Issue 2, Fall 2016

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SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 VOLUME XXXIV ISSUE I

A student newspaper of New College of Florida

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School board meeting sees continued call Students seek for transgender rights in Sarasota schools alternatives to CWC

BY CASSIE MANZ prescribed birth control

Since January, the Sarasota County School Board has stalled its decision to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. On Sept. 6, community members gathered in a room before members of the School Board to once again demand justice for transgender students of Sarasota County schools. This is the twelfth board meeting since January that has concerned transgender rights but has not secured, or taken away, any.

Bear Mancinni, a 12-year-old Boy Scout, was the first to speak on the issue during Hearing of the Citizens. He has spoken at several school board meetings in the past but on different academic issues. He attended the meeting on Tuesday to address the bathroom debate. In his speech to the board he said, “[The school board’s] silence has become more than complacent; it has become complicit. Students suffer from your refusal to act. I am disappointed in you.”

People around the room raised their hands and shook them in the air, a modified “jazz hands,” because clapping is not allowed at the meeting.

“This is more than a bathroom issue,” Mancinni continued. “It is a human rights movement. We, the future, are watching you make history. Will we be witness to your decisive leadership?

Will you be known for your courage?

Give us a reason to believe in you. We are your students. What will you teach us?”

Several others followed Bear’s speech, all proponents of an inclusive bathroom policy. Parents of transgender children, concerned community members, a transgender woman and the Program Coordinator from ALSO Youth, Molly Swift, also spoke on the issue. All cited their frustration at the board’s inaction to settle the issue and several specifically called for the board to vote.

After everyone had spoken, Shirley Brown, Chair of the School Board, said that the board could not vote because a vote was not on the agenda. In addition, they could not

WHAT’S INSIDE

BY PARIESA YOUNG

in an email interview with the Catalyst: “Transgender people don’t even need anything, just to be left alone so they can pee in peace! It’s so obvious! And I’m 12 and it’s a no brainer! I’m sorry, but duh!”

In an email interview with the Catalyst, when asked if she saw the issue coming to a vote soon Brown said, “Most board members are reluctant to vote on

As the first stop for students looking for cold medicine, condoms and counseling, the Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC) is an essential resource on campus. But for some students looking for a birth control prescription, the CWC’s services are either too costly or invasive.

Second-year Julia Scully received a contraceptive prescription at the CWC in her first year relatively simply.

“She wrote me the prescription, no tests, no invasive procedures, no cost, no nothing,” Scully said. However, when she came back to campus after summer vacation and attempted to renew her prescription, Scully was told she needed to have an additional procedure which would cost $150. Scully was told this exam was required for her health and safety.

The Well Woman Exam, consisting of a yearly pap smear, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening, is required for anyone wishing to obtain a prescription for a method of birth control from the CWC. A pap smear is the procedure used to screen for cervical cancer and involves the collection and testing of material swabbed from the upper cervix.

“Unfortunately [our birth control services are] pretty limited,” CWC Program Director Dr. Anne Fisher said.

“The clinic we have is really meant to be a basic health clinic, like a walk-in clinic.”

Fisher added that with more resources and money, the CWC would be able to focus on expanding and cheapening their reproductive health services. “Our health fee was not able to be raised for a while and we actually had to cut our hours,” Fisher said.

“I think it is great that the CWC offers this service for students who

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Cassie Manz/Catalyst

Bryan Ellis and first-year Evie Lopez hold a trans rights banner in front of the school board meeting.

Sarasota County School Board seated during their Tuesday meeting.

add anything, like a vote, to the agenda during the actual meeting. As everyone filed out, frustration and sense of hopelessness could be felt. This was no surprise to many of them.

“Often they’re [the school board] making decisions to not make decisions,” Swift said when asked if she was surprised by the outcome of the most recent school board meeting.

Perhaps Bear explained the root of the frustration best when he wrote

3 POWER SHIFT

6 RINGLING UNDERGROUND

12 KINK POSITIVE

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

BRIEFS PAGE 2

briefs by Kelly Wilson

SpaceX-plosion: The Falcon-9 rocket The Falcon-9 rocket created by SpaceX and its Israeli cargo exploded on the launch pad during a static fire test on Sept. 1.

SpaceX - or Space Exploration Technologies Cooperation - is an aerospace company that was created with the goal of decreasing the cost of space exploration. They built the Falcon-1 and Falcon-9 rockets, to be reused, and the Dragon Spacecraft used to carry supplies to the International Space Station.

While the company has its business centered at its headquarters in Hawthorne, California, it launches rockets from Florida’s famous Kennedy Space Center located in Cape Canaveral.

The Falcon-9 rocket was undergoing ground tests at the Cape

Canaveral Air Force Base at Kennedy Space Center when it exploded on Sept.

1, luckily, unmanned. No one was hurt, but the 220-foot rocket and the Amos-6 communication satellite that the rocket was going to carry were destroyed in the clouds of fire and smoke that resulted from the explosion.

Elon Musk remains absent on Twitter about the subject, but despite this absence, the race to find the source of the blast is underway. The federal Aviation Administration is launching an investigation into the disaster, but they are more likely to take on an advisory role instead of an active one.

“Much like aviation accident investigations, often the FAA is called up for its expertise on specific technical and regulatory matters,” the agency told the Wall Street Journal.

While the National Aeronautics Space Association (NASA) is reliant on SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket to continue sending cargo into space, they are also unlikely to take the lead in the investigation. However, they will be represented on the committee that is investigating the issue.

This is the second explosion that SpaceX has dealt with since the June 2015 explosion of a previous version of the Falcon-9 rocket just after a launch.

Thus, the organization lies not only in the midst of the disaster and efforts to rebuild but the bad press as well.

NASA, on the other hand, has forged ahead and successfully launched an Atlas V rocket containing an asteroid probe on Sept. 8 at 7:05 p.m. and will continue to move ahead in the area of space exploration.

Out with Moodle and in with Canvas The online gradebook system Moodle - an open source system developed by people in their free time by people who want to contribute to a community - is going to be replaced this year with Canvas, a state-run entity owned by Instructure a technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

While, knowing Moodle being open source helps it fit into the New College's anti-establishment, anti-cooperation vibe, there is not much anyone can do to get rid of Canvas. It has broken the barrier and is here to stay. As of July of this year Canvas is officially in effect here at New College.

Due to restrictions in the fiscal year for education causing its late implementation some professors prefer to stick to Moodle. At least this year.

“It is especially important with introductory classes to establish confidence early for students using class website material, in my opinion."

Professor Sandra Gilchrist said in an email interview. Gilchrist went on to explain that she was still working out kinks in the system and would prefer to build confidence in Canvas before making a full transition.

Jennifer Wells, the writing director at New College prefers Canvas.

Because, not only does it look better, in her opinion, but it makes her job easier, and could be beneficial to students in the future.

“The things that Canvas does, like e-papers, and allowing faculty to comment on papers within Canvas, and the synched up grade book, and make

teaching writing easier because it’s very labor intensive... The e-portfolio is great for students; it allows students to really tell the story of their experience at New College...The potential for what you can do with Canvas is bigger than what you can do with Moodle." Wells said.

“I definitely prefer Canvas!

Although I do think NCF's Canvas is a lot more complicated than the one I used in high school," second-year Brianna Luis agreed in an email interview.

Luis used Canvas in high school and has experience with the program.

This experience allows her to jump right in, unlike other New College students and professors. Others, however, will have to relearn old ways and adopt the new system.

Texas students protest campus carry This past summer Texas passed an open carry law that allowed students to carry guns on school campuses. This inspired Univeristy of Texas at Austin students to create a protest to counter the new law called Campus (Dildo) Carry.

According to obscure, and broad, University of Texas rules, it is possible to get a citation for being obscene for carrying a dildo in public.

“No person or organization will distribute or display on the campus any writing or visual image, or engage in any public performance, that is obscene.

A writing, image, or performance is “obscene” if it is obscene as defined

in Texas Penal Code, Section 43.21 or successor provisions, and is within the constitutional definition of obscenity as set forth in decisions of the United States Supreme Court.”

However, on Aug. 1, new open carry laws, called campus carry, went into effect in Texas which allowed University of Texas students to carry guns onto campus and some University of Texas students found these rules to be somewhat non-sensical.

The founder of the Open Dildo Carry protest Jessica Lin decided to protest the contradicting rules, inviting students to carry their sex toys attached to their backpack much like collectible

“This is not limited to whales.” © 2016, 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 and taught by visiting instructor Yadira Lopez. 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.

keychains. The protest even received a donation of 4,500 dildos according to the Texas tribune.

