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CATALYST
WALL PREVIEWS FIGURE MODELING pg.
OCTOBER 28, 2015 VOLUME XXXIII ISSUE VII
A student newspaper of New College of Florida
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2015 Master Plan sets lofty goals for future of NCF BY RYAN PAICE The 2015 New College Master Plan has been revealed and presented to the community, and it sets a very ambitious goal for the college over the next 20 years. From tearing down the Palmer buildings in order to erect an all-new “academic quad,” to connecting College Drive with 58th Street to create College Drive Loop – the plans are vast and impressive. However, a dearth in public funding might keep the plan from being fully realized. According to Florida Statute
163.3245, public universities must create or revise master plans every five years in order to promote long term planning of development, agriculture and conservation. The 2015 New College Master Plan is a revision of the 2008 New College Master Plan, which did not take into consideration SarasotaBradenton International Airport’s Runway Protection Zone – or RPZ. The community development that the 2008 plan detailed on the North side of the west campus would have been in violation with the RPZ, so that area was entirely scrapped from the 2015 plan –
however there are negotiations with the airport that would allow for continued landscaping and parking in the area. The Sarasota-Bradenton Airport actually owns the land on which Pei Campus is located, but NCF holds a lease on the land for another 41 years. Incidentally, that land includes the area the Car Museum is on, and the 2015 Master Plan reveals that they will be given notice to move their business a year before development begins. While there are no specific plans for the development of the area, the 2015 Master Plan alludes to a building “up
(above) An artistic rendering of what Dort Promenade could look like in years to come. image courtesy of Master Plan Draft
to three stories in height, with a mix of housing, college functions, and retail/ commercial spaces.” Another planned addition to the south side of Pei Campus is a 36,000 square foot gymnasium taking the basketball court’s spot in the field behind the current gym. A new basketball court would be installed
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Campus hosts sixth annual International Career Development Seminar BY CAITLYN RALPH The International Career Development Seminar, an all-day workshop open to the entire Sarasota community, annually hosts numerous speakers to discuss work opportunities abroad. In celebration of United Nations (UN) Day and the organization’s 70th anniversary, the seminar was held last Saturday, Oct. 24 in Sudakoff for the sixth year in a row. The seminar is a joint effort between New College’s International Studies Program and the UNA-USA Sarasota-Manatee chapter. “Our goal is to strengthen the interest and participation of Americans in International Affairs and the global community more generally,” the seminar’s program read. Former president of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) SarasotaManatee Chapter Dorothy Watson opened the seminar with a presentation
WHAT’S INSIDE
Caitlyn Ralph/Catalyst
During the lunch session, students gathered with the speakers to ask one-onone questions. Students talk to Chief of Outreach at the UN Office of Resources Management John Ericson about his 33 year career at the UN.
about her experience moving from New York to Florida and helping found the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter of the UNAUSA. Following Watson, Professor of Political Science and Director of the International Studies program Barbara Hicks introduced a UN video
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that ascertained “we can be the first generation to end extreme poverty,” displaying the organization’s newly introduced global goals focused on sustainable development. “Take the baton,” Hicks said. “Make the world you want to live in.”
9 LITTLE NIGHTMARES
Provost Steve Miles represented the higher education institutions in the Sarasota-Manatee area – New College, Ringling College of Art and Design, State College of Florida, and University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee – with his welcome address. Miles emphasized the growing collaboration and connection between the institutions, calling the cohort the “consortium.” “The institutions in this area all get along really well. We bring so many resources together,” Miles said. “When we work together, the possibilities are really amazing.” He also mentioned that the schools are plotting a cross registration opportunity, citing students who are already taking advantage of the preliminary program. “You’re here because you want to change the world,” Miles said looking out at the audience. The first speaker, Robin Grolle – who works in U.S. and international
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briefs by Caitlyn Ralph
Four Winds Haunted House
For college students, attractions such as Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando and HowlO-Scream at Busch Gardens in Tampa can break the bank, but no fear: New College’s very own Four Winds Cafe will bring the experience this Halloween to students for free. At the first Four Winds Haunted House interest meeting held on Oct. 8, organizers chose an “X-Files” theme. “It’s not like you have to know who the characters are necessarily,” alum (‘11) and Four Winds manager Olivia Levinson said. The theme is supposed to be accessible and enjoyable for those who do and don’t watch the show, exuding a “top secret government alien holding facility” feel. The back porch will be the “holding area,” and groups will be brought through the cafe and into four rooms – each complete with their own individual themes that connect to “The X-Files.” Previous haunted houses on campus have been in B Dorm and Four Winds. The cafe hosted a creepy carnival-themed house two years ago but did not hold one last year. “I was determined to make it happen this year,” Levinson said.
The date at the moment is set for Friday, Oct. 31, starting around 9:00 p.m. and lasting for about two hours. Student involvement is key, and Levinson is looking for people who would like to help behind the scenes building sets, doing makeup and creating costumes. Levinson is also looking for performers and actors. Current students are not the only ones invited. “Alums can get involved, people from the community can get involved,” Levinson said. “There are absolutely no restrictions on who would like to play a role in the actual haunted house. “But, of course, the most important involvement is people showing up and participating in the actual walkthrough,” Levinson added. The team is searching for anyone who is interested in being an “improvisational host of sorts” that will actually lead the group through the haunted house. They’re also trying to find bright floodlights. “A good way of doing it is to get a small group of friends together, have a theme – based off of our grander theme - that you want to do, and then we’ll see if you can get a room to yourself,”
Levinson said. Preparations will begin around 5:00 p.m. and go until around 8:00 p.m. on the night of, and Levinson offered free coffee to people who help set up and take down. None of the actors will touch anyone, but to those questioning whether they would like to attend, Levinson said that there will be some aspect of gore, allusions to medical trauma, and flashing lights. As the plan comes together, organizers will send an email and/or post a Facebook page with more detailed descriptions of content and trigger warnings. If someone individually would like all warnings room-by-room, email Levinson directly, and the team will happily provide a list. “The haunted house is always really fun, and I think it’s a great tradition to uphold,” thesis student Hedda Cooper said. Cooper suggested the “X-Files” theme at the initial interest meeting. “I’m really glad that Olivia is taking it on as the Four Winds manager, too.” “Two years ago, when we last had it, it was a huge turn out, so we’re hoping for another good turnout,” Levinson said. “But whatever happens, we’ll have fun doing it.
TEDxNewCollegeofFlorida initiative takes off A bold interest thread caught students’ attention a few weeks ago. The email, sent by second-year transfer Heath Hawkins, advertised a new initiative planned for April 24, 2016 – TEDxNewCollegeofFlorida. “Since I transferred here in Fall 2014, I realized how much collective genius and creativity exists at New College,” Hawkins said in an email interview. “However, there are few vehicles that bring individuals together to further that ingenuity. I saw this as the reason why universities like MIT & Harvard excel at producing outstanding breakthroughs and ideas. It’s not about having the most intellectually outstanding students in the world, it’s about having a system in place to spark that collective genius and present opportunities for innovation.” TED (which stands for technology, entertainment and design) is a nonprofit organization hosted on the Internet. The organization’s talks garnered more than 100 million views by 2009 and have featured academics, artists and students, just to name a
few. “TEDx, on the other hand, is an extension of TED that is independently organized and features the unique perspective of certain communities or universities,” Hawkins said. “The theme of TEDxNewCollegeofFlorida will be decided by the organization.” Hawkins spent months submitting applications after finally receiving a TEDx license to organize TEDxNewCollegeofFlorida – the first of its kind on campus. Hawkins will be the creative director of the event. “I will be spearheading the creative direction of the event – overseeing the design process, networking, working with speakers and organizers, etc.,” Hawkins said. “However, I am very intent on the organization being decentralized, with decisions emerging from the group rather than some select group of individuals.” There will be no hierarchies involved. Hawkins encouraged interested students to reach out. Send Hawkins an email to receive updates on when organization celebrations – instead of
“Crop the nipple.” © 2015, the Catalyst. All rights reserved. The Catalyst is available online at www.ncfcatalyst.com, facebook.com/NCFcatalyst, @ncfcatalyst The Catalyst is an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria Vesperi. It is developed in the New College Publications Lab using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign and printed at Sun Coast Press with funds provided by the New College Student Alliance.
meetings because “meetings are boring and not fun for anyone” – will be held. Organization celebrations will begin this module. The interest email asks for individuals to help organize and to speak. No solidified talk idea is needed at the moment. “This means that YOU have the life-changing opportunity to be one of those people on TEDxTalks,” the email emphasized. “Let’s do this thing and show literally anyone with the Internet what New College is all about.” The first celebration will be held at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Four Winds Cafe.
