March 23, 2017 The Minaret

THE VOLUME

83

ISSUE

19

MARCH

23,

2017

THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

TAMPA

p. 16

PASSING THE GAVEL 2017-2018 STUDENT GOVERNMENT BOARD ANNOUNCED

THEMINARETONLINE.COM • FACEBOOK: THE MINARET • TWITTER: @THE_MINARET • INSTAGRAM: @THEMINARET

MINARET

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TABLE OF CONTENTS VOL.

83

NO.

Students create marketplace for textbooks, dorm supplies

Trump’s proposed healthcare plan doesn’t cut it

BY SARA CASARETO PAGE 3

BY INDIRA MOOSAI PAGE 19

Student cancer survivor co-heads Relay for Life

Emma Watson: the feminist role model America needs

UT recognized for accomodating transfer students

FACULTY ADVISER David Wheeler

WRITERS

COPY EDITING

Camryn Beaumont Anthony Lenamon Simon Brady Jenna Manto Sara Casareto Indira Moosai Devon Conway Madhura Nadarajah Elena De Alfredo Luciana Paz Bill Delehunt Mauricio Rich Nate Gardner Alexandra Tirado

Hannah Farrow Kayla Jacobus

PHOTOGRAPHERS Allie Crump Sideya Dill

ADVERTISE

Contact: Ryan Echevarria ryan.echevarria@theminaretonline.com

ADDRESS

401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Box P Tampa, FL 33606

OFFICE

Vaughn 211 Phone - 813.257.3636 Fax - 813.253.6207

ONLINE

The Minaret Online - theminaretonline.com ut.minaret@gmail.com

COVER

Photo by Bianca Lopez

BY MADHURA NADARAJAH PAGE 20-21

BY ARDEN IGLEHEART PAGE 4-5

NEWS AND FEATURES Arden Igleheart

Katelyn Massarelli Julia Albini Christian Maldonado Regina Gonzalez

23, 2017

OPINION

Student creates app to connect employers and jobseekers

HEAD COPY PHOTOGRAPHY GRAPHIC DESIGN MULTIMEDIA

MARCH

NEWS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tess Sheets MANAGING EDITOR Bianca Lopez

Liz MacLean ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Regina Gonzalez Ivy Velazquez OPINION Carissa Economos Andrew Foerch SPORTS John Feltman

19

MicrowaveGate: Washington’s newest scandal

BY BILL DELEHUNT PAGE 22

BY NATE GARDNER PAGE 6

SPORTS

BY LUCIANA PAZ & ALEXANDRA TIRADO PAGE 7

Men’s track hopes to dominate UNF tourney

A+E

BY ELENA DE ALFREDO PAGE 24-25

Duke, Villanova lead way as bracket busters

Annual Art and Culture exhibit comes to Bailey Art Studio

BY SIMON BRADY PAGE 26-27

DIY one woman show creates lavish, luxury laptop cases

Looking ahead to women’s basketball Sweet Sixteen

Beauty and the Beast lives up to expectations

Students found budding company in signature lacrosse

BY ANTHONY LENAMON PAGE 10-11

BY REGINA GONZALEZ PAGE 12

BY IVY VELAZQUEZ PAGE 13

BY CAMRYN BEAUMONT PAGE 29

Hammer receives fourth consecutive All-American honor

COVER

BY KATELYN MASSARELLI PAGE 30

SG board announced

Yogis rock out at free class at Curtis Hixon

BY JENNA MANTO PAGE 16-17

THE MINARET MEETINGS

M

BY ELENA DE ALFREDO & MAURICIO RICH PAGE 28

BY DEVON CONWAY PAGE 31

NARET

7.30PM/ICB 200 EVERY MONDAY

NEWS

Students create marketplace for textbooks, dorm supplies Sara Casareto Contributing Writer sara.casareto@spartans.ut.edu

At the beginning of each semester students find themselves in search of new supplies and new textbooks, and often these students are looking for the cheapest options. At the end of the semester, students find themselves with textbooks they no longer need and supplies they no longer want, and many hope to get these off their hands for the best price.

Three UT students founded a company called UniMates to remedy this problem. Ekatarina Meshcheryakova, CEO and a junior finance and management information system major; Hanna Grevelius, chief marketing officer and a junior international business and entrepreneurship major; and Askhat Saiapov, chief technology officer and a sophomore cybersecurity major plan to make the UniMates app available by April of this year.

“At the beginning of this Spring 2017 semester I struggled to find one finance book for my class,” Meshcheryakova said. “I am not a fan of buying textbooks from the bookstore, they are too expensive, so I had to search through Facebook groups and was very frustrated with the process – there was no structure, no organization, it was very cluttered and some items that students post are nonsearchable. Then I realized: Why not create a marketplace to solve this issue that arises in schools around the US?” For many college students, budgeting is essential UniMates hopes to help students save and make money by countering the high cost of textbooks and balancing out the demand for dorm supplies with those thrown out at the end of each year.

By using UniMates, students can sell and obtain college necessities quickly and efficiently by engaging into the marketplace the app will provide. Students can advertise and promote their creativity and skill sets. The beta version of the app is currently finalized, and if all goes well students should be able to use UniMates to get rid of textbooks just in time for summer.

For one of the founders of UniMates, it was simple mathematics.

Photo by Julia Albini /The Minaret DON’T BUY IT: (From left) Hanna Grevelius, Ekatarina Meshcheryakova, and Askhat Saiapov discuss UniMates, the app they created. Inspired by the high price of textbooks, these students started UniMates for students to sell their old textbooks and supplies.

“Students worry about two things: food and money,” Grevelius said. “As we realized how expensive the university life is when it comes to dorm life and textbooks, we looked into how the problem potentially could be solved.

This semester there are about 400 UT students who take Criminology 101, and there will be the same amount of UT students who will take the class next semester. But the current [Criminology] students will most likely lose a lot of money by selling the book back to the bookstore for a low price, have to pay a lot of money by selling it on Amazon, or not sell it at all. When they could be selling to the other 400 UT students who will need the same book next semester.”

The entrepreneurship center has been helping the UniMates founders in their development of this company.

Through the Entrepreneurship Club, they were notified of the Daveler Entrepreneurship Competition at USF. As of March 13 of this year, the UniMates team has won

$2,500 from the Frank and Ellen Daveler Entrepreneurship Program and earlier this week they were informed that they are able to take part in the pitch competition on April 8 within this program. If successful, the team will be awarded an additional $2,500 to invest into their company.

After the launch occurs, UniMates will be tabling in Vaughn to spread the word about the app, get students to download and use the app, and get direct feedback from UT students. From there, they will host an event, which is yet to be planned, where students can meet each other to directly exchange books and products before finals.

For UniMates founders, UT is just a springboard to developing a nationwide company that has bases in every state. UniMates is open to accepting students for an internship. Internships will be doled based on individual talents, be it coding, marketing or sales.

CAMPUS CRIMES TAKING A LEAK

A LOT ON HER PLATE

FORGING A WAY

DYSFUNCTIONAL

On March 14 at 2 p.m., three buildings were evacuated because of a gas leak.

On March 16, a Sodexo employee reported that someone had intentionally damaged her vehicle license plate when she was parked in Thomas Garage.

On March 19, a student was reported to the Office of Student Conduct for falsifying a university document.

On March 19, a student reported that her vehicle had been tampered with. It turns out that the vehicle had malfunctioned.

THE MINARET MARCH.23.2017

3

NEWS

Student cancer survivor co-heads Relay for Life

Arden Igleheart News Editor arden.igleheart@theminaretonline.com

There are many cancer survivors who are empowered and will speak at various events, but Emily Lang, a junior biology major and double survivor, said out of all of them, she hadn’t seen one that portrayed themselves as a regular college student.

“One that I don’t think I’ve seen often is the college kid just trying to get through life,” Lang said. “The relatable college teen; she studies a lot, but she’s also a cancer survivor. People don’t equate it.”

Lang looks like any other student. One UT student didn’t even believe she was a survivor. She has hair almost to her waist that’s dyed blonde, a nose ring, and wears a gray Kappa Alpha Theta sweatshirt. She has a minor in marine biology, and is hoping to become a marine veterinarian.

Lang, along with Danielle Fabian, a senior biology major are the heads of Relay for Life this year, which starts on April 1 and is in Pepin Stadium.

Lang talks about her cancer experiences in a positive and joking way, trying to portray her experiences as relatable and never depressing to those she tells.

When describing her experience, she mentioned that the first time she had cancer, her doctor was named Dr. Healey.

It was a joke in the hospital because he’s “healing” patients.

When explaining what her daily life in the hospital was like, instead of talking about the chemotherapy, she detailed her obsession with the Club Penguin and Sims computer games.

She even finds humor in her legs being different sizes due to surgery from her first time with cancer.

“She always jokes because her legs are different sizes that she wobbles when she walks fast,” said Missy Wietholter, a freshman psychology major and friend of Lang. “Only she would joke about that.”

