The Florida Tech Crimson Issue 3 Spring 2019

Editorial Page 10 Super Bowl reaction Issue 3

RIMSON The Florida Tech

The Official Student-Run Newspaper•since

1967

INDEX

Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5 Campus Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2019

SPRING

Cheer and dance teams take home awards and experience David Thompson \\ Managing Editor

Florida Tech’s cheer and dance teams competed at the 2019 Universal Cheer Association and Universal Dance Association College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship on the weekend of Jan. 18 through Jan 20.

The dance team competed in the “open palm” competition, while the cheer team participated in the “D2 small co-ed” competition.

Cheer made it to finals for the first round and then were ranked sixth in the nation.

Head coach, Alexa Flutie-Sumner said this was the cheer team’s second year competing.

“They got presented a trophy,” Flutie-Sumner said. “We are now nationally ranked, so we're very excited about that.”

Flutie-Sumner said the dance team did well but had a lot more competition than the cheer team.

“My dance team is still new, too,” Flutie-Sumner said. “We’re still developing it. But they scored a 93 in their score sheets, which is very exceptional. However, we did not make it to finals and we did not get

ranked.”

The dance team’s score went up by 15 points from last year, according to Flutie-Sumner.

“We had a lot of technical style of dance this year,” Flutie-Sumner said.

“Which we haven't in the past, which really increased our score.”

According to Flutie-Sumner, cheer competed against about 13 other teams and dance competed against 16.

Amber Palmer, a graduated psychology major and cheerleader, said it was “one of the best feelings” when it was announced they made it to the finals

and then were ranked sixth in the nation.

“Our entire team went crazy, and I even cried because we had come so far and worked so hard,” Palmer said. “There’s really no better feeling than your hard work paying off and accomplishing so many goals as a team.”

Juliana Burgos, a senior studying chemical engineering and an original member of Florida Tech’s dance team, said they put on their best dance performance to date at the

Competition on page 11

Sustainable choices spark controversy Blood drive brings in life savers Emily Walker \\ Copy Editor

The push for sustainable utensils both on campus and in the Melbourne community has been met with harsh criticism.

After running Mustard’s Last Stand, both in Downtown Melbourne and Eau Gallie, for 15 years, Michael Pavlick decided to switch to wooden cutlery and paper straws.

According to Pavlick, these changes have been met with resistance.

“We got a two-star review because of the wooden forks,” Pavlick said.

“They said, ‘The food was great, but I can’t eat with a wooden fork. It’s disgusting.’”

Despite the criticism, Pavlick continues his efforts to reduce Mustard’s Last Stand’s waste.

His main purpose for implementing these changes was to help the environment.

“Being next to the beach, it brings people in, and to see the pollutants is concerning,” Pavlick said. “Paper straws will decompose. They’re not going to get stuck in some poor animal’s gut.”

In recent semesters, Florida Tech has also brought paper straws and wooden coffee stirrers to all of the campus’ restaurants except the café in the Clemente Center, according to Ana Castaneda, a junior in sustainability and the president of the Student Organization for Sustainability Action, or SOSA. The changes around campus have also been met with criticisms, according to Castaneda, and she has heard people complaining about the straws in the Rathskeller.

“They just really hate the paper straws because it really takes some time to get used to,” Castaneda said.

While some students dislike the straws, some have chosen to adapt to the change. Castaneda said she saw a group of students last semester in the Rathskeller using metal straws.

@FTCrimson @FTCrimson crimson@fit.edu

Christian Martinez \\ staff writer

Customers are given wooden utensils and encouraged to buy wooden cups at Mustard's Last Stand.

Crimson // Emily Walker “Last semester, at the end, I saw a group of 20 people, and they all came with this plastic bag,” Castaneda said.

“They had around 20-25 metal straws.

They were all getting milkshakes and then passing the straws.”

Ken Lindeman, a professor in sustainability, said the changes at both Florida Tech and Mustard’s Last Stand are part of a bigger movement in the community.

“Mustard’s Last Stand doing this is

part of a groundswell that appears to be occurring around the community,” Lindeman said. “It can’t only be ideas coming from universities and cities, it has to be bottom-up for the business community, so this is a great thing. It reflects a growing movement among many businesses to try to be on the front edge of sustainability innovations.”

sustainibility on page 7

Game reviews are back!

Taking place from Jan. 30-31, the Florida Tech Blood Drive recently came and left with life-saving blood that’d be shipped to hospitals all around Florida for transfusions.

OneBlood, the organization who sends out the Big Red Bus to collect blood donations, has a constant need for blood.

“There is a never-ending need for blood every day everywhere,” said Susan Forbes, OneBlood’s senior executive of communications and public relations. “Less than 10% of the population donates when 40% is eligible.”

According to Red Cross Blood Services, “only about 3% of age-eligible people donate blood yearly” but “less than 38% of the population is eligible to give blood.”

It’s because of this need that people like Arpad Marsh, a senior in forensic psychology [and fellow Crimson reporter], donates as often as he can for the last two years and every time the Big Red Bus is on campus.

