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Turkeys & Testing Thanksgiving is right around the corner. How will COVID-19 affect FGCU students who travel home?
Election Coverage Not ever yone agrees with the election results. Read Eagle Newsʼ brief on the 2020 Presidential Election!
The FGCU Blues Weʼre known for being environmentally friendly, but has FGCU lost its green touch?
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Sam Grizelj Yaritza Rivero Clayton Petro
Sports 19-22 Eagle News
Our Mission Eagle News, the official student media group at Florida Gulf Coast University since 1997, represents the diverse voices on campus with fairness. We select content for our publication and our website that is relevant to the student body, faculty, and staff. Members are committed to reporting the news with accuracy and truth. Our purpose is to encourage conversations about issues that concern the on-campus community Eagle News views every culture with equal respect and believes every person must be treated with dignity.
Cover photo by Julia Bonavita Cover design by Erika Sauer
FGCU fears holiday break will be a COVID-19 super-spreader
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By Nina Mendes News & Features Editor
tudents living on campus are faced with a tough decision this holiday season. They must choose whether to go home and spend Thanksgiving break with family or stay on campus to limit the spread of COVID-19. In conversation with the local medical community, the main concern is students bringing COVID-19 back to their families. “I would encourage some of you, if you can, to choose to skip Thanksgiving and not go home this year,” FGCU President Martin said. “I realize that’s a sacrifice, but it’s something you want to seriously consider.” According to Martin’s Nov. 6 Protect The Nest video, FGCU is worried about asymptomatic students unknowingly exposing their families to COVID-19 during their time away from campus. Junior Jack Donnelly has decided he will stay on campus during Thanksgiving break because his parents have pre-existing health conditions, making them more susceptible to catching the virus. “It wasn’t easy to make this decision, but I know I have to put my family first,” Donnelly said. “I would feel so guilty if I brought COVID-19 home to my parents without knowing it. It’s not worth the risk.” Donnelly is a Naples native and said he still feels connected to his family because they are local. He plans to celebrate the holiday with his roommates, who are also choosing to stay on campus, in their North Lake village dorm. Some students are planning on leaving campus to spend the holiday with friends and family back home.
Senior Megan O’Brien is willing to take the risk.O’Brien booked her flight home to New York months ago, not knowing what the situation would look like for Thanksgiving break. She said she is not worried about exposing her family members to the virus since she has been abiding by COVID-19 guidelines and precautions since March. “I always go home for the holidays, so it wasn’t difficult to decide,” O’Brien said. “I don’t think it was very fair [for FGCU] to say we should stay on campus because we are given the time off to celebrate the holidays.” FGCU is one of the universities in Florida that intends to complete a full semester with in-person, blended and online courses after Thanksgiving break. O’Brien suggested that all classes convert to virtual delivery after the break to prevent the possibility of a rising number of COVID-19 cases upon students’ return. However, President Martin insists that having a full semester provides the best educational experience to students, and he is confident in our capability to end the year strong. The university will administer optional at-home COVID-19 saliva testing before and after Thanksgiving break upon student, staff and faculty requests. Martin said, “As you think about what’s in your best interest, and your family’s best interest, you should consider whether or not this break is one worth taking.”∎
Graphic by Clayton Petro
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ormer Vice President Joe Biden secured the necessary 270 electoral votes to win the presidency on Saturday, Nov. 7. The highly anticipated race was called by the Associated Press, shortly after projecting that Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes would be awarded to Biden – four days after Election Day. Biden, a Pennsylvania native, secured 50.9 percent of the United States’ popular vote and 306 electoral votes, with President Donald Trump receiving 47.3 percent of the popular vote and 232 electoral votes. Both candidates broke national records, with Biden receiving the most votes for any candidate in United States history, and Trump receiving the secondmost. “I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify, who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States,” Biden said in his victory speech on
Saturday night, hours after media outlets projected his victory. However, Trump incorrectly declared himself as the winner in the early hours of Wednesday morning, hours after polls closed throughout the country and has refused to concede. The president is also claiming – without evidence – that there was substantial voter fraud throughout the election and has filed multiple lawsuits in several
headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor.” The Constitution does not state that a winner must be announced on Election Day. Members of the Electoral College meet on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December following the presidential election, to cast their votes for President and Vice President, in 2020, the vote will occur on Dec. 14. The votes are then counted, and the results are signed on six certificates. On Jan. 6, 2021, Congress will assemble to count the electoral votes, and the Vice President will announce the results. Due to a record-number of mail-in and absentee ballots, some states were unable to release final numbers on Election Night, including highly contested states like Georgia, Nevada, and
