  We report results relating to the trinification scenario in some explicit
string constructions that contain SU(3)^3 as a gauge symmetry. These models are
obtained from symmetric Z_3 orbifolds of the SO(32) heterotic string with one
discrete Wilson line. We highlight the obstacles that were encountered: the
absence of the usual Higgs sector that would break SU(3)^3 \to SU(3)_c \times
SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y; the presence of exotics that would generically befoul
gauge coupling unification and lead to fractionally-charged states in the low
energy spectrum.
