experiences at Trinity.

“Nuper is from India and she is very interested in [the issue of rape in India] ... Nuper agreed to be the peer-tutor for the [Rape in India course],” Brown said. “Then we decided, let’s turn [the issue of rape in India] into an article. She was the first of our religion majors to present at a national meeting of the American Academy of Religion. That was a high point.”

moment, as the soloist just begins singing Silent night, it’s a wonderful memory for me.”

of a mentor role, instead of his previous professor role.

Roberts found much enjoyment in watching his students mature and prosper over the years.

“It’s almost like a metamorphosis. You leave in the spring and you go off to do something for the summer and you come back in the fall and you’re no longer a little puppy with big paws. You’re now this sleek, beautiful creature that has come back and matured,” Roberts said. “To see that over and over again is just refreshing.”

STEPHEN NICKLE Stephen Nickle, university chaplain, plans to retire May 31 of this year. Nickle has worked as a chaplain for a total of 31 years, 18 of which were at Trinity University. He serves the Trinity community by leading those who follow Christ and supporting those of all religious backgrounds.

After serving in the same role for so many years, Nickle now yearns to explore something new. After the summer following his retirement, Nickle will complete a year-long clinical pastoral education program at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington.

Nickle considers Christmas Vespers as the Trinity tradition he will miss the most.

“There’s a moment when the choir has filed out of the choir loft and has encircled the whole sanctuary, and the sanctuary is jam packed ... and there are some scriptures from John’s gospel that I read ... and we light the candles and that light gets passed [throughout the sanctuary] and I go out into the center of the sanctuary and I turn around and a soloist begins Silent Night,” Nickle said. “It’s that

CATHERINE MORELL-NICKLE Catherine Morell-Nickle, assistant director for Student Accessibility Services, has worked at Trinity University for 5 years and plans to resign at the end of the semester. She offers support and assistance to students who require general accessibility accommodations to enhance their academic and overall campus life.

Morell-Nickle hopes to explore new endeavors in her retirement, alongside her husband, Stephen Nickle, as they make a cross-country move to Tacoma, Washington.

Morell-Nickle considers the chiming of the tower bells at Trinity University to be her fondest memory.

“The different ways I have engaged in the Trinity community, kind of the theme in all of that has been the chiming of the tower bells.

I find that to be kind of poignant, as the bells mark the start of our day, the end of our day,” Morell-Nickle said.

JAMES ROBERTS James Roberts, Cowles Distinguished Professor of Biology, taught biology, neuroscience and neurobiology courses at Trinity for 10 years. He plans to retire at the end of the semester.

Roberts taught at medical and graduate schools for 36 years prior to teaching undergraduates at Trinity University. He plans to continue his passion for science by working in biology professor Frank Healy’s lab after retirement. He also plans to assist in teaching courses alongside Trinity professors in more

SHARON JONES SCHWEITZER Sharon Jones Schweitzer, assistant vice president for External Relations, plans to retire this year on June 1. She has been serving Trinity University for 30 years. Schweitzer plays a plethora of roles at Trinity, some of which include serving as the university’s chief spokesperson and principal media liaison.

She also provides communication support to President Anderson and the executive staff.

After taking six months off, Schweitzer plans to connect with nonprofit organizations in San Antonio in her retirement. She hopes to offer her services to the San Antonio community in a consulting manner in communications or public relations.

Schweitzer feels that working at Trinity has exposed her to a wonderful community.

“I have developed friendships that I think are going to be with me for life. That, to me, is what has been one of the most enjoyable things about working at Trinity, was to be among a community of leaders, educators and very, very, very smart students,” Schweitzer said.

Earth week promotes sustainability and fun continued from FRONT Jones and other Eco Allies members contacted various on and off-campus organizations so that they could represent a range of perspectives at Friday’s Earth Week Festival.

Some on-campus organizations who tabled at the festival included Trinity Bee Alliance, the Biology Club and the Stand Band. This year, the festival also included organizations from the San Antonio community, such as Bat Conservation International, Bexar County Master Gardeners, MOVE San Antonio and Native Plant Society.

Phillip Trenthem, sophomore, tabled for Trinity’s Bee Alliance on Friday to spread awareness about the importance of bees and other Texas pollinators. Trenthem believes that Trinity students need to learn how to protect local pollinators and understand their importance.

“Trinity students don’t really participate in this kind of thing and it’s important for college culture to promote what people need to know about the world,” Trenthem said.

The Eco Allies table focused on promoting good sustainability habits on campus. Dillon Akins, sophomore, led a table that showed students what kind of things can and cannot be recycled. Akins emphasized the urgency for more recycling and sustainable living.

