It’s On Us is a newly revamped student-led organization fighting to build a movement to combat campus sexual assault by engaging all students and organizing grassroots awareness and prevention educational programs. 

Members meet bi-monthly to facilitate open discussions and lessons to promote the combatance of campus sexual assault. Transylvania’s smaller campus encourages students to get involved, and many members are also members of other campus organizations. Mere Johnson ’24 suggests this only further promotes the “spread of awareness”, combatting the stigmas surrounding sex education on campuses nationwide. 

All students are welcome to the meetings and events It’s On Us hosts. He organization previously hosted a Twilight “Red Flag” event with a screening that included some press-to-talk buttons highlighting the hefty amount of red flags shown in the film. Anything that did not meet the It’s On Us standard got the buzz, helping students visualize and educate themselves about the abusive relationships they see commonly portrayed in media.

It’s On Us will be posting updates on their upcoming events and meetings on their Instagram page (@transy_itsonus), providing inclusive ways to educate and debunk stigmas on the different topics they explore every week. Their next meeting will be on November 8th in the Campus Center, and if you’re interested in being involved in an inclusive campus community, It’s On Us hopes to see you there.

On Tuesday, October 24th, the Student Activities Board organized a night of trick-or-treating in Back Circle along with a costume contest hosted by TUnity. The second event celebrating Raf Week was a smash hit with a total of nineteen organizations handing out candy. 

When asked about the candy they selected for their table, Tri Delta President Paige Catron said, “I’m a member of SAB and I set this up, so I looked for the candy that I liked and picked the bag.”

TUnity’s secretary, Mary Grace Welch, explained that their treats were actually part of their table decor, “We have a bunch of multicolored candy, and we think that can accurately represent us. Maybe that’s too on the nose, but we do have a lot of Skittles at our booth.” Visitors to the table could taste AND see the rainbow.

The English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta, was rumored to have the best candy. Alaysa Godfrey gave away their secret, saying, “To be honest, we just got lucky. The table already had this candy and we just saw it and were like ‘This is gonna be the best candy so we’re gonna steal this table.’” Katy Walsh elaborated, “And when you read a lot of books, it makes everything around you better, automatically, so…” 

SAB’s Maria Hayes and Paige Catron both said their favorite costume of the evening was Maddie Goins as the American Girl Doll Kit Kittredge. Before voting commenced, Goins said, “I feel like I’m kind of a shoo-in to win the costume contest already…that’s why I did dress up because I did want to win.” Goins ended up winning the “Most Creative” award! Additional costume contest winners were announced on the TUnity Instagram (@transytunity)

A core issue of the night was finding out if Transy students were bucket or pillowcase trick-or-treaters as kids. Sunni Krohn and Allie Conover were both bucket kids, but Fallon Cross responded, “I was definitely a pillowcase kind of kid.” On the reasoning behind this, Cross stated “You know I think I just liked getting more candy.” 

The Rambler’s own Grace Zimlich chimed in, adding another tally to the pillowcase carriers. When asked about parental rules on candy consumption, Zimlich shared, “My mom had a rule where we could only have five pieces of candy a day but it was up to us when we had them.” Nate Brother, a firm bucket trick-or-treater, had fewer limitations, recalling “It was a free-for-all.” 

The event was an excellent opportunity to learn about upcoming happenings on and off campus. Ellie Thornsbury mentioned the cross country team has their conference championship meet on Saturday, the 28th. Go Pios! Additionally, the Conservation Action Committee has its first hike coming up on Saturday, November 4th. CAC President Megan Studer said, “We’ll be going to Red River Gorge and it will be tons of fun!”

A fun bonus was hearing from Dr. Elizabeth Davis, our new visiting Assistant Professor of History. Dr. Davis recounted her spookiest occurrence on campus, “I’m going to go with the ghost who keeps changing the temperature in my office because I’ll go in and the temperature will be set to something and suddenly it starts getting colder and colder and colder to the point where I’m wanting to curl up in a blanket. So I’m not sure if it’s a sign that I spend too much time in my office or a sign that I’ve been welcomed onto Transy’s campus.” Definitely a Transy welcome!