The election was significantly closer than nationwide polls projected. states. “We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed,” Trump wrote in a statement. “The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states
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Arizona. Many states do not allow supervisors of elections offices to being counting ballots until Election Day, resulting in some results taking longer than previous years. Trump’s rhetoric has deemed these instances as fraudulent, but Election Officials insist that delayed results are a sign that the system is indeed working, and every legal ballot is being counted. The election was significantly closer than nationwide polls projected, with Biden reclaiming the “blue wall” states that turned red in the 2016 Election and Trump clinging onto vital battleground states, including Ohio, Florida, and Texas. Lee County also remained in favor of
Trump, with 56.4 percent of ballots within the county being cast through the mail. According to the U.S. Elections Project, more than 94 million ballots were cast in the days leading up to Election Day, accounting for more than 68 percent of the total votes counted in 2016. The rise in early and mail-
oldest president in United States history, and the first candidate to unseat an incumbent president in 30 years. The President-Elect’s running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, will be the first female, Black, Indian American, and Asian American to hold the office of Vice President. “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” said Harris. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will be sworn into office on Inauguration Day, Wednesday, Jan. 20.∎
“this is a country of possibilities.” in voting was heavily attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many Americans opting to stay away from potentially crowded polling locations on Election Day. Biden, age 77, will be the
FGCU’s 30 credit-hour Master’s Degree in Engineering (MSE) offers three exciting concentrations in Sustainable Water Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, and Construction. Program faculty are experienced teachers who guide and mentor your post-baccalaureate education. The program schedule serves full-time working students with classes held two days a week online or face-to-face between 4:30 pm -7:15 pm. Degree completion is possible in 2 years, and tuition support is available in the form of waivers, assistantships, and scholarships! The application deadline for Fall 2021 is July 1, 2021, and for Spring 2022 is November 15, 2021. To learn more about the program, visit www.fgcu.edu/eng/mse. For assistance, please contact Dr. Danvers Johnston (djohnston@fgcu.edu) or Melinda Morra (mmorra@fgcu.edu).
SWFL Hotspot of the Month:
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A New Mini Golf and Drink Hangout
By Samantha Roesler, Eagle News Editor
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new mini golf course has opened in Fort Myers, but this is not just any typical putt-putt atmosphere. At Popstroke, people will find themselves surrounded by two beautiful mini golf courses, and two fullservice bars. Popstroke opened on September 16 of this year. The mini golf courses are quite special, as they were designed by the team of Tiger Woods. Popstroke has multiple other locations in the country, but this is the first location that Woods has been a part of. “(Woods) has a love for putting, so he saw the need for this type of entertainment,” said Tomarah Davis, Social Media and Event Coordinator at Popstroke. “We also wanted to create an environment for people to hang out, not just play golf and leave like most places.” Popstroke creates this “hangout” atmosphere through their two bars with large seating areas. Drinks include (but are not limited to) their eight signature cocktails, a wide range of different liquors and local draft beers. “We cater towards local breweries,” Davis said. “We try to keep it as local and familiar to here as possible.” Right now, Popstroke is experiencing a higher
For more info, contact Popstroke Phone: 239-323-4653 Address: 5531 Six Mile Commercial Court Ft Myers, FL 33912
Photo by Julia Bonavita
Photo by Julia Bonavita volume of young-adult customers compared to the older Southwest Florida crowd. Currently, the staff is working on getting in the routine of the business while also reaching out to the older demographic, especially with COVID-19 roadblocks. “It’s a pretty large golf course and people have been respectful in regard to COVID,” Davis said. “We’ve been pretty busy especially since it's an outside facility which has helped us a lot.” Popstroke Bar Manager Amy Blagg says that the new entertainment hotspot is taking all the proper precautions needed to ensure people feel safe. “We all wear our masks, and we use sanitizer all over the place,” Blagg said. “I love that its outside, it's an amazing and unique new concert and its welcome to all guests.” College students will get $10 rounds of mini golf on Wednesday nights from 8-10 p.m. with a student I.D.∎
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A First Time Politician And Her
DOOMED CAMPAIGN
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achel Brown always planned to enter politics, but she did not expect to do so before she had even finished college. Brown, 26, is a lifelong Florida resident who seems to care about everything. She is as quick to discuss the environment as she is to talk about health care, transportation and human trafficking. Brown was about eight classes away from her bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering when she was approached about running for the Florida Senate. At a voter registration event in Fort Myers, Brown met Janelle Christensen, chair of the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida. Soon after, Christensen joined a movement in the Florida Democratic party to place a candidate in every state race. She struggled to find candidates in Lee County and reached out to Brown for the District 27 Senate race. Brown agreed to run, took a gap semester, and dove head-first into campaigning. Brown had a difficult race. She facedoff against Ray Rodrigues, a long-time politician with a strong base of support in the community. “There’s a lot of people who are just too afraid to run against an entrenched politician like Ray Rodrigues,” Christensen said. “But [Rachel] is fearless, she has energy. She’s smart, and she’s willing to take this on.” This campaign was Brown’s first foray
