This is a shot of Trinity’s rain garden, right alongside the McCook building on campus.  The garden was planted at the bottom of a small hill, where water often collects after a shower.  In the garden are mums, shrubs, and other water-loving plants.  Rain gardens are most common in urban areas, or areas that don’t have a lot of natural plant life. A convenient and efficient use of rain water, researchers have found that rain gardens improve water quality, and cut down pollution rates.  (photo by Abbey Schlangen ’16)

Ever wonder where all the Internet on Trinity’s campus comes from? The College operates with three servers and one router. Throughout campus, there are tens of hundreds of “utility closets” that are home to networking wires. Trinity’s Web is interconnected with larger “hubs,” connected by wires that run along/underneath the Connecticut River. For more on the Information Technology team at Trinity, visit: http://www.trincoll.edu/LITC/its/Pages/default.aspx.

(photo by Abbey Schlangen ’16)

This weekend, Trinity dedicated the new Gates Quad, which has become another point of beauty on Trinity’s campus. This slideshow/video tracks the progress that was made in 90 days this summer to make the transition from Mather Quad to Gates Quad possible.

This photo of the Quirks, one of Trinity’s all-female a Cappella groups, was taken last week at the NBC-CT station before the group performed live on air.  The Quirks will also perform as part of a special on a Cappella music on WNPR’s The Colon McEnroe Show, today at 1 p.m.  Click here to listen live, or for the archive.  For more on the Trinity Quirks, visit their website:www.trinitycollegequirks.com.

(Photo courtesy Rachael Burke ’14)

Every year, traditionally in the fall to mark the start of Gay and Lesbian History Month, the members of Encouraging Respect Of Sexualities (EROS), Trinity College’s Gay-Straight Alliance, perform a “chalking” of the campus. The chalking includes many phrases to help raise visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (or LGBT) individuals.  Free t-shirts and rainbow flags were handed out at the cave for students that pledged their support.

(photo by Abbey Schlangen ’16)

This slideshow features viewpoints of Trinity students while traveling.  The Center for Urban and Global Studies (CUGS) held its annual student photography competition, awarding and recognizing the best original urban or global-themed student photographs.  The eligible photos can be from study abroad trips, personal travel, or any other photographs with an urban or global theme.  This group of distinguished photographs was selected by a panel of faculty members, staff and students, and was printed for exhibition at the Study Away Fair, Mather Art Space, and the Center for Urban and Global Studies for the remainder of the academic year.

When you spot a purple ribbon on campus, remember the Relay for Life at Trinity College, an annual event that supports cancer research through the American Cancer Society.  The reflective and fun event has been the largest student-led fundraiser at the school for nearly a decade, raising an average of $50 thousand dollars annually for the Cancer Society.  It’s never too early to get involved: http://bit.ly/Qg27um.

(photo by Abbey Schlangen ’16)

As part of a reinvigorated campus recreation and intramurals program at Trinity, zumba classes are offered free to students, faculty, and staff at the College.  This photo was taken at a recent zumba class, which is offered Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5:30 p.m. at Unit D in the Ferris Athletic Center.  For more, visitwww.trincoll.edu/StudentLife/HealthWellness/Recreation

(photo by Abbey Schlangen ’16)

In April, the Trinity College Quirks sang at a New Britain Rock Cats Minor League baseball team, but the all-female a Cappella group has since been called up to the big leagues.  This weekend, the Quirks sang the Canadian National Anthem before the Boston Red Sox played the Toronto Blue Jays on Connecticut Day at Fenway Park.  Baker’s Dozen, an all-male a Cappella group from Yale, sang America’s National Anthem.  According to the Twitter feed of Gordon Edes, Boston Globe and ESPN writer, both groups “killed it!”

(photo courtesy Bettina and Mark Muto-Graves)

Trinity welcomed the Class of 2016 with an action packed orientation.  As part of the festivities, two groups were given a rare all-access behind-the-scenes tour of campus. The above photo was taken on top of the High Rise building.  The group was led by Amy DeBaun, Director of Campus Life, and Brian Killian, Campus Safety Officer at Trinity.

(photo courtesy Amy DeBaun)