The Florida Tech Crimson Fall 2019 Issue 3

Check out our haikus on Page 6!

Issue 3

RIMSON The Florida Tech

The Official Student-Run Newspaper•since

1967

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

INDEX

Campus Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-5 Review. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .6-7 Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 FALL

Florida Tech helps in Bahamas relief missions

olivia mckelvey \\ copy editor

CSA receives tremendous donations, such as home supplies and money, to send to the Bahamas after the Hurricane Dorian disaster.

Since Dorian hit the Bahamas two weeks ago, Florida Tech has proved to be a united front, sending thousands of supplies over on countless relief missions.

The university’s College of Aeronautics alumni group was the first to spring to action by coordinating relief missions out of the Orlando Melbourne International Airport as early as Thursday, Sept.

5, just four days after the hurricane made landfall in the Bahamas.

Issac Silver, the associate dean of the College of Aeronautics, was one of the pilots that flew supplies over via Florida Tech’s Navajo Chieftain Piper aircraft.

“When we first landed in Abaco, it was basically like a post-apocalyptic movie,” Silver said. “There were virtually no people, maybe one or two here and there, but everything and everyone was practically gone.”

So far, Silver has made eight

trips to multiple locations on the northern Bahamas island of Abaco, including Marsh Harbor and Sandy Point.

In addition to flying the Navajo, Silver has also been flying a C-47— Tico Belle. Tico Belle was used during D-day to drop allied paratroopers over France.

The plane now serves as a memorial plane at Valiant Air Command, a warbird museum located at the Space Coast Regional

Photo // Francesco Isaza

Airport in Brevard County.

So far, approximately 4,000 pounds of supplies have been flown over on the Navajo Chieftain and an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 pounds on the Tico Belle.

Silver also touched on the fact that the relief missions have evolved over the past week and will continue to do so with the possibil-

BAHAMAS on page 3

Grissom hall basement soon to be men’s lacrosse locker room julius luchs \\ staff writer

Florida Tech students have seen many upgrades to buildings around campus this summer, and the players on the lacrosse team are no exception.

The Panther lax players team locker room will soon be relocated to Grissom Hall, next to the FITV studio.

The old locker room in the Varsity Training Center, once shared with the football team, was a tight fit, housing both athletic programs.

James Aulicino, the senior proj-

@FTCrimson @FTCrimson crimson@fit.edu

ect manager of Florida Tech facilities construction and renovation, played a role in the new location for the lacrosse locker room.

“It was a necessity for the lacrosse team to have their own home field locker room,” Aulicino said.

There are connections between FITV and the lacrosse team, which lead to an open-armed welcome.

More specifically, FITV worked with the lacrosse team prior to the move-in.

The film club collaborated on the documentary “On the Prowl” that some lacrosse players put

together.

“We were planning on making the space of the old ELS classroom into an extension of our current studio, or possibly even a rehearsal stage area since the Grissom basement is the location of all media related activities on campus,” said Brett Twery a senior in biomedical engineering and the president of FITV. “I, personally, am very welcoming to the idea of lacrosse moving in.”

Even with a group of athletes next door, Twery said he believes any future issues will be resolved.

“It’s no secret that walls in the

Read our auto column on Page 8

basement are pretty thin and that the rooms are relatively close, so there is a possibility that these factors could come into play,” Twery said. “But we’re confident the men’s lacrosse team will work closely with us in solving any concerns that may arise.”

According to Aulicino, Grissom Hall was an obvious choice for the new locker room.

“It was big enough to support the number of players; it has a shower and two restrooms that are getting renovated to suit their

LACROSSE on page 3

Our Mission: Live, discover and report the truth.

2 CAPS ISSUE 3

SEPTEMBER 17

Help Others and Yourself

ERIKA POBEE-MENSAH \\ CAPS Outreach Columnist

Many people enjoy helping others.

Aside from altruistic feelings, helping in the form of random acts of kindness, volunteering or civic service can keep you feeling engaged and connected with people in the community.

In many ways, helping others can lead to helping oneself in that it provides an opportunity to shift focus outward rather than dwelling inward on negative or self-critical thoughts.

Things like community service or volunteering can

also help build your resume and network.

Afterall, you never know who might have a connection that can help you out professionally or even personally.

Helping others can be as simple as offering to help a fellow student study.

