The Florida Tech Crimson Fall 2019 Issue 6

Check out our comic on Pages 6!

RIMSON The Florida Tech

The Official Student-Run Newspaper•since

Issue 6

1967

INDEX

News..................................3-4 Entertainment.........................6 Campus Life........................5, 7 Sports...................................8

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2019

FALL

Local bar in the midst of potential closing Jesse Villaverde \\ Design EDITOR

Drinking and playing arcade games wouldn’t be the same anymore in downtown Melbourne.

Quarters Brewery, a local bar in downtown Melbourne, announced on their Facebook page on Oct. 15 that profits were not enough to pay their landlord to keep the business running.

On their post, the company stated that “the ‘for lease’ sign is up, but [they’re] not done fighting yet.”

Quarters Brewery was created by best friends Tyler and Brock as a hobby project from homebrewing and creating game cabinets for people to

QUARTERS on page 4 Street Dance Club dancing on stage as the last performance of the talent show.

FITV // Brett Twery

Street Dance Club wins talent show for the third year in a row xiao liang \\ staff writer

Florida Tech’s Street Dance Club was spotted not once, but twice on this year’s homecoming talent show podium stage.

Taking home gold in overall performance was the Street Dance Club's individual performance, but they also came in second place for lip-sync through their partnership with Lambda Chi. Beating SDC and Lambda Chi in the lip sync competition was Campus Activity Board and Phi Sigma with their satirical piece to songs from Moana, Aladdin and Lizzy McGuire.

They highlighted changes that have occurred since the founding of the university, such as the rebranding.

They also poked fun at landmarks such as the atomic toilet and the Crawford Tower.

On Oct. 24, 11 groups of students and organizations put on a show for their peers, showcasing their talents, performing lip-sync or both.

“I don’t usually come to events like this, but I very much enjoyed it,” said Samir Kazi, a senior. “Everybody is just having fun, and it really brings the homecoming spirit out of us.”

A wide variety of talents were seen throughout the show, such as the exotic performance by the Belly Dance Club, acapella take on The Pina Colada Song from the Players in Harmony and jazzy swing dance brought by the

@FTCrimson @FTCrimson crimson@fit.edu

Quarters has multiple arcades of retro games, such as Pac-Man and Galaga, for customers to play.

Crimson // Olivia McKelvey

ACT to change testing policies starting October 2020 tyler jones \\ Alpha Omega Tau and the cheerleading team perform on stage.

Swing Dance Club.

“It’s really interesting to see people you know performing on stage,” said George Rodney, a senior. “You really don’t know what tricks they have hidden up their sleeves when in school, and I’m glad that they can have opportunities like this to express themselves and have fun at the same time.”

Other group performances also stood out as many greek life organizations paired with other clubs or athletic teams to best address the theme of “Bringin’ It Home.”

Some pieces featured “International Love” by Pitbull performed by the women’s swim team and Chi Phi, as well as “Promiscuous

FITV // Brett Twery

Girl” performed by Pi Kappa Alpha and women’s volleyball.

Furthermore, Alpha Tau Omega and the cheerleading team had a mixed musical, ballet and cheerleading along with their lip-syncing performance to hype up the crowd.

Anthony Roberts, a sophomore, said, “I wish that the show was a little longer and more people would participate. It’s really entertaining to watch and I almost can’t get enough of it.”

While the talent show was the sixth event of homecoming week, it allowed students to come out and support each other as well as provide comic relief for some and showcase the talent of others.

Happy Halloween!

staff writer

On Oct. 8, ACT announced upcoming changes to their testing policy, which will be fully implemented in October of next year.

Now, students will have the option to take individual sections of the test to improve their overall composite score.

Under the current policy, students are forced to retake the entire test if they wish to get a higher score.

The ACT calls this system “super scoring” and they believe that this change will benefit high school students when it comes to them applying to universities.

In a USA Today article, Mary Michael Pontzer, the vice president of

ACT TESTING on page 3

Our Mission: Live, discover and report the truth.

2 CAPS Don’t Let Your Light Burn Out ISSUE 6

OCTOBER 29

Erika Pobee-Mensah, M.S. Outreach coordinator counseling & psychological services (Caps)

You’re busy, right?

Think of all the times you have used that as a reason to not do something.

“I can’t, I’m busy” or “I wish I could, but I’m busy” are phrases that are part of a typical college student’s vernacular.

Being busy is not a bad thing.

Many students thrive on having schedules, “to-do” lists, and several activities or responsibilities in which they

are involved.

However, being busy can easily boil over into feeling stressed out, overwhelmed, or even burned out.

Many of us are familiar with feeling stressed or overwhelmed but burnout is a different type of feeling that many experience without knowing the lasting effects it can have.

Burnout occurs when you lose touch with the reasons why you are doing something in the first place.

You might feel apathetic, even cynical towards your work or people around you.

There is no clear cause of burnout, but the factors

that influence burnout can include feeling overwhelmed or lacking control over your time, lack of social support, and school-life imbalance.

