Transy’s own Chi Omega once again hosted their annual Campus Sing event on Sunday, April 27th. Greek Life organizations take part in choreographed song and dance in order to raise money for Chi Omega’s philanthropy, God’s Food Pantry, by collecting cans or a $5 entry fee. Filling Beck Center Gym with competitive music and matching outfits, the event was once again a success. Rambler Photographer Caroline Host photographed the event.
For three nights in the Coleman Recital Hall, Transy Theater once again wowed the Transy community with a comically tragic take on a previous classic. Coming off a raucous run of Kate Hammil’s theatrical adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Transy Theater once again showed a revisionist perspective on a well-known story, this time the iconic Shakespearean tragedy Othello. Paula Vogel’s Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief, first performed in 1993, flips the perspective of the original show from Othello to his titular wife, along with the women surrounding her, including her servant Emilia and friend and bordello owner Bianca. The Transy production of Desdemona was fully student-led, with the three roles being performed by Sophomore Kiah Oney, Junior Sam Farr, and Junior Julie Mattingly. The play was directed by Senior Mary Clark, a climactic final act in her time as a student with Transy Theater.
Adaptations of Shakespeare’s classic that show often ignored character perspectives or put a modern twist on the story are nothing new (think Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead or Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet film adaptation). However, what drove Clark to this retelling in particular was its themes of patriarchy and objectification and how they differ across class divides, ideas that resonate just as heavily as they did when the play was first staged over thirty years ago. Clark wrote about how she saw the theatrical medium of Desdemona as an apt way for audiences to grapple with the limited agency and domestic and sexual violence experienced by the characters; issues that are unfortunately relevant both in Kentucky and at large. Clark wrote, “Desdemona offers the unique opportunity to create a compelling and accessible medium through which audience members can become immersed in the lived experiences of the characters and how they exist within oppressive patriarchal and class structures in an immediate, embodied format. This in turn can lead audiences towards new understandings about how these power structures play out in our own communities and individual experiences.”
Those familiar with Shakespeare’s original may initially gawk at the changes introduced in Paula Vogel’s retelling of this story. Vogel’s titular character is far more nuanced than the overwhelming virtuosity and submissiveness of the original Desdemona. The show, which takes place entirely in a backroom of a Cyprus castle, partially revolves around the burgeoning friendship between Desdemona and Bianca, who is a sex worker in Vogel’s version, with Desdemona fascinated by and ultimately participating in Bianca’s work. Clark spoke about this key part of Vogel’s adaptation, stating, “I liked that Vogel shifted away from Shakespearean representations of women as being virtuous by having the characters, particularly Desdemona, exercise their sexual desire against the social expectations form women as a means of reclaiming agency in a structure that reduces them to sexual objects for men’s pleasure.” Clark spoke about how she was drawn to this adaptation after spending a semester studying abroad in New Zealand, where sex work is decriminalized, and meeting people who participated in sex work. Clark saw these experiences as illuminative of the ways feminine-presenting people are inherently sexualized through the male gaze. Clark argued that “For Desdemona and Bianca, participating in sex work is empowering because they are going to be reduced to sexual objects no matter what they do. In participating in sex work, they are at least able to profit financially and subsequently reclaim some agency from their sexualization.”
On the other end of the spectrum from Desdemona and Bianca’s sex positivity and liberation is Emilia, who offers a more traditional perspective and looks down on Bianca’s sex work and especially Desdemona’s participation in it. The relationship between Desdemona and Emilia both endears and alienates the audience from the titular character. The emotional core of the show lies in the relationship and conversations between the two, with some of the funniest and some of the most tragic moments of the show being intimately between them. However, the connection the two share is just as often undercut by Desdemona’s dreadful treatment of Emilia, emphasizing the socio-economic divide between the two. Clark also described how she was drawn to this dynamic between the two characters, stating, “There is an inherent power dynamic between Emilia and Desdemona, which weaponizes against Emilia…I felt the way the two of them oscillate between selfishness and gentleness towards one another was very compelling. There is never really a moment where you fully want to support or be critical of the characters, which makes them feel genuine and human.” The titular handkerchief, one of Shakespeare’s most iconic props, is used largely in the same way as the original, leading to an ending between Desdemona and Emilia that is haunting even for those who do not know the fate of the characters in the original show. Where this production of Desdemona shines the most is in its three performances. The oscillation between sympathy and callousness in the character of Desdemona comes through perfectly in the performance of Kiah Oney. Sam Farr brings such a believable world-weariness to Emilia, building a character throughout the show and delivering an emotional gut-punch near the finale, despite the character’s contradictions. Julie Mattingly puts on a comedic tour de force as Bianca, bouncing off the hostility of Emilia and the admiration of Desdemona perfectly. One particular scene shared between the three characters, where Bianca demonstrates a method she uses in her bordello to Desdemona, provoked raucous laughter from the audience. Desdemona was clearly a project that all those involved were passionate about and put everything into, especially Clark, in her final production with Transy Theater before graduating later this month. That passion was clear to anyone who was able to come to Coleman Hall between May 1 and 3 and witness Transy Theater’s latest hit.
For the second consecutive year, the Transylvania Pioneers have swept the regular season and tournament Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference titles in both Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse. On April 26, Transy Men’s Lacrosse clinched the championship with a dominant 26-5 victory over the Hanover College Panthers. One week later on May 3, Transy Women’s Lacrosse clinched the championship with another dominant 19-3 win over the Anderson University Ravens. With their respective wins, both teams clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Pioneers Men’s Lacrosse Team finished the regular season with a 9-5 record and a perfect 4-0 record in the HCLC, earning the top seed and home-field advantage in the conference tournament. On April 24, the Pioneers would host the number four-seeded Anderson University Ravens. The Pioneers would hold a three-score advantage after the first period, but the second period would see an avalanche of scoring by the Pioneers, who scored twelve unanswered goals to take a 16-1 advantage into the half. The Pioneers would not let their foot off the gas in the second half, riding a 75-14 shot advantage and 18 turnovers forced to a 30-3 win that was never in doubt. Two days later, the Pioneers advanced to the championship to face the number two-seeded Panthers. The Pioneers had as little trouble with Hanover as they did with Anderson, scoring ten goals in the first period and taking an 18-2 advantage into halftime. Four Pioneer players would score at least three goals, leading the Pioneers to a commanding 26-5 victory and the HCLC Tournament Championship. The Pioneers would also have an impressive showing in the HCLC season awards. Sophomore Attacker Andrew Welch took home Offensive Player of the Year, and Transy players made up eight out of the fifteen players on the HCLC First Team All-Conference.
