This past week, I had the chance to sit down and chat with SGA President Tate Ohmer. Transy’s Student Government Association elects a new president every academic year, and Ohmer will be serving until May of 2023.

I opened up the discussion by mentioning Ohmer’s uncontested run for the position of president. Some may have felt uneasy about the fact that he had assumed the role uncontested, so it felt important to get this topic on the table as soon as possible. He first stated that this was commonplace within SGA, as he was “either the fourth or the fifth president in a row to be elected uncontested.” This was an “ongoing situation” that Ohmer “hopes to mediate” in the future to assure that the best possible candidates are in the position of power. He’s already begun making changes to implement an internal system that would prevent candidates from getting a position by running uncontested with a “yes/no” vote, ensuring the opinions of all SGA members is heard. He also made note of his qualifications, having served as Chief of Staff last year, the “only contested race on the executive board” in 2021.

I next asked Ohmer how he’d continue to form relationships with other campus organizations. SGA is a decision making body that voices the opinion of all students and student leaders, so being involved all across campus is crucial. Ohmer is taking the extra step by strengthening the campus engagement chair’s power within SGA. This would allow more opportunities for SGA to work with other campus organizations. He also set the goal for that chairholder to attend “at least one meeting of every student organization on campus” each year. Ohmer hopes to become more visible on campus this year, too, attending the meetings of other organizations himself. His “Commonwealth Tour,” as he called it, would allow him to form relationships with leaders outside of SGA.

Curious about his progress in the position, I asked him what projects he currently had on the table. Ohmer immediately made it clear that he wanted to allow the SGA senators to feed projects up the ladder to him, rather than from the top down. His reasoning for this comes from observations made in previous years, where Senators may have “worked on projects that they weren’t really passionate about” when passed down from the president. In addition to making this change, Ohmer has also pledged to try and secure a student seat on the board of trustees, as well as improve SGA’s notoriously small budget through “an earmarked fund” provided by alumni with close SGA relations. This would give the student leaders the means to commit to bigger projects that require more funding.

Finally, I asked Ohmer about his goals for the year, and what the Transylvania community can look forward to seeing by May. The most important changes in his mind come from the inside of SGA, where internal improvements can lead to long term success for all of campus. Focusing on “election improvements” and allowing senators to carry “the bulk” of project management, Ohmer hopes to leave SGA in a better place than when he arrived. Along with the focus on funding and securing the board of trustees seat, his vision for SGA is one that he believes will produce long-term benefits not only for student government, but Transy as a whole.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Transy has experienced a sharp decline in the number of clubs on campus in recent years. Thankfully, many clubs are beginning to be resurrected including our fabulous Spanish club which has been revamped by senior Brannon Lawson and Spanish professor, Dr. Priya Ananth. As a member of the Spanish club, I asked Brannon about some of his hopes for the revival of the club and what students should look forward to this year:

1. First and foremost, what is the Spanish Club?

“The Spanish Club is a recently revived organization seeking to help connect the Transy community with the local and global Spanish-speaking communities. It seeks to help its members improve their Spanish-speaking abilities, and to build an appreciation for Spanish-speaking cultures from around the world.”

2. What are some of the events or things you’re looking forward to doing this year? 

“This year, we are looking forward to a number of events, including attending Festival Latino and providing salsa dancing lessons through a partnership with SAB. Additionally, we have a number of exciting movies we hope to share and guest speakers we hope to hear from throughout the year! Keep an eye out for one of our upcoming initiatives: a weekly Spanish conversation hour!”

3. How is the Spanish club different this time around/what made you decide to try and bring it back?

“I was motivated to work with Dr. Ananth in the Spanish Department to bring back this club due to my passion for learning the Spanish language and the important role that the language plays on our campus and in the local community. The population of Spanish-speaking people within Lexington and the U.S. as a whole is rapidly increasing and is an important component of our community culture that often goes under-appreciated. This lack of appreciation is something that the Spanish Club and I hope to rectify. Furthermore, it is my hope that the club will provide a friendly environment where students of Spanish can practice their conversational abilities, and become more familiar and confident with the language.”

