The Minaret

Students Fall from the Skies [2]

Florida’s Top College Paper

Vol. 75 No. 27

ut.minaret@gmail.com

www.theminaretonline.com

April 24, 2009

Minaret Adviser Fired After Contract Dispute Staff Report

Professor Charles McKenzie, adviser to The Minaret, will not have his contract renewed and will not return to the University of Tampa after a seven semester

period that included two adviser of the year awards.

Provost Dr. Janet McNew said the issue was purely contractual.

McKenzie said he was hired during the final stages of his Ph.D. dissertation at the University of

North Carolina and had attempted to finish it but a number of family and personal issues derailed his plans.

Hired in December 2005, McKenzie began his UT career in the spring of 2006 as a journalism

professor and adviser to The Minaret.

“It was a good job and we were perfectly suited for each other,” he

said. “I knew it was a gamble (that I didn’t have my Ph.D.), and so did they.”

When he first applied, See “Adviser”

UTunes: Plant Park Heroes Rock Campus

By Zach Fraser Asst. A&E Editor

The second annual concert in the park continued in the footsteps of last year’s event, making the Gym Class Heroes show one of UT’s most memorable moments of the year.

The concert, which was funded and provided by student government and Student Productions, turned out to be entertainment for everyone.

Julissa Veloz, UT student and recent American Idol contestant, opened up the concert with a quick song backed up by two choreographed dancers.

Veloz’s quick performance lead into the true opening band of the night, Quietdrive.

The alternative-rock band from Minneapolis was well rehearsed and polished on stage as they entertained the growing audience of UT students. Quietdrive rolled through roughly a 5-6 song set list, ending with their fan favorite rendition of Cindi Lauper’s, “Time See “Gym Class” [10]

Photo by Peter Arrabal

Language Reveals Homophobic Tension

By Derrick Austin Commentary Editor

Actions speak louder than laws.

Politics is slowly but surely catching up with the nation’s growing atmosphere of acceptance towards gays and lesbians. After

all, gay marriage was legalized in Vermont two weeks ago—by the people’s vote rather than through court intervention, a first.

But no matter how progressive we may feel about gay rights, we still have a ways to go in our behavior. Take, for example, something as basic as everyday language.

If you call an Asian “cracker,” you’ll get a confused look. If you

slant your eyes in front of a black guy, you won’t get a rise out of him.

Call a guy “fag” and all hell breaks loose.

When young Americans are seen as the most progressive group in America, more often than not in favor of gay rights compared

[6]

McKenzie

Urso’s Cuban Janitor Tells His Tale

He took to the open seas on a flimsy raft, only to be caught and sent to Guantanamo Bay ¶ After a successful escape to Panama, Jorge Alvarez came to the United States and got a job at UT ¶ His wife finally made it to the states, but his daughter died in Castro’s captivity ¶ Today, he has new hopes. President Obama has opened the door for expatriates to visit family in Cuba again ¶ This is his story of survival and endless optimism ¶ Story by David Saginor; Photos by Charlie Hambos

See “Language” [14]

Huth, McCarthy Win Top SG Positions

By Charlie Hambos & Jeffrey Palmer Asst. Editor-in-chief & Staff writer

It was an election filled with controversy, e-mail blasts and a confusing new structure, but nearly half of the student body cast their votes for next year’s representatives and leaders.

The election results, announced just a few minutes after midnight on April 17, favored

Student Government President and Vice-Presidential candidates, Kelsie Huth and Chris McCarthy.

They won with 1,013 votes over Andrew Argue and Elbin Keeppanasseril’s 852.

“We’re so pumped over the victory,” said Huth, “that words really couldn’t do it justice. We’re ecstatic!”

Huth is no stranger to SG positions, as she served as SG vice

president under senior, Andrew Learned. She is also a member of Alpha Chi Omega and a representative for the Honor’s Council and the public relations committee.

Her running mate Chris McCarthy has been actively involved in Student Government since holding a position on sophomore congress.

See “Elections” [4]

See “A True ‘Balsero’ at UT” [7]

Senior Class Gives Back [3]

Inside ...

Nannies Find Ways to Win [6] Film Debuts in Reeves [12] International Fete in Vaughn Courtyard [12]

Energy Conservation [15]

Tampa’s Tea Party Protest [16] Matuszak Enters Mock Draft [19]

Baseball Breakdown [19]

“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts...perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”

News...................[1-7] A&E..................[9-13] Diversions............[8] Commentary...[14-17] Editorial..............[15] Sports.............[19-20]

[John Steinbeck]

News

2

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

Learned Says Farewell to SG Presidency

By Cristobal Gomez Staff Writer

Editor-in-Chief Peter Arrabal parrabal@gmail.com

Asst. Editor-in-Chief Charlie Hambos charlie.hambos@gmail.com

News Editor Ellery McCardle minaret.news@gmail.com

Commentary Editor Derrick Austin minaret.commentary@gmail.com

Sports Editor Bobby Winsler minaret.sports@gmail.com

A&E Editor Mel Steiner minaret.arts@gmail.com

Online Editor Alex Vera minaret.online@gmail.com

Head Photographer Mindy Tucker mindy.minaret@gmail.com

Head Copy Editor Shannon Grippando sgrippando@ut.edu

Adviser Charles McKenzie charles.mckenzie@ut.edu

Staff-At-Large Sarah Gottlieb, Staff Writer Jillian Randel, Staff Writer JP Busche, Staff Writer Jeffrey Palmer, Staff Writer Delaney Spoerl, Staff Writer Erika Escobar, Staff Writer Megan Smith, Staff Writer Austin Daniels, Cartoonist Max Roberts, Artist John Meacham, Photographer Abby Sanford, Photographer Elizabeth Harm, A&E Kadie Hayward, A&E Kristen Vasquez, A&E Shelby Kuni, Sports Olivia Glynn, Sports Kyle Bennett, Sports Samuel Gerb, Sports

You can reach The Minaret directly at (813) 257-3636

The Minaret is a weekly student-run publication of the University of Tampa. As a student organization, The Minaret invites all students to take part in its production. Inquiries and comments may be sent to ut.minaret@gmail.com

Andrew Learned won the 2008 Student Government presidential election with about 70 percent of the student vote saying in his campaign that he would try to bring a number of changes to UT. As Learned reflected back on his presidency, he thinks he did his best to keep his campaign promises.

Learned kept a cut out copy of an August 2008 Minaret article entitled “10 Changes We Want to See” posted by his desk in his room in Straz Hall. Part of the article called on Learned and his former running mate, Kelsie Huth, to follow through on their campaign promises.

Learned said he specifically campaigned on promises to change UT’s alcohol policy, improve meal exchanges, encourage school spirit and to introduce a new SG constitution.

Learned said he did make many big promises and said he had to settle for some middle ground resolutions.

Alcohol Policies Learned started the petition to change the alcohol policies when he was on senior Congress before he was SG president.

Learned said when he was president he tried to change the social hosting policy.

He said they added a stipulation in the Code of Conduct where the minimum sanction can be waived by the conduct board for social hosting.

Currently one of the minimum sanctions if a student is found responsible for social hosting is termination from campus housing.

Learned said he knew the alcohol policy wouldn’t drastically change overnight, but he fought in SG and with the administration to bring change.

Regarding his promises on alcohol policies and following through with them, Learned gave himself a B grade.

He said they made a lot of compromises and found some good middle ground. “The policy is significantly better now than it was before,” Learned said.

Security Policies Learned said he didn’t re-

Andrew Learned ended his term as SG President on Tuesday, April 21.

Photo by Mindy Tucker

member making specific campaign promises regarding security policies but that it was tagged along with changing alcohol policies. He said his biggest problem was with the policy that students could get written up for being intoxicated on campus, even if they were 21.

He said he believes the minimum sanction for being intoxicated on campus has been lowered.

Meal Exchanges Learned said they got some new meal exchanges policies

“

There’s a lot of stuff we did that effects organizations .

Former SG President

added, including chicken in the pasta at Pandini’s and smoothies at Dairy Queen. He said they did have to cut some meal exchanges, including one of the chicken sandwiches at Stadium, but he said in exchange they got chicken in the pasta.

The New SG Constitution Learned is particularly proud of the new SG constitution, which was passed by a vote in the SG General Assembly but is still pending approval by the UT administration.

“There’s a lot of stuff we did that effects organizations,”

Senior Class Party at the Florida Aquarium

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”

--Andrew Learned,

Photos by Mindy Tucker

Learned said. “If you’re part of an organization you are going to be better represented and your reps are going to be more accountable for their votes and you’re going to be able to have a lot more resources at your disposal.

“If you’re not affiliated with an organization then you should realize that there is a much bigger pot of resources and much more student involvement in the process.” Learned added that regular students can now have a more say in the dispersing of the SG budget.

Facing the student population’s wrath The August 2008 Minaret article stated that it expected Learned and Huth to follow through with their ideas, “or face the student population’s wrath by December.”

“I think we did most of them

by December,” Learned said. He said the two big things he campaigned on, meal exchanges and alcohol policy, were done over the summer in 2008.

Learned gave his team an ‘A’ grade overall for being proactive and for being student leaders defending the student body. He said he fought hard for students’ rights with the new constitution; especially regarding the administration’s pending approval of the new constitution.

Learned said other areas he worked on were commuter student issues and fostering more school spirit.

He said he was proud of the turnout of the Black Out basketball game and the Pink Out volleyball game.

Learned has faced criticism from The Minaret throughout his tenure as SG President. He did not want to comment again on accusations made by The Minaret regarding giving out Tampa Bay Storm tickets and candy during his 2008 campaign; instead he encouraged students to read his response letter to the editor from January 2009.

Personal experiences from SG: Learned said his time as SG president has made him want to continue a career in politics.

Currently he is lined up with an internship with Hillsborough County Commissioner, Mark Sharpe.

Learned is going into the Navy when he graduates and said it will be a couple years before he can get into politics.

Learned said he would easily put 40 to 50 hours a week into working as the SG president and said the goals he set for himself provided him with the energy to keep working, especially regarding fighting the UT administration for student rights.

Advice for 2009 SG Candidates As the outgoing SG president, Learned said “I would hope that the new candidates would continue to have the mindset that they don’t work for the administration.

“If something doesn’t make sense to you, don’t just take their word for it, stand up and say something about it.”

Learned was happy for Kelsie Huth and Chris McCarthy, the winners of 2009 SG presidential and vice presidential election.

“They’re great, quality people that know what they’re doing. I think they’re going to bring good changes.”

Learned’s tenure as SG President ended on Tuesday April 21st.

During the interview with Learned, he urged to The Minaret to add this note to the end of the article, which he claims he has tried to get published multiple times but it never works out: Learned wants to remind the ladies of UT that he is currently single.

News

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

3

UT Students Meet Holocaust Survivor

By Jackie Maass Staff Writer

There are relatively few events throughout history that have had such an impact on the world as the Holocaust.

Not many people get the opportunity to hear the story straight from a survivor’s mouth, but three UT students were able to do just that.

With a passion for the subject, senior Ruth Cook researched and located Lisl Schick, a Holocaust survivor in Largo, Fla. who was very active in the Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla. Working with the museum, Cook arranged a private interview with Schick.

Cook brought her husband Aaron to aid in the interview and classmate Jessica Magner to join them in hearing the woman’s stories.

“I was really interested and I thought this would be a great opportunity to actually speak with a

Lisl Schick (left), Ruth Cook (middle, and Jessica Magner (right) Photo by Ruth Cook

survivor and listen to her stories,” Magner said.

Schick survived the holocaust through the Kindertransport or the “children’s transport” (also Refugee Children Movement). This program is credited with saving nearly 10,000 children ranging from in-

fancy to age 17 in the months before the outbreak of World War II. Great Britain took these children and placed them in foster homes, farms, hostels, and group homes.

At age 11, Schick was sent with her seven year old younger brother to live with strangers.

the greed of the higher ups,” the parent said.

UT’s Board of Trustees raised undergraduate tuition approximately 3.5 percent since the last academic year now making it $10,710 per semester, not including the raises in student service fees, rooms and meal plans.

UT is not the only school seeing an increase. The finance committee at the College of William and Mary proposed increasing tuition by 4.9 percent for in-state and out-of-state undergraduate students. Other universities are raising prices by over six percent.

“The number one question that students always ask is, ‘Will there be money for me to go to college?’” said Tally Hart, former head of financial aid at Ohio State University. “The important part of the stimulus package is that it stabilizes and increases Pell Grants for these students, so we know it addresses the number one concern about going on to college,” Hart told National Public Radio.