A little closer to home, in Florida, an open carry law similar to the one in Texas passed 80-38 in the House of Representatives but eventually failed to pass in a Senate committee. In the end, Florida remains one of the few states that only allows concealed carry with a concealed carry permit.

However, If Florida does decide to go in the direction of Texas, cocksnotglocks might be willing to help. You can send them questions, or praise, or donate a clean unused cock at inquiries@cocksnotglocks.org

General Editor Managing Editor Copy Editor Online Editor Layout Editor Staff Writers & Photographers

Pariesa Young Giulia Heyward Ryan Paice Caitlyn Ralph Audrey Warne Katelyn Grimmett, Jasmine Respess, Dylan Pryor, Elan Works, Jacob Wentz, Kelly Wilson, Cassandra Manz, Anya Maria Contreras-García, Magdalene Taylor

NCSA election results are in The New College Student Alliance (NCSA) recently held elections to determine who would be elected to the positions of First-year Representative on the Student Allocations Committee, the Diversity Representative and the Green Affairs Representative for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year.

It was an interesting race, while some pondered buying, or rigging the election on the forum, candidates were hard at work creating write-in campaigns for the positions. Especially for diversity representative which did not have any student officially running for the position.

While students might not have taken their ability to write in their candidate as seriously as some would have liked, with write-in’s including things such as drawings of penis‘ and memes, and dislike for certain candidates, the write-in candidates were somewhat successful in gaining ground in the elections. They did not, unfortunately for them, come out on top.

The winner of the First-year Representative was Pedro Vivas with 66 votes, who will serve until June 2017.

“I have always felt satisfaction in doing something beneficial for my schoolmates,” the second place candidate August Raubo said, explaining why he decided to run.

Raubo came in second in a close race with 44 votes, and will serve until Dec. 31.

Winner for Green Affairs Representative, Gina Vazquez, took an easy lead with 84 votes while her competitors received less than five votes each.

For Diversity Representative, Volanta Peng was elected with 29 votes, however, she resigned from the position because she was already a representative on the Student Advisory Committee and that is an exclusionary position. Thus, Edline Francis was appointed to the position.

CORRECTION: In our Sept. 7 issue, the article Black Lives Matter moves meetings to NCF incorrectly stated the group would meet in Sudakoff biweekly.

We apologize for the error.

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.

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

NEWS PAGE 3

Power Shift conference emboldens climate activists

BY KATELYN GRIMMETT Students and young activists from all corners of the Southeast United States came together at the 2016 Regional Power Shift Conference held in Orlando this past weekend. Organized by the Power Shift Network (formerly the Energy Action Coalition), Power Shift provided a space to open up multifaceted discussions on climate change.

The weekend kicked off on Friday with the opening Plenary, which addressed how to build a “safe space” that holds equity and justice at the forefront. Afterwards, Power Shifters were invited to a community art build to create signs and banners for Saturday’s direct action march on the world’s largest McDonald’s off International Drive.

Power Shift has been in gear since 2007 but this year’s convergence stood confidently apart from it’s predecessors.

For the first time, the Power Shift Network was able to assemble four regional conferences: Southeast, West, Midwest and Northeast.

“We were very intentional around what we wanted to do being that this is the first regional set up versus national so we thought about the issues in the Southeast and how they relate back to the host state, Florida,” Yulissa Arce Orlando director for the Florida Institute for Reform and Empowerment (FIRE) said. Arce was a speaker on the (em) PowerVote Plenary which addressed voter power and how to strategically shift politics to boost the issues.

“I think a regional powershift is really important because it’s like identity and place and it’s easier to identify your role in the movement when you’re in your place right here,” Nat Sassine, a junior at the University of North Florida, said. Sassine attended Power Shift back in 2013 when it was still a national convention and recognized a stronger direction with the regional set up.

An unmistakeable theme for this year’s Southeast Powershift was intersectionality. This focus was threaded into every workshop, every conversation. Even at the direct action march one could hear chants familiar to movements such as Black Lives Matter, Fight for $15 and the Alliance for Fair Food.

Elle Hearns - a lead organizer in the Movement for Black Lives articulated the theme eloquently in her keynote speech. “As we move through the world, fighting for liberation, it is our people who we are responsible to.

It is ourselves that we must challenge.

We do have to choose whether or not our movement will be in isolation or in collaboration with other movements.”

Practically every workshop either centered itself in the cross-section of two movements or offered an intersectional approach to a particular issue.

“Reproductive Justice is Environmental Justice,” “A World Without Racism” and “The Impact of Harmful Trade Deals on Climate” to name a few examples. Miami native Valencia Gunder challenged her audience in “Climate Gentrification”

to take obstacles head on to achieve a better, more just society.

“She told us to hold people accountable like our local commissioners and she told us about getting involved in resiliency planning in our community, which I definitely want to look into in Sarasota,” Catalyst staff writer Cassandra Manz said. “She talked a lot about equity, not equality and saying that different people and different communities need different things.”

Power Shift received a strong presence from New College with more than a dozen students in attendance and a workshop held by fourth-years Jay McWilliams and Orion Morton on “Restorative Ecology for a More Just Climate.” McWilliams and Morton offered three techniques of land and soil restoration: community-based bioremediation, phytoremediation and mycoremediation.

While accessible and innovative to all, their presentation impacted one audience member in a particularly powerful way. John Gakumba attended Power Shift to find and invest in ideas to bring back to the Nile Basin Initiative, an intergovernmental partnership around sustainably managing the Nile River basin.

“I come from Rwanda, that’s East Africa, and we have a lot of food security challenges so restoring land and a system of resources is the way to provide food sustainably so that’ll affect the soil life and the need to have more organic life in the changing climate,” Gakumba said. “So they said John, maybe you could find an event, a session that will be of interest that you can contribute. This is the one, I really like it. I took their contacts and I’m going to get that book.”

The book that Gakumba referred to is Earth Repair: A Guide to Healing Toxic and Damaged Landscapes by Leila Darwish. Morton and McWilliams attributed much of the content in their powerpoint to Darwish’s book.

The conference hosted more than 20 workshop sessions and each one got down to the nitty-gritty of a particular issue, facilitated solution-focused discussions and offered hands on training for skills such as mobilizing a community and navigating the political system.

In “Beyond the Campus: Building Statewide Power,” speakers Evan Weber and Matt Cordiero offered a five-step plan to making a vision reality and broke the audience into groups to test out different ideas. “Why Food is Important” had a simpler answer to the issue of food security: grow your own!

Participants were given biodegradable pots to plant tomato, carrot or radish seeds for an empowering push.

Throughout the conference, the theme of intersectionality never

faltered. In her speech, Elle Hearns gave a humbling reminder to Power Shifters that it is praxis that changes the world.

“There’s a lot of mentioning of intersectionality here, which is great. However, the actual practice to manifest this is not always one that is realized or introduced in intentional ways in community spaces that we all engage in together. It’s time for us to actually choose how we practice being a community.”

all photos Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst

(left to right) Catalyst staff writer and second-year Cassie Manz, second-year Kaithleen Conoepan and second-year Sabrina Mikes.

Southern University student Jasmine Turner travelled all the way from Baton Rouge, LA to join Power Shift’s march down International Drive.

Power Shift’s direct action march brought several hundred activists to the largest McDonald’s in the world, located in Orlando, FL.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

PAGE 4

Election 2016 Forums and fainting as presidential race overheats

BY RYAN PAICE 1. Lauer falters as Commanderin-Chief Forum spins out of control What was supposed to be an opportunity for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees to show why they deserved to hold the title of Commander-in-Chief ended with widespread dissatisfaction with the entire event. From the early questioning of Clinton about her scandals to NBC host Matt Lauer’s failure to push Trump for substantial answers, neither interview seemed to go anywhere of real worth, or provide anything new or interesting in response to the questions that were asked.

The NBC News and MSNBC Commander-in-Chief Forum was televised live on Wednesday, Sept. 10, as the first joint candidate event of the presidential race. Held before a small live audience made up of service members and veterans – many asking the nominee being interviewed a question of their own – the event provided an intimate space for the presidential nominees to connect to, and win over, service members there and watching on TV. Despite the “joint” nature of the event and the intimacy the event space was supposed to provide, Clinton and Trump were interviewed separately and the disconnect between the candidates and their intended audience was apparent.

Hillary Clinton was interviewed first, but could not help but play defense as both her public record and her scandals were held in question throughout. She went through the usual work of explaining herself, but the distrust within some of the audience member’s questions was clear.

