The Minaret 11-17-2011

MINARET UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA’S NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1933

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Volume 78 Number 11

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November 17, 2011

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ut.minaret@gmail.com

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theminaretonline.com

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Student Alcohol Violations, Addictions on the Rise UT in need of additional treatment resources, Wellness Dean confirms

By CHANNING HAILEY Asst. News Editor

Photo by Katie Magruder; photo illustration by Shivani Kanji and Samantha Battersby/The Minaret

This semester alone, campus security has responded to over 200 incidents involving alcohol violations.

Ranging from underage possession of alcoholic beverages and containers of alcohol in “dry” dorms to students passed out in rooms, intoxication in public areas and alcohol-related medical emergencies, these cases, usually involving more than one student, result in judicial referrals of the students involved.

In some instances, evaluation of these students through mandated assessments from the Office of Student Conduct reveals that an alcohol violation is a sign of a more deeply rooted problem: addiction. While the Office of Student Conduct works closely with the campus wellness center, addressing alcoholism and other addictions on UT’s campus is a complicated process and due to a lack of resources is a continued challenge.

Associate Dean of Wellness Gina Firth has been at the University of Tampa since 2006 and has, during that time, built the university’s alcohol addiction program from the ground up. Firth described approaching an issue like alcoholism on college campuses as a “daunting” task, and she will be the first to admit that

many more services need to be provided on campus in order to fully address the growing problem.

“The drinking habits of this year’s freshman class are completely different than classes five years ago,” Firth said. A changing trend among college campuses is the way in which students are drinking. The popularity of pre-gaming and drinking large quantities of shots in a short period of time are what worry Firth. She explained that most students don’t realize that drinking so much in such short time periods can escalate the addiction process, especially in women. “Women develop addiction much quicker than men, and this is a surefire way to get there fast,” she said.

When a student receives a judicial referral for an alcohol violation, he or she is given an assessment to determine the extent of his or her alcohol abuse problem. However, a student does not have to be in trouble to have an. Some students Firth sees come to her after recognizing a problem in themselves and taking a self-assessment questionnaire available on the wellness page of UT’s website. However, a problem arises after students have taken this first step and they See ALCOHOLISM, Page 4

Global Brigades Trips May be Grounded Next Semester The Global Brigades has recently come across an obstacle and four of their trips have been cancelled after being denied by the International Programs Office.

The Global Brigades is a student-led organization that works for sustainable health projects in Panama, Honduras and Ghana. The Public Health chapter was started last year by Carolina Remos. After their first trip, in which Remos and 13 other women went to Honduras for a one week Public Health Brigade, it expanded into four more chapters: Medical, Environmental, Law and Microfinance. With 200 interested students, they eagerly began fundraising for trips that were to take place in May 2012.

“The [International Programs Office] had been emailing me as soon as they got word of the organization with intimidating, and quite honestly, rude e-mails. I met with our advisor, Dr. Rebecca Olsen, and a representative from the IPO to work out an agreement so they could understand more about the organization and we could all be on the same page.” explains Remos.

In the end, the IPO told the Global Brigades that they must pay an extra $100 for insurance (although the students are already being provided with insurance and security from the Global Brigades organization) as well as an $80 fee that all travel-courses must pay.

“They were very unhelpful and not willing to listen to anything we had to say,” Remos says in regards to the International Programs Office.

In Other News...

“We explained to them that our students put in a lot of effort into fundraising and the extra $180 would be a very detrimental addition to the already burdensome (but actually worth-it) in-country fee that we fundraise for the people we are going down to Honduras to assist. They didn’t budge.”

The International Programs Office told the Global Brigades to turn in a proposal to the IPO board in order to get permission to travel.

“The form that they gave us for the ‘proposal’ was so

]

News Editor

“It was a little ridiculous that UT didn’t even really give us a chance. They turned us down for no good reason. They always gave us half answers as to why we could not do it.”

-Samantha Mack, Medical chapter of Global Brigades

[

By SHIVANI KANJI

ambiguous and irrelevant to our cause, because this was not in fact a travel abroad course - we don’t even require the people who go on the trip to be UT students, or students at all - but Dr. Olsen spent two days working on one for the Public Health Brigade because this was the one she was most familiar with.

We submitted our proposal, and the travel board approved it pending that we use the school’s account, that we bring two full-time staff or faculty with us and that we pay the insurance See BRIGADES, Page 4 7 Adventures of the Smoothie King Banana Girl 9 There’s No Shame in Being a Taylor Swift Fan

Photo courtesy of Carolina Remos

Global Brigades help out a Honduran village during last year’s brigade trip. These trips may not occur next semester.

13 Church and State: An News..................................2 Inclusive Look at Religious Diversions.........................6 Politics A+E....................................7 17 How to Talk Like You’re Opinion............................12 the Best; Even if You’re Sports..............................16 Not

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2 NOVEMBER 17 2011 | THE MINARET MINARET

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Photo courtesy of Lauren Stamm

During the Halloween weekend, Seven current UT students and one alumn walked a total of 60 miles in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the cure.

The eight women raised a total of $25,000. As a community, the Tampa Bay area raised $3.9 million this year.

Team Tatas on 3-Day for the Cure

By REBECCA CASEY Sports Writer

“60 miles, 3 days, 1 cure.” That was the slogan posted on signs and banners all over the Tampa Bay area during this year’s Halloween weekend for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. Starting on Friday Oct. 28, seven current UT students and one UT alumn embarked on a 60 mile journey to help find a cure for Breast Cancer. Maggie Olley ’12, Sam Simon ’12, Annie Lesko ’13, Leslie Stephenson ’12, Hannah Magid ’12, Becca Ogden ’12 and Liz Paonessa ‘12 were joined by UT alumn, Lauren Stamm ’11 to form Team UT Tatas.

These eight women raised $25,000 and as a community, the Tampa Bay Area raised $3.9 million. With 1,500 walkers, the event was a huge success and received much support from the community.

Day one started out a little wet, but the girls of the UT Tatas braved the rain and began their first 20 miles together. After a day filled with signs of supporters, front yards decorated with everything pink and some very attractive fireman waving them on, the girls reached camp with hungry stomachs and sore feet.

They claimed their bright pink tents, ate dinner and reflected on their day.

“The emotion and joy of waking up in a sea of pink tents Saturday and Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. and walking through rain and wind, over bridge and bridge, brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it,” Stephenson said. This is her third year walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, and the experience is remarkable each time.

With day two starting before the sun, the UT Tatas pulled on their tennis shoes, ate breakfast and started off on mile 21 of their journey. Along the way they met many inspiring people, some cancer free, and others with a timer looming over their heads. “I met a woman who is currently battling breast cancer and she told us that she was not giving up hope. Her doctors told her that she probably would not make it any longer then January

Photo courtesy of Lauren Stamm

During their walk, the motto of the 3-day event, “Everyone deserves a lifetime,” was never far from the minds of the group of women from The University of Tampa calling themselves UT Tatas.

this year, so she booked herself a cruise for February, and she told us that she will be on that boat,” Simon said. It was stories like that that helped to push her forward and remind her what she was walking for. A close family friend of Simon’s was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago, but celebrated a cancer-free birthday in September.

With day two over and 40 miles behind them, UT Tatas settled back into camp with the comforting site of pink tents greeting them.

Knowing their last day would soon be here they were filled with a mixture of excitement, exhaustion and sadness.

“I laughed and cried more than I ever have in my life,” Olley said of her experience walking in the 3-Day. When asked why she walked this year, Olley replied very simply, “When I thought about the statistics; that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, I thought about the eight women closest to me and could not imagine one of them

Michael Paonessa Sophie Erber Rebecca Casey Analisa Trstensky Joe Beaudoin April Weiner Laurel Sanchez Shantora Perkins

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Photo courtesy of Lauren Stamm

Family and friends of those walking in the 3-day gathered to show their support through the walk.

going through that.” The motto, “Everyone deserves a lifetime,” really stuck with all the girls throughout all three days.

Day three finally arrived and Team UT Tatas set off on their last 20 miles. With friends and family lining the streets of downtown St. Petersburg for the closing ceremonies, there wasn’t a single person not decked out in pink.

There was cheering from every direction, signs of support and gratitude and motorcycles covered in bras. “I want to take a stand for those who are unable to do so for themselves,” Olley said. Simon agreed, saying, “I wanted to walk for all those who couldn’t.”

The closing ceremonies brought tears to almost every one’s eyes as the walkers took their last few steps into the fenced off circle surrounded by their supporters and loved ones.

Following them was the crew; all the men and women who wrapped sore ankles, bandaged blisters and gave encouragement when it was needed most. Finally, the inner circle was filled with survivors.

Some were still fighting their battle, others victorious and others uncertain of their fate.

A flag was raised, and on it was the goal of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk; “A world without breast cancer.” With walkers raising a shoe in honor of the survivors standing in front of them, the crowd fell silent for a moment to honor those lost to breast cancer and those still fighting. With a final cheer for all involved the event ended and with it came more hugs, cheers and laughter. Three members of the UT Tatas were lucky to have their moms fly down from New York and Delaware to support them. It was a beautiful experience, and thanks to these eight women, Tampa Bay is 60 miles closer to a cure.

Rebecca Casey can be reached at rebecca.casey@spartans.ut.edu

NEWS + FEATURES

THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

Notre Dame Organist to Play in Sykes Chapel

By SHIVANI KANJI News Editor

On Friday Nov. 18, the Skyes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values will be hosting two very special concerts.

Olivier Latry, who is an organist at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, will be performing at UT as part of the Concert Artist Series at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The concert is free to the public, but a large crowd is expected and seating is limited.

Doors will open 30 minutes in advance.

Latry began playing at a small Cathedral in the province at the age of 12 and began at the Notre Dame in 1990 and the age of 22.

According to an article on ut.edu, Latry has the Performer of the Year Award of the American Guild of Organists. He received an honorary doctor of music degree from McGill University, and an honorary fellowship

from the Royal College of Organists and he teaches at the Paris Conservatory. He taught at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Fall 2010.

“The phenomenon of the titular organist of a French Cathedral is a striking one. These artists are paid by the French government for their positions and the organs themselves, as historical moments, are also in the domain of the government. To have such a post is a great national honor as well as a musical one,” explains Dr. Haig Mardirosian, the Dean of the College of Arts and letters.

“It is rare when we have the opportunity to have with us, live and up close, any individual who is universally considered as one of the top one or two at whatever they do globally. That opportunity arose here, of course, by having the facility and the instrument in Sykes Chapel. It is a demonstration of the importance of this

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organ that we can bring with confidence, an artist like Latry, who plays at one of the pinnacle places in the profession.”

Mardirosian continued.

At the end of his performance, Latry will be showcasing his talent by performing a work based off of an external theme that will be given to him at the concert.

“He will not see the theme until we hand it to him on the spot, right on the stage. We will have two themes to use at each concert, and they will be different. Few individuals dare to apply this skill in formal concert settings. It is the ultimate high wire without a net.”

The two concerts done by Notre Dame organist, Olivier Latry are part of the Concert Artists Series sponsored by the College of Arts and letters and the Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values.

Samantha Battersby/The Minaret Shivani Kanji can be reached at Olivier Latry will be performing at the Sykes minaret.news@gmail.com.

Chapel on Nov. 18, 2011.

Frequent Parking Violations Lead to Immobilization Devices

By KELLY ST.ONGE News Reporter

The University of Tampa has warned students about the possibility of boots (immobilization devices) being put on their vehicles since the last academic school year. This year, however, is the first that these boots have been utilized.

On the school’s website it is stated that “anyone violating the University’s parking policies may have their vehicle ticketed, booted, towed, or impounded by the property owners, the City of Tampa and/or the University.”

All students can access vehicle registration and parking regulations from the school’s website: www.ut.edu.

Kevin Howell, the head of the security department on campus, said the boots have been implemented “for the convenience and safety of the student.” To have a car towed is costly, with prices starting at $150, plus mileage. The cost for removing a boot is $50. “I would rather have students deal with the parking issues they are being booted for on

campus rather than send them to an unknown part of the city to retrieve their car,” Howell said.

The campus security office has utilized the boots twice this academic year. “The two students we did use the device on said they understood and had no issue with the application,” Howell said.

In order to get students to follow parking regulations on campus, Howell felt the boots were necessary. “It was my recommendation to implement the use of the devices,” he said.

The security office has an operating budget for each academic year. Howell said that paying for the boots, as with any purchase by the security office, comes from the operating budget.

Tiera Forsyth, a junior at UT, agrees that boots are a step forward in making following parking regulations more convenient for students, however she said it’s not an allin-one solution. She said she would prefer to pay to have a boot removed rather than having to go out of her way to an

impound. “Putting boots on the cars is more convenient for us, but more parking and more convenient parking is what we ultimately need,” she said.

Sarah McKean, another junior on campus at UT, is on board with Forsyth. She thinks the boots are a good alternative to towing cars off campus, “because most of my friends on campus don’t have cars, I would have no way to get my car,” she said.

However, like Forsyth, McKean does not believe boots on cars are a all-in-one solution. McKean thinks that if the university had better parking, less regulations would be broken and as a result less parking tickets and boots would be administered. “I think we need better parking in general,” she said. “It’s okay to use [boots] to reinforce parking regulations on campus, but the lack of parking is the real issue.”

Kelly St.Onge can be reached at kst.onge@spartans. ut.edu

WWW.THEMINARETONLINE.COM From the Nov. 7 to Nov. 13 reports The Only Snow Tampa Sees At 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 9, a student was involved in an altercation on campus.

The student refused to ID himself to officers then fled on foot. When stopped by a second officer he then shoved the officer. Student was then arrested and found to be in possession of cocaine.

Wild Wild West At 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 9, security responded to a call of a motor vehicle accident in West Parking Garage.

The Misinformed Snitch At 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, a room search was requested and completed for possible narcotics. None were located.

It Just Had to be at 4:20 At 4:20 p.m. on Nov. 10, drug paraphernalia and alcohol containers were found during a room search. The students received a judicial referral.

Tour de Tampa At 7:50 p.m. on Nov. 11, a student fell and hit her head on the seventh floor of the Vaughn Center causing an injury.

It Wasn’t her 11:11 Wish At 11:15 p.m. on Nov. 11, a student fell and hit her head on the seventh floor of the Vaughn center causing an injury.

Don’t be Tardy for the Party At 2:29 p.m. on Nov. 12, security received a Silent Witness report of alcohol in a room on the third floor of the Vaughn Center. The students received a judicial referral.

Time to Clothes this Case At 11:00 p.m. on Nov. 12, a student reported that her clothing items were missing from the laundry room in Stadium Center. The case is still open.

Reports compiled by Channing Hailey.

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Approaching alcoholism on campus is ‘daunting task’ From ALCOHOLISM, Front Page

ask, “What now?”

“At the moment, I am the ‘what now,’” Firth said. Though she has been trained in the role of therapeutic treatment, education and counseling, this is not her job on campus.

She explained that counselors currently employed by UT addiction specialists, nor is the counseling program designed or equipped to handle substance abuse issues, so an obvious void is left in the treatment of alcohol abuse on campus.

Firth finds herself taking on every student of concern that is sent to the wellness center for signs of alcohol abuse. She evaluates each one and then directs them to the resources currently available on campus and in the community.

“I wish we had somebody dedicated to the ‘what now,’” she said. “The needs of the university are many and everybody has priorities. My priority is to get a dedicated substance abuse employee on campus to meet the needs of the students.”

The need for UT employed substance abuse counselors has become even more prominent this year. “Substance abuse violations have dramatically increased on campus this year,” Firth said.

Because UT does not have an on-campus substance abuse staff, it turns to the community to bring treatment resources to students. Firth works with Operation PAR, a Florida organization providing resources to combat addiction. After receiving initial evaluation, the majority of the students Firth sees are referred to Operation PAR for an assessment

intervention program called The Young Adult Prevention Program. The problem UT faces today is that Operation PAR has lost much of its funding. While therapists used to be available much more often on campus, a PAR therapist is now only on campus 10 hours a week. Because UT does not have a budget for substance abuse services and a PAR therapist is so rarely available, student waitlists for sessions have already been extended into next semester. Another community partner that works with students is Dr. David Thomas and Tamara Thomas. Students with more problematic alcohol or other drug problems are referred to this team of addiction therapists.

