MINARET UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA’S NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1933
THE Vo l u m e
79
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15
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F e b r u a r y,
7
2013
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ut.minaret@gmail.com
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theminaretonline.com
Next Fall, Spartan Smokers Must Stick to Zones By PAOLA CRESPO
Opinion Editor
A proposal to create designated smoking zones on the University of Tampa’s campus, presented this past November by the student organization Breathe-Easy UT, has been approved and will be put into effect in the fall. It was evaluated by UT’s President Ronald Vaughn and his executive board during the winter break. The zones initiative began in fall 2009 with BreatheEasy UT and public health students helping produce data to support the shift in the university’s smoking policy. The previous policy, according to the Associate Dean of Wellness Gina Firth, stated, “Use of all tobacco products is prohibited in university buildings and in the outside areas surrounding fresh intakes. Individuals choosing to smoke outdoors must be at least 25 feet away from doors.” However, this restriction was seldom enforced. The new proposal aimed to improve campus smoking regulations. “With these smoke zones, we hope to follow the examples of over 500 universities that have become smoke-free,” Firth said last December. According to the American Nonsmokers Rights Foundation, 14 colleges in Florida have completely banned smoking on their campuses, while seven other
Smoking Zones on Campus Zone 1: Outside Straz Hall, near the swinging benches Zone 2: By the river between the Macdonald Kelce Library and McKay Hall Zone 3: Delo Park, in front of Austin Zone 4: Behind the Edison Building and Krusen Building (site currently under construction)
Photos courtesy of Taylor Sanger
Zone 1 (top left), Zone 2 (top right) and Zone 3 (bottom right) are three of the four designated smoking areas going into effect this fall.
colleges statewide have implemented smoking zones, including UCF, Valencia College and Miami Dade College. The zone areas were chosen through surveys run by
public health students and met the criteria of being an
See ZONES, Page 5
Student Government Group Seeks Campus Wi-Fi Fix By CAROLINE METELL
News Writer
the Internet fails sometimes when you’re trying to finish things, so it was a big concern for a lot of individuals.” A couple of these assignments included using Blackboard to submit quiz results and paper submissions, and Skype to hold off-campus classes during the time
According to some students, the University of Tampa doesn’t have the best wireless Internet connection on campus. This has caused the Academic Affairs Committee in Student Government to go so far as writing a resolution to be presented to the Student Government Senate, advocating “[Students] wouldn’t be able to for an update in the campus Wi-Fi service. finish their assignments on time and Becky Vaclav, Academic Affairs professors didn’t want to deal with Committee Chair, put together the resolution people blaming it on the Internet [...] along with a group of leaders from different But really it’s just that the Internet organizations. Their ultimate goal is to have fails sometimes when you’re trying to more wireless routers on campus, “giving finish things, so it was a big concern access to UT’s Wireless option to more for a lot of individuals.” students in more places,” as said in the resolution. - Becky Vaclav They also list examples of how the WiFi has failed some students while trying to submit assignments because of a weak or nonexistent connection. of the RNC. Vaclav said, “They wouldn’t be able to finish their Since fall 2012 the Office of Information Technology assignments on time and professors didn’t want to Help Desk has received approximately 20 reports about deal with people blaming it on the Internet, because issues with the Wi-Fi. Donna Alexander, Vice President they didn’t think it was true. But really it’s just that for Information Technology said, “all [the problems]
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In Other News...
2 Deadspin Editor Tells UT Students 7 New Caribbean Dance Troupe Brings Island Flair to UT
]
were resolved by directing students to connect to, UoT_ Secure, the encrypted UT Campus Wireless Network.” She also said that devices that are not permitted on campus could be to blame, “Reported incident investigations determined there has been numerous unauthorized wireless devices in close proximity causing the problem.” The University is equipped with Wi-Fi in over 500 locations on campus. These places include the residence halls, all classrooms, common areas with seating, outside areas with seating, Martinez Sports Center, Athletic press boxes/stands, and the MacDonald- Kelce Library. The only places where Wi-Fi is not available are parking garages, administrative and academic offices, and outdoor areas without seating. Not all the problems that students have are academic related though; some students try to use the Wi-Fi for entertainment purposes. Krista Harty, senior, since moving to Res Com has had difficulty using the Wi-Fi, “It sometimes doesn’t work in my room and when it does it’s usually really slow. Also in ResCom, Netflix doesn’t work on the Wii
See WI-FI, Page 5
10 Media Misconception: School Shootings Not a New Problem
16 Pastor Refuses to Tip Waitress, Already ‘Gave 10% to God’
13 London Inter-Bank Offered Rate Siphons Off Billions From Consumers
20 Ravens Celebrate As Niners Blackout
News..................................2 Diversions.........................6 A+E....................................7 Opinion............................ 11
Sports..............................17
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NEWS + FEATURES
FEBRUARY 7 2013 | THE MINARET
MINARET
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joshua Napier
joshua.napier@theminaretonline.com
MANAGING EDITOR Chelsea Daubar
chelsea.daubar@theminaretonline.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jessica Keesee
jessica.keesee@theminaretonline.com
NEWS + FEATURES Mia Glatter, Editor
mia.glatter@theminaretonline.com
Yasaman Sherbaf, Asst. Editor
yasaman.sherbaf@theminaretonline.com
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT Natalie Hicks, Editor
natalie.hicks@theminaretonline.com
Kelly St. Onge, Asst. Editor
kelly.st.onge@theminaretonline.com
OPINION
Paola Crespo, Editor
Paola.Crespo@theminaretonline.com
Annabella Palopoli, Asst. Editor
annabella.palopoli@theminaretonline.com
SPORTS
John Hilsenroth, Editor
john.hilsenroth@theminaretonline.com
Miles Parks, Asst. Editor
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ONLINE
Jennifer Bedell, Web and Social Media Director jennifer.bedell@theminaretonline.com
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Deadspin Editor Tells UT Students About Uncovering Te’o Online Love Hoax By CHELSEA DAUBAR
Managing Editor
Deadspin video/assignment editor Timothy Burke visited UT last week to speak with journalism students about his unraveling of the Manti Te’o hoax. Through teamwork and technology, Burke discovered what is being called one of the biggest sports scandals our generation has ever seen. “Living in a time, an era, where we are saturated by access to the Internet is what enabled us to be able to do this story,” Burke said. Burke completed the five-day investigation and co-wrote the story with Jack Dickey, a senior English major at Columbia University. “It was like putting together one CNN/youtube.com big puzzle, slowly and piece by piece,” Timothy Burke appeared on Anderson Cooper to discuss the Manti Te’o scandal. Burke said. Burke and Dickey began their piece to Kekua’s real identity. A photo more tweets from users who claimed investigation the way any other that had been tweeted from Kekua’s they thought Te’o’s relationship was a journalist would: They asked questions. account matched the profile picture hoax. Not long after, Burke and Dickey Using a Google Doc, Burke and Dickey from a Myspace account belonging received another email from someone answered a series of questions they felt to a woman whose profile name was claiming to be Tuiasosopo’s cousin. were most pertinent, in part through Diane. The email stated that while he knew Google and LexisNexis searches Burke would later find out her full that his family would not approve of establishing what other news outlets name was Diane O’Meara. Burke him sharing this information, he didn’t had published. When multiple outlets contactewd O’Meara and explained to want Ronaiah to hurt anyone else. led them in different directions, “He gave us everything,” Burke knew they had a story. Burke said, “the whole “Four different publications story.” had four different dates of The final question Burke death for [Lennay Kekua],” needed to answer was where “It was like chasing the white Burke said. “That was a red Te’o fell in all of this. It is rabbit down the rabbit hole. Only, flag.” a question that still remains we knew the hole existed, we just They first found conflicting unanswered today. weren’t sure about the rabbit.” information for Kekua’s age, As Burke said, “We had date of death, funeral location to ask the people that we -Timothy Burke and the time lapse between her knew, ‘Did Manti Te’o know own death and the death of about this? How much did he Te’o’s maternal grandmother. know? When did he know?’ Burke subsequently carried out And they were skeptical as a simple Social Security public to how [Te’o] could have records search to find a confirmed date her that he thought her identity had been fallen for this for so long.” of death for Kekua. Her name brought stolen. Burke then sent the pictures that On the morning the Deadspin article up no results, meaning one of two were supposedly of Kekua. O’Meara went live, Burke made a series of phone things: Kekua hadn’t died, or she never confirmed they were all pictures she calls in hopes of getting a statement even existed. had taken of herself. from Te’o or someone connected with “It was like chasing the white rabbit The most recent picture used to Te’o on where Te’o stood with this down the rabbit hole,” Burke said. portray Kekua was about a month old hoax. The number they had for Te’o “Only, we knew the hole existed. We and O’Meara had only sent it to one was not accepting calls. They called just weren’t sure about the rabbit.” person. An old friend from high school, Te’o’s father, but he was in a meeting. After conducting a series of Google Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, had asked her for They called the Notre Dame football Image reverse searches, and sifting the picture so he could send it for moral press office and got hold of a secretary. through old and deleted tweets, Burke support to a cousin who was about to go Burke explained who he was and who he and Dickey found the final puzzle through major brain surgery. worked for. He said Deadspin was about She subsequently sent him to publish a major story about Te’o and multiple pictures, including they had evidence Te’o’s dead girlfriend one of her holding a sign that never existed. Burke asked to speak with said “good luck on the 7th,” the the football press officer. The secretary supposed date of Tuiasosopo’s said the press officer would get back to cousin’s surgery. January them if he found it important. 7th was the date of the BCS “We waited an hour,” Burke National Championship football said. “He didn’t get back to us. We game between the University of published.” Notre Dame and the University Since its publication, the Deadspin of Alabama. story has received more than 4 million At the same time Burke hits. It boasted more than 1 million contacted O’Meara, Dickey hits the day it premiered. uncovered three tweets from Burke said the story’s ultimate users saying they knew who success stemmed from basic journalistic was behind Lennay Kekua. All instincts: asking questions. three tweets sported the hashtag “I have no idea how different media #ronaiah. outlets didn’t pick up on it,” he said. Burke and Dickey had “People don’t like to question death.” access to a phone number for At the end of his talk, which he Tuiasosopo. He has yet to return delivered at the invitation of assistant their calls. journalism professor Daniel Reimold, “That’s one of the frustrations Burke left the students with one piece in this job,” Burke said. “In of reporting advice. doing an investigation, you are “Be a critical listener,” he said, trying to find information that “Don’t accept everything as fact, but somebody doesn’t want you to learn to ask why.” Photo Courtesy of Deadspin.com know.” Chelsea Daubar can be reached at Manti Te’o, Notre Dame football player, the alleged A little more digging led to chelsea.daubar@theminaretonline.com victim of an online relationship hoax.
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NEWS + FEATURES
THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 7 2013
Clubs Benefit From New Social Media Policy
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Promotion Of UT Strengthened Via Different Forms Of Networking Cardenas also explained that this media policy does not affect any clubs on On Dec. 10, 2012, The University campus, student organizational sites or of Tampa created the first version of their anyone’s personal account. UT does have the right to ask anyone Social Media Policy, which helps UT’s who creates an account and posts offensive different departments get the word out material or represents the university in a about the university. bad light to remove their account. Eric Cardenas, the Director of Public According to the policy, “UT Information and Publications said, “The recognizes that social media sites can be policy is designed to help clarify how effective tools for exchanging information to utilize social media when creating, and raising the visibility of the university. maintaining or posting to a site representing Therefore, employees may contribute the university.” content about UT and their work. “The policy covers topics that are However, employees are required regularly encountered when using social to follow the policy when maintaining media sites,” Cardenas said, “such as: university-sponsored site. You should necessary notifications when creating keep in mind the mission and best interests sites, protecting confidential and of the university.” proprietary information online, online The policy covers all social media content, access to administration of websites such as Facebook, Twitter and sites and how to protect the institutional blogs. voice. It also covers responsibilities of “Basically, the university uses social advisors of student organizations that media to promote itself to current students, utilize social media.” future students, alumni and friends of the university,” Cardenas said, “but there are guidelines to what UT employees can and can’t do with official UT departmental pages.” One of the UT official accounts is @ UofTampa on Twitter, where you can find UofTampa/Twitter.com out about campus UT’s Twitter account has to follow the same rules as the new policy. happenings and updates. By MARK SUGDAN
News Writer
Adam.Gomes/Facebook.com UTTV is one of the many organizations being affected by the new social media policy on campus.
