Florida’s Top College Paper
Vol. 76 No. 4
ut.minaret@gmail.com
www.theminaretonline.com
September 18, 2009
Despite Numbers, Freshmen Receive “Quality Schedules” By Sarah Gottlieb News Editor
E
nrollment numbers at the University of Tampa have been rising consistently for years, so few were surprised to learn the class of 2013 is a large one. While UT administration did anticipate a sizable freshmen class last spring, no one predicted it would be quite this large.
About 1,400 freshmen began classes at UT on Aug. 31, approximately 200 more than last year, according to Dr. Kevin Beach, associate dean of the baccalaureate experience. “The estimated size of the freshmen class from February to June… just kept getting larger and larger,” Beach said, adding that the university wasn’t planning on taking in so many freshmen. While the final count of new
students won’t be in for a few weeks, Eric Cardenas, director of public information, said the university believes this will be the largest freshmen class UT has ever seen. The unprecedented amount of students could have been disastrous for the university’s academics, since more freshmen require more seats in classrooms. According to some faculty, however, things are running
smoothly. The reason for the unexpectedly large number of freshmen enrolled this year Dr. Kevin Beach had to do with the university’s budget. “UT is a tuition-driven institution,” Beach said. “Because of
Al ha! UT Dining Services Serves a Welcome Back Luau
Page 4
Photos by Scott Silvestro/The Minaret Illustrations by Alex Vera/The Minaret
the economic uncertainty, a lot of people were unsure how many students would come back. To make the budget work, they increased the size of the freshmen class and a lot of those folks showed up.” Beach added that many freshmen had put in multiple deposits with multiple universities, making it difficult to judge early on last year just how many new students
See “Enrollment” [4]
A Community Remembers Ryan McCall By Charlie Hambos Editor-in-chief
A small stage sat on the center field line at Pepin Stadium on a cloudy Sunday afternoon where the friends, teammates and coaches of Ryan McCall spoke about the way he touched so many lives. Now those friends will move forward by always remembering the good times. The teammates and the teams he coached will always remember the races and each race in the future will be run for a guy everybody loved. “He [McCall] had no reservations for his life and lived his life to the fullest,” said Sarah Nelson, a senior biology major and women’s cross country team member. Nelson knew McCall since her freshman year and told the crowd to live like McCall. “We must learn to live in the moment like he did,” Nelson said. Chris Catanach, a cross country teammate, is doing that every day. “I try to repay his kindness,”
See “Memory” [2]
Back To The Glory Days: UT’s Coverage of MTV’s Video Music Awards By David Bevis Staff Writer
The MTV Video Music Awards, a.k.a the VMAs, are among the most edgy, creative and humorous award shows that air on live, national television. With over-the-top performances and acts of undefined nature, the VMAs have served as a pop-culture spinoff to the Gram-
Inside ...
my’s for about 25 years. The award show focuses on music videos and highlights the year’s most successful entertainers in music. Various awards are given out to winners based on the votes of the people watching; each award is in the shape of a moon man, an iconic figure of the VMAs since the show first aired in 1984. The VMAs have broadcasted
from a myriad of venues in cities including: New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas. The shows typically air in New York City’s famous and historic Radio City Music Hall, which seats roughly 6,000 people. The VMAs have hosted some of the most memorable performances by artists of all kinds,- including: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson,
N’SYNC and Britney Spears. This past Sunday, hundreds of today’s hottest and most popular actors and musicians gathered in New York City, at the Radio City Music Hall, for this year’s 2009 VMAs. Once again, MTV provided viewers from around the world with a show like no other, including heart-throbbing performances, jaw-dropping moments and a
Green Fleet To The Rescue [2] Theta Chi Gives Back [3]
Black Box Film Festival [9] Tainted Love [14] Let’s Go To The Movies! [8] Government Is Not Monster [16] Vanderhall For The Kill [20]
house full of celebrities. Each year, the VMAs seem to top the previous and by the looks of things, this could, in fact, be true. The night began with a performance tribute to the king of pop, Michael Jackson, reminiscing the world premiere of his
See “VMAs” [11]
News...................[1-5] A&E..................[7-11] Diversions...........[7] Commentary...[13-16] Editorial..............[13] Protecting The Net [18] Sports.............[18-20]
“There’s no limit possible to the expansion of each one of us.” [Charles M. Schwab]
News
2 “Memory”: Front
Editor-in-Chief Charlie Hambos
charlie.hambos@gmail.com
Asst. Editor-in-Chief Mel Steiner
mel.c.steiner@gmail.com
News Editor Sarah Gottlieb
minaret.news@gmail.com
A&E Editor Mike Trobiano
minaret.arts@gmail.com
Commentary Editor Derrick Austin minaret.commentary@gmail.com
Sports Editor Kyle Bennett
minaret.sports@gmail.com
Online Alex Vera
minaret.online@gmail.com
Head Photographer Mindy Tucker mtucker@ut.edu
Adviser Stephanie Tripp, PhD. stripp@ut.edu
Staff-At-Large
Jeffrey Palmer, Reporter JP Busche, Reporter Zach Fraser, A&E Kristen Vasquez, A&E Austin Daniels, Cartoonist Max Roberts, Artist Abby Sanford, Photographer Scott Silvestro, Photographer Kara Wall, Photographer Brenton Burkett, Sports Ryan Burkett, Sports Daniel Feingold, Sports Shannon Grippando, Head Copy Editor
the senior communication major said. “I try to see the world the way he did.” McCall and a friend were walking home when a man jumped out near the North Boulevard Bridge and demanded money. McCall’s friend heard the gunshots as he fled the scene. By the time the authorities arrived, McCall had passed away. McCall was known for his contagious smile and his positive attitude. Those qualities made everyone around him feel better. “I loved waking up at 6:30 a.m. to go to practice because he [McCall] was there,” said Michael Maerz, a sophomore sports management major. “I only wish to become half the man that he was.” Maerz also remembered McCall for the best $5 haircut. Greg Moore, a senior finance major, said that McCall had one of the strongest personalities on the team. McCall’s smile and laugh were something that everyone talked about. “Nothing’s better than walking back to your room to hear Ryan’s laugh,” said Marsid Tushe, a teammate and former roommate. Tushe also said that he would miss the memories that they could have had. “We all want to be like Ryan,” he said. “We promise to look after his family because we have become a part of it now.”
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
One of McCall’s passions was to become a coach, and he lived it by coaching the Tampa Preparatory cross-country team with Joe Ranalli. The two grew up together and ran together during their high school years. “I just loved the kid so much,” Ranalli said. McCall’s brother, Kevin McCall, also ran for the crosscountry team before Ryan McCall came to UT. “It made it easy to be an older brother because the little things in life always pleased him,” said [Kevin] McCall. Jarrett Slaven, head cross country coach, instructed both of the brothers and has known the McCall family for years. “Ryan would come to fill his big brother’s running shoes,” said Slaven. Slaven described Ryan McCall as loyal and dedicated but most of all funny. McCall was known to both him and the assistant coach as the “Philly Kid.” Dror Vaknin, assistant crosscountry coach, said that McCall Memories of McCall left a footprint on this world and wanted to make sure that we do the same. Vaknin asked both of the UT cross-country teams to run a memorial lap for McCall as “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum played. Then it rained. Charlie Hambos can be reached at charlie.hambos@gmail. com.
Photo by Abby Sanford/The Minaret
Green Fleet to The Rescue
Paige Williams reads poem
Photo by Abby Sanford/The Minaret
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Photo by Scott Silvestro/The Minaret By Jeffrey Palmer Reporter
UT students may have noticed the Green Fleet courtesy vehicles waiting outside Vaughn during busy outing nights last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The new hybrid cars provide not only a safe and reliable means of ferrying students from the university to popular party locations, but do so in a manner that's environmentally friendly. The service is completely free, though tips are recommended. It provides convenient and complimentary transportation to Tampa's downtown district, Channelside, South Howard Avenue and the infamous Ybor City. “Starters,” Green Fleet representatives wearing Yellow Cab shirts, will also be available to assist students from Thursday through Saturday nights and can be found at the taxi stands out-
side of Vaughn. “Our volunteer drivers are attentive to customers’ needs and are ready to assist them, from a friendly smile to opening doors,” affirms Green Fleet coowner Louis A. Minardi. Supportive of the courtesy cab ideal, other vehicles have joined with Green Fleet in an effort to provide free transportation services to students. Cabs participating in this program are identifiable by orange flags reading “Free Rides.” Sponsored directly by Red Top Cab Company, Green Fleet is affiliated with Yellow Cab, MMG Transportation, Checker Cab Transportation and West Coast Transportation. Green Fleet vehicles can be contacted at (813)-888-5008 or approached directly outside of Vaughn on the designated Thursday to Saturday nights.
