Issue 8, Spring 2015

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CATALYST

WALL PREVIEWS

FIGHT FOR $15 pg.

pg.

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APRIL 15, 2015 VOLUME XXXVIV, ISSUE VIII

A student newspaper of New College of Florida

WHAT’S New room selection process receives mixed reviews INSIDE

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BY GIULIA HEYWARD

SCIENCE MILESTONES

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OC T DS LL O O A W W

12 SARASOTA BOOKSTORES

With the semester winding down, students are preparing to tackle finals before the summer break. However, there is one other obstacle that they must face: room selection for the following school year. This is a task that has proved to be challenging considering the new changes that have been made to the room selection process.

“It’s drastically different from my first year,” third-year and Residential Life Representative Taylor Toro, said.

“We had room draw. That meant that a representative from the room that you Pariesa Young/Catalyst were planning to room with had to wait Starting next school year, ever letter dorm except Z will be an LLC. in line to show interest. Basically, it was first come, first serve the day that the would be open for another group to were really great. I was able to go dorm was selected.” pick. around to each student and make sure One of the major changes to the In preparation for room selection, that they knew what was happening, room selection last year was the new Housing organized several information what day they were going, and whether website, Simple Campus Housing. sessions, including an ice cream social. or not they were able to get into Simple This website allowed students to The goal of these sessions was to make Campus Housing, who they were living select a room online. The time in sure that students knew what to expect with, and where they were living.” which students were allowed to pick a when room selection occurred.

However, the amount of room on the website was based on the “For each session, it turned out information available did not mean that number of contracts. Once a room had really well,” Campus Life Coordinator for every student got the housing situation been selected, roommates would have Residence Life and Housing Operations that they had wanted. “I’m pretty happy several hours to accept the request. If Meghan Walde, said. “The ice cream with the outcome, but the buildup to all roommates failed to accept after a social was the biggest hit where we had certain amount of time, then the room up to eighty [students]. The students continued on p. 11

Survey results prompt Metz changes

BY KATELYN GRIMMETT In its second semester at New College, Metz Culinary Management has finally settled in as the school’s food service provider and begun to coordinate with the students to create a more satisfactory dining experience.

This past February, Metz sent out a survey asking students for their opinions and recommendations for various aspects of the dining service.

The results have come in and Metz has already made some improvements to accommodate them.

“We got about 200 responses to the survey which was pretty good for a school of this size, but I would love to see our responses go up,” Bill Moore, Metz general manager, said. “I want to know the good and the bad because it helps chef and myself decide where we’re going and how.”

The survey was constructed with questions and polls presenting levels of success for the different aspects of the service and offered students a chance to rate certain experiences such as the convenience store and Bravo bar as

image courtesy of Metz

Metz received the most excellent ratings for its staff ’s friendliness of service.

excellent, good, fair or poor.

“The way the survey read was it started with the question of how often do you eat in Ham and 70 percent replied ‘always to often,’ 30 percent ‘occasionally’ and one student replied ‘never,’” Moore explained. “Now that we’ve fully settled in, Metz will be

putting out these surveys twice a year.”

The availability of gluten-free options at the dining hall received the lowest results with 43.22 percent of the survey takers rating it “fair,” showing that almost half of the students expected more gluten-free meals. The vegan and vegetarian options were next

to lowest in ratings, with 39.34 percent of the students ranking it as “fair” and 21.33 percent as “poor.”

Metz has made an effort to improve these ratings by implementing changes such as adding beans to the salad bar as a protein supplement for vegans and vegetarians and guacamole and hummus for the bagels as a nondairy option. The convenience store has received various gluten-free options such as Annie’s mac-n-cheese, glutenfree cookies and crackers and Luna Bars.

Metz even met with some of the vegan students at the school to hear some of their personal recipes such as Asian stir fry with rice noodles and ginger peanut sauce.

“The results of the survey are contributing to expanded options for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free eaters,” Shoshanna Lovett-Graff, food service representative, said. “Hopefully they also increased awareness of students with allergens so cross contamination can be better avoided,”

continued on p. 11

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BRIEFS

PAGE 2

briefs by Ryan Paice

Sarah Thomas becomes first female NFL referee Sarah Thomas, fresh off the heels of becoming the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s first female official to referee in a major collegiate bowl game, has now become the first female referee in the history of the NFL. Thomas began as a high school football referee in 1999 and has worked her way through the ranks ever since.

“I think that she is an inspiration to those girls out there whose dreams are to be treated equally,” first-year Connie J. Miranda said. “But I also believe this is not only about gender or race equality, but about chasing your dreams … Ms. Thomas never gave up on her dreams and she is now part of history.”

Some question whether the league might be making this move in an effort to soothe the public relations catastrophe the NFL has suffered over the past year. In 2015 alone there have already been three NFL players arrested for domestic violence, after Ray Rice, Greg Hardy and Adrian Peterson made headlines for domestic violence charges in 2014.

“I don’t see the NFL hiring someone just because they have to,” Miranda said. “What I see is the NFL hiring someone who is a qualified professional capable of fulfilling her duties as a referee.”

Information from this article was taken from nfl.com

NCF to fix crest and add Latin diploma New College of Florida will be instating a fully Latin diploma, and will be fixing the grammatical error in the Latin on the school’s crest. No longer will the Latin in the crest read “NOVUM COLLEGIUM FLORIDAE,” instead being changed to the grammatically accurate, “NOVUM COLLEGIUM FLORIDENSE.” “In Latin, the ending -ae on the word Floridae is similar to the English preposition ‘of,’” Associate Professor of Classics David Rohrbacher said.

“Latin does not use “of” to express the relationship between ‘New College’ and ‘Florida,’ but rather uses an adjective.”

“So, for example, you wouldn’t say the equivalent of ‘the mayor of Sarasota’ in Latin, you’d say, ‘the Sarasotan mayor,’” Rohrbacher continued. “The new language literally says ‘Floridian

New College.’”

“I assumed the new language would be on this year’s diploma,” Associate Professor of History Carrie Beneš said.

“But I don’t know if that is the case.”

Regarding the implementation of the new NCF crest, Beneš expected an “incremental rollout,” and noted that the discovery of the creation of the crest’s text was the straw that broke the camel’s back in regards to Rohrbacher involving himself in fixing it.

“They found a bunch of stuff in the library about how I.M. Pei’s architecture firm created the logo with somebody’s crappy high school Latin,” Beneš said.

“It wasn’t officially commissioned by people who actually knew Latin – it was just some guy in the architecture office who came up with it.”

Lack of public support might make Boston withdraw from 2024 Olympic bid Boston, Massachusetts was originally a finalist to be the host city of the 2024 Olympic Summer Games, but the lack of public support might end the city’s contention outright. The people of Boston have been worried about what bringing the Olympics to the city might cost them, and public support has dropped from 51 percent in January to an underwhelming 36 percent – according to a poll from Boston’s WBUR radio station.

The 2024 Olympic Summer Games would reportedly bring billions of dollars into the Massachusetts economy along with 4,000 construction jobs by the year to complete the site for the games.

However, these findings also heavily depend on how well the organizers use their private-funding plan, control their costs and stay out of taxpayer’s money.

