The Florida Tech Crimson Issue 1 Fall 2018

RIMSON The Florida Tech

@FTCrimson @FTCrimson crimson@fit.edu

The Official Student-Run Newspaper•since

Issue 1

Our Mission: Live, discover and report the truth.

1967

FALL

TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2018

Welcome back Panthers!

A wild newspaper has appeared

Eleanor Mathers \\ Editor-In-Chief Welcome to Florida Tech! For those of you that have never held a newspaper before: congratulations!

Here at Florida Tech, you’ll experience confusion, frustration, excitement and a lack of sleep at least three times during your stay here for both positive and negative reasons – all of them your fault.

However, those moments usually include the help of good friends, free stuff and finding new places on campus you swear you’ll visit again even though you probably never will.

Welcome to another year of first times, last minutes and missed classes.

You still have time to sign up for new clubs and

David, right and Kevin, left, poses with the new handmade Crimson sign. drop old habits and there’s still a professor waiting for you during office hours.

The SUB has been renovated, there are new bicycle service stations around

Photo by : Eleanor Mathers

"We're meeting on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in the Grissom Hall basement."

campus and The Crimson is working on gathering all of these stories and updates for the students.

For now, we’re here to say, “Welcome back! How was your

summer?”

Working with new students has become our main objective this year; it’s time for the veterans to teach our rookies how it’s done.

Gone are the days of throwing our new writers, photographers, designers and informants into the deep end on their first assignment, much to the sadness of our advisor, Dr. Petersen.

Instead, we’ve decided to have guest speakers, small workshops and points of contact for the new recruits of the team, regardless of previous experience.

As Editor-in-Chief, I’d like to welcome you to the team as a reader while also apologizing for the bad jokes, awkward silences and the occasional run-on

Continued on page 2

new year, new me SGA president discusses latest changes David Thompson \\ Managing editor After being elected the newest Student Government Association president last spring, Jace Petrowski said he has been hard at work focusing on how SGA can better help the student body.

“I just want to make sure that SGA is known as a place that is here to give hospitality,” Petrowski said. “And when you come into P133, which is our house, that you are welcome. We are here as one big family and are here to do the dirty work with you.”

Petrowski said that he wants students to come forward with their issues but made it clear that SGA is not here for pity parties.

“I’m not here to hear complaints,” Petrowski said. “I am here to hear problems that the school faces. So if someone comes up to me they need to bring a problem and what they think could be the solution.”

SGA has selected 12 cabinet members that will work as liaisons for students. Helping them get their foot in the door when going to speak with someone like Greg Graham (Assistant Vice President, Business & Retail Operations) as Petrowkski did in the Fall of 2017.

“If a normal student just went up to Greg Graham’s office they probably wouldn’t just be able to walk in. But if they had a liaison, then they could get

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Meet the staff INDEX

right in front of them and talk to them about whatever problem they have.”

Petrowski said his experience with SGA so far has been nothing but eye-opening, “I’ve just been so impressed with how much goes into it.” He also said the management at his summer internship taught him valuable lessons about leadership.

“I’d see this management for this corporation and think ‘wow I want to be like that’,” Petrowski said. “I want to learn how to manage and be a leader like they are and I’ve just had the opportunity to learn from what they’ve done and applied it over the summer as I do meetings. I’ve been realizing what the responsibility

OPINION PAGES 2-3

The passing of the torch. [of being SGA president] entails fully and I’ve just become more and more excited.”

After seeing this management working together symbiotically, Petrowski said it showed him that some changes needed to be made in the

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Photo by : Sam Gillion SGA hierarchy.

“I see the branches working together more than they should be where they’re collaborating and discussing everything together at one time so that there’s bias that’s allowed

Continued on page 3 Page 7

Melbourne car scene

Track team cut from athletic program

Alpha: Review

CAMPUS LIFE PAGES 4-5

AUTO PAGE 6

SPORTS PAGE 8

REVIEW PAGE 7

2 OPINION ISSUE 1

AUGUST 21

Continued from front sentence. #sorrynotsorry We’re meeting on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in the Grissom Hall basement with a new office layout and a new team.

As a student newspaper, our mission is reporting on student events and concerns with as much factual evidence as we can gather. But no journalist can work on presenting the facts without the help of their readers.

Dorothy Thompson, an American journalist and radio broadcaster, said, “There is nothing to fear except the persistent refusal to find out the truth.”

So instead of hiding behind our desks and computers, we want you to recognize us, stop to talk and let us know what’s going on in your world.

