Haitian Soccer and Fiesta

I have been unable to inform you of all the wonderful events happening at Trinity. Blame it on approaching Finals, not me.

Haitian National Team and Trinity's Team. Photo by Digital Subway

The most wonderful of all was the much hyped soccer match between Trinity and Haitian National Team. Yup a Division III soccer team against the National Haitian Team. I had never seen a national team playing soccer in real time and space which made the game special for me. Also, there were around 3000 spectators on the ground, never been in a game with so many people before. Haitians won 2-0 and possessed the balls the entire time yet the atmosphere was amazing and everyone loved it.

See the audience turn-out. More than ever before. Photo by Digital Subway

      People sat at any inch of space they found. Photo by Digital Subway

Next, I had a chance to visit The Hindu Temple of San Antonio with my friend, Tina. It is a good half an hour drive from the university and is located outside the main city on a hill-top in a serene environment overlooking the city. We were amazed to find 3 more Trinity students in the temple who had also come to fulfill a requirement for Asian Religion course. Every student taking Asian Religion has to visit the temple and write a brief report. We were given a special treatment as visitors at the temple. A 'swami' (learned guru) delivered some words of wisdom on relevance of meditation in this fast paced life. The 'swami' was an American who had willingly converted to Hinduism.

                                      Hindu Temple of San Antonio. Photo by Tina

                              The Hindu Temple of San Antonio. Photo by Tina

Finally, I participated in the biggest event of San Antonio- Fiesta. Yes, participating means I was a part of the celebration and sold cold drinks and water at one of the stalls as a volunteer. My host family have been organizing a cold drinks stall since more than 40 years and they invited us to become a part of the celebration. It's a non-profit event that draws tens of thousands of people and more than a million dollar raised goes for conservation of San Antonio and its cultural sites. If you haven't seen Fiesta celebration, you haven't seen San Antonio!

                              Fiesta in San Antonio. Photo from Facebook

Trinity University President Surprises us all: A Coincidence?

It has been rather surprising to see several Vice Presidents at Trinity leaving for schools in California or elsewhere one after another.  Magnetic polarity seems to have been reversed. But even more surprising and forgive me, if I forgot to mention coincidental, have been decisions of the new University President Dr. Dennis Ahlburg regarding appointment of two new Vice Presidents, VP for Fiscal Affairs and VP for University Advancement.

Both of these new Vice Presidents worked previously in similar capacities at Leeds Business School, University of Colorado at Boulder. Surprised? Well, there's another one. President Ahlburg was the Dean of Leeds Business School at Univ. of Colorado at Boulder too. What can anyone say about THIS magnetic polarity? Nothing at all. Who would want to ruffle feathers with the University President? At least not the Trinitonian, the most independent student run newspaper. The editorial which in prior issues has been pretty critical and rightly so, of various university issues hesitated to even mention a word or raise a finger at this decision. Well done. Your increment in budget is guaranteed next year.

However, the Cartoon Section in the Trinitonian dealt with this well and bravely pointed out that two decisions in a row cannot be a coincidence. Don't jump to conclusions. I am not suggesting that this is wrong. What I am suggesting is that students have a right to know if there was an application process to choose these applicants who will have a large impact on administrative conduct and course of Trinity in the coming several years. I admit my ignorance about how these decisions were made in the past by other presidents and so I cannot infer any conclusions. Maybe this is how things work so that the President can attain his vision smoothly without having to devote a significant time trying to overcome differences with other Vice Presidents. I don't know.

But the fact that two previous Vice Presidents left Trinity highlighting a difference in vision with the new president makes us curious to raise our concern. Here is the excerpt from the President's all-campus email sent to us:

To all Trinity Faculty, Staff, and Students:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Tracy Christeson as vice president for University Advancement. ... Previously she was senior director of development for the Leeds School of Business, the University of Colorado at Boulder.

 

To all Trinity Faculty, Staff, and Students:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Detterick as vice president for Fiscal Affairs.... Previously he served as the director of finance and operations at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

I like the new University President and have had numerous chances to meet him and talk about various issues as a Student Representative on behalf of Class of 2012. I subscribe to his vision and goals which is why I would not be hasty to see this decision as a "Red Alert" even though it does raise some alarms regarding transparency of application process.