Lang grew up in South Carolina and was first diagnosed with cancer when she was five years old, after her mother became concerned about a bump on her leg. She had a rare form called Ewing’s Sarcoma, so rare that she and her family had to fly to New York for her treatment, finding residence at Ronald McDonald house.

She had eight rounds of chemotherapy and a bone replacement surgery, and stayed in New York for about seven months. While treatment was difficult for Lang, she said she didn’t have the fear that many cancer patients do because she was so young.

“I think a five-year-old feels invincible, so the fact that I was in the hospital was like, this is a bump in the road,” Lang said. “But I think for a lot of people, cancer diagnosis can make you do a 180, can make you reevaluate your life, reevaluate your priorities, and a five-year-old just doesn’t have that.”

The next time Lang had cancer she was 10 and had leukemia, being diagnosed after having a sore throat. She had to go to New York again, and this time was more difficult for her, because she was excited for fifth grade. She

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THE MINARET MAR.23.2017

Photo courtesy of Emily Lang SURVIVORWOMAN: Emily Lang holds a luminaria bag at last year’s Relay for Life to honor a deceased friend who had cancer. Lang survived cancer twice, first when she was five years old, and then when she was 10. She is the co-lead of Relay for Life this year.

lost her hair, and despite being confident about being bald, other people’s reactions to it hurt. People would whisper and stare, and a nurse thought she was a boy even though she was wearing pink pajamas. However, it still didn’t occur to her that her condition was potentially fatal.

“I never even thought that I had the possibility of not making it through,” Lang said. “I was just like, ‘OK, this is a very, very complicated sore throat.’”

Lang acknowledges that her experiences with cancer were not as fear-inducing as others’ experiences, and that part of the reason she is so upbeat is because she’s “uncomfortable with emotions.” However, she made a conscious decision to talk about her experiences in this lighthearted way.

Talking about cancer in this way, she said, makes people more comfortable with hearing about it and asking questions. It’s important to make people comfortable talking

NEWS

Photo courtesy of Emily Lang STUDENTS OF RELAY: Last year’s Relay for Life committee takes a picture with Spartacus right before the event. Relay for Life occurs April 1-2 from 1 p.m. to 6 a.m., which symbolizes that the fight against cancer doesn’t stop once participants go to sleep, according to Lang.

to her, because people particularly don’t often hear about the experiences of children with cancer.

“I can look at it with humor because I am cancer-free; I made it through,” Lang said. “I think it’s just my way to portray my story. If you tell a sad story, no one wants to tell another person a sad story, but if you tell someone a joke, people want to tell their friends. It gets people talking to me, which I appreciate.”

Fabian said that Lang’s experiences with cancer help give Relay a human face and help the executive board understand that cancer can happen to anyone, regardless of age.

“It definitely makes it more relatable because a lot of kids at college do Relay because their grandparents had cancer or someone they know, but a lot of times it’s not their classmate or their friend,” Fabian said. “So it puts it in perspective that cancer is unbiased. It doesn’t pick a gender, it doesn’t pick an age, it doesn’t pick a race.”

Lang and Fabian, as the heads of Relay manage the

55

Teams made to date

6

Cancer survivors signed up to attend the event

committee, work with the American Cancer Society who started the event and coordinate with the other organizations and administration that is involved in Relay.

Relay, Lang said, is about honoring survivors, and one thing Lang took on as her responsibility in the committee is making sure UT is honoring them respectfully. At Relay, survivors wear purple shirts and banners, and Lang said that participants often approach survivors differently than they would approach someone else. People don’t ask their name or introduce themselves, instead they’ll start asking the survivor about their experience or start telling the survivor about a relative’s experience. Lang said she is careful to emphasize that cancer survivors are also regular people and students should treat them as such.

“Sometimes people don’t realize that some survivors, they want that to be the lowest thing on the list of what makes them, them,” Lang said.

To make Relay a more positive experience for survivors, Lang made a team specifically for them. Survivors can sign

NEWS

This year’s fundraising goal:

up without a team to walk around the track, but Lang said she thought it would be more enjoyable for them to be a part of a team, raising money and participating just like everyone else.

Lang likes Relay specifically compared to other cancer events because it is almost 24 hours long, symbolizing that the fight against cancer doesn’t stop once participants go to bed. She also likes that it is about all cancers, including pediatric cancer, like she had.

“I think Relay is really special because it’s any type of cancer, including pediatric cancers, which are grouped in as a whole even though they vary so much,” Lang said.

“For adults it’s breast cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer and then for kids, every cancer they have is just pediatric cancer. Someone who’s had a tumor in their brain, they’re grouped in the same group as me who’s had a tumor in her leg. Having an event that still honors those survivors is so incredible to see.”

4/1/2017

$105,000 $42,750

The BIG day

Raised currently, compared to $33,084 this time last year THE MINARET MARCH.23..2017

5

NEWS

Student creates app to connect employers and jobseekers Nate Gardner Contributing Writer nate.gardner@spartans.ut.edu

Karan Walia, an Executive MBA student at UT’s Sykes College of Business since August 2015, is making use of the Entrepreneurship Center and Accelerator Program with his own company, Zuloc.

Originally from a small town in India called Renukoot, Walia received his bachelor’s degree in business management from the West Bengal University of Technology. Growing up in such a small town – Renukoot is a full overnight-train ride away from Kolkata – Walia credits his family for much of his success.

Even Walia’s mother, Kavita Walia, who is a teacher by trade, decided to work for herself.

“I come from a family of entrepreneurs,” Walia said.

“Even my mother decided to strike out on her own and become a tutor.”

Walia’s father, Jagjit Singh Walia, owns the largest company in Renukoot, specializing in logistics, in his hometown. His brother, Manveer Walia, started an ecommerce business that works with Amazon.

During his education, Walia spent a summer in Nigeria teaching children, which further solidified his desire to start his own business.

“It was experiential learning for both of us, the kids and myself,” Walia said. “Seeing what these kids could do, it really gave me the confidence that I could do more with my life.”

With that experience and motivation, Walia started formulating a plan for his future. Having spent five years working in human resources, he knew well the myriad of issues that employers – and jobseekers – face. With this knowledge, Walia started developing what he hopes will be a better way for employers and jobseekers to connect.

In December 2014, Walia started developing Zuloc, a website and mobile app to foster business-to-candidate networking. He decided to further his education to aid in this process and, in the fall semester of 2015, started at UT. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to see his dream achieved.

“From day one, he was here and excited about Zuloc, but his focus and dedication to the projects has been really amazing,” said Dr. Rebecca White, director of the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center.

Although this project was his brainchild and he spent countless hours working on it, Walia has never been too proud to seek outside help and advice, or even to change some key aspects.

First, White introduced Walia to Markus Waite, a fellow MBA student and CIO of PharMerica, who would become his business partner and CEO. Walia was then introduced to Keri Bigelow, founder of Living HR, who would also become a partner.

With this team assembled, the tech company agreed upon a name – Zuloc, coming from a mashup of a German word zu, meaning “making progress” and loc, being short for location.

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THE MINARET MAR.23.2017

Photo by Julia Albini/ The Minaret JOBSEARCH: Karan Walia, a graduate student, navigates the website for Zuloc. Walia began working on Zuloc in 2014, and hopes to see it launch in April.

Originally designed to be a professional networking resource, Zuloc has been reworked as a matchmaking service – an eHarmony of jobs.

“That’s essentially what it is,” Walia laughed. “It’s kind of a matchmaking platform between employers and candidates.”

Walia has taken all of these changes in strides and continues to work everyday on getting the product to market.

The team hopes to launch the first beta version of the website in early April. It will only be in available in Tampa at first, but there are already over 60 major companies signed up with around 1,000 candidates, Walia said.

Currently, the companies consist of banking and finance, technology, advertising and marketing, and nongovernmental organizations, though Walia hopes to continue growing and balancing out the industries.

The idea for how the website and app will work is straightforward. Jobseekers will fill out a profile by answering quiz-like questions, and possibly playing games, in two sections: How I Rock, and How I Roll. In the first, How I Rock, the questions will be geared toward qualifications. In the How I Roll section is where things get different. The questions for this part will focus on how someone works, the environments they prefer and their

personality. This will allow the website to pair candidates with companies whose corporate culture would be a good fit.

“Employers right now get 1,000 or more applications for every job they post, and even the qualified ones, they don’t know if they’ll necessarily fit in,” Walia said. “We hope to get that down to around 50 or 60, with all of them be actual good matches.”

Anyone interested in signing up for the website’s launch can do so at Zuloc.co.

Although all startups go through growing pains, Walia’s work ethic alone may drive it to success.

“There’s a quote on the [Entrepreneurship Center] wall by Steve Jobs about perseverance, and it reminds me of Karan every time I see it,” White said.

That quote reads: “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the nonsuccessful ones is pure perseverance.”

NEWS

UT recognized for accomodating transfer students

Photo by The Minaret TRANSFERRED: UT’s award, for community college transfers, was presented by Phi Theta Kappa, and was measured based on various factors such as admissions outreach, and institutional priorities.

Transfer students from diverse backgrounds praised UT for transferring their credits smoothly, but some had difficulties with credit transfers.

