The official student newspaper of florida Tech
Fall, issue 4
October 1, 2013
Club approval committee formed to create new student organizations Rebekah Duntz Campus Life Editor There are 143 registered clubs and organizations at Florida Tech. To start a new club or organization in the past, all it had to have was at least 10 members and an adviser. But beginning this semester, the old policy dissolved, and it was replaced with a new application process. An approval committee led by Student Activities and Student Government Association will take all new applications, and decide whether the applicants can become an organization or not. The committee will consist of students: one representative from each class, and then three additional students from any background. “This has been on our radar for a very long time. This is what every university in the world has, and we really liked the idea of giving the power back to the students,” said Cat McGuire Carnley, director of student activities and Greek life. The criteria for becoming
a new organization is almost the same as before; the group must have at least ten members and an adviser to oversee them, have a constitution, advertise for and hold general meetings and create an executive board. But the organization’s mission statement has to be consistent with Florida Tech’s. First, the student must apply, and then the members will have to meet with the approval committee and go through an interview process. After the first meeting, applicants will wait up to six weeks to see whether they met the guidelines with satisfaction. “I truly highly doubt they would ever not approve an organization,” Carnley said. “The organization has to meet a need of the student body. It has to be significantly different from other existing organizations.” Many of the organizations on campus are very similar to each other, and they require separate funding. The objective of the approval committee is to make sure
See clubs pg. 3
Florida Tech leads in offering sustainability studies major
Photo by Efram Goldberg Many sustainability students work with Florida Tech’s botanical gardens.
Carlo Mencarelli Staff Writer Beginning this semester, Florida Tech joins a small group of universities that provides students an opportunity to earn undergraduate degree in sustainability studies. The degree is offered by the Department of Education and Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Science. While pursuing the degree,
students study various practices that allow them to increase output and efficiency without increasing waste. Morgan Wilson, a juniorworking on a bachelor’s degree in international business and marketing, is minoring in sustainability. Wilson is excited about the new major.
See major pg. 3
Get to know your SGA senators See SGA, pg 2
Florida Tech stands up for lagoon health
Photo by Kelsey McMullan Florida Tech undergraduate students, graduate students and professors stood on the causeway to support the Indian River Lagoon.
Kelsey McMullan Sci/Tech Editor Florida Tech students stood hand in hand on the 192 causeway alongside hundreds of local residents to show their support for the Indian River Lagoon. The Indian River Lagoon has been in the news recently because of the large warning signs of its declining health. Manatees, dolphins and pelicans have been dying in larger than normal numbers. There have also been more fish kills reported to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently. “I’ve been a grad student here for eight years,” said Kelli Zargiel, a PhD student in biological oceanography. “I’ve seen the decline in water quality, sea grass and dead fish.” Zargiel joined other undergraduate students, graduate students and professors from the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems for coffee and donuts before taking a trolley to the 192 causeway. Adam Collier was one of many people who joined Zargiel. “My teacher encouraged us to come. I have a project in the Indian River Lagoon. I’m hoping to support the IRL and that people will see our concern and help,” Collier said. “Most people don’t know that the impact they have on the land impacts the water.” Jennifer Thompson, an alumnus of Florida Tech and the City of Melbourne’s Environmental Program Coordinator hopes that this event makes more students and Brevard County residents realize their impact. Thompson said, “It doesn’t matter where you live, you are connected to that lagoon.” What is happening in the lagoon has been building up
for over 50 years. There are many problems contributing to the decline in health of the lagoon. They are large amounts of fresh water coming from Lake Okeechobee, algae blooms caused by large amounts of sewage in the water, pollution, a large layer of decaying muck, a loss in filter feeders such as oysters, a loss of sea grasses and, high amounts of nitrogen and nutrients in the water. Lake Okeechobee naturally drains to the south and east when there is too much water for the lake to handle. The Army Corps of Engineers controls the levy system around the lake and have been draining excess water after the large amounts of rain the area has experienced in the last few years. Because the lagoon has a unique mix of salt and fresh water, the influx of freshwater causes problems for the organisms that rely on the salinity and nutrients in the saltwater. Septic tanks, eroding sewer pipes and an influx of dogs are being blamed for the large amounts of nitrogen and fecal coliforms that have been showing up in water sample testing by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as other federal agencies and private research groups. Thompson explained that because of the population explosion that came with the development of the space program and Cape Canaveral builders were unable to create sewage lines fast enough for all of the homes. Builders determined that getting drinking water to the homes was the most important part of the infrastructure and that putting in septic tank systems would be sufficient for the homes. Now, 50 years later, we are seeing the effects of the septic tanks on the ground water, which feed into the lagoon. Because sewer pipes that run from the islands to the mainland have begun to erode, the sewage that leaks from the pipes combined with the septic water has built up a large
amount of nitrogen in the waters. Brian Lapointe, a marine environmental scientist from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute told Wired Magazine’s Nadia Drake that, “The Indian River Lagoon has become a toilet.” Lapointe also estimated that two million pounds of nitrogen are being dumped into the lagoon each year. Thompson also credits irresponsible dog owners for the increase in fecal coliforms in the lagoon. She said that along with the population boom came more dogs. “There are ordinances that you are supposed to clean up after your dog, but you hear the excuse ‘oh I didn’t have a bag’ or ‘I didn’t see it’.” Thompson would like to see more owners picking up after their dogs and disposing of their waste properly. The City of Melbourne has been handing out bag dispensers that owners can attach to their dog’s leash so that they can responsibly pick up after their pets. The large amounts of nitrogen and other nutrients from the wastes actually encourage algae growth. Thompson said that the proliferation of toxic brown algae in 2011 was triggered by a large amount of sewage dumped into the lagoon around Cocoa, Fla. that combined with a high salinity in the water and colder than usual water temperatures to create a superbloom. The superbloom was able to spread north to Titusville and as far south as Stuart. What could be the death blow for the lagoon is the loss of the bottom layer of its food chain. Large amounts of filter feeders and sea grass beds have been dying in the lagoon. If the bottom of the food chain is a loss, then every level of the food chain will be affected by that loss. Because the sea grass is the main source of food for manatees, the loss of the grass has caused
See lagoon pg. 4
Campus life............. 2 SCI/TECH.................. 5 OPINIONS................... 6 See watermelon pg 3 sports................. .....7
Lambda Chi Alpha presented the watermelon bust