The government provides Pell Grants to eligible UT students, but the grants do not cover everything.

Students often need to apply for additional loans, yet they are hesi-

tant due to the current economic situation.

The New York Times reported that the “private student lending industry and its allies in Congress are maneuvering to thwart a plan

by President Obama to end a subsidized loan program and redirect billions of dollars in bank profits to scholarships for needy students.”

The Congressional Budget Office said replacing subsidized loans made by private banks with direct government lending would save $94 billion over the next decade, money that Obama would use to expand Pell Grants for the poorest students.

Before students apply for loans, they should do some research. There are numerous websites and organizations, such as Free College Scholarships, still available and giving out scholarships.

More than 80 percent of UT’s students receive some type of financial assistance. UT students should complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to apply for need-based aid or any type of loan. UT offers students an aid application checklist to help with the process.

Tuition Rise Leaves Students Worried

By Jessica Brightman Journalism I

The envelope displayed little more than her name and the UT logo in the corner.

This could either be good or bad news, she thought.

“I am writing to inform you of tuition and fee increases for the 2009-2010 academic year . . .”

Surprise, surprise.

Given the current economic situation, a rise in tuition definitely falls under the category of “bad news.”

Many of those affected say if tuition is going up, then salaries of executives should go down.

“I have a student at UT," said a concerned parent in a previous Minaret article regarding "tuition hikes," and with these hard economic times, even for those students getting help from their parents, it is still very hard to justify the continuing pay raises when times are so tough.

“Hopefully, the president of UT and other executives will reconsider their pay raises for the coming year. I would hate to have to pull my child from this wonderful learning establishment due to

Student Seeks Odd Job in Slow Economy

By Shannon Welte Journalism I

Job offers in the current economy are seemingly impossible to come by, so when writing professor Audrey Colombe said she had heard about an interesting career move, everyone’s ears perked up.

Colombe’s suggestion: apply for a handyman job in Antarctica.

Not only are they accepting applications for jobs like electricians, cooks, carpenters and plumbers, but the salary for each worker is assured to start at around $23,000.

Without much to spend money on in Antarctica, saving money is easy. Once hired, the employers will have travel expenses, room

and board, food and winter clothing all paid for by the British Antarctica Survey, (BAS), which is sponsoring the Polar Science research.

The BAS is hoping to staff five of its climate change and biodiversity research stations with these types of employers. They have several vacancies for the upcoming summer, but the BAS warns applicants of the harsh Antarctic climate.

Summers there see 24 hours of daylight while winters are completely dark. The temperature is devastatingly low, and penguins are more abundant than people.

However, for the brave, the scenery in Antarctica is mind

blowing, and the job opportunity could open doors to a new and exciting world.

Lindsay Schanell, a senior and writing major at UT, was a student in Colombe’s class when she suggested the zany job. Schanell is interested in applying for the position. “I was interested first because of its uniqueness,” said Schanell, who is in dire need of employment.

“I looked it up and it pays a decent year’s salary in four months, plus benefits. That is something I wouldn’t find here.”

The thought of seeing penguins and seals everyday excites her, and the climate change isn’t a big enough factor to stand in her way.

“She took [her younger brother] under her wing and 'became his mom' for the time being,” Magner said.

“Mrs. Schick’s inspiring story of her journey through the Kindertransport, and her heroic efforts to escape Nazi-Germany at the age of eleven with her seven year old brother to England affected us the most,” Cook said.

Schick had a presentation for a younger crowd after meeting with the three UT students and ultimately, she had a simple message for them.

“Her message at the end of the presentation was to not bully others and if you’re being bullied, report it to someone,” Magner said.

She continued with, “As soon as I left the museum I drove back to school and thought about everything she said and experienced. I realized how privileged I am compared to the life she lived during her young years. It amazes me to even think that such an event occurred less than a hundred years

ago.”

“I walked away with admiration for Mrs. Schick’s attitude; her continued activism at the age of 81, carried inspiration and courage, as well as a warning about not speaking up,” Cook said.

Aaron Cook agreed and added, “It instilled a heightened sense of awareness about the danger of allowing extremist ideas to escalate and how important it is to speak up when others are being mistreated.”

The Kindertransport was only a small piece of Holocaust history, saving a fraction of the children affected, but a part to be remembered nonetheless.

The British people demonstrated compassion and proved that even when surrounded by evil, good does exist.

Jackie Maass can be reached at jmaass@ut.edu

Some members of the committee Photo by Erika Ginzl

Campaign Aims to Get UT Senior Class To Give Back

By Jeffrey Palmer Staff Writer

As the spring semester of 2009 draws to a close, graduating seniors want to enrich the UT community. They will soon be leaving to demonstrate their appreciation for the academic institution and benefit future generations of students.

Although donations of any amount to the campaign are welcome, each graduating senior will be asked to donate an ideal sum of $20.90 to help create two $1,500 scholarships awarded to incoming freshmen or other financially disadvantaged applicants.

“Leaving a legacy is not a new thing here at UT. The senior class campaign has been a UT tradition for decades,” Erika Ginzl, graduating senior and chair of the 2009 campaign, said. “UT relies on donations in order to keep tuition costs down, scholarship dollars high, and still provide the same individualized, excellent education UT is known for.”

As always, monetary donations are appreciated outside the campaign as well as to campus organizations, departments, or even individual

professors.

Contributions are acceptable in the form of check or cash either by mail or online at www.ut.edu/giving. Participants will be recognized for their valuable involvement in the campaign in the fall issue of the UT Journal as well as in the Donor Honor Roll online.

In contrast to previous years and senior donation campaigns, the pledge system whereby contributing seniors have two years to pay off their full donation, will no longer be utilized. Instead, the “TAG, You’re it” campaign, an ingenious invention of the class of 2009, is a class effort to at once promote senior contributions and alert the current student beneficiaries of the effect donations have upon perpetuating UT’s reputation for outstanding academic quality.

“What so many students are unaware of is that the reason we have many of the wonderful things we enjoy at UT is because previous students and friends of UT cared to give back,” Ginzl said. “As seniors we want to be a part of that legacy that has been living on for many years.”

4

News

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

UT Students Sets Sights on Skies

By Jillian Randel Staff Writer

Every child has big dreams, but as people get older it becomes harder to hang onto those dreams.

It takes the right kind of person to chase after their lifelong dreams and fulfill them.

For Lonnie Haynes, a UT junior, he found his dream of aviation at age ten while at an air show.

“There were some kids my age in uniform guarding the planes. I found out that they were members of the civil air patrol and I became a part of it for the next eight years,” Haynes said.

As a member of the civil air patrol, Haynes learned what it would take to become a pilot.

“Throughout high school I kept my grades up, played football, ran track and did wrestling,” he said.

When Haynes started college at

Photos by Lonnie Haynes

USF, he joined the ROTC program, working to become a pilot.

This year, out of all of the candidates in the nation from the ROTC program, officer training school and the National Guard, only 545 were selected as pilot candidates, making it a highly competitive program.

Haynes said to think of the selection process as a pie chart.

“The first two years, 50 percent of the process is your commander’s ranking and how your commander feels about you, 15 percent is your GPA, and 10 percent is your physical training assessment (PTA),” he said.

However, another 10 percent is from a hand-eye coordination test, called the PCSM Air Force officer qualifying test. “The last 15 percent is field training which is completed between your sopho-

more and junior year. It is equivalent to boot camp and you compete to finish bottom third, middle third or top third.”

In the process, Haynes said there are 360 kids broken down into groups of 21.

“If you finish in the top two of the top third tier you are honored as a distinguished graduate, if you finish number one you are top gun.

Seventeen out 360 finished top gun.” Haynes was one of those 17.

Haynes' contract with the Air Force began right after the summer field training. His enlistment will last for 12 years. His current status after the training is as inactive Air Force Reserves.

Although Haynes is only a junior at UT, there is still a lot of pressure to keep up his 3.8 GPA. Upon entering flight school, immediately after he graduates, he will take off for initial flight screening in Pueblo, Colo. to get his private pilot’s license. From there, it will be one year of undergraduate pilot training.

“Depending on how we finish in our class, determines our job.

The top finishers get to pick the air frame they want to fly,” Haynes said.

“Those who finish on top usually pick fighter planes and those who finish lower do air cargo and transport.”

Haynes plans on becoming an active member of the Air Force.

He wants to fly fighter planes.

Melanoma Monday When: Monday, May 4th 12-2pm at the UT Pool

FREE >UV photography/skin damage photos >Information on melanoma and skin cancer and skin

Sunscreen samples Neutrogena sunless tanner samples Sunless tanning sprays at local tanning salons

Photo by Mel Steiner

From “Elections”: Front Page Both Huth and McCarthy are fully prepared and eager to serve their UT constituents. They look forward to strengthening the bond between Student Government and the student body itself.

“We want to hear what you have to say,” said the beaming President, Huth. “Student Government is here for you.”

Their goal for the upcoming year is first and foremost to kindle UT school spirit and increase the ease with which concerned students can access the government which represents them, making it easier to directly facilitate vital changes in the way UT is being run.

The triumphant pair were also extremely sincere in their acknowledgment of the good fight put up by opponents, Andrew Argue and Elbin Keeppanasseril.

“We take our hats off to the opposition,” said McCarthy.

“They’re both great guys- qualified, intelligent and dedicated- and together we put on the biggest election ever to hit UT.” Argue and Keeppanasseril were disappointed at their loss.

“Huth and McCarthy were obviously more qualified and had more experience,” Argue said. “I think we made a really good run for it.”

They both enjoyed the campaign.

“I enjoyed the process.” Argue said. “Although we didn’t win, we had a great time.”

Retiring SG President, Andrew Learned, expressed his best wishes for the Huth and McCarthy administration, imparting a final lesson of experience and deeplyfelt conviction to the newly elected candidates.

“Always remember to defend student rights with all your available passion,” Learned said. “Realize that you work for them and not the administration.”

The first ever SG Senators were also included in this year's

election. Alex Caraballo, Art Linares, Ryan Linares, Mike Harrell Kate Magruder and Hannah Pothier won the election while Morgan Tanafon, Rockell Alhale and Dan Mixa were defeated.

Blackboard E-mail Tempers flew after several e-mails were sent out from the Argue-Keppanasseril camp. The first was sent through the Honors Program Blackboard account, and the second through the Student Government account, which is received by every enrolled student.

Soon after, another e-mail was sent to everyone in the Honors Program saying that they were in no way endorsing the ArgueKeppanasseril campaign. Huth and McCarthy names were bolded in the e-mail.

“It is important to note that Elbin Keeppanasseril did not receive permission from the Honors Program nor the Honors Council before sending the mass e-mail,” read the e-mail. “The Honors Program does not endorse any Student Government candidates.”

Argue said that every student has the ability to send the e-mail.

However, he did not know that the SG e-mail would go to everyone.

Argue also noted that the guidelines for Blackboard e-mails are not clear. They are different from global e-mails.

“It is not well defined anywhere,” Argue said. “There is a gray area with Blackboard.”

There are Global E-mail Guidelines, but nothing specifically for Blackboard e-mails. Argue said students have the e-mail lists available to reach people in their classes.

Keeppanaseril even asked Learned and he said it was fine.

Learned thinks using the system for student elections is fine, but the new election guidelines in the constitution will not allow the candidates to use the system.

“I don’t hold it against them at all,” Learned said.

Learned kept track of voting once the elections started. He said the e-mails helped them but not enough to win.

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

5

News

Summer Vacation: Some Students Opt for Leisure Over Work

By Kelsey Eisenbeis Special to The Minaret

With less than two weeks left of the 2008-2009 school year, University of Tampa students are getting ready to say their goodbyes and head home for summer vacation.

With the economy suffering the way it is, many students are feeling the anxiety and difficulty of finding a job for this summer.

Job Hunting “I still haven’t found a job yet. No where seems to be hiring.

Without a job I don’t know if I’ll have enough money to travel and visit my friends like I had planned to this summer,” Abby Antonick, a resident of St. Augustine, Fla., said.

Jonny White, who resides close by in Daytona Beach, can also relate.

“I’m a life guard and I’m thankful to even have my job back,” he said. “There have been a lot of older guys trying out because they lost their jobs this winter, and it’s making everything really competitive.”

The problem is not only affecting students from the United

Finals However, finding a job is not the only thing resting on students’ shoulders, with finals week soon approaching it’s crunch time on campus.

