Dozens of students from across student groups at the University set up tents and camped out in front of Jones Circle on Thursday, April 28th to protest the Board of Trustee’s slow progress on divestment from fossil fuels. Led by the ECO club, the protesters met at 12 pm on the 28th and planned on remaining in front of the fountain until a board member personally met with the students and took their newly drafted resolution. The resolution was collected from the ECO club on Saturday, April 30th by a...

Graphic Courtesy Michelle Leatherby Eight years after Abigail Fisher’s rejection from the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), the Supreme Court is primed to render a decision as to whether or not her denial from the University was due to affirmative action policies that excluded her, and whether or not that choice was unconstitutional. Any admissions policy that uses race as a basis to admit students could end, according to SCOTUS blog. Affirmative action at UT Austin has a long and complicated history. After a lower court struck down...

ASUPS Vice President Alissa Hartnig resigned at formal Senate on Thursday, Feb. 4, citing personal reasons. According to the ASUPS constitution, the Senate will elect a Senator to become Vice President for the remainder of the term. The person will be selected by a vote at ASUPS formal senate Feb. 11, according to Senate chair Lydia Bauer and  an email sent out by ASUPS president Nakisha Renee Jones announcing the change.  Spring elections to determine the 2016-2017 ASUPS President and Vice President will occur in March, following spring break, according...

New transgender/non-binary on-campus housing options are being offered in the fall of 2016 from Residence Life. The program will be two-tiered. The first is a “public” theme house option, where students can facilitate programs for the trans community on campus and be representatives and student leaders for other non-cisgender students. The second option is  confidential  with no public presence, and the location of the residence undisclosed to the campus at large, to protect students who may not be out or have other circumstances that would cause them to need a...

By Ella Frazer and Casey O'brien Organizers estimated that over 450 Puget Sound students and faculty walked out of their classes on Thursday, Nov. 19, to stand in protest and advocate for improving treatment of marginalized identities at the university and nationwide. The rally took place on the steps of Jones Hall and was organized by the Advocates for Institutional Change (AIC), a coalition of groups on campus calling for an array of  diversity- and inclusivity-related institutional changes. The walkout was held in solidarity with marginalized students at universities across...

Photo by Makaylaa Clancy   Every  two minutes, someone is raped in the United States, and a third of women in Washington State have been raped in their lifetime. 90% of college-aged  survivors know their attacker, according to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs.   According to  Security Services’ Annual Report, 7 rapes were reported on or near campus alone, and according to the RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), 68% of rapes go unreported. It is statistics like these that Take Back the Night (TBTN) aims to...

Like many other first generation students, Roger has being navigating the waters of financial aid largely on his own since the beginning of his college experience. With tuition ballooning at colleges nationwide, is there more the University can do to make college more accessible for all? By Casey O'Brien and Allison Nasson Editors Note:  We have altered Roger Smith’s real name in order to avoid backlash targeting that individual. It is not the policy of The Trail to use pseudonyms or anonymous sources regularly, but in the course of investigating...

Students across campus are keen to make sure their voices are heard in the pursuit of the new University President as the Presidential search committee continues to seek candidates ahead of the application deadline in November. The committee is comprised of eight Board of Trustees members, two faculty and a single student—ASUPS president Nakisha Renée Jones. The committee will be working with a third party consultant, AGB consulting, through several rounds of candidate narrowing before sending their suggestions to the board of Trustees, who will be making the final choice...

Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS) Senate fall elections concluded on Friday, Oct. 16  and hopes are high among senators that the elections will help give ASUPS a larger presence on the University’s campus. “Senate meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Murray Boardroom to approve legislation, distribute your student government fee, and represent your voice in campus matters,” ASUPS President Nakisha Renee Jones said in an email about the elections. Half of the Senate positions were up for election, including two Senator at-Large...

Whether it’s The Big Siblings Program, Habitat for Humanity, Food Salvage or tutoring, the University of Puget Sound’s Center for Intercultural and Civic Engagement (CICE) provides many options to volunteer in our Tacoma community. The Pathways Program aims to provide direction with all of these opportunities, as well as in-depth personal advising and programming to help students develop their own unique niche within the world of Civic Engagement and social justice. Skylar Bihl, coordinator of the CICE, and student Mark Gilbert developed the program after the two attended a conference in Washington DC, along with several other students on staff at the...