Issue 2, Spring 2015

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February 25, 2015 VOLUME XXXVII, ISSUE II

A student newspaper of New College of Florida

WHAT’S Urine the wrong room: Proposed law criminalizes trans rights to public INSIDE facilities

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BY COLT DODD

GASPARILLA FESTIVAL

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SS E L E ON M H HORAT MA

12 PCP

Shockwaves rippled through the transgender community this month when Florida representative Frank Artiles (R) filed a bill that would bar transgender individuals from using public restrooms, locker rooms and dressing rooms that do not correspond to their gender assigned at birth.

The law has been dubbed “show your papers to pee” and has been criticized for directly invalidating the newly passed transgender discrimination ordinances throughout the state. Those convicted of violating the law could face misdemeanor, a $1,000 fine and a year in prison.

The Miami Herald reported that the proposed law “requires that use of single-sex facilities be restricted to persons of sex for which facility is designated; prohibits knowingly and willfully entering single-sex public facility designated for or restricted to persons of other biological sex.”

In April 2014, Andraya Williams, a transgender student at Central Piedmont Community College in North Carolina, was brought up on charges

Photo courtesy of wvfree.org

A drawing depicts a conflict that many transgender individuals deal with on a daily basis.

for using the women’s restroom at the school. Second-year Miranda Day spoke with the Catalyst about her closeness to the case.

“In North Carolina, where I grew up…I knew someone who was a trans woman that went to a school that I was enrolled in for two years and was arrested under that law,” Day said. “I think she got out of a lot of the charges, but the initial charge was 30 days in prison, a $1000 fine and sex offender status for life, which is obviously,

ridiculous. Even though she wound up not being hit with all that, it was still presumably big legal fees and I think she wound up having to do another semester because she couldn’t do her classes because of it. And that was a school I was going to, in a bathroom I used.”

Artiles remarked that the reasoning behind this bill is to ensure public safety.

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Candidates vie for city commissioner seat

BY KAYLIE STOKES Sarasota is governed by five city commissioners, two are elected at-large and the remaining three are elected from single-member districts. On March 10, a local election will be held to appoint a city commissioner for district two – the district that New College falls under. Candidates Liz Alpert and David Morgan will challenge incumbent Eileen Normile.

City commissioners are responsible for implementing policy, recommending policy changes and action, and acting as a liaison between the city and the community. During the campaign cycle, candidates have focused on issues such as city finances, local development projects and homelessness in the community.

“This is the level of government that people will often see, face-to-face, on a scale that they will understand,” Professor of Political Science Keith Fitzgerald said. “The issues at the city level are concrete, and they are the kind of things that affect how people live.”

Despite the fact that city

commissioners play a direct role in shaping the city’s policies on major issues, past elections have always had a dismally low voter turnout. In the 2013 election, less than 20 percent of registered voters cast their ballots, and the last election for district two was decided by only 14 votes.

“There’s a very simple way to combat [low voter turnout], and that is to put the city election on the same day as the general election in November,” Fitzgerald said. Along with increasing voter turnout, this move could save the city more than $120,000, yet there remains much resistance.

“People who like it the way it is, will make arguments that the low voter turnout is actually a good thing because then you only have high-information voters,” Fitzgerald explained. T h e vote-by-mail program is helping to counter this. “People inform themselves when they know an election is coming up,” Fitzgerald said. When citizens receive ballots in the mail they are both informed of the upcoming election and given the opportunity to research candidates while they go over the ballot

at home.

“Vote-by-mail is not only improving the number of people who participate but also the amount of information people have when they vote,” Fitzgerald said.

Below are brief profiles on each candidate including background and platforms.

Liz Alpert Liz Alpert graduated from the University of South Florida in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications. She later earned a law degree from Stetson University. Alpert started her own law firm in Sarasota in 2007, specializing in family law. Alpert has worked on the City of Tampa’s Architectural Review Board and City Ordinance Revision Committee, as well as the City of Sarasota’s Human Relations Board. She currently serves on the Civil Service and General Personal Board of Sarasota.

Alpert decided to run for city commissioner after attending a public meeting on bayfront redevelopment.

Up to 75 acres of property are up for a redevelopment project sponsored by the booster group Bayfront 20:20. Alpert wants to be a part of the important decisions related to the project.

“It’s going to affect the future of the city for decades to come,” Alpert said to the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Alpert promises to ensure that the needs of the Van Wezel and the Sarasota Orchestra are met throughout the project and hopes to create a park, accessible to all citizens, overlooking the bay.

On the issue of homelessness, Alpert has said that she will advocate for increasing the number of Homeless Outreach Teams comprised of one police officer and one mental health counselor.

When asked how New College students would benefit from her election Alpert said, “One of the things that I want to work on is bringing the kinds of jobs here that will keep graduates here once they graduate. Rather than service jobs, bring some clean energy jobs and

continued on p. 11

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BRIEFS

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briefs by Sydney Kruljac

CIEE visits New College “The world is our classroom.

Join us,” reads Molly Leighton’s business card. Leighton is the institutional relations manager for the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), a nonprofit organization that has been helping students study abroad since 1947.

On Thursday, Feb. 19, Leighton visited New College of Florida to provide 197 alternative study abroad programs that expand to 43 countries and 61 cities.

These programs are not limited to just colleges or universities, but also teach abroad, high school study and gap year programs; international faculty development seminars; summer work and travel exchanges; internships; professional training programs; and volunteer opportunities, according to the CIEE website.

CIEE works with member schools that come from all over the United States totaling in around 350 member schools that send students through this program.

“The cohort of students will come from many different schools,” Leighton said. “Out of our about 200 programs, Cape Town, South Africa is our largest study center, followed pretty closely by Seville in Spain.”

The program opens up a variety of opportunities for those interested in studying abroad, especially those eager to study abroad as early as fall of 2015. CIEE provides both language immersion and English language programs.

“If you are wanting to go fall of 2015, application deadlines tend to be around April,” Leighton said. “So if you are thinking about going for fall, you still have plenty of time for that.”

As for students’ financial aid, the money would transfer over with CIEE as well as some scholarships awarded by New College of Florida.

Furthermore, CIEE offers more than $3 million in scholarships and grants.

For more information or applications, visit www.ciee.org.

Reaching out to other intelligent life It is 2015 and society has not become any less fascinated with the possibility of extra terrestrial life. In fact, according to BBC News, scientists at a United States conference decided it is time to start trying to make contact with intelligent life on other worlds.

As decisions are made on potential messages, others fear that reaching out to the unknown will be like “shouting into a jungle.”

Professor of Physics and Astronomy George Ruppeiner has his qualms about trying to contact other life.

“Why would they be friendly?”

Ruppeiner said. “Look what happened to the American Indians, the Aborigines in Australia, you know? Whenever you have a superior civilization, it’s bad for the weaker group.”

For more than 30 years, researchers have been listening in on signals from outer space in hopes of extra terrestrial contact by the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence institute (SETI). Because of this, the director of the organization, Dr. Seth Shostak, expressed it was time for researchers to start actively looking for ET themselves.

