Young Cutter graphic Students looking to get into the Halloween spirit can help create a spooky experience of their own as Troy University’s Department of Art and Design seeks volunteers for its upcoming haunted house. Malory Magrath, a departmental secretary for the Art and Design Department, said students do not have to limit themselves to one role when volunteering for the event. “We need actors, people to do makeup and move props and just anyone who wants to help out i

Descendants Wicked Wonderland: Wickedly good, top-3 Descendants movie? The Descendants franchise is something many current college students grew up watching. The first film came out over 11 years ago and spawned several sequels and a few television series. Originally, the film series started as a trilogy, with Descendants 3 coming out in 2019. For many of the fans, and even a few of the actors, they believed this was where the story would come to an end. The original fanb

What are you excited for this school year? “I’m excited for graduating and finally being done; other than that, it is studying and passing the CPA exam,” said Clark Smith, a grad student majoring in accounting from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. “I’m excited for the football games. This is my first year not in marching band, so I get to experience what it is like as a regular student,” said Kiavani Palmer, a freshman majoring in nursing from Eufaula, Alabama. “Basketball games. They wo

Students interact with puppies from TARP, Alex Ford photos Students took a break from the first week of classes last week when puppies from the Troy Animal Rescue Project (TARP) visited campus as part of Welcome Week. TARP Director Tiffany Howington said the organization brings puppies to the university each semester to give students an opportunity to step away from studying and de-stress. “Puppies are great for that because they love to be loved on and cuddled, and it’s j

Students gather at the amphitheater for the silent disco, Alex Ford photo To start off the new school year, the University Activities Council (UAC) partnered with Welcome Week to hold a Silent Disco. Students gathered for the semesterly event at the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park Amphitheater. At the event, students wore headphones connected to stations controlled by DJs. Students were provided with headphones by the hosts. With three DJs to rotate between, students wer

Beach House is one of my favorite bands. Their music has been in my life since my sophomore year of high school, and they were a part of me trying to listen to as much music as I possibly could. Their music consistently has this orchestral and cinematic feel to it while having a beautiful and dreamy sheen to it. Truthfully, I think Beach House is perfect at any point during the year, but for this beginning-of-fall-semester season, I would say their debut self-titled album “

Spider-Man Brand New Day In his time as the web-slinging hero from Queens, New York, Tom Holland has been under fire, with people online claiming he is the worst Spider-Man of all time. Holland has done a good job as the friendly neighborhood superhero, but the nostalgia from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield and the Marvel heaviness bogged down his first couple of films. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” served as an ultimate service to fans. It brought back Garfield and Maguire to

Park Band performs at IFC Band Party. Quang Le photo Live music, food and socializing brought Troy University students together on Sunday as the Interfraternity Council (IFC) held its annual IFC Band Party as part of fall fraternity recruitment. The event, held on Fraternity Row and featuring The Park Band, gave prospective fraternity members an opportunity to meet students from Troy’s nine IFC fraternities in a relaxed setting. The band party also gave current fraternity mem

"The light in the painting" by Lizzy McAlpine Lizzy McAlpine is preparing to have listeners read it and weep once again with her upcoming album “Angel,” set to release Sept. 18, 2026. Or... so we thought. McAlpine’s discography, namely albums “Older” and “Older (and Wiser),” which include heart-wrenching hits like “Staying,” “Spring Into Summer,” “doomsday,” “Pushing It Down and Praying” and other scream and cry worthy songs have all left listeners in understandable shambles

Welcome Week invites students to create their vision for Fall Students gather in Trojan Dining Hall for Vision Board Night. Alex Ford photo With a pair of scissors in one hand and a magazine in the other, students searched for the perfect words to represent what they wanted their future to look like. At Vision Board Night, held by the Welcome Week Committee, dreams became more than thoughts; they became something students could see right in front of them. The event gave stude

Featured dancers perfom at the TROYxDAP Gallery Performance. University Relations photos To kick off the month of August, Troy University dance students showcased what they learned while participating in the Danza in Arte a Pietrasanta (DAP) Festival overseas in Italy. The night of performance, which closed out the TROYxDAP International Dance Experience, saw Trojan dancers fill the Trojan Center Theatre soaked in colorful ambiance. Those students weren’t the only performer

Sips Beer Garden and Food Court has introduced a new activity for those who enjoy good books and drinks with their Books and Brews book club. Sips is located in Downtown Troy at 115 Hanchey St. and features dozens of beers on tap, rotating food trucks and live music, a popular spot for locals and students alike. Sips Owner Hailey Finger shared how the club came to be. “Sips has consistently sought to introduce new ideas and events that bring the community together,” Finger sa

