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Lexington Plans Two New Downtown Parks in 2025: What to Expect, and When

Joe Roution
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Lexington Plans Two New Downtown Parks in 2025: What to Expect, and When

For those new to Transylvania (or even those who have lived here for a while but rarely venture downtown), several great parks are within walking distance of campus. In 2025, Lexington is planning to add two new parks to the list.

Phoenix Park is not technically new, but a complete rehaul of the park is currently under construction. The park is located next to the Central Branch of the Lexington Public Library, on the corner of Main and Limestone. Those who remember Phoenix before it was closed this summer probably remember it is a large slab of concrete with nowhere to sit, but in the revamp the city hopes to add several new features, including a small playground, dog park, and art installations.

Phoenix Park is expected to open in the Spring of 2025. As of September, most of the demolition of the old park has been completed, and the building of new structures will start in October.

The other new park coming to the downtown area is Gatton Park on the Town Branch, currently under construction to repurpose one of Lexington’s many, many parking lots. Those who were on campus last spring may recall a survey regarding a new park and the possible amenities it could feature. The park was initially planned to be named Town Branch Park, after the creek that currently runs under downtown Lexington, some of which will be exposed once again by this park, but it was recently renamed in honor of a large donation by the Bill Gatton foundation. 

Of the two parks, this one is much more ambitious. Across nine acres, the park will feature plenty of green space, much of it along the Town Branch Creek, as well as an amphitheater for concerts, an area for local food trucks, a dog park, a new location for the Lexington Farmers Market, and many more features. Gatton Park will also connect to the larger Town Branch Commons, a pedestrian and bicycle trail that already links a few parks in downtown Lexington.

The park’s website doesn’t give a specific date for the park’s opening, just that it will be open sometime next year. 

If these parks are finished and open before the end of the Winter Term (late April), I will follow up with a more in-depth review of each one. While we wait, I recommend visiting other parks close to campus, such as Triangle Park on Broadway between Main and Vine, and Gratz Park just opposite Third from the academic side of campus.

Pictures: Phoenix Park as of September 26.

Students Respond with Questions and Concerns to Severe Weather on Campus

Nate Brother
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Students Respond with Questions and Concerns to Severe Weather on Campus

On the morning of September 27th, the Transylvania campus was hit by prolonged severe weather, the effects of the landfall of Hurricane Helene on the Southeastern United States the previous night and earlier that morning. Wind gusts up to 50-75 mph were reported in the early afternoon as a torrent of rain continued to plague the Lexington area. At the time of publishing, Fayette County remains under a Severe High Wind Warning until 8:00 P.M. EST on Friday and a Severe Flood Watch until further notice. 

These conditions were largely expected by groups such as the National Weather Service, and several institutions across the state made appropriate preparations for the weather. The University of Louisville pre-emptively canceled classes for the 27th on Thursday along with several other schools and districts across the state, including Lexington Christian Academy. Transylvania, along with the University of Kentucky, chose not to cancel classes, though some individual professors chose not to hold classes on account of the inclement weather. A notice was emailed out to all students on Thursday night warning of the possibility of severe weather, explaining Thunderstorm and Tornado protocol, and reminding students that the T-Alert system would be used to notify students of any pertinent warnings.

Students and faculty ventured in earnest to and from the academic side of campus on Friday morning through the weather, with conditions beginning to particularly worsen around 11:00 A.M. As the intensity of the wind and rain quickly increased, many expressed concerns over the safety of having students walk to classes from the residential side of campus or farther. At approximately 12:12 P.M., the electricity and internet went down for all buildings on the academic side of campus, grinding most activity to a halt. Still, many students proceeded as normal, departing from their 11:30-12:20 classes and heading towards 12:30-1:20 classes. At approximately 12:20 P.M., a large limb was snapped off the White Ash known as the Kissing Tree in front of the library by wind gusts, falling and blocking the sidewalk below. 

The fallen limb from the Kissing Tree, pictured here at 12:58 P.M. on the 27th, approximately 38 minutes after it fell

Several eyewitness accounts of the event report that an individual was injured by the falling limb and subsequently treated by paramedics, with an ambulance being seen in Old Morrison Circle shortly after the incident. These reports have not been independently verified by the Rambler or confirmed by the administration at the time of publication.