“We haven’t heard signals from other civilizations,” Ruppeiner said.

“Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place. Maybe we’re looking at the wrong frequencies. Maybe we’re looking at the wrong types of signals. What patterns do you look for that are going to give it away as coming from intelligent life?

And people don’t really know that.”

As for any life that could be out there, Earth has given itself away since World War II. According to Dr. Shostak, any society that wanted to come and ruin Earth already knows we are here.

“Here on earth, a lot of the signals come from radio stations,” Ruppeiner said. “The signals are modulated to give you speech, or visual signals, people know how these go, so people know where the signals come from, they know the character. With the beginning of television in particular, you had intense signals from the earth that are diffusing into space. Thirty light years out, these things could be decoded, and we could inadvertently give ourselves away.”

While a message for potential extra terrestrial life is in the works for, many scientists think that an introduction to Earth’s civilization should be “sanitized” leaving out parts of history that are less than charming. However, Dr. Shostak disagrees and thinks the only way to befriend the aliens is to supply the whole truth.

Gearing up for Gasparilla Music Festival

Gasparilla Music Festival is part of Tampa Bay’s Mardi Gras celebration, which includes the Gasparilla Children’s Parade and “Piratechnic” Extravaganza, and Gasparilla Pirate Fest Street Festival. This year, from March 7-8, Tampa gears up for one of its most exciting Gasparilla Music Festivals yet, as the electrifying Modest Mouse takes the stage as the headlining band.

The indie-rock band Modest Mouse is known for selling out shows and captivating their audiences with outstanding performances. This year should anticipate a crowd of 10,000 people.

This year’s music festival will not only highlight Modest Mouse, but also acts such as The Abyssinians, Dale Earndhart Jr. Jr., The Gaslight Anthem, Gogol Bordello, Trampled by Turtles, The Budos Band, Dumpstaphunk, Hiss

“I haven’t slept for ten days, because that would be too long” - Mitch Hedberg (Feb. 24, 1968-Mar. 30, 2005) © 2014, the Catalyst. All rights reserved.

The Catalyst is available online at www.ncfcatalyst.com, facebook.com/NCFcatalyst, @ncfcatalyst The Catalyst is an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria Vesperi. It is developed in the New College Publications Lab using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign and printed at Sun Coast Press with funds provided by the New College Student Alliance.

Golden Messenger, Roadkill Ghost Choir, Hot 8 Brass Band, Margo & the Pricetags and Packway Handle Band.

In addition, many native Florida bands representing genres in gospel, country rock and alternative rock will attend the festival. Perhaps not as well known as the headlining acts, community support helps these bands grow and succeed. They include The Hip Abduction, Miggs, Selwyn Birchwood, Suenalo, Thomas Wynn & the Believers, Red Feather, Amber Lynn Nicol, UNRB and Mt. Zion Gospel Choir.

Tickets are now available on www.gmftickets.com with prices ranging from $30 for general Sunday admission up to $150 for VIP twoday admission. More acts will be announced as March 7 nears.

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

Sara Mineo Pariesa Young Yadira Lopez Caitlyn Ralph Bianca Benedí and Jasmine Respess Colt Dodd, Katelyn Grimmett, Giulia Heyward, Haley Jordan, Sydney Kruljac, Adilyne McKinlay, Ryan Paice; Kaylie Stokes

Mississippi fears racism prevalent Mississippi state representative, Gene Alday, is trying to protect himself against backlash due to racist comments he said in an education policy interview.

He has stated several times since the interview that he is not a racist and the comments made to a Mississippi newspaper, The Clarion-Ledger, Sunday, Feb. 15 were misinterpreted.

During his interview, Alday attempted to explain his position against an increase in school funding.

“I come from a town where all the blacks are getting food stamps and what I call ‘welfare crazy checks,’” Alday said. “They don’t work.”

He did not deny his comments; he only continued to deny he was racist. According to the Guardian, he meant for those comments to be off the record and he was quoted without any context. However, reporter Jerry Mitchell rejected these statements.

Alday, a republican elected in 2011 to represent Mississippi’s 25 districts will have to defend his seat in the upcoming November election. However, state governor, Phil Bryant, and other republican leaders have distanced themselves from Alday and his comments, believing it is an unjust representation of the GOP. This in turn will make his reelection tricky.

The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus is hoping to talk to state officials about Alday’s comments. It is feared that his comments have increased racial tensions in the state and that racism in Mississippi is more prevalent than expected.

As a means of correction, Alday told the Desoto Tribune that he intends to approach the Mississippi House of Representatives and apologize for his comments upon his return to the state capitol.

“I am definitely not a racist at all,” Alday said. “Because I mean, I get along with everybody. And I’ve spent a lot of time helping people.”

Direct submissions, letters, announcements and inquiries to: The Catalyst 5800 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, Florida 34243 ncfcatalyst@gmail.com The Catalyst reserves the right to edit all submissions for grammar, space and style.

No anonymous submissions will be accepted.

Submissions must be received by 12:00 p.m.

Friday for consideration in the next issue.

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NEWS PAGE 3

Jewish community club Hillel steadily growing

BY BIANCA BENEDÍ In the past year, Hillel’s activities have increased significantly. Bolstered by a change in leadership and increased advertising, the Jewish community club at New College is flourishing.

Led by second-year Allya Yourish, Hillel’s events have doubled and membership is continually growing.

“Hillel’s really busy this semester,”

Photo courtesy of Allya Yourish

Allya Yourish baked raspberry and cream cheese Challah for the Valentine’s Day meeting of Shabbat.

Yourish said. “We have b’nei mitzvah classes starting up this week. These classes will allow Jewish students to have the education necessary to participate in a b’nei mitzvah celebration later this year.” Yourish added that nonJewish students are allowed to take the classes as well, although they would not be participating in the b’nei mitzvah celebration (b’nei mitzvah is the plural form of bar and bat mitzvah).

Dine and Discourse events are also held weekly with Rabbi Ed, who sponsors the club, on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. The topics discussed range from the significance of spirituality, to the Tenant of Tikum Olam (repair the world), to Jewish history. The event usually offers vegan and non-vegan pizza.

Twice-monthly Shabbat dinners round out the major Hillel events, where all students, Jewish or otherwise (“like every Hillel event ever,” Yourish added), are invited to participate in the ritual of Shabbat with home-made food and prayers led by alum and Outreach Ad Expansion Coordinator Matthew Andersen (‘14).

“Hillel has stayed fairly true to its roots compared to last year, but I can also gladly say that the club and its new board have come a long way,” secondyear and public relations representative Dylan Pryor said of the club. A member since spring of 2014, Dylan runs the

Photo courtesy of Dylan Pryor

Shabbat dinners are held biweekly in Z-kitchen; they are always open to all students.

group’s Facebook page and advertises its weekly events.