Distinguished Lecturers Enlighten Trinity Community

In these past two weeks, Trinity students and staffs have heard from two distinguished personalities: Former State Secretary Condolezza Rice and a Middle East Historian Rashid Khalidi. I liked both of them and even though Khalidi is less popular compared to star-studded Rice, he impressed me more.

They talked about a lot of good stuff. But there was one topic that both of them touched upon and coincidentally, it is a hot political issue (a hot potato) these days for discussion, namely Iran Nuclear Enrichment Program. It was interesting to see both of them taking on same issue from two entirely different perspectives. Condolezza Rice came from a US centered perspective and saw Iran as an evil, a threat to US security and thus its nuclear program had to be contained/abandoned at the earliest possible through trade sanctions, international pressure and whatever is available.

Rashid Khalidi on the other hand, seemed to exude a deeper and clearer understanding of the situation. He pointed out the need for Iran to start this nuclear program after feeling insecure from two of its nuke possessing neighbors- Israel and Pakistan. He said that United States turns a blind eye to the fact that Israel and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons and did virtually nothing to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran, discernibly has some tensions with Israel, a Jewish state and Pakistan, a predominantly Sunni Muslim nation. These facts cannot be ignored while trying to find a solution.

After hearing about these two different perspectives, I gained a better understanding of this issue. In addition, my political science professor is from Iran and she opened another discussion in class today on this topic. The discussion provided yet another dimension to my understanding of Iran's nuclear program. After coming to a liberal arts institution you realize that reading what's on popular news media is simply not enough. They never tell you the inside story. You have to learn it from several other sources. And institutions like Trinity with diverse population are perfect places for that.


Note: I wrote this blog as part of Trinity's Official Student Blogger Program.

My Diploma, My Pride

The wording on Trinity's graduation diploma became an issue, more contentious than anyone ever imagined. We have all read and understood arguments from either sides and know what the outcome should be but why it can't be. So, let's cut the crap here and talk straight about the core issue (as my Engineering Professor Dr. Uddin likes to say it).

Students who voiced a complain against the statement, "In the year of our Lord" and recommended that it should be changed to "In the year of .." came under personal attack. This was really an idealism debate, a debate about values. But thanks to some newspapers and their nature of reporting, it turned into a religious debate. Some were unashamed to see this as a threat against Christianity since the leader of student group turned out to be a Muslim. A pure coincidence, I can assure you.

I would have had no problem with the wording as it was since I care little what it means by Lord- Jesus, Allah or whoever. But, I know that I work hard to deserve my diploma. If needed, I spend sleepless nights or work late into the night so that I can graduate on time with a diploma that reflects my hard work. What in the world would any Lord have to do with my diploma? No Lord has assisted me in achieving the grades that I have received and they have been good, thanks to my hard work. So, why would I give any credit or show my gratitude to someone who has done nothing to deserve it? In the U.S., there is no free lunch, as we like to say it. You have to earn what you deserve. Why should the Lord get a free ride? What has the Lord done for my diploma? Tell me.

I am sure you all must have figured out (assuming you all are intelligent) that I am voicing the opinions of an atheist. But even if I believed strongly in some religion, my choice would not be different. I mean, you study in a university and not in a Church. This country has long adopted a separation of the Church and the state. But we still are trying to hold dear the ties between the Church and the university. Universities are places for breeding liberal and secular beliefs, not prejudiced ones. An atheist should feel as welcomed as anyone else.

Now, I am aware that changing the wording could drive some faithful donors away. But what good is money that comes with strings attached? If we lose a donor, we may gain another. But can we regain our value once lost? This is a litmus test for the university. Facing so much press attacks and intense attention, it can not bow down to financial pressure at the cost of losing value. Students are watching and the decision will send a signal about what the university stands for. For those outsiders, who think we might head the wrong way by removing the phrase with mention of "Lord", here is what I have to say. Trinity, today is a much better institution than what it was then as a strictly Presbyterian university. And this is not my opinion alone, ask anyone who went to Trinity in 1970s and they will tell you this is true.