Feeling like you or a friend might be burned out?

Take a moment to reignite your flame.

Self-care is essential for managing a hefty course load along with other obligations, such as a part-time job, extracurriculars or volunteer work.

A great resource for students on-the-go is the Florida Tech Campus Wellness website. It is loaded with resources to help you find and maintain balance and

wellness.

Think of it as all of our campus resources packed into one site.

There are self-help resources for studying, career development, exercise, sleep, health, eating, and emotional wellbeing.

With the right resources, many students can make the minor adjustments they need to stay on track.

Campus Well is here to help connect you with those resources, whether from your phone, tablet, or laptop/ computer.

Take a moment to download the Campus Well app or visit the website and see how these easily accessible resources can prevent or reduce burnout and help you shine your brightest!

CAPS is open on Monday to Thursday from 8:30am to 12pm and 1pm to 5pm, and Fridays from 8:30am to 4pm.

Photo // Jesse Villaverde

ISSUE 6

OCTOBER 29

NEWS ACT TESTING continued products at ACT said, “This is about the students. We're excited to see how these new options will help students reach their maximum potential.”

However, some Florida Tech students such as Trevor Phillips, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, say they believe that this testing policy seems to be problematic for low-income families.

“When I was in high school, I had friends who couldn’t afford to retake these tests multiple times,” Phillips said. “It not only costs them admissions to universities but

it costs them scholarships as well. This new policy looks like it allows wealthier families the benefit of retesting until they get a perfect score, which would get them better chances at getting the scholarships other students may need to even afford college.”

The ACT hasn’t yet released the details as far as what it would costs to retake a specific portion of the test; however, as the current policy stands, a retest costs $50.50.

As far as the admission standards stand for Florida Tech, Micheal Perry, the director of undergraduate admissions, said that as of right now, they are not looking into changing their admission

requirements with the new testing policy being put in place.

Perry said that even with the new policy in place, Florida Tech takes many factors into consideration when evaluating potential students other than just their test scores.

“These test scores are just another indication of potential for success in an overall evaluation process of an applicant,” Perry said. “We also consider the applicant’s GPA, extracurricular activities, as well as other areas of their student life.”

Perry also said that Florida Tech is in favor of the new superscoring system as it

can better measure a student’s chance of success in their firstyear courses, especially in science and mathematics.

Perry mentioned that the two classes that incoming freshman struggle with the most are Calculus and Chemistry 1, and with this new testing policy, he hopes that these test scores can help better represent whether or not these applicants will have success in their first few semesters.

Students such as Tyler Cloud, a junior in civil engineering, mentioned that regardless of how students score on these standardized tests, they’re bound to struggle at times.

3

“I scored a 30 on my ACT in high school and was confident in my math and science skills when I first got here my freshman year,” Cloud said.

Cloud went on to mention that regardless of how students test on their ACTs, intro courses such as Chemistry are going to be difficult for any student because high schools don’t teach students this kind of university-level material.

With these new policies being put into place next year, universities won’t see their effect on freshman admissions until the fall of 2021.

College of Business Florida Tech College Radio hosts Rett syndrome expands with Panther Podcasts joe GUNDZIK \\ fundraiser staff writer

julius luchs \\ staff writer

Every year since 2010, Florida Tech has seen a fundraiser hosted for Rett Syndrome.

This is because Henry Perez, the dean of the College of Business, has a 23-year-old daughter named Lily with the syndrome.

According to rettsyndrome.org, Rett syndrome is a rare non-inherited genetic disorder that occurs mostly in girls, although it can rarely occur in boys.

Rett syndrome tends to have an affect on brain development.

Perez’s fundraiser, known as the Florida Strollathon, benefits rettsyndrome.org.

The organization invests in research, educates about the syndrome and calls for volunteers to help with fundraisers.

The Strollathon will be held on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Space Coast Field of Dreams.

Many people across the state, including families who are affected by Rett syndrome, will gather together at the Strollathon.

A Rett syndrome awareness week at the College of Business and a pancake breakfast fundraiser at Lucky’s was held beforehand to spread awareness.

Funds were collected during the events.

Graduate student Kristi Stephens is participating in the fundraiser for the first time, and will be assisting Perez.

Stephens got the opportunity to meet Lily, which inspired her to participate.

“I am particularly inspired to support families and children who face daily challenges because I am fortunate to have two healthy

children of my own,” Stephens said. “I believe an entire community benefits when people are willing to help each other with kindness, generosity and compassion.”

Stephens has played a major role with the fundraiser, as she has “planned details of the event such as catering, entertainment and booking hotel accommodations.”

With Stephens’ interest in volunteering, she said she enjoys helping others and getting to know new people, such as the families that attend the fundraiser.

“The most rewarding part of my contribution so far has been interacting with families who have daughters with Rett syndrome,” Stephens said. “It has been a pleasure to support them in a small way, whether by setting up their fundraising pages, helping them post photos and letters, booking hotel rooms or answering general questions about the event.”

