News

University of Puget Sound’s Forensic Parliamentary Debate team has qualified for the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (NPTE). This year’s tournament will be hosted at William Jewell College in Missouri from March 20-22. The Policy Debate team is in the process of qualifying for the National Debate Tournament (NDT) hosted at the University of Iowa from April 3-6. The Forensics team competes in two tracks: “Policy, which has one topic for a whole year... Parliamentary Debate, which has a new topic each round,” junior and Forensics team member CJ Queirolo...

On Jan 31, the University of Puget Sound Philosophy Department partnered with Access Program students from Foss High School to participate in the Ethics Bowl, hosted by the University of Washington. The Director of Access Programs, Joseph Colon, was excited to see an event like this become available. An ethics bowl is a philosophy-based competition. It is a collaborative, competitive event during which teams of students analyze various ethical issues and put together a case. They then present their cases to the judges. The Ethics Bowl encourages teamwork, critical thinking,...

Puget Sound’s radio station KUPS has received funds from ASUPS to start KUPS Records. The first release will feature local and international artists, compiled for this event. “This will be the first release from the station but has been discussed on and off over the last couple years,” KUPS general manager Chloe Ginnegar said. According to KUPS hip-hop music director Travis Shetter, the release will be titled So Far to Go: A Tribute to  James DeWitt Yancey. Known by his stage name J-Dilla, Yancey passed away in early 2006. “We...

  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...