The lack of public support has called for the use of a statewide referendum in November of 2016,

“Cash rules everything around me.” © 2015, the Catalyst. All rights reserved.

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

which leaves the Olympic bid for the 2024 Summer Games up in the air. The International Olympic Committee will make the decision on which city will be host for the games in 2017. Currently, the decision rests between the four finalists: Boston, Rome, Paris and Hamburg.

“Boston hosting the Olympics is just be a bad idea, and I think Bostonians know that,” first-year Andover, Massachusetts resident Max Jodoin said. “It costs a lot of money, and the city is just not structured to handle that big of an event.”

While Boston was originally the favorite among the four, the public opposition to the games might extinguish the hopes of the U.S. hosting the games in the summer of 2024.

California going through record drought California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared a drought State of Emergency in January, as the drought in California enters its fourth devastating year. By the end of March, Governor Brown had signed emergency legislation that opens up $1 billion for drought relief and critical water infrastructure projects.

The Emergency Drought Package will provide funding for emergency food aid, drinking water, water recycling, conservation awareness, infrastructure and flood protection funding.

Everything that can be done to save water is being done: restaurants have been asked to only serve water upon request, and hotels now have to ask multiplenight guests whether or not they need their towels and linens washed. Governor Brown has asked upon all Californians to prevent water waste by reducing their water use by 20 percent.

In addition to Governor Brown’s work to counter the record drought, the California Energy Commission has approved new standards for water, using appliances that will save more than 10 billion gallons of water after only a year.

The state is pulling out all the stops to try to better conserve water and alter their water-using ways for the future. Entering the fourth year of the drought, there still does not seem to be a clear end in sight, but all that can be done is getting done.

Information in article taken from ca.gov

Information from this article was taken from sltrib.com and bostonglobe.com

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

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

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

Terrorist group strikes at Garissa University College in Kenya

BY SYDNEY KRULJAC On Thursday, April 2, members linked to the Al-Qaeda group, alShabaab, killed 147 students, and left 70 others injured or hospitalized. Four masked gunmen marched into Garissa University College in Kenya demanding to know if the students were Christian or Muslim. Many Christians were shot immediately. Chaos ensued as students and faculty fled in every direction.

According to CBS, the president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, was said to have sent in security forces in an attempt to get rid of the al-Shabaab gunmen. By the time the security arrived, a 13-hour shootout began between the military and al-Shabaab forces. One student from the University recollected hiding under her bed for 13 hours as she listened to the gunmen shoot students who could not recite passages from the Quran.

The gunmen appeared to be laughing and taunting the students as the killing rampage continued. A second-year teaching student, Amuna Geoffreys, said he was at a Christian prayer meeting when the attack began.

He quickly got up to hide in a bush, but listened as he heard the gunmen threatening his classmates. As he lay motionless and fearing for his and his classmates’ lives, he could hear the gunmen instruct the students to call

photo courtesy of Carl De Souza/Getty Images

Women mourn after the shootings took place in Garissa, Kenya.

their parents and explain to them why they were going to die. The blame for this attack was placed on Kenyatta for sending Kenyan troops to Somalia to fight the Shabaab.

“After they called their parents, they were shot, and then silence,” Geoffreys told AFP. In 2011, Kenya declared war on a Somali Islamist group to combat the al-Shabaab, which they had blamed for multiple kidnappings inside the Kenyan territory. In response, al-

Shabaab initiated a holy war between Christianity and Islam.

On Sunday, April 5, one of the gunmen was identified as the son of a Kenyan government chief. The chief reported his son missing last year and feared he had run away to Somalia, according to spokesperson Mwenda Njoka. News of the Kenyan gunmen highlights problems faced by the government in fighting and preventing terrorist attacks. Threat of attack comes not only from Somalia, but also within

Kenya.

Kenyans make up a majority of alShabaab’s foreign fighters. Hundreds of Kenyan youth have trained with the terrorist group. This poses severe breaches in security, such as pursuing terrorist acts in towns where they might have local connections. Another aspect of the country’s instability are refugee camps with more than 423,000 Somalis.

On Saturday, April 12, Kenya gave the United Nations three months to shut down the Somali refugee camps before they are relocated by the Kenyan government. It is believed that the camps have become recruitment centers for the al-Shabaab.

“The way America changed after 9/11 is the way Kenya will change after Garissa,” Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto said, according to U.S. News.

Meanwhile, Kenyans are concerned with how the security response was dealt with during the Garissa attack. The police waited a total of seven hours before sending in a special unit to combat the gunmen.

Once the special unit arrived, it only took 30 minuets for them to kill the four gunmen and stop the siege.

One survivor said security issues

continued on p. 11

Fight for $15: Demonstrations in 200-city walkout

BY KAYLIE STOKES Today, April 15, around 20 New College students will carpool to Tampa to stand in solidarity with low-wage workers fighting for a living wage.

The Tampa demonstration, which was organized by the Florida branch of the Fight for 15 campaign, is one in a 200city walkout as part of a national day of action.

Demonstrators are calling for a $15 minimum wage and the right to unionize for all low-wage workers.

The date for the protests was chosen because the numerical representation of April 15 sounds like 'for fifteen.'

The Fight for 15 organization began in November 2012 with 200 workers in New York City and has since expanded its efforts globally with action in more than 33 countries.

Though most of the organization’s efforts focus on fast food workers, its website says, "We are fast food cashiers and cooks, retail employees, child care workers, adjunct professors, home care providers, and airport workers."

Due in large part to the efforts of the organization, Seattle and San Francisco have both passed laws raising wages to $15 an hour, but according to the organization the fight is just beginning.

"The minimum wage has not kept up with the cost of living, and many working families in the fast food and

other industries live below the poverty line," transfer student Stetson Cooper said. "Workers also often have to deal with safety hazards, wage theft and union-busting employers. We cannot allow employers to treat their employees like this, especially when CEO pay is at an all-time high and corporate tax evasion runs rampant."

The McDonald's corporation has been a particular target of Fight for 15. In response to the recent national conversations ignited over the minimum wage, earlier this month McDonald's announced that it would raise the starting salary of employees to one dollar above the mandated minimum wage beginning in July.

This action would raise the average McDonald's employee's wages to $9.90 an hour, though even with the raise many employees would still be making fewer than nine dollars an hour.

McDonald's announcement only affects company employees, not franchise employees. This means only 10 percent of McDonald's employees – roughly 90,000 – would receive a wage increase.

Walmart, another regular target of living wage protesters, similarly raised its employees’ wages to at least $9 an hour. This increase went into effect at the beginning of April and will raise again to $10 next February.

Walmart's raises will benefit more than half a million employees – 456 percent more employees than are covered by

Kaylie Stokes/Catalyst

Stickers put up around campus by Students Targeting Oppressive Powers (STOP) encouraging people to attend the demonstrations.

McDonald's announcement.

While some critics warn that increased prices and a faltering economy will follow a minimum wage increase, many economists believe that increasing the minimum wage would greatly benefit the U.S. economy by strengthening the middle class and their purchasing power.