Stephens said she looks forward to meeting the families in person and will be proud to have contributed to their enjoyment of a fun day while supporting a cause that can make a difference in their lives.

The fundraiser’s goal is to raise over $100 thousand this year.

If this goal is reached, the fundraiser would raise one million dollars over the course of the Strollathon’s ten-year period.

There’s a new show in Florida Tech audio town.

Panther Podcasts has branched off Florida Tech College Radio and established a presence in the podcasts sphere with three new podcasts: “Catching Up with the Crimson,” “Panther Perspectives” and “Random Thoughts.”

David Thompson, a senior in multiplatform journalism, is one of the founding members of Panther Podcasts.

In “Random Thoughts,” he comes up with a hypothetical situation and discusses it with the only other member of Panther Podcasts, Kevin Boodoosingh, who is also a senior in multiplatform journalism.

“I know going into the podcast what the topic is going to be,” Thompson said.

“Kevin doesn’t. I want it to be something that’s debatable.”

With “Catching Up with The Crimson,” Thompson, Boodoosingh, and Emily Walker—The Crimson’s editor in chief—dive into the current issue of The Crimson, discussing specific stories in greater detail.

As Thompson is a staff writer and Boodoosingh is managing editor at The

Crimson, their behind-thescenes knowledge of the paper helps them steer the conversation in the right direction as they host the show with Walker as a regular guest and other Crimson writers sometimes brought on as special guests.

According to Thompson, of the three podcasts, he has made “Panther Perspectives” his pet project. Each episode, Thompson interviews a different student of the Florida Tech community, attempting to catalog the full Florida Tech experience.

All episodes are now available on Speaker.com under Panther Podcasts.

“Random Thoughts” releases every Wednesdays; “Catching Up with The Crimson” releases the same day as The Crimson—biweekly on Tuesdays and “Panther Perspectives” releases biweekly on Thursdays.

“We are very, very fresh,” Thompson said. “We started posting at the end of September.”

Thompson added that they are focusing on outreach right now, as it is just him and Boodoosingh in the club at the moment.

“I’d really like to see fellow students use Panther Podcasts as an avenue to broadcast themselves and

Panther Podcasts currently records in the DSL recording studio on the second floor of the Evans Library.

their interests,” Boodoosingh said. “They can also learn a new skill and platform to add to their resume.”

David said he wants to add more podcasts under the “Panther Podcast umbrella.”

“If you have a good idea and you know what you’re doing we can help you out.”

Panther Podcasts records in the podcast studio located in the DSL in Evans Library.

Any student can reserve the room for free.

Although Panther Podcasts began this school year, Ted Petersen, the advisor for The Crimson, pushed for the club’s formation for years, according to Thompson.

“I’ve been trying for years to get the newspaper to collaborate with the radio station and with the TV station,” Petersen said. “I think this is a good step in the right direction to get the radio station to do a podcast about what the newspaper is covering, and I hope it’s the beginning of a lot more collaboration between the student media on campus.”

As Panther Podcasts looks for more students and creates content, Petersen said of its future, “I just think as long as students are producing things that other students want to hear, that’s what matters most.”

Crimson // Joe Gundzik

4 NEWS ISSUE 6

OCTOBER 29

have as well as Pac-Man. I thought they were doing pretty well.”

The news was passed around through word of mouth for those that didn’t see the post on Facebook, such as Ahmed.

“I also heard the news through my friend Kevin,” said Siomara Nieves, a graduate in computer science. “I liked the place and its atmosphere was very cool and amazing. When I just wanna hang out and not stress about anything, I would

Quarters continued

Many Florida Tech students spend time at Quarters playing games and having a beer to let off steam. enjoy.

Brock, an alumni of Florida Tech and co-owner of the brewery, explained the reasoning for the announcement.

“Quarters has been having some issues staying afloat due to staggering prices of downtown rent,” Brock said.

“Even though downtown has high foot traffic, Quarters’ customer base is more geared towards craft beer fans, video game enthusiasts, and the like.”

go to Quarters and play.”

Quarters is currently a brewery that exclusively sells beer and a couple of wines.

Even if the majority of downtown establishments are full liquor bars, Brock has stated that they refuse in becoming one.

“We have expanded our offerings to include both hand crafted hard seltzers and more recently the introduction of a food menu as of September,” said Brock. “We also have events six times a week, such

as trivia and beer bingo.”

The company also stated that they do not intend on closing down and will continue their regular business to their best of their abilities.

“We appreciate all the support that we’re getting from folks as we try to make this work,” said Brock. “We’re optimistic about what the future holds for Quarters and as things progress, we hope to have positive news to share.”

Crimson //Emily Walker

The Facebook post came as a shock to many of their customers, with supportive comments from customers and hundreds of shares throughout the site.

The brewery is a popular hotspot for the local community, including Florida Tech students and alumni.

“I’m upset that it’s closing down,” said Faisal Ahmed, a graduate in business administration.

