The Minaret

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Volume 77 Number 4

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September 17, 2010

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Freshman’s Money Mess

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“Silly Rabbit”- Trix Roams UT Campus

Student Arrives Lacking Financial Support; Now Unpacked, She Second-Guesses UT

By KRISTI MARSILI The Minaret

TAMPA - On August 25, incoming freshmen and transfer students were welcomed to The University of Tampa.

Among these excited and eager students was one freshman who didn’t get the warmest welcome.

Like many students, freshman biology major Leyonna Dunbar was able to come to the university with the aid of a private student loan.

Aware of the lengthy process, Dunbar applied for the $4,000 she owed a month prior to the first week of classes.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t early enough.

When Dunbar arrived on campus to get her housing key and Spartan Card, she was denied.

The bursar’s office had not received the paperwork for her loan.

She contacted her loan provider, Wells Fargo, and they explained that she hadn’t turned in the documentation they had requested.

During the following two weeks, Dunbar didn’t have a meal plan, a laundry card or the voucher from financial aid to buy her books.

“I just wanted to go home, I was so upset. I packed my bags and my mom came to pick me up,” said Dunbar.

By Sept. 13, the last official day to pay financial dues, Dunbar’s loan still hadn’t been processed.

She was automatically dropped from

her classes that day, and she immediately went to the Bursar’s Office when she found out.

According to Dunbar, a bursar employee had told her that there was nothing they could do.

Dunbar was told that she should have gone through the university to pay for her loans, instead of through a private lender. “[The bursar employee] told me that my classes were dropped and that there wasn’t a reason to go to class anymore,” Dunbar said.

The bursar’s office has seen this situation time and time again, DJ Eubanks, a bursar employee, explained the process that students go through.

Students are given until the end of move-in week to get their payments in, which was Sept. 13 this semester.

If they are not in by then, their classes are dropped.

If the student’s payment is in late, they must get their professor’s signatures in order to be re-enrolled in the class.

“During this process we encourage the students to still attend classes, so when the money comes in they hadn’t missed anything,” said Eubanks.

It turned out that Wells Fargo, her loan provider, hadn’t received the proper documentation from Dunbar.

“My mother and I were crying to financial aid to help us, but no one could do anything,” Dunbar said.

Dunbar and her mother went to the Howard Johnson Hotel where she was [See Financial Aid, 3]

See page 14 for “Mascot Madness”

UT Student Reacts to ResLife Statement Sophomore Enrique Rosado Comments After Media Hype

By ALEX VERA Editor-in-Chief

See page 4 for Exclusive VMA Coverage NEWS

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

COMMENTARY

Stolen Equipment from Student Productions

Student Goes Backstage at NYC Fashion Week

The Truth Behind UT’s Mafia Front

[Page 2]

[Page 8]

[Page 12]

In the past week, University of Tampa sophomore Enrique Rosado received 150 friend requests on Facebook.

He has been offered free drinks at The Kennedy and free VIP access at Prana.

Rosado also appeared on the local evening news and CNN. The reason: an article published by The Minaret outlining Rosado’s brief homeless situation at the start of this semester.

For six days Rosado slept behind the Jaeb Computer Center before finally attracting the attention of campus security.

Since his situation became public, people have stopped him on campus to offer their support or, alternately, to accuse him of being lazy and a liar.

“Some people sympathize for me and some people treat me as a little boy who doesn’t know how to take care of himself,” said Rosado.

A Statement from ResLife A week ago, Krystal Schofield, director of Residence Life, released a statement to The Minaret, sharing, “If students miss the late-March sign-up and selection deadline, they can be added to the no-guarantee

wait-list. The remaining 30 students on the wait-list – including Enrique Rosado – were e-mailed in August with an offer of housing in the Howard Johnson.

“Many of those 30 students chose to live off-campus and did not respond to the e-mail. Rosado did not respond either, and was assumed to have found appropriate off-campus housing.”

Rosado said he did respond to the August e-mail, but that he was a bit late on his response.

According to Schofield, “When Rosado did contact Residence Life during the first week of school, the staff confirmed his place on the wait-list, and subsequently worked to secure campus housing. Interim housing options — staying with a friend or in a hotel — were discussed, but the staff was not made aware of Rosado’s itinerant status until being notified by Campus Safety on Sept. 1.

Rosado was offered a room in the Howard Johnson later that day.”

Rosado disagrees with the latter portion of Schofield’s explanation.

“Had that statement been true, I would have not been homeless for days,” he [See Rosado, 4]

2 SEPTEMBER 17 2010 | THE MINARET MINARET

M

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alex Vera

avera813@gmail.com

ASSISTANT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mike Trobiano mike.trobiano@gmail.com

NEWS

Cara Fetzer Josh Napier minaret.news@gmail.com

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT Mandy Erfourth Robert Pierce minaret.arts@gmail.com

COMMENTARY Philippa Hatendi John Jacobs minaret.commentary@gmail.com

SPORTS

Daniel Feingold Kyle Bennett minaret.sports@gmail.com

NEWS

PA System Stolen from Student Productions

By JEFFREY PALMER The Minaret

A three hundred dollar public address (PA) system belonging to Student Productions was stolen directly from their office on Aug. 23.

Although the incident was captured by campus cameras and reviewed by concerned school officials, the image was deemed “too indistinct” to accurately identify the culprit.

Coordinator of Student Event Services Jennifer Powell revealed that Student Productions had moved the PA from its previous location in the office a few days earlier in an attempt to consolidate storage space.

Powell claims that this new location would have been easily viewable to intruders.

She was engaged in a day-trip to USF with Student Productions on the day in question.

“It was just so random,” said Powell, “and all the more disconcerting because we always take care to lock the office door.”

Video footage of the incident captured

UT Greek Organizations Promote Anti-Hazing Policy Through National Hazing Prevention Week

By Richard Solomon The Minaret

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what seemed to be a man wearing the name volved. badge of a student involved in freshman orientation wheeling the PA system off on a push cart.

Despite these clues, no one has yet been able to find a match for the suspect.

Powell said that the investigation has been a collaborative effort among a number of campus officials and that numerous avenues of inquiry are currently being explored.

Apart from beginning the process of filing an official theft report, Powell and others began by combing campus for the miss- Student Productions will have their next Gening equipment and even monitoring Craig- eral Assembly on Wednesday, September 22 at Reeves Theatre at 8pm. slist for ads pertaining to the theft.

A few promising leads have emerged, “It’s mostly a pity because SP was so but so far none have panned out.

Although three hundred dollars is a rel- excited to finally purchase their own sysatively replaceable sum, Student Produc- tem.” said Powell. “Now that it’s gone tions is now faced with the inconvenience we’re all really bummed.” of having to coordinate equipment use with Powell expressed optimism that beother organizations like Media Services tween the ongoing investigation and generrather than being self-sufficient. al campus awareness a resolution to the unThe purchase of a new PA unit could fortunate incident might soon be reached. entail convoluted reshuffling of the capital Jeffrey Palmer can be reached at jefpurchases fund, another setback for all in- frey.palmer@spartans.ut.edu.

Monday begins this year’s National Hazing Prevention Week.

Lasting until Sept. 24, the event is aimed at simultaneously decreasing hazing activities while increasing awareness about what exactly constitutes hazing.

NHPW (National Hazing Prevention Website) defines hazing as, “Any action taken or situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule… risks emotional and/or physical harm… regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.”

According to Florida law, hazing can be a third degree felony if someone gets injured and a first degree misdemeanor if there’s substantial risk for injury.

Keep in mind, these charges stick, even if you have the person’s consent to haze them.

Suddenly forcing someone to do pushups while dressed like a ballerina doesn’t seem so awesome, does it?

UT is anti-hazing and is working with Greek life to send a strong anti-hazing message this year.

Not sure if your plans to “initiate” the incoming freshmen in your dorm are kosher? Ask yourself these questions supplied by www.hazingprevention.org: Am I being asked to keep these activities a secret?

Would we get in trouble if the Dean of Students walked by?

Is this causing emotional distress or stress of any kind to myself or others?

Remember, the only difference between

bullying and hazing is that bulling can happen at anytime to any individual, while hazing is done to a person or a group of people for initiation to a community or group.

Unless you want to be like that kid you hated in third grade who would pull your pants down and who you always fantasized about punching in the face, and unless you want to risk serious consequences, hazing might not be a good idea.

Hillary and Lauren, two consultants from Kappa Alpha Theta agreed that hazing is, “Not a good way to get respect. You should lead by example.”

Both women hope that UT’s strong position on anti-hazing will encourage more freshmen to pledge.

Michael, a junior in the Phi Mu Alpha fraternity said, “Pledging is building a brotherhood. Promoting hazing sets up future generations for failure, instead of encouraging the right values.”

Michael also believed this might cause more freshmen to join Greek life. “With rushing being safer and a campus-wide policy against hazing, everyone will be more comfortable with the idea of pledging.”

Audrey, a freshman at UT agreed that she was more likely to join a sorority knowing that there was a strict no-hazing policy in place.

Phi Mu Alpha’s president, a senior by the name of Dave Smith, had this to say when asked for his thoughts on hazing: “Not good.”

With an eloquence that Greek orators going back to Socrates himself would appreciate, PMA’s president summed it up perfectly.

Another way to put the idea might be,

“Don’t do it.”

Interested in finding out more? On Tuesday the Delta Sigma Theta sorority will be in Vaughn Center from 2:30-5 p.m. There will be brochures, buttons and t-shirts designed by the Tau Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.

Ask the students there about what other activities they have going on in the week.

Everything from a trust course to a movie have been included in the weeks events, and with the promise of a free t-shirt, what college kid could possibly turn that down?

To quote one of the t-shirts that Tau Iota designed, “Don’t stop it, prevent it!”

http://www.hazingprevention.org

National Hazing Prevention Week is from Oct. 12 to Oct. 16.

Student Loans Still in Progress [“Financial Aid” From Front] scheduled to live.

She explained her situation to the RAs and they gave her her room key.

Dunbar was able to move in the first Saturday after classes.

“I cried pretty much all week. I thought I was going to have to just go home and not start college yet. It was too late for me to go to any other school I applied to,” Dunbar said.

Dunbar has yet to receive her loan, but she has talked to her professors and said she would be returning to her classes this week.

Kristi Marsili can be reached at kmarsili@spartans.ut.edu.

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NEWS

THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

3

Quran Fires Put Out: Plans to Burn Islamic Holy Book Canceled

By JOSH NAPIER The Minaret

A Florida pastor made international news last week when he threatened to burn copies of the Islamic holy book, the Quran.

The burning was supposed to represent a form of protest against the mosque being built near ground zero, but the plan backfired and protests quickly grew against the pastor and his abuse of the First Amendment.

Pastor Terry Jones, 58, immediately created controversy when he hung a “Burn A Quran Day” banner outside of his Gainesville church, the Dove World Outreach Center. Jones’ mission was to gain followers of his plan and spread his word that “Islam is of the devil.”

Today, approximately 23 percent of all people on Earth follow Islam.

There are approximately 0.7 to 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide, making Islam the second largest religion in the world following Christianity.

How can Terry Jones, a supposedly “holy man,” curse the faith of such a large number of God’s people, and how do students at UT respond to Terry Jones’ radical behavior?

Chris McCarthy, 21 year-old entrepreneurship major says, “I think everyone is obviously entitled to do what they want.

However, with that said, burning a Quran would only further divide people. That would cause more harm than good. Many people from an outside perspective that look at [Jones] and what he’s trying to do view him in a negative manner. He’s bringing a lot of negative attention to himself.”

Eszter/Flickr.com

Pastor Terry Jones threatens to burn multiple Qurans in protest of mosque being built near ground zero.

I think the mosque should be allowed to be built [near ground zero] because I feel that the government would be discriminating if they wouldn’t allow it.

In the same sense, I feel that if he wants to burn the Quran, he has a right to do so.

However, it would be of bad taste.

There is no logical reasoning “There is no logical reasoning behind burning behind burning a Quran in relation a Quran in relation to preventing the mosque to preventing the mosque from beform being built near ground zero,” said Elbin ing built near ground zero.”

Keeppanasseril So what was Jones thinking when he said he wanted to burn the Elbin Keeppanasseril, 22 year-old pre- Quran? law international economics major has a Some say not much at all. Reports claim personal take on the issue. that Jones hasn’t even opened a Quran but Elbin says, “I’m from New York City. is sure that burning it would be God’s will.

I saw the effects of 9/11 and the smoke of Jones told ABC’s Nightline that, “Jesus the towers from my junior high school. would not run around burning books, but I

[

By CARA FETZER News Editor

Night Terrors At 4:15 a.m. on Sept. 6, two roommates were concerned about the well being of their roommate. After speaking to the subject, it was determined nothing was wrong.

UT’s Funniest Home Videos On Sept. 6 at 12 a.m., two students were identified causing damage to a hallway video surveillance camera in McKay Hall. The students were referred to the judicial board.

Chronic-L’s of Narnia On Sept. 8 at 8:20 p.m., security responded to Austin Hall in reference to a complaint about marijuana. The students were referred to the judicial board.

Alimony A student reported that his wallet was missing from his girlfriend’s room on Sept. 8.

]

think he would burn this one.”

Ricki Goldsmith, 21 year-old international business and marketing major said, "Burning the Quran isn't a way of dealing with [the mosque location].

Personally I disagree with the mosque being built in such a sensitive area because of what occurred there on 9/11, but, respectfully, I do think there would be better ways of settling the controversy.”