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By Sabrina Salovitz Staff Writer
into politics, and while she was undeniably passionate, she admitted that she struggled. “I’m battling against a very powerful man,” Brown said. “It is insanely difficult.” Brown said that she had trouble getting the word out about her campaign with so few resources. She collected just over $10,000 in campaign funds, while Rodrigues raised over $2 million. “When I learned about my opponent and that nobody was going up against him,” Brown said, “I knew that I should.” Ray Rodrigues has spent the past eight years in the Florida House of Representatives, and he decided to run for the Florida Senate seat after he reached his term limit in the House. He secured the Republican nomination after defeating Heather Fitzenhagen by more than 30,000 votes in the primaries. Rodrigues’ experience shows in his bearing. He chooses his words carefully and manages to come off as both soft-spoken and confident. Christensen acknowledged that experience was a factor in this race, but she rejected the notion that Rodrigues’ polish was a sign of his fitness for the job. “It really depends on what it is a person wants,” she said. “Do you want somebody who’s going to lie to you and sound really nice while he does it? Or do you want someone who’s going to be honest and a little raw?”
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Ray Rodrigues said that he believed the efforts of the Democratic Party to place a Democrat in every race would bring them more harm than good. “I actually think [it] will backfire,” Rodrigues said before the election. “I think we’re going to see a greater Republican turnout statewide in Florida because of this effort.” Christensen said she could not imagine this strategy hurting the party. Regardless of whether these efforts increased Republican turnout, Democratic turnout is at a high, she said, citing Collier, Lee and Sumpter counties. She also said that while the Republicans were ahead in raw numbers, the energy Democrats had was much greater. “He can say whatever he wants to make himself feel better,” Christensen said.
There is no way to know whether having more Democrats run impacted the election. Florida stayed red in this election, and Rodrigues won the Florida Senate seat in Lee County. Rodrigues won the District 27 seat on the Florida Senate with 60.5% of the votes. For Brown, this campaign was about simply giving Democrats a candidate to vote for, even though she said she knew she was not likely to win. Christensen said that Brown’s primary job was to speak to the issues and mobilize local Democrats to vote in the election. “Regardless of whether she gets the seat or not,” Christensen said, “if she’s communicated the issues to the community, then it’s a success.”∎
Graphic Courtesy of Rachel Brown
Green
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is one of FGCU’s colors, but how
“green” is it really? By Samantha Roesler, Eagle News Editor
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GCU has recently been recognized as the 32nd most green school in the country, and the only green school in Florida by the Princeton Review. As the university grows, the effort given by the school community to remain ecologically friendly is higher than ever. For Dr. Jennifer Jones, the Director for the Center of Environmental and Sustainability Education, this ranking was not a surprise. “From the day FGCU was founded it had an environmental theme,” Jones said. “You can see it in that the campus has 400 acres of conservation. That’s a sizable chunk of the
Photo by Julia Bonavita
university that’s protected.” When walking FGCU’s campus, students will find themselves surrounded by tropical trees and ponds and all the wildlife imaginable for Southwest Florida. Those green spaces are not only there for attractiveness—teachers utilize this space as grounds for learning. “It’s a natural lab,” Jones said. “We use it for teaching courses, and there’s a whole team of student naturalists that lead hikes and activities and wet walks. Its been part of the university campus and culture for many years, to me that’s something really special.”
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All students are required to spend time learning about the ecosystem that surrounds them at FGCU through a 3-credit colloquium course. This course has been a requirement for 20 years and originally focused solely on environmental sustainability, but now aims to teach students about the three legs of the sustainability stool: environmental, economic and social. “There’s no other university in the country that requires its students to take a threecredit colloquium to graduate,” Jones said. “I’m sure that was one of the metrics that helped us to get that ranking.” Although it seems out of question of whether or not FGCU is doing an optimal job in terms of being a sustainable campus, some students like Sam Schwippert, a senior
at FGCU majoring in both marine science and environmental studies, have their suspicions. “You hear a lot of things from being in the (environmental science) major, but you also see things that are a little suspicious, like the size of the water school,” Schwippert said. The water school, which officially broke ground almost a year ago, will cover over 100,000 square feet and is projected to be finished in spring of 2021. “FGCU does a darn good job on its newer buildings,” Jones said. “Many are LEED certified which is essentially a green building certification. We don’t always reach the highest level of certification for buildings so that’s a place we’d like to improve.” Having greener infrastructure is an ideal scenario for FGCU, but it is highly cost dependent.
