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SAHH and SGA Team Up for Food Drive

Nate Brother
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SAHH and SGA Team Up for Food Drive

From February 1st to February 15th, Students Against Hunger and Homelessness teamed up with the Student Government Association for a campus-wide food drive to benefit the Lexington Rescue Mission. At the conclusion of the food drive, the Rambler sat down with the co-presidents of SAHH, junior Transylvania students Aubrey Knop and Maggie Whaley, to discuss the origins of the club, the results of the food drive, and future opportunities for students to get involved. 

Students Against Hunger and Homelessness, which has been limited the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was relaunched and rebranded this year by Knop and Whaley as a way to give back to the Lexington community. The club has consistently met weekly to make sandwiches and deliver them to the Hope Center, a support center for the homeless located close to Transylvania’s campus.“Sometimes as college students we forget about the people around us in the Lexington community,” said Knop. “So we like to take people to the Hope Center to show who we’re helping directly. Our main goal is just to help others around us.” Whaley agreed with the benefits of making the sandwiches, saying, “I think it is really eye-opening to be able to see the impact that you are having on the people there. It made me very appreciative of what we do.”

Starting on February first, SAHH would work with the Student Government Association to host a two-week food drive, with drop-off stations for non-perishable food items being placed in nearly every dorm. The food drive would benefit the Lexington Rescue Mission, a long-standing charitable organization in the Lexington community. “Lexington Rescue Mission is very local to us,” said Knop. “We thought it was very important to help people around our Transy community because they do so much for us.” The exact totals for the food drive were not known at the time of the interview, but both Knop and Whaley were confident that they had collected 150-200 food items, with even more on the way. Both gave a special shoutout to one student who led the way by single-handedly donating 82 cans. Based on the success of this food drive, Whaley left the door open for future events and partnerships, saying, “If this drive is successful, which it seems like it has been, we’ll definitely consider doing things with other organizations again to get the whole campus involved and not just our members.”

Students Against Hunger and Homelessness meets every Wednesday at 5:30 P.M. in Rosenthal Commons to make sandwiches for the Hope Center. To get involved with the club and look out for future events, you can follow the SAHH Instagram account (@transy_sahh) and join the GroupMe chat that is linked in the bio, and any future events will also be announced in the Daily TNotes.

‘The Order’ Overthrows IFC; A Look into the Disproportion in Fraternity Representation

James Soderling
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‘The Order’ Overthrows IFC; A Look into the Disproportion in Fraternity Representation

The Transylvania University Interfraternity Council recently held elections for the new term, and members of the Kappa Alpha Order dominated the results. Of the six council members, five positions are now held by KA members, with the other representative from Pi Kappa Alpha. The new board consists of President William Fries (‘24, KA), Executive Vice President Bennett Fain (‘25, KA), Vice President of Judicial Affairs Nicholas Sandman (‘24, KA), Vice President of Recruitment Tucker Strode (‘25, KA), and Vice President of Public Relations Jackson Holt (‘26, Pike).  The Interfraternity Council exists to promote the shared interests of all fraternities, but concerns arise as a single fraternity holds a vast majority of the seats. 

To address these concerns, I interviewed Tucker Strode, the newly-elected IFC Vice President of Recruitment and KA’s Alumni Relations Chair. I first asked Strode how KA gained the majority of seats in the first place. He simply answered, “No one else applied.” After further investigation, it is true that no representatives from Phi Kappa Tau or Delta Sigma Phi applied or showed up for elections. The one representative from Pi Kappa Alpha was the only exception. 

Next, I asked Strode to address the main concern surrounding KA’s majority: how will the IFC ensure all fraternities, especially ones without representation, will be represented? Strode said it is still a work in progress, but there should be nothing to worry about. “We are still early on with this new board, so we are still trying to rework and figure out the process. But we want to ensure that our bylaws, judicial hearings, and recruitment guidelines are adjusted and rewritten to give a lot of representation to the chapters that don’t have any. We want to change rules that are not so open and fluid to where they can be.” 

