Trinitonian SERVING TRINITY UNIVERSITY SINCE 1902 s WWW.TRINITONIAN.COM
VOLUME 109, ISSUE 5
What’s Inside
s SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
D-fence at Trinity D-feats Texas Lutheran
US Postal Service may be in danger
EMMY AWARD It’s time to get excited for one of the biggest award shows.
n Trinity mail center
could see significant loss if Congress does not step in
page 13-15
by Kellie Benn Reporter
are very fortunate that we have recycled water that keeps our grass green, which reduces the fuel [needed for a wildfire].” In the event of any kind of a fire, Lovejoy said that Trinity has connections with several surrounding fire stations, and while a wildfire is unlikely, precautions are still being taken. The university has a Crisis Management Team, comprised of representatives of every department on campus and students, who create pre-planned alternatives called
The United States Postal Service, which accounts for seven percent of the country’s gross domestic product, could face default if Congress does not act to save the institution by the end of September. According to Edward De La Garza, Trinity University mail center manager, a decrease in the Postal Service’s operations could significantly impact the campus mail center. “With the post office downsizing their operations, even the stations get hit,” De La Garza said. “So what happens is they’re losing people and cutting back, so that means that the mail gets here later, which in turn pushes us to get it done quicker to turn it around and get it to our departments and staff. The impact is going to be significant even if they go to three-day delivery.” Trinity’s mail center has processed
n See ACTION page 3
n See POSTAL page 5
photo by Carly Cowen
Students at the Tiger Tailgate encourage their football team with clever signs, helping Trinity Tigers defeat TLU.
TRINITONES AND ACABELLAS
The most musical men and women on campus sing their hearts out to adoring fans page 10
Emergency plans protect TU Crisis Management Team prepares for any situation at Trinity by Alecia Jarrett Reporter
In the wake of the Texas wildfires, especially the Stone Oak fire on Labor Day, danger is hitting close to home. With constantly evolving Emergency Operation Plans and a welltrained Crisis Management Team, Trinity is prepared for all
emergency situations, including the fires should they ever reach our campus. According to the Texas State Operations Center, Texas wildfires have destroyed almost 2,700,000 acres of land, year-to-date. Still, Harold Lovejoy, director of Environmental Health and Safety at Trinity says there is no cause for alarm. “The big difference that makes Trinity different than the Stone Oak fire is that Stone Oak is a rural, very natural area,” Lovejoy said. “Trinity’s being urban, we
First weeks back see hundreds of work orders FOOTBALL WIN Trinity beats Texas Lutheran in first home game. page 16
WEEKEND WEATHER High
Friday 94° Low 74°
High
Saturday 90° Low 74°
High
Sunday 94° Low 74°
ON THE WEB Follow the Trinitonian at www.trinitonian.com
n Facilities Services
fixes elevators, complete over 1,800 work orders since beginning of term by Rachel Puckett Reporter
From the time students began trickling back to campus on Aug. 8 to Sept. 7, Facilities Services received 833 work orders in the residence halls alone. Throughout campus—both residence halls and academic buildings—1,853 work orders had been submitted. Jim Baker, director of Buildings and Grounds, explained that a large number of work orders follow the days when students move back into the dorms, and this period of time—
known as “in-rush” among those at Facilities Services—can take nearly three weeks to even out. Despite the large number of work orders, Baker feels that this year has been better than years past in terms of completing orders in a timely manner. “We feel [that with] engaging Parent Talk about the work orders, the response to work orders and the general demeanor of the students about work orders,” Baker said, “this has been one of the best years that we can remember.” One of the earliest issues the residence halls faced involved broken elevators. By Aug. 22, reports had been sent in stating that both elevators in Thomas Residence Hall were malfunctioning. “What happens during movein, especially in Thomas, is there
is so much traffic in the elevators, and people are jockeying so much stuff in there and propping the doors open,” Baker said. “They prop the doors open because they don’t want to wait for the elevator on their second trip back from the car. They’ll put a piece of furniture there, and the doors don’t like it. And then you can see that when the doors come together, they hit the box, and the top of the door racks.” The first wave of elevator issues was resolved quickly, but on Aug. 26 Trinity University Police Department reported that groups of students had been stuck in Thomas’ west elevator. Baker again attributed this to people propping open the doors. He explained that when the doors do not close properly, the sensors become confused. This causes the elevator to think that the
doors are opening mid-trip, and that, in turn, causes the elevator to stop wherever it is. Not only did move-in cause issues with the elevators closing properly, but it also prevented one of the elevators from returning to its home position when not in use. On their trip to fix the elevator, Facilities Services determined that a piece of furniture bumped a specific floor’s button in the elevator causing the elevator to continually return to that floor regardless of a legitimate need for its services. In addition to problems they can actually fix, Facilities Services receives several work orders for issues beyond their control, as well as multiple work orders for a single problem. Repeat requests are sent to Dennis Massey, Facilities n See FACILITIES page 4