Fall 2019 - Issue 12

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CATALYST DECEMBER 4, 2019 VOLUME XXXIX ISSUE XII

New College of Florida's student-run newspaper

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John Martin ends long career in higher education Current state of most of the administrative functions

BY JACOB WENTZ Four Winds Café were guided by top level managers at Photo courtesy of John Martin

Vice President of Finance and Administration John Martin has worked at New College since its separation from the University of South Florida (USF) in 2001. During this time, Martin has witnessed and contributed to the growth of the college, managing the operating budget and ensuring the various support functions of the institution run smoothly. After spending over 45 years of his professional career in higher education, Martin plans to retire at the end of this semester.

Early years and challenges Martin joined New College in June 2001, directly after Governor Jeb Bush passed the law that devolved the college from USF and designated it as the “Honors College for the State of Florida.” While the college welcomed independence, separation brought various challenges.

One of the most crucial needs was independent leadership.

“At the time of independence,

USF Tampa,” Martin said in an email interview. “The College needed to develop its support operations separate and apart from USF Tampa.”

Gordon “Mike” Michalson, who served as Dean and Warden from 1992 to 1997, was appointed by the Board of Trustees as the interim President. He would later be selected to become the official president in 2003. According to a Catalyst article from 2001, “While the President will guide the campus as a whole, it will primarily be the responsibility of the offices of the Provost and the newlyhired Vice President of Finance and Administration, John Martin, to see to the daily business of the school and to iron out the details of the new college.”

Martin’s initial responsibilities included setting up the campus’ finances and creating an administrative structure such that the school could meet accreditation state requirements at the end of the year.

BY SIERRA LAICO

tion. She aims to learn the individual story of every student she meets, while simultaneously maintaining

Following its temporary closing in Spring 2019, the Four Winds Café—which had been a student-run business since its original opening in 1996—reopened in the middle of Fall 2019, operated by Metz Culinary Management. The re-opening cost the college $24,000, which was used to pay Metz to assist with bringing Four Winds back on its feet, in hopes that it would soon become student-run once again.

Nearing the end of the fall semester, students, faculty and staff are wondering if the Four Winds Café will remain standing when they return after the holidays.

Third-year Katie Thomas works at the café now and when it was student run. Thomas hopes for reverting Four Winds back to its original vision. When asked about what she expects for next semester, she seemed hopeful that if meals were served again, business could grow.

“For next semester I expect us to start serving food again, most likely grab-n-go meals but maybe some hot food too,” Thomas said in an email interview. “The menu won't be exactly what it was but hopefully we can at least have some complete meals, and some vegan/gluten free options.”

Older students remember the good old days when Four Winds was open, but many first-years had only heard stories about it and were pretty let down when they came to find out it was closed for the beginning of their first semester. First-year vegetarian Emily LaPlaca feels that her food options have be-

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Martin joined New College in 2001, during the college's transition to independence.

“I was honored that the search committee had confidence that I could add value in helping set up internal administrative support functions plus assist in sharing the college’s goals and objectives with Florida’s executive and legislative branches of government responsible continued on p. 10

Students crowdfund retirement gift for revered custodial worker Floretha "Flo" Green

BY ERIN NIEHAUS

https://doc-0k-18-docs. googleusercontent.com/ docs/securesc/s7jurnmk912se8sp3mgg3hd8llrh0uos/obdpo7fpcdn719 co01n4qb7t57rv346b/1 506448800000/0533393 9401667025082/025783 83506865688437/0B4ze ECbsUTILVjVXY25YUU 52ZUk?e=download

After over a decade of custodial work on campus, Floretha “Flo” Green has formed meaningful friendships with students, staff and co-workers. Green recently announced that she plans to retire this upcoming January and students plan to commemorate the work and positive energy Green has granted the school by pooling together money for a retirement gift. A small party is set to happen with her partnered custodians on Friday, Dec. 6 in Z kitchen.

She invites students to this celebration as well for her final farewell.

Green primarily works in housing, specifically tidying the Pei lounges and common corridors of the letter dorms. Additionally, she main-

WHAT’S INSIDE

tains the elevated walkways in Palm Court. She often engages in meaningful conversations with students during her daytime shifts.

Director of Facilities and Construction Coordinator Alan Burr has been working with New College custodians for six years. Green has been in the later years of her custodial work the entirety of Burr’s time on campus. As a result, Burr’s been able to experience the generosity of Green that many have praised her for.

“She’s really kind, extremely friendly,” Burr said. “Usually you don’t get by with just saying ‘hi,’ she’ll want to know about you’re doing and make conversation.”

Green recognizes many students by name on campus through consistent greetings and conversa-

Photo courtesy of Melissa Simmons

Thesis student Melissa Simmons and Allegra Nolan ('15) are two of many who developed strong relationships with Green.

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BRIEFS BY HAYLEY VANSTRUM

Cook Hall crime prompts discussion of theft prevention On Friday, Nov. 22, students, faculty and staff received an email from the Office of Communications and Marketing informing community members of a series of credit card thefts at Cook Hall on Nov. 19.

“Credit cards were removed from unlocked offices and almost immediately used at locations near the UTC Mall on University Parkway to make multiple purchases before the cards were deactivated,” Kessie said. “We have video from one of the stores and it appears unknown persons seen in Cook Hall by a staff

member prior to the theft may have been involved in the purchases.”

This case has since been transferred to the Sarasota Sheriff’s office, where New College Training Coordinator and Case Follow-Up Officer John Chirgwin will be continuing the investigation. Kessie stressed that if community members witness any crime or suspicious activity on campus they should seek out Campus Police immediately.

“Campus Police will assist community members with reporting crimes to off-campus law enforce-

ment,” Kessie said. “The key is to report as soon as possible.”

Although this credit card theft was out of the ordinary for New College, Kessie stressed that bike theft, which has historically been a major issue, is something students should be thinking more about when bringing a bike to campus.

“During the year and at breaks, locking and registering bikes are important,” Kessie said. “Of the eight bike thefts so far in 2019, seven of the bikes were unlocked and only half were registered with CPD."

To prevent theft over the holidays, Campus Police offer these tips:

• During winter break, don’t leave valuables on campus • Lock your offices and/or vehicles • Don’t leave valuables in your vehicle in plain view • Lock packages in the trunk of the car • Park in well-lit areas • Be aware of your surroundings • Have keys ready before you get into your car

“Visions of the Black Experience” brings noteworthy film and talk series to Sudakoff Conference Center From Dec. 5 to Dec. 7, New College’s Black Student Union (BSU), in collaboration with the Sarasota Film Festival, the Manasota Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and several other local groups, will present members of the Sarasota community with a valuable opportunity to explore and celebrate Black life through Sarasota’s inaugural Black film festival, “Visions of the Black Experience.” The festival, which will include a variety of documentaries, panel discussions by local experts and demonstrations, has been in development for the past couple of years, evolving and growing throughout thesis student and BSU member Melissa Simmons’ time at New College.

“My first year, the third-year

leaders in BSU talked about possibly doing a hair workshop as an event,” Simmons said. “We were really excited about it, but it never happened.

This year when I went to my hairdresser in New Jersey, she offered to come to New College to do a workshop for us. I really wanted to make it happen before I graduated, so I decided to talk to Dr. Zabriskie.”

Professor of Sociology Queen Zabriskie, who will be both introducing and speaking at the event, helped Simmons and other BSU members plan which direction they wanted to take this workshop in. After finding the documentary Back to Natural on the syllabus for another university’s Black hair class, the group realized they needed to share it with the New College community.

“That's when [Dr. Zabriskie] said that we could make it a part of a bigger event which would draw in a bigger audience if we collaborated with the Sarasota Film Festival,” Simmons said. “It just grew from there.”

After receiving funding through Dean of Outreach and Engagement William “Bill” Woodson, Simmons worked on bringing a diverse group of speakers to the festival. Although there will be many insightful discussions and presentations throughout the course of the event, Simmons is most excited for the interactive hair demonstration with Monique Moore, public speaker and Simmons’ own stylist.