The official hashtag of the university is #UTampa, and that gives the tweet power of visibility, meaning someone might be searching on Twitter for the university and they could find a post easier when a user employs the hash tag. The policy also goes along with the UT Social Media Best Practices, which describes “how best to utilize social media to further UT’s mission and how to enhance and protect personal and professional reputations when participating in social media.” Even though the social policy does not
apply to student clubs, Adam Gomes, the director of public relations for UTTV, the on campus television station said, “Social media is a huge part of the way we tell students what we’re all about and what we have to offer.” UTTV utilizes YouTube by posting their shows every Thursday and links them from their Facebook page. They also have 250 Twitter followers in which they talk to users and inform people of their meetings. Mark Sugdan can be reached at mark. sugdan@spartans.ut.edu
From the Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 reports
We’re Paying The Big Bucks... On Jan. 28 late at night, a fire alarm was activated due to a faulty smoke detector. Cruel Intentions On Feb. 1 at 1:42 a.m., a student intentionally caused damage to university property in the Plant Hall parking lot. “Do The Creep” On Feb. 2, a student was arrested by Tampa Police Department off campus for loitering and prowling. Reports compiled by Yasi Sherbaf
On Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, Student Government met in Reeves Theater.
Lost Student, $ Reward $ If Found On Feb. 3, an RA found an intoxicated student sleeping in front of a room in Rescom. Quick, Call Catfish! On Feb. 3, throughout the night, a student reported receiving harassing text messages from an unknown person. Cheers To The Freakin’ Weekend On Feb. 2, between 12:20 and 1:46 a.m., two underage students were arrested off campus by the Tampa Police Department for possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Lacrosse home opener will be on Friday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. There will be SG blackout shirts and a pregame tailgate and student organizations can reserve tables at the event. Student organizations can still register for Relay for Life. UT Student Government is looking for a new junior class senator. Leadership Awards Night will be held on Tuesday, April 16 at 6:45 p.m. on the ninth floor of Vaughn. RSVP is needed. Nominations are due by March 1 and applications are due by March 8. Check out ut.edu/ leadershipawards for details.
4 FEBRUARY 7 2013 | THE MINARET
NEWS + FEATURES
Brevard Implements New Dry Dorm Policy Next Year Res Hall 7 Designated To Permit Alcohol next Fall
By YASAMAN SHERBAF
Asst. News Editor
Choosing one’s dorm of residence for the year is part of the college experience. There are many choices as to what to look for in a dormitory, from its commodities to its location. With 11 dormitories to choose from, students will have preferences, especially depending on age. Brevard Hall, which is now a wet dorm, is going to be changed to a dry, alcohol free dormitory from Fall 2013 and on, while the new dormitory, Res Hall 7, is going to be a wet dormitory. “When looking at the students who are living in Brevard currently, I can tell you last semester there were only 47 people at the end of December who were over 21, and as of now, there are only 90,” said Kade Ross, Assistant Director of Residence Life. “As you can see of the over 400 people that live there, the majority are not even able to drink. So for us, this was an easy decision to make as the average age in Brevard gets lower and lower.” An RA in Vaughn also agrees with this, “I think that it is a good idea, because roughly half of residents in Brevard are under 21 anyways, so making it dry should not affect their choice of dorm,” said junior economics major Artiom Gherman. There has not yet been a major switch or a switch at all from students requesting Brevard to
requesting Res Hall 7 because the “Though looking at it from the housing selection process for either capacity of both buildings, Brevard Brevard or Res Hall 7 has not started. currently has a capacity for 471 Res Hall 7, which will now be only beds that could be for 21 and over for upperclassmen, is going to give students, whereas the new building students one more dormitory choice has a capacity for 528 spaces and so to have in addition to other three wet we are adding 57 additional alcohol dormitories. designated spaces to campus,” said “The new dorm on the other Ross. side will most likely attract However, without knowing the upperclassmen who would like to try dynamics of the new dormitory, Ross something is not able new,” said to state what Gherman. the benefits “As you can see of Even will be for the the over 400 people though dormitory. none of the Students that live there, the dormitories who feel majority are not even are affected by able to drink.” designated this decision as either are encouraged - Kade Ross, freshmen, to attend The Assistant Director of sophomore, Residence Hall Residence Life junior or Association senior, meetings on students Tuesdays at 8 still prefer certain dormitories over p.m. in Brevard Community Room others. “Since the new policy about to express their comments Brevard has changed, my preference and concerns. In addition, for a wet dorm has changed to the RHA board is also a Rescom and Res Hall 7,” said top resource for students sophomore government major Peter on campus to want to get Sanchez. involved with campus life. As far as other policies involving Yasaman Sherbaf can dormitories changing, the Brevard be reached at Yasaman. alcohol policy is the only change for Sherbaf@theminaretonline. now. com. Since Brevard is predominantly under 21, there should not be much change in current behavior.
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What You Need to Know Brevard currently has a capacity of 471 beds that could be for 21 and over students. Res Hall 7 will have a capacity of 528 spaces, occupied with students who if over 21 would have the opportunity to possess alcohol. This will add 57 additional alcohol designated spaces to campus.
ADVERTISEMENT
-Kade Ross
NEWS + FEATURES
THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 7 2013
Zone policy to be enforced
Wi-Fi at its slowest in Res Com and Vaughn dormitories From WI-FI, Page 1 like it did in Straz.” Senior Chelsea Wulff, who also lives in Res Com, has similar difficulties. “If you want to watch a TV show on your laptop, you need to use your Ethernet cord unless you want to buffer every couple of seconds. For Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest it is OK but the Ethernet works so much faster. Basically, I rarely use my Wi-Fi,” she said. The Wi-Fi is also known to be slow
occasionally in other dorms such as Vaughn, according to freshman Brooke Collins. “On the 7th floor for the most part the Wi-Fi is good and it works well, but sometimes it will act up and make the Internet very slow,”she said. Vaclav and her committee hope that their resolution will eventually be seen by the Dean of Students and the IT Department. They will first present to the Student Government Senate for Debate on Tues. February 19. Caroline Metell can be reached at cmetell@spartans.ut.edu
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From ZONES, Page 1 appropriate distance away from buildings. According to Firth, the smoking policy will be enforced by trained student and staff smoke-free ambassadors. They will approach people who are in violation and provide them with a map of the four zones and information on smoking cessation services. It will be a mutual respect policy. Firth explained the importance of creating the smoking areas. “We can prevent health risks associated with exposure to secondhand smoke,” she said. “Many chronic diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, emphysema and cardiac disease are exacerbated by secondhand smoke.” Some smokers are not thrilled with the idea of being restricted to zones. “It’s annoying that I’d have to sit somewhere special for smoking,” sophomore Chardene Williams said. “That limits the amount of friends that you can sit with and [it creates an] even longer walk, depending on which spot you are closest to. I live in Brevard and the closest one to me would be a walk over to Austin.” Junior Sabrina Milroy supports the smoking zones, but doubts they will be effective once implemented. “This is a good idea, it is just going to be really hard for people to follow them,” Milroy said. “Even now we aren’t allowed to smoke under the veranda, but people do it anyway. So if it is windy or cold or if you just want to go down for a quick smoke, you are more than
likely just going to stand closest to your building than walk to a smoke zone.” According to the American College Health Association, tobacco use is one of the top 11 most important health issues to target college campuses. Monica Mansour, former president of Breathe-Easy UT, was instrumental in moving this proposal into action. “Our initiative’s goal is to educate students about the dangers of tobacco use and help those who are addicted or feel that they may become addicted,” Mansour said. “In addition, we are dedicated to make UT smoke-free, for it is proven that by having smoking policies, it reduces the amount of tobacco use and also provides people who don’t smoke the opportunity to breathe clean air. It is not that we are anti-smoking as much as we are pro-health. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and therefore we believe there must be something done.” Last year, Breathe-Easy UT received more than 1,000 student signatures for a petition saying they are in favor of smoke zones. “This is a huge number and it is incredible when I and other members hear the complaints from students about smoke around campus,” Mansour said. “Many students have asthma or are allergic to smoke and therefore are challenged daily because of the choice of other people. That is why we are so persistent about becoming smoke-free.” Paola Crespo can be reached at Paola. Crespo@theminaretonline.com
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6 FEBRUARY 7 2013 | THE MINARET
Diversions
Sudoku
The Weekend Update Florida State Fair Feb. 7 - 18
Florida State Fairgrounds Gates open at 10 a.m. $8 - $12 ages 12 and older, $4 - $6 ages 6 -11, 5 and younger free
Rock the Park Feb. 7
Curtis Hixon Park 6:30 p.m. Free
Guest Artist Recital: Melodie Dickerson Feb. 7
Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values 7:30 p.m. Free
Sunset Cinema at Pier 60: The Little Rascals Feb. 8
Pier 60, Clearwater Beach PrintableSudokuPuzzles.net
Picture
WEEK of the
Photo by Casey Budd/The Minaret Men’s Basketball beat Florida Tech 77-74 this past Friday at the Blackout game.
6 p.m. Free
Florida Orchestra Pops Concert: Broadway Now Feb. 8
Ferguson Hall at David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts 8 p.m. $15 - $45
Kathleen Madigan Feb. 8
Palladium Theater 8 p.m. $39 - $59
Bike Safari Feb. 9
Boyd Hill Nature Preserve 9:30 a.m. $5
Katt Williams Feb. 9
Tampa Bay Times Forum 8 p.m. $42.50 - $100
Artist Talk with Mario Garcia Joya Feb. 10
Feathered Serpent Gallery 1018 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, 33701 4 p.m. Free
Arts + Entertainment
THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 7 2013
7
New Caribbean Dance Troupe Brings Island Flair to UT
By MADISON IRWIN
Arts + Entertainment Writer
There are surprises at every corner when a new semester begins at the University of Tampa. This semester, there is its first ever Caribbean Dance Troupe. While Latin America is known for the tango and salsa, the Caribbean is also home to a rich tradition of dance from ballroom and ballet to steps created for dancing in the streets. These dances have their ancestry in both African and European cultures, producing a unique form of expression and cultural identity. Each island has its own specific rhythms, but the outcome is the same: dance. Folkloric, a popular dance to perform, educates and entertains travelers with traditional dances from the islands, including the Jamaican jonkonnu dance. UT is known for its diverse students. According to UT’s website, around 1,300 international students come from all over the world to get their education here. This includes many students from Caribbean islands since they are so close to Florida. Auditions for the dance troupe were held at 3 p.m. this past Sunday in the Cass Gymnasium. “I’m not too nervous,” said Westhaline Charles, a freshman from Haiti. “I don’t have a problem picking up routines quickly. It’s part of my culture, so I see this type of dance everywhere I go.” In middle school and
high school she was part of a dance team. “I thought, ‘why not try it here?’” Charles said. “If I make the team, I’m mostly excited for the shows. All the work you put in at practice will finally pay off for everyone to see.” Charles and some other girls followed along to a short dance routine. Their intensity showed as they learned Casey Budd/The Minaret the dance. Dancers show off their moves during UT’s Caribbean Dance “The idea about Troupe auditions. Freshman De’Quan Browne-Schmidt started the having this dance troupe to bring more Caribbean flair to campus. troupe came up in a conversation between Although Caribbean dance can be a me and my co-chair, Regine Bazil,” said mixture of many styles, there is a hint of De’Quan Browne-Schmidt, a freshman African influence to the troupe’s style, from St. Thomas. “We were talking They will be performing to calypso, about having marching band dancers soca, reggae and dancehall music for the marching band at UT. We then genres, all of which originate from the found out that the university did not Caribbean and West Indies. They will have a marching band.” He helped start also be using a lot of feather and beading the troupe. with their costumes. “I figured since there was a Spanish “They basically look like Las Dance Team and an African Dance Vegas showgirls with the extravagant Team, why not bring the Caribbean headpieces and shimmery costumes,” spice to UT as well?” said Browne- Browne-Schmidt said. “The troupe’s Schmidt. He is currently the State uniform costume would consist of President of the Virgin Islands Family, the colors of UT: black, yellow, red Career and Community Leaders of and white. We will try to be a part of America (FCCLA), so he has a passion the Spring Dance Happening. One for spreading Caribbean culture. performance I know about is at the 2013
Miss Phi Beta Sigma Pageant to be held in March of this year.” They are planning to hold another audition for those who couldn’t make it to Sunday’s audition due to conflicting events like the Super Bowl. “I am looking forward to spreading the Caribbean and West Indian culture to the students of UT and possibly to the state of Florida,” said Browne-Schmidt. “We may actually have our very own Carnival parade here at UT. It’s an idea that I’m very excited about. I’m also looking forward to seeing how intrigued people will look when they see the uniqueness of this organization.” Madison Irwin can be reached at xoxomaddie2@aim.com.