It can also involve a larger commitment, such as regular volunteering commitments or donations.

Any way that you help, large or small, can have rippling effects on the community and on yourself.

This week consider ways in which you can reach out to help others.

Make time for a simple phone call or message to a peer who seems down.

Stop to hold the door open for a stranger.

Donate items to those in need.

Or, give your time and skills to a larger cause, such as mentoring or other forms of service.

You can also find new ways to get involved through visiting the Office of Civic Engagement’s website: www. fit.edu/civic-engagement.

Helping others also involves acknowledging and accepting help ourselves.

If you are in need of

support, reach out to friends, family or others within the community, such as an instructor, advisor, supervisor and/or clergy.

Consider seeking professional help as well.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) can help students learn how to

work through life’s challenges, heal emotional pain and develop the necessary skills to lead healthy and balanced lives … and help you get back to helping those around you.

For more information regarding CAPS’ services and support, drop by our center, call us or visit our website.

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 3

SEPTEMBER 17

CAMPUS LIFE BAHAMAS continued ity of future relief missions.

The first time the wheels hit the ground in the Bahamas, the goal was to provide water and food to the hundreds of people waiting to be evacuated.

However, as more and more people escaped the aftermath and devastation, that quickly changed.

“Our next mission will actually be a mobile field hospital, but there is still a huge need for humanitarian support,” Silver said.

From Boy Scout troops to local churches, numerous organizations have been volunteering alongside Florida Tech students.

The community outreach has been tremendous based off of testimonials from Alex Coultroup.

A graduate student majoring in aviation human factors, Coultroup was one individual who took a different perspective on the types of donations she wanted to send.

“As someone who cares a lot about women’s issues, I wanted to collect things like tampons and pads, diapers and wipes to fulfill those needs,” Colutroup said.

Raising awareness through her extensive updates on social media, Coultorup also brought attention to the value of cash donations, citing that for one round trip to fly Tico Belle it costs $4,500 for oil, fuel and maintenance.

Working beside Colutroup, Florida Tech alumni Marteen Edwards also devoted his time to loading up supplies onto planes.

A cart pulls a wagon of supplies to the plane.

A recent graduate with a masters in aviation management, the Barbados native explained how growing up in the Carribbean made him understand how powerful and damaging a natural disaster like this could be.

“It’s knowing the type of destructive power and knowing what a hurricane can do to your country that when you see it happen to someone else you’re inclined to give them a hand,” Edwards said.

In the midst of loading supplies onto the Tico Belle and other Florida Tech Navajo planes, Edwards heard many tales of what the islands now looked like.

“The most common thing I hear from pilots coming back is that the devastation is tremendous, and it looks as if a bomb had just gone off,” Edwards said.

The bottled water, hygiene products, batteries, cans of tuna fish and other perishable food items that Colutroup and Edwards have been loading onto planes have been coming from numerous student organizations on campus.

For example, Florida Tech’s student athletic advisory committee recently partnered up with the women’s soccer team at their first home game on Sept. 7.

“One of of SAAC’s main purposes is to have a positive influence on the community,” said Vanessa Rubio, a senior on the softball team and the president of SAAC. “After seeing the devastation in the Bahamas, there was no way we could

Volunteers and students packing supplies to send on planes.

just stand by and do nothing,” Rubio said.

Another student organization partaking in supply drives was the Carbbiean Student Association.

Florida Tech’s CSA chapter has multiple Bahamian students.

All of them reported that their families were safe on the island; however, some of them have friends and others they are waiting to hear back from.

Malika Forbes, the vice president of CSA and native to Nassau, said that they have raised $700 in cash donations and collected roughly 500 pounds of supplies.

“What we keep trying to say is yes, it happened to the Bahamas, but it could happen anywhere,” Forbes said. “As Caribbean students, we need to step up and take action because if it was any other island we would be doing the exact same thing.”

Photo // Adam Lowenstein

3

Photo // Adam Lowenstein

To date, 13,000 people are missing in the Bahamas, 15,000 are in need of shelter or food based on reports from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and 50 are dead with that number expected to rise according to reports from CNN and USA Today.

Florida Tech’s president T. Dwayne McCay elaborated on how the university's diverse student body—representing over 125 countries—demonstrates how a global and connected campus can lead to strides in humanitarian efforts.