Luciana Paz & Alexandra Tirado Contributing Writers luciana.paz@spartans.ut.edu a.tiradooropeza@spartans.ut.edu UT is one of the 65 universities to receive the 2017 Phi Theta Kappa’s 2017 Transfer Honor Roll, which honors the most accommodating four-year universities for communitycollege transfer students.

“It is a tremendous badge of honor when you get a transfer student,” said George DaPonte, director of international admissions and admissions counselor for transfer students. “[Transfer students] know what student life is like, and when they choose the University of Tampa, it is usually a very sound decision. Additionally, they are closer to being an adult than freshmen, so it is even easier to work with them.”

The honor received by these universities, including UT, was measured by numerous factors including collaboration, transfer accommodation, admissions outreach, scholarships and institutional priorities. Throughout the process, students keep in contact with a transfer advisor and upon arrival, like continuing students, new transfers are assigned to an advisor in the academic center that provides academic guidance.

“All my credits got transferred properly and they treated me really well in general,” said Angelo Nicolaci, a junior in biochemistry who transferred from Columbus State Community College.

Nicolaci said that in terms of transferring credits, he had the most trouble because he had to deal with his previous college not having a registrar’s office of their own. However, when the struggle was done, UT sped up the process.

“I have to give credit to George DaPonte who always helped me and answered my questions as best and fast as possible,” Nicolaci said.

Students from diverse backgrounds spoke highly of the assistance provided for transfer students.

“As a handicapped student, I had great the help of a lot of people here at a UT,” said Tania Lemus, a sophomore in psychology who transferred from American College.

“Fortunately, all my courses transferred successfully. Some of them were not the same, but UT gave me waivers and I didn’t have to take any of the first year baccalaureate requirements. It really helped me a lot because I was able to concentrate on my major courses right away.”

Hundreds of students transfer to UT each year. UT accepts transfer students from two-year and four-year institutions at any class level. After submitting a deposit, admitted students receive an official transfer credit evaluation as soon as possible.

“We don’t punish anyone for learning,” DaPonte said.

“So whenever you are taking a course, it is academically transferable with a grade of C or better, it is a no-brainer in terms of rewarding somebody for their academic accomplishments.”

However, not everybody had such a smooth transition.

Alba Muliner, a junior finance major, had a different opinion regarding UT’s transfer-friendly reputation.

Muilinier, an Hillsborough Community College (HCC) transfer, had to deal with a lot of misunderstandings in terms of transferring her credit hours. She explained that because she is an international student, she is required to be registered for 12 credits in order to maintain her Visa status.

However, since UT doesn’t allow students to pick their first semester’s classes, they only registered her for 9 credits.

“I feel frustrated because as a university they have to make sure that you have all the credits that you need for graduation,” Muilinier said. “You have to depend too much from UT people like chairs, advisors, the registrar office, etc.

Sometimes they don’t even answer [emails].”

Brent Benner, director of enrollment management at the admission’s office, was confused by Muiliner’s claim.

“Admissions doesn’t register students – Academic Advising does,” Benner said. “Actually, as a transfer student, this student would be able to also choose their own classes, so I’m not sure what their difficulty was. They could just add another class on their own if they wanted.”

Other universities honored by Phi Theta Kappa include Adelphi University, Florida International University and Webster University.

“I certainly cannot speak on behalf of all UT transferred students because I am sure all experiences are completely different,” Lemus said. “But in my case, I couldn’t be more grateful with UT for all the help, specially with the international admissions department. I truly think they deserve this award.”

THE MINARET MAR.23.2017

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A+E

Annual Art & Culture Exhibit comes to Bailey Art Studio

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MAR.23.2017 THE MINARET

A+E Anthony Lenamon Contributing Writer anthony.lenamon@spartans.ut.edu Tampa residents and UT students got a taste of artistic culture on March 17 at the R.K. Bailey Art Studio. As people gathered into the exhibit to feast their eyes on some of the UT’s students’ artwork, there was a noticeable faint hum of the crowd marveling over the new pieces. Artwork hung on the walls, were placed on pedestals and were suspended from the ceiling. An elaborate crime scene investigation laid out on the floor, which is entitled Death of a Crazy Art Student by Victoria Arnold, a junior transfer student and a graphic design major.

She took the prize for best 3D work. Along with Arnold, other artists were awarded in different categories like Best Portrait to Best 2D work.

The award for Best 2D was given to junior visual arts major Jodi Minnis for her piece Paranoia.

“Social media is saturated with police brutality videos against people of color in the United States and as an outsider seeing all of these things on Facebook and Twitter, builds a trauma, but you get numb to it, but you also have to realize that at any moment, because I look like African Americans or any other black person who is an American, I could fall into the same situation if I’m not careful or if I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Minnis said.

Her art consisted of pictures of palm trees, colorful flowers and oak trees on a TV screen and an audio recorded poem, both written and recorded by Minnis about Racism.

Another portrait included in the selection was Self by John Guarneri, who is a junior and a Fine Arts major, a piece that he said took him a month to complete. Guarneri also commented that it was his first attempt using oil paint. The painting was of the face of a young man, with tan skin, brown hair, dark brown eyes, that seemed to look directly at you, his face was covered in a brown beard. He is not smiling, nor does he look sad. He just looks peaceful.

National artist Julie Heffernan, who has an M.F.A. in Painting from Yale School of Art and is a Professor of Fine Arts at MontClair University in New Jersey, judged the exhibition Students artwork was judged based on four attributes: skill, creativity, imagination and ambition. Heffernan considered these to be crucial to winning in her standards.

As the night continued, more and more people came into the gallery and got to enjoy the magnificent artwork. Finally, one of the Blick Selects, which is the exhibitions version of an honorable mention, was a painting of wonderfully disturbing magnitude. It had such a deliciously frightening way about it, that it, for lack of better words, was breathtaking and it was entitled Scratched Away and it was by Samantha Gatelaro, who is a senior majoring in fine arts and Gatelaro said, “ “My inspiration For a lot of my work is based on emotions. The day the painting was created I was very upset due to a family issue and I found it therapeutic creating the physical application of my own psychosis. I have always found an interest in the study and application of psychology and feel that art

causes me to have more self-awareness of the feelings I wish to emote but am unable to communicate.”

The Art Exhibition will be open through April 6.

Photos by Sideya Dill/The Minaret ART: With all the intriguing works of art to score, National artist Julie Heffernan judged the exhibition. Students artwork was judged based on four attributes: skill, creativity, imagination and ambition.

THE MINARET MAR.23.2017

11

A+E

DIY one woman show creates lavish, luxury laptop cases

Photos courtesy of Meghan Chayka BEDAZZLE: Meghan Chayka (left) first got the idea of bejeweling laptop cases when she was a freshman, and she nearly bought out the sale section of bejeweled stickers. In total, as of February 2017, Chayka has only made five laptop cases and is focusing on the creation of her upcoming online business where anyone can buy one of her cases for a set price.

Regina Gonzalez A&E Editor regina.gonzalez@theminaretonline.com

luxury laptop case was born.”

Using everything from diamonds to wood chips or pearls, all she needs is some adhesive glue and tweezers to start jeweling a case, which can take her between 3-4 hours to finish. Her routine is extensive:

Having flashy, bedazzled trinkets can add a little sparkle to your room or office supplies sometimes.

From gaudy phone cases that are just too cute to not have, or jeweled bottles and letters that sorority girls know how to craft in their sleep, being sparkly is good. In fact, for sophomore criminal justice major Meghan Chayka, sparkly is luxurious.

In her DIY one woman show, Chayka turns average laptop cases into lavish works of art for friends and customers through her hobby turned online business called Luxury Life: Custom Laptop Cases.

Just like many of us who can get lost in the magic that is Michael’s arts & craft store’s sale section, as a freshman Chayka found herself wiping out the entire stock of the bejeweled stickers section one day, taking them home to stir up creative ideas on how to use them.

“I was tired of looking for cases online that I didn’t like, whether it was the color, texture or design, I just could never find a case that I liked,” Chayka said.

“With just some stickers, glue and a clear laptop case that I had had on my laptop for years, I sat down, opened my mind and within just 3 hours my first

1. Order a clear laptop case from Amazon according to the size, make and model of the laptop 2. According to the person’s’ design preferences, go to the craft store and buy as many jewels as needed to cover the entire case: pearls, diamonds, colors, etc.

3. Use special adhesive glue for jewels such as wood or metal glue (it’s also water proof, often used by home builders), and ONLY put glue on the jewels that are going to be stuck to the case, because the glue dries fast, and once it’s stuck it is very hard to remove (it can be done but it’s hard) 4. Beginning this masterpiece, place each gem one- by- one until the case is covered and perfectly designed 5. Finally, attach the cover to the computer and TA-DA, the laptop is all blinged out, ready to be carried down the red carpet

12 MAR.23.2017 THE MINARET

Though it may seem tedious to some, the finished product is sure to catch a few stares when whipping out your computer in class or public. Those exact reactions are how Chayka thought to turn her joy for jeweling into her very own business venture.