Freshman Discovers Tampa’s Roots by Running in Great Urban Race By SAMANTHA DELLE Arts + Entertainment Writer
While getting a head start on my New Year’s resolutions and eagerly trying to accomplish my ambiguous goal of entering more 5K races this year, I stumbled upon the website for the Great Urban Race. Entering before 2013 saved my team members and me about $15, so I spent my last minutes of New Year’s Eve counting down until the ball dropped and registering for the race in Tampa. The race’s website describes it as a “wild urban adventure.” Upon completion of the race, I would wholeheartedly agree. Besides listing rules and alluding to the mentally and physically challenging nature of the race, the website did not clearly list the types of activities the participants would experience. The mileage would be based on the route the individual participants took to find and complete the challenges. Simply, the course would be open from 12 to 5 p.m., and teams would have to end at exactly 5 p.m. regardless if they had completed all the challenges or not. I got the feeling that I would just have to be prepared for anything. Several days before the race, I got an email informing me of the location of the beginning of the race, Splitsville Lanes on Channelside Drive. The race packets would be distributed at 11 a.m. and the race would begin at noon. Prizes would be awarded for the best costumes, and the first, second and third place finishing teams would receive monetary prizes. My teammates and I decided that we wanted to be competitive without focusing so much on finishing quickly. We were all looking forward to whatever the race had to offer. When we arrived at Splitsville
on Saturday morning, we were very impressed by other teams’ costumes. There was a crew of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a man in a police uniform with teammates dressed as robbers, a group dressed as stereotypical tacky tourists and plenty of colorful wigs, capes and rainbow leggings. Possibly the most creative bunch I saw included a woman in
mediums to convey the clues, including a number grid, a fill-in puzzle, a cryptogram, GPS coordinates and a minimalistic map. Additionally, several clues merely described the characteristics of the locations, so we had to search online and ask locals in an attempt to find the places hosting the challenges. After solving the number grid, the
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Delle
Freshman Samantha Delle ran the Great Urban Race last weekend. She learned more about herself and the city of Tampa than she could have ever imagined.
a wedding dress with teammates dressed in bridesmaid dresses. With just a few minutes remaining before noon, Great Urban Race workers passed out sealed envelopes in their orange, salmon and blue color scheme. A big countdown ensued. Afterward, contestants scurried to hidden corners to rip open the clues and strategize a course to follow for the rest of the day. The clue sheet incorporated various
clue instructed us to Tampa Upcycle, a craft materials boutique in Historic Ybor City. Our clue sheet stated that we needed a photo of “all teammates clearly visible holding your new four-legged friend as proof of clue completion.” We were under the impression that a dog would be waiting for us, but this clue proved most surprising. In fact, the “four-legged friend” was referring to a baby alligator! We had a bit of trouble finding the
location the clue sheet explained as “evolved through many uses, first as a furniture store, later an art gallery, carpet warehouse, hardware store, pawn shop,” and finally its current use as a bar and restaurant. We wandered into a bar, and the bartender directed us to Gaspar’s Grille. Possibly the most exciting and daunting challenge awaited us here: one teammate had to walk barefoot across a bed of hot coals. I volunteered to take the video as one of my braver teammates accomplished the challenge. Upon solving the puzzles on our sheet, the clues led us to new and original locales. The challenges at each of the locales were well planned, too. Furthermore, we got to see captivating aspects of Tampa. We ended up having a fantastic day of exploration. One of the most enjoyable aspects about working in a team atmosphere, aside from the obvious fun of being with friends, was that we all brought a different skill set to the race. We were able to capitalize on our strengths and finish the challenges in a timely manner. Also, as a freshman at the University of Tampa, the race really opened my eyes to unique culturally and historically significant areas of Tampa previously unknown to me. Perhaps I shouldn’t admit it, but I had not been to Ybor City until the Great Urban Race. I also saw the bustling Farmer’s Market. Though I initially thought $40 for registration was a bit pricey, it ended up being an invaluable investment. I had a day full of incredibly special experiences, learned more about Tampa and received a really neat finisher’s medal. Moreover, I have wonderful memories from the event as well as plenty of new stories to tell my family and friends back home. Samantha Delle can be reached at samanthadelle@aol.com.
8
FEBRUARY 7 2013 | THE MINARET
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
J.J. Abrams to Direct New ‘Star Wars’ Film By GRIFFIN GUINTA
Arts + Entertainment Writer
We don’t know that much about the newest Star Wars installment, but at least we know who will be directing it. Disney (now the proud owner of the Star Wars franchise) has selected renowned sci-fi director J.J. Abrams to take the helm for the movie, tentatively titled Episode 7. To many fans, this selection comes as a surprise because Abrams directed the reboot of Star Trek (a rival franchise) not too long ago. Others are excited by the news because Abrams has a strong reputation for making quality films and productions such as Joi/Flickr.com Cloverfield, Super 8 and Lost. Typically, his films are filled with top-of-the-line graphics, dynamic explosions, captivating storylines and more explosions. Could we expect the same for Star Wars Episode 7? Around campus, students had mixed opinions about the hiring of Abrams for the movie. Senior Brandon Shea believes that the sky’s the limit for Abrams. “[Abrams] couldn’t do much worse than George Lucas did,” Shea said. He added that he wasn’t bothered by the fact that Abrams clt2006, mauri_017, kushkush88/Photobucket.com also directed Star Trek. “I mean, Star Trek was a good movie, so Disney selected sci-fi director J.J. Abrams to create the newest Star Wars movie, tentatively titled Episode 7. I anticipate Star Wars will be as Will he meet fans’ expectations? well.”
Sophomore Nolan Tashjian agreed with Shea, saying that he “wasn’t worried” about how Abrams would influence the newest Star Wars. “I don’t think any of us really know much about what’s going to happen, but I’m confident that he’ll do a good job,” Tashjian said. Others, however, are skeptical about the direction that Disney is taking the blockbuster franchise. Freshman Matt Silverman believes that the primary motivation for the reboot is simply driven by money. “In my opinion, it seems like they’re just making a flashy remake to pick up some extra cash. Now doesn’t seem like the right time to be making a Star Wars film,” Silverman said. At this point, we know very little about the cast, the story or even what the title of the film will be. Honestly, we can only speculate as to what the ever popular Mr. Abrams will bring to the table. Some are ecstatic that such a well-versed director is heading up this massive project, while others remain cautious to rule the movie as a projected success this early in the game. No one will truly know until it comes closer to the release of the film. One thing we do know is that as long as Abrams is in command, there are bound to be explosions. Griffin Guinta can be reached at griffinguinta@gmail.com.
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THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 7 2013
9
Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook/Facebook.com
Oscar Predictions: Prepare for ‘Lincoln’ Victory, ‘Silver Linings’ Snub By ALYSSA HINGRE
Arts + Entertainment Writer
The Oscars will be held on Feb. 24 and speculations on who will take home the wins are flying around the Internet. Here are my own predictions for Best Picture, Actor, Actress and Director.
Best Picture:
There are a lot of impressive films nominated for this category. I would love to see Silver Linings Playbook take home the Oscar. It has such a unique storyline and pushes the boundaries by showing the audience how messed up everyone can be, with or without a mental illness. Along with Silver Linings Playbook, a close chance at a win is Zero Dark Thirty. This is an extremely powerful film. It portrayed the subject of Osama bin Laden so tastefully. Sadly, even though I loved Les Misérables, I have a feeling it won’t make the cut for the Oscar. It was a moving film with a star-packed cast, but its competing power plays definitely defeat it. If either Silver Linings Playbook or Zero Dark Thirty wins then I will be very happy. However, I have a feeling this will not be the case. The film that will most likely be crowned the winner is Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. This film has been talked about non-stop since its release. With talented actors, amazing effects and a strong storyline it is difficult to argue
that it is not deserving of a win. Not all of the audience appreciated the long-winded monologues dominating the plot, but, regardless, Lincoln is the foreseen winner.
Best Actor:
You would think this category would have a close call for who the winner might be, but it seems as though Daniel Day-Lewis from Lincoln will take the gold home. He already has two Oscars under his belt, and DayLewis did an incredible portrayal of President Lincoln. It doesn’t even seem like a competition. I would like to see Bradley Cooper from Silver Linings Playbook win. His performance of a recently released bipolar patient was captivating. Showing such an array of intense emotions should earn him something. Even though I may not personally like Day-Lewis (I think he’s a dry actor or maybe just dried up from old age), he will most likely take the win this year.
Best Actress:
The nominees all have somewhat of an equal chance in this category. There has been a lot of buzz about the rising talent Jennifer Lawrence. This past year she has really come out to show the acting world what she is made of. With one of her latest films, Silver Linings Playbook, Lawrence really stood out as a star actress. She has been gaining a lot of recognition as her career picked up after
her role as Katniss in The Hunger Games. Lawrence has a lot to offer. She has even been compared to Meryl Streep. Recently, Lawrence was awarded both a Gold Globe and a Screen Actor’s Guild award. However, another more seasoned actress has entered the running and may give Lawrence a close race to the finish. Jessica Chastain, the actress from Zero Dark Thirty, is also a popular choice for the Oscars.
Best Director:
It seems like Steven Spielberg will have an easy win because of his work on Lincoln. Although, I want to see a change-up. I want to see Ang Lee, the director of Life of Pi, or David O. Russell, the director of Silver Linings Playbook, prove to be strong competitors against Spielberg. All three directors are incredibly talented, but I have a feeling it will come down to Spielberg. Although predictable, he already has many awards under his belt and I doubt it will stop here. I hope to see Lee as the winner because he is a visionary director. Life of Pi has such a magical aura about it. Everything about it seems fresh and different than how so many other movies have been directed in the past. I’m holding my breath that Life of Pi takes home the Oscar, but it is a little difficult to tell if it can triumph over Spielberg’s historical saga. Alyssa Hingre can be reached at hingrea@yahoo.com.
Tampa Museum of Art Features Modern America in New Exibit By KELLY ST.ONGE
Asst. Arts + Entertainment Editor
The Tampa Museum of Art opened its newest exhibition, “To See As Artists See: American Art from the Phillips Collection,” this past weekend. This showcase of modern-American artwork will be on display through April 28, 2013. The Phillips Collection at the Tampa Museum boasts 107 painting by 75 artists showing the progression of modern-American painting from the 1850s through the 1960s. Some of the artists with works on display include: Maurice Prendergast, Rockwell Kent, Georgia O’Keeffe and Grandma Moses. The museum executive director Todd D. Smith showed his enthusiasm for the exhibit. “The Tampa Museum of Art is one of only three U.S. museums to host this exhibition, and we are delighted to bring a cultural experience of this caliber to our region,” Smith said. “Showcasing iconic masterworks that celebrate the best of American art from the late 19th century through the mid20th century will make this exhibition one that is not to be missed.” Duncan Phillips created The Phillips Memorial Art Gallery in honor of his father and brother in 1921 in Washington, D.C. It became the first American modern art collection and was later renamed The Phillips Collection. Dorothy Kosinski, director of The Phillips collection said, “He [Duncan Phillips] was one of the few collectors between the wars to champion America’s artistic diversity, collecting works
by self-taught artists, artists of color, immigrants and naturalized Americans. This early and steadfast commitment to American artists of fresh vision propelled the Phillips as an essential force in American art.” Admission into the museum is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, Florida educators and active military and $5 for students. The Tampa Museum of Art also participates in a program sponsored by Bank of America giving free admission during the first full weekend of each month to Bank of America cardholders. To find out more about The Phillips Collection visit www.phillipscollection. org. Kelly St.Onge can be reached at kelly.st.onge@theminaretonline.com.
Clockwise from Left: Photo Courtesy of Hassam Washington Archive; photos by Samantha Battersby/The Minaret
The Phillips Collection will be on display at the Tampa Museum of Art starting now through April 28, 2013.
