By Henry Smalley On Nov. 15, 2022, the University of Puget Sound’s Multi-Identity Based Union (MIBU) held their ‘22-’23 introductory presentation in Upper Marshall Hall. The presentation was hosted by Kellen Hagans, MIBU facilitative chair and BSU president, and Chloe Pargmann, ASUPS Director of Inclusion and Justice, with the goals of updating the student body on progress made on the 2021 MIBU demands as well as sharing changes and plans for improvement moving forward. MIBU is a coalition of identity-based clubs on campus. It acts as a way for students...

It is hard to believe that we are nearly at the end of the semester, and this message is appearing in the final issue of The Trail for this calendar year! I appreciate having this opportunity to share a few thoughts with the readers of The Trail, and I would like to offer a message that has been adapted from my December report to the faculty. As classes come to a close and the winter break approaches, let’s take a deep breath and acknowledge the emotional journey we have been...

By Hannah Lee During this year’s midterm elections, many predicted a “red wave” in which many Republicans would be elected to positions of political power. Historically, the president’s party has generally lost elections at the state and national levels in midterms. This year, however, many Democrats won over states and positions and kept their control over the Senate. There were also many historical firsts for those elected to these positions. Many attribute these results to a higher Gen Z voting turnout. According to the Center for Information and Research on...

By Hannah Lee On Nov. 14, 2022, the Children’s Hospital Organization (CHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) asked President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to declare Respiratory Syncytial Virus (or RSV) a national and public health emergency. This was in response to the growing levels of hospitalizations for children with respiratory viruses. Pediatric units across the United States are completely overwhelmed with babies and toddlers with RSV or the flu, and some parts of the country, such as Rhode Island have run out...

By Ainsley Feeney Last Wednesday, Nov. 30 the Politics and Government Department, along with the Gender, Queer, and Sexuality Studies Department hosted an informational session titled “What’s Happening in Iran?” The session was used to address and inform students about the “protest movements and the severe government crackdown in Iran following the killing of Mahsa Amini,” as stated in the promotional information for the event. The lecture was proposed by Professor Greta Austin and was hosted by Professors Sam Kigar of the Religion Department and Patrick O’Neil of Politics and...

By Rowan Baiocchi The Trail reached out to the new director of security, David Ferber, to discuss his vision for the future of Security Services but he, unfortunately, was unavailable due to a personal matter. The Trail hopes to feature Ferber soon. The recent departure of long-time director of security Todd Badham presents a perfect opportunity to reflect on how the campus community views Security Services. In an effort to identify common general campus sentiments towards the program, The Trail interviewed students on campus to ask them some questions about...

By Henry Smalley Dr. Wind Dell Woods’ workshop production of his original script “Troy The Hillian” is a play that produces big laughs and even bigger ideas. The play is set in a far-future, post-apocalyptic society whose entire culture has changed. With limited knowledge of our current understandings of race, power and language, a group of three actors, two scholars, a poet, a stage manager and a director attempt to put on a performance of August Wilson’s Fences, a play which deals heavily in those concepts. As they work through...

By Audrey Davis, Editor in Chief Friday, Nov. 4, marked the Race and Pedagogy Institute’s 20th anniversary on the University of Puget Sound Campus. Whiteness: A Primer on the Core Barrier to Racial Liberation, a lecture from Dr. Nolan Cabrera brought the campus community together for further exploration of the juxtaposition of the two fundamental words – race and pedagogy– and how whiteness continues to live and act within higher institutions. “What does it mean that we keep having people apologize for ignorance, saying ‘we’re sorry, we didn’t know better’?”,...