“We’re trying to let people know what is and isn’t recyclable. Earth Fest is just a way to promote sustainability, help people get more aware of sustainability on campus, get people engaged with Earth Day and Earth Week and this is just my part of the deal. There are only fifty years left of Texas landfills, so that’s in our lifetime,” Akins said.

Trinity’s push for sustainability won’t end with Earth Week, however. This year, the sustainability office and the sustainability committee will be presenting a new initiative called STARS to the students.

STARS, the Sustainability, Tracking and Reporting System, enables universities to measure their sustainability performance.

The committee will look at environmental measures like energy use, water use and building compliance with sustainability.

In addition, the program focuses on social

illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator equality like community engagement, tuition affordability and diversity.

Kelly Carlisle, English associate professor and the chair of the university sustainability committee, is hopeful that the program will lead Trinity to become more sustainable.

“What we’re hoping is this process of everyone sitting down and answering these questions and thinking about sustainability is going to make us have more of a sustainable

culture,” Carlisle said. “The first time we do it we’re just going to measure where we are.

We hope eventually it will lead us to take significant changes on an institutional level, so we can really be a sustainable institution.”

Gregory Hazleton, professor in the environmental studies and English departments, believes Trinity is headed to a more sustainable future. Through initiatives like Earth Week, STARS and the environmental studies program, Hazleton believes that students are engaged and interested in protecting the environment.

He’s also hopeful that the increasing interest in environmental studies seen in first-years will continue throughout the years and lead to action-based plans.

“I think that it’s becoming clear in both political debates but also in conceptual ideas that there are some challenges about the human population and how we’re treating our environment. So I think it’s important to think about those challenges and see them not through the lenses of despair but through lenses of action,” Hazleton said.

J.Cole’s latest album “KOD” is everthing one could hope for.

Kanye West continues to alienate with his new media presence.

The rap artist’s long awaited sixth album continues J.Cole’s fantastic track record of creating intellectual and stimulating music.

The once king of modern hip hop tweeted that he is Donald Trump’s “brother,” furthering Kanye’s seemingly inevitable desent into madness.

AE &

A search for escapes from campus this summer A succinct list of summer adventures to occupy the down days for all the students staying here GEORGIE RIGGS A&E REPORTER griggs@trinity.edu

As the hot days of summer start to replace the only-slightly-cooler days of spring, the first thing on most people’s minds is probably how to make the most out of our time off from classes. The last thing on Trinikids’ heads, however, is how to spend that time in the midst of the heavy San Antonio heat.

But for those lucky few who are preparing to return to the paper thin walls of WittWinn — or the even more select few who were able to secure an off-campus apartment — for summer research or internships, the Trinity bubble might just become our home year-round if we don’t try hard enough to burst it. I’ve compiled a few of the best summer attractions for you to spend those stipend dollars that you promised yourself you would put directly into savings — you’ll still regret the receipts but hopefully you’ll have a good time doing it.

The Paper Tiger continues to bring the goods to our North St. Mary doorstep with shows from Kimbra, Men I Trust, and SALES, amongst others, this summer. You probably already know, but if you’re looking for a solid indie show near campus where

you can dance with people you know from seeing in class and in Coates regularly but awkwardly have never said more than five words to, this venue is for you.

Paper Tiger is a Trinity staple for a good reason — they consistently book good bands — but if you are looking for a change of pace, and maybe a slightly less familiar crowd, there are plenty of options if you are just willing to look and drive a bit further.

The Cold War Kids will be coming to the Rustic in May, along with Fleet Foxes to the Tobin Center in May, and Culture Club to the Tobin Center in July.

For those brave enough to stick it out at a festival, the Float Fest in San Marcos looks promising with acts like Modest Mouse and Snoop Dogg making for an eclectic lineup, though you’d truly have to be brave to float a river with that many people in it and in such close proximity to Texas State. To each their own, I guess.

Going into further uncharted areas for me, the San Antonio Zoo just announced an animatronic dinosaur exhibition called “Zoorassic Park,” lasting from the end of May to the end of August. Having never been to the zoo here — out of general fear, trepidation and laziness — I’m not completely sure if this is the perfect place for summer break fun.

But the prospect of seeing “Land Before Time” come to life digitally is enough for even me to feel like breaking out the bucket hat and pocket fan for a day at the zoo.

You’ll probably end up sweaty, sunburned and broke, but it’s gotta be better than that second “Jurassic World,” right?