The first audience member asked about why she should not be in any trouble for her email scandal, when if he did not follow protocol he would have been

“persecuted and imprisoned.” The next audience member to ask a question asked her about if the continuation of her “hawkish foreign policy” should be a cause for concern amongst progressives like herself. Regardless of the line of questioning, her emphasis on the importance of experience was clear from the get-go.

“Steadiness. An absolute rock steadiness, and mixed with strength to be able to make the hard decisions,” Clinton said in response to Lauer’s question of what was the most important factor in being a Commander-in-Chief.

“Because I’ve had the unique experience of watching and working with several presidents. And these are not easy decisions.”

Donald Trump’s line of questioning was much less problematic, but the Republican nominee was often without direction in his answers and would frequently go back to discussing Clinton – and Obama – naming one and/or the other 15 times. Lauer was unable to keep him away from discussing them and asked several easy questions, never pushing for a substantial answer and was panned for it across social and professional media.

Not that Lauer needed to dig deep to expose Trump’s own apparent disconnect with the troops. He called the generals of the military in question, supported Vladmir Putin and tried to back up the claim that he had a secret plan that he had to use against ISIS. When Lauer asked him what that plan was, Trump said, “I have a plan. But I want to be — I don’t want to — look.

I have a very substantial chance of winning. Make America great again.

We’re going to make America great again.

I have a substantial chance of winning.

If I win, I don’t want to broadcast to the enemy exactly what my plan is.”

continued on p. 8

The Activist Newsletter Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst

This week (9/14 – 9/22), activists have the opportunity to attend information sessions, meetings, protests, benefit shows and engage in radical grassroots volunteerism. Read on if you want to get involved in the community fighting for racial justice, food security, indigenous rights, community gardening or international service.

BY ANYA MARIA CONTRERAS-GARCIA Wednesday, Sept. 14 Black Lives Matter Alliance Manasota Meeting @ 7 p.m.

New College of Florida ACE Lounge Black Lives Matter Alliance Manasota is having their next meeting here on the New College campus. The upcoming agenda includes discussing “the new Jim Crow” and focus group community projects, including investigating gentrification in Sarasota, disrupting the school-toprison pipeline, self-care for black youth, and a “Ban the Box” initiative.

For more information and for tips on how to prepare for this meeting, e-mail Shakira Refos at shakira.refos@ gmail.com.

Wednesday, Sept. 14 Potluck for Jill Stein @ 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center 525 Kumquat Ct (Rear) Sarasota, FL 34236 The purpose of this event is to organize volunteers for Jill Stein’s visit to Sarasota on Sept. 29. Other subjects of the meeting will be fundraising, registering voters, recruiting volunteers, and on the long term goals of the Green Party in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Art by local artist Julie Ross will be raffled. For more information, check out the event pages “Jill Stein: Reignite the Bern!” and “Calling all Greens! Manasota Green Party has Re-Ignited!” on Facebook.

Thursday, Sept. 15 Day of Dialogue Planning Committee Meeting @ 6 p.m.

New College of Florida Gender and Diversity Center (GDC) Day of Dialogue was a concerted effort on behalf of members of the student body, faculty and staff to promote and facilitate conversation on issues such as unpacking racial and gendered

Dylan Pryor/Catalyst

aggressions on campus, embracing the cultural diversity within our community and acknowledging the need for spaces of radical openness.

With the help of guest facilitator Micah Hobbes Frazier, the event will shed light on NCF’s opportunity to continue learning and educating towards making our campus accessible to people of all racial, ethnic, religious, sexual and gender identities. For more information, contact Miles Iton at miles.iton14@ncf.edu.

Saturday, Sept. 17 Stand with Standing Rock in Tampa! @ 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Marathon Gas Station 5601 E Fowler Ave and N 56th St Tampa, FL 33617-2307 Support the Indigenous-led movement to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline! Construction of the pipeline would endanger fresh water for 8 million people, impact sacred indigenous sites and release 250,000 tons of pollutants per day into the atmosphere. Join protesters outside the Marathon gas station to demand that the lives of indigenous people are more important than the profits of corporations. Water and signs will be available, but feel free to bring your own. For more information, check out the event page on Facebook and “like” Answer Suncoast.

Saturday, Sept.

17 Food Not Bombs Benefit Show @ 4 p.m. – 12 a.m.

The Nine 10 910 5th Avenue North, St. Petersburg This benefit show is raising money for Food Not Bombs St. Pete. Money raised will go towards special events and things like storage, dishes, cups, silverware, paper supplies, and hygiene products for homeless in St. Pete. There will be a potluck – bring your best vegan/vegetarian dish for a chance to win a prize! There is a $3 to $5 donation required at the door.

For more information, check out the event page on Facebook.

CATALYST

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NEWS PAGE 5

Fight for $15: Economic insanity or moral imperative?

BY ANYA MARIA CONTERASGARCIA In 2016 America, politically polarized media outlets often parrot the same anti- or pro-raising-theminimum-wage talking points.

Inundated by contrasting opinions, it can be difficult to navigate the issue and decide for oneself whether raising the minimum wage is a good idea, or even a viable one.

The Fight for $15 campaign began in Nov. 2012 with fast-food workers protesting for a $15 minimum wage and union support. At the time, many scoffed at talk of raising the minimum wage that high, but by 2015, some key victories made the Fight for $15 a nationwide effort. It has since become one of the biggest labor protests in decades with a wide spectrum of supporters, from low-wage workers like janitors and nursing home aides to college students and social activists.

So what do proponents of the Fight for $15 initiative have to say?

There’s a strong sentiment of being pro-labor, pro-worker, pro-equality and pro-justice. Coupled with Black Lives Matter and environmentalist initiatives, the Fight for $15 feels like part of today’s civil rights movement.

Charged language makes the issue about morality more than anything else: “What side are you on: the side of the struggling middle class, or the side of low-paying corporations like McDonalds and Walmart?”

“This fight connects to issues of baseline standard of living and quality of life,” Professor Steve Shipman, Associate Professor of Physical

Chemistry at NCF, said through e-mail.

“People really should not have to work substantially more than 40 hours per week in order to have secure food, housing, etc. Bosses will tell you there are all sorts of dire consequences to them not having as much power as they do now, in the same way that they resisted the idea of the 40-hour work week, the abolition of child factory labor, the imposition of safety practices in industry, etc. I’m not sure how much real-world weight those arguments should hold given our collective past experience.”

Critics argue that although the movement’s sentiments are valid, a $15 minimum wage is not economically viable. Major concerns include whether an increased minimum wage would hurt small businesses, reduce the overall number of jobs, or shock local economies. Some critics say that individuals protesting for higher wages could be pushing themselves right out of a job.

“This is economic insanity,” Dave Maney, CEO of Deke Digital, said on Fox News in 2015. “It forces labor under the table. It forces automation… That bottom rung of the economic ladder, you’ll saw it right off.”

But for critics concerned that a $15 minimum wage will hurt the job market, Professor of Economics and Chair of the Division of Social Sciences at New College, Richard Coe, says not to worry.

“For a long time, the issue was framed by critics of the minimum wage as that it’s going to cost jobs for lowincome people, that it’s going to hurt them and not help them,” Coe said. “Well

there’s been a huge number of studies out there, and the consensus estimate is that the elasticity of demand is about 0.1, which means if you raise the minimum wage by 10 percent, about 1 percent of minimum wage workers may lose their job while 99 percent will get an increase in income.”

Studies conducted by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) show that an increase in the minimum wage within the historical range will likely not cause any significant negative impacts on the economy, and may have some positive impacts because it would increase the purchasing power of lowwage workers.

But what about small businesses?

Businesses with less than 15 employees like mom-and-pop stores typically have much less monetary flexibility than larger companies, and have a difficult time keeping their businesses afloat as it is. Critics say making small businesses pay employees a $15 minimum wage could cause many of them to fail.

“The fact of the matter is if everybody has to do it, small businesses are not losing a competitive edge,” Coe said. “It does put some upward pressure on prices, so consumers might have to pay a little more, but if the average consumer has to help out the lowincome worker, that’s not a problem in my book.”

Another criticism of the Fight for $15 movement is that it may not even be targeting the demographics it claims to be helping the most: minorities and single mothers. Currently, 50 percent of minimum-wage workers are teenagers.

Critics argue that minimum-wage jobs are not meant to support someone’s

livelihood – they should be entry level jobs for people under 20 or individuals with limited special skills.

However, proponents of an increase in the minimum wage say that critics are missing the point. According to the EPI, 89.3 percent of workers that would be affected by an increase in minimum wage to $12 are age 20 and older, 55 percent work full-time, and more than 25 percent are parents.