“I found that wherever I go whether it be to study at Starbucks, other coffee houses, lunch at the Oxford Exchange, the airport, basically anywhere I go with my computers I get questions from people asking me where I got it and if they can get one,” Chayka said.

“I have business cards, so whenever people see me or my friends who have cases, I can hand out cards to people who are interested in buying one.”

A very personable and conscientious designer, Chayka is more than happy to cater to the ideas that a client has for a case and make that idea come to life.

“I love her cases, my case is a red, white and blue one that I asked her to make because I love the American Flag. She took such care into making it and making sure I loved it,” junior communications major Reagan Watkins said. “ With every case she makes, she makes sure they are different and very special to the people she gives them to.”

As of right now all order requests can be taken by contacting Chayka at customluxurylife@gmail. com. However, stay tuned because an online shop for her bedazzled creations off her personal website megpierrephotography@gmail.com is currently in the works.

A+E

Beauty and the Beast lives up to legacy

Photos by Allie Crump/The Minaret BEAST: Like any remake of a classic Disney movie, the new Beauty and the Beast came with many contrasts and similarities from the animated version we grew up watching and the Broadway musical. One of its many new attributes was Disney’s first openly gay character, Lefou.

Ivy Velazquez A&E Editor ivy.velazquez@theminaretonline.com

In 2014, Disney announced that Beauty and the Beast would be next in line to be made into a live action film, to be directed by Bill Condon. And then in January of 2015, after rumors circled for months, Emma Watson announced that she would be playing Belle, to which many of her fans responded with delight and excitement. And on Friday, March 17, after three years of waiting and anticipation, Beauty and the Beast was released in theaters.

A prince, as well as the other inhabitants of his castle, is cursed for his cruelty. He has until the last petal of the enchanted rose falls to fall in love with someone and for that person to love him in return.

Belle (Watson) is a village girl who loves to read and dreams of adventures away from her “provincial life.”

Most of the villagers believe her to be a beautiful but strange girl. Her father Maurice (Kevin Kline), who in the live action is a music box maker, is the only person who seems to love her for who she is. Gaston (Luke Evans) claims to be in love with her, though he wants to change much of who she is, and will stop at nothing to marry her.

When her father gets lost while travelling and is taken prisoner by the Beast (Dan Stevens), Belle offers to take his place. She soon discovers that the inhabitants of the Beast’s castle are definitely not ordinary. And though the Beast seems cruel and selfish in the beginning, she is soon able to discover the beauty within.

If you’ve watched the original animated version, there are many similarities between the two (besides the plot) that are immediately evident. A lot of the scenes in the live action were exactly the same as in the animated, something that seemed have gained favor with viewers. “I like that they mimic scenes from the original animated film,” said senior criminology major, Sabrina Wiecher. “It was spot on. Perfect.”

Like its animated counterpart, the live action was made into a musical, with many of the same songs from the original. However, some were taken out and substituted for songs from the Broadway musical. The Beast’s song, “Evermore”, is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful and really gives insight into how much Belle has changed him. “How Does a Moment Last Forever” is another new song that gives some insight into Maurice as well.

The movie also introduced Disney’s “first” gay character (this is put into quotations because many argue that he was clearly gay in the original), Lefou (Josh Gad), the closest person Gaston has to a real friend. There was much controversy over making Lefou gay (nevermind the fact that the whole premise of the movie involves bestiality), but he was arguably the best character to grace that screen. He was witty and shows a sense of morality that he didn’t in the animated version, as well as just being overall adorable. And that “gay scene”? Lasted all of two seconds.

The live action filled in many blanks that were left unfilled in the original animation, like what happened to Belle’s mother. There is a whole scene dedicated to this reveal. It is also explained why the villagers never questioned what happened to the prince that lived

only miles away from them. This is something that was always a frustrating mystery in the animated version; it seemed strange that the villagers had no clue about the curse or even the fact that there was in fact royalty so near to them until after the curse was broken. But the makers of the live action give a satisfying explanation to why this is.

However, as many things that were wonderful about this story, there were a few disappointments.

According to senior criminology major Shelley Gress, “The size of characters Gaston and the Beast were underwhelming, removing from their ‘scary and powerful’ demeanor.” Gress was also disappointed that the songs that Emma Watson sang herself were auto tuned, saying that she felt that it would have sounded fine with her natural voice or would have even preferred her to lipsync. She also felt that Watson was playing more of her Hermione role rather than Belle.

A scene that also ended up being slightly disappointing was the iconic dance scene. The ballroom wasn’t quite to size and the dance in general was a little underwhelming. “Everything was too close together and the dance wasn’t as grand,” said Wiecher.

Despite these drawbacks, the film was definitely worth watching, one that got everyone watching singing along and jumping up and down in their seats. For opening weekend, Beauty and the Beast had an astounding box office debut of $170 million, breaking records such as the biggest box office opening in March ever. This tale may be as old as time but it certainly is one that people never get tired of and the live action definitely lives up to its legacy.

MAR.23.2017 THE MINARET

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COVER

SG BOARD ANNOUNCED Photo by Bianca Lopez/The Minaret ELECTION NIGHT: (Left to right) Current president and vice president seniors James Scudero and Andrea Roche hand over the symbolic Student Government gavel to newly appointed president and vice president juniors Aislinn Sroczynski (far right) and Troy Schneider (second from right), respectively. Sroczynski and Schneider campaigned with goals like adding the Rathskellar to the meal plan.

Jenna Manto Contributing Writer jenna.manto@spartans.ut.edu After campaigning for several weeks, newly elected Student Government President Aislinn Sroczynski and Vice President Troy Schneider were finally able to tell their friends, as their victory was announced at this week’s student government general assembly meeting on March 21.

Both junior political science majors, they ran with the slogan, “advance, engage, and expand.” The duo has many goals for the new year, such as adding Rathskellar to the meal plan, expanding the commuter lounge, making the campus more environmentally friendly, and getting longer library hours.

The first long-term project they both agreed is crucial to get started on right away is getting Rathskellar on the

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THE MINARET MARCH.23.2017

meal plan, as they predict it will take the whole year to achieve this goal. They also want to get started on increasing sustainability on campus, as there will be small incremental tasks to get done over a long period of time.

“We’re going to need to work hand and hand with OSLE, Sodexo, and the dean,” Sroczynski said.

To win the student body’s votes, the pair posted flyers in Vaughn, Starbucks, and Morsani, as well as handed them out to passing students in these popular locations on campus.

They also visited many sorority and fraternity chapters and sports teams to gain their votes. Since Sroczynski is on UT’s cross country and track team and Schneider is in Zeta Beta Tau, they were able to reach these groups on campus and get their feedback. The sports teams were especially vocal, said Sroczynski, as they have their own personal concerns just like every other student.

Carley Reid, a freshman forensic science major said that she wishes she knew about the election sooner, as she found

out after it was too late to vote .

“I wish it was more known on campus,” she said about the election. “I wish they had put more things that they were willing to do [on their flyers].”

Sroczynski was no stranger to this race.

“For me, I lost last year in a really tight race, so I wanted to do it again to prove I was capable,” Sroczynski said.

The two ended up becoming friends in class and Sroczynski said that it was simply a perfect pairing, so they decided to run together.

“We’re just really excited to get to work,” Sroczynski said.

“It feels well-deserved.”

COVER

2017-2018 POSITIONS PRESIDENT

Aislinn Sroczynski

VICE PRESIDENT

Troy Schneider

SPEAKER OF ASSEMBLY

Kevin Cooney

CAMPUS WIDE SENATORS

Kyle Scully, Juhi Kore, Sabrina Greco, Nicole Lita, Christopher Martinez, Regan Cintron

SOPHOMORE SENATORS

Taylor Greenway, Hayden Williams

JUNIOR SENATORS

James Meslener, Abdel-Karim Zawati

SENIOR SENATORS

Reagan Watkins, Joe Maus

Photo by Bianca Lopez/The Minaret ‘ELLO GOVERNMENT: (Left to right) Sophomore Reagan Watkins, junior Kevin Cooney and sophomore James Meslener accept their new positions in Student Government. They will be taking on the roles of campus wide senator, speaker of assembly and junior senator, respectively.

THE MINARET MARCH.23.2017

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OPINION

Trump’s proposed healthcare plan doesn’t cut it

Photo Courtesy of Fox News/YouTube AN APPLE A DAY: President Trump released a new health plan to replace Obama’s Affordable Care Act. His new plan, the American Healthcare Act, has failed to live up to the public’s expectations.

Indira Moosai Contributing Writer indira.moosai@spartans.ut.edu On Monday, March 13, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) announced the Republican Party’s proposed plan to replace Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), and updates were made on March 20. This new healthcare plan, which they call the American Health Care Act, is facing extreme criticism from the majority of Capitol Hill. The original proposed plan would save $337 billion, but would leave a whopping 24 million people uninsured.

The health care plan stated that premiums for buying health insurance would rise 15 to 20 percent in the years 2018 and 2019, but then premiums would gradually decrease in 2020. Initially, the plan cut significant funding to Medicaid, healthcare that covers low-income Americans.