“She knows so much about hair and has completely revolutionized the way I care for and interact with

my hair,” Simmons said. “It’s going to be really educational and interesting.”

Simmons hopes that this event will call attention to the fact that the fight for natural hair is far from over and that there is still a great deal of work to be done regarding uplifting and supporting Black community members, especially in the predominantly White Sarasota area.

“There are still children in high schools getting sent home for having natural hair,” Simmons said. “Women in the workplace are being told their hair doesn't follow dress codes or it's unprofessional. There needs to be more understanding and appreciation of the struggle Black people experience everyday.”

Digital Scholarship Studio Labs available next semester This Spring, Digital Humanities Librarian Cal Murgu, joined by Digital Scholarship Library Fellow and second-year Atalay Kutlay, will be offering students, faculty and staff a valuable opportunity to study works within databases, perform computational analysis and dive into the world of geocoding through an educational series of Digital Scholarship Studio Labs. These three workshops, which will be spread throughout the months of February, March and

April, will be based on a set of successful but less cohesive labs that Murgu offered in the past. This time around, Murgu and Kutlay focused on creating a much more manageable and balanced workload, along with providing attendees with a wide variety of skills that can be built upon over time rather than learned hastily in one day.

“We wanted to create a curriculum that is accessible, not overwhelming and a really fun thing to

"Was that in the email?" © 2019 the Catalyst. All rights reserved.

The Catalyst is available online at www.ncfcatalyst.com, facebook.com/NCFcatalyst instagram.com/NCFcatalyst twitter.com/ncfcatalyst The Catalyst is an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria D. 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 Division of Social Sciences.

do,” Murgu said. “We want students to feel comfortable talking to people in other disciplines instead of feeling like they have to have all the skills to do everything themselves.”

Through attending the workshops, attendees will learn how to find, explore and map a “corpus,” defined by Murgu during an information session as any large collection of texts. Although these workshops will require those in attendance to gain some fluency in R and Python over

Editor in Chief Copy Editors & Writing Coaches Layout Editors Digital Editor Staff Writers & Photographers

Jacob Wentz Izaya Garrett Miles & Anna Lynn Winfrey Cait Matthews & Sergio Salinas Adriana Gavilanes Chris Marie De Felipe, Vianey Jaramillo, Sierra Laico, Sofia Lombardi, Claire Newberg, Erin Niehaus, Kali-Ray Skinner, Hayley Vanstrum

the course of the semester, Murgu and Kutlay assured that no one will be expected to code from scratch.

“One of the tenants of a digital literacy program is to bridge the gap between technology and students,” Murgu explained. “Programs like Voyant are great, but tend to alienate people from the back end. It's like magic, but you need to see what's happening at that back end to appreciate all of the work that goes into it.”

Direct submissions, letters, announcements and inquiries to: The Catalyst 5800 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, Florida 34243 catalyst@ncf.edu 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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NEWS PAGE 3

New College receives national award for high voter turnout, fails to see engagement in NCSA elections

BY SOFIA LOMBARDI Just over 64 percent of the student body voted in 2018 midterm elections, more than twice the 29.3 percent that voted in the previous midterm election in 2014, earning New College several national awards for high student voter turnout. Despite this consistency with a nationwide shift in larger voter turnout on college campuses post-2016, the New College Student Alliance (NCSA) has experienced unexpected difficulty in voter turnout for student government elections.

Seventy-eight students voted in emergency fall elections, held on Thursday, Oct. 3. Only 64 voted in the late fall elections on Friday, Nov. 1. The NSCA held a follow-up election on Nov. 20, deemed “NCSA 2: Election Boogaloo,” to fill positions that received less than 10 votes in the Nov. 1 elections. One hundred and eleven students participated.

Local and national elections are often determined by hundreds of votes. Low voter turnout is typically synonymous with local, primary and off-year elections, yet even in the highly competitive presidential election of 2016, only about six out of 10 eligible Americans showed up to vote. This low turnout led to the election of President Trump by roughly only 80,000 votes across three states.

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Sarasota

Izaya Garrett Miles/Catalyst Cibelli du Terroil thinks the sign-up process should move online to increase candidates.

County voters in the city of Venice turned out to vote for a new mayor and two city council seats. Ron Feinsod won the mayoral election by just 85 votes, and both of the two open city council seats were determined by less than one thousand votes.

With elections as competitive as these, campaign managers, politicians and citizens alike often wonder why the sense of futility among voters, whether college students or independent adults, is so common.

While low voter turnout for U.S. elections can be partially attributed to modern-day voter suppression tactics, such as strict voter ID laws, registration difficulties or being removed from the voting rolls—which is occurring at an increasing rate— the student body is not suffering from these issues for a college-run election.

In an email interview, Supervi-

sor of Elections and thesis student Isabella Cibelli du Terroil attributed a variety of factors for low voter turnout for NSCA elections. “[Students may feel] as if their wants/desires are not being represented or facilitated by the NCSA (or New College at large), they may feel as if their vote ‘won’t affect anything,’ they may just forget to vote with how busy they are, they may not realize just how impactful the NCSA is on New College’s environment, atmosphere, policies, operations, or they may not feel as if the candidates running, whether officially or as write-ins, represent their interests,” Cibelli du Terroil said.

Similar to an issue experienced by many nonvoters in U.S. elections, a lack of knowledge about how to actually vote is a valid yet concerning reason for low voter turnout.

While many nonprofits and or-

ganizations across the nation are working to find ways to combat this deficiency in civic education, measures to increase voter turnout are also being discussed on campus.

With the election process moving online, Cibelli du Terroil is looking to “have a more streamlined election process. Official candidates are typically the ones who get elected since their names are out officially on the ballot. Since everything is online now, the sign-ups to become an official candidate should be online as well in my opinion (with the exception of campaign posters, I think those can still be physically printed out and posted around if one wishes).”

Cibelli du Terroil believes that “The more people who run officially, the more involved voters we will get, and the more candidate options they will have to choose from. Perhaps there should be more social media advertising as well, just to diversify how many platforms we are advertising elections on (besides just email and Novoconnect).”

Voting disparities both across America and across campus can be attributed to major misconceptions about the voting process, legal barriers and voter apathy. Without a push to combat this issue both on campus and nationwide, low voter turnout will never change.

Red tide continues to afflict Florida coastline

BY ADRIANA GAVILANES Florida continues to deal with the coastal infestation known as red tide. Local, state and national initiatives have been researching and working on ways to mitigate the issue. Richard Stumpf is an Oceanographer with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and shared the technicalities of the development process of red tide, as well as his opinions on mitigation practices and the impact of red tide on the marine and coastal ecosystem.

What is red tide?

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) develop when excess nutrients enter the marine ecosystem, resulting in patches of algae to experience excess growth. HABs impose toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, selfish, marine mammals, birds and other species in the coastal and marine ecosystems.

“There is this presumption that when red tide occurs, it occurs everywhere and all the time,” Stumpf said.

“It’s not everywhere nor all the time.”

Karenia Brevis, the specific photosynthetic organism linked with red tide, is found in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, patches of Karenia Brevis have been found as far north as North Carolina.

“The organism is present in the Gulf of Mexico at all times but it has very low concentrations most of the time,” Stumpf said.

Stumpf explained that Karenia Brevis swims up and down in the water to collect nutrients and light, resulting in high levels of growth when the water experiences calm periods.

“In the summer [the organism] starts growing and then with the wind shift in the fall it brings [in colonies of algae] to the coast and it accumulates,” Stumpf said. “At first, there is no bloom and there are only a few cells in the fall. Then during the winter, the winds push it back out into the Gulf of Mexico and it gets spread out and it’s harder to grow and either get diseased or outcompeted by other species.”