The Witte will also feature a similar exhibition during the summer called “Predators vs Prey: Dinosaurs on the Land Before Texas,” though there is probably less of a chance that these dinosaurs will become

illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator

sentient beings that Jeff Goldblum will have to fight to save his life at this exhibit.

For anyone feeling more adventurous, or maybe just a little stir-crazy, the options for summer road trip destinations are basically endless, though personally, I would avoid the well-worn beaches of Galveston and Port Aransas in favor of some of Texas’s many cool parks, like nearby Enchanted Rock or Big Bend.

However, if you are seeking out a beach, maybe try the less hectic, Port Aransasadjacent Mustang Island State Park. The water will probably still be murky and

stagnant, but the chances of spotting a Confederate flag on a car will be lessened by the sheer lack of crowds at these beaches.

As much as I will try to burst the bubble myself, I’m honestly just looking forward to the new movie releases this summer. If, like me, you’ve been counting down the days until “Oceans 8,” than you only have a few weeks more to wait.

If you’re less than excited about a womanled heist film with not only Mindy Kaling, Cate Blanchett and Sarah Paulason but also Rihanna, then I guess there is always “Deadpool 2.” Again, to each their own.

Lil Miquela: Robot or hidden identity, who knows The musician and instagram model has created controversy DANIEL ROTHSCHILD A&E REPORTER drothsch@trinity.edu

Lil Miquela is a person — at least, that was the initial controversy. The singer/fashion model garnered widespread viral fame in the last two years due primarily to the possibility that she is, in fact, not real.

Accounts in her name have been on Twitter and Instagram since April of 2016, the latter recently hitting one million followers. In many ways, she offers similar content to other young, working artists on social media: pictures of her with friends, at events, link-in-bio to magazine articles about her and so on. However, as of today, her music videos all yield under 500K views — a significantly disproportionate number for the magnitude of her following.

The defining feature of her account that explains the gap in numbers is her persona.

In older pictures, she resembles a video game character, a stylish Laura Croft in Air Maxs.

More recently, the video game-esque graphics

look more high quality, but she still resembles a CGI human — to the point where an early fan theory suspected her of being a viral marketing campaign for the new Sims game, but she has since publicly denounced the allegations.

Similar theories still claim she is an advertising venture made by some corporation to sell clothes, and there’s a strong argument for this idea: Miquela has posted photos to her Instagram modeling high fashion clothing brands like Chanel, Prada and even painted her body with the Louis Vuitton logo pattern (reminiscent of a famous Lil Kim photo shoot).

There is a counter to the CGI theory, however, as she wears clothing made or curated by individuals and tags them or their Depop in her posts. The inclusion of independent fashion designers makes the argument that she is a sentient advertisement less valid. Additionally, she is not associated with any single brand. Her modeling history implies a freelance career style rather than a model with a corporate bond.

As an additional CGI counter, Miquela occasionally posts about social justice issues and is an outspoken advocate for civil rights movements like Black Lives Matter. Her bio’s website on Instagram currently links the donation page for Black Girls Code, an organization operating out of the Bay Area in California that provides opportunities to young girls interested in STEM fields of study, specifically those with an interest in coding.

After two years of character development, Lil Miquela was America’s favorite fake model. Her progressive ideologies mixed with her cutting

edge fashion sense carved her out a nook into the hearts of meme admins, contemporary artists and fashionistas across Instagram. With her follower count surpassing 900,000 earlier this winter, it seemed like Miquela was on the way to securing her identity as an established folk hero, but last week disaster struck.

In the past week, Lil Miquela’s instagram account was hacked by another avatar person: a trump-supporting white woman named Bermuda. The initial post that Bermuda made on Miquela’s account, which was deleted by the next day, threatened doxxing her, and called for Miquela to expose her real self to her followers.

To contrast the secrecy of her nemesis, Bermuda practices performative transparency.

She claims that she holds no secrets, so she immediately answered the question people have been whispering about Miquela for the last two years.

“I came into this world in 2017. I proudly call Cain Intelligence my home and I consider the amazing people that work there to be family …”

Cain Intelligence’s website cover page reads “We are Cain Intelligence, leaders in machine learning and artificial intelligence.” Elsewhere on the website, there are charts graphing enormous advances in “accuracy of machine speech understanding” and many cryptic allusions to their role in the industry of modern robotics.

This assertion specifically is interesting because neither Lil Miquela nor Bermuda look like robots. From the pictures it seemed fairly apparent that they were computer generated images set to real backdrops — sometimes in the

case of Miquela, in unsettlingly realistic scenes, leaning on the girl she’s posing with, being hugged by her companion, etc.