10 FEBRUARY 7 2013 | THE MINARET
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Shone Releases New Album Through Scavenger Hunt Adventure By JORDAN WALSH
Arts + Entertainment Writer
The best thing about the modern music industry is how quickly and suddenly it can take an unexpected turn. In a digital era, things happen instantly—you don’t really have time to think about it much. You stream a song, decide whether you like it or not and either move on or press the repeat button. But what if there was more to it than that? After all, the Internet is a community. On certain websites, people discuss new songs all day long—what they like, what they hate, what they are indifferent to—for no reason besides a sheer love for music. But what if the musicians were listening? What if they knew that this online presence is at the heart of the modern underground music world? What if they figured out exactly the right formula for pure word-of-mouth viral marketing? On Dec. 21, 2012, members of veteran alternative rock bands began directing their fans towards heatthing. com via their social media accounts. The website showed a creepy video of a windmill in a desert with the words “SHONE” and “be patient” and a signup page for a mailing list. Cue the madness. For weeks, members of Tumblr and AbsolutePunk.net were obsessed with solving what became a full-scale music mystery. People in the Long Island area received letters from a mysterious “Levi Gudmundson” and were sent on scavenger hunts to find artifacts from his life (such as birdhouses and songs).
Participants began to piece together Levi’s story, a haunting tale of murder and moral struggle. Once they put the clues together, it formed a complete album titled Heat Thing by the band Shone. While there is certainly more mystery to solve (specifically, no one knows who is actually in the band because they don’t play their first show until this Thursday, Feb. 7), we have a record to listen to, a concept album that raises more questions
the most polarizing collection of songs since Brand New’s Daisy rocked our ears. People either love it or absolutely despise it. I am rather fond of Heat Thing. It has some of the most interesting musical choices I’ve ever heard. I couldn’t be happier with how this whole ordeal panned out. “Piano Wire Number 12” is an innovative rock tune, perfectly mixing electronic sounds and raw patience and urgency. Meanwhile, “Metal Bones” and
Shone/Facebook.com
The band Shone released their album Heat Thing by creating a giant scavenger hunt for their fans. Each clue led to a storyline as well as songs. Even bands like Manchester Orchestra and Brand New joined in on the fun by tweeting some of the clues.
than answers. After this massive viral campaign, the question remains: is the music even any good? It became evident pretty quickly that Shone’s debut album is
“Kin” are slow and thoughtful, drawing influence from Radiohead’s more recent works. And “Bestial” sounds absolutely huge, showing off a catchy, epic confession of a chorus that will float
around in your brain for days. Although, you probably want to be careful. You don’t want to be singing “I Killed A Man” in public. People will stare. However, it isn’t the musical elements or viral mastery that fans are arguing about. No, the most controversial aspect of Heat Thing is the vocal performance by (we think) Andrew Accardi, whose dramatic portrayal of Levi Gudmundson is over-the-top and manic depressive— sounding stable and ponderous at one second while crossing over to nearly psychotic the next second. In some songs, Accardi’s delivery can be just a little bit too much, particularly in “Baby Shakes” and “Slithering.” But, as Levi has told fans in his letters, there is a story to be told here, and the point may not have gotten across so clearly had it not been for these instances. While Shone’s music has created a splash of controversy across the board, there’s no denying that the intricate marketing campaign is a work of art purely in itself. The story that unfolds throughout the nine songs on Heat Thing will leave you clamoring for more information. While the music may not be for everyone, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Heat Thing is certainly worth a listen or two if nothing else. Jordan Walsh can be reached at jordan.walsh@spartans.ut.edu.
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THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 7 2013
Opinion
11
Media Misconception: School Shootings Not a New Problem in response to the solemn PSA, giving Hollywood an air of hypocrisy. Clips from each of the stars’ movies were pasted in after Another tragic school shooting took place they spoke; all of them including scenes on Jan. 31 in Atlanta. At Price Middle School, of the stars wielding guns or being shot. a 15-year-old boy wounded a fellow 14Some of the clips are taken from action year-old student by shooting him in the neck, movies, and others are from lighthearted according to huffingtonpost.com. Some say comedies, but all contain images of gun use. this might be the beginning of an epidemic The idea behind the now viral video is of shootings occurring throughout that these million the U.S. Then again, gun violence dollar actors and is definitely not a new issue to our actresses had no country. The main thought possibly problem exploiting going through millions of Americans’ gun violence for fame minds is, “Why does this keep and profit in their happening?” A better question would movies, but then they be, “Why are we just now noticing?” try to use this fame America has been in a gun control to tell the public not craze ever since the tragic shooting at to use guns. Is this Sandy Hook Elementary. Liberals like gun glorification U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton acceptable while are declaring, “Only an outraged supposedly people public can end the gun violence are running wild in that has enveloped our country.” the streets shooting Conservatives are taking the opposite pedestrians left and approach, such as NRA CEO Wayne right? In an interview LaPierre stating, “The only thing that with CBS News, stops a bad guy with a gun is a good Jamie Foxx (one of guy with a gun,” according to CNN the featured celebs News. How can we know who is in the PSA) states, right? Will avid control really reduce “We cannot turn our the nationwide violence that has been back and say that appearing more and more on news violence in films stations? Or is it a reduction of our or anything that we rights as free people of the United do doesn’t have a States? Let’s take a look at some facts. sort of influence; it The National School Safety and does.” Well it’s good Security Services website shows that he realizes the the statistics of “School Associated damage, but is that Top: BREAKINGNEWZCENTRAL Bottom: MIke Hunt/Youtube.com going to stop him Violent Deaths, School Shootings and High-Profile Incidents of School A parody of an anti-gun PSA featuring celebrities has gone viral on YouTube. from making millions Violence.” According to one of their of dollars off of charts, the number of these incidents has been A week after the Sandy Hook shooting, extremely explicit movies like “Django: decreasing since 1999. From 2003-2004, a Public Service Announcement began to Unchained”? No, it most likely won’t. there was a whopping 49 incidents of school circulate across the nation in which many In 1969, a commission formed by violence. From August 2009 to the present, Hollywood stars were responding to the Lyndon B. Johnson estimated that Americans there has been a recorded 11 incidents. Yet this calamity, according to CBS News. Celebrities owned 90 million firearms, with half of all rapid decrease in school violence is not what like Beyoncé, Cameron Diaz and Steve Carell households owning at least one weapon. the media has been reporting to the public. supported the campaign phrase “demand a In 2011, Americans owned more guns— What about the other uses of a gun, plan” throughout the video, hoping to inspire an estimated 270 million—but around 45 besides malicious intent? Self-defense is not Americans in favor of stricter gun control. But percent of households had one weapon, taken a term you are going to find closely recorded of course, when any celebrity tries to voice their from the US News website. America was in a among the databases. Many people have their political views, the public issues a backlash. very similar situation back then; like Obama, own definition of self-defense, depending on A YouTube video has been created Johnson had also recommended regulating By LAUREN RICHEY Opinion Columnist
whether or not the gun is even used. In many cases it is not. Let’s say someone lives in a sketchy neighborhood, with many instances of home break-ins. Would the ownership of a gun to keep under the bed in such a circumstance be wrong? To some, the owner of the gun would be practicing self-defense without even touching the firearm. To others, the gun will still eventually result in someone getting shot.
gun purchases like issuing identification cards for gun buyers. The social turmoil in that time period was what sparked the gun proposals back then, and mass shootings are the reasons for today. Yet if the circumstances were so similar in 1969, why was nothing fixed? I’m sure there were just as many treehuggers against guns in that time period as there are now. Perhaps it was just something out of the reach of government control. Perhaps history is doomed to repeat itself. If gun violence is such a big issue then why weren’t the top news stations of America reporting the all-time high of school violence in 2003? Why weren’t celebrities making PSA’s about gun control back in 1969? The situation has become extremely convoluted. Regardless of the supposed amount of data many officials say they have (both for and against gun control), the actual facts are hard to find and rough to count. Much of the data that’s put out there concentrates on something too particular, or the information is extremely dated. According to The Dallas Morning News, an editorial about gun control appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, with the footnotes citing four studies. The most recent data in any of them was at least 15 years old. “Congress choked off funding for gun-related research starting in 1996, saying that much of the analysis was politically slanted against gun ownership,” the Dallas Morning News article continued. There lies the real reason good research is hard to do. Whether it’s a bunch of Liberal news outlets picking and choosing which gunrelated story they want to print, or radical Conservatives claiming Obama is becoming a dictator, everyone has their own agenda. The fact that a young boy was almost mortally wounded within the safeguard of his middle school is something horribly sad. Countless shootings do occur every day and many innocent people are killed each year due to gun abuse. I am not trying to advocate the use of deadly weapons on a regular basis. I am only trying to warn the public to be careful what they watch and read in the news today. The line between personal benefit and “for the good of America” is blurring with every passing news story. Lauren Richey can be reached at lauren.richey@spartans.ut.edu
Proposed New Mexico Bill Would Make Abortions After Rape a Felony
By AVERY TWIBLE Opinion Writer
New Mexico’s Republican representative Cathrynn Brown proposed a new bill against abortions on Jan. 23. Sounds like old news, right? Well this particular bill, House bill 206, would make it a felony for a victim of rape to get an abortion, according to the huffingtonpost.com. In technical terms, “Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime,” shown in the huffingtonpost. com. It won’t just be the woman who decides to get the abortion facing charges, but the doctor who performed it and the assaulter (if he convinced the woman to get the abortion) would be at fault and face charges as well. Brown claims that if a rape victim tries to get an abortion, it would be intentional tampering with evidence worthy of a third-degree felony. Forbes says it is not expected that this bill has any chance at passing since the Democrats control the legislative
bodies in New Mexico, but that is not the most worrisome part of it all. Pat Davis of ProgressiveNow New Mexico, a progressive non-profit opposing the bill, called it “blatantly unconstitutional,” according to the huffingtonpost.com. I agree with his statement that it goes against everything the Constitution stands for: protecting the rights of the people. The idea behind this bill could be contagious, creeping its way into the minds of representatives and possibly even citizens in other states around the country. The bill does not have to be passed to do damage. Just planting the idea of a baby being an object to use in trial, the only purpose of its existence to be evidence for a courtroom charade is a terrible thing. Some parts of this story don’t seem to add up. It makes sense that a Republican is fighting against abortions, but I was shocked to discover it is a woman behind the proposition of this law. Republican or not, a woman is expected to have empathy for other women, especially when they are victims of rape. Secondly, when did Republicans go from being pro-“life” to pro-“do not abort your fetus because we
need to use it later”? Thirdly, not all rapes result in pregnancy, and not all pregnancies are the result of rape. Would this bill be inferring that there is no proof of rape when impregnation does not occur? That after-the-fact medical examinations of the victim do not count? That the victim cannot be trusted on her word alone that she was raped; she has to allow the baby to be born to show her credibility? My question is why, in Brown’s opinion, has the legal system of holding rapists accountable suddenly become so ineffective that such a drastic bill needs to be put into place? Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post writes, “But this is the trouble with any bill that seeks to ‘protect women’ by taking choice away from them.” This pretty much sums up the mass amount of voiced complaints aimed at Brown after word of the bill spread and a good example of how the bill is in violation of the Constitution. Forcing a woman to do something, especially with her own body, is not the way to protect the rights of the woman in an attempt to give her freedom. According to USAToday, Brown has since attempted to clarify the purpose
of her proposed bill, “Its intent is solely to deter rape and cases of incest. The rapist — not the victim — would be charged with tampering of evidence.” She also claimed that her bill was “badly drafted” and that she “missed the possible interpretation when reviewing the language.” I doubt she’ll convince anyone that the wording was an accident, especially because, according to USA Today, the bill had nine GOP co-sponsors. Since Brown has now said the intent of the bill was not to punish the victim, I wonder if the outrage about victims becoming felons was taken out of context and exaggerated. But then again I don’t understand how eliminating a woman’s option of terminating a pregnancy that is occurring in her own body as a result of a traumatic forceful sexual encounter would sound reasonable in any context. Brown claims her bill will ideally deter sex offenders from committing the act of rape, but to me it just sounds like they are deterring women from coming forward about being raped for fear of what might happen next. Avery Twible can be reached at avery.twible@spartans.ut.edu
12 FEBRUARY 7 2013 | THE MINARET
OPINION
Israel Needs America’s Help in Time of Crisis By RICHARD J WHITAKER Opinion Columnist
Israel and Syria are inches away from what appears to be an all-out war. It is difficult to decipher who the true antagonist is in this case. According to www.NBCnews.com, Israel initiated the conflict by launching an airstrike directed toward targets inside Syria early Wednesday morning, Jan. 1. However, there is far more to the story than who launched the first ground to air missile. The tensions between these two states is historic, based on previous attacks made by Syria and a long list of militant clandestine and covert activities on Syria’s part. As of right now, there is little doubt that a recipe of previous and current bad blood and bad acts are leading to fast growing tensions between Israel and frankly, the rest of the Middle East. Israel was merely defending itself with an entirely legal preemptive attack. This tiny nation’s airstrike eliminated a cache of weapons being sent to Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group allied with Syria and Iran which would likely have been used on Israel. The Hezbollah has long been on the world’s list of dangerous terrorist organizations and has taken credit for some of the most dastardly deeds of the past several decades. Israel has good reason to fear an even more well-armed Hezbollah. It is unjust to point fingers at the Israelis who appear to simply be taking measures into their own hands in order to save the lives of their citizens and soldiers. The most interesting and undoubtedly important item to consider as we watch this crisis play out is what we, the United States of America, will do. The Middle East has been a serious black hole for America for over a decade now. We have funneled billions of dollars and thousands of lives into what seems for many, to be nothing more than a manhunt.