I then asked Strode about the attitude of KA toward their newfound authority. With a majority of seats comes a large amount of power, and there are concerns about potential abuse of power. But for Strode and the rest of KA, it’s not about the power. It’s about promoting the interests of all fraternities. “In our meetings, it’s more about making sure that all fraternities are well-represented. We come into each meeting with an unbiased perspective and try our best to make decisions based on what will be best for all fraternities.”

On the other side of this issue, one fraternity that lacks representation in the IFC is Delta Sigma Phi. I asked current president Jack Dodds if he had any concerns about being underrepresented. He was very earnest in his response: “As much as I would love to have some representation on IFC, and as much as it hurts me that we don’t have any, it’s not the end of the world.” Dodds then clarified some of the processes and protections that have made him feel more secure. He explained to me that IFC members can propose changes to the IFC bylaws but that those changes have to be voted on by the general board. This board consists of one member from each chapter. “While we may not be proposing the changes this year, we still have a voice on those changes,” said Dodds. 

Despite the pressing issue of underrepresentation, the president expressed optimism about the current board. “I trust the people on the current board to make decisions based on the betterment of our Greek community. They are all very capable in my eyes.” Overall, Dodds seems to have a good outlook on the current situation, but he ended by saying this election has been a wake-up call. “We plan to do a much better job encouraging people to apply next year. We need to be more represented.”

Phi Kappa Tau is the other fraternity without representation on the board. Ethan Anderson, former President and current Vice President of External Affairs of Phi Kappa Tau, has a similar outlook to President Dodds. “It is concerning not having a member holding an actual position of authority of IFC, but we still have delegates eligible to go to the meetings and keep us informed.” He continued, “As far as any changes to the bylaws or installing new ideas, the IFC voting process is still just one vote from each fraternity. So yes, while having no real IFC officer is concerning, we still are represented.” Anderson also noted that Candy Rivera, the Assistant Director of Campus Engagement, is another potential safety net if the situation gets out of hand. “She does a good job listening to any concerns we may have,” he added. 

I attempted to reach out to representatives from Pi Kappa Alpha to get their thoughts on the issue, but my request was declined.

Ultimately, concerns exist in light of the newly elected board, but those concerns do not come without optimism and reassurance. Fraternities lacking representation on the board must rely on protections that give them a voice on a minimal level, but it must be comforting to know that the council has good intentions in mind.

Blast from the Past; Exploring Past Editions of The Rambler: Part 2

Nate Brother
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Blast from the Past; Exploring Past Editions of The Rambler: Part 2

The Rambler has drastically evolved over its 107 years of existence, serving the Transylvania University community since 1915. This evolution can be seen in several vintage issues of the Rambler released between 1955 and 1966. The formatting, content, and even the name changed over the 11-year period and has continued to change in the 56 years since. 

The October 7 1955 issue of the Crimson Rambler mainly focused on the first few major events of the academic year, with the cover story focusing on the events of the previous summer, specifically the funds collected by the 175th Anniversary Development program. The program collected $34,636 through events in Northern Kentucky and Elizabethtown over the Summer and planned to continue the program in Maysville in the near future. 

This issue covered the first activities of the year for many old and new clubs. A front-page story was given to the brand new Pre-Ministerial club on campus, which planned to volunteer at hospitals, orphanages, and local church Sunday School classes. The Home Life Department was set to present a “style show” which was sponsored by a local clothing store to “exhibit new clothes styles” for “high schools, colleges and club women.” The first play by the Drama Department, “The Cocktail Party” by T.S. Elliot, was advertised for October 17th in Little Theater. An optimistic update was made by the Concert Band, with 14 new members and 35 total. The rules for the gymnasium were announced, including a requirement for “regulation gym shoes” and a ban on bottled drinks. The Transylvania Choir also had its first performance of the year at the annual convocation. 

