Opinions

The first lovely days of spring have arrived, and campus is abuzz with the sound of vitamin D-starved college students shedding their heavy winter coats for slightly lighter coats. The air is fresh and clean. But then you smell it: a cigarette permeating the crisp air. Smoking is a fairly common habit on the Puget Sound campus, given that according to the National Institutes of Health, 33 percent of all college students in the United States smoke. Smoking is a personal choice, and whether you do it or not is...

Petition from faculty, staff and student members of the University of Puget Sound in Support of the April 5, 2014 National Day of Action Against Deportations Dear members of the University of Puget Sound, We write to offer you three ways to help stop the deportation policies described below and carried out four miles from our campus at the Northwest Detention Center. • First, consider signing the following petition to President Obama, available online at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-actions-against-deportations. • Second, consider joining us at the Rally at the Northwest Detention Center in...

For some students, the most effective learning can only happen in a class where they are allowed to interact directly with the professor and other students. Rather than the anonymity of a 400-person lecture hall where every student is just one of many, these students prefer the chance to make themselves heard. Students want to engage in discussions that engage their affinity for academic conversation. Luckily for those students, Puget Sound only has around 2,500 undergraduates, a student-faculty ratio of 11:1 and many classes that are capped at 35 students...

Spring is quickly approaching. Since it is getting warmer, people on campus are starting to wear fewer clothes. Although most are overjoyed by this change, a commonly overlooked concern is skin protection. In an article by the New York Times, a new stylish brand of clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor was introduced. “Both Parasol and Cover, as well as another newly established and stylish brand, Mott 50, offer clothes that are comfortably lightweight and have 50+ UPF (ultraviolet protection factor),” the Times reported. Most young people usually don’t like...

Dear Emma Powers, Thank you, first of all, for expressing an interest in improving Green Dot and working toward the creation of a safer campus community. I believe that criticism reflects concern, and concern is indicative of genuine caring. If everyone cared a bit more about prevention of power-based personal violence then this campus would be a safer place. With that said, I would like to challenge a few of the points that you presented in your criticism of the Green Dot program. I want to begin by saying that...

By IDA DUNN-MOORE Starting this year, the University took a major step by building a new residence hall and instituting a requirement that all students live on-campus for their first two years. This requirement has its benefits: it generates revenue for the University and strengthens the campus community. This trend suggests, however, that the University may institute an even longer on-campus living requirement, which would interfere with the pertinent experience of living off-campus, one that fosters independence and reality. Puget Sound has a unique off-campus community in that nearly every...

Watching popular television is a cornerstone of modern social interaction. When a new season of a favorite TV show airs, it is always a highly anticipated event, and the only thing better than watching the premiere episode is talking about it with your friends the next day. However, what do you do if TV is not your forte? How can you connect with people that live for TV shows? All of the jokes, references and insights are foreign and meaningless, bombarding you constantly to no avail. For example, if you...

This Letter to the Editor is in response to C.J. Quierolo’s letter in the March 7 issue of The Trail. Dear C.J., I have read not only your article in the Fall issue of Wetlands but also your March 7th “Letter to the Editor,” in which you claim that “Greek Life is inherently heteronormative, exclusionary, elitist, secretive and that many queers on this campus feel unsafe around members of Greek Life.” As a queer, “gender non-conforming,” member of Greek Life, I have a number of objections to your claims. First...

By IDA DUNN-MOORE Loggers clad in down vests and Carhartt pants flock to Tacoma’s two climbing gyms. They fill the pool on weeknights in plastic kayaks, practicing roles and paddle strokes for adventures out on local rivers. Skiers pore over weather conditions and learn avalanche safety, anticipating the next big powder day. Ultimate players cultivate the activity of tossing a Frisbee into a competitive sport. Cyclists train hard over every local road, picking up a number of strong wins and top 10 finishes in the North West conference. These are...

On Saturday March 8, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors participated in Puget Sound’s housing lottery. The procedure went as follows: “All current on-campus students will receive a random lottery number based on class priority. Each assigned lottery number will come a scheduled time between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. when each number will be called. Students will check-in at the Murray Board Room in Wheelock. When it is time for your number’s group to sign up for housing, you will be ushered in to the Rotunda where stations for all of...