Friday, March 21, 2025
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Rambler Statement on Recent Attack

Most of you are likely aware of the recent stabbing attack on campus. Excellent reporting work on the event itself has been done by other local outlets, and we encourage you to read that coverage. We at the Rambler urge everyone at Transy to take advantage of the available counseling services, and remain in contact with your family, friends, and others at this time.

Transy alums to speak on public defense work

Written by Transy alum Pyra Murad.

I came to Transylvania University at 17 years old with big dreams of doing bioethics or health policy and no clue what a public defender was. Ten years later, I have found myself fighting for people accused of crimes who would not have lawyers if it was not for my colleagues and me.

Now that I am teetering on the edge of being a grown-up, I know a lot of other grown-ups. (I know it may be difficult to fathom, but one day all of the people on “the hall” are going to be real life humans with real jobs and you will not have access to waffles from The Caf every Sunday; it is incredibly destabilizing.) I do not know a lot of people who love what they do every single day as much as I do and the people I work with do. In my not-so-humble opinion, being a public defender is the best job ever, second perhaps only to literally being Beyoncé.

Forget what is written down about the presumption of innocence and fairness and justice. Here’s what’s up: the Government spends more money trying to prosecute and convict people than it does supporting the defenses to which they are entitled.  Moreover, poor people and people of color are arrested and prosecuted at disproportionately high rates. Make no mistake – our criminal courts project a façade that is not matched by what happens in those courtrooms every day.

When people are accused of crimes, they walk into court cloaked in a presumption of guilt. They are scared and often alone. Many are shackled in chains. They have one advocate – their attorney. As public defenders, we stand between the accused individual and all of the resources of the Government. And it is a privilege to do this work every day.

I hope you will take the time on April 13 at 3:30pm to join me and my great friend, fellow Transylvanian, and fellow public defender, Jessica Beard. We are eager to share our stories and whatever advice we can make up between now and then with you.

***

I will leave you with one of my favorite recent reflections on being a public defender, in hopes that it inspires to come and find out more about this great profession.

“…let us remember that we are the ones who preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Remember that winning doesn’t make you great. Standing for something does. Remember that we don’t quit and we can’t be bought…When injustice begins to roll down we are the ones who try to stop the flood, to turn back the tide. We don’t do it because we think it can be done, we do it because it is the right thing to do. We don’t do it because we will win; we do it because there are more important things than winning. We don’t do it because it will make us rich; we do it because we know others are poor.” – Professor John Gross, University of Alabama School of Law

15 Songs of the Week 3/29

  1. “Japanese Denim” by Daniel Caesar
  2. “Dang” by Mac Miller ft. Anderson .Paak
  3. “Go Solo” by Tom Rosenthal
  4. “The One” by The Chainsmokers
  5. “Angel” by The Weeknd
  6. “Jolene” by Ray LaMontagne
  7. “Fever To The Form” by Nick Mulvey
  8. “Lorelai” by Fleet Foxes
  9. “Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones
  10. “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone
  11. “Breathe (2AM)” by Anna Nalick
  12. “My Funny Valentine” by Chet Baker
  13. “Claire De Lune” by Claude Debussy
  14. “Moonlight Sonata” by Ludwig Von Beethoven
  15. “Face Like Thunder” by The Japanese House

Art, Music, and Theater Events April 1st-13th

Art and Music Events April 1st-April 13th

Transy Theater Guild: Festivus

March 30th–April 1st @ 7:30 p.m. in Little Theater. Free admission!

Capstone Creative Work:  Senior Theater Majors Jared Auton, Justin Wright, Mollie LaFavers, Katie Brewer-Calvert, Haberlin Roberts, and Storytelling Major Christopher Perez present their final creative works. Ten-Minute Plays: Concert readings of new plays by W’17 Playwriting students.

My Mother#*!^%#! College Life: In 40 monologues and a few choruses, this ensemble questions everything they encounter:  social justice and sexual identity, self-awareness and relationship boundaries, future prospects and roommate etiquette.  What emerges is a humorous and heartbreaking portrait of a new generation struggling with higher ed’s promise of “personal transformation.”  This world premiere reading features dramatic monologues written by 17 Transy student poets and playwrights and will be published by Dramatic Publishing.