A new column of the Crimson Rambler entitled “Sports Rambling,” was created to talk about sports both within Transylvania and the wider community. The main focus was the start of intramural football between fraternities, with a reminder to the teams: “Let’s play hard and clean, and may the best team win!” Other updates in the column included a note about new basketball coach C.M. Newton, recent freshman commits to the Transylvania baseball team, and rival football teams at Georgetown and Centre Colleges.

 As for general news, a large section was dedicated to the upcoming Kentucky gubernatorial election. A “tight” race between Edwin Denney and Transylvania alumni, former commissioner of major league baseball, and incumbent, A.B. “Happy” Chandler, who ultimately won in the largest landslide ever seen in a Kentucky gubernatorial election. 

Another short general news story, which was titled “Un-Erotic Jazz” will be posted in full here:

“A recently conducted investigation gave interesting indications on the diversified reactions of students and other young people to jazz. It was stated that the majority of the students were drawn by the “subterranean, chaotic and anarchistic” in jazz; their motto is “the wilder, the better.” In complete contrast to this, young people in the country and vocational schools preferred sentimental hits. According to the answers by the students, pure jazz has a less erotic effect than a popular song.” 

Once again, The Rambler thanks SGA President Tate Ohmer for providing physical copies of these fascinating vintage Rambler editions.

Pioneers Claim Victory in E-sports Debut Match

Seth McKinney
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Pioneers Claim Victory in E-sports Debut Match

On Tuesday, February 2nd, 2023. I got the privilege to sit in on Transylvania’s first-ever Esports match. Sitting in the basement of Thomson on a Tuesday night does not sound like an ideal place to find an eventful evening, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Transy’s Esports team made their debut this semester and will be partaking in a conference against other schools. Games are played in a best-of-5 style, meaning that the team who wins 3 matches first wins. The Pioneers played Overwatch 2., a 5 v 5, first-person shooter, against Mount Saint Joseph Universities’ Esports Team. The game started with a coin flip in which the winner got to choose the map played, and the loser got to choose whether they wanted to attack or defend first.

Starting off strong, Transy won the coin flip and chose to play on the map “Nepal”. MSJ chose to attack first and started out of the gates strong by winning the first round. Little did MSJ know that this would be their only win of the night. The next two rounds would go to the Pioneers, winning them the first map of the night.

MSJ got to choose the next map, King’s Row, and Transy decided to defend first. A quick, clean victory from Transy raised morale in the room and in the chat room of the live stream. With MVP of the game being awarded to our own Janzen Santos, aka “CatBoyMaid.”

The final match was played on Dorado, chosen again by MSJ. Transy defended the objective and ended up winning the third match, completing Transy’s first-ever Esports match with a sweeping victory. 

All in all, it was a very exciting experience getting to sit in on this monumental victory from the Esports team, a first in Transylvania University history. The next game will be played next Tuesday, once again in the Transylvania Esports facility in the basement of Thomson Hall.

Transy’s ‘OneTeam’ Hosts Spikeball Tournament, Bringing Students Together

Jack Thomas
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Transy’s ‘OneTeam’ Hosts Spikeball Tournament, Bringing Students Together

On Sunday, January 29th, Transylvania’s One Team Hosted a Spikeball Tournament and invited the campus community to join in the fun. The organizer of the event, junior student Ysa Leon, took the time to discuss the event with me and shared their thoughts on its success, purpose, and more.

Spikeball is a unique, relatively new activity that consists of two teams of two “spiking” a ball onto a circular net. Despite the niche nature of the game, it has cemented its popularity on Transy’s campus, and Ysa could see the excitement surrounding it. The sport is “easy to learn,” stated Leon, making it appealing to those who are new to the activity. “While we didn’t have a huge turnout, the event was a success. We had fun together and brought new members into our club.”

This isn’t the first time that OneTeam has brought students together with fun activities. In the past, events such as trivia and bingo have been tools to gather the student body of Transylvania. While these are fun events to be a part of, Leon highlighted that the true goal of OneTeam goes beyond fun and focuses on community and connection. “One Team is Transy’s only student organization by and for queer athletes and allies,” they stated. “We hold events. . . in hopes of making our campus more educated on the issues that queer athletes face.”

