News

By Paul Goudarzi-Fry Puget Sound’s general acceptance rate has increased to about 85 percent for fall 2013, with early acceptance rate at 88 percent. That rate is about 30.7 percent higher than 2010. According to the university’s website, Puget Sound accepts about 675 new members of the freshman class each year from several thousand applications. What this new rate does, however, will not affect the current amount of students coming into the new class. “The increase in our acceptance rate is due to a change in the way we count...

The Bias-Hate Educational Response Team, a subcommittee of the Faculty Diversity Committee and one of a number of the University’s initiatives to address issues regarding diversity, was formed so that a specific entity would be responsible for reviewing data on incidents of bias and hate, and subsequently promoting conversation among the campus community.  Despite this specific aim, the role and purpose of BHERT remains somewhat vague and controversial. According to the university website: “While there are formal channels to address complaints of bias or hate, our campus community at large...

    M aking money and gaining valuable work experience are subjects often prodding the minds of college students.  As the class of 2013 graduates and leaves Puget Sound behind, many of them are entering the work force or further educational institutions with internship or job experience already under their belts.  Whether it is paid or unpaid, internships are a great way to get experience in a career area of interest. According to Career Employment Services’ Associate Director Alana Hentges, an internship is a “short-term, supervised experience,” but may be...

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...

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...