Volume 13 Issue 5

The student newspaper at Florida Gulf Coast University since 1997

AGLE NEWS Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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Volume 13, Issue 5 @fgcueaglenews

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A3

NEWS

Venezuela

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Professor Sharon Isern demonstrates a procedure to her Virus Hunters class.

They hunt viruses One student gets to name lab discovery

By Oscar Santiago Torres Staff writer @fgcueaglenews

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SPORTS

Women’s opener

B1

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E & L

ROC the Nest

A6 Courtesy of Greg Cunningham

OPINION

Greek life

B7

An agar plate lies still.

Omnicron has destroyed the layer of bacteria inside the plate, leaving plaques or dark holes 2 mm in diameter. Omnicron is a virus replicating itself inside the plate.

The discovery of this virus belongs to Tasha Baer, a Florida Gulf Coast University student from the 201314 Virus Hunters course. Baer’s discovery of a virus is not the only one. Fourteen of her classmates join the discovery of unique viruses.

Each student like Baer isolates, names and analyzes new mycobacteriophages (known as phages) or viruses that infects one or more of the mycobacteria (bacteria) that are inside the plate. FGCU students have sequenced two viruses that refer to the process of ordering how the subunits in a chain of a virus are structured. The results among other information about the viruses are on the Mycobacteriophage Database (phagesdb.org), which is a national database that collects and shares data, pictures and related

information.

This opportunity for students comes with approval from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Education Alliance–Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science program.

The SEA-PHAGES program encourages students to join the research-based laboratory course to discover and learn about the new phages. After a competitive process last year, eight schools, including FGCU, are members, and FGCU is now moving forward on its second year, joining over 70 schools in the U.S. Each student or virus hunter who takes the honors class at FGCU is not researching alone.

From last year’s roster, seven are now teaching assistants. One is a former TA and the rest are students from the 2013 honors virus hunters class. These teaching assistants or “phage masters” help the 19 students and Sharon Isern, Ph.D. before, during and after this year’s class.

The class involves rigorous training before students can even begin to “hunt” for viruses.

Necessary techniques.

Mandatory sterilization. Soil sampling. Research. Here’s an

inside look at what students learn during the first and second semester:

First semester: Virus discovery “I had no idea what I was doing,” said Samantha Gatt, a first-year student who took the class through dual enrollment and is now a teaching assistant.

“This time I finally realized what everything meant.”

Virus hunters begin learning techniques using instruments such as micropipettors of P1000, P20 and others to transfer volumes. The micropipettors lay on the table that the phage masters prepare before class.

The hunters will only need to come and sterilize the equipment and table before use.

“There is a lot of behind the scenes stuff,” said Santiago Yori, a second-year student. “You have to set up everything.”

“When you start getting closer to the end, that’s when it becomes very important, and you’re working with drops that you can barely see, so you have no clue if you actually did anything,” said

Brandon Ashley, another TA. Experience working with instruments varies for each student as well; knowing the instruments will allow students to move forward in their research.

Even though the viruses are not harmful to people, fungus contamination can be a result inside the plate if the student’s bacteria from their surroundings or themselves falls inside the plate, creating other bacteria.

“Students need to protect the bacteria from us,” Isern said.

After learning the techniques and appropriately sterilizing the tools, each student collects a soil sample from anywhere they choose as long as they record the GPS coordinate. Next, they isolate a virus from the other billion virus particles from the sample. The students will eventually find one virus, or a pure or homogenous preparation of that virus that replicates itself.

Isern’s trip with her 14 students last year to the University of Florida allowed the students to see their viruses face-to-face using the electron microscope. Before that, students prepare their samples on

>> Continued on A4

Safety comes first, but we’re second FGCU has one of lowest campus crime rates in the nation

By Megan Turetsky Staff writer @meganturetsky University Primetime (UP) has recently named Florida Gulf Coast University the second safest university in America — only behind Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. UP used several criteria including how many arrests have been made on and off campus in recent years and number of student deaths.

“The statistics account for nine types of criminal incidents, which we weighted based on a subjective judgment of violence,” said Chris Weigen, author of the article.

University Chief of Police Steven Moore explained that the campus is safe due to a conjunctive effort made by the FGCU community, university police department, student affairs, and the Office of Housing and Residence Life.

“A vast majority of the credit for having a safe campus goes to the students because they just behave and we have a great student body,” Moore said.

The police department also partners with the Behavioral Consultation and Assessment Team, Counseling and Psychological Services and a few other internal partners.

Externally, University police works closely with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to ensure a safe campus.

“We have a very nice campus and a very nice location. We aren’t in the middle of a city, and that helps us,” Moore said.

The campus has seen a minimal amount of robberies and assault cases, which definitely aids in the safety of the university.

Within the past 36 months, there haven’t been any student deaths on or off campus, which

>> Continued on A4

FGCU’s PGM program is located in Sugden Hall.

EN Photo/Jessica Souza

Swing to success

FGCU’s golf program soon to be only in state

By Jessica Souza Staff writer @fgcueaglenews Florida Gulf Coast University is one of only 18 schools in the nation with a Pro Golf Management (PGM) program accredited by the Professional Golfers' Association of America, according to program director Tara McKenna. Now that Florida State University is no longer accepting students into its PGM program, FGCU is the only school in the state offering this program

to freshmen.

The main difference between PGA accreditation and a school that simply offers a golf program is that a PGA accredited school offers students a starting point for the PGA certification process to become a Class A member, or somebody who is considered a PGA professional. The only other way to become a Class A member is to attend an apprentice program in Port St. Lucie.

Marty Hall, the FGCU PGM

>>Continued on A4

EDITOR: NINA BARBERO NEWS@EAGLENEWS.ORG

A2 NEWS EAGLE NEWS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 The official student produced newspaper at Florida Gulf Coast University since 1997.

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SG won’t be funding tutors

By Megan Turetsky Staff writer @meganturetsky Student Government Senate voted Tuesday to accept Student Body President Domenic Volpi’s veto of a bill that would have helped to fund the Center for Academic Achievement.

The CAA Instructional Support Program bill would have granted $78,100 to pay for tutors for lower level math, science, economics, business finance and introductory psychology courses for students.

Senate voted unanimously to pass this bill on July 29 and Volpi vetoed the bill the following day.

In his veto statement, Volpi said the veto was to “allow the Senate to reconsider how much we are willing to allocate.”

“FGCU Student Government was under the impression when this decision was made that

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ABOUT US: Eagle News, founded in 1997, is the student newspaper at Florida Gulf Coast University. The newspaper is the only student produced publication on campus and is entirely student run.

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budget is what is best for the student body,” Sen. Robert Garcia said.

Many senators continued to express support for the bill and after a 19-2 vote, the veto was upheld.

Sen. Thieldens Elneus was one of the two students who voted to overturn the veto.

“I don’t think that anyone in this room knew of the repercussions from overturning this bill,” Elneus said.

Elneus was unsure of the future of the CAA tutoring.

“There was a lot of speculation on the bill and none of us know what will happen,” Elneus said.

The future of the funding of CAA is questionable, and in the coming weeks university administrators will need to assess the situation.

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we would have more funds than we actually have this year to allocate out to our students,” Volpi said.

The bill was brought up again Aug. 26 to allow senators the chance to overturn the veto.

CAA staff was in attendance for the meeting.

Prior to discussion, SG Treasurer Michael Danis explained that he had done research on 10 other state universities and found that none of their student governments pay for tutors. In other universities the money for tutors comes from education and general accounts rather than activities and service accounts.

“Vice President (Ron) Toll received $8.1 million in performance based funding this year.

This is 33 percent of our budget and it’s only week one,” Danis said.

Senators quickly changed their minds about the bill that they previously voted unanimously to pass.

“I don’t see how spending one-third of our

Events Rookery Bay Reserve is looking for Communication and Hospitality Management students to assist their Friends of Rookery Bay Event Planner. You would be attending events with her to secure donors; preparing flyers and other advertisements, as well as assisting during events. Depending on your interest and level of commitment, additional opportunities may be considered. Contact Volunteer Coordinator Donna Young at volunteer@rookerybay.org or 239-530-5974.

WGCU (on campus) presents family literacy workshops at 14 area Title I schools. The station provides single-page handouts to parents who attend the workshops. Currently, all handouts are printed in English and WGCU seeks to provide Spanish versions.

This project requires a student who is fluent in Spanish and can translate in writing from English to Spanish. WGCU anticipates this project to start late August or early September. For more details please contact Paula Sklodowski at 239-590-2510 or email psklodow@wgcu.org.

Colloquium Naples Rookery Bay Reserve is looking for students to help in many areas; assisting their Biologist with aquarium maintenance and fish feeding, assisting with the Butterfly Garden planting, trail maintenance, elementary school programs, and special events beginning with Estuary Day on Saturday, September 27th!! For more information, please contact Donna Young at donna.young@dep.state. fl.us or (239) 530-5974.

Florida DEP is looking for volunteers to help build a new oyster reef for the Peace River in Punta Gorda. Kate Aug, Florida DEP Community Outreach Coordinator, is looking for individuals & groups. You must be able to lift 30 lbs. to make oyster bags. Most bagging events are scheduled Tuesdays and Wednesdays 8:30 am to 10:30 am or so. Some Saturday dates are available. Please contact Kate by phone or email.