After catching word of Pastor Terry Jones' plan to burn Qurans, President Obama held a press conference discussing the severity of the consequences that the action could spark.

In return Jones promptly decided to cancel the Quran burnings with the reasoning that, "We feel like God is telling us to stop."

“I’m glad that the president prevented it from being done, because it would affect the troops abroad," Elbin said. "As Americans our views are open and we’re more accepting to everything around us. Whereas other countries’ governments are based upon their religion. So if an American were to publicly burn a Quran that would bring great animosity from Muslims.”

With the war in Iraq coming to a close, the remaining U.S. troops rely on support from their fellow Americans to help them come home safely.

Although Pastor Terry Jones originally overlooked that responsibility, he assures America that "We will not burn the Quran.

Not today, not ever."

Joshua Napier can be reached at joshua.napier90@gmail.com.

Ice berg On Sept. 10, a student broke a window while moving furniture in their room in the Boathouse.

Glassholes On Sept. 10, a student reported her room window in ResCom was broken by an unknown cause.

Crank Yankers At 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 11, a student reported receiving a non-threatening prank call on her cell phone.

Under-Rager At 12 a.m. on Sept. 12, Tampa Police advised security of a party off campus that was dispersed due to underage drinking.

Students involved were referred to the judicial board.

Compiled from the September 6-12 reports.

This Week’s Student Government Meeting... * Voting for class senators begins Saturday at 8 a.m. and ends Monday. * The Vice President, Elbin Keeppanasseril, encourages students to suggest their ideas for changes to be made this year by emailing him at elbink@gmail.com * SG is hosting Constitution Day on Friday to promote awareness. Games, prizes, activities and food will be held in Vaughn Lobby.

Also, there will be opportunies to register to vote, even if you are not a Florida resident. * To improve Student Life, it was suggested that there be more parking made available to commuters, more food options, including more fresh options as opposed to fast food, and more school spirit is needed on campus. * The school radio also pushed for an increase in budget.

4 SEPTEMBER 17 2010 | THE MINARET

NEWS

Student Housing Fulfilled, Readers Respond Online [“Rosado” From Front] said. “The funniest thing was when they said they were unaware of my housing situation because being unaware of that, why would you give someone a list of homeless shelters?”

Rosado said he attempted to speak with other Residence Life staffers, but was ultimately told that no one was going to be able to do anything for him.

After going through the ordeal of being homeless, Rosado was contacted by dean of students, Robert Ruday.

According to Rosado, Ruday wanted to make sure that he was mentally and emotionally capable of attending class.

Ruday provided Rosado with a chance to elaborate more on his side of the story and express his feelings on how the situation should have been handled and what actions were appropriate.

“He just wanted to make sure that I was doing okay and he apologized on behalf of ResLife for them not taking the appropriate action,” said Rosado.

Aftermath of Frustration, Fear and Anxiety The first few nights of this semester were certainly not what Rosado had been expecting. He came to UT thinking he would find a dorm room in a matter of days, but ended up in circumstances he could have never foretold.

“To have to stay outside…I’m out here alone, in this foreign place with no one that I know,” he said. “It puts you in a place where you’re full of fear and anxiety.” Today, Rosado is living at the Howard Johnson.

In a comment he posted online beneath The Minaret’s story on his situation, he stated that this would be his last semester at UT. He now says, “At the time, I was so frustrated with the kind of attention I was

getting. I just wanted to finish the semester and leave and not have to deal with this anymore.”

He now says that he plans to complete his studies at UT. Although some people have offered Rosado a lending hand, he has been confronted angrily by others.

“I was going to the Howard Johnson,” he said. “There was an RA there. She recognized me from [a story that ran on an ABC local evening newscast]. She asked me why I would lie about UT like that. She accused me of doing this for publicity and said I deserve what I got.”

Rosado said he did not sleep outside or share his story for the publicity. In his words, “Had security not found me, I could have still been out there.”

Now that things have died down a little bit, he feels more comfortable being at UT and says that he wouldn’t take it out on the school because of a few people’s mistakes.

UT students voiced their opinions online, here is what they have to say: Peter said, “The student either made a mistake or was financially unable to make the payment. ResLife has two options: 1) try to help him and give him one of the open rooms or 2) ignore him. They chose the latter, unfortunately. ResLife has a history of doing the least amount of work possible, and they got caught doing too little this time.

“I think the most telling sign in this saga is that after The Minaret made an inquisition, a room magically opened up in the HoJo. If anyone at the university is actually investigating this and has access to ResLife records (i.e. not what The Minaret would be able to do), they will be able to see if someone moved out/was kicked out the day Mr. Rosado was given housing. If not, then it’s pretty clear who’s at fault here.”

Jamal Wilburg posted, “There is such a

Alex Vera/The Minaret

Rosado now sits in his dorm at the Howard Johnson where he first moved in on Sept. 2.

thing as personal responsibility. He missed the deadline for housing and thus wasn’t guaranteed to have a dorm room for the fall. This is a part of life ladies and gentlemen. There are no participation ribbons in the game of life.

“In the real world if you do not pay rent to your landlord on time you do not have a place to live. He is an adult and faces consequences as a result of the decisions that he made. It is unfortunate that he was sleeping on the steps of a computer lab but why didn’t he sleep inside the computer lab?

“Perhaps he would’ve been noticed in a shorter period of time than the apparent six days it took security’s patrols to see him. That’s the only part of this story that concerns me. The thought that someone could potentially be lurking on campus and wouldn’t be noticed until the sixth night is a real issue. I do not know this student and feel bad for anyone sleeping on the concrete steps while pursuing a college degree.

“However, he would not have been in this situation had he done what he needed to do when he needed to do it. This isn’t a Reslife issue, sounds to me like the stu-

dents that paid their deposits on time all had rooms and people are using this article to vent personal feelings about university staff rather than focus on real issues at hand. In my four years at UT I was never homeless. I also never submitted my housing paperwork late. Coincidence, I think not…”

Angela C. wrote, “I admire Rosado so much for going through that rough time and fighting to be at UT. Obviously he did it for a reason and for someone to call him lazy is pathetic.”

Kenge said, “This is unfortunate, however there are deadlines and part of the college experience is knowing what not to slack off on! Housing deadline being one of them. My question [is] if he didn’t have housing why did he go to school? Where are his friends, family etc? This is not just on Residence Life. As an adult it was and is his responsibility to plan better!”

“When it comes down to it,” said Rosado, “nobody knows my story, nobody knows my situation, nobody knows my life.”

Alex Vera can be reached at avera813@ gmail.com.

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THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

5

MTV VMA’s: The Year Of Comebacks and Lady Gaga

By DAVID BEVIS The Minaret

This past Sunday, MTV brought the Video Music Awards [VMAs] back to the west coast for a live, star-studded show in Los Angeles.

The evening, was filled with an abundance of awe-inspiring performances, comic relief and Facebook-status worthy moments.

Sunday’s VMAs made history for MTV. Comedian, Chelsea Handler was the first female to host the VMAs in 16 years.

The awards raked in a total of 11.4 million viewers, making it the most watched cable telecast for the network in 2010.

These were the best ratings for any MTV telecast since the 2002 VMAs. The opening skit featured Lindsay Lohan with Handler who was “preparing for the show.”

In the skit, the freshly out-of-rehab Lohan made fun of her history of drugs and alcohol.

The show opened with a highly anticipated performance by rapper, Eminem who’s had a comeback year with singles “Not Afraid” and “Love The Way You Lie,” both which he performed Sunday night. “Love The Way You Lie” ended with a surprise appearance from Rihanna.

Eminem walked away with two Moonmen awards for Best Male Video and Best Hip Hop Video.

R&B superstar, Usher, performed a medley of his 2010 hit singles “DJ Got Us Fallen In Love” and “OMG” proving he can sing and dance as if he were still twenty one; certainly setting the bar high for the rest of the evening’s performers.

Aside from the comeback musical per-

formances, other artists who performed Sunday night included Justin Beiber, B.o.B. and Drake. Kayne West closed the show with his song, “Runaway.”

Taylor Swift performed and went uninterrupted this year.

Her song, “Innocent” referenced her accepting of Kanye West’s apology from the 2009 VMAs.

[

“I never thought I’d be asking Cher to hold my meat purse,” said Lady Gaga

]

“I never thought I’d be asking Cher to hold my meat purse,” said Lady Gaga while accepting her award for Video of the Year for Bad Romance.

The pop star took home eight out of the 11 Moonmen she was nominated for.

While accepting her Video of the Year award, she announced the title of her new album, Born This Way. As usual, Gaga made made a statement with her outrageous attire, mostly designs by the late Alexander McQueen.

The meat purse holder, Cher, presented the Video of the Year award to Gaga.

Cher cheered on the winner via twitter on Sunday, tweeting “ Loved doing VMAs! Lady Gaga rocked it!”

Although this years’ VMAs weren’t as drama filled as last years’, they’re were still memorable moments with Handler as host, the musical performances and the come back appearances.

The VMAs have marked their place in pop culture as the number one source for an unforgettable night.

Poll: Who had the best performance at this year’s VMA’s?

A. Usher B. Taylor Swift C. Eminem D. Florence and The Machine Give us your response on The Crescent at minaretblog.com KibiFletcher/Flickr.com

Gaga debuts her tasty dress at the VMA’s.

Chicagofabulousblog.com/Flickr.com

Usher performed “DJ Gor Us Fallin’ In Love” at the VMA’s.

6 SEPTEMBER 17 2010 | THE MINARET

Diversions FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Justin Davis / The Minaret Jason Paul placed second in the Red Bull Art of Motion 2010 competition and first in the last competition.

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis ACROSS 1 Persian Gulf emirate 6 Aptly named novelist 11 Check for drinks 14 Rocket scientist Wernher von __ 15 Use for dinner, as dishes 16 Realm from 8001806: Abbr.

17 Jazzy O’Day 18 On the __: broken 19 Approx. landing hr.

20 Daydreaming 23 More intimate 25 __-mutuel: type of betting 26 Funny Costello 27 Abel’s slayer 30 Tsar or emperor 32 It follows the overture 34 Pressed for time 36 Failing to grasp a key element 41 Conceived of 42 IRS agent 43 What ballerinas dance on 46 Slangy agreement 48 HVAC measure 49 Utah city near Provo 50 Uproar 52 Not expected back at work until tomorrow 58 Econ. yardstick 59 Nebraska city 60 Tee shot 63 Mauna __ 64 Lees competitor 65 Ocean ship 66 Bigger picture: Abbr.

67 Kosher deli offering 68 Sharp-eyed bird DOWN 1 Trade name abbr.

2 Caterer’s vessel 3 Controversial financial rescues 4 Cars

By Samantha Wine

9/20/10

5 “Be right there!”

6 Get a better int. rate, probably 7 Make on the job 8 Working busily 9 “The lady __ protest too much”: “Hamlet” 10 Automaker Ferrari 11 Store to “fall into,” in old ads 12 Prefix with scopic 13 “Scram!”

21 New employee 22 End result 23 Littleneck, e.g.

24 Centers of activity 28 Actress Swenson 29 Smartly dressed 30 Obstetrician’s calculation 31 Psychic’s asset, for short 33 “Surely I’m not the only one?!”

35 South Korea’s first president 37 Altar promise 38 “Drinks are on yours truly”

Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

39 MLB league 40 Letter-shaped fastener 43 Flip back and forth, as an onoff switch 44 Like some denim patches 45 Letter-writing friend 47 Circular gridiron gathering

9/20/10

51 “West Side Story” heroine 53 Music genre that experienced a ’50s-’60s revival 54 Sign of the future 55 Sitarist Shankar 56 That’s partner 57 Corned beef dish 61 Commercial prefix with -cro 62 Prior to

Horoscopes

By Linda C Black / Tribune Media Services

Aries (March 21-April 19) Tossing an idea back and forth allows you to express hidden emotions with a friend. At the same time, you get your work done. Go figure.

Week ending Sept14, 2010

#1 Album

Top tracks

( ) Last week’s ranking in top five

United States

Kaleidoscope Heart Sara Bareilles

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) If romance is on the agenda for today, then you’re in luck (as well as love)! Give your imagination free reign to plan an adventure.

(3)

1

Teenage Dream .DW\ 3HUU\

(1)

2

DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love s 5SHER

(5)

3

Gemini (May 21-June 21)

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

4

Ditch logic, and let your feelings guide you to a productive day and delightful evening. Someone surprises you with an unexpected visit.

Plan your day to include private time alone with your favorite person tonight. No need to go out. Home is where the heart is.

Just a Dream 1HOO\

Dynamite 7DLR &UX]

(2)

5

United Kingdom Teenage Dream .DW\ 3HUU\ Dynamite 7DLR &UX]

1 (2) 2 (3) 3

For the First Time s 4HE 3CRIPT

4

Please Don’t Let Me Go 2OO\ 0XUV

5

Spain Club Can’t Handle Me s &LO 2IDA Love the Way You Lie s %MINEM 2IHANNA XX 7KH [[

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Responsibilities shared between partners make chores easy to complete. Cross--training proves valuable now, if one person is absent.

Just the Way You Are s "RUNO -ARS

Start Without You Alexandra Burke

Science & Faith 7KH 6FULSW

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) If travel is part of your near future, consider going by boat. A journey of the heart is just what you need to balance something from the past.

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Cancer (June 22-July 22)

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Your awareness of lucky possibilities increases now. Before you put your heart and soul into a project, try to consider all the angles. It works out.

Nothing can diminish your enthusiasm today.