At 12:32 P.M., the Transy T-Alert system sent out the following message to all students and faculty:

“Due to weather conditions, please move indoors. 12:30 p.m. classes are canceled due to power outage”

This message was sent out two minutes after the theoretical start of 12:30 P.M. classes, so many students and faculty had already proceeded to academic buildings through the weather and were now sheltering in place. This message also did not clarify if classes for the rest of the day were canceled or merely for the 12:30 block. This was only made clear by an email sent to all students at 1:19 P.M., which announced that the remaining classes for the day were to be moved online or canceled at faculty discretion. 

Photo Credit: Olivia Jackson

During this time, several students and faculty were sheltering in place in the library and witnessed events such as the loss of power and the falling of the Kissing Tree limb. Junior student Caroline Host expressed that she believed the confusion on campus could have been prevented, stating, “I think everybody would have been able to avoid a lot of things if we just canceled class today. We obviously saw this coming; so many things were announced to be canceled today. We already got a T-Alert yesterday warning us of severe weather so it’s not like they didn’t know this was going to happen…I think just canceling classes would have been good, and that way professors also wouldn’t have had to drive all the way to campus and risk themselves.” WRC professor and Writing Center director Dr. Scott Whiddon advised students sheltering in place across campus to stay safe and check in on each other, saying, “Check in on your friends via text if your phone has a battery. Folks all over campus are working hard to get this situation tended to soon and tended to safely. I’m really pleased in terms of how lots of different parts of this campus, such as our library staff that we’re hanging out with right now, are working hard to make sure you all are okay.”

Addition (7:00 P.M. 9/27/24)

Little over an hour after the limb from the Kissing Tree fell and a student was allegedly injured, Transylvania Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the University Dr. Rebecca Thomas posted the image below to the @transyacademicdean Instagram account, with the caption, “Our academic building may have lost power this afternoon, but some of our faculty found creative ways to keep instruction going. Physics professor Mostafa Tanyahi Ahari taught by candlelight!”

Hurricane Helene Windfall Is No Joke

Owen Schmidt
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Hurricane Helene Windfall Is No Joke

At around 11 p.m. EST tonight, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida panhandle. Popular vacation spots in the panhandle–St. George, Appalachacola, Dog Island, Alligator Point, and Tallahassee–have been and will be pummeled by the storm. Current headlines forewarning the hurricane have already reported the immense size of the “life-threatening” storm surge(s), some of which can tower 20 feet. For reference, a standard beach house’s entire height usually reaches around 25-40 feet. 

A fairly short beach cottage house stands a measly 25’. Hurricane Helene’s storm surge will almost completely submerge these homes. Image: Coastal Home Plans

Aside from the damages to Florida and other states, Hurricane Helene threatens Kentucky, too. Moving up the interior basin of Alabama and Georgia, Hurricane Helene will maintain some of its power from the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service predicts that it will penetrate Tennessee and make its way into Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. 

Of course, Transylvania is situated comfortably in the center of the eastern United States. Usually, the Appalachian mountains provide enough of a barrier to prevent storms from reaching Kentucky. Still more usual is the pattern of the Atlantic churning a hurricane to hit eastern Florida, and ride up the Atlantic seaboard. Hurricane Helene will buck the trend to deliver a gut punch to the southeastern portion of the United States. States in the line of its destruction–Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee–can all expect high levels of precipitation accompanied by serious wind speeds. Reports vary, but scientists seem to point to increased ocean surface temperatures as the cause of increased hurricane severity and activity. Warm oceans ‘charge’ hurricanes with the power to spin into superstorms; more heat means more power. With enough energy, storms like Hurricane Helene will continue to batter the coasts of the U.S., and push more storms further north into states with little historical preparation for such storms.

Wind speeds of 61 knots (70 mph) are expected in Fayette Co. around noon tomorrow. Image: PivotWeather

Back in March 2023, a series of storms hit Lexington with around the same wind speeds, knocking out power for much of the city. Driving down Richmond or Man O’ War was all but impossible on account of the tree debris and lack of functioning street lights. The wind from the storm damaged, or completely blew away, roofs all across the central Bluegrass. Here at Transylvania, some dorm buildings went without power due to damage to power lines. Additionally, the rainfall inundated the soil with so much liquid that the root systems of many trees failed to keep themselves rooted against the high wind speeds. 

