Ted Cruz Visits San Antonio Right Before Super Tuesday

More than 1500 people gather in the Shrine Auditorium in San Antonio for a Ted Cruz rally on Monday
Photos by Robert Smith

By Robert Smith

Over 1500 people packed the Shrine Auditorium near Stone Oak Monday afternoon during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz.

Just one day before Super Tuesday, Cruz is visiting Texas’ major cities in a last minute attempt to sway voters. With his wife Heidi and two daughters next to him, Cruz took the stage to a standing ovation and patriotic country music.

“This election is going to focus on three issues: jobs, freedom, and security,” Cruz told the supporters. “The heart of our economy is small business; you wanna hammer the economy you hammer small businesses. You wanna lift the economy then have the federal government lift their boots of the necks of small businesses.”

Trinity Alumnus Chris Helfrich Gives Memorable Speech

By Amy Drozdiak

Chris Helfrich ('03) gives keynote speech
at the Communication Day
Photo by Josie Liu

Chris Helfrich, the executive director of Nothing But Nets, a United Nations Foundation campaign, kicked off the third annual Communication Day at Trinity University with an inspirational keynote speech on Friday.

In his speech, Helfrich, who graduated from Trinity University in 2003, reflected on how the experiences and skills he acquired as a student at Trinity, and the profound influence from his Trinity mentors, have helped equip him to successfully progress his career into one with the power to make a difference in the world.

As the executive director of Nothing But Nets, a global, grassroots foundation, Helfrich works to raise awareness and funding to help fight malaria through providing mosquito nets and other materials to communities with high malaria death rates, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa.

Young Alumni Bring Inspirations and Advice Back to Trinity

Recent communication major graduates
speak at a panel at the Communication Day
Photo by Josie Liu

By Robert Smith

The classroom 320 in Trinity University’s Richardson Communication Center was fully occupied on Friday afternoon. Staff started to put extra chairs on the side, with many people still standing on the back and near the door.

Around 50 students, faculty and staff were here to see, and hear, five recent graduates of Communication major speaking at a panel at the third annual Communication Day, held by the Department of Communication.

Leading the discussion were Natalie Brown, Don Dimick, Lauren Wilks, Sarah Cooper and Leslie Green, all of whom graduated from Trinity within the past three years.

Trinity President Officially Inaugurated

Trinity president Danny Anderson
gives inaugural speech

Photo by Josie Liu

By Haylee Rodriguez

Hundreds of students, faculty, and alumni of Trinity University, and representatives from more than 30 institutions of higher education gathered in Laurie Auditorium on Friday to observe the investiture ceremony of Trinity’s 19th president, Dr. Danny J. Anderson.

Anderson assumed the presidency of Trinity University in May 2015. The investiture marked his formal installation as the president of the university.

At the ceremony, Anderson received the University mace and the medallion, hanging from a chain of medals each inscribed with the name and term of his predecessors. Both are symbols of the university presidency.

“How I Learned To Drive” Opens Trinity Theatre Spring Season

Actors Sarah Tipton and Alaynna Marttala 

sit on stage waiting for the show to start

Photo by Katie Groke

By Katie Groke

Seats were filled up Friday night as Trinity Theatre Department opened its spring season with “How I Learned to Drive.”

More than 70 people came to the show, which was performed in the small black box theater on the second floor of the Ruth Taylor Fine Arts Center.

The space was transformed with two seating areas facing each other. A painted road ran in between the seating areas and a swing hung from the ceiling, indicating the play’s themes of driving and loss of youth.

“We put it in the smaller theater for a more intimate setting,” said Rachel Joseph, a Trinity professor and director of the show.

#Great Trinity Experiment: Inspiring Learning for the Future

Trinity University President Danny Anderson
welcomes participants of the Great Trinity
Experiment on Thursday
Photo by Dana McLaughlin

By Dana McLaughlin

The entire Trinity University campus was buzzed with excitement as students, faculty and alumni participated in the Great Trinity Experiment on Thursday, as a significant part of the celebratory events leading up to the inauguration of Dr. Danny J. Anderson as the 19th president of Trinity University.

This experiment put students, staff and alumni at the front of the classroom, reversing the traditional teaching role for one day.

There were 23 mini-courses selected out of 40 proposals submitted by students, staff and alumni, on topics ranging from the evolving face of homelessness, coding basics, Japanese anime, to drumming. About 200 people signed up to attend these 50-minute courses.