“I know that it could possibly save someone’s life,” Marsh said. “The blood won’t just sit around. I know that it’s going to be put to good use.”

Blood collected from the Big Red Busses gets tested the night of collection, and after two or three days it is sent to hospitals all over Florida, Forbes said.

Forbes also said that OneBlood gets from 2,000–2,500 donations a day throughout their service area in Florida and parts of Georgia.

Forbes said that the amount of

blood Drive on page 6

Our Mission: Live, discover and report the truth.

2 CAPS ISSUE 3

FEBRUARY 5

The Panther Explores Diversity Ryan Daniels \\

CAPS Outreach Columnist

Last semester we discussed the unique learning opportunities and possible barriers to engaging in conversations about diversity.

In honor of Black History Month, let’s take some time to reflect on the enlightenment and power invoked by some of our most influential and inspiring African American leaders.

As we reflect, we can also take time to consider diversity in our own lives and how our uniqueness contributes to the explosive social progression in recent years in our country, and even on our own campus.

While these activities may help you explore your own diversity and your perception of others, it’s only a first step.

Embracing your own unique, diverse self is a long, but rewarding process.

Hopefully these activities bring you a little bit closer to understanding yourself and others in a way that you haven’t before, as you continue on that complex road to self-discovery.

Check out these interactive activities that may help you in the journey to your own self-enlightenment:

Cultural Identity Activity Please take a second to reflect on the following questions concerning your cultural identity: 1. What are three cultural characteristics that you identify with the most?

2. What do you like most about the cultural characteristics that you listed?

3. What are some difficulties associated with identifying with these characteristics?

4. What are some stereotypes about your culture that do not apply to you?

5. Who are some people you admire that also identify with these cultural characteristics?

Perceptions of Others This activity will help us recognize the uniqueness of those around us, and what makes each of us special.

Think of a friend, peer, or loved one who you perceive has participated or would participate in the activities below: 1. Changes their car oil.

2. Been to a Broadway Play.

3. Likes classical music.

4. Has bungee jumped.

5. Played a varsity sport in high school.

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall

6. Was a boy/girl scout.

Keeping in mind that diversity includes (but is not limited to) race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical and mental ability, language, education, occupation, nation of origin, etc.

Consider the following questions about the areas of diversity most salient to you:

7. Is a good cook.

8. Likes to do Yoga.

1. When I look in the mirror each morning I see…

10. Was considered very popular in high school.

2. Who are my people? What commonalities do we see in the mirror?

3. If I had to describe myself in four words I would say that I am a…

4. One experience that I have had that helped me to form this description of myself was…

5. One thing about being a __________________ that makes me feel good or proud is…

Corrections

At The Florida Tech Crimson, it is our policy to promptly correct errors within our publications. If you find any factual errors, please contact Editor-in-Chief, Eleanor Mathers, at lmathers2014@my.fit.edu

9. Is an avid reader outside of class.

11. Has been in a mosh pit.

12. Likes to bowl.

13. Would like to have a large family.

14. Likes to go to casinos.

15. Enjoys art museums.

ISSUE 3

FEBRUARY 5

3

4

ISSUE 3

FEBRUARY 5

REVIEW Retro Movie Reviews

Arpad Marsh \\ staff writer

An easy mission is probably not one of things that come to mind if asked to ride a derelict patrol boat up a river into enemy territory to find a rogue ex-commander.

The aftermath of saying yes to that mission is explored in Apocalypse Now, a war film directed by Francis Ford Coppola released on Aug. 10th, 1979.

Set in 1969 South Vietnam, Cpt. Benjamin Willard, played by Martin Sheen, is presented with a mission to assassinate Green Beret Colonel Walter Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando.

Willard is told that Kurtz has gone mad and has taken his men deep into Cambodia, continuing to conduct operations with cruelty and barbarism.

Willard accepts the mission and is ferried up Nùng River in a U.S. Navy patrol boat to find Kurtz.

The cinematography throughout this journey changes constantly, introducing different environments and unique characters.

The film itself touches upon a soldier’s experience in Vietnam, giving glimpses into the mindsets of the men who fought there.

Sheen delivers an interesting performance as the ambivalent but willing Cpt. Willard.

Mystery highlights pressures of war

Throughout the film, Willard encounters different soldiers and bizarre occurrences that, to Willard at least, exemplify what it’s like to be a soldier in Vietnam - exhausted and desperate for a way out.

Brando’s portrayal of the archaic Colonel Kurtz is surprisingly brief, as the character is presented as somewhat of an enigma and only appears toward the end of the film.

Cpt. Willard provides narration during his journey, most of which builds Kurtz up to appear as a transcendent visionary, as Willard finds himself admiring the man.

The film does drag on at times, much of it due to Willard’s inner monologues and several slow montages of scenery.

However, this adds an element of mysticism to the film.

The soundtrack for Apocalypse Now varies greatly, from the rock music of the U.S. soldiers to unusual noises emanating from the jungle, which seems to represent a collision between two very different cultures.

