Campus News

By Sol Ayala Online Media Writer Photo by Devin Avery on Unsplash Selah Torralba was doing her job as ASB director of inclusion and belonging and preparing for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations for students when the notifications on her phone alerted her to the news of Tyre Nichols’ death in Memphis. Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, was pulled over by Memphis police officers and beaten. He died three days later. “Here we are experiencing the murder of an innocent black man and it’s like, how are these two things existing at the same time in such extremes,” Torralba said. After hearing from students after the release of the footage of Nichols' death, Trevecca leaders have said they plan to create groups that meet regularly for students to discuss the trauma a...

By Ellie Wilson Staff Writer Photo courtesy David Sims Grabbing lunch at the Hub is a common everyday occurrence for most Trevecca students, but for sophomore David Sims, it is a careful decision he must make at each meal. According to research conducted by Scott H. Sicherer, as many as 7 to 11 percent of college students have a food allergy that can involve life-threatening reactions. College may be the first time students have to learn how to self-manage their allergy on their own.  “The teenager/young adult must accept responsibility associated with allergen avoidance and recognition/management of a reaction. Self-advocacy is important because the student will need to communicate with personnel regarding obtaining safe meals,” said Sicherer. Sims is allergic ...

By Grace Beckner Editor-In-Chief The university will increase tuition by 2-3 percent next year, reduce its workforce by 5 percent, freeze employee retirement matching benefits and freeze faculty development money in an effort to make up a $6 million projected budget shortfall, according to University President Dan Boone.  Boone said the university is still feeling the financial disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and is taking steps to address the budget deficit to bring Trevecca back to where it was pre-pandemic. “Every strategy we presented to our board in the fall is moving forward,” he said. “I’m optimistic we’ll be back to where we were pre-Covid in about two and a half years.” But to accomplish this goal, strategic action and sacrifices will have to be mad...

By Mia Agee Copywriter Photo by Taylor Milam Cailsey Scott joined the Student Government Association, or SGA, when she was just a freshman.  Though it is uncommon for freshmen to be on the SGA council, Scott got approved and started as a student liaison.  She took notes and attendance during meetings—her “foot in the door,” as she called it. Now, Scott is the SGA vice president, and she oversees campus clubs and the SGA elections. SGA elections for the executive council are coming up in March, and most of the positions will be filled by new people, as the majority of the positions are currently held by seniors, such as Scott.  There are two processes for SGA elections, according to Morgan Morris, director of student life. The first part of the process ...

By Lauren Steinbok Staff Writer Photo courtesy of Trevecca Marketing Trevecca will launch a new Bachelor of Science in nursing this fall pending final approval from the university’s accrediting body. The program was approved Feb. 9 by the Tennessee Board of Nursing, but it is still pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Until next fall, students at Trevecca who wanted to get a nursing degree had to take their nursing classes at the neighboring college Belmont University. With the hope of recruiting 275 applicants, university officials are planning to remodel Wakefield to become a nursing skills lab. The equipment will be provided by Ascension Saint Thomas, a local healthcare company. Students will complete their clini...

By Emily Gibson Staff Writer Photo courtesy of Trevecca Marketing A new dorm that will house nearly 300 male and female students is on track to finish on time and budget to open in fall 2023. “We have talked about doing this for years and the need to do this for years, so it’s wonderful to see it come to pass,” said Ronda Lilienthal, associate dean of students for residential life. The new 112,000 square feet residence hall is the first dorm to be built on campus since Benson Hall was constructed in 1974 and will be open to students who have completed 50 or more credit hours by the end of this semester. The residence hall features seven floors with apartment-style rooms; a lobby space on each floor; six study rooms; a rooftop terrace with ...

By Lauren Steinbok Staff Writer Parker McClellan took Chemistry II in the spring of his freshman year. Up until then, he had been getting good grades, despite missing out on the last couple years of high school. He got back a test that he made a “C” on and thought he could probably benefit from tutoring. “It kind of freaked me out,” said McClellan. “I wanted to actually figure out what was going on. So, I started to get individual tutoring.” Photo by Miriam Rixon Experts call it “the COVID generation.” Essentially, this year’s freshman class missed nearly two years of in person high school classes because of the pandemic. Now, colleges around the county, including Trevecca, are finding ways to help them catch up and succeed at the college level. “Virtual learning...

By Abigail Allen Staff Writer Photo by Claire Anderson Trevecca students with federal loans, like senior elementary education student Bethany Maynard, are waiting to hear whether a plan by the Biden administration to forgive those loans will happen. President Biden’s student loan debt relief program has been blocked by courts due to multiple lawsuits against the program. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in February about the legality of the program. Six states—Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina— asserted that the Biden Administration overstepped its authority with the program, claiming that it would take away states’ future tax revenue. Other individuals also filed lawsuits against the program. “I was a little bit disappointed because, onc...