One of the newest events being offered by the club is a weekly Kabbalah class led by the Suncoast Hillel rabbi, Rabbi Ed. An ancient Jewish tradition, Kabbalah classes teach students how to understand the oftentimes complicated but significant relationship between the universe and God. Hillel has also offered student connections to various resources, such as scholarships and internships for Jewish students, as well as an opportunity to participate in a variety of club-based

events outside of Sarasota. Most recently, club members of Hillel traveled to Tampa on Feb. 23 to participate in University of South Florida Hillel’s Great Latke-Hamantash Debate. Future plans for Hillel include expanding into the greater Sarasota area, which has a notable Jewish community.

“The most important thing I can tell anyone about us is that Hillel is more about community than anything, and community is more than just one group,” Pryor said. “As a Jewish student, being able to share such an important part of my identity with others is honestly a very rewarding feeling.”

Jeanne Viviani’s resignation is bittersweet

BY JASMINE RESPESS It is the last day that Jeanne Viviani will sit at her desk in any official capacity, and although she expressed a sense of sadness about leaving the place where she spent over a decade making professional and personal relationships, Viviani cannot help but smile as she prepares to leave the NCF campus if not for greener at least newer pastures.

After 11 years of New College service, Viviani is leaving to work at Florida Polytechnic University. Viviani spent her time at New College as the Research Programs and Services director where she was responsible for helping faculty and staff seek out grants and fellowships. She was integral in helping New College community members through the application processes. At NCF Viviani worked to create and organize the Institutional Review Board (IRB). She was a charter member and was involved in getting responsible people involved in the NCF research program.

“It was a lot of new infrastructure for New College that she set up,” Professor of Anthropology Maria Vesperi said.

Viviani’s resignation comes at an especially critical point in the year since spring tends to be a busy time for applying to federal grants. Her absence will be felt as professors scramble to complete grant applications.

“I’m very bittersweet because I’m glad that she has an opportunity to grow,” Professor of Biology Sandra

Gilchrist said. “For me it’s a big loss because she was just the go-to person.” ilchrist recalled how prior to Viviani setting up the IRB, New College had to complete the process through the University of South Florida in Tampa. Viviani facilitated the IRB process, which is a requirement for all institutions that accept research funding from the federal government. “[The IRB is a board] that serves to protect the rights and concerns of human subjects participating in research

by New College students or faculty,” the NCF website states. “The IRB reviews research protocols involving human subjects by others outside the campus wanting to use New College students in their research.”

Viviani will be continuing her career at the Florida Polytechnic University in the same capacity, but since the school is only three years old she will be able to set up her office and make employee decisions more freely than ever before.

“I’ll be kind of making my own way,” Viviani said.

“She is leaving [New College] in a really good place as far as the IRB goes,” Vesperi said. “She was a wonderful colleague, great sense of humor and I wish her the best. Even though she had to deal with a lot of bureaucratic details she wasn’t a bureaucratic-minded person.”

Viviani’s assistant Hannah Boyd will be her replacement and has been trained and is ready to take on the role that Viviani left to fill.

photo courtesy of Jeanne Viviani

Jeanne Viviani will be greatly missed by students, faculty and staff.

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NEWS PAGE 4

A message signed with blood: ISIS releases execution video of Egyptian Christians

BY HALEY JORDAN A newly formed Libyan army of the Islamic State released a video showing the beheading of at least a dozen Coptic Christians on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, possibly in retaliation for Osama bin Laden’s body being allegedly dropped into the Arabian Sea in 2011.

Officials of Libya’s internationally recognized government recently went to Washington seeking assistance to stop the expansion of the Islamic State’s influence and control. Even some opponents of Libya’s official government have begun speaking about the need to stop the spread of ISIS. Militants of the Tripolitania Province of ISIS announced in January that they had taken hostage 20 Egyptian Christians, or Copts. Coptic refers to the native Christian church in Egypt that uses the Coptic language in its liturgy.

It is unclear whether all hostages were killed, but it is known that the laborers from the city of Sirte were taken in December and January.

The video depicts masked militants shrouded in black leading the bound hostages wearing orange jumpsuits toward the camera along the edge of a rocky beach, said to be in western Libya. Spanning five minutes, it is polished and edited, and bears the name Al Hayat, the logo of ISIS’ media

arm, making it clear the video is not like previous cellphone clips by Libyan militants.

The apparent leader spoke in fluent English with an American accent, his words also written in Arabic subtitles.

The title reads “A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross.”

“Oh, people, recently you have seen us on the hills of as-Sham and Dabiq’s plain, chopping off the heads that have been carrying the cross for a long time,” the lead executioner said.

“Today, we are on the south of Rome, on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message... The sea you’ve hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood.”

The man adds that the killings are also in light of a dispute in Egypt five years ago over a Coptic Christian woman, Camilia Shehata, supposedly having been kidnapped by her husband and members of the church after trying to convert to Islam.

The hostages are then filmed being placed facedown on the sand, some appearing to pray quietly. They are simultaneously beheaded and the video ends with a shot of the Mediterranean Sea stained red.

Following the confirmation of the identities of the martyrs, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt declared seven days of mourning and a defense

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

“Every life ... Look for humanity. Look for God’s creation.” Bishop Angaelos from the Coptic Orthodox Church in London speaks on the mass execution of the Egyptian Christians by the Islamic State.

council meeting to decide the “necessary means and timing to avenge the criminal killings.”

Although the massacre was conducted in the same style of previous execution videos released by ISIS, it is unique and troublesome in that it was shot outside of ISIS’ core territory in Syria and Iraq, adding to the already present fears that the group is farther reaching than the confirmed areas.

Three groups of Libyan fighters are

known to have already pledged loyalty to the Islamic State, spanning throughout the country’s three major regions: Barqa, Fezzan and Tripolitania.

“Libya is a prime place for something like this to develop because the state is broken down,” Professor of Political Science Barbara Hicks commented.

continued on p. 11

Insect farming tutorial hopes to become permanent institution

BY KATELYN GRIMMETT

The biology lab has gained two fresh and exciting kinds of life which students hope will stay at the school for years to come. The pioneering Insect Farming Tutorial brought 250 crickets and more than a thousand mealworms to their new home at New College of Florida.

Initiated by Catherine Wooster, a second-year biology AOC, the tutorial is up and hopping. Wooster cited her dad’s insect cookbook and Professor of Biology Elzie McCord’s entomology class as inspirations for the tutorial.

Recalling a discussion from Professor McCord’s class on the topic of eating insects, Wooster explained her interest in the ecological factors of insect farming.

“[Insects] have a higher ratio of feed to protein, they can be held in very small areas with a low amount of waste, it’s just a very sustainable source protein,” Wooster said.

In Southeast Asia, insect farming, which is one of the suggested solutions for Vitamin A deficiency, could potentially hold the answer to malnutrition if done right on an industrial level.

It could also provide an ideal

foundation for studying genetically strong insects which could, in turn, positively affect declining bee populations.

The school had a lot to offer the insect farming tutorial including a biological control unit that stimulates day and night environments, and controls temperature and air circulation.

The tutorial also received $200 in funding from the Council of Academic Affairs (CAA) to help buy insects, food and environmental stimuli.