Katherine.Aug@dep.state.fl.us or call: (941)-575-5861 Charlotte Harbor Preserve is partnering with The Nature Conservancy to launch an oyster reef

restoration project adjacent to the City of Punta Gorda’s Trabue Harborwalk. Volunteers are needed to: prepare mat material, make oyster mats and fill bags with shells, and deploy the materials in the water.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Katherine Aug at (941) 575-5861 ext. 117 or via email Katherine.Aug@dep.state. fl.us.

FGCU Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in Naples is accepting additional student volunteers to assist with our beach survey and beach counts which take place 7 days a week. Contact Michael Odom at michael.odom@dep.state.fl.us or call 239-597-6196.

Barefoot Beach is looking for volunteers to come out and help with removal of invasive species.

Interested students should contact Jan at jjbchrch@comcast.net.

ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) Help out with agricultural development.

Fill out a volunteer application at www.echonet.org. For questions, contact Ruth at rmay@echonet.org.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 EAGLE NEWS NEWS A3

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ALS challenge cools off students, administration

EN Photos/Kelli Krebs (Left) Sophomores Chelsea Jeffers and Mylin Martin dump a bucket of ice water on Kristin Ritchie. (Right) Senior Lexi Craig screams as Bridget Behm dumps ice water on her. Scan this QR code to see Men’s Basketball Coach Joe Dooley and son, Max, accept the ALS challenge.

By Jennifer LaMar Staff writer @fgcueaglenews A new video phenomenon has been blowing up social media in recent weeks. Millions of people have participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

People record themselves dumping a bucket of ice water over their heads and then challenge others to do the same within 24 hours or they have to donate money to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association.

However, some people believe that those who do the challenge ignore the donation. Charles Peralta, a Florida Gulf Coast University junior and finance major, believes that those who do the challenge don’t actually donate when they say they will.

“People are cheap,” Peralta said. “It sucks but it’s true.”

Others think that people do actually donate money when they do the challenge. Rolner Alliance, an FGCU senior psychology major, thinks that people who do the ALS challenge donate as well.

According to the ALS Association, ALS (better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative

disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. When the motor neurons die, the affected person loses control of muscle movement. This leads to difficulties eating, walking and breathing.

According to TIME magazine, the challenge started back on July 15 when Chris Kennedy from Sarasota, was challenged by a friend to do an ice bucket challenge. At the time, it had nothing to do with ALS. Originally, the participants got to choose which charity to donate to.

Kennedy chose ALS because a relative had the disease. He then nominated his wife’s cousin whose husband had ALS. Eventually, the challenge reached Pete Frates of Boston, who also had ALS. On July 31, Frates posted a video of himself doing the challenge and that’s when it really spread.

Since July 29, the ALS Association has seen a dramatic increase in their donations compared to this time last year. In July 2013, they raised $1.7 million. According to the New York Times, the Association raised $13.3 million this past summer. According to TIME, on August 18, the ALS Association reported that they had raised more than $15 million in donations since July 29. $8.6 million was raised on Aug. 19 alone.

At FGCU, men’s basketball coach Joe Dooley and faculty

senate president Shawn Felton have posted videos of themselves performing the Ice Bucket Challenge and have challenged others to spread awareness of ALS. Last week, President Wilson Bradshaw accepted the challenge from Dr. Jo Stetcher, director of the BSN Program in the School of Nursing. Since then, Bradshaw has challenged Provost Ron Toll, Dr. Mitchell Cordova, dean of the College of Health Professions and Social Work, Athletic Director Ken Kavanagh, Women’s Basketball Coach Karl Smesko and Dooley. That group will participate in the challenge together on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 2:30 p.m. in the Marieb Hall courtyard, according to a press release from the Office of Media Relations.

In a way, the Ice Bucket Challenge is definitely a phenomenon because it spread so quickly among social networks from Facebook to Twitter to YouTube. Hopefully, the challenge will continue to inspire people to donate to ALS and help spread awareness of this horrible disease.

Until a cure is found, people are cooling off to reach out for victims of ALS.

Photos courtesy of James Greco

(Left) The Spa Lab can be found in Sugden Hall, Suite 201. (Right) Pedicures are one of the services provided to students through the Lab.

Feeling Spa-ntaneous?

Lab in Sugden Hall offers massage, spa services to students

By Tia Brown Staff writer @fgcueaglenews Recent studies by the American Psychological Association show that stress levels on college campuses are at an all-time high. Although the emotional ramifications of stress are vast, the physical effects of stress can be just as uncomfortable. Exams and finals have a way of making muscles tighter, nails shorter and faces bumpier. While the average college student’s budget does not allow for expensive treatments, students can turn to Florida Gulf Coast University’s on-campus Spa Lab for affordable relief.

The Sugden Resort and Hospitality building is an extension of the College of Business, although it looks and functions like a real resort. The building houses many unique classroom settings that can only be found in the most specialized hospitality schools including a full culinary kitchen, a wine tasting laboratory and event spaces in the forms of ballrooms and suites.

“These are all typical classrooms for those types of programs,” said Mary Wisnom, the spa management coordinator and adviser. “But the Spa Lab itself is unique.

We were the first university in North America to open our doors to a program facility like this.”

FGCU’s Resort and Hospitality Management program became available to students 2003. The Spa Lab was added in 2011 and has been offering body treatments to students ever since. Customers can receive massages, nail treatments, facials, body wraps and polishes, waxing, and hydrotherapy services.

Wisnom is currently in the process of hiring a hair stylist for their fall opening date on Sept. 9. Although the Spa Lab is run and maintained by paid FGCU student interns, those performing the actual treatment services are licensed technicians and therapists from the surrounding community.

“We have four of the best treatment providers in the area,” Wisnom said. “They may work at another resort or day spa but they come to campus one or two days a week to run the lab. This year our staff ranges from massage therapists, skincare specialists, cosmetologists who can do nails and hair, and then those who can do massages and waxing.”

Senior communication major Hannah Whyms has used the Spa Lab services before when she needed physical stress relief.

“I had a lot of tension in my back,” Whyms said. “I had tightness in my shoulders and felt really tense because it was finals week. I got a 50-minute massage and it was fantastic. The masseuse was very friendly and she worked at the Pink Shell resort in Naples when she wasn’t at FGCU. It almost didn’t feel like I was at school because the service and the atmosphere was so nice.”

According to Wisnom, an experience like Whyms’ is the norm.

“What we provide is really a resort-style spa experience,” Wisnom said. “Anyone who comes in for a service is provided with a plush robe and slippers. They are encouraged to relax in our lounge where we have snacks and flavored waters for them. If you book a service, you can go into the hydrotherapy space all day long. So if you come in for a 3 o’clock hair appointment, you can come in at 12 o’clock and relax in the whirlpool, steam room and sauna before or after your service.”

Hydrotherapy is free for anyone with an appointment, but customers can also buy an all-day $5 pass if they would prefer to only use these facilities. The Spa Lab itself has two dry-treatments rooms that are typically used for facials, massages and waxing. There is also a wet treatment room with a Vichy shower, which is a horizontal shower that lays over the bed and allows the technician to make the wrap and scrub services unique.

“You can actually receive a water massage from the shower,” Wisnom said. “We also use it to rinse products from body treatments since there are usually a series of products used in a certain order. It allows us to rinse the guest before we put the next product on, which keeps the guest happy because they don’t have to get up and get off of the table to rinse off and then come back.”

The Spa Lab is a part of the Service Learning community, so they do accept student volunteers. The volunteers can check guests in, give tours of the spa, do laundry, clean the facility, do inventory, and any other task that needs completing at a given time.

Students or faculty looking to book an appointment with the Spa Lab may do so by calling 239-590-1295 or emailing RHMspalab@fgcu.edu. They may also book an appointment in person in Sugden Hall, Suite 201, during its hours of operation. The Spa Lab is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. this semester. Appointments are publicly available and are not limited to students or staff at FGCU. Prices vary from $5 to $80 and can be found at RHMspalab. fgcu.edu.

Wisnom urges students and faculty who would like to use the Spa Lab not to waste time before making an appointment.

“Prices are very reasonable,” Wisnom said. “They’re actually set quite low to ensure that there is good traffic flow and we can attract more students into the space. And we are busy! In addition to the general customers who come in for the services, the spa management students also receive these services as part of their course requirement.

It’s kind of a nice perk, isn’t it? So between the students who are in for course credit and the customers, faculty, staff and students on campus, we get really busy.”

A4 NEWS EAGLE NEWS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27

EDITOR: NINA BARBERO NEWS@EAGLENEWS.ORG

EN Photos/Oscar Santiago Torres Left to right: Students prepare their lab stations for an experiment. Teaching assistant Samantha Gatt prepares a table for a demonstration.

>> Virus hunters continued grids with a drop of liquid with a virus inside and properly stained on a grid.

After the visit, students name their viruses. A criteria is in place for students to follow and a committee of scientists approves the name.

The University of Pittsburgh keeps a sample of the viruses in a repository.

Following a material transfer agreement, any scientist can study the virus.

After the discovery, these hunters now share a database with their virus in place.

“You [students] have added to the body of knowledge that is helpful to others,” Isern said and added that it’s not over.

After the first semester, students will enter a competitive process inside the class to send one virus to a sequence facility for its genome. Last year, HHMI paid the sequence for Omnicron.

>> PGM continued

internship director, further explained the difference.

“Our students can apply for membership immediately after they graduate as long as they’re full-time employed in the industry,” Hall said. “If you graduate from a non PGA accredited program, you probably have a minimum of another three years worth of course work from the PGA Education Center in Port St. Lucie, and the nonaccredited universities don’t have the networking and connections that our students have.”

