Academics

The Tutorial College program was created by members of Trinity’s faculty who wanted to inspire dedicated sophomores to develop lasting relationships with their professors, taking the opportunity not only to learn, but perhaps to teach. The program requires professors to read and explore areas beyond their expertise, which they do happily, in order to further the experiences of their students. These few faculty members are a microcosm of the dedicated professors that Trinity employs.

Athletics

Everyone wants to be on a softball team in the spring, and most guys take part in football in the fall. Softball is really the core sport, however. There are multiple leagues, at least two for guys, one for girls, and one, sometimes two, for coed teams. Just about everyone is on a team, or knows someone who is. Teams get T-shirts made with their team name and nicknames for the players on the backs. A few years ago, a team was even sponsored (given T-shirts to wear) by a strip club in Providence. This team ended up winning their league and sending the club a Trinity Intramural Champs T-shirt, which everyone on a winning team receives and wears with pride for the rest of their time at Trinity.

Campus Dining

Food on campus is decent. The main place to eat, Mather, is all-you-can-eat. Its selection is decent, with everything from a salad bar to a pasta bar to featured items like meat and fish. The menu gets boring after a while, and the food can often be overcooked. The two other options, the Cave and the Bistro are good for a change. The Bistro, with a more gourmet menu, is by far the best place to eat.

Campus Housing

One of the advantages of Trinity is that you are guaranteed housing all four years, so you never have to worry, no matter how bad your housing lottery number is.

Campus Strictness

The recent school presidents have all had different attitudes towards the drinking that goes on at Trinity. For the most part, the drinking is tolerated in moderation, which is as it should be. College students are going to drink, and it is better that they stay on campus to do it, rather than drive into unsafe areas of Hartford and then try to drive home.

Computers

Trinity has updated its computer labs, and they’re very efficient. The computer labs can be crowded during certain periods of time such as during finals. Most students tend to bring their own computers, because each dorm room is equipped with an internet connection.

Diversity

Trinity is often criticized for the uniformity of its students and the small percentage of minority students. One of the least appealing aspects of Trinity is the homogeny of its population. Most Trinity students are white, middle- to upper-class Americans who are intelligent and looking for a school where they will be challenged, but will also have a chance to party and let loose on the weekends. Many administrators have tried to tackle the diversity issue by enticing more minority students to look at Trinity as a viable option, but their efforts have yet to be seen, as far as the student body is concerned.

Drug Scene

Although most students find their partying limited to alcohol, there are pockets of students who rely heavily on drugs for their weekend festivities. Although the most abused drug appears to be marijuana, Trinity students will sometimes dabble with cocaine, heroin, and Special K. Several years ago Trinity lost two students, both to drug overdoses. Since then, students have begun to wise up and party with a little more caution.

Facilities

There is no student union, though Mather Hall attempts to be one. Mather contains a game room, which is not often populated with students, two of the dining facilities, an excellent coffee shop known as the Underground, and offices for Community Service and Student Activities. Unfortunately, the office aspect of Mather tends to deter students from hanging out there as they would in a more conventional student union, but the administration has made an effort to figure out what the students want in terms of a student center.

Greek Life

Most fraternities throw an authorized party each semester. They also throw parties that are completely unauthorized. Among the authorized parties is Psi Upsilon’s main party, called Tropical, which takes place at the beginning of the school year. Grass skirts and Hawaiian shirts seem to appear out of nowhere on Trinity’s campus the night of Tropical. On the Saturday of Spring Weekend, St. Anthony’s Hall sponsors ‘Hallapalooza,’ a day long series of concerts on the Hall’s property. It’s a little pricey, but loads of fun.

Guys & Girls

Trinity has almost any kind of person you could want. Look hard enough and you’ll find an idiot jock, a ditzy blonde, a bitter fat girl, or a closeted drama buff. But Trinity’s real value is in the enormous number of students who so openly defy the stereotypes. We have some brilliant jocks. We have some ditzy brunettes. We have both bitter and loving people of all shapes and sizes.