“Right now, 50 percent of minimum-wage workers are teenagers, but you have to count all those people who are working between $7.25 and $12,” Coe said. “Those aren’t teenagers, those are adults, and they’re all going to get a pay increase. That’s the mistake.”

So what do economists recommend? “The minimum wage adjusted for inflation in the 1980s was about $10 an hour,” Sherry Yu, assistant professor of Economics at New College, said. “That means that people who are living on minimum wage now are worse off than the people living on minimum wage in the 1970s and 80s. I think raising the minimum wage back to where it was then is reasonable.”

“I would have a federal minimum wage at about $11 to $12 like it was in 1968 but with a little bump,” Professor Coe suggested. “Index it to inflation and then allow states or municipalities to make any upward adjustment they feel is appropriate.”

“These people are working hard and they’re not earning very much,” Coe said. “If we can funnel some more money their way with virtually no negative impacts on the economy, that’s a huge plus. That’s the moral part.”

Randomly assigned thesis carrels get mixed reviews

BY KELLY WILSON In previous years, thesis carrels have for the most part been picked by the students themselves. This year that system is getting overhauled, in favor of a randomized assignment system that is designed to be less time-consuming for staff and more fair to students.

However, this change has received mixed reactions among students.

In previous years thesis carrels have been assigned from a list of eight or more possible thesis carrels which the students would come up with and turn into the library staff, who would then assigned thesis carrels according to preference. This year, however, the carrels are being assigned to students using a random number generator style of assignment in order of students who signed up for carrels, with the only preference being given to students who have signed up to share the carrels. So theoretically - a student who has yet to sign up for a thesis carrel could still get one of the best carrels.

This system also provides a fair assignment system to University of South Florida (USF) graduate and honor students, of whom half of the thesis carrels have to at least be offered, because half of the library technically

belongs to them, despite not being on their campus.

In an email interview thesis student Hannah Coker, despite her issues with the new system, realized that assigning thesis carrels in any way that was at all helpful would be a lot of work for the library staff.

“I feel like the application could have taken into account student preferences— ‘Would you prefer a grouped carrel or an isolated one?’ or something of that ilk. I think it would be cool if they asked about our thesis topic and assigned carrels close to shelves with relevant topics, but obviously, that would be a logistical nightmare. As it is, I’m sure randomly assigning carrels makes it a ton easier for library staff, so I can’t really complain,” Coker said.

While students are upset at the new system for its lack of taking into account student preference, according to Sofia Eury a second-year student, and the Library Representative for the New College Student Alliance (NCSA), the New College who plans to be a librarian one day, the new system was actually a lot of little changes that have been put into place at once for the convenience of the library staff. And, might actually benefit the students in the long run.

Eury begins by explaining that

New College students tend to become attached to New College at varying degrees which can be a challenging bond to disconnect from moving further into the student’s life. A phenomenon which she calls the New College bubble.

“You notice it after a while, you kind of realize that you don’t really leave New College and you’re kind of just spending all of your time here, and it turns out that like you get stuck just living in this place that isn’t really like the rest of the world, and that becomes a problem.”

The library staff has also realized that this is a problem, when, in the past students have lined up outside of the library before it even opened and ended up in tears because they didn’t get a certain thesis carrel. The staff has decided to try and ease students out of the New College bubble by removing the thesis carrels that students have tended to use as sort of a blanket during their stressful thesis year.

Allison Piper, the Associate Dean, said that the New College bubble while being the main reason that the change to the system was made, is not the only reason. The change was also made to be beneficial to library staff, in terms of time, and to be fair to USF students who New College students share the

library with.

“It takes a lot of time at the beginning of the year, for staff, and that’s a tough time because staff are dealing with getting books on reserve, buying books, or getting books that faculty needs, like books that don’t come into the bookstore or are expensive we try to buy, we don’t buy textbooks but we buy other books for classes and some of that happens at the last minute, like when books turn out not to be available to students in other ways. So there’s a lot that is happening, plus doing a lot of borrowing, interlibrary borrowing, particularly for thesis students, but also for others who are already getting going on a project as well. So to have somebody stand and go over a long list of people and assign people to what carrel they want wasn’t a really good use of staff time as we are trying to serve faculty and students and get going with the semester,” Alison explained that the system was also changed in order to save time in an especially busy time at the beginning of the school year.

Students who did not get a thesis carrel still have a change, however, the thesis carrel assignment system is split into three parts, with the second round

continued on p. 8

The Return of Ringling

BY AUDREY WARNE Ringling Underground resumed its 2016 season after a one-week delay brought on by Hurricane Hermine’s arrival. Originally intended to begin on the first Thursday of the month, the event occurred the evening of Thursday Sept. 9 and featured local musicians, free tacos and only slightly less rainy weather.

Ringling Underground occurs the first Thursday of Sept., Oct., Nov., Feb., Mar., and Apr. The event was created

by Shakira Refos, a local community member who is heavily involved with Sarasota’s arts community and the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights in the area. From the beginning, Ringling Underground was created with students in mind, with Refos working with Ringling’s museum and education departments in order to devise an event that would both entertain and inform.

“The goal was to get more college students on campus,” Refos said. “A big problem at the Ringling museum was that membership levels were really really high for people in their 70s and 80s, really really high for 50s to 70s, and then they started to drop in their 40s and for the 40 and unders it was basically nonexistent. The strategy was to try and figure out ‘Where is the disconnect?’

‘Why aren’t college students and young adults more interested in coming here?’

The answer was pretty easy, there was no shit for them to do.”

One of the biggest issues Refos faced with the event’s conception was the perception of college students by Ringling’s upper management.

“The Ringling is part of [Florida State University] FSU, so it’s bureaucratic as fuck,” Refos said. “Trying to get partnerships between Ringling and the community, you have to sign all of these contracts, so some of the policies had to be looked at and re-evaluated. There

all photos Audrey Warne/Catalyst The stage where Jacksonille band TOMBOi set up after rain prevented them from preforming on the main stage. were all these questions that had to be dealt with. ‘Can we serve drinks?’ ‘What if they come in barefoot?’ Security was very concerned about students smoking pot in the galleries.”

Ringling Underground first began in Feb. of 2012, with Refos and Shannon Fortner – of the Harvey Milk Festival – and a local producer involved in the event’s development. For the first three events, the Ringling had each of them pick one and focus on a specific type of musical style and theme. Refos’ genre was hip-hop, Fortner’s was more electronic, and the local Sarasota promoter focused on alternative rock.

“We wanted to see what would connect, what would work. The first three months were really an experiment,” Refos added. “We figured out that hip hop definitely wasn’t the way to go – even though it was fun – and Mikey wasn’t the right promoter for the event, so we picked Shannon and she’s been curating the music ever since.”

Second year student Paola Baez-Perez takes a bite out of one of the tacos served at Ringling Underground.

One of the event’s central goals was to share more progressive and contemporary arts and culture with the larger Sarasota community and to emphasize Ringling’s identity as a public space for discussion and community.

“I think [the Ringling] provides a really safe space,” Refos said. “I like to think about the fact that like you can like take a date there. That was always my goal, just to get like mad girls over there. I always wonder if any babies have been created because of the energy that that evening brings. You can just like bring a date there, you can mess around with your friends, you can do whatever you want. All you have to do is be excited about art. That’s something that is not very available in Sarasota.”

Another purpose Refos had for the event was to draw in young people, college students and young professionals, who would maybe consider making Sarasota their home long after they’re graduated.

“I wish that other arts organizations would take more steps to do outreach. We want Sarasota to be a place, not where people just love to visit or love to go to school, but we want young people to stay here and make it a better place than it is now. I think Ringling Underground was a good start, I wish other arts organizations would try and you know take the same steps.”

Last Thursday’s event featured three electronic and rock bands from Florida: Cassolette from Sarasota, Soapbox Soliloquy from St. Petersburg and TOMBOi from Jacksonville. The Ringling’s Center for Asian Arts, which opened last May, was one of the galleries open to the public for the event. The Center features art from a broad selection of Asian countries, with a focus on pieces from China, Japan, Korea and Tibet. The museum’s vast selection of Chinese blanc de chine was on display (the gallery was not yet finished when the Asian arts wing opened last spring) as well as an open-air light installation, the Joseph’s Coat sky space by American artist James Turrell.

“Sarasota is an amazing place for art and culture,” Refos said. “It’s just like an incredible place to grow up.