Expected precipitation in some areas close to Fayette Co. climb to 5 to 6 inches of expected rainfall. Image: Chris Bailey via X

Transylvania is positioned in the metropolitan area of Fayette Co. and is thus usually more quickly responded to by emergency services than the surrounding suburbs due to its proximity to emergency services. The National Weather Service put out a wind advisory at just 9:25 p.m. Thursday night, stating “East winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph [are] expected.” Sustained wind speeds of 20 to 30 mph will weaken power lines and trees, and along with NOAA’s predicted 2 to 4 inches of rain, could spell danger for the Lexington community. 
The forecasted weather has set off several alarms, including an announcement by the University of Louisville canceling its Friday classes in lieu of the storm. More information regarding inclement weather can be found at NOAA and the National Weather Service websites.

Academic Convocation 2024: A Lesson on Happiness with Laurie Santos

Lyra Duffy
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Academic Convocation 2024: A Lesson on Happiness with Laurie Santos

This year’s Academic Convocation was led by Dr. Laurie Santos, the Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology at Yale University and host of The Happiness Lab podcast. Santos spoke of how young people, specifically college students, have been suffering. She proposed to teach an academic class covering what the science of psychology tells us to do in order to protect our mental health and become happier overall. She called the class “Psychology and the Good Life” to catch students’ attention. It became apparent to Santos that students were willing to do something to change their stress levels when twelve thousand students showed up for her first class in 2018. Santos noted that in 2024, there are a lot of reasons for people to feel hopeless, frustrated, and scared. She emphasized, “It is normative to experience negative emotions about what’s going on in 2024… focusing on our happiness doesn’t mean we ignore the real reality of some tough situations.” She proposed the question, “How can you do better?” Santos then listed ten insights for people to do better and become happier. 

Insight number one was to prioritize our happiness. She touched on how many college students may use their time in college to work hard and get good grades and then reap those benefits when they have graduated with a career. She discussed how being happy now and focusing on your positive emotions will benefit you in the long run.

Insight number two showed us one way we can prioritize our happiness: by socializing. Santos explained how studies show that spending time genuinely connected with your friends and family can make you happier than having a self-care night.

Insight three covered healthy habits like good sleep and physical exercise. Insight four elaborated on how we need to be present in the moment and savor good things in our lives. Santos described how the act of “mind wandering” is exhausting, yet we spend most of our time doing it. She recommended trying meditation or simple mindfulness practices. Coinciding with this is insight number five, to be present in the moment even when it is bad. Santos emphasized how suppressing our emotions can lead to memory loss and even cardiac stress. She proposed the acronym R.A.I.N to help us better understand what to do in these hard moments. R.A.I.N stands for Recognize, Acknowledge, Investigate, and Nurture which are all tactics to better understand our emotions and urges while taking care of ourselves in difficult moments. 

The following insight, number six, tells us to be self-compassionate. Self-criticism and perfectionism is only harmful to your future self; Santos urged us to invest in our future selves by being compassionate now. Insight number seven shows us that stress doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, if we choose the correct mindset, stress can be beneficial. Santos described how stress is our body’s reaction to help ourselves. To use stress to the best of your abilities, change your outlook to believe stress is boosting your performance, not weighing you down. Insight eight prompts you to focus on your signature strength, whatever it may be, and curate that into your school work or career to find purpose and meaning within your work. Insight nine is to prioritize true fun. Santos recommended completing a “fun audit” which entails journaling about some of the top three moments in your life when you had the most fun. After identifying these moments, ask questions about them and seek out more experiences with the same characteristics to implement more fun in your schedule. Finally, insight number ten is seeking out more time affluence. Santos explained how many students are suffering from “time famine,” we don’t have enough time in the world to complete all our assignments and extra activities. She recommended building a schedule that maximizes your time but also utilizing the bits and pieces of time that we ignore. Santos called this “time confetti.” For instance, if you just finished a task and have fifteen minutes left before you have to leave to go somewhere else, we use this time scrolling through our phones instead of doing something little that could boost our happiness. Santos explained how these bits and pieces of time add up to a big portion of our day. She recommended spending these moments of our day, our time confetti, in ways that make us truly happy. A time confetti to-do list should be added to our calendar with tasks full of happiness and joy. 

Senior Ysa Leon Reflects on Time as SGA President

Nate Brother
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Senior Ysa Leon Reflects on Time as SGA President

Ysa Leon, a Transylvania senior who is soon to graduate with the class of 2024, recently completed their term as President of the Student Government Association, being succeeded by rising junior Sean Gannon following elections on April 2nd. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Leon several weeks later to discuss how their expectations of the President role matched their experience and what they hope will be remembered about their time as President.