Local Atmosphere

Trinity is located in the heart of Hartford, Connecticut. The evidence of a once illustrious and successful community is found in the large Victorian houses on the streets surrounding Trinity, but the neighborhood is now poor, and can be disconcerting if prospective students and their parents aren’t expecting it. However, Hartford does offer cultural spots, such as the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Mark Twain House. Furthermore, only 15 minutes away, West Hartford allows students to forget the grittiness of the Trinity area; West Hartford offers excellent restaurants and small specialty stores. Students do not feel isolated, because there are several excellent schools close by. The University of Connecticut is located approximately 30 minutes away, Connecticut College is a 40-minute drive, and Wesleyan University is only 20 minutes away.

Nightlife

Trinity kids know how to party, plain and simple. There are a few fantastic parties per year, some run by the school, some run by the frats. The ‘80s Party highlights the school-sponsored parties. A tropical-themed party, aptly named Tropical, and Hallapalooza, a party based around live music, are two main parties run by fraternities. Any time you want to find a party on campus, you can. As for bars, the bar scene is impressive on Thursday nights and is still pretty decent on Friday and Saturdays. The local bar right next to campus, the Tap, has a good amount of people in it every night of the week and is packed on Thursday. For dancing and booze, the Brickyard is the place to go. The best Trinity bar is probably Bourbon Street North, though.

Off-Campus Dining

San Antonio is one of the most amazing cities in the world for restaurants. If you take the highway, its only five minutes to the Riverwalk, which is always fun to take friends from out of town or go on a date. Surrounding Trinity are some great local restaurants on Broadway and Main Street as well. Don't be afraid to try those little hole-in-the-wall restaurants, because those usually have really awesome food.

Off-Campus Housing

There are off-campus housing options, but not many students choose to explore them, mostly due to security reasons and convenience. Primarily, residential students attending Trinity live on campus in one of the dormitories or in a themed house, i.e. a fraternity, sorority, society, multicultural house or the community service house. Being situated in a city, crime and vandalism are a major problem that the school and its students have to deal with. With these concerns in mind, most students feel the safest living on campus and having the resources of the college always at hand.

Overall Experience

My first year at Trinity was a big adjustment. Coming from a public high school and being submerged in a crowd of boarding school graduates, I was overwhelmed with the preppy clothes, the drugs, and the elitist attitudes. I definitely had thoughts of transferring. But during my second year I found a group of students I automatically clicked with. Being such a small school, Trinity is all about groups and cliques and finding your own niche. Once that happens, the rest just falls into place. My academic experience so far has been intense and challenging, while my social life blurs into one big tantilizing fiasco. Although it’s nice to take a break from campus every so often, either for Thanksgiving, spring break, or the end of the semester, I always look forward to returning to Camp Trin Trin.

Parking

Parking is difficult on campus, both because of the construction and because of the campus’s urban setting. There are many student lots, but so many students bring cars that the lots are often full. Summit Street, considered off-campus parking, is often crammed with creatively-parked cars. Allen Place and Crescent Street, the location of the Sophomore Slums, offer off-campus parking as well, but because of street cleaning every Tuesday and Friday morning before eight, the cars must be moved to the opposite side of the street. Although parking is generally a pain, with an on-campus parking sticker, you’ll find a spot—it just may not be in the closest location.

Safety & Security

Security is at the forefront of importance to both Trinity students and faculty members. The college has made numerous efforts to ensure safety for its students. Specifically, the administration has installed card readers at each dorm entrance, runs a shuttle across campus at night so that students do not have to walk, hired Hartford police officers to patrol the grounds, and has a squad of six campus safety officers on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Despite the college’s efforts, theft and assault still seem to be major problems on campus.

Transportation

Trinity students tend to only take the bus to Westfarms Mall and back, but they can’t really be blamed. The bus system is not mapped-out well for those not accustomed to it, and I personally have been left stranded at the Bushnell with no way to get back to campus. If you don’t have a car, the city is pretty much closed to you at night. During the day, it’s possible to walk from school to downtown, and it’s also a really pleasant walk.

Weather

Being in the heart of New England, Trinity experiences hot summers and cold winters. Temperatures in the winter average about thirty to forty degrees and in the summer the range is between 75 to 80 degrees. One of the great things about going to school in New England is the beautiful fall season. With the leaves changing color and the crisp air around you, autumn is a time of year that few other places can parallel. Most students bring two sets of clothes—shorts, tank tops and T-shirts for the fall and spring, and jeans, sweaters, sweatshirts and turtlenecks for the winter.