On October 19th, Transylvania hosted ‘Tales from the Tempest’ a roundtable discussion that focused on three literary works: The Tempest, the 1611 play by William Shakespeare, Wrecked, a 2022 novel by Heather Henson that is a modern retelling of The Tempest set in the knobs of Central Kentucky, and A Tempest, a 1969 play by Aimé Césaire that adapted Shakespeare’s play from a postcolonial perspective. The roundtable, which was moderated by French Professor Simonetta Cochis and featured Wrecked author Heather Henson, Theatre Program Director Tosha Fowler, and Junior Student Mary Clark, who is portraying Caliban in Transy Theatre’s upcoming production of The Tempest, examined how all three interpreted and were able to connect with the characters of these works. 

Heather Henson spoke on how she had been drawn to Shakespeare almost as long as she could remember. She grew up in the Pioneer Playhouse, an outdoor theater in Danville, Kentucky that was built by Henson’s father, Col. Eben C. Henson, in 1950, and plays like The Tempest were a constant part of the “magical world of theatre” that he created. Henson always wanted to work with Shakespeare at the Playhouse, but never could due to lack of general interest, so she began to look for ways to incorporate those stories into her writing.

It took many years for Henson to find a framework for a retelling of The Tempest that specifically focused on the relationship between Prospero and Miranda, with concepts like a post-apocalyptic setting being continually shot down by editors. Henson revealed that she first had the idea for what would become Wrecked after watching an episode of True Detective and realizing that she could incorporate her home state by using the meth crisis in Kentucky as a framework for a modern retelling of The Tempest. She recalled her pitch to her editor, saying, “I had two words for her, and they were ‘Meth. Tempest.’ And she was like ‘Yes!’” Henson expressed hope that her work could act as a gateway for young readers into the world of Shakespeare which was so important to her growing up.

Mary Clark acknowledged the traditional monstrous characterization, both in Shakespeare and later retellings, of the character of Caliban, who she is portraying in the Transy Theatre production of The Tempest. Challenging this traditional characterization is part of Transy Theatre’s ongoing goals of presenting stories relevant to modern audiences. Tosha Fowler would add that “Any time we approach an old text, we ask if we can make it meaningful…Time is the most precious thing we have.”

Recognizing that other modern interpretations of Caliban’s character, such as the postcolonial interpretation seen in Césaire’s A Tempest, wouldn’t necessarily work for the cast of the Transy Theatre Production, Clark began to build her own portrayal of Caliban by recognizing how she could relate with the character through personal experiences. Clark said, “I have been centering my interpretation of Caliban on his relationship with Miranda and how I see Miranda.” Fowler described how this process of re-interpretation was repeated with many other characters from the play, saying, “A play is not like a novel; you have to figure out what the truth is.” Fowler and Clark also talked about the ongoing design process for the set and costumes of The Tempest and expressed excitement at the work that is being done by all students and faculty in preparation for the show.

Tickets for The Tempest are available starting November 1st at 9:00 A.M., and the show will be performed in the Lucille C. Little Theater from November 15-19.

The Conservation Action Committee (CAC) has recently restarted the garden off Bourbon Avenue. The garden project began during the winter term of last school year, with students spending the day in the Shearer Art Building preparing soil for the seeds to be nurtured in and grown during the semester and summer months.

The CAC was created after a previous conservation committee disbanded. Thus, the Conservation Action Committee was created to be more active on campus, with this garden being a new goal for its members. The committee also hosted a Tree Week event last week and plans to go on many nature hikes throughout the school year. CAC is spearheaded by President Megan Studer, Vice President Morgan Hardigree, Treasurer Max Hankins, and Garden Keeper Sophia Del Val.

The goal for the garden, according to Del Val, is “to create a garden that grows thriving plants and allows for students to enjoy a place in nature.” Currently, the ground is being prepared for planting to be done in the winter semester, with members of the CAC participating in the process of tending the garden and trying to bring beauty and nature back to campus.

 The plan for the harvest is for the crops to be sold in local farmers’ markets, with profits going towards CAC’s budget for the garden and other projects. CAC is also planning on working with other student organizations to make use of the products and distribute them to the campus community.

If any reader is interested in helping CAC with the garden or other projects toward making the campus more environmentally friendly, you can contact Sophia Del Val (sdelval26@transy.edu) for more information.

Photo credit: Caroline Host (chhost27@transy.edu)