When campaigning for the role of SGA President a little over a year ago, Leon often touted their experience in various campus leadership roles, whether it be as a First Engagement Scholar or as the Academic Affairs Chair on SGA. A year later, Leon regarded this experience as invaluable to their success as President. Leon specifically highlighted the experience they gained from two years of being a First Engagements Scholar, arguing that they “learned a lot more about how to engage with people who are maybe a little more timid or weren’t super involved in high school. So seeing first-year senators really grow over the year and thrive and get projects done, that was one of my favorite parts of being President.” Outside of specific experiences as a First Engagements Scholar, Leon expressed a belief that all of their leadership positions, including SGA President, have contributed to their organizational skills, stating, “Everything that I have done here has worked together to make me a better leader.” Leon expressed optimism that their experience in SGA would help them in life after graduation, saying, “SGA, in general, has prepared me for so much…various situations have taught me more about being a leader, being a better person, and a better person to work with. Everything I have learned from SGéA, from freshman to senior year, has prepared me to work with others.”

One of Leon’s guiding goals both before and during their time as SGA President was increasing communication and transparency between SGA and the student body. In this regard, Leon followed up on campaign promises, helping to establish a monthly newsletter that was sent to every student starting in the winter semester, and hosting open office hours in the campus center. Leon also credited other senators for helping SGA serve as a liaison between the student body and administration, particularly highlighting freshman Quincy Elliot for his work with Transy Dining and Bon Appétit. Leon believed that their efforts helped this year’s SGA be more present on campus than previous years, stating, “I think we had a lot more visibility on campus and we were trying to show students what SGA was doing. A lot of what we do is behind the scenes and not flashy or glamorous, but it makes student’s lives better on campus. I really wanted to make sure people knew we were there for them and supporting them.” Leon hoped that the increased knowledge of SGA and its ability to serve as a voice for students and affect change on campus would lead to more students coming to SGA with their issues in the future, asserting that “we have a lot of power in numbers in pressuring the administration.”

One method of increasing SGA visibility that Leon continually advocated for was greater collaboration with other campus organizations. Leon prioritized using the budget of SGA to support student organizations and student projects, stating, “We try to strike a balance between funding our own projects and funding other student orgs because the work that they do is super important too…I think we did a really good job of that.” This year SGA worked to partner with organizations such as the Conservation Action Committee, Muslim Student Alliance, and Asian Student Alliance to fund events that had significant campus outreach, as well as funding projects by individual students. If there is one campus organization that Leon wished they could have worked more with, it was the Student Activities Board, one of the two largest student organizations on campus along with SGA. Leon stressed the importance of continuing to build cooperation between SGA and SAB, both next year and beyond, recalling “I really stressed to Sean [Gannon] that I want them to partner with SAB. We shouldn’t be working separately because we are both here for the student body.”

In terms of specific accomplishments during their time as SGA President, Leon highlighted the DEI forum that SGA hosted on February 29th over House Bill 9, a proposed bill that would have eliminated all diversity, equity, and inclusion departments and initiatives at Kentucky universities. The forum brought community leaders, such as Kentucky House Representative George Brown Jr., and Transy leaders, such as professors Dr. Steve Hess and Dr. Tiffany Wheeler and DEI director Krissalyn Love, to discuss the legislation and its potential consequences. Leon was proud of the turnout and support for the event, adding “It was really cool to see that we want to prioritize DEI on campus and we can all come together and have a respectful and vibrant conversation about those issues. I think that is what being at a liberal arts college is all about, people from all different walks of life coming together to talk about social issues and ways we can use people power to make change.” Leon said that while there were minor things about their time as President that they could have done better, such as starting the SGA newsletter earlier and hosting even more open hours to further increase visibility, there is very little that they would wish to change about the past year, arguing, “I put my heart and soul into this position. I love SGA and I love Transy. Anything that I did, I did to the best of my ability…I believe that and I hope that I made everyone proud.”

Despite their term being over, Leon expressed excitement for the new SGA executive council and the future of SGA as a whole. Leon described how they had previously worked closely with new President Sean Gannon, both when he was their First Engagements student and this past year when he served as SGA Vice President, commenting that “seeing his growth has been really amazing. I have full faith that he will do a great job and put just as much effort and love into being President.” Leon described new Vice President Abby Muncy as a dedicated senator for the past three years who they had no doubt would do great in the role. Leon previously highlighted new Chief of Staff Quincy Elliot’s work with Bon Appétit, calling him not only one of SGA’s best first-year senators but one of SGA’s best senators as a whole. Leon expressed excitement for the New Chief of Finance Nora Reader, especially after learning the details of the position from Olivia Greinke, who previously served as Chief of Finance for three years. Overall, Leon expressed excitement for the entire executive council, especially the rising sophomores who were gaining leadership positions. Leon argued that it represented an excellent chance for them to grow as leaders.