The next week, Transy Women’s Lacrosse began their campaign to clinch the HCLC Tournament Championship for the seventh year in a row. The Pioneers finished with a perfect 5-0 conference record, including an emphatic 20-2 victory over the Spalding University Golden Eagles to close the regular season and clinch the number one seed in the conference. The Pioneers earned a bye with the number one seed and automatically advanced to the championship game, where they faced the number two-seeded Ravens. The Pioneers opened the game with seven unanswered goals, eventually taking a 14-1 lead into halftime. Fifth-year goalkeeper Grace Smilek would only allow two more goals in the second half to preserve the Pioneers’ comfortable first-half lead and cruise to a 19-3 championship-clinching victory. Eight Pioneers were named to the All-Tournament Team, in addition to the nine Pioneers named to the First and Second All-Tournament Teams. Senior Midfielder Charlotte Green was also named HCLC Offensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
By winning each of their respective championships, both Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse earned automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. The Men’s team will travel for their first round matchup first, facing off against the Rhodes College Lynx in Memphis on Wednesday, May 7 at 3:00 PM. The Women’s team will travel later to Sewanee, Tennessee to face the Washington and Lee University Tridents on Saturday, May 10 at 2:00 PM.
By: Madalyn Stump, Olivia Jackson, and Scarlet Hohman
Note: this article was created in conjunction with and as an assignment for Black Feminist Theory, taught by Dr. Simona Fojtova. Contributors to this article include Simona Fojtova, Steve Hess, Cameron Ritchie, Kennedy Kniffley, Caroline Host, Val deValinger, Josiah Finley, Krissalyn Love, and Ella Go.
As a result of the election of Donald Trump, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programs have faced bans and other hindrances. This was particularly kicked off by a “Dear Colleague” letter sent by Craig Trainor on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education on February 14th, 2025, giving public educators two weeks to dismantle their DEI Programs. This letter claims that white and Asian students have been discriminated against “on the basis of race” and claims that “Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism.’” In Transylvania’s Black Feminist Theory class, we are exploring the ways in which this claim is unequivocally false, expanding across fields such as health, education, law, pop culture, and more. We are learning about Black women and Black feminists — such as Kimberlé Crenshaw and Angela Davis, as well as ones not mentioned in this article including the Combahee River Collective, Jennifer Nash, Patricia Williams, and more — who have been paving the way and acting as beautifully articulate predecessors advocating for the same values that align with the vocabulary and DEI efforts we have today. In the wake of these DEI bans, this class decided to have a more open-ended final project. This article focuses on the history of DEI programs and how they impact different student organizations, including the Rambler, FSL, and others, and broadens this knowledge outside the scope of the classroom.
DEI and Its History
You might be asking: “What is DEI?” DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and was a result of the Civil Rights movement. Steve Hess, professor of political science at Transylvania University, states:
“In these conversations, it’s important to try to unpack the terms we’re talking about. ‘DEI’ itself has become something of a lightning rod in our highly polarized society, but when you think about what it stands for – ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ — are these really values that we should consider problematic? Would we prefer the opposite: ‘uniformity, inequity and exclusion?’ Much of the value of colleges and universities is their emphasis on free speech, open and often contentious discourse, and the challenging of established dogmas. In contrast to the assumptions of DEI critics who fundamentally misunderstand our mission and allege that universities ‘indoctrinate students in discriminatory concepts,’ students are expected to be creative, consider the range of intellectual thought, and generate new and different ideas, but also subject these ideas to scrutiny, ensuring that they logically hold together and are backed by evidence. This emphasis on critical thinking is central to what we do in higher education; it provides a tool and ability that helps our students thrive in their future lives and careers. However, since the inception of universities in the United States, they have often functioned as agents of social reproduction and exclusion, helping the children of the affluent stay affluent, rather than social mobility, allowing students without means and students from historically marginalized groups to achieve socio-economic advancement. It was over 100 years before Transy admitted its first woman and over 180 years before its first Black student set foot on campus. Students from marginalized groups have thus entered a campus with institutions, practices, and norms that have been almost exclusively determined by and in the interests of cisgendered white men from privileged backgrounds. As a consequence, universities have worked intentionally to identify and remove barriers that deter students from marginalized groups from coming to campus and allowing them to enjoy equal opportunities once they have arrived. We should be skeptical of DEI, but for other reasons. In many organizations, DEI efforts can be tokenistic, performative, and superficial, designed to impress the outside world and improve one’s brand but have little impact on bringing about structural change in the organization’s actual functioning. As a consequence, even in today’s charged political climate, we should be even more active in challenging power structures that exclude and marginalize underrepresented groups, supporting our students and affinity groups, reexamining our own policies and practices, and working to create an inclusive environment on campus.”
The push for diversity in higher education became prominent following the civil rights movement, when student activism and protests were at an all-time high, with 1 in 5These protests resulted in departments of African Studies opening up across the country. The article ‘The History of Diversity in Higher Education’ explains, “The first Black studies department was started at San Francisco State College in 1968 after the longest strike in U.S. history to occur on a college campus”. Not only did academic studies begin to diversify, but student bodies did as well. Affirmative Action was introduced, striving to diversify systems and create spaces with various backgrounds. While Affirmative Action doubled the admission rates for Black students, retention was low, and only half of admitted Black students received their degree due to other systemic factors. The same article states, “In 1976, white students made up over 80% of all U.S. college students, but that percentage dropped to 57% by 2016.”
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have also played a critical role in DEI for higher education. HBCUs began as schools designed to provide opportunities for Black Americans. The UNCF article ‘The Numbers Don’t Lie: HBCUs Are Changing the College Landscape’ discusses how black students continue to have a low retention in graduating in higher education due to many systemic factors, writing, “Seventy-two percent of Black students take on debt as they seek their degrees, as opposed to 56% of their White peers. And while the number of African Americans enrolled in college has increased over the last few decades, going from 10% in 1976 to 12.7% in 2019, African American enrollment at the nation’s most elite colleges (often toting the biggest price tags) has remained mostly the same.” Where elite colleges fail to broaden their enrollment, Historically Black Colleges and Universities seek to provide resources to fight systemic causes of low retention. 29% of students attending an HBCU report feeling more stable and financially secure than at a non-HBCU. While HBCUs only make up 3% of United States universities and colleges, they continue to close the gap for students of color.