Space has been provided in the University Counseling Center for appointments which is paid for through billing of student insurance and co-pays.

“My dream would be that we had a full time substance abuse therapist that was available to meet with students, work with them one on one, and refer them to treatment as necessary,” Firth said. “We are so grateful to our community partners.

They have been a tremendous resource, however the logistics of community partnerships, such as funding, scheduling and quality control are a challenge. I would like to see us bring someone in here that we could work with daily.”

While UT’s wellness center faces many barriers in providing alcohol abuse treatment to its students, Firth said that spreading awareness and education of preventative practices is an action that is doable at this time.

“I would love to see students in recovery speak up more and put a face to this issue, to encourage more students to

talk about this growing problem,” she said. “People need to recognize the incredible addictive potential of alcohol and they have to change their cavalier attitude about it being ‘no big deal.’”

UT’s student-based support group, the 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous is currently one of the largest on-campus resources for students in recovery. There is also an Al Anon group on campus providing support for, as Firth said, “People who love people who are addicts.” The group provides support for the friends, family and loved ones of those struggling with an alcohol addiction.

Until more resources are available to students on campus, these groups are one of the few places that students can turn to for support. “I’m hoping to see more students take advantage of support groups on campus and create more discussions across campus on the effects of alcohol abuse,” she said. The most important thing students can do at this point, Firth said, is to remove the stigma behind reaching out for support and treatment for dependency. “It’s very daunting for someone who is 19-years-old to face something like alcoholism, but addiction is progressive and gets worse over time. If someone is experiencing a problem now and does not seek treatment, the addiction is going to get worse, and so will the consequences,” she said.

For more information about campus resources, AA and Al Anon, contact Gina Firth at 813-257-1777.

Channing Hailey can be reached at minaret.news@ gmail.com.

Princeton Review Names Sykes College of Business One of World’s Top Business Schools

By KIRBY JAY News Reporter

The progressive education coming from the new business building at the University of Tampa has paid off. For the sixth year in a row, the Princeton Review has rated the Sykes College of Business School one of the most outstanding schools in the world. The 80,000 square-foot facility offers many courses for both undergraduate and graduate students here at UT. The many classes that are offered in this building have successfully prepared students for their upcoming futures.

The Sykes College of Business was chosen to be one of the 294 best business schools in the world. It is featured in the 2011 edition of The Best 294 Business Schools. The studies on this statistic come from 19,000 students attending these 294 universities.

The dean of Sykes commented on the program. “The College of Business is renowned for graduating students who are well prepared to make immediate impacts in the business community,” said Frank Ghannadian, stated in a recent article found on UT’s website regarding the award.

Many students believe that one of the more important opportunities that come out of an education is experience. The Sykes College of Business allows students to mix and connect classwork with business application in the real world, which is a great offer to many students. Stephanie Thomason, the associate dean of the College

of Business explained how the classes fully prepare students by saying “students apply the skills they’ve learned in all of their business courses to create a strategic analysis of a live organization. Students compete in groups against each other to analyze the organization’s situation, recognize strategic issues and make recommendations.”

UT has gained relationships with over 700 leaders that provide professional networking. This gives students many internships and job opportunities in the Tampa Bay area. The school also provides state-of-the-art resources including the Huizenga Family Foundation Trading Center, over 1,300 data ports and complete Wi-Fi access.

Brady Frost, a first semester graduate student studying Business Administration at UT enjoys the “knowledgeable and approachable professors” who are more than willing to reach out to their students.

The smaller class sizes and international community create a “great learning environment” that encourages interest and participation.

The Sykes College of Business has a mission to “prepare students to succeed in the global marketplace through educational excellence.” What makes this possible are the energetic professors and the innovative courses that show students hands on what their careers will entail. Dr. Thomason explained what makes the classes so important by stating, “While many competing schools conduct case analysis

Samantha Battersby/ The Minaret

The Sykes College of Business School has been rated one of the most outstanding schools in the country by the Princeton Review for the sixth year in a row.

using text book cases in their capstone business courses, our school conducts an analysis of a real time.”

With the school’s up-to-date facilities in the Sykes Building, the friendly working environment is a benefit for students. The classrooms invite students to connect to interesting material. Garrett Francis, a senior at UT studying finance commented on both the theories and experience that take place in the classrooms. “I think having a mix of both allows the business students to develop strategic thought and to learn

real world case studies on how to solve business related problems.” Through this advanced business curriculum, students are successfully gaining experience at Tampa and are easily interacting with the business community.

The nine graduate departments and the many courses offered in the Sykes College of Business have opened doors and created a proud learning environment for business students at the University of Tampa.

Kirby Jay can be reached at kirby.jay@ spartans.ut.edu.

Confusion exists over status of Global Brigade trips From BRIGADES, Front Page

Photo courtesy of Carolina Remos

Global Brigades is a student led organization that works on sustainable health projects in Panama, Honduras, and Ghana.

and extra fee,” Remos explains.

One problem with having to bring staff along with them is that the Global Brigades feel that this takes away from the student empowerment and the meaning of a student-led organization.

The president of the Medical chapter, senior Samantha Macks, started the chapter in the beginning of September and had 75 students ready to go on the trip.

Macks feels,“It was a little ridiculous that UT didn’t even really give us a chance. They turned us down for no good reason. They always gave us half answers as to why we could not do it. One reason they gave us was that we were supposed

to register with the Education Abroad program back in March.

We are a non-profit, so why do we have to register with UT Education Abroad and pay the extra money they want us to pay? Global Brigades is not a education abroad course, it is a student-led organization.”

Remos goes on to describe the results of turning in their proposal. “They told me that only the Public Health Brigade was allowed to travel because they had made an ‘exception’ and let us turn in our proposal late - that all other proposals were supposed to be turned in by March. They insisted on all of the other stipulations and even said that they had discussed this with the CEO of GB and that she understood. When I spoke with the CEO of GB, [Dr. Shital Chauhan].

Shivani Kanji can be reached at minaret.news@gmail. com.

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THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

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Into the Wild: A Narrative by David Adams Student spends three days alone in wilderness preserve

By DAVID ADAMS Opinion Writer

As I stood with my dog, Cleveland and my good friend Steve in downtown Tampa at six in the evening on Oct. 21, I had an epiphany. Maybe more of a realization, or what drunks call a ‘moment of clarity.’ I realized “fast.” Just one word, a simple word. One syllable. Fast. When spoken, it sounds like its meaning, flying of the tongue quickly. Standing on the corner of Kennedy and Florida, I realized that people live fast. Looking at the traffic lined up on Kennedy impatiently creeping forward, watching the brake lights flashing on and off with every impatient inch-up, the little voice that has been whispering to my soul for months finally became audible.

“I need to get the hell out of here,” I said to Steve. “People are so caught up in themselves, no one cares about finding joy in the simple things anymore. Society has perverted humanity. I need to get away from all of this.”

Steve looked at me silently for a moment, followed my gaze up Kennedy Boulevard.

“I know what you mean, everything moves so quickly nowadays,” Steve said as he looked back at me. “People have forgotten what life is about; now its ‘text this person and email that one and oh, wait I forgot to check my Facebook!”

Steve’s last comment caused a laugh to burst from my mouth; a long hard, laugh.

After my laughter faded to chuckles, I looked at him as seriously as I could. “I really don’t want to live like that. I have to get away, somewhere, anywhere. Soon.”

Back in my apartment, I scurried around, grabbing up everything I thought I was going to need. I had decided to take a weekend trip to Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Preserve. But instead of the normal camping experience, I was going to camp primitively. I wanted to go back to my nomadic roots, foraging and hunting for my food. I was craving to live in the moment, if only for a weekend.

Steve and I returned back to my apartment to finish packing my things. My list was small: two blankets, an extra pair of pants, two t-shirts, two pairs of socks, one long sleeve shirt, a fleece cap and two dew rags completed the clothing list. For gear I gathered up my purchased items and added in a couple of knives, a head lamp, a multi-tool and a pot for boiling water. I also brought a Camelbak three-liter bladder filled with water and a gallon of spring water, a field dressing and a compass. A tent completed my list.

The next day, Steve brought me to the nature preserve, pulling up to the front kiosk.

“Hey there, do you guys have any sites available?” I asked the park employee, an elderly man looking at me through thick glasses.

“Yes, we do. How many nights?”

“Two nights. I will be leaving Sunday.

Do you have an primitive sites available?”

I asked although I was sure he did, I had called four times over the last two hours to ensure that they did.

“Yes, site two. You have to walk in though, no vehicles are allowed back there.

It’s the farthest site, here,” the man pointed a wrinkled finger at a map of the park, showing me my site.

“I’ll take it,” I said, writing out a check for $10 to the man.

Steve drove me as far as he could, only another quarter-mile up the road. We stopped and I hopped down out of the tall Humvee.

“Thanks for the ride bro, I’m going to take off, daylight is short.”

“No problem man, let me get a picture of you real quick. You know, the before,” Steve laughed as I pull out my camera and handed it to him. “Smile pretty now.”

The camera flashed, and my journey began. It was nearly six miles to my camp site, and the sun was already beginning to dip low in the sky. A little way up the trail, I stepped to the side to pull my map out.

Dropping my heavy field pack, the gallon of water slammed into the dirt, splitting

Photo courtesy of David Adams

Upon returning to the city, Adams realized that a large part of him wanted to be back out in the wilderness, living primitively and enjoying the “quiet harmony” he had experienced on his trip.

In preparation for the trip, Steve and I took a drive to Wal-Mart. I left the mega mart with a Daisy model Powerline 35 bb/ pellet gun, pellets, a magnesium fire brick and a hatchet.

I researched edible plants growing in central Florida, and brought a field guide for plants. Along with foraging, I looked up a field guide on how to skin and fry a squirrel. I was really going to get down to the nitty-gritty, and live like we used to.

Already, I was getting excited.

along the seam. Water streamed out, the bottle had split almost halfway down.

“Nooo!” I yelled, trying to move it off of my gear so it wouldn’t soak everything.

“S**t, s**t, s**t!” Water seeped out of the flimsy container, and the Zephyrhills logo peeled off. Now my gear was wet, and I had to carry a half-gallon of water instead of packing it. Picking up the bottle, I continued down the trail.

The trip took much longer than I anticipated. The map had said the site

Photo courtesy of David Adams

David Adams ventured into the wilderness for a weekend taking with him only the necessities in order to have a change from the fast-paced lifestyle he had grown accustomed to.

was only four miles away, but it took me nearly two hours. The map I received from the front kiosk was not accurate, and I was delayed three times during my trip. I thought I had passed my site twice. The third stop was an attempt to photograph a whitetail deer. It had jumped out 30 meters in front of me on the path, and travelled with me for a while, never letting me get close enough to photograph it. The deer was beautiful, strong-muscled legs flexing as it bounded up the trail ahead of me. I followed in awe. After several minutes, it turned and jumped into the palm brush, and I lost sight of it.

Just as I was about to give up and call the park help desk, I found my camp site, nestled in a large grove of low-growing palm trees. The sun was low, and I immediately went about gathering brush and tinder so I could start a fire. Placing the tinder in a pile, I scraped the magnesium into a pile on top of it, and turned the brick. Striking it hard with my knife, I tried to angle sparks to the tinder. Sparks flew as I hit the brick over and over. One set of sparks struck the tinder, and it starting burning slowly.

“Yes!” I exclaimed, blowing the smoldering tinder. It flickered, sputtered and went out. “Oh no,” I whispered to the forest.

“Everything is too wet, I am screwed.”

Abandoning my fire aspirations, I decided to set up camp as quickly as possible. It was almost fully dark now, and was getting colder by the minute. I donned my headlamp, and went to work setting up my tent. I made short work of the tent, threw all my gear in and jumped in. I was freezing, and the weather showed no sign of warming.

That first night was really difficult. I woke up several times, and had to rewrap myself in my two skimpy blankets. I did not bring nearly enough bedding, and my body suffered as a result. I thought that first night would never end, and when the sun came up the next morning, I stayed huddled in my tent for another hour, just warming myself.

Once I was warmed, I started about my business. First thing I had to do was start and maintain a fire. I strapped my small Camelbak backpack on and set out into the woods, looking for areas in direct sunlight. I gathered up as much dry wood and tinder as I could carry, and returned to camp. After forming a tepee of firewood I crouched next to it.

“Come on now, please start,” I begged the dead limbs and tinder. Lowering the flint brick, I struck it with my knife. Again.

Again. Several more times. Nothing.

Growing angry I struck it again, this time sparks jumped, and the tinder started smoking. I grabbed dry brush and heaved it onto the tiny flames, and the fire grew.

It stayed lit. I was ecstatic, and jumped up and down whooping my joy to no one and everyone at once. With the fire lit, I was on to my next task- food.

I grabbed my Daisy rifle and headed off into the woods. Walking through a dense mangrove swamp, I stared into the tree limbs, looking for that oh-so familiar bushy tail. After 45 minutes of searching, I saw two squirrels chasing each other through the trees. I aimed my rifle and fired, a puff of smoke came up from just below the front squirrel. The shot was no good.

“How did I miss?” I said as I reloaded, pumping the air rifle as fast as I could. The squirrels had already ran to another tree, and an hour-long chase ensued. I fired three more shots, missing each one, and left the swamp empty handed. The fish trap I had constructed from a 20 oz. Pepsi bottle was empty as well, much to my disappointment.

Instead of squirrel and fish, I settled for Gallberries and pine needles. By nightfall, I was ready for bed, and for the trip to be over.

The final day, I woke early and packed everything up. My stomach was growling, and all I was thinking about was the raging hunger in my stomach. I set off on the walk back to the entrance, where Steve was going to meet me. By the end of the walk, blisters stabbed at both heels and several toes on my feet; Steve’s truck never looked so comfortable.

Back in downtown, traffic swirled around me. I looked up towards the tops of the buildings, lost in my own thoughts.

While my trip into the wild was definitely hard, I am planning to do it again.

I want to live off the wild, and I do have an intense love for nature. And although I was completely relieved to come out of the wilderness, I feel that with better planning and preparation, living primitively would be a lot of fun. A large part of me wants to escape again, back into the wilderness.

I want to enjoy the silence, the quiet harmony that only nature can bring. Out in the middle of nowhere, I could truly find joy in the simplest of things. As John Lubbock said, “ ... to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky is by no means a waste of time.”

David Adams can be reached at dadams@spartans.ut.edu.

6 NOVEMBER 17 2011 | THE MINARET

Diversions

Crossword

Lynn Lempel / Will Shortz ©New York Times Across 1. True-blue 6. Toy gun poppers 10. Smooch 14. "Good Night" girl of song 15. Arthur ___ Stadium in Queens 16. Peak 17. River triangle 18. Signify 19. Horn's sound 20. Logic 23. ___ capita 24. Buffalo's lake 25. Money in the bank, e.g.

30. Declare 33. Seizes without authority 34. Old what's-___-name 35. George W. Bush's alma mater 36. Michael who starred in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" 37. Snorkeling accessory 38. Wolf calls 39. Broadway hit with 7,000+ performances 40. With it 41. Immobilize 42. Swelling reducer 43. Highway stops 45. Ritzy 46. Little rascal 47. Question of concern, with a hint to 20-, 25and 43-Across 54. Corner square in Monopoly 55. Den 56. Unsophisticated

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Courtney Peffley prepares to punt a soccer ball across the field. This past weekend, the women’s soccer team won their second game of the NCAA regional tournament against Rollins.