Joffrey’s replaces Starbucks at Ringling At the beginning of this year, those who walked into the Ringling’s gift shop for their caffeine fix from the cafe upstairs were surprised. The coffee shop, formerly a Starbucks, is now a locally owned coffee and tea company called Joffrey’s. Don’t fret, though – students still get the 10 percent discount that is known and loved. “It happened in July, under new ownership with Tableside Company,” Mario Orduno, who has worked at the Ringling cafe for almost four years, said. Not only is the upstairs cafe different, but also the restaurant downstairs has changed to Muse. “It’s getting the local vibe, the local feel,” Orduno explained. “That’s why Tableside took the contract – because they were local.” Orduno said response from customers has been positive. “You still got your Starbucks people who really enjoy their Starbucks, but they come around once they taste the [Joffrey’s] coffee, they really, really enjoy it.” Joffrey’s menu features everything from iced mocha to a selection of delectable baked goods. Just travel down Bay Shore a few yards past the Jane Bancroft Library to the Ringling entrance. Inside is the ticket counter adjacent to a gift shop. Walk through the gift shop to find the stairs, which lead to Joffrey’s. A nice off-campus study spot, there is Wi-Fi, comfy chairs and a view of the picturesque Ca’d’Zan property. “The coffee tastes better [because] it’s brewed in smaller batches, so it’s not in big bags that we get that sit in the back for weeks,” Orduno said
Corrections: In the article ‘Fall brings first Pumpkin Patch Party’ we incorrectly attributed a quote to Anne Fisher, rather than Anne Smith. In the article ‘Houseless file suit against Sarasota and Police’ we incorrectly referred to ACLU Vice President Michael Barfield as an ACLU attorney. The Catalyst apologizes for the errors.
General Editor Managing Editor Copy Editor Online Editor Layout Editors Staff Writers & Photographers
Kaylie Stokes Pariesa Young Yadira Lopez Caitlyn Ralph Haley Jordan & Audrey Warne Bianca Benedí, Katelyn Grimmett, Giulia Heyward, Sydney Kruljac, Jasmine Respess, Ryan Paice, Dylan Pryor, Angela Duda
Direct submissions, letters, announcements and inquiries to: The Catalyst 5800 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, Florida 34243 ncfcatalyst@gmail.com The Catalyst reserves the right to edit all submissions for grammar, space and style. No anonymous submissions will be accepted. Submissions must be received by 12:00 p.m. Friday for consideration in the next issue.
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ON CAMPUS
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Funding for RA events receives a discretionary of $2500 BY KATELYN GRIMMETT Residential Advisor (RA) events are a keystone to the campus community and climate. Last week, housing approved the final procedure for RAs to have access to a discretionary fund of $2,500 allotted by the Student Allocations Committee exclusively for RA events. Before this new funding process, the RA events were financed by a supplementary fund supplied by revenue from the vending machines, averaging about $30 a semester per RA. “At the SAC meetings we have every week, almost half of the requests are for RA events,” second-year representative and SAC Chair Racha Masara said. “With the discretionary, RAs can have access to funding without having to go to meetings every Sunday.” The vending machines bring in an average of $450 every three months. After taxes, the proceeds become a part of the Housing funds and are then sectioned off to RA programming in addition to other needs. The amount of money Housing gives to RA programming totals $570. RA events are the core substancefree events on campus. Some events offer creativity, such as RA Olivia Talton’s “Variations of the Self,” during which students were invited to paint with one color and vary the color’s shade using black or white paint. Other events, such as RA Love Line, provide a safe space to discuss topics important to the student population.
“RA events give me a reason to hang out with other students on campus and they’re always exciting even if it’s as simple as planting seeds,” second-year Liliana Solomon said. “I think I’d like to see more events that are just for fun.” There are three types of RA events: campus-wide, community group and individual events. Each RA must hold three individual events per semester, be involved with two community events and contribute to one campuswide event. RAs are required to have all events approved by a residence hall director (RHD) before applying for funding from the SAC, or now from the discretionary. The discretionary allocates $2,500 for RAs programs for the remainder of fall semester and the January ISP period. At first, the SAC suggested that $3,000 would be sufficient for this time period but when funding for campuswide events were eventually cut out of the discretionary, the funds were lowered to $2,500. “RA events like Newstock or New Prom or any other big event go back to the SAC for funding because they would deplete the [discretionary] fund too fast,” Student Government Business Manager and Coordinator Dawn Shongood explained. After an RA event is approved by an RHD, the program proposal is sent to Shongood who then edits a Google Spreadsheet to include the event’s information and costs. The entry then deducts the funding approved from the total amount of funds left in the discretionary. RAs have viewing access
to the spreadsheet and Shongood, the SAC Chair and the NCSA presidents have editing abilities. “I’m treating these [proposals] like I would treat an SAC allocation as far as the process goes,” Shongood said. “It comes to me after the event is approved and the amount of funding is under my discretionary. “What I’m going to do is go back to the RA and determine if we’ve done this event before and review how it was paid for last year, compare prices to save money, see if that’s the amount they really do need and if not we can always adjust it,” Shongood said. “We have to make sure we are spreading out funds for our events so the result is as efficient as possible,” second-year RA Miles Iton said. “If the amount needed for an event goes over a certain cap we just vote on it and see if it comes through.” The members of the SAC initially gave the $2,500 over to the RAs to have complete control over but this unintentionally overrode the role of RHDs in ensuring RA programs adhere to guidelines and comply with the Residential Life Values: Knowledge, Leadership, Community and Growth. “There was confusion of who got to say how much money [each event] got because according to the rules it cannot be controlled by a staff member – SAC funds have to be delegated by students,” second-year and RA representative Alexis Pujol said. An RA meeting was called before fall break to address the complication and, for a temporary period, RA events
Steps RAs must take to access funding: 1. RAs submit a program proposal to their RHD that explains the program and how it fits into our Residential Life Programming Values Model. This proposal also includes information about proposed costs as well as a breakdown of items and prices that they will need for the event to be successful. 2. Once the RHD receives the proposal, we review it to ensure that it meeting the needs of our programming values and have any additional conversations about planning the program or adjusting the program with the RA. Once any necessary conversations have occurred, we approve the program. 3. Once the program is approved, we send the program proposal over to Dawn Shongood. 4. Dawn then adds the information about the program to a Google Spreadsheet that all RAs have viewing access to as well as members of the SAC. 5. From there, Dawn and the RA work together to purchase the items needed for the event. could not be approved. The RHDs established a procedure in which the RAs would still have to fill out a program proposal and have each event approved by an RHD before accessing funding from the discretionary. Discussion regarding the new funding process began this past summer
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Lavish Clambake to raise money for Foundation BY BIANCA BENEDI For $10,000 a Sarasota community member can purchase access to Clambake, the right to a generous donation tax write-off, preferred seating, personal advertisement and access to a meeting with College President Donal O’Shea and a luncheon. A $150 ticket will do just as well for those with less change in their pockets. Coming up on Nov. 5, Clambake is a lavish dinner party that is part of a number of annual fundraisers that the New College Foundation holds in order to raise money to fund the school. Catered by local high-end Sarasota restaurant Michael’s on East, the seafood-themed night is a wellattended, popular way to draw in the philanthropist crowd. Third-year Saif Iqbal, an intern at the Foundation and a Student Fundraising Manager, is part of a team of students supporting the Foundation’s efforts to raise money. And money is raised indeed; the Foundation has in past years raised over $5 million dollars through these fundraisers in order to enhance the school. The funds raised by the Foundation go to a myriad of New College features, including enhancements to the library (the amount raised by one year’s Pique-Nique event fully funded the
development of the Co-Lab), funding the Student Research and Travel Grants (SRTG), New College scholarships, and professorships. They also pay for “a lot of the other stuff that’s not as sexy,” Iqbal said, “like paying for electricity, paying for general stuff that’s absolutely necessary to run a college but doesn’t sound as good.” The Sarasota community has supplemented much of the Foundation’s donations. Events like Pique-Nique sur la Baie and Clambake attract many of the wealthier members of the community, who donate even more money throughout the nights of the events along with the tickets they purchased. With a relative small alumnae population of about 5,000 people, alumnae donations don’t bring in the most lucrative figures compared to local philanthropists, but even their smallest donations still help the school: the higher the percentage of alumni who’ve donated, the better it looks for the school and the more people unaffiliated with the college will be willing to donate. During the Commencement ceremonies at the end of the year, immediately following the graduation, new alums are asked to donate to the school the amount of quarters or dollars, small change that may not contribute much to the funds of the Foundation but which
photo courtesy of Skylar Ead
Last year’s Clambake was a delicious feast of fresh seafood.