Professor of Biology Sandra Gilchrist, sponsor of the tutorial, donated a couple thousand mealworms which she used to feed the fish at Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center. There are currently seven people involved in the tutorial. Gilchrist meets with the group once a week to facilitate discussion about the readings and the extensive academic outlooks that insect farming encourages.

“We’re looking at all sorts of aspects of insect farming, we’re doing anthropological stuff by looking at various cultures to see how they do this, environmental philosophy, what it means to be vegan, a lot of biology about how we can get the best results and learn from farming insects, even a little bit of business,” Wooster said.

photo courtesy of Wiki Commons

It takes the same amount of energy to raise a pound of meal worms as it does to produce a pound of pork.

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NEWS PAGE 5

MOTE Marine’s rescue dolphin Moonshine passes KATELYN GRIMMETT MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium lost a cherished member of the aquarium family when Moonshine, a pantropical spotted male dolphin, passed away on Feb. 10. While the reason behind his sudden illness and untimely death remains unclear, Moonshine’s unique company is deeply missed by all MOTE staff, including JenAnne Pedonti who worked with Moonshine as a dedicated intern for four months.

Moonshine was an extraordinary dolphin from the start. In fact, he was one of the only pantropical spotted dolphins ever to come under human care perhaps due to the fact that his kind are deep-water dwellers.

Pantropical spotted dolphin are much smaller than bottle-nosed dolphins, which are the typical species found in human care. Residing at MOTE since 2003, Moonshine presented a unique opportunity for research.

At two years of age, he was found stranded on a beach in Marathon Key with a third degree sunburn. After staying at Marine Animal Rescue Society of Miami, he was taken to MOTE’s Dolphin and Whale Hospital to finish rehabilitation. Despite having his sunburn healed at MOTE, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service, which oversees the protection and care of wild marine mammals, decided that Moonshine was

non-releasable.

“The thing about [Moonshine] was that his young age prevented him from being released,” Pedonti said. “Also, the rehabilitation process revealed a chronic liver condition for which he had to be kept on special medication for the rest of his life, which also kept him from being released.”

Once it was discovered that Moonshine was not responding normally to his care, the veterinary team at MOTE reacted immediately.

He was brought to the shallow medical area of his large lagoon for tests and remedial care.

Extensive medical attention was given to Moonshine at all hours of the day and night. Watches were arranged to keep an eye on his behavior. One day, about a week after he first exhibited signs of being sick, his health took a downward turn and Moonshine was unable to recover. A necropsy, or animal autopsy, is under way to help MOTE learn more about what happened.

Despite the disheartening loss of Moonshine, MOTE staff, volunteers and interns are wholeheartedly grateful for the time they spent with the very special pantropical spotted dolphin.

Moonshine was always responsive and tame, enthusiastic to spend time with his four trainers who worked with him throughout the week for 12 hours a day.

His trainers worked with him to ensure he was adequately stimulated both mentally and physically. Pedonti was

Photo courtesy of Marc Ellis

Moonshine, the unique pantropical spotted dolphin is missed by his family at MOTE Marine Laboratory.

one of the dedicated interns who took a part in Moonshine’s seven training sessions a day.

Interns for MOTE are trained and overseen by the devoted team of animal care professionals working with Moonshine. Interns assist with everyday responsibilities such as maintaining the exhibits and tanks, entering data and accompanying trained staff during standard care, training and research activities.

“I went to do research with [Moonshine], I saw it as a unique opportunity because he was such a rare species,” Pedonti said. “I wanted to study his behavioral aspects in relation to environmental enrichment which is used to make the animal’s habitat feel more natural and stimulating for them.

A lot of this involves tactile enrichment

continued on p. 11

Four Winds reaches quota of meal plan points by early February

BY GIULIA HEYWARD The Four Winds has announced they will no longer accept meal plan points for the rest of the school year.

This comes as a disappointment to students who frequent the Four Winds for its selection of vegan and vegetarian food. The once-crowded student café may soon see lower turnout.

“I think that a lot of people are going to stop, or at least cut back, the amount of times they go there this semester,” first-year Lena Nowak said.

“I think they should have granted more points, but I don’t know if they feasibly can.”

Originally, the Four Winds accepted cash, credit cards and meal plan points. This provided a second option on campus for students who did not want to eat in Hamilton “Ham” Center. Additionally, the Four Winds offers different menus each week, a change from the food that is consistently offered at Ham. “I’ve made three food orders in the past hour,” first-year Elaina Linz said. Linz is a current employee at the Four Winds who also fears turnout will decrease. “We’re starting to advertise off-campus so hopefully that will help but it won’t be anywhere close to as busy as it was [before running out of meal points].”

Colt Dodd/Catalyst

A favorite among students, the Four Winds is known for fresh coffee and a relaxing atmosphere.

This year, the Four Winds was allotted $75,000 in meal plan points, $1,000 more than last year.

When the Four Winds ran out of meal plan points two years ago, sales dropped to $180 per day. This year, sales after the announcement that meal plan points could no longer be accepted have averaged $280 per day. In 2013, by midFebruary, sales were back up to $500.

The current managers of the Four Winds, Tyler Neumann and Arielle

Bernhardt, are hopeful that sales will increase by the end of the month.

There are several changes that could potentially be made next year when the meal plan points are renewed.

Previously, the cafe has employed limits on how many meal plan points are accepted weekly. Additionally, the Four Winds and Metz plan to renegotiate the amount of meal plan points the Four Winds can accept from students.

For the time being, the Four Winds has several tactics for increasing turnout.

“We’re doing a lot of events to try to get people to realize that they can still come here,” Neumann said. “It’s about opening up that access to the Four Winds to get people back in. And I think that people will come back next week.”

The Four Winds plans to host weekly events such as open mic nights and pizza trivia. For an event titled “Flow Fridays”, Neumann will bring in props for patrons’ enjoyment. The cafe also plans on getting involved with more clubs, such as the Go Club.

Students are also free to host events at the Four Winds, and thesis students can offer vouchers to students who participate in their thesis.

Ultimately, the Four Winds plans to remain a staple on campus.

“We really try to have the New College spirit at the Four Winds,” Neumann said. “A big part of our hiring process was asking each applicant what their view on the Four Winds and what they think it provides. We really want to know what they want to bring to Four Winds, and we let the employees make it happen. [...] It’s really about bringing a community together.”

Homelessness

Giving microphones to

BY PARIESA YOUNG Despite a chilling rain, the Homelessness Marathon persevered through a 14-hour, live, outdoor broadcast that brought the voices of the homeless to airwaves across America.

Marathon founder Jeremy Alderson was homeless himself and created this unique broadcast when he had the opportunity to work at a community radio station overnight when most local stations have free airtime. According to Alderson, the first Marathon was “only” 12 hours long, and it was the first of its kind.

Today, Alderson’s original effort to “make people care” about homelessness, seems to have paid off. More than 70 subscriber stations aired the broadcast to listeners all over the country, and six hours were on Free Speech TV. For one night, journalists, experts, advocates, lawmakers, officials and – most importantly – the homeless, came together to talk about homelessness in Sarasota and around the world.