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Down 1. Eyeball covers 2. Nabisco cookie 3. Shout 4. Against 5. Weapon in the game of Clue 6. Tripod topper 7. On the open water 8. Adds gradually

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57. Loafing 58. Dublin's home 59. Lyrics accompany them 60. 2000 "subway series" losers 61. Toy used on hills 62. Commence

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Week of the

Imani Cruz/The Minaret

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9. Mexican misters 10. Couric of "Today" 11. Computer symbol 12. Haze 13. Movie backdrop 21. Commies 22. Tiny criticism 25. Emmy-winner (finally!) Susan 26. Author ___ Bashevis Singer 27. Truly 28. Vases 29. Harbor sights 30. Took care of 31. Totally tired 32. Sí and oui 35. Quotable Yank

37. Swerve back and forth, as a car's rear end 38. Very short shorts 40. Big bothers 41. Soccer star Mia 43. Caught 44. In layers 45. Sees a ghost, maybe 47. Walk through water 48. Sword handle 49. Put on the payroll 50. Tightly stretched 51. Turner who sang "I Don't Wanna Fight" 52. At any time 53. Sabbath activity 54. ___-dandy

Horoscopes

By Linda C Black / Tribune Media Services

The Weekend Update The Wild Party

Exam Jam

Nov. 20, 2011 8 p.m.

Where: Falk Theatre What: Taking place in the roaring 1920s ,‘Wild Party’ concerns a blowout party in one wild evening in the Manhattan apartment shared by two vaudeville performers, Queenie and Burrs. Admission: $10 general admission, $5 senior citizen, Free to UT students/faculty/staff

p.m. - 4 p.m.

Where: Vaughn Courtyard What: SP presents students with a way to relax before finals. There will be various interactive activities, novelty items, food and giveaways.

Admission: Free

Victorian Stroll

10, 2011 8 p.m.

Where:Falk Theatre What: Dancing with Winds brings the talented students from the Departments of Music and Speech, Theatre and Dance together for a bold concert that is sure to kick off your holiday season in style! Featuring a special 10-minute version of the holiday favorite, The Nutcracker, dancers also will bring to life a selection from the popular UT Wind Ensemble performance “Night At The Movies.”

Admission: Free

When: Thursday, Nov. 17 - Sunday,

When: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Where: Vaughn Lobby What: Come experience the innocence and charm of a Victorian Christmas with your loved ones at the Henry B. Plant Museum’s 30th annual Victorian Christmas Stroll.

Admission: Two complimentary tickets will be provided to current parents. Additional tickets can be purchased - $9 adults, $8 seniors (65 and older), $5 youth (4-18 years).

When: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 12

nUTcracker!

When: Friday, Dec. 9 - Saturday, Dec.

Aries (March 21-April 19) Home is where your heart is, so use your energy to build something there. Simple actions, one at a time, add up. No need for anything drastic.

Take a pretty walk.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Go ahead and consider a career in public service, or at least participate in your community at a deeper level. Also, listen to someone who tells the truth.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Your family helps you make your dreams come true. Your work is earning admiration.

Explore and study as much as you can. Keep practicing, and be persistent.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Energy and money are flowing, and travel could be in the forecast. Pad the time around ticketing and reservations, and buy as early as possible for the best price.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) Money doesn’t bring happiness (although it can seem like such a relief). Find satisfaction in love and compassion. That’s your real wealth. Share resources.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You’re in charge, and you’re taking care of business.

Career opportunity arises. Accept guidance from a guru, and take on more leadership. Watch for hidden agendas.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) You’re out of your shell today, at ease and comfortable. You’ve got a secret you’re itching to tell, but not quite yet… wait for romance and travel, too. Soon.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Instructions could be contradicting. Let your partner drive. Work out directions together, and get advice when needed. Take the philosophical high road.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) If you focus on the limitations, that’s what you get. Among the clouds there are openings and opportunities. Use your intuition like a compass

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Buckle up and get ready for a rollercoaster day of productivity, even when confrontations arise.

Focus on the goal and solve problems with ease.

Keep costs down.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You’re becoming more popular. Things seem to be coming back into balance. Don’t start before you’re ready, and don’t spend beyond the budget. Think it over.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Do the work, with loving support, and succeed. Expand your territory. You’ve got the connections. Make sure you understand what they need, and provide it.

THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Arts + Entertainment

Adventures of the Smoothie King Banana Girl

By JENNIFER BEDELL Lead Copy Editor

“Banana Girl” – it’s the title of the person picked last in kickball mixed with a super vixen, and the simplest Halloween costume for a teenage to young adult male—all together, not flattering.

Day one of my adventure of dancing outside of Smoothie King on Kennedy dressed in a banana outfit was the most enlightening. And yes, it is possible for this type of experience to shed some new light on society and life in general. Please note, if considering this as a (hopefully) temporary job, get the iPod set up with a great playlist.

“I think it’s a waste of a job because I feel like it’s aimed towards kids. If companies want more customers they should advertise more, not hire someone in a costume to stand outside,” said Becky Petoello, 19, education major.

About a half an hour into my “shift” as Banana Girl, a casual yet sketchy pedestrian tilted the Solo cup he was carrying towards me, enough to see that there was a clear liquor in there, and offered me a shot. The angel on my right shoulder convinced me that it was not only a bad idea, but a horrible one.

Altogether, I spent about five hours on the street, split between four days. Taking part in this provided me with the time I needed, no matter what mood I was in, to reflect on things that I had going on in life.

Staring down the horizon watching clouds forming the shape of frogs, hippos and eye-balls, I never once wished that the cars would stop driving past. I felt the similar anticipation of a rush of customers coming towards me as if I was in a restaurant, except the line would never end—and it wasn’t a bad thing. It was just one opportunity after another to see what type of connections I could make with drivers.

Knowing that I had about four to five more days of standing on the corner of Kennedy and S. Lauber was a balance between shame and sheer carelessness.

No one knew who I was out there and it’s freeing because I could jam to my music and dance on.

My generally non-creative hand gestures got old after a while; the thumbs up, awkward make-shift arrow with fingers and the princess wave. Next up, spiritfingers; (see: Bring It On.) And I won’t forget the always corny, holding up the smoothie cup as if it’s the gold medal at the Olympics.

Since I had no coaching or lessons on how to be the most efficient walking billboard, I was left with my own creativity.

The honks and waves of drivers down Kennedy kept my spirits and dance moves at an all-time high. The honks mostly came from cars containing males, yet the waves came from a lot of middle-aged females.

It’s the unstoppable cheering at a baseball game as the underdogs have their tying run rounding third base, and he slides into home winning the game. When I see someone’s car blinker coming my way, I fist-pump like I belong on Jersey Shore.

So is this a part-time job that should be looked down upon?

It may not be the most ideal job, but say for someone who has no other option- it’s not a horrible gig. The most unattractive part of the job would be the potential amount of sweat produced out in the sun while attempting to put on a show, and maybe even breakdance.

Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Petoello

Jennifer Bedell holds up a sign to advertise Smoothie King. She dressed in banana attire for a weekend to explore the deeper meaning behind a job often frowned upon.

]

]

The honks and waves of drivers down Kennedy kept my spirits and dance moves at an all-time high... So is this a part-time job that should be looked down upon?

After being rejected from another business on Kennedy that often has a man in a gorilla costume outside reeling in customers, with the help of a friend, I decided to approach Smoothie King and see if they would be OK with getting involved this type of advertisement for less than a week. Though it’s not typical for Smoothie King to have someone dressed up on the side of the road, they could benefit from this type of advertising. “More people would see the store and realize that we’re here. We would get more customers,” said Scott Brown, 24, manager for Smoothie King. “A banana would be the ultimate costume; maybe an orange or an apple or something. I know a lot of people need jobs out there. If you’re good at doing it and you like being outside, you might as well get paid to do it.”

Smoothie King shares, yet, battles for land with The Floridian, which, according to their signs, has an awesome Cuban sandwich. They are quite hard to see tucked behind the restaurant, so my

banana days were sure to bring in at least an extra handful of customers.

On the busiest street of my home town, I can recall moments where I’m driving down the road and I see the Statue of Liberty come to life in full force always dancing and having a good time. Probably every time I passed I would hold down my horn and peer at my rearview mirror waiting for them to jump in the air as if their day was made by one single horn.

As that person, I can now say that it really does inspire you to grab everyone’s attention while you’re out there. A honk or a simple wave back in recognition really made me smile. Whether they were acknowledging me because I was dressed as a banana or not, it was clear that they took the time to appreciate the humor behind the job.

“I don’t think there’s anything negative [about the job]. I think it’s, if someone’s personality fits it,” said Courtney Watson, 20, sales associate at Smoothie King.

“Like an outgoing, energetic personality,

7

can boost sales or boost other people’s moods. Because if [drivers] see you in a good mood then they’re kind of like, that psychological thing with the whole, ‘she’s in a good mood doing that; I can be in a good mood too’.”

The bottom line behind this job is to attract customers. But will the attraction always result positively or might some see the walking billboard as an act of desperation?

Some may be more critical of the job as a whole, like Petoello, who considered the job, more or less, an act of desperation for the company. But what Watson brought to my attention was something I hadn’t thought about at all while on the street, the idea that this job is perfect for those individuals who happen to be in a good mood all the time.

To the optimists- this is a great job for you. Forget the job requirements, there really are none. Being able to stand on the side of street acting as the road’s cheerleader is the only necessary foundation behind success.

Staring out at the open road, the side walk is brick clashing yet complementing the black road. On a partly sunny afternoon, I used my four-foot Smoothie King sign, shaped like the classic white Styrofoam cup they use, that they provided me with to block the sun as sweat starts dripping down my face.

Throughout the experience, I felt I made connections with certain drivers. I looked deep into their windows to hopefully find a smiling face that would wave back at me.

Sure, it may seem terribly embarrassing and even more so in my case because this banana costume did not have an alternative face to cover up my own. In order to avoid that embarrassment that I was initially feeling, I threw on my biggest sunglasses and paired them with red lipstick. The first five minutes or so consisted of me standing on the side walk looking like a Popsicle stick. I would awkwardly throw my hand in the air and wave to the birds.

Once I loosened up and enjoyed my music, (on the final day, it was Lady Gaga’s Born This Way album,) I began to kick my feet around attempting to two-step and pumped my fists around connecting with the beat pumping through my headphones.

Suddenly, I didn’t care.

However, the “walking billboard” can be considered one of the most embarrassing jobs. “When a business cannot afford a real billboard, they hire a person to hold a sign,” according to AskMen.com. What I chose to do ranked at number four out of 10, squashed in between a Meter Maid at number five and Telemarketer at number three.

I’d like to see one of the writers from their website get out on the street and do what I did. Yes, it’s awkward and it’s assumed that you should feel at least a small amount of shame when taking part in this type of job.

The mission of the costumed character or fruit on the side of the road is specifically to draw driver’s attention to a certain business or company. Whether that is good or bad attention in any one’s opinion, it gets the job done. And the job basically does itself as long as the person behind the costume can bring some life to the streets.

Once I got out there, though, I began looking forward to huge busses flying past me about five feet away providing me with a gentle breeze to dry my forehead.

Jennifer Bedell can be reached at 1jennifer.bedell@gmail.com.

8 NOVEMBER 17 2011 | THE MINARET

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Thanksgiving Bombarded With Another Early Christmas Invasion

By XELMARIE MEDINA Arts + Entertainment Writer

Thanksgiving Day hasn’t arrived and already Christmas décor has invaded retail and department stores.

Commercials instigate us to start buying soon, in order to find the best gifts and deals.

Yes, you know who you are, you ultra-mega hyped Christmas fans who start planning to purchase presents and decorations around Halloween.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I’m not saying gift giving is bad or evil. I’m simply stating Christmas should not revolve around extravagant purchases.

The bible presents the story of The Three Wise men, that traveled from the east to Bethlehem, where Christ was born, and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

As you can see, gift giving has been around for a long time.

Although, I don’t think The Three Wise men bought these gifts at any department store. So, when did this commercialization begin? It has been a work in progress whose full bloom may be appreciated nowadays.

After eating a delicious Turkey [or meal] and enjoying quality time with the family, we assemble the gift lists and prepare ourselves for an unforgettable shopping experience. Buckle up everyone, Black Friday has arrived. Some get up before the sun in order to find a good parking spot. Others choose to camp outside the stores, all in the desperate search for the perfect gift at a good price.

Before stampeding through a store’s doors with a shopping cart at full speed, we should consider if it’s really worth it. How good are

the sales anyway? Are they good enough to endure frantic people and inefficient store clerks? Are they good enough to stand in long lines? Are they good enough to guarantee you won’t find a particular item another day?

In fact, ShopperTrak’s statistics show revenue from Black Friday has decreased where as the first half of November proved to be more rewarding, considering stores began promoting aggressively sooner.

For example, stores promote their lay-away services, which allow many to pay little by little and avoid the harsh blow of leaving your entire paycheck at the store’s register.

We also see Christmas movie trailers, whose premier dates are around Thanksgiving.

These and other advertisements, makes us yearn for the perfect gift. After all, if you find a “good” deal, why shouldn’t your grandmother’s cousin twice removed receive a gift? You might not communicate frequently but that’s not a problem. Christmas is all about gifts and she can’t possibly be left out right?

Between all the lists and shopping, we perceive Christmas to be dreadful. Sometimes, the weather might play a discouraging factor. To top it off, you must visit the mall, which is full of combat mothers, grumpy fathers, boyfriends who need “GiftGiving for Girlfriends 101,” girlfriends debating between Modern Warfare 3 and Halo and last but not least, pet owners buying the perfect Santa suit for their canine friends.

Oh! How to forget; try counting how many times you listen to “Rockin’ Around the

Christmas Tree.” I openly admit I love holiday music but when you hear it at every store and radio station in the beginning of November, it may get tiresome.

This sounds crazy right? Well, that is the current definition for Christmas. Everyone complains about the economy and the loss of jobs but when Christmas comes around, we forget about it.

We purchase what we like, even though it may become a financial burden later on.

How can we fight this consumerism? It’s simple: enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas as separate holidays, establish a budget and simply say no.

Sometimes, you have to say no to the kids who want every item on their list, to the excess of food, to the customers who think their needs are above the rest, to the crazy advertisers, and to your inner voice telling you to shop more. No matter who cliché it sounds, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.

It’s a time when families reunite, share and cherish time with each other. Don’t grant consumerism the power to dictate what Christmas should be. Yes, these gifts are treasured amenities but amenities nonetheless. Yet remember, there is no need in becoming the Grinch.

It’s important to establish a balance and please those you want without forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.

A sincere Christmas card or a visit to a relative has more meaning than a sweater. At times, we lose focus and prioritize material wealth and life is too short for that.

Perhaps your grandmother’s cousin twice removed didn’t want

Samantha Battersby/The Minaret

Among the places throughout the country, the International Mall in Tampa has been decking their mall before Halloween ended.

a designer vase; she would’ve enjoyed a simple phone call instead.

This year, don’t go crazy on the gifts. Instead, focus on creating a balance. Spend your time creating special memories. Not only will this prove much more satisfying, it can avoid starting a new year with financial worries.

If you didn’t get what was on your list, don’t fret; be grateful instead.

Maybe your not-so- favoriterelatives are coming over; remember not to focus on the negative. Trust me; I’ve had my fair share of experiences. Now I look back at the memories and regardless of what happened, I

treasure them and I invite you to do the same. Remember, Christmas is a joyful time to reunite, share with family and friends and mend relationships.

Personally, Christmas is my favorite season of the year. It feels almost magical.

No matter how short it may seem the solution isn’t to let this frenzy overpower us months in advance.

On the contrary, if we slow down, we’ll notice the magic is still there. We just have to let it happen and when it does, treasure and enjoy it as most as we can.

Xelmarie Medina can be reached at xelmymedina@gmail.com.

Happy Feet Two Stays Afloat With Endearing Penguin Characters

By DANIEL FEINGOLD Associate Editor

There’s something about penguins that’s infinitely likeable. Talking penguins that sing, dance and provide us with insight to life are even better. So when making an animated film revolving around all of this, it’s kind of difficult to mess it up. Here we have Happy Feet 2—a movie that gets by more because of its ability to warm hearts than anything else.

We get a whole bunch of plot in this animated movie geared towards children.

Start with Mumble (voiced by Elijiah Wood), who is now an unintentionally inept father to his little son Erik (Ava Acres). Erik is finding it difficult to feel accepted by his own kind and cope with humiliation, while Mumble continually gives his son the least supportive advice in the book. Mumble’s lack of parenting skills is understandable considering in the first installment he had plenty of his own problems growing up.