Juniors Lonnie Haynes and Lauren Sullivan agreed that they just want to get finals out of the way.

“I’m getting through it by just knowing that next year will Illustration by Joufla/MCT be my last,” said Sullivan.

Haynes’ answer was simple, States, but internationally, as well. “I’m ready for senior year to start,” Christen Morgan, an international he said with a smile. student from Jamaica, said, “It is Underclassmen do not seem especially hard finding a job right to handle the stress quite as well. now because of the economy be- Freshman Yehuda Galili said, “I’m ing in such bad shape. I’m going really feeling the pressure this seto have to start looking right away mester.” when I get home. Hopefully I’ll “I’m going to be living in the find something.” library,” added classmate Cait-

lin Oline. Despite studying, one thing seems to be keeping everyone hopeful: summer.

Traveling Abroad Freshmen Sam Hopkins and Maggie Redmond are packing for their two-week excursion to Ghana.

“It’s a faculty led trip across the whole country. We both took an African Literature and Pop Culture class, and now we’re going to be experiencing the culture we learned about first hand,” Hopkins said.

Chris Haynes will be spending three weeks of his vacation touring Germany, “I’m in Air Force ROTC so it is basically a free trip that does not require any physical training while I’m there, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

International student Felipe Manzo is going back to Argentina after being away from his home for eight months.

“I’m completely ready for break,” he said. “I’m so excited to see all my family and friends. The only thing I’m going to be doing that requires any work is training for swimming.”

Other students are planning to

relax and take it easy, as well, with plans to spend most of their time out in the sun.

Beach versus Pool “I train all day, every day for swimming in a pool. To me, a pool is for work, the beach is for play,” international student Felipe Manzo said with a smirk.

“I prefer the beach,” said freshman Arial Borrego. “I was raised on a house off the water, so the beach was practically my second home growing up.”

“I love the beach. I like to walk up and down the shores and enjoy the sights and sounds. I also enjoy the wild life you see at the beach. The pool is more of a lazy day activity for me,” freshman, Lucas McClain, said.

It is no wonder why these students chose the University of Tampa to spend their four years of college, “At UT we have it made: the beach on weekends and the pool Monday through Friday,” said sophomore,Jessica Kaufman.

“Life can’t get any better than this.”

Kelsey Eisenbeis can be reached at keisenbeis@ut.edu

UT Nannies Not Feeling Economic Crunch

By Zach Fraser Asst. A & E Editor

When they’re not in class, writing research papers or chowing down on burritos at Salsa Rico, a rising number of UT students are changing diapers and tucking tikes into bed to earn some extra cash.

Nannies are a growing population at UT, many accrediting the flexibility of college lifestyle to the ability to take on such a demanding job.

Fortunately for them, South Tampa’s demographics of younger and livelier families make it one of the best markets around for being a nanny.

Although the tax logistics of jobs such as being a nanny leave a lot of gray areas, the IRS sees a black and white truth: these jobs should provide taxable income.

Still, many nannies consider their “tax-free pay” as just one of many perks.

Junior Marta Garcia-Gutierrez Baez, has been a babysitter since she was 15 years old and has nannied for the entire three years she has attended UT. And while being a nanny during school requires certain skills, the job has proven to be not only fun but financially rewarding, as well.

“I usually charge $10 per hour for one or two kids, and usually anywhere from $13 to $15 for three kids,” said Garcia-Gutierrez Baez.

In this economy, single-income families are finding it harder to cover all their expenses, and many parents are heading back to work.

Nanny, Jess English, has seen the hard times affect families around the area, making demand for nannies that much higher.

“The economy has made it hard for most families,” said Eng-

cially to young college students, but the job is a rewarding experience in itself, nannies say.

“It’s amazing to watch them grow up,” Garcia-Gutierrez Baez said.

“To watch them become confident and loving; and then when they start to trust you and smile and call your name when you show up is great.”

GarciaGutierrez Baez says she’s constantly aware of the impact she Photo by Sweetmaphoto/flikr has on her charges’ lives, so she strives to learn lish. remember the lessons of her own “I see a lot of family members babysitters, who she still thinks going back to work. The families about. need more help around the house “The relationship just stopped when they’re gone.” after I grew up,” she said. “I wish On top of being a nanny, her- so badly that they knew where I self, English has started her own was and what I was doing today.” babysitter placement business.

While it is a time-consuming The economic downturn and job, being a nanny in college gives many parents’ active lifestyles students the means to do somehave combined for a flourishing thing extremely special. business.

Nannies say the experience The families she was origi- provides an opportunity to learn nally working for saw a need for about themselves and help another this service. grow up and mature.

“They even helped me exFor some, like Garcia-Gutipand,” she said. errez Baez, caring for children is English now has 45 families part of not just their present but that go through her for sitters. their future too.

English’s primary goal is “Being a nanny has taught matching up nannies with families me many things,” she said. “I now in need during these hard times. know I want to dedicate my life to The money is important, espe- children.”

Apr. 21 Meeting

•

New SG officers include: President Elect- Kelsie Huth, Vice President Elect- Chris McCarthy, Speaker of the Assembly Elect- Timur Aydin, Senators Elect- Alex Caraballo, Art Linares, Ryan Linares, Mike Harrell, Kate Magurden, & Hannah Pothier, Judicial Representative Elect- Mark Keislor

•

The new SG website is complete and up and running. The site includes: global Messages posted weekly, Finance Appropriation Forms, Event Planning Forms, List of all campus organizations

•

Catholic Student Organization will hold services will be held May 3rd at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 6 p.m.

The dinner is free for all UT students and faculty.

Participate in Research Earn up to $25 Seeking Female Students for a Research Study on Mood, Caffeine & Visual Judgments Eligibility & Details

• Nonsmoking women; 18 years or older • Must consume caffeine • Must not be pregnant • Must not have history of bipolar disorder • Study takes place on campus; 1 hour duration

How Can I Get More Info or Sign Up? Contact Dr. Mike Stasio (x3074) or mstasio@ut.edu Study has been approved by the IRB

6 From “Adviser”: Front Page McKenzie said he was qualified for the listed requirements, which were posted as a MA or Ph.D..

The hired person would be an assistant professor and would create a journalism major and minor and advise the newspaper.

“Admissions even got involved,” he said. “Incoming people wanted this journalism minor to start.”

McKenzie worked on the curriculum expansion and proposed a journalism minor and major. He advised The Minaret and spent hours working with students on difficult subjects.

The Contract Issue It was a three-semester contract, he said, and when it came up for renewal, the new contract said he had to have his dissertation completed by May 2008. If he didn’t, he said, he would be given a terminal one-year contract, which means his time at UT ended after that year.

McKenzie acknowledged that he was told he was fired because of contractual issues. He said, however, that he saw it as two issues in one.

“I think the bigger issue is the academic issue,” he said.

“And I think that’s the reason they described the need to have a Ph.D. The need to have some balance in the journalism program.”

McKenzie said that Don Morrill, dean of the College of Arts and Letters, told him they wanted him to continue to work toward a major and a minor and finish the Ph.D. “I didn’t know it [the Ph.D.] was going to be part of my contract,” he said. “I was a little caught off guard by that. And I received it the night that it was due and signed it and slid it under the provost’s door, and I wasn’t really able to ask too many questions about it.”

McKenzie said afterwards, no one in the department knew where the decree for having the dissertation done by a particular date, May 2008, came from. He said that he assumes it was the provost or the dean that set the date.

“But I would think if you’re going to put something like that into a contract you would tell the person,” McKenzie said. He added that looking back, he probably should have taken some more time before signing it.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t be an issue based on the time that I signed it and having that summer to work on it, not knowing what I would face in the next year and a half.”

Personal Problems McKenzie battled sciatica, a crippling back pain disorder, starting in December 2006. It limited his mobility, he said, and left him with little time to work on anything but classes.

He took his case to his dean.

“I went to Morrill and said, ‘Look, I’ve been having problems.

I need to figure out what’s going on. I don’t want to fight my health, UT and UNC,’” McKenzie said. “I felt the duty to UT to do my best to not let the various issues [with the dissertation] at UNC affect UT.” Morrill denied him, McKenzie said, but the provost extended the

News deadline after consulting with other English department colleagues.

When May rolled around, the dissertation was still incomplete, but McNew had thrown him a new lifeline: he had until the end of the summer.

A number of family and health problems limited his access to UNC, McKenzie said. In the fall of 2006, three of his committee members, who would review his dissertation, passed away. He had to find new members, and quickly.

Some of his family members got sick, and, since they all live in the south Florida area, he was only able to stay in Chapel Hill a short while.

While he returned to UNC to finish his work, he left behind his doctors. He became sick again and lost weight.

“I was happy to have the extension, don’t get me wrong,” McKenzie said. “But it wasn’t without its complications.”

An Extension, A Termination McKenzie’s dissertation was still incomplete after the summer and the provost extended the deadline again, this time to Jan. 20, 2009.

With the dissertation still incomplete after the fall semester, McKenzie was informed that his contract would not be renewed.

He would not return to teach in the fall, and the adviser position would be filled.

Ultimately, the provost said, it was a contractual issue. Despite his work in the classroom and with the newspaper, he had not completed his Ph.D. and would not be returning.

An Appeal McKenzie said he attempted to appeal the decision, but ran into problems. His grievance was sent to his department chair, who forwarded it to Morrill. He said he never heard back from Morrill, but later received an e-mail saying he had missed the deadline.

Morrill said that the situation was best to be kept private and could not comment any further.

McKenzie said he didn’t miss the deadline, but rather never received an e-mail from Morrill about the grievance prior to the deadline.

Contract Questions Asked if McKenzie had been given an opportunity to share his side with the provost and department during his firing, McNew said it wasn’t appropriate to discuss.

Morrill was also unable to comment on the situation.

It is unclear whether or not McKenzie’s final contract was terminal.

“I received a contract that said, in my mind and many of my colleagues have the same reading, that if I didn’t finish [the dissertation], I would have what they call a terminal year,” McKenzie said. “The contract didn’t say that if you don’t complete your Ph.D. by this date, this will be your last contract or that your contract won’t be renewed. It said that the contract would turn into a terminal contract.”

The understanding of many people involved, McKenzie said, was that just as someone who didn’t get tenure, he would have a year to find other employment.

“It never entered my mind that come this May I’d be out of

work,” McKenzie said. “It was one of the worst periods of my life when suddenly I’m told, ‘Look, in six months if you don’t have your Ph.D. in hand, then you don’t have a job next fall.’”

Mckenzie said he was told this in either December or January.

Unlike some other professors who have been fired or denied tenure, McKenzie will not be allowed back in the fall while he looks for other work. “ T h a t ’s b a c k t o t h o s e contractual issues that are ruled by the faculty handbook and by which follow guidelines of the AAUP,” McNew said. “And those contractual obligations that I was talking about were discussed with the AAUP following the guidelines.”

McKenzie said he had a very different reading of the contract.

“That was when my department came to my defense and said, well, A, we don’t have anyone to replace Charles between May and August and, B, we don’t want to lose him.”

McKenzie said that he never believed he was completely innocent.

“There were mistakes that I’ve made along the way. There were times I could have made decisions differently,” he said. “But when faced with the decision that was between doing something for the university and doing something for myself, I consistently chose the university.”

He said that he thought it was meaningful to build up a good reputation, and that one faculty member told him to keep doing what he was to build up his case.

“That’s why I was surprised and my colleagues were surprised when she [the provost] said nothing else matters besides the Ph.D.,” he said. “One of my colleagues said it seems that at this point the journalism program could find a cure for cancer and none of that’s going to matter unless you have your Ph.D.” McKenzie acknowledged that he may not have been “very wise” in how he chose to spend his time.

He said that for a lot of people, the confusion came from the amount of time he was able to spend in the classroom and with The Minaret.

He said that many people might not have understood how he had time to build a program from the ground up while rebuilding the student newspaper.

“The simple fact is that when I took this job, I made a commitment to my students,” he said.

If that meant answering questions students have over the summer when he is off or at 1 a.m., McKenzie said he is happy to do that.

“If you’re going to help produce responsible journalists in this day and age, you need to have people who understand both the challenges and the power of that 24/7 news cycle,” he said. “So that’s not something that’s a nine to five job.”

McKenzie said that some have questioned why he chose to invest his time in this rather than in this dissertation.

“I did what I could and I did also what I had to do,” McKenzie said. “But I think that commitment to my students and the commitment

The Minaret | April 24, 2009 to the journalism program was always at the forefront.”