“Everytime I’m with my friends, we play the hockey game that they

Quarters has a variety of both single-player and team arcade games.

Crimson // Emily Walker

ISSUE 6

OCTOBER 29

CAMPUS LIFE

5

Florida Tech recognizes outstanding alumni olivia mckelvey \\ copy editor

With over 60,000 alumni scattered throughout the globe, the Florida Tech Alumni Association has made it a priority to honor and recognize the legacy past students have left behind.

On Oct. 26, more than 500 people—including professors, faculty, alumni, and organizations that play a vital role in providing aid to Florida Tech—gathered at the 2019 Alumni Awards Gala to recognize outstanding alumni in various majors.

Award recipients included those with vast experience in their career fields as well as a continuous commitment to their alma mater.

Bino Campanini, vice president for Alumni Affairs, served as master of ceremonies and introduced the especially distinguished alumni of the evening.

“This event is a fantastic opportunity to catch up with colleagues, and a brilliant way to instill the spirit of the school and reinvigorate interest in each program,” said Robert Salonen, a 2019 Florida Tech graduate and the current director of Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at the university.

Others in the crowd agreed with Salonen that this was a special night that allowed individuals to return proudly to their alma mater and reminisce on past memories, but also learn about the future of the school

and the growth it has seen in recent years.

After cocktails, photoops and dinner, Campanini continued as MC with lighthearted jokes as he welcomed each award recipient to the stage.

The first of five recipients was Jason Terreri, a 2001 Florida Tech undergraduate, awarded on behalf of the College of Aeronautics.

“The best advice I can give is to find someone who has the same desire and passion for your industry, and take them under your wing,” said the previous senior executive director of Syracuse Hancock International Airport.

“Become a mentor, and give them an opportunity to be successful.”

While all award recipients mentioned how honored they were to be given recognition for their work and thanked the university for what it provided to them, each took on their own unique twist for their speeches.

One of the quirkier speeches came from the College of Engineering and Science awardee, Don Woodrow. Woodrow is a distinguished 1986 Florida Tech undergraduate who is the president of Woodrow Construction LLC and also an advisory board member of civil engineering and construction advisory board at Florida Tech.

After cracking jokes about Bill Jurgens’ gray hair and poking fun at Campanini for his British accent, Woodrow

Bino Campanini presents the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award to Chip Perry. concluded by asking the audience to stand up, enjoy the night and give their best impersonation of Elaine dancing from Seinfeld.

Others that received awards at the alumni gala were Monique Picou on behalf of the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business, Sherri Acanfora Ruohomaki on behalf of the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts and Gretchen L. Kelly on behalf of the College of Engineering and Science.

Picou, the senior vice president of flow and fashion for Walmart, compared Florida Tech to an ivy league university, and put emphasis on the fact that “it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”

Acanfora Ruohomaki, a former Florida Tech cheerleader and now the owner of K9 Kampus—a luxury dog daycare and boarding facility—concluded her speech with words of reflection: “Look at the growth and development that Dr. McKay, and previously Dr. Catanese, have cultivated,” Acanfora Ruohomaki said. “It makes

me want to come back here as a young collegiate and enjoy all the amenities that they have now that we didn’t have before.”

President Dwayne T. McKay stated that the alumni are “our strength” and “prove that the university did a good job.”

“Florida Tech teaches our students to work with people in teams, and in collaboration,” McKay said.

“Curriculum such as the senior design prepares our students to enter the workforce after graduation in a few weeks, whereas at other schools, it’s six months.”

The ceremony came to a close with the presentation of the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest award bestowed upon by the Alumni Association.

Honored with such an award that remarks a reflection of a legacy of excellence was Chip Perry.

A former design engineer for Texas Instrument and founder of a top tier internet streaming service later bought out by Yahoo! Perry

FITV // Aayush Kapar was portrayed as a highly successful and memorable student from Florida Tech.

He took the guests down memory lane and recapped his journey from Florida Tech to where he is now.

Perry gave a special thanks to Ed Jonas, the designer of the Keuper statue in front of the President’s Office as well as the designer of all of the gala awards for the past five years.

“It was a true honor for Florida Tech to involve me in the design process,” Jonas said. “Although I am not a Florida Tech alumni, Brevard will always have a special place in my heart because it’s the hometown of the love of my life and it was one of the places where the last thing my father saw me accomplish was the sculpting of the Keuper statue.”

The night wrapped up with dancing and a continuation of celebrating Panther pride.

Florida Tech remembers Judy Brooke and Rosary Pedreira EMILY WALKER & KEVIN Boodoosingh \\ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & MANAGING EDITOR

Florida Tech recently lost two long-time dedicated employees: Judy Brooke and Rosary Pedreira.

Brooke started her career at Florida Tech 15 years ago and worked as the director of International Student and Scholar Services.

Family, friends and members of the Florida Tech community attended Brooke’s memorial service, held on Oct. 19 at the All Faiths Center.