The media chooses to refrain from reporting the incredible amount of good obtained from our sacrifices including, but not limited to, the multitude of terrorist attacks prevented from occurring on home soil, the immense number of terrorist and terrorist organizers and leaders we have captured and/or eliminated and the millions of Middle Eastern lives that we have liberated from terrorist organizations’ despotic rule. America has accomplished a lot overseas, but now we are withdrawing and I believe at this point in time it is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, as stated above, things are stirring again in that particular part of the world. What will we do? America is a sworn ally of Israel and it is absolutely vital that we show Syria, Iran and all Israel was merely of the other countries threatening Israel that they are also threatening the most powerful nation to ever exist on this planet: us. The United States’ focus should not specifically be on whether or not Syria retaliates or Israel initiates another attack, but in analyzing how our potential actions factor into our long-term national security strategy. I mean this loosely; it is of course incredibly important to the international community what happens next between the rival countries. My point is that I believe our government (no names being mentioned) will take a step back from the situation rather than take a step forward and show the world, our allies and most importantly our enemies (the
enemies of our allies are our enemies as well) that we will not stand from tyranny, we will not cower from any fight and that we will continue to stand with our allies. America’s image is faltering due to the decisions its leaders have made in a multitude of situations over the past 20 years. This must stop. We must show
threats. Regardless of this fact, and not to overstate it, America’s ties with Israel have been questionable throughout this latest presidency and this is a picture perfect opportunity to reassert our robust support to our Jewish friends. This must be seen as an opportunity rather than a disaster. They need our support in this and in general, we have promised them said support, but have we been actually giving it of late? The answer is more no than yes. This is unfortunate in a time when America is quickly losing friends all over the planet. We could use those national pillars of power I alluded to above and work as the world leader that we DVIDSHUB/Flickr.com are positioned defending itself against Syria with an entirely legal preemptive attack. to be, rather than sit on the our strength during these darkest of sidelines and view military power as times because we are a beacon of light the only option once again. and perhaps the globe’s single such As the situation continues to play beacon. out and time continues to elapse, the I am not necessarily suggesting that moment will come wherein America we deploy troops, position carrier battle must stop dancing about this decision, groups or any other specific martial avoiding definitive action. action. Instead, I am suggesting that The moment will come when we look to our entire array of national America should simply act or permit power, which includes economic, yet another opportunity slip between diplomatic and military pillars of her timid and perhaps misguided power. Fortunately for Israel, they fingertips. I pray that we will decide probably don’t need us. to put our full support behind our most Israel has one of the smallest but powerful ally in the Middle East and also one of the best trained, loyal do whatever it takes to maintain the and powerful militaries on the planet powerful and essential relationship and has proven throughout the past with the Israelis. century that it is completely capable Richard J Whitaker can be reached of protecting itself from all outside at richard.whitaker@spartans.ut.edu
afraid of being left in the dark?
You’re not alone. Many young adults are left in the dark about STDs. FACT: I in 2 sexually active youth will contract an STD by age 25. FACT: 10,000 teens are infected by STDs each day—1 every 8 seconds.
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13 London Inter-Bank Offered Rate Siphons Off Billions From Consumers THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 7 2013
OPINION
By ALEX CARABALLO Opinion Columnist
The LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) scandal is the biggest banking scandal in the history of the financial sector and yet has been one of the most underreported stories over the last few years. The LIBOR scandal has potentially siphoned off billions from consumers in the form of artificially high interest rates that were the result of collusion and corruption by traders at some of the world’s biggest banks. The LIBOR is the interest rate that banks charge each other to make commercial loans to each other. The rate is set by 18 of the world’s largest banks which includes JP Morgan, UBS, Barclays and Bank of America to name a few. The rates are published by Thomson Reuters, a multinational media and financial-data firm, at 11:30 a.m. every day by averaging the middle 10 banks in terms of interest rates offered, while the top four and lowest four rates are discarded. The problems that arose with that method of calculating LIBOR is that the rates are self-reported and are not averaged based on actual loans made. This led to the manipulation of the LIBOR rate as bankers from most of the major banks colluded to artificially raise the rate over the past few years by reporting inaccurate rates to Thomson Reuters. So why is it a big deal that a few bankers artificially manipulated interest rates? These manipulations are a huge deal because the LIBOR rate is used to calculate the interest rate for the $350 trillion derivatives market (yes, trillion with a T) and just about every consumer financial product on the market. When I say everything, I mean everything from student loans to credit cards, car loans and even home
mortgages and equity lines of credit. The manipulations in these rates meant consumers potentially paid billions in artificially higher interest rates due to the greed of a few bankers. There are likely quite a few students and faculty reading this that are
and traders in order to manipulate it. This is where some of the most brazen and disgusting examples of corruption come to light. Emails between bankers and traders, revealed in a report by British Financial Services Authority, show
From top left to right: twicepix, Steve Rhodes, imjustcreative, I-5 Design & Manufacture/Flickr.com
These are several of the banks involved in the biggest banking scandal in the history of the financial sector.
paying hundreds if not thousands more in interest for student loans, home loans or car loans due to this scandal. As I described before, the method for calculating the rate throws out the top and bottom four rates offered by banks. So how can anyone manipulate the rate? One trader or even an entire bank wouldn’t be sufficient to manipulate the LIBOR rate; it took collaboration between multiple banks
exactly how these manipulations came about. One trader was very explicit about how he wanted to manipulate the rate by stating in an email, “If you keep 6s [ie, the six-month Japanese yen Libor rate] unchanged today ... I will f*****g do one humongous deal with you ... Like a 50,000 buck deal, whatever ... I need you to keep it as low as possible ... if you do that .... I’ll pay you, you know, 50,000
dollars, 100,000 dollars... whatever you want ... I’m a man of my word.” It wasn’t just lowly traders involved either, this collusion ran up the chain to managers as well. The British Financial Services Authority or FSA issued a scathing 40 page report that included damning indictments of UBS’s actions. “At least two further managers and five senior managers were also aware of the practice of the manipulation of submissions to benefit trading positions.” Because of this, UBS was forced to pay a $1.5 billion fine to the British government, but this is a drop in the bucket compared to the ramifications of how the manipulations affected consumers. Only a few low level traders have been charged, but the brazen corruption and collusion between traders and managers of the world’s largest banks has finally stirred financial regulators into action. There needs to be serious actions taken against these bankers to show that they are not above the law and an example needs to be set so anyone contemplating such actions in the future will think twice about doing so. Despite the large implications of the manipulation of the LIBOR, few people are even aware of what has been happening. Perhaps many think making this a huge story will undermine the financial sector. However, the irony is that unlike the financial meltdown of 2008, this is a very clear example of bankers colluding to defraud consumers of billions and yet no one is out in the streets protesting or calling for action. Maybe the financial regulators asleep at the wheel on a dose of laissez-faire will finally wake up to the fumes of corruption. Alex Caraballo can be reached at alex.caraballo@theminaretonline.com
High School Teacher Tweets Naked Pictures and Drug References By SAMANTHA BLOOM Opinion Writer
Social media is becoming more and more a part of our daily lives and how we interact with people. Because of this, there are more and more cases of social media being an issue in the workplace and in schools. Most recently, a 23-year-old was caught posting pictures of herself on Twitter while in the nude, doing drugs and consuming alcohol. Inappropriate messages were discovered on her account as well. According to huffingtonpost.com, Carly McKinney, a math teacher in Aurora, Colo., was placed on paid leave last week. She is awaiting a meeting with the Cherry Creek School District officials later this week. Foxnewsinsider.com reported that some students are outraged, saying that McKinney’s actions are within her First Amendment rights. While McKinney’s tweets have been removed, a Google search of her Twitter handle, @Crunk_Bear, leads to the cached pictures and screenshots of the tweets in question, as well as her public Twitter bio: “Crunker than most. Stay sexy. Stay high. Stay drunk. Stay free. Stay trippy. Mile High City.” Whether or not McKinney had the right to post about her drug usage or tweet photos of herself topless, some of the things mentioned in her tweets imply activities that are most definitely against district policy.
According to 9news.com, one tweet said, “Watching a drug bust go down in the parking lot. It’s funny cuz I have weed in my car in the staff parking lot.” Another refers to a student as “jailbait,” and yet another mentions the fact that she was grading papers while high. Radio talk show host Michael Graham told foxnewsinsider.com, “The issue is not the First Amendment. You are free to say what you want within obviously some parameters. There’s no such thing as consequencefree conversation...She clearly cannot be a public school teacher and be a public advocate of drinking, smoking and getting your party on.” Graham was right. Everything you say or do, even on the Internet, is a reflection of your character. As a teacher, you are in the business of influencing young people to make responsible decisions. Your students are supposed to be able to respect you as a role model, and, like it or not, that responsibility to your students extends into the real world. You can’t do that if your students can read about your own irresponsible behavior. In the age of social media, students can find and interact with their teachers outside of class time. There are ways you can avoid having your personal life available to anyone who Googles you, such as privacy settings on a Twitter account or Facebook page, but everyone, not just teachers,
need to learn the difference between expressing yourself and providing incriminating evidence that an employer could potentially use against you.
an important part of the way people express themselves and connect with each other. Businesses are using them more and more often as platforms for customer feedback and promotional
@carlycrunkbear/Twitter.com
Carly McKinney also referred to one of her underage students as “jailbait” in a tweet.
