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Last year Puget Sound decided to alter their policy and require students to live on campus for their first two years at the university. With the addition of a large new residence hall, this was seen as a step toward furthering the on-campus community and a chance to bring in more revenue from room and board expenses.   Puget Sound is certainly not out of place with their requirements. Many comparable liberal arts colleges have policies ranging from one to four years of campus living. The policy went from two...

The recent surge of articles published on New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand could not have come at a more opportune time for our campus.  The majority of these articles, penned by writers from Salon, Politico and everywhere in between, focus on Gillibrand’s chances were she to run for office.  Given Hilary Clinton’s resignation as Secretary of State this year, it is anyone’s guess as to whether Hilary’s name will appear on the 2016 ticket.  During her 2012 interview with Barbara Walters for the annual “10 Most Fascinating People” special, our...

The Princeton Review named Puget Sound one of the 322 most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S. and Canada. The results and honors were awarded based upon a fifty–question survey completed by school administrators. The data collected covered topics ranging from course offerings to campus infrastructure and career preparation services to measure a commitment to the environment. “We are truly pleased to recommend University of Puget Sound, along with all of the fine schools in this book, to the many students seeking colleges that practice and promote environmentally-responsible choices and...

On April 15 an Iranian judge sentenced a man to be “publicly humiliated” by being displayed in the streets dressed as a woman. This misogynistic punishment has caused many Kurdish men to protest by cross-dressing and posting photos of themselves online. A Facebook group, Kurd Men for Equality, was started on April 18, on which hundreds of photos of men dressed in women’s clothing have been posted. The group’s “about” section reads, “Being a woman is not a tool to humiliate or punish anyone‬” and part of their biography reads,...

The Henry Luce Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to fund a new pilot project that will send Environmental Studies students to Southeast Asia. The project entails a three-week study trip to Indonesia, is slated for the summer of 2014 and will create the model for more trips in the coming years.  The first trip will ferry 10 students and two professors to various Indonesian locales. The trips will include research, service work and cultural immersion. The program is underpinned with a focus on the environment. “Puget Sound has developed strong...

An attempted robbery of a student occurred off-campus around 2 a.m. Friday, April 12. The student reported the incident to Security Services soon afterward, and Director of Security Services Todd Badham sent a security alert to the campus community later that morning. The incident occurred near North 9th and Pine Street, as students walked back to campus from Engine House No. 9 Brewery.  One student felt a tug on her purse and turned to find a man with a gun demanding the purse. This student and one other struggled with...

One month after the original surprise surrounding the split-ticket results of elections for ASUPS President and Vice President, Eric Hopfenbeck and Santiago Rodriguez were sworn into their positions on Tuesday, April 16.  Originally campaigning with separate running mates, (Krista Haapanen and Scott Miller, respectively), Hopfenbeck and Rodriguez will serve as ASUPS President and Vice President for the 2013-2014 academic year. In the past month, Hopfenbeck and Rodriguez have been working together to plan for the year ahead.  An immediate hurdle in their duties was merging the ideas of both campaign...

The Bias-Hate Education Response Team (BHERT)—a subcommittee of the Faculty Diversity Committee that was formed to respond to incidents of bias and hate on campus—has received suggestions from multiple students that the committee publish a report of their findings in The Trail. Former ASUPS Senate member Sadie Boyers recently told The Trail that she felt BHERT’s findings should be made more public so that BHERT can truly promote awareness and discussions on bias and hate. Other members of the ASUPS Senate and student leaders in the Division of Student Affairs...

    A Seattle-based research firm has concluded that Pierce County had the highest amount of pollution out of the 12 Washington counties surveyed. This score, on the “Sound Behavior Index” scale, resulted in the country being the lowest in terms of environmental friendliness and highest in impact to the surrounding ecology. It has already been established that the Puget Sound population contributed to severe damage of the ocean and the surrounding area. This study, which pinpoints the impact from region to region, showed San Juan county as having the...