When looking back on their time at Transy as a whole, Leon predicted that part of their legacy would be how involved they were in different things across campus, which they thought helped them serve the position of SGA President better due to a greater knowledge of student concerns. Leon hoped that their greatest impact on Transy would be how they not only boosted the visibility of SGA but also made SGA more accessible to diverse groups on campus. As the first openly transgender SGA President, Leon expressed hope that their position would allow LGBTQ+ students to see a place for themselves in student government, saying, “We have a vibrant and amazing queer population here at Transy. I definitely think and hope that my leadership and using my position to raise awareness, especially about trans issues will be part of my legacy.” The most impactful lesson that Leon has taken from their time as President, and one they hope will be remembered after they graduate, is the capacity each person has for change. They asserted, “There is always going to be something that can be better. I think that is a big lesson that I learned as President. Seeing all of the different parts of campus that work together to make Transy such a cool place helped me realize that even if changes are small, they are still there, and things can always be better.”

‘Significant Other’ Caps Successful Year for the Theater Guild

Peyton Dunaway
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‘Significant Other’ Caps Successful Year for the Theater Guild

Something I have always liked about the theater program at Transy is that every show is different. And I’m not just talking about genre- the people running the show are different, too, depending on the season. The plays produced during the regular semesters (fall and winter term) are done so by the Theater Department, while Fright Night and the May Term shows are all led by the Theater Guild, which is student-led. Significant Other was the Guild’s most recent production, finishing its last performance on the 12th. I attended Saturday’s performance and I was very impressed at how well it turned out.

Significant Other was written by Joshua Harmon in 2013 and features a young man (Jordan) struggling to find love and happiness while he watches his friends (Kiki, Vanessa, and Laura) find their own. Jordan often feels like his efforts are doomed, his mental health spiraling with each wedding he’s asked to do a reading for, culminating in a confrontation where Jordan expresses his desperate need for things to stay the same, despite knowing that they won’t. After some advice from his grandmother (Helene), Jordan resolves to keep moving forward despite his drifting friendships, and the show ends with him at a wedding, standing alone yet still happy for his friend’s success. Generally speaking, it’s a fairly comedic play with some dramatic scenes that lend themselves well to the show’s pacing. The portrayal of depression is modernized, but it isn’t made fun of or exaggerated. The characters are well-balanced, and the small cast means that everyone gets their chance to shine. It’s a very well-written show.

And speaking of the cast, they were excellent. Jordan was played by Luke Aguilar, who performed wonderfully while holding comedy in one hand and tragedy in the other. His performance was so dynamic I hardly noticed that he was on stage the entire show. Kiki and Vanessa were played by Macie Moore and Faith Hubbard respectively, whose performances brought some much-needed laughter to an otherwise emotional story. Samantha Farr was brilliant as Laura, and her skill for wielding raw emotion shined throughout the show. Lumi Kaono’s dry wit and steady command of character made Helene’s short scenes all the more remarkable. This was Tanner Peck’s final role at Transy-or rather, his final three roles. Tanner was triple cast as two husbands (Conrad & Tony) and Jordan’s love interest (Will) and brought to all three the same professionalism and passion he’s brought to every other role he’s played during his time at Transy. Not to mention the hard work of the tech crew, designers, and managers. Many people contributed to make this show a great one.

There is one other person without whom this show wouldn’t be possible: Kevin Johnson. Kevin is a Psychology & Theater Design/Tech double major and has been participating in the Transy theater program for several years. You might have seen him as Kyle Carter in Exit, Pursued by a Bear, Louis in Angels in America, or Ida in Ballad of Bride and Blue. He’s also worked in costume design for The Tempest and Little Women and has generally been an invaluable part of our community for the last few years. Significant Other is his last show at Transy, and I’d like to congratulate him on making it a good one. It can be difficult to get Guild shows off the ground, and it takes a lot of determination and creativity to do that job, much less do it well. For the performance to run as smoothly as it did with virtually no errors or drop in energy is not only the sign of a great cast and crew but of a great director. The actors were clearly well-rehearsed, the scenery changes were practically seamless, and the handling of the show’s themes was excellent.