Brooke was born in South Africa, then moved to London as a young adult and as mentioned in her remembrance in the All Faiths Center, “Somehow ended up in the United States.”

Her favorite song was played on the piano in her honor, and a slideshow of pictures of her greeted guests as they entered the chapel.

Candles lit the chapel, and red, orange and yellow flowers

colored the room.

A photo of Brooke sat in front of the podium.

Brooke battled cancer and underwent three years of treatment.

She passed away in her home on Saturday, Oct. 12, surrounded by family.

Mike Neeland, the campus chaplain, spoke at the service.

He described Brooke as a caring and strong-willed wife, mother and friend to all who came through her office during her time at Florida Tech.

He recounted the family’s memories of her, recalling her passion for cooking and playful ways of retaliating when cereal boxes were left opened and she would pour the loose cereal on the culprits’ beds.

Lareyne Ellebracht, the immigration advisor at ISSS, described Brooke as being warm and welcoming to international students.

“Judy was sympathetic toward our international students and the struggles they oftentimes faced in the

United States,” Ellebracht said. “She would often go above and beyond to help them.”

Deborah Matta, the manager of international student programs, said from the moment she met Brooke, she felt Brooke’s care for her coworkers.

Matta said she knew she wanted to work in Brooke’s department and that six years later, Brooke interviewed and hired her to work in ISSS. Matta said that while many students didn’t get the opportunity to meet Brooke, she wants them to remember her.

“I do want them to know that her legacy lives on in the International Festival and the International Coffee Hours,” Matta said. “These were both events that Judy created.

She wanted to increase activities that would promote relationships between people of different cultures at Florida Tech.”

Rosary Pedreira served Florida Tech for more than

30 years and left a lasting impression on her Florida Tech family.

On Oct. 19, the All Faiths Center held an intimate remembrance for Pedreira with food and drinks.

Jackie Saunders, who worked alongside Pedreira in the mailroom, remembers how kind Pedreira was.

“She bent backwards to help people,” Saunders said.

“She’ll give you the shirt off her back if she can. She won’t give you cash, but she’ll give you her shirt.”

Shawn Hughes, who was Pedreira’s boss in the mailroom, recalls Pedreira as his “abuela” with her infectious smile.

“Imagine having your grandmother with you all the time,” Hughes said. “That’s what it felt like.”

One story about Pedreira that stays with Hughes is from when Pedreira had just begun working in the mailroom.

Holmes Regional Medical Center contacted her, as they were looking for someone who

was bilingual.

According to Hughes, the hospital offered Pedreira a substantial amount more than what she was making working in the mailroom.

When Pedreira went to resign, it was the week before her birthday.

“When she went into the copy center to give her resignation, the current manager at that time brought her a cake and bought her a briefcase,” Hughes said.

“She was so heartfelt and struck by that she couldn’t go anywhere.”

Both women will be remembered by their Florida Tech community.

For Brooke and the events she created, Matta said, “As long as I'm in my position, I will try to make these events successful in memory of her.”

Hughes simply stated in remembrance of Pedreira, “We miss her a lot.”

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ISSUE 6

OCTOBER 29

ENTERTAINMENT

Nerd News: Why it doesn’t matter whether Marvel is “cinema” or not david "Level-headed" thompson \\ FAN FANATIC

During a recent interview with Empire, beloved Director Martin Scorsese called comic book movies, specifically Marvel, “not cinema.”

He went on to say the best comparison for them is theme parks.

Instead of writing a thousand words on how these comments are ridiculous and Scorsese is just a grumpy old man (trust me, I almost went there), I have been able to take a step back and have come to a conclusion.

Who cares?

I’m not backing down as a Marvel superfan, nor am I trying to discredit Scorsese’s opinion.

Cinema can be defined simply as movies or motion pictures, but a secondary definition according to Meriam-Webster Dictionary is, “the art or technique of making motion pictures.”

This seems to be the definition Scorsese meant when critiquing comic book movies.

Later during his interview with Empire, he explained his stance, saying, “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”

Now while I do not agree, I understand.

Scorsese is basically trying to say Marvel movies rely too much on the big explosions, computer graphics and lighthearted comedy to be considered real cinema.

Scorsese also admitted to not watching Marvel movies despite trying.

While this is clearly an outsider’s point of view looking in, the nine-time Academy Award nominee’s opinions still hold great weight—enough so that the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Natalie Portman defended Marvel movies as cinema.

Unfortunately, fellow iconic director Francis Ford Coppola went one step too far when adding onto Scorsese’s comments.

In an interview with Yahoo! Coppola said that Scorsese “was kind when he said it's not cinema.

He didn't say it's despicable, which I just say it is."

Grumpy old man alert!

He explained why he agreed that Marvel movies aren’t cinema.

“We expect to learn something from cinema,” Coppola said. “We expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some

knowledge, some inspiration.”

Nerd alert incoming!

Inspiration?

These movies inspire, especially children, to use their gifts for the greater good.