FGCU’s PGM program is a 4 1/2 year program. Students have to take various tests from the PGA, attend three different seminars, take 16 months worth of internships, and pass the Player Ability Test (PAT) in order to graduate with a degree in Pro Golf Management. The PAT is administered by the PGA and involvess 36 holes of golf played in one day that students have to pay for separately. The entire program, aside from tuition, costs students $4,300. Bright Futures and Florida Pre-Paid can go toward those fees at FGCU. The program is a limited access program, which means students must have a handicap of 12 or less to be considered for the program. There are around 150 students enrolled in the program at FGCU. About 10 percent of the program consists of women; about 35 to 40 percent of the students are from out of state.

Tara McKenna, the director of FGCU’s PGM program, is expecting an increase in applicants to the program now that FSU has closed their doors to incoming students.

Second semester: Comparative analysis The hunters begin the second semester by annotating the sequence of Omnicron using computer databases, and using the computer databases is new for some students.

“I [have] had biology labs before, but I’ve never done biology work on a computer before,” Yori said.

Yori adds, “I’m in a huge learning curve right now.”

As a first-year phage master, he is also a student who did not attend the first semester class; however, he may help guide students through the sequence research the following semester. The familiar process to Yori will show the hunters what is the function of the virus’ individual gene, what is its structural gene, among other things. The computer will tell the hunters if it is a gene, and they will do an “open reading frame.”

Basically, they will compare the data to “I think it’s definitely going to increase our enrollment; I’m hoping it will,” McKenna said. “We compete realistically with about six or seven other schools, most of which being in the Carolinas. I think academically we’re a lot stronger than our main competitors now so it’s going to be more difficult to get into this university and we’re stressing that with all of our prospective students that we talk to.”

If FGCU does have an increase in enrollment, there is space for the students.

The program is capped at 100 students per class by the PGA; all 18 universities have to follow that. The largest class in FGCU history was last year with 73 students.

Students who graduate from FGCU’s PGM program are very successful in finding jobs. In fact, students from FGCU’s program have almost a 100 percent job acceptance rate according to McKenna.

Most students are hired before they even graduate and many students get their jobs from connections they made from their internships.

“We’re surrounded by approximately 150 golf courses and those are all predominately staffed by PGA of America members, so we have adjunct faculty out of that group. We have a formal mentor program out of that group," Hall said. "They give our students the golf course access they need to work on their games, and they serve on our advisory council. “It fits with the mission of the university because we are in a resort and tourism area.”

Dave Hoyt, a first-year PGM major who came to FGCU with transfer credits, is looking forward to his internships and making those connections.

>>Safety continued on campus, which is rare for a university.

“We believe that it is not only important for students to be safe on campus, but also to feel safe,” Moore explained.

FGCU has implemented many safety procedures to allow the University’s students to feel safe on campus. Every bedroom in North Lake Village is outfitted with emergency pull cords, West Lake has a front gate that is closed at night and all of the main doors in South Village are locked at night. The entire university is equipped with “Code Blue” emergency poles, which are checked multiple times a year to ensure that they work.

A majority of students do feel that UPD does a great job with ensuring safety on campus.

Senior communication major Ricardo Nugent said that he feels very safe at FGCU. “I feel safe on this because there are a lot of safe areas throughout the university. I always see police officers on campus. I don’t see much that can harm me at this school,” Nugent said.

Senior music education major Megan McDevitt feels safe on campus.

“I’ve never felt unsafe on this campus. I go running at night and I’ve never been afraid of my surroundings,” McDevitt said.

Many other women on campus do not agree with McDevitt’s opinion of safety on campus.

known, national databases, and the research will let the hunters know if the gene is in other discovered organisms or viruses.

After learning about the virus’ sequence, students will move forward to independent research projects. In teams of two students per group, they further characterize the virus.

The hunters will then work on his or her poster about their viruses, and everyone presents during Research Day at FGCU. Students can also compete in the Life Sciences South Florida STEM Undergraduate Research Symposium. Two students from the class will represent the school by attending and presenting at the annual symposiwum during the summer.

With the teacher’s feedback, the students elect the speakers. Last year’s FGCU representatives were Taylor Power and Yori.

One student already plans to attend and present at the annual symposium. As a senior this year, Stephanie Fine said she would not have been in the class if the email

from advising did not reach her inbox.

“I want in,” Fine said when she heard about the course from Yori.

“I’m a senior, but I don’t know much about viruses,” said Fine, who is reaching closer to graduation to become a professional scientist.

Perhaps opportunities for the class members spread like a virus, because something new is underway at FGCU. To understand the biodiversity of the viruses that affect bacteria, HHMI is asking 12 schools around the country to develop and pilot a protocol and try experimenting with different bacterial hosts with the virus HHMI provides. FGCU is one of those schools.

HHMI has also chosen four faculty members nationwide to train two newly accepted cohort schools into the program this 2014 summer. Isern and Scott Michael, Ph.D, are two of those faculty facilitators.

EN Photo/Jessica Souza Practice areas in Sugden Hall are available to PGM students.

“I’m excited for the direct exposure to the work,” Hoyt said. “The opportunities available are almost limitless.”

Hoyt was a golfer in high school but when he graduated in the 1970s, there was nothing available for him at the university level to continue. Hoyt spent 31 years in the Navy, but he’s ready for the change.

“I would have done exactly the same thing as these guys who just graduated high school if I were in their shoes 30 years ago,” Hoyt said. “I’m looking forward to being a college student. I wanted the university experience, so it will be a nice transition from the Navy.”

The program also stresses professionalism. One of the ways they do this is with a dress code.

“They have to wear pants for a lot of their golf events. You won’t see them in basketball shorts and t-shirts and

“I think that FGCU needs to put more lights between the library and the parking garage because I feel very unsafe walking back to my car alone at night,” Junior nursing major Janelli Perez said.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, as of May 2014, 55 colleges are currently under investigation for mishandling sexual assault cases.

Last year, James Madison University had a video taped sexual assault case, which was resolved by the involved students being suspended from the university — upon graduation. No other disciplinary action was taken.

Currently, FGCU has a system in place for students that feel unsafe: to call UPD and have an officer walk the student to his or her car.

“In almost all of the personal crimes on this campus, the victim knows the suspect. Because of our location and because we do not have a lot of bars across the street from campus, we do not have many victims with unknown perpetrators,” Moore said.

Although the university does have some assault issues on campus, most of the issues are isolated, and even those are rare. In the past ten years, 17 forcible sex offenses have been reported at FGCU. “Last year we did have a couple sexual assault cases at the end of October, but we arrested the guy.

Within a matter of two days he was in jail.”

backwards hats,” McKenna said. “When they arrive here at FGCU, they hit the ground running in terms of professionalism right from day one. They are under a very large microscope in the golf community and we tell them that from day one. They’re the kid under 25 wearing pants playing golf somewhere and every golf place will go, ‘Oh, that’s a PGM student.’”

The student’s behavior is another way the program stresses professionalism.

“We have very strong standards and expectations of behavior,” McKenna said.

“We’re limited access for a reason and that’s one of the things that we maintain and we enjoy that because our students have a high level of decorum.”

FGCU’s PGM program is offered through the Lutgert College of Business.

Program offices, shop, and simulator and training room are located in Sugden Hall.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

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EN Photo/ Rachel Iacovone

Students play games as they await the announcement of performers for the 2014 Eaglepalooza held on Nov. 20.

‘Who do you love?’ YG and J. Cole headline at 2014 Eaglepalooza on Nov. 20

By Rachel Iacovone @TotesRachel On Aug. 22 at ROC the Nest, it was announced that renowned rappers YG and J. Cole will be the featured acts at the eighth annual Eaglepalooza this fall.

ROC the Nest opened with much excitement from not only the crowd of students there for the free food, games and prizes, but also the programming board, which was obviously pleased to share the upcoming news after nearly four months of

planning.

Ansley Parish, Programing Board vice president and Bill Polin, director of concerts, prematurely took the stage only an hour into the event. The reason soon became evident as they smiled through the sudden surge of humidity and lightning during the Eaglepalooza announcement.

Despite the weather cutting the event shortly thereafter, the board seemed to take comfort in already knowing its decision would go over well with the rest of the student body who didn’t make it out to ROC

the Nest.

“We chose these acts based on who’s popular on campus — who’s big with the students,” said Jessica Williams, Programming Board president.

In spite of the valiant effort to please the masses, the Programming Board has faced some heat for its artist choices in the past.

This may come as no surprise given the diverse student population whose musical taste ranges from country to reggaeton.

“We really do take the students’ considerations into account,” said Williams.

Florida Gulf Coast University students get their grub on with free food and listen to the announcement of performers for the 2014 Eaglepalooza.

“The thing with the music industry right now is there are a lot of artists that don’t come to college campuses.”

For any disappointed with this year’s lineup, be sure to provide your feedback for coming years, but if past years serve as a valid example, 2014 Eaglepalooza should be even better than the last.

Student tickets will go on sale beginning Sept. 5 at the bookstore for $20 a piece.

EN Photos/ Victorea Worley

Celebrity gossip

Queen B rules VMAs, Knight shot, celebs bandwagon ALS

By Renee Johnson @EagleNewsEnt

Celebrity ALS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a disease that progressively affects the body’s nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. During the past month, there has been more awareness for this disease as people around the globe are taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The challenge is where you take a bucket of ice cold water and pour it over your head.