To gain support from both conservatives and moderates, the plan was updated so that states can require those with Medicaid without dependents to work beginning in October; they would then, as a reward, get a funding boost, according to USA Today. In addition, taxes imposed on the wealthy because of Obamacare would be repealed in 2017, instead of the formerly proposed 2018. By 2026, if this plan does become reality, 52 million people will be uninsured.

With the original plan, the CBO estimated that the original plan would leave 24 million people uninsured. Even with the updates, senior vice president of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation Larry Levitt tweeted, “I’m stating the obvious here, but the AHCA amendments are unlikely to change by much CBO’s estimate of 24 million more people uninsured.”

The amount of people it would leave uninsured sounds a little ridiculous, considering the importance of healthcare in citizens’ lives. Compared to international counterparts, fewer residents in the US are covered despite paying more for coverage, according to The Commonwealth Fund. Of course, this goes against President Trump’s promise that he would provide healthcare for everyone.

In an interview with The Washington Post the weekend

“Taxes imposed on the wealthy because of Obamacare would be repealed in 2017, instead of the formerly proposed 2018. By 2026, if this plan does become reality, 52 million people will be uninsured.” of Jan. 15, Trump said, “We’re going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.”

Unfortunately, his words don’t always match up with his actions. Under his plan, not everyone will be, as he said in the Washington Post interview, “beautifully covered.” 24 million more people uninsured is definitely not everyone.

It is clear that this plan is not very intelligent in the first place. The bad outweighs the good, and people can truthfully die because of it. However, since Trump made this promise to produce a plan very different to Obamacare, which garnered him many votes, they must produce a plan.

Fast. And, to republicans, it is of the utmost importance they make sure the plan is as different as possible from

Obamacare. After all, USA Today stated that the recent changes were made particularly because conservative members were disappointed that the original bill didn’t go far enough to replace Obamacare - it was still too similar.

What I have to say to that is -- it is ok to turn back. It is ok to suck it up and do what is best for the country, rather than make decisions specifically to oppose a previous president’s platform. Even though the ACA was controversial, it did good for the people of America; according to BBC, though people called it a “job killer,” jobs in the healthcare sector actually rose by nine percent after the implementation of Obamacare. The number of uninsured citizens declined drastically as well. The ACA was not perfect, but in reality, no plan can be perfect. For change to occur, sacrifices must be made on some end. However, plans can be targeted towards a certain cause. As stated in Obamacare Facts, Obamacare’s main focus is to provide “more Americans with access to affordable health insurance, improving the quality of health care and health insurance, regulating the health insurance industry, and reducing health care spending in the US.” According to the statistics referenced previously, it was very effective. The problem was that Trump promised too much without having the necessary provisions to follow through. Now, the Republicans have no choice but to give the people what they want: a real, comprehensive healthcare plan.

The newly proposed plan is bad; and it should not be implemented and it probably won’t. Though promises are promises, helping the country should be priority -- pride can truly be one’s worst enemy.

THE MINARET MAR.23.2017

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OPINION

Emma Watson: The feminist role model America needs 20

THE MINARET MAR.23.2017

Photo Courtesy of Emma Watson/Facebook

OPINION

Photo Courtesy of Emma Watson/Facebook GIRL POWER: Emma Watson was appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in July 2014. Watson is a major advocate for gender equality and is a shining role model in a socially-divided country.

Madhura Nadarajah Contributing Writer madhura.nadarajah@spartans.ut.edu Emma Watson walked into everyone’s lives as the strongminded and well-read Hermione Granger in the series Harry Potter. Since leaving her mark as the world’s most beloved wizard, Watson has continued to play characters that situate her as a role model for people. Perhaps her biggest role since Harry Potter is that of Belle in the much-anticipated Beauty and the Beast remake, which was released on March 17. It makes sense that Watson was cast as Belle because who better to play Disney’s beloved bibliophile than her? While Watson’s intelligent, bookloving image began with Hermione, it was her life outside film that solidified this epithet.

After the completion of Harry Potter, Emma Watson graduated from Brown University with a degree in English Literature and was also appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations. Two of Watson’s most notable campaigns for the betterment of society are her HeforShe movement and her feminist book club. The HeforShe campaign — created by the United Nations and featuring Watson as a key contributor — emphasizes that men should also advocate for the equality of women. The other campaign, Watson’s feminist book club — Our Shared

Shelf —witnesses Watson providing members with monthly recommendations. Between the roles she chooses to play, her ambassadorship with the United Nations, and her book club, Watson is collecting a new epithet to add — feminist.

Therefore, when Watson learned that there was backlash surrounding her topless Vanity Fair shoot because it seemed too sexual for a feminist, she was confused to as to why her appearance not her actions defined whether or not she was a feminist.

The photo features Watson wearing a Burberry coat made from rope. The controversy first picked up when British radio host Julia Hartley-Brewer tweeted “Feminism, feminism... gender wage gap... why oh why am I not taken seriously... feminism... oh, and here are my tits,” in response to the release of this month’s magazine. Expanding on her Tweet, Brewer said in further tweets that Watson cannot complain that women are sexually objectified when she herself sexualizes women, i.e. the magazine cover.

Brewer’s feelings about Watson’s photo indirectly revealed that Brewer still thinks of feminism as the close-minded definition of conservative women hating men. However, that is not at all what feminism is or looks like.

What people like Brewer need to realize is that women who are comfortable with their sexuality and who want equality across all genders are not mutually exclusive. A feminist does not have a specific uniform. A feminist can be a nudist and a feminist can have a penis. A feminist,

however, is not a person who denounces those who strive for gender equality because they feel men are being slighted as a result.

“There is nothing inherently objectifying about the naked female form,” said senior writing major Toni Jones.

“Especially since most of the female population do it at least once a day to shower. The fact that we as a society cannot see the nude female form for what is, skin and genitals, shows that the problem is with us, not the nude feminist.”

The sad truth is that, even though it is 2017 and Americans supposedly live in a progressive era, people are still ignorant in their understanding of progressive social perspectives, including feminism. Feminism does not look a certain way. The only way society can help clear up the understanding of feminism is to promote accurate information on feminism. We can start by looking to Emma Watson as a positive role model for forward thinkers and youth because her work with the United Nations and her book club. Watson’s HeforShe campaign addresses equality for both genders; similarly, her book club introduces stories that discuss feminism through various voices. If more people educate people on the importance of feminism, then gender equality can be achieved.

THE MINARET MAR.23.2017

21

OPINION

MicrowaveGate: Washington’s newest scandal

Bill Delehunt Contributing Writer william.delehunt@spartans.ut.edu

The Trump Administration has continued its stream of strange activity and questionable communication over spring break - here’s what you missed from last week.

Most notably, Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of espionage in, what else, a tweet. “Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the [election] victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” In a second tweet: “Is it legal for a sitting President to be ‘wiretapping’ a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!?” And finally, “How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!”

Trump provided no evidence of any such activity which, lacking a court order, would be felonious.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer began to walk back this outrageous charge of illegal action at a White House press briefing on March 13, stating that Trump didn’t really mean Obama had ordered illegal electronic bugging, according to CNN. Spicer said, “The President used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities,” adding, “He doesn’t really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally.” So, the words Trump used, “wiretapping” and “President Obama,” were not actually the words he meant, even though both have well defined Photo Courtesy of Flickr/Karl-Ludwig Poggemann and well known meanings. Spicer went on to note that I SPY: Barack Obama and Donald Trump sit and converse in the Oval Office two days after Trump’s election victory. Trump a Fox News broadcaster claimed Obama had British has alleged that Obama wiretapped his phones during the 2016 campaign, though he has yet to provide evidence of any kind. intelligence agency Government Communications example, if America accused Iran of violating the nuclear require a 24 hour waiting period before a man gets a Headquarters, the UK’s version of America’s NSA, weapons agreement? Would government officials merely colonoscopy or vasectomy. Additionally, claiming male carry out the actual illegal wiretapping. The British make up “alternate facts” without providing any proof? masturbation is “an act against an unborn child,” the government called the allegation “utterly ridiculous.”

Shouldn’t the officials of the United States government bill would fine men $100 each time they self-pleasure.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan and have evidence before going in front of the American While Representative Farrar realizes there is little chance ranking members of the Senate Intelligence Committee citizens with accusations such as these? Is this any way to her bill will become law, you have to give her a hand for Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Mark Warner all run a country? staying firm in this sticky situation. deny this story. But that doesn’t matter to some others, In a story that is in no way related to any of these The Trump Administration seems to be out of touch, including presidential spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway, charges of electronic devices conducting surveillance, perhaps delusional on this idea that Donald Trump was who has also contributed to this already strange story. we have a Bluetooth vibrator class action lawsuit. Wewiretapped by Barack Obama. Why? Are they attempting On March 12, Conway was interviewed by The Vibe vibrators, which can be controlled from a phone to divert attention from the lousy health care bill Record of Bergen County, New Jersey. In that app, have been collecting data on users – such as when known alternately as TrumpCare or RyanCare - that the interview, she mentioned that wiretapping may refer the device is used, for how long and on what setting. In Republicans have put forth to replace the Affordable Care to other unconventional types of surveillance, such as the class action lawsuit, the company has been ordered Act? Or to take our eyes off the incredibly bad budget “microwaves that turn into cameras.” How, exactly, would to stop collecting the information and destroy any they the White House is proposing? The budget that puts the that work? That the microwave would take pictures? have collected. But maybe Conway is onto something. cost of building that $25 billion wall on the border with Conway did not have an answer, and back pedaled her If your vibrator is reporting on your sex life, perhaps Mexico on the American taxpayer? Or simply to keep us ridiculous statement in a later interview with CNN. “I’m your microwave really is recording you while you sleep. from asking questions about the continuing story that not Inspector Gadget. I don’t believe people are using And who knows what that bastard mini fridge in your the Trump campaign was working directly or indirectly the microwave to spy on the Trump campaign. However, dorm room is telling your parents about your boyfriend with Russian intelligence to rig the American election?