He was a penguin that couldn’t sing in a society of vocally gifted penguins, and was outcast because of it.

So now his son is dealing with similar issues, causing him to run off with Latinopenguin Ramon (Robin Williams) to his side of Antarctica. There he is captivated

by The Mighty Sven (Hank Azaria), a supposed penguin that can fly. And while Mumble sets out to bring his son home, they return to find that the shifting of the earth has blocked passage to and from their home ice.

There’s an additional side story including Will and Bill the Krill. Voiced amusingly by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, respectively, these two shrimp-wannabes venture off from their swarm to seek a greater purpose in life. The pairing worked to near perfection towards the overall purpose of the film. Had there not been so much happening around them, it would have been even easier to appreciate their

storyline. They’re quite literally small fish in a big pond, though, so maybe that’s the point.

Getting a grasp on everything, we have life lessons in accepting yourself, accepting others, the importance of family, not passing judgment too quickly, the value of teamwork and the comfort of feeling secure. That’s a mouthful, and it’s a lot to process in 105 minutes. That’s not to say that each message wasn’t made glaringly apparent, because often times there isn’t much need to read between the lines in an animation, but writer/director George Miller (among a few co-writers) replaced substance with quality in jam packing this thing with plot.

The first Happy Feet focused on Mumble alone; while his journey throughout the movie was filled with various plot points and the introduction of characters galore, the attention was still on him. At the onset, Happy Feet Two seems to be about Erik, then it shifts to Mumble. And with the journey they take home, there are a few too many disjointed plot points.

But that’s not to say there isn’t a lot here to like. The 3D is outstanding, a quality I don’t expect much from in any movie.

Animation seems to be where 3D belongs most, as it adds depth to the picture and can easily involve the audience more in the film. Two’s visuals weren’t as unique as its predecessor (it lacks some of the stylistic choices from the first, like the chase scenes

and roller coaster-like effects), but to sit there and noticeably appreciate the 3D is a new and refreshing feeling to me.

The voice acting, both with line reading and in musical numbers, is top notch as well. This ridiculously star-studded cast does its part in bringing these characters to life. Among them, you have Robin Williams on the top of his game voicing two completely different characters, Sofia Vergana as Carmen, Ramon’s love interest and Pink, who gets to tout her singing chops as Mumble’s wife, Gloria.

To be clear, Happy Feet Two isn’t as brilliant as the first, which won Best Animation at the 2007 Academy Awards.

But it doesn’t need to be. Most sequels aren’t. What counts is the subject matter, because the analysis of this film really doesn’t have to go any further than considering whether or not it will be successful with its target audience—and that’s children and families. Happy Feet Two, if absolutely nothing else, has the ability to heart warm the audience.

Because saying you don’t like penguins is admitting to not like feeling happy.

Critic’s Rating: 3/5 Daniel Feingold can be reached at dfeingold91@gmail.com.

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

There’s No Shame in Being a Taylor Swift Fan

9

By CHELSEA DAUBAR Asst. News Editor

This past Saturday night was magical for me. No, I was not at Disney World, or Hogwarts. I was with 14,000 other screaming fans at the St. Pete Times Forum ready to welcome America’s sweetheart, Taylor Swift.

I had been anticipating this concert for months, and was giddy with excitement when the night finally arrived. I entered the Forum surrounded by young girls with curled hair, clad with sparkles and cowboy boots. I giggled at all of the signs proclaiming love for the country-pop star, some cleverly using lyrics, “I would be enchanted to meet you, Taylor!” Some real and from the heart, “The family that listens to Taylor together, stays together.”

After buying my Speak Now World Tour t-shirt, I made my way to my seat and attempted to enjoy the opening act, South Carolina rock band, Need to Breath. But let’s be honest, I was there for T-Swizzle, and anyone between me and her was just there to kill time.

Finally, it was time. The lights dimmed, the opening guitar riff of “Sparks Fly” began to play and then like a dream come true, rising out from the stage came Taylor herself, a strong and confident smile on her face like she already knew she was about to rock the 813. I screamed my face off louder than the 12-year-olds next to me with no embarrassment. I knew every word to every song and sang until my voice couldn’t take it anymore. Looking back, there wasn’t one moment I wasn’t smiling, laughing, singing, screaming or some awful cackling combination of those.

Photo Courtesy of taylorswift.com

Photo Courtesy of taylorswift.com

Taylor Swift performed at the St. Pete Times Form this past Saturday night, Nov. 12.

Mobs of enthused pre-teen and teenage girls lined the stadium to spend an evening with TSwizzle and all of her acclaimed love songs.

When I told other people of my weekend plans, I was always surprised at the response I got. Something along the lines of “A Taylor Swift concert? I’m sorry.” But after the show, I realized something. I’m not sorry. I am a proud T. Swift fan, from the moment I heard “Tim McGraw” for the first time when I was 12, to Saturday night jumping with joy as the wide red curtain opened on stage, and I probably will stay proud for a long time.

I’ve come down to one reason that I hope other girls will be able to relate to.

Taylor knows. She really knows anything and everything that a girl could go through from a first date, to break ups, to conquering a fear or saying you’re sorry.

She just knows. As each song came and went throughout the concert, it hit me that there wasn’t a Swift song I couldn’t relate to at one time or another. I put faith in her as a fan to get me through what I can’t get through on my own.

What she writes is real and truthful.

Because when I was 15 and someone told me they loved me, I really did believe them.

And when that same guy cheated on me, I told myself it was his loss and he should’ve said no, as I tossed every photo I had of him into a fire pit. Because I find comfort in knowing that people who tried to cut me down in high school will find themselves drunk and alone, while I am living my life to the fullest because all they are is mean.

Because after my senior prom, I realized I had finally found the guy who makes me want to dance in a storm in my best dress and makes me feel fearless. He made a rebel of careless man’s careful daughter and is the best thing that’s ever been mine.

Call me naive, call me a hopeless romantic, it doesn’t matter. I have no shame in dancing around to Swift’s music in my bedroom, hairbrush in hand. For me, she isn’t just another celebrity that is seeking the No. 1 slot on AT40. She is a friend, a confidant, even a therapist. But most importantly, she’s just another girl trying to figure life out, just like the rest of us.

Chelsea Daubar can be reached cdaubar@gmail.com.

10 NOVEMBER 17 2011 | THE MINARET

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Downtown Ice Rink Returns for the Holidays Dangerous Ice

By MIKEY ANGELO RUMORE Asst. Opinion Editor

The outdoor ice-skating rink has returned to Curtis-Hixon Park for the second year in a row, and I’m wondering whether I should bother going down there.

Even though I enjoy ice-skating and hardly ever get a chance to do it since I’ve lived in Tampa my entire life, I try to avoid downtown. It’s about as cold and wet as this strange, semi-tropical ice-skating rink itself.

My friend Conner McDonough and I visited the rink last year. The ice was as nasty and slippery as one would expect from an ice-rink subjected to the whims of Florida weather.

Nonetheless, I found it generally skateable, and I began skating laps, barely dodging an assortment of children who seemed to have never seen ice before.

Their parents mostly sat outside the rink, some reading magazines, some texting, others simply soaking in the pleasure of watching their children fall headfirst into the ice. It was weird.

Conner had less luck skating. He found the ice too slippery and bumpy, and had to periodically hold on to the side of the rink to stay up. I noticed that many skaters had the same problem. The scene turned into a bunch of older people clutching the sides watching children in the middle of the rink slip and tumble every which way. When we got sick of it, Conner said, “I felt like Dwayne Regretzky out there.”

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got nothing against ice skating. But, the outdoor rink just seems like another misguided attempt to attract people to a dismal downtown.

Since the late-80s and early-90s, when downtown Tampa’s long-standing department stores like Woolworth’s and Wolf Brothers closed down, the area has been undergoing a crisis of identity.

As these downtown retailers crumbled, developers saw an opportunity to implant some upscale dining and shopping. And many of these investors had been pushing for downtown to become more ritzy since before the department store backbone of downtown Tampa fell. Twenty years later, downtown’s abundant “For Lease” signs tell us how this idea turned out. And an iceskating rink is not going to replace vacant storefronts with businesses. What will?

The central fallacy of downtown Tampa’s development through Skypoint condos, elitist art museums, and affluent bars like Fly Bar, is that such places don’t attract business, but move locals out because they can no longer afford to be in the downtown area.

What results is not so much a cool weekend destination, but an aristocracy. It has become a downtown for those 9-5ers who work in the banking towers.

But their presence isn’t bringing local business back into downtown’s numerous abandoned storefronts.

For the past 20 years, developers and local government have acted as if they can pour prosperity downtown from the top down, as if adding more upscale boutiques, restaurants, hotels and condos will do the trick. This approach has only driven out local Tampa businesses.

I could go down to the ice rink. I’ll skate around in circles. I’ll probably trip on a deep groove or a slippery patch of ice. My head will smash against the ice, but, since it’s half-melted anyway, I’ll avoid serious injury. Barring a concussion, I’ll remark about how I feel just like my city, a place where good intentions become bad ideas.

Mikey Angelo Rumore can be reached at michaelangelorumore@gmail.com.

By LAUREL SANCHEZ

Arts + Entertainment Columnist

Last year, the city of Tampa erected an ice skating rink in the middle of CurtisHixon Waterfront Park. Since Florida is a tropical climate, natural ice skating rinks are not to be found.

However, the fun of ice skating can still be found! Due to popular demand, the ice-skating rink is back. With skates included in the entrance fee, just walk in, grab some skates and shred some ice.

Now through Jan.1, anyone can have a chance to show off their figure skating skills or just glide around the rink.

With the rink being under a covered tent, there’s plenty of room for everyone and along with a scenic view of downtown. Kitty Lyons, together with Friends of Tampa Recreation, which is sponsoring the rink, said that she hopes the chance to ice skate in Florida is as popular as last year.

“We had 23,000 skaters last year

over six weeks,” she said in a TBO. com interview, “and this year, we have extended it to seven weeks.”

Since outdoor ice skating rinks are difficult to come by and not easy to maintain in Florida, it takes a great deal to get the rink ready. The company that came back from last year, Ice Rink Events, knows exactly what to do.

They have permanent ice-areas to temporary or seasonal ice rinks that can be seen on their website icerinkevents. com. They offer destination ice rinks as well. On-lookers can take pictures and talk to those skating by on the ice. They serve plenty of refreshments, including the seasonal favorite, hot chocolate.

The price of admission is $10 per skater for 90 minutes on the ice, and this includes the skate rental. There are also special rates for groups over 20. Monday through Thursday the rink is open 4-9 p.m., 4-10 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturdays and noon-9 p.m. on Sundays. In town for Thanksgiving or

Winter Break and don’t know what to do? Head over to the rink! It is closed on Thanksgiving, but open Christmas Eve, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Christmas Day, 9 a.m.-4 pm.

Laurel Sanchez can be reached at lsanchez@spartans.ut.edu.

Hours of Operation Monday through Thursday 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Fridays 4 p.m. -10 p.m.

Saturdays 10 a.m.- 10 p.m.

Sundays 12 p.m. - 9 p.m.

The downtown ice rink is decorated in the spirit of the holidays, and holiday music also accompanies skaters as they go around the rink.

Tiffany Corrada/The Minaret

U2’s Achtung Baby Package is Packed

By ERIC DUFFERT

Arts + Entertainment Writer

To call 1991 a busy year would be a gross understatement. While the nation was still transitioning from the not-so-subtle 1980s, news of great significance was being made every day around the globe.

For instance, the Persian Gulf War came to an exhaustive end, South African Parliament abolished Apartheid laws and Russia elected its first president, Boris Yeltsin. And if that weren’t enough, out of the entire decade 1991 was quite possibly the best year for music, as well. It saw the release of monumental records such as Metallica’s self-named Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Pearl Jam’s Ten and of course, Nirvana’s revolutionary release Nevermind. Oh, I almost forgot, there was one other particularly good release that year. What was it again?...It was something foreign sounding…German maybe…oh yeah! It was U2’s Achtung Baby!

U2 may have just chosen the worst possible year to release a stellar album.

With a nation already transfixed by the otherworldly funkiness of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the entirely new grunge assault of Nirvana, there was no more room for greatness. The grunge movement had drained all musical curiosity from music fans dry to the last drop. So when Achtung Baby was released in November of that year, U2 found themselves bewildered by weak sales and little hype for an album they thought be to nothing short of spectacular.

They were right.

Frustrated by harsh criticism for

Achtung Baby’s predecessor Rattle and Hum, the band was not in a good state: sales were low and moral was even worse.

Determined to get themselves out of this depressing slump, they took a drastic detour out of their comfort zone.

Seeking musical inspiration that would electrify their souls and reignite the musical creativity inside of them, they set out for Berlin, Germany, a nation thriving on a new found and long overdue personal and political freedom. The trip was successful, and U2 created an album surging with electricity. European influences of industrial, electronic and techno flood the entire album. Distorted guitar riffs and dynamic percussion assault your ears while Bono’s voice takes on a raw and intimate aspect never before heard. U2 was

Photo Courtesy of U2.com

The Achtung Baby re-release deluxe package.

suddenly transformed from earnest rockers to post-modern art-pop stars. Achtung Baby redefined the band and as Rolling Stone put it, “quite simply put them back in the running for the greatest rock band in the world.”

Even though a lengthy 20 years has gone by since its initial release, Achtung Baby hasn’t aged a bit. It still surges with that energy and authority it found in Berlin.

Luckily, U2 decided to reissue this album. Working alongside Universal Records, the album will be released in five very different packages, ranging from a reissue of the original album with no bonus material to the Uber Deluxe Edition, which features (take a deep breath) six CDs, five Vinyls, four DVDs, 16 art prints, an 84 page hardcover booklet, a magazine, four badges, a sticker sheet and a pair of sunglasses worn by Bono. College students beware: to have this mammoth set, be prepared to fork over a hefty $500. I’d leave that one to the wealthy and die-hard fans.

Back in 1991, U2 was robbed of the praise and acclaim they deserved for their innovative masterpiece. Its release was greatly overshadowed by new and more popular acts that brought a different and original sound to the musical landscape.

Luckily, with the 20th anniversary reissue set to hit shelves, fans and new listeners alike can listen to Achtung Baby in a new light, a light all its own and will finally discover the innovation that fans 20 years ago failed to recognize.

Eric Duffert can be reached at eduffert@ spartans.ut.edu.

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

Guy Fieri Puts Love’s Chicken Restaurant on the Map

By MELISSA SANTELL Arts + Entertainment Writer

Love’s Artifacts Bar and Grill invites you to sit down, relax and take your coat off… if there’s not already an unfamiliar men’s suit jacket (assigned by the restaurant to give off an antique feel) hugging the back of your chair.

An outside perspective doesn’t begin to capture the treasures that mask the interior of this covert restaurant.

The cascading red and white billboard reads, “Love’s” with the word “grill” diagonally plastered atop “auto sales,” leaving no mystery to its history. The screened-in patio breathes the scent of southern comfort food, or maybe it’s just permanently soiled in the antique furniture.

Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, with Guy Fieri, this quirky momand-pop spot won the Food Network over with home-cooked nostalgia. Your stomach might be screaming entrée, but go feast first and rest your wandering eyes on Love’s First Digs. Try the fivespiced Mediterranean Calamari for $8.95, tender yet delicately crisped and served with a smoked marinara sauce. Guy Fieri raved over the fried peanut butter stuffed jalapenos. Accompanied by cilantro cream dipping sauce and grape jelly, this dish will redefine your appreciation for flavor combinations.

Send your taste buds under the sea with a rustic twist and dive into the crab stuffed mushroom. This roasted Portobello cap packed with seasoned wild crab and doused in a light butter wine sauce is a dish you can’t pass up. At $8.95, this appetizer is designed to share, but I wouldn’t.

Crispy fried chicken is a staple in the South, but no one serves it up like Love’s.

Tell your mama to watch out, the winner of the “Best of the Bay Fried Chicken” award is on the prowl.

Hook yourself up with a fried chicken platter for $9.95, traditionally served with three juicy pieces (drumstick, thigh and breast) and two sides.

