News

  The University’s African American Studies Program celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Since its inception, the program has captured the interest of the community and has gone on to participate in major events such as the 2014 Race and Pedagogy National Conference. Initially, the AFAM program was a collaborative effort between a small number of professors with a common concern. “In the mid to early 1990s, there was a campus discussion about the lack of diversity on campus and the student body, and that came to include a discussion...

Over the 2014-15 winter break, the Dining and Conference Services team revamped the Dining Hall to increase culinary options and service efficiency. Typically, no change is more immediately noticed than a menu alteration—this seems to be the exception. Despite the DCS team’s effort to disperse the news through the greeter board located by the main entrance to the cafeteria, many Puget Sound students are unaware of their new options. “There’s the frozen yogurt machine, that’s new,” first year Jordan Richards said. Though the bulk of the changes have flown under...

Black History Month at the University of Puget Sound has begun, with multiple events already hosted by the Black Student Union and other groups on campus. This month, dedicated to experiencing, learning and appreciating black stories and history, continues with more events and discussions for students, staff and the Tacoma community. “Black History Month is a time to delve into the histories of black heritage, and not only learn but to reflect, and honor, and remember, and to celebrate,” Nakisha Renee Jones, President of Black Student Union, said. University of...

On Dec 1, Puget Sound’s Black Student Union (BSU) organized a campus-wide demonstration mourning the death of Michael Brown, who was killed in Ferguson, Miss. Brown’s death sparked nationwide outcry against institutionalized racism and police brutality towards black individuals across America. The BSU organized the demonstrationthrough social media outlets,asking for students to wear all-black clothing on Dec 1. “Wearing all black will signify your commitment to dismantling institutional racism in our country. Please stand with us in solidarity as we mourn the death of Michael Brown  and demonstrate our frustration...

ASUPS Student Senate recently endorsed a letter to the Code Review Committee of the APPA, which governs building codes in educational facilities, to advocate for the allowance of communal gender-neutral bathrooms on college campuses. The letter was approved by the Senate at the formal Senate meeting on Nov. 20 with a vote of 13-0 and two abstentions. Senator Kyle Chong brought the letter to the Senate at a previous Senate meeting on Nov. 18. Despite the unanimous vote, the letter was not originally on the floor for the formal Senate...

The fall 2014 ASUPS Elections ended on Friday, Oct. 31, and the results are in for the new representatives. The new students fulfilling these six positions will represent many different aspects of University of Puget Sound students in the coming year. Kent Busson is a junior with a major in biology and minor in chemistry, and he is from a town in northern Idaho called Hayden. After gaining experience in other leadership outlets like Greek Life and Residence Life, he wanted to reach out to a broader depth of organizations...

After Winter Break, ASUPS will be implementing a new price change of van rentals on campus. These new prices will affect students, faculty, and clubs that want to rent vans for general use and specific events. Vans previously cost $20 per day to rent, and now the price has changed to $40 for a day and $20 for a half day for all students. For non-students the prices have gone from $40 per day to $50. “We were spending twice as much as we were making. So, basically the increase...

The University of Puget Sound recently decided to implement queer theory into the Gender Studies program in order to expand the interdisciplinary program and strengthen the minor. “We’ve had a minor in Gender Studies and so what we did, what we are in the process of doing, is joining forces with the queer cultures because we in gender studies, we have been looking to bring in more queer theory, more the kind of contemporary work that is happening,” Alison Tracy Hale, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of English, said. “Harry...

The University’s endowment is invested in a variety of ways in order to support current and future operations. Some students, however, are calling for the University to reevaluate and be more transparent about where exactly it invests its money. As of Sept. 30, 2014, the endowment was estimated at $314 million. Puget Sound has 550 different endowment funds, which are subject to donor restrictions, such as being for a particular scholarship or Board of Trustee designations. According to the 2013 Financial Report, 99 percent of these endowment funds are pooled...