UT Cross Country Coach Jarrett Slaven Photo by Abby Sanford/The Minaret
UT Cross Country Team takes a memorial lap
Photo by Abby Sanford/The Minaret
News 3 Theta Chi Shares Their Philanthropic Spirit With Children’s Hospital
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
By Charlie Hambos Editor-in-chief
When Kyle Mitchell heard a young patient at the hospital say, “This is the best night of my life,” during last year’s prom he knew he was doing the right thing. Mitchell and several other members of UT’s Theta Chi Fraternity volunteer at Shriner’s Hospital for children. The fraternity has been volunteering at the hospital every Friday from 1-2:30 p.m. for seven years and Mitchell, a senior, started his fourth year this semester. Mitchell, Theta Chi’s Greek Sing chair, and some of his brothers go every Friday and they are now bringing along their new pledges this semester to show the patients a good time. “Going back to our childhood years and bring our games in to
play,” Mitchell said. “We show them how fun we can be.” Mitchell relates to the young patients and tries to keep their mind off of each of their situation. They host several events throughout the year including a Halloween party complete with a spook trail and a prom in the spring. This year Max Forsythe, Theta Chi’s philanthropy chair, said the hospital staff invited UT’s Epsilon Zeta Chapter of Theta Chi to participate in a skit contest for this year’s Halloween festivities. Forsythe enjoys setting up the activities which occur mostly during the holidays and his weekly time spent at the hospital always seems to fly by. Forsythe says that even if you don’t do anything all day, volunteering at the hospital gives him a very fulfilling feeling. The brothers raise funds through
working at a concession stand for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and car washes. Matt Oleksak, vice-president of Theta Chi, said that each event costs roughly $500. UT’s Theta Chi Epsilon Zeta chapter currently has 47 active members and they want to make volunteering at the hospital a permanent thing. UT’s Theta Chi chapter has been recognized nationally by the President of the National Interfraternity Council for their philanthropic efforts. Last year, P.E.A.C.E. awarded Theta Chi with the volunteer organization of the year. Just as the patients look forward to seeing Members of Theta Chi gather around them every week, the brothers of thank-you sign for the fraternityTheta Chi can’t wait to put smiles coordinated event on their face.
Photo courtesy of Max Forsythe/ Theta Chi
Sept. 15 Meeting -Student government general assembly has been abolished in favor of multiple committee meetings -New pool chairs funded in part by sg are now available for student enjoyment. -Weekly sg updates and info can now be accessed at www.utampasg.org. -An estimated seventy new parking spots will be made available to commuters by the end of October. -Additional seats are open for the Judicial Advisory Board and those interested are encouraged to email sg@ut.edu. -Organization finance forms can be found on the SG website under the heading “organization resources”.
Photo courtesy of Max Forsythe/Theta Chi
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News
4
is a tuition-driven institution. “ UT Because of the economic uncer-
“Enrollment�: Front would be joining UT in the fall. In fact, no one realized just how large the class of 2013 would be until the summer. Suddenly, there was a rush to make sure there were enough classroom spots to accommodate new students who need core classes such as Gateways, Global Issues, English 101 and basic biology and mathematics courses. “This created a lot of stress on the system,� Beach said. “Firstyear writing and department chairs scrambled to get more sections.� Dr. Mary Jane Schenck, director of first-year Dr. Mary Jane writing, said Schenck there were ultimately nine new sections added to freshmen writing courses, some of which had to be overloaded. According to Beach, only 200 freshmen don’t have English 101 or 102 on their schedules this semester. Many of those who don’t have these courses currently don’t need them until second semester, since some of these students come in with advanced placement credit, allowing them to proceed directly to English 102. “The English department did a great job in providing seats for students,� said Beach.
tainty, a lot of people were unsure how many students would come back. To make the budget work, they increased the size of the freshmen class and a lot of those folks showed up.
“
Other departments also hurried to make way for the swell of students. Gateways and Global Issues class sizes were slightly increased, according to Beach. The average sizes of these classes used to be around 22, now classes are capped at 24. “Math also struggled,� said Beach. “There was a section added during add/drop week, and it filled up very quickly.� Math courses, however, unlike Gateways and Global Issues, do not need to fit into every schedule freshman year. General math requirements can be completed within the first two years. The biology department also added some class sections. “The challenge there is space in the laboratories,� Beach said. Some of the biology courses require three-hour blocks and it was difficult to find part-time faculty to teach a class three hours a week.� By adding more class sections
so suddenly, the university needed to find more faculty—and fast. Many adjunct professors joined UT this semester. “This was not just because of the size of the freshmen class,� Beach said. “Some faculty resigned at the last minute in August.� Schenck said the English department has been given no new full-time instructors. “There are some new visiting faculty who are replacements for those who left for full-time positions elsewhere,� she wrote in an e-mail. “To cope with additional sections, we hired more adjuncts, and they now staff 50 percent of our first-year writing sequence.� She has concerns over the large amount of part-time faculty in first-year writing. “How much time can be given to the adjuncts to oversee their work and integrate them into our curriculum?� she questioned in an e-mail. “Are the adjuncts able to
The Minaret | September 18, 2009 give the time to students that writing courses require?� While Schenck believes many of the hired adjuncts have excellent credentials, including PhDs, she recognizes that they have other jobs and may not be as committed to the university as a faculty member on tenure-track. “UT is not unique in this adjunct dependence,� she wrote. “But we are private, and we do pride ourselves on offering students a carefully thought-out curriculum that represents best practices in the field. We should not be happy with more than 25 percent of our classes across the university being taught by adjuncts.� While students may be better off with more full-time faculty, hiring adjuncts on short notice may not be something the university has to worry about again for a while. “We are not planning to have this many freshmen next year,� Beach said. “This was a one time thing.� The university website currently boasts a 15:1 student to faculty ratio with an average class size of 21. When asked if he believed that ratio would change due to increases in freshmen class sizes, Beach said he suspected the ratio would stay the same. “There is a strict government formula to calculate that number,� he said. “There are federal guidelines in terms of calculating it.� Cardenas said the university would not know the new official student to faculty ratio or average
class size until after the third week of classes when an official university census is done, though he also believes the numbers are unlikely to change. “The university doesn’t expect the new freshmen class to alter the faculty student ratio substantially,� he wrote in an e-mail. “With the addition of new faculty, the ratio could actually stay the same as last year.� After all the bustle that had taken place between academic departments over the summer in preparing for the new wave of freshmen, Beach said he was very surprised there wasn’t more activity in his office during the drop/ add period. “We weren’t even as busy as normal,� he said. “There were fewer students coming in and wanting to adjust their schedules than in the past.� Despite the rush to create enough classes, Beach says freshmen were given quality schedules, with the average schedule around 15.8 credit hours. Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/Minaret
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Join Chabad @ University of Tampa For a Sweet New Year And High Holidays
All Services will take place at the Chabad South Tampa Ctr. 2001 Swann Ave. RSVP Rabbi Levi Rivkin 813-504-4432 chabadut.org bmchabad@gmail.com
Fri. Sep.18: Services 7:30pm Sat. Sep.19: Services 10 am t ,JEVTI MVODI QN Sun. Sep. 20: Services 10am t ,JEVTI MVODI QN 4IPGBS #MPXJOH QN QN 1MBOU )BMM .VTJD 3PPN Sun. Sep. 27: ,PM /JESFJ QN Mon. Sep. 28: Services 10am t YJ[LPS QN t /FJMBI QN followed by Break the fast.
“Luau�: Front
Photos by Scott Silvestro/ The Minaret
The UT Dining Services hosted a Welcome Back Luau for all of the University of Tampa students on Thursday, Sept. 10 outside of Stadium Center from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Meal certificates were given out for Panache, UT’s upscale restaurant. Left: A variety of juices served Above: Students and faculty waiting to taste the cuisine Below: The luau decorations set up outside of Stadium
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Travel Series
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
5
T
his elephant was just sitting outside a gas station in Michigan. Inside the station were stickers of the pink elephant for 25 cents each. I don’t think anything could have made this stop better. About an hour into South Dakota we saw the sculpture park from the road. We had been to a different sculpture park five months ago, and could not pass this one up. All I can say is it was one of the scariest two hours of my life. We all left running away screaming. The prairie dogs had “the plague,” so after our trip to the Bad Lands the entire group was tested for it. None of us had it, but before we were tested we used the phrase “So I might have the black plague, no big deal” as much as possible since we knew we would never be able to use it again. As soon as you enter South Dakota you start seeing signs for Wall Drug, even though it’s 200 miles away. We were hesitant about going but a man at a gas station told us it was the biggest drug store in the world. They even give you free signs to put up when you go back home. The hundreds of signs along the highway eventually won us over with their funny sayings and hand-painted art. We all left Wall Drug with about 20 bumper stickers and signs which are now scattered around our home towns.
Article and Photos by Abby Sanford
A map of Abby’s journey… The pink elephant was seen in Michigan. In South Dakota, the corn palace, the Badlands (top right corner), a spooky sculpture park (bottom right), and the largest drug store named Wall Drug (bottom left) were can’t miss destinations.
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The Minaret | September 18, 2009
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TheMinaret Minaret||August September 18, 2009 The 28, 2009
Arts Diversions & Entertainment
97
FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 28, 2009
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
By Linda C Black Tribune Media Services
Aries (March 21-April 19) Some of your work is becoming more fun as you understand it better. You’re able to relax a little more. Taurus (April 20-May 20) You’re still lucky, so try to envision the perfect job. If you’re not already doing it, get your resume ready. Gemini (May 21-June 21) A shake-up at the top creates an opportunity. Figure out where this opportunity will be and go there. Cancer (June 22-July 22) Y ou won’t be able to hide this information, even if you sweep it under the rug. Figure out the best way to use it. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) You may feel flush, but that’s a temporary condition. Don’t spend more than you can afford, even if you think you can. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Your part-time business seems to be doing well. If you don’t have one yet, wait. There’s confusion to deal with first.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Deal with papers or communications that have been sitting on your desk. Test your theory on at least two people. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) You can’t put the words back in your mouth, so think first and count to five. Then see what kind of reaction you get. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) With effort, romance can blossom. But what you really want to do is go to the horse track. It’s your choice. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) All kinds of communications flow well today, especially those associated with romance. Use gentle persuasion.
