e u s Is 1 n e -1 e Volleyball sweeps ow s 10 l l Trinity Fall Classic Ha Page Victorious in all four games, Volleyball rises
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The Fall of the AntiHero in Television
Mason Walker explains why not-sonice protagonists are the outs.
to #19 National DIII ranking.
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Survive Rocky Horror: Useful Tips & Tricks.
Trinity University Players sponsor Jim Sharman’s classic film.
theTrinitonian Volume 111, Issue 9
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www.trinitonian.com
Singing from the rooftops!
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Serving Trinity University Since 1902
photo by Anh-viet Dinh
October 25, 2013
Tiger’s Den fire quelled immediately Johnny Peña and Martin Chapa collaborate using Automated Logic to extinguish fire by Carlos Anchondo NEWS EDITOR
First year Mariana Lopez (left) sang during Rooftopalooza; an event hosted by The Daytrippers on McLean Roof last Friday. She was accompanied by guitarist Taylor Kirby (right), senior.
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On Tuesday, Oct. 22, a small fire occurred in the Tiger’s Den. No people were in the Tiger’s Den at the time. The fire was the result of a malfunction with a high voltage electrical panel in the mechanical room adjacent to the bar. The mechanical room does not have sprinklers, although the remainder of the Tiger’s Den does. When a fire starts, a piece of plastic in the sprinkler head melts, signaling a release of water. According to Ivan Pendergast, safety specialist in the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, sprinklers will not always completely put out a fire but can help contain it. A slight odor still permeates the Tiger’s Den. Pendergast
attributed putting the fire out to two men: Johnny Peña, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technician, and Martin Chapa, electrician. “These two men have saved the university a lot of money with their quick response,” Pendergast said. The university uses a building automation system called Automated Logic to monitor air handling units across campus. An air handling unit is located inside the Tiger’s Den mechanical room in addition to other areas of campus. Automated Logic alerted Peña to an error and he went to the Tiger’s Den to investigate. “I went to the mechanical room to troubleshoot,” Peña said. “Then I got in contact with Chapa when I realized we needed an electrician.” When Chapa came to Tiger’s Den to meet with Peña, he opened the door to the mechanical room and the electrical panel caught fire. The pair turned off the breaker that feeds the wing. The overheated electrical panel, according to Peña and Chapa, was bound to catch fire eventually. Coincidentally, it
caught fire when the door to the mechanical room was opened. “It was going to catch fire at some point,” Chapa said. “It really was only a matter of time and it was fortunate that we were in the Tiger’s Den when it did.” Two fire extinguishers were used to quell the flames, which were contained within the mechanical room. Pendergast said this was fast and necessary action on the part of Chapa and Peña. He also said that when there is smoke, these kinds of fire still leave a “nasty soot.” “We spend a significant amount of time stressing drills and how people can safely evacuate when a fire happens,” Pendergast said. “There is some fire extinguisher training periodically on the Esplanade or with RA training.” Pendergast said that the university holds personal safety above all else. “It is far easier to replace a building and material objects than to replace a human being,” Pendergast said.
“Those receiving aid through ROTC might see delays or changes in the amount of aid they receive if their paperwork wasn’t processed before Oct. 1. Those whose paperwork was processed before October should not have any delay in aid disbursement,” Gaddis said.
“One student has come to the financial aid office asking for an extension on tuition payments due to a parent being furloughed,” Gaddis said. Now that the debt ceiling has been temporarily raised and federal employees have gone back to work, federal programs have resumed their functions. Congress has yet to pass a long-term resolution, however. Should Congress fail to resolve the issue, the country could find itself in a similar predicament a few months from now. Though the short-term effects of the government shutdown were difficult to see on campus, the impact of such an event over a longer period of time would be more noticeable. “Though there haven’t been many students or faculty members that have been affected by the shutdown, the longer the shutdown continues, the more students we anticipate having trouble making tuition payments because of their parents’ employment or veteran benefits,” Gaddis said.
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Government shutdown has limited effect on students The shutdown did not affect the loan disbursement or funding for work study by Cassandra Watson NEWS INTERN With the federal government reopened and the debt-ceiling crisis narrowly averted for at least the next couple of months, students can rest assured that the temporary shutdown did little to disrupt Trinity’s functions. Despite news of furloughed federal workers and some federally run programs halting their services, Federal Student Aid continued to flow in. Students receiving Stafford loans saw no difference in the amount of aid provided. Those who participate in Federal Work-Study also saw no changes in their work hours or paychecks. “Student loans are taken out during the summer, so the
recent shutdown won’t affect the disbursement of the loans or funding for work-study this late into the semester,” said Glendi Gaddis, director of financial aid.
“Student loans are taken out during the summer, so the recent shutdown won’t affect the disbursement of the loans or funding for work study.” Glendi Gaddis
Director of Financial Aid
Access to databases and government websites also remained largely intact. Because Trinity goes through a private third party provider, articles from databases continued to be available to students and faculty even as
federal programs slowed or ceased operation. The impact of the shutdown was more apparent on government websites. Holly Josserand, a senior and urban studies major, recalled attempting to access collegecost.ed.gov and census. gov for a class she is enrolled in and they did not open. “Since the government was shut down for so long, I just looked to other websites and sources for my research,” Josserand said. Most websites for federal programs continued operation through the shutdown, however. “Most government websites are still up and running; the only noticeable difference is that some sites may not have been updated since Oct. 1,” said Jason Hardin, manager of access services. Despite most on-campus operations remaining in working order, Trinity students who receive aid because of a parent’s veteran status were potentially affected by the shutdown. The effects include changes in amount of aid or delays in given aid.
“Most government sites are still up and running; the only noticeable difference is that some sites may not have been updated since Oct. 1.” Jason Hardin
Manager of Access Services
Students with furloughed parents whose salaries were temporarily suspended were likely to be personally impacted by the debt-ceiling crisis.