Original promotional movie poster Photo // Omni Zoetrope In terms of the historical aspect of the film, Apocalypse Now remains mostly accurate to the way the war was handled by officers in the U.S. military.

Each commanding officer had their own way of handling the chaos that was the Vietnam War, which was depicted through the various CO’s Willard interacted with.

While the mission in the film is fictional, it is loosely

inspired by the Cambodian Campaign conducted during the war in Vietnam.

The film is an adaptation of Heart of Darkness, a novel written by Joseph Conrad.

The novel is set in the jungles of 19th century Africa, while the setting for the film was changed to the jungles of Vietnam.

Reel Reads, an organization that compares books and their film adaptations, held an event on Jan. 29 at Evans Library, where the film and book were compared to each other.

The discussion was led by Robert Taylor, associate dean and head of the School of Arts and Communication.

The session consisted of exploring the similarities between the book and the movie, drawing parallels between events that occur in both forms.

Both Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness features a young captain who travels up a river in search for a man named Kurtz, who has gone mad.

“The film and the book are very similar to one another,

with the same plot and incredibly similar themes,” Taylor said.

He also believes that the Reel Reads sessions can be beneficial to anyone who wishes to participate in the event, as “it can be important in improving one’s cultural literacy.”

Reel Reads is run by Debbie Lelekis, an associate professor of english, and Melissa Crofton, an assistant professor of english, and is open to anyone interested in discussing books and their film adaptations.

Apocalypse Now received mixed reviews from critics upon its release, with Time magazine citing the film’s incredible imagery but lacking in how it presents its themes.

Since then, the film has received praise, earning a five-star rating by Total Film magazine in 2011.

Apocalypse Now was even selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2000, considering it to be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

For those looking for an psychologically intense war movie, Apocalypse Now provides anticipation, mystery and occasional humor for dark minds.

College Culinary Jordan Densler \\ Staff Writer

Chocolate chip cookies are one of the most basic staples of baking.

It’s a great way to take a step into the baking world with a recipe that is both simple and delicious.

With a few simple ingredients you will have gooey, delicious homemade cookies in about 20 minutes.

The best part about this recipe is that it doesn’t use eggs, so you can enjoy the unbaked cookie dough to your heart’s content.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

While the oven is preheating, you can prepare your dough.

Get a small bowl and combine flour, baking soda and salt in the bowl.

Mix the ingredients together with your fingers, making sure to incorporate all items thoroughly.

Next get out a large mixing bowl and put in your butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract.

Beat the mixture well until creamy.

Take the bowl with the flour mixture and slowly pour it into the bowl with the butter mixture.

Be sure to stir as you add

the mixture.

Beat the whole mixture together until it becomes one solid dough.

Now is when you add the chocolate chips.

I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use any kind of chocolate that you desire as long as it’s in small pieces.

Add them in to the bowl of dough and stir.

By now your oven should definitely be preheated.

Take a spoon and scoop equally sized balls of cookie dough onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Make sure they are about an inch apart because they will expand while baking.

Place the filled cookie sheet into the oven and bake the cookies for about nine minutes or until the cookies reach a nice golden brown color.

Take the tray out of the oven and let the cookies stand for about two minutes.

Then transfer them to a wire baking rack so they can cool completely.

Serve the cookies with a glass of cold milk and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

• • • •

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

3. Mix well with fingers, insuring to incorporate all items.

4. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.

5. Add milk to the mixing bowl.

6. Beat well.

7. Slowly combine the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, beating while incorporating.

8. Once the mixture is beaten well, stir in the chocolate chips.

9. Use a spoon to scoop even-sized balls of dough from the mixing bowl onto an ungreased baking pan. Be sure to space them out, as they will expand while cooking.

10. Put the baking sheets in the oven and bake at 375 for 9 - 11 minutes or until golden brown.

11. Let stand for two minutes.

12. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

13. Serve with a glass of cold milk and enjoy.

• • • • •

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup granulated white sugar ¾ cup brown sugar 1 cup butter 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract ½ cup of milk 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

ISSUE 3

FEBRUARY 5

REVIEW

A Casual Review

5

Xiao Liang

The Anthem Demo Experience Anthem is one of the highly anticipated games of 2019.

Developed by BioWare and Published by EA, the game brings its players to a beautiful world filled with mysteries and adventures.

To help relieve that hype of the game and attract more players, Anthem launched its public demo on Feb. 4, lasting three days until the end of Feb. 6.

While there are many issues that can be talked about, this review primarily focuses on evaluating the gameplay elements of the game.

Because the demo is an early version of the game and offered very limited content, contents of this review may then be irrelevant after the full game is released.

In Anthem, the player assumes the role of a Freelancer, characters who help protect humanity by going on expeditions and field missions.

The Freelancers have access to the Javelins, powerful exosuits that can give users superhuman abilities.

There are a total of four types of Javelins available for the players to choose from and customize, and each has their own unique abilities and distinctive looks.