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Photo by Julia Bonavita “In terms of getting to that last and highest level (of LEED certification) it can cost a lot of money which can affect the goal of that infrastructure,” Jones said. “So that’s typically us just trying to ask and make good cases for why spending more on these things matter. It’s the same for the curriculum, arguing and making a case that sustainability should be more evident and should touch more students lives.” Schwippert, who has a job on campus, sees a paper waste issue that could be avoidable through electronic announcements. “Working as an RA, I feel like we waste so much paper,” Schwippert said. “Clubs make a lot of goods out of paper that some students appreciate, but I think a lot of the time it’s just discarded.”
From a staff perspective, Jones hears often of students who are teaming up to promote sustainability and approach these types of issues at FGCU. “I know I hear from students all the time that are working on projects for operations that FGCU needs to improve,” Jones said. One project around campus, named the #NOgLITTER Campaign, discourages students from using glitter for their photos. FGCU graduate student Fabiana Solano is the one behind this campaign who noticed a need for change when she saw glitter photoshoots occurring at the university. “I would go to the photo spots on campus for graduation and I would see glitter everywhere,” Solano said. “It would upset me because I would literally see ducks and other wildlife just swim by it or feed near it and it wasn’t right.” Solano took initiative to reach out to students to provide them with glitter alternatives, with the idea of it being more effective than pushing for a glitter ban altogether. “There are so many rules at FGCU that students still break, so at least providing alternatives to this and keeping a positive attitude about it would work better,” Solano said. “We’ve seen it slow down, but it still happens.” Although there are students like Solano that are promoting their peers to a higher sustainability standard, staff members like Jones think that the faculty should also be more encouraged to practice that same amount of ecological awareness. “One thing that I would love to see more visible is student government and other formal student organizations continuing to hold faculty and administration increasingly accountable to do a better job,” Jones said. “I would love to get calls from students saying we’re not doing a good enough job and they demand we do better. That would be great!”∎
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Tax
Trouble
By Rian Walsky, Staff Writer
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verything in life, in some shape or form is related to taxes or has an effect on them. The roads we drive on every day, the school we attend, the houses we live in, the things we buy, the jobs we eventually have, all of these were either built by taxes or take a percent of what was spent as a tax. There are different things that affect the amount of taxes that are taken out, whether it be location, the amount of money someone makes, or what is set by the government that benefits them the most. To dive a little deeper, income tax rates vary based on the amount that you are making, your marital status, and other factors, from there, they are separated into tax brackets. These tax brackets show the progressive taxing if you income, because of this people who make more money are taxed more because with each increase on the bracket more money is paid. There are other, more technical aspects to tax brackets, but one of the most important factors of all of this is deductibles or tax write-offs which gives people to opportunity to lower their taxes in higher tax brackets. Deductions do two things, lower your taxable income as well as give the possibility to be given back to you added onto your tax return. One of the current hot topics is Donald Trump’s taxes and how he only paid $750 in federal taxes in 2016 and how his first year in the white house, he only paid $750 yet again. He paid less money in two years than the average citizen pays in taxes every year, if that doesn’t sit right here is some more unsettling news about Trump’s tax history. According to New York Times, he paid absolutely no income taxes in ten of the previous fifteen years, under the claim that he was losing more money than he made. Trump’s 1995 returns were sent to the New York Times during the 2016 election and showed that he declared losses of $915.7 million and that is the sole reason for avoiding federal income taxes for two decades.