4. Are there any requirements for students to be involved? 

“There are no requirements for students to get involved! We welcome anyone, regardless of Spanish-speaking ability, as it is a space to learn the language if that is something you are interested in, or to just learn from and appreciate the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries and their influence in the Lexington/Kentucky area.”

5. What is the time commitment/how often do you all meet? 

“The time commitment is quite minimal! We hold club meetings every other week, and will often have different opportunities between meetings, such as the aforementioned conversation hour we hope to begin soon. All of these meetings and events are completely optional; you can pick and choose which are the most interesting or would be the most significant for you, and attend those! Though we do encourage participation in all the meetings and events that you are able to attend, as they all will hopefully have something to offer you!”

We are so excited to have the Spanish Club, as well as many others returning to campus this school year. If you have any interest in joining the Spanish club for any of their spectacular events or any further questions please reach out to Brannon at: bclawson23@transy.edu

At the end of the 2021-2022 school year, Missy Johnston, long-time theatre professor, and costume designer, retired after 15 years working with Transylvania University and decades in the theatre industry as a whole. To commemorate Johnston’s illustrious career and her immense impact on Transy specifically, Morlan Gallery is currently hosting “Missy Johnston: A Fitting Retrospective”, an exhibition celebrating Missy Johnston’s theatrical art and career. In addition to the exhibit, Carrick Theater hosted a discussion between Johnston and the director of the Transy theatre program, Tasha Fowler, on September 15th. 

Missy Johnston grew up in Statesville, North Carolina, and first experienced theatre at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival in Stratford, Ontario during her sophomore year of high school. She would go on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Contemporary Humanities from Converse University and a Masters of Fine Art in Theatre Design and Playwriting from Trinity University. The bulk of Johnston’s graduate work took place at the Dallas Theater Center, where she stayed on as a journeyman after receiving her degree while receiving her first experience in set design and playwriting. She worked as a set designer at the Oklahoma Theater Center and Niagara University before moving to Lexington and working with several local institutions as a costume designer, such as KET, the UK Opera Theater, and the Lexington Children’s Theater. Johnston was hired by Transylvania in 2007 as a costume designer for the play Noises Off and worked with the theatre program all the way up until The Ballad of Bride and Blue in May of 2022. 

The Morlan Gallery exhibit “Missy Johnston: A Fitting Retrospective” is a snapshot of Johnston’s life and career, from acting to teaching as a theatre professor. But the majority of the exhibit consists of some of the various costumes that Johnston designed and created while working with the Transylvania theatre department. One of the shows most prominently featured in the exhibit is Tartuffe, a classic Mouliere comedy dating back to 17th century France, which was performed at Transy in 2009. During the discussion, Johnston described creating all costumes for the show from scratch from 1980s drapery fabrics left in the costume workshop. This led to many last-second additions to the show, including the addition of the ornate coat the titular character adorns in the second act of the show, which was given to the actor on the night of the first performance. Johnston recollected during the discussion, “ I went running from the costume shop over to Little [Theater], threw it on him backstage, and said ‘You go, baby!’” 

Johnston was able to collaborate with both the Transylvania and Lexington community during her time at Transy, which is demonstrated by the section in the exhibit for the play She Kills Monsters, a 2011 play about a woman who copes with a family tragedy through Dungeons and Dragons, which was performed at Transy in 2016. The exhibit features a large stuffed dragon that Johnston designed and created with the help of the Lexington Children’s Theater. In addition, many of the costumes for the show were designed with the help of Transy students. Students in a design class helped design armor and weaponry for the show, and gave sketches to Johnston, who interpreted them into actual costumes. Johnston was happy that students were able to see their visions come to life, saying, “To get to completely imagine something and then have it become real and have somebody walk on stage in it, that’s the great pleasure of this job.” 