If the Fight for 15 campaign proves successful, they could save U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars. According to a recent study conducted by the University of California Berkeley, poverty wages are essentially subsidized by the U.S. government at a price tag of $153 billion. This is because when employees are not paid a living wage

they are forced to rely on government programs such as food stamps and Medicaid.

"I think the Fight for $15 campaign is important because the minimum wage has not been increased in relation to the high cost of living in the United States,” first-year Ijeoma Uzoukwu said.

“The Fight for $15 campaign shows that poverty is not a choice, that poverty is in fact a form of violence – that it is unacceptable and must be changed.

More importantly, it's a worker-led movement full of people who are dedicated to holding these billion-dollar corporations accountable because it is really their livelihoods that are on the line."

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NEWS PAGE 4

The road to a new beginning: United States and Cuba meet at Summit of the Americas

BY SYDNEY KRULJAC After Fidel Castro came into power and nationalized more than $1 billion in American assets, the U.S. began enforcing sanctions against Cuba.

Diplomatic relations were cut in 1961 as Cuba signed a trade agreement with the Soviet Union in the midst of the Cold War, freezing any civil relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. On April 11, 2015, nearly 50 years since the embargo was initially placed, President Obama and Cuba’s president, Raul Castro, shook hands at what Obama believes to be a “new beginning” in the bilateral relationship with Cuba.

At the beginning of the meeting, Obama said more Americans will be able to travel to Cuba, which in turn will provide an opportunity for investments, trade and cultural exchange. One of the biggest concerns regarding Cuba is the economic embargo on the Castrocommanded island. On Saturday, Obama said he would encourage the United States Congress to start working on the removal of the economic blockade.

Additionally, Obama challenged Latin American leaders to work toward an emphasis on human rights and democracy as he begins to mend decades of loose ties and poor relations with Cuba.

“I believe our governments together have an obligation to uphold

photo courtesy of Maria Patricia Leiva/Organization of American States via flickr.com

The Summit of the Americas in Panama.

the universal freedoms and rights of all our citizens,” Obama said in a speech.

“The voices of our citizens must be heard.”

However, the attention seemed to be more centralized on Castro when a planned six-minute speech turned into a 50-minute address lecturing leaders on the Cuban Revolution and expanding on a 50 years worth list of grievances. Despite Castro’s tangent, he did mention his trust in Obama as well as his respect toward him for wanting to reconcile with Cuba.

Caitlyn Talks Science 2015 anniversaries of science milestones

BY CAITLYN RALPH Since most occurred over the span of years, it is difficult to pin down one specific day for some of history’s most pressing scientific achievements.

However, through some generalizing and fine-tuning, many advancements have managed to nab a single date for their emergence into the scientific world. This week’s science column takes a look at some prominent anniversaries of scientific milestones that are happening in 2015.

The longest jump back in time goes to Alhazen’s “Book of Optics.”

The year 2015 marks the 1,000th anniversary of the treatise that became important in medieval Europe and later among Greek philosophers.

Arguably the most influential, this year is also the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Propelling “Einstein” to be synonymous with the term “genius” worldwide, the theory basically discussed much of the universe’s beginning and evolution, including concepts like gravity and black holes.

Important inventions are also being celebrated this year. Fifty years ago, Stephanie Kwolek invented

Kevlar, an incredibly strong fabric structure used in bulletproof vests.

And 250 years ago, James Watt thought up an improved version of the steam engine that used a condenser, which was basically a crucial instigator of the Industrial Revolution. Continuing with science in commercial industry, amplitude modulation, which helped radio become a key component of mass media, was discovered 100 years ago this year.

In 1865, James Clerk Maxwell laid the foundation for conducting theoretical physics through his work with electromagnetism that helped apply electricity to the demands of society. Also in 1865, August Kekulé realized that the benzene molecule had a ring shape after a dream of a snake biting its tail, and Gregor Mendel presented his monumental work on genetics. Lastly, a happy 200th birthday to George Boole, who essentially made computers a reality through his logic with 1s and 0s and true and false.

Read the full article at www. sciencenews.org.

“In my opinion, President Obama is an honest man,” Castro said through an interpreter. “I admire him, and I think his behavior has a lot to do with his humble background.”

The meeting on Saturday is not being documented as an official bilateral session, however, administrations on both sides are still describing the meeting as the highestlevel interaction with the Cuban government since then Vice-President Richard Nixon met with Fidel Castro in 1959.

Historically, Congress’s response to ending the embargo has never been a particularly positive one, and this time is no different. U.S. lawmakers are irritated with the idea of opening access and trade to what they believe is a corrupt government. Contrarily, Latin America welcomed Obama with open arms after announcing his plans to open an embassy in Havana as well as remove the economic barriers between the two countries.

After much applause during a session on Friday, Obama noted that this was the first summit with Cuba present.

But even after much excitement, the years of disagreement between the two countries were still apparent. Cuban government supporters viciously attacked protestors of the Castro regime, an action the United States government noted as unacceptable.

“As we move toward the process of normalization, we’ll have our differences, government to government, with Cuba on many issues – just as we differ at times with other nations within the Americas, just as we differ with our closest allies,” Obama said at a meeting with civil society members on Friday.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Information for this article was taken from cnn.com, en.mercopress.com, bbc.com.

Iran nuclear deal to be negotiated by June 30

BY PARIESA YOUNG After eight days of deliberation in Switzerland, on April 2, Iran and six other world powers emerged with the bones of a framework for the stifling of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program. The plan will effectively dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure over the span of 15 years.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei agreed to the plan on the condition that all sanctions against Iran be lifted the day the deal is signed. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry insists that the sanctions will be dropped in phases.

While the plan has faced much criticism, President Obama has supported it, saying that he will sign a document which closes all Iranian paths to a nuclear weapon. At the Summit of the Americas, Obama criticized opponents of the deal, pointing at the 47 Republicans in Congress who sent a letter to Iran undermining a nuclear agreement.

In 2013, Iran’s oil minister cited that oil sanctions cost the country between $4 and $8 billion a month.

Iran’s currency, the rial, lost two-thirds of its value against the US dollar, and inflation rose to more than 40 percent.

Prices of food, basic items and fuel have risen significantly, affecting the daily

lives of many Iranians.

UN sanctions on Iran include a ban on the supply of weaponry and nuclear technology, a block on arms exports and an asset freeze on key individuals and companies. The European Union (EU) has imposed further sanctions which include a ban on transactions with Iranian financial institutions and a ban on the purchase of Iranian oil by the EU, which previously accounted for 20 percent of Iran’s oil exports. The US has sanctioned nearly all trade with Iran since the 1979 Tehran hostage crisis.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Iranian president Hassan Rouhani persuaded Khamenei to reach an understanding with the West in order to save Iran from economic collapse.

The nuclear deal will ensure that Iran’s nuclear facilities may only be used for “peaceful” purposes by placing restrictions on nuclear materials production. If the deal is broken, it would take Iran at least a year to produce the necessary nuclear material to create a weapon. No nuclear facilities will be built in Iran under the deal, and current facilities would be redesigned or converted.

Information for this article was taken from bbc.com, nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com.