Both genders contribute to a revolutionary project. Begin a task that expands, as one thing leads to another.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

You need no web to draw people in today. Instead, inspire them to be both imaginative and sympathetic. These elements merge into a perfect expression of love.

A romantic social setting allows you to spend lavishly without destroying your budget. Accept organizational help from close associates.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

If you don’t already have plans to get out of town for the weekend, you may want to make some. A romantic exploration hits the jackpot.

Take your creative power to a higher level by using your personal judgment after putting in the research. Then push ahead.

Pisces (Feb. 19-rch 20)

THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

7

Arts + Entertainment When Cello Meets Piano: The Battle in Reeves

By AMANDA SIERADZKI Arts + Entertainment Columnist

A midnight black grand piano sits center stage in Reeves Theatre, not a podium, nor a movie screen, but a piano with a mirrored underbelly, revealing a myriad of keys and strings.

It signifies the moment on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. when high culture said “hello” as the University of Tampa’s Department of Music presented another installment of the Minaret Concert Series.

The manila program boasted the backgrounds of the two great musicians I was about to see.

First, the Brazilian native and cellist extraordinaire Carlos Audi, who holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of South Carolina, and has performed with many prestigious orchestras.

Currently, he is on the faculty of Hillsborough Community College, Clearwater Christian College and Hillsborough County Public Schools.

Second, was Brazilian pianist Hamilton Tescarollo, whose many distinctions

Robert Pollock / The Minaret

Carlos Audi, on cello.

include performances worldwide, receiving “Teacher of the Year” award at the 2001 Schimmel-AZ Piano Young Artist Competition and recording the album La Revoltosa in 2009.

The evening began with a moment of silence as a tribute to the victims and survivors of Sept. 11.

Immediately, the audience felt united and maintained an unspoken connection throughout the evening.

After tuning their instruments Audi and Tescarollo launched into their opener, titled Capricho, Op. 49 by Heitor VillaLobos. I found that the word “capricho” loosely translates as “whimsical,” but this description seems to be untrue to the piece.

I would have called it “nostalgia” or “longing,” for the sounds gave the impression of an old man and woman looking back on their youth.

Frederic Chopin’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 65 followed.

The sonata was performed in four movements, or parts.

The piano and cello’s relationship during this tune was vivid enough to bring a sequence of scenes before my eyes.

Part I was discordant, much like two pieces of a puzzle refusing to fit together.

Crescendos and harmonies spiraled into a dizzying battle between piano and cello.

It was as if the instruments were two roommates in a tussle.

The piano was clearly upset about something the cello had done; perhaps leaving it’s extra strings and resin lying around the room.

The cello, being a pacifist, did not want to fight and instead tried to mollify the situation with its mellow reassurances.

The fight continues until finally the cello grows a backbone and screeches hauntingly.

The heated argument descends into a lullaby, and ascends right back up into a galloping allegro.

In the end, the piano and cello agree to disagree and so the sonata concludes.

Robert Pollock / The Minaret

Carlos and Hamilton battle it out on their instruments to create vibrate music.

After a brief intermission, Audi and Tescarollo returned with the Suite Populaire Espagnole by Manuel de Falla.

Audi explains that de Falla was influenced by Parisian impressionism, as well as the folk music of southern Spain which he incorporated into the suite that had been adapted from piano and voice to piano and cello.

The suite begins with El Pano Moruno in which the cello sings con un voz fantastico.

Part II is titled Nana which translates into “lullaby.”

The piece was soft and certainly bedtime worthy, but more closely resembled a grayish oatmeal mush for the ear.

I would have liked some honey, or cinnamon sugar or at the very least a few raisins to be thrown into the composition to spice things up.

Part III titled Polo arrived with a bucket of cold water to wake me up.

The high energy pulsating from the piano keys sounded like a breaking news segment and screamed of importance.

If Polo was a temper tantrum, then Part V, Asturiana, was the apology to my eardrums.

Finally the Suite ended with Jota, a fun, click-your-heels-you’re-so-happy, little ditty that picked at the cello strings and coerced them into sounding like an electric guitar.

Audi and Tescarollo’s final hurrah came in the form of Estados D’Alma by Edmundo Villani-Cortes.

They only performed the final two movements from Estados which were titled Terno and Audacioso.

Terno featured a cello solo. As the piano joined in, the music became sleepy.

The second movement ended up being my favorite of the night. Audacioso is Portuguese for “audacious.”

The piece used music that is true to the traditional baião dance of northern Brazil.

I found myself involuntarily smiling by the end of the performance.

As Audi and Tescarollo played the final note, a member of the audience chuckled at the musicians’ audacious smirks.

They took their final bows to the soundtrack of a standing ovation.

The night was equal to one spent at Tampa’s Performing Arts Center with the convenience of having to go no further than Reeves Theatre.

This free event gave UT students a taste of sophistication fit for a Saturday night out on the town.

When piano and cello meet, an interesting relationship most certainly takes shape.

If you missed this concert, don’t despair! UT’s Department of Music will present another free event, “Celebrating the Soul of Spanish Music” on Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Grand Salon.

You can find more concert opportunities by checking the events calendar at www. ut.edu.

Amanda Sieradzki can be reached at asieradzki@spartans.ut.edu.

Julissa Veloz - ‘Taking Control’ of Her Music

By SOPHIE ERBER Arts + Entertainment Columnist

Julissa Veloz started off her senior year of college in Poland.

She was not studying abroad or on a family vacation, but rather she was performing her hit single, “Take Control,” at the 2010 ESKA Radio Bydgoszcz Festival in Poland, a two night national festival where Polish and international musicians perform.

Veloz, now 22, has been singing since she was five years old. She was classically trained since the age of ten and has always dreamed of becoming a professional singer, but unlike most, her dream came true.

Veloz auditioned in Jacksonville, Florida for season eight of American Idol and received one of the famed “golden tickets” to Hollywood.

“I saw it as an open door, and good exposure,” Veloz said about auditioning for the show. “It was strange though. While my season was airing, I was back here at school. People would tell me, ‘Hey, I saw you on T.V. last night, good job! But wait, you’re here?’ I just couldn’t talk about what happened on the show.”

Veloz grew up loving R&B, even though her own style of music fits into the

dance or pop genre.

“I listened to a lot of Mariah, Deborah Cox, Nat King Cole and Marc Anthony.

And I love Whitney,” she said. Naturally, she sang a Whitney Houston hit for her Idol audition even though with the judges, Whitney is usually off-limits. She performed “I Have Nothing,” while wearing a pageant crown and banner across her chest.

Veloz is now a senior marketing major here at UT, but she is not sure exactly what she wants to do with her degree.

“It all depends on how the music goes,” she said.

So far, her music has been going well.

Her single “Take Control” was released in February of this year and plays on more than 40 U.S. radio stations, including Tampa’s own 933FLZ. It topped the Billboard Dance Charts, climbing all the way to number eight, above Rihanna’s “Rude Boy,” but the U.S. is not the only country that has picked up her first hit single.

“Take Control” is popular in over ten European countries, including Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, Greece and of course, Poland, who liked Veloz’s music so much that they chose her as one of the fifteen singers to represent the songs of the

year in the ESKA Radio show.

Next month, her new single “Predator” comes out in both Spanish and English.

“This song is a little more … poppy,” she said. “I actually wrote it before ‘Take Control.’ It’s still along the same lines though. The words really empower women.”

Veloz always writes her own music and performs as a solo artist without a live band.

Her only musical collaboration is with her producer and sound engineer.

With seven to eight songs already for her album in the works, she plans on writing twenty to thirty more before the record is even packaged or released.

“I want a lot to choose from, so I can pick the best,” she said.

For now, her single is available for purchase on iTunes and other online music sites.

“In a nutshell, it’s going to follow the same concept as ‘Take Control,’” said Veloz of her first album.

“It’s about a strong woman who knows what she wants, who doesn’t have time for games.

And as far as the music itself, there will be a mix of edgy pop, rock and electronic.

Pretty much a cluster (you-know-what) of everything I love.”

With her ambition for both her music and her education, Veloz will undoubtedly rock, pop and dance her way to the top.

Keep your eyes open, or rather, your ears open for this up-and-coming Spartan star.

Sophie Erber can be reached at serber@ spartans.ut.edu.

Courtesy of Julissa Veloz / The Minaret

Julissa, in the front right, on the bus in Poland

8 THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010 Beiber’s Letter Jacket, Ke$ha’s Garbage Bag and Perry’s Skating-esque Dress A Review of the Best and Worst Dressed Celebrities at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards

By AMANDA MARRERO Arts + Entertainment Columnist

The white carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards are known for having headliner-worthy outfits, and boy did some celebs turn heads as they arrived at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, Cal i. on Sunday.

Seriously, what was going through Lady Gaga’s mind when she decided to wear an outfit made entirely of raw meat?

Maybe it was some sort of an attempt at an artistic statement, but I think it was just plain gross.

As I watched her walk on stage to accept an award, I was deeply hoping that it was not real meat.

I feel bad for whoever had to be near her.

I know she is known for her outrageous fashion moments, but come on: meat – really?

I guess when you’ve got 11 nominations and eight wins you can pull off these kinds of things.

Lady Gaga may have changed into the night’s worst outfit, but she arrived at the Nokia Theater looking regal.

She donned an exquisite red and gold gown from the last collection of late Alexander McQueen.

I have to give her major props for at least putting on the 10-inch McQueen “Armadillo” lobster claw-shaped stilettos, even though she could barely walk in them.

Overall, this first outfit is definitely the night’s best look.

On that note, Ke$ha is great, but her outfit made from garbage bags was not a great decision.

Wearing black is perfect for the white carpet, but not in the form of household products.

The garbage bags, she stated, were purchased at Home Depot.

It was an utter disaster for someone whose style is typically quite trendy.

Both Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj need new stylists after showing up to the VMAs wearing what they did.

Katy Perry’s figureskater-esque Marchesa dress is the perfect colors (black and white) for the evening, but didn’t belong on the white carpet; maybe an ice rink.

Nicki Minaj had a nomination for Best New Artist, so her choice of attire for the night should have been much more exciting than a beige jumpsuit with black platform heels.

The jumpsuit did absolutely nothing for her curvy shape, and looked rather ridiculous around her hips.

What is even more outrageous is the massive distraction of a necklace hung around her neck and matching bracelet.

The entire outfit was a huge miss.

The Hills star Lo Bosworth generally looks super adorable at red (or white) carpet events, but one thing you cannot do when you have broad shoulders is wear a sweetheart neckline.

The gold color of the dress was great though, for both the event and her body type.

Another Hills star walked the white carpet Sunday night and put her sense of fashion to good use.

Audrina Patridge looked very pretty in her silver gem-encrusted Isaac Mizrahi mini dress.

Illustration: Mike Trobiano photos via flickr/ The Minaret

Celebrities dress to strip up reaction at the award show.

The sparkly dress looked great with matching strappy sandals, making the star one of the night’s best dressed.

Young Hollywood starlet Selena Gomez looked very classy in an age appropriate metallic silver Reem Acra strapless gown.

The gown is from the Resort 2011 collection and featured a jeweled sweetheart neckline, bustier bodice and draped skirt.

Gomez had the perfect accessories for the embellishments on her neckline: matching Sergio Rossi heels and jewelry from Baccarat.

Some men also arrived at the Nokia Theater dressed to impress.

I haven’t gotten into the whole “Bieber Fever” ordeal, but I do have to say that he

looked absolutely adorable Sunday night wearing a “B” Varsity Jacket and black jeans.

Drake also appeared wearing all black.

His ensemble was head to toe Tom Ford, and I must say he looked very cute.

All-black is definitely an excellent look for both men and women, especially on the white carpet.

It looks luxurious and is always classy.

Most of the looks from Sunday night fell into this category of exquisite style and impeccable taste, yet as always, we have to love the celebrities that were complete misses.

Amanda Marrero can be reached at amarrero@spartans.ut.edu.

UT Student Backstage at New York City’s Fashion Week

By AMY BROWN Arts + Entertainment Columnist

NEWYORK - Outlandishly dressed people, check; celebrities and their entourage, check; paparazzi and camera men for every magazine and online fashion outlet, check.

Freshly painted runway, check. Cue the blaring house music, turn off all the lights and start the show.

What was the freezing room, suddenly becomes warm with the lights that line the runway.

The first model appears from the back and struts down the catwalk as everyone directs their gaze upon the creation that they are wearing.

At times the clothes are crazy and abstract with sequins, tulle and latex, other times I found myself saying, “I could really see myself wearing this.”

For a show that can run from seven to 20 minutes, its hard to imagine that the four hours you worked to set up a show can pay off. Believe me, it does.

There is nothing like seeing a designers collection for the first time, especially during New York Fashion Week.

New York Fashion Week occurs twice a year, once in February to showcase fall, and once in September to uncover spring and summer.

Most people who attend are related to the business either as designers or through a magazine or public relations.

It is however, possible to get tickets through connections and I was told if you stand outside the event and there is room, you can actually get in to see a show.

Being a volunteer at Fashion Week was an experience of a lifetime.

I decided to volunteer because of my

Amy Brown / The Minaret

These are the chairs Amy had to put in a straight line with a string.

love for fashion as well as my dream of attending the show.

As a volunteer, you were responsible for literally setting up the show, start to finish: we placed programs on seats, labeled chairs and made sure everything was neat and tidy.

I had no idea what it meant to plum line a row of seats, until I was asked to.

For those who don’t know, you hold a string (one person on each end) in a straight line while others line the chairs up, making a neat and straight row of chairs.

