SPOILER ALERT! With Jimmy Nichols I used 2025 as the year to educate myself on some of the best movies ever made. For the first time, I watched “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Dead Poets Society” and “The Shining.”  Every new movie brought a new experience, enjoyment and appreciation for how movies are laid out and constructed. One movie that builds on this expertly is “Good Will Hunting.”  In the breakout film for future A-list actors, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, the audience follo

'Debate team brings home two big wins in recent tournaments' (2/2) In a sweeping victory, Carmen Cruz, a sophomore history major from Madison, Alabama, was crowned Novice IDPA Champion of the H. Neher Bulldog Battle on Jan. 17, 2026.   The tournament was held virtually by Butler University and consisted of preliminary, semifinal and final rounds. Cruz completed the preliminaries with a 3-1 record, moving her to the semifinals where she defeated Valdosta State University 3-0. 

Anais' Annotations Science fiction as a genre tends to conjure images of robot-human hybrids and spaceships soaring through the sky. In Rachel Ingalls’ 1982 novella “Mrs. Caliban,” this classic definition is put to the test. The author combines elements of science fiction with a psychological thriller; all set in an average suburban home. This tiny book packs a punch of meaning and heartache.  The story’s main protagonist, Dorothy, is a highly unstable but compelling characte

The Troy men’s tennis team fell 4-0 to the Miami Hurricanes this past Wednesday. The match continued their Florida trip, as they faced Florida State last Sunday.  With the match set to be played on Tuesday morning, the south Florida weather disrupted things and pushed the match to Wednesday. Because of the weather, singles matches were played first in Miami’s sweep.  Troy Athletics photo Auslas Martin Melo scoops a ball On court three, Trojan freshman Ryusei Miyazato dropped

Emma's Enlightements This Week’s Advice: Looking Back and Falling Forward.   Welcome back! Even though it’s an adjustment going back and forth, I hope everyone had a much needed, restful break. I had a lot to think about during my time back home.  Over the break, I learned something important: you can look back, but don’t fall back.  I was by myself for a while, and I was thinking way too much.   I started missing people I shouldn’t have and falling back into old habits of s

Troy Athletics announced Dan Heck as the new deputy athletics director for external relations and revenue generation. Athletics Director Kyle George announced the news over the winter break.  “I am extremely excited to welcome Dan and his family to Troy,” George said in a Troy Athletics press release. “You win with people, and I am thrilled we are able to add one of the most dynamic marketers in the industry to our team.”  Straight out of college, Heck worked at Arizona for f

Following an eventful fall season, the Troy women’s tennis team is counting down to its spring debut. The season is set to open in Jacksonville, Florida, when the Trojans take on North Florida. Saturday Jan. 24 marks the beginning of a journey that concludes in April at the Sun Belt Tournament.  Leading the team is the senior duo of Valeriia Avdeeva and Maria Guirguis. Avdeeva finished the fall season with a 6-5 record in singles play, while Guirguis went 8-3. As a duo, the s

The Troy men’s basketball team earned back-to-back home victories last week over Southern Miss, 91-65 and Arkansas State, 99-74. The Saturday win over the Red Wolves lifted the Trojans to the number one spot in the Sun Belt Conference standings.  Following two consecutive road games, Troy returned home with a statement win over Southern Miss, 91-65. A career night for Cobi Campbell led the way as the redshirt junior earned a new best of 30 points. He set a new career high of

You hear that? Exactly. Nonsense, which is basically what baseball is.  Baseball is boring and confusing. Now, don’t get me wrong; it has its perks here and there, but overall, it’s nothing compared to a fast paced, hyped, physical and active sport.   Soccer is exactly that.  When it comes to soccer, you are guaranteed some type of action at least every five minutes. With baseball, you’re lucky to be done with the first inning by the time you come back from the concession sta

With 2026 in full swing, I wanted to highlight some of the releases from last year that I personally enjoyed. The albums and songs I have mentioned are not in any specific order, but all of them are recommended by me.  Jane Remover’s album “Revengeseekerz” dropped last year and it was definitely my most anticipated album coming into 2025. It excelled my expectations dramatically, to the point where I thought every song was a hit. I like to describe “Revengeseekerz” as being j

Since 2004, the NASCAR Cup Series has had a variety of different postseason formats. What once was a simple points-earning system with the top-performing driver being crowned the champion became a convoluted, confusing, and sometimes unnecessary gimmick.  In 2016, NASCAR introduced its current version of the “Playoffs”. In it, 16 drivers would qualify after a 26-race regular season. With a “win and you’re in” model, it intends to make every race important throughout the seaso

2025s catalogue of music was disappointing. I recall weeks of the summer spent feeling like there was something good waiting just around the corner, only to poke my head out and repeatedly find nothing.   Ironically, in their stead, I found myself listening to droves upon droves of tracks released the year prior, and the one before that. Songs that within months became soundtracks to swathes of my time had, in fact, found their first air before the calendar turned 25.   Album