While the sci-fi back-

ground of the game is nothing special, the huge open-world design and the Javelin suits really make the game stand out.

The players are able to fly around the map and freely explore the world as they wish or embark on story missions and dungeon expeditions to fight powerful enemies.

As a third-person shooter mixed with role-playing elements, Anthem is packed with fast-paced combat and fancy loot.

Most of the weapons in the game felt very satisfying to use, and the Javelin abilities are visually stunning.

The players can also combine their abilities to trigger a combo attack that deals massive damage, making the combat more interesting and tactical.

The combat of the game is also enhanced with the player’s ability to fly, allowing the players to find new ways to out-maneuver or flank the enemy.

However, the player can only fly for a certain amount of time before the suit’s thrusters overheat and shut down.

The overheat element is understandable but can feel very liming sometimes since it also restricts the distance a player is able to travel before having to stop and cool off.

It is hard to tell whether or not the loot system is fair or not since the demo only allowed the players to level up to level 15 and the quality and the amount of loot dropped wasn’t always consistent.

One thing that people need to know is that the game does not have boss or event exclusive loot, which means that a player won’t need to play through the same quest over and over to get what he or she wanted.

However, that also means the game will not have any unique items that are related to certain events for players to acquire.

The visual design and sound quality of the game are fairly good.

It was a very exciting moment to see your customized Javelin suit standing in front of you preparing to be used; it almost felt like you were Iron Man. Some parts of the game’s soundtrack are unique and nice to listen to, and the sound effects of the game are crisp and clean.

However, despite its positives, there are some problems with the graphics and the sound.

The particle effects within the game are almost too fancy.

There are times where the game becomes visually tiring

to look at because there are just so many different particle effects being triggered at the same time.

The sound of the game also glitches from time to time, making the game silent.

As a multiplayer game, Anthem lacks many social tools for the players.

Most of the strangers I ran into during my time playing the game never used the in-game voice chat, and there was no texted-based chat system.

This made it difficult when you tried to communicate with your teammate.

The connection issues were also a major problem of the demo.

Although many issues that occurred during Anthem's VIP demo were addressed or improved, random crash-

Official game cover

Find yourself twiddling your thumbs during the week?

WE HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU TO DO. Join the weekly Crimson meetings on Wednesday nights at 5:30 p.m. in the newsroom (the back enterance of Grissom Hall) to snag a story and a slice of pizza.

es and disconnections still happened sometimes, which could be frustrating.

While other important elements such as the microtransaction model and the end game contents of Anthem are still not very clear and worrying, it is still a fairly fun game to play.

However, it is not a game that is suitable for the “lone wolf” type of gamers, as Anthem strongly emphasis team play and multiplayer elements.

Anthem will be fully released on Feb. 22 and will be available on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

It is doubtful that BioWare will be able to fix every single problem that the game has, but hopefully the game will be better polished and ready for launch.

Photo // EA Games, BioWare.

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ISSUE 3

FEBRUARY 5

CAMPUS LIFE

BLOOD DRIVE Florida Tech students that donate varies in the collection cycle. “Each drive is unique to in and of itself,” she said.

OneBlood sets up a donation event with Florida Tech around 56 days after the last one, which is which is the time it takes most people to recover from a previous donation and be in good shape to donate once again.

It’s because the donations happen so often that Bao Nguyen, a freshman majoring in aerospace engineering, decided to seize the opportunity presented to him and donated for the first time on

Wednesday, Jan. 30.

“I feel okay,” Nguyen said. “It’s way easier than I thought.”

He described being nervous as he walked up to the Big Red Bus and signed in to give his blood for the cause.

“I felt anxiety not knowing what would happen,” Nguyen said. “But the people were nice and the procedure went perfect and you would feel okay afterwards.”

Nguyen also mentioned that he did this after finishing his classes for the day so he could relax and recover in peace.

As a piece of advice for new donors, Nguyen said to not look at the needle. As big as it may seem to you, it’s not that bad, he said.

OneBlood’s website has several requirements to be eligible to donate: you have to be in reasonably good health, have no prior conditions that would be aggravated by the procedure, no blood-borne diseases and to wait 12 months after if you get a tattoo and/or body piercing.

The next opportunity for students to give blood is listed on Florida Tech’s campus calendar for March 27 and 28.

New club brings various cultures to students through food khemari howard \\ Staff Writer

Florida Tech Foodies is a new club on campus that aims to introduce members to many different cultures through restaurants around Melbourne.

Cameron Hume, club president, said the goal is to go out to local restaurants and bring different food trucks on campus.

He said they plan to achieve this through leveraging a restaurant’s publicity with giving the club discounts.

According to Hume, the value of the discount would depend on the number of students that show up to an event.

“We get an advantage because we get cheaper food and a nice social atmosphere,” Cameron said. “The restaurants we go to get publicity from being on display around campus and us bringing friends along.”

Hume is from Zimbabwe and said that that the diversity of Florida Tech’s campus lends to the goal of the club.