When it was announced that Trump hardly paid anything in taxes he refused to release his tax returns and it wasn’t until late September that New York Times was able to get a hold of the tax returns over the last two decade, including his first two years in office, but it excluded personal returns from 2018 and 2019. Their source was anonymous and after the finding’s were released, Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump organization said that they appeared inaccurate and then said that he paid millions in personal taxes, but that some of what he owed was paid with tax credits which came from rewards for doing different activities. Some of these write-offs or tax credits came from the costs of a criminal defense lawyer, a mansion that the Trump family uses for retreat, the money that her received from the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. His way of avoiding these taxes came because of his businesses that he was running, since they were failing and he was effectively bankrupt, his federal taxes were absolved. However, something with this seems off, if Trump’s businesses and affairs are failing so much that he gets exempt out of paying his federal taxes then how does he remain a billionaire? Is Trump able to achieve this by committing tax evasion and because he has paid people off to keep it quiet he has avoided fines and jail time? Tax evasion is a federal offense in which individuals purposely report their taxes incorrectly, or give a false account of their affairs to the IRS. There have been other celebrities and business owners within the top tax brackets that have committed tax evasion, it isn’t an uncommon crime. It is, however, something that can go unnoticed if everything seems to be normal from the IRS’s standpoint. According to H&R Block the biggest things that the IRS looks out for is unreported income as well as dodgy behavior and typically has to be large amounts for several years where the persons shows willful evasion. They also do not pursue many tax evasion cases if people cannot pay their taxes Although it seems as though Trump may have committed tax fraud and has been doing it for several years, it was kept out of the public eye, it wasn’t a big priority because he supposedly could not pay those taxes Avoiding paying those extra taxes on a said failing business kept him from falling under because he didn’t owe those taxes and in returned saved himself millions of dollars by not paying his taxes. Trump has evaded the IRS’s eye by using dirty techniques to alter the legality of his tax avoidance and make his sob story of a bankrupt business seem legitimate, when in reality he is using it as a way to avoid paying millions of dollars in federal taxes.∎
Getting Married in a Pandemic 15 By Katie Loudermilk, Staff Writer
Photo By: Julia Bonavita
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ost girls dream of a fairytale wedding. Although I was not obsessed over my future wedding, I did put a lot of effort into the planning. The one thing nothing could have prepared me for was COVID-19 crashing my special day. My future husband, Montana Roberts, proposed on our one-year anniversary, June 9, 2019, at the church where we first met in Plant City, Fla. We decided to get married exactly one year later at the same church. A year was the perfect amount of time for me to plan the wedding. Once it was January 2020, all my invitations were sent, and I signed contracts for the caterer, venue, and wedding band. I felt at ease since everything seemed to fall into place. Little did I know what the following months would bring. I heard of the virus slowly hitting the United States from the news, but I did not realize how quickly it would change our everyday lives. I remember sitting in my Monday morning class in March and
my professor broke the news that our classes will be moved to Zoom. I was thinking this would last two weeks at the most, but my classmates and I never returned to in person classes for the remainder of the semester. Once April came closer, I was getting several phone calls from family and friends about whether the wedding would still go on. I was in denial about the virus lasting up to May. I truly believed everything will go back to normal within the month of April. By the time May hit, the clock was ticking, and my June 9th wedding would be here before we knew it. Halfway through the month, my venue had to postpone the event. My caterer and entertainment backed out as well. More RSVP’s were coming in declining the invite due to the pandemic. To add to the disappointment, our cruise for the Honeymoon was canceled. I was very stressed because I had no
idea what to tell guests with their hundreds of questions. Montana and I decided to go on a mini vacation to Sanibel to get away from work and the wedding drama. My anxiety was off the charts and I desperately needed a break. After centering our focus on the importance celebrating our marriage, we agreed on a backup plan. June 9th approached, and our wedding finally came together. We got married at our church and had 30 of our close family and friends, and I was able to wear my dress and be walked down the aisle by my dad. Afterwards, we had cake and enjoyed each other’s company. For our honeymoon, we went to Miami for a long weekend at a private resort. Montana and I made the most of it and if I had to, I’d do it all again. Although I certainly didn’t get my dream wedding, I did get to marry my best friend in front of the people we care about, and COVID-19 doesn’t get to take away that.∎
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hen the first news broke out about the novel Coronavirus this past March, everyone’s lives did a 180. Scrambling in figuring out what’s going on, while hectically flipping back and forth through the news channels, being informed that international flights were canceled, to schools and universities closing and then the country going on lockdown… We’ve really gone to hell and back. It doesn’t even seem like it’s been close to a year, as it now marks eight months of all of us experiencing this global
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go to regarding any recent impacts or what the potential breakthroughs have been surrounding this virus. Wearing masks and facial coverings prevent others from becoming infected or limit the spreading, you would think this would settle with people, but it doesn’t. Even though Florida is a “No Mask State”, which totally baffles me- I get worked up seeing people not wearing in masks. It’s your choice and it’s your right, but I still don’t understand why a person won’t do