The current pushback against DEI is not a new phenomenon. There has been pushback for decades on DEI by conservatives, who define it as reverse discrimination. The Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank, defines DEI as a radical force pushing against U.S. morals, leading to white backlash, school closures, and private segregation in academics. Any push for corporate America to diversify has faced white resistance and accusations of “reverse discrimination.” In the 1980s, Reagan-era policies hampered affirmative action and civil rights policies, and DEI was deemed “special treatment” for Black people. In 1996, California’s Proposition 209 banned affirmative action in public hiring and education, setting the stage for future anti-DEI policies.
The Black Feminist Lens on DEI Removal
Black Feminist Theory provides a unique lens to view the backlash against DEI. One of the key concepts within this theory is intersectionality. The article “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics” by Kimberlé Crenshaw displays this idea. As explained by Crenshaw, intersectionality is the way that intersecting identities affect individuals in our society and how those identities contribute to experiences with discrimination. This is an important concept when considering feminism as a whole, particularly black feminism. Without representation for individuals who share intersecting identities, feminism is not complete. Knowing this, the removal of DEI should be recognized as a feminist concern.
Black Feminist theory also provides suggestions for how to navigate the removal of DEI. Its framework is rooted in collectivism and working together to educate, advocate, and bring awareness to injustices. One of the key concepts related to black feminism is abolition. The book Abolition. Feminism. Now., by Angelia Davis highlights the importance of abolition as an intersecting concept with feminism. This concept highlights that advocacy for the dismantling of anti-black and anti-feminist systemic structures must be a part of feminism. DEI is a large part of these efforts and is necessary to sustain equality in both academia and the workforce.
The article “The Anticipated Impacts of DEI Program and Policy Rollbacks” by Sharon Kalango highlights particular ways that the removal of DEI may affect black women in engineering fields, but this information is transferable to all fields as well. A few of the listed concerns are: “Limited career development opportunities, reinforced workplace discrimination and microaggressions, Slower progress toward leadership roles, Higher risk of job displacement and turnover, and Widening of the pay gap.”
This article also lists a variety of ways to combat the emotional and financial distress that this could place on black women during. It suggests “seeking out mentorship, prioritizing mental Wellness and Emotional Resilience, continuing to advocate for Change, and investing in Personal Development.” These are important resources to consider when struggling with the removal of DEI programns and good for educating yourself and others.
DEI Currently
The Trump administration has made its efforts to dismantle DEI programs a top priority. The federal government has been directed to end DEI programs and investigate private companies and academic institutions that are engaging with DEI. Colleges and schools have begun canceling DEI-related events to avoid lawsuits. Some of these programs still operate under different names and structures, while others have been shut down entirely. According to the article “Tracking Higher Ed’s Dismantling of DEI” published by The Chronicle of Higher Education, over 200 colleges have changed or removed DEI since 2023, as well as changed policies and hiring processes that involve diversity. The article “The Real Reason DEI Is Under Attack: It’s About What It Represents, Not How It’s Practiced” by Dunn discusses how current backlash to DEI strongly resembles previous backlash to the Freedmen’s Bureau, which helped newly freed Black people transition to freedom after being released from slavery. It also discusses the similarities to the backlash against the push for human rights for Black Americans during the civil rights movement. The backlash towards DEI mirror historic trends in that it is rooted in anti-blackness.
This anti-blackness can also be seen in how such backlash and DEI bans are uniquely impacting HBCUs as compared to Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), such as Transy. Josiah Finley, a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College (NCAT) and friend of the Rambler, states: “The direct impact is that it’s made it increasingly difficult for students to get research opportunities here. Indirectly, students’ jobs are taking a hit (cutback on hours due to boycotts, etc.) making it harder to sustain their lifestyle while pursuing their education.”
While the fight for DEI feels like new terrain to navigate, it has been an ongoing issue in America in many ways. Looking at examples such as these as a guide to navigate our current situation with DEI could be helpful moving forward. According to the New York Times article “These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration,” Trump has led agencies to flag hundreds of commonly used words to limit DEI.
Cameron Ritchie, a writer for the Rambler, commented on this: “DEI is currently under attack in the United States, making its future uncertain. I think to protect it and preserve its future, we need to make it clear at Transy that we are firmly committed to embracing and upholding diversity at our institution. DEI is important, especially at places like universities that tend to have problematic histories, being primarily composed of white men and only catering to that demographic for centuries. DEI attempts to alleviate this issue by making college education more accessible to marginalized groups. Dismantling DEI serves as part of the larger far-right project of protecting white supremacy in institutions and our country. They’re attacking DEI now, but they likely won’t stop there. We need to defend it to continue uplifting women and minorities and to keep the far-right from encroaching on civil rights.”
Student Organizations and DEI
Prominent student organizations on Transy’s campus include our student newspaper ‘The Rambler’ and Transy’s Literary magazine ‘The Transylvanian.’ Student press activism became prominent in the 1960s, following the civil rights movement. According to ‘The Underground Press @ Archives & Special Collections’ by The University of Pittsburgh’s library, “These papers were often aimed at educating their fellow students, encouraging and supporting on campus activism, and helping to create networks of movers and shakers within their communities.” Despite the flag on certain words and DEI, it is important to utilize our voices as students, especially now more than ever.
Abigail Muncy, President and Co-founder of Transylvania Advocates for Accessibility, explains her thoughts on DEI and student organizations. “Something I learned about accessibility throughout the creation of our organization is that it benefits everyone. While every day it might not be necessary for me to use a wheelchair ramp, it becomes helpful when I have heavy luggage or if I have a hurt leg. I would like to think of any discussion of DEI topics in a similar way. While the discussions of marginalized communities help to uplift said communities and make them feel seen, these discussions also benefit the entire community as they open a line of communication. I fear that with the release of the “Dear Colleague” letter that this open line of communication will be closed, and any hopes of discussions about marginalized communities will be put on pause… but I know our Transylvania Community, and I know that there is nothing that will pause the voice of our students. While this is a scary time in our nation where we fear talking about our ethnicities or the disabilities we may face, I know that our community is strong and has the support to be able to uphold these conversations no matter what. I am extremely disappointed by what is happening in our country now, but I am glad our community on campus is supportive and loving.”