Malia Ashmead, the club’s

social media coordinator, is from Pennsylvania. She also said she believes the social interaction over eating food is one of the better ways of bringing different cultures together because it’s the easiest thing to get a group of friends to do.

“I like a pretty wide range of Asian food, and I like to introduce my friends to Asian food they’ve never had it,” Ashmead said. “So it’s a good way to spread culture.”

The club began as an idea sometime last semester when a group of friends decided to start a club on campus based on food.

Hume said the idea of leveraging a restaurant’s publicity through giving the club discounts wasn’t a guarantee until they started reaching out to local places around Melbourne.

“Everything started falling into place and worked really well,” Hume said. “It’s a very symbiotic relationship for the students and the restaurants themselves.”

Catherine Donaldson, a freshman planetary science major, said she didn’t know

Foodie members having their first meal together as a club at Rolli's.

what the term “foodie” meant before she heard about the club.

Donaldson’s family is Italian, and she gravitates more toward Italian dishes. She believes that every culture has different dishes and it would be hard to declare any one better than another.

“People are all like, ‘This food is better than this food,’” Donaldson said. “And I’m like, ‘No. If anything, they all taste good.’”

Donaldson said she would have never thought about starting a foodie club but is looking forward to joining and experiencing different cultures through food.

The club held their first event on Thursday, Jan. 31 at Rolli, a deli-style restaurant on East New Haven Avenue.

Twenty-three people attended.

Hume said he hopes the club takes eating from “feeling like a chore to an exciting event at different locations.”

“It’s not only the food that’s interesting, but the location, the people you meet,” Hume said. “It turns into more of a cultural experience.”

Crimson // Khemari Howard

About every 56 days students can find the big red bus in front of gleason auditorium.

Crimson // Christian Martinez

Spring career expo has Panthers on both sides of the table

Student providing resume for consideration.

Crimson // Marc Kannah at.

They’re also comfortable in marc kanneh \\ Melbourne and already know Staff Writer the area, so we don’t have to With suits, resumes and worry about them having to crossed fingers, students put adjust.” their best foot forward for Randall Echols graduatsome of the biggest compaed from Florida Tech with a nies in Melbourne and master’s in business adminacross the country. istration and now works for The spring career expo Enterprise. saw 69 companies setting “It’s eye-opening,” Echols up tables in the Clemente said.

“Literally a year ago we Center to try to recruit Floriwere doing the exact same da Tech’s brightest. thing, hitting every single “It’s been great,” said booth, trying to talk to everyZackary Cobham, a senior in body I could and get my aerospace engineering. “The resume out there.

Now I’m on school has definitely been the other side, trying to help working hard to find new people get their first job.” companies. There’s more Cobham said, “It's great places for business students, to see that alumni are giving software engineers and back to the school in the form ocean engineers.” of opportunities for students.

Some alumni made It’s also great to see the things their return to the Clemente people are doing with their Center, representing differFlorida Tech degrees.” ent companies.

Renee Couperthwaite, the Robert Booth studied employer relations coordinacomputer science and gradtor at Florida Tech, said that uated in the fall of 2017. this year they tried to streamHe now works at Liberty line the event.

Students could IT Solutions as a sales force register prior to the event, developer.

Booth said that it feels making check-in faster.

There was also a dropgood to be on “the other side off area for backpacks, which of the career expo.” allowed students to look more “Rather than feel the professional when approachpressure of having to find ing potential employers. a job, I have the confidence Couperthwaite said that of being able to give out this fall, the expo will be jobs,” Booth said. “Florida bigger and better with booths Tech students, especialcovering both courts at Clemly in computer science, are ente instead of just one. trained in the areas we look

ISSUE 3

FEBRUARY 5

CAMPUS LIFE

7

SGA update: New scheduling prepared for this semester jesse villaverde \\ copy editor

SGA has announced new plans on improving the relationship between students and the school administration.

Starting Feb. 4, the new SGA schedule will take effect with the monthly student town hall.

The idea of a new meeting calendar was brought up by Jace Petrowski, president of SGA, at the senate meeting on Jan. 16.

The schedule consists of monthly student town hall meetings with special guests from faculty and administration.

Two of the town halls will be on Feb. 6 and April 10, with the student leader luncheon on March 13 counting as one.

Senate meetings will occur twice a month and SGA election votings will occur from March 19 to March 26.

SGA town halls will still be mandatory for clubs and organizations to send at least one representative and open to all students according to the SGA letter.

“The longer gap between senate meetings would provide more time for committees to meet and

work on big initiatives,” said Petrowski. “This is an effort to make the senate more efficient at their work.”

Petrowski also said that the town hall meetings would give students the opportunities to learn and create a stronger relationship with administrators and faculty.

This is one of the efforts Petrowski is pushing forward in helping SGA find a structure and have future expandable success.

“These are the small things that keep SGA moving forward,” said Petrowski.

Other than the new schedule, positions in SGA have opened up after the winter break.