A post titled “10 Things a Teacher Should Never Do” on the job search engine, monster.com, makes a very good point: “If you wouldn’t post it on the board of your classroom, don’t post it on the Internet.” This is a rule I think everyone in a professional career should live by. If you don’t want your bosses or subordinates to see these things, don’t post them. Especially not on a platform where anyone with an Internet connection can find and read them. Social media is quickly becoming
purposes, and teachers are using them to help connect with students on a more personal level. Within certain parameters, Twitter can become a useful classroom tool. But there needs to be a distinction between what is acceptable to post and what could be potentially incriminating information. Until a clear line can be drawn, situations like McKinney’s will become increasingly more common. Samantha Bloom can be reached at samantha.bloom@spartans.ut.edu
14 FEBRUARY 7 2013 | THE MINARET
Sex and Love
By HANNAH WEBSTER Opinion Columnist
I gave the woman at the club’s back door the password. The music I heard from above could only be described as heavy and my heart began to pump, unsure of what I was getting myself into. My friend’s thoughts must have mimicked my own because as we headed up the stairs, he grabbed my arm and said, “So how intense do you think this is going to be?” As if on cue, a man came blundering down the stairs, wearing nothing but a leather thong, some boots and a dog collar. As he passed us he called, “Hey! How you guys doing tonight?” as casually as if we had just run into each other at Starbucks. I took a deep breath, nodded to my friend and we made our way to the party. The first thing I saw was a woman suspended in the air by a very intricate combination of rope. To the right of me, there were people tied up with their hands above their head while their partner traced their skin with some sort of electric current. Toward the back, I could see a man handcuffed to a giant X while two women beat him with crops and whips, only to kiss him a second later. The things I saw ranged from familiar to horrifying, but the people here were just having a good time in their own way. Ages ranged from 20-somethings to people well into their 60s. I had found myself at a fetish party—this was the underground world of BDSM (bondage, dominance, sadism, masochism), where taking a picture would have your ass thrown out on the street and using your real name was frowned upon. To people who enjoy this kind of lifestyle, the underground has always been where it’s at. Taking pleasure
OPINION
Harvard Approves Club Devoted to Sex: BDSM Now More Openly Discussed in Society
in being tied up and spanked wasn’t something you would discuss with your friends. But recently, there has been a bit of change in that. According to The Crimson, Harvard University recently approved a student
them to find meeting space on campus. A club like this is obviously open to a lot of debate, but members and those that approve of its existence feel that it is a place for students with these desires to feel safe and recognize that they are not alone. Isn’t that the purpose of having such diverse clubs on campus? “The beauty of college is getting to explore things you may never have looked into on your own,” said junior marine biology major Leanne Ballering on learning about The Harvard Munch. “I personally am a tad more private about my sex life, but for people who aren’t shy and want to learn about BDSM and exotic practices, they should be allowed to let their freak flags fly,” she continued. “Just like any other topic in society, if it bothers you, feel free to voice your opinion or just steer clear of it.” The idea that topics like this have become more casual seems like a product of a progressive age that encourages people to be themselves in terms of whether they are gay, straight, bisexual or transgender. Essentially, talking about who you want to have sex with has Kerisje/Photobucket.com become a more comfortable topic in 50 Shades might be a catalyst for the new BDSM openness. society. Now people are talking about what exactly it is they like to do. club known as “The Harvard Munch,” a But if I had to point my finger at group of students devoted to kinky sex the catalyst that has brought upon this and BDSM. Though groups like this openness, it would be easy: 50 Shades of have existed before on their campus, it is Grey. The contrast on attitudes towards the first time that it is being legitimized BDSM since that book came out is by the university itself. The club will remarkable. The fetish party that I found now be able to advertise meetings and myself in speaks more of the old attitude events, and will also be eligible for food toward such practices—a secret club where grants, which will make it easier for no one knows you and you can be into
whatever you like without being judged. Anyone from the outside world would be quick to call you a pervert if they knew what you did behind closed doors. Nowadays, I see women of all ages reading 50 Shades in public without shame, while most of the people who walk past must know her smirk is due to a steamy scene involving handcuffs and a leather riding crop. Go into any sex shop in Tampa and you will find a section devoted to this book, along with BDSM starter kits. It’s created a craze, a curiosity to try new things and a new level of comfort when it comes to talking about it. “I think it’s a really interesting movement that’s happening, and I’m curious to see what happens to our society as it continues,” said junior writing major Joanna Hynes. “Just this semester my COM professor pointed out to me just how ‘afraid’ of ‘sex’ our society is because a movie with a lot of sex is rated R but a movie with a lot of violence is only PG13. I think it’s really interesting to see sex become a more acceptable topic.” Will BDSM become the new norm and will good old-fashioned love-making fly out the window? It might not be headed that way, but there are certainly more people willing to try. Even more likely, the craze will die down a little once people realize the actual lifestyle isn’t what was romanticized in the books. But for people who are really into it and want to find a place that they belong to without feeling ashamed, Harvard sets an example in creating a place where anyone and everyone can find their niche. Even if that involves a set of handcuffs and a ball gag. Hannah Webster can be reached at hannah.webster@spartans.ut.edu
Colorado Bill Pushes Creationism in Public Schools By JESSICA FORTE Opinion Writer
Colorado Conservatives are struggling to pass a bill that could drastically change the state’s education system. The bill, focused on academic freedom, would allow creationism, also known as intelligent design, to be taught in public schools. Creationism is the idea that a supernatural being created the earth and its inhabitants. The bill was said to be D.O.A (dead on arrival) by Claire Levy, chair of the House of Appropriations Committee, according to huffingtonpost.com. “I think it’s safe to say it’s not going to make it to the governor’s desk,” Levy announced on Denver’s 760 AM radio. “It’s asking science teachers or allowing science teachers to teach creationism and deny global warming.” For a bill to be submitted by conservative Republicans in a committee that’s mostly made up of Democrats, it would appear that Levy is correct. However, a recent report found that creationism is being taught in Texas public schools. “The Bible provides scientific evidence that the Earth is 6,000 years old, that astronauts have discovered ‘a day missing in space in elapsed time’ that affirms biblical stories of the sun standing still and moving backwards,” huffingtonpost.com reported. “The study covered the state’s 57 districts and three charter schools offering Bible courses in the 2011-12 academic year.” The article stated that in the courses reading, writing and Religion
2, Texas students are being taught that “the Bible is the written word of God...giving God his rightful place in the national life of this country has provided a rich heritage for all its citizens...Christ’s resurrection was an event that occurred in time and space -- that it was, in reality, historical and not mythological.” Prominent figures have been speaking out against the teaching of creationism in public schools. Near the end of 2012, Bill Nye, a popular TV personality known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” released a video that took YouTube by storm. “I say to the grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your world that’s completely inconsistent with everything we’ve observed in the universe, that’s fine. But don’t make your kids do it,” Nye said. “The Earth is not 6,000 or 10,000 years old, it’s not. And if that conflicts with your beliefs, I strongly feel you should question your beliefs.” I would hope to see the bill pass in Colorado. As a Christian, I am a strong believer in creationism. However, it wouldn’t seem fit to be the only objective taught in public schools. The U.S. is a melting pot of all different cultures and religious beliefs, so it would be somewhat offensive to teach that principle to those who don’t choose to believe in it. Evolution shouldn’t be the only answer either. If the bill passes, it’ll bring some relief to creationists. I’ve had to sit through many lectures
about Darwinism, along with the Big Bang theory, in addition to enduring teachers who challenged my beliefs by stating that evolution is a fact. Since the study of how humans and this earth came into existence
leave the decision of what is taught up to the teachers and students. Teachers that believe in creationism should be allowed to teach it, and those who don’t can teach evolution. Students should have the power to choose which class they participate in. If they believe in creationism, they shouldn’t have to be subjected to listening to a lecture about how their ancestors branched off from apes. If they don’t believe they were created by a supernatural being, they can choose to take a class with a teacher who explains evolution. Or, there could also be a class that shows both sides of the argument, which is what the Colorado bill will hopefully do: present creationism as a mere alternative to evolution. If students are shown chichang_13/Photobucket.com multiple arguments, It’s unlikely that the bill will pass; the committee is mostly made up of Democrats. they won’t can’t be eliminated from the public have to feel like an opinion or school curriculum, it would be belief is being forced on them. . beneficial to at least have different Jessica Forte can be reached science classes. Schools should at jessica.forte@spartans.ut.edu
THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 7 2013
OPINION
15
Elementary School Teachers Fired for Refusing to Disclose Personal Faith By VANESSA RIGHEIMER Opinion Writer
Godspeak Church bought Little Oaks Elementary School in 2009 and as one of the major changes to the school, all of the previous teachers of Little Oaks had to reapply for teaching jobs. Part of the application process required teachers to fill out questionnaires which asked questions about their faith. Some of these questions included whether or not they attended church and what church they attended. Two teachers, Lynda Serrano and Mary Ellen Guevara, were not rehired as they refused to fill out the paperwork needed to apply for the job. Serrano and Guevara filed a lawsuit against the school, but now in retaliation, the school is filing a religious liberty lawsuit against the two. These lawsuits from the teachers are preposterous. Any private institution has the right to express their freedom of religion, something rooted in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Do I agree with their choice to only hire Christian teachers? No. But legally, they have the right to do so. As someone who attended a Catholic high school for four years, I appreciated the fact that some of my teachers held different beliefs such as Islam, Judaism and atheism. It allowed me to see a different perspective and understand that once you enter the real world, you’re not going to be surrounded by everyone who believes the same things you do. Schools like Brigham Young
University, a Mormon school, and Liberty University, a Christian school, have students sign a contract agreeing to abstain from alcohol, drugs and sex while attending the university. Not everyone’s ideal university, but they should have the right to create the environment they choose of a school they founded with little to no government support. I think there is a difference between discriminating against someone because of their religion, or lack of, and wanting to hire only employees that would benefit your private company because of their beliefs. We could look at it like any other private company For example, if I was the chief editor of a top fashion magazine and I have two equally talented writers applying for a job but can only hire one, would I want to hire the applicant who loves fashion and reads up on it every day or the applicant who could care less about fashion and doesn’t know the difference between Vera Wang and Vera Bradley? Obviously, any successful boss would go for the first applicant. And that is exactly what Godspeak Church was trying to do. In their minds, hiring teachers with Christian backgrounds would benefit their students. In the application for teachers provided on the school’s website, Little Oaks acknowledged this when they stated, “Little Oaks is a Christian private school owned by Calvary Chapel of Thousand Oaks and as such, places the highest value on our staff reflecting Jesus Christ
in all our work with each other, with the children, with parents and with all other constituents. Our hiring and retention policy first and foremost expects all staff, in all positions to be capable and comfortable with this.”
[
to
near my hometown get shut down or be bought by the state. Growing up in Chicago, my mother was one of the many children in her neighborhood that went to a samesex Catholic school. A couple years
Any private institution has the right express their freedom of religion.
The application also includes a section known as the “Statement of Faith” where they ask for a reference from the applicant’s pastor. On the reference form, Little Oaks provides some sort of creed that claims what the school believes starting with, “We believe... the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are inspired, inerrant and infallible.” At the end of the form, the applicant’s pastor must sign whether or not they believe the applicant would agree with this and promote it. Whether we agree with this form of application or not, we can still be certain that Godspeak Church wasn’t discriminating, but rather trying to hire an applicant that shared their beliefs and would be an asset to the overall mission of the school. It is a shame that teachers who once worked at the school when it was public will now lose their jobs, but if the school were to have completely shut down and no church would have bought it they would have lost their job anyway. I often see small private schools
]
ago, her grade school shut down as it continued to shrink in enrollment. These things happen and teachers are left unemployed. It seems that this lawsuit, however, is just a way for the teachers to express their frustration. To be honest, part of me doesn’t blame them. In a country where less and less money is going into our education system causing schools to be shut down and classrooms to be overloaded, this lawsuit represents more than just a job lost caused by the beliefs of a church. If we invested more in our children’s education, we’d have more schools giving employment to the thousands of well qualified teachers who are searching for a job. We can’t overlook Godspeak Church’s right to religion when addressing these lawsuits. But maybe what we can take away from this is that our education system needs an upgrade, sooner rather than later. Vanessa Righeimer can be reached at vanessa.righeimer@spartans.ut.edu
16 FEBRUARY 7 2013 | THE MINARET
OPINION
Pastor Refuses to Tip Waitress, Already ‘Gave 10% to God’ By JAKE KONISZEWSKI
and other expenses. Just because Bell gives 10 percent of her money to God After a meal at Applebee’s, does not exempt her from paying the tip. one of the receipts was altered. Waiters are also dependent on the One of the diners had scratched tips they receive from their diners. out the automated 18 percent The story does not end there. After gratuity and wrote, “I give God Welch uploaded the picture of the 10 percent. Why do you get 18?” receipt onto Reddit, many commented The note was signed “Pastor” in support of Welch and expressed and a big fat “0” was written anger toward Applebee’s and Bell. in the additional tip column. Commenter adam75643, who “Pastor” was later revealed to be claims to be a Christian pastor, wrote, Alois Bell, a pastor at the Truth in “The way you (Welch) were treated is the World Deliverance Ministries despicable, and not a reflection of the Church. Chelsea Welch, a waitress teachings of Jesus or the grace he offers.” at Applebee’s, took a picture of the Raverchild commented, “Get this receipt and uploaded it to Reddit. picture blown up to poster size, and Welch told Consumerist.com, “I start posting it ALL over his church thought the note was insulting, and around the local area. I’m sure but comical, and I thought other this guy’s congregation would LOVE, users would find it entertaining.” to see their pastor acting like a dick.” Yahoo! News reports that After a friend of Bell’s told according to the Reddit post, “The her the Internet’s reaction to receipt was part of a total bill stiffing Welch on the tip, Bell of over $200 for a party of 20.” complained to Welch’s manager. “Parties up to eight … may tip Yahoo! News reports, “A spokesperson whatever they’d like, but larger for Applebee’s said it apologized to parties receive an automatic Bell for violating her “right to privacy” gratuity,” Welch told Yahoo! News. and confirmed that Welch “is no The individual receipt in question longer employed by the franchise.” was for $34.93 with an 18 percent Not only did Bell get away gratuity equaling $6.29. That would with not tipping Welch, but bring the total to a little over $41. she also got Welch fired. I have heard of people doing I had no idea someone could get fired good deeds in the name of God, like for what Welch did and neither did she. feeding the homeless or healing the “There was nothing specific in the sick, but using God as an excuse employee handbook admonishing this not to tip your waitress is terrible. behavior,” Welch told Yahoo! News. I am not sure if Bell forgot or I thought this was a good does not know, but she is not the way of venting frustration. only one who has to tip waiters. Welch took her case to the people Many people lose money from taxes1:15ofPM 13 Minaret Info Session_Layout 1 1/31/13 1 thePage Internet and gained support from Opinion Writer
them. There were some harsh words for Bell, but Internet commenters are not known for mincing words. I am happy that people called out Bell for her poor behavior. Applebee’s may have done some
Roadsidepictures/Flickr.com
Just because Bell gives 10% of her money to God does not exempt her from paying the tip.
damage to their reputation according to some of the comments I have read on Reddit. NoTimeForInfinity commented, “Applebee’s will NEVER see a dollar from me again.” LostInTheMaze wrote, “Unfortunately, Applebee’s is already a crappy restaurant that I already pledged not to ever go there again, otherwise I would start boycotting them now.” I am not sure why Applebee’s decided to fire Welch. I know the
customer is always right, but they forget that Bell wronged Welch. If it is any consolation for Welch, though I doubt it is, Bell did tell The Smoking Gun stiffing Welch on the tip was, “a lapse
in
my character and judgment.” I agree that Bell did have a lapse of character. However, this lapse of character caused Welch to lose her job. Bell used God as an excuse for not paying the full bill. By using God as an excuse, she has damaged not only the reputation of those who believe in God, but the ideals for which her God stands for.. Jake Koniszewski can be reached at john.koniszewski@spartans.ut.edu
THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 07 2013
Sports
17
Lacrosse Eager For Second Shot 2013 LACROSSE: At a Glance Who To Watch A.J. DeSimone Senior
• 2012 : 27 Goals in 16 Games • Scored first goal in UT Lacrosse history
Greg Griffo Senior
• 2012 First-team All-DSC • Led UT last season with 33 points
In The Distance February 15
University of Tampa
vs.