Why does this happen? “[Karenia Brevis] is native to the Gulf of Mexico and we have excellent

evidence there was severe red tide in Florida back in the 1840s,” Stumpf said. “Some of the descriptions from the early Spanish in Mexico describe conditions that indicate that HABs occurred back in the 1600s.”

Stumpf described last season’s red tide as “an exceptionally bad year,” but this year, Sarasota County has experienced a relatively small impact with low concentrations from red tide, mostly affecting the Southern part of the county.

Impacts of red tide “Unfortunately, it’s almost like a laundry list of impacts [caused] by red tide,” Stumpf said.

Stumpf explained tourism was an industry directly impacted by red tide.

“If tourists hear about it, again and again, they might choose not to visit Sarasota or Florida beaches,” Stumpf said.

This can lead to a commercial impact on local businesses, depressing economic growth. If snowbirds stop visiting and supporting different local businesses then those businesses might not generate enough

Adriana Gavilanes/Catalyst In 2018, red tide affected Florida's coastline from Clearwater to Naples.

revenue to stay open and Sarasota could house fewer local businesses.

Additionally, the environmental impact is predominantly expressed through ecosystem disruption.

“You have a certain balance gocontinued on p. 11

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NEWS PAGE 4

Hongkongers celebrate the passing of the Human Rights and Democracy Act with Thanksgiving Day rally

BY SERGIO SALINAS Since June 2019, demonstrators in Hong Kong have called for greater autonomy from China. For months, protestors have called on the U.S. and other western nations to step in and support their cause for freedom. On Nov. 27, President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019. The bill received broad bipartisan support and was aided by lobbying efforts from Hong Kong activists such as 23-year-old Joshua Wong, who serves as the secretary-general for the pro-democracy Demosistō in Hong Kong. Along with the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, President Trump also signed a second bill banning the sale of U.S. rubber bullets, tear gas and other crowd-controlling munitions to Hong Kong police forces.

While the passing of the bill is a step forward in Hong Kong’s pursuit of democracy, Wong recognizes there is still more action needed.

“President Trump signed the bill just to increase the bargaining chips of Hongkongers,” Wong said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. “I don’t really care if they truly, fundamentally, in their hearts, support Hong Kong. We just want to make things done, make the act passed and signed.”

Demonstrations began over a

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Protestors waved U.S. flags to symbolize their goal of freedom and democracy.

controversial bill presented to the Hong Kong legislature that would allow people facing charges in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China, a country where defendant's rights are often not respected. What started with peaceful protests over extradition soon escalated, as police took drastic actions by firing rubber bullets and tear gas into crowds of protesters. Over time, tensions between police and protestors have risen: over one thousand arrests have been made since June.

Protestors in Hong Kong celebrated the passing of the American bill by holding a “Thanksgiving rally,” Some brought U.S. flags to wave and wrap around themselves. It is not the first time protestors have used the U.S. as a symbol of democracy and freedom. Protestors sang “The Star-

Spangled Banner” during past demonstrations and one protestor yelled Patrick Henry’s famous quote “Give me liberty, or give me death!”

The bill requires the State Department to annually report to Congress on whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous to maintain its special trading status with the U.S. The bill states that the President is able to “submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees, that identifies each foreign person that the President determines is responsible for—(A) the extrajudicial rendition, arbitrary detention or torture of any person in Hong Kong; or (B) other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights in Hong Kong.”

The President’s signing of the bill was all-but inevitable, as the

Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act passed the Senate unanimously and received a vote of 4171 in the House of Representatives, both veto-proof majorities.

Despite the signing of both bills, President Trump has held back from voicing support of the Hong Kong protests, preferring a neutral stance between the Hong Kong people and the Chinese government.

“I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China and the people of Hong Kong,” Trump said in a statement. “They are being enacted in the hope that leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long-term peace and prosperity for all.”

As trade negotiations are currently ongoing between the U.S. and China, the passing of the two bills may cause conflict in negotiations as China views the passing of the two bills as U.S. intervention into an internal problem. China has already repeatedly threatened the U.S. with unspecified countermeasures. Both Chinese and U.S. officials have stated that progress has been made in trade negotiations, however, the passing of the two Hong Kong bills may cause China to reevaluate its stance.

“We advise the U.S. not to act arbitrarily, or else China must firmly continued on p. 11

Israeli Prime Minister faces criminal indictment

BY IZAYA GARRETT MILES Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister and current interim Prime Minister, was indicted on three corruption cases on Nov. 21, making him the first Israeli Prime Minister to be indicted in office. These charges come at a particularly complex time, as Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, is unable to secure a governing coalition, despite attempts by Netanyahu’s Likud party and its rival Blue-and-White party. This prolonged impotence of the Knesset would lead to an election on Dec. 11, the third one this year, forcing Netanyahu to fight his political and legal battles simultaneously.

The most serious of the three charges is that Netanyahu leveraged government favors to Shaul Elovitch, an Israeli telecommunications tycoon with a majority share of the Bezeq media corporation, in return for Elovitch promising positive coverage of Netanyahu on his Walla! news website. Bribery carries a maximum charge of ten years.

The two remaining cases are for breaching the public trust. In

one instance, Netanyahu is alleged to have accepted over $200,000 in gifts like cigars and champagne from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan, in return for securing the billionaire a visa and supporting a law to give Milchan a tax break if he ever decided to re-immigrate to Israel. In the other case, Netanyahu is charged with sponsoring legislation that targeted the newspaper Israel Hayom, owned

by U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson, in return for positive coverage by its popular competitor Yediot Acharonot.

Currently, the indictments seem to have had no impact on the political prospects for Likud as a whole.

The most recent recent poll from the Maagar Mochot polling institute shows Likkud under Netanyahu actually gaining a seat in the Kenessit.

Netanyahu continues to dismiss the indictments, labelling them as nothing but “witch hunts” in a Nov. 21 press conference.

Netanyahu, as of the legal consensus, is not compelled to step down in response to the indictment under Israeli law, unlike lower ministers. Netanyahu has vowed to

not step down in response to the charges, a promise that frustrated the attempted unity government between Likud and Blue-and-White.

Blue-and-White sought a rotating premiership between Netanyahu and Blue-and-White’s leader Benny Gantz, but mandated that Netanyahu was to step down if he were to face any indictments. Neither party budged, and the unity government fell through.

“As a long-time observer of Israeli politics, the two recent elections (Apr. 2019 and Sept. 2019) illustrate the fragmentation of the parliamentary electorate,” Professor of Anthropology Uzi Baram said in an email interview.

While he is not forced to resign from his post as Prime Minister, Netanyahu is still in serious legal jeopardy. He may be forced to resign from the lower posts he holds in addition to Prime Minister, and his position does not inherently protect him from any of the criminal charges against him. Before Dec. 21, Netanyahu has the right to request Parliament grant him immunity from criminal trial, though the prospects

of that passing in a divided government are questionable.

“The main obstacle to a unity government between Likud and Blue White is the indictment of Benjamin Netanyahu for corruption; unlike the USA, the political leader in Israel is subject to criminal investigations but Prime Minister Netanyahu is determined to hold onto his seat,” Professor Baram said. “So the political stalemate continues.”

Baram draws comparisons between Israel’s political complications and the troubles of other states in the region.

“The Palestinian Autonomy [sic] has not held elections since 2006,” Professor Baram said. “Even after the uprisings of the Arab Spring King Abdullah II still reigns in Amman, Bashar al-Assad holds on to power in Damascus, and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi replacing Hosni Mubarak kept the political status quo in Egypt.”

Information for this article was gathered from foxnews.com, israelhayom. com, jta.org and washingtonpost.com

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PAGE 5

Social justice advocates killed in London stabbing

BY JACOB WENTZ

The Activist Newsletter Throughout this week (12/4–12/11), activists have the opportunity to participate in strikes, film festivals and panel discussions. Read on if you want to get involved in the community regarding environmental activism, local politics and healthcare reform.