At the Jan. 16 senate meeting, it was announced that Chanelle Lochan, the previous academics committee head, had resigned from SGA at the beginning of the spring semester to focus more on academics.

Jacob Chesslo, a senator, was elected with majority vote of the rest of the senate as the new committee head on Jan. 23.

Lochan’s position was not the only one that became

"This is an effort to make the senate more efficient at their work. "

vacant over the break.

Tina DePierto, the previous SGA press secretary, resigned due to not receiving a leadership scholarship unlike the rest of the SGA executive board.

“It didn’t feel worth my time to attend three meetings a week and continue my work with the execute board when I was the only one not being compensated,” said DePierto.

“Jace said he would work on getting me [a scholarship] but in the end, it didn’t work out.”

Dean Bowers, advisor of SGA and dean of students, said that the leadership scholarships were formally stipends to those in leadership positions that provide services to the student body.

This includes all of the SGA executive board, the president of CAB and the Crimson editor-in-chief.

Although the press secretary is part of SGA, it is not officially considered under the executive board.

According to Petrowski, the stipends are given to those doing community service toward the students and the university as a whole.

“I was not aware of the stipends till this current semester,” said Petrowski. “I wasn’t concerned at first, but now I consider these as an

extra bonus for the work we have done.”

Changes in the school accounting caused the stipends to be disbursed at the beginning of the spring semester and recategorized as scholarships.

“It wasn’t like that in previous years,” said Bowers.

“The disbursement timing changed throughout the years before the recent change; sometimes it was at the end of the semester.”

Buse Dayioglu, a senator in SGA, offered to be an interim press secretary until the position is officially filled.

“I offered to help at the meeting and [the senate] agreed,” said Dayioglu. “I am just helping the exec board with the Panther release process.”

Panther Releases are newsletters created by SGA released every month by email to inform students of major updates and happenings in SGA. Another update announced at the Jan. 23 senate meeting was the new Sports and Recreation Council, created by Dean Bowers and director of athletics Bill Jurgens.

According to Bowers, this would encourage open student recreation, intramurals and club sports for clubs to participate.

Members of the council include the president of SGA, who acts as a liaison between the athletics department and the student body, the department of athletics and student affairs.

“Issues such as repairing the tennis court and renovating the carpet on the second floor of Clemente kept being mentioned,” said Petrowski, who is part of the council. “This would bring possible future initiatives for students to be more equipped in recreation.”

An example of student participation would be including Greek Life in the halftime shows during big sports games, according to Petrowski.

These changes and new internal connections between the student body, SGA and faculty would help.

According to Lindeman, multiple cities in Brevard County have passed ordinances encouraging businesses to not provide plastic straws unless specifically asked.

“The city actions here are voluntary,” Lindeman said.

“It’s not mandatory. The city is not dictating that restaurants can’t offer straws, they’re suggesting. They’re passing resolutions that have meaning because they get attention in the community and they engage community focus on this.”

Taylor Greene, the vice president of SOSA and a junior in sustainability, said the switch from plastic to natural products is important because it sets an example for others.

“When businesses take it upon themselves to do things that are socially and environmentally responsible, that is really a resounding call to sort of the overall shift that’s going

on culturally-speaking with being more environmentally friendly,” Greene said.

SOSA is trying to set that example on campus. Greene said while they want to help the community, they feel it’s important to start at home.

“If we want to make an impact throughout the world—which eventually we’re going to graduate and do—we want to be able to say that where we started from home was as great as it could be,” Greene said.

Pavlick has similar goals.

As he has made changes at his own business, other businesses have reached out to him about where he purchases the straws and cutlery.

As he has been contacted by others, Pavlick said he hopes local restaurants will begin making similar changes.

“After we changed, Starbucks announced they were getting rid of plastic straws,” Pavlick said. “We’re just

hoping mom-and-pop places try it.”

Additionally, Pavlick said that while some customers have complained, others have been excited to see Mustard’s Last Stand taking steps to help the environment.

“We have actually gained business because of this,” Pavlick said. “People have heard about what we’re doing and said, ‘I’m going to come visit you now.’”

Both Mustard’s Last Stand and SOSA are working to make more environmentally friendly choices, even if it makes people uncomfortable.

While feedback is important to both groups, protecting the environment is their highest concern.

According to Pavlick, despite the complaints, they will never go back to plastic.

Customers can bring reusable cups or their own cutlery if they don’t want to use the wooden forks and knives.

"I consider these as an extra bonus for the work we have done. "

Sustainability

Mustard's Last Stand Melbourne location.

Crimson // Emily Walker

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CAMPUS LIFE

Car washing tips for on-campus students

kevin boodoosingh \\ design editor

Being able to bring your prized possession, your car, with you to college is an awesome feeling, giving you the freedom to escape off campus.

The only problem with having your car on campus is that you don’t get to handwash your car.

Being able to physically wash your car is a major aspect in car ownership.

The fact that you get to clean and inspect your car is an opportunity that should not be missed.

