Spring 2015, issue 3

Winner of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence award

The Florida Tech Crimson

Spring Issue 2 Feb. 10, 2015 Photo by Efram Goldberg

Parking, transportation troubles provoke trolley route changes Access to Babcock Oaks classes problematic for business majors Alex Coultrup Campus Life Editor Rebekah Duntz Editor-in-Chief This semester, Florida Tech expanded class locations for business majors to include the Babcock Oaks building, located north of campus. The new location has created parking problems, and many students have not been able to make it to class on time.

Sophomore Lola Barbour said that many students are as much as 15 minutes late to MWF classes, which are only 50 minutes long.

Barbour, who lives in Southgate, does not have a car at school, and gets rides with her boyfriend for transportation to and from Babcock Oaks. “It’s difficult to coordinate,” she said.

The College of Business is located 0.746 miles from the middle Florida Tech’s main campus on University Drive.

According to a email sent out by security, titled “Parking Reminder,” only green, black and blue decals are authorized to park at the Babcock Oaks parking lot.

This means that only faculty, staff and commuter students, respectively, are allowed to park there.

This email also stated that facilities is making extra efforts so the trolleys can get students there in a timely manner.

Sophomore Marko Milovanovic has a class in Crawford Tower just before his Babcock Oaks class. “I’m always at least five minutes late,” Milovanovic said. “I personally feel it’s stupid for half of the business classes to be here and half of them there.”

Before classes began at Babcock Oaks, Facilities used their department meetings to discuss the issue of transporting students to the new location.

Florida Tech currently has three trolley routes. The original trolleys were purchased specifically to solve problems related to the dangerous crossing at the corner of Babcock Street and University Boulevard.

Route-planning for 10-minute class changes was difficult, and

Facilities has struggled to cope with the extra flow of students.

“Sometimes, some ideas come out but they don’t come to fruition,” said Lee Martucci, transportation supervisor. “So then you have to work with what you have.”

There are over 140 students that ride the trolleys each day, usually with no more than 15 to 20 students on the vehicle at a time.

Transportation Services switched the Babcock Oaks route to the smaller trolley, making the route faster.

“Ten minutes with class changing times, that’s pretty tight,” said Martucci. “We changed the busses last week, and that caused some confusion. So it’s getting the word out that’s the hard part.”

Martucci said that they’re

open to any suggestions, and that Transportation Services will now be making changes to trolley routes. Instead of four trips to Babcock Oaks, there will be six.

Senior Milicia Tapuskovic suggested that the campus put out an app to help students coordinate with trolleys.

“I’m mostly on time for my classes in the business building, but that’s only because I don’t have main campus classes immediately before them,” said Tapuskovic, acknowledging that that most students are not as fortunate.

Students can find a map of the trolley routes at trolley.fit. edu. v

“Ten minutes with class changing times, that’s pretty tight.”

- Lee Martucci

Ruth Funk Center hosts contemporary japanese art exhibit Lindsay Isaac Staff Writer Tucked beside the Evans Library is a building known as The Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, the only textile center in the state.

On January 31st, the Ruth Funk Center ushered in a new exhibition“Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art.” The exhibition, which will remain on display until April 25th, features 38 works of sculptural art from 17 master bamboo artists.

Paul Anquez concert, page 2

As articulated by the Ruth Funk Center, “Modern Twist demonstrates how in the hands of master bamboo artists, a simple grass is transformed into a sculptural art.”

The exhibition is accurately summarized by same source as: “a celebration of groundbreaking levels of conceptual, technical, and artistic ingenuity.”

Through this mastery and ingenuity, Modern Twist challenges viewers to search for meaning among an often overlooked medium.

Continues page 5

3d printer coming to Evans Library, page 7

Softball prioritizes endurance this season, back page

opinions..............2 campus life........3 sci/tech............. 7

OPINIONS

2 - February 10, 2015

Paul Anquez to play Feb. 10 With Florida Tech boasting one of the top engineering programs in the country, are the Fine Arts an initial association you make when thinking of our school?

But as George Bernard Shaw said, “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.”

Thanks to President Catanese, this institution not only acknowledges the importance a superior technological education but also embraces the fine arts.

For the next three months, Paul Anquez from the Paris Conservatoire will be the artist in residence at the Florida Institute of Technology. After sitting down with Mr. Anquez I was able to get a better idea of who he was as a person and a musician.

After I asked Mr. Anquez what made him pursue music, he laughed smoothly com you can really hear how and said, “I’m not sure its easy to know, but it’s a bit like a cold, you know. For me it wonderfully these combinations was something sure, I was touched by music from the beginning.” flow together.

Paul’s answer really made me think, what makes us pursue a something, is it a Although working on bedream, a calling, or just an itch that we wake up one day and just has to scratch? It coming the European jazz master, is hard to say, but Paul Anquez certainly had an itch for music from an early age. he certainly does not limit himself He grew up in a town on the coast of France, where he said you could to the genre. “ I don’t like to see the shores of England. In his town of Cali, France, they offered free music consider me like a jazz man, or lessons. He took every advantage of this, learning and exposing himself to like a classical musician, I don’t as many of these instruments as possible as well as taking vocal lessons. care about the styles. I just do, it’s After graduating, Paul moved to Paris where he continued to study a bit common to say these things music and earned a degree in ensembles and musicology. After this, he but it’s true.” studied jazz at the Paris Conservatoire. Mr. Anquez has been writing The Florida Tech community and collaborating with artists in France. is very fortunate to have such a When asking Mr. Anquez what led him from classical music cultured and seasoned pianist, cominto jazz he said, “ I think the will to improvise first led me to jazz.” poser, writer, free-lancer and music He explained that jazz is a certain kind of improvised music. connoisseur as our guest.

What makes Paul’s music so unique and beautiful is the On February 10th at 7:00 pm freedom and talent he has as a musician, being able to move in the Gleason Auditorium, Paul across different genres with ease.

Anquez will have his inaugural con“Sometimes I mix, I write things that look really classicert here accompanied by Christian cal for strings, but with a voice that would not be classical, Tamburr. This should be a brilliant but more poppish,” he said. combination of musical talents. v It is interesting to hear how Paul Anquez mixes different music styles, going to his website, paulanquez.

CAPS PSA: Body Image Kendra Bartel CAPS Outreach Columnist Body image is something many people struggle with. Most college students are aware of the societal pressures to look a certain way.

Some struggle to love the way they look. While we all have days where we eat junk food and regret it later, for some, it’s an everyday struggle.

It is important to be knowledgeable about ways to think positively about yourself. At the end of the day, loving who you are is what is most important.

Some of us will weigh more than others, or look less muscular. However, everyone is unique and different, and that’s okay.

Make sure to check out CAPS’ event I’m All About That Bass: Healthy Body Image and Eating on Thursday on February 19 at 7 p.m. in Evans Hall, room 202. Here, you can learn more about body image, eating disorders, and how to love your body and maintain healthy eating patterns. There will also be healthy prizes.

No one can change your negative thoughts about yourself but you. There is also no magical way to turn negative body thoughts into positive ones. However, there are ways that you can look at yourself that will be more healthy and beneficial. The more you practice thinking positively about yourself and doing positive things for yourself, the more likely you are to be happy and comfortable with who you are.

will be different, how having your favorite snacks or meals once in a while isn’t so bad. Also, praise yourself for your good efforts. For example: “I did a great job making it to the gym 4 days this week. Now to add on day five.” How you talk to yourself is important.

Do nice things for yourself. Get your hair done, buy that new pair of shoes, go see that movie, eat some ice cream and go to the beach. If you’ve had a long week, reward yourself with a nap or take a hot bath. Treat yourself right and be kind, like you would do for a friend.

Surround yourself with people who bring you up, not down. Being around negative people or people who make you feel bad will only make you feel worse about yourself. It is important to surround yourself with support and positivity.

When those around you love you, it’s easier to love yourself.

Plus, it’s always nice to have people to turn to when you are struggling with how you look or feel. In times like these, they can tell you it’s going to be okay and that you are amazing.

Look at yourself as a whole person. When you look in the mirror, try to see your whole self instead of picking out specific body parts.

Others see you as a whole everyday.They’re not focusing on your personal insecurities. Most don’t even notice. You are a whole person, not just a zit on your nose.