they’re responsible over, but then if policy is broken, you’re mandated to report. I’ve learned that not everyone I am in charge of will listen to me, other superiors or abide by the rules set by the university or housing department. The pattern I’ve seen is that the students and residents who complain the most about coronavirus and the pandemic’s impact, have been the ones who have not been correctly following the guidelines enforced on campus. People are going to be selfish no matter what. Even though they’re
Graphics by Erika Sauer
pandemic. Facial masks and social distancing have become a natural habit, well, for those who’ve abided to following CDC guidelines and state to nationwide mandates. I do not take this pandemic lightly as countless lives have been lost, but I do feel that COVID-19 has taken over our lives more than it should. Yes, we must worry and we need to continue taking preventative measures, but I’ve learned to not obsess over it. When visiting friends and family, the majority of the conversation is about COVID-19. I feel like I gossip more about a virus than I do about actual people. Obsessing over something can create more anxiety and this pandemic has already shredded people emotionally, mentally, and financially. Newscasts and health updates are the only reliable sources I
a simple task that could lead to a turnaround. The lesson learned here is that you need to worry about yourself and only yourself. If you’re doing your part, then you’ve proven you do care about the well-being of humanity. The pandemic has also taught me how lucky I am to be able to work and still be employed. As a full-time student and second year Resident Assistant, I’ve been able to tackle a handful of responsibilities… Stressful responsibilities I should add. I recently read an article from Boston University about why being a Resident Assistant during COVID-19 is one of the toughest jobs on campus… The article could not be truer. It can be challenging to build a community effectively when following safety guidelines, and an RA’s job is to befriend all students
putting themselves, you and others at risk, that’s their choice. They can deal with the consequences of it. Understanding what relationships matter to you the most, helps take care of yourself. When you prioritize what’s most important to you, you remember what the importance of kindness does for others who may be dealing with more challenges due to the pandemic. Even though it is more difficult to come to a resolve now, keeping in mind how precious life is, helps show how we need to continue to appreciate. Mankind has been able to overcome a number of trials and one of the efforts we can still act on, is focusing on what you can do in bettering the circumstances. Fear can destroy us, but conformity is one of the most resilient acts we can do during this unknown time we continue to live through.∎
Class Blocking: An Infringement on Education
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By Sam Romero, ENTV Director
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GCU, the sunny and environmental resort for many students in southwest Florida, showcases a gleaming sign on their main page saying, “Our comprehensive academic programs promote thorough scholarship and professional preparation while providing opportunities to explore interdisciplinary paths.” With the rising number of students with undeclared majors or tossing between career paths, it is necessary for the school to maintain students’ ability to explore their future paths. The expansion of course selection is crucial to explore future career paths. However, many FGCU regulations cause a halt to this. Although I am a Journalism major, I’ve always had an inclination towards learning piano. Ever since I was 12 years old, I would rip melodies to shreds with my fingertips. I’ve never had the ability to take a course in high school with the flood of AP courses and honors credits. College would be different, though. After years of waiting, I could finally take MVK 1111, the FGCU piano course, and absorb all the knowledge I’ve desperately been waiting for. However, after a meeting with my academic advisor, music courses are reserved only for Music Majors and Minors. My options severely closed from the image
Photo by Feliphe Schiarolli, from Unsplash of me sitting in front of the piano to sitting behind a cold desk in the only available class: World Music Cultures and Music Appreciation. The trusty banner of “exploring interdisciplinary paths” officially closed on my dream. Many students at FGCU have relied on adding minors and dropping them in order to take the class they want. Even then, students with undeclared majors might not have access to some classes in certain majors that could propel them to a future career. In 2019, a total headcount of 543 students were undeclared majors, according to the Board of Trustees Information System. The number has been steadily rising throughout the years, with a total of 410 students in 2017, and 453 students in 2018. With the number of undeclared majors rising and students with passionate dreams anxiously awaiting college to expand their education, FGCU sits in a position of power as the gatekeeper to educational endeavors. Though Piano classes might be limited to Bower School of Music students only, FGCU should be able to offer introductory-level courses for students who’d like to take the class recreationally and out of curiosity. In the meantime, students can expect to walk away from the school of music, and take their tuition dollars to the nearest Guitar Center shop in Fowler street.∎
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Right To C h o o s e By Rian Walsky Staff Writer