For example, Peter Parker (oh no, here he goes again) was just a nerdy teen trying to work his way through school.

He didn’t seek his great power, but once he had it, he took on the great responsibility.

He used his gifts to help and protect his community.

The point wasn’t that he could lift a car or climb walls—it was that he was given amazing abilities and how he used them was all that mattered.

We may not be able to swing through New York City or stop a speeding train, but we all have our own gifts and they only matter if we use them to the best of our abilities.

To be frank, Mr. Coppola, I was a pretty freaking inspired six-year-old watching Spider-Man 2 on repeat.

So the question is, why the sudden bashing of the incredibly successful Marvel movies that have recently been released?

Well, I think that is exactly it: Marvel movies are insanely successful.

Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” is the highest-grossing film of all time, bringing in just under $2.8 billion.

They have also had an effect on the rest of the industry, especially genre films.

For example, Marvel Studios began adding postcredit scenes to their films to get fans excited for the next film and keeping the excitement levels always to the max.

In August’s action film “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” there were four post-credit scenes teasing the next installment.

Even Scorsese’s muchanticipated film, “The Irishman,” coming out in November of this year has been affected.

The movie is in partnership with Netflix and in an interview with Entertainment Weekly Scorsese said that the $159 million project “was very difficult to get made the past 10 years, and for many different reasons.”

Scorsese is even using de-aging technology in his new film.

This part-incredible, partscary computer graphics effect has been previously used in Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” and “Captain America: Civil War.”

Martin Scorsese rivaling the Marvel Cinematic Universe for classifying it as "not cinema".

Photo // INQUIRER.net USA Times are certainly changing in the film industry and I think generational directors like Scorsese and Coppola, who have been creating major motion pictures for nearly 60 years, may feel threatened.

It was clearly not a cakewalk for Scorsese to get his latest project funded and Coppola still hasn’t begun official production of “Megalopolis.”

Deadline reported that Coppola described “Megalopolis” as “usual” and

said, “It will be a production on a grand scale with a large cast.”

Interesting, grand scale and large cast … where have I seen that before?

Nevertheless, the film industry has changed rapidly over the past 10 Avengersfilled years and there’s no sign of it stopping.

The great Robert Downey Jr. put it in the best way possible while on The Howard Stern Show.

“When you come in like a stomping beast and you

SONJA MICHAELS \\ "Big day off, little problems"

eliminate the competition in such a demonstrative way, it’s phenomenal,” Downey said.

So who cares if Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola think that Marvel movies aren’t cinema?

They are more entitled to their own opinions than practically anyone else in the film industry, but actions speak louder than words and money speaks even louder than that.

This never needed to become a viral story, because it is what it is and none of this means that we as Marvel fans should enjoy The Avengers any less.

We also shouldn’t have to feel like traitors for watching “Shutter Island” or “The Godfather.”

At the end of the day, the movie industry is changing and evolving, just as it has over the past 100 years, and there’s nothing you, me or Martin Scorsese can do about it.

ISSUE 6

OCTOBER 29

7

CAMPUS LIFE

SOSA hosts first Fall Earth Day Julius luchs \\ staff writer

This homecoming, Florida Tech saw dogs on Crawford Green, celebration of the environment, and awareness brought to some of the problems impacting the planet.

The reason: the Student Organization for Sustainability Action held its first Fall Earth Day celebration.

The event was a collaboration between SOSA, the American Society of Civil Engineers, Squamish and RLSC. Fall Earth Day was held on Wednesday, October 23, on the Crawford Green.

Ken Lindeman, the advisor for SOSA and an ocean engineering and marine sciences professor, has worked

with SOSA every year to help them create an engaging week-long celebration of Earth Day in April.

“We have wanted to also do a Fall Earth Day, and there have been some efforts to do that in the past,” Lindeman said. “This year, SOSA, ASCE and other student organizations followed through with a substantive event.”

Allyson McCarron, the vice president of SOSA, discussed the initial idea of collaborating with another organization, ASCE. “We have a diverse group of people in SOSA in terms of majors and could have done it as a group, but more organizations are getting interested in sustainability and we thought that ASCE would do a great job to help

bring our vision to life,” McCarron said.

McCarron said the original idea of Fall Earth Day was born last fall.

“We wanted to increase the importance of Earth Day on campus with the idea that we shouldn't just have one day in the spring that we celebrate it,” McCarron said.

Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22, and both SOSA and ASCE recognize the importance of that day and the message that it presents to people.

For Fall Earth Day, a number of organizations were invited. McCarron said these organizations included Keep Brevard Beautiful, Facilities, Alumni Affairs, and the CLEO Institute.

The Brevard Zoo has a program known as “Restore

Our Shores,” which is a project that focuses on conservation, especially on the shorelines.

The project aims to protect locations such as the Indian River Lagoon and other bodies of water with shorelines.

Oysters and mangroves are examples of some organisms that the Brevard

Zoo team helps protect.

The sculpture that was designed from collected trash and waste as a result of campus clean-ups attracted a lot of attention.