“We see firsthand how compassion knows no borders,” McCay stated in an email. “One of our goals as a university is to help develop global citizens, and part of achieving that is to demonstrate through our actions the love and concern we have for those who may be struggling.”

Furthermore, Dr. McCay said this was not the first time Florida Tech has participated in a relief mission.

When hurricane Michael hit the panhandle last year, and when Maria slashed into Puerto Rico in 2017, Florida Tech was there, aiding in supply deliveries and evacuations.

“We got lucky this time when the storm stayed off our coast,” McCay stated.

“At some point, when we are not as lucky, someone will help us. Human beings must take care of each other, and this is a way we can make a difference.”

LACROSSE continued

they can celebrate their wins, decorate with all their accomplishments for future Panthers to come and visit.”

Aulicino also said he wanted not only himself but also his teammates to be happy, and for the team to have a tighter bond.

“I feel blessed that I have a small part in building this for them,” Aulicino said. “This locker room will be a perfect fit.”

needs,” Aulicino said. “And it has the media equipment set up for reviewing practices and games, which is in the office right across the hall.”

Although FITV has not confirmed any use of their equipment by the lacrosse team, Twery said he will be in contact with them very soon.

Aulicino said he believes the locker room will impact the team in a positive way.

“The locker room will give the team their own identity and self pride of having a home of their own--a home where they can come together as a team and really feel good about themselves,” Aullicino said. “A home where

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ISSUE 3

SEPTEMBER 17

CAMPUS LIFE

Florida Tech introduces new check-in app

JESSE VILLAVERDE \\ DESIGN EDITOR

A new check-in app for student activities and events made its debut appearance at the beginning of this school year.

CORQ—a mobile app for discovering nearby events from student organizations on campus and checking-in to said events— was introduced in part of the package deal with CampusLabs Engage.

Florida Tech’s Engage is a platform similar to OrgSync, where student organizations and clubs can manage their engagement with members and track involvement.

According to the

The CORQ app shows events coming up in the week and has a map feature.

Photo // Jesse Villaverde

Campus Labs website, Engage “reflects the best of our two current systems, CollegiateLink and OrgSync, that emphasizes simplicity, mobility and ease of use.”

The migration from the platforms was announced on June 6 through a school email by Cat Nanney, director of student involvement, with the transition period between platforms taking place from July 11 to early August.

Instead of swiping student IDs, CORQ is now used to check students in using a QR code with their name attached that they can save to Google Pay or Apple Pay. Residence life and student life first learned about the app in early August during training for the new school year.

According to Nanney, both Florida Tech Engage and CORQ have been heavily advertised to incoming freshmen through flyers and social media.

“The feedback from the new system has been very positive as students have real-time information on what is going on around campus,” Nanney said.

Marifer Sagastume, a Southgate resident assistant, said the app can be a tool for ResLife events.

“The app is very easy to

use, and the new scanning process was very straightforward,” Sagastume said.

“I don’t like how it makes you login using TRACKS every time you want to start scanning people in your event.”

Sagastume also mentioned that another app is used to scan people for events, called Campus Labs Event Check-in App that uses the phone’s camera.

CORQ is not the first app on campus to try to connect students to various events.

A similar app, We.We, was created last year by mechanical engineering students Mario Acosta and Daniel Hochiemy, with the goal of allowing students to “connect with people on campus to do the same activities you love.”

Acosta and Hochiemy had goals of achieving the same features as CORQ; however, the app did not “suit the school’s needs,” according to Nanney.

“We tried very hard to make that app work for our students since we are proud that our students were making this program,” Nanney said. “But it simply did not work for us with Engage in place.”

We.We was promoted through flyers and through word of mouth by SGA

and Residence Life, and the feedback was positive according to the developers.

“We got great love and support from ResLife and provided them the app as a trial run from the beginning of the year to the end of the spring semester,” Hochiemy said. “We gained more than 800 total users in that semester.”

However, since the app was separate from the previous student engagement tool OrgSync, the cross integration between the two was not a viable option for organization leaders in keeping student

records.

“We are very disheartened about the situation because of how much progress we made to make our platform viable,” Hochiemy said. “Though we completely understand the confusion that could have been made transitioning from OrgSync to Engage [and CORQ].”