Ysa and the rest of OneTeam host meetings on the last Sunday of every month at 4 p.m.. These meetings are geared towards inclusivity and education on being a queer athlete, both on and off the field, and invite all athletes and allies to come. For more, follow @TUOneTeam on Instagram, or contact Ysa at yeleon24@transy.edu

Student Life Opportunities Reintroduced at Second Engagements Event

Nate Brother
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Student Life Opportunities Reintroduced at Second Engagements Event

On the night of January 26th, the Transylvania Student Life staff hosted “Second Engagements” at the Campus Center, an event designed to re-energize the campus community ahead of the winter semester. Assistant Director of Student Success Corrine O’Bryan spoke with the Rambler about why this event was created, saying, “I think it is really important in the second semester to have some events and opportunities for students to connect with their campus community again.” O’Bryan also emphasized how important opportunities like this were for first-year students who, after the beginning of year events like First Engagements, maybe had yet to find a club or organization they could participate in. 

The event consisted of several areas throughout the campus center where various clubs and organizations had set up fun activities for students to participate in, and also get a sense of what joining said clubs might be like. In the game room, students enjoyed playing games such as Mario Kart and The Jackbox Party pack in an area sponsored by Transylvania’s relatively new Esports team. When asked what he hoped people would learn about the team through this event, Esports coach Dylan Osborne said, “ We’re a really inclusive program. We have programs available to everyone, even if you want to compete in one of our tournaments …and we have a lot of stuff to offer if you consider yourself a casual gamer and don’t want to be involved in high-level competition, we do offer everything for someone at Transy.” 

Beyond the Esports team, a large focus of the event was to highlight organizations and clubs based out of the multicultural center, such as the Transy Black Student Alliance, the Transy Muslim Student Alliance, TUnity, and several more. On the night of the event, stations for students to connect with these organizations, as well as a collaborative banner and opportunities to design mugs and coasters, were set up in the Multicultural Center. “We’re trying to highlight that area [the Multicultural Center] more. It is on the backside of the campus center, so we have tried to draw a lot of the events into that hallway to get students to go back there” said O’Bryan. Other notable features of the events were stations where students could learn more about Greek Life, and an arts and craft area set up by the Student Success staff where students could decorate journals, paint mini-canvases, and collect affirmation postcards. 

When asked what would be considered a success for Second Engagements, O’Bryan responded, “My idea of success is an opportunity for the students to have a good time. I want to make sure that I am seeing students interacting with each other, laughing, and interacting with people they maybe haven’t seen before. Anything under that umbrella would be a success in my book.” Second Engagements had a large turnout among the student body, and only time will tell if new connections were made through the event.

Blast from the Past; Exploring Past Editions of The Rambler: Part 1

Nate Brother
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Blast from the Past; Exploring Past Editions of The Rambler: Part 1

The Rambler as an institution, while having served the Transylvania University community since 1915, has drastically evolved over its 107 years of existence. This evolution can be seen in several vintage issues of the Rambler, which were released from 1955 to 1966. The formatting, issues covered, and even the name of the Rambler all changed over the 11 years from 1955 to 1966 and in the 56 years since to the present day. 

The September 23rd, 1955 edition of what was then called the Crimson Rambler was primarily focused on the start of the new academic year. The cover story of the edition was a report on the demographics of the new Freshman Class. 174 new students enrolled at Transylvania that fall, which included students from a greater variety of states than previous years and a collection of “valedictorians, salutatorians and other students with high scholastic records in high school,” as the story composed by the Rambler staff as a whole wrote. Other cover stories included an announcement of a new language curriculum, which included new laboratory methods of teaching and introduced French, German, and Italian to the university. The front page also notes the hiring of four new professors to the Transylvania staff that Fall, with the most notable being that future Basketball Hall of Famer C.M. Newton was hired to his first head coaching job at Transylvania that summer. 