BY HAYLEY VANSTRUM Thursday, Dec. 5 Medicare for All Town Hall @ 7–9 p.m.

South Gate Community Association 3145 Southgate Cir, Sarasota FL Gain a greater understanding of one of the most highly-discussed policies in modern American politics at Sarasota-Charlotte Democratic Progressive Caucus’ Medical for All Town Hall. This panel discussion and following Q&A will feature several local experts, including New College’s own Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies Mark Paul.

This event is free and open to the public.

Friday, Dec. 6 Global Climate Strike @ 3–5 p.m.

“Unconditional Surrender” Statue Island Park Drive, Sarasota FL Protest the rise of global greenhouse emissions and encourage local leaders to take a firm stance on the reduction of waste and pollution at Sarasota Students 4 Climate Change’s second Global Climate Strike.

Activists of all ages are encouraged to participate by making and displaying signs that demonstrate their support for climate change action. This event is free and open to the public.

Friday, Dec. 6 Community Ocean Film Festival 2019 @ 6–9 p.m.

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium - 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota FL Spend an evening with some of Sarasota’s most passionate young conservation leaders at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium’s annual Community Ocean Film Festival. The festival, which showcases projects and films

created by young environmental activists, will also feature a special screening of Ian Cheney’s The Smog of the Sea, along with a silent auction and fundraiser benefiting Mote’s Youth Ocean Conservation Summit program. This event is free upon registration and open to the public.

Monday, Dec. 9 The State of Native Americans: A Conversation @ 6:30–9:30 p.m.

Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center - 525 Kumquat Ct, Sarasota FL Join Indigenous Sounds radio hosts Sal Serbin and Barbara Huntoon for a discussion regarding the past, present and future of Native American lives and rights at “The State of Native Americans: A Conversation.” This talk will continue to delve into several themes present within Fogartyville’s recent “Native America: Giving Thanks” exhibit, which explored Native American history, tradition and spirituality through indigenous art and music.

This event is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, Dec. 10 Manasota Young Democrats Holiday Party @ 6:30–8:30 p.m.

The Reserve SRQ - 1322 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota FL Get acquainted with fellow democratically-minded young community members and celebrate some of 2019’s political victories at Manasota Young Democrats’ (MYD) yearly holiday party. This event will allow those outside of the organization to learn more about MYD and what the group does within the Sarasota community.

This event is free and open to the public.

On Friday, Nov. 29, two CamFollowing his release from prisbridge graduates, 23-year-old Saskia on, Khan reportedly spoke at a fundJones and 25-year-old Jack Merritt, raising dinner for Learning Together. were killed in a stabbing in London. “I cannot send enough thanks to the Three others were injured and re- entire Learning Together team and main in the hospital as of Saturday, those who continue to support this Nov. 30. Authorities are describing wonderful community,” Khan said. the stabbing as a terrorist incident.

According to Metropolitan PoThe attack began at Cambridge lice Commissioner Neil Basu, Khan’s University’s Learning Together con- release had been subject to an “exference in a venue near London tensive list of license conditions” Bridge. Toby Williamson, the boss of and “to the best of [his] knowledge, Fishmongers’ Hall, told the BBC “the [Khan] was complying with those building turned into a nightmare.” conditions.”

Two men, named as Lukasz and Basu mentioned there was no Andy, took chairs, fire extinguishers evidence to suggest anyone else was and narwhal tusks, which were hang- involved in the attack. ing on the wall of the venue, to fend Prime Minister Boris Johnof the attacker, 28-year-old Usman son told the BBC that it was “repulKhan. Williamson said staff who sive” that someone as “dangerous” fought Khan believed he was wearing as Khan could be freed from prison an explosive vest. after “only serving eight years.” He Khan was shot dead by police blamed legislation introduced unon London Bridge after a group of der “a leftie government,” referring bystanders subdued to an automatic him.

"We know Jack would release scheme According to introduced by the not want this terrible, the Pluralist, Vice Labour Party.

Chancellor of Cam- isolated incident to “Now that I bridge Stephen be used as a pretext by am Prime MinisToope said Khan’s the government for ter, I’m going to victims had been introducing even more take steps to make taking part in an sure that people event “to mark five draconian sentences are not released on prisoners." years of the univerearly when they sity’s Learning Tocommit serious gether program,” which pairs crimi- sexual, violent or terrorist offenses,” nals with law students to study.

Johnson said. “I absolutely deplore “This is an attack on our com- the fact that this man was out on the munity and it was intended, in such, streets, and we are going to take acto produce a form of terror and sad- tion against it.” ness—and it has clearly done that,” In a statement, Merritt’s famToope said. He continued by saying ily described him as a “talented boy” the fact both victims were killed by who “died doing what he loved.” someone they were trying to help “is “Jack lived his principles; he bethe greatest tragedy of all.” lieved in redemption and rehabilitaKhan was released from prison tion, not revenge, and he always took last December halfway through a 16- the side of the underdog,” the stateyear sentence for plotting a terrorist ment read. “We know Jack would not attack. He was connected to British want this terrible, isolated incident Islamist Anjem Choudary, who was to be used as a pretext by the governreleased in 2018. ment for introducing even more draFollowing Friday’s incident, a conian sentences on prisoners, or for 2008 video has resurfaced, in which detaining people in prison for longer Khan points out he was “born and than necessary.” bred in England.”

Jones’ family said their daugh“All the community knows me,” ter had a “great passion” for support he told the BBC. “Like, these labels victims of criminal justice. what they’re putting on us, like ter“Saskia was a funny, kind, posirorist, this that, they will know I ain’t tive influence at the center of many no terrorist.” people’s lives,” the statement read.

After his 2012 conviction, Khan “She had a wonderful sense of miscontinued to resist being labeled as chievous fun and was generous to a dangerous Islamic extremist. He the point of always wanting to see asked his lawyers to be enrolled in a the best in all people. Saskia will deradicalization program to “prove to leave a huge void in our lives and we the authorities” that he was no lon- would request that our privacy is fulger “immature,” according to a letter ly respected.” obtained by ITV. He said he wanted On Monday, Dec. 2, vigils were to “live [his] life as a good Muslim” continued on p. 11 and “as a good citizen of Britain.”

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FEATURES PAGE 6

All photos Vianey Jaramillo/Catalyst

FALL 2O19 DANCE COLLECTIVE

BY VIANEY JARAMILLO Twice a year, students from Dance Collective showcase a series of choreographies that celebrate the commitment and hard work they dedicated throughout the semester.

This past week, Dance Collective held a technical rehearsal in preparation for their live performance happening Dec. 6 and 7 in Sainer Auditorium.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the show will start at 6:00 p.m.

“Dance Collective is a studentrun organization and club on campus where we come together at the beginning of the semester and hold an interest meeting,” thesis student Alyssa Borgschulte, who has been involved since her first semester, said.

“Anybody can choreograph and anybody can dance.”

The club features a variety of music genres and dance styles. K-pop has become more popular in recent years, but other styles include hiphop, jazz, contemporary, swing dancing, Irish dancing and hula hoop.

To prepare for the showcase, students practice weekly in the aerobics or yoga room of the Fitness Center. Once students have gotten into the schedule of these weekly meetings, most find they gain more confidence in performing.

“I like watching people grow and

have a really good time because some people might not be super comfortable with dancing,” Borgschulte said.

“By the end of the semester they are super excited to show how hard they worked. I just love everybody coming together and having a good time.”

Students involved in Dance Collective often join for different reasons and usually share an overall positive experience.

“I had never done dancing before I came to college and since it was a club all of my friends were in, that helped me be less shy because I don’t really talk to other people that I don’t know,” thesis student Rain Kwan said. “Now that I’ve been in Dance Collective I’ve become friends with like everyone here.”

Thesis student Kristen Patterson has a similar story: she also lacked dancing experience prior to joining Dance Collective but had been interested in dancing since high school.