I am not in the job of having evidence, that is what spending the night last weekend.

Fortunately, there are enough patriots watching all the investigations are for,” she said.

Just when you think the federal government has actions of this administration, and we will call out any Great. The counselor to the president doesn’t believe it set the lowest standards for weird behavior, the state and all missteps. is her job to have evidence that would back up her claims of Texas says, “Hold my beer.” In the Lone Star State, of criminal activity during a presidential campaign. She Representative Jessica Farrar has had enough of can just make up whatever garbage she likes and others restrictive laws aimed at women and their reproductive should spend time investigating her illegitimate charges. systems. Her mostly symbolic legislation would Is this what would happen in an international crisis, for

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THE MINARET MAR.23.2017

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SPORTS

Men’s track hopes to dominate UNF tourney

24 THE MINARET MARCH.23.2017

SPORTS

Photo Courtesy of Tom Kolbe

RUNNING WILD: Junior Lars Benner (left) and sophomore Joseph Weber (right) compete at the Embry-Riddle Last Chance Meet on Feb. 18. At this tournament, Benner finished 10th and recorded the best time for the Spartans. The team looks to carry their success into their upcoming tournament at the University of North Florida Spring Invitational on March 24-25.

Elena De Alfredo Contributing Writer elenadealfredo@spartans.ut.edu UT men’s track team is travelling to Jacksonville, Fl. to compete at the University of North Florida (UNF) Spring Invite on March 24-25.

The UNF Invite is a high-level competition event, where the Spartans will be running against Division I schools, such as Florida State University, University of North Florida or Florida Atlantic University among others, as well as Division II schools from the Sunshine State Conference (SSC).

“Our 5,000 meters runners will be using this race as a tune-up for a big race the following week at the University of Florida,” junior Lars Benner said. “Our 800 meter and 1500 meter runners will be taking advantage of the high quality track and competition to beat their personal bests in their respective event--Likewise, the sprinters and hurdlers will be going for their personal bests at UNF.” One of the advantages of competing in this event is the fact that UT distance runners will have the chance to race the 10,000-event, which consists of 25 laps on the track.

“This is very hard mentally and not just physically,” head coach of the men’s team Dror Vaknin said. “If they do it and

succeed this will set them up very well for cross country next year.”

This race is expected to be a great chance for the Spartans to show the progress the men’s track team has made, Vaknin said. “Many of [the runners] need this one good race to really solidify and believe in all the hard work they have done.”

Prior to the UNF Invite, UT ran at the the Embry-Riddle Last Chance Meet on Sunday, Feb. 18, setting a new school record in the Distance Meter Relay (DMR) with a time of 10:38:29. The relay team consists of Maus, Boria and Benner, and freshman Jakob Wikar.

Following this event, the Spartans competed against other Division I teams at the University of South Florida (USF) Open on March 17 and 18. Friday 17, Benner lead UT recording the best time for the Spartans at 15:24:99 and finishing 10th in 5,000 meters.

Also, Benner lead the Spartans in the 1500 meters, finishing fifth with a time of 4:04.35. In this same event, Maus secured a time of 4:09.25, finishing seventh and Boria was eighth after clocking in at 4:10.16.

The Spartans also hosted the annual UT Track Invite of March 3 competing against some schools from the SSC like Embry-Riddle, Florida Tech and Saint Leo. Individually, Benner and junior Joey Maus led the

Spartans in the 1500 meters, finishing second and third at 4:06.59. Also, senior Jessie Boria finished sixth in the 800 meters, while Benner was seventh. Collectively, UT men finished third in the 4x100 meter relay.

The goals of for the season are for pair of Spartans, Benner and Maus, to set the school mile record as well as Boria to break the 800 meter record, according to Vaknin.

Another of the objectives is to break the 5,000 meters record, while the freshman sprinters Wikar, D.J. Phelps and Vontrell Thomas have a chance to break their own personal running times.

Also, the Spartans are looking to take more risks to improve their racing times moving forward to their next scheduled meets. As a team, we work very good together in practice and we just try to convert it into racing,” senior distance runner Corey Munsch said. “Sometimes this is great for us other times we need to try to work together to get out our comfort zones—So risk-taking is something that we could work on as a team.”

After UNF, UT will be travelling to Gainesville to race at the University of Florida Invite on Thursday, March 30.

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25

SPORTS

Duke,Villanova lead way as bracket busters Simon Brady Contributing Writer simon.brady@spartans.ut.edu

An action packed first weekend of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament concluded last weekend. Games will resume tonight in Kansas City and San Jose as the sweet sixteen kicks off.

The most shocking results of this weekend’s games came from the East Region. Defending national champion, Big East regular season and tournament champions, and the NCAA tournament’s No. 1 overall seed Villanova Wildcats fell to the No. 8 seed Wisconsin Badgers 65-62.

Senior forward Nigel Hayes led the charge in the upset for the Badgers, finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds, including the eventual game-winning reverse layup that gave the Badgers a two point lead with 14 seconds remaining.

Wisconsin has reached the final four two of the last three years, and although outside of Hayes and senior point guard Bronson Koenig, the players on those final four teams have graduated. This team looks like a serious threat to get back to this year’s final four following Saturday’s upset victory.

The following day, the Duke Blue Devils, the region’s No. 2 seed, fell in similar shocking fashion to the No. 7 seed South Carolina Gamecocks. Heading into the tournament, Duke was a popular final four and national championship pick. Due to injuries and distractions surrounding the team, they struggled throughout the regular season. However they came into the NCAA tournament red hot, playing their best basketball and winning four games in four days to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship.

Sunday night’s game was a tale of two halves, as the Blue Devils held South Carolina to a mere 23 points in the first half. But in the second half, the Gamecocks clicked on cylinders, scoring 65 points and shooting a staggering 71 percent from the field. South Carolina was led by senior guard and South East Conference player of the year Sindarius Thornwell. Thornwell did everything for his club, scoring 24 points, dishing out five assists, and grabbing six tough rebounds.

With heavy favorites and top two seeds Villanova and Duke heading home, the east region has become wide open.

Wisconsin will clash with No. 4 seed Florida Gators in the Sweet Sixteen. Florida took care of business in the first two rounds of the tournament, defeating East Tennessee State and Virginia handily.

On the flip side in the east, South Carolina now takes on No. 3 Baylor Bears. After disappointing first round exits in the last two tournaments, Baylor has turned it around, defeating New Mexico State and USC in rounds one and two. Both games in the East Region will take place Friday night from Madison Square Garden in New York.

The West Region did not consist of the shocking upsets that plagued the East Region. In the first two rounds, outside of 11 seed Xavier Musketeers defeating the No. 6 seed Maryland Terrapins Thursday, March 16 in Orlando, and following it up with destroying No. 3 Florida State 91-65, every lower seed won.

In one of the more satisfying moments of the opening round, playing in their first game in NCAA tournament game in program history, No. 8 Northwestern Wildcats held

26 THE MINARET MARCH.23.2017

Photo Courtesy of Dan Garcia/Flickr UPSET ALERT: Duke guard Luke Kennard reacts to a bad call during a home game against Syracuse. Kennard and the Duke Blue Devils were stunned by the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 on Sunday night, in which Duke dominated the first half.

on to defeat No. 9 Vanderbilt Commodores in a dramatic fashion. However, their historic season came to an end Saturday evening as they fell to No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs 79-73.

Tonight from San Jose at the SAP Center, the West Region’s Sweet Sixteen games will take place. The Gonzaga Bulldogs will battle with the region’s No. 4, West Virginia,

who impressively knocked off the red hot Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday afternoon, 83-71.

Following that matchup, No. 2 Arizona Wildcats, the Pacific Coast Conference regular season and conference tournament champions, will play No. 11 Xavier, the lone double digit seed remaining in the tournament field.

