Student Life

Trevecca brings “bridging the gap” to equip students with skills to have important conversations

26Sep

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Spiritual Life

Trevecca brings “bridging the gap” to equip students with skills to have important conversations

By Michelle Loria Alvarado Assistant News Editor During Monday night chapels from Sept. 23 to Oct. 7, students will learn from faculty members how to engage in healthy and productive conversations about difficult topics. “One of the main reasons that I was excited about Bridging the Gap curriculum is because of this semester's political issues and the elections,” said Erik Gernand, Trevecca chaplain. “I felt like our university would likely benefit from just learning some very basic skills about how to show up in a conversation with some tools to help navigate things when you're talking to somebody who disagrees violently.” Bridging the Gap is a curriculum offered by Interfaith America that helps students and educators build the skills to talk over divisive topics e...

A decade of diversity shows significant changes in Trevecca community

8May

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Student Life

A decade of diversity shows significant changes in Trevecca community

By Michelle Loria Alvarado Contributor Ten years ago, around 83% of Trevecca’s undergraduate student population was white. This fall, around 53% of undergraduate students reported being white while around 46% come from various racial and cultural backgrounds. The large increase in diversity among undergraduate students over the past decade has included an 11.8% growth in the Hispanic community on campus. The number of Black students has increased by 1.5%. Graphic by Mia Agee “Having a diverse community on our campus is as a Christian community should be,” said Thomas Middendorf, provost and senior vice president. “If we call ourselves a Christian community, I really hope that we’re a diverse community because you know that’s more representative of the body of Christ.” The...

College athletes balance mental health with load of being a student and an athlete

25Apr

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Mental Health, Sports

College athletes balance mental health with load of being a student and an athlete

By Trevor West Contributor Photo by Alayna Simons, Editor-in-Chief When Tatum Shaw, a Trevecca women's basketball player, tore tendons in her knee that kept her out of play for two years, she said one of the biggest struggles in her recovery was maintaining her mental health. “Not being able to play my sport took a huge toll on my mental health, as this was my first major injury,” she said. “It’s hard watching your team from the sidelines and trying to stay positive in an atmosphere you used to be so involved in.” Shaw said supportive friends, invested coaches and seeking help at the Trevecca counseling center all helped her rehab and both her mind and body. “I think the biggest challenge I have faced is feeling confident in my training and athleticism. Jumping back into ...

Muslim students maintain religious practices while on campus

16Apr

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Spiritual Life

Muslim students maintain religious practices while on campus

By Antonia Lopez Staff Writer Sayem Siddiki does not know what his exact wake up time will be each morning. Each day, he wakes up at a different time, depending on the time the sun rises. Siddiki used his app, Muslim Pro, to know when he needed to get up for prayer. This day, he woke up at 6:15 a.m., the first prayer of the day. Mohammed Azam (left), meeting with his friend Sayem Siddiki (right). Siddiki drove to Trevecca’s campus at 8 a.m. He met up with his friends in the commuter parking lot, as he does every morning. “Assalamu alikum,” said Siddiki, as he greeted his friend, Mohammed Azam. “Walaikum assalam,” Azam responded. This is a common greeting among Muslims. The greeting means “peace be upon you” in Arabic. Siddiki and Azam are two of around 12 students w...

Students navigate effects of senioritis as school year ends

11Apr

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Mental Health

Students navigate effects of senioritis as school year ends

By Lydia Chapman Contributor Brandon Mancio, a graphic design major, is navigating what he thought was a post-spring break slump, but has decided it’s likely the phenomenon known as “senioritis. “I think having senioritis in college is stressful because you are trying to figure out what you will do after college. You are about to go out into the real world, so I think there is more guilt and more pressure because you have to figure out how to be an adult,” said Mancio. According to Trevecca counselor Crayton Croan, senioritis manifests itself differently in every person, but it is a type of burnout due to prolonged stress. College seniors are trying to figure out what they want to do with their life and must navigate applying for jobs, looking for apartments, and finishing up t...

11Apr

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Events

Walden hosts Black Renaissance festival

By Sol Ayala Online Editor Black Renaissance 2024 – Photo by Carlos Elvir More than 20 vendors set up booths featuring art, soaps and clothing in Boone Convocation Center as jazz bands played and food trucks served everything from jackfruit sandwiches to corned beef at the second annual Black Renaissance. "For me, it's just an opportunity to have a group of African American entrepreneurs coming to Trevecca's campus to share the diversity of their products and services… I really enjoy the vendors," said Iris Gordon, adjunct professor in the Center for Social Justice and faculty advisor to the Walden club, Trevecca’s club for Black students. But the rescheduling did not limit the event. "This is our rain date, and we had even more vendors and entertainers ...

Trevecca students differ in how they observe lent

27Mar

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Spiritual Life

Trevecca students differ in how they observe lent

By Antonia Lopez Staff Writer Photo courtesy Trevecca marketing As the Trevecca community participates in Lent and prepares for the celebration of Easter, students are taking different approaches to how they practice lent in their spiritual life. "To me, [Lent] is my attempt to discipline my body, thoughts and actions through fasting and praying," said Merna Hanna, a junior criminal justice major. "It's a journey of seven weeks that the Lord Jesus went through, and he shows me what it is to be human and connect with God through what He experienced." Lent is 46 days before Easter Sunday on Ash Wednesday every year. According to the liturgical church calendar, this year it began on Feb. 14. The liturgical calendar is usually followed by the Western church, which most commonly...

International students battle economic pressures

21Mar

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Student Life

International students battle economic pressures

By Kamryn Sanderfer Contributor Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash Global economic pressures are reaching onto Trevecca’s campus, and being felt by many international students who are struggling to find jobs and keep up with conversion rates. “One dollar [in America] is 24.5 lempiras [in Honduras] …With that you can actually have a meal, so definitely for our parents to have us here in college, they need to work three times harder,” said Claudia Nuñez, a Honduran senior and president of the International Student Council. “We don’t like to do the conversions because we get scared to see the amount of money that gets invested in our education.” The Centre for the New Economy and Society reported on the World Economic Forum in 2022 that the US dollar had risen in strength b...

19Mar

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Student Life

Commuter TikTok video goes viral

By Michelle Loria Alvarado Contributor A TikTok video documenting the lives of commuter students on campus has more than 18,000 views. The “of course” TikTok trend consists of filling in the blank “I’m a ______, of course I ____,” with quirks related to a person’s profession, job, vocation, or lifestyle that make others feel identified. The Trevecca Commuter Council, a student group, published a TikTok video that followed this trend but with commuter’s quirks. They exposed common things commuters do and experience. However, they were not expecting the response it received. “I think we were just mainly aiming at some of the commuters that we have at Trevecca and basically just letting everyone feel identified and you know ‘you’re being heard,” said Daniela Andret, commuter...

Students trying new health trends in new year

21Feb

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Student Life

Students trying new health trends in new year

By Lydia Chapman Contributor Delaney Melton is 12 days into a viral trend known as the 75 Soft Challenge. Every day she is drinking water, working out and reading 10 pages of a non-school book. She is one of thousands of college students nationwide participating in this challenge. “I did the challenge because I have always loved lifestyle challenges. The 75 Hard and Soft are both lifestyle challenges. These challenges are not just working out; they are not just dieting; it’s switching your lifestyle around and making you more productive,” said Melton, a sophomore. Since its creation in 2019, more than 100,000 people have completed the 75 Hard Challenge. The 75 Hard is one of many dieting trends circling the internet, along with other trends like #CalorieDeficit and #Milit...