ACROSS 1 Disappear gradually 5 Prohibition agent Eliot 9 Vatican-related 14 Like deserts 15 Heavenly bear 16 “__ you clever!” 17 Hobbes, to Calvin 20 Motel restriction 21 T-bone, for one 22 Lock of hair 23 Med. plan choices 25 Opposite of “Huh?” 28 Damascus is its cap. 29 Fashion’s Gucci and actor Ray 31 Nudge rudely 33 Makes a long story short? 34 City leaders 35 Ideal getaway 38 Taken care of 39 “Rich Man, Poor Man” novelist Shaw 40 Give body to, as hair 41 Obvious disdain 42 Meditator’s syllables 45 Calculate sums 46 Coarse file 47 Rub it in 49 Key in the sea 52 Defective, as wiring 53 Armchair quarterback’s hobby 57 Change 58 Summoned the butler 59 Peace Prize winner Wiesel 60 Fair-haired 61 Remain 62 Between-yourtoes grains DOWN 1 Passes out 2 Weapons storehouse 3 Baby seat cover? 4 Pieces jigsaw puzzlers usually start with
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You could easily be drained by all the activity around you. Follow someone’s lead if possible. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Now’s your chance to really drive home the point. Marketing tactics work brilliantly. Use them.
9/28/09
By Fred Jackson III
5 Convent residents 6 Historical period 7 Kazakhstan, until 1991: Abbr. 8 Assertions 9 Peel, as a rind 10 Opera highlight 11 Game played with a baby 12 “Raggedy” girl 13 Inc., in England 18 Appointmentconfirming words 19 Dix and Knox: Abbr. 23 Set with a sharper picture, briefly 24 Inlaid designs 26 Traffic jam honker 27 “Isn’t that cute!” exclamations 30 Prom car 31 Persistently worrying 32 “__ Eyes”: 1975 Eagles hit 33 Poetic dusks 34 Bryn __ College 35 Heroic exploit
Saturday’s Puzzle Solved
(c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
36 Draw inferences from 37 Farm output 38 The bus stops here: Abbr. 41 Mythical man-goats 42 “Va va voom!” 43 Marlee __, Best Actress winner in “Children of a Lesser God”
9/28/09
44 Like fine coifs 46 Notes after dos 48 Garage jobs 50 British machine gun 51 Baker’s fat 52 Stodgy old-timer 53 __ Four: Beatles 54 Every bit 55 Blubber 56 “__ scale of 1 to 10 ...”
Week ending Sept. 15, 2009
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Arts & Entertainment
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The Minaret | September 18, 2009
Downtown Theater Offers Unique Entertainment for Students
By JP Busche Staff Writer
We have probably all seen the business men and women that inhabit downtown Tampa throughout the day. They cross the streets to get their lunch, eat it hastily and walk back to their office to get their paperwork done. Once 5 p.m. rolls around, those busy people start to disappear, leaving only a few locals strolling the streets. Yet, in the middle of downtown, there is a cultural treasure that people aren’t fully aware of: the Tampa Theatre. The building’s classic design and bright, shining “TAMPA� sign above it makes the theater hard to miss. Even when it was established in 1926, the venue offered air conditioning, enabling Floridians to escape the humid weather and enjoy the up-and-coming world of film. The theater is fitted with a Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ equipped with pedals that simulate different sounds, such as a police car siren. Why would an organ do such a thing? Before films had HD resolution and booming surround sound, films worked without any sound whatsoever. They had to convey their messages visually. But even in the 1920’s, filmmakers realized that a visual story paired with sound works
quite well, so the organs were used to support the scenes and elicit emotions with the appropriate sound. Sounds like the police siren would make a film more realistic. In memory of those times, the theater still has volunteers who play the Mighty Wurlitzer before every screening. The oldest volunteer, Rosa Rio, is a 107 years old, playing as good now as she did 50 years ago. Another volunteer, Bob Baker, just passed away on Friday, Sept. 10 and is sadly missed. Bob was an important part of the tours conducted by the theater. During the tour, he would come out of the orchestra pit, playing the Wurlitzer while explaining the instrument, its history and its connection to the audience. Rumor has it, the theater might be haunted by former deceased employees, whom visitors may encounter while taking a tour. Besides tours, the theater also offers screenings of classic and independent films, one of the few theaters in state, which gives cultural aficionados what they crave. Moreover, different events such as fundraisers and parts of the Gasparilla International Film Festival are hosted at the venue. The Tampa Theatre is an eclectic and historical place that enables all members of the Tampa Bay community to be entertained on a whole different level.
Photos by Mindy Tucker / The Minaret
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When the winds change in one city, it begins raining food... lots of food.
A young high school girl is possessed by a vicious demon.
A self-help writer meets someone who might help him help himself.
Arts & Entertainment
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
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“Final Fantasy” Faithful Treated with Nostalgic “Dissidia” By Shannon Grippando Staff Writer
Since 1987, the “Final Fantasy” series has flourished with twelve best-selling games and a myriad of spinoffs to keep even the biggest Chocobo-riding, Firaga-casting fans busy by endlessly leveling up their characters. As a thank-you to the loyal gamers these past two decades, Square-Enix released “Dissidia” for the PSP-- a culmination that pays tribute to the Final Fantasy series through sweet nostalgia and surprisingly decent gameplay. “Dissida” pits heroes and villains of the 12 main “Final Fantasy” games against each other in a battle royale. The fighting roster is predictable with two characters from each game (only one from 11 and 12) including Cloud, Sephiroth, Terra, Kefka, Zidane and Kuja. But if your favorite didn’t make the cut, chances are high they’ll pop up in some sort of cameo throughout the game’s instructional modes or the museum. Gameplay is eye-catching and fulfilling with a battle system far superior to Square’s last attempt at a fighting game, “Ehrgeiz.” Characters have two gauges and two types of attacks: bravery and health. When a character lands a bravery attack it increases their
bravery while lowering their opponent’s bravery. When a health attack hits, a character inflicts damage equal to their bravery gauge. It’s intimidating and complex at first, but it proves to be an exciting battle system. Characters can also enter into an EX mode during battle, becoming more powerful and able to perform a devastating special attack. Most are signature moves that fans are sure to remember, like Cloud’s Omnislash Limit Break. Seeing your favorite Final Fantasy character fly through the air and kick so much ass is reason enough to enjoy “Dissidia”; the graphics and animations are stunning for a game on the PSP. Game modes options are robust in “Dissida,” providing gamers with more choices than a sphere grid. The Story Mode is decent for a fighting game. Gamers move character tokens on a board, battling other pieces to reach the goal and progress to the next level. It’s true this gets stale after a while, but Square does its best to mix things up with surprises on the board. You can’t really expect much; it’s a fighting game, afterall. Some things are so frustratingly hard in the Story Mode
you’ll have to come back later with a higher level or stronger equipment to beat them. Despite having taken the time out to level up my character and being a good ten levels higher than the final boss, I was still presented with a half-hour ass-whooping fest before I could best him. Aside from the Story Mode, the Duel Colosseum is fun and rewarding. Characters fight against a never-ending line-up of opponents, gaining new equipment and experience along the way.
The University of Tampa’s First Annual Black Box Film Festival By JP Busche Staff Writer
The UT Film Society in collaboration with the school’s Film and Media Arts department will be hosting the First Annual Black Box Film Festival from Sept. 24-26, 2009. The festival starts Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. on campus in the Reeves Theater with Professor Tom Garrett presenting an Honors Symposia on the future of independent film. At 7 p.m., Logan and Noah Miller will be screening their film “Touching Home” starring Ed Harris and Robert Forester and will be followed by a Q&A session. On Friday, Sept. 25, the Association of Film Commissioners International will host an entertainment caucus beginning at 11:30 a.m. Panelists will include Lindsey Norris Guthrie, Jennifer Parrimore, Jeanne Corcoran and Representative Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda. At 1:30 p.m., Read Martin, author of “The Reel Truth,” will present a lecture on the pitfalls of independent filmmaking, and how to avoid them. Martin will conclude with a Q&A session and book signing. On Saturday, Sept. 26, the EXTREME Stunt and Driving Team will make an appearance on campus at 1 p.m. Founder Grady Bishop and fellow team members will speak about their careers while presenting a reel of their work. The session will conclude with a demonstration of their high-speed camera car and Bronco cam. At 6 p.m. the National Campus Movie
Festival winner Sarah Wilson (USF’10) will screen her 2009 film joined by her actors and crew, in Reeves Theater followed by a Q&A. The Black Box Film Festival screenings will begin with open refreshments at 6:30 p.m. and will premiere at 7 p.m. with a variety of work submitted by University of Tampa film students. Seating is on a first come first serve basis. The evening will end with an awards ceremony at The Cork restaurant on 406 South Howard Ave. The film selected as best of festival will be awarded with an automatic selection into the upcoming Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg. The entire festival will be free of charge and open to the public.
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You can also select special cards to boost your abilities inside and out of battle, trying to give yourself whatever edge you can gain against an infinite army. There’s certainly a love-hate relationship with the audio. The music is easily one of “Dissidia”’s high points, with remixes of composer Nobuo Uematsu’s finest works. However, the voice-overs are horrendously done. Voices are lack-luster, creating a cringe-worthy performance worthy of earning its place in a stuffed animal’s voice-box.
Sadly, I found myself popping on my iTunes and missing out on some of the spectacular music because of this. Ultimately, “Dissidia” provides a thrilling and rewarding experience that any “Final Fantasy” fan will happily add to their collection. Heck, it’s the best PSP game to come out in a long while--my poor black buddy had been collecting dust since I beat “Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.” “Dissida” for the PSP gets a 4 out of 5.
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Arts & Entertainment
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
Media Overhypes the First Lady’s Taste in Wardrobe By James McAuley Harvard Crimson, Harvard U.
