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CATALYST
BRIEFS CBD pg.
December 5, 2018 VOLUME XXXVII ISSUE XII
New College of Florida's student-run newspaper
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Stier serves as interim CEO director while job search for new director begins BY KATRINA CARLIN As of Nov. 15, the Center for Career Engagement and Opportunity (CEO) has decided to open up the search for a new director. Staff hopes that finding a new director will bring some consistency to the CEO. Students hope that a new director will be someone in touch with what New College students need. This year alone the CEO has hired three new staff members: Lisandra Jimenez, assistant director for career readiness and employability, and Madeline Heath, assistant director for career technology and outreach, were hired in September, and Barbara Larrison, the office manager, was hired in August. Mark Stier, senior associate dean for student affairs, has been serving as the interim CEO Director since early November. President Donal O’Shea and Dean of Student Affairs Robin Williamson decided that Stier would be well-suited for the position. “[O’Shea and Williamson] agreed
based on my previous experience supervising the CEO at Saint Leo University and Missouri Western State University,” Stier said in an email interview. “I have five years experience in this area as a supervisor.” Under Stier’s direction, the CEO staff have been trying to get more students in the door, including hosting an open house that was attended by around 60 people. Stier also met with student leaders including the New College Student Alliance (NCSA) co-presidents to discuss what needed to be done to address student concerns that had been raised by students both privately and in a Catalyst article published on Nov. 7, 2018. Changes have started already, and many seem like a direct response to student concerns raised in that meeting with student leaders. On Nov. 28, the CEO held a graduate school workshop, the first of several they plan to hold this year. The CEO uploaded some graduate school information and guides to the website; it is not on their main page, and
needs to be navigated to through several links or via the drop-menu. The information is a bit sparse but includes questions students should consider before applying, how the CEO can help students and a link to a library guide that contains relevant books. In an interview for the Nov. 7 Catalyst article, “Students respond to changes to the CEO,” Jimenez and Heath mentioned that they were seeking to add student career mentors to the CEO, but foresaw it happening further down the line. However, possibly due to student concerns regarding face-to-face interactions, those positions were made available to the student body earlier this month. The staff hopes to fill these positions soon. “We want more peer-to-peer interaction, connection and mentorship,” Heath explained. “Research has shown that is really important to students. We not only want to help students in their positions in our office grow as student leaders, but also help them help other
students.” Stier noted that over 300 people, approximately half of the residential population, have signed up to Handshake, the CEO’s new online employment platform, so far. Handshake also now handles on-campus employment, including job listings for Metz and residential staff. While the staff continues to promote Handshake, they also wish to get more face time with students. “I think students sometimes are hesitant to come see the CEO, and I get that because it’s a big change and they have to realize, ‘I’m growing up and graduating in a few months,’” Stier said. “Having worked with these two women, they’re very personable and very knowledgeable in their areas. The CEO should be seen as one of the best friends the students have.” Stier also emphasized how interested the CEO was in getting engaged with
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Macron criticized by ‘Gilet Jaune’ protesters SUBMITTED BY JACOB WENTZ Jacob Wentz is the Catalyst’s foreign correspondent reporting from Pau, France.
https://doc-0k-18-docs. googleusercontent.com/ docs/securesc/s7jurnmk912se8sp3mgg3hd8llrh0uos/obdpo7fpcdn719co01n4qb7
Thousands of demonstrators organized in streets and highways throughout France over the weekend to protest proposed tax hikes on gas. The activists are organized under the Gilet Jaune, or “Yellow Vest,” movement, a name which references the fluorescent yellow safety vests that French drivers must carry in their vehicles in case of roadside emergencies. Despite offering sympathy for the protesters, French President Emmanuel Macron stood firm on the decision to increase taxes. What’s happening? The demonstrations started in early November to express severe discontent for planned tax hikes. Since Nov. 17, hundreds of thousands of protesters have blocked highways across the country by setting up barricades and deploying convoys of slow-moving trucks. One protestor, 63-year-old Chantal Mazet, was ran
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over and killed by a mother trying to take her child to the doctor. Demonstrators in the streets of Paris threw bricks and bottles at police, who responded with water cannons and tear gas. Why’s it happening? According to Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne, the tax on gasoline will increase by approximately 12 cents per gallon on Jan. 1. The tax on diesel will rise by approximately 28 cents per gallon. France already has some of the highest gasoline prices in the world. On Monday, Nov. 26, gasoline cost around $6.26 per gallon in Paris, while diesel cost around $6.28 per gallon. Macron says the taxes will help reduce France’s dependence on fossil fuels. By raising the cost of diesel, the government hopes to convince more people to purchase vehicles that are not powered by fossil fuels. These proposed changes are particularly serious for the working-class people who live outside of France’s large cities. “There are two Frances: There are the better off people who live in the cit-
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Photo courtesy of Victoria Cheng
The word “Rothschild” tagged on the Louis Vuitton store is a direct reference to Macron’s work with the financial group, as well as a criticism of the elite classes, luxury brands and the high cost of living in France.
ies who can afford to think about climate change, and then those living in the rural areas and small towns, a lot of blue collar workers, [who] can’t make ends meet,” NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley reported from Paris. “And this is where the movement came from,” Beardsley added. “It rose up from the French heartland.”
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Despite the movement’s grassroots beginnings, an Odoxa survey conducted for Le Figaro and Franceinfo showed that 77 percent of French people find their demonstrations legitimate. The national attention that the
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