Lightly breaded and fried with love, this meal raises the bar for chicken-lovers everywhere. Collard greens, creamy cheese grits and garlic-mashed potatoes are perfect additions.

Order the side salad if you’re counting carbs, the homemade croutons will melt in your mouth.

You could benefit from ditching the bird and pitching the pig. Paw Paw’s pulled pork is slow roasted for eight hours and finished with Love’s classic BBQ sauce, a tangy contrast to smoky components.

This $10.95 platter is served with two fresh sides and an unforgettable taste.

For a dollar more, the Pork Conquistador Feast made of slow roasted pork loin, sautéed Cuban style with onions and garlic in white wine sauce. Garnished with fresh squeezed lemon and complete with two sides, the Conquistador is an elegant selection.

Located on 4914 South MacDill Ave., Love’s Artifacts Bar and Grill is an eclectic retreat for neighbors south of Gandy Boulevard. From auto dealership to deep-fried dream, Love’s survived the economic downfall; but they still felt it.

Recently locking their doors for lunch, Love’s now operates at 4 p.m. and closing times vary.

You can jam with regulars on the weekends during live music performances or hit up Sunday brunch, a bottomless food and cocktail frenzy.

The “lost and found” assortment of antiques, pale grandfather chair and pinup military decor will make you feel oddly at home.

Melissa Santell can be reached at msantell@spartans.ut.edu.

Photo Courtesy of loves.sparxoo.com

Above: Love’s sign is mismatched like the bar and grille.

Below: Guy Fieri taste tested and approved, and the location of Love’s Artifacts Bar and Grille.

leesa.leva/flickr.com

© Google, Map Data © 2011 Google

Rent the Runway Makes Designer Fashion Easily Accessible

By KATELYN EDWARDS Arts + Entertainment Writer

Everyone hates “that” girl: reminiscent of an ugly step-sister, she is that girl who plucks up a Parker, a Thakoon off the racks of Nieman Marcus as quickly as she throws them out. You envy her wardrobe, but your hopes of rivaling her designer collections are as slim as your empty wallet.

To all my collegiate Cinderellas, I bring you divine wisdom: Renttherunway.com/ utampa. Deemed the Netflix of fashion, RTR is an online site allowing broke college students to wear the likes of Nina Ricci and Hervé Légre for 10 percent of the retail price. Hosting over 120 designers, RTR’s prices range from $40 to $400 for dresses valued up to $4,000 retail price.

The basic concept goes like this: once upon a time, you go online and become a

member of RTR for free. From there, you giddily choose your dress, accessories, etc.

Proceeding to checkout: choose whether to rent for 4 or 8 days (it is recommended that you rent 1-2 days prior to your event); choose two different dress sizes so that you’re guaranteed a meticulous fit. And bibbidi bobbidi boo, your dress (sans carriage and glass slippers) will arrive the same day if you live in NY, the next day if you -sadly- live anywhere else.

With the sartorial world at your fingertips, college students now have access to designer brands normally only seen behind the shiny glass cases at Bloomy’s.

Thus, the popularity of RTR, since its launch in November 2009, has exploded across American computer screens and college campuses. RTR provides an irreplaceable opportunity to college students to become a part of the blooming enterprise as a rep.

Photo Courtesy of renttherunway.com

It’s free to sign up for Rent the Runway, and there are no return shipping fees on the clothing.

11

Looking more like a model than a communications major, Christina Lynne, UT’s RTR College Rep., publicizes the company on a more microscopic level among the collegiate community. As brand ambassadors within the student body, RTR Reps like Lynne are given the opportunity to participate in student internships, garnering invaluable experience within the highly competitive arena of the fashion industry. Just as there are various fields within the company, there are various college representative positions among the realms of marketing, public relations, blogging, management, etc. Interested?

Apply to become an RTR College Rep through oncampus.renttherunway.com.

“My experience with RTR has been absolutely positive. I rented a dress through them and the quality was perfect, the return process simple,” said Lynne. “Rent the Runway is great for college students because a lot of events occur during your time in college... Instead of buying a new dress for each event, which a lot of girls do, you can rent a fashionable dress for a reasonable price.”

Sorority function? Tibi. Homecoming?

Badgley Mischka. Date night? Zac Posen.

Granted, attached to these big designer labels comes a price tag of intimidation: you worry, “how can I pull off a Calvin Klein, a Proenza Schouler, a D&G?” RTR has your back. The site provides members the opportunity to rent out a complete look, taking the dress of your choice and suggesting glamorous –and inexpensiveaccessories to polish off your entire ensemble. Offering a myriad of jewelry, shoes, handbags and makeup, RTR is the sartorial equivalent to a luxurious 711: efficient, effective and hassle-free.

But what if I ruin this beautiful dress, you ask? We all have our sloppy moments, RTR understands. Thus, for a

menial $5, purchase insurance on your dress. Exorcising any inklings of anxiety or precaution, any drunken spill or rip is covered.So you can look fantastic and have a fantastic night, every night, if you wish.

“Every day [or night], every woman should look their best,” remarks Becky Hyman, RTR Director of College Marketing. As an NYU alum, Hyman understands the importance of cultivating a sense of fashion early and often: a process far more difficult to establish pre-RTR. “RTR introduces you to luxury brands as young women, a unique experience,” unparalleled by any other fashion site.

A paradigm of sartorial wisdom, Hyman reclines in one of the plastic chairs of Res Com Community Room, ankle booties elegantly crossed, as UT students meander among the sample racks of RTR dresses. Prior to Halloween, RTR hosted a modest trunk show, displaying a dozen of the hundreds of dresses the company has to offer, all of which were spectacular. In the spring, RTR plans to host a fashion show, featuring 20 to 30 looks from the site’s expansive online wardrobe, modeled by our own lovely UT students. For further news regarding the spring fashion show and to find out how to become a model, visit RTR’s Facebook page.

Watching both Lynne and Hyman extol the virtues of Rent the Runway, it is hard not to grow giddy with the sparkling opportunity RTR humbly presents. While it is convenient and affordable, there is something magical in the idea of wearing RTR designer labels as a bright-eyed college student, a luxury only celebrities could previously afford.

Thanks to Rent the Runway, sartorial dreams really can come true.

Katelyn Edwards can be reached at katelyn.edwards@spartans.ut.edu.

12 NOVEMBER 17 2011 | THE MINARET

Opinion

Regulate It! Bank of America’s Big Protectionist Shift

By ALEX CARABALLO Columnist

There are some things that when first heard, sound too unbelievable to even be plausible. When I heard that Bank of America was moving $70 trillion in financial derivatives (that’s not a typo) from its investment banking division of Merrill Lynch into its commercial banking division, I thought it was an Onion article.

First of all, the entire estimated global economy for 2010 was $61.96 trillion, which means that somehow Bank of America has a few pieces of paper worth more than the entire global economy. That is in itself is hard to believe. On top of that, Bank of America had the audacity to openly flaunt a legal way it could receive a taxpayer bailout should the firm collapse and go bankrupt.

The entire scheme is a convoluted mess that hides behind complexity and a lay public to achieve its ends.

To understand how Bank of America is able to do this goes back to a little known bill called the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act passed in 1999, which was named after three Republicans who cosponsored and introduced the bill. The bill repealed prohibitions many of the provisions of the Glass-Steagall act of 1932.

For almost 66 years, banking institutions were regulated by the Glass-Steagall act, which established the FDIC insurance program and prohibited the mergers of investment banks and commercial banks.

This bill was passed during the depths of the depression as a way to ensure that banks could no longer gamble with their depositor’s money on risky investments.

One of the crucial aspects of the bill was the distinction between commercial and investment banking. During the 1920s, many banks had used deposits from their commercial banking side to invest in the very lucrative stock market. Profits soared,

but when the stock market crash of 1929 happened and the depression ensued, banks who had invested depositor money in stocks and other investments became insolvent overnight.

Glass-Steagall was a resounding success. For decades, markets were much more stable and enabled long periods of growth without the boom and bust cycle that had previously dominated the markets.

Depositors were no longer financially ruined if banks became insolvent due to the FDIC insurance program that reimbursed depositors up to a certain amount should a bank go under.

Amid the anti-regulation fervor of the 90s, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act repealed provisions of Glass-Steagall that barred the merger of investment banks and commercial banks. Within a few years of the bill’s passing, Citi Bank merged with Traveler’s investment group to form Citigroup, then the largest bank by total assets at the time.

In 2005, there was a significant bankruptcy reform bill that made it extremely difficult to undergo the process of bankruptcy, to the detriment of debtors.

In a little known provision in the bill, derivatives holders were given priority access to liquidated assets from entities that were undergoing bankruptcy. This was a complete break from traditional bankruptcy law which held that all creditors were the same and all received equal shares of liquidated assets.

Fast forward to 2008 when the global economy teetered on the edge of total collapse, then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson negotiated deals for most of the commercial banks to purchase the insolvent and struggling investment banks.

Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan Chase bought Bear Sterns.

All of these deals were backed by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government; otherwise, these deals may not have been feasible.

seiuhealthcare775nw/photobucket.com

Bank of America is moving trillions in financial derivatives between financial divisions.

With these purchases, the federal government agreed to take on most of the bad debt through the troubled asset relief program or TARP and allow the big banks to gain the valuable assets. It was crony capitalism at its finest.

It is at this point that Bank of America had begun to see problems with the derivatives it inherited in its purchase of Merrill Lynch. The banks were still vulnerable to a weak economy and a dangerously low capitalization.

As a way to give the illusion that Merrill Lynch is well capitalized, Bank of America plans to move leveraged assets such as their derivatives over to the well funded commercial banking side.

This is where the Gramm-Leach-Bliley, Glass-Steagal and the Bankruptcy reform acts come together in a perfect storm to potentially leave taxpayers on the hook for trillions.

If Bank of America is successful in shifting their financial derivative assets over and should it become insolvent, derivatives holders would be the first in

line to receive any money generated from the liquidation of assets.

Because of this, average depositors such as regular bank account holders could potentially receive nothing, leaving the FDIC to pick up the tab.

This would result in the FDIC having to potentially cover more than a trillion dollars in lost deposits and would make the FDIC insolvent overnight.

The further result would be a congressional vote to pay for the FDIC bailout, and because the life savings of millions of Americans is on the line, Congress would have no other choice but to fund the bailout.

It would be ingenious, if it weren’t so insidious, for Bank of America to ensure a backdoor bailout where there are private gains and public losses. There is no better reason than this to reinstall the GlassSteagall act and break up the big banks such as Bank of America and end crony capitalism.

Alex Caraballo can be reached at acaraballo21@gmail.com

Evicted: Occupy Oakland Protesters Should Remain Peaceful

By DAVID ADAMS Opinion Writer

All across the United States, Occupy Wall Street members have been holding protests, demonstrations, pickets and drum circles. Many of these gatherings have been peaceful, but police and protesters in Oakland have been violently clashing for days, with police using bean bag rounds and tear gas to disperse crowds, and angry demonstrators setting fires and throwing objects at the officers.

Oakland became a demonstrator rally point when Scott Olsen, an Iraq war veteran, suffered a fractured skull from a projectile allegedly fired by police.

On Nov. 14, the Oakland Police Department issued a second eviction notice to Occupy Oakland members, which said that their protest were “injurious to health, obstruct the free use of property, interfering with the comfortable enjoyment of (Frank Ogawa Plaza), and unlawfully obstruct the free passage or use of a public park or square.”

On Oct. 28, Occupy Oaklanders held a demonstration, just days after Scott Olsen was injured. The latest violence happened on Thursday, Nov. 10 when a man was reportedly shot to death during a dispute with other unknown men. This last act has spurned the second eviction notice, and police are ready for the protesting to end as soon as possible.

In an open letter released November 11, 2011, the Oakland Police Officer’s

Association plead with protesters to stop rallying so officer’s can return to crime filled neighborhoods. The letter asked the Occupiers to stop, “With last night’s homicide, in broad daylight, in the middle of rush hour, Frank Ogawa Plaza is no longer safe. Please leave peacefully, with your heads held high, so we can get police officers back to work fighting crime in Oakland neighborhoods.”

With the violence between officers and protesters, both sides have defended their actions. Police had issued similar warnings the morning of Oct. 25, and that evening fired tear gas and bean bag projectiles at demonstrators who wouldn’t disperse when ordered. After the injury to Olsen that evening, people have said that the department was using too much force to stop the protests.

Oakland is not the only city whose police have come under scrutiny for using excessive force, an Internet video allegedly shows a NewYork police office striking an unarmed Occupy Wall Street protester.

Most departments have stuck behind their officers, saying that the protests are in violation of the law, and that in many cases the demonstrators taunt and assault police prior to any use of force.

I feel that these protests do need to stop in the manner that many of them are happening. The Occupy Wall Street movement is an organized objection to the United States economic structuring, and a call for change. Many of the protesters

present at Occupy gatherings can’t tell you why they are there, and protests often look like an impromptu hippie rally instead of a demonstration of over-worked and underpaid people demanding more economic dispersion. This does nothing but take away from the validity of the movement, and destroys the credibility of an issue that desperately needs to be heard in Washington, DC. Our country is broken, and politicians have chosen party over people. The Occupy movement not only should be heard by both parties in DC, it needs to be heard.

The disorganized gatherings and violent protests have harmed the central message of this movement, and typical police responses have taken the focus away from the issue.

What Occupy Wall Street needs is leadership; strong leadership that will accurately convey what 99 percent of citizens want and need from their country to the politicians in DC. All of the theatrics have distorted the message that the movement is trying to relay, that decades of corporate selfishness and irresponsibility have led to an enormous gap in wealth. Whether or not we like it, the vast majority of us fall under the 99 percent, and there truly is a large disproportion in the distribution of wealth in our nation.

The violence that has been taking place is not beneficial to the overall goal of the movement, and only diminishes the strength

of the message being sent. Organization amongst protesters is crucial in order to get the message heard by people who matter.

Without order, these demonstrations will sputter and lose momentum, and nothing will be gained.

On Nov. 13, police assembled at five in the morning and peacefully evicted the remaining Occupy Oakland protesters.

In an online article, the author described the scene as police organized themselves, writing that demonstrators gathered together drumming and singing. That the police were able to dissolve the “protest” peacefully is a good thing.

The disheveled, grungy people we see in Occupy photographs are not an accurate portrayal of the 99 percent. But unlike the amateur drummers and hippies of the world, the real 99 percent are too busy working for a measly paycheck that barely buys the groceries to take time off and protest how unfair the distribution of wealth in our country really is.

Thankfully, the Occupy Oakland protest has come to a peaceful conclusion, but I truly hope the Occupy Wall Street movement will live on, and reach the ears of politicians in Washington.

There are many people in the United States who are unhappy with the current state of our country, and it is the job of our Congress and Senate to listen to those who elect them.

David Adams can be reached at dadams@spartans.ut.edu

THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

OPINION

Chik-Fil-A and UT I want to thank Annabella Palopoli and the Minaret for reporting on the donations that the Chik-Fil-A corporation made to anti-equality groups operating here in the U.S. Knowledge is power -- and after reading last week’s Minaret, I’m feeling empowered. I am reminded of some famous words spoken by Eleanor Roosevelt that GLTSBA, in years past, had used while tabling in Plant Hall and at freshmen orientation events: “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works.

Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without

discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.” [Emphasis mine.]

Ms. Palopoli was correct in characterizing the Ruth Institute, Focus on the Family, Exodus International and the others mentioned in the article as working to deny LGBT Americans full equality.

What all these groups have in common is an irrational animus toward LGBT folk. They don’t want us to be visible; they don’t want to hear our voices; in fact, they’d prefer we disappear. The Family Research Council, in its own public statements, makes this sad fact evident The Family Research Council, according to 2009 IRS filings (the latest available), was a recipient of Chik-Fil-A’s generosity.

Here is what Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., had to say

about gay youth being at-risk for suicide: “the most effective way of reducing teen suicide attempts is not to create a “positive social environment” for the affirmation of homosexuality. Instead, it would be to discourage teens from self-identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.” Mr. Sprigg also called for the deportation LGBT residents in the U.S. He proclaimed, “I think there should be a place for criminal sanctions on homosexual behavior.” When asked on television if “gay behavior” (whatever that means) should be outlawed in the U.S., Sprigg replied, “Yes.” So, Mr. Sprigg, exactly how would having a negative social environment, or no social environment, have helped Tyler Clementi, or Jamey Rodemeyer or other LGBT students who have taken their own lives? How will it help LGBT youth who, according to a recent Columbia University study, are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts? It won’t.

