The Tripod

First of all, the Tripod staff would like to welcome everybody back to campus after what was hopefully an enjoyable and relaxing break. As someone who was abroad last semester, I have spent the last week getting reacquainted with the little Hartford oasis that is Trinity College. I have been reminded first and foremost of the age-old proverb that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I have been pleasantly surprised to find some improvements at Trinity. (The expansion of wireless on campus and the additional cardio machines in Ferris are especially fabulous.) However, many things are exactly the same as when I left last spring. Despite all of the new students on campus from the class of 2013, I have found their attire, mannerisms, and attitudes to be strikingly familiar. Familiar faces are in many of my classes, the Tripod office is as cluttered as ever, and Mather food still tastes like … Mather. Trinity provides the same comfort as always.

In this week's Features section we looked at Tripods from the 1960s, as well as the yearbook, The Trinity Ivy. These sources paint a picture of Trinity that is eerily similar to the Trinity of today. There are obvious differences - a lack of women and a losing squash team - but blatant similarities. A love of fraternity parties, sports, and Top-Siders remain important parts of Trinity culture.

However, despite similarities, it is the differences that we notice, and it is the differences that mark the passing of time. Whether we try to prevent or encourage change, it is an inevitable part of life. Each semester at Trinity is different than the last.

Sometimes change comes from tragedy. This week the Tripod mourns the loss of a member of the Trinity community. Lanna Hagge's absence in Career Services will surely be felt for many years to come. Her passing will require a process of adjustment for all who knew her and all who were touched by her presence at Trinity. Career Services, and Trinity as a whole, will be forever changed.

Other changes seem inconsequential, yet elicit heated responses from the community. The Tripod covers these as well. The new Bantam mascot has proved to be controversial, as a writer in this week's Sports section discusses. The Bantam has always been a symbol of Trinity athletics, and it is interesting to hear the response from a minor costume change. Even the small changes make an impact.

Nevertheless, a reading of this week's Tripod shows that many of the issues important to students remain the same. The level of excellence of the Trinity community continues to be high. A senior English major won a poetry contest and two professors were awarded prestigious endowments.

This week's paper is also marked by annual events. Student Government Association elections are upcoming, and the January Musicals impressed audiences once again. Of course, different students are running for positions, and the shows performed were different from years past, but the consistencies of these events provide comfort to the Trinity community. Ultimately, both the consistencies and transformations that occur over time at Trinity seem to me to teach us an interesting lesson. Whether it is 50 years that have passed, or a mere semester, some things never really do change.

S.E.H.

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