bolster alum donation percentages. Most of these donations will come in through Phone-a-thon, a weekly session of marathon phone calls held a few weeks out of the year in which student volunteers such as Iqbal dial up alums and parents to ask for donations. Alums are asked to donate a certain amount based on certain indicators such as marital status, income, and age but the most significant factor in estimating how much an alum would donate is based on how much they have given in the past. Older alums with established careers may be asked to donate anything from a hundred to
a few thousand based on their success. More recent graduates will be asked to donate amounts in the $2 to $10 range. Throughout the year the multiple phone-a-thons held attempt to reach out to the entire database of alumnae available to the Foundation. Along with gathering donations, the phone calls allow students to speak to alumnae on a personal level, reminding graduates of what their years were like at the school. “The magical thing about New College,” Iqbal said, “[is that] you could literally call any alum, and have a 20 minute conversation with them about the school.”
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Nude College: Students work as figure models at Ringling
NEWS PAGE 4
NCSA Updates
BY GIULIA HEYWARD
BY CAITLYN RALPH
For some, an average day of work consists of being naked in a room filled with ambitious student-artists. “I had no idea what to expect before I started my first day, and I really wish I could say that I was cool and casual about it from the very beginning, but my first time disrobing on the stand, my heart was beating so fast,” secondyear and nude figure model Katerina Diamond-Sagias said. The Ringling College of Art and Design (RCAD) has been hiring students from New College as models for figure drawing classes that are offered at the art school. “They’re close by, young, and enthusiastic,” figure model coordinator Fran Avenoso said of the student models. “They’re all also really smart.” After filling out an application found on the RCAD website, potential figure models are contacted for a criminal and background check, followed by an orientation with Avenoso, and training with an artist for two to three sessions. “Enjoy it and be professional,” Avenoso advised. “We understand that they’re standing in front of 20 to 30 people.” The experience of being naked in a room full of student-artists has been eye-opening for the models. “Before I started, I had no idea how I would feel disrobing before a room full of strangers, and it was entirely possible to me that I would just start screaming and run away,” Diamond-Sagias said. “I gave myself permission, at that point, to stop if I couldn’t handle it. But I could, and I did, and it felt wonderful and empowering.” New College alum Jessica Loeb (‘11) worked as a figure model for several months. “I just always thought, since I was a first-year, that it was a really cool job,” Loeb said. “I like art a lot, I like the human form, and I like using my body.
The New College Student Alliance (NCSA) holds Executive Cabinet Meetings every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in HCL 8. NCSA members encourage participation from students. The meetings usually last for an hour to an hour and a half, and anyone can arrive at any point in that timeframe. Students are asked to simply listen, contribute to discussion, or submit agenda items in advance. If agenda items are submitted, the NCSA arranges the agenda according to the guest’s schedule if they cannot stay at the meeting the entire time. Last week’s meeting covered Police Liaison initiatives, which included the draft for best practices when engaging with transgender individuals, New College Police Department (NCPD) bios, and opportunities for student and police interaction. The Residential Life Committee members were also chosen, and Student Court presented the idea of NCSA space legislation. Discussions about a possible amendment to the Resident Advisor (RA) contract that prevents RAs from engaging in relationships with residents, GRE scholarships, the new Supervisor of Elections – second-year George Thurlow – were presented. There was also a recap on NCSA’s attendance at University of Florida Sarasota-Manatee’s Student Government Executive Board meeting, which focused on potential collaboration with late night library hours. The Council of Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) will host an Invisible Disability event this Friday, Oct. 30. Updates on a meeting with President O’Shea, on the proposed system for Student Affairs Evaluations, and on the campus master plan were all included as well.
Photo courtesy of Jessica Loeb
The above sketch of NCF alum Jessica Loeb (‘11) is just one example of the different artwork student-artists make in these figure classes.
It seemed like a really neat thing and I was drawn towards it.” Loeb also cited the pay and RCAD being within biking distance as other factors that influenced her decision to apply. “I would do different positions,” Loeb said. “It’s hard because you have to hold this position but also think of interesting things for people to draw. [...] I always worked nude but there are some classes where you have costumes, or bring your costume, or use different drapery.” Loeb said that the process from applying to getting hired could be a long one. She recommended that interested students make sure to follow up on their application. “I didn’t hear back from anyone,” Diamond-Sagias said of when she first applied. “I was discouraged, but I waited until the applicant pool reopened for the 2015-2016 semester and sent in my application again. A few months passed, I got another job,
and I had almost completely forgotten about figure modeling until I received a call from the model coordinator, Fran Avenoso, in early September.” Another benefit of the job is its flexibility. Avenoso said that she has had employees who would only come in for the evening class, or others who would come in two days out of the week. The most striking thing for both Diamond-Sagias and Loeb was how the experience of being a nude figuremodel personally contributed to their own body positivity. “You really don’t think about all of your little physical tics and habits, the way you might jiggle your legs or play with your hair until you have to stand completely still for 20 minutes or 40 minutes,” Diamond-Sagias said. “It’s then that you become hyper-aware of every inch of your body, especially in the beginning, and reigning it in but
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Lost and abandoned property sold at police auction BY JASMINE RESPESS As the years go by at New College, people continue to lose their things, items are found, and stuff is turned into the Cop Shop. Although a lot of items are claimed, many wallets, trinkets and even bikes are left behind. Eventually, these items take up too much space, and something must be done. On Oct. 26, the Cop Shop held an auction in the parking lot of Physical Plant. The auction started at 9:00 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. The goal was to get rid of the clutter and provide students with reasonably priced items. “It was first come, first serve,” Officer Kelly Fisher said. “In the morning, we had about 20 bikes.” Other items sold at the auction include men’s watches, rings and wallets. The auction was cash only, but no items exceeded $20.