I’m not saying that plum lining was the highlight of my volunteering experience, but it goes to show how each event must be as close to perfect as possible.

Right before the doors would open to guests, we would be assigned sections to help and aid people who couldn’t find their seats or needed assistance.

Luckily the sections that I consistently got were front row, which is the most exciting.

I got to see all kind of celebrities: J. Alexander (as you would know him from America’s Next Top Model), Shannon Elizabeth, Rachel Zoe and Sarah Jessica Parker.

I even got to fill in a seat front row at the Prabal Gurung show, which was a 41 Looks show, filled with bright blues, orange, creme and crystal studded gowns and dresses.

Some trends that I saw for spring/ summer 2011 were digital prints, sheer and flowy fabrics and eye-popping color: oranges and blues, neutrals, simple silhouettes and long and loose pieces.

Amy Brown can be reached at laurel. albrown@spartans.ut.edu.

Amy Brown / The Minaret

Amy was able to see some of the new designer collections on the runway at fashion week.

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

9

CAL Dean uses Einstein, Ancient Flute to show Music is Universal

By MANDY ERFOURTH Arts + Entertainment Editor

Haig Mardirosian, the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters stepped up to the podium on Thursday in Reeves Theatre and said, “Delighted to see all of you, especially the students.

My faculty and colleagues have stopped by to figure out if their dean knows how to think.” The crowd laughed and with this comment felt a sense of what to expect for the next hour.Mardirosian regretted to inform the audience about technical difficulties.

His presentation was based upon big impressive sound, but because of the difficulties he told the crowd they would only hear one sound when they should have been hearing two or five. He began to speak and played the first clip of music and said, “Well, there you go, that’s as big as it gets right now.” So much for that.

The question of the afternoon was: “What’s music all about and where does it come from?”

“If we take this question — what is music — we can define it in at least four different ways. Just so you’re aware, all music is physics. Doesn’t it kill you? You thought you were in the arts and now you’re taking a science course,” Mardirosian said while preparing to define the question at hand.

He informed the students that there can be no music without vibration, whether from string, air or electronic vibration.

According to the Dean, genres are created when groups of people do things similarly and come to be identified as a style from a certain time and place.

Then there is the anthropological view of music in relation to culture and behavior.

Mardirosian showed a picture of Lady Gaga on his PowerPoint and explained the reasoning for the picture. He said she is defiantly a representative of culture, time and place.

He also said that someone told him that if he was going to talk about music he should really use a picture of Lady Gaga, “This is the best I can do for the afternoon, so there you are.”

Acording to the Dean, the New York Times a year ago printed an article about a discovered flute made out of a vulture bone and found to be at least 35,000 years old, dating back to when Neanderthals still roamed the earth. It is considered the oldest musical find in history. He then played a clip of a person playing a replica of this vulture bone flute.

“Does this sounds like it’s that old?”

Mardirosian asked. The consensus in the audience was that it did not. The piece sounded a little like Three Blind Mice.

Mardirosian began to sing in the tune that the flute had just played: “Three blind dead mice...” He noted, “There’s an extra little hook in there.”

The dean explained that this song was chosen not because the person knew what was being played 35,000 years ago, but just to show that it is possible to play a more modern piece of music on an ancient instrument.

In fact, he said the positioning of the holes were the same as a contemporary instrument, like the bamboo flute.

Mardirosian said he had gotten one in a souvenir shop that looked almost identical to the ancient vulture bone flute. He played the same notes on his own souvenir bamboo flute and it sounded very similar to the vulture bone flute.

Leaves in the Gutter by Mikey Rumore I still feel the rough grime from the dusty roof as we lay watching the garnet harvest moon. The heat of another Florida autumn made us damp. With my arm around your sticky waist we became like the leaves, fallen and discarded. Leaves don’t fall here, at least not like they did back in Rockford, where the foliage piled so high I would bury my adolescence beneath them and hide from the world. We were seventeen—the age of supreme nothing. We had matching black Chucks, the same angsty haircut that draped down to our eyes. I don’t remember whose house it was. Just that it was some friend of a friend’s party in rich gated suburbia. Then the neighbors complained about the noise and the beer bottles lining the streets and the teenagers pissing in their front yards. This was long after you led me to the vine-ridden fence on the side of the house adjoining a garden. We climbed it ungracefully. I was drunk on whiskey and innocence when the police lights stained the leaves, here where they show no rich amber, gold, or orange. The teenybopper masses fled, shouting, “Bacon! Pigs! Bacon!” deep into the woods. Into the trees, most leaves still hanging on to their tangled branches. Refusing to fall. We listened to the policeman pound hopelessly at the front door. We did not fall. We just lay motionless in each other’s arms, oblivious to whatever happened next. I don’t know how I pulled myself up there, where we vowed no force would bring us down until the moon evaporated.

“If everyone makes music and we’ve traced that back to the beginnings of human existence on the planet, then by rights, by virtue of evolution of who we are and where we sit in our genetic make-up, we should have the capacity to at least understand and speculate on musical purposes.

We have the same ability to think about this as did someone in antiquity,” Mardirosian said. Mardirosian asked the audience to think of a good reason why people make music. He played music to help the students and faculty think.

Some examples of some of the things the audience came up with were: “to defy language barriers,” “for self expression,” “escapism,” “forms of celebration,” “entertainment”’ and “ritual.” Mardirosian used these examples to ask the audience to vote on what they thought the top five purposes for music were.

He guessed 30 votes for both “entertainment” and “self expression,” 22 for “ritual,” 20 for “as a form celebration,” ”12 for “escapism”and six votes for “defying language barriers.”

“Don’t you love my statistical method; this is scholarly work; they do it on the fly,” Mardirosian said about his haphazard guessing method and laughed. When the Dean worked for another institution, he began his classes with a similar question and collected the data.

Over 10 years, he had 286 responses.

What he discovered was that the results were similar: 1. self expression, 2. entertainment, 3. dance, 4. social activity and 5. a learned intellect. Mardirosian said the last reason usually came with a grumble and came from children with parents who made them play in the band.

According to Mardirosian, Albert Einstein was considered “stupid” in school, until his parents made him learn the violin.

Einstein spontaneously made music that described problems he was working on.

This goes along with the “Mozart effect.” Music does not make you smarter, but instead enables the brain to achieve the potential for intelligence that the brain already has.

Apparently the ability to learn is connected to tempo.

The noise fires up the brain cells. Sitting in silence is no longer considered the best way to learn.

The Max Plank Society did a study asking people who had never heard western music the same questions the Dean asked the audience. The people came up with the same answers as the westerners had. Mardirosian left the audience with a question to ponder: why does this happen?

Mandy Erfourth can be reached at mandy.tt.carr@gmail.com.

Josh Napier / The Minaret

The Dean of CAL discusses the roots of music with students and faculty.

10 SEPTEMBER 17 2010 | THE MINARET

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Campus Cribs: Urso Hall, Accessorized

By LAUREL SANCHEZ Arts + Entertainment Columnist

Imagine walking into a room and instantly feeling at home.

Home is a place where you can leave you shoes at the door, climb into bed, watch your favorite TV show and snuggle up with a good book and cup of coffee.

For junior graphic design major Mike Trobiano his room in Urso Hall has become an extension of his personal style.

Overlooking beautiful downtown Tampa, it’s easy to agree, Urso has one of the best views on campus.

But perhaps one of the most interesting elements in his room isn’t the fantastic views, but rather what surround them.

Around his windows Trobiano has layered old book pages to create a textural element in the rather flat nine foot ceilings, making a dramatic first impression.

“I got the idea for the page wall from a collage I made for a design class last year.

I picked up a book from The Old Tampa Book Company downtown for a buck, brought it home and had at it.”

Borrowing another book from a friend, he estimates that it took over 250 pages to cover up the wall.

“I mean, I never had any intention of reading the particular book; I believe it’s about mythical creatures or something, so after the first few pages came out, it was just a matter of how quickly I could tear and roll tape.”

Both books date back to the early 1900s.

The collage is a masterpiece unlike anything found in a typical dorm room.

Floor to ceiling, Trobiano layered pages staggering upon each other so thick in areas, the wall’s teal paint is barely noticeable.

Color is also another notable detail that directly reflects his personal style.

Black, white and various neutral tones of chocolate browns and crème tans are placed around the room in the form of decorative pillows, fleece throws, sheets and his light linen couch.

When asked why he chose these colors, Trobiano said he feels more comfortable surrounded by the colors he wears.

Since he’s always on the go, being the Assistant Editor-in-Chief of The Minaret on top of regular college life, he designed his room as a quiet retreat where he can relax.

His style — very affordable.

With the exception of his couch and a few other items, almost everything in his room is under $40.

For example, when looking for wall art, Mike opted to take black and white pictures he snapped with a 35mm from his class portfolio and position them in a grid pattern.

He also has a lot of personal items like the oil painting his uncle made from his early days as an artist that make his space a direct reflection of his character.

“A lot of items in my room are things I’ve collected over time. The 1950s Westinghouse fan next to my sink I found at a yard sale for like two dollars. The brass dishes I picked up at a thrift store off Dale Mabry. The bamboo tray is actually a drawer organizer I got from TJ Maxx.

But I think one of my favorite pieces is the ceramic owl.”

A few weeks into his ceramics course last year, he modeled one of his pieces after an image of a lime green owl he found online.

About a month after the semester ended, he came across the same owl from the image in white at an antique store.

“When I found it, I was so shocked I almost dropped it. Thankfully it was only $7.50 because at that point, it didn’t matter how much it cost. It was coming home with me!”

Laurel Sanchez can be reached at laurel.sanchez1@gamil.com.

Abby Sanford / The Minaret

Mike decorated his wall with black and white pictures from his portfolio.

Do you want your dorm room featured in The Minaret?

Contact us at minaret.arts@gmail.com

Abby Sanford / The Minaret

Mike’s white owl that is found in an antique store displayed on his vanity.

eReaders Rapidly Replacing Students’ Textbooks

By TODD SANBORN Arts + Entertainment Columnist

During the first week of class it seems like the entire school is standing in line outside the Barnes and Noble Bookstore to pick up their books for class.

Most ordered online, but those who didn’t are lost meandering the aisles attempting to find a used copy of Persepolis in order to save three or four dollars.

Imagine, though, that we didn’t have to worry about all of this. Instead, we log on to SpartanWeb during the summer, look at our schedule and, instead of ordering tangible textbooks, log onto our favorite e-bookstore and purchase all our required texts, which are immediately downloaded to our eReader.

Since about the turn of the century, the use of eReaders and e-bookstores have skyrocketed as people have lost the need for tangible objects.

Instead we can log on to our favorite Internet based store and our purchases are immediately downloaded to our computer or other device.

While there are hundreds of devices in the eReading market, five stand out as majority shareholders, each with its own online bookstore.

The Amazon Kindle, Border’s Kobo, Sony Reader Touch, the Barnes and Noble Nook and the Apple iPad, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

The Amazon Kindle (WiFi $139, Free 3G + WiFI $189) has become Amazon’s best selling product over the past two years and according to PC Magazine is “the best

dedicated e-book reader you can buy ....”

The Nook will hold up to 1,500 books The Kindle store has over 670,000 and like the other devices can be expanded titles and hundreds of newspapers from to hold even more. around the globe available for download The newest to the market is the Apple over Amazon’s Whispersync (their 3G iPad (starting at $499 for a Wifi model or download network). $629 for a 3G + Wifi version).

The Border’s Kobo is priced at Apple has created the iBook store $130 dollars and lacks the 3G and Wifi which makes reading books on the iPad connectivity that most other eReaders just as fast and simple as the others. include.

The iPad can also double as an Internet With 1GB of on device memory, tablet device, mobile song player, movie the Kobo can hold 1,000 titles and is viewer and small computer. expandable via SD memory card to hold Other companies such as Barnes and more books or photos.

Noble, Amazon, and Border’s have also Border’s also created apps for the iPad has an online which makes having multiple “I feel like most bookstore with e-bookstore accounts a snap of my classes titles starting at (also great for finding the require having $5.99. cheapest book and saving a a big textbook, The Sony little money). imagine biology Reader Touch is A quick bit of research without having a $230 dollars and on Barnes and Noble’s real book in front is a touch screen University of Tampa page of you. I can’t device unlike showed some interesting imagine it!” other eReaders: numbers. it provides a more tactile experience and After some work it was possible to find can also be used for note taking. a book available from “Nook Study,” the Again this device lacks wireless textbook download section of Barnes and connectivity and can hold 1,200 books Noble’s bookstore. (also expandable via SD or Memory Stick Ceremony, required for Great Books cards).

(ENG125), is available for $16 new, $12 The Barnes and Noble Nook (Wifi $149, used or $12.99 on instant Nook download.

3G + Wifi $199) is more unique compared Comparable in price, but without the to the other eReaders. need to carry around heavy books, a user Not only does the Nook have a 6-inch can instead hold a small device in the palm touch screen like other devices, it also has of their hand that can double for other a 3.5-inch color touch screen that acts as uses. an online keyboard making searching for Most students around UT were hesitant books on an e-bookstore a breeze. when asked about eReaders and their

[ ]

opinions on them.

Joanne Yam, a junior, says, “I don’t know much about them, but I heard they weren’t that great.” Megan Ristic, a freshman, said, “I feel like most of my classes require having a big textbook, imagine biology without having a real book in front of you.

I can’t imagine it!”

PK Creedon, a freshman attending the Roehampton study abroad trip said, “I can’t really picture myself using one. I like to read an actual book, ya know?”