Choir Concert

Sunday, April 2nd @ 3pm in MFA Carrick Theater

Come watch the Transylvania Choir and Transylvania Singers perform the entire Gospel Mass by Robert Ray!

Cheer and Dance National Showcase

Sunday, April 2nd @ 6:30pm in Beck Center

Come watch and support the cheer and dance teams perform their national dance routine before leaving for their national competition!

General Student Recital #2

Tuesday, April 4th @ 12:30pm in MFA Carrick Theater

General Student Recital #2. Come watch the music students perform in the second round of general student recitals!

 

Morlan Gallery: Senior Seminar Exhibition

Thursday, April 6th @ 12pm-5pm in MFA Morlan Gallery

Morlan Gallery: Senior Seminar Exhibition. Come see Transylvania University’s art majors showcase their best work in this culminating exhibition!

 

Opera/Musical Theater Showcase

Thursday, April 6th @ 7:30pm in MFA Carrick Theater

Opera and Musical Theater Showcase. Come support students, and see their hard work in Opera Workshop and Musical Theater!

 

Transylvania Theater Guild: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Friday, April 7th @ 7:30 PM in Little Theater

One of Shakespeare’s best comedies, Much Ado About Nothing, is filled with mistaken identity, love, wit, humor, and drama. This completely student-run production has been updated to be set in the late 60s, early 70s of the Vietnam War Era, bringing a slightly different take on the classic tale. Come support the Theater Guild, and see this exciting play! Tickets are free, but must be reserved online.

TU Concert Band Concert
Friday, April 7th @ 7:30pm in MFA Haggin Auditorium

Come support Transylvania’s Concert Band and hear some wonderful music!

Transylvania Theater Guild: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Saturday, April 8th @ 2pm in Little Theater

Saturday, April 8th @ 7:30pm in Little Theater

Sunday, April 9th @ 2pm in Little Theater

Chris Roseland: Classical Guitar Concert

Sunday, April 9th @ 3pm in Old Morrison Chapel

An all Italian program with works from these composers: J.S. Bach, Barrios Mangoré, Tárrega, Giuliani, Barrios, Domeniconi, and Santorsola; performed by classical guitarist and Transylvania University adjunct music instructor, Chris Roseland. Admission is free and open to the public!

General Student Recital #3

Tuesday, April 11th @ 7:30pm in MFA Carrick Theater

Come watch the third round of music students perform their music!

General Student Recital #4

Thursday, April 13th @ 12:30pm in MFA Carrick Theater

Come and support the music students in the fourth round of their GSRs!

 

Saturday, APRIL 15 @ 2:00PM & 7:30PM, Lexington Opera House. Cinderella: Presented by The Lexington Ballet. The Lexington Ballet performs this beautiful two act masterpiece under the artistic direction of Luis Dominguez. Buy your tickets now at www.lexingtoncenter.com!

Friday, April 21 @8:00PM, Lexington Opera House.

The Midtown Men: Presented by Broadway Live & The Opera House Fund. THE MIDTOWN MEN are bringing their magic to audiences everywhere, singing their favorite “Sixties Hits” from The Beatles, The Rascals, Motown, The Four Seasons, and more, back to life! Buy your tickets now at www.lexingtoncenter.com!

 

 

 

The Media of the Media

This is a brief survey of the media habits that we the senior staff of The Rambler have. Finding ourselves all very interesting, we assume you will as well.

1. What is the last book you read, just because you thought you would like it?

Megan Graft, Editor-in-Chief: Last book I read for pleasure…probably the book Quiet, by Susan Cain. I’ve actually read the book twice. It’s nonfiction, but I read it for, like, personal improvement and advice. Yeah.

Emily Dent, News: The Book of Speculation, by Erika Swyler. I read it over Spring Break.