While We.We proved to show inconsistencies with other platforms already in play at Florida Tech, the new integration of CORQ for student involvement on campus will become the new pass for everyday campus life.

An R.A. scans a student to check them in for an event at the quad.

Photo // Jesse Villaverde

ISSUE 3

SEPTEMBER 17

CAMPUS LIFE

5

Animals provide Vandalizers strike Downtown Melbourne emotional support during Hurricane Dorian TYLER JONES \\ to students STAFF WRITER

Lucy Ley's emotional support animals.

ISABEL CORDERO \\ STAFF WRITER

Students on campus can be seen with any pet, ranging from dogs to rats, in hopes that they may provide emotional and mental support.

Emotional support animals, or ESAs, are animals that provide support for people with mental health issues, according to the New York Times.

Lucy Ley, a junior in industrial/organizational psychology, said that these animals are definitely important for those with diagnosed mental health problems.

Ley has lived on campus and has had three emotional support rats.

“I got mine to help pull my attention off of whatever I was thinking and focus on them,” Ley said.

She said that they have helped her tremendously anytime she’s in a bad place mentally.

Ley also said that ESAs don’t help just their owners, but that they can also provide support to others.

“I think they can benefit everyone,” Ley said.

“Whenever I was having a panic attack, I would go grab them and play with them. It would pull my attention away from whatever I was panicking about.”

According to the New York Times, nearly 200,000 people have ESAs that are registered with the National Service Animal Registry as of this past June. Analisa Rodriguez, a sophomore studying aerospace engineering, is a resident assistant in Harris

Photo // Lucy Ley

Village.

She said that ESAs are helpful, but they aren’t an option that is truly explored on campus.

“It’s a good thing because sometimes human interaction can be daunting or cause anxiety, and animals don’t have to respond, they just have to listen,” Rodriguez said.

The nationwide Fair Housing Act requires accommodations in housing to be made for people with disabilities, and ESAs fall under this category, based on reports from the New York Times.

Florida Tech obeys this ruling and allows ESAs to live in dorms with students who need them.

Rodriguez has friends and residents who have ESAs and said she has seen how helpful they can be for people who are coping with mental illness and need extra support, comfort and happiness.

Rodriquez also said that the process on campus is fairly smooth, since students only have to get their animals tagged and registered as an ESA for campus approval.

Cats and dogs need to be registered with campus due to allergies, and housing accommodations are made based on the student and their ESA’s needs.

Ley said she feels like Florida Tech makes appropriate accommodations once students provide the proper documentation.

“I feel like Florida Tech does a good job––if you get a doctor’s letter, note, whatever it is, they allow you to have them live with you,” Ley said. “They get it.”

While many Melbourne residents spent Labor Day weekend hunkering down for Hurricane Dorian, others had a different agenda.

On Wednesday, September 4, around 3:13 a.m, an unidentified individual broke the front windows to the Railroad Emporium in Downtown Melbourne, according to a Melbourne police report.

According to another Melbourne police report, there was an unrelated shooting on NASA Boulevard that same night.

These are just a few examples of crimes that tend to occur during storms.

Joshua Livasy, a senior in physics and a Melbourne native, said this issue needs to be solved.

“These storms have the potential to bring catastrophic damage to our communities as it is, but then you have people who use these disasters as a way to loot and vandalise local businesses,” Livasy said. “I

think local law enforcement needs to find ways to keep a closer eye on the communities during these storms.”

Livasy also said he thinks keeping Downtown Melbourne safe and clean is very important not only to the city, but for the students of Florida Tech as well.

“Downtown Melbourne is not only a historical landmark here in Melbourne, it’s a place where many students here at Florida Tech go to enjoy themselves,” Livasy said. “But if the city of Melbourne doesn’t do a better job at keeping these communities safe, I think over time students won’t feel safe going there.”

However, other students, such as Jacob Mondoro, a sophomore in business management, think that regardless of what law enforcement tries, these kinds of crimes will continue to happen during hurricanes.

“Law enforcement can only do so much once the storm actually starts to affect us,” Mondoro said. “Once we start feel-

ing the major effects of the storm, most of the local law enforcement does what we do and hunker down until it passes. It’s not until things calm down that responders start patrolling the communities again.”

Mondro also mentioned that the last thing business owners should have to worry about during a storm is whether or not their businesses are trying to be broken into.