All the unsold bikes were donated to the New College Bike Shoppe. The bikes averaged at about $10. Students could barter auction style if there was more than one person interested, but Fisher said that this was not a common occurrence. Most students got the bikes they wanted. By the end of the auction, some bikes were selling for as low as $5. Second-year transfer student Emily Steen purchased a red bike for $5.35. “My experience [with the auction] was enjoyable,” Steen said. Students are encouraged to register their bikes through the New College Cop Shop, so that if they are lost, they can be returned to the student effectively and promptly. More information can be provided by Kelley Fisher at kfisher@ncf.edu or 941-487-4210.
Jasmine Respess/Catalyst
Bikes sold for as little as five dollars.
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From Paganism to consumerism: The terror behind Halloween spending BY SYDNEY KRULJAC The weather is beginning to cool down, candy appears to be sold by the pound at Publix, and Spirit Halloween shops inhabit the empty spaces of furniture stores gone out of business. It is Halloween: a day when the dead may roam among the living, but, maybe even more frightening, a day when consumerism is at one of its highest peaks. This year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) expects that Americans will spend about $6.9 billion on the holiday – a slight decrease from last year’s grand total of $7.5 billion. About 80 percent of consumers recently polled by the NRF acknowledged that the economy would have an effect on their spending. Those polled said they would spend less on the spooky holiday. The NRF predicts that the average person will spend around $74.34, as opposed to $77.52 spent in 2014. Originally a Celtic festival called Samhain, Halloween has turned into a parade of children (and adults) dressed in culturally appropriated costumes greedily hoarding a plastic pumpkin head’s worth of cheap candy. And who is the expected culprit of Halloween consumerism this year? None other than your very own millennial peers ages 18 to 34. Third-year Olivia Short recently
Yadira Lopez/Catalyst
Every year Kristi Fecteau decorates the Social Sciences building inside and out.
spent $60 on a Wonder Woman costume for Halloween. Short justified the amount, saying she rarely celebrates the holiday, and, therefore, rarely spends money on it. “I had researched for a very long time and looked at a lot of different options to do it myself,” Short said. “It just turned out that buying the full set costume was cheaper, which was
surprising to me.” As sales continue to increase in preparation for Halloween, it is clear that American consumers are not only digging the holiday, but also digging their financial graves. Information for this article was taken from: nrf.com
Here are the statistics for this year’s monster mash: • 157 million: Number of people
planning to participate in Halloween. • $6.9 billion: Total Halloween spending. • $74: Average amount of spending per person. • $1.2 billion: Average amount spent on adult costumes. • $950 million: Average amount spent on children’s costumes. • 68 million: Number of Americans dressed in costumes • 49 million: Number of Americans planning to throw or attend a party. • 45 percent: Americans decorating their yards and homes. • 20 million: Amount of people planning to costume their pets. • $350 million: Amount people will spend for pet costumes. • $300 million: The total amount worth of the haunted house industry. • 81 percent: Percent of millennial consumers planning to celebrate Halloween. • 7 in 10: Millennials planning on wearing a costume. • 40.5 percent: Percent of millennials throwing or attending a party. • 27 percent: Percent of millennials visiting a haunted house. • 1 in 5: Millennials planning on dressing their pets in costumes (compared to 13 percent of adults) • 4 in 10: Amount of Americans who begin shopping for Halloween within the first 2 weeks of October. • 25 percent: Amount of Americans who will wait until the last minute to find their Halloween costumes.
Increase in animals on campus leads to creation of new dog park BY ANGELA DUDA The campus once home to no more than three animals at any given time now has at least 12 residing in Dort and Goldstein. Four dogs, one rabbit, one snake and six cats. While pets are prohibited in on-campus housing, emotional support animals (ESAs) and service animals are permitted if a therapist or counselor prescribes an ESA or if a service animal is medically necessary to treat a physical disability. Any animal that is domesticated, manageable in public, and not prone to creating a nuisance can be an ESA. Service animals, however, can only be dogs, and must be trained to help with a specific disability. ESAs have seen a substantial increase on campus over the past few years, with more than a 300 percent increase in animals overall. This trend is not just seen here, but nationally as well. Anxiety and depression have been diagnosed among college students at increasingly rapidly in the past few years, leading to an increase in students asking to bring their cat, or dog, or even snake on campus. To accommodate the rise in dogs, ADA coordinator Meighen Hopton, Dean of Student Affairs Tracy Murry, Associate Dean Mark Stier, Director of Facilities Alan Burr and
Kaylie Stokes/Catalyst
The new dog park is a fenced in area behind Goldstein.
Co-Presidents Shelby Statham and Paige Pellaton collaborated on a project to build a dog park directly behind Goldstein. Outer fencing for the park will cost $4,000. With future plans to install picnic benches and outside furniture, the price tag will continue to climb. In an email interview, Stier said the additional installations would allow students to study and socialize
while their ESA or service dog is in the park. The entire project has been and will continue to be funded through the housing department with residential funds. Service animals can only be housed in Dort and Goldstein, making the space behind those buildings the most efficient location for a dog park. “As we move forward and the increase for ESA/service animals increases, we will
reserve those suites closest to the park for students who have been approved,” Stier said. There are some basic rules to be aware of before using the park. “The big rule is for people to clean up after their dogs, and that they must be present while their animal utilizes the park,” Stier said. “An official list of rules will be posted within the next week or so right in the dog park itself. We purchased several signs for the community so that it is very clear [what] the community expectations [are] for using the park.” Furthermore, off-campus students who bring their ESAs or service animals to campus are unable to use the park. “For the safety of our animals and students only those animals who have officially completed the application process and submitted up to date vet records are permitted in the dog park,” Stier said. Despite these limitations, students largely consider the dog park to be a step toward an animal-friendly campus. “All of the dogfish finally have a place to hang out!” said first-year Cassandra Detrio-Darby, roommate of an ESA owner. Information for this article was taken from nytimes.com and nsarco.com
Un centavo más
Local demonstration for farmworkers’ rights receives support from New College community BY GIULIA HEYWARD Students chose to forgo a peaceful Sunday afternoon sleeping in to participate in a march in support of farmworkers’ rights. The event, which was sponsored by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), took place at 1:00 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the local Publix on Bay Street. The purpose of the protest was to encourage the major retail food company to join other competitors, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, in the Fair Food Program. “The CIW’s Fair Food Program is a unique partnership among farmers, farmworkers and retail food companies that ensures humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms,” reads the organization’s website. “It harnesses the power of consumer demand to give farmworkers a voice in the decisions that affect their lives, and to eliminate the longstanding abuses that have plagued agriculture for generations.” Publix has declined participation in the program for six years. Participants arrived and grabbed picket signs and marched and chanted phrases in English and Spanish while cars drove past, some occasionally honking. Other protestors got to speak one-on-one with the manager of the Publix location to discuss the possibility of the supermarket joining the program. Protestors ranged in age, from children to senior citizens.