“I thought about [dancing] my senior year but never actually went through with it,” Patterson said.

“Then I saw Dance Collective my first semester and I was like, ‘I want to join that!’”

Other students come with a background in performance and dancing. Third-year Kendall Southworth has participated in competi-

Some choreographies only consist of a few students while others fill the stage.

tive cheerleading for approximately 10 years, but acknowledged a special difference experienced with Dance Collective.

“So I’m used to performing, but at New College it’s a whole different experience,” Southworth said.

Dance Collective can also be an opportunity to manifest creativity and a variety of dance forms. For instance, second-year Antonia Ginsberg-Klemmt introduced hula hoop as part of the choreographies the club showcases.

“It includes dance and prop manipulation, something really beautiful and I’ve created amazing friendships because of that,” Ginsberg-Klemmt said.

Southworth is one of the performers in Ginsberg-Klemmt’s hula hooping routines.

“Being able to flow with a group of powerful, beautiful women that I love and doing something like flow, that I feel is so unique to the New College community, and share our art with other people is really special,” Southworth said.

For others, such as thesis student Salua Rivera, Dance Collective represents something more intimate and meaningful.

“Dance Collective was kind of a way to push myself to new limits and do new things that I’ve never per-

formed before, or maybe not since elementary,” Rivera said. “And it really is a way to connect with my body; to get to know my body and to connect with other amazing beautiful people that inspire me. I’m really grateful to be doing this dance with people that I do admire and appreciate.”

While dancing to perform is the main component of Dance Collective, some students primarily go for exercise or as replacements in case someone cannot make the showcase.

Students are welcomed to do what is best for them.

In addition, Dance Collective can count as a tutorial sponsored by Professor of Philosophy April Flakne.

“I know you do a couple dances and you log a journal and that’s about it,” Borgschulte said.

No audition or previous experience is needed. Every semester the members get ready for a new choreography so students can choose from the December or May showcase.

Though, Spring semester always include a thesis dance which allows for thesis students to choreograph a separate dance together.

“We always put the [thesis dance] at the end of the show in May so it’s really cute, it’s kind of like celebrating big time,” Borgschulte said.

Anyone and everyone is welcomed to join Dance Collective.

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This upcoming showcase will include a hula hooping performance for the first time.

Dance Collective is the largest club on campus.

The Fall showcase will premiere over the weekend in the Sainer Auditorium.

FEATURES

As the performers got a feel of the stage, students in the control room played with lighting.

“I wasn’t a super good dancer [and] I didn’t really like dancing that much, but I got more into it and started choreographing,” third-year Marcela Prado-Zapata said.

Dance Collective has an overall good reputation of creating a judge-free space to dance.

“Anybody can choreograph and anybody can dance,” Borgschulte said.

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Black Friday shopping my way to adulthood

BY KALI-RAY SKINNER As students transition into adulthood, the seemingly neverending list of responsibilities can be exhausting. Those moving into their own apartments are tasked with finding furniture, cleaning supplies, spices, frozen popsicle trays and more. But one item stood out to me; I realized I was missing a vacuum cleaner. After moving into a new place with carpet, which I’ve never had before, I decided to hunt the town for the best-priced vacuum I could find—and what better day to do so than Black Friday?

Holiday shoppers, some with their family members still stuffed and sleepy from the tryptophan— an amino acid in turkey that causes drowsiness—in their Thanksgiving meal, lined up for doorbuster prices at shops around town, including the Mall at University Town Center (UTC), Kohl’s and Target. Before I made it there, I got the big thing that had been on my mind for weeks out of the way. While I was doing the obligatory lying-on-my-motherscouch-with-my-cat after our cranberry-sauce infused Thanksgiving meal, I wondered to myself how I was going to handle this new step in my life.

“Vacuum cleaners are like wedding rings to adult life,” I whispered to myself. My cat pressed her paw into my stomach and half looked at me, as cats do best. “No going back now.”

Kali-Ray Skinner/Catalyst Back to back with my ride-or-die, my pride and joy, my new vacuum.

I thought to myself, who could brave this task with me? Who has the drive, stamina and emotional intelligence to keep me on track during this pivotal day in my life? I ran through a list of friends, but knew all along it would be my mother. I proposed the idea to her in the morning, half-hoping to unload the burden of taxes and health insurance back on to her, and she gracefully accepted my offer.

It’s time At Lowe’s Home Improvement store, a place I frequent once every five years to accompany my mom in her own home improvement adventures, I skimmed the aisles until my eyes finally met the magic words: vacuum cleaners. The words stared at me and I stared back at the words. I nudged my mom: “There it is,” I said.

I held up a weak hand pointing to the dimly lit aisle, as if I was pointing to the Mirkwood Forest from “The Hobbit.”

She said, “What? I can’t hear you,” but seemed to have intuitively understood what was going on as she rushed ahead of me. I took a deep breath and put one foot forward into my early 20s.

Cordless vacuums, upright vacuums, canister vacuums, robotic speak-to-you-and-cook-you-dinner vacuums. Dyson, Shark, Bissell, Black and Decker; I was in the mecca of floor cleaners. Prices ranged from $400 for the iRobot Roomba 960 Robotic Vacuum—on sale from $700— to the Dyson V7 Trigger Pro 21.6Volt Cordless Handheld Vacuum for $150, down from $250, that looks more like a handheld blender than a dirt-sucker. Like any shopping experience, I looked but did not invest my heart as I walked past the shiney and elaborate appliances towards the functional and better-priced equipment.

Skimming the prices for the

cheapest, intending to work my way up from there, I found a testament to the people I love so dearly in this world. I was not the first one with this idea. Many had come before me, enticed by the nicely-lit displays of pricey vacuums, in favor of the two cheapest models Lowe’s had in stock.

It was a toss-up between the Bissell PowerSwift Compact Bagless Upright Vacuum for $74.98 and the Bissell Zing Bagless Canister Vacuum for $59.99. Luckily, the universe made the decision for me, as there was only one left from the two models, the Powerswift. As the thought passed through my mind to perhaps buy the latter online, which quickly sent me into a 21st-century frenzy of price-checking on all of the online platforms, my mom basically decided for me: we would buy the Powerswift. As I proudly picked up the heavy rectangular box and plopped it into our shopping cart, I knew I was one step closer to marriage, diapers and reaping the benefits of my Roth IRA account.

Lessons learned With adult life comes responsibility, as well as the freedom to choose who you are and what vacuum comes home with you at the end of the day. Life isn’t all wisdom teeth extractions and car payments; it’s also sailing in Thailand and wandering the markets of Salamanca, and sometimes, but not often, life is personified in buying your first vacuum.

Time to clean up the dirt.

Helene Gold plans to engage community with cookies

BY ANNA LYNN WINFREY After renovations were completed in Fall 2018, the library café has been a venue for a variety of events, from weekly origami folding sessions to a contentious confrontation with the provost. But on Thursday, Dec. 5, Librarian Helene Gold will host a campus-wide cookie exchange and a plethora of cookies, bars and assorted holiday treats will adorn the area.

The cookie exchange is the semester’s finale to the series of Campus Community Happy Hours on Thursday afternoons, initiated last spring. Like all other happy hours, participation is open to all students, staff and faculty, and Gold emphasized that people are welcome to come empty-handed.

“My only rule is you can’t bring anything store-bought and you don’t have to bring a cookie to eat a cookie or take a cookie—and that’s it,” Gold said.

Gold first learned how to bake in a home economics course in sixth grade, which was required in early1980s Western Massachusetts.

“We got to the lesson where [the teacher] taught us how to bake and I was changed forever,” Gold recalled.

“I was so fascinated by the precision of it, by the creativity of it, there was something about it that I loved. And so that changed me: sixth grade, the home-ec baking lesson.”

Gold said that she got serious about baking in college and has baked for most of her adult life. She has organized cookie exchanges for the past dozen-or-so years at her previous workplaces but has never done a campus-wide version.