Most car enthusiasts know that going to an automated car wash is about as effective as rubbing sandpaper on your car’s paint.

The reason that automated car washes are so destructive is the fact that a lot of cars go through a car wash everyday.

That’s a lot of dirt accumulating on the equipment, and most times they are not cleaned.

Not only is the equipment dirty, but it is also very tough.

The scrubbers are built to withstand wash after wash, so they are very abrasive.

All these features damage your car’s clear coat, which shows up as the paint being scratched.

Even touchless car washes are almost useless.

On campus, there is no place to handwash your car unless you are fit enough to fill buckets of water and walk from your dorm to the parking lot.

Instead, you could use a local coin car wash, since all you’re really using the coin wash for is the water.

The easiest way to go about this is to get a bucket with a seal.

At your dorm, pour the necessary amount of car soap into the bucket - at this point, you can add in some water to save a little money.

Car soap is specifically designed to be used when washing a car, as opposed to other types like dish soap.

Dish soap contains a lot of detergents that can strip away the waxes in your car’s clear coat.

After that, pack up other necessary cleaning items like cloths, sponges, detailer, tire spray, etc.

If you don’t have change, most car washes usually take a debit or credit card, but be

careful if you use a card.

If you pay with change, it gives you time based on the amount of money you put in.

However, when using a card, it will continue to charge you until you turn the system off.

The first step at the coin wash is to take out the soap bucket and fill enough water to create soapsuds.

After you have paid, turn the dial to the high pressure water option. At this point, you will maybe have a minute or two to use the water.

Using the pressure washer, wet the surface of the car as much as possible.

After that, begin scrubbing the car with a cloth or sponge that you dip in the soap.

The next step is to use the water once more and wash away all the soap, then begin drying and detailing the car.

Now another option, if you are in a pinch and don’t have time to go all the way to a car wash, is to use a spray wash or a waterless wash.

Be aware that if your car is excessively dirty it is not recommended to use these products since you risk the chance of scraping your paint.

When you wash your car, the water and soap togeth-

er acts as a lubricant to clean in order to remove the risk of scratches.

The waterless washes only work well for light cleaning.

A car is often times a student’s escape from college life - it’s only appropriate to take care of it.

Use the pressure washer to effectively wash the soap off of the vehicle.

Photo // Unspalsh

Dining services says off-campus food "simply wouldn't work" tyler jones \\ staff writer

Students often ask why we don’t have fast food vendors of campus, according to Tom Stewart, director of dining services.

However, students don’t realize the factors that must be takenyou have to take into account in order to make it work, said Stewart.

While it is an option that has been explored in the past, Stewart said it “simply wouldn’t work.”

Stewart explained that in order to have off-campus vendors, Florida Tech would need to have a bigger student population, as well as longer academic school years.

“If you look at schools like UCF, you’ll notice that they tend to centralize them into a place that they keep open year-round,” Stewart said.

“We don’t have summertime business. You could shoot a cannon off and you wouldn’t hit a soul.”

According to Stewart, a major deterrent for fast food companies is the amount of time that the university is shut down throughout the year.

Most companies can’t deal with the fact that Florida Tech is shutdown for almost a quarter of the year.

Even though the university isn’t expecting to get a big company like Burger King to make its way on campus, ideas are being discussed to renovate The Sub Café, according to Stewart.

“There are several fast food places that have concepts that fit well in small locations and small volume areas of

operation,” said Stewart.

“We’ve looked at a Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut merger in the past; however we couldn’t find a way for it to benefit us financially.”

Although new solutions and opportunities are always being discussed, Stewart believes that by allowing off-campus chains to be

“It would be very possible to get a chain like Subway on our campus,” Stewart said.

“However, I feel that we make a better sandwich.”

Even with the expectations of food prices going up, students like Jacob Halfide, a junior studying business management, wouldn’t mind the sacrifice if it meant having the food they love a little closer to home.

“It takes at least five to 10 minutes as it is to get to the nearest fast food place,” said Halfhide. “I think that even with an increase in price, just the convenience of having a fast food place on campus would be more than worth it.”

On the other hand, students like Ashley

"We don’t have summertime business.

You could shoot a cannon off and you wouldn’t hit a soul." introduced on campus, it would raise the cost of food prices while bringing down the quality of the food at the same time.

Dunbar, a senior in business administration, believes the university should keep things the way they are.

“We have several different dining options all around campus, all offering different kinds of food,” said Dunbar.

“I don’t find it necessary to bring in fast food vendors that would just raise the prices of the many options we have already. PDH has a variety of choices with different options daily.”

Stewart encourages student feedback for situations like this and is interested in adding student voices to the discussion.

For any questions or suggestions, Stewart is located in Harris Commons room 113 and can be reached at tstewart@fit.edu.

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FEBRUARY 5

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10 OPINION ISSUE 3

FEBRUARY 5

Super Bowl comes up short david thompson \\ managing editor

The New England Patriots limped past the Los Angeles Rams in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever, 13-3.