Taylor Mahlinger, A&E: Oh my gosh, umm, it was over Spring Break, I´m trying to think. I think it´s called Red Girl versus Blue One, or Red versus Blue. This girl´s like a Republican, and the boy is a Democrat, and their parents are running for President. I think that´s what it’s called, Red Girl versus Blue Boy—I´m sure you can google it. [Note: the book is called Red Girl, Blue Boy: An If Only Novel, by Lauren Baratz-Logstead].

Noah Lockard, Extra: I think it’s actually—let me look up the title—I’ve started reading this, but I don´t really have time to—it’s called The Ten Thousand Things, by John Spurling.

2. What is the last song you really fell in love with?

MG: Oh gosh, can I check my Spotify Playlist? Oh, my phone’s dead. Shoot. Umm, hmm, well I’ll try to think organically here. I really like the song Rise, from the Into the Wild soundtrack, that Eddie Vedder did. It just puts me outside, hiking, it’s really inspiring. Yeah.

ED: Rhiannon, by Fleetwood Mac, yeah.

TM: Oh my gosh, okay. A lot. So the Chainsmokers have this new single, it’s called The One, I feel like I really like that one. I heard it yesterday.

NL: Let me look on Spotify—umm, a song that I really really like, probably Go Solo, by Tom Rosenthal.

3. What is the one movie you can always re-watch?

MG: Haha. This is kinda awkward, but my family, my whole family is really into this film called UHF. Itś a Weird Al movie, full length. It’s just really weird, there’s a lot of quotable lines, it’s this inside joke kind of cult movie. I’ve seen it maybe thirty times in my life.

ED: Dirty Dancing. Patrick Swayze.

TM: I have a ton. Probably The Holiday. Have you seen it? [I have not]

NL: Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

4. What is the one piece of media that you can always recommend to another person?

MG: [long silence] Okay. Um… a piece of media I can always recommend to someone. I really like movies—it’s probably my favorite form of media. I would say probably one of the greatest movies of all time—I actually don´t know the movie I’m thinking of, I’ve seen so many that have really impacted me… I will recommend the movie Life is Beautiful. It’s Italian, it’s made in Italy. There are hundred of Holocaust movies; this is the one you watch. It’s a comedy—it’s a dramady, it’s really funny, but in the most heart-wrenching way. And it made me cry—if a movie makes you cry that’s how you know it’s good. I cry a lot though.

ED: I dunno. I really don’t know, cause I know people have different tastes, so I’m never like, this is what you should watch, like it’s universal. I guess any book written by Khaled Hosseini. He brings a lot of life to the Middle East and makes it personal.

TM: I have a ton of albums. Okay, if you’re in like a really depressed, sad, chill mood, I say check out Keaton Henson; he has this record called Kindly Now. He´s an amazing composer and songwriter.

NL: The band Houndmouth. It´s one of my favorite bands.

5. What is one piece of media that you like even though you know it’s objectively awful?

MG: Can I answer UHF again? Uh, well, classic answer: the Room. I’ve never actually seen the room, so I don’t know if I can say that, but I know the lore surrounding it. I dunno. There’s this YouTube video, it’s a minute long, it stars Kermit the Frog and Cookie Monster. It’s a slowed down conversation between these two puppets, and every time I die laughing. People laugh because I die laughing, not because it’s funny.

ED: Facebook.

TM: I think it’s a matter of opinion. Objectively awful? It’s all subjective. I am a basic white girl. I really like Snapchat, Spotify, all that stuff.

NL: For a while there, my friends and I used to listen to Friday, by Rebecca Black, every Friday, for fun. That’s pretty objectively trash, right? Maybe she didn’t make it intending for it to be trash, but that’s what it ended up as.

Campus Conversation: Professor Avery Tompkins

Griffin Cobb ’18 chats with Bingham Diversity Scholar Dr. Avery Tompkins about his research on gender and how it relates to issues at TU.

LISTEN

The 2017-2018 university budget: what you need to know

Transylvania University’s budget for 2017-18 was outlined at the Student Government Association meeting on Wednesday, Mar. 22 by VP of Finance Marc Mathews.