Morgan Decker, a freshman, is ready to jump on the bandwagon, “I want one!

They’re so cool and I like to read.”

Twenty years ago having a cell phone was only for the super rich, and even then they weren’t popular.

TVs have changed immensely over just the past four to five years, and they are still working on making them slimmer and even more advanced.

While still in its early years the eReader, just like every other piece of mass produced technology in the world, is destined to be changed, made more consumer friendly and drop enough in price for it to be a commonday object in every one’s household.

Universities around the country have already introduced devices into their everyday lectures and classes, so the days of no one having an eReader are numbered, just like the pre-everyone-has-a-cell-phone era.

It’s now only a matter of time before the eReader is the next big device of the holiday season.

Todd Sanborn can be reached at toddalan@me.com.

11

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

For Parkour Contestants ‘This is Playtime’

By ELLEN KOTAPISH Arts + Entertainment Columnist

TAMPA - “Parkour isn’t a sport. It is an exhibition of one’s life through movement where there is no right or wrong,” said Red Bull Art of Motion 2007 champion Ryan Doyle Saturday afternoon.

Last weekend, Centro Ybor was transformed into a parkour course, including a grand staircase and several obstacles for the athletes to utilize in their performance in the Red Bull Art of Motion 2010.

The competition started in 2007 and includes a mixture of the disciplines of free running, parkour, martial arts and gymnastics.

They take what discipline they know and make their own style with their unique way of getting from “point A to point B,” Doyle said.

The name parkour comes from the French word “parcours,” which translates as “the way through” or “the path.”

Parkour’s origins come from an actual training program for French Special Forces known as “Parcours du combatant” or “The Path of the Warrior.”

It was a son of a Parcours Warrior David Belle who began this body- and mind-challenging craze.

Judging this event was Ryan Doyle, Solomon Brende, Brian Taylor and Daniel Arroyo, all parkour athletes themselves.

“This is playtime for us. There are no rules here, and I can do whatever I want,” competitor Dan Hust, 22, from Los Angeles said. Dans discipline is gymnastics.

At 3 p.m. the athletes came onto the course to warm up and test the obstacles.

They flung from one platform to the

other by doing flips and walking on their hands.

Some warmed up on the grand staircase, clearing several steps effortlessly by soaring through the air and rolling into a somersault.

Others simply worked on tricks in the center like “helicopters” and “gainers.”

There were athletes from the USA, Sweden, Germany and, of course, France.

The competition started at 4 p.m. and one by one the athletes went through their 90 second timed runs.

Besides the jaw-dropping flips from the top deck, the competitor’s support for one another surprised viewers.

“There was respect and encouragement for one another within the competitors.

They didn’t have your typical ‘dogeat-dog’ attitude in the competition,” UT student Carol Cahem saidq.

As Travis Wong, the host of the event, announced each athlete’s name, fellow competitors whooped and hollered in support.

Among the spectators were parkour artists in training who went to see their idols at work.

Connor Hughes, who takes tumbling classes at East Coast Gymnastics, was one.

He almost made his way into this fall’s Red Bull competition.

“Parkour is part of a lifestyle. It has no restrictions in what you do or who does it. It’s about helping anybody who wants to learn.”

As the preliminaries ended, the 20 athletes were narrowed down to eight finalists.

Once again it was them against the course. This time the competitors were

Red Bull staff member showing off his skills at the composition.

tired, but they performed to their best ability.

It wasn’t long until the judges announced the champion and two runners-up.

Yohann Leroux, who represents the fast growing organization WFPF (World Freerunning and Parkour Freestyle), was titled the Red Bull Art of Motion’s 2010 winner.

Jason Paul came in second place and Kyle “Epic” Mendoza ranked third.

As the winners were announced, the remaining, anxious athletes cheered for each other.

The three winners were given Red Bulls, which they shook up and sprayed each other with in good humor.

There seemed to be no regrets or hard feelings.

“I never go in with a mindset of winning,” Leroux said with Red Bull dripping off his body.

“The world is a playground and all you need is your imagination,” Mendoza said.

“It’s good to be a part of history in the making.”

“The art form of Parkour is growing and people are becoming more aware of it through organizations like WFPF,” said cofounder David Thompson. “Parkour

Justin Davis / The Minaret

honors difference in style and individuality, and we want to bring it safely to North America.”

Next Friday another competition will be held in Boston.

For more information about Red Bull Art of Motion visit www.redbullusa.com/ artofmotiontampa or www.redbulusa.com/ artofmotionboston.

For more on the WFPF organization and even Parkour itself visit www.WFPF. com.

Ellen Kotapish can be reached at ekotapish@yahoo.com.

20 competitors selected to compete were: Dan Hust, 22; Vincent Coryell, 18; Caine Sinclair, 24; Marvin Ross, 18; Robbie Corbett, 24; Caleb Puka, 21; Darren Leitheizer, 18; Will Spencer, 21; Jonathan Hannah, 19; Nick Zaleski, 24; Kyle “Epic” Mendoza, 21; Cory Downing, 21; Justin Oaks, 19; Jonathan Tapp, 21; Thomas Tapp, 21; Tim Burton, 19; Jason Paul, 19; Yohann Leroux, 24; Marcus Gustavsson, 21; Cato Aspmo, 25.

12 SEPTEMBER 17 2010 | THE MINARET

Commentary

Spartan Goodfellas: The Truth Behind UT’s Mafia Front

By JOHN JACOBS Columnist

Based on last week’s issue with a student being left out of housing and being forced to sleep outside, it made me take a closer look at everything around me at UT and I figured out the truth which is UT is all part of a mafia front.

It’s been so obvious this whole time with all the “construction”, the “expansion” of our campus, and the fact that our school is becoming more and more driven by money itself.

First, look at our school’s location. Our campus is only a couple miles from the port of Tampa making it that much easier to pick up any “packages” being delivered by boat.

We’re only a three hour car ride from Miami, and what would be a more convenient stop along the long trip up north to drop off “goods” than Tampa?

Next, think about our campus. The school is supplying us with a beautiful new buildings and palm trees all around, great dorms with convenient dining, and anything else a student could need but that’s all just a distraction.

All that extra money we’re paying through tuition and even individual pieces of paper now has to be going somewhere right?

Well it is, to all that “construction” (very original). Sure we’ve had a chapel being built for what feels like the last ten years, (being built with bricks of what by the way?) but that chapel is being funded by “The Godfather” aka John Sykes.

So what’s the construction we’re really funding?

There’s the new health center and science buildings being built (which would

[

the area.

With such vague details, maybe it’s not so much digging going on as it is burying.

So if the mafia really was running UT, there would probably be a lot of Italian students with family ties to “the business”.

Well in case you haven’t noticed from all the last names (and black wife beaters and love for club music) it seems like %50 of all students at UT conveniently have

]

“Sure we’ve had a chapel being built for what feels like the last ten years, (being built with bricks of what by the way?) but that chapel is being funded by “The Godfather” aka John Sykes. So what’s the construction we’re really funding?.”

be perfect for mass producing some kind of chemical substance) but the other big move we’ve seen is the University buying out Valencia Gardens.

It would only be a coincidence that one of the biggest Mexican drug cartel leaders would be named Oscar Nava Valencia right? Maybe Valencia Gardens has been threatening UT’s “business” so they decided to buy them out to make sure they ran a monopoly on the whole Tampa area.

And besides the expansions we know about, what about all those days where water is unexpectedly turned off for some random period of time because of “more construction”.

Those mass emails never really explain anything in detail, they just let us know “waters going to be off” because construction workers are “digging” around

some sort of Italian background. Along with that, many students also happen to have sports cars like BMW’s and Mercedes which would be perfect for long efficient drives up north, where they all happen to live, just in case anything needs to be “transported” from UT to New York, New Jersey or Massachusetts.

Finally we have our two biggest players behind the UT mafia, President Ronald Vaughn and our biggest financial contributor John Sykes. President Vaughn conveniently has a background in “business and marketing” and based on UT’s website; once Vaughn became President in 1995 “the University’s annual budget grew from $28 million to $135 million.”

That sure is a huge amount of growth over a short period of time.

Now Vaughn has his own building

named after him with the exclusive top floor where he holds numerous “meetings” and even has his own private entrance to his office so he can come to and from campus without being seen.

Vaughn really does do a good job of not being seen, %75 of students probably don’t know what he looks like at all (which is just how he wants it).

And just like any mafia, Vaughn makes sure nobody gets a product without the money upfront because in this tough business you can’t trust anybody. Even if that means, “oh you don’t have the money yet? Then you don’t get a bed yet…”

Finally we come to the man behind everything, John Sykes. Since Vaughn began his reign, Sykes has been there every step of the way funding his “projects”. Sure the way we see it his contributions have been “charitable donations” but maybe it’s more of an investment.

The only problem was with mass expansion of “business” the campus ran out of room to hold everything and they needed more buildings.

But it needed to be a place that would take up a lot of room but be as unsuspicious as possible too.

They needed a building that would be so innocent that it would be the last place anyone would ever suspect them to hide something.

Some place like a Chapel.

At least when Sykes’ granddaughter inevitably gets married in the Sykes Chapel, we can ask for one favor, “on the day of his (grand) daughter’s wedding. “ John Jacobs can be reached at jjacobs@ spartans.ut.edu.

Love Is Assorted: Be Adventurous in Choosing Your Flavors

By TAYLOR KELLY Love and Sex Columnist

“Life is like a box of chocolate,” and the volume of options we have every day directly correlates with the decisions we make.

Like the many available choices you have when you take off the top on a box of assorted chocolates, deciding what to do or what to choose is not always easy.

Sometimes you are given an instruction sheet as to which chocolates are where so that you may choose which ones will satisfy your craving. Other times you are left high and dry to pick and choose blindly.

In many ways, love is like a box of chocolates. Perhaps you prefer the rich taste of melt-in-your-mouth dark, the sweet and creamy white or the exotic ‘I-don’t-speakmuch-English’ fruity chocolate.

Either way, we all have to make the decisions as to which flavor we want in our mouths, and it isn’t always an easy choice.

As we work our way through each row and layer of available flavors, we decide whether or not to try a particular chocolate, many times simply by the outer appearance.

If the chocolate looks unappealing, some people throw it out, bypass it, give it a little lick for good measure, but rarely do they dive right in to take a bite.

Because of this impulse, many commodities are left untouched and alone. Before you ignore that odd-looking chocolate, take a closer look and you might find yourself a gem.

I was sitting in a Microeconomics lecture the other day, and the whole time,

all I could think about was love. leaving their comfort zone. These people to enjoy the different options, but always The term ‘Marginal Decision Making’ ran through my head: weighing marginal costs and benefits of a decision. As the professor continued the lecture, I started to think. In life, we are all handed our own box of assorted chocolates.

When we look into what lies below the cover, we must immediately make a selection. We are given these options to work with, and it seems as if we must weigh the cost and benefits of choosing a certain chocolate.

Will this one cause me to gain weight?

Will this one have a horrible after taste?

These are often same reasons we close our hearts to love, because we are not sure if the possibility of pain is worth the experience.

For the students on campus, our boxes of chocolates are extremely diverse. They are made up of flavors from all over the yummyinthetummyblog/ flickr.com world. Occasionally, you get bored with On campus there are many different assortments of people, pick your flavor. your options and begin dipping into others’ boxes. are the ones who find their chocolate and remember that if your true love doesn’t This natural search for the perfect stick with it — through thick or thin. appear in your box you are still young and chocolate will continue until that special The second moral I learnt during the resilient, and there is still much variety in one is finally found. Some people have lesson was: Value is Subjective — some the world around you. strong cravings that push them to bite into things are more important to certain people Often times we all get too wrapped up in more than one flavor at once, leaving their than others. The value of the chocolates the movies and television shows that depict mark in as much as they can. These risky in your box all depends on your personal love as something we must have now. people aren’t interested in which flavor styles and taste buds.

In our culture, instant gratification lurks wins the award for most appetizing.

To you, Mr. Exotic Raspberry might and creates unnecessary stress for people They want it all and they don’t care sound perfect, but to him, Miss Sweet who want it now, who want their happy how they get it. Of course, there are those and Creamy White is what will be coming ending now. Life is all about growth and people who find their favorite and stick to home with him tonight. Sometimes this self-discovery, so taste the flavors, go wild, it. Have you ever met someone who goes value lasts a lifetime and the marginal and when you do find that favorite, always into an ice cream shop and always gets the cost is worth the pleasure. Other times, the keep it around because we all know that same flavor? Sure, they might randomly ask value is only there for the night, a mere yummy “chocolate” is hard to beat! to try the crazy new Superman flavor, but midnight snack.

Taylor Kelly can be reached at when it comes right down to it, they are not Take the time while you’re in college taylormatthewkelly@hotmail.com.

THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

COMMENTARY

13

Guys vs. Girls: Who‘s Guilty of ‘Politicking’ and ‘Campaigning’

By DOMINIQUE C. BARCHUS Love and Sex Columnist

One of my favorite debates with guys has to deal with what I call “man-hoeing.”

This basically signifies men’s need to go out and get with as many girls as possible.

Of course, some disagree and say that girls are just as bad and try to go out and get with as many boys as they can, and that it’s not just a guy thing. They (the guys) also say they just aren’t down for “campaigning” right now, they’re just “politicking” and that the girls are guilty of it too. Let’s explain these new words.