Instead of looking at what you dislike about yourself, look at what you love. If you like your lips or your laugh, focus on that. By focusing on the positives about yourself, you will be able to find more and more of them, and in time, you’ll feel much better about yourself.

Remember, beauty is not based only on looks. No matter what the media says, beauty is a complex part of a human being. Beauty is not simply how you look, how much you weigh, or what color your eyes are. Beauty is a state of mind that you get to define for yourself, not what the world around you decides.

If you feel you are struggling with your body image and believe negative thoughts are starting to keep you from living a happy, healthy life, contact Counseling and Psychological Services.

To make an appointment with a mental health counselor, call 321-674-8050 or walk into the center, which is located next to the Student Health Center, on the corner of Country Club Road and University Boulevard.

Feel free to also visit CAPS’ website at www.fit.edu/caps. We realize it can be uncomfortable to reach out for help, but we hope you do contact us when you need us. CAPS is just one of many resources at Florida Tech that supports maintaining a happy and healthy you!

Surround yourself with people who bring you up, not down.

Steps to Loving Yourself

Wear clothes that you feel comfortable in and make you feel good about your body. The best way to feel confident about yourself is to feel good and comfortable in your appearance.

If you feel a shirt is too tight, or you don’t like the way it looks, don’t wear it.

Appreciate all the things your body can do. Your body is an amazing thing! You can run, dance, laugh, sing and dream. Your body is what helps you reach your goals and has helped you reach the goals you’ve already met.

Take care of your body. Stay active and hydrated, and eat healthy foods that will make you feel good and stay energized. When you make your body feel good, you’ll feel better too. You will feel better knowing you are taking positive steps. Just knowing you are doing good things can lift your spirits.

Shut down negative thoughts. Instead of beating yourself down about the ice cream you ate, just tell yourself it’s okay to have ice cream every once in a while. Instead of beating yourself down about missing a day at the gym, plan to go a different day. Think about how tomorrow

the Florida tech crimson

Ricky Fitzgerald Staff Writer

CAMPUS LIFE

One school, Oneblood

3 february 10, 2015

The Florida tech crimson

Donating blood saves lives Nicky Telega Staff Writer Did you know that one donation of blood can save up to three lives? This means that by giving one pint of blood, you can help make a change in others’ lives.

Many students at Florida Tech contributed to this cause this last week during Oneblood’s bimonthly blood drive.

Oneblood is a nonprofit organization, established on January 27, 2012, that gives the people the chance to help save lives. The organization was founded in Florida by three nonprofit blood centers.

The collective name Oneblood was chosen to remind everyone that we are a collective power that has the ability to save one another’s lives.

Every six weeks, the “Big Red Bus” comes to Florida Tech and welcomes students, staff and others to contribute to the cause.

The process of donating blood is set up in four simple steps in which the donors are asked to register, provide a medical history and take a small physical.

If everything checks out, they are ready to donate. After the donation, they are rewarded with some refreshments to regain some lost energy and restore blood levels

to normal.

“I’ve always wanted to give blood because I am AB-, which is a rare blood type,” said Tori Hawkins, a first-time donor. “I’ve even seen the impact of donating blood because of a family member, so I hope to impact someone else the way my family was.”

Another student, Ryan Zaremba, said, “I’ve been donating for a while now, basically ever since my mother got me into it.

I think it’s amazing to know that such a simple action can save lives.”

According to recent record, about 50 to 60 Florida Tech students regularly donate blood to the bimonthly drive. A worker at the drive explained, “Many people who have donated before are likely to do it again, so we make it a priority to return every two months, once every previous donor has exceeded the 56 day donor limit.”

The donor limit is the minimum number of days a person has to wait in order to safely donate blood again. This allows time for the body to naturally replenish its red blood cell counts.

Whether people are first time donors or regulars, the impact that it has on others can be incredible. v

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4 - february 10, 2015

campus life

The Florida tech crimson

Exhibit at Foosaner goes to a good cause Fumiko Shinkawa Staff Writer Russell Smith got a call requesting a donation to go toward the cost of care for Aubrey Clark, a fifth-grade girl hit by an SUV on her way home from school in mid-January. Initially, he found it difficult to contribute.