This issue of the Crimson Rambler was primarily concerned with being an introduction to the new Freshman class, most noticeably through a large message welcoming the freshmen at the bottom of the front page. A large section of this edition was a letter from the Rambler editors to the Freshman class that urged the Freshmen to “maintain that [Transylvania] spirit, to keep it alive while you are in Transylvania’s halls and to see to it that it is passed on, a living tradition, to every class of freshmen that shall come after you.” This letter was followed by an anonymous letter from a Freshman who emphasized the many feelings the class may be having. The anonymous Freshman wrote “I shall have to be guided, yet when I left home I thought I- the great I- would just have to enroll and then be on my own to conquer the world. Little did I realize how small I am. I have met several freshmen, just as lost as I am.”

The issue also included a guide of the important figures on campus, from the Student Council President to the presidents of various fraternities and sororities. By far the largest section of the edition was an overview of the Student Council Constitution and a piece written by Student Council President Willis Frey accompanying it explaining the importance of the student council. Transylvania was also still considered a Christian College at this point, so significant portions of the issue are taken up by the “Crimson Rambler Prayer” and a piece by the editors urging new students to “get out of the rut of Sunday morning sleep” and regularly attend church. 

A special thanks to SGA President Tate Ohmer for providing physical copies of the papers discussed in the story, and a reminder to be on the lookout for new stories in this continual series on past editions of The Rambler.

Morlan Gallery Presents MASCS: Masculinity Reimagined

Madalyn Stump
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Morlan Gallery Presents MASCS: Masculinity Reimagined

Masculinity Reimagined is an artistic journey about the combatants of toxic masculinity through different perspectives. The name MASCS was created with the intention of a dual meaning, Masculinity and the “mask” of being brooding, strong, and manly. This duality shows that being masculine does not just mean one thing. Justin Korver, Moises Salazar, Betsy Odom, John Paul Morabito, and Darryl DeAngelo Terrell have come together to show us collections of magnificent pieces of artwork that will have everyone thinking about the way they see masculinity. 

Justin Kover – Left: “Reshooting Predator Pronouns” 2022 Archival pigment print on Hahnemuühle paper with pearled cotton embroidery, Center: “Reshooting: Filled” 2022 Archival pigment print on Hahnemuühle paper with pearled cotton embroidery, Right: “Reshooting: Prey Pronouns” Archival pigment print on Hahnemuühle paper with pearled cotton embroidery

Justin Korver – Left end: “I guess I think of pink as the complement of green” 2018 Artist’s father’s hat and embroidery floss, Left inner: “We’ve all got our little addictions” 2018 Artist’s father’s hat and embroidery floss, Right inner: “A flower crown isn’t a laurel wreath trees are more manly” 2018 Artist’s father’s hat and embroidery floss, Right end: “Clyfford still spent a lot of time looking at fields” 2018 Artist’s father’s hat and embroidery floss

Justin Korver: Senior Lecturer at Texas A&M for the Arts, who focused his thesis on, “The critique of the social construction of masculinity.” brought us a collection of artwork that showed us the intimate relationship within masculine hobbies. Justin uses hunting, camo, and baseball caps to encapsulate the unspoken vulnerability of hobbies and items that are by society’s standards, masc. 

Moises Salazar – “Untitled” 2022 Glitter on canvas

Moises Salazar – “The Winner Takes It All” 2022 Glitter on board, fabric, faux flowers

Moises Salazar: A nonbinary, queer, Mexican American artist. They show intersectionality in their work between queerness, ethnicity, gender, race, and self-identity. In Mascuilty reimagined Moises tied sports, such as boxing and soccer, which are usually seen as very masculine into feminine and dainty using glitter, flowers, and embroidery. 