Since the hacking last Tuesday, Bermuda claims that the two of them met. Posting a photo of them together as well as a photo of a dm conversation with Miquela, with some of the text blacked out. The very nature of the controversy makes this seem like less of a concrete advancement to the story. She, possibly being a CGI creation herself, could have easily photoshopped the images, but Miquela hasn’t openly denied that they’ve met.

Since then, Miquela has posted a novel length hint that she may soon reveal the mystery. “... I owe you guys more honesty.” In the post, which is worth reading in full, she contemplates her identity: “I’m not sure I can comfortably identify as a woman of color.

“Brown’ was a choice made by a corporation.

“Woman’ was an option on a computer screen.

“My identity was a choice Brud made in order to sell me to brands, to appear ‘woke.’

“I will never forgive them. I don’t know if I will ever forgive myself.”

The “Brud” she alludes to is a Los Angeles startup that concerns itself with similar enterprises to Cain Intelligence, but presents itself in a much less corporate light.

The Lil Miquela controversy over her reality continues to brew day-to-day. Following it can provide a worthwhile break from the otherwise grim news that hits the web each day.

26

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Blockbusters represent change The newest film projects demonstrate the needed evolution of the industry

Trinitonian

Executives

AUSTIN DAVIDSON A&E EDITOR adavids1@trinity.edu

This year has already seen one of the biggest superhero movies ever, “Black Panther�, hit the screen and smash multiple records. The film has already made over 1.3 billion dollars and had one of the biggest opening weekends to date.

But the barrage of blockbuster movies doesn’t stop there: the new “Avengers� film is coming out this Friday and on May 25, the newest “Star Wars� film “Solo: A Star Wars Story�, will be diluting movie-goer’s summer movie palates.

These three films represent unique changes in the constantly evolving film industry. “Solo: A Star Wars Story� demonstrates the power of the behemoth that is Disney — which also owns Marvel, and seems to have a monopoly of my childhood movie obsessions — to continue to pump out new Star Wars films with formulaic consistency. Yet for Solo, it’s to the detriment of it. Early buzz for the film has been incredibly negative, with the film having to be rewritten and reshot when it changed directors from Phil Lord and Chris Miller to Ron Howard. Additionally, the recent trailer didn’t exactly bring everyone to the Rebel’s side.

It seemed to be slapped together and didn’t add to the Star Wars universe.

This initial negative buzz is a first for the new Star Wars films. They represent an elite group of films that, by title alone, generally garner enormous attention and revenue. But “Solo� has been dampening the fire of Star Wars hype that has swept the world for the past three years. The actor who is stepping into the shoes of Harrison Ford, Alden Ehrenreich, allegedly had to get a personal acting coach, due to his inability to capture the role. All of this piles up to create an apprehensive mood around the latest trip into a galaxy far far away, a trip that many think will lag in the box office — new territory for the Star Wars franchise. “Black Panther� represents a welcome deviation from the normal Marvel formula.

They gave the reins of the film to an African American director, Ryan Coogler, and gave him the freedom to hire whomever he wanted

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Section Editors

illustration by JULIA POAGE, staff illustrator

and to take the film in his own unique artistic direction. This freedom of direction given to Coogler is a nice change: he is Marvel’s youngest and first African American director. This change in the film industry — albeit later than it should have been — is welcome and opens the door for the movie industry to give African American directors like Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay and Barry Jenkins the resources they need to continue to create great films. “Black Panther� was also a film that took a radically different marketing approach than other Marvel superhero films. They collaborated with musical god Kendrick Lamar to create an album for the film. While not every song in the album featured in the film, it was a brilliant marketing push. The album was a massive success, with songs like “All the Stars� and “Kings Dead� topping the charts, all with the title “Black Panther: The Album Music� creating a genuine buzz for the film within the generation that goes to the movies more than anyone, the tech-obsessed youth.

This switch to pushing towards peoples phones by the marketing teams of Marvel is showing that the bigwigs are realizing that times are changing. Instead of pumping millions into massive billboards and flooding local stations with trailer slots, they are posting sneak previews on Youtube, having their actors post to their massive social media followings on Instagram and Snapchat about their new projects and creating new ways of generating hype and buzz. The album for

“Black Panther� shows the switch to a more media heavy marketing push from the film industry.