Students Targeting Oppressive Powers (STOP) advertised the march on the Forum. “I thought it was a really good experience, everyone seemed really passionate and excited to be there,” second-year Rebecca Miles said. “I had a good time and it seemed as if everyone was really organized, which feels good, as opposed to a sort of a half organized protest. It was really organized and there was a group leading in with water and all that, it was really awesome.” Miles stressed her interest in participating in another event like this. Previously, STOP has advertised other events in conjunction with the CIW as well as the Student Farmworker’s Alliance (SFA). “Over 90 percent of Florida’s tomato growers have pledged to abide by the Fair Food Program,” the CIW said in a press release. “And with Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, participating in the Program since January of last year, the FFP has begun to expand both to crops outside of the tomato industry and to states beyond Florida. Through their protest, farmworkers and consumers call on Publix to ensure human rights and better wages for farmworkers laboring in their supply chain.” More information about other events in the community can be found through contacting members of STOP as well as the SFA Facebook page. Information for this article was taken from fairfoodprogram.org.
(left page) (clockwise from top) Second-year Hana Arraya holding a sign at the protest. A protestor feeds a puppy hiding under a sign water. Third-year Haiwen Yu sports a Student Farmworker’s Alliance (SFA) shoulder band. Over a hundred protestors showed up and managed to take up the entire block. (right page) (clockwise from top) Second-year Ava Howard marches along with the crowd. First-year transfer Savannah Hawk holds sign. Second-year students and STOP members YoungKeun Oliveira and Alexandra Schelle are seen holding signs. Protesters hold up a #MyPublixStory banner to oncoming traffic.
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What not to do during a zombie apocalypse BY RYAN PAICE Last year the humans were put at a disadvantage on the very first day of Zombies, with the zombie primes masterfully conquering around 90 unprepared or unlucky humans. Now, the zombie primes deserve some credit – their unrelenting activity and craftiness took the humans by complete surprise and shifted the game in their favor. However, the whole problem rests in the fact that the humans were surprised: nobody was prepared for Zombies. When people first hear about Zombies, they think about it lightheartedly, like it is just a game, but it is not a game at all. For five days, Zombies is a lifestyle. Every time you go outside you are at risk of dying and becoming a zombie. Last year, if a zombie even recognized someone as human, they would chase after them, screaming “HUMAN!!!!!” for all of the campus’ zombies to hear. It is terrifying, and at any point during the days of Zombies you can hear screams echo throughout our small school. As a human, there is no point where you can just relax. You have to constantly keep your guard up because you can die at any moment. You might have to do radical things to survive, such as sleeping in your car so you can wake up near where you have to be in the morning. Zombies do not have to live with the stress and anxiety that the humans do: they can pick up the game whenever they just so happen to spot a human. They are the hunters. We, the humans, are the hunted. The worst part about Zombies is that the people who are trying to “kill” you are your friends and classmates. They probably won’t take it easy on you, either. Friendships and relationships get complicated, lines are drawn in the sand and it makes Zombies so much more than a game. Survival 101 In Zombies, if you want to survive, you need four things: a partnership or larger alliance, the Zep Commercial Professional Sprayer (at least two of them), a backpack and a safe home. If you know someone close to you who is serious about playing Zombies, talk to them and try to team up. Alliances are without a doubt the most important part of the game. A simple two-person partnership will get you through at the beginning, but as the week goes on and the human numbers thin out while the zombie horde grows, the teamwork has to grow, too. Three or four person alliances are great because they can fit inside of most safe places together and do not need too much coordination, while still being mobile and effective when the team has to go somewhere. Zombies is also a great way to meet friends and form long remembered bonds with them, so do not be afraid. The second-most important thing while playing Zombies is the spray
Let's SWAlk About It The Writing G.A.M.E. P.L.A.N. SUBMITTED BY CHELSEA TORREGROSA
Ryan Paice/Catalyst
My Zombie Survival Kit includes three Professional Sprayers and a change of clothes.
bottle that you get. Last year, I started off Zombies with four spray bottles I thought were decent in the store, but I quickly realized on the first day that spray bottles that can only shoot a few feet really suck to have when you have to deal with zombies madly hunting you. Fortunately, if you get the Zep sprayer, the entire game will be easier for you. The spray bottle can spray up to almost 30 feet, which is incredible at keeping some distance between you and a zombie. The spray itself is also more focused than the usual spray bottles, which makes it harder for zombies to deny that you “shot” them when they have a dark wet mark instead of a fine dusting. Also, get three or four spray bottles – there will be points where a spray bottle runs out and you have neither the time nor the accomodations to refill it, and the spares will in handy. Another Zombies necessity is a backpack. Simply put, you might need to live out of that backpack at some point in time. Pack an extra set of clothes in there, a toothbrush and other hygenie supplies, and – if you think you can handle it – a gallon jug of water. The gallon of water is for those times where you are running low on water in your spray bottles, but do not have a source of water. This also is extremely helpful when the humans are forced to go into the circle formation and many people
need water and have the protection and time to reload – the circle formation, for those who do not know, is where humans on the outside link arms while spraying outwardly, and the humans on the inside fire their spray bottles over the people on the outside. The last necessity in the lifestyle of zombies is a safe house. A place that you can trust, that preferably has two ways to exit and plenty of supplies. Pei is a deathwish, and if zombies catch on to where you are staying and are pissed enough to do anything about it, they will wait outside of where you are staying. Sometimes your safe house might have to be your car. Last year, I spent two nights of zombies sleeping in my car outside of the library so I could get to class in the morning and not have to cross the overpass, or have to run past the many zombies that are always lurking outside of ACE and the library. Conditions will get tough – Ham is a slaughterhouse for humans – so make sure that whatever your home is, you are stocked. When Zombies gets started by the end of the week, be prepared and follow my advice. I was not one of the winners last year – I was the eighth-last human alive and “died” on Thursday night – but one of you might be this year. Good luck, people.
In response to several consecutive weeks of a fully-booked WRC, I've started sharing my favorite tips for less stressful writing and near-perfect proofing with each of my clients. It seems to be that providing a flexible set of steps helps to alleviate the overwhelmed feeling that the vast majority of college students share. In order to successfully share these steps with the student body, I've created the G.A.M.E. P.L.A.N.: Goal, Assemble, Make a Claim, Experiment, Person, Look Over, Aloud, and Now We Wait. Goal: One of the first questions I ask writers is, "What is your goal for this paper?" and the most common response I get is some variety of, "..to sat it?" I ask writers to first develop a solid goal for their paper because that goal is the first bit of a road map they'll have to guide them through the writing process. It can usually be pulled from a prompt. Assemble: This is the part where some sort of rough organization is created. My personal favorite of these methods is the bubble outline. I ask the writer what their topic is and place that in the center bubble. Then, I ask them to tell me as many key points about their topic as they can, and add those bubbles to the sides, connecting them to the topic with lines. This assessment of knowledge usually helps them with the next step, making a claim. Make a Claim: I found that one of the easiest places to get stuck is in the beginning, when writers are constructing a thesis statement. The best method I've come across for working with this frustration is to start with a thesis idea, which is a looser, rougher version of a thesis statement. It doesn't have to be perfect, just developable. Experiment: The first version written does not have to be the final version. This is the time and space for experimentation both in word choice and organization. It's important to remember that it's okay to change your thesis later on. Person: I thrive on procrastinating, and for that reason I find it very useful to have an accountability buddy. This is a person who knows I'm trying to get work done and will check in on me and make sure I'm actually doing it. No matter how much I enjoy the thrill that comes with finishing something just before it's due, I recognize that it produces lower quality work, more stress, and potential misseddeadlines, so for me, having an accountability buddy and mini-
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Grant to scare audience with his ‘Little Nightmares’ BY GIULIA HEYWARD As Halloween approaches, there are few things scarier to a thesis student than that looming deadline. And no student is more aware of this than thesis student McAlister Grant. “My thesis is a study of the horror genre in live theatre built broadly around the questions of ‘What does it mean to stage horror in live theatre?’ and ‘What can be done with horror in theatre that cannot be done with horror in film?’” Grant said in an email interview. “These questions are definitely of serious personal interest to me, but in all honesty, the thesis itself has, from the beginning, essentially been an elaborate excuse to direct this production.” The project, titled “Little Nightmares: An Anthology of Short Horror Plays,” consists of five independent one-act plays inspired by the horror genre and the director’s own nightmares and anxieties. Each act will explore different themes and tones, including a Kafka-esque black comedy, 60s girl pop music, and an act that will be entirely performed in pitch darkness. The process of directing this ambitious production has so far gone without a hitch.