McKenzie said he could have made it a lot easier on himself by canceling classes and cutting down on the number of stories he has his students work on in order to finish his dissertation, something that was recommended to him.

“That’s always seemed selfish,” he said.

McKenzie said he understood why the university would be frustrated with him for not completing his dissertation, but added that he was under the impression that whatever difficulties he was having would be understood in a greater context.

The Replacement McNew said that there was someone in mind to replace Charles McKenzie, a new hire with an extensive background in communications.

“That’s part of faculty hiring and so there are a couple of different ways we’re looking at that,” she said. “The Minaret adviser is part of the faculty position always. We have made some hires just recently that allow for us to replace that.”

Stephanie Tripp, the person who will replace McKenzie, has a Ph.D. and will be on tenure track.

Tripp graduated from UT in 1983 and is a former Minaret assistant editor-in-chief.

“No Correction” Needed “ P r o f e s s o r M c K e n z i e ’s employment arrangements with the University of Tampa had nothing to do with The Minaret,” McNew said. “In fact, I think he’s done a good job with The Minaret.”

McNew said that she found no faults with McKenzie as adviser to The Minaret but that it was contractual issues that led to his firing.

“There’s no correction of The Minaret adviser that we’re looking for,” she said, adding that she could not comment on the specifics of personnel issues. “In my opinion, and I’ve said this in the past, The Minaret is a superb student newspaper.”

The Minaret has won backto-back awards as the top college paper by the Florida College Press Association.

When asked if she believed in a free press on college campuses, she replied that she did.

McNew did not comment when asked if she had offered McKenzie’s job to a staffer in Public Information who writes brochures and other materials for the university.

When asked if the provost had found any faults with him as adviser, McKenzie said there were specific things mentioned that she found him to be at fault for, but recently according to her, there was nothing relevant.

McKenzie said that as of Monday, the provost said she never had any issues with him as adviser.

“I don’t know what to think,” McKenzie said. “I hear these things secondhand, I hear them from people who don’t have a lot of motivation to lie about these things.”

Lack of Acknowledgement Asked if he believes the provost has been supportive of The Minaret, McKenzie said to base that decision on actions.

“There are people who think

that by not overtly standing in the way of a student newspaper, that you are supporting the paper,” he said. “But it’s been interesting to me that this is the first time The Minaret has received praise from the administration. These are things that have never been conveyed to me directly before this.”

McKenzie said that after The Minaret won seventh place in best of show for a newspaper web site, he tried to announce it through the department and the entire university and didn’t hear anything from a single administrator.

When The Minaret also won top Florida college newspaper for the second year in a row, McKenzie said no one would announce it and that he didn’t receive any reply from administrators.

“I’ve kept all of the letters The Minaret has received in praise of their efforts to improve,” he said, adding that not one was from an administrative official.

“I did care that I didn’t receive something back,” McKenzie said, referring to the announcements he sent about the awards. “But it’s more about the students receiving the recognition they deserve.”

The Future of the Journalism Major McNew said that she has a lot of high hopes for the future of the journalism program at the University of Tampa.

“We think it’s a very good fit for the kind of things we like to do that mix liberal arts background and training with an aim and a kind of profession,” she said. “In a way, I’d just say it’s just a very good fit for the University of Tampa and what we do here.”

McNew said that she sees the program becoming more of an interdisciplinary major between the English and communication departments since both have elements of what journalism is now.

Currently, UT only has a journalism minor. McNew said that plans for a journalism major have been slower than she would like to see for a variety of reasons.

“Some of [the reasons] have to do with working through some hiring issues in both English and communications in such a way that we have people in place who can advance that journalism major forward,” she said. “So we’re very glad for instance to have hired John Capouya [assistant professor of journalism].”

Judy Hayden, chair of the English and Writing departments, also said that the departments are still moving the major forward.

“It’s an ongoing process and we are excited about it,” Hayden said. “It is very important to us.”

Morrill is optimistic about the future of the journalism major.

“I have been a lobbyist for the journalism program since I became a dean,” Morrill said.

McKenzie said he built the curriculum for both the major and the minor, but that he is disappointed that he won’t be around to see them evolve.

He said he will almost cetainly finish his dissertation this summer.

In the interest of full disclosure, McKenzie did not see this article before it went to press, nor did he know of its contents prior to press time.

7 News A True “Balsero” Made His Way to UT Valet Today Out of Business The Minaret | April 24, 2009

By David Saginor Journalism I

He spent five days rowing throughtheCaribbean,twomonths atGuantanamoandmonthslaterhe found employment at the University of Tampa along with a home.

Jorge Alvarez was born in 1944 in Victoria de Tunas, Cuba, Alvarez’s pleasant demeanor and genuine smile are enough to have anyone convinced that he has lived a quiet life of relative ease. But, given the chance, all one needs to do is prompt him, and they’ll end up hearing a daring account about the realization of a dream.

“I am a balsero,” admits Alvarez, referring to the Cuban refugees who bravely risk their lives to flee from their country, usually on makeshift, flimsy rafts called “balsas.”

Alvarez’s own story as a “balsero” started in 1995 in Havana under a communist regime that has dominated the island for over half a century.

Alvarez, one of his sisters and nine friends rowed their way to freedom for five days in a poorly constructed boat made from seven inflated tractor tire inner-tubes.

“We saw many people on the sea who asked for our help, but we could not help them because the load was too much,” said Alvarez, looking crestfallen as he spoke of the other refugee rafts he saw 14 years ago. “There were children without adults. It was the worst thing in the world.”

Along his way to freedom, Alvarez’s tiny vessel was hit by a fierce nighttimestormthatdrenchedeveryone - and everything on board - for the remainder of the journey. Soon after the rain stopped, the sea and sweltering Caribbean heat induced madness in some of those with him.

With each hour that went by, the group got a little closer to freedom.

But the ride and the dream came to a sudden end just off the Florida Keys. The Coast Guard apprehendedthegroupandsenteveryone aboard back to Cuba, bound for Guantanamo Bay to be dealt with.

In 1995, just like today, Guantanamo Bay was an active U.S. military base. However, it would be many years later until it would

sociated with it.”

UT simply recommends storage facilities, and there is no cost With the school year coming for the university to allow Valet to a close, students are starting to Today to provide a service to the make plans for the summer. students.

One obstacle a student may Questions were posed from face is what to do with all of their both students and parents about belongings. what other storage facilities were The University of Tampa will available. Nora Bugg claimed that no longer use Valet Today, the full- no one was upset. servicestorageunittheschoolused Junior, Tim Perez, said “I for the past three years, because used Valet Today last year, and it the company went out of business. is not a big deal that they went out According to Nora Bugg, as- of business because there are so sociate director of Residence Life, many other options.”

E-mails were sent out to all “We utilized Valet Today in 2006, students and parents to notify of 2007, and 2008. the storage change. The univer“In those three years a total of sity is recommending students use only 300 students used the service.

PODS or Public Storage.

Students did not seem interested in that type of service or the cost asBy Rebecca Zimmer Staff Writer

Photo by Charlie Hambos Alvarez’s wife, who works in Vaughn, holds a picture of the couple in the Central Park in 1973 Havana, Cuba. The text in the photo says, “You will be a page of gold in my life.”

connote detainees from the“War on Terror.”

“Two months in Guantanamo,” was the length of his time there said Alvarez. He and his companions lived the entire time in a tent provided by U.S. officials.

They were not alone, living amongst many others Cubans, as well as Haitians, who were also intercepted trying to immigrate to the U.S. “There were 30 or so thousand people living there,” he said.

The setback seemed nearly insurmountable. But it wasn’t too long before they were traveling again.

During this period, many of theCubansinGuantanamoescaped repatriation by being taken to Panama.

Alvarez, his sister and many other Cubans were among them. A fewmonthslater,becauseofhumanitarian reasons, the pair was allowed to come to Miami.

Once there, one of their brothers, who already lived in Florida, drove Alvarez to Tampa where he sought work.

In his lifetime, Alvarez has workedinconstruction,dry-cleaning and as a longshoreman. He was first hired by the University of Tampa to paint, but he decided to stay, later doing landscaping and then janitorial services, which is what he does today.

Despite his turbulent past—or perhaps because of it--the hardworking Alvarez has a pastime

that he loves more than anything else: “Visiting my family,” he said.

“When I’m not working, in my leisure time I visit my family.”

It wasn’t until nine years after Alvarez’s arrival in the U.S. that his wife was allowed to fly from Cuba to be reunited with him. They’ve been together 40 years.

His sister now lives in Miami and he has 11 other family members living in the U.S., almost all of whom live in Florida. A small remainder still resides in Cuba.

After Obama introduced plans to ease travel restrictions to Cuba, AlvarezandotherCuban-Americans will find it less difficult to return to the island of their ancestry.

He plans to visit this summer and looked delighted, though not without a slight air of reminiscent sadness.

“I am content,” he said. “They [Cuban-Americans] can see their friends, they can see their families. Before, if family was sick, we couldn’t see them. My daughter died in Cuba after an operation, and I couldn’t see her.”

But his pleasure isn’t without the realization that America’s longstanding trade embargo, referred to on the island as the “bloqueo” is far from over.

“I am happy here, but I dream that Cuba will be free and that there will be more opportunity and that they will get rid of the bloqueo,” Alvarez said. “This is what I wish for the future of my country.”

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Paper copies of the FAFSA are available by calling the Department of Education at 1-800-4-FED-AID.

This friendly reminder is brought to you by your Financial Aid Office...

Tel: 253-6219 or Visit us in Plant Hall Room 427

8

Diversions

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

By Linda C Black Tribune Media Services

Aries (March 21-April 19) Make sure your people know what to do and they’ll race off and do it. Then, figure out what you need to do to make sure the money comes in. The business part is up to you. You’re much better at that.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Ask the person who always seems to know what’s going on. If you’re in agreement, no problem.

If you’re not, start making plans.

Nobody takes care of you as well as you do.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) Hang out with your buddies as much as you can now; your team is hot. They’ll keep you motivated, but they won’t exactly carry you.

They need you to keep them on course.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) Your friends are a constant source of comfort and inspiration to you. Take time in your busy schedule to keep them up to date.

They love hearing from you.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Being enthusiastic is wonderful, in the right time and place. Keep a lid on it now if you don’t want to get smacked with a ruler, figuratively speaking, of course.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Let your partner know exactly where you stand. No need to get angry. Be your calm, reasonable self. Listen as well as explain, of

by Austin Daniels

course. That makes the other guy feel included.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Somebody you know is eager to get started. He or she believes anything’s possible, and that may be true. Let this person be the one who goes to discuss it with the banker.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) The job is getting more amusing as you approach your goal. The prospects of success are imminent, much to your delight.

Plan on an extensive, intimate celebration this weekend.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You seem to wait until the last moment sometimes, which can be very stressful. Not to you _ you’re used to it. It’s stressful to the others. Do them all a favor and finish what you promised.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Changes will be required to get things just the way you want them.

You might even have to make a mess. Dig around and prepare the soil for whatever you’re going to grow.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) The money coming in will be irregular for a while. Sometimes it’s less than expected, sometimes it’s more. Spend it on family expenses, with their cooperation.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) You have about a thousand things you’d like to accomplish at once. You should know by experience now that’s not a good idea. Focus. Don’t get scattered.

Do one thing at a time.

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

Arts & Entertainment

9

From “Gym Class”: Front Page

crowd favorites “Taxi Driver” and “Clothes Off!” Without a doubt, the best moment of the After Time.” night was when GCH played their hit single, After Quietdrive exited and an intermission, “Cookie Jar.” As the intro to the song sounded, the unique sound of Chester French took the the light show illuminated a portrait of hands stage. Whether you loved or hated this band, raised and fans cheering along to what seemed they were quite entertaining. The eclectic range to be the UT audience’s favorite song. of sounds and over-the“I like girls, they like me, they look so top antics provided for good, in they great eye candy.

Seven jeans,” Chester French the chorus entered the concert goes. “Want with a bang asking UT you to be the students the question, one and my “Are you guys ready only, I want to to f***?” be faithful, but This brought I can’t keep my laughter and chuckles hands out the from UT students and cookie jar.” was foreshadowing As the band of what was to come concluded their from these Harvard nearly 75 minute alumni. set list and left The band the stage, most played roughly UT students eight songs, a few proved that they of which were off had never been to their free album, a concert.