Alderson chose to come to Sarasota because “it seems like every city in Florida, in one year or another, has been named the worst city in the country. Sarasota was on that list and it was the place where we had the best affiliate – WSLR – whom we had worked with in the past.”

For the Sarasota community, the issue of homelessness has been on the forefront of local dialogue for more than a year. With a rising visible homeless population and a hired “expert” shaking up the debate, Sarasotans are in the grips of this divisive issue.

Robert Marbut of Marbut Consulting suggested the city build a nonrestrictive, “come as you are” shelter; however, he halted discussion by introducing the largely false, but compelling statistic that “93 percent

of the money given to panhandlers is spent on drugs, alcohol and prostitution.”

Since Marbut’s proposal was rejected in July of 2014, Sarasota has been stuck in a gridlock between city and county, between business owners and the visible poor. “Let’s be honest, at this point, the ‘come as you are’ shelter is the Sarasota County Jail,” Bill Spitler of the County Sheriff’s Department said.

Having visited 17 cities and immersed himself in their homelessness politics, Alderson has a unique and rather blasé demeanor – he has seen it all. “I don’t think the folks at WSLR know this, but the original concept was to do something that would get us arrested, or force the authorities to make a decision about arresting us. We were thinking we would go somewhere where feeding homeless people was illegal and feed homeless people as part of the broadcast,” Alderson said. “When I got to Sarasota, I realized it’s not that bad. I’m not planning on getting arrested – let’s put it that way.”

For Sarasota natives, especially those experiencing homelessness here, social services are still lacking. “I have a new saying. When people ask me ‘How are you?’ I say ‘I’m eating dirt’ because that’s all I’m getting in Sarasota,” homeless man Robert Trebowski said on the broadcast.

The goal of the Homelessness Marathon – particularly because it was based in Sarasota this year – is to juxtapose the often polarizing political language of homelessness with the voices of the “problem” itself – the currently, formerly or soon-to-be homeless.

WSLR opened the doors of its large courtyard, conveniently located on Kumquat Court, a street which a number of chronically homeless call home. The

(top right) Salvation Army resident James Davis told his story on the air. Davis has a chronic pain condition. (middle) The Salvation Army Mobile Kitchen served dinner and breakfast at the event. (bottom) A man prepares to propose to his partner on the air.

All photos Pariesa Young/Catalyst

Marathon:

marginalized voices event began at 7 p.m. with a hearty dinner served up by volunteers from the Salvation Army Mobile Kitchen. As programmers panicked to protect the outdoor broadcast booth from the rain, a diverse group – housed and unhoused – stayed inside to warm up around a projector and watch Alderson begin the first hour of the Marathon.

Panel discussions occurred every hour and focused on topics such as homeless children and families, tent cities and the media’s portrayal of homelessness.

A highlight of the evening, the 10 p.m. local government panel, featured Wayne Applebee, the county’s homelessness coordinator; City Commissioner Stan Zimmerman; County Commissioner Carolyn Mason; and Sheriff Spitler. They discussed the many roadblocks in the way of providing homelessness services in Sarasota.

“The Florida Legislature hasn’t made it any easier,” Spitler said. “They’re currently looking at a bill that would slash money taken from documentary stamps on real estate sales. A bunch of that money was headed toward affordable housing. It would cut that 40 percent.”

“We have to not only continue looking at government for the solution, but we need to partner ourselves with the private industry as well,” Applebee said.

Between the ideological debate and policy suggestions, Alderson welcomed some houseless people to speak up on the issues and share their experiences.

However, it was not all serious – many people stopped by to play original songs, show off their singing voices or share poetry. There was even a marriage proposal on the air.

As people inside began to lay out sleeping bags on the floor, New College students who spent their Independent

(top left) Because of the rain, most people stayed inside to watch the Marathon on a projector. (bottom left) Jeremy Alderson, Homelessness Marathon founder, is an advocate for tent cities rather than traditional, “paternalistic” shelters, which are often the only choice for the homeless.

Study Project (ISP) interviewing homeless people prepared to share their findings on a 4 a.m. panel discussion.

While they did not nab the best spot on the air, the students shared some raw, emotional recordings of homeless experiences, as well as the growth and knowledge they gained.

“January was the first time I participated in something really meaningful in terms of being invested in a community and an issue,” first-year and Catalyst staff writer Haley Jordan said. “ I didn’t know what to expect, it being my first ISP, but I could not have predicted how valuable it has been to me.”

Sharing their experiences and perspectives on the air was the perfect culmination to the ISP. “Our group getting an hour of the marathon was really the only way to end a project like that, at least end in the sense that ISP is over, I wouldn’t say it will ever end,” Jordan said. “But it felt really good to get to talk to people about what we learned from our interactions and to see some of our interviews shared with people. We had some powerful stories.

We spoke to a lot of people who had a great deal to say, and with good reason.

I hope it affected others like it affected us, because after dedicating your time to something like that, and learning what we’ve learned, you can’t help but be altered. It ruins you, but in the best way.”

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

FEATURES

PAGE 8

Westbrook, Curry, shine over NBA All Star Weekend

BY RYAN PAICE

Lately the NBA All Star Weekend has been fading in popularity, with basketball fans tired of watching a few tired competitions. Not this year. With possibly the best Three-Point Shootout group of all time, explosive young talent putting on a show in the Slam Dunk Contest, and Russell Westbrook dominating the All Star Game, the weekend was a huge success. Ratings spiked after last year’s snooze, seeing the All Star Game’s ratings increase 12 percent and a 54 percent increase for live video streams, while Saturday’s competitions saw a 10 percent rise from last year. The NBA has been incredibly competitive this year, and the All Star Weekend was a reflection of that, with its competition and intrigue on full display for the world.

The All Star Game – the main attraction of the weekend – saw records almost be set and a multitude of stars doing their best to claim the status of best in the world. James Harden – a legitimate MVP candidate – almost put together a triple-double for the West with 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, with an additional 2 steals. For the East, LeBron James re-established his superstardom after a year plagued with injuries, with 30 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds.

Despite all of the impressive play Russell Westbrook stole the show, with his 41 points breaking Michael Jordan’s record of 40 points in an All Star Game, but just missing out on passing Wilt Chamberlain’s record-high 42 points. Westbrook also finished with five rebounds, one assist, and three steals to claim the Most Valuable Player award.

“He definitely earned the acknowledgement and he definitely surprised me,” basketball fan Maria Calas said. “Russell’s career average is what, like 20-22 points? But he goes off for 41 points!” The West beat the East 163-158 on the back of Westbrooks huge night.

Continuing his meteoric rise to superstardom, MVP-candidate Stephen Curry put on a show, making what might have been the most talented group of players the Three-Point Shootout has ever seen look like amateurs. Hitting an incredible 27 three pointers in the championship round, Curry beat former “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson and last year’s winner Kyrie Irving.

“I was excited to see Klay and Curry go up against each other,” a second-year psychology AOC Evan Murphy said, who deemed the shootout the best competition of the weekend. “The ThreePoint Contest is one of those contests over the weekend where people are

actually willing to participate,” Murphy continued. “In the Three-Point Contest you’ll get the best players out there.”

