Features

By Molly Wampler Last weekend, Nov. 11-13, The Cascade Climate Network (CCN) of environmental activism clubs from universities from across the Pacific Northwest gathered at Puget Sound for their annual Fall convergence, “Fall Flurry.” CCN puts on three such meetings every year, bringing in guest speakers and workshop facilitators from across the country. In attendance this year were around 57 students from Reed College, Western Washington University, Lewis and Clark College, Evergreen State College, University of Washington, Portland State and the University of Puget Sound. Emma Farmer Casey, a co-leader...

By Madeline Brown Until Jan. 15, 2017, the Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is hosting the “30 Americans” exhibit, which showcases the culture of African Americans by 31 African American artists. “One reason it’s called “30 Americans” —I mean it is 31 African American artists— there was a desire to focus on the fact that these are American artists who are telling an American story. are some of the most influential and important American artists living today and they are African American artists. They are telling their own stories that intersect...

By Charlotte Fron Mike Segawa, the University of Puget Sound’s Dean of Students and Vice President, grew up in San Diego with his parents and three younger siblings, all of whom still live in California. Segawa graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Political Science degree, then attended Colorado State for his Masters of Education. He has worked in residential life at several colleges, including Central State Missouri State University, University of Washington, and Evergreen State College. Segawa and his wife currently live in Olympia, enjoying the sense...

By: Molly Wampler In the past year, the University of Puget Sound has made a conscious effort to unify the Tacoma community with our campus, and have set specific goals with this objective in mind.   Kaitlyn Vallance, lecture programmer for the Associate Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS), has put much thought into this year’s lecture series, and, in efforts to tie in this goal of community partnerships, wanted to start her series with Tacoma local Shalisa Hayes.   “I’ve decided to do a lecture series centered around...

By Eada Gendelman Nikita For fifth-year student Nikita New, education was never a given. Her mother grew up in El Salvador during the Salvadorian Civil War and was forced to drop out of school in the ninth grade. Her father was also raised in an unsafe and poverty-stricken environment where getting an education did not seem feasible. Although 42 percent of students whose parents attended college usually graduate within four years, only 27 percent of first-generation students graduate within the same amount of time, a 2011 University of California Los...

By Eada Gendelman   After working in law and public policy for more than 30 years, Eric Holder, Jr. visited the University to lead a discussion entitled “Principled Leadership.” The members of the campus and local community gathered in Schneebeck Concert Hall to hear Holder speak about his controversial career and share his personal experiences as the first African American attorney general of the United States. This interactive discussion took place on March 3 at 8 p.m., leaving a remarkable impact on students and faculty alike. “Questions of drone strikes,...

By Emma Brice   The University of Puget Sound holds many events throughout the year such as Take Back the Night and No More Week of Action in order to bring sexual assault awareness to campus. This past week, Sexuality Issues, Race, and Gender Education (SIRGE) has put on events in order to encourage awareness of these problems in society today. “This week we are holding three different events. Tuesday we put on a photo campaign, where we asked people to write down why they were saying ‘No More’ to...

By Eada Gendelman On Feb. 18, Latinos Unidos worked in collaboration with the Tacoma Art Museum, Centro Latino, and Pacific Lutheran University to present Exploring the Latino Experience in Tacoma, a reception and student-led panel discussion. Students and local community members joined together in the Rasmussen Rotunda at 6 p.m. to examine the challenges Latino-Americans must overcome in the Tacoma community and beyond. “Latinos have a long and rich history in the United States dating back more than 500 years, and they have become the largest minority group in the...

By Grace Cook This year of graduates marks the smallest class of English majors in recent memory; upper-division classes that would have had an average of 10-15 students last year are now experiencing numbers as low as four. Like other majors in the humanities, English majors are often asked, “What are you planning on doing with that?” This question reveals a loss of belief in the Humanities as a field of study. In recent years the number of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) majors has been growing while the...

By Emma Brice One of the main concerns people face when going off to college is the unknown territory of what the food will be like. Meals play a crucial role in a college student’s life, and luckily the University of Puget Sound has been granted several diverse options. Recently the University welcomed Spoon University to campus, giving an additional food resource to students in addition to from The Cellar and the S.U.B. “The purpose of Spoon University is to inform college students (who may be navigating their own kitchens or campuses...

By Marcelle Rutherfurd According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), upwards of 30 million individuals in the United States are affected by eating disorders. The issue of negative body image and the mental issues that stem from it is a huge part of today's society. From day one, American children are bombarded by images of “perfect” bodies, due to the tendency of popular media to portray one stock body type that is considered generally attractive. With such a harsh and triggering environment surrounding us, both...

With February being the official month of love and bad rom-coms, it’s hard to remember that intimate partner violence is just as likely to occur on Valentine’s Day as any other day of the year. The YWCA of Pierce County works 24/7 to provide support for survivors and their children as they recover and rebuild their lives.  Unfortunately, conversations about intimate partner violence are often confusing and unconstructive, leading to victim blaming and survivors questioning the validity of their experience. “Intimate partner violence is important to talk about because it’s...