Another organization that is very relevant on this campus and as a cultural institution is Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL). In fact, 42% of Transy’s campus is involved in FSL. Additionally, while 2% of the U.S. population is involved in FSL, 80% of the leaders of Fortune 500 companies and much of the U.S. Congress, President, and Supreme Court Justices have been involved as well.
The formation of these organizations correlates to who had rights at the time, which is why white fraternities were created first, then white sororities in the postbellum era, then finally historically Black fraternities and sororities, also known as Divine Nine chapters. The white counterparts are wrought with racist history, with some DEI efforts being implemented in recent years. The history of racism among FSL has far surpassed that of DEI. For example, Kappa Alpha was founded on the “gentlemanly values” of Confederate soldier Robert E. Lee and has a history of performing minstrel shows. In the 1960s, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, when he was serving as the University of Mississippi’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) President, tried and partially succeeded in preventing his fraternity (Sigma Nu) from admitting Black members. In 1983, the Divine Nine chapter Phi Beta Sigma at the same university was raided by 1000 white students chanting “Save the Flag,” in reference to the Confederate Flag, during their yearly “Dixie Week.” The following decades included the use of Blackface and Klan wear, and as recently as 2015, there have been instances of the use of the N-word in fraternity chants.
It is for reasons like these that it is not surprising that #AbolishGreekLife circulated in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, but the issue more complicated than that. Divine Nine chapters have long been a source of community and safety for minorities that primarily white fraternities and sororities have not been able to. Kennedy Kniffley, a member of Sigma Gamma Rho at Transy, states: “I feel that people misunderstand what DEI means and who it benefits. DEI is important as it allows for marginalized groups, such as women, people of color, disabled people, and veterans, to have equal opportunities to share their knowledge and identities with the world. Without a push from the previous VP of DEI at Transy, there would be no historically black Divine 9 Greek life on this campus. My sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho, is the first fully chartered chapter of the Divine 9 at Transylvania. The significance of this is often lost because of the lack of knowledge of Divine 9 culture. Our sorority focuses solely on improving the lives of women and their families in the U.S. and globally through community service. This means that we did not start this just for the sisterhood but to create a safe space for young women of color and white alike to become bonded through service and academic excellence. We strive to support women who have struggled to adjust to life in spaces in which they have been marginalized by uplifting them and providing opportunities for growth both as professionals and human beings. In these ways, I believe that chartering this chapter with the support of DEI has allowed me to flourish into the empathetic, empowered, and encouraging leader I am today.”
The National Panhellenic Council (NPC), which oversees all sororities across the country (minus Divine Nine sororities), according to its website, started implementing DEI initiatives in 2014, when it made a statement against discrimination. Efforts since then include creating and updating a Financial Transparency Policy, giving trainings on implicit bias and DEI, having a diversity keynote, the creation of local student positions like VPJEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), and changing language like “colony” to “newly establishing chapter.”
This information shows vague language about DEI efforts without particularly concrete examples of imbuing these values in the organization. The IFC’s website offers a timeline of DEI-focused actions with slightly more specific language but nothing particularly substantive. These precedents set by the respective organizations show improvements in respecting diversity, equity, and inclusion as a whole, but don’t allow for proper accountability for individual campuses. The amount of these values that are highlighted seems to be as much as the student body and FSL leaders care and put in effort, which has different implications for smaller versus bigger schools.
The Panhellenic VPJEDI here at Transy, Scarlett Hohman, states: “I am able to have interactive presentations and higher quality discussions with each sorority due to our smaller size, as opposed to being in charge at a large SEC school. I think my position at UK was renamed to VP of Community and Belonging in the wake of the DEI bans, which potentially puts my role in a precarious position. I hope VPs after me are able to take what I do even further and do more to promote JEDI at Transy and beyond.”
Conclusion
It is this theme of student-led precedents that seems to be a theme in the history of promoting DEI and values that Black Feminist Theory is discussing. It is important to push and open a conversation as students, whether it be through our student press, FSL, or other student organizations. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know what to do right now. Black feminist theory encourages folks to look at the root causes and underlying messages of social and systemic oppression and racism and consider how those causes contribute to broader issues such as DEI. It is important to consider this when navigating the removal of DEI and consider how this will affect individuals with intersecting identities.
Caroline Host, a photographer for The Rambler and a prominent member of the Transy community, states: “The future of DEI is what we make it to be. We have a lot of powerful people trying to go against us at the moment and take away basic rights for minority groups. I think that some people, understandably so, start to feel hopeless and like they can’t do anything about it. This only takes us down a worse path for DEI laws — if we can try to fight back and make our voices be heard, then perhaps the future of DEI could improve. At the most basic level, emailing and calling representatives, protesting, and creating an inclusive and welcoming environment in your classes, jobs, and social circles will be an amazing place to start. DEI is important because it involves EVERYONE. It affects everyone.”
Val deValinger, T-Unity President, states: “Unfortunately, I think the future of DEI is going to be regressed and hidden under different jargon, mostly going misunderstood and unnoticed. DEI is not only underrepresented, but it is under attack. There are people, organizations, and administrations with the mission to erase it, and everyone will suffer those consequences. However, it does not have to be this way. I, like many others, don’t want it to be that way. I strongly believe that DEI can be what we want it to be on this campus and in the world we are growing up in, but it will be something we will have to fight for. These conversations cannot stop. These articles cannot stop being written. It is so important, now more than ever, to talk about DEI and correct the misinformation getting spread about it to fit the narratives of people who believe it harms them, because it doesn’t. DEI is for everyone, even cis-gendered, straight, white men. It is for their wives, their children, their brothers and sisters. It is for their religious affiliation. It is for their health care. It is for everyone, for the betterment of this country, of our organizations, and for our education. DEI is not the enemy or the monster under the bed ripping opportunities and jobs from people; it does the opposite, and we are better for it.