SPOILER ALERT! With Jimmy Nichols 2025 was a bounce-back year for movies following a lackluster 2024. The releases of “Sinners,” “Superman,” “Weapons,” and “Wicked: For Good” helped cinemas recover following a year with only a couple of noteworthy releases.   One movie released later in the year was only released on Netflix with much fanfare--  the sequel to the “Knives Out” franchise.    This franchise has been one of my favorites since the first movie. Each time they have a

Anais' Annotations After having spent much of my life not being interested in the film version, I decided to take some time during the winter break to read “Dances with Wolves” (1988). Michael Blake’s novel is better known for its film adaptation, a popular culture icon starring Kevin Costner. Despite its cultural lingering in the halls of cinema fame, I found Blake’s story left a lot to be desired.  The basics of the plot sound solid: post-Civil War, a United States soldier

I remember sitting in my grandmother’s living room, opening an old box full of small, painted tiles. She used to let me play with them on the floor on the condition that all the tiles went back into the box. She tried to explain the game of Mahjong to me once or twice, but it never stuck in my young brain. I always understood it as a pastime for people who didn’t understand how to open a web browser.  However, Mahjong is not just a game for grandparents anymore. The classic g

Aries: New year, new you! Time to challenge yourself this year in ways you didn’t know you could. Maybe you can go skydiving and then hit up a volcano tour! Oh wait, you might need something more extreme to prove yourself.   Taurus: You’ve always enjoyed the finer things in life, so that’s just what this year will be: fine.  Gemini: You’ve already plugged the latest social events and group gatherings into your Google Calendar, every day of this year has been booked already, l

What if you combined sweeping ambient soundscapes with the denseness and fuzziness of shoegaze? The answer lies in Lovesliescrushing, who has managed to create the perfect marriage between the two over their entire career. One of their best albums, “Xuvetyn,” turns 30 years old in 2026, and I am here to say that it is every bit as forward thinking as it was upon first release.  “Valerian (Her Voice Honeyed)” fades into a song that slides from airiness to deepness like being u

Troy University’s Department of Art and Design held an awards ceremony for the grand opening of the new exhibit in the International Arts Center (IAC): the Senior Thesis Exhibit on Dec. 11. This semester’s showing highlighted works from graduating students of the 2025 fall graduating class.  This exhibit showcases the capstone projects of art and design students in the Huo Bao Zhu Gallery. At the ceremony, the Dean’s Award recipient was Maddie Ashendorf, a senior graphic desi

The show will go on for Troy’s Department of Theatre and Dance as the spring semester takes center stage.  The department’s upcoming productions include "Something Rotten!,” “God of Carnage” and “Art In Motion: An Exhibit of Soul.” Further throughout the semester, spring auditions will take place.   “I think that the audience can expect a range of styles from our upcoming shows,” said Dancer and Costume Shop Assistant Kelsie Williams, who is a senior dance major from Montgome

Each coming New Year is anticipated around the globe with celebrations and long-standing traditions. However, these customs were not always marked by fireworks, countdowns and resolutions.  The earliest recorded New Year celebration dates back to around 2000 BCE in ancient Babylon with the festival of Akitu. This 12-day celebration marked the beginning of the agricultural season and concluded with the crowning of a new king. To gain favor from the gods, citizens made promises

Troy University is set to hold its 53rd annual High School Southeastern United States Concert Band Clinic and Honor Bands (SEUS) on Feb. 5-7. The event is focused  on individual performers who apply and audition to participate in the event.  In previous years, anywhere from 60-90 schools were represented from Alabama and neighboring states. Occasionally, these students even come from other parts of the country.   “This event, like many other events across the country, is desi

Evan Crenshaw is one of the most awarded Trojans from last season, and the awards keep coming in. In the same season where the prolific punter was a finalist for the Ray Guy award and earned Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Year, Crenshaw was named for the Sporting News All-America First Team.   Soon after his initial selection, Crenshaw was named to the Football Writers Association of America All-America First Team. With his second national honor, Crenshaw became the fir

Troy women’s basketball team moved to 13-3 following back-to-back wins with the help of Fortuna Ngnawo. In the process, Ngnawo picked up her seventh and eighth double-doubles on the season. In addition to her eighth double-double, the Trojans toppled the team who ended their conference championship push last season.  Against Arkansas State, the Cameroon native earned her 18th double-figure scoring performance in the last 19 games. She led all scorers with 21 points while grab

The R. Douglas Hawkins Tower sits on the west side of Veterans Memorial Stadium with every floor of the six-story building offering a unique maze for new visitors. On the third floor sits academic offices and an inconspicuous office, numbered 315.   The office is decorated with old Troy memorabilia, graduation cards from old students and some surprisingly comfortable chairs -- it also boasts a beautiful view looking over campus. Yet the most impressive part of the office is t