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NEWS PAGE 5

Revitalized summer program offers benefits to students

BY COLT DODD After less than impressive results from the pilot 2014 summer program, this year’s summer program appears to be promising. Only 15 students signed up last year, and only two courses were offered. This year, there are already 23 students enrolled with 15 courses from which to choose. At press time, the most coveted class included Coral Reef Ecology with 9 students and various psychology courses with around 3.

A September 2013 issue of the Catalyst reported that the net revenue for the first pilot of the summer program was $6,073 and featured what was referred to as “less than promising enrollment figures.” Provost Stephen Miles told the Catalyst that the program would have perhaps been more successful if it had been planned earlier.

“As of now, we're calling it a pilot program because we don't know whether or not the program will be affordable

for the college,” Professor of Sociology and summer program coordinator Sarah Hernandez said. “We think that if it’s something that becomes affordable, then it might become an established summer program. This is the second time we're doing it. The first time [the program] came rather late in the academic semester. It was very quickly put together and didn't work out as well as we had hoped. This time around, the provost decided to put more support into the program and have one central person to coordinate all the work for the program.”

Hernandez noted that there are many benefits for students who choose to participate in the summer program.

Some of these include graduating a semester early, fulfilling requirements not offered during the fall and spring semester, and having a lighter class load during the eventual thesis process.

“It has a lot of potential from the student perspective in a variety of ways,” Hernandez added. “I've noticed

students in certain fields that have to take a very rigid program to be able to fulfill all their requirements for their AOC and because of their scheduling, there are some programs that they would really like to take that they have not been able to take, and having some of those being offered in the summer, it allows people to pursue their interests in the liberal arts vision.”

One of the changes that will be implemented this time around will be the ability for students to live in the dorms. A survey conducted earlier this year revealed that students wanted access to the dorms over the summer.

Originally, because of it being the most affordable housing option, Hernandez suggested that students in the summer program live in B Dorm, but because of the roof work that B Dorm will be needing over the summer, students will instead be allowed to live in Dort at the B Dorm rate.

At press time, Hernandez did not know what the summer program would

cost the college. “It is expensive because you're talking about my additional income over the regular work that I do and it’s also the additional expenses of the time that the staff is putting into it,” Hernandez said. “The additional costs have been my salary and the advertising costs. The other has been an additional demand of work for the staff, admissions, the registrar's office, and student affairs, so that's what's kind of bringing up [the cost].”

Students who are interested in taking part in the summer program are encouraged to register by April 30 and pay tuition and fees by May 4.

“If we're able to keep it going for another year or two, we might be able to generate interest,” Hernandez said.

“It's like a new product. The more people hear about it and the more people try it, the more people start buying the product. I see it in the same way. I'm very excited.”

Sarasota Mosquito Control has a pest solution that bites back

BY HALEY JORDAN Sarasota has discovered a new and innovative solution to an enduring problem: mosquitos. Instead of using pesticides, which are usually very harmful for the environment and human health, scientists are using sonic sound to destroy insect larvae and breeding mosquito fish to eat the grown insects. Sarasota Mosquito Control will be the first aquaculture facility in the state to breed mosquito fish.

“It’s a self-sustained type of mosquito control that we don’t have to go back and revisit with chemicals,” Eesa Ali, environmental biologist with Sarasota Mosquito Control, said in an interview with Channel 10 News.

If pesticides are eliminated or even reduced it would undoubtedly benefit the surrounding environment as well as human health. Some pesticides can leach through soil and penetrate groundwater sources below. Half of the United States relies on groundwater for drinking, and almost 95 percent of households in rural areas use groundwater as their primary drinking source.

Each pesticide product has inherent risks associated with it, although they vary upon the particular chemical and use. Acute poisoning as well as long-term exposure to pesticides can result in death. Pesticides can also be the cause of natural resource degradation due to runoff into streams or groundwater sources. They can inadvertently harm wildlife including birds, fish and plants. Mistakes in the handling, storing, mixing and loading can also cause unintended contamination.

The specific risk associated with a given

photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Sarasota County is now breeding its own natural pest control to release into the wild in order to reduce pesticide use and overall pest control costs.

pesticide or pesticide product depends on the toxicity of the compound and the probability of exposure.

“The risks of pesticide use in the environment depends on the persistence of the main players in the chemical cocktail,” aquatic biology and environmental science teacher at Castle View High School Jennifer Dallam commented. Along with teaching high schoolers for the past 19 years, Dallman is a Douglas County EMVIP 3.0 Sustainability Committee Faculty Lead (Energy Management Program) and Douglas County Water Resource Authority Supervisor. Dallman notes that pesticides can persist for varying amounts of time. “For example, Atrazine, a herbicide, lasts up to 220

days in wetland soils, while DDT lasts up to 30 years. If the pesticide persists and can move horizontally in surface or alluvial water or infiltrate ground water supplies, it has the potential to harm humans.”

Previously, technicians trapped the Gambusia affinis, or mosquito fish, in the wild, but this method risks an invasive plant or animal species being introduced to a new habitat or possibly a new disease spreading where immunities do not exist. Sarasota Mosquito Control is now breeding its own fish, and although most are currently empty, by summer the 1,700-gallon tanks will all be inhabited by mosquito fish. Technicians are also planning on using the fish waste to

grow a garden.

“It saves us time, saves us money and we put less chemicals out in the environment,” Ali commented. Along with the environmental benefits, the fish are longer lasting than chemicals and therefore are a cheaper and faster solution. The fish are also known to thrive even in very poor water quality conditions and so will be of little maintenance. A female can give birth to as many as 400 fish every six weeks, and each grown fish can eat one to 1 1/2 times their body weight in mosquito larvae every day.

Despite the obvious benefits, introducing any nonnative species comes with risks. In addition to eating mosquito larvae, mosquito fish eat a variety of other insect larvae, zooplankton, aquatic plants and the eggs, larvae, and juveniles of various native fishes and amphibians. Mosquito fish are a regulated species in certain states and often illegal to introduce without a fish stocking permit. “Cane toads were introduced with the best intentions,” Dallman commented, writing that it is critical to consider “all the possible costs to the ecosystem before making a decision.”

If the plan is successful, Sarasota Mosquito Control’s director predicts the aquaculture program will save taxpayers $20,000 a year in trapping costs. Technicians are able to take the fish on service calls as well for those with need, completely free of charge, as it has been paid for by taxes.

Information for this article taken from www. wtsp.com. scgov.net, epa.gov, wdfw. wa.gov.

Woodstock Wall Music, friends, and good times

BY CAITLYN RALPH Around midday on Saturday, April 11, the field in front of the Nook began to transform. A stage was set up under the trees, colorful blankets were spread about, couches found their way outside, sunflowers hung from trees, and food scattered across the concrete tables. It was the fourth annual Woodstock Wall: a day full of good times, friends and musicians – many from New College and others not.

Kicking off at 2 p.m., the event ran through the night, with the exception of a quick sunset break at 7 p.m. Boston band, Pariah, resumed Woodstock Wall at about 9:45 p.m. The location moved to inside the Old Mailroom, and students, many of whom waited outside, filled the space and danced as soon as the band started playing.