For campus organizations, DEI allows affinity groups to do the work that the campus struggles to do. DEI gives campus organizations the ability to advocate and better their campus. Furthermore, it also holds campus organizations and affinity groups accountable for the responsibility they are taking on. And it saddens me that this work is so underappreciated because these organizations, affinity and otherwise, cannot do everything all at once. DEI will make our organization harder to thrive and reach out to more students who could really benefit from a safe space on campus.
My experience with DEI has been nothing short of amazing. Outside my role as T-Unity President, I have run support groups throughout high school and did some outside mentoring for transgender people beyond that. I am proud of my work and the people I have gained lifelong connections with due to it. DEI allowed that work to happen, for it to be public and talked about. DEI made groups like queer support groups in schools accessible. Lastly, DEI allowed my personal transition to be accessible. I have gained resources and tools I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have DEI organizations reachable during my high school years and early into college. DEI is necessary for all students.”
Simona Fojtová, Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, states: “I applaud the students for expressing their commitments to social justice and wholeheartedly support their efforts to have their voices heard. Their dedication to positive change is inspiring, and I stand behind their efforts to create meaningful dialogue and make a difference in their communities.”
The date is July 2, 17776, and you are watching a football game. This game is being played between Wyoming and Iowa. The field of play is Nebraska.
Yes, the entire state.
The game is tied, 24-24, and the next score wins. After starting on the line of scrimmage in Gresham earlier that morning, Wyoming running back Nancy McGunnell caught a screen pass, turned back a couple blocks, then started running down Road V until she hit Lincoln Creek. As of now, she’s just outside of Seward, about 117,000 yards away from the end zone, and she’s coming up fast. Trouble is, there’s a tornado headed towards her— an EF5— and she’s got the other team blocking her on all sides.
So, she takes her chances and runs up into the tornado, hoping that it’ll throw her somewhere downfield, where she can get a clearer route towards the goal line. It does, and by the time you switch off your television later that night, McGunnell is somewhere around Bee, Nebraska, waiting to make her next move.
This is Game #3887, as described in Chapter 2 of 17776, a digital multimedia fiction project written by Jon Bois and published through SB Nation in 2017. In the years since its publication date, 17776 has won a National Magazine Award for Digital Innovation and been longlisted by the Hugo Awards for Best Novella and Best Graphic Story. It’s been highly praised by critics for its balance of humor and existentialism, and its view count is currently somewhere in the millions. I love it dearly.
However, I often find it difficult to explain exactly what 17776 is about. The easiest way to describe it is that it is a story about what American football will look like in the future. However, it’s also a story about the wretchedness of humanity’s instinct for exploration, the tragedy of immortality, and the futility entrenched in the sameness of our ordinary lives. It’s a story about loneliness and found family, the impermanence of human structures, and the acceptance of limits. It is about fear and loss and love.
But also, it’s about football.
The story is set in an alternate(?) timeline where, in 2026, for some unknown reason, humans suddenly stopped being born, stopped getting sick, and stopped aging. Several years later, humans developed technology that prevented them from getting hurt, effectively making them immortal. As the world kept turning and people outlived their old fears of death and darkness, they found the time to settle their conflicts with each other and resolved to address crises that might never have been addressed otherwise. They figured out how to efficiently allocate their resources, preserve their cultures indefinitely, and even deal with the rising sea levels caused by global warming (which ended up drowning most of the cities on the East Coast).
However, with all of their biggest problems solved, humanity suddenly faced an unprecedented crisis: boredom.
It wasn’t a question of utopia; humanity had everything it needed to progress as a species. But without the sense of motivation usually impressed on them by the vague notion of “wasted time,” people no longer felt the need to make their lives more efficient. As one of the story’s narrators explains, “Efficiency is meant to save time, but their time is infinite. Why tell them to save something they have in infinite supply? You may as well tell them to dig up dirt and hoard it in boxes.”
Of course, humans still had their age-old instinct of exploration, the desire to expand beyond the Earth’s boundaries and see what the universe had in store for them. But, as it turned out, the answer wasn’t much. By the 3000s, most of the old satellites and probes shot into space during the last millennium had gone silent, and humans found themselves unable to travel beyond brief trips to uninteresting solar systems without risking serious damage to Earth’s limited resources.
In the end, humanity’s “perfect” eternity was far from it. They were alone, exhausted, and bored. They needed something to engage themselves, or else risk grave psychological damage.
Hence, football. Lots and lots of football.
There is much more to the story than is written here, but I think it’s best to let you explore the rest of the world of 17776 on your own. And what a world it is! Using written text, videos, gifs, Google Earth maps, and audio recordings from old football games, Jon Bois tells the story of a generation stuck in time, a generation forced to find purpose and order in the absurdity of play. Across 25 chapters, Bois takes his readers through several intertwining games and stories, slowly but surely broaching the idea that perhaps humanity is not defined by fame or fortune, but rather, how we outlive ourselves through our creativity.
And perhaps this is what continues to draw readers to 17776, even after all this time. There is much to be afraid of in a world in which normalcy seems to be slipping away from us with each passing moment, but if we support and inspire each other in those moments of weakness— rather than isolate ourselves from the only community we have— we may find ways to survive we’ve never thought possible.
We have ourselves, all of us.
This article was co-written by Lyra Duffy and Brenna Clark
Dude, have you seen the Minecraft Movie? Well, we saw it this weekend, and let us tell you, it was legendary, nostalgic, and everything you could ask for. Before the movie, we of course stopped at McDonald’s to get our Minecraft Happy Meals. While unfortunately they were out of stock and we had to get the baby Happy Meals, it was still pretty cool. We swiftly entered the Fayette Mall Cinemark and sat down for the most exciting hour and forty-one minutes of our lives. The theater was packed by the way– and what a cool range of audience members. From kids who play, teens who enjoy the campiness, and adults who find it nostalgic, this theater had it all. It all felt so fun and like a pure and wholesome experience. Seeing the Minecraft loading screen at the beginning of the movie was an amazing touch.