“As a business owner, your concern in this time of crisis should be on whether or not the storm is going to cause damage, not if another person is going to damage your building,” Mondoro said.

With just a little over two months still left in the hurricane season, there’s still potential for more storms to come, and Livasy and Mondoro said they believe that local law enforcement needs to find better solutions for protecting these businesses and making the community a safer place to live.

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ISSUE 3

SEPTEMBER 17

REVIEW

A Casual Review Xiao Liang

GREEDFALL: Exploration, Diplomacy and High Neck Collars Greedfall is a game that ARPG fans will adore, and it might remind some players of memorable titles such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Developed by Spiders Greedfall is an action role-playing game set in a 17th century styled world where a new island was discovered for colonization.

In the game, the player plays as De Sardet, a member of the ruling prince's family who recently got designated as the Legate of the newly established settlement on the island.

They are dealing with the diplomatic relations between different factions on the island.

On the technical level, Greedfall is not very impressive when it comes to graphics; in fact, a lot of copy and pasting of assets and props can be spotted throughout the game.

However, this does not really have a huge impact on the overall atmosphere of the game.

From newly established settlements to uncharted wilds, the art style of the game

is quite realistic, while adding hints of fantasy elements to make it look beautiful and interesting.

The game’s sound, music and voice acting are also well done: The clashing of weapons and firing of guns feels impactful but clean, and most characters feel unique and lively during dialogues, providing the players an impressive experience.

What makes Greedfall stand out from most RPG titles released in recent years is probably its quest design.

A good number of modern RPG games had the problem of making cliché stories for in-game quests; they are usually black and white so that the player knows for sure who is good and who is bad, and they are usually one-sided.

In Greedfall, things usually don’t work that way.

The player might think they are going after the bad guy, but the real villain might be on the side, watching from a distance.

There isn’t a clearly defined line for who is good and who is evil; things might

Official game poster

Photo // Focus Home Interactive

be two-sided or even four-sided.

Aside from the way that a quest is designed, the player’s character background also makes the interactions differ-

ent from other games.

While combat is a major part of the game, the player is supposed to be a diplomat representing a country instead of a mercenary or some random explorer, so forcing your way through is not always the answer.

Personality traits such as charisma and intuition allow the player to have more options during dialogues and help avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

However, that doesn’t mean fighting isn’t fun.

The combat in Greedfall is basic and standard compared to most ARPG titles, and it is not extremely hard to master the game’s combat system.

Like all RPGs, the player gets to invest skill points into

Florida Tech Fall

Forgot

COPY EDITOR

COPY EDITOR

SONJA MICHAELS \\

Pumpkin drinks in hand Fall leaves instead are palm trees Midterms end summer

the skill tree they prefer, and there are a variety of weapons and abilities for the player to choose from.

The game also has a crafting mechanic, which allows the player to install upgrades on their gear and change the appearance of the equipment.

Aside from that, the player can also craft potions, traps and items that can help them during combat and quests.

Overall, Greedfall is an enjoyable ARPG game with exploration and political management.

While some elements of the game are lacking, Greedfall never gets boring or tedious to play.

As always, here is a list of upcoming games that I recommend looking into:

SONJA MICHAELS \\

Alarm is chirping A ten minute walk to class Forgot the textbook STEPHEN PICKROM \\ "PEEWEE""

ISSUE 3

SEPTEMBER 17

REVIEW 7 Alt-rock goes Gothic with The Pixies’ "Beneath the Eyrie" Album SONJA MICHAELS \\ COPY EDITOR

Alternative rock veterans the Pixies took to a converted church to record their seventh album, “Beneath the Eyrie.”

The influence of gothic styles and indie tones supplement the albums alt-rock core, bringing unique accents to the Pixies’ signature sound.

The Pixies turn to their expert use of dynamics throughout the album, showcasing a balanced interaction of quiet and loud.

The few tracks that do not stand on their own are still part of the album’s excellent production, maintaining a cohesive sound all the way through.

“In the Arms of Mrs. Mark of Cain” opens the album with a perfectly blended mix of crystal clear percussion, grungy guitars and rich, crackling vocals.

It sets a vibe that brings words like “creepy” and “sinister” to mind.

The lead single “On Graveyard Hill” continues the gothic sound and theme the group intended for the album, according to lead vocalist Charles Thompson IV, widely known by his stage name Black Francis.