The Dunk Contest, while lacking in the stardom of the Three-Point Shootout, featured explosive young athletes that put on the best show since Blake Griffin jumped over a car to a choir singing “I Believe I Can Fly” in 2011. Zach LaVine, the winner of the competition, grabbed a hold of the lead quickly with two perfect-scoring dunks.

LaVine seemed to defy gravity with his opening dunk, going between the legs to hit a reverse dunk while dressed as Michael Jordan in Space Jam. Victor Oladipo sung Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” before slamming down a 360 reverse dunk that got him his one and only perfect score of 50.

The Rising Stars Challenge had a new format this year, with first and second year players from the USA playing first and second year players from all around the world. Last year’s first overall NBA draft pick Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points to lead Team World in scoring. Rudy Gobert provided Team World with stellar lowpost play, getting 18 points to go with his 12 rebounds and three blocks to put a cherry on top of his breakout year.

Victor Oladipo and Zach LaVine – both of whom were the finalists in the Dunk contest – scored 22 points apiece for

Photo courtesy of www.logodesignlove.com

The NBA official logo.

Team USA, but ultimately the recent boost of foreign talent in the NBA saw Team World win it 121-112.

After years of the NBA All Star Weekend becoming less and less exciting, this year was a refreshing change to that trend. With Westbrook almost breaking a record that has held firm since 1962, a talent-packed Rising Stars Challenge, a Three-Point Shootout for the ages and the best Dunk Contest in four years, there is nothing to do now but sit back and enjoy some highlights.

Hydroponic gardening system now at Four Winds

BY ADILYNE MCKINLAY There is a new addition to the Four Winds that offers fresh, campus-grown produce. Standing in the back corner of the patio are two window farm towers.

These hydroponic vertical gardeners were constructed in January as part of the Permaculture Independent Study Project (ISP).

Permaculture ISP was conducted mainly on Caples Campus and utilized the student garden there in order to practice permaculture techniques. The permaculture movement, founded in the 1970s by David Holmgren and Bill Mollision, focuses on the idea of sustainable agriculture. Gardening TA and thesis student Hannah Gilbert, who taught Permaculture ISP, has been working on implementing a variety of gardening forms in the Caples garden.

Some of the projects that were built this past January demonstrate urban gardening methods. The windowfarm, built by first-years Ava Howard and Jenna Molen, is one of those projects. Urban gardening focuses on maximizing gardening space, working with available land, repurposing items that would otherwise be considered trash and planting in areas that have little or no soil. The window farm fits all of these criteria.

“Recycled water bottles are used as containers for plants and they’re watered hydroponically,” Howard said.

“They’re meant for basically an urban environment, hanging from a window or wherever it fits, and it fits pretty well most places. It’s powered by an

aquarium pump.”

Window farms are nicknamed such after the company that began developing and producing them, Windowfarms. The project became popularized through an international online community that worked to develop sustainable urban agricultural techniques. “[Gilbert] showed us a project that was started in Brooklyn,” Howard said.

“The lady who started it did a TED talk on it. Basically it seemed like a really cool design. They produced an open source set of instructions. I’m really interested in urban gardening and urban sustainability. Jenna and I just agreed that it would be a good project for us so we could expand gardening away from just Caples.”

The plants are grown mostly in clay, and an aquarium pump is set to feed a mix of water and nutrients to the plants at specific time intervals. Howard is still working on perfecting the system. She checks on the towers frequently. Soon, she believes, a sustainable system will be reached that can be spread across campus.

The window farm’s vertical, nosoil design supports indoor gardening.

This type of garden would produce fresh produce for most of the year with little time commitment: a college student’s dream.

“I think that the window farms are awesome,” thesis student and Four Winds employee Ganga Devi Braun said.

“It would be great to cover the entire window on the porch with them.”

One tower is currently growing kale, cilantro and mint. The other holds

Pariesa Young/Catalyst

The window farm towers are made out of recycled materials and attached to bamboo sticks. To conserve electricity, a single, low-wattage battery pump has been used.

arugula and garden bean seedlings.

According to Howard, making the towers is a simple process once all the supplies are acquired. There is a strong online community that frequently offers advice.

“Building it we came up with a lot of problems, which makes sense since we were building our own plumbing.

There was a lot of water all over the floor. We tweaked the design to make it fit for New College, so all of the problems that we had were basically like troubleshooting,” Howard said.

“We ended up just changing the design completely because of those issues. But overall, it was a pretty smooth process.

None of the problems were too big.”

In the future, Howard and others

are looking to spread green projects like these across campus. Pei campus is the site of serious consideration, given that it houses the majority of students and has less available room for garden plots.

“The Pei side of campus could avoid a lot of the logistical and bureaucratic issues that come with trying to make garden plots by using urban gardening techniques,” Gilbert said in an email interview. “Since the Pei side is essentially a high-density tiny ‘city’, it makes sense to incorporate those techniques, and then more food could be grown by students for students.”

Information obtained from www. windowfarms.com

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

FEATURES

PAGE 9

The new face of punk: Laura Jane Grace and Against Me! play The Ritz Ybor

BY SARA MINEO Punk subculture is multifaceted and has evolved over time. Originating as a movement of non-conformity and independent freedom, it has typically been seen as a “boy’s club” for young, white men screeching “fuck the system” into a microphone, smashing up all their instruments and then passing out drunk onstage.

The music industry has always been a male-dominated corporation, and punk allowed women to break through the mold and make some pretty rad music (see Lauraine Leblanc’s “Pretty in Punk: Girl’s Gender Resistance in a Boy’s Subculture”).

In recent years, the LGBTQ community has quickly grown and gained more recognition in mainstream culture. Therefore, it makes complete sense to use the anti-establishment forward thinking genre of punk as a vessel for LGBTQ rights. When Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! came out as a transgender woman in 2012 and released “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” the punk rock world exploded with new possibilities for the genre to inspire and expand.

Hailing from Gainesville, the band played at The Ritz Ybor last Wednesday and featured information booths from Equality Florida and ALSO Youth, two nonprofits that focus on bringing awareness, education and support for the LGBTQ community. ALSO Youth is a Sarasota-based charity that caters specifically to LGBTQIA youth ages 13 to 21 and provides a safe space for people to hang out with like-minded individuals.

“All of my friends had either dropped out, or graduated, and I was honestly pretty depressed,” Allie Iversen, a youth member of ALSO, said.

Iversen started going to ALSO during her senior year of high school. “I stayed in my room all day after I came home from school and I didn’t go out with anyone on the weekends. My mom was actually the one who took me to ALSO for the first time, she semi-forced me to go, but, looking back on it, she definitely made a good decision. I really enjoy going to ALSO because there is always someone to talk to. I never feel uptight, or that I have to hide anything when I’m there. When I came out to them as trans, the pronoun change was instant, and when I recently told them about my name change it was the same thing.”

Thesis student Sam Armbruster is an intern at ALSO and has been an Against Me! fan since 2006. Armbruster decided to contact Grace on Twitter to see if she would allow ALSO to table at the band’s upcoming show.