But a “positive social environment” can and will. Our job here at UT is to create that environment, which requires visibility -- not just visibility of LGBT students, faculty and administrators, but also of their friends and audible supporters.

Being informed and vigilant is

13

important. The Minaret made me aware of Chik-Fil-A’s financial support for antiequality groups. Chik-Fil-A won’t be getting any of my money and I will be passing the message on to others.

The groups funded by this fast-food franchise are so public, bald and blatant in their anti-equality statements, it’s easy to know what to do with the information.

Unfortunately, many anti-gay sentiments are insidious and coded. Not long ago I was told: “You need to consider being less visible in certain controversial areas.”

This was a reference to my advocacy for equality for our LGBT students. In fact, the statement proves that we all need to be more visible, then “It Gets Better” can be a reality and not just a YouTube message of hope.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” said Eleanor Roosevelt. I concur. Don’t consent.

Sincerely, Gary S. Luter Professor, Speech and Theatre Director, Honors Program Faculty Adviser, GLTSBA (Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, Straight, Bisexual Alliance)

Church and State: An Inclusive Look at Religious Politics

By ANNA WESTERHOLM Opinion Writer

Religion and politics are taboo conversations that rarely mix comfortably, but religion must be brought up when discussing the next president.

The nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute discovered in a survey that two-thirds of Americans prefer their leaders to have strong religious beliefs.

There are common morals, and then there are morals instilled by religious beliefs.

When a person is brought up learning to do good for others without expecting anything back, that person is much more apt to make a positive difference without looking for personal gain or recognition.

Religion normally includes more people than just one family, enhancing community togetherness. Along with religion comes each version of life after death. This offers extra motivation to be selfless when learning by an idolized example.

The survey said that one in five Americans would not want a president with a different religion that their own.

This is understandable, too, but for a more superficial reason. Each person thinks his or her beliefs are correct. If everyone at least respected common decency for the way we treat each other, conflict over religious beliefs would be put to rest.

There are extremists in every religion, but there are teachings alike that fuse being a good person with family oriented ideals.

There have been murders and sacrifices in the name of God and of the Devil.

There have been psychologically disturbed people who contort hate crimes to be acts of God. Suicides along with human and animal sacrifice have been performed because people believe they are being led to carry it out.

There is a saying that a family that prays together stays together, and it is also proven that families that eat meals together generally create a much healthier living environment than a family that eats apart. These two values of spending time with family and sharing common religious beliefs combine physical and emotional support in a growing family.

In the survey, it was found that 29 percent of Americans would not want an evangelical Christian for president, 53

by the time he had married Obama’s mother. Obama’s step-father was also Muslim, but of an eclectic kind who could make room for animist and Hindu beliefs.”

There have been many conspiracy theories about Obama’s religion and beliefs; too many for my taste.

I believe there will be more presidents like Obama, in the sense that they will not have declared one religion they practice.

This opens doors for more secular beliefs.

People will always generalize and associate themselves with a racineur/flickr.com person with their Religious extremists are often very vocal, but they should not monopolize political discourse about religion. declared religious/ political beliefs. percent would not want a Mormon, 64 with Huntsman and Santorum bringing up Extremists get the microphone, so the percent would not want a Muslim and 67 the rear. activists for each religion will be heard. percent would reject an atheist as president.

This means we will most likely have a Muslims are now seen as dangerous.

American stereotypes against Muslims Mormon against a Baptist Christian.

Christians are seen as egotistical and are apparent for two reasons. First, The survey said 29 percent would not overbearing. No matter how individual September 11 will forever be instilled prefer an evangelical Christian. Fifty- people feel about specific religions, there in the lives of each and every American. three percent of people would not want a will always be biases toward each and Although there have been numerous Mormon as president, but yet, a Mormon is every affiliation out there. talks, organizations and strides to enhance winning the race right now.

Everyone thinks their beliefs are correct. tolerance and understanding that all Cain was winning, but after sexual When choosing a person who will govern a Muslims are not terrorists, that cannot take harassment allegations, his amount of country, that person’s whole life must be an away the damage done. favorable viewers dropped to 57 percent open book for people to speculate through Second, people are afraid of what they from 66 percent. Right now Romney and to be able to choose the best individual. are unfamiliar with. I am sure most people Cain look like the ones that will be battling I would prefer to have a Christian at the very least know someone who is out who will run against Obama for president or something of the like. I am Muslim, but before President Barack America’s next presidential campaign. completely on board for secular beliefs Obama, America has only had white men President Obama is said to have been and accepting people from all diverse in the oval office. raised in a secular home where he learned backgrounds, but the life lessons, values In our presidential race right now, of many diverse religions. Austin Cline, and strong morals that develop from Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, both the Regional Director for the Council for religion mold a person to be selfless in republicans, are Mormon. Herman Cain, Secular Humanism in New York, wrote in order to better whichever organization they also a republican, is a Baptist Christian. an article saying, “His mother was raised advocate for, in this case, our country.

Romney and Cain are leading in the poles by non-practicing Christians; his father Anna Westerholm can be reached at right now with no competitors close behind, was raised a Muslim but was an atheist anna.westerholm@spartans.ut.edu

14 NOVEMBER 17 2011 | THE MINARET

OPINION

Private University Faculty Forced to Sign Anti-Gay Pledge

By JESSICA KEESEE Opinion Writer

October 26, 2011 was a sad day for the fight for LGBT equality. What seemed like a progressive movement towards equal rights was shaken when Shorter University, a small private Christian Baptist college in Georgia, forced its faculty to sign a Personal Lifestyle Pledge that required they reject homosexuality.

The pledge that Shorter University made their 200 employees sign had them promise that they would reject homosexuality, premarital sex, adultery and drugs and that they would be active members in their churches and not drink in front of students.

If an employee failed to sign the pledge, they would be at risk to get fired.

In an interview with Atlanta’s WSB-TV, Shorter President Don Dowless affirmed, “I think that anybody that adheres to a lifestyle outside of what the biblical mandate is would not be allowed to continue here,” and added, “Anything that is not biblical, we do not accept.”

In a statement made explaining the decision to enforce the pledges, the school said, “The ‘why’ is really simple: What you stand for matters. Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us to ‘Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding’… If we acknowledge Him, He will make this university’s path straight.” Apparently, leading the university into a “straight” path means rejecting homosexuals.

Now, I understand that Shorter University is a private institution, meaning that it does not receive federal funding and therefore that it has not violated any laws. However, that does not make their Personal Lifestyle Pledge OK. Granted, the bible does not condone homosexuality, and can be seen in several passages in the New Testament including 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 which reads, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor

homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Since Shorter University is a private Christian Baptist college, they are allowed to shape their school around those beliefs.

What the university fails to recognize is the next passage, 1 Corinthians 6:11, which states, “And that is what some of you were.

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God,” meaning that all of those people, including homosexuals, can inherit the Kingdom if they accept Jesus Christ.

The university also seems to forget Luke 6:37, which states, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” It would appear from looking at some of these biblical passages that the university is picking and choosing which passages it will base its university around. By rejecting homosexuality, the Personal Lifestyle Pledge requires signers to judge gays and lesbians, which are all supposed to be our brothers under God. If Dowless and the rest of the administration enforcing this pledge do not condone “a lifestyle outside of what the biblical mandate is,” then it would only seem hypocritical that they judge people and discriminate against faculty for their sexual orientation or their beliefs on homosexuality.

I am a Christian myself but the acts of Shorter University disturb me. There are plenty of mainstream Christian denominations that support the LGBT culture, like Presbyterian More Light, Lutheran Reconciling in Christ and Methodist Reconciling Congregationalists.

I understand that the university has the right to hold its own beliefs and values and to act on those values but the Personal Lifestyle Pledge that they are forcing onto their faculty is extreme.

One anonymous employee of Shorter University admitted to the Georgia Voice, an LGBT newspaper, that he would likely leave Shorter now that they have

implemented the pledge because he believes that “witch hunts” will occur.

“We now live in fear that someone who doesn’t like us personally or someone who has had a bad day will report that we’ve been drinking or that we are suspected of being gay,” said the employee.

Not only has this pledge created discrimination within the university, it has also created fear Nathaniel St. Amour/ The Minaret among its faculty. Shorter University has forced its faculty to reject homosexuality.

The purpose of universities is to promote higher education and having themselves with a certain religious faculty members sign pledges that require affiliation,” Creedon said. they reject homosexuality does not aid Assistant Professor of sociology, Sarah in the education the university provides. L. Jirek believes that the Shorter pledge Discrimination of this kind is archaic is an issue rooted in social problems. and such a step back in a country where “Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the motions are being made to slowly but civil rights, feminist, and gay and lesbian surely promote equal rights for all. movements, discrimination on the basis University of Tampa sophomore PK of social identities, including sexual Creedon, an openly gay student who was orientation, remains a widespread practice raised Catholic and currently practices within some organizations and institutions Christianity, felt strongly on the forced in contemporary U.S. society. This pledges. “Since the school is private, I instance highlights a tension that exists in can in no way say they are unjustified the U.S. between individual, human rights in running the institution as they wish. and societal ideals regarding religious However, the percentage of students freedom,” said Jirek. returning to the school and prospective At the end of the day, Shorter University admission numbers will inevitably fall as can and will do as it pleases. What it is society continues to evolve in its attitudes doing however is discriminating and their towards homosexuality. The school has actions are no better than those of the underestimated today’s changing society Westboro Baptist Church. Actions such as by implementing the pledge that is nearly these are only adding more barriers to the blasphemous in itself. These religious ongoing fight for equal rights for all in the members of the Shorter University in U.S. Georgia are those to blame for the lack Jessica Keesee can be reached at of individuals who proudly identify jessica.keesee@spartans.ut.edu

Beyond High School: How Bullying Affects College Students

By TAYLOR DEAN WHITCOMB Opinion Writer

I asked: College students, weigh in on this please, do you think bullying exists in college? If so, how, and in what ways?

How is it different from bullying in previous school years?

Freshman communications major, Lauren Platt gave her opinion on the subject, “Because of the environment of a college campus, I feel that bullying is not as great an issue as it is in high school and

people wanted to be on top and wanted to be the most popular in the school,” said freshman undecided major, Carly Schmidt.

“In college, you usually have a much bigger environment; you’re not as much of a tight-knit community as in high school.

People aren’t as concerned with being popular.”

Being unconcerned with those around them is a defining difference between high school and collegiate bullying. The goal

There are expectations when you go to college, expectations of what it will be like. We hope that the large price tag means the experience is much different than that of high school (because once you’re out of high school you really only go back if you have to), but how different is college, actually?

Recently, Christine MacDonald, a professor of educational and school psychology at Indiana State University wrote an article on bullying after high school. “We got into looking at college students because there are studies on Hannah Webster/ The Minaret elementary, junior high, high school With the availability of technology, 25% of bullying occurs through social-networking channels. and the workplace. There’s nothing on colleges,” MacDonald said in a news release. “[Bullying] doesn’t just stop when middle school.” She went on to say, “There in college changes from being top dog, to they turn 18.” are so many people on a college campus fitting in. It is impossible to be liked (and Her research found that 15 percent that everyone has a friend. Everyone has in many cases even known) by everyone, of students say they have been bullied in somewhere to fit in and they never stand- so we focus our attention on being a part of college, while 22 percent reported being alone.” Many people who shared their a group that makes us happy. cyber bullied. opinions, agreed with Lauren’s point.

Bullying occurs less on an individual I thought college was an all-accepting Colleges and universities are generally basis, from one person to another, and place, where there was no bullying and larger than most high schools, drawing in more between groups. everyone was welcomed as they were; a larger, more diverse student body than Senior psychology and philosophy obviously MacDonald’s research found what most are used to. We are exposed to double major, and RA Taymy Caso otherwise. many more people on a daily basis, and said, “Members of a particular campus So, if bullying was still around, I wanted depending on where you are, you won’t organization may bully people from an to know in what ways it presented itself, know many of those you encounter just opposing organization.” Certain fraternities and how bullying at the collegiate level walking around. This fact alone changes and sororities will dislike members from differed from other environments. the bullying game. opposing houses just on the fact that they As a true 21st century young adult, I “I think that in high school, you were all are from an opposing house. This kind of turned to our favorite social media website in the same building all day with the same bullying is more likely than an individual to gather the opinions of my peers. people. This created an environment were attack on a single person that you would

find in high school.

The focus there is finding, exposing and picking on the faults and differences of one person to the next. College bullying focuses less on the differences from one person to the next, but turns to a humiliation tactic.

“Here in college we have this thing called peer pressure, or hazing, which are pretty much identical to what bullying is,” said senior performing arts major, Natalie Lopez.

“We have social media outlets to work with as well. Cyberbullying is one of the newest and most disturbing things that I have come across,” Lopez said. Lopez brings up a point that MacDonald’s research also found - Twenty-five percent of bullying that was reported occurred through social-networking sites. The newest form of bullying, cyberbullying, affects much more than just the collegiate audience, but the availability of these technologies to college students makes it the easiest way for it to happen.

Bullying continues to be a big issue with many recent suicides around the nation because of this; students will have to navigate through this form as well. But while bullying is still around, students agree that it is no longer the issue that it once was in high school.

Platt said that she hasn’t had much experience with bullying since coming to the University of Tampa, “I am sure it does exist, and if so it is something I definitely want to see end.”

Taylor Dean Whitcomb can be reached at taylor.whitcomb@spartans.ut.edu

OPINION

THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

15

Vatican and U.S. Company Partner for Adult Stem Cell Research

By PAOLA CRESPO Opinion Writer

The Vatican, specifically the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture (PCC), has made an unusual partnership with a small U.S. biotech company called NeoStem Inc. This alliance was made to promote using adult stem cells for treating diseases rather than using embryotic stem cells. Although the partnership had been originally formed in May 2010, the $1 million initiative was declared on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 along with details of the conference that was to be held that week in Rome.

Stem cells are cells in the body that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew (undergo numerous cell divisions) to create more stem cells. These cells, found in embryos, umbilical cords and bone marrow, can thus become any type of cell and can be used to regenerate organs, blood, skin or internal tissue.

The controversy surrounding stem cell research involves the extraction of stem cells from the embryos because as a result, the embryo is destroyed. However, the extraction of adult stem cells does not have the same destructive effects. Therefore their use is not controversial as they derive from tissue samples rather than destroyed embryos. So far, they have been used to successfully treat patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases and are being studied in people who suffer from multiple sclerosis, heart attacks and diabetes.

So why haven’t adult stem cells been the primary source for stem cell research instead of embryonic stem cells? While embryonic stem cells can generate all cell types in the body, adult stem cells can only produce a limited number of cell types or “lineages”. Furthermore, only some adult

stem cells can transform from one lineage Rev. Tomasz Trafny, head of the science to another and for many there is no evidence department in the Vatican’s culture office that such a transformation is possible. said NeoStem’s research and mission Consequently, the use of adult stem cells “corresponded with the Vatican’s concerns for specific therapies or treatments requires to both promote research exclusively on a stem cell source of the specific lineage adult stem cells, and broaden understanding needed and harvesting and/or culturing about its uses to the wider public.” them up to the numbers required is a challenge.

Additionally, under defined conditions, embryonic stem cells are capable of dividing themselves indefinitely while adult stem cells cannot.

Thus, embryonic stem cells are more useful and can be employed more effectively for both research and regenerative medicine than adult stem cells. For example, BWJones/flickr.com embryonic stem cells are being studied to Despite some drawbacks, adult stem cells are useful for research. someday be used to grow replacement tissue for diseases like Along with the Vatican, former U.S. Parkinson’s or diabetes, but that is a future Health and Human Services Secretary, prospect.

