Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Jennifer Egan Speaks at Trinity

Jennifer Egan speaks at Trinity University. (Photo by Chloe Sonnier)

By Julia Weis

The Ruth Taylor Recital Hall was packed with students, faculty and members of the San Antonio community yesterday for a lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan.

Egan focused her lecture on the years of research behind Manhattan Beach, her latest novel that came out in 2017. Her research involved digging up photography from New York during World War II and reading love letters from the 1940s.

"I like to start each story with a time and place," Egan said in her lecture. "The characters usually come afterwards."

Trinity University’s First Dance Marathon Raised Thousands

SGA President Amulya Deva (holding the microphone)
and the rest of the Executive Board revealing the amount raised
up until the end of the event (photo courtesy of Allison Wolff).

By Victoria Abad

Webster Gym became a rave floor as Trinity students danced to celebrate about $7,300 raised for the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio on Saturday. About 100 Trinity students and families of children patients danced in TigerThon, Trinity University’s first Dance Marathon.

From 5 p.m. through 9 p.m., students kept busy with dance, competitions, games, and more dancing. Loon-E Crew and Momentum choreographers were among the dancers. As was 7-year-old Jagger, who has been cancer free for 13 months. He taught the crowd his dance moves.

Throughout the night, donations came through the Children's Miracle Network website and donation websites set up for each participating team. Various Trinity student organizations, such as the Student Government Association, registered to become fund raising teams.

President Danny Anderson Webinar Discusses the Value of a Liberal Arts Education

By Samuel King

Liberal arts degree is not worthless, but has just as much value as a business degree in its own way. Trinity University President Danny Anderson made that argument during a webinar On Thursday.

Anderson was joined by Trinity's Vice President​ for Strategic Communications and Marketing, Tess Coody-Anders (’93), in a conversation about the value of a liberal arts education in the 21st century.

Leigh Anne Tuohy Speaks at Event in San Antonio

Leigh Anne Tuohy speaks at the ​Mums and Mimosas event yesterday.
(Photos by Lauren Bagg)

By Lauren Bagg

Leigh Anne Tuohy, the lead character played by Sandra Bullock in the movie “The Blind Side,” was the featured speaker yesterday at the ninth annual Mums and Mimosas luncheon.

Around 600 guests gathered in the Witte Museum to hear Tuohy’s speech while celebrating the work done by Good Samaritan Community Services.

Tuohy, who lives in Memphis​,​ Tennessee, spoke about miracles and how it just takes one act of kindness to change someone’s life. Michael Oher, her son, “was deemed 100% valueless by society,” she said. When she turned the car around to talk to Michael for the first time, she decided she wanted to take him shopping.

Trinity Theater Presents ​"​Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play"​

Photo caption: The stage of Mr. Burns. 

(Photo by Breton Smith)

By Breton Smith

Trinity Theater’s new production, “Mr. Burns, A Post-electric Play,” had its fourth run
​​last night.

The play is based on Anne Washburn’s imaginative dark comedy that deals with the survivors in a post apocalyptic world, who pass time by re-enacting old Simpsons episodes from memory.
​
Right before the play started, the cast members ​gathered ​on ​stage,​ completely shrouded in darkness. The only source of light ​was a fake ​campfire the actors huddle around. ​Recent pop music ​filled the theater.

New SGA President Discusses Agenda for Her Term

SGA new president Amulya Deva.
(photo courtesy of Yazmin Ramirez)

By Ruthie Rubin

Amulya Deva assumed the role of the president of Student Government Association (SGA) in January. During her one-year term, she plans to address both old and new agendas.

Deva, a junior majoring in finance and business analytics & technology with a minor in economics, is not a total new comer to SGA. Last year, she served as a SGA senator. She decided to run for the president because “I’ve learned that the best way to affect change on campus involves work over the course of multiple terms.”

In fact, one of such changes that Deva is pushing for, the Menstrual Product Initiative, was originated by her predecessor, Nick Santulli. Deva and her administration will continue to work toward increasing the number of tampon and sanitary napkin receptacles in buildings ​across campus, ​such as CSI and the library.

The Roar Presents: The First Look at the New Bell Center

In fall 2016, Trinity University's William H. Bell Athletic Center, established in 1992, began a $14.2 million renovation. The newly renovated facility is now open. On, Feb. 13, a group of faculty and staff took their first look at the new Bell Center. Here is the video produced by The Roar. 

From Backstage to Front Stage: Lu​​nar New Year Celebration A Major Undertaking By Trinity Students

Lunar New Year celebration planning committee meeting.
(Photos by Sarah Wysocki)

By Sarah Wysocki

The lights change​d​ from white, to blue, to red. Fans twirl high above the performers' heads. The changing lights highlighted​ different colors of the fans. The dancers move​d​ their fans up and down, creating a colorful wave, astonishing and beautiful.

This is just one of the dazzling performances at the Lunar New Year celebration on Friday. About 700 people, including Trinity students, staff and faculty,​ and San Antonio residents, filled the Laurie Auditorium to watch the show.