#Great Trinity Experiment: Students Teach Class on Homelessness

Junior Rebecca Prager collects ideas 

from the class about ways to help homeless people

Photos by Nate Borchers

By Nate Borchers​

Trinity​ University ​juniors Rebecca Prager, Jay Stracke and senior Ana Ruiz reversed the conventional​teaching-learning structure​and became the professors on the causes and solutions of homelessness. At least for one afternoon.

The mini-course they taught, “The Evolving Face of Homelessness,” challenged more than 20 attendees, including Trinity faculty and students, to rethink the perception of homelessness, as part of “The Great Trinity Experiment” on Thursday.

In an activity called “Cross The Line,” participants of the class moved into different areas of the room designated “Yes”, “No” or “Unsure” in response to a series of statements, ranging from general ones such as “I was born in Texas,” to more complicated ones like “I believe homelessness is something that we can end forever.”

#Great Trinity Experiment: Trinity Students Fascinated by Fictional Writing

A student imagines characters for an exercise
 during the creative writing mini course.  
Photo by Robert Smith

By Robert Smith

Creating fictional characters, turns out, has a lot to do with understanding real people, as attendees of a Great Trinity Experiment course learned on Thursday.

The course, Building Believable Characters in Creative Writing, was designed and taught by two Trinity alum, William M. Razavi (’95) and Jack Bonner (’02).

Though many English and creative writing students, as well as a few alumni, were in attendance, the talk focused on more than just literature.

#Great Trinity Experiment: Trinity Students, Faculty and Staff Enjoy Drumming

By Nancy Li

On a stage usually occupied by music majors and professional musicians, a group of first-time drummers filled the recital hall with sounds and rhythms of djembe and conga drums.

These drummers were about 50 Trinity students, faculty and staff, all of whom had little experience with drumming, who came to the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall on Thursday to attend the mini-course, Drumming with your hands: An Introduction to Drumming.

Claire Steinman, a sophomore majoring in Communication, was very excited to be here. “It’ll be fun. I just wanna bang on things.”

Trinity Students Engage In Interfaith Dialogue

By Nancy Li

Students and staff of different religious background gathered and exchanged views on Monday during the Interfaith Dialogue in Trinity’s Fiesta Room.

The 18 participants, representing Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, Protestant Christianity and agnosticism, discussed a wide range of topics from different beliefs to personal religious experiences and current social issues.

Ruth Lavenda, a sophomore and member of the Jewish Student Association, was a part of a stimulating conversation concerning views toward the LGBT community in the Christian church. To her, the very question was brought up because people “did not know what to think because here was a situation where the view of Christianity was being challenged.”

Trinity University President Leads Day of Service

Volunteers at Lamar Elementary School
Photos by Sara McCarty 

By Sara McCarty

Dr. Danny Anderson, Trinity University’s new president, spent Saturday morning raking leaves and helping with landscaping at Lamar Elementary School, as part of the Trinity Gives Back community service day.

Instead of his normal attire of suit, Anderson was wearing jeans and the "uniform" of the day, a maroon Trinity Gives Back T-shirt. As soon as he arrived at the elementary school, he went straight for the gardening gloves and began raking.

Lamar Elementary, which is in Trinity’s neighborhood, is one of a dozen locations around San Antonio where volunteers, including Trinity students, faculty, staff and alumni, spent the day doing various community services.

Volunteers Gave Providence Place a Makeover

Trinity University President Danny Anderson 

rallies the troops on Saturday morning

Photos by Abby Stigler

By Abby Stigler

It was with groggy eyes and breakfast taco filled stomachs that 500 Trinity volunteers gathered in the
Bell Center yesterday at 7:30 a.m. to kick off the President’s Day of Service.

Busses carted off volunteers in big and small groups, ranging from 8 to 85 people each, to various sites across San Antonio, including Daily Bread Ministries, San Antonio Food Bank, Haven for Hope, and several others, where students, professors, and community members were geared up to help places in need.

Among them were 50 volunteers who came to Providence Place, a non-profit organization that provides an educational center for people with disabilities as well as a service that helps pregnant women who do not wish to keep their baby find adoption families.

“Pizza and Pleasure” Discusses Online Dating

Katherine Hewitt talks about online dating
at Pizza and Pleasure on Thursday.
Photo by Carlos Ealy

By Carlos Ealy

Need a valentine for Valentine’s Day? Dating apps might help, as suggested by the “Pizza and Pleasure” talk on Thursday.

Katherine Hewitt, the wellness coordinator from Trinity University's Counseling Services, presented different ways to meet people through apps and dating websites, three days before Valentine's Day.