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ith the tragic passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it left an open spot for a new justice, who would be nominated by the president of the United States. Since this year is an election year, it begged the question on whether or not the current president should be the one to appoint a new justice or if the responsibility should be held by the possible presidential elect, after the election takes place. The last time a situation like this arose was when Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away in 2016, it happened to take place during an election year and former President Barack Obama was told that he did not have the power to appoint anyone because it was an election year. However, current president Donald J. Trump was allowed to nominate someone to take the seat that
Ruth Bader Ginsburg once filled. The woman that president Trump appointed and was sworn in by the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett and could possibly endanger everything that Roe v. Wade protects. Let’s take a look at the history of Amy Coney Barrett. According to the Federal Judicial Center; she is an American lawyer, has been a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals since October 2017, has been a professor of law at Notre Dame, and has had connections to a small Catholic organization called People of Praise as well as Alliance Defending Freedom. She has also clerked for Antonin Scalia who acted as her mentor before his passing and actually has stated that their judicial philosophy’s are similar; however, she tended to sway away from his liberal rulings. When taking a look at what Barrett sees from a political standpoint, she is relatively conservative and
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pregnant person’s choice to have an abortion without there being government regulation on what they’re doing, ultimately declaring that it is their body so therefore, their choice. By introducing a candidate who is so strongly sided with the church, it could cause concerns in having the decision overturned endangering the lives of those who are trying to be protected under the ruling. Other than her past with a hate group and religious background there is another issue with introducing her into the supreme court. Although she is experienced in the field of law and understanding what the court of law is like, having a candidate like Amy Coney Barrett join the Supreme Court is dangerous, especially since she has no real past in ruling in a larger more serious court system. Having someone under qualified in such a high position, especially one in the government can undermine the true duality of checks and balances; since there isn’t a true understand of how decisions that are made will affect everyone who lives in the country, decisions that are made may be based on Photo By Bonnie Kittle, from Unsplash emotion and the opinion of those who are tending to it, rather than what is better for the population, has her focus on things that would be respected by disrupting the balance. the church. Without an unbiased overseer, there is nothing One of the reasons that embedding Barrett into stopping her and the other justices from stripping the Supreme Court could be an issue is because of away abortion rights or continuing to take away her connections to Alliance Defending Freedom human rights if they see fit. which has used religion to win court cases and fought By having Amy Coney Barrett apart of the supreme against same sex marriage, they are even considered court there is a chance that everything that has been to be a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law worked towards such as protection for abortions, Center. women’s rights, and same sex marriage could be Separation of church and state has always been compromised. written in the constitution, but when you introduce a Applying her own opinions or ethics to make candidate who has shown to be very forward about certain groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom their religion and being apart of a hate group shows or People of Praise, would ultimately disrupt the that there might be a violation of that protection. integrity of the court of law. What is concerning is that Barrett’s connection Even though Barrett is already sworn in, there and her current standing as a justice in the Supreme are things that we can do to continue to protect the Court, could possibly compromise the ruling of Roe freedoms that we have already fought so hard to v. Wade all together. protect. Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court case that was Protesting and upholding our values is just part of presented in January of 1973, which was introduced the puzzle, continuing to fight for what you believe in because Roe believed that her “right of privacy” or may be the only thing protecting the lives of millions the 14th Amendment was being violated by being of Americans.∎ denied a safe and legal abortion. In a 7-2 ruling, Roe v. Wade now protects a
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Battling Injustice By Jake Henning, Sports Editor
“E
agle Against Injustice” is what covers the shirts Jeremy Boreland and FGCU student-athletes created to show that they will not be silenced this season. Boreland was recently named the FGCU Eagles Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer while still holding his current position as the Assistant Athletics Director for Business Development. A graduate of Florida State University with a degree in sports management and a minor in business, Boreland received his master’s degree in sports business administration from Georgia State in 2012. After many messages from current and former student-athletes, FGCU athletics chose to appoint Boreland and work harder toward diminishing the racial injustice of our society. “It is an honor to work with our
student-athletes and these standing committees to help FGCU be a leader in each of these areas,” said Boreland. And while the shirts are just the first step in his plan to give his student-athletes a voice, Jeremy continues to flow with ideas that will change the culture of FGCU Athletics. The FGCU women’s basketball team showed their support, all wearing the shirts while warming up for their Blue vs. Green scrimmage. They even held a moment of silence and knelt, while the scoreboard was covered with the social injustice message FGCU had put out earlier in the year. “Having worked with both the committee groups and then witnessing what our student-athletes want to accomplish to make the community better for all is inspiring and humbling,” Boreland says.∎
Photo By: Julia Bonavita
The Return of
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BASKETBALL At FGCU