I’ve spent half of my life here. But it’s very focused on classical arts - there are classical arts everywhere. There are not that many organizations that are concerned with progressive art, and the Ringling underground took the step to invite people to share art from their perspective. Shannon Fortner provided a platform for progressive musicians to come and play there. You don’t get that at many other places in Sarasota. That, I think, is probably the greatest thing about Ringling Underground.”

Second-year students Paola Baez-Perez, Andreina Carrasquero, Brianna Luis, Jason D’Amours and Alexa Baldino all made time to attend the event.

The event was attended by several hundred individuals from locals of the Sarasota-Bradenton area, fan of the Ringling Museum and New College students eager to forget about their classes.

The Center for Asian Arts was the feautued gallery for the event.

Thesis student James Montgomery and second-year student Carrie Reidy attended the event with some friends.

TOMBOi playing thier headlining set at the first Ringling Underground of the 2016-2017 academic year.

An advirtisement for the event played on a computer screen along the walls of the courtyard.

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PAGE 8

North Trail motels are a potential location for new affordable work spaces for local artists

BY MAGDALENE TAYLOR The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County is currently campaigning funds in coordination with Minneapolis based non-profit Artspace to create affordable spaces for artists to live and work in the Sarasota area, with the historic motels along North Tamiami Trail as a potential location.

The North Trail motels, once a hot-spot of Florida tourism, declined in popularity among vacationers as I-75 was opened, replacing US-41 as the primary route between Tampa and Miami. Motels (aka “motor hotels”) became popular after WWII, local historian Jeff LaHurd told Sarasota Magazine. “It was all part of that ‘See the USA in your Chevrolet,’” LaHurd said. “[The motels] were mom-and-pop operations, with terrazzo floors and colorfully tiled bathrooms. Many had those vibrating beds—you know, you put a quarter in a machine and the bed shook up and down.”

The first motel in Sarasota was built 66 years ago, and is now the location of Chinese takeout restaurant Golden Star, an art photography space and a pornography studio.

Jim Shirley, the Executive Director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, explains that much of the North Trail now seems run-down.

The Alliance, along with other local organizations, has long had an interest in doing something to revitalize the area. The North Trail Redevelopment Project was designed as the result of this, seeking ways to form “positive development” as Shirley said. “The area from about New College to Van Wezel is really the entry point into the city, if you come in from the airport, and quite honestly it has not always been the nicest looking part of our community.

“I found that at those meetings

School board CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 a policy as we feel it will be challenged in court as our competing policies in this state currently are.” She continued, “I feel it is better handled on a case by case basis with administration, the student, and their parent(s) or guardian.”

The issue brought before the board last Tuesday was originally introduced

by Nate Quinn, a transgender man and former student at Pine View School (Quinn graduated in June). After asking Stephen Covert, president of Pine View School, permission to use the men’s restroom twice, Covert relented.

On Jan. 15, Covert sent an email to the parents of Pine View School announcing that Pine View would be the first public school in the region to allow a transgender student to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. Covert acted independently as the county does not have a policy for this issue.

At the school board meeting on

Magdalene Taylor/Catalyst

The North Trail motels are currently under consideration for a redevelopment plans that would bring affordable workspaces for local Sarasota artists to the area.

[for the North Trail Redevelopment Project] we were always talking a lot and not really doing something. Somewhere along the way you have to start doing something,” Shirley said, explaining how the potential project with ArtSpace began to form.

According to Shirley, Sarasota is a strong candidate for a partnership with Artspace, who has developed around 40 successful artist live-work spaces since 1979. If Artspace decides to move forward in Sarasota, which is determined after an artist screening process to be undertaken after the Arts and Cultural Alliance raises $42,500 in preliminary funds, the North Trail could become the location of this type of community artist housing. While there isn’t a specific motel in mind to be renovated, Shirley believes the project

would make good use of the existing structures. So far, Artspace has already toured Sarasota with the Alliance and eight meetings have been held with artists, local government, and other community stakeholders to discuss how the project will move forward.

The Alliance and Artspace will be using the preliminary funds to conduct a feasibility survey of artists within a 50 mile radius gathering info on level of interest, resources, and what people are capable of paying for rent.

So far, the Arts and Cultural Alliance has raised $35,000 of the necessary $42,500. These donations have come from Sarasota government, local organizations, philanthropists and smaller individual donations.

Shirley predicts that the remainder of the donations could be obtained by the

Jan. 19, two community members spoke about the transgender bathroom issue. At the following meeting on Feb. 2, 14 community members spoke.

Support and opposition was split down the middle. The issue has been ongoing at each following board meeting.

In a phone interview with the Catalyst, Molly Swift mentioned that Quinn reached out to Answer Suncoast, a regional chapter of a national civil rights organization, for help with bringing the issue to the school board. She added that the school board has been aware of the issue with transgender youth using the bathroom of their identified gender but “now they can’t ignore it” due to Quinn’s catalyzing action.

When asked what she foresaw next in the transgender rights issue involving the school board’s inaction Swift commented, “Even though there hasn’t been a policy change it doesn’t mean we can’t make progress.” She believes the school board will wait to act on the issue until they see how other lawsuits around the country play out.

Information for this article was gathered from www.sarasotamagazine.com.

Election 2016

end of 2016, with greater headway on the project happening by mid-2017.

Artist communities have been formed in Sarasota previously, both intentionally and organically formed.

Shirley notes that there used to be an artist community around Tuttle’s Court. “It did a very good job right up until the point that it got so popular that artists couldn’t afford to live there,” said Shirley.

A relationship with Artspace ensures that this kind of pricing out doesn’t happen. ArtSpace remains partners in perpetuity with the communities it helps form and controls rent. ArtSpace would also be partially responsible for gauging which artists may have an interest in participating.

Shirley believes that this project could not only benefit Sarasota at large by revitalizing the North Trail region and fostering the arts, but benefit New College and the rest of the C4 consortium (New College, Ringling, USF-Sarasota Manatee, and Eckerd) specifically.

ArtSpace residences typically include a community center for displaying art and holding events that’s open to the public. Shirley hopes this space could be used by local college students.

This all ties into a greater project among Sarasota organizations of getting younger people involved and integrated into the community and the arts, a task the Arts and Cultural Alliance has particular interest in.

There is no guarantee that Artspace will choose the motels as a location for these artist communities, or even that Artspace will want to form one in Sarasota at all. However, Shirley thinks the endeavor seems promising.

“In all probability, we’ll know the recommendation by mid-2017,” Shirley said. For now, it’s a just a matter of waiting for funds.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 2. Clinton’s pneumonia gives conservative conspiracy theorists credence Ever since Hillary Clinton was nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate, there have been many conspiracy theorists – and Donald Trump – arguing that Clinton’s health is a serious concern. After a video of her stumbling and falling down while being helped into her van went viral the social media world came alive as those theorists were given credence.

Clinton was attending a ceremony for the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11, when she had to leave early due to being “overheated” according to her campaign.

As she was being escorted into the van she appeared to stumble and dip a little before falling even more on the step forward; security helped her into the van as people around came forward to check out what happened. Her doctor

said that she is now being treated for pneumonia and dehydration, just hours after her now-viral exit from the ceremony.

Donald Trump, upon being asked about Clinton’s health, hoped for her to get well and promised that he would release the results of his own medical examinations.

Carrels CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 set to end on Oct. 24, where all students can then apply for a carrel with the buddy priority in effect for three days.

Other questions or concerns with the thesis carrel assignment system can be directed towards Alison in an email at apiper@ncf.edu, or at (941) – 487 – 4409.

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PAGE 9

Alums working in administration bring unique benefits to the campus community

BY DYLAN PRYOR

For most students, graduation marks the end of their time at New College, but for some, their time as students is only the beginning. While there is usually a learning curve when beginning new employment, the transition to their new jobs comes naturally to graduates who have lived through and been affected by the administrative processes they are now a part of. Hiring alums is also crucial for New College’s success in that it boosts New College’s performance metrics while also enabling students to continue participating in the community.

“Our students question everything. They’re in that habit of questioning themselves about what was right and what wasn’t right…and if you think about what a student does academically, they learn to question the status quo,” said New College President Donal O’Shea. “Just being New College students, they’re just way more likely to think, ‘well it doesn’t have to be that way,’ and then they know the place, so it’s really a double whammy.”

Alum employees draw on their unique experiences as New College students as inspiration for their continued involvement in the New College community in administration.

While there is usually a learning curve when beginning new employment, the transition to their new jobs comes naturally to graduates who have lived through and been affected by the administrative processes they are now a part of.