Moving on to the Midwest region, No.1 Kansas Jayhawks

SPORTS

Photo Courtesy of MGOBLOG/Flickr PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Purdue big man Caleb Swanigan runs down the court during a road game against Michigan. Swanigan has been a big reason as to why the Boilermakers are advancing to the Sweet 16, as he is up for the Naismith Player of the Year award.

have taken care of business as expected. In a matchup of college basketball blue bloods and two of the nation’s most accomplished coaches in Bill Self and Tom Izzo, led by freshman phenom forward Josh Jackson, who dropped 23 points, the Jayhawks outlasted the Michigan State Spartans 90-70 to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

In the bottom half of the region, the No. 7 seed Michigan Wolverines continue to play outstanding, knocking off the Louisville Cardinals (No. 2) 73-69 in the round of 32, making six straight victories and going back to the Big Ten Tournament, where they won four straight in four days.

The Sprint Center in Kansas City will be the site for the midwest region’s sweet sixteen match ups. The aforementioned Michigan Wolverines will try to continue their stellar win streak as they take on another tough opponent in the No. 3 Oregon Ducks, led by junior guard Dillon Brooks.

The Jayhawks will take the court afterward and face the Purdue Boilermakers (No. 4), who recently have had disappointing first round exits in past tournaments, have played well up to this point beating Vermont and Iowa State

in rounds one and two.

Lastly in the South Region, the No. 1 seed and last year’s national runner up and North Carolina Tar Heels, who won this year’s Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title, are back in contention as they reached the sweet sixteen, hanging on to defeat No. 8 seed Arkansas Razorbacks 7265. North Carolina ended the game on an impressive 12-0 run in the final three minutes to fend off the Razorbacks incredible upset bid.

Elsewhere in the South Region, UCLA Bruins freshman point guard Lonzo Ball has played like the top NBA prospect that scouts project he will be. His father LaVar has been in the news lately for making bold and braggadocios comments on his son Lonzo’s ability, such as saying he’s already then the Golden State Warriors point guard and two time NBA MVP, Stephen Curry.

Speculation has followed these comments as to whether or not these claims could be the downfall of Ball’s play entering the tournament. He put all that talk to bed with his outstanding performance in a win over 6 seed Cincinnati Bearcats 79-67, scoring 18 points shooting an efficient 7-10

from the field. He also had 9 assists, all of which came in the second half.

The south region’s sweet sixteen games will commence at the FedEx Forum in Memphis with 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels clashing with the No. 4 seed Butler Bulldogs, who reached the Sweet Sixteen with decisive wins over Winthrop and Middle Tennessee State.

In arguably the most intriguing sweet sixteen matchup of the whole tournament, Lonzo Ball and No.3 seed UCLA Bruins will go head to head with the extremely talented 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats, led by the crafty stud freshman guard Malik Monk.

The excitement of March Madness resumes tonight as the tournament’s second weekend begins with fantastic match ups. Sixteen teams remain as they all will compete for the chance to make it to Phoenix, the site of this year’s tournament’s final four.

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SPORTS

Looking ahead to women’s Sweet Sixteen Elena De Alfredo & Mauricio Rich Contributing Writers elenadealfredo@spartans.ut.edu mauricio.rich@spartans.ut.edu

The 2017 NCAA Division I women’s basketball Championships started the first-round games between March 17 and 18.

UConn Huskies are expected to earn their 12-national title as they recently beat Albany University, with a final score of 116-55, for their 108th victory in the tournament on March 18.

Notre Dame beat Robert Morris with a final score of 7949 . South Carolina also won against UNC Asheville with a final score of 90-40. Baylor set an NCAA women’s basketball history record for most points scored in regulation by defeating Texas Southern 119-30, and advanced to the second round. The Baylor Bears also set a new margin victory record of 83.

One of the upsets of the first round comes from 12thseeded Quinnipiac who beat no. 5 Marquette in a close game with a final score of 65-63. Marquette’s sophomore guard Natisha Hiedeman missed the three pointer that would have given the Golden Eagles a chance to win the game in overtime.

Also, on the other side of the bracket tenth-seeded

Photo Courtesy of R24KBERG/Flickr

JUST KEEP WINNING: University of Connecticut junior Kia Nurse storms up the court in a conference game against East Carolina University. Thanks to Nurse’s nine threes, the Huskies have extended their record winning streak to 109 games.

28 THE MINARET MARCH.23.2017

Oregon pulled up a victory over seventh-seeded Temple in a close game with a score of 71-70. The Ducks were led by star freshman forward Ruthy Hebard who put up 23 points and 7 rebounds.

The Big Dance is a knock-out stage format featuring 64 teams, half of which obtained an automatic bid by winning their respective conferences. The other half were selected by the NCAA Championship committee based on factors like the regular-season record and the strength of schedule.

After the first and second rounds of the tournament, there will be 16 remaining teams who will advance to the Sweet Sixteen regional round. Following this round, in the Elite Eight stage, there will be eight teams competing for a place in the final four.

The NCAA Committee selected UConn as the No. 1 overall seed, who had an unbeaten 32-0 record. UConn became the first team in NCAA history to win four consecutive titles from 2013 to 2016. This year, UConn is aiming to win their fifth.

The other three teams selected as No.1 seeds of each region were Notre Dame (30-3), South Carolina (27-4) and Baylor (30-3). Notre Dame, South Carolina and UConn won their respective conferences. Baylor, on the other hand, lost the Big 12 championship game to West Virginia 77-66 on March 6.

Baylor hasn’t won the national title since 2012 and they are looking forward to earning the championship. Notre Dame has won only one time this tournament in 2001 under the directions of Muffet McGraw. South Carolina has never been crowned national champions in their long program history.

After 35 years of NCAA Division I women’s basketball, University of Tennessee and UConn lead the all-time championship titles list. Under head coach Geno Auriemma, UConn has a total 11 national titles, the most in NCAA women’s basketball history. Following the Huskies’ record, the University of Tennessee has won a total of eight national titles under head coach Pat Summitt.

Even though the Huskies have the most all-time titles, University of Washington’s senior guard Kelsey Plum is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history with 36.7 points per game (PPG), while shooting 53.3 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from 3-point line and 88.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Plum is one of the four finalists of the Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of Year along with sophomore forward Napheesa Collier from UConn, sophomore small forward Katie Lou Samuelson from UConn, junior forward A’ja Wilson from University of South Carolina.

The UConn duo were both named 2017 American Conference Co-Player of the Year. Collier is the second nationally ranked at 67.9 percent field-goal (FG) shooting.

Samuelson led UConn in scoring during the regular averaging 20.7 ppg. She was also named most outstanding player of the 2017 American Athletic Tournament.

Wilson earned her second consecutive Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of Year and was named SEC Tournament MVP. She also led the Gamecocks in scoring this year with 17.4 ppg, and ranked ninth in rebounds with 7.6 and third in blocks with 2.2.

The final four games will take place on March 31. The American Airlines Center in Dallas will host both rounds, including the NCAA national championship final on April 2.

SPORTS

Students found budding company in Signature Lacrosse Camryn Beaumont Contributing writer camryn.beaumont@spartans.ut.edu Former UT men’s lacrosse player Danny Soviero founded Signature Lacrosse in 2015 out of his college apartment. A junior finance and accounting major and member of the lacrosse team at the time, Soviero saw an opportunity for better-quality lacrosse balls and seized it.

He spent time researching how the chemical makeup of a lacrosse ball combined with exposure to UV rays and friction from play causes it to lose its quality within seven days. Soviero wanted to recreate a lacrosse ball while focusing on consistency and composition.

Toward the end of spring semester of his junior year, he began soliciting manufacturing partners and having them send him prototypes from across the world. With the intention of bootstrapping his business, Soviero took no funding from investors looking to sponsor his ideas.

“The hardest thing I ever did was stop playing lacrosse in college,” Soviero said. “I never had that break-out season because I was so busy with Signature Lacrosse. I’d have to decide between taking a call for a $5,000 deal or sitting with the team to watch lacrosse film, it was an easy decision. And I didn’t care.”

Soviero’s vision became a reality in summer 2016. “I got in the first container of lacrosse balls at the end of that summer,” Soviero said, “I set up the accounting, planning on selling the container throughout that following [school] year and I ended up selling the whole container within a month, which was just a little over $100,000 in sales.”

Once Soviero realized the difficulty of balancing school, lacrosse and a budding business, he began hiring employees and looking for a business location. He decided not to return to school in the fall of 2016. Soon after, Soviero closed a $1.2 million three-year contract with Lacrosse Unlimited, the country’s largest lacrosse-specific retailer.

He then sought out now business partner and former teammate Nick Martin. “It was getting to the point where I needed help. He jumped on board as a co-founder, and then stopped going to school in the spring,” Soviero said. Martin was a senior when he dropped out.

As of now, Signature Lacrosse fulfills product shipment from China directly to the biggest retailers in the sport including Lacrosse Unlimited and LAX.com.

“We also have representatives who will go out and solicit teams for their business; we do fulfillment for that from our warehouse [in Tampa],” Soviero said.

In a very short amount of time, Signature Lacrosse has managed to take on three full-time sales representatives who Soviero insists have been key to their success. One of these sales reps happens to be Charlie Cummins, senior sociology major and captain of the men’s lacrosse team.

“I’m responsible for all communication between [Signature Lacrosse] and its retail partners. I also work to develop new business in retail markets,” Cummins said.

“The atmosphere in the office is the perfect combination of hard work and humor.”