Giulia Heyward/Catalyst
(left to right) Thesis student Bradley Baker, second-year Emma Kervel, third-year Logan Schulman and bow at the end of a successful dress rehearsal.
“No major setbacks yet, fingers crossed,” Grant said. “Anything that does go wrong usually goes wrong in production week, so stay tuned. Everything has mostly gone swimmingly, though the production schedule has been pretty crunched.” And, despite the relative
ease of this project, the idea of being almost done has both its benefits and drawbacks. “On one hand, I know that I will survive this process, and after it’s over, I will be able to finally catch my breath and relax a little,” Grant said. ”On the other hand, the home stretch is the
most intense part of the production process, and there is still a great deal that needs to be done.” The team behind this production is what Grant describes as a “New College theatre all-star team” working on everything from costume and set design to puppetry. “Everyone has been incredibly gracious and enthusiastic about working on this project, and bringing their own ideas and passion to the table,” Grant said. “I appreciate this a lot, because the act of directing is nerve-wracking and vulnerable enough as it is, to say nothing of directing plays I wrote myself.” This sentiment has been echoed by the cast and crew, who are also excited to see the project come to life. “This is unlike any other theatre show I have ever seen,” first-year transfer student and lighting designer Carlysle Styer said. “It is really unique in its use of language, and its use of theme, and its use of lightning and costumes and the way it is portrayed in this false reality that looks almost real.” The production will premiere on Halloween weekend, Oct. 29 to 31. The play is free and open to the public. Reservations can be made by emailing bbt@ncf.edu.
Sophomore Surge: ‘The Leftovers’ and ‘The Affair’ provocatively explore the human condition SUBMITTED BY DAVID CANFIELD At its best, the first season of HBO’s “The Leftovers” mined the beauty out of misery, and the inevitable out of the inexplicable. Set in a fictional New York suburb several years after two percent of the world’s population instantaneously, and incomprehensibly, disappeared, the show puts faith and purpose to the test. It asks how people react to the unimaginable – how the presentation of such a seismic event that comes with no answers shakes individuals, families and societies. Creator Damon Lindelof has crafted an existential meditation on feeling that, when it works, is devastatingly immersive. But the first season could turn heavy-handed with its metaphors; Lindelof was so openly engaged with ideas that he occasionally let them overpower his characters and story. The show was also, more problematically, rarely conventionally good. Outside of its trio of point-ofview episodes – which were focused on a single, or small group of, characters – the show had significant pacing issues. But to ideal effect, Lindelof has made necessary cuts. The second season premiere is audacious, near-entirely taking place in a brand new location with never-before-seen characters. The new town is Jarden “Miracle” Texas, a suburb now drenched in mythology as the one place in the U.S. to get through
Departure Day without losing a single resident. We meet the Murphys, a family of four with an ideal surface but bubbling darkness beneath it. The episode progresses with a measured pace – very little “happens,” but director Mimi Leder injects every moment with a sizzling albeit implacable degree of tension. That sense of unease builds with every scene. The episode ends with an earthquake, and then, a disappearance. Is it a departure? A red herring? Something else? Three episodes in, Lindelof hasn’t told his audience a thing. Instead, the next two episodes have taken place in an identical timeframe. Both are intensely contained, masterfully written, searingly acted and beautifully directed. The show is mythically exploring location, but rather than promise answers, “The Leftovers” is seeking as much as its characters – contending with what cannot be explained, wrestling with tragedy and grief from startling new angles. Like “The Leftovers,” Showtime’s “The Affair” is an exercise in atmospheric humanism, exploring behavior from a macro point-of-view by intimately depicting a small group of characters. The titular event is the series’ starting point, and also – deliberately – its least interesting component. In the first season, each episode was segmented into two points-of-view: Noah’s (Dominic West), a novelist who’s married and
a father to four, and Alison’s (Ruth Wilson), a working class Montauk waitress grieving with her husband, Cole (Joshua Jackson), over the loss of their three-year-old son. Alison and Noah began an affair while Noah and his wife, Helen (Maura Tierney), were on summer vacation in Montauk. Each episode would provide separate plots as well as considerable overlap of events, showing how differently Noah and Alison viewed their encounters. And as if that framing device weren’t enough, most installments were bookended by flashforwards, in which Alison and Noah were revealed as married but entangled in a mysterious homicide case. Creator Sarah Treem got a lot right in this ambitious, occasionally overwrought first season. Her dialogue crackled with specificity and depth, expertly swerving between the two characters’ perspectives. Moreover, as with Lindelof, her writing felt pure in its messiness, exploring fidelity, romance and worldview with more curiosity than pointedness. But she did run astray. The detective arc never quite clicked; there was the occasional “suspect” that felt misplaced in this fundamentally domestic chronicle. And, in the season finale, a drastic differentiation of memory turned this normally sharp and muted drama into a wild, erratic romantic thriller. Fortunately, the second season has taken a massive leap. For one thing,
the flash-forwards are slightly more engaging, now that ex-spouses Helen and Cole are involved. But if the first season’s final few episodes were far too plot-centric, Treem opens season two by slowing things down. It’s amazing just how much of the first three episodes are dialogue-free – perspectives expand to Helen and Cole, which makes for a fascinating foray into loneliness and heartbreak – especially since they feel fuller and more dramatically revved than anything last year. Jeffrey Reiner’s direction of the show is piercingly intimate, his camera honing in on motifs like a saltwater pool or an old chest to bury silent ghosts into images and scenes. The characters continue to be drawn with pessimistic realism, but their portrayers’ empathy – and their writers’ intelligence – keeps the show from turning too dour. Instead, “The Affair” is a sobering account of love, fulfillment and self. It’s a free-flowing narrative portrait of impulse – and of how much our relationship to others is dependent on how we see ourselves. Never less than provocative, these two series remain polarizing, occasionally miserable and tonally suffocating. But that was always the intention. Now, it’s just harder to point to those attributes as flaws. Catch up on “The Leftovers” on HBOGo, and “The Affair” on Showtime Anytime. Both series air Sunday nights.
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Wall previews BY GIULIA HEYWARD Oct. 30 Dad Wall Dad Wall will be hosted by thesis student Neal Lacey. The Wall was previously planned to be Pre-CP, as it was scheduled to take place the night before an event formerly known as Palm Court Party (PCP). The campus-wide event, now known as Center of the Universe Party (COUP), will take place the weekend after. “Dad Wall is inspired by all the Dad music we hear each and every day and our secret love of it,” Lacey said. “You should expect hip Dad music, cargo pants, crocs and baseball caps.” The Wall will take place in Palm Court. Saturday, Oct. 31 Walloween Wall Walloween Wall will be hosted by thesis student Stefan Drakulich. The Wall, which will be held in Palm Court, will take place on the day traditionally reserved for Center of the Universe Party (COUP). However, due to the COUP being scheduled for next week, Walloween Wall is the alternative. “It’s Halloween and I like rap and hip hop,” Drakulich said. “So the theme is dress up, listen to my music.” Drakulich plans on posting a thread on the Forum with the tentative playlist for the event.