There are benefits using dating sites and applications, according to Hewitt, since they eliminate the “blind date” by providing in-depth profile information and match people through algorithms. Hewitt herself has had firsthand experience with how technology has reshaped dating. She and her husband began dating after he “poked” her on Facebook when they were in college.

Spring Career Fair Attracts Hundreds

Trinity holds Spring Career Fair on Wednesday.
Photo by Davis Mathis

By Davis Mathis

​Hundreds of students and employers generated heavy traffic along the corridor in the Laurie Auditorium on Wednesday for Trinity's Spring Career Fair.

Around 40 companies from across the state, including police departments, military branches, and computer science companies, set up tables, displaying brochures, information sheets and lots of goodies bearing company logos.

Renowned Anthropologist Discusses Why People Reject Science

Dr. Eugenie C. Scott gives a lecture on Darwin's Day. 

Photo by Nipuni Gomes

By Nipuni Gomes

The primary reason for many people to reject climate change, vaccination or evolution is not science, but ideology, Dr. Eugenie Carol Scott, a renowned anthropologist, told an audience at Trinity University yesterday.

Scott, a physical anthropologist and chair of the Advisory Council for the National Center for Science Education, presented a lecture titled “Why Do People Reject Good Science,” hosted by Trinity University in honor of the 2016 Darwin Day, the 207th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday.

Super Bowl A Get-together Chance For Latino Students

 Dozens of Trinity students gather at City Vista
to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Photo by Nicolas Echeverria

By Juan Pineda

Dozens of Latino students at Trinity University gathered on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl. Or not.

Football is not the biggest sport for Latino students, and therefore the reason for them to watch the game was rather different.

“I only watch the game because of the ads and the halftime show,” said Gabriel Mendez, a junior from Honduras. He tried to name players from the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos, “Peyton Manning, Cam Newton, and #73, the guy from the ‘Blind Side’ movie, and that's it.”

At a Super Bowl watching party at City Vista, the new apartment complex right next to the Trinity campus, dozens of Trinity Latino students gathered around a bonfire, chatting, having barbecue and drinking beer, while the game was shown on giant television screens behind the grillers.

Trinity Junior Sets Spurs Halftime Competition Record at $1,100

Zachary Treu poses with Silver Star
dancers at last Wednesday's game
Photo by Callum Squires

By Dana McLaughlin

Zachary Treu celebrated his 22nd birthday with friends at the San Antonio Spurs home game against the Houston Rockets last Wednesday.

The Spurs came away with a win, and so did Treu, a junior at Trinity University. He won a $1,100 HEB gift card after setting an all-time high record for the HEB Beach Ball Mania halftime competition.

Treu said it was incredible to be down on the court. “I was also shaking pretty bad when I first got down on the court,” recalled Treu. “However, once I caught the first balloon I kind of just dialed in and felt pretty comfortable after that.”

Momentum 2016 Auditions Kick Off 11th Annual Production

Dancers at Sunday's audition.
Photos by Amy Drozdiak

By Amy Drozdiak

On an otherwise quiet Sunday morning yesterday, there was an air of nervous and excited energy as more than 75 Trinity students gathered at the Bell Center for the auditions of the 2016 Momentum, the annual dance production choreographed and produced entirely by Trinity students.

Students auditioned for a diverse mix of dance styles, including Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Funk, and Tap dancing.

This year marks the show’s 11th annual production, and the producers and choreographers were eager to showcase their dance pieces for the new and veteran dancers at the audition. Choreographers of the Tap dancing piece wow-ed everybody with the unique integration of plastic cups into their tap-dance routine.

Houston Underground Hip-Hop Comes to San Antonio

By Robert Smith

Fat Tony
Photo courtesy of Fat Tony

Fat Tony and his DJ were playing a zombie arcade shooting game in a corner of Limelight, a music bar in San Antonio where the Houston-based rapper was about to start a show on Saturday evening.

The sound engineers tested a pre-recorded "Sushi," Tony’s hit single recorded alongside Asher Roth. Shrill whistles and kick drums come together to form a song that is unique and catchy. Red lights turned blue and then green, each color matching the mood of the subsequent songs. Finally, Tony left the arcade—he ran out of quarters.

Anthony Lawson Jude Ifeanyichukwu Obiawunaotu has one hell of a name. But his stage moniker pays homage to the likes of Big Moe, Slim Thug, and Fat Pat, all legends of the Houston underground hip-hop scene. “Houston made its best music, in my opinion, during the 90’s when it was…like Ghetto Boyz, Scarface, Devin the Dude; not just Houston but Texas,” says Tony.