“A lot of the youth had a really strong connection to Laura after watching the “True Trans” series at the center so I thought that this would be a good opportunity to get the word out about ALSO and give the youth the opportunity to meet one of their idols,” Armbruster said.

Grace agreed and invited ALSO

Sara Mineo/Catalyst

Grace, lead vocalist for Against Me!, plays a show at The Ritz Ybor. She is cited as a rolemodel for many of the youths at ALSO.

and a few guests to watch the band’s sound check and hang out before the show.

“I’ve been listening to Against Me! for about two years, but I really got into them when “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” came out,” Iversen said. “Last year was one huge debate inside my head whether to come out as trans or not and that record really helped me.”

Iversen was one of the few people who got to spend time with Grace and the rest of the band before the show.

“At first, I was insanely nervous to meet Laura, but then when we all started having a normal conversation I just became starstruck,” she said. “I’ve been listening to this person’s music for the past year and she has helped me so much through my journey, and I’m actually talking to her.”

Armbruster echoed Iversen’s sentiments: “It was really awesome to meet her but also stressful since I wanted to flail around because she is amazing and inspirational, but I was the representative of ALSO so I had to keep it together,” Armbruster said.

“But it was really amazing. She is just so genuine and perfect.”

The band’s sound check was just a mere shadow to the energetic, feel-good spectacle of the show. They played songs from a variety of their six studio albums and came back on stage for an acoustic encore of “Thrash Unreal.” Stage divers pelted the stage nonstop, beer-drenched the audience and a mosh pit broke out in the center of the crowd.

“The show was incredible,” Iversen said. “Being in the mosh pit for the entire show was pretty intense, and I left with a few bruises, but it was completely worth it.”

After the show, the crowd filed in the merchandise room where ALSO had their table set up next to Equality Florida. Grace plugged both the booths during Against Me!’s set, highlighting the band’s support. Armbruster cited that a considerable amount of people

took literature and seemed interested in their cause.

“I think tabling went really well,” Armbruster said. “It is always really hard because you can’t force people to talk to you. A lot of our conversations were really encouraging because most of them were with people who wouldn’t normally stop at these tables.

The LGBTQIA community seemed encouraged and happy seeing this kind of representation and that Laura was so willing to have people to table at her show.”

Overall, the show represented how the LGBT is making a breakthrough in mainstream culture and brought

awareness to important causes.

“As excited as I was to meet Laura, I was more excited to introduce the youth to Laura and the rest of the band,” Armbruster reflected. “It was also really nice to see Laura using her position as a famous trans person, not only to share other peoples’ stories but also to interact with her fans in such a genuine way. At one point, she said something about how she doesn’t just do it to support her fans but that she also she gets support out of it too.

It emphasized the importance of the trans community.”

Sara Mineo/Catalyst

Iversen and Armbruster stand behind the ALSO table at the concert. They talked to people about their cause and gave out flyers and wristbands.

CATALYST

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

Wall previews

PAGE 10

How to change your name in Sarasota

BY COLT DODD

BY GIULIA HEYWARD So Kawaii - Kana Hummel and Marina Garcia The “So Kawaii” wall is expected to be playful and filled with references to anime culture.

“Kawaii means ‘cute’ in Japanese and alludes to this anime fan culture,” thesis student Marina Garcia said. “So we’re going to project anime on the wall and play fun j-pop, j-electro, along with some hip hop.”

Garcia and co-host, Kana Hummel, plan to have snow cones and “J-Popsicles” as treats to wall goers.

“We both wanted to take the chance to collaborate on new and old j pop and anime out there, and to expose New College to it in a fun way,” Garcia said. “People seem to think it’s an exciting and different Wall, so everyone should come out!”

Fuckboi Wall - Dov Brenner and Nic Webley Fuckboi Wall, co-hosted by Dov Brenner and Nicolas Webley was inspired by the term “fuckboi” that the two popularized on campus.

“Dov and I decided the characteristics of a fuckboi needed to be addressed. People then started to follow in our footsteps and call one another fuckbois,” Webley said. “Thus leading to us naming our wall, Fuckboi Wall.”

Wall-goers are encouraged to arrive dressed as fuckbois. The duo has planned several games including matching famous quotes to the person who said it, and pin the snapback on the fuckboi.

Colt Dodd/Catalyst

While changing one’s name may be a lengthy process, it can be made easier with these steps.

EVENTS: FEB 25-MARCH 4

2/25

Michelangelo and DaVinci Exhibit Bradenton Auditorium 10 a.m.

Summer Program Info Session Ham Center 12 p.m.

Dr. Kortney Ryan Zieglek Talk Sainer Pavilion 6 p.m.

2/26

Librarians Who Lunch Four Winds 12 p.m.

Work In Progress: New Performance BBT 4:30 p.m.

2/27

2/28

Daughters For Life Gala Luncheon Michael’s on East 11:30 a.m.

The Beautiful Color of Freedom MLK Jr. Park 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Curb Appeal Art Show Two Columns Gallery 6 p.m.

Black Art Performance Series Four Winds 8 p.m.

MCAT Prep Class CEO 12 p.m.

So Kawaii Wall Palm Court 10 p.m.

3/1

Sail Future HCL 5 1 p.m.

CSA Meeting HCL 6 3 p.m.

3/2

Downside, Upsidedown Art Exhibit Fogartyville Event Center All day

3/3

Meet the Poet Four Winds 6 p.m.

Russian Ballet Van Wezel 8 p.m.

Open Mic Growlers 9 p.m.

3/4

American Pie Florida Studio Theatre 2 p.m.

Figure Painting Ringling 6:30 p.m.

Want your event to be featured on our calendar? Email ncfcatalyst@gmail.com by the Friday prior to your event.

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

JUMPS PAGE 11

Bathrooms

Elections

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“It’s not that the transgender or the gender identity community is dangerous by any means, but [the ordinance] creates a giant loophole for criminals and sexual predators to walk into a shower, a woman’s locker room under the cover of law,” Artiles told the Miami Herald. “I don’t know about you, but I find that disturbing.”

Gender studies representative Sam Armbruster explained how the proposed law “codifies transphobia.”

“You look at the statistic for violence which this politician says is the basis for this bill being proposed and trans people are the people that are most likely to be the survivors of the same kind of violence that they think trans people perpetrate,” Armbruster said.

“A really awful thing about this bill is that it precludes any antidiscrimination ordinances specific to counties, cities, anything like that and makes it state law that single sex public facilities can only be utilized by people based on the sex they were assigned at birth … It’s also really scary to me because this isn’t the first bill of its kind to be proposed in six months.”

A similar bill that would prevent transgender students from using their bathroom of choice passed through the Senate Education Committee in Kentucky. “[The Florida bill is] really awful and this disproportionally affects trans women and trans people of color that are already targets of violence,” Armbruster said. “It plays upon the notion that trans women and trans feminine people are ‘men in dresses’ who are trying to trick, injure and be really devious toward cis people which is not true. “Silence of the Lambs” is not what trans people are like.”

Day remarked that if the bill should be passed, she would not worry too much about her experience using the restrooms at New College because of the level of enforcement.