They will not be found in the dictionary or online and are not common knowledge. Instead they stem from UT freshmen Christian Perry and Stefon Barfield. They are code words similar to the ones on Jersey Shore (i.e. “grenades,” “landmines,” “buttuhface,” etc.) Politicking can be thought of as a short-term thing. The process is meet, flirt and get physical, a “no-stringsattached” policy. Campaigning is more of a long term thing. The goal in mind would be to make an actual relationship with the person you have met.

Now, who is more likely to be accused of politicking, males or females? Males say it’s pretty equal and that there are obviously girls who are in the same state of mind, because these are the girls that the

guys are getting with. Females say guys do it more often and girls are looking for love, a.k.a. trying to campaign. Based on my observations, there are a lot of girls who are down for politicking; take the girls that like to come to my hall between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. to meet up with guys and chill in their rooms. I won’t mention any names, but I will say that I know they aren’t playing Xbox or PS3 into the wee hours of the morning. Just sayin’.

As far as girls politicking more often than guys, it doesn’t seem to be true. By talking to groups of girls and guys on campus, I’ve found out that a lot of girls think casual sex is okay, but they are looking for something more. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of girls that have said they are just looking for a good time, but more often girls seem to want to be with just one guy. The guys on the other hand were all for the one night lovers, except one. UT student Thomas Gentil says, “I’m not down for casual sex. I’m more of a romantic.”

Aw. Cute. Finally, a sweet guy.

This isn’t going to be a guy-bashing article, girls must be touched upon for a minute. Being a girl myself, I have become witness to catching “easy” or desperate girls in the act. Sometimes it’s really not the guys’ fault for “hooking up” with a girl.

Sometimes girls throw themselves on guys and lots of them, not all, can’t resist the invitation. Even so, this is not an excuse.

So guys, using the line “Hey, she came on to me,” is not going to save you every time you have a one-night stand. Now when it comes to politicking, lots of issues may arise. The biggest one being that sometimes

Katie McGruder/ The Minaret

Both sexes are initiating the “politicking” and “campaigning” on campus.

both sexes are not aware that this is a nostrings-attached thing. If one person catches deeper feelings, you should be prepared for there to be issues. Be honest and just say you’re not looking for a relationship.

It may make that person change their mind about being “DTS” (down to snuggle, for all you non-Jersey Shore watchers), but it’s better to put all your cards on the table.

Trust me, it will not be fun having someone call or text you all the time trying to make the situation more than what you had intended.

Another piece of advice to the girls: guys can spot which girls they think they can get with from a mile away. Don’t put yourself out there too much. What I mean is, don’t

talk like you’re down for anything and everything when you’re really not. Also, to put it bluntly, don’t dress like a cheap hooker and don’t act like a sexual slob (whether sober or drunk). Guys will take it the wrong way and they will try to act upon it.

You don’t want to seem like something you’re not. By the way, other girls will talk about you. It’s in our nature; “High School” drama never ceases to exist. Lesson for today: be aware, be honest and be smart. If you’re not, then you will become a part of the “IFF” (I’m F---ed Foundation) like Ronnie from Jersey Shore and I’m pretty sure you don’t want that. Good luck loving!

Dominique C. Barchus can be reached at dominique.barchus@spartans.ut.edu.

McNiff Fitness Center Offers More Flirting than Fitness

By HANNAH WEBSTER Love and Sex Columnist

I entered the McNiff Fitness Center in sweatpants and a faded camp T-shirt. My face went without make-up, my legs were left unshaved and my unwashed hair hung loosely in a ponytail. Yes. I looked hot.

I thought this was appropriate wear for an hour of sweating and unattractive attempts to do crunches on a massive plastic ball, but I was soon proved wrong.

On the elliptical next to me stood what can only be described as a want-to-be “Girl Next Door.” Her cheeks were spilling so far out of her spandex “Playboy” shorts, that it was nearly indecent exposure. Her belly button ring (which consisted of about 3 inches of dangly embellishments) was clearly visible below her skin-tight hotpink crop-top.

As the glare from her acrylic nails in the fluorescent light nearly blinded me while her arms traveled back and forth with the movement of the elliptical machine (on which the resistance was set at level 1), I kept asking myself what business she could possibly have here. At the rate she was going, it looked as though she wasn’t planning on breaking a sweat.

But the insanity doesn’t stop at the girls. On the other side of the dividing line between the cardio equipment and the freeweights stood the most testosterone-fueled center in all of UT, which could not be walked by without hearing the word “bro” used in excessive amounts. The majority of the men wore over-exposing muscle tees and drank protein shakes like reality stars drink vodka. If they ever looked up from

their weights, it was only to admire their overdeveloped muscles in the mirror or to check out a girl’s ass.

A male UT freshman (who chose to remain anonymous to avoid conflict) that regularly attends the gym spoke about the guys that normally workout next to him.

“They all just grunt when they lift heavy weight. It’s like they do it on purpose to get attention,” he stated.

It’s a rare sight to see any of these avid gym members wander away from their comfort zone, but an exception is often made when Zumba starts. As soon as female students pack into that class, the boys find a sudden need for yoga balls, which happen to rest right outside of the room’s transparent glass door.

The one time I did see a female venture over the line into the free-weight area, even I was admittedly confused. But nothing could match the looks on surrounding men’s faces, who looked even more confounded in that moment than they did in their Intro to Algebra class.

But in the midst of it all, I wanted to applaud the brave girl’s action in breaking the invisible barrier within McNiff — in a way that didn’t involve asking for someone’s number. Watching her lift more weight than the guy right next to her was also entertaining.

Yes, even though the fitness center separates the males from the females, interaction is bound to occur, especially since the sex drive is proven to increase with working out because of raised levels of testosterone (webmd.com).

It’s easily noticeable in the gym. A guy will use nearly any excuse to talk to a girl who is there working out, or to at least get a chance to flex their muscles within her viewing distance.

When I went to sit down on one of the weight machines, a male student immediately approached me and asked how long I would be using the machine.

Hannah Webster/ The Minaret

It seems that these days McNiff has more to do with appearance than health.

Surprised and irritated, seeing as I’d literally just taken a seat, I stuttered, “Err. I dunno. A few minutes I suppose.” He said “Ok,” but not before giving me an up-anddown look paired with a sly wink.

I’m still not sure if he was trying to get my number or steal my machine, but if he winked at me one more time, he would have lost an eye.

Whether it’s admitted or not, going to the gym is about way more than working out, especially on a college campus, where most put finding someone to satisfy their needs at the top of their priorities.The fitness center is no longer just a place for

students to get in shape, but to show off how in shape they already are. It creates a standard in the last place anyone wants to go to be judged.

As I left the fitness center that night, I thought about buying some more attractive gym clothes or at least some waterproof mascara. But it was easy to stop myself when I realized the last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to myself while working out. I like to sweat and work hard when I go to the gym — and to most, that’s just not pretty.

Hannah Webster can be reached at hannahkarine31@gmail.com.

14 SEPTEMBER 17 2010 | THE MINARET

COMMENTARY

Mascot Madness: What The Heck Is With the Bunny?

By NICOLE ROBINSON Columnist

You just got out of class.

Even though your appetite is almost diminished from dodging spittle from your professor in the “splash zone” area of the classroom, you make your way to Vaughn Center to tame the beast that is roaring in your stomach.

You start to walk and see a flash in the corner of your eye. You look around to see if anyone else saw but it doesn’t seem like it.

Okay. You continue along.

You hear a step — there it is again Okay, you know something’s up. You start to walk faster, but you feel a tingling on the back of your neck — the sensation you only get when there’s someone or something watching you.

Beads of sweat start to form on your forehead as your pace quickens still.

Although your muscles have stiffened, you force your head to turn and seek what might be behind you.

Something is definitely looking back at you. Something freaky, something vicious and terrifying is glaring back at you from behind the fence with menacing eyes. The blood drains from your face, your heart stops and — hold up.

Is that a rabbit?

Does this story sound familiar?

Perhaps that was a slight embellishment

on what students around campus have been experiencing the last couple of weeks, but while the notion of a mysterious rabbit running around can be funny for some, it can also be emotionally damaging for others.

No matter what your feelings might be, most have come with the same question: what is this all about?

Here are some theories: UT is changing its mascot to raise student morale: The “street cred.” a cute white bunnyrabbit will earn us will be staggering.

School spirit is sure to sky rocket. Can’t you see our opponents quivering in their cleats with cries of “GO BUNNY. GO!” bearing down on them from the stands?

There is a serial killer loose on campus: What better disguise is there than a seemingly harmless rabbit?

Trix are for kids, right? Just follow the Trix cereal to the bunny’s white van parked in that dark corner in Thomas Parking Garage.

No one will see you, let alone hear your screams.

The otherwise reclusive President Vaughn has finally found a way to spy on students: Is Big Brother watching? Yes, he is.

He’s eavesdropping on students around campus. Watch what you say, kiddies.

This is how they make homeless students pay for housing these days: Give the Rabbit some respect. Give him a hug even!

This poor student drew the short straw and has to become a mascot to earn housing. This may suck, but it sure beats homelessness.

Actually this “Rabbit Phenomenon” is

UT Dining Services / Facebook

These students seem to be taking the right approach to “Trix”

dining services’ clever way of unveiling a Battle of the Bands contest that could land a lucky student or band a trip to L.A. and a record deal. And that’s just one element of the surprises the rabbit has in store.

Although different from what we’re used to, this bunny might be a good thing after all.

It definitely is one of the crazier things to be seen around campus.

If it doesn’t end up giving anyone a heart attack, “Trix Rabbit” might become a regular visitor to us here on campus.

I’ll keep my distance for now, but be sure to keep an eye on the bunny (as strange as that sounds).

From what I hear there are more shenanigans to come.

Nicole Robinson can be reached at nrobinson@spartans.ut.edu.

Editorial: Fashion Dictating Culture If you are wearing pajama pants when you’re not in bed, headphones as jewelry instead of sound instruments, a self-cut tank top that shows your nipples, leggings in place of pants or if you have been Mystic tanned within the last 24-hour period, you are indirectly placing yourself at the bottom of society’s social pyramid.

Typically, most college students feel it’s unnecessary to look presentable — that it involves too much effort in the early morning hours before 10 a.m. clssses.

Spending no time on your outward appearance actually expresses more about your true image, which is usually exhausted from partying too hard with your new frat brothers the night before.

I find it amazing that as the single most influential form of consumer art available, so few actually care enough about their individual appearance to make a fashion statement.

Let me break it down for the guys.

Imagine fashion as the Super Bowl and every time you wear an XL and you’re a small, Brett Favre comes out of retirement.

Yes, I will admit, I don’t always wear a tie each day and, yes, my beard is a bit too reminiscent of Brawny’s lumberjack spokesman, but I always make the effort to look presentable because it’s irresponsible not to.

While I don’t expect anyone to own or wear an outfit made of meat or sport ten-inch Armadillo stilettos from Alexander McQueen, their impact on

Nathaniel St. Amour / The Minaret

our culture trickles down to the smallest of details.

It isn’t something to shy away from because it is too difficult to appreciate but rather, it’s meant to be embraced for its cultural relevance to common societal trends. At the close of New York Fashion Week, there is no better time to see where we are headed in our western culture and around the globe.

Throw on a new perspective to the possibility of liberating yourself to others without uttering a single syllable.

After all, anything is better than socks with Adidas sandals.

You can submit a letter to the editor online at theminaretonline.com.

THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

COMMENTARY

15

Labels Are Meant To Define Products, Not People

By NARISA IMPRASERT Columnist

Judging comes naturally.

Before you even allow someone to say hi, you already have a preconceived notion of who they are.

If they’re wearing non-matching socks, they have a hap-hazard, frazzled personality.

Maybe they have socks and sandals on at the same time, making them an automatic “snowbird” (a northerner so to speak).

Or if they come strutting over in a suit and tie, they seem to have everything “together.” It’s amazing how holding a briefcase instead of a Jansport backpack can make you look that much more professional.

But where do these narrow-minded thoughts come from? How can we put labels on every single thing that enters our vision?

I guess our opinionated freedom of speech is acceptable. It is foolish, but accepted as the norm because we all harvest a perspective that differs from the next person.

My thoughts on love, sexuality, politics, religion and everything else for that matter is somewhat controversial.

I guess being an equal-opportunity lover is shameful. The fact that I am neither religious nor politically passionate is my downfall. It’s a pity that every move I make

has to be closely observed and judged. I have to be afraid of winding up on “Juicy Campus” or of becoming the latest topic of gossip.

Hypocritically, I claim to live in the present and forget the past.

I say I don’t care what others say, but everyone knows that on some level everyone cares.

That is probably the very reason that there are mirrors in every bathroom and that our reflection can be seen at every turn.

The saddest thing is that I subconsciously clutch my purse every time I walk down 7th street in Ybor, but I feel completely comfortable and safe as I walk through the International Mall. Trust has somehow escaped me.

I try to preach equality and encourage calm approaches to life, but I manage to possess distrust for strangers. I admit to judging, but it took me about two decades to be able to.

I consider it a twelve-step process to admitting my flaws, my downfalls as a human being.

Even as a student here at UT, I attest to judging the “filthy rich.” Outsiders and state school students assume that all private school students are rich and snobby.

I however, make no attempt to dissuade such thoughts. I just nod and smile, while slipping in the fact that I am an exception to the theory.

How I got to this point, I have no idea.

I just go on living my life in ignorance.

I could be the “walking contradiction” that I constantly poke fun at.

I joke about how I don’t fulfill the Asian stereotypes. I claim to be an epic failure of

Thuy Pam/ UT senior

We all define ourselves and our own gender roles, labels don’t make a person

an Asian because I don’t like sushi, I am terrible at math and I can’t play a string instrument.

