Campus News

By Kaleel Stewart Staff Writer Lt. Wesley Neely posing for a headshot on Feb. 17, 2025. Hannah Somboon/Trevecca Marketing Trevecca Security has a new officer on staff from the Mt. Juliet police department. Lieutenant Wesley Neely, Director of Campus Security, started on Feb. 17 and will be responsible for overseeing the university’s safety operations. Greg Dawson, who has served for eight years as Director of Campus Security has decided to take a step back to focus on family and has now become a first shift officer and will focus on training and developing Trevecca’s security team. Neely worked with Security Chief James Hambrick at the Mt. Juliet police department and was contacted by him about the job at Trevecca.  “He [Hambrick] called me, he just basically sai...

By Kaleel Steward Staff Writer Trevecca students leaving Boone Convocation Center after chapel on Feb. 13, 2025. Parker Henningsen/ TrevEchoes In light of recent tragic events at Antioch High School, campus security is improving its efforts to educate students and faculty on active shooter protocols. Chief Security Officer James Hambrick said the university has a standard emergency operation procedure in the event of an active shooter, but the specifics are not publicly disclosed for security reasons. On Jan. 22, an Antioch High School student killed one person and injured another one. It is the second shooting at a Nashville school since 2023. On Mar. 27, 2023, a shooter killed six people, including Trevecca alum Katherine Koonce, the head of The Covenant School. Securit...

By Jasmin Enriquez Martinez Staff Writer Dr. Michael Spalding speaking on the message and purpose of Equal Chance for Education for his website. Dan Boone viewed Michael Spalding as more than just a work partner. He was a friend. Boone recalls the first time he met Spalding after funding a student’s college education who had no access to financial aid. After witnessing that student’s journey, Boone felt compelled to do more. That’s when he met his longtime friend, Mike. Spalding, the founder of Equal Chance for Education, an organization that has provided scholarships to more than 500 Tennessee students who are first-generation immigrants, died on Dec. 11, according to his obituary in The Tennessean. ECE was founded in 2014 and offers students up to a $25,000 scholarship ...

By Kaleel Steward Staff Writer Trevecca security’s promotional stickers.Alayna Simons/ TrevEchoes After a reported 11 cars were rummaged through or stolen from on campus in November, security officials are kicking off a messaging campaign to students: Like it, Lock it, Keep it. Director of Security Greg Dawson was handing out free stickers that read “Like it, Lock it, Keep it” in Jernigan Student Center during lunchtime encouraging students to be sure to lock their cars. Vehicle break-ins by unauthorized users have increased on campus since 2022. According to Trevecca security’s annual safety report, one break-in was reported in 2023, and three in 2022. No incidents were reported from 2019-2021. These were not ‘smash-and-grab’ burglaries, meaning that their windows were n...

By Antonia Lopez, Michelle Loria Alvarado Editor-in-Chief, Assistant Editor Immigrant students report feeling worried after social media posts by other students; administration works to communicate all students belong on campus. Melissa Colorado Origua, director of inclusion and belonging, doing work at her desk, on Jan. 30. 2025.Alayna Simons/TrevEchoes For the past several days Melissa Colorado Origua, director of inclusion and belonging for Trevecca’s student body, has sat across her desk from fellow students who are afraid.   She’s not surprised at how busy she’s been meeting with students after recent announcements of plans for mass deportations from the federal government followed by social media posts by a Trevecca student about how to report undocumented s...

By Lauren Steinbrook Staff Writer Two days after TikTok went dark in the United States, Donald Trump signed an executive order to delay the ban. TikTok went dark in the United States on Saturday night, less than two hours before a ban was set to go into effect. Visitors to the app were greeted with a message reading: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.” CapCut, an editing app popular among TikTok users and Lemon8, a photo-sharing app, also owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, displayed a similar message and became unavailable to many U.S. users Saturday evening as well. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday unanimously voted to uphold a federal law banning th...

By Lydia Chapman Staff Writer The Trevecca health clinic is back in business.  Charly Taylor, clinician. Photo by Lydia Chapman Charly Taylor, a 2013 graduate of Trevecca's nursing program, was hired as the part-time clinician, meaning the clinic will reopen for the first time since June 2023. "I wasn't really actively searching for anything; I was content where I was. I felt like the Lord had me in the right place," Taylor said. "But then I had some people reach out to me, and I knew Dean (Jessica) Dykes from when I was a student. As she explained what was needed and what was going on, I felt really interested, and I felt like the Lord put it on my heart." After graduating from Trevecca, Taylor earned a master's degree in nursing from Austin Peay State University. S...