Super Bowl LIII felt more like a warm-up game to the main event.

Through three quarters the score was tied 3-3, with neither team being able to find any rhythm on offensively.

This was the first Super Bowl that didn’t have a touchdown before the fourth quarter.

The Patriots defense put on their best performance of the season, holding the Rams to 260 total yards and a measly three points.

In the fourth quarter, quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots were finally able to put together a good drive.

Brady threw a 29-yard pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski that set them up for the only touchdown of the night: an easy two-yard run up

the middle for running back Sony Michel.

During the following drive, it seemed like the Rams were going to answer with a touchdown of their own.

Rams quarterback, Jared Goff, threw a deep pass towards the end zone to wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who let it slip between his fingers.

On the next play, Goff was pressured immediately and tossed up a wobbly ball that was intercepted by Patriots cornerback, Stephon Gilmore.

With the game being so low-scoring this nearly sealed New England’s victory as they took over with a little over four minutes remaining.

Patriots wide receiver, Julian Edelman, was named Super Bowl LIII MVP. He caught 10 passes for 141 yards on the day.

Brady ended the game with 262 passing yards, zero touchdowns and one

interceptions.

This was Brady and head coach Bill Belichick’s sixth Super Bowl victory together since 2000.

In addition to the lackluster football game that was played, the halftime performance fit in seamlessly.

Maroon 5 headlined the show but something about the performance felt off as they went from upbeat to somber in an instant.

Travis Scott and Big Boi were also featured during the halftime show but the real winner of the performance was Spongebob’s “Sweet Victory” tribute that introduced Travis Scott.

It was a timely nod to the late creator on Spongebob, Stephen Hillenburg, and a fun way to transition between artists for all of the college students watching who grew up watching the Nickelodeon classic.

When the final whistle blew I was honestly relieved that the game had come to an end.

It was a pretty ugly game to watch with few big plays or memorable moments.

Patriots take home sixth Super Bowl win.

Unless you are a diehard Patriots or Spongebob fan alike, this was one of the more forgettable Super Bowls in recent history.

Photo // CNN International

SPORTS 11 ISSUE 3

Competition competition.

“When the dance team started it was more about figuring out how to integrate ourselves into the school and create the foundation for future years,” Burgos said. “Now we have amazing

opportunities like competing at UDA College Nationals.”

The practices leading up to the UDA and UCA College Nationals were difficult, according to Palmer.

“We had practice almost every day for the entire two weeks before competition,

and each would last anywhere from three to six hours,” Palmer said.

The dance team’s practices leading up to the competition were focused on performance and energy, according to Burgos.

Palmer said her time on

FEBRUARY 5

the cheer team wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it.

“Overall, my experience has been great,” Palmer said.

“I’ve learned so much from my coach and made some lifelong friends.”

Softball has an even start on opening weekend Marquise Lewis \\ Staff Writer

Florida Tech softball season swung opened up this weekend with four tough opponents, finishing off with 2-2.

Winning against No. 18 Palm Beach University with a score of 3-2 and a dominant performance against Barry University, 9-2.

The two losses came from No. 6 Angelo State University with both scores being 3-4.

“It feels great to be back in season,” said Lexi Bettermann, senior outfielder. “Our team had came together so far playing

nationally ranked teams this weekend and competed really well to get a win, so I’m really excited for what this season has in store.”

Freshman outfielder Cheyenne Nelson tallied two scores and two runs batted in throughout all games combined.

“It felt amazing to be out there. It’s been a lifelong dream to play college softball so it just felt really great to be out there,” said Nelson.

Along with Nelson, junior pitcher/infielder Tina Velazquez Rolon and senior infielder Xiarysse Emerenciana had significant participation this past

weekend.

Emerenciana tallied four scores and two RBI’s and teammate Rolon tallied a whopping three R’s and six RBI’s.

Senior pitcher Melanie said she felt sad that this is her final season and while she doesn’t want it to end, she’s enjoying the vibe being in season brings.

Murphy was recently named an FPN Preseason All-American by FastPitch News on Jan. 25.

The Melbourne native put together a record-breaking season as she recorded the lowest earned run average (1.00) in school history and

sixth in the nation.

She also had 108 strikeouts, three saves, 27 earned runs, seven shutouts (one no-hitter) and held her opponents to a .181 batting average over 189 innings of work.

Murphy’s performance on the mound led to multiple postseason awards such as All-SSC First Team, D2CCA All-South Region First Team and NFCA All-South Region Second Team.

She was also named SSC Pitcher of the Week and Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week.

“I was really happy with our hitting and our defense

this weekend. Our pitching was looking really good too so it’s very promising,” said Coach Val Silvestrini, head coach for Florida Tech softball team.

Coach Silvestrini said she’s excited for this year and wants more people to come out and show support.

The Panthers have a long schedule of road games for the rest of February. The next home game will be played against Saint Leo University on Mar. 1 at 2 p.m.

Florida Tech takes on Lee University at Clearwater, Fl on Feb. 8 at 12 p.m.

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