One of those students was firstyear Griffin Matthews, who spoke about why he enjoys occasions like Woodstock Wall so much. “It's the energy and the atmosphere. Nights like this everyone just feels super connected. We're all out here for the same reason,” he said. “The atmosphere and feeling of community is unrivaled.”

(above) Third-year Brad Baker, or Obvious Objects, plays some songs before Doris Dei. (left) After the sunset break, organizers help set up for Pariah as a build up of students accumulated outside in the Nook. (below) Made up of students, Doris Dei performs to an attentive audience at around 6 p.m. all photos Caitlyn Ralph/Catalyst

(right) Woodstock Wall starts in the early afternoon and continues throughout the day into the night. (middle left) The organizers provided some fresh dishes for the attendees, but also encouraged students to bring their own food as well, creating a potluck-like atmosphere. (middle right) Musical acts continued playing on the stage in the nook after sunset. (bottom) While watching Pariah, attendees brushed their teeth with provided toothbrushes and toothpaste. all photos Caitlyn Ralph/Catalyst

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

FEATURES

PAGE 8

From scene to serious: The Maine release ‘American Candy’

BY CAITLYN RALPH The “scene” explosion of the late 2000s, full of spiky haircuts, skinny jeans, and too many rubber bracelets, claimed the careers of many bands unable to move past the overly accessible bubblegum-punky music.

Only a handful have managed to stay relevant and produce forward-thinking material, thereby growing with old fans and amassing new ones simultaneously.

Emulated with the release of their fifth album two weeks ago, “American Candy,” The Maine, formed in the midst of the scene era, has proven to be one of those notable exceptions.

“The progression of all five records The Maine has done has been a really cool thing to watch,” “American Candy” producer Colby Wedgeworth said in a recent video published by the band. “I think each album is so unique from the previous, yet you always know you are listening to The Maine. I don’t think many bands can do that.”

“American Candy” comes in

contrast to The Maine’s previous album, “Forever Halloween,” which was recorded completely on live tape without any computers or modern editing techniques. Framed by earnest, “figuring out life” lyrics, the record’s resulting raw sound reflected the band’s struggle in transforming from five scene heartthrobs to five serious musicians.

However, what made “Forever Halloween” so great and successful was the irreproducible organic nature of the songs. The album was a centerpiece not meant to be followed up by a replica. “‘Forever Halloween’ was kind of the end of a chapter of us,” drummer Pat Kirch said in a recent Alternative Press feature. “We felt comfortable with who were as a band to begin again and make something fresh.”

Optimizing on that confident new attitude, “American Candy” is an expression of the band realizing they no longer need to prove to anyone their artistic worth. “I think ‘American Candy’ is what eight years in a band has finally

allowed us to do,” Kirch continued.

“I knew coming into writing the whole record that I wanted to write from a different place this time around, a less somber kind of stance,” frontman John O’Callaghan said in the same Alternative Press feature. “I felt like I really wanted to write optimistic and positive, at least sounding, songs.”

Instead of shunning the band’s past material, the record capitalizes on the perspective and insight gained from their musical journey. “It kind of seemed like the band was ready and comfortable to make a record that combined a bit maybe of old school The Maine and the new The Maine,” Wedgeworth said. “In a way, it kind of feels like the band made this record just for the fans.”

Seen in weighty tracks, such as “24 Floors” and “(Un)lost,” The Maine are clearly cognizant of their progress as musicians on “American Candy,” but the overall feel is much more lively.

However, just because the band had some fun, it does not mean the record

lacks substance and a message.

“American candy is the junk they get you hooked on, anything without a heartbeat, any manufactured, manipulative, soulless garbage fed to us daily. It is anything that attempts to entertain or to please or to persuade with complete disregard for integrity or character,” O’Callaghan said in a behind the scenes video. “It’s everything I don’t want to be or be a part of.”

Exemplified by the advertisementlike album cover, “American Candy” is a clear protest against consumerism, but not necessarily in a political way.

“This record is not some political statement or guide to live life by, it’s simply honest,” O’Callaghan said. There is an extended metaphor of sweetness and sugar high representing this mass media, dampening individual thought and inquiry. In “Diet Soda Society,” the protagonist narrates, “I asked her what

continued on p. 11

This week’s Netflix pick: Documentary ‘The Culture High’ goes beyond the question of legalization

BY KATELYN GRIMMETT At the end of last month, thousands of people stood in line at the nation’s capital to receive free cannabis seeds from the D.C. Cannabis Campaign headquarters. Roughly 25,000 seeds were given out over the two-day event.

The legalization of marijuana in America has become a complex and pressing issue that has left the national government with a federally mandated law which individual states such as Colorado and Washington widely break every day.

From the makers of “The Union: The Business Behind Getting High,” comes “The Culture High,” a documentary on the legalization of marijuana in America and what the very prohibition says about our society today.

Directed by Brett Harvey and just recently added to Netflix streaming but actually released in late October of last year, “The Culture High” offers up to date coverage on the issue including Alaska’s recent legalization, various breaking studies from neuropsychologists and a fascinating insight into the different reasons behind society’s incrimination of marijuana, reaching into the mindset behind the war on drugs.

The documentary is focused on a series of interviews with doctors, specialists, officers, patients, artists, judges and other commenters involved with the issue. The resulting conversation addressed many of the versatile aspects of marijuana use and was stringed together with news casts, anti-pot commercials, scientific studies on the effects of marijuana, corresponding graphs and recent events relating to the legalization of marijuana in America and to the war on drugs

around the world.

“Not your stereotypical film about how great getting high is, “The Culture High” discussed the marijuana industry and had many legitimate arguments in favor of its legalization and use,” second-year Gabriella Frankhouser said in an email interview. “I think the most notable aspect of this documentary was the varied themes it incorporated – the very flawed U.S. prison system, big pharma, corporation power, historical influence, et cetera. I highly recommend it to anyone.”

“The Culture High” opens with a disturbing video account of a 2010 drug raid in which police forces busted into a Missouri home and impulsively shot at the family dog, all to find a grinder, pipe and a small amount of cannabis.

Jonathan E. Whitworth, owner of the house, pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and accepted a fine of $300. In other cases, subjects of drug raids were not so lucky in avoiding jail time.

The film provides a quote from William Taft that captures a theme running through the documentary, “We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.” “The Culture High” presents surprising facts such as the establishment of asset seizures for drug arrests and the astonishing number of deaths from cigarettes.

The film reveals the result of a survey showing that 80 percent of drug users are solely using cannabis which leads to the notion that, with the legalization of marijuana, the massive police forces and billions of dollars that

photo courtesy of imdb.com

Documentary film “The Culture High” is now available on Netflix.

go into the war against drugs every year would no longer be justified, leaving officers jobless and the U.S. at a loss for how to morally fight against the truly harmful drug cartels in neighboring countries such as Mexico.

The film also offers some concepts to consider including the point that cannabis, like any other drug (illegal or not), is not right for everyone, and provoking society to turn instead to the question of whether it is right to restrict the use of this plant for every person on the planet. Addressing the question of potential addicting qualities in the plant, addiction specialist Gabor Mate states in the film that all addictions are individual cases and points out that coffee, cigarettes and alcohol, all drugs, are highly addicting.