(UWIRE) By now, it’s become almost inevitable: You go online, you try—really try—to read something worthwhile about the health-care debate, or Iran or even something as innocuous as just how much money the famed photographer Annie Leibovitz actually owes. But then, inexplicably, you find yourself clicking through a slideshow about Michelle Obama’s summer wardrobe, and it all goes downhill from there. The reason that you end up browsing these pieces about the First Lady is not that you’re actually curious about what the woman wears or really about anything having to do with her. You just subconsciously select the easiest, flashiest item on the screen—and these are usually the ones about Michelle Obama. I would sound crazy if I claimed that there is a giant media conspiracy to channel undue public attention onto the president’s otherwise normal wife. But I would sound even crazier if I said that I have seen all these pictures without having been forced to do so against my will. Call me crazy, but it seems clear that many major media organizations are doing their part to cast Michelle Obama in a certain mold, one into which she shouldn’t necessarily have to fit— the fashion maven and the cultural arbiter, the trendsetter and the globetrotter, the American queen and world icon. In other words, another
Jacqueline Kennedy. The urge to compare the two women is natural enough, especially given that Barack Obama won the same sort of transformative, generational election in 2008 that John F. Kennedy won in 1960. Michelle Obama is not the first presidential spouse to be a media darling or even an object of national interest. Hillary Clinton, before her infamous health-care debacle in 1993, was similarly fawned over, and Nancy Reagan, with those ever-useful horoscopes, never failed to amuse. But while it’s always been a peculiar fact that the American people love and crave the same type of royalty their republic was created to reject, there is certainly something different about the way the media treats the current First Lady. Unlike Lady Bird, Pat, Betty, Rosalynn, Nancy, Barbara, Hillary, and Laura before her, Michelle is not just another political wife to be scrutinized excessively—she has been assigned the Jackie mystique, forced to represent the reincarnation of Camelot when she is in fact an emblem of an entirely different sort of era—our own. Frankly, Michelle Obama is not Jackie Kennedy. She was not born into the East coast establishment, her blood does not run blue, and her upbringing was not centered on landing a powerful husband. She has a law degree from Harvard, out-earned her husband before he ran for public office, and has children and a family she still manages to care for.
Photo from flickr.com If First Ladies can be said to represent anything at all—and the judges are still out on that one— then Michelle Obama would seem to represent some version of the modern American woman, the woman who is fully engaged in each aspects of her life and who deserves a much broader definition than something as trivial as wardrobe alone, and a J.Crew wardrobe at that. Yet the media would have her transformed into another fashion icon or, as Vogue’s André Leon
Talley said recently, “the most fashionable woman in America.” As if her fashion sense were the sole characteristic that defined her. I will not pretend that I alone know what “defines” Michelle Obama, but the point is that the media should present her as she is
rather than paint her as some postCamelot American queen. If we are still to be barraged with news about the First Lady— and I’m not sure we should be— then, instead of the outfits, let us see the truth.
- Listen to the local radio, and try to win a contest. - Change your profile picture on Facebook.
Quilt’s next meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 23. Meetings are always at 8 and occur every other Wednesday. The first open mic of the semester is on Monday, Sept. 28 in Plant Park by the Sticks of Fire. It’s potluck style so bring food to share and a quilt to sit on! Poet Frank Gaspar will read in Scarfone Gallery Wednesday, Sept. 30 at p.m. Quilt is already accepting work for its spring issue! Deadline: Feb 12. E-mail submissions only! Send your work to quilt@ut.edu with your name and the genre you’re submitting in the subject line. Please attach your submissions in a single Microsoft Word file (.doc not .docx). In the body of the e-mail, type your name, phone number, mailing address, titles of your submitted pieces, the medium if it’s an art submission and a short bio (1-3 sentences) about yourself in third person. If you’ve submitted the maximum number of prose or poems, don’t despair! Quilt’s Corner is our section in UT’s student newspaper, The Minaret, which runs weekly, so submissions are unlimited. We accept poetry, art and photography, flash fiction, and short stories (which will be serialized). If you’re published in Quilt’s Corner that piece will be considered for publication in our journal (and it doesn’t count towards your limit total). E-mail these submissions to quilt@ut.edu with Quilt’s Corner Submission and your name in the subject line.
- Locate all the missing album artwork in your iTunes list. - Visit the library and check out that book you’ve been eyeing. - Post a Tweet every hour, on the hour. - Suscribe to your favorite online magazine. - Send birthday cards to all your friends with birthdays this month.
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
Arts & Entertainment
11
2009 MTV VMA WRAP-UP By David Bevis Staff Writer
music video, “Thriller”. Not only did the tribute performance incorporate phenomenal dancers, but midway through the song, Michael’s beloved sister, Janet Jackson, took over with a spin on Michael’s single, “Scream.” The song received a standing ovation and turned out to be the perfect start to a memorable evening. Janet wasn’t the only one to pay tribute to the king of pop, but Madonna also spoke a beautifuly crafted eulogy of the king of pop and her experiences with him. The host of the show and last year’s host, Russell Brand, made a dramatic entrance during Katy Perry’s rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” which she performed alongside Aerosmith’s, Joe Perry. He, like most hosts, gave the show its humor with his witty English remarks on the many celebrities, performances and attire. Although, at times, his sarcasm and odd remarks could be misunderstood, he was as a great asset to the show. As the show carried on in its usual raunchy, explicit manner, performances by the year’s most popular musicians stole the show. Performances by Wale, 3OH!3, Green Day, Muse, the All American Rejects and Jay-Z all got the crowd cheering, but didn’t compare to the other, in some cases death defying, performances of the evening. Taylor Swift performed her hit single, “You Belong with Me,” which won her best
female video for on the set of a subway station and played inside Radio City Music Hall. She ended the song standing on a cab amongst hundreds of fans outside the venue. One of the most death defying acts of the evening was Pink’s performance of “Sober.” During the beginning of the song, Pink was attached to cables and hoisted up into the air onto a trapeze, where she performed the entire song (along side a male trapeze artist) while flipping, swaying, and gliding through the air. Lady Gaga not only made it a memorable
evening with her attire, (4 outfits total, including her performance), but with her uniquely odd performance of “Paparazzi.” The song was somewhat normal until midway through when she left center stage to play a beautiful piano piece over the playing track and came back with blood running down her body. Not to mention when at the end of the song she was hoisted into the air, covered in
blood, and appearing to be dead. The evening wouldn’t have been the same without Video of the Year winner, Beyonce’s, performance medley of “Sweet Dreams” and the hit single, “Single Ladies.” Once again she showed off her voluptuous, curvy body in a very revealing, sequined leotard. The performance truly exposed her egotistic stage persona “Sasha Fierce” as she danced and sang, and effortlessly alongside two other female dancers. Besides the epic performances given, the evening was also hyped up on never-before-seen trailers of future movies hitting the big screen this fall. Two highly anticipated trailers that aired during the VMAs Sunday were Michael Jackson’s “This Is It,” a combination of rehearsal footage and tribute footage combined into one movie experience and the Twilight Saga “New Moon” starring heart-throbs Robert Pattinson, Taylor Launter and Kristin Stewart. Both movies will be released sometime this fall. Overall, the 2009 MTV VMAs did what it intends to do every year: draw attention, cause commotion, and give the viewers that extra oomph they don’t get from other award shows. MTV has done it again and will continue to shock and impress viewers with each year to come. If you haven’t had a chance to watch this year’s VMAs, you can do so online at http://vma.mtv.com/.
PHOTOS BY: flickr.com
“You are the best fans in the whole world. This is for god and my gays.” - Lady Gaga “I always dreamed about what it may be like to win one of these someday but I never actually thought it would happen!” - Taylor Swift means so much to me. I wish I could be there. Thank “This
you!” - Britney Spears
WINNERS CIRCLE
Video of the Year - Beyonce Best New Artist - Lady Gaga Best Hip-Hop Video - Eminem Best Male Video - T.I. Best Pop Video - Britney Spears Best Rock Video - Green Day Best Female Video - Taylor Swift Breakthrough Video - Matt & Kim Best Art Direction - Lady Gaga Best Choreography - Beyonce Best Cinematography - Green Day Best Direction - Green Day Best Editing - Beyonce Best Special Effects - Lady Gaga
“MTV play more videos. Yes. Keep them coming. We wanna see.” - Green Day “Taylor, I’m really happy for you but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” - Kanye West
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The Minaret | September 18, 2009
DO REMEMBER: SEX WITHOUT CONSENT IS RAPE. NO ONE CAN GIVE CONSENT WHILE IMPAIRED OR INTOXICATED.
The University does have designated victim advocates to assist victims of sexual assault/misconduct. There is a victim advocate on call 24 hours a day. An advocate can be reached directly at (813) 257-3900. An advocate may also be reached by contacting an RA, Campus Safety and Security or the Dean of Students Office.