Upon mentioning such a humorous list, I usually get a response of laughter and smiles. But the one thing I tend to overlook is that I just placed a crooked label on myself.

I just placed an outrageous stereotype on my culture. I guess it could be an indirect self-loathing aspect of my personality.

Whatever it is, having such a personal revelation, I am determined to reduce the amount of judging that goes on in my head.

Key word being “reduce,” because I am realistic.

I understand that it’s a natural response to create a reaction to someone in a matter

of seconds. Almost as a trained reaction of the mind — very zombie-like. It may be wishful thinking to want to make myself more accepting, but it’s all a matter of overriding the system in my head.

I must allow myself to say “hi” and shake someone’s hand before I formulate an idea of who they are.

I have been taught that first impressions are lasting ones.

Judgments come and go as they please, and whether they are ethically or physically judgmental, they are like a mental stamp of opinions.

Like they say, “Labels are for soup cans, not people.”

Narissa Imprasert can be reached at nimprasert@spartans.ut.edu.

COMMENTARY 16 SEPTEMBER 17 2010 | THE MINARET The American Celebrity: Loss of Mortality Is The Curse of Fame

By PHILIPPA HATENDI Commentary Editor

Celebrities in the United States have always bewildered me. Everyone in the world wants to be famous, but it seems like nowhere in the world is that desire more passionate than here. People flock to the supposed “land of opportunity” in order to fulfill a destiny of being famous, rich, adored and successful. Many fall at the wayside of the American dream, but those that make it truly make it.

It’s strange how being famous makes people forget that they were once human, that they still are human. All of a sudden they become someone who is god-like.

Celebrities here have managed to achieve an immortality bestowed upon them by the public, and it is always strange for me to watch how people behave towards celebrities, especially since I come from an African culture that doesn’t really pay any attention to them. Acquiring celebrity status means many things here. For one it means that your whole life now belongs to the public. Every moment in your life, (no matter how personal): the birth of your baby, your marriage, buying your first house; it all becomes an extension of your role as celebrity. Another form of entertainment in the lives of the public, nothing is personal, nothing is sacred. Yet if you were an ordinary Joe, no one would be interested in the comings-and-goings

of your general existence, nor would they take some sadistic, superficial joy over the tragedies in your life. In this way, I believe celebrities are cursed by their fame; they can have no sacred moments to call their own and can receive no genuine empathy.

It’s as though by achieving this status, they have sold their souls to the public, to live their lives forever under the public microscope. No wonder they have so many psychological problems.

I know I would if I went through that sort of scrutiny every day.

I think it speaks poignantly about the emptiness of our own lives that we feel the need to be a part of every moment of someone else’s life, instead of making moments in ours. Not only that, but through becoming celebrities they are now held by some higher moral standard that even the public knows they themselves would not be able to achieve.

Whenever a celebrity steps a toe out of the line of morality the public has drawn for them, they are devoured by the disappointment and criticism of the public.

When did we forget that they are mere mortals like us, who have the ability to do wrong and make bad judgments?

How is it possible to adore somebody, but have no compassion for them?

Money and fame doesn’t make you higher than anyone else, in fact I believe it makes you even more fragile than anyone else because you have farther to fall in the face of your wrongdoings. It has been said that in order to live that sort of life, you have to be ready for the backlash and the hatred that comes with it; and I am sure to some extent celebrities are. But that doesn’t stop me pitying them, for no human soul (no

iamzavtra/ flickr.com

Even a private moment between Megan Fox and her husband belongs to the public

matter how rich, famous and supposedly “physically perfect”) was engineered to thrive from sorrow and speculation. Must be difficult to be expected to express the pain you’re going through to the world when all you want to do is bar yourself in a corner somewhere and weep.

We wouldn’t expect anyone else to do it in their moments of suffering, yet we do not respect celebrities enough to grant them their space and dignity. Challenging indeed to watch other people destroy their bodies in order to look like you and suffer the repercussions, to be expected to be back to your pre-pregnancy figure 3 weeks after you give birth or to have people want so badly to replicate and participate in your life that they end up stalking and hurting you.

It must be overwhelming to lose weight after a hard personal loss, and then be blamed for the rise in anorexic

young girls all over the country. Honestly, we should be ashamed to blame such an individual problem on a person we’ve never met. Parents should be willing to take responsibility for the actions of their children, and young adults here (like ourselves) should have been raised well enough to know better.

Why must you foolishly replicate every aspect of someone’s life — even the terrible parts? Have we as a society got nothing better to do? It must be hard to watch everyone else around you forget that you’re just a normal person, when deep down inside you recognize your own mortality. They are just people, normal people like us … they live, they die, they s-t and sleep. I say to you my fellow students, treat no being as though they were higher than yourself.

Philippa Hatendi can be reached at phatendi@spartans.ut.edu.

THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

17

Sports Volleyball Standout Serves as a Team Leader for Tampa

By MARC JORDAN Sports Writer

Uniqueness is a rarity these days.

Players become more similar to each other and there are less and less standouts in the era where everyone has seen it before.

However, enter University of Tampa outside hitter Kaleigh Cunningham, who is bringing uniqueness back to the game.

The senior has all of the skills needed to be awarded a second-team All-American she received after her 2009 campaign, but that is only part of this role model’s character.

“Athletically, my greatest accomplishment was my All-American [honor] last year, but being true to what I stand for and not following the crowd [is what I am most proud of],” Cunningham said of herself.

Head Coach Chris Catanach speaks highly of the senior.

“She’s a great role model, very tactful and learning to be more assertive. She is so well respected that people listen up,” Coach Catanach said of his player. “She brings it every day and goes all out, whether it is at practice or in the classroom, it doesn’t matter [the situation].”

She is the all-around player as she ended her junior season with 354 kills and 278 digs.

The Winter Park native also tallied 35 blocks on that season to truly be a multitool player.

Cunningham is picking up where she left off on her breakout season, ending the Tampa Classic with 44 kills and 23 digs.

Cunningham has been involved with

volleyball since the fourth grade, but her competitive play began a little later during her eighth grade season.

Her parents influenced her tremendous work ethic, and gave her the confidence to be herself.

“I look up to both of my parents.

They ran track at Florida State, so from a volleyball standpoint, I look up to my coach [Catanach],” the outside hitter said. “My parents pushed me to be unique and true to who I am. They gave me the confidence to be different from everyone else.”

Fellow teammate and outside hitter Eva Dupay enjoys the company of Cunningham across the court.

“Kaleigh is an amazing person on and off the court. Volleyball is only a small part of her character; she is truly an amazing person,” Dupay said. “Her leadership is entirely natural. It is part of who she is rather than a role assigned to her.”

Cunningham alluded to her leadership inspiration.

“I think that its more my personality, coaches in my life have always expected more of me, so it is kinda just my personality,” Cunningham said. “I’ve been like that as a kid, leading people to go places.”

The communications major developed character and strength from both good times and bad to build the role model she is today.

“My most memorable moment at UT was really not enjoying my first semester [as a freshman]. It is not a good memory but it built my character and made me who

Kara Wall/The Minaret

Kaleigh Cunningham was named first-team all-SSC in ‘09, leading UT to the NCAA Quaterfinals.

I am now,” she said. “My [best] memory was killing Saint Leo in [the NCAA South] Regionals.”

When asked how she approaches tough game situations, Cunningham playfully responded, “I spaz out and freak out. How I want to is have my mind get out of my body’s way, just play the game. It’s called a game so it is supposed to be fun.”

The first team all-Sunshine State Conference recipient also has great aspirations for the future.

“I ultimately want to be a wife and a mom, after college I want to travel and be a missionary for a while, then I would like to do public relations at a nonprofit here in Tampa, those are my goals in life,”

Cunningham said of her future.

“In five years I see myself living in another country, working and telling people about Jesus. Hopefully that’s God’s plan but I could also just be living in Tampa and I’d be fine with that.”With the passion she has showed while at UT these goals seem to be a very reachable reality.

“I glow when she represents me or the team. I know I am in good hands when she represents us,” Catanach said.

Cunningham returns to action with the newly ranked No. 1 University of Tampa volleyball team as they head to Denver, Co. for the Colorado Premier Tournament.

Marc Jordan can be reached at mcjordan@spartans.ut.edu.

Spartan Cross Country Maintains Momentum at Fla. Tech Invite

By MICHAEL PAONESSA Sports Writer

The University of Tampa cross country team posted strong finishes at the Florida Tech Invite last Saturday.

The Spartan women won their second consecutive race, beating conference enemies Nova Southeastern and Florida Tech.

Leading the UT women in the invite was senior standout Heather Nicolosi, who raced to a second place finish in the 5k race, giving her back-to-back top-5 finishes.

Nicolosi was happy of the team’s performance, especially of one teammate.

“I think we did well, but our team has to really battle with the current loss of one of our most talented runners, Jess Butler,” she said. “Kaia Hampton really stepped up for us Saturday.”

With Nicolosi leading the way, Kaia Hampton, Lindsay Edwards and Kelly Hagen gave Tampa four top-ten finishers ending the race in fourth, sixth, and ninth respectively.

As runners felt happy about the Florida Tech Invite, Coach Slaven shared the same attitude.

“We have a very good team, and there were strong performances spread around the board,” Slaven said. “I was happy to see the freshman girls run well and improve.

Our team is gelling as a group.”

Other noticeable performers for the women were Chanelle Cox (11), Dana Glodek (15) and Katie O’Brien (18).

As the women won their second

Andy Meng/Sports Information

Charles Toledo led UT at the Fla. Tech Invite.

consecutive race, the UT men also had a strong day finishing in second behind Embry-Riddle University. Leading the Spartans was sophomore Charles Toledo, who finished the 8k race in third place.

Adding to the mix was Kevin Lane (7) and Bryan Garcia (8), who had strong performances to give the Spartans three top-ten finishers.

Also placing in the top-15 for the men were Lewis Price and Tory Webb, finishing in twelfth and fifteenth respectively.

As both the men and women cross country teams performed highly at the Florida Tech Invite, attention for the team now shifts to the University of Florida Invite that will take place, Sept. 17 in Gainesville, Fla. The Spartans finished in second place

in the UF Invite in 2009, and are looking forward to the same success this year.

Preparing for the invite will stay the same for UT. “Our practicing will be the same this week; we will go hard like we usually do,” Slaven said. “You can’t rest too often, we will race on Friday tired, but ready.”

The University of Florida Invite will be a test for the Spartans. As a Division II school, there will be many competitive Division I schools racing.

Some highly noticeable Division I teams that will race are The University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida.

Expectations for Tampa are strong despite the tough competition.

Slaven expects the team to perform highly, with hopes of three of the women’s runners finishing in the low eighteens, while hoping to see Charles Toledo finish in the low twenties for the men.

As Nicolosi gets ready for the race, she prepares like any other invite, but knows it will be a test.

“It’s a pretty big race for us, it has a lot of competition and we get a chance to race a lot of D-I schools and see more competition than we have had,” said Nicolosi.

With UT normally putting up the best times for Division II schools at the University of Florida Invite, the team expects nothing to change on Friday.

Michael Paonessa can be reached at mpaonessa@spartans.ut.edu.

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SEPTEMBER SPORTS SCHEDULE Friday, Sept.17 Cross Country Florida Invite 8 a.m.

Volleyball vs. Harding 11 a.m. (in Alabama) W. Soccer vs. Tusculum 4:30 p.m. (in Georgia) Volleyball vs. West Florida 5 p.m. (in Alabama) M. Soccer vs. West Florida 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 18 Golf Webber International Invitational Volleyball at North Alabama 1 p.m. (in Alabama)

Sunday, Sept. 19 Golf Webber International Invitational W. Soccer vs. Lander 11 a.m. (in Georgia)

Visit theminaretonline.com for more information on UT sporting events.

18 SEPTEMBER 17 2010 | THE MINARET

SPORTS

Soccer Coach, Players Stay Positive After Slow Start to Season

By MAYA TODD Sports Writer

Heartbreak might be the best word to describe the University of Tampa men’s soccer team’s season opener this year.

UT went up against the University of Montevallo on Sept. 3 in Columbus, GA. The Spartans took the early lead with a goal by junior midfielder Ryan Griffin, with sophomore Kemal Malcolm picking up his first career point at Tampa. Montevallo did not relent as it tied the game soon after.

The two teams ended up playing into not one, but two overtimes and, with 39 seconds left on the clock in the second OT, Montevallo put one past Tampa goalkeeper David Niepel to seal the victory and give UT its first loss on the season.

The squad returned to the pitch two days later only to defeat Georgia Southwestern State University in a 1-0 battle.

The lone goal came in the 72nd minute with freshman Alex Knaggs as the goal scorer and senior Jordan Moses with the assist.

Niepel started in goal once again playing the full 90 minutes and collecting one save.

On Sept. 7, UT faced No.13 University of the Incarnate Word who, at the time, had a record of 2-0 on the season.

After a calm first half, tensions flared in the second. Incarnate Word scored the first goal in the 58th minute as the game-playing became increasingly difficult.

University of Tampa’s David Gulec had the second goal in the match to even the score at 1-1. With five minutes left, Incarnate Word responded with another goal that would ultimately lead to their victory.

In the second half alone three yellow cards were issued – one to a Tampa player and two to players of Incarnate Word.

Additionally, a red card was given out to a member of Incarnate Word for punching midfielder Alex Knaggs after an altercation took place between the two teams which unfortunately did not end with the usual pushing and shoving.

There was only 1:22 left on the clock at the time of the punch and the injury Knaggs endured was severe enough for him to have to leave the game.

