Bryan College Triangle

Catherine Rogers
Editor-In-Chief

Students found this offensive sign hung on a tree near Long Dorm last semester / Photo courtesy of Vincent Smith

What started as Diversity Week, ended with campus-wide rumors about racism at Bryan. Students attending chapel on Jan. 25 heard the “racism announcement” and without specifics, questions and speculations began to spread. Students spoke of racial slurs being carved into trees and minority students leaving Bryan at the end of the semester.

When asked to help clarify some of the rumors, Dean of Student Life Bruce Morgan had no comment for Triangle.

The truth, according to Student Body President Vincent Smith, is that Diversity Week was not planned as a response to recent racist acts on campus, but rather was planned at the beginning of last semester as part of the year’s chapel themes.

The week’s theme did, however, raise questions amidst the student body as to whether the Bryan community actually needed a series of lectures on diversity. According to Smith, many students vocalized the feeling that racial or cultural insensitivity wasn’t a problem at Bryan and that caused the formation of the group that made the announcement in chapel last Wednesday. Read full story »

Bryan Family,

Over the course of the last few days, several things have happened in SGA that I think deserve clarification and that we would love your feedback on moving forward. I proposed earlier this week that SGA as an entity be dissolved for the period of one year. Events would still be sponsored and planned under a specific Events Council whose positions are still voted on by the student body at-large and the respective classes. One of the main reasons for the proposed change would be to reevaluate the functions of SGA and how it could best fit with the direction of Bryan College as a whole, to clearly see the essentials that the organization provides. I remain firm in the belief that this proposal would be best for SGA and student leaders on campus, but there are many people whom I respect inside SGA and out of it that disagree with me. I believe in this change, others do not, and disagreement is not a bad thing.

The Corporate Body of SGA will have the final vote on this proposal Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the first Corporate Meeting of the semester. I understand that I have simply given an overview and not many specifics on my line of reasoning, so I encourage anyone with an opinion on this issue to please contact your representative or friends in SGA to ask questions and give thoughts.

Thank you all,

Vincent Smith

Your Student Body President

Clari Stewart
Triangle Reporter

As students return from fall break and begin the second half of this semester, many are wondering what fall 2012 will look like with the new changes.

With fall break reduced to two days, many students will be unable to return home. The school is planning on allowing students to stay in the dorms without paying additional housing costs.

Though many students neither agree nor understand the reduced fall break, Academic Vice President Bradford Sample has many reasons for doing so. Along with providing academic continuity, the reduced break allows the school to save money by reducing the number of weeks students are on campus. Bryan’s accreditation requires fifteen weeks of school, but defines a week as a minimum of three days. With a fall break that is only Thursday and Friday, the short week will technically be considered a week of classes.

After receiving feedback from faculty and student emails, Sample decided to move the extra week gained by the change to the Christmas break instead of summer. He also decided against the individually scheduled exams due to feedback from faculty and students. “What I want students to know,” Sample said, “is [the changes] were not quickly decided. I’m not trying to rain on their fun.” Read full story »

Seniors who attend the Carnival excursion will board the cruise ship Sensation / Photo courtesy of caribbean-cruises-report.info

Shane Vicry
Triangle Reporter

Tuesday night, seniors Vincent Smith, Daniel Grayton, and Jonathon Goff hosted a senior cruise informational meeting on campus in the Rhea County room where roughly 15 to 20 seniors attended.

As Triangle reported earlier this year (“Senior trip no more”), Executive SGA previously cut senior trip from their budget, meaning there would no longer be an organized school-sponsored and subsidized excursion, but also freeing up the possibility for alternative trips to be explored. The predominate choice that stemmed from this traditional split was ultimately that of a senior cruise. Read full story »

Last year, then senior Thomas Katz, junior Luke Lillard, and sophomore Jonathan Warner took a 10-day trek across New England in search of adventure and the meaning of hospitality. With the proposed changes to Fall Break, future such trips would be next to impossible during that time./Triangle photo by Jesse Murray

Clari Stewart
Triangle Reporter

With fall break just days away, rumors are spreading about instituting a proposed two-day fall break for next year. Students and faculty alike are reacting strongly to the proposal. The proposed changes affect not only fall break, but accelerated schedules, the start of the school year, the policy of withdrawing from a class and the scheduling of finals.

Vice President of Academics Dr. Bradford Sample proposed the changes to the faculty at their September meeting after the changes were approved by the Executive Cabinet. If the change is made, Bryan would join many surrounding schools including Lee University, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Carson Newman, Chattanooga State and Covenant College that all have breaks that are less than a week long.

The issue of changing fall break has already caused many passionate discussions on campus. Both faculty and students are split in their opinion of the proposed change.

“I couldn’t go home,” said junior Peter Boyajian from New Jersey, “half my break would be spent driving.”

Sophomore Wesley Garnett said, “It wouldn’t be worth the gas for a six and a half hour drive.”

Scott Jones, associate professor of Christian ministry, thought the school should consider the local community, and the local school systems’ break schedules, as well as Bryan students when making such changes. Read full story »