“As with every documentary probably ever (but especially pot ones),

it was a bit biased and rather strawman-y in its presentation of the opposing side of the argument, oversimplifying it and picking out the easy targets while kind of skirting some more difficult issues, such as marijuana and its possible role as a gateway drug,” thesis student Taylor Barton said. “It wasn't nearly as biased as some pro-potpaganda though, and at least made some effort to tell both sides of the story.”

The film delves into the medical benefits of cannabis, explaining the body’s endocannabinoid system, and also discusses the epidemic of deaths caused by prescription drugs, biased news coverage depicting cannabis as public enemy number one, and the extensive issue of private prisons

continued on p. 11

CATALYST

Our Cosmic Spenserian Crimes; Sonnet #3 The Smell of Alcohol & Bad Choices

BY FUSHA DEL MAR Sauntering down the middle of Stevens Street We don’t who Stevens is, and we don’t care It’s where the New Year’s party of 2015 is at All we know is that we for sure know ourselves Onlookers might see us just as a glitter festival But boy can we gulp burning liquid down hard We are boys like our fathers We are girls like our grandmothers We transcend gender and expectations Reading horoscopes out of the stars We howl from the high ways of our mouths Letting the cosmos know that we are alive With easter candy colored hair and no money We paint each other then fuck another Leaving sweet perfume of planets behind We are pendulums swinging over a river We are rainbows in a society of prisms We record the way drones sound and laugh Thinking we are not like them Hanging rope with left handed wedding rings Robots built like software data and no spice Skeletons without stomaches for paganism No shooting stars on the tapestry sky No foolish child-like behavior or chocolate frogs We are the girl passed out on by the toilet We are vampires asleep on fold out couches We’ve become ice cream flavored kaleidoscope Videotaping in our minds guitars and space shuttles Through the golden gates there is fungus and folklore Cottages with stair cases to the fun The flowers are covered in floodlights from crystals There’s electricity from all living things Eggs and elephants all have energy like us We are bombs in a bottle disguised as the Bible We are bananas in back pockets We are making our own album just with no sound

POETRY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

BY FUSHA DEL MAR The Serenity AA Prayer echoes in my dreams Folded chairs, Coffee Cake, Big Book, & Diet Cokes Find out whose sober chips are the most supreme I call shenanigans on this here __hoax__ Our health system is as fragile as baby yolks A prostitute shoved her tongue down my throat I sat in red ants and scaled the brooks, folks I’m not supposed to write these quotes My imagination did not give me any vote Sorry that I still need to talk about it The same shit exists everywhere around the globe We must all try to energize through our dark wit I am proud of my beautiful (bad-ass) self I refuse to remain dusty on a shelf

this is an uninvited presence

BY ANONYMOUS i’m turning my head to speak to someone who isnt there; there is a cramped space where you should be. you wouldn’t fit in the slot i’ve created for you but i can’t stop cramming you in there i’ve made a voodoo doll of you and i move you how i like but i have no magic and you are not responding in kind i’m turning my head to speak to you but you are never there (the heavy space follows me, you remain wholly unconcerned)

this is why i’m invading your inbox

BY ANONYMOUS i will not allow you to erase me from your life without a struggle. i am not so easy to forget.

PAGE 9

Untitled

BY JASMINE RESPESS Dear black man, I know you are a child Of flowers.

You don't deny your gentle nature, But they deny it for you.

I don't know your origin, But you are and are not from here.

It's not a question of strange nor queer.

Do you elicit fear, When you walk by the porcelain circus ladies, In the night, or in the day, Do they turn away, Or stare with purpose?

I will never fully understand you, You are soft on purpose, But we don't see.

I am of stone faced, Yet of feminine form.

Do you love your brothers, Do you touch them the way I touch them.

The way I touch my sisters?

Dear black man, I don't want to turn from you, You call for me on the road.

"Hey booty, hey baby, hey beauty."

To say you are different than every black man, Is to say every black man is the same.

How could I know?

Me with my Carmel skin, And my wash and go hair.

Who really cares to know my opinion, On the nice black boy in class, Or the one that comments on my ass.

Black pride and prejudice.

-------Spring: The yellow tree is the earthbound physical representation of the bursting sun and my new heart.

Who are you?

For spring, witch hazel is the harbinger.

Love is winter’s snow melting.

Falling, but meant to fall apart, To reveal the neophytes, Beneath the ice.

Will what’s between us suffice?

Will it quell the fiery hell of my heart?

Will it warm the coldness of your intellect?

Youth begets lust, But lust is a means to an end.

I won’t pretend I am not glad, When my eyes, Widen to catch, Every curve of your face, And scratch on your back.

Moonlight, ramble, jubilee, What’s good for you, Is best for me.

Our russet, tissue; drone, a honey bee; Our brook, a sea; our thin water, wine; What’s violent to you is divine.

Be gentle my thoughts, I pray when they are in toil.

Lay me down, But don’t cover me, Mix me with soil.

Will spring lift me like a spore to the sky?

Will that Muse make the yellow tree a bursting heart?

Will what’s between us suffice?

Will the creatures in the forest, Know the sound, Of my blossoming heart?

My soul, Only one, Muddles solely with yours.

-------Dark tree: the spring is not your friend or foe.

You independent willow.

Why do you cry?

Not for lost platonic love and romance is not your game.

Is it for shame of being lit without buds like voluptuous tits?

Happy National Poetry Month The Catalyst will be publishing poetry submissions from students all this month. If you have poetry you’d like to submit, please send it in a text document to ncfcatalyst@gmail.com by noon on Friday to be published in the following issue. We will accept anonymous submissions.

We look forward to reading your poetry!

CATALYST

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

PAGE 10

Wall previews

BY GIULIA HEYWARD

The Declaration of Independence

Friday, April 17: Ice Wall Carley Culmo & Eilis Ryan

BY BIANCA BENEDI

Ice Wall will be hosted by secondyear Carley Culmo and thesis student Eilis Ryan. When asked what was the inspiration for their Wall, the duo said that they wanted to “freeze all boiling souls.”

Wall attendees can expect “bone chill” music when they arrive at the nook on Friday.

Saturday, April 18: Graffiti on the Wall Carl Polak, Mika Lorenzo, & Jubin Shah Graffiti on the Wall will be hosted by exchange student Jubin Shah and first-years Carl Polak and Mika Lorenzo.

The trio plan to supply Wall-goers with all the materials needed to make graffiti art.

“I wanted to celebrate student creativity and expression,” Polak said about the Wall, which will supply 26 spray cans and 50 posters.

While expressing their artistic side, Wall attendees will also be treated to music from their fellow students.

“I've asked several of my musicallytalented fellow Novocollegiettes to plan sets and Wall goers can expect a blend of modern rap and dance,” Polak added.

The New College Student Alliance is an ever-present fixture on our campus, but there was a time when it temporarily disappeared. That time was the late 70s, when New College was absorbed into University of South Florida (USF) as part of an effort to save the school from dissolving in bankruptcy.