“We’ve made a slow start,” said sophomore Dominic Goncalves. “The losses we’ve suffered have been hard to take given the circumstances they’ve occurred in.”

Although these losses were hard for the men’s team to undergo, it will remain to work hard as the season progresses. “[The team] still has certain things we need to work on and improve, but we’re all putting in the work, and as long as we keep that up then we feel like we will have a successful season,” Goncalves said.

Although UT has had a slow lost to its season Coach Adrian Bush remains optimistic. “[We] remain very encouraged by the start of the season even though we have dropped two of our first three games to nationally ranked opponents,” he said.

Tampa embraced this encouragement and made a trip on September 10 to Miami to play Johnson and Wales University.

The game was a blow-out with Tampa scoring 12 goals and shutting out JWU. Griffin started the goal-scoring a little over ten minutes into the game.

Malcolm had his first Tampa hat-trick in the game while Brian Fekete, Lister Warren

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

Dominic Goncalves and Jordan Moses trying to take possession back from a West Florida player.

and Griffin each had two goals. Other goal-scorers included Dominic Goncalves, Brock Jennings and Juan Rivas.

The team improved to 3-2 on the year after a 1-0 victory against Florida Memorial on Sept. 14. Junior midfielder Ryan Griffin scored the only goal of the game. Lister

Warren assisted Griffin on the play.

The Spartans will take on Webber International University on Sept. 21, a team they shutout a year ago en-route to a 1-0 victory.

Maya Todd can be reached at mtodd@ spartans.ut.edu.

Spartan Slugger in the Minors [From Back, Mike Blanke] He also had a slugging percentage of .633 and an OBP of .435. His 65 RBI was second on the team. He hit three triples, also second best on the team.

Defensively, at UT, Blanke amassed 326 putouts and committed seven errors, resulting in a .982 fielding percentage.

With Blanke’s hot bat, the Spartans compiled a 46-11 season record in 2010 and made it to the Division II NCAA Championships, but were eliminated from the tournament after two games.

Honors for his 2010 season as a Spartan include being named a first-team all-Sunshine State Conference selection as well as MVP for the South Regional Tournament.

Blanke credited the professional mentality of the coaching staff and the team to the improvement of his baseball skills.

“The coaching staff at [UT] is amazing.

They treat it like it’s professional baseball and they treat you like an actual pro baseball player,” Blanke said. “The competitiveness of how they are and the team we had, our

Andy Meng/ Sports Information

UT Coach Joe Urso coached Blanke for a year.

season definitely made me a lot better in my level of play.”

Despite only playing a single season as a Spartan, Coach Urso believes that Blanke took on a leadership role as the team’s starting catcher.

“As a catcher, you have to be a leader, so he did all that,” Urso said. “He was asked to hit in the middle of the lineup all year, hitting fourth [and] fifth all year, so [he was] just a huge part of the success we had last year in making that [National Championship] run.”

Blanke opted to forego his senior year after being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 14th round of the 2010 MLB Draft.

Coach Urso said that Blanke is solid at blocking balls in the dirt and has good arm strength, but will have to work on his receiving ability and the speed of his release behind the plate.

An advantage Blanke might have over other catchers just starting their professional baseball career is his game calling ability.

Coach Urso explained that at UT, the coaching staff allows pitchers and catchers to call the games in order to better prepare them for the future.

“I learned a lot about how to call a game and what pitches to call in what situation and I felt like it definitely helped me a lot in pro ball,” Blanke said. “As soon as I got to [Great Falls] I felt like I was ready to call a game and even though I learned a little bit more, I feel I was very well prepared at Tampa.”

Blanke has a long road ahead of him before breaking into the Majors, but Coach Urso believes that Blanke has the intangibles to do it.

“I think he has a legit shot at making the Major Leagues. One is his ability, obviously, but the other part I like about him is his work ethic,” said Coach Urso. “This guy is gonna outwork everybody in the clubhouse.”

Daniel Feingold can be reached at minaret.sports@gmail.com.

SPORTS

THE MINARET | SEPTEMBER 17 2010

19

Women’s Soccer Stays Undefeated, Gets Ready for Tourney

By JOHN HILSENROTH Sports Writer

The University of Tampa women’s soccer team will travel to Columbus, Ga. to participate in the Columbus State Tournament.

The Spartans will open tournament play against Tusculum College, a team that beat them in heartbreaking fashion a year ago.

It was during the Columbus State Tournament in 2009 when Tusculum took an early 2-0 lead. UT was able to respond by scoring two of their own to tie it up in the first half. Then a very controversial call led to a Tusculum penalty shot, and eventual victory.

“We know we are the better team, and better individually,” Coach Lucey said.

He also mentioned that although the team got unlucky in the Tusculum game last year, they were not as good as they are this year.

With 13 freshmen, this is believed to be the best recruiting classes in years. The veterans on the team will play a key role in not only helping the team win now, but by mentoring the new players and helping them now as freshman.

One of those veterans is junior starting midfielder Samantha Kay. She did not need as much help as most her freshman year, as she started every game and led the team with four game winning goals.

Kay credits coach Lucey with helping her develop as a player tactically, and as a vocal leader.

She came in as a raw talented freshman, and has become a composed, vocal leader and has not missed a start along the way.

Her game spoke for itself the first game against the University of West Georgia as her two assists helped the team get its first win of the year in the season opener.

The team is looking forward to the Tusculum game, but they have not overlooked any team thus far. “You have to take it one game at a time. You can’t overlook anyone, but we have the talent to take us there,” Lucey said referring to the team’s chances of playing deep into the postseason.

The team moved to 3-0 after overpowering Warner University in a 7-1 rout. The team played a smooth all around game as junior forward Jazmin Perry scored a career high four goals. On Sunday the team had to fight much harder to earn the win. A defensive game against Queens College was scoreless for 71 minutes.

Freshman Leah Cesanek was able to get her first goal of her collegiate career in dramatic fashion. That was all UT would need, as it held Queens to zero shots on goal. The team is now 4-0, rolling with momentum going into Friday’s matchup against Tusculum.

The upperclassmen that played last year all took the Tusculum loss personally and are yearning for redemption. Although early in the year, it is the biggest game of Justin Davis/The Minaret the year thus far, and one that the players Samantha Kay, a junior, has started every game for Tampa thus far in her collegiate career. have had marked off on their calendars since last year.

With Perry, Kay and others leading the abundance of talented freshmen, the University of Tampa Women’s Soccer Freshman-2008 Sophomore-2009 team is hungry and has a very bright future 18/18 ahead. “We have a better chance than last Games Played/Started 22/22 year because we have way more depth, and Goals Scored 6 3 energy coming off the bench,” Kay said.

Assists 2 4 The team has sky-high goals after a 14 10 disappointing year last year. “We have the Points talent to go a long way, it comes down to Shots 40 47 the players desires,” said Lucey.

Shots on Goal 18 12 John Hilsenroth can be reached at SoG Percentage .450 .255 jhilsenroth@spartans.ut.edu.

Spartan Stats: Midfielder Samantha Kay

MINARET

SPORTS

Cross Country [17]

4

The Win

UT’S SOURCE SINCE 1933

UT Grad Finds Success in Pro Ball, Named MVP

A brief rundown of Spartan Sports

M. Soccer [3-2, 0-0] Sept. 17 vs. West Florida [2-2] at 7 p.m.

Dominic Goncalves on West Florida: “The game on Friday against West Florida is an important one; they’re above us in the regional standings, and a win would go a long way to changing that.”

Coach Adrian Bush onWest Florida: “Friday is a huge regional game against a very tough West Florida team.

With two games in between, it gives us a chance to get the final pieces in place before we hit our tough region and conference schedule.”

W. Soccer [4-0, 0-0] Sept. 17 vs. Tusculum [1-3] at 4:30 p.m. at Columus State Tournament.

Coach Gerry Lucey on Tusculum: “We’re looking for payback from last year.”

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

Former Spartan catcher Mike Blanke at the plate looking for a pitch to hit.

By DANIEL FEINGOLD Sports Editor

Former University of Tampa baseball stand-out Mike Blanke has enjoyed early success in his professional career as he was named to the Pioneer’s League allstar team and was awarded the Most Valuable Player for Great Falls Voyagers, rookie league affiliate of

the Chicago White Sox. Blanke saw the awards as a sign that his baseball skills have gotten better.

“It meant a lot. For me, it showed that I improved a lot, definitely catching-wise. I feel like defensively I became a lot better,” said Blanke.

These honors are coming just

months after Blanke’s collegiate career ended at UT with the Spartans claiming the Sunshine State Conference title and South Regional title.

In his rookie campaign in the White Sox’s farm system, Blanke played in 61 games, touting a .333 batting average, seven homeruns, 43 RBI, .400 on base percentage and a .508 slugging percentage.

Blanke led the team in all of these statistical categories.

A native of Palm Bay, Fla., Blanke’s career at UT was impressive, yet short-lived. As a freshman in college, Blanke attended Seton Hall University in NJ., where he saw action in 13 games and tallied four RBI. He then relocated back to Florida and played for Saint Petersburg College as a sophomore.

With SPC, he batted .329 while notching 10 homeruns and 70 RBI, good enough to lead the state of Florida in RBI. Following his season at SPC, Blanke joined UT’s baseball team for his junior season.

Joe Urso, Head Coach of the Spartan baseball team, said that the coaches saw Blanke progressing as a player and growing into his body.

Urso said that Blanke was 5 feet 10 inches coming out of high school.

On the roster for UT, Blanke was

Junior Spartan Jazmir Perry leads the team with five goals on the year.

Cross Country Florida Invite on Sept. 17 at 8 a.m. in Gainesville, Fla. Heather Nicolosi on the Florida Invite: “I’m very excited for the race; it’s a great opportunity for us to prepare for nationals.”

The women’s team has placed first in both their meets this season, while the men placed first and second.

Volleyball [5-2, 0-0] Sept. 17-18 at the North Alabama Regional Crossover vs. Harding, West Florida and North Alabama.

Eva Dupay on West Florida: “West Florida and Tampa have some history.

They have upset us in the past so it’s always a game to look forward too and very easy to get pumped up for.”

listed at 6 feet 4 inches tall.

“We just saw unlimited potential. We felt like when he grew into his body that he was going to be really special,” Coach Urso said.

Playing mainly at third base with limited time at catcher for SPC, Blanke was brought into UT to play catcher full-time.

“That was the big challenge, how he was going to develop as a catcher here,” said Urso.

“He did a great job and everything I’m hearing from the White Sox scouts and the people we talk to is they’re just raving about this guy’s ability, not only as a hitter but now as a catcher as well.”

Blanke said that the more he has been behind the plate, the better his catching skills have become.

“I feel like the more I caught, the better I became. Especially after signing and playing some pro ball, with the games being every day in pro ball, I feel like I got a lot better.”

In his only year as a Spartan, Blanke played in all 56 games, started in all but two. He posted a .377 batting average with nine dingers, 65 RBI and 51 runs in 199 at-bats.

[See Mike Blanke, 18]

German Goalie in Search of NCAA Championship

Samantha Kay on Tusculum: “We’re really excited to play and get payback from last year’s crushing loss.”

Coach Jarrett Slaven: “We look for a top-five finish just like last year. It will be a good test for the team.”

Women’s Soccer [19]

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

Freshman David Niepel in goal for the Spartans. He has allowed four goals in five games to start the season.

By MILES PARKS Sports Writer

David Niepel has traveled over 4,000 miles to play goalie at the University of Tampa. He arrived with one goal.

“I’m looking to win a national championship,” he said.

Born and raised in Bad Breisig, Germany, UT’s starting goalie has been playing soccer since he was four years old.

In the beginning of his career, he would play with his friends once or twice a week. But his parents pushed him to pursue the sport further, partly to meet new people, but also because he has

always enjoyed it. Once he hit his teenage years, things started to pick up for him.

Niepel won a national championship with his Under-19 club team, the culmination of an eight-game postseason ending with the final in Berlin.

After a 15-year soccer career in Germany, he decided to take his skills to the United States.

He chose UT for a number of reasons, including the soccer program’s phenomenal history, reputation and perennially high ranking.

As an international business and management major, he also

looked for a place that could cater to his academic interests and The Sykes College of Business fit the bill.

“UT has a great business school and the location also played a role,” he said, referring to Florida’s weather and laid-back atmosphere.

As for differences between life in Germany and life in the U.S., ”It’s different, people are different,” he said. “You get to know new friends very quick, which is different.”

Soccer in the NCAA is also different. He didn’t know much about any opponents when he

arrived, but Coach Adrian Bush did a lot of work to prepare him and his teammates for the upcoming tests. In the end, though, soccer is soccer.

“I got used to it very quick…

It’s always the same,” Niepel said. “When you first start you’re excited. But when you’re in the game, it’s always the same.”

After a grueling year of training and an off-season job at his hometown McDonald’s, number 00 is excited for the season.

After five games started, he’s shown extreme potential, compiling a goals against average under one to go along with shutouts against Georgia Southwestern and Florida Memorial. But the team has lost two of it’s first four games, and it looks to rebound from a slow start.

When asked what the best part of the 2010 University of Tampa Men’s soccer team is, he answers simply: “We are one team.”

He then talked of chemistry and how no man plays for himself but rather “for each other.”

He talked about the logistics of getting to the top of Division II soccer: winning the conference and region.

He understands what it takes to win.

After all, when you’ve already won a national title, that part comes naturally.

Miles Parks can be reached at mparks@spartans.ut.edu.