Campus News

By: Grace Beckner Bethany Maynard, a freshman majoring in Elementary Education, was busy working four jobs before campus closed because of Covid-19. She divided her time between a work study in Mackey, a job as a childcare worker in Brentwood, a job as a dance teacher at a local preschool, as well as a job at a weekly ministry dedicated to serving a meal to those who are currently experiencing homelessness. “I have jobs outside of Trevecca that count on me, so I had to contact them and apologize that I couldn’t work for them until next year,” she said. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the students of Trevecca Nazarene University in a variety of ways, one of them being financial and employment struggles. Like many of her peers, Maynard’s initial concerns regarding classes being moved...

By Jessica Bishop Kerisyn Gilbert, a Trevecca freshman was doing her homework at home and when she finished her assignments, she notably became bored and anxious. She decided to pick up her pencil and sketch. “It really helped calm me down and focus better. I will definitely continue to sketch in the future,” said Gilbert. Many students find themselves with more free time since they moved home and started classes online.  One way to pass the time is by picking up new or forgotten hobbies. Erin Smith, a junior, has picked up baking and cooking in her spare time. “I’ve always enjoyed it, but I’m just chilling and the I’m like, ‘Well, I guess I could bake some muffins instead’ and so I do,” said Smith. One of best ways to find hobbies enjoyable is to remember what you liked as a child, ...

By Maci Weeks When on campus, Micah Dearing goes to the gym five times a week, but now he's forced to come up with a new plan to keep himself in shape. “When quarantine first started, my roommates and I made this whole workout routine, and we stuck with it for a while. Eventually, as we all slowly headed home and got hit with schoolwork we stopped lifting altogether," he said. "But I do try and get outside and stay semi-fit. I dug my old bike ride out of my shed and cleaned it up. Now I ride that for a few miles every day.” Dearing is not the only one who has had to change up his routine to find new ways to stay fit. Students who find themselves at home with limited fitness equipment and space are trying to find new ways of staying in shape. Courtney Hodgin is a member of Trevecca’s ul...

By: Maria Monteros On every corkboard and poster wall on campus, Sara Hopkins and her team of counselors put up signs on campus inviting DACA and minority students to join their support groups. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are just as likely to enroll in college as the average American aged 15-32 at 18 percent versus 20 percent, a 2017 study from the Migration Policy Institute indicated. However, only 4 percent end up graduating compared to the 18 percent national average, the study states. In response, the counseling center has begun training counselors to handle multicultural issues. They’ve also partnered with various organizations on campus such as Futuro and the Diversity Council in holding talks and providing the space for these conversations to happen,...

By: Maria Monteros In high school, Yenin Echeverria joined advanced placement classes, advanced honors and dual enrollment programs— all in preparation for law school. “I was smart like everyone else. I was supposed to go to college like everyone else,” said Echeverria, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient whose family moved to Boston from Honduras when she was 2-years-old. “I thought I just fit in up until that point.” When Echeverria, applied for college in 2016, the fear of getting deported before finishing her law degree caused Echevarria to change career goals entirely— then came the threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Tennessee where she and her family now live. “I don’t think many students actually realize what it’s like to wake up...

By: Maria Monteros Students will now have the opportunity to use an alternative grading scale that wouldn’t affect their GPA in place of letter grades for each course of their choice. The office of academic records sent an email Thursday to all undergraduate students about their option to file a form if they prefer to be graded satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U) for any or all courses 15 days after receiving their final grade. Students can also opt to keep their letter grades, the email stated. The Ad hoc committee--a group of 10 faculty, administrators and Trevecca employees-- voted unanimously this week to offer the option to alleviate the stress of the sudden shift to online classes and COVID-19 pandemic, said Lena Welch, dean of the school of arts and sciences and chair of the A...

By Nayeli Pena Espinoza DACA students were expecting a ruling about whether they can stay in the country from the Supreme Court to be issued between March and June. What they weren’t expecting was for a worldwide pandemic to bring everything to a halt. Recently, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services closed their offices and rescheduled all DACA renewal appointments. For students who need to renew their status, they face the possibility of losing work or being deported. For students who were working part or full time off campus to pay for their tuition, the financial impact has been significant. Alejandra Alegria Garcia, junior psychology major, and her family had to shut down their restaurant. “We are going on two weeks of not selling food,” Garcia said. “We decide...