MEET THE STAFF!

eleanor mathers - Editor-in-chief

"It's a breathe in and forget to breathe out kinda day"

Eleanor is The Crimson's exhausted and over-enthusiastic Editor-in-Chief. She is a Strategic Communications major with a Philosophy minor which gives her the confidence she doesn't have to answer questions that she doesnt know.

david thompson - managing editor "No, my name is not Clark" David is the Managing Editor of The Crimson. He’s a sophomore majoring in Multiplatform Journalism and works in the Clemente Center. If you see David around campus and think it’s Clark Kent, it’s okay. We thought so too.

kevin boodoosingh - design editor "Its fine...its fine" Kevin is the design editor here at The Crimson. He is a junior majoring in Multiplatform Journalism. His sarcasm will catch you off guard but he is never not smiling, even with his frequent self-depreciating jokes.

Ashley Letendre - social media coordinator "The name’s Letendre, chicken le Tender" Ashley is The Crimson's social media coordinator. around fit she's known as chicken tender. she is a strategic communication major with a business minor and she enjoys meeting new people. If you see her on campus and wanna talk just tell her about your dog.

lexi bettermann - sports editor "They call me Bubbles" Lexi is entering her senior year at Florida Tech and is the Sports Editor for The Crimson. She’s also a player on the Florida Tech Softball team. If you get the pleasure of talking to her don’t be alarmed when your day suddenly brightens up afterwards.

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OPINION

Continued from front to occur,” Petrowski said.

“The president would bring something to the floor and it would be discussed and voted on at that moment.

There would not be so much discussion with the executive branch which I think needs to happen.”

This led to the new cabinet members being put in the liaison role, inviting open conversation between students and SGA. “When ideas are brought to me by students, or to a cabinet member, we can run them through a ‘gauntlet’ of ideas through the cabinet and we will allow those ideas to churn and evolve into what would be the greatest idea that we can come up with,” Petrowski said. “Then we present it to the Senate and then they vote upon it.”

Petrowski said he is working on making an officer focused on ethics; specifically for the SGA after what all transpired last school year.

An officer position is

being created with the purpose of having someone that will monitor SGA officers and hold them accountable to their guidelines.

Petrowski said, “What I want to do is hold the Student Government to the standard that is almost equal to what Greek Life holds because I want that representation to be as pure and as proper as it can be.”

Petrowski said he is trying to push for the idea that SGA isn’t just some nonsense that happens. He is focused on making sure that the members of SGA represent themselves in the best possible way.

“If you’re a senator, you should feel the weight of that position and understand that you are not just representing yourself but you’re representing the entire student body,” Petrowski said. “By representing it, you are not only receiving a great opportunity but you’re also receiving a great burden that you’re being trusted with.”

Petrowski wanted to make it clear that he is there

for the students and that his job is to make sure that their experience is greater than the one he had.

“If there’s a student that has been burned in the past, I empathize with you,” Petrowski said. “I

know what it is like to feel that, and I am doing everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen to anyone else.

SGA will be sending emails about general meetings as the semester begins.

Three years of presidents. From left to right: Warren P (2016), Rebecca Candelaria (2017), Jace Petrowski (2018)

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To contact them with an issue you see around campus call 321-674-8132 or email jpetrowski2016@ my.fit.edu.

Photo by : Sam Gillion

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CAMPUSLIFE

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CAMPUSLIFE

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AUGUST 21

AUTO

JUST DUMP THE CLUTCH AND SEND IT!

It’ll be fine…. kevin boodoosingh \\ design editor

Hello fellow car enthusiasts and readers, welcome back to another semester here at Florida Tech, and a warm welcome to all the new freshmen.

This column is directed to our fellow car enthusiasts located right here at Florida Tech and also for anyone interested in cars.

Over the course of this semester we will be taking a look into the petrol heads here on campus and their Local car meet at Space Coast Harley Davison. beautiful machines… let’s Florida Tech majoring in haven’t; I have not sprayed hope it’s not a bunch of Multiplatform Journalism. the middle of my bumper Civics.

I drive a 2015 Mitsub- black to look like an Evo. We will also be taking ishi ES Lancer and a 2015 I could never disrespect a look into the car culture Harley Davidson Street an Evo like that. and community here on 750.