As part of the adjustment into the new school, the New College of Florida (NCF) student government was merged with USF’s student government to create the Campus Council.

For roughly 15 years the Campus Council served as student government for New College students, but finally students decided that the shared student government was not ideal for the two schools, and in June of 1992, New College students began drafting a Declaration of Independence.

Finalized in Nov. of 1992, this declaration established the separation between New College’s NCSA and USF’s University Program Student Association (USPA). “Over 200 years ago,” the preamble of the declaration reads, “the Founding Fathers of this great nation wrote that it sometimes ‘becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another.’ This is true for student governments no less than for the governments of nations.

In recognition of the very different

Photo courtesy of New College Digital Archives

The New College student handbook of 1992-1994. New College merged with USF in 1975 after dire economic circumstances left the school with no other option but to merge or close down. The merging of the school and the student body meant a merging of the student governments as well.

characters and needs of the University Program and New College student bodies, the following resolution is hereby agreed upon and adopted by the duly elected representatives of the aforementioned student bodies.”

At the time, New College was still an extension of USF, which meant that while the student governments made this attempt to separate, their funds would still come from a shared collection.

The rest of the document goes on to discuss how a Joint Allocations Committee will fund various student campus spaces and resources and decisions will be made collaboratively

for major costs.

The Joint Allocations Committee, organized to meet on the first Wednesday in February at 5:00 p.m. in Sudakoff Center, would decide base-level budget funding for Hamilton Center, Sarasota Recreation, the Student Government Comptroller’s Office, and A&S funded media center facilities. Various elected officials would fill roles, with one chair in charge every year.

“Occupancy of the chair will alternate between UP and NC representatives on a yearly basis,” the

continued on p. 11

EVENTS: APRIL 15 - 22 Off Campus

On Campus

Wednesday, April 15 • 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Poetry Marathon @ Z-green • 2 p.m. Sail Future @ the Sail Club • 7 p.m. Mental Illness Support Group @ LBR 248 • 10 p.m. WRC Thesis Crunch! @ the WRC Thursday, April 16

• 12 p.m. Technology Brown Bag • 4 p.m. NCF Poetry Open Mic @ JBC

Shoppe • 11 p.m. Ice Wall @ the Nook Saturday, April 18

• All day All Power to the • • • •

Imagination! Conference 12 p.m. MCAT Prep Class @ the CEO 5 p.m. #poemplay @ Four Winds 8 p.m. Open Mic @ Four Winds 10 p.m. Graffitti on the Wall

Sunday, April 19

• 5:30 p.m. Middle East Interest

• All day All Power to the

• 7 p.m. All Power to the

• 1 p.m. Sail Future @ the Sail Club • 3 p.m. CSA Meeting @ HCL7

Club Vigil @ Z-Green

Imagination Meeting @ GDC • 7 p.m. Healthy Cooking Class @ Z Kitchen • 8 p.m. New College Democrats Meeting Friday, April 17 • All day All Power to the Imagination! Conference • 4 p.m. Melissa Crow, Statistical Literacy and Problem Solving @ Chae Auditorium • 8 p.m. API Concert @ The Bike

Imagination! Conference

Wednesday, April 15 • All Day Sarasota Film Festival • All Day 12th Annual Embracing Our Differences Exhibit @ Island Park and Bradenton Riverwalk • 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dowtown Farmer’s Market • 11 a.m. Sarasota Open @ Lakewood Ranch Country Club Thursday, April 16

• All Day Sarasota Film Festival • 12 p.m. Throwback Thursday @ The Beach Club Siesta Key • 7:30 p.m. Featured Poets: Bolina and Edgerton @ The Coffee Loft Friday, April 17

Monday, April 20 • 5:15 p.m. MCAT Prep Class @ the CEO • 6 p.m. Happy Birthday Pei @ HCL8 • 7 p.m. Is Consent Sexy? @ HCL8 • 9 p.m. STOP Meeting @ GDC

• All Day Sarasota Film Festival • 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Food Truck

Tuesday, April 21 • 7 p.m. More than One Closet: Sexual Violence in the Queer Community @HCL8

• All Day Sarasota Film Festival • Record Store Day @ various

Fridays @ the Asolo • 1 p.m. Exhibition @ Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy Saturday, April 18

locations • 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dowtown Farmer’s

Market • 7:30 p.m. Community Contra Dance @ Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center $8 Sunday, April 19 • All Day Sarasota Film Festival • 11:30 a.m. API March to the Park and Speakout @ Payne Park Monday, April 20

• 8 a.m. Yoga on the Beach @ Siesta Key Public Beach

Wednesday, April 22

• 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dowtown Farmer’s Market

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

CATALYST

Room selection

Metz sur vey

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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actually picking the room was pretty unnerving,” second-year Dylan Pryor said. “I decided early on that who I lived with was more important than where and I stuck to that despite knowing that, with just three contracts, many rooms would be taken before I drew.”

Some students felt that there was not enough time given to make plans prior to room selection. “I do think that they could have gotten the word out earlier,” Toro said. “Maybe two weeks earlier as opposed to before spring break. I personally feel that this amount of time that students were given is okay for applying for on-campus housing.

But, the amount of time given to apply for off-campus housing was not okay. It feels a lot like a scramble.”

Another major change that influenced room selection this year was the decision to incorporate Living Learning Communities (LLCs).

Different letter dorms were assigned a theme that would attract different students to that particular residential building. These themes are Wellness, centered on making healthy lifestyle choices; Global Village, for students interested in an international experience; and Quiet Community, for students who want to focus on academics. Additionally, SuccessQuest is an LLC specifically for incoming firstyear students who want to build skills for achieving long-term goals.

Associate Dean Mark Stier wrote a thesis on LLC’s while at the University of South Florida (USF), titled “The Relationship Between Living Learning Communities and Second-Year Students at the University of South Florida,” and published in May 2014.

“Learning communities allow for the restructuring of curricular material allowing for a deeper understanding and the integration of in-classroom

and out-of-classroom educational and social experiences,” Stier wrote in his thesis. “When learning communities and residential communities are merged, a living learning community is formed. The concept of a living learning community allows students to become collaborative partners in their learning experience and introduces them to a more holistic and integrated learning experience. The combination of academic and social educational components increases the level of collaboration between students, faculty members and staff influencing the levels of academic success and persistence rates.”

Despite this, there are students who do not feel that the incorporation of LLCs will be advantageous. “LLCs seem to me like a good idea in practice for a larger campus,” first-year Rebecca Caccavo said. “But [it] is impractical for a community as small as New College.

It just leaves many students without housing options. These letter dorms aren’t really being encouraged to create their own communities, just the preset ones housing thinks encapsulate wholesome values. It may have worked at USF, but New College needs more independence and autonomy.”

Regardless of what may occur, students are encouraged to place themselves on the waitlists for rooms that they wanted to receive. While not guaranteed, this does mean that students may have a chance to receive the room that they had wanted before the new semester starts.

“Ultimately, I didn’t get exactly what I initially wanted,” Pryor said. “ I wouldn’t want to go through it again, but I’d say it turned out pretty well.”

Kenya

Culture High

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

were mentioned last year, yet only two armed guards were provided to the school. Another said one of the gunmen appeared to know the school very well.