“I thought I know enough students who bake, I know enough staff and faculty who bake and I just thought this is going to be a whole campus thing and I’m going to host it,” Gold said.

Gold has prepared for her event for weeks. To avoid a last-minute bake-a-thon, Gold baked and froze most of her cookies ahead of time.

“All this stuff can be frozen. And it freezes beautifully so I can bake like a lunatic and then it’s all ready,” Gold said.

Gold plans on bringing at least

seven different varieties of cookies, including her award-winning pecan gingerbread blondies, browned butter blondies, rainbow sprinkle sugar cookies, double chocolate biscotti, almond biscotti and lime meltaways.

She will also provide some hot coffee and milk. Bioplastic bags will also be available for attendees to take home an array of cookies.

“The whole point of this is that you get a whole selection of cookies to bring home,” Gold emphasized.

Gold, who has previously been a librarian at Eckerd and Tallahassee Community College, said that she has never been at a college campus with so many hobbyist bakers.

“Here, there’s a lot of hobbyist bakers and I feel like we have a lot to learn from each other,” Gold said. “I’m just really tickled by that.

I’m really happy that there’s so many hobbyist bakers because I’m always looking to learn new techniques and recipes. I love learning from other bakers.”

Since her transformational continued on p. 11

Gold’s recipe for Gingerbread Pecan Blondies, originally published in the Tallahassee Democrat 2 ¾ cups flour 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda 1 ¼ teaspoons salt 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger ¼ teaspoon (plus a pinch) ground cloves 2 ½ sticks softened unsalted butter 1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk 1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1/3 cup molasses 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

Beat butter and brown and white sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Gently fold in pecans.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars and store covered at room temperature up to a week, or seal tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.

CATALYST

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Parking Lot Regatta showcases students' custom rides

BY CHRIS MARIE DE FELIPE On Monday, Dec. 2, students gathered around the Caples campus parking lot for the heavily-anticipated art showcase, Parking Lot Regatta. The eight bikes present were decorated according to each sculptor's theme and elaborate costumes matched each vehicle. After a difficult race with many triumphs and setbacks, third-year Garland Hanson won with a monster themed bike.

Over the course of the class, students specialized in building the technical skills of machinery, welding, design aesthetics, metal work and kinetics essential to crafting a sculpture in motion.

“The class allows the specialization of certain techniques while also working within a theme or conceptual framework,” Professor of Art Ryan Buyssens said, watching students improve their ability to creatively solve problems as they adapted to the rules limiting complete control of the project.

Buyssens cited the industrial city of Detroit for his interest in art spanning multiple dimensions.

“I specialize in interactive art with programmed microcontrollers and sensors so that the art responds to the viewer and the viewer becomes a part of the art work,” Buyssens said.

Students gave the cars, nicknamed “land yachts,” a thematic scheme aligning with their costumes.

The land yachts included “Anarchy”

by Gabe Sobel and Clayton Bauldree,

All photos Chris Marie de Felipe and Anna Lynn Winfrey/Catalyst

Claire Stout and "Good Omens" crossed the finish line with excitement.

“Princess Peach” by Autumn Schwers, “Winter Wonderland” by Precious Darling, “The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine” by Keilon Sabourin, “Good Omens” by Claire Stout, “Chef” by Cindy Kim, “Wolf” by Kennon Gilson and “Monster” by Garland Hanson.

“They became very personal,” Buyssens said. “Everyone had a unique approach to their problems and brought out a lot of their own personalities to solve them.”

The range of directions students drove their art in was a challenge for Buyssens to manage as a teacher, but the individualistic approach stems from what Buyssens is highly concerned with: stressing the why behind art.

“We work within the conceptual framework of what does it mean,”

The eyes painted on winner Garland Hanson’s face represent the “Monster” theme of the functional, yet elaborately designed bike.

Buyssens said.

“Throughout the class I have been able to explore many of the mechanisms that go into providing energy,” Clayton Bauldree, co-creator of “Anarchy,” said. With purple feather accents, the large rusted reversed tricycle is powered by a pump trolley mechanism.

Bauldree is part of the first group of students taking the Parking Lot Regatta course, which will be offered semi-annually.

“I wanted to take the course because I thought it would be a unique experience,” Bauldree said. “It's not every year the chance to build a vehicle for academic credit comes up.”

Students explored the deconstruction of bikes and other mechanisms producing movement, “taking

inspiration from their power mechanisms and creating our own version for our vehicle,” Bauldree said.

Part of the inspiration behind this event was a graduate school raft race that garnered much excitement from that institution’s student body. Aligning with the increase in community-related academic events, Parking Lot Regatta was an opportunity to bring students together to explore one aspect of the craft.

The bike “Winter Wonderland,” constructed by first-year Precious Darling, featured garlands, a snow blanket and decorative snowflakes.

“The starting point was learning the mechanics of bicycles: the axles, the wheels, the different kinds of metal, how to get the perfect weld,” Darling said.

In the near future, Buyssens plans to expand 3D arts at New College. He discussed the potential of focusing on different venues: “We’re approaching things not necessarily in a formal sculptural format, but thinking about non-verbal communication through 3D materials.”

Currently, he pursues several outlets in this vein: woodworking, mold making, visual fabrication and programming interactive art.

In order for students to get a holistic outlook, Buyssens wants to divvy up the different assignments of sculpture into separate, specialized classes like Parking Lot Regatta.

“Each class, we focus on one aspect, which is still a lot,” Buyssens said. “Students can come out the other end with a deeper understanding of things.”

Gabe Sobel and Clayton Bauldree push their Anarchy vehicle to the finish line, using strength and determination to make final stretch.

“On your mark, ready, go!” Ryan Buyssens cheered to the competitors.

CATALYST John Martin CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 for appropriating the vast majority of our funding,” Martin said.

A second challenge the college faced was funding. Governor Bush had previously been a stark opponent of the college’s independence, calling for a “heartier debate” on the issue. Bush argued that voters should see the “inequity of the idea” that an independent New College would require the state to spend more money per student than any other institution in the Florida State University System (SUS). There was also skepticism among some SUS administrators and other legislators that New College would not be able to survive and flourish as an independent institution. Because of these arguments, Bush vetoed the $1.2 million the college requested during its first year of independence, instead agreeing to restore $500,000 for the academic year.

“When [Martin] arrived, the Governor had just vetoed the funding needed to pay his salary,” President Donal O’Shea said in an email interview. “In the hard times, he has always privileged people, the academic program and students. He has done so collaboratively and transparently, and is one of the most respected chief business officers in the state.”

Triumphs Despite the challenges, Martin proved to be an invaluable asset to the college.

“The skeptics were soon silenced as the College quickly garnered top national rankings as a public baccalaureate institution,” Martin said.

“That happened because of the outstanding faculty, division chairs, staff and students all pulling together, plus top-notch leadership at the

Flo Green's retirement CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 campus areas. Burr suggests that her specific job has helped project her natural liveliness.

“The daytime shift that Flo has, likely allowed her to make and maintain friendships throughout the years,” Burr said. “She’s up and running at the same time students are, and in the same places students are.

As a result, she definitely interacts with students much more than the staff or anybody else on campus.”

Green’s geniality keeps her close with the student body. Thesis student Hannah Sine befriended Green during her first year at New College. She has recently became very close with the custodian, as Sine began working

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

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PAGE 10

time, including NCF’s first Board of Trustees Chairman and former State Senator Bob Johnson, President of the New College Foundation Lt. General Rolland Heiser, President Mike Michalson, Provost Charlene Callahan and Special Assistant to the President Suzanne Janney. Those coming later have all helped build on the college’s success and reputation.”