 Betsy Odom – “Softball Bat” 2010 wood, athletic tape, tooled leather

Betsy Odom – “Bulldog 30 (shoulder pads)” 2009 Molded plywood, tooled leather, fabric, foam, ribbon

Betsy Odom: A lecturer in fine arts sculpture and 3D design, an artist, and a curator. Betsy was the only woman in this gallery, giving us a woman’s perspective on masculinity. She took football and softball and made them her own. Growing up she was in awe of women’s sports, specifically softball. In an interview, she states, “Personally, I’m quite bad at it and grew up envious of the girls who could play, not only for their prowess and talent but also for the freedom in the invisibility of women’s sports. The magical thing about women’s athletics is that no one is watching, so little suggestions of defying the patriarchy seem to naturally seep through”. Betsy’s football shoulder pads are a statement about the violence in football using embellishments like ribbon.

John Paull Morabito – “For Félix (yellow like twilight and then the dawn)” 2021 Cotton and glass beads, Courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery

John Paul Morabito – “For Félix (rose like sweet and sweaty intoxication)” 2021 Cotton and glass beads, Courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery

John Paul Morabito: A queer, nonbinary artist who specializes in weaving. John created a collection of tapestries that are hand beaded onto very beautiful vibrant colored cotton. Their “For Félix” collection is a story of care and nurture within the resistance to AIDS, COVID-19, and the colorful world of drag. 

Darryl DeAngelo Terrel – “Here’s a list of what I deserve #1” 2022 Video

Darryl DeAngelo Terrel: Identifies as a black, nonbinary, queer, fat artist who shows that through photography, video, performance, and text. Darryl’s entrancing films projected on the wall challenges the idea that black men can not be vulnerable. Within these videos, they demand respect within busts portraits and flower crowns. 

Josh Porter, the galleries curator, was interviewed by Madalyn Stump

M: “What is your favorite piece in the gallery?”

J: “Honestly has to be this one right here (Moises Salazar: “Untitled” 2022 Glitter on canvas), this sort of green soccer player in a field of flowers. I just love the use of material which I think is something that is present throughout the entire show. Extravagant use of glitter, beads, and soft of using a lot of traditionally feminine techniques and materials as a way to counteract those as not being high art, there’s a lot of sort of gendered bias in that. And incorporating masculine sports and saying hey it doesn’t have to be represented in a singular way and challenging these binary understandings of gender, so yeah I definitely think that is my favorite piece by Moises”

Special thanks to Anthony Mead

SGA President Ohmer Paves Way for Student Seat on Board of Trustees

Tate Ohmer
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SGA President Ohmer Paves Way for Student Seat on Board of Trustees

Some exciting news has come up this week as SGA President Tate Ohmer makes the first step in securing a student seat on the Transylvania Board of Trustees.

As promised by his campaign, Ohmer has been putting together the pieces to accomplish this goal for the entirety of his senior year. Below is his statement on the matter.

Ohmer: The beginning of any new term on campus naturally feels electric. Each of us, including myself, are inspired by those hopes which can be achieved. Having served three and a half years in SGA and graduating this year, I am reflecting on my time here at Transylvania. Our university has changed in many ways for the better, from providing student support to new campus buildings. Nonetheless, a shared issue among many SGA predecessors and students still needs to be solved. We will no longer accept Transylvania University’s absence of a student’s voice and vote upon the board that governs us all. 

As President, I picked up and will continue this multi-year effort. Unfortunately, it was expressed that our university will not consider the most modest of proposals for student representation. As good students, we understand the importance of having representation, especially where some of the most impactful decisions are made. Indeed, I am disappointed by our institution’s decision to continue a history of denying what many see as fundamental.

We, as students, are not limited by our institution, and my administration shall not repeat history. Last year, I had the opportunity to work with the Student Rights Coalition and their efforts in Kentucky’s General Assembly to pass the nation’s largest student due process rights bill in the nation. This bill passed through both the House and Senate with bipartisan support and was signed by the Governor. 