Many more of Missy Johnston’s shows are highlighted in the Morlan Gallery exhibit “Missy Johnston: A Fitting Retrospective”, from Marie Antoinette to Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play. The Morlan Gallery is open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and will be displaying this exhibit until October 7th.

Each year, Transylvania’s own Morlan Gallery holds a Juried Student Art Show, with the highest prize in the show being a “Dean’s Purchase Award,” which is placed in a permanent collection on campus with past winners. I had the opportunity to talk with the winner of this Dean’s Purchase, Brooke Holleran, to get her thoughts on this great achievement.

Here is a transcript of my Q & A session with Brooke. My voice will be J and Brooke will be referred to as B.

J: So, starting off, tell me a bit about this piece — what do you like about it, what inspired it? Is it a real location or an invented landscape?

B: It’s a mix of impressionism and realism as I see it, or at least, I tried to make it as realistic as possible, though it ended up being impressionist. It’s not an exact location, though, it’s a bunch of things blended together… I don’t know, I was mostly going for, like, a traditional “nature landscape” painting, but it turned more impressionist and fantasy-ish with my color usage.

J: And did you select it to be in the gallery, or did a professor advise you to?

B: I just chose four paintings I had laying around to turn in (for the gallery).

J: Okay, so there were others?

B: I had to pick a few and turn them in. Those were some of the only ones I had in my room with me that I could submit, since most of my (art) stuff is at home.

J: Oh okay, so then has visual art been a lifelong passion of yours — I know we attended Governor’s School For the Arts together back in 2019 and you were there for visual art — but how long has this been a part of your life now at 21?

B: I’ve been drawing since sixth grade, painting since eighth. So, I don’t know, I guess it’s pretty “lifelong” by now.

J: So is it something you plan on pursuing for a career?

B: I would like to go into graphic design, or, I guess I could always get my Masters (degree) in art and teach it, maybe at the college level.

J: Okay, so what does this Dean’s Purchase do for you? What are the implications on the rest of your art career?

B: It definitely looks good on a resume. It also shows me I’m on a pretty good level, based on, like, where I am in college.

J: Right, it boosts confidence.

B: Yeah, it lets me know I’m not awful.

J: Right, right. So, during your years of visual art, have you found any particular artist or artists that have great influence over your work?

B: Yeah, my favorite painter is definitely John Singer Sargent, and my favorite, like, line artist is probably Gustav Klimt. He’s mostly known for his paintings, but a lot of his linework in his sketches is really good.

J: Could you elaborate on what you mean by “line artist?”

B: I just really love his sketches, like his beginning art. You can look it up online, I just like it a lot better than his finished work. He’s mostly a painter and uses mosaics and stuff, though.

J: What do you like most about their works that you try to strive for in your own work?

B: It’s very expressive. They mostly do, like humans and stuff, like portraits. Though, I guess my painting is nature. I just love their usage of color, their usage of balance and stuff… they’re also really professional.

J: And do you seek to move towards more humanistic territory with something like portraiture?

B: I mostly paint portraits, yeah, but people seem to like my landscapes, so maybe I should try that more.

J: Okay, so do you have any landscape artists you like, or are you exclusively drawn to portraits?

B: I like portraits, definitely.

J: Do you think there’s a reason why? Like, an aspect of the human form in art that’s just more inherently interesting to you?

B: I think people are just more interesting. I like the personality in each portrait, and it’s also really challenging to capture that, so that’s probably why I like them so much. Like, painting a landscape, no one’s gonna know if it’s imperfect, you know?

J: So do you value the realism or the personality of portraiture?

B: Definitely the personality. John Singer Sargent is definitely a more “realistic” artist, but there was still a ton of personality in his stuff. I’d say his stuff was even a little less realistic than what you’d think of as “realism” today.

J: Man, I wish I’d looked into some of these artists before the interview, but I guess that’s on me.

B: Ha, it’s okay.

J: Well I think that’s honestly all I got for you. Thanks for sitting down and talking with me, Brooke.

B: Yeah, of course.