The purpose of the challenge is to raise awareness of the disease and it allows others to have a feeling of what it’s like to have the disease. The purpose of the

challenge is to make one’s body numb to simulate how ALS feels. According to toofab.com, celebrities such as Will Smith, Ben Affleck, Adam Levine and Jimmy Fallon have all taken the challenge. Time Magazine wrote that the ALS Association has raised almost $80 million for this event alone.

Suge Knight Shooting Last Saturday night at club 1OAK in Los Angeles, Chris Brown hosted a pre Video Music Award party for the 2014 MTV Music Awards. Marion Knight Jr. (otherwise known as Suge Knight) was shot six times inside the club. According to TMZ.com, Knight had to go into surgery to have three bullets removed

from his body. The other three bullets were said to have passed through. It isn’t known why shots were fired, but it’s said that the shots were meant for Brown as he was the target of gang members. Knight remains in the hospital and is expected to recover.

MTV Award Show The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards kicked off last Sunday with Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J. Grande singing Ariana’s single “Break Free” and Minaj’s “Anaconda.” All three opening acts closed the opening performance with their collaboration “Bang Bang.”

During the performance, Nicki had a minor wardrobe malfunction as she

was holding her dress together around her chest. Throughout the night there were performances from Maroon 5, Iggy Azalea, Sam Smith, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Winners of the Moon Man included Fifth Harmony, Ariana Grande, Lorde and Miley Cyrus. The most profound winner of the night being Beyoncé because she was the recipient of the “Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.” After her performance, she was presented the award by her husband, Jay-Z, and daughter, Blue Ivy, where they all shared a moment of joy. The family has been in the media a lot lately with talk of separation in their future, but as of Sunday night there wasn’t a sign of separation.

EDITOR: AUBRIE GERBER ENTERTAINMENT@EAGLENEWS.ORG

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 EAGLE NEWS E & L A7

Fall film preview

This is the slump season

It’s an unfortunate facet of show business that September and October are the slow months. Summer blockbusters are over and award season has yet to begin. Add that to the fact that everyone’s going back to school and the big studios are premiering their new seasons on TV, and you get the second round of “dump months” (after January and February). It’s the sad truth, but hey, at least you can stay on top of your class work.

“The Maze Runner” (Sept. 19) Take “The Hunger Games,” add the myth of the labyrinth and subtract the Minotaur (maybe), and you’ve got one of the most popular young adult dystopian screen adaptations. However, rather than the neck-and-neck nature of “games,” here the competitors must work together to escape the puzzle and the Minotaur that (maybe) lives in its center.

“Tusk” (Sept. 19) Kevin Smith returns to the big screen with a new genre under his belt. Justin Long stars as a man slowly morphing into...a walrus. At least it’s a relatively novel idea. The horror genre is one that Smith dabbled with in “Red State,” but expect a full exploration of the typical terror trappings.

Justin Long also stole the show with a single scene in “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” so a re-teaming of the actor and director should prove interesting.

“The Boxtrolls” (Sept. 26) If you’ve got any kids in town, Laika Studios’ (“Paranorman”) newest film might be the answer. Laika films are known for not treating kids like idiots by featuring complex themes and twists for children’s films. This one features, what is on the surface, a basic story: An orphan fights to save his adoptive monster parents from others who are frightened of the creatures.

“Gone Girl” (Oct. 3) David Fincher (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Zodiac”) directs this adaptation of a popular mystery novel,

starring Ben Affleck. After his wife is murdered, sympathy turns to suspicion of the widower as his grief turns into erratic behavior. It’s nice that after Affleck proved his acting chops in “Argo,” cinema fans can look forward to a new film of his. Meanwhile, comic fans can get a sense of the darkness and intensity he might bring to “Batman v.

Superman” in 2016.

“The Judge” (Oct. 10) Looking for more mystery fare? Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall play son and father in this drama about a city lawyer moving back to his country town as the local judge (his own dad) is brought up on charges of murder. The lawyer re-examines his familial relationships along with the evidence. Honestly, this one seems pretty cliché, but performances by the leads could raise it up.

“Book of Life” (Oct. 17) If you want to celebrate Halloween without veering into straight-up horror, this Guillermo del Toro produced film might be up your alley. Zoe Saldana and Channing Tatum lend their voices to a yarn centered on Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos. Early impressions are positive, so it seems like fun for the whole family.

“Fury” (Oct. 17) Brad Pitt leads an all-star cast who play soldiers behind enemy lines in World War II Germany. No, it’s not a sequel to “Inglourious Basterds.” This film actually seems like early awards-bait, but the release date was moved up a month at the last minute to a less competitive time, so the studio’s faith in it might be wavering.

“Paranormal Activity 5” (Oct. 24) Vampire ghosts or something terrorize some people as part of a hidden camera show. Who really knows? Who really cares?

These movies have a huge profit margin, and that’s all the studio cares about. If you want a scary movie in time for Halloween, you’ve got a choice between this and “Ouija.” Yeah...

Photo courtesy of Christina Walsh, photo taken by Antwon Lindsey

Advice

Shape up or ship out

How Christina Walsh survived college

By Hannah Gaylord @Hannah_Gaylord

Movie review

When will these teenagers finally grow up?

Beautiful New York City is under attack once again by a villainous gang, this time

by Nickelodeon’s hand. The malevolent Shredder has taken control of the city with his helpful Foot Clan. It is left to four ninja turtles, with personalities of their own to save the day. New York just can’t get a break.

In “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” New York City reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox) is trying to make her debut with a big story.

Witnessing a Foot Clan crime and vigilante attack in action, she decides to get her story by recording the attack and the vigilantes.

Imagine her surprise when she saw six-foot tall turtles. Sooner than later she realizes she knew Leonardo, Rafael, Michelangelo and Donatello all along. She also comes to find out Shredder’s toxic plan for New York

City.

It was clear the turtles were teenagers — or young adults at least — riding skateboards and childish girl obsessions.

There was Leonardo, the leader; Rafael, the aggressor; Michelangelo, the immature one; and Donatello, the science techie.

The movie did become questionable as to whom this movie was about: April O’Neil or the turtles? The story became revolved around Megan Fox becoming the hero and the damsel in distress. O’Neil was not supposed to be as dramatic of character that Fox perceived her to be. It is understandable they’re teenagers, but they were teenagers in the 90’s. When will they grow up? Perhaps in the sequel the humor will correspond with their age.

One of the hardest things to do in college is stay grounded; there are parties, relationships, classes and all of the university events to worry about in addition to keeping your sanity. It can be overwhelming for anyone — whether you’re a freshman or a super senior. So how do you tackle all the worries without all the drama? Simple … you ask alumni. I’ve asked Christina Walsh to give me a little insight on how to get through college.

Like many of us, Walsh didn’t come to Florida Gulf Coast University with the ideas of balance and organization. Originally, she was the typical student who thought that her high school study habits were going to fly in college, but when she found out she wasn’t meeting her expectations she resolved to reflect on her regular day to day activities and go from there. This is how she balanced her academic and social life: she looked at when most of her socializing took place and designated the opposite time to study. So let’s say you like to go out at night, then you’d wake up either in the afternoon or in the morning to study. It may take a while to get use to, but by setting a routine for your social life and academic life, you’ll allow both to coexist without the fear of self-

destruction.

To start the year off right, Walsh advises to choose the gym over Netflix — and not just so she could look good. She found that by squeezing in a couple squats and laying down the clicker she had more energy to get back to work and finish studying. She also suggests making a checklist and rewarding yourself when you accomplish a goal with either a movie night, a nail day/night, or whatever floats your boat.

Now we all know that academics are only half of the college experience, and your social life is another 25 percent, but what about the remaining quarter? They consist of the catfights, peer pressures and self-esteem roller coasters. During the first two years of college, Walsh struggled with her confidence. Instead of focusing on how pretty other women looked she decided to combat low self-esteem by looking in the mirror to find things she liked about herself.

“I like my eyes, my hair, and my smile.”

Walsh is a 21-year-old FGCU graduate from Sarasota, Florida. She is attending Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Tampa.

Her hobbies include watching Netflix and more Netflix. While attending FGCU she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and worked hard to balance her social life with her academics.

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EDITOR: AUBRIE GERBER ENTERTAINMENT@EAGLENEWS.ORG

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 EAGLE NEWS E & L A8

Television shows

ABC’s fall premiere showcases six new shows

AP Photo/ABC, Nicole Rivelli

This image released by ABC shows Viola Davis from the series, “How To Get Away With Murder,” premiering Sept. 25.

By Maggie Williams @MaggieTweeters Fall is a time for cozy sweaters, pumpkin flavored everything and of course ABC’s anticipated fall television series line up. This fall, ABC welcomes back the gladiators of the hit show Scandal, the McDreamy lovers of the 10-year Greys Anatomy drama, and of course the mystical fairytale stories told in Once Upon a Time. Even with such an impressive fall line up, ABC will be premiering six all new television shows in the fall. These new series include an array of humorous sitcoms and thrilling dramas.

“Forever” Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 10 p.m.

Starring Ioan Gruffudd as Dr. Henry Morgan Immortality is an unexplainable and problematic trait to carry for New York City’s leading medical examiner Dr. Henry Morgan. While studying the dead to solve criminal cases, Dr. Morgan searches for clues to explain his 200 years of immortality.

After every immortal death, Henry finds himself naked, emerging out of a body of water with no recollection of the time that

has passed. This season, tune in to watch Dr. Henry Morgan’s mysterious story unfold with new medical cases each week. Forever airs on ABC on Tuesday nights, at 10 p.m. “‘Black-ish” Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 9:30 p.m.

Starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross Raising a family is never easy, even when living as an upper-middle class family in the suburbs. Andre Johnson, the man of the house, finds himself struggling to raise his family due to a cultural identity crisis.

Being an African American, Andre sees his family growing up in a completely different era than when he was a kid. Do not miss this hilarious family sitcom airing on Wednesday nights at 9:30 p.m. on ABC. “How to Get Away with Murder” Thursday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m.

Starring Viola Davis Middleton Law School is home to the teachings of the brilliant professor Annalise Keating, where she teaches a course nicknamed ‘how to get away with murder.’ Every year she puts her students to the test with case studies to find the four AP Photo/ABC, Adam Taylor This image released by ABC shows Anthony Anderson, left, and Laurence Fishburne in a scene from the comedy “Black-ish,” premiering Sept. 24.

top performers of her class. Students soon realize Professor Keating’s teaching will be useful sooner than expected. This dramatic ABC television series airs on Thursday nights at 10 p.m.

“Selfie” Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m.

Starring Karen Gillan In the world we live in today, social media is a way that a person brands who they are to the social media world. Eliza Dooley finds herself in a position where, although she gets thousands of ‘likes,’ she has no true friendships. After this harsh discovery, Dooley quickly hires Henry Higenbottam, a marketing self-image guru. Through this new partnership, Dooley hopes that Higenbottam can show her that there’s more to life than an iPhone connection. Be sure to tune into the sure-to-be hilariously relatable sitcom, which airs 8 p.m., Tuesdays on ABC.

AP Photo/ABC, Giovanni Rufino This image released by ABC shows Analeigh Tipton in a scene from “Manhattan Love Story,” premiering Sept. 30.

“Manhattan Love Story” Tuesday, Sept. 30 8:30 p.m.

Starring Analeigh Tipton, Jake McDorman Many would assume that dating in

New York City would be easy, fun and even thrilling; however, this newly dating couple will show a different side – the awkward side. Manhattan Love Story follows Dana and Peter from when they first meet through their dating experience as a new couple.

Thoughts will be shared and opposing actions will be exposed in this weekly sitcom. Prepare for unfiltered, comical dating banter every Tuesday night on ABC at 8:30 p.m.

“Cristela” Friday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m.

Starring Cristela Alonzo Cristela is part of a traditional MexicanAmerican family who believe that her dream of joining a prestigious law firm is not an appropriate career. As Cristela closes in on her sixth year of law school, she has finally lands her first internship at a prominent law firm; however, much to her family’s dismay, the internship unpaid. With having to balance her desire to live the American dream, law school and living with an outlandish family, Cristela has her work cut out for her. Catch this lively sitcom every Friday night at 8:30 on ABC.

66th Primetime Emmys

Recap of the TV awards Associated Press LOS ANGELES — “Modern Family” and “Breaking Bad” triumphed at Monday’s Emmy Awards, proving that established broadcast and cable fare retains the power to fend off challenges from upstart online series such as “Orange Is the New Black.”

The ceremony’s emotional high point came with Billy Crystal’s restrained and graceful remembrance of Robin Williams, who was found dead Aug. 11, an apparent suicide.

“He made us laugh. Hard. Every time you saw him,” Crystal said of Williams at the conclusion of a tribute to industry members

who died within the past 12 months. “Robin Williams, what a concept.”

ABC’s “Modern Family” won a fifth best comedy series Emmy, tying the record set by “Frasier,” while the final season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” captured the top drama award and a trio of acting honors for its stars.

Netflix’s freshman “Orange Is the New Black,” which competed for best comedy series despite its dark prison setting, failed to sway Emmy voters, as did Netflix’s sophomore series “House of Cards.”

AP Photo by Casey Curry/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images Aaron Paul, and from left, Vince Galligan, Anna Gunn and Bryan Cranston pose with their awards for outstanding drama series for their work on “Breaking Bad” at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Monday, Aug. 25 in Los Angeles.

ATHLETICS

www.eaglenews.org

Tabby Tindell dribbles toward the goal before scoring the winner.

EN Phto/Kelli Krebs

Tindell scores twice and leads Eagles past Arizona

By Kelli Krebs Opinion editor @TheReal_KKrebs The dreaded sophomore slump proved to be no threat to Florida Gulf Coast University women’s soccer forward Tabby Tindell. She rounded up FGCU’s only goals in a 2-1 win over Arizona on Sunday. It was announced Monday that Tindell was selected as Atlantic Sun Player of the Week.

The sophomore slump comes after a standout freshman has an impressive first season, followed by a disappointing sophomore year that doesn’t live up to expectations. After having one of the program’s best individual seasons last year, Tindell’s performance in the team’s season home opener proved the Ocala native would be immune to the second-year curse.

“I’ve been focusing on picking up where I left off,” Tindell said. “I didn’t want to have this amazing freshman year and just drop off the face of the Earth. I wanted to make myself known, and I know my name will be out there now. It’s been a big goal of mine to continue helping the team as best as I can.”

Last season, Tindell shattered seven of the program’s single-season records, such as total points (34), goals (15), goals per game (.75), shots on goal (44) and shots on goal per game (2.20). Tindell was named the A-Sun Freshman of the Year as well as being selected to both A-Sun First Team and AllFreshman First Team.

“There’s always a concern about freshmen that had such unbelievable first years, and if they’ll just be satisfied with that. I like what I saw today,” said head coach Jim Blankenship. “Tabby picked up right

where she left off. She was phenomenal and a standout throughout the match.”

Tindell, who was selected as the A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year, scored the Eagles’ first goal in the game and first of the season halfway through the 18th minute, to give FGCU a 1-0 lead at the start of the second half.

Just minutes after the second half, Arizona’s Charlotte Brascila answered the one-point lead after beating a defender in the box to score.

With the clock winding down in a tied game, Tindell did it again. In the 72nd minute, FGCU’s Shannen Wacker passed to an open Tindell to score and ultimately lead FGCU to a 2-1 victory.

“It was everything you want to start a season,” Blankenship said. “(We had) a good opponent who had won their (previous)

game, a team that is very well respected and very well coached. So for our team to come out and get this result is fantastic. It’s a great result against a very good team.”

After having to cancel the team’s original home opener set for Aug. 22 against UCF due to weather, Blankenship hopes to reschedule the match between the two although finding a break in both school’s schedule may be difficult.

The Eagles will spend their next games on the road. First, the team will visit Coral Gables to face the University of Miami at 7 p.m. Friday The Eagles then travel to Tampa to play the University of South Florida at 6 p.m. Sunday.

The week ahead in FGCU Athletics

8/29 Volleyball Florida A&M (Coral Gables) 4:30 p.m.

8/29 W Soccer at Miami 7 p.m.

8/29 M Soccer USF 7 p.m.

8/30 W Cross Country Stetson Invitational TBA

8/30 M Cross Country Stetson Invitational TBA

8/30 Volleyball Seton Hall (Coral Gables) 10 a.m.

8/30 Volleyball at Miami 7 p.m.

8/31 W Soccer at USF 6 p.m.

EDITOR: JILL HIMMELFARB SPORTS@EAGLENEWS.ORG

B2 SPORTS EAGLE NEWS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27

Kane’s Korner

New year brings new playoff system and same champion My three bold predictions and why Florida State will win again

By Justin Kane Editor-in-chief @ByJustinKane Tonight is the night.

It’s that time of year again.

It’s that time where I get overjoyed every Saturday.

It’s Christmas in August.

It’s college football season and it’s going to be amazing.

This is the first year without the flawed and very controversial Bowl Championship Series rankings that determine who goes to the National Championship.

Instead we will see the first ever Division-I four-team playoff that will be selected by a committee (much like the basketball tournaments are selected).

There will be teams that are unhappy come Jan. 13 but I believe that the selection committee will get the four teams right.

This season is poised for some great competition.

More teams are scheduling tougher non-conference opponents to look better for the selection committee and it shows even in week one. Some notable week one matchups include: No. 21 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 South Carolina on the brand new SEC network, Florida State vs. Oklahoma State in Arlington, Texas, and No. 16 Clemson at No. 12 Georgia.

If week one is any indication on what this season will be like, we’re in for some fun. I have a feeling we are in for some surprises this year and these are my three bold predictions for the 2014-15 college football season.

The Florida Gators will return to spotlight As a Florida fan last year was rough to watch. Going 4-8, losing to Georgia Southern and missing a bowl game for the first time in 23 years was not what Florida fans were expecting. It didn’t help that Florida players got hurt more than Greg Oden. But this year will be different. Florida got rid of offensive coordinator Brent Pease and hired Kurt Roper from Duke (who played in the ACC championship last year against Florida State).

When the Gators are healthy, they are one of the most dangerous teams in the SEC and maybe the country but they are faced with a tough schedule that could test them. They get Alabama, Tennessee and Florida State

on the road while they get LSU, South Carolina and Missouri at home. I predict Florida goes 9-3 with losses to Alabama, Georgia and FSU and they will come in second in the SEC East.