“I’ve been worried about it even with it not being a law in Florida, like if I see a cop that’s giving me a weird look when I’m going to the bathroom, I’m not going to use it, I’ll go someplace else,” Day said.

“I remember the first time I was out [as trans] publicly I went to a mall and I had mentioned to some friends off hand that I was going to pop into the bathroom really quick. The issues didn’t occur to me and so I was just walking to the bathroom and I realized that a cop was following me. Then the cop just stood in front of the door to the women’s restroom, blocking me from going to the bathroom. It’s certainly something I’ve seen personally.”

“I’m hoping [the bill] dies in committee, but it seems like there is some kind of support for it,” Armbruster said. “If it passes, it would go into effect July 5, which is really soon.”

Information for this article was taken from the Miami Herald and the Huffington Post.

research facilities so that we can retain all students once they graduate.” http://www.lizalpertforsarasota.com David Morgan David Morgan is a native Floridian and the current Chairman of the Sarasota Housing Authority. Morgan has professional experience providing training, policy creation and consulting services on affordable housing and housing and urban development (HUD) programs and has helped create policies for public housing across the country. Morgan serves on the board of both the Arlington Park Neighborhood Association and the Florida Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.

If elected city commissioner Morgan hopes to address homelessness in the community by “supporting programs with proven track records,” partner with the city to become more competitive for federal grants, and tackle the lack of affordable housing in the area – an issue he is particularly passionate about due to his work with the Sarasota Housing Authority.

When asked how New College students would benefit from his election Morgan said, “One of the things I find that we always talk about is how to keep our young professionals here in Sarasota, and I think the most important thing we can do is bring affordable housing to the area and jobs for recent graduates.” http://www.votedavesrq.com Eileen Normile Eileen Normile worked as a criminal prosecutor as head of the Domestic Violence Unit at the Union County Prosecutors Office in Elizabeth, New Jersey before retiring and moving to Sarasota in 2008. Normile has since served on the board and as president of the Bird Key Homeowners’ Association. She was also a member of the city’s Police Advisory Panel and became the panel’s chair in 2014.

Normile’s website says that she hopes to create “a meaningful quality of life for all residents; an environment that allows our arts, business and culture to survive; responsible collaborative decisionmaking; and sound financial stewardship.”

Normile has told the Sarasota Herald Tribune that she plans to look at the “legal options” in managing the problems of chronically homeless population downtown.

Eileen Normile could not be reached for comment. http://electeileen.com

ISIS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 “The government doesn’t have control of the country, it doesn’t have control of the borders ... What you would really want to do to combat ISIS is to have functional governments that address the issues that are of concern to recruits, most of the people requited for terrorist organizations ... a lot of the time are the youth who don’t have prospects, who look at stagnant economies, corrupt and brutal regimes, and then look for alternative sources of political inspiration and mobilization.

On the long term level you need to change how governments govern, and that doesn’t solve an immediate crisis.”

The killings in conjunction with the said plans to “conquer Rome,” show the possibility of a subsidiary group of ISIS existing less than 500 miles from the Southern tip of Italy. Along with these concerning developments, there is much controversy over the implications of religion-based targeting.

“This is a genocidal movement,” Charles Krauthammer of Fox News said.

“That’s what we’re up against and we have an administration that will not even admit that there’s a religious basis underlying what’s going on,” Krauthammer stated. Krauthammer

and others have been criticizing the White House for referring the hostages “Egyptian Citizens” instead of Coptic Christians. Regardless, there is reason for the president to resist calling the killings Islamic supremacy, in that it could contribute to anti-Western ideology.

“I totally understand the reason the president isn’t flat out naming Islam,” commented first-year Mason Smith. “In ISIS’ areas of control one of their propaganda methods is they say that the West is waging a war on Islam and saying ‘you should join ISIS because this war on Islam is going on,’ and so that’s the reason he’s not flat out saying it is an Islamic thing.” Smith noted that ISIS is a radical sect and does not represent Islam as a whole, adding that the Islamic State’s victims span many other groups and religions.

“And as a Christian myself, martyrdom in Christianity has had a long history, Jesus Christ was the first martyr, and I pray for the Christians and all the people who are coming under attack by ISIS,” Smith said.

Information for this article was taken from nytimes.com, washington. cbslocal.com, bbc.com, nationalreview. com.

Mote CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 devices like toys, hoops, polls etc.,” she explained.

The three types of behavior for which Moonshine was trained during his daily and voluntary sessions included husbandry, or care, behaviors as well as physically and mentally stimulating behaviors.

“The most important behaviors we trained Moonshine in were husbandry behaviors,” Pedonti said. “These are behaviors that we want the animals to become accustomed to because they are the behaviors that we would ask for during medical procedures. We want him to be comfortable so we can proceed with medical care with as little stress as possible.”

“Another was physically stimulating behaviors,” Pedonti said.

The team of trainers encouraged Moonshine to do certain activities that

his species would be expected to do in the wild. “We asked him for behaviors such as fast swims and leaps, jumps,” she said.

“We also train him for mentally stimulating behaviors, Pedonti said.

Dolphins are intelligent and complex animals that interact with their natural environment on many levels.

“We would ask him to do certain tasks such as engage in something that we call ‘match to sample task’ in which we would show him an object and then we would ask him to pick out the object that he saw from an array of other objects.”

Many of Moonshine’s characteristics stood out to Pedonti during their time together, he was much smaller than the local bottle-nosed dolphins and exhibited enthusiastic and amusing behaviors. “He had his own kind of personality,” Pedonti said.

Don’t forget to vote!

NCSA Special Election Thursday, Feb. 26 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Hamilton Center

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

Palm Court Party takes over New College

BY SYDNEY KRULJAC At 6 o’clock on Saturday, there was a calm before a storm. An onlooker might not have known students were resting as they prepared for a long night of Choose Your Own Adventure Palm Court Party (PCP). The event featured a combination of three other PCP theme candidates: Sailor Moon, Tron and Garden of Earthly Delights.

Throughout the night, familiar and foreign faces were seen in Palm Court, the Old Mail Room, the Nook and the Black Box Theater (BBT) as they flooded New College of Florida’s campus seeking adventure and excitement.

“I appreciated how all the separate themes were able to come together in one cohesive party,” thesis student Aric Smith said. “Personally, I enjoyed hanging out and dancing to my friends’ sets in the Nook and the BBT.” From pictures posted on social media outlets to the grinning faces of every individual during PCP, it is clear that Choose Your Own Adventure turned out to be a successful night of friends, music and dancing that will be hard to forget.

“Hopefully whoever ends up hosting the next PCP will be able to do as good of a job as the host of Choose Your Own Adventure,” Smith concluded, in accordance with the expectations of the student body.

(headline) A T-Rex made by thesis student Grayton Cloos is a favorite PCP decoration. (top)Students gather around a live performance in the Old Mail Room. (middle) A live performance takes place in the Old Mail Room. (bottom) Students gather in the Nook, decorated in the the style of the Garden of Earthly Delights. all photos Sydney Kruljac/Catalyst

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