By Zion Ruffi fin n Staff Writer
W
Photo by Julia Bonavita
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ca n
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“H
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inter is coming, and so is basketball With the global pandemic, the only way for sports fans here at FGCU. Both the men’s to be at games comes added rules and restrictions in and women’s basketball teams are order to keep everyone safe. Masks will be required throughout games, similar set to tip-off their season in late November and there’s a lot of excitement as the new to how FGCU has enforced masks on campus this semester. Spectators will also be socially distanced collegiate season begins. After the postponement of fall sports due to with a certain number of seats in between each person. COVID-19, many had questions as to g that this y As of right now it seems only students and n i p ea season ticket holders will be allowed whether we’d see the return of men’s and r’s ho into the stadium until further notice. women’s basketball here at FGCU. is Although all of this is done for After some careful planning by the safety of all those attending both FGCU and the ASUN, Dunk basketball games, it will take City and Raining Threes will be away some of the joys that back in action in the coming comes with college basketball. weeks. “It certainly won’t be as loud “I’m super excited about the as it normally is,” Whelan said. start of basketball season, I’m He’s hoping this doesn’t have a hoping to go to as many games as negative effect on how they play possible,” said first year basketball this season. player Connor Whelan. “I’ve heard i ag re While the atmosphere in the such good things when it comes to our m p lic s i h a t te stadium won’t be as intense and exciting basketball teams, so I’m hoping for good as it normally is, having some fans in person things this season.” Whelan, who is in his first year here, knew about will still be an added bonus to an end to a crazy year. The boys kick off their season at home against FGCU basketball from their Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament back in 2013. He is hoping that FAMU before a three-game road trip, which includes a trip down to Dade County to take on the Miami this year’s team can replicate that magic. Not only will some of Southwest Florida’s finest Hurricanes. The girls begin their season by hosting the ball players be back in action, but also the return of Gulf Coast Showcase as they take on Missouri State, fans at sporting events here at FGCU. Alico Arena Arkansas, and Davidson. “I can’t wait for the season to start, I’m glad I has always been a difficult place for opponents to finally get to experience some college basketball,” says compete and it will be no different this year. However, the inclusion of fans for this upcoming Whelan.∎ season will come with some new rules and restrictions.
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Club of the Month:
Competitive
Cheer A
By Jake Henning, Sports Editor
s COVID-19 continues to impact many clubs at FGCU, some are still trying to keep their activities going, with competitive cheer being one of those. COVID-19 has limited their opportunities to work with teams and organizations outside of Lee County, preventing exposures and limiting their travel. During practice, they try to social distance as much as possible, wearing masks during most of their physical activity. Trying to keep a regular schedule, they practice most weeks on Monday and Wednesday. A lot of cheer events happen in the spring, so fortunately for them, not much has been cancelled/postponed. Since the club started in 2015, the cheer club has grown exponentially. They currently have 28 members and are practicing as often as they can. Their biggest event this year will be the NCA College Nationals competition that they attend every year in Daytona, Florida. In their single division, they also compete against FAU and FIU, as well as other schools across the country.∎
A Letter from
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the Editor By Nathan Wilson Executive Editor t is the most wonderful time of the year, and no, I am not talking about Christmas. Put on your Grinch face Mariah, because “Yule” be sorry if you miss out on this truly wonderful holiday- Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time where you can commit the deadly sin of gluttony and be hailed as a god amongst your family. Baffling and amazing them at where you can put all of that food, but who can blame you when you have indulged yourself in the fine cuisine of Sovi Dining. One of the main reasons I love Thanksgiving dinner, especially with my extended family, is the unique options you can get from southern home cooking. Everything from rabbit and dumplings to green spaghetti, nothing is off limits with the Wilson clan. However, the Wilson Thanksgiving does not stop with a lunch with more food and colors than a Dr. Suess novel. We continue by enjoying America’s favorite pastime, and I am not talking about football. We are talking about those crazy stories about the family over the years, everything from Aunt Kate
I
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telling a cop to stop yapping and help her fix the car whom she married a few years later to yours truly losing his breakfast on UAE diplomate. After we are “Grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ a sweet tater,” it is time for my mother’s favorite part of the holidays, as she lovingly puts it… war. Black Friday can put the fear of god into any hardened soldier. I personally once saw a couple end up in a fistfight over $4 towels in Arcadia. However, it is enjoyable how erratic mothers can get to be able to get that perfect Christmas gift. It’s almost touching if you ignore the missing teeth and blood spatter of the competitor trying to steal that Lego set. Thanksgiving is a growing time because it brings families together who may not have seen each other in a long time, had disagreements about the current political situation, or waiting to hear the first news of how your semester of college is going. Despite these divisive past months, gathering with family and loved ones can heal all wounds with a common mindset. Happy Thanksgiving from our family in Eagle Media to yours!∎
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