What the biggest changes are: A student tuition increase of 3.9 percent or $1750 will go into effect for students not under the level tuition plan. $290 of that total is for room and board. Most of the additional revenue, which totals $853,000, will be used for a salary pool for faculty and staff raises ($400,000) and increases in depreciation, interest, and other expenses for the three new residence halls ($429,000).

What else has changed: Next year, Transy will see a $952,000 increase in revenue (2.5 percent) and a $1,377,000 increase in expenses (3.6 percent), which means the deficit will grow from 2016-17’s $585,000 to just over $1 million.

The increase in revenue not generated by the tuition increase comes from $69,000 in gifts, $22,000 in auxiliary revenue such as summer camps, and $8,000 in “other” revenue.

The increase in expenses primarily comes from the first full year of depreciation and interest payments on the new halls. “That’s not surprising… we’ve known that was coming, and that was just one of the impacts of it,” said Mathews. The budget also accounts for a utility cost increase of $70,000 and a health insurance plan cost increase of $100,000. The increased utility cost is not due to increased usage but to rate increases. Faculty and staff health insurance plans are remaining at their current level of benefits.

What shaped the decisions: The university has been operating at a deficit since 2010; projections reveal that steady tuition and enrollment increases will move the university out of the red by 2018-19. The university has tried to lift this burden off of students by keeping tuition increases between 3.5-4.5 percent, opting instead to reduce expenses. “We can’t solve all our problems by increasing costs… we’ve got to look at cutting costs in other ways to come into balance,” said Mathews.

What expenses have been reduced: To recover from an enrollment dip in 2016-17, each department controlling a section of the budget was asked to reduce its expenditures by two percent at the start of Fall. Going into this fall, said Mathews, “We’ve gone in and identified cost reductions of $146,000 in other areas.” One of these areas is consolidation of staff positions. “It’s really looking at position vacancies as they come up and saying, ‘Do we really need to fill this job? Can we share it?’,” said Mathews.

What the projections are based on: Three hundred is the predicted enrollment number for 2017-18, a moderate estimate partly reacting to last year’s overestimate. “We too many times have done budget projection based upon a lofty estimate of what incoming enrollment would be,” said Mathews. “We changed all projections now based upon that average (300).”

What we still don’t know for sure: One remaining unknown is the donor who will bequeath Pioneer Hall with its official name. A second unknown is whether actual enrollment will match, exceed, or fall short of the predicted enrollment.

What about the Haupt renovation? Next year’s Haupt renovation will be funded by a $2 million lead gift that does not impact the university operating budget. The largest expenses for the renovation will be infrastructural (such as new windows and a new HVAC), which will reduce energy costs within the budget in years to come. The renovation has been recommended by the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees, but its procession will depend on whether the funding has reached 90 percent of its goal by the project’s approved start date of July 1. However, as Mathews said, “We are moving forward as if absolutely it’s happening.”

What all this means in context: In 2008-09, 1088 students attended Transylvania. This year, approximately 930 students are enrolled. Liberal arts colleges are facing an increasing challenge to demonstrate their worth in the competitive post-2008 economic environment. Transy isn’t the only school facing challenging decisions regarding tuition changes and expense alterations in its yearly budget.

“If we’re better off in May, I’d much rather figure out how to spend more money than trying to figure out how to reduce money,” said Mathews. “It’s very defeating to faculty and staff to have to go in and think about reductions because of not meeting enrollment goals. It’s much more exciting to think about how to invest money if we do better.”

Transy’s tuition is on the lowest end among its benchmark schools, which include DePauw, Ursinus, and Centre. While this offers a good value to students and their families, Transy must stay on par with its benchmarks to retain its quality price tag.

Any other numbers I should know? Thirty percent of the budget is dedicated to financial aid and scholarships, 25 to instruction and academic support, 20 to student services, admissions, and auxiliary expenses (i.e. the Sodexo contract), 13 to plant (buildings) and depreciation, and 11 to institutional support and interest (i.e. the administration).

Sixty-four percent of the revenue source comes from student tuition, a lower ratio than most other schools. Transy’s $180 million endowment makes up 25 percent of the budget. “We’re blessed to be unusual that way,” said Mathews.