Shifting gears to my campus and in Melbourne I think the most excit- bike, its pretty stock, the and Palm Bay. ing thing about me is how only thing I have done to To get the engines start- boring my modes of trans- it is a slip on Tab Perfored, (I know, I cringed too) portation are. mance exhaust and I soon let's discuss some of the Moving on, my Lancer plan on fitting a high flow weekly events that happen has a lot of mods done to it, air intake and having it in the area, i.e. car meets, I have plasti dipped all my retuned. shows and just hangout emblems and my hubcaps, Enough about me, there spots.

I only have the best mods is no doubt that all the But before we slide into done to my car. Oh and other car guys highlighted these events, here’s a little it's also ICE’d out, “In Car this semester will be more about me.

Entertainment”. interesting and have cooler Hello my name is Kevin I’ve got a 12 inch rides than me. and I am addicted to look- self-powered subwoofer The car scene here in ing at cars on Craigslist I and a lot of interior LED Melbourne and Palm Bay cannot afford. Seriously lights. may seem pretty quiet from though, I have a problem.

You may laugh but just driving around but the Okay first off the boring there’s one thing that most community is very much stuff, I’m a Junior here at Lancer drivers do that I alive.

Photo by : Hector Santiago

Your first priority is checking out the Palm Bay Car Scene page on Facebook.

Although it's a closed group, you can either request to be added or have a friend add you.

The usual events occur on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at about 9 or 10 pm.

Thursday night meets have been changed around recently, so definitely check out the Facebook page for info.

On Friday nights the meet is at the parking lot behind Long Doggers on Minton Road, about 10 minutes from Campus and on a Saturday night the meet is in Merritt Island, which is about 30 minutes

north of Melbourne.

Now beyond these weekly events there are a lot of other events that happen; a lot of car dealerships in the area usually have Cars and Coffee events and much more.

According to the Classic Reflections Car Club’s website, on the first Tuesday of each month there is a Cruise-In held at Hooters at 6 pm on Palm Bay road hosted by the Space Coast Mustang Club, and also on the third Thursday of each month there is Crusin’ for Charities at Five guys at 5 pm in Hammock Landing on Palm Bay road.

Harley Davidson also has an array of events that take place every weekend.

Last Thursday and Friday they hosted the weekly meets and it was amazing.

Now there is also a place in Palm Bay called The Compound, I won’t get into much detail about it but it’s mostly used for isolated drifting and hooning about, it’s almost like the official “SEND IT!” location in the area.

I hope you all have a great first week and great introduction to the car community here on campus and in Melbourne/Palm Bay.

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Dozy Dog

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REVIEW

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A spoiler-free review of ‘Alpha’ David Thompson \\ Managing editor Over the years I have seen a lot of origin stories at the cinema, but none quite like “Alpha”.

Directed by Albert Hughes, this film tells an endearing story about the original “man’s best friend” along with a bunch of silly storylines I didn’t care about.

In “Alpha” we follow a young man named Keda, played by Kodi SmitMcPhee, and his perilous journey through Europe 20,000 years ago.

In the spirit of keeping this review spoiler-free, I won't explain why he embarks alone on this heroic journey.

Keda’s personality seemed too unrealistic to how everyone should have been in the middle of the Ice Age. He reminded me a lot of “Hiccup” from the “How to Train your Dragon” movies, physically weak and feels sympathy towards animals unlike those around him.

But instead of a dragon, Keda befriends an injured wolf.

Thus begins my rant about how everything that happens in this movie is predictable.

Going into the movie everyone knows he’s

going to meet a wolf and ultimately befriend it.

With this being known, they took way too much time giving us backstory before actually exploring the first man and dog relationship.

The dog that they hired to play the wolf is so cute but equally ferocious.

I’m a big dog person so all of the scenes where Keda and the wolf bond and slowly become family really makes me like this movie more than I should.

I give a lot of credit to Smit-McPhee for his portrayal as young Keda, he was really trying his best.

I just don’t think he was directed very well and he was bogged down by a lot of talking with subtitles.

It was a pleasant surprise that all the humans in this movie spoke in their tribe’s language and not English.

This led to a lot of reading but it showed that everyone working on this movie wasn’t lazy.

The writer’s had to translate, the director had to teach and the actors had to study the language.

While I think that is all well and good, one of my biggest problems with this movie is how much dialogue there is and how

boring it can become.

I really wish they had used more physical cues instead of vocalizing.

Speaking of boring, I’ve never seen so much walking in my life.

It was a good shot the first few times we see Keda walking through different environments to show progression in his journey but I swear they reused walking scenes just to make the runtime longer.