Martin oversaw the growth of the college’s operating budget from $15.6 million in fiscal year 20012002 to $53.5 million in fiscal year 2019-2020. He also oversaw more than $100 million in capital construction, obtaining over $71.1 million in Education & General capital funding for renovations, remodeling and new construction. Of this money, Martin saw $11.3 million allocated to construct the Academic Center (ACE) and $9.7 million to construct the new wing to the Heiser Natural Sciences Complex. In addition, Martin managed a bond issue of $30 million that was used to construct the letter dorms in 2007.

“Of course, none of this would have happened without the hard work and dedication of the entire campus community, especially those comprising Finance and Administration,” Martin said. “The managers and staff comprising the Division of Finance & Administration are second to none. Of particular note, Associate Vice President for Finance Kim Bendickson-Diem has been the long-standing steady hand helping guide the College’s finances and business operations.”

Reflections and advice Martin has been working in higher education for over 45 years.

He started at Duke University, then moved on to Florida State University, where he worked in a number of administrative positions, including Assistant Vice President for Administration. From there, he served as the Associate Vice President for

the University of Houston before being promoted to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Administration for the University of Houston System.

After gaining experience at these larger institutions, Martin transitioned to New College.

“Being associated with an institution that is so well respected at the local, state, and national levels is a great point of pride for me,” Martin said. “Its students, faculty, staff, trustees and alumni are fantastic.”

He also notes that his time at New College has been more challenging, and in turn, more rewarding, than at larger institutions.

“Working at a small academic institution is exponentially more difficult and challenging than working at a larger institution,” Martin said. “People and funding resources are proportionally more difficult to obtain. Every faculty and staff member is expected to perform more and varied tasks than colleagues at larger institutions.”

As he exits his rewarding professional career, Martin offers advice to students getting ready to start their careers.

“Be flexible with your goals, [...] earn the reputation of being honest and trustworthy [...] and make taking care of your health a top priority throughout your life,” Martin said.

“Rest assured that your New College education/degree will serve you well in both your work life and personal life.”

Martin’s replacement A search committee has been actively seeking a professional to fill the role of Vice President of Finance and Administration. The committee is nearly finished narrowing down applicants and, according to Martin, the pool is strong.

“No matter who is selected, they will bring new and innovative ideas to the significant benefit of the college,” Martin said. “The person will

receive strong support from the units comprising the Finance and Administration Division, President O’Shea and his entire senior leadership team.”

Martin notes that his successor will have three immediate challenges: growing enrollment, raising funds to renovate the Pei dorms and to construct new dorms and convincing the Florida Legislature to appropriate capital funds to plan and construct the proposed Multi-Purpose Facility to replace most of the Palmer Complex buildings.

“We have to be true to our pledge to the Board of Governors (BOG) and Legislature to grow the College’s enrollment to at least 1200,” Martin said. “An important part of doing so involves working with the Foundation to raise funds to renovate the Pei dorms. In addition, we must also develop viable financing to build dorms supporting at least 200 new beds.

Finally, we need to capitalize on the BOG’s support for the Multi-Purpose building during the 2020 legislative session and hopefully receive the requested $6 million in funds to plan the facility, followed by $17.4 million in 2021 to construct Phase 1.”

Retirement In a few weeks, Martin will officially put an end to his long professional career. He looks forward to having more time to devote to his family and interests. “[I look forward to] spending more time with Judy, my wonderful wife of 40 years, and traveling together around the US and beyond,” Martin said. “Volunteering in the community and playing a little golf are on my to-do list as well.”

After years of ensuring the college stays afloat and develops with a focus on students, faculty and staff, Martin leaves behind a legacy of dedication, honesty and compassion that will be hard to replace.

at the Physical Plant this fall.

“We mostly would chat in passing, and I was always comforted by her warmth and care for me,” Sine said. “She’s always in good spirits, and her presence graces this campus.”

Green got to see Sine grow as a student of New College through her entire four years on campus. With very kind regard towards Green, Sine deems it very important that the upcoming party on Dec. 6 has student involvement. “ I think it’s important for us to show Flo how much we appreciate her with this party,” Sine said. “The amount of work she has done for the student body must be reciprocated in an event which demonstrates that her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.“ A forum post was created by third-year Francesca Galliano to invite students to the upcoming celebration of Green’s final goodbye. The

event has since been gaining attention across campus. Thesis student Gina Vasquez collected cash and electronic donations to purchase a Visa gift card for Green. Recent alumni also circulated information about the donation on social media.

“I wanted Flo as well as others to be able to celebrate her retirement together, see and speak with her one last time before she left,” Galliano said.

Galliano became especially close to the custodian after attending scheduled meanings with workers on campus led by Alex Schelle (‘13), who wrote her thesis on accountability and forming relationships in a community. It was through these meetings that Galliano got a feel for Green’s kindness and warm regard toward students.

“I have always seen and spoken to Flo as I have always lived on campus,” Galliano said. “Flo has such a

lively and social presence on campus.

She really cares about the students, who she refers to as her kids, and is always checking in with them.”

Green has been able to establish a familial level of comfort with the students she has formed friendships with. Galliano is just one of several people that feels a special connection with her. There are students, staff and fellow coworkers who never experienced college without her kind spirit and guidance. Green is truly one of a kind and will certainly be missed on campus.

“While I am a bit sad to see her go, I am more happy for her as she will have more time to do things she wants outside of the workplace,” Galliano said. “From what I know, the student body shares similar feelings.

Many people adore and love Flo and she will not be forgotten.”

CATALYST Four Winds CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 come even more limited with the lack of sustainable food at Four Winds.

“Before I came to New College I thought I’d have a lot of food options besides Ham and Boar’s Head,” LaPlaca said. “So realizing that Four Winds was closed the first couple of months I was starting out at NCF was pretty discouraging.”

Due to the lack of urgency expressed from administration, the future of the Four Winds Café is still unclear, and until the student body is given any notice of what to expect from it in 2020, plans are still up in the air.

Thesis student Jay Stewart, Chair of the Four Winds Committee, says that there are currently three options for the café. These three options include convincing Metz to

Red tide CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 ing on and then you have a bloom like last year comes through and suddenly hundreds of miles of the sea bed are dead,” Stumpf said. “Those will have to grow back and there is a lot of dead fish. If there are enough dead fish, sea birds can go hungry and starve to death. You end up with a whole range of feedback and it takes years to recover from something like what happened last year.”

Stumpf emphasized that the environmental impact of high concentrations of red tide causes severe disruption of the coastal and marine

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Cookies CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 sixth grade home economics class, Gold has whipped up an abundance of cookies, cheesecakes and assorted confections. However, Gold admitted that her sweet tooth has waned and prefers salty snacks: now, she usually chooses chips over cookies.

“As I’ve gotten older, I rarely eat what I bake,” Gold said. But she still reaches for one of her signature recipes: “Those gingerbread blondies? I always eat those.”

PAGE 11

keep running it, students taking over completely and the third option keeping Four Winds open as a student-space without serving food or coffee. The first and third options seem the most plausible to Stewart, due to Four Winds nearly being profitable—the royalties that they had to pay Metz would have covered the losses, so it may be possible to convince Metz to take this risk. The second option would have the highest risk and highest reward, however Stewart feels that with the current lack of student engagement, he does not see this working. The New College Student Alliance (NCSA) does not have the money to subsidize Four Winds and if students were to run the Four Winds, they would lose access to US Foods, meaning they would have to buy food at retail prices from grocery stores. The third option, although unfavorable to most, has been given support by administration.

How Four Winds can be saved Simply going to Four Winds to grab a quick coffee and study with friends can do a lot for the business.

Any form of involvement shows students’ interest in keeping the café open and the potential to return to its roots as a student-run business.

Thomas urges continued support from students and staff, despite it being an inconvenience that Four Winds currently cannot take meal points.

“I know it kinda sucks we can't take meal points, but maybe when we start serving more food business will get better,” Thomas said. “Not a lot of people want to walk all the way across campus just for a bagel or a bag of chips.”