The sound is much more ‘90s than 2010s. Pez Lenchantin’s work on the bass is outstanding here, and provides a backbone that encourages the listener to groove along with the “In the witching hour/In the witching hour” hook.

The gothic feeling is lifted, if only temporarily, with “Catfish Kate,” a bright, indie tune paired with a vivid music video to match.

The next track, “This Is My Fate,” pulls things right back into the dark style. The precise mixture of bass and piano provides a deep, bouncing sound in the background, reminiscent of an upright bass.

“Silver Bullet” is excel-

lently produced and creative, a shift from the measured, predictable “Ready for Love.”

One of the most outstanding features of “Silver Bullet” is its powerful guitar riff.

While the rest of the song has a generally calm demeanor, with soft guitars and relaxed percussion from David Lovering, this fueled-up riff brings power and substance.

In that sense, it is a classic Pixies track; the group has dynamics down to science, shifting from quiet to loud at just the right time.

The converted church setting the Pixies recorded in seems fitting when listening to a track like “Los Surfers Muertos,” and when looking back at the Pixies’ previous work.

As primary songwriter, Francis has long gravitated towards biblical imagery, dark aesthetics and unusual topics.

Unusual is a fitting term for “Bird of Prey” when compared to the album as a whole; behind the dark

timbres of Francis’ vocals and Joey Santiago’s lead guitar, an almost country-like rhythm guitar fills out the sound space.

It is especially noticeable in the chorus and refrain, as the phrase “little birdie” is repeated softly.

The second-to-last track, “Daniel Boone,” maintains the dark aesthetic of the album, but ventures into brighter tones and timbres.

It is a relaxing track well-suited for a long drive, or even to sleep; while the song is not boring, its swelling, atmospheric instrumentals could definitely lull the listener to an indie-induced sleep.

Things are sealed off with the gothic-indie tune “Death Horizon.”

Bright vocal harmonies contradict the song title, and the instrumental is simple and well-blended.

It is a short and sweet ending to the album.

Throughout this album,

Official album art

Photo // BMG

unexpected sounds and instruments come into play, while other instruments are measured and perfected.

While one or two tracks act more as atmospheric fillers than stand alone tracks, these are contrasted by strong tracks like “Silver Bullet” and “This Is My Fate.”

The album as a whole features creative choices and masterful songwriting.

“Beneath the Eyrie” sounds like the work of mature, experienced alt-rockers.

It Chapter Two: What's better than friendship and horror?

Emily Walker \\ EDITOR-iN-CHIEF

While in many ways “It Chapter Two” is less scary than the first movie, the larger cast, added humor and emotional ending made up for that.

At times the plot felt a bit scattered, with the movie taking nearly three hours to reach its conclusion.

However, it was never boring, keeping things interesting through flashbacks and present-day moments.

For the final hour of the movie, the action and emotion picked up, leading to a satisfying conclusion.

“It Chapter Two” used humor much more than the previous film.

Bill Hader, who played adult Richie Tozier, pulled off most of the jokes. He broke the tension in many scenes, adding levity in the moment.

His performance especially stood out because he balanced Richie’s humor with emotion and depth.

His humor was multifaceted and was often used as a coping mechanism, and there were many moments when Hader brought more somber emotions and depth to the character.

Another stand out actor was James McAvoy, who played adult Bill Denbrough.

McAvoy executed his character’s stutter from the first movie perfectly and brought maturity to the character while maintaining the

trauma from his past.

As an adult, Bill is still dealing with the horror of losing his brother, Georgie, from the first movie.

McAvoy carries those feelings from his character’s childhood while adding a more adult perspective.

From his first moment on screen, James Ransone portrayed adult Eddie Kaspbrak perfectly, capturing his neurotic personality and tendency toward bickering with Richie.

While Ransone was given fewer outright jokes than Hader, his back-and-forth dialogue with the other characters and one-liners in tense situations added lightness to the movie.

Meanwhile, Jay Ryan played a more mature and confident adult Ben Hanscom that felt genuine and accurate to his character.

In “It Chapter Two,” Ben still deals with some of his insecurities from the first movie; however, Ryan shows how Ben has grown, ultimately bringing creating a multifaceted performance.