“Jacques James Nearly half Vol. 1: Endurance.” the crowd exited Make sure to go thinking the show to chesterfrench. was over to find com to download the band come your free album, back on stage to which features play an encore. appearances from Dumbfounded artists such as and embarrassed, Photo by Peter Ar rabal Lady Gaga, Diddy, Pharell the fans that had left and many more. sprinted back to catch the final It’s safe to say that act of the night to find the the UT crowd was lead singer not present on beginning to become stage. anxious with nearly Before you “This year was way better 40 minutes knew it, the than last year... Partly because of waiting crowd erupted time between and revealed they were more into the crowd, C h e s t e r McCoy in literally and figuratively.”

French and the middle Gym Class of theUTSCS-071 crowd. Npp Ad REV.indd -Michael Seitzler Heroes sets, but A rock star as the sun set and amongst more students flooded UT students into Plant Park, Gym Class proved to be all Heroes finally took the stage and the it needed for most girls adrenaline kicked back in. as they mauled the lead singer as he exited the UT students began to go wild as the lights crowd and show for good. dimmed and the band entered playing, “Peace I found myself several times throughout Sign/Index Down.” the show being absolutely blown away by Gym “Forget every f****** thing your teachers Class Heroes stage presence. They were truly have taught you,” shouted lead singer Travis sensational live, and, above all else, seemed to McCoy as he took the stage. be having a great time playing to our campus.

At this point, if you were to look to the back While a lot of UT students may have of Plant Park it would seem as UT students were never heard of Gym Class Heroes before last being evacuated out of the dormitories and into week’s concert, it is safe to say that the band the concert as tons of students swamped the is probably currently being played on many venue. students’ iTunes. I know they’re on mine right Gym Class Heroes continued to entertain as now. they rolled through a few more songs and into their breakout single, “Cupid’s Chokehold.”

Zach Fraser can be reached at zfraser@ Once again the band humored and won ut.edu. students over as they preached, “scream like there’s a new president in this m*****f****!”

Check out Gym Class Heroes at www.

Gym Class Heroes had everyone in Plant myspace.com/gymclassheroes Park on their feet as they continued to play

Heat things up! ’09 SUMMER SESSIONS s %ARN CREDIT FASTER s 3ATISFY PREREQUISITES s 3NAG HARD TO GET CLASSES

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1

2/16/09 1:46:03 P

A fan looks out at the stage Photo by Abby Sanford

10

Arts & Entertainment

TheMinaret Minaret||April April10, 24,2009 2009 The

Quietdrive’s Kevin Truckinmiller sings to the UT crowd Photo by Abby Sanford

Chester French’s lead singer D.A. Wallach dancing on stage

Photo by Abby Sanford

Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travis McCoy in the middle of the UT crowd Photo by Kara Wall

A lively UT audience enjoying the show,

Photo by Peter Arrabal

Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travis McCoy sings in the second annual Party In The Park

Photo by Stephan Koch

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

11

Arts & Entertainment

Photo Illustration by Max Roberts

The exclusive interview with Gym Class Heroes guitarist

By Zach Fraser Assistant A&E Editor

Zach Fraser: For a UT student who hasn’t heard your music, how would you describe your sound?

Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo: Um, I think I’d just say it’s rooted in hip hop but influenced by everything, that’s about the best description I can give you ‘cause it’s all over the place.

ZF: Very few bands can say they’ve toured with such a wide variety of genres. You’ve toured with The Academy Is… and Fall Out Boy and on the last tour with Lil’ Wayne and T-Pain, is there a genre you prefer to tour with?

DL-K: No, I mean, not necessarily. I would say I really enjoy touring with the Academy and Fall Out Boy because we know those guys so it’s kind of like going out with old friends. But I think every tour we go on is a new experience, we can take something away from each of those.

ZF: How has the crowd been reacting to the new album, “The Quilt?”

DL-K : Good. It’s been a really good reaction I think, especially on this last tour. We have done, like you said, arena tours before.

We did that with the All American Rejects and Fall Out Boy but Lil’ Wayne was the first hip-hop arena tour we ever did and it was really cool to see the fans react really well, cause’ on tours like that there are a lot of people who don’t know Gym Class Heroes or maybe they’ve only heard “Cupid’s Chokehold,” so it feels good to win over new fans every time.

ZF: Is there a favorite song of yours of the new album?

DL-K: Um, I have a couple.

I like “Live a Little” and “No Place to Run.” I really like “Live Forever,” it’s a really meaningful one too. But I think that answer changes everyday ZF: On your Last album, “As Cruel as School Children” you had appearances from William Beckett of The Academy Is… On this new album you have appearances from The Dream and Busta Rymes, is that a testament to the direction the band is going in?

DL-K: I wouldn’t say necessarily, I think that those

appearances we felt would work well for those songs so we got a hold of those people. Actually Busta Ryhmes heard the song we were working on while we were in the studio and Travis was in the studio and then he was like, “I gotta get on this, I gotta get on this,” so I think in that case even he wanted to be on the song and pursue that. I think people only make guest appearances on any song that we have, I think its more important to us that the song fits the person who’s playing with us rather than getting someone for the sake of getting a name with us.

ZF: I noticed a few college shows after tonight, maybe a handful, but not too much after that, do you know what the future entails for the band?

DL-K: I think we’re going to be writing for most of the summer and yeah, that’s the only plan right now which is kind of cool because I haven’t had a summer in like five years, so it’s kind of sweet.

ZF: You know the whole thing is going on with the music industry, how it’s changing, with online piracy and everything. As an artist, how does that affect your band and how do you view it?

DL-K: Well, financially speaking it takes away from the band because, you know not that bands really get that much off of record sales, but the record labels do. When the record labels lose money, then they start holding back on the money they allocate [to the band] but, in terms of people hearing the music I mean it’s really good actually because it allows more people to get access to our music so I think it’s kind of just changing the way that music works, which happens you know, every so often, you had tapes and CD’s and then CD’s with burning and after that came the whole digital revolution so I think it’s just a natural evolution of music.

I think it’s good to find ways to evolve with it, which I’m sure will happen, but it’s a new thing so it’s a real transitional period for the music industry. But I’m still for what it holds in the future, because I think that people are going to start taking music into their own hands more and they’re relying less on labels which could be a good thing

so we’ll see.

ZF: What bands have influenced you and the band as a whole?

DL-K: As a whole I’d say probably the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the very very early Black Eyed Peas stuff, as far as me personally a lot of music has influenced me. When I was first getting into guitar I’d say bands like Green Day, Nirvana, the alternative music. And I think later in college underground hip-hop and hip-hop in general and at this point it’s whatever I think sounds cool, I listen to, I’m really into Muse, I think they’re amazing.

ZF: I know you’re on the record label Decadyance which is part of Fueled By Ramen which is in Tampa so is anyone going to be here from the record label tonight?

DL-K: Probably (laughs). I don’t know actually. But there was one of our friends I knew was gonna be here, but she can’t because she has to do some teaching stuff.

ZF: Has there been any differences in the college shows compared to a normal crowd that would buy tickets as is, have you noticed any differences in the crowd?

DL-K: Yeah, the transition between the Lil’ Wayne tour and this. It’s hard to tell differences in the crowd, but in terms of the overall show, these shows are a lot more intimate because we’ve been playing arenas. It’s kind of a little bit harder to connect with the individual people because there’s so many, but these shows are cool. They’re a lot more laid back and people kind of come to these shows I think like chill out and have a party mentality which is just really cool.

ZF: And finally, what do you expect from the UT audience tonight?

DL-K: Debauchery (laughs), madness, just a good time I hope.

It’s cool ‘cause we’ve been playing a couple outdoor shows and spring is finally here so we’re coming out of the east coast where it still might be snowing, so it’s good to get out.

To hear the interview, make sure to tune into WUTT 1080 AM, or campus cable channel 95.

Zach Fraser and Mel Steiner in an exclusive interview with Disashi LumumbaKasongo. Photo by Abby Sanford

Chester French guitarist Maxwell Drummey on stage Photo by Lauren Moon

UT student Julissa Veloz warms up Photo by Stephan Koch

Arts Arts & & Entertainment Entertainment

12 14

TheThe Minaret |April 3, 2009 Minaret | April 24, 2009

Student Film Debuts in Reeves Theater

By Jackie Maass Staff Writer

Easy-Made Entree: Veal Parmigiana

By Michelle Magner Staff Writer

Veal is delicious with a side of pasta and marinara sauce or garlic and oil.

This recipe is more than enough for two people, and with the leftovers you can make veal sandwiches for lunch.

Although veal can be a bit on the pricey side, you can always freeze what you don’t use.

Photo by Michelle Magner

Ingredients: 4 tbsp. olive oil 1/4 cup flour Pinch of salt Pinch of pepper 3 lbs. thinly sliced veal cutlet 1 (24 oz) jar tomato sauce 1 cup low fat mozzarella cheese

Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pour olive oil in a pre-heated pan on the stove.

Lightly salt and pepper each piece of veal, then roll it in the flour.

Sauté for approximately seven minutes on each side.

Place in 8x9 baking dish with

a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Place veal in the sauce, and pour rest of jar over veal.

Put mozzarella cheese on top.

Cover pan with aluminum foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Reeves Theater was the host for the premiere of Austin Daniels’ new documentary film, “The Rules We Follow.”

The documentary featured the problems with UT’s current alcohol policy, specifically, how it got passed in the first place.

All fingers seem to point to miscommunication and bad timing.

Daniels interviewed Student Government President Andrew Learned and Associate Dean of Students Gina Firth and senior Stephanie Dutka to try to set the record straight.

The mix-up seems to have occurred when emails were sent out to SG members over the summer, when many students were out of state and not checking their messages regularly.

“I wanted to air this in a public arena to all students,” Daniels said.

“The rules were not cohesive. They were not passed in the manner they should have been.”

The major change to the policy was the number of “strikes” students can receive before they are no longer allowed to live on

campus. Previously, it was not until the third strike that students lost housing privileges. The new policy, which took effect during the 2007-2008 school year, was decreased to two strikes.

In essence, students could lose their housing in one night, since offenses count as one strike each. To try to make amends, an alteration was made to the policy.

“They have changed it to where there are recommended sanctions, a guideline we should go by. But it’s really hard to go against what’s written in a book when it says it’s recommended,” Daniels said.

He continued, “I feel like we’ve been deceived. I’m upset about the way [the policy] was made. We weren’t represented. I made this documentary strictly for the students.”

The documentary follows Daniels on his search for answers, which included a late night surprise visit to McKay hall.

The video will be on You Tube soon.

The alcohol policy was supposed to be up for review after two years.

Jackie Maass can be reached at jmaass@ut.edu

Crowds Gather for the International Fete

By JP Busche Staff Writer

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Flags from multiple countries and students dressed in traditional clothes swarmed around Vaughn Courtyard. International and American students gathered together to celebrate diversity.

Smoking Hookah, picking from a number of dishes such as garlic bread, curry chicken and sushi keeps everybody busy.

Furthermore, the event had an interesting program, encompassing different cultural performances.

Among those appearances were the Kuumba Dancers and Drummers, who not only entertained the gathered audience but also animated everybody to participate by teaching basic dance moves of Fuga, a Liberian dance.

Although UT’s own Capoeira Group didn’t teach on stage, they gave an impressive performance of Brazilian Martial Arts, accompanied by traditional Brazilian music.

Not to forget the belly dancing, which animated several students to shake their whips. Although the evening was a little windy, the event didn’t lose any appeal.

After the groups gave a second performance, international students from Trinidad and Tobago shared their traditional way of dancing, just to be joined by other students from other Caribbean countries, and finally from students from all over the world.

Coming out to the event was a decent mix between fun and active learning, as junior Shady Gamaleldeen recognized, “The event brings UT students from all over the world together, and I enjoy to get to know them, as well as their culture.”

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Arts & Entertainment

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

Xbox Produces Average Rip-Off For Video Game Fans

Photo by Uriondo/flickr.com

By Austin Ashby Staff Writer

What would happen if “God of War” and “Ninja Gaiden” had an illegitimate child? Software has blessed the world with only an average child of the family.

Anyone looking at “Ninja Blade” would assume that it is a rip off of “God of War,” “Ninja Gaiden” or, to an extent, “Devil May Cry.” By all accounts, you couldn’t tell the person they were neither wrong nor right. “Ninja Blade” takes many components from acclaimed action-adventure titles and puts its own spin on the genre-- one I did not expect to see.

The combat is fun, for the most part. The main character has three swords to select from, all of which have their own unique property.