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
Cheers
& Jeers
Beyonce & Taylor Swift
Kanye West
Lady Gaga’s Collared Dress
Lady Gaga’s Bird Nest Mask
Patrick Swayze
Pancreatic Cancer
Strangeness
Normality
Howl-O-Scream
Halloween Horror Nights
True Blood Finale
“New Moon”
Friends Who Facebook Stalk
Stalkers Who Use Facebook
IHOP
Pancake House
The Wendy Williams Show
Oprah’s 24th Season
Commentary 13 Editorial: It’s Up to the Individual Student Although the first three weeks seem to have slid by, don’t let the daily and weekly routine of classes and homework get in the way of the main purpose of coming to UT: an education to further your overall goals in life. Actually getting something out of college cannot be the sole responsibility of your professors, advisors or friends. Those people are all very important parts that can help students get something out of college, but the ones that ultimately have all the power are students themselves. The individual student has the responsibility to make the most out of their college career. A resume doesn’t just become full of things that make a future employer want to hire a someone. Similarly, receiving an A in class does not happen automatically. There needs to be some work and effort put into a class in order to get that A. It’s the student’s responsibility through each intersection they cross on the roads of college to decide what path they will take. This means grades, friends, where students decide to hang out on the weekend, which clubs a student joins and which sports
are played are all choices students must make themselves. This year, preliminary enrollment numbers show that UT has once again increased the overall size of the student body. This not only causes a strain in housing (which we have seen as students continue to be housed in the Howard Johnson) but also classes. Class is where education happens. What about the student to faculty ratio? This is a point that UT prides itself on. UT’s first-year core curricula also had to be expanded, and this causes some stress in that area, as well. Multiple classes were added, but adjunct faculty were placed in the available spots. This is by no means a bad thing, since sometimes adjuncts have more real-life experience. However, this is not true of all of them. Therefore, the initial impressions of a class for some incoming freshmen may be tainted compared to the classes taken in the previous semesters. This is why it’s very important for the new students to understand that their education is in
their control. The university does have its obligation to provide the tools necessary to allow the student to make the most out of your education. UT definitely has a student to faculty ratio which is more appealing than some of the larger public universities. This is a tool for students to use in making the most out of their education. Some professors are awesome and others are not, depending on who judges them. But, regardless of how good or bad a professor is, it is still the obligation of the individual student to make the most they can out of a class. Take what is given. The opportunity is there to succeed. If the student body, faculty, or administration don’t take action to further the educational benefits of university, students cannot let this from stopping them from pursuing their individual goals. It’s your education; it’s your future. If you haven’t started to make the investment in your future, you have to start now.
Lack of Late Night Food Cause Students and Stomachs to Grumble
By John Jacobs Columnist
If you’re like me, the night is never over after coming back from whatever club, bar or party you attended. That’s when the fun part of the night begins; figuring out where you’re going to get something to eat! Getting back to campus around 2-3 in the morning you can never go to sleep, because you haven’t eaten anything since 7 p.m. The possible combinations of food you could be eating are now running through your head. And because we have anywhere between 2-7 carryout menus shot under our doors every day, the possibilities are endless! With pizza, burgers, wings, pasta, subs, Chinese, burritos and sushi available for delivery, you can get anything you want! Even if you don’t particularly like a type of food, you’ll order it just because it’s convenient and you have a menu for it. “Dude, have you ever eaten at that Ethiopian restaurant before?” “No.” “Me neither, but get excited cause I just ordered $60 worth of food from them because they’re open!” “Yay!” (Followed by high fives and tears of joy). Of course, while you’re ordering, you only plan on buying food for yourself, but it turns into thanksgiving dinner as everyone on your floor suddenly joins in on the order. The issue of “who owes
what?” starts. We’ve all taken years of math, but when it comes to food orders, simple adding and subtracting skills disappear. “Wait, so four of us each ordered something at a different price? This isn’t going to work.” On the other hand, if you chose to turn your desire for food into a journey, there are a few 24 hour spots not too far from campus which are perfect for the wasted—I mean hungry, college students to enjoy. There’s Salem’s, which is right up West Kennedy about a mile from campus. Imagine the food stand Tony Montana worked at in the beginning of “Scarface” turned into a restaurant. Instead of spending money on silly things like a working bathroom, nice tables or better ingredients for the food, Salem’s has a giant projector TV (usually on a Spanish speaking channel) and a giant multi-colored leather couch. Where do they come up with these genius ideas!
The food is worth the trip though, whatever you wanted to eat they probably won’t have, but you’ll settle for a steak gyro and be somewhat satisfied by it! If you don’t want to travel outside of your comfort zone and put Salems to the test, another place to try on your quest for food is IHOP. It really can’t get much better than The International House of Pa(i)ncakes when it comes to late night (early morning) dining. As long as you don’t mind the smell of cheap coffee and the feeling of eating in a lodge from a bad horror movie IHOP is perfect! And after a long night out, nothing will make you feel “better” than a big stack of chocolate chip pancakes covered in strawberry syrup! And the transition from having over ten places to eat on campus during the day to none after one in the morning is a huge change. During the day, students can be as lazy as possible when it comes to eating on campus, just going
Photos by Marcin Wichary
anywhere in general. Imagine what your day could potentially be like living in Stadium. “What do you plan on doing today?” “Well I was going to get some coffee, start my laundry then probably eat Mexican for lunch at some point. Then do some homework, get pasta or maybe pizza for dinner and watch a bit of the men’s soccer game, then probably get some ice cream before going to bed.” “Wow, sounds like you’re going to be all over the place today.” “No, actually I haven’t been outside in about a week now. It’s still September right?” The only place open semi-late on campus to eat is the Spartan Club in Vaughn. I think it’s the one place that could get old the first time you eat at it. You can only eat a 3 piece chicken tender meal so many times before you start to get physically and mentally depressed. Walking
back from Spartan Club always feels like I just got out of a really sad movie. Of course, the school could keep dining on campus open later, but that would make too much sense, which is why the school doesn’t do it. The University would easily make up the money it costs to keep things open later by the amount of students coming to eat. Why do you think there are so many restaurants that deliver food up until 3 or 4 a.m.? Because nothing on campus is open and everyone awake is still hungry! So the next time the daily famine begins on campus you can: try ordering in from one of the many extremely healthy delivery places, go for a trip, try one of the classy 24 hour restaurants or walk to metro mart, eat the fried chicken and miss your morning classes due to a stomach virus. John Jacobs can be reached at jjacobs@ut.edu.
Photos by Bryan Kaplan Hungry UT students suffer from late night hunger and poor eating options.
Commentary
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The Minaret | September 18, 2009
Hypersexual Generation Eschews Romance for Pleasure
By Narisa Imprasert Special to The Minaret
“Carpe diem,” is a popular saying. Some have it tattooed on them, while others simply live by it; like a code. When it comes to seizing the day, what do you do? Maybe telling off your boss for the first time, or going skydiving on a whim is what gets you off. But for others, more personal issues, like sex, where do you stand? Sometimes it comes off as a vulgar subject; it makes people uncomfortable, but it’s just a natural act between two people right? Sex, sex, sex! It makes us raise our eyebrows whenever we meet someone new. Subconsciously sizing people up, we discreetly glance from head-to-toe—while maintaining cursory eye contact, of course. Is the person cute? Maybe charming, awkward, gorgeous, too much make up, tall, or has that impeccable scruffy, yet handsome look going on. Or, this stranger is rocking a beer gut; the muffin-tops swing you the wrong way. Like my sister always says, “It’s not a judgment, it’s simply an observation.” But with all these physical characteristics embedded within our minds, are we forgetting the essence of attraction? The mental stimulation where two people can discuss literature at a coffee shop seems utterly lost. It seems, nowadays, the only way students find their latest conquest lies at a bar or club. Someone approaches a stranger, buys him or her a drink, and boom—that extra-long twin bed is fit for two. Is that what our generation thrives on? To stumble
out of a taxi with random dude number 7 and have him leave in the morning? Where is the passion? Is a one-night stand all that is left? Is lust the replacement of making love? The gentle caresses and the whisperings of sweet nothings is swapped with raunchy engagements and carelessness. I feel like the student population is seemingly obsessed with sex. For lack of a better explanation, we are indeed, generation sex. We bump-and-grind with complete strangers, bring them home and suffer that awkward and tense morning after. But, of course, we all have an eight o’clock class on a Friday morning, right? It’s the perfect little white lie we use to avoid that awkward silence in the morning. Our bed is our sanctuary. Where we spend a good portion of our lives, and it appears that some students are sharing their beds a little too often. This is essentially the college stereotype. It is where you find yourself again. Whether it’s spiritually, emotionally or physically, it’s up to you. Many believe that students are “easy,” and those that are still virgins feel pressured to give it up. Here’s how it goes: upon going out for a few drinks, our minds seem to be in the gutter. After polishing off that pitcher of beer, we begin to scan the crowd of students, like a lion would prey. The intentions are simple; getting laid is priority number 1, and 2, well that varies on the person. Too many times have I heard,
waiting in line or standing in an elevator, “Man I just really want to get laid tonight and forget about ___.”
Such thoughts seem preposterous; sleeping with someone new is only asking for more problems. It doesn’t help that every time I go out, some random club promoter hands me lifestyle condoms and a shot. That combination still confuses me. Thankfully, some students still believe in monogamous relationships, or at least dating, so not all hope for mankind is lost. I don’t even want to know how many students here have STD’s. It would probably be enough to make me take a vow of celibacy. However, one thing that I admit to be is a hopeless romantic. Several exes of mine have wooed me with flowers and cute dates that I’ll remember forever. Now it seems that my current love interest believes watching television and ordering take out is the perfect date. Yes, I find it relaxing and adorable, but there is no romance or enduring qualities. Maybe I expect too much. Or I have yet to adjust to this “hypersexual generation”. Incredibly thin walls separate these dorms. I can hear my suitemate cough at night, so I don’t know how I feel about having a random rendezvous in my dorm. I can remember meeting a boy last year that only cared about getting into my pants. The physical attraction was there, the mental stimulation seemed adequate, but then his quirky lust took over. He begged me to meet him in one of the minarets to “do it.”
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Wow, right? Way to sweep me off my feet. Not even Shakespeare has such eloquence and smooth tactics for wooing a lady. It wasn’t just his forward boldness that turned me off, but the way in which he approached the situation. Of all the terms of making love and being intimate, he choose to label the sexual act as “it.” Being the classy lady that I am, I would have even settled for calling it sex. Maybe even using the four-letter word that rhymes with duck was more appropriate. But “it” just seems childish and is probably why this generation may see the extinction of romance.