Oregon will be a disappointment Disappointment might be a little harsh but everybody right now is very high on the Oregon Ducks and I don’t think they can live up to it. They have Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota but they have a schedule that will be hard to finish with one or two losses. The Ducks play four ranked (at the time of print) teams and possibly more. The second week of the season they face off against the king of defense Michigan State (who I believe will win the Big 10) and later in the year they travel to UCLA (who might be the best team in the Pac 12). The Ducks have a very, very tough road ahead of them and they have a real possibility of finishing third in the Pac 12 behind UCLA and USC. Florida State will go back-to-back This year Florida State will win again. The Seminoles are heavily favored in almost every poll and there is no reason why they shouldn’t be. They have Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston, who had a very interesting off-season, and one of the easiest schedules in the land. The Atlantic Coast Conference was supposed to gain strength with the additions of Syracuse and Louisville but the Cardinal lost most of their team from last year and lost their head coach Charlie Strong to Texas. The only games I could see FSU losing are Miami on the road and Florida at home to end the season. But I doubt they will so look for FSU to be back in the national championship winning another national title.

Although there is no college football team here at FGCU, that doesn’t stop the love for college football around Southwest Florida.

I know I’m excited and ready for college football to start.

Are you?

Associated Press/Phil Sears Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston kisses a football as he poses for a photo during an NCAA college football media day on Aug. 10, 2014, in Tallahassee.

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PRESEASON ASSOCIATED PRESS COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25 POLL

FLORIDA STATE

1

AUBURN

STANFORD

TEXAS A&M

ALABAMA

2 3

UCLA

11

CLEMSON

7 8

GEORGIA

12 13

NOTRE DAME

17 18

NEBRASKA

4 5

9 10

OREGON

OKLAHOMA

OHIO STATE

6

MICHIGAN STATE

SOUTH CAROLINA

BAYLOR

LSU

WISCONSIN

14 15 USC

16

OLE MISS

ARIZONA STATE

19 20

KANSAS STATE

21 22 23

NORTH CAROLINA

MISSOURI

24 25

WASHINGTON

Photo courtesy of Huffington Post

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 EAGLE NEWS SPORTS B3

WWW.EAGLENEWS.ORG

Athletics

Neal selected as FGCU head athletic trainer

By Desiree Jean-Jacques @BoldlyMagnifique Nicole Neal is the new head athletic trainer at Florida Gulf Coast University.

After her former boss at North Carolina State University suggested the job, Nicole did some research and decided to apply for the position.

Nicole went to Wesleyan Christian Academy High School in High Point, N.C. She played almost every sport during that time, but her big club sport was soccer. At this time, she was not sure about the kind of career she wanted to have. She went to NCSU to study business management, but she hated it and transferred back home.

Neal’s mom actually talked her into studying athletic training.

“She said, ‘You love sports, you’re really into sports medicine and they have a program at High Point University,’” Neal said.

She took her mom’s advice and got her bachelor’s degree in athletic training at High Point University.

“When I went to High Point, their athletic training program was kind of like an opportunity for me to get my foot in the door,” Neal said.

When she graduated from HPU, she went into a physical training (PT) clinic to try and see if this is the proper setting for her. It was not a good fit for her, so she went to the University of Oregon to get her masters in exercise science.

She went to work at NCSU after

Neal

graduate school as an athletic trainer for the track and field department. She then worked for four years with the women’s basketball team where she was promoted as an associate director of sports medicine.

Being promoted was the next natural progression in her career. She became a supervisor for a lot of graduate students, and she took on the role of the scheduling and the daily operations of athletic training.

“As far as the actual care of student athletes, it didn’t change that much,” Neal said. “It was just the administrative responsibilities changed and that’s what changed the title.”

She worked there for 17 years before transferring to FGCU. At FGCU, her job entails working closely with the strength and conditioning coaches to formulate plans in the weight room that will prevent athlete injuries.

“The thing that separates athletic trainers from PTs is our access to our

patients,” Neal said.

She sees the athletes every day before and after practice. If an athlete is injured and out of the season, she sees them multiple times a day.

She has enjoyed the two weeks she has been here so far.

“I wouldn’t have chosen to leave a very comfortable place for some place I knew wasn’t a right fit for me,” Neal said.

She will be the athletic trainer for men’s basketball team.

“I want to do everything I can to keep the men healthy so they can achieve their maximum success on the court,” Neal said.

She does not plan on leaving anytime soon and she is serious about providing top of the line care for the FGCU athletes.

“I want to continue to provide first-class healthcare to every Eagle student-athlete and understand and address the medical needs of each FGCU athletic team,” Neal said.

Schwab moves up to direct men’s basketball

By Matt Mramer @ENSportsMatt When Florida Gulf Coast University’s director of men’s basketball operations Joey Cantens announced in April that he was leaving to accept a position with the Domincan Republic national team, there was a major void left behind in one of FGCU athletics’ most important roles.

That void has now been filled.

Tyler Schwab, FGCU’s former video coordinator, has been promoted to Director of Basketball Operations and will spend his second season with the Eagles mastering the logistics that make a sports team run successfully. In his new position, Schwab will be responsible for the Eagles’ scheduling duties, including practice, games and team travel itineraries.

While Schwab’s new title means a

heavier focus on logistics and slightly less on basketball, he will still be responsible for scouting and film preparation in addition to his new planning and administrative duties.

FGCU head basketball coach Joe Dooley said that he’s excited for Schwab and his new opportunity. Dooley has no concerns about Schwab’s ability to translate his skills to his new position.

“I think this is a great opportunity for Tyler to get some more experience,” Dooley said. “Tyler’s got great passion.

He wants to be a part of the program. He really helped us last year, and I think he’ll continue to help us.”

Both the Eagles’ head coach and Schwab himself were quick to praise the additional work that Cantens did last season to groom Schwab for the new position, providing the information

and hands-on experience that will allow him to jump right in and land on his feet. Dooley spoke about Cantens and his efforts to teach Schwab what will be expected of him.

“I think [Tyler] was able to shadow Joey Cantens a lot last year, so I think he has a pretty good familiarity,” Dooley said. “I think Tyler’s glad to have his foot in the door in college basketball, and I think he’ll do a good job.”

A 2012 graduate of Spring Hill

Schwab

College in Alabama, Schwab said that his ultimate goal is to become a coach, but he understands that he needs to add time and experience to his resume before he will get that opportunity.

“I’m so young and it gives me an opportunity to learn from older people,” Schwab said. “With Coach Dooley being in college basketball for, I want to say 26, 27 years, and being at the highest level at Kansas, it’s a good stepping stone for me to learn because ultimately I want to be a coach. But I think in college basketball, I’m not quite ready yet. So this gives me an opportunity to learn from some of the best coaches.”

It’s a great time to be an Eagle, and with a new job title helping him inch even closer to his career goals, it’s not a bad time to be Tyler Schwab, either.

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B4 SPORTS EAGLE NEWS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27

PGA Tour

Volleyball

Associated Press/Scott Heppell Tiger Woods is watched by coach Sean Foley on the practice green ahead of the British Open Golf championship at the Royal Liverpool golf club in, Hoylake, England. Woods is leaving Foley after four years and no majors.

Senior Whitney Masters serving at practice.

EN Photo/Tessa Mortensen

FGCU volleyball hopes to return to winning Woods parts ways with swing coach ways with new coach

By Manuel Navarro Managing editor @mnavarrofgcu After more than four years together, 14-time major champion Tiger Woods parted ways with his swing coach Sean Foley on Monday.

“I’d like to thank Sean for his help as my coach and for his friendship,” Woods said on his website. “Sean is one of the outstanding coaches in golf today, and I know he will continue to be successful with the players working with him.”

Although Woods won eight times on the PGA Tour under Foley’s tutelage, he also endured multiple injuries during his stint with the Canadian swing coach.

Woods injured his Achilles, neck, elbow and most recently his back, which forced him to miss the Masters and U.S. Open and most of the 2014 PGA Tour season.

Woods added in his statement that he does not have a swing coach and doesn’t have a timetable for hiring one.

Foley was Woods’ third swing coach and first to not help him win a major title.

Foley was also quoted in the statement on

Woods’ website saying, “My time spent with Tiger is one of the highlights of my career so far, and I am appreciative of the many experiences we shared together. It was a lifelong ambition of mine to teach the best player of all time in our sport. I am both grateful for the things we had the opportunity to learn from one another, as well as the enduring friendship we have built. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him.”

Rumors swirled Monday afternoon about Woods returning to Butch Harmon, his first coach, but Harmon diminished those rumors when talking to Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard.

“No I would not and he’s not going to call and ask,” Harmon said. “I don’t think he needs a swing coach. If I were advising Tiger I’d tell him, ‘You’re the greatest player that ever lived, just go to the range and hit shots.’”

Woods has failed to win a major in more than six years and is scheduled to return to competitive golf at his own World Challenge event at Isleworth Country Club on Dec. 4-7 in Orlando.

By Cassie Niles @casoniles The Florida Gulf Coast University women’s volleyball team began its 2014 season with the annual Green v. Blue scrimmage this past Saturday where the girls faced off against each other. The scrimmage shows off the girls’ skills on the court, allows the newcomers to play as a team for the first time, and helps to gain support for the upcoming season.

The Lady Eagles ended the 2013 season with a 14-19 overall record and a 9-9 conference record in the semifinal round of the Atlantic Sun tournament after being defeated by Jacksonville, and hope to be even more successful in the year to come.

“I’m excited to see where we will be at the end of the season if we continue to make the progress we have so far,” said senior Whitney Masters.

Matt Botsford is beginning his first year as head coach of the women’s volleyball team, after the resignation of former head coach Dave Nichols.

“At the beginning of preseason we had

to learn to adjust to the new systems that were put in place with the new coach,” said Masters. “We have to embrace the change head on, and are continuing to improve each practice.”

With the new leadership and new talent that has been brought to the team the women have high hopes and expectations for the upcoming season.

“We have new freshmen and last year’s red shirts that are now eligible to play and will be vital to our success,” said Masters.