Dark times lay behind BY BIANCA BENEDI New College has the dynamic combination of a small campus and a socially- and politically-active student body. Students have, since the inception of the college, remained vocal about their demand to have a say in what happens on campus and the need to address important issues in a way that accommodates the unique needs of our school. A June 1988 Student Affairs report goes into detail about a series of student complaints and issues that they felt needed to be addressed. Among them are familiar topics such as the state of the Pei dorms (more than 30 years later, the dorms are finally in the process of being renovated), financial aid availability, access to buildings after-hours, and a demand for more community events. Also present on the list are topics that denote much harder times in our campus history. The first subsection in the list of issues is AIDS. In 1988 the AIDS epidemic had touched every region of Earth and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that more than 10 million people were living with AIDS worldwide. The first antiretroviral drugs had only just hit the market, and the first World AIDS Day had not yet been created. “Students think it is imperative that the New College community be up-front about the existence of HIV positive students on campus,” the
report reads. “Information must be abrogation of community obligation.” readily available about testing sites, The report suggested bringing counseling, and facts about the virus. in alums to volunteer as counselors. Programs need to be developed to help “This will help to mitigate some of the community members to deal with the difficulties which arose during the AIDS various aspects of the disease.” crisis, Dave Dunn’s suicide, and the Part of the demand included Airport issue.” The on-campus suicide better access to condoms, with the of a New College student stirred a lot of suggestion of condom machines being feelings of anger on campus, with issues installed around campus for easy such as financial aid and academic purchase, although rigor brought into students felt it the fold during the New College students imperative that aftermath. And the were arrested in various protests they “be available against protests and a legal case to students at the construction the least price was brought against the of the airport, in possible.” There was which dozens of New airport also a demand for a College students were particular kind of arrested in various condom - those treated with a chemical protests and a legal case was brought called nonoxyl-9, which the report says against the airport, stirred up more “has proved to kill the AIDS virus on feelings of radical mismanagement contact”. In 2001 the WHO released a and fruitlessness. Following these report that nonoxyl-9 treated condoms incidents students showed an interest showed no evidence of protection in peer counseling in order to address against STDs, had not been thoroughly on-campus stressors on an individual, tested for possible side effects, and peer-to-peer basis. decreased the shelf life of condoms and Students in every cohort of New were not recommended over untreated College experience their own upheavals condoms. but the 1980s were a particularly The report goes on to address difficult time for Novocollegians. If our another important topic, that of campus is currently reeling from the counseling needs. Students felt the effects of recent events and wounds not Counseling Center did not provide yet healed we are at least guaranteed adequate resources for “serious mental that we are not the first to experience illness and chemical dependency,” these pains and we will not be the last and “most people thought that the to work through them. propensity to Baker Act students was an
EVENTS: OCT. 28-NOV. 4 On Campus
Off Campus
Wednesday, October 28 • 12:00 p.m. Annual Pumpkin Patch Party @ CWC • 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Yoga @ Fitness Center • 7:00 p.m. Middle East Interest Club @ Old Mail Room
Saturday, October 31 • 2:00-3:30 p.m. Yoga @ Fitness Center • 8:00 p.m. Double Feature Picture Show @ HCL 7 • 8:00 p.m. Little Nightmares @ BBT
Wednesday, October 28 • 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Free Yoga @ Siesta Key Beach • 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Penny Wars @ The Coffee Loft • 7:00 p.m. Team Trivia @ Growler’s Pub
Thursday, October 29 • 6:00 p.m. NCSA Cabinet Meeting @ HCL8 • 8:00 p.m. Little Nightmares @ BBT • 9:00 p.m. Council of Green Affairs Meeting @ HCL7
Monday. November 2 • 5:00 p.m. Pre-Med Club Meeting @ HCL8 • 5:00 p.m. Scientific Figure Making Workshop @ Library Seminar Room • 5:30 p.m. Student Court Meeting @ Old Mail Room
Thursday, October 29 • 8:00-9:30 a.m. Free Yoga @ Siesta Key Beach • 5:00 p.m. Art After 5 @ Ringling Museum • 8:00 p.m. Downtown Bradenton Ghost Tour @ Bradenton Riverwalk $15
Tuesday, November 3 • 4:30 p.m. Yoga @ Fitness Center • 8:00 p.m. Latin X club @ Old Mail Room • 9:00 p.m. Astronomy Club Meeting @ the Bayfront
Friday, October 30 • 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Free Yoga @ Siesta Key Beach • 7:30 Rocky Horror Picture Show @ Players Theatre of Sarasota • 8:00 p.m. Downtown Bradenton Ghost Tour @ Bradenton Riverwalk $15
Friday, October 30 • 12:00 p.m. Feminist Fridays @ ACE Lounge • 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Yoga @ Fitness Center • 4:00 p.m. Data Science Seminar @ Chae • 8:00 p.m. Double Feature Picture Show @HCL 7 • 8:00 p.m. Little Nightmares BBT
Saturday, October 31 • 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Dowtown Farmer’s Market • 8:00-9:30 a.m. Free Yoga @ Siesta Key Beach • 9:00 a.m. Dog-a-Ween Celebration @ Five Points Park • 6:00 p.m. Fright Night @ St. Armand’s Circle • 8:00 p.m. Downtown Bradenton Ghost Tour @ Bradenton Riverwalk $15 Monday, November 2 • 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Free Yoga @ Siesta Key Beach Tuesday, November 3 • Free meal for students @ Coffee Loft • 9:00 p.m. Open Mic @ Growler’s Pub Wednesday, November 4 • 7:30 p.m. punk sho!! @ Nothing Arts Center $5
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Master Plan
Career Seminar
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behind the new gym. Besides the additional housing along General Spaatz and an addition to the Hamilton Center, not many changes seem to be in store for the Pei Campus. In fact, most of the changes in the 2015 Master Plan are on the west side of campus. Land would be acquired from the homeowners along the side of 58th street across from the Palmer buildings, where a parking lot would be put in place and student housing would be built to replace B Dorm. A meeting was held for the homeowners along the road, and only one person showed up to express concerns about when the plans would be implemented. B Dorm – and the rest of the Palmer buildings – would be torn down and replaced with a series of academic and administrative buildings along Dort Promenade, which would become the “Academic Quad.” To fully complete the Quad, an academic building and a 22,000 square foot addition to Heiser would be built on the other side of the promenade, east of Heiser and south of the parking lots. The addition to Heiser would be one of the first implementations of the master plan. “Design is under way now, we have the money for design, and we have a part of the money for construction,” Alan Burr, the director of facilities at Physical Plant, said. “If we can get the money for construction by the end of this year, we should be able to begin construction by August or September next year.” Besides the planned additions to both College and Robertson Halls, some of the biggest plans for the West Campus are travel-minded – from improving Bay Shore Road and completing “College Drive Loop,” to creating a scenic path along the bay all the way from Caples Campus to the end of New College’s bayfront property.