There is the default blade (which will work for most situations), the twin blades which allow the character to attack faster and the big block-like blade that will smash enemy shields. Then there are three styles of ninjustu: wind, fire and thunder. If you played

any other type of action-adventure games, the style of “Ninja Blade” will be familiar, but the combat works quite well, where many in the genre had been broken.

The biggest surprise that comes along with “Ninja Blade” that makes it different from rest of the genre is the amount of quick-time events. You can expect to be in a sequence of quicktime events for about half of the time. Where many games have failed to implement these quicktime events, “Ninja Blade” has succeeded.

“Ninja Blade” consists of a 50:50 ratio of generic random enemies and terrifically made bosses. The boss looks almost as great as the design that would be in “Resident Evil.” From Software certainly took the time to make great looking bosses, which are quite fun to fight, with amazing over-the-top finishing moves to end it all. The enjoyment is limited when not fighting the bosses, and it is simply not as fun when you’re fighting an epic demon.

“Ninja Blade” is following a trend that was established back

in the late 90s; that is a horrid save-point system that the game follows. There’s a problem when giving out a ton of checkpoints during a mission. None of them will keep your data until you finish the mission. Each mission, with the exception of one, will take around 45 minutes to complete.

The story in “Ninja Blade” is serviceable. You play as Ken Ogawa, who is part of a team to rid Tokyo of a parasite infection that’s taking over the city. There are plot twists Technically speaking, “Ninja Blade” is a mess. The art style chosen for it is simply ugly and generic. The game looks decent, nothing awe-inspiring, and barely pressing into the “good” area.

Frame rate is another issue the game has.

Another problem with the game design is how generic the design level can be. None of the them were terribly interesting, and one of the missions will repeat a level. The game actually had the audacity to pretend this repitition is a good thing by awarding an achievement. No, that is a horribly bad idea.

For no reason at all, some characters go from speaking English to Japanese. What’s even worse about the situation is that the Japanese and English voice actors sound so different. It is simply moronic.

The musical score is good for the setting of the game, while it won’t remain in your head after you finish playing; it is nice to say you will enjoy the music while playing through the game.

Pending on the skill level of the player, it will take around seven to ten hours to finish the campaign

of the game. It is a decent length for an action-adventure game.

There is hardly a reason to go back and play through it a second time, though.

The game offers some costumes to find (which are hideous to look at). Furthermore, there are several collectibles to pick up to increase health and chakra along the way. Basically, after finishing the game, it will be either collecting dust or heading back to its nearest retailer in exchange for cash.

“Ninja Blade” does do enough not to be called a pure rip-

off of “Ninja Gaiden” or “God of War.” While it is obvious that the developers took some components from them, they work for the game.

“Ninja Blade” is a fun enjoyable game when fighting bosses, while it is tedious when fighting the waves of generic enemies.

Given more time in development, this could have been the next “God of War” Microsoft has been trying to get exclusively on Xbox, but it did not reach its potential. Hopefully the next child “Ninja Gaiden” and “God of War” have will be a talented child as opposed to an average one.

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“Fighting” stars Channing Tatum as Shawn MacArthur, a toughened young counterfeiter who finds a place for himself in New York’s underground street fighting scene. However, as MacArthur (Tatum) starts to attract attention, he realizes success may not be worth compromising his principles.

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A Little Friendship Goes a Long Way Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Fox offer two stirring performances in “The Soloist.” When struggling journalist Steve Lopez (Downey) crosses paths with Nathaniel Ayers (Fox), an eccentric homeless man, he does what he can to help. What he needs most now is a friend.

Director: Joe Wright Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 109 min

Oh No She Didn’t Beyoncė Knowles, Ali Larter and Idris Elba star in “Obsessed,” a thrilling drama about a love triangle gone wrong. When Sharon Charles (Knowles) finds out there might be something going on between her husband (Elba) and his secretary (Larter), the two women go head to head.

Director: Steve Shill Rating: PG-13 Running Time: unknown

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The Minaret | April 24, 2009

Words Speak Louder Than Laws “Language” from Front Page

-ed to their elders, why is it that we use so many homophobic slurs in everyday conversation?

Every minority in this nation yokes the burden of ethnic slurs.

H o w e v e r, e a c h s l u r h a s remained essentially within its own linguistic territory.

They don’t have meaning outside their particular context.

Yet, “gay” has meaning outside its literal context.

It’s flung around like any other adjective in the dictionary.

It’s simply grating to hear people use “gay” to mean stupid or pointless.

You don’t know how many times I cringe when I hear people use “fag” as an all-purpose putdown.

They’ve become the ultimate insults, yet when used to describe a person who isn’t gay it literally has no meaning.

I can call my last cup of Ramen a deep-dish pepperoni pizza, but it’s still a cup of Ramen.

The word is effectively removed from its context; why then is it such an affront to the heterosexual—particularly male— ego?

How does it possess a gutjerking reaction to assert one’s heterosexuality if there is no need to?

“Gay” and its more derogatory ilk is unique among disparaging labels because it crosses race and age, defies context and represents

an anxiety within heterosexuals.

It implies weakness, deviation from the norm.

Frankly, it’s homophobia—a fear of being labeled a homosexual.

In high school, I heard young men berated for petty things like acting in a play, being a painter or simply being a dedicated, wellbehaved student.

But, the word’s power cuts deeper than being labeled gay.

At its root, the use of homophobic slurs has to do with being perceived as feminine.

It goes back to old-fashioned dichotomies of man/woman, strong/ weak, aggressive/passive and stoic/ sensitive.

Homophobia and sexism are related issues, at least in terms of how we use language to attack others.

After all, ethnic slurs don’t work on people who aren’t of said ethnicity.

However, calling a guy “bitch” provokes response, though the term doesn’t literally apply to him.

Then there’s the other old standard put-down, “suck it,” which goes back to the age old construct of sexual dominance and submission.

(Guess which gender would be submissive?)

Our politics may be catching up and our attitudes progressive, but unless we start talking and behaving in a way that articulates those sentiments, we’re just as backward as before.

Derrick Austin may be reached at daustin@ut.edu.

LETTER I’d like to make a correction about HART service between the University of Tampa and TIA as reported in an article titled “Students limited with rides to Tampa International” published in the April 15th edition of the Minaret.

On March 29th, HART increased frequency of service on Route 30 between downtown and the airport to 15 minutes all day on weekdays. The article references a “direct airport shuttle” that operates from the Marion Transit Center, noting that it is quite a distance from UT, and that there is no direct airport service from the university to the airport.

There is no such shuttle.

In fact, the bus line the writer is referring to is actually Route 30, which stops right in front of UT – again, every 15 minutes – and does provide direct (not non-stop) service to TIA, getting you there in about 35 minutes and dropping you off at the terminal, just outside the red baggage claim area.

So, if you’re standing at the bus shelter on Kennedy Blvd. in front of UT, you won’t have to wait more than 15 minutes for a bus on weekdays, you’ll get to

the airport in about a half-hour, and you won’t have to lug your bags all the way to Marion Street to get it. That’s actually some of the best bus service in the city!

As noted in the article, UT students can indeed purchase a discounted 31-day fare card in the OSLE office, but a one-way trip to the airport is just $1.75.

Route 30 does connect you to the Marion Transit Center at the north end of downtown Tampa’s Marion Street transitway, HART’s main transit hub. From there, you can hop on a bus and reach just about any other point in Hillsborough County.

I invite you to visit our website for maps, schedules and an online trip-planning feature powered by Google Transit. Our correct web address is www. goHART.org (incorrectly reported in the article).

I hope you’ll take another look at your transit system. You just might find that it suits your needs much better than you thought!

Kathy Karalekas Public Information Officer Hillsborough Area Regional Transit

Send Letters to the Editor to: daustin@ut.edu!

TO THE

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

CHEERS Last Two Weeks Of School Susan Boyle “Halo” Protesters Conservation And Recycling JEERS Last Week Before Finals Simon Cowell “Diva” Angry Mobs Wasting Electricity

Commentary

Editorial: Provost Missed Golden Opportunities A s a s t a ff , T h e M i n a re t is disappointed in the provost’s decision not to retain our adviser, Charles McKenzie.

While we are proud of the work we have accomplished with his guidance, we have identified a pair of major areas in which Provost Janet McNew could have exhibited personal and institutional growth.

The first is transparency.

Universities are designed to serve their primary customers, the students, by educating them and fostering a safe, open atmosphere for a few years of their young lives.

Things aren’t perfect here, or on any college campus. However, students were left in the dark for too long on a number of important matters.

In 2007, the Department of Education launched an inquiry into how the University of Tampa reports crimes after a Minaret article exposed lax procedures in notifying the campus about sexual batteries.

Colleges are required by law to report certain crimes in a timely fashion. Journalism students rarely understand the depth of these laws, but McKenzie’s vast experience with college newspapers helped us realize the violation that had occurred.

It was the perfect execution of the role of the adviser—to teach journalistic principals and to provide

legal and ethical advice. McKenzie has thoroughly upheld his duties throughout his three-and-a-half years at UT. If McNew wished for her office, and all aspects of UT, to be transparent, she would have seen through this contract façade.

She would have seen the promising work created by McKenzie’s leadership, not his failure to complete a degree in the time needed.

S e c o n d l y, M c N e w c o u l d have shown an honorable level of compassion. We fully understand that McKenzie did not complete the terms of his contract. We accept that.

However, it is an extraordinary burden to ask a man to complete a doctorate degree while fighting a number of family and health problems. It is also difficult to finish such a degree during the summer or winter, when dissertation committee members are also on break.

McNew showed a serious lack of compassion for his situation.

McKenzie is clearly valuable to his students, as is evidenced by his two adviser of the year awards and reportedly outstanding evaluations.

The realm of college journalism is constantly changing. Students have four years, on average, at a university. There has to be a constant,

15

and for 30 years at UT, Dr. Andy Solomon was that cornerstone.

After Solomon’s retirement, a qualified and dedicated replacement was found. His real-world experience and extensive classroom knowledge helped The Minaret grow from having a six-member staff to over 100 contributors.

With his guidance, we have won back-to-back awards as the top college paper in Florida.

The adviser position should be constant. It should be someone who endures the ebb and flow of students that pass through our door.

McKenzie had three-and-a-half years at UT, and his replacement is a one-year stopgap solution. Beyond that is a giant question mark.

The provost’s actions have endangered the future successes of The Minaret. This seems odd, considering her repeated statements that she loves the work The Minaret is doing.

Even odder, there have been zero congratulatory notes, phone calls or communications of any kind from the provost regarding awards we have received.

As chief academic officer, the provost reaps the rewards of the public relations boost when her university’s student publication wins state and national journalism awards despite the lack of a

journalism program. But still, the only communication we receive from her is that our adviser will not be allowed back, and that we had no input into the hiring of the next adviser.

The provost has been rumored to accuse McKenzie of writing Minaret editorials and articles. This is wholly untrue and an insult to the intellect and abilities of student members of our staff.

She was surprised that he offered advice on articles published in the summer months, saying that he was not paid during that time and should not be working.

Where is the logic in this?

Where is the transparency? Where is the compassion?

How can anyone be expected to act with dignity and trust in a university that treats its employees like this? How can students expect honesty from their administration when professors who are helpful end up kicked out the door?

Something needs to change.

Sooner or later, the students will realize the game that is being played with their education. McKenzie is not completely free of fault in this situation, and we realize that.

However, we firmly believe that his work with The Minaret and his dozens of journalism classes supersede the lack of a Ph.D.

home after tracking down the IP address used when one of the creators logged in from his cousin’s house in Boston.

Since then the creator convinced police that the threats were false, and they dropped their investigation.

However, the Pony B. Curtis account was shut down because Facebook forbids profiles of fake characters and users that antagonize others.

Pony B. wants to assure his fans that “the allegations are absolutely false.”

“I’m merely interested in making that Internet money,” Pony claims.

Recently Pony B. Curtis changed his name to Pony B. Courteous, rightfully, because Pony promises “to never again

antagonize my friends, I will only grace my fans with nothing but the utmost of courtesy.”

This Pony character has been getting a lot of attention even drawing some of Boston’s finest in on some of the action.

I really don’t see any harm in the profile.

It is actually a little fun trying to unravel who the master minds of this character are.

As long as no ponies go around threatening people, I say go ahead Pony, make your Internet money, but be careful because after reading this everyone will be trying to figure out just who you are.

Facebook Identity Blurs the Line Between Fiction and Reality This page included computer designed pictures and videos of this made up character that eventually grew to have over 300 followers worldwide.

