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Fade from black—you awake at the foot of a lighthouse on a nameless island, and as you take your first step forward, a voice begins to speak: “Dear Esther.” From the narrator’s letter unfolds an enigmatic chronicle of loss and solitude that raises as many questions as it answers—how did I get here? Am I the writer of these letters or just a nameless castaway? Is the island real or just another delusion? This is Dear Esther, an independently released PC game and intriguing exploration of interactive storytelling. Indeed, storytelling...

Most everyone knows the feeling—headache, drowsy, trouble concentrating. Maybe you are irritable, anxious, or have suddenly become very clumsy—all simply because you missed your morning dose of caffeine. It is estimated that in North America between 80 to 90 percent of the adults and children consume caffeine daily.  Caffeine is the most commonly used mood-altering drug in the world.  According to the website of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, “in the United States the average per capita daily intake among adult caffeine consumers is 280 milligrams (the equivalent of...

Whether you are looking for a cheap kitchen set or a used pipe organ, the UPS Women’s League Flea Market offers a variety of items at bargain prices. The annual event, which began in 1968, will take place on Saturday, March 17 in the Fieldhouse. Though the event is during spring break, Chairperson Grace Mills hopes that some students will be able to attend. “People come from all over, it is amazing the people that come. They line up waiting to get in before we open at 9 a.m. and...

Resident Community Coordinators (RCCs) sponsored a new event on campus in conjunction with ResLife called the “New Voters Campaign” on Wednesday, Feb. 29. According to RCC Brendan Trosper, the New Voters Project’s main goal is to register students to vote and to mobilize their voice in local politics. “Statistics show that citizens aged 18-25 are showing up on the polls less and less,” says Trosper, “by registering to vote in the state of Washington they can create and maintain a relationship with the community outside of our beloved ‘bubble’ while...

The Campus Climate Survey is not about global warming, the natural environment or sustainability. It is rather about us, the diversity that we bring to Puget Sound and how diversity is perceived by the campus community. Is diversity honored, talked about, awkward or marginalized in our community? The survey, administered once every four years, aims to make Puget Sound an inclusive environment by asking its members direct questions about social diversity issues that are sometimes difficult to discuss meaningfully. The results of the 2012 survey are expected in May. So...

The Puget Sound class of 2012 wants to be the best ever and when it comes to donating to the annual Senior Class Gift Campaign (SCGC), they have a good chance of success. The SCGC’s leadership is looking to best the mark set by the class of 2009, which had 59% participation. Participation in the SCGC, which is run through the Office of Annual Giving with student support, entails making a five year pledge to donate to the University annually for a total of $75. According to Assistant Director of...

Due to recent ASUPS support, the Puget Sound Sailing Team is now able to enjoy the use of several new boats out on the waters of Gig Harbor. This is the group’s fifth year as a club, but only their first of practicing for competition in regional conferences in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. Students are now able to sail in Gig Harbor because of a recent partnership with the Gig Harbor Yacht Club, which has allowed all of the roughly 25 Puget Sound students in the club to use...

Rick Santorum probably could have had a better visit to Tacoma. Not only was the former senator from Pennsylvania and presidential hopeful’s rally marred by chants and “booing” from Tacoma’s Occupy protestors, but the candidate was “glitter bombed” by a Puget Sound student on his way from the rally. “He had glitter cascading down the front of his sweater vest, all down his back, through his hair, and his giant forehead shone in the flashes of photographs like Ke$ha had just vomited on it,” wrote Paul Constant of Seattle’s weekly...

The Washington State Senate voted 28-21 in favor of extending marriage equality to the state’s gay and lesbian citizens Feb. 1. The vote was not divided entirely along party lines, with four Republican state senators crossing the aisle to vote in favor of same-sex marriage rights and three Democrats voting “nay” on the bill. The vote followed nearly 90 minutes of debate during which members of each camp voiced their opinions on the bill, culminating with Senator Margarita Prentice (D) saying, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but...

Inspired by his experience learning Chinese in high school, current sophomore Phillip Brenfleck came to Puget Sound with his sights set on yet another linguistic challenge: learning Arabic. To his disappointment, however, the University did not offer an Arabic language course. Brenfleck began working with Michel Rocchi, the Director of Language and Culture Programs, in the fall of 2010 to try to bring Arabic to Puget Sound. One year and some 300 signatures later, Brenfleck and nearly 50 other students are learning the language on-campus, free of charge. Yasmine Khattab,...

Concerns about food allergens in the S.U.B. have prompted a handful of students to begin organizing a group that will work with Dining and Conference Services to negotiate gluten-free options.  CaroLea Casas, a freshman, is leading the effort to change the way our food service operates. The issue is complicated for Dining and Conference Services (DCS) because people tend to have combinations of dietary restrictions rather than single allergies.  Casas, who is gluten-intolerant, is also lactose-intolerant and cannot eat animal products.  When she decided to attend Puget Sound, she was...