Now, let’s get into it… Steve’s backstory was pretty legit, and Jack Black’s rendition of, “as a child I yearned for the mines” had the entire theater cackling. We were initially apprehensive for such a CGI-heavy movie– how were they going to pull it off and keep the nostalgia? We found ourselves happily mistaken as soon as Steve entered the Overworld. Although Steve was living happily and building with his trusty pup Dennis, he soon found himself jailed in the Netherworld. A ragtag band of randos soon find themselves in the Overworld and work with Steve to beat the piglin queen Malgosha and get back home. Nowadays, it can be pretty hard to get through a movie without seeing someone distracted on their phone. HOWEVER, this audience was so refreshing. With everyone engaged, laughing, and even.. Clapping at famous lines like, “I AM STEVE!” and “Flint and steel.” One of the highlights was the audience reaction to Jack Black singing “Steve’s Lava Chicken.” We love Jack Black so much and thank God he sang multiple songs throughout the movie. Throughout the movie, it felt very accurate to the gameplay. In particular, it felt so fun to watch such a bright and colorful movie. In addition to this, the classic plot of fighting the evil piglin just felt so nostalgic.
Oh my God… did you guys know Jennifer Coolidge was in the movie too?! SPOILER ALERT– she falls in love with an escaped villager from the Overworld. We absolutely loved it and we wanted to see more of Jennifer. Honestly, we wish Jennifer’s character had gone into the Overworld. Within the movie, there were Henry, Natalie, Dawn, and Garrett who entered the Overworld and met Steve. Jack Black and Jason Momoa, who plays Garrett, absolutely killed it comedically. With Natalie and Dawn getting separated from the gang halfway through the movie, we wish that Jennifer’s character were there to balance out the comedy.
Sadly, we felt like the women in the movie had such a boring plot line. They had such strong characterization for the men in the movie. However, Natalie and Dawn’s only contribution was building a mushroom hut. We just felt like there could have been so much more room for these characters to do cool things, but instead they were trapped in the traditional caretaker role for much of the film. While Natalie and Dawn did work to fight Malgosha at the very end, most of the emphasis was on Steve, Henry, and Garrett. The women characters in the movie felt very overshadowed. We felt like this reinforced stereotypes that the gaming community is built around men.
We enjoyed all the little touches that made the movie so similar to the game. The monsters were so funny to see, and the enderman was legit so scary. In the movie, Henry looks into the eyes of an enderman… and was this a cameo to drop some new Minecraft lore? In the game when the enderman attacks, you simply take damage. However, in the movie, the enderman made Henry see all his favorite people saying negative things about him; what does this mean?
As Minecraft players, we both enjoyed the movie. It was fun, action-packed, and so very nostalgic. It is a very easy watch and further reflects the childlike wonder you experience when you play the game. We were sad at first when Alex never appeared in the movie; however, if you were patient enough to wait for the end credits scene, she appears at the very end! We hope that this means there will be a sequel! If you are a Minecraft lover of any form, we think you’ll love it too.
The first-floor lobby of Thomson Hall, officially known as the Brian C. Wood Lobby, is one of the most frequently used common spaces on the residential side of the Transylvania campus, and at this moment, the only major common space left on campus that is accessible to all students 24 hours a day. However, this space is under immediate threat due to plans from the administration that have been intentionally hidden from the student body.
Several sources have confirmed to the Rambler that the administration plans to convert the majority of the first-floor lobby into a Virtual Reality (VR) lab for the 2025-26 school year, with construction in Thomson Hall set to begin as early as this May Term. VR labs are large open areas that allow users to don VR headsets and interact with a virtual environment, obstacle-free. The current plan would involve walling off the majority of the lobby – the carpeted section with tables and booths where the majority of students gather- and removing all the furniture. This new space would only be accessible via a crimson card reader. It is unclear how many people would have access to this VR lab and at what times a day. The communal bathrooms for Thomson Hall would be only accessible through the lab, so it is essential that at least Thomson residents have continual access to the space. As for everyone else, it seems likely that it will be a similar arrangement to the esports lounge in the Thomson basement and various DART labs on the academic side of campus: limited general access during open hours and access only to those with special permission after hours.
Sources for the Rambler have confirmed that the funding for this project is coming from a recent $2 million grant from the Bingham Fund for Excellence in teaching at Transylvania, a fund that has the expressed purpose of investing in innovative classroom techniques at Transy. A press release from the Office of Marketing and Communication, released in the 1780 blog on the morning of Friday, April 2, said the following about the exact goals of the grant:
The $2 million investment prioritizes two key areas that create an enhanced student experience: classroom modernization and the further development of innovative digital learning spaces. Recognizing the classroom as the cornerstone of Transylvania’s educational experience, the plan allocates the largest portion of funding to upgrading dozens of classrooms with state-of-the-art technology. Additional targeted investments will be used to enhance campus DArt Labs (digital arts spaces), giving students and faculty access to cutting-edge resources and adaptable environments that foster creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Nowhere within the press release is the specific plan of converting the first-floor Thomson Lobby into a VR Lab mentioned. In fact, despite the start of construction being less than a month away, there has been no official announcement from the university on the plans for Thomson Lobby. The only previous indication that a renovation was coming for Thomson lobby was IT preemptively removing features from the lobby, such as the two student-accessible televisions.
This plan for the lobby becomes the second instance in a developing pattern of unannounced renovations of student common spaces. Over the past summer and stretching into the fall semester, the building that previously was solely Rosenthal Commons, the other student common space that had 24-hour access for all students, was transformed into the Sanders-Siebers Entrepreneurship Center. While the directors of the Entrepreneurship Center have made commendable efforts to keep the space open for all students, the current space is ultimately designed for classes and events; it looks and feels like a Cowgill classroom that has been placed on the residential side of campus. And while Rosenthal Commons had fallen into something of a state of disrepair by the end of last year, the Thomson first-floor lobby remains in relatively good condition and is used much more than Rosenthal Commons was.
An anonymous Thomson Hall resident spoke with the Rambler about how the lobby is used both by those living in the building and the campus community as a whole. They said, “I see residents using the Thomson lobby at all times of the day…Residents tend to use it for studying, but many campus organizations use it as well.” The lobby has served as a convenient meeting location for all sorts of campus organizations. It has been utilized by FSL organizations for chapter events and as a meeting space before formals. Campus organizations, especially those hosting events later in the night, also often use the lobby; a frequently cited example was Transy Cru’s Midnight Pancakes event that is held in Thomson Lobby every semester.