All 12 performances were choreographed and performed by Trinity students. These numbers featured art and culture of China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, countries where the Lunar New Year is celebrated.

Communication Day Connects Students with Alumni

RCC320 was packed with students attending the panels
at the Communication Day. The panel pictured here features
graduates within the past five years.

By Marina Schweitzer and Sophia Scearce

The fifth annual Communication Day on Friday welcomed back to Trinity 15 graduates who majored in communication, along with hundreds of alumni, current students and faculty.

Room 320 in the Richardson Communication Center was completely packed. Additional chairs were added and lined up the side way, as students flocked into the room to hear what the alumni had to say about their career and life experiences.

Leni Kirkman (‘84), senior vice president of strategic communications and patient relations at University Health System in San Antonio, said she used to write down her goals for the future and knew she wanted to be a broadcast journalist, which she did for a while but later changed her career.

NBC News Producer and Trinity Alum Gives Keynote at Communication Day

John Bentley gives the keynote speech at the Communication Day
(Photo by Josie Liu)

By Lauren Bagg

John Bentley (‘95), NBC News producer and a Trinity graduate with a degree in communication, gave the keynote speech that kicked off the fifth annual Communication Day on Friday.

Bentley is an award-winning television journalist and has covered stories around the world, from the war in Afghanistan to the 2008 presidential election. He has worked at CBS, ABC and is currently a producer for NBC News.

In his talk, titled “Speaking Truth to Power: Covering Conflicts and Campaigns Around the World," Bentley said that the duty of a journalist “is to speak the truth for others, and to make the story not about the reporters but of the person that is being observed.”

Beto O’Rourke Attracts Hundreds to Town Hall Meeting on San Antonio South Side

Beto O'Rourke spoke at a town hall in San Antonio.

(Photo by David Smith)

By David Smith

Hundreds of San Antonio residents​ and ​Texans, including several Trinity students​,​ packed into a community center on Monday ​on South Side San Antonio to meet Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke​, who is running for U.S. ​Senate.

​Texas state Rep. Diego Bernal introduced O’Rourke, touching upon the challenges of the upcoming election, defeating current U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, and frustrations people felt toward the Trump administration. The audience stood up with applause as Bernal welcomed O’Rourke to the stage.

In his talk, O’Rourke addressed the frustrations of Texans from across the state, on issues from inadequate school funding to lack of healthcare. An El Paso native, O’Rourke did not support Trump’s wall plan. He said that future generations would be appalled that time was spent even in discussion of such a thing.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day The Alternative Way at Trinity

Linda Ready reads her poem at the poem contest.

(Photo by Emily Bae)

By Emily Bae

Today is Valentine’s Day, the holiday that steals your heart. But it doesn’t have to.

“Valentine’s Day is such a hard, awkward time where singles don’t like the holiday and want people to come together,” said Alex Motter, sophomore majoring business analytical and technology, an editor of the Trinity Review, which hosted a love and anti-love poem contest on Friday.

Six students shared their poems, ranging from beautiful love stories to awkward Tinder stories to melancholy break up stories. Some of the poems were simply notes that the author would leave for themselves after their breakup, and others compared love to gum.

River Walk Royal Masquerade Gala Raises Money for Scholarships

Guests enjoy games at the gala.
(Photo courtesy of Victor Blanco)

By Sophia Scearce

Elegant floor length gowns and intricate Mardi Gras masks dazzled the Wyndham Garden at the River Walk Friday night, as around 300 people attended the first ever River Walk Royal Masquerade Gala.

“People got really creative with them, and some went above and beyond with hats, wigs, and even colored contacts,” said photographer Victor Blanco.

The gala was hosted by the San Antonio River Walk Association, which works to protect, promote and preserve the River Walk. The night’s festivities featured live music, casino games, and the association’s first ever online silent auction for its newly formed non-profit called “Friends of the River Walk.”

Philanthropy Week Encourages Students to Give Back

Peyton Wionzek, sophomore, visits with Trinity Student Ambassadors
 during the Tumbling Towers event. Trinity’s most famous landmark,
the towers, was funded by donors. (Photo by Paige Johnson)

By Paige Johnson

Trinity’s annual Philanthropy Week ends today with “Opportuni-Key,” where students can try their luck at opening a treasure chest with a key, picked from a pile of nearly 400. Only about five of them will work. Small Trinity gears, such as branded cups, bags, and other prizes are waiting in the chest.

Trinity University Student Ambassadors hosted the week to promote student philanthropy. Instead of soliciting donations, the theme of the event is “I Heart TU,” calling for students to pause and appreciate all that Trinity has to offer.

Bid Day 2018 Welcomes 200 New Members

New Members of Sigma Theta Tau with
orientation chair Yvette Pena
(Photo by Ruthie Rubin)

By Ruthie Rubin

Trinity’s Greek life welcomed nearly 200 new members on Friday’s Bid Day.

Bid Day is the day on which Trinity sororities and fraternities extend invitations or “bids” to their new members.

Among them were 129 new sorority members and 79 new fraternity members, who lined up at the Coates University Center to receive their bid cards from the Greek Council.