Move-in weekend is a stressful time for many students as they are unloading, unpacking and saying goodbye to their families for the school year. However, it can be even more stressful when a student forgets a key component for everyday living. Several students forgot key things for their dorm experience this year, which they said were essential to college survival. “I forgot a mattress topper, so I had to go buy a new one,” said Noah Hadwin, a sophomore political science majo

Students perform at Apollo Night. Jameson Fowler photos An organization highlighting the impact of Black students in journalism is preparing to throw their first event of the semester. Apollo Night is an annual event put on by Troy’s National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and Troy’s Welcome Week Committee that allows students to showcase their talents to their peers at the beginning of every fall semester. “It’s meant to be a fun, high energy event that celebrates t

Current and potential fraternity members enjoy cookout activities. Avery Lewis photos As students returned to Troy University for the fall semester, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) welcomed current and prospective fraternity members back to campus with a cookout designed to build community and kick off the new school year. The event brought together students from across Troy’s Greek life community for food, games and music while giving students an opportunity to reconnect

Another year filled with stories, emotions and creations is set to take center stage. Troy’s Department of Theatre and Dance released its itinerary of productions for the 2026-27 school year. The department’s production season includes literary favorites, inventive adaptations and a variety of student-led performances and projects. “This semester's performances will be ones you don’t want to miss,” said Melody Chen, a senior dance major from Andalusia, Alabama, who is a media

From a smooth nostalgia perspective Bruno Mars’ fourth studio album, “The Romantic,” is a clear, straight to the point 32 minutes, nine-track project that marks a deliberate return to his soulful, retro-inspired sound. Known for blending modern pop with vintage influences, Mars leans even further into his nostalgic aesthetic here, drawing heavily from 1970s and 1980s soul, pop and slow-dance ballads. The result is an album that is polished, emotionally warm and sonically cohe

The mention of a cheerleader probably invokes visuals of the all-American, happy-go-lucky, girl-next-door type who is always happy to support the team under those Friday night lights. Jo Spencer, however, is not quite a picture-perfect part of the cheer squad in Jill McCorkle’s 1984 novel “The Cheer Leader.” This story is about so much more than football games. Rather, this novel is about the maddening nature of what it means to live up to the standards of womanhood in the So

Troy’s popular music band, POPulus, will be releasing a new single this month in a genre the members haven’t previously explored: bluegrass. The band will be releasing a cover of the song “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” this Friday, May 1. Bluegrass is a genre that has inspired students in the band. “I’m a fiddle player, and I’ve grown up on bluegrass and classic country music,” said Chase Dawson, a senior interdisciplinary studies major from Phoenix, Arizona who is playing the fidd

Troy K-EDU Center introduced students to the Korean alphabets through bracelet making at the K-Wave Day last Wednesday. Students focused on greetings and introductions as those are the most basic parts of any language and some of the most useful phrases to someone who isn’t fluent. According to Minsol Kim, the assistant director of the K-Center, the organization’s goal for the event was to give students the tools they needed to communicate with international students and othe

An array of beads was scattered across the lab table in the Math and Science room 212 last Thursday for a bracelet making night. Students from the Troy Beta Beta Beta (Tri Beta) chapter, a biological honor society, made colorful and creative bracelets to sell for a future fundraiser. There was a mix of lettered and colored bead with the students being able to decide how they wanted the bracelets to look. Some were Earth Day themed, some had words and others were just colors.

From live animals to edible insects in a variety of flavors, the annual Earth Day festival brought a fun and unique approach to environmental awareness. Troy’s Naturalist Club, Marine Biology Club and College of Science and Engineering held the event on the quad last Friday afternoon. Those who attended were able to learn about the environment with cyanotype art, live animals, educational zines and artistic activities. While some students explored the exotic, others focused o

The semester has come to an end for Troy’s Symphony Band, after the band’s last concert took place on Tuesday. Conducted mostly by Director of Bands Dr. Mark Walker, the concert also featured three graduate assistant guest conductors, who each got to choose any piece they wanted to conduct. One of the guest conductors said he appreciated the opportunity to create a special moment for both him and the students. “It's incredibly moving to share that opportunity with them,” sa

While we can all agree that the days of the wild west are long gone, this reviewer truly believes that deep down, everyone would like to be a cowboy, at least for a day. Recent media has encouraged this reception of the idealized West primarily through television, film and music. John Grady, the main character of Cormac McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses” (1992), follows that yearning for the great frontier, even when circumstances change the landscape he must work with. Yo