Tommy G. Thompson is involved and The Vatican’s doctrine dictates that urged President Obama on Wednesday, life begins at conception and so is against November 9, 2011 to establish a embryonic stem cell research because commission that will fund the research for it involves the destruction of embryos. adult stem cells. “The commission would Therefore it is not surprising that it is in involve private sector business leaders who support of adult stem cell research as it does would evaluate federal efforts surrounding not violate their belief system. However, it regenerative medicine,” Thompson said is surprising that the church is so actively in a Washington Post article. “The group supporting and mixing with science given would make recommendations to Obama’s their history of conflict and differences. administration regarding the coordination Vatican officials acknowledged the of regenerative research, uniting them with unusual nature of the partnership between private enterprises.” the Roman Catholic Church and a publiclyNeoStem CEO Dr. Robin Smith also traded, for-profit biotech company. But believes Obama’s involvement would be in a New York Daily News article, the beneficial. “I think it is very important to

get Congress and different political leaders like President Obama to understand adult stem cells, [so that] we can unite to get a more impactful outcome, decreasing needless human suffering by getting these therapies into clinics,” he said in the same Washington Post article.

Even Pope Benedict XVI spoke out Saturday, November 12, 2011 in favor of adult stem cell research and called for “any ensuing treatments to benefit all who need the care regardless of their financial means.”

According to the AFP article, he also added that, “no ethical problems arise when stem cells are taken from the tissues of an adult organism, from the blood of the umbilical cord at the moment of birth, or from fetuses who have died of natural causes.”

The ultimate reason for the Vatican’s involvement with such scientific research is to help progress medicine in order to help people, but this alliance also helps to deter popular attention away from embryotic stem cell research and the destruction of embryos. So far, this mission is indeed working as information of adult stem cells is being publicized, where before, not many people knew about their existence.

With increased publicity and funding, this research can progress and may overtake the use of embryonic stem cells in medicine.

Sources even now are estimating that the global stem cell product market will reach $88 billion by 2014.

I feel that this endeavor is a great idea.

Although adult stem cells may not be as potent as embryonic stem cells, they are still very useful and can help cure people.

So, why not use them? I also find such an alliance between the Church and Science refreshing, especially when significant progress is being made in medicine to help treat diseases and save people’s lives.

Paola Crespo can be reached at pollycrespo@hotmail.com

CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF 2011!

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16 NOVEMBER 17 2011 | THE MINARET

Sports

Returning Players Outnumbered, W. Basketball Begins

By ANALISA TRSTENSKY Sports Writer

For the first time in eight years, University of Tampa women’s basketball coach Tom Jessee has to do something he never expected: rebuild.

With only four players returning to the team, recruiting was even more important than usual for this season. Joining the Spartans this year are transfers Surya Gaffney, Illyssa Vivo and Moriah Hodge along with freshmen Nina Krstic, Ellie Wilbur, Latasha Kennerson and Britny Taylor.

Krstic, a 5-foot-10 guard hailing from Croatia, was named the 2010-2011 defensive player of the year for The Rock School in Gainseville, Fla., while also earning a spot on the NACA (National Association of Christian Athletes) alltournament team. Zkk Zadar, the club team Kristic plays for in Croatia, won the national championship five years in a row (2004-2009).

As a senior at University School in Miami, Taylor averaged 22.5 points and 11 rebounds per game. The 5-foot-10 forward is the current record holder for the most points with 1,025.

Rounding out the freshmen is Wilbur, a 5-foot-8 guard who averaged seven points and five rebounds a game, and Kennertson, a 5-foot-6 guard who was the all-time leading scorer for her high school.

Although Jessee said that the freshmen are behind in terms of experience with the faster, more physical college game, he believes that “once the experience chases up to the talent, they’ll be great.”

Adding to the Spartans are two transfers from Indiana State University, junior Moriah Hodge and sophomore Illyssa Vivo, who are 6-foot-3 and 5-foot8, respectively. Gaffney is a 6-foot-2 center that transferred from Northern Kentucky University after her freshman year.

Being one of just four returning players, Greta Bartkuke feels the pressure of helping the new women on the team succeed, but does not mind it. “We’re sisters,’’ she explained simply.

Harmon still feels like the new women on the team since she transferred to UT just last year. However, as both a senior

Samantha Battersby/The Minaret

Senior Jaleesa Harmon attempts a shot versus Warner University last season.

and a captain, she knows she needs to be a leader.

Wickham is the only player returning for her fourth year, and Smith is returning from a medical redshirt last season.

The roster faced more changes as Jessee also welcomed two new assistant coaches this season. Caitlyn Mitryk, a 2010 UT graduate, and Tommy Jones, former head coach at Hillsborough Community College, bring a wealth of knowledge to the team.

While at HCC, Jones managed to turn a team that barely won eight games in each of its past six seasons into the coconference champions.

In just two short years, he coached the Hawks to consecutive regional tournaments. Under his lead, HCC produced three conference players of the year and two McDonald’s All-Americans.

Before playing for Jessee, Mitryk was a University of South Florida Bull where she saw action in 41 games. She earned the 2010 SSC Defensive Player of the Year award as well as a spot on the all-SSC team as the Spartans’ captain her senior year.

Jessee believes that both coaches have a lot to offer the Spartans. “Jones teaches the

game. We have the same philosophy. As for Caitlyn, she played for me. She knows what is expected, and she’s excited.”

Even with all of these changes, the Spartans were still ranked No. 2 in the SSC’s preseason poll conducted among the conference’s coaches and sports information directors. UT also ended the 2010-2011 season in the No. 2 position.

Jessee believes that the ranking is a sign of respect for the UT program from the other teams in the conference. Harmon sees it as a compliment.

Even after losing the top three scorers, the Spartans are still viewed as a threat to the opposing teams. Furthermore, she sees it as evidence for the new girls that UT truly does have a great program.

Bartkute sees it as motivation. “Being ranked number two makes us want to work harder,” she said. “We want to prove people wrong.”

Rollins, which ended last season as No. 4 in the SSC, was ranked first to begin 2011. “Every team lost their best players,” Jessee said of the Tars’ jump in the ranking. “Rollins brought back experience. Experience can’t be taught.

However, we don’t pay attention to this ranking. It’s the poll at the end of the season that we care about.”

The Spartans face a very challenging schedule this season. This past weekend, they faced the University of WisconsinParkside, ranked No. 16 nationally and the No. 1 ranked Clayton State University, the defending national champions, in the Spartan Challenge.

Although UT lost 72-57 to WisconsinParkside and 55-47 to Clayton State, Jessee viewed these games as a learning experience. “A hard schedule helps us improve. After this weekend, we know what it takes to be national champions.”

Having a national championship is the team’s ultimate goal; however, it isn’t their main focus. “If we have a bond and come together as a team, it will make everything else come naturally,” said Harmon.

The Spartans are set to face Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Nov. 22, at 5:30 p.m. in the Martinez Center.

Analisa Trstensky can be reached at atrstensky@spartans.ut.edu.

W. Basketball November Schedule Tuesday, Nov. 22

Puerto Rico-Bayamon 5:30 p.m.

Friday,

Nov. 25 @North Alabama 6 p.m.

(North Alabama Tournament)

Saturday, Nov. 26 Western Georgia 6 p.m.

(North Alabama Tournament)

Wednesday, Nov. 30 Rollins 5:30 p.m.

SSC Tournament Opener

Leading Women’s Soccer Scorer Has Knack For Finding Twine

By REBECCA CASEY Sports Writer

Senior Jazmin Perry, a forward for the women’s soccer team is the current leading scorer for the season. With a 13-5-2 record, the girls are proving to be a competitive team with a lot of talent. Perry, who is from Columbus, Ohio, has scored 9 goals so far this season.

“My teammates are good at finding open spaces and making good passes,” Perry said when asked what it is that has helped her to become the team’s leading scorer. Perry is left footed and favors the bottom corner of the goal when it comes to taking shots.

“Jazmin is a sniffer,” Coach Gerry Lucey explained. “She has a natural ability to sense where the goal is at any time and that allows her to put her shots on target.”

Some of Perry’s teammates agreed.

Britton Spence, also a senior on the team, said Jazmin is, “smart on the ball, takes opportunities, and has a good sense.”

Spence is a forward as well.

Jazmin said she has been playing some defense lately as well; with her

coaches attributing that to how quick she is. Both Charlotte White and Samantha Kay are seniors on the team and agree, “Jazmin is little and quick, so she can get around players well.”

White also commented on Perry’s tendency to remain calm in front of the goal and how important that is to being able to find the back of the net.

Coach Lucey said that all four years Perry has had an excellent attitude on and off the field.

“She is loud off the field, I wish she was more vocal when she was on the field,” Coach Lucey said. “She is a player that leads by example, and a hard worker.”

“It is all the friendships I make and the competitiveness that I love about this game,” Perry said .When asked about what she planned to do after graduation; Perry said she wants to go to graduate school for physical therapy. She is going to hang up her cleats and not play soccer anymore after this season ends, at least not competitively.

Rebecca Casey can be reached at Imani Cruz/The Minaret rcasey@spartans.ut.edu.

Jazmin Perry is tied with Lauren Moore for the Spartan lead in goals scored this season.

THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

17

How To Talk Like You’re the Best; Even if You’re Not An in-depth look at the art of trash talking

By MILES PARKS Sports Editor

“Don’t miss! Don’t miss! Briiiiick,” screams a defender.

As the superstar receives the ball, the clock continues to tick. Five, four, three… He steps up. His entire career comes down to this. He’s played basketball for 10 years to take this shot. The sweat rolls down his cheek as he pulls the ball up.

Two, one…

“Seriously bro! Don’t miss!”

He pulls up, fires his shot. The same three-pointer he’s taken in his backyard for 10 years. The ball falls into the rim then bounces out. Game over.

That defender smiles; he’s going home victorious.

-----It goes by many names. Trash talk. Smack talk. S*** talk.

Some might call it verbal abuse or bullying. Others might describe the same language as light-hearted jest.

For a select few, it’s called art.

-----Before you can understand how to effectively belittle an opponent, you must first understand why this form of communication works so well.

-----Joseph Amos Booker goes simply by J. He’s a licensed social worker with a practice in downtown Saint Petersburg where he’s been helping counsel and work with young people in one capacity or another for 28 years. In other words, he’s experienced in trash talk.

“I think we’ve all seen instances of someone running their mouths and it affects the performance of another player,” said Booker. “When you’re exposed to something like that, it’s important to get out of your own head and figure out where that person is coming from.”

Around the age of 11, kids’ brains start to change in ways that researchers are still working to understand.

From 11 until about 19 is prime time for a lack of focus, concentration, and emotional sensitivity. “It’s a transitional age in terms of brain development,” Booker said.

From 19 until about 25, the young person’s brain might be structurally finished developing, but that doesn’t mean everything up there is peachy. Adolescent behaviors can still be found quite often in these people due to a lack of adequate knowledge and practice in problem solving techniques.

“By the time someone’s 20, they basically have, structurally, the brain they’re going to have for the rest of their lives,” Booker added. “But it’s not necessarily experienced. So that 19 to 25-year-old group basically has a much more powerful, more sophisticated car than they’ve ever had before and they’re trying to learn how to use it.”

Trash talk and negative verbal communication ties

Over the past four years, 33 anonymous users have teamed up on the website Wikihow.com to answer the question ‘how to trash talk’. Here’s a compilation of the best tips.

• Identify the situation-If you’re

• “Uhhh. I take back all that stuff about your mom…” - In the event that you lose, remove yourself from the situation as soon as possible. If many people hear you talking trash and then see you lose, no one will respect you. Also, your opponent could make fun of you. If you feel you are losing, stop trash talking.

Continuing will only make your downfall even worse.

• Use big words - Using words that have a deep meaning behind them, also work. Your opponent will not know what the words mean, therefore they become speechless.

(Side note, make sure you know what they mean…Just in case.)

• I’m screaming, so I must be

only joking around with your friends on the soccer field, meaningless jests about each other’s mothers is usually the most effective way to go. On the opposite end, if you are currently engaged in a fist fight and want to mentally crush your opponent, then use many vulgarities and compose a mean look on your face.

directly into this. Not only is the 11-year-old to 25-yearold time-frame the time when you’re the most often engaged in games (sports, video games, etc.), it’s also the time when your brain is least prepared to deal with the stress of someone telling you that you suck.

“Isolated instances of that don’t significantly impact an adolescent’s self image at all, other than to maybe impact their performance in the moment,” Booker said. “But constant exposure to that in an abusive way might impact someone’s self image and confidence.”

People trash talk for two different reasons. The first is that they’re competent at whatever they’re doing and they feel like they can gain an advantage by putting down they’re opponent. This is a sort of manipulation.

The second is the more easily deflected of the two.

“The other reason that people talk trash sometimes is because they’re feeling profoundly unconfident themselves and the trash talk is a way of bolstering their own confidence,” Booker said. “So depending on which of those two things you’re talking about, the impact on another person can vary significantly.”

“The truth of the matter is I can say anything I want to you,” he concludes. “Whether it affects you or not is your choice.”

-----Basketball is synonymous with trash talk. The University of Tampa’s squad is no different.

“It’s part of the game,” said senior guard Osby Kelly.

“Our coaches don’t really like it but I feel like it just happens. When things get heated, you talk trash.”

Now onto the how-to. Strategies differ but it comes down to boasting a level of confidence. If you let the other team know you’re better, they’ll begin to believe it too.

“If I hit a shot on somebody, I’m gonna tell them about it,” Kelly added with a laugh. “I’m gonna be like ‘yo, I just hit a shot on you.’”

While a constant barrage can be occasionally distracting, it’s more effective to use the talk in small doses, in high leverage situations.

That’s the time when opposing players are the most vulnerable because it’s the time when they’re the least secure and sure of themselves.

This doesn’t mean the only time you should talk should be at the end of the match. You should be getting a feel for the mood and flow of your opposition from the very Defense Media Activity Hawaii/flickr.com Deangelo Hall (left) returns an interception during the 2011 Pro Bowl. Since entering get-go. The “crucial” the NFL in 2004 with the Atlanta Falcons, Hall has been widely regarded as one of moments are often the the premier trash talkers in the league. Before a Monday Night Football game earlier less obvious ones.

In terms of Monopoly, this season, Hall mentioned that he would be targeting Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo’s fractured ribs. Although the Cowboys won the game, Hall had six tickles while if someone has just lost $600 from landing on a Romo fumbled once, threw an interception and had no touchdown passes.

winning, right? - Be extremely loud. This triggers a pain receptor in the brain and therefore you could actually force your opponent to feel pain just by yelling at them.

property but they still have another $1200 hanging around, talk some smack.

Tell them they suck and they’re going to lose - this can affect their pride and make them feel it necessary to buy ill-advised expensive “show” properties to prove you wrong.

This might occur in the middle of a game, and they might feel great, but the effects can be felt 45 minutes later when they have to sell low on the same properties due to a lack of cash. Winning many small battles leads to winning the war.

This is a great example of how sports aren’t the only time when smack talk can come in handy. It can be used in all walks of life and situations. Whether it’s playing poker with your best friends on a Friday night or playing Scrabble with your Grandma in her retirement community.

The upper hand is the hand you want and trash talk is one way to get there.

In terms of effectiveness? That’s a different story for every player and person, but if you get too bothered by it, you might just want to give up now says junior UT forward Callum Townsend.

“If they get their feelings hurt, they’ll get over it,” Townsend said. “If they’re getting their feelings hurt, they’re in the wrong sport.”

What Townsend is saying, is not that people who get affected by negative ragging should get out of competition.

Almost everyone is proven to be affected in one way or another, it’s just more a note on how far you let it go.

Trash talk works.

It works because it makes a person perform differently than they would have under a no-pressure or no-tension situation.

There’s a difference between missing a shot because someone is screaming in your ear and going home crying every night because someone told you you’re terrible at throwing darts.

------Oscar Chavez has been playing video games since he was four years old. He’s not overly impressed with anyone’s tactics anymore. The way he talks about it, he’s seen it all.

“It just comes out a lot when people are losing for the most part,” Chavez says as his roommate defeats him in Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution.

When asked about the kind of trash he talks, he’s not really sure. He asks his roommate for his opinion.

“You’re a b****,” his roommate replies slyly as he defeats him again.