The newest Marvel project “Avengers: Infinity War� is a culmination of 10 years of universe building. It will be mixing together the stories of 18 films, a massive feat for any studio and directing team. Joe and Anthony Russo are at the helm of this film and will definitely be relying on the experience from their past Marvel films when it comes to pulling together a film with a cast of over 90, with 30 who are distinct superheroes like Ironman or Spiderman. How they will divvy out screen time to these stars is beyond me, and how they will crunch this massive plot into a two and a half hour film will be a surprise to us all. “Avengers: Infinity War� is a new chapter for one of Disney’s biggest franchises. They are scheduled to do at least one more part to the Infinity Wars, but this gives them the option to possibly end this run of the Marvel Universe.

While I doubt they will cook their biggest cash cow, superhero films haven’t been the hits they once were 10 years ago, and a break from the CGI-filled punch-fests may build gradual hype for them later on.

This summers headline blockbusters show an evolving Hollywood. Whether they choose the path of least resistance or push towards a better direction is left to be seen, though these films provide some insight into the changes going on in the castle on the hill.

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LET THE GAMES BEGIN • Softball vs. Centenary @ SCAC championship, Georgetown, TX, Friday, April 27, 4 p.m.

• Track & Field @ SCAC championship, Seguin, TX, April 27-28 • Baseball @ Centenary, Saturday, April. 28, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Sports

Golf, tennis take on SCAC championships Tennis teams each take first place in Colorado and await NCAA tournament bids, golf falls short to end season HAILEY WILSON | SPORTS REPORTER hwilson@trinity.edu The men’s and women’s golf and tennis teams both competed in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championships last week. Both tennis teams took first place, while men’s and women’s golf teams fell short of the title.

On Friday, April 20, the men’s tennis team headed to the Air Force Academy to take on Centenary College of Louisiana for the SCAC championships. The Tigers defeated Centenary quickly with a 5–0 sweep to advance to the semifinals. They continued on to the championships for the ninth consecutive year after defeating Austin College 5–1 with clutch performances from Wilson Hamilton and doubles duo Wilson Lambeth and Jordan Pitts.

Lambeth was proud of his team’s ability to overcome adversity over the weekend.

“We really came together and played well.

The conditions were different, but we were able to keep each other motivated. It’s always exciting to win the SCAC — that’s where all of our hard work pays off,” Lambeth said.

The Tigers moved on to play Southwestern where they clinched their ninth consecutive SCAC championship with a 5–0 win. All of the Tiger duos earned doubles victories, and firstyear Jace Akagi-Okuma had a solid day in singles, notching his 14th consecutive singles win.

On Saturday, April 21, the women’s tennis team demolished Colorado College in the semifinals of the SCAC championship 5–0.

The win was truly a team effort, as many Tigers notched up wins, including Caroline Kutach, Ashley DeBauge, Zoe Kaffen, Mary Kaffen, Cheyenne Duncan, Marie Lutz and Andrea De Leon.

The Tigers moved on to the championships where they faced Southwestern University. This was the second consecutive year the two teams met for SCAC title, and the Tigers immediately took control with Kutach and Duncan capturing the first doubles point. The team clinched

LEFT: Seniors TAYLOR MOSER and ELIZABETH MCGILLIVRAY, junior EMILEE STRAUSBURG, first-year DELANEY KELLEY, and senior SHELBY DEVORE, left to right, competed in the women’s golf SCAC championship. They would place second. photo provided by SHELBY DEVORE RIGHT: First-year JACE AKAGI-OKUMA practices tennis. The men placed first in the SCAC tournament. FILE PHOTO

a 5–0 victory to earn their seventh straight SCAC championship.

Duncan was extremely proud of her team’s performance but was quick to note that this is just the beginning for the team.

“This year’s group of girls are the most hardworking group I’ve seen in my four years here, so I am really excited to see where we go from here. While winning conference is a blast and extremely rewarding, we have bigger goals in mind, so I’m anxious to keep our season going,” Duncan said.

The men’s and women’s tennis teams now wait for an official bid for the NCAA championships.

On the 23 and 24, the men’s and women’s golf teams headed to The Woodlands for the SCAC championships.

Both teams moved up and down in the standings throughout the two days of competition.

The women’s team was tied for first place in the second round, but came up short in a playoff and finished second. The Tigers were led by Elizabeth McGillivray and Emilee Strausburg, who both tied for sixth place.

Shelby DeVore placed 14th and helped round out the Tigers in the top 20. DeVore believed her team’s constant work ethic shined throughout the season.

“In Phoenix, we had so much fun hanging out with each other, and even though we didn’t play well the first day, we were able to come back the second. Being able to rally like that showed us how great of a team we truly are,” Devore said.