The Kentucky Student Rights Coalition is dedicated to standing for student voices in higher ed across Kentucky. Introduced last session, the organization had a bill to require additional undergraduate and graduate students to serve on a university’s governing board, raising the total to three legally required voting members on each public university’s governing boards in Kentucky. 

It is now put upon the shoulders of students of small liberal arts institutions like Transylvania to ask for one voice. Seeing as there is no more to be done in Old Morrison, we will change gears to Frankfort. Representative William Lawrence, in partnership with the and KHEAA, has worked with our SGA executives to include a provision that requires all post-secondary institutions in Kentucky to have a voting student member on their governing boards by making it a requirement to receive KEES funding from the Commonwealth- applying to both public and private schools.

The new provision will be included in an updated version of the Student Tuition Accountability and Protection Act, which will be re-filed by Representatives William Lawrence and Kim Banta. This is gaining support, and the legislation will be supported by our SGA at Transylvania University.

“For the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly, I enthusiastically stand with students across Kentucky and have filed House Bill 136, the Kentucky Student Tuition Protection and Accountability Act.” said Representative Lawrence, the Representative of District 70, “HB 136 will ensure that the voices of Kentucky’s college students are represented on the governing boards at each public or private four-year college in Kentucky.”

We are still far from seeing this done, but that important first step has been taken. Provided that this bill passes, provided that the Governor signs it, provided that Transylvania cannot function without that KEES funding, we will finally see our administration compelled to follow their commitment to the student body and allow one of us to sit with the decision makers. I hope to fulfill this campaign promise made by myself and those who came before me.

Review of Morlan Art Gallery: Mnemonic Devices

Spencer Lorenz
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Review of Morlan Art Gallery: Mnemonic Devices

The Morlan Art Gallery presented Mnemonic Devices from October 24th to November 22nd. This exhibition, curated by Emily Goodman, focuses on the memory of humans. As in the name, “Mnemonic Devices,” the pieces are meant to spark memories through captured images. These images come in many forms. Some are framed still images, some are put into video format, and one exhibit is even an entire room. 

Two pieces caught my eye upon walking in. Immediately to the right were photos captured inside the artist’s home. In remembrance of her grandparents, she projects the image of their house into her own to contrast the two times. The image of the sink shining orange in the projector light while the image of her grandfather’s sink brings out nostalgic emotions. This contrasting of time periods helps bring out the idea of Mnemonic Devices. This is meant to draw out memories of grandparents that have now passed by relating the different time periods.

In contrasting the time periods through the memories generated in the home, one piece takes a unique approach to drawing out memories of childhood. Located in the back left of the gallery, a room is sectioned off to recreate the home of their mother. This piece includes items from the actual home in order to fully replicate the feelings of nostalgia when living there. 

In video format is the time piece by Dr. Michael Mandiberg. They are not educated as an artist or painter, but they express themselves through visual art to promote “art + feminism.” This movement is moving forward to decrease information gaps in women studies and change the gender gap over time. Their piece involved their work life. Each day through the year of 2016, their laptop took a screenshot and photo through the camera every fifteen minutes. In addition, for this piece, they shaved their head and wrote a journal entry every day. This expressive piece allows the viewer to feel the time and thought process. When looking at the whole work, we are reminded of the messiness and growth in our life.

This messiness is included in my favorite piece. In a series of photos, images of people’s “junk drawers” are shown in their full glory. These messy drawers are a look into the personal life of many. It reminds us of who we are. These drawers often store essentials that we need and pieces of our life we want to hold onto, but have no place to store. Rubber bands, pens, and concert tickets give us a personal view into the lives of others and remind us to look into our own lives. When thinking about what is in our junk drawers, we remember what is important to us and we remember our history.

The Morlan Art Gallery’s Mnemonic Devices gives many artistic media to help us not only look into the memories of others, but look into the memories of ourselves. This art gallery focuses on capturing memories through videos, pictures, and recreations. Through Emily Goodman’s speech, the pieces are given new depth. The messages, and meanings behind the pieces are brought to life when you share them with others. 

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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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