Students support out of state teams

No matter the sport, there are always huge numbers of fans dressed head to toe in their team’s colors yelling and cheering on the team. Some fans even go so far as to get custom team warm ups, hoodies, and t-shirts printed in the colors of their favorite team. In Lexington, it’s impossible to go anywhere without seeing a reference to the UK Wildcats but, in such a big college town, there are people who come from different states and support different teams.

One of these out of state students is sophomore Collin Ruegg from Columbus, Ohio. “Well during football season, as an Ohio state fan, I’d compare it to being that one kid on the monkey bars who was the only one who could skip a bar and completely clear it. Also, living here with UK fans, it’s easy to become accustomed to the phrases ‘I can’t wait ’til basketball season’ and ‘bro if we played y’all in basketball we’d crush you.’ And during basketball season it’s a non stop charade of U.K. Fans being super over the top and bringing your own team (in my case Ohio State) into the conversation of explaining why they weren’t going to win a title or why another team’s player is clearly better than theirs. All love to my friends who are UK and UofL fans though,” he said about supporting his hometown team.

I am also an out of state student and as a 100 percent Pittsburger, I can honestly say UK has never really been on my radar. The UK vs. U of L wasn’t a big deal but, when Pitt and Penn State played the city shut down. This also carried over to professional sports, coming from a city fresh of a Stanley Cup championship to a state that has not produced a professional hockey player was definitely a huge change.

While it’s expected for out of state students to support their home teams, there are still some who choose to go against their home team. When asked about supporting an out of state team, junior Ty Alderman said “It’s weird, for sure. I grew up in Kentucky, so I am still a UK fan but I am a much more loyal Texas fan. When UT and UK play each other I always end up catching a lot of trash talk from all of my friends because they know that I am rooting for the “other” team. There’s almost nothing better than running into another Texas fan here though.”

While it may be harder to support teams when you don’t even live in the same state, that doesn’t matter to most fans. If it means driving a few hours to see a game, listening to it on your phone or even just checking the highlights, fans will do what it takes to support their team.

Transy Bubbles Created in Lexington High School

On Monday afternoon, a group of Transy Business Management students ventured outside the “Transy Bubble” to create bubbles elsewhere, influencing positive change among Lexington youth.

Junior Rebecca Rumentzas, along with other students from her class, carried out a project with students at Lafayette High School. “We could do anything that promoted Unlearn Fear + Hate,” said Rebecca. “We wanted to do something that metaphorically took those away from the people.”

Rebecca and her group approached this task by designing a project that involved students throwing bath bombs into the water as a symbol of releasing their own negative feelings.

“With this bomb, they stood up and stated something that they fear, hate, are stressing about, or something they would like to work on for themselves.” After all of the students had dropped their bath bombs into the water, it “had a blend of scents, colors, and fears, just like we do as people,” said Rebecca.

Although her group expected approximately twenty-five high school students, Rebecca and her group were welcomed by thirty-three. “The students were so intrigued by the art that their fears and hates created,” shared Rebecca.

According to Rebecca, the students committed to the goal of the activity, allowing themselves to be vulnerable and to share their most personal concerns and realizations. Rebecca recalled a moment in which one student compared humans to the rainbow, “having different shades and different colors.” The student stressed that, “we should actually act on what we say and make the world a better place,” said Rebecca.

Moved by the students, Rebecca stated, “seeing such young people come together and to just have those extra shoulders to lean on and not be embarrassed of their thoughts, really gave me the chills.”

Rebecca hopes that Unlearn Fear + Hate will continue to be a prominent theme on Transy’s campus and within the Lexington community.

Interview Podcast: Dr. Gregory Partain Extended Edition

In this edition of the Rambler Interview Podcast, Opinion Editor Tristan Reynolds interviews Transy professor of music Dr. Gregory Partain in a wide-ranging discussion of his performing career, composing process, and teaching philosophy.

This is an extended edition of an interview conducted for the Campus Conversations Podcast; listen to the shortened version of the interview here.

You can find more of Dr. Partain´s music online.

http://soundcloud.com/user-700281148/campus-conversation-dr-gregory-partain-long-version

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