The men’s golf team finished fifth with a team score of 310, led by performances from Corbin Cormier and Redmond Lyons. Cormier finished the tournament with a 227 total score and earned All-SCAC first team honors. Lyons shot a 231 and earned a spot on the All-SCAC second team.

The baseball, softball and track & field teams will continue to compete in the SCAC championships this weekend.

week. By the age of 10, Runacres had moved on to the point of competing in equestrian competitions 3–5 times a week, traveling all over the country to show off her skills.

Runacres has continued to compete until where she is now: captain of the Trinity equestrian club team and qualified for nationals in Harrisburg, PA in May. Being able to attend the Harrisburg competition is no small feat. Over 9,000 riders from 400 colleges nationwide compete for 160 spots.

Runacres earned her spot by placing second in the open class at the regional horse show in Savannah, GA this past month.

The Trinity equestrian club has been around since the 1950s. Currently, there are 10 total team members. There are different categories of competition within an entire equestrian competition. The most difficult event, or class, is called flat classes, which Chelsea will be competing in Harrisburg. Flat classes are those that do not involve jumping, where participants are judged by a group of judges on how the horse trots, walks and canters.

“It’s basically a giant game of Simon Says.

The judges call out an action and the rider must get the horse to perform the action properly and gracefully,” Runacres said.

The flat competitions are scored based on the preferences of the judges. There is no point

scale in the competition, but rather the judges rank the competitors from 1–16. The second event class found in an equestrian competition is known as over-fences classes, in which the horse and rider jump over obstacles. This competition is scored on a scale of 1–100, with a score of about 85 being considered a strong score. The rider is judged on position and effectiveness of riding aids (communicating with the horse).

Chelsea Runacres, a girl from Seattle whose family had absolutely no prior experience with horses, would probably never have imagined competing on the equestrian big stage.

“Prior to Trinity, I had never even been to Texas before. I knew I wanted to continue to ride in college though, and Trinity has given me that opportunity,” Runacres said. “My four years on the team have been wonderful and really a huge part of my experience overall at Trinity.”

Despite her impending graduation, Chelsea has high hopes for the Trinity equestrian team’s future.

“I know I’m leaving the team in super capable and caring hands; the rising seniors are going to just continue to kick butt and promote the sport we love so much,” Runacres said.

CHELSEA RUNACRES will compete at nationals. photo provided by CHELSEA RUNACRES

Chelsea Runacres qualifies for equestrian nationals Team captain one of 106 riders to compete in Harrisburg, PA in May

SAUL MALEK | SPORTS REPORTER smalek@trinity.edu Kids grow up playing sports. It’s a way of life, a rite of passage of being a kid. Oftentimes, a few years of a sport is enough until a kid gets bored or realizes they aren’t good enough for a higher level of competition. In a world full of LeBron James, being a Brian Scalabrine doesn’t cut it.

Senior Chelsea Runacres is an exception.

Competing in equestrian competitions since the age of 10, Runacres has moved her way up the equestrian totem pole.

Runacres’ interest in horses started from a young age, a result of a trip to the zoo with her mom when she was three years old.

“There was a pony ride at the zoo when I was 3 years old that I loved so much. I told my mom that day that I wanted to continue riding horses,” Runacres said.

Fortunately, her mom obliged. When she was about seven, her parents enrolled her in casual equestrian lessons that met twice a

28

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

SPORTS

Random athlete drug tests to begin this fall continued from FRONT In a 2014 study, 29 percent of DIII athletes surveyed admitted to using marijuana, while the number was only 16 percent in DI. Amphetamines — a type of PED — were reportedly used by 5.7 percent of DIII athletes surveyed, and 3.9 percent of DI athletes.

Jones states in the memo that Trinity’s initiative against PEDs is coming at a time when many DIII schools across the country are taking similar steps against PEDs. Nearly 30 percent of DIII programs have adopted similar programs.

“Across the country, there is a growing conversation about PED abuse at the collegiate level. By meeting and exceeding the NCAA’s existing requirements, we can ensure that Trinity student-athletes, parents, alumni and fans that our athletic teams are positioned to succeed both on and off the field of play,” Jones wrote.

Jones also emphasized that the initiative is not focused simply on apprehending athletes that use PEDs, but also on preventing PED use and educating athletes on the effects of PEDs. “The testing and education will also provide student athletes with insight into the supplements and other over-the-counter products that may seem harmless but could result in a violation,” Jones wrote.

Mia Loseff, junior track athlete, was surprised by the change in policy.