“School is already hard enough, and I have four kids and I bought a house, so I’m super busy,” Smith said. “There’s just no way.”

But he couldn’t pass up the chance to do something. “I used to help these people at the Vocational Training Center; they were severely handicapped, they couldn’t even have scissors,” but were given simple tasks, such as removing buttons from old clothing.

“I needed them to think their buttons were important to me,” Smith said. He explained how he had bought buttons from the Center, explaining that he was an artist and badly needed them.

“I felt like that was their hundred percent. It was important to them.”

In the upcoming 3-day show at the Foosaner, Smith planned a large-scale piece, inspired by the pointillism of Chuck Close. Kids could glue his collected buttons to the piece and would afterwards be featured in a blind-bid, with the proceeds going toward Aubrey Clark’s family.

“What’s cool is, [Derek] Gores is a dad, I’m a dad, some of these other guys are dads,” Smith said. “If that was my little girl … it would just kill me.”

Smith described his feeling of connection to the girl, explaining his own traumatic brain injury and the strategies he has had to develop to cope with it, and the ones Aubrey Clark may have to practice. “There’s a chance that she was robbed of her ability to become an artist,” he said.

Smith explained the importance of exposing children to art. “To me, leaving an impact on children and changing someone

for the better, is more important than, like, when we sold our first international piece,” he said.

Of his own work, Smith said, “I have artwork that’s hung with Pollock, Warhol, all over; I’ve done pretty well with it, but at the end of the day art […] should make the world a better place.”

Regarding the piece’s origins in both himself, the artists of EGAD! and the children that would help put it together, Smith said, “it shows teamwork, collaboration and caring, because we all do care about Aubrey. What happened to her could happen to

any of our kids.”

“You’re doing a live assemblage and kids are doing it, but you’re taking high art and moving it into the hands of children and also it benefits somebody, so to me it’s a circular win.”

This exhibit, a product of the collaboration of Russell Smith and the artists of EGAD!, will be featured in Robot Love 3D, a show produced by Derek Gores’ gallery at the Foosaner Education Center on February 13 and 14. v

“To me, leaving an impact on children and changing someone for the better, is more important than, like, when we sold our first international piece.”

-Russell Smith

5 -february 10, 2015

campus life

What do you see?

The Florida tech crimson

Continued from page 1

When asked: “What do you see?”, here is how the exhibition’s visitors responded: Felix Arias, a second-semester student studying aerospace engineering, found the Colosseum and a metaphor for life among the woven bamboo.

“I see confusion; life is sometimes that way. It can be dif-

ficult to understand pieces and how they are organized.”

Rita Bernstein, a textile artist from Sebastian, had a uniquely robust interpretation: “I think a piece of furniture, a place to put fruit....I am trying to make it useful, to put it to use. I

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might turn it upside down and use it as a table or hang it on a low ceiling as a light fixture. And of course, the shadows are amazing, aren’t they?”

The vastly different interpretations lead to one conclusion: to know, one must see for himself.

Will you see the Colosseum?

A potential bowl for fruit? An el-

ephant? A spider’s web? Will you see the pony tail of a lady? Will you recognize a gentle heart? Will you notice the pattern of the wind?

Or is all you see bamboo?

For exhibit-related programs and hours, check out textiles.fit. edu. Admission is free.

SCI/TECH

6 -february 10, 2015

The Florida tech crimson

FCC institutes new rules for cell phone tracing and broadband Christopher Pangalos Staff Writer On January 29, the FCC held an open meeting in Washington, D.C. to decide on several issues including rules for accurate call tracing when making 911 calls via cell phone and whether or not Broadband was being deployed reasonably.

One result, according to the FCC’s news release, is that they have decided to adopt new regulations specific to call tracing on cell phones which requires wireless providers to meet specific location accuracy benchmarks within a given time frame.

The original rule for 911 tracing originated in 1996, and was specific to landlines, while a revision in 2010 set rules based upon accuracy of tracing outdoors which failed to provide accurate locations of those indoors.

The new rules facilitate accurate tracing of those making calls inside including altitude to determine location on a multistory building.