Limestone College Tampa, Fla.
By MICHELLE SPEAKER Sports Writer
The University of Tampa lacrosse team is eager to start their second year after winning the Big South Conference a year ago. This year, the team aims to go further. Last season’s leading goal-scorer senior A.J. DeSimone made that loud and clear. “Our main goal as a team is to win a national championship and to be better than last year,” he firmly stated. When Coach Whipple was asked about his main goals and expectations for this season, he replied simply. “This year in Division II they expanded the NCAA tournament from four teams to eight teams, so certainly our number one goal is to go to the NCAA tournament,” said Whipple. “The second goal would be to win the Deep South conference tournament regular season and conference tournament. Those are our two main goals.” “Last year was our first year and we had a great year,” Whipple said. “We were 11-5.” Whipple sees the improvement in the team from their first year. “The team this year is a lot different because we’ve had another year of recruiting where we have greater depth at every position.” Senior defenseman Eric Dance has something in mind in order to get past the hump of losing early in the playoffs. “Our mindset going in is much better now, a lot of kids are older and they have been there before, they know what it takes to get past that point,” Dance said. “Our depth is a lot deeper; this last year if one guy had a bad day or was struggling there are a lot of guys now that can come pick those guys up.” “Coach Whipple is focusing on a way to get further in the season, he is zoning
in on one particular aspect,” Dance said. “Our number one goal is to get more offensive productivity from the team; we need more goals.” A lack of goal scoring makes winning challenging. “Our number one priority is to score more goals,” said Coach Whipple. “And the way we are going to do that is by playing at a much faster pace and taking more shots.” Junior Jasper Gantick believes the team has to play more like a team more consistently this year. “We need a lot more commitment, from top to bottom,” said Gantick. “Not everyone is all concerned on doing their own thing; they’re concerned about the team and more committed to the team and not particularly concerned about themselves on an individual level. It’s all about the team.” Coach Whipple mentioned the help from hiring a new member to the staff that is pushing the team hard. “We upgraded the coaching staff with Chris Burdick, who is a 14-year head coach at a Division I program. We brought him in as my offensive coordinator and he’s done a really great job as far as preparing these guys to score more goals, play faster and be a better team.” A.J. DeSimone wants the team to focus on listening more attentively this season. “This year we have to pay more attention to finer detail and listen to the coaching staff a little bit better to be able to push the team farther in the playoffs this season,” DeSimone said. “Everyone is more dedicated this year to becoming a better player for the team. Everyone is working hard.” Dance earned SSC-Commissioner’s Honor Roll last year and will need to have another big season as the team has high hopes for this season. “As a team, our goal is to go to the
@gx3ru (Gabby Russo)
Don’t rush perfection. January 27, 2013
@That_kid_kidd (Ryan Kidd)
Beyonce is too real February 03, 2013
UT athletes share their thoughts via Twitter
national championship,” said Dance. “We all agreed on that early in the year; right now we are working really hard to get there.” “Our biggest improvement or what we are focusing on the most is our attitude,” Dance said. “A lot more kids are dedicated this year and they realize after last year we can be a really good team and we have a chance of doing big things. A lot of kids have really bought into that and now our attitude is a lot, lot better than last year.” Senior Greg Griffo’s expectations for the upcoming season mirror that of the rest of the team. “When we got there [Deep South Conference Semifinals] we were just happy we got there,” says Griffo. “We got there and we were happy to be there; we didn’t try as hard as we could have.” The disappointment in his voice was easily detected as he said, “We could have definitely beat Southern again, but we didn’t.” With a new attitude, some new players and coaches, the lacrosse team is eager to get underway soon. “Feb. 15 is the opening game,” said Whipple enthusiastically. “Last year we had 2,200 come out and we’re hoping to break that record this year.” UT lacrosse opens on Feb.15 at home against Limestone College. Michelle Speaker can be reached at michelle.speaker@spartans.ut.edu.
Spring Brings Softball Top-10 Ranking By PAIGE SHALLCROSS Sports Writer
With the season opener on Feb. 8 and their first home game in March, the University of Tampa women’s softball team is ready to improve and make the postseason again. Currently ranked No. 8 after preseason, Coach Kanter is preparing the team to continue doing what they know and looking to achieve their goal of returning to playoffs. “Every year our goal is to make postseason,” said Kanter. “The problem is that we have never passed the first round of postseason. Our strength will be our pitching and then I would say our defense then hitting. Hitting has always been a little bit of a weakness in the past and I think we are going to follow right into that but hopefully it will be good enough to get us where we need to be.” Seniors Brie Walton and Stacy Piagno also share the same goals with Coach Kanter about making the postseason. “Obviously the ultimate goal is nationals, to win a national championship or at least make it there this year,” stated Walton. “The past two years we have made it to regionals so I think taking it one step at a time, one conference weekend at
a time, not looking at the big picture and just doing the little things will help us. We have a scrappy team so I think we have a good chance.” “My goal would be to make nationals and win a national championship,” added Piagno. “I think that that is something not a lot of people get to do so I think that it would be awesome to be able to make it to the national championship game.” With the goal of postseason in sight, the team is ready to start off the season strong and to continue improving from last year with fixing the little things. “Preparing as far as away games and home games is the same. We just have to go into each game with an intensity no matter who we are playing and just be the best that we can be and don’t play down to anyone’s level just play to our best,” said Piagno. “We just need to back up our pitchers and put a couple more runs on the board and I think we will be just fine.” Last season Deanna Henriott was the main pitcher for the Spartans but this season Kayla Cox will be leading the team on the mound. With Cox taking on a new leadership role, the team knows that she will embody it and be great. “I definitely think Cox will be able
Andy Ming/ Tampaspartans.com
Last season, Stacy Piagno was tied for second on the team with 38 hits.
to handle the workload this year,” said Kanter. “She wanted it last year but Deanna got it because she was fifth year senior and earned it for us. When Cox pitched she did great and now we are going to jump on her back and hopefully she can do what Deanna has done for us in the past.” “I think as a team we have a lot of good talent coming back this year and I think we just need to keep working together, communicate and just get our bats going
this year,” added Walton. “Last year our pitching was phenomenal and I think it will be again this year.” With high hopes and thoughts for this season, Piagno and Walton are going into this year with a lot of positivity and are going to make their last season as seniors their best yet. “I’m just going to have fun, play hard and work hard so I think if we do that as a team on the field and in the weight room and come get extra swings in then I think that we have complete potential to be the best,” said Walton. “These girls are my family; some of them I’ve been playing with for four years so the friendships are what I’m taking away from being able to play here.” “To make this last year the best I’m just going to have fun,” said Piagno. “Like Brie said, we are a family so I’m just going to enjoy it because it is going to be our last year so I just want to make it memorable and fun because it is something I love to do.” The softball team’s first game is away on Feb. 8 against Columbus State and their first home game is Mar. 1 against Florida Tech. Paige Shallcross can be reached at paige.shallcross@spartans.ut.edu.
18 FEBRUARY 07 2013 | THE MINARET
SPORTS
Baseball Slips, Closes Series Strong By DREW WYCOFF Sports Writer
The Spartan Baseball team kicked off their 2013 season last weekend with a three-game series at home against Bentley University. The Spartans, ranked No. 4 in the nation according to pre-season polls, bagged two out of three wins in an offensively slow-starting, yet very impressive series over all. The series began Friday night as the Spartans fell 5-3 in front of a packedhouse crowd graced by former Major Leaguer and Spartan legend, Tino Martinez. It took until the fifth inning for either team to break the 0-0 deadlock after Spartan shortstop Jacob Tillotson singled home his first RBI of the season. Though UT held the lead until the late innings, Bentley would not be denied. Coach Joe Urso remarked on the slow Spartan bats. “It might have been a little of the opening day jitters,” said Urso. “But some players put a lot more pressure on themselves. Either way I expected a little more from our hitters at-bat to at-bat.”
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history. Luksis, a transfer senior, started the game and threw six shutout innings, allowing just one hit in his final inning on the mound. Following Luksis’ example, Adams finished the final three innings in strong fashion saving the game, shutout and one-hitter. Luksis embraced his emotions during the game. “Everything was working for me, all three pitches,” Luksis said. “It was just good to get back out there—very emotional.” Luksis also remarked on the possibility of a no-hitter, “I had thrown two before, but it would have been nice to get one on the collegiate level,” he said. Coach Urso was pleased on Luksis’ and Adams’ efforts in establishing tempo. “It’s easy and fun to play baseball when there’s a good tempo going for your team,” said the coach. Senior first baseman Jake Schrader remarked on the pitchers’ efforts as well. “As hitters, we were just trying to keep the momentum up,” Schrader said. “In terms of defense, they made it
“It’s easy and fun to play baseball when
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there’s a good tempo going for your team.”
Game two of the series was the first Spartan Baseball win of the season, 6-0 over Bentley. The win was highlighted by warming bats and most of all by the efforts of pitchers Eric Luksis and Mike Adams who combined for only the fourth one-hitter in UT baseball
- Coach Urso
easier to stay focused with the solid tempo they had.” Senior pitcher Aaron Gerbase’s thoughts echoed those of Urso and Schrader. “That’s what we preach—first pitch strikes and tempo,” Gerbase said.
Samantha Battersby/ The Minaret
UT starting pitcher Eric Luksis earned Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for his part in the Spartans’ one-hitter on Saturday night. The senior pitched six shutout innings.
Tampa finished their season-opening series with a 13-0 pounding of the visiting Bentley Falcons. The Spartan hitters combined for 17 hits including three from infielder Sean O’Brien. Meanwhile, the pitching staff conceded only six hits in the shutout victory. Though not satisfied with just two of three wins, the Spartans agree the series was a solid way to start the season. Not as solid as last year’s opening weekend sweep of Bentley by a combined score of 17-1, but solid nonetheless. “I thought the team really responded
well to an opening day loss,” said Gerbasi. “We were hoping for the sweep,” said Coach Urso on the series. “But I feel like we have a lot of options around the field with our position players, and that’s true for pitchers as well.” The Spartan Baseball team’s next series will begin Friday at 2 p.m. with a double header against Georgia College in a continuation of the Spartans’ homestand. Drew Wycoff can be reached at dwycoff@spartans.ut.edu.