This consistent usage shows that the first-floor Thomson lobby has been one of the most popular third places for students on campus. Third places are usually defined as physical spaces that are not homes (first places) or workplaces (second places) that facilitate social interaction. A 2019 article published in the peer-reviewed public health journal Health & Place spoke to the characteristics and benefits of third places, stating:
These third places span a diversity of locations that are all defined by their ‘ordinariness’ – simple, unassuming, and usually affordable places to ‘hang out.’ People can meet, express themselves, relax, play, and build community, often at little material cost or personal effort. Beyond single instances of individual-level social interaction, third places can serve to generate social surplus: collective feelings of civic pride, acceptance of diversity, trust, civility, and overall sense of togetherness within a locale through sustained use and connection among residents
When looking at the Transylvania community, and considering classrooms and other educational spaces as a university’s second places, there are admittedly a number of third places for students, such as the Great Hall (or Caf), the Beck fitness center, the library, and businesses close to campus like Third Street Stuff. However, all of these locations are held back by factors like limited hours or monetary barriers to entry, something that can not be said of the Thomson lobby. While the second and third floor lobbies could also be considered ideal third spaces under these criteria, they are much smaller than the first-floor lobby and less suited for usage by multiple groups at a time. Additionally, the upper-floor lobbies are more out of the way of students, with the majority of students not even realizing that they have open access to the lobbies from the stairwell, something that is not the case in any other residential building.
The planned renovation of the Thomson lobby into a VR lab would turn it from a space that is open to and widely used by all students to one where it is currently unclear how much it would be used by students. Various students who have spoken to the Rambler have suggested that while they have seen Virtual Reality integrated into a few classes, it is currently fairly limited in scope. The Bingham grant that is providing the funds for the VR lab renovation likely includes funding to encourage more classes centered around VR experiences, though it is unclear what is specifically being done to encourage the VR lab to be used since no details have been announced to the student body. It is also unclear how classes that utilize VR will work around the fact that the lab will be located on the residential side of campus, far from every other academic building. Will professors hold classes inside the lab? Will classes be led to the other side of campus to use the lab? Or will professors require students to complete assignments in the lab outside of class? While some of this would undoubtedly be up to the discretion of individual professors, the lack of any transparency about how the lab will be used certainly does not help.
Classes that currently utilize VR technology do so in the basement of Mitchell Fine Arts, in the former Rafskeller space. Student Government Association President Sean Gannon told the Rambler that preliminary plans called for the lab to be placed in Hazelrigg Hall, which has sat empty on the academic side of campus for many years. This would be in collaboration with proposed technology-based renovations of Hazelrigg as part of Transylvania’s 2030 Master Plan. However, structural issues within Hazlerigg such as low ceilings led to the Thomson lobby being identified as a better space for the lab. Gannon suggested that there were still plans calling for an eventual VR lab on the academic side of campus, whether in a refurbished Hazelrigg or in a new connecting building between Hazelrig and Brown Science Center. If these admittedly unconfirmed and highly speculative proposals were to pan out, what would be the fate of the Thomson VR Lab? Would there be enough support for two separate VR labs on opposite sides of campus, or would Thomson lobby then be re-renovated back into a purely common space? With the goals of the 2030 Master Plan even less clear to students than the current Thomson lobby renovation plans, it will likely be a long time before any clarification can be expected.
The lack of communication to the student body on the planned renovation of the Thomson lobby shows a troubling lack of transparency from the highest levels of Transylvania’s administration, one that is forming part of an unfortunate pattern when considering the transformation of Rosenthal Commons. It shows a profound arrogance on the part of the administration to not only hide this information from the student body, but from most faculty and staff as well, going above the heads of staff members who put in the work to connect with and hear the concerns of students. The lack of student consultation is another example of Transylvania leadership, especially the Board of Trustees, being totally out of touch and living in willful ignorance of the wishes and needs of students; notably the Transylvania Board of Trustees is just one of three private colleges in Kentucky that does not have a sitting student government representative. Personally, the response I have seen from students when told of the lobby plans follows in an unfortunately common belief among students: that Transylvania’s highest leadership is not actually concerned with the wishes of the student body, and that this seems like the administration grasping for something new and shiny to dangle in front of prospective students and raise enrollment numbers. And while, again, the renovation is coming from directed outside funding and can only be used for specific projects, it is sadly ironic that in a time where the university points to a lack of funding for why many issues go unaddressed, funding has come quickly for a project that much of the student body is actively against.
If you are also concerned about these renovation plans for Thomson Lobby, share your concerns with Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the University Dr. Rebecca Thomas, who is currently acting on behalf of President Brien Lewis during his leave of absence, through academicdean@transy.edu
Additionally, the Rambler has begun a petition on behalf of the student body to show that students do not approve of the plan to convert the Thomson lobby into a VR lab. Physical copies of the petition to sign can be found hung in Thomson Lobby, as well as with the following Rambler leaders:
For the past several weeks, Transylvania’s Student Activities Board has been hard at work preparing for this semester’s edition of Stress Fest, a multi-day series of events held near the end of the semester designed to relieve the stress of finals. This semester’s version of Stress Fest features five different events, with SAB attempting to combine old favorites with exciting new experiences for the Transy student body. I was able to speak with SAB Vice President of Programming Maria Hayes (‘26) to discuss how SAB chose and planned this semester’s upcoming events.
The first Stress Fest event, taking place on Thursday, April 10, will be Beads and Bubbly, a combined arts-and-crafts and soda bar event. Hayes spoke to the process that SAB employs when planning events, saying, “Before planning each event, we all come together as a board to brainstorm different ideas. We like to draw on previous events we have done, while also innovating them to keep them interesting and engaging.” This was a strategy that SAB employed when planning their second event for Friday the 11th, Paws for a Cause. This puppy playtime event is returning after a few years’ absence, with Hayes admitting that logistical challenges, namely bringing several puppies to campus and finding a safe and accessible place for them, initially dissuaded SAB from bringing the event back. For this version of the event, SAB is partnering with Dr. Ellen Furlong and the Canine Cognition Lab, but also with the Transy chapter of Alpha Omnicron Pi to support its local philanthropy in the Lexington Humane Society. Hayes gave special credit to these partners, acknowledging that they were “essential in bringing this event to life.” SAB’s third Stress Fest event, scheduled for Sunday, the 14th, is a returning favorite from last year, a Mister Softees truck in Old Morrison Circle from 4-6 pm. Hopefully this event, complete with a complimentary treat from SAB, will be as successful as last year and a great way to welcome in the warmer weather.