Transy Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Win HCLC Championship; Advance to NCAA Tournament

Nate Brother
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Transy Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Win HCLC Championship; Advance to NCAA Tournament

Within a span of six days, both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams for the Transylvania Pioneers won their respective Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference Tournaments. Transy Men’s Lacrosse clinched the championship with a 27-4 win over the Hanover College Panthers on April 27th, and Women’s Lacrosse earned the title with a 19-4 victory over the Anderson University Ravens on May 3rd. With their respective wins, both teams clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

The Pioneer Men’s Lacrosse finished the regular season with a 9-6 overall record and a perfect 5-0 record in the HCLC, earning the top seed in the conference tournament. On April 24th, the Pioneers faced the number four-seeded Earlham College Quakers in the semifinal round. The Pioneers made light work of the Quakers, holding a 71 to 6 shot advantage, forcing 46 Earlham turnovers, and holding the Quakers scoreless until the fourth quarter as the Pioneers cruised to a 24-1 victory. The Pioneers would advance to the championship game the following Saturday to face number two-seeded Hanover College. Transy came out of the gate firing, scoring 10 goals in the first period and adding on 6 more before the half while holding the Panthers to only 2 goals. This lead would only grow as twelve separate Pioneers would score and Transy would take home a commanding 27-4 victory, the most goals scored in a game by the Pioneers since 2019. With the win, Transylvania Men’s Lacrosse secured their first conference title since 2021. In addition, the Pioneers swept the HCLC season awards, with Freshman Attacker Kade Kruger winning Offensive Player of the Year, Junior Defender Ben Marcum winning Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman Goalie Ben Pund winning Newcomer of the Year, and Logan Otto winning Coach of the Year. Several other Pioneers were named to the HCLC All-Conference Teams, with ten of the fourteen slots on the All-Conference First Team being taken up by Transylvania Players. 

At the same time as men’s lacrosse, Transylvania Women’s Lacrosse also secured a perfect 5-0 record in the HCLC to earn the number one seed in the conference tournament. Transylvania earned a bye with the number one seed, automatically advancing to the championship game to face the number two-seeded Anderson University Ravens. Less than a week before the championship game on May 3rd, the Pioneers had dismantled the Ravens 21-8 in the final game of the regular season, and the championship would be no different. A relatively close 4-1 Pioneer advantage through the first quarter would turn into a rout with 9 uncontested goals by Transylvania in the second quarter. The Pioneers would only allow 4 goals despite their starting goalie being unavailable, with Senior Defender Grace Smilek and Junior Libby Bringard, who serves as goalkeeper for Transy Field Hockey, serving as emergency goalkeepers and both racking up multiple saves, as Transy would easily secure a 19-4 victory. With the win, the Pioneers would clinch the HCLC Tournament title for the sixth year in a row. Several Pioneers were named to the All-Tournament Team, including Junior Midfielders Charlotte Green and Diana Bruder, Freshman Attacker Sofie Garrett, and 5th Year Attacker Sophia Sparks. This was in addition to several regular season honors earned by the Pioneers, with Green earning Offensive Player of the Year, Junior Defender Macy Hobbs-Powell winning Defensive Player of the Year, and eight Pioneers being named to the All-Conference First Team. 

With their respective wins, both Transylvania Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse earned automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. Men’s Lacrosse will kick off the NCAA Tournament by traveling to Lake Forest, Illinois to take on the Lake Forest College Foresters, champions of the Midwest Lacrosse Conference, on May 8th. Women’s Lacrosse will return to a familiar destination, the Lexington, Virginia campus of Washington and Lee University, where they have traveled for the past two NCAA tournaments. The Pioneers will face the Rhodes College Lynx, a team they have already faced in a loss earlier this year, on May 11th. The winner of that match will face the hometown Washington and Lee University Tridents in the second round.

From Forge to Stage: Senior Tanner Peck Presents Capstone to Great Success

Peyton Dunaway
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From Forge to Stage: Senior Tanner Peck Presents Capstone to Great Success

It’s rarely a good idea to try and fit something into your schedule during finals week. Making room for anything extra in the middle of all the papers, projects, and presentations can be challenging, to say the least. However, there are some things you cannot miss- sometimes because you’re required, but other times because it’d simply be a shame not to. And sometimes, the person running it is your friend who’s presenting something they’ve worked on for months and they’ve invited you to come and see- so you do. This was the case during the previous spring finals week, when I put aside five classes’ worth of finals and walked to Coleman Recital Hall to watch Tanner Peck’s senior capstone presentation. It was well worth the disruption.