The new team members added this year are expected to help the girls continue their success on the court and advance the team even further than ever before in the A-Sun tournament.

“We are so lucky with how our freshmen have been and how we are all connecting as a team,” said senior Olivia Mesner.

The Lady Eagles begin regular season play in the University of Miami Tournament on Aug. 29, and will return to Alico Arena on Sept.19 at 7 p.m. v.

Alabama State in their home opener.

Men’s tennis

The boys are back in town

By Rebecca VanEtten @rebeccavanetten The Florida Gulf Coast University men’s tennis team started practice this week to prepare for the fall season. After losing three seniors, the team has added five new players that head coach CJ Weber thinks will be positive additions to the team.

“I love these guys,” Weber said. “They are all great workers and the best tennis is ahead of each and every one of them. I know each one of these guys is high in character, has a high work ethic and lives his life with good values. They fit into our system perfectly. We finished the year really great last year and with this group coming in we are going to be able to start where we left off last spring. We are at that level right now, and now we just have to keep getting better.”

The new players are freshmen Austin Bates and Sam Chaffin, sophomore Andres Alfonzo and juniors Eduardo Alfonzo and Ricky Ventura.

Andres Alfonzo transferred from Texas Christian University and Eduardo Alfonzo transferred from Barry University. The prospect of being able to play on the same team with his brother was one of the reasons Andres Alfonzo decided to transfer to FGCU. “I was speaking to some coaches when I was going to transfer and I found good chemistry with CJ over the phone,” Andres Alfonzo said. “I looked [FGCU] up and saw that it was a new school. It looked like a really good community and the tennis team looked to be very united with good chemistry among them. One more thing is that when I was going to transfer, my older brother Eduardo was going to transfer here. We spoke with coach and talked about transferring both at the same time ... I’m motivated to just work on the team with my brother.”

Ventura was a student at the University of Barcelona and played in International Tennis Federation Futures tournaments.

Freshmen Bates and Chaffin are coming into FGCU after having successful high school careers.

Chaffin is from Tampa and had an undefeated senior year in singles and doubles at Wharton High School. He was Hillsborough County player of the year and

on the All-County First Team.

Bates is from Marietta, Ga. and was also undefeated in singles his senior year at Pope High School. He hopes to bring a lot of energy to the team.

“I definitely want to bring some passion on and off the court and just kind of fire everyone up with that,” Bates said.

The team is coming off its best season.

It had a 12-10 record and seven wins in conference play. Senior Jordi Vives is coming off a successful season being the first FGCU men’s tennis player to qualify for the NCAA tournament and the first player to be ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). He was the Atlantic Sun Conference player of the year and is currently ranked No. 55 by the ITA. “I’m really excited for this year,” Vives said. “We have new guys and the new guys are really good. We are going to be a great team. I just want to fight to work every day because I’m going to be a target for the other schools now. Everyone knows me so I’m going to have to continue to work hard and show it on the court.”

Senior Tianyu Bao was also recognized by the conference at the end of last season.

He was named to the All-Conference first team and has his sight set on winning the conference tournament this year.

“I think our team is much stronger because we added a lot of depth on our roster,” Bao said. “Honestly, I expect nothing less than winning conference.”

Along with pushing the team to be better, Vives, one of the senior captains, hopes to help the newcomers transition into life at FGCU. “I’m one of the most experienced guys on the team so I always try to help them as much as I can on and off the court,” Vives said.

The team will start the fall season at the Bedford Cup in Jacksonville on Sept. 12-15.

Their goal for the season is to make their team the best it can be.

“What we are going to focus on really is just setting a standard of excellence higher here than at other programs,” Weber said.

“For me, I don’t care what other programs do, I care what this program does. As the year goes on, we have to make sure we hold true to our values and our principles. If we do that we will accomplish our goals.”

Senior Tianyu Bao strikes a return in a match last year.

EN Photo/Kelli Krebs

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 EAGLE NEWS SPORTS B5

Opinion

Who will remain on top as the MLB postseason approaches?

By Matt Shipley Assistant sports editor @matthshipley What’s better than baseball in August?

Baseball in October. We’re only a month and some change away now from the start of the Major League Baseball postseason. This season has seen a lot of unfamiliar uniforms at the top of the rankings, and as we inch closer to the playoffs those teams are still fighting hard for their spot.

One shocker this season has been the defending champions Boston Red Sox. They currently sit in last place in the American League East division with a 57-74 record.

This puts Boston 18 games back behind first place Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore was at the bottom of the division until mid-June when they slowly began climbing to the top.

As a fan of baseball my whole life I always paid attention to each team and how they progressed throughout the years. For my generation at least, we have seen teams such as the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland Athletics suffer throughout the years and always end up at the bottom of their division. We have seen teams such as the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals prosper in the league with their large bank accounts. The past couple of years fans have seen a complete circle of powerhouses in the MLB. According to MLB.com, the Red Sox have a 0 percent chance of making the playoffs this season while the Orioles have a 96.6 percent chance. The Yankees are in second place behind Baltimore with a 12.3 percent chance of making it to the postseason. The Athletics have a 99.5 percent chance of making the playoffs this season as they currently sit at the top of the wildcard race. The Royals, who have been

at the bottom of their division for as long as I can remember, currently hold first place in the AL Central division by a 1.5 game margin.

Over the past few years, the Phillies have been notorious for being at the top of the NL East division including a couple World Series appearances. This season, the Phillies sit in last place with a probability of 0 percent to make it into the postseason. The Washington Nationals have been on a tear this season posting a 7555 record thus far and holding onto first place, 16.5 games ahead of the Phillies. The Cardinals are still holding themselves up in the NL Central division-holding onto second place just 1.5 games behind Milwaukee.

The Cardinals are looking to comeback from their World Series loss last Associated Press/Tony Avelar season.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim starting pitcher Jered Weaver (36) is taken out of the game by manager Mike Scioscia after giving up two home runs As the season comes against the Oakland Athletics in the seventh inning Sunday in Oakland, Calif. to a close there are a few teams that catch my eye one hell of a series. In my eyes, the National is you never know what is going to happen. as top contenders for the World Series. League Championship is open for the taking. One team can dominate in the regular For the American League, the Los Angeles The defending champion St. Louis Cardinals season just to be dominated in the playoffs.

Angels of Anaheim and Athletics are simply aren’t as strong as they were last season. Each year the teams are faced with tough killing it right now. Each holds a 77-53 record The Nationals currently lead the National seven-game series’ in the postseason and they are tied for first place in the AL West League with their 75-55 record but are being only the strong make it out on top. and will both go on to make the playoffs trailed by the Los Angeles Dodgers by only and contend. Whether they meet for five one game. games in the Divisional Series or seven in The great thing about the postseason the Championship Series, it is going to be

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And then there were none

Last week’s issue of FGCU Eagle News disappeared last week from stands across campus such as the bus loop (above), library (top right), and music building (right).

EN Photos / Kelli Krebs

“Eagle News, the student media group at Florida Gulf Coast University, 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 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.”

— Eagle News Mission Statement

By The Eagle News Editorial Board Last week, almost 3,000 copies of Eagle News, apparently were stolen from newsstands around campus. Three thousand copies gone in just 12 hours. We know we’re wonderful, but please, they don’t go that fast.

As journalists and as a newspaper, it’s natural for us to receive backlash and scrutiny for the things we publish.

We, the editorial staff at Eagle News, are not cheerleaders. We are not only here to pump up the student body with articles about “Dunk City” and the new beautiful library lawn.

We are a registered student organization preparing for our future careers. We strive to bring the student body news, not just what may be considered “good news,” but all news.

We bring you pieces about entertainment and campus happenings. We report news about FGCU athletics, not only games won. We include an entire section dedicated to opinions varying from people walking around barefoot on campus to the pros and cons of Greek life. We often receive agreement or disagreement with opinion pieces.

However, anything that is deemed “newsworthy” deserves a piece in Eagle News. As any news organization, there are accusations of bias and spin. However, we are simply here to report to the student body. We don’t want the students of FGCU to think that they will pick up a copy of Eagle News and expect anything less than what they would expect from any other newspaper.

We have found ourselves in an awkward position the past week that we have never experienced before.

We have had to take a stand for the RSO that we believe in. Our stand is against crime. We reported last year about an FGCU student who is accused of murder. We reported about rape and sexual assault by an FGCU student. We will continue to report about crime. This time the crime that has occurred is against us.

We work very hard to put together the best possible newspaper for the student body.

We expect that much of the student body reads Eagle News and likes to be informed.

When the students no longer have access to walk to any newsstand on campus and pick up their copy of Eagle News, we are offended. Offended is not the only word that can describe how we, the editorial staff, as well as our writers and photographers, feel.

We are hurt, distressed and in crisis mode. We were unable to reach the student body with news during the first week of the academic year. First-time writers and photographers were unable to get copies of their first printed publications. The students at FGCU were unable to read about the campus news during the first week of the school year.

This is a serious offense not only to us at Eagle News but to you, the students.

A portion of your tuition money is what pays to support RSOs such as Eagle News.

Essentially, that money that you put towards printing last week’s issue of the paper has been stolen. If someone stole that money directly out of your pocket, you would be in uproar.

So there isn’t any difference to us. We feel like something was stolen from us: money and hard work.

Another aspect of Eagle News is our advertisers. We had many new advertisers in the Aug. 20 edition of Eagle News and those ads will never be viewed by the people who could use them.

