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CATALYST
WALL PREVIEWS GROUP THERAPY pg.
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ZOMBIES pg.
OCTOBER 7, 2015 VOLUME XXXIII ISSUE V
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A student newspaper of New College of Florida
Prof.Shipman spearheads initiative to raise TA wage to $15 First-year student Chloe Baron watches as Music Theory I TA, second-year Sadé Holmes, leads a TA session.
BY GIULIA HEYWARD Chemistry students who are teaching assistants (TAs) are making $15 per hour this semester – almost double the amount of any other TA for any other discipline. All thanks to one professor and some paperwork. “The wages for TAs haven’t changed since I’ve been a faculty
member here,” Professor of Chemistry Steve Shipman said. Shipman is a Gender Studies Program advisor and has been a faculty member since 2008. “At the same time though, minimum wage has gone up, gas prices have gone up, all of this other stuff has gone up. So now basically the TAs are earning a little bit more than minimum wage but, at the same time, the state cut back
Giulia Heyward/Catalyst
support for Bright Futures and their tuition has gone up. What’s happening is that our students are going to work more and more hours just to get by. I wanted to make a bold step to try to address that.” Shipman filled out an application to receive funding from the Faculty Development Fund in order to increase the salary for chemistry TAs from
$8.25, the standard for all other TAs, to $15 per hour. Shipman said he did not expect to receive funding, but wanted to apply in order to make a statement. Once he received news that his request had been approved, he sent out a copy of his application to the rest of the faculty in the Division of Natural Sciences to
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Volkswagen defeat devices resulted in emissions levels 40 times greater than EPA regulations allowed Cars affected by the Volkswagen scandal:
BY AUDREY WARNE Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer and largest producer of cars in the world, has been found guilty of fitting more than 11 million cars with devices designed to outsmart environmental regulations on diesel emissions standards. The company denied any involvement in the development or implementation of so called “defeat devices” for more than a year, until last week, when the CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned. Approximately one third of Volskwagen’s market value has been wiped out since the news broke, and stock prices have steadily declined. For a company that marketed itself in the United States as “clean diesel” with a low environmental impact, the scandal was a significant blow to Volkswagen’s public image. Since 2009, diesel vehicles have made up approximately 15 percent of VW and Audi U.S. sales, although they represent less than 1 percent of cars on the road
WHAT’S INSIDE
VW Jetta, Beetle and Golf from years 2009-2015, the Passat from years 20142015, and the Audi A3 from years 2009-2015.
Kaylie Stokes/Catalyst
11 million cars were recalled potentially costing Volkswagon over $18 billion in the United States. Volkswagen is facing heavy fines as a result of the deception, from both United States and international institutions. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could, in
5 HILLEL SUKKAH
theory, charge Volkswagen $37,500 for each vehicle sold not in compliance with U.S. emissions standards. With at least 482,000 VW and Audi cars sold in the United States involved in the allegations, Volkswagen could be
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looking at more than $18 billion in fines. The number does not include the cost of fixing the engines in order to make them comply with emissions standards, a cost which Volkswagen has agreed to cover. “I think regulators everywhere will learn some lessons from this, in terms of how they monitor and how they do testing on vehicles,” said Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies Frank Alcock. “I think the industry will watch what happens to Volkswagen and not want that to happen to them. However, people and
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12 HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH