23
A&E 17
Campus Pulse 11
Opinion 7
Sports
Love is in the air
Writing History
Social Science of Greeks
Superbowl Sunday
Writer Sara Marchiona helps you get ahead and start planning dates for Valentine’s Day.
Famous African American activist papers make their way into the Trinity archives.
Ben Conway compares Greek-life to serving hard time.
Get Lydia Duncombe’s favorite superbowl activities to try Sunday.
theTrinitonian Volume 110, Issue 16
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www.trinitonian.com
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Serving Trinity University Since 1902
National gun-control talks enter state and college campus enviornment D.C. gun-control issues become pertinent to college campus living by Jeremy Keys NEWS REPORTER The issue of gun control has recently reappeared in national conversation after a series of shootings, bringing state-wide and campus-focused attention to the issue of gun control. This renewed push for gun control comes in the wake of the late December mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that resulted in the deaths of 28 people, 20 of whom were young children. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred more than five weeks ago in what was
the second-deadliest school shooting in the history of the United States. (The deadliest was the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre). Since then, there have been a number of key events, including the signing of 23 executive actions by President Obama intended to immediately curtail gun violence, and a renewed bipartisan movement in the Senate to institute stricter gun control measures. Polls conducted in the aftermath of the shooting have indicated that the majority of Americans favor increased gun control. A mid-January CNN/ Time Magazine poll found that 55 percent of Americans support instituting stricter gun laws, and 56 percent of Americans believe that it is currently too easy to purchase a gun. Paul Chapa, chief of police at the Trinity University Police Department (TUPD), agrees.
“Gun control, in different aspects, can work,” Chapa said. “There definitely needs to be a waiting period and there definitely needs to be a background check when someone is applying for a weapons license.” Some students also feel that it is imperative to restrict access to guns because of the frequency of shootings in recent memory. “I think there needs to be stricter gun control laws,” said Anna Keene, a sophomore urban studies major and an officer of the Trinity Progressives. “Too many people are being killed by these mass shootings and stricter gun laws would hopefully reduce the phenomenon of mass shootings.” However, not everyone supports the push for gun control. In fact, many students and faculty at Trinity actively oppose gun control measures.
see Gun Page 6
• February 1, 2013
“Twist & Shout”
photo by Anh-Viet Dinh Sophomores Lucas Poliak and Camile DeMars dance at a Swing Bums social on a Tuesday evening. See Page 13 for more coverage.
Strategic Plan headed to board of trustees for review After years of work and review, enters the final review stages by Faith Ozer NEWS EDITOR
graphic by Caroline Jakubowski
Following two years of drafting and university-wide collaboration, the board of trustees will review and vote on the strategic plan at their closed-door meeting on Feb. 22. According to Lisa Jasinski, the Association of Student Representatives reviewed the plans twice and was a topic of discussion for the national alumni board and student affairs. It was also presented along with the curriculum review at the town hall last December and discussed by department and interdisciplinary program chairs. This spring brings a new set of protocols for the plan’s review. Right at the beginning of the semester, the day before classes started, we brought a revised version of the strategic plan to our Trinity Tomorrow committee,” Jasinski said. “They came up with some things that they wanted us to include, and we did another revision, and
that will go to the board of trustees at their meeting.” Currently, the board is being sent materials of the strategic plan and preparing for the formal meeting, which will dictate the future and possible enactment of the plan. “What we would like from them is kind of a ‘thumbs up’ or a vote of support showing that we are going in the right direction. It’s more about just engaging them in the dialogue and making sure that we are using their advice, counsel and perspective,” Jasinski said. “I definitely would like to see us in a position where we could have an approved plan, budget and metrics by May.” According to Lisa Baronio, vice president for alumni relations and development, one unique facet of the plan is its incorporation of alumni into the future goals of the university. “We are going to be looking at result-oriented information: participation of alumni at our events, how that might lead to gifts for the university, the number of alumni that give back and things of that nature,” Baronio said. “[The role of alumni] is supporting the university, providing ideas, helping with leadership
and directing students and potential enrollees back to the institution.” As the board meeting approaches, questions of cost and budget have also arisen. According to Nancy S. Mills, professor of chemistry and Trinity Tomorrow committee co-chair, the results of the board meeting will play a heavy role in how the plan is budgeted and how its success is measured. “Once they approve all or sections of the plan, there will be members of the administration who work on two things: estimating the cost of the different parts of the plan and also looking at what an appropriate assessment procedure would be for each of the parts,” Mills said. Although the board’s approval would jumpstart the strategic plan’s enactment, all of the changes would take years to impliment “None of these changes would impact the seniors, but the changes would probably be rolled out with an incoming first-year class,” Mills said. “Students now may see new classes created through a review if [the strategic plan] is approved, but their degrees would not be shaped by it.”