This movie could’ve been so much better if they had just added two or three more short action scenes and cut out half of the traveling sequences.

All in all, “Alpha” wasn’t the worst movie I’ve seen this year but it was at the bottom of my list.

A boring overarching story that didn't focus enough on what the marketing led us to believe.

This was a missed opportunity with a few lovable moments that showed its missed potential. “Alpha” is not worth a trip to the theater.

Photo by : Columbia Pictures

get involved in the crimson!

Meet us in our newsroom located behind Grissom Hall every Tuesday at 6 p.m. for free food and epic discussions.

Any newspaper is incomplete with only staff writers – we welcome students interested in photography, videography, business, layout/web design, editing and coming up with creative story ideas.

Reasons to join: ◆ Internship opportunities ◆ Paid or work study positions ◆ Chance to travel to journalism conference (last year we went on a paid trip to Washington D.C.) ◆ Endless networking and involvement around and off campus ◆ Tangible work to add to your portfolio ◆ Have your name published ◆ Great work experience ◆ Strengthen writing, editing and design skills ◆ Be “in the know” on campus

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SPORTS

Track Team Cut from Athletic Program Ashley letendre \\ Social media coordinator Over the course of the Spring 2018 semester at Florida Tech, many athletic programs were competing all across Florida.

One program in particular, the Track and Field Team, had endured a rough start due to the fact that they didn’t have a coach for the majority of the 2017 fall semester.

However, in November a new coach was announced and they went on to travel and compete during the spring.

Despite a successful season, all the athletes on the team received a phone call over the summer regarding their positions on the team.

This phone call was to inform the students that the team was going to be cut from the Florida Tech athletic program.

Bill Jurgens, the Athletic Director, explained the situation and why the department had decided to let go of the program.

“Well, we have 23 Varsity sports and there’s just a number of needs,” Jurgens said.

“With all the facility requirements, coaching requirements and operation needs, that’s what it

really boiled down to looking at, [especially] with our limited resources and not being able to meet that particular need,” Jurgens said.

He said it was an extremely tough decision and they were great student athletes.

“You know when I was able to be there when we didn’t have a coach, I really got to meet a number of them and just saw how dedicated they were to their event.”

Jurgens also added that he understands how stressful it is to be the one to know whether or not a student’s athletic program is going to be cut.

However, he doesn’t anticipate any other reductions in sports.

The students that came to Florida Tech on athletic scholarship were reached out to in order to assure them that their scholarships weren’t being taken away.

“Those who were on athletic scholarships were told ‘You will retain your athletic scholarship until you graduate’,” Jurgens said. He explained that the decision to cut the team was already difficult and the “consideration of all

those who were in it was important.”

“So that’s why the athletic scholarships were continued.”

The track and field team was comprised of about 50 students, both men’s and women’s teams, and they were coached under Kerron Greaves during the spring semester of 2018.

Greaves was named the head coach in November 2017 and was also a part of the football staff.

Although this program cut was significant to the athletics department, the student athletes were impacted immensely, too.

One former student athlete in particular, Gabriel Quinn, was not happy once he was heard about the program being taken away.

Quinn is a junior majoring in Aviation with flight.

He was on the track and field team starting his freshman year in fall of 2016.

“When I was searching for the right college for me, I only had two points I wanted to hit. First a school with a flight program and second, a school with a D2 track program,” Quinn said. “So track was a big factor in me attending FIT.”

“I met all my friends because of track.” Quinn said track athletes are great people to be friends with because of their energy and positive attitudes.

“How else would a person be able to wake up in the morning to run in the Florida heat?”

Despite the great experience, Quinn left Photo by : Florida Tech Athletics the program in order to pursue Students are encouraged to contact Bill Jurgens, other interests. Athletic Director, with any questions or concerns.

D u r i n g the summer, Quinn was notified of the off track and field. track team being cut and Jurgens said any was unhappy with the student is welcome to bring news. him the idea of creating a “I had a great experi- club for track and field; as ence on the team and it a result, students can still angered me when I heard pursue their hobby of it. the program had been cut.”

For any student inquiQuinn felt that students ries regarding the track like him would no longer and field team or creating look to Florida Tech as a a track and field club, they choice because of the lack can email Bill Jurgens at of a track and field team. bjurgens@fit.edu.

Although the team is permanently cut, there is still the option of creating an intramurals team based

The Track and Field team was recognized for All-Academic Team honors by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)

Photo by : Florida Tech Athletics