McCarron said, “I am very proud of what all of us accomplished and hope that it opened some of the eyes of students on campus.”

ASCE and SOSA created a sculpture out of campus waste.

FITV // Quang Dinh

Homecoming wraps up the week with carnival

jesse villaverde \\ Design editor

This year’s carnival offered free beer, food and entertainment to the Florida Tech community.

Food trucks gathered in front of Crawford Green on Oct. 26., offering SMAC and El Cubanito, frozen chocolate bananas, and Meg O Malleys, a new addition to this year’s carnival.

Cat Nanney, director of student involvement, said she was pleased with the turnout of the event.

“It was the best year of homecoming we’ve ever had, even with the new beer garden for parents to join in on the fun,” said Nanney. “We decided this year to put more

money toward merchandise that students can walk away with but still wanted to bring those fun carnival games.”

A homecoming shirt and a cloth bag were given out to students for free, as well as food tickets for the food trucks on the field.

Other than typical carnival games run by Residence Life, a new addition was a laser tag tent across from the beer garden.

“A lot of people showed up at this event this year,” Nanney said. “There were over 700 students that checked in, and we had to stop for a while due to the overflow of people.”

Families and parents were invited to the carnival due to Florida Tech family weekend occurring.

Alexandra AlbovaVolkova, homecoming chair, said she had a good experience organizing the event, as well as the other events that occurred during the week.

“This is a larger turnout than it has been in the past years and the addition of a beer garden might have contributed to it,” said Volkova.

“Although the activities at the football game were rained out, all the other events went smooth, even the talent show.”

The homecoming royalty winners were announced near the end of the carnival, as well as winners of a raffle.

Campus Activities Board and Phi Sigma Sigma won the royalty in first place, Alpha Phi and Baseball Club won

second place and Delta Tau Delta and Residence Life came in third place.

Students such as Ivan Hernandez, a sophomore in computer science, won a Nintendo Switch for winning in the raffle.

“I didn’t even know how to react about it because I never win anything like that,” Hernandez said. “I had a really fun time hanging out with my fellow drumline members, and by far the best moment last night was the picture booth since we got to keep those memories.”

Even with the variety of food stations, some students like Erisa Hasanl, a Florida Tech alum, said they wanted more activities to take part in.

“It was much better last

year,” said Hasanl. “There were more bouncy houses and games, but now there’s a lot of food for a lot of people. It felt like an actual carnival before.”

Hasanl also mentioned that the grass on the fields were very wet and difficult to walk across due to the rain earlier in the day.

Despite the mixed reaction, Valkova said it was a great experience for her to help run the homecoming events this year.

“Even though I’m graduating this semester and won’t be able to stay on the committee, I’m excited to see what Sam will do for next year,” Valkova said.

Weather doesn’t scare Residence Life: Treat or Treat

Xingman Jiang & CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ \\ Staff writers

After being pushed back a day due to heavy rain, Halloween came early at Florida Tech and for the whole community with Treat or Treat.

With a large turnout in the hundreds, Florida Tech’s ResLife hosted the annual event on Sunday, Oct.20 with attractions ranging from haunted houses based on popular movies, bounce houses, a pumpkin patch and

a costume contest.

With the previous day having a downpour of rain during the event’s time from 2:00–6:00, the last-minute decision to send out an email detailing the delay on Friday, Oct. 18 proved to be the right call.

Compared to the dour and dreary Saturday, the event itself benefitted with a sunny day and nice breeze as attendees stood in lines for the haunted houses.

Five haunted houses were set-up in the residential quads

Kids play on an inflatable couch at Treat or Treat.

FITV // Quang Dinh

with the following themes: Enchanted Forest, Blue Genie, Men in Black Suits, Jurassic Land, and Scary Clown.

While the houses went by other names, they followed themes of popular movies such as “Aladin,” “Men in Black,” “Jurassic Park,” and Stephen King’s “It.” “We’ve actually been working on all of this for the last two months,” said Alex Smith, a student volunteer.

“With the logistics phase, designing, planning and getting the volunteers all together, it took about two months.”

Smith said that all of the RAs on campus volunteered during the event, helping out with every component of Treat or Treat.

“We were looking out for the safety of the people in the community,” Smith said when asked about the delay.

“We wanted to make sure that it was nice, safe and fun for everyone by pushing it back a

day.”

All of the houses were set up over the course of the week prior while the day of the event drew closer and closer.

“When it comes down to that last week of setting up, it’s all hands on deck with everyone running around,” said McKenzie Stack, residence life coordinator.

Stack said that with how much work it takes to get the event up and running, there were many last-minute trips to Walmart and decisions made to ensure the event’s success.

She also said that this was the first time Treat or Treat utilized the SUB area for the event and included food trucks, both of which worked out great in her opinion.

“It was a whole lot better than I thought it would be,” said Yajing Liu, a graduate student. “The settings were incredibly amazing. I can see the efforts and the students trying their best to present a

good show.”