SPORTS
THE MINARET | FEBRUARY 07 2013
Pro Sports
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Ravens Celebrate As Niners Blackout By GRIFFIN GUINTA Sports Writer
It was a night filled with storylines in New Orleans. Ray Lewis played his final game as a Raven, Beyonce reminded us all why she’s still the sexiest woman alive and most interestingly of all, two brothers coached against each other in the biggest game of the season. Only 15 months apart in age, John and Jim Harbaugh were used to competing against each other growing up. However, neither one could have ever possibly dreamed that they’d be locked in a competition for the most coveted trophy in football. John, the elder brother, never amalgamated into much in the pros and spent much of his career as a coaching assistant. Jim, on the other hand, had many solid seasons and managed to actually start at quarterback in the NFL. This time though, it was John who got the best of Jim, leading his Ravens team to a closely fought 34-31 victory over his brother’s 49ers. The game was filled with plenty of excitement, despite looking like a blowout by the Ravens early on. Baltimore QB Joe Flacco was stellar in the early stages of the game, throwing for three touchdowns and leading the Ravens to a 28-6 lead midway through the third quarter. Conversely, his San Francisco counterpart couldn’t seem to produce the same results. Despite a few solid drives, Colin Kaepernick seemed shaken up early on. It
didn’t help that his team couldn’t seem to even manage a touchdown or defensive stop. It appeared as if the Ravens were going to cruise to a quick and easy blowout after special teamer Jacoby Jones ripped off a 108 yard kick return after the halftime break. That is, until the lights went out. For 34 agonizing minutes, both teams were sidelined due to a mysterious blackout that struck the Superdome. Maybe the Ravens were still distracted by Beyonce, or perhaps the Niners just pulled together a new strategy during the game delay, but somehow San Fran crawled
back and made it a 31-29 game with a few ticks to go. Nevertheless, Joe Flacco (the future game MVP) calmly marched his Ravens down the field to set up a quick and easy Justin Tucker field goal, putting them ahead 34-29. With roughly four minutes to go, it was Colin Kaepernick’s turn. The second-year scrambler from Nevada had struggled at times during the game, but his final drive looked as if it was going to erase all of that. Within what seemed like seconds, Kap had the Niners within striking distance, bringing them all the way down to the Ravens 10 yard line. The
Keith Allison/Flickr.com
Ray Lewis’ career ends with a Super Bowl vistory and questions about his questionable past.
Niners would have four tries to punch in a touchdown for the go-ahead score. Maybe something inspired Lewis and his defense, because the 49ers would never see the end zone again. In one of the greatest stops in Super Bowl history, the Ravens caused the 49ers offense to sputter in the red zone and ultimately cemented a 34-31 victory to win the Lombardi trophy. After the game, John told his brother that he “loved him” but I’m sure Jim wasn’t feeling the brotherly love. Despite the outcome, it was a momentous day for both sides that truly could have gone either way down the stretch. In terms of media appeal, Super Bowl XLVII had ridiculously high ratings and featured a bevy of hilarious commercials, spot on play-byplay commentary by Phil Simms and Jim Nantz and a killer halftime show by Grammy winning artist Beyonce. Minus the blackout, this Super Bowl will go down as a classic, and how could it not? Two brothers were matched head to head with some of the best players the game has ever seen on both sides of the ball. Any time you have that kind of situation, it’s bound to come down to the wire. In the words of Lewis: “You get one opportunity in life, one chance at life to do whatever you’re going to do, and lay your foundation and make whatever mark you’re going to make. Whatever legacy you’re going to leave; leave your legacy!” Griffin Guinta can be reached at griffin.guinta@spartans.ut.edu.
Post-Super Bowl, Football Fans Ask ‘What Now?’
By CONNOR ANTHONY Sports Writer
The Super Bowl was a disaster. Your team lost, your buddy is $50 richer and you have the hangover of the century. That would be bad enough, but there’s also that paper you forgot was due and it didn’t quite get finished. Well it’s okay my friend. Though you have to wait another seven months for football to start up again, there are plenty of events between now and then to get your mind off things. The closest event is the NBA All-Star weekend from Feb. 15-17. Though the game itself is known more for the fancy plays and high scoring than actual defense, it still always proves to be a fun thriller to watch. Though the game itself is the highlight of the weekend there are multiple events to watch. The Rookie-Sophomore game is an interesting showcase of the young talent around the league. Last year Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal changed things up a bit by each having a team and
Talk of the Town Professional Sporting News in the Region
then picking their players fantasy draft style. There is the celebrities game, skills contest and everyone’s favorite, the slam dunk contest. After this weekend is over, there is another three weeks until the WBC starts. For those who don’t know what this is, it is an international baseball tournament that happens every three years and is very similar to the FIFA world cup. There are 16 countries represented and they play in a tournament style bracket. It features mostly players from the MLB playing on their respective countries. This is always interesting to watch, though the United States team hasn’t fared well in the first two WBCs, and looks to stop Japan from three-peating. Major League Baseball’s opening night is on March 31 when the Texas Rangers play the Houston Astros. This isn’t the best game they could have chosen for opening night, but it’s baseball regardless and after a six month long hiatus, most fans will still watch. The hometown Rays open up their season April 2 at home against the
Baltimore Orioles. College football will finally start with its own rendition of a playoff system next year, but college basketball has its own system down and just the name “March Madness” gets you excited. If you don’t go to a big basketball school like North Carolina or Duke, you generally don’t follow basketball all year long, but once March comes around, get ready to fill out your bracket and compete with your buddies for bragging rights. April 25 will be the first round of the 78th NFL draft from Radio City Music Hall. With no clear cut number one, but a lot of talent, it should prove to be an interesting night. The future of your favorite team will be shown front and centered. You better start getting your tickets now because it should be one of the better drafts of recent years. Then only about four more months until the kickoff of the NFL season. The NBA finals are scheduled to start June 6. Right now preseason favorites, the Los Angeles Lakers don’t look like they’re going to even make the playoffs, which
After a 5-1 start, the Lightning have split their last two home games, pummeling the Jets 8-3 and losing a tight one to the Rangers, 3-2. They head to the Northeast this weekend to take on the Devils, Bruins and Rangers.
Pitchers and catchers will report to spring training this Tuesday, Feb. 12. Major prospect and offseason acquisition Will Myers has been invited to spring training to compete for a spot in a crowded outfield.
leaves the door wide open. The west is up for grabs between San Antonio, Oklahoma City and the other Los Angeles team. In the east the Heat are number one to no one’s surprise, but New York is making a strong push. Lead by Carmelo Anthony who has scored 20 points in 30 straight games, the Knicks are making it look like this is the year they finally stop disappointing and make something happen. The last big event before football comes back, is the 84th MLB All-Star game from Citi Field in New York. This is like the NBA All-Star game in which there are a number of events before the actually game itself. You have the Futures game, which includes top prospects from all 30 MLB teams and the game is split into the U.S. vs the world. The Home Run Derby will follow the Futures game and then on July 16, the All Star game. Don’t worry, football will be here before you know it. Connor Anthony can be reached at connor.anthony@spartans.ut.edu.
The Magic have struggled mightily this season without their star Dwight Howard and currently stand at 14-34. The team has already lost more games than they did last year, when they went 37-29 in the shortened season.
MINARET
Softball Starts [17]
UT’S SOURCE SINCE 1933
SPORTS
Super Bowl Recap [19]
Spartans in the Pros Fekete Forgoes Final Semester, Bierman Shines In Minors
program as a reason for his success. “UT is one of the best schools at soccer in the nation,” Feteke explained. “The coaching, all the knowledge on the game is second to none.” But for Feteke to get drafted as a Division II athlete, he needed some help getting noticed. That’s where Coach Bush and his contacts inside the soccer world came into play and got Feteke in as one of the last invites to the MLS combine. One of the only DII players at the combine, Feteke reminisced how he was looked past by nearly every other player there. “They hear you’re from a DII school and they think you can’t play or something,” Feteke said. “I was fighting a battle for being a DII kid.” Coach Bush stressed that he could only do so much to help Feteke get drafted; the remaining responsibility lay with him. “We got him into the combine but he had to go in there and produce,” Coach Bush said. “And that’s exactly what he did.” Feteke’s performance at the combine landed him interviews with four different teams before eventually being drafted by Sporting KC. Coaches and players agree that Feteke has always had that little something extra about him that made them believe he could play at the next level. Goalkeeper Zach Niederhauser played with Feteke for a year and a half and remembers being amazed by his play. “We always knew he was something special. One time we were in a 1-1 tie game with
about three minutes left. We had a corner kick and we had been putting pressure on them forever,” Niederhauser explained. “The ball came in and bounced around the box a couple times. Feteke started to head back on D when he thought the opportunity was over. Ball came to him and he hit it with the back of his heel on a whim. Ball rolled in and we won the game.” The sentiment rings true for coach Bush as well. “Never been a question of if he could play professionally,” Coach Bush clarified. “He’s always had a little something about him, getting him right mentally was Brian Fekete always the thing.” Feteke starting off his training for Sporting KC a little sick but has since been able to overcome it and hopes to be able to secure a spot on the team. “The training here is 200 times harder,” Feteke said with a laugh. “The coach demands perfection in everything. But it has been positive so far, I don’t want to jinx it though.” Another UT graduate hoping to make it in professional sports is left handed pitcher Sean Bierman. Drafted in the 10th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft to the Tampa Bay Rays, Bierman remains in the minors hoping to work his way to
the big leagues. “It’s always been a goal of mine,” said Bierman. “Got to stick with the process.” Bierman, a transfer to UT from Vanderbilt University, was dealt a bad hand in 2010 when he was informed he needed Tommy John surgery. After two full years of rehab, Bierman made it back to the mound in February 2012 and showed he had enough to be selected in the June draft. As Bierman continues through his grind in the minors he notes that the bus rides are the worst parts. “The bus rides, gosh,” Bierman grumbled. “40 days in a row with no day off. You have to stay really mentally tough.” Right now it’s major leagues or bust for Bierman but in the future, he explains, he might not feel the same way. “Right now I’m moving in one direction. If I don’t get there I might see it as a failure,“ Bierman professed. “But down the line I might look back on it and say what I’ve done is a success.” Bierman had a 2.75 ERA in 11 games for the Hudson Valley Renegades in the New York-Penn League. As Bierman looks to move to the next level, he looks back and attributes his success to two things: coaching and family. “Coach Urso and the coaching staff are the best around,” said Bierman. “But my parents helped me through everything since I was six. They’ve been extremely supportive. I couldn’t have done it without them.” Unfortunately for Bierman there is no secret recipe for getting to the show, no step-by-step checklist he can follow. For him, staying healthy and remaining consistent are the keys to actualizing his dream. But no matter how his career turns out he wants to be known for more than a good player. “I want to be remembered as a good teammate,” Bierman said, “and a good person.” As Bierman and Feteke fight to make a career in professional sports for themselves, they both understand the difficulty that lies ahead and the sacrifice required to make it a reality. “You’ve got to keep that fire, can’t be satisfied where you’re at,” Feteke said with a serious tone. “Can’t stay in neutral, others with that fire will surpass you and you’ll find yourself out of the league.” Nathan Krohn can be reached at nathan. krohn@spartans.ut.edu.
No. 4 Baseball [2-1, 0-0]
Women’s Basketball [13-5, 3-5]
Men’s Basketball [15-6, 2-6]
Miles Parks/ The Minaret (2011)
Sean Bierman pitched to a 2.75 ERA in 11 games in the New York-Penn League in 2012. He struck out 36 hitters while issuing just five walks. By NATHAN KROHN Sports Writer
It was his senior year at Plant City High School and his team was on its way to the State Cup, but Brian Fekete was done playing soccer. He was burnt out from a childhood of pee wee leagues, hour long game commutes and weekends drowned in nothing but soccer. He was ready to move on. Fekete was a recruited player coming out of high school but he wanted to go to the University of Florida and become a doctor or a lawyer. “I see this alot,“ University of Tampa men’s soccer coach Adrian Bush said. “It’s tough to hear a kid say he wants to be a doctor and try to convince him to play soccer.” After Feteke’s team made it to the final four he and coach Bush had a long talk. “I told him he had a place UT,” Coach Bush said. “He said he’d think about it. Said if he was gonna play soccer it’d be at UT. He talked to his dad and a week later called me up and said he’d play for us.” That decision ended up being somewhat life changing for Feteke as he was drafted in the third round of the supplemental draft of Major League Soccer last month to Sporting Kansas City. Fekete decided to forgo his final semester at UT in pursuit of an MLS career. In a phone interview from his training facility in Tucson, Arizona, Feteke pointed to the UT coaching staff and soccer
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And Out
A brief rundown of Spartan sports
After a disappointing 5-3 loss to start the season, Tampa came back and blasted Bentley University a combined 19-0 over the next two games. The Spartans will host Georgia College for a three-game series beginning this Friday at 2 p.m.
The women’s basketball team recently lost a tough one, 58-54, to the top team in the conference, Florida Tech. With seven SSC games remaining, the Spartans are currently 3.5 games behind Tech. An 80-42 win over Palm Beach Atlantic provides the Spartans with some momentum.
The Spartans have won two straight games over conference foe Florida Tech and non-conference rival Palm Beach Atlantic. With seven conference games remaining, the men are 5.5 games back of Florida Southern. They host Lynn this Saturday, Feb. 9 at 4 p.m.