Monday, April 14 will see the return of the longstanding Reading Day tradition, Brinner. The sights and sounds of Brinner are likely familiar to all current Transy students: the lines wrapping around the campus center, faculty and staff serving food and striking up conversations with the students, and the Transy community coming together for one stress-free night before finals begin. One of SAB’s foremost tasks when planning Brinner is keeping the event unique to incentivize students to keep coming back every semester. This semester’s Brinner theme is “Orange You Glad It’s Brinner Time,” so expect everything from the decorations to mockatials and other items on the menu to have a citrusy twist. The final Stress Fest event, held on Tuesday the 15th, will be another returning favorite: Happy Hour at Third Street from 2-4 pm. SAB has been able to maintain a partnership with Third Street Stuff, a favorite study spot for Transy students, to guarantee a free coffee during finals for several semesters in a row. Hayes expressed SAB’s happiness with the partnership, saying, “Third Street Stuff is an amazing local business to partner with. They are so supportive of the Transy community, and students love visiting. It’s been such a great way to consistently provide students with a free sweet treat.”
The events of Stress Fest are some of the most anticipated of every semester and for many students, one of the only reprieves from the taxing final two weeks of the semester. SAB takes this opportunity to connect with the student body and provide some joy very seriously, and tries to ensure that the events consistently deliver a great experience. As Hayes emphasized, “SAB is so passionate about Stress Fest because we seek to alleviate some of the stress and worries from students by providing relaxing and fun events where students can connect with one another. By providing treats and other “pick-me-ups,” we also aim to increase the positivity around campus during finals week. I hope our events are something students can look forward to during stressful periods.” For additional information on the upcoming events, check in with @tu_sab on Instagram and keep an eye out for updates in Daily TNotes.
Learn about more “Hands Off” events using this link and read more with our article!
“I’m gonna tell you fascists
You may be surprised
The people in this world
Are getting organized
You’re bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose
Race hatred cannot stop us
This one thing we know
Your poll tax and Jim Crow
And greed has got to go
You’re bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose.
All of you fascists bound to lose:
I said, all of you fascists bound to lose:
Yes sir, all of you fascists bound to lose:
You’re bound to lose! You fascists:
Bound to lose!
People of every color
Marching side to side
Marching ‘cross these fields
Where a million fascists dies
You’re bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose!
I’m going into this battle
And take my union gun
We’ll end this world of slavery
Before this battle’s won
You’re bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose!”
– Woody Guthrie
Note from photographer: Kentucky, I am proud of you
Saturday, April 5, 2025 was a day of organization and resistance nationwide, and Lexington was no exception. Chants of “Elon Musk Has Got to Go” and “No Justice, No Peace” echoed across downtown on Saturday afternoon as hundreds gathered in front of the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse to protest against the recent actions of the Trump administration.
The protest in Lexington was just one of over 1,200 nationwide as part of the “Hands Off! National Day of Action.” The protests, the latest and largest in a series of nationwide protests since the inauguration of Trump that began with the #505001 protests in early February, were organized as a nationwide show of anger and resistance towards the actions of the Trump administration. These protests have come in response to the seemingly indiscriminate firing of federal workers and downsizing of key federal departments by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), hostility to allies on the international stage, ranging from sweeping tariffs to calls for annexation, mass deportations and other hostile actions against the immigrant community, executive orders targeting transgender individuals, efforts to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs across the country, and many more.
On Saturday afternoon, protesters lined the sidewalks of Limestone with signs criticizing the actions of the administration, while more gathered on the courthouse lawn listening to a series of speakers, with chants of protest interspersed in between. An early speaker at the protest was Dr. Raeford Brown, a local pediatrician who spoke about the detrimental effects that could come with cuts to key services like Medicare and Medicaid. Brown spoke about how the often prohibitive costs of private health insurance make Medicaid the only option for hundreds of families across Kentucky, and how cuts to the program would be putting those people at risk. Brown stated, “If we take Medicaid away, we are literally taking away a lifeline.” Another speaker was Adam Moore, a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing District 45, which covers parts of Lexington. Moore, a member of the Lexington Commission for Veterans’ Affairs, recognized the veterans in the crowd before talking about how the actions of the Trump administration put many veterans at risk, especially those in the federal workforce. Referring to the veterans, Moore stated, “They are not looking for a handout. They are not even looking for a hand up. They are looking for promises kept on the promises that were made to them when they signed and swore to defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Moore pointed out that roughly 30% of the federal employees and contractors working in Kentucky are veterans, and their jobs are at risk due to the recent cuts to the federal workforce. Moore stated, “So when you hear Donald Trump, or Elon Musk, or Andy Barr saying it’s okay or that they deserve to lose their jobs, when they talk about reducing the workforce, they’re not separating wheat from the chaff. They are sending people home who are the reason we have a home.”
Barr, the Republican congressman who has represented the Kentucky Sixth District since 2013, was a frequent target of both speeches and signs at the protest. Barr has largely supported the actions of the Trump administration, and has received criticism from local leaders and activist groups for what they allege is his ignoring the concerns of his constituents with these actions. Two weeks before the latest protest, a town hall was organized in the Kentucky Theater by local advocacy group Gathering for Democracy and former Lexington Vice Mayor Steve Kay, with the organizers inviting Barr to attend and address the questions and concerns of his constituents. Barr ultimately declined to attend, and the hundreds of Lexingtonians in attendance voiced their concerns to an empty chair. A consistent message throughout the various speeches and signs at the “Hands Off!” protest was that silence and inaction amount to complicity with the actions of the Trump administration, and that large-scale organization and resistance are a powerful way to effect change. Following the success of “Hands Off!”, more protests across Lexington are sure to follow, including those led by Peaceful Bluegrass Resistance, an advocacy group that organizes multiple protests a week across Lexington. If you or anyone else you know is looking for ways to get involved, local organizations like these offer ways to organize and make your voice heard.
Welcome to The Rambler! We’ve been Transylvania University’s only student-run newspaper since 1915, “breaking the bubble” between our small campus and the Lexington community. We aim to create a place for students to be creative and have a voice, hoping to be an outlet for the passions and opinions of the Transy student body. We’re always excited to hear new ideas, so send us a message if you have suggestions, opinions, or want to write an article yourself; there is always room on our staff for new writers and creatives! Thanks for reading The Rambler :) Print’s not dead!
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