Since the attack, Kenyatta has implemented a curfew from dusk to dawn.

Kenyatta addressed the nation saying he instructed the police chief to accelerate the training of 10,000 recruits, because Kenya had unreasonably suffered due to the shortage of security.

The Kenyan government has offered a reward of $53,000 for the person they believe is responsible for the killing – Muhammad Kuno, originally a Kenyan schoolteacher now assumed to be in Somalia.

reaping financial benefits from the number of prisoners arrested for possession of marijuana.

“The most informative angle that the documentary took (for me) was its examination of the powers at play which have vested interest in keeping pot illegal,” Barton said. “These ‘powers’ are often alluded to, but this documentary actually took the time to tease them out a little bit. I was especially motivated by its arguments against privatized prisons and how much of a factor they are in keeping pot illegal.”

Information for this article was taken from washingtonpost.com, afp.com, bbc.com.

JUMPS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

Information from this article taken from scholarcommons.usf.edu.

PAGE 11

she added. Lovett-Graff welcomes emails from anyone with complaints or recommendations for the food service.

Suggestions for improvement also included cooking with less oil, variety at lunch and dinnertime and more oatmeal.

Metz has taken steps to satisfy these requests and others such as changing the menu every day, offering steamed veggies, starting a parfait bar for breakfast and adding Poblanos, which offers a variety of Mexican entrees.

Beyond improvements relating to student opinions on the dining hall, Metz has made a strong effort to comply with the school’s culture and student support for sustainable services and organic preferences. Metz has started composting with the school, reaching out for local produce through Fresh Market and buying organic, non-GMO foods while keeping an eye on the food costs in order to balance the student body’s best interests. Furthermore, the leftover food from every day is brought to a local shelter.

Moore encourages students to Facebook friend Metz Dining Services for menu requests and, occasionally, even discounts. The menu is posted weekly on their website at http://www. metznewcollege.com.

The Maine CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 she thought of person versus persona; she told me shut up and drink your diet soda.” American candy is not rotting away our teeth; it is rotting away our brains.

Basically begging its listeners to not become fake in the center of all the commercialization, the title track warns that with a taste of addicting American candy “you’re so sweet and sated, sedated” and “you’re hooked and baited, you’re annihilated.” The sarcastic chorus in “Am I Pretty?” continuously asks, “Do people like me?” until sincerely responding with “there’s beauty and grace in the thoughts of your face.” In a recent Yahoo live-stream of the band’s sold out concert in Anaheim, California, O’Callaghan ended with, “Be yourself, that’s all you can be.”

As a testament to their enthusiasm for musical progression, the band followed up their sublime “Forever Halloween” with a purposelylighthearted record that is a reflection of their transformation in the past years. Containing some deeper notes mixed with a lot of fun moments, “American Candy” is an ideal summer album released at the perfect time: right before the end of the term, early enough to help push through those last few weeks of classes. It all comes packaged with a message asking you to reject the falsity of mass consumerism and to embrace the imperfection that comes with being yourself.

Information for this article was taken from www.youtube.com/themaine and www.altpress.com.

Archives CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 proposal reads. “On even-numbered years, the chair shall be held by a New College representative; on oddnumbered years, the chair will be held by a University Program representative.”

This student government proposal allowed New College to regain some semblance of independence; when the school officially separated from USF in 2001, the student government was already partially set up along with it.

The NCSA lives on.

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, APRIL15, 2015 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

THE BACK PAGE PAGE 12

Bookstores in SRQ

BY YADIRA LOPEZ All good readers know one should never flip to the last page. Yet that is exactly what reactionary headlines have been doing by prophesizing the death of bookstores. Although it is true that large chains such as Borders have perished, recent years have actually seen a resurgence of independent bookstores nationwide, proving that the end might not be so nigh after all. Here are but four of the nearly 30 bookstores in Sarasota.

A. Parker’s Books & Book Bazaar 1488 Main St, Sarasota, FL 34236 Located in Downtown Sarasota for more than 30 years, A. Parker’s Books offers a wide selection of scholarly, rare and antiquarian books, in addition to vintage maps and art prints. A decade ago, A. Parker’s merged with then neighboring Book Bazaar and now the Sarasota location houses both shops beneath one roof.

The bookstore maintains a rare book room where customers can delight in finely bound titles and many first editions, but if the price tags seem too high there is always the rest of the store, which offers an extensive array of used, out-of-print books.

Looking for a unique gift or an addition to a thesis bibliography? You just might find it here with help from Parker’s knowledgeable staff.

Friends of the Library Bookstore 1331 1st St, Sarasota, FL 34236 Tucked away inside the Selby Public Library in Downtown Sarasota, the Friends Bookstore stocks its shelves with local donations, featuring a varied selection of lightly used titles.

Students taking a foreign language may get lucky in the bookstore’s foreign language section, which offers multiple shelves of dictionaries, conjugation manuals and classic titles in French, German, Spanish, and other languages.

Among the bookstore’s quirks is a healthy selection of cd’s, VHS’s and, of course, records. Glass shelves also display “baubles, bling and other nonbook donated items.” The bookstore offers daily sales on all items and rare jewelry and small trinkets can be purchased at bargain prices.

Bibliophiles looking to empty their own shelves may also drop off donations at the Selby Public Library.

The bookstore is staffed by volunteers and proceeds benefit the library, its programs and the community. Hours are 10:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., Monday through Saturday.

Books-A-Million 4225 14th St W, Bradenton, FL 34205 Those looking for a more traditional bookstore setup – complete with a café

courtesy of Joe Muggs – will find it at the second largest bookstore chain in the U.S.: Books-A-Million. The store has two locations in the area, the closest one of which is located in Bradenton.

Books-A-Million sells the most up-to-date new releases in books, music and movies and has its own range of bargain classics for $2.97.

The store’s main draw is its bargain section of $1 comic books located at the back of the store. “We own a company called 2nd and Charles up in Georgia and we get all our used stock from them,” Customer Service Representative Sara Murray said.

For a $25 yearly membership fee their Millionaire’s Club members receive free shipping on online orders as well as a 10 percent in-store discount, among other perks.

Something About a Book 3251 17th St, Unit 90, Sarasota, FL 34235 Touting itself as Sarasota’s “coolest used bookstore,” the mom-and-pop Something About a Book sells all their used books for half the retail price or less. The inventory consists mostly of paperbacks and fiction, with new releases up front.

Run by the Spencer family, the bookstore’s emphasis is on shopping local and promoting the area’s talent.

They display local artists’ work in the store and promote local author’s through book signings.

Something About a Book allows customers to trade in titles in exchange for store credit. They accept new or used books based on condition and current inventory needs.

Hours are 10-3 Mondays through Saturdays.

(headline) The Selby Friends of the Library Bookstore has rows and rows of discounted used books. (top) Parker’s Books is known for their beautiful, old and rare books. (middle) Completely run by volunteers, the Friends of the Library Bookstore is a great choice for bibliophiles. (bottom) Located conveniently downtown on Main St., Parker’s Books is a Sarasota classic. all photos Yadira Lopez/Catalyst