“I work in the Registrar, so I

Dylan Pryor/Catalyst

RHD and alum Destinee Aponte (right) meets with second-year Erika Thompson (left), a Goldstein RA.

get a lot of questions from students and sometimes parents about the academic structure at New College, which obviously is very different than a traditional academic structure,” Joy Feagan (‘12) said. “So because I have been through it all, I usually have an answer to the questions, I may even have an answer that’s better than what might be in the handbook or general catalog.”

In addition to academics, alum employees bring with them a profound understanding of the school’s unique sense of culture and legacy. Destinee Aponte (‘12) was first a three-time Resident Advisor (RA) who worked with a variety of other RAs and Housing staff before being hired to continue her work with the community as a Residence Hall Director (RHD) immediately after her

graduation.

“She knows our students, she knows the culture, she’s seen some people who have been with Res Life, and she’s seen what’s worked and what hasn’t worked,” O’Shea said about Aponte. “So she’s coming in with quite the store of knowledge.”

When asked about her transition to her new role as an RHD, Aponte was quick to describe the process as natural and easy, due to her experiences as a student and mentor on campus.

“When you have someone that has been through this as a student, it’s kind of just, second nature for them to go about the processes, like New College Student Alliance (NCSA) and funding is such a bizarre concept,but I know how it works, because I’ve been through it,” Aponte said.

Another benefit of hiring alums is that the new hires actually contribute to New College’s performance metrics.

Performance metrics for colleges and universities are determined by the Florida State University system and are currently the standard by which the System judges a school’s performance.

“If you hire an alum that is freshly out, that counts as a recent hire,” O’Shea said. “If it’s a very recent alum, it helps with the statistics of those employed within a month of graduation, it sure doesn’t hurt.”

Immediate employment at the school also carries benefits for recent graduates, who are able to continue participating in the campus community, albeit in a different capacity.

“There’s a personal advantage to me, because I was able to get a job right after graduation at a place I was already comfortable,” said Feagan.

Although their time as students at New College is over, the graduates take particular pride in the new ways in which they can contribute to the school and make improvements for current students following in their footsteps. Special Projects Assistant Corey Culbertson (‘14) works with Student Affairs and now works with staff, faculty and administrators to help create a more connected campus.

“I definitely want to try to improve,” Culbertson said. “I think about the student body as, like, my students now. I just want to help them and improve their experience here as much as I can.”

A glimpse into the new NCSA Cabinet

BY CAITLYN RALPH After a special election put thesis students Paige Pellaton and Shelby Statham in the position for a year and a half, the New College Student Alliance (NCSA) presidential torch has been passed down to third-years Miles Iton and Paul Loriston. The new presidents chose an Executive Cabinet soon after their election last Spring.

That Executive Cabinet contains third-year Mimi Chenyao as Chief of Staff, third-year Cheikhou Kane as Vice President of Relations and Financial Affairs (VPRFA), third-year Orion Morton as Vice President of Green Affairs (VPGA), third-year and Catalyst Managing Editor Giulia Heyward as Executive Secretary and Archivist, thesis-student Jade Sheinwald as Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA), third-year Leen Al-Fatafta as Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion (VPDI) and third-year Sophia Doescher as Vice President of Student Life (VPSL).

Third-year Becca Caccavo holds the position of Student Allocations Committee (SAC) chair while third-year Lara Herzog continues her position as Speaker of the Towne Meeting. thesis student Allen Serrell is the judicial

branch’s Chief Justice.

Loriston and Iton have focused on a few key objectives for the first 100 days of their presidency. “We want to be working on the scholarship, our platform—getting more people involved in the Sarasota community,” Loriston said at the Sept. 4 Cabinet Meeting.

“We also talked to Campus Police about staffing, and we’ve been talking about a pick-up game with students and the officers. We haven’t scheduled any more logistics on that, but we’ve gotten [Chief] Kessie and all of them to think it’s a great idea.

“We’ve also dealt with Wall issues, dealing with staff, trying to coordinate and still have Walls,” Loriston continued.

“Essentially, asking for money to pay police officers to extend the time of Walls.

“We’re also interested in throwing an HIV/AIDS on Festival, including Michael Kehoe from the CARE services,” Loriston added.

At that same meeting, Morton spoke about the Council of Green Affairs’ first 100 days as well. “We’ve been focusing on doing zero waste plans, the food forests, a subsidiary with the [Council of Academic Affairs] CAA and a labyrinth on campus with the Four Winds logo which is on the Master

Plan,” Morton said. There was also a mention of solar panels for the new building by Heiser being constructed.

The Council of Diversity and Inclusion’s primary goals over the next two semester will focus on the Day of Dialogue, Gender and Diversity Center (GDC) and making a FemZine happen.

“I think it’s a really important space on campus. It’s also a space where a lot of transformative and radical things happen,” VPDI Al-Fatafta said about the GDC. “I think I want CDI meetings to happen weekly instead of biweekly.”

On the other hand, VPAA Sheinwald is gearing up for the CAA’s first allocations session—where students are funded for their academic and educational pursuits—on Sept. 18.

“I probably will encourage my representatives to also have minievents. I also might have an event myself on what the CAA will and won’t fund to increase awareness,” Sheinwald said.

Unlike the other vice president positions on the Executive Cabinet, the VPFRA position does not come with its own council.

“I mostly want to work on retention rate,” VPFRA Kane said about his goals for the new year at the Cabinet Meeting. “There’s a retention

task force—we’re trying to meet in the next two weeks. I’m also working on a study to see the financial aspect of New College to the Sarasota community for funding purposes. Right now, we’re just doing a literature review and then probably a survey to the school to show that the community should help us and give back, which can contribute to our retention rate.”

VPSL Doescher just finished the new Wall selection process. Previously, students lined up in Hamilton “Ham” Center to nab the Wall theme and date of their choosing. In order to make the process more inclusive and accessible, Wall selections are now run through an online survey.

2016-2017 is the first year the Executive Secretary will operate under the moniker Executive Secretary/ Archivist, emphasizing the position’s heavy hand in overseeing the NCSA’s archives, which are located in the Old Mail Room (OMR). At the first Towne Meeting on Sunday, Aug. 28, a new paid NCSA position—Deputy Secretary— was approved to assist the Executive Secretary and Archivist.

“The Deputy Secretary would

continued on p. 10

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FEATURES

PAGE 10

Songs you should hear: Study edition

BY Caitlyn Ralph and Jasmine Respess

Wall Previews

photo courtesy of Stefan Drakulich

BY MAGDALENE TAYLOR Friday, Sept. 16th: Taco Bell in #mycalvins This Wall is being thrown by thirdyears Kristin Spoto, Zach David and Zoe Heuermann. The theme involves two things: food from Taco Bell and Calvin Klein underwear. People who attend are encouraged to wear their underwear, particularly of the Calvin Klein brand.

David says that the music played will be mostly rap and hip-hop for dancing and a few throwbacks to “shake things up.”

Furthermore, there will be free Taco Bell.

Wall

Saturday, Sept. 17th: Goya

This Wall is being thrown by thesis students Brittany Harris and Nicolas Webley. Harris explains that it will be a “typical” Wall with current hit music, Latinx music and lots of throwbacks.

Harris and Webley are planning a menu for the event, with current plans being seasoned rice and beans, chicken tacos, empanadas and black bean brownies.

Harris hopes to have the Fire TA there to grill vegetable kebabs. There will be vegan and gluten-free options.

A lot happens in the music world between the Catalyst’s weekly production schedule. While Caitlyn and Jasmine would love to cover it all, they can’t – so, instead, we gave them a category and had them write up bite-sized blurbs on a handful songs from that category. This week’s best study songs – take a look at the results below.

“Medicine” - The 1975 Three years sat in the middle of the 1975’s masterful debut album and their extravagant follow-up, and “Medicine” was the random release in between that didn’t appear on either. It makes sense though—at a lengthy six minutes, “Medicine” was a one-off track that pulls from the 1975’s dreamy first EPs, creating a bare electro masterpiece anchored by frontman Matty Healy’s unmistakable vocals.—CR

NCSA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 have to attend all council meetings as an official record taker including all meetings held by members of the Executive Cabinet,” Loriston said at the Towne Meeting.

“As Executive Secretary/Archivist, I record what happens at all Towne and Cabinet Meetings and make them available to the student body. I also manage the Archives room, which contains records dating back from New College’s first days as an institution,” Executive Secretary and Archivist and Catalyst Managing Editor Giulia Heyward said about her position in an email interview.

“Fueiho Boogie” - Swim Deep Swim Deep’s “Fueiho Boogie” is eight minutes of stuff. Yes—stuff.