Men’s lacrosse head coach Rory Whipple declined to

Photo Courtesy of Nick Martin/Instagram TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Co-founders of Signature Lacrosse Daniel Soviero and Nick Martin discuss their company on The Mayor’s Hour with Mayor Bob Buckhorn and his co-host Jack Harris. Both Soviero and Martin were members of UT’s lacrosse team.

comment when asked if he had any advice or well wishes for Martin and Soviero.

In an effort to support and influence the UT community, Martin and Soviero have also created four internship programs within their business: marketing, IT, design and sales. “I think there are a lot of strong students coming out of UT who are hungry to succeed and have an opportunity which is different than a normal corporate job,” Soviero said.

Signature Lacrosse has also gotten involved in the lacrosse community in Tampa. Soviero began working with a non-profit called Coyotes Youth Lacrosse, recreating their infrastructure and overall strategic organization plans. In addition, they have created an initiative called “Sticks in Schools,” which provides lacrosse curriculum for

schools in the area; this includes a 50 minute class on the fundamentals of the sport.

“It is rare for an individual to demonstrate the level of success that Dan has in such a short time out of school by being able to practically and pragmatically translate classroom knowledge to real life business,” Erik Usher, President of Coyotes Youth Lacrosse said. “He has his finger on the pulse of budget, personnel, current economics, potential for growth, return on investment, calculated risk and most importantly he does this with humble ethics.”

Soviero says he does not regret dropping out and insists there are many exciting things coming in the spring for both Signature Lacrosse and the Tampa lacrosse community.

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SPORTS

Hammer receives fourth consecutive AllAmerican honor

Katelyn Massarelli Head Copy Editor katelyn.massarelli@theminaretonline.com

Achieving UT All-American Status is noted as being one of the highest honors for any athlete at UT. Throughout UT’s athletic history, 396 athletes have been named AllAmericans. Out of those, UT’s swimming program has snagged the most with a total of 225. Senior swimmer Martin Hammer is the first UT All-American of 2017 at the NCAA Championships.

Hammer has been named UT-All American for four consecutive years since 2014. This year he received the honor for the 100 Freestyle, clocking in at 44.31 seconds and coming in eighth overall. In total, Hammer says he’s competed in 11 different individual and relay events that qualify for UT All-American status.

To qualify as an All-American a swimmer needs to make the top 8 in the finals at the National Championship meet, according to men’s head coach Jimi Kiner. He said Hammer was the 138th male swimmer to reach the status.

“The talent level in [Division II] is outstanding and to be one of the top 8 swimmers in his event speaks volumes.”

Hammer said the NCAA Championships was a fun experience that contributed to new friendships and a way to acquaint new UT swimmers with the NCAA competition setting and what they can expect for future seasons.

Speaking of the final collegiate meet he would be swimming in, Hammer said it was a great way to finish out his long college career.

“Naturally I was very excited to become an All-American again,” Hammer said. “I made it all four years, which I think describes a very successful college career, and it really has been for me.”

Even after his achievement at nationals, Hammer stepped out the pool feeling disappointed.

“I felt in great shape, but the details were not at all on point, which is the most important thing in the sprint events,” Hammer said. “I really cannot explain why that happened, but it did. I learned from it and will take that experience with me.”

Hammer hoped for gold in the 50 Freestyle. He came close to making the top eight in the preliminaries, which would have secured a race in the finals, but he was beat out

by Paul Pijulet, a junior from Queens University (NC) by .02 seconds. Hammer said that it was unfortunate but was able to redeem himself with a win in the B Final, meaning he placed ninth overall in the preliminary rounds and an acceptable time.

Hammer said the details weren’t there to perform at the level he was hoping for, but details mattered less in the 100 Freestyle, and he was able to go fast enough to secure AllAmerican status.

Fellow swimmer Tommy Reminger, a junior distance swimmer, says he’s extremely happy and proud of his teammate for achieving his fourth UT All-American honor.

“He worked incredibly hard this year as our team’s captain and it proved to be very beneficial for himself as well as all of us,” Reminger said. “With this being his fourth year swimming and his fourth time receiving this honor, I think it proves that Martin Hammer is an incredible athlete with a lot of dedication for the sport and the team.”

Reminger says that Hammer’s presence has helped shape him into the swimmer he is today. Hammer set Reminger in the right direction and inspired him to raise the bar of expectations.

“The fact that Martin has been able to achieve this award motivates me for next year in following in his footsteps and raising the same honor as him,” Reminger said. “With his performance as well as the others’ performances, I am truly excited for the years to come for the UT swim team.”

The UT swim season officially came to an end at the NCAA Championships on March 11 bringing an end collegiate swim careers for all senior swimmers including Hammer.

“It was a good way to end his collegiate swimming career and now he will continue his career on the International level,” Kiner said.

Photo Courtesy of Tom Kolbe UT HISTORY: Senior Martin Hammer prepares to dive in during a UT home swim meet. Hammer earned his fourth consecutive UT All-American title, being recognized as a top eight swimmer throughout all of NCAA Division II.

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SPORTS

Yogis rock out at free class at Curtis Hixon Devon Conway Contributing Writer devon.conway@spartans.ut.edu Bella Prana, a local yoga studio, is hosting a free event in Curtis Hixon Park called Rock Asana. Bella Prana’s fourth annual Rock Asana will be held on March 31 from 6-7:30 p.m. The event is free and welcomes people of all skills levels, but it’s asked that you bring your own yoga mat and water. Bella Prana holds hundreds of yoga classes each week from hot power flow to yin yoga, but Rock Asana is a unique way for people to test the waters of yoga and learn about Bella Prana.

The classic rock-themed yoga class will be taught by the owner, Roni Elissabeth Sloman. During the yoga class, DJ Mensha will be spinning some rock tracks. Those who attend the event usually add some rock’n’roll flare to their yoga attire. Over the previous years, people have worn band t-shirts, bandanas, fake tattoos or hair dye. “Last year, we had over 750 people come out to rock’n’roll with us on and off the mat,” said Sloman. This year, Bella Prana is adding an extra edge to the event. Included DJ Mensha, there will be food trucks, wine tasting, local vendors and music after the event. It’s encouraged that you stay after and hangout with the Bella Prana crew.

“Last year, I customized a rock ’n’ roll t-shirt to

wear to Rock Asana. It was fun to let loose and add a different flare to my yoga practice,” said sophomore business management major Maya Matouk.

Attendees who sign up through Conscious Coconut, a partner of Bella Prana, will be providing a meal to those in need through Feeding America. “Last year, over 700 tasty meals were provided to those in need, it just added to the greatness of Rock Asana,” Sloman said.

Yogis who attend Rock Asana believe it is a way to share love and excitement in the community. “Because the event is free, it’s perfect for anyone to come out and spend some time having fun on and off the mat,” Sloman said. Bella Prana offers a variety of different daily yoga classes for every type of person. Sloman encouraged those who enjoy her class at Rock Asana to drop by the studio and take part in a typical Bella Prana Yoga Class.

Matouk never thought she would like yoga. “Last year, my friends made me go to Rock Asana with them. I never did yoga before and thought I would not like it, but I loved the experience. Now, I have an unlimited membership to Bella Prana and am looking forward to this year’s Rock Asana,” Matouk said.

Bella Prana offers a $39/month unlimited membership for first time students. This membership allows people to check out a number of different class to see what is right for them. If you think an unlimited membership might be too much, Bella

Prana offers a one class fee of $16, or you can buy class packages that range from $65 for 5 classes, $120 for 10 classes, and $220 for 20 classes. If you choose to buy the unlimited, Bella Prana offers discounts for the duration of the months you choose to purchase. The cheapest Bella Prana offers is $99 a month for a year of unlimited class.

“Bring your family and friends, because this year’s Rock Asana is going to be a fun filled night,” Sloman said. Sloman hopes everyone in the UT community comes out to rock’n’roll with the Bella Prana crew on and off the yoga mat.

S

PARTANS

TANDINGS MEN’S GOLF

1st at Webber Inivtational WOMEN’S GOLF

10th at Rollins Invitational MEN’S BASEBALL

19-5 WOMEN’S SOFTBALL

21-5 MEN’S LAX

6-3 WOMEN’S LAX

Photo Courtesy of Bella Prana Yoga BREATHE AND STRETCH: Yogis at Bella Prana studio meditate during a class. Rock Asana is a sponsored Bella Prana yoga class and is welcoming all skill levels to participate.

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ADS The University of Tampa Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry

What is OURI?

Major Touchpoints of OURI

1

2 3

OffICe Of UndeRgRadUaTe ReseaRCh and InqUIRy Opened summer 2016 Created out of UT’s qeP Inquiry-based experiential education

1

Tier 1: first-year experience

2

Tier 2: Major/Course specific Inquiry

3

Tier 3: Culminating experiences and Internships

Learning by doing

Contact: Jeffrey s. skowronek, Ph.d.

Associate Professor, Psychology Director, Undergraduate Research and Inquiry

(813) 257-3350 | OURI@ut.edu www.ut.edu/inquiry #UTInquiry