News

By Emily Schuelein “When I first came here in no way did I think I would be able to go abroad. With this new policy, it is a possibility for me,” Joy Risley, a sophomore, said. The revised financial aid policy for study abroad allows students “who study abroad beginning in the 2018-19 academic year to apply institutional merit aid as well as need-based aid to their study abroad experience,” according to a campus-wide email from Kris Bartanen, Academic Vice President, Dean of the University, Interim Vice President for Student...

By Andrew Izzo This year’s Annual Security Report was released on Oct. 1, 2017. This report contains information and statistics about crime and fire reports on and around campus for the last three calendar years, starting in January of 2014 and ending in December of 2016. This report is required by law through the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1990. This essentially requires colleges to outline information on crimes and other incidents that happen on campus. “It was an effort to make...

By Keely Coxwell “The Rohingya are a really small Muslim ethnic minority from Myanmar’s Rakhine state,” Jae Bates ‘18 said. Bates organized an interfaith vigil for the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The vigil was held Sept. 26 in the Piano Lounge. The conflict between the Rohingya and the majority-Buddhist Myanmar government has endured for decades but things escalated this past August. “After the military took over the Burmese government (now Myanmar) in 1962 were deliberately excluded from the census,” Chanel Chawalit ‘18 said. “In 1978, the military implemented Operation Nagamin...

By Emily Schuelein Over the months of July, August and September, three cases of anti-Semitic vandalism found on campus were reported, according to Director of Security Todd Badham. The first piece of vandalism was found on a “handrail on the music building. The second one was on the bike rack on the northeast corner of the science center by the main concert hall entrance. The last one was written... on a light concrete wall as part of Thomas Hall,” said Badham. “I keep in touch with the Tacoma Police Department...

By Andrew Izzo The future of Tacoma was debated in the Tahoma room on Sept. 26. Mayoral candidates Jim Merritt and Victoria Woodards took to the stage before a crowd predominantly comprised of local citizens, with a few students from both University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University. The debate was jointly hosted by the University of Puget Sound Forensics Program and the Pacific Lutheran University Department of Politics and Government. Also on the stage that night were candidates for several other local government positions. For the Port of...

By Ayden Bolin On July 29, 2017, one of the largest mass Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies, Equifax, experienced a major data breach wherein sensitive personal information regarding millions of American citizens was released. Approximately 209,000 credit card numbers for individual consumers, as well as personal identifying information for 182,000 of those individuals were also affected. This information was kept by the agency until Sept. 7, when it was officially announced via equifaxsecurity2017.com. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the breach could affect anyone with a credit report. This rounds...

By Marcelle Rutherfurd On Friday, Sept. 22, the Department of Education announced that revisions had been made to the procedures for investigating sexual assault on college campuses. President Crawford sent out an email that day announcing the changes to the campus community. “Earlier today the U.S. Department of Education released revised guidelines relating to the procedures by which educational institutions investigate, adjudicate, and resolve allegations of sexual misconduct. We will continue to follow our existing policies and procedures … while we study the new guidelines and seek advice from the...

  By Andrew Izzo The freshman class of 2017 is unique in the institution’s history. “Demographically, this is the most diverse class we’ve ever had,” said Associate Vice President of Admission Shannon Carr. Carr goes on to say that this class is also very diverse in terms of ideology and geography. This includes a substantially higher number of local Tacoma residents. This increase in local students is due to the new University program that works with the Tacoma Public Schools, Carr says. This program provides scholarships to high-achieving Tacoma Public High...

By Keely Coxwell “Madrid Summers is the program that enrolls the most students to any Hispanic country,”  Harry Vélez-Quiñones, Professor of Hispanic Studies, director and creator of Madrid Summers said. “Spring term of 2013 or 2012 I went on a trip to Spain, invited by the Spanish government,” Vélez-Quiñones said. “They send groups to basically see providers of study abroad programs in Spain.” With the help of a friend who started a company that oversees abroad programs in Spain, Vélez-Quiñones decided to offer internships in Madrid to University of Puget...

  By Marcelle Rutherfurd On August 24, 2017 President Isiaah Crawford sent an email to the campus community announcing that “the university will embark this year on a process to create a strategic plan that will advance our mission and establish our vision for the next decade.” In the first email President Crawford invited students and faculty to participate in this project, a strategic planning initiative that is undertaken by the university every decade. “I realize this forthcoming statement is a bit of a cliché, but I believe we have...

By Ayden Bolin New this year to the University of Puget Sound is the common hour, a time scheduled every Wednesday between 12:00 and 1:30 PM where there are no classes. Initially, this was established as a time for both faculty and students to meet, so as to accommodate a wider range of schedules. “Faculty members have suggested for a number of years that, because Faculty Meetings (traditionally 4:00-5:30 p.m.) have conflicted with some teaching schedules, they are unable to attend. For some, late afternoon childcare responsibilities have also constrained attendance....

By Emily Schuelein Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane, hit Texas Aug. 25, according to World Vision. Parts of Texas and Louisiana suffered from widespread catastrophic flooding with approximately 10,000 rescue missions around Houston. On August 30, Tropical Storm Harvey became a tropical depression and continued to flood parts of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a tropical storm occurs when cyclonic circulation becomes more organized and maximum sustained winds bust between 39 mph and 73 mph. A tropical depression, however, forms when a...