Chavez brushes the comment off like nothing was said.

Rematch number three.

When asked about the kind of things normally said during a match, “ ‘you’re an asshole.’ And stuff.

It’s just normal stuff. ‘B****’ is a good one,” he says sarcastically.

When asked about his reaction to people trying to bring him down with trash talk?

“I’m level-headed,” Chavez said proudly. “If they say stuff, I don’t care. I know what they’re trying to do.” He lands a few blows, a combo, then a victory.

“They’re trying to get in my head and I won’t let them.”

Miles Parks can be reached at minaret.sports@gmail. com.

18 NOVEMBER 17 2011 | THE MINARET

SPORTS

Club Ice Hockey Game Raises Money For Fight Against Cancer

By APRIL WEINER Sports Writer

The UT Spartans club ice hockey team hosted the University of South Florida Ice Bulls at the St. Pete Times Forum on Tuesday, Nov. 15, and lost in a close game, 5-4.

The Spartans decided to turn the game into a benefit night for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a cause that hits close to home.

One of the members of their team, Curtis McIntyre, suffers from a rare form of lymphoma.

McIntyre had thought he was in remission when he received the devastating news recently that he had relapsed.

“We were stunned Katie Robertson/The Minaret to learn that Curtis’ UT skater Corey Tudor puts a shot on goal as USF’s Matt Meyer lays out to disrupt the scoring chance. UT lost the match 5-4. lymphoma had returned, especially since just a “As soon as Jenn and I found out that Curtis had “He’s obviously going through a lot and it means a lot few weeks before he had relapsed, we knew we wanted to do something,” said to him to see the team is on his side. We’re trying to help announced in the locker room after a game that he had Stinson. him out as much as we can,” Baccoli added. been declared ‘cancer free’,” said Dr. Steve Kucera, head “During times like these, it’s so easy to feel helpless “Curtis has been very strong through this entire thing. coach of the team. and not know what you can do.

We knew that this was Our guys care a lot about Curtis because he does so much The news was shocking to Curtis’ friends and family as something that would make Curtis really happy, especially for our team and I think it says a lot about team that we well, including Charly Stinson and Jenn Velandia, two of at a time when he isn’t feeling so great.” want to step up and do this for him.”

Curtis’ close friends.

The team was quick to support the cause too.

The game was free and open to the public, but donations “We’ve only just gotten to know Curtis in the past “We were all shocked to hear the news about Curtis and were accepted. couple months, but it feels like we’ve known him for much we want to show him our support,” said Axel Aspeborg, April Weiner can be reached at april.weiner@spartans. longer,” said Velandia. another goaltender on the team. ut.edu.

SPORTS

Pro Sports

THE MINARET | NOVEMBER 17 2011

19

Tebow Finds Way To Win Now But Not For Long

By SHAWN FERRIS Sports Writer

It’s the Tebow factor.

Good luck defining that one, Urban Dictionary.

Because “Tebow time” is running out.

Look, the guy is a great story. I really enjoyed watching him play for the University of Florida and seeing him being a part a huge part of two national titles in four years (and winning a Heisman).

He seems like a nice enough person that obviously possesses great leadership skills and is undeniably charismatic, but this guy doesn’t have what it takes to be an NFL quarterback.

When you have a less than accurate arm, zero pocket presence, no clues on how to read a blitz and throw one spiral out of every 15 passes, sooner or later you’re going to struggle in the NFL. Better quarterbacks have tried and ultimately, failed. Intangibles can only get you so far.

Yes, being able to rush for 50 yards and a touchdown a game is nice and I suppose it helps your fantasy team, but if your completion percentage is hovering around 40 percent, moving the ball down the field and giving your team a chance to score points isn’t happening. If you want to run the ball, and you’re 250 pounds, become a fullback.

And yet, somehow, all this turns into

a 7:1 touchdown: interception ratio, three wins in four games and only a one game deficit in the AFC West.

Time to start the parade.

Are you kidding me?

Let’s take a look at who Tebow and the Broncos have played in his four starts this season (in no particular order). Dolphins (2-7), Chiefs (4-5), Raiders (5-4) (all wins) and the Lions (6-3) (loss).

Only the Lions, who gave the Broncos a 45-10 beat down, and arguably the AFC West leading Oakland Raiders are contenders in the NFL. In that game, the Lions returned both a fumble (by Tebow), and an interception (by Tebow) for touchdowns. Several Lions defenders were also quoted after the game that it wasn’t even fair, and they felt like they were playing a high school quarterback.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Ol’ watsonsinelgin/ Flickr.com Timothy.

Tim Tebow ranks third among NFL quarterbacks in rushing yards. The Broncos selected Tebow The Raiders and Chiefs are middle of with their first pick in the draft and he’s won three of his four starts in 2011. the pack teams at best, and the Dolphins were well on their way to “Sucking for Yeah, I guess we could point at those A guy who routinely misses wide Luck” before winning two in a row. Not three wins against marginal opponents and open receivers by large and embarrassing to mention that win last week against the declare Timmy the new pope of football, margins. A guy who throws wounded Chiefs showed that head coach John Fox but to really find out what kind of direction ducks as the regular and not the exception. has less confidence in Tebow than he does you want your franchise to go in at what A guy who consistently makes John Elway in Kim Kardashian having a meaningful is widely considered the most important and Steve Young cringe with his footwork. relationship anytime soon, running the ball position on the field, I tend to try to dig a A guy who cannot and will not succeed 58 times and passing it only eight (where little deeper. in the National Football League as a Tebow responded to the conservative playWhat I see is a guy who has yet to starting quarterback. calling by completing a whopping 25 complete half his passes in any given game Shawn Ferris can be reached at percent of those eight passes). this year. sferris@spartans.ut.edu.

Competiton In Youth Sports Can Lead to Dangerous Results high. Parents are living vicariously through their children in the sports they choose to play. Alterations must be made to ensure “Come on Mike, throw strikes!” For children are not driven away from the everyone’s knowledge, Mike is trying as segment of their life that is supposed to be hard as he can to throw strikes. The pressure pure pleasure. parents put on their children in youth and According to a CNN article which sites amateur sports are at an unprecedented the book Fair Play, more than 75 percent of children who play organized sport will quit before they reach 13-years-old.

Kids are being pushed to their limits and early burnout is becoming more prevalent and widespread. Kids are forced into excess participation and lose their amusement of the sport.

The probability of playing at higher levels of competition, such as college or even in a professional capacity, does not favor your child. Hence, it is essential for them to relish the experience jdanvers/Flickr.com and take away certain life lessons from Football is a dangerous sport but young children are finding themselves pushed into it by their enthusiastic parents. participation. If your

By TIM SHANAHAN Sports Writer

Talk of the Town Professional Sporting News in the Region

The NBA has cancelled games through Dec. 15. A new chapter to the lockout is coming to fruition as a handful of players are pursuing antitrust lawsuits against the league.

child is talented and blessed enough, he or she will be noticed.

It starts with the parents feeling as though they have a personal investment in their child. Mommy and daddy feel that their son or daughter stands out and is more talented than the others. Therefore, parents crave to give their child the best opportunity to play at a high level. Practices are held daily for hours and children are signed up for travel teams that cross state borders. The problem is that a percentage of children are not given any say about these decisions.

In steps the pressure of the child to succeed. If a youngster is not performing as well as a parent would like, they can be bellowed at from the sideline. Frustration, disappointment and rage set in. Children feel less capable than their peers and team members, resulting in utter embarrassment and shrunken self-esteem.

In addition, young kids will feel a sense of fear when playing the game. They will become afraid to make a mistake on the field, frightened of being snapped at. This can result in stunting a kid’s ability to grow and take chances on the field.

Along with discontentment on the field comes playing time complications.

Parents can disapprove of their child’s playing time. When their kid was younger, they were the starting shortstop and batted fourth. As their child gets older, parents feel

The Bucs travel to Lambeau Field on Sunday to challenge the Packers’ undefeated record at 1 p.m.. Tampa Bay is coming off an embarrassing 37-9 loss to the Texans at home.

as though this shouldn’t change. However, the competition becomes fiercer and the most elite players play.

In youth and low-end amateur sports, winning shouldn’t be put on a pedestal.

Hard work, dedication and knowledge of the game need to be heavily emphasized instead. If a child can experience being part of a team and working towards a common goal, this will produce a further and more lasting benefit in life than winning. Most importantly, youth sport is meant for kids to simply have fun.

Changes need to be implemented. This will start with awareness and education of the crisis in youth sport. Clinics must be held, requiring all parents and coaches to attend before being able to participate in a youth league. The seminars will preach ways to deal with disappointment, winning and losing. Contracts need to be endorsed by the league stating that parents will be removed from the team with excess amounts of negative commotion.

Some parents need to realize their childhood is over. Instead of taping their child’s performance on the field, they should instead tape what comes out of their mouth. Their child’s sport experience needs to be embraced with an outlook of pleasure and entertainment.

Tim Shanahan can be reached at tshanahan@spartans.ut.edu.

The Lightning remain in third place in the Southeastern Division with a record of 8-7-2 and 18 points. On Thursday, they battle the Penguins in the Saint Pete Times Forum at 7:30 p.m.

MINARET

UT’S SOURCE SINCE 1933

SPORTS

Tebow Time? [19]

Women’s Basketball [16]

Spartan Women Win Five Straight Postseason Games

By JOHN HILSENROTH Asst. Sports Editor

For the second consecutive year, the University of Tampa drew North Alabama in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and once again the game went into overtime.

This year, however, the Spartans were able to get the best of North Alabama, 1-0.

Freshman Lauren Moore headed a ball in the net in the 109th minute for the only goal of the match. Moore scored 1:37 before the game would have gone to penalty kicks.

“This certainly wasn’t our best performance of the year but in the end we will gladly take the win,” said head coach Gerry Lucey. The win was Lucey’s 69th, making him the career leader in wins at UT for women’s soccer.

“It’s a product of team success,” Lucey said on the accomplishment. “Right now we’re just trying to stay focused on who we play next.”

After the emotional victory last Friday, the Spartans earned the right to play Rollins next, in Winter Park.

Tampa beat Rollins 2-0 in the SSC Championship game just seven days earlier.

Tampa won its fifth game in a row, beating Rollins 2-0 once again. That is the

second time in a week that the Spartans were able to beat Rollins as the underdog.

Rollins has only lost three games all year, two of them coming from Tampa.

Senior Brittan Spence knocked in what proved to be the game winner in the 56th minute and Lauren Moore put the icing on the cake, scoring another goal in the 69th minute.

“It was nice,” Spence said laughing in reference to the huge goal. “Lately I’ve missed several opportunities so it was nice to finish this time. And this was the first time in my four years that we beat Rollins in their own house, it was awesome.”

The Spartans now have their eyes on their next opponent, Lynn University.

“We know how they play and who their strongest players are,” said Spence. “Last year we lost in the Regionals before getting to Quarterfinals and we want to go further this year.”

Tampa has caught fire at the right time.

They have won five games in a row, and haven’t allowed a goal in three contests.

Much of that has to do with goaltender Emelie Karstrom.

“I don’t really care about statistics,” Karstrom said. “I believe in what we’re doing right now, we’re really working together well.”

“The defense has been great,” said

Lucey. “Collectively, we’re not giving other teams too many good looks at the goal; the girls are getting their bodies in the way. I am very pleased with what they’ve been doing defensively.”

When a team wins five post season games in a row, it would be easy to get overconfident.

“We are confident but not overconfident,” Lucey said. “We split with Lynn this year, but we dominated them in shots both games.

We know we have the ability to beat them.

Imani Cruz/The Minaret Any of the girls who Freshman Gabby Russo (28) leads the Spartans with 12 assists. played on the team last year know that at this point last season we dominated a Florida and she heads the ball very well. We try Tech team that beat us in penalty kicks.” and find her in set pieces.”

Lauren Moore has scored in the past The Spartans will square off with Lynn three games, and the Spartans could this Friday at 1:30 P.M. in Savannah, definitely use another great performance Georgia, with hopes to move on to the from her against Lynn.

Quarterfinals.

“Lauren is a very smart player,” said John Hilsenroth can be reached at Lucey. “She has the ability to read the ball, minaret.sports@gmail.com.

Ranked Fifth, Volleyball Garners Number One Seed in South Regional

By GREG SPRACKLIN

The coaches aren’t the only ones who help us get better.”

The Spartans have had a ton Frances Cardenas is a of success this season, with their sophomore on the University of only loss coming against Eckerd Tampa women’s yolleyball team.

College.

The loss was a wake up “If I told you this was the call and after they tripped up, they first weekend we’ve had off won four games in a row.

Three all semester,” Cardenas asked, of those games were conference “would you believe me?” wins, leading the Spartans to their The team has been hard at seventh straight Sunshine State Conference title.

But the title win was harder to come by than the Spartans had grown accustomed to. On Nove. 9, the Spartans went to Winter Park, Fla., to play Rollins College. The win would secure the conference and set up the Spartans to host the regional tournament.

The game went to five sets.

Tampa lost the opening set, came back to win the second and third, lost the fourth, and won the fifth.

“Coach made it clear that the win at Rollins was a big deal,” sophomore Kaylee Koetter said.

“It says a lot about us as a team to have sole ownership of that [SSC] title.”

The win also solidified the Spartans reign at the top of their region. With the conference title under their belts, the regional tournament poses an entirely new threat.

The NCAA aired their Bracket Special on Sunday Nov. 13. The host site is announced for each region and the teams are seeded in the tournament according to their win-loss record and their strength Jake Patterson/ The Minaret of schedule and margin of victory.

All regional games will take place Sophomore Frances Cardens plays a ball during a Spartan victory. from Nov. 17 through the 20th.

Sports Writer

work all season, making its 29-1 record worth it.

The success they’ve been having makes sense. “We have a strict effort policy,” Cardenas said. “We have to go all out, all the time. What separates us from other teams we’ve all been on and other teams at the collegiate level, is that we get after one another.

“Its single elimination so every person on the court is playing for their life,” Koetter said. “Everyone plays better because this is playoffs.”

The NCAA D II Volleyball tournament consists of 64 teams throughout the nation. Eight teams can host games, and because the Spartans lead their region, they are one of the hosts. It can hardly be classified as a lucky break.

“We work hard all season to be able to host,” Head Coach Chris Catanach said. “It’s a big advantage.”

The Spartans are appearing in the NCAA tournament for the 16th consecutive season. They host the south region because they won the automatic qualifier that is the Sunshine State Conference.

UT will start off tournament play when they host Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) champion Kentucky State University. The match is Thursday at 7:30 P.M. Other teams in the Spartans’ eight team regional section of the bracket include Northern Alabama, Rollins and Eckerd.

The Spartans have proven that they are capable of beating all three teams.

Though Eckerd handed the Spartans their only loss this year, the tournament’s potential matchup will take place on Spartan territory. “Playing at home [against Eckerd] – it makes a big difference,” Koetter said. “When we played there, they had a huge crowd and they were obnoxious.

They had a whiteout and they

were distracting at times.”

The Martinez center can get loud, too, though. That’s what UT is looking for throughout the tournament. The opportunity to host cannot go to waste.

“If we get to play them again, it will be on Saturday in the regional final,” Cardenas said. “We have to win first, and they have to win, too. But we’re hoping to get just as big of a crowd.”

Other powerhouses from their own regions will be trying to show their worth, just as the Spartans are this coming weekend. Undefeated teams like Wingate and Cal St. – San Bernardino have flawless records. Minnesota – Duluth and Washburn each have only one loss.

The Spartans, currently ranked No. 5 on the AVCA Coaches’ Poll, are right there in the mix. They’re one of the better teams in this 64team bracket. Expectations are high.

“The NCAA tournament is a lot different than seasonal play,” Catanach said. “But we’re going to approach every game the same way.”

The Spartans have proved to have a solid game plan. And with this regional tournament being single-elimination, their mantra is put to the test yet again.

According to Danielle Selkridge; “One game at a time.”

As it should be. Every game from here on out is win or go home. In the Spartans’ case, it’s win or stay home.

Greg Spracklin can be reached at gspracklin@spartans.ut.edu.