However, that unclear, cluttered and rambunctious stuff works for a study song, especially for those who need to stay awake through the wee hours of the morning. The rhythmic noise is not distracting, but, instead, the steady beat keeps its listener focused and ready to finish up an assignment.—CR “Clean” - The Japanese House If we’re looking at a spectrum of study song styles, the Japanese House’s “Clean” exists in between the 1975’s serene “Medicine” and Swim Deep’s jolting “Fueiho Boogie.” “Clean” pairs occasional, low-key and undistracting vocals reminiscent of Healy’s work on “Medicine” with a backdrop of melodic and consistent beats similar to the programming on “Fueiho Boogie.”—CR “Jardins Sous La Plue” - Isao Tomita “I’m focused on improving the NCSA’s visibility and involvement on campus,” Chief of Staff Chenyao said about her goals in an email interview.

To do this, Chenyao plans to clear up how the NCSA works, clarify duties and expectations of reps, spotlight accomplishments of a New College student each week and host more NCSA events.

Speaker of the Towne Meeting Herzog has been hard at work on the Towne Meeting rug project, which is made from donated old T-shirts and will provide an accommodating place to sit at the monthly gatherings.

“The first order of business is to refine the Towne Meeting’s Rules of Procedure as well as streamline and make the Towne Meeting and legislative process more open and accessible to the

This composer covers classic songs in a trippy way. My smartest friends are always telling me they listen to classical music when they study, but I often find it too jarring. This artist is a balance between wavy sound and old school songs. —JR

“Donuts” - J Dilla For the most part, listening to rap music when studying is hard, since I’m always tempted to sing the lyrics to myself. Donuts is an instrumental hip hop album by the late, great producer.

Perfect for zoning out without focusing too hard on something other than homework. —JR Whale sounds - Whales When you really need to study, nothing is better than peaceful animal or nature sounds. This is not limited to whales. Bird sounds, rushing water or wind blowing can all function as background noise while pulling an all nighter. —JR student body,” Herzog said in an email interview. “Part of this plan includes the accessibility measures I’ve already taken. I am shifting the traditional Towne Meeting from Wednesdays to Sundays to accommodate students with late classes and TA sessions. I also plan to further address issues with access to the Towne Meeting due to physical disabilities such as the creation of the Towne Meeting Rug.” “With the introduction of new members to the administration, I will also strongly encourage attendance at the Towne Meeting by the members of upper and middle administrative offices,” Herzog said. “Finally, I will begin preparations in the next few months for the end of my term as Speaker of the Towne Meeting.”

Increase in ESAs puts strain on disability staff

BY ELAN WORKS An influx in the number of students with Emotional Support Animals (ESA) and students seeking accommodations for disabilities has caused the head of the Disability Services Office to try to process around a quarter of the student population on her own. Many students are dissatisfied with the state of the campus as it relates to those with mental or physical disabilities.

The Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC) offers a variety of services, but can not provide a student who is either chronically or temporarily disabled with a wheelchair. The CWC also cannot provide students with long term counseling, relying heavily on the “Episodic Care Model” to treat students for short periods of time. This can create difficult situations for students with mental illnesses who do not have insurance that can cover the price of off-campus treatment. The CWC also can only prescribe a limited range of psychiatric medications.

ESAs have recently become a more common sight on the New College campus as administration continues trying to increase accessibility to all students. There are several areas of campus where accessibility is poor or entirely impossible for some students, but the influx of ESA’s and instances of academic accommodations granted by the Student Disability Services (SDS) office may be a sign that administration is moving to make the campus truly accessible to all students.

The process of getting an ESA approved for on-campus living involves many different forms of documentation.

Information on ESAs published on the New College website reads as follows, “Residents must demonstrate they have a disability and that the service animal is prescribed to the individual by a health care or mental health professional to play an integral part of the person’s treatment process.”

In an interview with the Catalyst, Leanna Johnson, a third year student with an ESA said her experience with

getting approval for her dog to live on campus was easy. The first step towards getting an animal approved as an ESA, Leanna told the Catalyst, is a diagnosis.

“So I did everything on my end done first, I did a full psychological evaluation first to diagnose my disabilities, then I took care of my dog - got her vaccinated, got everything up to standard.”

When asked about the accommodations on campus for ESAs, Johnson began with the dog park behind the Dort building.

“It is poorly kept up, it is usually covered in trash and debris, and [Disability Services Coordinator] Meighen [Hopton] would like to do something about it but there's not enough funding so it’s kind of backpriority. . . I saw that the bag posts were spread out and that was nice.”

Another thing that can be troubling to some ESA owners is the campus “onebite” policy. The one bite policy requires that an ESA must be removed from the

college after only one incidence of biting or “aggressive behavior.”

“It’s not just a one-bite policy, it's a control policy.” Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs Mark Stier said.

“Students are informed up front, it’s not fair to community members to have uncontrolled animals on campus.”

Stier further commented on the relationship between the Student Disability Services Office saying “100 percent of the time when Disability Services comes to us we demonstrate complete compliance.”

Meighen Hopton, who handles the Disability Services Office on campus is over worked, Boyett says, telling the Catalyst Hopton is expected to process over 250 students applying for disability accommodations on her own. Hopton was contacted for an interview for this article but was unavailable by the time of publication. “[We] aren’t getting much support,” Boyett said. “It’s really hard to get stuff done around here.”

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

FEATURES

PAGE 11

Spanish Pointe attracts students and visitors

BY Jasmine respess Historic Spanish Point is an interesting park because it looks like a large, Floridian garden. In many ways, that is what it is, but every inch of this place has been documented and there are guides to to tell you all about who has lived here, starting from native Floridians to New York transplants. The park is a conservation area as well as an artifact holding and teaching museum.

Visitors can observe foliage and walk the paths along the bay, but they can also come to see structures built by settlers and learn about how their lives were. Historic Spanish Point brings attention to the rich Sarasota history that is all around us.

Historic Spanish Point is a beautiful, environmental site. Even visitors are not interested in a history lesson. Half of the plants there are native to Florida. The picturesque nature of the the park attracts photographers, painters, and also makes it a popular place for weddings and events. The park also host summer camps where children can get hands on experience with anthropology and learn about Floridian history. All while overlooking the Sarasota bay.

Human habitation of the area goes back to Native Americans. Most of

Bir th control CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 want it, but to require it for a birth control prescription is unnecessary and restrictive for students who cannot afford it, or do not need it.” third-year Annie Rosenblum said. Rosenblum is a member of Generation Action and InterACT and was the Health Center Advocacy intern at Planned Parenthood.

Rosenblum continues to volunteer as a patient escort.

According to Fisher, the equivalent exam at Planned Parenthood costs around $218 and may reach $300 at a private practice. For students without insurance, the CWC rate is the most inexpensive option. While the CWC undoubtedly offers the procedure at a low cost to students, the question remains whether it is necessary for most of those seeking contraceptive care.

“In order to make sure there is no medical problem, we need to basically perform the pelvic exam,” CWC Dr. Ahmad Sahebzamani said.

“We need to know the status of any kind of inflammation or reason not to prescribe. I’m going to do the pap exam no matter what.”

“It places a financial barrier to people seeking contraception, and requires people to go through unnecessarily invasive exams that have no reasonable benefit when providing appropriate contraception,” alum Cassandra “Cassie” Corrado ‘11 said. While at New College, Corrado was very involved with VOX (Voices for Planned Parenthood), founded the

the area is built on shell middens. Shell middens are structures that consist of waste from domestic life. This includes animal bones and shells. A lot of the shells came from the food that the inhabitants of the area ate. At Historic Spanish Point, visitors are given the opportunity to go inside a shell midden and be surrounded by the shell midden on all sides.

“Historic Spanish Point’s mission is a common one among museums,” Garrett Muerto ’12 said. “Which is to privately hold the collection and the property in trust for the public and to interpret and exhibit the collection and property for the benefit of the public.”

Muerto is a curator for the Historic Spanish Point Museum’s curator.

The title means he is responsible for stewardship.

“This stewardship includes the preservation, protection, maintenance, and documentation of the collection.”

Muerto said. “A museum can only exist because of its collection of objects, books, records, photographs, and any other informational media that guides the museum’s mission.”

The curator also has to be knowledgeable on what the park is made up and holds so the questions that of the patrons ask.

From the shell midden, there is Sexual Health & Relationship Education (SHARE) Resource Center and regularly organized sexual health and education events on campus.

“I can understand that people might not want to get a pap, that it feels kind of invasive, if I had a daughter and she were sexually active, I would want her to get a pelvic exam just for her health,” Fisher said. “You may not choose to do that but I would want to.”