From here in Tampa to Jersey and even in London and Barcelona,

By Stacy Vieux Columnist Pony B. Curtis grew famous and started fulfilling his dream of Social networking sites like “becoming an Internet star.”

MySpace and Facebook were But Pony B Curtis’ dreams meant for ran into a real people “I really don’t see any bump along to connect harm in the profile. the road and interact It is actually a little when some with one followers fun trying to unravel who f r o m a another.

T h e the master minds of this New Jersey thing that character are.” high school makes Pony b e g a n B. Curtis’ page a little different from sending hateful messages.

Pony B. Curtis, who till this day the rest is the page was designed to remains pretty much anonymous, profile a fictional character.

retaliated by creating videos that mocked the New Jersey anti-Pony followers.

This created a video war where things got really heated to the point that the followers took legal action by claiming that Pony B Curtis was going to “commit a mass murder at their high school.”

Pony B. Curtis denied these allegations releasing a statement exclusively to The Minaret saying: “These allegations are bordering on slanderous and are an exercise in impossibility as everyone knows that ponies cannot shoot guns.”

Some of the few people who know the minds behind Pony B. Curtis are the New Jersey and Boston police.

Officers showed up at a Boston

Stacy Vieux may be reached at svieux@ut.edu.

Curb the Use of “Excessories” to Conserve Dwindling Resources

By Philippa Hatendi Special to The Minaret

“Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders a man happy,” said Voltaire.

A poignant quote wouldn’t you agree?

All of us can recall incidences when excess resulted in a displeasing situation.

I come from Africa.

There, we hardly ever use more than we need, and even then, we still vie to find better alternatives to do something.

To cool down on a hot day, most people strip down and go outside, or go sit in the shade and take in some beautiful, fresh air.

We believe nothing lights dark rooms better than opening the curtains and letting the sunlight pour in.

In this aspect, America is certainly different.

On campus, I’ve found airconditioning to be an indispensable aspect of everyday life.

We have all gone into rooms with nobody present yet the airconditioning is still running at full blast.

Isn’t that a tad unnecessary? I think so. When you stroll through campus at night, notice how many lights are left on.

Though this makes for a beautiful ambiance and contributes to safety, my face drops when I think about how much of that electricity bill will show up on my tuition fees.

I’m sure we remember the recent raise in tuition.

All the energy we consume on a daily basis must be factoring into it somewhere.

How many “accessories” does it takes to sustain our comfort?

We should re-evaluate that number and decide if we could do

it better. I know we could.

Aristotle once said, “It is better to rise from life as from a banquet— neither thirsty nor drunken.”

As a child I was taught you should eat with your stomach, not with your eyes.

Most students are victims of eating without moderation.

We want more with our eyes, and it’s more than our stomachs can manage. The amount of food wasted as a result of serving ourselves to excess is quite staggering.

Especially when you don’t have to step too far outside the university to see someone who needs that food more.

This is the case when it comes to many things like paper, water, soap, tissue and electricity, among other things.

Perhaps, you should do “little big things” instead like printing double-sided or switching off the shower when shampooing your

hair.

Moderation and balance are far more faithful servants to humanity than gluttony and excess ever are.

I don’t suggest abstinence or quelling our “accessories” to the point that our lives become unlivable.

In fact, excess is necessary to the enjoyment of life and can be a very positive attribute.

Be excessive when it comes to the positives in life, not the negative.

Be excessive in the joy we give to the people around us, the gratitude we show, the nurturing of our individual souls and our education.

Hopefully, the next time you go to the cafeteria, or switch on the

Image by nookiez / Sxc.hu air-conditioning or leave the lights after class you’ll think about this article and ask one question: “Do I really need this much?”

Every big change in the world started little.

I’m asking you to take a couple of little steps in order for us to take big ones together.

Philippa Hatendi may be reached at phatendi@ut.edu.

Commentary

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

Mob Mentality Spoils Local Tea Party Protest

By Nicole Robinson Columnist

“Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind,” from Katha Upanishad Hindu treatises.

Signs reading OBAMA, MOUSOLINI, HITLER flew high in the air with yells of encouragement from other protesters.

“ALL HAIL THE SAUDI KING IT’S A MOSLEM THING!” and “OBAMA KILLS BABIES” were given a lot of attention; passersby cheered and honked their horns in approval.

Photos with synthesized images of Barack Obama and Osama Bin Laden graced many banners, posters and signs.

We stared in awe of this event while trying to find one coherent quote for our story. This turned out to be a lot harder than we thought.

People gathered around a stage listening to random people scream whatever came to mind.

On April 15, thousands across the United States gathered to exercise their first amendment right, frustrated at the current economic standing of our country, at “Tea Parties”—a reflection of the 1773 Boston Tea Party that was staged by fed up colonial Americans.

I love a good protest, just to shake things up and let people know that you are unhappy.

That is a special characteristic of our country we should appreciate and exercise.

Earlier that morning, I saw the coverage of Tea Parties in New York and Washington.

Though I did not agree with what they were protesting, I thought it was cool people were getting out and trying to get their voices heard.

A classmate from my journalism class and I decided to cover our local Tea Party.

We p r e p a r e d o u r s e l v e s mentally, but upon arriving at the “taxation protest” I realized no amount of preparation could prepare me for the mayhem.

It became clear after the first two or three interviews this was not a protest against rising taxes but an all out Obama grill session—all they needed were pitch forks and torches.

This was not a protest, but a disorganized mob; misled angry people who needed something or someone to rage against. Obama became their scapegoat.

Apparently in his 86 days, he caused all the turmoil they just now deemed fit to protest.

They clearly didn’t understand years and years of unsavory and irresponsible behavior by the governing bodies and others led to the economic problems we face now.

Yet they all seemed willing to forget the fact that the economy had been falling way before we even heard the name “Barack Obama.”

The final aspect of the protest that showed its misguided nature was how hard it was to get some of

that the Boston Tea Party was not a protest against a tea tax. The 1773 Tea Act gave the British East India Co. (and only that company) a tax break other colonial tea traders could not enjoy. The original Boston Tea Party was a protest against a cozy relationship between a large company and the government. The current protests would have been more appropriate during the last Bush administration.”

The protesters should have looked into that and learned a bit of their own country’s history before they went out on a rampage against the president.

Come on America, we have got to do better.

courage to make their point known to the public that almost always means one of two things: A) They know they don’t know what they are talking about.

B) They know that they are full of it and they don’t want others to discover that they are full of it.

These Tea Tax gatherings were the biggest display of misled frustration and ignorance I’ve ever seen.

If they focused on taxes, they would have had credibility, and my respect, but calling the president a “socialist fascist” was not the way to get a point across.

History teacher Edward Dziedzic made a good point in the Chicago Newspaper: “History lesson. As a U.S. history teacher, I feel I must remind the current-day ‘tea party’ protesters

those in the mob to speak their mind for the public to hear.

If I show up to a protest, I want anyone and everyone to know what I’m there for and what I’m mad about so that they can fix it.

There were people who were repressed by their profession.

Police and school administrators had to keep their views quiet, but there were the people who would scream and shout in a crowd, but once their name was on the line they would remain silent.

“You should ask someone else” or “No I wouldn’t like to speak,” they’d say bashfully.

Here’s a word of advice for future reference; a protest is not a place you go to “not speak.”

When they have a sudden surge of courage in an angry crowd which is easy to do but don’t have the

Nicole Robinson may be reached at nrobinson@ut.edu.

Photo by Kara Wall

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The Minaret | April 24, 2009

17

Commentary

Columnist’s Response to Global Warming Is Full of Hot Air

By Jason Creighton Special to The Minaret

for researching global warming for themselves, which unfortunately leads to opinions such as hers.

In Alyssa Lum’s article last She is not a climate scientist, week, she claimed that she disliked nor is she a clinical researcher. the term global warming, but I wouldn’t ask her for her she didn’t attack the term, she opinion on the toxic dose of attacked the scientific basis for epinephrine, nor would I ask for global warming. her for her opinion on global I f warming. her piece would “ H e r c o m m e n t s ask aIclimate had been analyzing come right from Rush s c i e n t i s t the media Limbaugh’s playbook how global impact of and they are loaded with w a r m i n g inciting fear works. and using logical fallacies such as H o w incendiary hasty generalizations.” ironic is language it that she to excite is doing people about global warming, she the same exact function that she would have criticized the media was criticizing in her original portrayal of global warming, not the piece: allowing the media to be science behind global warming. a mouthpiece for misinformation The science that proves earth dissemination. is warming and that humans have

Alyssa’s arguments are a tangible and measurable impact fundamentally lacking substance upon the earth is undeniably to them. evident, and the entire peerWhen she uses obscure reviewed community of legitimate r e f e r e n c e s t o f a c t s w i t h o u t scientists agrees. correlating them to their effect upon She also claimed that each the environment, she is misleading individual should be responsible people.

There are many integral parts that few people have the capability of understanding, and that is the biggest reason why the media doesn’t adequately portray the factors at play within global warming.

It’s not that they don’t care; it is that they don’t have an audience who can comprehend it.

Unfortunately the superficial surface is all the majority of people are capable of understanding in a 30 second spot in a newscast.

Alyssa’s statements mimic what is the biggest problem with these anti-intellectuals who refute global warming’s existence.

They use seemingly benign arguments that abstract the dangers within global warming.

Her comments come right from Rush Limbaugh’s playbook, and they are loaded with logical fallacies such as hasty generalizations.

These statements defraud an uncritical mind who is incapable of rationally connecting the different concepts in order to have a comprehensive picture of how global warming actually operates.

Her dismissive tone toward global warming is improperly

used as a “term” undermines the legitimacy of the science surrounding global warming.

Her assertion that “the earth doesn’t listen to us,” is a dangerous premise.

The assumptions inherent within that statement show that she lacks the depth to be able to identify how global warming operates.

When she claims “our emissions have only caused carbon dioxide levels to rise between five and ten percent,” it shows her inability to critically analyze the cause and effect relationships that are integral to comprehending the mechanisms that affect global warming.

Having a rise in carbon dioxide levels between five and ten percent is absolutely meaningless unless you correlate that statement to the following: 1.) the cause that this increase in carbon dioxide levels would have on global warming, 2.) the rate at which this accelerated carbon dioxide output is increasing, 3.) the future implications of heightened carbon dioxide output, and 4.) whether this dynamic is

either linear or exponential in its accelerated deterioration of the current delicate equilibrium that is the optimal environment for humans to live in.

Alyssa mentioned ice ages and other dramatic climate events very nonchalantly, however humans are adapted to this environment and we would not be able to thrive very well in arctic tundra, intense desert heat, or living underwater.

Finally, Alyssa claims that my arguments contradict themselves, which is erroneous.

There are multiple factors at play here, and the point I was making in my previous response was that we have to moderate between the incendiary tone that the media uses and the actual objective truth that is behind global warming.

Unfortunately, Alyssa was incapable of identifying the meaning behind that statement, so I could see why she would be confused. I suggest that Alyssa be more careful before she spreads more ignorance next time.

Robert Creighton may be reached at rcreighton@ut.edu.

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Sports

The Minaret | April 24, 2009

NFL Draft: Highs, Lows and Those Likely to Not Show

By Sam Gerb Sports Blogger

Years from now when I look back on the 2009 NFL Draft, I’m probably not going to remember any single special player.

This year’s draft will prove to produce one of the weakest classes in draft history.

Honestly, not one single player jumps out at me at all really and I’m not sure I would really want to spend the money on any of them if they went to my favorite team.

Top Players: Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry.

Curry is simply a freak of nature at his position and I think that even before he steps foot on the field he is the front runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

In Curry’s last two seasons at Wake he totaled 200 tackles, five sacks, five interceptions and three touchdowns.

If that’s not production then I don’t know what is. He is projected by most draft analysts to be taken by the Chiefs at the third overall spot and I anticipate the same happening. But Curry would be smart even to be the first overall pick in the draft even though the pathetic Detroit Lions are not going to consider that.

The team that does end up drafting Curry will be the happiest team when he starts running the show on the field.

Wide receiver Michael Crabtree, from Texas Tech, caught an amazing 19 touchdowns last season for the Red Raiders and was simply dominant with the ball in his hands.

Yes, he does have a stress fracture in his foot, but there is no way he falls out of the top-10 picks.

By far he is the cream of the crop of the wide receivers in the draft class and I see him having the most illustrious career.

Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo: I’m not sure where Orakpo is going to be drafted but he is an interesting player to look at.

Because of his speed off the edge, a lot of analysts are talking about him being a hybrid player in the draft; someone who can play both defensive end and outside linebacker. Orakpo had 11 sacks last season and really made a name for himself at Texas.