Students have spent an entire week not knowing that Pita Pit is having a “Welcome Back” week where they are offering buy one, get one free until Aug. 29. Those advertisers were also robbed of the money they spent to advertise in printed issues of Eagle News.

We take journalism very seriously. We would not be intending to spend the rest of our lives standing for journalism and its practices if we didn’t take it as seriously as we do.

Therefore, we support the investigation by the university police department. UPD is looking into security camera footage and investigating this matter. When the culprit or culprits are found, Eagle News plans to prosecute said party to the fullest extent.

In the state of Florida, a third-degree felony of grand theft requires that the theft be in an amount between $300 and $20,000.

It costs more than $300 to print a week’s worth of issues of Eagle News. Ergo, when the person or people who committed this act are found, we trust in the campus judicial system to prosecute accordingly.

This is not something that will get brushed under the carpet and ignored. It is a big deal and will remain a big deal until the investigation is concluded.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 EAGLE NEWS OPINION B7

WWW.EAGLENEWS.ORG

Don’t let rumors skew opinions of Greek life

By Lauren Smith Contributing Writer There’s no doubt your newsfeed has been plastered with an endless flood of photos from the recruitment and bid day events this past week. With that, I’m sure you’ve seen all the comments that eventually joined them.

You scroll through your news feeds and think, “What’s the big deal? It’s just a bunch of screaming women that will never see one another ever again after college.”

That was probably a tame thought compared to others’ comments. I’m looking at you, raunchy FGCU gossip Twitter accounts.

Once upon a time, I also thought Greek life was just a waste of time.

When I came to FGCU as a freshman, I knew no one. All of my friends from high school went off to bigger universities and I was essentially alone. I was also an incredibly quiet freshman girl who rarely spoke to anyone and kept primarily to myself. In essence, I guess you could say I was a bit of a studious hermit.

A friend of mine encouraged me to go through sorority recruitment, but I was skeptical of whether or not I was actually

going to get called back to any of them, let alone join one. I had already formed my own opinion of the scene from older friends’ horror stories and the things I had seen in the movies.

Needless to say, even before

“

Do some research...

Don’t just take what’s been spoon-fed to you by angsty upperclassmen and media as gospel.

”

I stepped a foot in any of the rooms I wasn’t impressed.

After going through formal recruitment, my predetermined opinions of Greek life began to change, and to my surprise, I was called back to sororities all three nights. Then I got a bid. Again, my premeditated opinions were shattered.

After quite a bit of internal debating, I decided to accept the bid and on bid day, I ran home to

my new, amazing sisters.

To this date, that has been one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself. On bid day, I gained a home, a support system, a reminder that I can also be the best version of “me” and most importantly the reassurance that I could be myself.

My PanHellenic sisters and I are unique individuals with very similar goals: to strive to do the best we can in all our endeavors while still maintaining the essence that is ourselves. Our goal is not to be a carbon copy of one particular mold, but to instill the values of each organization into our everyday lives.

I have to be honest, Greek life isn’t for everyone. Some thrive within it, while others find it as a hindrance and elect to leave or never join in the first place. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with not wanting to be in a sorority or fraternity. Actually, there are numerous examples of strong leaders that were not, yes not, involved in Greek life.

Don’t believe me? Google it.

I know what you’re waiting for, “but what about the hazing?

The wild parties?”

Like everything good, there are always those few isolated incidents that tarnish a reputation. Unfortunately for Greek life, negative events seem

to gain more media attention than the many positive events do, like philanthropy and achievements in academia.

The existence of Greek Life is not to go crazy, have wild parties and to believe that ones’ self is better than everyone else. Instead, it’s about helping college students grow into responsible adults and strong leaders.

So I ask you, fellow Eagles, before you jump to conclusions, do a bit of adequate research first. Talk to the organizations, do online research, and form an opinion on all of the facts. Don’t just take what’s been spoon-fed to you by angsty upperclassmen and media as gospel.

These past two years have been the time of my life with the next two promising to be even better.

From my experiences joining a sorority was the best decision I have ever made. I went from being a quite introvert that rarely ever stood her ground, to being a strong independent woman that’s not afraid to do the right thing for herself Photo by Ashlee Allbee and others. I have been given the opportunity to be a part Greek life is more than just parties and sorority squats. It’s about of something that is so much the lasting bonds and experiences made in your chapter. bigger than myself, that humbles me, that helps me grow.

Don’t limit yourself to the letters No opportunities to grow in Greek life

By Madison Armond Contributing Writer It is a part of human nature to want to be accepted, whether it be by a family, group of friends, a team, or for some naive newbies, Greek organizations is where they want to find their place.

Greek life is not something that any freshman should ever want to commit to. First, you are limiting yourself to one organization that will take up all of your time that could be spent on school work or other extra curricular activities.

In clubs and intramural sports, you can still make a ton of friends that have things in common with you. Sororities and fraternities are not the only place you can make strong bonds that may last a lifetime.

FGCU’s renovated library lawn at night.

The biggest issue with Greek organizations, especially concerning sororities, is the unreasonable exclusivity.

Every sorority and fraternity searches for recruits that fit their “type”. Do you look just like us?

Every division is like a factory, creating their own Barbie and Ken dolls that look, act, and talk the same way. If you are close enough to the model they are looking for, they will shape and mold you into another mindless clone.

When I went to my orientation, most of the sorority girls acted like I didn’t exist. I did not have “the look” they wanted. My friend that was walking with me, however, attracted the recruiters like a magnet because she had the typical blond hair, tanned skin that screams “I know how to

sport those Greek letters!”

I know I’m not the only one with this experience.

If you choose to participate in a certain sorority, a label is placed on you as soon as you are accepted into an organization.

You all know the different stereotypes: the Zetas, Pikes, Tri Deltas? If you aren’t already aware of all these stereotypes as an incoming freshman, there is no doubt you will be well informed by the time your second semester comes around.

Do you really want to be involved in something that does not allow you to have a personality of your own? How about something that plans out your social calendar for you?

The Greek life makes plans for its members. Sure, it can be nice for someone

Are we really safe?

who has a difficult time creating their own schedule, but when there are constant parties and other events, it is a challenge to maintain time management skills. Keeping up your grades is hard enough with a flexible schedule.

For those who wish to branch out completely and gain the full college experience, I believe that the way to do it is to join a variety of different clubs instead of putting all of your time and effort into one organization. It is a complete waste of valuable time and it closes you off from other opportunities other clubs will offer you.

EN Photo / Paul McDade

Despite 2nd safest in nation title, students still worried

By Amber Dupree Contributing Writer For most college students, the campus they choose is their new home for the next four years, possibly even longer.

Is it really “home” though?

When you say the word “home” a sense of security and safety, hopefully, comes to mind. With FGCU being ranked the “second safest in the nation” by University Prime Time, you would think students do have that sense of security and safety.

When interviewed, most girls responded saying that they still don’t feel safe on campus at night.

If FGCU has a relatively low reported sexual assault and crime rate on campus, why do they still not feel safe?

Is it because the word “reported” is key, or it just because almost any campus is scary when walking alone late at night?

Maybe we get a little too carried away with scary movies that when we are alone at night we are constantly haunted by the image of a scary, pale little girl with dark hair covering her demonic face.

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” did a clip called “The Fault in our Schools” when an incident occurred at James Madison University. Three fraternity brothers pulled off a female’s bathing suit top during spring break, recorded it and passed it around to multiple students on campus.

In this clip, Stewart mocks the situation and the

consequences the fraternity boys suffered, which was the fraternity boys being expelled upon graduation.

In what way is this punishment? In what way does it make the statement that sexual harassment or assault is not a joke or something to be taken lightly? In fact, it does just the opposite.

You might as well just say “Boys, go ahead and cross the line, just don’t come back to campus… after your graduate.”

Whether it is something as harmless as guys joking around on x-box using comments like “oh, I just raped you!” or something as serious as an individual legitimately getting sexually abused, this subject should not be taken lightly and a slap on the hand just isn’t enough to set an example.

Yet more and more often, you see jokes about rape whether it is from comedians, sitcoms or people in your everyday lives.

Just recently Daniel Tosh made a “joke” about his sister being raped.

“I got her so good the other day,” Tosh said on his Comedy Central televisions show, “I replaced her pepper spray with silly string. Anyway, that night she got raped.”

If the joke itself wasn’t bad enough, what is really repulsive are the laughs that echoed the “joke”. People actually thought that was funny.

If you ask me, making a joke out of this matter is one of the worst possible things you can do in a situation like this, even if the incident was considered a “joke” or something

minor.

Assault is assault. Making a joke out of things such as this not only encourages guys to act out in this manner, but it also makes women feel belittled for speaking up against harassment, no matter how big or small the incident may be.

In fact, maybe this is why women do not feel safe on campus, even if FGCU is ranked the second safest in the nation. If it is already known that often victims do not feel comfortable coming forward, making sarcastic remarks such as this makes no sense.

The fraternity brothers were expelled upon graduation.

If we want women to feel safe on campus, maybe there should be higher risks and consequences when something like this does occur, instead of the boys simply not being able to return to campus after they graduate.

As I said earlier, maybe the word “reported” is key.

Maybe women do not feel comfortable speaking up about assault or harassment because at the end of the day, they know little to nothing will change or they will just be mocked and made out to feel senseless if they do, because after all “boys will be boys.”

Being a student here at FGCU, I understand why this beautiful campus would be rated second best in the nation… or maybe I am just too afraid to speak up for myself because I fear I will be ridiculed and made fun of if I do.

You decide.

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