Pulse
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT “For me, being at Trinity gives me such a great opportunity to implement experiential learning in a way that my students can be copilots in their own educational journey. I love having our experiments right here on campus, because it makes our experimental learning more visible to others” Rebecca Hazen, professor of biology
Michael Sam presents lecture on his experiences competing in NFL
The first openly gay professional football player opens up about his challenges BY ALEXANDER MOTTER
PULSE REPORTER
The experience of coming out as LGBTQ can be an overwhelming one. Fears of rejection by loved ones, physical or mental abuse, of bullying in general are a common concerns, regardless of whether or not a person is out of the closet. Likewise, coming out may prompt fears of isolation, ones that result from being ostracized and treated differently by others for an inherently natural characteristic. These powerful emotions were addressed by Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL. He spoke Monday in a collaboration between Trinity Diversity Connection (TDC), SGA, Pride and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). He bared his soul onstage, recounting the harrowing life experiences that shaped him into the man he is today. Shivani Parmar, vice president of Student government and the head of the Finance Committee, helped organize this event. Parmar helps decide the allocation of the student activity fee, $150 of
students’ Trinity tuition dedicated towards on-campus activities such as lectures and club events. Parmar was approached with the idea by Huda Syed, the president of TDC. “I talked to the senators, Brenna the president of SGA, and the cabinet members. We determined that this was something that SGA would like to distribute part of their personal budget towards cosponsoring the event,” Parmar said. Opportunities to see such a highprofile speaker such as Sam are not commonplace; Parmar found this experience to be essential “I think the purpose of college is to broaden your perspective, learn about new ideas, and I think this is a really good way to do that because it’s in a lecture format in a large group setting,” Parmar said. Sophomore Leah Rubio attended the lecture as a member of SAAC on campus; she related Sam’s lecture to the mission of the organization. “We’re here to talk about things on campus we can help out with and things we can communicate better through our respective teams and through upper campus,” Rubio said. Rubio found the experience of learning about someone with a different background than her very eye opening and an important dialogue to be had on campus. “It’s definitely important to all the athletes that we are supportive of the LGBTQ community. We also
MICHAEL SAM discusses the various challenges and rewards of his status as an openly gay man in the professional sports world. photo by NOAH DAVIDSON
do have some teammates on our teams that are LGBTQ, so being supportive of them is important to SAAC and the community in general,” Rubio said. First-year David Clark shared a personal connection with Sam. “You could quote aspects of his story and it’s essentially mine. Going into seventh grade, I was taller than just about everyone else, so the
coaches during P.E. asked me to join football,” Clark said. One of the main ideas Clark garnered from the lecture was the bridging of two dissonant worlds. Sam’s lecture opened up the conversation of LGBT discrimination to a wider group. “His life story in little pieces connects to my own, but also to a lot of other stories in the LGBT
community.” Clark said. Just because this lecture has concluded and Michael Sam has left campus does not mean the conversation has ended. For further opportunities to become further educated on the subject of queer culture in a safe environment, check LeeRoy for future PRIDE meetings and discussions.
Melissa Flowers denies attendance rumors The director of Residential Life rebuffs the long-standing belief that she’s been present at all football games BY KERRY MADDEN
PULSE INTERN
Melissa Flowers, director of residential life, is a well-known Trinity football supporter. Not only does she support the Trinity football family, she married into it: her husband, James Flowers, is a Trinity football and Bengal Lancer fraternity alum. Linked by occupation and by marriage, it was local legend that Melissa Flowers had never missed a Trinity football game since 2001. “The truth is that I have gone to a lot of football games, but not every single one since I’ve been here,” Flowers said. “But my husband has gone to every single one since he was a student here. So starting in the year 2000, he’s been to every home game here at Trinity’s field.” Flowers has missed a few games for significant personal reasons.
“I have missed games here and there. We have two small children and we also got married on the day of a home game; my husband did go to the game that day with all his groomsmen, a lot of whom were Trinity O-line from back in the day, but I missed the day of my wedding. I also missed a couple days after my son was born, but my husband went,” Flowers said. Flowers’ husband was undefeated when he played. He played on the same team as Jerheme Urban, the head football coach, Jeremy Boyce, coordinator for Athletic Recruitment and Success and Matt Uzzell, the assistant football coach, who all went to the national football championship in 2002. “He has a couple of the shiny rings, which I always like to brag about,” Flowers said. Urban kept up with him and heard about his relationship with Melissa, including the story of how they scheduled their wedding around a Trinity game. “You know, it kind of became Trinity football folklore, so to speak,” Urban said. On her wedding day, Flowers woke up at 5 a.m. to prepare.
“My husband actually went to the game with all his O-line friends. He was handing out some wedding invitations because we had some last- minute declines, and we’d paid for 150 meals. I’m sure it was a bit of a spectacle having the groomsmen there,” Flowers said. Flowers has had different feelings on her husband’s steady attendance of Trinity football games. “I have to tell you that the day of our wedding, when he went to that game and we had to schedule our wedding a little bit later than is standard because we had to wait for the game to wrap up and all that, I could not have been as proud of him in that moment,” Flowers said. “But looking back, I’m glad that all happened the way it did.” Urban noted Flower’s support for the team, which he maintains great appreciation for. “I think it’s huge for the guys. I think that for our guys to know the role that Melissa has on campus and the fact that it’s not just football, it’s a lot of things she’s really invested in. She tries to get to tons of things to support all of our students,” Urban said. “And I think it’s very cool for our guys to see her at the football
games, week in, week out, year in, year out, and just know that she cares about them and what they’re doing on campus.” Dayton Ames, sophomore linebacker, finance major and member of the Bengal Lancers fraternity, is one of the students who appreciates the continued support of the Flowers family. “We take our spectators, our fans, very seriously, because unlike big schools, where you have thousands of people going to games, every fan matters a lot more to us,” Ames said. “It’s good to have faculty support. Obviously her relationship to the Bengal Lancer fraternity is also great, and it’s cool to have faculty support like that. It’s helped get other faculty members really invested in our sports too. It’s cool to see other professors come see the games.” Flowers was personally involved in athletics throughout her life, so continuing to support the football team is only natural to her. “Athletics was a huge part of my development and my growth and a huge part of developing me into the leader I am today,” Flowers said. Flowers and her husband are not the only members of their family
immersed in the athletic world at Trinity; their children are too. “I will add that my children have been to probably every home game in their lives,” Flowers said. “They don’t know that they aren’t watching the Dallas Cowboys or the Houston Texans out there, they see these men as NFL stars. The same thing for the basketball team, the soccer team, the volleyball team. Growing up in this environment for them has been so wonderful. I love that they get to see these leaders; I love that they get to see these people working so hard to achieve their dreams. Sports has definitely intertwined with my family. It’s a big piece of our identity and who we are.” Although a piece of Trinity folklore has been debunked, Flowers will continue to support teams as frequently as she can. “You know, I feel bad to dash the dreams of those who are carrying on this folklore that I didn’t know existed, but I’m glad to set the record straight.” Flowers said. Fan interested in continuing to support teams alongside Flowers and her family can find a list of upcoming games on Trinity’s athletic department webpage.