“Unless someone has known or potential health risk factors, they should be able to receive birth control by simply having a conversation with their chosen healthcare provider,” Rosenblum said.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) reported in 2012 that birth control pills may be safely prescribed to those without unusual risk without a full pelvic exam and pap smear.

However, many doctors have continued to administer these tests.

“The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] (CDC) has come out with new guidelines, or advice, that says that people under the age of 21 do not need to have a pap,” Fisher said.

“However CDC guidelines are completely based on what the CDC research has said, and medical practitioners always have their own practice.”

According to a joint report on cervical cancer screening guidelines from the ACS, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and American Society for Clinical Pathology, “Screening adolescents leads to unnecessary evaluation and potentially to treatment of preinvasive cervical lesions that have a high probability of

Jasmine Respess/Catalyst

Historic Spanish Pointe was previously inhabitated by Native Americans.

evidence for things such as fire, famine and more.

“You can see what happened in the people’s lives,” Muerto said.

Historic Spanish Point, also keeps record of the Webb family, who came from Utica, New York. Visitors can visit the Guptil house, built by the Webbs, Mary’s Chapel and Webbs packing house. Webb was a citrus farmer and had a sorting and packing building on the property.

The second significant owner of Spanish Point was Bertha Palmer. She moved to Sarasota after her husband died. She was a Chicago socialite who took the money she was willed and made her millions into multimillions.

Palmer kept the pioneer buildings intact. She added the gardens such as the Sunken Garden, Duchene Lawn and Jungle Walk, which patrons still enjoy.

The park also has a boat house where people work on boats using historic techniques and tools.

“A great suggestion that I make to anyone who is thinking about visiting the site is to really take advantage of the site and plan an extended trip,” Muerto added.

There are many sites to see at Historic Spanish Point such as, the white cottage, the foliage of the sunken garden, and they even host holiday specific events. And with fall upon us it is perfect place to go on a ghost tour.

regressing spontaneously and that are on average many years from having significant potential for becoming invasive cancer.”

In other words, screening young adults for cervical cancer before age 21 may result in a false positive result and lead to unnecessary procedures for precancerous cells that will likely be handled naturally in a person with a healthy immune system.

“You can get diagnosed with cancer when you don’t have it,” Scully said. “That’s not for my safety. What is the CWC for if we can’t have access to care as students?”

The report concludes, “This overtreatment, and subsequent increased risk of reproductive problems, represents a net harm.” The same report offers that, for those over the age of 21 with no more than average risk factors, pap smears should never be administered more frequently than every three years.

These recommended guidelines have also been supported by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). ACOG qualifies that those with HIV or weakened immune systems should receive pap screenings as soon as possible.

“There are different debates about birth control, but the debate is about punishing women and people with vaginas,” Scully said.

Planned Parenthood offers a birth control option without a pelvic exam for those who qualify. This is only possible for hormonal contraception and is not an option for those with higher than average risk factors.

Planned Parenthood still recommends regular health screenings for sexually transmitted infections and cervical cancer starting at age 21 or “three years after your first vaginal intercourse,” according to their website.

The CWC is not the only resource on campus for contraception. “Outside of the contraception that the CWC offers, students like me who are involved in Generation Action and InterACT do our absolute best to make sure that the student body has constant access to a variety of contraception/ sexual health resources: condoms, dental dams, lube, etc. all located in the SHARE center,” Rosenblum said in an email. “It is up to us to find all of these resources ourselves, for free, which can sometimes be challenging. Whenever the SHARE room is not stocked with enough of something, it is usually because we are having a hard time finding the resources, our shipment is late, or something along those lines.

We fully believe that students need and deserve every resource possible to have a safe, healthy, and consensual sex life, and if the SHARE center is ever lacking something, it is not because we don’t care, but because we are working really hard behind the scenes to restock whatever is needed.”

In addition to the resources listed above, the NCSA and the CWC have emergency contraception, or Plan B, available at no cost. Fisher noted that no questions are asked of students who pick up Plan B, although they do need to make an appointment.

Information for this article was taken from cdc.gov, acog.org, cancer.org, plannedparenthood.org.

CATALYST

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THE BACK PAGE PAGE 12

Getting down and dirty with

Kink positive

BY JACOB WENTZ

One of the most popular clubs at New College, Kink Positive, demonstrates the importance of keeping an open mind and exploring personal interests. When asked who can join Kink Positive, the club’s administrative team exclaimed “Everyone!” in unison.

“Over 18,” third-year Mel Klenk chimed in.

The club meets twice a week, on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. “Our Wednesday night meetings are more discussion, informative based. We will lecture on certain topics and then after that, it’s club-guided; whatever people want to talk about,” Co-Administrator Heather Kendall, third-year, said.

Kink Positive’s administration team is made up of three students: third-year Heather Kendall, third-year Mel Klenk, and second-year Carlyle Styer.

“We have a lot of coverage in our skill sets,” Styer said.

Kendall agreed: “It’s not like everyone knows the same thing and knows nothing about this other thing; we all have different areas of knowledge.

We fill different gaps in other people’s knowledge.”

The dynamic of the administrative team is one of positivity and comfort.

“It’s just something that we care about,” Klenk said.

The administrative team outlines these club values in their mission statement: “We provide a safe, educational space for interested students to learn about kink, fetish and BDSM [Bondage, Dominance, Sadism and Masochism] while welcoming constructive conversations about various kink interests in a way that helps to ensure the safety and consent of all involved parties. We, as a group, heavily emphasize consent and the physical and emotional safety of all involved parties.”

Paddles, slappers,and riding crops are used in targeting specific areas of the body during pain play.

Throughout the meeting, the for any situation that could happen,” administration team talked and Kendall continued. showed off multiple DIY creations. The This focus on safety shows the value behind creating one’s own kink responsible nature of the club, as well equipment comes from an unfortunate as the efforts that the administrative reality, kink is expensive. team goes to in order to provide a safe Luckily, the administrative team is space that lessens the social stigma educated and prepared to help alleviate surrounding kink culture. the monetary pain of kink.

Though New College’s social “I’ve pretty much figured out a environment is very open-minded, way to make everything that we use, social stigmas regarding kink culture except rope. I can even exist. These stigmas are make a cell phone into “I can even make even more prevalent a violet wand!” Kendall a cell phone into a outside of New College. exclaimed.

Kink Positive has been violet wand!”

In addition to around for over 22 years educating members about consent, DIY ago, yet some students disregard its tools, sexual health and kink culture, credibility and view it in a negative Kink Positive places a strong emphasis light. on practicing kink in a safe way. “We’re “One thing that we see on campus starting a training program this year,” is a dire misconception that kink leads Kendall said. “There will be certain to abuse,” Styer said. training certifications that will need to “Or is inherently abuse,” Klenk be met. Once those standards have been added. met, they will be considered certified in “Or is inherently non-feminist, that area and can go on to train other because everyone assumes that a male people.” is a dom, a woman is a sub and that “You have to put in hours and there’s an abuse component to it,” hours and hours of training to learn Kendall concluded. all of the nuances and to be prepared The administrative team

emphasized the importance of creating open dialogue about kink. They also concluded that there is a difference between having educated, open discussion and overtly kink-shaming.

“I would say that everyone is welcome to their opinions and not everything is for everyone; if they don’t want to try it, that’s their own prerogative. To people who actually actively kink shame other people, I would say.. don’t,” Styer said.

“Also, as most people who shame other people for any kind of thing, it all comes from a lack of education and understanding. If you’ve taken the time to appreciate or at least understand what we’re doing, then I would absolutely love to have a conversation about how you disagree with what we’re doing,” Kendall added.

In addition to fighting stigma, educating members and promoting a safe environment for open discussion, Kink Positive is known for hosting a memorable annual event: Fetish Ball.

Contrasting past practices, there will be two Fetish Balls this year, one each semester. “This is some exclusive gossip here. Our first Fetish Ball is going to be Winter Wonderland themed,” Kendall disclosed. “Fetish ball is a chance for people both inside the club and outside the club to come and try new things.

There’s a flogger station, a wax station, a rope station, and a violet wand station.”

“And an ice station!” Styer exclaimed.

Kink Positive fosters a comfortable environment in which students are able to explore their interests. This personal exploration is accompanied with discussions about sexual education, kink culture and consent. To join Kink Positive, contact any one of the administrative team members. The club is always open to individuals over the age of 18 that are interested in broadening their horizons and trying new things.

all photos Jacob Wentz/Catalyst

Third-year Heather Kendall pours hot wax on third-year Mel Klenk’s arm.

Toys exist for all kinds of kinks, including primal play.