Liu said his favorite haunted house was the one in Evans Hall, called “Scary Clown.” This house was based on “It” and was Liu’s favorite mainly for its scares.

The “Scary Clown” house was also the favorite for Kendall Willwerth, a freshman studying genomics and molecular genetics.

“There was actually a person standing in a yellow coat that I thought was a mannequin and when I walked by, they started following me and I was really scared,” Willwerth said. “The clowns were also very creepy.”

She said it was a lot of fun and she had a great time attending.

Despite the setback due to weather, many attended Treat or Treat and inspired Liu to celebrate in the future.

“Maybe next time I'll try to put a costume on for the very first time and celebrate Halloween,” Liu said.

ISSUE 6

OCTOBER 29

8 SPORTS

Athletics stay busy during Record participation in homecoming 5k homecoming week joe gundzik \\ david thompson \\ staff writer

To begin the week, the volleyball team fell to the Embry-Riddle Eagles on Tuesday night.

The Panthers lost in straight sets but kept each set close.

Each set was lost by only five points or fewer.

They finished the match with 33 kills, 33 assists, five service aces, four blocks, 64 digs and 63 total points.

Soccer continued the week on Wednesday night, both taking on Rollins College.

The No. 6 ranked men’s team was undefeated entering the game with a 9-0-1 record.

Their game against the Tars was the Panthers second of the season to go into overtime but this time they came up short, losing 2-1.

Guillermo Segovia scored Florida Tech’s only goal of the evening, tallying his goal total for the season to a team-high seven goals.

The women’s team had similar results at home against the Tars, losing 3-0.

Maria Munoz, Brittany Etrick and Alexis Sheely each challenged the Rollins goalkeeper, putting a shot on goal.

The football team wrapped up homecoming week Saturday afternoon as they took on the West Florida Argonauts.

This game was not only the homecoming game but the fourth annual Coastal Classic rivalry game between Florida Tech and West Florida.

The winner gets to keep the Coastal Classic Trophy for the full year until they face off the next season.

In last season’s game, the Panthers overcame an 18-point deficit and beat the Argonauts 30-28.

This year, Florida Tech fell to West Florida 38-14, making their overall record 1-3 in the rivalry game.

The 24-point difference was the greatest so far of the four-year rivalry.

Similar to last year, the Panthers found themselves down early, trailing 17-7 at halftime.

After falling down 31-7 in the third quarter, it was too great of a deficit for them to overcome this year.

Freshman quarterback Mike Diliello was featured in both of Florida Tech’s touchdowns.

The first was a 91-yard run by Diliello that at the time brought them within three points of the Argonauts.

The second and final touchdown scored by the Panthers was a seven-yard pass from Diliello to tight end Kenny Hiteman late in the third quarter.

The trophy is now back

with West Florida but the Panthers will have their chance to reclaim it next season.

Florida Tech began their season 3-1 but have now dropped four straight games, leaving their record at a 3-5 with three more games remaining in the regular season.

They next take on West Alabama at Panther Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 2.

staff writer

Hundreds of runners gathered outside Meg O’Mally’s Irish pub in Downtown Melbourne on Oct. 24, setting a record for the number of participants in Florida Tech’s homecoming 5k.

“We’ve been doing this area, Downtown Melbourne, since 2012,” said Stephanie Bacon, the race director. “I am proud to say that we are going

People gather, waiting for the 5k to begin.

Crimson // Joe Gundzik

to have probably over 600 runners, which represents the largest race we’ve ever had.”

The route of the race ran through Downtown Melbourne with several turnarounds to minimize the blocked off area.

Bacon said the route has stayed the same through the years, with runners beginning at Waverly Place, moving down Melbourne Avenue, Bignonia Avenue, and them coming back to Waverly.

While a look at Florida Tech’s admission data shows that undergraduate admissions have steadily increased year by year, this does not necessarily mean that student participation has increased overall as the race remains open to the public.

Many non-students and faculty members also participated in the race.

Ryan Schwieterman, a non-student participant, said he ran for his team, and that he expected to be exhausted afterward. Team competitions, although informal, account for some of the increase in participation.

Yet, much of the 5k’s participation comes from members of Brevard County.

“I came here to win,” said Grant Poirier, a Florida Tech student and experienced runner. “I am going to win first 100 place.”

Poirier said he has been running since he could walk.

“Most of it was not of my own free will, but I learned to love it eventually,” Poirier said. “I’ve loved it and hated it for most of my life. Mostly hated it, but still loved it a little bit.”

Poirier went on to say that he ran for three years in middle school and one year in high school.

“After that one year in high school, I realized that running distance in high school was a terrible life decision,” Poirier said. “So I re-evaluated my life and played golf.”

While Poirier has an “unusual” liking for running, others were spotted crossing the finish line with smiles due to personal bests, or looks of fatigue, celebratory highfives with friends, teammates, professors and more.

If anything, Florida Tech’s homecoming 5k showcased all levels of runners, various types of participants, but all united for one fun event.