Hopefully, within the next few years, our level of affection will evolve. Physical attraction will coincide with romance and lust will balance out with more than just a one-night-stand. I look forward to meeting someone that understands my outlook on sex. Don’t get me wrong I am no Mother Theresa. Although I may be a bisexual Asian, believe me, Tila Tequila is definitely not my idol.
me—priggish as I am—how easily people exchange bedfellows here. Just a little too easily in my opinion. What keeps me awake at night is the thought of what we’re all passing around to each other! Last week there was a talk on STDs in Vaughn on the third floor where we played a game: each person took an envelope and exchanged it with another person. When we opened these envelopes—voila!—we had just received gonorrhea from the person who passed us the envelope. And not just gonorrhea, but a whole range of frightful diseases like herpes of the mouth, Hepatitis B & C, syphilis, intestinal parasites, genital warts—the list of grisly diseases goes on! People think it won’t happen to them because it’s not that easy, guess what—it just happened because it is that easy. All this makes me wonder how anyone has sex without having nightmares just at the thought! Another horrifying thought is the percentage of students who have these diseases and are unaware and nonchalant of the fact that they’re passing them onto other students! How is it that people who
concentrate so wholly on their physical health and aesthetic beauty can be so blissfully unaware of this most critical part of our health that we’re just throwing away? Such frivolity is simply inexcusable! What good is physical beauty with poor sexual health? The college experience is about having fun, but I don’t think anyone’s aiming to graduate with a degree and a STD. The health center offers testing and check-ups for these things, the tests aren’t expensive. After all, how much is your health worth to you? Why not go with your partner before you have sex rather than afterward when you realize that they gave you chlamydia? There are so many brilliant, vivacious students in this university, why not utilize our intelligence when it comes to sex? You’ll be thankful you did it! Sex is about more than just fulfilling your own needs; the decade of free love is over. It takes courage to make good choices. We all have that courage.
Narisa Imprasert can be reached at nimprasert@ut.edu.
Physically Fit Campus Forgets to Exercise Control over its Sexual Health
By Philippa Hatendi Special to The Minaret
Women’s
Photo by Oteo/flickr.com
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STDs, with cranberry and vodka, our most popular campus cocktail! I go to the gym during the week and always admire how many students I see working out while I’m huffing and puffing away on some machine (I wasn’t built for exertion). I admire these students because they have taken it upon themselves to look after their physical health for the duration of their time at UT. Allowing them to truly enjoy college life without being inhibited by many sicknesses, exhaustion and general moodiness like other students. I’m more than a 100% sure that students do not hesitate to gorge and satisfy their sexual appetites, that much is evident. But do they bother to wonder what risks they are taking when doing so? When I first came to this university, I realized it was commonplace to act upon one’s sexual appetite with whomever seemed to be the target (at the time). It was deeply shocking to
Philppa Hatendi can be reached at phatendi@ut.edu.
Commentary 14 Pitch a Tent: Columnist Vacations from Stress with Campy TV
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
By Derrick Austin Commentary Editor
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m already tired. It’s only the third week of school and the consensus among my friends is that summer vacation’s long stretch of doing nothing doesn’t seem so bad anymore. Projects and presentations have already been assigned, papers are due soon and editorials grow increasingly harder to write. I need a good way to de-stress. It’s difficult to find time to pleasure read, and low funds (plus, lots of homework) make club-hopping a struggle. So I rely on camp to get me through, that wonderful mix of genius and insanity, highbrow and lowbrow culture, hysterics and heart, absurdism and honest reality. Camp has largely been the provenance of women and gay men, but frankly pop culture is nothing but camp. So I say let’s pitch a tent, ditch the work for a bit and enjoy the crazy. Here’s a list of the campiest things that get me through the rough days.
I miss old Oprah from the 90s, before Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz and Dr… is Suze Orman a doctor? You know when she actually interviewed people? So I tune in to “The Wendy Williams Show.” When you watch her gabfest you’ll notice one of two things: either the show is run by a drag queen (no, Williams is just a giant with a penchant for heels), or the audience is comprised largely of gay men and women, particularly black women. From those two facts alone you can surmise the “Wendy Show” dynamic: instead of trying to save the world, Williams would much rather talk about the benefits of wigs, then dish on and diss celebrities with her audience, while dispensing down to earth, common-sense advice. Instead of handing out cars, she unleashes her “diva fan” and the audience hoots and hollers. Williams’s show is the type of self-conscious silliness that’s all fun and heart.
2. Kate Bush on Youtube If Tori Amos had a crazy older sister that was locked in an attic and escaped to become one the most individual pop vocalists of our time, she would be Kate Bush. Thanks to Youtube, a friend introduced Kate Bush to me a few weeks ago with her video “Wuthering Heights.” The song came out in 1978 1. “The Wendy Williams and Bush became the first woman Show” (BET, Everyday at 11 PM) in England to have a number one self-written single.
While the song is unique in its own right with Bush’s emotive wailing, the video has earned a special place in my heart. I can’t possibly describe it: just search “Kate Bush Wuthering Heights” and you’ll find it. There are two terrific versions of the video, but the red dress version will amaze you. In the middle of a field, Bush emerges like a red-dressed flower child and performs what can only be described as the Geico gecko doing interpretive dance.
4. Angryalien.com “Pulp Fiction,” “Twilight,” “Super Bad,” “Brokeback Mountain” and other movies reenacted in thirty seconds…by bunnies. Enough said. 5. “Glee” (Fox, Wednesdays at 9 PM) If you have a Facebook page, you’ll probably have read a lot of updates about this little show that could. In a nutshell, it’s every high school show that ever existed... with songs! Where else can you hear show tune versions of “Gold Digger,” “Push It,” “Take a Bow,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’?” This week Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and Jazmine Sullivan’s “Bust Your Windows” will join that list. After taking one peek at the show, you’ll wish your high school were a musical (no pun intended).
3. “So You Think You Can Dance” (Fox, Wednesdays at 8 PM) This show isn’t so much campy as brilliant. Unlike “American Idol,” to which this show is often compared, you don’t get rehashes of old dances; unlike “Dancing with the Stars” these are already talented dancers who’ve dedicated their lives to dance; and unlike “America’s Best Dance Crew” you don’t have to suffer through Lil Mama’s Derrick Austin can be reached blather. at daustin@ut.edu. This show brings tango, ballet, jazz and other styles of dance to American living rooms, dances that most can’t see in person, spotlighting an art form that deserves more attention. So, what is the camp factor? Two words: Mary Murphy. Essentially, the show’s answer to Paula Abdul, but instead of slurring her words when she loves a performance Murphy screams like a madwoman!
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Commentary
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War Ravages Families on the Homefront
Oscar (left) and Jairo (right) Medelin. Photo courtesy of Carolina Medelin. By Carolina Medelin Special to The Minaret
fact that every soldier is a hero.
What did 9/11 have to do with the war in Iraq? What was the link between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden? Why should democracy be instituted with violence? Those are some of the questions whose answers I don’t know. What I know is that there are people out there risking their lives for it. I don’t agree with most of the US foreign policy or intervention overseas, but I do agree with the
Out of my three brothers, two joined the US Army. One of them was deployed to Iraq in 2006. I have to say that I’m not proud of many of the things that go on over there. I am not proud of bombings, massacres and killing of innocent people. But I am proud of the soldiers as persons. It takes a lot to be a soldier. It requires courage, patience, heart and soul. And that’s what most soldiers have.
Leaving everything is not easy. Many people forget that the soldiers that are deployed have faces and names. They have families too. They are husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. I remember when my brother left and how, up to the day he came back, all the clocks in the house, computers and mobile phones were set for Iraq’s time. It was a year we lived overseas too, a year when every time you heard numbers on the TV you hoped it did not relate to you. Behind every soldier, there is a family waiting for him or her to be back home. When my brother came back, he had to face a lot of struggles. It broke my heart the day he was telling his one-year-old daughter, “Nicole, say ‘papa’, say ‘papa’” and the little girl would just look at him clueless. She could not understand who he was. Some people believe that what happens overseas is the fault of the troops, but they only happen to be following orders and doing their jobs. It is not really important to understand what the reasons were to go to war when there are lives being lost. There are certainly some soldiers whose behavior is unacceptable and that have done terrible things. But, the majority only wants to come back home and be with
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
their families. My brother always says: “Once you are there, the only thing you want is for you and the one next to you to go back home safely.” I think that the war in Iraq is a mistake. The troops should not be there; they should come back. Even though I completely disagree with the war, every soldier that goes to Iraq has my full support and will be in my prayers. I know what it is like to have someone over there. Someone you love. I definitely can identify with all those families who are missing their loved ones. My brother went to Iraq, and he made it back safe and sound. It is not the case for the more than 4,000 soldiers that have died—in Iraq only—up to now. Some of them die in missions. Others commit suicide. One of my brother’s friends shot himself inside a latrine and the other soldiers had to go there and clean up the mess. Coming back alive from Iraq is a miracle. Every time you see a soldier, don’t think about how much you agreed with the former president or with the war in Iraq. Just think that the person in front of you has gone through a lot. Show respect to the soldiers and be proud of the troops. Carolina Medelin can be reached at colaya@ut.edu.