Isaiah Mustafa brought more life to Mike Hanlon’s character as an adult than the character had in the previous film, although he still felt like he was in the background, as much of the movie focused on the other Losers’ fears and relationships.

Andy Bean portrayed Stanley Uris’ quiet, hesitant personality spot-on.

What he lacked in screen

time he made up for in his understated yet honest performance.

While Jessica Chastain was an adequate adult Beverly Marsh, she lacked the spunk Sophia Lillis brought to her younger counterpart.

She was placed in certain situations where it felt like she should have had a stronger reaction than she did.

However, in quieter moments, she captured much of Beverly’s spirit in her relationship with the other Losers, which made up for what she lacked.

This movie was more violent than the first “It” movie, though it wasn’t as scary.

For the most part, the jump scares were predictable, and most of the monsters looked more ridiculous than terrifying.

The few times the film was truly creepy usually involved Pennywise, played by Bill Skarsgård.

Skarsgård plays a truly creepy villain because he gets characters--and sometimes viewers--to sympathize with him.

He knows what many of them are insecure about and uses it to lure them to him.

As with the previous movie, the scenes with him manifesting as the various fears of the Losers grab viewers’ attention.

These scenes were typically more emotional and intense than outright scary, which felt more fitting for the grown-up

Losers.

The movie focused more on the darkness of mankind rather than typical horror tropes, using hate crimes and domestic violence to show real-life evil.

These scenes were disturbingly real and brutal; while they helped drive the story forward and showed exactly how dark the world is, they felt unnecessarily graphic at times.

The visuals were never particularly realistic, although this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Many times, the monsters were so bizarre that despite the good CGI, they still looked more laughable than frightful.

They could have done a better job with the animation of people; there were a couple times where people were animated to look like monsters and again ended up looking more ridiculous than horrifying.

However, the unusual visuals didn’t destroy the experience.

In addition to the more traditional effects, they used CGI and an effect on the child actors’ voices to make them seem slightly younger so as to appear the age they had been in the previous film.

This was done seamlessly; the kids looked and sounded remarkably similar to how they did in the first film.

The score, composed by Benjamin Wallfisch, helped set up for creepy moments and built emotion in the quiet-

Official movie poster Photo // Warner Bros. Pictures er, more reflective scenes.

It tied the movie together well and helped make this somewhat messy sequel three-dimensional and enjoyable.

Overall, “It Chapter Two” lacks the finesse of the first film in terms of the plot and the use of typical horror tropes.

However, the characters drive the story. “It Chapter Two” takes a much deeper dive into what makes each Loser tick than the previous film, and ultimately the characters are what make this an enjoyable film.

With its lovable characters, humor and exploration of deeper themes, “It Chapter Two” makes for a fun night out.

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ISSUE 3

SEPTEMBER 17

AUTO

Julanda Al Shukaili and his 2017 Camaro ZL1 KEVIN BOODOOSIGNH \\ MANAGING EDTIOR

The Chevy Camaro has become a benchmark for performance, design and price.

Directly competing with the Ford Mustang, the Camaro has developed into much more than a straight line performance muscle car.

Chevy has proved that muscle cars can perform even

Photo // Julanda Al Shukaili

on a twisty race track.

With the introduction of the 2017 Camaro ZL1 variant, it proves that Chevy has developed a muscle car that now has the performance of a supercar.

For Julanda Al Shukaili, a senior in computer engineering, it’s the ZL1’s performance and design that made him gravitate towards it.

“My favorite thing about the Camaro is that it’s a car

that can do it all,” Al Shukaili said. “You can drift it, track it, drag it and get your groceries while you are at it.”

Al Shukaili said besides how it looks and the specs, there are too many Mustangs around and he wanted something different.

As for specs, Al Shukaili has kept the car relatively stock.

He has, however, swapped the stock suspension for air suspension and added custom wheels.

The ZL1 comes with Chevy’s infamous supercharged 6.2L V8 engine, making 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, with a top speed of 198 mph.

Al Shukaili explained that being a car enthusiast is important to him.

“Cars pretty much gets my blood pumping, whether it’s going fast and straight or banging the limiter while drifting a corner,” Al Shukaili said. “It’s one of the most fun things I could do and it never gets old.”

Photo // Julanda Al Shukaili

Photo // Julanda Al Shukaili