Despite these new rules having the potential to save lives by getting quicker help to callers unable provide a location, there are also counter-arguments that such accurate location information is a further invasion of privacy.

While 911 call tracing isn’t new, the fact that new technology will allow cellphone users to be tracked by altitude and inside buildings raises the concern that this technology could be used for non-emergency situations.

During their meeting, the FCC also found

that many broadband providers were failing to meet a reasonable speed standard based on current technological ability to provide high quality sound, data, graphics and video, particularly in rural areas.

According to the FCC’s release “Over half of all rural Americans lack access to 25 Mbps(megabits per second)/3 Mbps service,” while in contrast, this is only 8 percent in urban areas.

As a result, the FCC has added a new rule updating the broadband benchmark from the previous 4 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads to 25Mbps/3Mbps respectively.

While this doesn’t actually force providers to increase their speeds, it does mean that they can no longer refer to lower speeds as broadband service.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Associations was strongly against this ruling. In a letter to the FCC sent on January 22 prior to the meeting, they argued that speeds of 25/3 were not necessary for high quality (4K and ultra-HD) video streaming, and that most users don’t use their broadband in that manner anyway.

According to Netflix, 25Mbps is the lowest recommended speed for Ultra HD streaming.

The NCTA also argued, “A relatively small percentage of consumers who have access to speed of 25Mbps/3Mbps actually choose to purchase service at those speed while most consumers tellingly opt for lower speeds that meet their needs.” v

Image credit: Mark Botham, Creative Commons

Faculty member builds autonomous golf cart Tyler Richardson Business Manager/ Staff Writer Last summer, Assistant Professor Mathew Jensen and his fivemember research team bought a “very used golf cart,” tore it apart and have since been in the process of reassembling it so that solely motors and electronics control it.

Jensen and his team are designing and building a self-driving golf cart. The multiyear project plans to introduce to market a purpose-built autonomous golf cart platform. The first step is, according to Jensen, to tear out everything.

“We’re converting it to a fully drive-by-wire system, such that, there are no mechanical linkages between the steering, gas or brake pedals,” Jensen said.

The cart, which is housed in Jensen’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Lab, is almost ready to be reassembled. Jensen and the team hope to have it operable by

a human driver by the end of the semester.

Jensen, whose background is in vehicle controls and dynamic systems, has always had an interest in autonomous vehicles technology. However, full-scale autonomous car research is, according to Jensen, not really practical at the college level, although there are some programs out there. He decided to scale back the size of the research vehicle and the autonomous golf cart project began.

Although he originated the project, Jensen is primarily interested in it as a learning experience for his students.

“As faculty, my goal is more to use it as a learning experience for students,” Jensen said, “… there are some interesting problems there, many of which aren’t necessarily easy, but they’re good research topics that have seen a lot of interest from the students.” v

Sci/Tech

7 - february 10, 2015

The Florida tech crimson

3D printer coming soon for students use at Evans library Kunal Jagtap Staff Writer Florida tech is bringing 3D a printer soon to Evans library.

You design something in CAD, hit “Print” and out comes a fully formed object a few minutes later.

This printer will be available for use by students in the coming weeks. Students will be able to present the 3D image of an object they want to print on the ground floor of the library. As using a 3D printer is neither simple nor safe, students will not be allowed to print the objects - the library assistant will do all the work.

The library assistant said, “For the object of size of phone cover will cost around $10 - $15.

Students are supposed to pay for the plastic necessary for printing and tray as a foundation which is essential part we need for printing.”

Each 3D machine has its own requirements for how to prepare for a new print job. This includes refilling the polymers, binders and other consumables the printer requires. It also covers adding a tray to serve as a foundation and adding the material to build temporary water-soluble supports.

The size, complication and

amount of plastic necessary for printing will ultimately decide the cost of printing an object. Also, depending on the machine, the size of the object and the materials used, this process could take hours or even days to complete.

The time required for printing a small object is around 4 hours. It will then take three to four hours to dissolve it in the solution, clean it and finish it, This means that students who need 3D printed objects for their courses should plan accordingly.

The build process is mostly automatic. Each layer is usually about 0.1 mm thick, though it can be much thinner or thicker, accord-

ing to Wohlers. Machines will need to be checked periodically to ensure accuracy.