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Let’s Get Real: The Government is Not the Boogy Monster
By Nicole Robinson Columnist
“I just don’t understand it,” she sobs. “My child should not have to go through this! It’s so unfair that they have to sit through this kind of thing. I’m just so scared that he’s trying to brainwash America’s kids,” a woman screams. “It just isn’t right! He’s corrupting our youth. This is a political agenda, and I won’t let my child be part of it,” another angry man shouts at a news camera. These images got my attention last week while I was flipping through the channels on my television. But why? What would cause these parents to be so up in arms, even sobbing in tears to local news officials? Was it that someone was going to try and hurt them in some way? Had the death panel plan been revised to focus on small children rather than innocent elderly Americans? Was the government going to reveal their underlying fascists sentiments and put all children in special “I hate children camps?” The truth was actually far worse; The President of the United
States was going to address K-12 students and ask them to stay in school. Who does that? Who have we elected that they would do such a thing? This is an obvious stain on America’s history, promoting education with reckless abandonment like that. President Obama, you have crossed the line! “We are what we learn.” What kind of fascist propaganda is that? How dare you, sir! I’d like to say that I hate education, and if my kids were supposed to see something like that, I’d take them out of class for the day and thus missing out on not only the address but valuable class lessons too! Right on Patriots! Right on! If the founding fathers stood for anything, it was for depriving yourself of as much information as possible in order to spite your enemy. Thomas Jefferson once stayed out of school for weeks to show his dedication, to show the British, who was boss. Listen, guys, we cannot descend into the world of baseless fears. What we have gone through in the first months of Obama’s administration is pure madness. People accuse the man of proposing death panels, of being a socialist fascist (how does that work?) and shouting him down in the Senate. We have lost ourselves in the
black hole of blind fear. In light of the shenanigans that have gone on recently, I’m wondering how a room full of jittery high schoolers ended up being the group who exercised the most decorum towards the President of the United States? Why is it that a senator can’t be held to the same standards of behavior as seventeen-year-olds? We need to do better. Shouting down people at town hall meetings that are supposed to be about intelligent debate and conversations is not the way. It impedes progress, and it a pretty big sign that most of these people don’t know what they’re talking about. When one is asked how to improve health care, replying, “It’s a lie! Fascism! Socialism!” is not a productive or educated response. By the way, let’s define these terms that people seem to be throwing around. Fascism is a very right winged party that originated with Mussolini in Italy, and was later adopted by the Nazis. Its usual characteristics are “a belief in the supremacy of one superior ethnic group and contempt of democracy.” You can see how the president does not fit into this category at all. Especially because president Obama actually promotes education whereas actual fascist did things like burn entire libraries. I’m not here to tell you what to think of the health care plan,
Photo by flickr.com
or any other proposals by the government. I welcome opposing views because that is what helps us explore different perspectives and gets us on the road to a possible compromise. We cannot pr event this educated conversation from taking place by screaming and forming angry mobs in Town Hall meetings. We owe it to ourselves to try and find the solutions in a civilized manner. The more that crowds gather to shout down any sort of educated discussion, the more we can be sure that those who are responsible for the chaos have little to no argument against the issues at hand. Also the suspicion that this
battle that people have, is more against Obama than anything else starts to shine through. I’m pretty sure that if he came up with a plan to give every child a pony, someone would find the hidden socialist agenda in that action. Let’s chill out, shall we? In his speech (if you decided to watch it), the president told kids that with education, no one could stop them. I think the same thing applies to educated debate. When we embrace it, I’m sure no one can stop us on our mission to improve our country. Nicole Robinson can be reached at nrobinson@ut.edu.
The Minaret | September 18, 2009
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The Minaret | September 18, 2009
Spartan Goalkeeper Stays Cool Under Pressure By Brenton Burkett Sports Writer
Every shot in soccer creates a pressure situation for a goalkeeper. Every game puts pressure on a top-ranked team. Every award won increases the pressure a player feels to win again. Just don’t tell Ryan Thompson that he’s under pressure. The University of Tampa senior goalie appears as the very definition of calm. He greets everyone he meets with a smile. His relaxed demeanor helps him have fun on and off the field with the No. 1 ranked Spartans. “I socialize with every single person on campus,” Thompson said. “That’s the most important thing. I think it adds to my playing ability, because I feel like I’m
Ryan Thompson
playing in front of a bunch of friends.” Growing up in Jamaica, Thompson played sports with friends from an early age. Soccer was not his first sport; he ran track and played cricket as a youth before discovering “the beautiful game.” After filling in one day as goalie in a pickup game, another player convinced him to try out for a local team. Despite his belief that he was “the worst goalkeeper there” at the time, he made the squad and it sparked his interest. He used the experience to hone his skills. Thompson eventually became good enough to earn spots on the elite Jamaican U-20 and U-23 national soccer teams. The experience prepared him for his future in the sport. “The more games I played, the more I felt comfortable and my confidence level grew,” Thompson said. “I played at a higher level on the national teams. Coming to college, it was about the same level or a bit lower. So those games made me a lot better.” After his prep career, Thompson was heavily recruited by U.S. colleges. He decided to attend UT because of the atmosphere on campus. He liked how personable the people were, especially head coach Adrian Bush, and he described the tropical Florida
weather as “perfect.” His work quickly drew notice in and outside of Tampa. He was voted to the Sunshine State Conference All-Tournament and to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll teams as a sophomore, despite having started just eight games. In 2008, his first year as a full-time starter, Thompson’s work in the net was rewarded with the ultimate prize, the SSC Defensive Player of the Year award. He recorded eight shutouts in 23 games and set a Spartan record during his junior year by making 15 saves in consecutive games.
Thompson’s award reflected not only upon himself, but the work of the team in front of him. “It was a great achievement,” Thompson said. “I know I wasn’t the only one responsible. Though I was the one that got recognized, defense is a team effort. Offense wins the game, but defense wins the tournament.” The award was redeeming, but this season’s goals are for his team to win its own top prize. “We’ll take it one game at a time, try to improve as individuals and as a team,” Thompson said. “But hopefully, at the end, we’ll
win the national championship.” Thompson’s life after UT might mirror his life at UT. He has ambitions to start his professional career in Major League Soccer (MLS) after his time with the Spartans is finished. “I really hope and pray soccer works out for me after school,” Thompson said. “If not, I’ll have my degree. But I would like to start with MLS and play there until more opportunities open up. Wherever the sport takes me, I’ll just live in the moment.” Brenton Burkett can be reached at bburkett@ut.edu.
Ryan Thompson protects the net against Savannah College of Art and Design .
Photo by Abby Sanford/ The Minaret
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The Minaret | September 18, 2009
From “Athletics” [Back] it’s really just being there as a connection between the team. With basketball, we’ll keep the book to make sure the scoring is right and everything… Soccer is the same.” His friendly relationship with the “student assistants” is one quality that makes Flatt such a popular and likeable guy around the athletics department. Swalls, Associate Athletic Director and former professor of Flatt’s, spoke kindly on his behalf. “It takes a very unique set
of skills for a student to come to work in this office and Taylor has all the skills.” It was, in fact, Swalls who saw special talent in Taylor. “Gil came to me and said ‘this is a natural, he’s great in this class, he’d be great in the field, we need to get him,’” Kolbe, Flatt’s superior said. “We basically begged [him] to come work for us. We finally talked to him into working here as a senior. He did it, he did a great job, actually liked it while doing it, and decided he wanted to do this as a career.” As if the words spoken by Swalls and Kolbe weren’t gra-
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Sports cious enough, Flatt was also complimented by one of his student assistants. Adrian Martinez, who has known Flatt for two years, commented “he’s not grumpy”. Martinez perhaps was caught off guard by the proposition of commenting on Flatt, because as he was ending the phone conversation, Martinez admitted to Flatt “I like you… I do like you.” Flatt also has a great advice for current students in the field of Sport Management. “There are so many opportunities to do so many different types of things in this area and the professors and the program are al-
ways putting them in front of you. Take advantage of all those different things. With internships- do different things.” For instance, Flatt interned for the Clearwater Threshers in the 2008 summer. From this experience, he realized he preferred to build a career around collegiate sports instead of professional sports. Flatt even got specific, saying he liked Division II athletics because of “the focus on the student athlete”. Next in his career, he hopes to move on as a Sports Information Director, particularly in a small
southern town because of how much emphasis and fan support is geared towards collegiate sports. As far as new students getting involved with what Flatt does, although aware some openings on campus might be miniscule, he is confident there is a job for most everyone. “We try very hard to not turn anyone away. We will find something for people to do here.” So look for Flatt in Martinez Sports Center, but just remember to call him by his appropriate name- Rick Vaughn. Daniel Feingold can be reached at dfeingold@ut.edu.
Oklahoma Sooners Football Will be Tested by Tulsa
By Jono Greco Oklahoma Daily, U. Oklahoma
Out-of-conference games have provided many trap games and losses for the No. 12 Sooners in both the regular season and bowl games the past few years. This weekend’s game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, hailing from Conference USA, provides for another test to avoid adding to the legitimacy of non-Bowl Championship Series conferences and the argument of overrating the Big 12. The Big 12 has been dealt two blows so far this season by C-USA and the Mountain West Confer-
ence. The first coming in week one when Brigham Young University beat OU 14-13, and this past weekend the No. 21 Houston Cougars defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys Saturday 45-35. The victory gave Houston and C-USA some national respect, and now Tulsa has been handed the job of adding to that respect by possibly defeating OU. But that task is a daunting order for the Golden Hurricane even though it is putting out one of its best teams in recent years. The Sooners hold a 15-7-1 series lead, and have won the last
four meetings. The head-to-head record could be used as a motivating factor for both Tulsa and C-USA. The conference as a whole is 12-12 so far this season, but the Golden Hurricane is a perfect candidate this week for giving validity for the conference, and propelling themselves into the top-25. Tulsa has come out of the gate well with its two victories over Tulane and New Mexico, both on the road, and are looking to stay undefeated against an OU squad that still has a lot of question marks. Tulsa, Houston, Southern Mississippi and Southern Methodist are
the only undefeated teams left in the conference, but it is unlikely all four will end the season with a zero in the loss column. Houston has the easiest schedule of the remaining undefeated C-USA teams, with its toughest game remaining being Tulsa. Including the Sooners, the Golden Hurricane has three ranked teams on its schedule. The other two teams are Houston and No. 10 Boise State, with both games being at home. A loss in Norman against Tulsa would be devastating to OU, and would most likely end its national championship dream.
