Campus Life
For Trinity students, an active life outside of the classroom is an integral part of the college experience. Many choose to explore the varied cultural, historical, and community events that Washington, D.C., offers. A student can research her family tree at the National Archives, attend a play or hear a symphony at The Kennedy Center, see heads of state, visit the White House, or serve as a Smithsonian volunteer.
The campus itself provides a wide range of activities. Students who join the athletic teams face physical challenges together. Attending a lecture by a Supreme Court justice can offer new insights into how legal precedents are set. Helping at a local shelter often leads to a new understanding of human needs and perseverance. Trinity provides a variety of programs to meet the needs of its diverse community, which includes undergraduate and graduate students; commuter and resident students; and national and international students. When these groups work together, there is a dynamic opportunity for sharing insights and experience.
Student Affairs
Student Affairs is a comprehensive and collaborative unit on campus that includes the following units: Athletics; Campus Dining; Campus Housing and Residence Life; Campus Ministry; Health and Wellness Center; and Student Services and Activities. Student Affairs supports the mission of the university through encouraging personal growth and enriching the quality of campus life through innovative student-centered services and programs that foster self-efficacy, leadership and integrity. Student Affairs strives to increase student retention, foster engagement and build community by empowering our students within an inclusive and supportive environment. Student Affairs is committed to providing appropriate support for every student, in all academic units.
Student Activities and Leadership
Trinity offers a variety of opportunities for learning and experience outside the classroom. Through the Dean of Student Services office and the Student Government Councils, student organizations conduct campus-wide events for entertainment, cultural enrichment, political awareness, and service. Student-run clubs, such as the College Democrats, the Women’s Student Action Coalition, Ladies F.I.R.S.T. Math and Science Club, and the Butterfly Network; sponsor activities and programs that are open to all students enrolled at Trinity. Trinity students help manage The Record, a literary magazine. Trinity also has chapters of several national honor societies: Phi Beta Kappa; Alpha Sigma Lambda, the national honor society for adult learners; Beta Kappa Chi, the national honor society for science; Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for communications; Pi Sigma Alpha, the national honor society for political science; Alpha Phi Sigma, the national honor society for criminal justice; Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society for history; Sigma Iota Rho, the national honor society for international security studies; and Psi Chi, the national honor society for psychology.
Campus Ministry
Campus Ministry lives out the mission of Trinity through building community, nurturing faith through praise and worship opportunities, and actively seeking avenues for social justice. Uniquely poised at the intersection of Church and Higher Education, Campus Ministry encourages the campus community to form a sense of ultimate purpose and meaning while cultivating greater freedom, understanding, maturity and integration. Our common life is rooted in the shared belief that education and faith are transforming powers. Modeled by the friendship of St. Julie Billiart and her co-foundress, Francoise Blin de Bourdon, we celebrate our diversity, interdependence and solidarity. Trinity’s mission of education with justice remains grounded in friendship across racial, ethnic, economic and religious lines.
St. Julie Billiart, SNDdN, believed that in prayer we would find the strength to sustain us on our journey. Through prayer, worship, and spiritual enrichments we seek to deepen our own relationship with God. As each one of us grows in our own religious tradition we also seek to understand the religious traditions of others. In cultivating a generous heart, doing service, and working to grasp the systemic structures of injustice, we pursue personal and communal responses to injustice as a way of changing the world. Empowered by the Spirit states that “Campus Ministry is called to be a consistent and vigorous advocate for justice, peace and the reverence for all life. Action on behalf of justice is a significant criterion of the Church’s fidelity to its mission… It is not optional, nor is it the work of only a few in the Church.” (#73). For more information, please contact Campus Ministry at 202/884-9608 or stop by 219 Main Hall.
Athletics
Trinity offers many opportunities for College of Arts and Sciences students to excel and develop the necessary skills for competition in intercollegiate athletics. Dedicated coaches bring years of experience, knowledge, and motivation to the program and their coaching philosophy encourages athletes at all skill levels to participate.
Trinity’s athletic program is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, and Trinity’s teams abide by the rules of the NCAA. Trinity sponsors five intercollegiate sports: basketball, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.
The Trinity Center for Women and Girls in Sports is the largest facility dedicated to women’s athletics in the nation. The Trinity Center houses a multi-use space for basketball and volleyball, a swimming pool, a weight room, a dance/aerobics studio, lockers and showers, and team rooms.
The Honor System
Trinity’s Honor System is the foundation for all expectations about student conduct at Trinity. The Honor System expects students to act with honesty and integrity in all matters and to respect the rights of others in the community. Trinity’s specific policies and rules emanate from the fundamental principles of the Honor System. Procedurally, the Honor System also expects students who violate the principles of honor, or the policies and rules that operationalize those principles, to admit their misconduct and even to self-report violations. The expectation of self-reporting is consistent with the ideal of honor that expects individuals to be sufficiently mature to be able to admit wrongdoing and accept the consequent penalties. Please also refer to the official Policy on Academic Honesty.
Student Policies
Students in all programs should review the Student Handbook and Policies on Trinity’s web site for a complete set of student policies. Students should particularly review the Trinity Student Code of Responsible Conduct found on the web site for a general code of student conduct which binds all students in all schools.
Resident and Commuter Policies
Because Trinity’s educational mission and philosophy extend well beyond the classroom to include a range of learning opportunities and developmental experiences, Trinity encourages all students in the College of Arts and Sciences to live on campus. Residential living enables students to explore the rich dimensions of community life and embark on their own personal development with the guidance of professional staff.
All students living in residence halls must be on a meal plan provided by the University. The Vice President for Student Affairs may grant exemptions from the meal plan for documented medical or religious reasons for which cannot be accommodated by Dining Services.
Lockers and mailboxes are available to all commuter students. Lounges are available in Main Hall to connect, study, and relax.
Children on Campus Policy
Please refer to the Children on Campus Policy for the complete policy.
Smoking Policy
Please refer to the official Policy Statement on Smoking for the complete policy.
Student Traditions
Trinity celebrates many traditions. Class colors — red, blue, green, and gold — were chosen by the first four graduating classes. At the end of the year, graduating seniors bequest their color to the incoming first-year class, creating a common bond between every fourth class. During the academic year there are special days for the celebration of individual classes according to “class color.”
Other long-standing traditions at Trinity include the First-Year Convocation, Cap & Gown, and Founders’ Day.