“I don’t understand why the university feels the need to employ this because as far as I know, we do not have an issue with performance-enhancing drugs. It seems like a wrong placement of resources, and I think they are wasting their time employing these

SOURCE: NCAA national survey (2014)

graphic by LIZ DAY, graphics editor

tests because I don’t think they will find anyone who tests positive,” Loseff said. “I think it’s naive to say that athletes don’t use drugs at Trinity, but I also don’t think it’s a huge issue for us because we don’t let it interfere with our seasons and our ability to perform well.”

Tilden Oliver, junior tennis player, agreed with Loseff.

“I don’t think it is necessary [to change the policy], but I understand why the athletic department made the decision. It will be interesting to see if this new policy

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will change anything in our sport team’s performances,” Oliver said.

Loseff claims that while athletes do use drugs recreationally (such as marijuana and cocaine), she has never thought of PEDs as an issue.

“I don’t think [drug policies] should change. We are DIII and by choosing DIII, we are choosing to not have to commit our lives to our sports, so I feel as though having NCAA drug test us would be a waste of resources and highly unnecessary,” Loseff said.

“As far as I know most athletes don’t use the

SOURCE: Trinitonian survey of 88 student athletes

enhancers, and I think that since recreational drugs have little impact on gaining an unfair advantage on the competition, we should be allowed to use them without trouble.”

The PED initiative is still under development, and Jones welcomed feedback in her memo. “[We are working] to develop policies and structures that best meet the needs of our athletes and teams. In the meantime, I wanted to begin this important conversation. I welcome your questions and feedback to guide our internal planning,” Jones wrote.

ADVERTISEMENT • APRIL 27, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

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WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

In defense of the so-called “boring” A spectator’s love letter to the slower sports I grew up hating sports because I was scared of the way playing sports made me feel — as if time sped up and left me behind.

My senior year of high school I played two sports, both times because the teams needed me to field a team. The first — boy’s soccer — wasn’t much fun for me. Time moved too fast, and I was very bad.

Then there was softball — the only sport I’ve actually ever enjoyed playing for itself.

My first at bat, I didn’t know the difference between a ball or a strike. When I woke up the morning after, I had no plans to ever play softball again, but a couple months later I had fallen in love with a sport I would never get to play again.

And you know what I loved about softball?

It was slow. I had time — time to think, to understand, to play and to love the game I was playing.

And you know something else about softball?

It’s not the slowest sport. Baseball is slower and technically more “boring” and the only reason people like it more than softball is the patriarchy, but this isn’t about that, because I love baseball.

I love it more than softball and you know why?

Because it is slower.

I freaking love the “boring” sports. I don’t think they’re boring. They’re just not hurried.

There’s a lot that goes on in every sport, but it’s not every sport where you’re given the time to understand it. There’s no time on a clock. There’s just a game and the people that play that game, and a million tiny things they have to do to win.

I don’t want sports with “non-stop action,” but sports where the action is earned. A hit is special because it doesn’t come easily. A home run is moving because it is rare. Your heart stops and so does time, if only for a second.

I’ll be honest. I don’t spend a lot of time following baseball. I rarely watch it on TV. I wish I had time. I try to watch in person, but right now as I write this, my school’s number one baseball team is playing and I really wish I was outside in the beautiful sun instead of inside writing these words that I should have written this weekend.

This weekend I was instead working a golf tournament for my sport management class.

Golf is the only sport more boring than baseball.

But you know what? Over this weekend I found myself falling for another boring sport. It was there, at the Professional Golfers’ Association tour’s Valero Texas Open, that I found a lot of things to appreciate about the sport.

Sports like golf and baseball are called slow, but they can be the most interesting. FILE PHOTO

Like baseball, it is beautiful in scenery. Courses are beautiful in the way that baseball diamonds are spectacular. They tell a story even when they are empty. The spectators, similarly to baseball, are respectful of the game, but they also seemed to have fun. They have time to relax and enjoy — not just the sport, but the environment around it.

Golf itself takes it time. The golfers examine their options. They squat, taking time to line up the ball and the hole, as their gloves hang out of the pockets of their dressy looking pants. They practice their putt or their swing or their chip or whatever. They speak to their caddy and then — the crowd grows hushed, and they do the thing.

You know, he hits the ball with the club towards a hole. And you can hear the collective suspense in the air as the combined voices of the crowd wish the golfer to succeed. No matter how many strokes it takes, he is given a polite applause when he, you know, gets the ball in the hole.

Golf is easy to understand. That’s it. The ball goes in the hole, preferably with less strokes. That’s all you need to know to enjoy the sport a little bit, but as you watch, you notice more and more

details and enjoy it a little bit more with each detail. It’s a simple game with a complexity that doesn’t demand to be noticed, but whispers to be considered.