Improving Bay Shore Road would include widening the road in order to put sidewalks on both sides, bike lanes and parking along the road, which would require more space than what is currently available. In order to fulfill this goal, the Dort Arch will be moved back 15-30 feet westward along the promenade. The arch is considered a historical part of the campus and it would either be moved or recreated. The fence along the road would also be moved westward to provide room for the widening of the road. Creating College Drive Loop should be much easier to complete, as the plan details simply connecting the end of College Drive to 58th street in order to provide a loop around the west side of campus. The completion of the loop would maintain the alignment of both College Drive and 58th Street, with both roads still ending on Bay Shore Road to complete the loop. Along with all of the improvements to the roadways on campus, parking has also been addressed in the master plan. Parking lots would be installed along 58th street for the residence hall that will be built in that area, in the RPZ, and where the building would take over the Car Museum. Planned additions outside of the Sudakoff Center in the 2008 Master Plan were rearranged in the 2015 plan in order to maintain the amount of parking outside of Sudakoff. Despite the fourth “Master Plan Principle” aiming to reduce parking, the master plan seems to provide plenty of it. For such a small college – with a small amount of students paying a relatively low amount for tuition – public funding is essential for expansion and improvements. While projects to implement the master plan are already underway – such as the Heiser addition – many of the plans might not come to fruition before 2035 comes around.
college counseling, began the seminar with an insightful and fitting speech about how the following speakers were able to accomplish the goals they did in their lives. She specifically mentioned stepping out of comfort zones, leaving familiarity – family, friends, old schools – to find open doors, take opportunities, and lead remarkable lives. She, like many of the other speakers, strongly suggested taking as many foreign language classes as possible and considering study abroad. For international studies students, Groelle recommended looking at Tufts University, Georgetown University, and Johns Hopkins University’s programs to mirror. Returning for his sixth year, chief of outreach at the UN Office of Resources Management, John Ericson, covered the logistics of working at the organization using his 33 years of UN experience. Associate Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies Frank Alcock spoke in the context of climate change and environmental protection about what skill sets to acquire for a successful international career. “The ability to speak a second or third language is really empowering and enabling,” Alcock said. Other skills Alcock touched on were writing and communication, critical and analytical thinking, and data literacy. “Your ability to be quantitatively literate,” Alcock said. “That’s a very attractive skill set.” Sehee Chung represented the U.S. Peace Corps, speaking on her formative experience in the program, which, she said, is a great stepping-stone for another international career. She also emphasized internships and work-study positions in high school and college and encouraged seizing opportunities as they arise. “I see a group of people capable of making change in the world,” social entrepreneur and human rights and
RA Funding
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when RHD Alex Pearson went to the SAC chair at the time, Alex Galarce, to bring up the idea for a separate RA fund. Galarce, NCSA President Paige Pellaton and RA representative at the time Colt Dodd had previously discussed the issue and when Galarce addressed the committee about the new funding, the SAC as a whole agreed that more funding was essential. “I’ve been on the SAC for two full years and we always just gave the RAs the funding they needed because we all want good, substance-free events,” Galarce said. “So the way that I envisioned the new system being is that we would bypass the rubber stamp from the SAC and just give the RAs and housing the money specifically for RA events and they would work it out themselves.” The amount that will go into next semester’s discretionary fund
will depend on the success of this “trial period” – Mod 2 and the January ISP period. However, the RAs will no longer have to survive on $30 dollars a semester or turn to the SAC every Sunday to fund individual and group events for the campus community.
Figure Model CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 also projecting a presence from it is really challenging. I really like this job as a weird form of self-care, a way of paying attention to my body and the way I feel about it not only as a physical object, but as an extension of myself.”
deadlines with them helps a lot. Look Over: Proofreading is beyond incredibly important, and one of the quickest ways to do so is via the page-by-page method. Many mistakes, inconsistencies, and unclear bits can be caught this way. Reading over each paragraph individually and actively searching for mistakes works best. Aloud: The best way to perform a final check of a paper is to read it out loud. By reading a work aloud, writers can catch all of the little things that don't quite sound right (repetition, too many/not enough commas, paragraphlong sentences) this should be done after all other revisions have been made as a final proofreading. Now We Wait: Oftentimes, writers feel great amounts of anxiety after turning work in. I just remind them that they did their very best, and that now is the time to appreciate themselves for the work that they've done.
social justice fellow Brock Leach said to the audience. He spoke about the unique position of a social entrepreneur, which entails an inquisitive creative spirit, clear intention and persistence, empathy, and radical collaboration. U.S. Foreign Service Department of State Diplomat-in-Residence Catherine Rodriguez discussed her unique career history and how the important opportunities she sought out and took shaped her life in the best way possible. The three qualities she collected to describe someone ready for an international career were persistence, determination and moxie. Rodriguez emphasized that the personal statement – used when applying for internships – is many times the make or break piece that can propel a student to success or drop them out of the running for anything. Using those three aforementioned qualities, Rodriguez told students to be different and hone in on a personal story even if it sounds “corny” in those statements. Assistant Professor of Economics Tracy Collins highlighted the importance of networking, work experience, and starting early. “Sell yourself in a positive way, not a negative arrogant way,” Collins said. “If you say you’ve never failed, you won’t get the job because it’s a lie.” “They just like people who are wellrounded,” Collins added. Chief Development Strategist at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Raymond Morton ended the series of speakers with a speech about his life in the foreign service. Afterwards, break-out sessions were held where students were able to go and ask the speakers more questions in a smaller environment. A reception was the last item on the agenda, allowing students one-on-one communication with the speakers as a practice of networking.
Happy
Halloween from the Catalyst staff
CATALYST
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst
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A walk through the campus nature area BY DYLAN PRYOR Life as a student in Sarasota is often so stressful it can be difficult to stop and smell the roses. The campus restoration area found on the way to the bayfront provides a much-needed escape. Walking tours through the area, led by Jono Miller – alum and former director of environmental studies – are an easy way to become familiar with one of the lesser-known areas on campus. The New College campus nature area began as an ISP where students learned how to take an area of lawn and turn it into an area of native grasses and wildflowers. Although he retired in July of 2014, Miller has remained an active participant in the continuing development of the campus nature area, since he first helped create it. As he led a group into the nature area during a tour, he reflected on the origins of the restoration efforts back in 2010. “What we had to do was try to kill the turf sod grasses that were there, which was done with herbicide, and we still didn’t get everything,” Miller said. “And then, we hired a firm called ‘The Natives,’ and they have permission to gather wild native plant seed from a variety of locations around the state. We also had some information from the Crosley parcel where USF was built about what vegetation had been there originally, so six years ago, we distributed all this seed and hoped for rain.” During his tour, Miller often encourages students to touch and become aware of many different types of grasses and other plants that are easily overlooked. Students also take an active hand in developing the nature area. In the
past few years, students have collected wildflower seed of plants such as liatris, which Miller makes a point of introducing during the tour. The liatris is germinated in the greenhouse north of Heiser, before it is planted in the area. The restoration area is largely maintained by students continuously planting native grasses and flowers. “We have the potential on campus to identify plants we want more of, propagate them in the green house and plant them out here,” Miller commented as he looked back on the nature area at the end of the tour. Going forward, Miller hopes to work with a team of students to develop a burn plan that would reintroduce fire into the area and be compliant with all requirements of the neighbors and the airport. He estimates that only a third of the area would be burned each year. The plan would be designed to stimulate native plants, while also oppressing exotic invasive plants. Further opportunities for students to become involved with the nature area include an ISP in January. During spring semester, Professor Brad Oberle’s botany course will also feature a courselong project involving the restoration area, and students will check on the area throughout the semester. Nature walks scheduled and currently led by Miller are also offered. Students interested in either the ISP opportunity or the walk can email Miller at jono@ncf.edu. “It’s gratifying that people are interested, and I think it comes as a surprise to people that this sort of peak wildflower time in this part of Florida is in the fall,” Miller said. “Many people from other states associate the spring with the big wildflower production, and here it’s really in the fall where you see more of the wildflowers.”
photo courtesy of Jono Miller
Dylan Pryor/Catalyst
photo courtesy of Jono Miller
(top) Liatris (Blazing) is among the wildflowers that grow in the nature area. (left) White Polygonellas (October Flowers) and yellow Pityopsises ( Grassy-leaved Asters) can be found in the area. (above) Former Director of Environmental Studies Jono Miller shares the story of the restoration area.