The threat is a likely possibility with how well the Golden Hurricane has improved in recent years, and how banged up the Sooners’ inexperienced offense has become. The Big 12 has not been well-known for its defense over the past few years, but Saturday’s game against a high-powered C-USA team will come down to how well the Sooners’ defense can keep Tulsa’s offense out of the end zone. If the defense is not able to do so, then C-USA will throw its hat further into the ring for a national championship run.
Rutgers’ Hopes Hinge on Freshman Quarterback By Steven Miller Daily Targum, Rutgers
Tom Savage faked the handoff, turned and fired the ball downfield, then trotted toward senior receiver Tim Brown in the end zone. No jumping, no shouting — just a simple congratulation after a 68-yard touchdown for which the freshman quarterback was equally responsible. After his first Rutgers football career start — and second appearance — one thing is clear about Savage: the kid is cool. “Tom’s pretty relaxed; that’s his personality,” head coach Greg Schiano said. “He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low — that will serve him
well.” Savage, rated the No. 10 quarterback in the country out of high school by ESPN.com, is part of a quarterback class that has already began to make its mark on the college landscape. University of Southern California’s Matt Barkley and Michigan’s Tate Forcier led game-winning drives against Ohio State and Notre Dame on Saturday, respectively. Savage led the Scarlet Knights past Howard. The RU victory
may not have had the same impact on the national scale, but the Knights’ prized quarterback displayed the same composure, beyond his years, that Barkley and Forcier showcased. “I saw the highlights; that quarterback reminded me of Tom — he looks just like him,” Brown said of Barkley. “He’s got the poise and Tom’s got the poise too; they’re both great quarterbacks.” Although Savage is familiar with Barkley through recruiting camps, Schiano is not concerned with the other freshmen gunslingers. “I don’t know about other people’s situations,” Schiano said. “I know about ours … we have a guy in Tom [Savage] who we think gives us the best chance to win.” Savage did that against Howard, completing 8 of 13 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. In the process, h e be-
came the fifth quarterback in school history to start a game as a true freshman and just the second to win his first start. “He came in and it was 0-0,” Schiano said of the differences between Savage’s Cincinnati debut and Howard start. “I think that … he started a game and did the things he needed to do to put the ball downfield and into the end zone — that’s probably the biggest thing.” Savage admitted having pregame nerves. With the offense in his hands, he also admitted that he had to go against his naturally quiet and reserved disposition. The need to take charge was something that senior center and captain Ryan Blaszczyk emphasized to Savage before kickoff. “In the pre-game I told him, ‘The offense is only going to go as far as our quarterback leads us, so when we get on the field be confident, be loud, be vocal, and it will instill confidence in everyone else,’” Blaszczyk said. “I saw that a lot.”In fact, it was Blaszczyk’s words that instilled confidence in Savage. “That gave me chills a little bit, to have a senior offensive lineman talk to me like that,” Savage said. “But it definitely gave me a lot of confidence, knowing they’re behind me.” One start into his RU career, Savage is starting to realize it’s not just Blaszczyk and his teammates that are behind him, but an entire University.
“I was out on College Avenue and I saw a picture of myself in the paper and I was just looking at it, but my friends made it worse,” the 19-year-old said. “I was trying to keep it calm, but my friends got all excited. It’s fun though.” Always keeping a straight face on the field, it is hard to tell Savage is having fun. According to the always-excitable Brown, that is not a problem. “I’ll do the celebrating,” Brown said. “I don’t expect Tom to be hopping around after he throws a touchdown. That’s what he expects to do — just throw touchdowns.”
Tom Savage
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You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy. - Arthur Ashe
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‘n t u O
Third Time’s a Charm
M. Soccer: For the thrid consecutive week the men’s soccer team is ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Division II poll. After defeating Savannah College of Art and Design the Spartans improved to a perfect 4-0 on the season. Tampa will compete against the West Florida Argos on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m.
Rebounding Wins W. Soccer: After a slow start (0-2-1) the women’s soccer team has rebounded strong with three straight wins to improve to 3-2-1. Ta m pa will look to continue their win streak when they travel to Georgia to Jazmin Perry compete in the Columbus State tournament. Jazmin Perry leads the team with fives goals on the season.
Continuing a Streak
Three-Sport Athlete Finds Comfort as Striker Vanderhall showed potential early, recording at least one kill in all 32 appearances that season as well as a dig in 27 matches. Her performance was good enough to earn All-SSC freshman honors. Vanderhall grew by leaps and bounds in 2008. She recorded at least three kills in each match. She reached double-digits 21 times and had at least 17 kills seven
By Ryan Burkett Sports Writer
times. Defensively, she had 10 or more digs four times last season. Following the season, she was named both SSC and South Region Player of the Year. “I was actually really, really surprised,” Vanderhall said of the Player of the Year honors, adding that it was especially surprising since it was her first season as a full-time starter.
As many UT sports fans know, Melissa Vanderhall is an awardwinning volleyball star, but there’s much more to the story than meets the eye. Prior to her UT career, Vanderhall attended Uniondale High School in New York, where she reached All-County status in three sports: volleyball, softball and basketball. She said that while volleyball has always been her number one sport, she also loved basketball. Despite standing just 5’7”, Vanderhall starred as a center in high school. “But in college a 5’7” center wouldn’t work,” Vanderhall said. Vanderhall then moved to Florida to attend UT, citing the warm weather as the main reason. It was at UT where she would enjoy some of her greatest success. After redshirting in 2006, Vanderhall made her UT debut in 2007. She appeared in 32 of the team’s 34 matches, starting 18 times. Melissa Vanderhall goes for the kill
Minaret Archive Photo
In addition to her success on the court, Vanderhall is a perennial honor student, making SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll every year so far at UT. She also received the Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award in 2007. Va n d e r h a l l ’ s b i g g e s t accomplishment, however, is her involvement in various charitable causes. Her volunteer work includes the Family & Children’s Association, the Ronald McDonald House, and the Special Olympics. As an Allied Health major, she plans to continue working with children as a pediatric physical therapist. Vanderhall has not ruled out playing volleyball after college, however. “If I have the opportunity, why not [go to Europe]?” Vanderhall said. Vanderhall has enjoyed great success in volleyball, but has accomplished even more academically and in volunteer work. She hopes to continue this trend for a long time to come.
Tennessee Native Gets Lost: Finds UT by Accident By Daniel Feingold Sports Writer
Taylor Flatt is the Assistant Sports Information Director for the University of Tampa. However, when you take a walk around the Martinez Sports Center and ask for Taylor, you will soon learn he is better known as “Rick Vaughn”. Only 24 and recently graduated from UT, Taylor “Rick Vaughn”
Volleyball: The UT volleyball team has won four straight matches. They will take on their first conference opponent, Lynn, on Sept. 19. Melissa Vanderhall leads the team with 116 kills on the season. Julie Howlett leads the team with 105 digs on the season; Kaleigh Cunningham trailing her with 84. Taylor Flatt
No. 1 M. Soccer Sept. 18, 8 p.m. at West Florida
>>>The undefeated Spartans will travel to Pensacola to take on the 4-1 West Florida Argos. The Argos single loss came on Sept. 11 to Rollins College
Flatt maintains a great relationship with current students. He explained how this nickname from his peers came about. He had commented on the popular movie “Major League,” specifically how one character’s name, Rick Vaughn, was the perfect name to have if you played baseball. From then on, it stuck. “I never wanted to be called Rick Vaughn… but they said I did,” Flatt said. Flatt also had an interesting story on how he ended up attending UT. Originally from Tennessee, Taylor found the campus by accident. “It was actually a stroke of fate. I didn’t know anything about the school. I was down here for a concert at Tampa Theatre, got lost trying to find parking, and managed to find my way onto the campus.” Though Flatt always loved sports, rooting for the Rays while staying true to his hometown teams, he initially aspired to be a
W. Soccer Sept. 18, 2 p.m. vs. Carson-Newman >>> The 3-2-1 Spartan soccer team will compete in the Columbus State tournament. UT is coming off back-to-back wins against West Georgia and Warner.
meteorologist. After realizing “the math, the weather was too hard,” Flatt shifted his attention towards Sport Management. Because the field of Sport Management is vague, Flatt tried finding a career path he was interested in. That’s when he took Professor Gil Swalls’ Media relations and Communications in Sports class. “Fortunately that next semester I had Gil’s class…I already kind of had an idea that I wanted to get into something like this [but] that was what really made me certain with what I wanted to do”. Flatt described his position at UT as a pseudo internship/ fulltime job. He has many responsibilities pertaining to UT athletics, but he says the “biggest two things we do is keep stats for all our athletic teams, update the website and get that information out.” He also works to get our school media coverage, whether it be locally or on a broader scale. This may be a difficult task, Flatt
explained, because of the school’s location. “It was always tough trying to get media coverage of our teams especially in this market with all the professional teams, and then there is USF too.” Nevertheless, Flatt works diligently to benefit UT’s athletics and the school in general. He, as well as his boss, Tom Kolbe (Sports Information Director), both rely on the help from hardworking students. “We rely very heavily on students. That’s one of the reasons why we don’t really have a fulltime assistant. Its more of a learning experience for them too.” Flatt then explained the tasks the students perform for various teams. “They travel with the teams… where as most schools, it’s the Sports Information Director or the assistant who goes with the teams…On the road, sometimes See
“Athletics” [19]
No. 5 Volleyball
Cross Country
Sept. 19, 7 p.m. at Lynn
Sept. 18, 7 p.m.
>>> The 9-1 Spartans will compete in back-to-back road conference road match-ups, as they take on Lynn and Nova Southeastern.
Florida Tech Invite (Gainesville) >>> The women’s cross country team is coming off a first place finish at Wickham Park. The men’s team placed second.