Using Four Winds as an event space could help the café reach financial sustainability. The reservation procedures will most likely become more accessible to New College students soon.

By attending Four Winds committee meetings, students can help Four Winds move forward in a favorable direction. At these meetings, students gather to discuss their ideas for Four Winds and what can be done in order to steer it back to its original vision as a student-run, independent business.

“The Four Winds faces a crisis of identity and engagement, “Stewart said over an email interview. “Because right now it is being run like the C-Store, people who went to Four Winds religiously in the past feel as though it has lost something. Generally speaking, the Four Winds has been almost empty this semester.

It's stuck in the middle between being an efficient and profitable coffee shop and an inefficient and unprofitable restaurant which had charm. If the Four Winds is going to continue to exist, something needs to change.”

environment along with a slow recovery, which is not ideal.

Another byproduct of high concentrations of red tide is health impacts, commonly resulting in respiratory irritation.

“People with asthma or other respiratory illnesses can end up in an emergency room as a result of exposure,” Stumpf said.

Possible mitigation practices to better the impacts HABs residing in the Gulf of Mexico cover a substantial range of the region, frustrating scientists researching mitigation practices because of the stretch of the affected area.

“The blooms, when they are in the Gulf of Mexico, cover a very

large area,” Stumpf said. “There isn’t a treatment strategy that will get rid of them in the Gulf of Mexico which is realistic because it’s just too much area to cover.”

One short-term mitigation solution NOAA is working on is not mitigation in terms of completely eliminating the HAB but mitigation in terms of bettering the severity of the impacts.

“We’ve been working on improving identifying where the patches of bloom are and also what is the respiratory risk in individual beaches and throughout the day,” Stumpf said.

Red tide fluctuates in its concentration throughout the day, during certain times the area experiences

low enough concentrations that it is safe for the public to enjoy the beach.

NOAA is trying to indicate where and when the beach experiences low concentrations deemed safe dependent on a number of factors including wind patterns, tide patterns and current patterns.

“You have the potential in many numbers of mitigations that may help reduce both the local impact so the ultimate question is does what they use directly kill other things or is it prohibitively expensive to employ,” Stumpf said. “Those are the kind of research questions that need to be investigated for mitigation.”

Kong to evade the tariffs on China.

However, if the State Department found that Hong Kong was not suffiCONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 ciently autonomous under the Hong Kong Democracy Act, then Hong counteract, and the U.S. must bear Kong would face the same economic all resulting consequences,” China’s pressures as China. foreign ministry said in a statement.

Currently, Hong Kong does not Information for this article was gathered from scmp.com, congress.gov, face any sanctions or tariffs, as it apnews.com, nytimes.com, cnbc.com holds a special trading status sepaand reuters.com. rate from China, which allows Hong

Hong Kong

CONT'D

hatred is not by turning on one another, but it’s by focussing on the values that bind us, to take hope from CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 heroism of ordinary Londoners and our emergency services who ran toheld in Cambridge and London to wards danger, risking their lives to honor the victims. Prime Minister help people they didn’t even know,” Boris Johnson, Labour leader Jere- Mayor Khan said.

A book of condolences is open at my Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were among those in atten- Guildhall Art Gallery and members of the public are invited to lay flowdance.

“The best way to defeat this ers outside nearby Mansion House.

London attack

Good luck during finals week and have a relaxing winter break!

This is the final issue of Fall 2019.

We will be back in Spring 2020 with more weekly content.

For those interested in joining Newspaper Writing and Production tutorial in Spring 2020, look for an email toward the end of January or email catalyst@ncf.edu for more information.

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PAGE 12

RINGLING MUSEUM GETS POLITICAL WITH

"ZODIAC 2018 LEGO"

BY CLAIRE NEWBERG

Chinese sociopolitical artist Ai Weiwei has used the lore of the Chinese Zodiac animals in a few of his works across the years. His 2011 series of bronze sculptures, “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads,” was shown at the Ringling Museum of Art from 2017 to 2018. His 2018 series of portraits of the animals made from Legos, “Zodiac (2018) LEGO,” is currently on display at the Ringling Museum until Feb. 2, 2020.

The story of the Chinese Zodiac animals goes as far back as 206 B.C. to the Han Dynasty. The most famous story involves the Great Race, in which twelve animals competed in a tournament to reach the Jade Emperor to determine the order of the Zodiac animal years. At the end of the race, the order determined the rat was first, then the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Ai Weiwei was born in 1957 in Beijing, China to a poet father who was denounced during the AntiRightist Campaign, which targeted anti-communists in China from 1957 to 1959. In 1958, his family was sent to a labor camp in Heilongjiang because of his denouncement against his father. Ai’s family moved back to Beijing shortly after the death of Mao Zedong during the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the late 1970s. During this time, Ai attended film school and studied animation. From 1981 to 1993, Ai lived in New York City and became friends with renowned poet Allen Ginsberg.

In 1993, he moved back to China and still resides there today.

The heads in both of Ai’s exhibits are stylized in a manner reminiscent of the famous Zodiac heads from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, China. The original Zodiac animal heads were arranged to form a clock around a fountain designed by European Jesuits in the 18th century for the Qianlong Emperor. British and French soldiers looted the heads in the late 19th century.

Ai chose to portray the Zodiac animals in order to critique Chinese nationalism and the Chinese Com-

munist Party. Strategically placing these heads in Western spaces was an “ironic act,” according to Ai. The nationalism of 20th-century China did not reflect the quality of life seen

by Chinese citizens, especially those with anti-Communist values. This can be seen in Ai’s rough upbringing that resulted from his father’s rightward political orientation.

In May 2011, Ai was detained for 81 days by Beijing security officers cracking down on out-spoken liberals since he was one of the biggest critics of the Chinese Communist Party. During his detention, Ai was kept in a small room under constant surveillance. A fellow detainee, lawyer and friend of Ai named Liu Xiaoyuan spoke to the New York Times in 2012, saying, “[Ai’s] personality is, ‘The more you push me, the harder I’m going to push back.’”

His current exhibit in the Ringling Museum of Art, “Zodiac (2018) LEGO,” follows the same themes as his previous Zodiac series. “Zodiac (2018) LEGO” features twelve portraits of the Zodiac animals made of Legos. Each is stylized the same as Ai’s “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads” exhibit, mimicking the Zodiac heads of the Old Summer Palace again. In the background of each portrait is a famous city. For example, London, England resides behind the rat; Sydney, Australia behind the rooster; and Beijing, China behind the dragon. The inclusion of famous locations, the majority of which are Western, speaks to Ai’s aforementioned “ironic act.” In the portrait of the dragon, Ai put himself in the background, with the word “Fuck” written on his shirt. This may represent his complicated history with the Chinese government.

“The ‘Zodiac (2018)’ series continues Ai Weiwei’s tendency toward the accumulation of materials, a creative method the artist has employed for many of his best-known works,” the Ringling Museum wrote on their official website. “His interest in amassing and collecting connects with his ongoing interest in how individuals relate to society through experience. Ai Weiwei’s use of Lego bricks, usually considered a chil-

dren’s toy, is a poignant example of his singular art practice and the reconfiguration of this basic material, transforming the narrative and nature of this medium.”

All of Ai’s works use China’s painful past and his involvement in it to comment on the political present. Professor of History and International and Area Studies Xia Shi specializes in Chinese history.

“Only when we understand the past, we can truly understand the present,” Professor Shi said. “China experienced much tumult through-

out the 20th century. Some of the central themes of its history during this period, such as revolution, reform and modernization, continued to play out in today's China. History might not necessarily repeat itself, but learning China's history in the 20th century can help us better understand the longer roots and patterns of its contemporary phenomenon.

Information for this article was gathered from nytimes.com, npr.org, tate.org and ringling.org.

All photos courtesy of the Ringling Museum of Art

In Chinese culture, the goat is the symbol of purity and kindness.

The ox is a symbol of hard work and honesty.