Busts: Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew.

All I have to do is bring up one statistic from his last season to show why he will be no good; zero touchdowns.

So explain to me Mr. Mel Kiper how you could possibly justify Pettigrew for the 11th overall pick to the Buffalo Bills?

The most he ever caught in a season were four.

I’m a guy who likes statistics because statistics show production.

Sure, Mel Kiper, you can talk about how good his hands are and how he is an excellent pass and run locker, but I really don’t care. That’s what every tight end is supposed to do. If Pettigrew does go that high then I see him being a big let down. The Bills’ biggest weakness is on the offensive line.

I think that Pettigrew is an average player, and that if the Bills really want him, they can draft him with the 28th overall pick if he is still on the board.

Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith is trouble.

And really the only reason why I’m not crazy about him is his insane attitude problem.

He had problems with agents and left the combine early.

Not to mention that his numbers at the combine were not very impressive to begin with.

If I am a team with a high draft pick, I’d be extremely hesitant in investing millions of dollars in a head case.

What I find funny is that some draft analysts actually predict him going to the Cincinnati Bengals at the sixth overall pick. Like the Bengals don’t have enough babies on their roster already.

Quarterbacks: The story of the draft is really all about quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez.

The Lions are going to take Stafford and absolutely nothing is going to change about that team.

Maybe they will win two

games tops. I feel bad for whoever the Lions draft because they are at the very beginning of about a 20 year rebuilding process.

Stafford will go into that system and probably start almost every game and he might even put up some okay numbers, but that will not produce any wins for this team.

He will probably get an absurd amount of guaranteed money that he doesn’t Photo by Bob Andrus/MCT Matthew Stafford deserve, but teams like the Lions are stupid enough to league that you would want to offer that. throw the ball to more.

Now when it comes to Mark The Jaguars are usually Sanchez, he is in a much better contenders in the AFC South as position. well, so if Sanchez was to go there, For his sake, the best places then he’d be entering a successful he can go are either Seattle or system.

Jacksonville.

Overall, I think this draft really If he goes to Seattle, he will be lacks a certain oomph. There is no greeted with a great wide receiver gusto in these players for the most in T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who part. makes quarterbacks better.

Yes, there might be one or two But I think Sanchez should superstars like Curry and Crabtree, be crossing his fingers and hoping but other than that, this draft is that he goes to Jacksonville. really a coin toss mystery game.

The Jaguars have just signed I don’t think that it will be veteran Torry Holt, and there are long in the future until this draft not many other players in the fades into complete obscurity.

Spartans Steal Three from Rollins starting player reached base.

Starting pitcher Danny Keefe (4-4) pitched 5 2/3 innings, only The No. 15 University of allowing one unearned run to pick Tampa Spartans baseball team up the win. completed a three-game sweep of Rick Hudson made his first conference rival Rollins College appearance of the year, bailing on April 17 and 18 at home.

Keefe out of a bases-loaded jam.

The Spartans (35-12, 13-5 Max Kreuter pitched the final SSC) defeated the Tars (22-21, three innings to earn his second 5-13 SSC) by final scores of 8-2, save.

12-5 and 2-1.

The second game was a backTheir winning streak was and-forth affair early. extended to five games, matching After UT took a 1-0 lead, their second-longest of the season. starter Carmine Giardina was “By sweeping, we put rocked for five runs in the third ourselves back in regional He went 2 2/3 allowing five tournament contention,” coach Joe runs on six hits, two walks and a Urso said. “Now we’re two games hit batsman. back of Barry and we’re going to The Spartans quickly cut the their place next, so it gives us a deficit to 5-3, then 5-4. The sixth chance to win the conference.” inning put the game in their favor Tampa got off to a 3-0 lead in for good as they scored six times.

Daniel Foltz relieved Giardina, the first inning of game one and never looked back. allowing three hits and one walk in Jared Simon and Garrett 5 1/3 innings.

Maines each had two hits and every Jimmy Moser closed out the 12-5 win with a scoreless ninth.

“There’s a lot of confidence in the hitters’ minds right now,” Urso said. “We can stay in the game and we’re going to score runs.

We’ve been preaching to stay with our offensive approach the entire game, because it’s a very good offense.”

The scoring of the first two games disappeared in the Photo by Kara Wall finale.

Albanese throws to first

By Brenton Burkett Sports Writer

Rollins took a 1-0 third inning lead on a base hit by Ryan Luker.

UT came back in the bottom half on a Jose Jimenez sacrifice fly.

Tyler Cox scored the tying run, and then an error brought Correy Figueroa home to make it a 2-1 game.

That score would hold up through the remainder of the contest.

Josh Bowman pitched three innings in his first start since February, giving up one run on three hits while striking out three.

Alex Koronis shut it down by allowing just one hit the rest of the way with six strikeouts, picking up a win despite a complete-game effort from Rollins’ starter Tim Griffin.

“Koronis has been our go-to guy out of the bullpen all year,” Urso said. “We can give him the ball for two to four innings, and that’s what we did to close out that last game.”

Koronis was a crucial part of a bullpen that yielded no earned runs in 13 2/3 innings.

Urso credited them and a surprising part of his batting order for the wins.

“We’re getting a lot of production out of the bottom of our order, especially Casey Albanese,” Urso said. “Anytime you get the bottom of the order producing, it sets up a lot of runs from the top of the order.”

Seven of the team’s 22 runs were scored by the bottom three hitters in the lineup.

Brenton Burkett can be reached at bburkett@ut.edu.

Matuszak stars in ESPN’s mock draft but not as Sloth Photo illustration by Alex Vera

Alumnus Honored by ESPN

By Michael Franz Sports Writer

Most NFL drafts are chock full of stars from powerhouse football factories like Ohio State, USC, Florida and Oklahoma, but a few sleepers always hear their names called in the first round.

ESPN.com’s Thomas Neumann unveiled his all-time mock draft and UT Spartan John Matuszak came off the board quite early.

The Denver Broncos selected the 6-foot-9-inch, 280 pound Matuszak with the 18th overall selection, one spot ahead

of the home team Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

According to Neumann, Matuszak’s fall down draft boards stemmed more from his character concerns than level of competition.

Perhaps if some NFL general manager were evaluating Matuszak today, the biggest character concern would be if Sloth could hold up against the likes of Orlando Pace, the second overall selection and top offensive lineman in this draft.

Michael Franz can be reached at mjfranz26@gmail. com.

Get your articles in print and your opinionated blogs posted online.

Contact minaret.sports@gmail. com to find out more information.

3

‘n t u O

Batters Swing to the Right Pitch with Songs

UT Serves Saint Leo

Ending the season with a win is always positive for a team, and that is just what the tennis team did during their final match of the year.

The Spartans defeated Saint Leo University at the SSC tournament and finished the season with a record of 10-14.

In the two previous meetings with Saint Leo, the Spartans dropped both matches.

Tampa was able to bounce back and take the win.

Coach’s Record Cracked UT alumnist and now associate head coach of the UT baseball team, Sam Militello, had held the record for consecutive no-hitters in Florida at the high school Militello level for more than 20 years.

That record of threestraight no-hitters was recently broken by Mitchell High School lefty Patrick Schuster as he led his team to a 5-0 victory over the Pasco Pirates on Monday.

Golf Goes to SSC The No. 8 Spartan swingers finished eighth in the field of nine schools at the men’s SSC tournament in Winter Haven.

Kris Shane and Ryan Barnett both finished at +11 for the tournament, and tied for 28th place overall.

Nova Southeastern won the tournament with a score of 848, UT finished with a final score of 909.

Photo by Kara Wall

Spartan batter gets jammed inside

By Olivia Glynn Asst. Sports Editor

Athletes need a certain swagger when they step up to perform, a certain mentality that says they are ready for whatever is coming their way.

Music is often a way that this attitude is achieved, and for baseball players, their at-bat songs do just that.

Tyler Cox, who walks to the plate accompanied by Jason

Aldean’s “Hicktown,” was confident that his choice of music would be unique.

“I knew nobody else on the team was going to do country,” stated Cox, “and that is what I listen to the most, so of course I was going to do it.”

The songs are not necessarily the favorite songs of the players.

However, the tunes just as easily represent the different attitudes as they step into the batter’s box.

The music serves a similar motive for the members of the baseball team, to get them pumped up.

Designated hitter Mike Schwartz chose his song “I Run This” by Lil’ Wayne and ft.

Birdman, from the music that he listens to while working out.

“I went through my workout songs and picked a good one that I thought would pump me up and get me focused for my at-bat,” said Schwartz. “Nothing too obnoxious, something that, you know, just something that I like.”

As for other methods of choosing the perfect song, Correy Figueroa did not lose any sleep over it.

“I kind of just chose one to tell you the truth,” he said, “I think it’s a Switchfoot song, I’m pretty sure, I’m not 100 percent on that though.”

After so many at-bats, the songs may seem redundant, but they still serve their purpose.

“I can’t really say I listen to it every time I go up to the plate,” said Figueroa, “but it kind of gets you fired up before you go up to

the plate to hit the ball.”

As far as superstitions go, there does not seem to be anything holding the players to these specific songs.

Cox tries his best to stay away from superstitions in general, but is aware that other members of the team have them.

Schwartz is not one of them.

“I’m not really superstitious, I like the song,” Schwartz said, “I’ll probably have a new one next year.”

Although the songs represent the player coming to the plate, they might not all be by choice.

“I think Nick Nordgren has a terrible song, ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’” laughed Schwartz.

Cox agreed. Nordgren, who did not pick a song, had it chosen for him, but did not get around to changing it.

“If you don’t pick one then Gil [Swalls] just gives you one, and he never went up to change it so he just got stuck with it,” explained Cox, “everyone gives him crap for it.”

Olivia Glynn can be reached at oglynn@gmail.com.

Junior Takes Forward Strides, Capitalizes on College Career

By Kyle Bennett Online Sports Editor

Being the first in your family to attend college is tough enough.

When your family is financially unable to send you to college, things get even more complicated.

“My parents can’t afford to pay $30,000 a year to make me go to college,” Junior Pascal Milien said. “It was a big step for me when I decided to go to college.”

Milien, a native of Haiti, is a forward on the University of Tampa’s men’s soccer team.

Before attending college Milien entertained the possibility of going pro, straight out of high school.

“I wasn’t planning on going to school,” Milien said. “I was going to try to make it to the pros.”

He wanted to go pro to help his family financially, but he wanted to go to college to make his family proud.

“I wanted to do it to make my mom proud of me,” Milien said.

“Even though she isn’t able to see me playing today, it was a big deal for me [to go to college].”

If Milien hadn’t gone to the MLS, or to college, his plans would have been less certain.

“I don’t want to do the same

Crew

jobs my dad is doing,” he said. “I had to push myself harder. I need to help my people back home. I had to help my dad.”

Milien moved to Auburndale, Fla. at age 16 where he attended Auburndale High School.

The UT junior credits his high school soccer coaches Bill Johnson and Guy Jennings for pushing him to put his professional dreams on hold and continue his education at a secondary institution.

Before coming to Tampa Milien attended Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky.

“I decided to go to Lindsey [Wilson College] for a year and transfer after a year,” he said. “UT was always my first choice.”

Milien feels like he has made the right decision as he pursues his sport management degree.

As a religious man, Milien praises God for his good fortune.

“God keeps blessing me,” he said. “Every day I wake up, I thank God.” The soccer star plans to finish out his college career.

By keeping his grades up and working to become the best person, Milien hopes to continue his dreams after his tenure at Tampa.

No. 23 Softball

April 24-25 Melbourne

April 24, 6 p.m. vs. Florida Southern

>>> The women’s rowing team will be back in action at the SSC tournament. Last season, the Lady Spartans finished second to Barry.

>>> In the last series of the year, the Lady Spartans will take on the SSC-leading Mocs in hopes of gaining ground in the standings.

Pascal Milien dribbles past a defender

Then after, maybe he can focus on his future.

“Hopefully my dreams can come true,” Milien said. “Don’t let the dream catch you, you got

Photo by Kara Wall

to chase the dream, don’t let the dream catch you, because it’s never going to catch you.”

Kyle Bennett can be reached at minaret.overtime@gmail.com.

No. 15 Baseball

April 25, 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Barry

>>> Barry and the Spartans will duel between conference powerhouses. Barry is SSC No. 1 and UT is tied for second in the SSC.

Blogger breaks down the NFL Draft [Page 19]