Tanner’s history with the Transylvania Theater Department is long and storied. He started as a freshman theater major in the fall of 2020, helping direct Transy’s online production of Railsplitter before going on to act in the spring radio play, Carmilla. Since then, Tanner has been involved in nearly every theatrical production organized by either the department or the Theater Guild, including Exit, Pursued by a Bear (2021), Darkened Doorsteps (2022), Angels in America (2023), The Tempest (2023), and most recently, Significant Other (2024). He’s mostly been an actor, although he’s also worked in directing (Railsplitter, 2020), producing (Fright Night, 2022-2023), and running crew (Little Women, 2022). He took a playwriting class in 2023, during which he wrote and presented several revised drafts, and has recently been working with Theater Instructor and costume Designer Melissa Gilbert to learn about costuming. It was this that he decided to focus his senior capstone presentation on, joking that he’d already done everything else.

Tanner began his presentation by explaining his background with the Transylvania Theater Department and Guild, as well as the kind of work he’d done for Gilbert in her costuming class this semester. He stated that for his project, he wanted to combine what he’d learned from those experiences with his own designs, things he’d worked on both in and outside of class. So, he took two scripts he’d written during the playwriting class last year and expanded on them, designing costumes based on the characters and the dynamics they’d represent. 

The first was LED Headlights, a short story about two romantic partners, Valerie and Cordelia, the former of whom spends most of the play arguing with her brother, Russell, who has just gotten into a car accident. The story is modern and depicts ordinary people, so the costumes themselves aren’t overly elaborate. It’s the details that are telling. For example, the difference in pajamas between Valerie and Cordelia (a t-shirt/pants and a robe, respectively) might tell us about their opposite personalities and how they complement each other. Unchecked bloodstains on Russell’s jeans clue the audience into his absentmindedness- a major element in the story. And it was the same for his second play, Photon White, a story about four crew members in space who are suddenly faced with the moral dilemma of reporting something that’s gone very wrong. Their outfits are blue-collar-worker-style uniforms, which means they’re all identical, except for their colors, which pop and clash in a way that makes their conflict all the more dynamic. And don’t forget the sugar glass in one of the helmets, designed to break the moment it is smashed against a character’s head. 

Tanner explained these concepts using sketches, Pinterest boards, and model mannequins, designs slowly developed over months of planning and practice. It was a great presentation; clearly, he had learned a lot. But what stuck out to me weren’t the technical aspects of his presentation, it was the way he emphasized that this was not an inaccessible skill. Costume design, Tanner explained, could be something as simple as picking out an outfit for tomorrow or helping your partner decide what to wear to a dance. You can do it while drawing, daydreaming, or even developing your own stories. He stressed that this isn’t something that only belongs to theater majors and professionals, and then demonstrated that by teaching his audience how to design characters in a program called Hero Forge, something he uses when planning his DnD campaigns. He encouraged his audience to use their imagination and try their hand at design. By the time I left, I had overheard several people talking excitedly about the characters they’d made.

If capstone presentations are meant to reflect how far one has come in developing one’s chosen academic interest, then Tanner has certainly done that. If capstone presentations are designed to help one experiment and improve their skills, then Tanner has done that too. His presentation was good from an academic standpoint, but his demonstration of his skills and encouragement of ours was where the presentation came into its own. Once, he mentioned to me that he was thinking about teaching theater after he graduated. I don’t know if this is still his plan, but I could see it in how excited he was to share these tools with his audience, how easily the words came once he started talking, and how his love of creating is clearly much more than academic. He spoke to the audience, and they responded- maybe not verbally, but they listened and engaged. And maybe I’m biased, but I think that’s about as successful as you can get. 

Tanner, my friend, good luck and Godspeed. You’re capable of great things.

Hannah Varel Named New Head Coach of Transylvania Women’s Basketball

Nate Brother
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Hannah Varel Named New Head Coach of Transylvania Women’s Basketball

On April 16th, Hannah Varel was announced as the newest coach of Transylvania Pioneers Women’s basketball, becoming the eighth head coach in the program’s history. This was following the announcement the previous week that Juli Fulks, the five-time Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and 2023 National Champion, would resign after ten years as the coach of Transylvania Women’s Basketball, accepting the position of head coach of Marshall University Women’s Basketball. Varel will become head coach after four years of being on the Pioneer Women’s Basketball staff, including as the Associate Head Coach for the 2023-2024 season.