“It will be exciting to see how students will use their creative minds to build the real 3D objects,” Anish Kumar of the ECE department said. “I think it’s a good opportunity for students to get their hands on this magical technology as soon as it is open for printing.” v

Gadget Corner Joseph Stoltz Staff Writer

To my great surprise, the war to digitally steal your credit cards and anything else using radio frequency identification (RFID) chips has invaded your pants — pockets, to be exact. For this reason Betabrand, a San Francisco-based clothing maker, is teaming up with the internet security firm Norton to produce jeans that will protect you from those hackers trying to get into your pockets.

These jeans, known as the “Ready Jeans Protected by Norton,” have two pockets with a special fabric sewn in that is able to block and protect your credit cards and other such items that use RFID; some passports even use RFID, and I would imagine a stolen digital passport could cause some very bad things to happen to you.

According to PCWorld, Norton claims, “More than 10 million people get their data pickpocketed via RFID every year.” PCWorld also made the statement that ever since RFID became a standard in cards, security experts have warned users that their data can easily be stolen through the air by simple RFID readers.

While this is an awesome idea to protect your cards, these pants will sadly run you the price of $168. At the same time, however, if you’ve had your credit card data stolen before, you probably wouldn’t care about spending that much.

Betabrand will also feature a blazer for $198, which isn’t too bad of a price, since in many instances, a blazer will run you $300, or even more.

Photo by pcworld.com

Since I already gave you one pair of jeans, I decided to randomly present another. These aren’t the norm of what you would expect to be a gadget per se, but they’re definitely classified in the “scratch-and-sniff” category.

Named “Naked & Famous Scratch-N-Sniff Mint Jeans,” these jeans were apparently developed for those special people that only wash their jeans once or less every year. The jeans were developed with a special coating on the cotton that when scratched, just as its name states, you will sniff mint smell. These are perfect for cutting the cheese and hiding it, but I doubt it’ll be able hide a year’s worth of body odor compounded with daily interest.

However, if you think the scratch-and-sniff is going to last a while, it’s not — according to Uncrate, it only lasts up to five washes. To make matters even worse, these jeans will set you back $160 for their mystical sniffing abilities. For that price, I think I’d rather wash my pants and use fabric softener for smell.

Photo by uncrate.com

SPORTS the Florida tech crimson

february 10, 2015

Softball prioritizes perseverence, tenacity this season Andrew Shipotofsky Staff Writer Florida Tech Softball started the season with a bang in their first weekend of play, sweeping a two game series against Webber International. The team’s ultimate goal is to play in May, Elizabeth Eby, senior utility player said. After going 23-25 last season, the team looks to overachieve this season and enter the playoffs.

The Panthers have 17 returning athletes and two incoming freshman this season. The team also fields seven of last year’s starters. These include top hitters Brigit Godfrey, Elaine Brown and Taylor Petterson.

Strong players Rachel Pence and Taylor Smith are returning to the team’s rotation. In 2014, Pence and Taylor earned the win in 21 of the team’s 23 victories. Pence, in her freshman year, pitched a no-hitter in her first college start, ultimately finishing the season with 14 wins and an Earned Run Average of 2.33.

Pence also won Sunshine State Conference pitcher of the week for her performance in the first game of the 2015 season. Graduate student Taylor Smith, who led her team with an ERA of 2.10 starting 21 games, winning 7, and closing out 11 in 2014, returned for her final season at Florida Tech.

This past week, the team made adjustments after their first two victories.

Elizabeth Eby said, “We have been preparing like crazy, we’ve been working hard and staying after practice and putting in the hours.”

She also said the team has been putting in extra work into base running and communication. Both will be important for this team to be successful this season. With their ultimate goal to get as far into May’s playoffs as they can, the team still has plenty of season left in which to practice.

Eby said their biggest hurdle will be to stay tough throughout this season. “It’s great when we are doing well,” Eby said. “When it gets harder, then it is the mental toughness.”

The Panthers will return to Nancy Bottge Field on February 20 as they face off against Palm Beach Atlantic in a two-game series.

Photos courtesy of floridatechsports.com