In every sport, athletes think. They plan.

They decide. They take actions. But in the boring sports, they have time to consider, to weigh, to chew, to spit — and I have time to take it all in and understand and appreciate all the million little moments that make each game beautiful.

As a pitcher and catcher confer silently to choose a pitch and as the golfer eyes the ball, a spectator may turn to their neighbor and tell a joke or take a sip of an over-priced beer. Then the athlete, with singular focus, enacts an action with uncertain outcome.

A hush falls over the crowd. Someone swings a stick. A small, white ball moves through the air.

We know where we want it to land. We know what we want to happen, but it’s all in the air.

The suspense.

The outcome.

The ball.

It’s all in the air.

We ARe

Hiring

ELISE HESTER | VIDEO PRODUCER ehester@trinity.edu

SPORTS

Reach out.

We’re kinda fun.

We think.

Get paid and get experience. trinitonian@trinity.edu

SPORTS • APRIL 27, 2018 • WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM

MEET THE PRESS Who do you think will win the NBA championship?

31

Pedraza’s Predictions: The NBA tournament The Spurs are out, so who will go all the way?

ANTONIO PEDRAZA | SPORTS REPORTER apedraza@trinity.edu

“I think the finals will again be the Cavs and the Warriors (whoop-de-do-dah). Can you tell I’m super NOT excited for that? ” — Rebecca Derby, advertising director

“Philly is going to the finals, beats Toronto in seven.

Drake finally gets beaten

by Mills. Rockets versus Warriors comes down to a buzzer beater. Philly wins the title, somehow youth beats experience and the NBA is ripped wide open for the next few years and people start to watch again.”

— Manfred Wendt, opinion columnist

“The final will be the 76ers and the dubs. Toronto is too young and isn’t tested enough to grind it out.”

— Austin Davidson, A&E editor

“I think I’m going to be putting my money on the Cavs this year. Mostly because I hate the Warriors, but also because I think they have it in them. Also, Kevin Love went to my high school.”

— Julia Weis, managing editor

“Honestly, I haven’t checked twitter all day, so I’ll say the Spurs. Kawhi is looking great. Just kidding. I’m not an ignorant fool. The Warriors are going to win because nothing is fun and the world is boring.

Ayesha was right, the NBA is rigged.”

— Elise Hester, video producer

“I have a feeling that the Raptors are gonna have a legendary season.”

— Soleil Gaffner, opinion editor

It is that time of year again, the NBA playoffs have finally come around. This time of year can be both the best and the worst for the fans of the NBA depending on who you support.

In recent history, fans of the Spurs, Warriors and Cavs have been treated to prolonged periods of success. However, this year things are a bit different. The Cavaliers of Cleveland have almost lost their ability to turn their city into Believeland and the Kawhi-less San Antonio Spurs are already knocked out of the playoffs. Now, had Kawhi Leonard been present for the majority of the season, the San Antonio Spurs probably would have made lunch meat of the chef Curryless Warriors, and San Antonio would have been happy enjoying all the free coffee from Valero in the meantime.

But sometimes, things don’t work out, and for the first time in my lifetime there are some serious questions being asked of the Spurs organization regarding their superstar, who is also the best two-way player in the league. I am inserting this part into the article in order to

prove a point and calm down any on campus Spurs fans.

There are two situations I would like to call upon to prove San Antonio has nothing to worry about their beloved basketball team. Firstly, last summer LaMarcus Aldridge wanted out, Pop convinced him to stay. In the year 2000 we almost lost NBA legend Tim Duncan due to free agency, however Popovich again played a significant role in making him stay. The key variable to every equation regarding the Spurs is our legendary coach. This situation is nothing different and Gregg Popovich will act in a similar manner in order to keep our city’s shining start.

I think that the western conference finals will be a tough battle and whoever wins it will end up winning it all, I believe that it’ll be the Houston Rockets vs. The Golden State Warriors, and Houston will get the best of them in a seven game series. The Eastern conference finals are a different story, I feel this is more of a toss up but in the end the last two teams standing will be the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics. Sorry Lebron, I don’t trust the process just about yet. But the 6ers will be good in the future. I feel Toronto makes it out of the East but that they will get crushed by the Rockets.

Sorry Drake, but H-town has a better basketball team and better rappers.

Thank you for a great year!

2017-2018 Executives: Daniel Conrad Grace Frye Julia Weis

32

WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM • APRIL 27, 2018 •

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