Juli Fulks served as head coach of the Pioneers for ten years, first being hired as coach in 2014 after a stint as the head coach for Lewis & Clark College Women’s Basketball. Fulks’ decade-long run as the Pioneer’s head coach was undoubtedly the most successful in the program’s history. Sporting an overall record of 242-39, Fulks’ tenure as coach saw the Pioneers win six HCAC regular season titles as well as six consecutive HCAC tournament titles, corresponding to seven NCAA Tournament Appearances. During the final three seasons of Fulks’ tenure, the Pioneers boasted a 91-2 record, highlighted by a 64-game win streak from 2022 to 2024 and the Pioneers being the undefeated National Champions of the 2022-2023 season, the first national title school history. Fulks was personally honored as the HCAC Coach of the Year five times throughout her tenure and was named the 2024 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association DIII Coach of the Year. Fulks will take the helm of Marshall Women’s Basketball after a Sun Belt Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance by the Thundering Herd led to previous coach Kim Caldwell being hired by the University of Tennessee. 

Of all possible successors to Fulks, Hannah Varel is the best positioned to continue the success that Transylvania Women’s Basketball has experienced over the last several years. Prior to joining the Pioneer staff in 2020, Varel served for two years as an assistant coach for HCAC rival Hanover. Varel has been a key contributor to the Pioneer’s success since arriving at Transylvania, with the Pioneers boasting a 105-8 record during her four years on staff. In 2023, Varel was named a WBCA Thirty under 30 Honoree, being recognized as one of 30 rising stars across all levels of women’s basketball aged 30 and under. In 2024, after serving as Assistant Head Coach for the Pioneer’s third consecutive undefeated regular season and second straight final-four appearance, Varel was named the WBCA DIII Assistant Coach of the Year. In her introductory press conference, Varel expressed confidence in her ability and the ability of next year’s team to continue the recent success of Transy Women’s Basketball by preserving the defense-oriented playstyle that has made the Pioneers so successful in recent years, stating, “I feel very lucky that I’m coming into a program where we know that what we do works. Coach Fulks and I were very aligned with the methods and the systems that we ran. We were the best defensive team in the country out of any division, and I fell in love with that process.”

“Here, Black, Femme, and Queer”: A Faulkner Morgan Exhibit in Transylvania’s Library

Lyra Duffy
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“Here, Black, Femme, and Queer”: A Faulkner Morgan Exhibit in Transylvania’s Library

The Faulkner Morgan Archive is a nonprofit organization that works to share Kentucky’s LGBTQ history. The archive was founded in 2014 and named in honor of two queer artists from Kentucky, Henry Faulkner and Robert Morgan. Starting in April, the Transylvania Library has been displaying an exhibit from the Faulkner Morgan Archive in the first-floor quiet section. Titled “Here, Black, Femme, and Queer,” it features images and stories of Black, femme, and queer Kentuckians.

Once you walk into the quiet section there are two large photographs of Marsha P. Johnson from the Estate of Leee Black Childers Collection at the Faulkner Morgan Archive. The plaque below the posters presents a brief history of Marsha’s life and impact on New York City and the queer community. Leee Black Childers, the photographer of the work, was born in Kentucky and worked throughout his career to highlight queer culture in his photographs. Beyond the large photos, there are many more stories that are presented in glass cases throughout the exhibit. The exhibit highlights the stories of amazing queer individuals, such as Lexington native Charles Dansby (Miss Joyce), who had a massive influence on Lexington’s queer community.

The exhibit spotlights many people who performed at what is now known as the Bar Complex here in Lexington. It was especially impactful reading about Sweet Evening Breeze, one of the only openly queer Black Kentuckians prior to the 1970s. Understanding both the negative and positive history of our city is undeniably vital. It is important and fulfilling to learn about the queer legends that came before us but also to acknowledge how the life they lived before has affected queer individuals today. The house of Sweet Evening Breeze, which witnessed her arrest and was vandalized during her lifetime, still stands here in Lexington and is a twelve-minute drive from our campus. You’ve probably seen her face before if you’ve ever been walking downtown on North Limestone, in the beautiful purple mural titled “Mother Of Us All.” To learn the many more stories of Black queer Kentuckians in the exhibit, stop by the library and learn about Lexington’s History.

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